#3E-Understanding

[ruushes]

finally some good fucking spells

[simothys]

[ image description. tags that read: you may think you - the writer - are your own most autistic critic, but somewhere out there is a motherfucker with the world's nichest phD who has been waiting their whole life to prove you wrong. end description. ]

speculative fiction writers i am going to give you a really urgent piece of advice: don't say numbers. don't give your readers any numbers. how heavy is the sword? lots. how old is that city? plenty. how big is the fort? massive. how fast is the spaceship? not very, it's secondhand.

the minute you say a number your readers can check your math and you cannot do math better than your most autistic critic. i guarantee. don't let your readers do any math. when did something happen? awhile ago. how many bullets can that gun fire? trick question, it shoots lasers, and it shoots em HARD.

you are lying to people for fun. if you let them do math at you the lie collapses and it's no fun anymore.

[thydungeongal]

Hi, this might be a weird question, but if someone wants to get a proper groundwork of ttrpgs, really understand the medium and what it does, what games do you think they should play? Like which systems would be much checkouts to really GET what kinds of things happen in the space and what kind of games are out there?

I don't think there can be such a thing as a definitive list simply because the medium is so varied, but what I can give is a list of games that have had a massive effect on how I personally look at games. Mind you, I don't think you strictly need to play all of these games, although why not they're hella fun, because even reading them can mindblast you open:

Dungeons & Dragons, multiple editions. Ironically, even though D&D was one of my first games and it for a long time served as a template for what I expected games to be more or less like, coming back to it and exploring the history of the game after delving into a bunch of indie games that were doing completely different things was eye-opening. D&D is not only good to be aware of and keep track of because, for better and for worse, it ends up defining entire design movements (D&D 3e still has an effect on modern trad RPG design), but also because the game itself is a microcosm of how the changing design of a game can end up shaping play culture and the discourse around the game.

RuneQuest and other BRP games: RuneQuest was the first d100-based system but also very much a game clearly in conversation with early D&D, and it's neat to be able to look at two games from that same general period and see how games were already changing at that early a stage. Other BRP games like Call of Cthulhu, Stormbringer, and Pendragon are very useful to look at in the historical context of being some of the very earliest examples of very traditional RPGs incorporating mechanics that tied into character psychology and personality in a way that almost bordered on genre emulation (Sanity, the alignment tracks, personality traits and passions).

Vampire: the Masquerade and other World of Darkness games: these games were revolutionary at the time they came out because while they were still very traditional in structure at least on a discursive level they presented a clear unambiguous break from the hobby's wargaming roots and towards roleplaying games as a form of collaborative storytelling. They also represent a shift in terms of who the game was marketed towards, with these games' success being in no small part due to the fact that they actively catered to women and queer folks at a time when that was still out of the ordinary.

The Shadow of Yesterday and a bunch of other stuff that came out of the Forge: the Forge was a website dedicated to talking about tabletop RPG design and it was basically a gathering ground for people who were really into the promise of RPGs as collaborative storytelling but had grown to see, through play, that Vampire: the Masquerade the System had a completely different idea of what kind of story it wanted to tell than the text implied. TSoY is just one of my favorite games that came out of that design movement and it is a game that really tells you what it's all about, and it is fun to trace its effects on modern game design (it has had a measurable effect on Apocalypse World and Blades in the Dark and thus a significant effect downstream from those two).

Apocalypse World and Monsterhearts. This is my duo of the best PbtA games out there: Apocalypse World for being the first and still almost unparalleled in how it just completely ignored expected ideas of what the act of play should look like and also accidentally became one of the most copied games in the world. Monsterhearts is a fantastic example of a game that builds on the strengths of Apocalypse World's framework while doing a completely different genre and also a great example of a textually queer game.

Dream Askew and Wanderhome. Dream Askew was the first Belonging without Belonging game, a framework of games that very much developed out of a diceless variant of the Powered by the Apocalypse, and the framework is very much defined by its tagline "no dice, no masters." The best I can describe them is as games where the traditional role of the GM is divided across the entire group and while there are game mechanics at play (usually taking the form of using tokens) those are also entirely in the hands of players and not arbitrated by dice rolls. These games thus act both as great examples of what GMless play can look like as well as what diceless play can look like.

Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy: with this one I have to admit to being personal friends with the people behind the game, but my friendship with these people actually blossomed out of a shared love for games and talking about them, and Eureka is not only in my opinion the best investigative RPG ever made, it is a fantastic piece of design that clearly tells you what it's about (I like games that are loud about what they expect you to do: the aforementioned TSoY and Apocalypse World are two others). What it also does very well is re-evaluate a lot of what has come before and synthesize them: yes, RPGs are shared stories, but they are also games. We want stories about heroes succeeding, but in games it is possible to fail; and while the game does build into itself a lot of systems to mitigate the chance of failure simply via playing the game (what a lot of games have tried to do inelegantly in the past with "Idea rolls" and other contrivances to force the characters on the path to success if they fail simply due to bad rolls) it also very openly says "hey, a story about the heroes failing is still a story. Not every story will have a happy ending." And I think that is great, because RPGs are games in addition to being little story factories, and some of the best story moments can come from those times when the game itself says "not today" to your perfectly planned narrative moment and instead tells a completely new exciting kind of story. Anyway, check out @anim-ttrpgs for where you can find and download Eureka, and follow along for more exciting stuff they've got cooking :)

This is not by any means an exhaustive list, but just an "off the top of my head" of some games that I think are neat and that have blasted my brain and altered the way I look at the medium. Anyway once you're done with those be sure to check out Rolemaster as well for the best comedy RPG ever made,

[vintagerpg]

Oh, hey, Vecna. I find it strange how the arch-lich looms so large in the history of D&D. His artifacts — hand, eye — first appeared in Eldritch Wizardry, the creation of Brian Blume. His first real appearance in the game was in this, WGA4: Vecna Lives (1990). It’s interesting.

It is very much in the mode of ’90s, focusing on the story unfurled through a series of interconnected, predetermined Events. There’s some dungeoning and city exploration, but the scenario is far more focused on investigation and explosive narrative happenings. It is not connected to the Falcon modules, though it builds on their use of the City of Greyhawk. Nor does it meaningfully connect to the imminent shake-up of the setting’s status quo that plays out in Wars andFrom the Ashes (though if the players fail to defeat the lich, the note on the resulting horrors of Vecna’s rule do seem to anticipate what actually happens to the world after Iuz triumphs).

I’m not sure in sum the adventure is worth the squeeze, though there are interesting bits. For starters, players take the roles of high level pregens: members of the sorcerous Circle of Eight and their associates. Vecna’s key henchmen are pretty fantastically weird — a humanoid with an eye for a head, and another with a hand-head. That it’s kind of…obvious and cartoonish, maybe, but then Ken Frank’s illustrations really sell the concept for me. They’re great and horrible and I would totally use them elsewhere. Third, I really like this Greyhawk that is full of standing stones and dangerous myths. Gygax tends to get all the credit for making Greyhawk an interesting place, but I don’t think it actually becomes interesting until around now, and I think it is ironic that Zeb Cook, who many at the time viewed as a great Gygax betrayer, was instrumental in this. Oh, and Easley’s cover is pretty great, too.

Vecna, defeated, at least in “canon,” winds up it Ravenloft for a while, and gets a big adventure at the end of that line’s lifespan, Vecna Reborn, but I’ve never read it. Nor have I read Die, Vecna, Die!, which ushered in the transition from 2E to 3E, much the same way as Eve of Ruin did for 5E (I guess that parallel depends on whether you think D&D Forever or whatever they are calling it is a new edition or not).

I don’t really understand where this idea that Vecna is one of the great D&D villains came from, though. He achieves far less than Iuz and even Acererak seems more accomplished. He keeps popping up in sourcebooks across 3E and 4E, but he only really amounts to anything in a Critical Role storyline (is that canon?) and as the source of a nickname for a villain in Stranger Things? I dunno, gimme Strahd any day. 

[talenlee]

4e: The Power Of Love

If you listen to me talking about 4th edition Dungeons & Dragons, especially when I talk about building characters and Owlbear Traps, to come away with the impression that the game was reasonably balanced and presents players with an even grouping of choices that mean it’s hard for a character to make a character that doesn’t work.

This is not fair; after all, for all that 4e is a lot more even and more balanced than 3e was, for all that you can in fact grab any class, any heritage, and any basic combination of the components the rulebook tells you to use — like, if you make a wizard it tells you to grab a staff, orb, or wand, and get a good intelligence — that higher floor does not change the fact that the game is full of some absolutely pants choices made for weird reasons that bely a strange thought underneath them.

Huey Lewis & The News - The Power Of Love (Official Music Video)

Watch this video on YouTube

For example, there’s the Power of Love:

When you use a power associated with this feat (Radiant Vengeance, Recovery Strike, Sun Strike, Virtuous Strike) and hit one or more enemies with it, you grant 5 temporary hit points to one or two allies within 5 squares of you. The temporary hit points increase to 10 at 11th level and 15 at 21st level.

I’ve spoken in the past about the way that Dungeons & Dragons tries to regard ‘love’ in a sort of soppy way. Largely, gods of love in conventional settings are afterthoughts, and the love domain back when it got its own identity in 3rd edition was just a healer’s toolkit. There’s a ton of stuff wrapped up in that, which is either so obvious as to be boring to you, or really needs a ton of bedrock explanation to help you understand it, and therefore, I will provide a bulleted list:

Traditionally, fantasy narratives gender power and agency, with typically, masculine roles, including the most valorised role being the most masculine one (a prince, a king, some variety of what you might call a sigma male or whatever).

This led to a void of women in these stories, and that presented a problem for the storytellers who wanted to fulfill the wholeness of the masculine gender fantasy of putting their penis in something high value.

Therefore, women were added to fantasy genre media.

Since these women needed things to do, there were two options; you make her do the thing the man does but worse (because like, she couldn’t be better) or you find something unrelated she can do that makes her desireable and useful but not like, inconvenient for the man.

The solution was to present her with the task of healing, which served double duty, because now she was important and worth protecting, she should be present in the battle to do her job, but also, she couldn’t do her thing until he does his thing and that means that she’s literally there to serve him,

And all this just coincidentally and for no actual reason at all, aligns with pre-existing assumptions about things women are for and therefore must like to do?

Fastforward through this a few thousand times as people continually assert that they’d know if they had any societally induced biases in their relationships to the media they enjoy, and you wind up here, where we are and have been for a few centuries, because it turns out that dudes have been really good at setting up and propogating a system that asserts their job is to be the main characters and it’s just the natural order, after all, look at all this long history of dudes telling them exactly the same thing. There’s all this other feminine stuff (as said by dudes) gets lumped together.

I’m joking, but not much.

This means that Love is one of those things that girls are allowed to do, and therefore, Love is essentially, healer shit. It’s not about helping people forge bonds, it’s not about being better at learning about people long term. Bear in mind that this is a pretty sucky bag of deals for the prospective Paladin of Love (or Avenger of Love, which sounds sick as fuck, shame the game doesn’t back it up) but it’s actually better than previous iterations on the idea that sometimes thought that it was even better to put ‘mind control’ effects under love.

You know, remember what we said about love potions?

The feat isn’t just bad because it’s timid about what you can do with love, though, no no no. It’s also really weak. Because, hey, guess what, I lied to you. You see up there? Where I said what the Power of Love feat did?

When you use a power associated with this feat (Radiant Vengeance, Recovery Strike, Sun Strike, Virtuous Strike) and hit one or more enemies with it, you can choose to deal no damage and instead grant 5 temporary hit points to one or two allies within 5 squares of you. The temporary hit points increase to 10 at 11th level and 15 at 21st level.

That’s right, you don’t get to do this as part of your attacking. You get to do this instead of attacking. At that point you have to measure the math of whether taking an enemy out with the attack prevents more damage than these temporary hit points represent. There are places this works! There are absolutely places where that math is easy to do!

But god what a miserable choice! Hey, Paladin of Love, you can give up doing the thing everyone is doing, and instead turn yourself into a hit point dispenser for other people. It’s proactive damage prevention, rather than healing, so we circumvent part of that awful paradigm of Girls Do Heals, but it’s still fundamentally rubbish because, remember, you spent a feat and a god choice on this!

Here’s the thing, the punchline such as it is. Power of Love is a terrible feat. It’s a feat that you shouldn’t bother taking. But, for whatever reason, this feat is capable of extending its protection not to one person, not to your love, but to two people. And lords knows I love when I can take an existing game feature and draw a connection from that to something else, something that was probably never intended but also obvious if you’re aware of it.

See, if the feat let you give someone temporary hit points, that’s easy. That’s you protecting someone you love. Easy. But seemingly to address the way this feat isn’t good enough for what it’s asking of you, it let you split, and boost two people.

… So…

You’re extending your love to two people.

Polyamry win! This Paladin has a girlfriend and a boyfriend!

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

[dailyadventureprompts]

Monsters Reimagined: Kobolds

I started playing d&d during 3rd edition, which presented kobolds as a trap happy gaggle of dragon obsessives who were counted as the weakest but smartest of the traditional dungeonfodder humanoids. Other than being lizardy they were presented near identically to goblins, both being petty and cruel and resentful over their small stature and the place it meant they occupied in the world. This overlap is actually one of the reasons I haven't gotten to kobolds before now, as I kinda felt like I covered most of it in my writeup for goblins a couple years ago.

Since Kobolds are a reoccuring request however I eventually decided I was going to give the people what they wanted. My plan was to talk about d&d dragonsimp kobolds vs. warcraft candleloving kobolds vs. jrpg dogpeople kobolds, and how all of these relate back to creature's mythological origin but hey wait a minute the official forgotten realms wiki says WHAT ?

Huh, that sounds like a weird sort of projection from a man who's super insecure about his height. I wonder if the original dragon magazine listed as a source here has anything more to.. Oh.... OH-NO

Living space, huh? Extinction of weaker peoples, eh? A religion based around survival, insularity, obedience, and the defeat of stronger enemies through attrition, yadon'tsay? Man, the canine kobolds might be on to something because there's an ORCHESTRA of dogwhistles going on here.

Friends, there's a lot to unpack here, so like a kobold with a pickax lets dig in

Where it started: the connection between kobolds and goblins and gnomes predates d&d back to mythological roots, as all are names shared by the european folklore character of "weird little guy who lives under the hill and plays tricks on us". Kobolds have an even more delightful bit of etymology attached, as miners blamed them for magically transforming valuable silver for (at the time) worthless cobalt. Originally my rehash of kobalds was going to centre on them as tinkerers/engineers for this reason, as alchemical cobalt batteries sound rad as hell.

Kobolds are in this way also part of the greater traditions of "mine spirits", Knackers, tommyknockers, and the like. Who play tricks on miners, and are just as likely to cause disaster when displeased as they are to warn of it when befriended.

Then the d&d authors did what they always do, they pilfered the name of folkloric creatures for the game while ignoring actual mythology, drawing hard and fast lines and making up rigid catagories as they went.

What's wrong: Given their proclivity for traps, sneak attacks, and guerilla tactics you end up getting a LOT of comparisons between Kobolds and the Viet Cong… which I find very telling.  So many of the original d&d antagonists were vessels for middle aged geeks of the 70s and 80s to hit back at their insecurities ( whether it be challenges to their masculinity, sexuality, or something more existential) it doesn’t surprise me at all that d&d has an enemy that let american boomers rehash their nation’s at the time biggest military debacle. 

Kobolds are so weak and undeserving you understand, they’ve only survived because they’re tricky, but this time we’ll get them, if we come in with enough firepower and hirelings to get through the meatgrinder we can finally hit them where they live and deal with them for good. 

D&D worldbuilding imagines kobolds as “the other” from an occupier’s lens: resentful of their rightful displacement, nursing their hatreds in the shadows, emerging only to attack or to steal and despoil what they’ve been denied. They have no ambition, no culture, no wants beyond being a threat for the new dominant power. They’re cowards for using traps and poison and tactics on those here to plunder their homes. 

What’s worth Salvaging:  While the 3e revision of kobolds as dracomaniacs is a welcome change from their old lore I’m not especially fond of it. Overuse of dragons is one of the things that most turns me off general fantasy media. Any group of sapient creatures serving a dragon is just as likely to form a dragoncult, it doesn’t make kobolds special. 

That said, if you did want to double down on kobold dragon worship you might consider spicing in a few elements from my revamped version of Tiamat, painting their reverence not just as ego and overcompensation but as a desire to emulate and become…certian kobold enclaves possibly using sorcery or alchemy to transform a chosen among their people into a fully fledged wyrm. 

While we’ve mostly tossed alignment to the curb where it belongs,to distinguish kobolds from goblins it might be worth leaning into their lawful aspects; Underfoot foremen and notaries and  work crews addressing things with a utilitarian collective effort before scurrying out of sight when the shift change occurs.  Where as goblins are screwball and slapstick onto the verge of cartoonishness, perhaps kobolds are practical and industrious to the point of causing problems: They dam a river to access a sacred cave heedless of the disruption and flooding it’d cause, they tear down, occupying and restoring a derelict mill and restoring it to function regardless of who owns it, undermining the foundations of the duke’s palace following a vein of copper in the nearby hills. 

This efficiency-focused attitude also helps thematically define mechanically minded kobolds against gnomes and dwarves as the game’s other tinkerers:  They share the practicality of dwarven artisans and the inventiveness of gnomish artificers, but lack the sentiment the other two place on what they make.  Kobold craft is often regarded as lower quality, but that’s because resource efficiency and easy replaceability are primary metrics upon which they judge something. 

Artsource

[abracadav-r]

"Okay, makes sense, but also what the fuck is going on with Vhaeraun's lore anyway😭

It still baffles me that it looks almost like they don't know what they want or what they're doing with him. At least that's the impression the current canon gave me the last time my mutual shared random bits of lore with me"

@mmigrainee

I think this is likely to go longer than a reply comment allows, so I'll put it here. Won't be citing as much as usual since I'm on mobile and the app likes throwing tantrums when I go in and out of it but here's the Cliff Notes version:

2e Vhaeraun has an entirely different depiction. His entries in Demihuman Deities and other 2e books by parties like Ed Greenwood depict him as a power that—while lesser to Lolth—is successfully able to convert followers from Lolth and skirt around the margins of Menzoberranzan as a noticeable threat to the Church of Lolth.

Then we get Cunningham's novels, where the Vhaeraunites and their centers of power are depicted in very shallow ways thoughtless to his existing lore (his followers have sex slaves and prowl after women) this also starts the "Evermeet's take on this is now taken is as good as the official timeline rather than a bardic version intended to please the court of an elf nation with its own problematic history".

These depictions continue into 3e onward, leaving most depictions of Vhaeraun and his followers as slavers, sex pests, genociders et al and most notes of egalitarianism are removed from him and either disappear entirely or are reassigned to other parties, especially in the era where we have storylines focusing on the "redemption of drow".

4e comes around and Hasbro wants to streamline and thinks too many gods are annoying and they want everything Lolth all the way down. Lady Penitent comes out and kills everyone but Lolth in stupid ways and 4e pushes that all drow convert or die. Every underdark city that isn't Menzoberranzan might as well no longer exist, assuming they didn't outright eradicate it with whatever reason they spun up to have unopposed rule.

In between, Ed and others are consulting. Their work is cut by editors but more recently they've said there was plans to have the twins return as archfey in a campaign after their deaths, returning to their origins.

That lore never gets published, so we move into 5e with them still dead or just reappearing like a lot of gods did with no justification. Hasbro doesn't want to do the worldbuilding work they did in 2e-3e so they just leave everything with a big hole turn in it. You guys only care about the Sword Coast, right?

Ed eventually gets asked on Candlekeep about it and spins up a narrative that Mystra interfered in Vhaeraun's attempted assassination in Lady and behind the scenes, grabs the twins and pulls them into the weave in torpor essentially. They weren't dead, pretending at it, which is why the Skulkers of Vhaeraun received spells. This may be tied to the Demon Weave content in 4e's Council of Spiders, perhaps Mystra wanted Lolth to feel confident and overextend, which helped knock her down from a Greater Power to a Lesser Power in 5e.

Ed continues on this, saying the twins have reached an "understanding" and now won't be directly opposing each other, though members of each church may.

tldr: Hasbro doesn't really give a shit about a consistent narrative, they just want to republish books every 5-10 years with the same three paragraphs and it really shows in 5e when the original creator has to come out and say "yeah I hear you guys and had plans that I now can't really talk about due to NDA but here's something new to try and fix the gaping hole."

[fusrobruh]

Oblivion Remastered Rant

Martin Septim’s Remodel - Thoughts & Opinions & Controversies

I’m going to upset some of y’all but I truly do not understand people’s complaints about the remodel done to Martin Septim in the Remaster. He looks too young?

Uriel Septim when his father, Pelagius Septim IV, died in 3E 368. He was 22 at the time. It doesn’t say exactly when he married Cayla Voria, but he had three children with her, together, Geldall, Enman and Ebel. Geldall, being the eldest, was born 3E 377. Ebel, the youngest, was born 3E 380. That being said, Uriel had already started having his marriage fall apart by the time Martin was conceived. He even already had an illegitimate heir before Martin named Calaxes (we have no info on when he was born nor who his mother was). While we have no concrete proof, I seriously doubt Uriel was going around sleeping with women every single night from the time his youngest was born to when Martin was born.

Uriel also spent ten years in Oblivion, being sent there in 3E 389, before his eventual rescue in 399, which would’ve made him 43 when he was imprisoned and 53 when he was rescued (assuming time works the same way in Tharn’s pocket dimension). He was 87 when he was killed in 3E 433. He most certainly wouldn’t have been making illegitimate heirs during those 10 years in Oblivion. That would make Martin, at the youngest, 34 years old if he had been born the same year Uriel was freed from Oblivion. The oldest Martin would be is about 44-45 if he was born right before Uriel’s imprisonment. I don’t know about you, but this character model looks to be right in that age range.

I seriously don’t get what the complaining is about. He looks similar to his voice actor, which I thought was a thing that is usually praised. Sean Bean was 47 when he voiced Martin. Again, fits right into the age range of Martin in-game.

They white-washed him? Um, no, they didn’t. They made him less orange. Could his skin color be darker? Yes, it could. That being said, if you take away the orange tint on the original character model his skin becomes lighter. These are also 2006 graphics. Idk if y’all really remember what the character shading was like back in the original but it was not the best. But anyways, isn’t that also glossing over the fact that in every race there are degrees of skin shades? Like there are Latinos who can pass as white, but that doesn’t mean they’re not Latinos. There are Africans with the most gorgeous, black shade of skin you’ll ever see. Does that mean other Africans who aren’t as dark as them are whitewashed?

Martin Septim is an Imperial character in a fantasy game. Imperials of Tamriel are based off of Roman/Greek cultures. Last I checked, Greeks and Romans (in modern times, Italians) are just as diverse in skin color as the characters in the game. Some are white, most are olive toned, some are black. That doesn’t make them any less Greek/Italian than someone who’s skin is darker than their own.

[disquiet-dream]

people talk about fictional religion so fascinatingly

specifically, as i've gotten back into exalted i've seen people talking about how the immaculate order in exalted 3e isn't so evil, as if it's primary social purpose isn't still to prop up a colonizing empire and (more importantly) it's caste system and divine right of kings

i mean to be clear i do think it's an improvement over previous version of it, since it's no longer "it's bad because it's a bunch of stupid wrong stuff anyone with a brain should understand is made up" - but it is still like. bad. just in the way, say, medieval christianity was bad, where it's ultimately just an extension of the existing social order, sometimes has some good effects on that social order, and you can see how someone could believe it earnestly without being stupid or evil

and like it doesn't really surprise me that people would basically go "supporting divine right of kings isn't all bad, it's nuanced when it's faith based". but like. come on lol.

(although, tbf, iirc previous versions were also less "it's bad for supporting the divine right of kings" and more "it's bad for supporting the divine right of bad kings (dragon blooded) instead of good kings (solar exalted)", so. further issues there.)

(actually i just realized the authors (along with some fans lol) were probably like that partially because solar exaltation is vaguely merit based. so a couple hundred people being divinely ordained god kings is a-ok so long as it's based on being cool instead of bloodline. which. well. is something.

anyway,)

[mirandyficlists]

what are the nastiest, most toe-curling mirandy smut fics can you recommend?

Hey Nonnie

Uhh well we do have some hot and steamy fics out there in all shapes and flavours.  So there are several lists that will throw some of these up and I’ll link them below.  But for raunch or super hot sweaty snugglebunnies….

Basic Black by Beachbum https://archiveofourown.org/works/29045490

The sex scenes in It’s All Relative by Hawkbehere https://archiveofourown.org/works/5884348/chapters/13561771  And the later vignette

Taking one for the Team  https://archiveofourown.org/works/5866264

The X Ingredient by Telanu  https://archiveofourown.org/works/779927

The Devil in Ms Sachs (hot and hilarious) http://ralst.com/DevilMsSachs.HTM

Also there is some majorly hot shenaningans in two deleted fics (and I do have them, pm me if you want them)

Womanizer by 2dementedMuses 

Working Title by Pin_drop

I also understand that this author explores some hot and heavy dynamics  https://archiveofourown.org/users/StupidSexyCopShows/pseuds/StupidSexyCopShows/works?fandom_id=54476

And you can read through the following lists as well.

All the breast

Xvnot15

PWP 

(Might be either Plot? What Plot?  Or Porn with plot.  Basically hot sweaty snugglebunnies)

#34 by f_femslash  drabble -fic deleted but I have it.

5 Drabbles about Andy's Favorite Sex Toys by jaws_of_fenrir - afro_dyte?  Deleted but I have it.

12 Minutes by Zos  https://archiveofourown.org/works/17422376

17th Floor Going Down by worstliarever  https://worst-liar-ever.livejournal.com/1722.html

A Clean Break by Fictorium https://archiveofourown.org/works/250612

A Fly on the Wall by Pantone462 https://archiveofourown.org/works/8706967

A Minor Setback by Ubiquitousmixie https://archiveofourown.org/works/1616144

A Novel Idea by Ubiquitousmixie https://archiveofourown.org/works/1616096

A Slip of the Wrist by Scarlettscribble https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4462691/1/A_Slip_of_The_Wrist

Adjustments by thefutilitarian  https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5874963/1/Adjustments

All Work and no Play by Elder_queer https://archiveofourown.org/works/584628

Angry by Elfjet  https://archiveofourown.org/works/14391420

Anything by Shyboots  Deleted but I have it.

B is for Bitch and Birken by quencher https://queencher.livejournal.com/945.html

Bedroom Confidential by Grdnofevrything https://grdnofevrythng.livejournal.com/196690.html

Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered by Blue eyed Devil https://blue-eyed-devil.livejournal.com/18444.html#cutid1

Call Me Andy by GrrrIliketigers https://archiveofourown.org/works/746194

Christmas Fic Exchange by air_one 23 https://air-one-23.livejournal.com/

Collision Course by Fictorium https://dvlwears-prada.livejournal.com/1913519.html#cutid1

Come Andrea by Colleen  Deleted but I have the fic.

Common Reaction by Gardnofevrything https://grdnofevrythng.livejournal.com/195241.html

Dare by lady orleans  https://dvlwears-prada.livejournal.com/1796475.html#cutid1

Degrees of Naked by ficburd https://ficburd.livejournal.com/1923.html

Fedora by chillyflame  https://archiveofourown.org/works/5675290

Foodfight  by miconi  Deleted but I have the fic.

Heat  by Fembuck  Deleted but I have the fic.

Hidden Talents by Chillyflame https://archiveofourown.org/works/2673134

Hot Hot Heat by Mira Cohen  https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4548739/1/%3Cb%3EHot%3C_b%3E_%3Cb%3EHot%3C_b%3E_%3Cb%3EHeat%3C_b%3E

How Miranda Likes to Game by Skeeter451 https://archiveofourown.org/works/515560

I Said No Foam  by bellavita  Deleted but I have the fic.

Improvisations by Ubiquitousmixie  https://archiveofourown.org/works/1649000

In Front of the Fire by kosmos8 https://kosmos8.livejournal.com/3058.html

Kissable Lips by Grdnofevrything https://grdnofevrythng.livejournal.com/184278.html

  2. I’ll Be Yours by Grdnofevrything  https://grdnofevrythng.livejournal.com/185442.html

Long Hot Summer by pinguissexy https://pinguissexy.livejournal.com/2848.html#cutid1

Lost in Delaware by Sporkmetender  https://archiveofourown.org/works/1915359

Love is in the Air by Pandora007 https://dvlwears-prada.livejournal.com/146697.html#cutid1

Lunchbreak by CrazybeCat https://archiveofourown.org/works/14911949

Lust by MirandaMeryl  https://mirandameryl.livejournal.com/19431.html

Melting the Ice Queen by Blue-eyed Devil  https://dvlwears-prada.livejournal.com/206231.html#cutid1

Merry Christmas by Mercurichita by pinquissexy https://pinguissexy.livejournal.com/3695.html#cutid1

Midnight Desire by Pureecstasy6 https://dvlwears-prada.livejournal.com/1646085.html#cutid1

On a Tear at the Beach by Quiethearted  https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6861897/1/On-A-Tear-At-The-Beach

Pillow Talk by Eshusplayground  https://archiveofourown.org/works/16843723

Pining by Outuendo  https://dvlwears-prada.livejournal.com/523809.html#cutid1

Plaything by fanchiction  https://fanchiction.livejournal.com/7256.html#cutid1

Possession by Loganwolfe http://www.ralst.com/PossessionDWP.HTM

Pushing Desire by frenchflotus  https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5839911/1/Pushing_Desire

Pushing Her Buttons by Telanu  https://archiveofourown.org/works/750421

Ravenous  by ellenm https://archiveofourown.org/works/319392

Risky Business by Elder_queer  https://archiveofourown.org/works/1373971

Seven and a Half Minutes by The Raven https://archiveofourown.org/works/25689700

Smart Little Mouth  by ubiquitousmixie  https://archiveofourown.org/works/1616072

Stalling the Inevitable by Schwanenkoenigen  https://archiveofourown.org/works/49796446/chapters/125700463

Sweet Like Chocolate by Scarlettscribble  https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4553399/1/

Too Hot To Handle  by Polgaria  https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12052056/1/Too-Hot-To-Handle

Uninvited by Ubiquitousmixie  https://archiveofourown.org/works/1616192

Untitled by Helebette https://helebette.livejournal.com/3970.html#cutid1

When You Whistle by chillyflame  https://archiveofourown.org/works/5675191

Winning the War by Sporkmetender  https://archiveofourown.org/works/1916313

Yes You Make Me Wet by Wiser_dacshund  https://dvlwears-prada.livejournal.com/1107831.html#cutid1

You Give Me Fever by Sydney Redfield  Deleted but I have it.

[thenugking]

okay Idk if I missed something in Throne of Bhaal but having played throu, I still have Questions about Bhaal's whole plan.

So, as I understand it, he forsaw his death in the Time of Troubles, and came up with a plan to get resurrected after that--he'd have a bunch of kids, each bearing the divine spark of the god of murder, which would drive them towards killing each other. Bhaalspawn would absorb the divine spark of any of their siblings who they murdered, until eventually, it was all held in one single Bhaalspawn, who I guess High Priestess Amelyssan was instructed to kill in a ritual to bring Bhaal back to life. Cool, that makes sense!

But I've got to wonder--how many kids did Bhaal actually need?

Gorion's Ward and Imoen are implied to be among the youngest, and around early 20's. Like, there's no way Imoen is older than 25. On the other end, we have Sendai, a drow, who I kind of doubt would be able to get such a big following if she was still a kid, and Abazigal. Abazigal is not only an adult blue dragon, but has a seemingly fullgrown son of his own, Draconis. The very youngest he can be is 100. So, Bhaal started having kids at least 100 years ago, and continued in fucking his way across the Realms for more than 75 years.

Like... I've got to wonder why this is necessary. Surely some of his many, many kids will have died due to other causes during this time?

Before playing BG2, I saw people claim that Bhaalspawn can't pass on that divine spark to their own children, and that that was ignored/retconned in BG3 with Orin. I never found any dialogue saying so myself though. Yaga-Shura's trying to breed a Bhaalspawn heir, and Draconis certainly believes he's inhereted his father's divinity. It's completely plausible that they're just wrong of course! But the explanation I've usually seen is that Bhaal wouldn't want the divine spark to be inheritable, because passing it along more would mean longer and longer before his resurrection. Which makes sense, but if Bhaal really wanted to be efficient here, why did he keep making bhaalspawn for more than 75 years? Why did he fuck a chinchilla???Genuinely, how many Bhaalspawn did he actually need for his resurrection?

Because Bane had basically the same plan to ensure his resurrection. Except he did it with one kid.

And all right, I think the main issue here is just that hundreds of different people have contributed to the ever-expanding mess that's Forgotten Realms lore, and that as far as I can tell, Iyachtu Xvim's death and Bane's subsequent resurrection are only briefly mentioned in a couple of 3e/3.5 lore books. But Bane still very much resurrected himself with one (1) single Banespawn.

I just... I can't help but imagine Bane forseeing his death, picking out a suitable demon to impregnate, doing whatever he needed to do, and sitting back content that he's ensured his surival. And then glancing over at Bhaal to see him furiously fucking a chinchilla. He needs to do this for murder reasons, Bane. You wouldn't get it, Bane.

Like I've got to be honest, I'm pretty sure this all had very little to do with Bhaal's resurrection and a lot more to do with his breeding kink.

[cardiac-arresting-sweetheart]

Yandere Psychosophy/Attitudinal Psyche

Inspired by yandere MBTI and yandere Big Five. Personality test/self-assessment for this Google document verison of this

Overview

This is a yandere typing system based on the original Psychosophy (also remade as Attitudinal Psyche) system. Originally, it was divided into four aspects: logic, physics, emotions, and volition/will.

These placements are divided into another four placements: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. The 1st placement is characterized by absolute, possibly even arrogant, confidence in that aspect and feeling no need to improve or change it. It is very rigid and unchangeable. The 2nd placement, on the other hand, is the most flexible placement. It is characterized by confidence but not arrogance, feeling little weakness in this aspect. To the user of the 2nd function, it is comfortable and easy to use with others and develop further. But the 3rd placement is the opposite. It is the most uncomfortable to use, with a constant feeling of insecurity associated with it. There seem to be two most common approaches to this function: aggressively overusing it or the opposite, neglecting it. This is the placement that needs the most improvement. Finally, the 4th placement is the most underused and is seen by its user as either unimportant or better with a quick fix. These four placements form the foundation of understanding an individual's strengths, weaknesses, and areas for potential growth within this typology system.

In summary...

1st placement: Confident Function (1V, 1L, 1E, 1P) Strong, Aggressive, Monologue

2nd placement: Flexible Function (2V, 2L, 2E, 2P) Strong, Passive, Dialogue

3rd placement: Insecure Function (3V, 3L, 3E, 3P) Weak, Aggressive, Dialogue

4th placement: Unbothered Function (4V, 4L, 4E, 4P) Weak, Passive, Monologue

Yandere System

So what about the yandere system? It follows the same placement rules as the original system but uses its own aspects. The yandere Psychosophy system is divided into four four aspects, respectively: cognition (C), aggression (A), expression (E), and determination (D).

Cognition, equivalent to logic in the original Psychosophy system, reflects how a yandere processes information, plans their actions, and uses their intelligence to manage their obsession.

Aggression, equivalent to physics in the original Psychosophy system, evaluates how a yandere uses power, intimidation, or violence to get what they want or control their darling.

Expression, equivalent to emotion in the original Psychosophy system, focuses on how freely a yandere shows their affection and obsession for their darling.

Finally, determination, equivalent to volition/will in the original Psychosophy system, assess how either determined or fragile a yandere is in achieving their goals with their darling.

Placement Descriptions

Cognition (C)

1st Placement (C1): Exhibits absolute confidence in their ability to strategize and plan. This yandere is highly analytical and methodical, always staying several steps ahead. They see no need for improvement in their cognitive abilities and are often seen as calculating masterminds.

2nd Placement (C2): Confident and comfortable in their cognitive abilities, they can adapt plans fluidly and are skilled at thinking on their feet. They are open to developing their strategic thinking further and are effective planners who work well with others.

3rd Placement (C3): Struggles with insecurity regarding their cognitive skills. They might oscillate between overanalyzing situations to compensate for their perceived shortcomings or neglecting planning altogether. This yandere needs the most improvement in how they process information and strategize.

4th Placement (C4): Minimally engaged in strategic thinking, often relying on intuition or others for planning. They see detailed planning as unimportant and prefer quick fixes or spontaneous actions.

Aggression (A)

1st Placement (A1): Extremely confident in using aggression and violence to achieve their goals. They are unyielding and often intimidate or overpower others without hesitation. Improvement is seen as unnecessary as they view their aggressive approach as highly effective.

2nd Placement (A2): Uses aggression when necessary but with restraint and control. They are comfortable leveraging their power but prefer to balance it with other methods. Open to refining their approach, they effectively combine intimidation with strategic non-violent tactics.

3rd Placement (A3): Feels insecure about their use of aggression. They may either overuse violence in an attempt to assert control or avoid it altogether out of fear or uncertainty. Developing a balanced approach to aggression is crucial for them.

4th Placement (A4): Rarely resorts to violence or intimidation, viewing it as a last resort. They prefer non-aggressive methods and see aggression as unimportant or something to be avoided. They often look for quick, peaceful solutions.

Expression (E)

1st Placement (E1): Highly expressive, openly displaying their emotions and obsession with intense fervor. They are unapologetically passionate, showing no need to alter their expressive nature. Their overt emotional displays are a core part of their identity.

2nd Placement (E2): Comfortable and confident in showing their emotions, they balance expressiveness with control. They can openly share their feelings and are adept at adjusting their emotional displays to suit different situations. They find it easy to develop and fine-tune their emotional expression.

3rd Placement (E3): Struggles with expressing emotions, feeling insecure about their displays of affection or obsession. They may either overexpress in an attempt to compensate or hide their emotions entirely. Improving their emotional expressiveness is a key area for growth.

4th Placement (E4): Minimally expressive, often appearing detached or indifferent. They see emotional displays as unnecessary and prefer to keep their feelings hidden. Quick, minimal expressions are preferred, avoiding deep emotional involvement.

Determination (D)

1st Placement (D1): Exhibits unshakeable determination and willpower. This yandere is relentless and unwavering in their pursuit of goals, seeing no need to alter their approach. They possess a strong sense of purpose and are highly driven.

2nd Placement (D2): Confident and adaptable in their determination, they pursue goals with a balanced approach. They can persist through challenges while remaining flexible. Open to enhancing their resolve, they effectively combine willpower with adaptability.

3rd Placement (D3): Feels insecure about their determination, often fluctuating between intense bursts of willpower and periods of doubt. They may either push themselves excessively or give up easily. Developing a consistent and confident approach to their goals is essential.

4th Placement (D4): Exhibits low determination, often relying on external factors or others to drive their actions. They see strong willpower as unimportant, preferring to go with the flow or avoid direct confrontation. Quick, minimal efforts are favored over sustained determination.

Possible Types

CDEA, CDAE, CEAD, CEDA, CADE, CAED, ACDE, ACED, ADCE, ADEC, AECD, AEDC, EACD, EADC, ECAD, ECDA, EDAC, EDCA, DCEA, DCAE, DEAC, DECA, DACE, DAEC. (First letter is the first placement, second is the second placement, etc.)

Conclusion

That's all! Thank you for reading, and feel free to reblog with the type you think you are or maybe even type a character :D And feel free to send asks or comments if you have any questions.

[thydungeongal]

You've inspired me to make my own megadungeon (or at least run one), are there any good examples you know of? Since you did once mention current megadungeons doing things wrong.

I also want to say your blog and those like yours have been a major inspiration and make me want to create stuff! And have a great evening :)

Oh, I think the person who you want is @maximumzombiecreator, she's the one who's talked about modern megadungeons doing things wrong! (I think the one she was talking about was some megadungeon for Pathfinder 2e?) Oh, there was a time when @tenleaguesbeneath and @imsobadatnicknames2 vagued about one particularly catastrophic attempt by one blogger to make a D&D 5e megadungeon that never amounted to much. But yeah, I've reblogged those posts in question, and now I've summoned them so they may articulate their thoughts on the matter better.

I don't want to speak over anyone, but if I recall correctly: MZC's criticism of that PF2e megadungeon hinged on it lacking procedures for random encounters and restocking, two important things for making the megadungeon feel alive and reinforce the idea that it can't actually be meaningfully cleared, whereas the criticism of that 5e megadungeon was based on the idea that it was like. A dungeon shaped succession of linear D&D 5e adventure days. I think it was characterized as a "megadungeon-themed theme park ride," which feels very apt.

Personally, I'm a fan of the megadungeon on a conceptual level but have not had a chance to run one, but of the ones I have looked at I have a few that have stuck out to me:

Highfell is a megadungeon plus mini sandbox setting centered around a dungeon on a flying island. So, besides the dungeon itself, it immediately presents the party with the question of HOW THE HELL DO WE GET UP ON THAT FLYING ISLAND?

Rappan Athuk, originally released for 3e but having since been converted to almost every retroclone as well as Pathfinder and 5e, is pretty dang huge. I haven't delved deep into it (ha!) but it also features a whole sandbox surrounding the central dungeon, so there's potentially years worth of content in there.

Finally, not one I have actually read but that I am looking at hungrily, Halls of Arden-Vul. Everyone says it's basically a masterclass of megadungeon design, and I believe them, but also the complete version of that dungeon costs like a hundred bucks. Which is understandable since it was originally released in five volumes. But yeah, it has appeared in Bundles of Holding in the past for as little as twenty smackaroos, so I'm waiting for it to come back.

Anyway, of course a lot of classic TSR modules pretty much fit the megadungeon description these days: Temple of Elemental Evil and Undermountain I feel definitely count, and those two seem to appear on every "greatest D&D adventures ever" list. I've only skimmed through the former, but if you happen to find it floating around somewhere, maybe check it out for ideas!

[kinkmanor-too]

When are you coming back?

I am sorry for being away for so long. I needed a creative break from my posting. I found another creative outlet for a while (it rhymes with stick-stock). But that recently took a sour turn for me (I’ll get into that later).

So I think it is time to welcome you and my followers and fans back to the hedonistic delights of Kink Manor. It is time to embrace kink and sexuality and nudism/body celebration & confidence and BDSM fun once again and open the doors of Kink Manor to all the beautiful, sexy, horny folks of Tumblr.

There will be some rules and protocols that I’m going to follow for how I run Kink Manor and how I might potentially interact with you.

1) I post a wide variety of nudity, body types, sexuality & orientation, kinks, etc. I don’t intend that everything is what turns me on but much of it does. Kink Manor is open to, accepting of, celebrates and encourages just about everything. If you don’t like it, keep scrolling. You’ll find something you like. Still don’t like it? Move on and don’t return. I’m not accepting critiques or discussions of content. This is my world and I am The Lord ‘O the Manor and what I say/do is the law. Anger or frustrate me and you’ll be banned.

2) I welcome submissions and I welcome DM conversations. You just might learn something about me or my personal adventures. And I hope to learn about you.

3) However, I will not respond to DM messages that start with “hi” or “hello” or any one word or one short phrase. I have seen EVERY scam and scheme on tumblr and elsewhere. I know your scripts. No…you’ll never get truly personal info from me. No…you’ll never know where I live. No…you’ll never know my real name. No…you’ll never get a true picture of my face (of my naked body or of some of my sex adventures maybe 😈). I do NOT tolerate anyone trying to play a game or run a scam.

3b) No…you’ll never get money from me: DON’T ASK. No…I’m not a submissive or a sissy or anything along those lines. Do not approach me as such. If you are a dominant (female or male) and wish to have a discussion about kink and D/s play, I’ll be happy to talk to you. But don’t try a power play on me. You’ll find out my ultimate power to block you from access to me or Kink Manor.

3c) NO. I will not go to any other platform, WhatsApp, telegram, zangi, Gtalk/Google workspace, FaceTime, whatever to talk with you. If you don’t want to chat on tumblr DM, don’t message me.

3d) No, I’m not going to buy your content. This is pretty simple and straightforward. Please don’t ask. I have absolutely nothing against you trying to earn money (or even a living) as a sex worker and selling pics, videos, and more. If you can make it work, that is great. For me, personally, I can find more than my fill of freely available content. So I will always decline to buy your content.

3e) No, I do not meet up with someone I just met on tumblr. And No, I won’t pay for sex. Tumblr is not a dating or a hook up app. Please don’t use it as such. I’m not looking for anything here other than blogs that have content that either gets me off or that I can use as a post for Kink Manor.

4) You are welcome and encouraged to reblog from Kink Manor. I love that acknowledgement of what I do here. DO NOT REBLOG AND REMOVE MY CAPTION! If you reblog and remove my caption, I will not follow your blog. You’re free to go find some other reblog of the content from someone else’s blog but do not remove my captions.

5) I do not tolerate smoking, vaping, or drug use in my real life and I will not post anything that includes those activities. Also I won’t follow your blog and I may block your blog. I’ve seen too many lives destroyed by those things and I won’t give a voice to them here.

6) You don’t want your content on my blog. That is ok. I totally understand. But be polite. Send me a DM message asking for a post to be removed. Include a link to the post you want removed and I’ll take care of it. Be rude or an asshole about it and it may go a way that you do not intend. Remember this is my world and I will react according to the demeanor of my guests.

All of that being said…

Welcome back to Kink Manor. Take off your clothes, get comfortable, and let your fantasies fly free. I’m thankful for all of you who visit, follow, like, and reblog. 😈🔥🔥

[imsobadatnicknames2]

wait then *why* is it called 1e? wouldn't it make more sense for people to use 1e to refer to the ACTUAL first edition of the game?

not really, no

the important thing to understand here is that while 1e wasn't the first edition of D&D overall, it WAS the first edition of SOMETHING, and that something was the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons product line, which is the product line that the current edition of D&D is technically still part of.

Of course, it wasn't referred to as "first edition" or "1e" at all back then (because Advanced Dungeons and Dragons wasn't a distinct product line yet, it was just A Product) it was just referred to as AD&D. The "1e" or "first edition" moniker probably only started being retroactively applied at some point after the release of AD&D 2e, because now Advanced Dungeons & Dragons was a distinct product line with a distinct first and second edition.

At the start of the WotC era, they decided to remove the word "Advanced" from the title and simply call 3e "Dungeons & Dragons Third Edition", because the Basic D&D product line didn't exist anymore so there was no need to distinguish between the two.

People generally refer to the original 1974 edition as OD&D, 0e, or the White Box edition. Although it's worth noting that *sometimes* when people say OD&D they actually mean OD&D+Greyhawk, because the Greyhawk supplement introduced a lot of elements that a lot of people nowadays probably couldn't imagine D&D without, such as the Paladin and Thief classes, different damage dice for different weapon types (before that ALL weapons did d6 damage), and now-iconic monsters like the Beholder.

For the Basic D&D editions, people generally refer to them using the initials of the booklets that composed them (B/X for the Basic/Expert set and BECMI for the Basic/Expert/Companion/Master/Immortal set), the last name of the main editor (Holmes Basic, Moldvay Basic and Mentzer Basic) or also the color of the box (Blue Box, Magenta Box, Red Box)

TL;DR: While 1e wasn't the first edition of the game overall, it still makes some sense to refer to it as "1e" because it WAS the first edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, which is the series that all modern editions of D&D belong to, except that the series isn't called *Advanced* Dungeons & Dragons anymore because it is now the ONLY surviving D&D product line.

[ddepressius]

Oh, these dunmer family squabbles...

So! I would like to tell you more about these characters, but it would take too long...

Thrals Indoril is the chief Justice of Mournhold at the time of the 3E, an extremely unpleasant personality, cruel in his justice (partly inspired by inspector Javert, if you know what I mean).

Velina Indoril (I have her as an eco-character, a fiery woman, I'm serious) is a loving mother, whose child her own husband gave to the Temple at the age of ten (her child Garvus Indoril is a key character in the Nerevarin story, so his fate has several versions...)

A short comic about this moment (sorry, not in the resource to translate now):

I have a huge number of headcounts about the inner workings of the Tribunal Temple, and perhaps, this is a rather cruel story about how fanatical faith can lead to the erasure of identity in the Garvus' case.

A fragment of a comic strip about his attitude to faith:

Of course, I'm doing a great job explaining all this just so that you understand the joke at the beginning of the post, but hey, what exactly is your chronological narrative and the laws of logic?..