#saw the post about oath of love class for paladin’s and i thought of this small thing

[cruelxfantasies]

just something fun about Steve, Eddie and DnD. t rating I guess, just some hinting.

when Steve makes the decision to actively take part in dnd for the first time, he doesn’t let Eddie help him build his character. sure, he does consult Will once — Will is, of course, eager to divulge whatever necessary information Steve needs to flesh out his character.

Eddie, ever the nosy motherfucker, isn’t subtle about wanting to find out what his boyfriend is up to. Steve tests out how far Eddie’s interest goes.

when they arrive back to Steve’s one evening after dinner at their favorite burger joint, a red herring in the form of a spiral notebook is placed on his bedside table. he doesn’t miss the way Eddie’s eyes dart over and hone in almost immediately once they enter Steve’s room but Steve keeps his poker face.

“gonna go hop in the shower. you coming?” Steve knows what the answer is going to be before it leaves Eddie’s mouth.

“nah, I think I’m gonna lay down a minute, let my food settle a bit.”

knowing he’s a goddamn liar, Steve nods and grabs what he needs from his drawers and makes his way to the bathroom, turning the shower on to the hottest setting. taps his foot intermittently, waits 30 seconds. that’s all the time he needs.

he comes back from the bathroom to find Eddie standing and flipping through the notebook next to his bed, trying to find the details about his character that don’t exist. in that particular book, a least.

“oh, you’re pathetic.” Steve’s voice is dripping with amusement as he leans against the door frame,

Eddie jumps, notebook falling out of his hands and wide open onto the floor. “shit, Harrington, aren’t you suppo - wait, what the fuck?” Steve can see the lights coming on in Eddie’s head. “did you - ”

Steve snorts, enjoying the deer in the headlights show in front of him. “purposefully put that there so I could see how desperate you are to figure out information that isn’t yours to know as of yet? that’s exactly what I did. i knew you wouldn’t last a minute.” cocking his head to the side, he adds, “i think you owe me an apology for going through my personal belongings without permission, though.”

a narrowing of the eyes aimed directly at Steve, a faint smirk playing on Eddie’s lips. “alright, fine. well played - but that bitchy tone of yours leaves a lot to be desired.”

oh. Steve wastes no time as he takes off back to the bathroom, Eddie right behind him — his ass is sore for the next 2 days.

when Eddie asks for everyone at the table to introduce their characters, Steve is the first to go. he’s a paladin, oath of love subclass. from the research he did, some with the aid of Will, they protect the bonds of their family and friends with all of their power. he would do anything to defend all of those close to him in real life. why not do the same in game, too?

yeah, Eddie’s gonna marry him someday.

[dranathedragon]

I’m a D&D nerd, who is currently obsessed with Dead Boy Detectives, so of course the “What class would everyone be?” thought has been tickling me. I’ve seen a few other people post their thoughts on it, and I’ve been reading the amazing “Messrs Payne and Rowland’s Adventuring Agency” by @terresdebrume whenever it updates. Seriously, it’s really good, highly recommend. So I figured I’d throw my hat in the ring and see what anyone else’s thoughts are while I’m at it. Just doing the core four in this post.

So let’s get the easy one out of the way first, Crystal. She’s 100% a sorcerer, her power comes from her bloodline, she was born with it. Because she’s psychic based I’d say she’s specifically an Aberrant Mind sorcerer, without all the deep space tentacle monster baggage. Though she does have disembodied floating eyeballs in her psyche so MAYBE!

Next up is the second easiest, Edwin. He’s a wizard, everyone knows he’s a wizard. What KIND of wizard though? I’m going with Order of Scribes. He loves that little notebook so much, it gained sentience. How awesome would it be, if in this D&D version of the show, Edwin’s notebook didn’t follow him to hell because it was his sentient spell book, and it stayed behind with a purpose? It stayed behind because it KNEW Charles would never leave Edwin there and he would attempt a rescue. It KNEW Charles would go, and it KNEW it had to stay behind to help him. It showed him the things he needed to see, the information and maps that would reunite him with their wizard. I just love that.

Next up is Charles. He was a little tougher. I’ve seen quite a few posts saying that he’s a barbarian, and at this, I must object. At least with the criteria I’m using I suppose. Charles’ power doesn’t come from his rage. The one time we see him using his rage to fight, Edwin’s horrified and worried reaction pretty much confirms this was wildly out of character for him.

Just as an aside, I’m a firm believer of when Edwin said, “That was extreme”, he wasn’t talking about knocking the night nurse off the cliff. He was talking about Charles’ reaction in general, it was an extreme REACTION. He’d never seen Charles act with that much anger, hate, and violence before. He’s not an attacker, he’s a defender. It scared him, but he was scared FOR Charles, not OF him. Our wizard just isn’t great at people’ing. That’s a discussion for a different post though! Back to the topic at hand!

So, if I don’t think he’s a barb, what is he? Well, I’ve got two possible options. One thing that’s said quite a bit in the show, is how charismatic Charles is. And let’s face it, he is. So, using that logic, I’d say he could possibly be a Paladin. Specifically, an Oath of Devotion Paladin. I mean, come on, his power would so come from his extreme devotion to his favorite wizard. That would be a fun one, but there’s my second option which I find slightly more plausible.

It’s shown multiple times in the show, that while Charles claims to be just the brawn, he’s actually very clever and capable of thinking outside the box. Not to mention, he’s all about magic items. Bag of holding, enchanted cricket bat, enchanted jar/paper weight, enchanted lullaby ball, the disguises, the list goes on. So he’s smart and specializes in magic items, that screams Artificer. I’d say he’s a Battle Smith Artificer, some of their specialty spells are based around defending/supporting their allies, and you can’t tell me he wouldn’t find having a little robot pet, sorry STEEL DEFENDER, completely aces. He’d also name it like “Steve” or something and treat it like it was his and Edwin’s child, fight me on that lol. (Jk, don’t fight me I don’t like conflict!) Update: Charles’ lock picking has been mentioned and it just added to this for me as Artificers get expertise in thieves’ tools. How did I forget this?!

So that leaves Niko, who is kind of the wild card. I saw at least one post saying she’d be a bard, but I don’t think that’s accurate. Bards are all about attention (well mostly, I guess whispers would be an exception but she wouldn’t be a whispers anyway) and the whole sprite possession thing seemed to kinda make her uncomfortable with it. Idk, it just doesn’t really fit right to me. On the same thread though, so far in the show, Niko’s only real power is to see the dead. That might be expanded if we get a second season (🤞🏻), but for right now, that’s all she’s got other than being a good friend and excellent reading comprehension skills (which I might revisit this using that last one later). That said, since she got that ability (technically) because of the sprites (more because they almost killed her, but also they’re with her in the igloo so this still might work!) I’d say Niko is a Warlock. Just by the by, I hate that the class is called “Warlock”. That’s a word that came from an old English word meaning “oath breaker or he who breaks their oath”. Warlocks are all about MAKING not BREAKING pacts. Just a weird choice but MOVING ON! Since the sprites seem kind of Fey, I’d say she’d be a Pact of the Archfey. Nothing to do with the pact’s skill set, since we’d have nothing to compare it to, just because they seem fey to me.

So that’s what I’ve got so far. I might think of other characters’ later, like what would Jenny be etc. What do you guys think? I like to hear other people’s opinions on this! It’s fun to bat around!

[chantryexplosion]

1 - 4 - 11 - 21

for the dark urge ask game <3

(questions from this post)

(also prefacing these by saying i am not known for being very good with words and making sense of my thoughts lol)

What circumstances led to your Dark Urge becoming their Class/Subclass?

so, ronen is an oath of vengeance paladin, and it's kinda like. you'd think it'd be impossible for any paladin durge to keep their oath pre tadpole right? and the oathbreaker knight does mention in game that they saw each other a lot before. so what i think is, ronen chose to be a paladin partially as kind of a cover, a way to be able to exist outside of the temple without people questioning him too much, and a way to give him easy access to non culty things when he needed it. and i said partially before because i also think maybe a small, mostly subconscious part of him was trying to resist even then. despite all that i do think he and mr oathbreaker knight saw each other Very Often.

4. What would your Dark Urge consider to be their greatest flaw? Is this accurate?

hmmm. the thing about ronen is, his guilt levels are astronomical. so i think, to him, his biggest flaw and failure is what he believes to be his inability to handle the urges better. he thinks himself to be weak willed, because if he wasn't he could've resisted more, fought back more, and maybe if he had alfira would still be alive. and then the fact that her death at his hands affected him so much to the point that it kinda paralyzed him, he thinks he should've been able to handle that better too. he hates how much and how deeply things affect him.

and as for if that is accurate, i'd say not really. i think he did fine considering everything lol. and this would be far from his biggest flaw

11. What motivates your Dark Urge to either embrace or resist the Urge?

ronen resisted the urge the whole time. or as much as he could anyway. and this might be kind of a basic answer but he just. wanted to be good? he woke up with no memories, and with just a few things on him, including the book with the oath of vengeance tenets. so if he's a paladin then he must be good, right ? good and righteous. but then all evidence kept pointing to the contrary and that was really messing him up. it felt wrong. he felt sick at how much he enjoyed being violent, how much he enjoyed killing and how much he loved the taste of blood in his mouth. whatever he was before, he didn't want to be it anymore. (that said, he still enjoys violence and killing and probably always will)

and then it's also that he wanted some sense of control. he hated not being in full control of himself and not being able to predict his own movements and his own thoughts. whether good or bad, he doesn't want to be a puppet to any urge or father or god. he wants to be free and to belong to himself only.

21. What are 2-3 songs that your Dark Urge would relate to?

oh boy i have a whole playlist (its very unfinished) but 3 songs from it are:

family tree (intro) by ethel cain worn by king woman somewhere i belong by linkin park

thank you so much for asking !!!

[hawkinsmethlab]

Okay, so I saw a post about the fruity four and their DND classes and I've maybe been thinking about it a little nonstop so here are my thoughts enjoy

The Teens

Steve - Paladin, Oath of Redemption. The redeeming is for him, btw, he needs all the help he can get. His weapon of choice is a spiked club that was originally Jonathan's.

Eddie - Bard/Rogue. He was a rogue first because of his dad and then discovered the power of shredding it and the rest is history. College of Glamour and a Thief. If his dad hadn't been the one to teach him, then he'd absolutely be an Arcane Trickster. Also he's a Tiefling because "hunt the freak" babey.

Robin - A Wizard, because she's a nerd. Idk why but I see her going the Transmutation route before switching to Abjuration after Upside Down shenanigans.

Nancy - A Gunslinger, this is obvious. Look at her.

Jonathan - Barbarian! Who fights against his natural rage because he hates it! :D (his rage: aren't you tired of being nice? Don't you just wanna go apeshit? Jonathan: I'd really rather not).

Argyle - Druid, Circle of Dreams. Day by day, he lives his life just hoping he'll suddenly know what the heck is going on. But he's chill about it.

The Kids

Mike - Paladin is like, the one, right? Paladin of Devotion? We all agree?

Will - Warlock, specifically the Fiend. The Demogorgon is literally referenced in the pact description I don't make the rules. Made a pact with the Upside Down, probably against his will and probably didn't know what happened until a lot later.

Eleven - Shadow Magic Sorcerer! Her blood is tainted by the Upside Down. Also Tiefling El is v cool.

Lucas - Ranger, Monster Slayer Conclave. Still loves his slingshot.

Dustin - Artificer being trained under Mr. Clark. Battle Smith because they have these things called Steel Defenders, which are like automaton companions and his is basically D'art but a robot.

Max - Monk, Way of the Shadow. Still has her skateboard because why not.

Erica - Mastermind Rogue. Gets all the dirt on everybody and is NOT afraid to use it.

The Adults

Hopper - Fighter, either a Banneret or a Champion. Has a level in Barbarian as a treat. (But ALSO. Blood Hunter Hopper. Can we imagine).

Joyce - Cleric of the Light Domain, but only after Will was stolen away to the Upside Down. Her holy person helped her figure out how to communicate with him through torchlight and sunlight. (Can't decide on whether or not she has an actual like, god she worships or if it's just the living will of the Right Side Up).

Murray - Divination Wizard who is very confused and upset that his "sight" doesn't work in Hawkins. What to heck.

[c-is-for-circinate]

More post-ep thoughts

....what, you thought I WOULDN’T be back with meta bits?  This is C’s fandom corner over here, the meta comes fast and hot my friends.  Please ignore the past three months’ evidence to the contrary.

Right now I’m thinking about Fjord’s level in warlock, which I know I saw a bit of speculation on in the past week.  I wanted to wait until the episode aired to see if I could gain some insight from how he seemed in play, and I think maybe I did.

Mechanically, this choice makes sense for a couple of reasons.  Level 10 is a really useful one for a warlock--Fjord gets a new cantrip (I don’t think we got to see which one he picked!) and also picks up Armor of Hexes.  This ability effectively means that, when Fjord uses Hexblade’s Curse in battle, that enemy has a 50% chance of missing him even after it rolls a successful attack.  For Fjord that’s huge.  It definitely could’ve saved his life in the sea battle two episodes ago, and as the M9 continue on to even more powerful enemies, it could really help his sturdiness keep up.

On the other hand, level 3 for a paladin is...tricky.  Level 3 is where you get your Sacred Oath.  And as much as taking that level of warlock makes mechanical sense, I am wondering if this was the thing that helped Travis make the decision here.

I really love the paladin Sacred Oath, because out of all the class specializations, this one says so much about the character’s choices and priorities.  Yes, you get Channel Divinity and cool abilities, but they’re a lot less diverse than, say, comparing an Arcane Trickster to an Assassin.  A paladin Sacred Oath tends to have a lot to do with who that paladin wants to be for their deity and their own moral standards, even more than mechanics.

Vax took the Oath of Vengeance because it was the middle of the Chroma Conclave, they were hunting dragons, he hated Thordak with (un)holy fury, and also at that point, it felt like “slaughter the Raven Queen’s enemies for her” was the only thing he really had to offer.  It’s not a good indicator of Vax’s compassion or sense of joy and fun, which are all very true facets of him, but it makes a lot of sense for the character in the moment and what he thinks he’s supposed to be promising to his god.

I have been wondering for three months what oath Fjord was going to take (I have a paladin problem, we’ve discussed this), and I choose to be intrigued rather than disappointed that the answer so far is “none of them”.  Because maybe Travis (and, caught in a single breathless frozen moment, Fjord) was wondering too.

I keep thinking Fjord’s prayer to the Wildmother.  “I’m sorry I’m a dumbass who didn’t check in with you, please help my people.”  He’s definitely still feeling the love and devotion there!  He’s also maybe feeling a little embarrassed/ashamed after the whole dying debacle, or even just distracted by it.  He doesn’t entirely think he knows what he’s doing for her, or even with her, not yet. 

I don’t think Fjord knows what he would swear if he took an oath at this stage.  What does the Wildmother want from his devotion?  Who does he want to be for her, for the rest of his life?  Who is he becoming?  Level 3 of paladin is about making that choice, deciding what your path is about, and for a game that’s as character- and RP-heavy as Critical Role, it can be a really big deal.  And maybe Fjord’s not ready.

I’m choosing to look at the level in warlock, until further notice, as Fjord still having these powers and this connection that’s not going away--and starting to realize he can use them on his terms.  He threw away the sword and still was not free.  The orb is out of him, and maybe he’s still not free, not if Uk’otoa still wants revenge.  He still has these powers, and they are never leaving, but--maybe he understands them a little better, now.  Maybe he can use them to protect himself.  Maybe he can make this his.  And the next time Uk’otoa comes for him, he’ll be even better protected against him.

We’ll see if further RP plays this out, but if I’m right, I would hope Fjord spends this level figuring out how to be a paladin so he is ready to take his oath next level.  But it’s not a bad story if Fjord continues to learn and grow in the powers that he originally took for Uk’otoa and now claims for himself, and tries to turn around and use them for the Wildmother rather than drawing power from her directly.  There’s a lot that’s interesting in there.  I’m curious to see how it goes.

[4dorks-1windmage-1shadow]

The Links as D&D Characters, Part 5: Shadow Link

Inspired by a question I saw on @hauntinghyrule ‘s blog. My character analysis and thoughts on what character class the boys would be if they were D&D characters, and why. Also! @atinybitweird has been drawing the boys D&D designs, and she’s doing really great! I’ll link to her posts on the individual analysis as well as reblog them here so look out for those : D

Green / Red / Blue / Vio / Vaati / FS Zelda

As a preface, there won’t be any doubles on classes except in the case of dual-classing, and in those cases the first class I talk about my justifications for will be the primary class (i.e. the class they would have chosen at level one). My choices will be based on the character theming and personalities, even though at a base level it would be easy to say “they’re all paladins, duh” because of the implied “holy knight chosen by the gods to eradicate evil” concept. For Shadow, there are plenty of shadowy-themed D&D subclasses to choose from. Kaenith mentioned Way of the Shadow Monk in his initial answer on his blog which is actually not a bad pick for him. However, I wouldn’t initially say that Monk is the class for Shadow, because he’s shown relying on magic much more than martial arts (like a Monk would) or even swordplay (like the other Links). He has a sword in the manga, but I think it’s mostly for show- a visual parallel to Link, who does use his sword to fight. This is just a small part of the big reason why I’ve chosen the particular classes and subclasses I have for Shadow, so lets look at the reason as a whole: Shadow’s origin, and how it ties well into the Sorcerer class.

The Four Swords manga and the Four Swords games don’t give us a lot of information about how Shadow Link was created (if he was born vs conjured like Dark Link) and also what exactly the Shadow Realm is. We never actually see the realm that Shadow came from (except for the Erune arc in the manga, and only a small town) so we have no idea if it is a true shadow version of Hyrule, like the Dark World/Lorule (if you believe they’re the same place) are. Furthermore we don’t see any evidence that there are others like Shadow Link, like we do with Lorule with Ravio being a parallel to Link and Hilda being a parallel to Princess Zelda. There’s nothing pointing to the idea that Shadow was born and raised the way a normal kid would be, and so the most logical conclusion canon-wise is that he was literally conjured from Link’s shadow. Magic would be weaved into every fiber of Shadow’s being, and we see this evidenced in the manga because he wields it naturally and easily against the Links. Sorcerers in D&D can be born as well as made, but the key thing that separates the magic sorcerers use from the magic used by wizards, bards, druids, clerics, and warlocks is that a sorcerers magic is innate, often carried through a bloodline or via transforming from the latent energy of a place. In this case, Shadow was literally made with the arcane magic he controls. Xanathar’s Guide to Everything introduced a Sorcerous Origin called Shadow Magic where the arcane magic is sourced from the Shadowfell (i.e. Shadow Realm for authenticity to Zelda), either through being exposed to and transformed by the energy of the place or from being descended from a denizen; neither of these situations are applicable to Shadow BUT I think being created from the source magic should and does count. The majority of Sorcerer abilities come from their Sorcerous Origin, but there are two features that all sorcerers regardless of origin gain that I think fit Shadow based on his story in the manga. Font of Magic and Metamagic can be linked to the Dark Mirror being Shadow’s source of life and magical power because of the abilities that Shadow is able to display while being linked to it. Font of Magic gives Shadow access to Sorcery Points, which he can spend to create new spell slots, or sacrifice spell slots to gain more sorcery points which effectively translates to giving himself more power to wield in battle. Metamagic lets him twist the magic of his spells to suit his own needs, using sorcery points to do so. It can let him double the range of spells, double the spells’ duration, potentially do more damage on a hit and target more than one opponent with a ranged spell that normally only targets one creature. I’m choosing to translate this as him getting a boost in power and flexibility that he normally wouldn’t have without the power of the Dark Mirror (though depending on your interpretation of post-manga shenanigans he could have these abilities anyway because of whatever method brought him back allowed him to have them). Back to Shadow Magic though. Thematically it makes the most sense: Shadow Link is created from shadow magic and thus is a Shadow Magic Sorcerer. But the abilities here are what we want to look at to see if it really fits. At 1st level, Shadow Magic gives Shadow a darkvision range of 120 feet, and the Strength of the Grave ability means he can charm his way out of death. That’s not entirely accurate- the actual text says he can take a Charisma saving throw and attempt to equal or exceed a target number equal to 5 + [amount of damage taken], and drop to 1 hit point instead of 0 if he succeeds. I think this makes sense- if he’s a shadow, he’d be able to slip out of battle or narrowly avoid life-threatening attacks just by the art of deception; this isn’t necessarily supported by the Sorcerer class itself, but if you mix the game canon into the manga canon, Shadow can technically clone himself and use those copies to his advantage. At 3rd level, he learns the Darkness spell without it counting against the amount of spells he knows, and he can cast it with either sorcery points or a spell slot (he can see through the effected area of the spell if he casts it using sorcery points). At 6th level, he can spend sorcery points to summon a shadow creature that effectively acts like an attack dog, which he can sic on a creature within 120 feet of him. Shadow is shown leading an army of monsters in the manga, so the Hound of Ill Omen feature actually lends itself well to that image- maybe one of the creatures he used to attack Hyrule Castle was his magically summoned shadow hound. It isn’t that far-fetched of an assumption to make. Shadow Walk lets him teleport through darkness and dim light up to a distance of 120 feet, which is an ability he already portrays in the manga and in the games. The only Shadow Magic ability he doesn’t get to benefit from is Umbral Form, and that’s because I want to call a parallel to Link that I think is fitting for Shadow’s role as his foil in the story. Shadow is not a copy of Link- I don’t want anyone to get confused by what I’m saying. However, he is still Link’s shadow, the reflection of everything Link could have become if he wasn’t the hero, didn’t grow up with all the people around him who loved him and supported him. Shadow’s main motivation in the story is loneliness and the desire to be recognized, but who is going to recognize him if he doesn’t make himself recognizable? I talked at length in my analysis of Green’s class about how Paladins take oaths that serve as pillars for their conduct and core beliefs as paladins, but what happens if you don’t have any of those beliefs or you did have them but chose to cast them away? In the Dungeon Master’s Guide, it describes a class option for Paladins called the Oathbreaker: essentially a paladin who has abandoned or broke their sacred oaths. Shadow probably never had any oaths to begin with, but he wanted to be recognized the way Link was, and so I think he chose to take the mantle of Paladin without really understanding what makes Link (Green) a true Paladin. He has to take at least 3 levels in Paladin to subclass as Oathbreaker, and that unlocks light and medium armor, shields and all weapons for him to use in combat. It also unlocks spells like Hellish Rebuke, Inflict Wounds, and if he takes up to 5th level in Paladin, the Crown of Madness spell. He still gets all of the normal Paladin abilities, but his Channel Divinity options are kind of the opposite of Green’s: He can control undead creatures with it, or use Dreadful Aspect to create an aura of fear around himself with a radius of up to 30 feet.  Depending on how you look at the option of Shadow being redeemable, there is an option for Oathbreaker Paladins to “atone” for their evil actions as an Oathbreaker. They lose the Oathbreaker features and gain the features of a Sacred Oath, and I can’t think of a more fitting tribute to his character journey than him becoming an Oath of Vengeance Paladin from the Player’s Handbook. It lets him fill a different niche of paladin than Green does, and takes his character into account in regards to the Tenets of Vengeance: Fight the Greater Evil (Faced with a choice of fighting my sworn foes or combating a lesser evil, I choose the greater evil). No Mercy for the Wicked (Ordinary foes might win my mercy, but my sworn enemies do not.) By Any Means Necessary (My qualms can’t get in the way of exterminating my foes) Restitution (If my foes wreak ruin on the world, it is because I failed to stop them. I must help those harmed by their misdeeds) Taking Oath of Vengeance in this way would replace Hellish Rebuke, Inflict Wounds and Crown of Madness with Bane, Hunter’s Mark, Hold Person and Misty Step, and the Channel Divinity features include Abjure Enemy (inflicting fear on a targeted creature) and Vow of Enmity (basically pointing at an enemy and saying “I choose you” and then he gets to attack them with advantage for a minute [10 rounds of combat]). In conclusion, Shadow ends up as a dual-classed Shadow Magic Sorcerer/Oathbreaker Paladin (later changing to Oath of Vengeance Paladin to account for character growth). 

[fisherrprince]

hi! sorry to bother you but i saw a post on your other blog abt lloyd/zane’s dnd classes and was wonderinnnng if you happen to have thoughts about what classes the other ninja would be? i’ve been wanting to do a dnd au forever but can never decide on the classes

heck YEAH!!!! And, I can’t decide either, which youll probably see after reading this big long block of text, but these are my dungeons dragons and dives headcanons:

Lloyd is a rogue – at first. I mean, of course, he still is one, but since taking on this greater purpose and the very “chosen one” position, he’s multiclassing as a paladin (unwillingly). Which is fun for me because of the “evil smells bad” attribute of paladin-ing, because I hc that he can sort of ‘smell’ oni like the dragons can. He would probably take the Oath of the Ancients. :> Not sure what kind of rogue!! Maybe an arcane trickster.

Zane is a wizard, I think. there are SOOOO many kinds of Wizard though (I like to look at a lot of the expanded lore sets) that i dont know WHAT kind, but I think he’d either be the school of illusion or evocation (you know, ice wizard)! He COULD, feasibly, be a sorcerer if you wanted to take “his power was given to him” literally, but if we based everyone off of their powers, everyone would be a warlock/sorcerer.

I think Jay is a storm sorcerer – I mean, you’ve even got pirate imagery to go with it. Just look it up. Sorcerers use charisma for their ability modifier and can basically tinker with their own magic to make it do what they want. And at 6th level gain resistance to lightning/thunder as well as uncontrollable bursts of electricity from spells!

Cole…….. i want to make him a bard, i really, I Really Do. Just for the word healing and music. I also kind of want to make him a cleric?? this team DOESN’T HAVE A CLERIC– if he WAS I would make him a Grave domain Cleric. He would gain the ability to sense the undead, gain spare the dying and keeper of souls… and they use Wisdom as the modifier! Cole is very wise and i believe his hugs heal

Kai’s a fighter. He’s a protection fighter… or dual wielding? I swear I remembered somewhere that you could choose two fighting styles with a feat or something. hes got fire swords. If this were dungeon world I would make him an Immolator, JUST for the explosive fire magic, and the “Hand Crafted” move – you can use your hands instead of a forge to craft metal objects. Immolator REALLY fits Kai’s passion for everything and also the semi-self-sacrificial role the immolator has. I really love dungeon world

I dont know what Nya is. I kind of want to make her a ranger (that doesn’t SUPER fit though) and I kinda want to make her a warlock (I dont – I don’t have justification for that one) and I KIND of want to make her a technomancy wizard because she studied for her own power first and foremost before becoming a part of the ninja team. Also, technomancy!! Magical samurai suit. Also Find Vehicle is funny to me

Wu and Garmadon get to be opposing warlocks, because the FSM is a terrifying deity under the oni and dragon patrons, and i SWEAR if I wasn’t so “ooh” about rogue/paladin lloyd i would make him a rogue/warlock. But then again these ideas are all up in the air and it’s just ideas so!! Go nuts!!! 

[fiction-over-facts]

a land so wild and savage Character Detail Post

AKA: all the things I wanted to write in the notes of the fic but even I know when they’re too long. Eventually. 

(This is just a little post containing the planned classes and reasoning for each of them. It’s not important but I figured 1. maybe someone would be interested and 2. it would be helpful to have this saved somewhere if I ever decide to do more in the verse (especially something where this stuff actually really matters).)

General Character Summary

formatted as (name, character level, class levels):

Hashirama- 17 (12 Forest Druid, 5 Life Cleric)

Tobirama- 16 (16 Transmutation Wizard)

Mito- 16 (either 16 Paladin or 12 Paladin, 4 Warlock)

Touka- 16 (12 Rogue, 4 Barbarian UPDATE: 10 Rogue, 6 fighter; I honestly have no idea why I wanted her to have barb levels when i wrote this. If I had a reason it obviously wasn’t very good because I’ve forgotten it.)

Madara- 16 (16 Warlock, Fiend Patron (maybe?), Pact of the Blade)

Izuna- 16 (16 Lore Bard)

*Race note: in the fic I don’t really mention it but the Senju are all definitely humans, Mito is (probably) a water genasi and both Uchiha are tieflings. 

**I don’t specify some class details (like Mito’s Oath for example) because I really don’t know that much about d&d outside of learning through exposure to CritRole, so I’m not sure what the best selections would be in some cases.

Character Decision/Design Notes

-Hashirama- The easiest thing to decide was that Hashirama was going to be a Druid because, I mean, it’s Hashirama. I attached Life Cleric later on, just because it felt kind of right to do (and also I love healing and wizards Concern me. Plus, I think Hashirama, already down two brothers and raised in a society where that’s much, much less expected than it is for ninja, would also be Concerned.) 

-Tobirama- Tobirama as a wizard was the second easiest. I sort of thought about him being a wisdom class at first (for the perception, which could be sort of an analog for sensing in this verse) but Druid didn’t feel right and neither did Cleric, really (though from what I know he would’ve been a Grave or Death one). But wizard felt right since Tobirama, as we know, is a Nerd as any good wizard should be. 

(I still wanted him to have high wis though, because unperceptive Tobirama is just wrong, so I maxed int and wis and gave him 6 charisma as a trade off (the inverse justification for this is that Tobirama isn’t precisely bad with people, he’s just logical and tells people things they definitely don’t want to hear because he doesn’t really see why he shouldn’t, so his charisma checks very, very rarely work out.)

-Madara- Madara was the third easiest, tied with Touka. Based on the temper he’s portrayed with I briefly considered barbarian but it didn’t really feel right so instead, because of the whole deal with Kaguya, he’s a Warlock. I don’t have any dnd books (or any knowledge from outside CR) but I kind of wrote him as Pact of the Fiend with the mentioned use of Hurl Through Hell toward the end of the fic (ie. what Madara did to the goliath strangling Tobirama). 

Does it feel wrong to have Madara be a charisma based class? 

Yes. 

Do I picture him somehow still managing to fail a truly astonishing amount of charisma checks in conversations anyway? 

Yes.

-Touka- Touka was set to be a Monk for basically the entire process as, as far as I know, her characterization is completely fanon whereas Izuna at least has some canon base traits and we all just fill in holes. So she was set to be a fast af hard-hitter till I saw that Monk class effectiveness apparently feels bad in later levels? And, really, there was no way in hell I was going to design a party without a rogue in it. I considered ranger at some point but melee felt right for her and from what I’ve dug up fighter/rogue works Really Well (and her being a rogue lets her really take advantage of sneak attacks when Mito or one of the others are also engaging with an enemy) (+ they really needed a way to disarm traps and pick locks and without using Knock and announcing themselves and their intentions to the world.)

-Izuna- Izuna was tricky, mostly just because there’s just enough of him in canon to be problematic but not enough to be that helpful. Also I have a bias to the way I write Izuna, based a bit on other peoples’ Izuna and a bit on me just loving the idea of him being a charismatic, vaguely childish troll. I considered Paladin and Fighter for him (Fighter just because it’s kind of the least. telling class in my mind? I suppose. Paladin because Izuna is shown to be very dedicated, against the Senju until his last breath which...isn’t really applicable here, but could serve as a character basis anyway.) He was going to be a bard/rogue for a while but that’s apparently not a good multiclass and I liked rogue better on Touka anyway. (Plus not multiclassing gives Izuna the greatest access to his bard spells.) I like Izuna as the type who seems very light-hearted or even careless but has some very well hidden depths and catches on to much more than people think he does, so bard felt appropriate.

-Mito- Mito was the hardest, because there’s 1. so very little of her in canon and 2. not that much of her written in fanon either, so I didn’t really have a pre-established idea of her personality or what she would do like I did for Izuna or Touka. 

Still, I figured—noble princess of a storied nation, bearing a great burden for her people? (Added to the fact that we always talk about the great vitality and constitution of the Uzumaki?) Sounds like a Paladin. (Also that means that the two best melee fighters in the party would be the ladies which is the best possible choice.)

She is the only one with an or in her class notes because I wanted her to still be the Kyuubi container in this verse, though in a different way. The or denotes my lack of decision on whether or not she can draw power away from the godlike being imprisoned in her stomach.

[autumnslance]

A Lore Nerd’s Analysis of Oaths and Warriors of Light in D&D and FFXIV

This is @wearepaladin‘s fault. Kinda. Actually, I’ve been planning on doing something for awhile, and the idea began to solidify more in a r/ffxiv thread where someone asked “Anyone notice Dark Knight is more like a traditional Paladin lore wise?” My own comment can be found here, where I say I’ve been long thinking of the ways the Dark Knights and Paladins of Eorzea match up to the various Paladin Sacred Oaths of Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition. I figured I ought to expand on that sooner or later.

So yeah, “I’m your host LynMars/Dark Autumn, you can go below the cut for my TEDTalk on the Warrior of Light, Dark Knights, Paladins, and the Sacred Oaths of D&D 5e”:

Now, as a disclaimer, I have not completed the Paladin quest chains yet. I am nearly to the end of the original lvl 30-50 A Realm Reborn (ARR) chain, though, and since I usually don’t care too much about spoilers, already know what’s going to happen. Partially because I could easily guess and so just looked over the chain info. Anyway.

Paladin (PLD) is a traditional sword-and-shield wielding class of holy light users in Final Fantasy, like in most settings. In FFXIV, the primary group of paladins is the Sultansworn. As the class trainer, Captain Jenlyns Aesc, explains when you first approach him:

“A paladin swears allegiance to the sultanate. A paladin shall be the sword and shield of the sultanate. A paladin defends the people of the realm. Sellswords and gladiators and others of their ilk wield their blades for themselves, but a paladin serves the greater good. Do you understand me?

“The battle arts that the paladin learns have been held secret, nurtured, and perfected within the ranks of the Sultansworn elite for nigh on these six hundred years. Of all those sworn to protect the sultanate--the soldiers, the mounted guards, and the knights--we are the elite of the elite. Our conviction unwavering, our hearts true, our sword skills without peer.

“But the glory of the Sultansworn...Well, much of it is buried in the past now. Our brotherhood grows smaller by the year, we are a shadow of what we once were, and the sultana turns to sellswords to defend her palace. All this, because of one traitor--no, because of a blot of dishonor left by one who shall not be named...And because of him, we have been forced to seek the help of able-bodied adventurers.

“And here you are. We shall instruct you in the paladin military arts. You will not be inducted into the Sultansworn, but serve as a free paladin. However, first you will show us that both your sword and heart have mettle, and you are worthy of the honor.”

So how does this relate to the best-known traditional tabletop RPG? In 5th edition (5e), the traditional classes are handled a little differently than before. To add customization, early in leveling (mostly lvl 3, though a few classes start off right at lvl 1), players can choose a type of their class they want to be; what Bard College they study, what Cleric Domain they know, what Druid Circle they are attuned to, etc. For paladins, they choose a Sacred Oath to swear. This gives them their moral code to follow in the service of their deity or ideal that grants them their divine abilities, while also loosening some of the constraints of the old alignment system, and gives both players and game masters a framework for what the paladin’s behavior should follow, lest they stray and lose their divine favor.

The Sultansworn would fit best into the Oath of the Crown:

Law: The law is paramount. It is the mortar that holds the stones of civilization together, and it must be respected. Loyalty: Your word is your bond. Without loyalty, oaths and laws are meaningless. Courage: You must be willing to do what needs to be done for the sake of order, even in the face of overwhelming odds. If you don't act, then who will? Responsibility: You must deal with the consequences of your actions, and you are responsible for fulfilling your duties and obligations.

This oath is for those paladins “sworn to the ideals of civilization, be it the spirit of a nation, fealty to a sovereign, or service to a deity of law and rulership.” (Sword Coast Adventurer Guide, pg 132). As the name implies, the Sultansworn are dedicated to Ul’dah and the Sultan(a) sitting on the throne. As the Sultansworn train free paladins, however, the Oath of the Crown doesn’t apply. A free paladin, Solkzagyl Keltnaglsyn, challenges the player:

“Simply learning paladin swordplay does not make you a paladin--nor does the armor you wear, or the status you claim...Strike off the shackles that bind your spirit, lift the visor that blinds, and find the true path of the paladin.”

Free paladins would fit better under the more traditional Oath of Devotion, from the Player’s Handbook (PHB):

Honesty: Don't lie or cheat. Let your word be your promise. Courage: Never fear to act, though caution is wise. Compassion: Aid others, protect the weak, and punish those who threaten them. Show mercy to your foes, but temper it with wisdom. Honor: Treat others with fairness, and let your honorable deeds be an example to them. Do as much good as possible while causing the least amount of harm. Duty: Be responsible for your actions and their consequences, protect those entrusted to your care, and obey those who have just authority over you.

All the things the Sultansworn strive for, but without the strictures of devoted service to the sultanate. The Knights of Ishgard (often called Temple Knights if part of their military), though not called paladins in game, can also fall into one of these two oaths. In fact, let’s turn to the Holy See of Ishgard now...

(Aside: “But LynMars,” you might say. “My Warrior of Light doesn’t fit either of those Oaths.” Hold that thought for the end, fam.)

So where do Dark Knights fit in? Why consider them “paladins” in all but name?

Dark Knights (DRK) are from Ishgard, like the Temple Knights; most knights of the Holy See should fit into Crown or Devotion, especially with the emphasis on the worship of Halone the Fury, one of Eorzea’s Twelve gods. But, sometimes...holy men aren’t so holy, especially when so many are younger sons sent to the Church because there’s just no other place for them in the noble household structure. When many are orphaned poor joining out of desperation--and finding they’re still given short shrift over their nobleborn brethren. When sometimes, those in power are corrupted by power, or were corrupted to begin with. What then?

I already have a post about the historical origins of Dark Knights in Eorzea, from the Encyclopaedia Eorzea lore book and the official website. In summary, a lowborn knight, Ser Tryphaniel, solid and true and everything a knight ought to be, saw a priest doing unspeakably evil things to a child. Tryphaniel killed the priest on the spot in rage, and as a result--and thanks to Tryphaniel’s unpopularity among the elite due to his staunch beliefs--the knight was stripped of his rank for killing a “holy man.” Tryphaniel gave up his shield, with its crest and symbology, and used only a great sword.

“A heart bleeds, a man weeps, a soul burns. Thence comes the darkness, to consume…Yet even in the depths, the flame endures…Submit to the flame and harness the abyss…” - Ser Ompagne Deepblack

The Dark Knights appear as heretical monsters to the pious of Ishgard. Their abilities are given names such as “Souleater”, “Abyssal Drain”, “Salted Earth,” “Bloodspiller”, “Shadow Wall,” “Living Dead.” They glow with red and black energy. Ser Tryphaniel decided to fight using “any means necessary” in his crusade to protect those the Church could/would not, the great swords of those few Dark Knights acting as beacons in the dark. Those he trained, those also disaffected by the Church and the corruption in its heart (the plot of Heavensward addresses that), followed in his bloody footsteps.

Dark Knights fit perfectly into the framework of the Oath of Vengeance:

Fight the Greater Evil: Faced with a choice of fighting sworn foes or combating a lesser evil, I choose the greater evil. No Mercy for the Wicked: Ordinary foes might win my mercy, but my sworn enemies do not. By Any Means Necessary: My qualms can't get in the way of exterminating my foes. Restitution: If my foes wreak ruin on the world, it is because I failed to stop them. I must help those harmed by their misdeeds.

This is still a paladin oath from the PHB. The Oath of Vengeance is described as “a solemn commitment to punish those who have committed a grievous sin.” The PHB even says Vengeance Paladins are “sometimes called avengers or dark knights--their own purity is not as important as delivering justice.”

“To walk the path is to suffer. To sacrifice. Justice demands no less. But we must never lose sight of why we chose to walk it.” - Sidurgu Orl

I rather like @castthemintotheabyss’ low-spoiler summaries of the DRK quest chains. Identity and duty to yourself vs others; family and justice vs vengeance and mercy; to guilt and grief and acceptance of self.

Dark Knights are considered “edge lords” and “emo” and “gothy” and sure, some of that is true to an extent! But this is a class where the capstone lvl 70 ability, “The Blackest Night”, is a protection cooldown based on love. The “flame in the abyss” is the love the DRK feels for those dearest to their heart, their friends and found family--that is what fuels their darkly named and appearing powers.

If you’ve done the DRK quests, and/or don’t mind some spoilers, I highly recommend @haillenarte‘s translations (part 1, part 2) of the original Japanese text for the ARR DRK quests; the English version is rather different, though I think there’s room for both interpretations of Fray to inform each other. I’m also eager to see translations of later quests in this chain (and how the Stormblood NPC matches up).

I also have a Dark Knight tag where I link some of these resources, thoughts, art, and summarize several of the DRK story quests to be minimally spoilery and showcase how the WoL progresses through the self-reflection these quest enforce (kinda amazing for a MMO, actually). I originally completed the lvl 30-70 quests between October-November 2017, if you check the archive.

“They say the war’s over now, but it never ends for people like you, does it?” - Lowdy

There is one more oath I would like to touch on, due to the unique nature of the player character--the Warrior of Light (WoL)--in ANY of the FFXIV jobs, and how the game’s canon generally tends to assume they’ll roughly behave:

Oath of the Ancients: Kindle the Light: Through your acts of mercy, kindness, and forgiveness, kindle the light of hope in the world, beating back despair. Shelter the Light: Where there is good, beauty, love, and laughter in the world, stand against the wickedness that would swallow it. Where life flourishes, stand against the forces that would render it barren. Preserve Your Own Light: Delight in song and laughter, in beauty and art. If you allow the light to die in your own heart, you can't preserve it in the world. Be the Light: Be a glorious beacon for all who live in despair. Let the light of your joy and courage shine forth in all your deeds.

I think FFXIV players see how it fits. In D&D 5e, the Oath of Ancients has naturalistic/Fey origins. The PHB describes Oath of the Ancients as:

“...paladins who swear this oath cast their lot with the side of the light in the cosmic struggle against darkness because they love the beautiful and life-giving things of the world, not necessarily because they believe in the principles of honor, courage, and justice.” (pg 86)

The WoL is Chosen of Hydaelyn, the World Crystal Herself. Certain enemies call them the “Bringer of Light.” To other NPCs in the storylines, they are the “Weapon of Light.”

If your Warrior of Light fits Crown, Devotion, or Vengeance, awesome! I hope you find some inspiration in roleplay and/or writing from seeing those oaths and how they can interact with the FFXIV lore. These aren’t even all of the Sacred Oaths, either! There are others out there, some official and some homebrew, and some even for evil characters (traditionally anti-paladins or blackguards).

A big part of me, though, feels like the Warriors of Light in general due to the storyline, are on the path set by the Oath of the Ancients; the WoL goes through the main story as a beacon for others, struggling to preserve the light in others, in themselves--and, in the case of the Dark Knights, in the depths of the abyss.

Still, it’s up to each player, and this is just some personal analysis on how the classes presented in FFXIV coincide with elements in D&D. In the end, it’s something that can be used, or not, as one likes (or not). I’ve just found the comparisons neat and wanted to get it down, and fate kept conspiring to push me to do that until I finally wrote all this. So thanks for reading my rambling on about nerdy things.