#Mana loves Lumis a lot

[inventors-fair]

Sagas Beyond Commentary

Hello! Here is the commentary for the universes beyond saga contest. Lot of really good ones this week, and a lot a lot of cool ideas all around.

Scenes from an Italian Restaurant by @wolkemesser

I like how the last ability encourages them to give you something stronger with the first two. I’m not sure it’s *enough* to encourage it, but it might be, and it’s definitely an interesting choice. I just think this is too strong though. 4 mana, even in three colors, is really good for a double reanimate, and this does a lot more than that as well.

Witches’ Prophecy by @halfsilveredmirror

I am *fascinated* by the tech you used here, I think this is really cool, but I think you went too all-in on flavor and the card suffers for it. The conditions are just too hyperspecific imo; too all in on flavor at the cost of gameplay. Maybe “land creature” and “nontoken, nonland creature that wasn’t cast”. Even that’s pretty specific but at least a bit more doable; i can at least picture a set that might be able to reasonably make those both doable enough.

The Lode Poneglyphe by @eveydeevey

The final chapter here seems rather disappointing. I can’t think of many times I’d want a land on turn what, 9? Maybe something like nykthos, but still. Is there something else you could change the last chapter to? I’d also be careful with stuff like the first chapter, like where if your opponent has no boardstate you’re forced to make your own creatures fight, but if you don’t have good targets for that first ability you probably aren’t casting this card so it’s not a huge deal. Otherwise though, this is pretty good overall. It tells it’s story well enough- two people (who were working together?) fight, something breaks, some kind of treasure gets discovered. Pretty good for some pretty generic effects, I like it quite a bit.

First Threadfall // Fort Weyr by @bergdg

I think it could use just a little more excitement factor, it’s very conservatively costed. I like how it gives you back a land after (theoretically) making you sacrifice one, but I think the cost of the manland could be much lower cause frankly, at this same cost and those first two effects I could see a saga just straight up creating a dragon token, so the extra mana needed there is a shame.

Lumi is Saved // Lumi, the Child of Eden by @piccadilly-blue

This card does a lot of really powerful stuff. Boardwiping, Drawing cards, Progenitus. Definitely feels like too much for six mana. And I’d love for that last chapter to be less wordy than it is. And then finally, I don’t love the massive symmetrical lifegain effect, it seems like it’s pretty board stally. (though admittedly, the 10/10 unblockable should help take that down).

Monster Hunting by @insect-glaive

Oh this is an extremely solid saga design. Slowly building up resources with the first few chapters, then something to use those resources with the last. The repeatable removal you get from chapters I-III is potentially risky, but i think the fact that it’s *fighting* specifically keeps it in check.

Nona’s Third Tantrum by @bread-into-toast

This is cool, but it feels odd that the indestructible and +2/+2 doesn’t last into the combat where your creature must be blocked. Would it be possible to switch the second and third chapters around maybe?

The Great Cow Race by @stupidstupidratcreatures

The rate on this is really unexciting. I think this could very safely be XWW, maybe even XW (though maybe would need the flash gone for that).

The 25th of May by @dimestoretajic

This is interesting. Fighting tends to work well with big creatures, while this tells you to take more of a token approach. But in this specific case, since all your creatures get the fight ability, you can kinda keep throwing creatures at something until it dies. I think +1/+1 counters might be better than vigilance counters though, for the second chapter, if that still works with the flavor. Mostly you’re gonna want to be doing that fighting before blockers to clear stuff away, so if you’re taking the “throw a bunch of small things at it” approach that this card suggests, the attacking isn’t gonna do them much good anyway. I think a +1/+1 counter is better in this case, cause it makes them slightly better fighters and I think it makes the card more interesting when you can fight some without a *guarantee* that your token’s gonna die.

the Watcher’s Crown by @batatafilosofal

Big scry or surveil numbers are generally best to shy away from; they can lead to decision paralysis, and just on its own this can give you surveil 6 when the absolute max we tend to see is 5 and even that’s rare. I don’t think the thoracle like bit is a problem; unlike thoracle, it’s not immediate, so your opponent has plenty of time to mess with your plans. I do think this is too cheap though; two clues a turn for several turns for 2 mana seems like it would outclass most other clue producers.

War of land and Sea by @opalosprey

Very evocative card, the flavor comes across very well. I have no idea what this is referencing, if it’s an event from an actual mythology or something from a book or whatever, but I don’t need to. You did a great job of telling a story through mechanics, and I quite like the mechanics. I like them a lot. I like the choose-the-order thing you’ve got going on with the first two abilities, and I like the whole conceit of the card and what it encourages you to do. I *do* think it’s odd that the tutor for lands ability comes after the first two chapters; seems like you’d want that to come first, as a set up, at least mechanically if not flavorfully. I also worry that the “have an equal number of mountains and islands” bit is potentially more of an annoying, book-keepy thing than it is an interesting challenge, where you have to make sure you don’t unthinkingly play a land drop that’ll mess it up, though hopefully the tutor ability helps you balance things out if you do. (But being able to tutor for any land might lead to more combo-y stuff. Maybe “basic land” or “land with basic land types”.) I do think the equal bit is necessary though, cause the draw a card payoff for islands is imo much stronger than the damage payoff for mountains, so the equal lands of each type encourages you to do both and not lean more on Islands. This is also odd as a three color card that includes green; it definitely feels like mechanically it wants to just be izzet for the sake of mountains and islands, but the last chapter is very much Not Izzet which presents an issue.

The Truman Show by @horsecrash

The necessary exile is a *little* bit annoying. Maybe this could be “you *may* exile that creature. If you do”, or at least “up to one target creature”. But also, it’s a pretty small deal I think; it’s easy enough to work around and even if you have no creature you’re willing to exile, worst comes to worst you just hold it back for a turn. I like the way chapters I and III feed into IV. Second chapter feels a little out of place, but im sure there’s a flavor reason for it, and it’s a pretty generic effect so it’s not harming the design by being on there. I like this.

The War of Shifting Sands // Scepter of the Shifting Sands by @greensunzenith

I can’t quite get a read on this card, on when it will be used. The phasing part especially. Honestly, the best use case a lot of the time might be making a bunch of elves and a dragon and ignoring the phasing thing entirely, which seems to not be how you want things to go. Even then though, giving your opponent so many insects kinda counteracts the advantages you get yourself; and you’re *definitely* not phasing out a dragon to get rid of a bug.

Reign of the Silver Millennium by @little-red-rabbit

Seems a bit board stally. The damage prevention thing means that you’re not gonna be attacking, so you should probably be developing your board, but then the last chapter punishes everyone for doing that. Very evocative of an age of peace, just not sure it plays well.

Weekend at Bernie’s by @just--a--penguin

Pretty solid lol, very fun flavor. I almost wish it said “can’t attack or block *alone*” so that you could get the image of one of your other creatures dragging the body around. I’m also curious about the entombing; it’s definitely the strongest and most consistent way of getting a creature into the yard. I think it might be too repetitive though, you’re probably always tutoring for the same creature with a valuable ETB or something. Might be more fun to just mill so you have to think on the fly a bit more about what creature is best to bring back.

Dragonsong War by @snugz

The last ability may need to be reworded closer to original Polukranos or something; as is it’s a bit unclear how it works. But that’s largely nitpicking. More significantly, I think this card is just way too strong. Creature removal, a very strong creature well worth 5 mana on its own, then a board wipe? That’s a lot. And the removal kind of competes with the board wipe.

Captain Marsh Takes the Oaths by @nine-effing-hells

Oh this is sweet. Prooobably too powerful? Hard to say, this is a difficult one to judge the power level of. Maybe two fish, two treasure, two cards, and then keeping the last chapter the same would be fine, unless the three is really important? But I’m not sure. Maybe three is fine. I just think it gives you a bit too much value. But it does take a good bit of investment to get that going. Hmm. Sorry I’m having trouble with this one; it’s very cool no matter the power level.

Async Opens the Backrooms by @misterstingyjack

There’s some tension here between playing and not playing your cards for the last effect, and I’m not sure how I feel about it, but it’s kind of dwarfed by how very strong this is. Two mana to draw up to two cards for several turns is extremely powerful.

The Stars are Right // Cthulu, Awoken Dreamer by @jsands84

Does a cthulu card really want a downside like that? I know it’s flavorful, but it’d probably be better to represent that moment on another card than on a cthulu card. Cthulu should be terrifying. I think I just want it to be… more. Especially since the first two chapters are kinda small. Good effects, just far from worth 5 mana.

Hell Comes to Mars by @helloijustreadyourpost

Interesting. The protection means the imps will never be able to block the slayer, and means they can easily pick the imps off in the fights granted by the last ability without taking any damage themself. Those imps aren’t long for this world. But it gets a good bit more interesting in multiplayer, which given the nature of UB products isn’t an unlikely place to see this. Probably, it’s too much power for its mana. The imps your opponents get are inconsequential enough given what i just talked about, so two 1/1 fliers plus a 5/5 menace for 4 mana is just too much; the downside doesn’t offset it enough here imo.

The Hardest Question by @hypexion

This last chapter is *scary*. It gets really out of hand. This would probably be plenty strong even without the cloning tap ability. With it this is just game winning.

Thank you all for participating! -@loreholdlesbian

[forgexsphere]

@firesongtales​ said: paw prints 

A huge smile paints Mana’s face as she holds up her dog.

❝This is Lumis! He loves cuddles and wearing cute clothes. He’s more of an emotional support dog than anything.❞ Lumi was always there for her when she was sad, he was her best friend and she was glad that he chose her. 

[friendlyneighborhoodmadscientist]

Settle in folks, here’s a story from my most recent gaming session, it’s pretty long but it was such a transcendent moment I have to share it with all of you. Due to length I’m going to try to put it under a cut.

So a bit of background information. We are playing a Kingdom Hearts game and have been for… A while. We can’t quite remember exactly how long. It’s a custom system of the DM and my design (THAT I WOULD LOVE TO SHARE BUT CAN’T GET DISNEY OR SQUARE TO TALK TO ME ABOUT IT).

Our PCs:

Lonnie Clawford, a snow leopard from Zootopia, with an affinity for Ice, and focused on Power abilities (like Terra). Lonnie is functionally immortal in combat, kind of anxious, and grew up in Zootopia’s foster care system until she was like 12 and was picked up by our Master. Played by @thepioden​

Lydia, a young woman from The Corpse Bride (in our defense, we knew it was Tim Burton and forgot it wasn’t Disney until we finished the world) with an affinity for Moon (blame Saïx) and focused on Speed abilities; her combat style focuses especially on aerial tricks and abilities. Gravity is a suggestion at best for Lydia, she’s a hopeless romantic (“MISSION OF LOVE” is a common refrain from her), and she grew up an orphan on the streets until she was about 5-6 and was adopted by our Master. Played by @tsukidoesthething​

Polaris Caelestis, a young man from ??????????? (likely a Final Fantasy World; we didn’t learn my last name until halfway through the campaign so far) who was found as an infant by their Master in the void between worlds (earning him the nickname “Space Baby” from his friends). He has an affinity for Thunder and is focused on Magic abilities. Pol has spent the most time with his Keyblade, tends to try to solve every problem with his knowledge or magic (earning him the nickname “Mage-Wrists” from his friends), and he tries to be a Fixed Point for his friends. I play Pol.

By this point, we have journeyed through so many worlds. Atlantis, The Rescuers, Wall-E, Princess and the Frog, Wreck-It Ralph, Secret of Mana’s Japan-only Sequel, Zootopia, Corpse Bride, Treasure Planet, The Incredibles, Monster’s Inc. And we have ended our first ‘lap’ in Chrono Trigger. We arrive in the bleak, dead, post apocalyptic future, and pick up Robo/Prometheus as our companion. Together, we visit the remains of human civilization, lightly perform a few miracles for the survivors, and end up making our way up to Death’s Peak. All the while, an oppressive feeling of despair, desolation, and Darkness is mounting. At the summit, we find ourselves face to face with a Lavos-Spawn. A horrible tick-like monstrosity the size of a bus that at least in our game was ALSO a variety of Heartless.

So, it’s already not looking GREAT for us. As the boss fight begins, our DM starts this music:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nReqeBSp_WY

Our DM hands us each two notecards taped together along the edges; on one side was a Whisper of Darkness, and the other was a new keyblade (with some flavor text) the Darkness forced us to use.

Lonnie declined to share the Whisper of Darkness she received, but she was forced to use Shattered Steel: 

“If someone has to take hits, let it be you, because you deserve them. Maybe you will be remembered fondly if you keep real heroes alive. Better to spend yourself until you’re battered, broken, and shattered, than to let them see what you really are.”

It lightly corrupted her heart with Darkness if she gave or received a buff, which she does automatically when she stands next to an ally.

Lydia heard this Whisper of Darkness:

“Your mother would have lived if you had not abandoned her and run to spare your own petty feelings. You always have, and you always will flee when you fear pain, and it will always harm those you claim to love and protect.”

And she was forced to use Broken Wings:

“Only unburdened hearts can soar. When you think about what you could have done differently, you only drown in doubt and loathing; cast it aside, and the guilt and regret hang around your neck like unseen weights. Better to give up the skies before you crash, broken, to the ground.”

It lightly corrupted her heart with Darkness if she went into the air or used an ability while aerial.

Polaris heard this Whisper of Darkness

“You spout the tenets of hope, desperate to distract yourself from the ugly truth. Your identity is staked upon it; if there really is no hope, no redemption, then you yourself are a cruel lie to those around you.”

I was forced to use Endless Night:

“Light brings not hope, but casts how much is lost and beyond relief into painful clarity. You cannot heal all wounds, and insufficient healing does more harm than good. Better to do nothing, and turn away from a night you cannot dispel.”

It lightly corrupted my heart with Darkness if my MP pool changed.

With each boss fight thus far, our DM showed us an “Information” notecard that gave a hint to the boss fight’s gimmick.

This one was completely redacted out in permanent marker.

Needless to say, the boss had abilities that forced us next to each other, knocked us aerial, and drained our MP. On top of this, our characters could not communicate.

It was bad.

We fought futilely for a time, and I did crit the bastard with a melee attack to the face, but after we dealt about 100 damage, the boss rewound time and healed itself to full. We were on the ropes; I had nearly been knocked out, Lonnie had nearly been halfway corrupted, and Lydia … well she was actually kind of the MVP but it was still Not Great.

Prometheus spent most of the fight trying to get our attention and was very concerned about how atypically we were behaving. He pulled us back, out of the fight and out of the worst of the boss’s aura. Prometheus started playing some recordings of his creator, a Professor Ashtear (likely a descendant of Lucca, but our DM created the character from whole cloth). As the recordings played, the music swapped to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvEJSvgl9Us Our DM’s delivery of the below was quite frankly superb.

“Okay, diagnostics are complete; everything’s in the green. Ready to go offline and get some upgrades?”

“Professor? I have a concern.”

“What���s up, 66?”

“I understand the mission and I will assist to the best of my capacity, as always. However, my calculations all project that I am insufficient for the role I have been given.”

“That’s what all this preparation is for.”

“Acknowledged, but am I not a sub-optimal model for integration? A military unit such as a mobile defense platform--”

“--Wouldn’t have what you have. It’s nothing in the numbers, 66, it’s something you’ve got to feel in your heart.”

“I am a robot. I do not possess a heart.”

“You don’t think so? I’m sorry to hear that. Maybe one day you’ll understand, but in the meantime I guess you’ll just have to trust that you’ve been chosen for a reason. Do you trust my judgment?”

“Of course, Professor.”

“Then believe in my trust in you. Fate has a way of putting us all where we are supposed to be. And if you have doubts, check in with me, or Lumie, or the people you’ll be helping. You won’t ever be alone. Not really.”

“Acknowledged, Professor.”

“But not really understood, right? Hm, maybe a good first step would be to give you a proper name... I think I’ve got just the one. See you again when you wake up, Prometheus.”

 “No. I appreciate the thought, Prometheus, but we can’t cut out the groundwork we’re laying for short term gain.”

“But if we do not take any measures to accelerate our action plan--”

“I’m under no illusions. The work ahead of us will exceed my lifetime. Even optimistically, I will never live to see the fruits of our labors. Neither will Lumie, nor any child of hers or grandchild. The world’s going to get worse --a lot worse-- before it gets any better.”

“...Regretfully, I have reached the same conclusions. You are not perturbed?”

“Of course I am. I’m a problem-solver. It’s what I do, and I’ve always been very good at it. To be confronted with something like this, where there’s no possible way I can see it resolved? Especially when it’s so important? It’s a bitter pill to swallow, some days. But I’ve come to peace with it, because I know my efforts won’t go to waste. What I do now, I do to fling a light into the future. Every step I take is one that Lumie can follow forward. She can take what I’ve started and advance it a little further. The rest, we can entrust to you, and to those who come after us.”

“Future generations may not be as capable as you are. How can you be certain that they will know how to use what you will leave behind?”

“I can’t. All I can do is have faith. I won’t be the last good man in the world. Where there’s life, there is always hope. Besides, you’ll be there to tell them what I’ve done, right? Our legacies live on in the hearts we influence. If I know that, through you, my example will continue to guide and inspire --even if it’s in ways that I can’t expect or imagine-- then I can rest easy in the knowledge that I’ve done all I can do.”

“Understood, Professor. I will remember.”

“Registration complete. Administrative access and privileges have been successfully transferred to Mistress Illumina Ashtear.”

(coughs) “Excellent. Thank you, Prometheus. When you go down, would you mind sending Lumie up alone, first? There are some things I want to make sure to tell her before I say goodbye to the rest of the family.”

“...As you wish, Professor.”

“Something on your mind, old friend?”

“Regret. If I had returned to escort you here sooner, your condition would not have degraded so acutely. If I had prioritized repairing the medical facility over stabilizing the foundation, Mistress Illumina might have had time to treat your symptoms or cure them.”

“Maybe. Or maybe we’d have lost a promising young mind to that mutant attack that we’ll need in the future. Maybe the building would have collapsed, and all the functioning medical equipment would have buried Lumie and me both. Or maybe all of that would have worked out and we would have learned that there was nothing that could be done for me anyway.”

“Those are only negative hypotheticals. There are an equally infinite number of positive alternatives, and the only concrete data I have to analyze is from this negative outcome.”

“Listen to me, Prometheus: we all make mistakes, believe me, I know. Heated words regretted, or necessary words left unspoken; time not spent, or misspent. Things we’re not proud of, and can’t do over, and good intentions that don’t work out the way we thought they would. But what do we do when we break something?”

“Attempt repairs.”

“And if we can’t fix it, make something new from what you learned. The only way a mistake leads to a wholly negative outcome is when you choose not to face it. It can hurt. Sometimes it can hurt like hell, but that pain will shape you, whether you acknowledge it or not. It can slow your hands from doubt, or it can guide them with purpose.”

“I do not understand, Professor.”

(coughs) “That’s alright. You will, one day. For now, let me just say this: don’t forget me, but don’t let me haunt you. Keep moving forward, Prometheus, even if you stumble. Be who you are meant to be and do what you’re meant to do. Live on. It’s all I’ve ever hoped for you.”

As these recordings wrapped up, Prometheus turned and addressed the monster directly, (DM’s robot voice is exquisite), and the DM swapped the music track to his leitmotif from his original game:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaUNpJAgD4w

“I understand. You are not the creature that has taken so much from this planet. You are its offspring, leaching from our remains as you prepare to invade another world and repeat this heinous tragedy. Defeating you will not restore our resources, or the people we have lost. It will not save our planet; it will only spare a host of strangers I will never meet. And I understand now, that this is a worthy cause.”

“I am a robot. I was not designed or built for this battle. I still have reservations about my aptitude for the role and responsibilities I have been given. I have no statistical evidence to prove that I can prevail. But fate has a way of putting us all where we are meant to be. I have no compunction in my code to fight this battle, but I feel an imperative to achieve victory. It is irrational, but I understand it. Logic and concrete analysis compel me to doubt. My belief in those who chose to invest their hopes and dreams in me instruct me to ignore the odds.”

“I understand now. I am Prometheus, and I am alive. When we prevail over you, I will take what I have learned down off this mountain, and I will get back to work. I will let myself feel loss. I will let myself hurt, and I will grow to be more than I have been. I will continue on, as I know those I have left behind would want me to. I am alive. Their memories are alive in me. There are still people I have to protect. This world is still alive.”

The Professor’s voice sounds one more time. “Where there is life, there is hope.” A woman’s voice answers. “Where there is life, there is hope.” (The phrase echoes again and again, on down through the generations. Finally, the whole host of voices, Prometheus’s among them, rings out in a shout.) We were offered the opportunity to roll an Insight check to join in. Lonnie and Pol rolled first, and we BOTH got nat 20’s; with that, he didn’t even make Lydia roll, and we three joined our voices to the chorus: “WHERE THERE IS LIFE, THERE IS HOPE!”

With this, the DM said we were fully healed, the corruption to our hearts gone in an instant, and the DM instructed us to open the sealed notecard-packets. On the back of the corrupted keyblades were new purified (and mechanically magnificent) ones for each of us (also with flavor text).

Lonnie received Resonant Glass:

“No one voice can sing a chord. If I fear I am unworthy for the melody, then let me be the harmony. If I doubt the character of my soul, let me raise my voice with those that know me best, that I may hear my heart resonate with theirs.”

Lydia received Reclaim the Wind:

“Hopes and dreams have ever been the wind beneath our wings. If I sin, then let the hope to mend what may yet be righted and lift my face to the skies --not to avert my eyes, but to pursue the dream of my better self.”

Pol received First Light

“Not even the brightest star can light the void alone, and a beacon saves only those that pursue it. If my spark must pass before the Darkness, let it seed an ember in the hearts of those that chase the Dawn, a reminder that every night ends.”

 Prometheus addresses the boss one last time before the fight begins anew: “Now, Spawn of Lavos. (Dukes up) Prepare for termination.”

It was electric; we all could perfectly visualize the moment. I think we all had tears in our eyes at one point or another.

The DM changed the music one last time (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWSB3qL5qs8) and showed us an Information card about how we could disable the boss’s temporal rewinding. Furthermore, any Dual-Tech/Team Attack we performed with Prometheus would automatically critically hit.

We kicked its spiny ass.