#wisdom stat: 100

[incorrect-ikevamp-quotes]

Jeanne: *sneezes*

Mozart, from the balcony: Ah, bless you

Jeanne: God?

[howcanibesadyetalsoacowboy]

I have a pain playthrough and a therapy playthrough of dark souls

[milquetoad]

the thing that i love about taliesin jaffe is that he commits fucking 100% to his monologues and speeches. he has said some of the stupidest shit in critical role history but that’s just because if there is an opportunity for him to speak he WILL take it and he WILL go into it with nothing but his whole entire heart + his characters feelings in that exact moment. so yes sometimes it’s ‘life needs things to live’ but then the other half of the time he’s just got the most profound, incredible statements and shit that is so, SO perfect for that moment. you can’t even think abt caduceus w/out calling to mind his eloquence and poignancy. all this to say that taliesin jaffe maxed out his wisdom stat irl and uses it to fucking own at dungeons & dragons roleplay

[glutenfreehimbo]

Stat a D&D Character

How it will work: After the results of the poll is done, I’ll rank the stats with the most votes and match then to the appropriate the D&D 5e standard stat array number (15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8)

If this gets popular enough I might start a side blog where we make a D&D character 100% based on polls, but for now… enjoy.

Please reblog to increase sample size.

[knight-dwx-09]

First Player

1. New Admin

After hours of thinking, Jaune was debating between Trivia Vanilla, Pyrrha Nikos, and Ruby Rose. Why those three? To be honest, he just chose random since the floating words won’t help him at all. And finally, he had chosen one.

Jaune: Okay, first option have never failed me before so I choose Ruby Rose.

[Picking Ruby Rose]

[Waiting for the user to reply…]

The only thing Jaune could do at that moment was sitting on his bed and wait when he noticed from the window that it was already dark.

Jaune: Hmmm, should I go to sleep? I don’t even know if this person is awake or not.

[Congratulations]

[Player: “Ruby Rose” had accepted to become your first Player]

Jaune: YES!

A blue screen appeared with a name in front of him, giving some detail to the person he chose.

Name: Ruby Rose

Title: Red Riding Hood

Gender: Female

Age: 4

Race: Human (Silver-Eyed Warrior)

Level: 5

HP: 250

MP: (Locked)

AP: (Locked)

STR: 6

VIT: 3

DEX: 13

INT: 9

WIS: 7

CHA: 10

LUK: 120

Jaune: Oh wow, she is really young. I wonder how she react to a blue screen show up in her face, asking her to become a player.

As he read the detail of her information, he saw something that catch his eyes.

Jaune: Silver-eyed warrior? What is that?

[System level is too low to provide the answer]

Jaune: Come on! Aren’t you supposed to help me to become a hero?

[System could only help the Developer within its authority at the moment. Trying to give aids beyond of the current capability are impossible]

Jaune: Fine… but can you at least call me Jaune instead of Developer?

[Of course Jaune]

He smiled a bit after it listen to his request as he continue reading Ruby Rose’s information. he know what the number and stat represent, he didn’t being called a gamer master by her family for nothing.

Jaune: Wait, if I can see her stat, could I see my?

[Correct]

Jaune: Then I want to see it.

A screen with his name materialize in the thin air.

Name: Jaune Arc

Title: Coward Hero (Jaune: Hey!), The Admin

Age: 7

Race: Human

HP: 520

MP: 100

AP: 1700

STR: 23

VIT: 30

DEX: 17

INT: 3 (Jaune: COME ON!)

WIS: 5

CHA: 5 (Jaune:… I hate you…)

LUK: 1 (Locked) (Jaune: *Sulking*)

[Point System: 47]

Jaune: why most of my stat are so low compared to Ruby?

[Because Jaune love to sleep through the class, read comic book in most of the free time, and have a very low-self esteem]

Jaune: No I don’t!

[…]

Jaune: It just my family and people around me are much better than me…

[…]

Jaune: And the class are so boring, why should I learn about math when I can use my brain to become a hero!

[…]

Jaune: Fine… I may have low self esteem and don’t like studied…

[Wisdom has increased by 1]

Jaune: Jerk

[Realizing one’s flaw is a great first step to reaching one’s desired]

Jaune: You are still a jerk

[System level up!]

Jaune: Huh? Already? Does that mean you could finally answer me some of my questions like what is a silver-eyed warrior?

[System level is too low to provide the answer]

Then something snap in him as he let out a loud scream the revert throughout the household of Arc.

Somewhere

A young rose in his beowolf onesie slam open her bedroom door with a loud noise, scaring Tai Xiao Long as he jumped in his chair.

Ruby: Dad! There’s blue screen floating in the air!

Tai head snap toward his second sweet daughter, Summer’s cookies in hand as he was about to eat it but stop like a deer caught in headlights.

Tai: Huh… Where?

Ruby: Right there! It is saying that I have become the first Gamer! It’s like the RPG game I player this morning!

Tai just stares at the empty air where Ruby was pointing for a moment, then to her sparkling eyes, and back to the cookies in his hold as Yang, in her pajamas, come out of her room while rubbing her tired eyes.

Tai: Just what did Summer put in this cookies?

[powdermelonkeg]

No dominating wis stat??? High int low wis queen ofc, love that for her, but Zelda? Wisdom?

Okay SO. I have reason for her stats, I swear.

STR 8: Noodle arms. Girl's never lifted anything in her life.

DEX 8: Same as strength. My girl is not particularly skilled.

CON 16: SPENT 100 YEARS TRAPPING CALAMITY GANON.

INT 17: Intrigued about things, loves alchemy and Sheikah tech, studies SO hard, knows all about flora and fauna.

WIS 12: Okay. She is a little more wise than your average joe (10). But "let's feed my knight a frog for science" is not a wise move. Besides, THIS Zel never gets the Triforce of Wisdom, so that's not direct confirmation she's wise behind the scenes.

CHA 13: Sweet, charming, sure, but "stop following me!" Also, for flavor—charisma is a sorcerer's spellcasting stat, Divine Soul or no. She's a bad cleric (WIS spell stat) and a bad sorcerer, but a GREAT alchemist (INT spell stat).

[prettyinpwn]

Hi PrettyinPwn! So, I wanted to ask you something, because I'm honestly lost and confused. Like, I know it's a dumb question, you don't even have to answer this ask if you don't want to, but could you help me understand the difference between Stan and Ford wanting to sail in the Stan o' War in the past and Stan and Ford sailing in the Stan-o'-War II in the present? One of the themes of Gravity Falls is about learning to let go and accept change and I want to know how it fits in this theme. At first I thought that they sailing in Stan-o'-War II in the present was a attempt of bring past to present by living a dream that is rooted in the past, which gives them an element of their past to hold on to and thus they can keep a part of their past in the present. But since the Pines learned to let go and accept change in the end of the show, I know that can't be that.

No, don't call it a dumb question; I think this is actually a great question to ask about the narrative (and one I've personally struggled with how to view myself).

You're 100% correct. It's odd that the narrative theme is about change and accepting it, yet the conclusion to the Stans' story is about returning to the past AKA holding onto the past.

When I think about it, this feels like a point where other themes and character arcs overrode or blend with this theme. Namely, the theme of healing family rifts, forgiveness, the conclusion of Stan and Ford's character arcs, and the beauty of the parallelism/juxtaposition of their story with Dipper and Mabel's.

As it pertains to Stan and Ford's character arcs, they had their own personal lessons to learn. Stan's was learning inherent worth and forgiving of self, in my opinion. Ford's was finding true acceptance/love for who he is (and by "true" I mean the honest kind that people like Stan and Fiddleford offered him that acknowledged his flaws but liked him anyway AKA selfless acceptance, not the selfish kind from people that just wanted to use him AKA Bill and his father to an extent).

So taking those two arc lessons, look at what Ford and Stan offer each other in the end: Ford asking Stan to go on an adventure with him is him subtly saying, "I forgive you and you have worth", and Stan accepting was him subtly saying, "I also forgive you and I still love/accept you". It's a return to the way they saw each other as kids. A key element here, too, is what Stan says to Ford when he first suggests the Stan-O-War idea when they're kids:

Ford is made fun of. Stan defends him from the bullies. And Ford says this (and from a writing standpoint, this is the part where the character states his need/want):

"But I am a freak. I just wonder if there's anywhere in the world where weirdos like me fit in."

And this is Stan's reply:

"Hey, chin up, buddy. Look. (He and Ford look at the sea) One of these days, you and me are gonna sail away from this dumb town. We'll hunt for treasure, get all the girls, and be an unstoppable team of adventurers."

If we break this down, it's basically Ford saying "I feel unaccepted and like an outcast" AKA his character wound and Stan saying "I accept you, you fit in with me, and I'll always stick with you".

So when they end up adventuring together at the end, it's them getting their character need. They're both the balm to each other's character wounds. That, and another thesis of Gravity Falls is that a Pines twin alone is their worst self, but together, they're at their best. I explored this in my post about Mabel's writing, but I think that's why Hirsch and crew wrote both sets of twins sticking together in the end.

A metaphor the fandom likes to use a lot with the Stans is D&D stats: Ford is high intelligence but abysmal wisdom, and Stan is high wisdom but lower intelligence. So alone... well, we saw it for ourselves. Ford alone is taken advantage of, isolated, lacking common sense, etc. Stan alone is depressed, a bit dumb (I say that affectionately but he wasn't good in school, we all know this), etc. Lo and behold: they have what the other doesn't, and their character arc resolution is realizing they need each other and have different strengths that help cover their own flaws.

So all in all, it's still the theme of change, because the Stans sticking together is a change from their status quo at that point (they'd been apart for decades). But it's the theme of change tempered with the value of still holding on to what matters. Like Dipper and Mabel: yeah, they're accepting change and the future, but they're also holding on to some things AKA each other. That's what the Stans failed to learn until they were older, what the niblings taught them, and what they rediscovered that they'd long lost.

So honestly, the theme of change really should be reworded to "accepting a good balance between the past and the future; you can't stop time, but you can still fondly hold onto parts of the past". Why? Because this theme in and of itself is a blend of both sets of twins: the future focus of Ford and Dipper wanting to follow their ambitions and grow up faster, and the past focus of Stan and Mabel wanting to cling on to the past and stop time (I mean, look at the metaphor of the perpetual motion machine and Stan breaking it; he wanted to stop time - a perpetual motion machine in real life - basically).

This new version of the theme reflects that both sides have a point, and both sides were slightly wrong: the narrative conclusion their characters help define is a blend of both arguments; compromise. And the Stan-O-War II is just that: holding onto the past as they sail into the future; compromise between the two viewpoints and characters.

I hope that answers your question! :D

[spellcaster-dude]

The spellcaster dude's stats

+12 wisdom

+8 intelligence

+4 dexterity

+6 constitution

+5 strength

+8 charisma

HP: 30692/30692

Crown Mass: 100%

"Spellcaster speaks like this"

"Or like this when ANGY"

"And like this when controlled by nothing but his rage."

<The crimson crown speaks like this>

Alludo communicates like this

{Mod speaks like this}

(Actions action like this)

[Other things other like this]

Conditions:

None!

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

KNOWN KNOWLEDGE

Name: Furor Corvus Exponentia, God of Rage

Pronouns:

Spellcaster: He/him

Crown: Any

Alludo: They them

Lore drop 1

Owns many magic items

Mage armor description:

[Until either 16 asks have passed, they have donned armor, or 8 hours have passed in-universe, the target will be protected from most nonmagical damage, as it takes the form of whatever armor is most efficient for the situation. (i.e. a slash would form chainmail, a stab would form plate armor, and casual situations would form a light blue version of their normal clothing.)]

Wild Spinner post (Links to a tumblr post)

-Wild Blade: A sword with a spinner on its guard. The wheel spins as the blade cuts and/or stabs through the air, generating wild magic energy. Upon attacking, it spins the wild magic table from the wild spinner (may change in the future). The magic favors the wielder if they hit, and the victim if they fail. (I.e. a boost to spell damage will apply to the wielder if they beat the target's ac, or the victim if they fail.) Acts like a longsword otherwise. Attached to the Blades of Anarchy. (Tumblr post linked.)

Bloodflame Blade post

Run by @kenidur1561

My favorite spell is Summon Anvils.

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

RELATIONS

@flashbang-guy "He's neat, tried to kamikaze me, but so long as he doesn't hurt any more children, we're cool."

<A crownless god... Interesting...>

@kali-lamb "She revived me twice and made me a whole new body. I owe my life to her three times over."

<I gotta meet the pink crown. I always love meeting alternate versions of my family!>

@disciplesofthelamb "Briar and dotty are pretty neat! Silas is an asshole though."

<I've yet to meet them.>

@askdennycotl "My friend. We help each other out with mental health, and I'm teaching her magic!"

<If I let her die, him disowning me would be the best case scenario. I don't wanna know of the others.>

@scannys-back "Protect. I will defend him with my life."

<Seems neat. I guess I'll help protect him so spellcaster doesn't kill me.>

@nox-the-cat "My friend, I'm glad she was able to be free of her mod."

<The fuck is an olive garden?>

@pbam0ney "My friend, he tries to help me with tally and the such, and made me a new house! He also revived me when tally made all my blood vessels burst."

<He seems like a cool guy.>

Tally: "HATE."

<I do NOT want to meet him.>

Oblivion: "He seems neat, and guests are always nice!"

<I still don't understand why Furor called me off that one time.>

@temporal-mayhem "That place is creepy. And I still only know one of the 10 websites."

<Eugh... Spooky...>

@ask-follower-jade "Another student of mine, and I'm glad that they and denny are happy together."

[No comment provided]

@ask-the-red-serpant

<Heh, she's jealous that I get to be a bear :)>

@askthe-littlepoet "What happened to you?"

<Something is off about that tie, but I can't quite tell what.>

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

TONED DOWN (for silly non-canon stuff)

+3 in all stats

536/536 HP

Rage: Double HP and stat buffs

Does not have self-awareness

Can't make quite as powerful magic items.

(The rest is up to mod's discretion)

ALSO THE STUFF THAT HAPPENS WITH THIS FORM IS NOT CANON

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

Gallery:

[dungeon-strugglers]

✨New item!✨ Phantom Shroud Wondrous item, legendary (requires attunement)

Boo! This cloak has 3 charges, and it regains all expended charges daily at dawn. As an action while wearing this cloak you can expend one charge to cast the fear spell (save DC 17).

Possession. As an action you can force one humanoid that you can see within 5 feet of you to make a DC 17 Charisma saving throw or be possessed by you; you then disappear, and the target is incapacitated and loses control of its body. You now control the body but don't deprive the target of awareness.You can't be targeted by any attack, spell, or other effect, and you retain your alignment, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. You otherwise use the possessed target's statistics, but don't gain access to the target's knowledge, class features, or proficiencies. 

The possession lasts for 1 minute, or until the target drops to 0 hit points, you end it as a bonus action, or you are turned or forced out by an effect like the remove curse, greater restoration, or dispel magic spells. At the end of each of the target’s turns it can repeat the saving throw, ending the effect on a success. When the possession ends, you reappear in an unoccupied space within 5 feet of the target. The target is immune to this effect for 24 hours after succeeding on the saving throw or after the possession ends. Once you use this feature of the phantom shroud, it cannot be used again until the next dawn.

Incorporeal Movement. As a bonus action while wearing this cloak, you can become incorporeal for 1 minute. While incorporeal, you can’t be grappled or restrained and you can move through creatures and solid objects as if they were difficult terrain. If you end your turn in a solid object, you take 1d10 force damage. If the effect ends while you are inside a solid object, you instead are shunted to the nearest unoccupied space, and you take 1d10 force damage for every 5 feet traveled. Once you use this feature of the phantom shroud, it cannot be used again until the next dawn.

Made from 100% Genuine Cold-Cured Ectoplasm! - 🖌🎨 Like our work? Consider supporting us on Patreon and gain access to the hi-resolution art for over 180 magic items, item cards and card packs, beautiful creature art and stat blocks, and setting pdfs with narrative hooks and unique lore!🧙‍♂️

📜 Credit. Art and design by us: the Dungeon Strugglers. Please credit us if you repost elsewhere.

[nakunatta-fujihana]

Yuu Fujisaki ─ An Abridged Biography

─BASIC

FULL NAME: Yuu Fujisaki (藤咲、夕)

BIRTHDAY: January 28th (Aquarius)

AGE: 18 (By the start of Twst)

HEIGHT: 173 cm

DOMINANT HAND: Ambidextrous

HOMELAND: Tokyo, Japan

GRADE/CLASS: Freshman/Class A (No. 8)

CLUB: Gourmet Club/Light Music Club (Unnoficial)

BEST SUBJECT: History of Magic

HOBBIES: Writing

PET-PEEVES: Responsibility

FAVORITE FOOD: Anything sweet

LEAST FAVORITE FOOD: Nattou

TALENT: Song-writing

─FAMILY

Hiroshi Fujisaki (藤咲、寛) (Paternal Great Uncle/Deceased)

Nagisa Fujisaki (藤咲、凪咲) ( Paternal Grandfather)

Aya Fujisaki (藤咲、あや) (Paternal Grandmother)

Ataru Fujisaki （藤咲、陽） (Father)

Kanna Fujisaki（藤咲、環花）(Mother)

Kotonoha Fujisaki (藤咲、言葉) (Older sister-6 years apart)

Izumi Fujisaki (藤咲、いずみ) (Future brother-in-law)

Nagihko Fujisaki (藤咲、凪彦) (Paternal cousin-3 years apart)

Kamui Fujisaki (Paternal Uncle) （藤咲、奏紫）

─EXTRA

GENDER | PRONOUNS: Cis Male | He/Him

SEXUAL ORIENTATION: Homosexual

HAIR COLOR: Indigo

HAIR TEXTURE: 2A

EYE COLOR: Mauve

SPECIES: Human

RACE: East Asian

REALM OF ORIGIN: Earth

NATIONALITY: Japanese

AURA: Purple/Blue

SIGNATURE SCENT: Eucalyptus and Lavender

FAVORITE FLOWER: Orange Blossoms

MBTI: INFJ

FASHION SENSE: Japanese Mode/Casual Punk

NICKNAMES: 

Shrimpy

Wiz kid

Yuu-yuu

Fujisaki Shintarō IV (Stagename)

OCCUPATIONS:

Clinical Psychology Student

Onnagata

Musician

Ramshackle Dorm Prefect

CONDITIONS:

Chronic Bad Luck: No matter how hard Yuu tries to stay out of trouble, he seems to always encounter something to ruin his day. At this point, he is used to his life being the embodiment of Murphy’s Law.

Aphantasia: Yuu has a rare disorder in which he cannot picture things inside his mind. The only exception to this are the dreams he has during his stay at Twisted Wonderland. This makes him completely useless with drawing, painting or any visual art endeavor.

Dust Mite Allergy: Yuu is severely allergic to dust, if exposed to too much of it he can even end up bedridden or trigger an asthma attack.

Nicotine Addiction: Yuu sometimes smokes as a way to relieve stress, and though he does not do it often, he is still in need of at least a cig a week.

ABILITIES:

Renaissance Man: Yuu is naturally gifted. Even though he could’ve skipped multiple grades and entered university at a rather young age, Yuu’s parents opted to only let him skip one grade so he would learn to socialize with children his age. This often led to him skipping class and playing hooky out of sheer boredom.

Musical Experience: After being coerced into his crush’s Light Music Club in High School, Yuu has gained a liking to music─ Yuu is now very proficient in both bass, guitar and singing.

Spirit sight and communication: due to a near-death experience, Yuu has been granted the ability to see and interact with spirits.

Kabuki Training: Yuu was raised to succeed his grandfather as the heir of their Kabuki Troupe and school from a very young age. Due to this fact, he is classically trained in acting, Nihon Buyo, flower arrangement, calligraphy and Shamisen.

─TRIVIA

Yuu’s voice claim is based on vibes and vibes only. He is a mix in between SymaG, Kanseru, Araki and Megatara Zero

Yuu’s favorite artists are Gorillaz, The Oral Cigarettes, Kenshi Yonezu and 9mm Parabellum Bullet.

Yuu is a clean freak, he cannot concentrate if the space he inhabits is dirty or not in order.

On earth, Yuu is part of a relatively popular indie rock band named Schrödinger, he uses a mask and an alias to keep his identity hidden from fans.

Yuu’s favorite anime and manga series is Mob Psycho 100 and Chainsaw Man.

Yuu is a practicing shintoist and extremely supersticious.

─STATS

STRENGTH: ★★☆☆☆

STAMINA: ★★★☆☆

DEFENSE: ★★★★☆

DEXTERITY: ★★★★★

INTELLIGENCE: ★★★★★ +2

WISDOM: ★★★★☆

MAGIC: N/A

VITALITY: ★☆☆☆☆

STEALTH: ★★★☆☆

LUCK: ☆☆☆☆☆

ACCURACY: ★★★★★

SPEED: ★★☆☆☆

[ryttu3k]

You know what's fun? Statistics! You know what BG3 has? Statistics! 25 of the most prominent characters and their default stats, for your comparison pleasure.

Here are the lowest and highest scorers for each category, both overall and amongst the Origin companions!

Strength

Noodle squad, check in! Astarion, Gale, and Wyll all have a whopping STR 8, followed closely by Volo on STR 9. The hamster is stronger. The hamster is stronger.

On the other side of the strength spectrum, Sarevok could benchpress all three of them at once, with STR 20. Sarevok is scary in general, honestly.

Of the companions, Karlach and Lae'zel both have STR 17.

Dexterity

No single digits here! A perfectly average DEX 10 is achieved by Withers, Aylin, and the Emperor.

Meanwhile, Orin could probably disarm the most complicated traps blindfolded with one arm, with DEX 22, and equal highest score altogether. Only just behind her on DEX 20 are Gortash, Sarevok… and Boo.

Most of the companions have a pretty servicable DEX 13 here - just Astarion stands out, with DEX 17.

Constitution

Sneeze and they fall over. Boo, Withers, Volo, Gortash, Viconia, and the Emperor all have CON 10.

Again, it's Sarevok at the top of the list with CON 20. Why won't you die?!

All pretty average for the companions, here - everyone has 14-15.

Intelligence

Astonishing no one, the literal hamster has the lowest intelligence, with INT 6; this is also the lowest score overall for main characters. Just ahead of him, Karlach, Minsc, and, surprisingly, Jaheira only have INT 8.

It's probably not also much of a surprise to see that the Emperor has the highest, at INT 22, tying with Orin's dexterity for highest score overall.

Of the companions, Gale is the highest at INT 17.

Wisdom

In fairness they both made very poor decisions (although also in fairness, Wyll was 17 at the time). Wyll and Gale have the lowest wisdom at WIS 10.

If you want good advice, go to Orpheus. He has a whopping WIS 21, and the second-highest score overall.

Amongst the companions, it's Shadowheart who has the good sense, with WIS 17.

Charisma

Boo also holds lowest for Charisma at CHA 6, but I personally think this is a filthy lie and the hamster could convince me to commit crimes, so let's say the next actual lowest is a tie between Shadowheart and Lae'zel, on CHA 8.

Unsurprising for characters with actual huge numbers of followers, Orpheus, Ketheric, and Mizora all have CHA 20. Can you imagine if they started motivational services?

Amongst the companions, Wyll should definitely do all the talking, with CHA 17.

Totals

All the Origin companions have a total of 75; so do Minsc and (hilariously) Boo. Of the secondary companions, they're all around-ish that level, with Jaheira as the lowest at 71 (let her rest!), Halsin higher at 81, and Minthara the highest at 84.

Of their allies, Orpheus is a good one to know, with a total of 101. Volo and Isobel could be secondary protagonists, with scores of 73 and 76, very close to the companion average of 75. Withers has the very lowest score altogether at 68, which is kind of hilarious considering he's objectively one of the most powerful in the entire game.

The enemies are pretty fearsome. Mizora ranks down the bottom, with 91. Four antagonists hit 100 - Raphael hits it exactly, Cazador is on 104, Sarevok on 105, and beating him by a whopping 1 point, Orin wins Scariest Character Overall on 106!

In conclusion, jfc 104 no wonder Astarion was scared of Cazador, and also lmao Boo's STR 10.

[prince-of-the-comet]

Baldur's Gate 3 Builds: Deadeye

You don't need complicated multiclasses, respecs, and rare hand crossbows to make a good archer in Baldur's Gate 3. For a simple, solid, versatile, damage dealer for all occasions, look no further than the trusty Dexterity-based fighter.

(Confused by the terminology? Start here!)

Suggested Race: Any Medium. Sorry halfling and gnome-lovers: Small characters have disadvantage on attacks with heavy weapons in 5th edition, including both longbows and heavy crossbows.

Starting Class: Fighter

Final Level Distribution: Fighter 12 (Battlemaster or Champion)

Minimum Level Distribution: Fighter 5.

Recommended Statistics:

Strength: Low or higher. You're a fighter. You're going to want to wear exotic medium armor, so you're going to need to be at least strong enough to carry it. Other than that, there's enough finesse weapons around that you don't actually need to worry about it. 10 is fine, more is ok.

Dexterity: Dependent. You're an archer. Dexterity makes your build go.

Constitution: Medium or higher. No one can actually dump Constitution, but ideally you've got someone else on the frontline.

Intelligence: Dump. You're not an eldritch knight.

Wisdom: Low or higher. Your abilities don't run off of it, but it only takes one nasty dominate person to make you really wish fighters were better at Wisdom saves.

Charisma: Dump. You're not a paladin either.

Example starting stats:

Str 14, Dex 17, Con 14, Int 8, Wis 12, Cha 10.

Recommended Level Progression:

1-12: Fighter.

It's simple, it's solid, it's three attacks per round, four feats, and the fighting style you need. You don't need to mess with it.

Variants:

Ranger 12 (Gloom Stalker). Ranger's really the only other class that works for this, with the Archery fighting style and Ensnaring Strike for plentiful advantage. Take Bounty Hunter early and stay a Gloomstalker for all 12 levels to get Stalker's Flurry.

A free do-over if you miss isn't quite as good as a full third attack, but it's the next best thing.

Detailed Level Progression:

1: Fighter 1. Grab the archery fighting style. You're an archer, may as well commit to the bit. Grab a light crossbow on the nautiloid - it will hold you over until you get something better. We'll go over what something better is in the next section.

4: Fighter 4. You're still a fighter. Take Sharpshooter. This is the linchpin of every archery build. Sharpshooter gives you the option to take a -5 penalty to attack and in exchange gain +10 to damage with ranged weapons. You're going to want to use this - but not all the time. Why?

Statistics Interlude (or, 10d6 isn't 60 damage)

How much damage can a level 12 rogue expect to do with Sneak Attack? Well, they've got 6d6 sneak attack. So it looks like 36 damage (6x6=36). But unless you're extraordinarily lucky, you're not going to roll all 6s. Given that you have equal probability of rolling every value on a d6, the expected result is actually (1+2+3+4+5+6)/6 = 3.5 damage. Or, more simply:

The expected roll on a die is equal to (1+die sides)/2

This also means every flat +1 to damage is equivalent to increasing your die by one size (1d6 >> 1d8, 1d8 >> 1d10, etc.)

Sharpshooter, adding a flat 10 damage, is close to 3d6. You've almost snuck 5 levels of rogue into 4 levels of fighter, a pretty impressive magic trick with just a minor snag:

A -5 penalty to attack is approximately equivalent to disadvantage.

As an example, let's take a flat DC10 roll with no bonuses. You've got a 50% chance of succeeding. (10/20)

However, if you need to roll twice and both of those rolls need to come up 10 or better, suddenly you've got just a 25% chance of succeeding (10/20 * 10/20 = 100/400 = 1/4). Just as if the check had suddenly become DC15. It's a little different at high or low values (Disadvantage on a DC5 check ends up more like DC11 than DC10), but it's close enough for a rule of thumb.

And the problem is, if we miss, we deal no damage at all.

So to calculate expected damage per attack for a weapon, we need to multiply our expected damage by the odds we hit at all (subtract -25% from those odds, if you've flipped Sharpshooter on.) If you're dealing enough damage with each hit, or if your chance to hit is bad enough, at some point, you lose more expected damage to missing than you gain by adding not-quite-3d6.

And if you're really insane, you can make it into a chart:

This is modeled on a fairly mild mid-level longbow build with some kind of damage rider (ex: Malefic Band) The more damage per attack, the higher the crossover point (where Sharpshooter starts to become worth it) actually is. Note that the Sharpshooter crossover point is higher with advantage - that -5 penalty is a much sharper opportunity cost when it applies to both rolls!

In general:

If you've got at least a 60% chance to hit with a normal attack, use Sharpshooter.

If you've got advantage, turn Sharpshooter off unless you've got at least a 75% chance to hit! Any dice-based riders you can put on will be better. Battlemasters should use maneuvers, for instance.

To offset Sharpshooter penalties, we want flat bonuses. Every +1 and +2 you can scrape up is worth it.

Ok! Statistics over. Back to leveling.

Fighter 6, 8, and 11: Things to pick up at these levels: Dexterity (consider the Athlete feat if you're at an odd Dex), Dexterity, and Extra Attack (2nd edition).

Fighter 12: You've finally got a spare feat! Good stuff includes Crossbow Master (if you're committed to that lifestyle), Alert (to decrease Time To Arrows), and Magic Initiate: Ranger or Warlock.

Items of interest:

We're only really interested in two things for this build:

Increasing our flat to-hit. Every point we can get to offset the Sharpshooter penalty helps.

Big heavy ranged weapons. The bigger, the better.

Hitting Better:

The Sparkle Hands - Forest. Pairs with the Joltshooter for situational advantage against anything wearing metal armor, which is quite a few enemies. This is a rare case where advantage is worth pursuing just because it's available so early and without any action cost.

Marksmanship Hat - Moonrise Towers. Flat +1 to hit, and look dapper doing it.

Horns of the Berserker - Wyrm's Crossing. A situational +2 to hit, if you're confident in your ability to hit. Turn off Sharpshooter just long enough to draw blood, then turn it on and hit even harder.

Legacy of the Masters - Lower City. The only thing better than a flat +1 to hit is a flat +2 to hit.

Circlet of Hunting. Specific to rangers and characters with Magic Initiate, but the +1d4 is just a touch better than Horns of the Berserker, and doesn't hurt you if you roll badly.

Big Heavy Ranged Weapons:

The Joltshooter - Waukeen's Rest. This is a solid longbow for most of the game, accessible as early as level 2-3. Pairs well with the Sparkle Hands. Unless you've also got at least 14 Strength, the bursting electricity damage will be more effective than the Titanstring Bow.

Harold - Zhentarim Hideout. For a more support-oriented character, a Harold-wielding archer is the perfect counterpart to a save-or-suck caster.

The Dead Shot - Lower City. Sharpshooter's perfect match, this bow doubles your proficiency bonus, effectively granting a +4 to hit so long as you avoid having true disadvantage. This is my favorite bow to use with this build, just be prepared to drop a lot of coin to get it.

Hellfire Engine Crossbow - Steel Watch Foundry. Though once again, support-oriented or hybrid characters might prefer a big crossbow. Being able to reposition allies and enemies alike is a useful skill, particularly since creatures moved by another force don't provoke attacks of opportunity.

[grailfinders]

Grailfinders #329: Sakamoto Ryouma (Lancer)

today on Grailfinders we’re building the best argument for a completely superfluous Grailfinders episode, Sakamoto Ryouma (Lancer)! it’s Sakamoto, but again! in-game it’s a stronger version of the original, but here we take all the builds to level twenty regardless of their rarity. what I could do to differentiate this build from the first stumped me for a while, but I think I’ve hit on something.

Ryouma’s still an Echo Knight Fighter to summon his wife as a bonus action, but now instead of a monk and a rogue, he’s a Lore Bard to learn some buffing spells for oryou’s super-saiyan mode.

check out their build breakdown below the cut, or their character sheet over here!

next up: you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out! you better watch out!

Ancestry & Background

I won’t bore you too much here, it’s exactly the same as before (except for one thing). Variant Human, so that’s +1 Wisdom and Charisma, Stealth proficiency, and instead of that UA feat we’re getting Magic Initiate for some Druid spells. Primal Savagery is how oryou will be attacking most of the time now, using her acidic claws instead of your piddly strength score. you also embrace modern technology like weather stations with Druidcraft, and Oryou can keep you safe thanks to her Protection from Evil and Good. Ryouma’s still a Soldier though, so that’s some History and Intimidation proficiency for you.

Ability Scores

this one’s 100% the same. highest to lowest- Charisma, Dexterity, Wisdom, Intelligence, Constitution, Strength. I would love to be able to stat up oryou this time around, but sadly Ryouma’s still the main servant.

Class Levels

1. Fighter 1: this Ryouma’s a bit more martial since he’s a knight class, so he’s starting off as a Fighter. this means his starting proficiencies are completely different, getting proficiency in Strength and Constitution saves, as well as Insight to see through political bullshit and Animal Handling to stretch the definition of “animal” to its breaking point. and “handling”, for that matter.

also, starting as a fighter gets us oryou’s Fighting Style earlier, so pick up Unarmed Fighting, just in case those claws don’t work out. if you’d rather grab something for Ryouma, I’d just go with Two-weapon Fighting and reflavor a rapier as a light spear, with a shortsword in his off-hand.

you also get a Second Wind once a short rest, giving you back some HP as a bonus action thanks to the power of oryou’s healing spit. …she does really have healing spit, right? I didn’t just hallucinate that while forcing my way through the event?

2. Fighter 2: second level fighters can make an Action Surge once a short rest, adding an action to your turn so you can fight like there’s two of you. because there is.

3. Fighter 3: as a third level fighter you become an Echo Knight, letting you Manifest Echo as a bonus action. now oryou can float around in her own space without using your action to move, as long as she’s within 30’ of you whenever your turn ends. it has a good AC but only one HP, so expect to spend your bonus action bringing oryou back a lot. while she’s out you can swap places as a bonus action, and you can attack and make attacks of opportunity from her space. primal savagery doesn’t count as an attack for this, so I guess oryou’s relying on her fists when she’s not hanging around you. that’s disappointing, but we’ll find a way to make her awesome later on.

also, you can Unleash Incarnation once a day to make an extra attack from the echo’s position. if you want to let oryou use a dex weapon, I won’t tell anyone, promise.

4. Bard 1: bouncing over to bard gives you proficiency in Persuasion, as well as the ability to cast Spells using your Charisma. you can also give Bardic Inspiration to your allies Charisma Modifier times per day, letting them add a d6 to any one attack roll, save, or check they make in the minute after you hand it over.

to be more specific about spells, you have Blade Ward to be protected by oryou physically with resistance to weapon damage, and Mage Hand to have her carry random stuff around, for your cantrips. you also get spells like Distort Value to be a smooth-talking bastard that can convince a whole town to sell him their rice supply, Heroism to make everyone else more ardent supporters of restoration, Feather Fall so oryou can save your frail ass from falling, and Thunderwave so she can punch people so hard they go flying.

5. Bard 2: second level bards are Jacks of All Trades, so now you’re at least half-proficient in every skill. you also have a Song of Rest, so you can add more health to your party over short rests. your gf with one hit point will be grateful.

you can also use Unseen Servant now; in case you need to send oryou off on some errands. a vastly, vastly weaker version of oryou, but an oryou none the less.

6. Bard 3: third level bards can learn up on some Lore, giving you an extra three proficiencies, like in Deception, Arcana, and Athletics. this is still Ryouma after all, did you think I’d forget deception? this is also the level you get Expertise in two skills, doubling your proficiency bonus in Insight and Persuasion.

you also get second level spells like Gift of Gab. Ryouma’s good with words, but you probably aren’t. at least, not as good as he is. with this spell you can undo any unfortunate wordings and rewrite your last six seconds of dialogue.

when you want painful dialogue, you can use Cutting Words to spend inspiration on weakening a creature’s attack, check, or damage roll. if your wife only has 1 HP, she’ll need some protecting too. only a little.

7. Bard 4: fourth level bards finally get an Ability Score Improvement, so you can bump up your Dexterity for better spearing an better dodging.

you also learn the Friends cantrip to force your way into conversations, and the Aid spell for our first taste of healing. is giving your echo an extra 5 HP a good use of a spell? god no. could it be cool? maybe! at least you can also give that buff to a couple other friends at the same time.

8. Bard 5: at fifth level you are a Font of Inspiration, so your inspiration dice refill on short rests as well as long ones. they’re also d8s now, so they’re more effective over-all. on top of that, you get third level spells like Mass Healing Word to top off the whole party in one go.

9. Bard 6: sixth level bards get Countercharm, but that’s pretty much useless, we’re here for Additional Magical Secrets, a feat that I will never get tired of pointing out comes before the first magical secrets. basically, you get two extra spells, and they can be from any spell list. use Tidal Wave to send a little splashback at your enemies, and Primal Savagery again to use charisma instead of wisdom. it’s still tied to just you, but now we’re using your good casting modifier.

for his normal spell Sakamoto gets Motivational Speech, a slightly more offense-based heroism, because by this point Acquisitions Incorporated might as well be bankrolling this build.

10. Bard 7: seventh level bards get fourth level spells, and now oryou can finally set off completely on her own with the help of the spells Phantasmal Killer.  every turn the target has to make a wisdom save or they’ll take psychic damage. real simple, but real effective.

11. Bard 8: use this ASI to bump up your Charisma for stronger spells and more inspiration, and now you can Charm Monsters. I mean, you already charmed one!

12. Bard 9: ninth level bards have a better song of rest, and you can also use fifth level spells like Scrying. literally just. send oryou off to spy on people.

13. Bard 10: tenth level bards have d10s for inspiration, plus another round of Expertise! now you’ve got better animal handling and deception. you also get Thunderclap for a free oryou punch, and another round of Magical Secrets!

now you can Summon Draconic Spirit for a full oryou summoning with much more than 1 HP. they get a bunch of resistances, and she even shares one of them with you! on top of that even at the lowest level you can cast it at, oryou will be able to make three attacks each turn! if you just want uppies, you can use Freedom of the Winds to get a piggyback ride from oryou, giving you a flight speed, as well as advantage against being grappled, restrained, or paralyzed. oryou can also yeet you away from an incoming attack or spell, and if you land outside of its range, you take no damage. of course, this also means your ride is over.

14. Bard 11: remember how I mentioned Ryouma conned a whole town out of their food? now it’s time to use it. Heroes’ Feast gives everyone who partakes a panacea against disease and poison, immunity to poison and being frightened, advantage on wisdom saves, and increased HP, all for 24 hours. this is the benefit of being a 5 star.

15. Bard 12: use your last bardic ASI to receive the Gift of the Metallic Dragon. with this, you can cast Cure Wounds once a day for free or by spending spell slots, and oryou can shield you or your allies as a reaction, adding your proficiency bonus to their AC, and you can do that proficiency times a day.

16. Bard 13: thirteenth level bards get seventh level spells like Etherealness. for up to eight hours you can travel around the ethereal plane without having to worry about anything on the material plane, creatures or objects. this seems out of place for Ryouma, but tbf literally every servant should have this spell.

17. Bard 14: at level fourteen your Peerless Skills lets you add inspiration dice to any ability check you make. you’re two people, you should roll like two people. well, one and a half. you both have your weaknesses and it evens out.

you also get one last round of Magical Secrets, turning yourself into oryou in one of two ways! if you want raw power, Tenser’s Transformation gives you plenty of extra health and stronger attacks, but if you want a more thematic transformation, there’s always Draconic Transformation, giving you blindsight, a breath weapon, and wings.

18. Fighter 4: going back to fighter gets you yet another ASI, so bump up your Dexterity for more lancing.

19. Fighter 5: fifth level fighters get an Extra Attack each attack action, that’s two per turn, four with action surge, and up to five with unleash incarnation. sorry it took so long to get this, I just felt the dragon stuff was higher priority.

20. Fighter 6: fighters are awesome, so we get to end this build with another ASI! this time we’re getting the Gift of the Chromatic Dragon, allowing you to add elemental damage to your weapon for up to a minute, and you can react to gain resistance to one instance of elemental damage proficiency times a day. now oryou protects you from everything!

Pros & Cons

Pros:

you have a lot of Protection, so actually getting a solid hit in on you is tough. you have a pretty good AC, plus many, many ways to increase your AC or your save or reduce incoming damage.

you’re also great outside of combat, with tons of expertise in social skills, high charisma, and a way to add even more dice to your skill checks. you will definitely be the face of the party. either you or oryou, at least.

I know I bring this up every time, but flying is awesome. it nullifies most enemies, and it’s just a really cool way to get around.

Cons:

you need all that protection because you’re a politician, not a fighter. you have barely over 100 HP, so a sneeze will put you into power word kill range.

echo knight is super fun, but this time it’s hard to use in combat for us, since oryou’s in-character options for hitting anything are “attack with a -1 to hit” or “hope the DM is kind enough to bend the rules for you.” without a good way to deal damage, the echo knight stuff is just an easily popped balloon.

our biggest goals don’t happen until late game, so for most of the campaign your build will be more awkward than anything else.

[wyllzel]

🔗 Link to Google Doc.

This is how I built Vampire Ascendant Astarion in my latest Tactician playthrough. As a dual-wielding Gloom Stalker Thief, Astarion has his canon Rogue flavoring with the added bonus of the Ranger class’s Extra Attack and other sneaky, more martial abilities.

I like to run Astarion as a Thief Rogue, but Assassin Rogue also works well (though possibly with different gear – for example, you may want to use a longbow instead of dual hand crossbows).

The vibe of this example of a Gloom Stalker Thief is a stealthy, consistent damage dealer. When you reach Act 3, Astarion can focus on a 100-200 HP enemy and take it out (or at least whittle it down) easily. Or, he can spread his many attacks across lower HP minions and take out a bunch in one round.

Ranger has some good control-type spells, but I primarily run the Gloom Stalker Thief as a ranged martial.

This build is not reliant on elixirs, illithid powers, or mods. While I don’t think this multiclass is dependent on gear, the gear I’ve listed will go a long way in ensuring Astarion is a very competent machine gun. 🤗

Disclaimer: While I tried to powergame as much as I could with this build, I also wanted to keep it easy to follow and fairly thematic. I'm not claiming that this is the most powerful Vampire Ascendant build ever!

(Fair warning: Possible spoilers ahead!)

Levelling

I like to start Astarion out in Rogue for the canon flavoring and Extra Bonus Action (Thief Rogue Level 3). But once my party reaches Level 5, I’ll go to Withers and restart Astarion as a Ranger instead for the Extra Attack (Ranger Level 5).

How you progress in the levels is up to you – I recommend reading through the BG3 Wiki pages on Ranger and Rogue and see which of the classes’ benefits you think are most useful! These are just my personal preferences. I’ve also added a star (⭐) next to each of the features I tend to prioritize or take advantage of.

To start with, this is my Astarion’s base stats:

Astarion’s Wisdom Score should be higher than his Intelligence score; any spells he’d be using are Ranger spells (and Rangers cast off Wisdom).

This build guide assumes that Astarion is not the party face – therefore, it’s fairly safe to dump his Charisma stat.

Level 1: Rogue (Level 1)

Sneak Attack ⭐

Select:

Expertise: Stealth, Sleight of Hand

Level 2: Rogue (Level 2)

Cunning Action: Dash

Cunning Action: Disengage

Cunning Action: Hide

Level 3: Rogue (Level 3)

Improved Sneak Attack Damage (+1d6) ⭐

Select:

Subclass: Thief

The Thief subclass has the following benefits:

Fast Hands (Extra Bonus Action)

Second-Story Work (Resistance to Falling Damage)

Level 4: Rogue (Level 4)

Select:

Feat: Ability Improvement (aka ASI) = +1 DEX, +1 WIS ⭐

This should take his Dexterity to 18 and his Wisdom to 16.

Level 5: Rogue (Level 5)

Proficiency Bonus

Improved Sneak Attack Damage (+1d6) ⭐

Level 6: Ranger (Level 1)

Weapon Proficiencies: Simple weapons, martial weapons

Armor Proficiencies: Light armor, medium armor, shields

Select:

1st Favored Enemy: Bounty Hunter

1st Natural Explorer: Urban Tracker

Level 7: Ranger (Level 2)

Select:

Fighting Style: Two-Weapon Fighting ⭐

Spells: Ensnaring Strike, Hunter’s Mark

The Archery Fighting Style could also be good, but I run Astarion as equally reliant on his standard Actions and Bonus Actions – therefore Two-Weapon Fighting works for my build.

Level 8: Ranger (Level 3)

Select:

Subclass: Gloom Stalker

Spells: Fog Cloud

The Gloom Stalker subclass has some awesome benefits:

Dread Ambusher (Extra Attack during the 1st round of combat) ⭐

Dread Ambusher: Hide (Basically another Cunning Action: Hide)

Umbral Shroud (Become Invisible if Obscured)

Superior Darkvision (Darkvision is now 24m / 80ft)

Disguise Self (Gain the ritual spell Disguise Self)

Dread Ambusher, Umbral Shroud, and Superior Darkvision are probably the best features for the stealthy machine gun Gloom Stalker Thief.

Level 9: Ranger (Level 4)

Feat:

Sharpshooter (-5 to Ranged Attack Rolls, but +10 to Ranged Damage Rolls) ⭐

Level 10: Ranger (Level 5)

Extra Attack ⭐

Misty Step (from Gloom Stalker Subclass) ⭐

Select:

Spells: Spike Growth

Level 11: Ranger (Level 6)

Select:

2nd Favored Enemy: Mage Breaker

2nd Natural Explorer: Wasteland Wanderer: Fire

I selected Mage Breaker because I had Astarion’s backstory in mind – Cazador, Astarion’s ultimate antagonist, is primarily a caster during Astarion’s final quest battle. However, True Strike is a notably unhelpful cantrip, so you may want to choose a different Favored Enemy.

I selected Wasteland Wanderer: Fire because Fire is a common Damage type that enemies dole out. For the same reason, Wasteland Wanderer: Poison is also a good selection.

Level 12: Ranger (Level 7)

Select:

Spells: Silence

I picked Silence since it’s almost always useful, but if you have a Cleric (or another caster with access to Silence) on your primary team then you may want to pick a different spell.

Alternatives…

If you went 4 Rogue / 8 Ranger, you’d lose Rogue’s Uncanny Dodge and additional 1d6 damage on Sneak Attack (Level 5) – but gain Ranger’s Land’s Stride: Difficult Terrain (Level 8) and an additional Feat (Level 8).

If you went 5 Rogue / 5 Ranger / 2 Fighter, you’d lose Ranger’s additional Favored Enemy, Natural Explorer (Level 6), and additional spell (Level 7) – but gain Fighter’s Second Wind, Fighting Style (Level 1), and Action Surge (Level 2).

I picked a lot of offensive Ranger spells, but the Ranger class also has some great buff spells like Longstrider and Enhance Leap.

Final Composition

By Level 12, Astarion should have the following notable qualities:

Extra Attack and Extra Bonus Action, resulting in 4 possible Attacks per round.

Sharpshooter: On a ranged weapon hit, deal an extra +10 Damage.

Sneak Attack: On a Sneak Attack hit, deal an extra 3d6 (3-18) Damage.

Two-Weapon Fighting, which adds your Ability Score Modifier (+4) to the damage of your offhand attack.

Gear

I like to equip Gloom Stalker Thief Astarion with the following gear. The evil flavoring on some of the pieces (Helldusk, Bhaalist) definitely adds to the ambience of a Vampire Ascendant Astarion.

I’ve made a small note of why I equipped each piece of gear, but you can visit each Wiki link for the full benefits on each piece! None of this gear is really necessary (except maybe the Risky Ring), but I do recommend having Astarion dual-wield to take advantage of Thief Rogue’s Extra Bonus Action.

Headwear: Marksmanship Hat

+1 to Ranged Attack Rolls

Also, he looks cool in it. LOL.

Armor: Bhaalist Armor

Aura of Murder: Enemies within 2m / 6.5ft become Vulnerable to Piercing Damage (unless they are Resistant or Immune to it)

+2 to Initiative Rolls

Cloak: Shade-Slayer Cloak

Reduces the number needed to roll a Critical Hit while Hiding by 1

Handwear: Helldusk Gloves

+1d6 Fire Damage per Weapon Attack

+1 to Weapon Attack Rolls

Footwear: Helldusk Boots

Any boots that give Astarion the option to position himself more aptly are excellent. For example, the Disintegrating Night Walkers or Spaceshunt Boots are also very good.

Amulet: Amulet of Bhaal

On a hit, inflicts Bleeding on targets that have maximum HP

This feels very apt for a Vampire Ascendant.

Ring A: Risky Ring*

Advantage on Attack Rolls

Disadvantage on Saving Throws

*This ring is extremely important to the build, IMO! The Advantage on Attack Rolls does a lot to offset the -5 to Attack Rolls from the Sharpshooter feat.

Ring B: Caustic Band**

+2 Acid Damage per Weapon Attack

**This ring can add up to +10 Acid Damage, since you have four Attacks and an additional attack on your first round of combat from Dread Ambusher. However, this +8-10 may not be negligible by the time you reach Act 3 – instead, the Killer’s Sweetheart ring (basically one free Critical Hit on demand per long rest) may be more overall effective.

Melee Main Hand: Crimson Mischief

+1d4 Piercing Damage when you have Advantage on targets with <50% of their HP

+7 Piercing Damage when you have Advantage on a target

If you’re wearing the Risky Ring, you’ll almost always have Advantage, so the added Piercing Damages are basically a guarantee.

Melee Off Hand: Rhapsody

Scarlet Remittance: Gain +1 to Attack Rolls, Damage, and Spell Save DC for each foe you slay (up to +3)

Sweet Bloodletting: Possibly inflict Bleeding when hitting a target with this weapon while Hiding or Invisible

Rhapsody used to belong to Cazador – so I find it thematically fitting for a Vampire Ascendant Astarion to now use this knife. But if you’d rather avoid it, Knife of the Undermountain King is also a good one!

Ranged Main Hand: Ne’er Misser

Deals Force Damage rather than Piercing Damage

Gain one use of Magic Missile Level 3 per Short Rest

I like this hand crossbow a lot because some enemies are Resistant to Piercing Damage – but very few (if any?) are Resistant to Force Damage. But since it doesn’t deal Piercing Damage, this hand crossbow won’t benefit from the Bhaalist Armor’s Aura of Murder.

Ranged Off Hand: Hellfire Hand Crossbow

+2 Weapon Enchantment

Hellstalker: Possibly inflict Burning when attacking while Hiding or Invisible

Damage Numbers

After you finish leveling and equipping Vampire Ascendant Astarion, your final Damage stats should look something like the following table. When calculating these numbers, I assumed the following: 

The target isn’t Resistant to Piercing, Force, Acid, Necrotic, or Fire Damage

No conditional Damage on Crimson Mischief

Sharpshooter is toggled on

(I tried to calculate the above numbers by hand… So apologies if my calculations are fudged due to an incorrect understanding of Damage rolls, haha! This should be approximately correct, at least.)

Example: Combat Against Githyanki

For an example of how this build plays, here’s how Level 12, Vampire Ascendant, fully equipped Gloom Stalker Thief Astarion did against a group of Vlaakith’s githyanki warriors (Elfsong Tavern) in Tactician:

Here, Astarion did 43+75+26+35 Damage, or a total of 179 Damage in one round. (And that’s with four Attacks instead of five.) This is pretty standard for how my Act 3 combats tend to go, so I think this is a fair representation of this Astarion build’s abilities.

Conclusion

Of course, there are many other builds for Vampire Ascendant Astarion that can also do ridiculous (if not far more!) Damage. For example, some powergamers will class Astarion as a Monk (usually with the Tavern Brawler feat) – whether that’s Way of the Open Hand for maximum Damage output, or Way of Shadow for more vampiric vibes – with a multiclass dip in Thief Rogue for the Extra Bonus Action. This gives Vampire Ascendant Astarion a standard six Unarmed Strikes per round of combat; he adds 1d10 Necrotic Damage to each of those for an additional 6d10 Necrotic Damage total.

And, of course, even without the Vampire Ascendant trait, this build tends to do a good deal of Damage and can work for any character (whether that be an edgy Tav, the Dark Urge, or a different Companion). For example, a lot of the infernal gear might be cool for a post-Pact Ranger Wyll.

Thanks for reading, and hope this gave you some ideas for your ranged martial builds! :)

[weirdmarioenemies]

Name: Hooligon (again) Debut: Super Paper Mario

That's right! After Mod Chikako and Mod F Boy gave their respective namesakes New Posts, it was only a matter of time that I'd give Hooligon the same treatment. It only took... over a year and a half! Yippee! Good things come to those who wait, and are made by those who procrastinate. Those are words of wisdom that will last you a lifetime!

As you can see in the image above, Hooligon is. Well. It just is! I can't tell you what this is supposed to be! This is easily one of the most abstract enemy designs in the entire Mario franchise, and I love it for precisely that reason. Even by the standards of Super Paper Mario, a game FULL of some of the series' strangest enemies, Hooligon is still weird! I don't know if I can confidently claim Hooligon as the Weirdest Mario Enemy, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's in the top 10.

I can tell you one thing that Hooligon is, and that's a rascal! I mean, the name should be the obvious sign -- Hooligon is a hooligan! Its catch card description states that it loves to wreak havoc in the depths of space, and that they blend into their habitat, waiting to attack... If you go to space, watch out! You might get Hooligon Jumpscared!

This is especially true if you end up in the Whoa Zone, which I assume is their natural habitat. They also appear on Planet Blobule, in Castle Bleck, and in the Flipside Pit of 100 Trials, but I figure the abstract enemy made of green squares is probably from the abstract place also made of green squares. If they're blending into their habitat, then this seems to be the habitat they'd be blending into!

In particular, there's just one room in the Whoa Zone full of Hooligons, with them covering every single surface. There's no escape! Not even in the third dimension, as Hooligons are one of the very few enemies in this game to be three-dimensional! If you're ever feeling down, remember: you have as many dimensions as a weird polygonal snake-type thing in Super Paper Mario (2007)! That always manages to cheer me up.

Hooligons are relatives of the red Eeligon, as an RPG like Super Paper Mario needs to give as many enemies color variations as possible to pad out its bestiary. I'm not complaining! It gives me more to talk about!

For instance, I think "Eeligon" is a funny name. Not as funny as Hooligon, but I appreciate that the localizers decided that this thing is an eel. I guess it's long, and it swims around in space, but that's about where the similarities end. Then again, if starfish and jellyfish can be fish, then sure, why can't Eeligon be an eel? I can't think of anything else it would be.

As discussed in the original post, unlike most color variations, Hooligon and Eeligon are differentiated by their behavior, rather than their health or strength. They have the exact same stats, but Eeligons are swimmers, while Hooligons are hoppers! That being said, for both of them, you need to aim for the head to deal any damage. If you hit their tails, you'll just remove one of their many square segments.

In their Catch Card description, Eeligons are described as having big egos. I don't have anything else to say on that point, I just figured you should know that.

Interestingly enough, despite the fact that Hooligon can be encountered first, appears more frequently, and has the better name, Hooligon is treated as an Eeligon variant, and not the other way around. Hooligon appears after Eeligon in the list of Catch Cards, the variant in the Flopside Pit of 100 Trials is named Dark Eeligon despite having Hooligon behavior, and in Japanese, Eeligon is Furēgon, while Hooligon is Furēgon Plus!

There's not much more to say about these guys. They only appeared in one game, and that's probably the only appearance they're ever gonna get. That being said, I appreciate them a lot. I mean, why wouldn't I? There's a reason I'm Mod Hooligon! Either way, I hope I was able to share some of that appreciation with you. :) Have a nice day

[hetalia-club]

Got Bored And Made An Entire Hetalia Baseball League (HBL)

the league is meant to have fictitious and near impossible goals for regular humans to achieve. They are all scaled beside each other accounting for superhuman strength.

~France's Stats~

France's Batting Averages Regular Season- .279 Projected- .283 Career- .282

Running Speed MPH- 19-22 Hitting Power MPH- 85-90 Regular Season Stolen Bases: 1 Career Stolen Bases: 10 (avoids it and only takes the opportunity if there is a play error)

France would be a good player, valued for his consistency, strategic approach, and balanced hitting profile. He would likely be a dependable presence in the lineup, contributing solidly to the team’s offense with a mix of singles, doubles, and some home runs. His experience and understanding of the game would make him a key player in critical situations, both offensively and defensively. While he might not be the most powerful player, his strengths lie in his reliable batting, good plate discipline, and ability to perform under pressure. France would be a well-rounded player who adds significant value to his team through his consistent performance and baseball intelligence.

Other Players: (will update with link as they are added) America Russia Sweden England Ireland Iceland Canada Denmark Turkey France Scotland Greece Germany Japan Nyo!America Prussia China Nyo!England Spain Austria Italy Norway Romano Finland

breakdown below >> (Chat GTP helped with this part because I'm not good at describing things or sports talk)((it also made me the lay out above I made the stats and it put them in MLB format for me & calculated batting average because math :/ ))

Considerations for France’s Stats:

Balanced Stat Distribution:

Regular Season:

Games Played (GP): 150, indicating he is a regular and dependable player, though he might take a few games off.

At-Bats (AB): 520, showing consistent involvement in the lineup.

Runs (R): 80, reflecting a significant contribution to the team's scoring.

Hits (H): 145, indicating a solid batting average.

Doubles (2B): 28, Triples (3B): 4, Home Runs (HR): 20, showing a balanced hitting profile with some power.

RBI: 75, demonstrating an ability to drive in runs.

Walks (BB): 60, Strikeouts (SO)**: 100, reflecting good plate discipline and contact skills.

Projected:

Slight improvements across the board to reflect continued growth and consistency.

Career:

Games Played (GP): 1800, reflecting a long and productive career.

At-Bats (AB): 6200, showing sustained participation and consistency.

Runs (R): 1000, Hits (H): 1750, Doubles (2B): 340, Triples (3B): 60, Home Runs (HR): 270.

RBI: 950, indicating a consistent ability to contribute to the team’s offense.

Walks (BB): 750, Strikeouts (SO)**: 1150, showing excellent plate discipline over his career.

Summary:

Regular Season: France’s stats reflect his charming, experienced, and skillful nature, making him a productive and stylish player.

Projected: Small improvements in key areas such as hits, runs, and home runs to reflect potential for continued growth.

Career: Cumulative stats that highlight a long, consistent, and productive career, aligning with his experienced and artistic character.

Player Analysis: France

Character Traits:

Charming and Elegant: France is known for his suave and charming personality, suggesting a refined and stylish approach to the game.

Experienced and Wise: His age and wisdom imply a deep understanding of the game, possibly making him a strategic and thoughtful player.

Passionate and Artistic: France’s passion and creativity might translate into a flair for dramatic and skillful plays on the field.

Strengths:

Consistent Hitter: With a batting average around .279 to .283, France demonstrates solid hitting skills. He can consistently get on base and contribute to the team's offense.

Balanced Power: France’s stats show a good mix of doubles, triples, and home runs, indicating he has some power and can hit extra-base hits effectively.

Plate Discipline: With a decent number of walks (BB) and a relatively moderate number of strikeouts (SO), France shows good plate discipline. He understands the strike zone well and can draw walks, adding value to his on-base percentage.

Experience and Wisdom: His strategic approach to the game, driven by his experience and understanding, makes him a valuable player in critical situations. He likely has a good baseball IQ and can anticipate plays and pitches.

Weaknesses:

Consistency Over Explosiveness: While France is a reliable and consistent hitter, he might lack the explosive power of elite sluggers. His home run totals are good but not exceptional, suggesting he contributes more through consistent contact and situational hitting rather than sheer power.

Fielding: Based on his character, France might be more focused on his offensive contributions. There’s no strong indication that he would be an elite fielder. His fielding might be adequate, but not a standout aspect of his game.