#i actually do have a patreon story slightly based on this same concept

[coco-chip]

🍡💌💻

love comes in all shapes and sizes....right?

back at it again with the weird gyjo aus!

basically gyro is a reddit incel misogynist loser and johnny is his anime waifu!

gyro is completely dedicated to johnny and johnny alone he has a ton of merch, makes fan edits, makes audio splices, he even cooks for johnny! his biggest dream is for johnny to become real so he can marry him

Johnny is from a relatively controversial anime! its genre is magical girl/monster of the week, but its main draw is that each girl and guy of the magical squad is built to romantically and sexually appeal to the audience. with each member filling a specific spot or trope. the show features a ton of fan service cause of this and theres a lot of 18+ official merch.

Johnny specifically was made to appeal to those attracted to the terminally ill delicate waifu. hence his disability. its similar to katawa shoujo where johnny's disability is portrayed really well but only because its supposed to appeal to those with a fetish for it. Johnny's also a big time kuudere as another charm point.

[jacquelinemerritt]

Dragon Ball Z: Abridged - Christmas Tree of Might Review

Originally posted on December 25th, 2015

Goku starring in a Christmas special somehow makes perfect sense.

It is incredibly strange to me the ease with which Team Four Star blends the themes characteristic of a Christmas special with the universe of Dragonball Z. The idea that Goku would be the most stalwart defender of Christmas in the universe works surprisingly well, and making it so the Tree of Might sucks the Joy of ChristmasTM from the earth instead of its energy is a change that I didn’t question for a second.

I’m also reminded of Princess Snake, and I see this film as a good indicator of the growth experienced by Team Four Star between then and now. Back then, they wrote an entire episode based on the (unfunny) joke that Princess Snake and Solid Snake share the same name, so why not have her voice be a (albeit decent) David Hayter impression? With this film though, Team Four Star has taken the strange concept of a Dragonball Z Christmas film and built upon that in every possible aspect.

Part of the success of this is that they go out of their way to imbue every aspect of the film with signifiers of the Christmas season; the inclusion of Christmas music at every opportunity is one of the tricks they use most often, and their use of a metal rendition of “Deck the Halls” as the theme for the destruction of the earth is particularly clever.

All of the villains being “misfit minions” of Christmas is a great touch as well, and though the casual mentions of animal rape and child molestation tip slightly over the line of good taste, it’s still made very clear that these villains are just the type of despicable who would wish to destroy Christmas.

Except for Turle, that is. His story of the injustice of Freeza Day is just unfortunate enough to raise the question of whether or not we have a right to celebrate joy and peace when many around us are suffering, and Team Four Star wisely leaves that question unanswered. Even the reveal that Santa didn’t visit planet Vegeta out of fear for his own safety calls into question our willingness to actually spread the love we preach during this holiday.

Another significant moral question is raised when Gohan passingly mentions the rise of depression and suicides during the holidays, as he makes fun of Yamcha for his obsession with material possession causing him to feel destitute. Who’d have thought that a comedic adaptation of a silly Japanese anime would raise such significant questions about our holiday?

Rating: 4.5/5

If you enjoyed this review, consider supporting me on Patreon.

Stray Observations

I love that Krillin’s wish for a kickass Christmas tree is the reason for Turle and his gang’s arrival.

King Kai: “Are we laughing at Yamcha, ‘cause I’m always up for that.”

Gohan: “Santa’s just gonna bring me books again.”

Chi Chi: “He brings you what you like, and what do you like?”

Gohan: “I like books!”

Gohan: “Don’t talk s*** about Santa!”

Jinga: “Jinga!”

Beru: “And Beru!”

Tien: “F***ING WEABOOS!”

“This is so non-canon it hurts.”

Goku: “What’d you get for Freeza Day?”

Turle: “He blew our planet up!”

Merry Christmas, everyone!

[samwisethewitch]

What does it mean to be pagan? (Paganism 101 Ch. 1)

That’s right, y’all! With Baby Witch Bootcamp officially wrapped, it’s time to jump into our next long term series! I put out a poll on Patreon, and my patrons voted for Paganism 101 as our next series. While not all witches are pagan and not all pagans are witches, there is a lot of overlap between the two groups. Both witchcraft and paganism offer practitioners a sense of freedom, a deeper connection to the world around them, and a greater awareness of their personal power.

I identify both as a witch and as a pagan, and I get a lot of questions about paganism. In this series, we’ll go through the basics: what it means to be pagan, the difference between a neopagan and a reconstructionist, and the role of magic in different pagan traditions. We’ll also talk about some of the most popular modern pagan traditions and how to find the right tradition for you.

Let’s start off by answering the question, “What does pagan actually mean?”

Defining “Pagan”

It’s important to remember that “pagan” is an umbrella term that encompasses a wide range of different faiths. Someone who practices Wicca, for example, will have very different beliefs from someone who practices Hellenismos. These different faiths are linked by a shared history, rather than by shared beliefs or practices.

The word “pagan” comes from the Latin “paganus,” which literally means “area outside of a city” or, to phrase it slightly differently, “countryside.” This adjective was used to describe people and things that were rustic or rural and, over time, came to also have the connotation of being uneducated. Originally, the word had no religious association, and was even used to refer to non-combatants by the Roman military.

From this definition, we can gain some insight into what makes a religion or practice pagan. Pagans feel a kinship with the wild or rural places of the world, and are comfortable waking “off the beaten path.”

But how did “paganus” come to refer to a type of religion, anyway?

To understand the religious meaning of “paganus,” it’s necessary to understand a little bit about the religion of Ancient Rome. Rome (the city) was built inside a pomerium, a sacred boundary that formed a spiritual border around the city and its people. Paganus folks were those who lived outside the pomerium and, as such, may not have been strict adherents of the state religion — they certainly wouldn’t have been able to travel into the city for every major festival. They may have gotten a bit more creative with their worship of the gods. However, as previously stated, the word paganus did not have an explicitly religious meaning in ancient times.

The use of paganus as a religious label began after the legalization of Christianity by the Roman Emperor Constantine in 313 C.E. Christianity would not be adopted as the official state religion until 380 C.E., but Constantine’s conversion and decriminalization of Christian worship paved the way for Rome’s transformation into a Christian state. It was around this time, as Christianity was quickly growing in urban areas, that early Roman Christians began using the word “paganus” to refer to those who still practiced polytheism. Rather than referring to those outside the city’s boundary or to untrained civilians, the label now referred to those outside the Church, those who were not “soldiers of Christ.”

As Christianity spread in popularity throughout the Mediterranean, Europe, and Northern Africa, the pagan label was applied to all non-Christians in those areas. The word “pagan” became a derogatory label, implying an inferior and backwards religion.

So, really, the thing that makes a religion pagan is a historical conflict with Christianity. Pagan religions are those that were suppressed or completely destroyed after Christianity became the dominant faith in the region.

This is why Norse Paganism and Kemetic (Egyptian) polytheism, which are very different, are both considered “pagan” while Shinto, a Japanese religion that shares a lot of common features with many pagan faiths, is not. Because Christianity never achieved total dominance in Japan, Shinto was never pushed aside to make room for Jesus.

In the 20th century, people who felt drawn to these old religions started to reclaim the pagan label. Like many other reclaimed slurs, “pagan” became a positive label for a community united by their shared history.

What do all pagans have in common?

This is a tough question to answer because, as stated above, paganism is a historical definition, not one shaped by belief or practice. However, there are some things most pagans have in common. Here are a few of them, although these concepts may take different forms in different traditions.

Paganism…

… is (usually) polytheistic. Most pagans do not subscribe to monotheism, the belief in a single, all-powerful divine being. Some pagans are polytheists, meaning they believe in multiple divine beings with varying levels of power. Hellenic pagans, Norse pagans, and Celtic pagans are typically polytheists. Still others are monists, meaning they believe in a single divine source that manifests itself as multiple gods. Wiccans and other neopagans are typically monists. Many pagans fall somewhere in-between strict polytheism and strict monism. We’ll talk more about polytheism in a future post, but for now just know that the idea of a single, supreme creator is not compatible with most forms of paganism.

… is based in reciprocity. This is a concept that may seem odd to those who grew up around Abrahamic religions: the idea of engaging the gods in a mutually beneficial partnership, rather than one-sided worship. When we connect with the gods, we receive spiritual, emotional, and physical blessings. The gods also benefit, as they are strengthened by our prayers and offerings. (I like to think they also enjoy the company. It has to be lonely, having your body of worshipers supplanted by an anarchist carpenter from Palestine.) The concept of reciprocity is why most pagans make physical offerings to their gods.

Reciprocity also extends to our relationships with other people. Most pagan religions have a code of ethics that includes values like hospitality, kindness, and/or fairness with others. Depending on the pagan, reciprocity may even extend to the dead! Many (but not all) pagans practice ancestor worship, the act of honoring and venerating the beloved dead.

Reciprocity may even extend to the world at large. Some (but not all) pagans are animists, which means they believe that every animal, plant, and stone contains its own spirit. Animist pagans strive to live in harmony with the spirits of the world around them, and may make offerings to these spirits as a sign of friendship.

… embraces the Divine Feminine. Paganism acknowledges and venerates both masculine and feminine expressions of divinity. Polytheist pagans worship both gods and goddesses, while monist pagans see the divine Source as encompassing all genders. In either case, the end result is the same: pagans acknowledge that, sometimes, God is a woman. (Cue the Ariana Grande song.)

Paganism also acknowledges gender expressions outside the masculine/feminine binary. Many pagan deities, like Loki (in Norse paganism), Atum (in Kemetic paganism), and Aphroditus (a masculine aspect of the Greek Aphordite) exist somewhere in the grey area between man and woman.

… is compatible with a mystic mindset. Remember how I said there’s a lot of overlap between witchcraft and paganism? Part of the reason for that is because paganism is highly compatible with magic and other mystical practices. Most pagans believe that humans have, or can attain, some level of divine power. It makes sense that this power would manifest as magic, or as other spiritual abilities. Many of the ancient cultures modern paganism draws inspiration from practiced magic in some form, so it follows that modern pagans would as well.

… draws inspiration from the ancient stories. As we discussed, “pagan” originally referred to the religious groups that were pushed out by Christian hegemony. As a result, every modern pagan is a little bit of a historian. Because paganism was pushed underground, it takes a little digging to find myths, rituals, and prayers that can be used or adapted for modern practice.

Many pagans worship historic deities that you’ve probably read about at some point. Visit any pagan pride event, and you’ll probably find worshipers of Zeus, Venus, Thor, and Isis, just to name a few. Studying and interpreting ancient mythology and archaeological evidence is a big part of modern paganism.

… is a religion with homework. If you’ve read this far, you may be beginning to realize that being pagan is a lot of work. It’s fun, spiritually fulfilling, and very rewarding work, but work all the same. Because very few modern pagans have access to temples, priests and priestesses, or an in-person community that shares their beliefs, they end up having to teach themselves, do their own research, and guide their own practice.

This is incredibly empowering, as it means you are your own religious authority. It does, however, mean that you will occasionally have to open a book or slog through a dense academic article about the most recent archaeological find related to your favorite deity. Thankfully, there’s a growing number of accessible, beginner-friendly books, blogs, podcasts, and YouTube channels to help you in your research.

… embodies a deep respect for the natural world. While not all pagans are animists, most pagans do feel some sort of reverence for the forces of nature. Many pagan deities are associated with natural forces or use the natural world to communicate with their followers. Because of this, not only do pagans respect and love nature, but they’re constantly watching it for signs and messages. (Are you really friends with a pagan if they haven’t called you crying because they found a crow feather on the ground or saw a woodpecker in their backyard?)

Some pagan groups, especially neopagan religions like Wicca, have been classified as Earth-centered religions. Personally, I dislike this term. While it is true that many pagans feel a deep spiritual connection to the Earth and may even venerate local nature spirits, to say that these religions are “Earth-centered” feels like an oversimplification. Wiccans, for example, don’t actually worship nature — they worship the God and Goddess, who they see reflected in the natural world.

… is driven by individual spiritual practice. As mentioned above, very few pagans have access to an in-person community. Because of this, modern paganism largely consists of individual practices. Even pagans who do belong to a community still typically worship on their own sometimes. These personal practices may involve prayer, offerings to the gods, meditation, divination, astral travel, performing religious rituals, or countless other practices. Many pagans have personal altars in their homes, where they worship alone or with their family.

… is a celebration of daily life. One thing I love about paganism is how it makes every aspect of my life feel sacred. Many religions emphasize the spiritual aspects of life while deemphasizing, or even demonizing, the physical or mundane aspects. This can lead to practitioners feeling like they are spiritual beings trapped in a physical body, or like their physical needs and desires are something to escape.

Paganism allows practitioners to fully enjoy being physical and spiritual beings. Pagans reach for the heights of spiritual awareness, while also enjoying earthly delights — recognizing that neither is inherently more worthy than the other and that both are needed for a balanced life.

… is only one of many paths to Truth. Most pagan groups do not claim to be the only valid religious path, and in fact several openly acknowledge the validity of other religions. This is why you rarely see pagans trying to convert other people to paganism — it’s openly acknowledged that paganism isn’t for everyone, and that those who are truly meant to practice the old ways will find them.

~~~

Hopefully, this post has given us a good working definition of “paganism.” From here, we’ll explore some of these individual concepts in more depth and discuss specific religions within the pagan umbrella. Until then, blessed be.

Resources:

Wicca for Beginners by Thea Sabin

Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner by Scott Cunningham

A Witches’ Bible by Janet and Stewart Farrar

The Way of Fire and Ice by Ryan Smith

Where the Hawthorn Grows by Morgan Daimler

Temple of the Cosmos by Jeremy Naydler

A Practical Guide to Irish Spirituality by Lora O’Brien

[yoitscro]

First thought: Homestuck^2 should've just been called Beyond Canon, and more people should call it that. 

The 2 was put on for chuckles; HS trending the day it was announced with it being a sequel spoke enough about how such a thing shant be underestimated, and why Homestuck is ABSOLUTELY more than just our small twitter crowd (and the scrap of us still on tumblr). I say that because remembering the Beyond Canon part slightly reassures me about the fact that this is a fanwork that will do some weird shit, and things I don't agree with, but isn't something that I have to subscribe to enjoying all the way with how I engage with Homestuck.

Homestuck 2 is not the canon continuation. Homestuck 2: Beyond Canon, is an OFFICIAL continuation.

Not having it on such an important stool and as the only content we all are only allowed to digest should come from both people who obsessively dislike it, and people who defensively support it. If a character says they kick babies then I can say, hey that's weird, maybe not great writing, but I can pretend they don't in my content, and i dont have to send threats or call people cishet white men for it! and, it's an absolutely great thing that we were all encouraged to create our own ideas without anyone who's influenced us to do so squinting their eyes when we actually go through with it. Glad I don't have to put this story up to the expectations of being a sequel to a 11 year, worldwide IP that's shooketh the internet landscape since it's merely optional, Death of the Author persists, and ideas aren't just dominated and revolved around the perspective of a 1% in this entire fanbase.

That said.

As an OFFICIAL continuation versus a canon one, HS2 is ok. It certainly has that fanfiction vibe, and a story it wants to tell. I can't really tell what that story is since we have like, 10 sub plots rn though. There's not a real a clear indicator on where the focus of main conflict is that connects all these stories together.

I thought that the prose in replacement of Vriska's battle was jarring, but not teeerribly surprising for the format HS2 is going for. It's more so using drawings to compliment text versus Homestuck's usual of panels being side by side with visual importance, or even itself being the one compliment. It sorta feels weird tho that it brought old fans back in with art just for them to get sneered at when they get a bit upset that there won't be main staples of art known to progress the story forward. 

Also people who mock people for “having to read homestuck” knowing there’s language barriers and struggling focus from those who’ve been use to something that was never so dense, are ridiculous.

Personally this could be solved by knowing how old flashes worked, having way more artists on the team, maybe even an art director if not already, and noting that we're not asking for the next Cascade. Rome wasn't built in a day, but Rose Ride sure was, and Homestuck’s animation is absolutely not the same as a 12-24 framed 12 minute cartoon. That, or just snuff the illustrative art as a whole since it's very clear on where the focus is.

I’m sure you’re not here trying to see my opinions on how the outer workings are though, versus plot.

Uuuuh, let's see. Yiffy's still a name I don't care to use until I eventually get tired of any of my art that do not show up in tags. This is fine and not as offensive as people are saying it is. Minors who want to cosplay this character don't have to call themselves this character. Not wanting to be one letter away from accidentally entering a very NSFW space of twitter is fine. Also the lot of people call Tavros, Tavvy.

I hope Kanaya's anger at being cucked is actually seen versus being implied through fan guesses and another character having to say she was.

Roxy needs to be more of an involved character. Where are they during all this?

Jane should have a mention of her relations to HIC being a main/bad influence on her current parallels to Alternian dictatorship.

The PRE-RETCON GROUP should have a fun one-shot update for fans who like them, since they oughta be around if they fell through the ghost hole. Most of them. The sprites that aren't Jasprosesprite should also show up too, since they're around.

Aaaaaand I think we should be extra careful going into the future when it comes to the alien rebellion. It's weird that a lot of the writers are white and toy around with concepts that can be a not so great parallel to racism. Currently not great timing rn! If the characters are going to remain aracial, but with them still doing not much to reference other non-white earth cultures or getting new hair cuts that have different textures (looking at you, Rose), we shant make the species with actual biological benefits a racism commentary. the xeno joke at least had a play on words. If any writer has happened upon this then a, please don't get mad at me again haha, and b, consider having more black writers or directional assistance on your squad. You know who they are.

In the future. I casually want the ghost from the Dream Bubbles to be shown since it's a big elephant in the room to not have a single one of them in the bg despite a load of them appearing from the ghost whole. Don't gotta give them speaking lines, especially the dancestors. I personally don't know if I want that right now.

I also hope in the future that we don't get HS content that is only going to revolve around HS2, if it's optional enough to engage with without being the only option. That's why PQ could ended a bit better for me, and why I hope it's not the main thing that's keeping Hiveswap on the backburner. I don't think it's farfetched to consider that multiple HS content could come from more than just one team; to relieve work load, but to also strengthen the idea that Homestuck can be a various amount of perspectives when it comes to the ideas fans have. The most dedicated fans leading the direction of the story is not just a handful of them. If anything, at least acknowledge the massive ass fan projects going on once in awhile to showcase the different avenues.

"Hey Cro, you sure have bitched about this alot. Do you have anything good to say? Why don't you stop reading if you hate it so much!"

Not every comment needs to be golden, love. Again, some of these decisions I eck at, but ultimately they're just words on a computer that I'm not holding anyone at gun point to do, and I'm curious to see how the story handles itself going forward, since again, it's just a fanwork. Sometimes I wish to not only see where the plot goes, but to see a writer's craft in action.

Good Things:

The Art. Again, please have more artists. It'd help so much, especially since the main one is also double timing for VE. That said, HS2 sticks out to me because of the way the color composition is used. Aside from hair and other tiny things, I haven't seen black used a lot, which makes colors pop. It's really nice to look at. I hope we get more sharper styles of character in the future, since it builds on nostalgia and makes the trolls feel much less like they're from Repiton, but I can deal with it for the most part. I also like that one panel where the omega kids and vriska are talking in the dark room, and based on where they're standing, the text aligns. Tasty as hell.

Meat and Candy still do hold neat logic in the direction the stories go. Candy, while it could be more tasteless in some areas, is chaotic and too much of a good thing. Meat is having something a little more straightforward, though I'm not sure quite yet where it's going. I always found Candy to be the part of the epilogue that actually entertained me the most, from how much of a surreal Robot Chicken skit at 3am it felt. Sometimes the jokes slapped real nice and made me wonder, going in, how is this monkeys paw gonna play out and, hopefully, make people laugh or smirk like they got a good roast at themself?

The slightly episodic feel of each update is what I wanted from the Epilogues, so it's interesting to see that play out when it comes to switching different perspectives.

The bonus updates get points for featuring characters that a lot of us have been wanting to see for ages.

Hopefully this isn't unpopular, but I think the tension of Yiffy's introduction was nicely composed and written (ignoring some of the things I wish for Jane). It leaves you with enough want to see what'll happen next time. You could also say that despite her growling and making a lot of noise, it's not actually bad writing: I see it as the audience being forced to see her in the same perspective that Jane see's her; a dog. Upon no context we're seeing the same thing while knowing things are obviously off, and once we see this character in a new environment where their personality shines, it'll have a bigger impact her own character being humanized. So I like that.

Okay, I think that's all I got. I improv wrote most of this; hopefully I won't be taken out of context since I don’t think that HS2′s writing should ultimately be a judgement of the writers as people, nor treated as if they should hold the same unhealthy work environment that Andrew forced himself to do when writing the og comic. And I'm still like, donating to the patreon and everything, lol.

[runs away]

edit: i was going to put the cw as another positive thing for the comic...but...yeaaaah.

[cyberkevvideo]

My Changes to “Way of the Wicked“, Extras 3: Extraplanar Hunters

I kind of had the first one in the back of my mind for a while, but always forgot to put it down on paper, but thanks to vlogger Dungeon Dad converting a bunch of old 3.5 and Pathfinder 1e monsters to 5e, I was reminded that these creatures were very different in 3.5 compared to Pathfinder, and why I had originally considering at least the inevitable for this adventure path.

As always, for space reasons, I’ll be cropping the encounter build.

I do not have a Patreon or a Kickstarter, but I do have a Ko-Fi page (linked) for those who would like to support my work. There is no pressure or obligation to do so, however, but a like and a share would definitely be appreciated. Of this and my older work.

Just before get to it, I hope everyone’s staying safe right now.

There are three sets of stats this time around, and two of them are actually one NPC; a hound archon and his dragon mount. More on that later, including a description regarding how the concept exists. This is what I was talking in the last entry regarding this being something that was skipped over in the Pathfinder bestiary from its 3.5 version.

I’ll say for starters, I didn’t give the NPCs any traits. Those are for PCs, more often than not, but admittedly that was a staple of Gary’s builds to try make the NPCs able to stand up to the villains more. It also felt like an in-joke that the NPCs were the heroic PCs all along. If you want to give them one trait, that’s fine, but for these ones, I didn’t feel it was overly necessary to do so. The only one I even considered was the hound archon, and only to give him armor expert to negate the final armor check penalty to skills.

For starters, inevitables are the very definition of law. Each one has a specific mandate for how things should or shouldn’t be, and how everything interacts with the multiverse.

For starters, we have a zelekhuts are defined as “ bounty hunters and executioners all rolled into one.” The PCs were supposed to die or at least be judged and sent to the salt mines. They escaped. That needs to be rectified. By all means, you can use the standard CR 9 version and have it appear during Book 2, but mine is slightly different. More so because in Book 2, unless you’re doing this incredibly early, the villains may have already amassed a literal army, if only undead. A CR 9 inevitable isn’t going to cut it. My version would appear much later, and it’s also a little different from your regular zelekhut.

I’ll say now, that the reason Judiceye is a variant is because most zelekhuts would just arrive and rain down lawful smiting on their chosen to die. But this one is more crafty. Mitra has seen what the villains can do, and how devious they are, not to mention how large their ever growing army has become. This particular zelekhut’s duty is to show up at the end of Book 3, during the winter months, free any and all prisoners as best as it can, and cause in-fighting among the bugbears and other riffraff that have joined the 9th Knot. If it can take out some unwanted undead, all the better. The PCs are supposed to lose a portion of their troops at the end of winter anyhow due to them running away and leaving their minions high and dry, so this just furthers that plot line all the while putting the PCs on edge. There’s either a traitor among them or maybe the villains just can’t control their people, showing just how unfit they are. And if they start executing their own men for not listening when it’s really just the zelekhut? All the better to use as kindling to create riots and arguments, and really give the villains a run for their money. It’d make for a long winter indeed. And right before the king shows up, or whenever the time is right in the GM’s mind, and the Knot is near their breaking point (possibly when there’s the most confusion), the zelekhut can start a major brawl and try its luck in taking out the PCs. Even better, with its greater hat of disguise, it can change itself to look like whomever it needs to. Just needs Intel first. It can be a PC, a bugbear, a vampire, the medusa half-fiend, or whoever. Doesn’t matter. Because it start a fight, then leave, and turn into someone else. Whatever needs to be done to take down the PCs.

I will not that the DD for the elemental combat style is from  the Pathfinder Disciple's Doctrine. Normally I would go OGL and Core, but this time I need some extra damage, and this was about the only way to pull it off. Also, the reason the hat’s trapped is because these things aren’t supposed to normally have treasure. This will destroy the treasure and maybe do some damage to the PCs at the same time.

JUDICEYE (CR 16; XP 76,800) Variant advanced zelekhut ranger (guildbreakerUI) 7 LN Large outsider (extraplanar, inevitable, lawful) Init +11; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, true seeing; Perception +25 DEFENSE AC 31, touch 17, flat-footed 23 (+1 armor, +7 Dex, +1 dodge, +13 natural, –1 size) hp 236 (21d10+121); regeneration 5 (chaotic) Fort +18, Ref +16, Will +15 Defensive Abilities constructed; DR 10/chaotic, DR 3/— (small ranged piercing weapons); SR 27 OFFENSE Speed 50 ft., fly 60 ft. (average) Melee 2 chains +31 (3d6+10/19–20 plus 1d6 electricity and trip) Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft. Special Attacks favored enemy (goblinoids +2), favored organization (Knots of Asmodeus +4) Spell-Like Abilities (CL 14th; concentration +18)   Constant—true seeing   At will—clairaudience/clairvoyance, dimensional anchor, dispel magic, fear (W-DC 18), hold person (W-DC 17), locate creature   3/day—hold monster (W-DC 19), mark of justice   1/week—lesser geas (W-DC 17) Ranger Spells Prepared (CL 4th; concentration +8)   2nd—chameleon stride   1st—lead blades, resist energy STATISTICS Str 30, Dex 24, Con 18, Int 10, Wis 18, Cha 18 Base Atk +21; CMB +32; CMD 50 (54 vs. trip) Feats Combat Reflexes, Dodge, EnduranceB, Improved Critical (chains), Improved Initiative, Improved Natural Attack (chains), Improved Vital Strike, Inner FlameARG, Mobility, Power Attack, Scorching WeaponsARG, Step Up, Weapon Focus (chain), Vital Strike Skills Acrobatics +25 (+33 jump), Bluff +15, Disguise +15, Diplomacy +17, Fly +19, Knowledge (local) +10, Knowledge (planes) +13, Perception +25, Sense Motive +21, Spellcraft +11, Stealth +21, Survival +17; Racial Modifiers +4 Perception, +4 Sense Motive Languages truespeech SQ chains, combat style (elementalDD), crowd stride, deep cover, favored terrain (urban +2), read the cityUI, track +3 Gear quilted clothUE, greater hat of disguise (trapped: maximized fireball; 60 fire damage, R-DC 19) SPECIAL ABILITIES Chains (Ex) A zelekhut’s arms end in long lengths of barbed metal. These chains deal slashing damage and 1d6 points of electricity damage with each hit. Constructed (Ex) Although inevitables are living outsiders, their bodies are constructed of physical components, and in many ways they function as constructs. For the purposes of effects targeting creatures by type (such as a ranger’s favored enemy and bane weapons), inevitables count as both outsiders and constructs. They are immune to death effects, disease, mind-affecting effects, necromancy effects, paralysis, poison, sleep, stun, and any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects, or is harmless). Inevitables are not subject to nonlethal damage, ability damage, ability drain, fatigue, exhaustion, or energy drain. They are not at risk of death from massive damage. They have bonus hit points as constructs of their size.

Catching up on a few posts from GMs and players who are going through “Way of the Wicked”, most groups are having no issue whatsoever with the AP because they have a necromancer and a cleric who are creating epic armies of undead. That said, there have been one or two groups that have found themselves struggling, if only because they never rescued Grumblejack, or he died on them back during Branderscar because they all bailed and abandoned the ogre. As such, they’re finding that as the game is progressing, they’re having issues. I’ve got something to help potentially counteract that, if only for one part of the book.

It’s a Book 5 add-on that I thought of. Marut inevitables go after those who artificially extend their life. Namely, lichdom. Now, depending on the PCs, this could be yet another encounter for them too. If they’re using the feat tree that turns them into a vampire or lich, or they all became vampires in the alternate version of the story where Thorn’s a vampire, this thing’s coming after them. There’s just no way around that. However, my initial thought for this, so as to help parties that are having troubles, is the marut came to take down the now ex-Cardinal Thorn, but was dominated and sent after the party. This encounter would take place on the main floor, probably as soon as the PCs entered the cathedral. If the PCs have the means, they could break the control and have it join them in the final battle against Thorn. But you’re asking, “how can Thorn use that spell? It’s not a cleric spell and it’s 9th level.” It’s also a 6th level summoner spell, so miracle would work to cast it. This would reduce Thorn’s 9th level spells by 1, and hopefully that’s enough for the PCs who are struggling. After that though, the marut would leave, its mission completed.

Finally, my last inevitable add-on, and this would be for whenever someone in the party broke a contract (or someone attached to the party, etc). It can even be someone the party is dealing with, who broke a contract, and they summon one to go after that person/creature. The kolyarut is all about negotiating bargains, and they don’t like it when contracts and negotiations break down. They punish all oath-breakers. As stated: “They care little for the terms of the agreements in question, only that promises are fulfilled, debts are paid, and balance is maintained.“ They are definitely someone that the PCs want on their side. Pit fiends and contract devils are great, but they don’t necessarily like to get their hands dirty. They just want souls and payment. Kolyaruts, on the other hand, will always make the time.

-------------------------------------

And now, the ultimate combo that’s just bonkers. I even did a small feat sink on this one despite it actually being something in the original edition that happens for free, and just adds to the CR.

As for where you would encounter this one, there’s any number of ways. 1) Could be a fight not long after they finish Book 3. Mitra might send the archon as an avenger for what happened. 2) Could right after Spring arrives and the villains are fleeing from the king and his army. This could either be an air battle or the very second they land, but before Tiadora arrives. 3) They could arrive with any other encounter, boosting the over all combat and aiding whomever else decides to attack the villains. You could even hold out until Book 6 with this one, if you really wanted to.

The monster info on this variant hound archon reads as thus:

Hound Archon Hero Mounts

In the course of their adventures, many hound archon heroes befriend bronze dragons, which may come to serve as their mounts. The relationship between these mounts and their celestial riders goes beyond even the special bond between paladin and mount. The dragon and the archon are naturally allies and friends, as can be expected of two powerful servants of cosmic justice. The juvenile bronze dragon mount gains 2 additional HD, 4 points of Strength, an additional 4 points of natural armor, improved evasion, and +10 feet to speed in all its movement forms. The dragon cannot, however, command other creatures of its type as other kinds of paladin mounts can.

Note: Under normal circumstances the Draconic Companion from the Dragon Companion Handbook would give you a dragon and have it go up as an animal companion, with the Dragon Companion Mastery feat giving you their full power. Hound Archon Heroes already get an equivalent ability for free so I’m revising the feat to instead give: frightful presence 1/day, +2 Dex instead of +2 Str (which is a swap option you can choose), SR 5 + paladin level, share spells, empathic link, and two of the four bonus dragon feats. However, I’m ignoring the other two bonus feats the dragon would normally gain, additional bonuses to Str/Con/natural armor, and standard ability score increases every 4 Hit Die. The trade off being that a standard bronze dragon has higher mental stats and spells, so it easily balances out.

Overall, this not all that different from the 3.5 Monster Manual version, and should be considered a difficult CR 16 encounter. Also, their wealth is for a CR 16 NPC. Bartel shares it with his dragon mount.

BARTEL, THE HOUND ARCHON HERO (CR 16; XP 76,800) Male Advanced variant hound archon paladin 11 LG Medium outsider (archon, extraplanar, good, lawful) Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft., detect evil, low-light vision, scent; Perception +18 Aura courage (10 ft.), justice (10 ft.), menace (20 ft.; W-DC 21), magic circle against evil, resolve (10 ft.) DEFENSE AC 33, touch 12, flat-footed 31 (+9 armor, +2 Dex, +12 natural); +2 deflection vs. evil hp 229 (19 HD; 19d10+125) Fort +24, Ref +16, Will +21; +4 vs. poison, +2 resistance vs. evil DR 10/evil; Immune charm, disease, electricity, fear, petrification; SR 27 OFFENSE Speed 40 ft. Melee +2 cold iron greatsword +29/+24/+19/+14 (2d6+12/17–20), bite +22 (1d8+4) or   bite +27 (1d8+8), slam +27 (1d4+4) Special Attacks channel energy (W-DC 20, 6d6), smite evil 4/day (+5 atk & AC, +11 dmg) Spell-Like Abilities (CL 6th; concentration +11)   Constant—detect evil, magic circle against evil   At will—aid, continual flame, greater teleport (self plus 50 lbs. of objects only), message Paladin Spell-Like Abilities (CL 11th; concentration +16)   At will—detect evil Paladin Spells Prepared (CL 8th; concentration +13)   3rd—heal mount   2nd—bull’s strength, eagle’s splendor, resist energy   1st—divine favor, hero’s defianceAPG, protection from evil, shield of fortificationACG STATISTICS Str 24, Dex 14, Con 22, Int 12, Wis 20, Cha 20 Base Atk +19; CMB +26; CMD 38; +2 vs. evil Feats Blind-Fight, Draconic CompanionDCH, Improved Critical (greatsword), Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Mounted Combat, Power Attack, Ride-by Attack, Weapon Focus (greatsword), Word of HealingUM Skills Acrobatics +14, Diplomacy +19, Knowledge (arcana) +12, Intimidate +15, Perception +18, Ride +18, Sense Motive +19, Spellcraft +10, Stealth +14, Survival +18; Racial Modifiers +4 Stealth, +4 Survival; ACP –1 Languages Celestial, Draconic, Infernal; truespeech SQ aura (overwhelming good), code of conduct, change shape (beast shape II), divine bond (dragon mount; Arlakaida), lay on hands (5d6, 7/day), mercies (cursed, dazed, fatigued) Combat Gear wand of cure light wounds (15 charges), holy water (2); Other Gear +3 mithral breastplate, +2 cold iron greatsword, amulet of mighty fists +1, belt of mighty constitution +2 SPECIAL ABILITIES Aura of Menace (Su) A righteous aura surrounds archons that fight or get angry. Any hostile creature within a 20-foot radius of an archon must succeed on a Will save to resist its effects. The save DC varies with the type of archon, is Charisma-based, and includes a +2 racial bonus. Those who fail take a –2 penalty on attacks, AC, and saves for 24 hours or until they successfully hit the archon that generated the aura. A creature that has resisted or broken the effect cannot be affected again by the same archon’s aura for 24 hours. Change Shape (Su) A hound archon can assume any canine form of Small to Large size, as if using beast shape II. While in canine form, the hound archon loses its bite, slam, and greatsword attacks, but gains the bite attack of the form it chooses. For the purposes of this ability, canines include any dog-like or wolf-like creature of the animal type.

---------------

ARLAKAIDA THE BRONZE (CR —; XP —) Female juvenile bronze dragon LG Large dragon (water) Init +6; Senses dragon senses; Perception +25 Aura frightful presence 1/day (90 ft.; targets are shaken for 14 rounds; W-DC 21) DEFENSE AC 36, touch 13, flat-footed 33 (+5 armor, +2 Dex, +2 deflection, +18 natural, –1 size) hp 161 (14d12+70) Fort +16, Ref +13, Will +15 Defensive Abilities improved evasion; Immune electricity, paralysis, sleep; SR 16 OFFENSE Speed 50 ft., fly 130 ft. (poor), swim 60 ft. Melee bite +25 (2d6+15), 2 claws +24 (1d8+11), tail slap +22 (1d8+15), 2 wings +22 (1d6+6) Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft. (10 ft. with bite) Special Attacks breath weapon (80-ft. line, R-DC 24, 12d6 electricity), repulsion breath Spell-Like Abilities (CL 14th; concentration +18)   At will—create food and water, speak with animals Sorcerer Spells Known (CL 4th; concentration +8)   2nd (4/day)—mirror image   1st (7/day)—alarm, obscuring mist, true strike   0 (at will)—detect magic, light, mage hand, message, prestidigitation, resistance STATISTICS Str 29, Dex 14, Con 21, Int 18, Wis 19, Cha 18 Base Atk +14; CMB +26; CMD 40 (44 vs. trip) Feats Ability Focus (breath weapon), Alertness, Flyby Attack, Improved Initiative, Multiattack, Powerful BreathB, Quick Breath WeaponB, Vital Strike, Weapon Focus (bite) Skills Diplomacy +19, Fly +12, Handle Animal +16, Heal +16, Intimidate +19, Knowledge (arcana) +19, Perception +25, Sense Motive +25, Spellcraft +20, Stealth +14, Swim +29; Racial Modifiers +8 Swim Languages Aquan, Common, Draconic, Elven, Gnome SQ empathic link, change shape (animal or humanoid, polymorph), share spells, water breathing, wave mastery (40 mins) Gear +2 studded leather barding, amulet of mighty fists +2, belt of physical perfection +2, cloak of resistance +2, ring of protection +2 SPECIAL ABILITIES Dragon Senses (Ex) Dragons have darkvision 120 ft. and blindsense 60 ft. They see four times as well as a human in dim light and twice as well in normal light. Frightful Presence (Ex) This special quality makes a dragon’s very presence unsettling to foes. Activating this ability is a free action that is usually part of an attack or charge. This ability affects only opponents with fewer Hit Dice than the dragon’s. An opponent that succeeds on its saving throw is immune to the dragon’s frightful presence for 24 hours. Multiple uses of a dragon’s presence don’t stack. This ability is a mind-affecting aura. Paladin Mount (Ex) Arlakaida cannot command other creatures of its type (bronze dragons) as other kinds of paladin mounts can. Quick Breath Weapon (Ex) Arlakaida is able to unleash her breath weapon and deliver an attack before her opponent is the wiser. On her turn, Arlakaida can choose to use her breath weapon in place of her bite or one of her claw attacks. Repulsion Breath (Su) Instead of a line of electricity, a bronze dragon can breathe a cone of repulsion gas. Targets must make a Will save or be compelled to do nothing but move away from the dragon for 1d6 rounds plus 1 round per age category. This is a mind-affecting compulsion effect. Water Breathing (Ex) A bronze dragon breathes water and can use its breath weapon, spells, and abilities underwater. Wave Mastery (Su) For up to 10 minutes per age category per day, a juvenile bronze dragon, along with creatures or vessels within 50 feet, can move at twice its normal speed in water. ------------------------------------------------------------

And that’s everything. I don’t know that I’ll ever have more to add to this particular adventure path, but maybe I will. Just depends on how inspired I get.

In the meantime, I hope everyone who is running or playing “Way of the Wicked” is having a fantastic time.

[wyre-interactive]

Devlog - August 2017

I just can’t do one of these on time can I?

Note: Another change in the way GIFs/GFYs are handled, but this should be the last one. You should be able to now get a high quality .gif version as a preview, but it’s still recommended that you view the GFYCAT version linked under each gif for higher quality playback.

So as you might expect from us being a small indie team struggling to actually release a game, we’ve done a bit more work on the game we didn’t originally intend on doing much work on. A vast majority of the work we’ve done is on our still yet-to-be-named asymmetric FPS. For now we’ll just call it Asymmetry to make things easier. Also that’s always been the code name of the project from the start.

Asymmetry

Where do I even begin with what we’ve done with this game. How about I begin with where I began? With gameplay elements slowly expanding in what I needed to test, it was only obligatory that I made a map for the game. Now keep in mind that while this is definitely a concept for a map, it’s not final at all. Also some of the lighting hasn’t been properly built yet, so ignore the weird dark lines that you might see over some things. The map has been slightly altered as the month has gone on, so sorry if there’s not a huge amount of continuity in that regard.

The map is based in a warehouse, slightly inspired by that one Half-Life Deathmatch map with all the crates.

Here’s the shipping container model I needed to make for the map.

Overhead view. The overhead is shown whilst shit is loading in/inbetween rounds.

Also, as networking became more complex, it became obvious that I needed a menu to make everything work. I want to make sure it’s not like some games where you start a server and there’s a dice roll whether it’ll actually work or not, and I want to use a server browser as the main method of finding a server, but at the same time, I don’t want switching from a matchmaking system to a server browser too daunting.

I have a concept for the background which I’ll leave until later because it’s not super important, but for now, this is what it looks like;

Yes, we have a donation button in the top right at the moment, I’ll get to that in a bit.

Here’s the server browser system (this is a slightly earlier version but it conveys the concept).

(GIFV)

And yes, it goes up to 100 players. I’m not going to make it as encouraged in the final version, as I think 100 players is just going to be stupidly tedious. I’m probably going to have five different match sizes; 6 (tiny), 12 (small), 24 (normal), 32 (large), and 64 (massive), then I’ll have a custom option.

Now, let’s talk buisness model.

At the early release, I’m thinking of making it pay what you want on Game Jolt, with the recommended price being $3, just to cover the server costs (the Patreon should help too, good thing is the more popular it gets, the more people will pay, the more money can go into server costs). Then by full launch, probably on Steam, I’ll make it somwhere between $10-$20, depending on the amount of content by that point. And you might be thinking, “it’s a multiplayer game made in the last 10 years, what about all the cosmetics and shit?”. Well, whether you like it or not, you’re right, that’s probably a necessity. My theory is that people just won’t be able to stay invested in the game without that sort of aspect being involved. Also, with a small number of weapons it’ll become boring, so I’d like it if it got changed up a little. Here’s all you need to know on weapons and skins in the final game:

Firstly, all regular, unskinned weapons will be free and drop normally, and it will be impossible to obtain normal weapons in any other way.

Drop rates will be predictable. Probably something like one match a day.

You won’t be able to get a drop of a weapon you already have.

There will be seasonal weapons and weapons added every now and then, and these will just get added to the drop pool. The idea is that if you’ve played a lot and already have every weapon, you can just play for a few hours and get all the new ones without wasting time.

New players will automatically get an amount of randomly chosen weapons after their first match, the amount depending on how many weapons we have in the game and what feels balanced.

The only 100% confirmed cosmetic idea I have is weapon skins.

I’m also thinking about some other concepts, like “super skins” which would change the entire model, and animation packs to make the animations fit a style you like.

To begin with, we’ll sell the skins at a set price (probably under 60 cents each, because seriously any more than that and it’s getting ridiculous in my opinion).

Eventually, we may open the floodgates for people to sell their skins, etc. on the community market.

Fuck loot crates. I mean who wants to get a theoretical box for you to spend $2.49 on just to maybe get something you might want but probably something shit.

You can ask any questions through any of our contacts, or suggest shit in the same way.

Now, other than that thing, I have been doing/thing about some other things (what was that sentence?)

New reload animations, because they’re always fun;

(GFY)

(GFY)

I also did some work on dual pistols, but it was scrapped because it looked and worked like shit.

Here’s what all the reload animations look like ingame;

(GFY)

Yeah I’ll improve the hud shut up.

Now, I also now know what the base weapons will be in the final product.

On the attackers (the side with lots of people), you’ll have the following;

Pistol (what you’ve seen so far)

Shotgun

Assault Rifle

On the solo side, you’ll have these things;

Dual pistols (twice the ammo + fire rate of the regular pistol)

Double barelled shotgun

SMG (fires twice as fast as the Assault Rifle)

I’ve been thinking of having melee weapons eventually as well. Anyway, these will be in a simple groups. Namely;

Attackers

Pistols

Shotguns

Rifles

Solo

Akimbos

Heavy shotguns

Automatic weapons

These are placeholder names, they’ll probably be better by the time the game’s out. You’ll be able to equip one weapon per group before a match, then you’ll be able to choose what weapon you want each round in a match.

Oh yeah and hit detection works now mostly, but we’ll have two modes to choose from. The easilly-hacked-but-low-latency client side networking, or the difficult-to-hack-but-higher-latency server side networking. With two options, you can play with low latency if you’e playing a match with your friends, but you won’t have to worry about hacking when you’re playing with randoms. Now, for the record, we will try and implement some basic anti cheat on client side mode, like the server will pick up if the player is moving too far in a few seconds than what should be possible, and it’ll check ammo usage, etc, but there’s only so much you can do.

Anyway, moving on from that;

Side quests

Behold! The new section for updates on things that aren’t games, like the website, which just recently got a design update that you can see here! We also fixed some issues with Shift’s site here, so now it uses YouTube to host the video. Now while you’re on the newly updated site, you’ll notice some new buttons. That is all.

I also did some conceptual stuff for the story and mechanics of Overwritten and Reformatted, but that’s not the sort of thing I want to release.

Game Spotlights

Now, because I sometimes want to show off “AAA” games, I’ve renamed this to Game Spotlight(s). I still want to try to always have an indie game. Now, keep in mind indie means indie, not hidden gem. I can’t find a hidden gem every month.

First, an indie FPS by Pixel Titans published by Devolver earlier this year:

STRAFE

This game got slightly mixed reviews at launch, but I think it’s pretty great if you get it. Just leave a GB of space for this little game to play when you’ve got to pass a period of time too long for you to spend playing some casual game or browsing Reddit, but not long enough to spend playing a game for an hour or so. Actually that’s a terrible idea because you can’t save it although if you could it would be perfect for those times.

Next, and I’m not sure if this classifies as a AAA game or an indie game, but fucking hell I haven’t stopped playing it for months. Like months and months.

(Steam)

Killing Floor 2

A bit of an older one but fuck it I didn’t say I was going to provide new games monthly did I? I played a bit of this when it was early in early access (so early) and it wasn’t great. It had balance issues, didn’t have enough perks, was too far from the original, some perks didn’t have very streamlined upgrades (in fact Demolitions still doesn’t really). But now, it’s pretty brilliant. It doesn’t have the unmatched teamplay or combos from the original, but of all the wave based zombie-like-thing shooters on the market at the moment that aren’t dead, this is the best. Yes, better than L4D2. I reckon L4D2 isn’t all that great to be honest but hey.

(Steam)

[Also, not sponsored, but it’s on Humble Monthly this month for $12 along with 5 other unknown games if that suits your fancy]

Also, shout out to the minimalist Chrome theme which I made a while ago, but I never really said much about. I was sick of using darkish themes, so I made my own. Some call it stubborn, I call it Dark.Green. Get it here.

Anyway, that’s it for this month. See you next month, probably late.

Meanwhile I’ll keep playing Killing Floor 2 and stuff. cough cough probably spending money on the Bethesda sale on at the moment cough cough.

Thanks,

Dec_bot

[writeinspiration]

How do you create characters? Or do they come find you and tell you their stories?

I’m afraid it varies! It really depends on thesituation. It feels too pragmatic to sound creative but too creative to soundpragmatic.

On thecreative end, sometimes the characters do come to me. But they usuallyaren’t presenting their stories outright.

In a literal sense, a character idea will pop in my head, soI’ll write up a little about them—the things I feel to be true—and sometimesgive them a piece of flash fiction (or something else short) so I can get afeeling for how they are and if they fit my initial assessment.

I prefer character-driven media, so I focus on what thecharacter is like and figure out what they want. For example, my secondNaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) was a story about a writer. (Wow, yes,I know. So original. Writing about a writer. Yeah.) I didn’t know what thewriter wanted, but I knew what she was like. I knew her base situation as well.If you know their base situation (where they are at the beginning of the storyor slightly prior to it), you can figure out what makes them unhappy about it.

After all, stories are about journeys, whether they are emotional or physicallymoving to a different place or whatever.

My writer character felt like she didn’t have the lifeexperience to be a good writer. Summer comes, and she chooses to take that timeto travel to different places and meet new people. One conflict is that herparents don’t really want her to go, especially by herself, because she wasonly 17 or so.

I evaluated the character (she was an ambitious writer) andcalculated in what she didn’t like about where she was (she was aninexperienced writer). So the plot/story came to me from there: she decides toleave so she can travel and get life experience.

In that sense, they don’t always exactly tell me theirstories. I focused on what made the writer who she was and what kind of growthshe needed to take, not necessarily the growth she wanted.

The idea was that, by the end, she had gained experience butthat she didn’t feel richer for it, so she was going to struggle with trying torealize what she had actually learned by leaving. I never really got there, butthat was the idea.

So I didn’t say to myself, “I have a writer character, and Iwant her to travel.” I said to myself, “I have a concept of a writer who isinexperienced. She wants to travel to get that valuable experience. I guess thestory should be about her travels.”

The story fell flat and unfinished, of course, by virtue ofhow I intended for her to go cross-country when I had not done the same. Itfelt inauthentic, and I bailed. I jammed out some nonsense so I could say I had“won” NaNoWriMo that year.

Mymore pragmatic view on characters is that I have a basic concept(like, very basic, as in “I want to write about a character that worshipsunicorns”) and then go through my personal questionnaires to determine the restof their traits and what they’re like.

Where does this character live (mountains, valley,riverbed, beach, etc.)?

What surrounds their home (what kind of buildings,what landmarks, what roads)?

What is the climate like?

How many moons and suns does that world have?

What is the time period?

What kind of city/town do they live in?

How many people live there? What kinds of people?

What plants (fruit, trees, spices, vegetables,etc.) do they produce?

What animals/wildlife do they have?

What is the character’s role in that place?

Why do they have that role?

What are their goals? Are they happy with theircurrent role?

What is the one thing they most want to change?

What are their hobbies? What interests them?

What is their family like? Any siblings? Parentsalive? What relationships do they have with their family members (MC to father,MC to sister, etc.)? What relationships do the family members have with eachother (mother to father, brother to sister, etc.)?

Do they have any current love interests? What hastheir love life been like?

What are they good at?

Do they have any religious beliefs? If so, whatare they? If not, why?

Do they perform any rituals (religious orotherwise)?

What body type do they have? How do other peopleperceive their appearance?

What is their view on gender roles?

I then check out what I said about their goals androles.

What would they need to do in order to achievetheir goals?

Is it feasible?

Would it be an interesting story? Why or why not?

Who would try to stop them?

What obstacles are in the way (giant wall,overbearing parents, lack of money, education necessities, etc.)?

Why are these goals and roles so important? Whoare they most important to?

After all that, it feels like a good time to startplotting the story out. And it’s straight-forward from there! (Usually.) When Istart plotting, I generally go with a general idea of where things start andwhere things end. Then, I can figure out what would happen in between.

Story-plotting is about way more than waiting forthe right inspiration. Being a writer is about dedication and writing, evenwhen inspiration is nonexistent. But you have to write to find inspiration. Youcan inspire yourself simply by working. You can’t let a blank page let youdown. You have to create stories and not just wait for them to come to you.

Inspiration, though, is awesome. If you getinspired, run with it—with all of your ability, run with it. But you won’t feelinspiration every single day, so you have to learn how to create characters andstories on your own.

I actually have some resources already on my blog. :) Forreasons of convenience, I include them below.

First up: my personal character questionnaire.

http://writeinspiration.tumblr.com/post/109315588144/character-creation-form

Name:

Gender:

Age appears to be:

Appearance (clothing, body type, tattoos,piercings, etc.):

Back story:

Where their story begins in this story:

Theme song:

Strengths:

Weaknesses:

Job(s):

Idea of a perfect day:

Where they’re going:

What would they change about theirself, and why?

What would they change about the world, and why?

Most valuable possession(s):

Favorite food and drink:

Nickname/pet name:

Hobby(ies):

What makes them happy/sad/angry:

Deepest desires:

Secrets:

Regrets:

Something that changed their life forever:

Scars:

Sleep schedule:

Favorite animal(s):

Special features (different forms, type ofimmortality, magical abilities, etc.):

Here are tags you can look at for more stuff:

http://writeinspiration.tumblr.com/search/character+creation

http://writeinspiration.tumblr.com/search/characters

http://writeinspiration.tumblr.com/search/characterization

And here are some specific posts:

30 questions:

http://writeinspiration.tumblr.com/post/136824730334/30-questions-you-should-ask-your-character

Creating a character and writing a bio:

http://writeinspiration.tumblr.com/post/108658856138/character-creation

Character checklist and questions:

http://writeinspiration.tumblr.com/post/107907813164/amandaonwriting-character-checklist

Random orientation, culture, etc.:

http://writeinspiration.tumblr.com/post/104939202901/pasta5284-caesaretluna

Random character traits (includes fears and goals):

http://writeinspiration.tumblr.com/post/92345264047/characterdesigninspiration-quite-a-few-people

Quirks:

http://writeinspiration.tumblr.com/post/81198464535/character-quirks-writing-resource-links

Character flaws and questions:

http://writeinspiration.tumblr.com/post/80791183673/character-flaws

Master list of writing and character resources:

http://writeinspiration.tumblr.com/post/76751560102/acciorpc-here-is-the-masterlist-on-everything

A different master list:

http://writeinspiration.tumblr.com/post/154384599220/writing-helpcharacter-writing-a-bitchy-character

Personality form:

http://writeinspiration.tumblr.com/post/134343377432/your-characters-personality

It gets better.

Clickhere to get a random “Why Aren’t You Writing?” post!

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