#why are the 4 gifts from the gods represented only through the relics and not reflected in every aspect of the world?

[constantvariations]

Went scavenging for rabid screenshots and drained my soul along the way so here's my silly nitpick of their nitpick

The academies (almost) align with colleges age-wise (I am once again asking why they chose 17 as the majority cast's age), but the Beacon era is littered with tropes exclusive to high school settings, like shoving people into lockers, school uniforms, insta-crushes, food fights, and getting ready for prom

It's little wonder why people confuse Beacon Academy for a high school. All the high school hallmarks are there yet not a single student is pulling an all nighter with the help of redbull, cigarettes, and anxiety-induced insomnia

Side note: are the Academies confirmed 4-year programs or is that an assumption?

[mcousland]

2, 4, 5, 10, 14, 15 and 19 for leva'lyn and lara!

2. What is your character’s relationship with their family? Family is a word which here refers to biological relatives, close companions, and/or the individual(s) who raised them.

Leva’lyn at this point only has 5 minutes worth of memories of her mother, and nothing of her father. From what she’s gather she was close with her mother and was taught the ways of being a wizard by her, but beyond that she cannot begin to imagine her relationship with either of them those years ago. (And she’s terrified to think of what her father would think of her if she does find him now.)Her adoptive father though, Karl Vornludwig, she has fifty-five~ years of memories with and has a relationship just as complicated. She’s only just recently read a letter from him describing that the only reason he saved her from wandering the Rut'Theran shore alone was because of the future described to him by a shapeshifting mage. A mage who told Karl that he would need to raise her, teach her all he knew but accept he could not help her forever—which, Leva’lyn gathers, is why he refused to get as close as a true father would, why he denied affection and treated her like any other criminal in the Guild. Since the moment I saw you enveloped by what looked like moonlight, he writes, I’ve loved you as much as though you were my own flesh and blood—but she was never taught how to forgive and accept, so the words only lead to further frustration and numerous scrapped letters written out of anger that she’ll never send. Leva’lyn struggles each day with trying to understand, move on, forgive- but she’s just not at that point yet, and she wonders if she’ll be able to talk to Karl again about these thoughts or if he’ll meet his death while away like his final letter to her implies.

Lara is close with her father, at a very young age she grabbed at the weapons he smithed and pleaded for lessons. After her mother passed and with her brother often gone they only got closer, being the only two left in the house they refused to let it drive them apart. The duo share a sense of humor, empathy and the same beaming smile. Lara writes him letters about her adventures while she’s away so he knows she’s okay, and so he can brag about his daughter being a dragon slayer. Her mother was a jeweler, and from sitting beside her when she worked, Lara learned the worth of gems and what they represented to various cultures and people. Being a Pelorian, her mother would often share the myth of The Shards of the Sun, famed relics of Pelor that she firmly believed were gem shards hidden throughout the world. After her passing, those conversations are what Lara remembers most clearly. The gleam in her mother’s eyes, the small smile on her lips and the conspiratorial whisper she would sometimes drop to so that no one could steal their idea of hunting for these Shards. Lara’s brother left for the first time when she was two years old, he was seventeen and running off to join an army. He returns home on occasion, and they spend that time together trading stories or training in combat. When she was old enough to understand it, Lara was awed by her brother’s being a paladin of Pelor and this became one of the driving forces to her becoming fully devoted to the Dawnfather when she took comfort in his Temple over the years. Lara from time to time entertains her sadness over him leaving, wishing that she’d been able to grow up with a brother at her side every day—but she does not live in the past, and she can be thankful for the time that they do spend together.

4. What were the conditions surrounding their formative years?

Leva’lyn was living inside an underground Thieves Guild run by Karl, mingling and learning from thieves, assassins and other petty criminals that ran through. She would spend countless hours training, pushing herself to exhaustion in attempts to earn compliments and praise from Karl that came rarely. She was brought along to few missions that formed her “eh, it’s just a job” outlook on contracts, both assassinations and robberies. She spent a fair amount of her free time spying on the “fancy parties” and people, allowed on some occasions to sneak into those events or be given funds to buy herself clothes to match their aesthetic. (Leva’lyn has one good memory of Karl sneaking into her room to gift her with a ball gown, knowing she was enraptured by them but unable to present it to her in the public eye.)Lara’s formative years would’ve been around the time of her mother’s death, when she spent hours every day trying to get more information out of neighbors and people who survived the bandit attack about what happened, when it happened, why did no one help. The answers were never satisfactory, they only deepened the ache, all she saw were people who got to live except for her mother. But she found Pelor’s temple more comforting during those days, and the Prophetess Sylvaris took to sitting with Lara for long conversations. Those people she was angry with? They lost family too, friends and loved ones—she should not be persecuting them, she should be mourning with them. Weeks spent with Slyvaris heightened Lara’s empathy beyond its original level, she spent more time talking with her father and brother about how it all felt, she cast her first Light spell while helping a man repair his broken wagon. These years formed her empathy, selfishness, nurturing and healing ways.

5. What creature would they like to have as a pet?

This is actually a funny one, because of the Baby Bestiary I’ve been talking about this very thing with another player, so for the fun of it I’m going to answer from the list in the book.

Leva’lyn would sell her step-father for a dragon wyrmling. She’d adore the creature and have an absolute blast helping it build its first hoard. And just the thought alone that I have as her player of Leva’lyn lounging across the back of a chest filled with gold, twirling her hair while conversing with her brass dragon because those fools love to talk and she needs someone to talk to.Lara would just explode after seeing a blink puppy. They’re cute AND they can poof around everywhere?? She wouldn’t be able to handle the adorable.

10. How old is this character?

Answered for Leva’lyn here!Lara is in her early 20s at the beginning of her adventures.

14. What is their favorite holiday?

Leva’lyn enjoys any holiday that calls for an event or party where she can ignore her problems and spend the night drinking, dancing and listening to strangers gossip about each other.Lara celebrates each of Pelor’s holidays among the others, but her favorite is a tie between Breadgiving Day and The Feast of Edoira. Almost every time without fail she will suddenly shout mid-day, realizing one of the days is a week away and she’ll take off to prepare. Breadgiving Day is where clerics of Pelor and Rao distribute food to the poor, while The Feast is when Pelorians and Raoans come together to celebrate their faith. She favors Breadgiving Day for the charity that spreads around, and the smiles on people’s faces, and then The Feast for time spent with people who usually share her ideals.

15. What is the best gift they could receive?

Leva’lyn enjoys anything expensive, doesn’t really matter what it is. Lara will be excited just by the mention of a gift that she didn’t expect, and spend the next week thanking the person no matter what it was. (Anything to do with Pelor or the color yellow is a god tier gift.)

19. What are their guilty pleasures?

Answered for Leva’lyn here!Lara: one too many sweet rolls, jewelry (people call her greedy, but it reminds her of her mother), spending time with Anna when she should be studying, staying in her pajamas for far too long, taking breakfast in bed so she can read by the window.