#stuff like the Friends cantrip and Charm Person and the like

[victorluvsalice]

Another Game To Add To The List

So -- you guys all know that I like video games. I mean, I post on a pretty regular basis about the antics my Sims in my latest Sims 4 save file are getting up to. And you all know that I love to put my favorite characters in my favorite video games if I'm able to -- or even if I'm not. My current Sim family is my Valicer OT3; my Fallout 4 protagonist is Victor Van Dort (or as close as I can get with FO4's character creator and artstyle), and my Vampire: The Masquerade -- Bloodlines Malkavian Fledgling is Alice Liddell (I may not be able to actually reflect that with her appearance in the game, but I can sure as hell write about her adventures doing all the quests!) I have a vested interest in this sort of thing.

So -- when my friend @gaydragonwizards got me into Baldur's Gate 3, leading me to purchase the game for my birthday using the Steam gift cards my parents had gotten me, I immediately thought, "Okay, so -- Alice has VTMB, and Victor has FO4...but a certain newbie roller coaster OC does not have a game yet. And this one DOES allow you to do a custom character..." Which led to me deciding that Smiler was going to be my "Tav" in BG3! I haven't gotten very far in the game yet (I had to do an early restart to add in a mod patch that the creator was VERY SURE shouldn't be put in an existing playthrough because it fucks with XP and leveling a bit, and then recent hotfixes possibly breaking quest items made me too nervous to play for a bit), but I have gotten my Smiler set up, made it past the Nautiloid segment, and have started exploring the wilderness around the ravaged beach! Here's some shots of Smiler in the game:

Smiler's look from the character creation/level up screen! They're a half-elf with Body #2 and Head #5 because that was the combo that actually looked the most like my Smiler Sim -- have a comparison shot:

It's not a PERFECT match, but nothing was going to be -- it's pretty close, though! The hairstyle is of particular note because that is in fact one of the very first mods I picked up for this game: Alt Lae’zel Hair For Tav! None of the in-game hairstyles had the right sort of "bangs" that my Sim!Smiler sports, so I was REALLY happy to spot this on Nexus Mods to give my Tav!Smiler the right look, at least from the front. :) (And, hilariously, the mod was in fact uploaded ON MY BIRTHDAY, so I'm counting it as an inadvertent birthday present.)

Smiler's arrival on the Ravaged Beach, having just woken up from their little fall out of the Nautiloid! As you can probably guess by the outfit, I started them out as a Bard. That was the class that seemed to make the most sense for them, both from a "the roller coaster in Alton Towers is often associated with upbeat music and dancing, especially after the original Festival of Thrills and The Smiler Takeover, and bards DO get access to a good number of mind control spells" and from a "my personal take on Smiler is that they are super charismatic and want to make as many people happy as possible, and the Bard's high Charisma start combined with the Entertainer background suits that perfectly." XD However, they're not JUST a Bard these days -- thanks to the further power of mods, upon their first level-up, they became a Bard/Artificer! :D I picked that class because it has a whole sub-class dedicated to Alchemy, and one of my headcanons for my Smiler is that chemistry/alchemy (depending on the universe) is their thing. Plus it just looks like a super-cool class and mod. (And yes, I do have 5e Spells and Unlock Level Curve to enhance things further, with the appropriate patches (including ULC's patch to smooth out the weird XP valley while leveling up -- learning about THAT was what prompted me to restart so I could install it). Oh, and the exclamation mark is from Camp Event Notifications -- it's telling me that Smiler should Long Rest soon to get one of the special camp events.)

Smiler hanging out in the Wilderness camp! I came here for the first time after picking up Shadowheart, Astarion, and Gale, and was amazed at just how PRETTY the camp is. I mean, look at that waterfall over by the ruin that houses the Magic Mirror! :D Seriously, this game is gorgeous -- I've spent a decent amount of time just wandering around with the camera, admiring the scenery. XD Anyway, as you can see, Smiler picked up some new clothes -- the main outfit is some basic leather armor, dyed with the dye available in the Traveler's chest (I first dyed their starting jerkin, but hated the resultant color scheme -- I'm not wild about the red arms on this set, but at least the yellow pants and black chestpiece feel right!), while the cape and their new lute are from the Digital Deluxe content -- the "Cape Of The Red Prince" and the "Lute of the Merryweather Bard." (Hey, I got this for my birthday, I wasn't not going to get the Digital Deluxe content!) I had them give the lute a little try in-camp -- the upbeat Bard song DEFINITELY suits them. XD

And finally, Smiler with their current companions, ready to head to the nearby chapel on the beach -- Shadowheart (in some new, slightly better Sturdy Armor), Gale (in his robe and wizard hat), and Astarion (sporting more DD content, the "Bicorne of the Sea Beast" and the "Needle of the Outlaw Rogue" (the dagger on his hip)). They are indeed a motley group. XD Hopefully Smiler's 17 Charisma will allow them to talk their way out of most binds!

Now, you may be thinking at this point, "Well, this is going to spark another AU, isn't it?" And you would be -- partially correct. Allow me to explain by excerpting part of my and Squid's conversation while they were recommending mods to me and I was telling them about my plans to do Tav!Smiler:

Squid: ((though -- there is one thing that has popped into my head. with playing Smiler, obviously you can't have any of your Valicer stuff going on in BG3 by default. and do you really want to give yourself ANOTHER AU by playing as them again :P )) Me: ((Oh, that's not really a worry -- the Valicer in the Dark crew already fucking claimed the game as a potential AU ))

YUP. Much like how my brain insisted that the Alice in my Fallout of Darkness stuff be a variant of my Malkavian!Alice from Londerland Bloodlines, thanks to me getting into BG3 at the same time as my obsession with Valicer In The Dark ramped up, the AU in my head is now the VITD trio going through the game. And while it's only a partially-formed pile of shitposts as of yet, that idea PROBABLY deserves its own post...

[bloodyshadow1]

wishlist for Junior year

Since Junior year is happening in January I thought I'd make a quick list of a few things I personally want to happen next season. You're free to tell me what you think, disagree, agree, hell add more if you're interested.

I want the maps back- I completely understand why they did the show like they did for their live show, but I miss the Rick Perry maps that were so cool. Also Brennan has a lot of epic battles that are kind of hard for me to visualize because I have adhd and missing one thing he says can confuse me for the whole battle. Seeing mini's really helps me keep things straight

less NPC interactions- the NPC's are not bad, by any means, I love the hirelings and the romance partners, but I feel like including them on the adventure lessened the interactions between the Bad Kids. Like Tracker and Kristen for a large part of the adventure were attatched at the hip, and other places, Gorgug spent a lot of his time trying to patch up his relationship with Zelda, Ayda gets a lot of interactions with Fig and Adaine, but there isn't a lot of time for the three of them just one on one leaving the other out more. Just me personally I would like if the season focused more on the party and their relationships

(I want to be clear, I don't want no interactions with our beloved NPC's just less them being part of the adventure and more them being NPC's that help and exist but aren't the DM's Player Characters)

I hope they stay in Elmville or at the very least Solace- I loved Sophomore Year, but a lot of the charm of the first season of Fantasy High was the unique setting they were in. An urban fantasy world where a large part of the population were adventurers. It felt more unique compared to Sophomore year's more high fantasy, but with people who know modern technology. Even if they leave Elmville, I wouldn't mind them exploring Solace as a whole to see what their country is like outside of their small town. (I want to more campaigns exploring Spyre too, but even with the Seven they leave Solace by ep 3 and spend most of their time in other countries in Spyre, I want to see what a modern urban fantasy setting is like)

Adaine using the Sword of Sight, wizard or not, as a high elf she's proficient in swords and with her boosted strength and her desire to punch/hit people it's perfect. I know cantrips will still be the better option, but when has Adaine, I punch my sister in the face, Abernant done the more efficient option. Adaine is my favorite character so I'd just like to see her being the terrible chaos gremlin that I know she's capable of being.

Hallariel- I'd like to see her in battle if only once. I know I said I would like the NPC presence lessened, but I still want to see what Fabian's hot mom can do in a real fight. We've only seen her talked about as the best swordswoman in the world by Bill who himself is fearsome with a blade, but we only see her train/threaten her son. Even if it's a possession or mind control situation I'd like to see her in battle, even if it's against the Bad Kids.

For some reason I want a battle at a Fig and the Sig Figs concert- I don't really know why I want this, but I really liked the Broadway brawl ep of Unsleeping city, it made for some cool rules and the like and I would like, a less stressful, but still fight in the crowd of people while Fig and Gorgug are on stage.

Consequences for the Bad Kids and their friends/family- I don't really know where I'm going with this, but I just feel like the Bad Kids get away with a lot of stuff because that's how Elmville works, but I kind of liked how they suffered consequences near the end of Freshman year, even if I think months in Jail was a lazy way for Brennan to do a time skip until the finale battle. (I love the guy, but I believe what I believe). But specifically about YES! the god Kristen created and abandoned, creating a god and orphaning it should have more consequences than throwing out a sweater that you don't like any more. Are Adaine and Aelwyn treated differently given that their parents started a war over Aelwyn and wars have consequences, people died and have people to mourn them who probably aren't too keen on the two abernants in their country after that.

I'd like cameos by the Seven, not just Zelda.- again, I know I said less NPC presence, but still, they don't necessarily have to be NPC's just saying if someone wanted to drop by and play for an episode or 2. The Seven is probably my favorite D20 season and I would love to see what my girls are up to.

There's more that I might add, but this is it for now

[chronoxtreme]

The Cage - Chapter 18 Author's Notes

First of all, here's a link to the chapter in question! CW: Discussions of a relationship with power imbalance, discrimination based on sexual anatomy So, fun fact - everything with Yurgir was not in the original, second or even 4th draft of this fic (and when I mean draft, I basically mean "attempt to think this monster's details out," not an actual draft). Chapters 17 and 18 were supposed to be one chapter, but migraine + insane wordcount + me getting a new position at work basically nuked that idea. So I split it in two, and honestly, I believe it's for the better in terms of pacing.

Nanne's whole "I don't like to use charm-like magic" comes from seeing Da use it on other people. Friends was that guy's favorite cantrip, and while it can get you what you want, it can also burn you. Nanne's much less risk adverse than Da, so they avoid it. Enhance Ability though is fair game because it just makes you better at certain things.

The "homicidal hat trick" line by Gale is a shout-out to Mistborn, one of my favorite book trilogies.

And then we get to the second "twist" of Nanne's backstory: Maria. This is a part that wasn't in my first stab at writing Nanne. Originally, they had no experience with sex or romance at all. However, I realized that them having some romantic history gave them a lot better motivation for their behavior around Astarion pre-seduction. At the same time (and this was unintentional) their experience with Maria became a foil for Astarion's sexual encounters with patriars.

I also put a lot of myself into that story. I'm transmasc nonbinary, and when I wrote that scene, I wasn't out to anyone, including my husband. Thankfully, he's been extremely supportive of me and my identity, but it took a lot of courage to talk about it with him. It's extremely difficult to come out to people who have a certain expectation of who you are. Writing about Maria's rejection was a weird sort of catharsis.

It was also a story where I wanted it to be messy, especially from Nanne's POV and how they describe it. Nanne had zero intentions of having a relationship with their employer, it kind of just... happened. And while it was doomed to failure from the start, Maria was attracted to them. There was a "chance" of it working out. That's what makes it really sting, in my mind. It was problematic at best, coercive at worst, and Nanne wasn't in the wrong - but for so long, they've lived with an emotionally immature parent constantly talking about how difficult it was to raise them, the sacrifices, the burdens, etc. and that gets to you. So naturally, if something goes wrong, it is their fault. Finally, the song! This section ended up being a lot shorter than I expected it to be, but honestly, that's another thing that I've been working on in the "this is for me first" category: not being afraid to release chapters with wildly differing lengths. Yes, it will happen again, that is a promise lmao.

Like the Dawn is one of my favorite songs on the planet, and when I listened to it after playing BG3, I realized that it perfectly described Nanne's thoughts about Astarion in the sunlight, and the rest was history. This is a moment that I could rewrite a thousand different ways and still never be satisfied because how in the world do you write about a person SINGING without it coming off awkward as hell? In the end, I think it worked out okay. I'm not satisfied, but I'm content.

Nanne's using Faerie Fire here, because if bards can use singing to do magic, why not do magic to enhance the singing performance? I've always loved fic/media that's used the world's magic system for stuff like special effects in performances and plays - it makes the world feel alive and Nanne is a bard first and foremost. The bigger the spectacle, the more coin they get. Is there a bit of illusion magic thrown in? Maybe. Hey those Weave lessons with Gale paid off!

Astarion running off was also not in the script but it turned out that way. I don't think it's a bad thing for him to keep feeling guilt. I do worry that it comes off as repetitive and cyclical, but in my experience that's how guilt works in real life. You feel good, you forget about it, and then someone says or does something, and it all comes crashing down. It's tough... and next chapter's gonna be even worse lmao.

[chromatophorium]

How to play the bucket (from The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe) in D&D 5e

(I'll be using it/they pronouns for the bucket in this post)

Themes: - Calming presence - Transformed entity - Is a bucket

Race: Custom lineage

Creature type: Humanoid technically. But they are a bucket and look like a bucket. Size: Small Speed: 30 ft (But they won't be walking, at least not when anyone is looking) Ability score increase: +2 to Charisma (Due to shiny-ness and better than average ability to transport liquids from one place to another.) Variable trait: Choose proficiency in History (because they lived through a lot of it)  Languages: Common and idk, uh… Modron?

Feat: Fey Touched. (Mostly just for the abilities, but maybe the evil wizard Gambhorra'ta was a fey? Who knows.) - Increase the bucket's Charisma further with this feat, with a +1.  - The bucket also get a free Misty Step. (We don't see the bucket move anywhere, it only appears, which equals teleportation.) - Also choose a 1st level spell from the Divination or Enchantment schools of magic. Choose Bless (A spell of reassurance)

Stats: Use point buy to get these stats:

STR 10 (For carrying water) DEX 8 (Buckets aren't very agile) CON 14 (HP baby!!) INT 10 (A bucket of average intelligence) WIS 14 (Wisdom gained from the probably hundreds of years it’s existed) CHA 18 (15 +2 Race +1 Feat = shiny, reassuring bucket)

Background: Haunted one

Proficiencies: Choose Arcana (for knowing about the machinations of Gambhorra'ta) and Religion (I would call recalling bucket lore, ex: two handled bucket, a Religion check) Languages: Uh… Deep Speech and Celestial, maybe???

Feat: Heart of Darkness 'Those who look into your eyes can see that you have faced unimaginable horror and that you are no stranger to darkness. Though they might fear you, commoners will extend you every courtesy and do their utmost to help you. Unless you have shown yourself to be a danger to them, they will even take up arms to fight alongside you, should you find yourself facing an enemy alone.' (Fits the bucket perfectly, don't you think?)

LVL 1, Bard 1

Proficiencies: Combat stuff: Light armor, simple weapons, hand crossbows, longswords, rapiers, shortswords Musical instruments: Steel drums, washboard and uh… maracas? Saving throws: Dexterity, Charisma Skills: Choose Persuasion (for convincing people that everything is alright and to do what you say) Stealth and Slight of Hand (the bucket stole a sacred amulet from Gambhorra'ta's treasured vaults, after all)

Features: 

Bardic inspiration: The bucket can use stirring words to inspire a creature within 60 ft as a bonus action. For the next 10 minutes that creature can add a bardic inspiration die, currently a d6, to their next attack roll, saving throw or ability check and the die is then used up. Bardic inspiration can be used 4 times per long rest with the bucket's charisma stat. (So, this is another way for the bucket to reassure someone.)

Spellcasting: The bucket can use an instrument as a spellcasting focus. (The instrument that the bucket will be using is an improvised steel drum. Meaning a bucket. The bucket will use itself as a spellcasting focus.) Also, Bards can do ritual casting. (Which is awesome, since one of the most important spells for this build is a ritual. So there are no spell slots wasted on it.)

Spells:  Cantrips: Bladeward (because buckets have resistance to physical damage) Message (for whispering into creatures minds, like in the bucket apartment ending) 

1st level: Charm Person (The bucket becomes the friend of anyone it touches) Command (á la, bucket apartment ending) Heroism (One of the essential reassurance spells) Unseen servant (For carrying the bucket around when no one else is there. Is a ritual spell, so no spell slots wasted on moving like this)

LVL 2, Bard 2

Features:

Jack of all trades: Add half of the buckets proficiency bonus to any ability check with which doesn't already include its proficiency bonus. (The bucket is decent at many things)

Song of rest: When having a short rest and using this feature, the creatures partaking in it heal an extra d6 HP, if they use hit dice. (The bucket's soothing presence heals the mind and body)

Magical inspiration: If a creature has a bardic inspiration die and heals someone with a spell, they can add the die to the HP healed. 

Spells:  1st level: Cure wounds (More bucket soothing power!)

LVL 3, Bard 3

Features:

Bard College: Choose the College of Lore (The bucket knows a lot of things, and we need the features for the build.)

Bonus proficiencies: Choose Insight (for more insight into how to best soothe or manipulate), Deception (to keep their true from secret to those who should not know) Intimidation (the bucket can be intimidating when it wants to)

Cutting words: When a creature that the bucket can see within 60 feet of them makes an attack roll, an ability check, or a damage roll, they can use your reaction to expend one of its uses of Bardic Inspiration, rolling a Bardic Inspiration die and subtracting the number rolled from the creature's roll. (The bucket manipulates others who may harm it or the people it cares about. Maybe it's the jealousy of the creatures not having the bucket that blinds them.)

Expertise: Add double the proficiency bonus to two chosen skills. Choose: Persuasion (More reassurance and manipulation) and Insight (for even more insight into how to best soothe or manipulate)

Spells: 2nd level: Calm emotions (Another essential reassurance spell)

LVL 4, Bard 4

Features:

Ability score improvement: Choose a feat instead. 

Feat: Magic initiate (For some more bucket magic)  The bucket learns two cantrips and can use a 1st level spell of a chosen class, using the spellcasting ability of that class to cast them. Choose Druid and these spells:

Cantrips: Guidance (More reassurance!) Primal Savagery (a partial transformation into it's true form, mostly its glistening teeth) 

1st level: Absorb elements (Buckets are known for taking in and then pouring out things. Why wouldn't it apply to elements too? (In all honesty, I just wanted to get this cool spell that isn't on the Bard spell list.))

Spells: (From the Bard spell list this time) Cantrips: Friends (the only in character cantrip left) 2nd level: Suggestion (more bucket apartment ending things)

LVL 5, Bard 5

Features: 

Bardic inspiration die improvement: The bucket's inspiration die is now a d8. (The bucket is more inspiring now! It's inspiring Stanley to be a better coworker.)

Font of inspiration: The bucket regains all of their expended uses of Bardic Inspiration when they finish a short or long rest. (Wow… The bucket is even helping itself recover after hardships…)

Spells:  3rd level: Sending (More speaking into people's heads)

LVL 6, Bard 6

Features: 

Countercharm: The bucket can use it's action to give advantage on saving throws against being frightened or charmed to it and any friendly creatures within 30 feet of it. This effect lasts until the end of its next turn. 

Additional magical secrets: The bucket learns two spells of their choice from any class. The chosen spells count as bard spells for it but don't count against the number of bard spells it knows. Choose:

3rd level: Beacon of Hope (Reassurance spell!)

2nd level: Alter self (For beginning able to not drown underwater and more partial transformation into true form. (Honestly, I think Primal Savagery is better for partial true form, cuz it uses the Wisdom mod, which is better than the Strength mod that Alter Self uses because of unarmed attack)

Spells: (From the Bard spell list this time) 3rd level: Fast Friends (More manipulation á la bucket apartment ending. (Or choose Mass healing word or Motivational speech, they're as in character as this one)

LVL 7, Bard 7

Spells:  4th level: Polymorph (The true transformation into the true form!)

True form tangent: The highest CR thing the bucket's true form can be is a Giant Ape, which does have teeth, which is the only descriptor we get from the game.    So, yeah. There are choices to be had now. Do you want their true form to be a Giant Ape? Or do you want to work with your DM to make it something else, but use Giant Ape stats? Or do you want to scour the list of beasts for one that you think is closest to your imagined look for their true form?    It's awesome, the freedom given by only the briefest of visual descriptions of their true form! You can make it whatever you want. It's like the Narrator's visual design that way, just make up whatever and use your creativity!   Hm. How about we in the fandom start making Bucket True Form designs? Are you up for it? You don't have to be, just an idea I had. 

End of the build! 

Didn't wanna make this a 20 LVL build like my Stanley and the Narrator one that I'm working on, since this is a shit post or something that I took too seriously. You could continue this if you want. You could get like, Tenser's Transformation and True Polymorph or something. 

Anyway, an alternative build would be to switch out Fey Touched with Telepathic. That's super valid. 

Also thanks for reading. If you want you can look at my other DnD builds, you should find them somewhere on my blog. I made on for Simon from SOMA and some short potential ones for Ginko from Mushishi.

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #239

Today on Fate and Phantasms we're playing with fire and getting burned as the god of love and star of @haskamadoneanythingwrong, Kama! She's a Love Cleric to slip something into just about everyone's drink, and an Echo Knight Fighter to call her friends to the party. And by friends I mean extra copies of herself.

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

Next up: What is up with Chinese tacticians possessing weirdly named English mages? It's not just me, right? That's weird.

Race and Background

Normally we make gods Aasimar here, but you clearly don't have resistance to radiant damage, and there isn't really a race for piles of ash, so we're going Custom Lineage instead. Plus, this way you can choose to be small or medium as you want, pick your own ascension. You still get your Darkvision, and on top of that you pick up an Aberrant Dragonmark, so you can learn one sorcerer cantrip and one first level spell, which you can cast once without a spell slot. (Both use your Constitution). Also, when you cast the spell you can spend a hit die to either deal damage or heal yourself a bit more. We get Friends for better charming and Mage Armor since you really don't wear much armor. There's also stuff that happens at higher levels but that's entirely DM dependent, so it's not my purview.

Turns out dying and being brought back is pretty traumatic, which might explain why you're a Haunted One. This means you get proficiency in Arcana and Survival. Getting atomized and not dying takes a lot of skill.

Ability Scores

We're starting off with your Dexterity being really high. Bows need it, and you need it to get away with wearing that on the battlefield. Your Wisdom is next. That comes from pain, and dear god have you been through pain. Your Charisma is also pretty high, comes with the whole "charming people" thing. Your Constitution is middling. You survived getting turned to ash, but that also made you ash, so... Your Intelligence is neutral. Like all villains, you somehow decided to piss of Chaldea right at the last moment they had to thwart you plans- not very smart of you. Finally, dump Strength. You literally have no muscles. That's not hyperbole, they've all been turned to ash.

Class Levels

Cleric 1: Starting off as a cleric makes you proficient in Wisdom and Charisma saves, as well as the Religion and Persuasion skills. You can butter people up real good, and you're literally a god. Not much else to say here. You also learn how to cast and prepare Spells using your Wisdom. Since you can change your spells every long rest we won't harp too much on which spells to get, but we might bring up particularly fitting spells, alongside your subclass specific spells. Speaking of subclasses, yours is... unusual. Officially, the Love cleric was burned from the record ages ago, only clinging on to existence in the barest sense. Sound familiar? The subclass never even got an official UA release, being rebranded as the Unity and then Peace cleric first. But the OG flavor has enough differences that I feel bringing this one back will fit Kama better. Your first level feature isn't too different, it's still Emboldening Bond. As an action, you can bond together two creatures standing within 30' (including yourself). As long as the bonded creatures are within 30' of each other, they can add a d4 to their attacks, checks, and saves once per turn. It lasts for 1 hour, and you can make a bond once per long rest, or by spending a spell slot. Speaking of spells, pick up the cantrips Guidance and Resistance to guide yourself and resist attackers. You can also use Thaumaturgy to act like the god you are. Your subclass spells are Charm Person and Heroism. The former is self-explanatory: force a wisdom save on a person, and if they fail they're charmed. The latter makes a creature immune to being frightened, and each turn they gain temporary HP. For some other spells to check out: Command commands people to do stuff. Cure wounds is kind of like vampirism if you use it after hurting people, and Shield of Faith adds +2 to your AC for a little bit. Having an armorless AC of 17 at level one is pretty good for a caster.

Cleric 2: The second level of love cleric is where things get... funky. Once per short rest you can Channel Divinity as an action. You can Turn Undead as usual, forcing a wisdom save to make them run away, or you can cause Impulsive Infatuation, forcing a wisdom save on a creature within 30' of you. If they succeed, nothing happens. If they fail, they become charmed for a round, and they have to use their reaction to attack a creature of your choosing. Charming is so much stronger in D&D than FGO. You can also Harness Divine Power, burning Channel Divinity uses to regain spell slots. You can do this a number of times per day equal to the number of CD uses you get each short rest.

Cleric 3: Third level clerics get second level spells, like Enthrall and Warding Bond. The former is very in character, the latter not so much. If you're tired of waiting for the fighter levels to get here, you can also use Spiritual Weapon to make a magic bow and attack people. (It's still a melee weapon, but we can flavor it.) You can also Hold Person for a more FGO-ish charm effect.

Fighter 1: Bouncing over to Fighter makes you good with bows, but you can get even better by taking the Archery fighting style, adding +2 to your ranged weapon attacks. You can also activate a Second Wind as a bonus action. Again, hit someone with your action and use this afterwards for kindasorta vampirism.

Fighter 2: Second level fighters can make an Action Surge once per short rest, adding an extra action to your turn. Yo dawg, I heard you like charming. Now you can charm while you charm.

Fighter 3: At third level of fighter you finally become an Echo Knight, letting you Manifest Echo as a bonus action. This creates a copy of yourself (that counts as an object) near you, and you can attack/ take opportunity attacks through that echo. It's only got 1 HP and dies instantly if it gets too far away, but you can always make another. While it's active, you can spend half your movement to teleport yourself to its location, swapping places with it. You can also Release Incarnation once per, making an extra melee attack with the echo the same action you make a regular attack.

Cleric 4: Okay, that's all the fighter levels we can stand. Back in cleric, you're getting your first Ability Score Improvement, which we're using to pick up the Skill Expert feat. You get proficiency in Deception and Expertise (doubled proficiency) in Persuasion. We can't spare an ASI just for charisma, but this'll help you chat with the best of 'em. You can also Toll the Dead now, since there aren't many cantrips I really want here.

Cleric 5: Fifth level clerics can Destroy Undead, instantly killing undead of CR 1/2 or lower who fail their save. You can also cast third level spells like Beacon of Hope and Hypnotic Pattern. The first really isn't your thing (I mean c'mon, making it harder to get charmed? Eugh.) but the second is way more up your alley. If you want to do more damage, pick up Bestow Curse to do just about anything as long as your DM signs off on it. Or you can use Spirit Guardians or Spirit Shroud to summon more copies of yourself.

Cleric 6: Sixth level clerics get a second use of Channel Divinity per short rest, and you can create a Protective Bond. While the creatures bonded with Emboldening Bond are near each other, they can spend their reaction to give resistance to all damage to the other creature this turn.

Cleric 7: Seventh level clerics get fourth level spells. Aura of Purity is super not in character (again, making it harder to get charmed??), but you can probably flavor Confusion as getting people drunk if you want to. Also check out Banishment to throw people into the Ooku, and Death Ward to give yourself guts.

Cleric 8: Use this ASI to bump up your Wisdom for stronger charms and CD saves. Speaking of, Destroy Undead hits CR 1 creatures now. You can also use your Blessed Strikes to add 1d8 radiant damage to a weapon or cantrip attack once per round.

Cleric 9: Ninth level clerics get fifth level spells, and hoo boy do you like a lot of these. (Turns out literal gods have high-level stuff.) You can use Greater Restoration to make yourself more godlike and unsmirched, or Hold Monster to infatuate any kind of creature, not just humanoids. You can also use Contagion to weaken the resolve of any creature. If they fail three constitution saves at the start of their turn they'll fall under a chosen disease's effect for the duration, up to a week. Each one gives disadvantage to a different stat's checks and saves, with added benefits. I'd suggest using the soft stat ones to simulate the stupid that comes with falling in love. The Intelligence disease also puts the target under the effects of confusion, the Wisdom disease blinds them, and the Charisma disease comes with vulnerability to all damage. (This one's actually really good for bosses if their constitution isn't great, since it'll eat up all their legendary resistances. You can also use Geas for a more straightforward brainwashing, Holy Weapon for a shinier bow, or Flame Strike to trick Shiva into trying to roast you again.

Cleric 10: Tenth level clerics can use Divine Intervention to get just about anything done with the help of their god. There's a 10% chance of it actually working, but if it doesn't you can just try again tomorrow. If it does work you have to wait a week, but at least you get godly powers on your side. And besides, something tells me you'll be sympathetic to your needs. You can also cast Light if you want a shiny bow but don't want to cast a fifth level spell.

Cleric 11: At eleventh level your Destroy Undead bumps up again, and you can cast sixth level spells! Otherworldly Form is the version from the UA, but tbf Kama's already lacking in physicality so we'll take what we can get. You become immune to fire and poison damage, can't be poisoned, can fly, get a +2 to AC, can attack twice per action, and your attacks are magical, dealing damage and aiming through your Wisdom instead of anything else. Otherwise, use Harm to harm things. This forces a constitution save to halve the incoming damage, and if they fail the save their HP is reduced by that same amount.

Cleric 12: Max out your Wisdom this ASI for better spells, saves, and I guess even arrows now.

Cleric 13: Thirteenth level clerics can cast seventh level spells. Banishment only throws someone in the Ooku for a minute, now you can use Plane Shift to leave them there permanently! You can also Regenerate missing limbs (or entire bodies, I guess), and create a Temple to the Gods. Or one god in particular, I don't think you're on good terms with most of the pantheon.

Cleric 14: Destroy Undead hits CR 3 creatures now. It ain't much, but it's honest work.

Cleric 15: We don't want that many eighth level spells, but Holy Aura is okay. Creatures within 30' of you that you choose glow and have advantage on all saves, and other creatures get disadvantage to attack them. If a fiend or undead hits those creatures anyway, they have to make a constitution save or be blinded.

Cleric 16: Use your last ASI to bump up your Dexterity for a higher AC and better archery usually.

Cleric 17: Your ultimate level unlocks your ultimate spells, like using Astral Projection to mess with people without ever getting near them, or Gate to create doorways to the Ooku wherever you want to put them. Destroy Undead hits CR 4 creatures now, and your bonds create Enduring Unity, spreading the range or your bonds to the entire plane the creatures are in. Also, if either bonded creature drops to 0 HP, the other gets a bunch of extra effects for a minute, or until the other creature has positive HP again. They get advantage on all attacks, checks, and saves, resistance to all damage, and can spend an action to use their hit dice on the downed partner. So bond with a rat, konk it on the head at the start of combat, and turn into a god. Rinse and repeat for every fight ever. I can see why this class never got a proper release now.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

With a maxed out spellcasting stat and expertise in persuasion, you're really good at getting people to like you. Let other people do the dirty work for you, you've got an Ooku to run.

You're also surprisingly hard to hit, with a base AC of 16 that can get all the way up to 20 with divine shield and otherworldly form. On top of that, you can force disadvantage with Holy Aura, and block the damage that gets through with your protective bond.

Speaking of, bonding in this version is pretty good at high levels, making you a terror if you survive long enough to abuse that enduring unity.

Cons:

The love cleric technically does not exist in D&D since it never saw an official release, so you might have more trouble than usual convincing your DM to let you use it.

If an enemy can cut through your bullshit you're really easy to take down thanks to barely having over 100 HP. That means there's a pretty good chance you might get disintegrated... again.

Having only one attack per round really hurts you ability to be a damage dealer, even with stuff like Blessed Strikes and Holy Weapon. It might be a good idea to just stick with messing with people's hearts.

[masterweaverx]

I’ve decided that the main characters of "My Next Life As A Villainess” can have D&D classes! So here we go. Big thanks to 5Etools for helping me out with this!

Katarina Claes: Kalashtar Redemption Paladin. Nobody said holy warriors had to be smart!

In all seriousness, Paladins of 5E are charisma-based “Half-casters,” which means they mix melee with magic. And it’s easy enough to reflavor a lot of D&D spells as “Oh, yeah, this character just happens to know X random thing or can talk so convincingly!” (Or the character doesn’t realize they’re doing magic, which would be so Katarina.) Plus the Redemption oath just fits so well for the girl, both thematically and mechanically. Throw on Strength-based combat skills because of years of farming and sword-training... it’s pretty obvious.

As to the race choice, the Kalashtar are a third-party Eberron race that are described as being “a fusion of humans and beings from the realm of dreams.” Which hey, what else would you call somebody who remembered their past life? And from a mechanical perspective, it would give Katarina resistance to psychic damage (she’s that dense) and automatic advantage on persuasion rolls (she can say just the right thing).

Maria Campbell: Variant Human Life Cleric. A “Well Duh!” if I ever saw one.

Clerics, the traditional healers and support characters in all of roleplaying, are wisdom-based casters in 5E. I was originally considering making Maria a Light cleric but, mechanically, Life clerics are closer to Light magic as portrayed in the series so, yeah, Life.

Variant Humans are the “Pick an ability increase and get a free feat at the start of the game” race, and Maria is sorta kinda the protagonist of the old game? Her player would probably just set herself up to fill in the gaps of the other characters anyway. So yeah.

Mary Hunt: Kaladesh Elf Samurai Fighter. Look, she can be scary, alright?

Fighters can be strength-based OR dexterity-based, and Mary would have a lot of dexterity skill from all the gardening and stuff. A lot of the Fighter perks are basically “No I’m NOT giving up!” which, yeah, fits her well. Being a Samurai not only enhances that, but it gives her perks for certain wisdom traits--Mary is not an idiot by any stretch of the imagination.

Kaladesh elves synch pretty well with this build, giving both Dexterity and Wisdom boosts, but primarily I picked this particular race for the free Druid cantrip in order to represent Mary’s water magic. Still, she would be one to choose to meditate instead of falling asleep, just to keep an eye on... things.

Sophia Ascart: Detection Mark Half-Elf Divination Wizard. She likes them books.

The class side of this was easy. Intelligence-based caster? Wizard. Love of books? Wizard. Not a physical fighter? Wizard. Had a talk with her past self? Divination wizard. What can I say, Sophia is pretty good at being a wizkid.

Race, though... oh, wow. So many options. I went with a Detection Mark Half-Elf because Sophia really, really notices things and that seems to be what that particular race was built for. Plus it’s an Eberron thing, like Katarina’s race, so that’s a past life connection! Yay!

Nicol Ascart: Storm Mark Half-Elf Swashbuckler Rogue. That smile works wonders.

Com on, how couldn’t I make Nicol ‘incapacitates a crowd with a smile’ Ascart a swashbuckler? Plus Rogues are usually known for being the skill class of 5E, doing things handling things that come up in adventures beyond punching monsters. Nicol does seem the most... level-headed of the group, so he would probably be the one to handle the little details.

As for race, I’ll admit I went with the ‘Sophia’s a half-elf so Nicol’s also a half-elf!’ route. But Storm Mark Half-Elves do come with a lot of wind-based magic, which not only fits canon but also enhances what Nicol could do as a rogue. Admittedly he would have to multiclass slightly to get at most of it, but hey, Gust is a cantrip and the other spells are there for him if he ever does.

Keith Claes: Fierna Tiefling Monster Slayer Ranger. Friendly, but dangerous.

Rangers are another half-caster class, and one with many ‘summon allies’ sort of spells. Sure, they’re technically animals instead of earth elementals, but I do subscribe to the ‘reflavor is fine!’ school of thought so Keith can have his dolls come out when he casts Conjure Animals. The Monster Slayer subclass is built around countering and containing dangerous beings... like, say, Keith himself? Oh, wow, I just picked it because it looked cool. Huh.

And why is Keith a Tiefling? In another life, he was a playboy, so of COURSE he’s going to get a charisma-boost race! A resistance to fire damage makes him perfect for, ah, interrupting a certain prince’s advances. And Fierna Tieflings get spells based around convincing people of things, like Friends and Charm Person, and there’s a certain dense girl in Keith’s life that needs a little guidance.

Geordo Stuart: Gold Standard Dragonborn Draconic Sorcerer. BURN BABY BURN!

Sorcerers are one of the charisma-based casters, with the idea that they have magic IN THEIR BLOOOOOD so they can, you know, cast without needing to do all that silly Study business. Plus they get some of their subclass stuff right off the bat, and Draconic Sorcerers get extra hitpoints every level. Geordo may not use his magic often, but it’s implied that as a royal his magic is redonkulously powerful, so this? This was basically set in stone.

And why did I make the prince a dragonborn? Why, because DRAGONS ARE AWESOME. Look, I don’t make the rules. More seriously, basic dragonborn have a charisma boost, strength boost, and a breath weapon. Admittedly this would probably make Geordo look a LOT different, but what the hey.

Alan Stuart: Silver Draconblood Dragonborn Lore Bard. He knows things so you don’t have to.

Bards are the other charisma-based casters, and a lot more support-based then sorcerers. Plus they’re good musicians, which fits Alan to a T! Lore Bards lean heavily into the ‘Jack Of All Trades’ mindset, with bonus proficiencies and extra magic secrets, because there was that competitive ‘I will best you some way!’ streak early on and that did lean into ‘I’ll learn all I can’ later in his life.

As to why he’s a draconblood dragonborn instead of a standard dragonborn? Draconbloods get an intelligence boost instead of a strength boost, and also get the trait Forceful Presence instead of Damage Resistance. He might not be able to do as much damage as his twin, but Alan is really good at getting attention and using it.

Anne Shelly: Standard Human Open Hand Monk. Somebody has to clean up after these kids!

Monks excel not just in unarmed combat, but in unarmed ‘getting places nobody thinks about’ as well as ‘keeping a cool head when everything goes nuts.’ And the Open Hand Monk doubles down on that, throwing in the ability to basically say “Stop That” whenever needed. This is perfect for Anne “My Mistress Is The Source Of All Chaos” Shelly, wouldn’t you say?

And yeah, she’s a Standard Human. In 5E Standard humans don’t get any special traits, but they do get +1 to every one of their abilities. That’s a small but significant boost to all rolls and a number of stats. Don’t underestimate Anne; she may be in the background, but she’s in the background of Madness and it takes a lot to survive that.

Rafael Walt: Fallen Aasimar Great Old One Warlock. Retired Edgelord.

Warlocks are, ah, not the easiest class to play. They’ve got a lot of special mechanics about their spells, having fewer slots but easier time restoring them. But they do also get a few free invocations, and their patrons can let them spread into different specializations. Rafael knows how to use his magic to the best he can, and... well, the Great Old One patron features just fit what he can do very well.

Aasimar have charisma boosts and darkness resistance universally, but Fallen Aasimar also come with a transformation into a terrifying shadow warrior. Look, Rafael's been through a lot, I’ll grant you. He probably deserves a break. But both thematically and mechanically, this just fits.

===

So that’s that! For now, anyway! Thoughts and opinions are always welcome.

[pomrania]

Halloween monster races

Ever want to play as a monster? Of course you do, it'd be fun. But the statblocks you find for "monsters" aren't designed to work for player characters, and some of them are, well... "dumb as bricks" is one way of putting it. Here's a better alternative: reflavour the various PC races to get something that's nice and monster, and then stat up your monster character with class and background, as you wish.

This is specifically for D&D 5E; I looked at the mechanics of each race, to find ones that could fit well for the concepts. With different gaming systems, those exact things would probably not work; but hopefully this can provide inspiration.

Werewolf: shifter This isn't even sporting, as shifters are designed, both in mechanics and in flavour, as Lycanthrope Lite.

Ghost: eladrin or shadar-kai So they're not intangible, but teleportation can mimic that effect, somewhat; and the Dexterity bonus from elves also makes them harder to hit in general.

Zombie: half-orc You know how sometimes zombies get back up after you've killed them? Half-orcs have a thing that's pretty close to that.

Skeleton: any Listen, mechanics-wise, skeletons in D&D are pretty boring; pick whatever race you want, just say "and also this character has no flesh and their body is just bones".

Vampire: tiefling The "standard" tiefling gets Drama: The Cantrip at first level, which is great for any gothic mood-setting; but the different tiefling variants also fit with different vampire "focuses". Other races to consider, minimal-to-no reflavouring needed: changeling kenku tabaxi lizardfolk warforged Further details below the cut. Trans rights are human rights, and black lives matter.

((Also posted on Pillowfort, here.))

Werewolf (shifter)

The only thing difficult about using this, is getting the sourcebook; the shifter race is found in the Eberron stuff, and not the more setting-agnostic books. But once you have access to that, it's so easy it's barely worth going through. Depending on what type of "werewolf" you're basing this off of, it could be any of the subraces.

Suggested change/s: Maybe add something to the flavour, that the character looks barely humanoid while shifted? That's about it.

Ghost (eladrin or shadar-kai)

Both of these options are from Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes, and they're elf subraces. Let's start with the "elf" bit first. Bonus to Dexterity makes them harder to hit, not sleeping is a pretty ghostly trait, and advantage on saves against being charmed could be played as "I'm dead, why would I care".

Both potential subraces have teleportation, but shadar-kai can only do that once per long rest while eladrin have it once per short rest. (However, shadar-kai resist necrotic damage, which is a very ghostly thing to do.) At third level, both of them get nice extras when they teleport; shadar-kai get more ghostly, with resistance to ALL damage, while for eladrin it depends on essentially their emotional state. It all depends on what type of ghost you want to play.

Suggested change/s: Swap the Elvish language proficiency for another language the character learned in life, or after death, if necessary. Describe the "teleportation" as going intangible and quickly moving.

Zombie (half-orc)

"Relentless Endurance" is the main mechanic draw to this race. Once per long rest, if they'd drop to 0hp, they can drop to 1hp instead. The bonus to Strength and Constitution also fit nicely with undead toughness. Proficiency in Intimidation is easily explained as being a creepy-looking dead thing.

Suggested change/s: swap the Orc language proficiency for any other languages that might fit better with the setting; if that happens to still be Orc, so be it. If you want to better represent how durable zombies are, swap the stat bonuses so it's +2 to Constitution and +1 to Strength.

Skeleton (any)

As stated above, skeletons in 5E are mechanically BORING. The only thing to distinguish them, really, is that they're vulnerable to bludgeoning damage, and that's not something that any race has, for the very good reason that it would make a character easy to kill at low levels. Focus on the descriptive aspects of this instead; describe how any blow resonates through the character's exposed bones.

Vampire (tiefling)

This one is a little involved, so bear with me here. As I said, Thaumaturgy is basically Gothic Drama in cantrip form; if you just want to use the PHB tiefling, this is a very good reason, and also the Charisma increase fits well with vampiric charm.

Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes however has tiefling variants, some of which might fit better with the kind of vampire you want to play. The Fierna variant is what you'd want if your vampiric vision is more about controlling others; it swaps out Thaumaturgy for Friends, and its spells are Charm Person and Suggestion. The Baalzebul, Dispater, and Zariel variants all keep Thaumaturgy as their cantrip, and only change the non-Charisma ability increase and the spells at levels three and five; since those traits weren't very vampire-centric to begin with, they're all just as viable as the "standard" tiefling. As for the others... listen, there's a LOT of vampire fiction out there, I can GUARANTEE that someone has published a book where ANY of those abilities are given as "standard vampiric traits".

Suggested change/s: Alter Hellish Resistance so it gives resistance to cold, instead of fire, damage; the undead are more known for going out in winter without a coat, than they are for their ability to be set on fire and not harmed. (Both fire and cold are "elemental" damage types, so it shouldn't mess with the balance.) Instead of "dies in sunlight", take the drow Sunlight Sensitivity; and bring Superior Darkvision along with it, to keep it from being too much of a burden. Have the unarmed attack deal one point of piercing damage, as opposed to bludgeoning damage, from the character's fangs; those are for feeding on prey, not killing their foe. Adjust the "racial" languages as appropriate.

Other stuff

Now, onto the other player races that work quite well as "monsters", without having to really do anything to them. (I know that "shifter" probably belonged here, but werewolves are too iconic to relegate to "and also" status.)

Changeling: They can change their physical features whenever they want. Off the top of my head, I can think of three completely different movies which have that as the gimmick of the main villain, and I don't watch that many movies.

Kenku: Mostly this is just that their lore is Messed Up, and I think they would be really cool as an Igor type of mad scientist's assistant. Also there's that potential plague doctor aesthetic.

Tabaxi: ...listen. Cat-people weren't always considered to be PRIMARILY the vehicle of furry fetishes.

Lizardfolk: They look like lizards and they come from swamps, you do the math.

Warforged: Let's get one thing straight: warforged are not robots. However, they fill many of the same ROLES as robots. Created for a specific purpose, not needing to eat or drink or sleep or breathe, tough physical form.... There's also some similarities to Frankenstein's Monster, if you want to go that way.

[utilitycaster]

I’ve seen this question going around and: what are you fav subclasses within the main classes?

You have asked the right person, as I made a spreadsheet with all the subclasses and a single-line blurb about why someone might want to play that subclass to better know what the options were. Anyway:

Barbarian: Storm Herald. No one ever picks the several storm-themed subclasses, or when they do (Shakaste!) it’s a guest and there isn’t enough time to get into that aspect because they’re cool enough without it. Anyway, it mostly centers around aura effects, which is great because barbarians are melee fighters anyway. I personally like the sea effects, which lets you do all kinds of lightning and knocking prone damage and lets you breathe underwater.

Bard: Another one that no one picks (including me because I didn’t know better), so to be fair maybe it sounds cooler than it is, but college of valor, which lets you actually be good at fighting. Bards don’t get many attack spells, and healing word is one of their bread-and-butter spells, so while the vicious mockery+healing word combo is pretty nice, valor lets you attack like a fighting subclass, lets your allies essentially do their own cutting words, and really amps up the jack of all trades aspect.

Cleric: Light Domain. Not that clerics don’t get decent damage spells anyway, but I mean, fireball. Also a lot of the deities of the light domain are deities of things like art and creativity and arcana as well, which is very much the cleric vibe I’d like to have.

Druid: Circle of Dreams. It involves the fey and it offers some really interesting protection and healing bonuses, plus the ability to teleport back to where you last finished a long rest on the current plane, without expending spell slots, which would be super useful for dangerous missions.

Fighter: I think I’ve established I would play an eldritch knight immediately. I would also like to shout it the fighter subclass that is not my favorite, but that I love for taking a class known for being versatile and good with many weapons and really putting all the eggs in one basket and that’s Arcane Archer. Fun fact - when I decided to create a character (which I have never played and probably will not) purely by dice rolls (ie, assigning things like class and race to the appropriate die and rolling it to see what I got) I did roll a halfling arcane archer and that did lead me to have to write a really interesting backstory. But: eldritch knight.

Monk: Way of the open hand. I like a lot of the other monk subclasses but this is the one that gives you quivering palm, the monk equivalent of second wind, and even at low levels, if you successfully hit with one of your flurry of blows attacks, the creature you hit can’t take reactions. No save - it just happens. To quite a not very wise man, “Doty, take this down: monks are overpowered as shit.”

Paladin: So I love the actual text of the oath of the ancients, but I think oath of devotion gets skipped over and it shouldn’t. This might be because I just saw the scene in The Unsleeping City where the furies looked for evil in the heart of Ricky Matsui, oath of devotion paladin, and couldn’t find it, but I think a lot of people like to play chaotic or complicated and that’s great and fine but there’s something really beautiful and unexplored in being lawful good and truly dedicated to a cause just on an RP level, and then the abilities are also pretty good.

Ranger: Horizon walker! Because extraplanar stuff is always extremely cool and you get to be friends with good-aligned dragons.

Rogue: Another one I’ve never seen played - the mastermind. I did like seeing inquisitive, and swashbuckler is super fun, but I would love a game with a lot of knotty political intrigue and a rogue who excels at hiding in plain sight.

Sorcerer: another opportunity to go for storm subclasses, and I will definitely take it. I think the reason I never was super attracted to sorcerer as a class is because wild magic just seems too chaotic, and I don’t super want to grow wings or be a dragon? But being a living embodiment of the storm and having magic from it seems very good.

Warlock: Archfey. It is your chance to be taken by the fey in D&D, and you should absolutely lean into that. Also at L10 you become totally immune to charm effects which is a great way to make your DM very frustrated, and the spells you get are pretty cool. I would personally either take pact of the blade or pact of the tome, depending on how I rolled (I like melee but if you’re not a hexblade, you still need to attack with the blade with dex or strength) and who else is in my party; pact of the tome does give you some really great cantrip options.

Wizard: I think I said my favorite school was abjuration and I stand by that, though I also like evocation a lot (this is also why I want to play an eldritch knight). Basically, I’ll play either defense or offense depending on what the party needs. If everyone else is fairly tank-y I’ll gladly go for evocation; if I’m not the only squishy one then abjuration.

[luobingmeis]

i love your team sweet flips kids!!!!! what were some of their first quests (or times that they used their classes)? how do carey and killian feel that they don't have magic and can't super help johann with his training? what kind of moms are they? who tries to be the ~cool mom~? (sorry if this is a lot i just love team sweet flips and their kids)

anonymous asked: Ocs r da bomb!!!! Tell me Abt them kids uwu

oh omg sick okay so!! i might just end up rambling bc i have so many scattered thoughts in my head abt the sweet flips kids omfg

(quick little notes: johann and noelle are my OCs for carey and killian’s kids, named after bard johann and no3113. johann is a dragonborn and noelle is an orc. i’ve put too much thought into really random details about them.)

johann’s classes: wizard and rogue

noelle’s classes: druid and fighter

(in a family so greatly consisting of magic users, no one can convince me that a bunch of them don’t jump at teaching the kiddos magic)

i haven’t thought of legit quests for them yet (but give me some time, omfg, i’ll probably end up with an entire AU just dedicated to them doing cool shit) but i’ve thought about who would train them in their classes!!!

angus is who initially teaches johann magic, just like how taako taught angus. johann was probably super young when he started learning magic. was it ever said how young someone can be and still learn magic?? bc i put him at, like, seven or eight when angus starts teaching johann really simple cantrips, like mage hand. it’s only as he gets a little older (like probably 14/15) that he starts learning illusion magic (bc he looks up to davenport a lot and, as a shy little kid, davenport was the first person, besides his moms, who he got very attached to)

by the time he’s, like, 18, he’s “come get y’alls juice”-ing noelle

also, just through sheer observation, he starts learning rogue shit from carey. and i’m talking that, like, when he’s four, he’s just taking shit. he doesn’t even know exactly what he’s doing, his brain is just like “seeing mom prank friends by taking stuff = something fun to do”

carey is lowkey horrified (in, like, kinda a fun way tho) and killian just thinks that it’s hysterical bc “babe he’s just like you” and carey’s like “killian i’ve been arrested for pickpocketing and other rogue shit before, he cannot be just like me”

(johann was once jailed for an afternoon tho and they did, in fact, have to pick him up/bail him out from that)

noelle, on the other hand, actually learned some of her magic from barry!!! not anything necromantic in nature, but just, once again, simple cantrips. she was just super attached to barry (i mean, she was a very social charming kid, so she was attached to everyone, but barry was special). however, by default, she also started learning some stuff from lup, too. she decided to specialize as a druid, tho, and, with that, she probably learns some stuff from merle, too!!!

and then magnus teaches her how to fight/protect herself!! first, he just teaches her how to use a shield to defend herself, and then he works up to a sword and shield, but suddenly, one day, she’s wielding a giant fucking battle-axe and magnus is delighted

carey and killian, initially, feel kinda bad that they can’t help their kids with their magic. bc they want to help their kids out with everything!!! and they can see how frustrated they get when they’re trying to practice spells but none of the magic users are around so they just have to work everything out by themselves. but carey and killian also find it, honestly, really fun to see their kids learning new things.

they’re also low key terrified bc, even though johann specialized in illusion magic and noelle is a druid, somehow johann knows how to cast perfect fireballs and noelle knows just a bit too much abt necromancy stuff (sorry kravitz)

(honestly tho, between merle & lucretia & dav & lup & barry & taako, you can see all types of magic influence on the sweet flips kids) (and other’s, too, like how johann knows how to pick locks and, after being babysat by avi enough, noelle seems to have pretty good aim with projectiles, etc etc etc)

johann goes to taako’s school and noelle goes to lucas’s school. and, see, taakos fawns over the both of them (even tho he swears he’s not a fan of kids even tho he and kravitz have basically adopted angus already), but he (jokingly) gives noelle shit for not going to his school and absolutely praises johann for “making the right academic choice” but you know that, during family get togethers, taako is helping both of them out with school work and making sure that lucas is going easy on noelle

i think both carey and killian are pretty cool moms!!! but, actually, i think at first, like when johann was still in an egg, carey was... incredibly nervous. i hc that she didn’t really have much of a family life. like, she had her parents and her brother, scales, and they lived in neverwinter together, but it was kinda like “parents that had kids but let their kids do whatever they want from the time they were little.” so, like, carey was out on her own for most days, wreaking whatever havoc and doing whatever she wanted, and sometimes she would come home to sleep and sometimes she wouldn’t, so she was super scared that she wouldn’t be a good mom. killian, on the other hand, i hc is a huge family person and the oldest of a bunch of sisters, which kinda made carey even more nervous bc “oh god what if killian is so good at this and she regrets having kids with me and and and” but killian helps her out and shows her that she can give their kids and better upbringing than she had and, together, they work together and are really good moms!!!

they joke that killian is “bad cop” and carey is “good cop” but they’re both huge softies for their kids but also know when discipline is necessary (but, like, calm discipline. they don’t believe in yelling at kids). i do think that they have their Things, you know. like killian is protective in the way that she doesn’t want anyone to hurt her kids, so she’s the “intimidating” parent when her kids start bringing dates home (but she softens up quickly). and carey gets really nervous when the kids are out for a while, so she at least likes to keep tabs like “hey just make sure to come home and let us know what’s going on.” but, overall, i think they’re both really chill moms and they have a super nice, super trusting relationship with their kids. and even when the kids start growing up and going off on their own, they always stop back and visit!!!

[maidsuokasenpai]

What level is your character? What class/subclass? What stats do they have? What's their breakfast order? Whats their greatest wish? Tell me everything!

This is a couple days late but aaaaahhhh ok I’m going to infodump about my character now.

Ok so her name is Eloise Theobold, she’s 17 years old. She’s a level 6 jester bard, she’s an elf. Her dad is a high elf and her mom was a wood elf. Her mother was killed (my idea is for political motives but I’m letting the DM tweak it to fit her world). Her dad is a very high political ranking elf, and just your typical douchebag elf. The DM doesn’t want racism in the game (which is totally fair) so he’s just kind of against anyone who doesn’t use proper magic or is just not a “proper person” in general. He doesn’t even like that she’s a bard so he kind of forced her to learn the most proper instruments (she’s proficient in violin, lyre, and... harmonica which her dad definitely doesn’t approve of; honestly I gave her a harmonica for the sole purpose of being annoying or if she ever gets put in jail). He basically only let her play very classical elven music, like whatever the elven equivalent to baroque is.

So her mom was killed when Eloise was around 15, and Eloise spent about a year “acting out” in her father’s opinion, mostly just playing silly music and doing spells, hanging out at taverns and running around the woods with her best friend, a half orc named Shawna. Her dad got fed up and enrolled her in a fancy finishing school for elves which of course is not Eloise’s style, so she ran away from the school and originally went to stay with Shawna and her family before moving on to find her mother’s family in the woods to stay with them. Her dad kind of kept her away from that side of the family at the best of times but after her mother died he really kind of isolated her. So she runs away, and she finds out Shawna’s gone missing. So now she has kind of two goals in mind, to find her mom’s family and to find Shawna. That was the original background for the character but it’s going to be tweaked based on what the DM wants for her world.

So anyway Eloise has been kind of fucking around, going from town to town, hanging in taverns playing music and telling jokes until she finally meets the rest of the party.

She’s proficient in acrobatics, deception, nature, perception, performance, persuasion, sleight of hand, and stealth. She’s also proficient with rapiers. So far her spells are:

Cantrips: Poison Spray, Minor Illusion, vicious mockery, message

First level: healing word, dissonant whispers, charm person, tasha’s hideous laughter

Second: lesser restoration, enthrall, suggestion

Third: leomund’s tiny hut, summon fey spirit

Her breakfast order is usually something sweet, she definitely has a sweet tooth. So I know this isn’t like typical D&D stuff, but anything like waffles or pancakes, maybe elven whey bread with cinnamon sugar, chocolate bread, stuff like that.

She has pretty good stats in everything except strength, which is a 5 (-3) 😭���� but I mean she’s a tiny 17 year old elf who’s spent her whole life playing violin what do you want. She’s also ace and bi 😌

Anyway the rest of the party is basically just stoic morally ambiguous adults so they’re just adopting this energy filled, chaotic good child apparently.

[sol1loqu1st]

re: my beautiful beautiful arcane trickster rogue named liana bc that was the closest the dm would allow me to a normal fucking name ive chosen her spells n shit and they are: cantrips are mage hand (obvs), message, friends, and a neat lil bonus cantrip i got to choose bc im a high elf, fire bolt (i figured setting shit on fire might be a useful thing at some point plus i wanted something that does some damage) and 1st level spells are charm person (im assuming thats like a fucking arcane trickster STAPLE like how can you NOT have charm person), comprehend languages (bc the dm is a fucking asshole who keeps putting stuff in other languages and im getting frustrated), and tasha's hideous laughter bc Holy Shit does that spell have some untapped fucking potential anyway BOY I CANNOT WAIT for level 14 bc thats like the only chance ill get to gain blink as a spell and BOY HOWDY I CANT WAIT

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #227

Today on Fate and Phantasms we're building another prettyboy saber from another dimension, the Prince of Lan Ling! He's a Swords Bard for that fancy spinny swordfighting style of his plus tons of buffs for your allies and debuffs for your enemies (his NP is a song, after all), as well as a Devotion Paladin for his horse and a mask that blocks out mental debuffs.

Check out his build breakdown below the cut, or his character sheet over here!

Next up: She likes poetry/ she kills you if you have some/ The fuck, Liangyu?

Race and Background

The good prince is a variant human, giving him +1 Strength and Constitution. This gives you proficiency with Acrobatics to cool spinning tricks and the Inspiring Leader feat. You give a speech, and up to six creatures (including you, if you want) get temporary HP equal to your level and your charisma modifier, and each creature you inspire this way can't get them again until they finish a short rest. Technically you have to spend 10 minutes talking to get this bonus, but if your DM really forces your hand just sing the Song of Lan Ling on repeat until they tell you to stop.

Also, you're a prince, that means you're a Noble. History and Persuasion proficiency, yay.

Ability Scores

We're actually going with point buy this time around, since Lan Ling is one of those annoying people who are decent at just about everything. Your Dexterity and Charisma should be the highest at 14 apiece since those are the main abilities we're focusing on. After that is Intelligence and Strength at 12. Lan Ling is a good tactician, and with your racial bonus that'll get our strength where it needs to be for multiclassing. Constitution is at 11, with your racial bonus rounding it up. Military campaigns are surprisingly difficult to survive, so you have to be a little tough. You did die from poisoning though, so we aren't making you that tough. Finally, we're "dumping" Wisdom at only 10. You follow orders to your own detriment, but aside from that you're pretty alright. That also doesn't give us much in the way of mental defenses, but we'll fix that as we go on.

Class Levels

Bard 1: Starting off as a bard gives us a bunch of cool stuff like proficiency with Dexterity and Charisma saves plus three skills of your choice like Animal Handling for horseback riding and Investigation and Insight for a better tactical mind. You can also use your bonus action for some Bardic Inspiration, giving an ally a d6 to add to one ability check, saving throw, or attack roll made in the next minute. You're just a really cool guy, and people want to do their best around you. You get a number of dice equal to your charisma modifier, and they get recharged on a long rest. On top of that you can cast Spells using your Charisma, like the cantrip Mending to fix up your mask in a pinch, or Message to deliver information on a noisy battlefield. You can also use your prettyboy face to Charm Persons for up to an hour if they fail a wisdom save, turning them into your friend until you or your real friends hurt them. If you're already in combat, you can use Bane to weaken the enemy's resolve, forcing a charisma save on up to three creatures and reducing all their saves and attacks by 1d4 for a minute. If you'd rather help your friends instead, use Healing Word to bolster their fighting spirit (read: heal them), or Faerie Fire to strengthen their attacks. Any creature in a 20' cube gets lit up if they fail a dexterity save, preventing them from turning invisible and granting all attacks against them advantage.

Bard 2: Second level bards are Jacks of All Trades, adding half their proficiency to checks they aren't proficient in, which tidily solves your being good at everything problem. You also get a Song of Rest, adding a d6 to the healing your party does over short rests. On top of that, you can cast Disguise Self. It's not a physical mask, but it'll do in a pinch.

Bard 3: At third level you graduate from college, and while being a Swords bard won't help you find a job in this economy, at least you'll be able to rob people. They get a fighting style like Dueling for +2 to attacks you make with a one-handed weapon. You also learn some Blade Flourishes by spending bardic inspiration dice to add some bonus flair to your manslaughter. A Defensive Flourish adds a roll of your inspiration to both your damage and your AC for the round, a Slashing Flourish deals a roll in damage to everything you want to hit within 5' of you, and a Mobile Flourish pushes your foe back a bit, deals extra damage, and lets you follow them with your reaction. Think "dramatic fencing scene on a high platform" sort of attacks. You also get a second level spell like Aid, letting you add 5 HP to a creatures maximum for 8 hours, no concentration. We won't be able to focus too much on constitution here, but this and Inspiring Leader will help make up the difference. Finally, use your Expertise to double your proficiency bonus in Investigation and Insight. Tactics are your friend and we can't go battlemaster as a bard, so this is what we're doing.

Bard 4: Use your first Ability Score Improvement to power up your Dexterity for more accurate attacks and a better AC. You also learn the cantrip Friends to be so pretty you get advantage on charisma checks against one creature for up to a minute, though they probably won't be friends after the spell ends. To help with the fallout, use Calm Emotions to calm down people in a 20' radius. Creatures that fail their Charisma check either have any charm or frightening effects used on them suppressed for a minute, or they become indifferent instead of hostile towards other creatures. Fun fact, this absolutely gets around charm immunity. Your face is just that beautiful.

Bard 5: Fifth level is a good level for bards. Your bardic inspiration grows to a d8, and you become a Font of Inspiration, regaining spent inspiration on a short rest instead of a long one. You can also cast third level spells now like Fear. You'll probably have to reflavor it, but it makes bad guys stop attacking you, and they have disadvantage on checks and attacks for the duration if they fail a wisdom save.

Bard 6: Fear and charming are all well and good, but I think it's time to help our party more directly again. Your Countercharm is the best we have for now, spending an action to give advantage on saves against getting charmed or frightened. You also gain an Extra Attack each action from being a swords bard, and can cast Mass Healing Word to deliver even more healing goodness to the party.

Paladin 1: Okay Countercharm is bad, so if we want something better we'll have to ask god. Sorta. As a paladin you can use Divine Sense to sense extraplanar creatures. Look for the giant pillars, those tend to be the demons. You can also Lay on Hands, spending an action to heal a person for up to 5 HP per paladin level. There's something about Lan Ling catching you that just makes all your worries go away.

Paladin 2: Second level paladins get another fighting style, and Protection makes your armor even tougher with a +1 to your AC. Your barding certainly isn't heavy, or even medium, but it is still armor. You can also cast Spells now using your Charisma to cast or prepare them. Since we're multiclassing, check the multiclassing table to figure out how many slots you have. Pick up Cure Wounds for a stronger single-target heal, Heroism in case your inspiring leadership has worn off, or Command to be pretty and have people do stuff for you. Alternatively, you can use Divine Smite to add plenty of radiant damage to a weapon attack. For once this isn't in character, but it's free damage.

Paladin 3: If we want magical defenses, there's no better choice than the Devotion paladin, and you're so devoted you offed yourself for very little reason. Try not to do that in-game, your party might not like you for that. You get Divine Health, making you immune to disease. Definitely not poison though. You also get Channel Divinity once per short rest, letting you make a Sacred Weapon or Turn the Unholy. The former adds your charisma to attacks with the weapon, and it turns into a flashlight for up to a minute. The latter forces a wisdom save on fiends and undead nearby, forcing them to run away and not attack people for up to a minute. Even demons know how pretty you are. Even demons know. You also get subclass spells that are always prepared for you, like Protection from Evil and Good and Sanctuary. Your mask shuts out all "mental agitations", and I'm ruling that includes possession. And if you take the mask off you force a wisdom save on all creatures trying to attack you, and if they fail they have to hit someone else. This lasts up to 1 minute, or until you make an attack or offensive spell.

Paladin 4: Fourth level paladins get another ASI, so boost your Charisma for stronger spells, more inspiration, and better stuff later. You like charisma, it's pretty good for you.

Bard 7: Seventh level bards get fourth level spell slots for stuff like Freedom of Movement. Now you can't be slowed, paralyzed, or restrained for an hour. Hey, if your mask protects from mental agitations, why don't you have protection from mental debuffs in game?

Bard 8: Use this ASI to bump up your Charisma for more spells, blah blah blah we just told you why this is good two levels ago, it's probably still on your screen just look up. Also grab Ego Whip for an intellgence save that forces disadvantage on attacks, checks, and saves on a failure, while also shutting down magic. At the end of each turn it can make another intelligence save, but again, that's at disadvantage. Who could hurt a face like that?

Bard 9: Your song of rest catches up to your inspiration, and you can now cast Intellect Fortress for advantage on intelligence, wisdom, and charisma saves, plus resistance to psychic damage for up to an hour with concentration. You can even pass your mask to another creature, or create copies with higher level spell slots. Oh hey, it's your sixth level ability but significantly better, how'd that work out for you, countercharm?

Bard 10: Your last level of barding bumps your inspiration up to a d10, and you learn the spell Blade Ward for a kinda sorta uncanny dodge. You also learn two Magical Secrets from any spell list, like Bless to add 1d4 to your allies' attacks, saves and checks for a minute, or Slow to do the exact opposite of Haste on up to six creatures. Their speed is halved, they take a -2 to dexterity saves, and can't take reactions. Also, they can only take an action or a bonus action, not both. They also can only make one attack per turn, and have a 50/50 chance of taking two turns to cast a 1 turn spell. They have to fail a wisdom save for this to take effect, and they get another one at the end of each turn. You also get more Expertise in Animal Handling and History, I swear we're getting that horse soon.

Paladin 5: Fifth level paladins don't get that extra attack since you have one already, but you do get second level spells! Grab freebies like Lesser Restoration for even more protection from status effects, and Zone of Truth for... uh.... hey look! It's Find Steed! Boom, horse, done. Also, while riding this horse you can have spells that affect you affect your mount as well for even better healing and buffs. That's right, you can use that sixth level spell slot to beef up yourself and your horse so neither of you die in the first round!

Paladin 6: At six(teen)th level your Aura of Protection adds your charisma modifier to any save made within 10' of you, so even if you don't have a spell up you can still deal with spells coming your way.

Paladin 7: I hope you weren't done with auras yet, because your Aura of Devotion also automatically shuts down charming effects within 10' of you.

Paladin 8: Use your last ASI to bump up your Charisma to the highest it can get. Normally I like to balance things out, but your face is literally supernaturally pretty.

Paladin 9: Your penultimate level finally grants you the highest of boons: third level paladin spells. As a Beacon of Hope you give allies advantage on wisdom and death saves, plus they gain the maximum amount of healing from any healing effects. Dispel Magic does Aura of Vitality continues your healing crusade by letting you heal a nearby creature each turn as a bonus action for a long-term healing word. Speaking of a crusade, if your allies really want to go on one Crusader's Mantle will add a bit of radiant damage to their attacks when they're near you.

Paladin 10: Your last level of this build grants you an Aura of Courage, preventing any frightening effects within 10 feet of you. I told you we were making a mask that shuts out all mental agitation, and I delivered.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

Debuffs slide off you and your party like water on ducks, and anything that isn't rejected immediately will be highly resisted thanks to the +5 to all saves you give people and, likely, the resistances as well.

Your own debuffs are also varied with their attack strategies, hitting intelligence, wisdom, and charisma to make sure that almost every enemy will have their weak point exploited.

While you only have 130 HP on paper, Inspiring Leader and a high-level Aid spell will bump that amount up to a nice 200 before we even get into your healing. That makes you a surprisingly solid frontline fighter if you need to be. Business in the front, business in the back, you fit in everywhere.

Cons:

We had to sink most of our ASIs into either fixing the middling start from point buy or bumping your Charisma, so your physicality is a little lacking. Your dexterity is a touch lower than we'd like for someone using their sword, and while we can make up for your low base HP it's still a problem.

On that note, your buffs take time to apply, so if you're ambushed without Aid or you don't have time for an inspiring speech you'll find yourself a lot weaker than normal.

Having eighth level spell slots is nice, but you know what's nicer? Eighth level spells. Multiclassing gives you a lot in the way of defenses, but it doesn't help against the fact that you could be warping reality to your whim right now on another build.

[tigerkirby215]

5e Nunu and Willump, the Boy and his Yeti build (League of Legends)

(Artwork by Riot Games)

You've got a friend in me; you've got a friend in me!

When the road looks rough ahead and you're miles and miles from your nice warm bed... You just remember what your old pal said:

Boy, you've got a friend in me. Yeah, you've got a friend in me!

GOALS

Every adventure is better with a friend! - Nunu is as much a boy as he is the friend of the Yeti.

It's a sword called Svellsongur! - The heart of a child can save the Frejlord, and in his heart is a song.

Gigantulossal snowball! - Ice can be nice, and it’s all in good fun to throw snowballs around!

RACE

Nunu’s a human... but he’s also a small child so we can instead make him a Halfling! As a Halfling your Dexterity score increases by 2. You have Halfling Nimbleness to move through the space of a creature that is bigger than you, and are Brave for advantage against being frightened. But most importantly you are Lucky: if you roll a 1 on a d20 you can reroll the dice! Consider it the yeti magic protecting your childlike innocence.

For subrace Lightfoot Halflings get a +1 increase to Charisma, and they are Naturally Stealthy and able to hide behind creatures that are one size larger than them. Want to play hide-and-seek with Willump? Hide behind him! He’ll never see you!

If you want a bit more magic in your life Lotusden Halflings from Wildemount get some innate (Wisdom-based) spellcasting. Most of it is nature based which isn’t too in-flavor for Nunu, but it’s fun!

ABILITY SCORES

15; CHARISMA - You managed to tame the fearsome yeti with nothing but your young innocence!

14; CONSTITUTION - More of Willump’s Constitution than your own, but the two of you share a health bar after all.

13; WISDOM - Nunu learnt many a lesson about the Frejlord from his mother, and always knows deep down how people feel.

12; DEXTERITY - Along with our racial improvement this is more than enough DEX; you’ll be riding Willump anyways, and he’s kinda bulky.

10; INTELLIGENCE - You’re a kid with child-like naivety, even with your big best friend helping you.

8; STRENGTH - It’s on Willump to do the heavy lifting; not you.

BACKGROUND

Nunu travels around the Frejlord, helping people out and fighting monsters. That’s a Folk Hero if I’ve ever seen one! As a Folk Hero you have Animal Handling proficiency to help Willump, and he has Survival proficiency to help you! You also get proficiency with Land vehicles as well as a tool of your choice. (Any tool will do but maybe keep away from the Brewer’s Supplies? You’re underage!)

Your feature Rustic Hospitality is there for people to help a boy and his yeti. Commoners will always be willing to help you, as long as you aren’t mean and no one mean’s looking for you.

(Artwork by Riot Games)

THE BUILD

LEVEL 1 - BARD 1

Of course you’re a Bard! As a Bard you get proficiency with 3 musical instruments, as well as any three skills! A Flute is MANDATORY as Nunu, and I’d suggest the other two wind instruments (Pan Flute / Shawm) as well, but of course pick whatever instrument your mother would teach you. As for skills Persuasion comes naturally to a kind-hearted boy, and your mom taught your plenty of History. You can pick whatever you think will be useful for your third skill but I opted for some Arcana knowledge thanks to Willump.

The main feature of a Bard is Bardic Inspiration. If your friends need a little help you can encourage them with a song on your flute to give them a d6 to an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw. You can inspire people a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier, and for now your inspiration comes back on a long rest.

But of course the other important part of being a Bard is spellcasting! You learn two cantrips from the Bard list: while it isn’t cold damage icy words from Vicious Mockery will let your enemies know that you’re here to defeat them with your big best friend! For some more fun magic Prestigitation will let you do all sorts of fun stuff! Fireworks! Cool pictures! Fire-wait fire? Regardless read the spell over to see all its effects.

For your leveled spells Animal Friendship is good to stop the big bad wolves from harming the townsfolk. Getting Willump to Detect Magic would be helpful, and while healing isn’t something you can normally do everyone appreciates a Healing Word! And for your final spell why not have a good laugh? Tasha’s Hideous Laughter forces an enemy to fall over laughing! All in good fun!

LEVEL 2 - BARD 2

Level 2 Bards get Jack of All Trades, letting you add half your proficiency bonus to any skill check you aren’t proficient in. You’re just a kid, so why not try EVERYTHING?

You also get Song of Rest. When taking a short rest you can play the flute to let anyone who’s recovering health with hit die recover an additional d6 of health. Nothing like stories by the fire.

You also get another spell at this level and there’s nothing like a bit of Heroism to keep fighting until the job’s done!

LEVEL 3 - BARD 3

Third level Bards get Expertise in two skills: Animal Handling will be the best to take care of Willump, and Persuasion will be the best way to unite the Frejlord!

You can also choose your Bard College at third level. Ugh; school? Regardless the College of Valor for a warrior who they sing songs about! As a Valor Bard you get proficiency with martial weapons, shields, and medium armor; that’s why I told you to keep your DEX at 14! Grab medium armor and a shield to keep yourself safe while Willump fights! You also get Combat Inspiration, letting your allies to add your Bardic Inspiration to their AC or their damage die with their weapons, which were basically the only two things you couldn’t add inspiration to before.

You can also now learn second level spells: freeze an enemy over with Hold Person to let your allies pelt ‘em with snowballs! ...Arrows work too...

LEVEL 4 - BARD 4

At fourth level you get an Ability Score Increase: naturally you should increase your Charisma for better Bard stuff! You could also learn another spell but for now I’m going to hold out until...

LEVEL 5 - BARD 5

At 5th level your Bardic Inspiration increases to a d8, which is great because you also get Font of Inspiration to get your inspiration dice back on a short rest!

And we’ve got a lotta magic to learn: one cantrip and two spells. For your cantrip have Willump make some Dancing Lights! For your leveled spells Leomund’s Tiny Hut is a good way to get a good night’s rest. (I feel like now would be a good time to mention that Bards can cast Ritual spells.) For a ranged Absolute Zero try Hypnotic Pattern to incapacitate everyone in a 30 foot cube.

LEVEL 6 - BARD 6

As a Valor Bard you get an Extra Attack at 6th level, allowing you to attack twice. Shame you won’t really be attacking much, but you can grab a sword if you want.

Back to magic! Enemies Abound will make an enemy think their friends are their enemies! I know it sounds confusing but basically they’ll hit anyone who’s close to them, so keep away!

Oh and right: you get Countercharm too. You can use your action to give an ally advantage against a charming or frightening effect. I suppose it’s helpful, and in-character.

(Artwork by Riot Games)

LEVEL 7 - BARD 7

7th level Bards can cast 4th level spells: why not make your own winter wonderland with Hallucinatory Terrain? You can make the terrain in a 150-foot cube in range look, sound, and even smell like some other sort of natural terrain. A snowy landscape is fun and all but this is a really crazy spell that you can do some awesome stuff with: make an enemy fall into a lake that they think isn’t actually there, or make them run around a lake that they think is there. All it takes is a little imagination!

LEVEL 8 - BARD 8

8th level Bards get an Ability Score Increase, so cap off your Charisma to be the best leader of the Frejlord a little boy can be!

You can also learn another spell and to create some more confusion how about the spell Confusion? Each creature in a 10-foot-radius sphere centered on a point you choose within range must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw when you cast this spell or be affected by it. When affected by confusion, they have to think really hard about what they’re doing! Roll a d10 to see what they do, and read the spell yourself to see what it can really do.

LEVEL 9 - BARD 9

9th level Bards see their Song of Rest increase to a d8. Does this ability scale really poorly? Yes!

You know what doesn’t scale poorly? Some 5th level spells! There’s a lot of great spells at 5th level but I’d like some more Absolute Zero. Synaptic Static is one of my favorite spells, doing a ton of psychic damage and also making it harder for enemies to fight!

LEVEL 10 - BARD 10

10th level Bards get a d10 Bardic Inspiration die, Expertise in 2 skills (honestly pick whatever since it’s unlikely you have many skills to choose from), and a new cantrip. (Mending would help if you accidentally break your flute.)

But most importantly: Magical Secrets! I’ve been mentioning Willump a lot but we’ve yet to get our furry friend. Well 10 levels later we can finally grab Find Greater Steed! You can summon any of the spirits listed to act as a mount: they have the statistics provided in the Monster Manual, though it is a celestial, fey, or a fiend instead of its normal creature type. (Fey would probably make the most sense for Willump?) If it has an Intelligence score of 5 or lower its Intelligence becomes 6, and it gains the ability to understand one language of your choice that you speak.

You control the mount in combat, and can communicate with it telepathically if it’s within 1 mile of you. While mounted you can make any spell you cast that targets only you also target the mount. The mount disappears temporarily when it drops to 0 hit points or when you dismiss it as an action, dropping any equipment it was wearing or carrying. Casting this spell again re-summons the bonded mount, with all its hit points restored and any conditions removed.

So... let’s talk Willump: if going by the officially listed creatures in Find Greater Steed’s description a Dire Wolf would probably be the best imitation of Willump, though a Saber-toothed Tiger or even Rhinoceros would also make sense. But if your DM is a cool DM ask them if you could actually summon a Yeti with some of its abilities nerfed.

The rules for mounted combat say that an intelligent creature (which Willump probably would be classified as) rolls for initiative as well, and acts independently. Find Greater Steed mounts will obey your commands thankfully, but if you don’t want to take your turn over two turns then just opt to have the mount move on your turn.

Now here’s where things get a little... Beastmaster Ranger. You know how I made it really hard for you to actually fight in melee range? Ask your DM if your mount can do the attack action instead of you. The way I see it this doesn’t really break anything, and this allows you to get value out of your extra attack at level 6. I really suggest talking about this spell with your DM before you take it as its one of the more overwhelming spells in D&D. But this is the only thing in this build that’s really going to ask a lot from your DM.

Now that everything’s been said about Willump: how about a more simple spell? Cone of Cold is half an Absolute Zero, letting you blast creatures in a 60 foot radius in front of you with ice and snow! It’s a nice, icy trick up your sleeve for a Bard who’s been mostly supportive so far. Yeah: could’ve taken Snilloc’s Snowball Swarm because it has “snowball” in the name, but Cone of Cold is like, a thousand times more awesome!

(Artwork by Riot Games)

LEVEL 11 - BARD 11

11th level Bards can learn 6th level spells, so how about you take a page from Sona’s book with Otto's Irresistible Dance. Choose one creature to make them dance! Your friends have advantage to hit a dancing enemy, and they have disadvantage on dexterity saves. They can use their action to try to make another save against the effect, but it’s such a fun bard spell!

LEVEL 12 - BARD 12

12th level Bards get an Ability Score Improvement and since our Charisma is maxed out now would be a good time to finally grab the Inspiring Leader feat to help your friends charge into battle!

LEVEL 13 - BARD 13

At 13th level your Song of Rest increases to a d10, but more importantly you can now cast 7th level spells like Mirage Arcane, which is basically just a better version of Hallucinatory Terrain.

LEVEL 14 - BARD 14

14th level Valor Bards get Battle Magic, letting Willump attack as a bonus action after you cast a spell. But more importantly you get more Magical Secrets!

Investiture of Ice from the Elemental Evil Player's Companion is perfect for a boy from the Frejlord. You get immunity to cold damage and resistance to fire and the ability to move across snow and ice without extra movement. Your Frozen Heart makes the area within 10 feet of you difficult terrain for anyone other than you (and I’d argue it wouldn’t be hard for Willump either), and you can use your action to toss some snowballs! Each creature in a 15-foot cone must make a Constitution saving throw or take 4d6 cold damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a success. A creature that fails its save against this effect has its speed halved until the start of your next turn.

For a more controlling Absolute Zero that won’t munch on your spell slots Sleet Storm will summon a blizzard to heavily obscure an area and make it very hard for an enemy to walk through the area.

(Artwork by Riot Games)

LEVEL 15 - BARD 15

15th level Bards get the most inspiration possible with a d12 Bardic Inspiration die! You can also cast 8th level spells but the truth is that the high level Bard spells aren’t too impressive. Regardless Power Word Stun will finally let you, well, stun people!

LEVEL 16 - BARD 16

16th level Bards get another Ability Score Improvement but at this point you can probably invest in some more Feats. Lucky is always nice?

LEVEL 17 - BARD 17

17th level Bards finally see their Song of Rest increase to a d12... yeah this ability scales poorly...

But you get the ULTIMATE YETI POWER of a 9th level spell, and it’s about time for true Absolute Zero! Psychic Scream lets you force up to 10 targets to make an Intelligence saving throw. On a failed save, a target takes 14d6 psychic damage and is stunned. On a successful save, a target takes half as much damage and isn’t stunned. A stunned target can make an Intelligence saving throw at the end of each of its turns. On a successful save, the stunning effect ends.

Oh and their heads explode if this kills them. Just... felt the need to point that out.

LEVEL 18 - BARD 18

18th level Bards get their last two Magical Secrets and I think it’s time for some fun stuff:

Illusory Dragon lets you summon a giant dragon! When the illusion appears, enemies that can see it must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or become frightened of it for 1 minute. If a frightened creature ends its turn in a location where it doesn’t have line of sight to the illusion, it can repeat the saving throw, ending the effect on itself on a success.

As a bonus action you can move the illusion up to 60 feet. At any point during its movement, you can cause it to exhale a blast of energy in a 60-foot cone originating from its space. When you create the dragon, choose a damage type: acid, cold, fire, lightning, necrotic, or poison. Each creature in the cone must make an Intelligence saving throw, taking 7d6 damage of the chosen damage type on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

The illusion is tangible but attacks miss it automatically, it succeeds on all saving throws, and it is immune to all damage and conditions. A creature that uses an action to examine the dragon can determine that it is an illusion by succeeding on an Investigation check against your spell save DC. If a creature discerns the illusion for what it is, they can see through it and has advantage on saving throws against its breath.

And for your other Magical Secret... Wish. I think you know what Wish does, because it does anything you want! (Within reason.) My suggestion: Wish 1 get your mom back, Wish 2 make Willump your immortal best friend forever, Wish 3... ice cream!

LEVEL 19 - BARD 19

19th level Bards get their last Ability Score Improvement: again look into some good Feats you may want. My suggestion: give Willump some Toughness so you can have a total of 38 extra HP!

LEVEL 20 - WARLOCK 1

Ah I’m just screwing with you.

BARD 20

20th level Bards get Superior Inspiration, allowing them to regain one use of Bardic Inspiration as they roll initiative if they have none when combat starts. Is this a weak capstone? Yeah, but you also get more spells and stuff which is neat too.

FINAL BUILD

PROS

Let's put the venture, in adventure! - For once this isn’t a multiclass nonsense build: just straightforward spellcaster levels. That means you get access to some of the strongest spells available, including Wish thanks to your Magical Secrets!

Battle is the song I came to sing! - You are the king of inspiration: a d12 that allies can add to ability checks, attack rolls, saving throws, damage throws, and their AC! With a d12 of extra AC even the Wizard won’t be hit, and an extra d12 to damage is never a bad thing!

Everyone knows heroes are brave - You are skilled in literally everything thanks to Jack of All Trades, and there’s pretty much zero chance any of your Persuasion checks will fail.

CONS

A Frostguard walks into a mead hall and... - Who would’ve guessed a child isn’t the brightest bulb? The only stat you invested in is Charisma, and while Feats are cool and all your saving throws are rather subpar. Jack of All Trades will still help you with skills but a -1 to Strength saves isn’t great, and a mere +2 to Constitution saves means you’ll drop concentration a lot.

Make way for the yeti! - Some of your spells, especially your lower level ones are fun but very situational. By the time you’re facing some really big bads Heroism and Hideous Laughter will be rather subpar.

Willump's not a monster - Controlling two characters can be hard, and a DM may not be completely okay with it. Be sure to cover everything with them before you go in and summon your yeti pall to fight by your side.

But heroes can’t do everything. I mean they can, but they’ve gotta struggle a bit! Hero’s journey! But a hero is nothing without their mighty steed, their trusted squire... and their best friend.

(Artwork by Riot Games)

[elkrs]

Red Suns IV: Magic in Akkarad (I)

Ritual is when perception and imagination meet reality. It is the very essence magic's very meaning, and is the most important tool of the sorcerer.

Apharat's Preliminary Codex

Changes

When I first came up with Akkarad, I decided that I wanted to make a setting where the magic was completely different to the norm. I didn't just want to have vanilla 5e stuff lying around, like Leomund's Tiny Hut and Boots of the Winterland. This was for two reasons. Firstly, a lot of spells could be used to take the danger out of the desert. That's fair enough I suppose, but if the desert is no longer deadly, then why have a desert at all?

The other reason is that I want magic to feel older, stranger and more dangerous to use. As a result, for 5e, lots of things are going to need to change. Firstly, all the old spell casting classes need to go. We need to redo everything, using the others as a base. All the old spells? Gone. We'll use a few of them, but they will be changed to make them more... Red Suns-esque?

So, before we do anything else, let's look at our spell list to try and make sure this is achievable. It is going to take quite a few of these blog posts to get it done methinks. Also, we'll be making sure to only look at arcane casting to begin with, our clerics and druidy bois can wait.

Spells of Yore

So, we are going to be taking apart the 5e spell list to take which ones we want, and discard the rest. We'll be adding to this later and making up our own, but for now, we just want to see which ones we want to use! The lists you'll see below are the ones we are keeping. If something is absent, t'aint getting in. I've also only gone up to 5th level spells because I feel that this setting does not lend itself well to high level play. It should be a fight for survival, not a classic kill stuff, get loot, kill bigger stuff, get better loot type scenario.

Cantrips:

Acid Splash

Blade Ward

Control Flames

Friends

Gust

Light

Lightning Lure

Poison Spray

Sword Burst

1st Level:

Absorb Elements

Burning Hands

Charm Person

Chromatic Orb

Colour Spray

Detect Magic

Disguise Self

Earth Tremor

False Life

Find Familiar

Grease

Hideous Laughter

Illusory Script

Jump

Longstrider

Magic Missile

Ray of Sickness

Shield

Sleep

Thunderwave

Witch Bolt

2nd Level:

Alter Self

Arcane Lock

Blindness/Deafness

Blur

Cloud of Daggers

Darkness

Detect Thoughts

Dust Devil

Enlarge/Reduce

Gust of Wind

Invisibility

Misty Step

Scorching Ray

Web

3rd Level:

Animate Dead

Bestow Curse

Blink

Counterspell

Erupting Earth

Fear

Feign Death

Fireball

Lightning Bolt

Slow

Vampiric Touch

Wall of Sand

4th Level:

Banishment

Blight

Confusion

Dimension Door

Elemental Bane

Evard's Black Tentacles

Phantasmal Killer

Polymorph

Stoneskin

Wall of Fire

5th Level:

Bigby's Hand

Control Winds

Geas

Legend Lore

Scrying

Seeming

Wall of Force

Powerful Spells

So as I said above, the spell list only goes to 5th level because I want this setting to be deadly and I don't want it to be played at high levels. Or rather, I don't want to run it at high levels, you do what you want though. So, in the first ever Red Suns post, I made up a spell for turning oneself into a demon. It was gnarly as fuck as was a days long ritual that forced the caster to sacrifice everything, from their body to their sanity. This is the kind of metal shit that I want to reserve for high level magic. To be clear, I don't want people to be able to hit tenth level and take one of these spells. In fact, I don't really want players using most of them to begin with, because they work better for villains. However, a player  character might find one through research and study, in which case... go for it! But be careful, these are gonna get hairy.

For now, I'm going to do two more spells in here, one sixth level, and one seventh. The next post on will be exclusively on the creation of new spells and giving magic in this setting a unique flavour.

The Amaranthine Veil

This ritual spares the caster from death once. It is a grey shroud that hangs over the soul of the caster, meaning that when death comes for them, she will pass them by. To be able to cast this spell, the sorcerer must first come close to death, so that they may throw up the veil to hide themselves.

The sorcerer must drink the milk of the Ethikk flower, enough to induce a seizure, but not enough to cause death. Then, in this vegetative state, the caster must find their way to the grey lands of death. When they arrive, they must begin whispering so that only the souls of those damned can hear.

Veress, adalach defar mushaak. Bastal calyinda.

They must chant this phrase for a day, weaving a veil from the hair of those dead souls who pass by. When complete, the veil will protect them, and the sorcerer must find their way back to their body.

[5e Rules Stuff]

6th level necromancy

Casting time: one day

Range: self

Components: V, S, C (see above)

Duration: until death

The next time that this character dies, no matter how long it takes, they instead return to maximum hit points. In addition, they become 3d6 years younger. However, death is scorned, and will be more dogged in her hunt for the sorcerer's soul.

Summon Sandheart

This ritual brings to life a great and terrible creature known as a Sandheart. It is a huge demon formed of sand, stone and sorcery, and will act on the wishes of its creator with the utmost diligence and perseverance.

To begin with, the caster must first sleep with a man, and then a woman on the same night, under a blood moon. After this, they must walk into the desert, and continue walking until they fall unconscious. Chanting the following phrase.

Sverraka. Shuulad. Shefarat humfvar.

Sandheart. Come. Rise and Burn.

The caster will find that the sand engulfs them. When they come to, a strange pattern of circles and runic markings will surround them, made in the sand by invisible harbingers of the Sandheart. All they must do is continue to chant until the vomit, at which point the Sandheart will rise from their sick. Furthermore, there is a 1 in 6 chance they will switch genders.

When the Sandheart has risen, the caster must bind it to an oath. This might be a person to kill or an empire to destroy for example. The Sandheart will then not rest until it has completed its oath.

[5e Rules Stuff]

7th level necromancy

Casting time: depends

Range: self

Components: V, S, C (see above)

Duration: until its oath has been fulfilled

A Sandheart will attempt to complete its oath to the best of its ability [use Iron Golem stats].

[soraavalon]

Since I can’t seem to let go of my Tiefling Sorceress Nymera from the BDBA campaign I’ll just list off some things that came to mind.

- Nym’s ‘Dancing Lights’ most likely look like small birds from her time in the Flock and her following the bird aesthetic. The reason why Nymera took the ‘Dancing Lights’ cantrip instead of ‘Light’ was because ‘Light’ sheds bright light and that would’ve given the Flock’s position away during their relocation to a Nest/Roost when the city guards were on a raid. With ‘Dancing Lights’ and it shedding dim light and also be four torch sized lights, it not only doesn’t draw too much attention, but also helps those without darkvision have some visibility while those that do have a clearer field of vision.

Even in current time Nym’s ‘Dancing Lights’ still look like birds because she didn’t find a reason to change it and the form was easy to shape the lights into. But I feel it would be quite the change in her character when/if the day comes that her lights take a different form.

The post about casters making their ‘Dancing Lights’ cantrip look unique to them was what brought this on.

- After King Sylas Tethras’s death, if her being the newly appointed head of the Doverna family doesn’t force her to stay in Albion, Nymera would go back to Ortan, Moira with Immerial and the rest of Bad Company. After confronting Richard Dario about him selling Immerial to Sylas and Bad Company are rewarded for removing Sylas from the throne, she would ask Thomas Osborne if he’s accepting apprentices so she could learn how far she could take her enchanting.

It would be there that she creates an item that helps Immerial not get charmed as easily as he did in the past despite is arguments of ‘Dear, I’m naturally resistant to being charmed!’ and all Nym has to do to shut down that argument is to bring up the names ‘Pineswatch’ and ‘Albion’. But she would test the item on herself way before thinking about giving it to Immerial.

- Since the Flock is still a very prominent threat to her, with Mire’s permission, she would use the Scrying Eye to track down various members of the Flock and jot down their location on either a piece of parchment or a map. But more often than not, she’d be trying to Scry on Crow and track him down and see if there’s a pattern to his movements that she can use to cut him off.

But she would also try to coordinate when the bigger threats of the Flock are away from the Aviary long enough for her to get to Voria and somehow get Crane out since he was being threatened to stay put.

- During the time that it takes for the keep to be built (which is a year long process) and if Bad Company doesn’t go on to track down Carric Frey, or hunt down the Twins with Weiland, or find and kill Asmodus (Mireya’s father) immediately after, Nym would take up knitting and other clothes making hobbies using Mint’s shed fur.  She would then give personalized scarves and stuff to her friends then make enchanted clothes for any street kids because winter is harsh.

- Lastly, she would attempt to give the Zeborys Katana back to her father believing that it’s somehow sentient and that it doesn’t like her due to how many times she’s failed using it without the help of her luck bending magic. But Riv would argue that he’s too old to keep and use the sword and wants Nym to have it, which would then lead to training since before being passed down the sword, Nymera has never used a sword. As a sorcerer she didn’t have the capability for it and it would hinder her spell casting, then training as a rogue didn’t allow for learning other weapon proficiencies, so really Nym using the sword was most likely very awkward for her.

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #199

Today on Fate and Phantasms we're making the Jotaro Kujo of FGO, Semiramis! (Seriously, how does that cape/hair... thing work? It's wild.) The queen of poisons is a Graviturgy Wizard to make building a floating castle slightly less difficult to make and cooler to live in, plus a Witherbloom Druid for some dove friends and extra poisons. If you've seen our builds for Waver and Edison, you might know already that building things with magic is costly and time-consuming, and for once that is 100% accurate to the character. Get ready, this is gonna be a weird one.

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

Next up: I'm 40% appendicitis!

Race and Background

Semiramis is technically an aasimar, but she doesn't fly around or heal people, so we can just focus on her human side. .... Oooor we can focus on those ears, because we need to nick some stuff from being an Elf. Specifically, we're going with the Vahadar Elf from Plane Shift Kaladesh, since they've got the ears, the proficiencies we'll need later, and their backstory's still about living in general society, unlike wood elves and other Kaladeshian elves. Thanks to Tasha's Cauldron of Everything, this gives her +2 Intelligence and +1 Wisdom, as well as Darkvision, Fey Ancestry against being charmed, a Trance instead of sleep so she can't be put to sleep, Keen Senses for proficiency in Perception, the Mending cantrip to piece together the castle later, and most importantly Elf Weapon Training. Normally this would give her proficiency with four weapons, but thanks to Tasha's we can swap this out with four tools instead. Carpenter's, Glassblower's, Mason's, and Smith's Tools proficiency should give us everything we need to build a castle later- we'll go into the why when we get there.

Semiramis is also a Noble- grab History, but swap out Persuasion for Deception. Yeah, not even her background can escape how weird this build is.

Ability Scores

Poisoning skills come from Intelligence (I think. WotC are really nonspecific about how to actually fucking make poison), and it's also your main casting modifier: put that first. Second should be your Charisma, nobody drinks poison on purpose, so you'd better get good at lying. After that is Wisdom. If your poisons aren't made with Intelligence it'll definitely be wisdom. That means your Dexterity isn't great- yeah, you fight in a dress, but if you're fighting and not your lackeys, something's gone wrong. We're not dumping Constitution because we're not stupid, so dump Strength instead. You've got minions to carry rocks around for you.

Class Levels

Wizard 1: Starting as a wizard nets you the weakest hit die in the game, but it also gets you proficiency in Intelligence and Wisdom saves, plus the Arcana and Medicine skills. You're half caster, and if you want to ruin someone's bodily functions you have to know what those are first. Starting as a wizard also gets you Spells that you can cast and prepare using your Intelligence. You get six at first level and two each level after. That's a lot, so we're just going to over spells that are important for the build here, though there's a full list of what we'd get in the character sheet. For cantrips, grab Infestation and Poison Spray for poison damage. For once infestation is completely kosher as is, since Semiramis can summon any creature as long as its poisonous. Also, grab Message. Castle halls are big and echo-y, and it's probably not a good idea to shout at people to find out which glass they put the poison in. Aside from that, grab Mage Armor so you die less, Magic Missile for Assassin balls, and Tenser's Floating Disk to carry all the raw materials you'll be using later. Finally, you get an Arcane Recovery once per long rest, letting you recover a couple spell slots on a short rest. The total level you recover is equal to half your wizard level, rounded up.

Wizard 2: Going into second level of wizard gives you a school of magic, and it's hard to lift several tons of stone into the air if you're not into Graviturgy. When you take the subclass, you can Adjust Density as an action, doubling or halving a large or smaller creature/object's weight for up to a minute with concentration. If you reduce a creature's weight it'll increase their speed by 10', double their jump distance, and have disadvantage on strength saves and checks, and vice versa if you increase it. I checked, and stone is roughly 1,000 times denser than air, not 2, so we'll have to do some brewing later to make this work out. Make your strong minions stronger, your fast minions faster, or do the opposite for your enemies.

Wizard 3: Third level wizards get second level spells. You won't get any dragons in this build, sad to say, but you can use Dragon's Breath to turn just about anything into a dragon. They can even spit poison breath, which is really good with the poisoner's feat. Speaking of..

Wizard 4: First Ability Score Improvement of the build, so grab the Poisoner's Feat for more poisony goodness. All poison-based damage rolls you make ignore resistance, you can coat weapons as a bonus action, and you get proficiency in the poisoner's kit. You also learn a special poison that'll force a dc 14 constitution save on the creature you use it on, dealing 2d8 poison damage and poisoning them for a round.

Wizard 5: Fifth level wizards get third level spells. Animate Dead will help you make dragontooth warriors, a.k.a. skeletons. You can make one per casting right now, but you can recast the spell to retain control over up to three skeletons at once. Otherwise they'll be uncontrollable monsters, which is probably less of a goal.

Druid 1: Semiramis might be known for her poisons, but she's really a multifaceted person. Well, not really, but if you want poisons, you're going to get them from animals. If you want animals, you're going to get them from druids. First level druids learn Druidic- it's a language! They also get another set of Spellcasting using their Wisdom to cast and prepare spells. Check the multiclassing table to figure out your spell slots. Grab Guidance and Resistance to be a bit better than everyone else. For first level spells, look for Entangle and Snare to summon chains to slow down enemies, and Speak with Animals to make sure your dovey-woveys know their work is appreciated. We haven't gotten dovey-woveys yet? Don't worry, they're coming.

Druid 2: Second level druids join their circle, and you're so goddamn smart you just joined another school. At the college of Witherbloom, you'll learn how to turn the vitality of nature into deadly poisons. Right off the bat you get circle spells, which are always prepared for you and don't count against how many spells you can prepare. Right now you get the Spare the Dying cantrip as well as Cure and Inflict Wounds. Now you don't literally have to summon a whip every time you want to hit someone. You can also tap in creatures' essences with your Essence Tap. As a bonus action, you empower yourself for 1 minute, gaining one of two options. Overgrowth lets you heal yourself with a hit die each turn as a bonus action, adding your wisdom modifier to the amount healed. Withering Strike lets you change your damage to necrotic when you hit someone with any sort of damage, ignoring resistances to make your poisons even deadlier. You can use this proficiency times per long rest. Most importantly, you gain a Wild Shape / Wild Companion. Both features use the same two charges per short rest. You're limited to what you can turn into based on its CR and movement options, but those limits and how long you can transform/summon a creature for grows as you level up. Currently I'd stick with Wild Companion for dove familiars, but some versions of Semiramis' story include her turning into a dove herself at the end, so Wild Shape isn't out of the question. As long as we sink eight levels into druid, at least.

Druid 3: Third level druids get second level spells, like your freebies Lesser Restoration and Ray of Enfeeblement. Look, if you're going to make poisons it only makes sense that you'd have antidotes on hand. You can also grab spells like Animal Messenger to send your doves out for ingredients, and Locate Animals or Plants to find them yourself.

Wizard 6: Sixth level graviturgists can make a Gravity Well when you cast a spell, moving the target 5 feet in any direction if it is willing or you successfully hit it with the spell. Speaking of spells that push people, Pulse Wave does just that, stepping in for the big stompy dragon animation. Creatures in a 30' cone make a constitution save, and if they fail they'll take force damage and get pushed back 15', or 20' with Gravity Well. You can also pull them, but that's not really stompy at that point. You can also Summon Undead to create a stronger skeleton to lead the others.

Druid 4: At fourth level, druids can transform into swimming creatures, and you also get another ASI. Bump up your Intelligence for stronger spells. Also, grab the Control Fire cantrip, it'll be cold in your castle without it.

Druid 5: Fifth level druids get third level spells, like Revivify and Vampiric Touch. Neither of those are in character, but you can also Conjure Animals (as long as they're poisonous) and Dispel Magic to keep your throne room free of nonsense.

Wizard 7: Seventh level wizard get fourth level spells, including the one we've been working our way up to, Fabricate! As long as you have the raw materials, you can turn them into products of the same material. Since you're working with stone, you're limited to creating Medium objects this way. Just line the outside of the medium objects you make with halves of smaller objects, then mend them together, and eventually you'll have a castle. This will take a while. For a decent-sized castle of 300'x400', you'll be looking at roughly 480 medium-sized blocks per floor. At level 20 you'll have 12 spell slots of fourth level or higher, so you can knock out a floor in roughly 40 days, not including things like doors or other furniture. Also worth noting, you can't make fancy things like glass without proficiency in the tools required to make them normally, hence all the tool proficiencies from your racial bonuses.

Wizard 8: Use your next ASI to bump up your Wisdom for better healing and stronger druid spells. You also learn Mordenkainen's Private Sanctum, so you can prevent creatures from spying into your hanging gardens. Especially useful is the ability to block creatures from teleporting or plane shifting onto your grounds, as that's probably the only way to approach your gardens safely. Or at least it is after you learn Ice Storm, a long range spell that pelts enemies with ice and turns the area into difficult terrain. Of note, it doesn't say the ground, so the entire cylinder will be difficult to fly through. If you want to build giant arcane cannons instead for authenticity, I salute you. Just remember that'll have to come out of your budget.

Wizard 9: Ninth level wizards get fifth level spells, and Wall of Stone will help you speed up construction by making ten 10'x10' panels or ten 10'x20' panels. You can also use this spell to create bridges or the like, and if you hold concentration for 10 minutes the stone remains permanently. If you want to skimp on materials so you can just get this fucking thing in the air already, this'll help with that. You're also learning Geas. If you can't summon a dragon, forcibly controlling a dragon is the next best thing.

Druid 6: Did you think we were done with druid? I said we were stuck here for 8 levels, didn't I? Sixth level witherbloom druids can make a Witherbloom Brew thanks to their new proficiency with Herbalism kits. At the end of a long rest, you can use that kit to make Proficiency brews, which last for 24 hours. A Fortifying brew gives a creature resistance to a damage type chosen at brewing (cold, fire, necrotic, poison, or radiant) for an hour. A Quickening brew heals its drinker, and ends one disease or an effect of charming, frightening, paralyzation, poisoning, or stunning. Again, antidotes might be useful to have on hand, but the real reason we're here is for the Toxifying brew. You can apply the brew to a weapon, and the next time within an hour that weapon hits a creature, they take 2d6 poison damage and have to make a constituiton saving throw (DC 8 + your wisdom modifier + proficiency) or be poisoned for a minute. This is literally so much better than the poisoner feat what the hell.

Druid 7: Seventh level druids get fourth level spells, like Blight and Greater Restoration for stronger poisons and antidotes respectively. You can also Dominate Beast to hold any poisonous critters still while you milk them, or summon Giant Insects instead. They obey you and stay giant until they drop to 0 HP, dismiss the effect, the spell ends.

Druid 8: Our last level of druid finally lets you turn into a dove with a second Wild Shape Improvement. You also get another ASI, so bump up that Wisdom for stronger spells and poisons.

Wizard 10: Tenth level graviturgists can create a Violent Attraction between a creature's face and a weapon, causing a nearby weapon attack to deal an extra 1d10 damage. Alternatively, you can increase the attraction between a creature and the ground, adding 2d10. I doubt your hanging gardens need help making the fall more deadly, but now you can help out of need be. You can do this Intelligence modifier per long rest.

Wizard 11: Eleventh level wizards get sixth level spells, like Guards and Wards. This will make it so much harder for enemies to breach your castle it isn't even funny, if the "hanging out in the stratosphere" thing didn't tip them off already.

Wizard 12: By twentieth level you should have a castle set up, so grab the Lucky feat. Basically, everything that can go right for you does while you're in your castle, so now you get 3 luck points per long rest to make sure that happens, letting you re-roll your attacks, saves, and checks, as well as attacks aimed at you.

So how the fuck do I get a flying castle?

So, admittedly this is up to DM fiat, but let's be real, a flying castle sounds sick as hell and gathering resources is a great reason to go adventuring. If I was your DM, it'd go something like this; After x months of research, you find a way to prepare materials so Adjust Density is permanent on them if you concentrate for the duration. Then you make and fuse together castle chunks as described in level twelve, and eventually you lighten the load on the special rocks so much they're lighter than air. Boom, liftoff, you're fucking awesome now. If you want to go down, just make the float rocks heavier again.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

Even if you don't build a giant floating castle in your adventure, that doesn't mean all this prepwork went to waste. You are a master at protecting areas from invasion, so no matter where you lay your head you know it's going to be safe. Not as safe as a floating castle, but still, safe.

By mixing together all your tool proficiencies with Fabricate, you can make pretty much whatever you need from raw materials. No more paying a smithy for fancier armor!

If you do get your castle in the air or you're near a cliff, you are incredibly deadly, with plenty of ways to shove opponents around or otherwise control movement. Slow them down, trip them up, or shove them off a cliff it's so good. Pulse people off the edge of your garden and laugh at them as they fall.

Cons:

There's literally no rules about building your own castles & poisons, so most of this build is entirely dependent on your DM. If you get a cool one, cool! If you don't, this build is pretty much a writeoff.

You need to hide away in your castle and send out minions because you're kind of pathetic in person. With only 14 AC and less than 100 HP, you'll go down faster than Medb if you don't use your Wild Shapes well.

A lot of that can be chalked up to mixing caster classes, meaning we have to spend more ASIs to make both spell modifiers good, and we miss out on higher level spells. Also, spending 8 levels in druid just to turn into a dove isn't that great unless you really want the flavor. I highly recommend skipping out after 6, the last graviturgy effect is great both to knock people out of the sky and make them bow if they get to your throne room.

But, getting to your throne room is 90% of the fight. This build is one that emphasizes patience, and that's what puts you above the common folk. Hang out in the stratosphere, attend social events in style, and let your poisons and skeleton warriors do the fighting for you. Just be glad there aren't any wacky knights riding hippogryphs around.