#but the figurative element of building doom and bad weather and such is there too and when you think about the future... this line struck m

[vickyvicarious]

Last night was very threatening, and the fishermen say that we are in for a storm. I must try to watch it and learn the weather signs.

I love this line for, again, the little detail of Mina being interested in learning all the time. She sees the fisherman are able to forecast the storm, and becomes interested in learning how to do so herself. She resolves (always making plans) to watch and try and figure the patterns out herself.

But also. Mina is going to watch and learn the signs to interpret the bad weather. It's approaching her now and she wants to recognize the clues so that when it hits she can be prepared. This is the storm that Mr. Swales says is bringing death, the one making noises Mina describes as "like a presage of doom"... she doesn't know how yet but she is going to learn how to foretell where this storm will go.

*froths in 'storm as a metaphor for Dracula'*

[deathonyourtongue]

Winter Passing | Chapter 1

Summary: Injured and left for dead in the middle of a nowhere state, he traverses peaks and valleys for days without seeing any sign of civilization. Just as death’s icy fingers begin to coil around him, he finds a cabin in a clearing. Terrified from years of being told fairy tales and ghost stories, he nevertheless knocks on the door. When he wakes, he finds not a demon, but an angel, long removed from the insanity of the modern world. Pairing: Slightly AU!Henry Cavill x OC Word Count: 2.4K Warnings: Mentions of blood A/N: Like if you want to be added to the tag list. Message me if you want to be removed.

@radaofrivia​ @crushed-pink-petals​ @henrycavillfanpage​ @kirasmomsstuff​ @bluestarego​ @redhairedmoiraandtheliferuiners​ @safiras​ @honeychicana​

It had been one of the worst storms the area had seen in years. Snow, wind, ice, and hale had all done their best to batter down their part of the earth. Despite the severity, it had only succeeded in blanketing the clearing with a fresh coat of powder. Protected as it had always been by the mountain on one side and the ocean on the other, the clearing’s stream and small lake stood relatively untouched by the late winter assault; she wouldn’t have to break the ice for water today, but she would have to cut more wood.

Starting her day as she always had, Olivia woke as slowly as the sun did, brewing a tea of peppermint and the last of the season’s lemon balm to warm and waken herself from the inside out. She gave Gunnar his first meal of the day, smiling as her 4-year-old Husky grumbled his way to his bowl, clearly muttering to himself about how long she’d taken to get up. Her own breakfast would come after her morning duties, and before she set about the early afternoon’s activities of reading, cooking, and writing. It would be a simple day, topped off with a sumptuous dinner of braised rabbit stew and homemade bread and wine. Winter was a vacation from the various duties of the other seasons and Olivia looked forward to every second, fleeting though they were.

She’d forgone snow pants the moment she’d moved to the clearing, having studied the area well enough to know she’d never get snowed in, and never deal with the sharp, nipping temperatures the rest of the state felt throughout the winter months. Wearing long johns, jeans, woolen socks, and her tried-and-tested winter boots, she set about collecting the water, cutting the wood, and feeding her small crop of animals, talking to each one as she went. She doted on her creatures, all of them telling her a daily story of the previous day’s activities simply with their eyes, their sniffs, and their eagerness for food. Petting her lamb, she reminded herself to start on her next knitting project using her old girl’s spring sheering, Olivia excited by the prospect of a new, even cozier sweater.

The incense was lit once she’d come in with the water, and the hearth was stoked in preparations for the afternoon’s cooking. It wasn’t until she was in the middle of chopping wood that she felt the shift in the air. Stopping all movement, she scanned what she could of the clearing, assuaged in her fear only by the fact that her rifle sat on a stump at arm’s length. Bigger game was rare, only due to the difficulty in accessing the area, but she’d had one run-in too many with a bear to trust that it was impossible. She registered the silence of the birds with trepidation, but as they hadn’t flown, she knew whatever was coming wasn’t as dreadful a predator as it could be.

Finally, her eyes caught the part of the clearing that didn’t belong, the shape dark against the white of the snow and mountains. It wasn’t an animal, but from far off in the field, she couldn’t tell whether it was a man or a woman who approached her door. Moving silently, each step soft and calculated, she flanked the stranger and quickly made her way into her small cottage by way of the back door. Old habits die hard and even in the middle of nowhere, she kept her front door locked and latched, a practical protection to top off all the more mystical ones she’d placed on the location upon moving in. Shoe-less, she slid across the hardwood floor, using the column that divided the kitchen from the front room to her advantage in order to catch a glimpse of the person knocking desperately. To her shock, the first thing she saw was blood, a mask of it covering the face of a man who couldn’t be older than 35. His breath fogged the front windows, and before she could even call out, he’d fallen like a sack of potatoes at her doorstep. Whatever had happened to him, had been bad enough that he’d decided to brave the wilds rather than stay by the road waiting for help. Her only hope was that he wasn’t dead. The trek into town was laborious under the best weather conditions; in winter, it was nearly impossible.

—————————–

Henry’s day had gone from bad to worse. 

Packing up had been hard enough, with Tabitha’s cat trying to bat at or bite him at every given opportunity. His ex certainly didn’t help matters, her words as cutting as her cat’s claws. Though they’d been together nearly five years, Henry felt like he barely knew the woman she’d turned into over the last few months. It was the great tragedy of his life, but it was quickly becoming his worst nightmare; he had no choice but to move on. 

With the last load packed, he’d hit the highway one last time, looking forward only to ordering a pizza and calling it a day in his new, ramshackle, bachelor pad. He worried his Escalade would look out of place among the sea of Hondas and Kias that littered the parking lot of his new residence, but Henry knew he’d be trading in the car soon enough, and vowed to get into something a little less conspicuous. 

He was halfway to his destination when the ABS light came on, blinking rapidly. Nearly as soon as it had come on, the light switched off once more. Henry thought little of it, but made a mental note to mention it to his mechanic the next time he went in for service. Before he could even finish his thought however, the car in front of him began to slow down. Pressing the brake, Henry felt a cold chill go through him as his foot went directly to the floor. Trying again, and pumping the pedal this time, he got the same result. His immediate–albeit regrettable–thought was that Tabitha had drained his brake fluid and caused him to ride dry. Without the fluid, there’d be no way of applying pressure to the discs, leaving him without an option that didn’t involve a crash. 

With the car ahead quickly approaching his front bumper, Henry looked around, trying to figure out the best possible route. He couldn’t switch lanes due to a semi on his left, and careening across four lanes seemed deadly even if it did get him to the inside shoulder of the highway. Heart sinking, he closed his eyes and veered right at the last moment, knowing full well he was about to die. Aside from the small patch of forest, there was little to keep him from rolling right off the side of the mountain and to certain doom. Bracing, Henry did his best to keep the wheel straight once he began cutting through brush, hoping for the best. 

The violent scream of metal on rock accompanied his own cries as the SUV began to roll and skid at a steep descent. Henry dared not open his eyes as all the windows shattered, the dash caved in on itself and his steering wheel made contact with his head more than once. He blacked out as the car careened down the side of the mountain, waking only when it came to a bone-crunching stop at the base of a sturdy pine tree. 

His consciousness mercifully kept him in and out until the smell of burning rubber woke him for good. Feeling the heat building in the footwell, Henry moved only through the power of adrenaline, scrambling for his seatbelt cutter and taking a deep breath before slicing through the woven fabric, his body hitting what used to be the roof with a sickening thud. Crawling through the shattered glass of the passenger window, Henry moved as far away as he could, turning back only to see the car engulfed in flames. With the fire making it too dangerous to try and save any of the trunk’s contents, Henry patted his body down, looking for his phone, hoping he could at least make a call to get out. When he came up empty-handed, one look back to his vehicle confirmed what he’d feared; his cell was still in the center console, burning to a crisp with the rest of his things.

Though he wanted to sit and wallow in self-pity waiting for help to arrive, a sharp sting of wind reminded him he had to move.  Having considered himself something of a well-prepared man prior to the accident, Henry cursed himself for not having worn his winter coat while driving, the warm garment turning to ash along with his winter boots in the fire. He chuckled to himself, thinking of how thrilled his ex would be to learn of his demise, out in the woods at the bottom of the mountain, walking in circles until he’d succumbed to the elements. 

“You’ll finally get your wish, Tabs. Me out of your life for good!” He called out with a barking laugh, Henry tucking his hands into his pockets as he looked around for a suitable walking stick. The flaring pain in his knee was enough to warn him against trying to walk unassisted, and with fresh powder coming nearly to his thighs, he knew better than to try it even in perfect health. 

Red coated his vision as he bent over to grab a snapped branch. Rubbing at his eyes, the breath caught in his throat as the back of his hand came away soaked with fresh blood. Logically he knew head wounds bled more, but at that moment, it scared him badly, Henry once again being reminded that death was nipping at his heels. Propelled forward, he limped in the only direction he could go; towards the lake.

—————————–

Gathering her courage, and sliding her sharpest knife into the back of her belt, Olivia crept to the door and opened it, gasping as the man’s head fell lifeless into her home, thankfully still attached to his very poorly-clothed body. Most residents of the state knew better than to go anywhere without a snow coat, good sturdy boots, and thick pants, yet the man had on little more than jeans, sneakers, and a sweater. It’d be a wonder if she could save him even with all her knowledge. Mildly annoyed that her perfectly-planned day had gone haywire so early, and more than a little grumpy from lack of food, Olivia nevertheless hooked her arms under his and dragged him inside, laying him down in front of the hearth before locking the doors, and setting about gathering what she would need in order to try and wake him, patch him up, and hopefully get him out at the earliest possibility.

For lack of ammonia, she used alcohol as a smelling salt, waving a cotton bud soaked in it under his nose as she watched the water begin to boil in the pot on the fire. A homemade salve, several lengths of cotton batting, and honey from her own hive all sat to the side, ready to be used in cleansing and dressing whatever wounds were causing him to bleed so profusely. As she waited for him to come around, Olivia took stock of the man, noting his fine features, soft hands, and well-manicured beard. A nomad he was not, though his clothes had broadcast as much the moment she saw them. No, wherever this man was from, he was definitely not prepared for nature, and if she had to venture a guess, he’d crashed on the road above the clearing and had been driving in a climate-controlled car before being ejected into mother nature’s frozen arms.

When he showed no sign of waking, Olivia set to work on cleaning what she could see. The two gashes on his head, both at the hairline were her first priority. Cleaning them thoroughly, she applied a liberal amount of honey to each before fashioning the bandages so that they pulled the wounds closed. While she was a fair hand at sewing, none of her threads were strong enough to hold skin together and she didn’t want to take the risk of adding to any potential infections. 

With the rest of his body still clothed, she pushed his large frame closer to the hearth, covering him in her thickest blanket and taking off his water-logged shoes and socks to check for frostbite. When all she saw was irritated red skin, Olivia dried his feet and applied cornstarch before letting the blanket fall back over his toes, knowing he needed to get warm, but without shocking his system and short of a warm bath, laying next to the hearth would be his best bet. 

Satisfied that she’d done as much as she could, Olivia cleaned up and went upstairs to change into something a little more comfortable than all the layers she’d been wearing. Donning a gauzy moss-green dress that dragged along the floor, she threw a long-sleeved shawl over it and, feeling the beginnings of a hunger headache starting, took down her hair from its messy bun, knotting only the top half before putting a hair stick through it, Olivia feeling immediately better.

—————————–

Henry wasn’t sure what heaven–or hell–was supposed to be like, but he was almost certain neither place was supposed to be wet. Groaning, he turned his head, only to feel like his entire brain had shifted sloppily from one side of his skull to the other. Unwilling to open his eyes, his hand found its way out from under the weight that was on it, managing to bat away whatever was causing his face to feel like it had been slimed. 

“Gunnar!” A voice hissed, and though it hurt to do so, Henry finally cracked open an eyelid, wishing he could move faster as he found himself in a veritable witch’s cottage. Dark wood served as the backdrop for more candles than he had ever seen in one home. As his vision cleared, Henry made out several animal bones, and what he could only imagine to be an altar of some sort, given the rather large deer skull surrounded by rune stones, a dish of herbs, more candles, and a beautifully polished stone of some sort. 

Waiting for the stereotypical hag to appear, Henry was startled when around the corner came the most beautiful woman he’d ever laid eyes on. If he were in heaven, he’d gladly deal with the pagan stylings of whatever angel called this place home. 

Watching as the dog who’d just been giving his face a bath moved away, Henry tried to find his voice, but what came out was a croaky jumble of words that only served to put an amused smile on the angel’s face. 

“Dead? You heaven?”

[noxeriumtsalis]

A simple trade route

Darkness, how many times has it been that I have woken to a cold abyss, to a shattered building.  To be spat back out by death over and over, I wonder if that journey will ever stack up to my life.  I wonder if the lack of voices should soothe my immediate panic or double it.  That small shard of anger, has it released the grip on my soul, or just biding its time to see if I’m worthy after all?  

Let’s take stock of what happened.  I was a fool, the rumors were true there is much to be hauled up from the wreckage that continues to sink.  The Maelstrom’s influence is far reaching.  I know some of the lifeboats went out, wouldn’t have forgiven them otherwise.  I was never good at keeping ships for long, too ambitious.

Sinking towards the crushing darkness, the man let his tattered form grow heavy, let the cool depths pull him down further and further from the churning waters and stormy skies.  He had made sure as many got off that could have, prolonged the damage using everything he could.  The sea was cruel, it would be the last time he took advice from one who sailed a ship name like Siren.  Now there was nothing left, the Pale Dancer was just a memory, in more ways than one.  At least eternity would be met with her face staring back.  A corner of his lips curled up in his trademarked smirk, before his eyes shut in acceptance.

His senses surrounded by the all encompassing embrace of the tides, he had always loved being at sea, maybe this was the most fitting burial for someone like him.  His first true home, perhaps even his origin, who knew, now it would be his tomb.  That smirk held on his features the whole time, waiting for his thoughts to go black in acceptance of finality.  A chaotic mind finally at peace.  Even that was doomed to be a fruitless endeavor, he could feel his form being lifted up and a voice in the back of his mind returned.  A laughter roiling up from the dark recesses of his memory, revived by the sets of hands that were helping support his body and swimming upwards.

Coughing out the cold water accompanied by the overbearing overture of lightning there was no audible speech.  The captain just glared daggers as his bosun and quartermaster treaded water beside him and were already directing him towards the shadowed husk of an inlet.  The waters this far out were uncharted at least as far as they were readily available.  Even as more of the world was set to maps, this still garnered some caution.  Perhaps it was fate that had them stumble so close to land, or it was just a way of fitting more punishment on a life.

Nox continued to lay along the stone after the coughing subsided, a steady rise and fall to his chest doing enough to halt the panic in the other two crew members looking over him.   Only leering closer to really check to make sure it wasn’t a trick of their eyes.  No words were exchanged still, just a reining in of the senses and making sure that they were truly safe on the rocks.

“Guess I can’t hire you out as a weather witch after all.”  A gruff tone said through a smile had the two letting out a chuckle, the female night elf, Y’the, reached up to playfully punch the shoulder of the Tauren, Juutahn.  “And your turn to face the whip for breaking rank.  Told you all to leave and not look back.”  The elf broke eye contact with him and shook her head.

“We only got you to the shore, don’t know the tides so get your ass up so we can move inland.” Came her response with a nod towards higher ground.  The Tauren gave a nod, patting at Nox’s knee and standing up to follow along after her.  “Besides, your not as bad a Captain as you think.”

Slowly the man stood up and brushed sand from his soaked leathers, walking along after his crew it didn’t take him long to see what they meant.  Lightning sent flashes of visible sight across the horizon and illuminated the tell tale silhouette of the Pale Dancer.  His pace picked up, easily surpassing the two until they caught him and held him back.  As the trio grew closer the shimmering orange glow of a fire could be seen from within, sheltered from the elements by the hull.  Smashed upon the rocks and split open wide.

Another figure sat huddled up to the fire stoking it gently.  Nox managed a brief chuckle before it had him coughing.  The troll, Tuhise’Gral remained seated, eyeing up the elf a grin slowly spreading across his cheeks.  “I told ya, we be safe dis way.”

“Yea well, a giant shark didn’t save me, and the ship is on land.”

“Aye but we be mostly intact now yea?”

“Mostly.”  He shook his head and slowly moved with the other three to slump down against the wall.  His head splitting with a headache but still the many thoughts that flashed through couldn’t be stopped.  The list of what had to be done growing longer and longer with each passing moment.  Memories rushing past, enemy ships chasing them into the storm.  He let out another hacking cough this time responded by all of the crew members holding him down until he lay still.

“Rest now, ya be a captain again soon, it only a boat when she a float.  For now, ya listen to the doctah.  He be in charge.”  The troll gestured to the silent Tauren who stared intently into Nox’s eyes until the man gave up and let his head fall back.

There was time now.  Just focus on something simple, the steady rise and fall of his chest, order it was there.  It’d take more than that to knock him loose.  Warmth, elemental and physical, together again would do that.  The bonds were strong, and he was not ready to go yet.  The story would continue, who didn’t like a third act twist.  A smile grew across his weathered features, unseen by the crew that remained as sleep soon found the beleaguered members of the Pale Dancer.

[dungeoneering102]

D&D Quest Idea: Nightmare Before Christmas

One of my followers, @chiefswampballs, wanted to find out if there’s a way to run an adventure themed around Nightmare Before Christmas, an animated film by Tim Burton. So I decided to look into it. First: let’s look at the interesting elements of Nightmare Before Christmas.

Interesting Elements

The movie is filled with very cool elements that make the audience excited to watch the movie. To have a game with a similar setting would require one to use these or similar elements, to generate the same feeling. Here are what elements I found that make NBC interesting:

Monster Design. Every monster is very unique and fun to look at.

Settings. NBC hints at multiple worlds, each based on a separate celebration. This very hint gets people’s imaginations going. What does the Easter land look like? Is there a St. Patrick’s land where everyone is drunk? A land dedicated to July 4th? Oktoberfest? Chinese New Year? So many possible setting to explore.

The Music. One thing anyone remembers from this movie are the songs and the tunes. They are just so damn catchy.

The Charming Characters. Jack and Sally are all very fun characters. We root for them all the way through. Even Oogie Boogie, the film’s antagonist, is very fun to watch and listen to.

Some Pitfalls:

When running games BASED on other stories a DM can often fall into pitfalls, namely the non PC Protagonist pitfall. This is when the PCs end up being observers to the main characters of the source material, who are the real heroes of the story. With NBC, a DM might want to show off how great of a character Jack is, but end up having Jack do all the cool stuff (defeating Oogie Boogie, for example) and leave the PCs just wondering around observing. Avoid this mistake. Do not prioritize the NPCs over the PCs. Keep as much of the cool stuff for the PCs as possible.

Game Idea: The Skeleton Who Stole Christmas

Background:

The Party starts in a town of your choice. Simple, medieval town. It’s wintertime and it is the day before Wintercrest. Now I am using Wintercrest as a stand in for Christmas (since my D&D world doesn’t have a Christ). You can have your own name for it. Whatever it is, it has to have these traits:

It is a holiday set during winter.

People get each other gifts during this Holiday.

Santa Claus (or some kind of stand-in for him) travels door to door delivering presents to the Children (ages 16 and below) on the night of this celebration.

The rest of the details you can work out. Now your Party is staying in this town that is celebration their version of Christmas, and they get to witness the preparations for the Christmas Eve. Let your Party participate as well, if they want. Come up with some games (more on that later). Whatever it is, set up the celebration that will happen the next day. Here is where it gets good.

The Party wakes up early morning to the sound of countless screaming children. Their toys are horrific items, small monsters, little quasits, body parts, whatever have you. And there is the hook:

Santa brought demonic gifts to the children. Travel to Santa’s home and make him pay for this mischief.

Now the town Mayor or local King puts up a job posting saying something like

Any brave warrior willing to travel to the frozen wastes of North Pole and punish the mischievous spirit that betrayed our trust on this, most Holy of nights, will be rewarded 20,000 gp. Seek Archmage Duvalt in the court of his majesty.

Keep in mind, all the names, the reward, everything can be tailored to fit your style. Since the Party already has some reputation from being adventurers (start them at level 4-5), the townsfolk quickly go to them asking for them to take up the job. Through peer pressure, the Party agrees to take up the job. Now here’s how the plot will vaguely go:

Party goes to King, accepting the job.

King’s archmage plane shifts them to the Christmas Land.

The Party travels through a sad and gloomy Christmas town, full of unhappy elves, only to come up to Santa’s workshop, and discover that Santa has been kidnapped.

Throw in some clues for the Party here. After investigating the clues the Party figures out that someone from Halloween land was here.

Party goes to Halloween land to find its King, Jack the Skeleton.

Party has to fight through a dungeon of monsters and beasts to get to Jack.

Once they get there they see King Jack, his queen Sally, and his advisor, Oogie Boogie.

Party demands for Santa to be freed, but Jack, thinking they’re just there to ruin his fun has none of it.

Fight with Jack commences. Some 4-5 rounds in, Jack gets stabbed in the back by Oogie Boogie.

Boogie reveals that this was a plan he hatched, tricking jack to give the wrong kind of presents, to get the humans to dethrone Jack so he can get the throne of Halloween Land.

Boogie Man then offers monetary reward to the Party if they finish off Jack and give him the throne.

The Party then decides who to side with, fights the appropriate character. Whoever wins, they agree to hand over Santa, who returns to his home.

If Party sides with Jack, Santa blesses them for their kindness and gives them gifts (magic items). Otherwise, he gets upset with them and leaves them gift-less.

QUESTIONS

What if the Players Don’t Accept the Job?

If you’re not sure weather your PCs will accept the job or not, here are some options:

Tell them, before the game, to accept the job when its given. Most of your players (unless they’re horrible people), will go with it.

Just narrate the intro. Don’t give them the choice of declining. Players like this less, but it speeds up the process.

Have the local king/lord/mayor hear that there’s a band of adventurers in town, and physically come down offering the job. If your Party did something shady in the past, the king can blackmail them with that. Or he can be super nice, and double the reward money.

What Clues should I leave the Party?

When the Party is investigating Christmas Land, only to discover that Santa is missing, they need to find some clues as to where he was taken. These ought to be Halloween decorations. Stuff like: a broken pumpkin, torn paper bat, torn scary mask, a box of candy, whatever.

I also suggest you MAKE these clues (since they’re just decoration you can find anywhere) and give it to your Party. This will make it easier for them to figure out whats going on.

Be sure to have the archmage that teleported them explain that there are other realms, each dedicated to a Holiday. If you don’t explain this, they might not understand what the Halloween trinkets mean. By telling them this, they understand that there is a Halloween land somewhere. If they still don’t understand, have them return to the Archmage and show him the clues. He will then figure out who the culprit is, and send them on their merry way.

Setting

Christmas Land

This place only needs a single town. Have some generic locations for the Party to explore and interact with, such as:

Temple/shrine dedicated to the goddess of winter.

A general goods store

A magical item store

A toys store

Some kind of playground

Be sure to populate this place with elves. It’s up to you if you wanna throw in any elf, or high elves only. I recommend NOT putting drow (dark elves) into this land, and you’ll see why in a bit (even though toys made by the drow would be very fun to see). Make sure the elves are sad and unhappy. Not too gloom and doom, but really bummed and worried. If you want, you can have your Party try to cheer them up, and if they succeed to make the elves hopeful, the elves will gift them equipment to save Santa with

In the end of the town is a mansion. Its empty, ransacked, and that’s where Santa lived. Make it a puzzle for the Party to get into the house. Have some weird locked door. This increases the build up to the reveal.

Halloween Land. Halloween Land consists of two parts: a town and a dungeon.

The town is the same as before, except this time it’s all horror themed. All the items sold are horrific or in some way creepy. For a list of interesting, horror themed trinkets, look into Curse of Strahd, Find the “Gothic Trinkets” table and use that to generate creepy items. There is some information that the Party ought to learn in the town. Namely the Party should learn that...

The town is ruled by Skeleton Jack, King of Halloween, his queen Sally, and his advisor, Oogie Boogie.

King Jack has announced an upcoming “makeover” of the town, to a more “cheery” theme. The residents don’t really like this idea however.

The dungeon is Jack the Skeleton’s castle. It’s filled with ghosts, ghouls, and monsters that have been ordered by Boogie Man to hunt down all intruders. The good news is, since they’re all dead they don’t really die. The Party won’t have to feel bad about “killing” them in the end, when it’s revealed that the Party was being manipulated by Oogie Boogie.

Of course, the final stage of the Dungeon should be the boss fight with Jack/Oogie Boogie.

Final Thoughts

Feel free to modify the info I provide here as you wish. Remember that you can change the names of key characters, so as to not make the source material quite so obvious (call him the Pumpkin King instead of Jack the Skeleton). But here is my take on the whole Nightmare Before Christmas in D&D. I hope you enjoyed the read.

If you guys liked or disliked this post, please be sure to send me your thoughts. I’d love to hear them. Tell me, is there any way you’d change this? What holiday themed D&D games would you run?

The Unfair DM

[formidolumina]

A REALLY LONG  CHARACTER  SURVEY.

RULES.  repost , don’t  reblog  ! tag  10  ! good  luck  ! TAGGED. @yourwhcre​ TAGGING. whoever wants to do this!

FULL NAME : Thaal Sinestro NICKNAME :  Sinestro, Sin AGE : 36 BIRTHDAY : January 21, 1981 ETHNIC GROUP : Korugarian NATIONALITY : Alien LANGUAGE / S : Korugarian, Galaxy Common SEXUAL ORIENTATION :  Bisexual ROMANTIC ORIENTATION : Biromantic RELATIONSHIP STATUS : Verse Dependent CLASS : Noble Class, Lord HOME TOWN / AREA :  Korugar City, Korugar CURRENT HOME : Qward, Antimatter Universe PROFESSION :  Sinestro Corps Leader

PHYSICAL.

HAIR :  Black military cut, brushed back to be neat, victor style mustache EYES : Black scelera, yellow iris FACE : heart shaped LIPS : Thin lips with frown lines at the corners from all the frowning or smirking he does COMPLEXION : Magenta BLEMISHES : none SCARS :   On his back, there’s a burn scar in the shape of the green lantern symbol. Along the scar can be thicker scar tissue in points due to the arrow constructs used to create it from his fight with Kyle Rayner. TATTOOS : None HEIGHT : 6′ 7″ WEIGHT : 79 kg or 174 lbs BUILD : Athletic and lean muscle FEATURES : Smug smirk, hands either clasped or crossed behind his back, erect pose and looking down his nose at others beneath him ALLERGIES : None USUAL HAIR STYLE : Neatly brushed back USUAL FACE LOOK : Narrowed eyes and a cold mask or smirk USUAL CLOTHING :  Yellow lantern uniform

PSYCHOLOGY.

FEAR / S : Failure / Losing his daughter / Being forgotten / Insanity / Being forever alone / Powerlessness / His people being victimized because of him / Loss of control / His legacy overshadowed by Hal Jordan ASPIRATION / S : A safe and orderly universe / The safety and progression of his people the Korugarians POSITIVE TRAITS : Loyal, powerful, driven, amazing cook, master tactician, godly ass NEGATIVE TRAITS : Prideful, narcissistic, controlling, powerful ZODIAC :  Capricon/Aquarius Cusp TEMPERAMENT :

choleric. The choleric temperament is fundamentally ambitious and leader-like. They have a lot of aggression, energy, and/or passion, and try to instill it in others. They can dominate people of other temperaments, especially phlegmatic types. Many great charismatic military and political figures were choleric. They like to be in charge of everything. However, cholerics also tend to be either highly disorganized or highly organized. They do not have in-between setups, only one extreme to another. As well as being leader-like and assertive, cholerics also fall into deep and sudden depression. Essentially, they are very much prone to mood swings.

SOUL TYPE / S :

Leader: It would be hard to imagine you being anything but the leader in any group. In fact, taking any kind of subservient role may feel demeaning to you. As a Leader type, you have a natural air of authority, and a charisma that makes you stand out in a crowd. (Think how out of place Elvis might have appeared if he’d stood in the background playing saxophone instead of being the front man.) You bring to this life an innate wisdom, which is why people will look to you for advice. You may sometimes make decisions on your own without thinking to involve others, and once you’ve made up your mind, you may be reluctant to change it. This may work in an emergency, but in other circumstances it can give the impression that you are arrogant or condescending.

VICE HABIT / S :  drinking / killing / conquering the universe VIRTUES / VICES: honorable / prideful FAITH : Believes in a god that’s a unique combination of a cosmogonic dualism and eschatological monotheism. He doesn’t actively pray or perform religious acts yet he recognizes his god and nothing good awaits him in the afterlife except darkness. GHOSTS ? : He’s seen them and was one for awhile.. They exist. AFTERLIFE ? : Darkness REINCARNATION ? : Of course ALIENS ? : He works with aliens and is one himself. Duh! POLITICAL ALIGNMENT : Sinestro’s Might EDUCATION LEVEL : Formally educated and trained on top of furthering himself afterwards

FAMILY.

FATHER :  Dad (deceased) MOTHER : Mom (deceased) SIBLINGS :  Sister (Alive somewhere out there MAYBE) EXTENDED FAMILY :  Abin Sur (Brother-in-law/Deceased), Arin Sur (Spouse/Deceased), Soranik Sinestro Natu (Daughter/Alive) NAME MEANING / S : Sinestro is one of the warrior noble houses of Korugar. Thaal was a strong male name meaning power or pride. HISTORICAL CONNECTION ? :  Derived from the Latin word sinestra, meaning ‘sinister’ or also ‘left’ and ‘left handed’. It’s commonly associated to wickedness.

FAVORITES.

BOOK : Crystals by Jennie Harding; The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli MOVIE :  Indiana Jones movie series 5 SONGS : Filthy Pride — Social Repose; Ghengis Khan — Miike Snow; All Time Low — Jon Bellion; Haunt — Banks; Guillotine — Jon Bellion HOLIDAY : Feast of Sacrifice MONTH :  August SEASON : Summer PLACE : Desert WEATHER : Hot, dry weather, sun high in the sky SOUND : Bamboo water fountain SCENT / S : Bamboo TASTE / S : Sweets FEEL / S : Silk ANIMAL / S :  Leopard gecko NUMBER : 7 COLORS : Red

EXTRA.

TALENTS :  Cooking / Rock Identification / Archaeology / War Tactics / Floriography / Formal Dancing BAD AT : Forgetting / Letting Go / Modern Dance TURN ONS :   Pain, biting, scratching, moaning TURN OFFS :  Weakness, extreme subservience, unwilling to contribute with creative ideas, ignorance, innocence HOBBIES :  Rock/fossil collecting, crystal healing

TROPES : The Ace / Arch-Enemy / Armor-Piercing Question / Back-to-Back Badasses / Badass Arm-Fold / Badass Boast / Badass Creed / Badass Mustache / Berserk Button / Big Bad / Blood Knight / Break the Badass / Comic-Book Movies Don't Use Codenames / Crazy-Prepared / Daddy Had a Good Reason for Abandoning You / Darth Vader Clone / Dastardly Whiplash / Depending on the Artist / Does This Remind You of Anything? / The Dragon / Dragon With An Agenda / The Dreaded / Enemy Mine / Even Evil Has Loved Ones / Evil Counterpart / Evil Plan / From Nobody to Nightmare / Good Is Not Nice / Imagination-Based Superpower / Legion of Doom / Man of Kryptonite / Meaningful Name / The Only One Allowed to Defeat You / Retcon / A Sinister Clue / Utopia Justifies the Means / Villainous Friendship / Villainous Widow's Peak / Was It Really Worth It? / Well-Intentioned Extremist / Willing Channeler / Xanatos Gambit AESTHETIC TAGS : yellow, fear, space GPOY QUOTES :  “ We’re supposed to be the protectors of the universe but we’re just a mess.” — Vanna

FC INFO.

MAIN FC / S : Michael Fassbener ALT FC / S :  — OLDER FC / S : Mark Strong YOUNGER FC / S : — VOICE CLAIM / S : Jason Isaacs GENDERBENT  FC / S : —

MUN QUESTIONS.

Q1 :   if  you  could  write  your  character  your  way  in  their  own  movie ,   what  would  it  be  called ,  what  style  would  it  be  filmed  in ,  and  what  would  it  be  about ?

A1 :  Sci-fi fantasy with wuxia elements. It’d be about Sinestro as a Green Lantern with all his trials and adventures.

Q2 :   what  would  their  soundtrack / score  sound  like ?          

A2 : Mix of techno pop, classical, and techno swing.

Q3 :   why  did  you  start  writing  this  character ?        

A3 :  I didn’t like him at first so it seemed the right move to pick him up. It was only by making myself research more into his character that I fell in love.

Q4 :   what  first  attracted  you  to  this  character ?          

A4 :  His mastery over fear and the way Doug Mahnke drew him in New 52.

Q5 :   describe  the  biggest  thing  you  dislike  about  your  muse.                

A5 : The artist can’t decide how he looks like and the writers also can’t decide with his character. He’s a hot mess creatively although you can spot core elements of his portrayal if you squint. I hate it the most the trope of this is evil, BLAME SINESTRO. It’s not always his fault, guys! It’s Jordan’s fault.

Q6 :   what  do  you  have  in  common  with  your  muse ?          

A6 :  Military background, hatred of stupid people, desire for power, extreme protective streak, love for rocks and their meanings/uses.

Q7 :   how  does  your  muse  feel  about  you ?          

A7 : He mostly squints my way and tries not to directly interact unless he wants something. He’s wary and prefers to hang out with my other muses.

Q8 :   what  characters  does  your  muse  have  interesting  interactions  with ?        

A8 : My OC, Black Adam, Soranik Natu, Carol Ferris, Hal Jordan, and many others. I love all things Sinestro so his variety of interactions is what I live for.

Q9 :   what  gives  you  inspiration  to  write  your  muse ?        

A9 :  Picking out one of his many songs I associate with Sinestro and put it on repeat depending on my mood.

Q10 :   how  long  did  this  take  you  to  complete ?          

A10 :  Way too long. I had to research and google a lot of information to make sure I had what I had in mind in order.

[secretpoetrycollection-us-blog]

Worm on the sensor: What happens once IoT information is bad?

Enterprises attempting to use the net of things already face a deluge of information and a dizzying array of how to research it. however what happens if the knowledge is wrong?

Bad information is common in IoT, Associate in Nursingd although it’s onerous to urge an estimate of what quantity info streaming in from connected devices can’t be used, lots of individuals square measure considering the matter.

About forty % of all information from the perimeters of IoT networks is “spurious,” says Harel Kodesh, vp of GE’s Predix software system business and CTO of GE Digital. a lot of of that information isn’t wrong, simply useless: Duplicate info that workers accidently transfer double, or repetitive messages that idle machines send automatically.

In addition, building a brand new IoT platform on high of previous industrial coverage systems will cause issues as a result of the inheritance tools format information in their own means, Kodesh same. “You’re not taking the important, elemental information, you’re taking some translation of that.”

But typically devices simply generate stuff that’s false or dishonest .

Measuring the incorrect factor

For example, if a worm crawls over a temperature and wetness device in a very field, the farmer can get a reading on however heat and damp the worm is, that doesn’t facilitate to run a farm. If a device gets lined with dirt or plant grime, or if it’s broken by vandals, which will tweak the info it produces, too.

The harsher the encompassing conditions and also the a lot of isolated the device, the more serious the bad-data downside is probably going to be. additionally to agriculture, industries like oil and gas and energy distribution face this. however it’s not simply far-flung sensors that have issues. Even in a very hospital, a blood element device clamped on a patient’s finger will begin giving unhealthy information if it gets ran into the incorrect position.

On high of that, some IoT devices malfunction on their own and begin spewing out unhealthy information, or stop coverage the least bit. In several different cases, human error is that the culprit: the incorrect settings wash up what the device generates.

One way to chop down on unhealthy information is to create certain the gear is about properly.

John Deere equips its large farm tools with sensors that find whether or not the machines square measure operating right. The company’s ExactEmerge planter, that rolls behind a tractor planting seeds across a field, has 3 sensors per row of crops to find what number seeds square measure being planted and at what rate. a minimum of once a year, before planting time, the farmer or a industrialist dealer can manually calibrate those sensors thus they’re correct, same Lane Arthur, Deere’s director of digital solutions.

More is healthier

But several IoT sensors square measure too onerous to succeed in for normal activity and maintenance. In those cases, redundancy is also the solution, although it’s not a solution.

Duplicates of constant device on a machine, in a mine, or in a very field generate a lot of inputs, which may be useful in itself. Weather Underground, a part of IBM’s Weather Company business, creates its reports partially with information from uncalibrated, inexpensive sensors in consumers’ back yards. For not a lot of cash, they offer Weather Underground a lot of information points, however quality could be a huge issue. One device could malfunction and report many inches of rain whereas the one next to that senses none, same John botanist, the IBM Fellow for Watson IoT.

“The good thing is, if you have got enough density of those types of sensors, you can ... mathematically notice the outliers and reason, from that, that one needs work,” botanist same.

Companies may also use totally different sensing devices, particularly cameras, to ascertain on sensors which will be having hassle. A video camera combined with image analysis software system will find whether or not a far off device has gotten dirty, broken or vandalized, same Doug Bellin, senior manager of worldwide personal sector industries at Cisco Systems. typically security cameras already there for one thing else will try this job.

One technique for substantiating totally different types of devices against one another is named sensor fusion. It weighs inputs from 2 or a lot of sensors to return to a conclusion.

Sensor fusion is currently being enforced in hospitals, wherever false alarms square measure rampant, same Stan Schneider, president and chief operating officer of IoT software system company time period Innovations (RTI). as an example, instead of setting off Associate in Nursing alarm on every occasion the blood element device on a patient’s finger shows low element, a device fusion system may perpetually compare that reading with those from different sensors on the patient, like respiration and pulse monitors.

The phantom device

Other sources may also change for a device that isn’t even there any longer. GE tests every reaction engine that comes out of its factories for exhaust gas temperature, a figure that reflects its potency, Kodesh same. GE puts one device right within the path of the exhaust although it'll continually spend when a number of minutes. Meanwhile, sensors in safer spots round the engine collect information at constant time, and by comparison their readings with what the doomed device recorded before it had been destroyed, GE will recreate the direct device as a virtual one -- a mathematical relation.

Drawing conclusions from multiple info streams takes the data-quality downside into the realm of machine learning. That’s wherever the foremost fascinating stuff is occurring, IBM’s botanist says.

For example, IBM uses its Watson analytics platform to know energy use at IBM facilities in eire. Not solely will Watson flag a discrepancy if Associate in Nursing air-conditioner says it’s off however the whole power draw is just too high for that to be true, however over time it will learn to spot the actual means within which that air-conditioner attracts power once it comes on. therewith data, a system that says it’s not on may be caught guilty.

As a check on faulty information, machine learning will take time to urge up to hurry, in contrast to accessorial sensors or cameras.

“It gets smarter the a lot of it runs. the primary time it runs, I wouldn’t trust it,” Cisco’s Bellin same. “The thousandth time it runs, it’s ... most likely smarter than i'm.”

The a lot of vital the IoT system is, the a lot of necessary is is to influence unhealthy information. device fusion, as an example, is important for things like patient health and missile detection as a result of dependableness could be a huge issue once the stakes square measure that prime, RTI’s Schneider same.