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neriyon · 1 year ago

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WoLs and FFXIV OCs

Hawu'li Puu • Keeper • 23 • he/him • WHM/SMN “Prelude in Violet” • Beloved main blorbo and the Warrior of Light. Cheerful, talkative catboy healer who loves food and the world. Wants to help everyone. Goodhearted but rather naiive. Bad with money. Will try to eat things not meant as food. Separation anxiety, cannot be left alone for too long. Part of a trio of co-WoLs who he met when first leaving Gridania. Gay and poly, usually shipped with various npcs. Server: Lich

Maito Tee • Raen • 19 • she/her • BLM “Of Stranger Shadow” • Oldest alt, originally made to be another WoL. Currently reclassified as a semi-retired Scion (she might be young but she’s way too tired of all this shit). Moody, introverted lizard girl who’s bad at expressing her emotions. Often comes across as rude or angry. Quick to resort to violence (“fire IV your way out of troubles”). Likes fancy desserts and soaking in hot springs. Currently taking time off to relax and spend time with family. Lesbian, not really shipped with anyone rn. Server: none

Yusui Kuura • Raen • 26 • he/him • AST “Finder of False Gods” • Maito’s older half-brother. Smug and provocative lizard with questionable morals who’s favorite way to pass time is to annoy others. Working in Glass Camellia - shop that’s antique store on paper but in reality sells various merc services for clients willing to spend the gil. Likes quality tea, peaches and strong reactions to his provocations. Rarely knows when to stop on time and ends up injured. Insomniac. Bi, possibly demiromantic - only shown romantic interest to his 2 childhood friends. Server: none

N'jinh Tia • Seeker • 27 • he/him • DRG/NIN “Imperial Nuisance” • Selfish, lazy cat who’s main talents are flirting and sweet talking. Prefers getting others to do things for him while napping in a nice spot, surrounded by expensive stuff given as gifts. Can’t swim, hates moogles. Mostly grew up in Garlemald. Worked as an imperial palace servant, sold bunch of secret info over to Eorzeans, got caught and had to run. Bi, no fixed ships currently. Server: Spriggan

Currently being reworked!

Naho Mewrilah • Keeper • 23 • she/her • DNC/BLM “Flamelady” • Selectively mute catgirl who likes dancing and performing. Bright, energetic and very free spirited. Grew up on a pirate ship, is currently travelling the land to see other cultures like her adventurer mother did before her. Great with animals. Scared of bugs. Friends with Maito. Bi, her relationship status is honestly a mystery. Server: Phoenix

Chiluku “Chili” Gharl • Xaela • ??? • he/him • DRK “Shadow of the Other” • Shy, anxious and clumsy max height au ra. Strong enough to carry huge sword around all day, but will accidentally knock over your flowerpot with his tail and then cry while repetedly saying sorry. Born as Kagon. Got kidnapped by garleans as a kid for having echo, devoleped “Sen” (Esteem) as a young adult and managed to fight his way out. Currently working as a bodyguard-for-hire in Glass Camellia. Bi, currently not dating anyone. Server: Moogle

Einn • Rava/Veena mix • ??? • he/him • RPR “Gatekeeper” • Viera who appeared from the forest during the events of Endwalker. Generally polite and princelike, but clearly avoids talking too much about his past. Sometimes gets strong personality shifts based on moon phase - he’ll get more aggressive, before dissapearing into the woods for a few days. During this time he’s known to cause trouble to anyone who dares enter “his” forest. Possibly tempered. Works as a gleaner post-EW. Gay, sometimes shipped with Erenville. Server: Twintania

Momoka “Momo” Komori • Raen(?) • ??? • they/them • SAM/NIN “Lullaby of a Departed Soul” • Mysterious nonbinary auri who pretty much counts as a cryptid. Appears randomly and leaves just as quick. Seems to have no loyalties towards any living being, though them appearing usually means there’s some ghost or demon involved. Part demon themself, often seen with huge white snake called “Emi”. Sexuality and relationship status are a mystery. Server: Twintania

Yulan Castalia • Veena • ??? • he/him • crafter/pictomancer "At Art's Horizon" • Introverted and a bit shy viera lad with a fondness for flowers, mammets and creating things. Mainly working as a goldsmith, but can do most crafting jobs - just don't ask him to cook. Likes to paint. Can't swim. Often hides when forced to talk to unfamiliar people. Temperamental and a bit of a tsundere. Gay, not shipped with anyone yet. Server: Zalera

Firn • Rava • few thousand years • he/him • Sword mage (pld x rdm) "Of Unbreakable Oath" • Cold, knightly viera with demeanor almost as icy as his namesake. Originally hailing from the Sixth, one of the rejoined shards, he is taken in to work with the ascians after the destruction of his home. Generally very aloof towards others, but for some reason seems to attract small animals. Fiercely loyal with a strong sense of personal moral code, he seems to now wander Eorzea in search of the reincarnation of a mysterious past charge, whom he seems to barely even remember. Server: Alpha

Edited 24/1: Added Firn and Yulan and marked N'jinh as under rework.

#ffxiv #ffxiv screenshots #neri's screens #literally the whole thing is also on the “wols” page but I wanted something that has clickable pics #also pls ignore that the screens are wildly different in quality #some of them are really old #and some have really ooc outfits

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night-filled-mountain · 3 years ago

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Captivity and Escape in Critical Role

So this post has been sitting in my drafts for about half a year. It’s about a persistent theme I noticed throughout campaign 2, which I’m sure others have noticed and written about before, but parallels and recurring themes have always been my Thing, and I couldn’t let it go. And with last week’s episode, and the campaign finale airing tonight, and the dominance of this theme being more glaringly obvious than ever, I thought I’d just give myself a treat and finish up a giant meta post. For old times’ sake.

So, just for the heck of it, here’s an exhaustive exploration of a single through-line of campaign 2 since the very beginning: captivity, and escaping or being freed from it.

Let’s start by taking a quick look at everyone’s backstories, the things that happened to them before the campaign even started, and how they were ultimately resolved.

FJORD: Entered unknowingly and unwillingly into a pact with Uk’otoa, which bound him to perform services he never agreed to in exchange for powers he never asked for. Fjord did not know how he got into this pact or how to get out of it. He makes his escape when he pitches his sword into a lava river and pledges himself to the Wildmother.

JESTER: Spent the majority of her life “locked in her room” (or at least hidden from sight) until the consequences of one of her pranks forcibly liberated her into the wider world. While Jester loves her mother dearly and thinks of her long “captivity” as being for her own protection, its negative effects on her--loneliness, insecurity, a lack of worldly experience and social awareness--were still apparent, and she spends much of the campaign working through them.

BEAU: Her parents had her kidnapped by monks. It could be argued that even before the kidnapping, she was a prisoner to her father’s “over-protective” tendencies and her parents’ expectations when it came to her career, behavior, gender role, etc. But most significantly, she was very much kidnapped by monks, and made her escape from the Cobalt Soul shortly before we met her.

CALEB: Where to start? First he suffered coercion and abuse at the hands of Trent (a form of captivity); then he was made to torture and execute prisoners; then he spent eleven years literally imprisoned in an asylum, and had to kill and steal in order to escape; and four and a half years later, he met Nott when they were both thrown in jail (and had to engineer their own escape once again). Caleb’s ordeals ultimately made him a prisoner of his own guilt and fear, and escaping that prison has been the heart of his storyline.

VETH/NOTT: Besides the aforementioned stint in jail, the catalyst for her entire adventuring career was being captured by goblins along with her family--and then, after engineering the escape of her husband and son, being imprisoned in the wrong body (and subsequently enslaved!). The desire to escape from this second imprisonment was her driving motivation through much of the campaign. With Caleb’s help (and Essek’s, and Jester’s), she ultimately succeeds.

MOLLY: His first memory was of clawing his way out of a grave, which is just about as extreme a form of captivity and escape as you can get. More subtly, he was also a prisoner to the expectations placed on his body--to the life that body once lived, which he could not remember and refused to claim. Arguably (and tragically), his escape from this particular prison is his own death...until Cree resurrects Lucien, Mollymauk fragment and all. Then he presumably becomes a prisoner much like Yasha was, subsumed body and soul by a mind and a will that are not his own. Until last week.

... (incoherent sobbing)

Until last week.

YASHA: She was a prisoner to her clan’s laws and expectations. Her brief attempt to escape this prison through a forbidden marriage ended tragically, and then she was forced to make a second, literal escape (fleeing into the desert)--only to be (presumably) possessed by Obann, imprisoned inside her own mind, and forced to do his bidding until the Storm Lord liberated her once again.

CADUCEUS: When the gang first meet him, he’s literally a prisoner of his own fear (and/or inertia)--though his whole family has left the Blooming Grove, he’s been too afraid or hesitant to brave the corruption of the Savalirwood without companionship, and spent years isolated in the family temple as a result. The Mighty Nein (or rather, Caleb, Nott, Beau, Keg, and Nila) initiate his escape.

***

And that’s just the backstories! Now let’s take a look at each of the places the Mighty Nein have visited since they came together, and the story arcs therein.

***

TROSTENWALD - CARNIVAL ARC: This arc’s entire goal is to free the (future) Mighty Nein and the other carnies from jail or house arrest. (Much later, the M9 come back to pay Gustav’s debt and liberate him as well.) And remember that Beau is especially sympathetic to Toya’s predicament because she, too, was once a young girl held somewhere against her will.

ALFIELD - GNOLL ARC: This arc’s entire goal is to free the citizens of Alfield who have been kidnapped by gnolls to feed to their manticore leader (and to kill off the gnolls and manticore to keep it from happening again).

ZADASH: The Mighty Nein’s first undertaking in Zadash is to kill off the giant spiders in the sewer. In the process, they free a halfling imprisoned in a spiderweb, which leads them to the Gentleman and all his future quests.

Aside from that, their biggest job in Zadash this time around is the High Richter heist--which, yes, is a mercenary/political job that goes terribly wrong, but why does it go terribly wrong? Because Ulog, the M9′s NPC ally at the time, is so furious over his wife being wrongfully imprisoned by the High Richter that he impulsively blows up both her and himself. And arguably the most poignant moment in the heist’s aftermath is Caleb speaking to the next High Richter, Dolan, and ensuring that Ulog’s wife will be freed.

Also, let’s not forget the drow the M9 meet in the sewer. The one they capture, interrogate, and ultimately...let go. Yes, he’s killed shortly afterward and his beacon falls into their hands, but I think it’s very important to remember that the decision they make, when holding a captive terrorist from an “enemy” nation, is to return his stolen artifact to him and let him walk away free.

LABENDA SWAMP/BERLEBEN: The most memorable events during this interlude are: (1.) The M9 literally freeing Kiri from the swamp, where she is stuck in the mud and at the mercy of crocodiles, and (2.) Bowlgate, a.k.a. Caleb and Beau’s tense confrontation over what to do with Calianna, which is once again fueled on Beau’s side by her sympathy for a young woman held against her will. (Caleb proposes that Cali spend the night with the M9, which she did not intend, so they can use spells to determine her truthfulness the next day.)

HUPPERDOOK: This one’s obvious: The M9 fight a deadly automaton to free two gnomes from prison and reunite them with their children (largely to prevent said children from being taken to an orphanage against their will).

GLORY RUN ROAD/SHADYCREEK RUN - IRON SHEPHERDS ARC: ...Even more obvious. The sole goal of the remaining M9 members (and Nila) throughout this arc is to free their friends from slavery. They end up slaughtering all the slavers and freeing several other captives as well.

LUSIDIAN OCEAN - PIRATE ARC: Here’s where things get really interesting. Because this whole arc is also about captivity and freedom, isn’t it?

It’s about whether or not to free a little old captive named Uk’otoa!

I haven’t given nearly enough thought to how this arc fits in with all the others thematically, considering its central lesson is that freeing this particular captive would be a very bad thing. I do think it’s significant that:

(1.) The beginning of this arc, which leaves the whole party feeling so bad and icky, involves them quite inadvertently taking a captive of their own--and one whom they don’t treat very well. (And still don’t, for that matter...poor Marius.)

(2.) Soon after that incident, the M9 are themselves effectively taken captive by Avantika and her crew. This situation doesn’t last nearly as long as many audience members (and quite possibly Matt, and quite possibly the players themselves!) thought it would, because they panic on Darktow, go all Wall of Fire, and free themselves in a huge, climactic, desperate battle. The Mighty Nein do not take well to captivity.

Anyhow, they follow all this up with...

FELDERWIN/XHORHAS - YEZA ARC: ...another very straightforward quest to free a captive. Not only is this arc all about rescuing Yeza from a Xhorhasian dungeon, but after Caleb returns the beacon, after the Bright Queen of Xhorhas offers the Mighty Nein anything they want...all they ask her for is to let them go.

BAZZOXAN & BEYOND - OBANN ARC: ...By now, you know where I’m going with this, right? The entire arc is about freeing Yasha from Obann, who has her imprisoned inside her own body, inside her own mind. There’s a reason That Moment in the cathedral hit so hard, right? “And as you close your eyes, you see yourself breaking the shackles. You see the influence no longer holding any sway over your soul. There's nothing but the storm, vengeance, and hope.”

(Bonus: In the middle of the above arc, we get the HAPPY FUN BALL - RESCUING YUSSA ARC, which, once again, is devoted to freeing a captive.)

KAMORDAH/CYRIOS MOUNTAINS - ISHARNAI ARC: Aimed entirely at freeing Nott from the body in which she was imprisoned. Beau also has a bit of a freedom arc here: confronting the parents who imprisoned her figuratively and literally, turning her back on them (possibly for good), and then confronting a major source of the expectations and superstitions they shackled her with: Isharnai, who is neutralized by Jester’s cupcake.

THE MENAGERIE - CLAY ARC: Aimed entirely at freeing Caduceus’s family, who are imprisoned in perhaps the most literal way possible, being turned to stone. (The M9 also manage to liberate the Stone family while they’re at it.)

RUMBLECUSP - TRAVELER CON: Two great liberations take place here. First, all the residents of the Village of Vo are freed from Vokodo’s influence, their memories restored, their blind devotion dispelled, able once again to choose the course of their own lives. Second, the followers of the Traveler are freed from the deception he’s imposed on them, the cult he’s roped them into. Thanks to the Moonweaver’s interference, they, too, are free to make informed decisions. And I think we can also safely say that Artagan is freed from them, from the false “god” role he managed to box himself into, and he’s happier for it.

EISELCROSS - SOMNOVEM ARC: ...And this is it, folks. This is why I decided to finish this post today. Because I was openly not feeling the Eiselcross arc as an endgame. The hard slog through the elements just wasn’t doing it for me, or the frequent combat, or the increasingly complex lore, or the traditionally heroic quest to save the world from being swallowed by a monstrous city.

...Until last week. Until Lucien’s defeat. And Molly’s oh-so-improbable resurrection.

When I heard all the voices of the Somnovem whispering “Thank you” as their individual souls were freed from the Lovecraftian hivemind...when I heard Jester sobbing that at least Molly’s soul wasn’t “trapped” inside a monstrous Lucien anymore...when Cad’s Divine Intervention succeeded, and Mollymauk Tealeaf opened his eyes--his two plain old natural eyes--unburdened by Lucien and his Somnovem eyes and all of his dark baggage for the first time--I was finally able to embrace this as the ending.

Because it’s not about saving the world. That’s just a bonus. It’s about saving a friend. Freeing a friend. Freeing captives, wherever they find them. Whether from Crown’s Guard, gnolls, and giant spiders, or from royal dungeons; whether from ruthless enemies or from their own families; whether from eldritch abominations or from the forces that chain their own minds.

In the end, the Mighty Nein--and the people whose lives they touch--belong to no one and nothing that they do not choose to belong to. They belong to themselves, to the people they most sincerely love, to the gods and causes they have chosen freely. And that has always, always been my favorite kind of story.

And I can’t wait for tonight.

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metamagic-adept · 2 years ago

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happy sleepover saturday!!! do you have any blorbo thoughts bopping around? about your own pcs, npcs, or d20 characters?

very much in the headspace for my own blorbo, Daffodil Pickle (aka DP or Dilly), since I played them earlier today. they are a orange tabby tabaxi monk/druid who is named after my mom's childhood pet cat. they are extremely chaotic, whimsical, and impulsive which makes playing them an absolute blast.

backstory-wise, DP was kidnapped by the Fey around age 9. they are 28-30ish now and only returned to the material plane about 4 years ago. they popped out on the wrong continent and have not travelled to their hometown yet because, according to them, they are waiting for their best friend, a feywild goblin named Ivy, to join them. Ivy made a deal with a winter archfey to transport DP back to the material plane in exchange for a year of her service in the Winter Court; after that time is served Ivy can go join Daffodil. however, with interplanar time fuckery, DP has been waiting for 4 years, while only 8ish months have passed in the Feywild (which the winter fey of course knew would happen.) DP is waiting for Ivy, but is also using her absence as an excuse to avoid going home because they are afraid they won't be wanted there anymore.

see, Daffodil Pickle was kidnapped because they stepped into a fairy ring, something they were told to never do. And they stepped into the fairy ring because they were playing with a mechanical butterfly. the butterfly was made by their mother, as a coming of age gift to them; in their home youth go through a ceremony and receive a badge made by a loved one out of a special alloy of metal only found in their home region. the butterfly was meant to be DP's badge, but they got impatient and snuck into their mother's workshop before the ceremony. Daffodil took the butterfly and quickly became distracted by it, stumbling into a fairy ring. this mistake has been exaggerated by time and trauma to seem unforgivable in DP's mind. they blame themselves for getting swept up by they Fey, but from their happy-go-lucky personality its hard for others to believe they've ever regretted anything

today it was established that feywild goblins (who rescued DP and took care of them as a teen) take razzing very seriously and have official insult contests. this led to several party members trying their very best to come up with verbal barbs to hurl at one another. because of DP, it is also canon that Feywild goblins do chicken fights (the kind where you sit on your teammate's shoulders) have a legend about Dracula, and a toy similar in name and design to Mr. Potato head.

blorboing about Daffodil Pickle rn because i have never played a character that is so happy and eager to engage with the world. DP is truly up for anything, but having those little moments where they are lonely or go quiet and play with their butterfly necklace is so rewarding. because of their name, they and Ivy used to duet the Lavender's Blue song ("lavender's blue, dilly, dilly, lavender's green..."). i'm waiting for the right moment to break that out at the table

#thank you hollis!!#you probably go more than you bargained for lol #i just realized i have not posted much publicly about DP #sleepover saturday #ask #daffodil pickle

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ashen-vulture · 4 years ago

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RPG story time/Pictures

So I am a gamemaster for a pathfinder group that’s been my reliable RPG gang for years. I wanted to make this as like a small gallery of pictures I’ve drawn for my most recent game, titled Red Gold.

As per usual it’s a long one, so I’ll put the bulk of things under the cut:

It was a simple RPG starting point, everyone was bounty hunters in a prestigious organization called the Hall of Red Gold. They deal with prison escapes, grave robbers, train robbers, necromancers, dangerous animals/creatures, and all other sort of variety of unlawful or evilness.

The founders of the Hall of Red Gold, they had a large painting made of a much smaller photograph taken just before their last battle.

Their center organization is in one of the largest cities in the country (population over 1.5 million) called Mkali (top picture) specifically that’s an area called the Canal Promenade. The canal serves to water their fields, prevent disastrous flooding, and allow for steamboat traffic and it’s a huge and central fixture. It’s almost always filled with merchant cards and street performers, and the city itself is brightly painted.

Their first quest was to cull a pride of man-eating lions and collect the tails for bounty proof. Through their Lion encounters they ended up with multiple critical decapitations. So they cut off the heads, cut off the tails, and quickly solidified their name:

Heads and Tails

They’ve come so far since then. They’ve made NPC allies in their organization, several of whom traveled with the party until they started taking on quests that were just too dangerous for them.

Their first companions were a goblin bard who mostly went by his stage name: Corpsebeater, and a Alchemist Halfling half-fiend who was *mistakenly* rescued from a demon cult under the assumption that she was a 5 year old tiefling. Both of them wonderful companions now retired. Corpsebeater changed his bard name to Venomblood after surviving a dozen scopion stings. He retired from the group shortly after that, but continues to build percussive music to shout exploits to. And for Zippi, after her time experimenting on the party (and herself) she got accepted as an apprentice in a shop called The Basilisk’s Eye.

The way I did it is Red Gold has a number of NPCs who can be invited along, and I’ve made it fairly easy for characters to flow in and out of the party without changing the game up too much. When VB retired Zippi stuck around just long enough to nearly die (she was like 2-3 levels behind the party at that point) and the party had some downtime, enough downtime to get up to a Fun Side Non-Bounty Related Thing.

Performing in the COLOSSEUM OF COURAGE! A temple to a minotaur/cervine god of battle and martial prowess. It trains warriors and also hold grand events in the tradition of old colosseums as a way of generating money. And this temple is run by the Grand Paladin RHEMBOL IRONHIDE!

The number of PCs I expected to hit on Rhembol was 2 higher than the 0 I thought it would be I could not stop snickering to myself I make this big old banged up greyed minotaur but he’s just got so much personality that everyone loved him. And of course he was glad to have Red Gold Participate in THE GRAND MASTER’S MAZE RUN! (Sorry, he is inflicted with SPONTANEOUSLY PROJECTING STAGE VOICE! meaning when I think in his headspace sometimes YOU JUST GOTTA ALLCAPS IT!)

But there was one little condition. You see, Rhembol has four wonderful lovely daughters that he would give the world for, three of whom are mostly like him: charismatic, gregarious, boisterous, always up for a fight but not looking for conflict.

And then, there’s...

Chesvah Ironhide, his awkward, unsociable, perpetually on auto-pilot daughter. She doesn’t like the performative aspect of her father’s temple, never has, but has never known anything other than Be A Paladin/Performer. So Rhembol spoke with Red Gold and allowed their teams into the games if Red Gold agreed to hire his daughter.

She joined a group that had formed just to compete in the games with plans to dissolve afterwards- and boy did they.

The 6-person team she was a part of contained a lot of other NPCs the party could bring into Heads and Tails, but only one of them is relevant- that being Tulio. Tulio is a catfolk who is a crack shot with a rifle, but also a LOT of other problems. He was almost always some variant of high, and showed many concerning behaviors. Red Gold kept him around because of his skill...

But, when in a drugged stupor he opened friendly fire in the colosseum with a crowd of tens of thousands in the audience, Red Gold had had the last of it with him and he was kicked out.

The party picked Chesvah up shortly afterwards.

And they probably didn’t expect Tulio to ever come back.

And certainly for a while he didn’t. Things ramped up, the party had been tasked with wiping out a Lamashtan cult, their leader Jiyaki who was a very prolific murderer, and stopping them from whatever their mysterious and bloody Goal was.

Pictured above is not the cult leader, but a demon bound to her service by another caster, and perpetual game wildcard. A powerful concubus who goes by the name of Kel. Yes, the same two members of the party did hit on them, successfully (depending on your definition of success here). Kel repeatedly showed no interest in obeying their master’s wishes, especially if they got in the way of fun, but its soul-bound sword “Shiver” had a number of contingencies in place to ensure Kel’s behavior.

Around this time they also were contacted by a blue dragon. You see, the last time they were investigating this, they had been told it was bandits, not a cult they were after. It was an inside-attempt to throw potential bounty hunters off their trail.

When they investigated the city one of the things that stood out was that there had been a break-in at a greenhouse called the Greenbriar Reserve. Upon investigating, Heads and Tails comes to the discovery that the Greenbriar Reserve had a dragonsbane plant. Dragons have been known to raize entire cities or countrysides over even a HINT of dragonsbane, because it is one of the few things that challenge their supremacy, and this greenhouse in a massive, populous city just happened to have one. The owner of the reserve kept it secret- for obvious reasons- and didn’t even state the name of the plant or 100% confirm he had one to the party. Hints and innuendo and nothing more. But he did ask them to please keep looking for the snip of plant which was taken- and his missing daughter as well (Kel kidnapped her and many others to use their faces for infiltration)

And then a blue dragon arrived at Red Gold HQ. Hushand the Gardener.

It had been over a month and he wanted to know how they were doing at finding HIS dragonsbane plant.

Because you see, he was working on a cure.

More and more things pile up on this city, culminating in a huge battle.

Someone pulled many strings to create what could have been (and honestly still was) a disastrous chain of events which involved red dragons attacking the city, Hushand the Gardener coming to the city’s defense. And there being two active shooters in the crowd with dragonbane poisoned weapons.

And one of those shooters was

Tulio swift, former Red Gold member, suspected veteran of the 27 year long surriedan civil war, habitual drinker and drug user and over all fringe NPC to the game.

In the heat of battle one of the PCs killed Tulio- but with the intent of getting him raised afterwards, to interesting effects.

Meanwhile under the cover of the military battles above, the party begins fighting the demon cult in the secret vaults below the city. Down below in the vaults where they had learned a lamashtan Artifact lies which turns sacrificed souls into conduits for summoning powerful demons.

And I’ll continue this when I get back from a walk. I’ve got more to add, but this has gotten long enough as it is.

#pathfinder #D&D #rpg story time

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ziracona · 4 years ago

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What happens in Far Cry 5? I literally only know about it through your posts

Uhhh, okay so this is gonna be a little long but here goes. So, Far Cry games are always you (some PC, changes per game) vs some dictator/cult leader/mass gang leader type sitch. Apparently 4 also ends with an unhappy ending no matter what, but no other game ends remotely like 5 does, and 5 also is the only one to take place in the US or vs Americans.

So, Far Cry 5 takes place in Montana. Basically, there’s a doomstay offshoot-‘Christian’ extremist cult calling themselves Project at Eden’s Gate, following a white dude named Joseph Seed and his siblings (biological brothers Jacob and John, and adopted [kind of – more like recruited to fill a cult role] sister Faith). You play as a rookie deputy from rural Montana, going on this assignment with Deputies Pratt and Hudson, Sherriff Whitehorse, and US Marshal Burke. You begin the game headed to the cult’s center to arrest their leader, Joseph, because a guy in the cult livestreamed a little of a service secretly to try and expose them, was caught, and had his eyes ripped out by Joseph and then was killed on the stream, so you’re there to arrest him. Mostly law enforcement are afraid to go in because it’s several thousand radical insane Americans with SMGS in a cult in the middle of fuckall nowhere Montana, so yeah. Anyway. You show up and arrest Joseph, but a bunch of his followers (PEGies for project at eden’s gate) swarm the helicopter and you crash and the correspondent at the sheriff’s office is working with the cult, so all of you get grabbed initially, except the PC, who gets grabbed not by the cult but by a stranger. You wake up tied to a bedpost and confronted by the stranger who debates a second then decides to let you go and try to fight the cult instead of turning you in, and introduces himself as Dutch. He gives you a breakdown of what stuff is like here, which is, uhhhh, bad. Basically, the people here are trapped because they’ll get kidnapped trying to leave, but the cult comes for everyone eventually. John physically abuses/tortures people into accepting the whole cult “power of Yes” thing and confessing their ‘sins,’ which he then tattoos on their body, then cuts the slab of skin off their chest to staple to his wall, which is part of their initiation into the cult, as is the torture, forced baptism, and implied sexual assault by him as well. Joseph has given your coworkers to a sibling each, respectively, sans the Sheriff, who was sent to one but escaped like you did. John has Hudson, the only female deputy (unless the PC is playing as woman as well). Faith has the Marshall and was supposed to get the Sheriff, and Jacob has Pratt. You want to save your friends and Dutch wants to help, but also asks you to help the people in the community, so you do.

Basically, the cult has many ways of converting people, but also kill a fuck ton of civilians. There’s a lot of times you’ll be driving down a road and see a civilian tied up with their hands behind their back on their knees and two cultists about to execute them (usually someone who tried to flee whose car they ran off the road), and you have a very failable but potential chance to save them. A lot of these people can become your NPC companions as well and help you fight the cult if you do. I’ve gotten very good at sniping, because if a cultist sees you coming, they’ll execute any prisoners so you have no chance to save them. Definitely saved hundreds of people at this point, but it wasn’t easy. Anyway. Also you’ll see vans of prisoners being carted off (usually one or two from a house at a time), and you can shoot the driver and save them if you’re careful. But a lot of the time you show up to try to help people to find them already murdered, or hung up like a scarecrow in a field with flowers stuffed into their emptied stomach, being used for target practice. On an alter, or hung from a ceiling with deer horns tied to them. Staked through on the side of the road with a cult cross. Starved or shot to death in cages. It’s pretty grim.

Anyway, so you go around answering calls for help, doing your best to slowly track down your friends, but also help all the poor suffering people being murdered and abused by this awful cult. There are random NPCs who can be companions, plus specialists, who are more quest-designed-to-be-met characters. These include Jess, Dutch’s niece, who you find in a cage to be shipped to Jacob for psychological torture and brainwashing (I’ll get to him), a puma I loved named Peaches, a pilot named Nick who is just trying to get his family out of town and resist the cult’s attempts to steal his property or buy it out (they stole or bought land and stuff from /everyone/ and took advantage of/ransacked the whole community), but will stay to help you, and a puppy named Boomer whose family called for help that came to late and were shot to death in front of him. You find him in a cage being kicked at by cultists and save him, and watch him go cry over his dead family, then take in as your own.

Stuff goes better, though, and you make progress. There’s a lot of strongholds you can help protect, like a little town where the resident preacher and the bar owner lady are trying to keep the whole place from being overrun by the cult, and a jail up east where the sheriff and a bunch of survivors/rebels are holed up trying to survive Faith. Basically the area is broken up into three districts, and whichever you complete missions in, you get closer to a fight with that Seed sibling (also you get kidnapped and have to listen to them monologue so much. Kill me).

So John will kidnap you and force baptize you, tie you to a chair and tell you how he’s going to torture (and implied assault) you until you scream out your sins, then you escape but he does all that to Hudson, who you can’t save for another chunk of time, and he punishes brutally and is super fucked up by the time you finally rescue her. She tells you that Joseph (the leader—thinks he is God’s chosen prophet and calls himself “the Father”) would come and watch her and the others be tortured and they’d beg for mercy and he’d just stand there and watch. She’s super messed up but alive, and you’re able to get her out and kill John, but not before he kidnaps you and the preacher, bar lady, and Nick the family man, then forces Nick to confess his sins (under threat of awful shit happening to his wife and infant daughter if he does not), and then be held down and have his chest flesh cut off by John and stapled to a wall. You get forcibly tattooed with a sin but escape before suffering the same bc the preacher keeps a gun in his bible. Anyway. Digressing. You eventually kill John and rescue Hudson.

Over in Jacob’s territory, people are inducted into the cult by being kidnapped, psychologically and physically tortured, and straight up mind-controlled to go into fits of rage at a specific song being played. They are pitted against each other in some eugenicist “only the strong survive, sacrifice the weak” bullshit. There’s a militia called the Whitetails there, fighting back. Before you meet them, though, you’re kidnapped by Jacob and strapped to a chair, then subjected to psychological torture to try to condition you to kill the weak. You wake up days later, barely alive, left for dead having seemed to resist/fail his trials, still strapped to a chair. Among a ton of other dead bodies. Some of the Whitetails show up, looking for survivors, expecting none, and find you. Though everyone else protests it is too big a risk and you might be brainwashed, one guy, Eli, orders the others to take you anyway and says he won’t leave you to die. You pass out and wake up again on a couch in a bunker, and a lady screams about you being a risk and needing to go, but Eli defends you again, then gives you something to drink and takes care of you/nurses you back to health and defends you from the more paranoid members. When you’re up again, he introduces you to the militia fighting Jacob’s people, and asks for your help rescuing some people in the same situation you were in. You then start to work with the Whitetails.

Periodically, your PC gets kidnapped by Jacob again and tortured each time/brainwashed. You escape with help from the militia and from Pratt, later, who was kidnapped and broken by Jacob, but isn’t gone, just terrified and fucked up. Deputy Pratt risks his life to rescue you when you’re in trouble and you try to escape together, but the brainwash song plays and he shoves you onto a convoy so you can escape, but doesn’t make it himself before snapping into a rage, and is recaptured, brutally punished and tortured by Jacob, and then left tied to a chair to starve to death in a cell for what he did. The player is captured again, and railroaded into, in one of the brainwashed fits of rage, killing Eli himself. : ( They then snap out of it, and infuriated and anguished, go to kill Jacob and save Pratt. Pratt is still alive, but super psychologically scarred. You kill Jacob.

I should note here that you can do the sibs in any order—for example, I did Faith’s first—but I am listing them in their kind of ‘suggested’ order. John, Jacob, Faith.

So, Faith. The way she gets people is drugs. She uses a compound she calls “Bliss” to drug people out of their minds. After you are drugged up enough, you suffer irreparable brain damage and cannot be cured. She does this to hundreds of people so that the cult can have “happy little slaves” to do all the hard work and meat-shield shit they need without ever fighting back or questioning it. You are kidnapped by her as well, multiple times. Or something??? With Faith you always hallucinate, so it’s really unclear and kinda bullshit. Anyway. You help the Sheriff and everyone holed up in the jail fight off a wave of cultists, keep doing your rescue poor civilians from awful deaths or lives as drugged up vegetable slaves. Faith keeps trying to win you over and get you to do her awful pilgrimage where people climb up a giant statue of Joseph and trust-fall jump off his bible to their deaths. This whole game and cult is really horrific. Eventually, you find the Marshal and save him, but he is really far gone. He’s hospitalized in the jail for a while after. Faith gets pissed at you after that and quits trying to win you over. Just drugs you and shows you how she’s mind controlling the Marshal, who is still under too much of her brain damage and control, into murdering one of his friends, then opening the gates to the jail so her people can get in, and then shooting himself in the head. The Marshal always does so and dies, as does one of his/your friends. And a ton of people at the jail. You run to try to save the Sheriff after helping the survivors at the jail, and fight Faith, who whines about how none of this is her fault the whole time after making the Marshal murder your friend and himself with her own hands while giggling at you about how it’s all your fault five minutes ago, and tries to get you not to kill her. You do, though, and she monologues about Joseph being the real deal, then dies. You find the sheriff almost drugged to the point of no return in a cell, going to hang himself to death while singing Amazing Grace while you can’t do shit to get into the room to stop him, but awake and himself enough inside to plead with you to shut off the gas pumps for the drugs before he hangs himself, before going back to smiling and singing and pulling up a chair under a noose. You run to shut off the gas, save him, blow up the bunker, and get out.

Joseph then kidnapps all your ally characters and drugs them with Bliss into being on his side and rants at you about how all their torture and death is your fault and you are awful for murdering his siblings, then offers to let people go if you walk away. You can do so, in which case your allies get in a car with you, only for the son that triggers rage and homicide in Pratt and the PC to play, implying before the cut to black that the deputy (and Pratt maybe) kill all your friends/each other.

If you resist Joseph, he shrieks at you about not all problems being solved by a bullet, and you have a boss fight where you save your friends/snap them out of it, then defeat Joseph.

Once he’s in cuffs, a nuclear bomb goes off because apparently in this world North Korea bombs the US just then or some shit, and you try to make it to Dutch’s bunker in time. You’re in a car crash and all the other deputies and the sheriff are instantly killed. You are unconscious and dragged away by Joseph. You wake in the bunker tied to a bed with Dutch’s body on the floor, and Joseph tells you he was a prophet and was right about the collapse and you’re his family now because his old one is dead and the game ends.

That’s it.

And in the DLC for it, that makes not only that the canon end, but that the Deputy joins Joseph and is converted to a cult follower by him, and Joseph is now an ally character leading the remnants of his cult.

Needless to say, I am pissed. This is the /only/ Far Cry game where the villain wins regardless, as well as the only one where they suddenly decide to …??? stan??? the torturing abusive brainwashing serial killer? And of course it’s the one in America where the enemy is a hyper-religious Christian-offshoot cultist brainwashing vile serial torture murdering messiah-complex gaslighting abusive white man who thinks he’s God. I am beyond disgusted by that choice in this game and glad I found out before finishing it; wish I had never played any at all. I cannot adequately describe to you how horrific the cult shit is, and how like, gaslit by the company I feel for having played this game and being thrown that. I think this is legitimately the most upset I’ve ever been about a video game’s writing choice. What the actual fuck. Like, I cannot describe to you enough how fucked up this is you’d have to see the shit they do that’s getting pushed in a face-heel turn by the company as somehow justified and sympathetic like. As someone who has firsthand both experienced and seen trauma from an over-religious area of the US, and just a tiny % over-religious-lead-terrible-actions? I cannot emphasize enough how disgusted and enraged I am.

#ask #anonymous #far cry 5 #long post

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atlasxrose · 5 years ago

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Tagging: Atlas Rose, (Mentions of @astraearose), (Mentions of Werewolf WC), Isaac Wright (NPC). Time Frame: April 7th, 2014, Early to Late Evening. Location: North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Notes: When Atlas met Isaac. tw: kidnapping, tw: blood, tw: murder

There was no sound atop the lookout over the Quay, the witch, his sister, and their childhood friend had parted ways shortly after getting into town. The wildling witches and their wolf companion had been sneaking into cities for years, usually passing their time together, occasionally parting ways to take in sites as individuals, rather than a trio. The red metal scaffolding of the lookout towered over the harbor, Atlas liked it here, coming to the Quay first only a few years ago. The coastal regions were among his favorite. And this province was no exception, the varying islands, cultures and communities were inviting, enriching, and these neighboring cities in particular were rich with international travelers and immigrants from varying walks of life.

He’d already met so many interesting people.

He watched the boats as they came and went, the ferry that shuttled commuters and tourists across the channel to the capital across the water. He’d only been to Vancouver once before, had he more time Atlas might have considered boarding the ferry, he was sure that if he tried he could scrape together whatever money he needed to do as such. But the sun was already beginning to set, and the trio had a long trek back to the Coven, their absence would not go unnoticed.

“Beautiful night, isn’t?”

Atlas turned at the voice of a stranger, almost immediately feeling an intrusion in his peripheries. The young oracle was still naive enough to not recognize the potency of the darkness that emanated from the man’s aura, the corrupt pervasive nature of the other’s magic. Atlas furrowed his brow for a moment, knowing only that the man had magic of some kind, he wasn’t like the witches from Atlas’ Coven, nor any other that he’d come across over the years. But there was power there, the oracle could not deny that, and there was a part of him that was curious.

He was attractive, definitely too old, but duly handsome. There was a sense that he was also much older than he appeared, an aging soul that did not quite match the thirty-something year old man that stood before him now.

“It’s going to rain later, but yeah, I guess.” Atlas returned, not particularly interested in conversing with a stranger, though there was something bizarrely familiar about this one. The past few months he’d been bothered by horrifying dreams, and they were always the same; he was being hunted, through an unfamiliar forest. With trees not native to the soil where he grew up. A pack of jackals pursued him, cackling and howling in the night. He was always running, and he was always afraid. Powerless under the burning red light of a blood moon.

His and Astraea’s birthday had passed just a week ago, it was their eighteenth, the witches had at last come of age. While the Coven celebrated, Atlas had silently lamented his fate, tortured worst of all that night by the same prophetic dream from which he could not wake. The jackals caught him that night, and under the moon they tore the oracle to pieces, feasting on his flesh before the oracle awoke, screaming in pain.

grandmother, Atlas had asked. what does this mean?

A darkness comes for you, my sweet one. You must be careful.

Had Atlas truly headed his visions, had he listened to his grandmother’s advice, then he would have stayed home with the coven as he was supposed to. There was a dozen tasks he could have committed himself to instead, he had a blanket tapestry that was only half finished, the threads of his families’ tree overlaying in emerald green leaves and earthy bark, sapphire blues of a glistening ocean and a clear blue sky punctuated by distant storm clouds.

Being in the presence of this stranger made him long for that familiarity now. Where was Astraea? Where were the companions he’d come here with.

If he had truly headed his visions, had Atlas listened to his grandmother’s advice, then he wouldn’t have separated from them when they’d gotten to town. In the years to come, Atlas would blame his brazen youth, his curiosity for the dark, he wanted to face these jackals that tormented his dreams. He wanted to know what hunted him. Atlas wished to face his fears, and overcome them, but monsters were more than fears, they were more than sounds going bump in the night. Sometimes they came with the sharp teeth of jackals, but mostly they appeared as a stranger, with a smile that invited you to trust.

“You think so?” The man asked, “But the clouds are clear.” He moved to lean over the railing next to Atlas, though the oracle’s eyes were fixed on the strong lines of definition across hardened features.

“I can always tell when it’s going to rain.” Atlas mused, taking his eyes away from the stranger and moving towards the sea, only barely catching sight of a peculiar ring around the engagement finger of the man’s left-hand as he did. This individual was married, so it seemed. Though the ring was unlike any that the witch had seen before.

“I’ve always loved a good storm.”

Atlas said nothing, wondering if silence would lead the man to carry on, before the witch had to make his own awkward departure.

“Sorry, I should introduce myself, I’m Isaac, I live just across the water. There.”

He pointed over the Fraser towards the metropolitan center of Vancouver, he could have been pointing to any one of the high rises or condominiums, Atlas couldn’t have been sure. But he was a local. It was strange because the witch could have sworn he’d seen him before, more inland, maybe a month or so ago before the coven had moved to the forests in the mountains along the coast.

“Atlas.” The witch offered, shaking the man’s hand as it was offered to him. He felt a chill run down his spine, another warning, and after a beat too long, Atlas’ hand was slipping from the others. “But I should be going,” the sun was setting over the river now, bathing them both in an orange hue. “it’s getting late.”

“Shhh,” Isaac reached forward, and Atlas felt his breath leave his body, darkness following soon after. In the distance he heard his voice, “what’s your rush?” Then there was nothing but the sensation of falling backwards, sinking until he was caught. Strong uncaring arms.

While he slept, he dreamed now of a falling star, burning and crashing towards the Earth. As it fell, all the Gods wept as it burned and seared past them, out of reach even for divinity. When he hit the ground he was in this unknown forest once more, still burning he was not the hunted but the hunter. Running on all fours, screaming and cackling and crying as his feet struck the earth, drawing him forward though he had no desire to move. He wished to flee. He wished to drown himself in the lake. He wished to be home. He wished to wake.

They caught their prey, a traitor in their midst.

Atlas awoke in the hold of a ship, outside his porthole he could see the ocean as it lapped at the glass. It was farther away somehow than he thought it should be, without being told, Atlas knew where he was, he needed only to find the one who called to him now. His vision had troubled him and while usually it was the witch’s nature to recoil into himself, Atlas instead sought out the man that had been at the center of his vision. Loyalty and love drew him from the chamber, the initial room where he’d been held was not locked, unlike the others that lined the hall outside. As Atlas passed the doors he heard the screams of those trapped within, felt their power, some he recognized, others the witch had never encountered before.

He rose from the ship’s bowels, entering a room that he knew would be his new home, feeling every bit as attached to it as he had his own room back home. With his coven, with his family. With Astraea. There was nothing of his old life here, no personal affects for the witch to form an attachment to or bond with, yet he loved the bedding for its comforts, he loved the clothes for their fit and style, the magical relics that were now his, the power that was at Atlas’ fingertips. Forbidden secrets and instructions regarding blood magic and the divining arts. Everything the oracle would need to be of service to his master, to a one true, everlasting love.

Atlas washed the journey from his body, scrubbed the ocean salt free from his skin, the sand his body had been dragged across while he slept, healed the scratches formed from small stones and gravel. He dressed to please, wearing something his master would approve of, finding vanity in the darkness of a situation he no longer had any capacity to comprehend. Atlas loved the man he now served, every bit of the oracle’s being was devoted to him, and before he could present his master with his vision, he needed to first be presentable. After all, his master was hosting the others this evening, and Atlas was to be presented before them.

Without being told, the oracle knew this to be true. Knew it because of the ring of servitude that had been slid around his finger after he’d been rendered unconscious.

Atlas climbed the stairs and entered the ballroom, ornate lighting hung overheard as the oracle entered the masquerade, a mask neatly fitted over his face. He wove through the crowd, some enchanted, some not, some there on their own volition, others not. Atlas approached the head table , Isaac sat at the center, his eyes fixed upon the oracle as the rest of the coven lined the table on either side. Totaling eight, with nine seats. Atlas would come to learn that it was Isaac’s own twin sister that sat to his right, and the chair to his master’s left was reserved exclusively for the oracle.

Atlas leaned in, whispering:

Your traitor wears the jackal’s mask.

It brought Atlas some pleasure to see the note taken so easily, Isaac merely nodded and the witch took his rightful place at his master’s side. His raven mask perched neatly across his brow, his hazel eyes watched the room as the final song drew to a close and the dancing slowed. Isaac rose, he had the attention of the room. They were witches, humans, wolves, individuals who had aligned themselves with power, but Atlas knew that those, apart from him, that sat at the table were genasi. Once from a powerful familial coven of air witches, one by one they had turned themselves into genasi. The eight who sat at the table were all that had survived. A century had passed, and over the years they had gathered wealth, power, and a following who wanted only to be near their power.

This vessel was meant as a gathering place for all of them, something that happened maybe only once a year, though it was Isaac’s stronghold first and foremost. The blood wardings were ingrained within the metal itself, Atlas could feel the magic in the air, there was magic at work here. It was not one that he recognized, and Isaac had not simply given him the answers. It seemed the oracle’s fate to learn through observation, though he could guess easily enough the fate of a traitor.

“My brothers and sisters,” Isaac addressed, “tonight is indeed a night for celebration, the blood moon favors us, and has presented us with a new oracle to join our ranks.” The room applauded Atlas, who remained seating, eyes trained on the masquerade before him. “But we cannot forget to mourn the one we have lost,” Atlas knew he was speaking of his predecessor, though the thought that his life was in danger never once crossed his mind. The darkness, his grandmother had spoke of, might have been a lifetime away.

His sister. His friends. They were memories now, ones Atlas felt no attachment towards.

Isaac was his family now.

“Come forth Telemachus.” Isaac commanded, there was a whispering about the room before the finely dressed individuals parted to reveal a man, some years older than Atlas, step forward. A jackal fixed firmly to his face.

Isaac disappeared in a puff of black smoke and whooshed forward, winding around this Telemachus to appear before him. A blade was in his hand now, ornate and runed, Atlas could feel the power pulsing from it. Blood magic. This blade was one that had been used in sacrificial rites, Atlas had seen such tools before, but they were reserved for offerings and only used by individuals in the coven who weren’t so tempted by the power of blood magic.

“How do you answer for your crimes against the Coven? Do not lie Telemachus. I already know that it was you who murdered -”

Aware now of his fate, Telemachus shouted, “Death to the genasi! Don’t you see they’ll doom us all!”

In a moment, Isaac had dissipated in a wisp of black smoke and enveloped Telemachus, he slipped inside of the witch and Atlas rose from his seat as Isaac took possession of the older Greek. The blade now in Telemachus’ hands as dark veins encompassed his eyes, they’d changed from the steel gray of Telemachus old eyes to the dark irises that Atlas had first met on the Lonsdale Quay.

Words of ancient blood magic fell from his lips before Telemachus drove the blade into his own stomach and split it open, letting his innards fall to the ground as smoke rose from his frame, reforming as Isaac stood over the blood and viscera. Atlas drew closer, unphased by the grotesque flex of power and brutal display of gore, the likes of which the witch had only seen before when the coven had to butcher a pig, a deer, or an elk.

“Telemachus murdered one of his own.” Isaac said easily as the crowd gasped, there was whispering, but none would stand against him. They all had their reasons for being drawn to the respective genasi that they served, each had a seat at the head table, and each served the man that addressed the room now. None now more faithfully than Atlas. “Tell me Oracle, what do you see?”

Atlas drew his hands over the organs that had been spilled to the ground, whispering words of power that were meant to incite knowledge and information. He aimed to move the Gods to action, beseeching them to speak, the oracle was the portal for which the movements of the Gods could be perceived, and with this power combined with Isaac’s magic driving him forward, there was nothing the witch would not command of them, on his master’s behalf.

“The Coven will rise in power, but not in infamy, and all that you desire, will at last be yours.”

#tw: kidnapping #tw: kidnap mention #tw: blood #tw: murder #tw: gore #self para #about #history #age 18 #act i #aesthetic

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overplannedbutunnamednpc · 4 years ago

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Jaded, Magic, Offspring, Vice for the alphabet one ... any characters you think are tasty but I would like to request that at least one be for Zephyr for development reasons (bonus if u want to make that be magic and talk abt her feelings on dunemancy as a controlled magic)

i’ll do all four for zephyr and also roll for others bc hehehe.........

Jaded: Do they buy into the “happily ever after” ideal? What’s their standard? Zephyr: not really??? I think growing up as an urchin kind of fucked that up even if she otherwise would. like, I’m sure the ideal in the kryn dynasty is what like. tbq and her wife have, with multiple lives and loving them through every one of them. but like. A) zephyr ain’t consecuted even if she says she is and B) she loves gent but that’s honestly probably her first real relationship and she kind of already knows that won’t end with a happily ever after because. she’s gonna still be in her elf twenties when gent dies. like, zephyrs actually kinda practical about this. she’s not gonna get a happily ever after with gent! she’s kinda accepted that even if she really doesn’t Like it. (and I’m very sad about it but that’s another post, elf lifetime meta included, if you want it). that said! she doesn’t think she won’t be happy! just that she’s smart enough to know that her relationships, such as they are, Will likely end in some pain for her, especially considering all the shit that comes along with a society with consecution. PC: Legacy - like. no? it feels ... cheap to her, I think. maybe it’s just me morgan not really believing in that stuff, but like. she grew up with nice parents who like. nothing was wrong with them of course! but like. she knows better, seeing them be in love with each other and fight and etc., she knows better than to think that anything could be happily ever after. she knows you gotta work at that shit, and I think she’s still figuring out how hard she’d want to work, if that makes sense. she does have a standard, though! she does want to fall in love or at least be infatuated/have someone be infatuated with her! it’s just an experience she wants. but considering her grandmother and her abilities... she kind of doubts she’ll ever be the prince OR princess in the fairytale, you know? NPC: Kiya - hh. Kiya knows better than to think happily ever after is in the cards. she’s got a pretty good thing going with MFU, she loves her employees, and I like the thot of her having a thing for one of them? but like. I’ve said it before: kiya isn’t really a ‘gets nice things for herself’ kind of person. so her standard is ‘it doesn’t happen in the first place.’ which is a little depressing, but hey! maybe she’ll be surprised.

Magic: In a magic series or not, are they accepting, or is each instance a shock? Zephyr: zephyr is a weird one because I like the idea of her being a little disbelieving that magic like. works for her, even though she’s a level 14 wizard with very specific knowledge of the arcane. I’m thinking about sir gentry and how he’s like, 50 years old by now or something. she didn’t look up the normal lifespan of a pet mouse until he was at least like. 10/15 because she just didn’t want to find out that he was about to die, and then she was kinda like ‘huh maybe... maybe he’s a magic mouse?’ (the in game explanation is that her dunamancy (time magic) is just. extending his life bc he hangs out with her and I think it’s cute and my dm loves me). but beyond that. I think it’s really fun if like. zephyr was NOT expecting to actually get into the academy? she made this whole plan expecting to at some point be found out but at least she’d have the knowledge, and then. She Wasn’t’? and she was obviously very happy that it worked!!! and I think she’s gotten more and more respect for her craft but it at least started as her going Wow alright this shit actually works? dope. now though I think she’s come to terms with it. she’s a level 14 wizard, she’s incredibly powerful really. magic for her is an extension of herself, to the point where she does it unconsciously (at least on sir gentry). she’s so skilled with dunamancy that she can just. choose to stop someone in time, five times a day. it’s exhausting, but she can just force a timeline on someone and have them be none the wiser. she’s Powerful, yo. and a lot of that power comes from sheer comfort with the subject, I think! I like that idea. PC: Zier - zier i think is very funny for this question because he like. JUST became a sorcerer and then levelled up super quickly in the span of like three or four months. but like. fundamentally, what happened was: 1. he ran away and got kidnapped and experimented on 2. he got away Somehow 3. he did magic at a giant spider 4. he ended up in another continent. so I think for him, it was surprising at first and he very much doesn’t know shit fuck all about magic, but he’s a noble boy through and through, and thus very quickly went “yeah i’m magical that fucks majorly because I fuck majorly.” it was basically him coming to terms with this new thing very quickly because he’s a bitch who likes the power. NPC: Coriander - coriander is the epitome of “is incredibly comfortable with magic.” for her, magic is essentially an assistive technology! she has darling who is basically a second pair of arms, legs, and an extra 8 feet of height so she can keep up with their partner and children who are much taller than she is. but I think a lot of the tech she develops is assistive or transportive in some way. coriander likes exploding things, but that’s more of a hobby. her actual magic works more like tech, and she treats it like a science.

Offspring: What kind of parent would they be? Would they prefer one, or multiple? Zephyr: much to think about.............. if she had kids I think she’d like multiple! she grew up completely alone so I think she’d want any kids to have siblings. as a parent I think she’d be good! i’ve been thinking about zephyr having very much Her People, who she likes, respects, and cares about to the point of fighting for and with them, and then Not Her People, who she kind of could give less of a shit about. her kids would def be Her People. she wouldn’t know exactly how to deal with them? I think for a bit there’d be a problem because she’d be stiff. she’d like her babies/kids very much! but she doesn’t know how to hold them. she doesn’t have experience talking to them. a baby cries and she tells it that theres nothing to cry over and logic at an infant doesn’t work and she goes bug eyed sasuke. but I think she’d figure it out eventually, and she’d be especially good at kids once they get to the “express their desires and disappointments in an understandable way.” perhaps she’d raise, on her own, very expressive kids because thats the only way they would be able to tell her what’s going on. PC: Sarril - :). he doesn’t know. but I think he would have been a good dad! his wife wanted multiple and so he would have had multiple, though he would have been very happy with only one. sarril was actively learning about Contact, so lots of hugs and holding for the babies and toddlers, especially with his wife and her family next to him. he’s always been a kind of calm and quiet man, and his way of showing love isn’t very Talkative, (i’ll talk about how he loves in another ask) so he’s more the dad who is At everything and is very quietly proud of everything his kid does, but unless there’s like, a crisis, he’s not likely to make it abundantly clear that he’s an adoring father. but you’d know from just like. he’s there, he’s tucking you in every night, he helps you with your homework, etc. NPC: Iris - iris wants kids SO BAD. she’d love one, she’d love multiple. part of being a part of a really terrible population crisis that may or may not be due to demonic influence, maybe, but she also just really wants kids. and she looked at cylthia and went “yeah alright we doing this?” I think iris with kids would be adoring almost to a fault. she’d LOVE those little bitches. she might spoil them rotten, but also they’d be super loved and have friends in all of glade and lent’s kids, and I think they’d eventually be cool.

Vice: What bad habits do they have? Is there something they would be ashamed of? Zephyr: shopaholic. i think a lot of her dresses come, if not free, at least steeply discounted because maybe she’s someone’s muse or maybe she did a huge favor for a dressmaker? haven’t decided yet. but definitely a lot of her paycheck (which I imagine she does get, from freelance jobs offering her wizarding services or maybe the dynasty pays her for the small wizard jobs like lighting the streets, bringing down and putting up and keeping up the night sky over rosohna, things like that) goes to dresses and accessories. she really likes spending money, and doesn’t mind so much about having it. I don’t think she’s ashamed of it, exactly? it’s her money, she’s spending it on things she likes. but it is probably indicative of Something. PC: Kenny - has a bad habit of being beholden to a god of fire who wants him to betray his friends. nah i think he’s got a bad habit of like now, scratching/rubbing soot off of himself. shit like that, where it’s a stimmy way of trying to get the ashen wolf’s influence off of him. he’s probably ashamed of it a little? because it’s the ashen wolf? but idk if it’s even really noticeable to others so that takes away a lot of the shame of it. NPC: Ecstasy - bad habits. of. not sharing her fucking feelings! she says thats STINKY but it kind of just fucks her over. like tbf with raini it kind of works because if she ever said she was in l*ve with raini the wizard might hightail it out of there but like. i think after two years she might have gotten away with it and didn’t even try. and now she’s kind of paying the price because not only does raini not remember her but it also doesn’t like, matter, maybe, because the feelings were ALWAYS unarticulated? so? she’s now just ????????

#syn-odics #zephyr #legacy #human kiya #zier #coriander #sarril #iris #kenny #ecstasy #this ones a beefy boy.......#enjoy...............#as i neglect to make any coherent sentences in my rambling about my ocs..............

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three-houses-text-files · 5 years ago

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bernadetta/byleth

c-s support + paired endings + night of the ball

NPC: Thank you, Lady Bernadetta. I will take my leave. Bernadetta: Oh, good. Bye! Uh, good-bye! B: Finally… Oh, that was awful. Just terrifying.

>What's going on?

>What's terrifying?

B: Ah! Please don't sneak up on me like that! B: It was nothing big. That lady just wanted me to show her around a bit. B: But strangers are just so nerve-racking. B: That lady asked me to show her around. I tried to be polite, but strangers are just so nerve-racking.

>You've never seemed scared of me.

B: Oh yeah? How about when I first met you and I wouldn't come out of the corner or even uncover my face? B: Actually, now that you mention it, it's funny. Once I started talking to you, I stopped feeling scared. (pre-skip) B: Now that you mention it, I think you're right. I don't know if I ever have felt scared around you. (post-skip) B: I wonder why… B: You know, Professor, you might be the first person I've been able to speak to normally since I got here, and I have no idea why.

>I'm glad, regardless.

B: I'm happy about it too! B: When we first started out here, we had to do drills... outside. I skipped those every chance I got. B: It's a terrible idea—going out in the forest with all these people you don't even know! B: Thanks to you, though, I can actually make it through class now. I'm grateful for that. B: I don't know what I'd do...if you weren't here...

>It's all right.

B: Sorry... I'm OK... B: I am OK. I'm doing just fine. I feel safe here, thanks to you.

>By the way, was that you singing in the greenhouse?

B: What? B: Y-you saw that? Why would you see that?! You were watching me?! B: That crosses the line, Professor! Singing? Me?! Why would I be singing? I'd never be singing! Ah! I've never been so humiliated! B: Useless! Worthless! Unmarriageable! Augh!

>...

——————————————————————————————

B: Great weather today. Perfect for shutting yourself inside, don't you think?

>I think I'll head outside, actually.

B: Oh, you go right ahead. I'll be right here.

B: The better the weather, the less crowded it is in here. I can't pass up having all this space to myself.

>Definitely.

B: I'm glad you get it. With great weather like this, there'll be no one inside to bother us.

B: I love feeling like I'm all alone in the world...

>What made you such a recluse?

B: Oh, that. Well, I guess I can tell you, Professor. B: My father's obsessed with money. He's only ever seen me as bait for a rich husband. B: To train me to be a good, submissive wife, he'd do things like tie me to a chair and leave me there all day, challenging me to stay quiet. B: I tried hard to do as he asked. Honestly, I did. B: But before I knew it, I just couldn't bring myself to leave my room anymore.

>Why not?

B: I just had this overwhelming feeling of fear all the time. No matter how hard I tried, my father never thought I was good enough. B: After that, it was just constant scolding. He couldn't say two words to me without mentioning how useless I was. An unmarriageable girl. B: My life was isolated to say the least. I wasn't allowed to play with other kids, let alone make friends. Soon, I stopped wanting that. I was happiest alone. B: But even that made him mad. And when he tried to drag me outside, I kicked and screamed so much I seriously hurt myself. B: He's calmed down a bit in recent years. His constant torment was replaced with complete indifference. He mostly acts like I don't exist now.

>How did you end up at the monastery?

B: If you can believe it, I was basically kidnapped. B: My mother ordered an attendant to stuff me in a bag while I was sleeping. By the time I figured out what was going on, I was already here. B: For a while, I was sure I was going to die. B: But here I am. Look at me...still breathing. B: Ah, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to get you down, talking like that about my past! B: Just forget everything I told you. There's no point in talking about myself anyway. B: Idiot! Oh, this is why everyone hates you, Bernie!

>Don't worry about it.

B: You're the only one who would ever say such a kind thing to me, Professor...

>Thank you for confiding in me.

B: What? N-no, it's not...

B: Oh, Professor! How can you be so kind to me?! I don't deserve it... B: I'm sorry! Please don't look at me!

——————————————————————————————

B: I can't believe how long it's been since I left home. Since I was dragged out of the house, I mean. B: Five whole years. It's weird to think about.

>Weird in what way?

B: At first, I remember I was desperate to go back, but now, it's the opposite.

>Do you want to go back?

B: No! But if you'd asked me that five years ago, I'd have said the opposite.

B: I have friends here, and I have you. B: The monastery's become a second home to me. B: Back then, I never would've dreamed a day like this would come.

>I'm happy for you.

B: It's all thanks to you! You've given me a second chance at life! B: If not for you, I never would have gotten used to leaving my room, let alone the monastery. B: Maybe the battlefield's just dulled my senses. B: I'm much better with strangers and new places now though. I don't panic nearly as much as before.

>Could you go somewhere new by yourself?

B: A new place? All on my own?

>I have some independent work for you, then.

B: What? Independent? As in, alone?

B: That sounds like a tough assignment. Where did this come from all of a sudden? Hey, hold on...

B: You're teasing me, aren't you?! B: Please don't joke around like that anymore! It's torture for me!

>All right, all right.

B: You're still not taking me seriously! I mean it. Promise me you won't do that again!

>I can't commit to that...

B: Come on, Professor! I'm begging you! Please promise me you won't do that again.

B: Friends respect each other's feelings, don't they?

>OK. I promise.

B: Good... I'll hold you to that. B: You're absolutely not allowed to send me out anywhere on my own! Got it? B: You would need to come with me. If you're with me, I can go anywhere in the world.

>I'll follow at a distance.

>I'll be with you in spirit.

>We can ask another professor.

B: No, that defeats the purpose! Why can't you get what I'm saying?! B: I thought we were finally getting close. Guess I'm not good enough for that though, am I? B: I'll let you have this one, but you'd better be ready for next time! B: Oh, that's enough. I need some time alone...

——————————————————————————————

B: How did you know I was here?

>I thought you might be hiding.

B: You know me too well. That's exactly what I was about to do.

>I've been looking all over for you.

B: Huh? All that trouble just for me?! The truth is... I've been shutting myself away again.

B: Once I got to thinking about the war being over, a lot of my old fears started to return. B: I'm afraid to go home...afraid to see my parents... B: I don't know what to do! Please, help me!

>Come with me.

B: Wait! Where are we going?! Don't make me go! B: The Goddess Tower? What are we doing here? B: This is it... We're all alone... The perfect time... You're going to kill me, aren't you?!

>I would never do that.

B: All right, I've made my peace, and for what it's worth, I'm glad it's— Wait, you wouldn't? B: Of course you wouldn't. I'm not even worth killing, am I? B: I knew it all along. I'll go lock myself away now...

>I love you, Bernie. I want you to have this.

B: Wh-what did you just say? Is that...a ring?! B: Well, um... This is, um... What kind of ring is this? B: When a man gives a woman a ring, it usually only means... Is that what this means? B: I...I don't know what to say! B: I accept! Of course I accept! B: This means...I'll be able to shut myself away in peace again. B: You can go off doing your hero things, and I'll hold down the fort!

>Don't I get a say in this?!

B: What?! Don't tell me you'll want me to keep leaving the house!

B: Fine, but in that case, I have a favor to ask.

>That's not happening.

B: No, come on, please! You just won't let me off the hook, will you?

B: In that case, I have a favor to ask.

B: There's a reason I've been able to cope with going out of the monastery so much. B: It's because I've been with you. B: I'll never completely get over my anxiety...or my fear of strangers...or my compulsive need to run and hide. B: So whenever you tell me to go outside, I want you to come with me. B: Wherever we go, whatever we do...I want us to be together, always.

>That sounds perfect.

B: Because when I'm with you, I feel... B: Wait. Did you agree? You mean it?! Ah, you're the greatest! I...I love you so much! We're going to be so happy together!

——————————————————————————————

paired endings

After ascending to the throne as the first leader of the United Kingdom of Fódlan, Byleth announced his marriage to Bernadetta. Many were concerned that the new leader of House Varley would do little more than hide, but she in fact followed the new king wherever he went and provided him with constant counsel. She never did overcome her shyness, however, and it is said that aspiring advisers who frightened her were quickly turned away. Because the ones she liked performed well in their service to the people, Bernadetta was widely believed to have a discerning eye. (golden deer + church route)

After taking on the role of archbishop of the Church of Seiros, Byleth announced his marriage to Bernadetta. Many were concerned that the new leader of House Varley would do little more than hide, but she in fact followed the archbishop wherever he went and provided him with constant counsel. She never did overcome her shyness, however, and it is said that aspiring advisers who frightened her were quickly turned away. Because the ones she liked performed well in their service to the church, Bernadetta was widely believed to have a discerning eye. (blue lions route)

Almost as soon as Byleth and Bernadetta were finally wed, the battle against those who slither in the dark began in earnest. Many were concerned that the new leader of House Varley would do little more than hide, but she fell in alongside her husband and followed him everywhere, fighting to bring lasting peace to Fódlan. Forced to throw herself into one terrifying battle after another, Bernadetta developed such a tough character, it is said that absolutely nothing could frighten her. (black eagles route)

——————————————————————————————

night of the ball

B: Ah! Wh-what's that?! B: Ghost?! Is it a ghost?! Don't eat me!

>Calm down, it's OK.

B: It'll eat the skin right off my bones and no one will ever— Huh? Oh, it's you, Professor. What a relief.

>It's just your professor.

B: I knew it! I said, Bernie, this place is haunted, you'll just get eaten by the ghost of some dusty old professor or— Oh. Oh, it's you.

>You can relax now.

B: Right. I'm better now. Thanks. But try not to scare me like that again, please... B: With the ball happening tonight, I was sure there wouldn't be anyone here. B: And from far off, you look... Well, you kinda have a spooky silhouette. B: I guess you haven't heard the legend?

>Legend?

B: Oh, so if a couple swears a vow on the night of the ball, the goddess grants their wish?

>That's amazing! Is it true?

B: I guess that's the sort of thing you miss when you spend all your time avoiding people. B: But wouldn't it be nice to spend some time alone with a nice guy in this lonely tower, cut off from all the rest of the world? B: Anyway... B: Oh, Professor! Since you're here and all, could I ask you for a favor? B: As you probably know by now, it's my lifelong dream to live in solitude forever... B: So could you help me to swear that vow?

>Nice try.

B: Saw right through me, huh?

>I can't promise that.

B: Guess you're right. It probably wouldn't work out so well for me, would it?

B: Ah, well. No use complaining. B: Actually, I'm happy I got to see you here tonight. Even if it was just by coincidence. B: Would you mind staying a little longer? B: It's nice and quiet, and the sky's really pretty. I quite like the atmosphere. B: On a night like this, being out in the open doesn't seem so bad...

#fire emblem three houses spoilers #fe16 spoilers #fe3h spoilers #bernadetta x byleth #byleth x bernadetta #romantic

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brain-leakage-blog · 6 years ago

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Running Castlevania with Old School D&D, Part 5

This is part of a continuing series. For part one, click here. For part two, click here. For part three, click here. And for part four, click here.

While the previous posts in this series have mainly been concerned with showing how to adapt Lamentations of the Flame Princess' various character classes to Castlevania-appropriate archetypes, this post will handle the setting of Transylvania itself. And while I dipped into Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse and Symphony of the Night to build a D&D style adventuring party with, neither game really offers much in the way of setting material outside the castle.

For that, I'm going to go back a little farther into the franchise's history, to the much-maligned proto-Metroidvania, Castlevania II: Simon's Quest.

Please, hold all torches and pitchforks until the end.

Just a brief side note: If I really were to run a Castlevania-themed campaign for a group of PC's, I'd probably lean heavily on Simon's Quest to do it with. While the 8-bit NES wasn't quite up to the developers' ambitions, the game has some good bones to build off of.

I would probably have the players roll up original characters, with at least one being the next heir to the Belmont line. I'd have the game take place a few years after one of the "major" Dracula battles outlined in the main series, and have the Belmont player character's relative be suffering from the same curse Simon did: The wounds taken in his battle against Dracula are not healing. He is slowly dying. As his condition worsens, he has visions of becoming a creature of the night. A fortune-teller reveals the truth. If he dies before the next full moon, he will become a vessel for Dracula to be re-born, stronger than ever. The only way to lift the curse is to bring Dracula's spirit back into its previous body. But Dracula's minions have scattered his remains, to ensure that his curse will run its course.

Honestly, the only major difference in the set-up would be that the "cursed" Belmont wouldn't be accompanying the PCs. I'd hole him up in the basement of a church, surrounded by garlic and crosses, with monks praying over him day and night. It would then be up to the group of relatively green and inexperienced adventurers to run a desperate race against the clock, with only minimal guidance from their mentor.

(I'd also make sure that the enemy kidnapped the cursed Belmont as the night of the full moon approached, giving the PC's one more thing to worry about. But that's just me...)

Anyway, there are a few resources I'd recommend using here. First and foremost is A Guide to Transylvania, which I mentioned back in my Alucard post. The PDF is available on DriveThruRPG for about eight bucks. The crunch inside is AD&D 2e specific, but everything else is system agnostic. This book details everything from Transylvanian history, to peasant superstitions, to secret societies. No other supplement will help you fill in the details of the Transylvanian countryside as well as this one.

The second (more expensive) resource is the current D&D 5e Curse of Strahd campaign book, which is an update and expansion of the original Ravenloft module. Why this one instead of the (many) older ones? First, it's widely available in hardcopy. And while I'm not completely in love with what I've seen of 5e's rules, you just can't deny that Wizards of the Coast puts out a high quality product these days. This thing will survive some wear and tear at the table. Second (and more importantly), it maps out and expands the land of Barovia far beyond what the older editions did.

The third (completely free) resource is the Transylvania map that appeared in the old NES Game Atlas. A high-quality scan is available here at castlevaniadungeon.net.

The simplest, easiest way to take care of mapping the Transylvania countryside is just to use the foldout map that comes with Curse of Strahd and swap out the names. For example, swap out the starting village of Jova from Simon's Quest with the Village of Barovia from Curse of Strahd. Swap out Yomi—the nearly-abandoned town just outside Castlevania—with the destroyed village of Berez.

While this won't be 100% faithful to the geography on the Castlevania map, enough of the landmarks in Simon's Quest have a rough Barovian equivalent to make it work. Below are some suggestions, with corresponding map and page references.

Castlevania Location / Barovia Location / Curse of Strahd Foldout Map Location / Curse of Strahd Page Reference

Town of Jova (Area 1) / Village of Barovia / Location E / Page 40 - 48

Town of Aljiba (Area 16) / Village of Valliki / Location N / Page 95 - 124

Yuba Lake (Area 14) / Lake Zarovich / Location L / Page 38

Town of Veros (Area 6) / Village of Krezk / Location S / Page 143 - 156

Town of Yomi (Area 48) / Ruins of Berez / Location U / Page 161 - 166

Laruba Mansion (Area 36) / Wachterhaus / N/A (Located in Vallaki) / Page 110 - 115

Brahm Mansion (Area 21) / Argynvostholt / Location Q / Page 129 - 142

That should be enough to get the idea. That said, I'd probably also swap out some of the obviously non-European names with some real-world Transylvanian ones. Targoviste for Aljiba, for example.

One pro to this approach is that it requires relatively little prep time, especially for an inexperienced DM. Curse of Strahd has plenty of fleshed-out NPCs, side-quests, and description boxes for just about every building and room, if you decide to use them. You can use the encounters, too. Stat conversions from 5e to LotFP are simple: Just use the closest equivalent monster from the free Basic Fantasy Roleplaying Game, and add two to the creature's Armor Class. Don't sweat the other details.

Me? I probably wouldn't go that far. I'd probably just use the maps, crib or ad-lib all of the descriptions from the Transylvania Guide, and wing it with the NPCs and encounters. Similarities aside, Castlevania and Ravenloft are two different properties, with two entirely different feels to them. Relying too heavily on the published material just means you're playing Curse of Strahd. Which is okay. But it isn't Castlevania.

Which, of course, leaves open the question of Castlevania itself.

The Castle Ravenloft layout in Curse of Strahd is unchanged from the original I:6 Ravenloft module. It makes a perfectly serviceable stand-in for Dracula's Castle, provided you're taking your inspiration from the first couple of games. But if you want something closer to the sprawling, changing, living embodiment of Chaos featured in Symphony of the Night and most of the later games, you'd be better off creating your own funhouse-style Mega-dungeon. As with anything, which you choose will depend heavily on your group, their preferences, and their play style.

Before I close this installment out—and since I'm already mining Castlevania II for ideas—I'm going to give some sample stats for that game's two Boss monsters. For Carmilla, I used the Basic Fantasy Roleplaying Game version of the Vampire, with almost no modifications. For Death, I re-skinned the BFRPG Lich, added a bunch of Hit Dice, and swapped out his spell casting for a handful of specific, spell-like abilities.

If neither one seems challenging enough, both are easy enough to scale up in power. After all, when it comes to "end game" content, you're bound to have a pretty high level party. Watching them effortlessly steamroll the final bosses would be sort of anticlimactic. If that's a concern, my personal preference is to creatively choose the location for the encounter.

Instead of meeting Carmilla in her vampire lair right away, why not have the PC's encounter her at a masquerade ball, using the powers of her enchanted mask to appear as one of the living? Force them to use roleplaying and guile to maneuver her to a place they can fight her without harming innocents. What about having the PC's run into Death on the grounds of an old battlefield or cemetery? He could raise dozens of allies among the dead, forcing even the most powerful group of PCs into a pitched battle for survival.

Granted, if you're planning to use Castlevania II as your template, you could always just let the PC's walk right by them with no consequence...

(Note: the Lamentations of the Flame Princess rules assume ascending armor class and a base, unarmored AC of 12. If using these creatures with a system that has a base AC of 10, simply subtract 2.)

CARMILLA

Alignment: Chaotic

Armor Class: 21

Hit Dice: 9 (attack bonus +8)

No. of Attacks: 1 weapon or special

Damage: 1d8, or by weapon, or special

Movement: 40' or 60' (fly)

No. Appearing: 1 (Unique)

Save as: Lvl 9 Fighter

Morale: 11

Treasure Type: Special

XP: 1,225

Beautiful, vain, and cruel, the aristocratic vampire Carmilla is one of Dracula's most ambitious servants. Famous for her inventive and sadistic tortures, she is best known for bathing in the blood of young women. She possesses Carmilla's Mask, a powerful, cursed artifact.

Like all vampires, Carmilla casts no shadow and no reflection. She cannot cross running water, and may not enter another's home unless invited. She cannot tolerate the strong odor of garlic, and will recoil from a mirror or from a cross presented with conviction (for more information on these weaknesses, see the Vampire, p. 124 of the Basic Fantasy Roleplaying Game).

Carmilla is immune to Sleep, Charm, and Hold spells. If unarmed, she will treat her hands like claws, raking her target for 1d8 damage. When armed, her vampiric strength gives her an additional +3 to damage when using melee weapons. Her bite (though seldom used in combat) inflicts 1d3 damage, and drains one level of energy from her target for each round she continues to feed. Feeding places her in a vulnerable position, and she suffers a -5 to her Armor Class.

Victims reduced to 0 hit points by Carmilla's feeding die, and they will rise as vampires during the next sunset. These new vampires are permanently under Carmilla's control, and always act as if under a Charm spell.

Carmilla can command common nocturnal creatures. Once per day, she can summon 10d10 rats, 5d4 giant rats, 10d10 bats, 3d6 giant bats, or 3d6 wolves. The creatures must be nearby to be summoned. Once called, they arrive in 2d6 rounds and obey her commands for 1 hour. If she chooses, Carmilla can also assume the form of a giant bat or a giant wolf at will.

In addition to the above abilities, Carmilla also shares the common vampire's Charm gaze, which her victims can save vs Spell to resist. Unlike her more common brethren, Carmilla's charm is exceptionally powerful, imposing a -3 penalty rather than the standard -2.

Carmilla cannot be harmed by non-magical weapons. Exposing her to direct sunlight for more than 1 round destroys her, and submerging her in running water causes her to lose 1/3 of her Hit Points per round for three rounds, with death occurring on the third round. Any other method of reducing her HP to 0 merely incapacitates her, causing her to fall into an apparently death-like state. But if her body is not exposed to sunlight, submerged in running water, or burned, she will begin to regenerate 1d8 hours later, at a rate of 1 hp per turn.

Carmilla's Mask (Artifact)

This artifact is a smooth, silver mask, closely resembling the kind commonly worn during masquerade balls. When the mask is placed onto a human or a dhampir, dozens of hollow, silver spikes appear in the inside, causing it to latch onto the victim's face, and inflicting 1d3 damage. Each round the victim is prevented from removing the mask, it drains 1 energy level, feeding as a vampire, until the victim is reduced to 0 Hit Points. Once dead, the victims do not rise as vampires.

If the mask is freshly fed, bloody tears will pool in the corner of its eyes, and for the next 1d12 hours it will convey several abilities on any vampire that wears it. While wearing the mask, the vampire casts both a shadow and a reflection. Garlic, holy symbols, and holy water have no effect. The vampire may enter any home with no invitation, cross running water, and even walk in the sunlight—although this last will still be uncomfortable.

Additionally, victims of the vampire's Charm gaze suffer a further -2 penalty to their saving throw.

DEATH

Alignment: Chaotic

Armor Class: 26

Hit Dice: 15 (attack bonus +10)

No. of Attacks: 1 touch, weapon.

Damage: 1d8 touch+drain, by weapon.

Movement: 30' or 60' (fly)

No. Appearing: 1 (Unique)

Save as: Lvl 15 Magic User or Cleric (use lower)

Morale: 11

Treasure Type: Special

XP: 3,150

Death is Dracula's top lieutenant. Fiercely loyal to his master, Death will fight to protect him at all costs. Death's actual nature is unknown, although he is believed to be an evil manifestation of pure Chaos. His physical form resembles that of the classical "Grim Reaper," a skeletal body wrapped in a tattered cloak. He carries Death's Scythe, an artifact-level magical weapon.

Upon first encountering Death, all intelligent, living creatures must save vs Spell or flee in terror for 2d6 rounds. Even on subsequent encounters, Death's gaze is terrifying. All creatures that meet it must make a save vs. Spell or be paralyzed with fright for 2d4 rounds. Dhampirs, due to their half-undead nature, get a +2 bonus to this check.

Death prefers to attack with his scythe when possible. If forced to make a physical attack, his touch causes 1d8 points of damage and drains 1d4 points of Constitution, while simultaneously healing him for the equivalent amount.

The Constitution loss is permanent. It can only be healed by the casting of a Restoration spell, at a rate of 1 point per casting. If a character's Constitution score falls to 0, he or she immediately dies, and rises the following round as a lesser wight. This creature is identical to the wight described on p. 126 of the Basic Fantasy Roleplaying Game, except its attack causes 1d4 points of damage and 1 point of Constitution loss. All characters killed and transformed into wights are considered permanently dead, and cannot be Raised. They may still be Reincarnated.

Death is able to cast Speak With Dead, Animate Dead, and Raise Dead at will. And while he rarely feels the need to disguise himself, he is able to do so with the aid of Polymorph Self. Additionally, Death is always treated as having an active True Seeing spell cast on his person. For purposes of spell duration and saving throws, Death's caster level is 20.

Death is immune to all non-magical weapons. Like all skeletons, Death only takes half damage from bladed weapons, and only one point from arrows, bolts, or sling stones (plus any applicable magical bonus). Additionally, he is immune to Sleep, Charm, and Hold spells. Death cannot be turned by the cleric's Turn Undead spell.

Death cannot be permanently killed. When reduced to 0 Hit Points, Death's physical form is destroyed, and his spirit re-joins the primordial Chaos outside the world. After 1d10 months, Death will Reincarnate on the physical plane, although in a weakened form equivalent to a wraith (see Basic Fantasy Roleplaying Game, p. 127). He must then drain the equivalent life force of 2x his normal Hit Dice (a combined 30 levels) in order to regain his full strength and powers.

Death's Scythe (+3 Great Weapon)

Like Death himself, Death's Scythe is believed to be an evil manifestation of Chaos. In combat, Death's Scythe delivers 1d10 damage, with an additional +3 magical damage bonus. On any natural attack roll of 18 or better, the target must save vs Magical Device or die instantly. Any mortal being who attempts to touch the handle of Death's Scythe must make the same saving throw, but at a -4 penalty.

3 times per day, Death's Scythe can create 1d3 Phantom Sickles. These are smaller, ghostly sickles that spin out towards their intended victim. The sickles last for 1d4 rounds, continuously attacking, and causing 1d6+1 damage per successful hit.

Creatures killed with Death's Scythe may not be Raised, but they may still be Reincarnated.

#brain leakage blog #Castlevania #ravenloft #curse of strahd #dnd #dungeons and dragons #OSR #basic fantasy roleplaying game #d&d #carmilla #death #gothic #horror #lamentations of the flame princess

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thechroniclesofdaraliss · 7 years ago

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100 Mutants & Masterminds Session Ideas

One of my favorite RPGs is the tabletop game Mutants and Masterminds. This clever take on the classic medium of heroism serves as one of the most diverse scenarios for both DMs and PCs. However, with so much freedom, it can be sometimes overwhelming to find a scenario that will catch the attention of both parties. Based on my own experience, it’s best to contain the game to one-shot campaigns, but you also need to take the time to shake it up if you’re playing it in the long term. So without further do, here’s a list of session ideas that I’ve either field tested, or always wanted to try out. Enjoy!

1) A gang of villains steals NPCs close to the heroes to bait them into a trap 2) There are children going missing all across the city and nothing ties them together, save for the fact that they’re all mutants 3) A villainous Speedster is stealing advanced technology 4) A smuggling ring has been revealed, and it turns out that the contraband is a cover for something far worse 5) A meteor is hurtling toward Earth, and it doubles as a mobile nesting ground for invading aliens 6) A host of horrible monsters have been plaguing the city, but all of them turn out to be child experiments to create Mutant war machines, and they are simply desperate to find their way home, and are coping with the predatorial instincts that have been unlocked from their genetic code being tampered with 7) A villain has figured out a way to transfer his consciousness into the internet, and this could spell disaster for the entire city, maybe even the entire world 8) The local jail has been taken over and forced ordinary criminals and mutant villains into fighting in gladiatorial combat 9) A criminal enterprise has let its services become available to the common man for a reasonable fee. Secretly, the criminals have dirt on all who buy up on their services 10) A group of C-list villains joins forces to commit a crime that will make all A-list schemes pale in comparison 11) A microscopic species mingles with a viral disease, and is on the verge of becoming airborne and unstoppable 12) The archenemies of the heroes trade opponents to exploit weaknesses and win the fight once and for all 13) The forces of nature have been harnessed in an object or person in order to avenge the lives lost to pollution or a human-caused disaster 14) All of the inhabitants of a village/town/city begin killing one another, claiming that their loved ones have turned into monsters 15) A series of monsters, villains, and disasters appear randomly across the city. But when they’re revealed to be illusions, the heroes must investigate how the damage was done 16) A band of mercenaries are taking the fight to criminals, and it’s up to the heroes to decide what to do with them. Aid them in their blood-soaked path to a safer neighborhood, or bringing the mercenaries to justice. 17) Criminals have stolen advanced weapons and are using them to commit crimes 18) A series of demons are collecting contracts in your city 19) A race of leviathans break the seawall and invade the land to consume humans 20) A demented sorcerer has called on spirits from beyond to kill the heroes at the cost of his own soul 21) A young vampire has expanded his vampirism to the criminal underworld and the police. He has designs to live his eternal life in luxury and decadence, and take down anyone who stands in his way 22) An astral presence is possessing victims and driving them insane, and leaving them with violent psychic powers before leaving them 23) A cyber terrorist sends messages to the heroes, and threatens to take innocent lives for every riddle/mystery/problem they can’t solve in time. 24) The powers of young Mutants go into overdrive. Earth Elementals cause Earthquakes when walking, Mimics permanently steal the life forces of everything they touch, and psychics read minds of everyone in range all at once 25) All of the legal authorities in your jurisdiction (cops, lawyers, judges) have fallen unconscious, and their heartbeats get fainter every hour. Find out the cause before their hearts are silenced forever 26) One of your villains has declared that he/she has turned over a new leaf. Are they being genuine, or is it a scam? 27) An “Ultimate Mimic” sets out to collect the heroes’ powers. But along the way, it encounters something else, the capacity for human emotions. Both prove to be overwhelming 28) A time-traveler meets your heroes in the present day with some of the most devious criminal of all time (Jack the Ripper, Al Capone, Unabomber, etc.) 29) After averting a natural disaster, the heroes accidentally unleash an ancient being that has designs on ruling the world 30) A botched attempt at an eternal youth ritual turns the heroes or villains into children. In it, there’s a change to either rehabilitate them or to help them regain their original age 31) Alternate versions of the heroes claim that they are the true versions (robots who think they’re you, clones how need help understanding who they are, or runaway shape shifting aliens desperate to escape intergalactic authorities). 32) An old man is taking in the homeless and giving them superpowers in exchange for services. Yet his incredible gifts come at a terrible price 33) Dozens of death row inmates that have never met are claiming that they were framed by the exact same man 34) The apprentice of a hero (or villain) has received the last will of their mentor after they have died. It pleads that they kill their most hated enemy 35) Those with superpowers begin losing their abilities while normal humans gain superpowers 36) An alien war has reached Earth, and humanity is merely seen as collateral damage 37) A new designer drug turns addicts into zombies with repeated exposure 38) A Master of Disguise steals nanobots to kidnap his rivals. He then copes their biological signature before killing them. The nanobots then mimic the appearance of their victims perfectly, down to the last cell 39) The heroes are shrunk to miniscule size in a bizarre deathtrap. A rat mazes becomes a hunting ground with the heroes as prey. A cup of water becomes a boundless sea with little chance of escape. Or electrons become like wrecking balls and the world you knew before has vanished completely 40) A twisted business tycoon is capturing aliens that land on Earth and is keeping them in tanks, prodding at their bodies to discover treatments for deadly diseases 41) A hero (or villain) has been diagnosed with a deadly disease. All they want is to commit the ultimate act of heroism/villainy before they go out 42) A new procedure is unveiled that can turn even the most violent criminals into law-abiding citizens. While it proves effective, a group of villains want to use the procedure to turn innocent people into their minions who have no regard for morality 43) A monster of pure energy is created, and it has the ability to grow larger with the more power it consumes. If left unchecked, it will engulf the entire earth, perhaps even the universe 44) A top-secret military vessel has been stolen. If it is not soon recovered, the end result could be a modern pirate crew that can’t be stopped 45) A new island has popped upon the map. A massive glacier located on the equator. You are tasked with finding out how it got there 46) An ancient African spirit escapes his tribal burial casket and has designs of killing the most powerful warriors on Earth 47) A cult has kidnapped a child from one of the most powerful arcane bloodlines on Earth. However, the victim ahs no idea that they are the product of such a respected or powerful family 48) A drug ring has claimed a chemist who has discovered a formula that will make a hardcore drug for half the production cost, but with twice the potency. Will you save the chemist, or bring her to justice for illegal activity? 49) After collecting the artifacts of a great historical figure (Napoleon, Montezuma, etc.) an archeologist concludes that the subject may have had meta-human abilities. They may even still be among us! 50) A supposed alien spacecraft turns out to be a human-crafted Trojan Horse to steal scientific knowledge from a rival nation 51) The hero of an old war (WWI, WWII, Vietnam) is hiding in one of the wildest and least known portions of the world. It’s revealed that exile in luxury was his reward/punishment for his actions in his service to his country. Now he wants to fight another war…a war on mutants! 52) A false mage is using his supposed power as a cover up for an illegal arms race, but no one can catch him or debunk him on his false magic. The people who want to catch him are also superstitious, and it’s your job to bring him to justice when no one else can or will. 53) A once-respected scientist is breeding animals with immense strength, speed, or some other form of meta-human power. All for the sake of hunting humans for sport 54) An old woman has struck fear into the hearts of a village or town by threatening to kill them with an otherworldly creature that has a childlike affection for her 55) An entire forest has had its trees converted into incubation chambers. People are hidden inside, but for what purpose? Assimilating plant cells into animals? Nature consuming industry? Or perhaps a new stage in evolution? 56) A pack of werewolves are killing livestock across the countryside. Is it an attempt to satisfy their appetites without killing humans, or are they feeding the pups so they can hunt humans? Either way, the angry mobs are impatient for answers, and you must discover the truth 57) Arcane murders have been committed across the city. However, each victim has hidden out in a place they shouldn’t have been, there’s no sign of forced entry, and they are found in impossible circumstances (they burn without any sign of fire, gravity ceases to work in the room, or there are no shadows present at the murder site). 58) An alien race is discovered by a small band of heroes, and it turns out they have been on Earth longer than humans. Do they harbor ill-intent? Have they been hiding out of fear? What is their overarching goal? 59) A missile silo network has been discovered in a swamp. Is it the product of arms dealers, a fallen Cold War regime, or a secret government project? 60) NASA’s latest anti-gravity technology is being stolen for criminal purposes 61) A poacher has been travelling around the world collecting Mutants of all kinds for trophies. You happen upon his facility and discover that he’s also been keeping them in captivity like a zoo. Yet some of them seem incapable of assimilating into the regular world. Some may not even want to 62) An ancient fighting tournament has called all the world’s greatest warriors into mortal combat. Many of them are meta-humans, but there can only be one winner. 63) A new meta-human training program has started. If you’re new to this, you’re one of the recruits. If you’re an established hero, you’re a proctor. Those who pass the program get their “hero license” 64) A meta-human military program is revealed that turned the tide of the last war. The project was top secret, and now the lives of each member are in jeopardy when their secret identities are revealed to the world 65) A prominent hero has fallen unconscious. After a preliminary investigation, it’s revealed tha their mind was sent to the Astral Plain. It’s up to you to get them back 66) A young woman has been subjected to years of systematic experimentation to unlock her superpowers. However, the end result is transferring her horrific scars and injuries via touch. She’s been freed for the first time in decades, and she’s got a lot of hate to go around 67) It turns out that time machines aren’t needed to travel through the time stream. There are “Temporal Circles” that allow you to travel into the past and future. They have claimed hundreds of lives and are responsible for hundreds of missing persons. But the source is unknown, so it’s up to you to find out how it’s done 68) A powerful psychic has captured the heroes in a dream world where he is supreme ruler 69) A living brain in a jar has designs at attaining a human body. Preferably, it’s one that has superpowers and has physical strength to match its mental strength 70) A cursed suit of armor grants incredible strength to whomever wears it. However, it also develops an obsession in the user to kill 71) An archenemy approaches the heroes with the proposition of joining forces to take down a greater evil 72) A hero has been sent back in time as penance for a horrible act he’s committed, yet he has trouble remembering why. The danger becomes more intense as time police arrive to ensure that he doesn’t disrupt the time stream 73) “Mutant Factories” have popped up across the city/state/country and they take in the most destitute people in an attempt to have guinea pigs for creating their own personal mutant armies. 74) Unusual clues are left behind at crime scenes, and it seems as though someone wants to be found. Is it a kidnapping victim leaving a trial, a villain laying breadcrumbs for a trap, or an extra dimensional entity trying to contact you? 75) A series of strange sensations overcome random civilians (a cold wind, a burning sensation, the feeling that they’re being crushed). Something must connect them together. But what? 76) A hero has been called into court for a crime they didn’t commit. The penalty is severe (life in jail, stripped of their powers, death, etc.) and they are unable to prove their innocence. Prove it for them before time runs out 77) A natural disaster (earthquake, hurricane, fire) threatens to demolish an entire city, yet its source is not natural 78) Satellites have been hacked and are being used to disrupt/hack into military technology. It’ sup to you to take the culprit down before countless lives are lost 79) Local criminals have taken to the streets with advanced exoskeleton armor that can withstand shots from a tank 80) An eccentric Gadgeteer poses you a challenge at the local sports arena. You two are to engage in battle to see who is worthy of being called a hero 81) An organization of Mystics is using their combined power to block out the sun with a solar eclipse. This way, the creatures that come out at night will never have to hide again and heroes everywhere will be at their mercy 82) Dopplegangers of the heroes are reeking havoc in the streets, and blackening their names 83) A group of demigods destroy monuments of the mortal world, claiming that they are now the rightful rulers of humanity 84) The local villain prison has had all of its inmates escape 85) Sky Pirates have stopped over a major city and are embarking on skyward swashbuckling venture, stealing bank vaults, ATMs, jewels, and everything else of value 86) A villain gathers the most powerful minds on the planet and plans to extract their intelligence so he becomes unstoppable 87) A string of crimes mirror a crime spree that occurred fifty years ago. Any police officers alive that investigated the original disasters are soon ending up dead or missing 88) People are rapidly starting to experience devolution and turning into primates with immense strength and a hive mind. Discover the source of this mutation before it becomes too powerful to stop 89) A series of scrolls have been exhibited at a museum. But when they are stolen, the heroes must find them before its too late. When deciphered, these scrolls unlock the most ancient secrets of marital arts, granting their user incredible powers such as enhanced strength, element control, and invincibility 90) The heroes are transported to a labyrinth that holds their worst fears 91) A medical facility is unearthed that subjects its patients to numerous diseases in order to create cures for the rest of the world. But will you let hundreds suffer endlessly for the benefit of millions, or free them? 92) A master thief has discovered a method of controlling animals to steal valuables from wealthy homes 93) A villain captures one of his nemeses in an attempt to form a malevolent partnership, seducing him to the side of villainy 94) A cold cannon is fired into the atmosphere to cause a second ice age 95) The Rogues Gallery of a city have established a competition to see who can take down their mutual foe first. They are not to aid one another, and the winner gets to unveil the secret identity of the hero. 96) The villain sets up a trap to unmask the heroes on live TV 97) A freak accident renders a villain without powers for a time, but then gives them new abilities 98) Animals have been infused with mutated DNA. Some of the creatures become monsters, and some become human 99) A sinister robot faces off against the heroes, claiming that it knows all of their moves and strategies before they even do 100) An EMP goes off in the center of a city and shuts down all technology within. This leaves ample opportunity for looters and pillagers

#superheroes #mutants and masterminds #rpg #session ideas #campaign ideas #rpg world #story inspiration #tabletop rpgs

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sleepymarmot · 7 years ago

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Markarth

What I expected when a suspicious looking red eyed man challenged me to a drinking contest in a Whiterun tavern: to be kidnapped by vampires or bandits

What I didn’t expect: to be teleported to a beautiful city on the edge of the map which I haven’t visited before. Thanks??

Markarth reminds me of Kirkwall a lot. A gorgeous city of white stone on the upper levels, a mining hellhole of poverty and brutality down below, all of that peppered with corruption and dark magic. (It also reminds me of Orzammar for the same reason + because it has its own dwarven city underneath. So it instantly has my heart because it's like my beloved terrible home -- almost two of them.) But it's even more effective here, because all levels are in the same map and you can gaze up and down and walk between them freely, without loading screens. And the intricate pattern of stairs is beautiful, though very hard to navigate.

Dwarven city:

I'm clearly underleveled for these Falmer. So many deaths and equipment swaps!

It's like the Deep Roads all over again: a beautiful dwarven ruin that is so big and complex and requires so much backtracking and difficult fighting that you feel you've been here forever.

Why the hell do I need to destroy the defenses I just activated?! What was the point of it then?!

I had to go back because the quest log thought I didn't pick up one of the journals (I did).

This game's arbitrary definitions of what is legal to take and what isn't continue to baffle me. Go to an archaeological site, steal a lot of artifacts and melt them down to make weapons -- completely fine in this world, apparently. Before I complete the quest, these artifacts lying around its giver him are marked "steal", afterwards they're marked "take". He gives me access to a museum where the same artifacts are all marked "steal".

How come this lizard can make herself dwarven armor and passersby will compliment it, but my dwarf Warden in DAO had to wear crap :(

Getting to play detective in a long quest was already cool, and now I get thrown into jail and have to investigate the problem in there and get out? That's awesome! And the plot itself is interesting too, and in this city I finally started to understand the main political conflict. I didn't expect this writing from the game that so far mostly consisted of exploration and grinding.

Welp. When two shitty factions were conspiring together I expected to take down both in the name of justice, not side with one or the other. Well, here's my first big choice in this game!

First try: I tell the thief "Madanach says hello" to see how he reacts and don't attack myself, he pulls out a knife and is killed by someone else. I follow the Forsworn, get their cool reward, watch as they wreak havoc on the city, feel bad.

Second try: Through persuasion I get a shiv and try to attack Madanach with it, though it doesn't work and I have to reload and just kill him with spells. I want to get the rest of the prisoners out, but they're hostile now. I leave alone, a Silver-Blood jerk meets me at the entrance. I kill him, because fuck him. The guards attack me and thankfully I remember that I can yield, which hasn't come up before because this is my first crime ever, murdering the most important person in the city right in the middle of the street. They offer me to pay a fine or serve jail time, I pick the latter because I'm very stingy. And now I'm stuck there. I even thought it was on purpose, because no one gets out of that mine. Finally I found the explanation: apparently the way to serve time there is to mine the ore, and I depleted all veins during the quest. I tried waiting a few days, but of course they didn't respawn that quick. I'm not even mad, this is hilarious. Oh wait, I reloaded and the option to serve time appeared. Problem solved, then. But I still want that loot... Though a guard just said to me that my name's been cleared by Thonar... who was the person I killed!

Third try: I keep trying to kill the king after getting his reward but get overwhelmed. One time I managed to kill him in the streets, but then I couldn't find Thonar's body, which was the whole point.

Fourth try: I kill Thonar very cleanly alone without witnesses, loot his body. (Thankfully, it's in the middle of the night.) I breathe out in relief and then realize that in this save I didn't get the Forsworn reward. Then a guard comes to arrest me, to my shock -- but the bounty I can pay is ridiculously low, 40 gold instead of 1000+ I got the last time. I checked, and this sum is for assault. Okay??

Damn, I wish this game would let me name saves, because I have like ten of them from this quest and it's a mess... I think I'll go with the last one. I can't take all of the Forsworn in the ruins at once, I tried several times but it's too difficult even with my best potions/poisons and equipment (yeah, I doomed myself to this by grinding crafting instead of combat skills...). I just hope that asshole is dead for real. I know this isn't a scripted ending and the game will probably have no way to acknowledge it... But still. Treasury house now has things for me to take, btw, and this confirmation that I officially sided with the Silver-Bloods makes me feel dirty. I feel this is another decision like choosing Harrowmont that I's going to haunt me... Meanwhile, Thonar's dead naked body continues to lie on the street in an undignified position. Realistically, I should not be able to get away with this, because I'd be the prime if not only suspect, but if the game lets me...

Damn, and here I was peacefully working on my craftsmanship, thinking I'd be a lawful good who never commits crimes! Ha. Now that I've tasted the power of eliminating a corrupt politician just because I want, I'm afraid it went to my head... I need a mod that makes the game acknowledge it, though. The Silver-Blood in the keep says "My brother tells me you've done us a service" -- I've murdered your brother before he could come home! Look, I know it's a lot of work to account for the death of every NPC, but don't make them killable then if it has no effect! I'm used to asinine binary choices in Bioware games, but when you can get rid of faction leaders through ordinary gameplay mechanics and it still doesn't count...

Well, that was a much wilder ride than I ever expected from the game. I think I've had enough of this city for now.

#skyrim #blah blah blah

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antialiasis · 8 years ago

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FAR TOO EARLY THOUGHTS ON GROUNDHOG DAY THE MUSICAL

Because I am, ahem, a little actually full-on obsessed with this thing right now. Damn you Tim Minchin and your delicious deliciously dark serious humour.

(Far too early because I have not seen it and have no idea what I’m talking about and am trying to judge exclusively from listening to the soundtrack a lot, ahaha clearly I am Qualified to comment on it)

So in lieu of being able to actually see the musical, I rewatched the movie the other day, and along with some repeat listens to the soundtrack, it gave me Thoughts.

The movie is a fairly straight comedy. There is an element of existential horror to the premise, but it’s pretty much entirely played for laughs. Phil accepts the bizarre situation he’s in without much fuss aside from comical confusion and annoyance. There is, yes, the suicide montage (the most memorable part of the movie by far for me, because I am me). But it’s kicked off by the absurd, hilarious sequence where Phil kidnaps the groundhog, steals a car and then dramatically drives it off a cliff. “He might be okay,” Larry comments before the car explodes, then, “Well, no, probably not now.” Definitely played for laughs, and while the following montage isn’t comical in the same way until after the end (”I really, really liked him. A lot.”), it’s too short to actually whip back from comedy to any kind of serious emotional impact.

The premise of Groundhog Day interestingly invites the viewer to consider how the people around them are also people living their own lives, whose lives might be positively or negatively impacted by one’s own actions - Phil gets to know the life story of practically everyone in Punxsutawney, and eventually his character growth comes in the form of deciding to be a positive force in the lives of all these people - at least for this one day. But it is a bit of a shame that despite this premise, the supporting characters in the movie are pretty one-note and not very fleshed out - Rita gets to be a real, developed person who reacts to Phil in organic and fairly believable ways, but characters like Ned Ryerson are just standard exaggerated comedy people, who we get to see being exaggerated comedy people in a few different variations. It’s hard to truly get a sense that Phil has come to care about these people, because the movie doesn’t make them seem like actual people, just obstacles in his path that he eventually learns his way around. (Or, if you appreciate video game analogies, they are pretty much just NPCs with little sidequests that he’s learned to speedrun). As a result, I actually find his character development less convincing than it could be - there are really good moments that strengthen it (when he realizes on the day that he’s honest with Rita about what’s happening that she’s an infinitely better person than he is, and when he tries to save the homeless man), but the actual bit with him trying to help everyone in town falls flat in comparison, becomes a mere comedy routine rather than giving a real sense that he’s changed as a person.

So, what I’ve noticed from the soundtrack of the musical version is that it takes the premise a lot more seriously than the movie ever did, which is pretty exciting. Phil’s suicidal despair is actually dwelt on a bit and gets a pretty serious song exploring his tortured mental state as he tries to kill himself repeatedly - I also gather that his first suicide attempt involves him shooting the groundhog and himself with a gun, which definitely sounds a lot less comical than the version in the movie, although I can’t confirm that myself (God I want to see this show). And the second act appears to go to pains to spotlight at least two of the supporting characters (Nancy and Ned) as real people with their own rich inner lives, not simply props in Phil’s personal universe, which I imagine probably makes it a lot more genuine and rewarding when Phil starts to truly treat them that way. I really dig that; I hope that’s what they were going for and that it’s doing more of that (although obviously they wouldn’t have time to give a spotlight to every bit character).

ANYWAY. The soundtrack. I have listened to it enough to start to really appreciate the songs. Here are my favorites, not in much of a particular order.

Hope

Obviously. This song was written for me specifically, thank you Tim. Even if it weren’t about suicide, it’s a beautiful song and I love Andy Karl’s voice.

Favorite lyrics:

After acid and gas and guns and razors and rope, you may want to live but baby, don’t give up hope - I have buttons okay. In fact I’m pretty sure I have a special button just for characters listing off suicide methods, in pretty much any context; I seem to recall this just always gets me. Why? Who knows, but either way, FFFF

And in your head that leaden dread, the fucking roads have all been trod and there’s no way and there’s no God and God, oh God, this goddamn weather will last forever - leave it to Tim Minchin to punch me in the gut with precision F-strikes and repeated invocations of God.

Day Three

I just like listening to his mounting incoherent desperation. It makes me grin helplessly. Again, I have buttons. Also, the actual music is glorious, taking Day One and twisting it around and making it sound hellish and sinister. It’s great.

Favorite lyrics:

No. No. No! No! Come on! Don’t ring! Do not ring! Do not-- God, this--the hell’s happening? This--goddamn! God... damn! Somebody! Okay. I can figure this out. Figure it out, come on! Christ! Come on! Oh, damn it! Oh, God! What the hell! Help me! - yes, good, this is exactly what I wanted from this musical, A++

Day One

This one’s just really catchy. I have had it stuck in my head for days (specifically the first half, what I think people refer to as “Small Town, U.S.A.”, although on the track listing it’s just Day One).

Favorite lyrics:

And I’ve no qualm at all with your small-town people, I admire their balls getting out of bed at all to face another day in a shithole this small - just look what a gloriously condescending dick he is.

If I Had My Time Again

I really love this song musically, but the lyrics are even better; Rita with all her dreams and ambitions and desire to do things better is such a fantastic contrast to exactly how inane and self-centered Phil’s activities have been. I’m assuming this is played as the trigger for his character development, and it’s exactly spot-on. In the movie he just says that she’s such a much better person than he is; the musical shows it, in a way so achingly clear that there’s just no way for Phil to not see it himself.

Favorite lyrics:

Rita’s I always dreamt of learning how to dance / it’s so exciting / a new beginning every morning / to have the time to strive for more, interlaced with Phil’s Sometimes I go out without pants / I slept with 90% of women in Punxsutawney between 18 and 84 / and one dude when I was bored - Phil, striving for more.

Similarly, Rita’s I always fancied learning how to climb / I’d study math / and search for meaning / and run up hills / and learn to paint / just to know I can simultaneous with Phil’s I once masturbated seven times / in the bath / in one evening / it wasn’t fun but still / a man my age / it’s nice to know I can / it’s nice to know I can - w o w. Who wouldn’t slink back and rethink their entire life after this. (Also, it’s hilarious.)

And if you knew the endless nights that I have wasted getting wasted contemplating different ways to suicide - never mind me, just me and my buttons again.

One Day

I actually mostly love this one musically, but it’s also just a great ramble from Rita developing her character, and alongside its humour it establishes she has a bit of a romantic fantasy going on beneath a lot of layers of cynicism, setting up why she might nonetheless end up falling for a guy in the space of a day.

Favorite lyrics:

And I’d rather be alone if the only other option is succumb and settle down with some condescending clown with a great rating from some dating service, some self-professing Mr. Perfect, another narcissistic legend made a million out of hedge funds, another sexually ineffectual self-obsessing metrosexual pseudo-intellectual getting drunk and existential every time the Steelers lose a game - Tim Minchin in full form.

ANYWAY, I am a little obsessed, hopefully I can think a little less about this now that I’ve gotten some of it out of my system.

#groundhog day #groundhog day the musical #tim minchin #ramble #comedy #review #kind of #my buttons #adaptations #groundhog day musical

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tumblunni · 7 years ago

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Random more ideas for my Pokemon Cosmos fangame that will probably never happen because I am awful at creating things, but its fun to imagine as a distant dream to cheer me up on sad days~! And cos I talked with @summon-daze and she gave me really great suggestions! (if I missed anything you said yesterday, message me and I’ll add it here! I want everyone to hear your Fab Thoughts!)

* Maractus: sinnoh form! Its just a poor pokemon that deserved better. Giving it some sort of visual and mechanical revamp would help it step out from under cacturne’s shadow. My idea was maybe a different type of cactus, or a related plant. Like perhaps an aloe vera form that has healing moves!

* Pokemon contests replaced with EVIL MINIGAMES Like, how the Pokeathelon stats were all coloured the same as contest stats and stuff. Do a thing like that but more streamlined! Just have this one set of out-of-battle stats and use them for multiple different minigames! And since the protagonist is an evil team grunt, you coud have stuff like stealth, lockpicking, hacking, etc! Use a koffing as a smokescreen to swipe some cash!

* A possible other idea, or possibly both? Maybe THE PLAYER could have contest stats instead! Like the social stats in persona games, but for fun they could be the same interface as pokemon contests. Daze gave me some really cool suggestions like how ‘cuteness’ could mean how good you are at hiding your true intentions when the police interrogate you. I was thinking coolness could equal charisma/good at talking/whatever, so cuteness could be ‘innocence’. And like, if you just have it on its own then it might mean you actually are more of a good guy villain. But if you max out both cuteness and toughness then you become a super scary evil boss who can intimidate their minions but also manipulate people with false goodness.

* Following pokemon, but more! The cute idea of seeing other trainers having following pokemon in cutscnes sometimes, and stuff. I always really love seeing pokemon just living life around the world map, it always adds so much more worldbuilding! I loved the ride pokemon and the machamp delivery service and the various farming ranch places in different games. But what if you could just see more random lil animations of mons hanging out as npcs? Have some wild murkrow fluttering around on alleyway rooftops when it becomes nighttime. Have your rival character appear training their pokemon randomly on routes sometimes, like an actual overworld animation of it, not just battling them. Bits of supplementary visual storytelling! And I figured maybe the evil admins could have their own unique rooms, like in ORAS. But cos you’re playing as one of the team, you get to actually see them hanging around the room and stuff. See them playing with their mons while off duty! Who would have a pet bed? Who would just let their giant skuntank sleep on the foot of their own bed? Who would buy a bazillion squeaky toys? Who would spend all their time grooming thier mons for a secret Contest career on weekends? So many potential ideas! Hell, maybe just have some random events like sometimes if you open a certain cupboard a pokemon will jump out before you actually get to look in it. Tiny ghost friend is sleepe on de paperwork~ Oh, and it could be cool if following pokemon still happened even when you have a double battle partner! You get to see their pokemon too, followinmg after yours! Oh, and maybe depending on what pokemon you have, there’s a small chance of some secret animations? i was thinking maybe Cheryl’s chansey would carry small pokemon on her head.

* OH AND YEAH. Bigger role for the stat trainers! I was so happy Daze helped me figure this out, cos this totally solves so many problems I had with the early game plot and tutorial gameplay and stuff. The ‘stat trainer’ group that were sidequests in original sinnoh and partners in the battle frontier- here they could be like the supporting social links! A problem I had was that of course you cant just immediately be best friends with all the evil admins as soon as you join the team. So I was thinking I’d have to make up a bunch of new characters to carry the plot early on, but repurposing the stat trainers for this purpose would be awesome! They could be your set of ordinary friends you have while off-duty, and doing their friend routes helps train your social stats that you need to use to unlock the admin friend routes. So theyd actually literally be stat trainers!

* I’m not sure which social stats I should give to each of them though? I’m wondering at the moment about whether cheryl or mira should be ‘cuteness’. I mean, they’re both cute but who has it as more of a defining character trait? Honestly you could say either of them could work as toughness too, since cheryl is braving a haunted forest alone and mira is kicking ass in a big scary optional doom dungeon even though she’s like six years old! I can imagine mira’s route could more easily train toughness in the PLAYER though. Like, you’re inspired by seeing her being so brave and mature for her age, and you wanna try and look like a tough responsible older sibling figure to her. And hmm, cheryl’s personality was the most vague of them all, she could probably also symbolise beauty/elegance/composure if you wanna interpret it that way. Or she could be smartness, cos I dunno maybe if we looked for a reason why she was in that haunted dungeon in the first place, maybe she could be like a detective? That would be really neat if she still kept her personality and all, a very shy and humble detective that’s like ‘oh i’m not so great’ *is being great right now* Or maybe she’s not really a detective by career, but she could be like a paranormal investigator fan, or maybe she has a secret backstory that led to some reason she needs to find something in that forest, or maybe she’s not local to sinnoh and thats why she got lost, or maybe she was kidnapped by a villain and escaped but was stuck in the forest, or... well, cheryl’s vagueness has a lot of potential! Oh and Riley could also work as either smartness or beauty or coolness or... man all these undeveloped charries are just REALLY POTENTIAL in all five fundemental awesomenesses! It could work any way!

* Maybe they could have more inter-relating plots with gym leaders and other big plot figures? like how Buck is Flint’s brother. And there’s a small mention of Marley knowing Oak from kanto. I was thinking maybe cheryl and gardenia might know each other? or maybe cheryl could be related to a different grass type gym leader from another region. She just REALLY looks like she should be a grass type, but she’s all about the chanseys instead, lol! maybe she’s the black sheep of an all grass types family, and journeyed to sinnoh to start her own journey instead. So she could be like a sweet shy spoiled posh girl who maybe doesnt know entirely what she’s doing, and got wrapped up in [some sort of excuse for the forest sidequest] cos she was a little naive. But then when you team up with her you find out she’s actuallly a total badass stone wall strategist, and her relative inexperience at social situations doesnt mean she’s not a battle expert! And then maybe you could keep in touch with her while she lives at a hotel in one of the cities, and her continuing sidequests could involve you giving her tours of sinnoh and helping her send postcards back to her family. And.. like.. trying to hide the fact that she keeps getting into super dangerous situations, lol. Dear mom and dad I am completely fine and didnt beat up a bunch of villains with my bare knuckles this morning, here is my friend who absolutely didnt rescue me from forest ghosts. Oh, and maybe she could become friends with Fantina, because they could both relate to being from different regions. And fantina is just a very nice jolly person who probably does a bunch of community outreach programs in her neighbourhood and picks up litter in the hammiest way possible. i just imagine she tries to act like a mentor to anyone who even crosses her line of sight! lol, maybe her and crasher wake could even be rivals because of it? i imagine her teasing wake for getting a new student while wake is all like ‘gahhh please take this barry away, i keep telling him no’

* oh, and barry would be the unofficial sixth stat trainer. He’d still have a role in the plot as a friendly rival even though this is a perspective flip AU. I was thinking he doesnt know you’re actually one of the bad guys, so you end up being friends, and then when he finds out he tries to oppose team galactic in much the same way but now with an added plot of him believing there’s some good in you and trying to convince you to switch sides.

#pokemon cosmos ideas

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elstine-harboson · 7 years ago

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(OOC Details.)

Hello, Hello folks! Welcome to the Underground Empire: Resurgence!

Story TLDR: Political Extremist/Borderline Cult dedicated to destroying the Nobility and Monarchy.

This is a long-time, ongoing story that I have been involved in for roughly six years now; the concept itself is rather simple but I'd say unique without being farfetched.

Hundred or so years ago, an organization of Political Enthusiast formed around the idea of standing up against the Monarchy and Nobility. Things remained tame for years, with minor protest and whatnot. Over the years the group achieved little until the past thirty years.

The group reformed undet new leadership and evolved into a Political Extremists group that remains actively and aggressively against the Nobles and Monarchy. However, the group quickly learned open rebellion is dangerous... So they went underground, undercover. Invading the Monarchy and Noble ranks, as well as Government groups such as the Military and Stormwind Intel groups, among others.

Now deeply engrained into very important faucets of our daily lives; they have decided to flex their power and remind everyone that they did not just disband and fade into dust - but rather are alive and well, and have not forgotten their mission.

End the Nobility. End the Monarchy.

Abductions, child soldiers, torture, interrogations, manipulations, outright brutal conflicts - there is nothing this dedicated group will not do to reach their goals.

Behind the organization are devoted zealots, trained from a young age under brutal, immoral conditions - rumors suggest that only 1 out of every 3 survive the training. These tanking, skilled warriors, assassins, and magi can easily and effectively enact their Organization's will.

Can you resist the Empire? Are you sure who you can trust?

Perhaps we have already played into their hands.

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Roles:

Insider - An Insider is just as it sounds; a spy for the Empire. Insiders come in many different packages - some work willingly for the Empire, some have been forced into service for one reason another, and some are being controlled through magical means.

Insiders will take on the very fun and interesting role of working with the Event Leaders, and roleplaying with the Empire's Characters to get sneaky missions and such. Anything from kidnapping, planting items, assassination attempts, stealing, planting info, and much more!

Volunteer Game Masters - Those that volunteer to work with the Event Master to help drive the story; the more we have the more we can do for the entire group. Whether it be leading dungeon mastered events, sending out tumblr letters and prompts, or roleplaying as an NPC for the Empire.

Nobility - The Nobles are the primary targets of the Empire, and thus those in this role should expect damages consented upon. The Empire will essentially be acting as a antagonist; attempting to kidnap, maim, infiltrate, and/or disrupt your family and allies. We are willing to work with all the Nobility OOCly, to make sure that what is done is agreed upon but of course the best option is to allow as much as possible to remain a secret.

Of course, Nobility will not be defenseless surely there will be a need to quell the Empire.

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If you have an idea for a role that you don't see listed; please let us know.

For your convience and ours, a form of involvement is required. A very easy Google-Based form that'll give us all the information on what wr can do to make sure you have a good time; including potential RP triggers, RP style, and RP focuses. In this way we will also be able to easily tell who is and isn't involved.

Everyone is required to fill the form, a guild leader that wants their guild involved must have all involved fill said form. No exceptions.

Underground Empire: Resurgence.

Ambient Music: https://youtu.be/gbcsZauN86c

We have been here for centuries.

Just under your noses.

We awaited around every corner.

We watched in every shadow.

We have dreamt of your demise.

Now, the wolves are fattened.

Slothful and decrepit.

Now is the time to turn the rivers red.

With their blue blood.

We are forgotten.

We are the eternal.

We are the Empire.

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