#npc worldwide

[instantkrazy]

Blue mood lighting to match the show color scheme.

[cicadaland]

obviously there will always be someone more successful etc but ughhh how do i not feel like a total failure when i look at other peoples accomplishments... i had so many cards in my favor and kind of squandered them all in high school because I was '''''''depressed''''''' with '''''''adhd'''''''. come on. but there is no use in focusing on the past just the present. although the past does affect the present so like obviously i will be connecting dots. but just thinking about it and not doing anything does not change the present at all

[hattedhedgehog]

My (spoiler-free) thoughts on Dragon Age: The Veilguard

The review embargo has lifted and I can officially say that I've played through Dragon Age: The Veilguard early! 

Here are my spoiler-free thoughts and personal opinions on the overall gameplay experience: 

Narrative:

Rook's dialogue and decisions impact SO MUCH of the game, and come into play later on. From companions remembering your beverage preferences, to whether someone you spared shows up later to help or harm you, it feels like the game is paying attention and that you matter.

The stakes are unbelievably high. The Evanuris are utterly terrifying villains, in ways that Corypheus wasn’t. You really feel the magnitude of their power on a personal level as well as a worldwide level.

Whatever your thoughts on him, Solas is FUN as a character. He’s fun to talk to, fun to talk strategy with, fun to rile up and verbally spar with and fun to grudgingly ally with. Now that he can drop his former act and appear to you as the Dread Wolf, and you get to see his memories, you and he team get to decide how to utilise his knowledge and how far your trust extends.

The setup and payoff of the story beats are absolutely superb. The emotional turmoil as a player of being ensnared by things that was foreshadowed earlier in the game is utterly exquisite. Every thread of the larger tapestry has been woven with so much love by the writing team, and every character’s arc tie into the larger story in interesting ways.

The characters feel like they have full lives outside of the player character. You frequently go exploring their home turf and can meet their friends and family. They interact with each other on their own and move about the Lighthouse to spend time together, leave notes for each other, and talk about each other even when the other isn’t there. The team feels like they all really care about each other as well as you. 

You can tell what your approval rating is with characters, but if you want to romance them you have to put some thought into it. Interactions and world events besides the heart on the dialogue wheel influence their attraction to you.

Gameplay:

The combat is very engaging, and I enjoyed how unique all the enemies were.

Abilities in the skill tree can be refunded so you can redirect to a different specialization, which is really handy if you’re indecisive and overwhelmed at first (like I get when choosing abilities).  Most companions can get healing abilities no matter what class, so you don’t have to worry about balancing your rogues/mages/warriors (most of the time).

Climbing, balancing on ledges, using ziplines and sliding down slopes made environments feel more immersive. Additionally I like how each companion has unique abilities that let them interact with the world (fixing mechanisms, breathing fire, summoning bridges from the Fade, etc), and learning their abilities alongside them helps you grow closer.

The wayfinder light makes everything feel streamlined, so it's way harder to get lost while exploring an area. I hardly had to look at the mini map at all, and usually I’m glued to it! This meant I could actually look around at the beautiful environments and appreciate how lively they were, even without NPCs.

The upgrade system is far less overwhelming than in Inquisition; there are a finite amount of weapons/armour/accessories to be found, which are designed for each specific character like in DA:O and DA:2. There's also no longer crafting from scratch. If you loot an item you already have, it automatically upgrades the single item rather than giving you duplicates.

You know that frustration of coming across higher-level armour that just isn’t as flattering as your current one? Not to worry, you can collect “appearances” which you can toggle on as the visual for the armour while still retaining the benefits of the original.

I cannot stress enough how simple and easy to use the inventory is. It's heavenly. 

Using the shops of specific cities increases your reputation within those cities, which is a good incentive to explore and use the shops. I usually hate in-world shopping but here it was simple, and thinking about it tactically worked pretty well.

Quests sometimes reach a point where you can't continue at your current place in the story, and must return to in later acts. When re-exploring familiar areas, everything feeling big enough to be fresh with each visit, and new loot and codex entires appear.

Edit: something I forgot to mention. In character creator, you get to make your Inquisitor after you make Rook. The build menus are all the same, so manage your energy accordingly for doing it all again immediately after for your Inky. I spent an hour and a half building my Rook and wanted to get right to playing, and had to re-wire my brain a bit to be patient and keep going with the CC. (Seeing my Inquisitor with new graphics was awesome though).

A couple little things I appreciated:

The control sounds are very pleasing. From the whoosh of opening the combat wheel to the clinking of upgrades to the subtle whir of holding the decision button, they're a nice touch.

If companions are interrupted in conversation by combat, they resume it afterwards with a "what were you saying before?".

Photo mode is so fun to play with, and you can adjust blur/brightness/lens/depth within the scene. You can also toggle on and off the visibility of your Rook, your party, NPCs and enemies!

Assan learns new interaction tricks at the Lighthouse as the game goes on.

Nitpicks:

Overall I had an incredibly positive experience. The gripes I had were tiny things like:

I genuinely like the new art style of the game as a whole. However, the blurriness of some of the features in contrast with some elements being very crisp was distracting.

When trying to sell valuables for faction points without using Sell All, it takes quite a long time to count up all the individual sales, and it isn't a live counter. So it's kind of annoying if you get +3 points for each item you sell, need 150 points to get the next tier of items, and over 10K worth of valuables that you want to sell to other factions. 

If you do lots of quests without returning to the Lighthouse often, occasionally companions at the Lighthouse will have dialogue pertaining to the quests you've just finished as if you haven't done them.

You can pet the dogs and cats in the cities, but Rook turns their back to the camera to do it and it blocks most of the action unless you rotate quickly.

Gender stuff:

I was incredibly moved that not only can Rook be trans/nonbinary in the character creator if you so choose, but they get options to feel differently about their identity and journey, and it impacts their dialogue and how they relate to other characters! To access this make sure to interact with Varric's Mirror in your room in the Lighthouse. There are many conversation options throughout the game to discuss your identity with other characters, or relate your change of self to other situations. Crucially, it comes up when entering a romance and you have to communicate with your partner about it, which I never even THOUGHT of including in a game because it seemed impossible to even allow trans main characters to begin with.

There are also multiple trans and nonbinary characters throughout Thedas. What I found the most realistic was that just like in life, it is a consistent presence in any character's life, and comes up in conversation more than once. I have never seen a game this forthcoming and open about the topic of transitioning, and it was so validating. 

Final thoughts:

I adore the other games in the franchise. Something about The Veilguard affected me in a way no other game has. I cried multiple times while playing this game, both from joy and sadness. What struck me most is that the people who worked on this game REALLY listened to feedback from previous games, and were very set on making a piece of art that meant something to people. Even during the last few years of me testing the game, things have been adjusted and changed in direct response to our reactions and suggestions. It's surreal and quite touching.

Mileage will vary, but my playthrough was 70 hours on very low difficulty and I haven't done every side quest yet. I could easily have spent more than 100 hours in the game if I wasn't pressed for time.

I hope you enjoy this game as much as I have. See you in Thedas.

[psychebutterflysol]

"𝗜 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘 𝗬𝗢𝗨"

a/u: i like doomed relationships. this is just a prologue. next chapter would be real teehee. can you guess where the reader would be reborn?

warning: death, implied unhealthy relationship.

Your life was normal, halting from a wealthy family and ended up with a well-paid job.

The little diamond ring around your finger spoke volumes of the engagement with your beloved fiancee.

There was something that felt missing in your life though.

It was mundane, waking up to an excessively needy lover, who you didn't know if your feelings remained like the first time, plus enduring some bad rumors because you were privileged.

The butterflies previously resided in your stomach morphed into skull moths, and you weren't sure if you could contain them anymore.

Lingering touches and gazes started to seem overbearing, too suffocating, like vines wrapped around your form.

It was another exhausting anniversary of your five-year relationship, and while you were heading back home, texting with your betrothed, you were stabbed from behind.

The sky had already been coated in darkness, the streets had been emptied throughout, all were a perfect formula for a murder.

Being rich was a bitch was your dazed thought, as blood gushed out, red tainted the outfit you loved.

Blots danced in your vision, and when you messaged back a meaningless 'I love you', you officially died.

At least you escaped that boring existence, right?

Fate decided to toy with you by placing you in Genshin Impact, a game you spent most time investing in.

You remembered being proud of your C8 Qiqu and DPS Furina since you usually dragged the sooner to co-op.

So you spent two unremarkable years in Fontaine as a florist, while concealing your knowledge about the future, for all the fanfic you read, and since this world worshipped the Creator too.

You didn't want to get outed as this enigmatic possible imposter or deal with the characters' religious frenzies.

Furina was an interesting case to observe, and Neuvilette often made a few appearances there and then.

Melusines sometimes ran around before your shop, requesting beautiful bouquets.

Business was doing well, not worldwide famous nor near the bridge of close down, just an average shop you expected from an NPC

Strangely enough, you didn't feel guilty for abandoning your fiancee, instead enjoying the fresh freedom you longed for.

Away from her keen eyes, slimy fingers, and unnecessary jealousy.

Recently, there had been rumors about the appearance of a person who proclaimed herself to be the saintess, sent by the Creator.

You could already sense Furina's fuming in the court, and other archons' demeanors.

Oh well, you would just return back to work and watch as another Sagau Imposter fanfic unfolded. Surely, nothing could go wrong-

"[Name]?"

Fuck.

Out of all people, it was her all alone.

Her eyes, filled with twisted feelings, disgusted you.

Her figure engulfed you whole into an embrace, squeezing the breath of your body.

What made it worse, was that you had overestimated the characters' intelligence, and they genuinely believed she was the one.

You could feel their eyes prickling against your skin as you frantically pushed her away, ignoring the shakes of your body and the ragged breaths.

They didn't understand why the vessel of the benevolent and caring God was rejected by this mere mortal.

In their eyes, you should have been overjoyed upon being pampered by the saintess.

And so, the tranquility you experienced shattered easily underneath the pressure of these beings.

Your shop was demolished, your reputation was torn apart, and your privacy was out of the picture, as you were regarded as the saintess's lover.

Oh, if only they knew the saintess considered you her god.

You lost yourself to the person you vowed to stay away.

But the Fatui wasn't happy.

Tsarista was fuming, assuming you had cast a spell on her.

She sent her loyal followers to chase after you, in secret of course.

In the end, you were accused of fraud, tax evasion, and many other crimes.

The execution was held in front of the people, as the saintess drowned herself in sorrow and desperation, you died.

Your body sank deeper into the ocean, red blood mixed with the water, and your eyes closed.

It should have been you.

You were the one who arrived first.

Hell, you even helped more people than her! You knew more things about this forsaken game than her!

Stop looking at you with such pity!

Just because you were being rightfully paranoid didn't mean you were stupid!

There was a tale of a picturesque saintess and a mysterious traveler, alongside a weird creature.

They embarked on a journey to the seven lands of Teyvat.

What a shame, you died even before the story began.

"oh issue of the stars, may fate beest so kind to blesseth thee with anoth'r chance. may teyvat learneth to loveth thee, liketh how the 'saintess' loveth thee. "

[floaromaxtowns]

StS x Pokemon AU brainstorming stuff

Now I'll have to publicly share some flow of thoughts rambles, I've been accumulating for an year now.

Bless @ectogusher for listening to my rambles, and @doodlingwren for busting my door open to finally share what I got.

Excuse me as I talk in my notes as if these things were like a guide/romhack shit

All under read more bc it gets long c:

Here's the main skeleton of this whole deal-

Sanctuary = Its own region. No new fakemons, but it's a sizeable piece of land that has gathered up a wide variety of various species found across the globe. This worldwide thing also influences the type of trainers and people from all over the world going there. If we were to touch on the subject of game mechanics: There would be most of them (Mega evolutions, terastalise, Dynamax even Paradox pokemon forms) further showing how mysterious and mythical this region is.

PC - Seiya / Shoko Rivals - Seiya -> The other bronze boys / Shoko ->The other saintias

With Ikki being the Silver-esque type of rival, meanwhile Shiryu/Hyoga/Shun all follow the same line of friendly rival archetype. I still haven't thought that far on the Shoko route.

Other prominent NPCs:

Professor Shion: Former gym leader, he was once offered the champion title but refused it. Claiming that his passion was in research and studies, rather than the battlefield. Due to stepping down from battles, his friendship/relationship with Dohko has strained over time. Shion is the one who brought Mu to Sanctuary down the line.

Schoolkid Kiki: Catching Tutorial NPC. He can be usually found at the Pokemon School in Mu's city. He will inherit Mu's mantle down the line. The pokemon he uses in the tutorial is a Noibat;

League Chairwoman Saori Kido - With Julien Solo and Hades coming in as other seemingly "investors" on the project

Gym leaders: Most of these guys' aces aren't fully evolved, bc they chose to keep them like that. Yadda yadda friendship boosting their favorites.

Mu: Sinnoh - Dragon - Dragonair

Aldebaran: Hoenn - Ground - Rhydon

Saga/Kanon: Alola - Water - Gyarados (Saga)/Kingdra (Kanon)

Deathmask: Kalos - Dark - Murkrow

Aiolia: Sanctuary (native) - Electric - Electabuzz

Shaka: Kanto - Psychic - Alakazam

Dohko: Johto - Fighting - Mienshao

Milo: Unova - Bug - Volcarona

Elite fours:

Aiolos: Sanctuary - Fire - Charizard

Shura: Galar - Steel - Metagross

Camus: Sinnoh - Ice - ? (Either Froslass or Glaceon)

Aphrodite: Paldea - Poison - Roserade

Champion - ??? (the plot twist is that: the PC wouldn't fight the 3rd gym leader, bc Saga was pretending to be the champion. When he really wasn't chosen or appointed to that position)

Evil organisations: They definetely do exist, and they are obviously tied to the aforementioned Julien and Hades figures. But I still haven't thought that far.

Worldbuilding notes:

Muvians are similar to draconids (introduced in ORAS), a small tribe that originates from Sinnoh and has some deep connections and bonds to dragon types. Which means, any muvian = dragon type specialist or in the very least owns one. Muvians are also meant to have a foot in aura sensitivity (see characters like Lucario, Riley, etc.);

Sanctuary's League has a rampant corruption problem, as seen by what I mentioned about Saga. The two evil organisations are basically being pitched against one another, as smokescreen for the real problem. Their current champ is this sort of "elusive" figure. There hasn't been a proper champion in a long time. And yet, according to paperwork and the system, it states that the role is currently filled by someone. Anyone that isn't tied to Saga's schemes is left in the shadows, even those that allegedly should be the closest to him (Aiolos for SURE has no clue of what's going on. He's probably hiding or declared missing in action during the events, and only shows up when the time comes to challenge the E4).

There's a small timeline:

ND folks (a good few years into the past) -> Classic folks -> Omega folks (+20 years into the future)

In ND's setting we see how odd and hapharzadly the League was instated in the region. Which sets up the perfect grounds for Saga to exploit down the line;

Shion and Dohko are recently turned gym leader here. Mu comes onto the picture a good few years after ND's events; In a way, since Tenma would be the PC here and Alone his rival. It could be the Red vs Blue type of ordeal.

In Omega we'd see how the League is trying to remedy its reputation & amend for Saga's schemes, with an entirely new set of gym leaders and League members. + Former league members can still be found and fought in the post game, Silver/Gold style.

Individual notes:

Mu - Obligatory pokemon Aldemu food

Mu used to own a Gible and Alde once owned a Trapinch, at some point they traded pokemon. So now, Alde has a Garchomp in his personal team and Mu has a Flygon;

Mu's battle team against young trainers has a Swablu, which is used as a messenger to carry mail exchanges between him and Alde;

Mu LOVES pokemon dolls and has a huge collection of it. In the post-game: PC can find Mu and Alde on a date at the region's big mall, with them looking at a shop's display window. Mu gets mad at PC for ruining his date, but would give out his pokegear number;

Aldebaran -

Aldebaran gym's city is also where the pokemon day-care can be found. He may not run it, but he often helps out the elderly couple currently in charge of it;

In the post-game: After adding Mu's re-match call number. Alde can ba found on the route between his and Mu's towns, he was on his way to take a meal for him, and he also shares with PC that they bought the doll in the end

Saga/Kanon -

PC doesn't really get to fight for the 3rd gym badge. Rather, it's simply handed out by Kanon, who approaches them to talk about how the leader hasn't been seen in so long;

Saga's "fall from grace" comes from a humiliating match against Aiolos, originally fighting for the E4 member promotion which he lost. Despite the clear type advantage;

It's left implied that these two were meant to be gym leaders, the matches would have been double battles.

Deathmask -

DM gym's city houses a Game corner (Casino) and a contest hall. First sighting of an E4 member is Aphrodite, who introduces PC to them;

DM is a sore loser AND has no qualms with cheating against his challengers, if it means he gets to maintain his "streak". In the battle against PC he would use an overleveled Crawdaunt;

In the post-game: PC will get a hint from Shaka's radio talkshow mentioning DM's whereabouts, in the city's underground game corner;

DM's strength is everything philosophy = DM's entire personal team consists of very strong dark types with some form of 4x weakness;

DM is well in kahoots with Saga's schemes;

Aiolia - TBA I haven't thought anything for him c':

Shaka -

Shaka gym's city is meant to be the largest and the most advanced one (Saffron and Goldenrod cities style), it has the region's largest shop for expensive and important items. It also has a radio tower, which broadcasts various programs (professor talk, loterry ticket, poke flute, etc), Shaka hosts a talk show where he commentates on PC's progress, all while actively putting down/poking fun at his defeated colleagues. Under specific time slots, he will have a guest join him, which will be an exchange between the various league's members. But the most important one is where he will be joined by the region's "champion";

Shaka is a fan-favorite across several trainers in the region, with many NPCs commentating how much they love tuning in to hear him talk & so on;

Shaka is also well known for his psychci prowess (Sabrina style);

Shaka is also deeply involved in Saga's schemes;

Dohko -

Dohko gym's city also houses the pokéathlon. With Dohko going undefeated in all the challenges, until PC comes along;

Post-game: to get Dohko's number for rematches. PC has to visit Shion after obtaining a certain number of species then, take a mail key item to Dohko. And THEN they get Dohko's number. it's a love letter, an invitation for some tea at noon

Milo - TBA I haven't thought anything for him c':

And "unfortunately", that's all I got x)

I suppose this is a lot better than trying to find all my notes scattered around all over the place. Hope it makes sense or that in the very least, it's fun to read through.

RN I focused on the classic folks bc it's the one I've been working and thinking of for the longest time.

[born-in-hell]

Ive been seeing lots of opinions on the QSMP admin situation here, after both Dapper and Pomme resigned and Quackity's statement, and i feel like some things should be said:

Firstly, yes, the abusive higher ups are to blame, immensely. But Quackity, as the CEO, is not free of responsibility. Not being involved, at all, with such an immense project, as the head of it all, is honestly so insane.

(I genuinely believed he didn't participate on the QSMP as a player because he worked so much behind the scenes, and it's unbelievable to me how he lied to us all.)

We must remember this is his project. With his name. He won awards and recognition worldwide because of it. He has so much to lose with all this situation. Money, reputation, friends.

Lets remember the admins have nothing to lose, at this point. They have no reason to cover things up or lie, unlike the Quackity Studios higher up team.

Now, about the statement he made last night.

The "legal reasons" — despite being a coherent explanation for not telling us, the audience, anything — arent an excuse for completely ghosting his employees. In fact, communicating actively with the people that work for him, could avoid him a lawsuit.

The leaks are not an excuse for not communicating w his employees. Keep in mind, Léa only came out because of the lack of communication. If Quackity had dealt with this stuff internally — as he should've done — Léa wouldn't have gone public in the first place.

Grouping all these people — the exploited and tired workers and the disappointed fans — into mere "haters" and saying they all just want the project to fail and to ruin Quackity's image is a really bad faith statement. Either he does not understand the situation (which is, imo, still really bad for him as the owner and CEO) or he just wants to discredit every and all criticism.

I can bet u every single admin in there put their heart and soul into the project. Their 2023 was defined by the project. They withstood way too much just so the project and Quackity's image would be protected, that's why we never heard about any of the exploitative conditions they worked under until Léa came out.

Most — if not all — of the admins signed up bc they love the QSMP, and wanted to help make it the best it could be.

But everyone has a limit. And this was theirs.

This might not be the end of the QSMP. But how will it hold up to what it was, without the eggs, the fun NPCs, the french, and Bad? I dont know.

About the Union:

Not emailing Quackity and waiting for him to contact them is certainly one of the decisions ever made. I don't quite understand the logic behind it, to be honest. It's not illegal, as far as i know, and i don't know how common that is, despite believing it's not very.

And i don't believe we should hold Quackity entirely responsible for not talking to them. Although, someone, like Aypierre, or Bad, or Antoine, or anyone else that has access to him and knows about the Union's involvement, must've told him.

Or not, we don't know.

And about the statement being public, i believe it was intentional. It's a public threat to him. They don't merely want to sue Quackity Studios, they want us, the fans, to know why they want to sue and that they are going to sue if they can't reach an agreement.

They are mobilizing the audience.

If that's a good move or not, judge it yourself.

I just believe not holding Quackity accountable for his decisions, as the owner of the company is wrong. And holding him accountable is not the same as hating the project.

[songoftrillium]

so I've been considering running a W5 game for some friends of mine who have been having a blast with our V5 campaign. We'd have to use a *severely long* list of houserules and lore to make it anything other than a massive trash fire of...well, everything that W5 is now. Unfortunately it's likely to be W5 instead of W20 due to the players bouncing off the x20 rules HARD. Any suggestions as to what gaping holes I should focus on first, rules-and-lore-wise?

I apologize for this essay of a response. In terms of the major mechanics holes to focus on, a friend of mine, Kaidan, was a game playtester that ran a number of games at Gencon, and has done the emotional labor of reading through the entire W5 corebook and identifying ways to make the game playable. For house rules, I'd start there.

The rest of this post is LONG, so buckle up and get a drink before reading on under the cut.

Regarding Gaia's Howl, which isn't addressed in the book, I'd look to the Mind's Eye Theater: Werewolf: the Apocalypse, the last corebook in OWoD that furthers the world metaplot. I believe the mark that was missed in a big way in w5 was that the Age of Apocalypse in that book more or less encompasses exactly what they were trying to achieve in terms of the worldwide destruction of caerns, the death of many old canon NPCs, and the Last Words of Gaia, which was a prophecy laid out by King Albrecht in his final moments of life while destroying the Storm Eater:

“Hope is not sundered; wake me, and a new age of harmony shall begin.”

Nuff said there. You shouldn't really need this corebook to play, but if you can find any information on the Age of Apocalypse online, I recommend using that as your kickoff point to explain how we got here.

Now, on to lore.

As the Storyteller, there are few ways around it; you'll have to read some old materials to construct your own chronicle. A little-known piece of information is that no one edition of Legacy Werewolf was ever meant to supersede the other. All the editions contain uniquely valuable information and were meant to build upon each other, requiring a holistic approach to the old materials: take what matters and use it.

I don't blame your players for balking at the old materials. The first editor that volunteered to help with my big project had never picked up a WoD book in xis life, and when he signed up I asked xim to read enough of the W20 corebook to grasp how to make a character. After struggling with the material for a week, they returned and said, "I'll be honest. That's almost a hundred pages. I'm not reading all that." And I don't blame them. And I don't know if you noticed, but W20 also includes no tools for Storytellers to construct game chronicles. Indeed, no 20th-anniversary edition book across all the splats really does. Since the writing team at PDX didn't use any book other than x20 to construct W5, that only further deepened the reality that Storytellers have been completely forgotten. All Meat, no Potatoes. For all the good content W20 includes, a broad number of items would be decidedly unfair to force players to wade through if you wanted to, and there's also so much of it. If you have yet to notice, the old books have laughably useless indexes, so researching and knowing which books to research to create a good game is incredibly complicated. So, you're right that your players shouldn't have to read any of the old stuff, and you shouldn't necessarily have to run a legacy game to provide a game of meaning.

Now, on to the stuff, you, the Storyteller, need to put together a bombastic chronicle. I have a bibliography of books across multiple editions that really get to the heart of the deepest lore and covers the full width and breadth of what the game has to offer. You don't need to read all these books, but having them gives you all the reference material to have a top-down overview of lore you can pull into your game world that you see fit.

Werewolf: the Apocalypse Storytellers Handbook (1994)This edition was published during a time when White Wolf was still establishing what the World of Darkness represented. It was drafted during 1st edition and came out shortly after the 2nd edition core rulebook came out, making it a hybrid that shares stats between both editions, including renown conversion guidelines between 1st and 2nd editions. You’ll find three essays and a section from it reprinted in this very book, but even those are just a fraction of the value this book offers Storytellers. Beyond what I carry over here, this book includes expanded Garou culture, setting, and enemies, dedicated sections on kinfolk and kami,  and a dedicated chapter on making talismans (fetishes). It even includes a dedicated section for 1st edition to 2nd edition renown conversion and a chapter dedicated to building a custom chronicle suited to your tabletop! Definite must-have and must-read.

Werewolf: The Apocalypse Storytellers Vault Style Guide (2018)Beyond a collection of well-written tales, this book includes a chapter devoted entirely to metaplot. In that way, this section serves as a roadmap towards getting a good feel on which books across which edition may best serve you. It breaks down three different approaches to Metaplot (Passive, Reactive, and Proactive), the pathos driving each edition, and following those threads, one can more easily find which books and editions are best suited to each purpose and tailor their own Storytelling library to best suit their style accordingly.

A World of Rage (2000)

This book is indispensable for learning about the world at large where the game is set. It covers every region published and really cuts out the fat in terms of delivering setting information and systems just about anywhere you’d like to set your game.

Players Guide to Garou (2003)This one’s a home run for any table. Expanded tribe societies and unique gifts? Check. Merits and flaws and expanded fetishes? Check. MOOT MECHANICS? That’s right, check. Moots are the lifeblood of Garou society, and there are structures for this! If you ever wondered what the typical phases of a moot look like, what roles different auspices play, and what your pack of players may be doing during any given time, it’s all laid out here in plain words. Even the Ragabash has (arguably the best) role to play during these events.

Guardians of the Caerns (2000)Ever wondered what exactly werewolves do all day? Wonder no longer. Guardians of the Caerns is the sourcebook of septs and caerns, detailing the sacred places and the Garou communities that guard them. It contains information on sept offices, tribal septs, caern logistics, defensive tactics--even an in-depth look at those who must grow up strictly as Garou, the crinos-born. This is the book for anyone who wants to understand what they're fighting for. 

Book of the Wyrm (1st Edition, 1993)While acknowledging the latest edition of this book, this gives a lot more specific insight into the ins-and-outs of the Urge Wyrms and Maejlin Incarna, who have taken a faceless investment in this chronicle. Understanding the ubiquity of their influence helps to understand not just these entities themselves but also their hierarchies, as they are mirrored across each of the many heads of the Wyrm.

Book of the Wyld (2001)It includes information on the naming of spirits, stats on the Nameless, information on caern abscession, and the not-so-subtle recommendation to write a chronicle surrounding the final days of an ancient caern. It offers insights into this not-understood aspect of the Triat, including many that aren’t in print in the 20th Anniversary Edition. Some enemies come from the woods, after all.

Rage Across the Heavens (1999)

Meet the Gaian Pantheon, all the celestial incarnae to be found across the Tellurian may be found across this book, including unique powers associated with them. This also includes a chronicle encompassing the emergence of the red star Anthelios, believed to be a portent of the end times.

Hearthbound (2023)

That's right, ya girl wrote a cross-edition book this year, and I highly recommend it! This is a good answer for players looking for a drop-in solution to confront the systemic issues in the lore directly in-game. The problematic features of the Garou nation were always meant to be confronted by the tabletop, and this sourcebook offers a turnkey approach to doing just that. It details many of those issues up-front and lays bare many of the not-so-pleasant aspects of the Garou Nation in plain English, including several story seeds on how to work this new tribe into any chronicle.

Lastly, on language and tabletop terminology. It's best to treat U****a and W*****o as tribes separate from the Galestalkers and Ghost Council. They are different enough that you can't easily move the names over and call them such. That said, they are named after things considered extremely inappropriate to use in a tabletop setting, so I recommend presenting them using two Conlang terms I constructed for my games. For U****a I recommend Hapil, and to rename their patron to The River Serpent. For W*****o, I recommend Kalaril, and to rename their patron to Old Windtooth.

Lastly, if you'd like to know how to scare the piss out of your players' characters, I wrote an essay on how to do just that. Good luck!

[beaningeneralacceptance]

Nimbus story lore speculation

At the beginning of Chapter 6, we learn that the people of Sameria (or just the empress and the military, who knows if the people are aware) know that King Calvus is dead but they don't know who the culprit is. Now, Morden has bought the group time by saying that they're mercenaries (which isn't a total lie but no one is getting paid so) who are willing to help settle things with Keraxe. So, Empress Nilah thinks that we are good guys.

.

.

We are not.

With the Drachmae pirates out of the way, Samerian ships can come and go as they like. By this point, Ravenna is probably looking for the murderer of their king and unless Neviro has somehow managed to hide everything, the Empress is going to learn everything. Even if the Player is the most normal person in the war seas, we have a very temperamental anomaly whose legend has been spread worldwide (maybe) and a curse user in the group (and there is a survivor to report them *ahem* Revon -though he has gone missing according to a Ravenna npc- and General Julian -he's probably alive). Regardless, it is only a matter of time till the Empress learns of what took place in Ravenna Castello.

And then we won't be the good guys in her eyes. In her eyes, we'd be the ones who put her country in danger by killing King Calvus, the sole reason the treaty between the Sameria Province and Keraxe was signed in the first place. Now, she has reason to suspect us.

Because Morden said we're mercenaries. She thinks we're probably hired by someone to kill the king to indirectly wound Sameria. So, she could be suspecting that we are somehow going to exploit her to bring Sameria down or something along those lines.

So I think that while we're sailing to Port Mistral, news will reach the Empress, she'll send soldiers after us to arrest and interrogate us (or torture us if you love angst like me).

It's going to be a massive misunderstanding but also not that much of a misunderstanding because we killed a king and accidentally voided a peace treaty. But we're also lacking a man who is good with words to get us out of that misunderstanding.

(Hmmm perhaps Neviro will arrive at the nick of time to save our butts?)

[pwnyta]

This dude drew a perfect likeness of me my son and my daughter...

And he gave me one to put in my teapot. #1 NPC WORLDWIDE.

[iodrawsandtalks]

Criticism of Penacony and why i think HYV shouldve quit while they were ahead.

//vent towards the end, references to suicide while those references are quest spoilers Recently I've been doing world quests and grinding out the new region and been repeatedly finding myself walking straight into microagressions and slights to the point where it's been jarring enough for me to put my game down. As a black dude playing HYV games i know well enough not to act like the stupid billion dollar game company cares about appealing to minorities but its 2024 man.

First off, the obvious issue. Penacony has been repeatedly mentioned by the devs themselves to be based off of the Jazz Age from the U.S. a few decades ago.

The Jazz age was a period of time in American History between the 1920's and 1930s where the popularity of Jazz just boomed from being like an indie type of music to one of worldwide popularity. Obviously, Black people in that era are wholly responsible for Jazz itself.

So yeah, Penacony takes its origins from a key black history movement. Penacony, the region that released at the start of February. Black History Month. Star Rail is arguably one of the most popular games right now in terms of outreach because it's free, its new, and its colorful/futurisric etc.... And yet....

Just like with the rest of the HYV games that take real world inspirations, they fucked over black people and their stories.

In Honkai Impact 3rd, basically we had this one black girl who's like sandpaper brown and complains about how much her DARK SKIN ruins her look and how she bleaches her skin using various products to keep it lighter. She is ashamed of her DARK SKINNED mother who's a military woman. Her father is absent. Her mother is also a grown adult who is a B-rank soldier(main character white teenagers are S-rank for reference). Carole Peppers is her name if you want to go further down that rabbit hole.

In Genshin Impact, besides the fact that people with different skin tones are CLEARLY sectioned into certain regions(no seriously there's no real reason why i shouldnt see a black person in any of the existing regions.), and besides the unnecessary amount of whitewashing and besides the perpetuation of the idea of melanin NOT being natural, every single brown/black character in the game has awful playstyles and/or poor matching with weapons/artifacts, inaccessibilty, and they NEVER make it to the top of any meta tierlists. I'm not outright saying they're bad they're just harder and almost never get specialized weapons.

The only previously relevant example in Star Rail was Arlan, a lightning/destruction character. He chews through his own HP and unlike characters like blade/clara, does not have resistance or healing to handle that. Serval, the other lightning 4 star, out-dps's him veryyyyyyy easily. So yeah, the ashy black person character basically dies if you use him for too long and is never relevant TO ANY quests except where he needs to be the sidekick.

sometimes these games have dragons, animals that can understand and process english, or magic.... but then not black people...

Penacony has no black main characters. No black stories of relevance. Yesterday found an NPC whose name was detracted from chocolate and the player had the option to let commit suicide.

yeah ill get to that 💀. This large mass of at least 4 supernatural looking characters and yet no black person. NOT EVEN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS FROM penacony itself are black.

so yesterday I was grinding clockwork quests and had to help out some apathetic shopkeeper named Cocona. Her story was almost a bit sad but midway into going through her background i realized her name is one letter off of cocoa. now imagine being on a creative team coming up with a name for a melanated NPC and somebody decides on fucking CHOCOLATE with an extra letter. before anybody implies that one was something i shoehorned, think about how itd go if i had a bunch of POC characters and one white girl named crackerella.

Cocona and her once again sad backstory reach a hard tipping point as the player follows her to the edge of a building and can either grab her to stop her from jumping or simply let her end her life jumping off the building.

Yes we've seen how this game lets you make choices and watch the consequences of your actions, but there have been established rule-breaking predecents. Take Ruan Mei's quest where you have no choice but to eat the cake she offers you and once again lose the ability to make a choice on saying anything related to her. or any time the trailblazer gets pushed into a fight and cannot de-escalate. ....with this in mind consider why was saving the cocoa girl from killing herself NOT a forced option.

normally id be the kind of silly person looking for lore bits and stuff and making theories, (like how clockie is from the path of elation :v)but as a black dude this whole region is disgusting. THEY ARE GENTRIFIYING JAZZ AND COVERING UP ITS BLACK ORIGINS idk who said HYV cared about their audiences they fucking dont.

wouldve posted this on reddit but whoop dee do i am NOT getting doxxed today.

[basedkikuenjoyer]

So you may have heard there was a controversy around the upcoming Dragon Quest 3 remake on the Switch. Which kinda fits a pattern with the series recently. We had longtime iconic composer Koichi Sugiyama coming out as a hardline nationalist a few years back, but he died in 2021 so it isn't as pertinent today. Today though it's about the guy on the right, Yuji Hori, who is the real mastermind behind the series. He gave an interview and grumbled about two changes the company forced to appeal worldwide. Mainly taking umbrage with standards for the American release.

First was simple and pretty common nowadays, toning down some of the racier class costumes. Which I get. Dude in white makes a fair point nothing will ever be completely inoffensive and they've had to change a lot over the years with Nintendo of America policies. It's a fair frustration for a longtime creator. They talk about how it used to be an irrelevant concern; they developed for the Japanese market and if it sold well internationally that's a nice bonus. You see similar conversations with other long-time creators and honestly? I'd rather they didn't change it personally. Yes, boob armor is a stupid concept. Yes, make new stuff that improves. But if you really care that much about keeping the legacy Toriyama designs...it just seems stupid to get worked up about.

The other one though...whew. Now, I'll say bad faith actors try to make this the singular reason for him calling America a ridiculous country and fuck them. But the other one...you know how modern Pokemon games don't ask your gender? They just say "pick one" and you do whatever. They wanted to do that here. And Hori expressed the same type of frustration asking "Who is that even for?"

I like the Pokemon games making that change, but I do have to wonder about this one. Hori could just be an old man yelling at the clouds, save for one aspect. DQ3 is a rare RPG where the choice of gender matters. Not just for some unique equipment, but it influences NPC dialogue. They'll comment on being taken aback they're meeting Ortega's daughter. It actually gives the female version a clear character of a rugged tomboy. So while I can get behind the shift in modern games...I think I might be with Hori on this one. Either you strip that aspect a lot of women growing up playing it liked or we're just changing the choice superficially to look hip. Kinda funny example of how times change, remember DQ3 was very progressive at the time for giving you that choice in the first place.

[wuxiaphoenix]

Worldbuilding: Being Crossed

You may have laughed at fantasy games’ penchant for dragon-cross-everything. And I couldn’t blame you. Dragons are just so cool, and D&D in particular has come up with many, many ways monsters and NPCs can be part-dragon to make them even cooler. But if you read some history, especially the niche stuff that focuses on odd bits like the History of Salt or the Little Ice Age worldwide rather than the usual politics and wars, you can get a good sense that if dragons did exist, humans would be crossing them with everything. Warning, what has been seen cannot be unseen... even if, especially if, it’s face-palmy ridiculous.

Ladies and gentlemen, the zebroid.

I... To be honest, as a student of biology and genetics I am somewhat flabbergasted this even works. Mules work out, we all know that, but the donkey has 62 chromosomes while the horse has 64, so the resulting cross critter has 63 chromosomes, and that seems... plausible to survive?

Zebras range as low as 32 chromosomes, and only as high as 46 (depending on the species), meaning all zebroid results will have at least nine chromosomes with no matching pairmate. And yet most are quite viable, if almost never fertile. Yikes.

(Biology is so squirrelly sometimes!)

I will note here that humans seem to be pretty darn fragile in this respect. We can survive duplications of only a few specific chromosomes, and a zygote missing any chromosome besides one of the sex chromosomes results in death. XXY and XO are survivable, though not without consequences; OY is not.

If you’re wondering why would anyone even try this? about the zebroid, poke a bit more history. Humans are down to cross darn near anything, it seems. Savannah cats, wolfdogs (oh what a bad idea), and killer bees (possibly a worse idea) are all hybrids deliberately created by Homo supposedly sapiens. Look into plants and it gets even weirder. Though one bit of that weirdness is probably regularly in your fruit bowl; the domestic strawberry of today came from an 18th century cross between a European species and one from the Pacific Coast of North America.

Heck, we’ve even tried to cross gems. At one point in the Middle Ages certain people sincerely believed that aquamarines were the offspring of sapphires and emeralds, and tried various experiments to produce them.

With that in mind, the zebroid seems yet another “it seemed like a good idea at the time”. But apparently it actually was a useful idea... in Boer Africa. Horses fall prey to sleeping sickness. Zebras don’t. If the Boers wanted to haul freight north into the hotter areas to expand, or pull gun carriages to fight the British, they needed draft animals that wouldn’t lie down and die. Zebroids aren’t exactly tame, and usually don’t have a temperament that makes them good mounts - but mules are nasty too, and we use them to haul guns.

The Boers lost. Zebroids are still born; sometimes by accident. And still kind of amazing.

If you have exotic animals in your world... well, it’s something to think about. What might your breeders get up to?

[satoshi-mochida]

Monster Hunter Wilds third trailer, screenshots - Gematsu

Capcom has released the third official trailer and new screenshots for Monster Hunter Wilds.

Get the latest details below.

The latest footage for the highly anticipated action RPG showcased the Scarlet Forest and a spider-like monster known as Lala Barina, who patrols this lush woodland. Capcom also presented the first extended look at a region’s apex monster and explored exciting new gameplay details, including how to clash with larger-than-life foes head-on, hunt as a group even in single player, and enjoy unprecedented freedom in the seamless world of the Forbidden Lands.

The next evolution in the award-winning Monster Hunter series is gearing up for a simultaneous worldwide release in 2025 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Steam with cross-play support.

New Hunting Ground – The Scarlet Forest, a newly revealed locale in the Forbidden Lands, is a lush setting with towering greenery contrasted by waters dyed a crimson hue. Like the other ecosystems in Monster Hunter Wilds, the Scarlet Forest is a dynamic environment that undergoes periods of Plenty, Inclemency, and Fallow that transform the landscape and wildlife residing within it.

New Monster – One creature that calls the Scarlet Forest home is Lala Barina. Part of the Temnoceran class of monsters rarely seen in the series, the Lala Barina possesses sharp, spindly limbs and can unfurl its thorax into a massive, rose-like form that is as treacherous as it is beautiful.

Apex Spotlight – Each region in Monster Hunter Wilds is ruled by an apex monster. Downstream from the Scarlet Forest in the previously revealed Windward Plains, a monster known as Rey Dau reigns supreme. Initially glimpsed at Summer Game Fest, the Flying Wyvern was unveiled today in its full glory. The apex predator of the Windward Plains is adapted to the harsh conditions of the Sandtides that transform its dusty grassland and can unleash destructive electrical strikes that pose a threat to even the most experienced hunters.

Support Hunters – Whether playing solo or online, Support Hunters can fill openings in players’ hunting parties. These helpful NPCs include Olivia, a hammer-wielding member of the Forbidden Lands Research Commission, who will also play a key role in the story along with her elite Palico, Athos.

More Moves – In addition to new allies, hunters can also engage with adversaries in fresh ways. These include the Power Clash, where blocking certain attacks can lock hunters into a physical struggle, and Offset Attacks, where a well-timed hit can interrupt a monster. Succeeding with these new abilities can knock monsters off balance to provide critical openings or trigger powerful special attacks.

Windsong Village – The latest trailer also introduced Kunafa, a settlement hunters will visit in the Windward Plains. One of multiple communities in the Forbidden Lands, this village has existed here for generations and possesses its own unique culture. Shaped by its surroundings and local wildlife, Kunafa raises livestock for cheese production and is also home to Seikrets, the trusty mounts hunters will soon discover to be indispensable companions when exploring the wilds.

Seamless Exploration – When away from base camp, hunters can embark on expeditions with a number of objectives in mind. Quests can begin by targeting a monster in the area using their map or simply by striking one when out in the field. Players can also prepare for their next hunt without returning to base by using their portable BBQ grill for a stat boost or by taking a rest at a Pop-up Camp. These forward operating bases are convenient spots to manage items and equipment, serve as return points after fainting, and can be used as fast-travel destinations.

Monster Hunter Wilds is due out for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC via Steam in 2025.

Watch the trailer below. View the screenshots at the gallery.

Trailer #3

English

Japanese

[pokepollsters]

Best Poké Ball Tournament-

Round 1: Match 6

Well this match has some very unusual Balls! This could be interesting!

The Cherish Ball can never be used by a player, but if it could, it would function the same as a regular Poké Ball. Instead, when trainers receive an event Pokémon, they will arrive in a very distinct looking Cherish Ball! No eggs will hatch with a Cherish Ball, and none will ever be obtainable in a player's bag, making it one of the most elusive Balls around. The very first Pokémon to come in a Cherish Ball was Shokotan's Tropius, back in 2007. And, as a reference to this, Ace Trainer Deanna in BDSP keeps her Tropius in a Cherish Ball- the only NPC to be seen with such a Ball! How lucky for Deanna!

What could be more elusive than a Cherish Ball? Well, the GS Ball of course! A Ball that first appeared in the anime, this was an item that was distributed in a Japan-only event that allowed Pokémon Crystal players to encounter and catch Celebi. A western version of the event was planned but never released- though the virtual console release made the event obsolete worldwide as the GS Ball is obtained after entering the Hall of Fame. This is another Ball that can never be used to catch a Pokémon, instead being a Key Item unusable in battle. The player must take it to Kurt to analyse instead, before it is returned and remains in the Key Items pocket for eternity! Since it can never contain a player's Pokémon- the only Ball in the competition like this- it doesn't have any known catch rate multiplier. In many ways, the GS Ball is just as mysterious as it was back in the days of Generation 2.

[supersoftly]

I never played Skullgirls as much, but the reaction I've seen in response to the rightly pissed-off customers over the digital art book getting censored is the ol "Lol, only perverts and chuds are mad about it. Who gives a shit."

But they forgot one truth about an IP that has a horny fanbase that can make a push as big as how Skullgirls was once a dream to a worldwide hit because of ZONE and whatnot.

You do NOT backstab your supporting fans to this scale and scope. It's basic business etiquette, tho I guess ESG money must be worth more than common sense.

TLDR: Backstabbing your supportive fan-artists no matter how horny they may be to chickenshit devs and investors like that is a stupid business move!

It's really annoying seeing a bunch of braindead philistine npcs going around with the copypaste 'stay mad pedo nazis' as if that addresses any of the actual grievances fans have with censorship.

There's no love for its base with this decision, they don't care about preserving artistic integrity or respecting what made the thing so popular in the first place, they care about watering it down to their particular standards and tastes, purifying it of filth and flavour, all the while claiming that only when the art is "respectful", after it's safely altered for your protection, the protection of women, children, minorities, whateverelsewecanthrowinthereOK, now FINALLY, it is deserving of the privilege of being allowed to exist 😒 ok sure w.e man

[erithdrafts]

The fontaine men (yes. Including Mr Worldwide) just beating the shiz up of the npcs and LMAOO NEUVI?????? Using hydro pump isn't enough, he needs to knee strike the person with his pretty legs.