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dxmurei · 1 year

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pls go into big detail about all your d&d characters for me :)

Sorry it took me so long to answer this, the idea of explaining all of my dnd characters in one post scared me asdfghjkl but here we go!

Fabled Revelations Campaign

1) Ninnic

Ninnic is one of my favorite characters and my longest running one! I use him for the main campaign and I feel he’s definitely needed there lmao. He’s like the comedic relief? I guess? But plays an important role. Anyway:

Race: Ratling (homebrew class)

Gender: Male, He/Him

Sexuality: Panromantic, Asexual

Class: Fighter: Gunslinger

Height: 5 ft

Age: Unknown, estimated to be around 20

Notes: Doesn’t seem to remember his childhood

Yeah, you read that right. This goofy little no-thoughts guy has a gun. Not only does he have a gun, but it’s the campaign world’s FIRST gun. And he ‘made’ it in partnership with a human engineer named Anastasia. And by made I mean Anastasia made most of it and was running into some troubles with the triggering and Ninnic fiddled with it and accidentally got it to work. And so she kinda just gave it to him.

Just recently in the campaign, the party discovered that he came from a whole town of Ratlings, except that town is abandoned and burned to the ground. Seeing this has started triggering certain memories for Ninnic and he’s slowly starting to remember his past. And, because the party loves him, they’re actively trying to find where the surviving Ratlings are.

One last important note is that he has five mechanical rats that stick with him. He found them in Anastasia’s workshop and he loved them so much she also let him keep them. Even if she didn’t, they probably would have followed him out anyway.

2) Thozsa

Okay, now I’m sure it’s obvious, but Thozsa is my absolute favorite. I use him in a little side campaign with the DM to help flesh out what’s going on in the world outside of the party. Best thing is that he was just a random rolled character for a one-shot. The DM held a one-shot for a little event at the Faetopian kingdom’s capital and needed us to make guards. And I didn’t feel like making a new character so I just clicked randomize on Dungeon Master’s Vault. And that gave be the base for Thozsa.

Race: Yuan-Ti Pureblood

Gender: Trans Man (He/Him)

Sexuality: Pansexual

Class: Cleric (Blood Domain)

Height: 5 ft 10

Age: 25

Notes: He’s got a very very very dark past and motive that I cannot explain atm

There’s so many things that I can’t go into detail with cause it’ll spoil shit for the main party, but I’ll share what I can say.

He caught the Prince of Faetopia’s eye by harassing him at the before mentioned event. (Bro had no idea it was the prince). The Queen noted that Thozsa had been a very capable guard and had talked with Price Astervian and decided it’d be a fantastic idea to assign Thozsa as Astervian’s personal guard. Thozsa hated the guy but the position was very beneficial for him so he took it. Although he was constantly on the brink of quitting because Aster is so goddamn annoying.

But you know, enemies to lovers, traveling together, only one bed oops, trauma unpacking, etc. All those tropes. And now they’re inseparable :) Aster still annoys the shit out of Thozsa, but he endures it instead of threatening to quit.

Vistar Campaign

1) Byakko

I have a love hate relationship with this guy. His character is very cool in my oppinion but VERY hard to play. My favorite thing about him though is that he has lycanthropy :) basically,, he’s a weretiger

Race: Human

Gender: Male (He/Him)

Sexuality: Aromantic and Asexual

Class: Ranger (Horizon Walker)

Height: 5 ft 7

Age: Unknown but estimated early 20s

Notes: Remembers nothing before he contracted Lycanthropy

Earlier in the campaign, he had a very hard time controlling his lycanthropy. Anytime he was emotionally negative, he was at risk of turning against his will. For example, fear, anger, stress, etc. Now, however, he can mostly control it! He’s also gotten better at controlling himself while in his tiger form.

His character is supposed to be a little silly because of the juxtaposition between his large, intimidating, badass tiger form, and then his scrawnyass timid human form.

Anyway, I really like him, but trying to play someone so anxious and timid is hard in dnd, at least for me it is.

2) Ambrym

This guy was made for a little one-shot session and he’s basically a joke.

Race: Fire Genasi

Gender: Male (He/Him)

Sexuality: ?

Class: Fighter

Height: 6 ft 7

Age: 27

Notes: When he gets frustrated he accidentally sets things on fire

The one-shot took place in a great library in Vistar, and my character’s whole deal was that he really liked reading, but he sets things on fire almost constantly. And books are flamable, so…. you get the picture

Anyway, he ended up actually helping defend the library and it’s owner from an attack so now he has a job there as security lmao

Blight of Man Campaign

1) Dr. Shai Sarhan

Okay, so this isn’t dnd, but it's a ttrpg so in my book it counts. Dr. Sarhan is a xenobiologist at SARO (Supernatural and Alien Research Organization), which was basically treated as a joke until the literal apocalypse happened and now SARO is on the front lines of saving the world. He’s currently stationed in Geneva with the other survivors of SARO and the UNE (United Nations of Earth).

Ethnicity: Egyptian-American

Gender: Trans Male (He/Him)

Sexuality: Panromantic, Graysexual

Occupation: Xenobiologist and Lead Researcher of the SARO division

Height: 6 ft 4

Age: 28

Notes: Alcoholic

This guy is a mess. He had a solid future going for him as an astrobiology grad student, but got kicked out of his ivy-league school because of a “mental break.” He was about a year away from getting his doctorate. Luckily for him (or unluckily) SARO took notice of his research and recruited him when no one else wanted to give him a job. He worked there as an astrobiologist and xenobiologist and completed an odd dual program that rewarded him with his doctoral degree in xenobiology (he’s still not sure if it’s real or not but he’ll use the title while he can). This guy worked in a small underfunded lab for several years with less than favorable coworkers until actual aliens invaded Earth. Now, his research on alien biology is getting put to real use and is highly valued. He’s getting the recognition he always wanted, but at a terrible price. Dude was a light alcoholic before the apocalypse started, but it’s gotten worse since. He heavily relies on it to get to sleep at night. Between that, the rate at which he overworks himself, and the traumatic things he has to witness on a weekly basis, he’s a fatigued, grumpy mess.

#demurei answers #holy shit this took so long #dungeons and dragons #dnd #oc #dnd character #yuan ti #yuan ti pureblood #cleric #ranger #fighter #gunslinger #ttrpg #ttrpg oc

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literalliterature · 9 months

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🎯 🍀 🍩 for the oc thing, and all of them bcus i love your ocs lmao

Hiiiiii Opal sorry for the wait on this!!!

🎯 -What do they do best?

Keet: She would like the answer to be "fighting," because she feels that that is her only real utility, but given that once again she was kicked (temporarily) out of officer training she can't really make that claim yet. She is actually excellent at singing and doing shit like, fucking, memorizing entire epics and learning languages on the fly, but these skills come so naturally to her that she almost doesn't feel like they count.

Yonder: Answered!

Aisling: Connecting with animals. She gravitates toward them, they gravitate toward her, she has a lot of practice reading them and is naturally empathetic toward them. If she only ever had animals (and Cassius) to interact with for the rest of her life, she'd be more than happy. She's also a very good dancer, albeit out of practice and without the stamina she used to have.

Onyx: Oh......probably screaming like an absolute madman to intimidate anyone and anything around them lol.

🍀 What originally inspired the OC?

Keet: So, the current version of Keet is actually not the first one to exist. She was originally created for a different game, specifically using the Dungeon World system, and was not a selkie but a different kind of merfolk shapeshifter at the time--specifically a Scottish creature called a ceasg. Long story short, my GM at the time (hi Gray!) and I made a homebrew race that was effectively immortal, with the caveat that coming back from the dead cost the individual their memories. Everything else rose from there.

Yonder: I'm gonna keep it real with you, at the time I really wanted to make a character based on the song "Rainmaker" by Bruce Springsteen vksdjbdljvbslb. Also, yk, religious trauma and eco-anxiety, as ever.

Aisling: Listen. Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002) rocked my shit when I was 8 years old and I have not gotten over it since. I will not elaborate (except in DMs if you want lmao).

Onyx: Another character originally from a Dungeon World oneshot! In DW, druids have powers based on the specific type of biome to which they are connected (a bit like non-revised rangers in D&D), and one of the biome options that you can pick is the Stinking Mire. I interpreted this to be a tar pit, gave them as much fossil theming as my heart desired (a lot), and off I went.

🍩 Who is your OC’s arch-nemesis or rival?

Keet: I'm not sure she has any specific individual that she considers to be like, a personal enemy, with the exception of one of the members of the cult the gang has been fighting. This is because said cult member murdered her friend Alcaeus quite gruesomely and in a way that was pretty traumatic for her. (They Raised Dead on him though he's fine now lmao.) She does have a friendly rivalry with someone back home as well.

Yonder: They are going to rip the Raven Queen a new asshole if it's quite literally the last thing they ever do.

Aisling: I haven't quite fleshed out who this person is yet but one of the wardens in particular.

Onyx: There was a faction of people who betrayed them and framed them for regicide, many of whom were fellow nights whom they trusted or admired previously, and they all had their shit wrecked when Onyx fulfilled their insane vengeance quest.

Thank youuuuuuuuu ily

oc ask meme

#keet #yonder #onyx #a #thegempage #ask meme #time to start a keetcore tag ig

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landofequestria · 2 years

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if the ancient game of ogres and oubliettes survives to the modern day of g5 i have no doubt in my mind that sunny would play it

#` ooc / technicolor horse brain rot `#` hc / sunny `#( like im torn between her being a forever dm or just a rlly enthusiastic player )#( with like whole ass pinterest boards and playlists and moodboards for her characters )#( but i also feel like she'd be a rlly good dm tbh )#( she could spend hours working on worldbuilding and lore )#( and shes absolutely a homebrew queen i feel it )#( JHBDSJF )

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kilannad · 3 years

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First thoughts on Campaign three

I LOVE them, your honor. That's all you need to know.

Okay but seriously;

Let's start with Ashton and FCG (and no, I cannot believe we have a he/they robit that goes by Fresh Cut Grass. Sam and Liam--what the actual fuck?)

I really enjoy the thought that FCG met Ashton and was like "yes, I like your gender, I'll do the same." These people also have such a cool dynamic. Ashton will be the Beau of this campaign--constantly saying fuck, absolutely zero shits, vague morality that will one day show a marshmallow center. Pairing this with a legit therapy robot that seems to have been created for the purpose of helping people is fantastic. Big asshole enjoys tiny friendly BFF. I love them.

The fact that FCG seems to have given us his sad backstory in the first episode just convinces me that Sam has something incredible in the works. Also, whatever subclass--clearly homebrewed from what i can tell--apparently has the ability to take half pain from others which is wild and has such angst potential, I'm ready to cry already. (Also, from a mechanical standpoint its WILD. The half damage is first moved to temp hit points and then, from what I can guess, whatever of those t.h.p don't get used after a certain length of time--maybe a minute?--give FCG damage from their actual hp. So weird, I love it)

Ashton...I'm not sure where they're going. Something wild, considering Tal. Tho, honestly, how has this eldritch horror given us a literal Punk Rock that is a Gender??? Apparently they have a dunamantic subclass, also clearly homebrewed. Or maybe just wild magic barbarian. Something like that, which is also WILD. Makes me wonder where they learned their abilities.

Alright, let's hit the next two: lesbian queens Imogen and Laudna. First, I feel like I should say I would absolutely offer my heart to either of them and have never been so horny at a creepy undead in my entire life.

Let's hit southern bell, Imogen, first since we know the least here: young, polite, southern girl just wants to figure out where her powers came from. Honestly, loving the callbacks to Fjord and it's a really sweet first layer of what I'm sure will turn out to be a more complicated backstory. And, oh yeah, she can READ MINDS. I don't know anything about the psionic subclass, but I'm excited to see where Laura goes with it. Seems like a lot of opportunity for shenanigans, though this might turn out to be a 'discover your roots' kind of story, which I support.

Now: Laudna.

I've gotta say, my first instinct was De Rollo, and I'm sticking to it. That, or a Briarwood. Maybe one of Percy's sisters got killed/turned. I've seen a lot of dhampir/undead floating around. I saw one post that said one of the Briarwoods is her warlock patron which would be SO COOL. Maybe Marisha is just fucking with us, which is a possibility. Thus far, we haven't really seen any of the PCs with close ties to PCs from another campaign except Orym, and even that seems to just be a simple working relationship. It would be really cool to see what can be done with this connection if it does exist.

As for Laudna herself--she's so freaking cool. I love how she's naturally so creepy and off-putting but just doesn't seem to notice. Carries a dead rat on her belt, asks FCG if they kept the bodies of their fallen comrades, and is surprised when children run. It's amazing and I have no idea where she's going or how she possibly met Imogen. I expect fantastic dynamics from these two.

Next, let's talk about everyone's favorite silver fox; Bertrand Bell

I should prefix by saying I haven't seen either of the one-shots he appears in. He is also an easy way to address all of the negative comments which seem to derive from the cast reusing old characters--I have no idea who this fucker is. Didn't even know he'd shown up before until I saw a post about it. That being said; within that first episode I got a really good look into his character and I was instantly caught by his personality and how well Travis plays him. I don't know shit about the one-shots but I know Bertrand Bell and I think if Travis wants to explore him more then he should be able to.

That being said:

I agree with a lot of people that he doesn't seem like a permanent character. The fact that he's two levels above the rest of the group, plus that he's apparently gone back in levels in the last thirty years doesn't show great things. The fact that he's also apparently the first quest giver instead of an NPC is also really strange and doesn't seem to indicate he'll be a recurring character for long. Maybe Travis is just going to appear as a series of new characters instead of sticking with just one. Maybe his real character will show up later. Either way, I'm all for it. I think this is a really cool new way to start a campaign.

Now, probably the most controversial part of the party: Dorian, Orym, and Fern.

Now, I LOVE the Crownkeepers. Adore them. And I'm also super excited for them to show up here for a few reasons. Liam and Ashley both expressed desires to further explore these characters and I'm vibrating to do the same. We got such hints of little pieces of them in EXU and I want more. Of the Crownkeepers, they are also the most likely to split off from the group--Orym because he only went to Emon for Keyleth in the first place, and Fern because she always said she "had things to do". So, no, I don't think Fern and Orym are temp characters like some people are suggesting. Especially not since, as Matt said on twitter, they had the opportunity to re-roll their stats, tho Orym didn't take the option.

The fact that, if Bertrand indeed is only temporary, it means Orym at 13 has the highest INT is hilarious. He thought the Crownkeepers were the exception, but Nah, they were the rule.

Dorian...is different. We just learned that he's apparently from Marquet in the first place, which is really interesting and explains why he didn't seem to know anything about Tal'Dorei. It does make me wonder how long he'll stick around for--will he just go back to Tal'Dorei? Will some crazy part of his backstory show up and take him away and thus be the next EXU plotline? I'm not sure, but it'll be interesting.

What's even more interesting is how, exactly, this new campaign fits with the EXU storyline. It's been a year since the events of EXU and Matt said Orym was contacted while the Crownkeepers were in Byroaden. Now, last we saw them they were about to go south into Betrayer cult territory, tho they discussed going to Byroaden after for Opal to look into her family some more. My guess is that we WILL get a season two of EXU to finish the Tetrarchs stuff and that campaign three takes place after that season two. Maybe. It does beg the question of if the Crownkeepers ever went back to Emon to speak with Gilmore which was the original goal that they never finished.

The reason I see so many people complaining, I think, is partly because one: EXU was pretty controversial on it's own because of it's guided style which is different then the freeform of the main campaigns. I disagree, but that's a different post. The second reason is that people wanted to be able to start this with no needed knowledge about past campaigns. I still think this holds true. I mean, heck, not watching EXU might make it more interesting to see these three interact. I mean, we don't know how Imogen or Laudna met, or Ashton and FCG. We aren't complaining about that, so simply watch Orym, Fearn, and Dorian and enjoy the mysteries of their pasts.

The fact that this group started at level three and the WILD twists we've already seen within the first episode alone really tells me that CR is going all in here. The set, the characters, whatever wild story they're about to tell--it's going to be amazing. I trust in the CR team and cannot wait to watch them go on this adventure together, wherever it may lead.

#cr3 e1 reactions #c3 spoilers #critical role #cr3 #what do y'all think they'll name their team?#what's your theory on laudna?

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athenaainehunter · 3 years

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MY CAMPAIGN THREE CLASS PREDICTIONS

Ashley - I want Ashley to play a FIGHTER, barbarians, rogues and magic users have a lot of math and shit they gotta remember, and I'm not saying she can't do it, I just think her playing a character that doesn't hold her back at all would be awesome, plus she's always been really good with describing blows when fighting and the trick system fighters have would be really cool to see in her hands. (I can totally see her being a war hero who trope was killed and looking for redemption, much like Pike and Yasha both were)

Marisha - WIZARD HOLY SHIT, I hope she keeps up playing a really smart character I think it plays to her strengths really well, BUT I can also see her pulling a 180 and doing a SORCERER and having this wickedly charming character unlike Keyleth and Beau, I want to see Marisha shine in conversation and roleplaying like we deserve, Kiki and Beau of course have there moments that are just holy god amazing, but imagine if that was the focus? GODLY

Travis - I think it's finally time Travis took on a full magic user, and I don't think there's a class more perfect then CLERIC, Fjord has already taken a pretty heavy support spot in combat between magic illusions and even healing with his paladin abilities, Travis could definitely fully embrace the spot, and this means he can get into whatever red button situation he wants and he'll have a cleric there to heal him lmao, thought much like Laura I think we'll still see him doing a lot of tricky damage moves, (which they'll probably tease him about) he likes to have his moments to shine, and honestly who doesn't?

Laura - now this one was really hard for me, I honestly have no fucking clue, BUT between polymorph and speaking to animals sparingly this campaign I can definitely see her going DRUID, she's spoken sparingly what direction she might move, and seeing a druid OUTSIDE of Keyleth's tribe would be interesting story wise, but honestly at the way this campaign is going rn (ep 138) who even knows if we'll be playing in the same world (though I feel it's likely we might it'll just look very different)

Liam - now I personally WANT him to go PALADIN, I know a bunch of the other players (mainly Sam) wanna see him as a BARD, and Matt even joked about making a homebrew College of Tragedy/Sadness for him as that's something he likes to explore in DnD, I want him to go Paladin, because we need a PC paladin, though Fjord and Vax both multiclass into Paladin, seeing those low level moments and having a character THEMED specifically into the paladin mold would just be lightning especially from Liam's mind

Sam - whatever Liam wants lmao, but a MONK would be pretty lit, I know Beau is her own league and she'll be hard to follow, BUT Sam could so amazingly pull of any of the other subclasses, a way of the drunkard could be humorous, even though Nott was a alcoholic, way of the drunkard *acts* drunk for fighting and strategy, I feel like that could trip up the other players, the way Sam always likes to do

Talisen - now I think this one is pretty easy, especially since Talisen loves to play Matt's homebrew and we haven't had a LINGERING SOUL character quite yet, the class for people who have died, after playing Caduceus who is so strongly connected to death and the afterlife, heck both Molly and Percy also we're on their own path of mourning and death, Molly actually dying, Percy had his shit with the Raven Queen BEFORE Vax even got on the scene, and I totally believe Talisen could pull this one off,

Matt - though he is the DM, and I think it'll stay this way, I just wanna say if he has a PC it should absolutely be a BARD or ARTIFICER, because he would be a god at both

TOO LONG DIDN'T READ

Ashley - Fighter

Marisha - Sorcerer or Wizard

Travis - Cleric

Laura - Druid

Liam - Paladin or Bard

Talisen - Lingering Soul (a Matt homebrew)

BONUS Matt - Bard or Artificer

#critical role #campaign 3 #theory #fan theory #critrole #predictions #tinfoil hat

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fivegoldpieces · 5 years

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Talks Machina at Gen-Con Q&A Highlights

Note: This only has the audience q&a portion. Cast answers are transcribed, side-comments and banter are only included if they are relevant to/answer the question posed. Apologies in advance to mobile-users if the read-more doesn't work - this is tagged as #long post if you want to blacklist it.

[[MORE]]

Q: For Matt; might we expect any possible homebrew releases coming out in the next year or so, like dunamancy?

Matt: I have plans. I can't say anything because I want things to be cool and surprising. But I have plans don't worry. It's not that I don't care, it's that I don't have time, but I'm working on it.

Q: For Taliesin; what would make Caduceus really angry?

Taliesin: I will say that he can get angry. It does happen. Juvenile disrespect does eventually get to him. Not a fan of pranking. I mean, you know, everybody's got some layer - there's some stuff. No one's that serene all the time. No one.

Q: For Taliesin; at the end of the Call of Cthulhu oneshot, you mentioned that you had a lot of mouse traps set up. I was just wondering, were the shadow people the most dangerous thing they could've released, or was there a more dangerous horror waiting that they managed to avoid?

Taliesin: I mean, if the cats had been released first, that would have definitely been an interesting thing. The cats would have been a problem. Also, if somebody had died really early, I was setting up a series of rules for dead players to continue to interact, which would have been really really unhappy and bad. And terrible rules for the things that were living behind the glass, and if you were stuck behind the glass, you were right there with them and they could really mess with you. Thankfully none of that happened.

Q: For Matt; you have the Tal'dorei Campaign Setting - I was wondering if you were going to do one for The Mighty Nein campaign?

Matt: I don't have a lot of time. Campaign settings are extensive. I'd like to eventually do something like that. I have materials, it's just assembling them in a way that can be legible by a non-crazy human being that I am. Hopefully! We'll see as time goes on. At the moment, we're consumed with this animated series that you guys helped make happen. Super excited about that. Keep an eye out as time goes on, because hopefully I'd like to get around to that. That'd be awesome.

Q: For Matt; what the hell was up with the undead vibe on Jamedi Cosko?

Matt: Yeah, that's crazy huh? That's a pretty weird thing. Yeah, there was something about him that gives off an undead vibe. Wonder what that means? I appreciate the question, but I don't know if that'll come back into play in some time. Let's see if it gets explored at some point, and if not at least I could tell you at the campaign wrap-up.

Q: For Travis; for the animated series, a lot of the characters have iconic catchphrases so I was wondering how you're going to translate "I would like to rage"?

Travis: Are we going to "translate" that? I think he's just going to say "I would like to rage". Yeah, we are definitely keeping iconic lines, moments, interactions, all those things will be there just as they were.

Taliesin: I'll also add to that - if you want to see somebody doing that and taking things that shouldn't actually work in-game and making them work in-game, Jody Houser is doing a great job in the comic book series of making you feel like somehow Matt is intertwined in everything that happens, it's kind of cool. Check it out!

Q: For Taliesin; a lot of comparisons have been thrown around between Fjord and Percy, and something that I noticed was Uk'otoa is being much more insistent than Orthax was - do you think if Orthax was as insistent and as keen on punishment, Percy might've gone a similar direction as Fjord?

Taliesin: Honest to God, and this is just from watching, I don't think Percy had nearly as strong a will as Fjord does. Watching Travis play Fjord was definitely like, "I did not have the balls to pull that off, oh my God." Percy was never about the hard choice, it was always about "what's the option C that I haven't figured out yet, there's a way to game my way out of this, if I just keep talking I can get everything to work" until the very end. Like chicken? Percy doesn't play chicken.

Laura (using Vex's voice): From firsthand knowledge, Percy does curtail very easily.

Matt: If you actually recall, Percy didn't even make the choice. Scanlan did for him.

Q: For Laura; when can we get a Caduceus tea set?

Laura: Oh, I heard a lot of "ooh's". Who would buy a Caduceus tea set? [audience applause] Well, shit, maybe I should look into it.

Sam: That's so many more people than who voted for me.

Brian: Not to be That Guy, lets just see how long his character lives, before we start making merchandise around him.

Q: For Sam; you are kind of the king of over-the-top and ostentatious whether it be with your character design, or your flasks, or things like that, and especially your outfits at the live events - how do you come up with these over-the-top creations and also how on earth do you plan on topping last night?

Sam: That last part will be hard. I think next year, I'll either come out totally naked or I'll just be so basic - pleated khakis, a polo shirt, I don't know. That outfit last night, it was pieced together from several different stores, I'm sure CritRoleCloset will figure it out at some point. But it was a challenge putting that together. And then, my fellow cast members, like two weeks after I bought all that weird stuff I wore, they were like, "hey let's go goth". So. Fuck you guys.

Q: For Travis; with Fjord's recent decision, do you see him changing outfits to fit his new or old persona?

Travis: I don't think so. Most of Fjord's armor was very piece-mail stuff that he got either from working on the docks, or stuff that he got from Vandren, or items that he was given just as he sort of accrued time and responsibility where he worked. I think that stuff's very dear to him, especially coming from an orphanage where he didn't have any possessions, so all those things that are actually his are very dear to him. He might add to those things, but I think underneath they'll stay there. He might augment them or change them a little bit, in the same way you would draw on your jeans in school or whatever, but that stuff's his so it means a lot to him.

Q: For Travis; after Fjord severed his pact with Uk'otoa, was there a larger fear in telling Beau and Jester what had happened, since he had been traveling with them the longest out of the Nein, or did his journeys with the Nein make that fear equal across all of the party?

Travis: I think actually he was worried about telling Beau and Jester the least, and maybe Caduceus in there as well. He knew he would hear about it from Nott, and Caleb had already sort of started to call him on his shit and saw through a lot of that stuff. He also regards the group as very powerful, so I think a lot of it is turning to his very powerful and talented friends and saying, "I don't have any of that anymore, I hope I can still play with you guys." Legit though, the response was amazing. It was absolutely incredible. Jester is so gregarious and loving and joyful and exuberant that I don't think he was worried about that, I think he was actually looking forward to telling her as one of the first people to know. And Beau is second-mate, so like ride-or-die or right?

Q: For Taliesin; I can totally be wrong for this, but just reading body language and facial features, there do seem to be moments where you're kind of just like, "I'm done with this" - I just kind of want advice, like how do you keep playing when your energy level might be low or you don't like where the story is going?

Taliesin: Oh, that is never "I'm done with this", what you're seeing is the "I'm trying to make sure no one notices that I'm reading my backstory notes". That's me reading, frantically. I'm a big believer in terror, terror is a great way to keep me up. "Oh God, I don't remember anybody's name, oh God how many siblings do I have oh God."

Marisha: Well, also you write your backstories like the Silmarillion, it's like, so intense. I'm like "my dad was mean to me" like that's my backstory.

Q: For Sam; based on the amazing reaction we've had to your DnDBeyond theme and the Critical Role theme, when can we expect a parody version of the 2010 hit "Like a G6" by Far East Movement as "Like a d6"?

Sam: Oh wow, that's good.

Marisha: Not to be that person, it already exists. The Library Bards did it. So, you should check it out. I mean, do a cover, Sam, I don't know.

Sam: There are more songs incoming, just so you know.

Q: For Matt; you say dunamancy can alter the reality and the fate of the person that wields it - is this an affront to the Raven Queen?

Matt: I would say, given the fact that elements of dunamancy deal with the manipulation of probability, destiny, things like that, the Raven Queen is probably not that cool with dunamancy. Just throwing that out there. One of the few things she's probably like, "Really, guys?" So yeah, I'd say you're on the right track.

Q: For Laura and Travis; do you talk to Ronin about your campaign?

Laura: So, Ronin, every Thursday night he stays with a babysitter at home, but he watches the opening of the show. Like, he loves the theme song so much. I sing it every time I change his diaper.

Travis: Same, like I know there's songs that parents sing to their kids - he's heard the damn theme song every day of his life.

Brian: But do you guys change the lyrics though, like "You shit your pants, I'm cleaning it up now", you know what I mean?

Liam: My kids bust into that song constantly. We cannot play a board game or anything. Someone goes "it's your turn" "TO ROLL" every time.

Q: For Marisha; I'm a huge fan of Jocks Machina and hopefully we'll get to see them on the channel one day - will Beau ever join Jocks Machina?

Marisha: What are the requirements, are there prerequisites for joining Jocks Machina? You're kind of the authority on this.

Travis: Guns. Abs. Likes to lift heavy things. Likes to break a sweat. Likes to whoop that ass.

Marisha: Check. Check. ...Check? Check. Hell yeah.

Q: For Matt; this is a rather involved conspiracy theory question, so excuse me - last year when the party was in Shady Creek Run at the Landlocked Lady Inn, they first arrived and there was a doorman named Champ who Keg knew. The next morning, they went down and there was a new doorman who said he'd been working for the Marduns for a few months and had bright red curly hair and vibrant green eyes and acted rather enigmatic and shady and shifty and was saying they should listen more and that he hoped that whatever they were after, they were on the right path. Later, once they recover everyone, Jester is asking the Traveler where he was, and he says he was always there. So my question is this: was that character the Traveler in disguise?

Matt: [several moments of silence]

Matt: That'd be pretty interesting, huh? That's a unique observation. I will confirm nor deny.

Q: For Matt; now that Fjord has effectively broken up with Uk'otoa, what do you think would be a more compelling storyline, or what are you most interested to see: him continue to take levels in warlock, possibly with an Archfey patron, or paladin...?

Matt: Part of what I really enjoy about this game is how the players continuously surprise me. I'm down to see what journey Travis wants to take. I'm curious to see how he takes this next path in his journey and which elements he wants to maintain, what direction he wants to go - he seems to be really finding interest in the Wildmother and talking to Caduceus about that, and that's kind of been an element of breaking that pact at the time, so I'm curious if he's going to continue down that path or see this as a blank slate to continue to grow. I'm interested to see the different decisions that Fjord takes, and Travis does through Fjord, and kind of adjust and build the narrative for that character around that. I can't say I have a specific path that I'm hoping for, because I have no idea what Travis's direct interest is, beyond just the actions he's taken in the game. Yeah, I'm just excited to see where it goes. I really love the idea of not knowing that as the Dungeon Master. As much as it's me building and world-planning, many of you out there who run games as GM know the most exciting part of the game is after all that prep, coming to the table and the players completely surprise you, and you kind of have to think on your feet and go with it. That's the best part of the game for me.

Q: For Marisha; what inspired you to play Beau a bit more shaken about her near-death than some of the other characters?

Marisha: Well, I was at 2 hit points the whole time - Liam can attest to that. So you know, I was kind of role-playing that. Shit's crazy man.

Q: For Liam; so you play your characters, both Vax and Caleb, very emotionally without any hesitation, and you're an experienced actor. What I wanted to ask was, something that people who try to emulate Critical Role don't realize that can happen when you try to put yourself into the character and get emotionally invested is character bleed. I was wondering how you deal with that, if you do at all. Like, if something really emotionally devastating happens to Vax or to Caleb, how does it affect you and how do you deal with it?

Liam: These feel like synthetic memories, so any time the superimposed fantasy friend gets killed or has to leave or whatever happens - that shit we carry around and get upset about. Every time we leave on a cliffhanger and someone's gonna die, we think about it constantly. Vax helped me sort through things, but made me more loyal and determined and willing to take chances - which in life I generally try to avoid conflict. Caleb, I still kind of drive around and think about him and still go, like "why did you do that?" He's really messed up, if I just think like, fireballs and cats like it's fun, and we can make dick jokes and it's fun. But if I really take a minute, I just go "Oh". I feel bad for him, I feel really bad for him. I have fun playing the game, and I love these guys, and I feel bad for my character.

Follow-up Q: Do you have ways that you learned to process that, like if you're at home feeling bummed about something that happened on a Thursday night, and you're like "man I need to get out of this funk"?

Liam: Yeah, I pull my head out of the game. I'll play a game with my kid, or watch a movie with my wife, or go running. Running is great. Not for your knees, but everything else. Or spend time with these guys out of the game. There's lots of ways. We're really invested in their stories, so it sort of drags along like coattails wherever we go.

Matt: To give you examples too, when he says "hanging out with friends", the group that's there, your friends that are in this game that you trust enough? You should all also support each other when those dark moments happen outside of the game. Whenever we lose a character in the game, we have like a wake. We go to an Irish pub that we go to often in Burbank, and we all get drinks and we have a wake for that character. And it's part of that process too. Even though it's imaginary, there's a part of that experience and journey that's come to an end and that deserves its respect as well, and we're all there to support the player. As a playing group, be there for your friends who may be going through that experience, because even though it is make-believe and it's a game, that is still a loss. And that's not a bad thing either. Loss is an important thing to process, because life comes with loss. Part of the wonderful experiences of role-playing games is that it allows us a safe space to explore very positive and very negative emotions in a healthy way and make us better people for it. So just be there for them, be supportive, and be the best friends and co-players you can be.

Liam: Part of the reason, I think, that we get upset when these fictional characters are killed is because we're playing this game of imagination together, and we form a chemistry together where we're like "we get to do this together, and it's always like this, and you're always funny like that, and you're always intense like this" and we really love that chemistry. Then somebody gets killed and they're gone, and that chemistry, which is something that we're like addicted to and love, that chemistry is gone. Like, when Molly was gone. Beau and Molly had this great "fuck you" "fuck you" butting heads thing - that's gone. We're actors, but anyone who plays this game extensively, you love the sort-of second life that you create for yourself and then when the character is gone, you don't have that unique mix anymore.

Q: For Laura; I really love how you play Vex and Jester, even though as two characters, they're pretty different from each other. But sometimes, you have an instance where like, your Laura shows. So I actually just wanted to ask, what was the biggest disconnect you've ever experienced between player versus character? If you've ever felt like, you as a person, as a player, would never ever make a choice in a situation versus what your character would do in that same situation.

Laura: I feel like everything my characters do, I wouldn't do in real life. Like, especially Jester. Travis and I have had these conversations: the joy of playing a character like Jester or like Grog, where you don't have to filter yourself - everybody, I assume, has these random really stupid things that pop up in your brain and you don't say them because everyone would judge you, and they're weird - and as these characters, you just embrace it, and it is so much fun. Talk about character bleed - it is an issue that I deal with now, because Jester has had that effect on me, and so I tend to say stupider things in real life now. No, but I would never deface anything in public, I would never steal anything.

Travis: You're not gonna attach any dicks on the walls.

Laura: I would not attach a dick to a wall in public. Or anywhere. I do eat a lot of donuts though, that's on me.

Q: For Matt; we've explored several places in the multiverse in your games, like the City of Brass, the Feywild, places like that - are there any places in the multiverse like the Astral Sea or somewhere that you, either as a player or as a GM, would have liked to have gone but have never had the time or resources to do?

Matt: Interesting. I do have some places that I really would like to explore, whether in this campaign or campaigns down the road. Astral Sea is interesting, it's a really weird amorphous plane, and I just love the prospect of one day throwing an Astral Dreadnought at these poor guys. He's my second to the Tarrasque. Oh they're fun, they're a good time. I've always loved Planescape. The City of Sigil would be great for obvious reasons of course. So I can be like, "no guys, this is where I learned my wrong pronunciation". But the City of Doors is awesome. Lady of Pain is a great element. Those who watched the Search for Bob oneshot, there was a Lady of Pain reference dropped in there. If you missed it, you can go back and look. Maybe there's a few doors in Sigil that lead to Exandria, who knows. Think about that for your home campaigns, huh? I want to go into some deep Abyssal planes too. We've been to the City of Dis, we've seen a little bit of the Nine Hells of Baator, though maybe not the harsher places. There's so many to explore!

Q: For Sam; Matt has said on Twitter that one of the ways you guys handle the pressures of the Kickstarter and the intense dramatic moments in the campaign is by checking in with each other and checking in on each other's mental health. I know you take on a lot of responsibilities with doing the DnDBeyond ads and the songs that you write and also your characters are often joking around with other characters and giving them a hard time so I was wondering, from your perspective, if you could give some details, without giving away anything too personal, on how to properly mentally check-in with your fellow players and just help everybody and check that everybody is doing okay.

Sam: Well, I'm learning from these guys, as we go, how best to do that. I'm weird in that, as weird as I am on-screen, I don't really talk very much when we're off-screen, or I keep my stuff to myself, more than some of these guys do. But they have, in the last few years, helped me sort of connect more with my best friends here. You know, we do check in a lot with each other, thanks to Matt and thanks to all of us. For instance, yesterday morning we all had breakfast together. It was really nice - we just talked about stuff, and it was just great to just sort of reconnect with everybody. I'm not an expert at this in any way, and in fact, on this stage, I am the least good at it, but I have endeavoured to become better at it. Opening yourself up to your friends and feeling comfortable enough to share your past or your worries for the future with your friends and not getting any judgement back is like, the greatest gift. If you have that with one person, it's amazing. If you have that with all of these people? Holy moly, it's the greatest thing in the world. I've tried to be better at sharing my stuff with them and being there for them. That's all I can do.

Q: For Marisha; in campaign one with Vox Machina, there's a lot of powerful badass lady NPCs, so if by chance, it all worked out timewise, who do you think Beau would be most likely to have a crush on?

Marisha: Kima. Yeah. Keyleth very much emulated Allura, and really looked up to her and kind of looked at her as a powerful female figurehead and took notes for leadership through her. Beau would just wanna fuck.

Q: For Liam; what do characters do in the campaign that you find funny no matter how old it gets?

Liam: Everybody throw in on this one. I'll never get over Laura waggling her eyebrow every third word in the game.

Taliesin: Slow snicker every time there's even vaguely a possibility of a dick joke.

Travis: I'd say every time there's a pain reaction out of Nott. It is hysterical to me.

Liam: I like any time, just the concept of death comes up or Molly - anywhere, in the game, out of the game - one of these people would be like, "Like you, you're dead!"

Laura: Uk'otoa.

Q: For Laura; do you think the volcano would be a good spot for Traveler on?

Laura (using Jester's voice): Okay here's the thing. Like, I totally did at first and I need to talk to him, because I think that now it's probably not, because it wasn't very expansive really, as big as I thought it would be, and there wasn't like a lot of beds, and like, no real good food. So, I don't know how many people are coming, but like, even just getting to the nearest hotel was really difficult, you know?

Matt: I love the idea that half of your sketchbook is Jester's tiny Yelp reviews of locations in Wildemount.

Q: For Laura; with all of the throwback to Vox Machina and Whitestone in the week before, how are you feeling with all of it?

Laura: I'm feeling very nostalgic.

Laura (using Vex's voice): Also, I would love for everyone to come visit.

Marisha (using Keyleth's voice): Me as well.

Laura (using Jester's voice): And also, if we did, I think we would cause a lot of problems.

Marisha: New pitch - Travelercon at Whitestone. We know the food is good, lots of lodging and room and board, no dead people in trees anymore.

Laura: All of the residuum that you could ever hope for.

Brian: And endless booze.

[Panel end]

#critical role #talks machina #long post #my hand is now broke #transcript

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kristenbeeapples · 4 years

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Okay, guesses for Kristen’s new subclass since Ally all but confirmed it’s happening on the Fireside Chat:

Grave Domain

Gods of the grave watch over the line between life and death. To these deities, death and the afterlife are a foundational part of the multiverse’s workings. To resist death, or to desecrate the dead’s rest, is an abomination. Deities of the grave include Kelemvor, Wee Jas, the ancestral spirits of the Undying Court, Hades, Anubis, and Osiris. These deities teach their followers to respect the dead and pay them due homage. Followers of these deities seek to put restless spirits to rest, destroy the undead wherever they find them, and ease the suffering of dying creatures. Their magic also allows them to stave off a creature’s death, though they refuse to use such magic to extend a creature’s lifespan beyond its mortal limits.

Either Death or Grave domain would make sense but I think Grave is more likely since it’s more neutral and about guiding people to the afterlife rather than necromancy/undeath which has negative connotations. Kristen’s died 3 times now (stop it brennan) and has come away from each death experience with a new outlook on religion and faith. Worshipping death, after spending her early years in the life domain, would make total sense, especially since so much of her questioning religion was about the afterlife. The bit about ‘resisting death’ being an abomination might be difficult since she’s done it a bunch, but I think Brennan could probably homebrew a reason to get around it if that’s what they go with.

Cool things that come with this domain: as a reaction you can cancel a critical hit on an ally within 30ft of you, which is super clutch, and can also cast Spare the Dying as a bonus action. Cool!*

(More below the read more!!)

Knowledge Domain

The gods of knowledge – including Oghma, Boccob, Gilean, Aureon, and Thoth – value learning and understanding above all. Some teach that knowledge is to be gathered and shared in libraries and universities, or promote the practical knowledge of craft and invention. Some deities hoard knowledge and keep its secrets to themselves. And some promise their followers that they will gain tremendous power if they unlock the secrets of the multiverse. Followers of these gods study esoteric lore, collect old tomes, delve into the secret places of the earth, and learn all they can. Some gods of knowledge promote the practical knowledge of craft and invention, including smith deities like Gond, Reorx, Onatar, Moradin, Hephaestus, and Goibhniu.

Given Kristen’s whole thing about asking questions, I think this could work! If it turns out the mystery goddess is good (which... I am doubtful lol) the bit about deities that hoard knowledge would tie in really nicely, and I imagine Kristen could persude her to start sharing knowledge more freely and be on a more equal footing with her deity which is what she wants. If Ally is allowed to re-roll one of their lower stats like the others did last ep, they could re-roll intelligence which would fit well with this domain. (Tragically, I don’t really see an outcome where it would make sense for them to re-roll dex.) This is the one I like the least though - I feel like this is maybe mid-freshman year Kristen rather than current Kristen, especially now that she’s gotten rid of her philopsophy students. But who knows!

Cool things that come with this domain: you can use channel divinity to read minds and cast Suggestion!! What the Fuck!! That’s rad, and also would lead to many shenanigans, I’m sure.

Protection Domain

The protection domain is the purview of deities who charge their followers to shield the weak from the strong. The gods’ faithful dwell in villages and towns on the borderlands, where they help bolster defenses and seek out evils to defeat. These gods believe that a strong shield and a suit of armor is the best defense against evil, second only to a stout mace on hand to respond to any attacks in kind. Deities who grant this domain include Helm, Ilmater, Torm, Tyr, Heironeous, St. Cuthbert, Paladine, Dol Dorn, the Silver Flame, Bahamut, Yondalla, Athena, and Odin.

Okay this domain is basically all the Bad Kids, but I think it would especially work for Kristen ‘why do good people suffer?’ ‘I cast Greater Restoration on Riz’ Applebees. Play-wise I think this subclass is a little limited so might not happen but story-wise? Would absolutely be perfect for Kristen. She’s always trying to look after others and having that mechanically validated would be so cool. It would be maintaining the spirit of what Kristen believed her faith to be (helping others) whilst rejecting the shitty parts of it! Good!

Cool things that come with this domain: you can use your channel divinity to bless your ally, so that if they’re attacked in the next minute the attacker takes 2d10 + your wisdom modifier damage.

Twilight Domain

The Twilight Domain governs the transition and blending of light into darkness. It is a time of rest and comfort, but also the threshold between safety and the unknown. Deities of healing or respite (such as Boldrei, Hestia, Mishakal, or Pelor), bravery or protection (such as Dol Arrah, Hajama, Helm, or Ilmater), travel or transition (such as Fharlanghn, Hermes, the Raven Queen, or the Traveler), or the night and dreams (such as Celestian, Morpheus, Nut, or Selune) might grant their clerics the Twilight Domain. Clerics who server these deities tend to be brave, delving into the dark to hold its dangers at bay and to bring comfort to those lost far from the light.

I hadn’t thought about this before but I spotted it as I was looking through the domains on the 5e wiki and remembered this was Tracker’s domain. Given that Kristen was talking about wanting to be twin goddesses with the Unnamed Goddess and Tracker, this could work out if it turns out the Unnamed Goddess is good (which again, big if). BUT IF it does happen this is the domain of dreams, which would be such a good counterbalance to the Nightmare King in the final battle and I imagine would make for a lot of really cool imagery/themes. I also just really like the vibes of this domain? Like, Tracker and Kristen as lesbian moon cleric gfs... ideal.

Cool things that come with this domain: Kristen could finally have darkvision lol (with no limit, which is rad!). You also get the Twilight Sanctuary that Tracker can make and an ability called Steps of the Brave which allows advantage on saves against being frightened and the ability to use flying instead of walking speed for one turn.

Unity Domain

A sense of oneness shines at the heart of healthy communities, whether bound together by friendship, blood, faith, or some other uniting force. The gods of unity deepen such bonds and delight in their strength. Clerics of these gods preside over marriages and other familial bonding customs, but they also nurture the emotional bonds of friendship and camaraderie. Their divine blessings bolster and protect allies in battle through these deep bonds and turn aside malign influences.

Okay, listen, if you follow me you KNOW Power of Friendship Kristen is basically my whole thing, so I might be a little biased, but read that above description and tell me that does not sound like Kristen and her relationship with The Bad Kids to a T. Kristen loves her friends, they motivate her, she spends all her time in and often out of battle trying to protect them. It would make complete sense for the narrative and would really emphasise the queer found family vibes of D20/The Bad Kids. Don’t ask me to elaborate further because it will be an incoherent mess and I’ve already babbled about this enough times, just Trust Me On This One, y’all.

Cool things that come with this subclass: you can use channel divinity to share the burden of damage between your allies, so you can decrease the damage on people who are weaker/already hurt and give more to the tanks, which is extremely clutch. Emboldened Bond is basically Bless for two people which is made by creating a bond between them... the cutest!! I love this subclass.

BONUS: Kristen multi-classes into paladin

I was thinking about this a couple of weeks ago and then I re-watched the talkback episode of Fantasy High that Ally and Zac were on and was reminded that Kristen was originially conceived as a paladin. (Which is wild to think about now, given how important Kristen’s cleric stuff is.) Anyway, this could work, because it would be a bit of a distance from very intense, direct religious worship that has been harmful to Kristen in the past whilst also allowing her to maintain faith if you get what I mean? She would also be able to more physically protect her friends and be able to do like good amounts of damage. My guess if this happened she would go Oath of Devotion, whilst also switching subclasses to one of the ones I listed above. No idea if that’s possible, no idea if this would be a strategic multiclass, also probably not very likely to happen, just think it would be cool! Paladins are the best class, fight me.

Thanks for reading this whole thing which got WAY out of hand. If any of these turn out to be the right answer, but especially Power of Friendship Kristen, I reserve the right to brag about it forever. Fingers crossed for next week/whenever the finale ends up being!

*All of these subclasses have cool things at higher levels too, I was just picking my fave abilities that Kristen would be able to use at the level they’re all currently at.

#kristen applebees #fantasy high #dimension 20 #meta #(i guess?)#my posts #power of friendship kristen is going to happen i am speaking it into existence #truly if it does happen i will never shut up about it #so be ready for that

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contagious-addiction · 4 years

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For the DnD ask meme: Vias 34, Sadija 41 (she's hot), Julius 29 (HE'S HOT), and Elias 33

Ooo Anon you have Very Good taste. Let’s go down the number line shall we?

#29- JULIUS

Who would they save? Who would they be saved by?

Julius is the type that would, for all intents and purposes: can and will go out of his way to save people he sympathizes with. Which is a fairly large pool of people - though he mostly sympathizes with low income families or people who’ve had equally as shitty lives as him. He absolutely HATES abuses of power - especially over people who have very little control over fighting back against tyrants. As for who would save him... That’s a complicated question to answer since he’d insist he’s already been saved. The trauma he endured for the younger years of his life weighs heavily on him still. In general though, someone who’s patient and willing to let him open up to them at his own pace... Are good for him and might help him truly heal from his past.

#33- ELIAS

What makes them cry?

Oooof... Hm. Well, mostly the idea of his bronze dragon wyrmling Rosana Starling getting hurt or dying. He’s part of a group who’s job right now is to revive the long dead race of dragons (it’s a homebrew game but takes place in the Forgotten Realms setting, where giants have wiped out all dragons in the world)

He loves his mother dearly since she’s who he aspires to be some day, but the idea of his little girl dying so young terrifies him. It would most definitely make him cry.

#34- VIAS

Which party member do they go to in a crisis?

Oh gosh what a question! Well, there’s quite a collection of people Vias trusts for this now but the answer is an unlikely one since they actually didn’t get along for at least 14 sessions (4 of which we have recorded since i started recording our tal’dorei sessions around session 10 so we can take notes easier)

But his answer would be Susanna Crow - our resident ginger human Gunslinger of the party of 8! She was actually really awful to Vias for days in game and was absolutely insufferable and rude to him... But after the group experienced a strange bout with an extradimensional space and some weird shit, they kind of gained respect for each other and called a truce. After that, they had some trauma bonding in a strange time-temple thing and... The rest is history.

They’re not “uwu soft” friends, but the type to banter and throw quips and just eat that shit up about each other and Vias trusts her to tell him straight if he’s overreacting or in general, give him a vibe check. She’s not the most stable person to bounce his ideas off of since she can be pretty snarky at times, but she reminds him of his younger sister and she brings him peace of mind.

My other answer for this is Diona - our pugilist genasi Diona. She’s only 19, but she’s kind of become the party rock. She’s level headed and provides a really soothing and rational sort of feedback which is well loved to Vias. He cares about her deeply and trusts her if he needs help with legit anything.

#41- SADIJA

What are they attracted to in other people?

Oh i’m SO glad you chose to ask this Anon. I have Ideas.

Sadija is demisexual. but homoromantic. So she’s mostly interested in romantic female partners but can and has slept with people she feels comfortable with and knows.

However she has... A very strange set of factors that cause her to be attracted to her romantic/sexual partners.

First, they need to be more powerful that her. If they’re able to hoist her up over their shoulders without issue... That’s attractive as fuck. If they’re someone powerful magic wise... That’s attractive as fuck. (she had a century where she was inlove with Titania, queen of the fairies. she’s powerful as fuck and pretty so obviously she fell for her - sadija was also the warlock of her for that grip of time, but she dropped that because of Family Drama because Titania ended up actually being her great great grandmother which Really fucked Sadiija up to find out since Titania had lied to her and... Yeah)

In general though, she very much needs to know they’re worthy otherwise she just thinks it’s boring and she doesn’t feel any spark at all XD

Second, she really does like someone who’s got a good soul. Just, someone willing to do good just for the sake that it’s the right thing to do and doesn’t expect anything in return. A little banter maybe, some playfulness, willing to match her and be delighted with her... In general, Sadija just wants a partner to spend her very very long life with as a fey mutt (her father is a were-lynx woodelf and her mom’s a nymph so her bloodline is pretty Fucked)

She already has a pretty obvious crush on one of her party members (she’s strong, human, a warlock of a god of justice, and is fucking Hot) but she doesn’t wanna make a move on her since she isn’t quite sure if Charlie’s reciprocated her flirting yet. It’s very much the lesbian panic of “oh man i can’t tell if she’s just really friendly or if she’s flirting” when it’s obviously flirting... V.V

She’d go to hell and back and to heaven too, if it meant being with the person she loves. And she wants that loyalty too some day, if she’s lucky enough to get it :,3

#ask Wren #thanks for asking about my children!!!#it was a lot of fun to think about them in the context of these questions aaaa #sadija #vias #elias #julius

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vhailor619-blog · 5 years

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Character Creation, Part 2

In our last post, I wrote about how to stay true to your character and their beliefs. But I neglected to put in a very important factor, how did you create this character?

Many different approaches are used in creating a good dungeons and Dragons character, and none is the absolute right way, nor is one the wrong way. I’m going to give some tips in this entry to help do things the way I do them.

A good place to start is actually at the end, by the end of the campaign, where do you want to see this character end up, and work backwards to how you can get there. In one situation, I have a character designed who at the start sounds as boring of a character as possible, they are a human fighter, but the area they are going to be fun and unique in, is what the goals of the character entail. This fighter, who I will call Alex for the rest of this story, is the descendant of a legend, a fighter who was a part of a party who lead to the downfall of a mighty red dragon who was terrorizing the local populace. The only problem is, that since that time, Alex’s family has coasted on their descendant’s great deed and has let the family reputation get dragged through the mud. Now most people will still respect the story of the great hero, but his family’s name no longer gets them anywhere. Alex’s goal is now to bring back honour to his family and become a legend as his ancestor did.

Now comes the part where you have to talk to the one running your campaign for specific ideas, is there a story in the world of great heroes doing such things, or maybe in past generations the family came upon hard times and sold some of the legendary equipment that he carried and Alex will need to get the pieces back. Involve your DM/GM in the creation as they will have more insight into lore for you to build off of without giving away too much story. This could also work for giving them ideas for how to include your character’s backstory into the unfolding campaign.

Maybe the party is hired to protect a caravan of goods from some bandits, and as a reward, you are given a treasure that happens to have your family crest on it and it turns out it was a piece of equipment that the great hero used, like his bracers or helmet.

Making a character who has a defined goal is the easiest way to keep the creation fairly simple.

Another tactic I have seen used, and use myself on many occasions, is to find a reference that you like. For another Character I designed, I had the thought about what if an Elf made a pact with Tiamat and became a warlock of the evil queen of dragons. How did I come up with this idea? From cosplay sets from the cosplayer Jessica Nigri. She has done several World of warcraft shoots where she has portrayed many dragons in humanoid form, which gave me inspiration. My DM said if I can find or make my own homebrew that isn’t broken to play this, they would allow it.

Now that I have said a couple of dos for character creation, I feel I should also put a couple of don’ts.

Try to avoid being someone who makes up an entire backstory about how badass you already are. Most campaigns start you at level 1 which basically means you are a novice at what you are doing, at best. There wouldn’t be stories of your past deeds and how heroic you are, maybe you’ve done 1 thing that locals know about. Maybe you’re a local hero because you saved some children by chasing off a pack of wolves, or maybe you tackled a thief who had stolen from a local market. Nothing much more than that would be known about you.

Another thing I would stick away from is the cliche character tropes:

The quiet loner who sits by themselves and is dressed in dark colours and never talks to anyone. Okay, cool, then how do you meet with a party like this? This is a game that involves a fair amount of roleplaying, and if your role is to sit back, cross your arms and be disgruntled at everyone, then you really don’t contribute to the group. It’s fine to have some mystery to you, but don’t go out of your way to make yourself hard to approach. There are plenty of ways to be a mysterious character that is still talkative. Maybe you wear a mask at all times to hide your true identity, maybe your a changling who can put on any number of faces, maybe your secret is that you are actually working for the big bad guy and are leading your party into a trap to be revealed at the end of the campaign. There are many better things to base your character off of than just being the brooding loner in the back of the tavern.

I’ll leave off here, leave a comment if there are any things you do or character tropes that you despise when people lean too hard on them.

This is Vhailor619, and until next time, may all your rolls be critical, and all your opponents fail. Be good people.

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fantabulouskilljoys · 5 years

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4,9,13? DM asks)

Aaaaah just saw this sorry if it’s been a while since you asked

4) What are your most and least favorite character tropes?

Ooh, it’s different between playing and DMing:

DMing:

Favorite: Terrible accent, almost definitely evil characters that the party is supposed to fight just from getting bad vibes off of them. Comic book villains are great, but keeping the tone I want in a campaign (and the commitment to story that I want) means I can’t just give every villain an evil laugh and manic eyes while lightning flashes in the background.

Least Favorite: Characters that I feel gross after playing. Comic book evil is great, real person forced to do evil stuff is interesting, characters where you’re just the villains in each others’ stories is so good, but genuinely cruel characters without regard for the fantasy Geneva Convention... ew.

Playing:

Favorite: Characters with low intelligence, wisdom, and charisma that are just here to fight stuff and hoard things. I tell the DM to fuck me up and give me a subplot of corruption, but not to take my stuff. Strong silent types, except out of character people expect me to lead. So the chaos of them not being able to tell if I’m rping a slightly evil dumbass or genuinely making a suggestion is absolutely wonderful, and lets me get back at everyone for them being worse when I’m dming :)

Least Favorite: Squishies. I hate low health characters.

9) How extensively to you plan your worlds ahead of time?

I always start with a map of the starting city, then make a map of the country based on where players say their characters are from and places I think would be cool. The city map is usually super in depth and I know all the political stuff for an area before I mention it to the players.

13) Do you ever homebrew monsters? Describe one.

I liked the idea of the Raven Queen having ravens that she sends out to see the world for her with small amounts of magic, so I made them based on a similar type of elf. A lot of the homebrew that I create is just reskinned versions of other things that already exist based on fictional things (like the Luggage from Discworld which eventually became a bard...). I did create a pygmy tarrasque, tarrasque dragon, and supertarrasque after some very annoying sessions, but their stats will remain a secret until my hand is forced. I used to have a lot of 3.5 homebrew, but switching to 5e made it difficult to keep using them unfortunately.

#ask me #dnd

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thedemonlordvampiros · 5 years

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D&D Characters I’ve Had

So, just realized that I have some fun D&D characters and feel like sharing them on my tumblr that cost Verizon about $2.50

-Doom Damakos: Doom is probably one of my favorite characters. He was a half-tiefling/half-goliath totem-warrior barbarian, with Critical Role’s Titanstone Knuckles because my DM was a huge fan of the Vox Machina campaign. So, with a strength score of 24, he would have been an absolute monster in combat, but I felt like having fun and making it easier/harder for my DM by never wielding an actual weapon, unless it was to use it the wrong way. So anytime we entered combat, Doom, an almost 8′ demon that looked like he was made of stone, would walk over to the nearest enemy, pick them up, and throw them at another enemy. I made essentially made him the embodiment of “I’ll beat this motherfucker with another motherfucker”, and boy was it fun. 2 of my favorite uses of this are 1) we ran into a fight with a pack of wolves, Doom grabs one by the snout and just tosses it into the stratosphere, making it take 10d6 fall damage and turning into paste, and 2) in a fight against a wizard who had 4 large spiders under his control, Doom punched one of the pillars in the room that wasn't holding the ceiling up, picked it up, and squashed a spider with it, finishing the encounter.

-Mayhem: By far the most fun I’ve had with a spellcaster, Mayhem will definately be reused when I can find more games to play. Mayhem was mostly homebrew stuff, but the class was one my DM for the campaign picked out and said was okay. She was a FMA style Hommunculus Hexer with the elemtal contract. Hexer is like the standard fantasy witch, you sold your soul or whatever for magical powers and a familiar to do your bidding. For Mayhem, that familiar was a fire snake that I named Udon(like the noodle). What made her so much fun to play was an ability called hexes. Among the hexes that could be cast was one called the ‘Sustaining Hex’ which basically let you cast a concentration spell and not need to focus on it. First time I used this was on a leader of a group of cultists in Hoard of the Dragon Queen. First, Mayhem cast Hold Person on the leader, then I used her bonus action to activate the sustaining hex and keep the boss stuck in place. When my next turn came around, I used Fireball centered on the boss and dealt a lot of damage to her.

-The House Always Wins: First time I ever played a tabaxi and it was a mostly RP campaign with little to no combat, but since I was still kinda new it was okay and fun. The House Always Wins, or House as anyone ever refered to him as, was a Tabaxi Card Dealer with a little it of fiendish heritage giving him the Devil’s Tongue trait tieflings can having instead of the movement burst tabaxi normally get. In combat, House was meant to be the archer, only using a deck of playing cards instead of a bow or crossbow. But combat was rare so we can skip that. In personality, House is supposed to be very persuasive and be able to get anyone to like him. He means well to a degree, but is not afraid to sneak in a bit of vicious mockery to get a threat across. I wish I could have played him more, but it was a club campaign that started before winter break, so I’m just gonna keep him on hand to play at a later date.

-Temperance: Technically I have never gotten to play Temperance since the campaign I was supposed to join her with(at level 15 nonetheless) ended before I got to join.(The DM wasn’t very good according to my brother who was in the campaign before me, so I guess it’s not that bad) Temperance is probably the one character I’ve had the most story for and the one I wanna play the most. Temperance was supposed to be a Lawful Evil Lamia(more MonMusu less D&D, snake from the waist down, lady from the waist up) Plague Doctor with a subclass that was more on the cauterize-with-a-hot-iron-rod, that-leg-looks-infected-better-amputate feel than the make people better kind. The whole aesthetic of Temperance was supposed to be that of a Mob Boss, but with her ties in various alchemy, apothecary, and medical facilities instead of political and governmental places. So instead of paying off the local guard to glance over some of the wrong doings of her ‘gang’, Temperance would pay off the various doctors/healers so they would sell her specific brand of potions instead of the common ones. Her ‘goons’ as they where would have been clerics, druids, bards, and anyone with an affinity for alchemy that wanted to make some gold and not have to pay the same price as everyone else. The ultimate goal that I wanted Temperance to achieve was to make and/or modify some disease that existed in the world so that her group sold the only cure and could make a lucrative profit out of it. It wasn’t gonna be a wide-spread epidemic, just a village or two, maybe a small township, only enough so that it would be talked about and feared to drive people to buy Temperance’s cure.

Sorry for the long post. I just felt like saying something about my characters somewhere and this is the one social media(if you can call it that) that I use. If, for some reason, people use any of these concepts, I would like to now, but understand if you don't wanna talk to me about anything.

#d&d #d&d 5th edition #d&d 5e character #thedemonvampiros #TheDemonRambles

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eldritch-sanctum · 7 years

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Why I am not fond of D&D alignments

A lot of people seem to defend D&D alignments, with arguments that they are just a tendency, not an extreme, that they aren’t meant to pigeonhole characters, just provide a basis, etc. Or that anyone who doesn’t “get” alignments just doesn’t understand them.

Personally I wonder why even have them in the first place. However I understand that since it’s inception, D&D was highly influenced by Tolkien, which was influenced by biblical ideals of a rigid good vs. evil system. Before that, the fantasy genre tended to be more on the “sword and sorcery” side with people beating up bad guys for money and glory.

I think for the most part, people don’t really come into alignment conflicts or don’t see the issues that alignment has in most D&D or Pathfinder games. For the most part you’re likely not going to see it.

However, where alignment starts to fall apart is when you try to bring it outside of those worlds and start getting into thought experiments, philosophical analysis, but most of all when you try to ask yourself about giving an alignment to real people or complex characters outside of D&D. It starts to seem as if the worlds of D&D and Pathfinder pigeonhole the very personalities and natures of people.

For example, how would you align historical figures? This is where it gets really tricky and controversial. How would you align Theodore Roosevelt, a man who has done a lot of good attacking big business and helping the environment, but also has done a lot of bad things like imperialism in Latin America? Revisionist history likes to paint certain figures as bad or good based on modern moral ideals, but is that fair or not? These are issues that are really for another day, but it’s these questions that I think can be used to exploit the weaknesses of the alignment system. As a DM I would indeed try to do that shit for my players to challenge them.

And really, real world politics is a minefield of this kind of stuff.

Okay okay, that’s the real world, but even within fiction you can find examples of people who are hard to align. Shakespeare is known for making some characters that it’s hard to know if you should love or hate them. His depiction of King Henry V is very interesting, because he can be interpreted in so many different ways, is he good at heart or is he a lying scoundrel? Where his actions just or not? Should he have dumped his friends or not? He comes across as a complete douchebag at times, and others as more sympathetic.

A more modern character that touches on the same things, and I think also it feels that way is Vriska Serket form Homestuck. Vriska is a character that has been endlessly debated over and over if she’s an evil, scheming, narcissist or is she a genuine hero? She has very questionable methods, she done good, and she has treated certain others, especially Tavros, as utter trash just because to her they are weak or evoke feelings that she hates to have for him. Does she do things because she really wants to be a hero or just for the glory and praise?

Then there are some characters that it’s hard to even know what their real motive is, it feels like they are a total enigma. Their actions can give us clues as to what they are like, what their beliefs, and ideals are-yet those same actions contradict each other. My favorite example of course, is Magus from Chrono Trigger. A man who has suffered greatly, and was raised by monsters, then chose to exploit those monsters for him to seek his own revenge against Lavos, meanwhile aiding in the death of many humans. He later turns out not to be such a bad guy but still very sour, bitter, and salty; there does seem to be some goodness in him toward the end. It’s just that his pursuit of revenge really drove him to be complicit and even aiding in evil, but when he realizes he can’t do it alone then he starts cooperating, and then you start to see that maybe he does really care, and maybe in a sense he really always had that care and it wasn’t just that he changed. In Radical Dreamers we see his personality has changed to be much more mellow and wiser, more calm and has a greater understanding of the pitfalls of mindless revenge. For these reasons I like to say his alignment is all over the place, or is just one of those people it’s difficult. You can say maybe that he was Lawful Evil when you first encounter him, and that when he joins the party he’s Neutral or something, but it still doesn’t capture how he really is, and I think that is part of the interesting thing about him.

One could argue, with the examples above, that alignment would reflect who they really are on the inside regardless of what we know or don’t know about them. However, one could ask, do they themselves even know? What if it’s both? What if Vriska both likes the praise she gets and becomes a hero because it feels good and because of altruism at the same time? Heck there’s an endless debate if true altruism even exists.

Now this is just in the good vs. evil axis. The law vs. chaos axis is even more nebulous. Typically law is more about order, tradition, rules, honor, etc. Chaotic ideals as even those put in the PHB are about freedom and experience. However what if you had a character who was very rigid about certain laws and rules whose purpose is to give rights and freedom? For example a real world one is the philosophy of “I do not agree what you said, but I will defend your right to say it.” It seems more like a chaotic value at first, but when there is a rigid law or rule behind it, then is it lawful? When one right clashes with another right, some people will impose rigid codes wherein all rights and freedoms are considered equal, and others will give priority to certain rules and rights, and yet the rights and rules themselves are about freedom in the first place.

This debate also comes when playing characters like thieves and pirates, characters outside the law and disregard the law, but follow their own codes and rules. In Volo’s Guide, pirates are listed as “any chaotic”, despite many people giving them more neutral or lawful alignments because of codes and order.

I could go on and on about the murkiness of when it comes to even making distinctions of the concepts themselves. Philosophers have debated endlessly about what or who is good and evil, if moral relativism is correct or not. There are scenarios and characters have been created to challenge these notions in the first place. For example, Alan Moore’s Watchmen calls into question these things and if vigilantism is something we should really promote or glorify. What about a character who genuinely thinks they are doing something good in their heart but its something that causes a lot of pain and suffering? What about Deontological vs. Utilitarian ethics?

The thing though is that D&D is meant to be fun and usually easy-going, these things aren’t meant to pop up otherwise your players would beat each other up or it stops being fun because of all these complex things going on. I think that’s why people still like the alignment system because it just gives you an idea who to beat up and who not to with not many qualms about why and if you should have.

However, I am one of those people who tends to take the storytelling aspect a lot more seriously, and so I am one of those people who likes to be iffy about alignments and motives. In the past I have created characters who are I would say have some rather radical ideals that put them in strange places in the alignment. For example a drow warlock who has made a pact with a Far Realm entity, and wishes to destroy and eradicate all extraplanar sources of evil-even if it will piss off the overgod, especially if she allies herself with far realm entities who might or might not be evil. She even goes as far as to say that the existence of planar extremes of good, evil, law, and chaos are oppressive to the free will of peoples.

Speaking of Far Realm entities, those could be an interesting catalyst for alignment ambiguity. Instead of listing them as evil, have them reflect the moral ambiguity and amorality their source of inspiration meant them to have. Have ideals of good and evil, law and chaos, and yes, even neutrality be absolutely meaningless to them and act accordingly.

And another thing: Why are skeletons, usually mindless undead listed as lawful evil when they are mindless and usually without free will in the first place? Why is a skeletal horse evil?

And if you think about it, enchanters and some bards should be treated with more suspicion of evil than say, necromancers.

Anyway, getting back on track. I think the developers of D&D do have some awareness of these pitfalls now and then. I remember the Book of Exalted Deeds bringing up some issues like in the first part. Also I think in Hoard of the Dragon Queen, there is conflict about what should be done with chromatic dragon eggs, the Order of the Gauntlet wants them destroyed, but the Emerald Enclave wants them saved due to the “balance of nature” or something like that.

Topics about nature, why nature is a certain way, does it have to be a certain way, why do these horrible parasites and disease exist etc. is another area of exploration for ambiguity, especially in a world where nature was designed by, or is maintained by gods, people can call into question if it’s right that nature should be cruel and amoral in certain ways.

So basically these are places where moral ambiguity can come up. Not everyone is going to like this sort of game, but I do. In my homebrew setting, alignment is a thing many mortals believe in, but has no cosmic bearing at all, and in the world’s history has encountered instances where someone believed they were doing the absolute right thing by murdering someone who also believed they were doing the absolute right thing. There are spells and items that do detect alignment-but what they yield depends on the user!

#d&d #pathfinder #alignment #morality #philosophy

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isolated-loser · 5 years

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Log 0018, 8:44am, 15/6/2019

Here I am again, 75.000 years since my last update. Not like that’s surprising, lel.

So, I’m going to touch on a lot of topics, not in order as it’s been a while, & a lot has happened, sort of anyway.

I’ll start with- I pasted the motherfucking Hiset! Just barely, did I pass the writing part, but I did it. Soon I’ll be off to college, community college of course, but college nonetheless. I plan on going in to computer science, with a few minors in other sciences.

I started DMing on Mondays at the nerd shop, I love it. It’s in a very homebrew campaign setting, which I’m still working hard on. I want to make my combat better, as it’s honesty clunky and slow, though I’m running a big table of 7-8 people usually, as I’ve been the only other DM on Mondays at the shop. Though, Queen is going to start running a table again this Monday, not her old campaign the Stranger Things module, thank the gods, Presh might start running the Curse of Strahd module too. IE, good things.

Ranger’s animal companions are really annoying though. Presh’s a ranger with an animal companion, and honestly I want it gone. I hate that she pretty much only plays ranger, with the same fuck wolf, that she doesn’t even bother to change the fucking name of. It slows combat down, and combat is slow enough with 8 people playing. I’m more than happy to DM people. But I really need combat to not be as slow. I don’t know how to deal with her stupid animal companion. I’m trying but it’s irritating. I want strike it down with the hand of god. I’m not going to, but I want to. Honestly, I don’t really even want her at my table, I’m not going to kick her off, but gods I want to. I’ll figure out how to deal with it, in a non PC/animal companion murder way.

I really need to make some maps for a campaign. I have the mine city down, and I have the layout for the guildhall, but I need to draw it out better. I need to do the world map, I don’t really know how I want it to look, so yea…

Crush-kun has started dating someone, honesty, good for him. I’m not surprised. Cuss, Presh told me he was talking to someone, and I heard him mention something about it to some of the dudes at the nerd, plus Queen saw him on a date. I heard she was nice, so, good for him. I’m not going to pretend I’m not disappointed, cuss I am, but I’m not like heartbroken. I never really had plans on pursuing him, so, like. Though, it would be really nice to get him out of my head. I’ve tried to not think of him but it hasn’t really worked yet. I don’t know how to fix that. I really don’t want to think about him.

I spent the night at both Queen’s & Presh’s respective homes, Queens twice. Being at Queen’s was more fun, if I’m to be honest, as like I didn’t have to sleep in the same bed, being a light insomniac and all. Though, the Dnd playing at Presh’s, was kinda fun, her friend clover was there, as well as some dudes, a 15 teen year old, and a just turned 20 year old. Playing with Presh as DM, I don’t really like to much, & I don’t really like her as one of my player ither, but there were interesting people, so it was all fun in the end… though I didn’t like being pressured in to drinking, I’m aware I really didn’t have to do any drinking, but I felt like I was supped to… It was only to shots of dark bourbon, I think it was, but I didn’t like how it made me feel, or feeling pressured to do it. I’m sure it wasn’t her intention to make me feel that way, but I did.

The second time at Queen’s, Presh was there which was fun. We danced around some talked a little, and they dressed me up, Cuss apparently in their minds I dress badly. We watched the musical ep of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, for Presh, Repo! The Genetic Opera, for Queen, we were going to watch Lost Boys the 80s vr but that didn’t happen, For me, I kissed a Vampire, for Presh.

Buffy was good; cuss it’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and you can’t go wrong with that. Repo was great; the music was good, the story was compelling, it was Goth as a vampire bat, the grave robber was hot as hell, all around a good movie. I kissed a Vampire was absolute horse shit, being forced through a 14teen year old vampire wet dream, was fucking bad, the acting was so bad I physically hurt, the sets and vampire teeth looked horrible, the story was forced and contrived, it had appositely no redeeming fetcher.

The next day we went to some store and we all made each other and outfit, in which I got mocked for having not having a good eye for fashion, not like ya’ll didn’t bring me to a shop with a limited selection of decent clothing… Yeah, what I picked y’all out wasn’t best, but it was a hell of a lot better than what it could have been.

Honesty, I’m conflicted about Presh. I don’t even know why really. I can’t tell if I like her, or if I don’t like her. She very nice… I just had an idea, it could be that she doesn’t shut the fuck up, and is frankly kinda narcissistic. I know it’s not real narcissism, but it that I’m a preppy cute girl and everyone loves me narcissism. I can tell it’s not malicious. It’s just because she young. But it’d getting in the way of me liking her. And I’ve all ready befriended her; IE, I can’t just not be any more, without creating bullshit conflict. Or it could be, I’m just looking for any reason not to like her. Though I don’t know why, I’d be doing such…

An issue for a nether day, let’s talk about something else.

Lash Master’s game is going great! I love his setting, & and the story he has set up. I love all the other PCs. It’s just wonderful. I love my PC, Danny. I’m trying to get better a role-playing him, as I haven’t been doing as well as I wish. Though, I’ll get better, I always do.

I want to get in to kill team. I’ve played one game of regular 40k, which was fun as hell.

I just emailed my local rabbit rescue about volunteering, I don’t know how that’s going to go, but I hope well. And I’m going to start applying for some jobs cuss you know, money… Plus, I need to figure out how to pay for college stuff. Even just life stuff.

Signing Off…

Favorite song today: Legacy by Motionless In White

Mood: Ups and downs

#intp #personal #bipolar #dnd #sleepover #dming is hard #dming is fun #Dungeons and Dragons #hiset #idk #life

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wingedashley · 7 years

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The Princess & The Treasure Hunter

So. I’ve spent the last year playing in an Exalted campaign run by @winterwombat. My character (Tepet Sonorous Windsong) spent half of it in a will-they-or-won’t-they unresolved sexual tension fest with her circlemate Captain Juliet Harrow (played by the esteemed @myrastuff).

Well, that unresolved sexual tension has been conclusively resolved. Will they or won’t they? They will. They did. Oh yes.

To celebrate, I decided to try and build an annotated chronology of our campaign, as it relates to these two nerds and all the intersession RPs Myra and I wrote together. For those who’ve either been tracking us from the start or want to jump straight to the kisses, here’s where it happens:

Harrow/Windsong IV - Joyride (8k words)

For everyone else, here we go!

All artwork is courtesy of @myrastuff, and I highly recommend searching through her “Juliet Harrow” tag sometime. Each google doc RP alternates between sections written by Myra (Harrow’s) and sections written by me (Windsong’s). The Rest sequences are pretty optional, and don’t need to be read to keep track of the rest of the story.

Act 1

A Circle of Solars are brought together by an ancient pact made by their past incarnations, summoning them from across Creation to the West, soon after their Second Breaths.

Circle descriptions can be found here.

They’re quickly dragged into a desperate attempt to stop a Fae Queen from releasing a behemoth upon the Wavecrest archipelago, while simultaneously fighting a guerilla resistance against a sudden Realm occupation.

Much adventuring is had, as the party gets to know each other. Captain Harrow quickly takes on the role of the de facto “team leader”, drafting the other three Solars into joining her crew on her ship. Windsong spends less time bonding and more time reeling from the fresh facts that her parents left her to die, she’s now an anathema, and the Realm are the baddies.

It all comes to a head in a dramatic naval showdown with the leader of the occupation, Peleps Erena. On the eve of the final battle, Harrow attempts to turn the Queen from an enemy into an asset through the ultimate gambit: offering the Raksha a spot on her crew, and offering herself as a paramour.

It works perfectly.

One tiny problem. This gambit was as much a surprise to the rest of the party as it was to Eyasha (the Fae). And this was also the exact moment that Windsong realized that she had a huge crush on her dashing Captain, before proceeding to promptly have her first Limit Break over it.

Act 2

A month has passed since the battle for Wavecrest. The Circle have taken some well earned R&R time off together. Well, almost: Windsong has been extra broody and distant, and spent most of it burying herself in work and avoiding Harrow. Nika and Sil can see this trainwreck coming from a mile away.

They’re suddenly dragged back into action thanks to a series of unfortunate events, culminating in an ambush by a fully prepared Wyld Hunt party.

The fight is an absolute clusterfuck.

Windsong falls asleep by her captain’s bedside (it’ll be the last time she sleeps for months, kept awake in an endless workaholic fever thanks a few charms and a ton of new nightmares). When she wakes up, she decides she can’t hide her feelings any longer. Leading to the first written segment…

Harrow/Windsong I - Confession (4.5k words)

The Circle now know what they’re fighting for: the remnants of a First Age seabound empire built by their former incarnations. The Boundless Fleet. Three gargantuan superships still exist to be fought over, and they’re in a race with Peleps Erena to see who can reach them first:

The Archive, a priceless library.

Nef Lukai, The Floating City, a ship the size of a small country. Has its own factory cathedral.

The Immortal, the ultimate warship. Practically a superweapon.

They head West, seeking out the Archive. To get to it, they have to fight through the Guild. On the plus side there’s at least one familiar face to help them: Jacintha, the leader of an ex-slave guerilla resistance movement that the party clashed with in Act 1. Harrow kind of hated her and her fellow “Bloodless”, but Windsong got along with her swimmingly.

Did I mention fighting through the Guild? Well part of that involved fighting through the Guild’s terrifying pair of Lunar enforcers: Anastasia Ember (a seductive duelist) and Heartless Sona (a vicious gunslinger).

Vicious enough to cripple Windsong for life. Windsong’s left arm is vaporized after a desperate attempt to shield a circlemate from a lethal attack.

The Act concluded on a climactic naval / ground battle with the Guild in and around the Archive itself. It’s a Pyrrhic victory. They freed the Archive and even broke the Guild’s back over it, leaving Harrow’s growing trade fleet as the strongest economic power in the West. But Windsong was already mutilated and they lost Jacintha. She died and returned as an Abyssal only long enough to drag half the combatants permanently into the underworld with her. Windsong Breaks again.

The Circle prepare for a long journey up North, to stop Peleps Erena from taking Nef Lukai. Windsong, however, has had enough. Jacintha left her soldiers orders to obey Windsong if she died, and she resigns from Harrow’s crew to take command of the reeling Bloodless.

But before she leaves on a journey to unite her new forces, Harrow has a gift for her…

Harrow/Windsong II - Artifact (8k words)

Act 3

Nef Lukai has a problem. It spent a long while in the pits of Hell after the Usurpation, and only returned to Creation fairly recently. The upshot of this is that it’s absolutely crawling with demons. On the bright side, it means that Peleps Erena can’t just waltz in; she has to bring an army and siege the city.

A month has passed since the fight for the Archive, and Harrow’s ragtag fleet has (more or less) just arrived. Before they can get their bearings on how to approach the City, they’re suddenly caught in a vicious crossfire between the Peleps Navy and Hell’s. They’re forced to escape deeper North, landing on an abandoned island to recuperate and consolidate.

Complicating matters, Windsong’s back. And she brought friends.

A local Bloodless cell mounted a botched attack on a fleet of slave ships. Windsong arrived a little too late to do much more than mitigate the catastrophe: they successfully freed the ships, but they didn’t have the supplies to drop off the newly freed prisoners anywhere in sight. She decided to bring the ships along with her to her rendezvous with Harrow’s fleet, hoping they could render assistance. And they got marooned on the aforementioned island just like everyone else, except with literally nowhere else to go.

Before they knew it, the Circle started a settlement. The island had an abandoned village and temple on it already, which Harrow quickly refurbished. Over the course of a month, they played the long game, spying on Erena’s siege while opening diplomatic channels with the local Realm-occupied nation.

But before they could all play house, Harrow had to say goodbye to a controversial special someone. Eyasha had spent the last Act growing steadily disillusioned with her Fae nature, and asked Harrow to help end it…

Harrow/Eyasha Rest - Eyasha’s Farewell (5k words)

(Note: This segment was written using Myra’s indie RPG “Rest”. Because in addition to being a great roleplayer, webcomic author, all around craftsperson and fantastic artist… she also writes RPGs. Talk about intimidating.

Rest is a micro RPG system for dream sequences, built to interlock into other RPGs. @winterwombat wrote the somewhat-homebrewed sequence in its entirety and Myra played it through, page by page.)

On a happier note, Windsong also got to spend the course of the month getting used to her new arm!

Harrow had spent the month-long timeskip between Acts 2 and 3 building the Mercy Unconquered. Windsong had it grafted onto her left shoulder in the middle of the Hell/Realm naval crossfire, and used it to great effect to defend Harrow’s ship from Wyld Hunt boarders. The surgery was a bit more rushed than either of them would’ve liked, and Harrow decides to take a moment to make sure everything is okay…

Harrow/Windsong III - Checkup (7k words)

The party learn that Erena is on the precipice of an all-out assault on the demon city, one that’s gonna work thanks to the introduction of goddamn warstriders. They hatch a crazy plan to simultaneously sneak their fleet into the city via an intake port into the Canals district, before capturing and securing the sector before the demons can react.

Problem: they sure as hell can’t defend a beachhead in a demon-infested city, while also managing a new settlement and protecting the Hrimval (the aforementioned local nation). So they concoct a plan that’s just breathtakingly stupid enough to work: put all their eggs in one basket by evacuating both the Hrimval and their settlement into Nef Lukai with them. Nef Lukai is huge, each of its five districts being incredibly easy to fortify and the size of a bloody city.

Somehow, this works. They sneak a strike team into the central manse, and defend Nika long enough from demonic horde mode for her to take over and flood the entire district. They secure victory after killing a giant enemy crab (I wish I was joking, it had a keep full of demons on its back) with the help of a mysterious archer. Mysterious sidereal archer vanishes right after the fight, but not before everyone gets a good look at her:

Windsong’s younger sister, Saerie. The one she sacrificed herself for in the first place. That night, for the first time in a long while, Windsong actually falls asleep.

Windsong Rest - The Gilded City (1k words)

(Myra wanted me to playtest Rest prior to publishing it, and wrote me this sequence to play through.)

Windsong’s Bloodless and the Hrimval work together to build a new home in Nef Lukai. Peleps Erena captured the Academy District with her assault, and the Demon Queen of the city called a ceasefire. Said queen throws a lavish party in the central spire, and everyone is invited.

The Circle show up and settle down for a long night of politicking and gunboat diplomacy. On the bright side, they’re joined by two new allies: Anastasia Ember (seductive Guild duelist from Arc 2, now looking for work and FWB status with Windsong) and Auriana (Eyasha’s solar-powered Fae-ish reincarnation!).

On the less bright side:

Windsong tries to befriend the Wyld Hunt monks, and is utterly dismantled by them for being the naive, stinking traitor she is. How innocent is she really when mortals flock to her banner to die for her causes anyway?

Phaedra, the Demon Queen, is an Infernal. One with complete free will, who rejected her demonic masters and set out to conquer the world into a better place. She’s a perfect counterpoint to Harrow, a warmongering corrupted Solar with ominously familiar goals of world domination and affable charisma.

Harrow’s finally met her match, and has her first Limit Break over her building self doubt.

Nonetheless, they persevere. Windsong sorts her shit out and figures out where her loyalties lie (hint hint, with a certain Solar admiral). Harrow pulls herself out of her fugue too, with Windsong fussing over her every step of the way.

Some skullduggery and clandestine adventuring ensue, culminating in a vicious blitzkrieg by the Realm. They burned a path through the Gardens district, besieging the Canals with warstrider support. Windsong and Sil defend the walls, barely, scraping together a victory thanks to a 11th hour superweapon piloted by Harrow: The Ascendant Justice. Nika and Harrow had managed to capture and consecrate the Cathedral District, giving her access to the personal warstrider of Windsong’s former incarnation.

After the dust has settled, a lot of people are dead. Phaedra shows up to announce her official alliance with Peleps Erena, along with a formal declaration of war in 4 days.

Things are looking grim, but grim is the Circle’s specialty.

A few days into their preparations for the Battle of Nef Lukai, Windsong seeks out Harrow in a quiet moment…

Harrow/Windsong IV - Joyride (8k words)

Afterword

And here we are. It’s been one heck of a journey, and I’ve skipped and skimmed over so much of this campaign (an entire half of the Circle and a ton of supporting characters). Shoutout to @winterwombat again for keeping this carnival going.

I remember throwing in the “Windsong has a crush on Harrow” development on a lark in Act 1, and @myrastuff really ran with it. It’s been almost a year and it’s so very cathartic to see it finally come together. This isn’t the end of their story either, and I can’t wait to see how they develop over the Arcs to come.

Fun fact, I created my tumblr account in the first place just to take part in the tumblr Exalted community. You’re all wonderful, and it’s been a wild ride. ^_^

#exalted #age of sorrows #ex3 #exalted 3e #end of all oceans #sonorous windsong #juliet harrow #harrowsong

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soraavalon · 7 years

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I don’t know why but I feel like posting a list of all the D&D characters I’ve made in the order of their creation. It’ll be under a read more so it doesn’t take up space on the dash.

1. Nymera Zeborys - Tiefling - Sorcerer (Wild Magic)/Rogue (Arcane Trickster)/unintentional Warlock (Great Old One) [campaign she’s in (BD&BA) is currently on indefinite hiatus]

2. Corine Laramie - Human - Rogue (Assassin)

3. Gaelin Ithilruid/Sythaerin Frey - Wood Elf - Ranger (Beast Master) [Kinda meant to be part of the same campaign as Nym as he’s the son of the main antagonist of the campaign. This one is also featuring as an NPC most likely.]

4. Ophidrith - White Dragonborn - Cleric (Tempest Domain) [Only got to play this character one and a half times before she met her end. I was guest playing in Ethan’s friend’s campaign and because of a storm, my internet got knocked out for hours (I completely forgot my mifi jetpack then) and not to postpone the game, I agreed to allow Ophi to be NPC’d which ended in her death and ethantherenegade to be a bit salty with me for nearly killing his character Soren. XD I was following the DM’s orders and unknowningly dodged a bullet thanks to the storm because if I myself did succeed in killing Soren, Ethan would’ve gotten revenge against me by making Nym suffer in his campaign. XD] [I don’t even have her character sheet anymore, when Ophi died, I deleted her sheet. But all I remember of her stats is that she was not very dexterous.]

5. Aviris Orivaris - Half-Elf - Warlock (Archfey)/Rogue (Arcane Trickster) [She was originally gonna be my backup in case Nym kicked the bucket but the DM snatched her, so she’s an NPC in the BD&BA campaign. XD]

6. Akra - Green Dragonborn - Druid

7. Ravena Valespire - Human - Wizard (Transmutation)

8. Myrena Rozen - Tiefling - Sorcerer (Wild Magic)/Wizard (TBD) [campaign she’s in is on and off and Myrena’s not a wizard yet, but its what I intended for her character]

9. Tau - Human - Cleric (Life Domain)

10. Chara Arietis - Luminian (homebrew race) - Cleric (Life/Moon Domain) [The Moon Domain is a homebrew domain someone made that I’m tinkering with]

11. Firimil Naïlo - Drow - Blood Hunter

12. Ziki Winterborn - Goblin - Rogue

13. Chara Amarillys - High Elf - Cleric (Life Domain) [She was going to be part of an Eberron campaign and was originally Chara Arietis but the DM didn’t allow homebrew races, so next best thing was making her into a High Elf since I still wanted to play a Cleric.]

14. Pixie - Halfling - Barbarian (Path of the Berserker)

15. Avandra Karindry - Wood Elf - Sorcerer (Phoenix Sorcery) [Currently in ‘Guild Wars’]

16. Nyx Corva - Human - Warlock (Raven Queen pact)

17. Mirabella Arsinoe - Half-Elf - Wizard (Conjuration) [She knits enchanted clothing and her adoptive father is a crime lord that she has absolutely no idea about.]

18. Faye Van Der Zee - Halfling - Barbarian (Path of the Storm Herald) [Currently in ‘A Utopian Malfeasance’ which is Chloe’s steampunk campaign.]

19. Entrancella Reverence Daedithas Intari de Valdove a.k.a Trance - Tiefling (Abyssal) - Bard (College of Glamour) [This is meant to be my backup if Avandra gets killed and can’t be revived/resurrected.] (I felt like giving her a really long name for giggles and grins)

20. Nymera ‘Shadow’ - Tiefling - Rogue (Thief)/Sorcerer (Shadow Sorcery) [This is Nymera’s rework. Her alignment is either Lawful or Neutral Evil. Her background and backstory can be worked into Criminal or Clasp (if she was played in a Tal’Dorei campaign).]

21. Spring - Water Genasi - Ranger (Horizon Walker) [Her background can literally be Ashari because as I was thinking of her backstory, where she came from is very similar to the Ashari, which was unintentional.]

22. Katarin - Human Variant - Rogue (Assassin) [based on Kathrine from Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake] Human noble which two older sisters, became queen but her husband removed her from her throne which she is trying to reclaim.

23. Vyldove Virnelis - Half Elf - Oathbreaker Paladin (Inspiration came from Liam O’Brian’s character Jayne Merriweather from the Bar Room Blitz one-shot.) Follower of the Chained Oblivion, masquerading as a paladin of the Knowing Mistress Ioun. When asked about what deity she follows (she doesn’t outright show it) she’s very vague about it. [Meant for a Tal’Dorei setting]

24. Hunt - Tielfing - Rogue (Thief) [Her bloodline is connected to Mammon, she does not have the best health and loves to steal money and anything valuable.]

25. Valzir - Tiefling - Fighter [His bloodline is connected to Zariel] He is marked with an enchanted slave brand due to his devil father selling him into slavery for reasons unknown. He’s seeking a way to disenchant the brand to break his bond with his master and venture back to Avernus to confront his father.

26. [Insert name here] - (Inspiration came from Liam O’Brian’s character Caleb Widogast) A spellcaster whose father runs an academy that specially trains casters from noble and royal families. Despite her social status, she attended the academy at her father’s behest, hated the entire experience and dropped out without his permission. Then along the way due to a strange string of events, she got age reversed to that of a child, but her mind remained in tact. (Class or race have yet to be determined)

27: Nymera Zeborys - Tiefling - Sorcerer (Wild Magic). [Vastrun rework and her bloodline is to Fierna] In this rework Nymera had a happier life because her father was successful with taking Nym away from Ali then unintentionally joined up with the circus that Alisandra’s family owns. Nym has no connections to the Flock in this incarnation.

28. Esaveil Faeyra - Half-Elf - Fighter. Esaveil is a bodyguard under the employment of the Floating Towers of Arcanix to protect students studying magic even though in the world, magic is being snuffed out by science and technology. Her charge got teleported to an unknown location because they botched a spell and now she’s on a quest to find them and get them back to the academy. [Currently in Jamy’s Champions of Eberron campaign]

29. [Insert name here] - Shadar-kai - Been ‘resurrected’ by the Raven Queen many times to continue her service meaning her true age surpasses most elves while her physical age appears young. She’s on the mortal plane to visit the Queen’s temples to ensure they still stand and prevent any mortals or beings from attempting to usurp the Raven Queen’s position.

30. Cantarella - Eladrin - Wizard (Necromancy). Daughter of the head of the Winter Court, denizen of the Feywild. At first glance she appears to like anything and all things cute, which is true, but she also loves all things undead. For several years of her life she remained a Winter Eladrin until she changed to Spring and loved how she felt.

#random post #this post will update whenever new characters are created #D&D stuff #My D&D characters

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