#anyway here's a fun spicy plot for you - can't wait for it to BREAK MY PSYCHE

[andessence]

✂ @ Moritz from doubleheadedking

manhandling starters // @doubleheadedking✂ - point sternly at a chair and tell my muse to sit down

The silence in the barn is deafening, a physical pressure on Moritz. Or maybe that's the blood pounding in her that makes that pressure in her ears — the same furious, feverish pulse that's thudding in her chest and staining her cheeks with an embarrassed, splotchy red just when she wants most to be indifferent and cool.

When she'd stood on the banks of the river among the rustling willows and the dying light only moments ago, she had been sure she was beyond embarrassment, all problems to be solved, all misery to be terminated by the GUN pressed against her temple. She had soothed herself with the idea that Melchior would place a wreath on her grave. It all would have been so, she'd have been free and clear, if not for the way the rustling suddenly grew louder and the light on the water changed with the shadow of someone approaching. Trying to hide the gun then had been a silly reflex, she realizes now; no matter who it was, the most logical thing would have been to simply pull the trigger and never know who it was, but Moritz had resolved to take this course out of the feeling that she was trouble to others, a BURDEN, and it was the same feeling that jerked the gun back into her lap at the thought of someone having to witness the violence of her death. No more trouble, no more bother, just let me go quietly, unnoticed... But she couldn't be lucky even in this, could she?

Moritz hadn't heard any words so much as she heard some senseless sounds that Melchior's voice made as he reached her, as the gun was without a fight pulled from her hands. She saw him, but tried not to, her eyes stubbornly stuck to the grassy bank, then the woodland floor, and then the hay and dirt beneath her as Melchior drew her away, out of the coming night, and into the Gabor barn. By then he'd stopped talking, which was the sensible thing given Moritz's complete muteness.

Now Melchior looks at her with an expression that Moritz can't parse in the fleeting glances she dares to turn on him, but the meaning of his pointing at the beaten old chair is perfectly clear: SIT. She obeys mechanically, all the while still thinking, 'I'm as good as gone, it doesn't matter. Don't make trouble. Don't fight. In ten minutes, or an hour, or tomorrow, it's all over. Remember it's decided.' But that morbid comfort doesn't stop her from feeling like pins and needles in a thawing limb how very alive she is now, how afraid, and yes, how embarrassed. There is nothing she can say to him that's worth a damn, but in the hope that saying something, even something stupid, will spark Melchior to do anything but stare at her with that expression she refuses to can't read, she mumbles softly, "It's all over, Melchior. Finished. It's alright." What exactly her friend might understand to be 'over' from this remark, the threat or her life, Moritz doesn't worry about.

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

oh shit it's WIZARD MASQUERADE PROM

I forgot to mention in the first post that it's possible to run the module with or without a big bad, with advice on how to tweak each chapter accordingly depending on whether you want to utilize the evil bullwug who's behind it all. as someone who definitely would not use him, I appreciate that flexibility!

EVIDENTLY WotC heard my earlier complaints about rivalries not being spicy enough because by junior year they're fully challenging you to duels at magical toxic waste sites lmao

this chapter really heavily features an evil wizard's orb which sure will give the PCs a lot to ponder

as someone who is CONSTANTLY trying to justify to my DM why they should let me roll using a different skill than the once they asked for, I appreciate that players can roll anything that they can justify while studying!

there's also a fashion show in this chapter and it's SO FUN

okay so while I PERSONALLY am jazzed about a fashion show and wizard prom I recognize that, much like the previous chapter, this is a year that could really fall to shit and be very unengaging for any PCs who aren't particularly interested in wizard prom. I'd definitely put a LOT of emphasis on personal interactions, classes, jobs, etc to keep things meaningful for them, and maybe even go so far as to organize some kind of "anti prom" movement among some NPCs if they're into that kind of thing.

I also think that it's a little silly that player characters apparently only even find out about mage tower (the game) and the masquerade ball in the respective years that they're first allowed to participate in those things, and I think it would make the world feel a lot more authentic to at least name drop them in earlier chapters. hell, I'd love to run a session of first year students desperately trying to break into the prom that's supposed to be for third and fourth years.

related to the above there's no way I wouldn't go super overboard and make a calendar for each academic year for the PCs complete with classes and events. I'd probably use the same format I use to keep track of events at the actual university where I actually work lmao. I feel like we could REALLY milk the PCs having to skip class/work/events/dates for Plot Reasons for drama and stuff.

time between school years isn't really addressed at all here but I would LOVE to start each year off by having the players at least broadly describe what they've been up to over the summer. in the group I'd be DMing that alone could easily end up taking an hour or more, we can seriously talk forEVER when we get roleplaying.

anyway the plot of "Magister's Masquerade" is actually pretty interesting and is the first one that really feels like it's utilizing a professor in interesting and dynamic ways!

I think potentially a cool way to incentivize players who aren't interested in a big masquerade ball magic prom on its own merits to be more invested would be making a point of throwing some notable alums and similar notable figures onto the attendance list, so that it could potentially be a really cool networking event and a chance for ambitious students to make valuable connections right before senior year. maybe there could even be an internship or something on the line?

god bless this image, which I think is the closest thing I'm going to get to a decent reference of all the college colors together. going clockwise from the very large hand, I believe these are Quandrix, Silverquill, Prismari, Lorehold, and Witherbloom. also hey what are these matching rings that this whole party wears? dare I say polycule?

anyway as much as I would want to reimagine this one, it still has the tightest plot of any school year yet and I liked it a lot! cool blend of glamorous social event and intrigue! plus you get to hit level 8 when all is said and done, which means the PCs are really starting to be a pretty big deal. can't wait to see what happens in senior year!

okay so I don't normally fuck with playing d&d from a module or actually reading the WotC books but. BUT. I want to be able to DM eventually in my second d&d group where we alternate DMs and I think the most realistic way to DM three groups would be base one of them off some preexisting material, albeit probably heavily tweaked. so I'm checking out the new Strixhaven book, because wizard university is a super fun premise!

I just finished reading the chapter outlining the plot of sophomore year and I have Thots:

the five colleges are interesting and I like that a member of any class could very feasibly belong to any of them. I wish the color schemes of each college were a little more clearly outlined but oh well, it's not hard to piece together from the illustrations

there sure are a bunch of professor and student NPCs provided, which is very helpful for populating a large school and even more so if you like making weirdo NPCs and know you'll be inventing loads more.

having said that I'm a little confused about why so many NPCs who are supposed to be first years like the players are apparently already fully integrated into the school clubs and extracurriculars, to the point that they're hanging out advertising the clubs at wizard orientation? make it make sense!

also: it feels like despite emphasizing that you could meet anyone of literally any race at Strixhaven, NPC professors and students seem to be heavily weighted in favor of humans and owlin. I'd definitely be making some changes there.

the mechanics for studying and prepping for tests are interesting! I'm not 100% sure I really Get them, but I'd be happy to learn by playing them out with my party

mechanics for relationships are also shrimpteresting. I wouldn't incorporate the inspiration bonus from having a Beloved (aww) into a regular campaign for sure, but it seems neat to play out in a more short-form module-based campaign. having said that, I could stand to see a little more sauce on the negative flipside where you can have rivals? rivalries mostly come with minor inconveniences related to your rival's extracurriculars or campus job, and I really feel like we could get more spice in that.

the maps are very thorough and really neat! the designs for each specialized college's campus are so cool to look at, especially Prismari.

the adventures for the first year are pretty fun, and I can definitely see them working as events that happen with a few years between each one to let the full year pass by. that doubly works if you're sprinkling in personal interactions, extracurricular developments, and delving into studying as well as a few other classes that the characters are taking.

the biggest nitpick I have is that based on the amount of damage players can take doing the doll retrieval fetch quest, I really think they should be able to level up to third level before doing that.

but the extracurriculars are cool and I think could make for some great roleplaying, and ditto with the campus jobs. the jobs also represent a really good opportunity to integrate financial issues into the stories of PCs who are interested, as well as adding some interesting complexity to some NPCs as well.

sophomore year doesn't feel nearly as strong, especially since so much of the plot resolves around hoping that the party will want to take part in the magic sport du jour. if they don't want to it could get real awkward real fast, since you either have to bend over backwards to make them do it or just... improvise real fast on the fly. I'm fine with the latter, obviously, but I can see that being potentially sticky for a lot of DMs. if I run this, I'll probably do a LOT of reworking on the "Hunt for Mage Chapter" tower.

I'm heading into junior year/"The Magister's Masquerade" now, will report back