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builder051 · 3 years ago

Note

Happy SS! For a prompt, could I request something in the chasing ghosts verse where Tasha has a stomach bug and isn't keeping down anything she's tried to take orally (maybe things she takes regularly like caffeine and stuff) so she's going through slight withdrawal and maybe James is trying to help but is also getting a little worried. If not that's okay and I love the chasing ghosts verse. I've read a ton of your fics in it and a bunch of @mohini-musing's! Thanks! I love your writing!

I think I know what you're looking for, but your wording is kind of confusing. I'm going to treat it as well as I can , though I'm not sure the medical accuracy--we'll call it college troubleshooting.

_____________________________

Chasing ghosts (@mohini-musing)

_____________________________

Steve does the laundry, but generally enlists help to sort and fold. James couldn't care less if Tasha's dark jeans went in the same load as his white undershirts, but Steve passive-aggressively leaves the baskets by the front door if the colors aren't separated.

Tonight, though, they're looking for some article of clothing that's needed for tomorrow, but what it is, and why he wants to find it drops out of James's mind when he finds something else.

It's a sweatshirt of his, from the pre-army days, and thus taken by Tasha. With Steve's bleaching routine, it's stayed it's fresh cream color, but at the moment, both sleeves are stained with brown. It reeks of coffee. Maybe pre-digested.

Steve cocks his head, and, using his pinch grip like clothes pins at the sweatshirts' shoulders, takes it, gives it a quick examination, and drops it into the light colors pile. "Detergent'll do it," he says, confidently. "It's been there less than a day."

"Hm." James straightens up, stretching his back. "I'm gonna--" He points vaguely toward Tasha's room. "Probably won't help, but..."

"Sure," Steve agrees, seemingly not caring if James abandons his work to parent their one begotten little sister.

James taps the back of his prosthetic hand against Tasha's door. "Hey, Tash?"

"Huh, what?" A stereo turns down, the door opens a crack, and then bedsprings whine as Tasha throws herself back onto her private sitting and sleeping surface.

James takes it as his opportunity to be invited inside. "Tash?" he asks gently, not quite sure how his voice sounds with his hearing aids' amplification still doing battle against the sound system.

He locates the shiny silver pause button, slightly tickled that his sister is still listening to CDs. The way she's still wearing his old clothes.

"Hey," Tasha whines.

"I would actually like to be able to hear you," James parries.

"Hmph." Tasha lies down on her side, arms wrapped around her stomach.

James takes her in for a second, then asks, "You not been feeling so good today?"

"Why?" Tasha pops up on her elbow, her face going pasty like oatmeal. "Steve didn't, like, try to clean my bathroom or something?"

"Well, no," James says. "But if he gets any ideas..."

"No, no." Tasha swallows. "It's fine. I'm fine."

"He was doing laundry, though." James looks at her sideways, trying to catch her both her eyes at once. "Are you trying to develop a coffee intolerance?"

"Who does that on purpose?" It's not a flat denial. "I just-- an upper, maybe. Something, you know, legal?"

James wants to hug her for trying to be responsible. Then maybe slap her for being stupid.

"Tash..." James shakes his head. He can't help but smile.

"How do you drink that shit? It's awful. Makes the hair on my arms stand up and--" Tasha sits up, huddling in on herself. Her jaw looks to be trembling.

"Bathroom?" James invites, holding his hands out.

Tasha makes a pitiful face, then lets James take her by the wrists and lift her down from the bed.

Tasha's bathroom is a bit of a mess, with towels on the floor, acidic caffeine dribbles on the toilet seat, and a bloody toothbrush in the sink.

Tasha settles on her knees, gagging, and James throws another towel over her shoulders before slipping his arm around her as well.

"I'm kind of proud of you," he says softly.

"I kind of don't care," Tasha chokes back.

"Eh, doesn't negate the point." James presses his face into Tasha's hair as if to kiss the space above her ear, but she bucks him off as she ducks toward the toilet again.

"What?" Tasha spits and emerges.

"Doesn't negate the point," James repeats. "You're actually doing something pretty cool and impressive. If you wanna keep going."

Tasha hangs her head as drips of spittle run down her lips and chin.

"I don't know yet. This is... pretty fucking miserable."

James tears off a wad of toilet paper. "You're pretty fucking strong."

Tasha accepts the offering and dabs it all over her face, starting with the sweat between her brows.

"Zofran and ginger ale?" James asks. "Then maybe rejoin society?"

"Where do you come up with this shit?" Tasha scrubs the disintegrating toilet paper under her lower lip.

"Well, just a basic prescription for someone with a seizure disorder. I know we're not supposed to, like, share, but when all it does is stop you from puking and it gets refilled twice a month..." James shrugs. "Backstock happens."

Tasha nods slowly. Then, "I don't drink ginger ale."

"Steve does, and that's what's in the fridge." James confiscates the disgusting bit of toilet paper Tasha still clutches and flushes it down the toilet with all other evidence of sick. "C'mon, " he encourages, pulling her up on wobbly feet. "Steve's probably taking the laundry now, so now's your chance to choose your favorite spot on the couch."

Tasha obliges, curling up in the corner of the sofa and nabbing James's jersey blanket, which is easily the softest and cosiest, despite the fact that it bears the crest of the community college next door instead of their proper university.

James watches her rest her head on the arm of the couch, and he hands over a throw pillow along with the tiny dissolvable pink pill and green can of Canada Dry.

A few uncomfortable movements of Tasha's jaw, then a few swigs of soda. An adjustment of the pillow, and the tucking of her small body under the blanket.

She looks better, if not just relatively. James can't help but smile, for as wrong as things are going, in the long run, they seem to be going right.

James pulls out his phone and fires off a quick flurry of texts to Steve.

Leave the laundry baskets downstairs. Quiet when you come in.

Tash is sleeping on the couch. Not feeling great.

It's really under control. Don't worry.

How many times have you said that?

This time it's for real.

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loueale · 4 years ago

Photo

JIL SANDER SS 2001

MODELS: TASHA TILBERG,FANNI BOSTRUM & JOLENE REYNOLDS

PHOTOGRAPHER: CRAIG MCDEAN

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tigerkirby215 · 4 years ago

Text

Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything subclass Tier List

(Artwork from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything. Posted by @robmichel_art on Twitter. Copyright Wizards of the Coast.)

I was going to make some comparison posts between the UAs and the full release of Tasha’s but other more qualified people are doing that, so instead in my continued effort to pretend that this account is for more than just me satisfy my character building obsession I decided to make a little tier list ranking the subclasses from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything from my least favorite to my favorite.

This list is going to be comparing the subclasses from Tasha’s to each-other, but is also going to be comparing the subclasses to the other available subclasses for the class they’re from. So even if I really like a subclass it’ll lose points if the class already had better options. I’m not going to talk about any of the reprinted classes from Eberron or Ravnica but I will talk about the reprinted Theros subclasses (Eloquence Bard / Glory Paladin) as for many people this will be their first time seeing them.

Also it goes without saying but this is just my opinion! So sorry if you really like the next class you’re about to see because it’s at the bottom of my tier list!

F TIER

Psi Warrior (Fighter)

Well something had to be the worst. Truthfully I really wasn’t interested in the Psi Warrior during UA but wow its full release leaves a lot to be desired.

First let’s get the obvious out of the way: “Worse Battlemaster LUL!” It is laughable how bad this subclass is when compared to Battlemaster. BM gets to give itself advantage, give allies advantage, move allies, fear enemies, grapple enemies, give enemies disadvantage... and by comparison Psi Warriors get to do a little more damage or reduce a bit of incoming damage.

The fact that this subclass requires Intelligence confuses me to no end. They changed both Rune Knight and Soul Knife to not require intelligence (even though Rogues are kinda expected to have good Intelligence to help with skill checks) but Psi Warrior still needs INT? It amazes me that Battlemaster, Rune Knight, and Echo Knight are all SAD (single ability dependent) yet Psi Warrior of all subclasses is the one they consider too strong if you can min-max.

The biggest problem with this class by far is the Psionic Energy Die. Having your main class resource only come back after a Long Rest is insulting. (It’s the problem that Samurai Fighter has had since it was printed and it’s really sad that Wizards of the Coast didn’t learn from that.) While Battlemaster gets bigger die that have more effects which come back on a short rest Psi Warrior can only recharge one die per short rest. Honestly this subclass would be so much better if you regained Psionic Energy Die when using Second Wind (as well as having a dedicated action for it) so at least then you could have more than one die per short rest.

The only good level in this subclass is level 7, entirely because you get to Fly when you Dash. I mean, sure the UA Dragon Monk can also do that but at least this is in the official rules. Everything else that this subclass gets is weak: Telekinetic Thrust lets you do what Battlemasters were doing at level 3, Guarded Mind is just bad (Monk? Never heard of ‘em!), Bulwark of Force is mediocre at best (I know like 3 people who actually understand how cover works in 5e), and Telekinetic Master is a laughably weak capstone. Your capstone as a Fighter is a situational 5th level spell that takes away your ability to attack? Meanwhile actual spellcasters are casting 9th level spells, and other martials are doing upwards of 50 damage per turn.

At first I was largely indifferent to the Psi Warrior but after reading over all its abilities its laughable how bad it is. It at least surpasses Purple Dragon Knight in terms of mediocrity (ironic considering that the two of them are beside each-other on D&D Beyond) but it’s the only true stinker of Tasha’s, and it gets the honor of being the second weakest Fighter subclass and the weakest subclass in this book.

D TIER

Aberrant Mind (Sorcerer)

This is the best subclass to play if your only desire is to cast spells, and I mean that in the worst possible way. While every other Sorcerer has a defined class role Aberrant Mind feels like the most generic milk-toast subclass that you pick simply because you didn’t know what to play. While Clockwork Soul defends, Divine Soul heals, Draconic Bloodline blasts, Shadow Magic sneaks, Storm Sorcerer evades, and Wild Magic does memes Aberrant Mind’s only major strengths come online at level 14+.

Telepathy at level 1 is a joke when compared to the other Sorcerers. CS can negate advantage, DS gets Super Bless on top of access to the Cleric spell list, DB gets free Mage Armor, SM gets super Darkvision and the Half Orc racial trail, SS gets goddamn flight, and WM gets to kill the party at level 1 with a level 3 fireball. Meanwhile AM gets the Message cantrip with a longer range.

Psionic Sorcery is okay. Getting cheaper* (citation needed) spells that you can Subtle Spell for free is alright. The subclass spell list is good and seeing as you can sub out the spell to take better ones if needed you can really get some useful magic for your kit.

SPELLS TO LOOK AT AS AN ABBERANT MIND SORCERER

LEVEL 1

Dissonant Whispers is honestly a really good spell to have, but Arms of Hadar is a bit situational. If willing you can swap it out with: the utility Divination spells (Detect Magic / Identity - remember that Sorcerers can’t Ritual cast so it might be better for someone else to take these), Hex, Sleep, or Tasha’s Hideous Laughter.

LEVEL 2

Gift of Gab from Acquisitions Incorporated is either going to be a complete joke of a spell or the most useful spell in your arsenal. Hold Person is the most obvious choice from second level. Tasha’s Mind Whip is a great single-target damage spell with some added utility, and is almost objectively better than Mind Spike because it doesn’t require Concentration.

LEVEL 3

Both Hunger of Hadar and Sending are great spells, and there really aren’t a lot of Divination / Enchantment spells at third level. The only one I can really recommend is Tongues if you need the utility.

LEVEL 4

Evard’s Black Tentacles and Summon Aberration are both extremely strong spells, but if you want to replace them for some reason: Arcane Eye is essentially just a better familiar, Confusion is a great AoE disruption spell, and Locate Creature can be useful in a pinch.

LEVEL 5

Honestly the spell list really opens up at 5th level. Just about any choice is good, so look on D&D Beyond to see what to take. If you know me I’m going to recommend Synaptic Static.

Psychic Defenses, like with Psi Warrior, seems to have been taped onto the class because WoTC realized how weak it was so they just threw more situational garbage into its kit to compensate.

Revelation in Flesh is pretty much the only good ability you get. And granted there’s some insane utility with this ability. Not-quite-Blindsense, fly speed (best one), swim speed (worst one), and the folding ability that I’m sure will result in some interesting stories on Reddit. Warping Implosion is also a great escape-utility ability but like it’s your 18th level capstone of course it was going to be good.

If I was going to play in a level 20 one shot I’d perhaps roll up a level 20 Aberrant Mind. (Or more like a level 18 Aberrant Mind with 2 levels in Warlock because Sorcerer’s level 20 capstone sucks lol.) But unless I knew the campaign was going to at least level 15 I wouldn’t even bother.

Oath of the Watchers (Paladin)

It was boring in UA and it’s boring now. I feel bad that I have so little to say about Oath of the Watchers, especially after writing massive paragraphs about Psi Warrior and Aberrant Mind. But Oath of the Watchers feels like the worst parts of Arcana Cleric to me. Only difference is that while Arcana Cleric gets Wizard spells you get Moonbeam and help with Initiative. This subclass feels more campaign-specific than PHB Ranger and that’s really saying something.

Swarmkeeper (Ranger)

It’s certainly the most unique Ranger, both in terms of concept and in terms of abilities. It actually has a lot of utility with a good spell list and the Gathered Swarm feature providing a lot of great utility to a martial character. The thing is that in all honesty this subclass is kinda boring until level 15. And the other big problem is that the fantasy and roleplay that this subclass provides is so strange. When you think “Ranger” do you think master of the hunt, traveling through multiple dimensions and slaying powerful foes from the shadows with a tamed beast at their side? Or do you think “hurr durr bugzzz”?

This subclass feels like the one you pick when you've played literally every other subclass available, or when you get them from a random character generator. Ironically enough I do actually have a friend who made a Swarmkeeper for a one-shot I ran back when this subclass was in UA. But the fact that they made the character just to test UA shows just the type of characters that will be made with this subclass.

Way of Mercy (Monk)

You either love it or you’re completely indifferent, is what I have found the general opinion of Way of Mercy to be. Guess which camp I’m in. This subclass literally just feels like a Cleric with mobility whose healing comes back on a short rest. Time will see how OP “I can heal every turn and get my Cure Wounds back on a Short Rest” not-Cleric will be, but until then the subclass is pretty much exactly what it says on the tin. For the people who wanted to play a healing Monk I’m happy for them.

Path of the Beast (Barbarian)

If I can sum up Path of the Beast in one word it’s “underwhelming.” Form of the Beast gives you three above-average weapons to choose from, Bestial Soul gives you some movement buffs, Infectious Fury lets you do some decent crowd control or damage spiking, and Call the Hunt lets you buff your party.

The thing is... you’re fighting against “resist all damage” (Totem Warrior), “protect your allies with your JoJo Stand” (Ancestral Guardian), “smite with the wrath of God” (Zealot), or “shoot lightning out of your goddamn chest.” (Storm Herald.) It’s not a bad subclass and honestly compared to some of the existing Barbarians (Beserker, Battlerager, and honestly Storm Herald is bad too) it’s pretty strong. But it’s just so, so boring.

I need to preface this by saying that Barbarian is probably my least favorite class in 5e and for what it’s worth I’m certainly more interested in playing Path of the Beast than say Battlerager, but I can’t help but feel that this subclass just lets you hit things better as the class that does nothing other than hit things. The only real positive I see to this subclass is the flavor, which absolutely carries it above the likes of Totem Warrior and Zealot. (Both of which I think are objectively stronger than Beast Barbarian.)

Clockwork Soul (Sorcerer)

It been mostly unchanged from playtest even though as I stated Clockwork Soul was one of the subclasses I was a little worried about. But even then the subclass just feels so boring to me. It seems like this subclass is entirely designed to be the “no fun allowed” character who just says “No U” to everything the DM does. Don’t get me wrong it’s certainly a strong defensive subclass but I feel like if you want to play a defensive spellcaster you’re more likely to play an Abjuration Wizard or a Cleric in general.

And the lore just doesn’t really click for me? I can understand how you’d have dragon blood magic, shadow soul magic, and celestial infusion magic. But how the heck do you get a Clockwork Soul? I know Mechanus is a thing in D&D but I feel like for the average normie this won’t make any sense.

Also RIP in piss Heat Metal from the subclass spell list. Here’s my suggestion for spells if you want to play a CSS:

LEVEL 1 - Absorb Elements, Armor of Agathys, Featherfall, Mage Armor, Shield

LEVEL 2 (Aid and Lesser Restoration are good but Aid chews through your spell slots) - Enhance Ability, Enlarge / Reduce

LEVEL 3 - Blink, Counterspell, Fly, Gaseous Form, Haste, Slow

LEVEL 4 (Tasha’s Summoning Spells are good but Freedom of Movement is highly situational) - Banishment, Polymorph

LEVEL 5 - Animate Objects, Passwall

C TIER

College of Creation (Bard)

It has a lot of interesting abilities. Performance of Creation in particular is arguably one of the strongest abilities for someone who knows the equipment page well in the PHB. The problem is just that unless you have a very specific build in mind I don’t really know why you’d play the College of Creation? It feels like a Conjuration Wizard... but it’s a Bard. Perhaps the biggest irony is how much stronger this subclass feels when compared to the Conjuration Wizard, but you really have to be in the mood to play a conjurer.

Oath of Glory (Paladin)

Having some experience playing this subclass in a one-shot (Theros yay!): it’s very hit-or-miss. The spell list is amazing, the Channel Divinities are mediocre at best, the aura is garbage (10 foot +10 movement aura LUL), Glorious Defense is insane, and Living Legend is a capstone ability so of course it’s going to be good.

I think the main reason you’ll pick this subclass is for their subclass spells. And don’t get me wrong: Guiding Bolt and Haste are crazy good. But considering that Paladins usually want to blow everything on Smites?

When I played this character it was a 9 level dip into Paladin with a 3 level dip into Warlock. I didn’t use a melee weapon and opted for Eldritch Blast spamming. And that’s essentially this subclass as a whole: it wants you to be a spellcaster, which is great if you multiclass into a spellcaster (Aura of Protection is always good) but it feels bad as an actual Paladin.

The new Fighting Style that lets you get some cantrips as a Paladin might make this subclass better, but you’re still stuck being a half caster. Can’t escape the feeling that an actual caster would be better.

Path of Wild Magic (Barbarian)

It’s fun, is all I can really say. The subclass is built almost entirely around the Wild Surge table you get at level 3 and all the effects are strong. (Thankfully none of them are OP like in UA.) Unstable Backlash means that with luck you should eventually get a good Wild Magic effect.

The use of a d3 for Bolstering Magic is still a crime. It should just be a d4, with the spell slot restoration thing being “reroll on a 4.” (Or better yet: “roll a d4 and take half the roll, rounded up.” I still think having an RNG chance to get back a Haste or Fireball is a bit too strong.)

B TIER

Fey Wanderer (Ranger)

All I can say is thank god this subclass got better. It went from a weird pseudo-Paladin to a subclass with its own identity and theme. The only ability that’s really weak currently is Dreadful Strikes since it encourages you to spread out your damage for no particular reason. Horizon Walker had a similar problem but you could still focus damage as Horizon Walker. And you were doing more than a d4 of extra damage.

But beyond that this subclass is great! The subclass spell list is very strong. Otherworldly Glamour gives you some utility as a party face. Beguiling Twist... is honestly a little hit-or-miss. But it’s made up for by Fey Reinforcements and Misty Wanderer. Having a non-concentration summoning spell along with near-unlimited Misty Step is so insanely powerful to keep out of harm and to keep your DPS up.

Fey Wanderer seems really good at a lot of the things a Ranger wants to do. It’s a good skill monkey (being good at Charisma which other Rangers usually aren’t), a good damage dealer, a strong defensive support, a great single-unit summoner, and incredibly slippery and mobile. I don’t know if it’s enough to make me play the class (Ranger’s flavor is still iffy for me overall) but it’s definitely on my list for subclasses to try someday!

Order of the Scribes (Wizard)

Order of the Scribes is the best default Wizard, which is its biggest strength and its largest weakness. Getting a free colored pen is fun and flavorful, being able to get all your spells back if you lose your spellbook is insanely useful, always having an Arcane Focus is great, being able to replace the damage type of your spells is MASSIVE, getting to cast a Ritual Spell with its normal casting time is situationally fantastic.

Getting what essentially amounts to a free familiar is amazing. Getting what essentially amounts to a free spell slot (to upcast a second level spell) is great, and is honestly worth multiclassinging into for a lot of classes. Being able to negate incoming damage as a Wizard (IE squishy d6 hit die baby) is huge, even if you lose a lot of spells in the process. (I assure you by level 14 you’re going to have some useless spells that you’re never going to cast.)

But the problem with Order of the Scribes is that it has to compete with Divination, Evocation, Chronurgy, and War Wizard. If you have any specific build you want to go for then the specific schooled subclasses are better. But if you “just want to cast spells or whatever” Order of the Scribes is a lot of fun.

I actually have a character who’d fit Order of the Scribes very well, it’s just that Chronurgy feels so much more fun even if it doesn’t fit him as well. And that’s literally the exact problem with Order of the Scribes summed up in one anecdote.

Peace Domain (Cleric)

You may be forgiven for thinking this subclass is just a Life Cleric that doesn’t wear Heavy Armor, but the Emboldening Bond and the upgrades it gets are incredibly useful. Protective Bond in particular is such a massive power boost to the tanks of your party, giving them mobility and letting them take damage for squishy allies.

Peace Domain is by far the best party buffing spellcaster. They make everyone else amazing, and while that may not be fun for everyone I’m a garbage Yuumi main so it’s right up my alley.

Circle of Wildfire (Druid)

“iT dOeSn’T hAvE fIrEbAlL aNyMoRe It’S bAd BeCaUsE nO fIrEbAlL” oh get over your Fireball fetish Reddit. Circle of Wildfire is carried pretty much entirely by its flavor. It’s such a unique take on a Druid it’s impossible not to find at least some build to make with this subclass.

That’s not to say that it’s a bad subclass! The summon feels weak but you get two of them per short rest. Having a powerful subclass feature tied to short rests is really nice as a spellcaster. All your other features are very useful and flavorful, though my one complaint is that Cauterizing Flames is hard to use in Theater of the Mind.

It’s just a very fun and unique subclass that offers a unique flavor to Druids that they don’t normally have. I’m sure a lot of players will be motivated to try a Druid just to take a crack at this class. Hopefully they realize that only you can prevent forest fires.

A TIER

Phantom (Rogue)

I’m actually surprised how much I like this class to be honest. I made a Phantom Rogue once as a joke for a one-shot and to my surprise the subclass is actually very powerful and fun! It surprisingly just feels like a better Rogue, but considering how strong Rogues are normally that’s all the better for Phantom Rogue. You can easily fill any skill proficiencies your party needs thanks to Whispers of the Dead, and Wails from the Grave really lets you increase your DPS.

Tokens of the Departed got a major boost from UA since it now lets you use Wails from the Grave more, but the flavor of being able to ask the souls of the dead for information is also great. Ghost Walk is just insanely useful in general, and Death’s Friend lets you do double Sneak Attack damage every turn! Imagine how much damage you’d do with a crit!

The flavor is the one thing that I think hurts this subclass, as it’s really hard to make essentially an undead Rogue without immediately being labeled as an edgelord. But if a party ever needs a Rogue to do all the things that a Rogue does this character is perfect!

I’m personally awaiting the day to bring back Bill, the Undead Kobold Detective.

Way of the Astral Self (Monk)

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JoJo subclass. I like JoJo. This subclass was overpowered in UA but the final release manages to capture the same feeling without being broken. Let’s go over the features one by one:

Arms of the Astral Self gives you a JoJo stand rush against everyone close to you, letting you recreate the flavor of JooJ without breaking action economy too much. But being able to prioritize Wisdom is huge to keep your Stunning Strike DC high while still getting good attack damage. But it’s still not OP since Dexterity is tied to your AC. It’s perhaps a little strong for multiclass builds (you can use your spellcasting modifier to attack) but multiclassing into Monk has always been kinda iffy, and Shillelagh has existed since the PHB was released. It should also be said that having Reach weapons as a Monk is huge, since you don’t have to get the Mobile feat to do hit-and-run.

Visage of the Astral Self is a nice social feature for a subclass that doesn’t normally get social features. Body of the Astral Self gives you more defense and offense. And Awakened Astral Self just further increases your defense and offense.

Excluding weeb shit this subclass just has awesome flavor. I’m actually planning on playing this subclass soon. (I’m playing a Cleric / Monk multiclass and I’m only level 2 in Monk currently.) I’m surprised myself that my first Astral Self character isn’t a fucking JoJo OC, considering that I already have a grand total of about 5 JoJo OCs.

Twilight Domain (Cleric)

Twilight domain also surprised me with how interesting it is. I don’t really have much to say other than it has a good mix of defensive, offensive, and utility abilities. Your subclass spell list is very strong for the most part. Eyes of Night and Vigilant Blessing are both just generally useful. Twilight Sanctuary isn’t insane but it’s consistent and it’s nice. Steps of Night is very strong and has a nice aesthetic. And Twilight Shroud is a good boost to your Channel Divinity.

The honest truth is that Twilight Domain feels kinda weak by comparison to some of the other Clerics. It’s no Forge, Grave, Life, or even Order Domain is all I can say. The fact that all your features only work in the dark is iffy if you don’t have shadows to sulk in. But along with just generally having good abilities the flavor is really what carries this subclass.

Here’s a meme:

Armorer (Artificer)

Artificer is one of my favorite classes so it’s no surprise that a new Artificer subclass excites me. Armorer fills a niche that I think Artificer didn’t have, and surprisingly it’s not the “tank” archetype. Armorer is still a good tank but the Infiltrator armor also gives you an option to play the subclass at range.

What I like is that Armorer is a subclass that doesn’t have a summon and puts more focus on your infusions. Armor Modifications is such a great feature that really brings the customization to Artificer. It truly lets you make your character your own instead of focusing on concrete class features. It doesn’t surpass Warlock Invocations for customizability, but it’s still great to get two personal magic items of your choice.

Yeah this subclass is going to be used a lot for min-maxing. Giving Wizards easy access to Heavy Armor is a little scary. But really if a Wizard wants to take a 3 level dip just for armor and the Guidance cantrip let them. Let the squishy boys have some AC for once.

Circle of Stars (Druid)

Full disclosure: I’ve been wanting to make a Stars Druid after the Rise of the Mountain expansion came to Legends of Runeterra. My first Druid had Telepathy (I took the Telepathic feat as a joke since I had a floating ability score) and it helped me realize how crazy a Druid with telepathy was for espionage. After seeing The Trickster celestial card from LoR I felt the artwork hit all three of my qualifiers for a character: class I want to play, great theme, and furry.

(Artwork by Kudos Productions. Made for Riot Games.)

My personal interest in this subclass aside: it has such a wonderful aesthetic that’s perfect for any character who wants an astral connection. The features are also great: Guiding Bolt is a strong spell to have as is Guidance, and having reactionary Bardic Inspirations is nice for a spellcaster.

But of course the main feature of Starry Form lets you still play the game normally while also benefitting from your Wild Shapes. Stars Druid is probably the second best Wildshape Druid despite not actually Wildshaping. Free Bonus Action attacks is huge, extra healing is always helpful, help with concentration (and Flight later) is really swell, and resisting all damage while not-Wildshaped is very helpful and lets you play as a pseudo Frontliner.

Stars Druid just does so many nice things and I think it’s a great subclass that can fit into any team comp. Druids are already insanely useful (arguably one of the strongest classes in 5e) so to have one that can do so much is massive.

Soulknife (Rogue)

Much like Phantom Rogue this subclass feels just really good in general. You can boost your skill checks and also add not-Bardic Inspiration to your attack rolls to do more guaranteed damage. However this subclass is by far the best Rogue for infiltration. Yes: even better than Assassin. (Though I’d perhaps suggest learning how to use a Disguise Kit.) 1 mile telepathy, teleportation, and invisibility all seem to be built for infiltration. If you have a DM who likes infiltration, espionage, and other encounters that don’t involve combat then Soulknife is by far the best subclass on offer.

But of course you aren’t picking Soulknife just to sneak around! The Psychic Blades are easily the most useful feature not just for Rogues, but for many builds! Having an unlimited supply of thrown weapon suddenly makes a lot more builds viable. My dreams of a ranged Paladin or ranged Barbarian are somewhat crushed by RAW, but there are still some niches that can be filled with unlimited throwing weapons.

Fun fact: you can’t do extra Rage damage with thrown weapons, but you can use Reckless Attack on thrown Finesse weapons. What’s more interesting is that you can’t use Divine Smite on thrown weapons, but you can use Improved Divine Smite on thrown weapons. But of course you can always talk to your DM to see what their final ruling is.

Rune Knight (Fighter)

You can become Giant which makes my stupid furry ass horny for Volibear and Nasus.

I mean I’ve gotta be honest like 75% of the reason I’m hyped for Rune Knight is to become a giant. But the runes are also very strong, giving the subclass some Battlemaster-esque gimmicks that have a bit more magical flavor than the other martials. I also really like that the subclass gets boosts to their skills, allowing you to help out of combat as a Fighter.

There isn’t much I can specifically praise about Rune Knight because the whole subclass is fantastic. It’s a very good mix of defense, offense, and utility both in and out of combat.

The Fathomless (Warlock)

Sheeyutu Nagakabouros. Nagakabouros-shee-shok.

Having played a Fathomless Warlock in UA I can safely say: it’s a good subclass. Having a consistent source of Bonus Action damage is nice, and being able to use it defensively is also great. Extra spells known as a Warlock is nice (and Evard’s Black Tentacles is a great spell!) And a teleport with a mile distance is rather crazy.

So much of the subclass is built around the tentacle which is great because the tentacle is such a great Bonus Action damage source. I really wish I had more to say but the power of this subclass starts and ends at how great having what amounts to an extra Eldritch Blast as a Bonus Action every turn is.

S TIER

College of Eloquence (Bard)

Yup. One of the best subclasses in this book was also in Theros. It helps that my favorite D&D character of all time was a College of Eloquence Bard.

This subclass got so much better since UA. Reliable Talent for Charisma checks at level 3 is fucking nuts! And on top of that Unsettling Words is a great way to soften enemies up for devastating spells. Universal Speech at 6th level pretty much singlehandedly enables the “peaceful” route with a lot of enemies, allowing you to talk your way out of problems.

But this bard is the king of inspiration! Unfailing Inspiration fixes the biggest problem with the Bard class, and Infectious Inspiration multiplies your Bardic Inspiration to a ridiculous degree. This Bard is just so reliably fantastic at Bard things, all while still being a full spellcaster that can make it harder for enemies to deal with spellcasters. It doesn’t get anything special from its subclass but you only got 3 features from your subclass as a Bard anyways. Baseline Bards are amazing and the insurance on your features from this subclass makes it all the better.

The Genie (Warlock)

If the fact that I stick Warlock levels into literally every build didn’t prove it I really like Warlocks, and Genie Warlock is easily the best Warlock subclass. Period. I actually have a post in the works where I go in-depth as to why Genie Warlock is so good. But in short:

Being able to choose between four subclass spell lists is crazy good. Like ridiculously good. A single level in this subclass gives you a Bag of Holding, a (single person) Leomund’s Tiny Hut, and a damage boost to all your attacks every turn!

6th level gives you damage resistance which is always good, but I seriously can not stress how ridiculous non-concentration Flight is for a Warlock. Your spell selection and spell slots are already so limited, and this subclass lets you get all the utility of flight pretty much whenever you please. Just think about how strong Aaracokra are and then consider that this is basically the Aaracokra’s only racial trait.

Sanctuary Vessel lets you upgrade your Leomund’s Tiny Hut power to affect the whole party. By this point you can indeed Long Rest in the lamp, and I need to stress how less suspicious a lone lamp is to a giant bubble of magical force. You could easily hide the lamp somewhere and (if the party is traveling light) be practically undetectable.

Oh and Limited Wish? So you know how the best feature of the Bard is their Magical Secrets? What if you got to choose (practically) any spell of 6th level or lower whenever you please? The only “problem” with Limited Wish is that you have to know every spell that you can pick from, but whenever “too much choice” is a problem in a game of infinite choices you know it’s a good feature.

Genie Warlocks do everything that Warlocks want to do so well. More damage on all your attacks to maximize the value of cantrip spamming, mobility to keep safe without spending spell slots, more high level spells, and giving the party a safe place to rest and recharge. I played a full Genie Warlock and absolutely loved it. I highly recommend this subclass to anyone who wants to play a Warlock. It’s just so versatile and useful I’m sure anyone can find a way to enjoy playing it.

#Tasha's Cauldron of Everything #ranking #tier list #dnd #dnd 5e

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pepperony3000-archive · 5 years ago

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I need more blogs to follow

I just unfollowed a bunch of inactive blogs and now I want to follow new people

Like/Reblog if you post:

Tony Stark Mostly including: Pepperony TonyRhodey Iron Dad and Spiderson Tony and Harley (Iron Dad and Potato Son?) Science Bros IronStrange TonyNat Or anything about any one of these characters individually

Natasha Romanoff Mostly including: Romanogers Clintasha BuckyNat TonyNat Or anything about Natasha individually

Please don’t like/reblog if you post

NS*W (I really can’t afford to have it showing up on my dash)

St*ny (sorry guys, I know it’s popular but I sorta.. hate it. Although some basic friendship stuff with them is fine)

Br*tasha (aka J*ss Wh*don’s OOC self insert ship that should never have happened)

St*cky (I don’t even want friendship stuff with them. I hate it that much.)

#tony stark #natasha romanoff #pepperony #clintasha #romanogers #tonyrhodey #and i've run out of tags #blogs to follow

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soyousian · 5 years ago

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TNG Rewatch 1.02

it’s the naked now!

if I were monitoring the collapse of a red giant I would simply not become infected with a space disease. RIP to the ss tsiolkovsky but I'm different.

troi has a catsuit now :(

no don’t separate the away team!

this is why you get space drunk riker

data, baby boy, I love you

they really like that frozen people effect huh

jesus, geordi don’t touch the bodies!

where are the shower curtain hazmat suits when you need them?

at least the theme song slaps

I guess if the transporter can decontaminate you you don’t need hazmat suits

the transporters don’t seem to do a very good job though cause there’s a lot of space diseases that get through

DATA!!

don’t know if it’s a problem my ass

why do they keep making data run google searches for them? he has other things to do riker!

redshirt geordi is still a little jarring

why isn’t he in a forcefield beverly? he sould be quarantined in a forcefield!

wesly’s on his boy genius bullshit

wesly is showing off his probably illegal recording device

uh oh disease transfer

geordi’s the only one who complains about the heat this ep

they keep taking off geordi’s visor

uh oh tasha’s got it

i love tasha so much

she’s so compassionate but she’s still allowed to be rash and headstrong

no chance of disease my ass

can’t troi do something?

he’s space drunk doc, nothing you can do for him

so gravity makes you drunk now?

tasha’s digging through troi’s stuff

troi’s got it!

what the fuck is a snootful, picard?

god wesly listen to your mom!

AWFUL!

RICK BERMAN CHOKE!

wesly does a takeover of engineering

wesly TAKES OVER THE SHIP!

holy shit wes what the fuck

I forgot about Mcdougal

rip to her

let data speak!

aw shit yar

so this shit affects organic people and inorganic data

I HATE THIS YAR LOOK SO MUCH

LET HER BE BUTCH

I really HATE how yar’s tragic backstory gets intertwined with this weird pre-sex scene

soong gave his robot sons huge dicks and the ability to fuck before emotions and I HATE THAT

deanna going straight to riker when she senses all the “free minds” implies that there’s a whole bunch of people who want to sleep with riker and I HATE THAT

it should work right away but there’s still 18 minutes left in the ep

why is geordi so obsessed with seeing in this ep?

eyes to commercial!

put wesly in the brig please

this alcohol lecture is a little afterschool special-ly for me

not as bad as “drugs can make you feel good” but it’s getting up there

shimoda’s playing jenga with the control chips

data!

I hate that they establish data fucks in episode 2

data sounds like he’s gonna cry :(

oh no he falls! baby!

dr. crusher has been infected for 10 minutes and she’s already trying to jump picards bones

I HATE PICARDS LAUGH

WHY IS PICARD LIKE THIS

I HATE THIS

I HATE ALL OF THIS

riker is infected but asymptomatic which makes me think he’s just always horny which I HATE

THIS IS A BAD EP ACTUALLY

worf switching from chair to chair is so funny

data could but he’s a little fucked up rn

“hi mr. data!” is very sweet

stop being sucH A BITCH RIKER

picards jump!

yes he will! make him use your title, bev!

why are you testing everything on geordi!? what if he dies?!

“why not just see it in your head?” not everyone’s a boy genius wes

first thing geordi sees when sobered up is the cmo and captain making googoo eyes at one another, poor man

that’s a pretty decent effect

wesly “the boy” crusher saves the day

good thing tasha and data never happened!

what an ep!

Rating: 4/10

tldr; I hate this ep. it was barely saved by a few good bits

#star trek #Star Trek TNG #star trek the next generation #next gen rewatch

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isenstar777 · 5 years ago

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I'm going to asterisk every word that could make something appear in a search and not tag this post. Anyone who finds this post will probably be following me. DO NOT REBLOG

I'm going to say it. I still don't get T*ny and Rh*dey's side in C*p 3. They've just spent a year fighting H*dra, who were deeply embedded in Am*rica's government and probably around the world. And suddenly there's G*neral R*ss, who T*ny already doesn't like, saying the world governments need to control the Av*ngers, and they're just like 'sure there's nothing wrong with this. There's no way a hidden organisation can worm their way into high positions and stop us doing our job'.

And the reasons R*ss gives are The Incident: not the Av*ngers fault and a lot preferable to the WSC's idea of just nuking the city, which would not have closed the wormhole;

Pr*ject Ins*ght crashing into DC: not St*ve's fault and a lot preferable to H*dra's idea which was kill millions of people including most of the government and every intelligent person in the world;

S*kovia: not T*ny's fault and a lot preferable to the entire world getting demolished;

and Lagos: not St*ve or W*nda's fault and a lot preferable to the pathogen being released on the public.

And rather than going 'look you need us and if we waited on your orders thousands or millions of people would die' like N*tasha did at the end of C*p 2, half the Av*ngers go 'yeah there's no way this can go wrong and there's no way the world governments having united control of a superpowered team can possibly be a bad thing because there's no way anyone could have an ulterior motive'. And then they fight.

Also I 100% get the ending of C*p 3 with the fight in Siberia. So don't come after me for hating T*ny.

DO NOT REBLOG

#personal #do not reblog #do not talk to me about it either #any asks may be ignored #not that I think I'll get any

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orangrage · 2 years ago

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My recent SS/SSTAS drawings.

#subway surfers #subway surfers the animated series #yutani rodman #ss spike #ss lucy #ss tasha #fanart #artist on tumblr #my art

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eye-symbolize · 3 years ago

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This is like a month or so old, but I’m working in a fic rec list of my favorite Scottish Safehouse fics… and I’ve been working on it for a month because there are so many fics under that tag. I just have to share something in the meantime, sorry

Not sure what fics you’re looking for, so, here I go with a bunch of random shit.

After Everything is Said and Done (Somehow You are Still the One) - JMart, 34K. I love this fic, so much. It’s a canon divergent wedding romcom where Jon and Martin hate each other but have to work together to make sure Georgie and Melanie’s wedding goes off without a hitch

Inkstains - MarTim, 14K. Sometimes a fic makes you stare off into the distance, making you feel so many emotions that on the surface you look blank… This Post Unknowing fic stomped on my heart and honestly, the writing is just… oh my god

Knit Two Together - JMart, 13K. Martin picks up a hobby and he keeps making things for Jon. Very sweet

Last to Know - JMart, 26K. Gonna be honest, I was sitting in the SS Administration Office while reading this fic - so I don’t remember all the details. Main point? Fuck the Unknowing, and also go JMart, the ship with the stupidest smart people

Resale Value - MarTim, 13K. Sometimes you just gotta sell your soul, by then your kind-of boyfriend tells you that you’re a fucking moron and makes you get it back

So Long, Lonesome - Tasha, 6K. Beholding!Sasha is a bad bitch and saves a Lonely Tim [role swap AU, I suppose]

Stranger, Stranger - JMart, 36K. Early series canon divergence - Jon is doing some case work on his own, featuring a dating app he must stealth on and Martin is a Lonely Boy who was peer pressured into flirting on the internet

Home from work and in need of some TMA fanfic recommendations if anyone has any

#the magnus archives #TMA #fic rec #tasha #JMart

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phantom-le6 · 4 years ago

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Episode Reviews - Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 1 (1 of 6)

Well, it’s taken a little while longer than I’d originally planned, but at last I’ve started working my way through the episodes of my Blu-ray collection of Star Trek: The Next Generation, the first of a number of series I will be hoping to tackle in my TV show backlog. For those who haven’t ready any of my TV show reviews from when I used to post them on Facebook notes, the lay out is very similar to what I do for film reviews. I usually do one disc’s worth of episode per article (every show I review is one I own on DVD or Blu-ray), and within that, I post a synopsis of the episode’s plot, followed by my review of that episode. So, if you’ve never watched a certain series and want to skip the plots, or you know the episode from its title alone, just skip the sections headed as ‘plot’ and go straight to the review.

So, now that you know how this is all going to go, let’s warp our way into those first few episodes of TNG’s first season. Reviews, engage…

Episodes 1 & 2: Encounter at Farpoint

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

In 2364, the new flagship of the United Federation of Planets, Starfleet's USS Enterprise, travels to the planet Deneb IV for its maiden voyage. Enterprise is to open relations with the simple Bandi people who have somehow been able to tap immense energy reserves and construct Farpoint Station, much to the surprise of the Federation. En route, the Enterprise is met by an omnipotent being who identifies himself as Q, a member of the Q Continuum. Q, appearing a grand inquisitor from Earth’s post-nuclear age, declares that humanity is being put on trial. A suggestion from Captain Picard results in Q deciding that their actions in their upcoming mission will be used to judge their worthiness and determine their fate as a race. Before letting the ship resume its course, Q warns Captain Picard that he is destined to fail.

As the Enterprise arrives, the crew members explore the offerings of Farpoint Station and establish relations with their Bandi host, Groppler Zorn. The crew becomes suspicious when items they desire seem to appear out of nowhere moments later, and are unable to identify the power source that feeds the station. Deanna Troi, an empath, senses a being with powerful yet despairing emotions nearby, and the crew discover a strange labyrinth beneath the station, but Zorn does not offer an explanation. As the Enterprise crew continues its explorations, a large unknown alien craft enters orbit and begins to fire upon the old Bandi settlement near Farpoint Station, and abducts Zorn. Before Picard orders the ship's phasers to be fired at the craft, Q appears to remind him of humanity's trial and prompts Picard to send an away team to the alien craft. The away team discovers the craft has passages similar to those under Farpoint and they are able to free Zorn. Their actions cause the alien craft to transform into a jellyfish-like space creature, and Picard is able to deduce the mystery of Farpoint Station. He confirms with the apologetic Zorn that the Bandi found a similar lifeform injured on their planet and, while attempting to care for it, they also exploited its ability to synthesize matter to create Farpoint Station. The creature now in orbit is trying to help free its mate by attacking those who hold it captive.

Though Q goads Picard into using violence, Picard refuses, instead ordering the Enterprise to fire a vivifying energy beam onto Farpoint after the station is evacuated. The beam allows the land-bound creature to transform back into its jellyfish-like form, and it flies into orbit to join its fellow being. As the crew watches the reunion of the alien creatures, Q reluctantly tells Picard that they have succeeded in their test, but hints that they will meet again.

Review:

As someone born a couple of years before this show first aired, I missed this pilot and much of the earlier seasons in their original appearance, only getting to see anything of the show in the early-to-mid-1990’s when my family first got Sky TV and I watched some of the later episodes and re-runs of some earlier episodes on Sky 1. Thank goodness for those being my introduction to the show, because as pilot episodes go, this one isn’t great. Granted, very few pilots are ever completely brilliant because the show is starting out anew and will take a while to establish what it is, and there’s no guarantee how long that will take. For some shows, it could be a matter of only a few episodes, such as The West Wing or Friends, whereas others might be more like the Simpsons and M*A*S*H, taking more than just their first season to really find themselves.

The biggest problem this pilot has is a lack of exposition to explain what the show is really about. Ok, we’re on a starship crewed mainly by humans, travelling the galaxy to explore what’s out there, but that’s all you get. That might be sufficient for people who were versed in the franchise of Star Trek from the three-season long original series and the various films it spawned, but what about new audience members? Other shows have made similar assumptions that everyone will know what their show is about based on existing media, and for me it always spoils the pilot. In my view, the only good pilot assumes at least its audience will know nothing about what the show will be about and will tailor at least half its content to educating them in that era, with the rest of the content being about placating the existing fanbase if the show is continuing a franchise or adapting it from another medium.

The episode is also plagued by some poor character interactions, especially Picard’s over-the-top anger at Wesley for no good reason, Troi’s over-the-top whining when she’s in empath-mode, and the less said about Tasha Yar’s histrionics in front of Q during the fake trial set-up the better. Really, it’s down to the performances of Riker, Data, Wesley’s mother Dr Beverly Crusher, Geordi and Worf to elevate the episode to decent, and for Q to be the better guest character than Zorn. This episode is also where Colm Meaney makes his debut as Miles O’Brien, who would spend several seasons as a secondary recurring character in TNG before making the switch to spin-off series Deep Space Nine (which I reviewed some years ago on Facebook) as a series regular.

There’s not much depth or real issue exploration in this episode, we don’t really learn what Star Fleet is or what it represents (the words Yar uses during her court-room meltdown before being thankfully frozen), and really all we do get is some basic character introduction and a Trek show that starts off more on impulse, or at least low warp. Overall score for this combined episode is about 6 out of 10, and I’m probably being a bit charitable at that.

Episode 3: The Naked Now

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

The crew of the Enterprise travels to rendezvous with the SS Tsiolkovsky, a science vessel monitoring the collapse of a supergiant star. During a long-range comm exchange, the Enterprise crew are shocked to hear what sounds like a sudden hull breach about the Tsiolkovsky. After the Enterprise secures the Tsiolkovsky via tractor beam, an away team consisting of Commander Riker, Lt. Yar, Lt. Commander Data and Lt. La Forge beams over. They find the crew frozen to death in various stages of dress and undress, including one who was taking a shower fully clad, and whose frozen body falls into La Forge's hands.

Captain Picard orders Dr Crusher to perform full medical examinations of the away team on their return, and the doctor finds La Forge sweating profusely and complaining about the temperature. She orders him to stay in sickbay but he wanders out while she is studying his test results, and makes his way to the quarters of Crusher's son, Wesley. Unaware of La Forge's condition, Wesley shows him a portable tractor beam device and La Forge places an encouraging hand on his shoulder. Meanwhile, acting on a hunch by Riker, who had read a book on past starships named "Enterprise" that included an event involving illness and showering fully dressed, Data locates a historical record identifying the ailment as similar to one encountered by Captain Kirk's USS Enterprise. La Forge returns to sickbay, where D. Crusher quickly becomes concerned when she realizes that the infection is spread by physical contact. Much of the ship's crew comes under the influence of the ailment, including Data, who engages in a sexual encounter with Yar. Dr Crusher, struggling against the effects of the ailment, finds the original antidote documented by Kirk's Enterprise to be ineffective, and begins devising a new version of it.

Now infected, Wesley uses a digital sample of Captain Picard's voice to lure key engineering crew-members away from the engineering deck. He erects a force field around the area with his tractor beam device and assumes control of the ship. He allows Mr Shimoda, one of the engineers who is acting in a childlike manner, into the force field. Shimoda manages to remove all of the isolinear chips from the engine control station and plays with them like toys. As the supergiant star collapses, a fragment is blown into a direct impact course with the two Federation ships, and without the chips in place, they cannot move out of its way. Chief Engineer MacDougal manages to disable Wesley's force field, and Data is sent to replace the chips. He reports that he will not have enough time. Wesley reverses the ship's tractor beam, repelling the Enterprise off the Tsiolkovsky, giving themselves the necessary additional seconds for Data to replace the chips enabling the ship to move out of the way. The crew is cured of the ailment, and Picard partially credits Wesley for helping to prevent a disaster.

Review:

Not only is this Trek at its worst, but it’s actually based on an original series episode with pretty much the exact same core plot; some random configuration of water molecules making an Enterprise crew act like the Trek equivalent of chavvy idiots getting plastered on a night out. It’s an appallingly bad concept, especially when Picard’s closing dialogue suggests the whole thing was meant to be about some kind of exploration of temptation. News flash, folks, but the episode is an abysmal failure in the exploration of that issue. To be successful, you’d have to give the crew the option about whether or not to give in to temptation sober. The crew of the Enterprise doesn’t have a choice here because it’s some weird combination of water molecules acting like an infection that causes drunken-like behaviour. As such, their judgement is impaired against their will, so the point is lost.

The episode is also stupidly sexist in how the infection presents; while more of the men just have a harder time thinking, get morose or go child-like and silly, all three female main cast members throw themselves on the blokes like randy strippers. Tasha Yar sleeps her way through various minor male crew members before seducing Data, Troi seeks out Riker to try for a mind-grope, and Dr Crusher tries it on with Picard. How Roddenbury (who was still alive and producing Trek at this point) allowed such antiquated sexist tripe into the supposedly equality-minded Trek utopia, I have no idea. Given that the show improved in this and related areas when he stepped away from the show, however, I’m wondering if maybe he was somehow part of the problem.

All in all, this episode is something you only watch so you can get what few references there may be to it in later episodes of the series as a whole. I give it a very low 2 out of 10.

Episode 4: Code of Honor

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

The Enterprise arrives at the planet Ligon II to acquire a vaccine needed to combat an outbreak of Anchilles fever on Styris IV. The crew, possessing little information on the Ligonian culture, finds it follows strict customs of status similar to ancient China. Specifically, while the men in their culture rule society, the land itself is controlled by the women. Lutan, the Ligonian leader, transports up to the Enterprise to provide a sample of the vaccine, and is impressed by Lt. Tasha Yar's status as head of security. Yar further demonstrates her aikido skills against a holographic opponent for Lutan on the holodeck. After a tour of the ship, Lutan and the Ligonians abduct Yar as they transport back to the surface. Captain Jean-Luc Picard demands that Lutan return Yar, considering the kidnapping an act of war, but receives no response from the planet. After consultation with his officers, Picard is informed that Lutan took Yar in a "counting coup" as a show of heroism. Picard contacts Lutan in a more peaceful manner, who grants permission for the Enterprise crew to beam down to the planet and promises to return Yar after a banquet in his honor.

Lutan announces at the banquet that he wishes to make Yar his "First one", surprising not only the Enterprise crew but also Yareena who was already Lutan's "First one." Yareena challenges Yar to a fight to the death to claim back the position. When Picard objects to the fight, Lutan refuses to give the Enterprise the rest of the vaccine unless Yar participates. The crew investigates the combat ritual and find that the weapons used are coated with a lethal poison, and also that it is Yareena's wealth to which Lutan owes his position. Picard prepares to have Yar beamed to the Enterprise should she be harmed in the battle. As the match progresses, both Yareena and Yar are equally skilled, but Yar eventually lands a strike on Yareena. Yar quickly covers Yareena and orders the transport of both of them to the Enterprise against the demands of Lutan. Aboard the ship, Dr. Beverly Crusher reaches Yareena moments after death, but is able to counteract the poison and revive the woman's body. When Lutan demands to know the fate of Yareena, Crusher reveals that Yareena died, thus ceding the match to Yar and breaking the "first one" bond. Yareena is now free to select a new mate; she chooses Hagon, one of Lutan's bodyguards, and effectively strips Lutan of his position of power and makes him her "Second One". Hagon lets Yar go and gives the Enterprise their full supply of vaccine.

Review:

This episode wasn’t very well received by the cast and crew that had to make it, and I can certainly see why. The Ligonian race is based on African tribal stereotypes that become obvious as a result of the race being played by Black actors, giving the episode an air of racism that is completely inappropriate to the Trek franchise as a whole. According to Wikipedia, some reviewers have claimed that this issue would not have been seen if the actors had all be white and used the same dialogue. Frankly if the Ligonians had been played by white actors, you’d have had a very early example of cultural appropriation, which is also a form of racism and again inappropriate to Trek.

The episode is also plagued by efforts to try and emulate the original series instead of being its own entity, with the final fight scene near the end really looking too much like a 1960’s throwback rather than fitting into any kind of 1980’s-made Trek. Only the hints of the budding Data-La Forge friendship really make the episode worth a watch, especially since Picard stops himself in the middle of an explanation about the Prime Directive. With that in, we might have had delayed compensation for the lack of exposition in the pilot, but instead…nothing.

Frankly, without fan support and the show being syndicated rather than controlled by a network, I’m pretty sure this episode or the previous one would have killed TNG in its infancy. I’m just lucky that I know the show would later make itself into something worth watching, so I’m ok holding out hope for better episodes as I work my way along. I just the rest of season 1 doesn’t have too many more of these stinker episodes in store. For me, Code of Honour again only warrants 2 out of 10.

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