#elven's writing: stats

[spacemonkeysalsa]

Whenever someone refers to Astarion as a corrupt magistrate (or mentions anything else from EA that was taken out like it's still canon) I lose a little more hope for our collective media literacy.

And it's not because I don't think he was a corrupt magistrate, because he totally could've been, it's consistent with his character. I mean everything is consistent with his character that's a big part of his point but that is a whole other...

I think the reason it bothers me is because there is something so clear and intentional about the editing process at work here:

"Astarion was a corrupt magistrate"

vs

"Astarion was a magistrate"

Removing content is the simplest part of the editing process.

What could the intent possibly be???

WDYM? They intended for it not to be there, mystery solved.

Like I think the only bit that survived the purge of Astarion's backstory is from the digital extras, which are a) not part of the primary text and b) developmental materials that have loads of other bits of removed content, like old stats, character concept art left in the cutting room etc. Is that where Minthara is still an elven cleric? I can't remember where I saw that, but the font and art style looks the same in my brain and to force myself to move on here's a mostly unrelated anecdote:

I've been in a writing group for like 10+ years and in that time there's another member who has submitted draft 1 & draft 2 of a manuscript in which I began to casually refer to one character as "the cannibal" because I thought that this character had eaten another character.

I turned out to be wrong about the cannibalism, not because they hadn't eaten anyone but because they weren't human, so it wouldn't be cannibalism.

On draft two, she had reworked large sections of the story, and the character never eats anyone, but my entire writing group still refers to him as "the cannibal" including members who are new, never read draft 1 and she sighs every time and in fairness, it's really really funny.

[y-rhywbeth2]

D&D Vampire Lore Dump #3

Hierarchy (Spawn VS Spouse VS Lesser VS Greater) How they're "born" and the pecking order and what distinguishes a vampire spawn, a vampire bride/groom/spouse, a "lesser" vampire and a "greater" vampire. Also, the various ways a vampire is "born". With a brief nod to the various random species that crop up; for example there are vampires who are elves and there are elven vampires and these are two different things!

OBLIGATORY DISCLAIMER FOR FIRST TIME READERS: There are two things to note about the lore presented here: First, while the standard stat block in the monster manual is the default, in terms of lore vampires have this annoying tendency to be incredibly, stupidly varied. They are magical monstrosities ruled by the power of symbolism and superstition above anything else.

The next is that D&D is decades old, spans five editions, several settings and hundreds of writers. One guy establishes a piece of lore, and then the next picks it up goes "nah" and writes something else. I collected info from four different source books, all from different editions, which naturally don't entirely agree on how vampires work. Lore never stays consistent and may contradict itself. You may see information somewhere else from a source I don't have that contradicts what I wrote here. If you read this and like some of this stuff but not other bits, take the good and ditch the rest. Larian themselves have not written BG3 totally compliant with some established D&D lore or the original games.

Welcome to D&D: In your own story canon is what you say it is.

Feeding | "Biology" | Hierarchy | Weaknesses and Cures | Psychology

Ultimately, while they can be classified separately, a vampire is a vampire is a vampire. In every edition newly created vampires are enslaved to the wills of their creator, but the concept of vampire spawn as a separate category wasn't introduced until third edition. Even then, they were mainly just normal vampires enslaved to the will of the vampire that made them and the only difference was that they couldn't create spawn, turn into a wolf or command animals. Prior to 3.5e what set the "spawn" apart was the age difference: vampires grew stronger with age, and the fledglings were impossibly outmatched by their seniors.

Age is the cornerstone of the vampire world; it is expected that a vampire is to show due reverence/fear towards their elders while in turn expecting the same respect/fear from their juniors. Younger vampires are to refer to their elders as "Eminent [Name]," "Ancient One"... while older vampires tend to refer to younger vampires contemptuously as "Child" or "Fledgling" regardless of their actual age and power. The age categories shown are used more by scholars and hunters to classify the degree of threat, rather than by vampires themselves. Fledgling - 0-99 years old Mature 100-199 years Old: 200-299 years Very Old: 300-399 Ancient: 400-499 Eminent: 500-999 Patriarch/Matriarch: 1000+

-

Generally spawn are created almost exactly as Astarion tells you. A vampire kills you by draining all of your life energy and you get up with the next sundown as a member of the undead. If you were buried then you are bound to your gravesite, sometimes a vampire who is not buried will rise again, being bound to the site of their murder. Generally though, those killed by vampires who are not buried in a grave are simply dead. Sometimes vampires are bound to the soil of whatever they consider their homeland instead of their grave. …and also some of them have toxic saliva that turns you into a vampire, and some of them are born of curses that they cast on you by making eye contact that make you sicken and mysteriously waste away and rise again a vampire. A vampire is limited in the number of spawn it can create/control. The more powerful the vampire, the more it can have.

Spawn remember both their death and the identity of their killer on waking, and generally grasp what they've become within seconds.

Other ways to create vampires includes necromancy, the influence of Fiends (devils and demons) and divine will. Bhaal, for example, can cause a slain creature to rise as any form of undead he chooses. Vampires made this way are forced to complete whatever purpose they were created for and after the task is complete usually have full free will.

Vampires created by other vampires are freed of their master by either their death or by the master explicitly dismissing them from service. 5e has added a ritualistic gift of blood, but the key factor is still the vampire freeing its spawn willingly. The Turn/Command Undead ability of a cleric can also break a vampire's control over its spawn, temporarily.

There's conflicting information on the extent of the control vampires wield over their spawn. Some state that spawn are forced to not only obey but have a sensation of affection for their master forced upon them (even against their will) and spawn can be forced to take actions that will harm and kill them if ordered. Another source, however, states that while all vampires have an inborn compulsion to obey their maker, the exact level of control is not guaranteed and particularly stubborn offspring may be able to fight back, and that spawn build a resistance to their master's control over time.

Whatever the truth is, vampires don't trust their offspring and don't take chances. When it comes to educating their "children" about their condition, vampires will omit vital information or even teach them flat out lies to keep them ignorant of their own potential and dependent on their maker. One vampire is on record laughing about how he's convinced his spawn that if he dies they will die with him. Vampires are also known to kill their spawn if they're worried that they're growing too powerful or seem to be learning too much… or just because the vampire is worried by the mere idea that they might, even if their spawn are innocent of whatever slight their master is imagining. Vampires do their best to abuse and gaslight spawn into a state of self-debasing terrified obedience where they truly believe their master is an indestructible, powerful being they could never stand a chance against, while they are weak and helpless. Just in case.

-

Aaaand then there are vampire brides/grooms/spouses: Sometimes a vampire develops a fixation on an individual and decides they're going to keep them bound to them for all eternity, untouched by time. To do this they turn the target into a vampire through a slow, drawn out murder via draining the blood out of the target, followed with the vampire feeding the victim their own blood. The spouse-to-be may be permanently lost to bloodlust and die within 24 hours, and even if not the trauma this inflicts on the target is usually too much for the new "spouse" to cope with. Assuming death doesn't follow, the pair are bound together by a sensation of obsessive affection and telepathically linked, much as if they're drinking each other's blood (but without the ability to control each other). Their bond enables them able to share thoughts and share the experience when their partner is feeling a powerful emotion.

Vampire marriage follows a pattern: Eventually, the spouse gets tired of the utter repetitive tedium of existence as combination of a favourite decoration, pet and sex toy that's been put on a display shelf somewhere, and gets rebellious. They start wanting to use their powers and have and do things for themselves outside of their significant other. Said SO then responds by getting jealous and possessive and tightening their grip and putting extra locks on the bars. The emotional link creates a toxic feedback loop and everything escalates from there. Vampire divorce also exists, though only the sire can end the bond (the spouse must agree, but that agreement doesn't have to be given of their own free will). The spouse is then free. Generally the vampire, being so bound up in their chosen spouse and not wanting a free vampire running around on their turf, doesn't want to divorce and instead it's all downhill until one fatally tears the other apart in a rage.

A vampire can't have more than one spouse at a time.

-

At the other end of the spectrum are Greater Vampires. These guys are created when a succubus drains the life out of a living being - a sensation that makes you believe you're in the throes of passion but is actually "quite painful, giving no satisfaction, only utter emptiness." It also destroys their soul beyond recovery. What makes them "greater" than everyone else is simply that they cannot be harmed by sunlight. They have all the same powers as a "lesser" vampire.

Outside of that we have garden variety vampires. They die in the sun, have all the powers every other vampire has and aren't enslaved to another vampire's will. That's it.

All vampires have the following abilities*:

The ability to turn into mist, giving them the ability to fly, very good escapist skills (if you're made of air you can just enter a locked room through the keyhole, after all), and make themselves invulnerable to most forms of damage.*

The ability to mind control others by making eye contact "crushing the will of another."*

The ability to climb or walk on walls and ceilings similar to a spider.

The ability to completely heal from almost any amount of damage within minutes.

Immunity to paralysis (so a Hold spell won't work)

The ability to drain the life energy and/or blood out of a living being, and in the process create a new vampire enslaved to their own will.*

Upon being freed they gain the additional ability to summon rats, bats and wolves to do their bidding, as well as transform into those animals.

*(Most of these traits do not appear on the vampire spawn stat block in 4e or 5e's Monster Manuals, despite spawn being capable of all of the above until that point save creating their own spawn. Only spider climb and regeneration was included.)

There are also other kinds of vampires. Nosferatu are mutated by their curse into obvious monsters, and aren't harmed by sunlight. While typical vampirism affects anything, there are other types of vampirism that are pickier about hosts. Elven vampires are killed by moonlight instead of sunlight and hate plants so much. Gnome vampires age rapidly, can turn into ghosts and inflict seizures on people they touch. Then there's the vampire dragons, and the vampire illithid (which is what you get when you somehow infect a tadpole with vampirism and use it for ceremorphosis) and the vampyre - which is a type of vampire with a pyromania problem…

D&D gets a bit silly with vampires, sometimes.

EDIT: OK, apparently I didn't specify enough. Astarion is a normal vampire with the sunlight weakness. Elven Vampirism is a different type of vampirism that affects elves and half-elves, but he doesn't have it. Otherwise Cazador wouldn't be able to have human, gnome or tiefling spawn.

[cassafrasscr]

Hear me out. Orym absolutely has a type, and it’s himbos.

For the sake of clarity: Himbo = big, strong, kind, and dumb as a post. 😂

To be clear, I know Orym’s INT stat is nothing worth writing home about at 13. He’s technically above the civilian NPC average of 10, but he only gets a +1 modifier. HOWEVER... when you compare Orym to the rest of his friends, he's consistently among the smartest in terms of stats. He's literally tied with MISTER for the highest INT in the Crown Keepers, lol.

Will - Granted, we don't really know very much about what Will was like, but we can extrapolate based on a few crucial details. Will trained in swordsmanship with Orym, and they were in the Tempest Blades together - meaning Will's class was probably Fighter (maybe multi-classed with Druid, but definitely at least a Fighter). If that's the case, INT was probably his dump stat.

Will was half-elven, so probably tall (not that the bar is very high for Orym at 3'3"... literally).

He probably also had decent strength. Especially if he was anything like Derrig, who had a STR stat of 18.

Dorian - Sweet, gentle, and charming. Tall (around 6 feet), with surprisingly high STR for a primary spellcaster (College of Swords Bard, baby!)

Not unintelligent per se (he's technically above the civilian average of 10), but not especially bright by PC standards. Has an INT stat of 12, which is 1 less than Orym’s. Definitely at least an Honorary Himbo, if not a True Himbo. Plus, his brother Cyrus is definitely a himbo, so clearly it runs in the family.

Ashton - I think most people wouldn't classify Ashton as a true himbo, and I am inclined to agree. Himbos are typically nice to people, and Ashton is not particularly nice before you get to know them. That said, Ashton is kind, particularly to people in unfortunate circumstances ("Never steal copper", how gentle they were with Professor Sumal after Ludinus scrambled her brain, etc.)

As Orym said to Ashton in e79: "Despite your stony exterior, you have a soft heart."

Ashton stands at 5'10" in his regular form, and just shy of 8' in his newly revealed Titan form, so he ranges from tall to Xtra Tall. And as a Barbarian, STR is naturally their best stat. Ashton actually has pretty decent intelligence for a Barbarian, with an INT stat of 12 (same as Dorian), but it is also still lower than Orym’s by 1.

Dariax - I'll be honest, Dariax is really only here because Orym once confessed to checking out his butt and liking what he saw, lol.

ANYWAY, Dariax has peak Himbo Energy TM. He's a little chaotic, sure, but Dariax is friendly, affectionate, and surprisingly charming. His STR is actually decent for a Sorceror at 14. Plus, with an INT of 8 and a WIS of 9, he is officially in Dumb-as-a-Bag-of-Hair territory, lol. Dariax isn't super tall, being a Dwarf, but Dwarves are still taller than Halflings by around a foot on average.

So yeah. Orym likes men, and he likes them tall, strong, nice, and none too bright. 😂

[shewhowas39]

get to know June (my durge)

so i've been working on Juniper & Starlight for a couple months now and idk just thought it'd be fun to do a little write up on June, my dark urge.

***

Name: Juniper Acadia (tho she currently only remembers her first name)

Pronouns: she/her

Age: about 26

Race: i mean, technically Bhaalspawn, but she appears to be a half-elf.

Class: Wizard, School of Divination subclass (tho she does multiclass later, but that's a spoiler)

Alignment: neutral good

Highest Stat: intelligence (closely followed by wisdom)

Lowest Stat: strength (she's more dexterous)

Love Interest: Astarion

Best Friend: Shadowheart (and Scratch)

Height: 5'11" (181cm)

Body Type: June is built like a runner, so slim but not skinny, and with long legs that are more toned than the rest of her body.

Skin: very pale. about as pale as Astarion but with pink undertones.

Hair: Dark, ashy blond and VERY curly, falling to about her mid-back. her hair is thick and there's a lot of it, so it's probablyt he feature most people notice about her first.

Eyes: her eyes are large and round, but what stands out about them is that they are set quite far apart on her face and are an unusually dark, vivid blue.

Face Claim: a young Michelle Pfeiffer, but with rounder, darker blue eyes, somewhat paler skin, and MUCH curlier hair.

Other Notable Appearance Details: her black eyeliner/mascara is almost always running from where she's been crying. she also has Ilmater's holy symbol tattooed on the back of her neck, though she currently has no memory of when, why, or how she got this.

Favorite Color: deep, vibrant purple (like amethyst) as well as sort of a magenta-y pink.

Greatest Passion: history! she loves all knowledge. she's a smart cookie who is very curious about everything, but her passion is history.

Biggest Fear: her own inner darkness/bloodlust. she's terrified of the things she is capable of.

Some Random Facts:

the way her urges and her divination magic manifests causes June to feel like she sometimes experiences time out of order. the present often feels like a dream, making it hard to tell her hallucinations and prophetic visions from reality. it's not fun.

prior to the amnesia, June worked as a sort of tour guide in Baldur's Gate, showing the city's visitors the most notable historical sites. her favorite was the cemetery. (this is also how she found victims.)

her accent would be the same as a norhern Louisiana accent in the real world. it stands out among most people on the Sword Coast, but it's from a small, rural town where she was raised by her adoptive family.

her adoptive family were also half-elves, both of wood elven descent. she had two siblings, both also named after types of trees: Willow and Ash.

June has two core beliefs that drive her: first, never lie to a friend. even if it's dangerous, even if it hurts, once someone is her friend, she feels she owes them the truth. second, everyone deserves a chance at redemption....except for her. (and also probably Cazador.)

she cries a lot. to the point where it's kind of a joke. sometimes it's out of fear, sometimes out of empathy, and sometimes just becaus she's so freaking overhwelmed by the constnat shifts in time and place and her inability to graps onto reality. thus the running mascara at all times.

so that's June. she's currently being a sweet, bloodthirsty, nerdy hot mess in my longfic as well as in a few smutty oneshots you can find on my Ao3.

this isn't a tag, exactly, but if anyone else wants to hop on and use this format, i highly encourage it! i love reading about other people's durges and tavs.

[ddwcaph-game]

New MC Heritage Options

Hello everyone! So I’ve received several suggestions to include additional heritage options for MC, especially for the supernatural genre. I was planning on expanding your genre/heritage choice in later volumes as MC discovers more about their story world, but I figured it might be a better idea to establish that earlier in the prologue instead.

And then I thought, what if the fantasy heritage options were a universal choice instead of being limited to fantasy?

So, all genres will now allow you to select MC’s Heritage:

• Human Heritage • Elven Heritage • Orcish Heritage • Dwarven Heritage • Halfling Heritage • Gnomish Heritage • Goblin Heritage • Draconic Heritage • Fae Heritage

In addition, some genres will allow you to select a more specific origin on top of MC’s heritage:

Sci-Fi:

Extra-Galactic Adaptability: Will now allow MC to be a more proper alien by letting you select which attribute to specialize in (Vigor/Grace/Knowledge/Charm). The choice that increases Vigor will now mention MC having tougher skin, for example.

Mythology:

• Divine Ancestry • Nephilim Ancestry • Cambion Ancestry

Supernatural:

• Werewolf Ancestry • Vampiric Ancestry • Nephilim Ancestry • Cambion Ancestry • Enchanter Ancestry

Additional Notes:

The [Fae Heritage] will be the catch-all for most other fantasy beings, so you can headcanon whatever creature is your MC’s heritage.

The [Divine Ancestry] option for Mythology is the same as the current one. But now MC can have nephilim/cambion ancestry instead of being a demigod.

I think I’ll stick with werewolves as the only shifter option, as they’re the most popular. If I ever decide to add more options, they’ll have to be canines, but don’t quote me on that.

I went with “enchanter” rather than witch/wizard/sorcerer/etc. as I think it’s the most fitting and neutral name for the option.

The [Divine Ancestry] and [Enchanter Ancestry] will also be the only available option for MCs with Fae or Draconic Heritage if you choose Mythology or Supernatural. Otherwise, we’ll end up with dragon werewolves. While that sounds cool, it’s a little too much for me, even with the plot hole excuse.

Genre passives will now also grant you Bonus EXP when you are in a story world/setting of the same genre. Since the Adventure genre has a lot of overlap, the bonus EXP will be active whenever you have the [Adrenaline Rush] Status Effect instead.

I’ll have to rewrite the prologue a bit, but this will make the (previously) fantasy-exclusive flavor text and special interactions become more worthwhile to write.

There won’t be any exclusive heritage scenes until you arrive in MC’s story world, so the additional workload should be minimal. Plus, you can now have elf detectives, orc superheroes, halfling werewolves, or dwarves in space! 😄 Fantasy has always been the most popular genre, so this should also help in balancing things out a bit.

Nothing’s concrete for now, but I’ll definitely have to adjust the bonus stats and effects. Please let me know your thoughts! 😊

[waterdeepthroat]

just want to piggyback off of @brekkie-e’s post about halsin and how he could parallel real world body image issues, and how honestly amazing that would be for video games.

if you think about companion quests for other rpgs, like pillars of eternity or dragon age, they usually have to do with these larger-than-life, fantasy problems that don’t reflect real world problems terribly well (or in the case of dragon age, when they try to reflect those problems, they end up creating more inconsistencies and can often downplay the severity of these problems). think of arueshalae in pathfinder: wrath of the righteous- her arc is incredibly well-done, but isn’t the easiest to relate to as a player, because of the scale of her moral dilemma and what it could mean on a literal cosmic level. we everyday humans don’t have to face issues like ascending from being literal demons and redeeming ourselves for murder. but larian, through halsin, has the chance to do something incredible and smaller-scale. they have the chance to write an arc that is relatable, while still strong in terms of emotional buildup, and grounds the larger-than-life story in a very human place.

let’s talk about halsin and body image.

the first thing to note about halsin is that he does not exist in a vacuum. his in-game appearance is reflective of our current western male body standards, even if in-game he doesn’t reflect the standard of his own culture. that is to say that, as an elf in the forgotten realms setting, his sheer beefiness wouldn’t be looked on fondly by other elves. but to us, as players, his body is something we admire. immediately there is a disconnect between what he (and other in-universe characters) may think about his appearance and what we, as real-world humans, may think about his character design. that’s the setup for an incredibly powerful story, methinks.

the second thing to note about halsin is that he already exists on the outside of his in-game society. iirc he’s a wood elf (which stat-wise are great choices for druids), but he does not exist within wood-elven society (as the grove itself is shown to be multiracial). i think it’s also quite telling that the form he chooses for his wildshape is that of a bear, and typically in shapeshifter media the form one takes is symbolic for some aspect of the shapeshifting character (for example, morrigan in dragon age taking on the form of a spider in the official da:o trailer, which could be reflective of her venomous wit or the fact that, like many spiders, she is initially seen as unlikable or even unlovable). halsin, choosing a bear form, could simply be a matter of optimisation- or, what i hope is the case (considering how much emphasis larian has put on the narrative and character agency), could be a matter of story and gameplay integration. in short, halsin might take on the form of a bear in order to hide his potential insecurity (as in, he takes the form associated with his default physical being in order to assert that he is not, in fact, insecure of his “bear-like” features), or it could be as straightforward as he finds comfort in a form similar to his born, elven one- while he may have been mocked for his appearance by society, he has turned it into a weapon, something useful, something strong.

or, y’know, it could just not be that deep.

(i truly, truly hope it is that deep.)

[eueclid]

Gwendolyne Cousland, a summary.

The sweet and shy youngest daughter of Bryce and Eleanor Cousland was trained for battle alongside her eldest brother, Fergus. She protested at first, but eventually couldn't deny the benefits of it as she aged. How sad it was that it would come of use. The first time she ever raised her blade to another was when Arl Howe's men laid siege to her castle. No matter how much she swung her sword or how much she blood she spilled, it wasn't enough to save her parents. Wracked with grief, she had to be conscripted into the Grey Wardens and forced to join against her will. Before long, Duncan was dead too, leaving Gwendolyne alone with Alistair to raise up an army and end the Blight. Despite her protests, she would lead the charge, unite the armies, and defeat the Archdemon, escaping with her life.

Story choices:

Origin:

Sleeps with Dairren.

Is conscripted into the Wardens.

Flemeth's Hut:

Gladly takes Morrigan with.

Lothering:

Recruits Leliana and Sten.

Honnleath:

Recruits Shale.

Circle Tower:

Sides with the mages, declaring all blood mages have been cleared.

Recruits Wynne.

Brecilian Forest:

Helps reach a compromise between the Elves and the Werewolves.

Orzammar:

Recruits Oghren.

Destroys the Anvil of the Void.

Places Prince Bhelen Aeducan on the throne.

Redcliffe Village:

Leaves Jowan alive.

Involves the Circle of Magi to free Connor.

Urn of Sacred Ashes:

Does not defile the ashes.

Does not kill Brother Genitivi.

Rescuing Anora:

Gets captured with Alistair rescuing Anora.

Breaks out of prison instead of waiting for Arl Eamon.

Elven Alienage:

Saves the captives and kills Caladrius.

Landsmeet:

Anora rules.

Loghain is executed.

Eve of the Final Battle:

Morrigan does the Ritual with Alistair.

Final Battle:

Gwendolyne lands the final blow and lives.

Stats:

It is always Gwendolyne. Gwen is reserved for close friends / partners.

Gwendolyne is a sword and shield warrior with no specialty.

She is quite mild mannered despite her proficiency with a sword. This often comes at her own detriment.

Her typical party includes herself, Morrigan, Alistair, and Leliana. Sometimes, she'll trade Alistair for Shale or Leliana for Zevran, but not often.

She romances Leliana during the events of the game. I will not force ship anyone who writes Leliana.

After the Blight is over, Gwendolyne returns to Highever with her brother, Fergus. She does not marry, instead choosing to travel the world with Leliana. Eventually, she leaves, going in search of a cure from the Blight. She plans to stay with her after it she cures herself from the taint.

In verses outside of her canon verse, she keeps the same origin story. A more detailed verses page will come.

[vixstarria]

Baldur's Gate 3 Tav Ask Game

Following this post by @spacebarbarianweird

The list of questions is from @tolkien-fantasy.

My Tav's OC lore under the cut. This is the lady in all my fics.

Here she is being pleased with herself for being a little shit. She was not, indeed, better than those juvenile antics.

Why did you pick the race you did for your Tav?

Half-elf, for I am a basic bitch (and one who likes the idea of their character having a longer-than-human lifespan)

Why did you pick the class you did for your Tav?

Bardlock. Heavily leaning bard in HC. A bard is a lot of fun to write, but I prefer to play magic types.

What is your character’s moral alignment?

Chaotic neutral.

How did you choose your Tav’s name, if you gave them a unique one?

She doesn't use her real name. Her patron insists that she calls herself Asmodea, in honour of Asmodeus. It's meant to be ironically pompous, because frankly she's a pretty shit warlock.

What are your character’s strongest and weakest stats (strength, charisma, etc)? 

Maxed out charisma, but needs to resort to asking Str 8 Astarion to open jars for her. Wisdom is clearly not up there either, given some of the choices she's made.

What is your Tav’s origin story? 

I started typing out an essay, but will try to condense as much as I can:

Unwanted child between elf (mother) and human (father), raised by father. Doesn't know elven side of family. Was sent off for schooling as a young adolescent. Father dies, any and all traces of family fortune gone, only debts that she would now have to take over. Unable to continue studies, gets kicked out. Can't go back home. What do? Hooks up with guy, guy turns out to be bandit. Joins and runs with bandits for years. Picks up bard skills along the way. Banditry gets progressively worse, more violent and dangerous, and she eventually says "fuck this" and sneaks off with whatever loot she can carry. Keeps changing names and appearance and lives as a traveling bard for the next decade or so.

Enters pact with an otherworldly being shortly before events of BG3. Not her brightest moment, but one that kept her out of jail, at least.

Then nautiloid happens.

What was the most significant moment in your Tav’s origin story? 

I would say suddenly finding yourself penniless and roofless and having to learn how to survive was a pretty big deal.

What deity, if any, does your character worship? 

None.

What is your Tav’s biggest priority or goal?

Part of the terms of the patron's contract is keeping them entertained, so she is, indeed, forced to live in 'interesting times', or create them personally.

If your Tav didn’t become an adventurer, what else would they be doing?

She didn't really have particular plans for her future before everything went haywire.

What is your Tav’s most used weapon or spell? 

Eldritch blast. Pew pew.

What is your Tav’s favorite school of magic/weapon type?

Realistically, anything ranged.

How does your Tav fight in a combat situation?

Poorly. Tries to stay away from hand to hand combat as much as possible. Stays close to Astarion.

Does your Tav know any other languages besides Common? 

Note: OP doesn't know enough DND lore to really say. Let's go with whatever human language is appropriate for the Sword Coast area + bits and pieces from numerous other languages that she's picked up in her travels.

If your Tav could/does multiclass, what other class would they choose?

Is a bardlock.

Which of the companions does your Tav trust most? 

Astarion because bae. Karlach because friend. Lae'zel because predictable.

Which of the companions does your Tav distrust most?

Shadowheart. She always seemed like she had an ulterior agenda that she might foresake everyone else for.

She's not too fond of Gale's bomb and all the surrounding circumstances either.

Who is your Tav’s biggest rival?

She doesn't really think of her companions in those terms. Wyll's clearly a better warlock, but she simply accepts that.

Who is your Tav romancing, if anyone?

Astarion. Of course it's Astarion.

If you’re romancing anyone, why did your Tav fall for them? And why did that character fall for your Tav?

They connected through a shared sense of humour, impulsivity, dramatics, and desire to make the world burn just to see what happens.

If you’re romancing anyone, who fell first and who fell harder?

They arguably started falling more or less at the same time. Astarion fell harder.

How does your Tav act around their crush?

They started off by putting on a show of a massive love affair as a running gag to amuse themselves and annoy their other companions, until at some point it wasn't acting anymore. Related fic.

What is your Tav’s favorite moment they’ve had with their lover?

She rather enjoyed seeing him tear out a bandit's throat with his fangs to protect her.

What is your Tav attracted to? What are their turn-ons and turn-offs? 

Attracted to humour, independence and self-sufficiency. Likes it when people are straightforward and can keep up with her.

Incompetence, neediness or just plain being boring are major turn-offs.

Does your Tav have any biases against other classes or races? 

Not any more than the average person. She's met plenty of different people on her journeys. Goblins, half-orcs and drow are, in her experience, even worse than their stereotypes. The tieflings she's met have mostly been lovely though, she doesn't understand the hate for them.

What is the most prominent color in your Tav’s color scheme?

Doesn't really stick to any particular colours as doesn't want to be too easily recognised.

What is their sense of humor like?

Inappropriate. Also finds great joy in just being immature at times.

What is your Tav’s guilty pleasure?

Horrendously bad erotica novels. A hobby she shares with Astarion, actually. They keep a running tally of each instance of "velvet-wrapped steel" they come across, and occasionally perform dramatic in-character readings at camp for everyone's benefit, when the writing is sufficiently atrocious.

How easily offended are they? How do they act when offended?

Not easily at all, or rather doesn't let it get to her. She will remember, however, and is not above enacting petty, spiteful revenge.

How does your Tav react when someone insults their friend/partner?

Usually by saying something like "no, it's not worth it, let's just go, oh no, how will they ever walk again, that sure is a broken kneecap, shame about the face, welp, there go the teeth" and not actually intervening. Astarion can take care of himself.

How does your Tav dress for different occasions, like very fancy situations?

She hasn't had a chance to dress for a fancy occasion since she was a teenager. I think she would go all out given the opportunity. A combination of practicality and allure in everyday life - her vocation does require that she presents well. And that she is able to get away quickly should shit hit the fan.

How did your Tav get their scars, if they have any?

No major scars.

What is your Tav’s relationship with their family?

Doesn't know mother's elven side, and father's dead. She's got extended family, somewhere, but they've never been close.

What is your Tav’s opinion on nobility and authority?

Fuck the police. Eat the rich. She's technically still on the run from the law, not that 'the law' is competent enough or cares enough to find her.

How does your Tav react to wearing the Wavemother’s robe? How do they react to their partner wearing it?

They think it's hilarious and argue about who looks better in it. Neither will admit, but they both think Gale wore it best.

What is your Tav’s favorite type of environment? Like in a tavern, a library, out in the wilderness, underground, etc.

Honestly, she is sick and tired of taverns and the wilderness. She craves being someplace comfortable and more refined.

What would your Tav’s Zodiac sign be?

Sigh, OP is not into this, but going by the stereotypes - Aries might suit.

What is their favorite season?

Summer. Because fuck snow, fuck rain, fuck mud, fuck cold.

Where in the world does your Tav want to visit the most?

She's never had a chance to sail and is curious about that.

What is the biggest mistake your Tav ever made?

The banditry definitely wasn't a great choice.

What animal best represents your Tav?

Some form of talking parrot that might shit on you as they fly overhead

What flower/tree/plant best represents your Tav?

Four leaf clover

What does your Tav smell like?

Honestly, not that great at the moment, but hopefully she'll find a bath soon

What song best represents your Tav?

Oh boy. Gogol Bordello - Not a Crime came to mind. It's got the energy of something she might play. And the lyrics are suitable.

What would be your Tav’s favorite music genre?

I think she would have an eclectic taste, leaning towards the more lively end of the spectrum.

What role would your Tav play in a highschool AU? (nerd, jock, bully, goth, etc)

Theater kid that's always skipping class

What is the most important item your Tav has?

It's for practicality rather than sentimental value, but she does need her instruments. She's also got numerous notebooks where she jots down notes for her stories.

Where does your Tav feel most at home?

She may be tired of them, but she is most at ease and in her element in a busy tavern.

What is your Tav’s philosophy on life?

Trust your gut. Don't ask for permission. Better to regret doing than regret not doing.

Does your Tav think more with their heart or their brain?

She flips a coin when conflicted.

What does your Tav want in their future? (domestic bliss, more adventure, a family, etc)

Some kind of stability, at least for a while. Doesn't see herself as a mother or housewife though.

What is your Tav’s worst fear?

Helplessness and loss of freedom

Is your Tav easily tricked or deceived?

No, she's very distrustful given the amount of tricking and deceiving that she's had to do herself.

If your Tav was granted a single wish, what would it be?

Immortality. Like I said, she isn't particularly wise.

How does your Tav feel about keeping secrets, both their own and others?

She'll respect other people's secrets if they respect hers.

How would your Tav react to a love confession?

Oh I have a whole fic about that.

What are your Tav’s biggest insecurities?

Struggles with impostor syndrome generally. Can't believe she hasn't gotten everyone killed yet. Why are they following her?

What is your Tav’s favorite food?

Anything with a bit of a kick to it. Dislikes bland food as much as she dislikes bland people.

How generous is your Tav, especially to those they don’t know?

Generally, she's not. Rather, she can be generous with information, not so much with money, items or time - unless it doesn't really hinder her or she stands to benefit in the long run. No point helping those who can't help themselves. She might make an exception for children or other women - she knows how rough it can be.

If an evil character told your Tav that they wanted to change and help them, would they believe it?

This would have to be an actions speaking louder than words situation. She'll believe it when she sees it.

What does your Tav want to be remembered by?

She's documenting the current journeys, but hasn't decided yet whether to keep her name in it. Or if so, which name.

What Tarot Card best represents your Tav?

Really not my forte. Perhaps Page of Wands.

What would be your Tav’s major in college?

Literature

Does your Tav consider themselves a hero, villain, victim or something else?

A reluctant participant and chronicler.

How good is your Tav at giving advice? How good are they at following it themselves?

“She generally gave herself very good advice, (though she very seldom followed it).”

How does your Tav get along with each party member?

Karlach is her best friend in the group. She wishes she could have had Karlach with her as a travelling companion over the past 10 years, watching her back and stirring shit up with her.

Gale annoys the shit out of her with the unrequited crush he's got for her.

She finds Lae'zel to be a breath of fresh air with how she says exactly what she thinks, and actually feels like she can relax around her.

Shadowheart unnerves her somewhat. She doesn't really trust any religious fanatics.

She would ordinarily be annoyed with someone like Wyll for the excessive altruism, but he is genuinely such a kind and openhearted person that she can't help but like him. She is NOT allowing him to co-write their adventures though.

Is somewhat intimidated by Halsin's sheer life experience.

And then there's Astarion, but you know about that.

What are your Tav’s other hobbies?

She drinks. She cheats at cards. And she writes. Whether it's chronicling their journey or original stories that come to mind. Thank goodness for that bag of holding, she's been lugging her notebooks around for years, not having anywhere to store them.

[dndhistory]

377. Various Authors - Dragon #96 (April 1985)

Welcome to April '85, a pretty short month for the standards of the mid-80s in terms of publications, but we do get an adventure module, a whole new novel and a couple of magazines, so we'll start off with that and April's Dragon Magazine. As it is a kind of on and off tradition, the April issue celebrates April Fools and there will be a humorous component to the magazine (except in the years in which they forgot).

This year they didn't forget to make the April issue the "funny one", as we can tell that immediately from the whimsical cover by Jack Crane, the go-to artist for funny covers for Dragon, now that Phil Foglio has gone on to do other things. In the contents page you also see some shenanigans going on with an editor column which is mirrored, but your faithful correspondent did flip the image to read it and it's basically a long diatribe about how no one reads the editor's letter and Kim Mohan gets no correspondence and he's really sad about it, so he is going to quit writing them. All lies, of course. 

Some of the content is humorous, and you get spoof reader's mail, the "Hopeless" character class, a funny adventure module for really high-level characters which is just a spoof of godlike "Monty Haul" PCs. You also get a little tribute to the aforementioned Phil Foglio with stats for a What's New Dragon monster. On the more serious side of things, you get Gygax with new official rulings for Demi-Human classes... you can finally have a Dwarven Cleric or an Elven Ranger... What a concept! 

[dungeonmalcontent]

Happy Friday! I'm finally done with daily uploads! It was a nice experiment, and showed me that I could write a lot more than I thought I could. But it also took a lot out of me—more than I wanted it to. But we get to close out the project with this lovely doc:

+ From the Elven Vault

Embrace some elven culture and flaunt your flora with these unique elven items. From The Elven Vault features 40 new distinctly elven weapons, armors, tools, supplies, and magical items.

While this document primarily contains items, there is also a great deal of scattered cultural information that GMs can choose to implement along with them. Additionally, an Elven Hero stat block is included along with information about how best to put the items in this document into a game by arming NPCs.

Lastly, the doc contains a short section on how non-elven players can benefit from the items in this document lists off different achievements that player characters can acquire to gain honorary elven status.

[ghost-of-a-dream-girl]

getting to know delilah (durge)

@shewhowas39 came up with this amazing format/creative exercise to introduce OCs and thought it would be fun to use it to introduce my durge! (also because I love reading about other people's OCs)

delilah's the MC in my little durge x astarion WIP fic Where Midnight Meets Morning, best described as the final girl in a horror story of her own making

-------

Name: Delilah - doesn’t remember her surname. Companions sometimes shorten to ‘Lilah’. Pronouns she/her.  Age: around 30-33 Race: high elf (Bhaalspawn)  Class: complicated. Technically an oath-broken paladin, who does not recall her initial oath until later (vengeance). Will be multi classing and embracing her more dramatic bardic qualities.  Alignment: probably toes the line between chaotic neutral/good at the start, becoming wholly chaotic good as things develop Highest stat: almost tied between strength and charisma Lowest stat: wisdom (lol) Love interest: sad vampire boy Ex: a babygurl who is just too busy for kisses Best friend: God's favourite princess Height: around 5ft 7 Body type: slender with lean muscle, defined waist with some curves  Skin: a soft light brown, lightest at the start of Act I, deepens as she tans with all of their outdoor activities  Hair: very dark brown, almost black, with loose curls (I imagine it as like a 2c/3a type texture) Eyes: a blue-green, more green than blue, almond shaped with upturned outer corners. Very very expressive, and she’s aware of this.  Face claim: honestly difficult one. I think of her as looking similar (besides hair/skin tone) to a 90s Angelina Jolie especially with regards to the bone structure and quite luscious features which can be quite ‘siren-like’ in quality but also capable of portraying more innocence depending upon expression/make up etc. 

Other notable appearance details: - She has what appears to be an initial carved into the top of her left inner thigh - She is very acutely aware of her own appearance and how others perceive her including the effect she can have on others. She uses this to her advantage frequently but struggles to feel like her body is her own rather than a weapon/tool. - In that, she is very good at altering her appearance with eg make up/hair/clothes styles for a purpose. A lot of the time how she presents herself reflects her mental state or goals. Her and Shadowheart’s first bonding moment was over a red ribbon that Shadowheart gave her to tie her hair up with.  - Tattoo of a dagger with a name on it, very tiny and barely legible, behind her right ear

Favourite colour: dark midnight blue. Any blue, actually. Girl just loves water. 

Greatest passion: creating music! it’s something that she needs to re-discover/learn to re-embrace about herself at the start, but song/song writing, and expression of herself through that medium. Has a beautiful voice. 

Biggest fear: the Urge, and how it makes her feel. There are also moments not driven by the Urge where her own rage drives her to commit deeply violent acts, usually triggered by external control/loss of agency over her body. 

Some random facts: -   Very haunted, and definitely sensitive to the supernatural. - Plagued by nightmares throughout her whole life. Her dreams can be quite bizarre/disturbing, sometimes re-telling but more often than not slightly unreliable.  - Complex relationship with pain. Additionally, complex relationship with sex.  - Very dramatic, even in combat. Irritates Lae’zel in particular when she’s theatrical in the way she kills people. - Excellent swimmer. Enjoys wild swimming in particular, even in icy spring temperatures.   - Brought up within the upper city by elven foster parents. Sent away to a very strict, religious school as a child and teenager which is where the Urge first started to manifest.  - After…events she was driven towards a paladin lifestyle through the idea that the discipline and promise of revenge would drive the Urge away. Of course, it didn’t, and when something very bad and very pivotal happened to her she pretty much went completely off the rails and moved back to the city, eventually transforming into this siren-like party girl/death cult leader as she embraced her urges. One of the many beds that she fell eventually into was that of Enver Gortash. 

--

That's her. Her fic is only just getting started over on AO3 and does also tie into my Alfira fic. She's also got one cute smutty one shot so far.

:)

[crosaidi]

[   CARRD  | MEME TAG  | HEADCANONS | CHAR SHEET ]

—— #CROSAIDI.  by  rowan  (  30+,  they/them) . CRUSADER. independent  and  selective  original character.  medieval fantasy based but verse  flexible  (  dragon age, baldur's  gate  3, modern, general  fantasy,  game  of  thrones,  wheel  of  time,  divinity, dragon's dogma, etc  ).

[ PAERIN RIVERWIND. ] paladin. warden. half-elven. apostate. crusader without a crusade. a study in: falling and picking yourself back up again and again and again. fuck the gods. survivor's guilt. denying your roots and being anchored by them anyway.

affiliated with: @f4rgd traveling companions / mains ! @feuerwizard + @deathswcrn + @thelyss

active blogroll: @arrowsought

current brainrot verses: baldur's gate 3 & dragon age : verse tldr under cut.

quick stats for bg3 / dnd: half-elf (wood elf) oath of vengeance paladin. largely lawful neutral. assumes good playthough by default. mixed development and canon. tav or companion verse, happy to write with other pc/tavs, default to companion when writing w/tavs. quick stats for dragon age: grey warden, recruited during the fifth blight. companion in all verses. not the hero of ferelden, hawke, or the inquisitor. verse notes link! FOR VEILGUARD: rook or companion verses available, verse notes here.

[generic-cleric]

Notes on Jander Sunstar

Here is what I put together when trying to fill in Jander Sunstar’s life between the end of Vampire of the Mists up to the point in which he meets my party! 

- I tried my best to incorporate Jander’s history across all editions into my game’s canon, though there are some areas I homebrewed. My partner and I also collaborated and made his stat block because I didn’t feel that the Vampire stat block reflected his capabilities very well. My lore also has changes to his backstory in regards to Descent into Avernus, but that isn’t super relevant here so I’ll skip that bit.

- After the events in the VotM novel Jander was taken by the Mists before he could be fully destroyed and was forced to reform in the misty borders between domains where all the horrorterrors and mistbeast lurk. For almost 200 years!

- Due to the extreme radiant damage his left arm suffered while wielding a holy weapon against Strahd, his arm never fully reformed. He now keeps his injured arm bandaged up. It’s still sensitive and causes him pain every once in a while.

- While reforming in the Mists, some evil entity stole one of his fangs, his long term goal is to get it back. (a post-campaign adventure)

- He still suffers from his Black Thumb curse where plants whither at his touch, so he wears gloves. 

- He was ejected from the Mists in a dreadplane called Forlorn where he was rescued by a group of monster hunters calling themselves The Van Richten Society. They either travel alone or in very small groups, constantly meeting up and parting ways… like ships in the night. 

- He is taken into their team and networks and befriends a multitude of other members of the society across the planes.

- Some members include Van Richten (who did not name the group, believe it or not), His wife Ingrid, Ez, Pavel (current incarnation of Tatyana, and many, many more)

- Jander helped Van Richten write Van Richten’s Guide to Vampires and was not credited.

- He grows romantically close with Pavel

- While in Mordent Pavel falls in battle. Jander gets tangled up in The Apparatus when trying to save them, a machine which is said to be capable of separating the soul from a living body, translocating souls from one body to another, and otherwise manipulating the substance and energy of spirits both living and undead.

- When the contraption was used, Pavel was lost and aspects of Jander were cloned into their own beings, so now there are different manifestations of him running around the dreadplanes.

- One of these manifestations is Savra, the child he’d love to have with the person of his dreams (Pavel/Tatyana) exceeeept Savra the already terrible teenaged Dhampir is like him in all the worst ways. She/They is hot-tempered, hot-headed, and angry. Jander regards Savra as his child rather than a clone.

- Savra Joins the Van Richten Society and the younger generation create the sub group New Dawn. This includes Savra, The Weathermay-Foxgrove twins, Erasmus van Richten, and Ez.and probably more I’m forgetting about.

- Pretty sure Savra has a huge crush on Ez, a huge respect for Boomer van Richten, and a burning hatred for Jander.

- Another post session adventure I want to do involves the party helping him hunt down his different aspects and eliminating them all, except Savra.

- Jander decides to make his way to Barovia after eventually hearing Strahd is still around

- Jander’s disguise is Rathandal, a sickly elven man cursed to rot alive. Ideally, he doesn't want Strahd to know he's in Barovia, but also doesn't want to be mistaken for the Morninglord Lathander. (Something that happened in the novel which kick-started the religion in Barovia. It's still going strong and even led to the formation of a secret vampire hunter's guild)

- He catches a ride with Arabelle’s caravan and rolls through Barovia, stopping in the Vallaki encampment.

- He sneaks into the town to do carpentry and woodworking to earn meager coins to pay Kasimir to stay in one of the hovels while he gathers information and plans his next moves.

- One day while the party was in Vallaki, the Paladin of the party went to investigate the woods outside of town. There he found Rathandal frantically trying to free a hurt child from some thorny vines. 

And that’s where he met the party like… forever ago. They “saved him” from getting harassed by Izek The Biggest Meanest Guard. They were hurt when they found out he lied to them about being undead, and that’s how Jander found out he had friends! He’s been with the party since and they won't let him leave. 

Jander is a jaded grump who softens into a romantic. The party usually has to pry for his personal information, or beg when they have outlandish requests, and he usually doesn’t humor them. He is happy to share with them anything that might help them fight monsters, particularly vampires. He loves gardening, writing poetry, woodworking, playing his flute, or drawing/painting.

- Bonus: Savra is also in Barovia now, has tried to kill Jander at least once, and has now been hired by Strahd to hunt down Jander and trap him in a Crypt in the castle. Jander will never deal lethal damage to Savra.

There’s sooo much more I’d love to talk about, but I wanted to keep this one just about this chunk of backstory!

[squirrelwrangler]

Ao3 Stat meme

Tagged by @anghraine and since she tagged several mutuals who also write and post on AO3, I leave this open-ended to any mutual or follower not already tagged to count me if they wish to answer this. Get really to be amazed by small numbers, y’all, because I’m in the niche fandom writing the unpopular stuff (the only way I’d be more niche was if I really wrote f/f) aka mostly gen one-shots of minor or unpopular canon characters and OCs.

Rules: Give us the links to your fics with the most hits, most kudos, most comments, most bookmarks, most words, and least words.

Most hits: Whatcha Gonna Call It? aka the Aegnor/Andreth Baby AU that is probably going to dominate with 2,919 hits

Most kudos: Whatcha Gonna Call It? again with 255, and for context only two other fics have breached the 100 mark

Most comments: In Need of a Cold Shower, the multi-chaptered early Second Age fic about two horny OCs taking Elrond on road trip quest to investigate the far north, the only fic that got the higher rating for the d/s bondage-flavored sexual imagery, with 49 comments. As for individual comment threads, that actually goes to Of Ingwë Ingweron.

Most bookmarks: Whatcha Gonna Call It? wins again with 50

Most words: Release from Bondage, the slow-burn romance of two elven thralls in Angband, OCs based off of secondary ASoIaF characters, that reaches from the Fall of Nargothrond to the end of the First Age with cameos from canon characters and world-building galore, wins this at 40,709 words. It beats out the other two long multi-chaptered fics, “Cold Shower” and “Of Ingwë”- but as OII is halfway done while the other two complete, eventually third place will be first.

Least words: Pearl, the bit of Finarfin/Eärwen fluff, is shortest at 175 words. Have five fics posted on AO3 under 500 words and eight more in the 500-600 range.    

[starwrittenfates]

❝ Shouldn't have wished to live in more interesting times. ❞

↳ 𝙿𝙾𝚃𝙴𝙽𝚃𝙸𝙰𝙻 𝚂𝙷𝙸𝙿𝚂 — Synnove/Astarion, Synnove/OC, etc.

↳ 𝚆𝙰𝙽𝚃𝙴𝙳 𝙲𝙾𝙽𝙽𝙴𝙲𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽𝚂 — Any BG3 muses and OCs

THREADS || NAVIGATION || STUDY ||

BASICS.

FULL NAME: Synnøve Willowlight

CHILD NAME: Tav

NAME MEANING: Synnove = Sun Gift in Scandinavian (sin-oh-vuh)

NICKNAMES/TITLES: Tav, Lady Willowlight, the Sun's Gift

AGE + DOB: 100+ / 1392 DR

GENDER/PRONOUNS: Female - She/Her

ORIENTATION: Bisexual Demiromantic

SPECIES : High Elf

CLASS: Bard

SUBCLASS: College of Lore 

BACKGROUND: Noble

OCCUPATION: Travelling Bard/Adventurer, Noblewoman

APPEARANCE.

FACECLAIM: Evangeline Lily (Real Life FC)

HAIR COLOR: Auburn/Red

EYE COLOR: Golden

SCARS:

OTHER REMARKABLE FEATURES: TBA

BACKGROUND.

BIRTHPLACE: Baldur's Gate, Faerûn 

CURRENT HOME: Verse Dependent

NATIONALITY/ETHNICITY: Baldurian (Sun Elf)

LANGUAGES: Elvish, Common

PARENTS: Faelyn Willowlight (Mother), Thalien Willowlight (Father)

SIBLINGS: None

LOVE INTEREST: Dependent (romanced Astarion)

CHILDREN: N/A

OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS: House of Willowlight

PSYCHOLOGY/MIND.

MYERS-BRIGGS: ENFP - The Campaigner

ENNEAGRAM TYPE: Type 3 - The Achiever

MORAL ALIGNMENT: Neutral Good with Chaotic Good tendenacies

CHARACTER TRAITS: Empathetic, Kind, Intelligent, Resilient, Adventurous, Charming, Energetic, Stubborn, Sarcastic, Reckless, Defiant

LIKES: Music, Writing, Tea, Reading, Nature, Animals

DISLIKES: Her Father, Cazador Szarr, Anyone trying to control others

FEARS & PHOBIAS: Of being worthless

WISHES & DREAMS: To feel valuable and worthwhile

CHARACTER TROPES: Combat Medic, Jack of All Trades, I Shall Taunt You, Magic Music, The Red Mage, Support Party Member, Be Careful What You Wish For, The Chosen Many, Heroes Love Dogs, The Leader, Voluntary Vampire Victim, Dark and Troubled Past, Absuive Parents, Fiery Redhead

SKILLS & ABILITIES.

Jack of All Trades

Elven Weapon Training

Darkvision

Spellcasting

Bardic Inspiration

Fey Ancestry

Font of Inspiration 

Improved Bardic Inspiration 

Cutting Words

Combat Medic

Speak with Animals

Ability to bend and summon light, along with heat from the sun. Able to share resistance to damage from sunlight/heat with her blood 

MISC.

PETS: Scratch the Dog, Owlbear Cub

CANON QUEST DECISONS & WORLD STATE.

THE DRUID GROVE: Kagha exposed and Grove saved. Sided with Tieflings. 

UNDERDARK: Myconids aided. Slaves freed. Slavers killed. Spared Aylin. 

ROSYMORN MONASTERY: TBA

SHADOW CURSE: Helped save Isobel from Marcus. Reunited Thaniel and Oliver. Saved Aylin. Killed Kethric.

BALDUR'S GATE: Accepted Gortash's offer, but doesn't plan to uphold it. Discovers her past through her personal quest. Destroys Cazador, keeping Astarion a spawn. Takes Raphael's deal. Free Orpheus.

STATS.

Strength: 08

Dexterity: 15

Constitution: 13

Intelligence: 12

Wisdom: 10

Charisma: 17

PERSONALITY.

Despite growing up in a noble family and one of the patriar families of Baldur's Gate, Synnove has never known what power and privilege truly is. Ever since her mother's death when she was little, Synnove was treated coldly and belittled by her abusive and neglectful father who treated her as a burden and mistake instead of as a daughter or his heir. Because of it, Synnove grew up with bad people pleasing traits and perfectionist traits, trying to do whatever she could to get her father's attention or some affection from him. At first, it was the reason she decided to become a Bard, wanting to learn all she can in every skill, but Synnove quickly realized nothing she ever did would matter to him.

Now with a desire to break free from her chains and find her place in the world, Synnove leaves home and everything she knew behind. And despite finding herself now stuck with a tadpole also threatening to take her agency away, she will do what she can to break free and help the world. 

She likes those who are kind, help others in need (even animals) and look to solve problems in a diplomatic and subtle way, but also appreciates snarkiness, rebellious and mischievous attitude and supporting autonomy. She dislikes those who are downright cruel, try to control others, or belittle them. 

She hides a dark and troubled past behind a smile and her caring nature. Synnove uses songs and her sarcasm as coping mechanisms for when she is stressed out. 

BIOGRAPHY.

Born and raised in the upper city of Baldur’s Gate, she is part of the noble elven family – House of Willowlight. She is the product of an unhappy arranged marriage between her parents.

Her father, Thalien, works as a magistrate. Despite being a Sun Elf, he tends to be cold, strict and harsh with his daughter. Thalien is living up to the reputation of Sun Elves being known as haughty and reclusive and believing themselves to be superior to non-elves and even other elves. Synnove gets her looks from him with her red hair and golden eyes.

Her mother, Faelyn, is a powerful sorceress and a Sun Elf. When Synnove was a young elfling, Faelyn—unhappy with her marriage— ended up sneaking away in the middle of the night, leaving her family behind. She doesn’t make it far outside the walls of Baldur’s Gate before being abducted and turned into a Vampire Spawn. Word gets back to her family about Faelyn being killed, but the murderer is never found. A young Synnove attends her mother’s funeral, but none of them know that Faelyn will soon crawl out of her own coffin and begin her new life in a way she didn’t expect it to go. Synnove gets her personality and sense for adventure from her mother, at least that’s what her father tells her. She is only left with memories of her mother telling her stories of legends and calling her “My Sun Gift.”

In the years being raised by her father and grieving the loss of her mother, she does everything she can to get affection or praise from her abusive and neglectful father— something to show she has worth besides just being his heir he wants to marry off and get rid of. So Synnove takes up the deed of learning all she can and becoming a “Jack of All Trades”, whether it be trying her hand at magic, writing, music, or learning how to fight and heal. Along the way, she finds her desire to become a Bard. However, nothing she seems to do will ever please her father or make him regard her with care. After her father has declared he has found some Noble lord for his daughter to marry, Synnove decides to try to follow where her mother didn’t succeed and trying to find her greater purpose in life outside the walls of Baldur’s Gate, running away the day of her arranged marriage and breaking free from the chains of her old life.

Synnove manages to make it outside the wall, visiting taverns and inns and singing her songs in return for room and board, but along the way she ends up getting kidnapped by Mind Flayers and infected with one of their tadpoles. A stroke of fortune lets her escape her captors, but the tadpole in her head will still turn her into a mind flayer… unless she can find a way to remove it. And this is where Synnove’s story of adventure begins, running into other companions also infected with tadpoles, creating a story in the making that will be told in Faerûn for years to come.

PERSONAL QUEST.

The Sun's Gift --- When returning back to the city of Baldur's Gate in Act 3 with her traveling companions, Synnove discovers the truth about her family, but most especially, about herself in particular. It involves the legend of a ring known by many names--- Sunwalker's Gift, Ring of the Sun-Walker, the Sunlight Ring, and most notably, The Sun's Gift--- that imbues it's wearer with the ability to walk in the sun and not be harmed by fire or sunlight and to manipulate it. It's something that vampire's in particular have been wanting to obtain for themselves. Long ago, it was created by a group of nomadic sun elves who worshiped Lathander and sought to use it to make their fight against their enemies (the undead) easier.

However, Synnove discovers through her father the truth about the legends of the Sun Gift and her family bloodline. The Sun Gift isn't a piece of jewellery. That is just one of the false stories told to protect it's true origins. 

The Sun Gift is a person and the ability that flows with the blood in their veins. The gift skipped her father, but it is active in Synnove. She is the last living member with this ability in her bloodline.

THINGS TO NOTE ABOUT THIS QUEST:

The Sun Gift is a gene created in a specific bloodline---Synnove's father's bloodline to be exact. However, the ability only seems to be prominent in female's, not male's, hence it skipped Synnove's father and showed up in her, which only fuels the harsh way Thaelin treats his daughter.

The Sun Gift ability has a drawback. While it does grant whoever's veins it flows in resistance/powers to deal with fire and the sun, it only lasts for as long as it's flowing in their veins. For vampires, this varies for as long as said person's blood is in their system before it wears off and they need to drink again. 

Ability to bend and summon light, along with heat from the sun. Able to share resistance to damage from sunlight/heat with her blood. She is practically a living human sunbeam.

[somethinglikelife]

Okay Sunday was the premier of Last of Us on HBO, I'm not going to spoil it. At least I'm going to try not to. I played the game and loved it. But really so many of my favorite games are now shows or movies, and they haven't been done any justice. So I'm hesitant on this one, waiting a few episodes to decide if it's yay or nay.

And don't worry I'm not going to turn into a review blog. Just thought that I would show a little inner geek. I am a sucker for certain game franchises and stand alone games, like Resident Evil, Last of Us, Uncharted, Bioshock, Final Fantasy, Silent Hill.... I know two of those aren't in the creepy factor (I need my unwind games okay!)

And yeah I like silly games like Chainsaw Lollipop and Little Big Planet as well, I mean really, one has a cheerleader who kills zombies with a chainsaw, the other has a small doll that you explore the world with. Both are completely different sides of the chaotic wheel.

Why I'm saying all this? Well my first game really was a DnD game. A littel world created by Margaret Wiess, Tracy Hickman and a few other brilliant people. I played DragonLance with it's awesome Kender, Wild Elves that were pretty much fairytail elves living in the woods, while higher elves had their cities. And well, Wizards of the Coast is eating crow at the moment, or is it Hasbro is? I mean really all because they weren't making as much money as they could off Dungeons and Dragons. I watched a lot of the story unfold on TikTok, because really, watching fellow geeks and nerds meltdown and give a call to action is fun.

The call to action? Well ending the subscription to DnD. I am pretty sure that's about when WotC and Hasbro went "oops we fucked up". Ya think? I mean you couldn't get that idea from the out cries from say.... how they butchered other 80's fan favorites.... (Yes Michael Bay I am glaring at you for the mess that you made of Transformers).

Though you would think that some would, ya know, learn the fanbase. I mean really, most of the games that I was in, we plotted to take out an evil entity, worked with complete strangers and well, if the DM lost the plot or control of the game, created chaos for the enemy. Which is why I have a level thirteen Wild Elven Ranger, who is dual classed as a thief and is picking up more Bard skills than I though she should ever have a right to. Though ya know when the party needs a distraction, she's willing to be said distraction, being quicker on her feet than our thief most of the time, and cursed with a high charisma (No I did not say it wrong).

Will I still play her? Hell yeah, will I play her in a WotC game? Not for a while. The whole ordeal, has left an angry bitter taste, and well, I do have her already slotted for round robin type games and I am planning on rerolling her stats once I find a replacement game system I like for her. I like my high fantasy, and hell at this point I'm half tempted to just slot her as a character in one of my writing projects. That way I can still play with Taleenya Greenleaf, without having to deal with all the ick.

She may have started from a one shot in a game based in Dragonlance (One of my favorite book series as well mind you. I still love my high fantasy), but that is the beauty of gaming with original characters, they can move, evolve and become something else. Will I ever try her in a space based game? Maybe if I find one that seems interesting enough. But for now, I'm okay with looking at her in my gaming binder, where she'll stay for just a bit until I feel that I can game again.

And where and what that game will look like? Is probably going to be a great adventure. Because really, isn't that what all us gamers really want? Just an adventure that lets us have a hobby that doesn't have to cost thousands of dollars and need specialized equipment? I mean really, the dice we use, have been used for centuries. And I have seen many people make their own, hell there's some I really want to buy myself. I really doubt we need to stick to 'official' materials.

After all DMs are story tellers, the monsters we can create as one, can be far more entertaining than what's in a book. Yeah it would take us a little more creativity, but isn't that why we picked up DnD to begin with? I know I for one picked it up to work on my story telling. It's why I've kept all my characters, Tal, Reiko, Maric and his brother Devon, even have a shape shifting fox, and a techy that all started out from table top games. I almost want to get the books for my techy's start and replay that for nostalgia's sake, I mean really had giant robots, aliens, different planets. She'd finally get her Cyclone.

And yeah I know finding the modules will be a chore, but I kinda lost a lot of my gaming stuff leaving Georgia. Though getting new modules, or even coming up and testing out a new system myself might be fun.... I already have so much on my plate though!!! Including a mad desire to introduce tabletop gaming in a very basic form to elderly in a home. Mostly because it would allow them to get in touch with a creative side I know for a fact most activities don't touch. And yeah that's something that I will be looking into trying to write a storyline for at some point. I almost want to try it at the very Sunday Book Club based home near me. I know that the faculty there would have a hissy fit because it's "devils' work", you know how many youth group pastors I follow on TikTok that play out games with their kids as a way of getting them involved with the material that the pastor of the church is teaching? Far more than I thought ever would be. And I for one totally love it. May those youth group leaders keep teaching those kids how to think outside the box!