#goblin rise and the arcane wild

[neo-kajatrash]

Look at the difference of about 6 years, yet with the same basic intention. These two were always meant to be out camping in their story, and I'm so glad they are for real now <3

[augustinajosefina]

A request

Please suggest books to me! Preferably in the glove kink/lesbian space atrocities, urban fantasy or dark academia genres but I'll happily try any SF/fantasy at least once.

So far I've read and loved:

Before 2023

The Imperial Radch (Ancillary Justice/Sword/Mercy) - Ann Leckie

Jean le Flambeur (The Quantum Thief/The Fractal Prince/The Causal Angel) - Hannu Rajaniemi

The Windup Girl/The Water Knife - Paolo Bagicalupi

Memory of Water/The City of Woven Streets - Emmi Itäranta

2023

The Locked Tomb (Gideon/Harrow/Nona the Ninth) - Tamsyn Muir

The Masquerade (Traitor/Monster/Tyrant Baru Cormorant) - Seth Dickinson

Teixcalaan series (A Memory Called Empire/A Desolation Called Peace) - Arkady Martine

Machineries of Empire (Ninefox Gambit/Raven Stratagem/Revenant Gun/Hexarchate Stories) - Yoon Ha Lee

The Murderbot Diaries (All Systems Red to System Collapse) - Martha Wells

The Broken Earth (The Fifth Season/The Obelisk Gate/The Stone Sky) - N. K. Jemisin

Klara And The Sun - Kazuo Ishiguro

Xuya universe (The Citadel of Weeping Pearls/The Tea Master and the Detective/Seven of Infinities plus short stories) - Aliette de Bodard

This is How You Lose the Time War - Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

The Goblin Emperor/The Witness for the Dead/Grief of Stones - Katherine Addison

Some Desperate Glory - Emily Tesh

2024

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue - V. E. Schwab

The Craft Sequence (Three Parts Dead/Two Serpents Rise/Full Fathom Five/Last First Snow/Four Roads Cross/Ruin of Angels) - Max Gladstone

Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution - R. F. Kuang

Dead Country - Max Gladstone

Hands of the Emperor - Victoria Goddard

Read and liked:

The Moonday Letters - Emmi Itäranta

Piranesi - Susanna Clarke

Great Cities (The City We Became/The World We Make) - N. K. Jemisin

Autonomous - Annalee Newitz

Dead Djinn universe (A Master of Djinn/The Haunting of Tram Car 015/A Dead Djinn in Cairo/The Angel of Khan el-Khalili) - P. Djèlí Clark

Even Though I Knew the End - C. L. Polk

Station Eternity - Mur Lafferty

The Mythic Dream - Dominik Parisien & Navah Wolfe

Shades of Magic (A Darker Shade of Magic/A Gathering of Shadows/A Conjuring of Light/Fragile Threads of Power) - V. E. Schwab

The Luminous Dead - Caitlin Starling

Last Exit - Max Gladstone

The Stars Are Legion - Kameron Hurley

Ninth House/Hell Bent - Leigh Bardugo

Machine - Elizabeth Bear

Our Wives Under the Sea - Julia Armfield

She Is A Haunting - Trang Thanh Tran

Sisters of the Revolution - Jeff & Ann Vandermeer

Station Eleven - Emily St John Mandel

Nettle & Bone - T. Kingfisher

Monstrilio - Gerardo Samano Córdova

Was uncertain about:

Light From Uncommon Stars - Ryka Aoki

The Kaiju Preservation Society - John Scalzi

Paladin's Grace - T. Kingfisher

The House in the Cerulean Sea - TJ Klune

In the Vanishers Palace - Aliette de Bodard

Uprooted - Naomi Novik

What Moves The Dead - T. Kingfisher

All The Birds In The Sky - Charlie Jane Anders

And read and disliked:

To Be Taught, if Fortunate - Becky Chambers

A Psalm for the Wild-Built - Becky Chambers

The Priory of the Orange Tree - Samantha Shannon

The Calculating Stars - Mary Robinette Kowal

The Space Between Worlds - Micaiah Johnson

How High We Go in the Dark - Sequoia Nagamatsu

Shadow and Bone - Leigh Bardugo

The Passage - Justin Cronin

In Ascension - Martin MacInnes

(My pride insists I add that I have, in fact, read other books as well. Just to be clear.)

[dayscapism]

This is a post listing my regular fandoms as a warning? for this blog.

If you're into any of these fandoms and want to chat about it, go ahead and send me a message or ask :)

Recent Faves:

Agatha All Along (2024 - ?)

Interview with the Vampire (2002 -)

Scavengers Reign (2023-?)

Good Omens (2019 -)

Nimona (2023)

Lockwood & Co (2023 - ?)

The Sandman (2023 -)

Warrior Nun

Moon Knight (mcu)

Everything Everywhere All At Once

The Umbrella Academy (2019-2022. Season 4 doesn't exist. Except for Claire Bear and Uncle Klaus, and confident Viktor.)

Arcane

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

Midnight at the Pera Palace (Turkish: Pera Palas'ta Gece Yarısı, 2022 -)

All-time favorite books, TV & movies below the cut:

BOOKS:

The Nevermoor series by Jessica Townsend

The Bear and The Nightingale (The Winternight Trilogy) by Katherine Arden

The Night Circus and The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

Anything by Jane Austen, Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde and Octavia E. Butler

Anything by Margaret Rogerson: Enchantment of Ravens, Vespertine, & Sorcery of Thorns

The Cruel Prince trilogy by Holly Black

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno Garcia

Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells

Imperial Radch by Ann Leckie

Six of Crows/Shadow & Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Vicious and ADSOM by V.E. Schwab

The False Prince (The Ascendance Trilogy) by Jennifer A. Nielsen

PJO (it's been a while since I read Riordan though)

Narnia (I'm atheist but it's a childhood fave)

TV & ADAPTATIONS:

Business Proposal

W Two Worlds

Hotel del Luna

Goblin: The Lonely and Great God

It's Okay to Not be Okay

The Good Place

Dickinson

Bones

Lucifer

Westworld

Warrior (HBO max)

The Expanse

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Brooklyn 99

MCU mostly Wandavision, Spiderman, Moon Knight, and Thor and Loki as characters

Anne with an E

Sabrina the Teenage Witch

Ella Enchanted (book & movie)

Coraline (book & movie)

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

Carmen Sandiego

The Hunger Games (yes even book 3, mostly)

LoTR (obviously, haven't finished the books though. Sorry)

FAV MOVIES:

Studio Ghibli (especial mention to Howl's Moving Castle)

Emma 2020

Pride & Prejudice 2005

Stardust 2007

Pacific Rim (only the first one)

Arrival 2016

Tron Legacy

Last Christmas 2019

El Zorro

The Mummy (the 1999 & 2001 movies)

Journey to the Center of the Earth 2008

Night at The Museum

The Crazy Adams (90s movies)

Guardians of Ga'Hoole 2010

Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron

Anastasia 1997

Rise of the Guardians 2012

Old Pixar and old Disney (no remakes please. Except that Cinderella one with Richard Madden.)

Barbie (obviously, esp. the old movies)

How to Train Your Dragon trilogy (haven't had the heart to watch the 3rd one yet though)

Mary Poppins 1964

[darkmist111]

Phantom Thieves Play Dungeons and Dragons

The Wander and the Worker

Akira had faced many trials, both legally and spiritually. He had also been a master of organization, stuffing as much activity as he could into a single year.

Yet this challenge nearly brought him to his knees.

“So you only add 2 to armor class?”

“No that's only for medium armor your un-armored right now.”

“Shit I should've picked a race with more dexterity.”

It was like herding cat's, without Morgana’s help.

“You guys ready? It's almost 5.” Akira said know that this group could double a session’s play time.

“Hold on I’m trying to memorize our modifiers.” Ann said squinting as she had forgot her glasses at home.

“Don't worry just remember your crap at everything not dexterity and charisma.” Ryuji said nonchalantly.

The plan was to get all the players to level 2 before they got to the main campaign, so Akira did this little mini session with 2 characters first so the players could slip into their roles.

“Alright are we ready to play?”

Ryuji had finally gotten Ann to stop fusing over her papers.

“As we’ll ever be I guess *sigh* I really hope I don't die at level 1 again.” Ann groaned.

“Hell yeah let's kick some ass!”

“Alright close your eyes and listen.” Akira took a deep breath and his voice changed.

“This is the world of Exceeden”

Akira peaked and caught the grins on his two friends faces.

“Unlike our world with disconnected planets, the world of Exceeden is but one layer stacked in-between other realms, but different from the other realms Exceeden did not occur naturally but was created by 20 core gods. The gods were once one shared in their love of their creation, however what they didn't know was it would grant them more power than even their unparalleled minds could imagine.

Jealousy, anger, spite, and rage broke them apart each believing their creation should go the way they decided and the 20 became 5. 6 of Law, 6 of Chaos, 2 of Good, 2 of Evil, and 4 to keep the balance.

While the realm has no supreme rule the cycles of mortals carry on. Empires rise and fall, stories are told and forgotten, until finally the sands of time cycle towards something or someone that can shatter the heavens despite their humble beginnings.

The year is 997 A.I.(After Invasion) and our story takes place on the continent of Almoria. While not the largest continent it houses a wide array of People and Cultures in no small part due to the many differences environments.

In the far north in the icy tundras Orc and Goliath tribes war against the Tiefling Solos Empire and their Minotaur allies even further north in the Shadow Lands.

Below that are the eternal plans of Sparks where wild magic hum and fae slip into our world. Bands of Centaur and Satyr dance across the fields, unknowingly starting war with the Leonin Clans.

On the east of the Great Sezali Desert a new and ambitious clan of HobGoblins are gathering their forces of Goblin and Bugbear.

This makes the Elven Allied Council to the west nervous and the desert has become a sort of cold war, but also a hive of activity for trade and merchants.

On the West Coast the Aarakocra war against the Triton and the East Coast, the legendary Tortle Cleric Genbu brokers peace between the Locathah and the Grung.

In the Mountains Kobold, Lizardmen and Dragonborn War against a unfathomable threat as the Chromatic dragons and Metal Dragons have united to control the Arcane Canyons.

With the fall of Tyrant Human King Rexanik, many flee to the peaceful mountains city of Eternix. The city, nicknamed the city of small folk, was almost completely Gnomes, Halfling, Dwarfs, as well as the Black Wing Monastery, suddenly has possibly the highest human density in the continent.

Humans have also tried their luck in the chaotic Forest of Nayan only to be never heard from again.

In the south peace is almost a certainty as the brotherhood between the Loxodon and Gith remains just a strong as a century ago. Their city Omniox hold the Verdan trading Guild the only constant in these turbulent times

Not all is so clear though, hidden in the desert are rumors of cults who use arcane, scientific, and religious methods to create inhuman monsters that stalk the night.

However it is that Desert where we start our story in the town of Ixyana. Ixyana is a port town to the sea of sand, willing to offer weary travelers any pleasure they require... for the right price. Ixyana has always been self governed but with escalating tensions between the Elven and HobGoblin armies, the town is being pressured to pick a loyalty. But today neither a Goblin nor Elf is the new stranger in town.”

“Ryuji please introduce your character.”

“I’m just a guy who looks like an average traveler, I’m wearing normal cloths and using a spear like a walking stick, the only unusual thing about me is that have blue skin and white “Hair”. I’m a Fighter but only because you get in fights when you wander as much as I do, but it's clear I’m not formally trained.”

The wanderer enters the town carrying a satchel over his back midday. He makes his way towards a inn looking to rest for the night. He hears a commotion and see several HobGoblin warriors speaking angrily toward each other, before rushing off. The young man enters into a alley to avoid crossing their path, as he steps out he sees another beautiful HobGoblin women in revealing clothes dart out from behind a stack of boxes. Before his eyes she begins to shift form before becoming a striking dark haired Elven women and quickly entering the Inn.

“Well That's a Flag if I’ve ever seen one.”

The man is overcome with curiosity and follows her. He enter the inn and sees the first floor is a diner/bar.

At this time of day not many people are drinking and lunch is already over so the inn is uncrowded.

The blue man sees the former HobGoblin women now Elven sit in the corner of the bar skillfully blending in for those not looking.

As he walks up to her she glances before biting her lip.

“Sorry I’m not working right now.”

You realize from her statement and her outfit that this women is one of the courtesans of the towns most powerful group in place of a formal government, The Desert Respite, worshipers of Bast one of the 20 original Gods and practitioners of the arts of pleasure both of a sexual nature and of entertainment.

“I still can believe your playing a Prostitute.” Ryuji says teasing.

“For your information I’m a high class escort. And let's see if you’ll be laughing in a few minutes.”

“Sorry it's not that I... I just... saw you change.”

The woman tenses her eyes narrowing and grits her teeth.

“So what?”

“Are... Are you a Spirit.”

The women slowly turns her head, seeing the nervous young man though in her eyes he's more of a boy shift his weight nervously.

“Perception check!”

“Roll for it.”

“...!!!! Natural 20!”

“Heh, yeah he's a pretty easy mark.”

“Hey!”

She smirks before tipping her drink back and gesturing to the seat across from her.

“From out of town.”

“Out from... everywhere.”

She changes her posture, trained but attractive.

“The desert must've been quite the ordeal, I didn't notice a Caravan enter town. Is your group somewhere else?”

“No, I’ve been traveling alone.”

“Alone?”

“Yes I am quite skilled at traveling, born and raised doing it in fact.”

“Incredible, you must be strong.”

The women bit her lip while the blue skinned man sweat feeling nervous from the shapeshifters forward flirtations.

“You know I have a certain need for a strong man.”

“Role Wisdom Ryuji.”

“What! She hasn't even cast anything.”

“Your mouth was dropped.” Ann teased. “Let's hope your character isn't a simp.”

“No way!”

Ryuji rolled.

“Shit! 6, 7 total.”

“Simp”

“Shut up!”

“What did- What do you need. I’m always looking to help out.”

“You see a girl can only stay in one town for so long before she needs a change of pace. I’m thinking you’ve been to plenty of places, why don't you and I go on adventure.”

The spearman let out a yelp as he felt her leg delicately trace his own.

“And I’ll be sure your thoroughly compensated.”

“Roll Perception against Ann’s Persuasion.”

“Yes!”

“Shit”

Ann rolled and grinned which caused Ryuji to hang his head.

“21 total Persuasion!”

“Goddamnit, 14 total.”

“Yeah she has you wrapped around her finger.”

“*Gulp* There’s no need for that ma’am, I'd be happy to guide you wherever you desire.”

The man saw her smile turn victorious and her leg rubbed a little higher.

“Don’t worry it's no trouble, when we stop for the night I can give you a nice and long compensating.”

_______________________________________

The pair quickly gather their things the shapeshifter, changing again into a stunning Yuan-Ti. They walked through the town. Some men stared at the shabby looking Traveler and the beautiful courtesan, leering at her exposed cleavage, open thighs, and toned belly, others smirked and gave respecting nods. He glared and the former while that latter made him feel like a scumbag.

She insisted they walk on foot so not to draw attention. The man frowned but didn't say anything.

As they walked they chatted.

“My names Zap by the way.”

“Nais of the Desert Respite.”

“So Nais, are you wondering what I am?”

“Probably not as much as your wondering what I am.”

“Well I don't know, I’ve never seen someone change what they look like except my dad.”

“Your dad?”

“Yeah, he’s a Genie.”

“...”

“...”

“...You're not joking?”

“Nope. A Lightning Genie to be specific.”

“Insight Check... 11?”

“He seems to be pretty honest.”

“So you can grant wishes?”

“He could, not me. I’m only half genie, my other half is Human from my mom. Dad said my type of people are called Genasi.”

“Where’s you dad now?”

“He’s only allowed to stay in the material plane for 20 years at a time. He left on my 10th birthday, I’m 22, so he’ll be back in 8 years. Though he’ll probably see my mom before me.”

“... You know that is a really weird story right?”

“I actually didn't know until later in life. For a long time it was just the 3 of us, then the 2, now me.”

“I see.”

“What about you?”

“What about me?”

“You can change into other things, is it magic?”

Nias looked away not wanting to meet Zap’s eyes.

“It's not magic it's just something I’m able to do, as well as my mother and her mother before her. She said that we might be descended from Doppelgängers.”

“That's amazing.” Zap said with awe.

“Perception Check!” Ann yelled out.

“Zap doesn't lie. He's a open book.”

“19!”

“Zap really does think your amazing.”

“Geez he doesn't have to try so hard I already said I’d fuck him.”

“Excuse me! But Zap is a gentleman he doesn't only think about sex.”

“Unlike his player.”

[captainofthetidesbreath]

I’m a big fan of the Menagerie Coast, and the Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount makes it such a FUN place. So, here’s a few of my favorite kind of wild things about the Coast from the guide:

In Port Zoon, they’re trying to figure out how to control the regional weather patterns “to varying—and sometimes undesirable—results.”

On the peninsula west of Port Damali is a series of extremely tall and steep mountains called the Hearthstar Peaks. The tallest, the Hearthstar, has a “a giant column of ever-burning arcane fire” that serves as a sort of lighthouse.

A dragon turtle named Idok lives in the Dragshallow Reefs around Darktow, and it has an agreement with the Plank King to spare the pirate ships in exchange for doing whatever it wants with all other ships entering the waters.

On the topic of Darktow defenses, on the same cliff where the Plank King lives, there’s an arcane device being built. According to some, it’s a defense against possible skyship attacks by the Concord.

Talking about skyships, Port Damali has a skyport—the only one on the entire continent of Wildemount.

The auction house in Port Damali is rumored to be sometimes visited by disguised beings from other planes when especially powerful magical items are up for sale.

While there is a punishment for public worship for Betrayer Gods (10 days incarceration and/or a fine of 300 gold), all religious practices, including worship of Betrayer Gods, are legal in private.

There’s an perpetual column of black smoke rising directly out of the ocean from an underwater volcano in the northwestern waters of the Coast. The volcano is somehow changing the sea creatures living near it into monsters and is apparently growing, if the tremors indicate anything. It’s theorized it’s connected to the Elemental Plane of Fire. The Ashari don’t know about this.

The Lushgut Forest, born of Melora’s rage against Zehir when he ambushed her shrine here and killed her followers during the Calamity, is home to a society of goblins and druidic bugbears devoted to Melora, who they call an-Melzidanye.

Tussoa’s central government building, the court of the marquis, is housed in a repurposed former temple to Uk’otoa.

[secret-engima]

(1/2) I just had a random thought whilst trying to run away from the massive FFXV AU that I Do Not Have Time For: can you just IMAGINE if you could, not exactly tame them, but calm down daemons with music, just long enough to get to safety. Not most music, but like old folk music or traditional music or smth. Like some poor kid gets stuck outside at night with only their little pan flute and their nervously playing some Arcane Solheim lullaby they learned Somewhere and daemons come out only?????

tina-nina said: (2/2) they're not attacking??? they look confused?? So the kid just keeps playing, terrified out of their mind and the daemons STILL AREN'T ATTACKING so they speed walk to a haven and when the song finishes they scramble to play another and the things keep following cause pretty music until he gets there and then they scamper cause Oracle Magic. but the kid makes it back to their family and the story spreads like wildfire and suddenly there's a way to survive the night that doesn't involve

tina-nina said: (3/2) battle training, that anyone can learn, even those too young or sick. It's not a fix by any means, but it is a start. This got too serious, I started this thought with the image of big scary daemon sitting and listening to Pretty Music played by Smol Child while everyone else freaks out in the background. I will go back to running from my massive FFXV AU I Definitely Do Not Have Time For. I may have only one (1) other WIP, but that WIP is Kingdom Hearts so it is already Enough.

Me:

OH MY WORD I LOVE THIS IDEA????? Just- smol child playing his/her tiny flute and the daemons just- slowly rocking back and forth in time to it and NOBODY UNDERSTANDS WHAT’S HAPPENING.

And while I like the idea of other people picking up the habit as a defense, I also REALLY like the idea of it being just Smol Child who does it because who would believe the rumor that folk music will literally sooth the savage beast?

Imagine if it’s like- an orphan child. A child with nowhere to go and no one to take care of them, who gets USED to traveling through the night, serenading the daemons with song and dance and lyric because better the monsters you know than the ones disguised in human skin that orphaned them in the first place.

And maybe, somewhere in their deep, warped minds, the daemons begin to remember Pretty Song and associate it with the Smol Child. And maybe someday Smol Child will be running away from humans, either traffickers or Nifs or just plain bad people and dusk is setting in, night is just forming, and the child RUNS into the wilds with pursuers right behind and sobs-

and suddenly hears the familiar creak-squelch of daemons forming.

A LOT OF THEM.

The Horde rises up, hearing the voice of their Pretty Song raised not in Pretty Songs but in the terror and distress that usually attracts them and makes them ravenous. And the Smol Child cries because this is it, they have no breath to play or sing and their pursuers are RIGHT THERE-

The Horde descends on the pursuers, screaming and roaring and snarling in even more fury than is natural for their kind, and the Smol Child watches, gasping and shivering, as most of the daemons pass right by and the ones that do linger (a trio of Master Tonberry) have their backs to him, watching the carnage almost as if they’re keeping watch.

When the pursuers are nothing more than bloody shreds, the Horde slowly turns back to Pretty Song and there is a pause where the air is tight and fate is uncertain. Then Smol Child smiles and hums a soft thank you to the melody of an ancient lullaby and the daemons all go passive. Smol Child shakily pulls out their pipe and begins to play a simple, ancient folk song as they limp away for the nearest Haven and the Horde happily trail along behind, swaying in time, spread out like a vanguard for Pretty Song. The Master Tonberry array around Smol Child in a near military formation, swinging their lanterns in time to the song like a religious procession while the Iron Giants form a steady beat with their feet as they guard the rear and the Naga and Nagarini hiss and bob their way in the front while the goblins and imps scout ahead and the bombs light the way, swaying and bobbing unmistakably in time with the song like will o’ wisps out of some twisted nightmare version of a fairy tale.

Imagine if this procession crosses the road on their way to the Haven, picking up more and more daemons as they go along until it is a veritable parade, an army of the daemons all trailing along behind and around this one Smol Child who is visible in the crowd only because of the Tonberry lanterns and bobbing  bombs.

Imagine if someone, who was either dumb or desperate enough to be driving at night is forced to stop for this freaking DAEMON CROSSING, all the monsters ignoring the vehicle as they plod by, and the Smol Child is visible in the crowd, serenading these creatures of torment and night that are definitely not “safe”, that are still very dangerous, but who have grown to associate Pretty Songs with Smol Child and so are, for Smol Child only ... calm.

XD Imagine if it was a van or two of Kingsglaive who witness this. Who were driving back to Insomnia and things had happened so they’re driving late but like-

WHAT IS HAPPENING???

THERE IS A SMOL CHILD IN THERE IS THAT RIGHT? ARE WE SEEING THAT RIGHT???? SMOL CHILD HAS ARMY OF DAEMONS AND IS PLAYING MUSIC???????

The more superstitious wonder if this child is a new kind of daemon that can command other ones, but some of them (coughNyxcough) are intrigued enough to ... try it. After they get back to Insomnia and the report is made (and believed only because there’s like- 20+ glaives all making the same report) and they get shipped out again, Nyx grabs his old flute and treks out of the range of the lights and starts playing Old Galahdian folk music on it.

Lib, awakened by his Nyx Senses Tingling and then later Tredd’s frantic hissing from his post on watch, looks out from the perimeter to see Nyx sitting there, surrounding by about ten imps, playing ancient Galahdian lullabies and being not attacked. The imps are just quietly swaying to the song, chittering softly in what might be confusion (this is Not Pretty Song, but the music is Like Pretty Song’s. Attack? No Attack? Music is Nice. This one is Nice Song?)

Nyx, hearing Lib’s frantic hissing, slowly stands up and plays his flute all the way back to the intensely lit perimeter. The moment he stops playing within the safety of the lights, the daemons turn violent, hissing and screeching at him, bluff charging only to shy away from the light and then flee into the night again.

Nyx is impressed with his experiment. Lib is going to Strangle Him™.

[therealvagabird]

On the Origins of Orcs and Goblin-ken in Archenia, and the Time of the Cataclysm

Read below the cut, or check it out HERE.

Throughout the history of the world of Archenia, mortals have always entreated with dark powers at the promise of glory and dominion, even at the cost of damnation. In the latter days of the Scaled Eon alone, great empires of Lizard and Snakefolk spilled blood in the name of Set, Serpent of the Outer Dark; while in long forgotten ages before that, stranger beings unknown to Man or Dwarf or even Elf gave praise to the Lords of Chaos, and the Dark Court of the Fae.

But it was in the time of the Great Cataclysm that an evil was driven eternally into the very heart of Archenia’s world-spirit. From the great Void Beyond came a being of untold desolation, which crashed into the planet’s crust as like a meteor, destroying the Reptilian empires of the era, along with the proto-civilizations of Giants and early Humans.

This Cataclysm was known as the Hungering End, “Tharizdun” in the tongue of the Elder Fiends, and it spread a gibbering corruption across the surface of the ancient world that threatened to cast all pure life in a howling void. Forms of darkness once relegated to the furthest planes beyond the veil of nightmares now walked the lands of mortals – Fey and Elemental were changed, transformed into the early Fiends, who themselves either grew fat off the conquest of other souls, or were bound to the hosts of those dark beings which followed in the wake of the Cataclysm, chained to the will of their unfathomable master. While these dark spirits were powerful, they still possessed some limits by the nature of their uncertain corporeality, and the denizens of Archenia were not want to go peacefully into the night.

Drawing upon powers once thought untenable on such a massive scale, the Fey – guardians and reflections of Archenia’s own world-spirit – brought into being shells of flesh that some of them might inhabit. These were the first Elves, known in those days as the Eldar, or Eladrin. The Elves, in the wake of the destruction wrought upon the mortal races of the latter age by the arrival of the Hungering End, would serve as a shield against the oncoming tide of darkness. They, along with their Fey progenitors, stood to face the hordes of aberrations and outsiders on both the physical and spiritual planes. Due to how long ago that eon of battle was, and the sheer scale of the devastation that proceeded, it cannot be known if the war between the Elves and the Ancient Shadow lasted for centuries or millennia.

The servants of Tharizdun – the dark flesh-shapers and alien warlocks of the Void Beyond – were not to be faced down so easily, however. They saw how the Elves provided a bulwark against their conquest, despite some limitations already expressed in their now-mortal forms. Taking samples and slaves from the many races they could find about the blasted lands of Archenia, these primeval corruptors wrought terrible magics and sciences, until they had brought into being a new plague of creatures which would assist as fodder in their domination of this world.

While the monstrosities they wrought, by purpose or accident, were myriad, foremost among them were those beings that would one day be known as “greenskins” – though that distinct feature would not be so consistent on the first of their race. In those days, there were the Urks and the Hobbes. The former were brutal beings, of great stature and tremendous strength, forged as they were from the flesh of beast, and Elf, and Giant. They were to be the vanguard, and crush with military force that which would not yield to dark magic alone. The latter, the Hobbes, were as petty reflections of their devious creators, being less imposing in physicality than the Urks, but possessing sharp wits and an endless capacity for cruelty. In many ways they were similar to the modern Hobgoblins, being tall and lithe, and suited both for operations of arcane cunning and murderous dexterity.

The races of Urk and Hobbe became the foremost enemies of the Elves in those days, and for many long ages the Eldar fought alone. From the elemental planes coalesced the Giants, as part of a similar response of self-defence as the Fey had undertaken, but the Giants were brutal and power-hungry, and many fell in with the forces of Darkness. All that could not be corrupted was destroyed, and the Elves searched all possible avenues by which they might halt the Cataclysm, no matter the cost.

In the end, help did arrive. The Light, ever-present within the plane of Archenia but often distant, birthed forth a host of Incarnates. Among these were the Celestials, who purged all evil wherever it might be found, and were themselves even less corruptible than the denizens of the Green. Also there was Ule, the Great Smith, who crafted from among the Elementals of stone a race that might overcome all trials, creating the stalwart Dwarves. Other Archangels there were, who parlayed with those mortals who were yet untainted, and little by little they drove back the Shadow.

By the end of the long war, Tharizdun was chained within the Abyss, along with its hosts of demons and devils, who lacking the means to escape began then to turn upon each other, ensuring their imprisonment. The Elves, with allies besides, claimed dominion over the world as its greatest protectors – but none could ignore the scars that had been left behind. Archenia now had a cancer within its very soul, and forever after mortals would be more susceptible than ever to the whispers of the Elder Evils. Though they themselves did not fall, a shadow lay on the hearts of the now-mortal Elves, and the allies which they had to coexist with in absence of foes. War broke out, many times and at varying scales, most of all between the Giants and the Elves.

In this age, two things happened to the Urks and the Hobbes. First, both diminished, lacking the invigoration of dark power that had been granted them by their masters. However, with this diminishing came stability, and the horrific mutants once known as Urks and Hobbes adapted to their given environs, becoming the grey-skinned Orogs and Ogron and the green-skinned Orcs, along with the dark-fleshed Hobgoblins. These Hobgoblins kept up the fleshcrafting habits of their creators, in part as a way to sustain and heal their new mortal forms, creating of themselves the races of Goblin and Bugbear, among others. Throughout the wilds, in distant places removed from the light of the sun, these races of “greenskins” – as their most common members were called – continued to terrorize the races of Elf, Giant, Dwarf, and later Man. Though in many ways the Urk-kind and Hobbe-kind came to resemble the other mortal races, developing traditions and cultures as their biology stabilized, they were prone to be enslaved and rallied whenever a Dark Lord came forth seeking conquest. The greenskins still remembered their origins, and the Great Shadow was their god.

However, this era in turn passed in the latter days of the Age of Elves and Giants, when both the world-spanning civilizations of these elder races began to collapse and diminish after millennia of bloodshed. From among the tribes in the middle lands of the Arch-Continent there arose a legendary Orcish warrior by the name of Enkidu Bloodeye. Enkidu was a leader and a chieftain, a mighty warlord as well as a wise shaman, adept in both guile and strength. He undertook an epic spirit-quest told in the oral histories of Orc and Goblin whereby he learned how his people might best parlay with the spirits of the world, as well as give proper rites to their ancestors. With this knowledge, Enkidu gave rise to a new set of shamanistic traditions by which Orcs and Goblins might make their own destiny, and separate their souls from the thrall of darkness, while not sacrificing their strengths. So it was that by the high ages of Man the greenskins were not simple monsters any longer, but had many cultures and stable societies, though they were forever want to be labeled as barbarians and savages, and some were still enthralled to the Great Shadow.

So mighty was Enkidu in all things that some scholars have since guessed that he was not one individual, but maybe several. Indeed in all cultures of the greenskins, though many traditions and rituals overlap, Enkidu is portrayed in many different guises, from the classic Orc Chieftain to even portrayals of Goblin medicine-women who – if not said to be the true face of Bloodeye themselves, are upheld as prominent disciples or wives. Other ancestors are also given praise to, along with the spirits of fire, storm, and stone, though this varies from tribe to tribe. Binding all these disparate traditions are the beliefs that the races of Orc and Goblin must be strong, and forever work to secure their own place in the world, no matter what hardships befall them.

Though they have arisen from grim circumstances, the Orcoid and Goblinoid races have in latter ages proven themselves to be as capable of heroism or villainy as any people. Their cultures are simple, without pretense, and traditional members of their species approach all things in a practical manner not unlike a more brutal version of those homely religions practiced by Halfling or Gnome. While they may forever be identified as antagonists – as invaders and conquerors – they are just as want to show such wrath against the true servants of Darkness as against any of the races of Archenia.

[kaiju-z]

Seon Adventures - Episode 6, “Welcome to the Jungle and That’s the Tea”

Another great episode for us, the group /o/

When we last left off with our heroes, the five of them, Kevin and Killer the War Horses, and Azam had left the ship upon which they shared many unforgettable memories (no matter how much Luck wants to forget some funny and TRAUMATIC TM stuffs).

As Azam ran off ahead of everyone, the party felt themselves envigorated, like they went up a tier in the ladder of adventuring or something (they leveled up) and were now left to their own devices.

Their travel from the docks to the city itself was short as they soon came to realize that Menum was a city of trees. Which is to say that those, who made this rainforest their home had repurposed a number of ridicilously large trees into houses and establishments of various necessities. (Think Return of the Jedi).

Belli and Luck were the most easily impressed, as they are basically the sheltered kids. The more they travel, the closer they get to the center, illuminated by what those of the arcane could gather were Dancing Lights. (I personally assume it’s bio-luminescence from the plantlife surrounding them).

Lead by Mournimar and Belli, the disaster siblings, the party go for a high rise tavern, climbing a rope ladder with much acrobatics in tow, being drawn to the sound of people chanting.

“CHUG! CHUG! CHUG! CHUG! CHUG!”

What they find up top is entertaining, to say the least. A new initiate, it appears (we later learn his name is Samson) is chugging down some sort of alcoholic drink, much to the amusement and pressure of his fellows. Some sailors from the ship, others local citizens and Forestheart Bretheren, it seems.

While Mournimar and Belli join in the chanting, Luck searches for information from the bartender, upon the party noticing Azam drinking away his woes. While ordering an ale from the wood elf barkeep, Luck asks some curious questions of the Traveling Gentlemen and learns that four of them passed through here (confirming what Mournimar had told him previously on the ship of their even number now). From what he gets, he now knows that they got on bad terms with the leader of the Forestheart Bretheren and promptly made their leave, after searching for some artifacts. 

What lastly he learns of them is that their next destination was the Capitol, Crystalgate. So Luck will have a lot of backtracking to do, if he hopes to get to them soon. He later joins Azam and continues a conversation from the ship, post-prevented execution.

While this is going on, Samson takes a knee. Or. Well, a back as the drink was apparently too much for him. In the merryment, Mournimar orders himself the same thing and is warned that the stuff, Centaur Moonshine, is very heavy stuff. Much to Belli’s protests and failed attempts at preventing disaster, Mournimar starts chugging and Belli tries to get help from an exhasperated Amelia.

To her chagrin, once she arrives, Mournimar is just. Out of it. Burk is proud (Proud Burk count: 1). Amelia ends up carrying Mournimar to a backroom for a few minutes, where they also see a passed out Samson.

Amelia does not have a good time in Menum, sadly and she doesn’t get a wink of sleep either, even after getting a room to yeet Mournimar into. She takes a corner, after Luck takes a second bed. (MISUNDERSTANDINGS WERE HAD and now Luck feels awkward over the disappointed MOM ENERGY from Amelia).

While the others are nap-nap-napping, Belli sneaks out and in search for someone with two silver rings. She reaches an establishment, bounced on by a tattooed Goliath, with whom she has a conversation, hinting at her relation to Ficus. She needs to learn more about his whereabouts, she misses her brother.

Being let in, she soon finds someone the Goliath had directed her towards, a changeling woman around Belli’s age (IT WAS KIT FROM THE SLEEKCLAW ONE SHOT!) and the two have a heart to heart about Ficus, with whom Kit had worked in the past. Kit gives her directions on where she’d have to go next, if she truly wants to reunite with him and the two go their own way, once they are outside. (FRIENDSHIP GET). Belli safely makes it back to the tavern and gets her shut eye.

In the morning, awkwardness between the pointy boys and Amelia. Burk was sleeping the whole time out in the open and had a close to cordial conversation with an old lady that was more confused than freaked out by the Goblin Barbarian (Gorbarian TM).

Once most of everyone reconvenes, Luck buys the lot of them lunch (including for Burk, which I’ma say he ate in canon, unless Hayden says otherwise). The party get approached by Samson, who introduces himself as such. Samson  Drascullion, druid of The Forestheart Bretheren.

The party begins to ask him some questions, following a failed attempt to extort him for money (Belli and Luck, the greedy kiddos tried to bs poor Samson so hard) regarding the cult and elaborate on their quest to take the cult out of commission, permanently. Mournimar learns that they worship all the allowed deities, which confuses him. Why aren’t they worshipping the forbidden ones instead?! Samson and Luck respectively have to point out something: Samson, that the cult believes their mission to kill everyone (PAINLESSLY, YOU GUYS) is just and therefore pray to the “good” gods; and Luck that it wouldn’t make sense for them to pray to Potencia, as she is the one you call upon for ruthless action, punishment and imprisonment. 

The hooved tiefling has to step away from the table at this point, because he’s very upset. Turns out that this cult had no connection at all to the one he was after, personally. Belli approaches and the siblings share a moment in front of everyone else present, revealing things about their backstories.

Mournimar spills the beans about how he was raised n a cult, worshipping the Forbidden Deity “Potencia”. Goddess of  ruthlessness, control and imprisonment  His mother was a member, but his father faltered.  The mother told on the father and the cult attacked. Mournimar doesn’t remember much after that, but he woke up, covered in blood, surrounded by bodies. His mission from that point on was hunting down all those, who worshipped Potencia and rid the world of them.

He tildn’t want to tell Belli, because he was affraid she’d stop being so close to him. Belli’s opinion of him, however, hasn’t changed as she still loves andcares for her tall pointy “bro”.

And she reveals to everyone of her family’s tragedy, how they were turned to stone in her absence, how she tried to pray for all the gods, including the forbidden ones, Potencia especially, for help, to save them.

But she got no answer.

Mournimar doesn’t think less of her.

The two hug it out. It’s heart warming.

Burk. Has heard. None of this as he was still on ground level when this transpired.

After everyone ate, the party and Samson made a stop at his leader’s base of operations, where Samson got an ok, in private, for the lot of them to have a swing at the Death Cult, with the caviat that the FHB would come a few hours later, should they not be done with this.

Taking the war horses with them, the six adventurers made their way to the stronghold of this cult. Luck even got to bond with Kevin, thanks to Mournimar’s approach : D It was nice and Luck is now just embarrassed. That and he was carried onto Kevin’s back by Belli.

Traveling through this dence jungle, they quickly realize how warm and humid it is in here, as they pass through shrubbery and trees, by animals and what not. Luck is bascally the only one, aside from Samson, who’s got this, since he comes from a warmer climate.

They succeed on their strealthing to the checkpoint of the stronghold and see it in it’s full height of 40 ft. With guards atop, none the wiser.

As they plan on their next move, Belli suggests and implements her infiltration, using invisibility and quickly comes to realize how screwed th party would have been if they just blindly walked in.

Aside of the guards on top, there were at least tw more towerds of archers and a table of four, with one just staring in the direction of the door itself.

Belli sneaks on forward and goes through an opening and down a coridor, on the right of which she passes a guard, just sitting, none the wiser. While she can’t find traps, she does find the courage to take the man out and she does so in a few good rounds of stabbing and blufing him into believing that the “Prophet” willed it to be so., with advantage, thanks to invisibility and then, the mask she had collected from the half-elf from where this whole adventure started.

After looting the body, something good, Belli gets to look through further doors and finds 5 men, 3 red robed, 2 black robed, in what was essentially a break room. She manages to trick thm into believing that the wind opened the door and quickly locks them inside, before proceeding and learning of underground activity, including more multi-colored robed cultists, two minotaur and their leader, handling some bizarre orb.

She quickly comes back to the party and things get wild in a hurry, once she explains the situation to them. (Also. Proud Burk count: 2)

Death-ites bodies begin to drop left and right (and to pieces), with Burk gaining the 6 person kill count, above the rest. The rest do great, especially Amelia and Belli, considering Amelia’s disadvantages on rolls, what with 1 point of exhaustion.

Mockery is quite viciously dealt by the bard and Mournimar fires their arrows like a baller, missing only rarely. Episode 6 marks Luck’s first kill in the campaign as he works to break in his new daggers , taking out one greenlit Redguard, before divestabbing a second, (with Amelia finishing that one off ultimately). This episode also Marks Luck’s first use of the Lucky feat, (1 of 3 uses for the day), in which he gets bad luck and misses his target with the crossbow.

Even Samson gets into the spirit of things and takes and kicks some ass, using his druidic abilities as needed.

By the end of the fight, all the grunts on level oen are killed in a variety of gruesome ways, but one, who escapes in the jungle, where he’ll either die to the wildlife or rethink his life choices.

Mournimar almost died. Seeing Belli getting attacked by archers, he took a jump from 40 ft to get close to Belli and took a lot of damage, which didn’t help when he got shot at by the archers.

Don’t even wanna think what would have happened if he had no potions to chug and healing help from Samson @ - @;;;

The bodies were then, of course, looted and the session ended with the party thinking of a gameplan to proceed. (and the 5 of us dorking around with the scribblign feature).

Previous Episode / Next Episode

[neo-kajatrash]

Chapter 5 is now readable in full!

Finally, all the pages of Chapter 5 of Goblin Rise and the Arcane Wild are posted, so the whole chapter is merged and you can read it all without interruption!

This also marks the end of Part One! It's a huge milestone even though I still feel like I'm only getting started. It's been an insane amount of work over the last two years.

So it would mean the world to me if you checked out Chapter 5 now that it's all bundled together, and even check out the whole story ^^ It would seriously make my day to hear what you think of it!!

Read Chapter 5 here!

[gigaguessmtg]

So. Knowing that each set will be represented, we have a list to work through (Omitting all reprint sets, like...well...every core set until Magic 2010)  As a list we have (Masters 25 spoilers below the cut, of course.  And please let me know if I missed anything):

Alpha, Beta and Unlimited (They're listed as one in the Magic Site, so this is how I'm counting them: Lightning Bolt, Giant Growth, Dark Ritual, Armageddon, Savannah Lions, Blue Elemental Blast, Red Elemental Blast, Regrowth, Disenchant, Swords to Plowshares, Will-o'-the-Wisp Arabian Knights: Erg Raiders Antiquities: Mishra’s Factory, Primal Clay Legends: Nicol Bolas, Pendelhaven, Hell's Caretaker, Stangg, Fallen Angel The Dark: Ball Lightning, Blood Moon, Ghost Ship Fallen Empires: Goblin War Drums Ice Age: Brainstorm, Pyroclasm Starter 1999: Loyal Sentry, Cinder Storm Portal: Path of Peace Portal Second Age: Ancient Craving Portal Three Kingdoms: Imperial Recruiter, Kongming, "Sleeping Dragon", Borrowing 100,000 Arrows Homelands: Ihsan's Shade Alliances: Pillage, Balduvian Horde, Arcane Denial Mirage: Flash, Pacifism Weatherlight: Doomsday Visions: Man-o'-War, Quicksand Exodus: Merfolk Looter, Curiosity Stronghold: Ensnaring Bridge, Sift, Mogg Flunkies Tempest: Living Death, Kindle, Diabolic Edict, Jackal Pup Urza's Destiny: Elvish Piper, Trumpet Blast Urza's Legacy: Rancor, Unearth Urza's Saga: Lull, Angelic Page, Horseshoe Crab Mercadian Masques: Rishadan Port, Invigorate Nemesis: Accumulated Knowledge, Stampede Driver Prophecy: Plague Wind Invasion: Hanna, Ship’s Navigator, Exclude, Kavu Climber Planeshift: Eladamri’s Call Apocalypse: Vindicate, Mystic Snake, Pernicious Deed, Quicksilver Dagger Odyssey: Zombify, Shadowmage Infiltrator, Auramancer, Caustic Tar Torment: Laquatus's Champion, Mesmeric Fiend Judgment: Living Wish, Browbeat Onslaught: Akroma’s Vengeance, Undead Gladiator, Renewed Faith, Dirge of Dread, Krosan Tusker, Krosan Colossus, Broodhatch Nantuko, Skirk Commando, Choking Tethers Legions: Willbender, Akroma, Angel of Wrath Scourge: Decree of Justice, Fierce Empath, Elvish Aberration, Karona's Zealot, Noble Templar, Shoreline Ranger, Death's-Head Buzzard, Twisted Abomination, Chartooth Cougar Mirrodin: Chalice of the Void, Spikeshot Goblin Darksteel: Sundering Titan, Echoing Courage Fifth Dawn: Relentless Rats Champions of Kamigawa: Nezumi Cutthroat, Azusa, Lost but Seeking Betrayers of Kamigawa: Iwamori of the Open Fist, Genju of the Falls, Genju of the Spires Saviors of Kamigawa: Mikokoro, Center of the Sea, Promise of Bunrei, Freed from the Real Ravnica: City of Guilds: Frenzied Goblin, Watchwolf Guildpact: Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind, Pillory of the Sleepless Dissension: Ratcatcher, Protean Hulk, Utopia Sprawl, Court Hussar Cold Snap: Darien, King of Kjeldor Time Spiral: Brine Elemental, Fathom Seer, Vesuvan Shapeshifter, Fortune Thief, Assemby-Worker Planar Chaos: Akroma, Angel of Fury, Simian Spirit Guide, Kavu Predator, Whitemane Lion Future Sight: Coalition Relic, Pact of Negation, Summoner’s Pact, Street Wraith, Zoetic Cavern Lorwyn: Brion Stoutarm, Soulbright Flamekin Morningtide: Vendilion Clique, Ambassador Oak Shadowmoor: Cursecatcher, Presence of Gond Eventide: Fetid Heath, Flooded Grove, Rugged Prairies, Twilight Mire, Cascade Bluffs, Nettle Sentinel Shards of Alara: Blightning, Skeletonize, Knight of the Skyward Eye Conflux: Conflux, Ember Weaver Alara Reborn: Lorescale Coatl Magic 2010: Master of the Wild Hunt, Act of Treason Zendikar: Luminarch Ascension, Disfigure, Vampire Lacerator Worldwake: Kor Firewalker, Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Arbor Elf Rise of the Eldrazi: Ancient Stirrings, Prophetic Prism, Wildheart Invoker Magic 2011: Plummet, Cultivate, Squadron Hawk, Chandra's Outrage Scars of Mirrodin: Perilous Myr, Nihil Spellbomb, Heavy Arbalest, Twisted Image Mirrodin Besieged: Blue Sun's Zenith New Phyrexia: Phyrexian Obliterator Magic 2012: Swiftfoot Boots, Phantasmal Bear, Crimson Mage Innistrad: Tree of Redemption, Fiend Hunter, Murder of Crows Dark Ascension: Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Haunted Fengraf Avacyn Restored: Gisela, Blade of Goldnight, Cloudshift Magic 2013: Murder, Timberpack Wolf, Griffin Protector, Bloodhunter Bat Return to Ravnica: Rest in Peace, Fencing Ace Gatecrash: Totally Lost, Boros Charm, Urbis Protector Dragon's Maze: Ruric Thar, the Unbowed, Notion Thief Magic 2014: Strionic Resonator Theros: Bident of Thassa, Gods Willing, Ordeal of Heliod, Returned Phalanx Born of the Gods: Courser of Kruphix, Retraction Helix Journey Into Nyx: Eidolon of the Great Revel, Nyx-Fleece Ram Magic 2015: Jalira, Master Polymorphist, Geist of the Moors Khans of Tarkir: Hordeling Outburst, Woolly Loxodon, Dragon's Eye Savants, Mystic of the Hidden Way, Ruthless Ripper Fate Reforged: Humble Defector Dragons of Tarkir: Epic Confrontation, Ainok Survivalist, Ire Shaman Magic Origins: Enthralling Victor, Valor in Akros Battle for Zendikar: Zada, Hedron Grinder, Coralhelm Guide, Zulaport Cutthroat Oath of the Gatewatch: Baloth Null Shadows Over Innistrad: Triskaidekaphobia, Vessel of Nascency, Uncaged Fury, Pyre Hound, Dauntless Cathar Eldritch Moon: Lunarch Mantle Kaladesh: Cloudblazer, Self-Assembler Aether Revolt: Treasure Keeper Amonkhet: Thresher Lizard, Horror of the Broken Lands, Supernatural Stamina Hour of Devastation: Act of Heroism Ixalan: Colossal Dreadmaw Rivals of Ixalan: Ravenous Chupacabra, Dusk Legion Zealot Commander: Animar, Soul of Elements Commander 2013: Prossh, Skyraider of Kher Commander 2014: Reef Worm, Myriad Landscape Commander 2015: Magus of the Wheel Commander 2016: Ash Barrens Commander 2017: Izzet Chemister Planechase 2012: Sai of the Shinobi Conspiracy: Grenzo, Dungeon Warden Conspiracy: Take the Crown: Deadly Designs

[jovialtorchlight]

TRAVELER’S GUIDE TO OAKREACH; Compiled by Scribe Hastaen Yertbarn, map by Hamus Everbark of the Cartographers Guild Part I: A Brief History of Oakreach Because Duke Orsion thinks it wise for the Head Scholar of the College to create useless pamphlets that no sane traveler will ever spend the time to read, let us commence with this so I can get back to studying the properties of Yalisroot. Oakreach, known in the first Era as Merv, one of the Seven Kingdoms, was the second to be founded after Lotus in the First Times. King P’aan Gestromer, the great Ancient King, ascended to the throne, and consolidated the Four Tribes of Oak, villages that answered to the King but remained independent. During the peace of the first, Gestromer ordered the construction of the First Wall, long since crumbled, and purportedly built the Sorcine Stones, monolithic structures that were built to honor Navet. Towards the end of Gestromer’s long life, Emperor Jastal of Sasume rapidly transformed the impoverished villages into a unified clan, and swept up all of Co’ious in a bloody war. Oakreach fell to the Jastal Horde, and the frail Gestromer was killed, along with his bloodline. Merve was sacked, and the Horde ruled over the Tribes with great cruelty for seventy five years. The Citadel was built during this time. The Citadel is the second oldest structure in Oakreach. After the assassination of Jastal by his own guards, the Tribes engaged in a fierce civil war, eventually driving back the horde. The Tribes failed to establish a new seat of power, and, instead, fought each other in petty, bloody conflicts for a period of seventy years. Alixas Oakreach was born on the cusp of the second era to the Tribe of Reachen, fisherman who inhabited the district known as the Swift. Alixas, a fierce warrior, and thought to be the reincarnation of Gestromer, rose up to unify the Four Tribes and quickly ushered in a period of remarkable growth, establishing much of the infrastructure seen in the city today, including the Oakreach Palace, the current seat of the Provincial Government. Alixas died after a peculiarly long life and his bloodline continued to rule for over a thousand years. I could yabber on about the April Concordiate and the Federation of Imperial Trading but it’s almost lunch time and I promised myself I would have this pointless work done by noonday. Here’s a couple bullet points; *4000 Years Ago Hortius Oakreach represented Oakreach in the first Council of Kingdoms and voted to unify C’ouis into the Seven Kingdoms. 3500 Years ago; The First Seven shattered after the Rebellion of Harvisbor. The Oakreach family fled in exile. 3,000 Years ago: The Oakreach family came from Lotus with an army, killed the Harvisboars, and established power. 2,500 Years Ago: The Rat Plauge, spread by Ratfolk and Humans, infected Oakreach and killed a million, including all descendents of the Oakreach family, spare Vestus, who became King and ushered in the Great Tyranny Vestus’ son Hari thought he killed his father in in the Agathia Rebellion, unaware the Vestus the Terrible was a litch 2,300 Years ago: Surprise, Vestus the Litch King rises up again and pretty much kills everything 2,100 Years ago: Age of the Litch ends whens Vestus grows weary of his reign of terror and simply leaves Oakreach. He is rumoured to rule over the Litch Empire in Sanctum. 2,100 years ago: Complete anarchy. 2,000 Years ago: The Lotus Army captures the city and instills Councilman Emberais as the Provincial Governor 2,000-1,000 Years ago: Unremarkable Lotusian Age 300 Years ago: King Calliaq the Feeble loses a grasp on Oakreach and allows it to fall to the Oakreach Army, guerilla warriors said to descend from the Oak Guard 200 Years Ago: King Callaiaq dies, his son, King Sauren the Almighty and Ever Powerful ushers in the current Era of Complete Peace and Period of Elven Domination that I Love and Respect so Very Much. Oh, forgot to mention the Autumnwatch rebellion. (don’t edit this out, Valance.) Notable Sights in Oakreach; 1. The Main Gate/ Gate Fortfire. If you’re traveling by foot, or cart, you will pass through it. This ancient stone gate is the largest in the Elven World. 2. The Great Road: The main artery of traffic in Oakreach. Be careful crossing it; the carts don’t stop for pedestrians. Best to hire a carriage. 3. Yortusdale District; historically a district of merchants who sell provisions and supplies for the road. Winding, dense streets of markets give way to a district of upper class merchants and residents. 4. Upper Everdark; historic sight of the Redale Tribe, Upper everdark is notable for the ancient Mages Guild, and several large estates that pepper the neighborhood. 5. Middark; a well spaced district of the well-to-do. Notable for the Royal Theater, an ancient playhouse. 6. The Spirialias Towers; Two massive spires set dead center of the city. Historically, they were Chapels for Navet, but they have been repurposed as Gates, travel points. If you arrive in Oakreach by Rasidgates, this is where you will enter Customs. 7. Midriver: lower class residential neighborhood of labourers and fisherman. A few shops worth traveling to, but clutch your coin purse to you. Best to hire a guard if traveling through this place. 8. The Docks: the Main commercial docks of Oakreach, the docks receive and ship goods, and are the base for many large fishing operations in the cities, guilds that stretch back for thousands of years.No real reason to go here, but if you do, be sure to bring a guard. Very rough and tumble. Barkeeps have been known to sell newcomers shots of lamp oil. 9. Fort Everspire: Navy Base. Stay away. They won’t let you in. 10. Midlands: rich district full of shops and extravagant Inns. 11. Upperland/ Little Faunos: Historic farming villages, the Upperlands is populated by a large population of Fauns who have formed a vibrant artistic community in the city. If you visit in Spring, be sure to stay for the Wilds Celebration. 12. The Everforge: a huge Dwarven Forge built by Grig Drippon in the Second Era, the Everforge is the place to go if you are a sellsword seeking a new instrument of pain. 13. Hunter’s Glen: the historic site of the Boarstied Village, Hunters Glen is a longhouse situated on a protected patch of forest. Guided tours of the Glen are available for curious travelers. 14. Little Gorandere: the Orcish part of town. Don’t bother going here if you don’t wish to see brutish idiots stewing in their own juices. Editor’s note: for the love of god, edit this part out before you publish this. 15. The Twist: The upper crust of Oakreach. If you have the coin, feel free to stop in. 16. Little Tiberious: the Dwarven neighborhood. Great food and drink in these parts. 17. Custosdale: Tightly packed residential neighborhood. Lots of crime. Avoid. 18. Maven Shipping: the oldest company in Oakreach, Maven Shipping is a destination in itself; be sure to visit the Bestiary if you’re in the market for an exotic animal. 19. Darklit: Warehouses, street urchins, and crime syndicates. Watch out. 20. Floodlands: Impoverished neighborhood. Not much else to say. Don’t go here. 21. King’s Bridge: The Jewel of Oakreach, the bridge is a neighborhood in itself; a wide, magically lit bridge topped with a stacked neighborhood of arcane shops and schools of learning. 22. Ratland: Where the Rats live. 23. Garritstead: Where the humans live. 24. Crows Hill: Large Hill. Built upon the base is the Old Castle of Gestronmer. 25. Mage’s District: A village where esteemed mages reside. 26. Thanai: Historic village, seat of the Twin Temples of Navet. Most who live here are priests and clerics. 27. Sorcine Stones, monolithic structures built to honor Navet. 28. King’s Village: the seat of Power. A magnificent village of palaces that none of us are allowed to visit. 29. Fort Summter: protective forts to ward off invasions 30. Ruins: the site of the Ancient Kingdom, the ruins are crumbling towers and old stones. Infested with goblins. Very fascinating, but hire a guide. 31. Old Wall: built around the Royal District. Navet Damn it, what do I say about a wall? It’s old. It’s crumbling. How many more of these are left to do? 32. Outerlands: District of miscreants and the poor who live outside the walls. 33. Bellyred Farms: Farms. All backwash philistines. Where the hell is 34 on this map...oh, found it, Summervale, another district of poor souls who are damned to live outside the walls. Never been, heard it’s nice. 35. The Citadel, our massive monument to the God of War! Built in the Second Area, this massive fort is a training ground for the Seven Army and the home to some pretty fearsome clerics, the Dasingaurd. Now that my contractual obligation is complete, enjoy your time at Oakreach, traveler. Try not to get killed.

[critidiots]

1, 13, 33? :)

1. A favorite character you have played. : Oh man I’m very often a DM and not a player, BUT, a few years back I got involved with a Song of Ice and Fire group for a few sessions and I played an old (like 70+ year old) invalid who got ALOT of murdering done. But in terms of characters I actually- got - to play more then twice, Peace, my Tiefling Paladin of Eldath was my first adventure league character and a lot of fun to play. 

He was a pretty simple sword and board build but with a fun and interesting backstory that was always good to play with. 

13. Introduce your current party. : Oh boy, Well I currently run a game I call ‘The Shattering’ Staring our lovely critidiots! We are taking a multi-month break to play starfinder and mix up the flavor for a while and I will be a player in that! BUT idk what everyone else is going to be so i’ll just introduce the regular ‘idiots:

Zyian is our Aasimar paladin/magus of Lotherentian; the evlen god of battle and honor. He’s a pretty uptight person who jokes around with the others in personal settings but is often very formal (when the party isn’t driving him crazy). He has a cohort named Vashj who is a half-celestial dire lioness. 

Spliff Mcnealy, self proclaimed Master of the Arcane, Lord of the Inevitables and leader of the Havenguard. He’s our team fool, a homeless mage who has built up great wealth and lost it all several times over the course of our journey. His GEAR is all wildly different now as he lost all his magical items to a deck of many things. The skull on his staff is of a half-elf maid who, hundreds of years prior, killed herself in a demonic ritual. 

Kvothe the Oread Monk, for a while was multiclassed into ranger but he’s fallen back to pure monk, but with all his archery talents intact. He owns an inn he constructed himself named ‘the rope’s end’ and leaves the managing of the place to his cohort Thrugah Urgel when he is out exploring. 

Zyn the dark elf samurai, raised by a master samurai from the east named Saigo. He recently married Zyglplyx the Triton shaman/druid, together they have two little girls. He has been through a lot lately, with his master being killed due to crimes he committed back in his old life and the loss of his powerful sword Reichiji. 

Burz Grimmum- The Half-orc paladin of Jamal, human god of justice and law. He’s had one of the wildest rides in the group having lost everything he owns several times to the deck of many things, and with the gods leaving the planet and the death of millions has suffered a deep depression. Hopefully he’s on the rise though, he recently earned his adopted father’s armor set giving him religious power ranger like abilities. 

Griff and Duke- The Summoner/Eidolon pair. Griff is a fetchling who likes to dabble in slightly illicit activities and does things that are often morally grey. He runs an academy called Griffin Academy in the city of Couthshou to help magic users learn and master their craft, and is the head financial supported  of ta Colosseum being built in the city for sportsmanlike combat. He is a worshipper of Kan and Nak the twin spirits of the moon and has them tattooed onto his hands. 

Last, but certainly not least, is Aybara the human barbarian and his companion Fang. Aybara is a fierce fighter who is slow of thought but wise when choosing his words. He cares for wild animals and those he calls friends dearly. He is married to the Goblin ranger Marie and together the pair have 4 children; two boys and two girls. They live in the city of Coutshou, though Marie often travels up to visit her kin in the mountains. 

33. How do you write your backstory, or do you even write a backstory?  WELL that depends on the system I’m playing! I have a lot of different ones. If i’m playing DnD style games I like to keep it a little vague and open, decide on some basic personality traits and maybe one or two key events in my character’s life and go from there! Though if I’m doing something like a song of ice and fire I will get super meticulous about details and draft up something indepth so i can make the roleplay more believable. 

Thank you for the ask

[chuchoose]

this one also was not based on a prompt #02

The condensation dripped from ceiling to stone floor as if it were the dungeon’s heartbeat. 

Dri-drip. Dr-drip. Dr-drip.

Bokan the goblin trap breaker scratched his head, puzzled hesitant by the mechanics of the ornate brass door standing tall and unmoving before him. The door’s design wove itself between beautiful carvings of dramatic flourish and pistons and bars that all seemed to lock and slide into each other and all came together at one great handle in the center. To Bokan’s expertise, the locking mechanisms for this door looked like complete nonsense, which he could only understand as meaning that this door was more than he could pick apart with his current knowledge. Were this some examination back at the academy, perhaps after some study and reference, he might be able to crack it, but in the field? He was alone.

“What if we just smashed it?”

Bokan sighed. Almost alone. Bokan turned to his compatriot, rippling in muscle and hides beneath her Wolf Lodge helmet. Emera the Hammer picked her teeth of what remained of their most recent meal and towered over the goblin with a carefree grin.

“Look, I get that you’re clever, but not all problems have clever solutions,” she offered. “So what if,” she said as she flicked her toothpick away and hefted her great maul from off her back, “we just smashed it.” And then pantomimed the obvious consequent. 

Bokan screwed up his face into a frown. She meant well, by the cunning of Yob, she meant well. Tall folk always meant well. He shook his head and returned his attention to the door.

“How many parties do you think this door’s killed?” he asked.

Emera shrugged loudly and leaned on the haft of her hammer. It was Lilian that piped up. The green-robed elf stood tall, though she was markedly shorter than Emera, even when Emera was not standing at her full height. Lillian shifted uneasily as she fiddled with the clasp on her bag filled to the brim with both loose spell book pages and scroll cases amongst other magical knick-knacks.

“There’s no way to know,” the lore keeper said.

“Exactly,” Bokan replied. “There’s no way. All we have is this.” He pointed to the door. “This.” He pointed to the stone floor. “And this.” He pointed to the drip. 

Dri-drip. Dr-drip. Dr-drip.

A long moment washed over all of them. Emera was the first to break the silence. 

“You also have me!” Emera declared.

“We have you,” Bokan agreed, “but a hammer isn’t always the answer and not every nail is a question.”

“Emmy-- I mean! Emera is often an entirely serviceable answer,” Lillian said as she adjusted her spectacles, failing to hide the redness rising in her cheeks. Emera flexed proudly at the praise.

“It’s true,” Bokan agreed again, not hearing the change of pitch in Lillian’s squeaking reply, “but I don’t want to bet our lives on that more often than I have to.”

Lilian nodded, but Emera’s expression now matched Bokan’s, though for different reasons, he was sure. “But I would,” Emera said.

“And that’s what makes you good at what you do, but do remember what makes me good at what I do.”

Emera chortled, always enjoying this response. “You are very small and very clever. You are good at understanding things that are like you.”

Bokan sighed, as he always did at this, because she wasn’t wrong. He fidgeted with his jerkin in impatience. “And what else?”

“Because you can point to a door, the floor, and some dripping water.”

Bokan rolled his eyes, as was custom in this exchange. “Close enough.” Bokan paced around the landing before the door while talking. “So look, let’s start with what we have and then we can move on to what we don’t. The door’s made of brass, right?”

“Ferrous, of iron,” Lillian chimed. 

“Means it holds heat and lightning. But look at the door: no wear or deformation, so nothing’s running through it. Look at the floor: no scorch; no sizzle. Maybe the trap’s magical, but mechanical? No sign of alchemy for lightning or flame. Then the drip.”

“Depth, maybe from condensation? So from cold to hot? Or maybe it’s just wet here? The temperature doesn’t feel different here than the rest of the dungeon; neither more nor less humid.”

“Right, so is there a difference in temperature on the other side? If so, why? We don’t know. And then back to the door. Lillian: confirming the door didn’t ping for you, right?”

“Exactly right. No spells detected.” Bokan loved when Lillian and he got to talking shop. Emera groaned, as she always did when the two dungeoneering scholars got to talking this way, and took a few practice swings with her namesake hammer in the door’s direction.

“So lack of magic confirms it’s mechanical, especially given the door’s appearance, but look: the floor has no scrapes or scratches, nor any of the other stones around us. There’s no slideaways, trapdoors, or kill holes and if the door has no magical properties to hide those things, thank you, again, Lillian, what does the door even kill you with? Can a trap be neither magical or mechanical? And that’s not even getting back on the topic of the dripping!”

“I’m sorry?” Lillian asked.

“It’s driving me up the wall.”

Dri-drip. Dr-drip. Dr-drip.

Emera snorted. Lillian sighed.

“So what does it all mean?”

Bokan turned back to the party and they all exchanged pensive looks. Bokan, exacting in self-serious intensity; Emera, the gears in her head visibly turning on her face as she mouthed her logic to herself quietly; Lillian, her eyes shut tight as she quietly recalled all of the information piece by piece in silence while plumbing the depths of her studies for some morsel of applicable knowledge that could divine just what in the Wild this door could be protected by.

Emera snapped her fingers in revelation. “That means the door’s safe! It’s just a fancy door!”

Lillian groaned, but Bokan returned his attention to the door again. “Unless that’s another part of the trap.” 

They all hmmed in unison.

“I suppose there’s no way for us to know for certain,” Lillian said.

“There never really is,” Bokan admitted. “The Trap Breaker’s Credence: we can only assume.”

“What if the door’s a mimic?” Emera wondered.

Bokan shook his head.

“If you think like that, then you’ll start thinking everything’s a shapeshifter,” Lillian said. “What if the floor is a mimic? The walls? What if our clothes are mimics? It would never end.” The thought sent a shiver up Lillian’s spine. She reached out for Emera’s hand and Emera took it with a reassuring squeeze. Lillian wrapped herself around Emera’s trunk-like arm in kind.

“Okay, fair,” Emera began, stroking Lillian’s long hair smooth as it bunched against her arm, “but I only think things are mimics when it doesn’t make sense for things to be where they are and you’re all making it sound like this makes no sense. More than usual, I mean, given the way you two are.”

Bokan laughed. Lillian laughed. Emera laughed. The dripping stone and the door laughed, too.

Dri-drip. Dr-drip. Dr-drip.

Bokan blinked. Lillian’s jaw dropped. Emera unfurled Lillian from her arm and hauled up her huge hammer in preparation for a swing. “I love being right,” Emera sing-songed as the star-metal head of her maul crashed into the center of the door. The door mimic crumpled into a pile of squirming pseudopods and faux-metal beneath the hammer’s weight. The salivating ceiling mimic immediately sprouted scrabbling claws and began to scurry away from the party the opposite way. Bokan brandished a throwing knife as Lillian produced a wand from her pack and it sparked arcane before wrapping the mage’s arm in a sheath of magical, arcing electricity that she tamed with her arm’s gentle gyration. Bokan and Lillian glared at each other for a moment before their gaze was broken by Emera rushing between and past them. Emera yanked a smaller throwing hammer from her belt, let it fly, missed, and cursed, seemingly all at once, with her great maul cradled over shoulder as she made chase. The goblin and elf growled at each other and ran off after the warrior, flinging knives and spells at the fleeing shapeshifter as they went.

[neo-kajatrash]

Hello again!

It's been a long time, but I want to actually try to return to this blog! Get ready for stuff about my graphic novel: Goblin Rise and the Arcane Wild!

[neo-kajatrash]

I return to announce that Goblin Rise and the Arcane Wild is officially up!

✨ https://tapas.io/series/Goblin-Rise-and-the-Arcane-Wild ✨

It's a bit of a slow start with only two pages for now, but consider subscribing because this is only the beginning!

I'm extremely excited to share the story with everyone--I hope to see you on Tapas!!

[neo-kajatrash]

I just realized my first webcomic, Soultaker, is completely done posting!! It took about two years, 90 pages, and it's finally finished!

(I also closed it up with this little plug for Goblin Rise and the Arcane Wild)

You can read Soultaker here: https://tapas.io/episode/1955440