#d20 veterans are like

[brennan-lee-mother]

Newer Dimension 20 fans might look at Liv attempting to hack Usha’s brain by crushing it just the perfect amount and think “this is completely unhinged and obviously totally unprecedented”, but it is actually no less than the fifth time a PC has done impromptu untrained surgery on another character, the third time on another PC, in D20 history.

So, safe to say it’s practically par for the course at this point.

[pumpkins-and-penguins]

last time a d20 season premiered i was single and in college. nsbu premieres tonight and i am in a relationship and working a full time job in my field. i feel like a veteran being asked to return to war. but i must fight for my country anyways.

[theresattrpgforthat]

Hi! I was wondering if you happen to know of any ttrpgs that utilize dragoons as a class option/thematic presence?

THEME: Dragoons

Hello, so when I followed up with you, you mentioned that you wanted dragoons from Final Fantasy, rather than the historical dragoons - and I’m glad I clarified, because I was sifting through historical games at first. From what I understand, the main points of dragoons is that they are a class who fights with a spear, with strong elements of launching themselves into the air/attacking from heights to land hits with extreme force. I also understand that they are meant to have strong relationships to dragons. So let’s see what we’ve got.

Final Fantasy Legend Edition, by Mildra the Monk.

This is an intermediate-complexity tabletop roleplaying game based on the Japanese console RPG series, Final Fantasy.Whether you're a veteran or someone new to the series, these streamlined rules and various customization options will help you get started with ease.

When I went to check out this game, the Dragoon class was the first image listed on the storefront. This class comes with some classic jump abilities, and other character abilities that are all about pinning down your enemies from the air. You also have access to the appropriately-themed Dragon Arts, tying your character intimately to their historic roots. The game itself moves through what it calls a four-phase structure: Preparation, Exploration, Encounter and Downtime. Each arc is likely to follow a quest that has been given to your characters, and these four scenes give you a procedural structure that typifies many ttrpgs.

Megalos: Crystalpunk Fantasy Roleplaying, by matara.

MEGALOS is a game for telling stories about adventures in the clouds, fighting evil empires, and dueling ancient gods. The Worlds of MEGALOS are vast and old, each a cosmic emanation connected to one another by the Wellspring- the source of all aether in the cosmos. Make your own World of MEGALOS or play in one of ours, from the Oradam Rift to Pallid Telkane to Zone Gachette to The Erefane. Soar through the air in an airship, dogfight imperials, and wield aetheric magicks as a punk-rock witch.

This tabletop game is inspired by things like classic JRPGs, electronica music, and medieval alchemy. MEGALOS is the first game to use the SLIPSTREAM game engine, which uses pools of d20s as the core of its task resolution mechanic.

The martial damage class for Megalos is called the Throne, and it hast at least two subclasses that I think you could use to make a Dragoon-like character. As a base class, Thrones have access to a flight ability called Liftoff, and both Arklights and Champions use this ability to do some neat things with combat.

Arklights are warrior monks, interested in the “protection and cultivation of ‘good’”. They have a lot of light and wings metaphors, including an ability called Falcon Dive, which allows you to dive at your opponent while in the air, with an upgrade ability to inflict piercing damage to multiple enemies. Then there’s the Champions, fighters who are all about learning new techniques and experiencing combat as a way of life. They’re very brawl-friendly characters, but their abilities Aerial Charge (which launches you in the air) and Meteor Drop (which is practically a dive-bomb attack) give me pretty strong Dragoon vibes.

Lancer, by Massif Press - and the Field Guide to Suldan, by KaiTave.

Lancer is a tabletop role playing game centred on shared narratives, customizable mechs, and the pilots who crew them. Set many thousands of years from the present day, Lancer imagines a future where a survivor humanity has spread to the stars after weathering terrible ecological collapse on Earth -- the end of the Anthropocene as a consequence of unrestrained consumption and poor stewardship.

Lancer features a mix of gritty, mud-and-lasers military science fiction and mythic science fantasy. In the setting, conscript pilots mix ranks with flying aces, mercenary guns-for-hire brawl with secretive corporate agents, and relativistic paladins cross thermal lances with causality-breaking, unknowable beings.

Lancer’s big thing is the ability to make a mech that can do some really cool things, all based around combat. You build your mechs with pieces you gain access to through licenses, many of which are distributed by various companies and organization. The base game has the IPS-N Nelson Frame, which is all about close-quarters combat and high mobility, with a gigantic War Pike that can puncture armour. If you want to go full Dragoon mode though, you’ll want to download the Field Guide to Suldan fan expansion, which has an additional frame option for the Nelson, giving you the power of flight - and an ability called Drive Burst, which allows you to move really fast in one direction and do a whole bunch of extra damage to anyone in your way.

If you want a game that’s all about figuring out neat combos and making your machine really really good at specific things, you want to try Lancer.

Fabula Ultima, by Need Games.

FABULA ULTIMA is a Tabletop Roleplaying Game inspired by Japanese-style console RPGs, or JRPGs.  In Fabula Ultima, you and your friends will tell epic stories of would-be heroes and fearsome villains, set in fantasy worlds brimming with magic, wondrous locations, and uniquely bizarre monsters!

A game that is typically advertised for folks who want a Final Fantasy experience, Fabula Ultima is likely going to hit a lot of similar plot beats and game moments that feel familiar. When it comes to character creation, you are expected to put together a few different options to make someone with a lot of cool talents that you can expand on as you grow.

One of the pre-gens in Press Start, a quick-start version of the game, looks fairly Dragoon-like, with a heavy spear and a move called “Soaring Strike” that looks like it can send you airborne to fight flying enemies, so I think it should be fairly easy to make the kind of character you’re looking for.

First Fantasy, by Marc Strocks.

A one-page RPG created for the game(s) jam.  In the year 199X, technological cities grow thicker by the day, feeding off the planet's resources. Demonic fiends fill the wilds, attacking anything that moves. With a weapon by your side, you travel the world. This is your mission. This is your story.

First-Fantasy is a single page full of a lot of roll tables, both for character creation and adventure creation. This game feels like it’s relying on folks who are well acquainted with the lore and tropes of Final Fantasy, and gives you a few tools to add chance to your story. Character creation is pretty slim, but the Dragoon class does give you the basics: a spear or a sword, a Jump-charge ability, and the metal plate you’d probably expect a knight of some kind to wear.

UMBRA, by Star Bear Games.

UMBRA is a Table Top Role Playing Game in which you delve into a world of bug Knights! It features the quick and snappy combat of the LUMEN system.

Under and within a grand oak tree lays a sprawling metropolis known as the Cradle. Making their lives under the watchful rule of the Ashen King, are the bugs of the Cradle. Every bug has a part to play, big or small, in the kingdom. For you, oh noble Knights, your part is that of protector.

Inspired by Hollow Knight, I thought about Umbra for two reasons: one, because the titular character of the game does a lot of jumping when in combat, and two, because this game is based in LUMEN, which is all about modular combat and strategy.

You cobble together a few different things to make your character unique, including a House, a weapon, and armour called Regalia, which give you different abilities or advantages. If you want to make a Dragoon-like character, I’d recommend making a bug from Horn House, which gives you the hard-hitting, high-damage typical of an armour-puncturing spear. You’d then make your spear by taking a Point weapon and giving it tags like Reaching, to give yourself the ability to stab from a distance. Then for Shell regalia, you can take either Hovering Wings, which gives you the ability to fly, or Propelling Wings, which give you heightened jumps, allowing you to stay in the air for extended periods of time.

If UMBRA itself isn’t the setting that you want but you like this level of customization, then I recommend checking out some other LUMEN games for different genres, but the same easy-to-learn fast-action strategy.

RottenFall Heroes, by LazerSamuraiGG

In a world forever changed by cosmic disaster, ordinary lives collided with the extraordinary. It all began with the sudden appearance of mysterious beings, turning unsuspecting humans into monstrous entities known as the ROTTEN. The trigger? A mysterious collision between an Obsidian Pyramid and the moon.

As if this upheaval wasn't enough, interdimensional beings known as VILLAINS seeped into our reality, distorting familiar landscapes into surreal nightmares.

Yet, amidst the turmoil, emerged a glimmer of hope – the Heroes. These courageous individuals joined forces, establishing schools and enterprises to combat the encroaching darkness. They ventured forth into the warped realities, confronting villains and safeguarding the innocent.

Mechanically, I cannot honestly say that RottenFall Heroes has anything that looks like a Dragoon in fighting style. However, what it does have is a class called a dragon knight, which involves a person who has a solemn pact with an ancient Dragon, who has granted them access to special powers. In Dragon Form, you are especially talented at wielding two-handed weapons, and I think you can choose a spear or lance if that’s what you desire. You can also re-roll your attacks when fighting with your clawed hands, and you’re resistant to fire. If you want the connection to dragons more than the ability to jump really high and pile-drive someone from the sky, then you might be interested in RottenFall Heroes.

You might also want to check out…

The Fire Emblem recommendation post I put up a couple of weeks ago.

The Official FFXIV TTRPG has Dragoon options! And it looks like there are free versions of the rulebooks.

This playbook for SLAYERS is all about playing a Dragoon-like character.

[drgairyuki]

My 1st Randomly Generated Marine Chapter

This was my first attempt at creating a Space Marine Chapter randomly.

So I decide to randomly create and generate a Space Marine chapter by using and messing around with 1d6chan(rip 1d4chan)'s Space Marine Chapter Creation Table and Roll A Die to get the results. Why? Because I thought it would be fun. Note; I did for fun, and there is going to be a lot of interpretation and speculation on my part, but I guess that's the part of the fun.

So here are the results of this me messing around;

______________________________________________________________

Chapter Origins: Why Was The Chapter Founded? (d10) 10: Crusade - "We need people running around and hitting the Imperium's enemies. Found a Chapter!"

When Was The Chapter Founded? (d100) 97: M41/M42; Ultima Founding consisting of Primaris Marines. Actually in two waves (+ intermittents in-between), first in 999.M41 and 000.M42, intermittent foundings during the intervening years to replace destroyed chapters or garrison key areas, and the second in 012.M42 after the first phase of the Indomitus Crusade ended with victory at the Battle of Raukos from the last core of Unnumbered Sons veterans, capping off the largest founding in history.

Who was the Chapter's Progenitor? (d100) 71: Dark Angels

Chapter Properties and Flaws: Gene-seed purity (d10) 10: Flawed - Chapter's gene-seed is flawed and sets them apart from their progenitor - roll on Chapter Flaws table

Chapter Demeanour (d10) 10*: Uphold the Honour of the Emperor - Performing unheroic acts? *BLAM* NO or alternatively, since I'd already rolled 10 once for above, I decide to roll again and I got... 1: Swift As The Wind - Going slowly and thinking things out? BLAM NO

Based on the Chapter's Progenitor, how likely are they to suffer gene-seed mutation? (d100/d20) Dark Angels - 10% (1-2) d100; 44/d20; 12

If they have a new mutation, what is it? (d10) 7: Lost zygote - Something's gone. One of the silly EMPRAH-BLESSED things like the Betcher's Gland or Melanchromic Organ, not something critical like the Black Carapace

Progenitor-specific mutation Dark Angels Lost zygote

Lost Zygotes (d100) 60: Oolitic Kidney Since I got really confused and didn't know really about interpreted them above as I didn't know if it there only need to be one lost zygotes or two, I decide to roll again 100: Roll twice on this Chart 68: Neuroglottis 59: Oolitic Kidney* I'd already rolled for Oolitic Kidney, so either the above is good enough or I reroll again 27: Occulobe

If one exists, what is the Chapter's Flaw? (d10) 4: Pride in the Colours - The Chapter hates doing anything that covers their livery, including wearing Deathwatch black.

Chapter Legends: Figure of Legend (d100) 96: Battle-Brother (roll d10 twice to determine company and squad). I decided to roll both 2d10 once and roll 1d10 twice 6 & 7: 7th squad of 6th Company or alternatively, 5: 5th Company 4: 4th squad

Deeds of Legend (d100) 69: The figure led an action against an Eldar craftworld, boarding it and inflicting grievous casualties before withdrawing. He and his Chapter are especially hated by the pernicious Eldar, for whom the event is still fresh and raw.

Chapter Homeworld and its Properties Chapter homeworld (d100) 35: Feral World

Fleets 10+d10 vessels: 8

Homeworld terrain (d100) 29: Desert

Rule of homeworld (d10) 3: Stewardship - "Hi, Planetary Governor? It's me, the Chapter Master. Just calling you to remind you that I outrank you, even if I don't do anything."

Not Fleet-Based, so I can ignored that

Tactical and Strategic Organization d10 Result - Chapter organisation and Variant Base Chapter 10: Unique organisation/Unique(Codex)

Combat doctrine (d10) 6: Drop Pod

Characteristic Chapter Training (d100 Result) 44: Endure Anything: Training in this chapter emphasizes the need for any squad to be ready to endure any trials they find themselves in. They produce tough, durable brothers with diverse specialties.

Chapter Specialities Specialty restrictions (units the chapter cannot field) - Only roll if Unique Organisation was selected (d100) 15: Apothecary (someone still needs to collect the progenoids)

Special equipment- Roll once if Divergent was selected, twice if Unique Organisation was selected (d100) Rolling 2d100 81: Preferred Fighting Style: The Chapter has a specific way in which it prefers to go about killing the enemy in the name of the God-Emperor of Mankind. Examples: Bolt Pistol and Chainsword, dual Power Swords, special Bolter pattern or ammunition 99: Modified Weaponry: When the Chapter’s forges produce a weapon, they produce them in a style that is specific to their Chapter. Examples: Power Sabre, Bolt Pistol with weighted butt for clubbing. or alternatively, Rolling 1d100 twice 58: Blessed Wargear: It is common for members of this Chapter to have their Wargear blessed by a Chaplain before battle. Doing so puts the Battle-Brother’s mind at ease and more focused on the task at hand. 81: Preferred Fighting Style: The Chapter has a specific way in which it prefers to go about killing the enemy in the name of the God-Emperor of Mankind. Examples: Bolt Pistol and Chainsword, dual Power Swords, special Bolter pattern or ammunition

Chapter Beliefs What form do the Chapters' beliefs take? (d100) 84: Totem Creature - "You know how we've got an animal as our Chapter symbol? Yeah, we're going to stick that everywhere."

Chapter Strength At what strength is the Chapter? (d10) 2: Under Strength: The Chapter is recovering from a defeat or accident that occurred several decades ago, or has recently suffered heavy, but not irrecoverable losses. It is probably at a minimum of half strength, and should return to nominal strength within a decade.

Chapter Relations Who are your Chapter friendly with? (d100) 24: Another Chapter (choose one) Hhhmmmm… Maybe either the White Scars or the Space Wolves, depending on how your interpreted it.

Who are the Chapter's enemies?(d100) 27: The Tau Empire (alternatively, you may select a particular Sept, Commander, or Ethereal)

Ooooooo, the Tau Empire, my favorite faction in 40k (mostly due to the battle suit, so sue me :P), but I think I'll go with selecting a particular Sept, Commander, or Ethereal option. But i'll most probably do that in one of the reblog of this post.

[rpgsandbox]

Welcome, traveller, to the fungus-wracked tangle of Dolmenwood, and beware, for all here is not as it seems…

Dolmenwood is a fantasy adventure game set in a lavishly detailed world inspired by the fairy tales and eerie folklore of the British Isles. Like traditional fairy tales, Dolmenwood blends the dark and whimsical, the wondrous and weird.

Streamlined rules and helpful introductory materials guide novice players, while unique new magic and monsters bring a fresh sense of the unknown to veteran role-players. We’re launching the three Dolmenwood core books, plus a range of delectable extras.

Check Out a 76-Page Preview PDF!

Check out our free 76 page preview PDF of material from the 3 core books!

Preview also available at DriveThruRPG and necroticgnome.com (no account required).

Rife with intrigue, secrets, and magic, Dolmenwood draws travellers of adventurous spirit, daring them to venture within.

Explore the wild places of the Wood, travelling through bramble-choked dells, fungus-encrusted glades, and foetid marshes, bedding down among root and bracken amid the nocturnal babbling of strange beasts.

Unearth treasure hoards in forgotten ruins, haunted fairy manors, dripping caverns, crystal grottoes, unhallowed barrow mounds, and abandoned delvings.

Confront fell beasts, roving fungal monstrosities, terrible wyrms, tricksome fairies, and restless spirits of the long deceased.

Recover saintly relics and shrines lost in the befuddling tangle of the Wood, gaining the favour of the Church by returning them to civilisation.

Forage for weird fungi and herbs in the untrod depths of the woods, many with useful magical powers—and many that can be sold for profit.

Strike against Chaos, defending civilisation from the encroaching forces of the wicked, half-unicorn Nag-Lord who lurks in the corrupted northern woods.

Unravel secrets of deep magic, charting the obelisks, dolmens, and ley lines littered throughout Dolmenwood—but beware the sinister Drune cult that wards them.

Seek the counsel of witches and hags, masters of magic that can heal, hex, or divine the future.

Meddle in the affairs of the nobility, allying with a noble house in its intrigues and power plays in the courts of High-Hankle and Castle Brackenwold.

Journey along fairy roads, ancient magical paths bordering on the ageless realm of Fairy that allow travel throughout Dolmenwood—and perchance to realms beyond.

Return to the homely hearth to share tales of peril with quaint locals over a mug of ale and a well-stoked pipe.

The Dolmenwood Player’s Book (A4 size, Smyth-sewn hardcover, 192 pages approx., 1 ribbon marker) contains the complete game rules plus all character options.

Player’s introduction to the intrigues and mysteries of the forest realm of Dolmenwood.

Familiar character creation with the six classic stats, level and XP, Hit Points, and Armour Class.

6 playable kindreds: goat-headed breggles, starry-eyed elves, tricksome grimalkin cat-fairies, everyday humans, fungus-riddled mosslings, and bat-faced woodgrues.

9 character classes: cleric, enchanter, fighter, friar, hunter, knight, magician, minstrel, and thief.

4 kinds of magic: mighty arcane workings, fairy glamours and runes, holy prayers to the host of saints, and the odd knacks of mosslings.

Detailed, flavourful equipment with lists of adventuring gear, armour, weapons, mounts, hounds, inn lodgings, tavern fare, beverages, pipeleafs, fungi, and herbs.

Simple core rules: roll a d6 or a d20 plus modifiers versus a target number.

Easy-to-follow procedures for travel, camping, foraging, dungeon delving, encounters, combat, and downtime.

Full examples of play and introductory materials make the game easy to learn.

The Dolmenwood Campaign Book (A4 size, Smyth-sewn hardcover, 464 pages approx., 2 ribbon markers) presents a lavishly detailed campaign setting, ready for years of adventure.

Referee’s introduction delving into the regions and history of Dolmenwood.

Mysterious lore of the lost shrines, standing stones, ley lines, fairy roads, Wood Gods, and fairy nobles.

7 major factions: the Chaos-godling Atanuwë, the wicked fairy Cold Prince, the sorcerous Drune, the human nobility, the breggle nobility, the monotheistic Pluritine Church, and the enigmatic witches.

12 settlements detailed with major sites and NPCs and beautiful maps.

Expanded procedures for weather, getting lost, encountering monsters, fishing, foraging, and hunting.

200 pages of fantastic locations waiting to be explored.

Over 280 NPCs with their own desires and schemes.

Referee advice on starting and running campaigns, awarding XP, designing adventures, and creating dungeons.

Starter adventure to get you right into the action.

Hundreds of magical artefacts from enchanted oddments to mighty relics.

Over 250 rumours to drive adventure.

Easy-to-reference presentation designed to minimise page flipping and prep time.

The Dolmenwood Monster Book (A4 size, Smyth-sewn hardcover, 128 pages approx., 1 ribbon marker) details a bestiary of creatures that lurk under Dolmenwood’s eaves.

87 fully detailed monsters dripping with flavour, including encounter seeds and beautiful illustrations.

48 mundane animals including unique Dolmenwood fauna such as gobbles and gelatinous apes.

9 types of of normal humans: anglers, criers, fortune-tellers, lost souls, merchants, pedlars, pilgrims, priests, and villagers.

27 NPC stat blocks for common adventuring classes.

Adventuring party generator for rolling up NPC adventurers on quests of their own.

Over 300 rumours describing monsters as featured in local folklore.

Monster creation guidelines to keep players on their toes.

Easy-to-read stat blocks and bullet point presentation for quick reference.

Dolmenwood uses a lightly customised version of the acclaimed Old-School Essentials rules system, tailored to Dolmenwood and with some major quality-of-life upgrades. Players of all editions of Dungeons & Dragons will find the Dolmenwood rules very familiar.

Ability Scores: Roll for 6 ability scores: Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom, Dexterity, Constitution, Charisma.

Kindred, Class, and Level: 6 kindreds, 9 classes, levels 1–15.

Hit Points (HP): Roll 1d4, 1d6, or 1d8 (determined by Class) for HP. Re-roll 1s or 2s. 0 HP is dead!

Armour Class (AC): AC 10 = unarmoured, better protection raises AC.

Initiative: Streamlined side-based initiative makes combat fast and exciting: each side (monsters / adventurers) rolls 1d6 each Round—highest roll acts first.

Attacking: Roll 1d20, add Attack bonus and modifiers, try to beat the target’s AC, roll damage.

Saving Throws: Roll 1d20, add modifiers, try to beat a fixed target number on the character sheet.

Ability Checks: Roll 1d6, add ability modifier, 4 or higher succeeds.

Skill Checks: Roll 1d6, add modifiers, try to beat a fixed target number on the character sheet.

As an adventure game in the heritage of the RPGs of the 1970s and 1980s, Dolmenwood espouses the danger and excitement of the old-school play style.

Emergent character creation: Unique and surprising Player Characters emerge from quick random rolls, rather than from detailed character build optimisation.

Exploration, puzzles, and tricks: Players’ ingenuity and creativity are challenged by devious puzzles, traps, and tricks. Simply rolling dice to succeed is often not an option!

Creative thinking encouraged: Easy-to-learn rules for exploration, encounters, and combat provide referees with a robust framework from which to make impromptu rulings on players’ outside-the-box antics.

Fast, exciting combat: Combat encounters are quick to play out, leaving plenty of time in game sessions for exploration and role-playing. As in real life, combat is not fair or balanced—players whose clever tactics tip the balance in their favour will prevail!

Zeroes to heroes: Characters advance from humble beginnings to heights of great power.

Open-ended sandbox play: Campaigns focus on freeform stories evolved over the course of play, with players driving the action.

Kickstarter campaign ends: Sat, September 9 2023 4:59 AM BST

Website: [Exalted Funeral] [facebook] [twitter] [instagram] [youtube]

[ankh-morporkianpostalworker]

Kingston and Pete's relationship growth is the kind of character work I live for. Over the course of the first season, they go from having a kinda rocky relationship to being the absolute best of friends.

At the start of the season, Kingston sees Pete as something that, to be fair, he kinda is - a powerful, potent magic user who's hanging on by a freakin thread, a nuke on 17 kinds of mind-altering substances and something that should be dealt with, permanently if necessary. Pete sees Kingston as a symbol of everything he's ever wanted, not only in social standing (Kingston is a highly regarded member of The Unsleeping City, a veteran of many magical conflicts) but also in a parental figure (they don't ever come out and say it, but Kingston almost certainly knows Pete is trans and really doesn't make a big deal out of it, using Pete's preferred name and pronouns). Kingston's statement, that he'll put Pete down if need be, deeply hurts Pete, who feels a sense of betrayal from someone he looked up to as a borderline parental figure.

Then comes the fight in the subway and the trip to Nod, and the two start to come to terms with one another, with Kingston giving a heartfelt apology and Pete seeing Kingston's memories and understanding why he is the way he is (in one of the best scenes in D20 history that always makes me cry a little bit). Nod also gives their approval of striving to be like Kingston. The scene at the art loft which ends the episode, wherein Lou Wilson says one of his best lines (Picasso is art, this is bullshit!) is essentially the moment wherein their status as best friends is cemented, because in a moment that's kinda glossed over, Kingston's approval of Pete is what allows him to get over Priya.

The conversation they have after the fight about New York and what makes it special is something I would love to have seen, and after that point Kingston comes to trust Pete in all matters relating to Dreaming. The moment that Kingston revivifies Pete, fixing the magical thread of NYC, is the end of this thread, since it's never touched on for the rest of season one.

In season two, we see that their dynamic has changed from mentor and student to best friends and brothers in arms, with each of them taking on traits from the other, especially Pete becoming a more caring person who looks out for other people, and I would argue that the season two finale, Two Sides of the Same Coin, refers as much to the two of them as it does to Ricky and Cody, as it's Kingston (with a little help from Pete) who cinch the fight.

Of course, this is just my reading of their dynamic, and I could be wrong.

[stewblog]

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

I’ll just cut right to the chase. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves has a real shot at being one of my favorite movies of the year. It almost certainly won’t be an awards contender and no one’s likely expecting this to break box office records. But as a work of pure entertainment? A high bar has been set for the rest of 2023 to try and clear.

There was reason to think otherwise, however. High fantasy films both before and after The Lord of the Rings have largely been underwhelming duds. The genre is difficult to truly nail, but co-directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein (along with their co-writer Michael Gilio) have managed to channel everything fun, fanciful and fantastic (in the older sense of the word) about swords and sorcery into a rocket-propelled adventure that satisfies at nearly every turn.

And if you’re completely new to the realm of D&D and have no idea what a displacer beast is, can’t point out where Neverwinter is on a map, or know the difference between magic missile and mage hand, fear not! Honor Among Thieves does a fantastic job of introducing the audience to this world and its inhabitants.

Guiding us through this adventure is Edgin (Chris Pine), a bard and thief who pals around with Holga (Michelle Rodriguez), a barbarian warrior exiled from her people. They’ve broken out of prison and are scheming a way to rescue Edgin’s daughter and get payback on the man who stabbed them in the back during a theft that went horribly wrong. To do it, they’ll need the help of a struggling wizard, Simon (Justice Smith), a shapeshifter, Doric (Sophia Lillis) and paladin Xenk (Rege’-Jean Page). As you can probably guess, what they see as a very straightforward mission at the start becomes something much more dangerous and complicated the deeper into it they get.

The particulars of the plot aren’t terribly interesting and feel like a fairly standard setup at play if it was a Saturday night and you’re sitting at a kitchen table with some friends, rolling a D20 and waiting for your older brother to further unfurl his scenario as Dungeon Master. What makes Honor Among Thieves such a cracking good time at the movies is the playful spirit Daley and Goldstein infuse into the proceedings, the superlative chemistry among the cast and a script that delivers a very precise balance of humor, pathos and swashbuckling adventure.

Part of why this movie had my audience eating out of the palm of its hand was due largely to how funny it is. There’s an abundance of laughs to be had with sarcasm and one-liners to spare, though it blessedly avoids that Joss Whedonesque trap of simply making everyone a snark-machine that fires off identical-sounding quips at the drop of a hat. The members of our heroic quartet each react to the escalating escapade with humor at various moments, but it all feels organic to who they are. These characters are all archetypes (each a literal class you can choose in the tabletop game), but the script never treats them specifically as such. We’re given ample backstory, but never so much as to bog down the proceedings. Each gets their time to shine. Page deftly steals his scenes by being charmingly dense. Smith and Lillis are new to my eyes but keep up with the veterans. And this may be the most fun I’ve seen Rodriguez have since the first Fast & Furious movie.

But even as well-balanced as the party is, it’s safe to say that this is Chris Pine’s show. I’ve been a fan of Pine’s since he pitch-perfectly played a slack-jawed yokel assassin in the schizophrenic action flick Smokin’ Aces. It was clear then that he had a wicked comedic sense and he was unafraid to bury himself in a character. But he was also burdened with leading man looks, which of course only confuses Hollywood producers who seem incapable of letting pretty people do wild and weird things. (See also: Pitt, Brad.) The joy of Honor Among Thieves is that it perfectly splits the difference for Pine. He’s certainly a capable leading man, but his role as Edgin finds the perfect balance between his strengths as a character actor and his leading man charm.

I can’t stress enough, though, just how fun this is. The villains are villainous. The heroes are (mostly) scoundrels with hearts of gold. There are no existential moral conflicts at play. It’s just a good old-fashioned magic-fueled romp with high (but not world-ending) stakes and a healthy dose of heart. And, perhaps most importantly for a high-fantasy flick, it doesn’t skimp on the stuff you want to see. Dragons. Black magic. Danger-filled caves. Mythical beasties of all stripes. A deadly maze. Mimic chests. Gelatinous cubes. It’s all here. A movie of this pedigree demands these elements show up in excess and Honor Among Thieves delivers.

I hope these early screenings are a sign that Paramount Pictures knows how great this movie is and they’re trying to build as much positive word of mouth as possible. I want sequels. As many as I can get. This was a delight from end to end and if nothing else, I’m happy with that.

[theboost]

If you’re looking for D20 recs, I can’t recommend Starstruck enough! That was actually my first D20 campaign. It’s the intrepid heroes (so the original cast with Brennan as DM) but they’ve really found their feet in the gameplay, and I think everyone really shines. Great vibe in a sci-fi genre.

And if you want to branch out, I also really love the Aabria DM seasons I’ve watched. They also start incorporating different game systems, and I think Aabria is widely credited for bringing a lot more prop/physical immersion to the dome. As a regency fan, I loved Court of Fae and Flowers (D&D fusion with a different game system, some familiar faces some new, Aabria DM, rp heavy over combat).

If you want a real shift in vibe and game system, the currently airing Never Stop Blowing up is HILARIOUS and so so fun. I kind of like watching it after seeing how veteran players have evolved though, so if you were me I might save it for a bit down the line :).

Starstruck Odyssey is one of the ones I’m really interested in but I’m holding it off as a little treat to myself down the line. A Court of Fey and Flowers was the recommendation I got across the board so I started that and I really like it. Lou and Emily especially are killing it I love them so much. I’ve been watching Never Stop Blowing Up as it’s been coming out and I love it. I’m such a big fan of 80s/90s action movies and I kind of prefer the fast and loose rules. I go into hysterics at least once per episode

[audiodramatist]

9 people you would like to know better

tagged by @rabbitmotifs ages ago but i just found it in my email inbox thanks holly <3

1. 3 ships: wrightworth, hardshine, uhhh suzabel

2. first ever ship: i remember being sad that fantine didnt live and raise cosette with jean valjean. i think that counts.

3. last song: the dripping tap king gizzard & the lizard wizard. although i was just singing human touch by bruce springsteen if we wanna count that instead

4. last movie: genuinely don't remember. maybe happy death day? that can't be right that was ages ago. quite possibly a documentary about filipino veterans of wwii edited by my sound prof (it was called A Long March it's gonna be on PBS soon, highly recommend)

5. currently reading: technically still in the middle of harrow the ninth by tamsyn muir

6. currently watching: jujitsu kaisen (very slowly) (it started stressing me out so i abandoned it for a bit), idk i watched chicago med with my moms recently

7. currently consuming: this is probably abt food but i AM actually listening to podcasts. so. naddpod c1 relisten + d20 burrow's end

8. currently craving: A BAGEL THE FUCKING EINSTEINS ON CAMPUS IS CLOSED SUNDAY AND I KEEP FORGETTING

9. tagging @jade-harley-lesbian @dapper-nahrwhale @collectoroflovelythings @commsroom @butchmechanism (IDK WHY THAT ONE ISNT WORKING I'LL DM U I GUESS) @baloooga @vonlipvig @whats-a-terrarium @skeletaltoad

[charaday5e]

Eldrin Solo Campaign, Part 9

Eldrin’s Arrays: d20=[10, 1, 18, 15, 16, 5, 12, 6, 19, 4, 9, 17, 11, 3, 13, 7, 8, 20, 2, 14; 6, 19, 7, 13, 16], 5, 15, 17, 3, 9, 1, 2, 4, 8, 18, 14, 11, 20, 12, 10 d10=[5, 3, 4, 10, 6, 1, 9, 2, 7, 8; 7, 8, 4, 6, 3, 10, 9, 5, 1], 2; 1, 8, 6, 10, 5, 7, 2, 9, 3, 4] d6=[3, 2, 4], 6, 1, 5 d4=[3, 2, 1, 4; 1, 3, 2, 4; 3, 1, 4, 2; 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2; 1, 3, 4, 2; 1, 4, 2, 3; 3, 2, 1, 4; 2, 1, 4, 3; 1, 4, 3, 2; 1, 4, 2, 3; 4, 1, 3, 2]; 1, 3, 4, 2; 2, 4, 1, 3; 4, 3, 2, 1; 2, 1, 4, 3; 4, 2, 3, 1

Monster’s Arrays: d20=[5, 2, 20, 15, 12, 6, 10, 11, 14, 17, 13, 1, 16, 3, 9, 4, 18, 19, 7, 8; 17, 11, 4, 20, 7, 13, 2, 12, 18, 15, 19], 3, 6, 8, 9, 5, 14, 10, 1, 16; 19, 15, 16, 7, 1, 9, 5, 11, 8, 18, 2, 20, 14, 3, 4, 13, 12, 17, 6, 10 d10=5, 8, 2, 4, 3, 7, 10, 6, 1, 9 d8=[6, 7, 8, 3, 5, 2, 1], 4; 5, 6, 7, 8, 4, 3, 1, 2 d6=[3, 5, 6], 1, 4, 2; 2, 6, 1, 3, 4, 5

Eldrin Sorrowsworn, Half-Elf Wizard 4 Int 18 HP: 26 (4d6+8) Wizard Skills: Arcana +6, Investigation +6 Spellbook: Chill Touch, Invisibility, Mirror Image Prepared Spells (4/3): Expeditious Retreat, Invisibility, Mage Armor, Magic Missile, Misty Step, Shield, Sleep Eldrin woke up with the dawn, the first slivers of morning light creeping through the windows of his modest lodging. Today, like every day, began by preparing spells. After closing his spellbook, he put on his robe and wizard hat.

Walking into the bustling town, Eldrin's presence was quickly noticed. The townspeople, familiar with the wizard who had been battling the forest's dark infestations, offered respectful nods and cautious smiles. Amidst these interactions, a seemingly kind man approached Eldrin with a confident stride and a disarming smile. He was a sturdy figure, bearing the seasoned look of a veteran.

'I've been sent here to help you clear the forest of undead,' the man claimed, his voice carrying a reassuring tone. 'The name's Garrick Blackwater. I heard about your efforts and thought you could use an extra hand.'

Despite Eldrin's keen sense of judgment, his Insight did not reveal any deception. Eldrin joins forces with Garrick and leave town together. Once the town disappears in the distance, Garrick attacks without warning. Round 1 Garrick longsword 3+5 miss Garrick longsword 6+5 miss Garrick shortsword 8+5 miss Eldrin casts invisibility and moves 30 feet away using stealth with advantage (5+15)+4 Round 2 Garrick moves and swings wildly in all directions but only hits the air. Eldrin casts expeditious retreat and dash as a bonus and moves 90 feet away Round 3 Garrick drops his swords and pulls out his heavy crossbow, ready-ing an attack for when he can see the sneaky wizard, Eldrin uses dash as a bonus and shoots a magic missile from a 2nd level slot at 120 feet while dashing and ends his turn 150 feet away but because of the readied action, Garrick interrupts Eldrin's turn with heavy crossbow at disadvantage (9, 5)+3 miss Eldrin's magic missile 2nd level (1+1, 3+1, 4+1, 2+1 force) Garrick takes 14 damage. Garrick (44/58) Round 4 Garrick moves 120 feet away, heavy crossbow disadvantage (14, 10)+3 miss Eldrin's magic missile 2nd level (2+1, 4+1, 1+1, 3+1 force) Garrick takes 14 damage. Garrick (30/58) Round 5 Garrick moves 90 ft away, heavy crossbow 1+3 miss Eldric casts magic missile (4+1, 3+1, 2+1 force) and moves 150 ft Garrick takes 12 damage. Garrick (18/58) Round 6 Garrick moves 120 ft, heavy crossbow disadvantage (16, 19)+3 (5+1 pierce) Eldric casts magic missile (1+1, 2+1, 1+1 force) Eldric's takes 6 damage. Eldric (20/26) Garrick takes 7 damage. Garrick (11/58) Round 7 Garrick moves 90 ft, heavy crossbow 15+3 (8+1 pierce) Eldric casts magic missile (4+1, 3+1, 4+1 force) Eldric takes 9 damage. Eldric (11/26) Garrick takes 14 damage and falls dying. Eldric runs to aid the dying villain. "I nearly had you," says the veteran. "... if it wasn't for your cheap wizard tricks." Eldric says, grasping the dying veteran, "Who sent you? Who are you working for?" But the veteran dies. Veteran Rewards gain 700 XP, splint, longsword, shortsword, heavy crossbow Eldrin’s Experience Total 3400 XP

Individual Treasure: Challenge 0–4 d100=30, 5d6=4, 6, 1, 5, 4, total 20 cp Wealth 3 gp, 25 sp, 47+20 (67 cp)

Return To Town splint sells for 100 gp longsword sells for 7 gp, 5 sp shortsword sells for 5 gp heavy crossbow sells for 25 gp Wealth 3+100+7+5+25 (140 gp), 25+5 (30 sp), 67 cp Eldrin brings the town warden to the woods to investigate the body of the veteran. They find a scrolled piece of paper with the word, "Eldrin" written on it. Wizard School Scrolls Eldrin collects a scroll of false life and a scroll of magic missile. Then he puts in a new order for paying 75 gp for material costs and 30 gp for service fee, for a scroll of expeditious retreat, magic missile, sleep Wealth 35 gp, 30 sp, 67 cp 1x False Life 1x Scroll of Mage Armor 3x Scroll of Magic Missile Modest Inn Stay the night at the modest inn (5 sp) Wealth 35 gp, 25 sp, 67 cp 11x daily rations

[open-hearth-rpg]

Life Paths: Great RPG Mechanics #RPGMechanics: Week Three

Ever since the first player asked if they could assign their rolls to stats rather than rolling them in order, there has been a tension between random and chosen character creation. Superhero 2044 is arguably the first “points” system, distributing values into pools, but the rules ended up so vague as to make that less relevant. Instead Champions is the grandaddy of point-buy games and still among the crunchiest.

But Traveller, one of the earliest games, made an innovation that only a small number of games have followed: Lifepaths. In the case of Traveller, Career Paths which notoriously could kill or cripple your character. There character creation became a game of push-your-luck. While their were some descriptions, much of what this Lifepath generated was mechanical (stats, skills, gear). FASA’s Star Trek (1983) would take a similar approach, with a little more narrative elements added in (especially for the Klingon version).

But it would be Cyberpunk 2020 which would really delve into Lifepaths as a way of seriously defining character backstory. The Listen Up You Primitive Screwheads supplement offers a multistep flowchart and we’d see a similar approach with Cybergeneration. But then Lifepath approaches would fade more to the background until Modiphius seriously picked them up for some of their games.

Lifepaths have to straddle the line between offering imaginative selections, freedom of choice, and mechanical impact. You want cool things to happen– but with enough room for the player to shape the narrative. Mechanical benefits (like stats) have to be significant but also balanced so characters don’t end up with a single boosted area with a deficit in others. You also have to make sure that the jumble of elements you create actually gels. If you have too many drastic events, it may be difficult for a player with connect them into a story they dig.

Star Trek Adventures’ Life Path feels right to me. It has a balance of choices and surprises. It has a relatively small number of steps, you have input and selection throughout, and at the end you have some fixing and adjusting you can do. Some other Modiphius 2d20 games use lifepaths, but with some costs and restraints about choices.

The Star Trek Lifepath breaks down as follows. First you select your species which gives you a trait, some attributes, and access to species talent. Second is our first roll: Environment, the kind of world you grew up on. It’s a short list of six, each one offering stat benefits and a personal value. Third is another short list roll, Upbringing (Stafleet, Business and Trade, etc) showing what kind of family or society raised you. The neat thing here is you get to choose if you accepted or rebelled against that upbringing, each giving different character advances.

After that we finally get to Starfleet Academy where you can choose or roll which of the three tracks you went through. From there you choose your time in your career (young, experienced, or veteran officer). Then you roll a d20 twice for Career events (Transporter Accident, Called Out a Superior, Discovers an Artifact, etc.). Each gives benefits and has some questions you get to answer to flesh out your story. After that there’s some finishing touches, including discretionary stat spends.

I like this approach for a couple of reasons. First, it doesn’t wear out its welcome. If you’re doing character creation in a Session Zero, walking through this process with everyone at the table doesn’t feel like a chore. You have the same number of steps for everyone, you get to hear what others have chosen, and you get input and support for your own choices. Second, it has a great deal of flexibility, you have sufficient choices along the way– but the die rolls can still surprise you. Third, it is firmly set into the universe and genre. Everything here says Star Trek and reinforces the feel of that setting.

One of the challenges of Lifepaths is finding the interesting through lines– what kinds of choices impact and how does that shape the genre. The other is finding the limits. For example I love Dune and I’ve thought about how you might do a Lifepath approach to that. But I think the possibilities might be a little too open. To encompass the Dune universe you’d either need to be very generic or you’d need lots of options, steps, and paths.

But I keep thinking about them– and especially how they could interact with systems with lighter mechanical elements (PbtA, Fate, Forged in the Dark).

[yourplayersaidwhat]

bard cast shatter into an area that had an ungodly amount of npc enemy's and the dm has only one dice set. bard had randomly pulled out all of their d20s earlier in the session for no reason and left them in a spare tray on the table because they were too lazy to grab their dice bag and put them away

Bard, ooc: "I like that you're ignoring the tray of, like a million, d20s that I pulled out."

Dm: "I don't need them" proceeds to roll 22 con saves individually with his one d20

*20 minutes later, bard casts shatter again*

Bard, ooc: "again my dude, the offer still stands, I don't care if you use my dice as long as I get them back. They're literally right there for you."

Fighter/veteran Dm who was helping new dm run this ridiculous combat: "that's 34 dc 14 con saves."

Dm, "right let's get this over with-"

Fighter/veteran Dm: *slides dice tray full of d20s infront of the Dm* "You're gonna need these."

Dm: "fine, I guess." *begrudgingly uses bards dice*

Bard, ooc: "was that so bad?"

Dm: "yes."

[askagamedev]

When doing a board game or RPG license (D&D, Vampire, Warhammer etc.) can you talk about the decision process in adapting the original system as close as possible (Neverwinter nights), creating a system that is similar (the Vampire RPGs) or creating something completely from scratch (Dawn of war) ? What are the advantages and drawbacks?

Before we begin, I want to be clear - licensing a game system like D&D or Warhammer is still licensing another IP - the licensor still has a significant amount of creative control and veto power on many of the decisions made on the project. The licensor has input and veto power on many of the mechanical implementations as well as the narrative and world building aspects of the game. For today's exercise, we'll be putting aside the normal restrictions and approval process of using a license and treat things as if the licensor was super open to letting us do whatever we wanted. However, I just wanted to make clear that the licensor can easily demand arbitrary and specific means of adaptation.

The point of an adaptation isn't to do a 1:1 exact duplication of the source material, but to bring the essence of the source material into a new medium for people to enjoy. This often means bringing the trappings and general feeling of the source material, but not necessarily the mechanical cruft and necessary rules. One of our major goals is to craft an experience that captures and conveys what makes the source material exciting and fun.

One example of mechanical rules that usually get lost in adaptation is how combat is handled mechanically. Most tabletop RPGs necessarily have turn-based combat because it is really difficult to handle real time combat in an in-person group setting. There's a lot of logistical problems with many people all trying to act simultaneously, not to mention splitting the attention of the game master is incredibly difficult. However, video games operate at many times the speed of a human. As long as the players are doing things that are handled well by the system, combat can effectively run in real time for many players. Combat mechanics like chance to hit, damage rolls, number of attacks per turn, movement speed, spell casting time, and so on can be approximated with a real time turn duration. For players, these are nostalgic elements that will remind them that the game rules are based on a familiar ruleset, but generally feel better than having to wait 10+ minutes for their next turn to come up in combat.

Similarly, we can use the source material for concepts that have a different under-the-hood implementation within the game. In D&D, a skill check is generally handled as a d20 roll with an aggregate modifier based on ability stats, proficiency, equipment, circumstances, etc. These skills are typically a variety of actions that players can take - athletics to lift a heavy object, acrobatics to climb a rope, perception to spot danger, spellcraft to recognize magic when you observe it, and so on. A video game can use randomized results when a player chooses to perform such actions and we can allow players to spend skill points to train in these skills and improve their chances at success. That said, we don't have to use the specific rules of D&D to determine the result. We can massage the numbers to feel better for the player and sand off more of the RNG frustration, while still showing a d20 roll to tickle the player nostalgia. The result feels a lot like an ability check to a D&D veteran, even though it is actually much more forgiving behind the curtain.

We make these adaptational changes to sand down the frustrating elements of the source material and make it a more enjoyable overall experience to the players who might be familiar with the license. There's always going to be adaptational sacrifices - the needs of a game on one platform (e.g. tabletop necessitating turn-based mechanics) aren't always important on a different platform. The important thing is to make sure we convey the spirit of the source material through the experiences and content we create. That is what the players (and licensor) are generally looking for.

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[wardensantoineandevka]

@quicksilvermaid: Hi @captainofthetidesbreath hoping you can give me a bit of context. I don't watch CR but have seen calamity and love D20. Is there any context or other content I should watch before checking this out?

I totally can! This is a long pitch just for completion (and to pitch to other people who may be reading this), but all the most relevant answers are at the top, so you don't have to read all of this. You do not have to watch any other content before checking this out—like, for realsies, actual truth—because it is an anthology series with heavily separated storylines between chapters. You can real start directly with Chapter 2. I do recommend watching the 6-minute How To Play (presented by the co-designer and GM) because it is played in a yet-to-be-fully-released system, but it is not strictly necessary.

Important to note, Needle & Thread deals heavily with trauma, including war trauma. It features three frontline veterans and a former field surgeon, and PTSD is significantly engaged with. The series as a whole, but especially this chapter, heavily features body horror and very intricately detailed descriptions of people being torn in half. It is a Gothic horror series with a tone identical to Penny Dreadful, and that should guide your expectations for content.

The YouTube playlist for all of Candela is here; the first episode is at the end of the list, the second episode will be uploaded on Monday, October 2, and the third and final episode will air on Thursday, November 2 and upload to YouTube Monday, November 6.

Chapter 2: Needle & Thread features most of the ExU Calamity cast: Brennan, Luis, Travis, and Marisha are all here. The GM Spenser Starke has a very cinematic style that lends well to a very tense pacing. Zehra Fazal is the last cast member and incredibly skilled.

The series is set is a fictional world, within Newfaire, a city recovering from a recent war in which their invention of electricity ousted the invading forces of Otherwhere. The players are investigators of the titular Candela Obscura, a secret organization that fights eldritch monsters from another plane called the Flare to protect humanity from Bleed, the corrosive effects of magick.

For a little more context on why it is not necessary to watch Chapter 1: Vassal & Veil, the two chapters follow different groups, have unrelated narratives, and even have somewhat different tones. The second chapter also more heavily emphasizes the weight and general tenor of the setting's social structure and recent historical events than the first (which was lighter on it for valid reasons).

Once again, if you're not watching Candela Obscura Chapter 2: Needle & Thread, I am begging you to because it is incredible. If you enjoyed ExU Calamity at all, watch this Candela chapter. (If you haven't watched Calamity yet, watch that too.)

[colombinna]

Erika "Three Times d20 Veteran" Ishii asking about exits and plants because they know what scenery sounds exactly like a battlemap

[tigerkirby215]

5e Sivir, the Battle Mistress build (League of Legends)

(Artwork made for Riot Games.)

Okay I know this is completely off topic but what the hell is Sivir's pose in her base splash art? Like oh my god doesn't that hurt your back? Jesus I know proportions are hard but wow this pose is terrible lmao.

Also it has come to my attention that I unintentionally made all the Legends of Runeterra Shuriman champions. Well I mean, Rammus isn't in LoR yet. Man we do really need more Shuriman champs.

Sorry I really don't have much of a blurb beyond that. Honestly only making Sivir for "randomly Shurima month." Like who actually plays Sivir anymore.

GOALS

Better duck! - We need to be able to throw everything at incoming danger and cut it down to size.

Here's where I get my cut - When faced with a hoard it doesn't hurt to be able to shoot everyone at once!

Nice try - Of course getting hit yourself would suck, so we're going to need ways to avoid incoming damage.

RACE

You have ascendant blood in you, which gives you just a touch of godly power. To connect to the gods look to the Aasimar. As an Aasimar you’d normally increase your Charisma by 2 but we’re instead going to invoke Tasha’s for a +2 to Dexterity. But your other abilities don’t change such as your Darkvision which I only mention because Light Bearer gives you the Light cantrip to help your friends with their dumb human eyes. You also get Celestial Resistance for a Spell Shield and Healing Hands for some potions in a pinch.

Fallen Aasimar require high Charisma and Scourge Aasimar hurt themselves as they fight, so we’ll be going for Protector Aasimar. We’re still going to get a +1 to Intelligence instead of Wisdom with Tasha’s rules, and we’ll cover more of what your subrace does for you at level 3.

ABILITY SCORES

15; INTELLIGENCE - Intelligence is tied to Investigation which makes it the tomb raiding skill. (I’d probably put Dexterity higher to be honest but I dislike uneven Ability Scores.)

14; DEXTERITY - You’re an ADC and even if you’re throwing stuff (which we won’t be in this build) Dexterity is still tied to most ranged combat abilities.

13; CONSTITUTION - While you may be squishy on the Rift we simply don’t need any other abilities for this build.

12; WISDOM - Wisdom is tied to Perception which is also useful when trying to avoid traps.

10; CHARISMA - You’re rather rough around the edges. Maybe if you were more Charismatic your fellow tomb raiders wouldn’t have double-crossed you.

8; STRENGTH - Even though you’re throwing weapons (which again: we won’t be for this build) you are very nimble and Fleet of Foot. Put simply we don’t need Strength at all for this build.

BACKGROUND

There’s no “Tomb Raider” background so we’ll fall back on Sivir’s job as a Mercenary Veteran. You get proficiency in Athletics and Persuasion as well as Land Vehicles and a gaming set of your choice (pick your poison.)

When you live the Mercenary Life you can easily identify other mercenaries by their emblems and logos. (RIP Clubs.) You know bits and pieces about their work, and can go seek them out for hints on the next ancient tomb to break into. And if all else fails you can fall back on mercenary work to maintain a comfortable lifestyle.

(Artwork made for Riot Games.)

THE BUILD

LEVEL 1 - ROGUE 1

Starting off as a Rogue because skills to raid tombs are always helpful. Skills like Acrobatics, Perception, Investigation, and... well we may as well grab Stealth as a Rogue. You also get Expertise in two skills: Investigation is the skill to find hidden loot, and Stealth is still pretty important as a Rogue.

When you live the mercenary life you know to speak in Thieves’ Cant so no wanabee treasure hunters try for your mark. Thieves’ Cant is a secret code with regular words that mean something else.

But let’s be real: what we’re really here for is Sneak Attack. When you have advantage on an attack (such as by attacking from stealth) or if your ADC is near the target you can do an additional d6 of damage.

LEVEL 2 - ROGUE 2

Second level Rogues are Fleet of Foot, and can use Cunning Action to Dash, Disengage, or Hide as a Bonus Action. Attack-Moving as an ADC is very important!

LEVEL 3 - ROGUE 3

Third level Rogues get to choose their Roguish Archetype, and you have the blood of a long-dead civilization in your veins. You revived your phantom of a great great great great (x20 more “great”s) grandfather, so Phantom Rogue will work well. Whispers of the Dead will let you choose a skill or tool to gain proficiency in after a Short or Long Rest, so you can adapt your tools to the situation at hand.

But more importantly you get Wails from the Grave. When you hit an enemy you can have your shot Ricochet to an enemy within 30 feet to deal necrotic damage equal to half the number of Sneak Attack dice for your level (round up.) You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Speaking of which your Sneak Attack die increases to 2d6. And speaking of more damage as a Protector Aasimar you get Radiant Soul. Once per long rest you can activate your Ascendant blood for 1 minute or until you end it as a bonus action. During this time you have a flying speed and deal extra Radiant damage equal to your level. Look just because we don’t see Sivir fly in-game doesn’t mean she can’t.

LEVEL 4 - ROGUE 4

4th level Rogues get an Ability Score Improvement: Dexterity controls most of what you do currently. Increase it by 2 for more damage, better skill checks, and better AC.

(Artwork made for Riot Games.)

LEVEL 5 - FIGHTER 1

ADCs are meant to fight, and Fighters are good at that! You get a Fighting Style to boost your right clicks and a “Marksman” needs Archery, even if they’re technically throwing weapons. (By the way by this point I’d recommend using a Longbow, for multiple reasons other than “it’s better than a Shortbow / Light Crossbow.”)

You can also pop the Heal Summoner Spell for a Second Wind, healing yourself for a d10 plus your Fighter level as a Bonus Action.

LEVEL 6 - FIGHTER 2

Second level Fighters are On the Hunt (by themselves), and can Action Surge to take an additional action! For now this just means one more attack, but your damage output will really increase at higher levels!

LEVEL 7 - FIGHTER 3

Third level Fighters get to choose their Martial Archetype, and while it’s perhaps not the most accurate or the strongest Arcane Archer is the only way to get some of Sivir’s abilities. But firstly you get Arcane Archer Lore for the Arcana skill (or Nature but Arcana is better), as well as the Prestidigitation cantrip (or Druidcraft but Prestidigitation is better.)

But your main feature is of course the Arcane Shot. Once per turn you can use one of your Arcane Shot options. You decide to use it when the arrow hits a creature, unless the option doesn’t involve an attack roll. Piercing Arrow will serve as your “Boomerang” Blade, firing a projectile in a 30 foot line that deals damage to everyone it passes through. This ability will go through cover so you can shoot past walls too!

There aren’t really many other options that fit Sivir, but Bursting Arrow will make your shot “Ricochet” on enemies within 5 feet of your initial target. And will do more damage, obviously.

You have two Arcane Shots per Short or Long Rest, but I’d really recommend discussing the subclass with your DM. Arcane Archer is known for being weak but it becomes a lot stronger if you make the Arcane Shots scale with either Intelligence modifier or your Proficiency Bonus. I don’t normally recommend homebrew changes but Arcane Archer is honestly a fun subclass hampered by how limited your Arcane Shot options are. I really recommend discussing buffs to the class if you wish to play one. 

LEVEL 8 - FIGHTER 4

4th level Fighters get another Ability Score Improvement and while tricks are useful shooting good is still your main goal. Increase your Dexterity by 2 for the deadliest shots possible.

(Artwork by Horace "Hozure" Hsu and Alex "alexplank" Flores. Made for Riot Games.)

LEVEL 9 - FIGHTER 5

5th level Fighters get their Beserker's Greaves, granting them enough attack speed for an Extra Attack to make two attacks in a turn! "Business is good."

LEVEL 10 - FIGHTER 6

Fighters get Ability Score Improvements instead of Class Features, but that's cool because it means we can get feats! Your Constitution has been sitting at 13 for awhile now, and while I'd normally try to grab a more fun feat Resilient will increase your Constitution by 1 and also make it easier to resist spells, which is like a spell shield!

LEVEL 11- FIGHTER 7

7th level Fighters get their Mythic! Kraken Slayer will give you Magic Arrows that do... exactly what they say on the tin! Magic damage for the sake of overcoming resistance or immunity to nonmagical damage.

Additionally if you miss you can use your Bonus Action to Ricochet your shot to another enemy. Curving Shot will let you redirect a missed hit towards a different enemy within 60 feet.

You also learn another Arcane Shot option: Enfeebling Arrow is like exhaust on an arrow. The target takes an additional 2d6 Necrotic damage and has to make a Constitution saving throw. If they fail the damage of their attacks is reduced by half until the start of your next turn.

LEVEL 12 - FIGHTER 8

More Feats are fun! While I could take Resilient in every stat or perhaps Mage Slayer I think Lucky works better to simulate Sivir's spell shield. If you make a roll on a d20 that you don't like you can roll a Lucky die to change it. You can use this not just on saving throws but also attack rolls, ability checks, and even enemy rolls! (Though of course the most flavorful thing would be to only use it on your own saving throws.) You do only have 3 of these per Long Rest, so be sure to use them wisely to block deadly spells.

(Artwork made for Riot Games.)

LEVEL 13 - ROGUE 5

5th level Rogues can survive a bit of harass thanks to Uncanny Dodge, letting you reduce the damage from a weapon attack you saw coming by half with your reaction. "Nice try." Your Sneak Attack also increases to 3d6, meaning that your Wails from the Grave increase to 2d6.

LEVEL 14 - ROGUE 6

6th level Rogues get Expertise in two more skills: Perception will help you see danger coming, and Acrobatics will help you avoid that danger.

LEVEL 15 - ROGUE 7

7th level Rogues can dodge skillshot with Evasion. If you succeed on a Dexterity saving throw you take no damage. If you fail on the saving throw you only take half damage, instead of the full damage! "Step light, strike hard." Your Sneak Attack also increases to 4d6.

LEVEL 16 - ROGUE 8

Another Ability Score Improvement is in order, and this will actually be your last one! More Intelligence will boost your Arcane Shots, but the Sharpshooter feat will boost your regular shots. It’s up to you what you do really; adapt your build for more Ability Power or more Attack Damage.

LEVEL 17 - ROGUE 9

9th level Phantom Rogues can loot the dead. When a creature you see dies within 30 feet you can use your reaction to grab a Tokens of the Departed. You can have a maximum number of soul trinkets equal to your proficiency bonus, and can’t create one while at your maximum. You can use soul trinkets in the following ways:

While you have at least one soul trinket you have advantage on death saving throws and Constitution saving throws.

When you deal Sneak Attack damage you can destroy one of your soul trinkets to use Wails from the Grave without expending a use of that feature.

As an action, you can destroy one of your soul trinkets to ask the spirit associated with the trinket one question. The spirit appears to you and answers in a language it knew in life. It doesn’t have to be truthful, and it answers as concisely as possible, eager to be free. The spirit knows only what it knew in life, as determined by the DM.

And to top it off your Sneak Attack increases to 5d6, which also means your Wails from the Grave increases to 3d6! “Life’s cheap. Death pays.”

(Artwork by Jean “Curing” Go. Made for Riot Games.)

LEVEL 18 - FIGHTER 9

9th level Rogues get another Spell Shield with Indomitable. Once per Long Rest when you fail a saving throw, you can reroll it! It’s really that simple.

LEVEL 19 - FIGHTER 10

10th level Arcane Archers get another Arcane Shot Option. What? Did you want actual class features? Too bad! Regardless take whatever option you think will be useful honestly, because we got everything we wanted from the earlier levels.

LEVEL 20 - FIGHTER 11

Now that you’re finally six-slotted you can attack three times with your Extra Attack, or 6 times with Action Surge!

FINAL BUILD

PROS

I've got values; they stack up nicely - Three attacks per turn is good in its own right, but you’ve also got Arcane Shots, a Sneak Attack that can affect two targets, and Radiant Soul to add a flat +20 to your damage every turn.

I'll fight for a cause; I won't die for one - Having around 150 HP is nothing to sneeze at, but what’s really impressive is your saving throws. Proficiency in DEX, CON, and INT saves means you won’t be failing those saves anytime soon, especially since your Soul Trinkets give you advantage on CON saves!

You've got a problem, I've got a price - You’ve got plenty of utility with Expertise in the two “searching” skills, the ability to interrogate people after death, and of course good ol’ Lucky if things go south.

CONS

Make me work for it - You need a lot of actions and reactions to operate at maximum effectiveness. Soul Trinkets are tied to spending reactions and you need your Bonus Action for Curving Shot as well as your Cunning Actions.

Don't get between me, and my gold - You’re honestly not that skillful for a Rogue, with a lot of dud skills (let’s be honest you really don’t need Athletics) instead of potentially more useful things like Insight or Survival. Sure +13 to Perception is nice but that and Investigation are probably the only two skills you’re notably good at, as your took Expertise in general Rogue abilities instead of team utility.

They say the desert is a cruel mistress - Half your saving throws are very good. The other half...? +1 Wisdom saves are quite mediocre for a common save, and -1 to Strength saves certainly has the chance to hurt. Even if you can reroll them it’s still going to be hard to make those saves.

But you’re reliable which is all that can be asked for a mercenary. Your jobs are to fight and to nab treasure, both of which you’re damn good at. Go ahead and pull this build out if the party needs a reliable marksman, and if you roleplay them well they may not even realize you’re playing a character from League of Legends. Pull a little Sneaky on them.

(Artwork by Alex “alexplank” Flores. Made for Riot Games.)