#Secrets of Magic

[dailycharacteroption]

Class Feature Friday: Wave Order (Pathfinder Second Edition Druid Order)

(art by Brett-Neufeld on DeviantArt)

The last of the currently-available elemental druidic orders, the order of the waves is naturally the order of the oceans themselves, and the element of water.

Life as we know it could not exist without water. After all, the oceans are the birthplace of the first life on earth, and water is such an important part of biological processes that it’s no surprise that the water element is associated with healing and cleansing.

However, like all elements, water has it’s violent and destructive aspects as well. Crushing waves, violent storms, mysterious depths hiding unknown dangers, or even the simple danger of drowning are all in the playbook of water as an element. Add in it’s somewhat downplayed association with the cold as well, and you can add in freezing and hypothermia as well.

Indeed, much like every element, water is capable of destruction and constructive aspects, and must be respected even as it is venerated.

Such druids of the waves might belong to ancestries able to swim and/or breathe underwater with ease, or they might be members of species that have a history as mariners, living by the sea and coming to understand it as aquatic peoples do.

Either way, they are likely to act as protectors of the ecology of the oceans, as well as potentially hiring themselves out as navigators and magical problem-solvers on vessels, guiding the winds and dealing with the hazards and creatures of the water as needed.

So with all that in mind, let’s see what they offer to players!

Due to the association between water and healing, these druids gain an affinity for treating wounds.

Futhermore, they find that shallow water does not impede them, giving them an advantage in such environments.

These druids also gain a spell to conjure a wave to ride on, allowing them to travel over rough terrain and lift themselves up at high speed.

Of course, there are also feats associated with the order, including Natural Swimmer to enhance their mobility in water, Advanced Elemental Spell to hammer foes with a wave of water, and Purifying Spell to wash away corruption and disease.

Other feats they may find useful include Order Explorer, Elemental Summons, Current Spell, Misty Transformation, Steady Spellcasting, Heart of the Kaiju, and other feats that could give them mastery in the water and on land.

This order is a natural choice if your game takes place with a lot of sea travel or aquatic dungeons, or in highly waterlogged areas, granting enhanced mobility in such areas while giving them plenty of options for turning the environment against foes. They may focus on summoned aquatic beasts or aquatic battle forms of their own, or partner up with an aquatic animal companion, or simply make full use of the debuffing and controlling side of the primal spell list. All are good options. However, outside of such aquatic environments, it might be difficult to justify playing one, both mechanically an in-universe.

While the name suggests that these druids are all found by or in the ocean, remember that water’s reach is hardly contained to it’s largest bodies. Lakes, rivers, marshes, and the like are all places where water is just as important, and can be brought to bear, and each one has it’s own cultural associations for you to take inspiration from with your character.

Kashira’s Bluff is named for the strange, inhuman hermit that lives there. While he appears mostly human-like, he has persisted for hundreds of years, a fixture of the region almost like the cliff itself. Some suspect dark magic or strange secrets of immortality, but in truth, the old man is a yaksha who has guarded the region since his formation, boasting great primal druidic power over the sea below to calm them for friendly ships and bring terrible storms upon invading armadas in kind.

The Circle of the Wild Sea has long believed that the seas should not be controlled, and those that dare to sail them should do so fearfully, at it’s mercy. As such, they’ve long campaigned against other casters joining said vessels to lend their magical aid, but recently their newest advisor, an imentesh protean, has been urging more drastic measures, ostensibly to make their chaotic vision of the sea com true, but mostly to cause as much conflict as possible.

The Black Thorn is a horrible spire of corruption, the fragment of an elder god turned dungeon that churns out horrible monsters. Making headway is hard enough, but there may be a secret way in, less guarded, in the seaside cliffs, but navigating the choppy waters will require someone who understands the waves like no other.

[thepopculturearchivist]

TIME, June 5, 1933

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

I love you Safety Wizard.

(Inspired by @keroascrazy)

[my-maehem]

Made a sequel to one of my most popular posts

Edit:

GUESS WHAT!

You can now get a matching shirt/sticker with your Elminster 🤲

[mojavedoll]

[dollopole]

Let’s take into consideration:

Arthur would rather waste precious time before an important council meeting to run around the entire castle and search for Merlin, who, in his very honest opinion is the worst servant of the entire kingdom or that he had ever known, than to call literally anyone else to help him dress (as if there wouldn’t be anyone ready to assist Arthur, their king, with clothes);

Arthur, and therefore Agravaine (which makes it all the more hilarious) knows every single place where Merlin could be, at that precise moment, or during that day in general; (EDIT: As someone pointed out in the comments, everyone and Agravaine included knows who is the “dollophead”)

The guards nod to Agravaine without asking anything, which only means that it is canon that everyone in Camelot knows Merlin by name; EDIT: It also means that the guards deal with this on a daily basis. They must be tired.

The aforementioned point implies that everyone knows how Merlin looks like, that also means Merlin is known to never leave Arthur’s side, even during council meetings;

Arthur is running around the castle in what today we would call a pyjama, just because Merlin didn’t wake him up with, “Rise and Shine”. And he’s barefoot. That’s right. The king of Camelot, everyone, has just walked barefoot in Merlin’s chambers, in the armoury, where other knights probably are, and in the bloody stables (yes, the ones where the horses and their dungs both are), without boots on, just to look for Merlin;

Arthur is more distressed in this scene than in the one where Morgana declares war in season five. He’s fretting like a mother hen. Not only he is without breath, which means he was just coming back from his checking around, but he is red in the face and almost yelling in desperation. “Does he expect me to dress myself?!” Because apparently, Arthur literally cannot do anything without Merlin by his side. The way he says, “No sign of him” to Agravaine is so endearing, and he shouldn’t be this adorable. Unfair, Arthur. Really unfair.

Arthur just yells, (and distressingly looks around) in hope that Merlin will come back to him, because he always does. *sounds of my heart breaking into millions of pieces*

And last but not least, Arthur shouts, “Last night!”, which means the actual reason he’s going around searching for Merlin, it’s because he’s worried his world will end without his quirky and clumsy servant by his side (and the love of his life). Merlin is currently out on a quest with Gwaine to look for Gaius, since he has been kidnapped, but the problem is that Arthur doesn’t know this. What he knows is that he has fought with Merlin the day before about Gaius in the council chambers, and believes Merlin is gone for good, this time, and solely for the fight they had. Arthur feels more than guilty that he can’t make it up to his best friend, the love of his life (Agravaine helped Morgana kidnap Gaius, and it explains the ending of the scene, where he understands where Merlin is.) Now Arthur is worried that his last words to Merlin were harsh. He had last seen him when he was done with his duties the night before, and then Merlin disappeared.

No wonder they deleted this scene.

[sprinklesharkie]

more textpost cos i love them

[saturdaysky]

Gale of Minrathous

Dragon Age AU where Gale is a Tevinter magister who accidentally infected himself with red lyrium. He's found a way to halt the lyrification. Mostly.

More tidbits:

Devout Andrastian with a bit of Leliana's "the Maker speaks to me" thing going, except it's "Andraste—so obviously a mage btw, I have 5000 words prepared and ready to go on this topic—sings to me, magic prodigy"

"therefore I am sure to be the one to unlock the secrets of this powerful, strange new lyrium that is singing to m—oh. golly. that went poorly"

joins the inquisition after he emerges from isolation and his former peers have all become Venatori. If his own folly has emptied the sand from his hourglass, why not spend the little time that remains to him serving Andraste's chosen?

0 moral qualms about blood magic except that all participants must be willing. All magic is neutral—its use determines whether it is good or bad

Tara is his possessed cat, who has lived far longer than a cat should, but Gale isn't complaining. who says abominations can't like chin scritches

talks about Minrathous, a lot

would break open the heavens to see the throne of the Maker, just for the experience

Final AU thoughts under the cut!

what the magisterium doesn't want you to see:

the staff that I know, deep in my heart, Gale uses and insists is artistic:

[jdebbiel]

My first Magic the Gathering card was revealed yesterday! Thank you AD Jameela Wahlgren for the trust and guidance.

[khaoala]

and it was right at this moment that earn realized she still got a chance and fahlada realized she was fucked.

LINGLING SIRILAK as FAHLADA THANANUSAK and ORM KORNNAPHAT as EARN SANITHADA episode 2 of THE SECRET OF US

[dailycharacteroption]

Class Feature Friday: Sparkling Targe Study (Pathfinder Second Edition Magus Hybrid Study)

(art by Satyaki Sakar on Artstation)

I’ve said it before with the original version of the magus, but I am so very glad that archetypes for that class gave us options other than a one or two-handed weapon plus free hand, such as the skirnir, which let’s you play a sword and board build while also having spellcasting and the ability to go defensive by buffing up your shield as well.

While the 2e magus doesn’t have the same pool of power to enhance weapon or shield the way it’s 1e counterpart does, it does have it’s own way to play with shields in the same vein with the sparkling targe hybrid study, which is all about using a magical or mundane shield alongside your magic, enhancing it even as it protects you.

I like the new name as well. Feels very mystical while skirnir definitely feels more cultural in nature.

In any case, this study is perfect for those planning on a more defensive magus build, so let’s take a look to see how and why!

These magi start out training how to use shields to accept the brunt of enemy attacks, however, when they raise their shields (be they mundane or the result of a shield spell) as a part of an arcane cascade, the shield provides additional protection against all hostile attacks, even those that are not physical. Additionally, the shield itself becomes much more durable overall.

From there, the conflux spell of this study provides magical multitasking and coordination to allow them to strike and raise their shield in the same action.

The spells of this study are all defensive, granting wards against elemental energies, a ward that protects them when they focus their attacks on a single foe, and of course a spell for hardening the flesh against physical damage.

There are also feats associated with this option, including Emergency Targe, which lets them lift their shield or cast a shield spell reflexively before an attack strikes true, or Dazzling Block, letting their weapon flash with light on impact, blinding foes.

Other useful feats include Magus’s Analysis, Raise a Tome, Steady Spellcasting, Cascade Countermeasure, Reactive Strike, Shielded Tome, Arcane Shroud, Whirlwind Spell, or whatever else makes sense for the build.

Naturally, this option is very much for the defensively-minded magus players, and it succeeds that certainly with the various defensive buffs and methods for getting your shield raised to better protect yourself. One major pitfall that I’d avoid though. While the wording does suggest you can play a sparkling targe magus purely using the shield cantrip rather than a physical shield, I do not recommend it since this option offers no way to recharge the shield cantrip after it has blocked a blow, meaning that one successful block requires you to wait 10 minutes to use it again, which is not viable for combat. Instead, have a proper shield on hand and the shield spell as a backup. Overall for play, I recommend focusing on casting buffs at the start of combat to go into arcane cascade, and follow up with spellstrikes, spells, and normal combat as needed.

While First Edition’s skirnir has the cultural implication of being a shieldbearer for someone else, characters aren’t actually required to serve a noble house, and such is the case with these magi as well. Regardless, however, they do bear mighty shields, which is a perfect excuse to focus on the power of magical shields, which often get sidelined by magical weapons, I feel.

Though many of her kind view her, a ru-shi dhampir and wayang, with pity, Adiboa sees her heritage as a door to greater insights into the depths of shadow. Alongside the magical secrets she has learned, she also has mastered the art of weapon and shield, the better to ward others against evil.

The Loka people of the far north tend to eschew metal due to it’s rarity, but their mastery of runic magic enhances their wooden and bone weapons to match steel. This skill proves important against the dangers of the far north, where there magic shield-masters fight against beasts as mighty as corrupted yeti.

One’s role does not change simply because one’s pronouns and appearance do. Such is the case with Ifga, former shieldbearer now shieldmaiden, and she continues to stand watch over the seat of her jarl with glowing shield in hand. However, despite the acceptance around her, something else troubles her.

[goryfluff]

dark fantasy + unicorns

the fantastic adventures of unico (1981) dir. osamu tezuka, toshio hirata the secret of moonacre (2008) dir. gábor csupó stardust (2007) dir. matthew vaughn unico in the island of magic (1983) dir. moribi murano legend (1985) dir. ridley scott black moon (1975) dir. louis malle the last unicorn (1982) dir. jules bass, arthur rankin jr. voyage of the unicorn (2001) dir. philip spink

[penneinwonderland]

Headcanon- Merlin only ever tells one person about his magic and it’s Arthur. Morgana finds out when Merlin helps her out of a magical panic attack and proceeds to beg for his guidance. Gwen suspected for a while before confirming he has it when Morgana confesses that she has magic and someone has been helping her. We all know how Lancelot figured it out. Gwaine knew when he was called magic by the guardian. Leon, Elyan, and Percy all saw glimpses of magic in fights. When Merlin tells Arthur for a brief moment he thinks Arthur might snap. He doesn’t even realize that the rest of the table is behind him glaring at Arthur.

[froggydraws]

Ballad of the fox

[justaz]

Where’s that one person who said Arthur should’ve been a genuine Christian following the teachings of Jesus to spread love and acceptance and peace vs his father who embodies the mega churches and false Christians who spread hate and division bc omg Arthur thinking Merlin’s secret is that he’s gay so when Arthur becomes king that’s like one of the first laws he works on repealing so his friend doesn’t have to hide who he is anymore but Merlin just sorta stares at him like “…That’s your first decision as king?? Alright I guess. No complaints from me.” And then continues to hide some secret from Arthur who now is a little miffed that he was wrong (he wasn’t wrong but being gay was never really a secret of Merlin’s, he thought he was pretty open about that but sweet summer child Arthur thought he was just super observant). So Arthur just weeds through the restrictive and oppressive laws and repeals each of them one by one to see if Merlin ever acts any different until he’s down to the last one - the anti-magic laws. He’s a bit more hesitant on that one and sits on it for a bit before deciding to go through with it and then BOOM Merlin is just a fucking mess and Arthur is so distracted by the joy of finally figuring it out that he forgets to be mad.

[zoeyhorse]

After a while, Fluttershy's new mind reading abilities starts to become too much for her to handle

Fluttershy found everything easier with RainbowDash around