#plenty of wisdom and constitution

[swan2swan]

Sammy REALLY needs to learn how to dodge.

[renthony]

I haven't enjoyed a Marvel movie since I stopped bothering to keep up with the MCU in 2014. I don't care for most Marvel movies. I think Marvel Studios is a case study in things that are shitty in the entertainment industry. But holy shit, pretentious posts along the lines of "haha, I don't watch Marvel films, I have real taste, go watch another movie!" are so fucking annoying.

Like, go put up your middle finger at some preps or something. People are allowed to watch whatever they want and enjoy whatever movies they want and make whatever fandom stuff they want, and that doesn't say anything about their intelligence or morals or character. It doesn't mean they are somehow bad at watching movies, or are too stupid to realize whatever nugget of wisdom ye high-and-mighty Marvel Haters think you're the only ones to understand.

Again, not personally a Marvel fan, but this whole "haha, I'm better than Marvel fans" relates to something I've been musing on about media analysis as a whole. There is a persistent idea that mass entertainment is inherently lower quality or less artistic because it's made for a wide audience, and that bad art isn't worth analyzing or engaging with just because it's low quality. In this mindset, the only art that has the possibility to be any good at all is 100% independent projects made by amateurs, and anything produced by a studio or with wide appeal is inherently poser art with absolutely nothing meaningful to say. In this mindset, you can't possibly learn anything or take anything from bad art, and if you find meaning in bad art, you're clearly just stupid and uneducated and have bad taste.

The thing is? Liking bad art is not a sin. Having a different opinion about what constitutes "bad art" is not a sin. Finding something entertaining despite its flaws is not a sin. Studying bad art is not a sin. You can learn a lot from bad art, you can learn a lot from interpreting propaganda, you can learn a lot from engaging with things even if you don't think they're very "good."

My vaudeville research keeps turning up author after author who talks about vaudeville as some sort of "point of no return," like the performing arts all turned to shit the second things were intended to be seen by more than a single audience for a single show. Popularity gets equated with lack of skill or quality, because all the performers were "just pandering to the audience" instead of relying on "real skill."

For one, what the fuck does that even mean, but for two, the theatrical quality of vaudeville isn't what makes it interesting and worth engaging with. Every single thing that ever came out of vaudeville could be 100% total utter garbage, but vaudeville would still be worth studying because of how influential it still is on arts and entertainment today. It has significant historical and educational merit. And some of it is still genuinely fun and entertaining, once you pick out all the things that didn't age well or were just plain bigoted. There's artistic merit in those old sketches and songs, and there's meaning to be drawn from plenty of it even here in 2023.

You want to learn about the Hays Code? Well, let's talk about how early films were shown on projectors on vaudeville stages, so vaudeville censorship went on to influence American film censorship. Let's talk about how we still use slang to this day that originated on vaudeville, such as "skit" or "one night stand" or "ad lib" or "the big time." Vaudeville is still in the bones of the modern American entertainment industry and pop culture, and you can't really escape that influence.

People in modern day use Marvel movies as proof that big studio films are singlehandedly responsible for the decline of art, and there is nothing to learn from them or see in them at all, ever. But to me, "Marvel movies are bad" is such a flat, uninteresting observation, because when it comes to media analysis, it doesn't really matter if Marvel films are good or entertaining. If you want to actually dig into the problems with big-budget summer Hollywood blockbusters, and the way they're impacting the industry as a whole, you have to go deeper than "pop culture is all stupid stuff for stupid people, unlike me, who isn't like other girls actually has good taste in media!"

There are so many more factors at play than "mass entertainment = bad art." Let's look at the ways capitalism screws over small creators and forces them to seek funding from the very same studios that fuck them over. Let's talk about how the actual workers in the industry are fighting tooth and fucking nail against the exact same things all the Marvel haters harp on about. Let's talk about studios that accept funding from the United States Government to turn superhero comics into propaganda films, and then threaten the actual workers with never having a career again if they complain or quit. Let's talk about how the actors are regularly abused and treated to hostile work environments.

Let's talk about the people who made the films, because the films were not made by a CEO pressing the "make movie" button. The workers made those films. The workers were exploited by those studios. Let's try giving a shit about them, instead of taking the "haha, Marvel fans are stupid and cringe" route.

There is so much more fucking nuance and detail and conversation about mass media as a topic, and boiling it down to, "art made for a wide audience is inherently shitty and has nothing to say."

You're not a better, more intelligent, more educated person just because you don't like Marvel movies. Making posts about how much better you are than Marvel fans does nothing to either explain or tackle the issues in the entertainment industry.

It just makes you look like a dickhead.

[grailfinders]

Grailfinders Viewers' Choice #29: Alice Kuonji

today on grailfinders I desperately see how broken a character who does nothing themselves can be, because we’re making Alice Kuonji from Tsukihime, but she’s also in FGO now, so at least I’m saving myself a future headache. Alice is a Necromancer Wizard because we need an ungodly amount of magic, and also necromancers are just better summoners if all you want to do is summon. ᵃⁿᵈ ʸᵉˢ, ᴵ ᵏⁿᵒʷ ᵗʰᵉ ᵖˡᵒʸˢ ⁽ᵖʳᵒᵇᵃᵇˡʸ⁾ ᵃʳᵉⁿ’ᵗ ᶻᵒᵐᵇᶦᵉˢ, ᵇᵘᵗ ᵗʰᵉʸ ᵈᵒ ʳᵉᵖʳᵉˢᵉⁿᵗ ᵃ “ˡᵒⁿᵍ ᵈᵉᵃᵈ” ᵃᵍᵉ

well I thought I was being clever.

anyways, check out her build breakdown below the cut, or her character sheet over here! I’m taking the next month off as far as vc builds go since I already have a sizeable backlog I need to catch up on and summer isn’t doing me any favors, so the next poll will hopefully be in August!

Ancestry & Background

starting things off nice and normal, Alice is a Satyr.

okay hear me out.

in the nasuverse, Alice Kuonji is a Witch, which is actually a type of fey, and thus not a human. while there are several races of fey that can be played in D&D, a lot of them can be ruled out quickly. Centaurs have the wrong number of limbs and focus on physical attacks, Faeries are just too small to work, and Changelings have a central conceit that we wouldn’t use in any capacity.

that leaves us with Hexblood, which is… fine, I guess, I guess you can use the eerie tokens as more familiars, but Satyrs are one of the most powerful races you can pick in D&D, and Alice is kind of busted, so it fits a bit better. besides, we’ll have plenty of familiars from magic alone, don’t worry.

as a Satyr you are, of course, a Fey, so spells like Hold Person straight up don’t work on you- already off to a great start for your immortality. you can Ram people which is not something we’re using, but your Magical Resistance more than makes up for it by giving you advantage on all saves against all magic. your Mirthful Leaps let you add extra distance to your long and high jumps, which actually fits rather well with your ability to levitate, and as a Reveler you get extra proficiencies. I’m actually going to keep Performance for a lil somethin’-somethin’ later, but you get Deception too, to hide your true nature from humans.

most of your ploys come from your ancestors, making you an Inheritor of their power. that gives you proficiency with Survival and Arcana.

Ability Scores

first is Intelligence- a lot of your ploys have weird conditions and drawbacks you have to keep in mind when you fight, so you have to fight smart. second is Wisdom- you’re actually not that great with the modern world, so most of your actual knowledge isn’t book smarts. of course, wisdom doesn’t have a mechanical benefit here, so it’s lower. third is Constitution. it’s not how much you can bleed, but how hard you can get hit and keep getting up. you have like 18 guts stacked on you by default, so… that’s a lot. your Dexterity is just above average to hopefully keep you alive until level 20. that means your Charisma isn’t great- you’re a shut-in among mages, which is really saying something. of course, we’re dumping Strength. you have other people to do that stuff for you. well, not people, but still.

Class Levels

1. at level one, all wizards get an Arcane Recovery, so once per day you can regain a few spell slots on your short rest, with the total level of all the slots equaling half your level, rounded up. speaking of, you also learn Spells, which you cast and prepare using your Intelligence. since you use a spellbook for these, you can also learn spells by copying them down from other wizards, and with six spells now and two more every level, you won’t be left wanting.

that being said I don’t have all day to exhaustively talk about every spell you’ll learn as you level up, so I’ll break them down into two categories: Familiars and Spells that Make You Die Less. if a spell doesn’t fit into either of these categories, or there’s something specific I want to point out, I’ll do it here, otherwise check the character sheet for the full spell list.

that being said, there’s two spells at level 1 I need to touch on- Detect Magic, because everyone needs an information dump at some point so they can follow along, and Fog Cloud. it’s not exactly Flat Snark just yet, but it’s a start.

2. second level necromancers become Necromancers, so you’re a necromancy savant, so copying necromancy spells is faster and cheaper. you also can reap a Grim Harvest, so whenever you kill a living creature with a spell you get double the spell’s level back in HP (or three times if it’s a necromancy spell). I don’t think this really works for Alice, but we don’t really use it in this build anyway, since you tend to use summons, so it’s never really “you” killing anything. the first couple levels are a bit slow, but things pick up when we can actually summon stuff, don’t worry.

you also learn Sleep this level though. No real reason for it tbh, but it felt like a faerie tale thing a witch would do, which is kind of your MO.

3. at third level you learn second level spells, so now you can make Darkness happen whenever you want. this doesn’t actually make it nighttime, so it doesn’t really affect your spells, but I figured I’d get it anyway as an homage.

4. use your first Ability Score Improvement to round up your Constitution and Intelligence to cast better and live long enough to cast even better later. remember, bonuses to your constitution affect your health retroactively, so you get 4 extra HP this level!

Prestidigitation is the cantrip you give someone when they’re just good at everything, and Alice can levitate, so… Levitate.

5. fifth level wizards get third level spells, and while I won’t go into much detail, you can celebrate gaining your first summoning spell, Summon Fey. you’ve had a couple ploys by now, but this is the first time one’s been really able to help you in battle.

6. at level six you can command Undead Thralls, giving you the Animate Dead spell for free, and whenever you summon undead, they come out with extra HP and damage. while this encourages us to stick only to undead, ploys are whatever the hell you want them to be, so feel free to experiment with the other summoning spells. like Tiny Servant! now you can make an adorable teapot minion to carry out your will. if you overcharge the spell, you can make a whole cutlery drawer do your bidding!

7. seventh level wizards get fourth level spells, and surprise surprise it’s more summoning!

8. at eighth level you gain the Gift of the Metallic Dragon instead of an Ability Score Improvement, so you learn Cure Wounds for a solid healing factor, and Protective Wings, giving you an even better shield. well, it’s not better yet, but shield is +5 AC and this right now is +3, but without using spell slots.

9. ninth level wizards get fifth level spells- Bigby’s Hand is our best simulacrum of a giant murderous you… for now, so I guess this is Flat Snarp’s final form… or is it?

10. tenth level necromancers are Inured to Undeath, so you resist necrotic damage and your HP total can’t be reduced. period. this is a secret tool that will help us later.

also, if you really want a great shield you can use Otiluke’s Resilient Sphere to lock yourself in a resilient sphere. nothing can pass into or out of the sphere, so make sure you summon your lackeys before hiding away in it.

actually don’t do that, most summons require concentration, as does this spell. once again, the rules of dnd prevent us from having a good time in dnd, shame.

11. eleventh level wizards get sixth level spells, and now you can create a Wall of Ice. the moon throws icebergs at people sometimes, don’t ask me for context. also you can Create Undead this level, but only at night! just like your ploys, eh? that’s what we call “flavor”. just. don’t actually lick the zombies.

12. in your final NP you kind of… become the snarp? I guess? so that’s why Tasha’s Otherworldly Guise is here.

13. thirteenth level wizards get seventh level spells, and you can turn the entire world into a fantasy land thanks to Mirage Arcane, letting you warp everything around you whenever you so wish. you can also create your own ploys this level using Create Magen. it’s worth pointing out that this spell normally has the drawback of permanently reducing your max HP, but we can safely ignore that because you’re a necromancer.

14. at fourteenth level you can Command Undead, forcing an undead creature under your control until you take someone else over. you can also use this on intelligent undead, but it won’t last nearly as long. your best ploys are someone else’s anyway, so it works.

15. at fifteenth level you can use eighth level spells, like Control Weather. I’m pretty sure this also can’t make it turn to night, but I’d let you do it, fuck it it’s an eighth level spell.

16. sixteenth level wizards get another ASI, to bump up your Constitution again. you can also use Telekinesis now. sometimes the moon throws a carnival at people, it’s fine don’t worry about it.

17. seventeenth level wizards get ninth level spells. Invulnerability makes you invulnerable, and True Polymorph lets you turn random objects into faerie-tale creatures. it turns out the rule-breaking ultramage really likes ninth level spells, go figure.

18. eighth level wizards learn Spell Mastery, letting you cast one 1st level spell and one 2nd level spell for free at will, so you know we have to grab Find Familiar and Levitate. you have way too many familiars and levitation is just something you do for funsies, it all fits.

also, you get Wish. yeah that’s just a thing you can do, idk how there’s any kind of plot with you around I’ll be honest.

19. use your last ASI to grab the Tough feat for 40 more HP. yep.

20. with our last level you get the wizard capstone, Signature Spells, two third level spells that you always have prepared, and they also get a free cast each day. so of course we’re getting Animate Dead and Tiny Servant. whimsical and horrifying, all in one go!

Pros & Cons

Pros:

thanks to the power of necromancy, building and maintaining an army of 30 ploys is not only possible, but not even close to the upper limit you can wield. you could even get the actual 108 you brag about all the time! not only that, but you’re not just limited to shambling corpses, having access to various kinds of fey, elementals, and magen to make some clever clogs under your control.

invulnerability makes you completely immune to damage for ten minutes, which is a long time for a wizard to be able to do whatever the fuck they want. even before that, you’re pretty durable for a spellcaster, with almost 200 HP, access to your own healing, and even having the option to clone yourself and come back time after time.

you have Wish, so you can literally just do whatever you want, forever. yes you have a good chance to lose the spell forever if you abuse it, but still, using it the right way once can end any problem you could possibly have.

Cons:

like most spellcasters, the good shit comes in the endgame, so you’ll have to survive a pretty long time on your lonesome first. you don’t even get any summons until level 5, so hopefully that’s when your campaign starts.

invulnerability is nice, but most of your damaging spells that aren’t zombie-related require concentration, so you’ll have to choose between turtling and living forever or doing stuff and being at risk. if you’re playing to character the former is the correct answer, but it might not be that fun in-game.

that ploy army requires upkeep, and the more you make the more spell slots will be used on just those zombies day after day. at a point, your zombies will be getting taken out in one hit, so just keep that in mind before you burn half your slots each morning.

[coreene]

There is a whole chapter on the traits dnd races give regards to sex and pregnancy. I'm only sharing the races we see in bg3 here.

source: The 5e Guide to Sex (unofficial)

Transcript under the cut

AASIMAR

Aasimar views on sex vary wildly from one individual to the next; however, many aasmiar are known for their physical beauty and force of personality that makes them quite alluring.

Seductive. You have advantage on Charisma checks to seduce someone

DRAGONBORN

Like aaracokra, dragonborn are not a particularly sensual people. However, they are known for their robustness and toughness, which do translate well in the bedchambers.

Enduring. You have advantage on Constitution checks made to avoid exhaustion from having sex more than once in an hour.

DWARF

Most dwarf clans view sex as strictly for procreation between a husband and wife. However, dwarves thoroughly encourage a husband and wife to get it on as often as possible, so as to increase the size of the clan and counteract their relatively low fertility.

Enduring. You have advantage on Constitution checks made to avoid exhaustion from having sex more than once in an hour.

Infertile. You have disadvantage on checks to impregnate (if male) or become pregnant (if female)

ELF

Elves are an alluring, sensual race that greatly benefits from their long lives where matters of sex are concerned. When one can live nearly a millennium, one tends to pick up quite a few tricks, particularly since elven culture is fairly permissive and lax about sexual adventures.

Imaginative. You have advantage on Wisdom saving throws made to endure foreplay.

Infertile. You have disadvantage on checks to impregnate (if male) or become pregnant (if female)

GOBLINOID

The three goblinoid races – goblins, hobgoblins, and bugbears – have sex often, principally as a means of producing children. Powerful goblinoids will often take multiple partners as a sign of their strength and power, but goblinoids lack style and finesse with their sex.

Fertile. You have advantage on checks to impregnate (if male) or become pregnant (if female).

GNOME

Gnomes enjoy sex almost recreationally. They are not one for forming close attachments to individuals, but rather to the community as a whole. Group sex is common, and the gnomish love of pranks and jests is a fundamental part of their sex lives.

Imaginative. You have advantage on Wisdom saving throws made to endure foreplay.

HALF-ELF

Half-elves tend to view sex like either humans or elves, depending on who raised them. Their natural charm aids them well, although many half-elves suffer awkward first years in spite of this: they reach puberty later than humans and so “fall behind” their human friends’ interest in sex, while those raised by elves mature rapidly and desire sexual activity at a younger age than their peers.

Seductive. You have advantage on Charisma checks to seduce someone.

HALF-ORC

Half-orcs, like their full-blooded kin, tend to like sex rough and are innately promiscuous. While some find their semi-orcish appearance unattractive, there are plenty others for whom that is their fetish – which is well rewarded once they get into bed.

Enduring. You have advantage on Constitution checks made to avoid exhaustion from having sex more than once in an hour.

HALFLING

Halflings don’t really need an excuse to party, and a natural result of partying tends to be sex sooner or later. Halflings have no particular kinks or skills beyond what other races have, though many halflings find the idea of sex with larger humanoids surprisingly alluring, given

how often they otherwise hate being treated by them.

Halflings gain no racial traits related to sex.

HUMAN

Human perceptions on sex run the gamut from restrictive to permissive, depending on the time period and culture. Particularly in the fantasy worlds of Dungeons & Dragons, no generalizations can be made.

Humans gain no racial traits related to sex.

KOBOLD

In most D&D worlds, kobolds lack a sex drive altogether. Sex is exclusively for procreation, with those rare kobolds who do derive pleasure and thrill from it being seen as weird at best and degenerate at worst. Even “love” is a foreign concept to most kobolds, with many viewing it as a sort of mental illness.

Fertile. You have advantage on checks to impregnate (if male) or become pregnant (if female)

TIEFLING

Like aasimars, tieflings have few unifying views on sex and sexual relations. Their physical appearance can be darkly alluring to some, however, giving them a natural seductiveness regardless of their own personal tastes.

Seductive. You have advantage on Charisma checks to seduce someone

[nerdythebard]

#61: Loki Laufeyson [Marvel Comics]

[Art Credit: Gabriel Hernandez Walta | Doctor Strange (2015)] ---

I'll start by saying this, my dear Deities... I am not a fan. As a resident mythology nerd, I have a few baseball bats with Marvel decision-makers' names on them. But, I am a bard of the people and therefore shall hear my audience's requests. And thus, we're building Loki Laufeyson as depicted by Marvel Comics. Plenty of changes to the real Loki (which will be featured!), so let's see what we can do.

Next Time: You want more gods, I give you more gods. No more monkey business! Unless the monkey's business is to become immortal.

So, what does this so-called Loki brings to the table:

Tall Tales & Tricks: Loki in most of his iterations is known for his speechcraft and manipulation techniques. This one, however, is also quite fond of spells and various magical practices, specialising however in illusions and shapeshifting (although seemingly limited to mostly humanoid forms).

Tough as... Ice: This Loki is a full frost giant (...shh! Keep the Jotunn lecture for those who ask, Nerdy) with all the physiological advantages. We're talking durability, strength, the entire package.

Shinies & Stabbies: This Loki likes his pointy objects. Daggers and the sword Lævateinn seem to be his particular favourites. Plus, we all remember the glaive/scepter he gets in the movies.

---

To properly represent Loki's Jotunn lineage, we will reach for the "distant cousins of giants" in the world of D&D - Firbolgs, as depicted in Mordenkainen's Monsters of the Multiverse. We get +2 Charisma and +1 Constitution, some Firbolg Magic which lets us cast Detect Magic and Disguise Self (once without expending spell slots, unless we have slots to spell - spoilers: we will), ability to turn invisible with Hidden Step, ability to communicate (one way) with nature using the Speech of Beast and Leaf, as well as Powerful Build which makes us count as one category larger for tasks such as carrying, pulling, or lifting.

Loki's many things, but in most instances he is a Charlatan, so that's what we're going with. We gain proficiency in Deception and Sleight of Hand, as well as with disguise and forgery kits (which will be useful to alter our clothes, as it cannot be done via magic). We are also able to craft False Identity for ourselves, completed with an entire past full of tangible evidence. What's better for a foundling child, adopted by a local warlord, who needs to use disguise magic to hid his true form?

ABILITY SCORES

This one's obvious - we are putting our highest score into Charisma, we will be using it most of the time both in and out of combat. We also need to avoid, dodge, and slip into the shadows so Dexterity will be next. Finally, let's grab Constitution, just in case some musclehead with a hammer catches us once in a blue moon.

Intelligence will actually be next, we're good at gathering information and utilising it. Strength comes from our giant lineage, although we rarely get physical. Finally, we're dumping Wisdom - if we had it, we'd learn to not constantly betray our brother or the heroes that gave us a chance (again).

CLASS

Level 1 - Rogue: We will start with our non-magical skills. Rogues get a d8 as their Hit Die, [8 + Constitution modifier] initial Hit Points, proficiencies with light armour, simple weapons, hand crossbows, longswords, rapiers, shortswords, and thieves' tools. Let's give your standard leather armour, and two daggers plus a shortsword (which what would a Norse primary weapon be, provided you're wealthy enough).

Our saving throws are Dexterity and Intelligence, and we can choose four skills from the class list (Acrobatics, Perception, Performance, and Stealth). Rogues start with Expertise to their skills, doubling the proficiency bonus of two chosen skills; for this Loki, who uses illusions and body switching so often, let's put Expertise in Persuasion and Stealth. We also know Thieves' Cant (can't what? - no, that joke will never not be funny), a system of phrases and symbols used by Rogues to communicate. Slip some Asgardian lingo without worry of revealing plans.

We can also apply Sneak Attack to any attack (with a Finesse or Ranged weapon) that we have an advantage on. The amount of damage increase as we level up; for now it's an extra 1d6.

Level 2 - Rogue: Our quick thinking grants us Cunning Action. We can now take the Dash, Disengage, and Hide Actions as Bonus Actions, allowing for better positioning.

Level 3 - Rogue: Our Sneak Attack bonus now becomes 2d6. We also get to pick our subclass, our Roguish Archetype. I'm guessing some of you would go with Arcane Trickster here, but remember we're focusing on quick and stabby Loki in this part; put on your feather caps, we're going Swashbuckler! With Fancy Footwork, we do not provoke opportunity attacks if we make an attack against the enemy (notice, it doesn't say we need to hit the enemy, so this is a perfect testing-the-waters technique). Thanks to our Rakish Audacity, we can add our Charisma modifier to our Initiative, making us a good scout and once again helping with our positioning.

Additionally at this point, when we're in melee range of an enemy and there's nobody else within 5 feet, we do not need advantage for our Sneak Attack.

Level 4 - Sorcerer: As one wise Loki said "blades are worthless in the face of a Loki Sorcery", so we're going to focus on that now. Multiclassing into Sorcerer does not give us any extra bonuses, but it enables Spellcasting. Charisma is our casting ability and we know catrips and regular spells. Sorcerers get a fixed number of spells. We start with four cantrips (Fire Bolt, Friends, Minor Illusion, and Prestidigitation) and two 1st-level spells (Comprehend Languages and Sleep).

Sorcerers also pick their subclass, their Sorcerous Origin, at this level. We shall circle back to our giant legacy and pick the Giant Soul option from the Unearthed Arcana 51. With the legacy of the Frost Giants embedded in our essence, we gain Jotun Resilience - every level up we get an additional 1 Hit Point. We also carry the Mark of Ordning, which grants us some additional spells; at this level it's Armour of Agathys and Ray of Frost.

Level 5 - Sorcerer: We discover our inner Font of Magic and are now able to convert Sorcery Points into Spell Slots and vice versa. We can also grab another 1st-level spell; let's grab Charm Person to emulate the usage of the Mind Stone.

Level 6 - Sorcerer: We unlock Metamagic, which lets us use Sorcery Points to alter the properties of our spells. We get to choose two options: Quickened Spell uses 2 Sorcery Points to change a spell from Action to Bonus Actions. Subtle Spell uses 1 Sorcery Point to cast a spell without verbal or somatic components - perfect to sneakily place an body double illusion.

We also unlock 2nd-level spells here, so in regards to my previous sentence, let's take Mirror Image. We also get Hold Person from our subclass.

Level 7 - Sorcerer: Time for our first Ability Score Improvement. Let's raise our Charisma and Constitution by one, and then we can move to our spell selection. We get a new cantrip (Green-Flame Blade) and another 2nd-level spell: Misty Step.

Level 8 - Sorcerer: At this level, we normally do not get anything; the optional feature from Tasha's Cauldron of Everything called Magical Guidance lets us spend Sorcer Points to re-roll failed ability checks, but ask your DM about that one.

We do, however, unlock 3rd-level spells, so let's take Major Image to improve the quality of our projections, while we stick to the shadows.

Level 9 - Sorcerer: We get another subclass feature. With Soul of Lost Ostoria, we gain a benefit based on the Giant heritage we've chosen previously. For Frost Giants, after casting one of our Mark of Ordning spells, we get temporary Hit Points equal to our Consitution modifier. We also get another 3rd-level spell; let's grab Antagonise.

Level 10 - Sorcerer: Halfway through the build and unfortunately, we get no class boons here. We do, however, unlock 4th-level spells so let's take Charm Monster to hopefully avoid potential non-human fights... or to cause them.

Level 11 - Sorcerer: Time for another ASI. Let's put points into Constitution and Wisdom, and then grab another 4th-level spell: Greater Invisibility.

Level 12 - Sorcerer: Once again, we get nothing class-wise. We do unlock 5th-level spells now, so let's take Creation to have an opportunity to always have a tool or a wepon on our hands.

Level 13 - Sorcerer: We get to pick another Metamagic option here. With Extended Spell, we can extend the duration of our spells (if available) by spending Sorcery Points to a maximum of 24 hours. Useful to keep some illusions or the Creation spell we've picked up last level.

We also pick up our last cantrip of the build (Mending) and another 5th-level spell; this time, let's get Telekinesis to reorganise the environment around us (and pick some loose trinkets laying in the open).

Level 14 - Sorcerer: Once again, no new class boons but we do unlock 6th-level spells. With Mass Suggestion, we can now convince an entire crowd of mortals to bow down before us (or perhaps vote us President).

Level 15 - Sorcerer: For our next ASI, we will increase our Dexterity by two points to get better AC and Initiative options.

Level 16 - Sorcerer: Unlocking 7th-level spells, we can now use Teleport to call up a lift from Heimdall. Just make sure to collect some knick-knacks from the place you want to teleport to for a better chance of actually going there. Spatial travel's tough.

Level 17 - Sorcerer: For our final subclass option of the build, we are able to unleash the Rage of Fallen Ostoria. When casting a spell, we can spend one additional Sorcerer Point to transform into our Giant Form. For 1 minute, we become one category size larger and gain the following benefits:

Our current Hit Points and Hit Points Maximum increase by 1 per Sorcerer Level.

Our reach increases by 5 feet.

Our speed increases by 5 feet.

We have advantage on Strength checks and Strength saving throws.

We get a bonus damage to our weapon attacks equal to our Constitution modifier.

Level 18 - Sorcerer: Once again, no class boons, but we do unlock 8th-level spells. To once again hopefully avoid combat, let's use the power of the Norse Runes and grab Power Word: Stun.

Level 19 - Sorcerer: For our final ASI of the build, let's cap our Charisma to 20. Who knows, maybe the BBEG would be so willing to step down after having a nice little chat.

Level 20 - Sorcerer: For our capstone as Sorcerer 16, we get to enhance our Metamagic yet again. For the late game, let's get Twinned Spell to add one additional target to some of spells (like Telekinesis, Charm Monster, Major Image, etc.).

---

And this is what I can do for the Marvel Comics version of Loki. Let's see what story I came up with:

First of all, we have a fantastic Initiative score. With a +7, we are almost certain to start every combat first which gives us fantastic opportunity to hide, reposition, or distract the enemy before they even make their move. Because this is what we are: we're a skirmisher, a supporter. We have enough to protect ourselves with but mostly we use Crowd Control and sticking to the back lines. We are first and formost the Party's out-of-combat Face for all social interactions.

Our AC is 14 and we have the average of 153 Hit Points.

Despite a solid identity as the Face, our Wisdom score is absolutely abysmal, which is not really great considering that is one of the most used and abused by the enemies. We are very vulnerable to any charmed or feared effects, so it's best to avoid being seen or invest into some magic item protection.

---

So that is it. You guys want more gods, I listen and serve. It's good to be back in the character building saddle. I'll see you soon with another breakdown build, my friends <3

-Nerdy out!

[the-mic-drop]

Building Link in BG3- Ranger

Ok, this Link is more thematically fitting, but as a recreation of him it's less accurate. Also I don't have as good a grasp of the Ranger class, so this one is likely more flawed.

Hero of the Wild

This is the Link we play as, the wild child, the serial arsonist, the pun maestro. The amnesiac that saved Hyrule on instinct.

Background

Race: Half Elf (Wood Half Elf)

Background: Outlander

Race stays the same, but this Link is no knight, this is him in his second life. Living in the wilderness, exploring the countryside, traveling the land.

Abilities

Strength: 17 (+3)

Dexterity: 16 (+3)

Constitution: 13 (+1)

Intelligence: 8 (-1)

Wisdom: 10 (0)

Charisma: 10 (0)

Str, Dex, Con, and Wis stay the same, but we switch Int and Cha because this Link is the more animated and less... bright version.

Class & Levels

Class: Ranger

Proficiencies: Nature, Animal Handling, Perception

Favored Enemy: Ranger Knight

Natural Explorer: Wasteland Wanderer: Cold

Nature because duh, Animal Handling because he can ride anything with a natural seat, and Perception because he's used to being on the lookout for danger. Ranger Knight because that's really what he is. You get proficiency in History which makes no sense, but you also gain proficiency in heavy armor which makes plenty of sense, so it evens out. Wasteland Wanderer: Cold because freezing temperatures is the most common environmental danger you can come across in Hyrule.

Level 2

Fighting Style: Archery

Spells: Hunter's Mark, Goodberry

Archery because it's the most appropriate choice, Hunter's Mark because of BotW's targeting mechanic, and Goodberry because of the metric tons of apples Link tends to carry with him at all times. The fact that this Link can use spells at all is a big reason as to why this build doesn't sit right with me, but I digress.

Level 3

Subclass: Hunter

Spell: Ensnaring Strike (Ranged)

Hunter's Prey: Any

Hunter fits because whenever we play as Link, he's always searching for something and usually has to fight something big and legendary before getting it. Unless the big legendary thing is what he was looking for. Ensnaring Strike is an equivalent to stun locking in my mind. As for Hunter's Prey, you have three choices and they're all equally fine for Link. Colossus Slayer gives you extra damage to enemies not at full health. Giant Killer lets you use a reaction to attack an attacking creature that's large or larger. Horde Breaker lets you attack multiple targets if they're standing close enough to each other. They all make sense and I leave this one to you.

Level 4

Feat: Shield Master

Although the Ranger class is typically Dex-focused and Link is a capable archer, our hero is more likely to get up close and personal. So we'll go with the same policy as the Fighter build; max out Str with Ethel and Oblodra so you don't need to use a feat on Ability Improvement. Unlike the Fighter class we only get 3 feats, so we can't give him all the weapon-type feats, so take Shield Master and keep this Link with a classic sword & shield kit. With a longbow for range, of course.

Level 5

Spell: Cure Wounds

This one is just a stand-in for Link's meals and that one(?) time he cured a group with his competent cooking.

Level 6

Favored Enemy: Sanctified Stalker

Natural Explorer: Wasteland Wanderer: Hot

Sanctified Stalker doesn't make much sense outside of how he's always going on quests with god-level involvement. Another Wasteland Wanderer for the Gerudo Desert and Death Mountain.

Level 7

Spell: Lesser Restoration

Defensive Tactics: Multiattack Defense

Lesser Restoration has the same rationale as Cure Wounds. Multiattack Defense is because Link only takes hits one at a time. Enemies can't just wail on you, and now Faerun's dastards have the same issue now.

Level 8

Feat: Durable

Another returning feat from his Fighter build. Link doesn't need much time to recover. Except that one time it took a century, but that's an outlier.

Level 9

Spell: Lightning Arrow

Shock arrows.

Level 10

Favored Enemy: Bounty Hunter

Natural Explorer: Wasteland Wanderer: Poison

Bounty Hunter is just the last remaining choice that makes any sense for Link. This Wasteland Wanderer doesn't make a ton of sense because of how relatively scarce wetlands are in Hyrule, but all the eldritch goop that's been sapping his vitality over the years must make normal poison a cakewalk.

Level 11

Spell: Conjure Barrage

There's... I had a reason for this right? Oh yeah! The bows that let you shoot 3 or 5 arrows at once. Sidenote, Level 11 gives you Whirlwind Attack which is essentially a spin attack. If for no other reason, this makes Ranger Link make sense.

Level 12

Feat: Sharpshooter/Great Weapon Master

We've all had to shoot at something way above us, right? And aiming your bow is tougher than swinging a sword around, so Sharpshooter works on both levels! If that doesn't gel with you, GWM is a classic.

Ultimately, while Fighter Link is easier to play, Ranger Link is more accurate to the Link we know and gives him a couple signature Link things that can make it a unique challenge.

[todaysdocument]

Memorial of the American Convention for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery, signed at Philadelphia, praying that Congress will prohibit the importation of slaves into the Territory of Louisiana, lately ceded to the United States

Record Group 233: Records of the U.S. House of RepresentativesSeries: Records of Early House Select CommitteesFile Unit: Petitions and Memorials, Resolutions of State Legislatures, and Related Documents Which Were Referred to Various Select Committees during the 8th Congress

To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled - The American Convention for promoting the abolition of Slavery and improving the condition of the African Race beg leave respectfully to propose for your consideration, the utility and propriety of passing such Laws as shall prohibit the importation of Slaves into the Territory of Louisiana lately ceded to the United States. Your Memorialists feel themselves deeply impressed with this important subject, and they deem it their duty to solicit most earnestly your serious attention to the proposition. They believe that wisdom and sound Policy are so intimately united by their Eternal Parent that Man cannot separate them with impunity. If wisdom urge the performance of any particular Act, if it command the formation and establishment of any specific Law, the soundest Policy will be evinced by obedience to that injunction. True Virtue, the Offering of Wisdom, teaches Man to love his fellow Man, and enjoins him to perform all that may be within the compass of his Abilities, for the general happiness of his Species. When national Governments comply with this benevolent and sublime Law, they become the Providential Instruments of national blessings, but when they oppose or disregard its dictates, their Constituents must necessarily feel, sooner or later, all the Calamities which follow such Opposition or Neglect. Our Ancestors have, unhappily, entailed on some of our States, the evils of Slavery. Many of our fellow Citizens in those States, we believe are mournfully sensible of the magnitude of their [Burthen?], but they know and feel that Man may commit Error with more facility than he can eradicate its consequences. Your Memorialists entreat you to reflect on to consider with impartial attention, the dangers and difficulties before you, and beseech you with deep concern, to foreserve the Country, whose regulations depend on your Wisdom, from similar calamities. They also respectfully suggest to you, that while the Constitution of the United States declares all Men equally entitled to Liberty, they cannot conceive our Government as acting consistently with its declarations, if it shall, in any instance, authorize Man to enslave unoffending Man. In compliance with law distinguishing [illegible] of [illegible] national [illegible] a former Congress judged it expedient to introduce among its regulations for the government of the Northwester Territory, a provision resembling that 206 whichwhich your Memorialists now suggest to you. There is another Consideration to which your Memorialists feel themselves bound to call to your attention. While the Governments of Europe are shaken by civil discord, or surrounded by the incalculable cruelties and horrors of national Warfare, a beneficent and overruling Providence has been pleased to preserve for our Country, the blessings of Peace, to grant us new proofs of his goodness, and to place us in a condition of prosperity unrivalled in the records of History. Does it not become the duty of a Nation so crowned with the blessings of Peace and Plenty and Happiness to manifest its gratitude to the whole World by acts of Justice and Virtue? For the true Honor of our Country - from benevolence towards the future possessors of our newly acquired Soil, your Memorialists hope you will hear and grant their request. And with all the respect which is due to the Representatives of a free People, they subscribe themselves cordially your Friends and fellow Citizens. Signed by order, and on behalf of the Convention Matthew Franklin Pres Philadelphia Jany 13th 1804 Attest [illegible] Alsop

[cloaksandcapes]

For when you need a guard to take a little nap, because the Sorcerer's idea for "Lookout Duty" is Fireballing whoever found them as a means to let the party know, "Someone is coming."

Slumbering Vines

Consumable, uncommon

“A bundle of 5 vines, no thicker than a gnome's pinky and twice as long. They look like they’re made of faint green thread, with small gray follicles twisting out all along its length like tiny hairs.”

You can grind these vines up to extract the sap from them to make a potent sleep aid. If a creature imbibes a dose of the Slumbering Vines through food or drink, they must make a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or fall Unconscious for one hour. You can use an Action to rouse an Unconscious creature affected by Slumbering Vines.

One Slumbering Vine can produce 3 doses. For each additional dose added the DC increases by 2. Traces of the Slumbering Vine can be detected with a DC 18 Wisdom (Perception) check, with the DC lowering by 1 for each additional dose that has been added.

If you enjoy our content, please support our team of four on Patreon. Get access to over 700+ Magic Items, 7 Subclasses, and plenty of monsters, tokens, and more. We also have a free tier!

[prince-of-the-comet]

Baldur's Gate 3 Builds: Deadeye

You don't need complicated multiclasses, respecs, and rare hand crossbows to make a good archer in Baldur's Gate 3. For a simple, solid, versatile, damage dealer for all occasions, look no further than the trusty Dexterity-based fighter.

(Confused by the terminology? Start here!)

Suggested Race: Any Medium. Sorry halfling and gnome-lovers: Small characters have disadvantage on attacks with heavy weapons in 5th edition, including both longbows and heavy crossbows.

Starting Class: Fighter

Final Level Distribution: Fighter 12 (Battlemaster or Champion)

Minimum Level Distribution: Fighter 5.

Recommended Statistics:

Strength: Low or higher. You're a fighter. You're going to want to wear exotic medium armor, so you're going to need to be at least strong enough to carry it. Other than that, there's enough finesse weapons around that you don't actually need to worry about it. 10 is fine, more is ok.

Dexterity: Dependent. You're an archer. Dexterity makes your build go.

Constitution: Medium or higher. No one can actually dump Constitution, but ideally you've got someone else on the frontline.

Intelligence: Dump. You're not an eldritch knight.

Wisdom: Low or higher. Your abilities don't run off of it, but it only takes one nasty dominate person to make you really wish fighters were better at Wisdom saves.

Charisma: Dump. You're not a paladin either.

Example starting stats:

Str 14, Dex 17, Con 14, Int 8, Wis 12, Cha 10.

Recommended Level Progression:

1-12: Fighter.

It's simple, it's solid, it's three attacks per round, four feats, and the fighting style you need. You don't need to mess with it.

Variants:

Ranger 12 (Gloom Stalker). Ranger's really the only other class that works for this, with the Archery fighting style and Ensnaring Strike for plentiful advantage. Take Bounty Hunter early and stay a Gloomstalker for all 12 levels to get Stalker's Flurry.

A free do-over if you miss isn't quite as good as a full third attack, but it's the next best thing.

Detailed Level Progression:

1: Fighter 1. Grab the archery fighting style. You're an archer, may as well commit to the bit. Grab a light crossbow on the nautiloid - it will hold you over until you get something better. We'll go over what something better is in the next section.

4: Fighter 4. You're still a fighter. Take Sharpshooter. This is the linchpin of every archery build. Sharpshooter gives you the option to take a -5 penalty to attack and in exchange gain +10 to damage with ranged weapons. You're going to want to use this - but not all the time. Why?

Statistics Interlude (or, 10d6 isn't 60 damage)

How much damage can a level 12 rogue expect to do with Sneak Attack? Well, they've got 6d6 sneak attack. So it looks like 36 damage (6x6=36). But unless you're extraordinarily lucky, you're not going to roll all 6s. Given that you have equal probability of rolling every value on a d6, the expected result is actually (1+2+3+4+5+6)/6 = 3.5 damage. Or, more simply:

The expected roll on a die is equal to (1+die sides)/2

This also means every flat +1 to damage is equivalent to increasing your die by one size (1d6 >> 1d8, 1d8 >> 1d10, etc.)

Sharpshooter, adding a flat 10 damage, is close to 3d6. You've almost snuck 5 levels of rogue into 4 levels of fighter, a pretty impressive magic trick with just a minor snag:

A -5 penalty to attack is approximately equivalent to disadvantage.

As an example, let's take a flat DC10 roll with no bonuses. You've got a 50% chance of succeeding. (10/20)

However, if you need to roll twice and both of those rolls need to come up 10 or better, suddenly you've got just a 25% chance of succeeding (10/20 * 10/20 = 100/400 = 1/4). Just as if the check had suddenly become DC15. It's a little different at high or low values (Disadvantage on a DC5 check ends up more like DC11 than DC10), but it's close enough for a rule of thumb.

And the problem is, if we miss, we deal no damage at all.

So to calculate expected damage per attack for a weapon, we need to multiply our expected damage by the odds we hit at all (subtract -25% from those odds, if you've flipped Sharpshooter on.) If you're dealing enough damage with each hit, or if your chance to hit is bad enough, at some point, you lose more expected damage to missing than you gain by adding not-quite-3d6.

And if you're really insane, you can make it into a chart:

This is modeled on a fairly mild mid-level longbow build with some kind of damage rider (ex: Malefic Band) The more damage per attack, the higher the crossover point (where Sharpshooter starts to become worth it) actually is. Note that the Sharpshooter crossover point is higher with advantage - that -5 penalty is a much sharper opportunity cost when it applies to both rolls!

In general:

If you've got at least a 60% chance to hit with a normal attack, use Sharpshooter.

If you've got advantage, turn Sharpshooter off unless you've got at least a 75% chance to hit! Any dice-based riders you can put on will be better. Battlemasters should use maneuvers, for instance.

To offset Sharpshooter penalties, we want flat bonuses. Every +1 and +2 you can scrape up is worth it.

Ok! Statistics over. Back to leveling.

Fighter 6, 8, and 11: Things to pick up at these levels: Dexterity (consider the Athlete feat if you're at an odd Dex), Dexterity, and Extra Attack (2nd edition).

Fighter 12: You've finally got a spare feat! Good stuff includes Crossbow Master (if you're committed to that lifestyle), Alert (to decrease Time To Arrows), and Magic Initiate: Ranger or Warlock.

Items of interest:

We're only really interested in two things for this build:

Increasing our flat to-hit. Every point we can get to offset the Sharpshooter penalty helps.

Big heavy ranged weapons. The bigger, the better.

Hitting Better:

The Sparkle Hands - Forest. Pairs with the Joltshooter for situational advantage against anything wearing metal armor, which is quite a few enemies. This is a rare case where advantage is worth pursuing just because it's available so early and without any action cost.

Marksmanship Hat - Moonrise Towers. Flat +1 to hit, and look dapper doing it.

Horns of the Berserker - Wyrm's Crossing. A situational +2 to hit, if you're confident in your ability to hit. Turn off Sharpshooter just long enough to draw blood, then turn it on and hit even harder.

Legacy of the Masters - Lower City. The only thing better than a flat +1 to hit is a flat +2 to hit.

Circlet of Hunting. Specific to rangers and characters with Magic Initiate, but the +1d4 is just a touch better than Horns of the Berserker, and doesn't hurt you if you roll badly.

Big Heavy Ranged Weapons:

The Joltshooter - Waukeen's Rest. This is a solid longbow for most of the game, accessible as early as level 2-3. Pairs well with the Sparkle Hands. Unless you've also got at least 14 Strength, the bursting electricity damage will be more effective than the Titanstring Bow.

Harold - Zhentarim Hideout. For a more support-oriented character, a Harold-wielding archer is the perfect counterpart to a save-or-suck caster.

The Dead Shot - Lower City. Sharpshooter's perfect match, this bow doubles your proficiency bonus, effectively granting a +4 to hit so long as you avoid having true disadvantage. This is my favorite bow to use with this build, just be prepared to drop a lot of coin to get it.

Hellfire Engine Crossbow - Steel Watch Foundry. Though once again, support-oriented or hybrid characters might prefer a big crossbow. Being able to reposition allies and enemies alike is a useful skill, particularly since creatures moved by another force don't provoke attacks of opportunity.

[venushorned]

At level 17, Gossamer's stats were: 21 strength (belt of hill giant strength; base 15); 16 dexterity; 12 constitution; 9 intelligence (The Deck of Many Things ate two points); 10 wisdom; 20 charisma.

Her skills were +13 Acrobatics, +15 Athletics, +5 Insight, +15 Performance, +15 Persuasion, +13 Stealth, +13 Sleight of Hand.

Her most-used spells were Tenser's Transformation (no weapons; we bare-knuckle box only), Steel Wind Strike, Kinetic Jaunt, Hold Person, Suggestion, and, of course, good old Silvery Barbs.

As far as her combat style, I did take a lot of early inspiration from both Pearl (sorry, yes, St*ven Universe),Ty Lee (A:TLA), and Sakura (Naruto, especially Shippuden). I envisioned a tavern brawler magical girl whose primary function was to dance into the fray, provoke attacks that would be wasted on her because she's really hard to hit, and then dance out so the proper front line could clean up shop. She's glittery and distracting and perhaps a little tipsy, so it can be hard to predict where she's going to go next (her very first build was a Drunken Master, but sometimes the class you think you want doesn't actually provide the mechanical support for your vision).

Anyway, she doesn't hit the hardest (without magical aid, anyway, and she has plenty of it), but she knows how and where to strike for maximum efficacy, and she uses magic to either control enemies or buff herself to be a more proper frontline.

[voidbornmenace]

Stay at Home Gale: How to Maximize At Camp Characters

I will have plenty of notes throughout that describe useful tips or make how effective a feature is clear, however I do want to state at the top. If you are playing single player, it is possible to get a full party of custom characters from the beginning. What this allows you to do is have 3 extra characters for Camp. For me personally I would have these spare Custom characters do camp builds rather than Origin characters (except Gale, but we'll get into that later). Combined with the 3 Hirelings you can get from Withers means you can have 3 free characters whose sole purpose is to provide value to your party (said value will be tallied up at the end).

Note: you don't need the 3 custom characters, you can just use regular companions, I won't judge. You can also make the 3 custom characters and use companions, and frankly you'd make me proud.

Build 1: Pharmacy Wizard

Wizard 2 (Transmutation) → Rogue 1 (expertise Medicine) → Wizard 6 → Cleric 3

17 str / 8 dex / 14 con / 10 int / 16 wis / 8 cha

Experimental Alchemy (Wizard 2)

You brew two Alchemical Solutions instead of one when combining extracts, if you succeed a Difficulty Class 15 Medicine Check.

By level 5 (first ASI for this build) with 18 wisdom, it has a +10 to this check

At level 12 with 20 Wisdom, it +13 to the check

When making solutions, give them guidance and self cast owl’s wisdom for +1d4 and advantage on the checks.

Camp Spells (Wizard)

Light, Longstrider, Mage Armor, Darkvision, Enhance Ability (Owl’s Wisdom on Self)

Transmuter’s Stone (Wizard 6)

Store some of your transmutation magic in a small stone. A creature carrying the stone gains a benefit of your choice.

Transmuter's Stone: Constitution: Create a stone that grants the carrier Proficiency in Constitution saving throws.

Transmuter's Stone: Darkvision: Create a stone that lets the carrier see in the dark out to a range of 18 m / 60 ft.

Transmuter's Stone: Speed: Create a stone that increases the carrier's movement speed by  3 m / 10 ft.

Transmuter's Stone: Resistance: Create a stone that grants the carrier Resistance to Acid, Cold, Fire, Lightning, or Thunder.

Camp Spells (Cleric)

Aid, Protection from Poison, Warding Bond

Note: By 12th level (or 11th without the rogue levels) this character can cast max level Aid

Note: Gale has the NPC feature Regains hit points while not in your party, so Gale can cast Warding Bond on all 4 party members and likely never die. The game will tell you it's 1d8+3 restoration and be usable a number of times equal to his level, this is a lie. It's unlimited use and fully restores him. The only instance where he can die is if he takes too much damage before he can heal (taking Warding Bond damage staggers him, delaying his heal by about 3-4 seconds). If you want him, and by extension your warding bonds to be as safe as possible, make him go Cleric 3 / Barbarian 9. Get him to 20 Con (18 Con from an ASI, and +2 Con from The Dwarven Splintmail or Enraging Heart Garb) and grab Tough. Even if he is your Pharmacist and not this damage sponge build, Enraging Heart Garb, and him being in the radius of Aid/Heroes' Feast Spells when give him more survivability. Damage he can take can also be reduced by resistances.

Note: You can very easily have 4 stay at home Transmutation Wizards so your full party can have Transmuter Stones. The strongest stones are Con save Proficiency and Speed, the weakest is Darkvision (effectively useless). You only need 1 character to have a level in Rogue for the expertise in Medicine, and that will be your Alchemy Solution crafter for the whole game.

Build 2: Tons of Healing

Life Cleric 11 / Druid 1

Camp Spells

Goodberry, Warding Bond, Freedom of Movement, Deathward, Heroes’ Feast

Spell Slot Usage: 4th level on Deathwards. 6th on Heroes’ Feast. Everything else on Goodberry

10 Spell slots (4 1st, 3 2nd, 3 3rd, 2 5th): 48 Goodberries

Build 3: A spare Bard

Valor Bard 10

Gives the whole party a d10 inspiration and Freedom of Movement. Can also give Goodberries via magical secrets or a level dip into Druid. This character also gives you an extra short rest.

In total, with 7 characters (3 Custom/3 Hirelings/ 1 Gale) you get:

Longstrider: +10ft movement

Mage Armor: 13+Dex AC to anyone not wearing armor

Darkvision: 40ft Darkvision to anyone without it from elsewhere

Warding Bond on all your party members: +1 to AC and all saves, resistance to all damage.

Heroes' Feast: +12 Max HP, Frightened and Poison Immunity, Free Camp Supplies

Aid: +25 Max HP

Combat Inspiration: d10 (and +1 Short rest)

Death Ward on all party members: first time you are reduced to 0 hp you instantly regain 1 hit point

Freedom of Movement on all party members: Movement Speed can't be reduced by Difficult Terrain, spells or magical effects. Can't be Paralyzed or Restrained

Transmuter Stones: Either Con save Proficiency or +10ft movement

Note: I can't test this at the moment but I don't see any reason you can't have transmutation wizards give +10ft speed and Con save proficiency to everyone who lacks it by having 5+ Transmutation Wizards.

48 or more Goodberries (at least 48d4 out of combat healing)

Note: the Periapt of Wound Closure can be passed around out of combat so all the d4s will be 4s.

[soylent-crocodile]

Knido (Race)

(Art by @soylent-crocodile)

(Hey, what's that in the artist credit? Oh it's ME. This species came about with the idea "I wanna play as a Nidoking" and moved from there, taking additional influence from Baragon, Nidoking's inspiration. I couldn't find art that really made me happy, so I took my mechanical pencil and did some myself. If you've ever heard my gripes about anthro art, this picture should give you an idea of what I prefer. It's intended to be a nude female of the species, btw, so enjoy that ig. Knido are typically clothed, I just couldn't bring myself to draw over this anatomy.)

Knido are a race of reptilian humanoids who live deep underground, where they feed off of roots, fungus, and insects. Knido live in harmony with the beasts and especially the kaiju who they live with, and have a culture focused on maintaining the delicate ecology of their home- an ecology regularly tampered with by fiends, drow, and plenty of other evil forces who ignore (or even relish) the destruction introduced by their creations. Knido have a historical animosity with dwarves, and some speculate that they are the source of dwarves’ resistance to poison. Most knido claim that, historically, they served as a slave race to dwarves; this assertion is contested, and most dwarves will insist that knido are mistaking them for duregar, even if their records stretch to before the fiendish race split off. 

Most knido are soft spoken, careful, and proud, although they have a long history of warrior culture, with the largest man of a group being chosen to be the Jing, a role of protector and slayer that is expected to cost him his life and his relationships. Knido societies are matriarchal, with mature women not considered viable for leadership roles until they reach old age and lose their fertility. (Men are not considered worthy of this role, and are typically relegated to raising young and defending territory). Young knido are quadrupedal and often mistaken for unintelligent animals by outsiders.

Knido adventurers are frequently those who find these roles- and the maintenance of their world- stifling. Most still carry the value knido have for strange life forms, however. Many knido are born with a sorcerous affinity for fire and earth magic, and most cultures worship old chthonic gods and kaiju. Knido bloodragers, rangers, and druids are the most common seen outside their communities.

Ability Scores: Knido are powerful and spiritualistic, but clumsy. They get a +2 bonus to strength and wisdom, but a -2 penalty to dexterity. Medium: Knido are medium creatures and have no penalties or bonuses from size. Type: Knido are monstrous humanoids. They have Darkvision 60ft Languages: Knido begin play knowing Terran and Undercommon. Knido with high intelligence scores may learn Dwarven, Common, Lizardfolk, Aklo, and Draconic. Speed: Knido have a movement speed of 25ft. Burrow: Knido have a burrow speed of 20ft. Gore: Knido have a gore attack that deals 1d6 damage and inflicts venom. Venomous: Knido have a paralytic venom in their horns. Injury; save Fort DC 10 + the 1/2 user’s Hit Dice + the user’s Constitution modifier; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d2 Dex; cure 1 save. Stable: Knido take a +2 racial bonus on CMD versus bull rush and trip maneuvers. Monstrous Empathy: Knido gain Wild Empathy as the druid ability of the same name, except they can only use it on Aberrations, Magical Beasts, Oozes, and any Kaiju, if that creature has an intelligence score of 3 or lower.

[spiraldancer]

Ariadne's Thread: A Workbook on Goddess Magic ( Shekhinah Mountain Water).

Cycle 1: Questions to Ponder

To Kick off This Blog I've decided to Answer the questions within Cycle one:

First one is: What is a Witch?

If I am to look at the English word, it's derived from the Germanic word, Witch, as in Wise woman and essentially that is what a witch is to me, a Wise woman that knows herself intimately and therefore knows the world around her as she can be guided by her intuition.

The Word "Bruxa" is derived from the Word Bricta, Likely the root word that "Bridget" or " Brigid" was derived from and it means enchantment or magic or spell if you will. I see this word then relating Bruxa deeply with the Goddess, namely the Bruxa being a worker for The Goddess in all her forms.

The Witch/ Bruxa therefore becomes a symbol of Woman's myths and deep inner wisdom but also becomes a symbol of the wild untamed spirit of women that Patriarchy has repressed and demonized and her resurgence spells to me the beginning of the end of the Repression of Her and of her Daughters.

The second question that was posed by the book is whenever or not I see myself as a witch and short answer is: Yes. Long answer is that I see my ease with identifying with the term as me coming home after trying to squeeze myself so hard in patriarchal institution and thoughts; from being overly skeptical to trying to become a Christian girl; none fit like being a witch and a follower of my goddesses nearly as well and blends my love of Mythology, beauty, nature and reverence to The Female form that I did not find in overly ascetic religions and spirituality and in overly rigid atheism and In Phallocentric thinking.

Third question is what Makes a woman a witch?

I suppose in other times just a woman claiming to be a witch would be enough, but as both witch and women become shredded beyond compression as terms ( including males in the definition of women for example and regressive gender roles in New age spiritualities with a poor understanding of what constitutes as Divine Feminine), I suppose I am somewhat of a gatekeeper of a term. I suppose the closest people to embody the witch are those willing to help their fellow sisters when comes the need and that becoming one's Proper witch self comes with time, effort, trial and error and the general wisdom gained from the passage of time and deep immersion in the Self and Of The Goddess. I suppose it's why witches have been associated with Crones or the elderly woman in general; it may indicate that a Woman or Witch Woman is at her most powerful when aged or aging. I do think we all have innate magical qualities, some more developed then others and that a magical path is a girl and woman's best friend into developing such skills.

From the 4th question, I actually did grow up in a culture that suspected of the witch and saw her as a force of spite and evil even if many relied on witches to heal themselves. I've always been uncomfortable with this stories but am reclaiming this role for myself as even the negative connotations I feel strip the witch of her moral complexities I think. I'm sadden by those burned and killed to this day when accused of witchcraft, even if they weren't actually "witches" in the proper term; it does show that everyone is seemigly afraid of a woman's power and will burn her for it. I'm mixed on the idea of Goddess religion becoming even more mainstream and accepted, in a sense I have plenty to thank to many groups of outrageous women that helped pave the way for current Pagan thought, but I suppose I'm sadden how little traditions are 100% female focus or don't try to insert some heterocentric form of duality in it.

I elucidated my religious background further above, but yes I did go through a period of catechism thanks to my abusive mom but I was deeply uncomfortable by the idea of God and of a male God and was critical of male religion as the tool of social coercion that it was, winch my father tried to stir me into Atheism; but rather then fully indulging in that I became Agnostic for a bit until I decided to research into Wicca and had many of my thoughts and feelings affirmed by dozens of pieces of Pagan thought and never looked back. As I delved deeper into feminism and female spiritual thought, it has led to my goddess focused lean right now. Needless to say and to answer the 6th question my spiritual background has little to do with the Goddess and is actual opposite of it in many regards.

7th question asks me if I believe in a conscious being that can create life and the universe and how this being is; I like the idea of a Creatix instead of a Creator and see much of everything as tending to be female. Even many "male energies" I see as being Her all along. I suppose I believe in Passive energies and Active ones, Offensive vs Defensive, Kind Vs Harsh rather the n a strictly male-female polarity, male and female meant for each other way.

The 8th question asks how The concept of Goddess affects me; and needless to say I've always been enamored by Goddeses of Greek myth and much to no one's shock im a Greek hellenic devotee.

The final Question asks who or what is the Goddess; even if I believe in her as an actual creative energy, I feel we relate to her through powerful symbology to embody her power and to better worship her. We feel naturally attuned to Her and recognize her as a primordial mother that we as her daughters do things to please and she in turn helps us and our lives by giving guidance and meaning to.

And thus I'm closing off Cycle 1 of the book. Thanks for reading.

[grailfinders]

Grailfinders #345: Kriemhild

today on grailfinders, we’re getting close to the end of our traum(a), but before that, we need to get revenge! on what, you ask? doesn’t matter, I’m sure we’ll think of something in the planning phase. to help out, we’re gonna be making a build of Kriemhild, Siegfried’s wife and avenger. (a “kriembuild”, if you will)

Kriemhild is a Mastermind (mistressmind?) Rogue to be a cunning little cutthroat, as well as a Hexblade Warlock to steal her husband’s gold and sword and start lopping heads. whether the gold or sword is the hexblade in this situation doesn’t matter that much, either way it’s a magical lump of metal giving you power.

...are nuclear power plants hexblades? I’m getting off topic.

check out her build breakdown below the cut, or her character sheet here!

next up: waka waka waka waka

Ancestry and Background

once again, Kriemhild is Human, and with the variant rules that gives you +1 Intelligence & Charisma, as well as proficiency in Arcana (or maybe Nature? idk what skill would help you figure out your husband’s weak points), and the Lucky feat to forcibly re-roll a d20 that directly involves you up to three times a day. Kriemhild’s a schemer, and just like I said in the wodime build, sometimes you get to actually plan, some times you just have to pretend you meant for stuff to happen after the fact.

you’re a Noble of course, but we’re mixing it up and giving you proficiency in History and Intimidation. I hope I don’t need to explain that Kriemhild is scary. don’t cut her in line, trust me

Ability Scores

on that note, it’s no surprise Kriemhild’s Charisma is as high as it is- she’s scary, sure, but she’s also plenty devious and tricksy too. after that is her Dexterity. she wears like, zero armor for most of her ascensions, so good luck not getting hit. third is Intelligence for better scheming, and we’ll at least keep your Constitution positive so you can survive the occasional hit. just don’t go pissing off any gentleman inspectors. this does mean your Strength is a bit low, but it turns out that’s optional for wielding a greatsword, who knew? just drag it around til you need to murder people. of course, this all means we’re dumping your Wisdom score. berserkers, am I right?

Class Levels

1. Rogue 1: starting as a rogue gives you a lot of proficiencies, like Insight, Deception, Persuasion, and Sleight of Hand. you plan around people, and I don’t even know what proof “that Siegfried, and not Gunther, has taken Brunhild's virginity” (to quote wikipedia) would even look like, but you probably forged that. also, Dexterity and Intelligence saves, which is nice. you like fire, it would never hurt you.

if that’s not enough proficiency, you also get Expertise in two skills, doubling your bonus for Deception and Intimidation! you can also add a Sneak Attack to your damage while wielding a finesse or ranged weapon, though you also need either an ally standing next to your target or advantage to hit. it’s a bit situational, but an extra d6 is an extra d6.

also, you know Thieves’ Cant! it’s a language!

2. Rogue 2: second level rogues can make Cunning Actions- or, cunning bonus actions, anyway. you can dash, disengage, or hide as a bonus action, leaving your usual action open for anything you want, like murder! or planning murder!

3. Rogue 3: third level Mastermind rogues get a lot of stuff, including the full-class feature Steady Aim. if you don’t move before or after attacking on your turn, you can spend your bonus action for free advantage! just drag that big ol’ sword around and everything will work out eventually

but all that’s for later. for now, you’re a mastermind, which means you’re a Master of Intrigue- you’re proficient with even more stuff- the disguise kit, the forgery kit, one gaming set, and an extra two languages! you can also copy accents you’ve heard before.

also your sneak attack grows to 2d6. I’m probably going to forget to mention this every time, so just know you add another die every odd level.

if you’re eager to get to fightin’ you’re also a Master of Tactics, letting you use the Help action as a bonus action and at range! so I guess you’re not fighting with this, but every bit helps.

4. Rogue 4: use your first ASI to bump up your Dexterity. this’ll help you not get hit, and also use something small like a dagger. don’t worry, the sword is coming I promise. presumably your husband’s still alive at level 4.

5. Rogue 5: fifth level rogues get an Uncanny Dodge- if you get hit by an attack, you can react to turn a direct hit into a graze, only taking half the damage in the process. don’t die, basically.

6. Rogue 6: at sixth level you get a second round of Expertise, doubling down on Sleight of Hand and Arcana. forge gooder and remember how your husband can be killed. I’m sure that will never bite you in the ass.

7. Rogue 7: seventh level rogues get Evasion, so now your failed dexterity saves protect you as if they were successes, and your successes negate all damage!

8. Rogue 8: use your next ASI to bump up your Dexterity once again. not dying is a great strategy, keep it up.

9. Rogue 9: ninth level masterminds are Insightful Manipulators- if you spend a minute with someone out of combat, you can learn how their soft stats (intelligence, wisdom, charisma) or levels compare to yours, or you can even learn bits of their backstory or personality!

10. Rogue 10: tenth level rogues get another ASI, so start working on your Charisma. scheme better, and uhhh, this’ll help later too. that’s for later though.

11. Rogue 11: eleventh level rogues are a Reliable Talent, so now every time you roll a skill check you’re proficient in your roll will always be count as at least a 10. that means every deception check you have to make will always count as at least a 22 in total.

12. Rogue 12: did I say 22? let’s make it 23 by bumping your Charisma up to maximum with this ASI.

13. Rogue 13: thirteenth level masterminds can put a taunt on another party member with Misdirection- if you would take an attack while another creature is standing next to you, you can react to force said creature to take the hit instead. every good plan needs a scapegoat.

14. Rogue 14: at level 14 your Blindsense lets you detect invisible creatures within 10’ of you. I guess you could consider this the dragon sword helping out? it’s a little early, but at least it’s harder to get the drop on you now.

15. Rogue 15: with our last level of rogue, your Slippery Mind gives you proficiency with Wisdom saves. I wish it wasn’t so, but we don’t need any more warlock spells, and your levels have to go somewhere. what a shame.

on the plus side, your husband’s dead now.

16. Warlock 1: so, sorry about your husband, but on the plus side you inherited his Hexblade, so you get some Pact Magic out the gate! you only get a handful of spell slots, but whenever you cast something using your Charisma you can recharge the slot on a short rest!

speaking of spells, Eldritch Blast is a generic ranged option, Sword Burst lets you spin around and hit everyone, Wrathful Smite lets you add a little damage to your attack and frighten creatures who get hit by it (surprisingly effective against dragons btw), and Distort Value will make people care a lot more about some worthless rocks than they really should. yeah I’m giving you the rheingold too, it’s in your bond CE so it counts.

you’re also a Hex Warrior, so you can use your charisma instead of strength or dexterity to attack with a weapon chosen after each long rest. this doesn’t work with Siegfried’s sword yet, but we’ll get there.

for the time being, at least you can use Hexblade’s Curse on your next target, giving you bonus damage, an improved critical hit rate, and you regain health upon your target’s death, all for up to a minute, once per short rest.

17. Warlock 2: second level warlocks get two Eldritch Invocations, though we’re really only using one this level- the other is getting swapped out in a level anyway. Armor of Shadows gives you free mage armor on yourself for what is basically a permanent +3 bonus to AC while unarmored. ironically, your third ascension actually has armor, so this spell’s a bit late.

you also learn the spell Illusory Script, letting you write one thing but have it look like something else. I don’t think should really be part of Kriemhild’s kit, but it certainly fits the theme, doesn’t it?

18. Warlock 3: now that you’ve entered into the Pact of the Blade with an Improved Pact Weapon, you can summon just about any weapon you wish as an action and use charisma to wield it expertly. that being said, you can also turn a magical weapon like Balmung into your pact weapon.

of course, no matter what ability you use to swing it, a great sword will never be able to use your sneak attack, which is why you can also summon a Shadow Blade now. it’s a light weapon that deals psychic damage when it connects, but more importantly it has the finesse property. you can also summon it to your hand as a bonus action, and it lasts for up to 1 minute.

19. Warlock 4: now that your AC is decent enough and your Charisma is maxed out, use your last ASI to improve your Constitution for more health. you can also cast True Strike now, which is steady aim but worse, or use Crown of Madness to sow the seeds of war. if your target fails their wisdom save, you can force it to attack a creature of your choice, causing chaos and wasting its action. you also have to waste your action to keep the spell going, but rogues have tons of stuff they can do as a bonus action, so it kind of evens out.

20. Warlock 5: for our last spell, you can invoke the rheingold to Incite Greed, charming nearby creatures into congregating around you for up to a minute. they also have to repeatedly fail wisdom saves, but I’m sure it’s fine.

if that doesn’t work, you can always take the direct approach and use Eldritch Smite, burning a spell slot to add 4d8 force damage to your hit and forcing a save or knocking the target prone. this is actually a really nice way to knock a dragon out of the sky if you’re okay bending the rules to grab a bow, so I think our anti-dragon damage condition has been met by this point.

Pros & Cons

Pros:

with easy access to advantage and improved critical chances from your hexblade’s curse, Kriemhild is really good at dishing out critical hits, and thanks to sneak attack and smites, you can really capitalize on those to deal a ton of damage quickly.

you’re also great at sowing discontent in enemy forces, falsifying written orders and forcing them to attack each other with spells and misdirection.

on top of that, you make for a great party face thanks to your maxed out charisma, complete lack of critical failure on charisma checks, and expertise. you’re great at weaseling your way into a situation, then hacking your way back out.

Cons:

balmung is a greatsword, or at the very least a longsword. regardless, that fact seriously neuters the cohesion of this build. smites are nice, but you were already dealing way more damage with a regular dagger by this point. plus, being a sword prevents you from using ranged attacks, which are way more helpful when taking down dragons. basically if you play this build too close to character, it messes with the build mechanics and its flavor.

like mentioned above, your warlock stuff is cool, but it’s already outclassed by your rogue features by the time you get it at the end of the build. it’s a shame siegfried dies near the end of the nibelungenlied, because his sword would be way more useful early on.

every feature you have outside of your sneak attack is pretty situational, since a ton of it relies on fighting things that actually think. in fate and in history, this isn’t too much of an issue, but dnd has armies of undead, constructs, and wild animals that’ll shut down your provocations before they ever get started.

...ignore the fact that we've been infinitely more productive the two days ff14's been offline, that's a coincidence, I swear.

[divinesouldariax]

In reference to my previous post (decided to make this a separate post instead of reblogging with the addition), here are some mechanical ways they could have possibly addressed a physical disability like Ashton's, as well as mechanics for their memory issues:

Memory

Disadvantage on intelligence checks involving recalling information

After being at 0 HP/unconscious, rolling a wisdom saving throw to determine some level of short-term memory loss upon awakening

Not necessarily mechanical, but just more explicit acknowledgement within the story of Ashton's TBI and the memory issues that were present but often laughed off near the beginning of the campaign

Chronic Pain/Physical Disability

This one is one I've been thinking about and also was suggested in the tags by @sentimentalginger, something as simple as using the exhaustion mechanics could work. Having Ashton roll a d20 during each long rest to determine if he could sleep or if their pain kept them awake

For a more complicated version, the number to hit on the dice could be modified depending on what had happened that day. Injuries and strenuous travel might set the DC at a 4, while on a day of light activity it could be only on a natural 1

Instead of a long rest itself, it could be a flare-up trigger mechanic. Some specific events (getting knocked out, carrying too much, taking fall damage, extreme temperatures, sleeping on the ground, etc) could either automatically cause a flare-up or require a constitution saving throw to avoid a flare-up.

The flare-up itself could use the exhaustion mechanic, or some debuffs more specific to Ashton

For example, disadvantage on strength and dexterity saving throws when not raging, reducing the amount of attacks he can do per turn, reducing their speed, prompting rolling saves for exhaustion during travel, prompting concentration checks if they use his Pass Without Trace racial feature (or any spells from items he might have)

There are plenty of other specific ways to do this, as long as there is some acknowledgement of the disability in the mechanics.

In general, just...let the disabled character be disabled. Let it mean something. Let it be acknowledged, let it limit them, let it inconvenience the other characters sometimes. That's how chronic pain and other disabilities work. They're not just an interesting story beat, they're not just backstory. They are definitionally disabling, don't pretend otherwise.

[the-mic-drop]

Building Zelda in BG3- Sorcerer

@benilos asked for it, and I'm delivering!

So, we've got two options for Zelda; a Sorcerer and a Wizard. A cleric might also work, but I haven't really settled on the specifics yet. The Sorcerer build is below the cut. I'll do the Wizard build next

We'll start with the version I use in the Isekai series I've been posting. I call this one...

The Dragon Queen

Background

Race: Elf (High Elf)

Background: Noble

High Elf Cantrip: Ray of Frost

Now High Elf I feel is self-explanatory, and Ray of Frost is the cantrip because she's more aligned with Naydra and her ice powers. As for the Noble background, I choose that over Sage because this Zelda is when she's really stepping into her role as Hyrule's regent. She's building a rapport with her people and is comfortable using her status as "Princess of Hyrule." Though if you disagree and think Sage is more appropriate, I can't really argue with you.

Abilities

Strength: 8 (-1)

Dexterity: 10 (0)

Constitution: 10 (0)

Intelligence: 16 (+3)

Wisdom: 12 (+1)

Charisma: 17 (+3)

Charisma is the main stat because that's a Sorcerer's spellcasting modifier, and even though Zelda is the Wisdom part of the Triforce, this version of her is much more of an intellectual than a philosopher. I felt the need to give her a tiny boost to Dex and Con becuase she's bound to be good with precision tasks and she's been through quite a bit.

Class & Levels

Class: Sorcerer

Sub-Class: Draconic Bloodline

Draconic Ancestry: White (Cold)

Sorcerer is a natural choice due to the inherited nature of her divine powers, and Draconic Bloodline fits perfectly since this is post-TotK Zelda, who deserves to keep some of her Draconic aspects. (Note that Draconic Bloodline gives you Draconic Resilience, making Mage Armor unnecessary.)

Proficiencies: Arcana, Religion

Cantrips: Shocking Grasp, Light, Friends, Blade Ward

Spells: Thunderwave, Witch Bolt

Arcana and Religion just fit way better than your other options. Shocking Grasp from Urbosa, Light because duh, Friends because her high Cha makes her a natural choice as the party's face, and Blade Ward because of her desire to protect those around her. Thunderwave and Witch Bolt are also thanks to Urbosa.

Level 2

Spell: Feather Fall (She floats sometimes)

Metamagic: Careful Spell, Extended Spell

Level 3

Spell: Gust of Wind (Revali)

Metamagic: Subtle Spell

Level 4

Spell: Hold Person (Calamity Wrangler/Stasis)

Cantrip: Mage Hand

Feat: Ability Improvement (Cha +2)

Mage Hand because she'd love it for efficient research. When you up your Charisma to 19, you'll likely be near the point where you're facing Auntie Ethel and you'll probably be able to get her boon easy enough to top Zelda up at 20 Cha.

Level 5

Spell: Slow (Sage of Time)

Level 6

Spell: Lightning Bolt (Urbosa)

Level 7

Spell: Ice Storm (Naydra)

Level 8

Spell: Banishment/Daylight

Feat: War Caster

Banishment because that's what Zeldas tend to do to Ganon in the series and Daylight because of the divine light she tends to generate. War Caster is just a necessary choice for any spellcaster.

Level 9

Spell: Hold Monster (Calamity Wrangler/Stasis)

Level 10

Spell: Telekinesis (Shiekah Tablets)

Cantrip: Dancing Lights (Divine Light)

Metamagic: Distant Spell

Level 11

Spell: Sunbeam (Divine Light)

Level 12

Spell: Chain Lightning/Cone of Cold/Globe of Invulnerability/Dimension Door

Feat: Mobile/Resilient- Wisdom/Spell Sniper

So, once I get to level 12, I find my main issue with Sorcerer; the lack of spells. You're plenty powerful, but not as utilitarian as you might like. Anyway, by the time you get to your max level, you'll have a Zelda that is as much a force of personality as a force of nature.