#int. stasi

[schakira]

Here are some details. (Balance Patch 2, March 8th 2023)

Double Jump (Can be upgraded to gain additional jumps. Has no limit cap.)

Stamina wheel (Can be upgraded to last longer. Recharges quickly.)

3-slot Inventory (An invisible storage. Their total weight is added to you. Can be upgraded to gain just one more slot.)

No Fall Damage up to 10 times your height. Anything above that will still you damage like normal. (Edit 2: NERFED AGAIN.)

Actually Useful Tips from a side character that is with you 24/7. (Edit: Clarification — They will not be doing anything other than giving you really useful tips.)

5mn long Loading Screen when you travel around so it feels like you're instant travelling (You're not. You're zoning out until your destination. Your body remains in stasis during that period, i.e. you can't get old, hungry, or die.) (works for wait times)

QTE (time slows a bit whenever something critical happens. Gives you more time to think. upgrades will make you slightly faster in slowed-time. Only 2 upgrades available.) (EDIT: BUFFED. A Necessary buff.)

Multiple Dialogue Choices (gives you recommended replies during every interactions you have, with approval ratings in percentages next to them.)

View stats (View the stats of anyone and anything, including yourself. "Stats" include anything that can be measured, something quantifiable. INT and WIS for example do not exist. But the weird stats like the amount of neuron connections one has? yeah sure that shows up.)

Health potion (Instantly heal anything a doctor/surgeon/medicine/time can fix. You only get 4 potions.) (EDIT: Clarification — This does indeed include therapy. What else could be healed, I let you choose at your own discretion, so long as it's not death.)

Skip. (You can force people to skip their dialogues and immediately retain info. If upgraded, will work on practically anything that requires you to wait — as in you can force skip a red light to turn green. Or force skip a book to read it quickly. Does not work on the concept of time itself - That's the loading screen's job.)

Achievments (Ex. : Congrats, you've pooped 100 times in one month! Includes % of humanity having the same achievment. + You gain a plastic/bronze/silver/gold/platinum trophy based on the achievement's rarity.) (Edit: BUFFED — you can sell those trophies!)

[utilitycaster]

Hi! Hope you don’t mind me asking but, I’ve seen you comment about a “fjord moon” theory every so often in your tags, and I’m quite curious what’s it about? I don’t think I’ve ever heard about it, is it something more prevalent in twitter spaces?

It started in Reddit spaces but it had a moment within the fandom at large during Campaign 2, especially after a YouTube video surfaced shortly after the campaign had come back from hiatus in August 2020. It hasn't come up lately since Campaign 3's plot pretty thoroughly debunked it, which wasn't necessary for reasons I will cover below.

I talked about how stupid it was at the time, and will do so again but I don't feel like looking back through my archives to find that post, so: the idea was that Fjord was from Ruidus. I call it a theory because its creators called it a theory but it was really just a lot of incoherent yelling that unfortunately happened to fall into the hands of a prolific and popular but talentless video maker and was boosted by a prolific and popular but deeply stupid figure on CR Twitter.

You can read it here but in short he basis was that Fjord was actually a Spelljammer Space Orc (Scro; yes this is just Orcs backwards; Spelljammer is not exactly the most brilliant of concepts) because he was intelligent and walked upright, ignoring that Spelljammer was, at the time, from D&D 2e only which can generously be described as "wicked racist in the depiction of orcs". Not that 5e is not without its foibles, but it had largely 86-ed the worst of the racism that pervaded earlier orc depictions. Also Garthok pre-dated Fjord and was a half-orc with the same intelligence, but what are facts to an idiot. So anyway this guy working off a deeply racist older concept for orcs spun this into a wild conspiracy theory involving the fact that Travis likes Dragonball Z; something about the film Spaceballs (as far as I know Travis has said absolutely nothing about this, this is just that the Mel Brooks Star Wars parody and my personal childhood favorite Spaceballs exists I think?) and various other random pulls from science fiction media. This guy asked a question at a panel and mistook the cast looking at him like he had lost the plot as a sign he was onto something. Somehow, people listened to him.

Here's the thing about theorycraft. It is more important, in writing a theory, that you base it on evidence than that you get it correct. Any dipshit can guess and any lucky dipshit can guess correctly, but if you show that you can't structure an argument for beans, anyone who can structure an argument for beans will rightfully look at you and say "well, they predicted something once, but that's a fucking fluke because they're a fucking joke." Theories should explain something that needs explanation (Fjord having an INT of 14 and the name Fjord and being an orphan does not). They should not solely rest on things the cast likes or things that merely exist in-world and certainly not from Spaceballs and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the connection of which to Critical Role in that Reddit post is not explained, ever.

To give some examples of good, mediocre, and bad but at least not nearly that bad theorycraft: the theory that Ashton was a meteor that was around early in C3 is in my mind not very good, but at least it fits within Exandria canon and explained something about Ashton needing explanation at the time. The theory that The Emissary is the source of the stasis bubbles is in my mind a very good one explaining several key mysteries (source of stasis bubbles; why Erathis sent him rather than coming himself). The theory that Bor'Dor was a dog was fucking stupid and made no sense nor did it explain anything that needed explanation (and also wildly misjudged how border collies behave) but did at least not say "also, the TV show Lassie...exists in our reality, and this is evidence" The Fjord Moon Theory is maybe the stupidest and worst CR theory I've seen in my entire life, and it's up there for fandom theories over all. I get that it was August 2020 and I don't begrudge people who were very bored and scared from joking about it while not taking it seriously, but I do begrudge those who did take it seriously because like, come on.

Anyway, I bring it up in tags sometimes because many of the worst C3 takes on Twitter that make it to me via "can you fucking believe this" screenshots in the groupchat are either started or propagated by Former Moon Theory People.

[xazz]

Today I went through and updated all my builds that didn't quite cut it. Like I got better armor so stats could be rearranged. Some still are fine as they are but others needed some help. Out here with 80 resilience? In this economy????

Two nightstalker builds, one for MAXIMUM tethers. She needed some help so bad omg. Then my 'Ambulance' build which is maximum invis up time. Even before I updated her I had a nearly 95% invis up time.

Generic ™ Blade Barrage build with better stat rolls jfc. This one needed the most help but since I first made this build I got a better Shards!

Moth Mother build. You wanna make some moths??? Well I can make some fucking moths! I kill myself... so much with this fucking build. Ex Diris is a cruel mistress who loves to blow me the fuck up.

And a Silly Stasis build. I went for As Many Storms As Possible. I just wanna throw shurikens and Silence and Squall and don't wanna think about it. I run a T10 intellect because again: its Silly. I know int is a dump stat but listen; I throw a lot of Kamas uwu

[typosandtea]

from the Fallout OC asks: 21, 32, 58, 64 for Murphy, Tango, and Nathan... or just Murphy if that's too much :o)

HELL YEAH DO I WANT TO WRITE ALL OF THEM!!!

@charliesvarietyhour

Bloody hell this got very long.. Thanks for the ask this has been so great to write! :D

Important things of note or some of this may not make any sense:

Murphy and Nathan and on the same timeline / story, my mutant 111 Au where it was a dual experiment in conjunction with west-tek to create super soldiers by gene editing and splicing. everyone survived the experimentation and subsequent stasis, though by the time Murphy hatches? is born? emerges from chrysalis? some have been killed in stasis by an unknown killer (not Kellogg, though Kellogg still has his role basically unchanged)

Tango is on a different Au timeline also centered around 4, though Tango is NOT sole, Sole in this one is evil institute bastard by the name of Thorn, who did fallout 4 selfish route until fort hagen and then convinced Kellogg to take her to the institute (leaving nick in the dust with scathing words and gunshots, poor nick), she also joins Kellogg as partners / romance / killers and they rule the institute together more aggressively than Father ever did, though Father is very proud of her.

In Tango's timeline there is no one sole as such, Thorn does parts of the institute route but worse. Tango does some brotherhood stuff though they nope out consequences be damned after BB (there are actual consequences unlike in game for disappearing), Preston is the general along with Libby and Slick take some of the minuteman quests, Libby is ~100yo ghoul with a love of explosives and shotguns, and slick is a young ex-gunner with a big mouth they 'recruit' after he sees how awful the gunners are when he is treated better as a MM captive than as an active gunner. Tango occasionally helps minuteman, more so after BB. Railroad is Fixer though he has to be a bit more creative without sole's foot in the door.

Both timelines take place over years rather than the few weeks that 4 does.

21. Do they travel alone or with a companion?

MURPHY

Murphy has the -trauma- privilege of being a fallout 4 'sole' survivor so despite being an obvious mutant, she ends up meeting most of the companions at one point or another! she much prefers to travel with friends since she pretty social and her time in various military groups has cemented the idea that 'alone = less people to spot danger'. though this is kind of an antithesis to her very design as a flying night stealth operative, so what companions she actually travels with is far less than the ones she befriends. she has actively traveled with codsworth in the beginning, and now travels with Nick, Preston and Danse. Though she ends up alone a lot more than she would like as Preston is busy being the general (she does work for them as both normal quests but also as the unwillingly elected 111 mutant ambassador, helping with any 111mutant related drama like finding homes, or dissuading/knocking some sense into/fighting the more aggressive ones) , Danse is #1 bos enemy so it is dangerous for both of them after that happens (she remains bos /minutemen aligned, somehow.. she does have 3 int but also can see that there are good people in the bos.. a real 'i can fix them' mentality -she can't-, its a long while before she realizes just how trapped she is) she still travels with nick frequently but he is often on cases so its usually her helping him not the other way around. the only upside to traveling alone for Murphy is that she is much quicker and stealthy on her own (especially compared to traveling with Danse rip). special mention for Piper since they butt heads a lot until Murphy gets piper to see that how she writes her paper is part of the problem, and that its a style that Murphy has seen before prewar, and shes seen how it ends. Piper doesn't take this perceived slight to her and her paper easily and it takes time and some deadly consequences for Piper to realize that her scare tactics may be having unintended consequences.

TANGO

Before they got unwillingly turned into Tango, they were a tech scavver who would scour old factories and military facilities for parts, components or even whole robots to hack and sell. they always preferred working alone believing that others slowed them down or could be a threat. They had no friends by choice and very few people they sold to, so when then disappeared back then very few people even knew they were gone. They remain of this prickly mindset even after becoming Tango, and its not until many years later when they reach the commonwealth looking for the secret scientists that 'make clones of people', that they are befriended by Preston and they realized that he really is that genuine and that maybe not everyone is Out To Get Them All Of The Time. After rescuing Preston and gang (since Thorn didn't) Tango has a bit of a crisis in realizing that people actually do care about others and that maybe all those people they pushed away in suspicion might have being genuine. The feeling bad about it doesn't stick around for long though, as many of the people they meet shortly after are raiders, scammers or just as suspicious about others as Tango is. For actual companions they befriend Preston (mostly Preston trying to recruit this hot mess of power armored person, friends after tango has the temporary 'I am a suspicious ass' crisis), Piper surprisingly with how secretive Tango is, this was inevitable as Piper spots someone in unique power armor entering DC and they don't do any of the normal merc things? that's a story for sure! Tango doesn't.. have a lot of patience for Pipers questions and will just. leave. Hit da bricks if the conversation goes where Tango doesn't want it to go (about them). Piper never gets her story (Tango doesn't trust her enough to keep her trap shut) But they do become friends and Tango even travels with her for other stories! For someone so secretive Tango is a nosy bastard. Nick as Tango hires him to help them find a way into the institute, Nick is still a bit stung from Thorn's abandonment and attempted murder of him, he wisely encourages -beats some sense into- Tango that contacting the institute for whatever secret purpose will end poorly for them. though Nick is briefly tempted to help for revenge opportunities against Thorn. Nick is also one of the very few people that gets to see Tango unarmored after a case goes bad and the armor is badly damaged in a partial building collapse thanks to a raider with a missile launcher. After they are dissuaded from institute contact, they wander aimlessly and run into Danse at Cambridge, they become wary acquaintances after Tango joins the bos (without realizing how badly they fucked up until the prydwen arrives, they though Danse and co was the 'bos'). They drive each other bonkers, Tango struggles to adjust to structure and having other people rely on them and not being able to do their own thing at any moment, which frustrates both immensely. (so many arguments over rosters.. "But why are we on night patrol? I would rather be sleeping wouldn't you?""It doesn't matter what you want to do knight that's what we have been assigned so that's what we are doing" both internally screaming. also "Where have you been knight!? Its been two days!!!" "Oh I wanted to upgrade my armors shielding :)" "You were suppose to be helping Proctor Quinlan!!"). Danse also takes Tangos refusal to never leave the armor in anyone's presence as a sign they Tango doesn't trust him at all, and Danse has many theories to why (Ghoul? Synth? ashamed of being seen for some reason? hiding from someone? bad BO?) It doesn't occur to him that Tango Can't leave the armor. Tango befriends Curie immediately with an unconscious mindset of half "I also want a human body again" solidarity and half wow she really is just that genuine and trusting, better help her. Tango often lowers their guard (eventually) around genuine people.

NATHAN

(is 111mutant timelines Nate) Nathan is a bit of a weird one since he is a 111mutant like Murphy, but got many more negative effects. While Murphy lost some intelligence and gained even more anxiety, Nathan lost nearly his whole self, and the bit that remains is so smothered under all of the mutant parts that he is not the same as he was. He wanders the wastes alone and out of his mind, hunting and killing as his mutations have left him with nothing but conflicting half-thoughts, feelings and instincts. Unfortunately for Murphy his love for her is turned into animalistic obsession that his now mutant brain translates as kill. So no Nathan doesn't have any companions post war. though pre war he and Murphy were nearly inseparable, and they both enjoyed the company of the squad they were put in when Aus joined the US. (they were both soldiers for the Republic of Aus before it got captured by The Reds, and then US forcefully took the territory with aussie help and willingly absorbed any remaining Aussies, as the land was war-torn . (Note: if you saw one previous posts that I have done that the aussies were treated poorly by the americans, I have since changed my mind)

32. What is their go-to weapon or weapon class?

MURPHY

Her excellent eyesight and aerial capabilities make her a prime sniper! though she isn't able to snipe till she gets some advice on how to modify a certain laser rifle to be lighter and long range, she struggles to use normal firearms because of her extra sensitive hearing so she was limited to a silenced pistol she 'found' (was sneakily given by deacon, she doesn't like taking gifts that she doesn't think she has earned) + earplugs until she was gifted a laser rifle out of pity for helping Danse at arcjet. She requires help for modifications since she is 3 int. She is below average strength and has an extremely limited carry capacity for flying so ultralight mods are essential. no heavy guns for you. prewar she was one of the first power armor 'willing' testers that survived (not unscathed) and their squad became one of the first to be power armored. so she got used to being able to wield very big guns with ease. misses it immensely. (wings mean no power armor). Always has a combat knife on her person, was caught defenseless while sleeping once prewar in anchorage and will never let that happen again, she only was saved by her squad noticing the camp intruder before they could kill her.

TANGO

Is not above using the armor itself as a weapon. has done so multiple times in the past with very gory results, doesn't do it often though as they dislike bloodying the armor cause they are a quite vain about it, as its basically their body now. likes the effectiveness of combat shotguns but doesn't use them often cause of the chance of splatter. so often settles for rifles. has a terrible habit of breaking or losing weapons so tend to pick up and horde them. along with ammo. You go into their secret workshop and its just full of weapons in all stages of repair and enough ammo for each to last a lifetime, scavver habits die hard. Doesn't mind heavy guns but finds carrying them around inconvenient enough to rarely use them. Its pretty hard to holster a minigun, even in power armor. Even though they don't have eyes as such anymore still is not great with pistols, prefers the looking down sights of longarms. Despite living in the armor for many a year by this point, they still get their ass handed to them by Danse in power-armored unarmed combat training, is VERY salty about it.

NATHAN

He is the weapon, a very large semi-aquatic stealthy monster. Though prewar he was a mechanic in the same squad as Murphy, and liked pistols as a backup, particularly .44 caliber. Wasn't ever in the thick of it like Murphy and the other PA operators were, though they came close to when one of the camps in anchorage was nearly invaded! Enjoyed time at the range whether it be hanging out with others, letting off some rage, or genuinely practicing

58. Do they believe in luck? Do they have a good luck charm?

MURPHY

If you ask her, she will say she doesn't believe in such nonsense, or perhaps she will crack a joke about her name and Murphy's law, but deep down she is surely becoming convinced that she has been cursed. she keeps surviving situations that she shouldn't have and every time with terrible prices to pay, how long until the price is too great she wonders, does lady luck treat debtors with kindness? she hopes so. Says she doesn't have a good luck charm, but has a chain separate from her bos holotags she wears under her shirt / suit with a growing collection of things from the 'prices shes had to pay': What was left of her Australian dogtags, Nathans wedding ring along with the empty casing of a .44 bullet, A small painted piece of Danse's t60 armor that was removed in repair for preparation of giving it to another paladin after BB, a warped and burnt piece of ornate metal of some kind, and a miniature plastic white chess pawn.

TANGO

Tango is very suspicious by nature, but also quite prideful thus doesn't believe in good luck as that would detract from their abilities. That mr gutsy in near mint condition they stumbled across before becoming Tango years ago? The many fusion cores they they just seem to trip over everywhere? Always having just enough ammo? all a result of their scavver skills not stupid luck! paradoxically they do believe in bad luck, especially that they became Tango. Though they do somewhat subconsciously know that they have lived far longer as tango that they ever would have if they hadn't stumbled into that particular branch of general atomics .. they weren't making many friends as a scavver but they sure had enemies. has conflicting thoughts on the matter. Doesn't have a good luck charm. doesn't really own much of anything at all tbh. other than scrap hoarding that is.

NATHAN

Believed in luck pre war. prime source of 'murphy's law' jokes. Despite believing in luck doesn't carry a charm of any sort, has a sort of relaxed view on the matter. acknowledges that Murphy has bad luck regularly when she trips over or is the only one splashed by a car on the rainy days. attributes a lot of his own small such occurrences to himself rather than luck though, ie he should have known better than to walk so close to the road on a rainy day, or that was stupid wearing a hat on a windy day even when nobody else lost theirs.

64. How / where do they generally sleep?

i should be asleep lol

MURPHY

Murphy sleeps during the day now, daytime is too bright for her sensitive eyes. so she only ventures outside in the day when absolutely necessary. She didn't really get a choice in the matter, the mutations completely rewired her internal clock ready for night combat operations. an incredibly nervous and anxious person by nature even prewar, she has always struggled with sleeping, she needs to feel safe before she can catch more than a fitful nap. the first few weeks in the new commonwealth are a bit blurry in her memory from lack of sleep haha. She only needs to feel safe, not actually be safe, some of the best sleep of her adult life was in active war zones prewar surrounded by her squad, the one day she stayed in the institute was the most nightmarish ordinary sleep shes ever had, outside of trauma nightmares.

TANGO

Tango doesn't really have a body that needs sleep anymore, though they still require some sleep to give their brain recovery and processing time like normal sleep provides. they will find a out of the way corner in friendly territory and will lock the armor in place so they don't inadvertently fall over. They have definitely gotten what constitutes quiet corners wrong though and have put themselves squarely in the way for hours haha. If they are not somewhere safe they will find somewhere defensible and will catnap until they feel awake enough to continue onward. Tango has been alone for so long that it hadn't occurred to them that when traveling with others that they can take turns keeping watch and sleeping! score another point towards Tango's 'oh shit maybe this whole 'friends' isn't so bad after all' tally.

NATHAN

Deep sleeper, snoring machine. 'who tf brought a chainsaw into the barracks???' type zzzzzz. Can and often used to fall asleep in unlikely places. At the pub. On the 'bird to the drop zone. Waiting for sleep deprived Murphy to figure out how to get baby Shaun into the new car seat that one time ("why are there so many buckles???"). Now as a mutant will camouflage in some mud somewhere secluded, or will find a damp hidey-hole somewhere to curl up. Needs so much sleep postwar, spends most of his time sleeping, which is great for everyone else since when he is not sleeping he is hunting at night.

[thecreaturecodex]

Hadrinnex

Image © Paizo Publishing, accessed at Archives of Nethys here

[One of my closest conversions with PFRPG 2nd edition. Basically, I just adjusted some numbers down to 1e standards. I also changed the default energy and damage types that it was resisting to better fit the image--the default hadrinnex deals bludgeoning damage and is charged with sonic energy, but this image shows it with a piercing arm and much more of a fiery interior.]

Hadrinnex CR 8 NE Aberration This creature is vaguely humanoid, with a metallic carapace weaving and shifting over its luminous thorax. Its arms are shaped like weapons, and only a cluster of eyes indicates which side of its head is the face.

The hadrinnexes are strange creatures that act more as living defense systems than as full fledged organisms. Whoever first created them is unknown, but they obey aberrations with little question, and have been found in the service of the Dominion of the Black, the aboleths, and other rarer entities (such as neogi, mind flayers and zern). They have little ability to think for themselves, but are adept in performing tasks in hazardous environments. A hadrinnex’s body reconfigures to defend itself from both physical and energy damage, and can then release that energy against any threat.

Fighting a hadrinnex is a difficult affair, as the monster will become protected from different damage types as the battle progresses. Once their carapaces are configured, a hadrinnex will usually leave it be, unless it is fighting with multiple enemies dealing multiple damage types. Its energy gland, however, changes rapidly—the hadrinnex can keep a single energy type configured in order to be protected from it and shoot rays of energy, or can vent that energy into either a breath weapon-like cone, or to limn its natural weapons. If multiple hadrinnexes are fighting together, they will often sync energy types so that one can vent it onto enemies that are pinned down in melee by the other.

Although a hadrinnex needs to eat and breathe, it can consume just about any organic matter, and can put itself into a state of hibernation where it is little more than a lifeless mineral. In stasis, the hadrinnexes can be transported underwater or through space.  Entering this stage takes 1 full week, but emerging from it can take as long as two months. Regularly feeding the same type of energy damage into the hadrinnex’s energy gland reduces the transition to 1 week, and constant exposure to powerful energy effects (like leaving it on the Plane of Fire or in an active volcano) reduces this time further to 1 day.

A hadrinnex stands about 9 feet tall. Their limbs can stretch to that length again if the creature is ordered to extend them.

Hadrinnex          CR 8 XP 4,800 NE Large aberration Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Perception +13 Defense AC 22, touch 13, flat-footed 18 (-1 size, +4 Dex, +9 natural) hp 94 (9d8+54) Fort +11, Ref +9, Will +11 DR 15/bludgeoning or slashing; Resist fire 30 Defensive Abilities rapid evolution Offense Speed 40 ft. Melee 2 morphic weapons +12 (1d8+6 piercing/19-20) Ranged energy ray +9 touch (5d6 fire) Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft. Special Abilities vent energy Statistics Str 23, Dex 18, Con 23, Int 4, Wis 17, Cha 4 Feats Combat Reflexes, Great Fortitude, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Lunge (B), Weapon Focus (morphic weapon) Skills Acrobatics +9 (+13 jumping), Climb +10, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +6, Perception +13, Swim +10; Racial Modifiers +4 Knowledge (dungeoneering), +4 Perception Languages Aklo, touch telepathy Ecology Environment any land or underground Organization solitary, pair or patrol (3-6) Treasure none Special Abilities Energy Ray (Su) As a standard action, a hadrinnex can fire energy as a ranged touch attack with 120 foot range and no range increment. A creature struck takes 5d6 points of damage of the type that the hadrinnex’s rapid evolution is attuned to. Morphic Weapons (Ex) A hadrinnex’s morphic weapons are treated as primary natural weapons that deal bludgeoning, slashing or piercing damage, as determined by the hadrinnex’s rapid evolution. When the hadrinnex deals bludgeoning damage, its morphic weapons gain the push universal monster ability (5 ft.). When it deals slashing damage, its morphic weapons gain the trip universal monster ability. When it deals piercing damage, its morphic weapons threaten a critical hit on a roll of 19-20. Rapid Evolution (Ex) As an immediate action once per round, a hadrinnex can reconfigure its defenses to its current situation. It can change its husk or its energy gland, each with the following effects: Husk: The hadrinnex gains DR 15 against one type of physical damage (bludgeoning, slashing or piercing). Its morphic weapons configure to deal the type of damage it resists. By removing its DR, it can replace its morphic weapons with hands with prehensile thumbs. Energy Gland: The hadrinnex gains energy resistance 30 against one of the following energy types—acid, cold, electricity, fire, force, negative, sonic. Its energy ray deals that type of damage.

A hadrinnex can only configure either its husk or gland to protect against a type of damage that the hadrinnex has taken in the last round. Once configured, the husk remains in that shape until the hadrinnex configures it again. Once configured, the energy gland remains charged with that energy until the hadrinnex uses its vent energy ability, or until it reconfigures its gland. Touch Telepathy (Su) A hadrinnex can telepathically communicate with any creature that has a language, as long as it is touching that creature. Vent Energy (Su) A hadrinnex can vent its energy gland as a standard action once every 1d4 rounds, having one of the two following effects: Blast: The hadrinnex creates a 30 foot cone that deals 8d6 damage of the appropriate energy type (Reflex DC 20). Charge: The hadrinnex’s morphic weapons deal +2d6 damage of that energy type for the next minute. Once it has vented its energy gland, the hadrinnex loses all energy resistance conveyed by its gland. It can gain the same resistance, or a different type, using its rapid evolution ability. If a hadrinnex’s weapons are charged with an energy type, using vent energy again to charge its weapons replaces the energy type they deal.

[the-mic-drop]

Building Zelda in BG3- Wizard

So now we've got a more fitting build, even if we can't give her dope Dragon scales.

Link's Fighter build is next.

The Silent Scientist

Background

Race: Elf (High Elf)

Background: Sage

High Elf Cantrip: Ray of Frost

Abilities

Strength: 8 (-1)

Dexterity: 10 (0)

Constitution: 10 (0)

Intelligence: 17 (+3)

Wisdom: 16 (+3)

Charisma: 13 (+1)

Class & Levels

Class: Wizard

Proficiencies: Religion, Investigation

Cantrips: Shocking Grasp, Light, Blade Ward

Spells: Thunderwave, Witch Bolt, Shield, Mage Armor, Feather Fall, Sleep

The distinct difference between Wizard and Sorcerer is that a Wizard learns two spells every level and can learn new spells from magic scrolls you find throughout the world. You still have a limited number of spells you can have prepared at any given time, but it still gives you more options than a Sorcerer. Which for our purposes, means choosing spells isn't quite as important, so I'll just show what spells are most appropriate for Zelda to be able to use.

Level 2

School: Divination

Spells: Longstrider, Enhance Leap

Divination makes sense because of all the prophecy and time hijinks going on with Zelda. Plus having those portent dice in your back pocket is very useful.

Level 3

Spells: Flaming Sphere, Gust of Wind (Daruk+Revali)

Level 4

Cantrip: Mage Hand (For efficient research)

Spells: Hold Person, Magic Weapon (Stasis Rune+Charging the Master Sword)

Feat: Ability Improvement (+2 Intelligence)

For the ability improvement, same deal except Wizards use Int for their spellcasting modifier. Plus Auntie Ethel's boon might be a bit trickier to get, but still worth it.

Level 5

Spells: Slow, Remove Curse (Sage of Time+Healing Gloom)

Level 6

Spells: Lightning Bolt, Glyph of Warding (Urbosa+Calamity Wrangler)

Level 7

Spells: Fire Shield, Ice Storm (Daruk+Naydra)

Level 8

Spells: Feign Death, Misty Step (Slumber of Restoration+Teleportation Rune)

Feat: War Caster

Level 9

Spells: Hold Monster, Telekinesis (Calamity Wrangler+Magnesis Rune)

Level 10

Cantrip: Dancing Lights/Friends

Spells: Banishment, Stone Skin (Traditional Zelda ability+Daruk)

Level 11

Spells: Sunbeam, Chain Lightning (Divine Power+Urbosa)

Level 12

Spells: Globe of Invulnerability, Cone of Cold (Divine Shield+Naydra)

Feat: Spell Sniper/Polearm Master/Resilience- Charisma/Mobile

If you do choose Spell Sniper, I think Sacred Flame is the most fitting choice of Cantrip to go with it.

Not as much to say about this, it's just about kitting her out well, but that's more in-depth than I'd like to go.

[shallowseeker]

Sam and Dean are grieving the loss of Mary, Jack, and Rowena very differently in 15x06 Golden Time.

Sam is throwing himself into the mission and rushing to rekindle the thing with Eileen. Dean, on the other hand...is stuck.

DEAN IN STASIS

INT. MEN OF LETTERS - KITCHEN - NIGHT

ONE: Dean is eating Jack-type cereal. The lack of Jack mentions are LOUD, y'all. Jack's death too painful to mention, much less face. That's why Dean will later default to talking about Bel as "code" for Jack.

When Cas died, Dean ate PB&J, and when [OMITTED] died, Dean ate cereal. Cocoa Crunch. That's a Jack-coded cereal in the script, as Jack was shown eating Crunch Cookie Crunch last season.

TWO, wow--that is one SERIOUSLY DEPRESSED man. Sam is taken aback by just how depressed and downtrodden Dean is beneath his barbed jokes. //

SAM, INCENSED

Sam is soooo frustrated and mad about it. Here Sam is, working SO hard, and Dean's given up. (Not to mention, Cas is giving Sam the silent treatment by proxy. Poor Sam, really.)

Dean's not allowed to give up. He won't. He can't. Per season 15's The Trap, that's not the Dean who raised Sam.

///

Dean doesn't rise to Sam's irritation, not even a little bit:

Not vindicated, just deflated.

So, Dean goes back to stress-eating and watching his stasis-oriented comfort series to escape it all. Dean plays up the act, eating messily.

///

Cas is...who knows where he is.

(fatalistic)

What is a fatalistic person? A fatalist is someone who feels that no matter what he or she does, the outcome will be the same because it's predetermined. Fatalists share a sense of being powerless to change the world. In philosophy, a fatalist is someone who holds specific beliefs about life, destiny, and the future.

Chuck is hostile. Dean's life is a hoax. Mary is dead. Jack is dead. The future is dead. Cas is dead to him. Cas left him. There's nothing left for Dean to have faith in anymore.

There is no future.

Sam can't deal with a fatalistic Dean, so he goes for a run. Dean grabs more cereal and continue la wallowing in despair.

///

Meanwhile, Cas is finding a sense of renewed resolution

Dean may be fatalistic, but Cas becomes resolved to stand and fight Chuck.

(Cas has become seriously strong-willed over the course of the series. I'm so proud of him!)

The nice thing here is that Cas has BEEN fatalistic before, too. He was there in seasons 7-8, you know?

(In a way, Dean's where Cas himself was then! If Moriah-Dean is season 4-Cas, then Golden Time-Dean is easily a season 7-Cas.)

Anyway, because he's already weather existential crises and rebellion, Cas is better positioned to process, and he does.

(Sam, too, went through bouts of fatalism and despair, notably when he went AWOL on Kevin, "You're well and truly alone," etc, and purely driven by the need to escape, and then took on the Hell trials.)

Here, they're all suffering from the existential wound of Chuck and the loss of meaning in their lives, even Cas.

///

And Cas realizes something about Chuck's game, a resounding gong against his past escapism:

///

Off Cas, finally resolved.

///

DEAN SPIRALLING

Cut back to Dean. Self-defeated:

15x06 Golden Time

It is not until Dean meets up with his dark mirror in Lee in 15x07 Last Call that his will to fight returns.

It's no accident that Lee bears some resemblance to the Dean in AU Michael's Nihilism world. Dean had some contentment (not true happiness) in the falseness of Rocky's Bar, for sure, but it existed primarily as a means of fleeing the storm that was raging outside.

It was an anorexic happiness, a contented world of potential with no risks.

Lee is like the ghost of Christmas Future, and Dean finally rejects becoming his worst self.

(All scripts here.) via @spnscripthunt

[nkukubean]

Deimanté Evergreen

Species: Shadow Genasi (Frost-Tainted) -homebrew below- Class: Barbarian (Ancestral Guardian) Pronouns/Gender: he/him Age: late 30s, but he's not sure anymore Height: 6'1"

STATS:  Lvl 7 Caravan Specialist AC: 17 STR: 18 DEX: 17 CON: 18 INT: 13 WIS: 13 CHA: 8

NOTES:

Vessel for the Goddess of Life, Death, and Prophecy

Backstory:

Deimanté's clan was frozen by the "Ice Queen" and the "Ice Prince" during the transition of a new pantheon. The two new gods wished to obliterate any trace of the previous era. With Deimanté's previous god, the Frost Giant, now dead, he prayed to any god willing to answer as his family fled the north. Right before the "flash freeze", the new Goddess of Life & Death & Prophecy (Onera) promised him that he and his son would live. Aaaand he got frozen anyway... but he woke up 500 years later alive. His son is still frozen. He is now apart of a group called the Unseen. They seek to kill the corrupt gods vigilante style, and so far, they've succeeded.

Other Notes: The first image was created before his reference sheet, so the colors may not be accurate.

Homebrew:

Frost-Tainted Shadow Genasi

One with the Darkness

You're body has an affinity for smoke and shadow, and they stay with you when they can. You have advantage on Stealth checks in dark or smoky areas.

Superior Darkvision

You can see in dim light within 120 feet of you as if it were bright light, and darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Cryo Stasis

Instead of sleeping, your body enters a stasis for 4 hours a day, in which all bodily functions are diverted to repair. After resting in this way, you gain the same benefit a human would from 8 hours of sleep.

Cold Resistance

You have resistance to cold damage.

Howl of the Blizzard

You know the Ray of Frost cantrip. Starting at 3rd level, you can cast the Armor of Agathys spell with this trait, without requiring a material component. Starting at 5th level, you can also cast the Rime's Binding Ice spell with this trait, without requiring a material component. Once you cast Armor of Agathys or Rime's Binding Ice with this trait, you can’t cast that spell with it again until you finish a long rest. You can also cast either of those spells using any spell slots you have of the appropriate level. As a Genasi, Constitution is your spellcasting ability for these spells when you cast them with this trait.

NOTES:

Deimanté has lost the abilities of a normal Shadow Genasi due to his magic being altered—or "tainted".

Shadow Genasi, similar to other genasi, embody their element. Extreme emotion can cause their elements to act erratically (ex. fire genasi's hair or veins burning hotter or brighter). As such, Shadow Genasi bodies can involuntarily cast a magical darkness around them, shadows and smoke might flicker from their body, or their shadow/shadows around them might become distorted and move in unnatural ways.

Dreams of Lurus (result of being a god's vessel)

While you are unconscious, you sometimes have visions of the future. When you are asleep, you can choose to roll a 1d100. If the total is equal to 5x your level or lower, you have a vision of the future. The DM may choose to reveal a piece of information that you wouldn’t know at the current time like: “An army is invading the city you are in in the next 5 days”, or, “You will eat a nice meal at the local restaurant today”. If you roll a 100, you have a nightmare, that may effect you in some way the next day, at DM's discretion

[paperanddice]

A bythos is a towering figure of mist, with a rough, four armed humanoid shape and a swirling pattern like a great eye on its torso. Despite its apparent composition, it's body is completely solid and in fact has the consistency and texture of dry stone. They are mysterious creatures that hunt the planes and worlds for those who abuse planar and time travel, another emotionless multiversal repair being like the akhana.

As with that other creature, the bythos communicates through singular psychic images, often confusing and terrifying those it seeks to interrogate. They lack the ability to travel through time themselves, and beings or items capable of time travel are exceptionally rare, so the majority of their time is spent hunting for damage to planar boundaries. While over a great time the bythos can channel its energy into repairing this damage, stabilizing ares of planar overlap or leaking gates, its more common solution is to simply destroy the person responsible for it, or failing that, lock them in stasis. It uses this stasis as a last effort, if it is apparent that it's unlikely to be able to defeat its target conventionally, and then the bythos attempts to flee to ensure the stasis remains until such a time that it can figure out a method of destroying the threat.

Originally from the Pathfinder Bestiary 2. This post came out a week ago on my Patreon. If you want to get access to all my monster conversions early, as well as access to my premade adventures and other material I’m working on, consider backing me there!

5th Edition

Bythos Large celestial (aeon), true neutral Armor Class 18 (natural armor) Hit Points 231 (22d10 + 110) Speed 0 ft., fly 40 ft. (hover) Str 22 (+6) Dex 19 (+4) Con 21 (+5) Int 22 (+6) Wis 24 (+7) Cha 21 (+5) Saving Throws Con +10, Wis +12, Cha +10 Skills Arcana +11, Insight +12, Nature +11, Perception +12, Religion +11, Stealth +9 Damage Immunities cold, poison Damage Resistances fire, lightning, bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks Condition Immunities poisoned, prone Senses blindsight 60 ft., darkvision 90 ft., passive Perception 22 Languages envisaging Challenge 16 (15000 XP) Confusion Gaze. When a creature that can see the bythos starts its turn within 30 feet of the bythos, the bythos can magically force it to make a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw, unless the bythos is incapacitated. On a failed save, the creature can't take reactions and rolls a d10 to determine what it does for the next 1d4 rounds. On a 1, the creature does nothing. On a 2-6, the creature uses all its movement to move in a random direction. On a 7-8, the creature uses its action to make a melee attack against a randomly determined creature within its reach. If there is no creature within its reach, the creature does nothing this turn. On a 9-10, the creature can act and move normally. Unless surprised, a creature can avert its eyes to avoid the saving throw at the start of its turn. If the creature does so, it can't see the bythos until the start of its next turn, when it can avert its eyes again. If the creature lookas at the bythos in the meantime, it must immediately make the save. Envisaging. The bythos communicates through a form of telepathy, nearly incomprehensible to non-aeons. It sends psychic projections of a single concept with a combination of visual and aural stimulation, and expects the target to interpret the meaning it intended. This otherwise functions like telepathy. Extension Of All. The bythos has advantage on Arcana, Nature, and Religion checks. It can also communicate telepathically with any aeon on the same plane as it, and can send empathetic messages to aeons on other planes of existence. Regeneration. The bythos regains 10 hit points at the start of its turn if it has at least 1 hit point. Actions Multiattack. The bythos makes four Slam attacks. If two of these attacks hit the same creature, it must succeed on a DC 18 Constitution saving throw or age 2d20 years. The aging effect can be reversed with a greater restoration spell. Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d6+6) bludgeoning damage plus 10 (3d6) cold damage. Temporal Strike. The bythos can target a creature or Huge or smaller object within 10 feet of it. The target must succeed on a DC 18 Charisma saving throw or it disappears from the present moment and reappears in the same space 1d4 rounds later at the end of the bythos' turn as if no time had passed. If a creature or object occupies that space, the creature appears in the closest unoccupied space to the original location. Spellcasting. The bythos casts one of the following spells, requiring no material components, and using Wisdom as the spellcasting ability (spell save DC 20): At will: augury, slow, teleport 3/day each: haste, plane shift 1/day: imprisonment (when the bythos casts imprisonment, it traps the target in a form of temporal stasis. The target is frozen in place and can't be harmed or affected by any spell or effect. If the bythos is destroyed or casts imprisonment on a second creature, the imprisoned creature is immediately freed)

13th Age

Bythos  Large 8th level spoiler [celestial]  Initiative: +12 Aging Strike +13 vs. AC (2 attacks) - 25 damage plus 10 cold damage. Natural 16+: The target is vulnerable to all damage (save ends) as it suddenly ages 1d10 years. Natural 18+: The target also can’t add the escalation die to its attacks while it’s vulnerable. Dual Hits: If both attacks hit during the same turn, the bythos can make a temporal strike attack as a free action against a target it hit this turn. [Special Trigger] Temporal Strike +13 vs. PD - The target is pushed ahead in time. It is removed from the battlefield. At the start of each of the target’s turns, it rolls a hard save (16+). On a success, it reappears in the spot it disappeared from. On a failure, it gains a cumulative +5 bonus to saves against this effect. C: Confusion Gaze +13 vs. MD (1d3 nearby enemies) - The target is dazed (save ends). First Failed Save: The target is instead weakened (save ends). Second Failed Save: The target is instead confused (save ends). Quick Use: This attack only requires a quick action (once per round) when the escalation die is even. Stasis Lock +13 vs. PD - The target is trapped in a temporal stasis. Nothing can harm or affect it in any way, until a specific event chosen by the bythos is completed. This event must be reasonable, but the bythos doesn’t communicate it to any creature, requiring powerful rituals to decipher. If the bythos uses this attack against another creature, or is destroyed, the effect immediately ends. Limited Use: The bythos can only make this attack when the escalation die is 6. Flight. Resist Cold 16+. AC 23 PD 19 MD 22 HP 290

[a-drop-of-nightshade]

Lost had been told not to use his hoverboard int too public places, and most of all not to use the dynamic boost he had re-engineered from stasis, but when he found out his mom got caught by his great grandfather he had hit Alice and Skull with stasis and been out the door and taking off before anyone could even stop him. He had his bat strapped to his back as he just flew and then he hit the dynamic boost and all he was was a blue blur of light as he flew to his grandfathers estates in record time.

He could feel the shadows creeping closer, reaching, wanting him to give into his rage but then his eyes glowed like flames and he held up a hand, a plain silver metal cuff melted off his wrist as he circled the estate and it took the form of a blank mask with a blue star on its forehead. He used it to cover his face and just like Cin taught him he stoked his magic inside him to protect himself from the shadows.

@izzyfromdeadspace

[this-should-do]

Sorry I really wanted to ask this-

Shephard Swap AU? (Mitchell is put in infinite stasis, Adrian ends up Abluquerque for the HDTF story, their experiences in Black Mesa are kept completely the same)

I wanted to ask, what *you* think would happen/change because of this, seeing as this type of AU really fully hinges on your own interpretation of Adrian Shephard.

Ya know if you want something to ponder about..

Bro i fucking Love pondering shit so absolutely do not apologize for askin this, cuz its a real thinker and i spent like 3 or so hours straight writing it lmao it could be better but this is a first draft and im not editting it cuz im lazy

So obviously, this is already a challenge because the plot of hdtf is just,,,, one of the plots of all time. its contrived and relies on A Lot of asumptions and a mischarcterization/understanding of gman and how and why he does what he does. granted we dont know much about gman but the gman in hdtf is just strange? i guess, hes definately far more hands on than valve writes him, but also im realizing that gman is far mroe hands on in adrians story, actively helping him (something he doesnt do for gordon and barney is just not even on his radar), so i guess it sorta makes sense that adiran and mitch have theri stories intertwine like they do, might even be a part of the reason that berken tied them together like that since gman play such a pivotla role in mitchs story (i doubt it honestly but we can give him this for funsies)

so assuming were all familiar with the plots of both hdtf and opfor wers gonna start with why ours boys are getting switched

so in hdtf, gman has mitch on standby getting power to that he can be a distraction in the future at some point so gordon has an easier time to do things?? (even tho the point in time hes a distraction is when the combine literally cant get to gordon becuz hes in a week long teleport but whatever) all becuz he said sum funnywords? but also the perpetual prescence of gman in the flashbacks implies that mitch has been a fascination of gmans for quite some time,,,, weird

so what were gonna do is apply that fascination to adiran in the first place as well, and adiran who already did a buncha cool shit (which mitch did not do which makes him lame to gman) is gonna be gmans backup for if gordon needs help in the future (i say if becuz im interpreting gmans time onicience as a 'he can only guess which path this universe is gonna go down', cuz his dialogue about him having to convince his employers that alyx is gonan be worth it, and with hla the him we see is a him from the future ona particular path changing things up on purpose)

but plot twist gman didnt really want him doing all that shit becuz it fucks with his plans so he brings adam back (int he hev suit not for deception purposes but to make sure that he stays alive long enough to adrian who has had no prob killing entire groups of blackops and adam got his ass handed to him already by mitch) to kill adrian with the promise of killing Corporal Shephard (intended to be adrian), but adam ends up killing the shephard he wanted to (mitch) and gmans like fuck damn okay not what i wanted but i guess you did what i asked you to, but anyways next assignment you gotta help the important shephard stay alive, (gman makes mitch deadnt as insurance to make sure adrian stays in line later down the line or whatever, honestly he doesnt need mitch alive but this is what ive got in terms of putting mitch in stasis)

so at this point adrian gets a deal with gman to be allowed to make it out of black mesa becuz hes so poggers its be sad to see a life wasted, hes just gonna owe gman a favor later

so act1 plays out much the same wiht adrian at the helm, he wakes up in the hospital, meets up with nick and is sent on his way to find colonel cue, meets up with adam who has been sent there to make sure adrian doesnt start blabbing to people about what they saw in bm (but also secretly to ensure that adrian hates freeman cuz he would def know what happened to mitch when adrian mentions/ asks after him, and adams gonan for sure lie to cover his ass and be able to do his "job", this causes adrian to say sumthign along the lines of "goddam, sunovabitch i shoulda killed that orange cremesicle lookin ass when i had the chance" thus keeping eveything setting up for the whole name of the game) cuz that was one of gmans concerns about letting adrian go in the first place, which still confuses me cuz lots of people knew stuff in black mesa and got out just fine but also whatever. and from here it really doesnt change at all, adrian eventually ends up captain of the avalon vale, and off they sail

so now act2, also goes p similarly, adrians been on a warpath fucking up combine cuz damn, another overwhelming set of aliens to kill, better get to it, so now hes off teh go fuck up the "weapons" factory up in alaska, turns out its a bunch of slave children making the worlds first cremators all being headed by headdipshit boris. now adrian does not like this, he instead of talking to boris just straight up shoots him, like "fucka you, u suck", takes the kids (including sasha) and proceeds to destroy the entire facility back in line with mitchs descion making.

now act3,,,, is a doozy,,, cuz adrian is a far different man than his brother (frankly they wouldnt even call himself a man, he is nobiney lmao) so when gman shows up and tries to prey on his dislike of freeman for killing mitch to get him to kill freeman, adrian is older and obviously less intent on killing some guy that is not combine, even if he doesnt like the bitch, so gman pulls out the old "well fun fact, i can bring u rbrother back if u kill freeman" (this is valid cuz its int eh same vein as hla ending) so adrian is like ",,,,fine" so he sets off, however he doesnt team up with the combine on this one, cuz he really, really doesnt like the combine and also doesnt have a weird edgelord "well wed do the same thing as them if we could" thing going on that i guess would lend him to being willing to team up with them like mitch does

so now adrians off to kill freeman, but this time teams up with the resistance to get a chance at getting close to gordon, by earnign thier trust, cuz chances are if theyve been killing combine for 20 years, theyre gonna hve come in contact witht hem at some point, this also functions as bolstering the reisitances numbers, helping meet the distract the combine from gordon quota that adrians is meant to serve, to do this he eventually gets sent to bmeast to meet up with eli to discuss numbers and shit or whatever, which places him near gordon but is just a near miss as they arrive right around the time of the combines raid, so adirans gets a chance in the confusion to go after gordon without looking sus and immediatley being blamed for killing gordon.

this sets off a similar chain of events to og hdtf, goes thru ravenholm, galavants across the countryside, gets to those rebel outposts or whatever and gets info under the guise of helping gordon so they tell him where to go, eventually makes his way to nova prospekt, is too late to get to gordon but is there fast enough to kill neoguh combine to ensure gordon adn alyx can get into the teleporter (ie making gordons way easier), so now hes gotta fight his way out, still ends up washing out into the ocean, but instead of being captured by rebels hes saved by them, he wakes up in that prison theyre holed up in, and goes to send a message to adam and nick cuz he misses his besties (adrian does not end up making it a polycule, but adam and nick still date) and wants to meet up with them again to regroup cuz adrian is fucked up to the most after all of that. (i am not having gman show up to plot explain shit to adrian cuz i think thats stupid)

now at this point adam is looking at adrian and is like, damn this is all my fault that hes gone on this suicide mission to kill a guy who didnt even do the crime, and this time round adam is going to be the bigger man and say "hey man, i was the one who killed ur brother, u dont gotta be fighting two wars at once" this causes adrian to just fucking loose it honestly, damn near kills adam but thankfully nick is there to buffer, and once seperated adrian just sobs, and this time adam and adrian get to talk shit out, adam also kinda says that he saw gman take mitchs body so he might still have him somewhere, so now were like wait shid is mitch still somewhere, this eventually si confirmed by the vortigaunts who can see that oh yeah these bitches have been fucked with by gman also ur brothers alive and gmans got him in his clutches

so since adrian technically did his job gmans not gonna come after him all that much, specially since adrians gonna continue to fight with the resistance to help freeman so hes doing overtime at this point

so eventually he still goes to borealis, but this time in a timely manner since he finds out about it thru the resistance, using the avalon vale, but also with an ulterior motive to a) kill that sunuvabitch gman and b) get mitch back adn thats the end of the game !

honestly, it would make more sense to not have gman force adrian to kill freeman but i decided to keep it that way so that its still hdtf, but honestly, it seems more likely with adrian there that gman would tell adrian to go help out the resistance, but we can write that option off as gman being a messy bitch lmao

[justicegundam82]

D&D 3.5 to PF1e Conversion: Beholderkin, Overseer

In the end, I was able to get back to my conversions, and right now, I'm converting one of my fave aberrations ever! This has been quite an undertaking, since it's my highest-CR creation yet (though of course, I plan on taking on much greater ones). I've tried to be consistent and balanced with the power level, but I'm still not sure if I managed it. It doesn't help that there aren't many CR 17 Aberrations around - and I must thank the Creature Codex for their hard work and for providing me some examples to confront my own work with. Of course, suggestions and constructive criticism are always welcome.

And as always, I hope you enjoy.

P.S.: If you're looking for conversions of the Beholder, both the Creature Codex and the Creature Chronicle blogs have some excellent ones.

BEHOLDERKIN, OVERSEER

Image (c) Wizards of the Coast, author C. Fix

This horror resembles a black tree made of rubbery, pulsating flesh. Each of its branches ends in a single unblinking eye, and three fanged maws yawn open on the creature’s trunk. It propels itself forward by crawling on several root-like tentacles.

OVERSEER                       CR 17

XP 102’400

LE Huge Aberration (beholderkin)

Init +6; Senses; all-around vision, darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +31

DEFENSE

AC 31, touch 10, flat-footed 29 (+6 armor, +2 Dex, +15 natural, -2 size)

hp 297 (22d8+198)

Fort +18, Ref +9, Will +19

Damage Reduction 5 / - (see below); Spell Resistance 28

OFFENSE

Speed 10 ft.; air walk

Melee 3 bites +24 (2d8+11), 4 tentacles +22 (1d8+5 plus grab)

Ranged 4 eye rays +14 touch (spell effect)

Space 15 ft.; Reach 15 ft. (20 ft. with tentacles)

Special Attacks command beholder, constrict (tentacle, 1d8+5), eye rays

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 17th, concentration +24, +28 when casting defensively)

At will - air walk, crushing despair (DC 21), hold monster (DC 22), magic missile, scorching ray, ray of enfeeblement (DC 18), ray of sickening (DC 18), suggestion (DC 20), telekinesis (DC 22)

3 / day - chain lightning (DC 23), dominate person (DC 22), empowered scorching ray, freezing sphere (DC 23), greater dispel magic, major creation, quickened magic missile, ray of exhaustion (DC 20)

1 / day - polar ray, temporal stasis (DC 25)

STATISTICS

Str 33, Dex 15, Con 28, Int 24, Wis 22, Cha 25

Base Atk +15; CMB +27 (+29 disarm, +31 grab); CMD 44 (46 vs. disarm)

Feats Alertness (B), Combat Casting, Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes, Defensive Combat Training, Empower Spell-Like Ability, Great Fortitude, Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Improved Vital Strike, Multiattack, Power Attack, Quicken Spell-Like Ability, Vital Strike

Skills Acrobatics +21, Bluff +25, Climb +21, Intimidate +26, Knowledge (arcana) +24, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +27, Knowledge (any two) +20, Knowledge (planes) +24, Linguistics +12, Perception +31, Sense Motive +24, Spellcraft +24, Stealth +15 (+23 with fungal armor), Survival +24, Use Magic Device +24; Racial Modifiers +4 Perception, +8 Stealth with fungal armor 

Languages Aklo, Beholder, Common, Draconic, Infernal, Undercommon

Special Qualities fungal armor, reactive spell immunity, reactive spell turning

ECOLOGY

Environment cold hills or mountains

Organization solitary, pair or grove (2-4 plus 3-6 beholders and 3-6 director beholderkin)

Treasure double standard

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Command Beholder (Su): An overseer can use dominate monster at will as a spell-like ability (caster level 17th), but only against beholders and creatures with the beholderkin subtype. Any such creature can resist this effect with a Will saving throw (DC 28). The save DC is Charisma-based. This is the equivalent of a 9th-level spell. Hive mothers and other overseers are immune to this ability.

The maximum number of beholders and beholderkin an overseer can command at one time equals half its Hit Dice plus its Charisma modifier. Thus, the average overseer can command up to 18 beholders or beholderkin at a time.

If an overseer loses control of a dominated beholder (as is the case if a dominated beholder is in the antimagic cone of another beholder), the overseer can immediately sense the loss of control and knows the position and distance to the beholder at the time control was lost. If control does not return within a few rounds, the overseer seeks out the rogue beholder to investigate and possibly punish it.

Eye Rays (Su): An overseer uses its spell-like abilities by producing magical rays from the eyeballs on its branch-like limbs. Each round, as a standard action, it may use up to 4 of its spell-like abilities within the set limits of uses per day.  Treat these as ranged touch attacks with a range of 180 feet and no range increment. An overseer may not use the same spell-like ability two rounds in a row, and may not use the same spell-like ability with more than a single eye in a given round. Typically, an overseer uses three eye rays,  leaving it with the option to use either its reactive spell turning or reactive spell immunity (see below) as needed.

Fungal Armor (Ex): A layer of thick, wiry fungus grows on an overseer's body. This provides the overseer with a +6 armor bonus to its Armor Class and gives the overseer a damage reduction of 5/- and a +8 circumstance bonus to Stealth checks as the fungus changes hue to match its surroundings (already figured in the above statistics). Fungal armor has no maximum Dexterity bonus, no armor check penalty and no arcane spell failure chance, and does not reduce the overseer's speed. However, the fungus is vulnerable to extreme temperatures. If an overseer ever fails a saving throw against a fire or cold effect that deals hit point damage, it must make a Fortitude save against the same DC of the attack it was hit with. Failing this Fortitude save means that enough of the fungus has been scoured away from the overseer's body that the overseer loses the benefits of its fungal armor for 1 hour - at which point the fungus has regenerated enough that the benefits are active again. Diminish plants also suppresses the overseer's fungal armor for 1d3 rounds, with no saving throw.

Reactive Spell Immunity (Su): Once per round as an immediate action, an overseer can use one of its eye rays to negate a single spell that affects it as the spell is being cast. The overseer must successfully hit the creature that cast the spell in question with a ranged touch attack; if successful, it is immune to that casting of that particular spell. Otherwise, the spell affects the overseer normally (though the overseer is still allowed a saving throw and/or spell resistance if applicable). If the spell influenced by this ability affects multiple targets or an area, it affects any other targets or the area normally, but the overseer remains immune to its effect. An overseer may not use this ability if it is considered flat-footed against the source of the spell, and may not use it in the same round as its reactive spell turning ability.

Reactive Spell Turning (Su): Once per round as an immediate action, an overseer can use one of its eye rays to reflect a single-target spell that targets the overseer back to its source. The overseer must hit the caster with the eye ray; if successful, the target suffers the effects of its own spell, allowing for a saving throw as normal. Otherwise, the spell affects the overseer normally (though the overseer is still allowed a saving throw and/or spell resistance if applicable). An overseer may not use this ability if it is considered flat-footed against the source of the spell, and may not use it in the same round as its reactive spell immunity ability.

An overseer is a particular breed of beholderkin that serves as a direct subordinate to the hive mother in large beholder communities. A beholder hive city ruled by an hive mother always contains a handful of these monstrosities, who concern themselves with keeping watch over lesser beholderkin and report any deviant behaviour to the mother. However, many overseers, possessing the typical beholderkin's arrogance and self-centeredness,  chafe at this arrangement and seek greater stations for themselves. While few overseers are reckless enough to directly challenge an hive mother's power, they often vie for the position of favored enforcer, and rivalries among groups of overseers often provide a weak point in a beholder hive city's formidable defenses. A few rare overseers decide to leave beholder communities and seek out non-beholder societies to dominate from behind the scenes, often helped by a few dominated beholderkin. 

Perhaps one of the most peculiar characteristics about overseers is the fact that they live in a symbiothic relationship with a strange, otherworldly fungus that grows inside their bodies and expands on their skin. The creature has some measure of control over this fungus, and can vary its color in order to express emotion or camouflage itself, as well as use it as some sort of impromptu body armor. However, the fungus is susceptible to sudden and large variations in environmental temperature - a cold or fire based attack covering a large enough portion of the creature's body can kill enough of the fungus as to temporarily negate its living armor, leaving the overseer in a state of relative vulnerability. 

Despite their formidable combat skills, overseers tend to consider themselves above such vulgar activities as physical combat, and their preferred place to be in a conflict is behind charmed and dominated minions, which they're never in short supply of. They usually direct their servants (both beholderkin and otherwise) in battle while at the same time using their spell-like abilities to harass and inflict pain on their enemies. They particularly enjoy disrupting enemy spellcasters, using their reactive spell immunity and spell turning to frustrate them. If forced into physical fighting, they are more than capable of holding their own, but are quick to understand when their situation is becoming untenable, and they rarely hesitate to retreat when significantly injured or when their fungal armor is compromised. An overseer is skilled in the use of several magic items, and typically keeps an item or two allowing teleportation with itself for such an emergency. However, an overseer will not forget such a humiliation, and is patient enough to wait for years before enacting its revenge, if necessary.

An overseer is about 20 feet tall, though its branch-like limbs can make it appear even larger, and weighs between 7 and 8 tons.

[alfieshaw]

Using Processing and Generative Art

Over my summer, I spent a lot of time experimenting and learning the fundamentals of Processing, specifically learning the syntax well enough to the point where I could it for experiments and potentially outcomes for my 3rd year projects.

Since this project is open to experimentation and there is no right or wrong, I thought about ways I could experiment my words with creative coding.

From the Tim Rodenbroeker course, I learnt how to make grid systems from imagery.

tim rodenbröker creative coding. (n.d.). Start • tim rodenbröker creative coding. [online] Available at: https://timrodenbroeker.de/.

‌

color c = img.get(x, y); float b = brightness(c); int selector = int(map(b, 0, 255, 0, colors.length - 1)); fill(colors[selector]); rect(x*tileW, y*tileH, tileW, tileH);

This works by determining the brightness of the tile using 'img.get' and creating a rectangle depending on threshhold.

I experimented with some imagery of matches with high constrast.

Smyth, D. (2010). How to Light a Match with Your Fingers. [online] eHow.com. Available at: https://www.ehow.com/how_7172017_light-match-fingers.html.

I liked the contrast between the fire and the black, stillness of the background.

Instead of making a rectangle, I adapted it to create repeating lines inside of the tile to create a gradient. This gradient would represent the contrast in connotations between my two words.

I was inspired by some of the work by Lena Weber and her use of creating grid systems with tiles and gradients.

www.itsnicethat.com. (n.d.). Lena Weber’s animated typeface is a celebration of digital gradients. [online] Available at: https://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/lena-weber-gradial-graphic-design-project-010823 [Accessed 14 Oct. 2023].

I also decided to map the users mouseX to the size of the grid so the image would become more clear should the user decide to do some.

With more time to would love to see how this effect would look with video instead of still imagery. I think the movement would compliment the idea of movement within the match, however the still photography pairs well with the connotations of 'stall' and the feeling of stasis.

[theseventhoffrostfall]

My idea for the protag (and no disrespect to your idea intended) is that you are woken up as part of an experiment by the Institute.

The Institute discovers Vault 111 during scouting missions, finding it to be perfectly functioning after 200 years. Most raiders and common folk avoid Vaults, since they hear that some "messed-up shit" happens in them and they don't tend to poke around out of fear. The Institute hacks into the Vault mainframe and discovers the purpose of the Vault is to study and refine human cryogenic hibernation (it would be implied the Enclave ordered this to see how their people could survive deep sleep if they ever had to board colony ships, or that Vault-Tec was building off data learned during Pre-War tests at the Sierra Army Depot in California). The Institute decides to launch an experiment: how could a subject, completely removed from the present react when placed in this new environment? Would they still remain true to Pre-War ideals? Would they indulge in baser instincts to survive? Could the Old World truly survive in the New Post-War World?

Thus, the Institute hacks into the system and, at random, releases one young adult-to-adult individual from stasis: you.

Now, granted, they aren't going to let you run naked and afraid out there, since they would consider it like tossing a deer in a cage full of tigers and not expecting it to die. They offer some slight "assistance" here and there, such as having random couriers deliver supplies to you or maybe a friendly courser arrives at the right time, but for the most part, you're on your own. The Institute tracks you, monitors you, and notes every deed you do.

When you arrive in the Institute's main concourse, whether you went in the peaceful way, fought your way in, or snuck in, you're greeted by an auditorium of cheering, applauding scientists and researchers, glad to see their experiment managed to survive this long.

The Institute then asks you questions, probing you, getting as much info as they can out of you. What did you think of the world? How does it feel to see your world so drastically changed, to see these people worshipping the past?

Again, you are not railroaded to do anything. You go to the Institute however you want and whenever you want, you control every action and every choice.

Hm. That is pretty interesting, and as I've remarked before, I like any step the institute takes toward doing actual research unlike the game. I suppose you could kind of fuse them; like Vault 111 was a Talent Fridge built on semi-experimental cryotech, and the Institute is doing a one-man trial run specifically to test how adaptable and useful said talent pool actually is in the new world.

That said, I think it would go a bit against the spirit of their experiment (and a bit of the player's feeling of achievement for surviving and thriving) for such overt help to be provided. Maybe instead they have supply caches for their agents and synths, with their locations hidden in encoded clues you have to cross-reference the map for, do a little puzzle-solving; and similarly some of their roving Gen 2 patrols or similar assets would temporarily aid you or such if you provided them a command phrase you managed to decode. Prove you have a bit of Institute-Smarts to find their help (bonus, if you do go meet them, you can pass a hard Int check to point out that this technique of providing help reveals a methodological bias in how they're evaluating you)

[mercyvelazquez]

(( ~ @stasidyatlov ~ ))

“Huh,” Mercy said, slowly turning her head as she saw the blonde walk into her foyer through the double doors from her sitting room. The older girl was draped over a chair, happily losing track of how long she’s lain there. Her mind was devoid of thoughts and she looked radiantly dead as her chest no longer rose and fell to keep her heart beating. “I am actually excited to see you. Must be love, my dear little Stasi. Do you love me, too?” A wicked little smile started to form on her face, Mercy slowly waking up from her relaxed state. She waved her hand, dismissing her waitstaff off. “Oh, my apologies, did you want something? I can get little Harold to grab you a fresh glass of blood. You don’t visit me anymore. I forgot what it was like to be a host.”

[oakleydavenport-blog]

open starter // oakley&.

He stood on the opposite side of the ballroom, sulking in a corner to himself with his flask of rum tucked just underneath his coat. Oakley had been watching Mina be swept off of her feet by some man who was a lot stronger than him, it was dizzying causing a pit in his stomach to form. But perhaps that was the alcohol taking in to effect. He had been too busy brooding to even realize what was happening around him until there was only silence from the crowd and a lone vampire saying threats. For a moment, he was frantically looked over to Mina, thankfully catching her eye knowing that all of their fighting would be washed away in chaos. But he had to get over to her. The current of the crowd shifted toward him, making the poor inebriated boy no match to go against it. As hard as he tried, he couldn’t seem to push past anyone. And before he knew it, there was a large werewolf barreling toward him. He reached inside his coat pocket where he normally kept his sword only to find his flask he had been pulling from the whole night. In his desperation, he stumbled backward, falling to the ground people still stampeding around him and the wolf was getting closer. What a sorry way this would be for him to go.