#fun fact: this is 100% of my arcane dragons!

[zwoelffarben]

Hey Rules Committee,

If you're listening, I wish for further bloodshed and have made for you two lists.

Ordered by EDHREC ranking (not necessarily preference) circa posting,

Cyclonic Rift Reason: It's fuckin bullshit.

Rhystic Study Reason: See above.

Smothering Tithe Reason: See above.

Teferi's Protection Reason: All-in-one-anwser to any problem, it's too good at protecting a player in an advantageous position from the table's ire for not just one answer, but an entire turn rotation's worth of answers.

Sylvan Library Reason: Meh, it's much higher on EDHREC than my personal dispises, but it's still on that list.

Bolas's Citadel Reason: Bushshit finisher.

The Great Henge Reason: I just don't like it.

Aetherflux Reservoir Reason: See Bolas's Citadel

Drannith Magistrate Reason: The format is called commander; you should be allowed to cast your commander. The fact this card stops everyone from doing that makes it antithetical to the spirit of the format.

Sheoldred, the Apocalypse Reason: Too good. I don't want to put sheoldred apoc in my nekusar deck. Please ban it so I don't feel like I have to.

Dramatic Reversal Reason: Of the isochron sceptor + dramatic reversal infinite combo, isochron sceptor is the actually problem piece and this is an innocent victim, but I like Isochron sceptor as a concept.

Narset, Parter of Veils; +Notion Theif. Reason: She's just not fun to play against. Narset into wheel is just toxic.

Torment of Hailfire Reason: This is too strong a finisher, cause even if it fails to kill it puts all your opponents in such a bad position to stablize and recover. It really homogenizes the Black deck play-space. I don't think I've played against a black deck that wasn't running hailfire since it was printed.

Aura Shards Reason: This shouldn'ta said may. If it didn't say may it would be a fair and balanced, if powerful card. But it says may, and that pushes it over the edge.

Ugin, the Spirit Dragon. Reason: I don't like him.

Jin-Gitaxias, Progress Tyrant Reason: I understand that Erayo, Soratami Ascendant // Erayo's Essence is banned because it's too oppressive. Jin-Gitaxias Progress Tyrant is significantly worse, and yet, still just as oppressive. Have you ever played against somone who turn 1: discarded Jin-Gitaxias Progress Tyrant, turn 2 reanimate targeting jin-gitaxias progress tyrant. Y'all, my hand was land and mana rocks. I scoped and said, "go next."

Moraug, Fury of Akoum Reason: Too good, next question.

Cards which should be banned for cost consideration.

The entire reserve list. Clarification: Yes, the whole thing. Even the bad cards. Especially the bad cards. Reason: If Wotc will apparently never "print the card again," it should no longer be considered a valid game piece. The collectors can cry about it if they want, but I'm out for blood.

Any card for which the cheapest available version cost more than $100 (standard legal cards exempt) A causal format doesn't need $100 cards in it. If WOTC wants it to be legal in the flagship casual format, they better reprint the fuckin' card into a casual's definition of affordability.

Honorable mentions:

The entire Ancient Dragon cycle from CLB Reason: Theyr not really a problem in the format, I just don't like them because of how swingy they are.

Every Spell that says, "Take an extra turn after this one." Clarification: Yes, even the bad ones in mono-red. I don't care. Reason: My friend's Riku deck traumatized me, okay.

Sol Ring, Command Tower, Arcane Signet. Reason: Theyr such a staples in the format as to be iconic, and they ain't problems persay, but banning cards which are in 90-95% of decks would make the format more diverse.

Swiftfoot boots or lightning greaves Reason: Same as above, but either one of them rather than both.. I don't care which one stays or goes, but having escentially two copies of this effect is a bit much imo.

[wildewinged-fr]

30 day dragon share challenge - day 4: arcane dragons

Meyne: Arcane priest whose blindness helps him find greater insights than most others do

Ahnvahr: probably infected with something horrible, luckily too stupid to notice and/or care

Archer: vaultkeeper whose words seem to hold greater weight than they should

Vysse: an ambassador who seeks to guide those who are lost

[frame-fr]

can we hear more abt Balurinn & how separation scrolls work in your lore? :0

>:) I actually wrote about the day when Bassidurinn separated into Balurinn and Bassidera! It's not done yet, but here's a little excerpt.

“It’s just…” The right head sputtered. “Remember when you let me have control the other day, one of the sellers at the market told me about a scroll.”

As if her previous lapse of anger had never happened, the Jagged-horned head was back to her normal self. “Scrolls don’t work, Bassidurinn,” she growled. “You know what happens. When aberrations use scrolls, things just happen to their minds. It’s unpredictable whether you’ll remain yourself or whether your personality will get jumbled. It isn’t worth it.”

“But that’s the thing!” The right head exclaimed. “This seller was going on about how it would work according to the users’ wishes. I just figured it would be worth a try…” He sat uncharacteristically solemn for a second. “I know we’ve had our problems, but maybe we could be free of them if we were separate.”

--

So basically: Scrolls that actually work like they are supposed to are few and far between, and basically a myth among most aberrations.

A normal breedchange scroll ain't cutting it, it'll try to cram the minds of both heads into one dragon and likely destroy something important in the process and drive the resultant dragon mad. (does not apply to aberrations with a single mind between two heads)

Sooo. One dragon needs to be made into two in order for it to work. in comes separations scrolls, which double as breedchange scrolls. This is most commonly skydancer scrolls because the body type is similar and the scroll's magic can focus more on separation as opposed to body changing. It still hurts a heck ton though because the scroll essentially rips the halves apart and rebuilds them.

Separation scrolls focus on the thoughts of the aberration using it, and so if the abby isn't thinking clear enough about separating it'll basically be a dud. Or it'll stop in the middle, yikes. Separation scrolls are considered dangerous and are very expensive because of that.

Giving a separated dragon the body they want is entirely subconscious. Since the scroll works on wishes, it'll just do it as a side effect. If one head's gender deviates from the sex of the aberration's main body, then the separation scroll will just be like "aight here you go".

(There also a few unpredictable side effects in the transformation. Balurinn's third eye became a unicorn horn, sure why not. Dragons who use these scrolls still retain aberration traits and may not ever see themselves as 100% their own dragon even after separation.)

--

And also I'll give some fun facts about Balurinn now ^^

Her relationship with Bassidera has improved since using the scroll. Still doesn't like him though.

Bassidurinn was their original name, and each took half of it. Bassid-era and Bal-urinn. They refuse to even mention the old name out loud and will refer to each other as the parts of the name that are mostly unrelated to the original name, Idra and Balur.

Bassidera call her Baluchi. This is a reference to my conlang where adding qi/chi into something makes it diminutive - ie smaller, and cuter. Basically calling her "little Balu". She hates this an unbelievable amount.

She wears contacts. She's actually arcane.

She's got a huge personal space bubble except for with Bassidera.

Girl has like no other friends other than him. Get out there more!! There are so many people to meet!!

[alovesongshewrote]

Douxtober Day 6:  A Lot Happens in a Short Amount of Time | Hisirdoux Casperan

Plot:  You remember the child surprise from the Witcher?  yeah, this was it’s distant cousin, the surprise child.  (No one is pregnant, I promise)

Word Count:  2,442

Warnings:  Children (and i ignore how both kids and adoption work)

A/N:  Oh look, a Douxtober fic!  no whump here!  And it’s technically a part of aaty (if you want it to be)

Tag List:  @furblrwurblr​ @einahpetsyarcip​ @sorrels-scribbling​ @anxious-stitcher​ @alive-and-afraid​ @animedweeb333​ @douxiesdamsel​ @saroski05

Life was a funny thing.  Sometimes you got tortured, sometimes you moved in with your boyfriend, his familiar, sometimes your boyfriend died and came back to life trying to save the world, and sometimes, you accidentally adopted a child.

It just be like that occasionally.

And you could explain this!  You totally could, 100%.  This wasn’t just the two of you plus Archie and technically Zoe shoplifting a kid, there was a lot more to it than that.  

It was about a month after all of the Arcane Order nonsense.  You and Douxie, your aforementioned boyfriend, had returned to Arcadia.  Everything was calm and chill, which was a really nice change from the usual world-ending chaos.  However, Arcadia was still Arcadia, and that meant monsters.

You were decent in a fight, Archie could turn into a goddamn dragon, and Douxie had saved the world multiple times, so you took it upon yourselves to defend the town from the things that went bump in the night.  Besides, you wanted to give the rest of your troll-hunting friends a break.

This turned out to be a pretty good plan.  It kept the town safe, let Archie get some fresh air, and gave you and Douxie time alone.  (Remember kids, monster-fighting is a great activity for date night.)  Sometimes you dragged Zoe out with you, which she enjoyed more than she let on.

All was well, and then suddenly, kid.  

As has been stated, it be like that sometimes.  You know the child surprise from the Witcher?  Yeah, this was its distant cousin, the surprise child.  

You’d been caught in a battle with another friggin shadow mephit or ten, and it wasn’t going super well if you were completely honest.  Zoe was fighting on a roof, Douxie was stuck in a tree, Archie was trying to free Douxie from that tree, and you had given up on your usual weapon for a folding chair.  It was mildly effective, but not enough to save you.  One of the mephits knocked you to the ground, preparing to take a sizable bite of your arm before a blast of purple slapped the bitch away.  You got to your knees, looking out into the night to see a frickin eight-year-old, arms outstretched, purple light surrounding their fists.

“Uh, are you guys seeing this?”  

Zoe gracefully leapt from the roof while Douxie fell out of the tree he was in.

“The child?  Yep.”

“Ow.”

You winced, walking over to help your boyfriend to his feet, “Ah, you okay, babe?”

He nodded, although his focus was on the kid, who was taking out shadow mephits like a bawse.  You would have been confused, but hey, you could fight like that when you were that age.  Though that had come from years on the streets fighting for your life, so there was a place for concern.

“Hey, should we be helping them?”

“Yeah, probably,” you said, picking up your folding chair and yeeting yourself into the fray.

With the extra assistance, the mephits went down a little easier.  You and your gang made sure to watch out for the sudden child, but they were pretty damn capable.  It only took ten minutes for the tide to turn.  Douxie opened the portal to limbo, banishing the mephits from the material plane.

You took half a second to be excited before turning to the random frickin kid who just kicked all the ass.  Their expression was grim, with no trace of pride.  It was kind of a mood, actually.

“Hey, kid!  You ok?”

Their attention was yoinked from the pavement to your face, “I��m fine.”

You nodded, cautiously approaching them, “You fought really well.  Where’d you learn to do that?”

“Why does it matter?” their tone was biting and angry.  Or as biting and angry as a child’s tone could be.

“It doesn’t, I was just curious.”

“Don’t be.  It’s fine.”  Man, did this kid sound like a younger version of you? or what?  It was kind of scary actually.

“Alright, I won’t be,” you raised your hands in surrender, taking a step back.

This ‘fun’ conversation had caught everyone else’s attention.  Archie flew around the kid before landing on your shoulder, “They won’t, but I will be.  Where are your parents?”

“Don’t have any.”

Oh, mood.  For all of you, actually.  

“Do you have another guardian?”

“No.”

“Why are you fighting monsters at this hour?”

“Because I feel like it, ok!?”

Archie pulled back a bit, “It’s a school night…”

You gave the familiar a pat on the head while Zoe made her approach, “No, the cat is right, it is a school night.”

“Cat?  That’s a dragon!” you smiled a little as the kid finally acted like a kid.

“He’s a shapeshifter, actually,” Douxie said, almost making you jump.  You hadn’t realized that he was behind you.  Arch made his way off of your shoulders and onto your boyfriend’s.

“A sHAPESHIFTER!?” the kid cried, magic again at the ready.

“No, no, no!” you exclaimed, putting yourself between the kid and the cat, “He’s a friend. I promise.”

“Your words mean nothing to me!  I don’t know you!  Any of you!”

Ok, that was fair.  You sighed and got down to the kid's level, “Ok.  My name’s (Y/N).  The shapeshifter is called Archie, but that’s not his full name.”

The kid blinked a bit, lowering their hands, “Wh-what’s his full name?”

Archie flew down to the ground beside you, continuing towards the child, “Archibald.  Pleased to meet you.”

“It’s… nice to meet you too-?”  the kid sounded confused, and they were reminding you of yourself more and more with every second.  On the bright side, they dropped their hands completely, magic fading into the night.

“Right, well,” Douxie got on your level, kneeling beside you to meet the kid’s eyes, “I’m Douxie and this is Zoe-”

“‘Sup.”

“What’s your name?”

They hesitated, looking between you and Archie, who was currently sniffing the child.

“My name is Robin.”

You smiled, the ice officially broken, “It’s nice to meet you, Robin.”

You let the kid follow you home.  Through a bit of careful chatting, you learned that Robin was about eight, and their parents were wizards when they were alive.  After their parents passed, Robin was on their own, running around the country and fending for themself.  They reminded you so much of yourself that it hurt.  Now there was a child sleeping on your couch, arms thrown around Archie which the familiar didn’t really mind, and you had no idea what to do next.

You were sitting on your counter, a cup of coffee in one hand while the other messed with Douxie’s hair.  Zoe was at the kitchen table, lying limply across two chairs while her tea cooled in its mug.  Your lovely, lovely wizard boyf was leaning on the counter next to you, pretty relaxed considering the day's events.

“So, what do we do with this child?”

“They might have to stay with us for a while.  It doesn’t sound like they have anywhere else to go.”

Zoe laughed a little, trying to keep quiet for Robin’s sake, “You two just straight up adopted a kid.  Good luck with that one.”

“Thanks, Zo,” your tone was flat, but you too saw the amusement in this situation, “Thank god I studied medicine, honestly.  If I hadn’t we’d be sooo screwed.”

“Well, you know the people in this town,” Douxie moved closer to you, “Nobody tips.”

You nodded your agreement, kissing the top of Douxie’s head.

“We should be careful though.  These days, you never know where the next ‘end of the world’ will come from.”

“Eh,” you said, looking at Robin asleep on your couch.  They looked so peaceful, and you wondered if you ever looked like that at Robin’s age.  They reminded you so much of yourself, so much of what you had once been, “I think it’ll be okay.”

There was a moment of silence as you all lost yourselves in thought.

“Well, I’d love to stay and watch you guys sign the adoption papers, but I have a shift tomorrow, so,” the pink-haired witch jumped up from her chairs and wandered past you guys, “Later nerds.”

“Bye Zo.”

“See you tomorrow.”

You lept off the counter, picking up your mug and Zoe’s and putting them in the sink.  Douxie watched you, still leaning on the counter.  You moved past him again, and he wrapped an arm around your waist, pulling you to his chest.

“You’re sure we can watch this kid?”

You bit your lip, looking back at the couch before turning back to Douxie, “When I was that age, all I wanted was a home.  Somewhere safe where I didn’t have to worry about tomorrow.  If we can give that to this kid then-” you cut yourself off and shrugged.

Douxie smiled, placing a hand on your cheek, “I love you so much.”

You leaned into his touch, “Besides, we have Archie, and he took care of you, so…”

You both laughed a little at that, pulling each other closer.  His lips met yours in a soft kiss.  You pulled apart from the kiss grinning, but something in Douxie’s eyes confused you.

“Babe?  You good?”

“I’m better than good, darling.  In fact, I-” he cut himself off, looking behind him and around the room before patting himself down, “Oh, fuzzbuckets.”

“Babe?  What’s up?  What are you-?”

“I’ll be right back!”  he said, giving you a quick kiss before running out the door.

“Uh… ok.”

You ran a hand through your hair before walking through your apartment, making sure everything was locked and warded.

“Why are you helping me?”

You spun around to see Robin, clutching Archie in one hand and keeping the other levelled at you.  Purple magic surrounded both hands.

“Well, good morning to you too.”

Archie seemed displeased with your little joke, but he stayed silent for now.

“No jokes!”  were they- were they crying?  “Just tell me why!”

“Robin, I-”

“I was supposed to kill you!  I was supposed to find you and kill you but-” their voice broke, “But you aren’t-” oop, crying child!  Crying child in your living room!

“Woah, hey, hey, hey, what’s wrong kiddo?” you approached Robin slowly.

“Why-” sob “Why are you like this?”

“I ask myself that question every day,” you knelt down to their level once again, “You don’t have to do this.”

“I do!  I have to, or they’ll-”

“They?”

“They… the titans.  If I don’t kill Merlin’s successor then they’ll… they’ll kill me.”

A little smile crossed your face as you took Archie from Robin’s grasp.  The kid was so worked up they didn’t even notice.

“I was in the same place once, almost a thousand years ago.”

“No.  You aren’t old enough!”

You giggled a little at that, “Looks can be deceiving.  Back in the day, I was a spy.  I worked for some very bad guys.  They sent me to get information from Merlin himself.”

“Wh-what did you do?”

“I did what they asked.  I was scared and alone.  But do you wanna know what Douxie did?”

“Douxie’s old too!?”

“Yes, Douxie’s old too.”

“What did he do?”

“Well, he fought with me at first, but in the long run, he saved my life.  He wouldn’t let the bad guys hurt me, and now, we won’t let them hurt you.”

With a sob, Robin jumped at you, not with an attack but with a hug.  You were a little surprised, but you rolled with it.

“Please don’t let them hurt me.”

“We won’t.  I promise.”  you let Robin hug you for as long as they needed, making frantic ‘be quiet’ signs at Douxie when he came through the door.  He looked confused, but stayed quiet and snuck into the kitchen, waiting for you.

“Thank you.”  the kid said, looking a little embarrassed as they pulled away.

“It’s no problem kiddo.  Now, to bed with you.  It’s late and you are a child.”

“And the floor is made of floor.  Goodnight, (Y/N).”  

“Goodnight little bird.”

You made sure they were safely tucked in before motioning for Archie to follow you as you grabbed Douxie from the kitchen and silently dragged him into your bedroom.

“Ok, we’re adopting the kid.”

“I thought we agreed upon that already?”

“Yeah, well, I’m confirming it now.  That’s our kid.”

“And you’re not going to tell him about-”

“Time and place, Arch, time and place.”

Douxie looked between you and his familiar, trying to figure out what he’d missed.  You sighed, knowing that this wouldn’t be something you could keep from him.

“It isn’t my story to tell but the kid was sent here to kill us, but they couldn’t.  Doux, I know that sounds bad, but Robin is eight.  I was nineteen when I was sent to spy on you and Merlin, and you know that messed me up.  We can’t let this kid-”

“I know,” he put his hands on your arms, trying to calm you, “(Y/N), I know.  We won’t let this kid get hurt the way you were, I promise.”

You said nothing, but you hugged Douxie hard enough to make him stumble back a little.  Archie shook his little cat head, but joined in on the hug, “We’ll keep them safe, (Y/N), that’s a promise.”

“Thanks, guys,” you pulled back, absolutely beaming, “I love you both, just a fun fact.” Archie gave your face a lil’ headbutt as cats are prone to do, but Douxie got that look again.  You were about to say his name when he pulled you close to him, his lips grazing your ear as he slipped something into your hand.

“I love you, too.  Marry me.”

There was a ring in the palm of your hand.  Douxie left a kiss on your neck before pulling away to look at you.

“I-”

“Yes.”

“Wait, I had a speech prepared-”

“No speech needed, just,” you kissed him for a second before pulling back, “Marry me.”

“I asked you first.”

“I asked you second,” with that out of the way, you got back to kissing.

Archie realized what had taken place before him and did the cat/dragon equivalent to a face-palm, “Really, Douxie?  The bathroom?”

I mean, fair point, the bathroom wasn't a traditionally romantic space, but love followed you and Douxie around wherever you went, so it didn’t really matter.  You laughed anyway.

“Thanks, Arch.”

The familiar grinned as much as a cat could, “No problem.  Congratulations, though.  I mean that sincerely.”

“Thank you, Archie,” you gave the familiar’s head a lil’ scratch before kissing Douxie, your fiancé, again (and again, and again.)

[curechocolattymilk]

TES V OC Thingie

[Got tagged by @jessaryss​ ! ]

Pause your game! Wherever your OC is in their game currently, tell me about their story so far.

✧✧✧ General

Current Level: 56

Name: Jeer-Tei Perdes

Name Meaning: Literally got it from a name generator lol. But lore wise it was a name gifted to them in honor of an Argonian who served beside Tei’s mother during the Great War

Pronouns: They/Them

Age: Early 30s where they are story wise???

Race(s): Argonian

Place of Origin: Hammerfell

Pick A Theme Song For Them: oof that's tough... From a Crowded Wound or maybe even Firstwake? If you really played around w personal interpretation/the lyrics that is haha

✧✧✧ Locations

Where Did You Begin Their Game?: Argonian Assemblage, Windhelm (Alternative Start)

Where Are They Currently In Your Game?: Whiterun

What Are They Doing There?: Just finished attending a party held in their honor (Post Blood of Kings)

Homes?: Breezehome, Proudspire, Lakeview & Autmnwatch

# of Locations Discovered?: 274

Dungeons Cleared: 104

Misc. Quests Completed: 87

Favorite Areas and/or Locations: Falkreath / Lakewview Manor. Both areas are where Tei heads off to in order to collect their thoughts/feel some sense of calm.

✧✧✧ Main Quest

Are They Dragonborn / Do They Know It At This Point?: Yes & yes

How Do They Feel About Being Dragonborn: It's...complicated, being thrust into the role of savior by gods of the Cult, which in turn are followed by the folk who see you lesser than them. Tei already has a dislike towards the Divines, this doesn't really help lol

Main Quests Completed: 21

Where Are They In The Main Story Line: Alduin's dead, currently trying to ignore the Civil War as long as they can before the Empire forces its hand into forcing them to join their ranks

Dragon Souls Absorbed: In total overall? 147. The amount currently stored in Tei? 45

Words of Power Learned: 64

Shouts Mastered: 21

Favorite Shout: Firebreath / Dragonrend

✧✧✧ Combat

Most Used Weapon(s): Daedric war axe OR Dragonbone battle axe. Tei technically has both on them at all times during adventuring, alongside a shield, so which they used depends on the situation/which they grab fastest.

Combat Style: Two/One-handed tank. Main tactic is to rush in, cause as much damage/chaos as possible to shake up the opponent, & clean up what the ranged attackers of the party (usually Rumarin, Inigo and/or Lucien) weren't able to deal with.

Armor Type / Level In It: HEAVY ARMOR BABYYYYY (Level 100 + 35 extra points via enchantments)

# of Training Sessions: 99 in-game, lore wise its a lot of self-teaching/keeping their skills learned from Hammerfell sharp. Some of these are magic but lore-wise this doesn't happen cus Tei is not a magic user, save for shouts. I just did those in-game for exp OR so I can help Lucien raise his magic skills :'D

Who Taught Them?: In-game?? Fuuuck so many npcs. Lore-wise? They learned this from their schooling in Hammerfell, going off the canon-lore that it's p much expected for everyone to have a grasp on combat & weaponry! Though they did learn a few things from Kaidan & Anum-La.

Favorite Enemy Type: Dragons! Despite the fact Tei does not have the best magic resistance, it's one hell of a challenge they love to meet.

Least Favorite Enemy Type: Automatons, because of a bad experience with them as a child. Also Undead, because they were raised not to disturb them & it just feels so wrong having to fight them/go into tombs.

People Killed: 945

Animals Killed: 749 (Hunterborn makes hunting fun lol)

Undead Killed: 766

Automatons Killed: 105

Daedra Killed: 136

✧✧✧ Magic

Favorite School(s): None, actually. Destruction is okay though....they guess

Most Used Spell(s): Firebreath or Dragon Aspect. Tei doesn't consider shouts spells though. It's totally different guys shut up they ain't no smelly mage gods

Spells Learned: 9 in-game, mainly due to the spells you're kinda forced to learn for some quests/the ones you automatically know

Items Enchanted: 19 (Tei technically doesn't enchant, and wont next playthrough for sure I wont give in this time >:[ )

College of Winterhold Quests Completed: 8

Where Are They At In The Questline?: Main quest is done bcus i dont like seeing unfinished quests in my journal lmao. Tei's involvement is completely different from canon though in my take. Moreso was hired as a guard for the expedition & was, unwillingly, dragged into the rest of the mess. Is not offered the Archmage position, that went straight to Tolfdir.

Opinions on Magical Guilds (Arcane University, Winterhold, Psijics, Synod, Radiant Dark, etc.): As they get older, they tolerate the guild & magic users more n more, BUT, Tei grew up in an environment that frowns upon the practice of magic, & it shows. They mainly mistrust necromancers/illusionists & still hold onto that belief that reliance on magic, especially for combat, is a weakness.

Bold words for someone with shit magic resistance.

✧✧✧ Crime

Current Gold: 10,640

How Did They Acquire Their Gold?: Odd jobs, selling a lot of the items they made/harvested from smithing & hunting (jewelers are their go-to hirers bcus Tei is great at getting things like ivory), Dwemer ruin diving (they refuse to loot the tombs), also yknow....being part of the Dark Brotherhood helps

Largest Bounty On Their Head: 11,240

For...?: Unfortunately they did not stand down when they were being falsely accused of murder in Markarth. First time Tei called down dragons (Sahrotaar, specifically, Tei managed to get command of Miraak's dragons post-Dragonborn) to absolutely smite some fools.

Current Bounty: None! They're good at not getting caught/threatening and/or bribing guards. :)

Locks Picked: 15 i think?

Jail Time: 1, Cidhna Mine

Jail Escapes: 1, teamed up w the Forsworn lol

Murders: 28

Assaults: 307....In their defense people keep getting in their way during dragon attacks

Items Stolen: 37, most of them from the nobles of Windhelm

Thieves Guild Quests Completed: N/A (wont be doing this storyline unless i cant find a mod that'll let me get the shouts locked behind it)

Dark Brotherhood Quests Completed: 20

Where Are They At In Those Questlines?: DB is completed main arc wise!

✧✧✧ Relationships

Relationship Status: Married to two lovely fellas

Current Companions: atm? none

Housecarls: Lydia & Rayya

Friends (outside of party): Zora Fair-Child, Inigo, Lucien, Anum-La, Morndas, Aela the Huntress, Nazir, Babette, Scouts-Many-Marshes, Isobel, Madesi

Children: Khash, Chases-Starlight, Ram-Ku. (going of where Tei is now - Otero & Mei come around later on in Tei's story!)

Romantic Interest(s): Kaidan & Rumarin.

Sexual Orientation:

GAY

✧✧✧ Religion

Pantheon: Yokudan, with a hint of Hircine worship in there

Patron Deity(ies): From the Yokudan pantheon: Tei mainly views HoonDing as their main patron, but also prays to/pays respect to Satakal.

They are also Hircine's champion.

Daedric Quests Completed: 3 (Hircine, Vile, Dagon - the last Tei didn't really help, moreso pissed off)

Aedric Quests Completed: 1 if you count the whole Alduin thing I guess?

How Devout Are They?: Tei is rather devout, esp to their Yokudan patrons, praying or making offerings daily. They aren't the type to really push it in your face though, but have no issues answering questions one might have.

How Do They Feel About Talos Worship?: Deep down they acknowledge & admit trying to ban worship is terrible, but....Tei also lets their bias/experience with Windhelm, the Stormcloaks & especially Ulfric kinda cloud over this. If the Nords want their old ways so damn much, why fight for a divine from the Imperial Cult? Why not go back to the actual old ways? No, this isn't about worship, not to the men leading this so-called rebellion, they just needed something other than their racist bullshit to fool the common man into throwing their lives away for the nobles sitting comfortable in their thrones.

Also during their whole thing of getting into their role of dragonborn, they get a bonus 'fuck this dude actually' towards Talos, Ysmir, whatever the fuck he calls himself. (tldr; it sucks but good luck hearing Tei say that fully)

✧✧✧ Politics

Gray-Mane or Battle-Born?: Neither, ask them again they will punch you for the love of Ruptga they get asked that every time they enter Whiterun.

Stormcloaks or Imperials?: Also neither, Tei hates em both n think they can all choke. Unfortunately they were forced to join the latter due to, yknow, calling dragons & causing massive damage in Imperial territories during isolated fits of rage and the group being more aggressive in wanting something in return for "letting it slide"....oops

Opinion on the Thalmor?: Oh absolutely despises them, they loudly complained having to work with them during the CW & would go out their way to disrupt their plans/piss them off. Sneaking was an option they did not take during the Embassy quest, if it helps paint the picture.

Opinion Of Ulfric Stormcloak?: Tei doens't say they hate people often...but they sure as hell hate Ulfric. Again, their experience in Windhelm added to this heavily, how both the Dunmer & Argonians were treated like shit, with no help whatsoever from the Jarl or guards when the local Nords targeted them. It's still up in the air if I keep this for Tei's story, but I have it where they knew Chases-Starlight's parents, who were killed. When Tei went up & demanded justice/an investigation, only to be brushed off because it "wasn't a priority," it completely destroyed what little empathy or hope they had left for Windhelm as a whole.

Opinion of The Empire?: Cowards too weak to continue fighting back against the Thalmor, in their opinion, & holds these views they grew up with even when being strong-armed into aiding them. If anything they're at least attempting to use their influence to hint towards a rebellion against the Thalmor, but the Empire could also full-on dissolve & they could give less of a shit.

Civil War Quests Completed: 0

✧✧✧ Personal

How Are They Doing? Need Some Juice? A Nap? A Hug?: The whole event of Blood of Kings has fucked with their head, to say the least. It's the starting point of Tei's eventual spiral. So uh...yeah they're not sure how they're doing everything they knew about reality was kinda challenged & they don't rlly have anyone to talk to about it so its cool, its fine, its all good.

A nap is probably needed, not sure about a hug theough they're super flinchy rn

Days Past In Game: 196

Hours of Sleep: 846

Food Items Consumed: 1833

How Many Playthroughs Have You Done With This Character: Tei actually is an older character from the 360 days so uh...maybe 5 at most? This playthrough & their S:EC one coming up when the mod releases being the main ones focusing on their story

Overall How's Your Level Of Fun: Alright I would say! I just been stepping away from Skyrim more often lately to avoid burning out from it

Must Have Mods To Play This Character (for story or other reasons): Ordinator, Wintersun Faiths, Immersive Armors, Sarcastic Player Dialogue, 3DNPC, Inigo, Lucien Flavius, Kaidan 2, Khash the Argonian, Alternative Start, Leviathan Animations, Beast Race Body Paints, Beast HHBB, Apocalypse Magic, Deadly Dragons, Growl: Werewolf Overhaul, Pronouns, uhhh....idk what else without actually listing my current modlist lmao

----

And that's it for Tei! Anyone who wants to do this go on ahead!

[radiant-flutterbun]

Lair Review for Tomswifty

@tomswifty-fr​

Thank you! I will be reviewing 5 of your dragons

Stratemeyer: Ooo I love to see a world hopper. Her skinscent is so cool and the art in her bio is cute. The Arcane halo is very fitting and looks almost like a helmet around her. I hope she learns a lot in Sornieth, and if she wants to she’s welcome to visit my own clan with it’s own other worldly beings.

Rusty: “Doesn’t get paid enough for this nonsense” I’ve been there bud. I think Rusty’s wine jaguar is very pretty and I like how that accent looks on her! 

Five: I LOVE how opal looks on Five! He reminds me of a black opal. I love his lore too! I think hiveminds are a fun concept to play around with, and I really feel for Five since he was forcibly disconnected from his. I’m glad he seems to have found some place where he can be safe and accepted, but it still sounds lonely for him. Maybe he can befriend Rusty? But whatever happens, I love that he’s now starring as a monster in movies. That’s amazing.

SixtyEight: Oh neat another drone! who was never part of a Hivemind and instead the fact he was a drone was kept from him. Oh no. I feel bad for Jellybean. He seemed to mean well keeping the truth from SixtyEight. As for the dragon’s appearance, he’s very pretty! It’s hard to go wrong with wasp/bee/capsule TBH. That accent looks stellar on him too!

Utah: Stop drop and roll! This dragon is on fire! Both literally and figuratively. I love how this guy looks. That skinscent is just *chef kiss* and it perfectly blends in with obsidian ripple that I had to check to see if this wasn’t a 100% cover skin. And the apparel you’ve chosen really amps up his flames. he’s just beautiful. I love him. And that lore? he was so bad that the afterlife rejected him? Damn that’s some good lore. I love that. 

[surskip]

tagged by: @vhsgf​ thank you!!! :DDD

rules: share 5 facts abt myself for everyone to get to know each other better!!

when i was little i used to collect snails. i would put them in salad boxes with grass and dandelions and such and mist them every so oftne and then release them after like a week. i wanted to do this with ladybugs but snails just seem hardier... i used to put both on my arms and face though which is a little gross. bugs r neat

id be like 5′6 if it weren’t for my extra vertebra

ive been fishing only a few times but ive caught a fish every time except once. every time a fishing minigame is in something i will spend most of my time doing that. love me some fishies

the first time i heard hozier i was like 11 and immediately afterwards i was depressed for like 3 straight months. like it now though it took me a qhile to relisten

im a pain to watch any movie or play any game with because i predict wildly things that i am 100% certain of but the only time they are oddly accurate is like mystery genres

tagging: 

~

this or that tag game: arcane elements cycle wip aesthetics by @aesterea

RULES: copy and paste the entire post. do not remove the credit in the above title. bold the option(s) you feel most connected to. tag who tagged you, and tag at least three others. (sorry i cheated)

tagged by: @vhsgf​!!

SENSUAL: the meadow or the mountains? the desert or the winter wasteland? castle or village? palace underwater or castle in the clouds? ghosts or beasts? sparks or snow? black or red? red or blue? silver or gold? light or dark? day or night? silhouette or shadow? tarot cards or playing cards? fire or water?

SENTIMENTAL: defiance or devotion? memory or prophecy? beauty or mischief? creation or destruction? control or submission? like calls to like or opposites attract? live for love, die for love, or kill for love? chaos or cleverness? mystery or history? friendship or romance? haunt or be haunted? you are mine or i am yours? secrets or confessions? treasured waste or wasted treasure?

ARCHETYPAL: death or the lovers (tarot)? the magician or the wheel of fortune (tarot)? the moon or the hermit (tarot)? the savior or the martyr? the healer or the assassin? the damsel or the dragon? the songbird or the dragon? the siren or the sailor? the dreamer or the dream? the captor or the captive? the rose consumed by the flame or the flame that consumes the rose?

tagging: anyone who wants to do it!! you can do one or both or neither or all.... thank you for tagging me i had fun and sorry this is so late!!! <:~] <3

[words-writ-in-starlight]

Hey do you have any advice for DM's or players? My friends and I are fairly new to this and I would appreciate any advice! Sorry for the bother

IN FACT I DO.  Now, again, my DM style could generously be called “freewheeling” and “unprepared” so like...go elsewhere if you want to learn The Numbers.  (Can someone explain how to use challenge rating usefully to design my encounters please I’m begging.)  However.

IN GENERAL

DnD is a collaborative effort.  I’m gonna harp on this one a little, but seriously.  DnD, or any other RPG, is a group effort.  That means everyone should be having fun, no single person should be controlling everything, no one should be wildly out of tone with the others, and no one should be playing with the intent to fuck over the group.  

Host provides the snacks.  Traditionally this is the DM, and it’s still sort of generally agreed that, in lieu of a host, the DM is still Snack Bearer, but no matter who you are, if you’re hosting DnD then give your party something to eat.  This is partly because there’s a long history of enjoying a salty snack while killin’ dragons, and partly because your average DnD session runs three or four hours and if you don’t eat a meal immediately beforehand or provide snacks, people will get pretty cranky at some point.  Everyone needs to be thinking clearly while they fight Y’gathon the Ravenous or whatever.

Loosen up a little.  Playing pretend feels awkward at first, and there’s an inclination to make the whole thing a joke as a defense against feeling like you’re being a dumbass.  And you’re totally free to make your campaign as goofy and joke-filled as you want!  But also try to embrace your character, try to embrace the fantasy world, try to just generally set aside the need to be a “grown up” and just play pretend.  Especially if you’re looking to hit some emotional beats, or hit a more serious note than “dick jokes, the DnD party”, it’ll take a little doing to get people to stop feeling shy and awkward about it.  This is going to come up again in the DM section.

PLAYERS

Party balance does matter--yeah, seriously.  That’s not to say you shouldn’t play exactly the character you want to play!  Make that dark elf prince DeviantArt OC you swore would never see the light of day!  Indulge your lifelong desire to Animorph--Druids do that!  Give your character the angstiest backstory and the most overdramatic appearance you’ve ever discarded for Real Writing!  The world is your oyster!  But if you party doesn’t have at least a healer and maybe at least one person with more than fifteen hit points (looking at you, All Spellcaster Parties), you may find yourself in a bit of a pinch and your DM may not be sympathetic.  If your group is big enough, I’d suggest trying to hit the classic four-person RPG starter party at bare minimum: Healer, Tank, Rogue, Damage-dealer (probably a caster).  That’ll cover most situations, both in and out of combat.  Get creative from there.  If you don’t have enough people (party of three), see if your DM will give you an NPC to fill out that roster--if they won’t, maybe drop the healer and blow 100% of your cash on healing potions.  IDK, that’s not my problem.  Which brings me to...

There’s no such thing as a boring class.  I know, I know, some dude’s about to show up and give me a bunch of crap about paladins.  I know.  But honestly there are so many options to mod the fuck out of DnD classes that everyone needs to calm down.  Homebrew your shit and stop whining.  Specifically, this is regarding two categories: Tank and Healer.  Nobody wants to be the guy casting Punch when everyone else can cast Wall of Fire, or making sure that your delicate little thief doesn’t get one-shotted before they can net those sweet sweet Sneak Attacks, but honestly the builds are still pretty fun.  If your cleric build is boring you, look for a cleric build that’s more interesting!  If you don’t like the classic Fighter or Barbarian, rummage around in the alternative paths!  Especially the 5e builds have a lot of really cool options right there in the Player’s Handbook, and if those aren’t doing it for you, the Internet has your back.  Finally, if what you really want is to be able to just fucking 1v1 the boss or to be Deeply Beloved by your party, Tank and (useful) Healer are your respective tickets to those outcomes.  And if you really, really still want to be an arcane spellcaster, try a Warlock for your kinda delicate tank and a Bard for your healer.

Don’t play to sabotage.  This sounds obvious, but this is “it’s a collaborative effort” for players, and it’s extremely important.  You shouldn’t be playing to sabotage the group and you shouldn’t be playing to sabotage the DM.  It’s not going to endear you to them, it’s not going to be funny, and it’s probably going to make your party turn on you in-game at some point, at which point it won’t even be fun for you.  If you’re not going into DnD with the honest desire to have a good time and do your best to work with everyone so you all have a collective good time, then let me ask for the sake of your future party that you maybe...don’t.  As far as the DM goes, your DM puts a lot of work into your sessions!  Probably more than you’re aware of!  That doesn’t mean you have to let them put your campaign on rails, but it does mean you shouldn’t go out actively looking for ways to upend their work.  That’s just rude.

Share the spotlight.  You’re not always going to be the center of attention.  Learn to love the other characters in your party and get invested in their arcs!  Build emotional connections between your character and the others, so that when they get plot advancement, you get plot advancement!  Above all, don’t try to hurry things along so that the narrative gets back to you, if someone else is getting a moment in the sun.  A good DM will get to everyone.  Just go with it.

You’re gonna have a dump stat--make it narratively interesting.  A “dump stat” is that one stat you put your lowest ability score into and subsequently become known for being Absolutely Shit with.  Mine is almost always Charisma.  My mother is playing a Barbarian: her character is as dumb as a sack of hammers, with the Intelligence score to match.  Play into that dump stat!  In fact, play into all your stats!  Why is your character so uncharismatic--are they brusque or just shy?  What part of their backstory informs that?  Why are they buff (Strength) and tough (Constitution)?  How did they decide to get that way?  Why do they have the skills you chose for them?  Stats aren’t just numbers on a page, they’re the core of the character you’re building, so make them part of the story.  And on a related note, my final bit of player advice...

Give! Your! Character! A! Backstory!  Your character DID NOT spring fully formed from the ether (I mean, unless, of course, they did, which is a pretty interesting backstory to be going on with), and the more you buff out your character’s backstory and tell your DM about it, the more they’ll be able to work you into the story they’re telling.  I would personally suggest having, like, a couple people who might still be alive out of that backstory, so that your DM has some easy stuff to work with, but bare bones you need to answer the question “why are you [CLASS] and what event brought you to that?”

DM (Under the cut because, like, trade secrets and also this is pretty long already)

You are all-powerful.  Not even the rules can tell you what to do.  If you want elevators, include elevators.  If you want to include house rules, distribute those motherfuckers and use them.  If you want a nat 20 to always, always succeed, regardless of circumstances, then it always succeeds, no questions.  If you like the Dawn War pantheon but not the Dawn War universe, stuff some deities in your pockets and make a hasty escape to your homebrew setting.  You are the DM and at the end of the day, nobody can stop you from changing the rules to suit you.  This means that, if you don’t know the rules as well as you would like to, a confident tone of voice and some degree of consistency is just as good!  It also means that, until you say it aloud, absolutely everything is in flux--if your characters just are not making progress on the mystery you set up and are continuously interrogating the wrong people, you’re totally free to just give one of those people some relevant information!  It’s easy to feel beholden to whatever you previously decided on, but seriously, you’re a god, you can just change stuff to make it work.  On the other hand...

You are ultimately responsible for the narrative--and therefore everyone’s good time.  That might sound like a lot of pressure, but it’s the truth.  With great power comes great responsibility.  This means not abusing your power as DM to target someone, to manipulate events to match your preferred outcome, or to dramatically alter the narrative your players are constructing.  Ultimately, you are there to give them a sandbox, they’re not here to play out your story.  Sometimes in order to let your players do what the party really wants to do, you need to give up some narrative threads that you spent time and effort plotting out.  That’s not to say it’s never worth it to put things on rails--especially in shorter campaigns, a party might really benefit from the DM keeping them on track--but a narrative will always be more fun if you build it together, rather than trying to sabotage their attempts to keep them to your planned path.  Moreover, as DM, you are the authority figure, so if you see something in-universe or out-of-character you’re not comfortable with or seems in bad faith, say something.  I know the rule of improv is “say yes” and DnD is, at its heart, an improv-based story, but you have the responsibility as the DM to ensure that everyone is having fun and sometimes that means saying “fuck no.”

Be a fan of your party.  I boosted this one from the Powered By The Apocalypse games, because I think it’s a great rule.  Basically, you, as the person running the game, should be a fan of the characters!  That means giving them lots of chances for badass moments, emotional connections, and interesting personal plots.  The more you as the DM spread around the narrative love and the exciting beats between your party members, the more your players will enjoy seeing each other in the spotlight.

Get in touch with your inner sadist.  Remember those backstories I encouraged players to create?  Make them tell you every detail.  And then make them bleed.  Your character has a long-lost brother?  Sounds like you just got a convenient villain!  Your character’s village was burned down and they’re the sole survivor?  Mmm, what tasty opportunities for necromancy.  Your character spent their whole life loyal to their king and lost everything defending the throne?  Guess who just became the Big Bad?  Every person your character includes in their backstory is a leverage point, every place they’ve ever cried is now a destination on the party map, every tragedy they’ve ever suffered is a gift that they’ve given to you personally.  The more angst they include in their backstory, the less work you have to do coming up with personal plot arcs.  They’ll hand you that shit, all you have to do is take merciless advantage.  Have fun.

Make NPCs, and then make your players love them.  A helpful tavern keeper!  A beautiful guardswoman!  A stablehand with a secret!  An ornately detailed world is all well and good, but good NPCs are what will make your players get into the game.  Are you low on ideas?  Spend an hour thinking about supporting characters you love, and then insert them wholesale if your players are unfamiliar with the source media.  If you can’t get away with that, rename them, give them a new face, and now you have an NPC.  Example: I just met Gilmore in Critical Role!  I love him!  Now my players have a flirty shopkeep friend named Renwick who’s a tiefling but is otherwise indistinguishable from Gilmore.  No one has caught on yet.  I’m looking forward to putting his life in danger again to make them Upset.  (Did I not mention?  The full text of this rule in my mind is “make NPCs, make your characters love them, and then brutally kill them off” but then I’m told I’m a very angsty DM, so YMMV.)

Make failure narratively interesting.  This one is pretty straightforward--if your players fail at a task that’s plot-relevant, the failure should be as interesting as success would have been.  It may mean your characters spend a lot of time breaking out of prisons, but it’ll also mean that your players will be less likely to fudge dice rolls in order to “win” DnD.

The dice are your friends.  Someday your characters will try to fight something they really shouldn’t fight.  They will try to enchant something you didn’t give stats to.  They will try to do some dumb shit.  When all else fails, just roll a fistful of dice, assign purposes to each at random as needed, and wing it.  You didn’t give that character a Dex stat and now your cleric is casting Sacred Flame?  Roll a d6, that’s their brand new Dex stat, add it to a d20 and confidently report the outcome.  Which brings me to my last point...

Confidence is better than actual knowledge.  Not even Matt Mercer is right all the time about DnD rules.  There is literally too much information and too many myriad ways to tweak it in order to know everything about even a single edition of DnD, let alone the many other RPGs in the world.  Keep a computer near at hand for quick rule checks when needed, admit when you’re wrong when applicable, but if you can’t find something quickly and don’t know the answer, make a command decision and then stick to it.  As long as you’re consistent, confident, and fair, I guarantee you your players will not complain.

[thecryingcryptid]

Hey ive been following you for a while and im not sure if its just my bad memory,but I haven't really seen a post about your ocs? They sound really fun from what I can tell from the tags of that last post. Id love to know more about them?Hope Im not bothering you! 🌟

not at all! yeah idk i have a couple sideblogs for them (but it’s more of a what their tumblr would look like not so much things specifically about them if you get what i mean). you precious monarch butterfly have some lil quick bios bout my top 3 girls

Reywynn Nightstar | D&D | rogue + warlock | Queer Table Universe

- Chaotic neutral/good moon elf who is an arcane trickster. She has ginger hair and one green eye, she lost the other eye to a cursed beholder eye charm thing. She is hella chaotic and loves lame jokes and pulling pranks. She is also hella pansexual and is drawn to lovers who are fun and know how to have a good time. She worked for a rogue organization in the Feywild traveling the wilderness to ruins and shit (and sometimes cities) to...reclaim items of arcane and cultural value. On one mission she tripped a plane shift trap and was sent to the Material Plane. She is not educated on inter-planar travel so she had no fuckin clue how to get back, she just kinda travelled around Faerun taking up odd thieving jobs until she teamed up with the group to work a bigger job with more pay.  She is the SMOLEST bean (next to our gnome ranger) at 5ft tall. FUN FACT: that was 100% not her original height but when the DM asked me how tall she was at like level 6 I realized I had not written it down anywhere so randomly rolled for it right then and there. Rey is a smol rage bean with the lamest sense of humor AND I LOVE HER. She has also written a romance novel based on the group’s adventures! It’s not like the penny smut novels she favors but more of a dramatic love epic. I have not actually written out the novel, and probably never will, but I DO have a basic plot outline written if anyone ever wants to see it (you won’t understand how the plot relates to in-game events but it still might be interesting).

Likes: bad jokes, smut novels, and stabby things

Amaris | D&D | wizard | (future) Empire universe

- Neutral good tiefling with moonstone skin and black antlers. 6ft tall with wavy silver hair and bright purple eyes against black scleras.  She is probably my bean with the saddest backstory. Her father travels as a fortune teller, though he was more interested in using his good looks and mystic background to seduce women (especially wealthy women). On one such occasion his affair with a local landowner’s human wife resulted in a child that was very obviously not her husband’s. For whatever reason, maybe he really did care for her, he agreed to raise Amaris and keep her away from the anger of the husband. That being said, he was NOT a good father. It was very obvious from a young age that Amaris had a talent for learning magic that he did not, and he greatly exploited that to make his life easier and help him make more money as they travelled. He was very emotionally and verbally abusive and it wasn’t until her mid 20s that she gained the courage to run away from him. She left with some fancy arcane armor she was supposed to be making for him, but now it helps keep her safe as she explores the world on her own terms. She also has the mystic background, but to her father’s annoyance, she doesn’t flatter patrons and tell them what they want to hear instead choosing to give the blunt truth. Sometime in her teens they were close to the town where her mother lived and she went to try and see her, but was discovered by the husband and was chased down and attacked with scythes/sickles. Her back now has a thick scar from the base of her skull all the way down her spine. 

She HAS made a cameo in the Queer Table universe as an npc and is married to a nice (and hot) water genasi smuggler and they have a daughter. In that universe she also has a half-brother, Rexes, who is a Monster Hunter ranger.

Likes: books on arcane theory and astronomy, cinnamon rolls, and lavender

Nalaia | D&D | druid | (current) Empire universe

- Neutral/chaotic annoyed 6ft tiefling with green and peachy skin and short-ish horns (think typical devil horns). Long ass denim/blue hair that really needs cut (it’s almost to her knees) and is grumpy AFFFFFFF. Her mother died shortly after giving birth to her so her father raised her himself in the underdark. He was also a druid and took a lot of joy in helping her develop her abilities. When she was about 17-18 he died of a fever and urged her to explore the above world and all nature had to offer there. She set out and ended up staying at a smallish town and falling in love with townmaster. Lots of backstory plot I haven’t FULLY worked out but the townmaster pressured her into focusing more on healing magic and only growing crops the town needed BUT THEN some shit was happening in the forest and despite Nalaia’s pleading the townmaster had the forest burnt down. Being fucking distraught and betrayed by people she thought cared about her she ran off to The Mist Moors and lived as a hermit in a secluded cabin in the swamp. Occasionally people would find their way there if they needed potions or something and sometimes she would help, if only to get them to leave her alone. She couldn’t stay secluded in the swamp though after ALL the dragons rose from the dead AND ATE THE SUN. So now she travels with some cool people to help restore the sun and save The World Roots which are responsible for all the growth of nature. She still generally does NOT like society as an organized concept and gets really uncomfortable and clingy to the paladin when they have to be in whatever post apocalyptic towns they come across. She is (at this point in her life/adventure) very likely to choose nature over people.

Likes: moss, walking barefoot through the mud, banjo music

[utilitycaster]

many thanks to @captainofthetidesbreath for directing me to the twitter thread which is here:

I'm going to be honest: I cannot remember a single time I've heard "people are saying on twitter" or something to that effect where it wasn't in some way misrepresented because Twitter is a crab bucket with a character limit and so by the time it reaches me it's gone through several layers of telephone and it already was pretty incomprehensible.

In this specific case, Matt Colville said counterspell was bullshit design:

The context was that someone had said Wizards of the Coast removing the individual spells from statblocks of monsters was "anti-player" because the spells were replaced with abilities that couldn't be counterspelled.

I happen to disagree with Colville here - it does make you feel amazing as a player to counterspell things, and it's super fun. I also think that the statblock move is the right choice because it's painful as a DM to have to track spell slots for some random-ass monster. If I'm running an archmage as an enemy then yeah, I'm going to have spells (and also they'll have counterspell too, so I can just counterspell the counterspell) but you know what? If my turn as a creature with spells gets countered, and we have an arcane caster in the party, and I'm not prepared for that eventuality as a DM? That is 100% on me. But anyway the argument on Twitter referenced in the notes was that counterspell is anti-DM, not anti-player.

This kind of gets into my more general philosophy on straying from the rules and also the fact that people who claim to dislike an adversarial DM/Player relationship (in-game, not out of game which is always bad) tend to be the most adversarial (out-of-game).

First: D&D, as a rule, favors the player. As it should, because usually it's telling heroic fantasy and the heroes should face adversity but they should have a good chance of winning, albeit at cost. Also it's super easy to make D&D favor the DM; it's called "Be the DM and have an ancient dragon attack the L3 party." It's also not really fun.

A lot of the rule-bending people do is like...removing counterspell or making disintegrate do half damage and basically things that make it harder to have minor failures, and I don't like this. I think minor failures are important in a game that is hopefully building to a major success. I think it otherwise feels too easy and unearned and honestly kind of boring and I don't want to be at those tables. I both play as a player and as a DM, and I want both of those sides to be fun, and that means having the possibility of failure or success on both. (also if disintegrate does half damage on a save or you get rid of counterspell this applies to both sides so I fail to see how this helps players or the DM in particular).

This is also why I happen to like revivify as played in CR, because it can fail. It has a good chance of succeeding - 80% for a first-time death as a straight roll, typically - but there is that 20% possibility of failure.

Basically: I think most of the time when people say something is anti-player they literally just mean "sometimes I don't hit the monster and this makes me mad" and it's like. get over it. And as such I don't have any rule bending in mind because most of it is meant to coddle people who are incapable of dealing with even the most minor of failures and I'm not interested in watching a show featuring those people nor playing with them at my table.

I know you mostly seem to be about the story, but on the gameplay side of things, is there any changes to RAW rules you’d hope they implement or things that you would like to be slightly changed from C1/C2 to C3. Be it for player interaction (some folks see counterspelling as too anti-player), story telling (revivify having a chance of failing) or other reasons?

Feel free to elaborate and I'll answer tomorrow but in short I tend to fall on the side of RAW and but also, and this is not actually sarcastic: what show are you watching?

Counterspelling is if anything seen anti-DM (Caleb and Fjord - and Scanlan before them) counterspelled Matt's antagonists FAR more than any of his NPCs counterspelled them) and also like. it's part of the game. If someone doesn't like it they can go play a different game. And revivify in CR, which is a departure from RAW, does have a chance of failing. Fjord's revivify was only 1 or 2 off from a fail - the mechanic they use is a d20+spellcasting modifier with a DC of 10+# of times died. I think a revivify on Scanlan failed in C1 as well which is why they had to do a full resurrection (I can't remember if it was that or if no one got to him in time). Like I honestly don't actually understand the question because those examples don't make sense.

[jacscorner]

Smash 5e 01: The Mario Bros.

First stop for Smash 5e, Nintendo’s Golden Boys: the Mario Bros.!

Nintendo has built their empire on the backs of these 2! When I decided to do this, I knew that my first stop would have to be Mario. Because of course it does, you gotta take care of Nintendo’s golden boy first. But I knew that if I did one brother, I had to do the other, so Luigi’s here, too!

The Mario World has a lot of elements it can lend itself to for a game of D&D. It has magic, princesses, and even dragons and treasure! In fact, you could probably build a D&D game based off of just the Mario World! But this world is based off of the Smash Bros. games, as though all those worlds were blended together to form a new canon with D&D flavoring.

And so, it’s about time we get to the nitty gritty! :D It’s timefor

Mario and Luigi in Smash 5e

Character Sheets

Mario -> Malbrek Amanita

(Mario) Malbrek Amanita Race: Hill Dwarf Class: Fighter Alignment: Chaotic Good Level: 1 Strength: 18 Dexterity: 15 Constitution: 16 Intelligence: 12 Wisdom: 11 Charisma: 15 HP: 14 AC: 16 Proficiency: Acrobatics, Athletics, Animal Handling, Survival Equipment: Boom Hammer Chainmail Shield Explorer's Pack Boots of Striding and Springing Mason's Tools Shovel Iron Pot Common Clothes Belt Pouch (10 G) Languages: Dwarvish, Common Fighting Style: Defense Background: Folk Hero Defining Event: "When an agent from an enemy kingdom tried to sneak in from the tunnels beneath the castle, I chased 'em off." Personality Trait: "If someone needs my help, I'm always ready to go and help 'em. It's what I do." Ideal: "Tyrants must not be allowed to oppress the people." (Chaotic) Bond: "I worked the land, I love the land, I will protect this land and everyone in it." Flaw: "I'm convinced of the significance of my of my destiny, it blinds me to my own shortcomings and the risk of failure."

As you can see, Mario was BLESSED with some good roles and I imagined him-and Luigi-as a pair of Dwarves. My reasoning behind that was because, when compared to other Humans in Smash, the Mario Bros. stand out for being, well, kind of short. (Hell, in the original Super Mario Bros., they were only ‘Super’ and tall after eating a mushroom.) So,  thought to best represent that here, have them play Dwarves.

Naturally, I gave Mario-and Luigi-the Boots of Striding and Springing, cause I have to capture that Mario-ish feel. After all, the brothers are known for their jumping ability!

As for his title as Folk Hero, I’m implying that Mario has already gone on a prior adventure and defeated some kind of foe-I like to think it was this universe’s equivalent to the original Donkey Kong game.

Luigi -> Berkam Amanita

(Luigi) Berkam Amanita Race: Hill Dwarf Class: Wizard Alignment: Lawful Good Level: 1 Strength: 12 Dexterity: 13 Constitution: 9 Intelligence: 10 Wisdom: 14 Charisma: 4 HP: 11 AC: 9 Proficiency: History, Medicine, Insight, Persuasion Equipment: Spellbook Quarterstaff Throwing Hammer Scholar's Pack Spellbook Arcane Focus Boots of Striding and Springing Mason's Tools Traveler's Clothes Belt Pouch (15 G) Languages: Dwarvish, Common, Elvish Guild Business: Masons and Stonecutters Personality Trait: "A job worth doing is worth doing right, no matter how long it takes!" Ideal: "My talents were given to me so I can use them to help others, no matter how little they appreciate me." Bond: "I owe my guild a great deal of debt for helping me become who I am now." Flaw: "I'm incredibly jealous of people who outshine me..." Spell Slots: (+2) ⦁ Cantrips: 3 ⦁ 1st: 2 Spell List: ⦁ Cantrips Mending Message Thunderclap ⦁ 1st Level Mage Armor Magic Missile

And now it’s time for Luigi. I gotta say that he looks pretty...underwhelming compared to his brother, but I guess that’s too be expected. I made Luigi a Wizard cause I felt that it complimented him best since, in the Mario series, he always seems to have some kind of knack for technology. (His stage in Mario Party 1 is some kind of workshop.)

I feel for the full backstory, you need Luigi as much as you need Mario. I imagine that the brothers in this universe hail from a long line of Castle Keepers, a high position in the Toadstool Hills. Their job is to maintain the royal castle with their expert stone cutting abilities. Kind of like how in the games, the brothers are plumbers who work on pipes.

Of course, anyone seeing this can just take the sheets and skip the backstory as much as they fancy. I just do it cause I find it fun. 

Background

5000 years ago, the mountains of Bricktonn were home to many Dwarves. The mountain once served as a natural buffer as they held themselves up in their fortresses, working the day away. However, that all changed one day when Goblins invaded their home. The war would continue for generations-most Dwarves of the area aren’t sure, but some scholars believe it was a good 100 years or so. 

When all hope was lost, the Dwarves evacuated. But to keep their secrets secret, they activated a mechanism that would collapse, not just their fortresses, but the entire mountain range, crushing the invaders underfoot.

The Dwarves of Bicktonn traveled across the land to find themselves a new home. Their pilgrimage led them to the Toadstool Hills, a series of hills with mushrooms growing as far as the eye can see. The hills were the territory of the Elves, whom were currently at war with a Dragon and his hoard of Kobolds!

It was on that day when the Dwarves and Elves struck a deal: if the Dwarves helped to fend off the Dragon and his army, then they’d split the land 50/50. When the Dwarves agreed, the two armies were powerful enough to fend off the oncoming assault of the Dragon and Kobold, pushing them back.

And now we fast forward to the present day. The Elves and Dwarves that live in the Toadstool Hills live in piece. These odd Hill Dwarves are something of an oddity: they do not grow beards like their cousins, but instead, have large, plentiful mustaches. They’ve also grown to be rather peaceful by nature, due to the Toadstool Hills enjoying a plentiful time of peace.

The Hill Dwarves of Toadstool are also odd in how they’re not just friendly towards Elves, but they’re full welcome to them. It’s common for Dwarves to be weary of Elves, their races have a rather sour history, but you’ll never find a chummier Dwarf then the ones in Toadstool. Just remember that kindness is a limited resource.

And now, we can focus on our two heroes today: Malbrek and Berkam, the Princess’s royal Castle Keepers. Their job is to do maintenance on the royal castle. If a stone needs to be replaced, a pipe fixed, or a head smashed in, the Princess can turn on these two hearty Dwarves to get the job done. 

Conclusions

I hope anyone reading this enjoyed this first little installment of Smash 5e. I hope to be able to do more of these in the future!

[syverce]

The Saturday Game/No Glove No Love

So most of the Beer & Pretzels slot games, the characters have had artifacts that they get early in the game and power up with them as they level.  It requires a feat to attune to one, and writing them up works something like writing up a weapon of legacy.  Typically each artifact will be either an interesting historical set piece that fleshes out the setting, or have plot tied to it (for example, Oisin’s gun from the first game had plot that continued through the second game, but unfortunately never got resolved.  One of these days he’ll have the second gun and be dual wielding Outlaw Star style caster guns pew pew!) This game is run by a different GM in the same setting as the other Beer & Pretzels games, but we still got items.

Ashraf’s is a glove that does stupid shit with the spell Moon Blade, and some other things (like the last tier is casting AE’s Bring Down the Moon), even though that’s not 100% fitting with his motif as a priest.  The item is also designed such that if I have to miss game because of work or if I feel like shit, the GM can steer the party cleric around without having to worry about accurately RPing one of my characters (which is notoriously difficult for others to do, because my characters’ motivations and interests are often not obvious in the slightest).  In short, if I’m not there Ashraf is possessed by some entity that is tied to the artifact.

This finally happened in a situation where he could get real, useful information about the entity, and confirm that yes it really is something else and not just him randomly losing an hour or two here and there, and he freaked the fuck out and took the glove off.  Cue Ashraf playing with his wedding ring (and me sitting there physrepping this) for several in-game days across two sessions because he was no longer wearing gloves.

After he took it off I spent some time examining his reasons for being upset, and came to realize it was because he’s married and doesn’t trust someone else driving his body around to honor his vows.  His chances of ever seeing his spouse again are exactly zero, but he intends to be faithful.  I found this hilarious considering the type of promiscuous characters I usually play, and am going whole fucking hog with this loyalty to a distant figure he will never be able to communicate with again, let alone see.  Two things are going to be the driving factor in my RP of this character, I think: the fact that he is still very much in love and intends to honor his vows no matter how impossible ever getting home/seeing his spouse again is; and the changes this sort of emotional deprivation are going to wring out of him, which I’ve already begun reflecting with class level choices.  This game slot is specifically for happy fun times games we don’t take seriously, and yet I still torment my characters in them!

Back to the point, though, he finally told the party what the fuck is going on with the glove, and enlisted the help of the two arcane casters in interrogating the entity to figure out what it is and if it’s particularly dangerous or not.  It involved them having to throw UMD checks at it to force it to manifest, which they succeeded at.  One of the party members intuited from my physrepping the shit with the ring Ashraf’s reason for being uncomfortable with the entity, and specifically extracted a promise from it not to violate his vows (which is amazing since it was the evil party member, who shouldn’t give a shit).  They also discovered that it used to be one of the moons, and was ripped out of the sky in ancient times by a furious sun god after it blotted out the sun to save someone it loved (who happened to be undead).  It turns out it’s a dragon, as well, which is pretty significant in this setting since dragons after a certain age category become intrinsically tied to some concept--so it both was a dragon, and really, literally was the moon.  Just like in the second game we met dragons who were the concepts of death, fire, knowledge, and our party rogue started cultivating a dragon of thieves.

So Ashraf is wearing the glove again for now, but he’s still really uncomfortable with it.  The dragon has promised to give the party some kind of tell if it takes over, since it’s completely random when it happens from both it’s and Ashraf’s perspective, and we’ve discovered the two arcane casters in the party are able to push him out by UMDing the thing.  Putting it back on means I can continue with my previously intended build, though I still got permission to rewrite a couple of things anyway.

[fantasticalscholar-blog]

Getting Started - Building a Character! - Part III

Jobs

Alrighty folks. This is it. The Big Ku-pola. The Omega Weapon and Shambala.

Time to talk about Jobs!!!!! One of the most iconic and intimate and coolest parts of Final Fantasy (in my opinion XP).

But now to the Nitty Gritty!

Every PC has a Job at all times; this helps determine their Stats that have been previously mentioned, whether or not they can learn spells, what armor they can wear. Lots of stuff. And with 18 Core Jobs provided in the PDF, you have a lot of options! But if this is your first dance with Final Fantasy, you may not be familiar with the capabilities and intentions of every Job. That’s okay too!

In either case, I highly suggest you doing your own research in the PDF or at online resources to better understand the Jobs. But at a glance, you can check out pages 15-16 to see how Dust summarizes the various Jobs of FFD6. If you proceed to do that, you’ll notice that Dust also utilizes a four crystal system to explain if the Job deals offense, defense, utility, or support options (Page 14)

However, I’d like to go ahead and try my hand at some flavor texts, and my own descriptions of the Jobs with a more traditional approach to describing their Roles, or their typical functions in a party.

The Four Roles I will recognize are:

Tank: Individuals who are considered tanks boast either hefty physical defenses or ludicrous amounts of HP. Tanks can be relied on to withstand even the most devastating of attacks so they can assist and protect their allies.

DPS: The abbreviated form of “Damage Per Second”, DPS characters are typically the heavy hitters of the party. Whether or not this means they use a blade or magic to decimate their enemies, DPS Jobs can be a good choice for first time players due to the straightforward nature of damaging foes. Not to say you may not be performing more calculations, though...

Support: A support Job focuses on either empowering and healing their allies, or crippling foes to make them more easily taken down. Support is a role comes with a lot of responsibility, due to the fact that, if you play the only Support character, the party will look to you for getting them out of dangerous situations. But that in itself comes with it’s own rewards.

Utilitarian: Why differentiate these characters from Support roles? Utilitarians, though they may help out party members in combat, primarily have a lot of Abilities or techniques that are incredibly helpful outside of battle. Either that, or many of their Abilities focus on indirectly affecting targets.

 It should be noted that, even if I classify a Job under a certain role, you the player can choose to perform whatever roles you’d like to as your character. Don’t let Jobs control how you want to play; let them accentuate it! And, if you have better ideas for categorization, though, I’d love to hear it! 

But with these Roles explained, let’s go ahead and take a glance at Jobs, and what Roles they typically play so you can have a better idea of what Job you’d feel most comfortable playing!

~ ~ ~

Black Mage: Often obscuring their faces, one can often recognize a Black Mage by their mysteriously glowing eyes beneath their shrouded faces. The namesake and primary wielders of Black Magic, these spell casters proudly serve their parties by obliterating obstacles and foes through the sheer force of their destructive, elemental spells. Thundaga!

Innate Ability: Focus - So long as you’re HP’s at 100%, nothing can interrupt your spell-casting!

Starting Weapons: Arcane

Starting Armor: Light

Role Suggestions: DPS

Job Introduced: FF I

Blue Mage: If you enjoy a hands on learning approach to magic, this is the Job for you! Clothed in azure garb, Blue Mages endanger themselves to study and mimic the magics used by Monsters. In this way, they can learn to unleash numerous spells from the eclectic Blue Magic school. And don’t underestimate their capabilities in physical combat either!

Innate Ability: Learning - Sure, it’ll sting for a few moments; but if you’re hit by a monster spell, you can add it to your Blue Magic repertoire!

Starting Weapons: Arcane, Blade, Concealed

Starting Armor: Light

Role Suggested: DPS, Utilitarian

Job Introduced: FF V

Dark Knight: With fiendish powers at their disposal, Dark Knights walk on a treacherous path of morality and mortality to harness ultimate power. Able to dish out ludicrous amounts of damage (often at the price of their own well being) and harrowing status ailments through Black Magic, Dark Knights are some of the fiercest warriors known to the Universe.

Innate Ability: Darkside - By sacrificing 25% of your maximum HP, your next attack deals Physical Shadow damage AND it’s power is boosted! Just make sure to keep track of your HP!

Starting Weapons: Blade, Brawl, Huge

Starting Armor: HeavyRole Suggeted: DPS

Job Introduced: Technically introduced in FF II (through the Character Leon), the option to play as a Dark Knight was more prominent in FF III.

Dragoon: Fighters who embody the majesty of their legendary namesakes, Dragoons utilize incredible acrobatic attacks to overwhelm their opponents. Armed with ranged weapons, to see a Dragoon sail through the sky into battle is akin to seeing a Wyrm take flight; both terrifying and awe-inspiring.

Innate Ability: Jump - With a mighty leap, the Dragoon defies gravity,  taking to the skies until their next turn and removing themselves from combat. And upon their descent, any foe that lays beneath will surely be smitten with draconic fury!

Starting Weapons: Reach

Starting Armor: Medium, Heavy

Role Suggested: DPS, Tank

Job Introduced: First seen in FF II as a group of dragon riders, but became more prominent in FF III.

Engineer: Do you dream of programming the perfect fighting robot companion? Inventing an almighty laser gun to incinerate foes? Then an Engineer may be a Job you should look into!  Deeply focused on imbuing ally’s equipment with incredible properties, Engineers always have just the right machine to make things go boom. The enemy. I meant the enemy.

Innate Ability: Invent - Even in the heat of battle, Engineers are willing to whip up the perfect augmentation for equipment! From a list of select item properties, you may bestow one property of your choice onto either the weapon or armor of an ally! Just handle with care, since it also gains the Explosive property!

Starting Weapons: Brawl, Huge, Ranged

Starting Armor: Light Medium

Role Suggested: DPS, Utilitarian

Job Introduced: In the game FF IV, Cid Pollendina was a party member whose Job was classified as Engineer.

Entertainer: A wandering minstrel to inspire allies; a charming dancer to dazzle foes. The world’s a stage, and Entertainers are here to steal the limelight! With the ability to empower their friends with an enchanting voice and to manipulate the world around them through song, it’s not hard for this Job to find their niche in a party!

Innate Ability: From the Heart - Rock that music! Passively grant your entire party an Attribute bonus equal to half of your Perform skill! Either that, or let sweet melody soothe the hearts of your foes.

Starting Weapons: Arcane, Brawl, Concealed, Ranged

Starting Armor: Light

Role Suggested: Support, Utilitarian

Job Introduced: The entertainer is a sort of mish-mash of the Bard, Dancer, and Mime Jobs, Bards first appearing in FF III, and Dancers and Mimes as a Job option in FF V.

Gambler: If games of chance are your Forte, forget going to Vegas; take on the Gambler Job and wow your friends with your incredible luck! As a Job that relies on the roll of the dice for many of their abilities, shenanigans are most likely to ensue if you have a Gambler in your party (especially if they tend to roll poorly). But even in moments of loss, a Gambler knows there will be at least twice as many victories in store if they just keep their chin up!

Innate Ability: Slots - It’s pay to play Baby! By activating this instant action, Gamblers can choose from a list of magical slots to play on; success will mean great boons for the party to enjoy. But if you bust...But who cares if you bust?! ROLL THOSE DICE!

 Starting Weapons: Blade, Concealed, Ranged

Starting Armor: Light

Role Suggested: Utilitarian, Support

Job Introduced: In FF VI with the party character Setzer Gabbiani.

Geomancer: Water. Earth. Fire. Air... Thunder, Ice, Holy and Shadow! Practitioners of Geomancy are at one with the natural world. Geomancers come from all walks as life,  and are as unique as the many biomes of the multiverse are. Able to coincide and harmonize with nature to keep balance in the world, the incredible powers of Geomancers are as terrifying as the power of nature itself!

Innate Ability: Geotrance - Embrace Nature! By channeling the environment around you, unleash a myriad effects! Whether it’s meant to heal the party, scorch your foes, or bring forth a natural disaster, Geotrance is a fun option if you want to shake things up!

Starting Weapons: Arcane, Brawl, Reach

Starting Armor: Light, Medium

Role Suggested: DPS, Support, Utilitiarian

Job Introduced: FF III

Monk: Swift as coursing rivers, as strong as typhoons, and all the rest; the discipline and form of Monk’s in combat is breath-taking. By choosing to forgo armor  Monks are but a blur to their Foes as they dish out  powerful, rapid blows . And with years of training in a specific martial art under their belt, the most powerful weapon a Monk wields is his own body. 

Innate Ability: Martial Arts - No matter your style of choice is, this ability grants Monks the ability to power up their unarmed attacks, and grants them counter attacks! Furthermore, they also are able to unleash ultimate combos through Chain Points by focusing on a single target! Finish them!

Starting Weapons: Brawl, Reach

Starting Armor: None

Role Suggested: DPS, Tank

Job Introduced: FF I

Ninja: Elusive, accurate, deadly, relentless; these are but a few words to describe the Ninja Job!  Masters of stealth, deception, and assassination, a Ninja’s overwhelming arsenal of deadly techniques makes the Job a good choice for those who love to quickly dispatch monsters. And if that’s not your style either, stealth attacks and poisons are always a good option.

Innate Ability: Throw - At the cost of destroying the item being thrown Throw calculates damage based off of the tier of the item being thrown! And take a +4 bonus to ACC when you use abililty too!

Starting Weapons: Blade, Concealed

Special: Capable of Dual Wielding! See Pg. 123 for details

Starting Armor: Light, Medium

Role Suggested: DPS, Utilitarian

Job Introduced:  FF I

Paladin: Altruistic and the first to rush at danger headfirst, Paladins are champions of protection. Holy in nature and by fate, these chosen warriors are known to lay down their lives to shield those they care about. Outfitted with incredible defenses and gifted with White Magic, Paladins are the embodiment of  the Holy element.

Innate Ability: Cover - Allow no harm to come to your party! By selecting a single target, the Paladin may throw themselves in front of their chosen target to take whatever damage the target would have!

Starting Weapons: Arcane, Blade, Reach

I would personally allow Paladins to use Huge weapons too

Starting Armor: Light, Medium, Heavy

Role Suggested: Tank, Support

Job Introduced: With Cecil Harvey in FF IV

Ranger: Having also received the names Hunter or Sniper through the years, Rangers are your go to job if you like things that go “pew”. In particular, Rangers are mobile fighters that can unleash volleys of deadly projectiles to slay the unsuspecting enemy. Often armed to the teeth with abilities to debilitate targets and helpful survival skills, you’re in good hands with a Ranger at your side.

Innate Ability: Reversal -  With incredible reflexes and redirection, whenever a Ranger dodges an unfriendly attack due to their AVD stat,  they may instead target a different enemy within short range to receive the blow instead, no roll required!

Starting Weapons: Concealed, Ranged

Starting Armor: Light, Medium

Role Suggested: DPS, Utilitarian

Job Introduced:  FF III

Red Mage: Jacks-of-all-Trades, masters of none, Red Mages are the definition of dilettantes! Clad in scarlet fashion, Red Mages not only are capable fighters, but are also able to learn Black and White magic! If you’re not sure what role you want to play, but want to leave a lasting impression on a party, becoming a Red Mage is a good choice!

Innate Ability: Encyclopedic - Knowing a little bit of everything can go a long way! This ability grants Red Mages the skill, Lore (Everything), which may be improved with skill points (SP) like any other skill, except that it may be used in any situation where the GM may ask for a Lore skill check.

Starting Weapons: Arcane, Blade, Reach

Starting Armor: Light, Medium, Shields

Role Suggested: DPS, Support, Utilitarian, Tank (Primarily from magic damage)

Job Introduced: FF I

Samurai: Honorable warriors to the last (or at the very least very skilled with a sword), Samurai have turned warfare into an art of expression. At their strongest when armed with a Blade or Reach weapon, these fighters can perform mystical techniques, either attributed to their dedication of practice, or through the Kami spirit tied to their weapon. Behold the expertise and precision of the Samurai!

Innate Ability: Draw Out - While armed with a Reach or Blade weapon, a Samurai can call out the Kami from their weapon to deal massive damage, and cause wondrous effects in a showy display! With so much raw power, though, this often leaves the weapon broken in the Kami’s wrath...

Starting Weapons: Blade, Ranged, Reach

Starting Armor: Light, Medium, Heavy

Role Suggested: DPS, Tank

Job Introduced:  FF V

Thief: Even though the name Thief typically has negative connotations, that should never discourage a hero from becoming one of these desperadoes! Fleet of foot and usually a little mischievous, Thieves are known to expertly beguile baddies, locate loot, and of course, steal stealthily as masters! Playing as Thief can only mean the party is in a wild ride!

Innate Ability: Steal - From the crown on a head to the soles of shoes, anything is fair game for a Thief to nab! With a successful Thievery skill check, these dashing characters can snatch anything from enemies gil, weapons, armor, or pretty much anything they can get their pick pocketing fingers on! This is also an excellent way to obtain and distribute Component Items as well!

Starting Weapons: Brawl, Concealed, Ranged

Starting Armor: Light, Medium

Role Suggested: Utilitarian, DPS

Job Introduced: FF I

Time Mage: Time roulette go! Actually, no parlor tricks here! Time Mages are the real deal; harnessing if not even synthesizing the powers of magic and science, Time and Space, even Physical Mass bends to the whim of Meme Time Mages. Coming from all corners of the universe (if not multiverse) and wielding such awesome powers, Time Mages are often reclusive wanderers through the cosmos.

Innate Ability: Chrono Pocket -  If it belongs to you, it takes only a thought to summon that which you desire. In the state of which they are not in use, these items are safely tucked away in an alternate pocket dimension, frozen in time and at your beckoning call. Great for those who consider themselves item hoarders!

Starting Weapons: Arcane

Starting Armor: Light

Role Suggested:  Utilitarian, Support, DPS

Job Introduced:  FF V

Warrior: With courage in their hearts and incredible versatility in the way of battle, Warriors are no simpletons. Drawing only upon their own discipline, Warriors can turn the tide of battle with precise blows, shots, or whatever weapon suits their fancy. Onward to victory!

Innate Ability: Victory Pose - Dah-dah-dah, daaah-daaah-dot, duh-dahhh! As the enormous monster or foe is felled, Warriors brandish their weapon, both looking cool, and receiving an additional point of Destiny for defeating Bosses or another major enemy.

Starting Weapons: Blade, Brawl, Concealed, Huge, Ranged, Reach.

Starting Armor: Light, Medium, Heavy, Shields

Role Suggested: DPS, Tank

Job Introduced: FF I

White Mage: Renowned for dazzling displays of White Magic, these spell casters are the ultimate support class. Though capable of serving as accomplished offensive party members with Holy and Wind Magics, White Mage’s true strengths come from their healing and protective spells. In robes as pure as new-fallen snow, White Mages are the saviors of the fallen and weary on the battlefield.

Innate Ability: Body and Soul -  When the dust has settled and the coast is clear, White Mages quickly see to the wounded.  A White Mage conscious at the end of battle may restore all party members, including themselves,  to 100% of their Max HP at the end of a battle.

Starting Weapons: Arcane, Huge

Armor: Light

Role Suggested: Support, DPS

Job Introduced: FF I

~ ~ ~

And there you have it folks! The 18 core Jobs of FFD6! Finally finished it! Thank you all for your patience!

Hopefully this list, in tandem with the PDF can reveal a better picture of the capabilities of the multitude of Jobs available to characters in the FFD6 system!

Alrighty: Time for me to go study.. All the best for those of you traveling right now, for those of you tackling finals, and to those of you already on Summer Break, I hope you’re having a blast! Later! ~ Ryan

~ ~ ~

Credit to Pete Davidson at US gamer where I found the image above!

[niennavalier]

OC Ramble Time Pt 2!

Okay, so I'm gonna try to keep these a bit shorter (because the other post took way too long), since I'm gonna do a bit of talking about some of the other characters who are attached to the Disaster Boys (Anders and Alex) story and all that good stuff. So... just jump right in I guess?

Elias Elsker: So pretty much, if you read my whole thing about Anders, Elias is the kid that he takes in. He's real energetic and fun, very open while simultaneously being really awkward (not that it really bothers him). Honestly, he's just really friendly and loves people - animals, too (he's learned a bit of magic and usually has his snake familiar, Xanathar, somewhere nearby). (If you know D&D lore, yes, that's a reference, because Elias also started as a character for me to play. Arcane Tricksters, y'know?). Also impulsive, albeit not in a super self-destructive way. More like his cost-benefit analysis is just bad and sometimes he just does something kinda dumb. He's also pretty jumpy and very prone to running into furniture when his brain goes into panic mode.

Overall, he's just well-adjusted. Yes, he lost his parents young, but he had a good relationship with them, and then also grows really close with Anders. Just wanted a character who didn't have a bunch of issues for once, yknow?

For some other random facts: I tend to write him at either 16 or 21ish, depending - sometimes I wanna write him still learning from Anders, sometimes while he's more out on his own. Also, he's ace and some sort of romantic (AKA, he doesn't fully know and hasn't put a label on it, but if I were to say as the author, he's probably panromantic) and really fun to write/play for those relatable ace moments.

Aishah Rayyan: Alex's twin sister, so I won't go into her backstory in depth, except to say that she came out of their tragic past really differently. She got pretty much adopted into her best friend's family, so while Alex was having a rough time, she ended up having a relatively normal life - albeit with some guilt over losing contact with her brother, and, well, the effects of childhood trauma and the like. She and Alex reconnect over the course of whatever plot I actually write for them, and after all of whatever that is, they and all their other friends (talked about down below) end up all living together. And in that dynamic, she's 100% the mom friend. But less doting and more Tired. She's generally pretty laid-back, practical, and would love a quiet night in with loved ones, but ends up in this constant state of "please stop blowing up [insert kitchen appliance here], I haven't even kind of had enough coffee for this." At least before probably trying to fix the problem, until her girlfriend shepherds her to bed. (And that's assuming she's not hyperfocused in on something, because sometimes that's just what happens. Given a problem, she's gonna solve it).

(Oh, and quick note, she's the other old character who's since gotten reworked. Old tag was for "Taylor Fairfax" but then, unlike with Alex, she went through a pretty massive edit.)

Celine: Nope, no last name yet because names are hard, but she's Aishah's girlfriend. She's about the same age, just a little younger, and an aspiring theatre actress. She's really outgoing and warm, charismatic and super easy to get along with. More than a touch dramatic. Also a lot more traditionally feminine than most of the other female characters I write, and sort of the other resident mom friend, but...I guess in the more stereotypical way? (And she's really vocal about her support for Anders and Alex in particular - she finds them adorable and is one of few people who's never been intimidated by Anders. She just sees how he melts in front of people he cares about).

Oh, also, she and Aishah met at some sort of community theatre performance. The story that their friends tell is basically that in the middle of a scene, as she was on stage and Aishah was in the audience, their eyes just met, and that was it. Obviously, in reality, it wasn't that simple, but there are a lot of meet-cute vibes there.

Valon: Okay, now we get into the territory of my lovable idiot children (which, kudos to whoever knows where I'm stealing this particular name from. If you do, uh, you'll definitely know why this character is the way he is). Aishah's childhood best friend, and the one whose family adopted her. Also the one who's largely responsible for pulling her a bit more out of her shell. He's... just a big dumb idiot? Real big personality, constantly ribbing all of the people he's around and cracking jokes, just likes the energy of being around people in general. Always down to try something new and ridiculous, no matter what it is, even if that means destroying electronics (or the oven). And bluntly honest, but not in a mean way?

Also, he's bi and is pretty often just going out on casual dates for fun. Just sorta waiting to see what happens. But really, he's much more proud of Aishah's love life, though, and gladly takes credit for being the one to get her to ask Celine out.

(Oh, also, cause it was vaguely referenced above: he's the one who was - and is - intimidated by Anders.)

Arina "Ari" Varellian: My other idiot child, but also the character that I probably relate to the most? She grew up around a lot of technology as a kid and developed a good amount of skill with it (coding and stuff - I know nothing about it but she can, it's fine). But what it ultimately did was introduce her to a lot of other pieces of media - video games especially (but also TV and movies are a big part of her life, too). Basically, she's just a glutton for entertainment and fiction and keeps up with all the nerd content.

But she doesn't fall into that "introverted, awkward nerd" type. She gets along really well with Valon, actually - very similar type of big, open personality and always ready with a hearty laugh. She's just here to have a good time, and to try new things (and to force her friends to try new things with her). Basically, she's the person who would go looking for a way to learn parkour after playing something like Assassin's Creed (because it looks cool) or would - and did - plan an entire camping trip after playing Red Dead 2 (because the outside is pretty, guys). Plus, also dragging them into things like escape rooms and D&D games, because these things looked fun.

And, because this is important to me, she's aro ace and very much a way for me to write my perspective? All the "what's up with sex when you could have cake? Or dragons?" and "look, these characters are pretty but why would I sleep with/romance them?" While simultaneously making sex jokes at her friends' expense and shipping fictional characters like there's no tomorrow.

And that's all for today!

The main other characters attached to my Disaster Boys. Tried to keep it short because I'm sleepy, but, as per usual, I could and would gladly talk more about them later (even though some of them do sorta vary in terms of how much I've written and developed them).

Although, a couple last things: I've technically also been sitting on one more character to add into this crew - specifically another friend of Ari's. But I've done markedly less development there, so I'll come back to that some other day. And there are other characters attached to Anders aside from just Elias, I promise. He does have his mentor (whom I mentioned but didn't go into, since I tend to write her more into backstory) and his own found family, but some of those characters belong to a friend, cause that all developed via some D&D sessions. Didn't seem right to add that here.