#advanced player

[whybrainwhy]

I love how American action Graphic Novels (Comics) are like:

OMG big green dude! Look it's it's a rich white furry here to save the day! Look this alien who conveniently is also a normal dude except the sun gives him the ability to jump rlly high and lift really heavy things (but we're gonna make him fly later on and give him some laser vision, oh yeah did I mention he was a rich dude?). Oh look the people that just casually mutated one way or another and they're here to save the day!

Whereas Korean action Graphic Novels (Manhwas) are like:

Lol the worlds ending, everyone's dying, did I mention there's a tower of multiple different worlds? Oh yeah also the stars are big mad and love watching humans die. Btw your physical attributes have been put into a video game system so now you have a numerical representation of just how shitty you are, but don't worry no one else has the ability to get stronger like you do because you played/read/whatever this game/novel/LN/Manhwa/webtoon despite it's inherently sadistic flaws and know everything about it despite everyone else deciding it was garbage. Congrats your "unique" tastes lead you to becoming the protag. Also you're the only one able to combine and steal skills from other players and you'll end up fighting a demon lord and literal. Fucking. Gods to save humanity from complete and utter extinction. Good luck! lololololol

[mollysunder]

There is a theory that the way children play serves as a means to simulate and prepare them for the tasks they'll take on as adults. So for all the narrative weight both Jinx and the story give the boxing machine at the arcade it would never have prepared her or the kids to take on Piltover.

What are the two things that Piltovans excel at over their Zaunite counterparts to keep the hierarchy? Weapons and technological development.

When you look at the way Piltovans invest in their children, they don't prioritize hand to hand/melee combat training. Piltovans focus on giving their children experiences in handling firearms, a pursuit that is both leisure sport for the wealthy and a key offense against dissenting Zaunites.

And from the show notes even Jayce, whose family occupies the upper middle class, was sent on educational excursions across Runeterra to explore the world and learn what it had to offer. Without Jayce's education abroad he would never have been inspired to pursue the concept hextech.

It's no wonder that the two figures that are set to be Piltover's biggest threats from Zaun are Jinx and Viktor, becasue they engaged in the same kinds of games and activities as their Piltovan counterparts.

Jinx didn't have an entire forest preserved to help her practice her sharpshooting like the high houses of Piltover, but she did excel in the few games at The Rift (the arcade) that built on her talents. She's the only Zaunite thus far who's long distance offensive is a strong counter to Piltover's forces.

Viktor couldn't travel the world like Jayce did, but for better or worse he managed to stumble into an opportunity to get real opportunity in research not offered to his peers through Singed. It was through that experience that Viktor knew to turn to Singed when he was at the end of his rope, and the consequences of that will be fully realized in season 2.

Ironically, the kind of skill the boxing game champions is only good for keeping other Zaunites in line. Vander's days of fighting Piltover were way behind him when we first met him, and Vi spends season 1 primarily fighting other Zaunites. It's no surprise the Zaunites who embody the old ideal of strength in Zaun that the game portrays, Vi and Vander, are largely at the mercy of Piltover and end up collaborating with them to avoid further harm.

Zaun's future as an independent city-state couldn't happen if they stuck to their old ideals. The people who stand a chance against Piltover are the ones that not only succeed but excel at playing Piltover's games against them.

[kiwis-kiwis]

lmao gottem

[world-of-advice]

[thelonelyshore-if]

Question for everyone tonight:

When playing IFs, do you have a preference for how sexuality/attraction is presented? Do you prefer to explicitly state your MC's identity (i.e. fully stating 'I'm bisexual' or 'I'm asexual'); do you prefer to keep it a little more vague (i.e. 'I'm interested in women' or 'I'm not interested in anyone'); or do you prefer not selecting in-game at all and simply choosing whichever options you choose?

Since I'm currently writing the first conversation that includes gender & queerness in-story, this has been on my mind quite a bit.

The specific framing is something I've gone back and forth on, and now that I'm at a ~point of no return~ on the subject, I figured I'd reach out and see if anybody had specific thoughts!

[stolenwetfloorsign]

Blue toned action webtoons with overpowered protags my beloved.

Mm yes, beat up everyone, be so uncomplicated. I hate tension, I hate real plots.

[tylorsposts]

[the-physicality]

thinking this labor day about all the athletes in women's sports who didn't have a stable league, who were only making decent money from a spot on their national team, who had to fight to get even a fraction of what they deserve. who spent their prime without a club league or the infrastructure to propel the sport. who came of age after title 9 in the usa [forcing schools to fund women/girls’ sports], the ones who fought for cbas and are only seeing big change at the end of their careers or after their careers concluded. who didn't have the media attention before, but are now showing just how much they can sell out stadiums and arenas. the players who played year round because overseas teams paid athletes what they were worth. athletes who endured and reported harassment but the league never took appropriate action. athletes who never had the media attention or ability to monetize their talent but who had careers that were just as impressive as the stars of today. who did it without the help of the science, technology, and medicine we have today. who set records with less support and fewer games in a season, which will be broken by kids who have had personal trainers since high school. athletes who played great games that are no long available to view, their talent no longer archived and accessible for young or new fans. athletes who still don't have a league or are just getting one in 2024. athletes who took it upon themselves to create change for which they will never reap the full rewards.

[masteraqua]

this isn't related to anything in particular but it's something i've been thinking about while working through my kh3 reimagining.

one of the reasons that i think kh3's pacing feels especially janky is that the Plot isn't allowed to move forward while we're in the middle of a disney world. and that's been true of other games too, but the difference is that the disney worlds in kh3 are SO. MUCH. LONGER. than they used to be. so you end up with riku and mickey saying they're going to go to radiant garden before you go to the kingdom of corona, but then not actually arriving there until you leave the kingdom of corona four hours later. it's weird.

so, here's my question: do you think it would have helped if every disney world had a checkpoint somewhere in the middle where the game could drop those story scenes that keep the Plot rolling? or would that break immersion?

[puckbunny34]

idk maybe i’m dirty minded but it looks like he’s jerking that shit 💀

[hopesallwegotleft]

ANGRY vs. RESTRAINED

[dailycharacteroption]

Class Feature Friday: Cosmos Mystery (Pathfinder Second Edition Oracle Mystery)

(art by Oscar Westberg on Artstation)

We’ve circled back around to second edition oracle mysteries again and this time we find ourselves with some notable tweaks to how oracle mysteries in 2e work.

While these mysteries still have their curses, they seem like they give fewer benefits as the curse magnifies compared to the non-remastered version. However, in exchange, it seems like they gain more granted spells in addition to the basic cantrip and the mystery focus spells, so it’s a bit of a trade-off, and less a race to maximize the curse as much as possible for the passive benefits, so I suppose I can understand.

In any case, the Cosmos mystery!

Quite obviously a renamed take on the old Heavens mystery from First Edition, this mystery is a blessing from the gods of the stars and sky, as well as the void in between, which I suppose means that it’s actually a blending of both Heavens and the Dark Tapestry mysteries.

Regardless, whether these oracles look to the stars or the darkness in the night sky looking for answers, they find them. These beings often look as those gravity has only a minor hold on them, and might also be marked by hair or eyes that sparkle with starlight, or other phenomena.

So originally, oracle mysteries got a passive benefit. However, now they get a bonus feat from their class list, so for posterity, I will include both. The oracles of the cosmos have a knack for sensing incoming danger, allowing them to warn their allies, better preparing them to react, and also reducing the damage they take from the first few attacks that hit them. This replaces the passive benefit where cosmos oracles instead had bodies that were partially composed of stellar material, reducing the harm of physical attacks.

Initially the basic cantrip of this mystery was the conjuring of a few floating lights. However, now they conjure a single powerful floating orb of light, as well a blasts of color that overwhelm the senses, fields of darkness, and a moon-addled frenzy in others. What’s more, their basic focus spell conjures a spray of star-like sparks to burn and dazzle foes.

Previously, oracle mysteries only granted access to two domain choices, but now they get four, being darkness, moon, nothingness, and star. These are useful for creating areas of darkness, blasting foes with sacred moonlight, warding themselves against mental attack with nothingness, and creating bright stars to track someone, respectively.

With greater revelations come new magical effects, such as freezing foes with the chill of empty space, and creating bridges of moonlight for them and their allies to cross while others fail to do so.

Naturally, they can also take the advanced spell of their domain as well. These can grant greater darkvision, granting cycling benefits based on the phase of the moon, creating sucking rifts to elsewhere, or create a burning asterism that harms those that pass through the lines, respectively.

The sky pulls at those with this mystery, cursing them with light bodies. The original version of this curse offered several benefits to being lightweight such as being impossible to trip or even allowing them to walk on unstable surfaces. However, the remastered version only makes the oracle easier to knock around.

The remastered version of the class does offer a feat or two associated with various mysteries, including Trial by Skyfire, allowing them to rain down fiery bolts from the heavens on foes.

There are, however, general feats that prove useful to them, including Reach Spell, Widen Spell, Knowledge of Shapes, Detonating Spell, Surging Might, Water Walker, Quickened Casting, Lighter Than Air, Blaze of Revelation, Mystery Conduit, and others that fit your build.

This mystery definitely lends itself more to the blasty side of things, but also offers ways to buff others and themselves, as well as some good utility. I will say I do miss the added benefits to advancing one’s curse, but I also understand the need for the curse to be the consequence of overusing certain abilities rather than something to immediately farm for each day and encounter.

Being an oracle of the cosmos means feeling the call of the stars and the beings with power over them. Does the oracle embrace such higher powers, or live in fear of them? I suppose it all depends on whether they embrace the vastness above or not.

Many-Eyes-of-Heaven lives up to their name, their many eyes as a goloma twinkling like stars in their mane. Unlike others of their kind though, they believe that it is time to cast aside fear and befriend the many peoples of the world and beyond, befitting their role as a star-gazer.

Blessed by the stars both by her heritage as a lunar naga and by the divine will of the gods, Eisaveth is among the most powerful of her kind, and many go to her seeking wisdom from the heavens. However, a new group of petitioners approaches that seeks the answers to their questions, and the naga’s death to prevent those answers from spreading, something she has forseen, and summoned the party to prevent.

After years of fending off the threats from the night sky, the remote village of Olgans has grown distrustful of the stars, to the point when a child born with constellation birthmarks begins showing signs of divine power, there is a debate about their fate.

[froggos-are-superior]

Webtoon screenshots out of context: part 9

[cutiegrumpycerym]

Who tried to steal Christmas ?

Featuring : MuDead

Zero and Rachel are unamused.

A Hero Cantare fanart, because I miss that game. 🎁🌟

---------------

Art by me

PLEASE DON'T REPOST, COPY NOR TRACE MY ART !

ASK PERMISSION TO USE IT !

REBLOGS ARE HIGHLY APPRECIATED AND HELPFUL ! ^^

[thegreatyin]

hey so i recently became co-gm for a fallen london ttrpg group, the conceit is that there's like 20-ish players and they're all members of the ministry of public decency. each week a mission gets put up and people can choose to apply to it (hence the high player count. its worked out fantastically for us but im aware its unorthodox).

for my first mission i wanna run something that you can just explore in a single three-to-four hour session, sort of episodic. do you have any ideas for things in the lore that'd be good for that sort of setup? my first idea was doing something with the spider symposium, i just think its really cool worldbuilding- but im very much open to other ideas!!

(also while they're technically part of the ministry of public decency it doesnt really have to be strictly within that line of work, we've done all sorts of things in the past)

hmmm, off the top of my head:

nefarious cat politics (with optional snake involvement, but really, cat politics by itself could be fun)

anything to do with the neathbow (irrigo is the most popular color, but you can never go wrong with any of the others)

the island where undelivered mail (no elaboration needed)

the island where snails (still no elaboration needed)

the city where mirrors (yet still no elaboration needed)

the island where screaming (polythreme. this one is polythreme.)

most ports in sunless seas would actually work for this ngl. they've got that episodic charm

anything to do with the dawn machine (a very brief anything, mind you! maybe the new sequence is causing trouble, who knows)

a top-secret mission to scritch mr fires behind the ears (joke suggestion. don't actually do this one)

the disease that sets you on fire if you have too many feelings (good for drama)

blemmigans

prisoners honey, and its far more sinister red variant (always a classic!)

anything to do with the captivating princess (gaslighter gatekeeper girlbosser)

anything to do with the rats (i just think they're neat)

escaped hellworm (escaped hellworm)

aside from those there's the spider symposium (as you mentioned) and you can always take pages out of the official TRPG quickstart's book if you need even more ideas! the in-game candlefinders adventures are also really good prompts in of themselves, you could totally take notes and adapt them to fit the session. feel free (and encouraged!) to mix/match concepts as needed. hope this helps ^w^