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For the setting guide, to go along with the homebrew subclasses I want to include like, "key art" for them, and I was struggling to do something for Path of the Nightmare, until The Groke was brought into existence.

So I suppose this is essentially fanart of The Groke lmao, but he is now immortalised as the representative Nightmare Barbarian

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The people of Omnia fear the butch ruler of Nohria and her legion of goth horse girls

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Proper art of a Nohrian Nightmaiden, for purposes in the setting guide but I don't actually know where I'll fit it in.

Choosing extremely dark and monochromatic colour schemes is proving to be a challenge when it comes to clarity of work, so at the very least I shifted the pegasus' tone so they didn't meld into each other.

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aaaaand I shall go into said excruciating detail.

These weapons are all concepts I have for items to include in Nohria, as I'd like to experiment with less entirely "magical" items, and more specialised forms of equipment that have special traits.

Armourslayer

The Armourslayer is more of a "template" of weapon, similar to the Frostbrand or Flametongue magic items, in that any sword is eligible to be an Armourslayer. It's gimmick is, unsurprisingly, that it deals additional damage to creatures that are heavily armoured, making breaking through those defenses extra rewarding.

The design of the Armourslayer kinda follows one of two principles, either "break through armour by smashing it with brute force" or "break through armour by just bypassing it with finesse", which is why I chose the two opposite ends of the spectrum to depict.

The design of the greatsword Armourslayer is a combination of the Knights Claymore from Breath of the Wild, and the Armourslayer from Fire Emblem: Awakening, which also inspired the concept. The design of the rapier Armourslayer is based on the Armourslayer from Fire Emblem: Three Houses, where they also took the "armour piercing" approach to the concept.

Beast Cutter

The Beast Cutter is a simple weapon, most analogous to a handaxe in capabilities, but is a sort of modified cleaver. The concept is that this weapon would deal additional damage to beasts, as the name might suggest.

The Beast Cutter is, quite clearly, derived from the serrated weapons of Bloodborne, most heavily inspired by the Saw Cleaver, but takes its name from a different weapon.

Chinokage

The first actually "magic" item idea here, the Chinokage is obviously a katana, which in D&D are typically a flavour of Longsword weapon type. The concept for this magic item is to act like the series of "chaos blade" items found in the souls series, where using the weapon gradually depletes your health, but they are exceptionally powerful to compensate. The ornate grooves along the blade are meant to resemble veins, and when being used the wielders own blood would trickle into those grooves, to infuse the sword with power. Real classic, edgy, cursed blade shit.

This weapon led me down a wikipedia rabbit hole where I learned about Muramasa, the swordsmith who was accused of making cursed swords, it was a very cool and interesting topic to go down.

Kind of already stated, but the Chinokage was first based on the Makoto from Demon's Souls, which itself was the first in the line of weapons which also includes the Chaos Blade from Dark Souls, Rivers of Blood from Elden Ring, and the Chikage from Bloodborne, which I derived the name from.

Bülverk

The one and only "Big Fuck Off Axe", which of course is best known for belonging to Nightlord Camilla Hresvelg.

There's not a whole lot more to say about this weapon that I haven't already, this is just the most complete depiction of its concept that I've ever put down. I did omit the skull of Desaix, just for simplicity, but it is absolutely still a part of the design.

In terms of abilities, I've decided that this weapon will double damage from your strength modifier, similar to Balduran's Giantslayer from BG3, because again it subscribes to the "massive chunk of heavy metal" school of weapon design philosophy.

I may have stated before, but Bülverk is derived, in both name and appearance, from Bölverk, the signature axe of King Garon in Fire Emblem: Fates.

So yeah, I make up a bunch of item concepts sometimes, with the express intention of incorporating them into the Nohria setting, it's fun. Items are a lot easier to make up than subclasses, I must say, and you can often get away with making their abilities more ridiculous.

Gallery of Weapons from a world where they're needed.

Just wanted to try out some object/weapon design, could probably do with practicing material rendering but just went as basic as humanly possible.

These weapons are all incorporated into a fantasy setting of mine (which I go into excruciating detail about on my D&D side blog), but they are all also direct references, with a few tweaks, to dope weapons found in some of my favourite fantasy media.

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Lil bit of Sonya + Ryoma background lore/info

So not suuper related to my previous batch of posts but kinda related, since Ryoma's been deadened and buried I thought I'd explain further the whole deal with their 'arrangement' and why circumstances were the way they were.

So, Ryoma and his band were essentially private mercenaries, hired by the House of Arcane Pleasures to act as extra security, and someone else to dirty their hands when the need arises, keeping a layer of seperation between the House and whatever business they got up to. This is the most basic level of their arrangement, however there was also a more personal undertone.

I believe Sonya briefly mentioned a debt that she owed Ryoma, and the fact that she's become rather tired and disillusioned with favours, but it is a debt that she couldn't really repay, hence working with Ryoma despite knowing his true nature.

Basically, because Sonya is a changeling, they have a particular way of rearing their young, in that they don't. In Omnia they're essentially like cuckoo birds, engaging in brood parasitism. Sonya's parents decided to strike a deal with someone who would "facilitate" Sonya's integration into a surrogate family and society. That individual would be Ryoma, who, with his proclivities, was very capable of creating an opportunity for a family to raise Sonya in the place of another infant.

From here on, Ryoma essentially thought of himself as Sonya's Godfather, so after a time of going about doing his own thing, he sought out Sonya to get some work, some gold, and some treasures to cash in on that "debt" that she now allegedly owed him.

The rest is essentially history, with Sonya firmly declaring that Ryoma must quell his desire for human flesh while working with the house, a clause that he agreed to, and subsequently broke in the events of the campaign.

Being the head of the House of Arcane Pleasures, Sonya should have known well how difficult it is for certain people to repress their urges, a fact that Ryoma gloated when he was first found out.

So yeah, there's the background info that facilitated that little arc, it doesn't really have much bearing on the events of the campaign now, so I thought I'd clear it all up.

As a bonus, wee sketch of Ryoma as his human disguise, and over-dramatic Oni form.

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Last bit of vague and nebulous plot device-ing, there are multiple secret identities going on and none of them have been parsed, as far as I’ve been told, despite how obvious I thought I made them.

Maybe that’s the trick, I thought they were so clear that they loop back round to being innocuous. I’m veering on saying too much now, uh… Ricard is secretly the vampire heir that Valentine is looking for. There. Red herring be at thee.

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It’s mildly entertaining/distressing to wonder what things will never get cleared up in the campaign, in terms of crumbs that I’ve left that didn’t culminate in a full trail.

There are so many definitive answers that I have to the ever-growing list of innocuous mysteries in the campaign, it’s just a matter of seeing which ones get resolved.

As a certified “never shut the fuck up”-er, it’s also a matter of when I decide something isn’t getting resolved naturally and I just drop it for the shits and gigs.

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Most world shattering departure from established dnd lore in Omnia is that Silence is now a wizard spell. No other plotlines or implications deviate further trust me.

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The eclectic and ill-fated gang

I would’ve made The Groke’s hat bigger but I would’ve obscured Dr. V even more.

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Also, I was really pleased with how perfect the energy of the characters was for the setting.

I know we didn’t get much personality (well, maybe except Dr. V…) or character, but just from the basic design descriptions the assignment was absolutely understood.

Not only was it grounds to playtest subclasses, it also really convinced me on the vibes I’d want to bring to a full fledged Nohria campaign run (obviously with more detailed preparation), and faith that such energy could be met

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That crown in the goofy playtest oneshot was the Architect Relic of Lolth :)

I will now keep in mind that it is somewhere in an old cathedral in Nohria

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Track 14: Ryoma (The Great Hunter, composed by John Paesano, from Insomniacs Spider Man 2)

How much he got fucked the fuck up aside, this track has the energy of the gradual reveal, and lurking presence of Ryoma launching his surprise attack. I entirely blame Bestow Curse for how pathetic the fight was, I don't often sweat an underwhelming encounter but ngl that got me bummed.

Honourable Mention: Corrupted Monk (composed by Yuka Kitamura, from Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice)

And then getting back to the japanese theming, I really wish I could've played this! because it fits so well but alas is not on spotify. The corrupted monk also wields a Naginata, like Ryoma, and among Sekiro's soundtrack this track sorta leans more towards the lower, more imposing sounds.

Campaign Soundtrack Master Post

Okey, this is something I’ve mentioned but I decided it would be fun to dedicate an actual post (and subsequent ones) to this topic that has a surprising degree of sway over my investment in the campaign and the encounters I develop.

I love me some of that sweet sweet VGM, and the emotion and tone it can give to sequences and battles. So, alongside making specific playlists that suit the tone or intensity of a battle, I do pick out individual tracks that I make sure to queue at some point in the fight.

All of these tracks that I have selected for encounters are within a playlist that I have, in intended order. You know that thing with listening to a song and imagining a music video or scenario with it? I do that but with D&D encounters.

I’m gonna dedicate this post, and following reblogs, to listing every track and their associated encounters that have appeared in the campaign thus far, and the reasons I picked that music.

So far we have gotten through 7/41 tracks on the playlist, and I will update this count as we proceed or I add more. 7 is still quite a lot of tracks to link to, so this is a certified read more post.

Track 1: The Mimic House (The Creeping Hut by Travis Savoie, from Into The Mists)

Starting off with a simple one, and also an outlier since this doesn't come from a video game, and was instead composed for the express purpose of working alongside a TTRPG encounter, specifically the hag and moving house that features in Curse of Strahd.

If I didn't have another option, this would also be the primary theme associated with Ivanushka herself, however she has since been assigned one of my personal favourite tracks.

I do think this is fairly self-explanatory, with its written purpose being so close to how I used it, but I just want to highlight the use of ambient creaking sounds in some parts of the track, I absolutely love those bits.

Track 2: The Phoenix (Divine Beast Dancing Lion by Shoi Miyazawa, from Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree)

And to kick off VGM, this is my absolute favourite track in all of Elden Ring, and mayyybe all fromsoft games, but its close.

I chose to play this for the Phoenix faced during the Showdown of Scorn, since it really exemplifies the exotic "performance" of it all, with the chants and traditional festival theming.

When phase 2 kicks in (around 1:25) is where the more emotional, somewhat tragic aspect of the fight shows through, in what I imagine as the Phoenix displaying its full might and splendour, undeserving of the cruel fate it has been dealt at the hands of The Collector. This emotional shift also fits in the original, of course, with the terrifying and divine display of the beasts mastery over storms.

Track 3: The Golden Champion (Champion's Gravetender by Yuka Kitamura, from Dark Souls 3)

To quote the top comment on this video, "This OST deserves a better boss".

Despite being a 1v1, I still picked out a track for Emi's fight against Adam, so who's to say this could actually be Emi's boss music.

The original context behind this track sort of informs why I chose it, since this boss grants the player access to an item used for 1v1 PvP duels. It's a little slow to get going and isn't all that much, but that phase 2 (about 2 minutes in) really has it going for it. I think it portrays this lithe, dance-like battle between two competent warriors.

Track 4: The Fell Abomination (The One Reborn by Nobuyoshi Suzuki, from Bloodborne)

This track originally belongs to a pile of corpses melded together into a sludge that is meant to evoke the image of a god.

That connotation drops more lore on the Peccatorum than I have in sessions. I mean it when I say nuff said.

Track 5: Eve and Ezekiel (The Apparition, by Jake Kaufman, Arrangement by Evelyn Lark, from Shovel Knight)

Holy fuck, I did not make the connection that the arranger is also named Evelyn, lmao.

So, this one is kind of cheating since I didn't use it in the session, since the track was not available on spotify at the time. But it is now! Regardless, I think this arrangement in particular matches all of the qualities I wanted to portray. You've got that classical spookiness, and a little romantic and tragic undertone to go with it, all composed to wonderfully fit the character originally associated with the track.

Honourable Mention (Grandma, by David Fenn, from Death's Door)

So, since it wasn't on spotify at the time, this was the track that I did play during the spirits fight. It hits some of those same notes, mostly the elegant violin, but here and there decides to shred a guitar. Every now and then there's this really pretty phrase of some piano-like instrument, I'm not quite sure, but those bits give me the idea of corrupted innocence, like there's still some part of the poor souls held by the curse.

Tracks 6 and 7: Mira (Hornet, by Christopher Larkin, from Hollow Knight), (The Putrescent Knight, by Tsukasa Saitoh, from Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree)

Mira is the first encounter to get more than one dedicated track, good for her.

I chose Hornet for a couple reasons, there's the original context with fighting an agile, skilled warrior bug girl (although Hornet is a far more righteous character than Mira). I think it lends itself to fighting this foe that doesn't stay in one spot for too long, is always moving and dodging, and weaving her own strikes in.

The violin, again, gives an elegance and beauty to it, though the strings can also display the sharp qualities (which I will go into more).

The other track I chose was very fitting in terms of title, I must say, but I find the music also offers a different perspective on the character that fits all the same.

I feel this track focuses in on the eerie, elegant beauty of decay, with how methodical and persistant its beat is, compared to the slow and somewhat sombre melody (in phase 1 at least).

With phase 2 (about 2 minutes in), things kick up a notch, and grow more intense, more passionate. The dance of violence is one that Mira relishes, and I imagine this point is where she realises her foe is one truly worth battling, and giving her all towards.

Honourable Mention (Lace, by Christopher Larkin, from Hollow Knight: Silksong)

This one is an honourable mention, as not only is it not on spotify, but the got dang game ain't even out yet.

If it were available during the session, this is the be-all-end-all theme for Mira. It is just perfect. It conveys the danger that comes along with the beauty like no other track really. It's just as unrelenting as the other tracks, but it is for a character that is undeniably wrathful. There are certain points where those strings are screeching, and those bits are what really sold me on this being Miras *theme*.

And that catches us up to how far the campaign has gotten through my campaign playlist. I have way too much fun deciding what the perfect music for a certain fight will be, and in some cases the music can actually inform the encounter and inspire me to develop it in different ways.

If you read/listen to this all, I'll be checking in and reblogging with additional tracks as we go, so watch the space.

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Yeah it’s easy to fit a ton of soulsborne, octopath traveller, and hollow knight music into combat playlists, but when am I gonna manage some wild shit.

When’s Ultrakill making it into the campaign playlist huh. I bet fucken Deltarune or something can make it in there somehow. Mark my words.

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For making his brief reappearance, genuinely delighted that the route with Levin was the one taken.

Fully intended asshat behaviour, like calling Otto ‘it’ was a deeply intentional choice that I’m glad got called out.

Also, in Ottos backstory he originally belonged to a wizard who couldn’t figure out how to make him work for his purposes, and that wizard was Levins master that he mentioned. In a way, Levin sort of saw Otto as a piece of property he rightfully inherited and wanted back. If Otto was still alive Levin would for sure enter full antagonist territory, but that wasn’t something I had envisioned from the start.

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Track 12: The House of Arcane Pleasures (Ghirahim, composed by Koji Kondo, arrangement by David Peacock, from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword)

Don’t even worry about the connotations of this track and what that means.

So I managed to find an arrangement of Ghirahims theme on Spotify that actually worked super well, and I think suits it’s campaign subject more than the original.

You can consider this to be Sonya’s “encounter” theme, and everything about it is just perfect for her, I assure you. The low, slimy synths, the elegant and ominous strings, and then the goofy little wind instrument here and there, it’s great.

Track 13: Confronting Ryoma (Oni Lair, composed by Jon Rob)

A built for purpose track that does exactly what it says on the tin, and is everything I was looking for for this initial encounter. We still haven’t seen the last of Ryoma, so I’ve got more in store, but this track will definitely be making a reappearance in the next session.

Campaign Soundtrack Master Post

Okey, this is something I’ve mentioned but I decided it would be fun to dedicate an actual post (and subsequent ones) to this topic that has a surprising degree of sway over my investment in the campaign and the encounters I develop.

I love me some of that sweet sweet VGM, and the emotion and tone it can give to sequences and battles. So, alongside making specific playlists that suit the tone or intensity of a battle, I do pick out individual tracks that I make sure to queue at some point in the fight.

All of these tracks that I have selected for encounters are within a playlist that I have, in intended order. You know that thing with listening to a song and imagining a music video or scenario with it? I do that but with D&D encounters.

I’m gonna dedicate this post, and following reblogs, to listing every track and their associated encounters that have appeared in the campaign thus far, and the reasons I picked that music.

So far we have gotten through 7/41 tracks on the playlist, and I will update this count as we proceed or I add more. 7 is still quite a lot of tracks to link to, so this is a certified read more post.

Track 1: The Mimic House (The Creeping Hut by Travis Savoie, from Into The Mists)

Starting off with a simple one, and also an outlier since this doesn't come from a video game, and was instead composed for the express purpose of working alongside a TTRPG encounter, specifically the hag and moving house that features in Curse of Strahd.

If I didn't have another option, this would also be the primary theme associated with Ivanushka herself, however she has since been assigned one of my personal favourite tracks.

I do think this is fairly self-explanatory, with its written purpose being so close to how I used it, but I just want to highlight the use of ambient creaking sounds in some parts of the track, I absolutely love those bits.

Track 2: The Phoenix (Divine Beast Dancing Lion by Shoi Miyazawa, from Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree)

And to kick off VGM, this is my absolute favourite track in all of Elden Ring, and mayyybe all fromsoft games, but its close.

I chose to play this for the Phoenix faced during the Showdown of Scorn, since it really exemplifies the exotic "performance" of it all, with the chants and traditional festival theming.

When phase 2 kicks in (around 1:25) is where the more emotional, somewhat tragic aspect of the fight shows through, in what I imagine as the Phoenix displaying its full might and splendour, undeserving of the cruel fate it has been dealt at the hands of The Collector. This emotional shift also fits in the original, of course, with the terrifying and divine display of the beasts mastery over storms.

Track 3: The Golden Champion (Champion's Gravetender by Yuka Kitamura, from Dark Souls 3)

To quote the top comment on this video, "This OST deserves a better boss".

Despite being a 1v1, I still picked out a track for Emi's fight against Adam, so who's to say this could actually be Emi's boss music.

The original context behind this track sort of informs why I chose it, since this boss grants the player access to an item used for 1v1 PvP duels. It's a little slow to get going and isn't all that much, but that phase 2 (about 2 minutes in) really has it going for it. I think it portrays this lithe, dance-like battle between two competent warriors.

Track 4: The Fell Abomination (The One Reborn by Nobuyoshi Suzuki, from Bloodborne)

This track originally belongs to a pile of corpses melded together into a sludge that is meant to evoke the image of a god.

That connotation drops more lore on the Peccatorum than I have in sessions. I mean it when I say nuff said.

Track 5: Eve and Ezekiel (The Apparition, by Jake Kaufman, Arrangement by Evelyn Lark, from Shovel Knight)

Holy fuck, I did not make the connection that the arranger is also named Evelyn, lmao.

So, this one is kind of cheating since I didn't use it in the session, since the track was not available on spotify at the time. But it is now! Regardless, I think this arrangement in particular matches all of the qualities I wanted to portray. You've got that classical spookiness, and a little romantic and tragic undertone to go with it, all composed to wonderfully fit the character originally associated with the track.

Honourable Mention (Grandma, by David Fenn, from Death's Door)

So, since it wasn't on spotify at the time, this was the track that I did play during the spirits fight. It hits some of those same notes, mostly the elegant violin, but here and there decides to shred a guitar. Every now and then there's this really pretty phrase of some piano-like instrument, I'm not quite sure, but those bits give me the idea of corrupted innocence, like there's still some part of the poor souls held by the curse.

Tracks 6 and 7: Mira (Hornet, by Christopher Larkin, from Hollow Knight), (The Putrescent Knight, by Tsukasa Saitoh, from Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree)

Mira is the first encounter to get more than one dedicated track, good for her.

I chose Hornet for a couple reasons, there's the original context with fighting an agile, skilled warrior bug girl (although Hornet is a far more righteous character than Mira). I think it lends itself to fighting this foe that doesn't stay in one spot for too long, is always moving and dodging, and weaving her own strikes in.

The violin, again, gives an elegance and beauty to it, though the strings can also display the sharp qualities (which I will go into more).

The other track I chose was very fitting in terms of title, I must say, but I find the music also offers a different perspective on the character that fits all the same.

I feel this track focuses in on the eerie, elegant beauty of decay, with how methodical and persistant its beat is, compared to the slow and somewhat sombre melody (in phase 1 at least).

With phase 2 (about 2 minutes in), things kick up a notch, and grow more intense, more passionate. The dance of violence is one that Mira relishes, and I imagine this point is where she realises her foe is one truly worth battling, and giving her all towards.

Honourable Mention (Lace, by Christopher Larkin, from Hollow Knight: Silksong)

This one is an honourable mention, as not only is it not on spotify, but the got dang game ain't even out yet.

If it were available during the session, this is the be-all-end-all theme for Mira. It is just perfect. It conveys the danger that comes along with the beauty like no other track really. It's just as unrelenting as the other tracks, but it is for a character that is undeniably wrathful. There are certain points where those strings are screeching, and those bits are what really sold me on this being Miras *theme*.

And that catches us up to how far the campaign has gotten through my campaign playlist. I have way too much fun deciding what the perfect music for a certain fight will be, and in some cases the music can actually inform the encounter and inspire me to develop it in different ways.

If you read/listen to this all, I'll be checking in and reblogging with additional tracks as we go, so watch the space.

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If I ever stepped into the role of Sisarqua again, it would just be Sailor Moon played by Matt Berry, and I’d honestly be thrilled at the prospect

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I got a real kick last session when the party was asking Sonya about Ryoma, and I think it was Skwreeb who was like "he eats babies, that's so evil" and I just had Sonya remark along the lines of "yes, quite...", when she is a Changeling.

Now, it's not part of their written lore in D&D, but I am running with that aspect of Changelings and how they function in folklore when it comes to Omnia as a setting. I don't mind divulging this little tidbit, I just really amused myself with that little interaction.