#specifically kasimir

[yarrow-leaf]

Joining the bandwagon 😳

[baellielurk]

pov you're seated at a dinner table and these are the other guests wdyd

[niroben101]

I was vibing in vc with some of my players and was having an itch to do some character art! So I took some Curse of Strahd NPC name prompts and kinda went with how I imagined them in my rerun!

Characters from Left to Right top row:

Doru

The Abbot

Kasimir

Ezmerelda

Characters from Left to Right bottom row:

Ireena

Izek

Lady Wachter

Parriwimple

Vargas Vallakovich

I plan on making proper NPC portraits for most of the NPCs since I have a veryyyy specific design in mind for them but I'll get around to it when I get around to it lol. I look forward to sharing them there!

[lilaroxa]

Lila's Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon Temperature Blanket

After a small setback of waiting an extra few days for my yarn order, all the materials are finally here!

Hi there! If you're new, my name is Lila Roxa and I stream Rune Factory Wednesday nights on Twitch! I finished my Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon series on May 15, 2024, but I'm not quite ready to leave Kardia yet!

As a way for me to reminisce about the fun memories made along the way and to challenge my creative skills, I came up with the idea of making a Rune Factory Temperature Blanket!

How does it work?

Inspired by real-world temperature blankets (crocheted blankets where each row's colour is determined by that day's temperature in the real world), one row of my blanket is a "day" in my playthrough! Though I won't be using the weather for my blanket! Instead, I wanted to focus on the reasons why I fell in love with the Rune Factory series: the loveable characters and RPG setting.

With the above criteria in mind, I ended up with 22 colours: 11 for each romance candidate, 8 for the caves, and 3 for miscellaneous days.

What are the specifics?

Pattern

The pattern I am going to follow is CrochetKim Birth Temperature Blanket. The image above is a sample of CrochetKim's work.

I was drawn to her pattern in particular because of how it reminded me of the "back" of the dialogue boxes.

While granny squares may have been a more accurate representation, I'm not sure if I have the sanity to create an entire temperature blanket out of them. So I focused on the zig-zag look the squares create instead!

Colours

It took me roughly two days to decide on all the colours, but here they are!

Each row will be determined by the most memorable factor of that playthrough's day. Some examples of what a "memorable factor" could be:

A funny/thought-provoking quote

Gaining access to/beating a cave

Being forced to "skip" a day because of a typhoon

Curious to know why I chose a certain colour? Here's why!

MELODY | TABATHA | ROSETTA | BIANCA | MIST | MEI | LARA | TORI | LYNETTE | SHARRON | FELICITY CARMITE CAVE | TOROS CAVE | CLEMENS CAVE | MT. GIGANT | MISTY BLOOM CAVE | KASIMIR RUINS | DANAAN CAVE | GREED CAVE SKIPPED/SLEPT | RESOURCE DAY | DATA LOST

Lila Roxa

[lucid-daydreams]

Me: Alas, none of the Kasimir art I've found online fits my incredibly specific vision for the character! Whatever can I do?!

My six-year-old drawing tablet: hey

I drew the king of lexapro himself! I'm excited for my characters to meet him. I'm not too satisfied with the scars so I'll probably revisit this in the future.

[victorluvsalice]

AU Thursday: Valicer In The Dark -- More Score & Story Ideas!

Because, uh, I have a lot of ideas for stuff I want to do in this verse, and the original list from a year ago has expanded quite a fair bit:

-->While I haven't gotten all of my stories into a proper timeline yet, I do have the first five sorted:

A) "Start At The Beginning...Sort Of" -- the story currently in progress, where the trio all meet, solve Victor's ghost problem and Ghost!Emily's Barkis problem, get wrongly accused of murder, run from the police (showing off their special starting scoundrel abilities along the way), and eventually end up in Elder Gutknecht's old place in Six Towers. This is sort of the "prologue" to the whole mess, putting all of them in the right position to start on a life of crime. XD

B) "A Murder Shared Is A Murder Thirded" -- yes, I did have Gale of Baldur's Gate III's line about how "a parasite shared is a parasite halved" when I came up with that title. XD As you might imagine, this is the trio first "unofficial" score, with them going to murder Bumby, because the fucker needs murdering. Of course, it's only after they kill him that they meet up with Smiler's parents and learn they were exonerated of the original "murder" by the Spirit Wardens. XD Still no regrets, though.

C) "The Van Dort Vacancy" -- came up with that title while looking at old Oxventure Presents: Blades In The Dark episode titles and being inspired by "The Cab-Con Caper's" alliteration. This story focuses on Alice and Smiler returning Victor to the Van Dort mansion...only to discover the Van Dorts hosting a party. Victor quickly learns that his parents never even considered the idea that he might be in danger when he vanished, only caring about the fact that Victoria Everglot married someone else (and is now due to wed Imperial Guardsman Christopher White after her first husband's death and disgrace) -- and after overhearing his mother declare "what ghost would marry our Victor?" decides fuck them, he's taking his stuff, stealing what money he can, and going to live with Alice and Smiler in Six Towers. Features special guests Barnaby "The Butcher" Fortescue III and Kasimir Jones from Oxventure Presents: Blades In The Dark, because it tickled me to imagine them doing a score to steal some of the Van Dorts' money at the same time -- only for Victor to catch on to what they're doing when he meets Barnaby at the party and go "if you wait five minutes for me to get my things, I will open the safe for you and give you a good chunk of the money inside." XD

D) The currently-untitled story detailing the gang's first "official" job as a crew, picked up when they go to dinner at the Ball & Socket Pub and Smiler overhears two workers from Coalridge discussing needing to get something back from their boss -- the "something" is a list of potential union representatives that the boss stole in order to call assassins on the people listed. The workers need it back to keep their nascent union safe. Notably, the score involves the workers saying they can't give the trio much in Coin, but they'll do what they can -- and then one of them jokingly saying, "Unless you want to be paid in furniture."

Cue Victor, Alice, and Smiler, who currently live in Elder Gutknecht's-not-exactly-comfortable house, going "what kind of furniture?" XD (A couch and a proper dining table, specifically -- old furniture one of the workers was trying to shift after inheriting some stuff from a late relative.)

E) "Who You Gonna Call?" -- As you might guess from the Ghostbusters quote for a title, this story involves the gang busting some ghosts. XD Specifically, it involves Bonejangles -- here a Whisper who does entertainment work for the Ball & Socket on the side -- deciding to school Victor in the art of ghost-catching by taking him on a job to catch a few Echoes (non-sapient ghosts who continually do the same thing over and over again in a loop), with Alice and Smiler tagging along for moral support. However, as it turns out, one of those "Echoes" is actually a Specter (a sapient, feral ghost who attacks people and possesses them to feed on their life force) who was biding its time... I felt a little bad that none of the previous stories really had any Whisper-y stuff for Victor to do, and decided he needed a "day in the limelight" score -- as a bonus, this score is how he gets his ghost-hunting equipment for later!

-->I also have plans for two possible prequel stories -- one showcasing the three times Alice and Smiler talked before the events of "Start At The Beginning...Sort Of" (I have the first bit, Smiler giving Alice the money for lunch, actually written already), and one showcasing some of Smiler's life even before that (I have a rough draft of the scene where they wake up the "morning" after inventing Joy Serum and go "bwuh?" over their newly-glowing yellow eyes). Good for filling in gaps and writing more stuff from Smiler's POV!

-->I mentioned Victor wanting to make a community greenhouse very briefly in the very first post I made about the AU -- this has expanded into a whole little arc about him finding an abandoned conservatory while wandering Six Towers and the gang fixing it up into a place where they and the other residents can grow food. In order, the stories would cover:

1) Getting enough money to pay a glazier to fix all the broken window panes (or doing something for the glazier in trade)

2) Acquiring the initial plants (which involves a trip to Barrowcleft and probably doing a job for someone there in trade)

3) Victor researching ways to infuse butterflies and moths with electroplasm to create radiant energy insects to help the plants grow; my idea is that he eventually tries mixing it with some of Smiler's Joy Serum -- and gets REALLY BIG bright yellow glowing moths, to his and Smiler's delight and Alice's concern

4) And then, once the place is just about ready to "open to the public," Lord Rowan, the only lord who maintains a permanent residence in Six Towers, rocks up, claims the greenhouse is his, and demands an absolutely ASTRONOMICAL rent from the trio to use it. Fortunately he proves to be a man who likes games when Smiler asks to negotiate, and tells them if they can break into his house and get the deed to the land from the safe in his bedroom, it's theirs (the trio smartly get this written down and notarized by someone in Charterhall first; Rowan is PIIIIISSED when he realizes he'll have to honor the deal)

-->A related idea would be for the gang to encounter some of the people in Charterhall (the neighborhood mostly made up of one big university) who are working on an alternative power source to help replace leviathan blood (which is refined into the electroplasm that powers everything electric in the setting) and need a place to test it. The trio decides that the alternative energy group can try to get the streetlights back on in Six Towers, and there's a score all around helping them get there safely, and keeping Lord Rowan's nose out of it until they're done. Not sure what exactly it will entail yet, but I'm eager to find out!

-->As stated in previous posts, the gang eventually has to go after Dr. Kelman when he puts out a notice saying he wants the three captured so he can submit them to his special "social compliance therapy" (aka do horrific brain surgeries on them and/or Hollow them by ripping out their souls). This is how Victor and Alice learn Smiler's birth name, and the whole trip proves to be a rather dark look at Smiler's childhood pre-running away and joining the Advocates. In fact, I already have one specific scene in mind of Victor finding a photograph of a young Smiler and noting that their smile in the picture looks incredibly strained, as if they're desperately trying to see the bright side. Also, Miles Cedars is definitely going to show up, and possibly get to murder Kelman. Because I like giving him the chance to murder Kelman. :)

-->Speaking of Smiler angst, I also have in mind a story where, on a particularly chilly night in winter, Smiler, Victor, and Alice are wandering the streets together when Smiler somehow falls into one of the local canals. Victor and Alice fish them out as fast as possible, fortunately, but the rest of the story proves a race against time to get Smiler home and warmed before they succumb to hypothermia. Featuring half-naked cuddling when they learn that skin-to-skin contact can be an excellent way to warm a chilled person (fortunately this is after they get together as a polycule, so the partial nudity isn't as awkward as it could be)...and Smiler crying in front of Victor and Alice for the first time when they can't stop thinking about the fact that, if they'd been walking with their fellow Advocates, said Advocates would have believed them when they said they felt okay...and they probably would have died. :( It is a story of many feels, is what I am saying.

-->So, when does my OT3 actually become an OT3 in the actual stories? Shortly after the Kelman score, in a story entitled "And There Was Only One Bed" (a play on the fic trope, and the fact that the house only has one good bed -- at the time the story starts, the three are taking turns using it, with the other two sleeping on cots borrowed from The Advocates). The story involves Smiler (who has been trying to subtly push Victor and Alice together, having noticed they seem to like each other) finally revealing to Victor and Alice that they're a pretty accomplished hypnotist, and offering to use their skills to help Victor with a nasty bout of insomnia. Victor agrees, with Alice wanting to watch for her own peace of mind -- cue Smiler hypnotizing Victor the next time the three of them are going to bed...

And a deep-in-trance Victor asking to be held as he falls asleep. Prompting both Smiler and Alice to cuddle him...and fall asleep against him because neither wants to get up and possibly disturb him after he does drift off. Meaning when everyone wakes up the "morning" afterward, they're all really awkward -- Alice because she's like "wtf why did I find that hot;" Victor because he's like "oh no I liked that too much and I have to process the fact that I'm in love with both of them now;" Smiler because "damn it I think I just decreased total happiness in this household should have kept my stupid mouth shut." They do their best to push through and complete the latest job they have though (a random "steal something from this rich fucker's house" deal, it's not actually important), which ends up with them having to clamber up onto the roof at some point --

And then Victor nearly falls off said roof. Prompting both Alice and Smiler to nearly have a heart attack and have their feelings toward him thrown into STARK RELIEF. Meaning they all finally have a chat once they complete the job and get back home, which allows them to finally discover that a) they're all willing to get into a polycule and b) that they actually have quite compatible kinks. Story ends with Smiler delightedly returning one of the cots to their parents (Alice insisted on keeping one in case one of them does want or need to sleep alone) and the three of them regularly sharing the bed. :)

-->I also want to do at least one follow-up concerning them starting to play around with hypnosis, and Alice insisting she wants to do something that will help keep Victor Victor no matter what they do to his head -- cue her and Smiler coming up with a safety suggestion that involves Victor picturing the core of his personality as a glowing tree, and then having him encase it in unbreakable glass so his personality can shine out, but nothing can get in. :) It's just a sweet scene that's been rattling around in my head for a while, and I'd like to put it to virtual paper.

-->I mentioned a "Lord E.A. Bethesda" in my Duskwall Slang post a while back, as a guy who gets labeled with the very-dangerous-in-Duskwall title "Welcher" (someone who hires someone for a job, but then decides to try and kill them instead of pay them; people who do this generally end up dead themselves). How does he get saddled with this label? By hiring the Three Pillars to steal a golden beetle statue from a rival (Lord Bethesda is a bug collector, you see), plying them with a hefty reward if they pull it off (which he can afford as the "Gambling King" of Duskwall -- his fortune was built off of getting lots of people to pay him small amounts of money in hopes of great reward). They do indeed pull it off --

And Lord Bethesda happily orders them killed by his guards, forcing them to escape his house in Brightstone. However, Bethesda (who has done this before) employs Plan B and has his guards herd them toward his garden and through a gap in the lightning barrier around his home --

Before turning said barrier back ON and stranding them in the HEAVILY ghost-and-horror-riddled Deathlands just beyond (specifically, they're in the Lost District, a formerly rich neighborhood that was abandoned once the lightning barriers went up). This leads into the sequel story, where the trio have to find a way back into the city while navigating the horrors of the Deathlands...which results in them discovering that Alice's Wonderland Jabberwock, inspired by an illustrated poem she read as a child, is actually based on a REAL CREATURE. Which has the horrible eye beam and wants very much to kill them. (And which may have the voice of Christopher Lee because I might as well throw in the nod to Tim Burton's Wonderland -- Victor is VERY CONFUSED as to why it sounds like Pastor Galswells.) They manage to kill IT instead by strapping Alice's Vorpal Blade (now a real thing, Victor bought it for her as a present) to Victor's ghost-catching kit while Smiler whacks together a sort of motorized skateboard thing for them to ride on and then using the electroplasmically-charged Blade to slice the damn thing's unprotected belly open. Alice claims one of the eyes as a trophy, and shortly thereafter they're found by the Spirit Wardens, who look at the corpse and go "let's just get you back inside the barriers, shall we?" Cue the the trio tromping back to the Ball & Socket and telling the clientele about their experience...leading to Lampblack gang leader Bazso Baz declaring Bethesda a Welcher, and the guy soon afterward getting killed.

-->Not that Baz is actually a friend to the trio -- for another future story has the trio invited to one of his fancy parties, supposedly to recognize how rapidly they've made a name for themselves in the Duskwall underworld. The three go, figuring it's a good way to keep relations good with their fellow criminals -- but are quickly rather disgusted by the party itself, as it feels pretty much like any party Nell Van Dort would throw (overly ostentatious and making it clear he's only in it for the power). They resolve to get through the shindig and head home...

And then Baz reveals that the actual reason they were invited was because they've collected a variety of bounties on their heads (including a big one from the Van Dorts, specifying Alice and Smiler have to die but Victor be brought home alive, and a huge one from Lord Rowan, wanting them ALL dead) and the other criminals want to claim them. Cue the Three Pillars having to try and find a way to escape from the house as the other criminals hunt them. Fortunately for them, they have unexpected allies in Baz's staff, with one guy in particular having a sister and nephew in Six Towers whom they've helped a lot (probably both in general with the greenhouse, and specifically by helping the kid when he got sick once). They eventually manage to get out with the staff's help, and limp their way back to Six Towers...

Just in time to see Lord Rowan trying to make a big speech to the citizens about "how your heroes are dead" and blah blah blah. He is gobsmacked to see the trio still alive, leading to, of all people, Smiler strolling up to him and clocking him in the face. XD Gaining the Three Pillars a reputation as, frankly, unkillable...

Aaaand I should probably cut it there because this post is getting long enough. XD And I haven't even touched upon all the stories I have in mind that are based off of other properties I like! Guess that would be a good follow-up post to this one, huh? :p

[nouveaumoon]

:) what characters are going to show up in the comic!!!

hmmm well of course in the abbot's story, there will be Vasilka (in the current script, not until the end). but before then, there will be some other familiar faces that I don't want to give away just yet! if you know the abbot's story in the module, you probably already know, haha 🙆‍♂️

as for characters getting their own books... we will have to see. i have plans for Baba Lysaga and Madam Eva for sure, and I'm debating on a Patrina book (she only has a bit going on in canon, and in an anthology meant to be exploring things set up by the module, it would feel wrong to explore too much built on speculation. I think the story she has going on is very much worth exploring since it has maaaajor implications for the module and for Strahd specifically! but it's hard to do that without the speculation involved in filling in some pretty big gaps. when the time comes, i'll probably ask for people's feelings on this, and on what level of canon they would like the comic to stick to vs headcanon. depending on how much speculative story people are willing to accept, Rahadin and Kasimir and Patrina would all be combined to one given how intertwined i like to make them.)

i have plans to do shorter ones for characters that have less going on but that still could use maybe ten or forty pages to build some understanding for their situations -- like Izek, the hag coven, and Kolyan Indirovich namely. similarly to the speculation situation with patrina, if people are okay with heavy headcanon, then i have a Saint Markovia one i would like to make as well. i might do these between the bigger comics as an intermission of sorts!

Strahd will be showing up since this is his world and we're all just living in it, but he will not be getting a book.

[stickthisbig]

Placeholder! I swear I'll have this up tonight, but life has been a fucking nightmare

ETA: Now under the cut but it'll break the link if I change that text I think

I like many things! I am a particular fan of kink, but I also dig a good friendship fic. Generally speaking, I prefer lighter or more romantic stories to darker/angstier ones, though horror elements are welcome in most of these sources.

In terms of general prompts, I love a good weird AU, the more weirdly specific the better. I love take your fandom to work in particular. I also live for Want of a Nail stories, where one thing changes and then everything changes.

The main things I don't want, just in general, are needles, infidelity, soulmates/bonds/marks, and character bashing. Body horror is okay, but nothing past what would be in a rated R movie, basically. If you want a reference, I didn't have any problems with the body horror in Uh Oh, apart from the one with the coffee. The one with the coffee was too much.

Here are the fandoms:

Oxventure: Blades in the Dark Requested: Kasimir, Zillah, and Edvard or Kellie-centric

I love Kellie so much?? I want to know everything. After the end of The Final Season we probably know what happened to her? But go nuts with speculation. Or when she's younger and with Eleanor! Give me lesbian drama, I beg.

The OT3 is the OT3 and I love them so much. Friendship fic is fine if you swing that way, but shippy fic is also A++. I particularly like stories about what they did after the Barricade. Please no love triangles, unless they resolve into a threesome.

Oxventure: D&D Requested: Prudence, Corazon, Egbert, Shattershield

Prudence/Corazon is my favorite. Would just adore seeing something with Corazon de Tortuga and his new, more turtley life. Egbert/Shattershield is not my thing, but I'm fascinated by their relationship and how it changes over time.

Don't want: any mention of Liliana or Katie

Oxventure: Dread Requested: Any

These idiots. <3 Prequel, everybody lives AU, whatever, it's good. I'm not hugely interested in stories set after the canonical ending? Unless there's necromancy or alternate timelines or whatever, or if one or more of them Came Back Wrong. Then I'm VERY interested in it.

Oxventure: Deadlands Requested: Victoria, Bison Billie, Nate, Garnet

I'm fascinated by what must have happened Victoria beforehand. Was she even the first avatar of Conquest? Did she really have a human family (or a family of fallen angels???), or was that a dodge? For Bison Billie, I love Billie/Edie, but Billie/Silas goes down smooth, and Billie & Delacy friendship fic would be excellent. I have a lot of love in my heart for Nate? I have this headcanon that he fought in the Civil War and then settled down with Junie. Also just give me anything with Garnet. I want her to steal hearts and play cards, but mostly play cards.

Oxventure: Wyrdwood Requested: Morven, Robin, Lug, Happen

Do Robin and Morven date the same person? Do they not date the same person? Do they date each other? What happens when Morven gets her body back? What happens when Morven gets Robin's body permanently and Robin is thrust into another body? Are Lug and Happen boning down, and at what frequency? Or hell, hit me with a casefic if you're feeling frisky.

And that's your lot, I think. If you want to do some spying, I'm sabinelagrande at the AO3, and you can see both the kinds of things I like and the kinds of things I've bookmarked. I am terribly excited to see what you come up with!

[museumelina]

July 25, 2024. Last week I was going on about how I wish field trips were a more regular thing in adulthood. Lo and behold, this week I went to Arles with three museum friends and can assure you, the whole field trip idea is even better when it's outside the work context.

We went specifically to see the exhibition Van Gogh and the Stars at the Fondation Van Gogh. The star (ha) painting was Van Gogh's Starry Night Over the Rhone, a loan from the Musée d'Orsay as part of the 150th anniversary of impressionism, an event being marked all over France, not just in Normandy. The painting's presence in this exhibition is special because this is the first time it's being shown since its creation in Arles 136 years ago!

The exhibition is (surprisingly) large but there are only two paintings and one drawing by Van Gogh himself, all the other works are by other artists on the theme of the stars and all the subcategories you can probably think of. So the name of the expo is kind of clickbaity but overall, it's still an impressive exhibition.

Here's a very small selection of works visible at the expo:

Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890), La nuit étoilée sur le Rhône, 1888, oil on canvas, Paris, Musée d'Orsay.

?

Camille Corot (1796-1875), L'étoile du Berger, 1864, oil on canvas, Toulouse, Musée des Augustins.

Kasimir Malevitch (1879-1935), Construction cosmique magnétique, 1916, oil on canvas, Private collection.

Étienne Léopold Trouvelot (1827-1895), Group of Sun Spots and Veiled Spots, Observed on June 17th 1875 at 7 h. 30 m. A.M., 1881, print, New York, New York Public Library.

Augusto Giacometti (1877-1947), Ciel étoilé (Voie lactée), 1917, oil on canvas, Chur, Bündner Kunstmuseum.

Frédéric-Auguste Cazals (1865-1941), Jean Moréas rallumant son cigare aux étoiles, 1893, gouache on paper, Private collection.

Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890), Veillée (d'après Millet), 1889, oil on canvas, Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum.

Vassily Kandinsky (1866-1944), Bleu, 1927, oil on board, New York, Museum of Modern Art.

[mxvanrichten]

Me after last night's Curse of Strahd session.

Session summary below, definitely some spoilers for later game stuff (Amber Temple).

Also, there's A LOT OF TEXT, I'M SORRY.

Here's a funny discord screenshot, but session recap is below the break.

The gang starts out at the end of a very snowy bridge that looks terrifying to cross. As we get halfway across the statue on top of the other side's archway, it turns into a large white dragon. The dragon is starring daggers into Silas and Silas only. It's paying no attention to anyone else. Silas feels this burn in his chest as it continues to stare. The group decides to keep going as Draz and Brandy surround Silas for protection.

Everyone makes it across. When we get across, the dragon turns away, but Silas sees his mother at the top of the hill ahead. She is waving for him to come up. His mother has been dead for a few years. He knows it's not really her.

From when the dragon appeared, he felt something telling him to come to the temple. This isn't the first time something has told him he needs to come there. As they all stand there, Silas suddenly throws up black sludge, and it's coming from his eyes and nose as well.

The group continues on up to the temple. The walk 5 hours in the snow. They're exhausted, especially Silas and Rudolph (who each took a point of exhaustion). They finally reach the temple, and Draz notices a side entrance.

After a bit of sneaking and hearing some voices, we eventually see some younger crew of the berserkers we met earlier on our trip. They are scared of us at first until Silas mentions the name of one of the people they met from their tribe. They relax and after some conversation we bed down for the night in this side room.

Watches happen:

First watch: Draz and van Richten have another wooden stake making practice session. Draz is getting pretty good at it. He tells Draz that he might make a fine monster hunter out of someone in this group, after all. He mentions to Draz that Silas has a lot of knowledge that could fare useful, but Draz needs to share his knew found knowledge of vampire killing with us to truly be useful.

Second watch: Silas and Ezmerelda chat about a few different things. Fashion, what the sun looks like, and how Rudolph thinks something is wrong with Silas ever since he died and came back. Ez is a little sus of him as well. She brings up even how pale Silas is, but he’s just like no I just look like this. (He truly does just look like that lol).

However, he does tell Ez that he has been experiencing strange things, hearing voices, and feeling drawn to the temple since he came back. He doesn’t talk about the deal he made to come back. I think he fully doesn’t understand everything himself. He then tells Ez that if Rudolph has something he wants to know, he's free to ask Silas himself instead of talking about him behind his back. He then let's slip, "I suppose he's probably avoiding me specifically now, though." That gets Ez's attention, and she's like,"I mean, he typically avoids most people, but why you specifically?" Silas then tells Ez about the letter he wrote and about his feelings for Rudolph. Ez is, of course kinda like ummmm what? Ew, why? about it. She even is like, "When has he ever even been nice to you??" Silas not really wanting to get into everything in his head he just says, "I guess I'm just fucked up. Idk." She just tells him to be careful, but she's also kind of sweet about it and tells him if I want to get "brownie points" with him (then proceeds to tell me that vr told her people say that even though he thinks brownies are gross and that she calls it meat pie points instead) that I should use any knowledge I learn about monsters to impress him and get his attention.

Third watch: Brandy and Kasimir. This watch literally had irl me giggling and kicking my feet during the whole thing. Brandy asks Kas if he's ever been in love. He says there was a girl once, so long ago he doesn't remember her name, but they only went on one outing together. He mentions she was a dusk elf, and Brandy says, "Oh, so she must've had your same beautiful skin tone." This, of course, flusters the hell out of him. She proceeds to tell him about the man she loves and was searching for before she ended up in Barovia while looking for him. His name is Samuel, and he's a pirate. We knew about him before, but she tells Kasimir that she loves him, but she's not sure he loves her back. He never truly made time for her and then just disappeared, and that's why she was looking for him. She is trying to figure out if she really is in love or not. It's been so long. She reaches out for Kasimirs hand. It's super cold, so she uses that to get closer to him. She scoots up next to him and asks if he wants to snuggle under her coat with her to keep warm. He is super fucking awkward, but eventually relaxes and lets her put her arm around him and they spend the rest of the watch snuggled up with small talk. It was literally the cutest thing I WANNA SCREAMMM.

The next morning, they prepare to start exploring the temple. Silas and Kasimir both wake up with headaches, Draz and Brandy can't remember anyone's names (this turns into a bit that actually continues to be so funny the rest of the session), Rudolph is seeing weird shit out of the corners of his eyes. Every seems to be affected in different ways. Silas is irritated from the headache and kinda gets snippy and with that and Draz calling him Sally and calling everyone weird names, Rudolph realized the temple is fucking with us.

We proceed on, with Silas’s use of locate object, they begin their search for the suns sword. He gets several pings of potential swords, so they pick a direction and head down some stairs. About halfway down the stairs, a voice tells us to stop, turn away, and leave. We attempt to communicate and reason with them. We can't see him, but we hear a voice coming from a statue up ahead. He tells us his name is Nefron. As we're talking him down, Brandy is sneaking behind the statue to see who's there. He ends up being this tiny creature. We talk him down, but Brandy gets caught sneaking, so he gets mad again. We think we're safe to cross but when we do a fireball gets shot at us. We fight him and some flame skulls for a bit, but Silas is eventually able to talk him into leaving us alone and we stop hurting him.

We move onto another hallway, eventually we come across a door and Draz is able to force it open.... THIS IS WHERE THE FUN STOPS....🙃😩

Silas’s mother is at the door, waving for him to come in. He just screams out loud, "YOU'RE NOT FUCKING REAL, YOU'RE DEAD! STOP IT!" This of course gets everyone's attention and VR just looks at him super concerned.

Silas, Draz, Ez, and Rudolph go into the room, and there are like 3 amber sarcophagi. We aren't really sure what to do, but suddenly, Silas feels incredibly drawn to one of them. He then hears a familiar voice. The same voice that spoke to him that brought him back to life. The same voice that's been in his head a couple of other times as well. He just hears, "TOUCH IT!" Silas freezes. He hears those words again. He doesn’t know what to do. The door slams shut. Splitting off Brandy and Kasimir outside the room. The voice demands Silas do as he's told, that he promised he would do this in turn for being brought back. As Silas has a full-on panic attack and just stands there crying and yelling, everyone in the room starts taking damage. He continues to say he doesn't want to, but eventually, it gets too much. He sees how hurt Rudolph is getting standing right beside him, and he finally gives in and touches it.

Suddenly, this terrifying being shows itself. It's floating over water, and Silas can almost feel himself floating in the water. He tells Silas his name. Sykane, the thing that brought Silas back. The thing Silas is bound to and must do as it says. Sykane explains what Silas must do in return for getting his life back previously. He must destroy Strahd and destroy Vampyr, who gave Strahd his powers. Then, after that, he must release Sykane and allow him to consume all the souls of Barovia whole, which would unmake them and Barovia. Only Silas hears all of this. The others just see a floating image of Sykane.

Silas is devastated. What has he done. He is thinking to himself he should have never agreed to come back. He should have stayed dead. His fear of death was selfish. After all that ends, Silas is returned to full health and apparently feels something different and new inside him. He runs off crying as the door opens......aaaaaaaand that's where the session ended.

Sooooooooooooooo yeeeeeahhhhh......

[isaacathom]

for my own amusement, and bc i just said florian shouldve been a paladin, im gonna take my major ttrpg ocs and say which 5e subclass theyd be for each class, for fun. for vibes. some of them have canon for this already but lets vibe.

Naielle Odelia (DND 5E - Celestial Warlock)

Artificer - Probably Alchemist, due to the healing benefits suiting her. The alternative would be Artillerist, leaning into the Sylvian army's use of firearms.

Barbarian - lord. uh. christ. Ancestral Guardian or Storm Herald, depending on vibes. Storm Herald would particularly be doing Sea environment. AG has more of the support vibe im used to for her.

Bard - Lore. Lore. It's Lore. she's a fucking historian, of course its Lore.

Cleric - Light Cleric. I'd say Knowledge but her campaign has a knowledge cleric and its not quite the vibe.

Druid - Stars. Without question or contest.

Fighter - Arcane Archer. Can't really justify that i just think it suits her alright. she doesn't fit str-based builds like rune knight

Monk - Astral Self, OR Sun Soul. But probably Astral Self. i know thats not astral as in stars but its got the vibe for me.

Paladin - Devotion or Watchers. Paladins get so little in the way of subclass stuff tha its not that big a thing, but i think those are in her vibe space.

Ranger - Horizon Walker. yea.

Rogue - Inquisitive, or maybe Phantom.

Sorcerer - Divine Soul.

Warlock - Celstial (thats just canon)

Wizard - ,,, euuhhhh. Abjuration or Evocation. Maybe Conjuration.

Florian de Kasimir (TWTRPG - Man-at-Arms)

Artificer - Armorer. yeah. sure.

Barbarian - Berserker

Bard - Swords, or possibly Valor. Mostly Swords, though. he did strictly learn fencing at one point, which feels on brand

Cleric - War. yeaahh

Druid - oh god. uhhhhhh. this ones tough. Moon or Wildfire. Leaning Wildfire.

Fighter - Samurai. This is not the intuitive pick for him (that would be Champion, or BattleMaster), but i think it works for him. he's a very honorable sort. (this is his 5e conversion)

Monk - hmmmmm. Kensei, probably. Drunken Master, maybe.

Paladin - A couple of options here. Crown, Redemption, or Vengeance. I lean lightly to the latter two, and maybe specifically Redemption for certain thematic reasons

Ranger - Hunter. dunno what to tell ya

Rogue - ah, the stealthiest man alive. Swashbuckler. Maybe Scout, but probably Swashbuckler. just hit them.

Sorcerer - oh boy. Pure magic classes are complicated to assign to this guy (noted as the sole non-magic guy in his campaign by the end). Storm or Wild.

Warlock - NOT Hexblade, funnily enough. Undying. I've explored this before.

Wizard - see sorc. uhhhhhh Bladesinging, Evocation, or War. this is an awful class choice for him though

Zimri Maier (PF 1E - Magus)

Artificer - Battle Smith

Barbarian - Storm Herald

Bard - Notwithstanding the fact Charisma is Zimri's dump stat, Swords or Lore

Cleric - Knowledge. or Arcana or Tempest

Druid - not their vibe at all, which is weird for someone who turns into a bird. Land, either Forest or Mountain.

Fighter - Eldritch Knight OR Psi Warrior

Monk - ???? uhhh Four Elements or Kensei

Paladin - Glory, i think. Hard to say.

Ranger - ????? Beast Master? Hunter? Monster Slayer? truly unknowable.

Rogue - Arcane Trickster, or Inquisitive. maaaaaybe Soulknife

Sorcerer - Storm or Wild. Have i mentioned zimri does lightning magic

Warlock - Great Old One or Hexblade

Wizard - Bladesinging (Their 5e conversion uses this)

Devin Ellir (DND 5E - Inquisitive Rogue/Whispers Bard*)

Artificer - You've no idea how mad I am that Alchemist doesnt do poisons. truly, what the fuck. why isnt there a poison based artificer subclass. anyway, Artillerist.

Barbarian - lord. uh. Ancestral Guardian or Totem Warrior (Eagle)

Bard* - Whispers :) Despite the order listed above, this is actually her higher-level class, she's just a rogue first for reasons. (*She never actually hit a high enough level to use Whispers features)

Cleric - Trickery or Death.

Druid - oh boy. Spores or Moon, i think. Spores has a Vibe to it.

Fighter - uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh . Psi Warrior, Eldritch Knight, or Echo Knight, in that order.

Monk - Long Death or Shadow.

Paladin - Conquest or Glory.

Ranger - Gloom Stalker or Fey Wanderer. I like the fey for her more theatrical vibes, and gloom for her machination shit

Rogue* - Inquisitive! That's canonc (*She never hit a high enough level to use any of the inquis features, lmao)

Sorcerer - Aberrant Mind or Shadow Magic! I like Aberrant, that seems fun. is her vibe coming across yet

Warlock - ooooh. great question. so many suit her here. Archfey or Great Old One, ill say. Maybe Geenie (Efreeti).

Wizard - I hate assigning Wizard subclasses. Enchantment or Illusion.

There are others (Calvyre Dusthar, a 5E Echo Knight/Trickery Cleric, or Viorica Dalca, a PF2E Spirit Instinct Barbarian) but at this point they got played only 3 or so times and its harder to define. waaa.

anyway out of that, most popular subclasses from my group at Artillerist Artificer, Ancestral Guardians + Storm Herald Barbarian, Lord + Swords Bard, no Cleric (no subclass more than once!!), Moon Druid, Eldritch Knight or Psi Warrior Fighter, Kensei Druid, Glory Paladin, Hunter Ranger, Inquisitive Rogue (with 3! wow), Storm + Wild Magic Sorcerer, Great Old One Warlock, and Evocation + Bladesinging Wizard. fun! :)

[bensbooksandbeloveds]

For nearly twenty years, Mandalore has turned inward on itself as its people mourn the loss of their favorite king- Kasimir Vizsla. It was an attack that occurred in the middle of the night. The intruders neutralized the threats of the guards, injuring Kasimir's right-hand-man Galin Hardri in the process, and tore the King from his bed. Nobody has seen or heard from him since. Nor have they seen the darksaber.

Alone with no symbol of leadership and no symbol of hope, the Mandalorians have worked to develop their planets more, under the temporary leadership of Galin himself.

Temporary, because the White Wolf of Mandalore can't bring himself to accept that his best friend may be dead. Even after twenty years. Kaz is out there somewhere- he has to be. But... where? Every encounter he has had with the Sith or any other rival gang has given him no clues. Nothing. And with no trail to sniff out, the White Wolf has resigned to the throne, distracting himself with advancements to ensure that such a thing could never happen again.

Meanwhile, in the Jedi Temple, the Council has deliberated for years over the costs and benefits of allying with the Mandalorians. Centuries ago, the two cultures were paired, and everything went smoothly. Jedi were peaceful again, and their armored companions defended them with their own lives.

As time goes on, Master Yoda and other very wise Jedi scholars continue to find more and more benefits regarding the alliance. But... at the wrong time, seeing as Mandalore has coiled inward.

One specific month, Yoda holds several holo-meetings with Galin Hardri and the Mandalorian council that Galin has established, discussing every possibility for partnership. And that's when Yoda is presented with an ultimatum.

Find the King, or forget the alliance altogether.

Yoda almost has no idea where to start. Except... there have been recent whisperings that the Sith have taken prisoners over the years and refused to release them. Rumors the Mandalorians would not have heard due to their new reclusive nature. It seems, without Galin on the prowl, people feel more inclined to talk and boast about their victories- especially the younger Sith who get a bit too cocky about themselves.

But he can't just walk into the Sith Temple and accuse them of such things. No, that would start a war. He must find hard evidence to present Mandalore with- hopefully that hard evidence has something to do with their King.

So, after a week of deliberation with his own Council members, he calls you and Ben to the Council room, deciding to break the mission news to you himself.

He sends you both a message in the lineage group chat he shares with you.

Obi-Wan. Lilium. Please come to the Council meeting room at your earliest convenience. I must speak to you about a very important mission.

[saint-magpie]

"thinking of taking on an additional name..." a specific one or you just want an extra name? are you taking suggestions?

oh, i sure am taking suggestions! i do have one in mind... a couple actually

Azul (yes like the color, it has a calm feel to it)

Kasim (shortened from Kasimir, eastern european)

Loki (though i do not want people to associate me with that marvel adaptation)

Taliesin (people are likely to ask questions (and i feel like it would be embarassing if people recognized where i took it from))

[lilaroxa]

Kasimir Ruins Colour Inspiration

Kasimir Ruins, like Tori was another aspect of this blanket I couldn't find the right colour for.

Like many of the other caves, I wanted to find something that made this cave stand out from the others. The first thing that came to mind was the engraved designs riddled throughout the dungeon.

But well, the golds were too yellow and the browns were not gold enough!

I've always wondered if the ruins had any history to tell...if Rune Factory ever gets a remaster, I hope Sharron will be able to tell us more about this area!

It was back to the drawing board... what about the outside of the cave?

Specifically, how the ruins kind of invades the lake...or at least that's how I see it. The grey pillars you see around the entrance are also found in the lake (and is the bottom of the lake the "roof" of the dungeon? It seems a bit too "south" for what I imagined, but I'd like to imagine it's relevant too).

But did you know that the colours of the rocks and lake change in each season??? This game didn't want to make it easy for me, did it!?

Overall, the "mossy green" from Kasimir's spring stone colour combined with Kasimir's unique dungeon mechanic which requires you to grow crops to make progress, landed me on a dark/mossy green.

Of course, I planted the fastest-growing spring crop (turnips), which adds to the "green" colour that I associate with Kasimir Ruins! Not to mention it ties back to my choices for Carmite Cave: green exterior + rows and rows of turnips!

LILA'S RUNE FACTORY TEMPERATURE BLANKET

BONUS EASTER EGG: If you were there for my streams, I almost gave this cave purple for this specific poison patch:

It is my Raguna's mortal enemy and 90% of the reason he ended up poisoned.

[generic-cleric]

Session 42

Session google doc

Big ole folder

May contain spoliers for the dungeons and dragons campaign Curse of Strahd. Consume at your own risk!!!1!

Friends in Low Places

Session starts with Okrin, Ireena, Jander, and Kasimir entering the torture chamber. They see the light spilling out of the open door on the balcony and head that way. When the two halves of the party reunite, they explain what happened. 

Bedlam asks if they brought Pidlwick II. “No” they explained that Pidlwick II got froggy after one of his performances didn’t go over well. He was stabby and angry, making him hard to catch and he escaped the room. 

They decide to move forward down the long, dark stretch of stone hallway with the disabled trap. They reach the end and realize its a giant stone slab blocking off the end of the tunnel, so they move it out of the way.

They exit into a huge room with rows and rows and rows of crypts. First the party walks through the room, carefully reading the epitaph of each one and deciding which ones they could open this visit and which ones they will be coming back to explore.

A few crypts were already open, so occasionally they would poke their head in to get a look around. One of which was a clean and empty crypt with an epitaph that read “Ireena Kolyana - Wife” which thoroughly made Ireena uncomfortable. Another one read “Jander Sunstar”, which made him uncomfortable. Everyone was weirded out and worried for their friends, though Veledrel was extra offended that Jander’s epitaph didn’t say anything about him.

As for breaking and entering, they prioritized two specific crypts that they came across: Patrina Velikova, and Lyssa von Zarovich.

First they visited Patrina’s. They removed the slab and entered the crypt and were met with the terrifying visage of ghostly Patrina. She hissed and spat vitriol at her brother. He made an attempt to explain himself and his plan to bring her back but she seemed overcome with rage and wasn’t believing him. The party stepped in, talking to her and persuading her that her brother was sincere. She relented and vanished, allowing them to take a piece of her remains. While Bedlam was filling his pockets with coins for the Patrina Fund (to help her get back on her feet when she’s alive) he finds her spellbook as well.

Next they pay Lyssa a visit. When they remove the slab of this crypt, they see a glass coffin resting on the elevated marble slab in the center of the room. Inside the coffin lies a beautiful young woman appearing to be asleep. They recognize her as Lyssa von Zarovich from the Tome, though she looks only slightly older now. Standing against the back wall is a handsome noble looking gentleman. The party tries to ask him questions but he doesn’t respond.

They mull over the riddle before them. Are they supposed to kiss her? Are they supposed to get him to kiss her? They investigate a little further. The lid of the coffin is easily lifted up. A medicine check tells them that it looks like she’s been poisoned with something similar to Drow Poison and they know that they can wake her up by taking an action to do so, or by dealing nonlethal damage to her. A closer investigation of the gentleman reveals puncture marks on his neck. Due to the scabs on the wounds, they are led to believe that there is something wrong with his blood. They also notice seams and stitches along his skin- Evelyn’s handiwork. They start to remember the comment Vel’s mom had made regarding a Death Day gift that was commissioned by the Count about ten years ago.

Bedlam takes a risk and uses an action to wake her up. She grapples him by the throat and vomits a stomach full of poison over the side of her coffin. Bedlam, choking, asks to be released, which she apologizes and obliges. Vondal and Veledrel make wisdom saving throws and suffer some necrotic damage after failing. She suddenly looks a little more rejuvenated and asks them who they are and what they’re doing here. They explain that they are just adventurers exploring the castle and ask how she came to be in this situation. She tells them that it was punishment for trying to overthrow Strahd with an army of vampiric mind flayers after her grand return from Bleutspur. She says she’d love to stay and hang out but there’s a reign of terror from here to Zeidenburg with her name on it. She’s been cooped up for too long and is ready to tear a town or two apart.

They asked her if maybe she could refrain from slaughtering people. She says “Well, I’ve got to kill at least one person for fun.”

“She’s a psychic vampire, how much damage could she really do?” asks Bedlam.

She leans over to Vondal and whispers “Oh, it’ll be an absolute bloodbath.”

She thanks them for waking her up and ungrounding her, shapeshifts into a swarm of insects and flies out of the crypt. The moment she exits, the gentleman against the wall begins to move and attack the nearest party member to him. 

Everyone was expecting the flesh golem to have a poison breath attack, which he did not, but now I kind of regret not adding one in on the fly. Combat lasted a few rounds, no one was seriously injured, but it did leave them deciding to head back to the room to sleep off the damage and get their spell slots back.

On the way back up to the room, Ireena asks if at some point they might be able to stop by the Study because Jander said there would be a book in there detailing a ritual for curing lycanthropy. “Well of course, why didn’t you mention it sooner?”

Bedlam and Kasimir share a room, Vondal is stationed in his own room, as is Veledrel, and Ireena. Okrin decides to sleep on the couch in the lounge room, and Jander decides to hang out in the lounge as well.

During the night, each of them individually were visited by Strahd. They each dreamed of a place that was incredibly comforting to them, but it was interrupted by a very out of place Strahd seated at a table with an empty chair across from him and some glasses and a wine bottle waiting on the table. Bedlam dreamed of performing at his old circul, Vondal was in his old home in Faerun, Okrin was in his old village in Faerun, and Veledrel was at a swanky party. He offered them freedom in exchange for one of the monster hunters that are plaguing his lands (Van Richten, Ez, Jander, Savra) or for convincing Tatyana to remain in the castle. He also offered each of them something else, since he sees potential in each of them, he offered Vondal and Okrin a place in his Ebon Gargoyles. Bedlam also received an offer for the Gargoyles as well as an offer to become a Bride. Veledrel was also offered a place among the Brides in exchange for potentially both of his parents.

They all responded differently, but in the same manner. Veledrel kind of politely entertained the conversation, telling Strahd “Yeah, maybe if I find any evil monster hunters.”

Vondal tried to avoid him by going into another room where Strahd was waiting for him, then he tried to force himself awake.

Okrin sat silently, seemingly taking in what Strahd had to say. I don't think he even drank any of the wine.

Bedlam also entertained the conversation and responded with sass and snark, which is to be expected from a bard. 

He told each of them to think about it and that they didn’t have to answer immediately. When they awoke, they would find gifts waiting for them. If they attune the item, he will know that they have made the choice to join him.

It was true, when they woke up, they found a von Zarovich emblem waiting for them. I don’t remember who exactly left it behind and who decided to keep it in their bags.

Ireena relinquishes the room to Jander so he can get some rest, and the party decides to make their way to the Study to look for that book. 

They don’t have Jander with them right now to help navigate the castle, so they rely on the help of Sergei. Sergei remembers kind of, so he is almost randomly choosing which way to go. Remarkably, they make their way up some stairs, through a hallway, and into a dining room. The long table in this room is set for a large meal, and a rotting cake slouches in the center of it. A harp and a lute sit near the fireplace. Bedlam and Veledrel investigate the instruments. Vel picks up the lute since he know how to play, and realizes it seems like more than just a lute. He hands it off to Bedlam who strums the harp which summons a ghost. They recognize the ghost to look a lot like Pidlwick II. The spirit introduces himself as the original Pidlwick and tells Bedlam that there is treasure waiting for him if he can find the crypt where his body (Pidlwick) is buried. Bedlam, being against disturbing the dead, double confirms that he has consent to do so. 

They add that to their to-do list and move along into the next room, which just so happens to be the study!

They spend time searching the shelves and find all sorts of different books. Eventually they find what they’re looking for: Van Richten’s Guide to Werebeasts. Which did, in fact, detail a very painful and difficult ritual that has a good chance to cure Vondal and Ireena's lycanthropy.

On that note, we decided to end the session!

[victorluvsalice]

AU Thursday : Valicer In The Dark -- Playbook Tweaks, A Bit of Worldbuilding, Potential Scores

Been thinking more about my Valicer In The Dark AU as of late, and I have a few updates and additions to the Three Pillars and their particular version of Duskwall that I would like to share with you, as indicated by the title:

Playbook Tweaks -- While I’m pretty happy with Victor’s stats as a Whisper from the original post on this subject, I found myself wanting to tweak Alice’s and Smiler’s just slightly after writing them up. Specifically, I wanted to add a special ability to Alice’s, and an extra ability point to Smiler’s. I didn’t want to do this without a concurrent trade-off somewhere else, though (yes, I know I’m just using this for potential fic-writing purposes, not actually playing the game, but it still feels only fair!), so after some thought, this is what I’ve come up with for each of them:

Alice -- I felt like she really needed to have The Devil’s Footsteps special ability (the one that allows you to do things like jump extra high or extra far) along with Not To Be Trifled With (the one that allows you to do superhuman feats of strength or battle six people at once) at the start -- those two in concert basically cover everything she can do in the games! So, in exchange for her having two starting special abilities, I’ve decided she also starts with the Haunted trauma! This is a trauma that means you are haunted by bad things in your past and sometimes slip off into fugue states -- which meshes perfectly with Alice’s memories of the fire and Wonderland occasionally dragging her out of reality! It also means she can only take three extra traumas before having to get out of the criminal game -- usually, starting characters have four slots for having their brains broken. *shrug* Them’s the breaks!

Smiler -- After reviewing their stats vs their history, I realized that maybe I should have put that dot in Survey in Attune instead -- after all, they’ve been directly touched by their god Mar-Mal! That’s how they got the glowing yellow eyes in this verse! However, I still liked them having that dot in Survey, as it did also suit their character. So, in exchange for getting that extra starting dot in Attune, I’ve decided that Smiler has a slightly shorter stress tracker than most characters -- instead of nine slots, they get seven. Stress is something that characters can use to push themselves to perform certain feats (get an extra die while rolling a weak stat) or resist the consequences of their actions (downgrade a potentially crippling blow into one that just hurts a lot). It’s very useful, but you have to track it carefully, because once your character fills up their stress tracker, they have a mental break and gain a trauma. I figured that trading two stress slots for the Attune dot was both fair and thematically appropriate -- Smiler has lived in a cult that venerates happiness as holy for years, and was directly touched by a god of pure joy. It only makes sense that they’d be a little worse at handling stress and bad emotions!

Worldbuilding -- I haven’t fully fleshed out my Duskwall yet, but there’s a few ideas I’ve been banding around:

-->This first one is straight from the Oxventure Presents Blades In The Dark stuff -- one of Kasimir’s and Edvard’s earliest scores in Volisport was at Cab-Con, a convention for the various cabdrivers of the cities. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but as I wrapped up the episode, a pun popped into my mind referencing the even-more-powerful gondoliers faction (as more of the city is traversable by canal than by road) -- Con-Dola! XD So yeah, that’s the big convention in my Duskwall -- an annual festival the gondoliers put on where they try out new boat types, exchange stories, and have races. Members of the public can come in for a fee and bet on the boat races. It’s a fun time and everyone looks forward to it!

-->While the official book outlines a few holidays on the Duskwall calendar (the monthly Moontide celebration, Arkenvorn to honor the spirit wardens, Gratitude to honor the ascension of the Immortal Emperor to his throne (and just more general Thanksgiving stuff)), I decided we needed a Halloween equivalent as well and came up with “Devil’s Night,” where children dress up as devils and go around causing minor bits of mischief and knocking on doors for spare food and coin. The actual devils in the city are also said to offer better deals than usual, with prices that mortals are better able to pay, but people tend to be iffy about checking out if this is true or not. Because, you know, devils. There’s always someone desperate enough to try, though. . .

-->I’m still working on how the other Alton Towers coasters beyond Smiler and Wickerman would fit into this world, but I know the other secret weapons would all have various cults -- the Agents of Oblivion for, well, Oblivion (who sacrifice people to the void -- not sure if they’re trying to keep it contained or encouraging to grow yet. Maybe both, with a secret internal schism in the cult?); the Spirits of the Trees for Thirteen (who worship the poisonous trees in that one park and are trying to create more -- though perhaps a little less poisonous so they don’t immediately kill everyone they come into contact with); the Clan of the Creature for Nemesis (who worship this bizarre crab-like demon and believe it will somehow save them when the leviathan blood eventually runs out); and the Galactic Rangers for Galactica (who believe the stars are the remains of their god and that if they give her enough worship, she’ll do something about the moon that seems to keep getting either bigger or closer year by year. . .). Rita doesn’t get a cult -- rather, she’s the leader of the Speed Queens, a group of smugglers known for their insanely fast car that only she can drive properly. She is, however, involved with the head priestess of the Spirits of the Trees, even if she’s not an official member. XD

-->Very tempted to put Doc and Marty somewhere in this world, of course -- don’t know if they’d be criminals, but Doc would HAVE to be a Leech well-known for his bizarre contraptions and strange experiments with electroplasm. Probably they have the local equivalent of the DeLorean around, and Doc’s looking to get his hands on an old train. . .

-->And another one just for the funsies -- having gone through both the main book and a semi-official “cookbook” supplement (see the Supplements page -- I can recommend it, it’s a short but fun read), I have decided to pull a Fallout with this universe and declare that horses went extinct sometime during the great Shattering, and goats have taken over all of their roles. This is purely because sometimes I imagine my Three Pillars trio ending up in other worlds, and it amuses me greatly for them to go “what’s a horse?” whenever the subject comes up. XD

Scores -- Obviously, you can’t have a criminal gang and not have any crimes for them to commit! Here are some of the higher-profile missions the Three Pillars would undertake during their career:

-->Sorting out Dr. Bumby at the Houndsditch Home for Wayward Youth (their first score after getting together, and after Alice tells them what he’s up to -- their goal being to either get evidence of his misdeeds to one of the incorruptible Inspectors, or just straight-up kill the guy in a way that doesn’t leave a ghost)

-->Getting some of Victor’s stuff out of the Van Dort mansion (which involves Victor learning just how little his parents worry about his actual safety when he encounters them and all his mother can do is complain about how Victoria Everglot has now TWICE married someone else while he’s been missing; I am also SO TEMPTED to have Barnaby and Kasimir in the mansion on their OWN score to rob the place, only to run into Victor, Alice, and Smiler, and Victor to tell them “hey, help me get my stuff back and I will just GIVE you some money from the safe”)

-->Taking care of one Dr. Kelman and his Sanctuary when he puts out a bounty on the three of them, saying that they need his special “social compliance therapy” (this is how Alice and Victor learn Smiler’s birthname, and Smiler justifies the Advocates’ gray morality by saying “at least we don’t CUT THE SMILES INTO PEOPLE’S FACES BEFORE SCOOPING OUT THEIR SOULS”)

-->Acquiring rare and not-always-legal ingredients for the Golden Plum restaurant (I have this in mind as a score that would be kicked off by the first time Smiler overindulged their Pleasure vice there -- the owner and chef, having realized who they are and that they’re a scoundrel, does a little light blackmail to get the gang to help get him ingredients; part of Smiler’s price is that they get first taste of the resultant dishes, which the owner is happy to agree to)

-->Being hired by Victoria to embarrass her parents by stealing a silver egg they recently acquired and won’t stop bragging about (as you might imagine, she’s a little bitter about the Barkis thing and wants to stop them acting like it wasn’t her husband’s money that bought it; midway through the score though, things go off the rails when the egg HATCHES and produces a baby dragon -- cue the gang getting a surprise new pet)

-->Getting Alice’s Jabberwock’s Eye Staff (she needs it as her scary weapon, and I think it would be fun to make getting it an adventure -- maybe in the Lost District outside the lightning barrier?)

-->Attending Con-Dola (this would be a “joke” score where the goal is to actually have some fun in their lives; I can see Victoria hiring them for this one too, saying she needs them to do a few things there, and at the end they realize she hired them literally to have a nice day out XD)

-->And I’m kind of tempted to do something inspired by The Hangover movies and that one Skyrim quest “A Night To Remember” where, after a night of drinking, the gang wakes up in the Lord Mayor’s house not knowing WHAT happened last night (only that for some reason the lady of the house doesn’t seem to mind they’re there) and have to figure out what they did (possibly may involve them getting drunken group-married and being upset only because they didn’t realize that was an option and they would have liked to do that SOBER damn it)

We’ll see if any of these actually make “written” status! (I mean, I hope so, but with the monster of “Londerland Bloodlines: Downtown Queensland” looming over me. . .)