#wishlist: general

[tadbitfooled]

some thoughts on how could someone have met any of my muses prior to the events of the game

Tadpoled Crew

Briza - good luck you probably wouldn't have unless you were around Cormanthor. Briza's mainly been around those forests her entire life, working as a bit of a guard/ranger for her House. Maybe when she was a kid before they were exiled from Menzoberranzan.

Durante - He's from northern Faerun, near the wilds. I might stick him near Neverwinter, but a small village where that's the nearest city. He was in an orphanage run by Ilmatari so if you too were an orphan and need an orphan buddy! But also he worked in the north under an established sculptor who used Durante's abilities as he got older and claimed Durante's work as his own to make works.

Frits - He went to Blackstaff, you could be peers. His family owns a flower shop in Waterdeep, that could be another way. Perhaps on one of his little research adventures he was oft to go on!

Gwenifar - As a cleric of Ilmater, she's often where she's most needed. EG, I have this old wishlist post involving a Gale background meeting possibility, but she's also been to battlefields and other areas of illness. Around Baldur's Gate, she's also helped with fundraising for the Open Hand Temple due to her decent charisma, especially with the city's well off.

Talilah - She's traveled all around Faerun with a base area of around Baldur's Gate with her mother's troupe. She's stolen from corrupt nobles with the troupe like robin hood scenario. She's probably had her own little adventures, she is 136.

Tavinkas - he's a Durge so there's a bit there, but he did travel around Faerun killing people for a time. But he was skilled in disguise self spells, like I mentioned here, so it may be difficult or not. I'll pay you ten imaginary dollars to have him have killed your not as long lived character's parents.

Camp Followers

Anatol - this man wants to play hero so bad. So he's definitely been on some daring dos to do that, but like. Someone babysit him please. He is a dumb golden retriever.

Kyrirthlila - she's 349. She's been doing her Robin Hood troupe for over 200 years. She's had her fair share of adventures and other travels. It's very easy to have people she's met before.

Background/Side

Aella - real easy if you're a Gale. But also she's a bard who travels around with a band to perform so there's some possibility there.

Arakhivaen - he's been doing the Elf Isolation thing for about 130 years so a little more difficult, but if your muse has ties to Evereska or the elven nobility, definitely easier to set up possible prior meetings.

Arzan - make second gen characters. Let's be problem children together.

Chiela - once again a little difficult due to having moved to Evermeet, but there was still around I think...40 or so years she was in BG. But also easy for Astar.ions.

Klaudius - really easy for any dead three followers tbh, since Lovia.tar is Bane's wife and a minor goddess of his realm. But also Klaudius is from a decently well off family of BG (not patriars, but ranked up there) and he does at times will hold the guise of the 'proper society' to do his psychological manipulation tactics.

Perun - once again easy if you're a Gale. But also he works as an (successful) adventurer, so he's traveling Faerun as well when he's not home.

[justashadetalkative]

Spire Teleportation Mishaps

Figured I'd put together a list of some of the more common potential causes as inspiration for future use! It's an easy trope for tossing folk into your setting and having them be Actually Stranded for at least a little while, and can serve as fodder for additional complications besides.

(This is mostly for my own reference, but feel free to DM me if any of these capture your imagination and you want me to put together a starter. ^_^)

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Vector wyrms:

These are creatures that are drawn to the energy of connections between planes and try to eat anything traveling through. The Spire has had one or two infestations over the years.

Most of the folk who can enact interdimensional travel from the Spire can react in time to avoid getting eaten, but this often involves reaching for the metaphysically "closest" destination, and can also involve arriving with quite a bit of speed. (Or, rather, a lack of necessary motion; a failure to completely sync up with the motion of a given planetary body.)

Injuries from the landing are pretty common, and the emergency spellwork during the save itself usually isn’t gentle, either.

This can be just the messed up teleportation, or the wyrm could get pulled through into the new setting as well and everyone would have to deal with a cranky void critter!

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Minor disruptions:

On a less extreme front than the vector wyrms, sometimes Shit Happens and there’s a magic surge, or one of the Spire’s less scrupulous inhabitants decides to mess with folk, or the target destination is protected with a redirection spell, or somebody disrupts the casting at the last moment, etc.

Due to his epilepsy, Diamond builds most of his teleportation spells with a strict pass/fail structure. Either he completely finishes casting the spell and successfully enacts the final instantaneous 'trigger', or he doesn't trigger it and the spell fizzles harmlessly.

But other less cautious mages can be more susceptible to this, and it doesn't protect against active outside redirection and such.

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Plain old mistakes:

If Diamond (or other teleporting party) doesn’t have a pre-made anchor to target, the spell can literally just misfire.

This is pretty rare – otherwise teleportation wouldn't be trusted as a frequent mode of travel! But it does happen.

In Diamond's case, it's more likely if he’s rushed (e.g. fleeing from something), unwell, or burnt out from too much casting.

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Spire connections:

In much the same way that the Spire itself sometimes draws in (seemingly) random people from random worlds, it does sometimes send its inhabitants to places, too.

This one is literally, in-universely narratively convenient. It absolutely tends to involve showing up in some moment when the arrival will help or disrupt something significant.

People being trapped, in danger, or feeling like they’re short on options or don't have a safe place to go are pretty common triggers.

The other direction of “the Spire needs something these people or this world could theoretically provide” happens, too!

On the other end of the intensity spectrum, sometimes literally all that prompts it is dramatic irony

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Banishment:

Cueing off the D&D spell: Some enemy caster (or Clemcy in a bad mood sdlghdf) decides to planeshift someone to get them out of the way.

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Losing a tail:

During certain plot events, Spire casters might be forced to hop through a fairly rapid sequence of teleportations to different realms in an effort to keep someone from tracking directly back to the Spire.

Needless to say it’s a bit draining, and can result in mistakes -- or in the caster simply running out of energy and being forced to rest before they'd intended!

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Malfunctioning equipment:

Some of the Spire’s engineers are a little, uh, reckless. Sometimes folk get caught in the crossfire. :')

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Others to be added as I think of them!

[justassorted]

Targeted prompts

Send in an emoticon for a small interaction! Or just send the prompt itself if you can’t see the icon. ^_^

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🐞— for Mirian to show your muse something she thinks is neat.

😂 — for Mirian to laugh at your muse.

🌈 — for Mirian to try to cheer up your muse.

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🏥 — for Ithadel to treat your muse’s injury/illness.

🙅— for Ithadel to protect your muse from danger or prevent your muse from endangering others. 

🆘 — for Ithadel to come to your muse for help. (Specify practical vs. personal if you have a preferred angst level!)

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🤩 — for Oscar to enthuse about something to your muse.

🤨 — for Oscar to stick his nose into your muse’s business.

🌻 — for Oscar to do something nice for your muse.

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🦂 — for Skitter to attack your muse.

❓— for Skitter to ask your muse to explain something.

💲— for Skitter to work professionally with or for your muse (mercenary in humanoid AU, surgeon in original alien verse).

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[muzsmocsing]

See this?

very demure ✅ very mindful ✅

very cutesy ✅ non-violent ✅

Keep this energy guys. Please.

[kirby-the-gorb]

[prim3dsins]

{Source}

[weevmo]

you will be Mine...

[isabelleneville]

♕ @dailytudors​: TUDOR WEEK 2023 ♕

Day Five: Most Used Tudor Related Resource >> My slowly expanding collection of Tudor nonfiction books.

[botanikos]

Adding to my rp wishlist and/or verses later: AU where Stolas is a Sinner & works in the sex industry with/like Angel. And yes, they are best friends. How did you know?

[fidgetspringer-art]

✧ The Ardal stars ✧

[tadbitfooled]

I wrote a post a few weeks ago about ways your muse could've met one of mine before the game BUT I have no idea where it went so we'll make a new, more organized post.

Tadpoled

Briza Jaelre

If you're a surface drow, it would be easier to have met her prior. She's the oldest child of the Jaelre family of her generation and has some good political standing due to that.

Also if your muse has been around the forest of Cormanthor, where the exiled House Jaelre has set up their home, your muse may have run into her while she's been patrolling. Or even have done trade with her house if your muse is from that area.

Also I could see some parties or something happening where it's forging alliances with the surfacers and showing the house Jaelre isn't as cutthroat as the Lolth sworn drow. (But they aren't afraid to get their hands messy.)

Durante Faust

He's been an apprentice to a sculptor since he was a teenager. He easily could've tagged along when his master was doing a commission.

Then there's also the fact he'd also eventually start getting his own commissions, especially because he does have an almost unnatural skill in his work. (It is really life like, and no not due to magic, just talent.)

He is the most likely person your muse could've had a random one night stand with at one point. So there's also fun in that. Or he could have wooed and ran, that is also a possibility.

Frits Farehill

He is 35 and attended Blackstaff; he could easily be someone's former classmate/peer.

I accidentally made him really good as a possibly bg person for Ga.le just because his parents also own a flower shop in Waterdeep and the prior bullet point.

Frits has 11 siblings so maybe your muse may know him through a sibling

Frits does a lot of traveling for his research with his partner, so it's very easy to have crossed paths with him before, even just for a short while.

Gwenifar van Hol

Gwenifar's been around with her duties as a cleric. From dealing with plagues and illnesses to helping tend to people in battle. She's quite adept at her healing and making healing potions and salves, so she's been requested to travel to quite a few places in Faerun.

Beyond that, in recent years, she's helped raise funds for the Open Hand Temple by attending various get togethers of the well-to-do, having gained a bit of charisma as she's gotten older. So she does often interact with Baldur's Gate's elite, as well as tend to those in need in the city.

Talilah Bluethorn

She has traveled all around Faerun, helping her mother steal from the rich and give to the poor. She's also been on a few adventures besides that, so there's some options there.

Your muse, if they're a high elf from Evereska, might even not know her but know her father, who she has a strong resemblance to. Which could be fun.

Also if your muse is rich, maybe she and her fellows stole from them that'd be a great dynamic.

Tavinkas

He's a durge so like. He's traveled around Faerun but to kill people. What if he killed someone your muse cared about. what if.

Also other cultists and that who would work with Bhaalists, that's another way to have met him prior to the game.

Camp Followers

Anatol Byron

Look, this guy has been looking to create a heroic name for himself, being the third son of a noble family. He feels it's his destiny to do something heroic, he's got a good heart but uh. Sometimes not so bright.

Also as being the third son of a noble family, there are options of arranged marriage plots, meeting at revelries, or other type settings.

Kyrirthlila Bluethorn

Like with her daughter, she's been stealing from well-to-do for about 250 years. So that's a way to have met her prior. Also has had her own adventures and that, so that's something to consider too.

Background

Aella Dekarios

You might know her if your muse is from Waterdeep. She's part of a traveling minstrel group and they tour all around Faerun too. She's had her adventure here and there.

Also you're more than welcome to want to be her wife with two kids, I left it vague just in case anyone wants to be Ga.le's in-law.

Arakhivaen Saliriador

One of the harder muses. His mother is on the royal council of Evermeet, and he's a guard in Evereska. But if your muse is a high elf noble, then that would be the easiest way to have met him before, considering there's The Retreat that happened and it's only in recent years high elves are coming back to the mainland.

If you do have an older muse, though, Arakhivaen might have had more to do with interacting with wider Faerun before The Retreat (about 150 ish years ago).

Arzan Ancunin

He's a second gen, so there's no meeting him prior to the game, unless there's some wild time travel set up. But there's still options to pre-establish a relationship for interactions. Considering he's a dhampir looking for a cure for vampirism for his father, something beyond the options available that can do a mass cure. OR you go the ascended route and he's trying to stop his father.

Chiela Ancunin

Another difficult one due to The Retreat, but she was around Baldur's Gate prior to it. Tended to her brother's grave and all that. Not to mention I hc their parents were very much ladder climbing lower noble/upper middle class, so there's something to play with as well.

Obviously wildly easier if your muse is a high elf who can go to Evereska/Evermeet.

Ingeleif Maerklos

Went to Blackstaff, is 36. 100% is an arrogant piece of work.

if your muse is from Waterdeep, they should know the Maerklos family. As a noble, he's probably had his interactions at parties and get togethers. Maybe even arranged marriage discussions before he became a Chosen of Mystra.

As a Chosen of Mystra, he has had to go in search of ways to strengthen the Weave after the events in recent history. So your muse could've met him on a quest.

Klaudius Sarrick

He's a wealthy man leading a double life in Baldur's Gate. He's very used to interacting with high society in balls and that sort of thing.

But also other cultists who would work with a Loviat.an.

Perun Dekarios

He works as adventurer; probably if your muse is an adventurer, could've met him. Also he's very social and very charming, easily could've charmed his way into a well-to-do party (although the Dekarios family is a decently well off clan in my opinion.)

Also left his wife and three kids vague in case anyone wants to be Ga.le's in-law

[bonebabbles]

you should play Dredge

Played! I enjoyed it. I only have 7 hours in it, though.

In fact, my personal buddy is suuuuper into Dredge, it's his favorite game. We played it zealously together during a visit, during which I got absolutely mobbed by like every random monster ever at Gale Cliffs. The squid. The ray. The thing that rots your fish. The actual big mama monster who lives in the cliffs.

He remarked he had NEVER seen such bad luck before lmaoooo

Women want me but the fish do not fear me, sadly. The fish and I are engaged in mutually assured destruction.

[burnsmultisin]

{Source}

[mad-hunts]

barton employing his ' dad voice ' whenever someone comes in because that seems to be, by far, the best way to calm someone down whenever they come into his clinic in AGONIZING pain + with an injury that needs dire attention is... idk. i have many feelings about it okok but whenever i say ' dad voice, ' i mean this very specific tone that barton used to use and sometimes still uses whenever his kids are just completely inconsolable that sounds like the gentlest thing ever while he's telling them that ' everything's going to be alright. i'm not going to let anything happen to you. ' 😭

and yes, this would apply to other rogues as well, especially if they have something that requires them to be put under anesthesia. because if you go under anesthesia whenever you're frightened... it's likely that you're going to wake up that way, too, which is something that he doesn't want. but yeah just thinking about this makes my heart kind of sad but happy at the same time bc barton actually is a GOOD doctor (with his bedside manner being surprisingly positive whenever it comes down to it and stuff ) ,, if only he were good all around

[forcedhesitation]

I definitely do not have the time for a full essay's worth of commentary on the Casting of Frank Stone, but I definitely could give you that if I did. There is...a lot to take apart there. I am certainly...fascinated...by some of the writing & gameplay choices they made, to summarise my thoughts somewhat vaguely.

A few spoilery comments under the cut.

Like I said, I don't really have the time to offer extensive analysis (a full paper) of the game, but I do want to say a few things.

First and foremost: Do not purchase this game. In the words of Mr. Otzdarva himself: Go and watch someone play it instead. Your play through will be 95% the same as theirs. It is not worth your 50 dollars. If you still want it after you've viewed someone else's playthrough, that is your own right.

I honestly became annoyed with the writing much faster than Mr. Otzdarva did, and at first I thought it was because I was spoiled by BG3's infinitely better writing. But no, it's rather that he was being very patient. He finished with a rather negative opinion of the game, after thoroughly going through it to test just how much control you as the player really have.

I will be fair-- It is certainly a visually stunning game, as far as Supermassive titles go. Much better looking than The Devil in Me. The music is also incredible. And some of the voice acting was well done and added much needed life to otherwise bland characters.

But good grief is the writing utterly nonsensical!! Even if you respect the "a multiverse exists, so anything is possible" fact which is canon to Dead by Daylight itself, it still doesn't make any damned sense. I mean, is it ever explained why there is time travel involved? Or how it is even possible? Did they simply expect people to just assume that Augustine figured out time travel in a certain timeline? Does it have something to do with the Entity, since it can clearly traverse time? If so, why was Sam able to voluntarily time travel to Madi & elder Linda's timeline? Why and how the FUCK is Frank Stone first bound to the mill and then camera using what is clearly the same magic as the horologium, when we know the Entity has not yet been brought to that timeline??

And playing the "anything is possible" card would be fine to explain certain things, I will concede, but it really starts to feel meaningless when you realise just how many massive plot elements are never explained and that none of your choices really have any impact on the ending of the game. The story literally ends the same no matter what you do. And to be fair, I do not think it is a bad ending at all. Barring the corny "trial starting" sound that they jammed in at the last second, I thought the ending was one of the better parts of the game. It works great to make you feel hopeless, and like there is truly no escape from the Entity. I just feel that this format of a "your choices impact the outcome of the story" game was the incorrect format for the story they wanted to tell. Because it truly doesn't even matter if you get everyone killed, or you save everyone-- everything happens the same way and the world's fate is the same.

There are other things that bothered me, too. I thought having Frank Stone appear as this corny, glitchy spectral monster for most of the game was...a terrible choice, both design wise and writing wise. Now, I do not think killing him in the opening was necessarily a bad decision. I honestly thought it was a bold choice that functioned well to surprise the viewer and urge them to continue, so they might discover how the story plays out after the death of the titular character. But keeping him as this ghoulish creature, that honestly looked as though it were from some solo indie developer's first low budget horror game, was awful. He did not feel threatening whatsoever, just wildly out of place in a visual quality sense. I hate the final design much less, it is certainly much more threatening and much, much more gruesome, but it still does not make sense as to why he looks that way. The Entity still had not taken him, why did he appear as this inhuman monster before his entry into the Fog? They should have kept a more humanlike design until the very end of the game, when the Entity arrives. Then, a transformation sequence where the Entity mutates him should have been restricted to the ending where no one from the cast is seen in the Fog, so players at least get something different in that allegedly "unique" ending. After all, if a cast member does get taken, at least you get to see visions of what followed the 1980s storyline.

Also why did Augustine work alone when she is clearly part of the Black Vale? The excuse of "the cult didn't exist yet" doesn't work here, because she can time travel and is fully aware of the multiverse she exists in. Like... I thought elder Linda's mention of secret passages being for staff "so they are seen as little as possible" was foreshadowing for Augustine having fellow cultists aiding her, but it just went nowhere. Another thing that goes nowhere is the baby that Sam can save at the very beginning. Should the baby live or die has absolutely no impact whatsoever on the story, which feels like an enormous mistake to me. That baby should have grown up to be a character that the cast could have interacted with to gain...oh I don't know, some piece of important knowledge, or an item, that could then later change the fate of the cast. This way, the player's choices in the 1960s segment actually have an impact on later gameplay, rather than meaning absolutely nothing.

I'd also love to know why the hell elder Sam was sent alone to prevent this situation from occurring, when the Imperatti (I think they were called? The parents of the Pariahs, or something, right?) would have surely realised the gravity of this situation? Like, how does this make any sense? And this is far from the only moment that makes no sense at all.

Why do Jaime and Robert have almost no relevance whatsoever after the 1980s segment concludes? Robert is guaranteed survival of this segment, as that part of the game is written so that two characters always survive-- be that Linda and Robert, or Sam and Robert. As annoying as Stan was, I didn't hate him because he had great dialogue that pushed other characters to have different dialogue than what we were used to. But it felt scummy that Robert was just given this sad, offscreen death instead of being included in a lot more meaningful way.

Not going to lie, it reminded me of how in Stranger Things 4, Patrick was the one teenager whose trauma wasn't really explored or given the same respect as the others. It's like the writers went, "Guys, guys! It's okay! We still have the other Black guy! This makes our game Diverse, and therefore no one could possibly complain!" Meanwhile, we get an entire cutscene about Madi's nightmares, and elder Linda's movie career and associated trauma is talked about numerous times. But all we know about 2024 Robert is that Stan took advantage of him, and then he later died, utterly miserable. Also, Sam somehow knows about this and he and Stan know one another, despite this Sam being from a different timeline than elder Linda, Madi, and Stan himself.

And Jaime, poor sweet Jaime, he really just feels like he's there as someone they can conveniently kill to shock the player. The first chance he has to die results in a horrible, very graphic death (although not the most graphic in the game by a long shot) that I feel many players will encounter because they see it as reasonable to visit the curiosities shop first, and then to later attempt to save Chris (even though her fate is the same here, regardless of what you do). And even if you should keep Jaime alive through that first confrontation with the spectral Frank Stone, it's not as though his survival impacts following events. He can die again, when fleeing Frank with Bonnie and an injured Linda. Why they have Linda, who has a gaping hole in her shoulder, attempt to pull Jaime up the platform alone while HIS OLDER SISTER just WATCHES is beyond me. But writing his death, whether it be here, or earlier, to have no impact on Bonnie's fate, or any future events, is plain bad writing.

You cannot save Bonnie, no matter what you do. And this scene makes no sense. When Frank grabs Bonnie, Linda points the camera at him, which should work. There really isn't any reasonable explanation as to why this should not work, or should not even momentarily distract him (Which could have led to a different ending where Bonnie lives and Linda dies instead?), because in the storm drain, so much as yelling at Frank causes him to abandon whoever he's attacking to seek out the new target. I suppose, at the very least, 1980s Bonnie's death does serve some kind of purpose in the 2024 storyline, because it serves as foreshadowing for Madi's potential fate. But just like Robert, 2024 Bonnie is given a sad offscreen death and we never really learn about how she or Jaime survived that night at the mill.

And I will say, it just feels shitty from a player point of view, to make it so you cannot save certain characters. Like, I'm sorry, is that a canon event? Where is Mr. O'Hara? Because Madi must be a god-damned anomaly, being Bonnie's daughter!! And Chris- god- Chris who mysteriously travels through time...I really do hate this part of the story because understanding its purpose can only happen if you manage to get the secret ending where she goes through the projector screen and DOESN'T burn and die. Which would require you to not have taken the pocket mirror or given the "protective" amulet to her. This unlocks a secret ending where she goes back in time to the moment where she, Jaime, and Linda were inintially shooting in the mill, right before Sam interrupted them. I took this as the writers trying to show us that there would be one timeline in which Frank Stone is never released (not sure how he ever was in the first place, really), likely saving them from the Entity. But other than the player somehow luckily getting this ending, I really don't see the point of Chris' time travel, because she can also be sent immediately back in the horologium, which does nothing meaningful. And why does it have to be Chris? Why not write it so it could be her or Jaime, so that maybe the player's choice to have her and Jaime breakup or not actually has some kind of impact on the gameplay?

One of the worst things about the game though, and I cannot stress this enough, is how badly the references to DBD are integrated. I love a good reference-- it can serve to add a little playful flair to a moment, or even go so far as to have the viewer look at the piece from a different perspective they had not previously considered. Buuuut... this is only if the reference is done well. And, well, what this game does could hardly be described as tolerable, even. In was so heavy-handed, it felt almost as bad as product placement in a Michael Bay movie. Many of these "references" felt out of place to the degree that someone with no knowledge of DBD would be likely able to pick them out, because they heavily disrupt either the game's aesthetic or the gameplay itself! One generator was funny, and honestly expected, but THREE of those damn things? Clunky, corny, and honestly? Lazy.

Unfortunately, I feel those three adjectives describe how I feel about the game overall. I feel bad for the people who put hard work into making it, because there is potential there for something great. But it really felt as though they were pushed to release this game as quickly as possible, so BHVR could sell us a 50 dollar, five-to-six-hour advertisement for their next DLC chapter. Hard to think anything else, really, when completion of the game is followed by a a literal ad for it.

All I can say is-- I really hope we get 2024 Linda as a survivor. It seems more likely that it will be Madi, but it is possible we could have a two-survivor chapter (unless they specifically outlined in the roadmap that there are no upcoming 2-survivor chapters?).

Madi and 2024 Linda would be cool though. We have no older women as survivors, despite having more than one older man. I think it's about damn time. And I love the mother/daughter bond that can sort of develop between Madi and 2024 Linda in the game.

[prim3dsins]

{Source} @the-winter-brothel