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grailfinders · 4 years ago

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Fate and Phantasms #38: Cú Chulainn (Caster)

That’s right, the good boy with the good boys is back once again for another DnD build. CasCú’s a Wildfire Druid, which replaces his wildshape ability with the ability to summon a flaming elemental to crush his enemies (convenient, huh?).

As always, there’s a spreadsheet for the build, or you can check out the level-by-level breakdown below the cut!

Race and Background

You’re the son of the sun, meaning you’re still an Aasimar. We’re changing things up a bit this time, though! Thanks to your dedication to being a guide in this spearless form, you’re not a fallen Aasimar, but a Protector Aasimar instead!. This gives you +1 to Wisdom and +2 to Charisma, 60′ of Darkvision, Celestial Resistance to necrotic and radiant damage, Healing Hands that can heal your level in HP per long rest, and the Light cantrip.

Your background is a trickier question. You could have the same background as your other selves, but you seem to know a lot more than you’re letting on. That and your self-imposed ‘druid’ shtick should be just enough to push you into the Hermit background, giving you proficiency in Medicine and (It should be religion, but let’s swap it out for Arcana. Nobody will notice).

Stats

Your goal is to guide others, so your Wisdom and Intelligence are pretty high. You’re no Emiya, but you also don’t try to sit people down for a lecture in the middle of Fuyuki, so you’ve got that going for you. Next is your Dexterity, you may not have a spear but you do have your training. Following that is your Constitution; you’ve been trained by one of the most brutal masters out there, so even as a caster you’re pretty tough. After that is Charisma, you’re still pretty rough when it comes to dealing with other people outside of mentoring them. Finally, dump Strength. We don’t need it, nor do we want it.

Class Levels

1. As stated in the opening, you’re a Druid, and first level druids learn Druidic and how to cast Spells. Druidic is a secret written language that only you and other druids know and requires a perception check for others to even find, let alone decipher. You prepare spells from the druid spell list, and use your wisdom to cast them. Because they’re swapped out so easily, I won’t be covering individual spells here.

As a druid, you also get proficiency in Intelligence and Wisdom saving throws, as well as in two skills from the druid list, here Nature and Survival.

On top of their spells, druids get two cantrips, so grab Guidance because that’s what you do (and it won’t be useful past level one anyway) and Shillelagh because sometimes you’ll have to deal with people who refuse to learn. Shillelagh has the additional bonus of being almost as difficult to sound out as your own name.

2. At second level you gain Wild Shape, a.k.a. the reason druid won’t be showing up that often in these builds. At this level, you can use your action to transform into a beast with CR 1/4 or lower, as long as it doesn’t have a flying or swimming speed. A beast shape lasts for half your druid level in hours, and you can use it twice per short rest. In beast mode, you have the beast’s physical stats, your mental stats, and combine your proficiencies, using whichever is higher. You can’t cast spells, but you can use actions of spells you’ve already cast. Technically, we never see Cu turn into a bear in FGO, but we never see him say he can’t, so technically we’re still canon compliant.

You also join the wildfire circle this level, letting you Summon Wildfire Spirit. With this feature, you can burn a wild shape charge to instead create your Wicker Man, sort of. The wildfire spirit you can summon is technically small and can fly, but it’s nothing a little creativity won’t solve. You summon the spirit somewhere within 30′ of you, and every creature within 10′ of where it comes in must make a dex save vs your spell DC or take 2d6 fire damage. The spirit is friendly, but you have to use your bonus action each turn to give it orders. The spirit sticks around for an hour, until reduced to 0 hp, or until you summon another spirit.

You can also use your Wild Shape uses to summon a Wild Companion, giving you a free casting of Find Familiar. It’s not quite a wolf, but it’s something.

You also also get Circle spells, like Burning Hands and Cure Wounds. Good for you.

3. Third level druids get second level spells, including your circle spells Flaming Sphere and Scorching Ray. A little extra fire power (ha ha, funny pun) never hurt anyone-except who you want it to.

Also, your solar ancestry kicks in and you become a Radiant Soul. You can spend your action to transform in a different way for one minute, making your eyes glow and giving yourself spectral wings. You gain a flying speed of 30′, and can deal radiant damage equal to your level to something you’re already hitting once per turn. You can use this feature once per long rest.

4. You get a Wild Shape Improvement, letting you transform into beasts of CR 1/2 that can swim. You also get an Ability Score Improvement, which we’re spending on the Elemental Adept feat, because spoilers, we’re going to be using a lot of fire. Now you ignore resistance to fire, and you count 1s rolled on fire damage as 2s. Unfortunately, I don’t think this applies to Wicker Man, as they’re their own person.

Speaking of fire damage, you get another cantrip at this level, so grab Produce Flame to produce some flames.

5. Fifth level druids get third level spells, including your circle spells Revivify and Plant Growth. The latter gives you more stuff to set on fire, and the former will help out any teammates who wander too close to your firing range.

6. You now have an Enhanced Bond with your Wicker Man. While your wildfire spirit is active, you can add 1d8 to your fire or healing spells. This bonus only affects the damage or healing of one creature. You can also cast spells with a range longer than self from your wildfire spirit. This means your spirit can now cast Hold Person, which is the closest we’re getting to a proper rendition of your NP in this build.

7. You can now prepare fourth level spells! Your new circle spells are Aura of Life and Fire Shield. The latter is a good multipurpose “don’t hit me” spell, and the former is nice if your teammates refuse to stop dying in front of you.

8. Your Wild Shape improves once more, and you can now transform into any beast of CR 1 or lower. You’re pretty smart when it comes to using rune magic, so use your next ASI to become a Ritual Caster. When you get this feat, you learn two first level rituals from the wizard spell list, and you can learn even more by coming across other spells that have been written down. The spells you copy have to be half your level, rounded down.

9. You learn 5th level spells, including Flame Strike to marry your fire damage and radiant damage halves and Mass Cure Wounds to try and keep your various lancer forms from shindeiru-ing.

10. At tenth level, you get another cantrip. Druidcraft lets you see the future, and unlike most clairvoyance spells has no chance of being wrong. Forcing your DM to stick with a decision can be very powerful in the right circumstances. As a wildfire druid, you also learn to create Cauterizing Flames. When a small or larger creature dies near the Wicker Man, a spectral flame pops out of their corpse for a minute. You can use your reaction when a creature enters the same space as the flame to either heal them or deal fire damage. In either case, it’s 2d10+ your wisdom modifier. You can react this way a number of times per long rest equal to your proficiency bonus.

11. You get 6th level spells, and unfortunately you no longer get any circle spells. I would suggest looking at Sunbeam for more radiant damage or Find the Path to enhance your role as a guide to others.

12. Use your next ASI to finally improve your ability score, specifically boosting Wisdom.

13. You get 7th level spells, and I’d suggest Fire Storm, for the obvious connection it has with your build.

14. Your last wildfire bonus is your Blazing Revival. If your spirit is nearby when you drop to 0 HP, your spirit can take the hit instead, healing you to half your hit points. You can use this once per long rest. Dying is for the other yous.

15. You gain the ability to prepare 8th level spells, including Sunburst.

16. Max out your Wisdom with this next ASI.

17. You can now prepare and cast any spell in the cleric spell list, including 9th level spells, including Foresight in case you want to be right in literally every way.

18. You now have a Timeless Body, which ages one year for every 10 that pass. You also get the Beast Spells feature, letting you cast spells from your wild shape, so long as they don’t have material components.

19. Put your last ASI into Constitution for better concentration and a little more survivability.

20. You become an Archdruid, giving you unlimited wild shape uses. You can also cast any spells in your wild shape, so long as it doesn’t include materials that cost money.

Pros: High level druids are already difficult to kill thanks to their wild shapes. You take it to a whole new level by cheating death with your Blazing Endurance, then immediately healing yourself back up with your Flames of Life. Your wildfire spirit is also very useful for casting spells at range. Picking up Ritual Caster also gives the build a lot of utility that doesn’t require your wild shape or spell slots to be useful.

Cons: Your wicker man doesn’t really hold up at higher levels. It will always have a low AC, and 1d6+6 fire damage per turn doesn’t mean much at level 20. Combined with your own reliance on fire damage, you may find yourself in situations where you can’t really use a major part of your build.

Looking on the positive side, this is just another chance for you to step back and help other members of the party be their best, which is the most in-character thing you can do.

Next time: We’re going swallow hunting.

#fgo #fate grand order #cu chulainn caster #dnd 5e #Fate and Phantasms

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fweet-prince · 5 years ago

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My brain will Not shut up about shakespeare and dnd but...Edmund is a warlock with an archfey patron I've decided. That's the vibe. Also Edgar might be a sorcerer (divine soul?) bc Edmund being denied magic through his bloodline bc Bastard™ and then seeking it out by other means is GOOD

You are SO RIGHT

Edmund’s patron finds him partway through the “thou, nature, art my goddess” monologue and interrupts him to offer their services. Maybe they introduce themself as Nature, because I’m a sucker for fey adopting different pseudonyms they find fitting for a given situation.

If Edgar is a sorcerer and Edmund isn’t, then either A) sorcery came from Edgar’s mom’s side, or, much more interestingly, B) sorcery comes through Gloucester’s side, but not in a way so that every child of the family is born with magic. Given this family’s mild obsession with interpreting Signs From The Gods, Edmund not inheriting Gloucester’s magic gives society another reason to shit on him for the circumstances of his birth.

Which, shit, brings me to another even more painful way for Edmund to meet his patron: they essentially prey on him when he’s a child, when he’s not lowkey evil yet and he’s just like a middle schooler who wants his dad to love him, and they offer him magic so he can be like Edgar. Early in the pact/at lower warlock levels, he’s learning spells to try to imitate Edgar’s magic, but of course he can’t replicate it perfectly, and it’s just another way he doesn’t live up to his brother. So, later on, he starts learning spells regardless of what Edgar would choose (but keeps these distinctly not-Edgar spells to himself until it’s dramatically appropriate), maybe even inventing his own spells. And it’s around there that he gets so buried in the twisted view that his family doesn’t love him that he can’t dig himself out, and his patron offers this pseudo-familial pseudo-love to him that (very intentionally) just digs him in deeper and makes him more dependent on his patron and drives him further from his family and it’s highkey emotional abuse but Edmund Doesn’t See It, because in his eyes they’re the only one who loves him

Also re: Edgar’s subclass, I feel like wild magic suits him well. He feels very much like a man surrounded by internal and external chaos and turmoil and doing his best, doing so well at keeping himself steady and ordered and rational, and wild magic goes so well with that archetype?? For most of his life, Edgar never uses his ability to twist fate, both because of the chaotic consequences and because that’s wrong. But when Edmund convinces him to run from Gloucester, he also somehow engineers a scenario to coerce Edgar into using wild magic. And then the floodgates start to break, and as Poor Tom, Edgar is much more willing to twist fate, just like he’s more willing to lie and otherwise completely throw aside social decency. He uses wild magic to save Gloucester at the cliffs of Dover, and that’s why he doesn’t reveal who he is just then, because he’s not ready for his father to know how far he’s slipped.

Like, rationality and reason as virtues contrasted against passion and chaos is such A Thing in the Renaissance, and wild magic sorcerers as a class essentially embody that grey space between the two. Reason dips into chaos to twist something into an advantage, even knowing that they can’t know what the consequences will be. There’s no safe, reliable way to use wild magic, and I’d imagine in the Gloucester family the standard is that you Don’t. The regular magic, i.e. casting regular spells, is celebrated and totally cool, but twisting fate with unknowable consequences is a Big Yikes

Basically Edmund’s a warlock who wishes he was a sorcerer and his patron encourages his screwed-up view of the world, and Edgar is a sorcerer who wishes he was a wizard until his world is so torn apart he might as well tear himself apart, too

#bloop #King Lear #Edgar #Edmund #I might be misremembering how wild magic sorcerers work bc I shoved a lot of stuff around for my campaign #but My King Lear D&D AU My Rules

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sorcererinthestars · 5 years ago

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Okay but @shadeofazmeinya just posed a dnd au and I know a lot of other folks have too, but I’ve been now playing dnd for over a year consistently and I finally feel confident enough to truly throw my hat into the ring. I wanna hear your thoughts!! (Note: this is using the traditional 5e classes - I’m not getting deep into Xandars or any others, too much to focus on.) Note: None of you are going to believe me, but I didn’t set out on this quest to make everyone a different class. I was going to be totally fine with repeats. However, going through the list, it somewhat organically landed with people being different classes. Even at the end, what I was left with fit the characters surprisingly well. I’d really like to see what you have to say and if you think some of the boys&girls should share classes instead of it overlapping. Ryan: At first I was always going to say Ryan was a Warlock. He’s magical - in his character arc I feel he first would have started as a Wizard who has had the traditional training in the schools and then... something went wrong. He started meddling in what he shouldn’t have, started pushing the boundaries of right and wrong and summoning creatures he couldn’t. When he bites off something he can’t chew... well... he gets his magic from a deal struck with an extraplanar being. Too bad he can’t always control it. HOWEVER.... the new DnD 5e class, Artificer, is too perfect for Haywood to pass up. A mad scientist who “melds magic with technology, imbuing their inventions with a powerful arcane essence”? Truly the most Ryan of all DnD characters. TDLR: Artificer.

Gavin: I was influenced by Ranger for Gavin, but I can’t help but feel Bard is more fitting for him. Gavin - FAHC or not - is a man that gets people to do things through the sheer power of his Charisma. Just watch him manipulate the boys in any Between the Games! He’s a true master of the word. I picture him with a lute thrown over his shoulder, a brilliant smile on his face, ready to wrap you up with his pretty words and spit you out. Vicious Mockery? He’ll rip you apart with that tongue of his and you won’t know what hit you. TDLR: Bard.

Geoff: I see Geoff as a cleric, one that roams and tries to spread The Good Word while being able to get in there and break some skulls if needed. However, he’s not often liked - despite not being a Rogue himself, Geoff is a Cleric of the Trickery Domain. Noted as a cleric who follows the god of “thieves, scoundrels, gamblers, rebels, and liberators”, he latches onto his fellow scoundrels and lets the Good Word lead him into some shit. Holding up a mace and a wild grin, Ramsey may be a Man of God, just don’t expect him to behave. TDLR: Cleric of the Trickery Domain. Jack: Jack’s really a no-brainer. I considered putting him as a Tempest Cleric, which is one of the subdomains, but he truly fits easily as a Druid. Almost a cleric of his own and a trickster in his own heart - which explains why he gets along so well with Geoff despite not quite sharing his faith - Jack is a true shapeshifter who can change into any animal he’d like (I see him favoring a tiger or other big cat). He’s also one with nature - a true craftsman and survivalist. Plants spring into life in his care, animals do whatever he asks, and woe betide those who make him mad. TDLR: Druid.

Michael: While Michael played a Paladin in Heroes and Halfwits, I don’t think that fits him. Paladins are more code-following than any of our lovely adventurers could ever hope to be, let’s not kid ourselves about that. In the end, I think Michael is a true-and-true Fighter, likely focusing on Protection. He’s a demon with the blade, aggressive and antagonistic, but will do whatever it takes to keep those he loves safe. But dear god to anyone who decides to get between him and something he decides is His to protect! He doesn’t need magic, nor want any - Michael is a man of simplicity, but that doesn’t mean he’s dull... his fury and finesse with a blade is entirely unmatched. TDLR: Fighter. Jeremy: Blood mage Jeremy was really something that caught my eye. I considered the idea of making Jeremy a rogue, but he’s too much of a Loud Boi to really be that sneaky. I see him instead as the Warlock Ryan was going to be. A man who dabbled too much with his magical knowledge, read too many forbidden books, that lead to an unholy union with some entity. Now he may aim somewhat necromantic, but Jeremy is a laughing soul who weighs lives like weights in his hands and who isn’t afraid to grin while blood is dripping down his hands. TDLR: Warlock. And now for B-Team... Alfredo: Ranger. Alfredo’s always been a sneaky man, one who hovers on the background. It’s only natural that he’d be the shadow-walker, the man who hovers on the outskirts, ready to snipe an enemy with an arrow from a vast distance. He’s the man who can always find the path, a true survivalist who is an overwhelmingly amazing shot. TDLR: Ranger. Lindsay: The mistress of Chaos herself, I see Lindsay as the Barbarian. Summoning up her battle rage, nothing will stop her from defending those who matter to her. Her fighting prowess is sheer strength and power and her rages have turned the tide of a battle more than once. Pushing up her shirt sleeves and entering into battle, they know no one has a chance. Truly, I don’t see many other races as quite embodying the sheer CHAOS of the Mistress Jones (except, perhaps, the Madness Cleric). TDLR: Barbarian. Fiona: Full of mischief, I see our lovely Fiona as the Rogue of the party. Except, I see her more as the Swashbuckler subclass instead of a stereotypical rogue. Instead of lurking too much in the shadows, her tongue is her truest defense. She relies, as the book says, on “speed, elegance, and charm in equal parts”. Sauntering around with a rapier in her hand and a grin on her face, Fiona will steal both your heart and your wallet in one interaction. TDLR: Swashbuckler. Trevor: Trevor’s our traditionalist Wizard. He’s a smart, smart boy, leading AH the way he does, and it’s not a far leap for me to think that he would have studied magic almost feverishly to figure out how to become the most powerful. This boy was an engineer, for crying out loud, and in the DnD world he likely would have put the same furver into learning spells. An extremely powerful magician, Trevor can beguile you and harm you in the same breath. TDLR: Wizard. Matt: While I think Matt fits the new Artificer class similar to Ryan, I can see Matt as a Monk. Matt is a man who is peaceful unless engaged. He’s more or less willing to do his own thing unless the others torment him. But when they do, watch out - he’s an intimidating man in his own right with the charisma and brains to dismantle an enemy. Matt would walk the Way of Shadow, which is a Monk class that allows him to cast spells such as darkness, pass without trace, etc. He’s a man that doesn’t necessarily want to engage, but if you press his buttons, he’ll come back at you ten-fold with a fury. TDLR: Monk. I’d love to hear what you have to say. I don’t think I’ve missed anyone from the main crew, but if you have anyone you’d like to add to this, please do. As I said before, I didn’t mean to make them all different, it just sort of happened that way!

#achievement hunter #ah #dnd #dnd 5e #classes for the boys #let me know what you think #dnd au

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notafeeling · 6 years ago

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Infinitesimal (Part I)

A/N Infinitesimal (originally titled in a haze as “LOGAN IS BARRY BLUEJEANS”) is a Sanders Sides AU set in the world of The Adventure Zone: Balance, a DnD podcast made by the McElroy brothers. If you have not started The Stolen Century arc and don’t want spoilers, do not read.

Pairing: eventual logince (Logan/Roman)

Genre: scifi; slowburn

Warnings: temporary character death; TAZ-canon-typical violence

Word Count: 7.5k

Summary:

Logan had always thought that being a human meant he had to work harder and faster than everyone else to truly make a difference in the world. When his home is consumed by an intergalactic force known as The Hunger and he’s forced to go on the run through space with six others for a century, he realises that that’s not exactly true.

Or, Logan accepts an offer to join the Institute of Planar Research and Exploration and to travel around the mysterious planes that control his planet for a few months, but ends up hopping realities and dying a whole bunch alongside his mismatched crew members, learning how to love somewhere along the way.

Logan knows that, as a human, he has certain limitations in this world. For one thing, his 80-year expected lifespan is nothing compared to the centuries-old elves and dwarves who are considered teenagers. For another, it means he can’t rely on magic. He doesn’t have enough time to spend it mastering something he was never meant to have.

He turns to science at a young age.

The stars call him from outside his dirty, cracked window, and he dreams of the day he can fly among them. He wants to touch, he wants to grow, he wants to be something more.

Even at 8, he knows that his world doesn’t have the technology for that, and won’t for a very long time. It doesn’t stop him from yearning, though.

His parents send him to an academy at 15, only because he managed to get a scholarship. He graduates at 17 at the top of his class.

It’s still not enough.

He devotes the next five years of his life to mapping the stars and their constellations. Nothing that hasn’t been done before, but Logan’s determined to do this on his own.

If he won’t be able to live among them, then he’ll commit them to memory. Maybe he’ll travel along the constellation Pneuma Cascade in his dreams.

Having two suns is a fact everyone on Phaethon has long since accepted. The early civilisations made entire mythos surrounding those two stars alone, and children of his world are told stories of two lovers who chase each other endlessly. The second is dimmer because of his eternal pining, but he will follow the other to the end of times. When parents are asked why, they reply “because they’re in love,” and that’s all there is to that story.

Logan’s long-since moved on from folklore and the notion of love. Instead, he wants to know how. How can these two massive celestial objects coexist without succumbing to one another's’ gravitational pull? How does his planet, as small as it is, only orbit around the two without being sucked in?

Those questions give Logan purpose.

At 30, Logan finally has something to show for all his research.

The problem with examining two suns is that first of all, you shouldn’t look directly at them, and secondly, they’re too far away to properly study.

He devises a tool. It’s mostly cylindrical, and the otherwise hollow interior contains several panes of glass. Originally it was designed to filter out the sunlight, but Logan quickly figures out how to magnify the image he’s seeing.

(It’s kind of embarrassing that it took someone with corrective lenses for his short-sightedness to figure that one out, but all that matters is that it works.)

It takes him a few more years to have a perfected prototype. And he sees something no one else has.

He can see the suns in shocking clarity, but he doesn’t care about them (too much) anymore. Instead, he focuses on the slight rift between them. It’s not exactly a rift, more like… a divide. A shift.

Logan spends countless hours studying this, almost forgetting to breathe at times. This is what it’s all been leading to. There’s more! He can be more, do more!

It doesn’t take him much longer to figure out that the second sun is a double of the first. No, not exactly a double.

The second sun comes from the Ethereal Plane. The existence behind theirs, to put it simply. So it’s not a double, more like… the same one, but ever so slightly behind.

And the divide? It’s a weakened point between his plane - the Material Plane - and the other. Which means-

Holy shit. If there are other weakened points to other planes, then they could travel. He could explore! Not just magic-users who pop into the Ethereal Plane for brief moments, nor necromancers trying to break into the Astral Plane, no. Everyone.

Notes and ideas spill furiously from Logan’s mind, down through his arm and onto a thick, leather-bound journal. He lives off of caffeine and adrenaline as he completes his paper on Interplanar Travel, and not long after, he’s contacted by Thomas Sanders, the leader of the newly established Institute of Planer Research and Exploration (IPRE, for short).

Thomas offers him a position on the team of explorers that will be tasked with travelling across planes and, hopefully, beyond that at some point. He explains that although not too long ago, their world certainly didn’t have the technology, ever since the Light of Creation fell there’s been massive leaps in scientific advancement.

(Logan must have been holed up in his study during that time, as he has to pretend he knows exactly what his future boss is referencing.)

It’s everything Logan’s ever wanted, so of course, he accepts.

YEAR 0.

10 months later, and he meets his teammates. He’s already known and worked closely with Thomas (soon to be Captain Sanders) for the past few months, and he’s certainly earned Logan’s respect, but the rest of the team has some… shortcomings.

For one thing, he isn’t sure why they need two wizards who also double as cooks (Roman and Virgil) though he supposes the fact that they’re twins who seem to have done everything together makes them a package deal.

And, okay, he gets why they might need a cleric, but surely Patton could also double as the journalist (a young tiefling named Kalumnia), or vice-versa!

Also, if they have a ship that can withstand the heat of passing between two suns and the extremities of space, then why can’t they add a few weapons? Why do they need a security officer? Can’t the twins do magic?

He doesn’t have much time to convince Thomas to hire more fitting members (why not a maintenance crew?) because he meets all these people right before they’re given matching red robes with IPRE emblazoned on them and are told to walk onstage in front of the largest gathering of humans, elves, orcs, tieflings, dragonborns, etc. that Logan’s ever seen in his life.

He’s more than happy to let his Captain manage the questions from various reporters while he sits back and attempts to get to know his crewmates. After all, he’ll be living with them for a few months, possibly longer if the mission is a success. Might as well get comfortable.

“So,” Logan murmurs to the person he’s seated next to (Roman? Or maybe Virgil?), “why did you sign up for this?”

The high-elf casts a cursory glance in his direction as his twin whispers something in his ear, making him snort. They’re definitely laughing at Logan, which. Okay. He can deal with childish behaviour.

“Look! His ears are going red. You embarrassed him, Ro,” the furthest one says.

“I did not! You’re the one who made me laugh!” Roman retorts.

It’s a relief when Thomas calls him up to the podium.

“Salutations. My name is Logan and I’m the Science Officer of IPRE.” His voice rings out all around him and reporters call his name. He chooses one at random - a young human woman with wild hair.

“Hi, Linda from Phaethon Press here. I read your report on Interplanar Travel and I’ve been blown away with the progress you’ve made since!”

“Thank you.”

“Anyway, could you explain what you’re hoping to find or learn from your journey?”

Logan’s struck once more by how much he has to explore and a wide smile spreads over his features. “Well, not much is known about the other planes. The Ethereal Plane is usually only used for short periods of travel because of its ever-changing nature. To stay there too long would leave you clueless about how to get back to the Material Plane. And we all know about the Astral Plane, where the departed souls from our plane go. While we don’t have any concrete goals because of our limited knowledge, we do aim to explore the other 9 planes. We don’t know what we’ll find - maybe new life forms or energy or-”

Roman fakes a cough as he exclaims, none-too-quietly, ��Nerd alert!”

Logan clears his throat. “Uh, so, we basically aim to explore and research the planes.”

“You don’t say,” he hears Virgil mutter.

God, he can’t imagine living with these people for the next few months.

The night before they leave is spent drinking onboard the newly-christened “Starblaster”. Logan makes a face every time he hears the name, but it was suggested by a drunk, giggly Roman and backed up by the equally intoxicated members of his team.

He wants to put as much distance as possible between himself and the twins, so he joins Patton and Kalumnia, who spends half the conversation listening and the other half writing down everything that’s happening. Logan has to admire her penmanship.

“Goodness, I wonder what other planes there are?” Patton wonders aloud.

Logan’s interest is piqued immediately. “Oh! I’ve actually been thinking about that a lot. We know there’s some sort of Celestial Plane because that’s where clerics draw their power from- though I suppose you already know that.”

“I do, but I don’t mind!” Patton smiles.

This guy is infinitely better than the twins, Logan decides. “So that, the Ethereal and the Astral are the planes that have the most impact on ours, so they must be closer or at least, larger and more prominent than the other planes. Therefore, the other planes aren’t likely to bear any sort of intelligent life, but the magic there could be completely different.” Magic that he might possess.

“That’s so cool!”

Kalumnia nods. Her bright, golden eyes watch Logan as he continues to talk, pointed ears perked. Patton asks questions and his own brilliant blue eyes widen whenever Logan mentions something he previously hadn’t known. Even Missy, the security officer Logan has avoided due to the scowl she wears, wanders over and joins the discussion.

For the first time in his life, Logan’s listened to. He could get used to this.

It turns out he could and should get used to it because as they leave Phaethon, a thick, suffocating darkness descends on it. They catch a glimpse of 11 other planes before black tendrils shoot out of their plane and pierce the others, and slowly drag it into its massive, incomprehensible form.

“Head for the rift!” Logan yells as his Captain maneuvers them through space.

Columns shoot out at them but the Starblaster dodges them with ease. Alarms blast, ringing sharp and shrill as they rocket towards the two suns, picking up speed each nanosecond.

He, Kalumnia, Thomas and the twins are huddled at the front, staring straight forward into the divide.

Patton and Missy are the only ones brave enough to watch as everything they’ve ever known, everyone they’ve ever loved, is consumed.

They just have to get to the rift. If they do that, they can break through to another plane. They can survive, they can run. They just have to get through, and they’re almost there, so close-

“Right!” Logan cries. Whatever’s attacking comes through the rift, barrelling straight for them.

Thomas jerks his controls to the right, tilting the ship so far that Logan crashes into the side.

His crewmates scream as they collide with something, sending them spiralling through space. Hungry black surrounds them, reaching out, trying to ensnare them and pull them in, but it only ends up flinging them in another direction.

“Change of plans!” Thomas yells, lifting his controls high, trying to break free.

The monster makes one last desperate grab, colliding with the bottom of their ship with a loud clang!

They’re flipped end over end, further and further from the rift. Further from the other planes. Logan’s head bounces off of hard metal, his body thrown around like a sack of bricks. There’s a snap, and then burning pain shoots through his right arm. His vision fades as the pain magnifies, becoming so intense it's unbearable. The panicked yells of his teammates seem so distant, but he manages to pick out a scream of “Roman!” and Patton making one last, desperate effort to heal them.

Black greets him soon after.

YEAR 1.

Pure, white light surrounds him. Threads of light stitch him together, restoring his body, and it’s not long before it unravels and reveals the rest of the IPRE members. Logan watches as its wisps are drawn away and disappear from sight, fading into the night sky. Except… he’s on the Starblaster’s deck. So it’s not the sky, it’s… It’s space.

There’s not a single scratch on any of them - apart from the battlescars Missy shows off proudly, but they had always been there. Nothing shows that they had just survived an attack on their home planet, unless… Unless they didn’t survive? Or Logan dreamt it? Or…

A sob breaks the stunned silence surrounding them. Virgil pushes past Logan as he runs toward Roman, tackling him to the floor.

“You died!” He screams. “You died. You were dead. I saw it; I saw your body in front of me, Ro. How are you- how could you-”

Roman pries his arms out from under Virgil and wraps them around his brother. “Shh, it’s okay, I’m here,” he murmurs, stroking Virgil’s purple hair. His eyebrows are knitted together, trying to remember what happened.

Logan does the same.

“Are we- did we die?” Patton whispers. “Where are we? Where’s Thomas?”

At that, Logan realises that there are only six of them. He bolts towards the cockpit. The rest of the team, barring the twins who seem content to fuss over each other, follow in hot pursuit.

The door slams open as the four of them charge through. There, at the controls, is their Captain.

He bolts out of his chair and spins around, hands raised as he readies a spell. When he sees his crew, his whole body relaxes and he goes limp. Missy rushes forward to steady him.

“You’re- you all disappeared,” Thomas breathes out as he’s lowered to the floor. “You all were taken by this- by this light, and then I was surrounded too! I came to back in this chair and you were all gone. I thought- I thought I was alone.” His voice drops to a whisper at the end there and even Logan has to inhale deeply to stop the panic that rises when he imagines being forever alone in space.

Patton grabs Logan’s wrist, pulling him towards Thomas and Missy, and Logan doesn’t fight it when he’s scooped into a hug.

Patton’s arms may not be able to reach around all of them, but they’re warm and comfy and remind him of his parents. At least they didn’t die at the hands of that… thing.

Logan’s the first to pull away. “We need to take stock of what we know and what we have. Our first priority is to figure out what that being was and if it’s going to attack us again. Then…” His gaze catches sight of a plane. And another. And another! Excitement stirs inside him. “Then we explore.”

It takes them around ten minutes to realise that the twelve planes they’re flying around are completely different from theirs. It takes Logan two days to draw the conclusion that by not jumping through the rift and being thrown off course, they somehow managed to enter a new… planar system? Reality? He couldn’t say.

Basically, there’s no going back home - if their world even still exists.

Roman and Virgil are the only ones who don’t seem to care at all.

Logan doesn’t know much about them (other than the fact that they delight in tormenting him) so he doesn’t want to judge, but their carefree attitude is somewhat rude to Patton, Missy and Thomas who are in mourning.

On the third day, they decide to test their luck on this new Material Plane. As Thomas eases the Starblaster into it, they’re greeted with luscious green forests and wide, stretching savannahs and grasslands and mountains-

The likelihood of that is astounding, and Logan spends quite some time with Kalumnia chronicling the biomes of this planet.

But that’s about where the similarities end. There are no oceans, though there are lakes and rivers, so water isn’t a problem. However, the fauna is even more interesting.

The population of this strange place is mostly made up of giant creatures that are up to ten, twenty, thirty times their tiny, Phaethonian frames.

“Now I’m not the only dwarf,” Patton jokes when they first hover above the planet, trying to find a safe place to land. Logan lets out a stunned laugh, but it's more from the joy of a new discovery than anything else.

That night, Logan lays on the deck of the Starblaster, admiring the countless new constellations and planes, all his to explore!

It’s so clear, up here on a mountain in an undeveloped world, far from artificial light sources. It’s serene, it’s beautiful, it’s-

“Ro, let him be a nerd in peace.” Virgil’s furious whisper cuts through the pristine air and immediately, Logan has a sour taste in his mouth.

“Hush, brother.”

Logan resolutely keeps gazing up at the stars, ignoring as Roman’s boots clack against the metal. He ignores it when they stop by his head, and he continues to pretend Roman doesn’t exist even when he plonks himself down beside him.

“You’re missing out on a glorious feast, you know,” Roman says at last.

Logan tries to detect the sarcasm or the hidden meaning, but he either needs to brush up on his social skills or there isn’t any. Which, coming from Roman, is impossible.

He slides his eyes to his left. In the starlight, Roman’s usual vibrant red robe and equally crimson hair are paler, softer. Instead of his constant smirk and perfect death stare, he seems almost wistful as he too stares into the sky. Logan tears his gaze away and clears his throat.

“I’m fine with freeze-dried cubes of nutrition.”

Roman laughs, and that too is gentle compared to the harsh delight Logan had committed to memory after only a few days. It’s hard not to memorise it when it’s being directed at you more often than not. “Weren’t you the one talking about rationing? C’mon, Lo, me and Virge went through all that effort to take down one of those beasts! Aren’t you going to at least try it?”

Maybe Roman just has a really annoying whiny-voice or maybe he’s hungrier than he thinks because Logan actually considers it. Then he remembers that they don’t know if the meat on this planet is even edible, let alone feast-worthy. “Who said you could call me Lo?” he replies instead. It comes out harsher than he intends.

Roman scoffs and jumps up on his feet. Logan frowns and looks up at him, only to find a scowl as Roman avoids his eyes. “Fine, whatever. Sorry for trying to include you, I guess.” The clacking of his shoes is considerably louder as Roman stomps back to his twin, who murmurs a quiet “I told you so.”

Logan’s insides squirm uncomfortably. Something in him urges him to apologise, but he fights back the feeling. He didn’t do anything wrong. He just wanted to ensure the food wasn’t going to kill him. What’s so wrong with trying to survive?

(Later that night, he sneaks into the kitchen and finds a plate with a slab of meat and a couple of roots. He throws away the note that reads “You’re welcome -R” and braces himself for the first forkful of his new diet. Instead of the strange, bland flavour Logan expected, when he bites into the mouth-wateringly tender meat, he’s met with an explosion of tastes. He can see why Thomas insisted on tasking both Roman and Virgil with cooking now.)

The Light of Creation falls early the next day. Logan misses it (again), but when he wakes up, it’s to Thomas flying the Starblaster at breakneck speed towards where it fell.

“Why has it come here?” Patton asks. No one has an answer.

They find it a few hours later, and already, the surrounding fauna looks… smarter?

There’s a cacophony of sound as a mixture of bleets, honks and moos turn into something singular, cohesive. It’s the sound of language.

“After only this much time?” Logan questions.

“Yeah, well. That’s kind of what happened in our- in Phaethon,” Thomas explains. “When it fell, it didn’t take long for people to start inventing things. You invented your little, uh, cylinder thing-”

“Telescope.”

“Yeah, telescope, when it fell.”

“It was a work in progress!”

“But you only perfected it after the Light, right?”

Logan can’t say for sure, so he stays silent. It’s not like it’s a bad thing to make scientific advancements, it’s just… He wanted it to happen from his own merit. Not because some mythical light suddenly gave him the ability to.

“So,” Virgil pipes up from where he’s leaning against the wall, “should we take it?”

“I really want to steal it,” Roman says.

Logan sighs. “Can we at least see what these animals do with it first?”

“No! I mean, yes, but we shouldn’t steal it,” Patton says, wide-eyed.

“It’s not stealing,” Virgil replies. “It’s not theirs.”

“But it’s not ours either!”

“Not until we take it.” Roman pats Thomas’ shoulder. “C’mon, Cap, let’s get this thing.”

They wait a week and then bring the Light onboard.

In the following months, Virgil and Roman rope Patton into learning the new animal language and over dinner, they talk in a series of grunts and honks that make Logan infuriated. He pretends he isn’t trying to figure it out by delving into the food (still as delicious as the first time, if not more) but at some point, Virgil and Roman confront him.

“Want us to teach you?” Roman asks, and Logan, pride be damned, nods.

Missy starts building herself a home. She gets Logan to make a saw and then she chops down a tree (and she only needs the one). After a month, she has a nice home that she and Kalumnia often stay in.

Patton studies the flora while Logan studies the fauna, and together they help Kalumnia with her chronicling of this world. Dwarves must have some connection with a nature god because the plants lean into Patton’s gentle touch. Flowers spring up underneath his fingers and he thrives out in the jungle.

Thomas remains on the ship, but he’s never alone. They meet up for dinner every night (Missy loves climbing a mountain every day, for some weird reason) and they talk about the progress they’re making in this world.

Logan can speak the language too now, and even though he hated it before, more often than not he, Roman, Virgil and Patton are communicating in it.

It’s a nice rhythm they’ve settled into. Logan thinks he could get used to this.

Another month passes. Everything goes to shit.

Patton notices it first. The grass is dull; the wind quiet. The sky is darker and the lakes are no longer a clear crystal blue. He tells the others about this and Logan wonders if it’s because of their ship, or their presence, or maybe the Light.

He’s answered a few hours later when the 13th plane arrives.

Its form is bigger this time. Darker. More violent. Shadows pierce down from the sky and form humanoid shapes - some short and stocky, some with pointed ears, some who look human - and Logan’s struck with a terrifying realisation that these shadows are people from Phaethon. Or, he should say, were.

Logan and Patton aren’t far from the ship, and the twins, although they like to explore, have been sticking close by recently. Kalumnia had already been in her study onboard, and Thomas is at the controls when Logan enters. Missy, however…

As Thomas brings the ship up into the sky, the rest of them search desperately for Missy. They know they can’t stay too long. This thing, this beast, it’s stronger. Smarter. They need to escape before one of the shimmering black columns pierces their ship and they’re bound to this plane.

“There!” Virgil cries, his elven eyes picking up Missy’s struggling form.

She’s fighting valiantly, taking out multiple shadows with just one swing of her axe. The animals around her stomp and charge, but it’s not enough.

“I can’t get close enough!” Thomas says, weaving the ship through the black.

“Fine!” Roman shouts, and then he runs out of the cockpit and onto the deck, then flings himself overboard.

Virgil rushes to the edge. “Bro, what the fuck?!” He calls, before he too leaps over the railing.

They see the twins float downwards, blasting off spells as they go, and it’s not long before they’re down there fighting with Missy.

Roman’s body becomes a force of fire, burning bright as he flings massive fireballs into the fray. Virgil summons a massive bolt of lightning and the resulting thunderclap is so loud it hurts Logan’s ears.

“We have to go,” Thomas murmurs. Logan and Patton’s heads whip to him. “We have to go, now!” He says more forcefully this time, and Patton starts arguing with him.

“We can’t leave them behind!”

“If we don’t leave then that’s just more carnage, more bodies for that thing to consume. We’re leaving.”

Logan has never, ever, heard such a cold voice coming from Thomas. But he understands.

“Look, Patton,” he begins, “when we left Phaethon, I died. And so did Roman. But we came back. I don’t know how, and I don’t know if it will keep happening, but we need to leave. Or else there’s no hope for them.”

Patton tries to argue, but Thomas is already flying them away, out of the Plane, then out of the Planar System. He doesn’t react when Patton pulls at his arms, trying to get him to turn around. He’s not cold, he’s calculating. Thomas- Captain Sanders is making an executive decision and Logan knows he can’t change it.

The black follows them, and he sees it withdrawing from the planet in favour of pursuit. The cogs in his head turn as the white threads from a year ago weaves around them again, and Logan manages to cry out “It wants the Light!” before he’s wrapped up entirely.

YEAR 2.

Logan wakes up on the deck of the Starblaster, Virgil behind him. Like last time.

He furrows his brows and races back to the cockpit, and sure enough, his captain is there.

When everyone piles in, Logan’s in the middle of theorising.

“Every time we leave a planar system, we’re brought back to our original positions,” Logan says, mostly to himself but Kalumnia starts to transcribe what he’s saying in her journal. “That thing-”

“The Hunger!” Roman supplies.

“Not your most creative name.”

“Got a better one, Virge?”

“Fine, the Hunger wants the Light of Creation. When we left with the Light, it left the planes alone and tried to follow us. When did the Light fall on Phaethon?”

“About a year before the Hunger came,” Kalumnia murmurs.

“And it was about a year after the Light that the Hunger found us on that plane, too!” Logan clasps his hands together and straightens up. “Is there a blackboard on this ship?”

Kalumnia nods and leads them to her study, then wordlessly hands Logan a piece of chalk.

It’s the first time Logan has been in here, and he’s blown away by the countless journals and books from their home planet that remain on the sturdy oak bookshelves. There are also sketches pinned to a corkboard, mostly depicting the strange life they had encountered on the other planet. They’re only sketches, but the extraordinary amount of detail blows him away. How had Kalumnia kept this to herself all this time?

He shakes his head and gets to work. “So, what do we know?” He asks, then divides the board in two. He labels one column “Already Know” and the other “Need to Know”, then scribbles some notes in the former.

“The Hunger’s shadows looked like Phaethonians,” Missy says.

“Yeah, but they could change their form at will. I would blast one with fire and the black would disperse before coming together as a new Phaethonian.”

“It was stronger this time,” Virgil adds, shaking ever so slightly. Roman wraps an arm around him.

Logan nods and continues scrawling. “That means that when it consumes a plane, it adds it to its… collection. Its army.”

“We just left a plane full of massive creatures! How are we supposed to fight that?!” Roman exclaims.

“Well, no. As I said previously, when we left, it followed us. It started to withdraw from the Plane.”

Patton turns to Logan. “You mentioned the Light before we- we reformed. Why would it want that?”

He shrugs. “That’s why we have a Need to Know column,” he answers, then adds that exact question to the board.

“A better question,” Virgil steps forward and takes the chalk from Logan, “is how are we reforming?” He looks around expectantly.

“There’s this light that surrounds us - almost like thread.”

“I think I know what that is,” Captain Sanders says at the same time Kalumnia adds, “It’s the Bond Engine.”

Seeing their blank looks, both of them shake their head.

“We’ve been living on this ship for a year. How do you not know what the Bond Engine is?” Kalumnia has a rare smile on her face as she and the Captain launch into an explanation.

“The Bond Engine doesn’t use any fuel, it runs on bonds.”

“Bonds are what tie us to the Planar System. They’re the experiences and the connections we have to the planes, and it allows us to travel between them without the risk of ending up in a black hole.”

“How come we were able to leave both Phaethon’s System and the other one?” Patton asks.

Kalumnia and Thomas shrug, but Logan’s quick to reply. “It must be the Hunger. We haven’t been able to leave any Planar System until it comes. It must… cut our bonds with the planes. That would mean we don’t have ties to the Astral Plane, so if we die, we don’t go there. Instead, the Bond Engine brings us back onto the ship, in our original positions.”

“So what I’m hearing is,” Roman begins with a grin that he shares with Virgil, “we’re basically immortal, right?”

“No, because we do still die, we just come back-”

“Technicalities, technicalities,” Roman dismisses. “Anyway, this year I’m going to do some wild shit!”

“If you die on me, I’m going to be so fucking pissed,” Virgil threatens, but he also seems excited to be able to do whatever without consequences.

The Light falls into an ocean. They’re unable to retrieve it when the Hunger comes and instead, fly away as soon as they see its black pillars descend. Call them cowards, but at least there wasn’t much life on this planet to begin with. If there was any, it’s all gone now.

YEAR 5.

Logan hadn’t meant to become friends with the twins. It’s more like that they decided they were going to hang out with him, and he hasn’t been able to shake them since.

He finds he doesn’t mind, which is a feat in and of itself, considering he hasn’t had friends for the roughly four decades he had been alive for.

One night, they’re stargazing. Well, Logan is.

Roman and Virgil are wrestling each other next to him and surprisingly, Virgil wins.

“How are you so strong?” Roman whines, flexing his arms to show off his quite impressive muscles.

Virgil shrugs. “I chug my bone juice,” he replies, and Logan decides not to question what he means by that. “Do you give up yet?”

Roman laughs and charges Virgil. His momentum carries him forward and he crashes into his twin, then he swipes his leg out from under him and pins Virgil to the ground. “Take that!”

“Oof, my bones,” he deadpans, and Roman helps him up.

“Are you two done?” Logan asks.

Instead of insulting him, like they would’ve done five years ago, they nod and sit beside him. Logan’s chest flutters when Roman leans into him easily, knee gently bumping his own every now and again.

“So,” Virge begins, and judging by the glint in both his and Roman’s eyes, Logan has a right to be worried.

“We were thinking,” Roman continues, “that we don’t know much about you.”

“And we know everything about each other!”

“So why not tell us about yourself?”

Logan sighs. “What do you want to know?”

Virgil considers this, then asks, “Do you have a last name?”

“No.”

“Cool,” Roman says, “It’s Bluejeans now.”

“What?” Logan splutters. “You can’t just give people last names! And these jeans are comfortable and practical!”

“Whatever you say, Mr Bluejeans, sir,” Virgil mock salutes.

Logan tries to argue with them, but it’s clear he’s getting nowhere. “Fine! Have it your way, Virgil… Purplehoodie.”

Virgil laughs, and okay, it wasn’t his best work, but it’s not like Bluejeans is any better. “So what? Roman and I are twins. Does that make him Roman Purplehoodie? I don’t see a fucking hoodie, nor anything purple. That doesn’t make sense, Lo.”

Logan doesn’t react to the nickname. Instead, he exclaims, “Neither does Bluejeans!”

“You wear blue jeans!” Roman protests.

“And your brother wears a purple hoodie!”

“Not all the time!”

“Almost all the time!”

“Oi, keep it down!” Missy shouts from somewhere inside the ship. “Some of us are trying to sleep.”

“Don’t worry, we’re just playing card games in here!” Patton tells them.

“They ain’t need to know that!”

Even though Missy was bluffing, they stop arguing.

“Do I get to ask a question now?”

“Fine, shoot Mr Bluejeans.”

“I’m never going to get rid of that name, am I?” Both Virgil and Roman shake their heads. “Alright. Can I ask a question now?”

The twins glance at each other and shrug. “Seems fair.”

Logan ponders for a moment. He doesn’t really have any burning questions, but he supposes there had been one thing he was always curious about. “Are you two identical?”

Virgil’s gaze flashes to Roman, then back at Logan. The movement is so quick he almost misses it.

Roman leans back on his palms and puts on an easy smile. Logan knows that he’s only pretending, but he doesn’t get the chance to backpedal before Roman answers him. “Nope,” he pops the p.

Logan waits a moment, then opens his mouth when no explanation follows, but Roman must have changed his mind about how much he wants to share.

“I’m trans,” he blurts. Logan watches as Virgil’s arm snakes around his brother and studies Logan for his reaction.

He doesn’t miss a beat as he says, “Oh, but you look too alike to not be identical.” It’s awkward and kind of clumsy, but he genuinely means it in an “I thought you were identical twins” way and not a “How can you possibly look so masculine?” way. Virgil and Roman seem to pick up on it, at least.

“Genetics, dumbass,” Virgil replies, and the three of them laugh. “Honestly, the scientist should know this!”

“I’m an astrophysicist, not a biologist.”

“Those words? Fake.”

“You can’t call words fake.”

“All words are fake!” Roman and Virgil retort at the same time.

Logan goes to argue. Then he considers it. And okay, maybe they have a point. Especially their words. He’s not sure if they’ll find another Planar System that speaks Common - or any of Phaethon’s languages, in fact. It doesn’t stop him from wanting to learn the others’ languages though, so he gathers up the courage to ask a second question.

“Would you two mind teaching me Elven?”

YEAR 12.

It’s a good thing he’s fluent in Elven now, because this new place is entirely elves. It’s literally called Elfington.

He and the twins have no problem fitting in, and to their surprise, neither does Kalumnia.

She shrugs and with an abashed smile she admits, “I know all of Phaethon’s languages.”

Roman and Virgil share a wide-eyed look. “That’s how you always knew about our pranks!”

“We thought you were a mindreader or something!” Roman adds.

Kalumnia laughs. “I do know that spell, but I wouldn’t invade your privacy like that.”

That year, he and the twins almost exclusively talk to each other. Kalumnia joins in on their exploits around town, and Logan notes that she’s much less reclusive than at the beginning of their journey. He supposes over a decade of selective company would result in that.

Wait. Holy shit. Had they really been doing this for a decade?

Logan catches a glimpse of himself in a store window. At fifty, he expects wrinkles around his eyes like the ones Patton’s had since day one, but no. There aren’t creases in his forehead, no grey hairs, nothing. For all intents and purposes, he hasn’t changed one bit.

Maybe Roman and Virgil weren’t too far off when they joked about immortality.

“And they call me vain!” Roman huffs as he comes to stand beside him. Despite his comment, he leans in to fix his hair in the reflection, running his slender fingers through newly-dyed red. It’s like this at the beginning of every cycle, and for the past week they’ve been on Elfington, all Roman has talked about were the hairdressers and the possibility of dye.

Logan’s friend is always excited when they begin a new year just because he gets the colour back in his hair. He suspects Virgil shares the same enthusiasm, but at least he doesn’t talk his ear off about how he should be able to invent dye when it starts to fade. For starters, he’s an astrophysicist, and secondly, he’s busy, thank you very much.

He wants to study the Light. Considering it has such a big impact on both the Starblaster crew and whatever plane it falls on, they need to learn more about it. Maybe one of these cycles, they can find a way to fight off the Hunger.

Logan doesn’t know how that would work, but this new world that’s positively teeming with life renews his motivation. He doesn’t want to see them get destroyed. He doesn’t want them to fall to the Hunger.

They’ve already recovered it so he wastes no time in setting up experiments.

Around the second month, Roman starts popping into the Starblaster to “make sure he isn’t nerding too hard” (his words, not Logan’s). At first, it’s only for a few minutes. Roman asks a few questions about what he’s doing, Logan responds with questions about what he and Virge have been up to, and then Roman goes back to Elfington.

As time passes, Roman grows more and more keen to help. It gets to the point where Roman and Logan do their experiments together. Kalumnia records for them, keeping track of what they’ve found (the Light of Creation emits waves of some form of energy) and what they need to know (what the fuck is that energy). Missy mostly makes sure that the pair eat and drink when necessary, occasionally throwing them over her shoulder and dragging them to bed.

Even Captain Sanders checks in on their progress (and with the two of them working together, it’s truly remarkable)!

The only one who keeps his distance is Virgil.

Logan finds out the reason for this on their tenth month.

It’s a typical afternoon. Logan had visited Elfington for last-minute supplies, and he had been carrying armfuls of metal parts and spell components when he heard low voices around the corner, where his newly-appointed lab was.

He pauses. He quickly figures that one must be Roman (he had told him to go ahead, but he must have wanted to wait) and therefore the other is Virgil. He considers making his presence known, but it sounds like they’re arguing. And the twins never do that.

He doesn’t mean to eavesdrop, honestly.

“I know why you’re doing this,” Virgil hisses. “You want to stay here.”

“I do not! And even if I did, what’s wrong with that? We haven’t had a home since we were fucking twelve, why can’t you just settle down?”

“This isn’t about that and you know it.” When Virgil continues to speak, his voice loses the anger and instead takes on a much softer tone. “Roman, we have the Light. There’s nothing else we can do for them.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Yes, I do! In case you haven’t noticed, we’ve been doing this thing for over a decade. We either get the Light and some people die, or we don’t and everything gets consumed by the Hunger. We’ve tried fighting it, we’ve died, and honestly, I don’t give a shit about the planes anymore!”

“How can you say that?” Roman murmurs. Logan’s equally surprised by that revelation.

“Look,” Virgil sighs. “We’ve been to like, four planets with life on it. And each time, we decide it’s a grand idea to make friends! Why not build our bonds? But at the end of the year, it’s the same thing. We fly away and we watch those people get torn apart into nothing. They’re dust. We’ve only had each other for so long, and you and the other five people on this ship are the only people I can count on. Everyone else? They’re dust, Roman. If we see them as anything else, we only get our hearts broken. And I can’t take that. Not for however long we’re stuck on this ship, going through the motions.”

Roman’s silent for a long time. Eventually, though, he says, “You’re lying.”

“What?”

“You’re lying,” he repeats, more forcefully. “You can try and pretend like you don’t care, but I’ve seen you with those kids. I know you care about them as much as I do. And I know you’ll fight for them at the end of the year.”

“Because they’re us, Ro!” Virgil’s outburst shocks Logan. He knows he definitely shouldn’t be listening at this point, but he’s frozen in place. “I mean, seriously? Two elven siblings, living on the road? When I see them, all I see is me and you as preteens forcing ourselves to entertain sickos by streetfighting just so we can eat. All I see is you giving me your one jumper because you know I hate the cold even though you were freezing just as much. All I see is us fighting over who should have the last scrap of food, not because we wanted it, but because we wanted the other to eat. So, of course, I’m going to fight for them. But at the end of the day, if it comes to saving you or saving those children, there’s no choice.”

Logan hears Virgil stomp the opposite way and when he’s sure Roman’s alone, he steps into the corridor.

Roman’s back is to him. Logan takes another cautious step forward, then another, and as he gets closer, he can see how he’s shaking. Roman’s fists are clenched at his sides, head hanging low.

“Roman?”

Roman straightens his back and raises one hand to his face. Logan can’t see what he’s doing, but when the hand comes back wet and Roman turns around with red eyes and a watery smile, he can hazard a guess.

“Hey, Lo!” he greets, far too cheery. “Let’s get to work!”

He doesn’t have time to ask what’s wrong because Roman grabs his arm and pulls him into the lab. All day, he interrupts Logan when he goes to offer comfort, and his smile is too wide, too forced. Logan doesn’t understand why he feels sad too.

At the end of the year, Roman pulls all-nighters alongside Logan. He and Virgil have long since made up, but his brother still steers clear of the lab. Logan doesn’t blame him - he’s never heard the pair fight before, and he’s sure it’s something they want to avoid.

Roman’s project that he had Logan helping him with is almost complete. It radiates a golden hue and its form almost replicates the Light exactly. It’s far from perfect, but it might just work. At this point, that’s all they can really hope for.

When the Hunger comes, they’re ready. Roman and Logan order Thomas to bring the ship over a mostly empty country (some mountains bordering an ocean) and they fling the fake Light down, watching as it splashes in the water. Immediately, the black smog that was chasing them dives down.

The Starblaster uses this chance to dart away, hurtling through the skies at breakneck speeds and it's not long until they breach Elfington’s atmosphere. The Hunger chases them, having figured out what they’ve done, and it seems angrier, more determined.

Little darts of black break free of its form and head for the ship, determined to bring them down. Thomas banks right, then left, before dipping down low. The other IPRE members have long since learnt their lesson about seatbelts, but they do rub at their necks during this process.

Roman and Logan share a smile. Most of Elfington was saved. Not just some, most.

Maybe they can win.

A/N That was the first part of Infinitesimal! If you enjoyed it, feel free to ask questions/scream to me about it because this is possibly one of my favourite concepts and I will take any opportunity to talk about it.

I hope I was clear with the whole Planary System stuff. If not, there’s more of an explanation coming in the following parts as well as some romance and maybe a touch of necromancy! Who knows? ;)

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homestuckhomestuckhomestuck · 6 years ago

Text

Classpecting, ver3

“You and all your friends have dispositions affected by your classes and aspects.” -Prologue Page 3

Functions of Classpecting: Homestuck is a story about ‘a story’- authors vs characters. The bottom layer of Homestuck’s DnD board is the “literal” story: characters playing out the parts written for them. The more the characters ‘ascend,’ the closer they get to understanding the limits of their own “metaphorical” existence as story characters.

So: classpecting functions on both a ‘literal,’ and ‘metaphorical’ level of abstraction. A full title is a stamp of intent and promise of the ‘author’ to the character of how the character’s expected role in the story, chivvying them towards 'their true calling,’ especially to reach god tier, like a restriction on their function, based on their character so far. The powers the title grant manifest as pun-like superpowers.

Class: “the same thing, but different.”

There are 14 classes in Homestuck, divided into active/passive pairs. Lord/Muse is a master class, the rest are ‘standard.’ Key: active/passive - “commonality” (bolded = canon)

Mage/Seer* - “knowing class”

Heir/Page* - "gifted class” (inheriting?)

Thief*/Rogue* - “stealing class”

Witch*/Sylph* - “manipulating class” (healing?)

Knight*/Maid - “devoted class” (serving? Guardian? Protect?)

Prince*/Bard* - “destroyer class”

Lord*/Muse* - “bringing the ultimate result”

Aspect: “opposite ends of the same thing.”

There are 12 aspects in Homestuck, said to be divided into complementary pairs. They make up reality. Key: pair - scale (confirmed)

Time/Space - endings and beginnings

Void/Light - relevance, absence of knowledge and knowledge

Blood/Breath - spirit, bonds and freedom

Rage/Hope - empowerment, disbelief and optimism

Heart/Mind - decisions, emotion and thought

Doom/Life - mortality, death and life

Classes: “How an aspect manifests/is channeled”

“Passive” and “Active” can act as narrative labels on role than a commentary on a character’s personality, which is always open to exception. A character if they chose could rebel against their class, or role in the story, but succeeding might be a matter of other circumstances entirely. Maybe a Light player with an active class would be able to do something like that, or if many players, with their varying skillsets and classpect titles, worked together. There’s a running theme classes almost strongarm characters into acting certain ways.

*Not much info on Mage.

Active (-): “exploit their aspect to benefit themselves/affect one person,” move the story

Passive (+): “exploit their aspect to benefit others/affect many people,” background in story

(Active/Passive also manifests like this: a passive class wielding Breath, and an active class wielding Blood could produce similar story beat/superpower results.)

“Manipulation” (creation?)

Active: Witch- manipulates, with aclarity

Passive: Sylph- subtly affected by, moves, heals, lacks clarity, help people use Aspect

“Knowing, has insight”

Active: Mage- knows, doesn’t understand, acts using the information

Passive: Seer- knows, understands, shares knowledge, can literally see with superhuman senses. [p3833] A Seer would support her allies in battle not with her weapons, but her vision. She would sift through dross of her comrades' poor tactical inclinations and examine the grim consequences. A Seer would not charge into the fray headlong but direct it as a conductor with a baton. She would have the sight to eschew the obvious gambits, and find the path to victory disguised cleverly as setback, or even imminent defeat. She would behold the fortunes of friends and foes in totality, and appraise the contrivance of luck itself. She would know its mines were not to be plundered, but simply explored and charted carefully.

“Gifted, follows” (passivity?)

Active: Heir- gifted something related to aspect, and skilled in it, moves quickly, creates Aspect, an agent of, inherits

Passive: Page- gifted something after a long while, has large potential, may manifest a great strength eventually (low probability) after a laboriously slow and steady rate of not using aspect to be able to fully use Aspect

“Stealing”

Active: Thief- steals to other’s detriment

Passive: Rogue- takes to gain for other’s benefit

“Serving”

Active: Knight- uses Aspect as a weapon, warrior class, protector, uses Aspect in reinvention to make new Aspect

Passive: Maid- uses Aspect in service of maintaining Aspect, take care of, preserver, clean up, keep people out of trouble, discovery of old Aspect

“Destroys” (villain-bent)

Active: Prince- plans to destroy, does away with, an agent against, causes destruction through Aspect

Passive: Bard- allows Aspect to be destroyed, or invites destruction through Aspect, capriciously and unpredictably, ‘wild card,’ makes a great change. “known for spontaneoUs and dramatic story-altering inflUence on the fate of a party. some of the more remarkable tales involve sUch parties, where the bard is single handedly responsible for their spectacUlar downfall or improbable victory. or both!”

“Brings an Ultimate Result”

Active: Lord- mastery, control, rules, strict

Passive: Muse- inspires, composes, relaxed rules/creativity

Aspect: “theme”

Aspects seem to be about the story, or what type of circumstances the story will reliably contrive to put a character in, and what themes the character will be pushed towards to do in response to it, as part of their character arcs. Themes/Rules a character’s life. Is a commentary on character so far as to how the ‘author’ judged their backstory to be set up for in the current story, usually phrased as if it’s being pushed into influencing character’s lives on a meta level. Void players may not amount to big moments (depending on class), Heart players keep running into variations of themself. It is possible for characters can overcome their aspect, but this appears to be harder to fight than acting against their class.

Aspects can be literal, (breath=wind powers, space= teleportation), and also can be weaponized against the constraints of the story. Light/Void aspects especially work well on a metaphorical level. Time/Space are the same thing in quantum physics, and required by every Game session.

I noticed it’s possible they all have vague destruction-death/creation-life aligned themes.

*Not much info on Doom or Rage.

“Green Sun/Black Hole: Endings and Beginnings/loop”

Time: death, endings, time, always a time traveler. copies of yourself.

Space: propagation, beginnings, distance, breeding, space, always the forge lighter. loneliness.

“Relevance/Fortune, Absence of Knowledge and Knowledge” (blindness problems)

Void: nothingness, absence of attention, impossible to know, blackout, darkness, irrelevant (like dead ghosts), hard to keep track of or understand “Void is easily the most mysterious aspect, the one which inherently defies rational understanding. This makes it particularly fascinating, and just as frustrating, to light players such as myself. Casting illumination upon nothing itself is futile. For to truly know void is to paradoxically cause it not to 8e! The role of the void player is to somehow em8race nothingness, to 8ecome one with it. And yet in total contradiction with this, to make use of the power it grants and serve a role of relevance, one must find a way to overcome it! To see the limitless potential in the void. To find everything within nothing, and 8ring it into 8eing.” the path of the void player: So resistant is his story to having a relevant 8earing on anything, you didn’t even hear it.

Light: knowledge, fortune, luck, future, auspicious path, light, relevance, lucky

“Spirit, Bonds and Freedom” (attracting people?)

Blood: connections, bonds, history, family, blood, aggressive, raise rebellion (nonstandard relationships?)

Breath: freedom (to make their own decisions), detachment, forgetting, wind, air, breath, not facing, unaggressive, popular (leadership?)

"Faith/Empowerment, Disbelief and Optimism” (unpredictable?)

Rage: a loss of belief, emotions, anger, lack of reason, gaining facts that cause a loss of faith (while still believing in something else that’s damagingly fake), knowing something is fake

Hope: belief, creation, faith, actualizing something fake into something real, missing facts, hope, force of unparalleled power (creation)

“Issues of Mortality”

Doom: mortality, inescapable fate, doom, out of notice

Life: life, preservation, mitosis, growth

“Decisions/self, Emotion and Thought”

Heart: emotions, soul, romance, partitions of self, identity, nuances of a distributed self

Mind: mind, decisions, reason, ignoring emotion, nuances of decisions of a single mind

….v3

((Changelog: vocabulary. Next update will be after trawling Homestuck on a reread, later.))

#classpect2 #delete later

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sapphireemeralds · 5 years ago

Note

For my DnD character ask meme...odds for Eliot and evens for Mo—And you can pick a letter 💜💚

Alrighty, let’s do this! :D

1) What would they consider to be their biggest failure?

Eliot: She feels responsible for her younger siblings, and sees their refusal to leave the family business and come clean as her failing. Bill’s descent into even more despicable shit really gnaws on her - she loved him dearly and defended him from Margaret’s abuse and her full siblings’ insults as best she could, and she tried so hard teach him to be compassionate and look for the goodness and inherent worth in people, not just the money and favors he could cajole or squeeze out of them; when she joined the Valoran police force, though, that drove a wedge between them and drove Bill closer to Angus.

2) What’s the story behind their name?

Mo: Named after his great-great-grandfather, who was a valiant soldier and famous fencer. Gramps would not approve of our Mo’s uh, significantly less artful swordsmanship or fondness for bludgeoning weapons.

3) What’s their relationship with their family?

Eliot: Loves Fiona and trusts her whole-heartedly, though they’ve drifted apart a little as they’ve grown up and gone about their lives. Forgives Margaret (Mom) for most of the pain caused, but doesn’t trust a single word Margaret says and struggles to control her temper around her. For younger siblings, see (1). Tuk Tuk is her baby, her buddy, her lil’ sunshine.

4) What’s one song that describes them or is them?

Mo: Whoo BOY I actually don’t have a character playlist for Mo, but for now let’s go with “Spoilin’ for a Fight” by AC/DC

5) Who is their best friend?

Eliot: Mireth in the Crazy Campaign, and... honestly, I’m not sure who yet in P&C, but she is drawn to very charismatic, composed people, so she’s gravitating toward Caspian and Talise. Dealing with Quiggley’s awkward earnestness is too much like looking in a mirror; she likes and respects Jax, but doesn’t quite know how to connect with him; and she hasn’t spent enough time with Brax or Briony yet.

6) Why are they their class?

Mo: When he joined the army, he basically had three choices - stab/slash/smack shit (fighter), pray a lot and heal shit (cleric), or study a lot of arcane shit so he can stand at the back casting fireballs (wizard). A straightforward man, he chose the most straightforward option.

7) What do they think of their party members?

Eliot: In essence, “I would sooner throw myself in front of a charging behemoth than stand by and let you weirdos deal with this nonsense alone.” They’re the closest thing she’s had to home, and she just wants them all to be safe and happy.

8) In what ways are they similar to you?

Mo: He’s very forthright about his opinions, and those opinions don’t change easily; we both hate being wrong. That said, we’re both usually fine going along with a group consensus. Usually.

9) In what ways are they different from you?

Eliot: She has a more optimistic world-view and greater faith in the divine, and she’s far braver than I’ll ever be.

10) What do they look for in a romantic partner, if they have a romantic orientation?

Mo: Easy-going, sensible, sociable, adventurous but not too wild, loyal but not clingy

11) If they had a patronus or animagus form, what would it be?

Eliot: I was trying to think of something cooler that would still fit, but nah, let’s be real... she’d have/be a Golden Retriever.

12) What do they smell like?

Mo: Leather, sandalwood, and cedar

13) What is their secret skill?

Eliot: Once she’s heard a song all the way through a couple times, she can henceforth recognize it almost instantly.

14) What is their relationship to spirituality?

Mo: Decidedly meh. Mo’s no atheist - he’s met enough devastatingly effective clerics on the battlefield to think otherwise - but he’s not deeply interested in the gods, nor does he think they’re as interested in mortal affairs as people claim they are. He’s the Forgotten Realms equivalent of someone who only goes to church on Christmas and Easter and prays, like, twice a year at most.

15) If they were to be remembered for something, what would they want to be remembered for?

Eliot: For everyday acts of mercy and kindness, and for standing up for those who couldn’t stand up for themselves.

16) Why did they become an adventurer?

Mo: He found that once he picked up a sword, it was hard to put it down; for years, settling back into civilian life simply seemed unthinkable. Age and a narrowly-missed apocalypse finally changed that.

17) What’s one thing about their backstory that came to you after you already started playing the campaign?

Eliot: THE WHOLE THING.

18) Do you have any headcanons for them that haven’t come up in game? Or headcanons for other party members?

Mo: As Elemental Evil is basically an extended dungeon crawl with a clear goal and limited opportunities for characters to just... talk... AND I joined that campaign late, basically none of my headcanons for Mo came up in-game. In fact, my headcanon for him is still a little sparse. Two tidbits, though: he has a stamp collection, and he couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket to save his damn life.

19) Any ships with your character? If a PC or NPC, what interaction launched it?

Eliot: For the Crazy Campaign, Eliot/Keegan, obvi - god bless poor unsuspecting Drew for tapping into my latent obsession with consensual possession as a character dynamic/basis for a ship. As for P&C, Eliot is crushing HARD on Giulietta, although potential spoiler alert, it’s unlikely anything will come of it.

20) What would your character consider their biggest success? Or what is your favorite success your character has had so far?

Mo: Helping stop the apocalypse ain’t half bad, he’s pretty pleased with that. ^w^

As for the letter, let’s go with B: Hogwarts Houses! :D ( * indicates some serious uncertainty; also, I’m excluding characters I haven’t played yet, or only played for one or two sessions)

Gryffindors: Flora, Bells, Mo, Diantha, Skylar*, Fae, Ace

Slytherins: Bao, Takara

Ravenclaws: Jamie, Kiya

Hufflepuffs: Eliot, Theron, Jheri, Flint, Idris*

#thejenesaisquoigirl #memes 'n' shit #just trpg things #ask

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thesovereignsequel · 5 years ago

Note

1-49

1. What do you think your d&d race would be?

Dwarf, probably. I’m short, chunky, and do have pervasive body hair. I actually have like two actual hairs growing out of my neck and some thick peachfuzz so I feel like my body wants a beard bad enough for me to be a dwarf.

2. What class?

I think maaaaybe a bard? I have a lot of anxiety concerning performing but I could be a stand up comedy bard. If not that, maybe a barbarian? I wanna go feral at all times.

3. What two feats would you have?

Inspiring Leader and Tavern Brawler. I am good at encouraging people and literally love the concept at going feral w/ whatever weapon possible.

4. What has been your favorite d&d character you’ve played? (NPCs count for DMs)

Ooooo! I guess my favorite PC I’ve played is Viper, my assassin tiefling. My favorite NPC I’ve played is probably Daniel Devito (original character do not steal)

5. Which of your d&d characters has been the most like you?

None of my characters are particularly like me, all of them have like, one trait I can relate to tops. Same with NPCs.

6. Which of your d&d characters has been the least like you?

For NPCs, the big bad of my last campaign (Duke Maloret) but for PCs probably Viper?

7. How do you go about making a character or NPC?

I go with a basic concept when making a player character and flesh it out from there once I have an idea what the setting is like. For an NPC, I already know what the setting is like so I create someone I think would fit and have a place and purpose in the setting. And when I make joke NPCs I just come up w/ something funny that somehow usually works with lore.

8. What is the most memorable natural 20 you’ve ever experienced?

In the CoS game I’m playing, our warlock got a fuckin nat 20 and one shot an NPC, who was definitely going to kill us, mortal combat style.

9. Has one of your d&d characters ever died? How?

In a oneshot playing w/ some ppl I don’t really care for, one of my characters died. They died bc a player threw a grenade to kill a big monster even though I said “yo, don’t!”

10. What is your favorite class to play?

Monk!!! The power, the range. Lovely.

11. Have you ever fought a dragon?

Yes? Kind of?

12. Have you ever fought a beholder?

I don’t think so.

13. Have you ever fought a mind flayer?

14. Have you ever had a romance with an NPC or another PC?

As a DM, I have. As a player I haven’t yet, but my necromancer/life cleric is in high demand so that’s gonna change ;0

15. Do you prefer to DM or play?

I like both. I’m better as a player though so playing is usually what I prefer bc I feel like I make a better experience playing. I love DMing so fuckin much tho :’0

16. What is your favorite D&D pod/vodcast?

I only listen/watch two “dnd” pod/vodcasts, those being Critical Role and The Adventure Zone. I prefer the Adventure Zone just a teensy bit.

17. Who is your favorite “celebrity dm?”

If the question had said GM and not DM I’d have an answer.

18. Do you use props/minis/terrain in your game?

Nope. We’re digital bby!!

19. How did you discover D&D?

I knew about dnd since forever, but only started desiring to play after listening to the Adventure Zone. And it took at least a year before I was ever actually able to play (think it probably took two)

20. If you run a homebrew game, give an out of context spoiler.

Being yeeted can be fun, fresh, and flirty.

21. Drop a picture of a mini you painted (if applicable)

Don’t have one :’0

22. Write a brief scene centered around one of your characters!

I’ll answer this in another ask.

23. Do you have any art of your characters?

I do!

24. Have you ever played any TTRPGs other than D&D?

I’ve played Monster of the Week and Tavern Tales.

25. What is your favorite snack for d&d?

Bc discord is over audio I usually don’t have the option of eating a snack.

26. If you could have one potion from d&d, which one would you choose?

Potion of Animal Friendship. I want the neighborhood cats to love me.

27. If you could cast one spell from d&d, which would you cast?

Fly. I just wanna soar bby.

28. What is the most memorable natural 1 you’ve experienced?

I remember every nat one that has a negative modifier and I love all of them.

29. Have you ever been drunk playing d&d?

I have never been drunk period.

30. Homebrew or prewritten?

I prefer DMing homebrew and have no preference for either when it comes to playing.

31. Tell me about your current party!

I’ll get into this one in a different post bc I have a few.

32. Most memorable NPC you’ve encountered in a game you played in.

Flinder Flameweaver. He sold fake ostrich boots claiming they were genuine ostrich and we saw through his lies.

33. Do you listen to music while playing? What kinds?

I play professor Layton music a lot during my games.

34. Favorite accent to do for characters?

Young British child.

35. Favorite classic d&d trope

Sexey demons.

36. What was your first d&d character you made?

A Dragonborn noblewoman who was secretly so buff but wore lots of frills.

37. What is the most recent PC or NPC you’ve created?

I can’t talk about NPCs, bc spoilers, but my latest player character I believe is a yuan ti wizard boi

38. Goblins or Kobolds?

Why not both?

39. Favorite villain you’ve defeated?

This asshole from our CoS campaignwho was very much the reactionary “pleased to see you upset” white dude.

40. What d&d deity would you be a cleric of?

None tbh

41. Give an out of context quote from one of your games!

I have a couple. “DM stands for Daddy Master”, “Griffindor Macklemore is my heterosona” and “Or what, you’ll stab me?”

42. Have you ever rolled turn into a potted plant on the wild magic table?

Unfortunately I’ve only cast a few spells as a wild magic sorcerer and everyone else I play w/ is a coward.

43. Minis and terrain or theater of the mind?

Theater of the mind.

44. Mulligan, Mercer, Murphy, or McElroy?

I like Mercer and McElroy

45. What is the longest session you’ve ever had?

god I think I’ve had one that was at least six hours before.

46. What is the longest battle you’ve fought or run?

The dreaded cockatrice fight.

47. Have you ever played at level 20?

Unfortunately no, not yet.

48. Does your dm say “How do you want to do this?”

Some do, some don’t.

49. Have you ever played an edition other than 5th?

No I have not.

#long post #dnd things

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words-writ-in-starlight · 6 years ago

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Hey Star! Bit of a weird question, do you know where's a good place to find a simplified ruleset for dnd 5e, specifically for a wizard. My wizard is finding it quite hard to remember all the rules and before I condense them all myself I thought I'd ask around and see if anyone has any resources that would do the trick. (Also, a quick update on the campaign, I made our kobold rogue worried about some mountains and now I know why you love to make your players worry. I feel very accomplished.)

Off the top of my head, I don’t know of any good resources for simplified 5e rules--I started out playing 3.5, so 5e is already about 14x simpler than what I originally learned.

I really want to convey that, as a 3.5 Druid on a campus with dubious-at-best wifi, I had one binder full of spells and another binder full of wild shapes, and spent 85% of my combat time trying to grasp the 3.5 grapple rules. As a rules-laywer little-shit player, I miss having four thousand skills that I could finesse to give me stupid-high advantages on things like “Search” (plus thirty, I had a plus thirty to Search in my last 3.5 campaign), but 5e is WAY more accessible.

HOWEVER. Even 5e is still pretty rules-dense, so let me try and hit some suggestions. Without knowing the specifics of what your players are struggling with, these are going to be pretty broad, but you’re totally welcome to send in a more specific request if you want.

No one knows all the rules to DnD. If a player, especially a new player, needs to check with their DM for every skill check and every attack roll, that’s okay! Every DM I know keeps the Player’s Handbook in arm’s reach to panic-check a rule or a spell, or else they fully Griffin McElroy it and put the “rules” through a blender. Please reassure your wizard from me that it’s totally okay if they’re having trouble keeping things straight. As long as they’re having a good time, they don’t need to be able to recite the damage for Fireball off the cuff. That’s what references are for.

The internet is your friend. Again, multiple binders full of spells and animal shapes to be a 3.5 Druid. This was because the internet on Friday nights got bad fast because Dolly (boys dorm) liked to run LAN parties, so googling my spells wasn’t practical because it took so long. HOWEVER, the internet doth give many gifts, and if you and your party have regular access to it, I wholeheartedly recommend abusing that to your heart’s content. Don’t even bother trying to keep that shit in order in your head or on your character sheet. I shelled out for a DnDBeyond account, which does work great for my party, but you don’t need one--googling spells, special attacks, whatever, will work like a dream. To facilitate your party being able to do this during fast-paced combat, as the DM, I suggest keeping people apprised of who’s coming up next in combat! I do this by saying “Okay, Azara, you’re up, Heinous, you’re on deck,” as a way to remind people that they’re coming up and that they should be planning their next move, including looking up anything they might need.

It’s always a d20. Okay, you don’t literally exclusively need a d20, but I resolved a lot of my mom’s anxiety about using the wrong dice by saying very plainly “if you want to hit someone, do something, or interact with the world in any way, you are going to use a d20.” Everything else is near-exclusively used for damage rolls. Damage rolls using Other Dice are described explicitly in spells or weapon attacks--for example, Fireball does 8d6 damage (described when you google the spell) and a greataxe does 1d12 damage (you should have weapon damage noted down beside the weapon). Basically, it’s a d20 until your DM says otherwise.

Proficiency bonus is your friend. You get a proficiency bonus in 5e rather than level-by-level skill point allotment like in 3.5. This helps balance the playing field and limit minmaxing to a more manageable level, and also reduces the amount of math you need to do in order to level up. Here is how any roll in 5e works: the number on the d20 + the relevant stat + (if relevant) proficiency bonus. Let’s say you’re a Level 3 barbarian, and you want to hit someone with an axe. You roll a d20 and get a 13, then you add your strength for a melee attack--let’s say it’s +4--bringing you to a subtotal of 17. But you’re proficient with your axe! So now you add +2 for your proficiency bonus, bringing you to a 19 all told. Good job, your target is definitely going to feel it. If you only know three numbers in 5e, they should be your proficiency bonus, your primary stat (for our example barbarian it’s Strength, for a wizard it’s Intelligence), and your armor class. If pressed, you could probably get through a whole session with just those three numbers. As long as you know what you are and aren’t proficient in (mark it down on your sheet if you haven’t already), you’re good.

Spell slots: write them down. If you’re using DnDBeyond, they have a helpful little line of boxes to tick off each time you use a spell of a certain level, or an expendable ability like Rage or Action Surge. I would recommend this technique, it’s the one I used when I did paper character sheets. Make tally marks, tick boxes, cross out numbers, whatever. If you have your spell slots written down instead of trying to remember what you still have available, you have more brain power to free up for other, more interesting things.

Combat’s a bitch. Combat rules are the finickiest part of DnD, and again, do not feel bad about not getting them right off. In fact, don’t feel bad about not getting it for multiple years. I probably only got a good handle on combat in the last six months and I’ve been DMing for three years. That being said, you can do three things during your turn, and one thing the rest of the time, and I’m going to break them down as best I can. During your turn you have:

MOVEMENT: Pretty much what it says on the tin. You have a movement speed based on what kind of critter you are (and occasionally what class you are, e.g. monks), and you can move that far.

ACTION: This is where you Do Stuff, including but not limited to attacking. You will start at a low level with one attack per action--that may be an axe, a spell, a punch, whatever, but you get to deal damage or protect your friends or whatever. As you level up, some classes can do more stuff with a single action, notably fighters, who can basically evolve into a murder whirlwind with four attacks per action. On your action, you can also interact with something (like, say, a bomb you’re trying to defuse or a lock you’re trying to pick), keep moving (this is called “Dash” and lets you move in the same way as the above MOVEMENT), get paranoid (this is called “Dodge” and gives you advantage on getting out of range of an attack), use your special abilities (like a ranger’s Primeval Awareness, or a cleric’s Channel Divinity), hide, (this is called “Hide”), or any number of other things. You may also get something called an Action Surge, depending on your class, which lets you take ACTION twice in a row. (High level fighters can actually do like...twelve attacks on a turn with this. Fighters are underappreciated. Be a fighter, julienne your enemies.)

BONUS ACTION: Something short and sweet that may also save your life. Barbarians can Rage as a bonus action. Certain spells can be triggered as a bonus action, like Hunter’s Mark or Hex. Other spells can be used as a bonus action, like Spiritual Weapon. Some classes can do other stuff as a bonus action, like a monk using it to attack or a rogue using it to hide. If you’re not sure if something is a bonus action, it’s probably not. It’s a fairly limited but powerful list.

If you’re not the person who’s currently taking their turn, you have something called a REACTION, once per turn, where you do something triggered by someone else’s turn. Most importantly, this allows you to do something called an attack of opportunity when someone leaves your personal space--you get to whack them with whatever melee weapon you’ve got. For some classes (notably wizards and anyone who can access the wizard spell list) you will eventually be able to use your reaction to exercise the Biggest Dick Energy in all of Dungeons and Dragons, which is called Counterspell. Actually any spell saying that its casting time is “1 reaction” can be cast like this, but mostly people just use it for Counterspell. REACTION is also what lets you “hold” your action, which means saying “I can hear Nym running toward me with the goblins behind her--I’m holding Fireball until the second the horde is in range.” When the ‘trigger’ you chose happens, you can do your thing. This means you’re committed and cannot adjust your plan if things change (in the example, Nym might still be in range, but your Fireball is still going to go off), but it also gives you the ability to lay a trap.

Again, combat is a bitch. The DM’s job is to know this stuff and help the players when they need it. There’s no shame in needing a cheat sheet with this stuff noted down or needing to google references for casting time or whatever. As long as you’re keeping things rolling and having fun, combat works however the DM says it does. If you realize you made a mistake, just move on. The nerd gods don’t care.

Any rule too obnoxious to live with can be dismissed by the DM. You think I played around with 3.5 grapple rules when I was DMing? Absolutely not. In my campaigns you rolled a strength check and you lived or died by it with good grace. If there’s something nonessential that your players really struggle with or you personally think is dumb as hell, just. Don’t use it. Wizards of the Coast isn’t going to come to your home and shake you down for ignoring travel rules or whatever. Homebrew, my babies.

#dnd #dungeons and dragons #rpgs #advice from starlight #dnd advice #i think i need that tag at this juncture #but yeah! i don't know how relevant any of these are to your wizard's concerns but i hope they're helpful!#if you have a specific question i am glad to help!#honestly would anyone be interested in that combat explanation being pulled out as a separate post #because again: if that takes you literally years to have a good handle on it you are about on par with average #i think 'wizards of the coast isn't going to come shake you down for ignoring rules' is the most valuable advice in here #dnd rules are literally so intricate there are games of 'find the mistake in an encounter'#don't hang yourself out to dry for not knowing the rules #use references--books or internet or your dm or whatever #it's all good as long as you and your party are enjoying yourselves #but yeah if you have a more specific question i am glad to take a swing at it #queue deeper than the sea of stars #cinnamonandpancakes #asked and answered

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