#so does derek in icebound

[twentysidednerd]

continuing with my legends of avantris dive, guess who started watching once upon a witchlight more regularly and almost answered a question from their mom in a shitty torbek impression? this guyyyy, lmaoo

i’m mostly caught up with edge of midnight so i’m splitting my time between icebound and once upon a witchlight and the second i got to torbek’s introduction, i knew i had a new favorite lol. i love my stinky, sad bugbear man (tbf, i think i just have a soft spot for most if not all of andy’s characters lol)

also if anyone’s wondering, my old favorite character in witchlight was a tie between frost and gideon. they currently share second place

[littlebirdssinging]

I’m just sitting here trying to watch Icebound Side Story 2, and instead I get jump-scared by smooth Derek

[andro-dino]

not to like keep basically live-blogging my icebound rewatch but like. another point of just how fun it is to rewatch icebound that I want to appreciate is that Derek fucking pavlov’d me into feeling immense fear and dread whenever he does the chimes. Like yeah when it’s all at the stuff with the actual lighthouse and all that, the fear and dread is just very heavy across everything, but when I got to ep 20, WHICH HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE LIGHTHOUSE OR ANY OF THAT YET, and it fucking opened with the chimes, I genuinely fucking screamed like it triggered such an actual visceral reaction in me and I think that is just so insane

[crimalwx]

my moods while watching icebound

I'm on ep 14. how does Derek make me so scared with these moments. what the fuck

[yeehawkins]

...so NOBODY is gonna talk about the SCREAM derek does in episode 7 of icebound huh

[dark-twist-fairytales]

Loa x assassins creed?

...elaborate (This sounds very cool)

Oo- I didn't even think about Assassins Creed specifically, but that makes things so much more interesting.

Because Prime is the current day, that could be a parallel with Desmond, and link back to all of the LoA cast (since Derek features in a couple of sessions, and if I'm willing (which, I quite possibly am) to make Orpheus a connector to Mace's characters), it only brings more interest into it!

So, time line wise, I am pulling based off of games I've played/known (which... is pretty much all except 1, Valhalla, Shadows, and Odyssey), and we'll start from Icebound and work our way down the campaigns based on the loose canon!

And uhh... Sorry, this got lengthy with just Icebound, uhm-

Icebound

[PT: Icebound]

This one will pull heavily off of Black Flag, they're sailor assassins! Or, turn to them, at least. In the beginning, it runs the same: This rag-tag group find each other, but are incarcerated before they get a chance to be set up. How? Well, word got out that there was an assassination was being planned, and taking no chances, they were arrested.

Well... The guards weren't technically wrong with that assumption, but they grabbed the wrong assassin, and the kill went through anyways. Generally runs the same, they are let go by the captain and brought on board the More Abound, given their roles, and set sailing towards Chaac!

..... A true mutiny is planned, and the five of them crowd around and discuss what they're going to do. That's when the cards hit the table, Taishen says they go for the mutiny, Barnabos is a much more reliable captain. Skrimm's right in trying to find the papers and rip them, who all survives can be healed by Jornir, and Queenie can start planting more seeds to pit everyone against each other with her words, she sees everyone practically from serving them drinks.

Barnabos is originally against it because Skrimm's the only one saying it, but now Taishen is as well.. Maybe the dragonborn has a point. And the mutiny goes through. Few survive, and the five of them purposefully stay back to watch it happen. Then the crew goes down... One by one... Especially after a particular attack from someone in the crew leading the attacker to them.

Moral is low, yet the few that remain get told: Taishen is an assassin. He understands if the group doesn't want him on board, and he's willing to leave off the ship, if that's the case, but.... No, the other four don't kick him off. Upset they weren't told sooner? Yes, reasonably, but given the nature, it's still understandable. They wouldn't have gotten this far regardless, and based on papers Skrimm had found in the captain quarters... Well, maybe fate was right.

So, they go off in sailing, keeping course to head for Drakkar despite it all. Why? Well, Myelin. They're both part of the brotherhood, and a promise made is one kept: Trying to free his daughters. If they were able to wringle around and make it out, they could free them.

And they do. They managed to free both Daisy and Honey, and now they sail on the More Abound. But, the others play into this as well.

Obviously, Barnabos is an experienced sailor and beast slayer, and now captains the More Abound, renamed to something else [to be decided], but he holds his own when in battles, especially in larger groups.

Queenie is a very experienced hunter, and while apprehensive at first to joining and killing what could be kind folks, it's only afterwards when Taishen produces solid information does she go "alright, let's kill the bastard".

Jornir is a medicine man tried and true, and while he doesn't like to be caught in the fray of battle, him being a backliner and healing is so much more valuable than credited for. However, traveling more on the expanse of the ocean is.. Much nicer than he expected, despite being an artic druid.

Now Skrimm needs a lot more convincing to try and be anything more than a low thief, but there's a dark feeling that wells in him that's so.. Unreasonably okay, in his eyes, of the prospect of being sneaky and stabby. He decides to fall into the content, way sooner than he expected, but far later than everyone else, and he becomes a for true assassin. Him and Queenie make for a deadly duo.

Myelin takes his time to train Queenie and Daisy, Queenie to be a bit more stealthy (which doesn't take long), and Daisy to touch up on her hunting skills and stealth.

Taishen takes time with Skrimm, Honey, and Barnabos with equal parts stealth and sparring, playing dirty and getting down to business, to not rely solely on magic and to find a rhythm with their bodies.

Curse of Strahdanya

[Pt: Curse of Strahdanya]

Ooo boy, this one is a bit more of a dive. This one actually pulls more off of Assassins Creed 3, which, if you know that game, has twists and turns like you wouldn't believe.

Generally, it plays off the same, Clayton finds and expedition and pulls it together, hiring on Sarnax and Shepherd, allowing Victoria passage as his assistant, and eventually taking Kana on as well. However, Clayton is, what's called in the assassin world, as an overhead. [I'm making this terms up, so prone to change].

With Clayton as an overhead, Victoria has a secondary goal: Protect him. Oh, I haven't said that yet, have I? Victoria is an assassin! The brotherhood took her in and trained her, unbeknownst to her father. Her mother and biological father were both assassins, it's how they knew each other, but the plan for Victoria's father to become an overhead failed.

But not in vein.

Victoria's still learning and honing her magic, but she's much more skilled with a sword than in canon, her natural ability to stealth is a very affirming assist to her skill set. And now she has this hunter, a cleric, and a very skilled ronin all within her group to keep Clayton safe.

Because of the nature of Curse of Strahdanya, everything generally runs the same, except for the ending, but that's because, while poetic, I can make it even more poetic and heroic and I want to.

Regardless: Clayton is an overhead, he helps fund the brotherhood located in Barghest, but only became one because of Victoria coaxing him in. Of course, on his own volition, and once he saw what was implied with it, well... He uses it to his advantage, and that relationship, while a very very dangerous one, is equally useful for both groups. High risk, high reward.

Victoria is, obviously, the assassin that, instead of converting like Taishen, protects and understand with the mutual goal in mind. She is much more determined and lazer focused, actually working with trickery to take her target down. Much more confident with herself, but plays it like she isn't, a trick of the mind.

Shepherd is already a very skilled ranger, combined with Kana's skill as a samurai, they're a deadly duo. Victoria has much more sympathy for Shepherd when he says and she realizes that for him, this was just a job. Still, she offers a place in the brotherhood, if not for skill, then for protection and security. He takes the offer, but coming around to it takes time, after making sure his folks are already, he travels to Barghest with Doc after mentioning it once. Turns out: What Doc was running from, after so long of mystery, was from his past assassin life, at least here he was. They work together, making and trading guns and ammo to rangers as well as training them with it, tampering with his own guns to make them more quiet once back in Yona.

With Kana, she offers as much of a place in the brotherhood, as her unique skill set would greatly help with both combating against and fighting with. If she ever wanted to expand herself in that direction, the door is open. She decides to visit after the fact, to at least offer to train them with a more samurai sturdiness and precision. She doesn't directly join, but she is renowned and her lessons are taught.

And Sarnax, while they don't exactly see eye to eye, Victoria still offers a place. The brotherhood could always use healers, and sometimes bright and bold is better than stealth and quiet. When all is said and done, he does go visit (yes, he's alive here in the end), for Gherix willed it for him. This journey to Barovia may be over, but the next one has just begun. And he spreads Gherix's teaches to other healers, in a way he finds much more fitting than the cult did. Even teaching a younger lizardfolk to become a cleric and spread his teachings when he has passed.

Beneath Dark Wings

[Pt: Beneath Dark Wings]

This one, honestly, I'm pulling more off of Unity for this, the first Assassins Creed game I owned myself and, shamelessly, the reason I learned French in high school.

Soooooo, remember in like.. Episode 3, Derek points out that Caprice was conceptually a spy? Yeah, that stays. Caprice is an assassin, but he's not here trying to convert the group to be an assassin group. If anything, due to the political nature of Beneath Dark Wings, he's trying to stay hidden. The less the group know about him, the better.

But, with someone like Felix, who's been in the government and has been trained to watch out for certain assassin signs, he picks up that Caprice is, in fact, an assassin. Due to the mutual respect that, Caprice hasn't outed him to the government, he's keeping it on lock and key as well.

But, it doesn't mean that they don't use each other to each other's advantage. It becomes very quickly known that Caprice is an assassin to the group, but Iris mentioning her status, he better not have any ideas, Caprice vows his protection to her, his overhead.

Lufti isn't out of the loop with assassins, given her nature to lurk and wander in places she shouldn't, but she fills in the gaps for Hyrja and Toa when she can with what information she does know.

Essentially, the group splits into two: One side that knows, and the other that vaguely does. It does work, surprisingly well, as Caprice is able to slink off whenever eyes aren't on him because they're on the big ass goliath and smooth talking tabaxi, him and Felix can do whatever they need to, and if shit hits the fan: They've got a monk and a paladin that can hit HARD when they need to.

Edge of Midnight

[Pt: Edge of Midnight]

This one, I don't have enough information on the campaign to give, but I'd imagine it would be closer relation of Assassins Creed 2. Something about them feels notable like Ezio is to the franchise.

Once Upon a Witchlight

[Pt: Once Upon a Witchlight]

For this one, I'm thinking more of Syndicate, the concept of duo yet different intruiges me greatly.

Now, this is where things get a little.. Interesting. There are two assassins within the group: Kremy and Frost.

They're part of two separate assassins groups, however they're all the same brotherhood. The Psionic Order he was apart of was a tabaxi oriented assassin group, meaning that it was built up and trained by tabaxi. Kremy was also built up within an oriented group, one for alligator folk (a general of lizardfolk, but it was mainly built of alligator aligned), but since they served under the same brotherhood, there was no reason for them not to team up.

It generally runs the same in canon, where Kremy finds Gideon, and Fraot and Gricko find each other. When they all meet, and establish Carnivàle Lecroux, this is where things get messy. You see: Frost and Kremy never told Gideon nor Gricko nor Torbek that they were assassins, that thing carnival was a rouse, that they reason they didn't have much money was to pay off guards to look the other way. They try to keep enough, they do, but demands being unreasonable.... They turn to desperate measures: Remy Garou.

They shouldn't have fucked with Garou, they know this, but there wasn't much of a choice. They were backed to a corner, and before either of them could logically think, they found a way out. And Garou rats them out, forces them out of Karkinos and into the feywild by sheer fear alone.

Of course, Gideon and Gricko figure out that they were assassins by that point, and it turns a bit confusing. Gideon wouldn't have been upset with it, and Gricko's just confused because Frosty??

Yet, it's explained, and they're sworn to secrecy for it.... But this could work to their advantage. They find Torbek again, but due to his witchlight and accidental knowledge, they form a Feywild specific brotherhood, with the help and allowance of Zybilna (becoming their overhead), and keep the denizens of the Feywild safe. For as long as they can, training those who want to join.

Prime

[Pt: Prime]

Just like Edge of Midnight, I will have to come back to this and talk it through. However, this is less based off an assassin portion of the game and more on the "In real life" portions of the Assassins Creed franchise.

However, I will say: Remy Garou plays a part as an opposing force, just like in Prime. Vandrys and Rodek are likely to be the ones connected in the machine to look back at their previous life and learn from it to figure out what happened. Sylvie and Midnight/Mathias are part of the current brotherhood. Anulin might be both part of the brotherhood and part of the group that dives in.

[royhasissues]

Bestie, I've been wanting this for so long

Slight Icebound spoilers

She has a psychic convo with Ket'Rosteen before he's taken away so like, she can literally do that... WHY HASNT SHE SPOKEN TO THEM????? Like this is a possibility. Derek, you fuck, make her talk to them.

Imagine just how sappy it could get if she spoke to Skrimm telepathically, lord. Your idea of her saying goodnight to him is killing me. He tries to hide how happy it makes him feel. Like, "Oh she probably says that to everyone. She just misses us." Meanwhile, he's like "So, does Daisy talk to you guys too?"

And they're like, "No????"

Tho, I like to think he keeps a secret. Just something for the two of them :) He's constantly shocked that she reaches out to him of all people. After the wedding night, he wishes he could reach out to her, but he has to wait for her to initiate contact :(

IMAGINE THEM TALKING ALL NIGHT LIKE A BUNCH OF TEENAGERS OUGH

Luna, when I catch you Luna

Okay, so I keep picturing some kind of scenario where Daisy—since she’s clearly a sorcerer of some kind (probably psionic since she can’t speak the verbal components)—figures out how to talk to the party internally (kinda like how Frost does). And because I am who I am, I keep imagining she first tests this out on Skrimm next time they see each other, and at first he’s obviously like “what the fuck who is in my brain”, but then he sees Daisy smiling really brightly and he asks her if she’s the one talking to him, and she nods and smiles wider.

(Kinda Icebound spoilers but not really?)

And Skrimm, of course, is amazed and so proud. He rambles on about how now she can communicate with them from another place, and this and that, and she keeps responding in his brain. And Skrimm, not quite used to this kind of magic (and not understanding it), doesn’t outwardly say how he’s so glad to finally put a voice to her face, but he does think it. And Daisy hears it, but she doesn’t make a comment about it.

And obviously, she would use it on everyone to communicate serious matters (“The Princess visited today.” “The Princess is angry.” “The Princess asked me to have dinner with her.”), but both of them would be lying if either of them said that she doesn’t use it every night to say goodnight to Skrimm. And everyone else too, of course, but especially Skrimm.

And if she were to, god forbid, get into danger, she would immediately alert the first person on her mind (and if that happens to be Skrimm, well, that’s between her and the god of the universe)

[self-righteous-god]

Hey so after episode 30 + Avantris and chill I’m not actually sure this is true. I’m relistening to the podcast and I feel like Andy’s dropping hints that Skrimm’s deal is more than what it seems.

In episode 5 when everybody’s reliving their backstories together under the lights Derek makes note that they are looking at younger versions of themselves for everyone except Skrimm. Barnabos Queenie and Jornir go all the way to the beginning of their lives so that makes sense, but Taishen and Skrimm we only see a small glimpse into an important moment in their lives, and it is stated that the Taishen that lost Mei Li was indeed much younger, but Skrimm is not described as looking different from his current self at all, leading us to assume he was roughly an adult when the deal was made. It is thoroughly established that he does not know his birthday or his exact age but has a rough estimate and tells Queenie he is in his late 30s, but he tells Barnabos he’s been running from the hound for decades. In the latest episode of Icebound someone asked Andy if Skrimm was exaggerating when he said how long he’d been running and Andy says it’s not closer to 20 years than to 40. So. Either Skrimm is older than he says he is, closer to his late 50s or older, which is very old for a goblin and he certainly doesn’t look or act it, or he’s not aging at all. And we all know Skrimm isn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer but there’s no way he wouldn’t notice immortality.

So is Skrimm lying? Or is Andy? There is the running joke of Skrimm claiming very obviously wrong things about himself, he’s 6’2” and 180 lbs, that he’s very intelligent and calm, that all 900 of his siblings love and miss him. Is this an extension of that? It honestly doesn’t feel like it it’s too drawn out and obscured, if he was going to lie to Queenie about his age why would he say he’s almost 40 and not an absurdly young and handsome 22 year old? And would Andy back up some random off the cuff number Skrimm threw out if it didn’t add up to his backstory?

Andy was also asked if he had a backup character ready in case Skrimm died and he said if we were paying attention to his backstory there would be hints. I personally think Skrimm has some serious plot armor, his patron had plans for him, needs him to do something. And I don’t think he’s going to let him stop until it’s done. I don’t think Skrimm can’t die, because Andy does clearly get stressed when he goes down, but I don’t think his death will mean the same thing for him as everyone else.

Those are just my thoughts anyway, there’s much to be revealed about several members of the Icebound crew yet. I just have brain worms about Skrimm specifically.

Everyone’s always giving Skrimm shit for making the deal with the dog faced devil but if you do the math (he’s been running from Graveyard Jack for “decades” so at least 20 years and he’s not yet 40) he would’ve been between 15 and 19 when he signed the contract. And to be perfectly frank its probably not that difficult to get a homeless teenager having a panic attack to do anything, so the dog devil is kind of a bitch in this way if you ask me

[raspberrypossums]

He really is! The level of detail he does into prepping for sessions and researching nearly every outcome is so insane and impressive (like when the little cottage was on fire and Jornir and Barnabos were trying to blow it out and Derek whipped out statistics on forest fires???? Or when they were fishing and he took the time of day and behavior of fish into consideration??)

It’s just such a wonderful attention to detail and you can tell how hard he worked on this campaign and how much love he poured into it

I’m only a little bit in and don’t get me wrong I adore Once Upon a Witchlight but I do think icebound is very quickly becoming my favorite of their campaigns

I’ve been listening through icebound and the episodes with the undead beasts in the forest makes me nauseous

The way Derek able to build tension and fear is so palpable. I’m only a little bit into episode 8 and it’s just bone chilling (spoilers for episode 8)

Also the way that Honey died is so brutal and Rowland was just a boy he deserved to live a full and happy life :((

I’m so worried for the rest of the crew and Daisy :(

[dark-twist-fairytales]

It's now uhm... 2AM. I did, in fact, finish the first episode of Icebound. Can I just say: I love Derek's style of DM-ing in the same appreciation I have for Nikkie's. It's detailed and tense and has this sense of 'anything could happen'. It doesn't feel too fast and it's heading forth to a goal. With Nikkie's, there's so much care and wonder and whimsy, but also pulls down when it needs to, speeds up when it has too, slows down to pull the tension. These things are so... Awesome and I really appreciate them.

And also them as players! Interacting with each other while the DM does something, making jokes and breaking, pulling back together and going- There's a lot and I really appreciate it.

(Also, shout-out to Andy's DM-ing from Once Upon a Witchlight episode 19, Mace was right in saying Andy knew when to let things happen, when to help them win/lose, and when to hone on the sense of unease)

Hello, new friend, I don't think any of us are ready, but frankly: Let's do this.