#which would give him a decent athletics modifier!

[balleater]

another thing i noticed about kingsley's full body art: he still has the inescapable lash on him! we could potentially still see him use it!

[raeynbowboi]

How to Play as Yugi Muto in DnD 5e

A long time ago, I made a build for the Dark Magician (I’ll leave a link [here].) At the time, I’d considered trying to make a build for Yugi, but since Yugi lacks any real powers of his own, there wasn’t really enough to go off of. But with new UA spells that prioritize summoning and new UA subclasses, the time has finally come to give Yugi his proper build. For this build, we are considering Yugi and the Pharaoh to be one character. We will also be treating this build as though Yugi has the Dark Magician as his Deck Master, a special feature used in some side content and video games where the Deck Master actually assists their duelist. So Yugi’s spell list will merge two primary conditions: summoning creatures to fight on his behalf, and spell effects of cards in Yugi’s deck, including one-off cards and less famous cards he’s used to fill out his Wizard Spellbook.

Yugi is an anime character. In the past, my general rule for anime characters is to make them Variant Humans. This is primarily because Anime Characters are stronger than normal humans and often have magical powers that make them not quite human. I’ll be using the Variant Human option, however Kalashtar also works due to Yugi’s split minds and resistance to psychic mind games. Halflings aren’t my favorite race to play, but Yugi is abnormally short, and the Pharaoh is uncannily lucky, so it can definitely work for their build. As a Variant Human, we’ll pick up the Lucky feat and give ourselves +1 INT and +1 DEX.

The Pharaoh is willing to kill Kaiba to win a children’s card game. Yugi is not. They average out to Neutral Good.

The Pharaoh was the King of Egypt. Obvious Noble Background is obvious.

Heart of the Cards

WIZARD    Order of Scribes. This ended up being a perfect storm. Firstly, the new UA batch of summoning spells primarily landed under the Wizard umbrella. So, this gives Yugi a nice variety of summoning options. But it gets even better once you look at your subclass abilities. The Wizardly quill is about the only thing that doesn’t really fit for Yugi, but everything else will. Awakened Spellbook grants the pages Yugi summons from a level of sentience. In Yugioh the cards house duel monster spirits, and Yugi’s grandfather taught him to value the Heart of the Cards, the very idea that Yugi’s deck is a sentient thing. This subclass technically talks about a bound book, but Yugi’s still channeling his magic and spells through his cards, so I’d consider Yugi’s deck a reflavor of his spellbook, thus he’s able to use it as his spellcasting focus. Yugi’s able to alter the damage type of a spell he casts. You could flavor this as classic season 1 Yugioh where nobody played by the rules, or as Yugi pulling a card out of his deck that he’ll never use in any other duel, which tended to be a common deus ex machina for him. Master Scrivener can allow Yugi to copy a card onto a scroll and pull it out of his butt whenever he wants. a fun cheeky way to mock his plot armor. It also casts at 1 level higher, meaning Yugi is one again breaking the rules because he’s the King of Games. Manifest Mind is where the Deck Master concept becomes more clear, as you can create a tiny spectral form of the Dark Magician fighting beside you, and really lets you fully embrace the partnership between Yugi and the Dark Magician in combat. Since this feature does specify using a tiny specral creature, Kuriboh is another good Deck Master monster for Yugi. Finally, One with the Word allows Yugi to swap places with the Dark Magician to avoid one or both of them from being killed. Yugi can also destroy some of the cards in his collection to bring him back to life if Dark Magician is on the field and his spellbook has the resources. This also motivates Yugi to want to collect as many cards/spells as he can, even if he doesn’t prepare them all or use them in his deck. If you really want to play up the roleplay aspect of this build and commit to the gimmick of playing as Yami, you could write spells on sheets of paper and treat them like an actual deck of cards. It’s really just for roleplaying purposes, and could make the game needlessly challenging, but it could also be a fun challenge to hope you draw the spell you need right when you need it. This could be as vague as just having a card that says “3rd level spell”, or as specific as having say as many copies of a specific spell as you have spell slots to cast it. As it’s just flavoring and roleplaying mostly, come up with your own fun ways to incorporate the deck aspect into a mechanic for gameplay and tell me your ideas. I’ll bet there’s many fun ways to make this character work in an inetersting way. 

King of Games

SUMMONING

Find Familiar Flock of Familiars Spirit Shroud Summon Fey Spirit Summon Lesser Demons Summon Shadow Spirit Summon Undead Spirit Conjure Minor Elemental Summon Aberrant Spirit Summon Elemental Spirit Summon Greater Demon Conjure Elemental Infernal Calling Summon Fiendish Spirit

SPELLS & TRAPS

Brain Control // Dominate Person, Dominate Monster, Enemies Abound Change of Heart // Charm Person, Charm Monster Lightforce Sword // Banishment, Plane Shift Magic Jammer // Antimagic Field Burning Land // Blight, Abi’s Horrid Wilting Magical Hats // Blur, Mirror Image Raigeki // Lightning Bolt, Chain Lightning Trap Hole // Circle of Death Magic Cylinder // Counterspell De-Spell // Dispel Magic Heavy Storm // Whirlwind Spellbinding Circle // Hold Person, Hold Monster Swords of Revealing Light // Imprisonment Thousand Knives // Power Word Kill Mirror Force // Prismatic Wall, Wall of Force, Wall of Light The Eye of Truth // True Seeing Yami // Darkness Makiu, the Magical Mist // Fog Cloud, Cloudkill, Stinking Cloud Cursebreaker // Remove Curse Dust Tornado // Dust Devil Premature Burial // Animate Dead, Create Undead Ragnarok // Melf’s Minute Meteors General Magic // Mage Armor, Magic Missile, Shield Setting a Trap Card // Glyph of Warding Anime Protagonist Plot Armor // Wish

As a Wizard, our most important stat is going to be Intelligence for casting. Our Manifest Mind feature gives our Dark Magician our AC, so we’ll want a high Dexterity modifier to improve our Armor Class. Yugi is pretty hard to fool, so that’ll give us a good Wisdom score. Yugi is pretty good at destiny speeches and turning enemies into allies. We’ll give him a pretty decent Charisma score so he can persuade people to adopt his philosophies, or send people running into the shadow realm with his Intimidation. Our build prioritizes amassing strong minions between us and enemies, so we can neglect our Constitution a bit. That leaves our Strength stat to be ignored. Lifting all those small thin pieces of paper doesn’t exactly get Yugi ripped.

Name: Yugi Muto  Race: Variant Human Background: Noble Alignment: Neutral Good Class: Order of Scribes Wizard (20)

Base Stats:

Strength: 8 (-1) Dexterity: 20 (+5) Constitution: 12 (+1) Intelligence: 20 (+5) Wisdom: 14 (+2) Charisma: 10 (0)

Saving Throws:

Strength: -1  Dexterity: +5 Constitution: +1 Intelligence: +11 Wisdom: +8 Charisma: 0

Combat Stats:

HP: 102 AC: 18*  Speed: 30 Initiative: +5 Proficiency Bonus: +6 Passive Perception: 14  Dark Vision: 0 feet

Proficiencies:

Acrobatics (+5) Animal Handling (+2) Arcana (+11) Athletics (-1) Deception (0) History (+11) Insight (+8) Intimidation (+6) Investigation (+5) Medicine (+2) Nature (+5) Perception (+2) Performance (0) Persuasion (+6) Religion (+5) Sleight of Hand (+5) Stealth (+5) Survival (+2)

Spell Slots

1st (4) 2nd (3) 3rd (3) 4th (3) 5th (3) 6th (2) 7th (1) 8th (1) 9th (1)

Yugi’s Deck

Cantrips    Firebolt    Frostbite    Lightning Lure    Message    Mind Sliver

1st Level    Charm Person    Find Familiar    Fog Cloud    Mage Armor    Magic Missile    Shield

2nd Level    Blur    Darkness    Dust Devil    Flock of Familiars    Hold Person    Mirror Image

3rd Level    Animate Dead    Counterspell    Dispel Magic    Enemies Abound    Glyph of Warding    Lightning Bolt    Spirit Shroud    Summon Fey Spirit    Summon Lesser Demons    Summon Shadow Spirit    Summon Undead Spirit

4th Level    Banishment    Blight    Conjure Minor Elementals    Summon Aberrant Spirit    Summon Elemental Spirit    Summon Greater Demon

5th Level    Conjure Elemental    Dominate Person    Hold Monster    Infernal Calling    True Seeing    Wall of Light

6th Level    Chain Lightning    Circle of Death    Create Undead    Summon Fiendish Spirit

7th Level    Plane Shift

8th Level    Antimagic Field    Dominate Monster

9th Level    Imprisonment    Wish

Features:

Arcane Rociety. covery. Regain 10 or less level 5 or lower spell slots on a short rest.

Awakened Spellbook. You can alter spell damage type and cast a ritual spell instantly once per long rest.

Lucky. 3 lucky points, add a d20 to rolls before you know the outcome.

Manifest Mind. Your spellbook projects a tiny spectral construct. Its HP is your INT + your Wizard Level and it uses your AC and saving throw die. It has darkvision at a range of 60 feet, sheds dim light at a range of 10 feet, and can pass through solid objects.

Master Scrivener. Copy a 1st or 2nd level spell from your spellbook onto a scroll. Use the scroll any time, and the spell is cast as being one level higher.

One With the Word. When you would die while Manifest Mind is active, purge spells from your spellbook whose level adds to 3d6. They can only be restored with a Wish, and are otherwise lost to you.

Position of Privilege. You belong in high society. People bend over backwards to accommodate you, and you can get an audience with other nobility.

Signature Spells. cast Summon Fey Spirit and Summon Undead Spirit once without using a spell slot.

Spell Mastery. Cast Mage Armor and Hold Person without spell slots.

Wizardly Quill. Less time and money copying spells into your spellbook.

A major downside to this build is that all of his summoning spells require a gold cost, but if you’re fortunate, your DM will be generous enough with the gold to support the costs of this build. Technically, this build really could work for any duelist, and there’s plenty of other yugioh cards that could translate to DnD spells, but we were focused on Yugi’s canon spell and trap cards. We’re also extremely reliant on summoning, so if Yugi can’t summon, he’s going to have a bad time, and the build won’t be so useful.

[tigerkirby215]

5e Braum, the Heart of the Freljord build (League of Legends)

(Artwork by Joshua “HUGEnFAST” Brian Smith. Made for Riot Games.)

Mother always said: STAND BEHIND BRAUM.

Braum is a character who was rather inevitable. He’s iconic in his own right as he’s probably the ultimate shield-baring team defender, which is an obvious fantasy people would want in D&D. (Which is why we have no tower shields in 5e.) With K/DA done I now have to do the Ruined King crew. But I’m more than happy to make a build for another Support who I’m never upset to have on my team. Even if he’s not the strongest right now you can always count on Braum!

GOALS

My shield is my sword - Braum is a big bulky lad with an even bigger and bulkier shield. We’ll need to take any blow that comes our way.

Stand behind Braum! - We’ll need to be able to protect our allies near or far, standing in front of danger and jumping to their aid.

Troublemaker toss is best game - Braum can do more than just punch and slam, with a bit of Freljordian magic to split the earth beneath his foes!

RACE

Braum is a human and hey: wouldn’t it be funny if there was a race of humans with innate Iceborn magic to protect their allies? Mark of Sentinel Humans get ability score improvements that don’t really help us... good thing Tasha’s lets us instead get a +2 to Charisma and a +1 to Strength, for the might of Winter and the warmth of the Hearth. You gain proficiency in a language of your choice: I personally opted for Primordial to speak with any icy beings of the north.

With the Mark of Sentinel you have Sentinel’s Intuition to add a d4 to Insight and Perception checks. You also have a Guardian’s Shield to cast Shield on yourself once per Long Rest, and are a Vigilant Guardian who can swap places with a nearby creature to take the damage instead of them! “It is easy, see?”

If Dragonmarks aren’t allowed: Variant Human works fine. Increase your Charisma and Strength by 1 and grab the Shield Master feat early. Grab Insight proficiency too or something idk.

ABILITY SCORES

15; STRENGTH - To lift up Ornn’s workshop door you need a lot of upper body strength.

14; CHARISMA - To be the heart of the Freljord you need heart to provide warmth through the cold.

13; CONSTITUTION - Braum is a tank support, so of course you need to be tanky.

12; DEXTERITY - You need to be rather limber to jump to your allies. This will also give a decent boost to your AC if you wear Medium Armor.

10; WISDOM - Braum learnt a lot about nature and people from his mother’s teachings.

8; INTELLIGENCE - No offence to Braum: we simply need everything else more and we’ve gotta dump something.

BACKGROUND

People tell legends of Braum, as if he was a Folk Hero... for that’s what he is! As a Folk Hero you get proficiency with Animal Handling to take care of Poros, and Survival to survive the harsh North. You also get proficiency with Land Vehicles and an Artisan’s Tool of your choice. Just about any of them could be reasonable for Braum, so pick whatever will make you the most friends!

Your background feature Rustic Hospitality will make sure you’re always welcome by a warm hearth. You can find a place to rest and recuperate among commoners as long as you’re nice. They will hide you from anyone searching for you, though they will not risk their lives for you.

(Artwork by Charles “Yideth” Liu. Made for Riot Games.)

THE BUILD

LEVEL 1 - FIGHTER 1

The Freljord is a place for battle, and also a place where we can wear either Medium or Heavy Armor based on your choice of skin.

I’m going to just put this comment here: Braum isn’t going to get Barbarian levels because like half his skins have him wear armor. Also you can’t cast spells while Raging, and “Rage” just feels wrong for Braum. I’d argue that Braum being unarmored is a Magic Item (IE Tattoos.) Feel free to wear Medium Armor to be more in-character, but there’s little reason not to slap on Plate.

As a Fighter you get proficiency in two skills from the Fighter list: Athletics will help you jump over to your allies and Insight will let you tell if your new friend is actually friendly.

Fighters get their Fighting Style at level 1 and while there are a lot of nice ones (especially thanks to a nice witch named Tasha) we’re going to go for the classic of Defense to tank any incoming blow.

We’re not taking Protection, Interception, or Unarmed Fighting because of abilities we’re going to be getting later. Also I’d argue that a Shield would count as “Armor” for being Armored with the Defense Fighting Style.

You also get Second Wind to heal for a d10 plus your Fighter level, for some relief against the harsh winter winds.

LEVEL 2 - FIGHTER 2

Second level Fighters can push themselves a little for their friends. Action Surge lets you take an extra action for the turn!

LEVEL 3 - FIGHTER 3

3rd level Fighters get to choose their Martial Archetype, and for a Fighter who defends their allies and loves animals go for a Cavalier! You get a Bonus Proficiency to finally get Persuasion and be a hero who you’d love to sit down and chat with over a cup of warm milk! You also have Born to the Saddle for some help if you ever try boar riding with Sejuani.

But the main reason we went for Cavalier is Unwavering Mark. When you hit an enemy with a melee weapon attack, you can mark the creature until the end of your next turn. While they’re within 5 feet of you, they have disadvantage on any attack roll that doesn’t target you.

Additionally, if the marked enemy deals damage to anyone other than you, you can make a special melee weapon attack against the marked creature as a bonus action on your next turn. You have advantage on the attack roll, and if it hits, the attack’s weapon deals extra damage to the target equal to half your fighter level. You can mark any number of enemies you want, but you can only use your special attack a number of times equal to your Strength modifier, regaining all uses after a Long Rest.

In short: hit your enemy with a Concussive Blow to make it harder for them to hit your allies, and hit them harder if they still do!

LEVEL 4 - FIGHTER 4

4th level Fighters get an Ability Score Improvement, but how about we prepare for a fight without our shield? Tavern Brawler gives a +1 to Constitution along with proficiency with Improvised Weapons and a d4 Unarmed Strike. Additionally if you punch an enemy you can grapple them as a Bonus Action!

Even if you now have an Unarmed Strike there’s no reason why you can’t use a Bludgeoning damage weapon like a Warhammer and say that it’s your Fist.

(Artwork by Alvin Lee. Made for Riot Games.)

LEVEL 5 - FIGHTER 5

5th level Fighters get an Extra Attack, for two punches (IE Warhammer hits) in a turn! Remember that you can still only have one enemy marked though!

LEVEL 6 - FIGHTER 6

6th level Fighters get more Ability Score Improvements. Aren’t uneven ability scores fun? Crusher is a feat that gives +1 to Strength but also lets you get some effects of your Concussive Blows: moving enemies around when you hit them with bludgeoning damage and softening them up quite a bit if you happen to crit!

LEVEL 7 - FIGHTER 7

7th level Cavaliers can make sure that their allies stand behind them for a Warding Manuever. If a creature you can see within 5 feet of you (including yourself!) is hit by an attack, you can roll 1d8 as a reaction to block it with your shield (or your weapon.) Roll the die, and add the number rolled to the target’s AC against that attack. If the attack still hits, the target has resistance against the attack’s damage.

You can do this a number of times equal to your Constitution modifier, and regain all expended uses of it when you finish a long rest. This does unfortunately mean that you’re probably going to be stuck with two uses of your actual “defensive” ability unless your DM provides you with some more Constitution. Or if you got lucky with stat rolls. "Sometimes icy heart just needs warm smile."

LEVEL 8 - FIGHTER 8

8th level Fighters get another Ability Score Improvement: make your Strength even again with a +1, and also put a little bit in Charisma.

(Artwork by Kelly Aleshire. Made for Riot Games.)

LEVEL 9 - BARD 1

What? Did you think that Charisma was just so you could be nice? To get some Iceborn Magic we’ll be getting some Bard levels! Multiclassing into Bard gives you a skill as well as an instrument. For your skill History is good to tell stories by the hearth, but feel free to take whatever skill your friends may need! For instrument Braum’s theme includes plenty, but there’s some strong Drums as well as a steady Lute.

As a Bard you can bolster your allies with Bardic Inspiration. As a Bonus Action you can give an ally a d6 to add to an Attack Roll, Skill Check, or Saving Throw as their good friend Braum boosts their confidence. And of course as a Bard you get Spellcasting! You learn 2 cantrips from the Bard list: Message is good to keep to teamchat, and Prestidigitation provides plenty of benefits that can help in the frozen north.

You also learn 4 spells from the Bard list: to bolster yourself or your allies for the task get ready for a bout of Heroism! If you want some good fun get your enemies to laugh along with Tasha’s Hideous Laughter! To make friends with Poros take Animal Friendship. And for a very weak Glacial Fissure Earth Tremor will do fine.

LEVEL 10 - BARD 2

Second level Bards can always help, being Jack of All Trades who can add half their proficiency to any skill they’re not proficient in. They’re also great around a campfire with a Song of Rest for a d6 of extra healing during Short Rests.

But of course Bards also get more spells: a good witch named Tasha gave Bards the Compelled Duel spell, letting them keep enemies close so friends can keep safe!

LEVEL 11 - BARD 3

Braum may not have gone to college but Bards get to choose their College at third level, and to have a true heart for battle you should look to join the College of Valor! Along with bonus proficiencies that don’t matter since you started as a Fighter You get Combat Inspiration to augment your Bardic Inspiration. Now your allies can apply some Concussive Blows and add their Inspiration to their damage, or become Unbreakable and add the Inspiration to their AC! This means that your allies can apply Inspiration to just about anything, and you can help them in whatever way’s needed!

You also get Expertise in two skills: Animal Handling will help you take care of Poros, and Athletics will let you make sure you’re always there for your friends. And to top it off you can now learn second level spells like Hold Person to stun with Winter’s Bite!

LEVEL 12 - BARD 4

4th level Bards get an Ability Score Improvement, but instead we’re going to get a bit more resilient with the Resilient feat for Charisma, of course! +1 to CHA and proficiency in saving throws to make sure you aren’t hit with any nasty banishing effects!

You also learn a new spell and a new cantrip! For your cantrip Mending will help you make sure there’s no rips in your outfit. As for spells Enlarge / Reduce was finally added to the Bard list (thank you Tasha!) which you can grab for an Elixir of Iron!

(Artwork by jorcerca on DeviantArt)

LEVEL 13 - BARD 5

5th level Bards get Font of Inspiration, allowing their Bardic Inspiration to come back on a Short Rest, which is nice because your Bardic Inspiration also increases to a d8.

You can also learn third level spells like Leomund’s Tiny Hut for a safe place to resist away from the harsh Freljordian nights.

LEVEL 14 - BARD 6

6th level Valor Bards get an Extra Attack... that you already have. At least you also get Countercharm, letting your allies have Advantage against Charms and Fears... if you use your Action to help them.

Well at least Slow (thank you Tasha) can be helpful to inflict the chill of winter on your enemies. "To friends, I am snowfall. To enemies, I am avalanche!"

LEVEL 15 - BARD 7

7th level Bards can learn 4th level spells like Hallucinatory Terrain, to bring the North wherever you go!

LEVEL 16 - BARD 8

8th level means more Ability Score Improvements... hey what if we got more Feats? Shield Master is an obvious choice for a man with a very big shield! You can push enemies over and block just about everything with that door of yours!

You can also increase the Confusion of your Concussive Blows with a 4th level spell, making enemies stumble around and have trouble approaching you and your enemies.

(Artwork by ONO-FIRE on DeviantArt)

LEVEL 17 - BARD 9

9th level Bards see their Song of Rest increase to a d8. Probably a bit late for this feature by total level 17. But at least you can learn 5th level spells like Hold Monster to stun any dragons you may be fighting!

LEVEL 18 - BARD 10

10th level Bards get Expertise in two more skills: Persuasion is good to make friends, and Insight is good to make sure they aren’t enemies! But feel free to choose whatever you think will be more practical.

You also get access to Magical Secrets: spells from any class’ spell list to add to your own. I’d suggest good ol’ Cone of Cold for a blast of harsh winter, but hold off on your other Magical Secret for one level. You can grab another cantrip though so perhaps put some Light on your wards.

LEVEL 19 - BARD 11

11th level Bards can learn 6th level spells but I’m actually going to suggest hopping back to 2nd level for Warding Bond to put a Knight’s Vow on your friends.

That’s because the Magical Secret we’re actually going to take is Gravity Fissure from the Wildemount Dunamancy list. It’s a big split in the earth that slows enemies down and does huge damage, much like a Glacial Fissure!

D&D Beyond Advice: Make a Homebrew version of Gravity Fissure as a Bard spell to take as your “Magical Secret.” IDK why D&D Beyond doesn’t let you take higher level spells with Magical Secrets.

LEVEL 20 - BARD 12

Our final level is the 12th level of Bard for one last Ability Score Improvement... Hey what if we got a feat instead to cap it off? Truthfully if you want to cap off at least one of your two main ability scores go ahead, but Inspiring Leader is also fun, useful, and flavorful. Alternatively the Tough feat can provide a big boost to your HP by the end of the build. Pick whatever you fancy, and whatever you think will help your friends the most!

FINAL BUILD

PROS

You are safe with Braum - While you’re perhaps not the biggest set of muscles out there you sure are a bulky lad, with some strong saving throws, good health, and nice AC boosted up with your shield.

You thought you were in trouble - It seems redundant to say but you are a master of protection, with thousands of ways (magical or otherwise) to keep your allies safe and your enemies at bay.

When going gets tough, you call Braum - Bard levels are quite helpful for making your character helpful! Jack of All Trades combined with Expertise in many a good skill means that even if you just need to help around the house you can still make yourself useful.

CONS

Think carefully, my friend - While Bardic Inspirations and Second Wind come back on a Short Rest the rest of your abilities don’t. Limited spell slots and limited Cavalier features will quickly be exhausted over a long day.

First we fight, then we eat - Between Shield Master, Tavern Brawler, and Bardic Inspiration you have a few too many options for your Bonus Action. Honestly we could’ve easily skipped the Tavern Brawler feat in favor of more ASIs.

Keep your spirits high - Speaking of ASIs: the comedic amount of feats grabbed in this build means that while your Ability Scores are fine enough they are still a little lacking. Mediocre CON means few uses of Warding Maneuver, and having neither Charisma nor Strength maxed means that your Bard abilities and Fighter fighting could be better.

But you’re not here to win by yourself! Make friends, and help those friends become heroes of their own story! Braum can do a lot but it is only when you fight together that great tales can be told. Stories are shared among those closest to us, and legends are made when you overcome challenges as one. "Good times, good friends... what could be better?"

(Artwork by Xu “Crow God” Cheng. Made for Riot Games.)

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #80: Charles Babbage

Hey, remember how the Lalter build wasn’t strong? Let’s do that again. Today on Fate and Phantasms, we’re making the King of Steam, Charles Babbage! You should probably check with your DM before bringing a giant transforming mecha to your next D&D game, it might mess with the game feel.

If that’s not an issue for you, you can check out Babbage’s build breakdown below the cut, or his character sheet over here!

Next up: Hyde your kids, hyde your wife, and hyde your husband, ‘cuz he’s stabbing everybody out here.

Race and Background 

Babbage is (probably?) a human, but his armor is part of him, so this is a great opportunity to make a Warforged. This gives him +2 Constitution and +1 Intelligence, as well as some other racial bonuses. Constructed Resilience grants advantage and resistance to poisons, immunity to eating, drinking, breathing, disease, and sleep, and you can’t be put to sleep through magic. You also take Sentry’s Rests- Your long rests are only six hours long, and you aren’t unconscious during them. Your Integrated Protection gives you +1 to AC, and you integrate into your armor instead of donning it normally. This takes an hour (which can be done while resting), and the armor can’t be removed against your will. Finally, your Specialized Design gives you proficiency in Athletics and one tool. You’re a robot, you don’t really get tired.

You are the foremost expert in steam-powered technologies (although that’s probably not a huge achievement in many D&D campaigns), so you’re a good fit for a Sage. This background gives you proficiency in Arcana and History checks.

Stats

Your highest stat is Intelligence- you’re literally a robot that you made, you’d have to be very smart or very stupid to try that. Second highest will be Charisma; You’re all about the steam-powered dream, and you’ll have to convince the others to help you out. Your Strength will also have to be rather high- you’re swinging a giant club/sword around, and you can’t do that without some muscles. Unless you multiclass into Warlock, but honestly a fourth class would be too much. Speaking of multiclassing, your Wisdom also needs to be passible- don’t worry about getting this to 13 immediately, you’ll have plenty of time. Your Constitution isn’t great- your armor takes most of the damage for you. Finally, dump Dexterity. Being a massive lump of metal will severely impact any potential ninja career.

Class Levels

1. Artificer 1: If you really want to be Babbage, we’ve got to get you into a decent suit of armor ASAP, and that starts with Artificer levels. First level artificers have proficiency in Constitution and Intelligence saves, as well as Perception and Investigation. You can also use Magical Tinkering to add minor magical effects to tiny objects, as well as cast and prepare Spells using your Intelligence. 

Mending will help you repair your armor and self for the time being, and Poison Spray lets you hand out samples of your Demonic Fog. For first level spells to check out, Alarm is a reasonable gadget for you to have, Identify will let you google whatever you come across, and Grease is a holdover from your racing days.

2. Artificer 2: Second level artificers can Infuse Items with magical effects. You can know four right now, but you can only use two at a time, switching them around on long rests. Enhanced Weapon, Enhanced Defense, and Enhanced Arcane Focus will help make up for your low ability scores later on, and Sending Stones are just useful to have.

3. Artificer 3: You can now make The Right Tool for the Job at the end of an hour while resting, as long as that tool is an artisan’s tool. You also become an Armorer, learning how to turn regular heavy armor into Power Armor. You can ignore the strength requirement for that armor, use it as a spellcasting focus, and it also can’t be removed against your will again. So now it’s really on there. Your armor is the Guardian Model, which comes complete with Thunder Gauntlets and a Defensive Field. The former is a melee weapon that uses intelligence and keeps the enemy’s focus on you, while the latter gives you the ability to gain temporary HP equal to your artificer level each turn as a bonus action.

Finally, you gain Magic Missile and Shield as specialty spells, which don’t count against the number you have prepared.

4. Artificer 4: Use your first Ability Score Improvement to enhance your Charisma- you’ll be needing it soon enough.

5. Sorcerer 1: Like right now! When you become a sorcerer, you have to pick your Sorcerous Origin, and the Clockwork Soul feels like it was made for you. You get another list of Spells that use your Charisma and aren’t prepared, so you pick them every time you level up. You can also Restore Balance, using your reaction to negate advantage or disadvantage on a roll made within 60′ of you a number of times per long rest equal to your Charisma modifier per long rest. Now the roll’s perfectly balanced, as all things should be.

Unlike most sorcerers, Clockwork souls also get specialty spells, which don’t count against the number you know. Your specialties are Alarm and Protection from Good and Evil for added magical defenses. You also learn Booming Blade to enhance your weapon attacks, Create Bonfire and Shape Water to make steam, and Minor Illusion to make fake steam while waiting for the water to boil. Burning Hands will let you shoot superheated blasts of steam from your hands, and Fog Cloud just makes a lot of the regular variety.

6. Sorcerer 2: Second level sorcerers are a Font of Magic, giving you a number of Sorcerer Points equal to your sorcerer level. Right now you can use them to make new spell slots, or you can turn existing slots into points. You can also blast off on jets of steam thanks to Jump, which triples your jump distance.

7. Sorcerer 3: At third level you get the real reason for last level’s point system, metamagic! When you cast a spell, you can spend sorcerer points to make it a Heightened Spell to induce disadvantage against it on a single target, or a Subtle Spell so you can cast it without verbal or somatic components. That second one is pretty important, since you’re probably running around with a club in your hands anyway.

You also get second level spells this level. Your specialty spells are Find Traps and Heat Metal, but you also get Enlarge/Reduce. Would you really be Babbage if you weren’t a giant robot? The real Babbage would probably say yes, but let’s ignore that for now.

8. Sorcerer 4: Use this ASI to round out your Strength and increase your Wisdom to the multiclassing minimum. Your final sorcerer spells for a while are Control Flames and Enhance Ability. The former is really just more hot steam, and the latter is your awesome robot body making up for your low ability scores.

9. Artificer 5: Fifth level armorers get second level spells again, as well as an Extra Attack when you make the attack action. Your specialty spells are Mirror Image and Shatter. Sometimes all that steam makes people see things.

For prepared spells, Darkvision and See Invisibility uses your robot eyes to see things normal people can’t.

10. Artificer 6: Sixth level artificers get Tool Expertise, doubling their proficiency bonus when used in tool-based checks. They also get two new infusion ideas, and one more that can be used concurrently. The Wand Sheath is very useful for you, as it lets you cast sorcerer spells while your hands are full with fighting. You could also use Radiant Weapon as an upgrade to your Enhanced Weapon if you don’t want to use Darkvision.

11. Artificer 7: At seventh level, you experience Flashes of Genius. When a check or save is made within 30′ of you, you can react to add your intelligence modifier to the roll. You can do this a number of times per long rest equal to your Intelligence modifier.

12. Artificer 8: Use this ASI to become a War Caster, allowing you to cast somatic spells while holding weapons, cast spells as attacks of opportunity, and have advantage on concentration saving throws.

13. Artificer 9: Your final level of artificer lets you make Armor Modifications. Your power armor now counts as four items for the purposes of infusions, and you can use two extra infusions as long as they’re a part of your armor.

You also learn third level spells, including your specialty spells Hypnotic Pattern and Lightning Bolt. Fly further empowers your steam jets to really lift you off the ground, and Protection from Energy gives you defenses against spells and other armor-avoiding types of damage.

14. Druid 1: I know that technically druids don’t like using metal armor, but I have a very good reason for breaking the rules a bit here. Okay, it’s not good, but it is very funny. If your DM (or you) doesn’t like this rule break, feel free to swap this out for more artificer levels.

Anyway, first level druids learn the language of the druids, Druidic, as well as yet another list of Spells that use Wisdom for casting and preparation. You also get Resistance and Guidance for a small boost to your saving throws and ability checks.

15. Druid 2: Second level druids get the reason we’re here, Wild Shape! Twice per long rest, you can turn into a beast of CR 1/4 with no flying or swimming speed, gaining that creature’s physical stats. You also use their HP instead of your own, with their entire health bar acting like temporary HP. You can’t cast spells, but you can concentrate on them. You can also use any class and race features while in this new form. I’m not entirely sure how integrated armor works with druids-that’ll have to be a DM decision.

You also pick your Druid circle at this level, and Moon Druids are experts at transformation. Your Combat Wild Shape lets you transform as a bonus action, and you can spend spell slots to regain HP while transformed. You can also transform into beasts of CR 1 or lower. Now when you need to make a quick getaway, you can Wild Shape into a warhorse and let another party member ride you to freedom! That’s right, I managed to sneak the Babbage Locomotive Form in here!

16. Sorcerer 5: Fifth level sorcerers get third level spells. Counterspell and Glyph of Warding further enhance your magical defenses, and Haste will let you overclock your armor for extra speed, actions, and AC!

17. Sorcerer 6: Sixth level clockwork souls can make Bulwarks of Law. By spending 1-5 Sorcery Points as an action, you can give a creature an equal number of d8s they can roll to reduce incoming damage as a reaction. The bulwark lasts until the end of a long rest, or until another bulwark is made.

You can also cast Stinking Cloud for a slightly more demonic fog.

18. Sorcerer 7: Seventh level sorcerers get fourth level spells, including the specialties Arcane Eye and Otiluke’s Resilient Sphere. The former creates a mobile camera you can see through, and the latter gives you a super armor mode where you’re immune to any damage or effects from outside the sphere. You also learn Wall of Fire to create a wall of steam that can burn those who get too close.

19. Sorcerer 8: Use your last ASI to enhance your Strength to make it more passible. You also learn Major Image for larger wind-proof fog clouds.

20. Sorcerer 9: Our capstone level grants you the spell Cloudkill for a truly demonic fog. You can also Animate Objects to create clockwork minions, or make a Wall of Force.

Pros:

You have a high AC, especially for a caster. Without any outside help, you can reach 20 AC normally, or 25 AC with the shield spell.

This also makes you a very durable gish, with advantage and proficiency with concentration saves helping you keep your spells going on the off chance you get hit. You also have multiple forms of damage reduction and healing to keep you in the fight for way longer than you’d think.

You also fit into several niche use cases. You can use Enlarge and your armor to body block enemies from entering locations, or use clouds of steam and wild shapes for quick getaways.

Cons:

This build is very Multi Ability Dependent. You’re three classes, and each one uses a different casting modifier. On top of that, you’re also trying to be good with regular weapons! You should save this one for when you roll really well, I don’t think the standard array is enough for it.

Also, multiclassing into multiple casters means you don’t have the highest level spells you could, limiting your options at higher levels.

If being weak at high levels wasn’t bad enough, you also have to deal with your low scores at low levels too. Levels 1-2 are going to be very rough for you before you get your power armor.

[cattivvo]

Data Log 03: [ Combat ]

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀This headcanon took a lot of research for fluidity and clarity's sake! Things can and will be modified with more discussion and calculation but I’ll give the general thoughts and beliefs of my ideas! Now if Il Dottore was a playable boss or character there would be two predictions of unlikely and he would be heavily melee/physical based.

He would be the first physical catalyst user in Tevyat and the game developed which is pretty unlikely but let's not be pessimistic! Dottore shows a clear distaste for visions and finds the vision users self-inflated — the reason why will be another head-canon coming soon~! But there are delusions that he possibly helps create with the fatui? Yes, but I believe that he doesn't use the delusion that much because obviously, it's very unstable and harms the user after excessive use and it just redundant to hate visions and use something that mimics a vision.

In canon, his pin-like metal devices can shoot projectiles and shine bright blue light at their tips. He can also have the capability to manipulate with necromancy by changing already dead people into monsters like for example his old underling Krupp in the manga. He skilled in technology and necromancy causing him to have some magic to him just not the same level as you know Alice or Lisa. Taught magic from possibly from the personal research or academy.

Now back to the topic of those objects, he would have an advanced level of technology manipulation to even have those objects produce even little shine of light. I believe that he is making controlled elemental powers with more help with science than the “divine power of the gods” more stable than the real elemental surges that vision users get. The blue light can be a form of electric manipulation with technology than power; most users can flow of intricate machinery, and assemble or disengage their programming at will, and operated most technology distance.

This version is simply controlling electrons and instruct them which items engage or disengage and may be able to use the electric impulse to gently control small metal parts. So humoring that concept gives rise to the belief in controlled elemental bursts with chemical science. Instead of the purple lightning, it's bluer because of gases and drops of electrons in laymen. His element is mostly metal that isn't fully exposed yet but part of the Chinese elements and element wheel!

Now the actual fun part~! Combat mechanism with this catalyst user! Using an excellent example and base for Dottore is Add from Elsword. Dottore’s possible inspiration but who knows— anyways Add is an intelligent mechanic that manipulates old Nasod technology from the now-dead race when the boy was trapped in the ancient library. Both characters have resemblances but different maturity levels because Dottore is a full-grown adult while Add is in his teenage years.

Add uses his dynamo technology to aid him in battle and give him an array of abilities and skills in combat. Electrokinesis being one of the two prominent skills; manipulation with electricity through the use of his dynamo. He uses this power to fire off rays of electricity for long-distance attacks and close range as well.

The main skill is technology manipulation; Add’s ability to control his dynamos is more prominent to the point of mentally controlling them. This makes his melee attacks more powerful and even induces powerful explosions and laser blasts.

If we use these skills on Dottore, it would be a seamless match. Instead of mental control like Add, it's more a magnetic force keeping them controlled and at bay. It would make sense with the gold bands on his legs in his outfit and he would have the most advanced technology in Tevyat.

His ultimate can be summoning Krupp or any unfortunate soul he turned into a monster with his necromancy. His physical attack would be like add with shooting beams and projectiles or even his own strength.

Dottore has a sharp form adding that he is an inverted triangle type; inverted triangles have defined and athletic arms and legs therefore he would have a decent amount of physical strength. Just because he stays secluded doesn't suggest that this man is weaker than an old woman. He needs to logically have some strength to hold back monsters he creates, experiments that go awol, withstand scientific mishaps, etc so he can have decent combat skills just not the same level as Childe or an actual soldier. 

[masterweaverx]

Okay, now it’s time for team JNPR to get Dungeoneering. And first up is our good boy Jaune Arc! All about healing and protection, with just a touch of deviousness. Let’s see what we got.

For this build we want to be mostly basic: armor, shield, sword, and the ability to use them all. Jaune does have the ability to heal and boost his allies, mind, so that’s going to be important. And as much as he’s tall, blonde, and scraggly, he does have an ability to talk to people when he’s not overcome with doubt.

So, point array as per usual, and I’m going to be unconventional and give Jaune 15 points in Wisdom; he’s only really dense when he’s focused on image rather than the person, and once he works through that he’s actually able to make some very good points. Strength is next with 14 points--the dude served as a launching pad for an AMAZON GLADIATOR one time! And we follow that up with Charisma at 13 points, he has a lot of charm when he’s not trying to be suave. Also, we’ll be multiclassing (gasp) so Jaune needs all three of those to be 13 or higher. Constitution gets the 12 point marker, boy has a lot of aura, and Intelligence has 10 points because, well, he’s not dumb but he’s got a lot to catch up on in school. That leaves 8 points for Dexterity, and I mean... Jaune is not nimble. At all.

Variant humans get two ability points they can spend anywhere, so evening out Wisdom to 16 and Charisma to 14 might be useful. They also get a free skill proficiency, and Jaune is good with a guitar, so I figure we’d get Performance (not like we’ll get it anywhere else). And of course there’s a free feat--War Caster lets a character cast spells while their hands are occupied with a sword or shield, plus they have advantage on Constitution saves to keep up concentration spells and they can use spells in their attacks of opportunity. This is an absolute must for Sword/Shielders with a lot of magic and, trust me, Jaune will have a LOT of magic.

Jaune forged his way into Beacon--spoilers, BTW--so we’ll pick up the Charlatan background for him. That gives him proficiencies in Deception, Sleight of Hand, Disguise Kits, and Forgery Kits. It also gives him the False Identity feature, so he has the ability to pass as his cousin from Mexico Vacuo without anybody asking questions, and he can forge documents if he’s seen a copy of them before. I mean, Jaune’s a nice guy and all, but remember that time he suggested the group steal an airship? And his big sister helped him? The Arcs are one heck of a family, I gotta say.

The obvious class choice for Jaune would be Paladin... and that’s exactly what we’re going with. Twelve levels as a Glory Paladin, which gives him proficiency with all weapons, armors, shields, Charisma and Wisdom saving throws, and two more skills. Athletics and Persuasion would be my pick, the guy might fumble a little sometimes but he keeps up with his team when the going gets tough. Multiclassing into Cleric doesn’t give us any new proficiencies, but it does give us access to Cleric spells and a Domain; Solidarity Clerics really fit well with Jaune’s whole thing, so 8 levels of a Solidarity Cleric will round him out.

With those class selections, Jaune has a total of 5 Ability Improvements, which means 10 ability points to spend. I’d suggest putting two points in both Strength and Charisma, bumping them up to 16, and then pouring the remaining six into Constitution for 18 there. Running the numbers that’s 16 in Strength, Charisma, and Wisdom, 18 in Constitution, and 10 and 8 for Intelligence and Dexterity. Not the best in anything, but pretty decent for whatever the party needs.

Paladins get a lot, all things told. Divine sense lets them detect fiends within sixty feet--the Grimm are pretty demonic--and Lay on Hands gives them a pool of five times their Paladin level of HP they can spend to heal a person. Divine Smite, at 12th level, deals 1d8 radiant damage, and Jaune can spend a spell slot to add 1d8+a number of dice equal to the spell slot’s value radiant damage, and gets an extra 1d8 on top of that if he’s attacking a fiend. Grimm. Seriously. Paladins also get a Fighting Style--Protection works great for a shield-bearer--the ability to make one Extra Attack per attack action, and Divine Health that makes them immune to disease. Not poison. That might not come up, but good to clarify.

All Paladins get Auras, which I’m going to clarify now: an Aura in D&D refers to an invisible field of power centered on a person, not the ‘power of the soul’ stuff going on in RWBY. As a 12 level Glory Paladin, Jaune has three Auras that give allies within ten feet of him certain perks. The Aura of Protection gives a bonus equal to his Charisma Modifer to any saving throw, the Aura of Alacrity boosts speed by 10 feet, and the Aura of Courage makes creatures immune to being Frightened. Auras apply to anyone, including their source, so Jaune is able to dodge a lot of damage and rush headfirst into the fray without breaking a sweat, and his pals get to do the same.

There’s also the ability to Channel Divinity, but Clerics have it too. In fact, because Jaune has 8 Cleric levels, he can Channel Divinity twice per short rest, and he gets five options from his Glory oath and Solidarity domain. Turn Undead lets him basically scare away undead (and outright destroy any CR 1 or below automatically). Preserve Life lets him spread up to 5 times his Cleric level HP to creatures in range (so 40 HP). Oketra’s Blessing can let him give +10 to an attack roll of somebody within 30 feet of him, which is great. Peerless Athlete gives him advantage on Athletics and Acrobatics, doubles what he can push around, and increases his jump movement by ten feet, and it lasts ten whole minutes. Inspiring Smite, triggered by his Divine Smite, lets him give 2d8+his Paladin level temporary hit points to anybody within 30 feet, spread how he likes. Have you notices I went heavy on the healing in this build?

Most of the non-spell benefits of Clerics are covered by Channel Divinity, but Solidarity Clerics do get a few unique perks. Jaune can use Solidarity’s Action to Help a person and make a weapon attack as a bonus action, an amount of times equal to his Wisdom modifier per long rest. He also gets Divine Strike, letting him add 1d8 damage to a weapon attack once per turn--and that’s on top of the Divine Smite stuff. And then... there’s the spellcasting...

So here’s the thing: Multiclass casters have a few rules. You can only get spells for each class up to the level of slots that class gives you, BUT you combine the classes to calculate what level caster you are and use that to determine the number of spell slots you actually have. With eight levels in a pure caster class (Cleric) and twelve in a half caster class (Paladin) Jaune has a total Caster level of 14, giving him slots up to level seven... but he can only learn up to level four Cleric spells and level three Paladin spells. Of course he can upcast them--spend a level seven slot to cast a level one spell--and that can increase the power of the spell quite a bit. It’s still a little odd though. Especially since a Cleric’s casting ability is Wisdom, and a Paladin’s is Charisma.

But it gets stranger. Clerics get four cantrips and prepare a number of spells equal to their cleric level plus their wisdom modifier (eleven for Jaune), and Paladins don’t get any cantrips and prepare a number of spells equal to half their level plus their charisma modifier (that’s 10). BUT! Both Oaths and Domains give auto-prepared spells at certain levels that don’t count toward the limit, so Jaune just knows eight spells from the Solidarity Domain and six from the Glory Oath. Well, technically one of the spells he gets for free is on both those lists, but that doesn’t mean he gets special abilities with Guiding Bolt, just that it’s on both those lists... the point is, Jaune has a HUMONGOUS spell list. So here it is.

Cantrips:

Guidance (Cleric) (Concentration)

Mending (Cleric)

Spare the Dying (Cleric)

Word of Radiance (Cleric)

L1 (four slots)

Bless (Solidarity Domain) (Concentration)

Compelled Duel (Paladin)

Cure Wounds (Cleric)

Guiding Bolt (Oath of Glory)

Healing Word (Cleric)

Heroism (Oath of Glory) (Concentration)

Searing Smite (Paladin) (Concentration)

Thunderous Smite (Paladin) (Concentration)

Wrathful Smite (Paladin) (Concentration)

L2 (three slots)

Aid (Solidarity Domain)

Branding Smite (Paladin) (Concentration)

Enhance Ability (Oath of Glory) (Concentration)

Gentle Repose (Cleric)

Lesser Restoration (Paladin)

Magic Weapon (Oath of Glory) (Concentration)

Prayer of Healing (Cleric)

Shield of Faith (Paladin)

Spiritual Weapon (Cleric)

Warding Bond (Solidarity Domain)

L3 (three slots)

Aura of Vitality (Paladin) (Concentration)

Beacon of Hope (Solidarity Domain) (Concentration)

Blinding Smite (Paladin) (Concentration)

Crusader's Mantle (Solidarity Domain) (Concentration)

Dispel Magic (Paladin)

Haste (Oath of Glory) (Concentration)

Life Transference (Cleric)

Mass Healing Word (Cleric)

Motivational Speech (Cleric)

Protection from Energy (Oath of Glory) (Concentration)

Revivify (Cleric)

L4 (three slots)

Aura of Life (Solidarity Domain) (Concentration)

Death Ward (Cleric)

Freedom of Movement (Cleric)

Guardian of Faith (Solidarity Domain)

2 L5 slots, 1 L6 slot, and 1 L7 slot, but no spells of those levels.

Look at that list. Look at it. Jaune has so many ways to help, heal, and boost his allies, and bonus spell slots to up that up to ridiculous levels, and then you add his non-spellcasting class features. Sure, he can only have one concentration spell up at a time, but Gosh Darn It he can keep a group plugging away at a problem for however long it takes. Respect.

So yeah, that’s Jaune.

[hellzyeahwebwielingessays]

The Not-So-Amazing Mary Jane Part 19: MJ is NOT a super hero

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Mary Jane is an incredibly gifted woman who you don’t want to mess with. But do those gifts really make her a hero, one who could take on Mysterio?

I was initially planning on looking at Mary Jane’s combat record in this post. However, before doing that there needs to be a dash more context to really put things into perspective.

I could simply cite Sen v2 #32 to prove my point. In this issue the Parker family are on the run since Peter unmasked and opposed the Super Human Registration Act. At her wits end MJ contacted Sue Richards for guidance.

During their conversation MJ opens up about how stressed she is. She even refers to Sue and other heroes as ‘you people’, clearly demarking a difference between them and herself.

Sue basically tells MJ to toughen up, referencing herself, Jessica Jones and Storm, the (then) wives of Reed Richards, Luke Cage and Black Panther respectively.

However, at the end of the conversation MJ points out the difference between herself those women was that she didn’t have powers to fall back on.

There you are. MJ herself acknowledging she has no powers and is not a super hero.

End of discussion.

Well no, because we can dive much deeper.

Let me start with this irrefutable statement: Mary Jane is a bad ass.

She truly is.

Mentally, emotionally, physically, she’s pulled off some truly impressive things.

But the thing is those things she’s pulled off…they wouldn’t be that impressive (if at all) if say, Wonder Woman did them. Or She Hulk. Or Mockingbird. Or Batgirl/Barbra Gordon. Or you know…Spider-Man himself.

So why do fans gravitate towards these things, these feats of heroism, self-defence and protection of others?

Because they are impressive considering Mary Jane is NOT a super hero.

You see it’s all a matter of scale.

The Chameleon is a trained and experienced mercenary but doesn’t possess any super human powers beyond the ability to change how he looks. In what has become one of her most iconic moments, Mary Jane defeated him with a mere baseball bat. This occurred when she knew what to expect, when Chameleon was underestimating her and when he was unarmed. That is  impressive no doubt.

But were the situation the same but Batgirl was substituted for Mary Jane it wouldn’t nearly be as impressive because Batgirl, even with just a baseball bat, is at worst on a similar power level as the Chameleon. But in all seriousness is almost certainly his superior in terms of combat proficiency. She’s thoroughly trained in various forms of hand-to-hand combat, strategy, thinking on the back foot and highly experienced.

And experienced against people who’re actually much more physically dangerous than the Chameleon, such as Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy or the Joker. When you remove Chameleon’s stealth and weapons you are left with someone who is highly violent and could kill the average civilian if given the chance…but ultimately not someone as dangerous as most of the famous super villains from Marvel or DC.

If anything arming Batgirl with a baseball bat would be needlessly excessive, she could defeat Chameleon with just some punches or kicks.

Now apply that same scenario but substitute in Mockingbird, who can dent steel with her bare hands and has an accelerated healing factor and arguably superior fighting skills to Batgirl. Or how about She-Hulk, someone with vastly more strength, an even better healing factor and immensely more durability. And as Wonder Woman…she is literally a millennia old demi-goddess with divinely empowered durability, strength and speed, fast enough in fact to easily deflect bullets. *

If you were told any of these  women defeated the Chameleon with ‘just a baseball bat’ would you  be impressed? Would you feel that’s a huge accomplishment for any of them?

Of course not.

Because on even an incredibly rudimentary power scale common sense would clearly define for you that Chameleon wouldn’t be a physical threat to any of them.

Because they are actual super heroes wit either physically enhanced physiologies or advanced equipment or highly practiced expert level combat training.

The reason MJ dispatching the Chameleon has been celebrated for over 20 years is because none of that applies to her.

Let’s unpack exactly  what MJ does and doesn’t have in her arsenal.

Mary Jane lacks any bona fide super human abilities or advanced combat training.

She has experienced being targeted directly by criminals or being caught up in criminal encounters. But these are intermittent experiences resulting from either her association with people the criminals have a grudge against (typically Spider-Man) or plain bad luck. She does not regularly  in her day-to-day life deal with such things nor does she even deal with them on a weekly basis in her life. If she does they are likely the result of simply living in Marvel’s version of New York city, which thereby means most of her experiences are the same as the average resident of the city.

Apart from these intermittent experiences (and exempting her seeking help from others) the traits she possesses that might (in one capacity or another) be applicable in a dangerous situation are as follows:

She is a physically fit woman approximately aged between 24 and her mid-30s. But nowhere close to being Olympic athlete levels of fitness. 

Excerpt from ‘The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Spider-Man 2004’

In terms of conventional/stereotypical beauty standards she is generally considered to be stunningly attractive. She is 5’8” and weighs in at 120 lbs. Her outward appearance then could potentially be used to make her would-be assailants underestimate her or even be dazzled by her beauty as a distraction

Mary Jane is not blind to the harsher realities of life and has developed proficient street smarts. But it’s not like she knows where to find stool pigeons and how to go about shaking them down for information, nor the inner workings of the criminal underworld.

She is a skilled actress particular practiced at adopting the façade of a seemingly carefree and simple party girl

She is at worst rather experienced when it comes to flirtation. Arguably we could extrapolate this into her being decent at general seduction but that’s debatable

She has good at improvising

She is exceptionally skilled in social interactions

She has a pretty decent ability to read people’s personalities, but is not a fully trained psychologist or any similar field that’d make her an expert at reading people very quickly and taking advantage of them as a result

She has certain basic self-defence skills gleamed from classes most people can attend

She has had at exactly one basic training session with Captain America, where the focus was more upon mental discipline and focus. The session never implied he taught her any practical self-defence moves and the session was geared more to instructing Peter  not Mary Jane.

She has demonstrated/developed certain basic and unrefined (albeit often proficient) self-defence skill. These primarily consist of using melee weapons (typically objects not actually designed for such a purpose, like baseball bats) and to a lesser extent firearms, and to an even lesser extent hand-to-hand attacks. Mary Jane for instance has never been shown to practice using a handgun, although she does know how. She can slug someone in the jaw, but she’s never been shown to have trained how to do that, you see what I am getting at.

Technically speaking she possesses a pair of bracelets that are modified web-shooters, along with a set of regular web-shooters. 

The former have a limited amount of web-fluid and are designed to stall a target, with the aim being for Mary Jane to surprise her assailant and buy time to escape, not engage in an outright fight. She has been shown to rarely carry either of these on her person though and there is no implication she has them in Amazing Mary Jane #1. Additionally since she is on set it would be unlikely that she’d be allowed to wear them as they wouldn’t be part of her on outfit for the movie.

Along with most of New York she has possessed identical powers to Spider-Man (in addition to organic based web-shooters) for less than 24 hours, during which time she displayed a proficiency in using them (due to bad writing, literally no one struggled to adjust to the use of Spider-Man’s powers). She has never possessed these powers again since, and this includes in AMJ.

On a handful of occasions she has piloted various different advanced armoured suits designed by Tony Stark. These have chiefly included his rudimentary MKII armour and the Iron Spider armour originally designed for Peter’s use. 

In both she demonstrated proficient defence skills. It is not clear how easy the armours are to use so whether MJ’s proficiency was due to a natural skill or due to the armour’s design is debatable. Regardless there is no indication she regularly has access to this technology and certainly not in AMJ.

MJ possesses incredibly strong willpower and understands the need for self-sacrifice, demonstrating in her time a willingness to give something of her self for the good of others. This could be important in regards to protecting other people.

As you can see MJ’s skillset is impressive for a civilian.

But some instances (like the Stark armours she’s donned) make the depths of her skills unclear. The most advanced equipment she has access to are her web-shooters but she is shown to only use or even carry them on occasion. In both cases she is not shown to have access to either in AMJ. Her other skills are things anyone in real life could hypothetically possess and in fact several other civilians in the Marvel universe either do possess or could possess.

What I'm saying is Mary Jane is, by any metric, a civilian.

A civilian who knows how to use a gun, has had cause to defend her self dozens of times and is very good at thinking on her feet. But a civilian nevertheless.

She has the spirit to cut it as a superhero but not without powers, training or access to advanced equipment like Iron Man’s armour. None of which she currently possesses or has access to in AMJ.

When you get right down to it the reason we fans celebrate whenever Mary Jane triumphs or survives or even just pulls off some good moves against a criminal or super villain is because we understand she is ultimately the underdog.

We grasp that it’s innately more impressive for someone in the featherweight division to even hold their own for a little while against someone in the heavyweight division because normally they wouldn’t stand a chance and we are naturally inclined to be sympathetic towards them.**

This isn’t exclusive to Mary Jane by any means, underdog stories date back to the Bible itself with the classic tale of David and Goliath.

To use an example closer to home though, in ASM #229-230 Spider-Man had to stop the Juggernaut, a villain whose strength and durability had given him a reputation as unstoppable. He regularly tangled with the Hulk and was over all far beyond Spider-Man’s weight class. The story is widely regarded as one of the all time best in Spider-Man history, primarily because  it is such a shining example of an underdog story.

Such stories are fairly common in super hero comic books, but so too is the popularity of civilian supporting characters that contend with outright super villains and criminals.

Alfred Pennyworth is utterly beloved within the Batman fandom with his attempts and successes at dealing with Batman’s infamous rogues celebrated. The same goes for Edwin Jarvis, sometimes celebrated as the bravest of all the Avengers. Jarvis’ popularity is such he was in fact the main character of the milestone 400th issue of the Avengers. And to use a closer equivalent to MJ, Lois Lane’s moments of skill, toughness and bravery in the face of danger are celebrated within Superman circles.

NONE of these characters are super heroes. Even Alfred, who (in most modern incarnations) has some military history, is still a more elderly gentleman thereby accentuating his vulnerability and making his victories all the larger.

With that out of the way, we now have the appropriate context to start examining some instances of MJ defending herself.

* And what about Spider-Man himself? Has he not tangled with Chameleon often? Is it not usually impressive whenever he defeats him? Indeed it is…but rarely whenever Spider-Man physically  over powers him. 

Because we readers are very aware that Spider-Man is physically stronger and faster than the Chameleon and his other powers give him yet more physical advantage over him. 

In fact a poignant Chameleon storyline entailed Chameleon (in disguise) tricking Spider-Man into removing  his powers and thereby rendering him vulnerable.

Even then, the Chameleon opted to hire muscle (mainly muscle with super powers) to take on Spider-Man rather than fight him personally.

Chameleon’s awareness of Spidey’s superior might is arguably the reason he recruited physically powerful Kraven the Hunter in ASM v1 #15 (Kraven’s debut and Chammy’s second outing). 

Spidey’s victories over Chameleon are impressive or cathartic not because Peter overpowers him physically, but does so mentally. This is in fact showcased in the very same storyline that Mary Jane famously took a bat to Chammy’s cranium; specifically Spec #243.

In this story, Chameleon (in the guise of Doctor Kafka) uses drugs and makeup to trick Spider-Man into believing he is someone else. However, drawing upon his will power and affection for his loved ones Peter breaks free of Chameleon’s trap.

**And I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge that a part of that for at least some fans is the fact that Mary Jane is a woman doing such things, and a female love interest to boot.

Stereotypically women aren’t superheroes or action heroes, and stereotypically love interests are the ones in need of saving, not the ones saving themselves or others.

For some fans this appreciation of stereotypes being subverted can come from a bad place. “Mary Jane just beat a super villain even though she’s a chick!”

For others the appreciation can be viewed as empowering. To perhaps reveal a stereotypical view of my own, I imagine female readers would constitute the majority of this category, although in theory anyone who feels like an underdog or perhaps vulnerable could resonant with MJ’s victories.

Finally there are definitely some readers who appreciate these examples because they are just plain refreshing.

And of course some people might just like Mary Jane in general so seeing her shine in some capacity could do it for them.

Previous Part

Next Part

Master Post

[lunaraen]

I figure a number of the people following me probably do because of a shared interest in Minecraft: Story Mode, and I’m absolutely going to take the time to gush and recommend a different series with a similar sense of humor and ability to balance the jokes with emotion. I know some of the people who follow me are also interested in series like Percy Jackson and Trollhunters, and I think The Last Kids on Earth series is on a similar level to them too, in the sense that it deals with stories about awesome and terrifying adventures featuring teenagers who are just doing their best and who haven’t lost their senses of humor. The Last Kids on Earth also has the benefit of, while being presented mainly through text, having many fun illustrations.

TL;DR: The Last Kids on Earth, written by Max Brallier and illustrated by Douglas Holgate, is a delightfully fun book series that twists what you might expect from a post-apocalyptic story with a just as fun Netflix mini-series adaptation, and while only Book One is up on Netflix now, it’s an hour and seven minute long episode. The series seems to be decently stocked in most libraries, including electronically, so if you’re looking for something fun, silly, and with heart to read, I definitely suggest at least checking out book one. If you want something fun, silly, and with heart to watch, and you also happen to have Netflix, I also definitely recommend watching Book One.

(Oh, and are you a total sucker for found families like I am? This series has you covered.)

More details about the first book and examples of the art and writing under the cut!

For starters, the series has a wonderfully fun art style, and the cover for the first book lets that shine. The other books’ covers are all fun too, but I think tumblr would kill this post many times over if I tried to include them all.

[ID: Illustrated cover, four defiant teenagers stand in a mostly circular formation while grey zombie-like figures with glowing yellow eyes surround them from behind. Each teenager is wielding a weapon, some of which are partly concealed and harder to identify. The character centered at the front holds a splintered and sharp baseball bat and is wearing nondescript pouches. The teenager behind him wields a crossbow with a modified soda-bottle-arrow loaded in it. The title reads “The Last Kids on Earth” in stylized green text with a dark blue border, while in smaller less stylized white text it reads “Max Brallier Author of Galactic Hot Dogs” at the top and “Illustrated by Douglas Holgate” at the bottom.]

The main character of the series, who we meet forty two days after the start of the apocalypse in his town and the Possible End of the World as We Know It™, is Jack Sullivan, a 13 year old whose foster family kinda-sorta-entirely ditched him at the first signs of trouble.

[ID: A white, black haired teenager frowning and holding a splintered baseball bat and a hockey stick while one foot rests on top of an unusual spiny reptilian-like monster head. The text above him reads in black “JACK SULLIVAN -The Hero-” while a number of flavor-text text boxes point out and describe different aspects of his apparel. One pointing to his hand reads “Annoying hand-nail I can’t stop picking at”. Another pointing at his bat says “Louisville Slicer™”. Another for his shoe, reading “Worst. Shoes. Ever.”. The hockey stick is labelled “Hockey Stick, for conking zombie heads.” The pouch at his side are described as “Emergency Peanut M&M Pouch”, while the filled water balloons also hanging at his side are labeled as “Grapefruit juice hand grenades- a blast to the eyes blinds almost anything.”]

He’s our narrator, and he copes largely through humor- a skill he needs even before the start of the apocalypse, because he’ll put himself in danger and say things he shouldn’t if it means sticking up for his best friend.

[ID: Text that reads “I felt Quint’s hand on my shirt, trying to stop me, saying ‘Jack, it’s fine...’ But it wasn’t fine. I hate jerks- whether they’re monster jerks or zombie jerks or just regular human jerks.”

Followed by illustration of characters on bus, Jack turned around in his seat and supporting himself with the back of his chair as he asks “Hey, Dirk, why don’t you pick on someone your own size, huh?” Quint, a black teenager, is sitting behind him and is partly obscured, staring at Jack and Dirk. Dirk, a large, tall white teenager with a mullet/mohawk, is a distance away from the characters and in the foreground of the image, and replies, “Find someone my size and I will.”

Text resumes, reading “I shrugged. ‘I’m sure we can find someone your size. Right, Quint?’ Quint looked out the window and closed his eye and started humming to himself, like he wasn’t involved in this. Sonofa... I turned back to Dirk. ‘Maybe a very rotund panda bear? That might be closer to your impressive figure.’ Dirk reached out and grabbed me by the collar. ‘Hey, Watch the jacket,’ I said. ‘It’s a five-time-hand-me-down. Might even be an antique.’ Dirk growled, ‘You think you’re funny?’ ‘I do. But to be fair, I also think people slipping on ice are funny. And guys getting hit in the groin. My sense of humor isn’t exactly sophisticated.’”]

From the start of the book, Jack handles the apocalypse pretty well, spending his time cataloging the monsters he comes across, keeping track of self made video-game like achievements like knocking off zombie hats, and we first find him focused on trying to get in touch with his previously mentioned best friend, Quint Baker.

[ID: Similar to previous flavor-text text box picture of Jack, with a black teenager smiling, wearing a lab coat and cap, holding a pocket watch, and wearing a large backpack with odd looking technology sticking out of it. In black, the text above him reads “QUINT BAKER -The Best Friend-”. A box pointing to his hat reads “Old-man cap.” Another points to his hair, reading “Hair smells like movie theater popcorn butter.” The pocket watch is described as “Pocket watch for looking dorky.” The text pointing at the technology sticking out of the backpack says “Always working on a new gadget or experiment.” The text for the lab coat reads “Wears a lab coat as a jacket for no good reason.” His sneaker is labelled with “Non-athlete’s foot.”]

Actually- to give you an even better idea of the series’ humor, this is pretty much where we start with Jack, followed by him explaining what he’s been doing and how he got here.

[ID: Jack in mid-air, the bat raised above his head and his legs bent to suggest he has leaped forward, above a large multi-eyed spiny monster that has many sharp teeth, two large tusks, and a long drooling tongue. In black, text above the creature reads “Deadly Duel!” In the lower right-hand corner, all-caps white text in a small black box asks “Who will triumph?!”]

(By the by, the “duel” kind of goes the way you think it would.)

[ID: Text reading “Well, basically, he triumphs. The monster’s massive hand snatches me out of midair. I’m a thimble in his gargantuan grasp. I try to grab hold of my baseball bat blade (aka the Louisville Slicer) but the monster’s crushing grip pins my arms to my sides. He pulls me in close to his face. Thick saliva, like slime, oozes down his lips. His eyes scan me over and his gaping nostrils flair as he inhales my scent. I feel like that blonde babe in King Kong. Only I don’t think this beast wants to hug me and love me... He sniffs some more, blowing my hair back as he exhales. I turn my face. His breath, it’s just- wow- my man here needs to floss. I’ve encountered other freaky beasts over the last forty-two days, but none like this. None that examined me: looking me over, smelling me, studying me.”]

Then we get all the fun backstory end of the world stuff.

[ID: White all-caps text at the top reads “Total monster zombie chaos” while below a large multi-armed, spiny, sharp-toothed, furry monster towers over a sea of zombies, flinging one car in the air as another car sits in the background.]

The end of the world monsters include everything from weird unfamiliar creatures like the one above to more familiar weird creatures like the typical zombie below.

[ID: A zombie in ripped clothing, with black text at the top labeling it a “Classic Zombie”. A speech bubble from it in shaky text reads “Mmuhhh...” and various flavor-text text boxes surround it. The speech-bubble is labeled as “Constant, creepy moaning.” The head’s text box reads “Those empty eyes- they’re spooksville.” The mouth is pointed at and its box says “Bite you and you’re one of them. Undead!” One pointing at its back warns “Stink like hot garbage.” The feet are described as “Slow, until they get close- then fast!”]

And for all the wisecracks and jokes about how well he can handle the new apocalyptic world, early on Jack is shown to be more than just a 2-D smart-mouthing teenage protagonist. He’s pretty good at coping, but he’s still 13.

[ID: Illustration above text, showing a walkietalkie shattering as it hits a rock. Black all-caps text reads “Smash!”

Normal text reads “I stared at the walkie on the ground below. I needed to talk to Quint, but -I’m embarrassed to admit- I was too scared to go down there. Too freaked out. Too scared. Too everything. So I curled up on the floor. I pulled a jacket down over me. I put my earphones in to drown out the sounds of chaos outside. And I slept. I slept for days. It got worse. Zombies everywhere. Giant monsters on the horizon. I blacked out the tree house windows and stayed put.”]

Jack doesn’t stay alone for long, though, and the first book follows him and his friends as they help each other not only survive their crazy new world but also live in it, and maybe actually have some fun along the way. While the first book largely focuses on the group coming together, later stories ramp up the scope of adventures and the threats they face while letting the characters’ interactions and care for each other shine. There’s fun development to be had and cool monster-butt to kick.

(This was my first time writing image descriptions- if you think they can be improved, let me know!)

[whookami]

Let’s Build Steve!

So you want to play with as Steve? Here’s the hows and whys of building your very own Steve Harrington in 5th Edition D&D. Today we’ll just start with the basics:

Name: Well, it’s Steve Harrington. Hope that should be obvious if you’re reading this. The Party would want a little more flair though, so give him a title like Sir, or Lord. If you want to feel very fancy, and a little French, go with Vicomte!

Race: Ostensibly we can assume Steve is human. I feel The Party wouldn’t trust him to maintain any sort of racial continuity session to session if he chose anything else, so they didn’t give him any other options. For your own Steve feel free to make him a half-something, but he likely has no idea about anything to do with that side of his heritage, but will pretend he does.

Class: Steve is a fighter. Why? Because he thinks he’s a fighter. Steve really wouldn’t see himself in any other character class, so our hand is sort of forced here. I mean, you could make an argument for Paladin, but I think the Party doesn’t want redundancy. Mike’s their Paladin. Barbarian? Again, you can make the argument, but I think the class features of a Barbarian ultimately go against Steve’s strengths. (Steve is more about athletics than rage benders.)

Alignment: I personally say Neutral Good is an excellent alignment for Steve. NGs try to work within the legal framework to do the right thing, but are willing to bend or break in order to make sure justice is done. They strive for a balance between personal freedoms and reasonable laws to support an overall moral society. They value justice as a paramount cause worth fighting for and dying for. Steve could fit some other alignments perhaps, but I think this one best reflects his ideals.

Ability Scores: There are six: Strength (STR), Dexterity (DEX), Constitution (CON), Intelligence (INT), Wisdom (WIS), and Charisma (CHA). I rolled six numbers using four d6s then removing the lowest value to arrive at these scores: 12, 13, 13, 14, 14, and 18. These numbers are surprisingly well balanced, except the 18 which is amazing! So, here in my version I’m actually going to wind up with a Steve who is pretty proficient in every category, but I’m going to write this section by recommending how to best assign whatever random values you may get.

Steve’s key stat isn’t strength, like with most fighters. He has a remarkable ability to take punishment and keep going...only to receive more punishment. I would award my highest score to CON, as this decides his health points and in-game represents one’s stamina. My 18 CON, plus his racial +1 feature means my Steve has maximum HP advantage, with a +4 CON modifier. Neato!

Okay, now that we have a Steve that is ready to take some punishment we need to flesh out the rest of his traits. Normally with a fighter you’d go for STR as a chief stat. I happened to roll two 14s, so I’m lucky, I can make his STR and his CHA equal. Normally, if we’re trying to truly play Steve, I would give his CHA the second highest score. A lot of his character in the show is based on his manner of speaking, how he’s viewed by others, and how he works as part of a group. Steve was a popular party boy for most of his young life. He knows how to get people to at least superficially like him and agree with him. He’s good at forging unlikely bonds with others. The entire reason we have the Steve we do is because Joe Keery was too charismatic for the Duffers to kill off. Steve won us over because he has a high CHA stat, case closed. He also has decent STR because the RNG gods shine upon me. With his racial bonus, Steve has 15 in both STR and CHA, giving him +2 modifiers in each.

Next you can go for one of two routes, either DEX or WIS. (I get to make them the same again, yay me!) I would argue to put the higher score into WIS. DEX scores usually govern sneaky tactics and ranged weaponry. Steve doesn’t exactly possess a lot of subtlety, and for an athlete the show makes him oddly clumsy at times. Canonically he probably does have good aim, what with playing basketball and all, but since I don’t really plan on him being a ranged fighter (since he has the HP to be a tank), I think WIS reflects his character better. WIS is about one’s perception and intuition. While not always smart, I do happen to think Steve is perceptive and picks up on social cues and other non-verbal indicators. Honestly, your WIS is basically how well going with your gut works for you, and I think Steve is more likely to go with his feelings and intuition than to think things through.

Ultimately that means his least important score is INT, which I’m sure we all saw coming. In D&D the most important thing your INT usually affects is your magical potential, unless your magic is tied to your religion, which uses your WIS. Doesn’t matter, Steve has neither, and is kinda adorably dumb to boot. The lowest score I rolled here is, well, honestly too high. Steve would have a 13 with his racial bonus, which means he still has a +1 modifier. To be more accurate I wouldn’t really want Steve to have higher than 10 with his racial modifier. That’s even being kind of generous.

So there you have the basic Steve set up. His race, class, alignment, and thoughts on how to assign his ability scores. If I feel like it I might continue this some other time, going into his backgrounds, proficiencies, feats, skills, whatever. I don’t remember what all is included in the next step of character creation in 5th Edition. I just wanted to build the basic framework.

Feel free to offer any thoughts you may have on the build I’ve started. Why you think a Steve build should prioritize Ability Scores in a different order or whatever. Go nuts.

[heartslogos]

seas who could sing so deep and strong [125]

Judge’s sometimes heard that pets are supposed to look like their owners. He’s not sure what that means for him and Handsome.

It absolutely one hundred percent applies to Kore and her Helminth Charger, who’s DNA she’s recently modified - or maybe it’s something to do with Helminth itself and its adoration or even reverence for Nidus - to make it look like her Nidus.

It also definitely applies to the Empress’ kavat who he’s only seen glimpses of. Kavats, in general, are not known to be overwhelmingly intimidating in appearance. They sort of give off the same aura as a katana or a dagger. Sleek. Dangerous. Lethal precision. Sharp. The Empress’ kavat looks less like a skana or skyla than it looks like a Gram or War. If kavats could lift weights and bulk up then this kavat is one of them or maybe it ate the champion of them. Judge has seen this kavat twice and both times have left him with a feeling of such existential dread and primal fear that he’s pretty sure he just blacked out the other times the creature might have been present.

It’s a different type of…feeling altogether than what he feels when he looks at Spooky. Spooky’s cute. Spooky is charming. Spooky is a little baby who wants a cuddle and a kiss on her hideous little head. Spooky’s visage makes you turn your eyes away out of instinct and the desire not to have your entire everything shut down.

The Empress’ kavat makes you avert your eyes out of respect and fear of consequence.

Judge, for the life of him, could not tell anyone what color that kavat is because he’s never let his eyes linger long enough to process that information. He’s not even heard the creature’s name because he’s mentally blocked out all sound related to the kavat out of self preservation.

The Alpha has a rotating mass herd of animals around him at all times, which somehow suits him very much.

Chic has Percy the dog, who despite being very sweet and bubbly and bouncy is also very Chic in that she sometimes gets this look on her face like she’s judging you very hard and laughing. Also she likes to be pampered and Chic has pedestals made of Oro.

Punk, though. Jude.

Jude.

Jude’s dog is named Pug. Pug is a tiny little Chesa kubrow that Judge is fairly sure that if it were born in the wild would be considered the runt of the litter and possibly eaten by the others. This is not to say that Pug is not a formidable companion.

(Pug is not a formidable companion. Pug is a decent companion who fetches like he’s supposed to but is also very small and…runt-ish and has trouble picking things up because he’s so small and it’s very cute but its also not very pragmatic. This is also not to say that Judge doesn’t like Pug. Judge loves Pug because everyone loves Pug because it’s impossible not to love Pug because he’s Pug.)

Judge doesn’t know if Jude and Pug are perfect reflections of each other or complete opposites. Jude’s Chroma is big and broad and loud and fire-breathing and generally kind of just…all around vividly in the moment. Jude is athletic despite the fact that he consistently does average in most of their missions and has lower stats than all of them. Jude is also remarkably self confident for someone who has to be rescued from his own mistakes on a regular basis.

Pug is amazingly tiny. When Judge first met Pug he though that Judge hadn’t matured him for combat yet and was about to scold him for bringing Pug to a high level Infested extermination zone.

Pug is little and sweet and sometimes a little shy and skittish but overall a sweet, beautiful boy who’s doing his best and is living his best life with his little tail and his small paws and his little tongue.

Judge adores him.

Even Kore adores him, and does this openly. She’s nicer to that dog than she is to Judge.

Kore’s almost died for Judge. Judge is fully convinced that she’ll do the same for Pug.

Kore goes out of her way to lie down so she’s at Pug’s level and tell him that she loves him when she sees him. Judge swears that during a mission he saw her wall-climb and perch and just watch the general chaos for a while because she was just watching Pug run as fast as his little legs could carry him to bring back ammo for Punk whenever he heard or saw a stray magazine fall.

The Punk and Pug duo are an amazing team of enthusiasm and…more enthusiasm. You can’t even get mad at them because Pug is so…Pug. And everyone’s used to Punk being Punk.

Judge rubs Pug’s paws in his hands, the little dog’s stump tail wagging as he pants softly.

“You’re amazing,” Judge says to the dog, “I respect you.”

“Don’t hog the dog,” Kore says, colliding into his side and making grabby hands for the kubrow. “My turn.”

“No, you had him last time,” Judge says, trying to angle his body away from her as she tries to reach around him. “I’m trying to tell him something important.”

“Can I get my kubrow back?” Punk says.

“No!” Judge and Kore reply together.

“Neat,” Punk says. “Okay, Alpha my man, I guess we’re here fishing until forever. I’m not getting my dog back any time soon apparently. No, buddy, I don’t want another dog. Yes, it’s okay, they can play with my dog as long as they want. Yeah, I mean look at how happy they are! It’s totally fine. I’ll get Pug back later when they’re asleep or something.”

Kore’s voice is a low whisper in Judge’s ear, “Joke’s on him. I’m never going to sleep.”

“You can’t do that,” Judge whispers back, “Insomnia is my thing.”

[its-lifestyle]

A chance meeting at a para sports event in 2015 between two paraplegics from Johor Baru proved that maybe, nothing really happens by chance.

Hairul Anuar, 42, used to be a part-time technician and tyreman-turned-mechanic while Mohd Afiq Barni, 30, was formerly a marketing executive.

Both were paralysed from the waist down as a result of separate accidents.

In June 2008, Hairul, then 31, was fixing a television antenna when he fell from the third floor of a building. He broke his back and legs, causing his paralysis. For a few years, Hairul was in and out of the hospital for treatment.

In 2010, he travelled to Kuala Lumpur to settle his insurance claims for his accident. He met up with a few mechanic friends and decided to stay on in the city. He rented a room and did odd jobs such as folding paper bags.

When he learnt that even the disabled could drive a car fitted with modified auto parts, Hairul was intrigued. He wanted to learn how to create and fix those auto parts, so he extended his stay and learnt from his mechanic friends while helping them out in their workshop.

Later, he sold his old car back home, bought another one and had it fitted with modified auto parts so he could drive it.

It then occurred to him that the modification of auto parts was an opportunity for a future business.

However, he did not pursue that business option immediately. In early 2014, Hairul returned to Johor Baru and in the middle of the year, started a food stall selling roti canai, roti John and murtabak with his wife, who is also disabled.

Mohd Afiq has a taste of independence when he is in the driver’s seat of his modified car.

Down but not out

On Nov 19, 2013, Mohd Afiq was on his way to work when he met with an accident. His spinal cord was injured and he was paralysed, causing him to be bedridden for six months.

Due to the trauma of being unable to use his legs, he became depressed and had suicidal thoughts.

When he was recovering, Mohd Afiq tried to be independent again by moving around on his own. However, misfortune struck again when he broke his arm.

During his recovery, his company offered him an office-based job but he turned it down.

The wheelchair-bound Mohd Afiq, who worked in real estate, said, “I stopped working because I did not think I was capable of continuing my job.”

As he holds a diploma in graphic design, he decided to do freelance work designing banners, T-shirts and other items, which he did for a year.

Later his friends suggested that he run a restaurant. At the end of 2014, Mohd Afiq started a restaurant in Gelang Patah, Johor, selling Malay and Western food. However, he had difficulty earning a decent income from that business.

That all changed when in April 2016, Mohd Afiq attended the Maybank Foundation’s Rise programme.

He learnt how to improve his business by adding new items to his menu and offering attractive set meal promotions. The strategy worked and he doubled his monthly income.

But Hairul was still not keen on the restaurant business, and he handed it over to his parents to run.

Also read: RISE: An economic empowerment programme for persons with disabilities

When opportunity knocks

Hairul was still in the process of learning about hand drives and auto car parts when he first met Mohd Afiq in 2015. He had learnt of Mohd Afiq’s talent in designing and marketing, and his ability to run a profitable business.

Hairul then pitched the idea of modifying cars for people with disabilities to him, which caught Mohd Afiq’s interest.

“At that time, Hairul had started his workshop to modify auto parts, but it was not doing well. There was lack of demand for these parts, and the quality of the items was poor. I gave him some ideas on how to modify the parts and he was receptive to my ideas,” said Mohd Afiq.

They then decided to start their business in January 2017, naming their company Double A (which stands for Afiq and Anuar) Project Enterprise as a symbol of their partnership.

Mohd Afiq would design the auto parts according to customers’ needs and market the business, while Hairul would create the parts and install them in their customers’ cars.

They also rented a workshop to produce portable automobile parts for modified vehicles such as special accelerator pads and hand controls.

“We asked people with disabilities if they were interested to drive and they were surprised by this question as they never thought they could drive again. That’s when we showed them we could customise and modify their cars according to their needs,” said Hairul, who has an eight-year-old daughter.

Mohd Afiq’s customer Ahmad Rizaluddin Saidi trying out his modified car.

Full speed ahead

Word of their services soon spread. “When our designs were inspected by the Road Transport Department, they were impressed.

“With their encouragement, we became excited about our project and were motivated to further improve the quality of our work over time,” said Hairul, adding that they also hire three disabled workers on a part-time basis to help out with their work.

Their customers come from all over Malaysia, including Sabah and Sarawak. Hairul and Mohd Afiq would travel together to service customers and install modified auto parts.

However, Hairul shared that demand for modified parts was not consistent. To promote the business, Mohd Afiq met with doctors from various hospitals, agencies for the disabled, and rehabilitation centres. He also distributed flyers and placed ads on Facebook.

Today, the business is doing well and giving them a stable and comfortable monthly income.

Said Mohd Afiq, “I feel very fortunate to have joined forces with Hairul. He has opened my mind to move forward even though I am wheelchair-bound. He planted the desire in me to help my family and people with disabilities.”

Last year, Hairul was invited to join the Rise programme, where he learnt to connect with and understand customers better. “I also learnt how to identify and overcome weaknesses in my business,” said Hairul, who is also the president of a disabled recreation club and a para athlete who plays ping-pong, 10-pin bowling and sitting volleyball.

The two friends are living proof that embracing the “don’t give up” spirit bears fruits in many ways.

  from Family – Star2.com https://ift.tt/2KgT7Zr

[othersportsnews-blog]

Detroit Lions quarterback Matt Stafford says he worked with individual quarterback coach in offseason

New Post has been published on https://othersportsnews.com/detroit-lions-quarterback-matt-stafford-says-he-worked-with-individual-quarterback-coach-in-offseason/

Detroit Lions quarterback Matt Stafford says he worked with individual quarterback coach in offseason

ALLEN PARK, Mich. — Toward the conclude of the 2013 season, with the Detroit Lions heading towards another collapse of a finish, quarterback Matthew Stafford scoffed at the strategy he should really work with a personal quarterback coach. At the time, he claimed he failed to assume it would be “useful” to him.

Now, at age 29, Stafford has modified his thoughts.

For the 1st time in his job, Stafford expended time with a personal quarterback tutor this offseason. He worked in California — the Detroit Free of charge Press tweeted it is Tom House’s group, the exact a person who works with Stafford’s pal, Matt Ryan — attempting to uncover modest parts below and there to improve his activity. “Just it is the 1st time for me, ever due to the fact John Stafford taught me how to throw a soccer,” Stafford claimed. “But yeah, when you might be getting ready, competing definitely in opposition to you to be as great as you can maybe be, why not give it almost everything you’ve got received.

“Obtain distinct persons with distinct tips, probably, that can assist you out. Just assumed it was an option and went for it and savored it.”

Toward the conclude of the 2013 season, Matthew Stafford scoffed at the strategy he should really work with a personal quarterback coach. Robert Deutsch, United states Today Athletics

Stafford claimed he did it due to the fact if he plays very well, the Lions will engage in very well. This arrives following a season during which Stafford completed sixty five.three percent of his passes for 4,327 yards, 24 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He claimed his meetings with a personal quarterback coach have been not an “overhaul” of what he does, but “little points below and there to assume about.” He claimed you will find “absolutely nothing that I come to feel you fellas would see that would ever make a change.” He claimed it was an “all-encompassing” expertise, from points he picked up on the field and in the locker room.

Lions coach Jim Caldwell claimed he thinks Stafford could be in much better form now than he has been at this place in any other offseason he’s been with him, and Stafford appeared slimmer when he spoke with reporters Saturday.

“I am pleased with the progress,” Caldwell claimed. “He’s transferring forward however and I however consider that you just have not found the greatest of him nonetheless. He’s however heading in that route.”

Portion of achieving that degree was seeking out assist from the outside. When he decided to go to a quarterback guru, he consulted with Ryan, who led the Falcons to a Super Bowl physical appearance past season and was named the league’s Most Important Participant. Ryan experienced the optimum landing total (38) and cheapest interception total (seven) of his job past season.

“I surely talked to him about it and his expertise,” Stafford claimed. “Bounced some tips off of him. He surely, we converse a decent volume and I surely talked to him about it, received tips.”

Now he’s working with that to concentration on soccer, even as he is in line to possibly become the optimum-compensated player in NFL background. Stafford claimed he would “be executing a disservice to the fellas in the locker room” if he assumed substantially about his agreement or talked substantially about it and that he has no timetable for when a deal could get finished.

Stafford claimed all those are continuing discussions concerning the franchise and his agent, Tom Condon, and that the only time he fields inquiries about it is when he talks with the media. He claimed he would examine points with his agent about regardless of whether or not they would continue negotiating into the season. He claimed “I you should not know” if playing by means of the season without the need of an extension finished is an option.

“Honestly I am very tired of chatting about it,” Stafford claimed. “I am likely to be below playing for sixteen games at the very least, ideally a whole lot additional than that but we’ll see.”

Source hyperlink

[eat-shit-fucking-blog]

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I can’t make builds so let’s talk about the latest UA

I can’t make builds right now so let’s talk about Feats. I’m honestly a big fan of feats but I do think that ASIs are a little too strong by comparison in 5e. I feel like in order to compete with ASIs in 5e a Feat needs to do one of two things:

Offer new unique abilities that provide a large boost to your character’s capabilities so that taking them is worth sacrificing an ASI. (Feats like Crossbow Expert, Great Weapon Master, Warcaster, etc.)

(Half Feats) Provide a nice bonus to reward you for slower progression, or for having an uneven ability score to increase. (NOT ATHLETE, but feats like Linguist, Resilient, and the racial feats from Xanathar’s)

For the most part feats do accomplish these two concepts well but there are some feats that are laughably weak (Keen Mind, Weapon Master) while others are way too good. (Lucky.) I think that Feats should remain as options for players who want to build a specific build. They shouldn’t be the “best” choice but rather they should be inherently optional for those who want the power boost they provide.

With that in mind we got an Unearthed Arcana for Feats, and since I want to do more on this Tumblr than just make League of Legends builds I figured I’d throw my thoughts out into the wind.

Artificer Initiate

The main strength of this feat by far is that the spells are added to your spell list. This means that Artificer Initiate is a very easy way for just about any spellcaster to get access to Bless and Cure Wounds / Healing Word. These spells are fairly independent of their spellcasting modifier so getting both of them as a Wizard, Sorcerer, or even Warlock can be good in a pinch.

Other than that the ability to cast spells with tools is nice but ultimately pointless. It’s good if you’re playing an Artificer / Wizard multiclass but Artificers can already cast spells through their infusions. Ultimately this feature of the feat would work better if there were more Intelligence casters in 5e.

It’s a very fun feat for roleplay and has good utility, but I don’t think anyone’s going to be begging to get this feat.

4 / 5

Chef

How the mighty Gourmand and the “mighty” Song of Rest have fallen. Okay let me start with the obvious: the “treats” you can make are complete fucking trash. They’re laughably underwhelming and serve more as a ribbon ability than anything.

As for the Song of Rest-esque effect Song of Rest was already a grossly underwhelming ability for Bards. It’s really sad that it was so underwhelming they flat out gave it to everyone (at the cost of a feat) but I don’t think that harms the Bard class too much.

Just overall the feat really doesn’t live up to the fantasy of being a cook. Two underwhelming abilities for the price of an ASI? No thanks.

2 / 5

Crusher

“Hi I’m playing a Champion Fighter with a Warhammer!” The utility of this feat starts and ends with the critical hit modifier which I’m gonna be honest is insanely overpowered.

“But what about moving people? My Monk can now push people off cliffs!” Have you ever played a Minotaur? To be fair you probably haven’t. Pushing people around will hardly ever be useful. There’s perhaps niche utility in pushing someone away so you can run without provoking opportunity attacks but the Mobile feat does this so much better while also giving you additional movement.

Perhaps the only niche use of this feat is that it can increase your DEX, making it a good Half Feat for Monks that isn’t fucking Athlete.

1 / 5

Eldritch Adept

I really like this feat. It’s kinda become a running gag on this account that I really like sticking Warlock levels into things, and while it isn’t just for the invocations that’s definitely a big part of it. There’s a lot of really cool invocations that you can grab to make your character mildly magical without messing them up by multiclassing. To name all the invocations you can get as a non-Warlock:

Armor of Shadows is, has, and always will be the invocation you take more for character flavor than for practicality. Reddit has been theorycrafting how to break this feat with an Abjuration Wizard but I think that’s a bit too niche.

Beast Speech is really cute conceptually but will rarely be useful. I can guarantee that every single Druid and Ranger is going to hoover up Eldritch Adept just to talk to their animal companion though! (This would’ve been a nice feat to put in my Kindred build if it had existed at the time.)

Beguiling Influence... take Skilled instead. Maybe some niche use for the Half-Elf Rogue who wants proficiency in literally every skill in the game.

Devil’s Sight! This is the main Invocation people are going to be looking for! Magical Darkness is incredibly hard to use effectively and this invocation is pretty much the only way to make it not completely useless?

Eldritch Sight: at-will Detect Magic is never a bad thing but it always suffered from opportunity cost. This makes it available for Bards.

Eyes of the Rune Keeper: just get the Comprehend Languages spell tbh. It’s a ritual after all.

Fiendish Vigor is alright. Decent on an Eldritch Knight as a backup Second Wind.

Gaze of Two Minds is far, FAR too situational to be useful.

Mask of Many Faces is a god-tier invocation for Arcane Tricksters. It ticks me off that you can’t take this feat as a non-caster for a regular Rogue to gain access to this.

Misty Visions depends on what your DM lets you get away with using Minor Illusion for.

Thief of Five Fates: just get Bane from another source.

It kinda bumbs me out that this feat is restricted to just magic users, and I feel like that part of the spell could be removed. Also kinda bumbs me out that you can’t blow two feats to get Agonizing Eldritch Blast (Magic Initiate [Warlock] + Eldritch Adept) but I sort of understand why that’s a thing. But invocations are the perfect example of something worth losing an ASI for.

5 / 5

Fey Touched

Here’s the first feat that I think is a little too good. Let’s get the elephant out of the room first: Fey Teleportation. The differences between the two feats are as follows:

Misty Step from Fey Teleportation comes back on a short rest.

Fey Teleportation is locked by race.

Fey Touched gives you two spells.

Fey Touched lets you add the spells to your spell list.

Oh and let’s talk about some of the spells that are in the Enchantment / Divination school: Bless, Command, Detect Magic, Dissonant Whispers, Heroism, Hex, Hunter's Mark, Identify, and Sleep. (Just to name the notable choices.)

This feat should’ve been a full feat (no ASI.) Adding both Misty Step and Hex to your spell list as a Cleric or Paladin is more than enough to make this feat OP. If Artificer Initiate is a full feat than this should be too.

5 / 5 - OP award for being OP

Fighting Initiate

This should be a half feat. Actually: this should be merged with Weapon Master. I personally already Homebrew the Weapon Master Feat to do this along with the effects of Weapon Master (+3 weapons, +STR or DEX.)

If this was done as an eratta to Weapon Master (instead of its own feat) the feat could be taken by Wizards who want a way to defend themselves, Rogues who want more options Scimitars cough while also honing their own skills, or Barbarians who just finally want a fighting style. I’m glad something like this is finally being considered but please just buff Weapon Master instead.

4 / 5

Gunner

Crossbow expert for guns. A lot of people interpret this as a silent endorsement of guns in D&D or a hint at a potential official gunslinger (sub)class but really I just think Jeremy Crawford got sick of people asking him “does Crossbow Expert work with guns?” on Twitter.

gun / 5

Metamagic Adept

IE the feat that’s making Reddit throw a hissy fit. Does this suddenly make the Sorcerer class useless? Well excluding the fact that Sorcerers get way more sorcery points, metamagic options, and the ability to turn their spell slots into Sorcery points (and vice-versa)? Put bluntly your options are:

Make (Charisma Mod) creatures succeed their saving throw for your spell. (Rarely going to be used unless you’re already a Charisma caster.)

Double the range of your spell. (Maybe useful for a Cleric to extend the range of Cure Wounds idk.)

Reroll (Charisma Mod) damage die. (Kinda useful for spells that roll few dice.)

Double the duration of your spell. (Perhaps some niche use with certain spells.)

Can’t use Heightened Spell

Can cast one spell / cantrip as a Bonus Action. (One use of a bonus action spell isn’t really worth a whole feat.)

Cast 2 spells without verbal or somatic components. (Can’t be counterspelled!)

Make a spell of first or second level hit two targets. (Actually has some niche use for certain spells. Particularly nice to get extra value out of healing spells.)

(UA)

Change the damage type of a spell. (Maybe useful for Tempest Clerics? But barely.)

Ignore cover. (Very rarely useful.)

Reroll a spell attack once. (Kinda meh; might be useful if you have a very big attack roll spell but you probably won’t.)

I think the main thing Reddit is upset about is two uses of Subtle Spell for a Wizard but... if your player took anti-counter spell insurance instead of an ASI let them have it? Chances are you’re way too counter spell-obsessed if the Wizard casting a good spell once and awhile ruins your game.

As for the feat itself? The two that rely on your Charisma mod are hard to use for that exact reason. Beyond that there are some interesting ones beyond “anti-counter spell insurance” but I feel like two Sorcery points to use on metamagics isn’t enough. Probably a testament to how underwhelming the Sorcerer class is as a whole.

3 / 5

Piercer

It’s Savage Attacker and Brutal Critical combined in one half feat. I guess if you’re using Piercing weapons but I can’t shake the feeling that Savage Attacker would be the better option.

One interesting thing to note is that essentially all ranged weapons do piercing damage, and this feat doesn’t have a melee limitation like Savage Attacker. This could be a good feat for a bow fighter to do more reliable damage.

The irony though is that even though this is essentially just Savage Attacker I’m forced to say it’s overpowered since it provides more utility than Savage Attacker (assuming you don’t use weapons that don’t do piercing damage) as a half feat. This isn’t really a testament to this feat being overpowered, but rather that Savage Attacker should honestly probably be a half feat as well.

2 / 5

Poisoner

This is how poisons should work! It’s perfect for someone who wants it, and it looks well-balanced overall. The gold cost, action economy, and CON save requirements makes this feat fair for the DM.

It’s interesting that this feat allows you to ignore resistance to poison but not immunity. Poison was one of the elements Elemental Adept couldn’t affect which was part of the reason that Green Draconic Sorcerer was so bad (among the zillion and one other problems with Poison damage.) Overall this feat is really awesome but it’s held back by poison damage as a whole in 5e. Basically if this was for any other damage type than poison it would be great (which makes me wonder what this feat would be like with flaming poison.)

4 / 5

Practiced Expert

This is basically a slightly worse version of the Prodigy feat but it’s a half-feat and it’s for all races instead of just for humans and half-races... honestly  Prodigy is such a shit feat that I see no issue with this. I already let non-humans take Prodigy in my campaigns. My only real complaint is that this feat proves that Prodigy (as well as the Skilled feat) should probably be half feats.

4 / 5

Shadow Touched

Darkness is very hard to use without abilities to see through it (Devil’s Sight.) But other than that what can you get? Disguise Self? Just take Eldritch Adept instead for unlimited Disguise Self. There are very few low-level Illusion / Necromancy spells when compared to Divination / Enchantment. There are some midway decent ones (Inflict Wounds) but is it really worth it to lose an ASI for Darkness and Inflict Wounds? Put bluntly: no. Maybe some niche use for Darkness spam Warlocks to get an extra “spell slot” but it’s still underwhelming.

2 / 5

Shield Training

It’s nice to be able to grab a shield as a caster who likely has their off-hand open anyways. It’s also nice for a fighter to be able to “chance stances” and drop their AC in exchange for harder hits. The only part that bugs me about this feat is that the fantasy of an arcane caster using a shield as a focus is weird to me. I feel like there should at least be some sort of gold cost to convert a shield into a “not-quite Ruby of the War Mage” that can be used as an Arcane Focus.

3 / 5

Slasher

This feel like the best of the damage feats since it actually lets you do some unique stuff. Being able to slow enemies (without fucking Sentinel) lets melee fighters keep their allies safe, and giving allies disadvantage to hit you allows you to be a lot sturdier.

The sad truth is that this is probably the most underwhelming of the damage feats though. It’s very hard to use this feat as anything other than a Swashbuckler Rogue, and in order to get Slashing damage as a Rogue (Scimitar) you’d need to blow another feat or do some multiclassing. Slows in melee range are largely useless, and the crit is unreliable. I really want this feat to be better.

4 / 5

Tandem Tactician

Here’s the one feat I honestly have a big problem with. I don’t think being able to Help as a Bonus Action makes this feat OP. (It’s nice for anyone to be able to gain access to a useful Bonus Action without multiclassing.) But the problem lies in the fact that this feat lets you affect two people with the Help action. This makes the ability to give two melee allies (such as your Rogue) Advantage even more broken. People can already testify to how strong Mastermind Rogue is for its action economy increase.

And the best part? This feat still fails at giving Bonus Action Economy to “everyone” since backline characters can’t use the 10 foot range Help. I’d much rather this feat be given 30 feet, and Mastermind Rogue given an eratta to have its ability reach 60 feet or something idk.

1 / 5 - OP and dumb award for being OP and dumb

Tracker

“LOL RANGER IS OFFICIALLY USELESS NOW XDDDD” Jokes aside Hunter’s Mark and tracking abilities is good value for a half feat. Magic Initiate (Warlock) or Fey Touched are still probably better than this feat, but if you need the Survival skill then this is helpful.

4 / 5

FINAL RATINGS

Favorite Feat: Eldritch Adept

Least Favorite Feat: Crusher

Most OP Feat: Tandem Tactician

Weakest Feat: Shadow Touched / Chef

Overall this Unearthed Arcana excites me because I’ve always liked Feats and thought that they were cool. In my opinion it’s much more interesting to create a character with unique abilities over one that’s just traditionally strong. A lot of these feats need revision but I hope that practically all of these get published so we can make some truly unique characters with them.

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #89: Beowulf

Today on Fate and Phantasms, we’re making the King of Savagery, Beowulf. The bare-knuckled swordsman is equally good with his weapons, his fists, and his leadership skills.

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

Next up: Here comes the bride!

Race and Background

Beowulf is definitely a Human, and being a Variant Human will help us wield two beowulf-sized weapons at once with the Dual Wielder feat. This gives you +1 AC while dual wielding, the ability to ignore the lack of a light property on your weapons for the purposes of dual wielding, and the ability to draw or stow two weapons at once for fewer complications. Hrunting and Naegling are many things, but light isn’t one of them. You also get +1 Strength and +1 Charisma, and Insight Proficiency. 

Beowulf is a skilled fighter and sailor, making him a Marine. This gives him Athletics and Survival proficiencies. He’s also a really good king, but that’s as far from backstory as you can get; we’ll pick it up later.

Ability Scores

You’re the original dragon slayer and you can tear monsters’ arms off. Safe to say, your Strength is pretty high. You’re also tough enough to wrestle monsters in the first place, and survive a dragon long enough to get off some last words, so that’s Constitution sorted. Good kings inspire the people, so let’s get the Charisma up there too. Your Dexterity isn’t super great, but it’s not like you avoid hits. Your Wisdom sadly couldn’t be that high either, we just needed other things more. Hopefully the Insight proficiency makes up for it. Finally, dump Intelligence- you’re not too badly affected by your Madness Enhancement, but you were never one to think things through anyway.

Class Levels

1. Barbarian 1: Starting off as a barbarian nets you a whole lot of HP, plus Strength and Constitution save proficiencies, and proficiency in Intimidation and Survival. You try telling me that guy ain’t scary, you’ll just be wrong.

You also get the ability to Rage, adding extra damage to your attacks, have advantage on strength checks and saves, and you resist physical damage. You also get Unarmored Defense based on your constitution and dexterity. You don’t wear armor. Or a shirt, for that matter.

For this build we’re calling Hrunting a Long-sword and Naegling a War-hammer. They’re both big enough that normal people would wield them two-handed, but you dual wield them instead, because you’re just that good.

2. Barbarian 2: Second level barbarians can make Reckless Attacks, giving you advantage on a turn for all attacks at the cost of giving everything advantage against you until your next turn. Try killing everything before that happens. You also get a Danger Sense, giving you advantage on Dexterity Saves you see coming like, say, a dragon’s breath weapon.

3. Fighter 1: Popping over to fighter nets you a Fighting Style, and Unarmed Fighting lets you throw away those children’s toys and settle things like a man, dealing 1d6 bludgeoning with a one-handed attack or 1d8 with both hands free. You can also deal 1d4 damage at the start of each turn to any creature you’re grappling.

First level fighters also get a Second Wind, healing you as a bonus action once per short rest. Now you’ll be able to stay in the fight even longer!

4. Fighter 2: Second level fighters get an Action Surge, adding an extra action to your turn once per short rest. Multiclassing right out the gate means your extra attack comes a little late, so this’ll have to make up for it. Though you already get an extra attack kind of thanks to dual-wielding...

5. Fighter 3: Beowulf may be rough, but he’s still a natural born leader, so the Banneret subclass from the sword coast isn’t that out of left field. Unless you have no idea that the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide even existed, in which case you’re in good company along with WotC.

Regardless, when you take the subclass you get a Rallying Cry. When you use your Second Wind, you also heal up to three creatures within 60′ of you, if they’re your allies. Those creatures regain your fighter level in HP if they can see or hear you.

6. Fighter 4: At sixth level we finally get our first Ability Score Improvement, which we’re using to get the Crusher feat. This increases your Strength by 1 point, and once per turn you can push a creature 5′ away if it’s large or smaller and you’re dealing bludgeoning damage to it. Also, if you score a critical hit with a bludgeoning attack, all attacks against that creature are made with advantage until your next turn. So you’re really good with your fists and Naegling now.

7. Fighter 5: Fifth level fighters get an Extra Attack, bringing your total attacks per turn up to three while dual-wielding or five with an Action Surge.

8. Fighter 6: Hrunting was feeling a little left out from that last ASI, so use this one to pick up Slasher. This gives you another +1 Strength, and hitting a creature with slashing damage reduces its speed by 10′ once per turn. Critical hits with slashing damage cause the creature to have disadvantage on all its attack rolls until your next turn.

9. Fighter 7: Seventh level Bannerets become a Royal Envoy, giving you Persuasion proficiency and doubled proficiency with persuasion checks. You can talk freaking Yaga into making you their king. Admittedly most of that was beating the shit out of them, but that’s just yaga diplomacy at work.

10. Fighter 8: I swear we’re almost done with feats, just pick up Inspiring Leader for one last boost in your leadership skills. Spending 10 minutes giving up to six creatures a pep talk gives them temporary hp equal to your level plus your charisma modifier. You can only use this on a creature once per short rest, so save it for the dramatic conclusion. Also, make sure you DM doesn’t try to actually make you do a ten minute speech, that would be very long.

11. Fighter 9: Ninth level fighters are Indomitable, giving you a second chance at a failed save. You can use this once per long rest, so I’d save it for something you should’ve made. Failing a wisdom save sucks, but you weren’t going to pass it anyways, trust me.

12. Fighter 10: Tenth level bannerets have an Inspiring Surge. When you use your Action Surge, a nearby creature of your choice can react to make a weapon attack if it can see or hear you. That’s right; not only do you get extra attacks, but now so does your party.

13. Fighter 11: You get another Extra Attack for even more stabbing/hitting per action; three with your fists, four while dual-wielding and using your bonus action, and seven while dual wielding and using your action surge.

14. Fighter 12: Now that all the feats are out of the way we can finally focus on ability scores with this ASI. Bump up your Constitution for more health and AC.

15. Fighter 13: At this level you get another use of Indomitable per long rest. Yeah I know it’s not that interesting.

16. Fighter 14: Use this ASI to bump up your Dexterity for better dex saves and AC. If you haven’t been going up against a lot of dex saves, feel free to move this over to constitution instead, it’s up to you.

17. Fighter 15: Fifteenth level bannerets become a Bulwark. When you use your Indomitable feature to reroll a failed Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma save, an ally within 60′ can also reroll their save. Now rerolling wisdom saves might make sense; two mind-controlled party members is rough.

18. Fighter 16: Use your last ASI to finally maximize your Strength for the best swordplay and boxing you can have.

19. Fighter 17: You get an additional use of Action Surge and Indomitable, because they totally didn’t run out of ideas for main class features back at level 11.

20. Fighter 18: Your capstone level sees your Inspiring Surge get just a bit better. Now using Action Surge lets two allies attack instead of one, so you can lead an entire army into the fight.

Pros: 

Persuasion expertise, intimidation proficiency, and a decent insight means you can serve as a pretty good party face in an emergency.

You don’t need armor, and your weapons are more a formality than anything else, so you’re always ready for a fight.

Your abilities help the party just for doing things you’d be doing anyway, helping you turn the tide of a battle just by being that kickass. That’s not just your class abilities either. Crusher and Slasher can seriously hinder an enemy’s movement, protecting squishier party members.

Cons:

Like a majority of berserkers, you lack ranged or magical options. High level enemies might be a problem if you don’t pick up any magical weapons.

Your wisdom is low enough that you shouldn’t be using Indomitable charges on it, but one of your features is specifically about rerolling soft stat saves. Wasting your own save to help another party member might be worth it, but there’s less painful ways to do that.

Literally all your weapons are versatile, but you only have two hands. If you want to maximize damage in any one weapon you’d have to drop the rest to do so, but that gets rid of your versatility. It’s a balancing act.

[elusiveroleplayer]

Naeemah Tee'sha

Name: Naeemah Tee'sha Nickname(s): Momma Cat Prefix: Miss Race: Revantusk Mutt Age: "Young Adult" Sex: Female Eye Color: Orange-Red Hair Color: Crimson Red Height: 5'8" Body Type: Auletic/Lean Birth Place: Hinterlands Current Residence: Just outside Revantusk Village Family: Mother (Deceased), Father (Unknown) Relationship Status: ". . ." Children: None Alignment: Neutral Good

Personality: Nae is pretty "anti-sociable". Not to say she opposes socializing, but generally avoids it. When she -does- speak, it's usually troll or orcish (which is pretty broken). In truth, the only times she'd come to a big city (like Ogrimmar) is to sell leathers and clothing she's crafted. Otherwise you won't see her. Physical Description: Beauty comes in different forms. Psychical or from within, but for some, they feel it's nonexistent. Let's start with her eyes, as they are going to be the first thing you'll notice about the woman standing. At times they can seem calm and other times, distant. Her tusks are usually filed down and kept short, while her lips are a dark blue in color. Occasionally she drags her tongue over them to keep them moist, but for the most part, her lips are emotionless.     Judging by her body, she's young, but well matured. Being of troll decent, her hight is naturally tall while her body, overall was very toned. She takes great pride in making sure she is always in tip-top shape through exercize and diet. Her skin is a mixture of a deep blue with greenish hues mixed in. Perhaps she is of two diffrent tribes? Closer inspection shows her skin of free of fur and moss, making identification more confusing.     While her body type is considered "athletic", it was also quite feminine in it's subtle curves. She is a female, free and not mated. It could be assumed by her young age, she might have taken up a mate, but this particular female hasn't. Perhaps she enjoyed the freedom that came with being a nomad or perhaps she just hadn't found the right male yet. In any case, her curves swayed in sometimes delicious manners, but they moved only for her.     While most trolls had something in the form of body decoration, usually in tie with the tribe they came from, she wasn't any different, Yet... her type of decoration was. Starting from the shoulder, each arm up to the elbow was decorated in what appeared to be leopard spots. These were permanent and tattooed by herself. Each spot was carefully drawn onto her skin and it seemed she wasn't done drawing more.     All throughout her blood red hair are braids decorated with beads made for diffrent precious gems or rocks. A few of them with a small cat claw tied into the hair. Occasionally she'll decide to apply streaks of black paint over her cheeks to give the illusion of 'whiskers'. Even the nails on each finger has been allowed to grow out and sharpened at the tip. The nail itself has been painted a rich onyx black. Both ears are decorated in several hoop earings adding a bit of flare to her cat-like style.     Tied around her left hip is a pouch made from several diffrent animal skins. It's bottom appears to be covered in dry blood. What she keeps inside it remains a bit of a mystery as it's securely tied shut.     Almost -always- was a small feline cub (Panther or Lynx) in her presence. It was either trailing behind her or safely secured in a baby sling on her back. She is fiercely protective of whatever cub she may be foresting at the moment. Best to ask before petting. History: Naeemah is best described as a "Mutt". She has the green colored skin that would hint heavily at forest troll heritage, yet her skin is bare of any moss that would be growing. Her hair a deep crimson color seen only with certain jungle trolls, specifically, Bloodscalp.     Naeemah's mother took pity on a jungle troll named Buruzibu who 'wandered' too far from his own home. Burusibu was injured with deep wounds and claimed he had barely escaped his imprisonment from Vilebranch trolls, who had planned to use him as a sacrifice. Naemaah's mother lived far enough outside Raventusk Village that she was able to bring the injured troll home to help heal his wounds while not drawing suspicion from the villagers. In time, Buruzibu's wounds healed and he was able to move again on his own.     However, he held a terrible secret. Buruzibu revealed that he was captured for the rape and murder of a female from Jintha'Alor and his sacrifice was to honor her murder. Horrified, Naeemah's mother attempted to escape, but Buruziba prevented her. The viscous, sadistic troll spared her life as she helped him recover, but ravaged her body before escaping back into the woods never to be seen again.     In time, Naeemah's mother gave birth to her, raising the child alone. Her mother never once told Naeemah she regretted having her, but only regretted that she did not have an honorable father to call her own. The stigma that Naeemah's mother received from having a half bred child fathered by an enemy tribe started to become a burden. The both of them were allowed inside the village as her mother was fullblood Revantusk and her daughter was half, but it was the idea that she was half Bloodscalp which raised many eyebrows. The racism and superstition that some of the tribal elders held tightly onto made it difficult for Naeemah's mother.     Childhood was not a happy time for Naeemah and she found herself alone and unwelcomed by most of the other children. Naeemah did find comfort in being around the animals of the village, particularly the Lynxes that were raised and trained to help protect the village. In time Naeemah would grow up to become a foster mother to some of the orphaned cats. Naeemah's chosen Loa to worship and follow became Halazzi, Lord of Lynxes.     Naeemah's mother was proud of her daughter's accomplishments, and deep connection to the animals, but the years of being treated like a pariah, had taken a toll on her spirit. She became deathly ill. Naeemah begged and pleaded with the tribal witch doctors to find a way to cure the illness that seemed to be robbing her mother's life, but nothing could be done. One of witch doctors told Naeemah that her mother's spirit was too weak to carry on. Shortly after, her mother passed. Her dying words were that Naeemah not spend her life alone, to find happiness and someone that would love her no matter her heritage. Naeemah promised, but in the back of her mind worried if such a promise was something she could keep.     Several years passed with the young Naeemah living near Revantusk Village, continuing her love and passion for taking care of the cats. Her love did not limit her to fostering only Lynxes. If the village acquired tigers, lions, or panthers, Naeemah was always happy to help. This gave her a unique perspective with Loa worship. Her chosen was Halazzi, but her respect and worship extended to Bethekk (the Panther), Shirvallah (the tiger), and even Kimbul (the tiger and King of cats).     Some time after the reclaiming of the Echo Isles, and the art of Drudism was taught to other Darkspear trolls, Naeemah left the comfort of the Hinterlands to go out and seek the teachings of those able to teach it to her. Additional Tidbits: -- Avoiding having children (they frighten her.) -- Prefers wearing little to nothing at all. -- Loves the wilds (Feralas, Nagrnd, Grizzly Hills) -- Loathes Blood Elves (but is good at faking it!) -- If approached by another Bloodscalp ICly, will probably be hostile in response. (Be warned!) The original Naeemah used to be a troll hunter named Cassilla. Cassilla has been race changed, but her personality and history has been modified into what Naeemah is now. Character Artwork: By Others http://tinyurl.com/2wogznf (Art by ersatzheartbeat) http://tinyurl.com/naeemah3 (Art by darkrose2401)