#this is the D&D party version of recruitment

[verysium]

I’ve been seeing some discourse around twitter about the blue lock boys and whether they’d be a loyal bf or not 😭 Curious to know who do you think would be more inclined to cheat or who just wouldn’t at all!!!

I saw someone say sae would 100% cheat like whattt I feel like he wouldn’t even bother looking at anyone else if he already has someone (Cuz I mean dating him would likely mean you actually mean something to him) but I digress

ok anon you had me pulling up a whole argumentative essay here cus WHO TF SAID SAE WOULD 100% CHEAT??? 😔 that mischaracterization is so painfully inaccurate. twitter really took the whole emotionally unavailable itoshi archetype and ran with it. let me just clear the air here because my man deserves some explanation.

sae itoshi would not cheat. as in capital N and capital O. he took nearly an entire decade off his life just to work on his own issues and finally form a functional and healthy relationship with another human being. and you're telling me he's just going to let all that wash down the drain for someone else? 😒 twitter logic really be showing its illogical side here. apparently a man can be loyal to a professional sports career for eighteen years, but he can't be loyal to his significant other.

i think this misunderstanding probably happened cus of shidou. people read the manga and saw that sae dropped rin for a bug-eyed freak and automatically assumed he was disloyal. 😑 let me just say two things here:

(1) sae and shidou's relationship is strictly professional. imagine being stuck in an god awful corporate office with coworkers who bore you with their weaponized incompetence and a boss who annoys the living shit out of you. and then one day, the company hires a new recruit who is probably the most unhinged and debauched creature known to man. you're probably left wondering how he even got hired in the first place. but then you find out...he's useful. he takes risks and gets a high return on what he invests. it's impulsive and stupid, really. but at least it's unconventional and outside-the-box. he has your interest piqued. that's basically sae and shidou in a nutshell.

(2) just because sae gave shidou his number after the u-20 game does NOT mean he would do the same to any other person who would try to encroach on your relationship. and let's be real here. sae would get one text from shidou and block his contact.

anyways, here is my analysis on the bllk boys in general. introducing the anti-cheating to pro-cheating spectrum:

(A) cannot cheat under any circumstance (as in they already hate the fact that they live on a planet with 8.1 billion other people who are not you):

itoshi brothers (atp they don't even have the physical or mental capacity to entertain a third party), ness, reo

(B) cannot cheat due to physical incapability (literally cannot pull anyone within a five-meter radius to cheat with):

ego, igarashi, raichi, bachira (not that he's in any way unattractive...it's just...i feel like he would purposefully act weird to drive off people who aren't you)

(C) could not cheat (basically option A and B but less problematic version)

yukimiya, barou, kunigami, noa, loki, gagamaru, chigiri, niko, hiori, karasu (baby boy literally felt inferior cus his crush was the cutest in his class), kurona (head empty, just you)

(D) would not cheat (on you but everyone else is not included)

isagi (unintentionally a homewrecker to others but would never let anyone homewreck his relationship with you), leonardo (idk why but i just don't trust him entirely)

(E) could cheat (depends on what they get out of it):

kaiser, shidou (honestly what did you expect when you willingly dated a blonde man...)

(F) would cheat (either proven by canon or they accidentally fucked up somehow):

otoya, oliver, nagi

[chicken-wayng]

Will Solace loves Grey's Anatomy.

He has time for an episode a night, which he promptly falls asleep during. When he and Nico first started dating, Nico tried calling Will out on it: ["You can't be watching it if you're really asleep." Will knows all the lore, can tell you every inaccuracy, and where the characters could have done better. "You're not really asleep." Will agrees, he doesn't think he's passing out, but a week's worth of recordings and a stolen EKG/ECG machine (thanks Hermes cabin!) proves he is. Every night, as soon as the episode starts his eyes droop, his neck bends back and he starts to snore. "You've seen it before!" Will hasn't, and even swore on the River of Styx. "You've looked it up." Another swear.] Yet no matter what Nico comes up with, the answer still seems as if Will is just somehow doing it through some sort of osmosis.

Regardless, Will runs the Grey's Anatomy fan club which has members from all cabins but primarily Apollo, Athena, Aphrodite, Poseidon (Percy "just watches it for Sally" (yfr) and Tyson started it with her one time when Percy had to run home really quick and they ended up making a making a tradition of it. They're not as hardcore as the others), and Ares. The other cabins have their own fandom-clubs and watch parties, but the Grey's Anatomy group is the biggest. The Poseidon and Ares cabins like to pretend they're not as interested as they are, but they're the most aggressive recruiters. Aphrodite cabin obviously writes the best fanfiction, but their Grey's ff is NEXT LEVEL. Practically novelizations that would make PUBLISHED Doctor Who and Star Wars authors works look like the insult certain folks mean fanfiction as. The Apollo cabin beta reads the medical parts for them and the Athena cabin comes up with more ways for them to access it (audio recordings, dyslexic friendly print, there's a girl from the Athena, a boy from the Apollo and one of the big ff writers from Aphrodite all working on a graphic novel version), and even the Ares cabin and the Hermes kid help - by holding a raid on the store where a lot of things were stolen but primarily paper. It becomes Grey's Madness; the content going around is borderline copyright infringement but no one cares because no one is making money. Chiron even implements a No Spoilers rule because some students are further ahead than him (yes he's older than it is, but he's busy running a camp full of kids that are responsible for stopping world ending events,,, like give him some slack).

Nico, Clarisse, and Mr. D hate Grey's Anatomy.

[laoih]

ONE PIECE (2023) | Recruiting Roronoa Zoro

RECRUITMENT ATTEMPT BY MISTER 7

RECRUITMENT ATTEMPT BY CAPTAIN MORGAN

RECRUITMENT ATTEMPT BY MONKEY D. LUFFY

I think Zoro's character setup in these scenes is really well done, and I'd like to explain why I think so and examine how it plays into Zoro's characterisation in the rest of the season.

Recruting a skilled fighter

The first two scenes effectively establish Zoro as a bounty hunter, but they also show that many people are interested in his skills and try to recruit him. Given how the scenes play out it isn't the first time this happens; Zoro even seems to have a standard phrase with which he rejects these kind of offers.

But these offers aren't really offers of course – they are threats. Mister 7 threatens him with death if he doesn't accept, Captain Morgan's other option is seven days in the yard (alternatively being chased by the marines from then on).

So when Luffy comes along with his weird idea of recuriting a pirate hunter into his pirate crew, it's just one of many offers that Zoro rejects. And because he's had these recruitment attempts many times before and never with the focus on what he wants but what the other party wants, Zoro expects Luffy to have the same attitude as everyone else. He is convinced Luffy wants something in return for freeing him, and makes sure to let him know that there's no such agreement between them. He doesn't owe him anything.

And that's why he is taken aback when Luffy frees him without expecting anything in return – it's just because Luffy wants to support Zoro in what Zoro is actually interested in. Despite Zoro's rejection, Luffy offers support by freeing him from the pole instead of making demands or threats.

Luffy's support

This is one of Luffy's core traits of course – and one of the main reasons why all the Strawhats decide to stay by Luffy's side. They all have dreams, but struggle in finding a way to follow them. Luffy affirms them in striving for their dreams, and supports them whenever they need his help to move forward.

For Zoro this applies especially when he challenges Mihawk to a duel. Nami lists all the reasons why Zoro shouldn't fight Mihawk, but for Luffy it's no question that if Zoro wants to do it, he'll have Luffy's support all the way. If it's important to Zoro, that's good enough for Luffy and what he can do for Zoro is not to stand in his way. I believe this is what convinces Zoro to accept Luffy as his captain and to pledge his loyalty to him afterwards – and if Luffy would have tried to stop Zoro, it is doubtful if Zoro would have stayed at his side. So when Luffy is unsure afterwards if he made the right decision, Zoro affirms his decision.

Nami's deceit

These introduction scenes also provide a good basis for why Zoro is so distrustful of Nami before she officially joins them in the end. It's actually a trait he shares with her: the general scepticism of people, in Zoro's case caused by people trying to exploit his skills, and in Nami's case caused by Arlong actually exploiting her skill all her life. For both of them Luffy is an anomaly compared to what they are used to.

Given how Nami had done her best to try to convince the crew that she was only using them, it's only natural for Zoro to be wary of her and her intentions. Especially since in contrast to her he is a very direct person – a trait that he shares with Luffy. Both Luffy and Zoro always say what they mean, they never pretend to be anything they are not or try to deceive anyone. But where Luffy's belief in the good in people let's him believe that there is more to Nami's story, Zoro is too jaded to look beyond her rejection of the crew.

Many of these later character moments fit very well in what has been established in the first episode, which is why I think the episode gave an excellent introduction to this version of Zoro.

Obviously, the situation and the characters are a bit different to the manga/anime. In the manga/anime, Zoro has less of a choice when it comes to choosing the pirate life: his imminent death is very likely if he doesn't join Luffy's crew when he is still tied to the pole. The dynamic in the live action is therefore different and creates different characters, but they are close enough in the live action that I regonize and love them nevertheless.

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

The news that Palestinian Authority summer camps are training children to use weapons and glorify terrorists is a troubling reminder that some regimes view children as little more than tools to be exploited.

Hundreds of thousands of children have been used as soldiers in various international conflicts in recent decades, according to human rights groups.

The Ugandan rebel group known as the “Lord’s Resistance Army” has made the abduction and enslavement of children “its main method of recruitment,” experts say.

In Bolivia, an estimated 40% of the army consists of teenagers who were forcibly conscripted.

The participation of Palestinian Arab children in terrorism against Israelis has become so commonplace that it has attracted the attention of Palestinian advocates in the United States. They’ve persuaded a handful of members of Congress to introduce legislation to restrict U.S. aid to Israel if the Israeli military detains minors who engage in violence.

A Nazi Version of Cinderella

Dictators in previous generations likewise prioritized training children to hate and kill. Adolf Hitler, for example, viewed Germany’s schools as a breeding ground for raising an entire generation of Nazis.

Following Hitler’s rise to power, German school curricula were radically revised to reflect Nazi ideas, and traditional text books were replaced with Nazi versions. Biology texts now advocated the theory of “Aryan” racial superiority. Atlases focused on the alleged danger to Germany posed by surrounding nations and the supposed theft from Germany of various territories. History books presented justifications for renewed German militarism. The Nazis even concocted their own version of Cinderella, with the prince choosing a racially pure young heroine and rebuffing her racially alien stepmother.

At a press conference in September 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt expressed concern that the German government seemed to be preparing young people for war with Germany’s neighbors. He related a story he heard from an American tourist in Germany, about an eight year-old German boy who in his bedtime prayers each night would say, “Dear God, please permit it that I shall die with a French bullet in my heart.”

Unfortunately, that did not change FDR’s policy of maintaining friendly diplomatic and trade relations with Nazi Germany in the 1930s.

Disney Exposes the Nazis

During World War Two, Disney created a series of short cartoon films to support the American war effort and expose the nature of Nazism. They were shown in movie theaters, prior to the main feature. One especially striking nine-minute film was called “Education for Death: The Making of the Nazi.”

The storyline follows a German child, Hans, as the Nazi school system turns him into a worshipper of Hitler. When Hans’s teacher shows the pupils a fox capturing and eating a rabbit, Hans makes the innocent mistake of expressing sympathy for “the poor rabbit.” As punishment, he has to put on a dunce camp and sit in a corner, while another student gives the “correct” answer: “The world belongs to the strong…The rabbit is a coward and deserves to die.”

Finally surrendering to peer pressure, Hans agrees that the rabbit was “a weakling” who got what it deserved. The teacher then provides the moral of the story: the German people are “an unconquerable super race” who will “destroy all weak and cowardly nations.”

The Disney narrator describes how Hans’s upbringing then proceeds with endless “marching and ‘Heil’-ing, ‘Heil’-ing and marching.” The little boy becomes almost a robot, blindly heeding the Nazi Party’s orders to “trample on the rights of others.” The narrator concludes: “For now his education is complete–his education for death.”

Nazi-educated German children filled the ranks of the Hitler Youth movement. Its members took part in numerous atrocities, from forcing Vienna’s Jews to scrub the streets with toothbrushes in 1938, to the mass shooting of Jews swimming from sinking boats in the German harbor of Lubeck, just before Germany’s surrender in 1945.

In addition, many of those who graduated from Hitler Youth joined the Gestapo and participated in the mass murder of European Jewry. While other branches of the Nazi apparatus collapsed or surrendered in the waning days of World War II, Hitler Youth remained fanatically loyal to their Fuhrer to the very end, which is why they are often mentioned in accounts of atrocities that were perpetrated in the spring of 1945.

Menachem Weinryb, an Auschwitz survivor who was forced to take part in a death march from Poland to Germany, later recalled how when the prisoners reached the Belsen area on April 13, 1945, the German guards went to a nearby town “and returned with a lot of young people from the Hitler Youth [and local policemen]…They chased us all into a large barn…we were five to six thousand people…[They] poured out petrol and set the barn on fire. Several thousand people were burned alive.”

[alanofalltrades]

The time has come for the Minsc rant.

For those who don't know, Minsc is a recruitable character in the Baldur's Gate games, one of just two who are available for your party throughout the entire series! (the other being Jaheira). Minsc is a warrior from Rashemen, and a big reason why he's a fan favorite is his hamster, Boo. It appears to be a regular hamster, but Minsc insists Boo is really a "miniature giant space hamster". Also, he's a funny himbo who talks with an accent. Mechanically, Minsc has always been a Ranger.

And he really shouldn't be. Especially not under the 5e ruleset.

This isn't my typical "Rangers suck" kind of rant, which dozens have tolerated, I have an actual point to this. See, Minsc has never been a typical Ranger, even under AD&D. He starts with a two-handed sword and (I believe) splint mail. He has poor Intelligence, poor Wisdom (6! 6 points of Wisdom for a Ranger!), but he's incredibly strong and has an exclusive ability. Called Berserk.

Do you see what I'm getting at?

Minsc should've been a Barbarian in Baldur's Gate 3.

The man is introduced tearing up a mimic from the inside. But when he joins your party, he has a Strength of 12. Halsin, the spellcaster, is stronger than him. Minsc also has a pretty decent Wisdom of 15, which is just out of character.

And, I've just learned a fun fact while researching this: the NPC version of Minsc you encounter has 20 Strength and 6 Wisdom! You fight the correct Minsc! But the guy who joins you is balanced for being a Ranger, instead of being a Minsc.

My boy deserves better than that.

[slugdragoon]

I'm about halfway done playing Dragon's Quest VI, and I have a handle on the vocation system now. Might do an analysis of the game, since they'll be better when the game is fresh in my mind, but I want to do at least DQIII first to pick apart how the Dragon Quests with vocations evolved.

It occurred to me though that DQVI is a great example of a game that tries to sell an idea I also want to sell in my own DRPG. I didn't play it for research, I just wanted to, but in DQVI, you start with some vocations at first, but the advanced vocations are like combinations of lower ones. For example, the Paladin requires you master the Priest and Martial Artist first, Sage is a Mage/Priest, Gladiator is a Warrior/Martial Artist, etc.

There's a limited version of this in Dragon's Dogma where with three vocations, there's a "second level", though the clases are not prereqs for one another, but conceptually the Advanced and Hybrid vocations are classes combined with another class, or itself again.

I also remember always seeing these fan-made class trees on Fire Emblem boards, they always stuck in my child brain for some reason (turns out they were all made by DarkMatter122 @ DeviantArt):

So, between these examples and D&D multiclass builds, I've long loved the idea of mashing together RPG classes, classifying them, figuring out what the difference mechanically is between a wizard, a mage, a sage, a sorceror, and how many roles you can make before making the system redundant. How narrowly can a class deliver it's class fantasy while still having a niche, a reason to include that character in your party?

I was inspired to start work on my game after playing Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey, and my game will also involve recruiting many party members and combining their skillsets to make new ones, but instead of monsters, I wan't to have the units represent RPG character archetypes, or builds. Whether it looks like fusion in SMT or some other method of skill inheritance remains to be seen, but I have some ideas.

[sarasa-cat]

waitwaitwaitwaitwait. Did I read your tags on that BG3 Sexyman poll right? You voted for Astarion?? You must tell me your thoughts on him, I have a desperate need to know rn

(Me right now: snickering and laughing and trying to look composed while sitting in front of the computer. Bwahahaahahhaahahahahahhahahaha)

I don't have all that much to say just yet because I really am not all that far into the game. Seriously, I have only had a few evenings of play, most of it meandering around. In fact, I still haven't met up with Halsin although when I last left my party in camp, I think they were somewhere near where he is.

THAT SAID **RUBS HANDS**

(Puts a cut here for people who haven't yet started BG3 and are avoiding ALL spoilers, even really really really early in the game stuff)

Right from the very first scene with Astarion he radiated OVERLY DRAMATIC DISASTER vibes and then, a little while later, the First Bite camp scene was just highly amusing. ;)

From what little I know or can guess via the blindingly loud foreshadowing, I am sensing that there is a lot of power dynamic issues wrapped up in the romance path with Astarion and eventually this will require resolving Astarion's ties/relationship with his full-vampire patron (name of that dude escapes me, not googling for fear of spoilers). If anything, Astarion is highly Entertaining(tm).

I could be wrong but my guess is that the Astarion arc will be Interesting.

Of the dudes, the only other one to interest me so far is Wyll. I know is that his story and his romance arc were radically reworked for the full release although I don't know much more than that and I did not play the early release. In the current version of his story there is a loud subtext of messiness regarding Wyll's situation (yes, I have gotten just far enough to meet Mizora) and that intrigues me. Quite curious about it.

I already suspect that Halsin isn't my jam, personally, but I'll reserve my judgments until he is recruited.

Gale.... Not right for the particular OC I'm playing for my first run through.

But, honestly, my personal all around fave so far is 🥰 Karlach 🥰

That said, for my first play through with this particular OC I have plopped into the BG world, I suspect that Astarion is the way to go and I also suspect it will be amusing.

One day in the future I will create an OC who is a bit more wholesome for a Karlach romance run.

AND I WILL KEEP YOU POSTED ONCE I GET BACK TO PLAYING. ;D

[rejectlegacy]

GENERAL D&D/CAMPAIGNVERSE

Tweaks will be made as more events happen within my 16th level mini-campaign!

IMPORTANT CHANGES FROM HIS BG III VERSE

In this verse, Alden cut off his own horns/hexblood crown which weakened his connection to the hag his parents made a deal with. Through his sacrifice, the connection was weakened enough that he was able to flee without her being able to track him after running away.

They have a necklace that is enchanted with disguise self which they use to look like the fair skin/non-red version of themselves

They're keeping the whole hexblood + despair consuming thing a secret from the party

fighting so many necromancers with his party, the Emerald Knights, has been great bc it turns out there's a lot despair centered around necromancers : ' )

all bg iii references removed

In this verse Alden's family are infamous warlords who are thought to have died out around the same time he was taken by the hag/disappeared.

In this verse Hexbloods are considered extremely rare. If people were to find out he is a Hexblood they'd use him as a Eerie Token creation machine, a sort of spellcasting focus, as some sort of grim zoo exhibit or kill him. All horrific options, really. His fellow Emerald Knights/party wouldn't treat him that way but he himself doesn't know that so he keeps it a secret STILL.

LORE PROVIDED BY THE DM: The hag that cursed you, Alden, is called a bheur hag (said like "burr"), and since it's not Auntie Ethel, I'll say her name is Verna the Cold. Typically Verna appears as a tiefling "medicine woman" or druid who rarely leaves her cottage in the mountains. You would know that Verna enjoys making deals with vulnerable people and loves cutting people down to make herself look better. Even amongst the other hags in her coven, Verna was considered selfish. Since you made your escape, you've only encountered her twice. Once was early on, maybe level 2 or 3, when she tried to plead in disguise for you to "come home for dinner." You saw through her and revealed who she really was to your party, though you kept your true connection to her a secret.

MORE DM PROVIDED LORE: The second time you encountered her, you had grown much stronger and more powerful than her. You were helping your party track down Shadryx, the lich you are about to confront, when you remembered that Verna had once had a party full of necromancers over "for dinner" (aka to feed on their despair, when you weren't enough for her). You recognized that they were recruiting people for Shadryx's forces. Verna turned them down, but not after letting them reveal where his base was and how many people were already recruited. You couldn't remember the location--you were fed on so you promptly blocked that night out, except for the dinner--but you knew where to find her, since you'd learned a way to track her in reverse. What you told your party was that you'd made a deal with her previously and she failed to deliver. You confronted her in her lair; whether that means you killed her or tortured her for information, that's up to you. Point is, you emerged from the lair truly free of her, but the trauma still lingers. And since the rest of the coven have since gone into hiding before you could all kill them too, they're not likely to forget you either.

ALDEN'S PARENTS (DM provided info): Nebriinae Warman (née turamarth) and Eudalia Warman. Alden would know that Nebriinae married into the Warman family and that mom (Eudalia) was usually the one to make big decisions.

ALDEN WARMAN & THE EMERALD KNIGHTS

Over 10 years ago, Alden met his party/travel companions. This ragtag group of adventurers have all had their own, traumatic pasts. For example the drow grave domain cleric, Elacan (she/her -- 647 years old, of noble blood, wears mostly gray & purple) used to work for a lich and have a lawful evil alignment before coming to work with the party and shift to a lawful neutral alignment. Meanwhile Mercy (she/they, 47 years old), the circle of spores druid/rogue is the last of her clan called the Zygom. The group that is misunderstood due to their association with death and decay. Her people studied mushrooms and mycology to understand cycles and stages of death. From her understanding the reason her tribe is dying out is because of the work done by a double agent to mess up recruitment and the overall image of the tribe. This work was done and enacted by Shadryx and co. Mercy decided to start adventuring as she believes it is her legacy to change society’s image of their people. She cares about order in the natural role and is really disturbed and distressed when she sees people operate outside of the natural order of life and death. The last party member is a mysterious, all pronoun using barbarian warforged name Barkentree. He looks a lot like Groot from Marvel comics. He has a deep rooted (pun intended) trauma that he has yet to share with the party.

For the past 10 years the party has been studying, tracking, and preparing to kill a powerful dragon-lich (Elacan's former boss, actually...). Will his whole party survive the final fight or will they lose friends along the way? Only time will tell...

Essentially in this verse he and his party members are ex-bad guys or at least, people who were forced to do bad things who upon escaping their horrific pasts have strived to be forces for good.

MORE LORE TBA.

[lunarscaled]

companion codex. ( DA: I )

I forgot I had filled this out forever ago so I wanted to repost it. feel free to steal it / modify it for other fandoms ( i'll probably do a bg3/d&d version too )

RACE, CLASS, & SPECIALIZATION:

Human / Rogue / Tempest / Mage / None

VARRIC’S NICKNAME FOR THEM:

Snowflake

DEFAULT TAROT CARD:

EIGHT OF SWORDS: Sickness, Calumny, Criticism, Blame

ROMANCE TAROT CARD:

TWO OF CUPS: Trust, Deep Friendship, Romance, Commitment, Bonding

HOW THEY ARE RECRUITED:

Lyric’s recruitment is a side-mission DURING wicked eyes and wicked hearts, automatically unlocked after collecting 15/30 secrets in the great blackmail hunt. The quest title is "Patron of Blood Arts." The Inquisitor’s interest in the scandals of the court uncover a ploy to poison one of the guests of the ball–an esteemed noblewoman by the name of Aceline Durand. Conversing with Empress Celene’s ladies-in-waiting reveals that Lady Durand is a well-known supporter of the arts, withholding an extensive collection from the public. If she were to be removed, her works would be forfeit to her eldest son, a greedy man named Léo, who has long since been trying to persuade his mother to sell the works at high prices. Questioning the nobles in the garden will hint that someone was seen sneaking into the library in a rather crumpled guard uniform and that Lady Durand has disappeared. Lyric is one of three masked cohorts in the library who have cornered the lady patron. Entering this area will trigger a brief cutscene of Lady Durand crying out to the Inquisitor for help, startling the trio and triggering a fight. Defeating all 3 enemies will cut to their attempted escape through the balcony and over the palace roof, with Lyric choosing to help their injured allies over obstacles and leaving last. Unable to move both their allies and themselves, they are captured by the castle guards who deflect to the Inquisitor for judgement. Lyric, revealed to be no more than a young adult, begs for the Inquisitor’s mercy as they were only doing what they were paid to do.

OPTION 1: Conscript Lyric (Lyric will become an available companion and romance option)

OPTION 2: Give Lyric to the guards (Lyric will not be recruited later and hung at the gallows for treason)

CONSCRIPTING Lyric makes them an available agent option following Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts and earns slight approval from mage-sympathetic party members and Varric. It earns slight disapproval from Vivienne, Cassandra and Cole.

WHERE THEY ARE IN SKYHOLD:

Lyric can be found in one of Skyhold’s library alcoves, near to where Dorian is. If the Inquisitor is in a romance with Dorian, they will comment “Not to get the books messy.” Responding to this positively or with sarcasm increases their approval.

THINGS THEY GENERALLY APPROVE OF:

Tempest Specialization, Herb Garden Upgrade, Sarcasm, Diplomacy, Red-Lyrium Studies, Completing Companion Quests, All Codex Entries feat. Mage History, Expressed an Interest in their Studies

THINGS THEY GENERALLY DISAPPROVE OF:

Aggressive Responses, Death Sentences when Judging, Anti-Mage Responses, Cruelty to Animals, Cruelty to Refugees, Refusing to Assist, Templar Specialization, Sexual Advances

MAGES, TEMPLARS, OTHER?:

LOW/NEUTRAL APPROVAL: Neither HIGH APPROVAL: Mages (revealed in conversation at Skyhold)

FRIENDS IN THE INQUISITION:

Cole, Varric, Dorian, The Chargers, Sera

ROMANCEABLE?:

Romanceable by any race or gender; High approval required for Templar Specialization; CANNOT BE ROMANCED IF THE INQUISITOR DEMANDS A SEXUAL ASPECT TO THEIR RELATIONSHIP.

SMALL SIDE MISSION:

Lyric’s Lament

Lyric wants to hear a song their brother favoured when they were children. Go to Val Royeaux to purchase the music and deliver it to Maryden for Lyric to hear.

COMPANION QUEST:

The Note Desolation Plays

Lyric has received a letter from their father claiming their mother is soon to pass and that Lyric must return home to see her before her death. Lyric, troubled by their tempestuous family history, asks that the Inquisitor come accompany them to Lydes to see their family. If the Inquisitor agrees, Lyric will be waiting for them by the gate to Skyhold; dialogue options concerning their past, their brother and his death will unlock. The mission can be continued from the War Table, under the quest name the note desolation plays. In Lydes, Lyric will firstly be greeted by their two younger siblings, Marianne and Claudia, before being confronted by their father. He will immediately recognize the Inquisitor by the Anchor and tell Lyric they are wasting the Herald’s precious time by dragging them into family matters. The Inquisitor can choose to SUPPORT or SCOLD Lyric, gaining approval or disapproval respectively. Regardless of the answer, the Inquisitor will be invited inside to meet Lyric’s mother and bare witness to her final moments. As the scene progresses, it is revealed that Lyric’s brother was actually their twin and was meant to secure the family a higher social standing by marrying the daughter of a recognized merchant, while Lyric was to be sent away to the Circle to tame their harsh magic. Privy to the true plan–to send Lyric away for fear of their volatile magic, whereas Kamille was a gentle mage–Kamille wore Lyric’s clothes and switched places with them, willingly going to the Circle to prevent his twin from being sentenced to sure death. Despairing at the loss of their only son and left with a stubborn, vicious daughter, Lyric’s parents became distant for many years before sailing to Kirkwall to abandon them far, far from home after learning of Kamille’s death. Lost and afraid, Lyric stumbled the long way back to Orlais, barely surviving. They smothered their magic, refusing to ever use it again. They blamed it for both Kamille’s untimely demise and their parent’s spite. Lyric’s mother will repent for every abandoning their child and ask to make amends. Lyric, clearly quarreling with their feelings of the past and wanting to forgive their family, will look to the Inquisitor to decide.

OPTION 1: FORGIVE HER.

Lyric will forgive their mother, despite how it hurts, in order to give her soul some resemblance of peace. Her mother will pass with Lyric at her side. Lyric will ask the Inquisitor for some time alone with their family and meet the Inquisitor back at Skyhold. At Skyhold, they will express their thanks to the Inquisitor, saying they feel as if a weight has been lifted from their chest.

OPTION 2: DENY HER.

Lyric will refuse to accept their mother’s request, causing the sickly woman to begin to cry and beg them to reconsider. Lyric will call their mother a traitor and a heretic, leaving the house without resolving their past or their emotions. The party will return to Skyhold where Lyric will again express their conflicting emotions to the Inquisitor, but vow to never forgive their family or return to Lydes. ( CHOOSING THIS OPTION WILL MAKE LYRIC UNROMANCEABLE. )

TAROT CARD CHANGE

OPTION 1: Two of Swords: Courage, Friendship, Affection, Choices

OPTION 2: Death: Morality, Endings, Loss, Alteration for the Worse

[flowersdaggersviolasandblood]

Kinky Hair & Bad Attitude

Name: Zanelri (Zane for short) (She/Her)

Race: Human

Class: Monk (Way of the Open Hand)

Background: Guild Artisan

Inspiration & Story: Yet another character I have personally played before BG3, Zanelri was a Way of the Drunken Fist Monk during a Waterdeep Heist game. Like Admaer, however, I wasn't able to complete the story because I couldn't attend the games anymore :(. But now with the new Monk class, I decided to give this girl a new fresh coat of paint! Originally, Zane's story was that she and her younger sister escaped a Asmodeus cult and landed in Waterdeep to hide out. She once had a Tiefling younger brother, who unfortunately perished as they were leaving the cult. Zane would do odd jobs here and there to make it by and protect her only family.

During the Waterdeep heist game, the rag-tag group of adventurers would eventually get their own tavern and build it up from the ground up and make a living while also getting caught up in a whole conspiracy about a heaping mountain of gold hidden somewhere in the city.

WARNING, SPOILERS AHEAD!

The BG3 version of Zane goes as follows. Zane is still from a Asmodeus cult and she escaped it with her younger sister and lost her Tiefling brother in the process. Instead of running to Waterdeep, they went to Baldur's Gate and tried to live quietly there. Zane would man a tavern and work as a barkeep. But when the Mindflayers came to the city, her tavern home would be destroyed in the process and her sister perished with it. In that moment of distraught, that's when Zane was captured by the Mindflayers.

Zane would save Shadowheart in the process of escaping the ship and would link up with both Lae'zel and Shadowheart as they traveled together to look for a healer. If of course, the girls don't kill each other in front of Zane that is. For this character, I'm going for an all-girls party (so looking forward to finding Karlach). She also recruited Astarion & Gale into the mix as well.

Zane wants to help the Tieflings get out of Emerald Grove and get them to safety, so she's willing to either talk to the current First Druid and get her to see sense or at least pave the path clear of Goblins.

Companion Relationships:

Astarion: Doesn't like him lol. Mf tried to kill her for information, then want to act all cute as if he didn't just put a knife to her throat. Doesn't know he's a Vampire, and who knows what she'll do if she does.

Shadowheart: Not too keen on her secretive nature, but they both in it together and she heals her wounds, so what more can she ask.

Lae'zel: Appreciates her attitude, though doesn't like that she'll pick on the weak. Like to imagine that Zane takes time to spar with Lae'zel.

Gale: Wizards, can't trust them, but...Well, you can live without them. Zane doesn't have much of an opinion of Gale, though because he's a Wizard, she's hoping he has someone in Baldur's Gate that they can confide in about the tadpoles

Wyll: Has heard stories about him and pretty stoked to meet the Blade in the flesh. Honestly enjoys his laid back and heroic energy more than the other companions who are kinda in their own little bubble for Zane's taste.

Karlach: Haven't met her, but she will be replacing Wyll once we get her :D

[rielzero]

Locke!

I'll draw how I imagine him to look like maybe later. It'll differ somewhat from ingame version, such as bodytype, his hair is also somewhat differently colored in my head, same for the symbols.

Since the warlock class doesn't have any undead related subclass atm, I'm thinking I'm sticking with my lore that he's a novice at it, so he's dabbled a bit but hasn't been able to properly study it. He is tainted by the magic still, so wears gloves to cover up some markings on his hands.

I haven't been able to play as much as I wanted.

For now I imagine the following has happened;

Locke: *triple concussion from the crash, wanders past shadowheart to find water, disoriented, eventually sneaks and kills the mind devourers, only to come across astarion*

Astarion: oh noes please save me *tricks him and grapples, only for Locke to convince him to let go*

Locke: (huh, i don't fucking remember anything beyond the abduction.. amnesia..) ugh.. maybe we should team up to get these parasites out of our heads.

Astarion: sounds like an idea...

*they come across the mindflayer, locke stomps it to death*

Locke: yuck.

*they then find Gale stuck in the portal thing*

Locke: probably need to use this later, kind of an issue if someone's stuck in it.. *warlocks Gale into freedom*

Gale: thanks, can I join you :D

Locke: ..sure. Enough room for a wizard. (I Really did not expect to have to deal with more people today)

Gale: splendid :D

Locke: (he sounds privileged as hell..) grumbles.

*they run into the tieflings*

Tiefling: scary toad person.

Locke: (ah its the alien that threatened me on sight.) Oh no, she is very scary. You should leave, I'll deal with it.

Tieflings: ok.

Locke: now say please.

Laezel: no.

*laezel joins the party*

Locke: mm abandoned ruin, maybe some valuables here..

Gimblebook: >:( our loot.

Locke: guess I'll just kill you.

*one bandit murder later, they make camp*

Locke: can't wait for my brain to explode, well off to bed... *scribbles detailed doodles of whatever laezel explained to him*

The next morning, they explore the ruins, fight off some more people. And Withers has been recruited, sort of.

That's kind of were I left of.

So far, Locke's concussion has not given any room for memories of whatever he was up to before his abduction. As for the party, no one is keen on sharing too much about themselves, and no one is asking because Locke was very open about the fact he hit his head three times.

Ouchies.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal Constitution

* * * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

July 14, 2023

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

JUL 15, 2023

Traditionally, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which funds the annual budget and appropriations of the Department of Defense, passes Congress on a bipartisan basis. Since 1961 it has been considered must-pass legislation, as it provides the funding for our national security. For all that there is grumbling on both sides over one thing or another in the measure, it is generally kept outside partisanship. 

Late last night, House Republicans broke that tradition by loading the bill with a wish list from the far right. Republicans added amendments that eliminate all diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in the Defense Department; end the Defense Department program that reimburses military personnel who must travel for abortion services; bar healthcare for gender transition; prevent the military academies from using affirmative action in admissions (an exception the recent Supreme Court decision allowed); block the Pentagon from putting in place President Biden’s executive orders on climate change; prevent schools associated with the Defense Department from teaching that the United States of America is racist; and block military schools from having “pornographic and radical gender ideology books” in their libraries.

House speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) tweeted: “We don’t want Disneyland to train our military. House Republicans just passed a bill that ENDS the wokism in the military and gives our troops their biggest pay raise in decades.” 

In fact, the events of last night were a victory for right-wing extremists, demonstrating that they hold the upper hand in the House. Representatives Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) and Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), both military veterans, expressed shock that so many Republicans voted to strip abortion protections from military personnel. “[T]hey will say, ‘this is a really bad idea,’ ‘this is not where the party should be going,’ ‘this is a mistake,’” Sherill said. “[W]ell then why did everyone but two people in the Republican conference vote for this really bad amendment?”

The bill passed by a vote of 219 to 210, largely along partisan lines. This year’s budget is $886 billion as the U.S. modernizes the military to compete with new threats such as the rise of China, and it provides a 5.2% increase in pay for military personnel. 

But Senate Democrats will not vote for it with the new partisan amendments and are working on their own measure. While there will be a conference committee to hammer out the differences between the two versions, McCarthy has offered a position on that committee to Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), one of the extremists. This is an unusual offer, as she is not on the House Armed Services Committee. 

House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said: “Extreme MAGA Republicans have hijacked a bipartisan bill that is essential to our national security and taken it over and weaponized it in order to jam their extreme right-wing ideology down the throats of the American people.”

“We are not going to relent, we are not going to back down, we’re not going to give up on the cause that is righteous,” Representative Scott Perry (R-PA) said.

Representative Sean Casten (D-IL) summed up the vote today on Twitter. “The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is the bill that funds all of our military operations. It is typically bipartisan and is about as serious as Congress gets. What weapons of war we fund, which allies we share them with, how we recruit. National security is a BFD. We can have our political debates about any number of issues but it is generally understood that when Americans are willing to sacrifice their lives to defend us, it’s time to check the crazies at the door. But today, the crazies won.

“They won first because [McCarthy] put the crazies in positions of power. But second because none of the “moderate” Republicans had the courage to stay the hell out of KrazyTown…. Is every member of the [House Republican Conference] a homophobic, racist, science denying lunatic? No. But the lesson of today is that the ones who aren’t are massive cowards completely unfit for any position of leadership. 

“There is space—and demand—for reasonable differences of opinion in our democracy. This isn’t about whether we agree. It’s about whether we can trust that—differences aside—we trust that we’ve got each other’s back if we ever find ourselves in a foxhole together. That’s usually a metaphor, conflating the horrors of war with the much lower-stakes lives that most of us are fortunate enough to lead. But today, the entire [House Republican Conference] told us—both literally and metaphorically—that they don’t give a damn about the rest of the unit.”

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[kitkatt0430]

And S1 of What If? comes to an end with the Watcher breaking his oath. Truly the godzilla threshold has been met. :D

So recruit number one in the Watcher's fight with Ultron is Evil Strange - a good choice. He won't want anyone else to suffer what he has, being the sole survivor of his reality.

This episode picks up with Peggy at the start of what must be her universe's version of the events of The Winter Soldier. So Natasha's match maker instincts come off more as flirting with Peggy than they do with Steve. Or maybe I just like Peggy/Natasha better than Steve/Natasha? I dunno.

Anyway, Peggy is recruit number 2. Followed by Starlord T'Challa. Gamora - from an episode I think I remember hearing was pushed back to the second season. (The Not You Stark is funny) Killmonger next. Thor, who is not paying attention, until the Watcher picks him up.

They are the Guardians of the Multiverse. I do love it. :D

Thor - *is annoying* Strange - You picked him. The Watcher - *silence*

lol

Strange is having a bit of trouble keeping his form. Now that he's not ripping reality apart for selfish reasons, I do feel a lot more sorry for him. He's shit at speeches, though. Thankfully T'Challa bails him out.

Thor - I know how to deal with this Party Pooper. Viva Los Vegas!!! Ultron - Have not heard that one before

hehehehehe

Oh, the zombies are back. Not a bad plan.

And there's Natasha, making new friends. But can they successfully play keep away with the soul stone?

Where's Zola during all this, anyway? He was still with Natasha at the end of the last ep...

Ah, there he goes, finally using the other stones to retrieve the one he lost... but of course Strange has a time stone of his own...

Thor is still using Vegas as a battle cry. I love it.

Seriously, though, where is Zola? Well... at least there's still an arrow with Zola on it, but what about the drone??? Oh well, Natasha gets to be badass with an arrow to honor Clint. That's cooler.

Right in the eye. Ouch.

So out with one bad guy and in with another. Zola has the imagination Ultron lacks, which I assume is why he wins. Of course, now they've got Zola to deal with. And Killmonger showing his evil colors...

Killmonger vs Zola for a cosmic tug of war over the stones and Strange figures out what the Watcher really intended, which was sticking those two in a pocket dimension to fight for eternity. I do like it. :D

The Watcher sending everyone home. And giving Natasha a new home. Awww, he does have a heart.

That was fun. :D

And then in the epilogue, Natasha leads Peggy into the depths of the ship and... the Hydra Stomper. With someone inside. I am so curious.

I hope we get another season at some point - I'd love to see the universe Gamora came from. And, uh, maybe not have Tony get killed off for a change? (The only surviving version of him here was basically a cameo. Let's give him a bit better?)

[gertlushgaming]

Wizardry Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord Review (PlayStation 5)

Wizardry Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord Review is a full 3D remake of the first game in the legendary Wizardry series of RPGs. The first party-based RPG video game ever released, Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord was a direct inspiration to series like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. Digital Eclipse's revival preserves the appeal of the classic, with many upgrades for modern role-playing game fans.

Wizardry Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord Review Pros:

- Beautiful graphics. - 1.45GB download size. - Platinum trophy. - First-person dungeon crawling gameplay. - Five save slots. - Two versions - Original (keeps the level layouts from the 1981 game) and Console (more complex and challenging level layouts). - Options - you can use the original settings, modern, console, or customize them to your liking. - Custom settings options - bient map, DUMAPIC map (gives graphical feedback of location, not Coordinates), conversion hints, bad stuff on party wipe, surprise round casting, hide and ambush action, enemy ID system, action redirection, run away in turn order, starting attribute points, level up attribute advancement, character age theming, in config, temple design, and character recruiting. - The initial party is a case of having a party picked for you or you can pick each member. - You have a main town where you choose what to do in between adventures. - Gilgamesh Tavern is where you go to add/remove or edit party members. - Training grounds are where you edit characters. - Adventurers is where you heal, level up, and sort out your spells, etc. - The Maze is the entrance to your next adventure. - Temple Of Cant is where you can restore and reassure t dead characters. - Boltacs Trading Post is the shop where you can buy and sell gear, identify treasures, and remove curses from items. - Old school feel from the atmosphere to the music and how the game plays, it's old but modern. - Does a cool thing of showing actions etc on a rolling old-school text table in the corner and shows how the game looked originally with its low graphic style which is how we played it back in the day. - The Bestiary fills in as you encounter people, creatures, etc. - When playing the game you have a map in the corner that fills in as you move around. - Has every element of an RPG. - You move step by step in the dungeon. - Unless you change the setting, you have to identify new enemies to learn about them. - It is so much fun to play. - The sense of adventure is just all-consuming, you want to check out every corner, every tunnel. - Turn-based combat and you have the traditional options of fight, run, parry, and identify. - I'm combat you set everyone's action all together then watch it play out. - All new powerful soundtrack. - Chests can be found or given as rewards and you may have to inspect them or disarm traps on them before you open them. - If you have ever played games like Etrians Odyssey then that's how the map uncovers and how the game plays out. - Handy quick select option for combat so you can just get on with it. - The game performs really well and shows off fantastic lighting. - Full running text commentary of combat. - The dungeons can actually shift and move around as you are playing. - Supports using the stick or d-pad for movement. - Camp can be triggered whenever you want and it's a good way to do quick inventory checks. - Every party member has their own character card showing stats and abilities. - The little old-school graphics layout can be enlarged to fill the screen or turned off. - At any time out of combat, you can leave the dungeon. Wizardry Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord Review Cons: - No clear way to target particular enemies in a fight. - A lot to take in. - Cannot remap controls. - You have so many options and choices that it can take a few games to learn what's what and how you want to play. - You don't see enemies or what triggers encounters most of the time. - A built-in save and load system would have been a great help as you are never sure when it saves or what it saves. - Had it a few times where when looking at a chest I can move the options (disarm/open) but I also have a menu saying abandon or stay at the chest but that's what the X button does so I end up messing up constantly. It doesn't happen all the time just after a few failed disarm attempts. - Some of the fights go on for a really long time. - Finding hidden doors is just a case of seeing the prompt in the corner. - No combat speed option or ability to skip animations. Related Post: Warhammer 40000: Space Marine 2 New Multiplayer Modes Wizardry Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord: Official website. Developer: Digital Eclipse Publisher: Digital Eclipse Store Links - PlayStation Read the full article

[magickaltheory]

Grimoires & Gallantry The Order of Merlin Gryffindor's Sword in the Stone A Dungeons & Dragons RPG Travel back in time to the 12th year of King Arthur's reign and discover the magic and mystery of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from a new perspective. You are no ordinary first-year student; you bear the Mark of Avalon, a rare birthmark that signifies your destiny is intertwined with the ancient magic of Camelot.

But word from Headmaster Merlin reveals that other students also bear the Mark of Avalon, and it's up to you and your new companions to protect Hogwarts from encroaching dark forces. Merlin urges you and your party to uncover the hidden secrets of Hogwarts set by the Founders 100 years ago. These secrets contain the ancient protective magic that will be needed to defend the school from Morgana le Fay's dark ambition to become headmistress and gain control over Camelot as the new archmage.

Your school years will be filled with both academic and magical challenges. You'll attend classes, learn spells, and train in defense, potions, and magical creatures. Beyond the classroom, join Hogwarts clubs, take on part-time jobs in Hogsmeade, and meet a cast of 24 student NPCs with their own stories, secrets, and potential loyalties.

As Morgana's threat grows, you'll use your magical skills to explore forbidden areas, uncover hidden secrets, and confront those who seek to exploit the connection between Hogwarts and Camelot. Along the way, you'll face moral dilemmas and battles that will test your courage and resolve, all while uncovering the ancient magic that could safeguard Hogwarts from the growing darkness. GM Name: Shyann Timezone: Eastern Standard Time TTRPG/Edition: D&D 5e + Grimoires & Gallantry Hogwarts supplement (Wands & Wizards alternate homebrew version; provided) Style: Weekly | Foundry Virtual Tabletop + Discord sessions | Slice-of-life, magical academy adventure Start Dates: I am starting a brand new campaign on Friday, June 7th, at 7:00pm EST Number Of Players: Minimum of 3, maximum of 6 Number of Spots Available: ACTIVELY RECRUITING ARE YOU READY TO ROLL INITIATIVE? Friday Nights: https://startplaying.games/adventure/clvldrimm0016wenpkihnba95

Premium Game Details: Cost per Session $25. You'll gain access to a custom built system in Foundry VTT, Grimoires & Gallantry system supplement .PDF, World Anvil companion access, Discord Server + KenkuFM & Syrinscape ameneities during game sessions.

StartPlaying Profile: https://startplaying.games/gm/thenarrativealchemist

LGBTQ+ Friendly | POC Safe-Space | All Genders Welcome | Safety Tools Used

[sacred-stanning]

Chapter 17 Part 3: The Map

Here's the next map. I've always found this one to be pretty interesting. It's got some interesting terrain, items to pick up from enemies, a character to recruit, and civilians to save.

It's also a map that ends when you kill the boss, so you can choose to blow through it fast if you want, or you can drag it out and fight the reinforcements and get lots of experience. And there are a decent number of promoted enemies, so the experience getting is good.

You start on this little piece of land, with a bridge to the upper right that goes to the island where the civilians and Syrene are. And there is also a tree directly up that you can break to make a second bridge.

Moving up, we see this clump of enemies with two forts (where the Valkyries are) and some hills and forests around. Enemies will spawn out of the forts later, and wyverns also appear up from here as reinforcements, so the forests, hills and forts end up being pretty useful if you decide to fight the enemies and not end the map early by beating the boss.

All the way up, we can see some wyverns and a Berserker. The wyvern reinforcements will appear about where the uppermost of the current set of wyverns are now.

To the right, we see our eventual goal where the castle is. Aside from the Druids there now, more Druids will appear later.

Slightly down, we see a small island with a Sage and two Mages. There's a dead tree on their island that can be made into a bridge, but the hills right beyond that on the island with the civilians slow down movement.

It's usually a good idea to rush towards the middle island and recruit Syrene and get between the civilians and enemy units asap, because there are only a couple turns until they get attacked from what I remember.

And at the bottom right we have some Heroes and forts. The forts will spit out enemies once you get near the castle above.

Here's Syrene! She can be recruited with Vanessa (her sister) Tana (her liege) or Innes (her other liege).

The Sage on the small island has "Fimble" (or "Fimbul" maybe), an ice spell, which is called "Fimbulvetr" in English. Where did the "vetr" come from?

Lyon also drops a spell, though which one will depend on which one he doesn't have equipped when you defeat him. We've seen "Rizaiah", which is "Nosferatu" in English. It's the spell that heals the caster by however much damage they deal.

Confusingly, the A rank spell he has is "Nosferatu" in Japanese. It's called "Fenrir" in English.

There are some oddities around the dark magic tome names. "Flux", the basic D-rank one, is called something like "Mill", or "Myuhl" or whatever in Japanese.

I'm not sure what pronunciation they're aiming for, or if it is based on some real word / name or not. The kana used is ミィル. After the initial "mi" is a small "i", which is usually only seen in loan words where the sound "i" is desired after a consonant that wouldn't normally have it. An example is the word, "party", which is written パーティー. Normally, the letter in front of the "i" would be read "te", and there is no letter that combines a T consonant sound with an "i" vowel sound. So they've gotten around this in Japanese with this way of writing.

But in the case of "Myill" or whatever, we have the letter for "mi" followed by a small "i", which implies that we are changing the sound to "i", but it's already "i"? Or maybe the idea is that there's a bit of a "Y" sound stuck in between the M and the "i"? Or something??

I did a VERY brief search online and couldn't find the origin of this tome name, so I'd love to hear it if anyone knows.

The Berserker at the top of the map has a Draco Shield, though he doesn't drop it. You need to steal it.

I don't know if I want to bring Rennac just for one item...

One of the starting Heroes has a Hero's Axe, or Brave Axe as it's called in the English version.

And this Mage has a Guiding Ring! Cool! I'd forgotten about this. I'll give it to Knoll.

There are two maps after this one that have really big deployment limits, so I'll be able to bring along anyone I want, so even if I don't use Knoll for the end game, at the very least I can have fun with summoning shenanigans for a couple of maps.

Next time: Move out!