#but he's 100% multiclassed into it and is actually a sorcerer or something

[mewdoodles]

26 - Crossover!

[ellimisms]

Concept: D&D homebrew oneshot based off Animorphs where you each play as one of the main characters of the Animorphs series.

The morphing system would be a modified Wild Shape mechanic, altered to two ends: first, to better fit the book's lore, and second, to make class factor into it more so each character is more unique. Probably each character would be able to use some of their class actions (just for an example, Action Surge for fighters or Rage for barbarians) while in morph, and morphing would restore hit points to 100%.

There would be a skill check associated with morphing--it'd be a Wisdom-based skill that you could gain proficiency in. Roll at advantage when using a familiar morph or becoming another human, disadvantage for things you're scared of or morphing while badly injured. Do a morphing check whenever you're in a new morph for the first time to see if you can get control of it; the actual number to beat is up to the GM based on what the animal is.

Also there would have to be some sort of mechanic to prevent TPKs--the main crew has a LOT of plot armor in the books because they can't die (until the end), so there'd need to be something to keep the PCs alive. Maybe if you "die" you don't actually perish, but instead something very bad happens to the party (you get infested, maybe?)

Infestation would be another new mechanic, though a pretty simple one; if a PC gets infested, the GM just starts controlling that character as the yeerk. The player can try to interrupt what the yeerk's doing, but has to roll a nat 20 with disadvantage (no bonuses from skill proficiencies)--it's supposed to be nearly impossible in the books so that's fairly lore-consistent.

In terms of the actual characters you can play:

Jake: Fighter, probably Battle Master subclass as that's more strategically focused. Not much else to say to be honest--I think he'd be proficient in persuasion, since he's supposed to be a good leader.

Marco: Rogue, maybe? Frankly his strengths don't match up with a specific class--maybe multiclass rogue/bard or fighter/bard because I know for a FACT he can and does cast vicious mockery.

Rachel: Barbarian for SURE, probably the Berserker subclass though I find the idea of her being a Wildheart pretty funny and thematically accurate.

Cassie: Probably a Druid or Beast Master ranger--I'm not sure where I stand on allowing caster classes since that doesn't exist in the real world but neither does morphing. Which one she is just depends on that.

Tobias: Who even KNOWS with this guy. Since he's stuck in morph it matters less, but I'd actually go with warlock--his patron is the Ellimist, since he's the one who seems to be able to argue with the Ellimist the most. It's either that or sorcerer, but he doesn't really gain any powers from his andalite bloodline so that seems less accurate.

Ax: Fighter, but it'd be different because he is an andalite. Just off the top of my head I'd make him be able to deal slashing damage on an unarmed attack (maybe just make his unarmed attack count as a sword attack) and increase his movement speed.

A group could also choose to discard these characters and play as a bunch of original characters if they so chose.

Anyways I'm probably the only person in the world that cares enough about both Animorphs and D&D to create this but oh well have fun.

[lewis-winters]

please please PLEASE tell us what you think the easy boys' dnd classes would be! i agree with dick being a paladin and nix being a rogue 100% but i'd love to know what your take would be for everyone else!

Caveat: I'm not as well-versed at DND classes just yet (mostly because I haven't actually encountered a lot of them, and I've only ever played in 5E) so these are probably not the most creative of builds but I did my best! Also! These are classes, not DND races! Just assume everyone's a variant human... and also that everyone has the Soldier's background... Also don't come for me about which edition rules or game source I'm going by, we're playing it fast and loose, everyone.

I did say Dick was an Oath of Redemption Paladin-- mostly as a joke, because of the whole healing-Blythe's-combat-blindness thing. But now that I think about it, it doesn't really fit him very well. Something about Dick could drive him to be very vindictive, I think. He's definitely very petty. Story-wise, since he's so young in-show you can explain this away as a young Paladin picking a path and learning the ways and the discipline that comes with it... But he can also very well be Oath of Devotion Paladin, since Dick is very big on honor and duty. I also see him being Oath of Glory, mostly because something about Dick always strives to be the best, and that man has a lot of self-discipline.

You know who else is a Paladin? Ronald Speirs.

Listen. I know people would automatically think: oh, Ronald is a Rogue. And while that's what I think Ron would like to think of himself as (and maybe he multiclasses-- though I have no idea how that'd work), this bitch is a fucking Paladin through and through. Oath of Vengeance? maybe, but not quite. Oath of Conquest? oh, yes, that fits very well. Listen, a Paladin does not garner divine power from their Faith in their god-- that's a cleric. No, no, a Paladin garners divine power from their devotion. Try and look me in the eye and tell me Ronald Fucking Speirs wouldn't have the ability to divine smite someone simply because he has strong opinions about something. You can't. Did ya'll just forget *points at the interrogation scene in episode 10.* GIRL. He can multiclass, of course, but I feel like he's like. Locked the fuck in, ya know?

Or if you really wanna lean into the strange-and-off-putting vibe, we could borrow from Critical Role and he could definitely be a Blood Hunter. Ronald would be the kind to become a Blood Hunter. Order of the Lycan, because he's from DOG company, and I like to think I'm funny, but also that'd play excellently with both the almost animal-like way he moves and thinks + his care for easy as a whole (pack).

Ron could also be a monk. But I like him better when he has a weapon in his hands.

Lewis is a rogue though, and mostly because he's an Intelligence Officer, but also knowing his family background, it fits. I do love the idea of him being an Arcane Trickster, mostly because in my mind he could definitely multiclass as a Shadow Sorcerer (because let's be real, New Jersey would be the type of place to house a Shadow Sorcerer bloodline) because of his Nixon name + Charisma, which he has in spades. But only until like... level 3 or 4 because Lew would be the type to forgo magic-- since it's not something he can precisely control + it's his bloodline, so it's not like he worked for it-- to opt for something he can control and work toward perfecting. But another subclass he could fall under is Inquisitor Rogue. That's literally his job description.

Or Lew could be a College of Whispers Bard! That'd be fun, too, especially since Nix doesn't do much combat, but he would have a ton of Bardic Inspiration.

Wouldn't it be so funny if tiny Harry Welsh was a Path of Wild Magic Barbarian? I think it would be funny. Idk if it would fit, mostly because I think he's a Fighter, but it would be so funny.

David Webster, this bitch would be a College of Lore Bard for sure. But I did think for a bit that he might've been a School of Evocation or Order of Scribes Wizard (who multiclassed Bard), just for the high intelligence, low wisdom joke. It would be so funny if he was School of Evocation though-- can he cast spells? Yes? Gracefully and subtly and with finesse? Oh, gods no. He's a mess.

Web and George Luz are probably the only Bards in the whole company. George could be either College of Eloquence or College of Swords........ but if you want to up the angst potential, how about College of Spirits Bard? Oh, he watched his friends die in front of him? Let's make his survivor's guilt WORSE by making him have the ability to talk to ghosts!!

Shifty Powers, obvious. Ranger, of course, and in numerous subclasses, too. Though I did toy with the idea of him multiclassing as Arcane Archer, but then I figured that's more for Earl McClung, ya know (because, historically, he was a better shot than Shifty-- even Shifty says this)? The class in itself is fairly weak though, so I imagine Earl'd multiclass Arcane Archer (Fighter subclass) with a Ranger, though what kind of subclass is still up in the air for me, too. Truthfully, much like Shifty, he could be any, so take your pick. I'm partial to Horizon Stalker; but Hunter/Monster Hunter would be good, too. Also? Just imagine casting Arcane Shot on a gun instead of a bow-&-arrow. Magnificent.

Shifty and McClung could also be Circle of Land Druids, but then they wouldn't be as proficient in combat, so we'll stick with Ranger.

Eugene Roe could be a Life Domain Cleric, of course. But I feel like that's a bit too obvious. Grave Domain Cleric, maybe? Way of Mercy Monk sounds more appropriate for his character, since he's easily the kind of character to strive for inner spiritual balance, the way monks do-- let's just pretend he focuses more on healing than he does combat. Though both these classes do have the abilities to go on the offensive.

Ralph Spina strikes me as a non-magic user healer, though, so I think he'd be a Thief Rogue with a focus on the medicine skills + an extensive Healer's Kit, since thief rogues have like... more object interaction (I think?) per turn than anyone else. Though that would also fit Eugene, too, if you want non-magic user!Eugene, since he's often described as having a sixth-sense for when people need him, then appearing outta nowhere + the whole scissors thing. And the looting for supplies.

Carwood Lipton could go like... 3 ways. Fighter, Cleric, or Monk. I'm partial to him being a Light Domain Cleric, though, since that's the first thing that popped into my head. He could multiclass as Bard too, for the Bardic Inspiration, but idk, there are other subclasses that have the Suggestion spell in their back pocket, and he would use that extensively in Bastogne to keep morale up.

Malarkey is a Wild Magic Sorcerer. Mostly for the angst potential. Can you imagine him losing control of his magic when Skip and Penkala die? I know I shouldn't torture this man, but alas, it's just too good.

I also think Joe Liebgott would be a Divine Soul Sorcerer, though. That literally popped into my head first thing the second I saw this ask. He'd have some Healing Word by Level 2, and I think that works best for scenes like the one where Tab gets stabbed and also the one where he's comforting Tipper.

I can't shake the image of Artillerist Artificer Pat Christenson, Skip Muck, and Alex Penkala out of my head. They're on machine guns and the mortar rounds, respectively, so it fits for me.

......... an evil part of me wants Buck to be some sort of Warlock, he just hides it very well? But, again, that's mostly for angst potential. Realistically, he'd be a Fighter and/or a Barbarian. But a Warlock in the Military, though, wouldn't that be something? Of course the military would never allow it, because the Patron would take precedence above all else, but who says he can't hide that by claiming to multiclass as a Wizard? Idk how that would help in any way the plot, but the vibes are immaculate.

Everybody else, though, to me are either Artificers, Fighters, Barbarians, Clerics, or Monks, of course with multiclassing in between!

......... uh. yeah! that's it!

[schafpudel]

Duck: Literally the hardest one. Call me back later.

Fakir: Fighter, obviously, as his starting class, something generic like the Battle Master or the Champion.

He's too much of a cringe ass nonmagical normie in s1 to be a paladin. but if he was he'd be the edgiest subclass in the PHB.

What arcane class you'd spec him into depends on what you want to emphasize: imo talespinners are kind of like Bards (represent the power of oral storytelling while talespinners are basically that but for written storytelling, more geared towards support and manipulation than direct damage attacks, a pinch of druidic flavor) and kind of like Wizards (big nerd whose spellcasting heavily involves writing shit down in scrolls or books). But if you really want to look into a splatbook-specific subclass for funsies, let me show you the Clockwork Sorcerer.

Mytho: Paladin 100%. He's more "a swordfighter with magic powers" than "a mage with a weapon," so it fits him more than Cleric I think. Oath of Ancients or Oath of Devotion, i think.

Raven!Mytho would naturally be Oathbreaker, or maybe a multiclass into Warlock.

Someone already told you that I think he'd be an aasimar while everyone else would be human, but. He'd be an aasimar.

Rue/Kraehe: I don't think Druid has quite the right flavor? Druids are basically like... nature mages with spiritual connotations. The Raven isn't really a force I would associate with D&D druids. Sorcerer and Warlock feel more "correct."

Sorcerer as a base class has more direct flavor, but is kind of lacking in sub-classes that work well to directly represent Raven's Blood. The PHB options are basically "elemental dragon" and "lolrandomXD", basically, and neither of those are quite right. In splatbooks... Evil-descended Divine Soul? Shadow Sorcery? Storm Sorcery??? Idk. But outside of D&D 5e in particular, in like... D&D 3.5 or Pathfinder, Sorcerer would be a better option.

For Warlock... i think conceptually the Raven as an entity maps most strongly onto Fiend. Powerwise, an emphasis on illusion, charms, and teleports maps most strongly onto Archfey. (Hey, fairies can be evil! Maleficent is a fairy, don't forget that.) There's also a Raven-themed subclass that never made it past playtesting. Give her Pact of The Chain so that she can have a little raven (actually an imp) minion to do her bidding but also spy on her on Daddy's behalf.

Okay someone who knows more about dnd than I do help me sort out princess tutu rpg classes. My thoughts so far:

Tbh I could see Duck as either a bard or a cleric. Bard for nonviolent approaches to conflict and a dance focus. That said I could totally see her as a cleric, she’d make a natural fit as the healer of the party and princess tutu could be her deity.

Ok so Fakir has to multiclass in like the most inefficient way right? Starts as a low hp high dps melee fighter and eventually makes the transition to a magic user class (warlock perhaps?? Wizard of some sort?). It’s kind of funny to imagine him as guy who desperately needs a high wis/int but keeps dumping all his stats into strength out of sheer stubbornness. I mean he doesn’t HAVE to switch classes but I think it makes the most sense, he starts in a class that he’s really not suited for and has to transition to what’s best for him even if he’s not happy about it.

Mytho is a natural fit for a paladin tank (though I’d listen to an argument for cleric). He’s throwing himself in the way to protect all the members of the party with no regards to his own safety. Probably dies a lot.

Rue I’m most undecided on. I could see her as a magic using class like Druid (preferred form is a crow) or warlock (makes a pact with the Raven) or even a bard who uses her persuasion to start drama. In a totally different direction, I could also see her as a rogue just to balance out the party; she’s clever, resourceful, nimble, etc.

PLS GIVE ME YOUR THOUGHTS IVE BEEN ARGUING WITH MYSELF ABOUT THIS FOR AGES

[take-a-look-lee]

RIGHT, right, I’m here, give me a moment to just sort myself out. I’m here. Let’s do this. Brace yourself, because there are SEVERAL bards, unfortunately. It’s the nature of assassins. 

The Balladeer - Bard. Like. That’s it, I don’t need to say anything else. He would follow the College of Lore. He’s pretty cut and dry. He sings and he’s squishy as fuck, no hitpoints for you sir. 

Booth - Again, bard, but I feel like he’d be more of a Bard/Paladin multiclass. Mainly bard but with a few levels in paladin. I’m not working out like, pantheon’s and shit because that gets complicated, but he has that righteous anger paladin bullshit. Maybe he’s just a paladin with really high Cha, but I do feel like he’s got a bit of bard to him. He definitely doesn’t have the strength or the hitpoints of a paladin though.

Fromme - Fromme is a warlock. I struggled with Fromme at first but she’s definitely a warlock. Their whole thing is just, it’s religion but a bit to the left, and that’s definitely Fromme. You could probably spin it somehow so that her patron is Manson. I really really like this for Fromme. 

Guiteau - Barbarian/Cleric multiclass, definitely. You’ve got the Barbarian rage mixed with the religious zeal. I was kind of torn between paladin and cleric for his religious class, but I feel like having him also be a barbarian makes up for the sheer wild energy he’s missing by being a cleric instead of a paladin. Again, I did actually consider warlock for him but I like what I eventually settled on. 

Hinckley - He’s another bard. I’m sorry. I can’t help it. He’s peak shitty bard. He’s like, cliche to the point of almost being unplayable bard. Ridiculously low Cha, and I’m learning towards him being College of Creation? None of the subclasses really fit him which is fucking annoying, but I do like the idea of him being part of the College of Creation. All of his ability scores are low as shit though, hence him being almost unplayable.

Zangara - Wizard! Come on, was he really going to be anything else? I wasn’t exactly going to give him a close combat role, was I, and he’s absolutely not cool enough to be a sorcerer. So he gets to be a shitty little wizard and I’m very happy for him.

Czolgosz - @what-does-a-man-do jumped right on this one, and they were absolutely correct. He’s a Paladin! Now, they said Oath of Liberation (I think) but the more I think about it, the more I think he would work as either Oath of Vengeance, or, for a super funky one, Oathbreaker Paladin Czolgosz. But tbh, as long as he’s some sort of paladin, I’m happy. 

Moore - Genuinely struggled with Moore. In the end I settled on artificer because of the vibes, but also because I couldn’t really fit her anywhere else? I love her but she doesn’t work with something like dnd classes. I will admit though that the idea of her as an artificer has really grown on me. I just think it would be really funny. 

Byck - 100% pure barbarian. Nothing else. Just him and his anger and a very big stick. He’d have a surprisingly high Cha score though, I think. But yeah, he’s a barbarian, he yells at people and he rages and that’s about all he does. But he’s good at it, and he probably rolls very well on his intimidation checks. 

Lee - Rogue! Rogue! Rogue! Don’t actually know if I need to explain this one all that much? He’s a rogue! Look at that sneak attack damage stack up! It’s brilliant! Absolutely shit Cha score and his Con is also fucking awful but his Dex is out of this world, and hey, you’re dead before you know he’s there, so does that really matter? 

The Proprietor - Last but not least. He’d be a sorcerer! I really wanted him and the Balladeer to both be magic users, and socerers have a funky little bit of pizzazz that other similar classes - looking at you, Wizard - lack. So yeah, he’s a sorcerer and he’s cool and he’s powerful as fuck.

[malaismere]

Campaign 3 Predictions - Compiled

So, as a fan of compiling statistics, I've been keeping track of race/class predictions for campaign 3 for the past...at least a year, from tumblr, reddit, and twitter. with EXU over, and my spreadsheet hitting 400 (?!), I figured I'd share the fandom's current predictions

Travis

Human (30), Dwarf (29), Elf, Shifter (11), Half-Elf (10)

Cleric (103), Bloodhunter (63), Wizard (50), Fighter (49), Druid (46)

Lycan bloodhunter (41), Forge cleric (26), War cleric (16), Eldritch Knight fighter, Bladesinger wizard (14)

Marisha

Elf (16), Genasi, Tiefling (14), Dwarf (13), Dragonborn (11)

Paladin (112), Rogue (53), Fighter (43), Cleric (40), Warlock (37)

Eldritch Knight fighter, Glory paladin (14), Artillerist and Armorer artificer, Battlemaster Fighter (8)

Liam

Dwarf (25), Halfling (18), Tiefling (13), Elf (12), Warforged (11)

Druid (77), Cleric (72), Bard (71), Fighter (59)

Stars druid (16), Dreams druid (10), Eloquence bard (8), Alchemist artificer, Whispers bard, Twilight cleric (7)

Sam

Dwarf (34), Kobold (24), Goliath (17), Warforged (15), Kenku (13)

Sorcerer (106), Cleric (98), Druid (63), Wizard (47)

Wild Magic sorcerer (61), Wild Soul barbarian (14), Twilight cleric (8), Life and Forge cleric, Wildfire druid, Divination wizard (7)

Laura

Elf (21), Human, Tabaxi (19), Genasi (15), Gnome, Aasimar (10)

Barbarian (75), Sorcerer (74), Bard (64), Warlock (60)

Wild Soul barbarian (14), Wild Magic sorcerer (12), Glamour bard (10), Shadow monk (9)

Taliesin

Warforged (16), Elf, Changeling (14), Gnome, Genasi, Tabaxi (8)

Sorcerer (68), Rogue (65), Warlock (55), Bard (45), Wizard (43)

Aberrant Mind sorcerer (18), Whispers bard, Phantom rogue, Soulknife rogue (11), Mastermind rogue, Clockwork sorcerer (9)

Ashley

Elf (26), Human (18), Tiefling (17), Half-Elf (12), Dwarf (11)

Rogue (95), Bard (91), Monk (43), Ranger (41), Warlock (38)

Swashbuckler rogue (21), Glamour bard (13), Mercy monk (9), Drunken monk, Wild Magic sorcerer (8)

I also (although less consistently) collected continent/setting predictions. Marquet was the top (49), then Issylra (29) and the Shattered Teeth (22). For non-continent settings, some form of Spelljammer was the top (19), followed by the Age of Arcanum (17), and Planescape/Planehopping (15). Underdark, Ravenloft, Blightshore, and a return to Tal'Dorei were also suggested multiple times.

Much longer and rambly discussion (and my own predictions) under the break.

Top predicted races were Dwarf, Elf, and Human (~100). Dwarf and Elf haven't been played before, so that tracks, and I don't think it's out there to assume we'll get at least one human again. Also, post the whole thing with Essek and long rests, people really started jumping on Elves (which, fair). Warforged, Dragonborn, Tabaxi, Genasi, Tieflings, and Changelings all are pretty prominent (~50).

Of the races not yet established as existing in Exandria, Warforged and Changeling were the most popular (Warforged now dubiously canon post-Aeor, and Changelings dubiously canon with the LoVM bartender), followed by Shifters, Leonin, Kalashtar, Fairies, Grung, Ravnica races (Loxodon, Simic Hybrid, Vedalken), Van Richten's Races (Dhampir, Reborn, Hexblood). Locathah and the other Feywild/Strixhaven races are the only officially published races at 0 suggestions. The lowest previously seen race is Gobins at 2, one of which was for Sam again, and the lowest PHB race was Half-Orc at 17.

Class wise, Sorcerer was actually the most predicted class (which kind of tracks, as it's the one that hasn't shown up even as multiclass), followed by Cleric (generally assumed as compulsory), Paladin (only as a multiclass), and Rogue (also assumed as compulsory, but way less so. Not surprisingly, Bloodhunter, Ranger, and Artificer were the lowest.

Wild Magic Sorcerer was far and away the most suggested subclass, the only one to break 50, although it hasn't hit 100 quite yet (I think it will by the time the final characters are announced though). EK Fighter, Lycan Blooodhunter, Forge Cleric, Swashbuckler Rogue, Wild Soul Barbarian, Stars Druid, Glamour Bard, Bladesinger Wizard, Eloquence Bard, and Echo Knight Fighter are the other top subclasses.

Every official subclass has been suggested except for Berserker Barbarian, Grave Cleric, and Transmutation Wizard (previously played), Battlerager Barbarian and Banneret/Purple Dragon Knight (SCAG subclasses, which are widely unpopular), and the dubiously-official Planeshift subclasses. Open Seas Paladin is the only Matt homebrew to not be suggested at least once. For dead UA, Satire Bard, Brute Fighter, Giant Soul and Stone Sorcerer, and Raven Queen Warlock have all been suggested, usually only once, although many of the suggestions were collected while classes were in UA for Tasha's, Van Richten's, and Fizban's which is technically still UA but announced so...

With Travis, the predictions bounce between two main ideas - a melee spellcaster (Forge/War/Tempest cleric, Bladesinger/War wizard), or going back to a melee class (Bloodhunter, Fighter) but with a bit more mechanical interest (Lycan, EK/Echo/Rune/Battlemaster). I think those are both solid predictions, and while I really, really doubt we'll see a Lycan bloodhunter or a Forge cleric, I think the general vibe is probably spot on.

My own prediction is one of the more out there, but still in line with the general thinking - Artillerist Artificer. Travis is definitely a very tactical player, and it would be cool to see him get a turret for the battlefield, plus all the general utility/versatility of the artificer. Alternatively, I really could see a rogue, although more like what Mastermind or Inquisitive is trying for as opposed to how they actually turned out, if that makes sense.

Race wise, the top guesses are fairly plain, outside of shifter (which is mostly tied into the "werewolf" vibe). None of them would shock me, but I don't have any predictions.

I think that everyone's right on the money with Marisha as a paladin. Her next character being high charisma seems spot on, and I think moving to a half-caster also tracks. EK/Echo/Rune/Psi fighters would also fit, although they don't lean towards high charisma, or a warlock, maybe a more melee one.

Rogue seems unlikely purely due to the fact she's played one before, kind of. Matt and Marisha have both talked some, but her first game wasn't Vox Machina, but a previous game Matt had run where she'd played an assassin. You can do non-assassiny rogues, but still.

(Other fun facts about this game because it's wild: apparently the session she sat in on before playing involved half the party getting eaten by ghouls. the party joined up with another half-tpk'd party (marisha and the replacement characters) to get the raven queen to bring their dead friends back, and a fate-touched rogue swore service to the Raven Queen in order to bring the last party member back.)

My prediction for Marisha is also paladin, although I don't have any thoughts on the subclass, with genie warlock as a second because they are fun. No real thoughts on race other than I too would love to see tiefling Marisha.

Most people are going with a support caster for Liam, which I totally buy. Caleb definitely leaned towards support caster, even if he usually did end up played as DPS. Druid has taken the top given the polymorph->wildshape vibe, although it's still very yclose with Bard and Cleric. Suggestions for fighter dropped after EXU, and while Liam does play a lot of fighters, I doubt we'll see it for C3.

Honestly, Liam is the one I have no predictions for outside of 'support caster'. I'd lean away from Cleric and towards Druid or Bard, but it's hard to say. I also think Artificer deserves to be in the running, as it seems like something Liam would really enjoy, but also...might not want to go Int-caster to Int-caster. My only real thought on race is that I want to see whether Marisha and Liam choose the same again.

Top guesses for Sam is, far and away, Wild Magic Sorcerer. This was also the top guess for C2. I do not think Sam will play a Wild Magic Sorcerer. In general, though, the vibe is going back to fullcaster - Sorcerer, Cleric, Druid, Wizard. I think full caster is probably right.

Sam is so hard to predict because it isn't what he'd choose, but what Liam chose for him. I think it's either something really standard or something really out there, and since I can't guess the really out there, I'll go for the standard - Elf Wizard or Dwarf Cleric, leaning towards Dwarf Cleric, due to the support class and the fact that Sam's mentioned never playing a religious character.

The main vibe for Laura is definitely "DPS" which is understandable. I don't know if I agree with it, but I understand it. Aside from Barbarian, the rest of the vibe is spellcaster - and I don't think we'll see a completely no magic character from her either.

Prediction wise...I understand barbarian, but I'd actually go with Ancestor or Beast over Wild Soul. I could actually see a Bloodhunter from her too, although leaning away from Vex vibes. I think I'd want to go with Wizard, though I'm not certain on that. I would bet Tabaxi but idk, I could see her avoiding that for Travis' sake.

Everyone always names Taliesin as the hardest to predict (he had the lowest count at 354, under even Ashley at 365, to everyone else's ~380/400) but I don't think he's harder to predict than Sam. The thing that makes him hard to predict is that he likes to build characters to fit the party, which he (probably) won't be doing, same as with Molly. The other main thing he tends towards is mechanical complexity in a way that suits his characters.

The main driving influence in the top suggestions is Eldritch Weirdness. Aberrant Sorc, Whispers Bard, Phantom Rogue, Warlock in general. I don't disagree with any of the subclasses, but I really don't think he'd go eldritch for eldritch sake, if for at the very least being...he has always been this weird and it's yet to be a driving force behind any of his characters before. Like the Taliesin-is-an-elder-god thing, I think this is mostly people who don't hang out around occultists. Look, I've had multiple people sell me their actual souls, and you don't see all my characters being warlocks.

That being said, I don't think I disagree with the top classes, just the subclasses. I definitely agree with Sorcerer as a good choice for him, although I'd actually go Clockwork, as I think it has a fuck-with-the-DM vibe. Taliesin is the most heavily suggested for dunamancy subclasses, which wouldn't surprise me, but I think he might avoid on the sole point of not wanting something too tied with the last campaign. A lot of people also name the psionic subclasses, which I'd be more likely to second if they had kept the weird mechanic from the UA, but don't disagree with, excepting my issue with Aberrant Mind.

My out there guess is that he's going to choose a multiclass build. He definitely enjoys playing around with weird builds (Owlbear, he did a non-CR oneshot as a monk/stars druid). On the one hand, a lot of these builds work best for oneshots or starting at higher levels, as they can take a bit of time to come online, but with such a large party, I think it will still function.

(my actual prediction for Taliesin is that his character is weirdly reminiscent of either the aasimar echo knight or the elf blood cleric from the exandria game I'm running.)

Ashley is being predicted as a Dex/Cha build, and I'm totally here for it. Pre-Fearne, I was leaning Ranger, especially Fey Wanderer for a fey build, but post-Fearne, I'm going Rogue, especially Swashbuckler. I agree that seeing a high Cha Ashley would be great, especially to let her be more center-focused than Yasha had been, and swashbucklers are just...really fun. Also, the whole Aeor arc really left me wanting to see Ashley as the go-ahead-and-scout character, just to watch her push buttons.

For continents...I understand why people are guessing Marquet, since it's currently the most explored. I think that if they're going to do Marquet, then Matt will sit down with a cultural consultant. I say will over should, because I won't make any value judgements, but I think it's in line with what Matt and CR would do in that situation.

I can't really tell whether this is a prediction or what I'd like to see (the two are distinct but often difficult to untangle) but I'd actually go with Issylra, and specifically playing up the (at least initial) set up of explorers and adventurers heading out into the wilds. I will also place my bets on them having some sort of more steady home base, and my hopes on that they get an airship. My wildest out there guess is that the plot will move towards either planescape/spelljammer in the upper levels, tying into some of the seeds from the end of C2.

I have seen a handful of people predicting table seating order, which is both very minor and also the thing that I may be most interested in. A while back, someone made a post pointing out that the main romantic relationships were all cross-table, while the strongest platonic relationships were same-table or side by side. Because I am the sort of person that I am, I did statistical analysis on ao3 fics....and it's statistically significant. So I am trying to see whether or not, based purely on C3E1, I'll be able to predict what the top ships for the campaign will be.

This rambling has mostly gotten out of hand because I don't have much opportunity to talk about this, but, you know. If you send me predictions I will give you the current odds gambling style, so that you'd know how much you'd win if you'd place a bet, because I did the tables up as a joke for something else and now I kind of want them to be used for something.

[ketchup-monthly]

Sanders Sides D&D 2

Ooh fresh take: Jan is virge’s patron and that’s why there’s beef

Also: Jan is some sort of fae related being

Jan: i need you to do something for me Virgil: no Janus: that's not how this works!! Virgil: watch me :P

Okay so I was thinking of Patton as a cleric cuz ooh healer however, Patton as a Druid makes me so happy

I want logan to have Rage

(Also that could tie nicely in an arc about Logan learning to accept feelings)

but barbarian logan is going to be a scholar again and is gonna be smort

bc hes logan. he cant be not smart

Oh I figured he’d be the bbeg that eventually joins the party (hurt/comfort baybee!)(Remus)

he was the bbeg but then joined the party as a bardbarian or just a bard

plus, actual bard who accidentally casts vicious mockery instead of bardic inspiration

Side note: please include a scene where Remus attempts to seduce the dragon

also with this second au, i can start them at like level 5 so people can multiclass

Pat as cleric/druid

gasp logan as artificer/barbarian

janus sorcerer/rogue

because basically everything but alchemist would work well with barbarian, but alchemist feels very Logan

bc mad scientist being actually mad

alchemist logan making an experimental potion and going "here im not sure what this does but im sure its fine! someone drink it"

Remus does it voluntarily, but Logan usually tries to get Roman to drink it

Virgil will occasionally drink it when he's on his last legs and is just like.....100% done with the party

remus as a wild magic path barbarian and just fucking teleporting or doing something equally ridiculous whenever he rages

Oh my god Remus with rage would be a force to be reckoned with

You gotta describe the first time he goes into a rage really dramatically

obviously virgil is trying to "escape" his patron, Janus (really just do whatever he says to not do out of spite)

Eldritch knight roman

Feywild warlock virgil

hey so in the second d&d au, should roman and remus be actual full siblings but like remus went darkside and like romans just trying to get back at him for putting a dark stain on the family name

hey hey hey what about warforged Logan? (essentially a robot)(so like "i dont feel anything" becoming real)

okay hear me out. elf roman and elf base simic hybrid remus. so like maybe the reason remus went darkside was experimentation? so like. hes elf but special

FALLEN AASIMAR VIRGIL

virgil just transforming in the middle of a combat scenario and like his eyes turn into black pits and flightless skeletal wings appear on his back and like everyone near him has to make a charisma check and like he deals extra necrotic damage

Pat is the one human stuck in a band of misfits

so with it, roman would be a full elf, and remus would be an elf that has tentacles bc octopus

So robot logan

i meant literally he doesnt feel anything

like he has all the emotions, but he doesnt physically feel the need to like eat or sleep or stuff like that

he just.....he pretend he don't have the feelings.....but he do.....he feel so much and he hides it all in his littol mechanical heart <3

plus......if he warforged, then like.....AC huge

he stands in front of friends.....he protecc...."no, i don't have feelings, i am physically incapable of affection" but he do!! he do! he take hits for them because he do!! he care so much

Bro he spouts all this and then he uses a reaction to dive in front of someone and everyone’s just like oh

LIKE ROMAN STILL BEING MEAN TO LO BC HE THINKS HE DOESNT HAVE FEELINGS BECAUSE HE DOESNT HAVE A HEART BUT HE DOES

hey hey everyone needs to grow

and logan standing up for himself and other people stepping in and saying no stop thats not right

plus if canon wont give me roman facing the consequences of his actions towards Logan......

but also Roman learning how to properly handle his own emotions and how he interacts with others

logan who doesn't view himself as anything more than a machine to be useful to others

the party giving logan love and affection until he slowly learns his own worth as a person

Roman and Logan not getting along (maybe Roman has a Lore reason to distrust Warforged, maybe not) and slowly learning to trust each other

when Logan is feeling real down or having some issue, Roman actually comes through to help him, showing how far both characters have come

Okay yes but also can we please give Roman more confidence than canon? Like I’m sooooo sick of low self esteem being played for laughs or just being really really sad

this boy is going on a mission and will slap his brother upside the head and tell him to shut tf up remus youre not a monster just come back home and he will do it alone if need be

OKAY SO WHAT IF HE ORIGINALLY WENT ON THE QUEST JUST TO STOP REMUS ONCE AND FOR ALL BC ROMAN THOUGHT HE WAS A MONSTER, BUT ALONG THE WAY, AND AFTER LOGAN, HE CAME TO REALIZE THAT NO, JUST BECAUSE REMUS (AND LOGAN) ARE DIFFERENT, THEY ARENT MONSTERS, JUST DIFFERENT

AND LIKE IN THE FINAL PUSH TO MAKE REMUS JOIN BACK WITH HIS BROTHER, ROMAN IS PROJECTING HIS OWN FEELINGS ONTO REMUS AND EVERYONE IS LIKE WOW BRO YOU GOOD THERE, BUT ITS A BIG MOMENT FOR LOGAN, ROMAN, AND REMUS

im unsure as to how, but it happened when he was an older teen/young adult. a simic scientist either picked him (read: kidnapped), or remus volunteered (potentially to escape court life, unaware what exactly the experiment was going to do to him physically

bc also, remus and roman are royalty

so like. how best to get at the nobes/royalty/rich famous people than by turning their kid into a monster

wait, wait, wait, because i'm lowkey a sucker for this trope, but i'm not sure if it fits Remus: the experiments left him with some fairly significant physical pain/uncontrolled magical reactions. through some combo of trying to deal with that and trying find a cure for his pain, he keeps like....absolutely wrecking random towns on accident but also deliberately wrecking certain places looking for either a) vengeance on the guy(s) responsible or b) someone who can make the pain stop

SO LIKE. WILD MAGIC BARBARIAN DOING WEIRD SHIT TO HIM WHENEVER HE RAGES

AND LOGAN COULD MAYBE HELP WITH THE PAIN AND SHIT

BC ALCHEMY

Yknow, for simplification purposes, we could say the True Bbeg just gave Remus lycanthropy and Remus hasn’t managed to control it yet

lycanthropy but simic shit?

Mr. I-Don't-Have-Feelings sees the poor dude in pain and also Roman in emotional pain from seeing his brother in pain and is absolutely like "i must resolve this like right now, immediately" because he definitely doesn't hate seeing his friend suffering, or his friend's brother whom he's just met

he definitely doesn't relate at all to the idea of someone else shaping your body and absolutely does not sympathize with Remus's plight

i was thinking the grappling thing and either manta glide or the ability to breathe underwater for the simic stuff, but like he doesnt have control over the tentacles yet?

Manta glide seems like we could have fun battle scenes

he just jumps off a cliff to avoid mushy talk/dealing with his actions/roman

Roman: Remus just because you're a monster and though i wish i was an only child-- Remus, jumping off a cliff: byyeeeeee Patton: Roman, look what you did! Virgil: dammit jan what did you do? Janus: why do you think i had anything to do with that? im a fae, not a genie Logan, thinking: what an asshole. i wish i could do that

oh my god Logan always being tired mentally bc he cant sleep

Oh my gosh I love that. So Remus got kidnapped super young, (from royal family) they never found him, as a result Roman had to grow up super fast (side effect: lowkey inconsiderate and forgets to ask for others input). Meanwhile, Remus was experimented on by True Bbeg and came out with some trauma and super cool additives

yep! chronic pain and ptsd and all sorts of other shit!

so like, simic hybrids are usually created when they're adults. but what if the true bbeg decided to go younger to see what would happen, and thats why remus has chronic pain and stuff

he was still growing when his genes were spliced, so hes dealing with growth plates shifting and his body maturing and puberty and body changes and stuff

Pat is going to have a lighthearted story. Im saying that now. Hes the one without all the baggage

Sure, but his parents have to lowkey be the really kind people who are surprisingly always down for violence

everyone: multiple crises Pat: y'all need help Pat: love and affection in spades for his little band of misfits

Patton (which I think would be pretty simple, honestly he might just see danger and jump in and suddenly everyone in the party has Feelings)

Logan

Mhm. So how did he grow up? Was he just poof created? Wait

What if he was created by the king?

To make up for remuss disappearance

wait, wait....angst......he was created to fight (hence the barbarian stuff) but alchemy is his real passion

wait so like. a second son???

hes there to replace remus?

Yea! (But like in a sympathetic grief way) But that causes a bit of a complex in Roman and ergo Roman and Logan have a bit of a beef

okay so like. hes there to be a companion for roman, and like take remus' place, even though hes not actually in line for the throne?

LOGAN AS A KNIGHT

and just......the conflict of being created for a specific purpose (plus being, you know, robot and technically incapable of deviated from said purpose) vs the fact that he actually does have independent consciousness and like....wants to live life for himself

the parents made Logan a barbarian in hopes that him and Roman would be safe

okay. so logan was created by the king with the sole purpose to take remus' place as romans brother/companion, and to be his like guard? protector? and fight, but logan wants to be an alchemist and study shit

wait, wait, wait.....thinks about Asimov's Laws

he.....his first operative is protect (specifically protect Roman)

oh man. so hes literally just a shield

his second level operative is just like.....care for Roman's emotional well-being, but he doesn't really know emotions because he was kinda just spawned and nobody told him how

and he just....kind of....lets Roman treat him like garbage and take all his grief out on him because he's staunchly in denial of both having feelings or knowing how they work

Anyway Yea so Logan created by royal family in place of Remus which created angst between the two “brothers” and identity issues in Logan. Their arcs are learning how to healthily process emotions plus Roman apology and Logan commits to alchemy

So big question: why did virge make a deal?

Tricked

he gave janus his name

and instead of janus like killing him or whatever the fae do to people who break the rules of dealing with the fae, jan was like. hey. i'll give you magic, but do what i say

Janus is lawful neutral, but leans towards being selfish

hes self serving, but he has a strong set of morals and rules he follows

Tho I want to Virgil to also not be pushover so let’s say loophole happened and Jan has to stay with virge (hence why Jan is a part of the party)

okay so a couple of the rules are dont give a fae your true name and don't try to figure out their true name

So

what if virgil accidentally gave up part of his true name, and got stuck in the deal, but then figured out janus' true name

so in the same vein that janus had control over virgil, virgil now has more control over janus

he still gets his magic from janus, so he cant break free completely, but virgil has more freedom and can occasionally tell janus what to do or when to shove it

there should a running gag where virge can explain how he learned Jan’s true name but Jan can make something loudly censor him every time

(he learned his name bc once he heard janus practicing his evil genius voice and talking to himself in the mirror and janus said his true name)

so maybe janus sent virgil on the quest to protect a town or stop something related to remus, but virgil dragged him along

he might just be trying to protect a town thats close to a ley line, or something fae-related, and they just happen upon the whole thing

janus is selfish. but lawful vs chaotic is where he comes through, in morals vs doing whatever. janus has a strong set of loyalties to the fae, and to himself

so like....Remus is just too close to Jan's stuff and he wants to take him down

Virgil is just like....exhausted and said "fine, but if i gotta do this, you're coming, too"

or at least figure out a way to protect his place, even if it doesnt mean fully taking out remus. just moving him would work for jan

Janus: virgilllllllllll hes going to mess up my magic storage locker Virgil: Jan, its empty Janus: but its mine

Yea. Remus attacks a city away from the fae: Jan: Yknow I’m gonna sit this one out Virge: oh no you don’t, get up

Or

Janus vs Janice

so his real name is Janus, but Virgil calls him Janice

Virgil: This is Janice Janice: with a “U-S” Virgil: mhm, sure Jan

I'm a big fan of just like any of the old theory name being various aliases for Jan

Damien, Dante, Ethan, Declan, etc, etc

[romulanfucker]

tell us abt tov

>:3333333 you humor me .....

im going to put this under a cut because its going to be 1) insanely long and 2) backstory secrets for the one person following me who's also a player in this campaign so borgan if youre reading this do not open (tw for discussions of violence, attempted murder, and cults. nothing graphic but. it is in there)

SO!!!! tov is a dragonborn sorcerer and he is my character for a waterdeep dragon heist campaign that has been on pause for ... far too long ... some basic physical description: - like 6.5 feet tall - silver scales, but they don't reflect light like most metallic scales would - i'm a full believer in the lizard shit so he's got a tail, clawed digitigrade feet, a long snout, and spinal ridges - he's buff for a sorcerer (in fact, there's an alternative universe version of him for which i have designed a full sheet where he's multiclassed into barbarian) so his backstory is (i'll try and fail to keep this short) that he comes from a clan of dragonborn who pride themselves on being the descedants of some of the original dragonborn created as soldiers of bahamut in the draconic wars (this is deep deep d&d lore so if you don't know; bahamut is one of the good guy dragon gods and there used to be a lot more of them and then they started getting greedy for power and created dragonborn to use a footsoldiers to fight their wars for them). as such, his clain retains a spark of that draconic magic in its blood; ie. members of his clan are born w/ a latent draconic magic. now it varies from person to person how much power they have, some have very potent magic, others can only cast some basic cantrips. and there have been some born without any latent magic at all - but very few, and tovroth senxcec (tov) is currently the only one alive without anything. obviously, this caused a lot of teasing and shame and notwhat in his childhood, and so his baby brother nagrax (rax for short) decided to try and tutor tov in book-learned magic instead.

it was very slow going. tov is bad at reading and worse at reading sigils, and their clan was also very rural and they had very limited access to arcane books. they spent years working on it, with no luck. eventually tov gave up and took an apprenticeship training as a jewelrymaker just to have Something productive to do.

then one day while in town, rax finds something buried in a library tome. it's an old historical document, it talks of a gateway to another plane, and if one passes through it, they will gain the power of that plane. and him and tov say hey actually, we know where that gateway is supposedly located. how bad could it hurt to just check it out, right?

so they charter a boat and sail for two months until they reach these ruins. now, problem. the historical text left out two very important details: one, the plane the gateway goes to is the shadowfell (if you don't know d&d its like ... the depression plane. everything is gray and horrid and food has no taste and everything either is suffering too much to notice you or actively trying to kill you) and two, because the shadowfell is like that, it takes a bit of your soul every time you enter.

so tov bops on through the gateway and ends up in the shadowfell, and its horrible and fucked up and he wants to leave, and as he turns to go, he sees this twisted visage of his brother, and something in him just ... snaps. he Needs to kill this thing, he needs to destroy it, more than he's ever needed anything.

he lunges at it, begins to fight it. in the fight, he travels back through the gateway. he realizes he's back in the real plane, and he's facing his real brother, not his shadowfell brother anymore. the urge doesn't cease and he keeps attacking.

his brother manages to subdue him, and he asks tov for answers. why would he attack his own brother like that? and tov answers him truthfully - the gateway took me to a horrible place, and i saw a horrible version of you, an evil version, and i wanted to destroy it. i must have come back while fighting it. and rax asks him. did you know you came back? did you know it was me you were trying to kill at the end? and tov says ............................. yes.

rax is (understandably) horrified, and he tells tov this has gone too far. he doesn't know who his brother is anymore. he isn't welcome at home. but as one last act of mercy, he's going to take the boat back alone and tell the clan that tov never came back through the gate, so as to preserve his memory.

and tov lets him go. so now he's alone across the sea, with this seed of hate and violence planted deep inside him but hey! at least he's a sorcerer now!!!!!

so he spends several years wandering around the woods, avoiding society as much as possible because he's terrified of that rage overtaking him again, and trying to figure out what to do with himself, because he doesnt know who he is anymore, and doesn't like what he's become. the more time he spends alone with himself, the worse it gets.

on a supply trip into town, he hear tales of some anonymous hero that killed a beast that had been harassing the town, and realized it was an animal he'd killed a few days ago. and he goes. hey, maybe monster hunting could be ... something? its a way to put that violence inside me to a beneficial cause, if i can take out things that have been bothering good people. so he starts wandering around, entering towns more often, looking for people in need of a freelance beastkiller.

this is where the campaign picks up!!! i'll spare you the details of the whole shebang because this is already SO long, but the important thing is that the party's currently caught in the crossfires of a few different criminal investigations, and to get some allies on their side, a few party members have joined guilds in the city.

tov personally joined the order of the gauntlet, a guild that's dedicated to law and justice. he almost didn't let himself join at first, because he didn't think he deserved to become a paragon of justice when he was Like That. but the leader of the guild, savra belabranta, took him aside and was like. look. this guild is a place to earn your forgiveness.

and she tells him that, before joining the guild, she was caught up in some very very nasty cult business. like. murder cult business. and she didn't think she could ever be a good person after she left, but people here believed that she could be, and she believes that tov can be too, if he'll let himself.

and for the first time since rax got back on the boat alone, tov is beginning to think that he might be able to become the kind of man who can go home and face his family again. so he joins. and he spends more and more time with savra, and he starts to really like her. like really like her.

so far in game, they've gone on one date and savra ended up having to sleep in the party's house after (they live in apartments above a bar) and so he lied and said they had a guest room and then shoved all of his belongings in a closet, directed her to his room, and slept on his party mate's floor. because he didn't want her to think he was propositioning her after just one date.

but like, the dm is 100% on my side in this, and we already have begun putting together a post-campaign marriage plot for them and im very soft about it all the time because like .... its just these two people at two different points in their journeys to forgive themselves, and they're helping each other reach that final goal, and they're both finding happiness they didn't think they'd ever actually see and i aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

anyways thats tov thanks for asking

[jewellsfrommaruss]

STS!! Since you asked me a dnd-related question, I have to ask you one. What classes/subclasses would you put your characters in? 👀

Oh yes! I’ve actually have some of these thought out!

Morrigan - Barbarian/Fighter(Cavalier) - I’ve always thought of the barbarian class as something that someone is born into, the multiclass would happen when she joins the military!

Jadette - Mastermind Rogue - Barely had to think about it! Her whole thing is out smarting her opponents and manipulating people to benefit the family!

Porcia - Archfey Warlock - I think it would be very easy for a fey to take advantage of Porcia since she desires acceptance and love so much D:

Alwin - Oath of Devotion Paladin - I don’t know what god he would go with, the Jewells are notoriously agnostic, but I think being in service of something larger then himself is something he is very used to

Abudemio - Transmutation Wizard - It’s the closest thing to Math Wizard I think of, he would spend a lot of time measuring and organizing components!

Mishca - Beast Master - She has so many birds you don’t understand, her late game companion would definitely be a giant hawk(or in her canon a Blizzard Beak)

Cecilia - Divine Soul Sorcerer - She was born with magic in her canon so I think its the most fitting class, 100% would be feisty if the gods tried to give her a mission

Timothy - Drunken Master Monk - He wouldn’t even learn these skills on purpose, he’s just that much of a rowdy, fun-loving guy!

Nevan - Shepard Druid - I deeply tie sheep and lamb imagery with this character so I was automatically drawn to this subclass, the hermit life-style that a lot of druid characters have would really appeal to him

Cheshire - Swashbuckler Rogue - So I actually have played Chess at a table before, he was a Thief Rogue/Bard, but after finding the Swashbuckler subclass I think it would fit him better since charisma and persuasion are his greatest strengths!

[lawful-evil-novelist]

please! I do not know your drow characters, please tell us about them!

Ok, I have a lot of drow characters so I’ll try to keep this...short.

So a few of my characters were NPCs in campaigns I took to writing while working with certain original characters but eventually the characters morphed their own personalities separate from the NPCs they came from and honestly the only similarity left is like, they have the same name, class, and gender.  This includes like, most of the main characters of Page Prince.

The Xilbrindas brothers are numbered at three, Xandaer or Xan, Soluun or Sol, and N’arl.  Their house was destroyed when the youngest was around 8 or 9.

Xan is a few years short of 270 and is a fighter, he’s the oldest of the Xilbrindas brothers and is the most removed from drow society, deliberately so.  Xan is quiet and reserved, it’s pretty much a large question as to whether or not he’s actually nice or just doesn’t like murder.

Soluun is the middle brother at around 150, is a fighter as well and a gunslinger.  Soluun is the most typically drow-like of the brothers, basically, he’s clung to drow values as a way to cope with not having a family anymore.  Soluun and Xan hate each other but Soluun’s relationship with N’arl is a touch more complicated.

N’arl is the youngest brother, being only about 50 or so, and is the only spellcaster; he’s a wizard.  N’arl, separate from his fairly confident brothers, is a nervous wreck.  He’s constantly anxious and has a very low opinion of most of his skills, a sole exception being his skill with poisons and antidotes.

Nym is N’arl’s father, but he’s kinda the worst.  Nym doesn’t actually care about N’arl beyond “this is mine” and left N’arl to be raised by Soluun because he was constantly running around.  He’s a thief, backstabber, and all-around sucks.

Fel’rekt is one of two drow that are invested in making sure N’arl is safe and happy, he is the one better at that job but in fairness, Fel’rekt has the conviction of a bull and I love him for it.  Fel’rekt, as a side note, is also trans, thought that would be a good detail to add.

Krebbyg is that second drow, he’s also Fel’rekt’s boyfriend and is...he’s kinda quiet.  Like he cares about N’arl but that amounts mostly to him prodding N’arl in the ribcage and telling him to eat or threatening Soluun with sharp weapons when he’s a jerk.

Varis Baenre is a precious spoiled brat blessed by the drow gods and is fucking smug as hell about it, he’s great, he’s such a little shit I love him so much.

Lyssa is a drow rogue who is a ball stubborn anti-Lolth sentiment and her rejection of Lolth can be succinctly summed up by her own words: “Fuck the Bitch Queen of Spiders”.  So yeah Lyssa’s fun.

Jysanna Myafin is actually my only drow matron.  Jysanna is basically just a drow ranger and a mom at the same time.  Like a good mom, she knows what she’s doing and doesn’t treat her kids like crap.

Myrae Myafin is Jysanna’s eldest daughter, she’s a bard and is superbly extra, like, too extra for her own good but I love her anyway.

Vierda Myafin is Jysanna’s middle daughter, she’s a sorcerer-rogue multiclass and her motif is, surprise surprise, spiders.  Come on I needed one drow that had the spider motif might as well give it to the one whose nickname is Matron Slayer.

Nalfein 100% gets his name and premise from the Legend of Drizzt character that dies in chapter 1 of Homeland and I have no regrets.  He’s a drow necromancer blessed by the drow goddess Kiransalee, he is charming and frighteningly intelligent.  He’s basically the person that threatens you with a very happy smile on his face.

December is one of my first drow characters, she’s a sorcerer/fighter and has silver dragon blood in her veins.  December is best described by the anecdote of her both cowing an entire room of kobolds into submission and also by adopting like four of them.

Zarifrax is a lich, he is a dramatic as fuck lich and is also blind, like his matron stabbed his goddamn eyes out because he did something he wasn’t supposed to but she didn’t cut out his tongue, which is a only downside for the people who don’t like getting murdered with words.

Morgan technically doesn’t count because he’s only half drow but since the other half is sun elf I’m counting it.  Morgan is Xan’s boyfriend and a wizard.  He’s friendly and cheerful and has a biting wit, mostly to disguise a lot of self-worth issues because being half drow among sun elves is not a recipe for a happy childhood.

Savan is Varis’s technical guardian, he’s the drow in charge of Varis when Varis’s actual guardian, his uncle, is doing stupid shit, which is, granted, most of the time.  The best way to describe Savan is “Rosa Diaz if she were a drow”.

Mindra is a paladin of Eilistraee and is very eager to prove herself.  She’s that gay paladin in love with the moon, by the way.

Eryn Fey-Branche is a drow warlock who made a pact with a celestial being; she’s the drow I play for Curse of Strahd.  She’s a smartass with generally good intentions and has a small gift for mimicry.  She’s mimicked her boss on several occasions and also cusses people out in drow sign while talking to them.

Last but certainly not least is Izze, Izze is a small drow warlock who made a pact with the actual drow god of slimes and oozes, That Which Lurks, Ghanadaur, and is, while a typical little shit for drow, is also infectiously cheerful and friendly.

[hawkesvarric]

For my own reference (and because my dumb monkey brain refuses to let me think about anything other than Dungeons and Dragons), here’s my Dragon Age oc’s as D&D characters!

👑 WARDENS 👑

Shaene Tabris

Class: originally Rogue -> Ranger. I’ve always pictured her as this urban ranger type, like that introductory scene of Aragorn in the tavern? Yeah.

Subclass: Gloom Stalker. Listen.

Background: I think urchin would be the closest fit?

Wesley “Wes” Cousland

Class: originally Warrior -> Fighter. Boring, I know, but I really can’t picture him ever bothering to learn magic. He’s just a big dumb idiot with flouncy hair and a shield. I love him.

Subclass: Really, the Cavalier fits, but I like Champion as well. Ehh, I’ll say Cavalier.

Background: Noble. Obviously.

Camriel Surana

Class: originally Mage -> Wizard. He is all about acquiring knowledge and learning every spell possible.

Subclass: As much as Necromancy fits purely for the aesthetique™, I know the true answer is War Mage. He would never specialize in only one type of magic first of all and secondly he wants to be so powerful that no one can ever cage him again. War Mage makes sense.

Background: Hmmmm. A heavily modified Cloistered Scholar?

Pola Brosca

Class: originally Warrior -> Barbarian. She’s been forced to fight her entire life so, of course, she is skilled at it, but her anger over having to do so for every little scrap of peace she owns sometimes spills over.

Subclass: *Clerks voice* BER-SER-KER!!!!

Background: Gladiator. Fighting in the Provings, hello???

⭕ HAWKES ⭕

Tatiana Hawke

Class: originally Rogue -> Rogue. kjlglkf it just? that’s her true soul class?

Subclass: Swashbuckler. and, NO, it’s not just because she romances Isabela! She’s just quick on her feet and all about that pizzazz.

Background: Cormanthor Lothering Refugee.

Gabriel Hawke

Class: originally Mage -> Sorcerer. Innately gifted with magic, just a raw power that he has troubles controlling sometimes. I feel like he’s multiclassed into fighter as well. Him big.

Subclass: I know it’s Unearthed Arcana, but Stone Sorcery is just so fitting it HURTS. You know that one spell in DA2 when you go force mage and it’s a giant rock fist that punches the everloving fuck out of your enemies? Yeah, that’s Gabriel’s favored spell.

Background: I guess also Lothering Refugee lol.

📗 INQUISITORS 📗

Margot Trevelyan

Class: originally Warrior -> Paladin is by no means my favorite class but I’m honestly kinda digging this tiny little gremlin girl being a mighty two-handed-sword-wieldlin’ Paladin.

Subclass: I kinda like Oath of the Crown for her? I guess the Crown in question would be the Inquisition itself although lol at the fact that she ends up disbanding it to go be a Red Jenny with Sera. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Background: Noble.

Herah Adaar

Class: originally Mage -> Warlock. She had some innate abilities before (probably a level of sorcerer) but would certainly be giving of herself if it meant the ability to help her friends and others.

Subclass: Celestial. See above for reasoning.

Background: Mercenary Veteran. She was part of the Valo-kas so.

Dhaveira Lavellan

Class: originally Rogue -> Blood Hunter. It’s not too far-fetched to think of a group of Dalish who want to protect their people at any cost enough to tamper with something like this. Especially Dhaveira.

Subclass: Order of the Mutant. She was a Tempest rogue, so she’s proficient in the use of alchemy and would want to use it as a tool to enhance her own abilities.

Background: Modified City Watch. More like Clan Watch.

Edric Cadash

Class: originally Rogue -> Artificer. That was his original subclass anyways and he’s quite good with his hands (a fact Cassandra can attest to ayoooooo).

Subclass: Gunsmith. Imagine Edric walking up to Coryphetits and Cory being all “what’s that you’ve got in your hands, little dwarf?” while Edric with a dramatic flourish cocks it and replies, “You know what it is, bitch.”

Background: Criminal. Litcherally part of the Carta so I meeeean.

Yara Lavellan

Class: originally Mage -> Druid. Absolutely.

Subclass: I’m torn between Land and Shepherd. I’m leaning towards Shepherd for the totem aspect and also I’m biased and it’s my favorite so.

Background: Outlander?

Helene Trevelyan

Class: originally Mage -> Cleric. She might be my only actual Andrastian inky now that I think about it. So it would fit, her praying to Andraste and receiving her blessing which people would interpret as more evidence to the whole Herald business.

Subclass: Life. Yeah.

Background: Hermit??? She was shipped off to a Circle so it’s not 100% but she also isn’t nearly as studious as Sage or Cloistered Scholar would suggest.

[pigeonpedigree]

Ooh, this is something I can get my hands on, and something that I am uniquely suited for, (ive already actually done this myself, im a DM and I get ideas for important npcs from media my players don't watch, my players must never know how many mcyters are in my campaign) Actually alot of these are exactly the classes I picked too, let me go through and sorry for the long reply

Pix- you are 100% correct, this man is a grave cleric, nothing more to say it fits so perfectly.

Scott- I was originally looking at cleric for him, power backed by his god is kinda what that class just is, but his story is such a classic sorcerer concept so i pretty quickly switched to divine soul as well. (Plus I like balanced parties and I didn't want two clerics)

Jimmy- Paladin is an interesting option, and one I quite like, but I had actually settled on a college of Valor bard. I actually don't have much of a reason for this other than, like u said, vibes, but I think it's very funny to make him a bard. Plus everyone seems to like him? Even the people who bully him? Scott, joel, sausage, even fwhip at the end. everyone loves a fish boy, so high charisma is super necessary. Also I know Valor bard is not like, a super optimized subclass, but that's so not the point, AND I think it's even funnier if Jimmy's picked one of the least useful subclasses for bard. Like he should be support and magic and all that but he plays like a fighter and gets his ass kick for it. Just *mwuh* chefs kiss.

Joel- so I didn't realize this when I started writing it, but our Jimmy and Joel classes swapped. That's right, Paladin joel. Again, I super love the reasoning for a creation bard, but I just tapped into a different aspect of the character. Rather than gaining power from creation, gaining power from love for Oath of the Crown Paladin. He swears an oath to lizzie and by god do those subclass features let him protect her (not that she *actually* needs it). Plus being a tankier character helps with…

Lizzie- being a swashbuckler rogue. You wanna be a rogue who's the face of the party, swashbucklers the way to go. Both the rakish audacity and panche subclass features let her use her charm and charisma in battle. We may be dropping her magic plot line but we are leaning further into the Ocean theming. Plus I do like the idea of Paladin joel facing an enemy to let the rogue flank them. Just the synchronicity and teamwork are swoon worthy.

Shrub- my one multiclass pick, I know everyone is gonna jump to the circle of the Spore Druid and I agree that it doesn't fit her as well as barbarian. But does she know that? What if she starts as a Spore Druid and then when everything starts to go down and the wolf pack thing happens… boom path of the beast barbarian. I liked Beast barb because why use the wolf spirt, when u could *be* the wolf. (But that's just a personal choice, obviously either works well)

Katherine- now making Shrub a Druid is gonna set off a bit of a chain reaction cause again, I don't want to repeat classes, so my thought for Katherine was Fey wanderer Ranger. This one may borrow more heavily from fanon, as I haven't actually watched her videos, but I did like the fairy or fairy- adjacent head canons for her. Plus I think the neutrality is very fae like, as is killing things for decoration purposes (the heads). Plus u can still get some healing ability. You get the best of both fae and Druid as a Ranger.

Pearl- this is also correct, she deserves to be buff and protective and hit things good. And who would deny her that?

Sausage- now this may be obvious but blood hunter. And order of the Profane Soul. It's just. Almost self explanatory. But I will explain anyway cause that's the kind of person I am. This class works so well with sausage no matter what arc you're in. Pre xornoth, u got the blood sheep. Xornoth Era, u got the warlock like powers that Profane Soul grants. Post xornoth, u get into what the blood hunter was originally intended for, using your experience w dark powers to protect people from dark powers. Still proficient in melee fighting like a rogue but w an extra layer of extra-ness. And doesn't that feel right for sausage.

Gem- is there. Is there really any other choice.

Fwip- these two are just. They embody these classes so well.

Joey- I mean. You know those warlock jokes about having a magic sugar daddy.

in the spirit of this d&d talk, let me suggest: the season 1 empires crew as 5e character classes!

pixlriffs. grave domain cleric. if we don’t do the dm joke -points- that man is a cleric. like. oh my god. that man is a cleric. he absolutely casts holy magic. the grave domain is also just absolutely perfect for this. they’re all about the balance between life and death, properly respecting the dead, and also just absolutely demolishing undead things. it just… this fits him so well.

scott. divine soul sorcerer. i went back and forth a LOT on this one. almost went paladin. however… he gives me more sorcerer vibes. he was born with this power, whether he likes it or not. it’s not entirely under his control. unlike, say, a cleric or paladin, it doesn’t come from worship or a code, it’s just… something innate to him. went divine soul because of the source of the power - he was born into aeor’s power.

jimmy. oath of the ancients paladin. okay so listen. jimmy just… gives me paladin vibes i have no better explanation. but we can make this work with the codfather thing, right? like, okay, listen, so what if the codfather head and what makes him worthy of it is his paladin oath? wouldn’t that be cool? i think that would be really cool, and looking at the various oath tenants i think oath of ancients fits jimmy best? idk i’m willing to change my mind on this one.

joel. college of creation bard. okay let me explain this one. i like… really associate empires!joel with building, and creation, and craftsmanship, but he doesn’t have artificer vibes. he has bard vibes. and this bardic college has this whole thing with a song of creation, used for creating things, and i just think that fits joel’s energy? the idea that he sings this song that changes the fabric of the universe, to make grand things - doesn’t that feel a bit joel to you too?

lizzie. arcane trickster rogue. i think she’d be a very face-y kind of rogue, one of the high charisma ones. this almost inevitably makes her and joel the faces of their party which i think is very funny. but also… the scam artist lizzie deserves to get to be a rogue, i think. arcane trickster is a nod to her own magical plotline, and the abilities that come from that. (if you don’t need that reference, swashbuckler works too.)

shrub. path of the totem warrior barbarian. look she gives me more totem warrior vibes than druid vibes, personally. her totem would be the wolf spirit, obviously, and she fights with ancestral power and a totem animal spirit that adds to her might. also i think she would do a MEAN barbarian rage. small gnome… big punch. (for the record i also considered ranger before ultimately going nah, barbarian fun.)

katherine. circle of dreams druid. the druid class that’s associated most with the feywild, the mysterious, the dreamy. it’s also a very heal-y sort of druid class, and i think that katherine strikes me as “would play someone who can heal”. don’t be fooled though especially at low levels druids can and will kick your ass.

pearl. battle master fighter. look - sometimes you just gotta have the guy who is really fucking good at hitting things five times a turn. and that’s pearl. simple, but so, so effective. i went fighter over barbarian because she never really struck me as having a ‘rage’? she struck me as the disciplined kind of martial class. also struck me as far more fighter-y than monk-y.

sausage. horizon walker ranger. this wasn’t just because we needed a ranger; rangers make good assassins if you aren’t the rogue (and the rogue is lizzie here), but also, horizon walkers are all about traveling between planes and visiting other world, as well as protecting this plane from the horrors found in others. later arc sausage stuff feels like that fits him well, honestly? also bubbles is his animal companion.

gem. order of scribes wizard. this one wasn’t hard i don’t think i have to justify it, other than “went order of scribes because that one’s the most wizard-school-y of all the wizard schools”.

fwip. artillerist artificer. i also don’t think i have to justify this one, other than “artillerist because make weapons go boom”.

joey. fiend warlock. on the one hand, i didn’t necessarily want to give him warlock just because of the xonorth thing. on the other hand… yeah i really wanted to give him warlock. i mean. come on now. come on. if you want him as a non-warlock though i think he also makes a good bard (college of glamour i think).