#silly wizard and rogue bffs

[thebest-medicine]

Impractical Jokers

[read on ao3]

A/N: Had some Thoughts about Tasha’s Hideous Laughter / Hideous Laughter spell. Mainly. That Nott knows it [C2E28]. I would love to see Caleb experience it. (Caleb x Laughter OTP) And, also featuring a great joke Nott tells Caleb [C2E55]. (This is the first two chapters from ao3 put together.)

Summary: Nott is actually quite hilarious, thank you very much Caleb.

Words: 1285

…

“Hey Caleb?”

“Ja?”

“How many Zemnians does it take to light a lantern?”

Caleb turns from his book and raises an eyebrow at her. His lips turn down slightly in a frown.

“One! Because they’re efficient and humorless!”

“That’s not a very good punch li-” He starts to say, watching as Nott smirks and whispers something he can’t quite hear but recognizes as arcane; she waves the small feather she usually keeps on her for feather fall pointedly at Caleb.

And then he finds he can’t say anything at all as he folds to the ground, cackling with laughter. “W- IHI- NAHAHAHA-” Caleb laughs as he wraps his arms around his middle, and some sliver of his brain notes with hilarity that he’s slipped out of his chair and is now rolling on the floor.

“Oh, I guess it just took you a second to get the joke!” Nott laughs along and winks at him. Not that Caleb picks up on it, as he’s currently too busy cackling his head off. “I’ve never …seen you laugh like this.” She considers the giggling heap of wizard for a moment, looking down at him for a change. “Feels good to finally get a rise out of you!”

Every word she says, every sound he hears, every sensation he feels and conscious thought he has is currently the funniest Caleb has ever experienced (at least, that he can remember right now). He’s jumped past snickers and giggles straight into wild, unending cackles. Giddiness flitters through his chest as he shakes his head, trying to breathe through the laughter.

Nott scampers a bit closer, trying to get a good look at Caleb’s smile. “I didn’t know you thought I was this funny. I’m honored, truly.” She teases. And, well, she can’t help but reach out to Caleb, ruffling his hair a bit as he squirms, arms wrapped around his middle.

A long few seconds later, the buzzing, tingling, silly feeling of unbridled hilarity subsides, pulling back like the tides. Caleb coughs a little as he catches his breath, laying back against the floor. “That was-”

“Adorable?” Nott cuts in.

Caleb makes a sound of protest as the redness on his cheeks seems to grow a bit even though he’s stopped laughing. “You are not so funny.” He rolls his eyes and gives her a wary look, trying to fight the lingering smile off of his face.

“You’re right.” She chuckles. “I am Nott, SO FUNNY!”

Caleb rolls his eyes again and starts to push himself up by his elbows from where he had collapsed in laughter on the floor. “It won’t always work. You caught me off guard, but I can resist your tricks.” As he stands, he finally succeeds in making a face that isn’t a big stupid grin.

Well, Nott thinks, that won’t do.

“Either you’re going to have to start laughing more, or I’m going to have to get more feathers.”

Caleb freezes, eyes wide like a spooked animal. “What?” He manages, it’s almost a gasp. His face approaches the color of his hair.

Hmmm, he’s definitely blushing. Interesting. Nott starts to explain, her voice slow, as she studies his expression. “I need feathers…to cast Tasha’s hideous laughter.”

Caleb’s face seems to cool down a few degrees as he blinks. “Oh, ah-”

“But.” She continues, pulling another feather from somewhere inside her cloak. “I can also think of something else that I could use them for.”

Caleb’s eyes snap to hers. The seeds of a new smile, remnant of his earlier grin, are starting to sow despite his attempts to look stern. “Nott.”

She hums, giving him a smirk and wiggling the feather a little his way.

“Do not.” He takes a step back.

They stare at each other for a long moment before Caleb turns to bolt. As he turns away, Nott catches the growing smile on his face. A beat later, she pounces after him.

“Get back here!” Nott cries, a few steps behind Caleb.

“Nein!” Caleb nearly squeals as he dodges a hand going for his ankle.

Nott recognizes the finger movements ahead of her as the start of somatics. No, she scolds in her head, he won’t be getting away so easily. She’s already got the feather in hand as she shouts the incantation quickly.

Caleb’s next step forward crumbles as he folds in on himself laughing. “NEIHIHIHIN- HAHA AH I- NAHAHA!” So much for being able to resist it next time. The warm sparks of his magic fizzle away as he falls to the floor, wriggling about like a worm.

Nott plops down on her knees next to him, avoiding any flailing limbs. Caleb, it seems - to Nott’s delight, is quite malleable when he’s laughing his head off. When she reaches out to poke at his sides and stomach a few times, he wiggles slightly away. She scoots up near his head, smiling down at his wide grin, and uses another feather to start toying with his ears and neck.

It’s hard to tell if he’s reacting more than a few wiggles away from the pokes and swipes of the feather. The spell does a pretty good job of making the victim laugh as hard as they can, so he’s stayed pretty consistent in volume.

Nott gets one of Caleb’s wrists in her hand and pulls the arm away from his side. It goes quite easily. It’s strange seeing the normally stubborn wizard acting this way, a freshly made dough to be tossed and kneaded any which way without so much as a protest.

Nott can sense the spell ending as Caleb’s laughter peters off into a much lighter, sillier giggle. She moves into the space between his side and his arm, sets the feather next to her, and blocks Caleb from bringing his arm back down in one quick motion. And then, she pokes her fingers into his armpit.

Caleb squeals, his elbow coming down into Nott’s back. His other hand flies up and Nott braces for a shove, but Caleb just slams the free hand over his reddening face.

“Aww. Don’t do that!” Nott complains, reaching up to tickle under the front of his neck with one hand. His chin comes down with a snort, and the hand on his face moves to bat weakly at her arm. “Your smile is the whole point!”

Caleb whines between his laughter at the affection and teasing.

“And see, I don’t even have to use the feather. I can just get you any time. My hands are my greatest weapon!” Nott monologues triumphantly. “Though, maybe I could enlist some help.”

“Nein!” Caleb manages to squeak out as he laughs.

“Exactly. I’m sure rest of the Nein would love to help.” Nott says as she pokes a bit lower, just above where his leather holster lays. Caleb shouts, his body attempting to curl away from her. He’s shaking his head, giggling loudly. She pauses, leaving her fingers just touching the spot. “Well then.” She squeezes once more. “Looks like you’d better start laughing at my jokes.”

“Ja, ja. Haha- fine. Alright - hehe- you little menace.” Caleb giggles. Nott lets him up, for now, moving a bit out of his space. He pulls his arms into his chest, rubbing against the phantom feeling on his rib cage, then he reaches out and pulls the goblin in.

There’s a brief second where she panics, assuming he is eager to get revenge. But, Caleb just hugs her close, still giggling as they lay together on the floor. It’s a place they have been in more times than she can count, but this time, the warm feeling that envelopes them isn’t just coming from body heat.

[lynndoublelegacy]

just a cool dnd meme i saw

Yook so it’s less a meme and more like. a big ol questionare but hey, might as well do it. originally saw it on @/probablyottrpgideas, go check them out

1. Game Master, Player, or both? Why?

Ok so technically I’ve DMed twice but I really don’t find it fun? and don’t ever want to do it again. so. Player. I like building characters and their connections with fellow PCs more than building worlds

2. When did you start roleplaying? How old were you?

oh god, if we’re talking about roleplaying in general? I’ve been doing it basically as long as I can remember. As a kid I would play House, and then once I got older in like 5th grade I actually started making characters and playing out their stories with friends. Google+ is what made me realize this was actually like, a THING, though, and I got into some roleplaying groups there, then on DevaintArt. Dungeons and Dragons is a newer development? I got into it in late 2018 when my sister’s friend invited us to a one-shot, and... well, yea, I got hooked lol

3. What was the first roleplaying book you ever owned?

dude, bold of you to assume I really own any. I don’t have that kind of money and literally only own the Guide to Wildemount, and that was a gift

4. Describe the first game you ever ran or played in.

I mean... it’s not a game but ima describe the one shot, bc my first campaign was a hot mess without a true storyline and I used the same character for it anyway. I played a tiefling bard called Aisling Kai (I didn’t know this was a cliche combo at this point, and I honestly played her like a rogue with a music motif but Whatever) and we were a little group tasked to figure out why the hell anyone who goes into this cave never comes out. So we go in, make our way through the dungeon, fight some frog people (I made one of their ears bleed just by getting a nat 20 on a performance check to play a high f# on flute, that was fun, FWEET), and turns out yep, theres a hill giant down here. We kicked his ass and collapsed the cave on top of us (dw I think we were fine but my memory is a little screwy)

5. What system did you grow up with? / 6. Which system do you play now?

i learned on and currently play dnd 5e. I don’t really know anything else, but I’m debating checking out Vampire of the Masquerade.

7. Longest campaign you’ve run or played in?

That would be my Tal’Dorei campaign group, aka The Fatefallen! Started in the Fall of 2019 and still going to this day, just played our 45th session last week. I play Ilia Liadon, the drow grave cleric, and the only member of our party who has been there for every single session since the beginning.

8. Where did you meet your current gaming group?

...well first I feel the need to mention that I have 3 different groups (2 of them are on hiatus now for pandemic related reasons but! we’re still groups). My first group (with Aisling) was formed slowly over time as friends adopted friends into the group, I think it started as a school club? but that didn’t last long. The other two started from a different school club as well, though one has since branched out into other people as well. 

9. Strategic combat or dramatic plotlines?

I am a roleplayer first and a gamer second. Give me all of the backstories and dramatic plotlines. Don’t get me wrong, I still like combat, but story takes precedent for me.

10. Favorite RPG genre?

I don’t tend to define myself by genre? But I tend to fall into more of a fantasy, at most arcanapunk style. Give me all of the magic, and magic powered tech.

11. Your first character.

I got into her a little bit earlier, but my first character was Aisling, aka Calypso Kai. She was a homebrew subclass bard with a criminal background, who honestly? should’ve been a rogue. I’ve since rebuilt her into an Assassin Rogue/College of Eloguence Bard multiclasser, but this iteration was like. Baby her, baby me new to dnd, I did not know what I was doing. She tried to be edgy, but my mom energy came through HARD and she just. Never really had a set characterization. She deserves better and I plan on playing her better sometime in the future.

12. Your favorite character.

You are making me choose between my children. BUT, if I had to pick, either Ilia Liadon, or! Ashe Wednesday, a protector aasimar drunken master monk and my profile picture. Ashe also deserved a lot better from their campaign, so I have a massive soft spot for them, they were made during a really tough time in my life (as was Ilia) and was going through an equally rough time in-game, since I made them for a Curse of Strahd campaign without understanding what I was getting into. They’re my little rebellious asshole and I love them dearly, someone get this kid therapy. Ilia, on the other hand, is just... she’s a comfort character for me at this point. mostly soft edges, such a mom- while Ashe was me yelling “come at me” at the world while crying, Ilia was just... embracing it. Making it better. basically, if they actually existed, I would die for both of them.

13. Your most ridiculous character.

I don’t usually play super ridiculous characters, but! I would say Keothi “Bookfinder�� Vaimeil counts. She was basically me looking all of the goliath barbarian stereotypes in the eye, and going “nah. she’s a nerd.” She’s literally a massive puppy dog, just the sweetest big old thing, sitting in her house and reading all the books she can get her hands on in order to make up for her amnesia. Oh, and did I mention that she’s a zombie? ...yea. She’s wacky, but I love her.

14. The best in-character line you’ve ever had.

“I need sleep. I don’t even sleep and I need sleep.”

~Ilia, after a particularly tough fight and an emotionally draining day

15. Your most epic death.

Ok so... none of my characters in game have ever actually died during the storyline? Keothi obviously has in her backstory, and Ilia might have in hers as well, it was never explicitly stated, but during the game? Nope. Ashe got stupid close, but nope. Since Keothi is my only death period, and her death was pretty epic, I’m just gonna describe that. Her parents and siblings in her Goliath tribe had all fallen ill, so she decided to go searching for a possible cure, and ended up getting conned into helping this cult, since they said they would cure her family. Turns out, yea, they were lying, they just needed a goliath willing to sacrifice themselves with a cursed sword. They made the mistake of revealing this before Keothi was actually dead, so as she was dying, she brought the entire goddamn cultist temple down to the bottom of the sea and took the cultists with her. The sword was why she was undead, in the Shadowfell, and couldn’t remember anything.

16. Your most disappointing death. 

As mentioned, I’ve never died in campaign, but I feel like I have to mention this one that happened to our party in Curse of Strahd. We were in the death house, all 5 of us, still level 1, and our barbarian falls into a pit trap with spikes. None of us realize she’s actually dead, so we send out paladin down to get her... with the monk, the bard, and the warlock holding the rope. ....yea both of them died.

17. Something that shouldn’t have worked, but it did.

I’m stuck between two options for this one. First one was the time our water genasi paladin/rogue bloodbended our gnome cleric into a bridge to keep her from falling all the way down a ravine. The second time was when our party managed to defend a small seaside town from a pirate raid with just an NPC with Control Water, a ballista, ourselves, and some explosives. Neither should’ve worked, but both did. Having a triton in your party can really come in clutch in a seaside campaign.

18. Something that went hilariously awry.

I have one that’s hilarious and one that’s horrifying. Hilarious one: in my first ever campaign, someone from Aisling’s backstory popped up and our sorcerer went “that’s shady” (to be fair, he was) and then went to investigate BY HIMSELF. He obviously got kidnapped by the mafia, and then we went all stealth mission to break him out. Stealth was immediately abandoned after our other bard used a SCREAMING SWORD to break open the locks, then we proceeded to go out the way we came, setting everything on fire on the way out, and with our bard lying their way out the front door (with the rest of us in tow as “prisoners”) by pretending to be a fellow mafia member. It was great. Horrifying one: Ilia tries to Send to a member of the party who left in order to let him know that a fellow party member had died. Forgot that he left bc his mind was invaded by a previously dead, very evil old god, and ends up trapped there with him for a while. Ended up with all of our main spellcasters trapped in their own heads while the barbarian paced around worriedly and the rogue decided he was going to get smashed instead of worrying himself silly.

19. Your most memorable in-character moment.

There are a LOT in Ilia’s campaign, but! If I had to pick one, it would actually be a pretty recent one involving Ilia and our party’s wizard, Liara. They’re basically the embodiment of head vs heart? Anyway, Liara is currently suffering from something called magic corruption, though idk if suffering is the right word. Anyway! It basically resulted in her getting... possessed? by her own magic during the night during Ilia’s watch, and they had a really, really interesting conversation regarding guilt, death, and grief, and yea basically I love them. Honorable mention to our druid’s death (he’s back and better now, but that was my first long-time death in a game, we didn’t know he was coming back) and also the moment that Ilia realized that her childhood bff/crush had been revived in a new body and that this NPC was her best friend. That was a trip.

20. The coolest item you ever got and how you came to possess it.

I got this item in the revamp of my first ever campaign and nothing has topped it since which is Sad but hey. Anyway! I got this really cool, possibly cursed dagger after I threw a knife at an absolutely eldritch being and it got stuck in him as he transformed. It looked really badass, and allowed me to cast Inflict Wounds on occasion when I stabbed someone with it. So yea, we love that. Honorable mention to my paladin/bloodhunter’s Helm of the Aberrant Gladiator which allows you to basically do a bunch of fear based affects and psychic stuff.

Numbers 21 through 30 don’t apply to me but. yea. enjoy this summary of my dnd history I guess