#surprise round rpg

[detectivemothman]

Rush and her Stand The Spirit of Radio

[arrowgriffon]

if I had a nickle for every time a surprise round / stabbyness character showed up in a obscure blorbo poll, I'd have 2 nickles which isnt a lot but ITS WEIRD IT HAPPENED TWICE

[halo2rat]

old eb borb fanart (the keep arc?? i think mid 60s) bc i miss them sm

[fantasyfantasygames]

Seven Hundred Signs

The Seven Hundred Signs of the Unseen, Alice White, 2013

Alice White is quite the multi-talented individual. She's a solid game designer, and writes clearly, but her main skill is as an artist. Seven Hundred Signs puts her creative talents front and center.

The game's core conceit is that there is a hidden world layered beneath our own, "the Unseen", with magical conspiracies, invisible portals, impossible buildings, astral technologies, etc. People disappear from our world and end up trapped in an in-between state, from which they eventually escape. The way in which they escape - ripping, bargaining, squeezing, etc. - sets their character type. That's Session 0. After that the game revolves around various major factions and their quests for worldly power, often by acquiring magical power.

You've heard this setting's story before, but that doesn't make it bad. It just means that you can take bits and pieces from Unknown Armies, Delta Green, Over the Edge, Mage: The Awakening, Underground, Living Prism, Kingdom of Nothing, JAGS Wonderland, Night's Black Agents, ConX, Nahual, and more and they'll all fit in your game without too much extra work.

The mechanics are taken from Exacting Calibration, a 4000-word game in the same lineage as Snow & Silence. It uses a deck of playing cards that you write on and alter as the game goes on, a little like "legacy"-style board games. Your character might want there to be more 3s in the deck, for instance, because one of their powers triggers when a 3 comes up, so they might quest for the ability to add an extra diamond to the 2 of diamonds. Or you can place special sigils on cards, which lets you reduce ill effects or trigger critical successes and unseen power surges. It's a fairly slow progression, but by the end of the game the deck is pretty literally stacked in your favor. Balance is not necessarily great. The number of people playing also has a major effect on the odds of a particular card coming up. We'll eventually see those kinks get ironed out in Break of Night (2021), but for now it's still a bit wonky.

The game really shines in its layout and artwork. Full-color two-page spreads are common. Text is placed where it reads clearly, without trying to get too clever about it. On pages that are mostly text, there's still always at least one piece of art - things like a character walking past a streetlight in a bottom corner, or a monster creeping out of the seam in the center of the book.

Two intertwined stories run through the book's art: one of redemption, one of corruption. Different factions have their own subtle color themes. That makes for a really cool moment when the color of someone's wallet makes you realize that they've switched sides. The Unseen is painted in a hyperreal fashion that contrasts with the more typical painting style of the Common World (our world) in a way that makes it feel more real and more important.

There's a little bit of weirdness in the specific conspiracies - some of them are connected to real-world antisemitism and pseudoscience - but it seems like Alice was genuinely unaware of that at the time she wrote the game. Ten years ago I would not have possibly guessed that lizard people theories, of all things, are connected to antisemitism... but it turns out that if you dig deep enough in almost any conspiracy theory, someone starts spouting off about "Elders of Zion" and it alllll rolls downhill. Anyway, like I said, it doesn't seem to be intentional here, and the setting is modular enough that you can remove the problematic elements.

Seven Hundred Signs was expensive when it was first published, and it's only become more so since then. Your best bet may actually be the art book section of a used bookstore. Alice left the RPG scene for computer game visual design back in '15.

[anim-ttrpgs]

Re-Introducing the A.N.I.M. TTRPG Book Club & FAQ

Alright, so, we have this discord server called the A.N.I.M. TTRPG Book Club, and it’s exactly what it sounds like. A discord server, run by the A.N.I.M. Team, for reading, analyzing, and playing TTRPGs. It’s free to join, and at the time of writing this it has a community of nearly 200 members.

Also at the time of writing this, for a limited time, you can get a FREE PDF of the July 11th update of Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy just by joining the A.N.I.M. TTRPG Book Club! This is a huge upgrade over the free May 10th version!

Here’s how the book club operates:

Nominations. Members nominate RPGs they wanna play.

Voting. After we finish the current RPG, we vote on what the next one will be. You can vote for as many nominations as you want, and nominations with the most votes wins.

Reading. We encourage you to buy the winning game to support the developers, but if you can’t for any reason, we will find a way to get you a PDF. A rough deadline is set that will allow everyone to read the rulebook at a rate of about 10 pages a day, though reading faster or slower is okay.

Playing. We assign GMs on a volunteer basis, and players are assigned to groups with GMs based on schedule compatibility. Each group plays the same adventure module, so each group will have commonalities in their adventure that they can talk about and compare their experiences with, even with different GMs, players, and characters.

Repeat. Voting begins anew with the nominations that we have accumulated in the mean time.

A.N.I.M.’s current Patreon goal is also tied to the Book Club. If y’all can raise our Patreon income to $310/month, that will allow us to set aside manpower to carve out and organize a small additional space within the ANIM TTRPG Book Club server for other games which do not fit the nomination criteria for the main book club! At the time of writing this, it sits at $259/$310. Signing up to the patreon grants you access to monthly rulebook updates as we continue to finish the game, adventure modules, short fiction, and our patreon discord server.

Below is a bit of an FAQ as an attempt to quell any concerns or hesitations

“The Book Club games probably don’t fit with my schedule.”

They might! Because we assign multiple different groups based on schedule compatibility, the book club games are actually very very schedule-flexible! You might be surprised!

And if they still don’t, even just reading the rulebook and joining in on discussions is a valuable form of participation!

“I’m afraid to play with strangers.”

They won’t exactly be strangers if you hang out around them in the book club long enough! Yes we do get what you mean, but there’s nothing to worry about. The A.N.I.M. TTRPG Book Club is a safe community, and we have rules and, more importantly, procedures designed to make playing with relative strangers as smooth an experience as it can be!

“What if I don’t like the RPG that wins the vote?”

While we encourage you to step a little out of your comfort zone, participation in any given round of the book club is not mandatory, there’s no punishment for sitting out! It’s cool to just hang around in the discord server and discuss virtually anything if you want to.

Elegantly designed and thoroughly playtested, Eureka represents the culmination of three years of near-daily work from our team, as well as a lot of our own money. If you’re just now reading this and learning about Eureka for the first time, you missed the crowdfunding window unfortunately, but our Kickstarter page is still the best place to learn more about what Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy actually is, as that is where we have all the fancy art assets, the animated trailer, links to video reviews by podcasts and youtubers, and where we post regular updates on the status of our progress finishing the game and getting it ready for final release.

Beta Copies through the Patreon

If you want more than just status updates, going forward you can download regularly updated playable beta versions of Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy and it’s adventure modules by subscribing to our Patreon at the $5 tier or higher. Subscribing to our patreon also grants you access to our patreon discord server where you can talk to us directly and offer valuable feedback on our progress and projects.

The A.N.I.M. TTRPG Book Club

If you would like to meet the A.N.I.M. team and even have a chance to play Eureka with us, you can join the A.N.I.M. TTRPG Book Club discord server. It’s also just a great place to talk and discuss TTRPGs, so there is no schedule obligation, but the main purpose of it is to nominate, vote on, then read, discuss, and play different indie TTRPGs. We put playgroups together based on scheduling compatibility, so it’s all extremely flexible. This is a free discord server, separate from our patreon exclusive one. https://discord.gg/7jdP8FBPes

Other Stuff

We also have a ko-fi and merchandise if you just wanna give us more money for any reason.

We hope to see you there, and that you will help our dreams come true and launch our careers as indie TTRPG developers with a bang by getting us to our base goal and blowing those stretch goals out of the water, and fight back against WotC's monopoly on the entire hobby. Wish us luck.

[iridescent-flowers]

Con La Brisa (Leviathan x GN!Reader)

Leviathan x Reader

Tags: Romantic fluff, takes place on the beach and in water

Word Count: 2,849

Summary:

With the new skill you recently mastered, you plan to surprise Levi with a date underwater.

[✨Likes, Comments & Reblogs are supper appreciated!✨]

Notes: This work is also available on Ao3, feel free to leave kudos, comment or read there if you prefer Ao3 more ❤️

I forgot to add this in the original Ao3 post, but I was really inspired by the song from underwater scene in wakanda forever. So, I'd play the song on loop every time I was writing this. Feel free to give it a listen before, after, or during your reading session.

------------------------

It’s been a while since you and Levi last saw each other for reasons that he understood as well. For one, you were up in The Human World, tending to your regular life while you were on a break from the student exchange program. And for another, there were certain duties you had to fulfill as Solomon’s most promising apprentice. In other words, Solomon was keeping you very busy with the lessons he provided as your mentor. Admittedly, it made Leviathan feel a bit upset, but he would always feel better upon receiving your calls and messages. It made him even happier when you would do co-op with him, just the two of you.

This time around, you were reaching out for the most unexpected reason paired with a quite off-putting request:

“Levi! Let's go to the beach this Saturday! Solomon gave me the day off and I thought it'd be lovely to do some swimming!”

Leviathan was speechless… no… he was frozen. This is the first time you asked to do something so extroverted. It's quite difficult to think of any proper response.

“I don't know about going to the beach, MC…”

“Oh, I know you might be worried about other people in the place, but I promise there's a private part of the beach we're headed to. I figured I'd take you there because I also have a surprise to show you!” The smiley face at the end of the text made Levi think twice about rejecting the idea. Maybe it's overthinking, but he has this feeling that you might not take no for an answer.

He lets out a sigh, essentially out of awe at how spontaneous you are. Though admittedly, it made his heart race thinking about what would happen on that day. He imagined the scenarios painted by shoujo mangas, especially considering it would just be the two of you going.

His thoughts ran wildly with all the writing conventions he got from every manga he’s read. So much so that he wondered if he needed to practice playing volleyball, or maybe some tough talk when you run into a random group of troublesome strangers… What if you planned to ask him to help you put on some sunblock lotion? What about the conversation you might have as you watch the sunset?

Apart from that, you didn’t tell him to bring anything other than himself… did he need to bring anything? for him? for you? for both of you? Or—

“Stop this! It’s not like it’s gonna turn out that way anyways… even if we are dating…”

Even if going to the beach was the most typical kind of date for couples, he couldn’t believe you were inviting an otaku like him to go with you. If anything, he figured you’d bring Beel and Belphie, Asmo, or Mammon, who definitely wouldn’t refuse some downtime at the beach.

The same kind of thoughts ended up partially clouding his mind for the entire week. Luckily, not so much that it ended up becoming a problem for his duties as a RAD student and student council member. However, it did end up making him lose several rounds in the RPG game he was currently obsessing over.

When the day arrived, Levi had to make sure that the day would be perfect and ended up with a lot of stuff to bring after all. In response, Asmo and Mammon had to talk him out of bringing too many beach items. In the end, Levi just brought some sunscreen that Asmodeus shoved onto him, sunglasses, some swimwear, and himself.

“Are you sure I don’t need any of the stuff I was gonna bring?”

“Levi, if MC is the one that asked you out as a surprise, it should probably mean that  they’re  the one with an itinerary.” The 5th eldest of the brothers reasoned, speaking as if this was based on common sense.

“I-I guess you’re right about that…” Asmo was the love expert after all, despite being slightly uneasy and nervous, he adhered to his advice.

“If you’re gonna get cold feet over going to the beach, I oughta take your place and go with MC to the beach.” Mammon hit him in a way that was aggressively playful as if he was telling him to turn back and switch places with him. Levi raised an eyebrow, slightly annoyed

“T-they asked  me ! Besides…”

We’re the ones dating, they’re in love with me.  He stopped himself before he could say his thoughts aloud, it was a close call.

“N-nevermind, I’m just going because it’s MC! You should never refuse MC!”

Right as he says that, a portal emerges and he sees MC by the entrance. The timing almost made Mammon and Levi squeal.

“Hey, MC! If ya planned on dropping by, at least give us a heads up! I think I lost 1000 years in my lifespan thanks to you!”

“MC!” Asmo squeals and runs over to give you the biggest bear hug.

“Hello guys! Just coming in to pick up Levi. How did I do with the portal spell?” You turned over to Levi with a glimmer of excitement in your eye. His eyes widened realizing how close your face was to his.

“U-uh…!” He took a step back and coughed, rose pink dusting his cheeks.

“It was actually really good! Solomon’s mentoring skills are definitely not something to mess with.” You giggled and took him by the hand before turning to the two brothers who were seeing him out.

“Well… off we go! It was nice seeing you all!”

“Take care ya damn lovebirds!”

“Have fun you two!”

Before Leviathan could say anything else, you both already made it across the portal and into the beach.

Levi was expecting some intense heat rays. To his surprise, the heat wave never came. Instead, he was greeted with a healthy mix of blue hues and fluffy clouds.

“Huh…” His eyes landed on the ground, feeling the warmth of white sand on his flip-flops. It was a small pet peeve, but he was going to ignore it for now.

He looked a bit farther and that this was a part of the beach that was relatively distant from where people would often stay.

“Not bad right? Let's head over to the docks.” Levi nodded, letting MC take his hand and walk him to the nearby docks. It was old, the varnish that protected the wood faded from the sunlight. The nails that kept them in place creaked loudly with each step, no matter how gentle they were. Regardless, it seems that the dock was sturdy enough despite its age.

The waves were splashing gently that day, telling you everything you needed to know about how today was going to turn out to be.

You giggled to yourself as you looked at Levi and back to the crystal blue water.

When you reached the end of the dock, you sat down, cross-legged, by the edge. Then, you motioned Levi to sit next to you.

Awkwardly, he obliges, letting his feet hang as he sits down.

“I begged Solomon to teach me this one spell… just watch.” You made eye contact with Levi who was looking at you expectantly. You gave him a small smile, trying to contain your excitement. Then, you let your eyes close as your focus was redirected to the objective you had in mind.

“Spirit of the wind, let my lungs respire and my body steel under your power.”

A blue light glows intensely within you as you take a deep breath in, and fades as you breathe out. The unexplainable sensation of the spell you cast radiates from your chest to your fingertips.

You open your eyes, all your senses returning to reality.

Levi blinks.

“Okay, cool trick and all… but what's the spell for?”

You raise an eyebrow towards your lover before speaking.

“You mean you  don't  want to experience a day underwater?”

“Huh?!”

“Suit yourself, fish man.” You shrug before launching yourself into the water below you.

“What?! MC, Wait!” His mind was too startled to think about hesitations. Immediately, he jumped in after you. His adrenaline spiked as he looked around to find you, preparing for the worst possible outcome.

He had a delayed realization that you were trying out a spell that could let you breathe underwater, even as you reach the depths of the ocean… at least… if it was executed properly.

He can only vaguely recall how the spell goes as he didn’t need it in his demon form. Because of that, he was too worried over whether or not the spell even worked, stressing over why you acted so rationally.

His worst fears were realized when he saw your limp body halfway through making its way to the ocean floor.

He cursed under his breath multiple times in a state of panic.

With all the strength he could muster, he swam his way to you and caught you in his arms.

Your mouth was slightly open, motioning to the idea that you might’ve already lost breath. He shook your body in an attempt to wake you. But it’s no use.

“MC… fuck… please not like this… it’s too soon… why the hell did you have to go and be so irr—mnn…!”

Suddenly, he feels the slight warmth and softness of lips pressing against his, and a pair of hands snaking their way to his cheeks as they try to pull him in deeper.

Suddenly, his worst fears were unrealized.

You were the first to pull away, giggling playfully as you did.

“A-are you serious right now!? You could have  died! ”

“Levi, oh ye of little faith… Do you really think humans are that fragile?” You caressed his cheek, in an attempt to reassure him a little, but he only felt more heated up about the situation, and admittedly, a little flustered from the kiss you shared.

“Yes! Well… n-no… not you… I should’ve known that but— but you should’ve known to test the waters first before jumping into the water like that! Imagine if the spell didn’t work!”

“Levi, this is the spell I wanted to show you. I begged Solomon for literal weeks to teach me and help me master it. You had no idea how many times I had to grin and bear having to go to the beach with him and have him prepare picnic food.”

“I mean… look~! My hard work definitely paid off, and now I can venture with you whenever you want!”

Before he could even argue further, he began to recall the times he would gush over how much he loved the water. Admittedly, they were pretty rare instances, but the fact you even remembered it at all was heartwarming.

The soft-hearted thoughts came to a full stop when he realized…

“Wait, that means you’ve already done this with Solomon… more than once?!”

‘Curse you Solomon, you lucky bastard.’  He thought to himself.

“I mean… he’s the only guy that could teach me the spell in such a short time. I would’ve taught myself but I was a bit overwhelmed with the textbook Satan lent me.

“Why didn’t you ask Satan, then? Not that I want you spending time alone with him either…” Levi asked, mumbling the last bit so you wouldn’t hear it.

“I feel like he’s going to hold it over my head if I do. Like make me do his chores when I get back to the Devildom or help him with an Anti-Lucifer league scheme.” You shuddered at the flashbacks you had, recalling how it ended up with you being strung up by Lucifer at some point.

“Now come on! Let’s go see the ocean! Or—at least— whatever we can see here— or we can just float around, that’s fun too!” You giggled to yourself as you moved around freely, feeling the coolness of the ocean hugging you, and moving against the motions you made. It really did feel like you were floating off the ground.

Quickly, you took Levi’s hand in yours, pulling him as you made your way to the first coral reefs you saw under the waters.

Time passed, allowing you to see all kinds of colorful fishes and reefs. You believed it was luck that allowed you to see such sights, especially how it’s become a rare gem in today’s time. It was as if the universe willed this particular date for the two of you. The thought alone made you feel a bit giddy inside.

Pulling yourself from your thoughts, you turned to Levi and asked him: “So…how was today for you?”

Levi shook his head and smiled, it was as if he was trying to find the best reaction to give you. But at the end of the day, he felt dumbfounded and even more in love with you than he was before… even if he didn’t know it was possible.

He turned to you, fully awestruck. “You’re too amazing. Please don’t make me say more praise unless you want this little otaku to die of embarrassment.”

You giggled, raising your hand like you were taking an oath.

“You have my word.” You replied to him, “consider that as a thank you from me.”

Levi’s eyebrows shifted slightly in confusion “huh… but I didn't really do anything... I just followed your lead today ngl.”

“I know. But it's because of you that I got to fulfill my childhood dream to swim around in the ocean like this. It’s ten times better because I enjoyed it with you.”

He pulled away from your gaze for a moment, you were literally killing him with affection right now. A giggle escaped his lips in response, probably one of the cutest you’ve heard out of him today.

Suddenly, Levi let out a cough and his face shifted into a more serious expression.

“Can we d-do what we did a while ago? Minus m-me freaking out about you almost dying.”

“Which I didn’t,” You said matter-of-factly. Levi didn’t want to argue, nor could he if it was you. He just laughed in response.

“Which you didn’t.” He simply said. In response, you pretended to weigh your options before swimming as fast as you could.

“You’ll have to catch me first!”

Levi couldn’t help but scoff, this was a game of child’s play, and you knew it. So he gave you a little head start. He doesn’t know where this surge of pride came from, he just knew that he wanted to play into your set-to-fail plans.

He wasn’t always great with sports or running, but he was  definitely  a good swimmer when he wanted to be.

Levi felt his heart trying hard to escape from his chest. The moment he knew the distance was far enough, he made his way towards you. Levi could even feel his heart leaping bounds as you got closer.

But then… He realized, only at the last minute, that he had no clue what to do once he caught you.

Under a millisecond, his mind descended into panic mode. Right before he could think to stop, he had already collided with your body. From there, everything happened in slow motion.

There was something about the water that made how you both tumbled together embarrassing and beautiful at the same time. Perhaps, Levi thought, it was because the two of you seemed to circle around each other forming something close to the motion of a yin-yang symbol.

You were about to burst out in laughter but stopped yourself as you saw that ultra-rare expression on your lover's face, the one he’d hide because he was too shy to show how happy you made him.

The fondness in his eyes shone brightly under the dimness of the ocean. Your heart was beating crazily now, telling you to shower him with as much affection as you could in every kiss.

You obliged, feeling the world around you spin slowly as you did. It was something right out of a magical girl manga, but more. In Levi’s mind, he believed nothing could top the real thing, not even fiction.

“MC… I think I want… to kiss a little bit more…” Even in the depths of the sea, you could tell how much Levi was blushing as he sounded out his wants. The best thing about Levi was how he always expressed his desires shyly. He does his best to gather courage when he feels that he truly needs it. It was his cutest quality and because of that, you smiled.

“You can always have more because you already have all of me.”

His eyes narrowed, trying to hide his giddiness with a cringed expression. You shook your head, you could read him so well.

The two of you kiss again, feeling time and space disappear for the moment. In that moment alone, you were both one with the ocean and one with each other. Feeling what it is to love and be loved, your hearts soared infinitely, as though they were with the breeze.

[fostersffff]

Seeing rounds of people respond to NISA saying Trails through Daybreak is a great place to jump into the franchise with "NOOO! IT'S BY NO MEANS A GREAT PLACE TO START!!! WHAT ARE YOU SAAAYING!?!?! IT'S THE 11TH GAME IN A SERIES WITH A CONTINUOUS STORY!!!"

Listen: I understood when it was laughing at how Trails of Cold Steel III was advertised by NISA as "a great place to start", but everyone needs fuckin' relax here. If someone who has never played a Trails game sees Trails through Daybreak and thinks "wow, that's cool!", they are statistically unlikely to go "but before I check out this brand new thing I've never seen before, I will play 10 other RPGs first to make sure I have complete context, including a game that is literally older now than the first Dragon Quest was at the time of its original release". And if people keep saying "NO NO THESE GAMES CAN'T BE PLAYED WITHOUT THE FULL CONTEXT TO APPRECIATE EVER MINUTE DETAIL YOU NEED THOSE 10 OTHER RPGS!!!" they're much more likely to go "oh, nevermind then".

Like, as someone who played Cold Steel I and II before circling back to Sky and proceeding straight through from there, there were moments where I surely missed the impact of some characters showing up, or was a little confused about the why or how other things were happening. Not knowing that the weapon that deleted Garrelia Fortress was one of three giant robots didn't make that game unintelligable; if anything, it made the sudden appearance of the Panzer Soldats at the very end even more surprising. Yeah, I had no idea in what context Lloyd and Rixia showed up at the end of Cold Steel II, but the game just tells you "hey here's who these characters are" and I went "well, ok".

It is so much easier to entice people to get into a thing if they try the new hotness, and then go "woah, there's even more stuff in this series I can check out!?"

Or maybe they don't and just go forward from there, and that's fine too. Just don't actively tell people they gotta do like 800 hours of what will feel like homework to them before doing the thing they actually want to do.

[rpgsandbox]

FÄNGELSEHÅLA is the Swedish word for "dungeon." 

We are inviting you to play an epic adventure with the elegance of the instructions from everybody's favorite furniture store!

This tabletop role-playing game takes a minimalist approach, offering an immersive experience without the complexity. Forget thick rulebooks and intricate character sheets – FÄNG is as easy to grasp as connecting the dots in an instruction manual. 

Designed for new players and one-shots that allow you to embark on quests with mechanics so straightforward that you can be up and running in minutes. 

Make characters within minutes using d66 tables and jump right into the adventure!

You can choose from character options of Alv, Dvärg, Krigsman, Tomte and Trollkarl. (Elf, Dwarf, Warrior, Gnome & Wizard) Each character option providing some unique benefits in the game. 

Each character also receives a heirloom and curse to help round out their back story and make the game play a little more exciting!

Attributes of Will, Tinker, Agile and Tuff ranging from 2-4 that are the base pool of white Action Dice as well as any extra dice added from character benefits

Top two Action Dice are totalled to beat a Difficulty score on a scale of 12

Jinx is a tie, and there is success with a complication

Use Luck Dice to improve failed Action Rolls

Difficulty Scale

<6 - Don't bother rolling... characters just do it! 6 - Pretty easy, you had better be able to do it 7 - Expected outcome, unless you mess up 8 - Pretty hard task, but not surprising that you did it 9 - Damn hard, but with all your concentration, you can do it 10 - Very difficult, to the point that pulling it off is surprising 11 - Almost Impossible... don’t kill yourself in the process 12 - Impossible... best you can hope for is a Jinx

The "DOOM STACK" for Tactile Game Play

Character damage and trauma is tracked with black Doom Dice which you stack on the table - or track on character sheet if you are on a wobbly table, camping, or just think it's too gimmicky (it's fun though... you should try it!)

Difference between the Action Roll and Monster Difficulty is Doom to the loser

If your Doom Stack tumbles during battle, the character is unconscious, or you trigger a trap if you accidentally knock them over while getting a snack!

Risk using Doom Dice to help Action Rolls but then add them to your Doom Stack

* Dice are not included as part of the game, but hopefully you have some extra lying around, or can find some at your Friendly Local Game Store. It's not necessary to have different colors of dice (white, black and a third color for luck), but it makes game play a bit more clear! Dice with dots tend to work better than numbers, for quickly determining success.

* The base game mechanics were inspired by the d6 system first developed for Ghostbusters RPG by Sandy Petersen, Lynn Willis & Greg Stafford, which has been foundational for dice pool mechanics across many TTRPGs

Each adventure is minimal game prep from random d66 tables that provides the dungeon rooms and its contents. It's so easy that you can probably even run it without a Doomsayer (Game Master).

In true ZineQuest fashion, you will receive a 36-page saddle-stitched landscape digest-sized zine (5.5"H x 8.5"W), with black and white interior pages and heavyweight card-stock color cover and inside cover pages.

This format was chosen to lie flat and be accessible while you roll on the d66 tables. It has the bonus of looking like an instruction manual!

Kickstarter campaign ends: Wed, February 21 2024 3:05 AM UTC +00:00

Website: [Dieku Games] [facebook] [twitter] [instagram]

[allmannerofmalady]

DATV: Thoughts after 30+ hours of playing

Part 2 of my jumble of thoughts, spoilers ahead. I'm going to be yapping a LOT but hey, this is my space to yap. It will be LONG.

General spoilers ahead, and explicit Solas/ending spoilers.

I feel like I have to add caveats yet again-

This comes from a place of deep emotional involvement with the franchise - but it's just the personal opinion of a rando on the internet (me).

I work in the VFX industry and I'm transitioning into game dev. I am very aware of how much time and work has gone into every detail, so I just want to acknowledge the work of the whole team. Creating assets, environments, levels - it's NOT easy. I am also very aware of how creative people and projects can get stifled due to corporate greed/ upper management.

I am a to-the-bone RPG player, I am in my 30s and it has been a lifelong passion of mine. I care about lore, character design and story - so that's my bias when it comes to opinions.

I love Solas and have feelings about it sorrryyyyyyyy

ON TO THOUGHTS :D

Positives

I'm really enjoying the gameplay and combat, hence the 30+ hours I've put into it. I'm playing as a rogue, and as I level up the combat and combos have been very satisfying. I usually always play on mouse + keyboard for DA, but I'm using a controller for DATV.

Again - I am surprisingly really enjoying Rook so far! I like the character and the British VO, and this is coming from a person who was extremely meh and uninterested in Rook, and yearned to revisit previous protagonists.

Bellara is another surprise, she's much more sweet and endearing than I expected, and from the trailers/leaks I thought I would not enjoy her character at all. Voice acting in general seems to be improving, or at least doesn't stand out to me as much as the start of my game.

The companions as a whole don't feel as deep or well rounded as previous games (but I'm still midway through, so not a fair assessment until I complete all of their personal quests), but as an RPG lover who loves games with a diverse party of companions, I'm enjoying the journey with them. Emmrich is my fave.

I don't think any amount of cameos and previous game mentions would ever be enough for me, but wow was I emotional when I saw Dorian and Inquisitor Lavellan <3 how amazing is it to have characters that get that sort of reaction from you.

I'm happy to be back in the world of Thedas, even if it wasn't how I personally envisioned it would be presented. Walking around and hearing a bard play Sera Was Never?!?!? I'm not crying.

The game looks and plays beautifully, setting aside feelings about character proportions. I keep getting distracted by how beautiful my Rook is lol. It's also running so smoothly for me, not a single glitch or bug as yet.

Personal meh's

I really, really miss the opportunities for dialogue as we had in DA:I. I feel like I can only start conversations when the game allows me to, and I loved yapping with the characters whenever I could. It also allowed you to ask juicy questions, like going to Viv or Morrigan when she's in Skyhold, asking their opinions about stuff, etc. I hate that I can't pick Harding's brain more about her time at the Inquisiton, or Varric (yes, I'm aware of the twist but still).

Following that, I wish we had more access to Solas :') even if it's just to bicker or give him attitude, or whatever the player chooses. So far, I've only been able to speak to him 3 times, I think.

The 3 choices at the start of the game (which like many, I have feelings about) don't seem to give you much satisfying payoff so far. For example, I created Inquisitor Lavellan, who romanced Solas and wants to redeem him. I spoke to her, she gave me the lines about her history with him - based on those choices, I feel like Rook should rush back to Solas and use that information? Like hey, I know this about you, I hold a weak point, work with me etc - or something idk. This applies to a lot of other angles as well, but just one example. I guess this is part of the phasing out of the Keep, and in turn removing the importance of previous decisions.

I am still really enjoying playing and nothing will stop me from finishing the game - but it doesn't feel like the RP in RPG (which I think is what it's going for, it's leaning towards the action RPG style). At moments it feels like "Dragon Age Stories" or something - shorter, tighter missions and an overarching story. This does not feel like the follow up I envisioned after the first 3 games, and the grand finale of Tresspasser. Sometimes it feels like playing Hyrule Warriors or Persona 5 Strikers and being told they're sequels to the actual RPGs if that makes sense? I'm still not sure I'll feel this way at the end, we shall see. I'm absolutely open to changing my mind.

I'm not a fan of the music, and think the previous games had much better soundtracks *hides*

Me being butthurt about stuff

There's been so much DA Inquisition hate over the years, and recently I feel like a lot of the feedback from BioWare has also felt like DA:I is being swept under the rug. Yes - a lot of it is valid, the fetch quests, the Hinterlands stuff etc, and I know a lot of DA fans have mixed feelings about it. But to me, it was so ambitious - that's what has continued to blow my mind until today. It's breadth, the size - running around Skyhold, feeling the power of the Inquisitor grow, the lore. I played DA2 first, followed by DA:O (which I ADORE) and when I started DA:I, the amount of lore was still overwhelming - I felt like I was really entering a true high fantasy game, and never felt like I was treated like an idiot. In fact, it was so fulfilling to absorb and learn the lore. The way it's simplified, over explained, retconned or glossed over in DATV really makes me sad at times. I refuse to shit on DA:I (or any previous DA game) to justify changes in future games. I bought every DLC, art book, merch, the novels - I and many others have invested into the franchise over the last 10 years with only crumbs of info about a new game. I don't like feeling like in order to celebrate a new release, we're encouraged to disparage the ones that came before, IDK.

I question getting invested in DA characters anymore, when we see how they get treated. Why should I be invested in any of the new gang? I fell in love with every companion in DA, and I miss them sorely. I downloaded mods to fix the banter bugs, tried every path to squeeze what I could out of the games. How can we be in Tevinter, talk about the issues of slavery, and no mention of Fenris?! (Yes, I'm biased af lol). I miss Cassandra, Leliana, SO many others. The line between rebooting the franchise and not wanting to mention previous characters is controversial.

There is a lot of love put into DATV, even as someone who is disappointed at aspects of it. The one thing I wish for was for the game to have felt like a love letter to the franchise that came before, and TO ME it feels more like a rush to tie loose ends. The new Silent Hill 2 remake feels like a love letter to the fans, and to the original game. If you feel that way about DATV that's fantastic, genuinely, it just didn't hit that mark for me after years of anticipation. But hey, I'm a rando on the internet. A love letter to the game to me could feature characters from the first 3 games (whatever choices the players made, since the Keep is removed any way), just to bid them a proper farewell at this point. Alistair my bb :')

There is a lot of world building from the previous games that seems completely ignored. Too much to type out tbh.

Solas/Solavellan rants - I'm seeing a lot of people complain about negativity on the subject, so please take with a grain of salt that this is just my opinion! I am still enjoying my Rook's journey.

I am sad about how Solas was written, and the Solavellan ending. I know many are happy about it - and trust me, I'm glad but I just wish I felt the same :') he feels very moustache twirling a lot of the time and I miss the previous complexity. They clearly set him on a path of no return with what he did to Varric as well, and that was... a choice. Idk what to even say about that whole plot line.

Not everyone is a Solavellan, or even likes Solas as a character. Hence the beauty of different endings, the different ways you can go about it. But I just can't reconcile the "good" ending options, and the effort to provide a Solavellan ending when it was set up like this. I get that Solas is now on the Din'anshiral, his mask is gone, he is embodying the Dread Wolf. But that beautiful nuance from Inquisition isn't there for me. The sadness, the conflict. The incredible branching dialogue options. SIGH.

The Mythal plotline - I would not have minded this given the backstory we get from previous media, but having the new companions making sex jokes about Solas/Mythal honestly felt like it was purposely shitting on Solavellans lololol. There is a million ways to interpret Solas' memories, the things you find, but I wish it didn't require it. I wish it was a clear homage to a romance that became iconic for the game this is a follow up to, and kept a sizeable chunk of the fandom going for 10 years. I still do think the game is slightly selling that Solas loves Lavellan (if that's the storyline you choose at the start, and if you choose to find the clues etc), but it feels wedged in, like an afterthought to the Mythal storyline they're going for. Almost like "HERE shut up about Solavellan, TAKE THIS *slaps messy baggage about potential Solas x Mythal and a limp kiss/doomed ending on a plate* now eat it and SHUT UP, we're moving ON" ha ha haaaa

The kiss between Solas and the Inquisitor at the end, and them getting into the flying car to (maybe?) rot in the fade like a doomed Danny and Sandy - not it for me. Sorry. But AGAIN, my dad doesn't work at Bioware, this is their franchise to do with as they see fit lol I'm just a yapper, a fan who was nourished by Solavellan crumbs. I do hope it makes others happy and wraps up the story the way they envisioned it, I'm actually jealous and wish I felt that way lol. But fanfics and art have always filled the gaps, and they shall continue to do so. Maybe I'll change my mind as time goes on.

Even though I'm not a fan, I am glad we got SOMETHING for Solavellan, I think it was just overhyped and not this grand beautiful foil to the heartbreak in Trespasser.

So far, gameplay wise - I would give DATV a 7 or 8 out of 10. It's smooth, it's beautiful, and the combat is addictive and I find myself always wanting to go on one more quest, or exploring just a little bit further.

Storywise - I don't think I could give it a fair assessment given I'm biased about previous games, and I'm too entrenched in the world building of DAO to DAI to be fair. I accept that I might be being phased out as the target audience for the franchise moving forward, but will enjoy getting my Rook to where she needs to be :)

[detectivemothman]

Joshua Ovaia Sr and his stand new tattoo

[the-count-to-tomodachi-2]

posting daily until tomodachi life 2 comes out

day 292

Putteth thy mii centre stage in a w'rld full of possibilities with tomodachi life, a quirky game starring thee and ev'ryone thee knoweth, only on nintendo 3ds family systems. Populate thy v'ry owneth island Elysium with the mii charact'rs of thy choice and gaze the drama unfold! bringeth thy mii charact'rs to life! thee can maketh a mii charact'r from scratcheth, using a photo, 'r transf'r in a mii you’ve already did create from mii mak'r. In tomodachi life, thee can giveth thy mii a voice and setteth their p'rsonality, which det'rmines how they’ll act, what s'rt of things they’ll sayeth and much m're! once you’ve hath moved thy mii into a new home at mii apartments, bringeth the lodging to life by creating the mii charact'rs of thy family, cater-cousins, 'r anyone else thee can bethink of! if 't be true thee putteth thy minion people in thy game, surprising things can befall! thee can eke taketh mii charact'rs from oth'r playeth'rs via local playeth 'r by scanning qr code patt'rns. Behold aft'r those folk! up to 100 mii charact'rs can moveth in to the mii apartments and each one shall needeth looking aft'r. Thee can hangeth out with all thy mii charact'rs, giveth those folk gifts, holp to customise their apartments, and playeth minigames. Tryeth diff'rent things to figure out what maketh each one joyous! checketh backeth ev'ry day… helping thy mii charact'rs realise their desires and dreams is rewarding but so is sitting backeth and watching the most wondrous, ridiculous, fartuous, hilarious drama of tomodachi life! some residents may becometh cater-cousins, falleth out, haply coequal falleth in love…assuming a loveth rival doesn’t stepeth in! those gents might needeth thy counsel, so checketh in on those folk ev'ry day to seeth what those gents receiveth up to! expl're thy new home thy tomodachi life unfolds on two islands pack'd with int'resting shops and places to hangeth out! the stock in shops changes ev'ry day, so thee'll at each moment findeth something new. To starteth, just a few areas art available, but in timeth oth'r areas shall unlocketh, letting thee enjoyeth these most wondrous islands in all their gl'ry! the days and seasons passeth on thy islands just liketh in the real w'rld. Keepeth thy eyes peel'd f'r special events ev'ry day. 'mongst oth'rs, you’ll unlocketh a café wh're you’re sure to ov'rhear some bizarre conv'rsations, a conc'rt hall wh're thy mii charact'rs can receiveth togeth'r to p'rf'rm songs and an amusement parketh did fill with excit'ment activities – enwheeling an rpg hath called tomodachi quest! aught can befall! if 't be true a couple hast a peat of their owneth, anon'r 'r lat'r yond dram p'rson shall groweth up and wanteth their owneth space. Thee can giveth those folk their owneth lodging in mii apartments, 'r sendeth those folk off travelling 'round the w'rld! those gents can wend on a trippeth to visiteth oth'r playeth'r’s islands via streetpass, and thee might just taketh some visiteth'rs 'r goods from oth'r islands, too! with spotpass, thee can eke taketh lett'rs 'r photos from a mii who is't is off travelling the w'rld. What shall befall in thy tomodachi life? maketh mii charact'rs, giveth those folk all unique p'rsonalities, and holp those folk realise their desires and dreams! expl're the island and discov'r excit'ment new ways to careth f'r and ent'rtain thy island'rs! witness fartuous, comical, 'r just plain most wondrous moments and showeth those folk off with screenshots! checketh backeth ev'ry day to seeth what crazy things thy residents receiveth up to!

[aw-colorcat]

So… I wrote a fight scene? 

Takes place in the “sequel to Mario rpg were you go to weapon world” au/idea thing (originally by @missd476)

It’s kind of long so under the cut. Not long enough for me to bother to post on Ao3 I don’t think

Not too soon after entering weapon world, Mallow and geno face off against Bowyer and Mack in Boomer’s dojo. The heroes had some reservations, considering the state their opponents seemed to be in, but the weapons were out for blood and would not take no for an answer. (Mallow studied Bowyer, whose eyes were covered by… tape? and was missing his bowstring. “Not to be rude but can you like, see? Or fight at all?” “Perfectly well, I know where you stand, Nya! And strike you down where you stand I will!”)

Boomer insisted that this be a FAIR fight with actual turns, instead of a free-for-all. One of Boomer’s apprentices unpacked a gong from one of the crumbly boxes (even in weapon world, every dojo has one of those lying around). Everyone took their places, and soon it was dead silent.

The very instant the gong was hit, Bowyer sprang- mowing down Geno before he had a chance to charge his gun. He quickly pivoted direction and returned to his original position. 

Geno found himself on the ground. How had the weapon done that so quickly? He hadn’t even had time to register the sound himself. Was it possible… he could have picked up on the air moving as the mallet approached the gong?

Mallow gathered electricity, remembering how it had been effective on the weapons they’d seen so far, and launched it at Bowyer. To his surprise, the bow seemed to absorb the attack.

“Nya ha! Free energy!” He cheered, sparks running along his arms. 

Mallow remembered “Oh wait, doesn’t he use electric attacks? Well, not doing THAT again.” He flicked his eyes over to Geno, hoping he hadn’t noticed his mistake.

Mack proceeded to waste his turn doing knife tricks, “Hah! At this rate we have it in the bag! Show em’ Bowyer!”

Bowyer charged at Mallow, and this time Geno paid close attention. How did he know where to go? Surely he couldn’t hear over his own clattering movement, not to mention the general chaos of a battle. Unless it was… how Mack stared intently at Mallow, turning his head to follow Bowyer as he returned. That had to be it.

“Mallow!” He called as his friend got up off the floor, “Try to get some clouds in here?”

“What? Okay sure!”

A round full of bullets, fireballs and static electricity passed. Upon Mallow’s turn arriving, he let out a huge wave of fog from his body, obscuring most of the dojo. The response was immediate. “NYAAA!” A screech from Bowyer. “Don’t panic yet I got this!” from a clearly panicking Mack.  “Hey! This is cheating!” from one of the apprentices. All pretense of taking turns went out the window as attacks began to fly.

Bowyer was apparently not content to wait, and charged at Mallow again. A loud and frequent clicking could be heard as he got closer. Was it really this easy? Mallow didn’t even need to mind-read to know this was some kind of echolocation. He took out his cymbals and slammed them just as the bow reached him. As he suspected, bowyer was throughly disoriented.

Meanwhile, Mack and Geno were fighting each other. Flames bled light through the fog as Geno focused on dodging them. He was discovering that without the huge sword as a mount, Mack was not very mobile, preferring to stand his ground and turn to face an attacker. This was easily used to his disadvantage.

Once the fog lifted, both weapons looked significantly worse for wear. 

“Are you giving up yet?” Mallow asked.

“No!” “Nyat yet!” The weapons shouted back at him, “It’s time to get serious!”

Almost in an instant, the two stacked on top of each other. Mack rode Bowyer as he charged, like a jousting horse and knight. One as the sight, one as the agility, and their combined elemental powers… it was apparent why these two stayed together. It was time for the real battle.

Still nobody was taking turns. One of the apprentices pointed this out to Boomer, who wasn’t about to step in and do anything about it. “We will just have to let it happen.” He sighed.

Geno had taken several fireballs as mallow prepared… something. He just hoped whatever it was could end the fight before he got torched. And then he felt it.

The apprentices panicked first “RAIN! Rain in the dojo!” They cried, taking cover under a table. Boomer took down the painting behind him and held it over his head. The Bowyer/Mack combo skidded into a wall. 

“What was thaaattttt?!”

“Closed your eyes you did!!”

Mack squinted back at him, “I can’t get water in here, my fire will go out!”

In the seconds they spent bickering, mallow and Geno had surrounded them.

“Turn that S$&* off! I don’t wanna rust!”

By the tone of Mack’s voice, Bowyer knew he was done fighting. And if he tried to take them on alone, that cloud guy could use those horrible reverberating things and mess him up.

“Surrender we do, nya!”

[pbcornylius]

The IPS-N Menorca, a rare breed found in the far reaches of the Long Rim, it moves across the battlefield with surprising haste!

A full custom License for the Lancer RPG, bring an Artillery class mech to the robust IPS-N catalogue. Call now and get a free sample of ANTI ASTEROID ROUNDS!

Check out the full PDF (with LCP) here

Art by Oshlett

[theoutcastrogue]

D&D 5.5 Rogue tweaks

[5.5, 5.75, 5.24, OneD&D, 2024 D&D, ugh, I don't care]

Rogue

In the base class, honestly everything's GREAT except stealth rules and damage output. So all I got to add is:

See Invisibility, Trueslight and similar don't let you see creatures that used the hide action successfully

Pending a more comprehensive stealth fix, because dear god these rules suck, and also I won't be sure how they even work until the DMG comes out.

Sneak Attack 1/turn/target

Extra Attack at lvl 5

My old 5e houserule. This may seem too much (with the Nick Weapon Mastery you can have 3 melee attacks/attack action at lvl 5) but remember that it's a much bigger hassle to set up sneak attack for multiple targets (stealth and Steady Aim will only cover one attack), Cunning Strike sacrifices sneak attack dice lowering dmg, and often you'll simply run out of targets. So you won't actually be dealing 3 x sneak attack dmg every round. Also remember that other martials got boosted even more and deal quite a lot of dmg. Needs playtesting, but I'm confident it's gonna be fine, and if it's not, I'll just roll back the extra attack.

Cunning Strike includes Disarm, like in the playtest

Come to think of it, shouldn't that be a Weapon Mastery? Do you think books down the line will introduce alternate weapon masteries, like, rapiers normally get Vex, but alternatively you can pick Disarm or whatever? Cause we can beat them to the punch and homebrew that right now!

Arcane Trickster

you can cast Mage Hand without verbal components

you can cast without verbal components [Proficiency Bonus] times / long rest

Self-explanatory. Sorcerers are the masters of metamagic, but conceptually this subclass needs Subtle Spell.

Mage Hand can be used to pick locks and disarm traps

No idea why they removed this ability, and limited Mage Hand to Sleight of Hand, but that's just silly and we're bringing it back.

you can use scrolls of the spells you know

Just clarifying a little thing here – an unfortunate wording appears to prevent Arcane Tricksters and Eldritch Knights from doing that by RAW, because they choose "Wizard" spells, and you can only use scrolls of your "class's spell list".

Assassin

the extra damage from Surprising Strikes is now twice your Rogue level, and applies only on the first sneak attack that hits in the first round

Assassinate, famously, used to let you crit surprised targets. Surprise rules changed, and now we get instead advantage on initiative (new and cool), advantage vs creatures that haven't acted yet on the first round of combat (as before), and Surprising Strikes: if you sneak attack on the first round, add +rogue lvl to damage. (so like, +3 at lvl 3 and +20 at lvl 20). Although much more reliable, this flat bonus is really underwhelming, and doubling it gets it on par with a crit. I feel that's appropriate. What's the point of being an Assassin if you don't wreck someone once per combat? It's your job!

As for the crit, I will miss it because it was HEAPS of fun, but I'll admit that for multiclass martials the "Assassin 3" dip was simply too good, and anything that's too good is bad design.

And I added the "only on the first sneak attack" clause due to my 1st houserule: now rogues can potentially sneak attack more times per round, and we only want to go nova once.

Soulknife

Psychic Blades can now be used outside your turn

Opportunity Attacks are finally feasible with psychic blades in 5.5, but for example a Commander's Strike from your Fighter buddy gives you an attack as a reaction, not called an Opportunity Attack, so it wouldn't apply. And it's a pointless restriction.

Thief

is perfect 10/10 no notes

Main sources:

2024 DnD 5e Transition Guide and Change Log: Everything That's Different in the new Player's Handbook (RPG Bot)

2024 PHB Rules Changes D&D 5.24 (Treantmonk's Temple video)

2024 Player's Handbook First Look Review (Dungeon Dudes video)

[redacted]

[flexrpg]

Meet Sarah Greene, Survivalist

A character from The Fall of Willowbrook Flex RPG zombie apocalypse sample scenario.

Character Concept: Sarah grew up in the wilderness and was off-grid long before the world descended into chaos. Her skills in scavenging, foraging, and living off the land make her invaluable to any group. Sarah is cautious and rarely trusts others, but once she commits to a team, she’s fiercely loyal. She has a deep understanding of the terrain and uses traps and ambushes to take down the undead without getting too close.

Stats: Mental Agility: d10, Physical Agility: d12, Mental Strength: d8, Physical Strength: d6

Attributes:

Silent Stalker (Trait): Gain advantage on stealth rolls when moving through wilderness areas or abandoned urban landscapes.

Forager’s Instinct (Trait): Gain advantage on rolls to locate food, water, or supplies.

Trap Master (Skill): Add skill bonus to MA when setting or disarming traps.

Quick Escape (Power): Spend 2 power points to move an additional 20 feet in a round without expending an action point.

Ambush Strike (Ability): Twice per day, deal an additional 2d6 damage when attacking a surprised or unaware enemy.

Scenario Overview

Once a safe haven amidst the chaos of the undead rising, Willowbrook has fallen. The barricades are overrun, and the survivors are scattered, forced to flee into the surrounding wilderness. The few remaining survivors must band together to fight off hordes of zombies, scavenge for supplies, and seek out a rumored military convoy that could lead them to safety—if it even exists.

Check out our other sample scenarios that you can use as campaign starters or just to get a feel for how to create your own settings.

We would love to hear what you come up with, so pleas share how you are using Flex RPG.

[thecreaturecodex]

Aristide Malevol

"The Lich King" © Steven Womack. Accessed at ArtStation here

[One of the Big Bads of Castle Xyntillan. When I actually ran the game, my PCs stumbled on him in a random encounter when they were second level. He put a wall of ice on one side of a hallway, summoned a Large earth elemental on the other side, and watched for a few rounds to see if they would survive. They did, but it was one of the most stressful encounters I've ever ran. For them. For me, it was a blast, because I knew that that party was smart enough to know that not every fight is winnable.

The version I used was just the default lich in the Pathfinder RPG bestiary. This version is slightly more powerful, and is more closely tied to the flavor text from Castle Xyntillan. And yes, I did use art of the Lich King from Adventure Time for this.]

Aristide Malevol CR 13 CE Undead This undead creature was probably once human, although curling horns grow from his temples. His flesh still clings to his face like a ragged mask, hanging looser over his jaws, but he is skeletal in most other places. He wears a heavy cloak lined with fur, and a golden circlet. His eyes are empty holes, with pinpoints of green light.

Aristide Malevol, the Patriarch, is the cancer that has turned the Malevol family from crusaders to corruption. He murdered his grandfather in order to become the head of the family, had his minions pick off anyone who tried to resist, and then poured the resources of the family into pursuing lichdom. He had help from a surprising source—Orcus, Demon Prince of the Undead, who saw the Malevol family as a way of maintaining a foothold in Avistan while his attention was diverted to other planes and planets. With Orcus’ help, Aristide made his phylactery into a gross parody of the Grayl of Destiny, which is kept close to the real thing in order to throw off potential thieves. And once he was a lich, he continued to encourage the worst habits of his family members, and murder anyone who pushes too hard towards salvation. He does have a soft spot for innocence, however, and a few of the Malevols have lived lives as naive waifs...or as virtuous souls who were good enough at seeming innocuous to escape his attention.

Aristide spends most of his time researching demons, undead and constructs. He is especially interested in blurring the lines between all three. One of his finest creations is a biotyrant named Bruno, who serves him as a loyal bodyguard. Aristide has a passion for cursed items, and many of the cursed items in Castle Xyntillian, and cursed items that have spread through Taldor and beyond, bear his craftsmanship. His own crown and headband are cursed, although their exact effects are unknown (up to the GM). If forced into combat, he would much rather toy with his victims, watch how they respond, and then teleport away if anyone survives, rather than risk his neck in direct combat.

Aristide Malevol carries relatively little on his person, but is heir to one of the largest fortunes in Taldor. He has enough resources to pay for just about any magic item or construct he is capable of creating. The spellbook listed in his statistics is his “traveling” spellbook. His quarters have access to all of the sorcerer/wizard spells of 6th level or lower in the Pathfinder Core Rulebook, and the libraries of Castle Xyntillian may hold any spell of 7th or lower level from any Pathfinder 1e source you wish to use, as well as a handful of 8th and 9th level spells of the conjuration, necromancy and transmutation schools. Aristide cannot access these easily, as even he finds the organization of the castle’s libraries baffling—assume that he requires 1d12+1 days to find exactly what he needs. In order to advance Aristide Malevol, give him more levels in arcanist, or levels in the loremaster prestige class.

The False Grayl (Cursed Item) Aristide Malevol’s phylactery is a decoy of the real Grayl of Destiny. A successful DC 30 Appraise check made by someone familiar with the true Grayl can reveal the deception, as can an analyze dweomer or similar spell (with a successful caster level check). Any living creature that picks up the False Grayl finds that they cannot remove it from their person. The False Grayl acts as both an amulet of inescapable location and a periapt of foul rotting when in the possession of a living creature, both of which properties effect the creature that carries the item. On command, a slick crimson liquid can fill the False Grayl, which acts as a potion of inflict serious wounds (CL 11th)if used within one minute, and evaporates if not used in this time. This liquid can be splashed onto an adjacent creature with a touch attack (Will DC 18 half)

Weight 4 lbs; CL 11th

Aristide Malevol CR 13 XP 25,600 Human lich arcanist (occultist) 12 CE Medium undead (augmented humanoid, human) Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Perception +20 Aura fear (60 ft., Will DC 20, 12 rounds) Defense AC 21, touch 12, flat-footed 19(+5 natural, +2 Dex, +4 armor) hp 105 (12d6+48 plus 15) Fort +9, Ref +7, Will +11; +4 channel resistance DR 15/bludgeoning and magic; Immune cold, electricity, undead traits Defensive Abilities rejuvenation Offense Speed 30 ft. Melee staff of the master +7/+2 (1d6+1), touch +1 (1d8+6 negative energy plus paralysis) or touch +6 (1d8+6 negative energy plus paralysis) Special Attacks arcane exploits (dimensional slide, item crafting, potent magic, suffering knowledge), arcane reservoir (12 points, 18 max),paralysis (Fort DC 20, permanent) Spell-like Abilities CL 12th, concentration +16 1/day--augury 1/week—contact other plane Conjurer’s focus—up to summon monster V for 6 points Spells CL 12th, concentration +18 6th (3/day)—banshee blast (DC 22) 5th (5/day)—cloudkill (DC 21), cone of cold (DC 21) 4th (5/day)—enervation, fire shield, wall of ice 3rd (5/day)—arcane sight, dispel magic, lightning bolt (DC 19), magic circle vs. good 2nd (6/day, 1 used)—anticipate thoughts, false life, mirror image, see invisibility, scorching ray 1st (6/day, 1 used)—alarm, mage armor, magic missile, ray of enfeeblement, shield 0th—arcane mark, detect magic, light, mage hand, message, open/close, prestidigitation, read magic, touch of fatigue (DC 16) Before Combat Aristide will cast mage armor and false life whenever he suspects that intruders are in Castle Xyntillian. The statistics above reflect these spells Statistics Str 10, Dex 14, Con -, Int 22, Wis 14, Cha 19 Feats Craft Construct (B), Craft Magic Arms and Armor, Craft Staff, Craft Wondrous Item, Extra Reservoir, Maximize Spell, Piercing Spell, Skill Focus (Knowledge: arcana) Skills Appraise +16, Bluff +14, Knowledge (arcana) +20, Knowledge (dungeoneering, history, planes, religion) +16, Intimidate +21, Linguistics +16, Perception +20, Sense Motive +20, Spellcraft +16, Stealth +20, Use Magic Device +17; +8 Perception, +8 Sense Motive, +8 Stealth Languages Abyssal, Aklo, Aquan, Auran, Common, Daemonic, Draconic, Ignan, Infernal, Kelesh, Necril, Orc, Terran, Undercommon Gear circlet of persuasion, headband of mental prowess +2 (Int, Cha, Intimidate), staff of the master, cloak of resistance +1, scroll of greater dispel magic, scroll of solid fog, scroll of haste, scroll of tongues, spellbook (prepared spells, plus create undead, planar ally, plane shift, lesser planar ally, animate dead, magic circle vs. chaos, magic circle vs. evil, magic circle vs. law), spell components, noble’s outfit and jewelry worth 100 gp, signet ring, 19 pp, 60 gp