#(he has a 16 intelligence. 4 charisma though)

[kestrelscribe]

Detective Ferven Ardenring, Warder Paladin of the Flameguard. Pyara's punishment upon the rogues of our fair city of Argenclere. Local truth-sworn Devotion paladin of the state religion, the goddess of fire. Maybe a muppet.

(He/him pronouns, binary man)

[the-mic-drop]

Building Link in BG3- Fighter

Now it's time for the Hero of Hyrule himself. Same as Zelda, there are two builds I have in mind that are similarly appropriate for him, but I'll start with the simpler one. His Ranger build will be next.

The Hylian Champion

This is the Link we tend to see in cutscenes, or more specifically, memories. This was Link when he was Zelda's silent sentinel before the Calamity. A man with a mission and his mouth shut tight with the weight of the world.

Background

Race: Half Elf (Wood Half Elf)

Background: Soldier

Now I'm making Link a Half Elf instead of a full Elf because that's how I see the isekai magic transferring them. Zelda is of royal and holy lineage and is very magically inclined whereas Link is just some guy relatively speaking. Plus with how often Link is depicted as a boy of the forest, so wood elf makes more sense. As for the Soldier background, this is Link in knight mode; a peerless warrior.

Abilities

Strength: 17 (+3)

Dexterity: 16 (+3)

Constitution: 13 (+1)

Intelligence: 10 (0)

Wisdom: 10 (0)

Charisma: (-1)

Str and Dex are self-explanatory, I feel. Constitution is a bit lower because in-game much of Link's durability comes from the armor he's wearing. Having a max health pool doesn't mean much when you're going commando. But even so, he's plenty tough, so he gets a boost there. I evened out his Int and Wis because this Link isn't quite the wild child serial arsonist we play as. This Link is more composed and thoughtful, though his willful mutism causes his Cha to suffer.

Class & Levels

Class: Fighter

Fighting Style: Archery

Proficiencies: Animal Handling, Perception/Acrobatics

We choose archery not because this build is a ranged build, but because only one other style fits Link as well and we'll be able to choose it later. Make no mistake, this Link is a scrapper and will likely be leading the charge in most combat situations. For the proficiencies, Animal Handling is a natural choice from that one memory, and I think Perception and Acrobatics are equally valid choices so just go with your gut on that one.

Level 3

Subclass: Champion

Though Battle Master is most people's go-to when it comes to Fighters, Champion is perfect for Link for one reason: simplicity. While he is known as a master swordsman (no pun intended,) the combat gameplay of BotW and TotK is so good because of how simple it is, among other things. Champion reflects that to a tee.

Level 4

Feat: Shield Master

This incarnation of Link is arguably more creative and innovative with his shield than any other. Plus, you can parry pretty much anything with your shield so this is a reasonable first feat. Also, the reason why we're not going with Ability Improvement is that Strength (a Fighter's main stat) is the only one you can get to 20 without using a Feat. First, use Auntie Ethel's boon in Act 1 to get a +1, then get Astarion to drink Araj Oblodra's blood in Act 2 to get the remaining +2. I know making Astarion drink the gross blood is typically a renegade move, but I think a blank stare from this consummate professional Link would deliver the Zelda-style humor that is appropriate for the situation.

Level 6

Feat: Polearm Master

I know I just said Link is a sword-and-shield man, but Link isn't limited in his arsenal. We know he learned spearplay from the Zora, so this is more than appropriate.

Level 8

Feat: Great Weapon Master

If you want to take this one before Polearm Master, I can't really blame you since it's more useful. I just chose that first because it makes more sense for Link to know spearplay over big weapons. Though Great Weapon Master really is the more useful feat, since Champions crit more easily. Plus with how borderline clumsy Link is with two-handed weapons in BotW, the bonus damage with lower accuracy toggleable effect is also pretty appropriate.

Level 10

Fighting Style: Defense

Link has more armor choices in BotW than just about any other game in the franchise and this style will help embody that in his Faerun adventures.

Level 12

Feat: Durable

The +1 Con is helpful, but that's not the real beauty of this choice. You also regain full HP on every short rest, similar to how you can sleep for all of 10 minutes in BotW and regain all your hearts.

This Link isn't as monstrous as he is in Hyrule, but he's still an absolute menace. A master of melee weapons, a more than capable sniper, and able to give as good as he gets. As long as it's not a battle of wits, this Link is a safe bet to win any battle.

[wyllzel]

🔗 Link to Google Doc.

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Fair warning: Possible spoilers ahead!)

Levelling

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

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

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

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

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

Level 1: Rogue (Level 1)

Sneak Attack ⭐

Select:

Expertise: Stealth, Sleight of Hand

Level 2: Rogue (Level 2)

Cunning Action: Dash

Cunning Action: Disengage

Cunning Action: Hide

Level 3: Rogue (Level 3)

Improved Sneak Attack Damage (+1d6) ⭐

Select:

Subclass: Thief

The Thief subclass has the following benefits:

Fast Hands (Extra Bonus Action)

Second-Story Work (Resistance to Falling Damage)

Level 4: Rogue (Level 4)

Select:

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

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

Level 5: Rogue (Level 5)

Proficiency Bonus

Improved Sneak Attack Damage (+1d6) ⭐

Level 6: Ranger (Level 1)

Weapon Proficiencies: Simple weapons, martial weapons

Armor Proficiencies: Light armor, medium armor, shields

Select:

1st Favored Enemy: Bounty Hunter

1st Natural Explorer: Urban Tracker

Level 7: Ranger (Level 2)

Select:

Fighting Style: Two-Weapon Fighting ⭐

Spells: Ensnaring Strike, Hunter’s Mark

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

Level 8: Ranger (Level 3)

Select:

Subclass: Gloom Stalker

Spells: Fog Cloud

The Gloom Stalker subclass has some awesome benefits:

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

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

Umbral Shroud (Become Invisible if Obscured)

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

Disguise Self (Gain the ritual spell Disguise Self)

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

Level 9: Ranger (Level 4)

Feat:

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

Level 10: Ranger (Level 5)

Extra Attack ⭐

Misty Step (from Gloom Stalker Subclass) ⭐

Select:

Spells: Spike Growth

Level 11: Ranger (Level 6)

Select:

2nd Favored Enemy: Mage Breaker

2nd Natural Explorer: Wasteland Wanderer: Fire

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

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

Level 12: Ranger (Level 7)

Select:

Spells: Silence

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

Alternatives…

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

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

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

Final Composition

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

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

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

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

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

Gear

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

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

Headwear: Marksmanship Hat

+1 to Ranged Attack Rolls

Also, he looks cool in it. LOL.

Armor: Bhaalist Armor

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

+2 to Initiative Rolls

Cloak: Shade-Slayer Cloak

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

Handwear: Helldusk Gloves

+1d6 Fire Damage per Weapon Attack

+1 to Weapon Attack Rolls

Footwear: Helldusk Boots

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

Amulet: Amulet of Bhaal

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

This feels very apt for a Vampire Ascendant.

Ring A: Risky Ring*

Advantage on Attack Rolls

Disadvantage on Saving Throws

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

Ring B: Caustic Band**

+2 Acid Damage per Weapon Attack

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

Melee Main Hand: Crimson Mischief

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

+7 Piercing Damage when you have Advantage on a target

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

Melee Off Hand: Rhapsody

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

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

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

Ranged Main Hand: Ne’er Misser

Deals Force Damage rather than Piercing Damage

Gain one use of Magic Missile Level 3 per Short Rest

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

Ranged Off Hand: Hellfire Hand Crossbow

+2 Weapon Enchantment

Hellstalker: Possibly inflict Burning when attacking while Hiding or Invisible

Damage Numbers

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

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

No conditional Damage on Crimson Mischief

Sharpshooter is toggled on

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

Example: Combat Against Githyanki

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

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

Conclusion

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

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

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

[the-laridian]

1-5 for Gunnar, 6-10 for Willow, 11-15 for Greta, and 16-20 for Rufus !

ok!

Gunnar! (FNV) 1 - Race/Species - Human 2 - SPECIAL stats - ooooh crap I should have this written down somewhere by now, but I don't XD He's a Charisma/Intelligence build with low Perception (which is how I explained him/me constantly walking into mines and traps). 3 - In-game songs - I don't actually listen to the radio in-game! But I'd have to say Ghost Riders in the Sky. 4. How does he feel about people from before the war? - well he has a very close connection with them, it turns out. He's very aware that they were just people, some of them good, some bad, most of them just trying to get along in their lives. 5 - Where is he from? - Born in Bismarck, North Dakota, but ended up living in the mountain states/Four Corners area for a big chunk of his adult life.

Willow! (FO76) 6 - What faction(s) is he currently a part of? - well, he sides with the Settlers, and is on good terms with MODUS, which would upset some people if they knew. (Can you be part of the Enclave if you don't really understand what they're about, and aren't told the more unsavory parts, but you still get the cool uniform?) 7 - What faction(s) in the past? - technically, Vault 76, though he avoids most of the other Vault Dwellers, particularly the Overseer. He's good friends with Ricky Gee though. ( @theartofblossoming 's FO76er) 8 - Has he met any canon characters? - well, pretty much all of them, I think. Not so much the BoS gang. 9 - Friends with canon characters? - Beckett, Beckett's brother Frank, but Willow is not as sociable as some of my OCs and he's fine being acquaintances rather than friends. Biv’s fun to hang around with, 10 - Romantic with any canon characters? - Yep, with Beckett.

Greta! (FO76) 11 - What weapon type? - ballistic. Greta was a sniper before the war, and she's kept up her skills. She can use the heavy ballistic weapons too. 12 - Armor type - Greta uses whatever armor has the most stopping power. She doesn't like power armor much, but can use it if she has to. Also, pocketed like whoa. 13 - Comics/Magazines - the US Covert Ops stuff, mostly. To a lesser extent, Guns & Bullets (she thinks it's a little too sensational/over the top sometimes, not to mention patronizing) 14 - Chems - None. Not even alcohol. 15 - Would she keep a wasteland pet? - at one point she had a radstag doe following her around like a dog. (She didn't have Wasteland Whisperer, so it wasn't that). The deer had a big happy dopey grin on its face and wasn't afraid, which, she figured that would mean it was going to get itself killed. But she shot anything that came near it, and they hung out together for a few days. That's about it. She'd probably get a dog at some point just because a dog is useful. Plus, better company than people.

Rufus! (FNV) Rufus is still very young so some of this is predicted :) 16 - Any cosmetic surgery/tattoos? - He'll want one when he's grown, and deal with "but I shouldn't get one" / "Dad won't like it" and wrestle with that for longer than necessary. 17 - Afraid of radiation? - Cautious about it, but since it's invisible and undetectable if you don't have a Pipboy, it also falls under "not much I can do about it if I wander into it". 18 - How does he feel about killing? - Very pacifistic for his culture (which weirds people out). Ends up as an adult with the nickname "the Merciful" which isn't necessarily meant as a positive. He doesn't want to kill anything or anyone. Yes, there's self-defense, but it should still be a last resort. 19 - How about robots? - they're rather offputting; he grew up without robots around, and they unnerve him. 20 - In another universe? Well, technically that's happened a couple of times now, lol, FNV is the most recent one. But he's a very unlikely protagonist for most games, because he wants to avoid combat. In other universes he'd probably go become a teacher or a doctor.

[cagemasterfantasy]

Pheonix Blaze: Eve of Ruin Meet the characters: Dare

Dare was a young boy when his village was ransacked by Pokemon leaving no survivors except for him. Later he met up with Lady Ashley a Fennekin at the time. Even though Pokemon killed his friends and family they are still best friends even to this day. He along with Ashley is part of the faction known as The Golden Vault a faction dedicated to preserving order through heists. Ever since Dare and Ashley have been on the run with Dare now becoming the leader after an accident that happened and left his face horribly scared that he now wears a crow mask to hide his dismembered face.

Hp:100

Class: Rogue (Arcane Trickster)

Stats: Strength 10 (+0) Dexterity 18 (+4) Constitution 14 (+2) Intelligence 15 (+2) Wisdom 12 (+1) Charisma 16 (+3)

Dare has +8 to Acrobatics +7 to Deception +6 to Investigation +5 to Perception +8 to Sleight of Hand and +8 to Stealth

[homebrewsno1asked4]

ZUQ

HEY KID, WANNA ZUCC YOUR PLAYERS

Zuq

"I was human. I am human - still." One of the original yuan-ti - former humans that used heinous rituals to achieve snakelike form. Unlike most high-ranking yuan-ti, Zuq isn’t very good at keeping up his human disguise; his human form tends to be waxy and off-putting (he has a lot of trouble getting hair and eyebrows right); his body language and movements are unconvincing; and it’s clear that his mimicry of human norms are just pale imitations. To compensate for his lacking disguises, Zuq makes sure to masquerade under Very Ordinary Human Names.

Though Zuq appears awkward and non-threatening compared to his peers, Zuq’s magical prowess is nothing to be trifled with. Experimental twists on deep yuan-ti rituals left Zuq with different innate abilities than the rest of his ilk; coupled with vast knowledge of the arcane, Zuq is a master of stealth, reconnaissance, and subjugation.

Zuq seems obsessed with gathering as much knowledge as possible – especially pertaining to the daily lives, problematic opinions, and personal secrets of humanoids. No one’s sure what Zuq’s endgame is, beyond selling this information to the highest bidder to amass wealth, his wealth-hoarding tendencies only rivaled by ancient dragons.

Zuq will exhaust all escape plans before he resorts to physical combat. He prefers to sow discord with his spells, sic his security detail on attackers, then escape amid the chaos.

Though Zuq likes to tout his 1 gp salary in an attempt to appear human, he’s one of the richest beings in the multiverse through various assets. He has shocking amounts of gold, and his various lairs are riddled with hidden vaults. But Zuq’s most valuable and dangerous treasure is his Book of Faces – a magic tome that serves as a sort of second brain, retaining every piece of information Zuq’s ever learned - every spell, factoid, secret, and thought, no matter how banal or random. The breadth of personal information contained in the Book of Faces rivals most spy networks across the planes.

Zuq

Medium aberration (yuan-ti), neutral evil

Armor Class 16 (mental defense)

Hit Points 99 (18d8 + 18)

Speed 30 ft.

STR 8(-1) DEX 12(+1) CON 13(+1) INT 20(+5) WIS 10(0) CHA 13(+1)

Skills Alien Technology +13, Deception +9, Insight +13, Perception +4, Persuasion +5

Damage Immunities poison, psychic

Condition Immunities poisoned

Senses passive Perception 14

Languages Abyssal, Common, Deep Speech, Draconic

Challenge 11 (7,200 XP)

Proficiency Bonus +4

-

Innate Spellcasting. Zuq's innate spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 17, +9 to hit with spell attacks). He can innately cast the following spells, requiring no components.

At will: locate creature, silence

3/day: invisibility

1/day each: greater invisibility, hallucinatory terrain (but everything in the illusion is stiff and off-putting)

Spellcasting. Zuq is a 17th level spellcaster (spell save DC 17, +9 to hit with spell attacks). Zuq has the following wizard spells prepared:

Cantrips (at will): friends, infestation, light, message, mind sliver

1st level (4 slots): charm person, comprehend languages, distort value, expeditious retreat, silent image

2nd level (3 slots): borrowed knowledge, detect thoughts, mind spike (frequently casts at higher levels in combat), suggestion

3rd level (3 slots): fast friends, incite greed, sending, tongues

4th level (3 slots): confusion, Mordenkainen’s private sanctum, summon construct

5th level (2 slots): contact other plane, dominate person

6th level (1 slot): mass suggestion

7th level (1 slot): project image

8th level (1 slot): feeblemind

9th level (1 slot): psychic scream

Lack of Conscience. Zuq is immune to Charisma checks or abilities that attempt to appeal to or manipulate a sense of morality.

Magic Resistance. Zuq has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.

Mental Defense. While Zuq is wearing no armor, his AC includes his Intelligence modifier.

Shapechanger. Zuq can use his action to polymorph into a Large snake, into his human form, or into his true form. His statistics are the same in each form. Any equipment Zuq’s wearing or carrying isn't transformed. Zuq doesn't change form if he dies.

Actions

Multiattack. Zuq makes three attacks with his mind rapier, or two attacks with his stun gun.

Mind Rapier. Melee Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d8 + 5) piercing damage plus 9 (2d8) psychic damage.

Stun Gun. Ranged Attack: +9 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 26 (4d12) lightning damage. On a hit, the target must make a DC 17 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, the target’s synapses are scrambled; they are incapacitated until the beginning of their next turn.

Steal Idea (1/Day). Zuq targets a sapient creature’s feature, skill proficiency, or spell that he wants to steal. The target makes a DC 16 save. The default saving throw is Intelligence, but any spellcasters that use Wisdom or Charisma make the save with their respective spellcasting ability instead. On a failure, Zuq gains the targeted ability. Until Zuq uses this stolen ability, it’s locked for the target. Once Zuq uses the stolen ability, he loses the ability as the character regains it.

Zuq can use Steal Idea on any ability, regardless if a character’s used up their charges for the time being. All abilities return recharged. For example: A fighter uses their Second Wind. Zuq succeeds in stealing Second Wind. As soon as Zuq uses Second Wind, the fighter regains full use of Second Wind, and they can use it again.

Zuq can keep trying Steal Idea until it succeeds.

Bonus Actions

The Book of Faces. A magic text of Zuq’s creation – supposedly. The Book of Faces contains everything Zuq knows about everybody.

Due to Zuq’s protective enchantments, the Book of Faces literally can’t be pried from his body while he’s alive.

As a bonus action, Zuq can try to learn something new, plucking facts out of the aether. Anything Zuq learns is magically transcribed in the appropriate section of the Book of Faces.

If over 1,000 living (or undead) sapient creatures know what Zuq’s trying to learn, he does not need to make a check; he automatically learns this fact.

If 100 to 999 creatures know this fact, Zuq must succeed on a DC 15 Intelligence check.

If 10 to 99 creatures know this fact, Zuq must succeed on a DC 18 Intelligence check.

If 2 to 9 creatures know this fact, Zuq must succeed on a DC 20 Intelligence check.

If only 1 living creature knows this fact, Zuq must succeed on a DC 25 Intelligence check to learn it.

If Zuq fails any of these checks by 10 or more, he can’t attempt to learn this fact again with the Book of Faces for 1 year.

Anti-scrying spells such as encode thoughts and nondetection protect against the Book of Faces’ prying eyes/ears/eldritch sensory organs.

Legendary Actions

Zuq can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature's turn. Zuq regains spent legendary actions at the start of his turn.

Ban(ishment) (Costs 2 Actions). Each successive ban lasts longer, culminating in a permaban. Make sure you or your players keep track of their ban stacks – not just for one encounter, but as long as Zuq is alive. The progression for Zuq’s banishing magic:

1st Ban: 1 round

2nd Ban: 1 minute

3rd Ban: 1 hour

4th Ban: 1 day

5th Ban: 1 week

6th Ban: 1 month

7th Ban: 1 year

8th Ban: permanent. You can no longer return to the plane where Zuq casts this instance of banishment. Plane shift and similar spells automatically fail if you’re trying to access the perma-banned plane.

The stain of Zuq’s magical banishment can only be removed by castings of greater restoration, nondetection, or remove curse cast at a level equal to the number of bans. For example, a permanent ban can only be removed by the aforementioned spells cast at 8th level. 

The Book of Faces. Zuq attempts to glean information with the Book of Faces.

Cast a Spell (Costs 2 Actions). Zuq casts one of the spells in his repertoire.

Regional Effects

The region surrounding Zuq's lair is altered by Zuq's magic, creating one or more of the following effects:

Collect Data. All of Zuq’s experiences are magically recorded in the Book of Faces.

Disseminate Brain Poison. Anyone targeted by a spell cast from the Book of Faces (NOT one of Zuq’s innate spells) must succeed on a DC 10 Intelligence saving throw or suffer 1d4 Intelligence or Wisdom damage – DM’s choice. Greater restoration cures all accrued ability damage at once. A short rest spent reading academic texts by accredited/verified sources will restore 1 point of ability damage of the player’s choice. 1 long rest of this activity heals all ability damage.

Eyes and Ears Everywhere. Zuq can hear the voices of dissent as little annoying whispers.

If Zuq dies, these effects vanish immediately.

~

DESIGN NOTES

I know yuan-ti are traditionally Monstrosity-type (in 5e at least), but by dint of their origins + the creature type definitions set forth by WotC, I think of them as aberrations. Fight me.

I admit the flavor text might be a little lacking, but I spent so long on everything else, I just wanted to get Zuq out there.

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #158

Today on Fate and Phantasms we’re making the best blue dog in Chaldea since Cu Chulainn (And also the guy riding him) Avenger of Shinjuku! (If we really want to avoid spoilers, should we be calling them the Rider of Shinjuku?) As always with these servants, it’s hard to go into detail about who they are without spoiling stuff, so keep that in mind before going further.

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

Next up: Funny amogus reference!

Hessian Lobo are mostly a Shadow Sorcerer to summon a big scary dog and other magical nonsense we need stuffed into this spirit origin, but they also get a couple levels of Fighter, because the endgame levels of Sorcerer are bad, and you do hit things with a sharp stick from time to time.

Race and Background: You’re a Human, but you’re also a ghost that haunts a stretch of road, killing all you come across, so that makes you a Revenant as well. (I will tell you now, a lot of headaches would be solved if you just went with Halfling Revenant instead, but human’s still the most in-character.) This gives you +1 Strength, +1 Charisma, and +1 Constitution, as well as a Relentless Nature. This means you gain 1 HP each round if you’re bloodied, you can’t die permanently, and you always know the direction of your DM assigned goal. Once that goal is complete, you die instantly. Bit of a downside, but tbh D&D games take forever, you’ll barely notice.

In life you were a Soldier, and while that doesn’t fit the background of both members of your party, the Athletics and Intimidation training will come in handy.

Ability Scores: Make sure your Charisma is as high as possible, you are terrifying, and you know it. Strength is a close second, because heads are notoriously difficult to separate. After that is Constitution, not only are ghosts hard to kill, but you’re also invisible half the time, which makes things even harder Your Wisdom isn’t bad- you can tell where people are when it’s time to take heads, but you still don’t really have eyes. You don’t really get off your horse that much, so your Dexterity is pretty low, but we’re dumping Intelligence. One of you is literally brainless, and the other is an animal. You won’t be solving Sudokus any time soon.

Class Levels:

1. Fighter 1: Starting as a fighter nets you plenty of goodies, including extra HP and weapon proficiencies so you can use a real scythe. You also get proficiency with Strength and Constitution saves, as well as Animal Handling to keep the king of Currumpaw under control and Perception. You can see without eyes, that’s pretty skillful.

You also get a Fighting Style, and if you really want to play D&D without a head the Blind Fighting style is a must, giving you blindsense in a 10′ radius around you.

You also get a Second Wind once per short rest as a bonus action which’ll heal you a bit. I guess that’s your oblivion correction.

2. Fighter 2: Second level fighters get an Action Surge, letting you take an extra action in a turn once per short rest. I hope you like it, because this is the only way you’ll be able to attack twice per turn for ages.

3. Sorcerer 1: While I wouldn’t call you a wizard, you do some wacky tricks that you can only really do in D&D with magic. Since these come from your being dead/unethical spirit origin mad science, I’d say a Shadow sorcerer is the closest thing in the rules books.

First level shadow sorcerers get Eyes of the Dark, giving you 120 feet of darkvision, which is really impressive for someone without eyes. You also get the Strength of the Grave, letting you make a Charisma save when you drop to 0 HP once per long rest. If you succeed, you drop to 1 HP instead. This doesn’t work on radiant damage or critical hits, but all that makes you more ghostly, so that’s probably fine.

You also get Spells that you can cast using your Charisma. Friends will help you work with your slobbery partner more easily, while True Strike and Sword Burst add a bit of flair to your weapon attacks. You also get the cantrip Mind Sliver to track down your prey.

For first level spells, Mage Armor will help out with riding around in a suit, and Expeditious Retreat makes you a bit harder to escape from. Both these spells can also be pretty useful for Lobo once he shows up.

4. Sorcerer 2: Second level sorcerers are a Font of Magic, which lets you turn spell slots into Sorcery Points and vice versa. You can only have a number of sorcery points equal to your sorcerer level at most, and they refill on long rests.

You also learn the Jump spell to help the King of Currumpaw get around the crowded streets of Shinjuku.

5. Sorcerer 3: At third level you get two Metamagic options to alter your spells. Subtle Spell lets you cast magic without somatic or verbal components- very useful when you don’t have a mouth. Twinned Spell will let you cast spells on two targets instead of one, which is great for making both you and your ride invisible.

Enlarge/Reduce might not seem that useful, but trust me you’ll love it in a bit.

6. Sorcerer 4: Use your first Ability Score Improvement to bump your Strength up a bit for stronger melee attacks.

The cantrip Message will help you get around that whole “no mouth” thing to talk to your party members, and your first bit of Invisibility will make sneaking up on your target a breeze.

7. Sorcerer 5: Fifth level sorcerers get Magical Guidance, using your sorcery points to re-roll failed ability checks. I’m not saying the Hessian is magically glued to his saddle or anything, but you never see him fall off, do you?

You also get third level spells, like Hold Person, which makes taking peoples’ heads off so much easier.

8. Sorcerer 6: As a sixth level sorcerer, you finally get your Hound of Ill Omen. Using three sorcery points, you can summon a hound as a bonus action, targeting a creature within 120 feet of you. It’s mostly a Dire Wolf, with a few changes:

It’s medium, not large, and a monstrosity, not a beast.

It gets temporary HP equal to half your sorcerer level.

It can move through solid objects as if it was difficult terrain, taking 5 force damage if it ends a turn in something.

The hound automatically knows the location of the target at the start of each turn.

On top of all that, it can only move towards the target, and can only use its action to attack the target. Also, the target gets disadvantage on saves against your spell while within melee range of the hound. The hound disappears after it or the target hits 0 HP, or after 5 minutes.

The big problem here is the size; you’ll either have to use Enlarge/Reduce to ride it, or just Be a Halfling.

Either way, you can also use Haste to double a creature’s movement speed, give them an extra action each turn, and boost their AC and dexterity saves. The creature also has to take a turn to rest after the spell ends, but that’s probably fine.

9. Sorcerer 7: Seventh level sorcerers get fourth level spells, like Dominate Beast. I know I just said Lobo technically isn’t a beast, but it’s the thought that counts.

10. Sorcerer 8: Now that you have a mount, we can get Mounted Combatant, giving you advantage on attacks against creatures smaller than your mount, and they get evasion. You can also force attacks that hit them to you instead. Don’t do that though, you’re a sorcerer, and Lobo can be rebuilt on a bonus action.

You can also Charm Monster this level, which comes with the added benefit of actually working on your wolf.

11. Sorcerer 9: Ninth level sorcerers get fourth level spells, like Greater Invisibility, which lets one target become invisible for the duration regardless of how many heads they take off.

12. Sorcerer 10: Tenth level sorcerers get another Metamagic option, like Extended Spell. A lot of your spells are buffs, and it would be awkward for that invisibility to drop when you’re halfway through a hunt.

You also learn Minor Illusion, because I couldn’t really come up with a sixth cantrip to give you but now you can make your cape look cooler, and Hold Monster. Just ask Sanson, a disappointingly small number of the things you fight are actually human.

13. Sorcerer 11: For your fifth level spell, Tasha’s Otherworldly Guise both makes you scarier and makes you a stronger fighter, making you immune to Fire and Poison damage as well as the poisoned condition. You also get +2 to your AC, gain a flying speed, and you can attack with your weapon twice per action, using your charisma instead of strength, and it counts as magical damage.

14. Sorcerer 12: Speaking of, let’s bump your Charisma up a bit for stronger Strength of the Grave saves and better magic.

15. Sorcerer 13: Lobo is now so fast you can Teleport as an action, moving you and up to eight willing creatures to a destination on your plane of existence. There’s a slight chance for failure that goes up the less familiar you are with the destination, but that’s probably fine.

16. Sorcerer 14: At fourteenth level, shadow sorcerers can Shadow Walk, letting you teleport between areas of dim light or darkness within 120 feet of each other as a bonus action.

17. Sorcerer 15: Your seventh level spell, Dominate Monster, finally lets you put Lobo fully under your control. He might not like it, but he’s only alive for five minutes at a time anyway.

18. Sorcerer 16: Use your last ASI to max out your Charisma for the toughest saves, strongest spells, and strongest attacks while using your Otherworldly Guise.

19. Sorcerer 17: Speaking of strong spells, you can now use your Blade of Disaster to cause disaster for anyone banking on an intact neck. You can create a magical blade that deals two attacks per bonus action, dealing 4d12 force damage on an attack. On a critical hit, the damage is tripled instead of doubled, and it crits on 18s or higher. Also, it can pass through anything, including a Wall of Force.

To make that even scarier, you can cast it as an Empowered Spell, letting you reroll up to five damage dice each attack.

20. Sorcerer 18: Your capstone level gives you an Umbral Form, letting you use a bonus action to become a shadow that can move through physical objects and has resistance on all damage besides force and radiant for a minute. You take 5 force damage if you end a turn inside an object.

This is especially useful given the fact that you have a ride that can only go forward, and already moves through objects itself.

Pros:

Once you lock onto a target, it’s really hard to shake you. With a hasted dire wolf, you can go 100 feet per round, you’ll always take the shortest route possible, and they literally can’t hide from you.

Two levels of fighter on any sort of caster is very useful, thanks to your action surge giving you an even better version of Quickened Casting.

Mounted Combatant is a nice enough feat, but it doesn’t do too much to help out here since a lot of your spells aren’t really attacks. That is until you realize Blade of Disaster makes melee attacks, and Mounted Combatant doesn’t specify it only works on weapon attacks. This means you can make all those attacks with advantage, further increasing your odds of getting enormous crits with each swing.

Cons:

The reason that great combo above doesn’t quite work is simple, though: You need your concentration focused on keeping your mount around at all, since without Enlarge/Reduce you’re stuck with a medium sized wolf. That also means you can’t haste the wolf and ride it. Or turn it invisible. Or even charm it.

The biggest problem here is Flavor. You can either do all the cool things Hessian Lobo does, or you can ride the wolf. These are mutually exclusive, unless you A) are a halfling, B) have a cool DM, or C) just invest in a horse.

Despite being a frontline fighter, all those levels of sorcerer make you incredibly Squishy. With a low AC and low HP, you’ll have a hard time sticking around without your invisibility. Normally this would be made up for thanks to your mount keeping you out of trouble, but your wolf only knows how to run even further into danger.

[ghostqueen156]

Fruit Basket Characters as D&D Classes Part 1

For the sake of time Tohru will be the only non-zodiac member of this list. If you want me to do other characters please request in the comments!

Tohru Honda: Life Domain Cleric

The delegated healer of the show, I can definitely see Tohru as a life domain cleric due to her desire to heal those around her. I contemplated her being a light domain cleric, but I felt that the life domain suited her more. I personally headcanon that she was originally a light cleric but became a life cleric after her mother died so she would always raise dead and revivify prepared. Her Devine patron is definitely her mom.

Stat wise I can see her having high wisdom and charisma with an average constitution and intelligence. I feel her lowest stats would be strength and dexterity due to her clumsy nature and weak strength as shown both times she hit Kyo. And ‘remove’ curse would definitely be a spell she always has prepared ;).

Stats:

Strength: 8 (-1)

Dexterity: 13 (+1)

Constitution: 14 (+2)

Intelligence: 12 (0)

Wisdom: 20 (+5)

Charisma: 18 (+4)

Kyo Sohma: Way of Mercy Monk

Was there any doubt that he’d pick a class focused on martial arts? I will admit I had trouble picking a subclass that fitted his character. So I headcanon that he was a level 2 monk up until he got to know Tohru, and then as a result of her influence and his desire to help her, he ended up choosing the Way of Mercy path. Also because he felt mega guilt for not being able to save her mom.

Stat wise he probably has a high strength and dexterity, with strength being a little higher. He’d probably have a high constitution with an average intelligence and wisdom. I’d recon his lowest stat would probably be charisma, due to his general social awkwardness, but it wouldn’t be low enough where people don’t like him. Overall fairly good stats :)

Stats:

Strength: 19 (+5)

Dexterity: 18 (+4)

Constitution: 16 (+3)

Intelligence: 14 (+2)

Wisdom: 15 (+2)

Charisma: 13 (+1)

Yuki Sohma: Way of the Cobalt Soul Monk/Transmutation Wizard

Again another tricky one to figure out, but I can definitely see him as a more intelligent fighter so I imagine he would use the ‘extract aspects’ feature of his subclass a lot. Especially against Kyo. However, I couldn’t see him as only a monk so I imagine he would multiclass into wizard due to his high intelligence score. I felt transmutation suited him the most due to his desire to change himself for the better and become more open to people.

Stat wise I feel his highest scores would be dexterity and intelligence. I personally headcanon that his strength is lower than Kyo’s but his dexterity is higher. charisma and wisdom would be his more average score with constitution being his weakest score due to his poor health.

Stats:

Strength: 13 (+1)

Dexterity: 20 (+5)

Constitution: 9 (-1)

Intelligence: 17 (+3)

Wisdom: 15 (+2)

Charisma: 12 (0)

Shigure Sohma: Mastermind Rogue

Conniving, devious and willing to do whatever it takes to get what he wants, the rogue class would definitely suit him. Due to him not liking to get his own hands dirty and general manipulative nature, I figured he would definitely be a mastermind rogue.

Out of all the characters I 100% believe he would be the type to fudge his rolls, having high stats in dexterity, charisma, intelligence and wisdom with his only average rolls being strength and constitution. Shigure probably fucked god to get good rolls in D&D along with the luck feat, min-maxing bastard.

Stats:

Strength: 14(+2)

Dexterity: 18 (+4)

Constitution: 14 (+2)

Intelligence: 19 (+5)

Wisdom: 20 (+5)

Charisma: 18 (+4)

Momiji Sohma: College of Eloquence Bard

With charisma in spades and brilliant musical skills, no other classes suits him but bard. I chose the college of eloquence for him due to it being a class that focuses more on a person’s ability to say the right thing and affect people with their words. Something which I think fits him really well. He refuses to use the modify memory spell for obvious reasons.

I feel like Momiji’s highest stats would be dexterity, charisma and wisdom. His constitution and intelligence would be fairly average with strength being his lowest stat.

Stats:

Strength: 8 (-1)

Dexterity: 18 (+4)

Constitution: 14 (+2)

Intelligence: 12 (0)

Wisdom: 18 (+4)

Charisma: 20 (+5)

Hatsuharu Sohma: Path of the Beast Barbarian

Although Haru studied martial arts along with Yuki and Kyo, I personally don’t see Haru being a monk like Kyo and Yuki. My first thought was barbarian due to his dual personalities, with one being incredibly aggressive. I chose the path of the beast for Haru due to it fitting him turning ‘black,’or into a beast in this case, when angry. Plus the idea of barbarian Haru turning into a cow when angry was too hilarious to pass up.

Haru’s highest stats would be strength, constitution and wisdom with dexterity and charisma being more average. His lowest stat would definitely be intelligence though cause let’s face it, this guy is always getting lost.

Stats:

Strength: 17 (+3)

Dexterity: 15 (+2)

Constitution: 17 (+3)

Intelligence: 12 (0)

Wisdom: 17 (+3)

Charisma: 14 (+2)

Kagura Sohma: Path of the Beserker Barbarian

Another character whom I immediately thought barbarian upon seeing them. She definitely fits this class well due to her aggressive personality. I put her as the path of the berserker due to her frenzy-like tendencies when she sees Kyo or feels incredibly passionate about something. Her and Haru are barbarian buddies.

Her highest stats would definitely be strength and dexterity, with a fairly average constitution, intelligence and wisdom. I feel like her lowest stats would be charisma.

Stats:

Strength: 20 (+5)

Dexterity: 17 (+4)

Constitution: 15 (+2)

Intelligence: 12 (0)

Wisdom: 14 (+2)

Charisma: 11 (+1)

Isuzu/Rin Sohma: Oath of Devotion Paladin

Rin was another hard one to figure out. But I eventually settled on her being a paladin due to her desire to fight against the evil of the curse and protect Haru. I feel like the oath of devotion really suits Rin due to her devotion to freeing Haru from the curse no matter the cost. If only protect from good and evil could have saved her from Akito.

I feel like her highest stats would be dexterity and wisdom, with charisma, strength and intelligence being more average. Her lowest stat would definitely be constitution though due to her tendency to get sick.

Stats:

Strength: 14 (+2)

Dexterity: 20 (+5)

Constitution: 9 (-1)

Intelligence: 13 (+1)

Wisdom: 16 (+3)

Charisma: 15 (+2)

Ayame Sohma: College of Creation Bard

This man is definitely a bard and no one can tell me otherwise. I was tossing up between college of glamour and college of creation, but I felt creation suited him more due to his love of creating fashion and incredible passion. He also wants to create a better bond with Yuki but unfortunately the mending cantrip does not work on human relationships.

His highest stat would definitely be charisma and dexterity, man is real slippery. His constitution would be pretty average along with his intelligence. Strength and wisdom are definitely his lowest stats though.

Stats:

Strength: 9 (-1)

Dexterity: 17 (+3)

Constitution: 12 (0)

Intelligence: 13 (+1)

Wisdom: 10 (0)

Charisma: 18 (+4)

Hatori Sohma: Order Domain Cleric

Due to him being the family doctor I can definitely imagine him being a cleric. I can also see him under the order domain due to him being in charge of ensuring that the curse remains a secret ergo keeping order. Modify memory is the one spell he always has prepared.

His highest stats would definitely be wisdom and intelligence, but he would have average dexterity, constitution and strength. His lowest stat would definitely be charisma though, the man is not even remotely smooth.

Stats:

Strength: 13 (+1)

Dexterity: 14 (+2)

Constitution: 15 (+2)

Intelligence: 18 (+4)

Wisdom: 20 (+5)

Charisma: 8 (-1)

[space-city-traffic]

im sick and don’t wanna do homework, so let’s rank classes that my dnd warlock could switch to if he ever finally manages to kill his patron!!!

13. barbarian. Byron’s strength is 8, and he has a magic chronic illness, this would not go well.

12. monk. again, he has abysmal physical stats, and also, he actively tries to avoid learning about magic.

11. rogue. he just wants to live a quiet life. why would he be sneaky. he just wants to vibe.

10. druid. Byron is a city boy, he knows nothing of nature and doesn’t love animals. bad.

9. ranger. i don’t know the difference between these and druids, but I think this would also be bad.

8. paladin. in theory, Byron is really principled and dedicated, and I can see him following an oath. in practice, 8 strength and 10 con means he would die so fast. the vibe here is right but Byron is weak and also a pacifist.

7. bard. Byron does have 16 charisma, but he doesn’t know any instruments, and I think it would be a bit odd for him to go from sacrificing folks under the new moon to speed-running picking up the ukulele.

6. blood hunter. 13’s in intelligence and dexterity, so it would work, and Byron would absolutely sacrifice his health for power in the current state he’s in. however, if he does manage to get free from the pact that’s sapping his life, i think he would want a break from magical self destruction. he deserves better than he had before. this would not be better.

5. wizard. Byron actually tried this as a kid before he was forced to make a pact and switch career paths. he’d be good at it and it would fit his vibes, but I can’t see him actively seeking out more magic right after finally getting away from the horrible pact that made him hate magic forever.

4. cleric. going from an unhealthy pact to a healthy relationship w a good entity? gaining magic to heal his friends instead of hurt them? this would be wonderful, if Byron would accept it. but he wouldn’t. my man is a staunch atheist. he has trauma from deities. he is not doing that again. no sir.

3. another warlock. if we’re talking celestial warlock, I’m thinking mayyyybe. if Byron tried to be a cleric, I can see him ending up here—he has no trust and no affection for deities, but if he has to, he can work with them. he’d hate it though. and as for fiend/great old one, absolutely not.

2. sorceror. again, we have 16 charisma to work with, and I think if u kill a god you deserve magic powers. however, Byron hates magic and becoming basically the new incarnation of his patron would make him sad. this would be perfect, but again, i don’t want to make Byron sad.

1. fighter (surprisingly enough). Byron has 13 dex, so multiclassing is possible, and i genuinely do think that he would be good with a gun. only a gunslinger fighter, though, no other kind. but yeah. give Byron a gun. thanks for coming to my Ted talk.

[raeynbowboi]

The Character Forge: How to Play as Link in DnD 5e

Link is without a doubt one of the most iconic heroes in fiction, which is why I’m excited to work on this build of Link. Now, of course Link has a long history of games where he’s had a wide variety of skills and abilities. So, for this build, I wanted to focus on his most recurring skills and items, and try to find DnD items with similar effects, if possible, to fill out his arsenal. Link is a multi-talented young man who has a talent for many skills, weapons, and items. He’s extremely flexible in what he can work with, and that was a primary focus of this build: to broaden his abilities as much as I could.

The Makings of a Hero

Hylians are clearly some kind of elf. You could make Link a Human or Variant Human if you want, but if it looks like an elf and it hyaas like an elf, chances are it’s an elf. There are a lot of kinds of elf he could be. Hylians are closely connected to the gods and think highly of themselves, so High Elf is a strong possibility. But Link is also something of a wilderness expert, so he could be a Wood Elf too.

Link is clearly good, but where on the goodness scale is a little less clear. He is a champion for goodness and light, so he could be Lawful Good, but he’s also jokingly famous for breaking into random houses and smashing random pots to steal people’s hidden money, so he could fall under Chaotic Good. And that divide could also make him Neutral Good.

As for background, that also tends to differ between game. Sometimes he’s a simple villager, a rancher, a farmer, a knight, an amnesiac foreigner. He’s so inconsistent that it’s better to just give him a background that covers the skills he doesn’t pick up from his build. Top contenders for Link’s background would be Outlander, Knight of the Order, Soldier, Far Traveler, and Folk Hero.

Skills, Abilities, & Items

Weapons      -Longsword      -Shield      -Bow and Arrows      -Bombs      -Slingshot      -Boomerang      -Greatsword      -Club      -Spear      -Magical Rods Skills      -Horse Riding      -Mounted Combat      -Dungeon Crawler      -Puzzle-solving      -Weapon proficiency      -Fighting Maneuvers Famous Items      -Triforce of Courage      -Master Sword      -Hylian Shield/Mirror Shield      -Hero Bow      -Ocarina of Time      -Power Bracelet/Golden Gauntlets      -Zora Tunic/Mermaid Suit/Zora Flippers      -Roc’s Feather/Feather Cape/Hover Boots/Glider      -Hookshot/Longshot      -Gale Boomerang      -Wind Waker      -Pegasus Boots/Pegasus Seeds      -Biggoron’s Sword      -Fire Rod      -Fire Arrow/Lightning Arrow/Ice Arrow/Light Arrow      -Ball and Chain      -Fierce Deity Mask

Get to Class

Fighter     Arcane Archer     Battle Master     Cavalier/Knight     Champion     Monster Hunter     Scout     Sharpshooter

Paladin     Ancients     Crown     Devotion     Heroism

Ranger     Hunter     Monster Hunter

Rogue     Inquisitive     Scout     Swashbuckler

Stats & Proficiencies

Honestly, Link was hard to stat balance at first. I figured his best stat should be Constitution to correlate with a late-game number of heart containers. Link needs to be able to take a serious hit, and he spends most of the game getting a bigger health bar for just that very reason. Aside from Constitution, nothing really stood out as more important, though Intelligence and Charisma can get the shaft a bit, as Intelligence covers mostly book-learning which Link isn’t really known for, and largely in part to being a mute, aside from dancing in the Subrosia dance hall or playing his Ocarina, Link isn��t exactly great with Charisma-based skills. That’s not to say he’s really bad at anything, though. Link is a real Renaissance Man, as he’s good pretty much everything. Which means he shouldn’t have any negative modifiers. But Link is also not the pinnacle of strength, durability, or insightfulness. He needs items to perform feats of great strength, speed, or stamina, and wouldn’t get very far without them, so he’s also not going to be the max in any of his stats either. Rather, he’s going to be competent in Intelligence and Charisma, and fairly good at everything else.

Proficiencies:      Acrobatics      Animal Handling      Athletics      Insight      Investigation      Nature      Perception      Stealth      Survival

Link’s New Toys

    -Bag of Holding     -Triforce of Courage (Banner of the Krig Rune)     -Mastersword (Dawnbringer)     -Hylian Shield (Shield of the Hidden Lord, Shield +3)     -Mirror Shield (Repulsion Shield)     -Hero’s Bow (Oathbow)     -Golden Gauntlets (Gauntlets of Ogre Power)     -Zora Tunic/Mermaid Suit (Cap of Water Breathing, Cloak of the Manta Ray)     -Gale Boomerang (Storm Boomerang)     -Hover Boots (Boots of Levitation)     -Pegasus Boots (Boots of Speed, Boots of Striding and Springing)     -Fire Rod (Necklace of Fireball)*     -Fierce Deity Mask (Mask of the Dragon Queen) *There are items like the Wand of Fireball and the Staff of Fire, but both items require the holder to be a magic user, which Link is not.

Name: Link Race: High Elf Background: Outlander Alignment: Neutral Good Class: Monster Slayer Ranger (6)             Battle Master Fighter (10)             Inquisitive Rogue (4) Base Stats:      Strength: 16 (+3)      Dexterity: 14 (+2)      Constitution: 18 (+4)      Intelligence: 10 (0)      Wisdom: 16 (+3)      Charisma: 10 (0) Saving Throws:      Strength: +9      Dexterity: +8      Constitution: +3      Intelligence: 0      Wisdom: +3      Charisma: 0 Combat Stats:      HP: 200      AC: 15      Speed: 30      Initiative: +2      Number of Attacks: 2      Proficiency Bonus: +6      Passive Perception: 19      Dark Vision: 60 feet Proficiencies and Expertise:      Acrobatics (Rogue)      Animal Handling (Ranger)      Athletics (Outlander)      Insight (Ranger)      Investigation (Ranger)      Perception (Elf)      Survival (Outlander) Skills:      Acrobatics: +8                 Medicine: +3      Animal Handling: +9        Nature: +6      Arcana: 0                         Perception: +9      Athletics: +15                   Performance: 0      Deception: 0                    Persuasion: 0      History: 0                         Religion:0      Insight: +9                        Sleight of Hand: +2      Intimidation: 0                  Stealth: +8      Investigation: +6              Survival: +15 Condition Resistances:        Charmed Immunities:        Sleep Racial Feature: Elf        Elven Weapon Training: Proficiency with Shortsword, Longsword, Shortbow, and Longbow. Ranger Feature: Fighting Style      Archery: Add +2 to attack rolls for ranged weapons. Ranger Feature: Favored Terrain      Forest     Grassland Ranger Feature: Favored Enemy      Monstrosity      Fiend Fighter Feature: Fighting Style      Dueling: Add +2 to melee damage rolls when using 1 one-handed weapon. Fighter Feature: Superiority Die      5 (1d10s) Fighter Feature: Maneuvers      Disarming Attack: spend a superiority die to force your target to make a Strength saving throw. On a failed roll, it drops 1 item of your choosing.      Feinting Attack: spend a superiority die as a bonus action, and select a target. You gain advantage against that creature and add the roll of your superiority die to your attack damage if you hit the target creature.      Parry: As a reaction, reduce melee damage you take by your dex modifier + the roll of a superiority die.      Precision Attack: add the roll of a superiority die to the damage roll of a melee attack you made.      Riposte: When an enemy’s attack misses you, you can make a counter attack, and add the roll of a superiority die.      Sweeping Attack: Use a superiority die to cause your melee attack to hit a second creature within 5 feet of your first target. Add your superiority dice roll.      Trip Attack: Use a superiority die to force a large or smaller creature to make a Strength saving throw. on a failed save, that creature is knocked prone. Spell Slots:      1st (4)      2nd (2) Link’s Spellbook      Cantrips True Strike      1st Level Cure Wounds Hunter’s Mark Wild Cunning Protection from Good and Evil      2nd Level Find Traps Actions:      Action Surge: take an extra action once per rest.      Primeval Awareness: Spend a spell slot. For 1 or 2 minutes, you sense the kinds of creatures within 1 mile of you, or 6 miles in forests and grasslands. Bonus Actions:      Cunning Action: Dash, Disengage, or Hide once per turn.      Second Wind: Regain 1d10+10 HP once per rest. Features, Traits, and Feats:      Archery Fighting Style: Gain +2 on attack rolls with ranged weapons.      Dueling Fighting Style: Gain +2 on damage rolls when armed with a single one-handed melee weapon.      Ear for Deceit: Any roll of 7 or lower on an Insight check against lying becomes an 8.      Extra Attack: You get two Attack actions.      Eye for Detail: Perform an Insight or Investigation check as a bonus action.      Favored Enemy: Deal +2 bonus damage to Monstrosities and Fiends. Gain advantage on Survival checks to track Monstrosities and Fiends, and Intelligence checks to remember information about them.      Fey Ancestry: Resistance to Charmed effects, immunity to magical sleep.      Hunter’s Sense: As an action, choose a creature within 60 feet. You learn the creature’s damage immunities, resistances, and vulnerabilities. Can be used 3 times per long rest.      Improved Combat Superiority: Your superiority die become 1d10s.      Indomitable: Reroll a failed save once per long rest.      Insightful Fighting: As a bonus action, make an Insight check against another creature’s Deception check. If you succeed, you can use Sneak Attack against the creature even without advantage for up to a minute. Doesn’t work if you’re disadvantaged. Wears off if you target a new creature with this feature.      Know Your Enemy: If you spend at least 1 minute outside of battle observing a creature, the DM will tell you whether the creature is superior, inferior, or equal to you in any 2 of the following stats: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, AC, Current HP, Total Class Levels, or Fighter Class Levels.      Natural Explorer: Favored Terrains are Grasslands and Forests. While in your favored terrains: double proficiency bonuses for INT and WIS checks you’re proficient in, difficult terrain doesn’t slow your party down, always alert for danger, can move stealthily at a normal pace when traveling alone, find double food when foraging, and when tracking anything, you can tell how big they were, how many there were, and how long ago they passed through.      Sharpshooter: Attacking from long range doesn’t disadvantage ranged attack rolls, ranged weapon attacks ignore half and 3/4 cover, and you can -5 on a ranged weapon attack roll to add +10 to the damage roll on a successful hit.      Slayer’s Prey: As a bonus action, pick a creature within 60 feet of you. Add 1d6 damage to the first attack you make against that creature.      Sneak Attack: Add 2d6 to damage roll when you have advantage, or another enemy of the target is within 5 feet of it.      Thieves’ Cant: You can articulate covert messages in casual conversations.      Trance: Trance for 4 hours instead of sleeping for 8.      Wanderer: You have an excellent memory for terrain and don’t need a map. You can remember where to find settlements, foraging spots, and geographical landmarks. You can always find enough food and water to sustain yourself and up to 5 more people provided the land can provide food and drinkable water.

I’m sure there’s some who will disagree with my picks, but I optimized a build around looking for enemy weaknesses, having a ton of proficiencies, and having a wide and varied arsenal of weapons at Link’s disposal. If you’d build Link another way, tell me what you’d do different. Who do you want to see me make next? And as always, I look forward to seeing you again at the Character Forge, where heroes are made.

[honourablejester]

Zealot Barbarian Concept: Warrior Preacher

Okay, so, barbarians are my favourite of the martial classes, mostly because two things: toughness and rage. Thematically, I adore that well of savage fury that all barbarians have. And the two subclasses that immediately catch my eye with barbarians, possibly to no one’s surprise, are Ancestral and Zealot. Because ghosts and gods. I’ve talked before about how cool I find Ancestral Barbarians, the idea of the noble bloodstained scion literally haunted by their vile, heckling ancestors. Here, though, I wanted to talk about Zealots.

There’s one line in the description for the Zealot’s ‘Warrior of the Gods’ feature: ‘Your soul is marked for endless battle.’ It’s the explanation for why zealots are so easy to raise from the dead, why they’re so hard to put down in the first place. Some god, some deity of war, has marked them out to just keep fighting, even beyond death. When they die, they just get back up again, and keep fighting.

Thematically that’s just gorgeous. Because there’s so much … Is this a blessing? A constant Valhalla to soothe the rage in their soul? Or a curse? A divine mission that not even in death are you allowed to lay down? That’s toothy. Savage and tearing and raw. I love it.

‘Your soul is marked for endless battle’. Did you agree to that? Did you have a choice? Do you embrace it joyfully, in the surety of a warrior’s heaven? Or do you shoulder it as a mission and a sacrifice, to bear the horrors of war so that other people don’t have to?

I like the former. One of the reasons I love the idea of Warhammer 40K orcs is this idea, that all of chaos can throw the worst horrors in the universe at them and they just scream in giddy delight at the chance to make battle with awesome horrors. The Nac Mac Feegle in Discworld, where the deepest hell would be their idea of heaven, because look at all the targets. Endless, joyful war, and nothing you can do to them can dent their raw enjoyment. It makes for a deliciously fun and durable character.

But. But I also like the other angle. And it also kind of bumps into another character archetype I like, from a slightly different genre: the western’s warrior preacher.

The thing is, preachers in westerns often have a bit of a dark past. They’re ex-charlatans, or current charlatans, or fire-and-brimstone rabble-rousers, or philosophical warriors struggling with the duality of the gun and the cross. Josiah Sanchez in Magnificent Seven. And I love that too. Combine that with a war god. With a call to the fight that not even death will let you escape.

So. A character to play into the religious angle of the zealot barbarian. The Acolyte background, for a god of justice and protection of the innocent (I like Torm for this). A wandering preacher. Maybe a bit of the charlatan, in that maybe they weren’t originally the most devout, maybe they were mostly paying lip-service, until they have their Road to Damascus moment, a lightning strike of pure rage at injustice, and abruptly their deity starts paying rather more personal attention to them …

Character Sheet: Elias Walker

Name: Elias Walker

Race: Half-Elf

Age: 67

Background: Itinerant Preacher (Acolyte)

Class/Level: Barbarian 3 (Zealot)

Deity: Torm, the Loyal Fury

Statistics: Strength 16, Dexterity 14, Constitution 14, Intelligence 8, Wisdom 12, Charisma 12

Skills & Languages:

Skills: Athletics, Insight, Perception, Persuasion, Religion, Survival

Languages: Common, Elvish, Orcish, Undercommon, Celestial

Ideal: “Better one sacrifice for the protection of many, than allowing the death of all.”

Bond: “My soul was given unto the fires of war, so that better ones need not be.”

Flaw: “I’ve never believed in anything before, and the size of this calling, the depth of this rage, terrifies me a lot.”

Allies/Connections: The priesthood of Torm. Rosa & Luther, the married couple who nursed him back to health after that first death in their and his god’s service.

Traits, Feats and Background/Class Features: Darkvision (60ft), Fey Ancestry, Skill Versatility, Shelter of the Faithful, Rage, Unarmoured Defense, Danger Sense, Reckless Attack, Divine Fury, Warrior of the Gods

Equipment: Common clothes, vestments, halberd, 2 handaxes, 4 javelins, amulet of Torm’s holy symbol, prayer book, belt pouch, explorer’s pack

Description: A slim, almost cadaverous half-elf, with dark skin and golden eyes, bald except for greying stubble across his shaven scalp. His face seems fixed in a wry, gentle expression, but its harsh lines and the premature greying of his hair bely that somewhat. He wears dark grey vestments hung with an amulet of the Hand Resolute, and leans heavily on the halberd he seems to primarily use as a walking stick.

History: A shiftless, lackadaisical wanderer for almost all his life, with few contacts or connections anywhere, Elias eventually fell into the life of an itinerant preacher of Torm. Mostly, it must be said, for the sense of camaraderie and belonging it granted, not necessarily out of any true devotion. He was a lacklustre preacher at best, bordering on paying lip-service.

But then. In a little village on the far edge of civilisation, Elias happened to be present when a bandit warlord came to town, seeking wealth, slaughter and slaves. By luck or chance, in all his shiftless life, Elias had never seen butchery on that level before. Children slaughtered. People dragged screaming from their homes. He’d never seen the like. And it enraged him. It broke something in him, snapped some tether. His mind went blank, a perfect fugue state, and he did his savage damnedest to slaughter every bandit in range in defense of the town.

He didn't survive the effort. One skinny preacher against a bandit warband? Of course he didn’t survive. Elias Walker died that day. But in the embrace of death, the god he had always only ever paid lip service to finally came to him. Drawn by that shocking well of fury at injustice. Torm appeared, and asked him if that fury, that sacrifice in defense of the innocent, was a thing he offered willingly. If it could be something he offered up again, again and again, as many times as might be necessary. Even beyond death. And for some reason, though the thought of it terrified him … Elias said yes. Because some part of him was proud of what he’d done. And another … glad that it had been him, the useless layabout, who’d fought and died, and not someone better, some innocent who didn’t deserve that fate.

For Torm, that was good enough.

Elias woke up in a refugee camp, having been dragged from the burnt remnants of the village by the few survivors he’d died to save, when they realised that by some miracle he still seemed to be breathing. Two of them in particular, a married couple, had taken it upon themselves to nurse him back to health, out of gratitude for what he’d tried to do. They’d lost almost everything they had, neighbours and homes and friends, but they’d tried to help him anyway. Brought back into the world, given a mission so much bigger and more terrifying than anything he would have allowed before, Elias clung to that, and to them, for the courage to move forward.

[lametrashtalk]

i think i forgot to post adrian’s final backstory HERE IT IS

Basics: Name: Adrian Code name: Number 914812 Species: Melanistic Sulcata Tortoise Gender: Male Age: 16 Birthdate: 14th December Zodiac: Sagittarius Birthplace: Earth 4 Height: 5'6’’ (1,68 cm) Weight: 85 kg Eyes: Green Family: Unknown Occupation: Adventurer between worlds. Wants to explore and learn new cultures across the universe as much as possible Fears: He has abandonment issues. He grew up being used by his family, so he doesn't really like them. But the moment he gets attached to someone, he fears that they might leave him. Special Abilities: Healer, portal maker, quick learner. Has an interest in astronomy.

Personality:  Optimistic, extroverted character! Feels like there isn’t a place where he feels at home, so he explores the universe to ground himself. Falls easily for people. Intelligent, has strong morals, is curious, and takes a particular interest in how the world around him works. However, is very blunt, has a quick temper, and never takes anything seriously. Great sense of humor, never to anyone’s expenses, enjoys socializing. Has an escapism tendency (runs away from his problems). Relationships: Family: Number 41718 (Grandma) - Adrian's late grandmother. She practically raised him while his parents spent most of their time busy or away, and they were rather close. She would teach him herbal medicine so he could avoid using his own powers and getting himself sick. She also owned a magic pendant -  it allowed her to travel between alternative dimensions. She later gave it to Adrian before passing away. Parents - Adrian's parents were never really present around his early childhood. They are doctors so they spent most of their time working, often neglecting their son and using him as ways to get their own things done Friends : Donatello - Adrian and Donnie's friendship started with quite ease. He had a small crush on Donatello from when they first met, to later really falling in love with the guy; Donnie also taught Adrian the concept of found family and helping others purely for self-contentment, rather than being bossed to do it like Adrian was taught to do. Their relationship is quite fun, as they both love to learn new things, give each other their much-needed space, and are very understanding of one another- However, they are both scared to admit to each other how they really feel; rather, Donnie is very scared to show Adrian his true sentiments and often doesn't understand when Adrian flirts with him. They eventually start dating, though. It is a healthy relationship with lots of communication, however with its challenges: Adrian's dramatic and impulsive self and Donnie's tendency to be extremely aloof and detached. They work it out, though. Raphael - Both Raph and Adrian get along well most of the time. They are both easily angered (Adrian is not as much of a hothead as Raph is, though) and they communicate with each other easily. In fact, Adrian told Raph about his little crush. Not without hearing a threat in case he hurts the other's brother, though. Mizuiro Hasu ( @outofmymilkyway 's OC) - When Adrian noticed Mizu's crush on Leonardo and love for space, he'd immediately took her on a trip to visit a parallel dimension where he questioned her about her little crush and how to deal with a similar crush he as on Donatello. They'd start getting on trips together to talk about their feelings and the respective turtles, being each other's wingman. Adrian feels very grateful to have this human friend and thinks fondly of her. Michelangelo - Mikey loves to show Adrian all of his comics and share jokes. They don't really spend a lot of time together, but when they do, it's either Mikey being obnoxious around him and Donnie, or Adrian daring Mikey to do dumb challenges, usually in exchange for something that matters to the other. Leonardo - They had a rocky start. Leonardo's bushido and family first philosophies did not settle well with Adrian's rebellious, "was hurt by my family so I don't agree that family should go above everything else, instead that should've been you first, the others later" attitude. So they either argue a lot or Leo acts very passive-aggressive towards Adrian, or the latter telling him to get away from him. They eventually cool off and start respecting each other after the events from "Good Genes". Backstory: Adrian comes from another Earth dimension, just like Usagi and the TMNT. For most of his childhood, he lived in peace with his family and friends, but in the year he became 10 years old, a civil war started. Since then, Adrian and his family had to heal many civilians from the fights. The thing is, when they'd heal someone, part of their lifespan and energy would be gone. The bigger the injury, the more energy they'd have to use. And since Adrian was the youngest, they'd make him heal most people because he had the more energy to spare and they were old. So he spent about 5 years doing the most healing, while his family rested. He'd trust his family less and less because he was so, so tired. But they didn't want him to stop, and if he did, most people would perish. One night, he'd overhear his parents speaking on the matter; they'd say it was better for Adrian to do all the healing because they were much older than he was, therefore they wouldn't die so soon. This made Adrian extremely upset and hurt, so he took his late grandma's pendant, stole one of their neighbor's ship, and flew away. So now, Adrian is a traveler between worlds. He mostly does this, not only because he wants to know about the universe around him, but because he never felt quite at home and didn't have enough freedom to do much. During this time, he learned that most aliens had names instead of code numbers, so he changed his name from Number 914812 to Adrian. In a bid for freedom, he also managed to get himself causing a lot of trouble, only because he was forced to help others against his own will. He also sleeps. A lot. He went to watch the Battle Nexus, where he met Donatello and Usagi right after they saved the Damiyo’s life – Adrian had been exploring because he got bored. Right away, he’d recognize Donnie because he was one of the first contestants to lose and immediately mocked him in his mind. However, he felt like it would be a good courtesy to say hello to both Usagi and Donnie. What Adrian didn’t expect was for Donnie, who he thought he was a complete loser, to be so soft-spoken and polite – in fact, his voice immediately caught him off guard. He’d keep talking to both of them while Splinter wasn’t free from the dungeon. Usagi was interesting, but in the end, it ended up being just Adrian and Donnie speaking. Donnie’s charisma had absolutely made him struct by him. Donatello talked about what he does (his inventions) and Adrian talked about the exploration he did across the universe – which left Donnie pretty much interested. It ended up being a quick friendship, with Donnie inviting him to Earth so Adrian could show him the different worlds and they could explore together.   A week later, Adrian showed up, they planned cool planets to visit (that Adrian knew were safe). When out of missions, Donnie would manage to contact Adrian and would spend more free time with him than his family (much to everyone’s annoyance). One of the planets they visited was populated by tiny, cute, fuzzy people. However, in the middle of their trip, they were struck by a hurricane, leaving the tiny aliens' houses mostly destroyed. Donnie immediately offered himself to help, while Adrian kept his distance, questioning why would Donatello help so many people that he didn't know. This ended up with Don explaining to him that it is good to help people in need. It makes them happy and rely on you, and you feel great about your doings, but that if Adrian didn't want then he shouldn't be forced to do it. Seeing all the little aliens happily bouncing around his friend, Adrian, reluctantly decided to help fix a table - which he did an okay job with. Seeing everyone happily thanking him made him realize that maybe... helping others wasn't THAT bad when your health wasn't on the line for your selfish parents. He looked fondly at Donnie - he was so happily helping others that Adrian went from having a crush to completely fall in love with the guy.

[faedawayyy]

ALL GENERATIONS OF CARMICHAELS aesthetics here. 

GRANDPARENTS.

hank carmichael (- grandfather of the family, grew up in a wealthy family in london & gained control of his family’s multimillion dollar film company by killing his older brother, who was supposed to take it over.    sylvia carmichael - the daughter of a widowed russian man. she moved to london at 16 to model and was cast in several films from hank’s studio before they met and married.  

PARENTS/AUNTS/UNCLES. 

edwin carmichael - (eldest son) a very successful real estate agent, he came out as gay when he was 14 and was bullied a lot but has refused to not be proud. theatre enthusiast and married jonah when he was 45 & adopted ruby from italy as a baby. 

james carmichael - (second eldest son) an ambitious visionary, a creative and worked with hank from the age of 15 on the film studio. it’s always been his passion but he also got greedy later in life and dabbled in a lot of crime which got out of hand.  jonathan carmichael - (youngest son - written by synn) so how I imagine Jonathan is that he is very strict with Theo, and has held him to the standard of “why can’t you be more like Anastasia and Leo?”  I always imagined he was a bit jealous James was head of the company, and really wanted to be it too. However, I feel like he’s doing what he can to keep a “my life is going exactly how I imagined it” façade, and won’t really voice his frustrations other than with Theo and his wife behind closed doors (important to note this doesn’t mean any form of physical abuse. Only verbal). I feel like he’s kinda excited that Theo is coming around to more acting because it’s closer to what he wanted for him, but he won’t admit to it ofc  hes a bit salty with Theo for not wanting to marry Margaret even though that’s what HE wanted, like with brody and Disney and Kendall and mason. elizabeth carmichael - (oldest daughter) she got married incredibly young to the man hank pushed her towards and it was toxic from the get-go. when she fell pregnant, he left her and she spent all of her twenties as a single parent raising marcus. she’s now the cool rich aunt. 

cynthia billings - (youngest child) also married the man she was pushed towards - an owner of a successful restaurant chain - and it worked out like a fairytale. they live in lilac heights. cynthia is a complete disney adult and proud, basically a big kid. 

SIGNIFICANT OTHERS

patricia carmichael - (wife of james) she never wanted to marry james in the beginning but her dad, who was the governor of new hampshire at the time, knew hank and thought it was a brilliant idea. she’s artistic, passive, quiet, idealistic and the calm to james’ bold and abrupt nature. she grew to love him and lived most of her life in his shadow. 

jonah carmichael >> edwin’s husband  agatha carmichael >> jonathan’s husband laurence billings >> cynthia’s huband 

THE GRANDCHILDREN - age order/the characters in the same block are around the same age (oldest/middles/youngest) 

theodore carmichael (?) - (jonathan’s son, played by synn)  denver billings (29) - (oldest son of cynthia) - went through college and trained to be a doctor before deciding against it & travelling the world, a backpacker, owns a camper van, homosexaul, responsible. (sam claflin)  anastasia carmichael (28) - (oldest of james, played by zoë) - driven and intelligent, business-minded and has a great eye for fashion. never wants to disappoint her parent or grandparents but has recently divorced her husband, ryden banks. (elsa hosk) iris billings (27) - (second oldest of cynthia) - worked as a fashion journalist in los angeles for the longest time & was constantly made to feel less than because of her body and size. at 26, she threw in the towel and ditched city life for the east coast. she now lives in her grandparents hamptons holiday home and is starting a fresh. (nicola coughlan)  leonardo carmichael (27) - (second oldest of james, played by katie) - leo’s the oldest son of james and often put on a pedestal because of it. he was raised to be an all-rounder and has the typical mindset of a carmichael man. however, unlike his younger brother, he often fails to meet the extra expectations on his love life and avoids settling with the girl his parents want for him. (chad michael murray)  marcus carmichael (27) - (son of elizabeth) - elizabeth’s child. despite their money, he grew up seeing the heartache and crap his dad put her through and became hardened through that. he also did a lot of underhand and shady jobs for james, landing him in jai once or twice. (bill skarsgaard)  hayley billings (26) - (third oldest of cynthia) - hayley started living with a boyfriend none of her family approved of when she was 16. he was 42. she dropped out of school and worked at his bar in london, cutting of the rest of the family when they objected. her boyfriend - shocker - turned out to be a piece of shit and majorly abusive. 10 years later, she’s escaped him and has plucked up the courage to move back home and is reconnecting with the family. (victoria pendretti)  mason carmichael (26)  - (third oldest of james) - mason’s artistic and on the more introverted side of the family. even though he’s praised in his own way, he’s always felt like he needs to be more like brody and leo. his love life is definitely in the spotlight just as much as his projects. (austin butler)  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- brody carmichael (25) - (fourth oldest of james) - the product of being raised on “masculinity”. in high school, he was a sports star, he’s always been a charmer and never learned how to lose. people would call him a mini-leo but it quickly became clear who the real favourite was when he made his relationship with disney official. despite the aggressive drinking problem, it’s been hard for any of his siblings to impress their parents quite as much. (zac efron)  marie billings (24) - (fourth oldest of cynthia) - her mothers daughter, a lover of fantasy, magic and romance and never wants to grow up. she works as a primary school teacher & adores it. yet, she struggles to actually date/branch out like most do. her expectations and daydreams of romance are more fulfilling than the real thing to her. (sophie turner/saorise ronan)  ruby rosini (23) - (edwin’s daughter, played by nadine)   miles carmichael (22) - (second youngest of james) - cynical, sarcastic and the self-proclaimed black sheep of the family. miles is massively introverted and the least enthusiastic about any family gathering. last year he found out he isn’t james’ biological son and has felt disconnected ever since. (hero finneas-tifin) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------betty billings (21) - (fifth oldest of cynthia) - betty simply hates the idea of having to work. she’s dramatic and extroverted and the family’s kim kardashian. she has star quality, for sure and a ton of charisma. she’s a shop-a-holic and people struggle to get her to do anything else. (olivia holt)  bella carmichael (19) - (youngest of james, played by nadine) - bella is the youngest child of james and has burnt out. after being thrown into ballet, sports, tutoring and every other class you can imagine from the age of 4, she’s done with teachers and being an over-achiever. bella hasn’t been herself since her dad’s “death” but is very good at hiding it to the point where everyone thinks she’s doing amazing. (anna bruevla/katherine newton/elle fanning)  hadley billings (18) (twin, youngest of cynthia) - hadley is the oldest of the billings twins by five minutes. he’s vegan and an animal lover and very interested in politics. he is an anti-carmichael man in the sense that he shows more than anger, saddness and horniness in his emotional range. very gentle and arguably the nicest cousin. (ross lynch)  freddy billings (18) (twin, youngest of cynthia) - freddy is the youngest and also the brightest of the bunch by far, to the point where an IQ test dubbed him a genius at just 7. he was put into all sorts of competitions and given all kinds of scholarships. but because teachers and adults love him so much, he’s also a little shit, the definition of a class clown. he doesn’t work hard to achieve, he just does and that’s what annoys people the most. (romeo beckham) 

[dariaslore]

1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 16, 20, 21 for Griffin x Valtor

1.What was their first impression of each other?

Well, the first thing that crossed Valtor's mind as he saw her was to play her. He was in front of a good looking witch and he thought she would've been swooning over him in no time. Valtor had just found his new puppet, ready to satisfy all of his ego's whims. He began flirting, but little did he know, Griffin hated his attitude. She hated his manners, everything about him seemed over stressed, emphasized and fake, he was playing a character she didn't like at all, plus she couldn't stand his bigger than life ego. Griffin could see what he was aiming at and she immediately tried to be straightforward and it turned out like "Everybody knows you're hot, but I'm here to work. I don't have time for sex."

3.Describe their relationship dynamic.

Bickering couple, they take everything as an intellectual fight and live for their bantering. Debating is their favorite activity and the topics can range between "what is best to eat for lunch" and "is the Council biased?". They tend to joke (some are very sexual) a lot, sass and sarcasm at their full potential, who can annoy the other the most is the winner.

( Valtor: Take that stuff away from my room!

Griffin: It's my plants, I live in this room now and I want them to stay with me.

Valtor: I don't care!

Griffin: Poor thing, I forgot they ruin your whole 'dandy wizard' aesthetic!

Valtor: Exactly. Buy me red roses instead, they look good with marble. Better if almost rotten, the decadence, the sweet perfume of death, you know?

Griffin: *facepalm* )

When it comes to feelings he's very closeted, but she tries to get him out of his shell.

4.What was their relationship like before they got together?

Bad. Griffin hated him and he hated her. Coven' members were annoyed by their dynamics and couldn't understand how childish their 'cracked to be power duo' was.

6. What do they love about each other?

Valtor is in love with her brain. He finds her simply brilliant and is always listening to her in awe whenever she comes up with a new plan. She's got wit and sass, her heart is as big as her brain is. He loves how she doesn't mock him for everything he does and she is willing to pay attention to his interest (something his mothers never did), so he feels comfortable enough to share his passions and doubts. He doesn't feel under scrutiny when she's around, he can be free to be and her smiles when she's proud of his doing are priceless. He loves the fact she truly cares about him and she's soo confident (it makes her so hot).

Griffin is a die hard for his charisma and she was quite surprised when he turned out to be most sensitive person she had ever met. She fell in love with his soul.

7. What do they have in common?

They are both ambitious and so into magic knowledge. Without magic and their drive for knowledge they would've never met. Their love bloomed between researches, books, ancient spells, strategies and missions, that's why even after they had gotten together, they still referred to each other as "partners" and not "boyfriend or girlfriend". Their partnership was almost sacred with a very deep bond. They're both dreamers, even though she's way more pragmatic and he's an hopeless decadent, they're prideful, vain and value their privacy. They may share some similarities and common interests (magic, history...) but their strength comes from the differences.

9. What made them realize they were in love?

They were fighting and teasing each other as always, they realized the might've liked and enjoyed that merciless bantering.

Griffin and Valtor started growing closer and their partnership got stronger and stronger as time passed. Sex came first, there was sexual attraction and they became "partners in crime with benefits". Then, after overcoming some barriers, they began to get to know each other more and more, he was finally showing her something real and she liked the fact he trusted her so much that he put aside the mask of the almighty and fabulous sorcerer from time to time. Valtor had gotten used to having her around, she was a great company and when he felt jealousy inside him for the first time by seeing her talking to another member of the Coven who had wanted her for a while, he realized that maybe it was more than just a partnership between the two of them. He hated to stay away from her and all her sides he had hated before, were now his favorites: the same witch he had thought a control freak and mean, whose now he adored the intelligence and sarcasm. Griffin knew she was slowly falling in love, but she was in denial, she believed it would've been just a fleeting crush and she tried every way to make it go away, she calculated pros and cons and looked for every single flaw in Valtor's personality to make him repulsive. But she loved those flaws. The witch was in love.

16. What do other characters think about this relationship?

Coven's members were happy they kinda stopped fighting all the time, some women (and men) were envious Griffin was his partner and lover. Griffin's friends were thrilled and found their couple really hot (where did she find such a good looking man?).

The Ancestral Witches had a controversial point of view, whilst they were satisfied they finally got along, their convergences were a blast and Valtor had a babysitter (the witches knew about his mental state, at least there was someone keeping him safe and sane now. The years before meeting Griffin had been really dark, the Ancestral were tired of the wizard self destructive behavior.) they feared the relationship might've distracted their son from fulfilling his destiny (he was created to be a weapon, not for love and kisses). They saw a threat in Griffin's figure, therefore they never treated her roughly, but always kept an eye on her. When Liliss found out of their relationship she said "This is going to end bad." Belladonna and Tharma were thrilled, Liliss was not, she knew the repercussions on their son if she ever left.

Griffin's father wasn't happy, he was worried and he tried to warn her daughter about what she was getting herself into, but she had to follow her path and he couldn't stop her from living her life and making choices (the witch was too stubborn).

Faragonda was also worried, very worried.

20. What does a typical date look like for them?

They're partners in crime, always together, and they can make a date out of nothing. A raid on a planet? That's a date. Stealing spells? Date. Spying on enemies? Another date. Theft on Eraklyion? The. Best. Date. Ever.

Whisperia is a bustling planet (I hc they lived there), there's always a ton of stuff to do. They didn't have a lot of free time, but they managed to make it worthy by going to some very classy nightclubs and going shopping (for Valtor's happiness. She's into fashion as well, but he's addicted)

He sometimes likes going to the theater and the opera (the drama queen he is), she doesn't understand a thing she's watching and it can bore her to death, but he's happy and she loves seeing him so engaged while he's explaining to her what is going on (she has to admit he's a wonderful storyteller and his humanistic culture is astonishing). She will definitely drag him to museums and scientific and political conventions where they discuss about magic and Magix's politics in a very technical way. Stargazing was another main activity, they could've spent hours talking under the dark sky (they did).

21. What’s a really significant moment in their relationship?

One of the most significant moment in their relationship was the first night they hang out together. The Ancestral were tired of their tantrums and decided it was time for them to bond, so Valtor and Griffin were forced to spend some free time together. The Witches thought it was important for their partnership to be strong also out of the battlefield, only in that way it could've unleashed its true potential. They had a new mission and it was building trust. And that night was just the beginning. (They were both slowly introduced in each other's own world). Another significant moment was Griffin seeing his demon form for the first time. It was a divide, a fracture, after that, their relationship was in free fall. Darkness became too much to handle, he was breaking, his mental health spiraling down towards insanity and she couldn't fall into pieces with him. It was toxic, his behavior, how Valtor got so obsessed with her she couldn't leave him alone for more than a minute. Griffin was sleeping next to a ticking bomb ready to implode, pressure from his mothers was too much, the demon rising, and she was afraid to hurt him.

There was no communication, she tried to understand and he erected walls, pretended everything was fine and at the same time he blamed it on himself if she was sad or angry for whatever reason. A dichotomy, the demon pursuing his mother's biddings and the man living just for her smile, fleeting sanity still standing in the name of their love.

[cagemasterfantasy]

Meet the characters: Jesse

Jesse is a Machop Hybrid Fighter (Champion) with the Noble background (which gives Proficiency in History and Persuasion)

Stats: Strength 16 (+3) Dexterity 9 (-1) Constitution 15 (+2) Intelligence 11 Wisdom 13 (+1) Charisma 14 (+2)

Proficiencies: as a Fighter he has a +5 to Strength saving throws and a +4 to Constitution savings throws. With his background he has a +2 to History and +4 to Persuasion as well as a +5 to Athletics and a +3 to Perception.

Personality: Jesse does his best to make sure everyone around him is happy but deep down he's just a big softie. He gets upset when things don't go his way but he doesn't let that side of him show. He's a big crybaby when he's alone though. His biggest flaw is he doesn't like getting dirty and won't be caught dead in unsuitable acoomadations.

Background (warning this backstory will contain spoilers you have been warned): His parents lived in the prosperous village of Thundertree east of the city of Neverwinter and at the edge of Neverwinter Wood. But when nearby Mount Hotenow erupted 30 years ago (6 years before Jesse was born) his parents fled. His family drifted from village to village around the region finding work as servants or laborers where they could

He's spent the last few years in Neverwinter as a porter and laborer at the city's bustling docks. But it's clear to him and everyone around him that his is destined for much more. He stood up to an abusive ship captain once so other dockworkers look up to him.

The ruins of Thundertree call to him. His family and their friends lived in prosperity there and they're reduced to menial labor. The ruins are haunted by Ash Zombies and rumor has it a dragon has made its lair in the old tower but those are problems a hero can solve. Slay the Dragon or drive it off and he'll prove to himself and everyone else he's a real hero destined for greatness.

[candyradium]

Finally got around to typing up my Technoblade D&D build!!! I’ve been working on making these for a lot of the Dream SMP characters, and I thought it would be fun to have him in stat block format, so you too can throw c!Technoblade at your players as a final boss! (Disclaimer: I don’t know how accurate the CR level is, I just set it to 8 since the build is a lv8 build PC build.)

Image description and explanation/rambling below the cut!

[Image ID: A D&D stat block for Technoblade. It reads:

Technoblade

Medium humanoid (firbolg), Lawful Neutral

Armor Class: 18 (Half plate, defense fighting style)

Hit Points: 72 (8d12+24)

Speed: 40 ft.

STR: 18 (+4)

DEX: 14 (+2)

CON: 16 (+3)

INT: 14 (+2)

WIS: 13 (+1)

CHA: 6 (-2)

Saving Throws: Str +7, Con +6

Skills: Athletics +7, Intimidation +1, Perception +4, Survival +4

Damage Resistances: bludgeoning, piercing, slashing

Senses: passive Perception 14

Languages: Common, Elvish, Giant, Goblin

Challenge: 8 (3,900 XP)

Innate spellcasting. Technoblade's innate spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC 12). He can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:

1/short rest each: detect magic, disguise self

Speech of beast and leaf. Technoblade has the ability to communicate in a limited manner with beasts and plants. They can understand the meaning of his words, though he has no special ability to understand them in return. He has advantage on all Charisma checks he makes to influence them.

Powerful build. Technoblade counts as one size larger when determining his carrying capacity and the weight he can push, drag, or lift.

Unarmoured defense. When not wearing any armour, Technoblade's defense equals 15. He can use a shield and still gain this benefit.

Reckless. At the start of his turn, Technoblade can gain advantage on all melee weapon attack rolls he makes during that turn, but attack rolls against him have advantage until the start of his next turn.

Great weapon master. When Technoblade scores a critical hit with a melee weapon or reduces a creature to 0 hit points with one, he can make one melee weapon attack as a bonus action. Additionally, before Technoblade makes a melee weapon attack with a heavy weapon that he is proficient with, he can choose to take a -5 penalty to the attack roll. If the attack hits, he adds +10 to the attack's damage.

Warrior of the Gods. If a spell, such as Raise Dead, has the sole effect of restoring Technoblade to life (but not undeath), the caster doesn't need material components to cast the spell on Technoblade.

Divine fury. While Technoblade is raging, the first creature he hits on each of his turns with a weapon attack takes extra necrotic damage equal to 1d6 + 3.

Action surge (1/rest). Technoblade takes one additional action on his turn.

Combat superiority (4/rest). Technoblade can apply the following maneuvers using his four superiority die (d8s):

Feinting attack: Technoblade expends one superiority die and uses a bonus action on his turn to feint, choosing one creature within 5 feet of his as his target. He has advantage on his next attack roll against that creature before the end of his turn. If that attack hits, add the superiority die to the attack's damage roll.

Menacing attack: When Technoblade hits a creature with a weapon attack, he can expend one superiority die to attempt to frighten the target. He adds the superiority die to the attack's damage roll, and the target must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, it is frightened of him until the end of his next turn.

Trip attack: When Technoblade hits a creature with a weapon attack, he can expend one superiority die to attempt to knock the target down. He adds the superiority die to the attack's damage roll, and if the target is Large or smaller, it must make a Strength saving throw (DC 15). On a failed save, he knocks the target prone.ActionsHidden step (1/rest).

As a bonus action, Technoblade can magically turn invisible until the start of his next turn or until he attacks, makes a damage roll, or forces someone to make a saving throw.

Greatsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) slashing damage.

Heavy Crossbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, range 100/400 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d10 + 2) piercing damage.

Multiattack. Technoblade can make 2 weapon attacks.

Rage (4/day). As a bonus action, Technoblade enters a rage that lasts for 1 minute, ending early if knocked unconscious or if Technoblade's turn ends and he hasn't attacked a hostile creature since his last turn or taken damage since then. He can also end his rage on his turn as a bonus action. While raging, Technoblade deals +2 damage, has advantage on Strength checks and Strength saving throws, and has resistance to bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage. Technoblade cannot cast spells during a rage.

End ID.]

Okay. Rambling time.

Holy SHIT I loved making this. I tend to play spellcasters or dex based characters, so it was a lot of fun to make a str character for once.

Stats first. As a barbarian/fighter and also as a force of nature, str is his highest stat. I could have made it 20, but I have a weird aversion to writing up characters with maxed out stats for some reason? Anyway, that’s what he has. He can always boost it if he takes another level in fighter. I also decided to give him pretty high intelligence and wisdom, which are rare in barbarian characters, since, y’know, their main point is to hit things very hard. But Techno is so, SO resourceful, and one of the main reasons that he’s so good at fighting is because he does his research and acquires the best items for it and puts himself in the right place at the right time. Hence the high-ish int. I feel a little bad making his charisma so low, but cha represents several things, most notably the ability to talk to people and force of personality. Also known as: how hard it is to be swayed or controlled, magically or otherwise. Remember what happened at the festival? That’s low charisma. Also I had to give him a low stat to balance the fact that he’s insanely good at so many fucking things. Why.

As a side note, when picking his proficiencies, I was using the homebrew rule that you can use your strength modifier when you roll for intimidation. So his Strength (Intimidation) check would actually have a +7, which is MUCH better than the Charisma (Intimidation) check of +1. Big strong characters are absolutely scary, damnit, and I will die on that hill.

Next up: race. I HAD to make him a firbolg. They’re connected with nature and are often portrayed with animalistic features (e.g. Caduceus Clay from Critical Role), and it means we can have both pig Techno and anime Techno, since firbolgs naturally have the disguise self spell. I just think that’s neat. They also get the ability to turn invisible! Which Techno has been doing a LOT recently! Sure, firbolgs can only do it for a turn, but it still fits.

Onto classes. Barbarian was a dead certain for Techno, honestly - his battle prowess, how he acts when he fights, it just fits so well. Even his use of potions - he gets a lot of buffs from them, increased damage and damage resistance being the two most notable and the two that best translate to D&D rage. Even speed potions - barbarians get +10ft movement speed at level 5. And barbarians are made for two-handed weapons, so obviously I HAD to give him a greatsword. The Orphan Obliterator is a deadly weapon. He also still favours swords even when axes are better in the newest version, so a greatsword was a must. Also I just really like greatswords.

I wavered a bit when picking a subclass, to be honest. I’m not really a big fan of any of the official subclasses (they don’t really fir my playstyle, which is why I homebrewed an entire new subclass for my barbarian character, but that’s a post for another day), but looking through, there were a few that could work. Originally, I picked Juggernaut - this was because of how he fought during the Dream battle, moving Dream around the arena into a more advantageous position for Techno, which is the Juggernaut’s 3rd level ability in a nutshell. They also can’t be knocked prone, and both of these things work INCREDIBLY well for skywars/bedwars style combat - staying put on this island and knocking off your opponents.

However, in the end, I decided to go with Zealot. It was inevitable after he REALLY started building his character on the Dream SMP, which is what this is mostly based on. Zealots have two main points: they follow a God, and it’s very, VERY hard to kill them.

Sound familiar?

Techno isn’t just a barbarian - he also has three levels of Battlemaster fighter. The barbarian/fighter combo is one of the best there is for sheer combat power (bested only, in my opinion, by barbarian/moon druid - those characters are actually unkillable) and the choice of Battlemaster specifically opened up so many options in combat. I had debated going with champion, just for the crit probability boost, but ultimately decided that Battlemaster was infinitely more fun. The three maneuvers were picked for a combination of reasons - they’re all incredibly useful in combat, but I also just thought they were thematically accurate and/or funny. I just had to give him Menacing Attack, because one of the few constants in Technoblade’s combat is people running the hell away from him during competitions. Feinting is for pure combat ability, and Trip is just. Really funny to me. It worked better when he was Juggernaut and literally couldn’t be knocked prone, but I just like the idea of someone using their full action to try and knock over this eight foot tall firbolg (they’re so fucking tall! This bitch is massive!) Technoblade just. Looking down at them before knocking them clean off of their feet with one swing of his Greatsword.

And finally, weapons and magical items. The magic ones didn’t actually make it onto the stat block, because I wanted it to be purely basic character building, but I absolutely had some ideas. Some of these were rolled on loot tables, some were completely homebrewed to fit Techno’s canon weapons. Guess which ones lmao.

magical heavy crossbow (use charge to fire 3 bolts simultaneously, using only one arrow, rolling an attack for each. Each target must be within 10ft of each other. 7 charges per day)

explosive bolts (10ft radius, double dice of the weapon it’s fired from, dex save)

mithral half-plate

ring of feather falling

trident of flight (attunement) (30ft swim and flight speed, 120ft flight speed when its raining)

upgraded cape of the mountebank (8 charges, 2 for misty step, 4 for dimension door) (yes it looks like his normal cape)

bag of holding

sword of life-stealing (attunement) (I don’t know why I added this except Techno’s canon sword would be VERY hard to homebrew and also he can do enough damage with a normal one so he could literally just have like a +2 or something. Do what you want)