#just let people build their little castles in the sandboxes without kicking them over

[the-lonelybarricade]

I am begging, begging, the acotar fandom to become familiar with the concept of ship and let ship. If a ship isn't your cup of tea, no one is making you drink it. No one is making you consume content for it. Leave people alone for enjoying the things that scratch their brain. Life is too short and the world is too mean to ridicule people for trying to squeeze a little joy out of silly "what-if" scenarios. These characters aren't real, they're just little dolls whose faces we're smushing together and some of y'all take it way too seriously

[justbatfamheadcannons]

Two Sandcastles and Some Chicken Nuggets

(The Dursley's make a sudden move to Gotham city and have no choice but to bring Harry with them. While he's sitting alone at the park, he makes two new friends. Jason and Dick.)

The first in a series inspiered by @hpfannons Batfam/Harry Potter head canons. Thank you so much for letting me write this and for getting back to me so quickly ^-^

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Harry Potter wasn’t sure how he felt about the city. The move to Gotham had been very sudden, Uncle Vernon had gotten a promotion and the whole family had to move. They would have left Harry in England but they couldn’t find ‘other arrangements’ in time so they brought him along.

Dudley was going to the prestigious ‘Gotham Academy’ that was around twenty minutes drive away from the small house they all lived in. Aunt Petunia would drive him every day and pick him up. Harry was going to the public school that took him an hour and a half to walk to every morning. Aunt Petunia wouldn’t ever pick him up from even when it was pouring rain. So Harry got used to walking alone in the large city while it was getting dark. If he wasn’t home by the time the street lamps turned on Aunt Petunia would lock him outside until Vernon got home from work. So Harry learned to run at least part way back home.

Harry liked the city sometimes because there were so many places he could slip away when his Aunt was screaming at him or if Vernon hit him with the belt. His favorite place was the park. On a Saturday afternoon, there were normally so many people there that no one could tell that Harry was alone. Sometimes he even got to play with kids his own age. Dudley couldn’t chase them off, because Petunia never let him go to the park by himself. Sometimes there were scary people at the park but when they showed up, Harry learned that he needed to leave, just like everyone else did.

Sometimes Gotham was a really scary place to live. They had lived there for six months and in that time, Harry’s school had gone on lockdown three times. The first time was because a guy had robbed a bank and barricaded himself in the middle school that was right next to Harry’s campus. The next time was because a man that was called ‘The Joker’ had been spotted close by. The most recent time had been a disgruntled woman who threatened to blow up the city because...well no one really knew why.

Those were the times that Gotham was bad. But otherwise, he really liked his new home. He was back at the park, swinging on the swings, kicking his legs. He was waiting to see if there were any kids who wanted to play with him. It was weirdly empty for a Saturday.  

“Uh...hey there!” He heard a friendly voice call out to him. He looked up and saw a young man approaching him with a boy who looked like he was twelve or thirteen years old. “I’m Dick, this is my younger brother, Jason. I was wondering if you would play with him?” The man asked, pushing the boy forward a little bit. Jason looked up at his brother and rolled his eyes.

“Yeah,” Jason said with a shrug. “Let’s go play.”

Harry slowed the swing and looked at the two hesitantly before he stood up and nodded. “We can go play in the sandbox and make a castle,” Harry suggested pointing.

“Yep, sounds great, lead the way.” Jason followed Harry and sat down in the sandbox with him. Jason watched as Harry started digging down in the dirt, pulling up sand that got wet from the last rain storm. Jason looked behind him where Dick was giving him a thumbs up. “So…my brother and I noticed that you come here by yourself all the time. Where are your parents?” Jason asked, a sigh leaving his lips.

Harry looked up with wide eyes, letting the wet sand slip out of his fingers. “Oh, they died in a car crash when I was a baby. My Aunt Petunia said that I got dumped with them after.”

“Oh, well where is your aunt?” Jason pressed.

Harry shrugged. “She’s at home. I come here so I don’t have to be there. They don’t like me very much.” He shrugged and went back to making his sand castle.

Jason winced at how casually Harry said that. “How old are you?”

“I’m eight years old, what about you?”

“I’m thirteen…” Jason didn’t know what to say. “What’s your name?” He asked.

“Harry, nice to meet you, Jason.” Harry had a bright smile and Jason couldn’t help but smile back. They sat quietly for a few minutes and Jason helped Harry build his castle. Jason wouldn’t have said anything else if Harry’s stomach hasn't growled loudly. He flushed pink and put a hand over his stomach. “Sorry,” he muttered, not meeting Jason’s eyes.    

“Don’t worry about it, kid,” Jason said. He grit his teeth together just slightly. “Did you have anything to eat today?” He asked.

“Yeah, Aunt Petunia let me have a piece of cheese this morning. I also had half an orange last night.”

“That all?” Jason asked, raising an eyebrow. When Harry nodded happily he sighed. “Alright, how about my brother and I buy you some lunch?” Harry was looking at him with wide eyes, then looked around like he thought something unpleasant was coming from behind. Jason stood up and dusted off his pants. He held his hand out to Harry and waited. Harry hesitated only for a few more seconds before slipping his small hand into Jason’s.

Jason led him over to Dick who was scrolling through his phone. He looked up when Jason was standing right in front of him and smiled. “What’s up, Jay?” He asked. Dick turned to Harry who was looking down at the ground bashfully. He raised an eyebrow at his brother.

“Harry hasn’t had anything to eat today,” Jason said, letting go of Harry and slipping his hands into his jean pocket. “I thought maybe we could get him a kid’s meal or something.” He shrugged.

“Of course we can!” Dick said brightly. He stood up and gestured with his head towards a blue car that was parked on the curb. “Do you need to call someone to tell them where you are?” He asked, already holding out his phone. Harry quickly shook his head. Dick frowned.

They loaded Harry up into the back of the car and drove towards the closest McDonald’s. Harry wanted the chicken nuggets and a sprite. His meal also came with a Batman toy. They parked and watched Harry eat his food. He ate two nuggets and put the other two in the pocket of his baggy pants. Jason gave Dick a single nod the three of them pulled out of the parking lot. “Alright Harry, where would you like us to take you?” Dick asked.

“On Mayor street,” he said, drinking the last of his soda. “I can walk the rest of the way home from there.”

“Well…alright then.” Dick drove silently and kept casting looks at Jason who was texting Alfred about the ‘situation.’ When Dick stopped the car Harry climbed out and waved goodbye to them before running the rest of the way to his front door.

He turned around and watched as Dick and Jason drove away. He looked up and saw that the street lights were on. He tried to open the door, but just like he expected it was locked. He sighed and sat down on the front step. Despite the situation, he was still really happy that he met Jason and Dick. He pressed his hand against his pocket where he felt the chicken nuggets waiting to be eaten later.

He got to see Dick again the next day. “Do you want to build a sandcastle?” He asked, pointing at the empty sandbox. “I brought a bucket today!” He smiled a pulled a green bucket out from behind his back. Harry’s eyes brightened and he nodded. Dick guided him over to the sandbox and the two sat down next to two other children who were being watched by their mothers.

“We’re going to make a magic castle,” Harry said, whispering the forbidden word. He watched Dick closely and was surprised when the young man’s smile brightened.

“That’s really cool, what’s in the magic castle?” He asked, helping Harry load up the bucket with sand.

Harry thought for a second. “There’s a dragon! But he’s a nice dragon. Also there a princess who lives there. But she and the dragon are friends and he scares away prince’s she doesn’t like. Oh! Also, there’s a room that’s always full of food!” He excitedly helped Dick turn the bucket over.

“Harry, can I ask you a few questions?” Dick asked, helping Harry build a moat around the castle.

Harry shrugged, sticking his tongue and concentrating on the sand. “Yeah, okay.”

“Do your aunt and uncle feed you?”

“Yeah, but I have to finish my chores first.”

Dick swallowed but tried to keep his voice steady. “What happens if you don’t finish your chores?” He asked.

Harry shifted uncomfortably. “Oh, well, I have to go to my cupboard without any food. Then if I don’t finish my chores the next day I still won’t get food but Uncle Vernon will hit me with his belt.”

Dick took a deep breath and nodded. “Do you get food from the school?”

“No, Aunt Petunia didn’t want to waste the money. She packs me a cheese stick and a bottle of water and my friend Alley asks her mom to pack me sandwiches a few times a week.”

“That’s very nice of her.” Dick forced a smile.“So can you tell me what you meant by you ‘cupboard?’ Is that a timeout space?”

“No the cupboard under the stairs I where I sleep!” Harry said with a bright smile. “When we moved from England I didn’t think there’d be cupboards here too!"

“And your uncle...does he hit you a lot?”

“Only when I’m bad.” Harry shrugged. “Or when I do something freaky.”

“What do you do that’s ‘freaky’?” Dick asked, shifting closer to Harry.

“M’not sure. Sometimes weird stuff just happens to me, and it’s my fault, so Uncle Vernon hits me.” Harry frowned, rolling a rock around on the ground. “Can we not talk about this anymore?”

Dick paused. “Sure thing, buddy. How about when we finish up our castle we go get something to eat, would you like that?”

Harry nodded excitedly and the two continued building their sand castle. Harry added a few windows before he decided he was hungry and asked Dick if they could go. Dick took him by the hand and even let Harry sit in the front seat. They went to a 24-hour diner and the red-haired waitress greeted Dick by name and took them to an area of the restaurant where there were no other people. “You can order anything you want off the menu, no price limit.”

Harry’s eyes widened and he looked at Dick like he was insane. “You really mean it? Even if it’s ten dollars?” He asked. Dick smiled and nodded. Harry looked down at the menu, scanning it quickly. “Could I have this please?” He asked, pointing to a picture of chicken strips. It was only about eight dollars, but Harry looked far too delighted for Dick to suggest he get anything else.

“Hey, Kate, I think we’re ready,” Dick smiled at the woman who walked over with the pad in hand. “I will have the Slappy burger with the extra slap if you please.” He grinned at the woman who rolled her eyes and wrote it down.

She looked at Harry, her lips turning up. “What about you, hun?” She asked.    

“The chicken strips please,” he said quietly.

“Sure thing, it’ll be ready soon.”

Harry looked at the pictures on the kids' menu, coloring with the crayons that the waitress had left for them. “I had a weird dream last night,” he said absentmindedly.

“Yeah? What was it about?” Dick asked, taking a sip of iced tea.

“There was a motorcycle, it was flying.” Harry made a whooshing sound and moved his hand like it was flying. Dick smiled at watched him. “It was a nice dream…it almost felt like a memory.”

“Have you had that dream before?” Dick asked.

“Yeah, I think I must have, but I don’t remember when.” He went back to his coloring and neither of them said anything until ‘Kate’ brought their food out.

Dick watched Harry stuff fries into his pockets. He smiled at Kate. “Whenever Harry comes in, will you give him something to eat? On me?” He asked. She looked at the boy and nodded.

That night when Dick brought Harry home, they said they were going to meet up again after Harry got out of school on Friday. Dick said he’d take him to the ‘movie theater’ with Jason. Harry ran up to his front porch with a huge smile. He turned the doorknob and it was unlocked. Aunt Petunia was talking happily to Dudley about something he’d done in class.

What a smart boy he was. Harry huffed and rolled his eyes, walking into his cupboard and hiding his fries in a little box under the shelf the was above the mattress he had on the floor. He laid down and wrapped himself up in his blanket and grinned from ear to ear. Yes, Harry Potter loved Gotham city.

[scootoaster]

Great online games to play with friends (while keeping your distance)

You may not need two controllers now, but you can still play with your friends. ( Lweendo Hachileka / Unsplash/)

These days, we’re all spending a lot more time indoors, and some people may be having a hard time being physically cut off from friends and family.

But even if you can’t be in the same room as your loved ones, you can still have a good time with them through online gaming—a great way to stay in touch and have fun at the same time.

There are a lot of options out there that offer multiplayer modes and allow you to connect with random people over the internet, though they’re not specifically designed for that. Here, we’ve picked games that were created to be enjoyed socially and are geared toward playing with people you actually know.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Nintendo Switch)

Why live life in social isolation when you can hang out with a gardening hamster and live on your own island? (Nintendo/)

The latest Animal Crossing game has been a huge hit on Nintendo’s latest console and it’s easy to see why. The reflective and relaxing gameplay, the cute and cartoonish graphics, the dream of a simple life on your very own island—it’s definitely a soothing alternative to the modern age.

If you’re completely new to Animal Crossing: New Horizons, it’s a slow-paced simulation game where you build a house and live your life on an island cultivated to your tastes. There are a lot of activities you can do with your character, from collecting creatures for the local museum to growing your own forest. But where you focus your energy is largely up to you.

And this is where the multiplayer aspect comes in—you can accept visitors and let them wander around your home, pass the time with them on the beach, or even allow them to help you develop your island.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is $60 and available on Nintendo’s website.

Draw Something (Android, iOS)

Having long turns to draw means every play can become an art piece. (Zynga/)

There’s a reason Pictionary is such a popular way to pass the time: It’s simple, fun, and everyone can have a go. What Draw Something does is translate that game to a mobile app that lets you play remotely with people living across the street or across the world.

You’ll have a variety of game modes to pick from, but if you stick to the default, you’ll find it’s the same as classic Pictionary: you draw an object and see if your teammates can guess what it is in the minimum amount of time. And you don’t have to set a specific time to play—turns can be as fast or as slow as you like.

The game lets you share your digital creations on social media too, take on individual drawing challenges, and earn points and various in-game prizes like medals—which won’t get you anything, but they’re nice to have .

Draw Something is free with in-app purchases, and it’s available on iTunes, Google Play, and Zynga.

Clash of Clans (Android, iOS)

There's a reason Clash of Clans has been able to stick around so long. (Supercell/)

Clash of Clans lets you get involved in some seriously addictive digital world-building, as you develop your own sprawling village based on the resources you've managed to plunder from the opposing clans in the game.

As you expand your empire, you can enlist the help of your friends and their clans, or battle them and see who emerges victorious—adding an extra layer of interest to what is already an engaging and entertaining mobile game.

Clash of Clans may not be particularly innovative, but its long-standing popularity proves how enjoyable it is to play. Developer Supercell continues to add new content and challenges on a regular basis, so if you’ve already played this game a lot, you’re likely to find something new upon coming back.

Clash of Clans is free with in-app purchases, and it’s available on iTunes, Google Play, and Supercell’s website.

Monopoly (Android, iOS)

The downside of online Monopoly is that you don't get to throw the board across the room when you lose. (Marmalade Game Studio/)

For many families, Monopoly is the classic board game that would get everyone sitting around the table for hours. But now, thanks to smartphones, you can continue playing even when a physical gathering is not possible.

The basic dynamic of Monopoly needs no explanation, and it remains the same in this officially licensed mobile version. We bet it won’t be hard to convince your friends and family to download the game.

But if they’re not available, or if you’re beating them a little too easily, you can always opt to take on random strangers from around the world.

Monopoly is up to $4, and it’s available on on iTunes, Google Play, and Marmalade Game Studio’s website.

Borderlands 3 (PS4, Xbox One, Windows, macOS)

Aliens, weapons, and adventures. What could possibly go wrong? (Gearbox Software/)

Some titles on this list are aimed at the casual, laid-back, occasional gamer, but Borderlands 3 is an exception. If you want to survive on a variety of alien planets, you’ll need to keep your wits about you and your weapons primed.

Players need to gain experience, defeat marauding enemies, earn rewards and recognition, and plunder loot. A fun and engaging game, Borderlands 3 is beautifully designed and has a wide variety of settings and environments.

Enlist the help of one, two, or three pals, and you can play as a team, which is more exciting than exploring alone. You can assign specialist roles to the other members of your team, too, using each set of individual skills to your benefit.

Borderlands 3 is $30 and above, and it’s available on the Borderlands website.

Red Dead Redemption 2 (PS4, Xbox One, Windows)

Explore the wide, solitary plains of the Wild West from the comfort of your couch. (Rockstar Games/)

What we like about the online multiplayer mode in Red Dead Redemption 2 is that you and your chosen posse can go at your own pace, whether that’s becoming infamous gun-slinging outlaws or simply moseying around the gorgeous scenery.

Some advice, though—before you step into multiplayer mode, it's well worth going in by yourself first to get a feeling for the controls, the characters, and the different environments that make up this vast digital open world. From snow-capped mountain peaks to the bustling streets of Saint Denis, you'll have plenty to explore.

Once you’ve gone through that, invite up to six friends and roam the Wild West together—or turn against each other, whatever seems more entertaining to you.

The developer keeps producing new side missions and surprises, so this is a game that’s going to last you a long time.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is $60 and above, and available on Rockstar Games’ website.

Asphalt 9: Legends (Nintendo Switch, Windows, macOS, Android, iOS)

You can't fit eight of your friends inside a Lamborghini, but you can definitely race them all at once. (Gameloft/)

The ninth incarnation of the long-running car racing and stunts game may well be the best one yet, with superb visuals, plenty of depth, and high-adrenaline gameplay that will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

Besides the single-player mode, you can choose to race with your buddies and earn points and honors as a team, or race against them to see who can get to the finish line first. And unless you’re really popular, Asphalt 9 should have you covered—the game allows up to eight players to compete at once.

Kudos to the developers for the number of game modes and features they’ve managed to pack in here, too—you won’t quickly exhaust the number of challenges, customizations, and upgrades you can work through.

Asphalt 9: Legends is free with in-app purchases, and available on the Asphalt Legends website.

Minecraft (PS4, Xbox One, Switch, Windows, Android, iOS)

"Look, Simba. Everything the light touches is our kingdom." (Microsoft/)

Minecraft is one of the most popular and successful video games of all time, period; and the open-ended construction vibe makes it especially fun to play with friends and family.

As its name suggests, Minecraft is about mining and building, but what you build is up to you—you can go for an underground labyrinth or a majestic castle in the clouds. If simple construction is not enough of a challenge for you, you can introduce a variety of enemies and nasty creatures to defend yourself against.

Multiplayer is almost exactly the same, except you’re mining, building, and battling with other people rather than on your own. It’s almost as good as meeting up in real life, only you’re in the digital world’s biggest sandbox.

Minecraft is $7 and above, and available for download on the Minecraft website.

FIFA 2020 (PS4, Xbox One, Windows, Switch)

Whether you call it soccer or football, FIFA 2020 is the best way to kick a ball around with friends in your living room without breaking a window. (EA Games/)

Multiple sports games could be included here, but few titles manage to make multiplayer as accessible or as enjoyable as the latest FIFA game.

For a start, there’s the sheer number of multiplayer options for you and your friends to pick from—play with each other on the same team, play against each other in 11-a-side, get involved in mini matches, street soccer, special challenges, and more. It’ll definitely take you a while to run out of ways to play.

As you would expect from a video game series that’s been going since 1993, there’s also a hugely polished and sophisticated sports simulation. It’s just about the most immersive sports experience you can get without getting up from the couch.

FIFA 2020 is $50 and above, and available on Electronic Arts’ website.

[duckandrollblog]

Sample Campaign

This Month's theme is : Campaigns, and so all month long Duck and Roll will be talking about campaign styles, how to build a progression of adventures, how to build an open sandbox game, and more.  

 We're going to kick things off with a nice little sample campaign structure. We're gonna start off with a pretty basic structure that can work in just about any kind of game. This model focuses strongly on getting the most out of a very small range of foes and it starts with a lot of excitement and builds up continually from there. Because of the tight focus it serves best for short campaigns and works well without having many or even any side adventures. This model also provides a good mix of fear, action, and excitement. It's heavy on stealth but has plenty of room for some combat and problem solving and provides a heavy dark atmosphere. Let's take a look:

 Adventure 1: The first encounter

The first encounter is a horror themed adventure. The player characters find themselves together in an isolated area. This works best in an enclosed space where options for escape are few. Good approaches to this are: A carnival funhouse, an office building after dark, the dungeon of a castle, a derelict ship, a small colony on a remote island/planet/moon, in a restricted military base, a pocket plane, or a space station. In this location the players are stalked by your villain of choice. This foe should be powerful, persistent, terrifying, and in some way unnatural. Ideal foes are implacable undead, murderous robots, frightening eldritch beings, killer golems, or the like. The foe stalks them through the location of choice, killing npc allies and making its best attempt on the players themselves. The foe should either be immortal, or at least durable beyond the ability of the party members and it should be clear. If the players have guns then it should soak lead, collapse, and then crawl back to its feet and continue pursuit. If the players have knives it should take a stabbing without even bleeding or slowing. Classic examples of this foe are foes like the Terminator, Jason Vorhees, DND Trolls, and Resident Evil's Nemesis or Tyrant. The foe pursues them slowly but unfailingly and finally through the perfect set of circumstances the party is able to slay or escape the foe and live another day.  During the adventure any information about the enemy is very well concealed and very minimal. No one knows what it is or where it came from or what it's after, and what little can be determined is hard to piece together. It's important however that the final result of adventure#3 is in some way foreshadowed here. And make sure you save your map if you made one, we might need it later.

Adventure#2: The nightmare returns

This adventure is the least like a traditional adventure in the series because it's quite the opposite of the first one. In this adventure the party from the previous encounter becomes aware of signs that whatever stalked and hunted them is back. Maybe a group of slayings on the news match the monsters M.O, maybe the trail of filth it leaves behind has been seen around, maybe the nightmares that it brings with it start all over. Some way the players know that the thing is back. This can also be done by having a group of npc's approach them, they say they know what the players have been through and now the monster is after them!

From there however the players are able to act accordingly. They can try to get help, but who would believe what they've been through, and more important who could actually be powerful enough to help them? The intention here is to build a sense of fear and helplessness. The monster is out there, it's taking lives and only a few people have ever seen it and survived. The players may use this opportunity to reach out to eachother but even if they don't they'll still be in a great position for the climax of the adventure. Once the fear and paranoia has been cranked up it's time for the monster to emerge, but this time it's different somehow. It fights different, or looks different, or it's wounds and scars are gone, it's still closer to the foe they faced than anything else, but something is wrong. It may seem like it's evolved, or devolved, but as the players engage, flee, or hide from the threat they get "the message". A cell phone call from someone who contacted the players, a desperate message spell, a psychic scream, a cry for help in the night, the distant howl of... a second monster. This threat, this foe is not the one they faced before, the invincible unstoppable threat they barely survived, there's more than one. The party escapes, maybe fleeing, maybe somehow slaying both monsters. But they find neither is the one they faced before. These things are out there, and now there can be no doubt, answers must be found before it's too late...if it isn't already.

 Adventure#3 The delve.

After pressing their contacts, consulting the stars, or a lengthy investigation the players become aware of a location that may hold the secrets they're after. An abandoned lab, a distant planet, a forgotten portal, a long closed amusement park, some desolate location holds the secret of the monsters. This may sound a lot like adventre#1, and it should, in fact if it's at all possible this adventure is best set in the ruins or remains of wherever adventure 1 happened, making your map twice as useful. This time however the players know that one or more of the monsters is out there, and they may even be coming from the very bowels of this location. This time escape is not enough, they need answers. This is where all the clues dropped in part 1 can come around and become important messages, the final pieces, or at least more pieces, fall into place and the players understand the full scale of the problem. While evading capture and whatever natural hazards fill the area the party learns that this is just the beginning, that the country, kingdom, world or galaxy could be threatened by this epidemic. What they face now are just the first things awakened from cryosleep, prototype robots, the weaker brood. The players also find the origins of these things and more importantly, how to stop them. They have a weakness, not just for defeating the creatures individually, but for stopping all of them. An EMP, a computer virus, an airborne toxin, a single specially made ritual, some Achilles heel. But in order to make use of it, the party must venture to the very heart of the enemy itself.

 Adventure#4 The final adventure.

The party must now infiltrate the root of the enemy. Now powerful foes, nearly unstoppable threats, are in a multitude and hope wears thin. Now the players can put all the skills and allies they've gained to the test in the climax of the campaign. The nature of the enemy means an all out assault is insane in the best of times so the key for this adventure is stealth. This helps play on the same ideas and themes as the first adventure, but now, thematically, the players are on the offensive, stalking, sneaking, hiding and surviving. This is also a good place to include a few very easy combat encounters, a chance for the players to show off how strong they've become. The element of danger and excitement in these battles though is that the foes don't have to win, they only have to raise an alarm in order for the fight to go very badly for the players. These smaller encounters should be with scientists, failed experiments, security drones or the like to ensure that the big monster of the campaign doesn't get devalued. Finally the players reach the end goal, the final switch. Customarily there should be a nice big boss fight here. If the power creep has been minimal then it could be the first monster from the first adventure, provided it was defeated in a way that leaves a chance for its return. Alternatively it could be an aberrant mutant, a superior next generation model, or the original being that was cloned to make the others. Ideally this monster should be powerful, relentless, and unbeatable, but all the party has to do is keep it busy long enough to execute the program or flip the switch and turn the key or complete the ritual in the right place and then, sweet sweet victory will be had. The threat is finally over, the monsters are banished or de-activated or slain, and the players have earned a long rest.

  Variation: This arc is flexible enough to leave a lot of room for variation. You can use robots, plant people, demons, evil clone demigods, animatronic fursuits, aliens, all kinds of stuff fit this model quite nicely. One could also lighten the tone considerably by casting everything in the light of a B movie. The police are useless to help and don't believe anything, the monster has improbable and sometimes wildly changing powers, the deaths are over the top and gory, and despite mortal danger NPC's are inexplicably prone to making out alone in the bushes.

 Works well with:

Paranoia: Someone or something was behind all of this. This kind of technology isn't cheap. Somewhere pulling the strings is a huge bureaucratic entity. It could be an evil corporation, or a secret branch of the government, but somewhere there were people of power who put their seal of approval on these nightmares.

Eldritch horror: These things simply should not be. Perhaps they are monsters from another reality, perhaps they are created and fed by fear itself, perhaps they came here from beyond the stars. Even if they're defeated the players will forever be haunted by what they've seen, and by the knowledge that things like that exist.

After the ending:

The nightmare continues: The robots are all shut down, except that one who the players shocked so bad it's uplink was severed. A single mutated variant of the creatures survived. The progenitor of the species didn't die in the final battle and went into hiding. Somehow, someway the creature that always comes back...came back! This can lead to either a final adventure where the players must finally face off against the last remaining monster in a no holds barred battle to the death. Or it could also be used to have that creature propagate, reproduce, and begin a whole new arc.

Enter phase two: The project was a failure, but valuable information was gained, and while costly, the wheels of industry keep on turning. A new monster can be cloned, or bred, or captured, one immune to the weaknesses of the predecessor.

The heroes of the past: Once you've battle against terrifying monsters and save the country/world/galaxy regular challenges feel dull and muted. From here we follow the players after their great adventure. The GM should throw a simple, boring, easy challenge, emphasizing how much the players have grown, what they're capable of, and how much more they could accomplish. From there a new opportunity arises. A monster that needs defeating, a special ops team, the call of the king or president, someone needs the heroes to regroup and face a new challenge.

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