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draconscious · 3 months ago

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RP GET TO KNOW YOU QUESTIONNAIRE.

NAME?: Dan!

PRONOUNS?: he/him

MOST ACTIVE MUSES?: Right now, Pike Queen Lucy over at @coiledqueen has the braincell (for the record, I blame @noitxll 😏)

RPG CLASS I'D BE: Bard or fighter! Or the frog from Chrono Trigger. Frog freakin' rules.

FAVORITE COLOR: Orange!

FAVORITE TYPE OF THREAD: I love love love experimenting and trying out all different types of threads, shifting between muse and genre. Over time, I think I've most come to enjoy writing intensity...in fighting, in tension, or in love. Action will always be a winner in my book, but I also really like writing that drills down into the details...simple conversations or interactions that allow me to explore more of the characters and the world(s) that they live in. (Yes, this is why I typically write so much LMAO)

FAVORITE THING ABOUT MY MUSE: My Clair is so much more than the angry badge-refuser who you first see in-game, and that's solely because of all the conversations, threads, and brainstorming that has happened with others since I first picked her up more than seven years ago now...she's evolved so much, and if you're reading this, THANK YOU. This community has really inspired and informed her growth over time. (I will always love building minor characters up into their own full-fledged selves, and I'm grateful that I have a supportive space to do just that. 😊)

HOW YOU LIKE TO RP: honestly? I like to establish a scene or loose plot and go from there. if things get intense, I'll make it a point to check in with my writing partner more frequently--but I love quickly landing on a dynamic and setting, and then seeing how the interaction crescendos over time! I love a quick-hitting interaction as much as I love a slow buildup, with many narrative twists and turns. I'm adaptable. 😉

(I do tend to write a lot, but that's only because I'm big on leaving my writing partners multiple threads to pull on in their own replies. I always want to leave you with enough to work with, while also letting you steer the story in your own way...that open-endedness is super important to me!)

FAVORITE PLOTS:

conflict (fighting, tense/intense situations, team-ups in the face of danger...give 'em all to me!)

sprawling adventures, even if I only have the bandwidth for a few at a time OTL

small, casual conversations about deep stuff. I am always game for some character exploration.

Moments that lead to becoming friends, or closer friends! (A little romance every now and then doesn't hurt either. 💖)

as I said above, I'm always looking to push myself writing-wise--if you have an idea that you want to try, just ask!! (I promise to do the same.)

WHERE YOU GET YOUR INSPIRATION FROM: honestly? above everything, sports. I love sports. I love competition, and watching the very best clash against each other--there's no rawer tension or emotion--and the storylines it produces are unmatched. all of my muses, to some extent, are chasing after something with all their hearts, or maintaining excellence at the top of their games...they love competing, taking everything that life gives them. they have lost before, but they always get back up because they love to win.

A good book or show can also really influence me, too! I'm currently working my way through some Dimension 20 DND campaigns. (Tabletop has been a major boon to the creative me in 2024.)

FACT ABOUT YOU: I love card games (MTG, Pokemon, Yugioh) and was my local game store's 'in-store champion' in MTG for a few years. (The title didn't really mean anything but I got some pretty dope playmats and discounted product out of it, which is a win in my book!)

I also love hiking. Frolicking, some might say. It's good.

tagging: YOU stolen from: literally everyone LMAO [HEIST COMPLETE]

#ooc #(LETS GOOOOOO)#(queued.)

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munsons-maiden · 1 year ago

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since half the fandom sees eddie as having a mean streak and the other half vehemently seeing him as a human golden retriever what's you're take on it? 🔍

Oh dear the answer is gonna be a whole ass novel I fear so please bear with me.

Humans aren't black and white - and neither are complex, relatable characters. Like Eddie.

He doesn't have a mean streak in the way that he likes being mean, but like we all, he can be mean if he feels threatened. It's obvious in the cafeteria scene where he offends basically all the other social groups of Hawkins High students just for their interests the same way they do to him and most probably have been doing to him all his life. He lashes out, but it's not to be mean or cruel or bully anyone but because it keeps people away and if they already call him a freak, it's best to lean into it, right? He must have made a name for himself as mean because Jason is very obviously scared of him and so is Chrissy, who later admits she thought he was mean and scary, because mean and scary is what keeps the popular people like Jason from bullying Eddie and his friends.

(I've seen some people say he was being mean to Dustin and Mike in the cafeteria scene and they were scared of him which is just not what happened. Eddie is the leader of Hellfire and he leans into it because he's an extroverted, hyperactive and dramatic guy. They respect him, but they're not scared of him. It's the same effect my cheer coach has on me when I'm several feet in the air and she screams at me to stay tense or else she'll throw her sneakers. It's all in good faith. Eddie matches the way he treats people with how they treat him and what they can take - in lack of a better word rn: Dustin and Mike share Eddie's streak for the dramatic and the rough humor which seems to be a thing in Hellfire, and so does Erica who has no trouble putting Eddie in his place, so he matches his behavior to theirs by showing his revved-up, unfiltered humor. With Chrissy, he senses she's scared of him, so he reacts by showing his soft, vulnerable side, opening up a little because she does first and thus showing him it's safe to drop his guards. And the way he is with Chrissy - making sure not to get into her personal space, making sure to set her at ease and showing her he's no danger to her (after realizing she's no danger to him, unlike he first thought) is as 100% his true self as his rough, revved-up version we see in the cafeteria scene and later during the game of DnD. Even the dramatics are the same in all these scenes. It's all Eddie, and that's what makes him such a beautiful, complex, relatable character. I once talked about this with @kedreeva , how Eddie is using different masks for different people only that none of these are masks, just different sides of himself and all 100% himself, and the fact everyone who gets to know him also gets to love him, like Dustin so beautifully summed up, is because Eddie has a way to read people and react to them by showing them the part of himself that best matches their energy.

As for the whole postponing-the-game thing with Eddie and Lucas, I already made an in-depth post about that a while ago which you can find here.

Now, a little deep-dive into his scene with Erica: we know Eddie's been judged and bullied and mocked all his life for being different and for loving DnD, just like the party - so of course he's protective over that hobby that means so much to him and that's so awfully misunderstood in the society he lives in. He tests whether Erica, a little girl he's never met before, is up to playing this game with the rest of Hellfire which, as is established by then, all have a rough and revved-up kind of humor for her own sake as well as for the sake of his friends who've been excited for this important game because it's the finale of the campaign that spanned over moths, and for his own sake because you can tell how much work and thought and love Eddie poured into planning said campaign and its finale and of course he doesn't want that spoiled by a little girl who can't even play DnD. Plus, let's not forget Eddie knows who Erica is and has already heard a lot about her ("so this is Sinclair's infamous sister") which means if the stories about Erica were true, she'll be up for banter. Which she is. And he likes her for it and welcomes her into Hellfire. Not as a substitute at the table for one game, but he literally says "welcome to Hellfire", including her because she's proven herself worthy of it.

So yes, Eddie can be mean and show his claws when he feels threatened (directly and indirectly) just like all of us do, and I find it beautiful because knowing he can be mean if he wants to but doesn't want to be mean as soon as he feels 'safe' is much more of a testimony to his character than him not being capable to be mean.

I loved writing this so thank you for asking 🖤

#kiki answers #eddie munson

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monstersandmaw · 1 year ago

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(forgot to add to my last ask) you do a similar thing with wiring the reader insert characters!!

Enough character in them to; get us invested, set out the themes of the story, establish the setting and important details, and not bore us or annoy us with vague and personality-void characters. But leave enough room for personalisation (especially of physical looks, which I really appreciate) bc it's about the setting; where, when, what job the character has, etc. (background info) and their values that drive the plot & interactions so they don't seem forced. You allow us room to insert ourselves into the things that matter when it comes to personalisation (not assigning our interpretations and thoughts to us). But you've built a foundation for us to insert ourselves into instead of leaving us to do it ourselves.

It's kind of like DnD and other role-playing games, where the background, class, job, past, etc. Is fixed and the game master is the one orchestrating the interactions but you can individualise your experience through the roleplay. It says a lot about your skills in writing that you can achieve that vibe bc instead of an interactive roleplay setting you're writing something without our interaction, to an audience you don't know personally, having to cater to different readers not just someone you can personalise the experience for.

Again, I really appreciate how, even when putting in all this detail about the character, you manage to make your stories so welcoming to any physical description. It's difficult to (esp with NSFW) encompass all body types and physical descriptions. I can't speak for the experience of everyone reading but I don't run into any problems while reading, which is good bc I have some dysphoria related to perceiving myself (not necessarily insecurities, just struggling to perceive my physical body beyond its functional existence).

You making your inserts physical description so reader-friendly without the vagueness of it halting the immersivity of the story is impressive skill-wise too. Even when you have to add a physical trait for a scene/context in the story it's easy to gloss over/not be distracted by and doesn't detract from the overall reading experience.

Thank you again??? This is something I work really hard to achieve in any reader-inserts. I used to hate reader inserts, and honestly I don't read them in my spare time, but I enjoy the challenge of making as blank a slate as I can for people to slot themselves into the story. I try not to describe the reader physically (unless it's a commission and I've been given specifics), and obviously my own experiences will get in the way and shape how I tell the story and how the characters speak etc., but I try to make it as unobtrusive as I can.

I also vehemently dislike using "Y/N" because nothing tears me out of a piece of writing quicker than accidentally reading 'yes/no' instead of 'your name' and even if I don't do that, I certainly don't insert my own name, I just read it as 'your name'... haha.

As for it being a bit like DnD, I'd actually really love to be a DM one day but I don't really know enough about the mechanics of the game to manage that haha (or, you know, have any friends to play it with. Slightly bigger issue...).

Anyway, thank you again for taking the time to leave me two beautiful asks to boost my mood and confidence for the day. I hope you have a wonderful day and take care of yourself, and that your studies are going well.

#sweet asks #my tag for sweet asks #writing reader inserts #on writing

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pumpkinupsidedowncake · 7 months ago

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Hey you're 100% right about Malevolent being ttrpg related btw. It was based off the writer's Call of Cthulhu campaign and takes place in the same universe with a handful of common characters. Also, Patreon members have a perk where we get to vote on Arthur's decisions a couple times per episode. This mechanic used to be more in-depth (with perception rolls, skill trees, and a sanity mechanic) but that was dropped pretty early on because it interfered with storytelling

Yes, but like it goes beyond just the origin and the dice roll sounds in the first episodes and the audience collaboration and all that. The way the plot beats shake out feels like they could have just happened in the Call of Cthulhu system. (I haven’t played it, so my knowledge comes from when I was researching how to run it and also indirectly from playing other ttrpgs. Mostly DnD 5e, unfortunately for my esoteric street cred.)

And that’s the bit I don’t know how to describe. Like, there’s a bunch of arcs that involve doing different things in different places instead of sticking to one type of story, which reminds me of when I was reading a series of DnD books and one was like “you know that guy you’ve been reading about? He’s on a boat now. I don’t know why either. Ocean time baby”

Like it isn’t that stark, there’s still a goal being pursued and the standard or subverted dynamic of Arthur and John, but if you tried to tell someone about all the interesting things that have happened in the podcast it would sound like you were describing all the crazy things that happened to your group in your ongoing game. “Like there was this guy with a gas mask and we stole his dead sister’s head, and there was this random baby we had that one time, and also we ended up in the Dreamlands and oh don’t even get me started on that, then we broke into this guy’s mansion after drinking at the murder inn and then we went to NYC and met a serial killer on the train ride over and then became tenants and released a horrifying entity and then” et cetera et cetera (that’s where I left off last).

Like other podcasts can become that way too, but they seldom feel like that when you listen to them. So much has happened in Malevolent that even though we’ve been following the same person throughout, I regularly forget all the shit that’s happened to him. It’s a different vibe than Juno Steel or Archive 81, maybe because the narrative focuses are different?

Like Archive 81 builds up a strange world with rules different to our own just out of sight to most, and each season feels different, but it’s more about the world than any one character. It’s them getting shaped by the strangeness and adapting and sometimes wishing they hadn’t and the choices offered never have a clear meaning until you’re knee deep in the consequences, maybe not even then.

Juno Steel has a clear narrative style, and that’s what I think of first: the character we’re focused on adding their thoughts and context to whatever’s happening “onscreen”, a la film noir or at least the improv game of that title. I am uncultured. The story feels constructed and clear and grounded, even though we are on Mars and impossible things are happening. (This is another one I’m not caught up on, but the focus seems to continue to be a wide range of characters and their motivations and how they interact with everyone else.)

I guess typing this all out, Malevolent feels more immediate in action and consequences. The focus is on whatever Arthur is doing. When he isn’t dealing with the world’s lore or his past, we don’t hear about it. It still shapes him and the conflict he faces, but we get less insight into it than we would if he monologued about his martyr complex or learned enough about the strange Dreamland inhabitants to establish what each of their “deals” are. We either don’t stick around long enough to, or they’re important and therefore a mystery to us, or they are murdered in cold blood. In any case it isn’t really about them because compared to Arthur, they’re NPCs. They keep us moving forward, even if we’d rather stick around and learn more.

I guess it’s the focus on Arthur and John’s planning and actions combined with the way everyone else’s motivation matters less than how it impacts them, the party/investigators/main characters. Like I’m describing it in extremes but I’m not wrong. It’s the closest you can get to being a ttrpg without actually being one, even ignoring the origins and patreon voting. Those definitely add to it, especially the patreon voting and the hints you get of it even without hearing the vote-on-this-thing prompts, but if it was just that it would be a choose-your-own-adventure type deal. Actually, I realize I don’t know enough about that type of game/narrative to definitively say that.

So basically, it feels like a ttrpg in ways that it shouldn’t necessarily just based on where it gets its lore and some plot-important background characters from, even with important choices being decided on by people on Patreon. I am pretty sure this has a different style than a choose-your-own-adventure story would, but all I can speak to is how different it feels from other fiction podcasts with big worlds and lots of characters.

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btsmosphere · 3 years ago

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milestone drabble game!!

hi everyone!!! I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone as I am happy to say this blog has reached 600 followers! A big welcome to new followers, as well as love to those of you who have been here a while💜

most importantly, this has given me an excuse have a celebration event! welcome to my in-universe drabble game😊

for this event, you can ask questions or make requests – anything that takes your fancy – for my existing stories/aus, and I will write a little something for you! pick your story and then send your question!

!rules!

~read the whole post before sending an ask, there is important info at the end too so please read it all ~if possible, it would be nice if you are a follower to participate in this as this is a follower celebration event ~if possible, please ask off anon so you will be notified when I answer you ~you may send no more than three questions/requests

you can ask anything from:

~what would happen if the characters were put in a certain situation? ~questions/requests that take place during, before or after the story takes place ~questions/requests about side characters/pairings

have you always wanted to know if yn’s luck really did improve after blessing and a curse? how jk and yn from sparkle are doing now? what the students at yn’s college in crossfire thought when she came back? or maybe you requested a drabble before and would like a continuation?

below is a list of my stories and their aus (you can also check my masterlists), so you can pick something if you’re not sure, or be reminded of what you’ve read!

happy requesting! I can’t wait to revisit some of these and find out what stories you liked!

Fics:

How to Win at Christmas in 7 Easy Steps – neighbour!jin x reader, rivalry over Christmas decorations

This is Rigged! – lion shifter!jin x reader, established relationship, some fun and games with the rest of the boys

Deep Rooted – adventurer!jin x reader/dnd player!jin x dm!reader, dnd adventures with the other boys

When You Know – jin x yoongi, enemies to lovers, soulmate au, neighbour au, bonding over a game of dnd with the other boys

Snowstorm – jack frost!yoongi x reader, childhood friends to lovers -drabble requested!

Undistorted – hogwarts student!hobi x reader, soulmate au

The Web – mafia!jimin x reader, established relationship, yn is missing, the other boys as the rest of the mafia

Blessing and a Curse – magic!jimin x cursed!reader, college au, the other boys as their friends, jin and jk as yn’s roommates, namjin minor side pairing

Just in Time – college!jimin x reader, multiple new year’s kisses

Crossfire – mafia!taehyung x reader, college au, the other boys as the rest of the gang, including leader!namjoon and drag racer!hobi -drabble requested!

Across the tracks – tramp!taehyung x lady!reader, dystopian au, reader runs away, ft. hobi and jin as yn’s best friends and the other boys as tae’s gang -drabble written!!

All I Want for Christmas – barista!tae x reader, social media au, the other boys as the chaotic surrounding friend group

Breathe Again – artist!tae x designer!reader, my neighbour totoro au -drabble written!!

Snow Angel – tae x reader, childhood friends to lovers

A Dash of Love – chef!tae x reader, restaurant coworker au with the other boys as friends

Sweet Surprises – neighbour!tae x reader

Flame on Water – assassin!jk x bodyguard!reader, enemies to lovers, with jin and the other boys as jk’s gang

Sparkle – roommate!jk x reader, first kiss and confession

Big Enough for Both of us – college!jk x reader, idiots to lovers, the other boys as the frustrated friends -drabble requested!!

I won’t list my drabbles, but you can also request from my drabble universes too!

you can ask whatever you like, though bear in mind that I reserve the right not to answer if I don’t want to. also please note that I will not be writing/replying to asks about:

Explicit sexual content/smut (suggestive stuff is fine tho!) Anything with children/pregnancy Suicide/self harm Yandere/abusive bts

Thank you!!💜💜

#bts drabble game #bts drabble #bts drabbles #bts imagine #bts imagines #bts x reader #jungkook imagine #jungkook x reader #bts mafia au #taehyung imagines #kim taehyung au #jimin imagine #bts scenario

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v-poreons · 4 years ago

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kova's backstory is so sad, like I knew it was sad but reading that still :((( anyways more kova lore bc I'm invested

I can talk about the campaign he was in then! :))

I'm so mad Tumblr deleted everything I wrote hold on while I try to fix this

Basically what I said before was so fucking long I simply can't rewrite it in as comprehensive a way i did before so this is gonna be a lot shorter I'm PISSED.

I don't remember everything that happened in the campaign because it was four years ago but the party was me as Kova, Asher (Wood Elf Ranger), Lan (Changeling ((in the form of a High Elf)) Fighter), Mislia (Tiefling Sorcerer), and Savory (Tiefling Monk, we had an inside joke that Kova spells her name Savoury).

We were on a job delivering some stuff from one town to another I believe when we were attacked by some goblins who we beat the absolute shit out of. Lan was checking one of the goblins when she found a ring with an eye symbol engraved on it. She put it on and it latched itself to her finger and shot a beam of light into the woods, presumably for us to follow. We hid our wagon and set up camp in a cave for the night. I don't remember who was on watch but we were ambushed by some Dark Elves who took us to the Underdark to their queen who welcomed us and decided to throw a party in our honor.

We were all varying degrees of intoxicated but Kova, who was nursing his first cup of ale since he hates drinking since it inhibits his reasoning skills and he was a little wary of the whole thing. Lan also was suspicious so the two chatted for a bit and planned to do some investigating together later. When we had been escorted to our rooms we found out that we had been magically locked in so we found a way to bypass the spell and sneaked out with the rest of the party, but we were caught and taken into the throne room where the queen revealed she had led us here for a reason. She activated a big rune on the floor and we all blacked out. Then when we woke up our skin was translucent and you could see our skeletons under our skin because plot twist we were dead and had been sent to the underworld (the reveal slapped so hard david if ur seeing this u popped off so hard)

We ended up having to do like a gladiator type match where Kova and Lan created the legendary knife cube combo (Kova casts cloud of daggers Lan throws enemies into the cube and theyre promptly turned into bad guy soup). We won and were brought before Hades and Persephone (Kova and Savory charmed her because they're both nice :) ) and then we were thrown in prison because Hades had a stick up his ass.

We met Brutus and Milquetoast in jail and decided to do a prison break I'm not sure exactly how it went but it involved the warden and a prison riot and Lan killed the warden and was inexplicably drawn to this dark spooky hallway which supposedly held Thanatos but when she reached the end of the corridor all that was there were empty chains.

We had a sick ass chariot race with Hades and Lan flipped him the bird as we escaped down a big cavernous hole in the ground. We woke up at the bottom and learned if we wanted out we each had to go through trials to judge our characters.

I don't remember the exact order we went in but Mislia's was a fight with their ex wife and ended with them choosing Savory's life over the ex, Savory's took place in her old monastery which she had been banned from, Asher's was a puzzle that ended in a fight with his former friend and leader (who happened to be his player's other character from a different campaign remember this it's important), and Lan's (which was the last trial and also the last session since we unfortunately didn't finish the campaign) took place in her childhood hometown but everyone but her had lost their memories and she had to convince us all to come with her and get our memories back.

Kova's was a quiz show type trial during which we would gain or lose things (body parts, knowledge/memories, items, etc.) The trouble with playing a character who's smarter than you is when ur DM asks you what the components are to an X level Wizard spell (something Kova would probably know but I sure as hell didn't) you end up spinning the bad wheel (a la taz suffering game) and losing Kova's harmonica which was a gift from his dead friends dead daughter. Also it got turned to ash :)

The game show host ended up being Medusa and we killed the hell out of her and Lan and Kova struck the final blows.

I ended up asking the DM what the campaign would have gone like from the last session and he said the twist would have been that Brutus was Thanatos and I don't remember how but he could not longer continue being Thanatos so Lan, who had the ring, would be given the choice to become the new god of death or not.

From there we have two endings:

The 'canon' ending, in which Lan accepts her role and remains in the underworld while the rest of the living party members return to their lives. Kova is alone and lonely returning to his travels but has healed somewhat and learns to accept people into his heart again.

In the ending where Lan refuses, the party returns to the living world and parts ways. Lan and Kova reluctantly separate since Kova wishes to keep traveling and seeing the world but Lan is exhausted by everything that has happened in her life up until this point and just wants to settle down. The two visit from time to time but reminisce on their past and wonder how they could have remained close and developed their relationship (art in the video is drawn by Lan's player lil.bunny.prince on Instagram)

In both endings (and here's where you remember that importance regarding Asher's trial), because the story has established that it takes place in the same world as another campaign, Kova meets

Gwyn, and becomes a father figure to her and essentially adopts her. They're perfect for each other. Gwyn was cast from her clan and disowned by her family, and now she finally has a solid adult figure in her life who loves and accepts her and helps her overcome her fears of rejection and accidentally hurting the people she cares about. Kova has lost so much and with Gwyn he is able to raise her like he would have helped raise Iris and learns to overcome his survivors guilt and both of their scars and trauma heal together I love them so much.

Kova does outlive Gwyn by a couple hundred years (damn dnd lifespans) and whichever direction his life goes his endings are always bittersweet but he is able to heal despite always feeling a little sad and when he gets older he settles in a nice town and owns a library. And obviously his canon storyline isn't sad enough so I have aus for that (villain au my beloved). ❤

#cutieacefuck #Kova #so mad I had to retype this all out again it was so perfect and this is still good but I'm absolutely certain there are things I forgot #to mention the second time around but its fine IG 🙄🙄🙄#rainy ask

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anonymousedward · 5 years ago

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How do I make a DnD character, or play DnD at that. It's always been a game that has interested me, but I've never completely understood it.

Well, the easy way that i’ve known is to go on roll20, make a free account, and use their character builder. they’ll even roll stats for you if you want.

Speaking of stats!!!

there are a couple methods for that - one way is point-buy. see the link below.

http://chicken-dinner.com/5e/5e-point-buy.html

The way I do it though is by rolling - it leaves it more up to chance.

Basically, how you ROLL for stats, is you roll 4 (four) six-sided dice. If you get any 1s (ones), then re-roll that specific die (or dice if you get multiples). Once you have 4 usable numbers (2 and up!) you take the HIGHEST THREE dice and add them together - that will be your first stat.

That way, the WORST stat you can have is 6 (which is if you rolled all twos) and the BEST stat is 18 (if you rolled 3 or more sixes).

Now when it comes to applying those stats? The Players Handbook is your best friend. It’s got all the races and classes and such - AND tells you what stats would be most important for your character.

Like, let’s say you want to be a wizard. Cool, right? Well the player’s handbook has a whole section for wizards - including a section that says ‘quick build’ that tells you that your most important stat is Intelligence, and you should also put your next highest stats as either Dexterity or Constitution. More than that, it tells you about starting equipment, armor, hit points...

There are races, too! Like elves and humans and dragonborn! They all have special abilities - from things like darkvision, stat bonuses, or even breath weapons for dragonborns! You want to breathe fire? Dragonborn is the race for you.

Now, all the booklearning in the WORLD won’t be enough if you don’t have people to play with. Check in with local comic/game shops - a lot of them will have game nights where people come in to play. Sure, there will be established groups, but there will also be new campaigns and players who could use someone to help round out their party.

The hardest part is not panicking. I know I’m an anxious person. There are going to be times where you want to throw up your hands and say ‘it’s too complicated! i don’t know what i’m doing!’ - but here’s the thing.

EVERYONE has been there. And, you know what? You don’t have to know everything. Half the time, the players are screwing around, exploring the world. If you need help remembering your AC or how many spell slots you have left? Guess what - your teammates and even your GM are there to help you. They can pull out the rulebook to answer your questions, they can answer from experience. And a good team? Is HAPPY to do that.

The main thing to keep in mind is this - Dungeons and Dragons isn’t about rules and combat. Dungeons and Dragons is about adventure and having fun. It may be rough at first, you may feel a little lost. Don’t try to swim, just tread water - your group is there to help you until you feel comfortable swimming on your own.

Sorry, I rambled a bit. Hope this helps some!

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disasterhumans · 6 years ago

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Do you have any advice for dealing with people who directly insult the stuff you love? One of the people in my dnd group said at our last session that critical role wasn't real dnd and that Matt was a bad DM because he doesn't follow the rules, and normally I just let things go as other people having opinions but the way he said it had an implied comment that I wasn't a real dnd player because I play like critrole does and it still really stings.

I’m so sorry that happened, anon. Even knowing that people are going to have different opinions and enjoy different things, it still feels shitty to have the things you love insulted or disparaged.

Above all, the point of D&D is to tell a story and to have fun. If the way you’re playing the game is helping you experience the game in the way you want, you are playing the game “like a real dnd player.”

I imagine that “playing like critrole does” means you appreciate leaning into the RP side of things–if that’s not something this other player at your table really connects with that’s also okay. If one or both of you aren’t getting what you want from the game, you should speak with your DM so that they know what parts of the game are important to each of you, so that they can tailor things according to both of your interests.

As far as addressing this player goes, I have two different answers to your question.

Answer 1:

Next time you have a game, you can simply say something to the effect of, “Hey, I know you don’t like Critical Role, and that’s okay, but I really enjoy the show, and it hurt for you dismiss something that is important me.”

If the player is still rude/dismissive toward you in response you can also add something to the effect of, “The point in playing this game is to build a story together, and in order to do that, we need to respect the way everyone plays.”

Answer 2:

You can get pedantic.

In the Preface to the PHB Mike Mearls writes:

Above all else, D&D is yours. The friendships you make around the table will be unique to you. The adventures you embark on, the characters you create, the memories you make–these will be yours. D&D is your personal corner of the universe, a place where you have free reign to do as you wish.

Go forth now. Read the rules of the game and the story of its worlds, but always remember that you are the one who brings them to life. They are nothing without the spark of life that you give them. [emphasis mine]

And on page 4 of the DMG, in the Introduction to the book (which provides an explanation of what the DM is and does), you have this:

The D&D rules help you and the other players have a good time, but the rules aren’t in charge. You’re the DM, and you are in charge of the game.

On page 233, the first page of “Chapter 8: Running the Game,”

Rules enable you and your players to have fun at the table. The rules serve you, not vice versa.

Table Rules:Ideally, players come to the gaming table with the same goal: to have a fun time together. This section gives recommendations for table rules you can establish to help meet that goal. Here are some fundamentals:

Foster respect. [emphasis author’s] Don’t bring personal conflicts to the table or let disagreements escalate into bad feelings.

If you have physical copies of the books on hand, open to the pages and point out these sections.

Furthermore, the accusation that Matt Mercer does not follow the rules is absolutely ludicrous. Matt homebrews a lot, but there is literally an entire chapter on homebrewing in the Dungeon Master’s Guide. It is Chapter 7, titled “Dungeon Master’s Workshop.” (And even if there wasn’t, this would still be within his rights as DM.)

As the Dungeon Master, you aren’t limited by the rules in the Player’s Handbook, the guidelines in this book, or the selection of monsters in the Monster Manual. You can let your imagination run wild. This chapter contains optional rules that you can use to customize your campaign, as well as guidelines on creating your own material […] (p. 263, DMG).

Matt also sometimes makes rulings that another DM might not if he thinks it serves the story better. All of the above quotes support him doing this, but it might also be helpful to note that the DMG describes the DM as a “referee” (on page 5). It is Matt’s job to make calls based on his judgment in difficult situations. It’s also his job to make sure his players are having a good time, which means that the game and world he’s creating may not look like the game your fellow player wants to play. And that’s fine, but it doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with Matt as a DM.

Matt definitely also makes mistakes and forgets or misremembers rules sometimes. I’m going to venture a guess an say that’s because Matt is human.

Above all else, D&D is a game based on collaborative storytelling, and what works for one table won’t fit another. Matt clearly knows and understands his players and crafts a story and game that works for them. It’s quite easy to see that the entire cast is having a great time, which means they are all playing the game exactly right.

P.S. If you don’t have the physical books on hand, feel free to print this response out so you can provide them with the direct quotes and page numbers.

Go forth, and happy gaming.

#also feel free to flick them on the ear for me #critical role #dnd #dungeons and dragons #Anonymous #asks

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eng2100 · 6 years ago

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blog 08 - neuromancer

So as an introductory note, I’m actually quite a big fan of cyberpunk. I’m a hobbyist DnD player and the first campaign that I’ve Dungeon-Mastered for was actually a simplified version of Shadowrun that I wrote all the backstory and lore for. It’s in what I would call a “sequel” right now that I’m very much enjoying. So bla bla bla I was excited to get to Neuromancer this whole time because I’m a genre fan.

a brief primer to cyberpunk

So western Cyberpunk owes its roots largely to the detective fiction genre-- most notably the hardboiled detective archetype, a darker western interpretation of your Sherlock Holmes type who is usually a jaded antihero that works for money, but still has a sense of justice deep down. You see this more reflected in Blade Runner than you see it in Neuromancer’s Case, but there are still a number of correlations (Funnily enough, Neuromancer and Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep both end on nearly the same line-- “He never saw Molly again.” and “...and I never saw her again.” respectively.) Interestingly enough, Case kind of spawns his own kind of cyberpunk hero trope-- the rebellious hacker, seen in Neo.

If detective fiction owes itself to the inescapable aura of The Great Depression, then cyberpunk owes itself to the Reagan administration. Cyberpunk’s whole thing, at least in the west, springs forward from the fear of unregulated corporate growth in tandem with the rise of technology, and what the mixture of the two might bode for humanity at large. Both Neuromancer and Blade Runner owe their entire aesthetics to the vision of a world taken over by neon advertisements, bereft of nature, replaced by plasticity.

Now, why the primer? Well, I think it’s important to preface the discussion of this novel with the idea that cyberpunk is a deeply political genre in a way that not many other genres inherently are. (All fiction is, of course, inherently political, whether intentional or not, but most genres don’t regularly feature as much political charge as cyberpunk, is what I mean.) Neuromancer is politics from an era before most of us in this class were born, and as such, atop being a seminal work of genre fiction, it’s a lurid look into what the landscape looked like in the 80s. We are living now in the times that 80s Cyberpunk once called “the future”-- and, well, what does it look like for us? Are we living in the Urban Sprawl?

not quite

Our dystopian future is significantly more...mundane than coffin hotels and the television sky over Chiba. You might say we got all the corporate deregulation and none of the glimmering aesthetic slickness of cyberpunk-- we really are living in the worst timeline. If i’m going to have to labor under capitalism for the rest of my short life, couldn’t I at least have a slick pair of mirrorshades?

the text

There’s a lot about Neuromancer to like. It earned its reputation wholeheartedly-- it is definitely the legendary cyberpunk novel that it is well-known for being. Its writing style can often be abstract at the same time that it’s luridly detailed, and it uses strange and interesting words to create vivid images in the reader’s mind of this foreign landscape of the Sprawl. It uses a lot of “old world” associations to lend deeper weight to its descriptions (the Tank War Europa game comes to mind in tandem with the Screaming Fist operation that looms over the plot).

The book doesn’t shy away from the visceral nature of its own plot and setting-- drug binges and cramped love affairs in coffin hotels, fear and violence are all described in visceral detail that grounds the book hard in its reality while simultaneously indulging in a sort of dream-like surreality. I really admire the ways in which Gibson writes physical sensation whether it comes to the sex or the pain or the weirdness of cyberspace. The introduction of the novel sort of failed to catch me until Gibson went into detail about Case’s harrowing journey after losing his ability to jack into cyberspace and the intense, surreal affair with Linda Lee. Perhaps my biggest issue with the writing of Neuromancer is, however, Gibson’s tendency to throw a lot of world-building terminology at you really fast. Nothing bogs down a fictional story more than having to pause to wonder what certain words mean.

Describing cyberspace during a time in which VR wasn’t even a thing yet had to have been a challenge and a half, but Gibson found interesting ways to visualize the experience, and coined interesting terminology for it (ice and icebreakers, most notably). The Sense/Net bits are also pretty cool, but I’m also biased because anything that gives Molly Millions more screentime is just the best thing.

Did I mention Molly is my favorite character? I just can’t get over her. It sucks that her and Case break up in the epilogue, but it also feels fitting in a weird way. She really struck me as a standout character for a woman in a cyberpunk novel-- she’s an active player in her own sexuality, she’s violent and the stronger of the two between herself and Case. She has a sort of unapologetic way about her that feels very fresh even today. The first time Case uses Sense/Net to see through her eyes, I was hit in an unexpectedly hard way by the description of people in a crowd moving out of the way for her-- for most girls in real life, that’s a fairly unheard of experience, and to me, as a female reader, it did a lot to establish to me just how powerful she is.

That being said, this is a good place to segue into the conversation you know my Obnoxious Feminist Ass has been waiting to bring up.

cyberpunk vs women

You can tell a lot about a person’s base assumptions about the world by the way they talk about people in their works of fiction. Now when I say “base assumptions” I don’t mean their political leanings, I mean something that’s on a deeper, more subconscious level-- in this way, base assumptions are inherently neutral in a way, they’re incapable of being truly malicious, even if they’re harmful, because they’re just the base coding of how a person regards things inherently.

What I’m getting at is that at the time of writing this book, I don’t think Gibson had much of a regard for women at all. When the first mention of women in your novel is calling them whores, I’m going to be forced to assume both that you don’t like women very much and that women are primarily sex objects to you-- or at the very least that women factor into your view of the world in a very marginal way that is largely informed by porn culture. Now, let’s suppose that maybe it’s actually the POV character Case that’s just a raging sexist-- that theory might hold water if this were a character trait that is brought up as a flaw, or indeed, if it were really brought up at all in his personality, but it’s not.

To my great frustration, in the Neuromancer world, it seems like “whore” is about the only job available for women! Who knew the job market would shrink in such a way? Now, perhaps you could argue that Gibson was actually trying to make a point about the way in which porn culture commodifies women into sexy leg lamps for male consumption, and I won’t claim to know his intent, but to me, it doesn’t really seem that deep. It seems like to me that, to Gibson, women being mostly vapid sex workers in his dystopia is a foregone conclusion-- he didn’t think about it that hard, that’s just his stereotypical image of what women in an criminal underbelly do.

This problem of a lack of regard for female perspectives in cyberpunk narratives that largely concern themselves with themes of objectification and oppression under capitalist systems and the regurgitation of harmful sexist tropes certainly isn’t exclusive to Neuromancer. Cyberpunk is a economic-political type of genre, so oppression in the genre tends to fall upon class lines rather than race or gender lines-- and perhaps, this could occur in a far flung future in which capital manages to supersede bias, however, I can’t help but feel that this is a lazy way to write a political narrative. Blade Runner, Blade Runner 2049, and The Matrix all have distinct problems with addressing the idea of intersectionality when it comes to the ways in which ones gender and race plays into their role in a capitalist system.

Cyberpunk, for all its shining successes as interesting fiction and pointed political commentary, totally fails in the regard that it co-opts the struggle of lower-classes and applies the romanticized aesthetic to white male characters completely unironically. (You can read a pretty good take on Dystopias and post-racialism here.)

east versus west

So, when I went over the primer to the rise of Cyberpunk earlier, I left something out (on purpose!). During the 80s, there was another prime ingredient to the mix of the nascent genre’s formation: the rise of Japan as a technological leader in the global market. Before World War 2, and indeed, during it, American’s conceptualization of the future, was, well, American. They viewed themselves as the originator of innovation within the world and the blueprint from which the rest of the world should be based. However, this all changed in the post-war era as Japan began to participate in the market, leaving behind their isolationist ways-- suddenly, Japan was what the vision of the future looked like in American imagination-- the Tokyo urban sprawl.

The imagery of Japan is ubiquitous in western Cyberpunk, whether hardcore or or softcore or simply an incidental portrayal of futurism. Disney’s Big Hero 6 features San Fransokyo, San Franciso and Tokyo jammed together complete with neon signs in Japanese letters. During the 90s, Marvel launched Rampage 2099 and Spider-man 2099, both set in glittering neon cityscapes. The series Firefly featured a strange universe in which everyone seems to speak Chinese pidgins (but there’s no Chinese people in the show, funnily). MTV had Aeon Flux, a U.S. take on anime. Even movies like Total Recall borrowed the bright neon flavor. Video games such as Deus Ex and Cyberpunk 2077 feature these influences heavily, with less-bold-but-still-there influence being seen in games like Remember Me and Detroit: Become Human.

There’s an interesting cultural exchange going on between the east and west when it comes to Cyberpunk, as the 90s were rife with cyberpunk fiction in both places-- The U.S. saw The Matrix (which was inspired by Ghost in the Shell, as admitted by the Wachowskis in a phrasing that I find really annoying as an animator: “We want to make that but for real”.), while Japan had the seminal Ghost in the Shell and Akira. It’s interesting to note the stark contrast between western and eastern Cyberpunk-- eastern Cyberpunk misses entirely western Cyberpunk’s detective fiction roots, for one. For two, eastern Cyberpunk tends to concern itself more with philosophical questions about the nature of the soul in relation to technology and deep-seated cultural fears about weapons of mass destruction and government.

Neuromancer is deeply entrenched in eastern aesthetics-- many Japanese brands are brought up explicitly by name within the model (Mitsubishi, Sony, etc.). Gibson cites the “Kowloon Walled City” of Hong Kong as something that haunted him after he was told about it, and the idea of Coffin Hotels owes quite a lot to it. Gibson is quoted as saying:

“Modern Japan simply was cyberpunk. The Japanese themselves knew it and delighted in it. I remember my first glimpse of Shibuya, when one of the young Tokyo journalists who had taken me there, his face drenched with the light of a thousand media-suns - all that towering, animated crawl of commercial information - said, ‘You see? You see? It is Blade Runner town.' And it was. It so evidently was.“

One of Neuromancer’s primary settings is The Night City, a supposedly gaijin district of Tokyo on the bay-- this...sort of explains why there don’t seem to be a lot of Asian people in Asia, but the issue still stands. This isn’t a game-breakingly “I wouldn’t recommend this book” bad case, but it is something that I felt I should point out. Neuromancer is a foundational work to the genre, which means that not only are its successes carried over, but many of its flaws as well. Now, I don’t want this cricitism to sound like I think William Gibson is a raging bigot or anything-- I really don’t! I follow him on twitter and he’s a perfectly likable guy, actually. Problems aside, I really enjoy his work.

conclusions

Going into the future, I don’t think Cyberpunk is going away anytime soon, and certainly much of it owes its roots to Neuromancer. With shows like Altered Carbon and games like Cyberpunk 2077 on the horizon, I’m interested to see the ways in which our current economic political climate may effect what our vision of a technological dystopia may look like. Cyberpunk is easily one of the most interesting genres of fiction, and if you haven’t looked into it deeply, I highly recommend checking it out.

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youdieinstantly · 2 years ago

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As someone who loves the lore and history of the game and has been a Dungeon Master for nearly a decade, I want to add a few caveats:

1. The absolute, #1 most important rule of Dungeons and Dragons as per every rules book is that what the Dungeon Master says goes. It’s very common for DMs to make rules calls on the fly and/or purposefully interpret rules in different ways if it works better for their table. Will and Eddie have visibly different styles of running their game, and this is important to their characters.

2. Along the lines of 1, I completely disagree with OP’s last point that players can’t change the story. They players’ choices ARE the story. The DM sets up the scenario, then asks the players “What do you do?” The players attempt something in response to the scenario, and the dice determines how their plan plays out. That’s the entire fun of the game. The core of Eddie’s line, “That’s why we play!” is that even the Dungeon Master doesn’t know how things are going to turn out.

3. The original post is mostly based on modern DnD. While that’s what would be most recognizable to your readers, it’s not necessarily accurate to how the gang would have been playing.

With those established, under the cut is an expansion on some of OP’s points in the context of 80s DnD and Eddie vs. Will’s styles:

3. THERE ARE MORE DICES THAN JUST THE D20 - This is all true! A still quick but more detailed rundown: you use your d20 for almost everything. Your roll added to your characters statistics determines whether you succeed or fail on almost everything you do. You use the other dice (d4, d6, d8, d10, d12) pretty much only for the amount of damage you deal to a monster. A DM uses all the dice because different monsters have different damage types, and also they’re rolling for information on charts pretty frequently (which is where a d100 comes in). In the 80s, each class used a different die for damage, so really each player would only ever be rolling 2 types of dice, and not at the same time. This is a pet peeve of mine that’s actually a frequent mistake in the show.

4. THERE ISN’T ONE DND BOOK - Everything here is true, but the number of books available in the 80s was EXTREMELY limited compared to today. As stated, the only essential book for players is/was the Player’s Handbook. The DM needs the Dungeon Master’s Guide and the Monster Manual. Anything else was supplemental and not used by everyone. Eddie seems to be pulling VERY heavily from lore that was only in the monthly magazine Dragon at the time. It’s very likely he also has the supplement detailing the setting of Greyhawk, as this is where Vecna’s story/lore is primarily set. (the plot we see in the episode wasn’t a thing until the 90′s but afkjsghafdk we can pretend he made it up himself). Will, on the other hand seems to write his own plots from scratch, so he really wouldn’t have any need for these supplements.

5. YOU CANNOT MAKE YOUR OWN DND HANDBOOK - As noted both in my caveats and in the previous point, different DMs run the game more or less strictly by the rules. Eddie is likely a stickler for the rules, whereas Will likely plays it fast and loose based on what fits the story.

6. NOT ALL DND CAMPAIGNS HAVE A MAP AND MINIATURES- This is true today, but was VERY MUCH not true in the 80s. Dungeons and Dragons was originally intended to be a fantasy version of a war game. You know those scenes in movies and games where characters literally at war are gathered around a map with figures representing troops? People turned that into a pretend game in the 1800s. That’s what Dungeons and Dragons was based on. The idea of it being primarily a roleplaying game vs. primarily a maps and figures game didn’t really become a thing until the 90s/2000s.

7. WRITING A CAMPAIGN IS DIFFICULT AND ISN’T WRITTEN IN A DAY - This is just true, though the amount of time writing a campaign varies. As I said, Eddie seems to be playing in a pre-written world using pre-written lore. That’s not to say he’s not working hard studying this lore and making the story fit to the party’s actions in-game. But he would probably not need to spend as much time preparing as Will, who seems to be making up everything from scratch.

8. CREATING A CHARACTER TAKES A LONG TIME - Nothing much to add other than fleshing out your character to this extent is a very modern thing. Eddie was able to just add Erica’s character to the party on the fly, which sort of implies that ALL the characters are less strictly tied into the world/plot. This was much more typical of the time. That’s not to say it didn’t happen. Will seems to have a very character-focused campaign, which means that the characters would need to be much more fleshed out.

A super quick five-minute guide to writing a Stranger Things fic with no experience of DnD:

Edited for some clarity since people asked for it

Alternatively; If you never played or barely know DnD, but wish to write about it nonetheless, here are some quick FYI’s

These points are made based on things I have read on this site and other platforms. In no way is this a personal attack if you recognise your own writing! I have seen many posts where people complain about the inaccuracy of DnD represented in fics, but none offer any ideas, so that’s why I wrote this. Hope this helps!

1. DND IS NOT A TWO PLAYER GAME

You need one Dungeon master, and at least three players to create a good campaign. I’d say a normal party consists out of five players (DM not included), but it can quite easily be bigger.

(There are starter campaigns with one DM and one player, but for a good game, you’d need a bigger party. Introductions to DnD are way more fun with a good group)

2. DND IS NOT A QUICK GAME

There is no such thing as playing a quick round of DnD. Even starter campaigns can be hours long. A short/mini campaign is usually around 4, if not more, hours.

Keep reading

#also op this is not anything against you!!!#anything i didn't touch on in this i totally agree with #i just have Opinions on dnd and historical accuracy #I only came down hard on 9 because I actually HATE dms who just tell a story and give no agency #also this somehow turned into a meta on eddie and will while i was writing it

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mistralrunner · 7 years ago

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Running Reads Oathbringer: Part II.IV

I decided to turn my "let's run over 5 miles to a park with the largest book I can find and climb a tree to read it and then run back" stunt a couple years back with Words of Radiance into a tradition. Despite the fact that when I read Words of Radiance it was summer and thus a reasonable time to sit outside, unlike the approaching winter of the present. Managed to read nearly two chapters of Oathbringer and then it started raining despite the forecast not saying it would rain until a few hours later. Well, journey before destination!

Spoilers for pages 481-528 ahead. Also Mistborn thoughts again cause I have a problem.

The sea? As in an actual or metaphorical sea.

I'm amused at the irony that this dreaded work placement is not as bad as what fellow humans forced Moash to do

It's still slavery. It's still awful. But it is interesting how humans acted more odiously toward their slaves. The Voidbringers are efficient and focused rather than wantonly destructive.

But Moash you're falling into apathy here. People can be better

It's ironic that Moash was the one Kaladin appreciated for not revering him and now Moash is putting him on a pedestal

The Voidbringers still have Parshmen slaves? Are you kidding me? I really shouldn't be surprised but still.

I am surprised they're treated worse than the humans. Did they try to rebel? Were they the Listeners or Kaladin's people (please not the latter it would hurt Kaladin)

And they're almost taking the place of Bridge Four as the ones who are treated the worst so even if you're in a bad spot at least you aren't them

Oh no

They are the ones Kaladin helped

Noooooo

What about the children?

This hurts

The horrible irony that these people ended up worse off for being helped. That is evil.

Kaladin save them please

Or Moash. That would be ironic.

Yes you go Moash!

Twenty three years ago so Adolin's around now?

Oh no Dalinar not you too with the firemoss

Yikes Dalinar re the bar fight

Honestly “yikes Dalinar” is a good summary of these chapters

Wow born unto light that is a name

Now I want to know all the name meanings

What happened with Jasnah all those years ago and her "lunacy"?

(Around this time while reading eerie pattering started around me and I realized rain was approaching and packed up. My book is unharmed)

Gavilar, Alethela was great in part cause they recognized fighting as a necessary evil not because they saw fighting as what made them great and in charge

It's good Dalinar is at least aware he has a problem. That is a first step.

I am concerned about whatever Gavilar is thinking might help with Dalinar's problems

Huh he's not going to the Rift? At least not yet cause I'm pretty sure whatever he forgot there hasn't been shown yet.

Heh that's a nice echo of Gavilar's last words to his brother "if only I knew the right ones to say" "you must find the most important words a man can say"

WHAT IS GOING ON

Obrodai?

Shards conquering worlds?

Is this what Sazed is facing in era II?

I am really fixated on that problem since Sanderson confirmed the red-eyed kandra in The Bands of Mourning aren't of Odium but are related to something similar happening across the Cosmere

They can make avatars of themselves?

As in they invest a person and bring them under as their god or something else?

I am so confused

Just let me spend ten minutes staring at the epigraph and ignoring the actual chapter

Dalinar's flying?

Dalinar and Navani are flying?

YES TEN SQUIRES AT LEAST ARE FLYING I’M SO PROUD

That really does speed up warcamp travel time

Ten weeks huh-I should try making a timeline

Yes it was Rushu who came along

I have so many favorite minor characters

Yesss Navani doing engineering and Dalinar being happy for her

Yes Queen Fen!

So we're sending Kaladin to unlock the Oathgate? That's the only person we can really send.

In which Dalinar faces the greatest adversary of DnD: the door

And like a typical DnD player he doesn’t think to look/ask for the key first

I love the Windrunner express

So does this mean Hoid is going to be missing this book because he's facing the dreaded water level of a video game in order to seek help for Roshar from some arrogant Shard?

I want this story now.

Okay the artificial stone wards are pretty cool

Heh, stonewards

The presence of crem in general is interesting.

It really is interesting that these beings of Odium aren't doing a slash and burn

And that this is the book where we're getting backstory on Gavilar and Dalinar's campaign for the contrast of conquest methods

Also I wonder how much of that Fused being impressed with the orchards is due to the fact that during the last Desolation and thus the last time the Fused were active human society was in tatters and probably didn't have anything like that

Moash, just casually admitting he killed a Voidbringer XP

Sah has to deal with a second member of Bridge Four

What happened to Sah's daughter I'm still worried can we save her

You know if any of the Voidbringers can acquire and use an Honorblade, we're in trouble once more Oathgates get unlocked

Huh that is a clever design, keeping suburbs far from the city so you can't siege from immediately outside

Wow

That is just

The sheer amount of dramatic irony there

Hysterical laughing really is the reasonable response

Laddermen doesn't have the same ring to it as Bridgemen though

Sorry Ishnah, the Ghostbloods aren't impressed with you

I am really concerned about how dangerous a position Shallan is re the Ghostbloods

And also the fact that Mraize's statement at the end of WoR about Shallan vs Veil is coming true cause Shallan really is fading

I'm concerned that the reason for this Lightweaving discovery was skipping more meetings that she really should be attending but that is a very useful skill

Okay Shallan that is a good idea I'm impressed. And a nice presentation.

Give everyone a hat-I mean sphere-of disguise

Also glad Elhokar's taking a bit more command

My DnD instincts are too strong though and I keep thinking what if someone has Truesight? Which still could be valid here you never know. Or one of those Stormlight draining creatures like Nale had.

The irony if Gaz is brought along

Eighteen and a half years? How old is Renarin again. How much did the Kholin brothers see of their father in early childhood?

Okay at least being responsible for tactics is a step forward for Dalinar

The Thrill addiction really is disturbing. Such a good underhanded weapon of Odium.

You haven't even read all her letters...

Team Evi deserves better

Really Dalinar you were there for Adolin's birth but not Renarin's? He was the looked over son since birth?

And he ignored the spanreed for the naming of Renarin while delightedly naming Adolin

Dalinar, Evi tried and is at least taking effort to listen and learn tradition

"Like one who was born unto himself" kind of fits Renarin unconventional cryptic but ties to family names, like and unlike

Dalinar you were so elated over Adolin and now Renarin doesn't get that love how dare you

I love Evi

At least Dalinar realizes she deserves better.

Aaaa little Kholin brothers

Evil flying chulls pfft

...as cute as the little kid salute is it is really disconcerting that Adolin doesn't see enough of his father that that is the greeting that happens

D'aww baby Renarin

Okay I am indignant that Renarin isn't getting the same love

Ooo glyph info

The idea of infiltrating the Calligraphers Guild is hilarious

Purity's Eye? I feel like I should be able to place that reference.

Okay this is so cool I love this

Glyph explanations!

Linguistics!

So the general person isn't aware of these procedures? Otherwise I feel like the Stormwardens could have just adopted the phonemes rather than combining glyphs phonetically

Really tempted to attempt to make glyphs now

Yay Jasnah

Wait is this another letter

Hmm does that mean that earlier part was actually multiple letters

That would explain why I got confused

Hoid is sending a lot of letters

Ooh Veristitalian stuff?

Okay that is messed up NanKhet

The fact that Navani turned that area into a scholarly institute is so delightful

Huh that must have been frustrating, wanting to discuss scholarship with people when all they care about talking about is your atheism when you've established that you'd rather not be defined by something that you don't believe

But science and scholarship everywhere!

Hey Jasnah Renarin can float between worlds if he wants it's called balance and being well-rounded

Especially cause if I was in Roshar I definitely be doing the same thing cause Bridge Four but also scholarship

I want to believe you're not so limited

I really respect Jasnah's dedication and effort to quietly protecting her family

And yeah really why are royal families often so messed up

I do not want stormwardens near Renarin albeit for different reasons than Jasnah. I don't trust them.

Tashikk's system is so cool

If the Voidbringers target it....

Fantasy chat room!

Jochi and Ethid I love them already

I'm glad Jasnah has Veristitalian colleagues/friends

See Jochi is well rounded and in two worlds, a philosopher and running a pastry shop

Ooh Ethid’s a scion I was curious about those

Oh right Ethid could have been there when Nale/Darkness/Inspector Javert tried to kill Lift in the Azish palace

Is this how Szeth is going to return to the narrative? Jasnah hunting Heralds?

Jochi spotted Axies the Collector? He's known of in certain circles?

Heh they're discussing Lift

I need to reread Edgedancer to see if Ethid showed up at all

Is Dalinar's vision the unexpected source of the images of the Heralds or something else

Yeah Ethid it really does feel like Radiants are popping up everywhere

I'm just really happy Jasnah has scholar buddies

Wait Navani and Shallan are already discussing wedding Adolin this feels too soon and like something will go wrong probably learning Adolin killed Sadeas

I mean I figured something was off with Renarin given we know what the Truthwatcher spren should look like from that interlude with he poor cobbler and his foresight hasn't been confirmed as a Truthwatcher ability but now I'm really getting scared

*Hisses at Amaram*

I love how two of the characters I despised can technically be referred to by the same name now

OHHH

OHHHHHH

BURN

okay I take it back Amaram's presence was acceptable just so I could see him get burned

"Remind me to find whoever told you and have them hanged"

I LOVE YOU JASNAH

Also bonus points for glowing while you say that

Destroy him Jasnah

Tear him apart

Ugh I actually hate Amaram even more now, dude not listening when a woman says no, physically grabbing her

Oh man this is just delightful

Also I have never seen Jasnah this...vitriolic?

Shame Kaladin isn't watching

Team Amaram haters unite!

This is so beautiful

What does Jasnah know about him though

Heh yeah my reaction is pretty close to Shallan's

Jasnah's just oh no I was a poor example

And to be fair insulting ones female relative isn't a great route but I was just so delighted to see Amaram verbally attacked

Ah Shallan skipping over the part where it was your idea not Elhokar's

Ooh what did Renarin find

What on Roshar? Just sounds a tad jarring even if it fits

Oh that is awesome

Glowing musical gem language to preserve knowledge aaaa

#running liveblogs #oathbringer spoilers #running reads oathbringer #so many delightful things in this part

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autographedcat · 5 years ago

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A Fistful of Mithril: The Journey Begins

I was delighted recently to be invited by my friend Aron Wolf to participate in a D&D one-shot he was putting together. I’m a long-time RPG fan, but I haven’t really had a group of my own recently. Our old regular weekly D&D group in Atlanta scattered across the country, and while we managed to get things going again for a while over Skype, life intervened and we never got it back up again. So I was really excited to not only play, but play around a table in a room with a bunch of other people I already knew i liked and enjoyed spending time with!

Because this was intended as a shakedown cruise for the world Aron is building, he gave us all pre-rolled 3rd level characters with specific backstories, which let us drop into the “meeting the party” phase without a lot of time for chargen. This was useful, because our group was pretty evenly divided between D&D veterans and folks who had never played before, and even among the vets, some of us hadn’t really played 5th edition yet, so our knowledge of the system was rather out of date.

(Author’s note: I am not the DM of this campaign, so all of my reports will necessarily be titled towards my own perspective as a player. I will do my best to report on the happenings fairly and accurately, but I won’t always have all the information to hand about what is important, and that may influence my account.) Our setting is a land that is somewhat modelled on the Italian renaissance, and is set about 10 years after a very nasty war with a neighbouring nation-state devastated the region, and from which it is still recovering. Our characters all had various connections back to that war.

My own character’s story had a lot of interesting and tragic threads. She was born into nobility, but her family’s house was betrayed by collaborators and fell during the war, when she was a child. Her parents were executed by the invaders, and she was held hostage for a time in the occupier’s court. When the war ended, she found herself without land or title, and has been making a life on the streets in a variety of shady pursuits, with a speciality in skycraft and the acquisition and brokering of information to those willing to pay for it. As a result, she’s had a hard life for one so young, but can still, thanks to her upbringing and early education, still move as easily through high society as she does the criminal underworld. She’s still bitter about being cast out, and has ambitious to one day reclaim her birthright. 1 In addition to Kyrial, my rogue, we had the following PCs to round out the party: A cleric, Jane (Julie), A dwarven bard, Belle (Shawna) A fighter, Gordon (Marcos) A musketeer2, Lex (Jasmine/Leah)3 Another Rogue, Splendid (Paul) (Shawna helpfully live-tweeted some of the better dialogue, which I will be including throughout this report. Thanks, Shawna!) We had all been brought together to guard a caravan that was taking supplies up from the regional capitol to a mining town on the edge of the mountains, about two days travel away. Our benefactor, Elmo Bartolo, was one of the scions of the frontier town, which was still rebuilding after the war. We had a fit of giggles over learning the name of our employer, which lead the the DM referring to him exclusively by his last name for the rest of the session.

Elmo does not travel! Elmo is the money!#dnd5e #fistfulofmithril