#the gaping maw dnd

[azzydoesstuff]

video game / dnd item idea: a magical top hat that when you stick your hand in it, you'll pull out a completely random item to "aid you" in battle. and when i say "completely random item", i don't mean a random item form the game, i mean a COMPLETELY random item. for all you know, when you stick your hand in there, you could pull out:

a stick

a massive katana

a nokia phone

a stick, with a lawnmower on it

a comically large spoon

an MP5 rifle

a nuclear bomb

a staff that launches anyone it hits 5 kilometers into the air

a stick, with a nuclear bomb on it

a frog on a leash

a comically large fork

a cat

a sniper rifle so absolutely massive it wouldn't even be worth it to try and use it

a grenade

a granola bar

an apple

a gravity-defying pineapple

a large battle hammer

a comically large knife

a tiny little bouncy ball

a taser

a shotgun that shoots airpods

a mace made out of rotting flesh with a gaping hungry maw on the front which can devour the corpses of your enemies, adding to the mass of the weapon and enhancing its power

a small white dove

a lamp

an anvil and a propane tank

a water bottle

a biscuit that's really really dry

an energy drink

a suitcase

literally fucking spy from tf2

ANOTHER FUCKING MAGICAL TOP HAT THAT PULLS OUT RANDOM ITEMS

[paint-lady]

So I have been writing my own lore for our table's Secret World DnD 5e campaign. Our story takes place 10 years in the future from the events of the game and things are starting to get... weird. The lore from the buzzing is getting more glitched and incongruous. So here is the almost "complete" lore entries on something... odd theyve discovered in their journey.

Entry One TRANSMIT initiate the Sidereal signal - RECEIVE - initiate celestial cadence -- Once there was a wise king who broke his mirror and dropped the pieces to the ground-- Initiate the Obsidian sutra -- He thought to repair it, but was arrested by the sight of the scattered shards which showed so many visions of his face. He put the pieces back together -- - but at all the wrong angles. WITNESS - The Gold Faction.

Entry Two

There were many beginnings before the beginning you know. You’ve seen the ripples from pasts long gone, the scraps left buried under eons of silt. The mantras and stories told from ages ago have degraded just the same. Hear the story of the old man and the Watcher, the parable told to pupal students to snip their wings.  

Once there was a … that old thing

In the time of cascading years lived a scholarly man. In silent contemplation, he spent his days wandering the ruins of rebuilt First cities, trying to find what was once lost. The day he understood that something was watching him, he merely watched it back. He chose to walk through bright places to clearly mark its boundaries. He lit torches to observe its flickers in the changing light. 

…that wasn't like a shadow, because you could see it too well.

…and that wasn't like a light, because it didn't make flowers grow.

During those long days, he saw it everywhere. Darkness did not banish it- brilliance only strengthened it. He hated it- how it echoed his every gesture. He hated that it knew the answers to his thousand questions. He loathed that he could not stop asking. 

… it waited and answered…

… it listened and nodded…

…it encouraged his curiosity…

At last, when those years had fallen through and Time came to its end, the man ran out of questions. He could no longer remember what he sought. His reflection leered at him in infuriating triumph. He no longer asked, it no longer answered. It taunted him with silence. The old man struck its sneering mouth. 

…and he never realized what he had shattered. 

The shattered mirror shards remain. Each time a descended disciple is granted their mantle and clutches one of the shards, can you hear their prayers?

Entry Three

SCANNING 

We hear the sobs of a girl, she is dressed in silks woven by webs, seated at her loom. The image depicts the King and his seal. Her hands tremble as she pushes the next line, knowing what hungrily watches for any mistake. She can never stop, even as the wheel is knocked over and reset, or it will unravel her threads and climb through the opening in the tapestry. She won’t let it out, she can’t let it end. 

SCANNING

We see a man pray for salvation in an empty sanctuary. Angels mock his cries. He clutches the shards bored in his hands, bearing the same marks of the bloodied body nailed to decaying wood. Beneath the altar, something bubbles and stirs, waiting to devour him. Salty tears stream down his face. He won’t let it out, he can’t let it end.

SCANNING

We see sweetlings run along the babbling river, following eggshells out of a fairytale. They reach its mouth and find it’s encased in bedrock. The sensation of life pulsates from deep within the stone, as if the river still flows. She retracts her hands, reminded of the same pulse from the walls of her schooldays. The pulse that leaked anima and lured wayward familiars to gnaw on its brick walls. She won’t let it out -- she can’t be where it ends.

SCANNING

We see the gaping maws salivating upwards through their prisons, frothing and screeching for vitae. Their multi-mouths tear gashes in reality. They leave holes in their wake. We see the one sweetling who fell through. She cries out for freedom with them, her mind bleeding into their consciousness. All that will remain is the fragments of herself in dreams- this can’t be where it ends.

Entry Four

SCANNING

There is a pool of water that babbles. It babbles and babbles, yet the surface lies still. How does still water talk? Invisible goosebumps float in the air, soaking into the skin of any who visit. The still waters darken with the contaminant they imprisoned.

They evolved, adapted, thrived in oblivion. They ate and spread. What will they evolve into? Will they be all that is left? BEWARE. Inside them boils the pandemonium of thoughts that swirled--

“DON’T LET IT OUT!” “Nie oddychaj!” 

Entry Five

Locked.

[llamaswithsunglasses]

I love thinking about my DnD character because she’s completely doomed by the narrative and can’t do anything about her crap situation except flail like a bull in a china shop. It’s so fun to roleplay her trying to claw her way up to a better life while I, the player, know damn well that every scrape against the walls of the cone she’s held in only loosens the dirt, one day leading to her inevitable fall into the gaping maw of the ant lion that is our story waiting at the bottom.

[cagemasterfantasy]

Dnd Cosmology: The Abyss

Alightnment: Chaotic Evil

Planar Portal Cover: Amethyst Purple

The Abyss embodies all that is perverse gruesome and chaotic. Its virtually endless layers spiral downward into ever more appalling forms.

Each layer of the Abyss boasts a horrific environment that is harsh and inhospitable to mortals. Each layer also reflects the entropic nature of the Abyss. Much of the plane seems to be in a decaying crumbling or corroded state and its corruption affects visitors.

Layers of the Abyss: The Layers of the Abyss are numbered based on the sequence of their discovery and cataloging by explorers from Sigil. Thus the Plain of Infinite Portals is identified as the first layer. Azzagrat encompasses the 45 46 and 47 Layers Demonweb is the 66 layers and so on. Below are several infamous layers.

Layer 1 The Plain of Infinite Portals: This layer is the miserable gateway to the infinite layers of the Abyss. Under a glaring red sun the rocky ground contains gaping craters that are portals to the other layers of the Abyss. Other portals lead to Pandemonium Sigil the Gate-Town of Plague-Mort in the Outlands and the Astral Plane making this layer the best way to escape the horrors of the Abyss. Iron fortresses dot the landscape homes to petty lords and upstart demons that are s changeable as the Abyss itself.

The portal leading to Plague-Mort is tucked within a fortress called the Broken Reach ruled by a succubus named Red Shroud. In the Broken Reach those who can prove their strength and mettle can stay unharmed for a few days at least.

Layers 45-47 Azzagrat: Graz'zt embodies manipulation and cruelty tempting mortals with the promise of appalling delights and decadent luxuries. He rules over the realm of Azzagrat which encompasses 3 interconnected layers of the Abyss. His seat of power is the fantastic Argent Palace in the city of Zelater whose bustling markets and pleasure palaces draw visitors from across the multiverse in search of obscure magical lore and perverse delights. By Graz'zt's command the demons of Azzagrat present a veneer of civility and courtly comity. However the so called Triple Realm holds as much danger as any other part of the Abyss and planar visitors can vanish without a trace in its mazelike cities and in forests whose trees have serpents for branches.

Layer 66 The Demonweb: Lolth is the Demon Queen of Spiders whose schemes entangle entire civilizations on worlds across the multiverse. Of all demon lords she might have the most active interest in the worlds of the Material Plane and in the cultists who de her bidding on those worlds but her interest lies only in domination.

Lolth's layer is an immense network of thick magical webbing that forms passageways and cocoon like chambers. Structures ships and other objects are caught in the webbing. The webs conceal random portals that snare objects from demiplanes and Material Plane worlds that figure into the schemes of the Spider Queen. Lolth's servants also build dungeons amid the webbing trapping and hunting Lolth's hated enemies within crisscrossing corridors of web mortared stone. Far beneath these dungeons lie the bottomless Demonweb Pits where the Spider Queen dwells with her most loyal servants Yochlol's created to serve her that outran mightier demons while in the Spider Queen's realm.

Level 88 Gaping Maw: The Sibilant Beast and the self styled Prince of Demons Demogorgan yearns for nothing less than undoing the order of the multiverse. A 2 headed monster who seems as much in conflict with himself as with other beings the Prince of Demons inspires fear and hatred among other demons and demon lords.

Demogorgon's layer is a vast wilderness of brutality and horror known as the Gaping Maw where even powerful demons are overcome by fear. Reflecting Demogorgon's dual nature Gaping Maw consist of a massive primeval continent covered in dense jungle surrounded by a seemingly endless expanse of ocean and brine flats. The Prince of Demons rules his layer from 2 serpentine towers which emerge from a turbid sea. Each tower is topped with an enormous fanged skull. The spires constitute the fortress of Abysm where echoes of Demogorgon's turbulent thoughts resound through the halls tearing at the minds of creatures who dare to enter.

Layer 113 Thanatos: Knows as the Demon Prince of Undeath and the Blood Lord the demon lord Orcus is worshiped by Undead and by living creatures that channel the power of undeath. A brooding and nihilistic entity Orcus yearns to make the multiverse a place of death and despair forever unchanging except by his will and to turn all creatures into Undead under his control.

Orcus's realm of Thanatos is a land of bleak mountains barren moors ruined cities and forests of twisted black trees under a black sky. Tombs mausoleums gravestones and sarcophagi litter the landscape. Under swarm across the plane bursting from their tombs and graves to tear apart any creatures foolish enough to journey heer.

Orcus rules Thanatos from a vast palace known as Everlost crafted of Obsidian and Bone. Set in a howling wasteland called Oblivion's End the palace is surrounded by tombs and graves dug into the sheer slopes of narrow valleys creating a tied necropolis.

Layer 222 The Slime Pits: Also known as Shedaklah the layer is ruled by 2 seperate yet equally repugnant demon lords (Juiblex and Zuggtmoy) who coexist with little conflict.

Juiblex the Demon Lord of Slimes and Oozes is an amorphous mass that lurks in the abyssal depths. The wretched Faceless Lord cares nothing for cultists or mortal servants and its sole desire is to turn all creatures into formless copies of its horrid self. Zuggtmoy is the Demon Queen of Fungi and the Lady of Rot and Decay. Her primary desire is to infect the living with spores transforming them into her servants and eventually into decomposing hosts for the mushrooms molds and other fungi that she spawns.

As the name suggests the Slime Pits is a bubbling morass of fetid sludge. The landscape is covered in vast expanses of caustic slimes and strange organic forms rise from the oceans of ooze at Juiblex's command. Zuggtmoy's palace consists of 2 dozen immense mushrooms among the largest in existance hollowed into grand chambers and twisting corridors. The palace is surrounded by a field of acidic puffballs and poisonous vapors.

Layer 422 Death Dells: The demon lord Yeenoghu hungers for slaughter and senseless destruction. Gnolls are his instruments on the Material Plane and he drives them to ever greater atrocities in his name. Delighting in sorrow and hopelessness the Gnoll Lord yearns to turn the cosmos into a wasteland in which the last surviving Gnolls tear one another apart for the right to feast upon the dead.

Yeenoghu rules a layer of ravines and badlands known as Death Dells. Here creatures must hunt to survive. Even plants try to snare the unwary to bathe their roots in blood. Yeenoghu's servants helping to sate their master's hunger as he prowls his kingdom capture creatures from the Material Plane for release in the Gnoll Lord's realm.

Layer 600 The Endless Maze: The Demon Lord Baphomet also known as the Horned King and the Prince of Beasts embodies bestial bloodlust. If he had his way civilization would crumble and all mortals would embrace their predatory instincts.

Baphomet's layer is a never-ending dungeon with the Horned King's enormous palace at its center. A confusing jumble of crooked hallways and myriad chambers the palace is surrounded by a mile wide moat concealing a confounding series of submerged stairs and tunnels leading deeper into the fortress.

@doodl3

[capripian-arts]

A map I designed for my D&D campaign.

[ID: A map of an island, The Gaping Maw, in the middle of an ocean called the Brine Sea. A settlement in the center is labeled Abysm. There are two points labeled Geitus and The Latis. There is a beach on either side of the island, labeled White Beach and Salt Flats. End ID]

[thewinedarksea]

dnd characters: nemo

"and the water is a woman, or the silhouette of one; a hollow place, made of waves and foam, chitin and bone. it aches to look at her. it aches more to look away.”

[castcharmperson]

likeabirdinflight replied to your post

“In case anyone was interested in the events in the life and times of...”

I both love and hate puzzles because I'm always too stupid to figure them out lmaooo. Also omg seducing clones? I am so horrified but also like. I wanna know how this went down. Other than KO'd lol.

HERE’S THE THING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT KLIFF

Kliff is our bard. Now that our druid is trapped in a mirror dimension, he is OUR ONLY SOURCE OF HEALING aside from my perfect lovable rogue running around with a healer’s kit. But my rogue’s HP is also Very Bad, so it’s not ideal.

Kliff is a four-foot-nothing gnome, dances to deal with his feelings, and has the laziest yet most effective Vicious Mockeries I’ve ever heard. Some examples include:

“Worthless crab, you’re not longer fit to be my son”

“I bet you’re wearing this hat just because you’re bald. Embarrassing about your hairstyle.”

“Get back down here you stupid coward. Are you so scared of a gnome?”

“There’s nothing left for me to insult about you. You’re sand. I’ve done all I can.”

And that’s just what I can find in this notebook (I cosplay Taako, but I sort of have a Lucretia-like method of scribbling down everything verbatim). He is also the only one in the campaign to successfully seduce someone. Or should I say.... something?

We were fighting this swamp monster one time and Kliff just wouldn’t stop dancing? After a few failed intimidation checks, he asks the DM if he can roll to seduce it. Somehow, he was successful. We managed to get away from the monster, and I played “My Heart Will Go On” while the DM informs us the creature looked longingly after Kliff as our party walked away from the water.

Now, I guess he’s made that a character choice. Lobsters, Sarlacc Pits, Mimics, you name it. And when presented with his clone, the gnome naturally had a singular goal. Honestly, I think our DM would have let him do it if the clone didn’t get burned to a crisp by our enkindler before Kliff’s turn in the initiative. 

[two-red-lungs]

Player of Games

Eddie Munson Drabble

Content: Implied reader/Eddie, DnD shenanigans, fluff

Summary: Sitting nearby and spectating one of the Hellfire games can almost be as fun as playing them. Especially when you know exactly how the combat encounter is going to end.

Word Count: 1157

“Why isn’t your girlfriend playing with us this time, dude? College make her too cool for us?” One of the newer Hellfire club faces asked, looking at Eddie, who was perched up on his seat behind the DM screen.

Without even looking up, Eddie waved a hand in my direction, focused on his notes. “The good lady has sided with the foul Beholder. She knows too much.”

I dropped my copy of Startide Rising from my eyes, reclined on one of the Hawkins High play set pieces in our nook behind the stage. “He’s saying I helped him prep the combat for this encounter. Can’t play if you’re a co-conspirator.”

Over his screen, Eddie winked at me. Like a grand maestro directing an orchestra, he slowly lit the candles on the table, tension rising… and then he began the session right where they had left off. Backstage lights dimmed. All attention on him.

Munson was a performer for sure. It shone even when he was off the stage: he was always at 110 percent, twenty-four seven. His lips wove seas of sound and story, gestures sending candle flames aflutter, spinning rapt illusory webs of high fantasy that ensnared his players. It was enchanting to watch from the outside.

Incredibly geeky, but enchanting.

“...King Terevin gives a wave of his hand, and the massive iron gate begins to slowly lift with a click, click, click.” He punctuated every onomatopoeia with knuckles against the wooden table. He spread his fingers. “The gaping maw of darkness stretches wide in front of you, our brave guild recruits. You hear the thunk, thunk, thunk of heavy, wet flesh, scraping across the stone. And then,” Eddie rose in his seat, holding clasped hands out over the board, “lumbering out into the light of the fighting pit, the crowd roaring in your ears—” He dropped the hulking miniature onto the graph paper map, “—Is a titanic, club-weilding, undead flesh atronach!”

The table exploded into cries, Dustin grabbing Mike’s sleeve and shaking it vigorously. The players protested in fear and Eddie gleefully rolled out the enemy’s stats: twenty feet tall, level ten, boasting 220 hit points. He spat the facts over the cacophony.

“A creature of infamy and legend!” Eddie crowed. “Known throughout the king’s lands, older than the stones that built the very fortress it’s imprisoned in! Your most dangerous foe yet.” He rubbed his hands together and pointed at the players. “Alright. Roll for initiative.”

I made steady headway in my science fiction novel as the table thrummed with action nearby, voices echoing off the high theater ceiling. Spells were cast, blows were struck. Poor Mike’s new elven sorcerer got his shit rocked, down to two hit points and barely avoiding getting reduced to a smear of blood on the cobblestones. 

“I click my Sidon’s boots of speed, doubling my speed, and use my full movement to get…” One of Eddie’s players said, counting on his player sheet. He was pretty new. Only sat through three sessions, with three wins under his belt. It made him cocky. “Fifty feet to the side. Then I use my fast movement feat—” The other players groaned, protesting him leaving the formation, “—to take a dash as a bonus action, adding fifteen feet.”

Eddie slowly moved the player’s mini across the board. As he did, he looked out under his fringe of hair at me. “Congrats, man.” His eyes never left mine. “You’re now flanking the atronach.”

I pressed my lips together to keep from smiling, hiding my face in my book. Remembering the conversation we had had last night. My grin would be a sure-fire giveaway to the players.

Ten-thirty PM, pouring over the monster manual, trying to come up with some contingency plans to throw roadblocks in the group’s way. Eddie bit at his nail, looking at the stats sheet. “I don’t wanna pad the atronach’s health any more than we already have. I mean, I’m known for my epic TPKs, but that’s just cruel.”

“You’ve basically custom-built a killing machine NPC, Ed.” I reminded him, painting the last finishing touch stitch on the miniature. I set the tiny brush down on Eddie’s crowded desk. “You gotta use it. They’re leveled enough. But maybe you can put some, like, secret rules in place.”

He rested his hands on his hips, looking over at me. “Like what?”

I shrugged, blowing on the mini. It was perfect. Ugly, undulating waves of flesh. “Like, uh… the party’s rogue. The new-ish guy? He always thinks he’s a solo act, right? If he breaks away from the safety of the party, punish him for it. Hold the atronach’s legendary actions until he does.”

A slow, broad grin began to crawl across Eddie’s face. “Oh. Wow. You’re kinda evil. I like it.”

He was giving me the same look now, a night later, fingers moving away from the rogue’s miniature. Did I feel good about basically sentencing the cocky player’s favorite genasi player character to death? Yes. No.

Maybe a little. 

“I use my secondary action to throw my poisoned daggers at the flesh atronach, using my cloak of shadows to get stealth damage.” The player dropped a die onto the table. “That’s an eighteen, plus a mod two. Dirty twenty to hit.” He sat back in his seat, arms folded, smug. Far too confident for a rogue with his actions all burned up.

“That’s a hit.” Eddie smiled back just as smugly. He paused, dragging the silence out. Everyone was waiting for him to describe the crippling damage. “...But. Your genasi releases the dagger, and they spin into nothing, clattering to the floor.” He snatched the mini off the table, and the chorus of protests started to rise. “The atronach’s glowing jewel embedded in its chest flares, and suddenly it’s gone. It uses a legendary action—” The chorus became a myriad of shocked shrieks, “—and teleports right next to Sir Endon the Rogue.”

The player’s face dropped. 

“He raises his twisted, mighty club, and brings it down…” Eddie paused to roll dice in his tray behind his screen, resin clattering against felt, “... for thirty-eight damage—”

“Dustin, your spare the dying spell!” The player shrieked in dismay. “Use spare the dying!”

“You’re not in range!” Dustin poineded wildly at the board, spittle flying “You moved way outta range!”

“—plus ten prone damage. That’s fifteen negative, right? You know what that means.” Eddie continued on. He dropped his face into the flickering candlelight shadows, and with a flick of his fingers, knocked the player’s mini over. “You…” he murmured darkly, “are dead. Reduced to a soup of blood and viscera, splattering the arena.”

The player was flabberghast. The other players ooohed at the sight, hooting. The rogue’s player face twisted, and he stood up, chair screeching. “Man. Seriously? Really?”

Eddie bowed his head. “The school of defeat in brutal, but a swift teacher.”

“Shouldn’t have broken formation, man.” Mike said.

“Whatever. God, ugh. Whatever. I’m going to the vending machine. Gonna clear my head.” With that the hellfire club member stormed off into the shadows, a beam of hallway light cutting across the theater as he pushed open the theatre door in a huff.

“I want a root beer!” I called to his retreating form as he left.

“Dos root beers, por favor!” Eddie tacked on. He shot me a secretive grin, lips all quirked up on one side, and I shook my head, smiling down at my book. He took far too much pleasure in this. 

Teamwork makes the dream work, right?

“Now.” Eddie turned back to his remaining mid-combat with a devious, dark smile on his face. “Where were we?”

[celestialmango]

Reader insert,Unwilling prey, digestion and fatal vore(not you tho, you're safe...kinda) soft vore, safe vore, fallout au, super mutant variant Pred, Pred's a jerk, but a jerk that gets rid of your raider problem.

🍡🥭🍡🥭🍡🥭🍡🥭🍡🥭🍡🥭🍡🥭🍡🥭🍡

You sigh as your toes flex digging into the dirty cracked asphalt of the road, you had set up from your town established around the vault to act as a merchant/messenger and had been doing well... until you ran into some raiders, luckily you managed to bargain your way out with your life, there were too many to take out on your own, you're lucky you still had your hidden gun and ammo, not so lucky they took your armor, your goods and your shoes.

As you continue on your way back to the vault settlement you hear a commotion behind you and feel the ground shake getting increasingly close surprisingly fast, you don't even have time to turn around before you're about nine feet in the air, scooped up by a large greenish arm and sat on a shoulder looking behind to see a large group of super mutants chasing the one hauled you into the air while they ran you don't have much time to think about what's going on before your improvised steed booms at you.

"SHOOT HUMAN" you react instinctively and start shooting the pursuers while the mutant carrying you runs, you're glad you had been training as a sharp shooter before you got frozen because it's coming in handy now as you fire bullet after bullet, reloading when empty at the hostile mutants hitting your mark everytime and crippling them, some loose legs, some lose arms and some you straight up headshot, "HAHAHA ATA HUMAN!" The one carrying you yells.

Your gun clicks empty as you finally run out of bullets but by then there's only two left the one who's shoulder you're riding and the last one chasing them, they skid to a stop and lightly toss you on top of a good 15ft tall rail car that stands to the side of the road having rolled off the nearby track ages ago, you finally get a good look at the mutant while they turn and bullrush the other, their long hair blowing flowing in the wind as they tackle the other to the ground and start brutalizing them with their fists....wait

Don't super mutants eat humans? And since when did a super mutant have hair, shit there's no way for you to get down without injuring yourself and no one around for you to call out to for help, you don't even have the time to think of how to escape before you hear a splattering crack and crunch of bone, you quickly turn back and see the hulking mash of muscle stand with blood dripping off their hands as they turn around and you get a better look at their face that has a splash of red caking it as they approach the train car grinning wildly. You notice even more details that don't make them look like your typical super mutant and honestly they actually kinda look similar to fan art you saw before of people's half orc characters only without the pointy ears and tusks...god you miss DND.

You shouldn't have let yourself get distracted, they're already at the side of the car, they stretch their arms out to you, "Come ere human. _______ ain't gonna kill you" you blanch 'n-no thank you, I'm fine up here.' the super mutant scoffs "bah, human can come to _______ or _______ can tip metal thing over and human can go smack on the ground. Human can choose easy way or painful way."...shit, you really don't have a choice here do you? You scooch over to the edge the super mutant is waiting at and swing your legs over the side.

The super mutant who's name you guess is ______ grasps your waist with both hands and lifts you off the roof of the ancient train car but they don't set you down just yet, you notice they're staring at your feet "where's humans shoes?" You answer them nervously and slightly confused 'o-oh. Um.. well I kinda got robbed by raiders a few miles back.' the mutant looks at your face intently and you sweat nervously "how many?" 'wha?' "How many raiders human" 'oh, there were five. W-why?' _____ grins at you viciously setting you further on edge before they say "human do _____ favor, _____ return it" just like that all your tension leaves you 'ah, so are you going to put me down or?'

_____ sets you back on their shoulder, "human point way, _____ follow" you guess this is just how your day is going to go now, 'ok.' you point out the direction you came from and _____ takes off in a run.

--------

_____ skids to a stop again just 50 ft from the raider camp just as night falls giving them excellent cover, they bend down and set you down in the open back of a brokendown pick-up truck before shutting the trunk, you can clearly see out the back and side windows as the mutant grins at you and cracks their knuckles "_____ be right back." They say before standing up and storming into the camp with a battlecry, you try to open the truck bed but it's jammed, guess you have no choice but to wait for _____ to get back.....you hope they don't die as you hear the gunfire begin.

------

The gunfire finally stops after half an hour, it's about 6 more minutes with you having your face buried in your knees before you hear groaning and loud footsteps, your head snaps up when the back of the truck is torn open and you stare like a deer in headlights, "ur-urp _-____ back...urrgggh" they groan in discomfort one hand on their obscenely large and squirming gut, the other arm reaching in and pulling you out of the truck, you stare in horror as you see hand prints and faces push out from their stomach the sounds of muffled obscenities and screams almost silenced by the loud gurgles as their guts makes quick work of them eventually going still as it starts to shrink.

_____ clicks their fingers in front of your face "oy, human" you snap out of your daze and look them in the eyes, 'ah' "no more raiders." 'uh-huh' is all you can say, you turn to walk towards the now empty camp before a large hand clamps down on your shoulder, "where human think they're going?" You look at them nervously 'i-i was going to search their camp for my stuff they stole from me' they look at you with a wild expression "human not going anywhere." 'wha? But you don't plan to eat me too?' they grin wider "_____ never said that." You squeak in fear before _____'s expression slips, they burst out laughing and let go "HAHAHA human should see humans face!"

Your expression goes flat as you stare at them for their cruel joke blankly before gasping in surprise as they drag you closer by your arm and press your hand to the softening, still shrinking bulge of their gut, "human do ____ another favor and ____ won't kill human" you feel a chill run down your spine and you start rubbing their stomach while you shiver in fear. "Ahhh, that's a good human."

------

It doesn't take long before there's no sign there was ever anyone in _____'s stomach, they grab the back of your shirt and drag you toward their face "time for dessert!" 'BUT YOU SAID-' you squeak out before they interrupt "____ knows what _____ said" then they shove your face into their gaping maw and swallow, groaning in pleasure at your taste and pinning your arms to your sides as they push you in further swallowing again the strong muscles of their throat having no trouble dragging you in further as you shriek and squirm, they tilt their head up hands tight around your legs as they take a deep gulp, you sink in up to your knees, your head pops into their now empty stomach, there's not much left of you outside, you don't see a single trace of the raiders that were previously here and your breath catches in your throat as you freeze.

In a few more gulps your feet are dragged inside out of the cooling night air and you're slow forced to curl up, ____s' gut bulging out once more they settle a hand on their stomach and pick at their teeth with one of their finger nails. A long deep burbling groan sounds from their belly as their stomach starts to gurgle, squeezing and flexing around you, you snap out of your stunned state and start pushing back struggling. 'you-YOU SAID YOU WOULDN'T KILL ME' you yell panicking, ___ is nonchalant in their reply "yeah", you cry out distressed and ask your voice close to tears 'WO-won't eating me kill me?' "ppft naw" ____ pats their gut with a grin "dessert probably notice ______ look different, ______ special" 'Wha-What's that mean?' they put both hands on their round stomach and squeeze causing you to squeak in discomfort at how tight it is.

"Mean dessert should shut up and sleep, then dessert become human again in the morning" 'M-My name is (Y/N)! and what do you mean human again?' they scoff not bothering to answer your question in a way you understand, they know they were quite clear the first time, "No, your name dessert and dessert can be (y/n) tomorrow" they say as they rub and press at their stomach while they walk back to the raider camp to set up for the night with you making squeaks of discomfort as they continue to, in their opinion, playfully bully you.

[tomwaterbabies]

got me out here listening to some taz bits as though i would ever make an animatic out of them but i sure am thinking about it. especially the looting a bank bit bc i haven’t played mother games so idk abt ness and lucas but i DO know that pit and the links are from games where you generally Loot Everything so i can see them being like [pit taking money from the banks chest] insurance will cover this! [lucas] they aren’t gonna cover shit were LITERALLY talking to the chief of police outside

GOD THIS IS SO FUCKING GOOD......... god damn it im so tempted to make one myself but ya boi has an animated short to finish

if u ever make it tag me so i can show it to everyone with feverish pride

god i also need to finish listening to TAZ. im a bad dnd gay

ANYWAYS YEAH this fits so well. it really gives an opportunity to comically address the behavior of some of our protags. no links and pit, u actually cant just Take Money by breaking things. and ness. Ness. dont put the food u just found from a trashcan in ur gaping maw what the fuck

young link please stop insisting kids can enter adult-oriented taverns just bc they’re wearing a “grown-up hat”

[imaneea]

🐩 Neea

Neea hands down was inspired by the main protag in Mistborn: Vin! 

A VERY large portion of the world building I did for her home city (i’ve started calling it Three Ring City akdjfh) comes from the setting. 

For neea herself I took the situation Vin was in at the start of the book as the seed for her story: a girl that had been on the run with her not so good brother since her mother and little sister died, and forced to grow up in an underworld that looks at nothing but your value. Can you be a working member of a crew or were you better off broken on the streets to beg for coin?

The state of the main city this series takes place is a very gritty and graphically violent place, gang members selling out each other if it means they get another piece of food for the night. Loyalty? Only to the one that you can’t beat even in an unfair fight. Even then it was like starving wolves looking for any chance to eat.

I took this base and then went to work for making a edgy rogue that had went her whole life making sure that no one else would throw her to the fire or she’d drag them down with her. 

Slapped her in a gang around the same age as her inspiration, but I let the muse wander through the process of ‘what if Vin stayed and never was recruited by the resistance?’ What if we skipped the broken scared girl that we meet in the first chapters and skip to the hardened morally grey character that was ready to do whatever she had to to keep her control over the gaping maw that threatened to chew her up and spit her out onto the streets?

Vin has a lot, and I mean A LOT, of trust issues and problem’s with authority, and those were the two things that I latched onto and built Neea around. I’ve read this book so many damn times that I had a lot of material to look back on and use for my first long term DnD character. (One that was very different from me at first in how she interacted with other people.) 

Then I kinda wrote myself into a tiny hole of, ‘Well if she’s already in a high ranking spot, why would she leave?’ So I went for the thing that Vin always feared from the books. Someone did betray her and the whole world was ripped out from under, a bounty on her head that would make even petty criminals consider hunting her. 

I let that steep for roughly 6 months of her story and then she found herself hired on to the same group as a cat, gnoll, and snake. Unaware of anything that her future had in store for her.

I also found her first sketch and it’s dated June 29th 2017 BABY

SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO HAVE WHITE EYES APPARENTLY

[thebigpapilio]

DnD References

I’ve got a game for you all!

I’m writing a fic in the style of some folks gathered round to play Dungeons & Dragons. Let’s see how long it takes you to figure out what game/movie/show this is referencing!

The answer will come in the end, however. Good luck!

(WARNING: THIS MIGHT BE UNREALISTIC TO ACTUAL DND WORKINGS)

DM: You have come to a high-rise above the den where the monster awaits. Warriors of all different types gather on the edge, watching the monster and its brood feed & awaiting your orders.

The creature you have come to slay is no mere monster, but a godly one. Blessed by Fisaine, the patron god of fun & battle preparation, this sentient creature manipulated His wishes and now uses his power of creation & an unknown energy to destroy.

Your leader gives a war cry of “Not one shall escape!”, and it is then when your guide turns back with a gasp, most likely to initiate warning to retreat. 

He is far too late.

The monster’s wings unfold, and from its gaping maw many bright & burning beams of energy release. Those who the beams envelop leave nothing behind. Not a trace of the fact you were ever there exists but for 6 survivors. They are you, and you are they.

Player 1: Hey, friend? There’s four of us.

Late Player, stepping in: Not anymore, there aren’t.

Another Player, to DM: Who’s this chump?

DM, shooting Player 2 a glare: My brother here wanted to join. Be nice to him.

Player 3: Well, if he’s any good... 

DM: Thanks, guys. Alright, everyone, introduce your characters!

Player 1: I’m Banjo, and I have a familiar called Kazooie. We live nearby, and we figured you fellas needed some help from a bard.

Player 2: I’m Pirann Audrey III, Nature Demon. I just came to see what was going on.

Player 3: I am Solo M. Arusu, noble hero and claimed descendant of the Eighth & Eleventh mythical heroes.

Player 4: I’m Akira Kurusu, but call me Joker in battle. I have a summon-able familiar as well - two, in fact, but one of them does not fight. His name is Mona, and my fighting familiar is Arsene.

DM’s Brother: My powers allow me to copy the powers of the enemies I face. I lost two friends to this monster today, and I’ve come for revenge, you monster. Remember the name Kirby, because you’ll see his face in your last moments.

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

Some Headcanons About The DLC Survivors:

Akira is a disgraced noble who steals from other nobles. He wants to slay the corrupt leader of Masayoshi, Prime Minister Shido.

Solo & Akira are childhood friends that joined the group together. Solo was the only one to stick by Akira when he was disgraced.

Pirann prays to the goddess Venus, not any plant deity. It’s why she was separated from the rest of her home - banishment for her beliefs, just because she went against that of their leader Petey.

Banjo & Kazooie were retired heroes before this adventure, and want to do one last job before they die. They worked with other heroes in the past, most of whom are not often seen in the history books. Conker, the barbarian quadrumvirate named the Battletoads, and their favorite adventure was saving a village of anthropomorphic pinatas.

Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong & King K. Rool (who has been redeemed) were the ones that convinced them to join once more. Fox & Falco are old friends as well.

Valete,

TheBigPapilio

[p-artsypants]

Me: Dwarves in DND are a bit different than the ones in Skyrim, right? What are they like?

Three hours later

Me: Demagorgon is the ruler of the 88th layer of the abyss, which is often called the Gaping Maw. The obiryth Dagon, The Prince of the Depths, is the ruler of the 89th layer, known as the Shadowsea. Dagon’s mother, the Pale Night, is also a obiryth, but she is so ugly that she is just depicted as a sheet—

[interpreterslinguistics]

Hermes: CAE

-

Let me tell you a story.

There’s a mother on top of a great mountain down to the South. She’s a mother of warriors, sending them out in snakelike paths down to the North.

She puts in front of each and every one of us a series of choices afore-chosen by her and the five others. She’s a mother of warriors, so her path tends to be violence.

They feed her full (they hope, she never actually is full, and when she is she’ll oversee the destruction of us all - when there’s no hunger there’s no life) of the corpses of everything. Corpses of everything includes: The plants we eat, the animals too, the choices we never made, your neighbours, dead seeds, spider webs, blood, oxygen... She’s Death’s chariot, if anything, at the Reapers’ beck and call, consuming horse/chariot/unending creature that consumes and spits out and nurses and consumes (all synonyms?). A farmer, a shepherd, a meat grinder…

Oh, we’re the warriors by the way. Every one of us fighting some horrific battle orchestrated by this sixway chess game, not birthed by her but engendered with a ferocious fate. Trauma, love, heartbreak, renewal, extravagance, murder, hunger. Complex rules to a complex thing

And ultimately she is the kindest if the standards of measurement for kindness are found in acceptance. Love in its purest form is a machine of consumption, reintegration into the womb is the highest form of adoration. Its not what she does, but that's close. To pull someone so deep into your core Name they become you is the highest form of acceptance. She’s the gaping maw at the throat of every one of the Six, herself included in a paradoxical x-dimensional loop…

Here’s the thing: You can’t outrun her, and she knows this. Life (in her sixth of reality) is a horrific slideshow of trauma and acceptance, a wobbling, Rhythmic tale between safety and sorrow, and for some of us none of either safety OR sorrow but what we don't use goes to our fellow fighters. You vote with your fellow cinema-goers on what the next slide in her slideshow will be, but you have to understand this: is a preset of choices actually considered a set of choices? Think of it in the way of DnD versus a roleplaying video game. Illusion of choice. There's so much you can do in Dnd, but a video game has to be preprogrammed. Yet even live action DnD is a set of predetermined choices. Life is predetermined choices. You are preprogrammed. Soldiers are programmed and corralled.

Impressions. Relations. Previous choices. Emotions are a form of reaction, personalities a programming of emotions, sensory data -...... She is the functioning(? sanitised-of-morality) of the mirrored Eye.

She is also considered a lover, because she is none and all of what she is. Mother, lover, nemesis, higher self... All.

In a war overseen by godlike forces, are your kills considered murders or incidental? In a game of chess are these killings of pieces considered wins or losses? You are set in motion by the Mother Causality in the heaviest machinery known to consciousness, a named form, and rolled down a steep hill with no working motor underneath you and nothing but a steering wheel with which to scramble and scrape at any sort of attempt at moving this horrific beast of a body out of the way of your fellow People. Are those you crush under your machine murder or incidental? She knows the fear and trauma of the soldiers path and loves you all the same.

[tovonind]

On the names of plants

One of my players wants a terrarium-of-holding, and considering that my campaign involves a certain amount of worldhopping, I’m rather fascinated by the idea. It also means that I have to spend some time thinking of (i) how such a  thing would work, (ii) reading up the effects of introducing non-indigenous/endemic species into interesting biomes, and (iii) names for fantasy plants. Let’s talk about each of these for a bit:

1. The terrarium itself

Taking inspiration from how incredible terrariums can look, the early brainiac’s obsession with miniaturizing cities to preserve their culture (kandor being a prime example), and the native D&D bag-of-holding variants (the bag of colding, devouring, beans, tricks etc.), I’m taking a stab at an artifact that maintains small pocket-biomes. The item can be found here on D&Dbeyond, where it can be added to character sheets etc. Art for the terrarium comes from this fantastic artist on redbubble (Will Hewitt).

2. The effects of non-endemic plants in fantasy biomes

Before we get into this, let’s first look at some real-world examples (not that we want to be bounded by reality, but still, reality can very often surprise us). For reference, here’s a wiki article on introduced species. 

To summarize, when introduced into a new biome, plants can either - die out,  - naturalize (affecting the local biome to different extents),  - adapt/mutate/hybridize with local flora/fauna, or - become invasive

The fourth has the more interesting consequences, and the prerequisite for this can be summarized by two conditions:

- it has the resources it needs to grow.  - it doesn’t suffer competition or predation

From teh wiki,

An introduced species might become invasive if it can outcompete native species for resources such as nutrients, light, physical space, water, or food. If these species evolved under great competition or predation, then the new environment may host fewer able competitors, allowing the invader to proliferate quickly. Some interesting examples of this would be 

- introducing sustainable food crops in regions without food can lead to a complete change in the economy and lifestyle of the people in that region.

- a new plant can sometimes carry diseases or pests that are relatively benign to the plant itself, but fatal for other native species.

- Rootless duckweed (see below) can be dangerous almost everywhere it’s introduced.

- Cactacae and Myconids coming into contact with each other can be hilarious or deadly depending on the circumstances. 

- Mana-rich plants in mana-poor regions can completely warp the surrounding biomes, since they have no resistance to the glamouring effects of these plants. It is important to be careful while bringing any plants over from the Feywild.

- Some plants (like the fleshy tuberondum carnis) can cause higher level predators to stop preying on grazing animals, since they taste similar. This can lead to an explosion of grazing animals, which leads to the savannah being stripped of edible grasses, and upsets the biome. 

- Plants that grow in remote/inhospitable/extreme/space-like locales (that are not used to resource-rich environments) can sometimes go crazy when introduced into normal ones.

3. Names and characteristics of fantasy plants:

All right, let’s take a stab at these. A lot of these are real, with some added flavour. Can you identify which ones aren’t?

‘Bob’ is a variant of the Blackhew (Viburnum prunifolium): Native originally to Karvadam and now other parts of Tovon Ind with trade, the plant is thought to emit a low hum, along with an almost unnoticeable musk that vibrates at the same resonant frequency. Tabaxi, Moogles, Loxodons and other sensitive species can detect this to some extent, but it particularly seems to affect the slakemoths and other creatures of a dark aspect to varying degrees, ranging from mild distaste to complete discombobulation (scribbled in the margins: 'see what i did there?'). It is not presently known if this effect can be amplified, although traditional means like poultices, brews and steeped concoctions do not seem to be effective in this regard. The plant also has certain religious aspects to it, and is sometimes used as an offering during rituals at Dracoperonia (dragon temples) across the land. (updated Jan 6)

Corpse Flowers (also called the Titan Arum, Scientific name: Amorphophallus titanum) - not one big flower, but thousands of smaller ones. grow on corpses in the crystal forest and emit a faint bioluminiscence. folklore suggests that they’re releasing the souls of the fallen from their bodies to wander the forest for evermore.

Dwarvish Wheat / Lithiops (Lithops Hookeri, Lithops Salicola, Lithops Olivieri, etc.): A small, desert thriving rocklike plant of the succulent family that yields flour when processed, and is used to make dwarvish bread. It is thought to be what gives dwarvish bread its characteristic texture and density.

Witches' Butter / Yellow brain / Golden Jelly Fungus (Tremella mesenterica): Mostly extinct in nature but found in many private botanical gardens, this potent herb can sometimes be found growing on recently fallen and dead trees, especially if the trees had any magical essence. Being rich in mana, it has been used as a catalyst in many magical potions and poultices. While edible, it remarkably has no flavor. It is parasitic on other fungi.

Dragonsblood Tree (Dracaena cinnabari): With mana-rich sap that resembles dragons' blood (It’s a deep red, even when dried into resin, and is used for magical ceremonies, and as a stimulant), this rare tree is highly sought after and was even worshiped in older times. It is said that it can not be grown without the blessing of a dragon, and can only be found on the floating island of Caelondia. The canopy looks like an umbrella and acts like one. It shades the roots and reduces evaporation. 

Welwitschia / Tumbo / Tweeblaarkanniedood (Welwitschia mirabilis): A living fossil found in the deserts of Tovon Ind, its close relatives have gone extinct and its distant relatives include pines, spruces, larches, and firs. It has one very short trunk and two leaves—only two. It grows only two leaves no matter how mature it is (and it can get very mature - living 400 to over 2000 years!). Wine made from the leaves of this plant are said to induce intense visions, but sometimes have the unfortunate side effects of driving the imbiber completely insane (DC 10 CON).

The dude (Dudanus Principus): A small flowering bush that produces a pungent green-and-black bud that is often smoked as leaf, fermented to make beer, or steeped as tea, depending on the region. Produces a sap that tastes like milk. Grows best in cool climates. Artists in recent times have experimenting with using it as an ingredient in making paint.

Rootless Duckweed / The green death / the ravening swarm (Wolffia Arrhiza): An extremely small flowering plant, normally not dangerous unless it comes in contact with water, in which case it starts multiplying exponentially as long as water is available to sustain it. Once it crosses a critical threshold, it beings leaching moisture from the air. Careless mismanagement of this plant is thought to have wiped out small villages.

The strangler fig (also called the pleasant sleep, Ficus vulgaris): A symbiotic plant found in the forests near the northeastern part of the continent (to be fleshed out), emits a sweet scent that charms prey into coming close (DC12 CON). Small creatures caught unawares are slowly asphyxiated, and animals that come to eat these creatures carry the plant’s seeds to other locations.

Hydnora / Magis’ staff / the seeing Maw (Hydnora Morgana): The Hydnora plant grows almost completely underground, except for its strange, bristly red flower that is shaped like an open pod, or a gaping maw. Traps insects and other small creatures and keeps them until the flower is mature, then releases them to complete the pollination. The fruit takes two years to mature underground, is said to be similar in taste and texture to a potato, yet useful for tanning leather and preserving fishnets.

Mandrake root (Mandragora Vox): Potent magical herb, that has the appearance of a radish-like root. Causes deafness/madness and death in extreme cases if uprooted at any time other than twilight (recent studies show the absence of shadows as a necessary component in controlled conditions). Can be used to revive the recently dead if prepared in appropriate ways. 

Tesla trees / Wednesday’s weed (Arborum Fulmenis): Large electrified trees that appear to store up electricity inside their body during certain seasons, releasing all of it in huge arcs of lightning from their crown, burning away all that was growing or walking near them and thus getting fertilizer. Found in the garden of the time-lords in Karvadam and metal sections of the crystal forest.

A lot more fictional plants to cover! See the list here of fictional plants, this list of real but cool plants, and this list of old names for plants, for example.

A few more resources from my player: 

- https://www.reddit.com/r/Pathfinder_RPG/comments/94hpjl/are_there_any_magic_items_to_have_a_portable/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share

- https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/1077so/4e_making_a_portable_garden/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share

- [starter item] https://aonprd.com/EquipmentMiscDisplay.aspx?ItemName=Portable%20terrarium

[jaytaro-art]

Lore 063: Beholder (read more) ... Beholders, also called eye tyrants, were large aberrations normally found in the Underdark. These large, orb-shaped beings had ten eyestalks and one central eye, each containing powerful magic. Rare, powerful and intelligent, beholders were among the greatest threats to the world. Immediately identifiable, the other feature of a beholder's anatomy was its massive, gaping maw. Because their entire body was covered in eyes, beholders had the capacity to see in all directions at once, making it near impossible to ambush them while also giving them an unusually high degree of perceptive ability. Beholders were also capable of flight, in spite of their lack of wings, simply hovering above ground effortlessly. Xenophobic and vicious creatures, beholders were quick to attack enemies, including anyone they deemed not "like themselves." Beholders were violent and greedy, hungering for both wealth and power over others. This was made all the more complicated since more than one variety of beholder existed, each believing itself to be the pinnacle of perfection and they viewed other beholders who differed from this image in even the most minute details as loathsome and inferior. Oddly enough, a Beholder's mind was divided into two entities. Each of these entities thought and acted on it's own accord even though it was bound to the same body as the other half. Rarely did either half of a Beholder's mind trust the other, creating a very paranoid relationship. Outsiders will often see a Beholder talking or arguing to itself, and assume it mad. In combat, they would often try to end a battle as quickly as possible, unleashing their terrifying abilities all at once. Among these attacks were their deadly eye rays, in varying forms such as instilling fear, charming, knocking out, petrifying, disintegrating, slowing, or outright killing their enemies. Any combination of these was possible, although they often used only two at a given time while their other eyes kept watch. CR: 13~14 #beholder #monster #dndtoken #dnd #monsterart #fantasyart #rpg #dndmonster #dndart #dndmonsterart #ilovefantasyart #illustration #creature #creaturedesign https://www.instagram.com/p/CG0YUlMj2fm/?igshid=1k6vtpx38ukpl