#lich queen saga

[supereffectiveartblog]

Dungeons & Dragons 2022

This year's D&D play was a bit sporadic and infrequent compared to previous years. My D&D 2020 post had 9 player characters compared to this year's 4, but to be fair, in 2020 we played Tomb of Annihilation and I don't think I'm ever gonna have such a quick player character turnover again. In 2022, a lot of adult life got in the way; schedule clashes meant games weren't happening or even just a lack of free time during the week meant DMs couldn't set aside time to plan.

But even after all that, we had some good D&D games this year. We finally reached the conclusion of two campaigns we've playing on and off since 2020. We started playing in a new system called Pokémon Tabletop United (so this isn't a celebration of just D&D anymore). I also had more of a go DMing myself, and even if that doesn't translate to another player character in this artwork, it was more Tabletop RPGing

The Stats:

I played 22 sessions of TTRPGs in some form this year

(I'm counting 1 that was played after the D&D 2021 piece right at the end of December)

This translated into 21 Session artworks (one Everift Session had 2 artworks, three Ravnica sessions were condensed into one artwork).

I was a player character within 3 campaigns and a DM in 1 campaign and 1 One-Shot.

Everift concluded after 22 sessions. Sessions 1-10 were played in 2020, sessions 11-19 were played in 2021, and sessions 20-22 were played this year, 2022.

Ravnica concluded after 29 sessions. Sessions 1-2 were played in 2020, sessions 3-21 were played in 2021, and sessions 22-29 were played this year.

The Lich Queen saga, which I DM'd in two substories, is not concluded, but I've decided to put it on hiatus for now, hoping to DM a module campaign next year.

Veritas Stadium had sessions 1-3 last year, and session 4 this year. Rise of the Lich Queen had sessions 1-6 last year, and sessions 7-10 this year.

Pokémon Oster, our PTU campaign was started this year, and we've played 5 sessions, and it is highly likely to continue next year.

In Our Midst, my take on Among Us in D&D form, was the Halloween One-Shot for the year.

The Characters:

Nevaeh Cadaver was one of my first two D&D characters I made. The other, Hawthorne, I made as a reflection of the sensible but crafty side of me. He was a thief, but one who made plans, considered all options, and was a bit nerdy. Nevaeh on the other hand was my chaotic side. Impulsive, acted without thinking, and often without the wellbeing of others in mind.

Last year when I discussed Nevaeh in my D&D 2021 characters, I said she did not outright seek the destruction of others, just was apathetic, and would work with others toward her goal. In the final few sessions of the campaign, I played more into the chaotic side of Nevaeh, and what began as a character prone to evil turned into an evil character. She betrayed her party of allies and sided with the BBEG to bring about the bad ending, and she succeeded. As such I think it only fitting that Nevaeh's alignment change again from Neutral Evil to Chaotic Evil.

It was a fun ending to a campaign but bitter sweet, and thankfully the other players don't resent me too much for it, since Nevaeh was only ever one decision away from becoming a villain.

Sister Mira was one of my favourite character's I've ever made. Both in terms of gameplay and design. As discussed in another post, Mira's design came about by combining ideas from several priestly sort of characters, and her staff, which is mechanically a mace, is topped with the symbol reminiscent of the Selesnya sigil. Mira is also my first serious attempt at a support character, and I must say I really did enjoy the experience, and wanna play more more support characters in the future.

Mira met her end during a boss encounter toward the end of Ravnica. She had tried her best to make sure everyone else made it, and perished from a deadly poison. She was the only character to die during the encounter however, so even if I had to move on from her, she fulfilled her philosophy.

Boltz was my fifth and final character for Ravnica. And although he looks over designed on the outset, I really approached Boltz with a couple simple ideas. I wanted to play an Armourer, so I could do a character from a shorter species but have them in a mech that made them regular person height. This idea was originally a Kobold, but since Ravnica doesn't have Kobolds, he became a Goblin. The other was the name Boltz was to be pronounced German, and he'd have a German accent in character.

This because 1. German accents can be funny, and 2. There's this board game our friend group plays called Secret Hitler, and I wanted Boltz to be secretly a spy, Dimir. My own little secret Hitler. An Artificer was interesting to play for the time I used him, but I really didn't get that much play time in for Boltz (5 short sessions, and only 2 combat encounters), so I'd like to play with a character like him again later.

Darryl Fisher was my trainer character for Pokemon Tabletop United. PTU is a very different game, so instead of classes and races, your trainer character has stats to help them in and out of battle, and can take Features and Edges which function similarly to Feats and Class Features in D&D. Our PTU game is set in the fictional Pokémon Region of "Oster", an Australian based region, so when brainstorming a character I decided on the type of surfer/fisherman guy you'd see at Bondi Beach.

In Pokémon, my favourite type by far is the Water type, so when building Darryl, I picked the feature Type Ace, so I could focus on Water types. In fact, I have given myself the hard rule to only train Water type Pokémon. Since the Regional Dex will be 99% old Pokémon, our DM told us our starters could be anything we could reasonably argue as Australian, so I picked Piplup as a nod to Australian Fairy Penguins. When doing the trainer and session art for Pokémon Oster, I tried to replicate the style Artist Ken Sugimori did for Gen 1 and 2 Pokémon.

Going Forward

So, excluding Darryl, none of these characters will be present in next year's D&D 2023. We didn't play a lot of D&D towards the end of this year, but a lot of of the scheduling issues was to do with circumstances that hopefully will have gotten better by early next year.

I'm looking forward to starting new campaigns, both as DM and as player, and I definitely have ideas in spades for new characters. I'm also interested to see where PTU goes. And another friend has suggest yet another new system to play in called "Fate", so by next year, maybe it won't be D&D 2023. Maybe I'll have to call it TTRPGs 2023. Above all else, I hope I get see more of my friends.

[loreholdlesbian]

Wilds of Eldraine Draft Booster Challenge

Every set I like to make a draft booster pack featuring the themes of the set. (This particular booster has been done for like a month and I just never got around to posting it lol.) The goal of this project is to make cards that you would be unsurprised to open alongside the rest of the set, while innovating on its mechanics. This is a hard balance to strike, especially at common which takes up the majority of the booster. It's based on one of the challenges from GDS3 that i can no longer link because of wotc's shitty ass update to their website that broke access to like half their articles.

Now that the intro and griping are out of the way, let's get into it!

Art links:

Gadwick

Bitter Winds of Winter

Gold-Spinner Faerie

Syr Ginger's Vow (Screenshot from trailer)

Magic Pumpkin

Sword of Noble Destiny

Never Woke Up // Lay Down

Hungering Lich-Knight

Evil Relative

Induce Vengeance

Reign of Vermin

Basket of Baked Goods

Feasting Hedonists

Hunting Prowess

Rare

Gadwick, Wizard of the Wilds 2U Legendary Creature- Human Wizard > Lost Research 1U > Instant- Adventure > Draw a card. (Then exile this spell. You may cast the other half later from exile.) Prowess You may cast creature cards as though they had Lost Research as an Adventure. 2/2

I always like to do something novel in these boosters since, riffing off the GDS3, they’re supposed to be something I’d show to wizards of the coast to impress. Sometimes it’s quite hard to do anything too new at common and uncommon, which means I want to go hogwild at rare. This definitely has the novelty factor. I have no idea if it can be made to work within the rules or if this wording is correct, but I wanted it in here all the same.

Uncommons

Bitter Winds of Winter U Snow Enchantment If you would put one or more stun counters on a permanent an opponent controls, instead put that many plus one stun counters on it. 5U: Tap target creature and put a stun counter on it. (If a creature with a stun counter on it would become untapped, remove a stun counter from it instead.)

I’m a big proponent of the idea that the snow-queen themed cards should have had the snow subtype. I might make a post defending that at some point, but for now just go with it. I went back and forth on whether to make my own card for this theme snow, since it would match less with what the set did, but ultimately I went with this because I decided if I ever do anything with my cards like a custom cube, I’m gonna prefer it to be snow. And I make the rules here. This set has an unusually high number of stun counters and while it isn’t directly tap-matters like most of the cards in this archetype (though it does enable it, if not all that well), it just feels like a cool card to exist and this feels like a good place to do it.

Gold-Spinner Faerie 3B Creature- Faerie Bargain, bargain, bargain (You may sacrifice up to three artifacts, enchantments, and/or tokens as you cast this spell.) Flying When Gold-Spinner Faerie enters the battlefield, create a Treasure token for each time it was bargained. When Gold-Spinner Faerie enters the battlefield, create a Treasure token for each time it was bargained. 3/3

You’ve heard of multikicker, now get ready for multibargain! This feels like design space for the mechanic that wasn’t really explored, so it felt good to touch on in this booster.

Syr Ginger’s Vow 2B Enchantment- Saga (As this Saga enters and after your draw step, add a lore counter. Sacrifice after III.) I | Create two Food tokens II | Sacrifice a Food. If you do, draw a card. III | Destroy up to one target creature or planeswalker. 

For a while I had a Saga in the rare slot, but I decided to swap it out for something with a bit more novelty, so I ended up subbing in this card which I think I like better anyway. I love the Syr Ginger stuff, it’s just so silly, and I like doing Sagas that show a plane’s history. I think this captures the steps of her story very well which is nice for anyone who didn’t see the trailer.

Commons

Magic Pumpkin W Artifact- Food Vehicle Celebration — As long as two or more nonland permanents entered the battlefield under your control this turn, Magic Pumpkin is an artifact creature. 2, T, Sacrifice Magic Pumpkin: You gain 3 life. 3/2

I love weird type combinations, and I wanted to make a Food Vehicle or Food Equipment, and that felt like something that needed to be a top down design- luckily, cinderella provided the perfect opportunity. I wanted it in the cinderella story colors therefor, which means it needed to be white. White isn’t *much* of a food color in this particular set but I feel like that’s fine.

Sword of Noble Destiny 2W Artifact- Equipment When Sword of Noble Destiny enters the battlefield, attach it to target creature you control. You may create a Royal Role token and attach it to that creature. (If you control another Role on it, put that one into the graveyard. Enchanted creature gets +1/+1 and has ward 1.) Equipped creature gets +1/+1 and has ward 1. Equip 1

I know this set is mainly focusing on fairy tales and not camelot, I’m really shocked we didn’t get a sword in the stone reference using royal role tokens. It seems like such a hard thing to resist. So I didn’t. I pared it down to its simplest form to get it to work at common; I’m quite happy with the sword bestowing the same bonus as a royal role token, and that you can stack them on the same creature and be happy with that since the bonuses stack. Works out neatly.

Never Woke Up 1U Enchantment- Aura > Lay Down U > Instant- Adventure > Tap target creature. Enchant creature Enchanted creature doesn’t untap during its controller’s untap step.

This set debuted adventures on enchantments but only on a single rare cycle. I wanted to expand on that with a cycle of Auras, and here’s the representative of that cycle.

Hungering Lich-Knight 2B Creature- Zombie Knight Bargain (You may sacrifice an artifact, enchantment, or token as you cast this spell.) Hungering Lich-Knight has lifelink and haste as long as you’ve sacrificed a permanent this turn. 3/1 The Wilds are haunted by the Courts’ past misdeeds.

Here’s a twist I always like to play with alternate cost mechanics; one where the bonus doesn’t specifically require the alternate cost, but if you pay the cost it’s guaranteed. I did something similar with exploit back in VOW. I think it’s just a very fun way to do something a little different with a mechanic.

Evil Relative 1R Creature- Human When Evil Relative enters the battlefield, for each creature you control named Evil Relative, create a Wicked Role token and attach that token to that creature. (If you control another Role on it, put that one into the graveyard. Enchanted creature gets +1/+1. When this Aura is put into a graveyard, each opponent loses 1 life.)    1/1

I wanted a card that really plays with the “You can only have one role on a creature” and Wicked felt like the best way to do that since it has a payoff for that. Since there was no wicked role card connected to the wicked step family, I decided to connect it to that which helped pull the design together in a “have multiple of this card” direction.

Induce Vengeance 2R Instant Target creature you control deals damage equal to its power to any target. Create a Cursed Role token and attach it to that creature. (If you control another Role on it, put that one into the graveyard. Enchanted creature is 1/1.) The coven would not let their sister’s murder go unavenged.

I wanted to try using a cursed role as a sacrifice-lite effect and decided fling was a nice and simple execution of that. I think it’s fun cause with bargain and with other roles, since it’s easier to get your creature back at full power. It was very far from the usual fling flavor though, so I decided to go with someone kills a witch and is then cursed by her sisters in return. 

Reign of Vermin 1R Enchantment When Reign of Vermin enters the battlefield, create two 1/1 black Rat creature tokens with “This creature can’t block.” 4R, Sacrifice Reign of Vermin: Attacking Rats you control get +2/+0 until end of turn.

You know I couldn’t resist putting a rat typal card in here. Typal cards at common tend to be be more of the threshold-one variety (that is, only asking that you control one creature of that type, or one other creature) because limited plays better if commons are less demanding on your deck, so they’re more usable in multiple archetypes. But I think this card works fine on its own even if it’s of course better with more Rats to go around so I don’t think that’s too much of a problem. I also like how this design came out as very good bargain fodder, which helps it tie into the set more. 

Basket of Baked Goods G Artifact- Food Whenever Basket of Baked Goods enters the battlefield or is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, put a +1/+1 counter on up to one target creature. 2, T, Sacrifice Basket of Baked Goods: You gain 3 life. The werefox couldn’t help but comment on the smell of such a delicious morsel.

Here’s another nontoken food and another fun piece of bargain fodder. I know it’s redundant with some of the cards I have already but I’m really happy with the design and I definitely wanted it in here.

Feasting Hedonists 1G Creature- Elf Ward 2 Whenever an Aura becomes attached to Feasting Hedonists, create a Food token. (It’s an artifact with 2, T, Sacrifice this artifact: You gain 3 life.”) 2/2 A night of song and dance in the woods, a decade of time lost.

And here’s the obligatory enchantment payoff of the set, simplified for common. It has a simple payoff (though one that ties well into set themes and helps you pay bargain costs you probably want in your enchantment deck without having to sacrifice those enchantments you want), and I made it only proc off of aura that become attached to itself so follow the rule of thumb that commons shouldn’t do much when you’re not already looking at them. The ward is so you don’t get punished too hard for putting auras on this thing.

Bonus Sheet Slot

Hunting Prowess 3G Enchantment- Aura [rare] Storm (When you cast this spell, copy it for each spell cast before it this turn. You may choose new targets for the copies. Copies become tokens.) Enchant creature Enchanted creature gets +1/+1 and has “Whenever this creature deals combat damage to a player, draw a card.”

Bonus sheet slots are always weird since they’re explicitly reprints and the point of this project is to make new cards but the solution I’ve settled on is to make a card that wouldn’t feel out of place on the bonus sheet (ties into the overall theme, doesn’t demand things of limited that aren’t present, works flavorfully) but also wouldn’t be a good fit for the main set. The easiest way to meet that second constraint is to use a keyword that wasn’t present. This is a card that would have most likely been in MH2 to be reprinted here, but I think an Aura with storm is just a lot of fun. Combat damage trigger felt like the best way to make it being an Aura, rather than a sorcery distributing counters, worth it in a way that can be spread out or stacked on one creature.

[villain-championship]

Round 1 Matchups

round 1 is separated into a, b, c and d so its a little more organized, also the polls are for a week the first section of round ones polls date have not yet bee decided

The matchups for round 1 are:

a)

Baron draxum (rottmnt) vs. The Collector (the owl house/toh)

Catra (shera) vs. Lapis (steven universe/su)

memphis tennessee (sonic the hedgehog/ sth) vs. Jean Descole (Professor Layton franchise)

Obake / Bob Aken (Big Hero 6: The Series) vs. Gideon (gravity falls)

Jessie, James, and Meowth/team rocket (pokemon) vs. Megamind (megamind)

michael langdon (american horror story apocalypse) vs. libby chessler (sabrina the teenage witch)

Doctor dire (The Dire Saga (books) vs. Millions Knives (Trigun Stampede / Tristamp)

Yoshiya "joshua" Kiryu (TWEWY : Subarashiki kono sekai - The world End With You) vs. huggy wuggy (poppy playtime)

Charlie (Don’t Starve Together and Don’t Starve. [DST and DS respectively]) vs. DJ Octavio(Splatoon)

Jasper (steven universe/su) vs. Gabriel Agreste (Miraculous Ladybug/mlb)

Queen (Deltarune) vs. King dice (cuphead)

Dr. Flug (villainous) vs. Professor venomous (ok, ko let’s be heroes)

Metal sonic (sonic the hedgehog /sth) vs. Zuko (avatar the last airberder/atla)

the beast (over the garden wall) vs. yellow diamond (steven universe/su)

Death (puss in boots: the last wish) vs. Jinx (arcane)

The Cat Army (The Battle Cats. /TBC, BC) vs. CATS (zero wing)

b)

Niclays Roos (The Priory of the Orange Tree /TPOTOT or Priory for short) vs. Envy (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood)

Yzma (Emperor's new groove ) vs. Zim (invader zim)

bowser (mario) vs. plankton (spongebob)

Dante (fullmetal alchemist/fma) vs. P03 (Inscryption)

Eric cartman (south park/sp) vs. Bill cipher (gravity falls/gf)

lady eboshi (princess mononoke) vs. queen of hearts (alice in wonderland)

Heather (total drama island) vs. the red eyed demon (sallyface)

Spinel (steven universe/su) vs. The devil (cuphead)

Scar (the lion king) vs. the conductor (infinity train)

GladoS (Portal 1, Portal 2) vs. count olaf (a series of unfortunate events)

shredder, (rottmnt) vs. The cult (night in the woods)

the condesce (homestuck) vs. Spike (buffy the vampire slayer)

medusa gorgon (soul eater) vs. The lich (adventure time)

debbie jellinsky (the addams family values) vs. Yubaba (spirited away)

Shadow weaver (shera) vs. Starscream (Transformers /TF) Peridot (steven universe/su) vs. emperor belos (the owl house/toh) 

c)

nancy downs (the craft) vs. Sevika (arcane)

Doc scratch (homestuck) vs. Vecna/One (Stranger Things )

White Diamond (Steven Universe/SU) vs. Jerry (tom and jerry tv show)

Gulusgammamon (Digimon Ghost Game) vs. Dahlia Hawthorne (phoenix wright: ace attorney)

Gaea (percy jackson, the lost hero) vs. Hordak (shera)

Lady Alcina Dimitrescu (resident evil 8/ re8) vs. cyrus(pokemon) 

Nathaniel Benedict | "Dr." Curtain (Mysterious Benedict Society /MBS) vs. Shego (Shego)

luke castellan (percy jackson) vs. mark jefferson (life is strange)

Shiromori (mystery skulls) vs. fiona goode (american horror story coven)

Faith (buffy the vampire slayer) vs. Marguerite Baker (Resident Evil 7 /re7)

Silco (arcane) vs. Mekhane, AKA the Broken God (SCP Foundation. /SCP)

Heinz Doofenshmirtz (Phineas and Ferb /PnF) vs. Ghirahim (Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword)

Tighten (megamind) vs. big mama (rottmnt) 

Kestro (Lego Nexo Knights /LNK or NK) vs. dr eggman (sonic the hedgehog/ sth)

S tier/Alex (S and D tier series on tik tok) vs. Theala (Not Another Dnd Podcast /NADDPOD)

Donquixote Doflamingo (One piece /OP) vs. Xie Wang / Scorpion King (Word of Honor (woh) / Shan He Ling (shl)

d)

dr starline (sonic the hedgehog/ sth) vs. Henry (Inside No. 9 /IN9)

Kyubey (Puella Magi Madoka Magica. /PMMM) vs. The Wicked Witch Of the West (the wizard of oz)

Ainosuke (Adam) Shindo (Sk8 The Infinity /sk8) vs. Willy stampler (dungons and drahond daddies/dnddads)

Negaduck (Darkwing Duck/DWD) vs. Damon gant (phoenix wright: ace attorney)

Samuel T Owen (jin: Demi-Human) vs. Ishamael / Moridin (Wheel of Time /wot)

the Master(Doctor Who /Dr Who, DW) vs. Goro Akechi (Persona 5/P5)

scarlet facinera / stained glass scarlet (marvel comics, spec. moon knight) vs. Matt engarde  (phoenix wright: ace attorney)

Skitter (worm aka parahumans ) vs. Galactus (Marvel)

Kalvaxus | Goldenhoard (Dimension 20 Fantasy High /d20 FH) vs. Monstrox (Nexo Knights | NK)

Morgan fey (phoenix wright: ace attorney) vs. The White Death (bullet train)

Magica De Spell (Ducktales (2017) DT17) vs. Aikawa Mamoru (Tenkuu Shinpan/also called High-Rise Invasion, abbreviated HRI)

Matt engarde (phoenix wright: ace attorney) vs. Zenos yae Galvus (Final Fantasy 14/FFXIV)

Scaramouche (Genshin Impact /GI/Yuanshen) vs. Manfred von karma (Phoenix wright: ace attorney and miles edgeworth: investigations)

Xue Yang (Mo Dao Zu Shi [mdzs] / The Untamed [cql]) vs. Elphba (wicked)

Gene Khan / Mandarin (Iron Man Armored Adventures/IMAA) vs. Katherine Pierce (The Vampire Diaries)

Khan (star trek wrath of khan) vs. Janus Sanders (Sanders Sides/TSS and SaSi )

im not tagging this all.

[davidkeane17]

100 Cartoon Villains Of All Time

The Evil Queen Skeletor Scar Shredder Joker Jafar Ursula Cruella De Vil Gaston Mr Burns Plankton Elmer Fudd Maleficent Shan Yu Lex Luthor Hades Queen Of Hearts Magneto Claude Frollo Captain Hook Lady Tremaine Riddler Venom Sideshow Bob Mojo JoJo Him Chernabog Marvin the Martian Zira Sid Doctor Facilier Zim Vector Jessie And James Yzma Shredder 2012 Lots-o'-Huggin Bear Hans Angelica Kingpin Prowder Madam Mim Gothel Drizella Doctor Doofenshmirtz Doctor Doom Feathers McGraw Vegeta Doctor Octopus El Macho Tai Lung Smee Lord Shen Kai Anastasia Bill Cypher Ice King Slade Wilson The Lich Bane Cound Dooku Yellow Diamond Vitani Screenslaver Queen Beryl Ratigan Shenzi, Banzai & Ed Ra's Al Ghul Riddler Taskmaster Cell Light Yagami Fire Lord Ozai Darth Vader Maul Cad Bane Yosemite Sam Loki Frieza Eric Cartman The Giant Chicken Lust Rize Kamlshlro Scott Tenorman Trigon Azula Terrence Syndrome Princess Morbucks Green Goblin Will E. Ckyote Lord Farquaad Mongol Penguin Harley Quinn Poison Ivy Catwoman Vandal Savage Skullmaster Joker 2010 Riddler 2004 Sabretooth Lady Deathstroke Omega Red Deadpool Black Manta Ultron Modok Man Ray Cthulhu Stewie Griffin Ren Dr Lorre Grand Inquisitor Deadshot Charles Muntz Fairy Godmother Randall Boggs Mr Freeze Electro Ernesto De La Cruz Emperor Zurg The Father Mandark Kang And Kodos Thanos Skrulls Red Skull Baron Zemo Galactus Kraven Krang Kang The Conqueror Enchantress Mystique Magneto Yost Universe Sinister Six Red X Injustice League Kuvira Woodland Critters Delightful Children Viper Snowball Boggis, Bunce & Bean Rasputin Mom Robot Devil Jenner Doomsday Red Hood Hexxus Soto Vexus Sakharine Apocalypse Blackfire The Brain Brother Blood Robot Santa Larr Fat Tony Springfield Mafia Professor Chaos Sedusa Evil Morty Galactic Empire Galactic Federation Clayton Darth Sidious Queen La Hive Five Brotherhood Of Evil Gideon Blendin Blandin Masters Of Evil Juggernaut Abomination Giffany Frank Grimes Mister Ruckus Sir Crocodile The Major Envy Nagato Uzumakl Yohan Liebert DIO Alzen Vicious Uncle Ruckus Colonel H. Stinkmeaner Tom Cruise Barbra Streisand Krombopulos Michael Tammy Guetermann Lucius Needful Council Of Ricks Diane Simmons James Woods Evil Stewie Snake Jailbird Hank Scorpio Black Cat Count Vertigo Asajj Ventress The Monarch Phantom Limb The Son Barriss Offee Embo Bossk Savage Opress Darth Bane Inquisitorius Thrawn Van Kleiss Tiger Claw Bebop & Rocksteady Cheshire Suicide Squad Killer Croc Victor Quartermaine Winter Soldier The Hunter Black Cat Stinky Pet Darla Sherman Mad Mod Control Freak Terra Mumbo Fabrication Machine Klarion The Witch Boy Granny Goodness Sportsmaster Queen Bee Lobo Ocean Master Icicle Atomic Skull Black Beatle Prison Berry Duchess Nemesis Bendy Amoeba Boys Lenny Baxter Gangreen Gang Rowdyruff Boys Inque Shriek Blight Talia al Ghul Yubaba Lady Eboshi Colonel Muska Kushana Lord Darkar Valtor Trix Sebastian Saga Terrence Lewis Helga Von Guggen Nelson Muntz Terwilliger Family Shredder 2003 Grand Admiral Tarkin Carter Pewterschmidt Bertram Stickybeard Mr Boss Knightbrace Rob Miss Simian Zach Watterson Beatrice Horseman Doodlebob Bubble Bass Dennis Flying Dutchman Flats The Flounder Dirty Bubble Tattletale Strangler Saddam Hussein The Devil Scott The Dick Crab People Manbearpig Bill Donohue Trent Beyett Super Skrull Hydra Amos Slade The Bear Kent Mansley Rothbart Darla Dimple Dave The Octopus Makunga Squilliam Fancyson Hobgoblin Gabby Gabby Sabor Olivia Octopus Black Mask Parasite Clayface Killer Frost Bizarro Shade Giganta Sinestro Anti Monitor Atrocitus Larfleeze Ultra Humanite The Leader Annihilus Mole Man Red Ghost Frightful Four Terrax Klaw Maximus Ronan The Accuser Captain Boomerang Professor Zoom The Rogues Captain Cold Livewire Silver Banchee Aurra Sing Nightsisters Mother Talzin Pre Vizsla Death Watch Gar Saxon Jabba The Hutt Roberto Nudar Zapp Brannigan Walt. Larry And Igner Richard Nixon Donbot Flexo

[regulusfilliusinxomine]

Some Tykath Talk

How about I talk about Tykath for a bit when I want to talk about it all the time?

In relation to the previous talk about Drakath, I believe that he would see many supernatural creatures as an infection festering in his Kingdom. Many of them have slighted him in some way. The lich Sek Duat has been feuding with his family since forever, the Frydae vampires were doing the same, Sepulchure treats him like a dog that’s too stupid to even learn how to sit, and I bet if given the chance the fairies would throw rocks at him for being a prick. Overall, I wouldn’t be surprised if Drakath took it further than only seeing supernatural creatures as a tool, and outright hated all of them.

And Ty, a hero directly opposed to his goals, is obviously supernatural. Her existence is already a curse on him but those superhuman healing abilities, slight glow in her eyes, and something sinister hiding under her gloves gives it all away. Worse, she’s extremely interested in him and he hates being complimented, being saved from his own messes, and listened to intently like she loves to hear him talk. How awful.....................

Tsundereness aside, Drakath’s never been treated this way unless there was an obvious ulterior motive. I believe that there is, going by the fiction of them, that she sees Drakath as an easy target to hunt and play with until the meat ribbons stop moving. It’s just that the Prince doesn’t and can’t see it that way even when it becomes obvious. He needs it; humans aren’t meant to be alone, even the shitty shitty shitty shitty shitty shitty ones. I think Drakath would latch on to something he thought was real like it’s the last drink of water in a desert planet.

Like he’d ever admit that. First, he’d be annoyed that an abomination was slobbering all over him. But wait! Wait wait wait! Let’s say the deal with Sepulchure falls through or that rancid meat sack dares to toss him aside. What’s plan B?

The Hero is well loved by the masses, going out there and leading the masses on like sheep with their “good” deeds. Now, let’s say this Hero favored Drakath and continued to sing his praises. He could hop on this obviously head-over-heels Hero if they manage to beat down Sepulchure, and the idiot peasants would see that Drakath helped them. Perfect! If one plan fails, the other will succeed!

Ty, however, is an actual monster. It was a coincidence that her revenge plots and general hedonistic thirst for blood was targeted at the right beasts. Come the Dark Orb Saga, Ty is doing more and more violent and fearmongering things. Like grinding undead lich’s to a fine dust and letting them exist eternally as souls screaming within their single particles. 

That’s shady, maybe don’t do that. The peasants are going to be scared. Maybe don’t set entire swathes of forests and fields on fire if it means burning the enemy. That’s ruining Drakath’s Kingdom; he wants to rule a country, not ashes. Plus, how is his B plan going to succeed if the peasants open their eyes and see that Ty is an insane sadist? 

Of all things, Drakath turns into a soothing force for Ty, becoming attuned to what his own morals are and where he draws his line. If he slips, he’s going to destroy what he wanted in the first place. 

Then Ty starts to catch feelings (I think), using a gentler hand because the love of the people and her friends have softened the beast. That’s actually great for Drakath, and he’s become soft himself for a happier, more genuine-about-her-feelings Ty. 

Then it comes out that she was a homunculus created from the flesh of many, with either no soul or a cursed unknown thing. Like a grotesquerie queen dressing up like a harmless girl. That makes her want to avoid the people she cares about because her very nature as a monster makes her impossible to love and to be loved.

Drakath’s faced with a dilemma. He hates monsters and Ty refuses to believe that she is anything but one. He also can’t say that Ty is the exception cause she is definitely not, and he’s very aware that he’s already said some things along the line of “yes all vampires are blood sucking leeches deserving of the torch, but not you sir!” to get what he wants before finding any way to rid himself of them when become useless. Thinking that way about Ty genuinely disgusts him to his core.

He doesn’t recant that all supernatural beings are nasty, horrid things. Drakath just lumps humans into the mix.It’s not great, let’s be fair here, but for now this is how he says that yknow, he was wrong to hate all supernatural creatures. He only hates those certain few

With that in mind, Ty is the most human person he’s ever met. Why shouldn’t she want pay back for crimes against her? And obviously, if she’s willing to go so far as to do something as stupid as isolate herself, she’s already far better than the mouth breathers. But don’t do that again.......it bothers him......

For some reason (I hope), that makes Ty feel like she’s walking on clouds. 

[vitaeplaysgw2]

What’s going to do your Commander(s) after the war against the Elder Dragons?

More like, let’s imagine that the story ends, everything is finally fine and calm, no risk to destroy reality or big bad villains to put at risk Tyria. What are going to do you characters in times of peace?

I’m truly curious!

 I’m putting my list under a read more because I have far too many characters, also BEWARE! Spoilers ahead for HOT, POF and the various LWSs (I’m keeping out the All or Nothing episode tho)

Zantelia, my (eu) commander is going to REST keep her role as Aurene’s Champion and guardian. I don’t know how, but that’s where her heart belongs after Trahearne death.

Lileodrys, after Zantelia left everything to follow her path, I think is going to take her role in Dragon’s watch for a time, before shutting it down (as, the dragons problem is gone). Most probably he’s going to journey around the world, as he wanted to do after Mordremoth’s death.

(EU)Saga travels back to Elona and becomes a politician (or the Queen, let me dream pls) taking special care of the remaining Awakens. After all they have been her family for a long time and she thinks of owing thme at least her help.

(NA)Saga is much more darker, and now that Joko is without his powers she’s like one of the more powerful necromancers and liches. Her new mission is to take her husband’s place and bring back the necrocracy! (but 10/10 she’s going to be a better ruler than Joko, who didn’t know that happy people equates loyal people)

Now mortal and human, I don’t think Palawa Joko  is going to change in his ways. (NA)Joko just like (NA)Saga is going to work hard to get back his power and his status. (EU)Joko on the other hand has learned, by accepting to help the Commander, that he can be the hero too. He helps Saga as her counselor in her new political career, hoping the get some of her merits and maybe one day become again the Eternal Monarch of All

Orchidamiel keeps his role as ambassador but in his free time HE’S GONNA BE A CHEF. Cooking has always been his secret hobby.

Magnolius isn’t someone who likes to settle down and do trivial things like his lover, he's a man of action. That’s way he’s gonna set up a sellswords guild or something. Money is good, specially if you can get it by punching someone else.

Wisterae is finally going to be treated by a psychiatrist deepest wish was to be able to start over his life. He’s going to do that for sure, under the guide of the Pale Tree. No more fighting, no more voices in his brain, a puppet never again.

Novaliris has only two possible choices: to die or to leave their need for vengeance behind. If they survive, they’re going for sure to go back in the Heart of Maguuma to become a leader for the few mordrem left who don’t want to join the sylvari or the outside world.

Not all my characters but.... whatever?

[phylophe]

“This one’s existence is already owed to too many… This one simply can’t afford to just let things be.”

CSS finally finished - and somehow survived - the Falcon’s Hollow Saga! With lots of unanswered questions and unresolved issues, of course.

With the combination of the help of his friends, the intervention of several powerful beings, a few deaths (?) in alternate universes, and sheer dumb luck, Amur managed to get both his grace and his humanity back. For uh… bookkeeping reasons, I wrote a thing under the cut.

Thanks @waffuruki​, @lazzuderp​, @kimlime-pie​, and especially our GM @djkalis​ for the amazing game! I’m eagerly awaiting the exciting continuation of this Tired Old Man™’s adventures.

When he first resurfaced, having defeated with his companions the lich called Drazmorg, the townsfolk - what’s left of them, after the grueling siege - greeted them as if they were heroes. Their faces, although weary, were spirited, hopeful, despite their loss.

He knew, though, that this was a pyrrhic victory through and through. The final battle was exhiliarating, but after he rode out the high spirits from being able to contribute significantly to the fight, he was left asking the questions of what could have been:

If only he hadn’t gotten associated with the wraith. If only he hadn’t enabled her to take the Stone of White. If only he hadn’t fallen from grace before the final confrontation. If only he had been the paladin that he’s meant to be…

Then so many lives could have been spared.

At the initial defense of the city walls. At the confrontation with the undead dragon. At the pit swarming with ghouls and people.

If he hadn’t fallen, the walls might not have been breached. Savram might not have died. He might not have had to mercy-kill all those civilians kidnapped from their homes.

He was no hero.

These were his failings, his crimes, his sins. As he’d told Darathaxyl in his trial, they were his to bear, and his to confront.

And so, he made a pledge:

He would watch over Darkmoon Vale, whose queen had preserved him.

He would stand by his companions, who had fought for and with him, where he could.

He would continue the life of an adventurer, so he could encounter those in need, in atonement for all the help he could not give.

And when he should face the wraith clinging onto his soul, he would free himself from her, and free her from her cursed undeath.

[learningtoacceptchange]

Adventure Time Thoughts

So I've finished my first official full series watch of Adventure Time. And I've got a few questions that will possibly be answered, or maybe never answered.

So far the one that has me hyper-focused was when did Marceline and Bubblegum first meet. Did they meet as kids in the wastelands? Teenagers (at least in mentality), when Bubblegum was getting the kingdom started and Marcy was hunting vamps and/or had just become the Vampire Queen?

But I just had this thought/question;

When did Bubblegum meet Jake and Finn? I don't think that was ever answered in the show!

Did they just show up to Candy Kingdom and start eating a house or something? Did they find one of the Princess' experiment gone awry and try to help?

Maybe since Lady Rainicorn and Bubblegum are besties, she was introduced to Jake first and then met 'his little brother who's a human'? Also they need some cash 'cause living in a treehouse brings only so much income?

And a few others;

Does Sweet P go by a different name now?

Is the Lich really dead? Or just sleeping?

Does Simon ever find Betty again?

With Bubblegum being one of the five elementals, when the world ends again will she actually die? And what would Marceline do when she realizes it?

Did Patience St. Pim throw the world out of whack by refusing to die before? And is it even worse now that another cycle might go by?

And well... there's a whole lot to go through.

But I'm still glad I watched it. It was like watching a mythological saga play out.

10 outta 10, will watch it again.

[brentweichsel]

The Saga of Sir Keekchoo

I want to tell you a start about a half orc peasant, who was born to simple farmers. A person who dreamed of becoming a Knight. A person who ended up becoming the leader of his home nation that he ran away from.

I want to tell you the tale of Sir Keekchoo of the Mare. My last character I played in the two year campaign that ended last Sunday. I did not start as Keekchoo. But he became everything I could have ever wanted.

I started the campaign as Ollie Thane a Human Paladin who fell and killed one of the party members. That’s a tale for another time.  I played a Eldrian Rouge for a moment but I didn’t like the character as much so I ended up needing a new character. I couldn’t play another Paladin but I needed another character. One day while I was watching Samurai Seven and I have always loved the concept of Kikuchiyo. I identify with that character so much. And it all came into focus for me.

Keekchoo was a half orc born as a farmer’s son in the Nomadic Black Scale nation. Which had a simple policy. If you Kill someone you get all of their things. I never fleshed out exactly what made Keekchoo run away. But it came down to this. At some point he heard about Knights. It was all he wanted to be. But he wasn’t noble born. He was a peasant. After he ran away he eventually found a knight’s suit of armor (Armor of Etherealness) and a broken magical sword (Sword of the Jager, Homebrew magic item) and the scabbard for the whole sword. Even broken the sword was still great sword sized. On it it said “For those we cherish, we die in glory” This became his mantra. Whenever he was scared, or doubted him self it became his litany. He built his world view around it.

(Detail of the sword with part of the characters slogan)

Though not being an actual Knight he had to find work as a sell sword. Using skills as a farmer he became a stage coach driver. He also eventually came across a equestrian whistle that allowed him to summon 4 celestial Horses and a stage coach. He still called himself a knight. In face he called himself a “Knight of Cambria” a nation on another continent. That he totally made up.

A slight aside. One time when we were playing the game a beer hall in Brooklyn. Claudio Sanchez was sitting next to us and asking us questions about it. He thought it was really cool that we were playing D&D. Claudio Sanchez is the lead singer and songwriter for Coheed and Cambria. One of my favorite bands. and Yes I named the fictional kingdom Keekchoo was from after the band. I’m still pissed to this day that I didn’t introduce myself, tell him that I was a fan and that I brought some of that into my character.

During his time as a Driver he came across the Dark elf, Revan of the Starfell. The Starfell clan is the rolling clan of the gang isles. The Dark Elf nation. The party’s Cleric of Mortality. (home brew cleric domain). He needed to hire a guard to clear a temple (This was during a time when the party spilt for 5 years apart) Neither Revan nor Keekchoo knew it at this point but they had both meet someone that would change their lives forever.

(The dice set I used for Keekchoo)

Keekchoo stayed on as Revan’s Champion and Revan Keekchoo’s Ward. During this time. Both of them started to realize it was more then just a working relationship. It became much more than that. Revan being a high elf and being much older then Keekchoo, he realized that he was developing romantic feelings for Keekchoo. Keekchoo thought this was just the love that a knight had for their ward or Legie. He didn’t understand what was happening.

Everytime that Revan would bless him, or heal him out of combat. Keekchoo would get down on one knee take his helmet off and Revan would bless him or heal him on the shoulder. Then as they got closer it was on the head. Due to Keekchoo’s height this made him about level with Revan when he got this low. They were team small and tall.

It’s important to note that Revan knew that Keekchoo was not a actual knight. When they started traveling together. Revan would call him Keekchoo only. Even though Keekchoo would always introduce him self as Sir Keekchoo of the Mare. This was due to Revan being nobility of the dark elf nation which is one of the more powerful nations in the world of this game. This become more important than they both could know.

(Keekchoo’s character sheet after the last session)

Their adventures took them to dark dwarves dungeons fighting cults against corrupted gods, across the planes of the cruelty of war, the plane of the joy of battle, and into court with the gods of goodness. This was all in service of killing the Lich. But also against their greater foe. The fallen Paladin Thane. Who also seemed to defeat the Lich via any means necessary. When Ollie fell he lost his name and became only Thane. This is the same character that I played. That was friends with Revan. They were not just friends but also worshiped the same gods. The Spider Queen. The guardian of the cycle of life. Revan was there when Ollie broke his oath the first time and the spider queen brought them both before her in a vision. Ollie swore a new oath to her. She gave him a second chance. He betrayed her twice. Revan could not abide by Thane and his methods. Ollie killed a party member to gain more power to defeat the lich. He betrayed not only his god, but his party and his best friend.

Keekchoo was always on Revan’s Left side. In front. We always placed our mini’s in this fashion.

When we started going into the final part of the campaign. I didn’t think Keekchoo would survive. Not that he had a death wish. But he was a Knight. The best death one could have have was to die in service of your lord. But for Keechoo even though he wasn’t aware of it. His lord was also his love. Keekchoo for all of his appeals to being a knight. He had a rage inside of him. He swung his sword with such force that some thought he was more a barbarian then a knight. Or that he wasn’t half orc but half giant.

(The Mini I used for Keekchoo it had a sword when I started, but it broke off at some point)

When they got to the final level before the lich’s throne. It was brutal. Dragons that were allied with the party were fighting demons and devils in the sky surrounding the keep. They were getting caught in dragon fire, and demon magic. Devils chased them as they ran up the keep. Revan took fiendish magic and fell. Keekchoo rushed to his side. Do you know what he told him?

“Revan, you have carried me for so long, it’s time for me to carry you”

I don’t care if I ripped off a famous property. It was amazing. Tears were had. Revan then critted on his death saving throw roll and came back to us.  

When we got the top of the spire right before the doors. He cast the spell Ceremony which has a marriage component. During this they did a hand fasting ceremony. Many times during the game Keekchoo or Revan had helped the other. Not by grabbing each others hand. But grabbing each others forearms. That didn’t stop during their wedding. During the ceremony our allied dragons won the battle. Then Revan told Keekchoo the only words that he wanted to hear. He pronounced him “Sir Keekchoo of the Mare, Knight of the Gangal Isles” Keekchoo jumped up grabbed Revan in his arms and they shared their first kiss ever but also the first kiss as each others Husbands. Dawn broke over the horizon. It was time to fight the Lich.

Keekchoo never landed a hit on the Lich. Due to spellcasting and other things. But Keekchoo gave Revan a potion of healing when he dropped.

We defeated the Lich. We then took the phlactarys we had found to our reluctant ally. Thane.

Thane was too hungry for power. He wanted to save the world from all of the evils in the world. In doing too he became one of the great evils in the world. Was it that Thane was rotted to the core? Or was it that the Devil possessed sycthe he wielded and Armor he wore had corrupted him fully. Who can say.

Revan had a score to settle with Thane. In the meantime there was Keth. The Orc warlord of the Black Scale. The same nation that Keekchoo grew up in. Keth taunted him. Keth hit Revan and took him down. Keth told him that if “he was a real orc he would protect his husband”

Keekchoo responded

“Fate is in my hands”

And struck him with his sword.

“Today the End begins”

Keekchoo stabbed the Orc in the gut.

“Today I change the end”

and decapitated Keth the Warlord of the entire Black Scales.

Revan nor Keekchoo landed the kill blow on Thane. In fact it was our parties Ranger Wraith. She landed the killing shot on both Thane and the Lich.

During our transit on Giant owls from the Lich’s Castle to Thane. Revan remarked that his mother would not be happy that he got married to someone that had no political power. Revan’s place in the matriarchal Gangal Isle was to be married off to another nation for political gains.

Sir Keekchoo had changed that. Sir Keechoo in killing Keth. Became The warlord of the Black Scales.

This is how Keekchoo a farmers son became,

Sir Keekchoo of the Mare, Knight of the Gangal Isle, Warlord of the Black Scale and husband of Revan Starfall of Gangal Isle.

I’d like to thank @thedevilsyouknew for running this campaign for two years. I don’t think you will ever know how much this game got me through some very rough years of my life. It saved me. Thank you so much.  @gayblackgeek Thank you for playing Revan. The game would not have been the same without you.  The Keekchoo art was done by the super talented Apple Nunez

[harrietrawls20-blog]

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[supereffectiveartblog]

D&D Lich Queen Saga Artwork Masterpost

In the middle of 2021, after being a D&D player for more than a year, I took up the mantle of DM for my own campaign. It's an original story that is sort of a homage to our previous campaigns, and as such, past player characters and recurring enemies have come back to cameo as NPCs as AU versions of themselves.

The story was originally just a One-Shot at a higher level, but I put more work in, and decided to run it for a bit longer. But since I've run a One-Shot, a spin-off series, and a return to the main adventure, I've run into an issue I had to clean up later...

Although this is all one Canon, different arcs and perspectives have had different titles as we switch back and forth. The chronological order of events can be found in the Master Post for this series, but for this session artwork compilation, I'll just be grouping them by series.

● ● ●

So my players could try out a couple different builds, this adventure follows two different parties of characters.

The Lich Hunters are a ragtag group of adventurers who's main objective is to seek out the Lich Queen's influence and snuff it out. These characters feature in the Castle de Sangre Dios "One-Shot", and for most of the Rise of the Lich Queen main story series.

What we originally referred to as the up and coming champions, now the Fighters Unchained, are a group of elite warriors who fight monsters and warriors alike in the glatorial ring of Veritas Stadium. Veritas Stadium is a spin-off of Rise of the Lich Queen, and happens in the same universe. As such, the characters in this group also do some adventuring outside the arena later on, and are featured in the Rise of the Lich Queen series.

Ok, explanation over. To read the full chapter summaries, follow the links on the Lich Queen Saga masterpost.

In the next post, I will just be compiling session art.

[supereffectivemoonblast]

Rise of the Lich Queen

Chapter 9: A lich, a vampire, & their victim

The party spend a night staying at the shop of Cadence the lizardfolk before they leave toward the jungle for Lavi Tori temple. Calamastia has an unsettling night; during her elven resting trance, she receives a vision. A hooded figure surrounded by birds approaches her, and a voice behind warns Calamastia to watch out for Wolves in sheets clothing. She turns to see the sillhouete of a horned figure in a cape. This figure says they will meet in due course, and to "Be wary of books that do not burn. They betray a devious mind".

Calamastia awakens and tells some of her allies of this dream. They thank Cadence for their stay, and go out into the city to look for directions. A fisherman tells them to follow the lakeshore until they find a river mouth. Then to follow the river into the jungle until they find the temple.

Most of a day into their trip, they spot some gross fungus in their path. Thaldin burns the fungus, scaring some Vegepygmy who watching them from the forest. Norm immediately rushes off the path after them, the rest of the party trailing behind. Eventually the party corner a small group of the Vegepygmies attempting to hide from them.

Norm, and Calamastia start ripping apart the creatures, but for their fungal forms keep reforming back to life. Thaldin soon finds that his necrotic magic damage prevents the vegepygmies from regenerating. But this isn't fast enough for Calamastia, who just smashes them hard enough that their remains are too pulverised to reform.

The party later have to climb up a collapsed part of the riverbank, and Thaec levitates into the air to clear the obstacle. From the air, Thaec spots the Temple peeking over the treeline, directing the party closer from the air.

A couple nights later, while Thaldin is taking watch, he hears the sound of music a ways from their camp. He walks closer, seeing sparkling from within the trees, and comes across a Tiefling playing an accordion. The music almost magically charms Thaldin, but she drops her spell. She introduces herself as Bliss, a hero who has travelled across many lands. Bliss says she has a message for the party, but wants them to finish their quest at Lavi Tori first. Thaldin insists she tell them now, and takes her back to camp.

Bliss explains how she came from the city of Mavrokross on the east coast of Eastrift. While doing research on distant planes, Bliss was one day transported to a world called Chult, arising from a door within a places called the Tomb of the Nine Gods. (Refer to Chapter 43 of our Tomb campaign) She helped a group of adventurers explore the dungeon, and eventually came face to face with a Lich named Acererak. After the adventure ended, she was transported out of that realm, but she did not find her way back to this realm straight away.

She found herself in the world of Everift, which was a wasteland of undead, a world that had ended. Apparently the Lich Queen of her homeworld also existed in Everift. There she was known as Nevaeh, and she betrayed her closest friends in order to ruin the world. (Refer to Chapter 22 of Everift)

Eventually, Bliss was transported back to her homerealm, where she found that the Lich's allies existed in this world too, but the Lich Queen hadn't betrayed them... yet. The barbarian Meredith has already turned on the Lich, but Bliss has yet to find the Vampire Woman, and her... victim?? She's not sure on the details.

The quest she wants this party to help with is to find this Vampire and her lover or prey or whatever, and convince them that the Lich will betray them. They will make powerful allies. She then leaves the party, and says she hopes to see them again.

The next day, the party will arrive at the hag Temple of Lavi Tori.

Bliss was my final character for Tomb, where she arrived from another world (this campaign). Here's her updated design, complete with items she found in the Tomb.

[supereffectivemoonblast]

Veritas Stadium

Chapter 4: ENORMOUS

After the first battle of the Exhibition (link to previous chapter), the Fighters Unchained were briefed on their opponents, representatives of a coven of hags from out of town. The team call themselves "WiWi's Baby Back Ribs", named after the team leader, a Night Hag named Grandma WiWi. Accompanying her is a Green Hag called Nona Shaert, a young Green Dragon, a Froghemoth, and a Spirit Naga.

D&D Official Art, Top: Night Hag, Green Hag, Spirit Naga

Bottom: Froghemoth, Green Dragon

The mentor of the good guys, a Tortle named Ubo, tells the combatants of rumours of the hags killing and eating people, so he, like others in the games, think they shouldn't be in the competition. So like the Fighters Unchained, this match is a chance for the hags to prove they are worthy of battle. This battle will be run with magic rules called a Hype Battle. Every time they do something to excite the audience, they will build up a meter to unlock powers for their team.

The battle begins scary for the good guys, as powerful attacks from the Froghemoth render a couple party members stuck. But the Fighters don't go easy on their own opening attacks. The Kenku Monk Swift locks down the Spirit Naga, not allowing any opportunity for retaliation. Thaec, the Half Orc Warlock, surrounds the entire arena with a blinding holy light, Sickening Radiance. While Thaldin and Thaec fight the Dragon, Calamastia and Norm fight the Froghemoth. And the crowd loves them.

Huge powerful moves, tricky tactics, and acrobatic dodges cause a chorus of shouts and cheers from the audience, and thanks to the special rules of the fight, the Fighters feel themselves magically swell with the excitement. Critical hits happen more often, the Fighters wager exciting manoeuvres rewarded with extra damage. And just as the Dragon is magically expelled from the arena, hype reaches a fever pitch, and Norm's body, still hot from his last sword swing, begins to grow.

Norm turns into an eNORMous magical giant, and with a few strategic assists from his teammates, reduces the remaining opponents to exhaustion. And with a final swing of his massive sword, Nona Shaert is removed from battle, and the Fighters Unchained find victory.

Otto, the host of the games, approaches the triumphant team, with a still enormous Norm. He holds aloft the three shards of the Lich Queen's soul that various adventures had gathered, and asks that Norm satisfy the crowd's excitement one more time, and take the first step to weakening the seemingly immortal Lich Queen. With one final enormous sword strike, the energy of Veritas Stadium make impact with these chunks of the phylactery, and after a brief flash of light, they are gone.

...

While the Fighters Unchained celebrated their victory, now able to enjoy a couple week's break before the big leagues, the Adventurers who just watched the game discuss with Otto and fellow Lich Hunting Adventurer Meredith where they go next to hunt bits of the Lich Queen's soul. It was decided Meredith and her allies would go toward the forested centre of Eastrift. The player's party decided they would return to Castle de Sangre Dios, armed with new knowledge to find if the Vampire Isabella was entrusted with one of these Soul Shards.

[supereffectiveartblog]

Dungeons & Dragons 2021

Last year, I made a piece similar to this, where I drew all of the characters I played as in D&D in 2020. There were many more characters in 2020's D&D character post, since that year we were playing a campaign called Tomb of Annihilation, which is infamous for its meat grinder mindset on character deaths, and indeed, I had 5 characters from Tomb alone.

This year, our D&D group has been playing across 4 different campaigns, all with different DMs, and I am one of them. So for this year's D&D celebration art, I included all 5 characters that I was a player for, as well as depicting the BBEG of my own campaign in the background, since as a DM, your final boss really is your own player character.

Nevaeh is my player character in my friend's Everift Campaign. She was on last year's D&D celebration art too, but since then, we had come back to the campaign from a long hiatus, and some player characters got some stat overhauls/retcons. Nevaeh was originally a Warlock, Pact of the Chain, Undying Patron. But after we came back from our break, I discussed with the DM, and we agreed her backstory as a student studying the Undead made more sense as a Wizard of the Necromancy School.

As a character, Nevaeh is aggressive and impulsive. She does not seek the death and destruction of mankind, but is apathetic in her mission, so if there are casualties it makes no difference. She seeks approval from higher powers, but does not try to change her ways to get that approval. This had led to a long-term goal of becoming a higher power herself, as she seeks the means to become an all powerful Lich. But that goal can wait, and she's fine working under others to save the world before she gets to deity-hood.

Silver is my player character in the Hoard of the Dragon Queen campaign. We haven't had many sessions in this campaign yet, as this DM is new to the process, but I've had time to flesh out Silver a little. Silver is an aspiring folklore hero. They have a very strong sense of justice and will put the needs of those trouble as priority one. In dire situations, Silver will take charge, but has really bad people skills, so will let her other party members do the talking. Silvers wants their actions to do the talking, so that they can get to a stage where they are recognised for their appearance and deeds alone, letting their reputation do the talking. Silver goes by she/they.

Callypso, who more commonly goes by Callie, was my second character in our campaign based in Ravnica. This was a campaign started late last year by the same DM who ran Tomb of Annihilation, and true to his reputation, he has killed of a number of characters in this campaign too. The source book we're following for this campaign, Guild Master's Guide to Ravnica, encourages players to align their characters with one of ten Guilds, all with unique approaches to society and character archetypes.

Callie was a member of House Dimir, a network of spies that wish to keep Ravnica in check through espionage and information warfare. Dimir characters do not wish to be known as such, so choose a cover guild to mask their efforts. Callie played the part of a Cult of Rakdos swordplay performer. Rakdos is a demon who instructs a company of rather savage circus performers. Callie on the surface appeared rather daft and impulsive as a Rakdos performer, and in reality... she really was stupid. She almost left slip multiple times that she was a Dimir spy to her party, and Dimir had to work hard to undo her blunders. In the end she died during a series of riots trying to avert the attention of a rampaging giant from her allies.

Shiro was my third character in our Ravnica campaign. He was a member of the Boros Legion, the standing army and law enforcement of Ravnica. Shiro was introduced to the party as a parole officer, since most of the party had a reputation for troublemaking. Originally, Shiro was a member of the Selesnya Conclave, a peaceful nature loving group. But his family was killed in a Gruul raid similar to what happened to Callie. He and his sister were saved by a Boros Troop, so he signed up as a soldier to better protect his sister and the city. He lost an arm in that incident, and so developed the mental fortitude to harness fists of mental strength (Way of the Astral Self), and became a more serious and straightforward character as a result.

Unfortunately Shiro holds the record for my shortest lived character so far. He was introduced in session 14 and died in session 15 without landing a single punch. I want to use him again in a different campaign, but he'll have to be tweaked for the setting.

Mira is my fourth Ravnica character and at the time of writing, the most recent one. Mira is a member of the Selesnya Conclave, an evangelist cult of nature worshippers. Much of her specific local community are unskilled and lazy, so Sister Mira has had to develop a motherly role to best motivate and care for fellow worshippers. Mira joined the main character's adventurering party when her local dryad sent her on an investigating mission to cleanse the city of poisons. She is often relied upon by her dryad because of her protective nature, and so had been called in many times to best protect the city.

Mira is a very different playstyle for me because I usually play the take-charge offensive type. Playing a Cleric has been interesting because I am more aware of how the rest of the party works, and since her introduction, we've been in less danger of another party wipe. Hopefully, Mira lasts until the end of this campaign. Fingers crossed.

The Lich Queen

In the middle of this year, I started DMing for my own campaign in an original story called Rise of the Lich Queen. This has been sort of a celebration of all the other campaigns we've done so far, and I've included various past player characters as NPCs and enemies. I've written it sort of an alternate ending to my friend's Everift Campaign, and the player characters from that campaign have key roles in this one. My player character, Nevaeh has reached her goal of becoming a Lich, and she has split her soul and underlings across the land as an insurance against a resistance, while she works on her goal on moving from Lich to Goddess.

I'm writing this post toward the end of November, and although we've been playing D&D less these days, we still have more than a month of 2021 left to play D&D. Let's hope I don't jinx myself and one of my current characters die before the end of the year, or I'll have to make amendments to this post.

[supereffectivemoonblast]

Rise of the Lich Queen

Chapter 8: Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girlboss

The up and coming champions of Veritas Stadium are roused from their down time by a letter sent from across the land. The Adventurers are asking for help gathering shards of the Lich Queen's soul, and the investigator Whiff of Mystery asks the Fighters Unchained if they'd like to help.

The Fighters Unchained; (from left to right) Thaldin, Swift, Norm, Calamastia, Thaec

After shopping for adventuring supplies around the city, and visiting Chancellor Otto for a letter of introduction, they set out for the bordering Nation of Westerwuste. This country is currently in strife from the chaos the Lich Queen has sown, so the party are advised to be on their guard.

They are stopped at the border and initially refused entry based on the shady looking appearance of the party. But some fear-mongering from Calamastia, Thaldin, and Thaec convince the border guard that it would be in their best interests to let them through and onto the nation's capital, the City of Vetus. Calamastia reveals she is a princess of a foreign land that ran away from home, but she still keeps a dress and wig handy for when appearances matter.

They soon arrive at a very barren cold looking city. The general populace have been advised to stay off the streets, and the guards hurridly shoo anyone still out. The party ask some guards where they can find the Duke of Vetus, whom Otto's letter is specifically addressed to. They arrive at his Manor to find out he's out for the day, but after wandering the streets for a bit to look for a tavern, Calamastia spots him.

The Duke, an elf named Lehran, is accompanied by a mysterious swordsman named Sho, his guardian, sheltering him from the little sunlight present, and from onlookers. Upon seeing the letter, Duke Lehran agrees to a short chat.

Left: Duke Lehran Persis, Right: His bodyguard Sho

He reveals that he has been personally effected by a lot of the chaos of the current world. He lost a family member due to the allure of the Soul Shards, and although he used to guard one himself, it was stolen by the witches of the Temple Lavi Tori. The witches have sent torrents of monsters into Vetus City this last few months, and it's people are fearing for their lives. Lehran asks that if this party are looking to get the hag's Soul Shard, he hopes they can stop them altogether.

As this conversation happens, a nearby group of apparently drunken men are causing a ruckus in the streets. And confusion quickly turns to fear as each of these men transform into tree monsters called Wood Woads.

The party, city guards, and Sho all take part to try and slay the monsters, and although the party are powerful, their efforts are apparently in vain, as the monsters start getting up from being slain. Thaec theorises that Fire Magic may be needed to destroy the monsters once and for all, and Duke Lehran helps out by casting a holy spell called Flame Strike.

Most combatants work to push the Wood Woads to brink of defeat, while Lehran and Thaldin use Fire Magic to finish them off one at a time. Norm gets sick of this process, and starts weilding a flaming torch as a makeshift weapon, inspiring the town guards to do the same, and they burn the monsters beyond repair.

Duke Lehran reiterates that attacks like these will only keep happening if the witches are left unchecked and asks the party again to deal with them ASAP if they can, before leaving to patrol the rest of the city with Sho.

Left: Wood Woad, D&D 5E Official Art, Right: Coda, Cadence's brother

The party find lodging with a Lizardfolk chef named Coda, who's worried with the dangers of the world, hoping his brother Cadence, is still safe out there. The party thank Coda for his hospitality and manage to coax some information out of him about how to get to the Hag Temple of Lavi Tori.

[supereffectivemoonblast]

Rise of the Lich Queen

Chapter 7: "Group Huddle" (We kill them right?)

This chapter recap might be a tad longer than usual because I am covering the events of two sessions that happened (in-game) in quick succession. But to save me from creative exhaustion, I'm combining them into one poster and one post.

Due to their recent visit to Veritas, the adventurers had successfully destroyed 3 of the Lich Queen's Soul Shards (read previous Veritas Stadium chapter for context). Their next stop was to return to Castle de Sangre Dios, where they previously fought a Vampire working with the Lich Queen, to see if they missed a Soul Shard last visit (read Castle de Sangre Dios part 3 for context). They decide to visit Pockets of Doubloons and his ship in Ferrilocke again, to gain passage back to Raven Rook: the town closest to the haunted castle.

Most of their ocean voyage proceeds smoothly, but a couple days before landing, they hear a beautiful melody wafting in from the waves. Most of the ship's crew, including three of the Lich Hunters, fall under the spell of a Siren. Luckily, Savor, who was on lookout, and Murgatriss, on navigation, retained their sanity. Although Oloric, Pogo, and, Cadence had all jumped into the ocean, the monster was dead before she could harm any of them, and they finished their voyage safely.

When the group arrive at Raven Rook, they again meet the Goliath Aech, who tells the group that even though the Castle is free of undead, it has been receiving a lot of visitors as of late. A few days ago, a company of "shady cultists" hurried into the Castle, and a day or so after that, they were followed by a group of hags and their monsters. The party tell Aech they've returned here to retrieve something from the Castle, and Aech warns them, if that's the case, its obvious they're not the only ones looking.

The Lich Hunters enter the castle and pretty soon the layout of the castle becomes familiar again. A couple corridors in however, they find something new; the relatively fresh corpses of a few cultists strewn across the floor, and a faint swampy scent. They resign to check some rooms they ignored last time and find a skeleton key, which helps them explore the castle.

Before they head up to the second floor however, they are beset upon by a group of plant creatures called Vegepygmies, and it seems they are in league with the aforementioned hags. Murgatriss recognises one of the hags as Nona Shaert, a competitor from Veritas Stadium, but no time for fangirling. The party find a group of cultists, who they side with to take out the hag and their monsters.

It is soon revealed these cultists are the Black Diamonds, a collective of fanatics obsessed with the Lich Queen. They explain, at crossbow-point, that they came here after searching for rumours that a part of the Lich Queen's power could be found here. They plead that although they would rather have something to show for their efforts, they would turn tail and leave if they were allowed to live. The party get Pogo to watch the cultists while the others group huddle to decide their fate. Reflecting on past events involving the Black Diamonds, they decide that they'd rather not have them running around if they can, and turn around to slay them.

A short time later, the party had progressed to where they remembered fighting the Vampire Isabella, but instead found a Hag accompanied by a Naga, trying to slay one final cultist who was clutching something. They decide the Hag and the Naga are more of a pressing issue and a long drawn out fight ensues, ending with the death of the Naga, the Hag, and a few Vegepygmies who were lying in ambush.

After the fight, the last cultist reveals herself as Saffie, who previously went by the alter-ego Dr P. Harpies when they were orchestrating plans at Veritas University (read Veritas Stadium Chapter 2 for context). She explains (in a more eloquent way than her dead allies) that the Black Diamonds have been trying to gather pieces of the Lich Queen's soul as a sort of assurance against disasters to come. They do not know what will happen if multiple Soul Shards are gathered in one place, but if it puts them in the Lich's favour OR it puts the Lich at their mercy, they'll be better off. Essentially the Black Diamonds are batting for both sides.

Saffie, understanding the precarious situation she's in, bargains with the Lich Hunters. Although they haven't gotten any Soul Shards yet, the Black Diamonds confidently know the location of more of them, and would gladly share that info if she was allowed to live. The group huddle again to discuss their options. They decide that Saffie is probably more sensible than the previous group they met, but since Saffie is directly responsible for the disaster of the Zealot Demon (refer to Chapter 6), she's better off dead. They turn around, and kill her, taking the Soul Shard from her body.

Also on her person, they find a map of Eastrift marked in a few places, which they guess are spots the Black Diamonds think Soul Shards are, and they leave the castle, returning to Raven Rook Inn to discuss this with Pockets and Aech. Aech says that one of the spots on the map is near the supposed home of the hags they fought in the castle. Although the Lich Hunters could go there themselves, it would be a hassle, since that's near the other side of the nation, and other Soul Shards are closer to where they are now. Pockets suggest they contact someone in Veritas to search for them and sends a letter to his sister by raven.

A few days later, in Veritas, Whiff of Mystery approaches the Fighters Unchained, currently on break, and asks if they're up for an adventure outside the city...