#no I'm no planing on slapping a fey

[aldryrththerainbowheart]

The fairiest of all 1/2

Note: Based on this ask, I basically wrote this...I don't even know what this is, but I like it. A lot. I'm currently jumping between this and four other wips. It's like my brain won't rest and just keeps on spitting out AUs. Anyway, my main source is Celtic mythology with some Fey Wanderer and Feylost from dnd. The reader is technically not a changeling, because they are actually the original human taken by the fairies. Also, this Dante is dmc anime Dante, because I think he does not get enough love. I'll be posting part two cause this is already too long and it expanded WAY above my expectations.

Enjoy this helter-skelter of magical worlds.

Rainbow Dragon

The existence of demons and the infernal lands they inhabit is widely accepted in Redgrave and the rest of the world. However, the other world almost mirrors ours. A place that is always changing, always shifting. A place up is down, light is dark and nothing is as it seems. Unlike the underworld, it's so deeply intertwined with ours that it's sometimes impossible to tell it apart. But if you look closer you just may catch fleeting sight of it.

You grew up in the World of the Fae after disappearing from your home plane as a child. Your parents made a pact with a Fairy that they'll get whatever they wish for in exchange for their firstborn. Only when they held a wailing infant in their arms they realized what they got themselves into. Faefolk is too whimsical and fleeting to take on the responsibility of raising a human child, but they did their best.

Living in this world shaped you, whether physically or psychologically. You're a bit too easy in your step, almost as if you were floating. When you're happy, you smell sweetly like nectar or honey. Your hair grows unnaturally fast. Flowers bloom in your presence. You have little to no concept of time and space. You can't keep still even when sitting down. You almost always space out, as if your consciousness was split between two worlds.

All good things come to an end. Your Fae parent realized that there's no place for a human in the Otherworld, and because they cared about you, they knew you have to go back. Being figuratively spat out of your only home after reaching what your Fae patron considered mature age was like a slap in the face. The beginnings were...rough. You quickly realized that the human world is completely different from the Fae world. To this day, there are still many things you don't understand, but you've grown to accept that.

As much as you wished to leave your old life behind, once you touch the veil, you cannot stay away from it. What about the family of Brownies that lives in your old apartment building? Or that Dryad whose tree did not get cut down because you almost turned the city upside down to get signatures for the petition? Do the locals feel safer after those disappearances caused by the Redcapes residing on one of the roads leading out of the city? And that Merfolk, about to be sold by the local mafia to be a pet of some rich asshole? Time and time again, you found yourself being pushed between two sides of the conflict of two worlds.

You realized the potential of a human acclimated into the world of the fae. And so, you became a mediator between the Otherworld and the human world. The fey warden guards the place where the veil unravels and takes care of unwanted visitors that step over it in one direction or another. Luckily, you have your fairy friends to help you with this task. Also the wide variety of skills and abilities at your disposal.

A fey mystique surrounds you. Now as a fey wanderer, you represent both the mortal and the fey realms. As you wander the multiverse, your joyful laughter brightens the hearts of the downtrodden, and your martial prowess strikes terror in your foes, for great is the mirth of the fey and dreadful is their fury. You are able to augment your weapons with mind-scarring magic, drawn from the gloomy hollows of the Unseelie fey. Your experience with the fey guarded your mind and sharpened your tongue. You are not easily charmed or frightened and your mouth can get you out of any sticky situation. The Seelie court has blessed you with the assistance of the fey. You can call forth fey spirits. You can slip in and out of Fey world to move in a blink of an eye.

With the life you have, you were sure that there's nothing in this world that could surprise you. You were about to be proven wrong.

You met at a fair. So inconspicuous, like you were just average people or people at all. Your senses were alerted of the otherworldy presence. You started scouting immediately, but after half an hour you gave up, hoping the perpetrator will reveal themselves eventually. To distract yourself, you headed to one of the stands to buy ice cream. Just as you were about to dig into your cone, you caught sight of a handsome man in the crowd. He was easy to spot, towering over everyone, tails of bright red coats fluttering dramatically around him, snow-white hair sticking out like a sore thumb. When his eyes met yours for a brief moment, you completely forgot your surroundings, causing you to walk into one of the striped poles that held the string lights. The ice cream ended on shoes. Drat.

The incident successfully got rid of any cravings for snacks, so you took your chance at the Ferris wheel instead. When it was finally your turn, you couldn't believe who they paired you up with. The ride was a little awkward at first. The man in red did not seem to want to strike up a conversation and you yourself were finding yourself at a loss for words. You noticed the big guitar case he was holding.

"Are you a musician? Will you be performing tonight?" You offered him your best charming smile.

The man looked at you in surprise. "Um, no...my performances are for...different crowd."

"Ooooh," you nodded in understanding. "So, you're some rock star who tries to go low profile, got it." You grinned. "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me." and you finished it with a cheeky wink.

He laughed. Finally, he laughed, and it was the sexiest sound ever. His blue eyes filled with mirth, few white strands fell to his face. "You seem to be more of a Funk person yourself." He looked you up and down and you felt yourself shiver like his gaze was a physical touch.

You lifted your arms in defeat, "Hey, everybody needs a little Groove in their life."

Dante opened his mouth, probably to say something charming, funny, or flirty, or that he's madly in love with you, hopefully. You never found out, because at that moment, right when you were at the top of the Ferris wheel, the machine jerked to a halt. If Dante hasn't caught you in his strong arms, you would've probably fallen off.

"Whew! That was close. Looks we're gonna be stuck here for a while-" You turned to him with a flirtatious grin, but Dante had the same serious glare with which he stepped into the booth.

Before he had any chance to react he jumped over the railing and down onto one support beam holding the wheel. That's when you noticed it. As vast as your knowledge of the various fey is, you've never seen a creature like this before. Something between a big lizard and a centipede, with a terrible grin filled with rows of razor-sharp teeth, was gnawing at the center of the Ferris wheel. That thing wants the entire thing to collapse, you realized.

As if it sensed your gaze, the monster had turned to you, a disgusting grin widening even more as if it knew about your realization. Your silent exchange was pierced by a gunshot and the lights of the attraction fizzled out, followed by several terrified screams.

What will you do? What can you do? You asked yourself as you watched the mysterious man in red discard his guitar case and pull out a huge claymore. You only gaped as he lifted it over his head like it weighed nothing and slashed at the monster.

The slippery bastard dodged, curling its slimy body away, and slinked away on one of the support beams towards another unsuspect person in the nearest booth, but not before disappearing out of sight with a few ripples over its scaly skin. Camouflage. It seems the hunter realized it too, because he stood frozen at the center point of the Ferris wheel, trying to locate the creature.

From the corner of your eye, you saw a ripple in the air. You wanted to yell at the man to warn him, but that would alert the creature as well. It seems a little bit of magic is needed here.

Dante was alerted by a bright colorful sheen right above him. When he lifted his head, instead of the demon he saw its silhouette outlined in the mysterious light. Without hesitating, he jumped up and slashed vertically. He was rewarded by a howling screech and one severed leg falling down. The monster decided to retreat into safety, now that its location was revealed. Unfortunately, it decided your booth is the best choice. When the beast noticed the tiny human hunched in the corner of the booth, it snarled menacingly. Fangs baring in the victory at the easy prey. Any normal human would shit themselves at this moment. If you were normal, that is.

You wasted no time in showering the beast in a cordon of incorporeal violet needles. With a hiss of pain, the monster leaped at you with renewed rage. At that point, the booth could not hold your combined weights any longer and collapsed. Dante watched helplessly as the booth dislocated from its position on the wheel’s rim. He tried to get to you with all the inhuman speed he possessed. Desperate to save you, a strange person with a bright sparkle in their eyes and a sweet scent tickling his nose. He can’t stand the thought of your eyes losing that bright sheen, to be just another voice to haunt him in his dreams. That’s when he saw it. Instead of erratic descent on the concrete, you were…floating down. As if you were riding on pixie dust, you were surrounded by golden sparkles, legs poised, ready for the descent, arms perched above you. He only extended his arms in silent shock as you gently settled into his arms.

You locked eyes for a moment and Dante desperately scrambled for the things to say. THE Dante Sparda was at a loss for words, and you didn’t seem to be doing much better.

“That was…uh…”

“Yeah…” You couldn’t help but laugh at the bizarreness of the situation. Your laugh sounded like the tinkling of the bells, and Dante felt a smile stretching his lips as if of their own volition. As if he couldn’t help but be happy around you. Who are you?

The small world you two were in was disturbed by a loud crash of the booth hitting the ground. “Let’s get out of here,” Dante exclaimed sternly as he carried you away from the situation. Your eyes were still trained on the broken booth, still wondering what kind of creature you just saw.

“It’s better if you forget what just transpired here,” Dante told you as you stood several feet away from the ruckus as the police and firemen secured the area around ferries wheel. He spoke to you while you were both looking at the scene, not once looking at you.

“What was that thing that attacked us?” You ignored his question and bite into a cookie you pulled out of the sack filled with baked goods. The monster attack seemed to reawaken your craving for snacks.

“You don’t wanna know.”

“You don’t know what I don’t want to know.” You parried between the munching. If there’s something that stayed with you since leaving the Otherworld it’s your love for wordplay.

All he did was shoot you an annoyed look. You realized that this is not the way to go and asked him instead, “All right, what type of creature are you then?”

He finally looked at you, and he was met with those bright, sharp eyes again. They made the knot in his stomach tighter, his throat a bit too dry. He’s attracted to you, and that really won’t do. Especially since you seem to see straight through him.

He turned away and started walking away. He was acting like a jackass, and you were so nice to him. Even offered him one of your cookies. Hopefully, it’ll be enough for you to be put off by him. But then he felt a small hand tug on his with surprising strength.

“I said wait! Where do you think you’re going? It’s rude to walk away when someone’s asking you a question, you know?” You put your hands on your hips and waddled a finger in front of his face.

You were putting his silent brooding tough guy persona under strain.

“Dante.”

“Huh?”

“Name’s Dante.” He blurted out. Damn, he wasn’t supposed to say that. You really making him lose his hard-earned control.

Well, at least you were getting somewhere. “Nice to meet you, Dante.” You extended your hand,and without a second thought, Dante grabbed it.

“So, ferris wheel may be closed, but other attractions are still open. What do say we tried shooting game?” “I…” “Awesome! Let’s go.” Without letting go of his hand, you pulled him after you. You knew you were pushy, but being carried by this guy princess-style gave you a new boost of serotonin and new hope to try again.

Dante watched the small palm resting in his hand and pondered how he got himself into this again. You’re just so…maddening, bubbly, and intoxicating, and the syrupy-sweet scent that clung to you was driving him mad. Just as he was about to excuse himself again you turned to him and gave him a dazzling smile that completely disarmed him.

“Oh, by the way, my name is…”

[lasnevadaslaborunion]

ALRIGHT SO

Harkener Verbain is my hexblood inquisitive rogue/fey wanderer ranger. She was once a well-regarded private investigator who lived with her daughter, Felicity. When Felicity's fiancé Eusebio was found floating dead in a city canal, she took on the case herself for her Felicity's sake. While searching for clues, she discovered that one of the landlords in the city was a hag, and made a deal with that hag to obtain powers that would aid her investigation.

Now, you, dear reader, might be thinking, "well that sounds kind of sus." And while Harkener Verbain may have reached max level with a 30 in passive insight, young Harkener was not as smart as she is now. (Also, she was desperate and grieving, so cut her a little slack.)

It turns out that the hag was working with multiple members of the city council and the guard captain to poison their enemies, including Eusebio. And Harkener, having given the hag her left ring finger, was under her control. Thankfully, another archfey swept by in the nick of time and brought Harkener to the Feywild, sparing her from the hag's contract with a more powerful contract of her own. Unfortunately, with Harkener gone, the true perpetrators framed her for the murders and got off scot free.

Harkener then spent five years in the Feywild acting as a spy for this archfey, unable to set foot on the material plane without permission. All she wanted was to get back to Felicity and clear her name, but none of the letters she wrote ever received a reply.

Now. Since I came to this campaign later, the DM gave me a special task from the archfey I serve: to kill another party member in the Feywild, which would bind him to the archfey's service. Naturally, Harkener had some second thoughts about that. And THEN I found out that there was a hidden clause which would force my daughter to take my place if I failed or died, which... yeah, no, fuck that. I'm now searching for a way out of that deal. Current plan is to pit the hags (who the party met again recently and bargained with to free somebody else's fiancé who is currently a magic flower) and the archfey against each other, then kill them all at once. Because mama don't play like that.

Which brings us to last session, in which Harkener FINALLY got to see her daughter again. I learned that Felicity had become an accomplished thief after her family was all killed or disgraced, that she had been doing her own investigation which exonerated me, and that somebody tried to assassinate her for being too nosy but was interrupted by the LITERAL START OF THE APOCALYPSE.

So yeah, like mother, like daughter. I'm so proud of my girl. Felicity is going to be a PC someday, too.

Also, Harkener has a cool custom magic item called the Mushket (or Fungun), which shoots magic spores that give people random effects. She misfires more often than not, but when it works, it's so much fun(gus). My favorite is the one that makes them hallucinate spiders. If you've never seen a lich slapping themself in the face before, I would highly recommend it👍

Also also, it's never come up in-game, but her ex-husband is an elf who used to work with a totally legitimate shipping company and vanished at sea shortly after their divorce. Knowing this family, he probably just faked his own death so he "wouldn't have to outlive his wife and child." He's probably off on an island drinking smoothies while the sky is falling. Bastard.

Who wants to hear about my favorite D&D character

[coolskelaton27]

I need advice on what the best reason to slap a fey is.

[feylen]

Crimson Clover

Remember this little picture I did of my dnd boi Arcelm? I’m a big sucker for werewolf and vampire aus (*sides eyes to the DA:I succuwolf!au haha) and recently I have some little story excerpts in my head which sets our usual Aesis dnd setting into a supernatural/modern high fantasy!au. And so I sat down and wrote something! Whoop whoop~enjoy! ♥

It was his 21st birthday. He could do anything he wanted to do, right? So just for one day, he wanted to be a different man. Just for one day, he wanted to do things. Different things. Change his usual routine. He heard of the wild parties his friends had on their 21st birthday: Alcohol, Drugs, Sex - yeah that kind of stuff. 

He changed his clothes, made himself presentable and snuck out of his room. Just for tonight. By dawn, he would return and no one would ever know that he finally - and rightfully - had the time of his life!

---

The bright neon signs of the various clubs were glowing in all kind of colours and the streets were full with people of various stages of drunkenness. Arcelm savoured all the different impressions of the night life of Ebrus City. It’s not that his parents wouldn’t let him party and go out with his friends, but - well - how shall he put it … his mother had a very peculiar way of not letting him leave the house on certain nights. Nights like this one. 

Arcelm loved his parents dearly, especially his mother, but sometimes he wished that she was more normal. In a more “down to earth” way. She had the habit of planning their life after a stupid calendar. With various moon cycles and even things like blood moons and eclipses. Arcelm looked up and wrinkled his nose. Heavy clouds were blocking the sky. He saw no stars and especially no full moon. Which apparently was today, at least according to his mother. Come to think of it, she was a bit nervous today and made extra sure that he took his medication on time and - oh shit! What time was it? He needed to take the last one before midnight! Arcelm searched his pockets but wasn’t able to find the familiar little case he always carried around. He must had forgotten it in one of the trousers he tried on and decided to change them for a more skinnier pair of jeans before he snuck out. He sighed and rubbed his nose. It wasn’t the end of the world if he forgot to take one. To be honest, it wasn’t real medication to begin with. Just a “natural supplement” which his mother also took from time to time. This shouldn’t ruin his plans for tonight! He’ll just have some fun for a couple of hours and then return a bit earlier than planned. Yeah, that should do it!

The most known and popular clubs already were too full and Arcelm’s cheerful mood slowly turned sour. With a bottle of alcopop in one hand and the other deep in the pocket of his jeans, he strolled down the street. There were some couples here and there and some of them were already kinda into it and as Arcelm caught himself staring a bit too long, he turned his heavy blushing face away. Maybe all of this wasn’t the best idea after all. Maybe he should go home and bury his face deep into his pillow and drown in self-pity for five minutes. Maybe he -

“Hey there handsome. Your face is way too pretty to be moping around. I’m guessing you’re alone too? My group just ditched me so - wanna hang?”

Arcelm froze. In front of him stood a drop dead gorgeous woman. Red curly shoulder length hair, deep green eyes, a short black dress which highlighted all of her curvy female features perfectly, black high heels and her voice! Arcelm blinked a couple of times and gathered all the courage he could muster in his half tipsy state: “Hi - hey! Wow, I mean, hey. Yeah sure - at least I think you are talking to me?” Arcelm quickly turned around to see if there was someone standing behind him. The woman giggled. “Aren’t you a cute and funny one? I must be so lucky tonight. Listen, I’ll show you the real deal. Those crowded clubs in the front? Only for losers. Come, follow me. Let’s have a good time tonight!” With that, she grabbed Arcelm’s hand and started walking towards the end of the main street. He looked down at their locked hands and felt a slight shiver running down his spine. Maybe he was just too nervous right now, but her hand felt so cold in his own. He cleared his throat : “My name’s Arcelm. Who do I spend the evening with?” The woman smiled and squeezed his hand. Then she took a turn right, leaving the busy main street. “It’s just around the corner. You’ll love it there.” Arcelm cleared his throat again: “O-okay. You got me curious you know. I mean, this is kinda like a mysterious adventure. You still didn’t tell me your name.” She looked over her shoulder and winked: “You’re curious indeed! And I want to stay mysterious for a bit longer. It’s fun!” He chuckled and tried to reply, hiding his rising insecurity: “If you say so!”

Arcelm looked around. While the main street was bright and flashy, this alley certainly had his own charme. He heard the dulled music coming from a few buildings. Mostly heavy metal music mixed with some heavy beats here and there. The woman lead him to a building with red wooden doors. There was no sign with a name above it. At least Arcelm didn’t find one. The man in the front, probably a security guy, just nodded towards Arcelm’s new acquaintance and opened the door. Without hesitation, she pulled Arcelm through and as the doors were closed behind them, it got dark. Really dark. The woman chuckled: “You have an unique name you know. You shouldn’t give it away so freely like that.” She pulled him closer to her and Arcelm could feel her breath on his neck and her knee between his thighs. “I promise you, this will be a night you’ll never forget, Arcelm.” And with that, she opened another door in front of them and suddenly the quietness of the small and dark entry room was replaced by loud music and Arcelm felt his body starting to vibrate to the deep bass in the huge dancing room. A sweet and metallic smell filled his lungs and without even noticing, his body started to move on its own. He looked into the green eyes of his new acquaintance and he suddenly felt so free, careless even. She smiled and they started dancing. He didn’t even know he could dance like that. She put his hands on her hips, encouraging him to explore. He felt her hands doing the same. And after a while, there was another pair of hands and a new face. And then another. Everything started to feel like a blur. Arcelm heard her voice calling his name over and over again. And he followed her through the dancing crowd. He saw her green eyes in front of him. Her beautiful face smiling and everything around him didn’t matter anymore. Because everything was just her. 

He wasn’t sure how much time had past since he entered the club. He wasn’t even sure how many people he had danced with. But he was pretty sure the pain he was feeling right now, was coming from his right arm. Arcelm blinked a couple of times and tried to focus. Where was he? This wasn’t the dance room from before. This room was so bright and it smelled heavily like disinfectant. And why was he lying on his back? Arcelm felt like he was hit by a truck. Slowly he tried to stand up and get on his feet but felt a yank at his right wrist. “What the fuck…?” He looked  down and saw that he was handcuffed to the surface he was lying on. With his free hand, he pulled up his sleeve to look for the source of the pain he felt in his right harm but everything seemed fine by the look of it. He moved his legs and was relieved that they weren’t cuffed either. He took a deep breath and sat up. No need to panic. There was a perfect - maybe not reasonable - but at least a reason, for him being in this … laboratory? He let his eyes wander and shuddered a bit. Surgical equipment, test tubes, white tiles as far as the eye could see and ... a crimson red blood trail leading out of the room. Arcelm felt a sudden pain in his chest. He tried to avert his gaze from the strains on the floor but something compelled him to look. To suck in the air which smelled so sweet. He started to sweat heavily and also started to hear whispers, voices - so many of them: 

Why did you bring him? Look what you did! I didn't’t know! How should I know? I’m sorry, I’m so sorry! Run, we have to run! It’s not too late! He can be killed! We must hurry! He has no power! Don’t be stupid or do you want to end like Allen?

“No, NO - I don’t want to die!” Arcelm started to drag on the handcuff. His right arm already felt sore from the pain, but he pulled with all the strength his body could muster in his moment. He didn’t want to die. He still was so young. Still had so much to see, so much to feed on. With a last tug, he broke the chain on the handcuff and got up. His feet didn’t touch ground though but something different. Something soft. Arcelm looked down and froze in shock. He stood in a pool of blood and shreds of something that cleary was human once. The pain in his chest returned and it was so much harder this time. Arcelm wanted to grab the table he was lying on not long ago for support but stumbled and fell backwards, knocking over some of the tables and racks in his way.

The next following moments happened in a flash. After hearing the loud noise in the room, the door opened and a couple of people entered the lab. Arcelm got on his feet and tried to run away. Someone grabbed him by the arm, but he managed to shake them off. One just backed down and let him run, but another one tackled him to the ground. Arcelm screamed for help while trying to get the hands of his attacker off him. “Let me go you sick fuck!” The man sitting on him started yelling: “Don’t just stand there! Help me you fucking coward or else we can’t finish him off!” Arcelms eyes widened in shock. No, no!

I don’t want to die. Please no! Someone please help me ...

You don’t need help. They are weak. You are superior. They don’t deserve the blood.

The blood? The blood … is mine. All is mine. 

---

This was certainly not what he expected from his 21th birthday. Arcelm opened his eyes and closed them again in an instant. His head hurt so much. He just wanted to have some fun. Did he overdo it yesterday? He tried to remember, but everything was black. He frowned. Why did his room smell like sandalwood and lilies? And was that a velvet bed sheet he was lying on? He made another effort to open his eyes and blinked a couple of times. He groaned.

“So, you finally decided to return to the living?”

Arcelm sat up in a jolt and instantly regretted his sudden movement. Slowly he moved his head to the direction where the unknown deep male voice came from. The room was dimly lit so he had to squint his eyes a bit to find out who was talking to him. The man closed the book in his hands, put it on a side table and got up from the armchair he was sitting on. He was tall, 5’9 or maybe even 6’, slender and his movement was smooth and elegant. He opened the curtains a bit more before heading towards the bed. 

Arcelm blinked a bit and … blushed. He had never seen a more beautiful and graceful man in his life before. His skin was like polished obsidian and his long thick white hair perfectly underlined his aristocratic face, his long nose, the curved brows and the full lips. But the most striking feature for Arcelm were his lilac eyes. Arcelm caught himself staring and his heart started to pound.

“Cat caught your tongue? I’m no healer, but I think I patched you up quite nicely. Do you remember what happened last night?” The stranger sat down on the bed, right next to Arcelm. Without knowing, Arcelm took a deep breath and his face got even redder. The man chuckled. “Okay. Let’s start slowly. My name is Veldarin. Right now, you are lying in my bed in a house near the marketplace of Ebrus. I found you just around the corner of my shop, covered in blood.” With that, all the color of Arcelm’s face faded away and the man put up a hand in defence. “Listen, I - I won’t judge. I just had the feeling that you needed the help and I must admit that I am intrigued. In a certain way. So, you don’t need to be afraid. I won’t call the police if you don’t want to. Would you be willing to share your name and story with me?”

Arcelm fumbled with the velvet blanket and was silent for a couple of minutes, trying to get his thoughts together. What … did happen though? He wet his lips before he started to speak: “I think I did something stupid. At least it wasn’t stupid in the beginning. I wanted to celebrate my birthday. You know, have some fun on the 21st one?” Veldarin nodded in agreement. “Happy belated birthday then.” Arcelm smiled for a second. “Thank you, uhm, anyway, I wasn’t allowed to leave the house and so I sneaked away from home and went down to Ebrus City, to the clubs - but I wasn’t able to enter the regular ones. A woman approached me, red hair, black clothes. She took me with her to a club she knew. Some metal club, I can’t remember anymore. We had some fun but then … everything’s a blur.” Arcelm bit on his lip. And frowned. “I remember a white room. And blood. So much blood.” He started to tremble. “I-I remember being afraid. I ran and something happened. But I can’t remember. I-I’m sorry, I can’t remember!” Arcelm didn’t remember the last time he cried in front of another person but right now, he couldn't stop the tears from forming in his eyes. He quickly wiped them away and looked down on his hands. The nails on his right hand were so much longer than those on his left. And since when could he literally see his blood pulsating in his veins? “My mother always made me take some kind of natural supplement. I always thought that they were just some fake vitamins, but I didn’t take them yesterday. And look what happened.” 

Big blue eyes met lilac ones and Veldarin crossed his arms in front of his chest, raising an eyebrow. “I’m sorry but I think I didn’t catch your name …?” Arcelm blinked a couple of times and looked down apologetically. “Where are my manners. My name’s Arcelm. My full name is kinda long but it’s Arcelm Aseir Emys von Irnamil. Thank you for helping me. I’m sure my family will be able to-” Arcelm couldn’t finish his sentence because Veldarin suddenly grabbed him by his shoulders and shook him slightly. “Y o u are Arcelm? That explains everything! I had my assumptions but I wasn’t sure.” Veldarin’s gaze suddenly changed from relieved to concerned and he let his hands slide down from the shoulders to the hands and took them into his. Arcelm started to blush again and shivered a bit. He felt goosebumps raising on his skin. “But at the same time, you were really careless. Do you even know how much time and energy your mother spends to keep you safe?” Veldarin sighed. “You-you know my mother?” The white haired man nodded and squeezed Arcelm’s hands before letting them go. He stood up again and went to one of the drawers in the far corner of the room. Arcelm already missed  the warmth of the older man’s hands and watched him opening the top drawer, cleary looking for something.

The world was a small place though. Who would have thought that someone his mother knew would help him out in the first place? The young man was getting curious now. She never told him about a man like Veldarin. How did she got to know him? Arcelm wriggled his toes. He occupied the bed long enough! It was time to stand up. He looked around the room again. Where were his clothes though? He slid to the edge of the bed and wrapped the blanket around his waist. A blush creeped into his cheeks again as he stood there. Next to him the king sized bed of an older man. This was certainly not the time to question his sexual interests but he always thought that he liked ... women. But then again, he never met someone like Veldarin in his life before. Arcelm sighed. This was uncalled for. He didn’t have the right to think about his savior like that. And this meeting properly was the last one anyway... 

Arcelm stretched his arms and legs before walking up to Veldarin. “I don’t want to sound rude, but do you know where my clothes are? I think I should head home now. Although I would love to avoid my punishment but it’s not my first time to be grounded for a longer time.” Veldarin finally closed the drawer with a quiet sound of accomplishment and turned around to face the young man. With a smile, he took Arcelm’s hand in his again and placed two red pills in it. “The agent in these two pills should suffice for the week. And don’t worry. I already contacted Taliyah. She’s furious but I think the feeling of relieve will be far greater than her anger.” The white haired man walked to the side table at the window and poured some water into a glas. 

“I’m sorry for asking, but these look exactly like the pills I take at home and ... how could you get in contact with my mother while being in the same room with me the whole time?” Veldarin smiled and handed the glass of water over to Arcelm who simply nodded in thanks and took the pills without further hesitation.

“There are many hidden things in this world which a normal human being doesn’t need to know. And usually it’s safer if they remain hidden. But you - you are not a normal human being. At least, not anymore. Thanks to your recklessness.” Arcelm slightly crooked his head to his side and Veldarin chuckled. Then the older man tipped on his temple with a finger and smiled. “Welcome to the fantastic world of magic.” And with that, a slight breeze went through the room and Veldarin’s features slightly changed. He kept his general appearance but he wasn’t human anymore. Arcelm rubbed his eyes. In front of him now, stood … a smiling drow.

[vivi-the-goblin]

MPMM RANT (1/2): general thoughts

wow this book really is just a list of player races and monsters, yet they managed to upend some basic fundamentals of the game.

The best change is finally making goblins green, acknowledging most people ignored yellow goblins being default. Why were so many things changed into fey though? Like yeah, goblins were based on fey, but so were dwarves and elves and kobolds.

So THATS what a dolphin delighter is! I've been tormented by knowing a statblock for the 'dolphin delighter' exists, and that it's a fey who can blind people, for months! but without the pdf I didn't have access to a picture. It's a fun-loving pink dolphin. a dolphin who delights. The monster's not bad, but was that really their best name?

they've listed the races as "humans and fantasy races". then stated that all player characters of all fantasy races are identical to humans of REAL LIFE EARTH in height/weight/age unless stated otherwise in the specific race entry, even if the monster manual entry for the species differs. Then removed some of the entries that stated otherwise, and culture...more on that in part 2. Added proficiencies on the statblocks, nice. I like how they changed up some of the weirder statblocks to actually be in line with the monster creator. Simplified spellcasting. I love this. I understand if you miss the old versatility, but for someone who loves making encounters with large gimmicks and enemies this is just so much easier to keep track of. Spellcasters have generic energy blasts to fall back on instead of a 1d4 dagger, nice. In general I notice a lot of monsters being versatile, which I appreciate. They seem to have tweaked some of the abilities to that end as well. Most things in the bestiary section are minor but appreciated. Their solution to the "not all monsters" argument was to just slap 'typically' in front of every species that isn't Unaligned (not sentient). I'm fine with that, except one issue- this includes devils and celestials and all sorts of other creatures of the outer planes. In a book where they reprinted Zariel, who was a celestial that started being evil instead of good and had her creature type immediately shift to Fiend. Literally stated on her page that if she became good again she would return to being a Celestial. Or Graz'zt, who started being Chaotic instead of Lawful and immediately shifted from Devil to Demon. Look at the archons, who embody a certain aspect of goodness, and when they start embodying another immediately shift into a different type of archon. A creature of the outer planes who stops being a certain alignment doesn't just shift alignment, their entire form warps to become something to match. Saying a solar is "typically good" is like saying a fire elemental is "typically made of fire". Unless it has a curse that spontaneously shifts it between the two states (which would be a cool mechanic). That's not just an arguably needless level of specificity, it's turning a true statement into a false one. That mainly annoys me because they've always insisted that orcs and drow and such were always evil because most types of game require basic enemies. Monsters to just oppose without having to think. This is the solution! You actually KNOW their intent on sight, because their physical form is a manifestation of it, it's their soul at a glance. You know it's wanting to slaughter for fun, because that's the slaughter demon. If it overcame it's cosmic nature and decided it'd rather help kids, it would burst into a celestial being.

[wittyy-name]

Hey, Wittyy, do you have any tips on planning a dnd campaign? Especially as a first timer. Advice? Lifehacks? Warnings? (to clarify first timer, i know a lot about dnd and even read some worldbuilding guides but I'm not sure if they're working for me, maybe you have a little different, unique approach to planning process?)

This ended up being a very long post about me rambling about my experience world building my first campaign, so I’m just gonna slap it under a cut lol

Idk how much advice I can give?? I’m running my first long term campaign and kinda just flying by the seat of my pants at this point. World building is a PAIN and it can be hella frustrating, but it’s also kinda rewarding?? And I have experience with it from writing stories that definitely helped.

I built a world from scratch, which is a first for our dnd group. We’ve done a campaign in Skyrim, and we’re also doing a campaign in the Witcher universe. Mine is the first where the players can’t just google world info, which I like a lot. 

My campaign started with an idea of having a party of bards. And I wanted them to have a REASON to stay together. Not just the typical dnd “we’re together bc why not”. I wanted them to KNOW each other but still have secrets to hide?? So it wasn’t just strangers?? So THAT was my starting point. And I asked myself, how do I make that happen? So I had the idea that they all have to start bard level 1. They were in a band for a year together, but then they broke up. They haven’t seen each other in five years. ALL of them have gone through hell and back ((bc what’s dnd without tragic backstories??)). They’re level 4 now, and they got to multiclass into whatever they wanted to. So they’re forced back together through circumstance, and they’re stuck in this party of people they used to know but are now so different. 

My goal for my group was simple: I wanted a story where every player feels like the main character. I wanted them to have their own secrets and quests and things to figure out and pursue. I wanted each and every person to feel like they’re leading the group. Everyone to feel important. So I had several brainstorming talks with each of my players. I figured out what they wanted to play, and ideas they had, and then we expanded on them and build up their characters together (bc it’s easier when you have a dm to build with you). Another goal I had was to give everyone a personal rp challenge. Which is unique to the player. It’s mean to help them build up some of their weaknesses and gently guide them out of their comfort zones. 

So now I have six players with crazy unique and complicated backstories. They all have secrets and weird quirks. They all have goals to pursue and things to keep from the others. And most of them have aspects of their backstories that THEY dont’ even know. Missing memories, secret bloodlines, unknown curses. This is really important to ME. Since these are secrets even from the players, they get to learn surprising new things about their characters as the campaign goes on. Even THEY don’t know everything about themselves, and that’s exciting to them. It means more work for me as a dm, but it’s worth it for them. 

This was an important factor for me in planning my campaign because my group plays online. With online dnd, it’s harder to keep engaged. When you’re not in person and you can’t feed off the energy, it can be easy to lose focus. I noticed that from previous campaigns, and I tried to come up with ways to help it. What I came up with was this: the best way to keep online players engaged is to make them invested in their characters. Simple, yeah? By having complex characters that they put so much into, they love those characters, and thus love playing them. By giving them an rp challenge specifically suited to them, it forces them to pay attention, to constantly be in the mind of their character so they can consider how that character would act and react at any given time. By giving them individual goals to pursue, they’re constantly trying to figure shit out. By keeping aspects of their characters unknown, it gives them a feeling of excited anticipation. All these things help keep them engaged and locked into their character’s minds, which makes the whole experience a lot of fun. 

As for the WORLD, I kinda just... figured out an aesthetic that I thought was cool and tried to run with it?? I don’t remember how I got to this idea, but I thought the feywild was cool, so I said “what if something cataclysmic happened and the material plane and feywild are now mixed together and people have adapted to living with a constant fey presence?? And then one night I was almost asleep when I thought of SKY SHIPS and FLOATING ISLANDS. So I said “what if a lot of the material plane races raised sky cities to get away from the fey threat on the surface??” And so I had my aesthetic for the world, I just needed specifics. 

I thought “well, if there were old kingdoms before the Cataclysm, how would they have been affected when the planes merged??” So coming up with an old political climate, and how things have changed since. How the surface and the sky cities function now. Where do all the races fit into this map? Into this world? The feywild and Material Plane are only two of the three mirror planes, how does this affect the Shadowfell? Okay, the shadowfell is starting to leak through the thin veil and we have pockets of shadow portals that are becoming worse and worse as the centuries go by. 

I had the area where the Cataclysm happened, but what happened there? This was admittedly the hardest part, and I got a huge writers block here, but I figured it out. What society lived there. The magic they used. How shit went wrong and they merged the planes. 

What gods exist in this world? Well, I picked a single pantheon in the dnd handbook and said “these are the gods” bc I didn’t want to incorporate ALL of them. But the idea of this pantheon was that there was no afterlife, which started play into ideas I had for the lost city that started the cataclysm. And it kinda all started to come together. 

The whole time I was building the world and history, I kept my character’s backstories in mind. I wanted all of them to be important SOME HOW. All of their importance differs. But I wanted them all to be tied to big world big picture things SOMEHOW. So they could all feel chosen, in a way. 

But the best part?? This is an open world campaign. There are things in the world that are happening, and they’ll happen with or without the party’s interference. But their interference can cause domino affects in world events. I didn’t want to set my party on ONE QUESTLINE. I wanted them to CHOOSE. So I slapped them down in a town, got them used to their characters, and now they’re out of the “starter zone” so to speak. They can choose where to go. What ideas to pursue. They all have driven backstories, so it’s interesting to see who kinda pushes theirs to the front of the agenda. And there is no Good and Evil. I wanted a whole world of gray area. So the party’s opinions of world events will probably change depending on who’s backstory they follow first. Who they meet first can shape how they think and what side they get on. Which is super exciting. The whole campaign is malleable and the party has free rein. In fact, they can choose to never interact with world events and just do small time fuckery quests. It’s all up to them. But shit will be happening and the world changing. And it’s exciting to see where they get to go.It’s a very character and roleplay driven campaign, which is what we all wanted. And seeing them so invested in characters is so nice. Seeing them love my world is great. And knowing what I have in store for them is exciting. 

I know this isn’t so much TIPs as me just rambling about my experience, but maybe it’ll help??The best actual advice for building the world... come up with an aesthetic you want and the goal for your campaign. Those are your keystones. Now ask yourself why? How? Where? Who? You want a king to be insane? OKay, why? You want there to be a world that’s mostly water with ship travel? Okay, what’s the history? How have the people adapted to this world? How are cities constructed and what social constructs come about in a mostly ship/water based world? 

I can give you some specific examples from my campaign about how I designed social constructs for different societies if you want, but I feel like I’ve rambled enough for one post lol. Good luck!

[warlock-enthusiast]

you take the shape of everything that I'm drawn to

A small filler moment of our last D&D session featuring my Veldarin and @feylen ‘s Arcelm

The party is in the Feywild and is followed by something that plays with their minds and this totally happened

Veldarin’s head spun.

He’d too much wine, the sweet flavor of berries and honey still on his lips, and his steps a bit crooked. His visits to the Feywild seemed far and inbetween, but Veldarin remembered this Court and the hidden paths beneath a canopy of flowers and trees, and the smell of snowdrops and crocus. A second home, filled with light and hope. 

Catching up with Amalthea, always ended with wine and laughter, some kisses from an immortal mouth and closeness. Veldarin would never understand how a High Lady of the Fey took interest in him. She’d found him bloodied and beaten and on the brink of death and somehow saved him. How to repay such a debt? Servitude for the rest of his life and a place at her side, if he’d ever chose to leave the mortal plane behind? A Drow in the Court of Spring. What a strange thought and yet, here he was. 

Amalthea’s mood changed within minutes, but she’d never treated him unfairly or asked for favors, which he wasn’t willing to give. She loved to tease him, yes, mocking his choice of friends. 

He rubbed his head. At least, the crown of flowers was finally gone. Instead she’d summoned some blossoms around his wrist and he endured that with quiet dignity. Or tried to. Everything seemed better than a crown of snowdrops atop of your hair.

Veldarin walked quietly and greeted some of the remaining Court. Just a few guards, tired satyrs and centaurs, leaning on their weapons.

What caught his interest was the form of one of the other visitors. One of those, who’d stumbled into his life a few nights ago. As honorable and polite Alces appeared, he had a knack for bringing outcast to his doorsteps and demanding help for hopeless cases. And Veldarin never said no. He blamed Alces and his puppy eyes for this. And the urge to pay for his past actions. 

The worst aspect of the whole journey was the fact that he started to like them. The stubborn ranger, the sad fighter, the sweet cleric, the shy paladin, even the foul-mouthed bard. Felicitas reminded Veldarin of himself in his younger years, loud and full of mockery and arrogance. 

“Arcelm?” He sat crouched against some roots, body moving slightly, eyes on the ground. Something was off. 

He didn’t react. “Is everything alright?” Pale skin flushed a bright red and a sheet of sweat covered his forehead. 

So, obviously not.

“Arcelm”. Veldarin got to his knees and touched his face. Small moans broke the silence between them. He seemed to be lost in some far away dream and what Veldarin first thought to be sounds of pain, exposed themselves as … moans of pleasure? 

Veldarin felt heat rise in his cheeks and blamed his wine filled body. He thanked his obsidian skin for not showing any sign of discoloration. 

Some unseen creature followed them through the Feywild, fuelled by their dreams and hopes and nightmares. Veldarin was relieved that he hadn’t heard the laughter of his daughter again, considering that his heart would simply break anew. Torn edges open and vulnerable and asking for a killing blow.

Instead it haunted Kethra and Jaro with visions of a happy family and a lover that died. Arcelm with something completely different.

“Arcelm. Wake up.” Still no reaction. Slender arms grabbed his shirt, tugged at the fabric, and brought Veldarin closer to his body. Panic rose in his throat and he cursed himself for drinking too much and thinking himself safe in Amalthea’s Court. The creature had clearly followed them and ignored the magical barriers and protections.  

“Stop. Whatever you are. Stop.” Black tendrils crawled from his fingertips and a dim light engulfed them both. Magic whispered into his ear and crackled on his skin. His spell showed no effect, though. Arcelm still kept him close, pressed his body against him. Moaned. A strange sound from someone as shy and quiet as Arcelm. Too loud in this night. Too pretty and too young to be this close to him.

And Veldarin’s body reacted.  

Shit.

“Arcelm.” Veldarin slapped his cheek. “Come on. Whatever you’re dreaming of, it can’t be that good.” Or maybe it was. Arcelm’s arm snug around Veldarin’s neck and showed a surprising amount of strength. “Shit. Arcelm. Wake up.”

He heard the rest of the group then. They’d entered the Court, calling out for their missing companion. FInally some help. Not that Veldarin seemed especially keen on them finding him and Arcelm in such a position. So close to a kiss.

“Last chance, or we’ll have to think of something else.” Maybe the the calming presence of Dawn broke the spell, but Arcelm’s eyes moved behind closed lids, and he opened them slowly.  Arcelm reacted like some frightened animal, pupils shining with a red gleam. Unnatural. A sign of something hiding beneath his face, crawling beneath his skin. 

Veldarin decided to ignore it, but with this and the vision that Amalthea shared, the picture became clear enough.

Arcelm’s skin seemed flushed and his lips red and swollen from a mere dream. Veldarin put some distance between their bodies and still found himself unable to offer the right words. Dawn’s sweet voice offered comfort, though. 

He took a step back, only to find Arcelm in his arms again, clearly looking for someone to hold on to. 

Veldarin needed more wine.