#3E-Enthusiasm

[chiefatticcreator]

Crazy lust 3E

"I'll get you out from under Kyriyu's thumb." Drake told the blackmailed NOMAD agent, while smacking Ingrid's ass. "But you become my woman in return."

Crazy Lust:

"I.. I..."

Ingrid should portest, that she's in love with Edwin Black, that she's not goign to become someone's woman just because, that she is outraged by the idea and the she would never accept such a ridiculous proposal.

But she absolutely loathe Kyriyu and would be extremely glad to be away from him, even if it's to a new master. Besides, maybe she could get out of Drakes thumb later. And also, the way Drake is currently fucking and smackign her ass is too good to ignore, and she could really do with some more of that.

"I accept!" she finally gives in, bouncing her ass back as she watches Drake fucking her. She even starts to smile, looking at the cock currently rammign her ass and she bounces her hips with more enthusiasm than before.

"Don't make me regret it!"

[talenlee]

4e: When You Crit

I have never found feats or abilities that amplify the effect of critical hits to be exciting in 4th edition. There are plenty of them — almost every book features an effect that looks really cool and special, but it only fires off when you critically hit an opponent. You can have powerful effects on crits, mind you! Famously, D&D offers in its history, the Vorpal Sword, a weapon that decapitates on a crit – fight over, we are done. And the vorpal weapon is part of a powerful lineage of reasons to want to crit.

A while ago, a friend described for me the idea of a ‘raisins sentence’ where the excitement in the sentence increases every step, until suddenly dropping off a cliff, demonstrated with the phrase:

Would you like some chocolate covered raisins

The idea is that every part of this sentence is great but the raisins makes the whole thing disappointing. A lot of the crit-based feats, powers, and item rules are like that. Sure, crits are great! They can be very powerful, and making crits even better is even better still. But when a feat describes a strategy or a style of play that’s exciting that kicks in or triggers when you crit, all the air goes out of my enthusiasm.

Why, though?

Ehhh, a couple of reasons.

Now, I’m not about to bust out comparison tables, but to simplify if you can crit on 1 of the 20 numbers, then in a fight where you roll 20 dice, you’re probably going to get a crit. If you make one attack every turn, then you’re going to need 20 turns to expect to crit. I’m not used to 4e D&D fights taking that long and I play a lot of this system. That right there makes ‘when you crit’ effects seem pretty unlikely, especially because even in long fights where the odds are in your favour that it happens, you might not get your crit until towards the last third of the fight – and statistically, that’s likely about a third of the time.

This means that effects triggering on a crit don’t give a reliable output — you can’t rely on them showing up when you want them. You could get your crit effect that makes you hit super hard on an enemy that’s going to die instantly when you hit them. You could get your encounter-long buff or long-lasting bleed effect on an enemy that isn’t going to notice or care or need the effect.

This can mean ‘crit support’ lives in this weird space where no matter how powerful it is, it just doesn’t interest me much. Too unreliable!

I think though, that this is one of those signs of the lessons learned from 3rd edition D&D. In that edition, there were a few ways to get ‘improved crit’ — a critical threat range that could be expanded by the number the weapon started with. For a weapon that crit on a 20, that meant improving the crit got you a 19-20 crit range. For a weapon that started at 19-20, you got 17-20. For a weapon that started at 18-20 – and they were around, the Jovar and the Scimitar being two widely used examples – then your crit range expanded to six numbers on the dice, 15-20.

If your DM fell asleep at the wheel and let you use the 17-20 crit range from the Punch Knives in Sword and Fist (don’t use this, it’s dumb), then your critical hit range with just the Improved Criticals feat would streak up to 13-20, or almost half of all the possible numbers you can hit on. That was weapon choice + one feat, and there were ways to push it higher! A particularly aggressive build that didn’t compromise anything could run around critting on 9-20, and then it was just a matter of time before that character got effects like Vorpal on their weapons, and made every combat a sequence of hit rolls before they decapitated people. The damage became irrelevant, you just wanted to make sure you hit and then could follow up the hit with some ludicrous extra effects every time. And this is 3e, when most melee fighting characters were making 4-5 attacks a turn.

In 4e, this kind of build just isn’t very doable, at least, not like that. As good as a crit can be, you can’t really get these huge expanded crit ranges. There are weapons that crit on more numbers, but if that’s their magical property, they can’t be vorpal weapons. There are feats that make you crit more often, but they are often linked to specific feats and classes, and small windows of time like ‘until end of turn.’

Your only strategy, then, to get more crits under 4e, largely, is to roll more dice.

This can be pretty tricky, too, because the best ways to roll more dice is to make more attacks. Area attackers, like control archetypes (hello druid, I love you druid) get to roll a lot of dice, and that can be good, but they also don’t tend to get effects that do a lot on a crit on their weapons. Not nothing, but nothing as exciting as you see in melee weapons.

The generally-agreed upon, simplest way to do it, then, is to blend together the ranger with some avengerness, or an avenger with some rangerness, or a secret third thing (a bard poaching from both). If you take a pair of jagged weapons and twin strike your oath of emnity, you’re rolling 4 dice every attack and hoping to critically hit by rolling a 19 or a 20. Using our simplified math from up above, that means that you go from one likely crit every twenty turns to one likely crit every two and a half turns.

What’s more, if those weapons are light blades (like, say, daggers) you can attack with them on your off-turn with opportunity attacks in Paragon tier, which means you could be getting 8 dice rolls a turn, which makes a 1/10 chance seem more likely. That’s pretty exciting.

But but but I hear you say, but what about the Righteous Rage of Tempus? Righteous Rage of Tempus is amazing. The feat Righteous Rage of Tempus is available to any divine character (so, Paladins and Avengers) and it makes your next attack deal damage as if it were a crit.

And that’s it.

See, once upon a time, Righteous Rage of Tempus – and if you look it up in the book, it does still say it, – it says the attack is an automatic critical hit. This is obviously really strong, especially since you can control when it happens. You could load a character up with all sorts of ‘when you critical hit’ support, and then they open combat with a front-loaded attack to trigger all of them. And therefore, the fun police came along and changed it so the Righteous Rage of Tempus only gives you the damage of a crit up front.

Which is still cool, and it encourages you to build so that your crits have bigger and more dice rather than trying to crit a lot for secondary effects. That’s an interesting and cool different direction, and it also requires the build to be a bit less… lopsided without a crit.

Essentially then you have two build options that look at crits that I like. One, the crit-fishing avengangerard, and the called-shot crit-hammering Paladin/Avenger build that gets Righteously Mad at something.

Check it out on PRESS.exe to see it with images and links!

[danjo-ao3]

When Ashes Fall p.2

Pairing: Reaper/female Reader

Summary: You are a combat medic working for Overwatch, when a mission goes south and you cross paths with Talon mercenary Reaper. But will he kill you on the spot or is there more to this encounter?

Rating: 18+

Tags/Warnings: rape/non-con, violence, blood, emotional manipulation, blackmail, kidnapping

Word count: 52,215 (in 5 parts)

A/N: the warnings are clear on this one. Yes, there is going to be rape/non-con, and it’s going to get explicit. I strongly advise anyone who is not into that kind of story to turn back around, because this is going to get pretty heavy and will finally be the non-con story with Reaper that I had always wanted to write.

Part 2 / 5 ( part 1, part 3, part 4, part 5)

***

 “Ay, Akande. What is it now?” A woman of a rather small stature entered the room, her right hand busily tapping at purple holograms before her, while she popped her bubblegum noisily. Everything about her was purple, in fact. Her clothes, the tips of her dark hair, as well as her makeup. When she finally noticed you, a mixture between surprise and amusement crossed her face. “Hola, chica,” She greeted you, her demeanor cheeky and aloof as she waved her long nailed hand at you. “This your newest conquest?” The sarcasm rang heavy in her tone of voice as she addressed Ogundimu again and tsked, then proceeded to chew the gum obnoxiously loud. “Fresh out the asylum now, is it?” And she chuckled to herself at her remark.

 You could only sit and stare at her, all too aware of how you very much looked like she described you. Not that it mattered anyway, the only thing not sitting right with you was how she assumed you somehow were this man’s mistress.

 Ogundimu’s face betrayed nothing of what he might have thought about her careless comment.

 “Sombra,” He said curtly, making it clear that he wasn’t in the mood for her shenanigans. “This is our newest agent,” His hand gestured toward you and Sombra’s bubblegum popped again as she looked at you once more, the surprise outshining the amusement on her face.

 But after another good look she grinned. “Ah, but you’re messing with me,” She said with a dismissive handshake, wiping the hologram before her out of existence.

 Ogundimu smiled to himself. “You will look after her, show her around. Basically, you’ll be her shadow for now.”

 Sombra’s eyes narrowed, they flicked over to you, then back to Ogundimu.

 “Is this for the Volskaya mission?”

 “Maybe.”

 “Ugh, fine. But then we’re even, you hear me?” She sounded annoyed, but already went back to the door she had entered through, then she looked over her shoulder at you. “You coming or what, chica?”

 With one last look at Ogundimu, you rose from the chair and walked over to the woman, hyper aware of both of their eyes on you.

 “First visit will be a closet. What is that?” She opened the door while pointing at your hospital garb.

 “They’re—”

 “Nevermind. We will get some decent clothes for you. Can’t be seen with you running around like that.” With that she once again projected a holographic display in front of her, while she navigated through various interfaces with her hand. You bristled faintly at her jab, it wasn’t like it was your choice of clothing either. But you got the impression that this Sombra woman wasn’t particularly interested in what you had to say anyway, so you just kept your mouth shut and tagged along.

 You didn’t walk far, only a few corridors further and one staircase down and your surroundings resembled more of a hotel than a terrorist base of operations. The whole time Sombra managed to use her holographic projection, she didn’t even have to look away once, not even when you both descended the stairs.

 The furnishings down here were no less impressive than they had been upstairs though, the floor was carpeted, the walls a light cream and the doors looked like solid wood.

 “Come along now, your room should be right—” She walked two more steps and stopped in front of a door with a sign saying “3E”. “—here.”

 You just stood there, unsure of what you were supposed to do now. After a few seconds, Sombra looked away from her hologram and frowned at you impatiently.

 “Open it?”

 Then you hurried forward to turn the handle, but the door didn’t open, it was locked.

 Next to you, Sombra sighed dramatically. “Mierda…” She said and began to fiddle with the interface of her holographic projection again, this time she went even quicker than before. “Stupid Akande didn’t even give me a damn key,” She mumbled to herself, but then you could hear the distinct clicking of a lock, then Sombra swiped her interface away again and brushed a strand of her hair behind one ear. “Go on, it’s open now.”

 This time the door yielded inwards and you were greeted by a small sparsely furnished room with a bed and a chair in one corner and a door in the other.

 You stood in the room as Sombra brushed past you, on her way to the built in wall closet. She stopped in front of it, addressing you again. “Get dressed and we can continue our grand tour,” She said with mock enthusiasm, like a tour guide with too many years on their back.

 The closet held a surprisingly large amount of varying clothes in it, the only thing they all had in common was the Talon logo embroidered on them. You couldn’t help but frown at that, you were still pissed that you were basically Talon’s bitch now.

 “How come you don’t have the Talon logo on your outfit?” You asked Sombra after removing a pair of pants and a hoodie from the closet, ready to change into comfortable, concealing clothes.

 Sombra barked a laugh. “Oh, chica. I may be working for Talon, but I’m not one of Akande’s and Max’s little minions.” She scowled, then regarded her manicured nails. “I am more of a...freelancer.” Then she winked at you, before her eyes fell onto the clothes in your hand, which immediately made her scowl again. “So that is your choice?” One eyebrow rose, but then she apparently remembered that she didn’t actually care about you and waved any comeback of yours off. “Alright, you change and I’ll be waiting for you outside.” Then she went to the door, but before she left, she spoke up again “Don’t keep me waiting.”

 Finally left alone again, you took a deep breath to center yourself. You undressed slowly, as if in a trance. Really, you couldn’t think about all this right now, it was too much, too fast. And you were sure you would break down on the floor into a heap of sobs and cries about how life specifically hated you. So instead, you stripped the hospital gown off of you, slipped on underwear and pants and finally the hoodie.

 “That’s better,” You said to yourself, then looked around you again. The door on the other side of the room led into a small bathroom, with fluffy towels next to a shower and fragrant soap lying on the sink. Well, Overwatch had about the same amount of luxury, but there you were allowed to leave…

 Pulling yourself together again, you slammed the bathroom door shut and went to join Sombra outside of your new room.

 “What’s been taking you so long?” She sounded annoyed from where she stood against the opposite wall, not even looking at you as she worked on her holo interface.

 You only rolled your eyes at her for being so damn impatient. Already her demeanor was getting on your nerves, how you were supposed to get along with her at all was a mystery to you. But then again, who cared about your comfort here anyway? You were nothing but a prisoner, only that the metaphorical bars were shaped like Caleb.

***

 Your grand tour, it turned out, was a trip to the gym, the practice range, and lastly the café (which kind of surprised you—which evil organization had a freaking café?). The feeling that you were actually in a grand hotel was starting to manifest.

 Sombra granted you access to all these places with her weird interface thingy.

 “If you want to go somewhere else, I will escort you and if you behave, maybe I’ll give you clearance for those as well,” She had said.

 But now you both sat in the café on a table close to a window, your gaze flitted over that unfamiliar cityscape.

 “Where are we anyway,” you asked and Sombra looked up from sipping her coffee.

 “Talon headquarters.”

 Headquarters? Well, that explained the whole very important and grand vibe of the place. You were about to mention that that hadn’t been your actual question, but somehow you knew you weren’t going to get a straightforward answer after all.

 You sighed and nibbled on your cucumber sandwich. Sombra hadn’t even asked what you wanted to eat and had ordered for the both of you with a few gestures onto her holographic interface.

 “Oh, our time’s up,” Sombra looked at you with those glittering eyes, then took one bite out of her own sandwich. “Akande wants you to go to the doc next,” She informed you and was already on her way out of her seat without even sparing another glance at you. “See you tomorrow, I guess.”

 And with that she left the café, leaving you behind with a half eaten sandwich lying on your plate. You regarded it thoughtfully, the meager appetite you’d had long gone. So you pushed the plate away from you and finished your coffee in silence.

 What now? You let your heavy head fall into your hand and stared wistfully at the sky outside, it was cloudy but still bright, a really nice day actually. And you were trapped here.

 After you downed the last sip of your coffee, you rose to get to Dr. O’Deorain’s lab once more, even though you felt apprehension at the very thought of going back there.

 As you left the café, you tried to backtrack the way you had come from, unsure of where the lab was situated. You groaned when you realized you were lost, you absolutely didn’t recognize your surroundings. You took the nearest elevator and commanded it to take you to the lower levels of the building, which it did. At least you were now one step closer to your destination.

 The doors opened to a darkened hallway not unlike the one that had led to the lab and you couldn’t help but feel a little proud of your sense of direction. Cautiously, you moved along the halls and—lo and behold—there were the doors to the laboratory. All the joy you had felt at finding the way on your own vanished with a pang of anxiety in your gut. The doctor hadn’t seemed like a very pleasant person to you, having to work for her didn’t sound appealing at all. But you didn’t have a choice either way, so you went forward to find a way inside.

 There was a card reader next to the doors with blinking LEDs and a holographic display asking for authorization.

 Of course you didn’t have anything on you to gain access; bloody typical. You realized you’d have to do this the old fashioned way and simply knocked with a slightly shaking hand.

 After a few seconds, the door opened and another unfamiliar face greeted you as it peered through the crack. It was a young woman, maybe a little older than you, with spectacles and a messy brown bun on her head.

 “Yes?” She asked you with an accusatory glare.

 “Um, I’m supposed to meet Dr. O’Deorain,” You explained and immediately, the girl’s face lit up.

 “Oh, you must be the new intern!” She sounded excited and opened the doors wide to let you in. Well, this was the nicest welcome you had received so far and the knowledge of having someone benign at your side was at least a little comforting.

 You stepped into the lab with trepidation, it looked the same as when you had left it in a hurry. The only exception was that the examination table was once again occupied. The black mass of a person created a stark contrast to the white surroundings and it made them stick out like a sore thumb. You instantly knew who it was, too.

 It was the man, slash demon, who had kidnapped you after the explosion. Unbidden, your breath hitched and you stopped in your tracks, eyes wide as you took in the entirety of his massive form currently lying on that table. There were several machines attached to him in various places, displaying his vitals. Flashbacks of a cold shotgun barrel pressed against your forehead made you shiver.

 So far you hadn’t been able to find an explanation for this hallucination you’d had, even though Ogundimu had not been subtle with his remarks about it. But now, fully awake and aware, you couldn’t deny that what had happened to you was as real as the man currently lying in front of you. Not a hallucination then.

Holy shit.

 “Is everything alright?” It sounded from your right, and only now did you remember that you weren’t alone in the lab. Turning your suddenly stiff body away from the man, you again addressed the nice woman who had let you in.

 “Yeah,” You answered as your eyes darted back to the table once more. In the same breath and a slightly higher pitched voice you asked, “Who’s that?”

 “Oh, you’re really new, aren’t you?” She smiled reassuringly, set down a holopad she had been working on and motioned for you to sit next to her on a stool facing a long table currently holding a few test tubes. “First things first, I am Casey,” She held out her hand to you, which you immediately shook, and then you gave her your name as well.

 “This there on the table is a man who calls himself Reaper, he’s in here quite often. I don’t know his real name, but Dr. O’Deorain is working with him,” Casey began, then she leaned a little closer to you and went on a little quieter. “Personally, I think she’s using him for an experiment of hers, though. Don’t know if he’s aware of it, but he certainly doesn’t seem to mind.”

 You squinted at Casey, then the man.

 “—Reaper? He...calls himself that?”

 Casey nodded with a shrug and a half smile. Like it wasn’t concerning at all that somebody named themselves after death’s persona. The fine hairs on the back of your neck rose at the memory of the man removing his mask to reveal inky nothingness and two red orbs that had stared into your soul. Already you were making a mental note to request not having to work in the lab when he was present.

 “Don’t you find him creepy?” The incredulousness in your voice was hard to suppress.

 “Of course,” Casey pushed her glasses back onto her nose. “But I usually don’t have to deal with him, he’s Dr. O’Deorain’s project and she doesn’t like lab assistants messing up her work.” You could see a small frown beginning to form on her forehead as she finished her sentence. She sounded resentful.

 “So what do you do around here?” You changed the subject and looked around for emphasis.

 Already, she was perking up again. “Oh, I assist the doc with her work and do tests while she is doing her research and experiments.”

 As you watched her you could clearly see that she was enthusiastic about her work. A question popped into your head.

 “Can I...can I ask you something personal?”

 “What is it?”

 “Why are you here?”

 Casey blinked at you once, then she smiled again. “I want to become a geneticist, and working under Dr. O’Deorain sounded like an opportunity of a lifetime.”

 “But, you are also working for Talon.” Why would a sweet girl like her work here? It didn’t seem like she was being forced to be here either. That, or she was a great actor.

 Casey deflated a little, the line of her mouth went grim. “Trust me, I know. And I don’t particularly like the fact that I am. But, like I said this was an opportunity I couldn’t have let fly by me.” She even looked a tad guilty.

 A long silence followed. The fact that she didn’t ask why you were here spoke volumes. She definitely knew about you, no need to ask.

 That was depressing.

 Your gaze had landed on the man again, he was lying there like a storm cloud would hang above you forebodingly, a menacing presence that could strike any second.

 “Is he unconscious?” You asked Casey who had started working on her holopad again.

 “Yeah, he is in a regeneration phase.” She answered while tapping holographic buttons. “Has been blown up pretty badly in the last mission.”

 “Blown up?”

 “Yes, you should have seen him when he came in. He was barely in human shape at all.”

 You gulped. What the hell was she talking about? But before you could ask her, Dr. O’Deorain entered the lab.

 “There you are,” She said to you in lieu of a greeting, and held out her hand to Casey who hurried to pass her the holopad she had been working on. “I need you to do something for me.”

 “Yes, doctor,” Casey responded immediately and as you looked at her you could see the admiration in her eyes.

 The doctor didn’t wait for your reply and went on to explain. “Subject R-24 has almost completed regeneration, he only needs his weekly dosage of serum 3442.” She sighed. “But I have to leave because some      cretin     thought it would be a good idea to ship my chemicals with highly explosive substances.”

 Rubbing the bridge of her nose, she finally addressed you. “You two will have to administer the serum. One will inject, the other has to monitor the vitals.” That was all you were told before she left the lab again.

 Casey jumped from her stool and went to get the serum while you rose as well and awkwardly walked over to the displays on a big screen. Ok, you could do this, just checking and alarming Casey if something was wrong. There was the line indicating his heart beat, but something about it was off. The peaks weren’t high enough to be considered healthy, it was as if he took his very last breaths. With concern you turned to Casey, who was drawing the serum into a syringe.

 “What’s with this heartbeat?” You asked and while Casey removed any air bubbles from the syringe, she answered you.

 “Well, that happens when you’re kind of a wraith.”

 A what?

 You just stared at her, then at patient R-24, or rather Reaper, and decided that you were definitely staying as far away from him as possible. What was Dr. O’Deorain doing here?

 After disinfecting the spot she was going to use for injection, Casey inserted the needle in between the pieces of the man’s bulky armor, into the greyish dark skin of his left arm. It was surreal to watch how he lay there on the examination table in full gear, even his white skeletal mask was in place and his head covered by his black hood. Why had he chosen this specific getup? To be intimidating, probably.

 When Casey was finished with the injection, she put away the syringe and removed the medical gloves she had been wearing. With a satisfied smile she turned to you, took a last look at the vitals display and moved back to her holopad. “I’ll just finish these reports and then we can wrap it up.”

 “Okay,” You answered from where you were still standing, between the screen and the man on the table. While you didn’t want to look at him for longer than you had to, there was a strange fascination about him. Now that you were fully aware of your surroundings and your brain wasn’t lacking oxygen, you could finally take an actual look. You’d never seen someone like that before, and you were hesitant to believe what you’d been told. A wraith...what the hell was that even supposed to mean? Aside from the weird armor and extremely unhealthy looking skin on his arms, you thought he looked like a regular man. If said man was a shotgun wielding maniac.

 Your gaze wandered over his form, metal and leather created a thick second skin that clung to his muscular physique. The metal claws at the end of his fingers looked pointy and dangerous and you were certain he could disembowel a person with them if he so desired.

 As if on their own accord, your slightly shaking fingers reached out and touched the cold metal tentatively. You brushed them upwards over the back of his gloved hand and between two protruding spikes until you reached the gap between gauntlet and shoulder armor, your fingers hovered above his bare skin. Then you pressed the pad of your index and middle finger to it, sending out just a little bit of healing in morbid curiosity. His skin was not exactly warm, but not too cold either. It was really weird and you immediately wanted to remove your hand again as his skin began to warm from your touch.

 Just then his body tensed, as if he’d been electrocuted, and the hand that had previously been lying motionless shot up to grab your wrist. Gasping in panic, you tried to wrench your arm free, but his claws were already digging into your flesh painfully.

 “Casey!” You called out to the other lab assistant, who turned around to you with a look of shock.

 “Hold on,” She said as she rushed over to you and tried to pry off the man’s claws from your arm. Not even with her help you were able to remove them, and you felt the panic inside you rising. It hurt like hell and you were sure he was going to draw blood any second.

 But suddenly his grip did loosen and his hand fell off back to his side as if nothing had happened, leaving you to stumble backwards with the force of your pulling. You hit the wall with your back, still staring at the man on the table, who was once again motionless. Heart racing from your recent shock, you looked around to see Casey cautiously advancing towards you with her hands reaching out in a soothing motion.

 “Are you okay?” She asked as she finally reached you.

 With a last long breath, you finally relaxed enough to reply.

 “Yeah...I think.”

 Casey stopped in her tracks, a frown on her face, then she turned around to regard the man again. “That’s really weird. This never happened before,” She explained, her finger tapping against her chin in thought. “Did you do something?”

 Somehow, you felt embarrassed to confess that you’d touched him, your gaze fell to your wrist which was showing angry red spots where it had been nearly crushed, indentations showed where his claws had been.

 “Uh, I kinda...touched him.”

 “Oh.” The way she said it sounded like this was explanation enough for her. “Yeah, don’t do that. We’re not supposed to anyway.”

 “Got it,” You said meekly, although you vowed to never be in the same room as him again in the first place. Any questions you had about this weird rule were interrupted by a loud noise coming from one of the monitoring devices. Casey went over and tapped the touch panel beside it, then addressed you once more with a smile.

 “Alright, we’re done here for today,” She announced cheerfully and shut off a few machines with practiced ease.

 “So, we’re just leaving him here?” You asked uncertainly, even though you hated how interested you sounded in that weird masked man.

 “Yes, he will rest here for a few more hours,” She said offhandedly and already began turning off the lights. Hurriedly, you walked towards the exit, because you really weren’t keen on staying in this room with him while it was darkened as well. Hell no.

 You waited for Casey outside the double doors of the lab, feeling a little shaky from that whole ordeal just now and only wished to go to bed. She joined you quickly, a key card around her neck. She smiled again when she saw you, then proceeded to close the doors behind her. You couldn’t help but notice that she didn’t lock them.

 “Aren’t you going to lock the lab up?”

 “And trap Reaper inside?” She laughed. “I usually do, but not when he’s still in. I did it once and he wasn’t exactly happy about it.”

 The way her face scrunched up spoke volumes.

 “What happened?”

 “Well, let’s just say Dr. O’Deorain was even more pissed at me than he was. He simply broke the door down you see.” She shook her head. “What a mess.”

 Your eyebrows shot up. “That sounds...terrifying, to be honest.”

 “Doesn’t it?” But her laugh made her statement sound pretty ominous, and you started to wonder if Casey was alright. She almost seemed too cheerful.

 The first few days at Talon HQ went by for you in kind of a haze. You got up at six in the morning to get ready for your work in the lab. Thankfully, Reaper wasn’t present at all during that time, and you were a little relieved.

 Dr. O’Deorain apparently wasn’t much of a talker, the most she spoke to you were instructions or orders for your daily tasks. Today, though, she approached you with a gleam in her eye. You got a bad feeling immediately.

 “Come over to the examination table, please,” She addressed you as she turned away, then you saw Casey looking at you with a mix between concern, intrigue, and just a little bit of envy.

 As you neared the shiny stainless steel table, you saw something lying on it. It was a glove; dark purple with wires running over its surface from the back to the tips. You knew right away that this was a new amplifying glove for your healing abilities. Curiously, you reached for it, then hesitated. Before you touched it, you made sure it was okay for you to do so. With a small nod, Dr. O’Deorain confirmed it for you and you picked it up.

 The glove was obviously still a prototype, the material wasn’t properly sewn shut and most of the wires weren’t even insulated. So you put it on very carefully. It fit you snugly. You made a fist to test the stretch of it and it felt like a second skin, expanding and retracting in time with your movements.

 You studied it some more before the doctor gave you a small sharp smile. “Go ahead. Try it.”

 Tentatively, you rubbed the tips of your fingers together, a warm yellow light began to glow where they touched. Then you extended your arm away from you, concentrated and consciously began collecting your healing in the palm of your hand. The small glow at your fingertips began to expand and started sending light away from you in a concentrated, but gentle spray. Before it could touch the ground though, it dissolved into nothingness.

 After a few seconds, you started to feel your arm going numb, it grew heavy and you had to lower it back to your side, clutching it with your left hand to your chest.

 That was weird. You never had experienced pain or discomfort before when you had used your healing ability. But this glove, it seemed to work differently than the one you had been given by Dr. Ziegler.

 Dr. O’Deorain was at your side in a heartbeat, unwound your limbs and removed the glove from your hand with a satisfied expression on her face.

 You winced.

 “What was that?” You asked as you tried to rub some life back into your arm.

 The doctor chuckled quietly to herself as she laid the glove down on her work table, then she turned back to you.

 “This is my invention,” She began. “It is derived of the nanite technology your former mentor and I had been working on.” She reached over the desk to grab a small device, which she connected to one of the open wires. “Only that it is ten times more powerful than what she has come up with.”

 You had a feeling that the smug smile she flashed at you was definitely meant for Dr. Ziegler.

 Great, apparently you were one of her new experiments, and her goal was to one up her old colleague.

 “It is still in its test phase, but it should be ready for the upcoming mission,” The doctor informed you.

 “Mission?”

 “Yes, the council wants you on the next one, and I have been working day and night on this amplifier.”

 Your heart sank at these news. So you were supposed to actively accompany these terrorists on their terrorist attacks, too? It was bad enough that you had to help them in the science department, but you never agreed to be out in the field as well.

 Of course, what you wanted or didn’t agree to didn’t matter in the slightest and you doubted the doc even cared, so you chose to keep your mouth shut about it.

 “What kind of mission is this going to be?” You asked, but the doctor simply shrugged.

 “I didn’t ask,” Was all she said, apparently already moving on to much more important things. You wondered if the doctor tried to stay as ignorant as possible to Talon’s doings because, maybe she had something like a conscience, or if she was simply too focused on her research to trouble herself with anything else.

 Experimenting on people definitely sounded more like option two to you, though.

 When you didn’t move away from behind her, she turned around with an irritated frown. With a sigh, she put down the device.

 “All I do know is that I have two more days to finish this,” She said and pointed to the project behind her on the desk with a tilt of her head. “And I need all the time I have for it to be ready by then. So,” She narrowed her eyes. “Let me work, unless you want to run around and hug everyone you’re supposed to heal.” With that she turned around once more, the conversation over.

 That sounded reasonable.

 You left her alone for the remainder of the two days you were working in the lab, instead talking and socializing with Casey who, you learned, would not be a part of the mission you’d been assigned to.

 That didn’t surprise you though, Casey hadn’t struck you as the kind of person who walks around shooting people.

 But neither were you. Well, of course you’d had gun training, but so far you’d never had to actually shoot somebody. And you’d prefer if it stayed that way, especially now that you were on the wrong team, too. Ugh, what a mess.

***

 It was the day of the mission and you were seated in the briefing room. A dark place, the carpet, seats and table, even the walls were a dull grey, only accentuated by metallic details here and there gleaming in the dull indirect lighting. The only bright spot was the large Talon logo on the opposite wall, mocking you obnoxiously in its bright red colours.

 There were people sitting around you, none of whom you recognized, and they were quietly listening to Ogundimu, who stood at the head of the long oval table, explaining your course of action.

 Apparently, there were going to be four small teams of two working together at different places located around a big hotel where the person you were supposed to take out was currently residing at.

 Assassination...well, this went off to a good start. You sighed inwardly, sinking into your seat a little more, not exactly trying to hide, but not wanting to be there either.

 The way Ogundimu spoke really made him sound convinced of his own plan, you could see now how he had been able to rise in Talon’s ranks up so quickly. He was leader material with his educated choice of words, the way he spoke and carried himself. It instilled awe and inspired confidence, not in you of course. But as you looked around you saw some of the others nod and even grin amongst themselves. They were sure his plan wouldn’t fail.

 Everybody seemed to know about the person you were going to kill, there were no details given about him other than his name. This killing seemed to have been a long time coming. You weren’t going to raise your hand and ask about him though, nope.

 What’s the saying again? Ignorance is bliss.    

 Ogundimu was coming to an end, some people around you sat up straighter, suddenly antsy with anticipation. They were looking forward to this, you realized with poorly concealed disgust, as you side eyed them.

 “Ah,” Ogundimu called out your name. “Are you ready for your first mission?” He gave you a lazy smile and crossed his arms in front of his massive chest.

 Everybody turned to look at you and you could feel your cheeks burn with self-consciousness. That was Ogundimu’s intention, no doubt.

 “Yes,” You answered, after clearing your throat tentatively.

 “Good,” He kept smiling, then addressed the others in the room again. “You will all work in the usual teams. We’re leaving in ten minutes. Dismissed.”

 Suddenly everyone got up and left, already partnering up, leaving you to hurry up and follow them. Whom were you supposed to team up with? You had counted nine people, excluding Ogundimu who would be working alone. And that left you short one person to make a team.

 As you exited the room and stood forlorn in the hallway, a heavy hand fell onto your shoulder. You spun around in surprise and found Ogundimu towering above you.

 “I have a special teammate for you,” He said ominously and started leading you towards the meeting point, his hand falling away after a few meters.

 A question burned on your mind, but you were hesitant to ask.

 “How is Caleb?” You just had to know.

 Ogundimu kept walking stoically, then shifted his gaze towards you.

 “Do your job and he’ll be just fine,” He said quietly, a hint of threat behind his words though, and you nodded minutely in understanding.

 The two of you neared your destination, an underground hangar with numerous vehicles and aircrafts suddenly opened up before you. The teams were already paired up and ready to leave, while you were still in the dark about your partner. The way Ogundimu had made it sound wasn’t very reassuring either. Who was this special teammate; Sombra? You hadn’t seen her in a few days, not after you spent the majority of the day at the lab. Apparently, she was satisfied with her observation of you. That, or she was finally bored enough to simply ignore you again.

 The man gave you a gentle push when you had stopped to take in the impressive surroundings, and he was now walking behind you towards a small helicopter. Its pilot was already inside, their features hidden from view by a helmet and visor, but you were certain that this wasn’t going to be that mystery teammate. Just as you walked past the cockpit on the outside, your head coming around to look in front of you, you saw him.

 It was Reaper. He stood in the shadow of the helicopter, dark robes and white skeletal mask in their usual place.

 You made a full stop and, with your heart in your throat, took a step back, bumping into Ogundimu behind you.

 No, no, no, no, no, no!  

He was going to be your partner? Shit. You should have known, Ogundimu was way too amused by your whole dealings with the black robed man to not do this to you.

 “Your new partner,” the man behind you said, to Reaper or you, you weren’t too sure. But his smile was evident in his voice. You moved away from Ogundimu, trying in vain not to look as spooked as you felt. Reaper crossed his arms in front of him, regarding you through the mask on his face.

 “You can’t be serious,” Reaper answered in his gravelly voice, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, the darkness creating dramatic shadows on his mask.

 “You have a flight to catch,” Ogundimu ignored him, then he produced your new amplifying glove from his pocket and tossed it to you, fully expecting you to catch it. Thankfully, you managed to grab it before it fell to the ground, regarding it for a second. It looked way better now than it did two days ago for sure, the stitching was impeccable, all the wires were secured inside the stretchy, dark purple material but still visible. You put it on your right hand, again testing its flexibility.

 “I work alone,” Reaper tried again to catch the other man’s attention. Ogundimu leveled him with a stare.

 “You’re becoming more reckless.” The other said in a low voice, only meant for Reaper. “Last time it cost us the mission,” He went on after taking a step forward. “I cannot take that risk this time, Gabriel.”

 Gabriel, huh? Not as menacing as Reaper, that was for sure.

 They were doing some kind of face off, both staring each other down and you stood there forgotten. You hated awkward situations like these, especially if it involved you.

 Suddenly Ogundimu leaned away again, his stance became more casual and a small smile played on his lips.

 “I’m surprised. It was you who brought her here, why don’t you want to take her with you now?”

 At that, Reaper’s head turned around to you like that of an owl, and your heart stuttered for a second there. Was he deliberately trying to be scary?

 “So you want your new healer to die?” Reaper said to the other man, while still facing you. “Something will happen, and I will simply keep on living while she will be blown to pieces,” He went on, now fully addressing Ogundimu again.

 Cold shivers ran down your spine, his words sounded like a dark prophecy. All this seemed to be a terrible idea and you were keen on joining Reaper’s side on this matter. They should leave you behind to keep on working in the lab.

 But Ogundimu didn’t seem convinced of Reaper’s doom-mongering, his smile didn’t falter.

 “Well, she already encountered death once,” He looked over to you. “And emerged very much alive. I’d also advise you to not let it happen again.”

 “I’m not playing babysitter.” Reaper ground out in a low growl, it was an unnatural sound you never wanted to hear again. You also hated how those two simply talked as if you weren’t there, like you were some kind of burden, or the annoying little cousin.

 You didn’t want to be here either, but nobody asked you now, did they?

 “I can take care of myself,” You just had to chime in, you were slowly getting annoyed with those two. You were an agent of Overwatch, for fuck’s sake. You could handle any mission. Reaper let his arms fall back to his side, tilted up his head to look down at you from even farther above. Then he made a non-committal sound and whirled away to enter the helicopter. You swore you could see dark mist following in his wake, but as you were distracted by it, Ogundimu’s heavy hand landed on your shoulder once more. Everytime it felt like a ton of bricks came down on you, making your knees buckle with the force of it.

 “Do good work,” He reminded you again quietly, “And your friend will be fine.”

 You stared at him while you were dying on the inside. Great, he just had to add insult to injury with mentioning Caleb again, reminding you that you had to do whatever you were told.

 “Sure,” Was all you said, then brushed off his hand and followed Reaper inside the helicopter. The pilot had already started the engine and it was growing louder by the second.

 The helicopter was moderately sized for a small team such as yours. Two people fit comfortably in the back with a little bit of space between, thankfully. You tried to stay as far on your side as possible, leaning heavily against the door. From here you could see people scurrying away hunched over from the fast turning rotor blades. All except Ogundimu, who was walking at a leisurely pace, his hands in his pockets, back straight and looking right at you.

 Was everyone in Talon so...intense?

 With a small sigh, you shifted your gaze away from the man and instead focused on how the helicopter began flying upwards through a gigantic chute and into the beautiful late afternoon sky. Only a few clouds were hanging on the bright blue horizon and you had to shield your eyes from the sun.

 Suddenly something landed in your lap. Startled, you looked down and found a helmet lying there. The pilot had thrown it at you when he’d noticed your presence, he gave you a thumbs-up, and somehow this small gesture made you feel a little better.

 But as you put on the helmet you already felt foolish again, because this man was working for Talon as well. He was one of the bad guys.

 Just like you were now.

Ugh. You could feel a headache forming behind your eyes.

 It was almost dark by the time you arrived at your destination. It was a recently built apartment tower just across from the hotel. It was so recent in fact, that nobody had moved in yet. But furniture had been set up in various places, you noticed as you and Reaper entered one of the apartments with huge floor length windows. They let in the moonlight that was shining brightly tonight, which was a blessing really because you couldn’t turn on the lights without giving away your presence.

 This position allowed you to observe without being seen in turn. Really, you were just backup in case things went south.

 Although you hated Talon and definitely didn’t want them to succeed, you also wondered what would happen to you or Caleb should the mission fail.

 Reaper hadn’t spoken to you at all since you had taken off in the helicopter, and you were glad you didn’t have to talk to him. Now you were certain that the black mist you had seen before definitely hadn’t been your imagination. Whenever he was moving about, the sheer black mass rose up from the soles of his booted feet and outside of his mask.

Well, that happens when you’re kind of a wraith, Casey’s words rang through your head and you unconsciously hugged yourself. The apartment was chilly, with no one living here the heating wasn’t on either. Somewhere in the small backpack you had brought was a fleece jacket you now took out and put on. It didn’t help all that much, though but it would do for now.

 Reaper was standing off to the side, looking out the window and absentmindedly checking one of his shotguns.

 There were so many questions when it came to him, you realized. He was a big puzzle you kind of wanted to understand, but also wanted to stay as far away from as possible. Some of the things Ogundimu had said to you were flitting through your mind. Like how he was able to tell you about how Overwatch was a terrorist organization as well.

 You scoffed at the thought, really that was just ridiculous.

 At your small sound of incredulousness, Reaper turned around and laid down his shotgun on an unfinished kitchen counter nearby.

 “Just to make this clear,” He began, “Should something come up I’m going alone. Got it?”

 You were about to protest, but thought better of it. If he wanted to do it on his own so badly, why would you fight him on this? You could tell Ogundimu how he didn’t let you come with him and really, it wasn’t like you could force him to take you along.

 “Fine,” You said nonchalantly, then moved over to sit down on a couch standing in the middle of the room. At least you were going to be comfortable while you had to wait for everything to pass.

 And boy, was it boring.

 While you were sitting there, already getting tired from the boredom and only the moon for lighting, Reaper was still in his spot by the window, an ever present shadow giving you occasional sparks of anxiety. It was best to ignore him, you thought, and instead looked around some more to judge these people’s taste in home decor.

 Everything was so...bland. The furniture, the walls and carpets, even the pictures on the walls screamed pretentious and generic at the same time. Maybe these apartments were going to be rented for short periods of time instead of people buying them.

 You were interrupted in your musings by a small beeping sound.

 “Yes,” Reaper answered a comm device in his ear, then said “Acknowledged.” And picked up his shotguns to walk towards the door.

 “Should I—,” You began but were stopped by Reaper whirling around and just staring at you blankly. Alright, you got it: stay here. You sat back and watched him leave the apartment.

 What an egomaniac, you thought and snuggled into your fleece jacket to keep warm. The quiet was nice, you found, and soon enough you felt your eyes begin to drift shut.

***

Bang!  

 Your eyes snapped open, the serenity of the empty apartment greeted you but it was disrupted by the loud sound that had just woken you up. Across from you, there was the figure of a man inside a big black swirling mist curling in on itself and it was moving towards you.

 With a shriek and your heart in your throat, you jumped up from the couch, only to knock over the coffee table next to it. You ended up on your ass on the floor and finally, your sluggish brain was able to catch up.

 Before your eyes, the deathly white mask of Reaper was staring at you, and you consciously tried to calm down. Although that was quite the task, seeing how disfigured he looked. Besides his mask, nothing was in its original shape. His robes were torn, the left side of his torso didn’t seem to be able to decide on whether it was corporeal or not, the black mist coalescing into a part of a lung or skin tissue, then blowing apart violently again.

 Horrified, you watched him approach you, a low pained groan erupted from him and somehow sounding from all around you as well.

 He came ever closer, and although you knew he hadn’t come to kill you, you couldn’t shake the feeling of trepidation. It was almost funny how you could have ever mistaken him for an angel.

 He hadn’t moved towards you though, but rather the couch, and now sank into it. With a small breath of relief, you struggled back up again and over to your backpack to retrieve the amplifying glove.

 “Leave it,” He ground out, his voice wavering as he leaned his head onto the back of the couch.

 With a frown you stopped what you were doing and looked at him questioningly.

 “I don’t—” He had trouble breathing. “—need your help.”

 Incredulously, you propped your hands on your hips.

 “What?” You asked him with an air of annoyance. “Look at you. You’re only half human...or whatever you are, right now.”

 “I’ll manage,” He retorted stubbornly, and then you decided that he could die for all you cared.

 “Fucking hell,” You muttered under your breath and stuffed the glove back inside your backpack, zipping it unnecessarily harsh. How irritating could someone be?

 Still shaken and angry, you opted to sit down in a corner of the living room where you were able to still see what Reaper was doing. If he didn’t manage to heal on his own, you were going to have to help him out eventually. Ogundimu would not take kindly to you letting one if his agents die on your watch. The one having to suffer would be Caleb.

 Minutes ticked by, the sounds coming from the wounded man were slowly turning from agony to lesser pain, and you were relieved that your help apparently wasn’t needed after all.

 What a waste of time that has been, you thought as you sucked on your teeth absentmindedly.

 Then suddenly, Reaper spoke to you again.

 “Come here.”

 Instead of the command spurring you into action though, it made you freeze in your spot. You stared at him, and he at you while he was clutching the left side of his body.

 He growled when you didn’t do as you were told.

 “Don’t make me repeat myself,” He warned, and finally you were able to get up, put on the glove and walked over to him on slightly shaking legs.

 When you stopped before him, he carefully removed his clawed hand from his side to reveal the damage.

 You winced sympathetically at the sight. Flesh and bone were visible amidst black mist that was trying in vain to knit them back together.

 “Don’t just stand there, do something.”

 Bristling, you concentrated on your healing ability, had it collect inside your palm and sent it out through the tips of the glove. Golden white light illuminated the black robed man before you and lit up the skeletal mask. You could see how flesh and bone were mending back together where the light spray touched his wound. Amazed at how fast he was healing, you wondered how Dr. O’Deorain had managed it, how she had altered the technology.

 The bones were completely regenerated after a few moments, but you also felt your arm going numb again. Oh damn, the doc hadn’t changed anything about the glove’s abilities. The numbness soon began to fade and instead a dull pain began to throb, and you had to stop what you were doing. With a hiss you tried to rub life back into your appendage.

 “Finish it,” Reaper growled at you, apparently very much in pain.

 “I am trying!” You snapped back at him, fed up with his attitude and irritated by the pain. But there was no way for you to go on like this. “I can’t use this,” You finished as you pulled off the glove.

 “What?” Reaper sounded annoyed, looked down himself and cursed. “Can’t you do it without that thing?”

 You stopped and thought for a second. Touching him had not been a very good idea before, you remembered. Last time it had ended with his fist almost crushing your wrist. So you were reluctant to do it. Reaper must have seen your hesitance, because suddenly his bloodied and smoking hand shot forward to grab you by the back of your neck, pulling you towards him.

 With a small yelp you landed on the couch beside him, propping yourself on your knees in order to not land directly in his lap.

 “Listen,” He growled and you could feel the points of his sharp claws dig into your neck while his mask was mere centimeters away from your face. “You will heal me now or I can simply take your life force from you.”

 You swallowed.

 “Either way, I will be whole again,” He ended his threat, but kept holding onto you.

 “Okay. Okay, fine!” You answered with your throat closing down in fear. There was no reason not to believe him. “Just—let go.”

 Slowly, Reaper’s claws unhooked from your skin, leaving papercut fine wounds in their wake.

 Finally free again you pulled away from him a little, wanting more space between you two.

 “You need to move your arm,” You told him with a false calmness, and watched as he raised his arm to let it rest on the back of the couch, creating a space for you to get a bit closer to where you needed to be.

 You raised shaking hands to his still open wound, fighting the urge to flee, and concentrated on your healing once more. Your palms became warm, the inner flow of the nanites inside your blood were a pleasant prickling on your hand and you closed your eyes in concentration.

 With a final breath out, you closed the distance and touched him, his small grunt of pain made you jump a little although you had expected it, but you were able to keep up the healing process.

 Beneath your fingers muscles began to form and take shape again, as well as vessels and fat tissue. Reaper sighed and seemed to relax beside you, that was a little reassuring at least.

 Everything would have been fine, the healing was working, you had no time pressure and in this darkness you didn’t even have to close your eyes to not see how you were healing a Talon terrorist, slash mercenary, slash murderer.

 But suddenly he groaned. No, actually moaned, and it broke your concentration. “There’s another spot,” He went on quietly and pulled your arm until you were half leaning over him. He guided your hand to his shoulder, where you felt was another wound quite deep as well. Your chest touched his, the coolness of his metallic armor seeped through your fleece jacket in no time and you shivered. The way you were lying across him now was uncomfortable, and very awkward.

 Apparently, he thought the same because soon his hands started to rearrange you so you were actually straddling his legs, the metal again cold and unyielding beneath you, or were those his thighs? Either way, while he was visibly relaxing, you were a tense ball of apprehension, your concentration fleeting as your heart was hammering in your chest. You were still healing his wounds though, determined to finish it up as quickly as possible.

 So when he stopped moving again, you felt confident enough to close your eyes and flee from reality for a moment, and that dreadful mask, instead focusing on the healing; one hand at his side, the other on his shoulder.

 The only sounds you heard were Reaper’s ragged breaths and the blood rushing in your ears. Please let this be over soon, you prayed.

 Again Reaper moaned quietly and you felt your stomach twist, you were so unbelievably uncomfortable with this whole situation. Why was this turning so weirdly...sexual all of a sudden? Your healing had never had such an effect on someone like this before, why with him?

 While you were crying on the inside at the unfairness of it all, Reaper’s hands crept up your legs and came to rest on your waist, causing your breath to hitch and the healing to stop with how you wanted to pull away.

 “No,” The man purred, “Keep going.” Then he leaned his head away again to let it rest on the couch’s back.

 Oh god. This sounded so wrong.

 You shook your head to clear it. Well, you would definitely have a word with someone about this later, but now you had to finally bring this to an end and be done with it.

 So, with shaking hands, you resumed the mending of his wounds, trying in vain to ignore his big hands on your sides, and how they seemed to squeeze you from time to time.

 It was a long process without you being able to use concentrated healing through an amplifier, but it would get the job done eventually. Of course such work was tiring. Already you felt the fatigue in your joints, creeping up from your hands to every part in your body. That was natural and bound to happen, but it seemed tenfold after using Dr. O’Deorain’s glove, and you weren’t exactly happy about it. Especially now in this particular situation.

 Your breathing became heavy, you felt light-headed and had a hard time focusing on what you were doing. The only thing that kept you going was Reaper’s menacing presence, your instincts screaming at you to flee from him.

 The more you felt your conscious slipping away from you, the more energetic the man seemed to become. You could feel him shifting and sighing as if he was greatly enjoying this, only adding fuel to your discomfort. Although all of this was starting to fade into the background, the only thought inside your head was heal, heal, heal.

 And so you pushed yourself further, harder, to finish what you had started and get the hell out of this weird position. Somewhere in your mind you even yearned for the little room they had given you at Talon headquarters. Anywhere but here was fine, really.

 Unbidden, thoughts of Caleb came to you, his pallid face staring into nothing in a greenish camera feed, how you had imagined him blown to bits in the warehouse explosion and how this man here had come to take you away from your previous life.

Mariquita, he had called you. You remembered that detail, even though you had no idea what it even meant.

 Soon the fatigue was starting to become painful again, you desperately tried to keep your eyes open, but they just wouldn’t do what you told them to. Nothing was working anymore, all the control over your body and life had been lost and all that remained was a puppet. A puppet with your eyes and a broken smile.

 A sob escaped you, you noticed somewhere far away. Blackness was crashing over you like waves. Waves of fog, or mist as dark as night while a blood red moon hung over you.

 Distantly, you felt those clawed hands slide up your back, pulling you into an embrace and your cheek came to rest on a broad, fully intact shoulder. Cool air was blowing past your ear with the rumbling of a voice. What was it saying?

 “—not done yet.” You were able to pick up the last part of the sentence, then your hands were positioned onto the almost completely healed wounds again, and held in place so they wouldn’t slip away. The healing you sent out were the very last remains of your ability, but it was still working. And with it, your heart squeezed painfully in your chest.

Heal or die.    

 You whimpered pathetically while your muscles spasmed and you lost all the feeling inside your fingers. Soon you were silently begging to fall unconscious, anything to get out of this feeling of actually dying.

 Then, finally, Reaper hummed and released you, only to grab you again as you were slumping to the side.

 One of his hands found their way around your throat, holding you in place before him. You could barely open your eyes, but what good would it do you anyway. All you were going to see would be his stupid mask.

 “Nice work, mariquita,” He said with his head cocked slightly to the side. There he went with that word again. “Maybe I’ll keep you around after all.” He sounded thoughtful from what you could gather through the haze.

 “Yay,” You whispered sarcastically, and that seemed to amuse him. The rough sound rippled through him and right into you as well, considering you were practically laying on top of him. As if his sinister laugh wasn’t creepy enough.

 “You can—,” You tried swallowing around his grip on your throat. “—let go now.” But his fingers didn’t loosen their hold at all, instead he used them to turn your face a bit this way and that, as if he was trying to memorize your features.

 Creep.

 You wanted to raise your hands and push him away, but even that was too much of a task right now.

 “You did such a good job at patching me up. I feel...great.”

 A second of silence.

 “Maybe I should return the favor,” Reaper mused. His demeanor had changed somewhat from the distant and cold killer to a calmer version. Even his voice had changed in timbre. But your thoughts were interrupted when he suddenly shifted beneath you, and his thighs began to spread causing you to move forwards and directly onto his crotch.

 Your breath caught.

Oh god, let this bump between your legs be a shotgun shell or just another belt buckle.

 There must have been something affecting the man because you could feel soft, warm lips pressing gently against your ear where there should have been a cold, hard mask.

 “Oh,” You gasped and honestly, it was a miracle that you were still able to talk at all.

 But those lips kept exploring the shell of your ear, making you shiver with the exhale of his next words.

 “I’ll take care of you,” He murmured and rolled his hips into yours for emphasis.

 All you managed was a weak whimper, you felt so powerless in his grasp, sapped of all your strength. And really, that’s exactly what had happened. You’d drained all your power into healing him and now he was feeling great, excited, while you were a limp sack of potatoes trying to stay awake.

 “Stop,” You tried, but it only came out a breathy whisper. A whisper he should have heard, though. So he was ignoring you, the way he was beginning to feel you up was an indicator. Or his wandering lips, brushing your jaw and then your neck at the spot where his claws were not currently digging in to keep you in place.

 This couldn’t be happening. Through the fog in your brain you could feel a panic rising. You were alone at this killer’s mercy.

 “Get off,” you croaked, cursing your weak voice and how it made it all sound so ambiguous. But you weren’t playing or teasing here. You managed to raise one arm and limply held it against his leather clad chest. If only you could at least push away, put some distance between yourself and him.

 Reaper’s lips brushed over your jugular, then he used his teeth and you swallowed drily at the sensation. It felt like he was about to deal the final killing blow. You had been today’s prey and now his meal.

 A violent tremor ran through your body.

 Slowly, he moved his face towards yours and through blurry eyes you could see his face—a dark smudge with burning red eyes, just like you remembered. It was difficult to discern with only the moonlight illuminating him. But then you blinked and it all became a little clearer. Underneath the smoke there were human features, a face marred by multiple scars criss-crossing over his nose and cheeks. As you looked on you saw peppered black facial hair, surprisingly well trimmed, and plush looking lips underneath.

 In another life you might have called him handsome, but as it was you were too terrified by those burning demonic eyes to keep that thought for long. The smoke rising steadily from him seemed to clear a little as you watched one corner of his mouth curl.

 The claws around your throat started pulling you into him further, fuelling the panic burning in your chest and with a breathless whimper your lips met his.

 Everything he was doing was deceptively gentle, yet there was nowhere for you to go and he let you feel it in the way he held you and how his mouth brushed against yours sensually, followed by a wicked tongue licking over your bottom lip. Oh shit, this was spiralling out of control so fast it made your head spin.

 In your dizziness and pain, even this unwanted attention suddenly started to feel...nice.

 And wrong, so so wrong.

 All you could do was to try and cling to the last bit of strength and defiance in you that screamed how all this was      wrong     and how there was      no way    you were enjoying any of it. Even though those soft caresses had you weak and pliant within moments. Somehow being sapped of all your strength and free will, to then being shown the smallest bit of comfort had your body convinced that it was enjoying this fucked up scenario.

 You were practically lost in the sensation of his kiss, your mouth had gone lax sometime between his licks and nips and how he had deepened it considerably. You hadn’t even noticed how his grip on your throat had transferred to the back of your skull. The pointy ends of his claws dragging against your scalp had you shivering in his grasp.

 Through the fog in your brain you felt how he ground against you, his evident excitement pressing into your most intimate parts.

 The rage that had turned down to a simmer inside you flared up anew and with it a wave of newfound energy. You finally managed to push at his chest. The force you used dislodged his grip and as you fell down to the floor, you could see the surprise on his face. A small victory. Even if you’d hurt your butt in the process.

 With shaky hands and legs you crawled away backwards, until you hit the upended coffee table behind you.

 Surely, he wouldn’t let you off so easily, but Reaper remained in his spot on the sofa, his legs still spread and a smug expression on his face.

 Then he simply got up to move to the corner where he had previously dumped his weapons. He appeared like a different person now, you noticed how he carried himself with ease and that his shoulders were less hunched.

 You, on the other hand, were still shaking like a leaf where you lay in a heap on the floor, still catching your breath in your state of shock. Wary eyes casting anxious glances in his direction.

***

 Neither of you had spoken another word after that incident and were now sitting in the helicopter again. Weariness and exhaustion were weighing down your limbs and phantom touches still ghosted over your skin in places that caused goosebumps to spread in discomfort. The thin fleece jacket around you didn’t help much with keeping you warm anymore, but not because it was especially cold around you, it was also an empty feeling inside that had you shivering.

 Apparently you were still in shock, because even though your body was tired, your mind kept racing. Lips on yours, demanding, taking. More and more, your denial ignored, cast aside like it was nothing. An emptiness in your stomach made you sick, the feeling of control slipping through your fingers had you on edge and strangely lethargic as well. To say you were a mess right now would be an understatement.

 All the while he was there, right next to you, sitting on the other side as if nothing had happened. No word of apology, or promise of it never happening again fueling the unease inside you.

 You tried to calm down, this had just been an accident.

 Yes, an accident. And it would never happen again, you would make sure of it.

 When you touched down at Talon HQ again, you fled from the helicopter as fast as you could, glad that you managed not to stumble or trip as you walked towards your room in a haze.

 Rounding a corner, you bumped into someone. You didn’t even have to look up to see that it was Ogundimu.

 “Where do you think you’re going?” He sounded amused.

 “I need to sleep,” you answered meekly, clutching the small backpack to your chest, eyes downcast. All you wanted right now was to curl up in bed.

 Ogundimu made a pensive sound, then his hand landed on the familiar spot on your shoulder, albeit much gentler than all the times before. The contact made you look up again, and you found him fixing you with an almost inquisitive stare.

 “How was your first mission with Talon?”

 The question caught you off guard, what were you supposed to say? “Oh, it was alright. Just got up and real personal with the Reaper. Is there a way so I never have to see him again, by the way?”

 Another million retorts went through your head, varying in their degree of sassiness. So you bit your tongue, took a breath and instead shrugged. “I did my job, as you asked.”

 As Ogundimu regarded you, you wondered what he would think of what had happened between you and your teammate. Considering that the man was a criminal, he probably wouldn’t even care about some underling medic.

 “So you did,” Ogundimu said slowly, then he lifted his hand as if to pull it away, only to brush a lock of your hair to the side, his eyes narrowing as they focused on your now exposed neck.

 You stood there, immobile and mute in the face of his scrutiny and what he must have seen, and before you could find your voice again he finally removed his hand.

 “You can tell me the details during the debrief.”

 Your heart sank. Oh no, not a debrief. That meant you’d have to be around all the Talon goons and their stupid smug faces again when everyone would clap each other on the shoulder for a job well done.

 Sighing inwardly, you turned around again at Ogundimu’s casual gesture for you to lead the way.

 His looming presence behind you did nothing to ease the tension in your body. Inside the debriefing room, you opted to stay in the shadows again, tucked in a corner, as Ogundimu moved to the head of the large table. A brilliant smile stretched across the Talon leader’s face as he addressed his agents and congratulated them on their success.

 But as you looked around, you noticed that a few people were missing. There had been at least half a dozen more seats occupied at the briefing that morning. Apparently, Reaper hadn’t been the only one to get shot up.

 The very small smile tugging at the corner of your lips went unnoticed.

 Ogundimu kept rattling on about each person’s role in the operation, acknowledging even the smallest wheel of his intricate machinery of agents. Lastly, his gaze fell on you.

 “Of course we can’t forget our field medics.” He smiled at you. “It seems your work with Dr. O’Deorain is paying off. I rarely have the time to see her, so please send her my regards.” His eyes were sharp in the semi darkness of the meeting room, the illuminated backdrop of the mission details glowed like a halo around him.

 You swallowed around a lump in your throat, but found that you couldn’t get any sound out. A small nod had to suffice.

 Apparently happy with your non-verbal affirmation, Ogundimu went on to conclude his retelling of the mission and dismissed everyone shortly thereafter. This couldn’t have been over any faster for you; what an ordeal.

 Finally, all of your team was dismissed. You sighed in relief and went to get out of there as fast as your tired feet could carry you.

 The next morning, you didn’t even remember much of the walk to your room, or how you washed your face and disrobed to get in bed. What you did remember though was the vivid nightmare that had plagued you during the night.

 Of being wrapped in a heavy, silky robe of darkness that had seemed to caress you slightly and had hugged you so completely you hadn’t been sure if breathing had still been possible. It had been both terrifying and strangely soothing.

 Until you’d felt something sharp and pointy dragging along your skin everywhere, even though you had started to beg and plead for it to stop. It hadn’t, and you’d started to panic, frantically trying to breathe through the mist that had started to seep straight into your lungs, filling them completely with its presence and just lingering, heavy and dark. It had kept going on and on until, with one final desperate breath, you had awakened. Soaked in sweat and tangled in your sheets, the pale morning light creeping through your only window.

 One hand clutched your chest, trying to will away the feeling of trepidation that still had a grip on your lungs. You kicked off the sheets the rest of the way and immediately went for the bathroom, where you splashed cold water in your face. A look in the mirror revealed dark circles under your eyes, a gaunt in your cheeks and paler skin. You really had given it your all yesterday. It was scary. Never before had you healed someone like that, until you’d almost fainted. It had taken quite a toll on you, better to not repeat it.

 A wry laugh escaped you from that thought. Surely, Reaper would understand if you told him how it made you want to fucking die. He seemed like a reasonable guy…

 One hand wiped over your tired face, the other clutched the bathroom sink. What were you going to do about this? Probably nothing. This was just how things were going to be from now on. Hysteria was battling with tiredness inside you at the prospect of having to go through this again and again. Of having to face Reaper once more, to see the skeletal white of his mask staring back with those dead eyes.

 With a heavy sigh you pushed away and out of the bathroom to get dressed. This was just another day at Talon headquarters and nobody gave a shit if you felt bad for any reason.

[qm-vox]

Let The World Never Falter - Playing Paladins in D&D

(Pictured: Anastasia Luxan, Knight of the Tainted Cup, one of only two people in her friend group that are not evil-aligned. Her wife Aisling is not the other good-aligned person. Characters are from my novel Mourners: Scum of Shatterdown; art credit goes to J.D)

Paladins are one of Dungeons and Dragons’ most striking, and most controversial, character classes. Few character classes and character concepts capture the imagination as quickly or start arguments of such ferocity. I’ve been in this game awhile - I remember when D&D 3e was released - and paladins have been one of my most loved and most hated parts of D&D and its legacy systems that entire time. So here I am again, about to write a long-ass article offerin’ my perspective on paladins through the ages (hopefully highlighting the strongest parts of each vision of them), talk about their pitfalls and problematic elements, and offer some advice on bringing your own paladin to life.

While this article draws on my long experience with D&D and will be citing specific sources, it would not be possible without the help of some other people in my life. I mention Afroakuma a lot in the context of D&D, and our friendship has once again been invaluable here. @a-world-unmasked , also one of my oldest friends, has long been a source of ethical discussion and debate, especially about thorny questions of justice & mercy, amends, redemption, and punishment, and provided information on D&D 4e’s paladins and paladin-like classes. SSG Jacob Karpel, United States Army, brought a Jewish perspective on paladins and their themes into my life and has borne questions of faith, dogma, and tradition with remarkable enthusiasm and patience. @swiftactionrecovery provided further perspective on D&D 4e, and her current paladin (”paladin”; it’s complicated), Aurora, is a great example of a non-traditional take that is at the same time very on-brand. Emerald has long provided the service of beating my ass when I start getting stupid about my own values and beliefs, and @ahr42p‘s fascination with fantasy ethics has informed a lot of my own thoughts on the same. None of this would be possible without you folks.

This article’s title is drawn from Maverick Hunter Quest, written by Cain Labs & Hunter Command. It appears as the motto of the 10th Urban Unit; dedicated soldiers whose specialty was preserving lives, preventing collateral damage, and steering disasters away from the innocent.

None of my articles are quite complete without Content Warnings; the following will contain mentions and descriptions of violence (including state-sanctioned violence such as executions), mentions of high crimes such as slavery and forced conversion, discussion of religion in both fictional and non-fictional contexts, and discussion of fascism and fascist ideology. It is also the end result of more than 20 years of both passionate love for paladins and equally passionate hatred of the same. If you’re wondering what some of that has to do with paladins...well, you’re in for a ride.

So, without further ado, let’s get into...

The Order Of The Kitchen Table - Paladins Through D&D’s History

I hope you like walls of text because I am about to fuck you up with some.

D&D and Pathfinder have a long history with paladins, and they’ve changed a lot through the ages. The following is an overview of the different editions of paladins, what each introduced, and their strengths & weaknesses as a vision of paladinhood. Though the advice in this article is weighted towards 3.PF and 5e, it should in theory be applicable to any of these editions; I should also note that while Pathfinder 2e has its own version of paladins, I am not familiar enough with its vision of paladins to be able to speak on it in good faith. Let’s start with the oldest first, shall we?

AD&D 1e & 2e: Rise A Knight - 1e and 2e were fucking wild. The original incarnation of the paladin showed up as a sub-class of the cavalier, a warrior-group class which had an aura of courage, rode a horse, and had other ‘knightly’ abilities. Paladins had to be a cut above and beyond cavaliers, but unless they also violated the code of the cavaliers in addition to the paladin code, they would become cavaliers when they Fell rather than fighters, which was a bit of a better spot to be in. These paladins were very specifically part of the military arm of a feudal state, with all that entails, and had restrictions on what they could wear and what weapons they could use that were rooted in their social status. In point of fact, in 1e? Paladins couldn’t use missile weapons at all; bows, crossbows, and their kin were for “peasants”. These paladins had to tithe 10% of all income to a ‘worthy’ institution (usually a Lawful Good church of some kind, but other examples include hospitals, charitable initiatives, orphanages, and monasteries), had sharp limits on how many magical items they could own & of what kind, and were beholden to a strict code of conduct rooted in medieval feudalism & romantic ideals of chivalry. While the very original paladin had many of the iconic powers associated with them today (laying on hands, curing disease, an affinity for holy swords), it was not until AD&D 1e proper that paladins developed the ability to cast spells for themselves.

AD&D 2e’s vision of paladins was similar in many ways; they had the same powers, similar ability score requirements, and were similarly rare and elite. They had wealth limits, had to tithe from their income, could only own certain numbers and kinds of magical items, and had to be of Lawful Good alignment. Where things get interestingly different here is who becomes a paladin, and why. In both editions, only humans could be paladins, but where 1e required paladins to be drawn from or else become nobility (because they were derived from cavalier, which was all about status), 2e opened up many origins for paladins. The majority of these can be found in The Complete Paladin’s Handbook, just under 130 pages of nothing but paladins. Reading that book is a fucking trip; it was published in 1994, and while I am not gonna pretend that it’s woke or unproblematic, it has some stunningly modern takes. Do you expect to open up an old D&D supplement about paladins and find it defending poly relationships as valid? NEITHER DID I.

It’s important to note that in both of these editions, paladins lacked magical avenues of attack entirely; Smite Evil was a later invention, and paladin spells, in addition to coming online late in their career (9th level), were sharply restricted to a specific list that included no offensive magic whatsoever. Therefore, any paladin origin had to explain from whence one’s martial skills came, since you are in many ways a warrior more than anything else. There’s some expected ones; religious patronage, which ignores social status but requires an organized church that’s permitted to raise men under arms. Government sponsorship, generally conducted in urban areas where you can actually retain recruiters. Inherited title, if you wanna run a paladin that really hates Mom for forcing them into this. Mentors, for running paladins that are just straight-up shonen protagonists, and my personal favorite, DIVINE INTERVENTION, where one day your god starts talking to you but instead of filling your soul with martial skill she makes you sew training weights into your clothes and miraculously makes a bear live in your house so you can learn courage. It’s fucking amazing.

From those origins, anyone who manages to swear their oath and become invested with the power is essentially part of the nobility from then on; paladinhood marks them as an exemplar of noble ideals, which even in a non-romanticized culture sorta grabs the bluebloods by the short hairs. It’s a bit hard to argue divine right if you try to throw the embodiment of your supposed ideals out of your house. Since these paladins were often, though not necessarily, members of militant organizations they were generally expected to have superiors to whom they answer, a chain of command of which they are part, and to eventually construct a stronghold of some kind and put its services at the disposal of that organization in addition to utilizing it to serve the needy and defend the weak. 2e was a lawless and strange time in D&D, in which building such a stronghold and hiring followers was a class feature of warrior-group classes, and one of the paladin’s key benefits was the opportunity, but not the promise, to acquire some manner of holy sword, which which she gained powerful protections against evil that let her stand toe-to-toe with powerful spellcasters.

Tying all of this together was an in-depth exploration of the most complex and probably the most nuanced code published for paladins in any edition. Though the default was a rigid and inflexible code which defined acceptable behavior, associations, and even employees for the paladin, The Complete Paladin’s Handbook introduced an alternate method of handling code violations that ranked infractions by their severity & intent, and assigned penalties accordingly. Was it perfect? No. Not even a little. The Code was, is, and probably forever will be the most trash part of paladin. But it was a damn sight better than basically any incarnation before it, and most of them after. This code was broken down into (in order of importance), Strictures, Edicts, and Virtues. Strictures are the things a paladin must do and have simply to be a paladin; they must be Lawful Good, they must tithe to a worthy institution, they must abide by their wealth limits, and they must not associate (here meaning ‘serve, be friends with, or knowingly hire’) with evil people. Edicts are the commands of those to whom the paladin is sworn to obey; often this will be a church, a government, or both, but a paladin might instead or also swear to obey edicts given by their family, their mentor, their secular philosophy, or even their wider culture. Military commands and orders are edicts, but so are daily practices such as keeping a kosher diet, maintaining a family burial ground, or obeying a system of formal etiquette. A paladin freely chooses the source of her edicts, but once she’s sworn to obey she cannot selectively turn down a given edict unless it would conflict with one of her Strictures (for instance, if her king orders her to beat a helpless prisoner) or with a ‘higher’ source of Edicts (in general, a paladins religion or philosophy takes precedence over her liege or mentor, who in turn takes precedence over family or culture).

Virtues are where we get real interesting. Lemme quote The Complete Paladin’s Handbook, page 32:

Virtues are traits exemplifying the highest standards of morality, decency, and duty. They comprise the paladin’s personal code. Although not specifically detailed in the PH definition of a paladin, a paladin’s virtues are implied by his strictures as well as his outlook, role, and personality. Just as a paladin must obey his strictures, he must also remain true to his virtues.

Though most paladins adhere to all of the virtues described below, exceptions are possible. For instance, a paladin from a primitive society may be so unfamiliar with civilized etiquette that including courtesy as part of his ethos would be unreasonable. All adjustments must be cleared by the DM at the outset of a paladin’s career.

No system was attached to virtue ‘violations’, because they weren’t oaths to keep as such. Rather, virtues represented commitments to a paladin’s ideals and worldviews; they were the behaviors and values which someone serious about being a paladin would live by because that’s the kind of person they are. They were very Christian and very European in nature, tied up in Catholic ideas of knighthood from which paladins as a class were originally drawn, but there’s definitely a point to be made here. If you don’t walk your talk, can you call yourself a paragon? We’re gonna get into this specific topic more later in the article, when I start discussing other the virtues extolled by other kinds of warriors, but the ones listed and expanded on in this book are as follows:

Fealty - A paladin swears loyalty and service to, at minimum, a faith or philosophy that is lawful good in nature. This forms the foundation of her convictions and informs the kind of good she tries to do in the world. A paladin remains conscious of the fact that she is seen as an embodiment of those ideals, takes joy in her service, and pays respect to those to whom she has sworn her troth. Notably, this is not classic feudal fealty; a paladin swears service to institutions, not people, with some exceptions (generally in the form of paladins who swear fealty to their mentors).

Courtesy - Paladins strive to show respect by following social customs, being polite and well-mannered, and treating even enemies with dignity. A paladin responds to insults with grace, considers the feelings of others, and does not stoop to insults or slander. Remember the Kingsmen gentleman rules? That. This is just that.

Honesty - A paladin speaks the truth as she knows it. She is free to withhold information (especially from enemies), and may state that she would prefer not to answer when asked questions - or that she is ordered, enjoined, or otherwise required not to answer, if that is the truth - but does not intentionally mislead or deceive others. If you ask your paladin friend a question and they say they would rather not answer, think real hard about how bad you want their opinion.

Valor - Paladins display courage in battle. Given a choice between many enemies, a paladin chooses the most dangerous. If someone has to take a risk to defend the innocent, cover a retreat, or ensure the success of the mission, the paladin volunteers for that risk. A paladin only retreats from battle to fulfill a higher part of her ethos.

Honor - A paladin conducts herself with integrity even when no one is watching or when it is of no benefit to herself. She shows mercy, refuses to inflict undue suffering even on such wretched beings as demons, does not cheat or cut corners, and does not compromise her principles. The description of the virtue of honor contains the rawest line in the entire book: “It is an admirable act to comfort a dying friend, but an act of honor to comfort a dying enemy.”

The above are the ‘universal’ virtues a paladin is meant to embody. The book briefly touches on the idea that a paladin might also choose to uphold other virtues and work them into her Code of Ennoblement, the ceremony by which she is invested with the power of a paladin...or isn’t. The sample ‘bonus’ virtues provided are humility, chastity, celibacy, and my absolute favorite, industry, in which you swear to have no chill at all, ever, until the day you finally die, and instead spend all of your waking moments in some effort of self-improvement or work such as reading, building houses for the needy, repairing tools & equipment, and otherwise being completely incompetent in the art of self-care. It’s great, I absolutely love it.

Together, this code and the paladin’s abilities present a vision of classical knighthood, something like, oh...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35GUTY_Gr14

That. A defender and paragon of medieval virtues, who lives to help others.

“Alright Vox, surely you’re reaching the end of AD&D 2e now?” you ask. “We’ve been through the mechanics, we’ve been through the vision of paladins as members of feudal states who are figuratively and legally ennobled by righteousness, we’ve even gone into more detail about the code than was strictly necessary. 3e time right?” AFRAID NOT, MY WILD RIDE DOES NOT END. AD&D 2e didn’t have feats, didn’t really have spell selection in this context, and while it had a sort of skill system (the Proficiency system, greatly utilized and suggested by The Complete Paladin’s Handbook) that was hardly a way to make one paladin feel mechanically distinct from others. So how did players do that? Ability score rolls and loot drops?

Nope! We had Kits.

Kits modify a class or multiclass combo (not relevant to this article, but as a f’rinstance, the original Bladesinger was an elf-only Fighter/Mage kit found in The Complete Book of Elves); they give it additional features and additional restrictions. They could, but did not always, have ability score requirements above and beyond the typical ones for their class, and they might also have backstory or roleplaying requirements. A kit might who your character is in the society of the game world, the abilities they brought to the adventuring party, or both. Like Pathfinder’s Archetypes, some kits would strip abilities from the standard class, but not all of them did so.

So what did paladin kits do? In short, they changed the kind of knight you were. An Errant, for instance, is kept on a long leash by their liege and does not often have to fulfill edicts - but in exchange, she’s on her own and cannot expect funding from the state. Ghosthunters, who specialize in the destruction of the undead, gain the power to dispel evil, immunity to paralysis, turn undead just as well as a cleric does, and get access to a holy sword a minimum of 2 levels earlier - but they can’t lay hands, cure disease, cast priest spells, or enjoy immunity to disease. Inquisitors (I know) are paladins who see magic as a good and benevolent force, which is corrupted - profaned, even - by the practice of evil magic; they’re similar to ghosthunters in a lot of ways, but also represent an organized philosophy. The Complete Paladin’s Handbook has 22 pages of kits for standard paladin alone, which you can mix and match to create your own unique take on the concept, plus information on “demi-paladins” - non-human fighter/clerics who slowly gain paladin powers in addition to their own. This was back in the day when certain races just could not be good at certain classes due to level restrictions or being unable to take those classes in the first place, but here was the first glimmer of D&D confronting some of its own bullshit; before this book, the implication was that no non-human race was moral enough to be a paladin.

There’s so much more in this book but I’m not gonna get into all of it or this article’s just gonna be a review of one supplement; if you can get your hands on a PDF or even a hard copy, I highly suggest it as a read. It’s not that I endorse its vision for paladins as being the best or as being objectively correct, because I don’t; the potential of paladins is much broader than this narrow vision of Christian feudalism. It’s that no other book, before or after, has paid such loving attention to who paladins are in the game world, including thought given to details like their mortality rate (paladins that manage to survive to 40 are forcibly retired in the hopes that they can teach the youngbloods to do the same), the economics of knighthood, meta-commentary about how the class’s aesthetic and presentation is built to enhance themes about the game and the setting, and even a chapter on weaving faith into your game world and thinking about your paladin’s relationship to her own. The great strength of AD&D 2e’s paladins is that they, more than any others, have this loving care devoted to them that makes them feel like a real part of the worlds in which they live, and their great weakness is a vision that is more narrow than it wanted to be. You can see the author grasping for something broader, something more inclusive, only for it to slip between his fingers.

D&D 3.5: Up From The Gutter - Ah, D&D 3.5, the demon that will not die. This game spawned a million spin-offs and heartbreakers, love for it contributed to the rise of Pathfinder, and it remains incredibly popular and played. It’s also garbage, but c’est la vie, c’est la morte. Its vision of paladin is not as detailed as AD&D 2e’s was, and its main innovations were mechanical in nature. However, 3.5 did offer some in-depth explorations on what it means to be Good-aligned that previous editions did not, and given the context that’s about to be important to talk about.

3.5′s vision of paladin mechanics was remarkably similar to 2e’s, with the most notable change being race selection (anyone can now be a paladin as long as they’re Lawful Good) and the addition of Smite Evil, which can be used a certain number of times per day to gain more accuracy and damage when attacking evil-aligned creatures. Paladins are still warriors, they still cure disease, lay on hands, detect evil, and own a horse; in other words, they barely changed. Unfortunately, the game changed, and this left paladins high and dry. I’m not gonna mince words: for most of 3.5′s run, paladins lagged so far behind in terms of combat prowess, skill selection, and general utility that they were essentially unplayable, including and in some ways especially against classic foes such as demons and dragons.

I’m not gonna get into why, because that is a separate and much angrier article that will spark a lot of controversy due to people who run their ignorant mouths like they know what the fuck they’re talking about, not that I’m bitter. The relevant part of this is that over 3.5′s run, paladin did in fact slowly improve. The Serenity feat, published in Dragon 306, (and much more easily available to you in Dragon Compendium) helped clean up the dizzying amount of attributes upon which they were dependent. Battle Blessing (Champions of Valor) made it easier to incorporate their native spellcasting into their play (though nothing ever quite solved their sharply limited spell slots), and Sword of the Arcane Order (Champions of Valor again) both opened up an alternate vision of paladins as a different kind of magical knight & offered broader utility in paladin’s spell list. The Prestige Paladin in Unearthed Arcana converted paladin from a base class to a prestige class, which let you build it off of more mechanically viable classes - further enhancing your ability to customize your paladin, especially since as a PrC you could stop taking Prestige Paladin at any time you felt you were sufficiently knightly. Access to these and other options eventually made paladin, if not good, at least viable, able to be played in most campaigns and pre-made adventures without undue worry or getting chumped out of basic encounters.

In all of their forms, these paladins still had a code. Observe:

Code of Conduct

A paladin must be of lawful good alignment and loses all class abilities if she ever willingly commits an evil act.

Additionally, a paladin’s code requires that she respect legitimate authority, act with honor (not lying, not cheating, not using poison, and so forth), help those in need (provided they do not use the help for evil or chaotic ends), and punish those who harm or threaten innocents.

Associates

While she may adventure with characters of any good or neutral alignment, a paladin will never knowingly associate with evil characters, nor will she continue an association with someone who consistently offends her moral code. A paladin may accept only henchmen, followers, or cohorts who are lawful good.

Ex-Paladins

A paladin who ceases to be lawful good, who willfully commits an evil act, or who grossly violates the code of conduct loses all paladin spells and abilities (including the service of the paladin’s mount, but not weapon, armor, and shield proficiencies). She may not progress any farther in levels as a paladin. She regains her abilities and advancement potential if she atones for her violations (see the atonement spell description), as appropriate.

Like a member of any other class, a paladin may be a multiclass character, but multiclass paladins face a special restriction. A paladin who gains a level in any class other than paladin may never again raise her paladin level, though she retains all her paladin abilities.

You know all the horror stories you’ve read of DMs maliciously making paladins Fall, or miscommunications in groups leading to alignment arguments? The ones about youth-pastor paladin characters sucking all the fun out of a party? Meet the culprit. 3.5 did not have The Complete Paladin’s Handbook’s discussion on same-paging with your group to prevent these problems, and this vague code wording paired with immediate and extreme consequences didn’t do it any favors. That’s not to say that this code is unworkable, exactly, but trying to sit down and agree with 4-6 other adults on what ‘gross violations’ actually means is essentially the world’s shittiest round of Apples to Apples and your reward for it is resenting the character you just built.

And that’s the paladin part, which means we have to get into the “being good-aligned” part. Lemme tell you about Book of Exalted Deeds, a historically significant garbage fire of a book that is somehow both the best supplement released about Good and the worst supplement released about Good at the same time.

For those of you with the fortune to have never played 3.5, its books are like that a lot.

So, bad parts first: all the mechanics. Just all of them. The prestige classes? Bad. The feats? Generally bad. The redemption rules revolving around Diplomacy? Sloppy. Magic items? Bad. Spells? Look up an online discussion about sanctify the wicked and then get back to me on that one; they’re bad too. Ravages and afflictions (good-aligned poisons and diseases) were a bad idea that were also a case of stunning hypocrisy from a book whose stance was that dealing ability score damage is ‘needless cruelty’. Even the write-ups for the planar NPCs kinda make them into these basic bitch pushovers, which, you guessed it, is bad. There’s a lot to say against this book and you can find someone saying it in most open web forums if you want to take a journey into the godawful design of the liminal space between 3.0 and 3.5.

But the good stuff was real good. D&D had/has long been stalked by ‘ethical dilemmas’ such as the so-called Goblin Baby Problem, where players would ask if it’s good to let goblin children live since they would only grow up to become goblin adults. Book of Exalted Deeds was the first D&D publication to make a hard stance against racial genocide (hell of a sentence, I know), and it doubled down on The Complete Paladin Handbook’s implied stance that all forms of romance and sexuality are valid as long as they’re between consenting adults that respect one another. BoED strove to define Good not just as the avoidance of evil (”The utter avoidance of evil is, at best, neutral.”) but as actively striving to respect life, practice altruism, and make the world a better and more just place. While its take on ideas like forgiveness, redemption, and justice were not necessarily perfect, it went out of its way to try to offer nuanced takes on those ideas and to note emphatically that practices such as slavery and racism do not become good just because certain historical cultures thought they were at the time.

The other notable thing that Book of Exalted Deeds did for the idea of a Good alignment was firmly state on the record that NG and CG are just as valid and Good as LG is. The existence of paladins and their alignment-locked nature had long implied that Lawful Good was the “best” Good, or the “most” Good, but Book of Exalted Deeds didn’t just introduce material for characters that were paragons of other Good alignments, it provided examples of such characters in action. D&D is still somewhat stalked by that “Law is Good and Good is Lawful” problem, but BoED and other books in its niche (notably including Heroes of Horror - I know, it doesn’t sound like it but trust me - and Champions of Valor) helped push back against that problem and open the floor to other heroes.

I wouldn’t be wholly done talking about 3.5 paladins without mentioning Unearthed Arcana, which introduced the paladin of freedom (CG), paladin of tyranny (LE), and paladin of slaughter (CE). Their hearts were in the right place here, but all three of them were...better ideas than executions, as it were, without much to talk about for them. Still, they make good examples of 3.5′s great strength in paladins: breadth of concept. Ideas that were previously impossible as paladins became commonplace, including paladin-like characters who were not members of the class and which I would absolutely consider paladins myself. It didn’t stick the landing on the mechanics, but that’s just 3.5 for you; if you weren’t a dedicated spellcaster, chances are you were gonna have some manner of bad time. This idea of paladins from all walks of life, from all levels of society and all peoples, has become a cherished part of the popular conception of paladins and it absolutely should be brought forward to other editions.

Which, honestly? It was.

Pathfinder 1e: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back - Pathfinder 1e’s baseline paladin release was essentially 3.5′s in many ways. The key mechanical differences were a revamped Smite Evil (which finally made it effective against its intended targets), the aura line of abilities that begin adding additional effects beyond Aura of Courage at 8th level and up, and Mercies - riders for the paladin’s Lay on Hands ability that cause it to also cure status effects, which in turn greatly enhances the paladin’s utility as a support class. Pathfinder also cleaned up some of 3.5′s attribute problems by orienting all of paladin’s magical abilities to Charisma instead of splitting between Wisdom and Charisma. Another small but significant note is the alteration from ‘gross’ violations of the code to any violation of the code. “Gee Vox, that doesn’t sound like it would really help code problems,” you say, to which I reply: it absolutely fucking did not.

Once we leave core, we get quite a few quality-of-life improvements. Though Pathfinder 1e lacks Battle Blessing, it replicates some of its effects by having many swift-action spells in-house for paladin, notably including the Litany line. Pathfinder’s archetype system for class customization offers options for the paladin that further customize its concept, though on the balance it’s harder to mix and match archs than it was to do so with kits. Archetypes always trade something, so in taking an arch you will lose some part of the base paladin kit and gain something which replaces it.

Narratively, things get more specific outside of core as well. Paizo’s one-and-only setting, Golarion, is one in which paladins must swear fealty to a specific god they serve above all others, and their power is derived directly from that god, who can grant or withhold it as they see fit. These gods (generally LN, LG, or NG in alignment, though certain specific CG deities sponsor paladins who must still be LG themselves) offer their own codes of conduct, which their paladins must follow. A paladin may be obligated to oppose ‘heresy’ as vigorously as chaos or evil, which is an awkward fucking feel, and paladins in Golarion’s setting can be found working for organizations such as the Hellknights, or in the armed forces of nations that practice slavery and forced conversion. That’s not to imply that they’re not also depicted in unambiguously good contexts, but when it comes to establishing paladins (or, well...anyone...) as good-aligned people Paizo has a bad habit of dropping the ball.

Like 3.5, the great strength of the Pathfinder 1e paladin is customization, and in this case a more solid mechanical base in comparison to the rest of the game. Pathfinder similarly flounders in that its vision of paladins is narrow and not fully realized in the game world.

Discussion of Pathfinder 1e’s paladin wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the Anti-Paladin, the only “alternate class” to see mechanical support beyond its initial publication. Baseline anti-paladins must be chaotic evil and have abilities that are the inverse of the baseline paladin; similarly, anti-paladin has archetypes available that change it to different kinds and methods of evil. It has its fans, and in terms of playability it’s as good, if not a little better, than paladin, but on the whole I tend to break on the side of thinking that Good and Evil are not mirror images of one another, and thus an anti-paladin is inappropriate as an idea. At least, one done in this way, as an explicit reaction to a supposed paragon of virtue, as things are about to get real interesting in...

D&D 4e: The Knight Unshackled - D&D 4e built off of the foundations laid down by the Book of Exalted Deeds and Unearthed Arcana by completely removing all alignment restrictions from both paladin and its counterpart class, blackguard. This section will also need to talk about cousin classes to paladin; specifically, the Avenger and the Invoker. Let’s start from the top, shall we?

Paladins in 4e are predicament dommes defenders; they use their abilities to place Marks on enemies, who then suffer damage if they choose to engage someone other than the paladin (all defenders in 4e force choices of a similar nature, though the penalty for failing to make the ‘right’ choice is not necessarily damage). In 4e, paladins are not granted their power by gods, nor are they empowered by their faith in righteousness alone; in point of fact, 4e paladins have no restrictions on their alignment whatsoever and are the first paladins to be open in this way. Instead, a paladin in D&D 4e is invested with power in rites kept secret by individual churches. Once invested, that’s it, no take-backs; the paladin remains a paladin even if they forsake that church entirely. The other classes I’m gonna talk about - avenger, blackguard, and invoker - are similarly invested, with invoker being the exception in how they get invested, but not in their no-takebacks status.

So, what powers a paladin after that investiture? Virtue; specifically, caring about others in some way. An LG paladin empowered by their belief in justice might be a classic knight in shining armor, defending her allies in righteousness’s name, but an LE paladin empowered by the same virtue might easily turn totalitarian, determined to establish justice no matter who has to suffer and die. In this model, evil-aligned paladins are those who care too much about something, to the point where they trample and harm others to see it fulfilled.

Paladin’s inverse, blackguard, is a striker class focused on direct damage. They gain their power through vice, inward-facing desires such as greed, selfishness, lust, or five pounds of nachos in one meal (don’t @ me). Blackguards are also not restricted by alignment. A classically selfish blackguard, out for their own power and safety, might be an amoral mercenary who kills because they can’t be bothered not to, but a good-aligned blackguard who’s selfish is, well, Tiffany Aching: protecting the world because it’s her world and how dare you fucking touch it.

Avengers have more in common with barbarians than paladins, but are notable here for their commonalities with paladin as a divine warrior concept, and also for having bones in with the later Oath of Vengeance concept in D&D 5e. Avengers are invested to smite the enemies of their church; they tap into their power by swearing an oath against specific enemies, and then dissociate until those enemies in particular are dead at their feet. Are you really into Alexander Anderson from Hellsing? Do you want to explore the terrible consequences of power, consequences that might not have been clear when you signed up to become an avenger? This could be for you.

Lastly we have invokers, the odd duck out. They are ranged controllers who fight with pure divine power. Invokers are created directly by gods, but unlike the previous three have no associations with churches; instead, their job is to look out for threats to all of existence and make sure that they don’t happen. Even evil-aligned gods create and tend to respect invokers, because you can’t conquer the world and rule it as its Dread Master if there’s no world left to rule. Because invokers are invested by gods directly, they tend to have a lot in common with the divine intervention paladin origin mentioned waaaaay up there in the 2e section; you’re minding your own business when one day God goes “TIME TO LEARN HOW TO SAVE THE WORLD” and that’s just your life now.

D&D 4e’s paladins and paladin-like classes fully realize the breadth of concepts and characters that paladins could fulfill; they offer intriguing possibilities for roleplaying, engaging character and plot hooks, and mechanically distinct interpretations of divine power. In unshackling paladins from alignment, 4e opens them up to questions of heroism, conviction, and belief that were in many ways previously closed, especially because paladins in other editions were often made to Fall for asking those questions. Their big weakness is, well, being in 4e. It’s not that D&D 4e is a bad game - in many ways it’s the most honest edition of D&D, and certainly the most tightly-designed - but rather that 4e’s context is highly specific. It can be hard to find players or DMs familiar with it, might be frustrating to gain access to its books, and once you do adapting its material requires significant narrative changes if you remove it from the context of the Points of Light setting.

D&D 5e: This I Vow - D&D 5e’s paladin is, in many ways, a combination of and refinement upon previous elements. Like 4e’s, it is not restricted by alignment (though the three Oaths in core do suggest particular alignments). Like 3.5′s paladin, it combines magical power with martial skill, though 5e’s paladin is both more overtly magical and gains access to better spells, faster, than its predecessor. Though the paladin gains some warrior-type abilities (notably including their choice of Fighting Style and the Extra Attack feature), the majority of their abilities are supernatural in nature, including Lay On Hands (in the form of a pool of hit points that can also be expended to remove poisons and diseases), immunity to disease, an array of defensive and utility spells (as well as the Smite line for bursts of damage), a Divine Smite that trades spells for damage directly, and native auras that protect the paladin’s allies as well as herself. Their defining feature, however, is the Oath they select at third level, which defines what sort of paladin they are.

Your selection of Sacred Oath nets your paladin 2 utility abilities at 3rd level, an additional aura at 7th, a strong upgrade of some kind at 15th, and a capstone at 20th that neither you nor any other living being will ever see because 5e campaigns barely get to 14th, God forbid 20th. Each Oath also provides a set of tenets that you are meant to live up to, but unlike previous incarnations of a Code of Conduct 5e’s relationship to these tenets is more...human. The following passage is from the Player’s Handbook, page 83 (”Creating A Paladin”):

As guardians against the forces of wickedness, paladins are rarely of any evil alignment. Most of them walk the paths of charity and justice. Consider how your alignment colors the way you pursue your holy quest and the manner in which you conduct yourself before gods and mortals. Your oath and alignment might be in harmony, or your oath might represent standards of behavior you have not yet attained.

Emphasis mine.

The baseline assumption for 5e’s paladins are believers in righteousness, whose faith in virtue empowers them to protect the weak, but more than any other edition, 5e recognizes that paladins are still people, who have flaws, strengths, and ambitions. Its Background system helps flesh out your character both mechanically and narratively, and material presented both in the Player’s Handbook and Xanathar’s Guide to Everything encourage you to think about the things that drive and oppose your paladin. Importantly, though the books say that evil paladins are rare, no actual alignment restriction on paladins exist, which opens up some interesting possibilities in terms of character creation. We’ll get more into that down the article a bit, when I talk about same-paging and refluffing.

Because Oaths come with both mechanics and an ethos, there is a strong incentive to create new Oaths for 5e if you want to embody a new ethos, but this may not always be strictly necessary. Additionally, the Player’s Handbook implies that paladins who flagrantly fail or abandon their oaths might become Oathbreakers (Dungeon Master’s Guide, page 97, under “Villain Options”), but this too may not be the correct move, especially in cases where a paladin abandons one set of high ideals for a different, but no lower, form of belief. We’ll get into that later too.

5e’s paladins are in the best mechanical position they’ve ever been in; they’re one of the strongest classes in the game line, easy to build and play, and difficult to fuck up. They have strong thematics with their abilities and especially their Oaths, and the way 5e encourages you to make your characters helps you realize them as people in the game world. The great weakness of this vision of paladins is customization; 5e lacks player options in many senses, and quite a few of those options are gated behind rules that may not be in use (such as Feats). It can be difficult, in many cases, to make two paladins of the same Oath feel different when the dice hit the table.

And at long last, we have finished the establishing-context section of this article, and can move on to the actual fucking article. I did warn you, way up top, that you were in for a ride.

Raise Thy Sword - Paladins At Your Table

The following section is meant to help you in making and fleshing out a paladin concept to play or even to use as an NPC. Most of the advice will be edition-agnostic; advice that isn’t will be marked as such. Also covered herein will be the related topics of same-paging, refluffing, and the common pitfalls that paladins have fallen into over the years (and how to avoid them).

Same-Paging - In Which We Communicate Like Adults

Same-paging is the practice of talking to your group in a way that helps set mutual expectations, and it’s something every RPG group should strive to do regardless of the system they’re playing in. You’ve probably done this to an extent before, as part of being pitched a game (”We’re going to do a dungeon crawl through the deadly halls of Undermountain”), during character creation, and the like. In the specific case of paladins, you want to talk to your group and DM about topics like alignment & alignment restrictions, your code of conduct or oath, and whether or not the group wants to handle things like ethical dilemmas and moral quandaries. Though paladins are famous for those last two, they’re certainly not a requirement; you can just as easily play a paladin in a campaign like Expedition to Undermountain or Princes of the Apocalypse where there is a very clear bad guy who needs to be stopped with enormous applications of violence and guile. However your group wants to play it is fine, but you want to be sure everyone’s on board for it and that you’re ready to rock. If your group signs on for a kick-in-the-door dungeon crawl and then the DM decides to make you pass a series of ethics tests, that DM is an asshole; likewise, if you agree that you want to explore the morals at the heart of your paladin’s ethos and then you just don’t do that, you’re causing the problem.

Who Is Your Deity, And What Does She Do? - Making Your Paladin

Once you and your group have communicated your expectations to each other (and, again, same-paging is something all groups should be doing regularly, not just ones in which you want to play a paladin), it’s finally time to start sketching out your concept! There’s many ways to start this, and while I personally tend to start at the roleplaying end (with ideas about who they are as a person and the themes I want to explore with them), starting with mechanical ideas, with questions, or even with specific dramatic scenes in mind, are also viable. That is to say, “I’m interested in how Aura of the Guardian (Xanathar’s Guide to Everything, page 39) can help me play a damage mitigation tank,” is just as valid as, “Kass, my character, was lifted from a life of crime by a paladin who reformed her neighborhood and campaigned against a corrupt system, and she’s striving to become a paladin in his image.” That said, if there’s one thing D&D and its related communities are good at it’s mechanical guides, so I’m not gonna try and write one here. We’d be here all day; instead, the following questions are things to consider for fleshing out your paladin’s backstory, personality, and goals.

Why did you become a paladin? The origins of your paladin will probably color how they think of their virtues, as well as how they think of evil. A beaten-down girl from the slums understands that kicking the shit out of muggers doesn’t give the downtrodden food, medicine, or roofs that don’t leak, while the third son of a noble family is in a position to understand the damage done by corrupt leaders and faithless lords. In addition to your background and home life, think about what motivated your character to become a paladin specifically. Were they mentored by an older paladin who saw potential in them? Recruited by the militant arm of a church? Did they grow up with stories of paladins and yearn to become the sort of person those stories were written about, or were they, perhaps, seemingly called to paladinhood without much conscious understanding of what it was?

Where did you learn to fight? Paladins are warriors, and even a paladin that Falls (for those campaigns that use Falling as a concept) remains a warrior. 5e paladins, the most overtly magical of all the available options, still spend a lot of time randomizing the atoms of evil with sharpened metal, and that’s a skill you only get through training and dedication. Who taught your paladin to fight? What’s their relationship with that teacher or organization, and how did it shape their ideas about violence? We all catch things off of our teachers, and your paladin’s instructor in combat will, for better or worse, be as big an influence on their life and ideals as their faith and family are. Don’t be afraid to get wild here; AD&D 2e had full-blown godly training montages where the voice of a god ran you through drills, and paladins join warlocks and sorcerers for being fertile ground for some of the weirdest shit. Did you fight daily duels against a stained glass knight only you could see? Did you find a scimitar in the gutter and pick it up to defend your friends from gangs? Were you bankrolled by an old man who later turned out to be a lich, whose motives you still don’t understand? Live your best Big Ham life if that’s the life you wanna live, this is the class for it.

How do you imagine good and evil? What does your paladin’s vision of a Good world look like? What is the face of wickedness that comes to mind when they’re asked to think of Evil? A knight from a kingdom plagued by portals to the Abyss is going to think of both of these things very differently from a gutter rat whose ascension came with a prosthetic hand to replace the one she lost to gangrene, to say nothing of differences in ideals when one factors in Law and Chaos. Your paladin doesn’t have to be perfect, or even, honestly, correct. Your classic ‘noble, but kind of a dick’ paladin (such as Corran d’Arcy in the novelization of Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor, who we’re gonna talk about more later because he’s a weirdly great example of an adventuring paladin) thinks of evil as evildoers, who must be Brought To Justice, which while not entirely wrong is lacking in important nuance. He may conflate manners with virtue, or allow his prejudices to color who he does and doesn’t think of as ‘good’, but that doesn’t change his fundamental desire to Do Good - a desire that could be the catalyst for personal growth. A flawed understanding of virtue and wickedness could be a great character arc for your paladin, especially if it dovetails with the themes of the campaign.

What do you enjoy? Paladins are still people (shocking, I know) and people tend to have hobbies, preferences, and goals. Xanathar’s Guide to Everything has some nice material to quickly flesh out some of those aspects of your paladin (a personal goal, a vice that tempts them, a nemesis that dogs their footsteps), and I highly encourage you to think about such things as well. Does your paladin crave glory, wealth, or revenge? What sort of things do they turn to when they want comfort, or to have a good time? Do they still practice a trade from their youth, such as painting or blacksmithing? The archetype of a knight looking for their true love (or at least a series of whirlwind romances that always seem to end in someone’s bedroom) is a staple, of course. These things don’t necessarily need to be sinister temptations that lead you away from justice; they can just be nice things you like, or comforts that sustain you in your long fight against evil.

How do you relate to your faith? Many settings (notably including Forgotten Realms & Points of Light in D&D, and Golarion in Pathfinder) explicitly link paladins to churches and patron deities, and even in ones where this explicit link does not exist you see paladins who fight in the name of their faiths, serve in the militant arm of their churches, and otherwise seek to live their lives in accordance with their religion. D&D’s history is also full of paladins whose relationship to their faith is more distant, more questioning, or even outright rebellious. In Eberron, for instance, a paladin might dedicate herself to the Kraken - an evil god embodying sea monsters and catastrophes - with her understanding of that faith being preventing monster attacks and protecting the innocent from hurricanes and tidal waves. A paladin might be retained by the Church of St. Cuthbert as a barometer for their own morality, trusted to leash his peers when their retribution grows out of hand & play the devil’s advocate against them, or a knight might simply try to live their lives in accordance with the ideals of beauty, joy, and wonder espoused by Sune Firehair, without being for or against the actual church. What or whom does your paladin believe in, and why? Remember as well that not all, or even most, faiths are particularly similar to Christianity, and as a result your paladin’s relationship to that faith might just be business as usual. A Jewish paladin arguing with God is Judaism working as intended; similarly, a paladin dedicated to the Aesir doesn’t get to act surprised when they come home one day and Freya is chilling in their bathtub with a glass of wine and a ‘small request’.

You Wouldn’t Download A Class Feature - Refluffing & You(r Paladin)

So: you’ve come up with your concept, you’ve asked yourself all the relevant questions, but damn, some things just seem to not be fitting. What do you do? It may be the case that refluffing - changing the flavor of a mechanical option to better fit your campaign or setting - may be the right move for you. Refluffing gets a lot of pushback from a certain school of tabletop gaming that believes the flavor of an option is part of its mechanical balance. These people are wrong and I encourage you not to associate with them, in particular because the first party publishers often refluff material for similar reasons. For instance, the setting of Eberron has ‘anything published in D&D has a home here’ as one of its meta-tenets, and in the process of giving many of those things a home it changed their identity. Those hordes of angry ancestor-worshiping elves? That’s refluffing elves. In 3.5 you can see explicit discussion of refluffing in Oriental Adventures, which...well...it’s a book that exists, let’s leave it at that. Oerth having an entire alternate Material Plane where all the mirror of opposition copies come from? Refluffing.

So, when do you refluff? An obvious example is when your group is comfortable with an option being on the table, but is not playing in the setting that option comes from (for instance, the Sword of the Arcane Order feat from Champions of Valor when you are not playing in the Forgotten Realms). Refluffing is also great for when the narrative you’re building for a character implies or requires certain mechanics, but the flavor of those mechanics does not fit that narrative. In the ancient past I briefly GMed a game where one of the PCs was a ‘barbarian’ - a mean-streets kid looking to make a better life for himself, whose Rage was just the fight-or-flight kicking in from living in the garbage parts of Waterdeep. The important things to keep in mind when you choose to refluff an option is to stay on the same page as the rest of your group, and also to not replace the original fluff with nothing; mechanics do help define flavor (they’re the tools with which you interact with the game world), but you still need some reason that your paladin casts wizard spells, or has the abilities of the Oath of Vengeance when the original version of that Oath doesn’t exist in this setting. A very common school of refluffing is changing the origins of one’s power; rather than pure faith, for instance, a paladin’s powers might come from her innate spiritual energy, or from the favor of kami rather than gods.

Refluffing is also great for playing paladins that don’t have levels in the class named paladin. This option is especially relevant in the context of 3.5 and Pathfinder, when it may be more suitable to the needs of the campaign for you to be playing a more powerful or versatile class. In this context, clerics especially make very competent ‘paladins’, as do wizards (you wouldn’t think so, but I’ve seen that campaign played), inquisitors, crusaders, and even druids depending on how your concept is. You don’t need Fall mechanics to follow a code, after all.

For What The World Could Be - Defining Your Paladin’s Ethos

More than almost any other aspect of the class, possessing and following an ethos has defined paladins through the ages. For many years, this was a very specific ethos based on European ideas of chivalry and Christian virtue, and there’s something to be said for it when done well (certainly the Arab warriors from whom Europeans acquired the code of chivalry were lauded for their honor and virtuous conduct, so at a bare minimum one set of folks following these ideals in the real world absolutely nailed it). This is not, however, the only set of high ideals to which a paladin might cleave or aspire, and many fine homebrewers, players, and dungeon masters out there have chosen to craft their own, or to represent their own beliefs in the game world. Many cultures throughout history and all over the world have retained elite warriors held to high standards of conduct, and those traditions are rife for representation as paladins.

I fully intend to provide some specific examples of ethea (evidently this is the plural of ‘ethos’, no I didn’t know that before I started writing this, yes it looks wrong to me too) beyond the ongoing D&D default, but before I do you may want to consider how your paladin relates to those high ideals. After all, these are virtues that your character holds dear, but not everyone does so in the same way. Does she believe that everyone would be better off if they tried to live up to her standards, or does she believe that only certain people should (or must) do so? Does she consider her virtues an impossible ideal, something to strive for rather than fulfill, or does she not harbor such doubts? Is your paladin an idealist, who believes in the power of Good in itself, or is she more cynical?

The answers to these questions don’t necessarily make your paladin less Good as a person. A warrior who believes that there’s always a selfish bastard reason to do the right thing, who sees Evil as suboptimal, could still be a paladin if they work to bring Good into the world. An idealist who still needs to learn about the real consequences of barging into complex problems in a morally complicated world is equally valid, to say nothing of just...playing a genuine in-the-bones Hero, here to Do The Right Thing. Each speaks to a different kind of virtue, and a different life that has led them to these choices, and each deserves their day in the sun. You might have a lot of fun playing someone whose view of what Good is, and why, is different from yours!

Some specific examples of ethea (god that looks so wrong) follow. For the sake of convenience I’m gonna skip anything that’s actually showed up in a paladin entry before, or I’m gonna be here until I die. I am also very much not a member of just about any of the cultures and/or religions I’m about to talk about, and while I have sought the advice and review of those who are, I’m not about to claim that I’m an expert. Any errors in what’s presented are mine, and not those of my friends & readers; I welcome correction and discussion.

Irish Celtic: Blood & Troth  - The ancient Celts were not a people shy about death, and excellence - skill, improvement, and genuine growth - in all of your crafts was one of their high virtues. In addition to excellence, a Celtic warrior was expected to be honest (to never tell a direct lie, and to keep all promises given), hospitable (to be a gracious host & and honorable guests, and defend the sanctity of the home), to be charitable with their skills and their worldly possessions (to give to the needy, defend the weak, and fight for the helpless), to display loyalty to their family, clan, and gods, and to be courageous. That last virtue is an interesting one, because it dovetails with excellence; it’s less about acting in spite of fear, and more about enjoying fearful situations and the call of battle. A paragon of Celtic warfare should love her job, perhaps even revel in it; she relishes combat and the mayhem of the killing fields. Paladins following these virtues are likely to be Chaotic in nature, skewing towards Chaotic Neutral as D&D thinks of these things, and prone to contemplation on concepts of obligation, truth, and the nature of political violence. The crows know that there is always a final answer to injustice.

Irish Celtic paladins are likely to look towards Fionn Mac Cumhaill as a role model; as warriors with magical powers of protection, defense, and healing, they would be valued as keepers of lore, wisdom, and art, more warrior-poet than berserker. If your paladin is part of a wider culture from which she derived this ethos, she was probably expected to both learn knowledge and pass it on to others, and to restrain more eager warriors in favor of cunning plans and clever tactics. Imagine the look on your party members’ faces when they meet your family and realize you’re the sane one; that’s the exact emotion you wanna look to create if you really want to bring this out in the classic vein.

Jewish: We Shall Serve The Lord  - Judaism places a lot of emphasis on the sanctity of life, restorative justice, and doing the good you can do here, and now, with what’s in front of you. Though there is no tradition of elite Jewish warriors in the vein of knights or samurai, Jewish citizens tend to serve under arms slightly more often (about 5% more often) than their countrymen, and defending the innocent & helpless is certainly one way to do good now. A Jewish paladin would be expected to uphold the sanctity of life (preservation of life is the highest calling; a Jew may do anything except deny God in order to preserve life), to practice the principle of Tikkun Olam (’repairing the world’, working actively to make the world around them a more just, peaceful, and pleasant one), to show compassion and generosity to others, to uphold and defend hospitality, to know the Torah and the Law, and, where necessary, to practice intelligent and purposed dissent and skepticism. In the context of D&D, such a character is not likely to be particularly scholarly (paladins haven’t needed a decent Intelligence score at any point in the class’s evolution), but they’re probably conversant in the techniques of reading and research, critical thinking, argument, and debate, if only through exposure. Jewish paladins are most likely to be Good, leaning Lawful, as D&D thinks of these things.

The Jewish ethos describes a set of minimum standards for a righteous person, the Noahide Laws, and greatly encourages you not to associate with any person or culture that can’t meet that standard. They’re honestly not hard to meet either; you basically have to not be a dick about God (don’t try to stop folks from worshiping, don’t spend your time mocking and blaspheming their faith), know that lying and murdering are wrong, don’t be a sexual predator, don’t eat animals that are still alive, and bother to establish a system of laws for self-rule. Though Judaism lacks an elite warrior tradition, you might look to people like Joshua, Judah Maccabee, or Solomon as inspirations for a Jewish paladin character; warriors known for their wisdom, determination, and and in many cases, self-sacrifice. Solomon is also notable as an example of someone who swore the Nazarite Oath, a promise to God to fulfill a mission or task, and to not rest until one has done so. Nazarites are held to higher standards than their peers, notably including the expectation that the object of their oath becomes their only goal until they get it done or die.

As stated before, I am not Jewish and while this information was provided to me by Jewish friends, it is far from complete. @oath-of-lovingkindness might be by to expand on it, if they’re comfortable doing so.

Kemetic Pagan: The Power Of Truth - It’s difficult to talk about how the ancient Kemetic faiths were practiced; there was a lot of strife between the various cults of the gods, sometimes backed by pharaohs who were willing to revise history to get their way about thing, and then the English got a hold of the records. The English getting a hold of your culture’s history rarely ends well for just about anyone. The modern practice of Kemetic worship places great emphasis on service and identity as a member of the community, the promotion and preservation of knowledge, learning, and education, opposing is/fet (’chaos’, here also very much including the breakdown of social bonds and the systems which sustain life), and truth. A Kemetic paladin would be expected to oppose chaos by sustaining or creating such systems (funding schools, founding a neighborhood watch, finding or creating jobs for the poor), defend the defenseless, further her own education and knowledge & teach the ignorant, to be honest and forthright in word and deed, and value strength and justice. They are likely to be Lawful, skewing towards Good, as D&D thinks of these things. For a society to be just, it must first be a society; preservation of the order (both natural and artificial) which sustains human lives comes first.

Kemetic paladins are unlikely to be priests or even to be formally part of a religious heirarchy, again because they have traditionally had issues being scholarly people; instead, they uphold ma’at (what is true, what is just, what is necessary; ma’at is the principle that establishes a community, that relates one person to all other people and defines obligations between them, and opposes chaos) by fulfilling roles that assist their community. Such a paladin might look to one of their patron gods as an example of both the behavior they wish to emulate and their role in the community. A defender and guardian who supports the rural folk might look to Sobek, whose great strength guards the Nile; a would-be hero who craves power and the glory that power might buy her could instead look to Set, who guards the sun-barge and tests the established order so that it can grow strong. This is an ancient faith with quite a few gods, and I haven’t even gone deep enough to say I’ve scratched the surface; if they’re comfortable doing so, @merytu-mrytw may be by to expand on this topic for those interested in learning more.

Samurai: Reaching For Heaven  - You knew we were gonna go here eventually. As famous as knights, and perhaps even more known for their strict code of honor, the samurai were the elite warriors of feudal Japan and members of its ruling class. A samurai was expected to be a warrior, to cultivate an appreciation for high arts such as calligraphy, poetry, and sculpture, to be a scholar or patron of scholars, and to otherwise serve their lord and establish justice in that lord’s name. Today the samurai ethos is often called Bushido (”the way of the warrior”), but that name and conception of their code of conduct is actually a relatively recent invention, dating back only as far as the 20th century. It has its bones in with a 12th century dramatization of a war between two proud clans, and the ideals embodied by the warriors of those clans. Notably, these ideals were considered unattainable; something to strive for, and in striving grow as a person, but not a realistic expectation for a living human in a physical body. I’m gonna go ahead and quote the breakdown of this code that was given to me, because I feel the long form is going to be helpful here. These were the things to strive for, if one wished to call oneself a samurai:

Your duty calls on you to die if necessary. Your honor is more than your life; to live in shame is worse than death. You are expected to be righteous - to have integrity, sincerity, and honesty. To display heroic courage - to be intelligently aware of risks, but to face them boldly, not rashly or foolishly. To be benevolent and compassionate - for you have strength of arms that others cannot fathom. To show respect, even to your enemy. Cruelty, mockery, showboating, boasting, these are against the samurai code. Your strength and stature come through how you stand in adversity, unyielding. To understand that there is no such thing as a promise, or "giving your word" - you do not speak unless you mean what you say. Meaningless words are for shameful people. To safeguard your own honor, for you are its judge - and you will know what will cause you to live in shame, which as noted above, is worse than death. To show loyalty and be dutiful - if you give your service to another, it is theirs to command, and if you set someone's life above yours, you cannot keep honor if you live and they die. To demonstrate self-control - excesses and wants are openings to great shame. Moral character lies in the desire being sublimated toward the better self and higher standing among men.

As the politics and culture of Japan evolved through the years, so too did attitudes towards, and understanding of, this code of conduct, but most dramatic and romantic depictions of the samurai ethos root back to something a lot like this. A paladin dedicated to this ethos is likely to be Lawful Neutral, bending towards Good, as D&D thinks of these things; it emphasizes the virtues of loyalty, duty, and the obligations of both lord and vassal to one another. It is particularly appropriate for characters who see high ideals of virtue as being an unattainable goal to strive for anyway, or for character-driven campaigns looking for high drama that comes from tensions between personal desires and societal expectations (you can see it used for this to wonderful effect in the Legend of Five Rings RPG, most recently published by Fantasy Flight Games).

There are of course many other potential sources for a paladin’s ethos; check out D&D 5e’s homebrew materials and the DM’s guild for just a few. If I didn’t include something here, I promise you that it’s because I’m either ignorant or not confident of my ability to speak on it even in this limited context, not because I was trying to deliberately leave anything out. As I said above, any errors here are mine, and I welcome corrections. I’m also eager to hear about other ethea and how they might be adapted for paladins, so if you’ve got some thoughts there, please, slap ‘em on! I’m quite literally begging to read your paladin takes!

That said, remember that these are real beliefs, that real people follow. If you’re looking to explore an ethos from a culture that is not your own, you should do so with respect and especially with consideration for others that might be affected. It’s one thing to realize 12 sessions into a campaign at your own house that you’ve been accidentally blaspheming someone’s religion; it’s quite another thing to realize that if you’ve been playing in a public place such as a library or a gaming store. Ask folks from the culture or faith in question about it if you can at all do so, and just...if you wouldn’t want someone to be depicting you in a particular way? Don’t depict them that way.

The Trolley Problem And Other Forms Of Psychological Torture - Paladins, Falling, & Alignment

All editions of paladins except 4e have some kind of rule for Falling; losing one’s paladin status and powers, generally because of violations of your code of conduct or a failure to maintain your alignment. 5e sorta-kinda has those rules in a “well if the DM says so” way, which is, in some ways, a worse situation to be in since it leaves the matter unclear. In particular, many editions of paladins require that you have and maintain a Lawful Good alignment, and completely strip you of all powers if you ever change alignment for any reason. If the above sections of this article didn’t make it clear already, I tend to break towards 4e’s school of thought and support unshackling paladins from both alignment and Falling mechanics for general play; they certainly haven’t been powerful enough in the meta to mechanically justify additional restrictions.

This isn’t to say that you can’t use Falling or the threat of Falling for interesting stories and excellent character moments, just that I personally feel that it’s not as necessary as some schools of thought seem to think it is. If you want to incorporate this idea into your campaign, make sure you bring that up when you’re same-paging with your group; it’s definitely one of those topics everyone wants to have a clear understanding about. From there, it’s on the DM to not be a dick about things. Using paladins to explore ethical dilemmas can be very rewarding, but putting one in an ‘impossible’ scenario is rarely any fun. For some great examples of using ethical dilemmas as a form of character growth and to explore the concept of morality, check out The Good Place if you haven’t already. Remember: it’s a game. The goal is to have fun, yeah?

Genocide Is Not An Ethical Dilemma - Common Paladin Pitfalls

This is the part of the article where I get very angry about things.

As I alluded to before, there have been some common pitfalls when it comes to paladins both in the history of their formal writing and in the way the fanbase has chosen to play and relate to them. This section is going to discuss those and what you can do about them, so without further ado:

Fascism  - Paladins have some unfortunate bones in with fascist ideology, particularly the Third Reich’s obsession with ‘will’, as well as the fascist preoccupation with the Crusades, the Crusades themselves, and with being members of social classes which are often oppressive in nature. You really do not have to go far to find some jackoff posting DEUS VULT memes about their paladin, and that’s a problem, first because fascists are bad, and second because that definitely misses the fucking point by a country mile. All editions of D&D and its legacy systems have struggled with this, but a shout-out goes to D&D 5e for publishing the Oath of Conquest, because we definitely needed to respond to this problem by creating an option that gives you heavier, more ornate jackboots to put on people’s necks.

So, what do you do about this? Well, for one thing if you find a fascist at your gaming table you throw them the fuck out into the street, and beyond that mainly you just...try not to play a fuckin’ fascist character. This isn’t really a problem you can solve at the table level, since it’s buried into the writing; all you can do is be aware of it, and not play into it. It shouldn’t be terribly difficult to not make a paladin who’s into kicking poor people and undermining the rights of sapient beings, yeah? Paladins tend to fall into these sorts of problems when they’re depicted as supporting strongmen, or as being the Special And Exalted People to whom the rules do not apply - basically the same situations that give superheroes as a genre their ongoing fascism problem. Keep a weather eye out.

Genocide - The two-for-one combo! Paladins have had a genocide problem as far back as AD&D 2e, where several had racial or religious genocide in their backstories. Sometimes those paladins Fell as a result, sure, but a disturbing amount of them didn’t. We also have such gems as, “A local paladin has started a crusade against half-breeds” (a plot hook published in Draconomicon for 3.5), that greentext story about the paladin and dwarf ‘bros’ who spend their free time murdering orc children, and everything that’s ever been written about how drow are characterized and treated by others. Now, in fairness to paladins, Dungeons & Dragons itself has problems with the themes of race and with its depiction of the morality of genocide, and paladins could be merely caught up in that. On a basic level, solving this issue is easy; don’t endorse genocide, don’t make edgy racist concepts to see if you can ‘still be good’. Even if that wasn’t already tired and worn, someone else already took that concept and went pro with it.

For more information about fantasy’s troubles with race and racial coding, I highly suggest this article & its sequel, as well as Lindsay Ellis’s Bright video.

Youth Pastor Syndrome - This one’s not as dire a problem as the other two; there’s a tendency to play paladins in a way that sucks the fun out of the rest of the group, either because you’re being a judgemental asshole in-character (and possibly out of it), or because they’re constantly having to tiptoe around you to get things done or do what they want in the campaign. In theory, same-paging should help solve this problem before it starts, and it honestly mainly stems from the various ‘association’ clauses in paladin codes through their history. An uptight paladin isn’t necessarily a bad concept, but make sure it’s the right concept for your group before you just go there. Your desire to run a particular character is not an excuse to shit on everyone else’s fun.

Sir Dumbass the Just - So this topic isn’t so much a ‘pitfall’ as something that doesn’t get talked about a lot. There has not been a single incarnation of paladin that is rewarded for investing in Intelligence; instead, they tend to crave Strength or  Dexterity, Constitution, and Wisdom and/or Charisma (depending on edition and build). Once your main three are solved, Wisdom is the next-most important ability score for an adventuring paladin, because it directly relates to detecting threats, seeing through illusions, and resisting mind control, which leaves Intelligence in the dust next to whichever one of Strength or Dexterity you didn’t pick. This means, more often than not, that paladins are going to struggle in scholarly pursuits, be bad at Knowledge-type skills, and otherwise be uneducated in many ways, which most assuredly influences both their internal culture and the sorts of people who become successful paladins. Give the matter some consideration when you’re making your own.

Lady Natasha Pointe-Claire of the Dust March - Paladins as NPCS

Related to what was discussed just above, not all paladins are necessarily adventurers. Though the image of the paladin as a knight-errant, wandering the world in order to defeat foul plots and punch demons in the asshole, is both valid and probably very relevant to paladin player characters, there are other roles that a paladin might fulfill in your campaign setting. Such paladins are still members of a warrior class, and will thus have things in common with player character paladins, but their different roles will encourage investment in other kinds of abilities and skills which might not lead to a successful adventuring paladin, but will lead to a pretty good life in the other job. The following examples are by no means exhaustive, but they should provide a good place for a DM to start if they wanna incorporate paladin NPCs into their games in roles other than fellow (or rival) adventurers. Mentor - Probably the most straightforward; this paladin was a successful adventuring paladin who ended up retiring due to age, injuries, or just to enjoy time with their loved ones/family/children rather than getting mauled to death by undead birds. Take a normal paladin build, ratchet them up into Middle Age or Old Age, call it a day. Such paladins are likely to be a lot calmer and more pragmatic than the younger set, with a combination of painful experience and perspective guiding the advice they give on how to fight evil and how to dodge the fireballs that evil be throwing.

Knight-Hospitaller - Hospitallers are healers, caretakers, and guardians of the sick, injured, and infirm. Such a paladin might help maintain a home for those who have been traumatized (abuse victims, soldiers, people laboring beneath magical curses), be employed at or run a hospital, or maintain a temple dedicated to a god of healing and medicine. Hospitallers tend to choose options that enhance their Lay on Hands ability, memorize more healing spells than attack or defense ones, and value Wisdom and Intelligence more highly than their peers, often at the expense of their Strength or Dexterity (or even their Constitution; paladins, being immune to disease, can afford to be surprisingly frail of body in this role).

Fortress Knight - These paladins have a lot in common with adventuring paladins, but are for one reason or another posted in one spot from which they do not leave. They might be the guardians of a frontier village, soldiers watching over a sinister portal, the personal bodyguards to a powerful noble, or any other role in which they take on a defensive, reactionary stance rather than actively seeking out new and exciting forms of evil. Fortress knights need a higher Wisdom and to invest in Perception-type skills, and will tend to focus on utility-type spells with a strong subtheme of attack; they need to be able to rouse the alarm, dispel magic on their allies, and keep an enemy pinned down.

Example Paladin - Corran D’Arcy

I promise you, your long journey through my article is almost over. I wanna talk about a specific paladin to kinda tie things together, as an example of some of these principles and ideas in motion and because Corran d’Arcy is just weirdly legit when he has absolutely no fucking reason to be. Corran appears in the novelization for Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor, written by Carrie Bebris. The book is based on the videogame of the same name, which in turn was made to celebrate the release of D&D 3.0. “Should I play this game?” you ask, to which I reply: absolutely fucking not, the game was a rough ride when it came out and it has not aged remotely well. 3.0 was rapidly updated to 3.5 because of deep and wide mechanical flaws that made the play experience almost physically painful, and converting it to a CRPG did not help that experience at all.

The book though? Excellent. Legitimately one of the best D&D novels. Spoilers for it follow, but I’d still suggest reading it if you get the chance.

The novel is told from the perspective of Kestrel, a petty thief trying to raise enough money to quit her life of crime and, ideally, die in bed of old age rather than of blood loss in some gutter. A series of poor and alcohol-related decisions leads her to volunteer to guard an evil pool of soul-stealing water, which is where she meets Corran d’Arcy, a paladin of Tyr and the third son of a noble family. The two get on like water and oil; to Kestrel, Corran is a pompous, classist piece of shit who judges her without knowing her, and to Corran, Kestrel is the exact kind of criminal and evildoer he so often fights in his day job. When another team opens a portal to beg for help while they’re being slaughtered, Corran quite literally throws Kestrel through it when she’s trying not to go, nearly killing them both.

This puts their professional relationship off to a bit of a distant start, as you might imagine.

Corran’s prejudice, as well as Kestrel’s more-justified-but-still-unhelpful resentment, hinder the party as they attempt to survive in Myth Drannor and defeat the Cult of the Dragon’s schemes there. Corran’s life of privilege has left him unfamiliar with Kestrel’s skills, and he consistently misuses those skills or forgets to ask for her opinion and expertise - to the detriment of the group. This painful oversight aside, however, Corran proves surprisingly practical; he works with the party’s wizard to create effective combat tactics, utilizes invisibility for surprise attacks against powerful foes, and coordinates well in the heat of battle; after all, the Cult of the Dragon is not taking requests for formal duels, and the fate of the world is at stake. Corran is polite even to his enemies, and openly negotiates with the minions and allies of the Cult in order to avoid combat - notably including drow houses that have made their homes in Myth Drannor. Through the course of the novel, he and Kestrel go from being openly antagonistic towards one another to developing a newfound respect, starting when Kestrel calls Corran out for endangering the party by refusing to retreat. Corran, in turn, forces Kestrel to confront the fact that she has been unhappy living her life with no purpose other than to die another day, a revelation that shakes her to her core.

Things come to a head when one of Corran’s decisions gets a man killed. Kestrel calls him out on it, accusing him - correctly - of hurting those he’s trying to protect by misusing her skills and ignoring the advice of his companions. Seeing his genuine anguish over these events softens Kestrel’s rage towards the paladin, enough that they essentially start their relationship over from the top with genuine change from both of them. A scene late in the book where Kestrel helps Corran find the confidence to attempt divine magic (a gift given only to ‘truly worthy’ paladins) cements what has finally become a trusting friendship.

Corran d’Arcy is an excellent example of a classic paladin archetype with life and humanity breathed into it. He has prejudices and insecurities; he feels pressured to live up to a long legacy of knighthood that intimidates him. At the same time, the virtues he lives up to reward him over and over again, from his bold valor (which sees to the defeat of many evildoers) to his courtesy and honor in social situations (which wins him unlikely allies in a ruined city overrun by wickedness). Though he starts out as a dick, Corran is not malicious, and it’s his genuine desire to do good by others that motivates the change in his behavior; when he learns that he is hurting his friends, he knows that he must change.

That’s the end of the article proper! I hope you found it informative and, more than anything, helpful in creating paladins for your game and campaign setting. I absolutely welcome questions, comments, critique, additions, and the like; my Ask box is open, and the Reblog button is right there.

That said, if you’re interested, Mister Vox’s Wild Ride is not yet over. I got bit by the homebrew bug halfway through this damnable thing, so here’s a paladin oath based on a family from my first completed interactive story, Dungeon Life Quest. Constructive critique of this material is also very welcome!

Oath of the la Croix (D&D 5e Sacred Oath)

(River la Croix, journeyman necromancer and demonologist, ex-mercenary. Character is from Dungeon Life Quest, art provided by Domochevsky.)

The la Croix family have been necromancers for longer than they’ve been the la Croix; they laid down much of the foundations of modern necromancy, and have, through the ages, been tyrants, villains, refugees and, these days, heroes. To be a la Croix is not a matter of blood, but of commitment to the family’s ideals; one must be willing to help those in need, to serve the community, be a level head in times of trouble, to show respect for death and the dead, and to make hard choices with a calm heart.

Though most la Croix are necromancers, alchemists, healers, or summoners of various kinds, every now and again a paladin-like warrior emerges from the ranks of the family, often by adoption. Whether or not such cousins are ‘real’ paladins is a subject of languid internal debate in the family - no la Croix has ever fallen to the point where she lost her powers, but a few have managed to go mad enough with that power to end up hunted down by the rest of the family. The question doesn’t really need answering, but it’s fun to argue about after three cups of wine.

Tenets of the la Croix The high standards expected of la Croix paladins are also expected of anyone who chooses to bear the family name. You can give up the name at any time, but most la Croix children - by adoption or by blood - try to wear it with pride.

Life is for the Living, Death is for the Dead. No one chooses to be born, and very few people choose to die. Respect these truths. Take life when you must, but not cruelly, and never for personal gain. Remember that you, too, are alive, and deserve the chance to enjoy that life as all people do.

Your Name is ‘Somebody’. If there is a call for help, you are the one to answer; when you hear ‘somebody do something’, ‘somebody help me’, you are Somebody, child of Anyone. If you can’t help directly, do everything you can anyway. None of us deserve to be alone.

Serve, Not Rule. A la Croix’s place in her community is service to that community. We are not nobles, tyrants, or generals; we dwell among the common people to protect and shelter them, and to remind ourselves of all the ways in which we are alike. Our power makes us different, not better.

They, Too, Are Victims of Life. You do not know the struggles others go through, just as they do not know yours. All are condemned to live and to die, and deserve your compassion even when you are moved to strike them down for the greater good. Bury your enemies and give them their last rites as if they were your own family.

Oath Spells You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed.

3rd - bane, false life 5th - darkness, gentle repose 9th - bestow curse, fear 13th - phantasmal killer, shadow of Moil* 17th - danse macabre*, planar binding

*appears in Xanathar’s Guide to Everything

Channel Divinity When you take this oath at 3rd level, you gain the following Channel Divinity options.

Ancestral Protection - You can use your Channel Divinity to call upon your la Croix ancestors for protection. As an action, you suffer damage equal to your paladin level; this damage cannot be prevented or reduced in any way. Then, you and all allies within 30 feet of you gain a bonus to armor class equal to your Charisma modifier for 1 minute.

Balefire Blast - You can use your Channel Divinity to scourge an enemy with death-in-flame. Make a spell attack against a creature within 30 feet. If you hit, that creature suffers necrotic damage equal to your paladin level, plus fire damage equal to your paladin level. If it dies within 1 minute of being hit, it counts as dying of old age in addition to its actual cause of death (usually meaning that it is much more difficult to bring back from the dead).

Necromancer’s Aura Beginning at 7th level, you radiate constant necromantic wards that protect you and your allies. You and allies within 10 feet of you have resistance to necrotic damage and radiant damage, and you make saving throws against effects which would kill you outright with advantage.

At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to 30 feet.

Friend of Death Starting at 15th level, you regain 1 spell slot of 3rd level or lower whenever a creature within 30 feet of you is reduced to 0 or less hit points. You can regain a number of spell slots this way equal to your Charisma modifier; once you reach this limit, you must finish a long rest to use this ability again.

Aphrael’s Chosen At 20th level, you gain the ability to enter a state of heightened necromantic power, in which you can channel far more sorcery than usual. As an action, you suffer damage equal to your paladin level, then begin channeling raw death magic for 1 minute. While in this state, you gain the following benefits:

- You are immune to all effects which would kill you outright - Whenever you cast a paladin spell, you can make a weapon attack as part of casting that spell. You are not required to make this attack. - Creatures make their saving throws against your spells with disadvantage.

Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.

[nhungcuonsachhay]

TÂM BẤT BIẾN GIỮA DÒNG ĐỜI VẠN BIẾN 1. Không lãng phí thời gian vào những cuộc ngồi lê đôi mách. 2. Bạn không cần phải thắng trong tất cả các cuộc tranh luận. Hãy chấp nhận rằng sẽ luôn có những người phản đối. 3. Đừng so sánh cuộc đời của bạn với những người khác. Bạn không hề biết chính xác những gì người khác đã và đang trải qua. 4. Điều người khác nghĩ không liên quan đến bạn. 5. Không buông thả, nhưng cũng đừng quá nghiêm khắc với bản thân. 6. Hãy dành thời gian với những người trên 70 và dưới 6 tuổi. 7. Ước mơ nhiều hơn. 8. Để bản thân được nghỉ ngơi, suy nghĩ và bình tâm bằng cách ngồi tĩnh lặng trong 10’ mỗi ngày. 9. Mỗi ngày, cố gắng khiến ít nhất 3 người cười. 10. Cuộc sống quá ngắn để phí thời gian vào việc căm ghét ai đó. 11. Không một ai chịu trách nhiệm cho hạnh phúc của bạn ngoại trừ bạn. 12. Đọc nhiều sách hơn, ít chơi điện thoại lại. 13. Giữ liên lạc với bạn bè. Công việc không thể giúp bạn khỏe lại khi bạn ốm, nhưng bạn bè thì có thể. 14. Ngủ 8 tiếng một ngày. 15. Cười nhiều hơn. 16. Uống ít nhất 2 lít nước mỗi ngày. 17. Hãy tập trung vào những bài học rút ra được từ quá khứ. Đừng gợi lại cho bất kỳ ai những sai lầm của họ. 18. Tin rằng cho dù hoàn cảnh tốt hay tồi tệ như thế nào, nó cũng sẽ thay đổi. 19. Hãy gọi cho gia đình thường xuyên. 20. Bất kể bạn đang cảm thấy như thế nào, hãy thức dậy, mặc quần áo đẹp và thể hiện mình đi. 21. Dành thời gian chạy/đi bộ 10 đến 30 phút mỗi ngày. 22. Dành thời gian tập thiền, yoga và tĩnh tâm. 23. Hãy để quá khứ trôi qua một cách yên bình. Đừng để chúng ảnh hưởng tới cuộc sống hiện tại của bạn 24. Sống với nguyên tắc 3E: Energy (Hết mình), Enthusiasm (nhiệt huyết) và Empathy (đồng cảm). 25. Ăn nhiều thức ăn thực vật và hạn chế ăn các thực phẩm đã qua chế biến. 26. Sống trọn từng khoảnh khắc và hãy thử những điều mới lạ. 27. Yêu bản thân bởi vì bạn là duy nhất và bạn tuyệt vời theo cách của riêng bạn. 28. Mỗi ngày, hãy dành tặng điều gì đó tốt đẹp cho người khác. 29. Chơi nhiều trò chơi vận động hơn thay vì trò chơi điện tử. 30. Hãy hiểu rằng cuộc đời là một trường học và bạn được sinh ra để trở thành một học sinh trong ngôi trường đó. Mọi rắc rối chỉ là một phần trong chương trình giảng dạy và rồi nó cũng https://www.instagram.com/p/B6pSMullw2F/?igshid=7cjq8ek85fct

[vintagerpg]

For my money, Monster Manual III (2004) is the best of the 3E Monster Manuals, despite it being a super uneven and somewhat frustrating collection. At least it is uneven and frustrating in a fun way?

At this point, the lion’s share of classic monsters from previous editions had been covered, leaving room in this book for a whole lot of weirdness. Like the Shrieking Terror, a hybrid of the vargouille and the hydra which WTF. There are a ton of variant monsters in this book – like, when you need some skulls crushed, now you have stats for the Skullcrusher Ogre. In MMIII, variants are novel and pretty inspiring – I got a lot of mileage creating interesting encounter groups thanks to this book – but, well, more on that tomorrow.

The art has a really good energy, too. Everything pops. The weird consistency through drab coloring thing from the last book is out the window here. Just about everything has an intriguing visual design (see the golem made out of magic items, or the cadaver collector). Even if the given stats didn’t do it for me, the visuals were so strong I could easily whip up my own custom monster that would suit my purposes (gloom golem? Naw, that dude obviously has a black hole for a head). That is the work of some mighty fine art.

Wayne Reynolds has a lot of really nice work here. I think Wayne is The Artist of 3E. I loved him at the time, but my enthusiasm has since cooled, for reasons I find hard to express. I will never take away his ability to properly deal with the weird reversed hands of the Rakshasa, though. A+.

This book also marks the introduction of Eberron’s creatures, as well as notes for most monsters about their ecologies relative to that campaign setting as well as the Forgotten Realms. Which I am sure was invaluable to someone.

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[agenluxurybet88-blog]

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[theeclecticfactory]

The Whip of the 80s

My sister and I were baking banana loaf (they’re surprisingly easy to do) one Wednesday night. The kitchen is usually boring and silent at this time, so I decided to play some music. Almost every home architecture attributes the kitchen as a public area and, with my parents in the vicinity, I had to be very careful with my music choice. Being very thoughtful, I “hey Google”d Africa by TOTO, something that would be very much familiar to the Gen X parents. Spotify, by default, plays the Spotify Radio for a specific song when you request for it via Google Assistant. And so the 80s nostalgia train chugged on incessantly with songs like We Built this City, Every Breath You Take, Rosanna, and this iconic anthem of today's generation.

After accidentally rick-rolling myself in the most unfunny way possible, I remembered Estelle Caswell's great analysis of music from the 80s. There’s this artificial sound-processing technique artists of this decade used called gated reverb. And it’s eVERYWHERE. It’s that punchy, almost whip-like sound that you hear in nearly e v e r y song of the 80s. You’ll hear it on a-ha’s Take On Me, Tears for Tears’ Everybody Wants To Rule The World, and Deniece Williams’ Let’s Hear It for the Boy. Oh and literally all Michael Jackson songs.

So what is it with this sound, and why specifically this snappy whip sound?

I think we need to start with how the sound is made. Reverb, in the most basic way possible, is produced by playing an instrument in one side of a sound-reflective room and placing the recording device on the other side. It’s effectively that lingering sound, the sound that gets left behind when you scream in a tile-laden bathroom. It’s close to an echo, but not quite. This is achieved when the sound waves reach your ears at very v e r y small delays that you won’t perceive them as echoes but instead a lingering effect.

This recording technique has been around even before the 80s. Experimental rock bands like Pink Floyd have played around with reverb to heighten the aural atmosphere of their music. This is very prominent on all parts of Shine On You Crazy Diamond and you can hear it to great effect with that iconic guitar riff at the start of Part II.

But the key to understanding this 80s whip sound stems from the gated part of gated reverb, and it was only truly made possible around this time.

You see, gated reverb isn’t a sound that can be reproduced in the natural world. It’s artificial. That whipping, punchy sound is produced by cutting off the volume below a certain threshold and reverb then amplifying the resulting sound. The result of this is that immediate punch sound that whips, disappearing as fast as it cracks. Aurally, there’s no recognizable reverb in the traditional sense. The entire sound is the reverb. It all just sounds like one snapping whip sound because of the gating.

Gated Reverb Explained GIF from How a recording-studio mishap shaped '80s music'

The development of this sound was truly made possible by the great strides in technology brought forth by the turn of the decade. The 80s was prefaced by the digital revolution of the 70s which brought us technologies like integrated circuits (IC) which paved way to (relatively) inexpensive computers. Tech giants today in the names of Apple and Microsoft all trace their roots to this decade. By the 80s, this technological advance trickled to many real-world applications and music production is one of them.

Estelle Caswell of Vox presented this fact on her well-produced (as always) video, How a recording-studio mishap shaped ‘80s music. Back in the 70s, only the big, well-known bands had access to expensive equipment and studios to produce the sound they want for their music—reverb is one such sound. The first-ever application of the gated reverb in pop music was in 1981 when Phil Collins released In The Air Tonight. This is widely considered to be his greatest and most influential work and for good reason—this song paved the way for the decade’s musical character.

In The Air Tonight by Phil Collins, the first pop song that used gated reverb

But the breakthrough really only happened with the release of a reverb unit named AMS RMX16 in 1982—the first of its kind to be powered by a microprocessor (yes, it's that chip that runs your computer). This shoebox-sized circuit wizardry allowed for musicians and sound engineers to put reverb on whatever sound they wish. There was no longer any need for renting out expensive studios and elaborate (often bulky) equipment. Suddenly everyone had access to these luxuries, and these luxuries were thoroughly made use of. Gated reverb cracked its whip across the charts. And by across the charts, I meant aCROSS THE CHARTS. Every year from 1983 to 1989 had AT LEAST a month where the chart-topper was a song with a gated reverb drum line. This sound became so quintessentially 80s that artists today (looking at you Bruno Mars) make use of gated reverb to infuse a throwback-ist vibe to their music.

The widespread use of gated reverb might suggest that there has been no resistance to making use of the whip. There was a 1985 cover of That's What Friends Are For by a powerhouse four-way that you'll forget gated reverb even existed. Dionne Warwick, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, and Gladys Knight sang the melodramatic song to the top of the 1986 charts. From radio stations to MTV specials and even in kitchens where your mother had probably sang the eponymous line, it's an instant classic. And there's no denying it of that achievement. But doesn't it seem like the song that just sticks out? When you think of 80s music, is it really the one that comes to mind?

Not only is there a gated reverb, but there's a particular mood to both songs. This mood permeates with other songs of the era.

A close listen to Bleachers' Don't Take The Money makes it instantly recognizable. Comparing it to another song of the same era, Everybody Wants To Rule The World by Tears For Tears, and there's a tangible connection. Not only is there a gated reverb, but there's a particular mood to both songs. This mood permeates with other songs of the era, only they're not from the same era. Don't Take The Money is from Jack Antonoff's side project Bleachers, from 2017. But the music footprint is so distinctly similar with that mood so very persistent that they just belong so much together. And, I don't know if I'm the only one who hears it, but doesn't a gated reverb snare sound close to people clapping in a concert?

The character is in the beat, the beat is in the drums, and the drums are in gated reverb. It's the punchy drums that whip your feet to the beat.

Arguably, the most iconic song of the decade has to be Every Breath You Take by The Police. Its sweet, simple guitar, bass and drum line accompanied with Sting's smooth vocals make for its deliciously captivating tone; you'll bob your head for days on end. It's the song that you'll gently glide and snap and clap your body to while you cook dinner. Qualitatively, it's not even a sweet song (it's actually about big-brother-esque surveillance) and the mellow bass line isn't really one to dance to, but you dance anyway. If you listen to the song without the drums, it's an entirely different song altogether. The character is in the beat, the beat is in the drums, and the drums are in gated reverb. It's the punchy drums that whip your feet to the beat.

Sting in the music video of Every Breath You Take

Listening to other gated reverb classics like We Built This City, Karma Chameleon, and I Think We're Alone Now exemplifies the 80s mood perfectly. It's the enthusiasm, the tempo, the outpouring energy of these songs punctuated with the gated reverb drum line that make them irresistible to slide and pump and clap to. And that's not even a figure of speech, that gated reverb snare drum is the one you'll clap along to, along thousands of people listening independently like a concert that permeates through space and time. That sound is no coincidence. That pronounced snare drum claps very prominently throughout all those 80s songs. It's a Footloose in each and single one of them. (And yes, Footloose by Kenny Loggins has a gated reverb drum line). Even the mellow Every Breath You Take reeks of the energy. It's this transcendental vigor of energy and dance of most gated reverb songs that enveloped the music scene of the 80s. It's the natural evolution of the disco, albeit a much lively and more electronic evolution.

Going back to the AMS RMX16, there's really more to it than just gated reverb. For everything it is, it's actually a very revolutionary piece of tech.

Another aspect of how 80s music came to be is exactly in HOW it came to be. Going back to the AMS RMX16, there's more to it than just gated reverb. For everything it is, it's actually a very revolutionary piece of tech. Functionally, it only really is a reverberation processor and the world was still long ways far from the studio-in-a-garage technology, but it marks the starting point. Its predecessor, the DMX15R, was the first-ever microprocessor-controlled digital reverberator, the keywords being microprocessor and digital. Before this, the norm was analog sound processing. Pink Floyd made use of the EMS VCS 3, an analog synthesizer for their most famous albums, The Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here.

EMS VCS 3 By The Standard Deviant - https://www.flickr.com/photos/15599859@N06/2285052142/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6359789

This archaic technology looking the likes of early-WW2 air force equipment was released in 1969 and was extremely popular with progressive rock bands. It was a dainty piece of equipment, prone to tuning instabilities and incredibly difficult to use. It was so bad that bands avoided using it for producing the melodic tunes of their music, instead opting for producing electronic background effects and ambient sounds. In contrast, this is how the AMS RMX16 looks:

Before this fantastic piece of music circuitry, really the only effective way to produce and manipulate reverb was through plate reverberation. In essence, sound is transmitted through a large plate of sheet metal from one side then picked up by contact microphones on the other. Reverb time (time before the sound completely fades away) is adjusted by moving framed acoustic tiles, called a damping pad, closer to the metal plate without touching it.

A DIY Plate Reverb Contraption, with man to scale

This hulking contraption is about the size of a large classroom chalkboard, including the wall it's hinged on. At least one person has to be dedicated to operating it as has large moving parts that need to be adjusted to get the much-wanted r e v e r b e r a t i o n w a v e s. With all the fuss in operating reverb machines there was no time for gated reverb to be accidentally created—you'd have had to be very specific in finding that sound if you wanted it.

Gated reverb only really happened by accident when Hugh Padgham, the sound engineer in Peter Gabriels' eponymous third solo album. The sound was picked up by an overhead studio mic that was used as an intercom for the band to communicate with the people in sound processing. It made use of a noise gate that cut off sound below a certain level and a sound compressor which modified the loud and quiet sounds to be closer to each other in level, resulting in that classic whip sound. When the AMS RMX16 came to the scene, it included gated reverb built-in. It made use of a microprocessor to do everything. Instead of having to turn knobs and move huge metal plates to manipulate the sound waves, a push of a button will command the microprocessor to do all that for you. The reverb processor comes built-in with multiple presets that would require significant effort and fine-tuning with previous technologies. No need for the overhead mic and a separate reverb processor; it's all in the box.

This paradigm shift in music production predicated an era of digitally-produced music.

This digital (music) revolution allowed for everyone to achieve that sound in an easily-reproducible way, thus allowing for its proliferation throughout the airwaves and into the lives of everyone who had at least a radio. This paradigm shift in music production predicated an era of electronically-produced music, a wave that proved to be an unstoppable force of nature. Earth, Wind & Fire, a band that rode the disco scene to superstardom, incorporated the electronic sound in their 1981 album Raise! with the sound fully realized in the disco-synth hit in Let's Groove. While their disco roots was still prevalent, that heavily synthesized bassline and intro vocals is undeniably 80s; and the electronic shift that came with the era. It proved irresistible even to bands that were long-standing vanguards of their genre. Jefferson Airplane, a much-loved hardline rock band from the 60s which through its tumultuous history morphed into Jefferson Starship then finally Starship, with that final incarnation completely embracing the commercial, electronic wave of the era—much to the chagrin of their long-time fans. Even The Smiths, a band known for their rejection of synthesizers and dance-pop, couldn't resist the use of electronic wizardry. A listen to their best work, There Is a Light That Never Goes Out, and there's that recognizable whipping beat. The appeal was undeniable, and the soundscape forever changed.

Earth, Wind & Fire

Jefferson Airplane, shortly before they became Starship

The Smiths

At this point in time, the banana loaf we baked has long since been completed and consumed. And similarly, that 80s sound has also been widely consumed to the fullest extent of everyone's music palate, completely sickened by that repetitive whip sound that is gated reverb. But the music revolution persists. The culture of electronic music production and digitalized soundwaves lives on until today, and will continue to be alive into the future. So how do you like the taste of it? That banana loaf still lives rent-free in my head, and I'm not complaining at all.

[theeclecticelectrician]

The Whip of the 80s

My sister and I were baking banana loaf (they’re surprisingly easy to do) one Wednesday night. The kitchen is usually boring and silent at this time, so I decided to play some music. The kitchen being a public area and with my parents in the vicinity, I had to be very careful with my music choice. Being very thoughtful, I “hey Google”d Africa by TOTO, something that would be very much familiar to the Gen X parents. Spotify, by default, plays the Spotify Radio for a specific song when you request for it via Google Assistant. And so the 80s nostalgia train chugged on incessantly with songs like We Built this City, Every Breath You Take, Rosanna, and this iconic anthem of today's generation.

After accidentally rick-rolling myself in the most unfunny way possible, I remembered Estelle Caswell's great analysis of music from the 80s. There’s this artificial sound-processing technique artists of this decade used called gated reverb. And it’s eVERYWHERE. It’s that punchy, almost whip-like sound that you hear in nearly e v e r y song of the 80s. You’ll hear it on a-ha’s Take On Me, Tears for Tears’ Everybody Wants To Rule The World, and Deniece Williams’ Let’s Hear It for the Boy. Oh and literally all Michael Jackson songs.

So what is it with this sound, and why specifically this snappy whip sound?

I think we need to start with how the sound is made. Reverb, in the most basic way possible, is produced by playing an instrument in one side of a sound-reflective room and placing the recording device on the other side. It’s effectively that lingering sound, the sound that gets left behind when you scream in a tile-laden bathroom. It’s close to an echo, but not quite. This is achieved when the sound waves reach your ears at very v e r y small delays that you won’t perceive them as echoes but instead a lingering effect.

This recording technique has been around even before the 80s. Experimental rock bands like Pink Floyd have played around with reverb to heighten the aural atmosphere of their music. This is very prominent on all parts of Shine On You Crazy Diamond and you can hear it to great effect with that iconic guitar riff at the start of Part II.

But the key to understanding this 80s whip sound stems from the gated part of gated reverb, and it was only truly made possible around this time.

You see, gated reverb isn’t a sound that can be reproduced in the natural world. It’s artificial. That whipping, punchy sound is produced by cutting off the volume below a certain threshold and reverb then amplifying the resulting sound. The result of this is that immediate punch sound that whips, disappearing as fast as it cracks. Aurally, there’s no recognizable reverb in the traditional sense. The entire sound is the reverb. It all just sounds like one snapping whip sound because of the gating.

Gated Reverb Explained GIF from How a recording-studio mishap shaped '80s music'

The development of this sound was truly made possible by the great strides in technology brought forth by the turn of the decade. The 80s was prefaced by the digital revolution of the 70s which brought us technologies like integrated circuits (IC) which paved way to (relatively) inexpensive computers. Tech giants today in the names of Apple and Microsoft all trace their roots to this decade. By the 80s, this technological advance trickled to many real-world applications and music production is one of them.

Estelle Caswell of Vox presented this fact on her well-produced (as always) video, How a recording-studio mishap shaped ‘80s music. Back in the 70s, only the big, well-known bands had access to expensive equipment and studios to produce the sound they want for their music—reverb is one such sound. The first-ever application of the gated reverb in pop music was in 1981 when Phil Collins released In The Air Tonight. This is widely considered to be his greatest and most influential work and for good reason—this song paved the way for the decade’s musical character.

In The Air Tonight by Phil Collins, the first pop song that used gated reverb

But the breakthrough really only happened with the release of a reverb unit named AMS RMX16 in 1982—the first of its kind to be powered by a microprocessor (yes, it's that chip that runs your computer). This shoebox-sized circuit wizardry allowed for musicians and sound engineers to put reverb on whatever sound they wish. There was no longer any need for renting out expensive studios and elaborate (often bulky) equipment. Suddenly everyone had access to these luxuries, and these luxuries were thoroughly made use of. Gated reverb cracked its whip across the charts. And by across the charts, I meant aCROSS THE CHARTS. Every year from 1983 to 1989 had AT LEAST a month where the chart-topper was a song with a gated reverb drum line. This sound became so quintessentially 80s that artists today (looking at you Bruno Mars) make use of gated reverb to infuse a throwback-ist vibe to their music.

The widespread use of gated reverb might suggest that there has been no resistance to making use of the whip. There was a 1985 cover of That's What Friends Are For by a powerhouse four-way that you'll forget gated reverb even existed. Dionne Warwick, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, and Gladys Knight sang the melodramatic song to the top of the 1986 charts. From radio stations to MTV specials and even in kitchens where your mother had probably sang the eponymous line, it's an instant classic. And there's no denying it of that achievement. But doesn't it seem like the song that just sticks out? When you think of 80s music, is it really the one that comes to mind?

Not only is there a gated reverb, but there's a particular mood to both songs. This mood permeates with other songs of the era.

A close listen to Bleachers' Don't Take The Money makes it instantly recognizable. Comparing it to another song of the same era, Everybody Wants To Rule The World by Tears For Tears, and there's a tangible connection. Not only is there a gated reverb, but there's a particular mood to both songs. This mood permeates with other songs of the era, only they're not from the same era. Don't Take The Money is from Jack Antonoff's side project Bleachers, from 2017. But the music footprint is so distinctly similar with that mood so very persistent that they just belong so much together. And, I don't know if I'm the only one who hears it, but doesn't a gated reverb snare sound close to people clapping in a concert?

The character is in the beat, the beat is in the drums, and the drums are in gated reverb. It's the punchy drums that whip your feet to the beat.

Arguably, the most iconic song of the decade has to be Every Breath You Take by The Police. Its sweet, simple guitar, bass and drum line accompanied with Sting's smooth vocals make for its deliciously captivating tone; you'll bob your head for days on end. It's the song that you'll gently glide and snap and clap your body to while you cook dinner. Qualitatively, it's not even a sweet song (it's actually about big-brother-esque surveillance) and the mellow bass line isn't really one to dance to, but you dance anyway. If you listen to the song without the drums, it's an entirely different song altogether. The character is in the beat, the beat is in the drums, and the drums are in gated reverb. It's the punchy drums that whip your feet to the beat.

Sting in the music video of Every Breath You Take

Listening to other gated reverb classics like We Built This City, Karma Chameleon, and I Think We're Alone Now exemplifies the 80s mood perfectly. It's the enthusiasm, the tempo, the outpouring energy of these songs punctuated with the gated reverb drum line that make them irresistible to slide and pump and clap to. And that's not even a figure of speech, that gated reverb snare drum is the one you'll clap along to, along thousands of people listening independently like a concert that permeates through space and time. That sound is no coincidence. That pronounced snare drum claps very prominently throughout all those 80s songs. It's a Footloose in each and single one of them. (And yes, Footloose by Kenny Loggins has a gated reverb drum line). Even the mellow Every Breath You Take reeks of the energy. It's this transcendental vigor of energy and dance of most gated reverb songs that enveloped the music scene of the 80s. It's the natural evolution of the disco, albeit a much lively and more electronic evolution.

Going back to the AMS RMX16, there's really more to it than just gated reverb. For everything it is, it's actually a very revolutionary piece of tech.

Another aspect of how 80s music came to be is exactly in HOW it came to be. Going back to the AMS RMX16, there's more to it than just gated reverb. For everything it is, it's actually a very revolutionary piece of tech. Functionally, it only really is a reverberation processor and the world was still long ways far from the studio-in-a-garage technology, but it marks the starting point. Its predecessor, the DMX15R, was the first-ever microprocessor-controlled digital reverberator, the keywords being microprocessor and digital. Before this, the norm was analog sound processing. Pink Floyd made use of the EMS VCS 3, an analog synthesizer for their most famous albums, The Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here.

EMS VCS 3 By The Standard Deviant - https://www.flickr.com/photos/15599859@N06/2285052142/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6359789

This archaic technology looking the likes of early-WW2 air force equipment was released in 1969 and was extremely popular with progressive rock bands. It was a dainty piece of equipment, prone to tuning instabilities and incredibly difficult to use. It was so bad that bands avoided using it for producing the melodic tunes of their music, instead opting for producing electronic background effects and ambient sounds. In contrast, this is how the AMS RMX16 looks:

Before this fantastic piece of music circuitry, really the only effective way to produce and manipulate reverb was through plate reverberation. In essence, sound is transmitted through a large plate of sheet metal from one side then picked up by contact microphones on the other. Reverb time (time before the sound completely fades away) is adjusted by moving framed acoustic tiles, called a damping pad, closer to the metal plate without touching it.

A DIY Plate Reverb Contraption, with man to scale

This hulking contraption is about the size of a large classroom chalkboard, including the wall it's hinged on. At least one person has to be dedicated to operating it as has large moving parts that need to be adjusted to get the much-wanted r e v e r b e r a t i o n w a v e s. With all the fuss in operating reverb machines there was no time for gated reverb to be accidentally created—you'd have had to be very specific in finding that sound if you wanted it.

Gated reverb only really happened by accident when Hugh Padgham, the sound engineer in Peter Gabriels' eponymous third solo album. The sound was picked up by an overhead studio mic that was used as an intercom for the band to communicate with the people in sound processing. It made use of a noise gate that cut off sound below a certain level and a sound compressor which modified the loud and quiet sounds to be closer to each other in level, resulting in that classic whip sound. When the AMS RMX16 came to the scene, it included gated reverb built-in. It made use of a microprocessor to do everything. Instead of having to turn knobs and move huge metal plates to manipulate the sound waves, a push of a button will command the microprocessor to do all that for you. The reverb processor comes built-in with multiple presets that would require significant effort and fine-tuning with previous technologies. No need for the overhead mic and a separate reverb processor; it's all in the box.

This paradigm shift in music production established an era of digitally-produced music.

This digital (music) revolution allowed for everyone to achieve that sound in an easily-reproducible way, thus allowing for its proliferation throughout the airwaves and into the lives of everyone who had at least a radio. This paradigm shift in music production established an era of electronically-produced music, a wave that proved to be an unstoppable force of nature. Earth, Wind & Fire, a band that rode the disco scene to superstardom, incorporated the electronic sound in their 1981 album Raise! with the sound fully realized in the disco-synth hit in Let's Groove. While their disco roots was still prevalent, that heavily synthesized bassline and intro vocals is undeniably 80s; and the electronic shift that came with the era. It proved irresistible even to bands that were long-standing vanguards of their genre. Jefferson Airplane, a much-loved hardline rock band from the 60s which through its tumultuous history morphed into Jefferson Starship then finally Starship, with that final incarnation completely embracing the commercial, electronic wave of the era—much to the chagrin of their long-time fans. Even The Smiths, a band known for their rejection of synthesizers and dance-pop, couldn't resist the use of electronic wizardry. A listen to their best work, There Is a Light That Never Goes Out, and there's that recognizable whipping beat. The appeal was undeniable, and the soundscape forever changed.

Earth, Wind & Fire

Jefferson Airplane, shortly before they became Starship

The Smiths

At this point in time, the banana loaf we baked has long since been completed and consumed. And similarly, that 80s sound has also been widely consumed to the fullest extent of everyone's music palate, completely sickened by that repetitive whip sound that is gated reverb. But the music revolution persists. The culture of electronic music production and digitalized soundwaves lives on until today, and will continue to be alive into the future. So how do you like the taste of it? That banana loaf still lives rent-free in my head, and I'm not complaining at all.

[srrecruiters]

With job consulting agency in India know the tips to impress in a Job Interview

The job interview is one of the most important stages in a selection process, so the applicant must be able to detail his achievements, quantitatively, explaining the increase in sales, the reduction of costs and percentages of customer satisfaction, which gives advantages to other applicants. Here we collect few things suggested by top recruitment agency in India that you must follow.

Going through the different stages in a staff selection process and getting to the personal job interview means being a strong candidate to fill a vacancy.

At this stage according to job consulting agency you cannot let your guard down and believe that you have the position secured, because a single mistake, such as speaking ill of the former employer, the previous company or the former boss, would break down any possibility of hiring.

10 Tips for a Job Interview

Job seekers should learn to quantify their achievements. For example, success indicators, such as increased sales, cost reduction, customer satisfaction percentages, and more, need to be detailed. SR Recruiters as top job recruitment agency in India they meet many candidates and companies every month. They know what you must do to get your dream job with their long experience. Here we talk about them. 

These actions may give certain advantages to the other applicants. Also, it is valid to present difficult cases or situations that were successfully addressed and resolved.

To be the ideal candidate and impress in an interview it is advisable to follow these five basic tips:

1.- Punctuality

Arrive on time to the appointment, even minutes in advance. Arriving with the exact time generates anxiety before, during and after the interview.

2.- Attention to conversation

Be attentive and answer questions consistently. S leaving attention or talking about issues that move away from the initial question could project evasive behaviour.

3.- Study the field

Know the area of the company. Sometimes the marketer might ask about the turn of the company's business and a good answer might impress.

4.- Good predisposition

Connect with the interviewer: the connection must flow authentically to apply the 3E (enthusiasm, energy and success).

5.- Alert to posture and movement

Use good body language. Good posture, smile, eye contact and a handshake speak of someone positive and interested in work.

6.- Check clothing

Use a sober look according to the occasion. It is ideal to wear comfortable and safety-proof clothing.

7.- Security

The candidate should be shown as he is,sure of what he is worth, of his academic training and work experience.

8.- Talk about what's necessary

It is necessary to be clear and concise when talking to the recruiter and not to use searched expressions.

9.- Train answers

Prepare the answers: in a job interview some questions are fixed and common, so it is important to train how to respond.

10.- Honesty

It is necessary to prove that the work can be done. If you lie on the resume, the recruiter can find out during the interview.

So all the best for your future career, Prepared well for the next now!

If you are looking for job but don't have much time to search then you must contact the experts at SR Recruiters the top job consulting agency in India who can help you to find best of best opportunities. Contact today!

[nolesscreateur]

Live with 3E (energy, enthusiasm & empathy)... Good new Monday! #handmadeHK#DIY#NoLessCreateur#jewelry#accessories#stylish#fashion#gems#crystal#sterlingsilver#followme#instadiy#instadesign#forherforhim#gift#hkseller#hkshop#instashop#weekendmarket#diybazaar#hkbazaar#artistmarket#手作#市集#香港設計#鼠年#抗疫#身體健 https://www.instagram.com/p/CE05dnqjxSm/?igshid=1sw1kjtf9uxpm

[topfygad]

Smoothie Bowl Heaven at Combi Byron Bay

It is no mystery that we are total foodies. So on our recent getaway to Byron Bay, I understood specifically wherever we would be heading for breakfast one particular morning! I’d been next Combi Byron Bay on Instagram for ages and drooling more than their smoothie bowls, uncooked cakes and nutritious goodness every time they posted new shots. It was a prolonged weekend, so super occupied though I be expecting they are occupied every day due to the fact their menu is so unbelievable! Combi has an natural menu, dwelling-created nut milks and uncooked cakes, good trade espresso and insta-deserving smoothie bowls, all while staying family owned and supporting area farmers! It was the perfect spot for brunch soon after Dan’s early morning surf and my attractive seaside walk.

We started off with espresso for Dan and a Matcha Latte for me. Both equally have been piping scorching and tasty! I’m actually loving matcha and tumeric lattes these days but have located them a bit hit or pass up in cafes but I’m satisfied to say, Combi’s matcha latte was best.

Dan was a minor dissatisfied when he realised there was no bacon on the menu, nevertheless I quickly swayed him when I pointed out that he could have an Acai Bowl with peanut butter! It was wonderful and boy oh boy that peanut butter strike the location! The smoothie bowl was served in a coconut and presented fantastically with antioxidant-loaded acai blended with banana, blueberries, medjool dates, residence designed nut milk then topped with crispy coconut flakes, activated caramelised buckinis, banana, apple, cranberries and strawberries. It nearly seemed far too great to take in!

I opted for the Dragon Fruit bowl which was blended with mango, banana & property built nut milk, topped with strawberry, apple, crispy coconut, chia seeds, cranberry, goji berries, activated caramelised buckini and garnished with enthusiasm fruit. It was so sweet and total of goodness, and I would surely pick it once again whilst I did have a minimal bit of foodstuff envy over Dan’s acai bowl with peanut butter!

Combi Byron Bay was each and every bit as great as we’d hoped. It is not the most economical choice for breakfast, with our bowls and coffees costing just about $50 nevertheless it was worth it! We ended up fully full by the finish and a tiny unhappy we could not in shape in some of the uncooked cakes that we had been eyeing off when we very first walked in. We’ll absolutely return to Combi Byron Bay on our subsequent excursion to Byron and remarkably propose it to everyone who enjoys refreshing, nutritious and mouthwateringly fantastic food! The cafe is also super adorable with pastel decor, palm trees and a seriously peaceful vibe!

Have you been to Byron Bay? What are your favorite foodie places there?

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Fargo+cricket+club+Brings +interest+in+Game +from+far-away+Locations

%3Cdiv%3E%3Cdiv%3E%3Cp%3EPlayers+at +the+outfield+yell+percent 22Get+it%21+Earn +it%21%27%27+with+a+sudden+burst+of+enthusiasm+as+two+players+in +the+batting+group +run+across+a+22-yard-long+pitch+at +the+middle. %3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EThe+ballhangs+at+the+highest+point+and+falls+directly +into+the+available +hands+of+the+fielder. %3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3ECheering+stinks +and+all+the+players+at +the+outfield+rush+to+congratulate+him. %3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EThen+it%27s+back+to+positions. %3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EThe+g +requires +a+long+walk+back+to+the+sideline. +The+helmet+and+gloves+turn +off+and+the+bat+is+held+underneath+thearm. %3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EWhile+the+scene+just+described+may +seem+odd +to+many%2C+it%27s+a+familiar+Gravity +to+people +who+understand +the+game. +It%27s+predicted +cricket. %3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EAnd+on+a+2Fp%2C+slightly+cold+Saturday%2C+June+2%2C+approximately+20+individuals +accumulated +at +total +sports+equipment +and+equipment+to+play+a+game +which +crosses +the+whole +globe+%E2%80%94+1 +which +also+found+a+house +in+Fargo. %3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EThe+players+are+percent +of+the+Fargo+Cricket+Club+percent 28FCC%29%2C+an+firm +based +at +2011+by+a+handful+of+Fargo+residents+which +has+because +grown+to+be+a+successful+and+booming +extra-curricular+pastime+to +many. %3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EAnd+with+which +success%2C+the+club+looks+to+present +the+game +to+a+larger+market +at +Fargo. %3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3ECricket+is+an+global +game +played+in+Canada%2C+South+Africa%2C+Australia%2C+England%2C+Zimbabwepercent 2C+the+West+Indies%2C+several+south+Asian+countries+like+India%2C+Pakistan+and+Sri+Lanka%2C+and+more. +It+isrivaled+only+by+football +in+terms+of+international +celebrity. %3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EThe+game +involves+a+bat+and+ball+comparable +to5 baseball%2C+however +that%27s+where+the+winners +cease. %3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3ECricket+uses+a+wooden+bat+with+a+level +front+and+curved+rear. +rather +of+a+diamond+with+5 +bases%2C+cricket+involves+a+circular+area +with+a+22-yard+hard+pitch+at +the+middle +with+two+collections +of+3 + hardwood +stumps+at+either+finish%2C+predicted +wickets. %3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EThe+lineup +and+pitching+moves +aredrastically+different+from+Soccer. +Pitching%2C+or5 percent 22bowling%2C%22+variants +in+cricket+could +subdivide+into+about+20+exceptional +throws. %3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EWhile+these +winners +may +seem +confusing+for+someone+unfamiliar+with+the+sport%2C+to +the+players+gathered+atRs Riverwood+Park+in+north+Fargo+on+Saturday%2C+June+2%2C+it%27s+nothing+but+joy. +Andwhen+requested ++theycome+outside +each +weekend+to ++whole +summer+to+play%2C+they+say+it%27s+to +the+love+of+the+game. %3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3E%22It%27s+part+of+our+culture+and+the+match +brings+usall+together%2C%22+stated +Janaka+Prasanga%2C+a+mechanical+engineering+older +at+Minnesota+State+University+Moorhead. %3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EPrasanga+is+one+of+22+players+at +the+FCC+that +meet+each +weekend+to+play+a+game +which +practically+runs+in+theirblood. %3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3E%22It%27s+my+favorite+sport%2C%22+stated +Dexter+Peries%2C+a+nurse+at+Sanford+Hospital. +Peries%2C+who%27s+originally+from+Sri+Lankapercent 2C+stated +his+heroes+while+growing+up+were+cricket+players. %3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EMurali+Vegi%2C+one+of+the+club%27s+creators +and+a+current+board+manhood%2C+stated +to +some+of+the+elderly +players%2C+cricket+is+the+only+game +they+grew+up+with. %3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3ESince+2011%2C+the+FCC+has+grown+into+one+of+the+most+prominent+cricket+clubs+in+the+Midwest+and+brings +players+in +Grand+Forks%2C+Bismarck+and+other+cities+in+South+Dakota+and+western+Minnesota. +The+team+also+invites+clubs+across+the+Midwest+to+play+at +Fargo. %3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EOutside+of+Minneapolis%2C+the+FCC+is+the+primary +cricket+club+in+the+region%2C+Peries+stated. %3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EKusal+Jayasekera%2C+who%27s+played+with+FCC+because +2014%2C+stated +other+teams+like+to+turn +play+at +Fargo+because+the+FCC+has+1 +of+the+better+cricket+fields+at +the+area +and+the+group +is+always +strong. %3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3ERosika+Mohottigi%2C+40%2C+also+initially +from+Sri+Lanka%2C+who+has+played+with+the+FCC+because +2016+and+has+been+playing+to +the+previous +26+years%2C+almost+to+a+professional+amount +at+1 +5%2C+stated +Fargo+was+the+best+location+to+play+cricket+in+North+Dakota. +%22It%27s+the+best+place+for+cricket+lovers%2C%22+hesaid. %3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EJayasekera%2C+whose+final +match +wasJune+2+before+hemoved+away%2C+said+hejoined+because+heliked+the+fun+of+the+game +and+playing+it+with+friends. %3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3E%22Being+percent +of+the+group +has+been+a+enjoyment%2C%22+hesaid. %3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EBecause+the+group +involves+a+rotating+set +of+players%2C+staying+constant +at +size+has+beendifficult. %3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3ERoshita+Perera%2C+a+masters+student+at+the+University+of+Mary+in+Fargo%2C+stated +the+pound +and+outflux+of+players+is+controlled +greatly +by+global +students+and+people+whose+tasks +aretemporary. %3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EVegi+stated +many +players+that +come+in +other+cities+aren%27t+always+available+to+play+on+any+awarded +weekend. %3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EPerera+stated +with+a+group +at +Bismarck+obtaining+its+own+cricket+field%2C+the+FCC+will+lose+some+of+these +players+aswell. %3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3E%22Fargo+seemslike+a+transition+location%2C%22+Peries+stated. %3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EStill%2C+the+group +assembled+this+season +is+one+of+the+better+teams+at +the+Midwest+and+FCC+plans+on+going+to+cricket+tournaments+at +Colorado+and+Chicago%2C+Perera+stated. %3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EBut+looking+to+the+future%2C+priority+number+1 +remains+the+longterm +Gamble +of+players+and+the+sport. %3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EThe+club+plans+to+hold+per +small%2C+informal+scrimmage+matches +over+the+summer+and+invite+anybody +interested+to+attempt +outside +the+sport. +The+best+way+to+understand+Wars +is+play+it+and+to+see+it%2C+Mohottigi+stated. %3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EOne+method +the+club+is+looking+to+make+sure+it+stabilizes+is+introducing+cricket+to+a+younger+audience+by +a+youth+cricket+app. +The+clubhas+already+to+several+local+schools+and+talked+with+children%2C+Perera+stated. %3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3ECricket+has+to+increase +around+the+area +Fargo+network%2C+Perera+stated. +percent 22Otherwise+itisn%27t+renewable%2C%22+hesaid. %3C%2Fp%3E%3C%2Fdiv%3E%3C%2Fdiv%3E

from The Sports New Central Site http://thesportsnewscentral.com/fargocricketclubbrings-interestingame-fromfar-awaylocations/

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Clinical Supervisor-3E ICU-Nights

Clinical Supervisors are leaders who inspire a shared vision, demonstrating the value of change and presenting it to co-workers with enthusiasm. Clinical Supervisor models the way by displaying professional standards, a positive attitude, and engaging co-w Click Here to Apply : Clinical Supervisor-3E ICU-Nights

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Intel is Changing

In the second 50% of this current year, processor monster Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) is required to dispatch the first of its cutting edge group of PC processors, advertised as eighth-era Core. The main items to take off are required to be a group of chips at present code-named Kaby Lake Refresh, with items code-named Coffee Lake (for higher-end/higher-execution frameworks) following in the primary portion of 2018.

Kaby Lake Refresh will be what Intel calls a "U" arrangement processor. U-arrangement chips have a tendency to be Intel's most elevated volume runners, focusing on the greater part of the note pad PC advertise, as the slide beneath delineates:

The Kaby Lake Refresh parts will come in what Intel alludes to as a "4+2" design, implying that it will have four processor centers matched with an illustrations processor in a GT2 setup (the "widely appealing" representation arrangement from Intel).

At Intel's current Technology and Manufacturing Day, the organization let slip a few insights about the up and coming Kaby Lake Refresh items.

The motivation behind this slide was to show financial specialists that Intel is focused on enhancing its assembling innovation execution and item outlines to convey better stuff every year.

In the fine print found at the base of the slide, Intel gives insights about the framework designs used to create the cases concerning chip execution.

Intel's feature claim is that its eighth-era Core processor family will convey ">15% better execution" contrasted with its present era seventh-era Core chips. Obviously, the unseen details are the main problem (or, for this situation, the fine print).

In the first place, the fine print affirms that the chip will pack four centers, up from the two centers show on the organization's present Kaby Lake-U arrangement chips. Moreover, Intel says that the forthcoming Kaby Lake Refresh 4+2 chip will keep running at a greatest single-center turbo speed of 4GHz (+2.56% from the top Kaby Lake-U 2+2 section, however there is a 2+3e section right now accessible that offers 4GHz single-center turbo ).

The blend of more centers and marginally higher-recurrence centers seems to permit Intel to convey upon its asserted ">15%" execution change. It's important, be that as it may, that Intel says that this execution gauge is a pre-silicon appraise (implying that the number originates from reproductions and not from measuring a genuine chip) and that pre-silicon gauges have a "+/ - 7% room for mistakes."

Likewise, Intel unequivocally says that these execution examinations allude to the "beat canister" (that is, the best chips) parts inside each individual item family, so the increases somewhere else in the item stack won't not be as vast as those being guaranteed here.

This is the manner by which Intel is utilizing 14-nanometer++

In a past article, I went over Intel's cases about the 14-nanometer++ innovation that will be utilized to make the eighth-era Core processor family. Intel claims that its 14-nanometer++ innovation offers 26% preferred execution over its unique 14-nanometer innovation thus by expansion, it conveys approximately 12.5% preferable execution over its present 14-nanometer+ innovation.

What Intel is by all accounts doing is utilizing these all the more effective/power productive transistors to help the quantity of centers that it can pack into a low-control note pad processor.

This is an intriguing outline decision, as Intel has spent numerous years concentrating on attempting to enhance the per-center execution of its note pad and desktop processors (through a blend of recurrence lifts and design picks up) while keeping center numbers dormant.

More centers ought to take into consideration drastically higher execution in applications that can exploit numerous centers and ought to likewise serve to enhance multi-entrusting execution. It will enthusiasm to check whether "more centers" at last turns out to be an effective promoting point in the section into which Intel will offer Kaby Lake Refresh.

Stupid takeaway

By the day's end, Intel needs to convey new chips at an anticipated yearly rhythm in light of the fact that Intel's own particular clients - the organizations that outline and market PCs - truly need new chips to construct new frameworks around.

What Intel is doing with its eighth-era Core processors is utilizing enhanced assembling innovation to have the capacity to stuff more processor centers into a given warm outline control. This is a sensible move given that the Kaby Lake Refresh/Coffee Lake were most likely "late" augmentations to the organization's item guide, yet Intel can't depend on center check increments inconclusively.

[topfygad]

Smoothie Bowl Heaven at Combi Byron Bay

It is no mystery that we are total foodies. So on our recent getaway to Byron Bay, I understood specifically wherever we would be heading for breakfast one particular morning! I’d been next Combi Byron Bay on Instagram for ages and drooling more than their smoothie bowls, uncooked cakes and nutritious goodness every time they posted new shots. It was a prolonged weekend, so super occupied though I be expecting they are occupied every day due to the fact their menu is so unbelievable! Combi has an natural menu, dwelling-created nut milks and uncooked cakes, good trade espresso and insta-deserving smoothie bowls, all while staying family owned and supporting area farmers! It was the perfect spot for brunch soon after Dan’s early morning surf and my attractive seaside walk.

We started off with espresso for Dan and a Matcha Latte for me. Both equally have been piping scorching and tasty! I’m actually loving matcha and tumeric lattes these days but have located them a bit hit or pass up in cafes but I’m satisfied to say, Combi’s matcha latte was best.

Dan was a minor dissatisfied when he realised there was no bacon on the menu, nevertheless I quickly swayed him when I pointed out that he could have an Acai Bowl with peanut butter! It was wonderful and boy oh boy that peanut butter strike the location! The smoothie bowl was served in a coconut and presented fantastically with antioxidant-loaded acai blended with banana, blueberries, medjool dates, residence designed nut milk then topped with crispy coconut flakes, activated caramelised buckinis, banana, apple, cranberries and strawberries. It nearly seemed far too great to take in!

I opted for the Dragon Fruit bowl which was blended with mango, banana & property built nut milk, topped with strawberry, apple, crispy coconut, chia seeds, cranberry, goji berries, activated caramelised buckini and garnished with enthusiasm fruit. It was so sweet and total of goodness, and I would surely pick it once again whilst I did have a minimal bit of foodstuff envy over Dan’s acai bowl with peanut butter!

Combi Byron Bay was each and every bit as great as we’d hoped. It is not the most economical choice for breakfast, with our bowls and coffees costing just about $50 nevertheless it was worth it! We ended up fully full by the finish and a tiny unhappy we could not in shape in some of the uncooked cakes that we had been eyeing off when we very first walked in. We’ll absolutely return to Combi Byron Bay on our subsequent excursion to Byron and remarkably propose it to everyone who enjoys refreshing, nutritious and mouthwateringly fantastic food! The cafe is also super adorable with pastel decor, palm trees and a seriously peaceful vibe!

Have you been to Byron Bay? What are your favorite foodie places there?

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