#and a cleric from 25 to now at about 36 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

silverskyy · 2 years

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some dnd questions for you!

10, 19, 21, 25, 28, 36

hope it's not too many haha

Oh there's no such thing as too many questions about D&D, thanks for all the opportunities to ramble!

10. What is your favorite class to play?

Clerics my absolute beloved ❤️ My first ever character was a cleric, and while looking back I know I didn't play her particularly optimally, I think it set the tone for what I enjoy in a PC since I'm now on my third long-game cleric PC and planning a fourth. I love the high wisdom skills (especially passive perception when paired with the Observant feat), their versatility is fantastic to the point that I feel constrained playing classes who "learn a spell list", and I'm a sucker for a good upcast Inflict Wounds to put the literal fear of God in an enemy. Plus the inbuilt depth of which deity you worship, why, and how is a great way to kickstart turning a character into a person—feel free to ask for more details about how that's gone for me if it sounds interesting!

19. How did you discover D&D?

So technically I discovered D&D via my older brother. He played years and years ago, which meant I was aware of it from a young age. I was never allowed to join in his D&D stuff though, so despite casual attempts to get into the ttrpg scene on my own over the years, I actually started learning about and playing the game through my partner. It was one of the things we talked about when we first met, since they were already playing, and when they started putting together a campaign they invited me to join. (Also they introduced me to Critical Role, which fanned a lot of the flames lol) And thus, an obsession was born!

21. Drop a picture of a mini you painted (if applicable)

[ID: two painted miniatures. The first is an armored woman with pointed ears, tan skin, and very shortly cropped red hair. She holds a small round shield in one hand and a golden mace in the other. The second is another armored woman, this one with long blond hair and fairly pale skin. She's raising a large shield in one hand and swinging double-bladed axe in the other. /end ID]

These aren't minis that I myself painted, but they're both minis my super talented partner painted of some of my PCs. The first is Felda (I'll talk about her later) and the second is Joanna, although she goes by her last name, Yfar, with most folks. I played Yfar from level 5 to 17, she's a human fighter who changed weapons literally the session after my partner finished this (sorry babe 😅), and I love her to bits!

25. What is your favorite snack for d&d?

For once I'm not going to ramble—I don't tend to eat during gaming. It's weirdly distracting and I don't have a strong hunger instinct that would force me to do so anyway.

28. What is the most memorable natural 1 you've experienced?

Let me set the scene: it was the climax of my first real dungeon crawl adventure. My two other party members and I were facing off against a strange woman who'd been performing some sort of magical ritual in a cave system that the DM had indicated unsettled my PC specifically, as well as her son and a couple mooks. In retrospect, we made some poor tactical decisions and the DM admitted they'd made her too overpowered, on top of truly crappy rolls, but regardless, we were getting wrecked. My being the only healer, it was thus pretty bad news when the woman's son got taken out and in her fury she struck me down too. It was time for my first ever death saving throw...

And I rolled a one.

Fucking pandemonium hit. The DM genuinely didn't want to kill any of us, but the woman was standing right over me and we'd literally just seemingly killed her son. The other players were frantically measuring distances and seeing if they could grab me and run without dying themselves. Eventually someone remembered that the woman had been particularly interested in me when we'd arrived, almost as if she knew and wanted something from me. After some very stressed table talk where I explicitly told them to go, one PC made a desperate shout at the woman about how she must want me alive, then they both booked it.

Spoilers, I lived! This resulted in a private session of what being kidnapped entailed and my playing a new character during the next two sessions as the other PCs gathered a rescue party from the nearby town and got me back. Here's a picture of my traumatic experience:

[ID: a picture of a D&D battle map. On the far right side is room with two prone minis, with another standing right above one. An arrow is drawn on the picture to the guarded mini from text reading: Me.

On the far left side, out of the room and down a few hallways are two further minis, being pursued by a third. An arrow is drawn to them from text reading: My "team". /end ID]

36. What was your first d&d character you made?

It was Felda, the aforementioned death save unlucky half-elf Light cleric! She worshipped Sune, the goddess of beauty, and was very kind and awkward, yet with a seed of something darker that came out once when she spammed Fireball at a shadow dragon until it fell from the sky to burn at her feet. The game is on a very long hiatus (the DM/my partner and I refuse to say it's abandoned) so I don't know a lot, but she was raised in a temple after her mother died there in childbirth and from what I gathered her mother had escaped from a cult right beforehand. Oh and that strange woman? Supposedly Felda's aunt working within said cult!! Who said there were plans for her and, now that she'd been found, she couldn't hide from them...

Moreover, while she was confined Felda started exhibiting strange abilities (I got Perception proficiency, officially spoiling me for it always) and was from then on in a constant state of being extremely freaked out. I actually recently rolled a so so very retroactive Perception check, to notice that a Detect Magic spell didn't pick up her magic items. Due to conversations we'd just been having, that was an obvious hint from my partner that Felda has an Amulet of Proof Against Detection and Location—specifically the amulet her mother said was from Felda's father, that she wears as a reminder of her family. Ooooh there are no plans to start it up again any time soon, but that was such an exciting reveal and I miss my shy little half-elf so bad! 😭

Also tagging @strangeite if they want to give any further details on Felda stories (no pressure).

Thank you so much for asking! If there are other questions people want to ask, you can find them here.

#personal #ask #s-opal #rebecca talks to people #ask game #d&d #really thanks this was lots of fun #long post

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jumbo-the-mumbo · 2 years

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I posted 6,494 times in 2021

56 posts created (1%)

6438 posts reblogged (99%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 115.0 posts.

I added 22 tags in 2021

#deceased - 3 posts

#im- - 3 posts

#yeah : / - 2 posts

#ppl who don't like subtitles are so annoying - 2 posts

#????????? - 2 posts

#seriously like i dont have life plans cause of global warming - 2 posts

#yes - 2 posts

#...... - 2 posts

#fuuckkkkkk - 2 posts

#god i want some fucking peaches right now - 2 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#you read about 150 people going missing due to a glacier burst induced flood in the himalayas and still make it all about your fucking self?

My Top Posts in 2021

do they have "gifted children" in other countries or is that just American nonsense.

6 notes • Posted 2021-07-16 03:39:57 GMT

doctor has said my great aunt is not going to make it.. she got covid and had a hemorrhage and now she is in a coma. my father is very depressed.

hate this fucking virus..

7 notes • Posted 2021-04-28 19:01:36 GMT

answer & tag mutuals you wanna know better tagged by : @micasa last song : Mazas etude No. 23, Op. 36 (learning this etude right now) currently reading : Annik LaFarge - Chasing Chopin: A Musical Journey Across Three Centuries, Four Countries, and a Half-Dozen Revolutions (highly recommended) currently watching: Nightcrawler (2014) last movie : probably Bajirao mastani.. cravings : tiramisu (for Indian desserts: badusha) tagging : @post-brahminism, @elpantalones, @beautifullychaoticworld-blog, @nathanielthecurious, @kstipetic, @smute, @searching-equanimity

7 notes • Posted 2021-08-25 20:23:54 GMT

8 notes • Posted 2021-01-21 19:13:00 GMT

“Isfahan’s residents, the clerics asserted, attended Sufi assemblies only because they liked listening to music, singing, and swirling. It was true that they bragged about joining Sufi groups, but their behavior was devoid of spirituality; what they really wanted from Sufism was to eat stew for free, reach ecstasy on drugs, and have illicit sexual relations with young men. ”

Touraj Daryaee, The Oxford Handbook of Iranian History

9 notes • Posted 2021-03-09 18:10:56 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

#my 2021 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #literally sobbing what the fuck is this fkjhxjgfhgjkfhg #my number one post is about gay sufis #at least 3/5 of my top 5 posts are my own lol #gotta have something to keep my dignity lmaoooo

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imaginetonyandbucky · 3 years

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Keeping Me Alive

Chapter 10: Get Out Alive

by @dracusfyre

Now

“Save who you can,” Tony said to himself as he splashed water on his face.

He blindly grabbed for a towel and dried off, meeting his eyes in the mirror for what felt like the first time in years. “Don’t look back.” He straightened his shoulders and took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves, and went out into his bedroom. He picked up the photo that sat on his bedside table and took it out of the frame, tucking it into the pocket of his pants. Glancing around his bedroom, he nodded once, and went down to his workshop. He saluted the painting of Howard on the wall then dug out the photo of the Winter Soldier from his desk and set it on fire, dropping it to the concrete floor and watching it burn.

“Ready, JARVIS?” he asked. He ground the last bit of embers into the concrete to put them out.

“Are you ready, sir?”

“Yep,” Tony lied. “Let’s rock and roll.”

“Let it Burn Protocol initiated.” As JARVIS spoke, Tony felt the first explosion rock the house, rumbling through his feet as he stepped into the matte black suit in the gantry in the middle of the room. The facemask closed over his face as cracks appeared in the walls of the lab, and as the ground fell away from his feet he was already in the air.

36 days ago

Once he was sure that Stane was gone for good, Tony went down to his work shop and said, “Wake up, JARVIS, we have work to do.”

Sitting down at his workstation, he opened up the master file with the suit schematics and eyed the hologram critically. The hardest part of the suit to master was going to be the flight system, so he isolated and magnified that part from the diagram, studying the repulsors built into the gauntlets and boots with stabilizers along the back. “Start machining the parts I’m going to need for these,” he said. “Circumstances have changed and we are going to need to hit the ground running, so to speak."

“Yes, sir,” JARVIS said, and the whirring of machinery became a low hum, punctuated by sharp bzzts as parts were cut and de-burred. Tony studied the prototype, exploding the diagram, moving it around, and after a while came up with a short list of non-critical design items he could spoon feed to Hydra to show his ‘enthusiastic’ cooperation. An hour later, the whirring stopped and the sudden quiet broke Tony out of his concentration. He sat up and stretched, wincing as his back popped. Standing, he went over to the coffee maker and started a new pot, then dug under the counter for his emergency stash of scotch, splashing a fingers worth in his mug while he waited for the coffee.

He had realized two very important things today. The first was that the Soldier needed saving even more than Tony did; the knowledge that the man was Hydra’s slave, kept ignorant and locked up until Hydra needed an attack dog, had shifted Tony’s world view like a kaleidoscope, shaking up everything he thought knew and making an entirely new pattern. The second was that he couldn't keep waiting around for a chance to escape, he was going to have to make one.

This suit, he knew, was the key to both of those realizations. But this half-baked, insane plan to rescue the Winter Soldier was going to kick the anthill big time and Tony also knew he needed to have some kind of plan for dealing with Hydra in the aftermath. This wasn’t going to be like Afghanistan, where he thought he was out and got pulled right back in again. The stakes were way too high this time.

With that thought in mind, when the coffee was done, he filled up his mug and went back to his desk. He pulled up the operating program for the suit and created a subroutine to overload the reactor, ignoring the flash red warning that said that this would result in a critical core breach and an uncontrolled chain reaction, and set the activation code as “Last Resort.”

One way or another, he thought as he sipped on his doctored coffee, this suit would be his way out.

32 Days Ago

Tony stared tiredly at the news as he took a swallow of stone-cold coffee. The breaking report was about the assassination of an Iranian nuclear scientist. Iran was already blaming Israel, who was of course denying it, but in response Iran was threatening to pull out of the treaties against nuclear enrichment and swore they could split the atom within the year. Political and military analysts were seeing storm clouds on the horizon unless someone backed down and talking about how another war would tax America's already overstretched military. Tony, meanwhile, could tell that this assassination had Hydra's fingerprints all over it, and knew that this was almost certainly the work of the Soldier. "JARVIS," Tony said, muting the television. "I need you to break into Hydra’s servers and find everything you can on the Winter Soldier. Cross reference it with the name James Barnes.” There was a chance that Stane had made the name up, but it seemed unlikely – from what he could tell, the Soldier would have responded to anything, and ‘James Barnes’ was a lot more specific than a simple ‘John Smith’ or ‘Joe Blow.’ “Actually, while you’re at it,” Tony said, having a sudden thought, “I want all of Hydra’s files. Copy them to one of SI’s remote servers.”

Hours later, Tony was just finishing up the wiring assembly for the repulsor system when his computer dinged. Setting down the soldering gun, Tony rubbed his eyes tiredly and turned on his monitor to see what JARVIS had found. To his dismay, there were thousands of files on the Winter Soldier; as he scrolled down the list, he realized that they went back decades. “Fuck,” he said aloud as he looked at the dates and the file names, most of which were a string of letters and numbers that no doubt made sense to someone in Hydra but gave no clue as to what the file contained. He buried his head in his hands and tried not to cry at the enormity of the task in front of him. He was so tired that his eyes were blurry and his head was pounding, but every time he tried to close his eyes he kept seeing James’s body arching with pain and hearing his screams.

“Sir, it has been twelve hours and thirty-six minutes since you last ate,” JARVIS said. “And you’ve made four mistakes in the past fifteen minutes. You need to rest.”

“I have?” Tony pulled his magnifying glass back over to the circuit board and saw what JARVIS was talking about. “Shit. Alright, fine.” He pushed away from the desk and went to the bar sink next to the coffee pot and ran his head under cold water for a second. He came up and wiped his face and the back of his neck, shivering as water dripped from his hair down his back, and went upstairs to look for food. Leaving his work shop felt like he was crossing into hostile territory, like he could be attacked at any moment. And he could, he thought as he opened the refrigerator. Stane had made sure that he always had free access to Tony’s home, because a locked door meant secrets and the only secrets Hydra allowed were their own. He wished he could just walk away from this place, blow it up and find a place to live that Hydra had never stepped foot in, a place that would feel like it was his –

He froze with a jug of orange juice in his hand. He stood there, thoughts racing, for so long that the chiller on the refrigerator came on with a hum. Then Tony said “Huh” to the boxes of leftovers and absently shut the fridge door, OJ still in hand.

25 Days Ago

“JARVIS, this doesn’t make sense,” Tony said, rereading the file for the fifth time. “This thing is saying that the first Winter Soldier was James Barnes, but the current Winter Soldier is James Barnes.” It was hard to think that it was a clerical error, since the earliest files went back to the 1940s and consisted of paper files that had been scanned into a computer sometimes in the 80s. “Is it an alias? Are all Winter Soldiers called ‘James Barnes’ as a security precaution?”

“Facial pattern analysis indicates that it is the same James Barnes,” JARVIS said, and it flashed up an image that looked like a scanned-in polaroid; in it the man was unconscious on an operating table, face dirty and bloody and pale. Next to it JARVIS pulled up an image from Hydra’s own security footage of what the Soldier looked like without his goggles and mask on. There was a vague resemblance to Tony’s eyes, but as the facial recognition algorithm measured the features in each photograph, the conclusion was mathematically precise – there was a 99.7% chance that it was the same man in each photo.

Tony’s face went slack with shock. “How is that possible? He’d have to be almost 100 years old!”

“That part I don’t know, sir.”

“Holy shit.” Tony went back to the original file, reading it more carefully. “James Buchanan Barnes,” he read. “Born 1917. American POW.” He paused at that and sat back in his chair. “Why does that sound familiar?”

In response, JARVIS pulled up a Wikipedia page on Tony’s screen. As he read it, Tony was speechless; for a long moment, he flipped screens between the dead-eyed man from Hydra’s surveillance footage and the smiling man with his arm around Captain America, but this time he didn’t need JARVIS to tell him that it was the same man. The implications made his stomach turn, and as he stared at the screen he exhaled shakily and covered his mouth with his hands. 80 years. James Barnes had been in Hydra’s clutches for 80 years.

He stood suddenly, sending his chair rolling backwards. “We’re doing another flight test. Right now.” 80 years was already far too long, and Tony wasn't going to let it be one more day longer than it had to be.

19 Days Ago

“Tony!” Ms. Potts said with surprise. “I didn’t expect you in the office today.”

Probably because Tony had been dodging Stark Industries for a while now, only coming out of his lab long enough to get her to leave him alone before burying himself in work again. It had occurred to him as he got in his car to go to SI headquarters, blinking in the bright sunlight, that this was the first time he had been outside of the house since Stane’s forced excursion. “Yeah, I wanted to meet with you,” Tony said, shutting the door behind him. He set a stack of papers in front of her as he sat down.

“What’s this?” She said, flipping through the papers. There was a line of confusion between her eyebrows which only deepened as she started reading them.

“I’m making you CEO of Stark Industries,” Tony said. “Effective two weeks from now. Should be an easy transition, you do most of my job anyway.” He grabbed a pin from her desk and clicked it, the sound loud in the sudden silence. “Sign on the highlighted line, please,” he added, holding the pen out to her, and despite everything he had to smile at the stunned look on her face.

11 Days Ago

Tony put a hand on Rhodey’s arm and met his eyes, willing him to understand. “I’m saying that Afghanistan wasn’t a random attack,” he said urgently. “I think I was being targeted, and I think whoever did it might try again.” He palmed a thumb drive from his pocket and slid it across the table. In the Hydra files, JARVIS had found that a senator named Stern had been behind the Afghanistan attack, apparently trying to get Tony out of the way so that his good buddy Justin Hammer and his company Hammer Industries could take over SI's lucrative military contracts. There was all of that and more on here, just enough information that if Rhodey put all the threads together he would start getting the bigger picture. Pierce, the STRIKE teams, all of it. “If anything happens to me, I need you to finish what I’ve started.”

“Tony, if you are afraid for your life-“ Rhodey started, still looking dubious but starting to get alarmed.

“Not just me. You. Ms. Potts. Anyone I'm friends with. I can’t do anything to make these people suspicious,” Tony insisted. It was strange to feel like he was lying even though every word he’d said was true. “No unexplained bodyguards, no sudden trips, and absolutely no cops.”

“I don’t like this,” Rhodey said emphatically. “You’re asking me to sit back and wait to see if someone kills you!”

“I know what I’m doing,” Tony said. That part was a lie. He had a plan in the broadest definition of the word; mostly he was making it up as he went along and praying he could handle the fallout. “I need you to trust me.” Rhodey’s mouth was a grim line and his jaw was tight, and Tony knew he wasn’t convinced so he pulled out his trump card. “I can’t do this unless I know you are safe,” he said, lowering his voice and leaning forward. “I won’t risk you.” It took a long minute, and Rhodey looked like he was swallowing something unpleasant, but he finally nodded and put the thumb drive in his pocket. Tony exhaled and sagged with relief. “Thank you."

“When this is over, you better have a good damn explanation,” Rhodey said threateningly, and Tony barked out a humorless laugh.

“You won’t even believe me when you hear it.”

8 Days Ago

After Tony hit save on the final design of the suit, he stumbled over to the couch and landed on it face first, exhausted. He was laying on the couch, eyes drifting shut as he went over his plan for the hundredth time trying to figure out if he’d missed anything when the lab went dark. “What the hell, JARVIS?”

“Sir, it’s been 56 hours since you last slept,” JARVIS said. “I’m turning off your systems for a minimum of twelve hours.” The light in the stairwell going up to the main floor turned on, its glow just enough to let Tony get from the couch to the door without running into anything.

Tony stayed stubbornly on the couch. “We don’t have twelve hours to waste,” he said. “Turn my power back on.”

The lights stayed off. “Sir, you are a hazard to yourself and others.” Tony scowled and wondered if he had actually programmed JARVIS like this or if he was channeling the man himself. "Also, there's nothing for you to do while I assemble the suit."

“Fine. Ten hours.”

“Ten hours," JARVIS repeated. "I will be monitoring the situation while you sleep,” he added, and Tony knew that he meant not just monitoring Stane and James, but also Tony’s vital signs to make sure he actually slept.

“You’re insufferable,” Tony accused as he made his way up the stairs.

“Yes, sir.”

2 Days Ago

“Sir, there’s something you should see.”

Tony looked up from the fine-tuning he was doing on the suit’s shoulder-fired weapons to look at the computer screen. JARVIS had maximized the window where he was constantly monitoring Pierce’s communications and highlighted a text that had just been sent. It was to an unknown number and all it said was lvl 10, CovJer10131973 nlt 200810162200Z. The first part was clearly a target identifier and Tony knew enough about the military to recognize the latter as a date time group, set for five days from now. “Bring up the camera feed,” Tony said, and sure enough when Tony looked at the video surveillance of the room where James was kept, he could see that the lights in the room were on and a technician was already in the room powering on computers. They’d found out a while ago that what Tony had taken for a hyperbaric chamber was in fact a cryostasis chamber, which partly explained why James was almost a hundred years old but looked younger than Tony.

“Shit." Tony exhaled long and low, feeling his heart rate spike with nervousness. "How long it takes to thaw him out? Was that in his files?”

JARVIS was silent for a moment. “Evidence suggests approximately 24 hours from the time the procedure is first initiated,” he said.

“Right,” Tony said grimly, turning back to his work with a new urgency. “Guess it’s time.”

Now

Tony flew north along the coast as his house collapsed into the Pacific Ocean behind him, throwing billowing clouds of dust and smoke into the air as carefully placed explosives reduced it to a smoking ruin. It was thrilling and terrifying to know that for all intents and purposes Tony Stark was sinking to the bottom of the ocean. He'd become a dead man after all, and now the only thing left was this suit and his mission: rescue the Winter Soldier then burn Hydra to the ground.

“Pull up James' video feed for me," Tony said as he flew. Since he was over water, he set the suit to autopilot and shifted his attention to the small window at the corner of his HUD. James was out of the cryostasis chamber, sitting on a chair as a medical assistant appeared to be taking his vitals. Every now and then he shivered, still shirtless. Other technicians were milling around, tending to the computers, and standing guard were was two members of the STRIKE team, hands on their weapons as they kept an eye on him. His records had indicated that he was prone to ‘erratic violent outbursts,’ which Tony figured was code for “periodically tries to fight back.” Tony had actually been happy to read that, because it meant that Hydra hadn't managed to break him completely. Right now, though, James just seemed willing to numbly submit to whatever the technicians were doing, his long hair a curtain in front of his face as he stared at the floor.

“Sir, we are approaching the facility,” JARVIS said, and minimized the video. Tony flew lower to the water, navigating around the giant cargo ships at dock. Even for a twenty-four hour facility it was late, and there were only one or two ships that had people still unloading shipping containers. He landed close to the Hydra facility but out of the line of sight; he had managed to camouflage the suit to the best of his ability, but he couldn’t hide the bright lights of the repulsors so he made the rest of the approach on foot.

JARVIS’s scanners found four total guards around the building, patrolling in pairs. By sticking to the deep shadows cast by the stacked shipping containers and the orange-yellow glow of the sodium-vapor security lights, Tony got within hearing distance and hit them with a pulse of high-pitched wave frequency. They both stiffened and fell over, paralyzed, helmets bouncing off the pavement hard enough to knock them unconscious. Tony bound them with their own zip ties and hid them out of sight, then used his backdoor access to the security system to unlock the doors and set all the surveillance cameras on a one hour loop. As he strode through the door into the lab, all eyes turned to face him, and before anyone could even speak there was a brrrt noise and they fell to the floor, killed by the precision targeting system Tony had built into his suit.

When JARVIS confirmed they were all dead, Tony took off the helmet and looked down at one of the bodies; the one closest to him had been here a month ago, monitoring James’ vitals as they wiped his mind. This was the first time Tony had killed anyone and he expected to feel..something, sad or upset or even vindictive, but he didn’t really feel anything. It all felt too easy, and Tony knew it was because he had designed a suit that had made it that easy. All the more reason that Hydra couldn't be allowed to get their hands on it.

James was still sitting in the chair, watching Tony as he approached; he hadn’t even gone for cover as everyone around him had died. Tony wondered if it was out of surprise or indifference. “Do you know me?” He asked, coming to stand in front of him. James studied his features for a moment and shook his head. “My name is Tony Stark. You are James Buchanan Barnes, and I am here to rescue you.” Tony offered him a hand to get to his feet, but James didn’t move, he just stared at Tony with those glacier blue eyes. There wasn't blankness in them now, only a narrow-eyed look of consideration. “Come on,” Tony tried again. “We’re escaping. We have to hurry before more people show up.”

James didn’t move. “There is no escape from Hydra. The only way out is-”

“Death, I know.” Tony kept his hand out but gestured expressively around the room with the other. “But they never said whose death.”

James studied him again, then turned his gaze to the dead bodies. Finally, after a long moment, he took Tony’s hand and let him pull him to his feet.

#tony stark #Bucky Barnes #tony x bucky #winteriron

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krakenator · 3 years

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Back again bc Idk if these have been asked of Abby(Listen- Grandma Gull Good djcjsjfks): 1, 3, 13, 14, 16, 25, 27, 36, 38, 39, 42, 48, 51, 52, 55, 57, 62, 63, 68?

why did they choose their class(es)? their subclass(es)? Abbigulls been a cleric since she was very young. Mechanically she is a tempest cleric. Erasure magic for her comes in the form of subtle change- fog creeping in, waves eroding stone, slowly evolving designs- but also in sudden, violent change- lightning storms, tidal waves, a sudden erasure of being.

what is their goal right now? Have fun, make bank, play that never-ending game of outwitting and occasionally being outwitted by your competition- failure just makes you work smarter next time. And do it all on the water because sailing is at the root of it all, even if she forgets that a little bit sometimes

what do they dislike about themself? why? For all Abbigull loves what she does, not even she can fully deny that she’s not a very good family member in some respects. She’s not present, and quite frankly she doesn’t intend to be in the way some would like her to. She loves them all. She loves her grandkids. She will not consider giving up the sea and her travels and her career for them. There’s points where it feels a little guilty that she might be able to be “better” for non-blood family like Jackie- people like Ajaxx get it about the sea.

what is something they love about themself? The Admiral gets it done. The Admiral is unstoppable!

what are their feelings on the people who raised them? They didn’t get everything Abby is about- erasure worship wasn’t inherited, and while the colony lives on the coast she’s the first one in a while to really strike out so extremely on the sea. But they loved her and did everything parents should do.

what stories do they like to tell? what stories do they like to hear? Tales of adventurous exploits and daring-do.

how do they mourn? respectfully. “endings and destruction” are not all these is to Erasure- it’s new beginnings, second chances, constant change and adjustment. There is no permanent state of the self with Erasure. But it is still rightfully associated with fading and the end of a Toon’s life, and Abbigull mourns with a personal reassurance that this is the natural and correct way of things. Erasure is what she dedicated herself to, all aspects of it.

what’s a secret they’ve kept? wouldn’t you like to know

what do they smell like? Abbigull smells like sea salt and slightly burnt rubber. An eraser that's just been used very enthusiastically

are their hands calloused, soft, or something else entirely? Smooth n’ feathery, but also kinda… crackly like old paper

what are three words they would use to describe themself? Bold, go-getter, entrepreneur

what do they see in their future? …White.

what is the most beautiful thing in the world, for them? Dawn just peeking out over the horizon, no shore in sight

from whom do they seek validation? interesting question- abbigull has no shame, partially because she’s a seagull, partially due to being old and having unlocked the secret that she needs approval from NO ONE to do her thing. Having said that tho up to 2 of her appearances so far ARE people actually getting her to do a think about herself, POSSIBLY even a SHAME

whose hand do they reach out for? She’s a cleric. She’s reaching for ALL your hands, she will hold EVERY HAND because YOU need it. Not her. Clearly.

what makes them angry? There’s pulling a good trick and then there’s legitimately hurting people. Abbigull is a business bird and a bastard but she is also a cleric. She heals. Oh, she’ll harm ya for sure, but not outside of proper context- not for no reason. Not against anyone who can’t fight back

outside of otherworldly forces, what do they believe in? Abbigull’s been a cleric since she was very young- her faith is a huge part of her identity. But she’s also got faith in herself. Admiral Abbigull Atricilla in an unstoppable force of nature who accomplishes what she sets out to do. She believes in her force of will.

what fight has scared them the most? Abbigull ain’t been in too many scrapes in-game, but a kid getting attacked and pinned down by a velociraptor was a little concerning, actually

what was the best moment of their life? The very first fledgling she saw hatched into the colony. Abbigull’s not one for raising kids herself, but being an auntie or grandma? All over that

#toonkind dnd #toonkind #admiral abbigull #dozydin-keyfree #i love my gull grandma

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kaiju-z · 3 years

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Seon Adventures, Episode 36: The King, The Guard, The Blade

Last on Seon Adventures! The Cultbusters had gone and traversed through the treacherous traps of the Fallen King’s Tomb; confronted mirror creatures and bested them in riddle combat; snuck through metalic guards and browsed through the dedicated libraries...

Now, they stand before the spirit of the King, himself. A Purple Tiefling man in humble clothing as each party in this conversation genuinely wants to know truths...

He shifts his weight on his back leg and looks to each of the adventurers, expectantly, certainly hoping for no unnecessary bloodshed. And welcomes the party. Friends or foes.

Luctan, who up until now hadn’t seen any ghosts (and had his mind wiped of the memory of the time travel shenanigans) states the obvious.

“So. You’re a ghost.”

That certainly breaks the tension and the party ask the king of what had occured. Desperately wanting to know answers to questions he himself may not have reached the full legway to.

The fall happened after his passing. His temple wasn’t finished until the end of the war, or so he heard. He’s heard things around him, the builders talking about it. Kobolds. So sadly, even the king was in ignorance of the situation.

But question for question, his highness questions them on what they, themselves knew of the events. And they would recite Arryn’s story, as best as that was told and remembered. And the King would try to fill in the gaps:

The place, where he transitioned into unlife, very unpleasant to remember that event, but dragons were sent to them. A pair of black ones, large and fierce. He took one of them down with the help of some brave warriors. They took that one down and his wings have been buit into the wall.

The other was shot down and taken away to question and interrogate away by the Kingdom’s allies in Guan. After his passing, he has heard fairly one sided stuff. He doesn’t want to believe that what happened happened. It seems impossible to him, even if he doesn’t understand much of magic.

Belli tries to recall if something like that would have been possible… All of them try, but none think we can figure it out. However Malak believes spells can be amplified by multiple people. Multiples... the council, maybe?!

When prodded on why this happened. This... war. The King would bemoan the events.

The battle started with a failed negotiation. It was his mother that started it. She wanted to negotiate some Southern Lands, fertile lands. Just that, leave it at that. He thought they could do better. Then? Empty threats that turned to words spoken and words into actions. And then actions taken turning into Rot.

When the queary of who commissioned them would be brought up, the truth was that they didn’t know much. Beyond the face that they were approached by for the job, there was nothing certain. Though... Putting things together on a certain perspective? Technically the council commissioned could have been the commissioners, but probably those, who argued with the king’s mother. Over land. And money.

The King’s Blade was and is a weapon with magical abilities. A sentient one too. Passed down the generations from one ruler to the next. He would confirm that it was still in the vault.

The King would mention that he was connected to the Iron Guardians that the party had snuck past in the smoke and that he would be able to turn them off for an easier exit. But the stone construct that was protecting the vault? That would be a daunting task only the party could deal with.

Malak, who has totally seen ghosts before (All of the ghosts) offers the king a chance to transition. Like. Right now. No money required.

And the King’d accept.

But as Malak casts his Channel Divinity feature, the king would grip at his head, panic and start running in a circle, screaming in fear and terror. Because. Well. His CR is too high for that?!!

Essentially, Malak gave the king Existential Dread.The poor ghost man.

“Dick move.” - the king would state, once the CD would wear off. And Malak in turn would claim, in a huff, that the King wasn’t quite as committed to carrying on as he initially said.

A few minutes of this goes on, before Malak gives it a second go, this time with a Banishment spell onto the King, who was beginning to regret even telling the party of the Construct.

As he accepts the banishment, he clearly gives Malak the stink eye for the trouble and is sent away to the afterlife.

With the party never getting his name.

Fuck.

With the task done, the party consider resting in the tomb, before advancing to the treasury. But comedy ensues as Malak refuses to sleep in a place of the dead. And the party go back and forth on whether they should sleep here or not.

And ultimately agree on just going to the vault.

Also Jun takes some time to sit on the throne and more specifically the statue of the king’s lap. Because she deserves this. Congratulations, Queen.

Leading the way afterwards is Mournimar, who mentions along the way that he and Belli had seen the construct before, while it was keeping it’s vision on Jun, Luck and Malak in the library. Something that he had forgotten to mention to them previously to this moment.

With this knowledge on their minds, the party elect to split and take a seperate route. Jun and Luck taking the upper coridor, while Malak, Mournimar and Belli (and Morgan) go for the Library entrance.

As Mournimar turns around, he sees an Orange light looking directly at him and it comes from some kind of glowing gem. It glows, the orange deepends to an orangy-red.

Roll for initiative and Luck is the first to make his move.

He elects to try and distract the construct and steps forward, clapping and “complimenting” it. Asking it to let them pass. And holding an action.

While this goes on, Mournimar Hunter’s Marks, swears under his breath that the party doesn’t have a choice and fires. One miss. One hit. And backs away. 11 damage.

- On Belli’s turn, she uses her Animating Performance. And animates one of the shields, causing it to end up thrusting itself away from the grip of the designed defender.

AND FOR HER BONUS ACTION!

She mocks it. Ooh, not as strong as you used to be. Bit of rust setting in. Maybe you should retire and give it a rest?” Aaand that doesn’t quite work out, sadly as psychic attacks don’t effect a machine.

On Jun’s turn... She runs over to the construct and Hexes it, taking away it’s advantage with Strength attacks..

Using her Mystic Frenzy, she casts Booming Blade. And cuts into it! Thanks to Belli, both of Jun’s attacks hit the being and she stabs in and between the plates for a lot of damage. 36 DAMAGE O _ O

And the retaliation comes quick as she gets slammed by it’s remaining shield in turn. The requirements for Luck’s attack spring up and he tries to shrink the creature to a much smaller size, but it resists his magical influence as steam starts to billow from it’s body. White-ish, magical steam, which causes Jun and Luck to lose some of their energy, Slow-ing them down.

On Malak’s turn... he casts Spiritual Weapon right next to the Floating Shield. So it’s a nAnimated Team Up! Smack for +8 Force Damage. Toll the Dead afterwards!

With his movement halved, Luctan can only pull his Greatsword out and swing the Evenchord, slashing it across the body of the bionic enemy.

It’s the Ranger’s turn again. Bonus action, Mournimar casts Ensnaring Strike on the Guardian. At Level 2, which turns off the Mark. With the creature restrained, Mournimar fires and hits it twice with his arrows.

Bonus action, Belli tells the shield to protect Luck and Jun. And as an Action she tries to Dispell the Stone Construct’s control over the Slow Fog?!

With a tremendous grip on her confidence, she succeeds in this endeavor. Now free to attack, Jun cuts into herself for her Crimson Rite. For a collective 38 damage. Oil starts to leak out from it’s back.

And a brief flicker emits from it’s gem as a reaction to the damage dealt. And the smoke pops out once more. Causing Luck and Jun to be slowed yet again.

The construct crashes into Jun again, but before it can hit again, she manages to roll out of it’s way, avoiding further damage.

On Malak’s turn, he sends the spiritual weapon to make an attack, which connects for 6 Force Damage. And after that attempts to wound it with a Chill Touch, which sadly doesn’t work as intended... With that thought, the cleric would move behind Luck and Jun, ready to heal them if they lose their balance.

On Luck’s turn, he shiftshis sword to his left hand and channels a different kind of magic than what he normally uses, before smashing his fist into the body of the construct, in defense of Jun, citing “Now that’s no way to treat a lady.”, but like, slow like. Inflict Wounds. 9 Necrotic.

On Mournimar’s turn, the arrow sniper gets a sudden sense of inspiration as he aims for the crystal, while the thing focuses on Jun. 26! 1 damage to the crystal, a vulnerable area! An arrow sticks out of the crystal and it’s like it’s blinking eratically at random patterns! Second shot hits again! 24 damage ON THE GEM!!! HE SPLITS THE ARROW!

Yeah, by this point it doesn’t look great at all.

On Belli’s turn... Belli casts mage hand and carries the acid bomb to drop it onto the crystal! It drops perfectly on the crystal. But the acid damage has little effect!

As a Bonus Action she inspires Jun. “You got this, Queen!”

“Aw, shucks, lil’ ol’ me?!” she jokes and now full of inspiration and Bloodhunter Badassdom, Jun does the deed. 25 Damage!

HOW DO YOU WANT TO DO THIS?!

Jun takes out the Gollem’s knee, slices through it, causing it to drop to a knee. And then slowly pushes her sword through the crystal, pulling a decapitation move.

It’s fallen. Dead.

With a key in the back of it’s head.

A key.

And there’s another big metal door.

Which is big. And made of metal. But are there hinges on it?!

One can not quite tell.

Mournimar and Jun take turns trying to lockpick the vault’s door, With Jun receiving a Greater Healing Potion from Luck for her troubles in the fight, before her turn with the picks.

But neither quite gets the job done, while Malak calmly grabs the key out of their view and waits for his chance.

(Also, btw. The shield’s name is now “Simon”. And Belli wants to keep it.)

And once it arrives, he walks up to the door.

Then he touches it and mutters something, like a prayer of sorts, being a little shit as he unlocks the door with the key.

Inside are all the treasures of the King. The floor is littered with coins. And in the back of the room, on a cushion lays the King’s Blade. Behind the blade is a large skull of a dragon that was killed with it. Black Dragon Scales everywhere, forming a collage of the King.

With Mournimar vibing with Morgan and Belli finding interest in a box of animal figurines, Malak steps up to the sword, before Jun and Luck can do anything more than just watch it intently.

He asks them to wait a moment, so he can check the weapon for any curses. The cleric then pokes it gently, casting Remove Curse. Whether that succeeds or not is unknown.

Browsing the vault, the party find multiple items, some, which clearly emit magic, once Detect Magic is cast. A ring mail armor is among them, but no one finds the want to pick it up. Belli’s distracted by a box with 8 turquoise animal figurines. 8 different kinds. Dog, cat, deer, bear, gorilla, raven, owl and a gecko, while Malak gets a party’s worth of Greater Healing Potions from a box.

With a keen analytical eye, the cleric takes note that Enchantment and Evocation magic emits from the sword. There’s also slight abjuration on the Dragon Scale Collage, but as a preservative.

And then?

Luck picks up the sword.

And speaks to it.

Asking it if it has a name? Gender? Anything like that?!

And it does speak. And she introduces herself as Ena. A very eloquent lady of a long sword, who hasn’t been held in a long while.

With a voice that makes it sound like he is almost flirting with her, Luck catches up Enaon what has and might have been going on in the time of her last use.

She is perfectly fine traveling with the party and even feels comfortable in Luck’s grasp as there seems t obe some kind of “Royalty” feeling to him. Curious of the possibilities, the party also bring along the dragon skull, placing it in the bag of holding, after Luck shrinks it down with his last remaining 2nd level slot of Enlarge/Reduce.

Before they leave, the party discuss what to do with the gold here. All this fortune could be used to help the neighboring settlements and the party agree to return one day and gather it, or send someone to gather it, who’d be careful enough to avoid the traps.

For a moment Luctan considers taking a bunch of gems, a thought crossing his mind. But Jun talks him out, bewhildered after the talk the group just had on the use of the coin.

On the way out, once the six of them make it back to the 1st level, Malak stands in the center of the open room and casts Destroy Undead to eliminate the Kobolds and the creature in the sarchophagus.

He destroys the Kobolds’ bodies, but the Mummy rises. Angry.

And a quick fight begins.

- On Luck’s turn, he casts Guiding Bolt, then charges in as he Action Surges and slices twice with Ena for some immense damage.

Then? The darndest thing happens once the Bard comes up.

Belli casts Polymorph and tries to turn the mummy into a baby. And insults it. “You’re just a stupid little baby.”

And-

And-and-

And it works?!

Jun is horrified by all of Belli’s anti-babyness and just leaves the room. The mummy baby tries to hurt Malak, but fails, as it teeths. The cleric isn’t even perturbed by the litteral ankle biter as he notes: “Hey Belli, remember that talk we had about traumatizing people?”

And Belli immensely apologizes for the situation at hand. It was a spur of the moment thing.

Not wanting to hurt a baby, even if the mummy wasn’t a real one, Mournimar looks to see if he has any intoxicants to just pass the time. But alas. He does not. He does not have the good kush.

Malak’s next. He slaps the baby, ending the toddler shenanigans and swings with the Fated Potential, damaging the creature for 5 slashing.

Luctan Mercifully finishes things off with a Quickened Guiding Bolt and a Nat 20 Slash of the King’s Blade and the Mummy’s dead.

It’s dead.

O. V. A. Ovah.

With no mention being made along the way, the party hotfoot it out of the tomb and walk over to Arryn, who was preparing dinner.

“Hot Diggity Dog”- Arryn, quoting the Dragonborn Tribes. As Luck presents the blade. When discussing what had transpired inside the home of the dead, the party ponder on the remaining dragon. Chances are the other black dragon was taken to the Capitol of Guan, which is where the party elects heading. To Necesills.

With that said, Arryn offers his stew to the party and the lot of them sit together and finally eat. During the meal, Belli receives a message in her head from Nel.

“Good evening, darlings! Just had a thought, I should probably let you know! Amelia and I will be relocating temporarily. Take care!” Belli asks her what’s up. And then sends that in the form of a Sending spell so she can reply and not waste any spellslots on her turn.

Nel ran out of slots for it. Thanks to a work thing, Nel had to move. Amelia would have told the lot of them, when they returned, but Nel figured with her Sending it’d be a much more convenient messaging.

Belli learns that the two of them are relocating to a town called Havik. It’s the northern most town. It’s the last piece of civilization, while in Aetorumia.

With that said and done, the party prepare to get their shut eye, with watches and everything. But before they can get to that, someone clears their voice in the viscinity of the seven (+2 horses and Fey cat).

They look and-

It’s him again.

“Did you miss me?!” asks Ark’Niel with a smug expression on his face as he leans against a pillar in the sand.

Previous Episode / Next episode

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thecreaturecodex · 4 years

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Slaad, Black

Image © Wizards of the Coast, presumably by Rudy Siswanto.

[Like the white slaad, this excellent image matches the 5e art design for the other slaadi, but was found sourceless on Pinterest. This is the last of my slaadi for now--I have original slaad that I originally wrote for 3.5 that I want to convert, but I need original art to go with them. I’ve commissioned it for some four of them, but am still waiting on the art. This version takes very little from the 3.0 Epic Level Handbook version of the black slaad, and only a bit from the 4e “void slaad”--the void bolt power specifically. The mention of scythes as a favored weapon is inspired by the original black slaad, Ygorl, Lord of Entropy.]

Slaad, Black CR 20 CN Aberration This humanoid frog stands taller than a man, even when hunched over. Its hide is a dull black, seeming to blur with the surrounding shadows, and wisps of darkness radiate off of it like smoke.

A black slaad is a creature of darkness and destruction, and they are among the most powerful of all slaadi. They are created when an already powerful slaad, such as a grey slaad or death slaad, colonizes the reaches of the Shadow Plane and becomes acclimated to that realm’s sinister energies. Although some black slaadi are evil, not all are. Even non-evil black slaadi are dangerous, however, as they are obsessed with tearing down structures and institutions alike.

In combat, black slaadi fight with a combination of natural and manufactured weapons. Dramatic and frightening-looking weapons are favored, such as scythes. They often open combat with a void bolt, which not only does grievous damage, but causes all other wounds on a target to be more severe on the chance that they survive the initial blast. A black slaad uses its shadowy form to blend in with its background and avoid attacks—if no natural darkness exists for a black slaad to hide in, it will make its own. The only death a black slaad fears is its own, and they often retreat from a losing battle to regroup and plan a new strategy.

Black slaadi are obsessed with proving their power, and enjoy picking fights with other powerful entities in order to demonstrate their superiority. Due to their shapechanging prowess, they may observe a target in disguise multiple times in order to gauge how best to defeat them. Their definition of “powerful entities” can include governments, religions and armies, and a black slaad delights at dismantling them all, throwing entire regions into chaos as part of an afternoon’s diversion. The forces of law despise black slaadi for their antics, and even such foes as archons and devils may cooperate (albeit begrudgingly) to prevent a black slaad from ruining an important and stable institution.

A black slaad stands about ten feet tall, but weighs only around three hundred pounds—their bodies are infused with shadowstuff and only semi-solid.

Black Slaad CR 20 XP 307,200 CN Large aberration (extraplanar, shapechanger, slaad) Init +11; Senses arcane sight, Perception +26, see in darkness, true seeing Aura cloak of chaos (DC 26) Defense AC 35, touch 20, flat-footed 28 (-1 size, +7 Dex, +4 deflection, +15 natural) hp 362 (25d8+250); fast healing 15 Fort +22, Ref +19, Will +20 Immune ability damage, ability drain, energy drain, negative energy, sonic; Resist acid 10, cold 10, electricity 10, fire 10; SR 29 Defensive Abilities fortification (50%), shadow blend Offense Speed 40 ft., fly 80 ft. (perfect) Melee +3 keen scythe +31/+26/+21/+16 (2d6+19/19-20x4 plus anarchic attacks), bite +26 (3d8+5 plus anarchic attacks plus energy drain) or 2 claws +28 (3d6+11 plus anarchic attacks), bite +28 (3d8+11 plus anarchic attacks plus energy drain) Ranged void bolt +24 touch (25d6 typeless) Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft. Special Attacks channel negative energy (11/day, 10d6, DC 30), energy drain (1d4 negative levels, DC 30) Spell-like Abilities CL 20th, concentration +28 (+32 casting defensively) Constant—arcane sight, cloak of chaos (DC 26), true seeing At will—cone of cold (DC 23), dimension door, greater dispel magic, slay living (DC 23), telekinesis (DC 23) 3/day—control undead (DC 25), quickened deeper darkness, quickened greater dispel magic, greater shadow conjuration (DC 25), empowered greater shadow evocation (DC 26), plane shift (DC 25), word of chaos (DC 25) 1/day—energy drain (DC 27), implosion (DC 27), polar midnight (DC 27), prediction of failure (DC 26) Statistics Str 33, Dex 25, Con 30, Int 22, Wis 18, Cha 27 Base Atk +18; CMB +30; CMD 51 Feats Combat Casting, Craft Magic Arms and Armor, Dimensional Agility, Dimensional Assault, Dimensional Dervish, Dimensional Savant, Empower SLA (greater shadow evocation), Improved Initiative, Multiattack, Power Attack, Quicken SLA (deeper darkness, greater dispel magic), Selective Channeling Skills Acrobatics +29 (+31 when jumping), Bluff +27, Disguise +28 (+48 when using change shape), Fly +36, Intimidate +27, Knowledge (arcana) +25, Knowledge (planes) +28, Knowledge (religion) +25, Perception +26, Sense Motive +23, Stealth +30, Spellcraft +25, Use Magic Device +28 Languages Abyssal, Aklo, Common, Protean, Slaad, Shadowtongue, telepathy 60 ft. SQ change shape (Small to Huge humanoid, alter self or giant shape II), flight, no breath, perfect copy, quick change, weapon proficiency Ecology Environment any land or underground (Shadow Plane or Negative Energy Plane) Organization solitary Treasure double standard (+3 keen scythe, other treasure) Special Abilities Anarchic Attacks (Su) Any natural or manufactured weapon attack made by a black slaad deals +2d6 damage to non-chaotic creatures, as if it were an anarchic weapon. Channel Negative Energy (Su) A black slaad can channel negative energy as if it were a 20th level cleric. The save DC is Charisma based. Flight (Su) The fly speed of a black slaad is a supernatural effect. Perfect Copy (Su) When a black slaad uses its change shape ability, it can assume the appearance of specific individuals. This grants it a +20 racial bonus to Disguise checks made using its change shape ability. Quick Change (Su) A black slaad may use its change shape ability as a move action. Shadow Blend (Su) In any condition of illumination other than full daylight, a black slaad disappears into the shadows, giving it concealment (50% miss chance). Artificial illumination, even a light or continual flame spell, does not negate this ability; a daylight spell, however, does. A black slaad can suspend or resume this ability as a free action. Void Bolt (Su) As a standard action, a black slaad can fire a bolt of pure destructive energy at an opponent. Treat this as a ranged touch attack with a range of 200 feet and no range increment. A creature struck must succeed a DC 30 Fortitude save or take 25d6 points of damage. A successful Fortitude save reduces the damage to 5d6. A creature reduced to 0 hit points by this damage is reduced to ash, as per a disintegrate spell. This damage ignores all damage reduction or hardness. In addition, a creature struck by this attack must succeed a DC 30 Will save or gain vulnerability to piercing, slashing and bludgeoning damage for 1 minute. This is a curse effect. The save DC is Charisma based. Weapon Proficiency (Ex) A black slaad is proficient in all simple and martial weapons.

#black slaad #slaad #pathfinder 1e #D&D #epic level handbook

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recentanimenews · 3 years

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Bookshelf Briefs 12/1/20

Cutie and the Beast, Vol. 1 | By Yuhi Azumi| Seven Seas – This looked cute, and gave off a very My Love Story!! vibe, but I was wary of the fact that one of the leads is in his late twenties and the other is a senior in high school. That said, unlike a lot of other romance titles from Japan that adore this sort of couple, the manga makes their age difference the main conflict. He’s a famous pro wrestler, and getting involved with a girl her age, even if she is eighteen, would be career-killing. On the other hand… these two have fallen hard for each other almost at first sight, and can’t stop texting, calling, meeting up, etc. Now, how this will play out I’m not sure. Pretty sure they’ll get together, but I bet his career does take a big hit. Nice to see the manga address it, though. – Sean Gaffney

How Do We Relationship?, Vol. 1 | By Tamifull | Viz Media – “Opposites attract” is a common enough trope, but it is utilized to great effect and with notable complexity in How Do We Relationship?. The manga follows two young women in college as they begin dating each other—the somewhat shy and innocent Miwa and the much more boisterous and experienced Saeko. Navigating a new relationship is rarely easy and a romance between two women has additional sets of challenges, as Saeko in particular is very aware. While Miwa and Saeko’s deepening feelings are obviously core to the story, their relationships with friends and classmates play critical roles as well. One of the things that impressed me the most about the first volume of How Do We Relationship? was just how believable and realistic all of these different relationships were. The characterization of the leads is wonderfully nuanced, too. I’m really looking forward to reading more of the series. – Ash Brown

Komi Can’t Communicate, Vol. 9 | By Tomohito Oda | Viz Media – Most of this Komi volume revolves around Valentine’s Day, which as always presents the author with a conundrum: how do I make them give chocolates and be the cutest couple ever without actually making them a couple or having them confess? Rest assured, though, fans of Komi and Tadano will find endless scenes to love here. My favorite may be Tadano’s sister trying to get him to admit his feelings, then being rather annoyed when he actually comes close to doing so. Fortunately, as the title suggests, Komi is not very good at communicating, so things stay the same for now. Still, I suspect we need something to shake things up. Perhaps a new love interest could magically arrive soon? – Sean Gaffney

My Hero Academia, Vol. 25 | By Kohei Horikoshi | Viz Media – Shigaraki’s backstory is as terrifying and traumatic as you might imagine—let’s just say the hands he wears aren’t just for show. So it’s back to our heroes, who are practicing how to do hero interviews (Midoriya’s goes as badly as you’d expect) and also preparing for the next round of internships. Oh yes, and celebrating Christmas, which is adorable and also has Eri Santa. As for internships, Nighteye is dead and his agency is too busy to take him in, and Best Jeanist is missing, so Bakugou’s in limbo as well. Todoroki suggests an obvious idea: all three of them could intern with the best dad ever. All of this is clearly setting up a huge battle in the upcoming books, but it’s fun to see. – Sean Gaffney

Ossan Idol!, Vol. 1 | By Ichika Kino and Mochiko Mochida | TOKYOPOP – Adapted from a light novel, Ossan Idol! is the story of Miroku Osaki, a virginal, pure of heart, and unemployed 36-year-old who has spent the last decade as a shut-in. He’s always been overweight, but once he discovers a love of dance, he starts training at a gym with Yoichi Kisaragi, who was once overweight himself. Soon, Miroku is buff, handsome, and charming and the karaoke video he accidentally uploads to the internet becomes a viral sensation. The volume concludes with a famous producer declaring he’ll turn Miroku into an idol, and not just him but Yoichi (41) and dancer pal Shiju (40), too. All in all, this is a pleasing bit of fluff that I don’t have a lot to say about either positively or negatively. I will probably check out volume two, at least, to see where the story goes. – Michelle Smith

Sadako at the End of the World | By Koma Natsumi and Koji Suzuki | Yen Press – The premise of this one-volume manga—What if the girl from The Ring ended up in a post-apocalyptic world?—made me wonder if it would be horror or melancholic like Girls’ Last Tour. It’s pretty much both. Sadako, particularly once the artist gives her a tablet to communicate with, is not as scary here, and the girls she’s with are an innocent delight. But as they meet the few remaining people in this world along the way, there’s a definite sense she’s also going back and doing what she does best to each of them. The ending tries for sort of a fourth-wall-breaking thing but I think it was simply there as the author wasn’t sure how to end it after the cast was gone. A good read overall, though. – Sean Gaffney

Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle, Vol. 13 | By Kagiji Kumanomata | Viz Media After reading my brief of the last volume, I feel a need to eat my words. The combination of this new volume and the currently running anime have made me realize: yes, there is real character development here. Syalis at the start of the series was a gag character who would murder at the drop of a hat. Here, while she’s still extremely flaky, she’s doing her best to unite humans and demons, even if this means completing all the Demon Lord’s paperwork—in ONE DAY. Even better, when the Cleric waffles on about his feelings for her and the reason he ran away from the castle, Syalis points out something: who she likes is her own decision. Our Sleepy Princess is all grown up! – Sean Gaffney

Sweat and Soap, Vol. 4 | By Kintetsu Yamada | Kodansha Comics – There’s a chapter of sex here, in case you were looking for that, but for the most part this series would rather deal with the sweet tensions of a young couple in love trying to negotiate how to do that and still be attentive to the other partner’s needs. Their couple-ness is now generally known to the office, though we have not quite told the parents yet—I suspect that will be next book. More importantly, they are talking about moving in together, something that requires charts and sticky notes, because these two are organized and also adorable. And they are also still very much desiring each other as well—the sex here is hot. One of the best romance mangas to come out in 2020. – Sean Gaffney

What the Font?! – A Manga Guide to Western Typeface | By Kuniichi Ashiya| Seven Seas – This is pretty much exactly what you’d expect. A young woman is told to layout a presentation, but has never done this before. While studying Western fonts, she falls asleep… and meets personifications of many of them, both Serif and Sans. Each font has a personality, they talk about themselves and their history, and then we move on. If you’re expecting Hetalia antics, look elsewhere—there’s no plot to speak of, and the fonts are not the most riveting characters. If you do want to learn about the differences between Western typefaces, though, this is a good enough guide for you, though I suspect it works even better in Japanese. – Sean Gaffney

Whisper Me a Love Song, Vol. 1 | By Eku Takeshima | Kodansha Comics – The cover of this volume is quite striking, and it led me to believe that this would be somehow different from your standard “high school girls in love” story. Unfortunately, it really isn’t. Yori Asanagi is a talented singer who fills in with the light music club band for a performance at the entrance ceremony Himari Kino is attending. Himari promptly informs Yori she’s fallen for her at first sight and Yori believes she means it romantically (instead of merely as a fan), and instantly falls in love herself. Characterizations here are shallow, particularly for Yori’s would-be bandmates, and there’s just not much going on that’s especially interesting. The one exception is that Himari’s enthusiastic appreciation for Yori’s singing is seemingly helping her to overcome some confidence issues. I’ll give this one more volume, I think, to see how it develops. – Michelle Smith

You Are My Princess | By Hiroto Kujirada | Futekiya (digital only) – Itsumi Tachibana is a scary-looking guy who secretly loves kitties. He’s surprised when the princely student council president, Seima Takajo, confesses romantic feelings for him, and suspects he’s being made fun of. After spending more time with Takajo, however, and realizing he’s the only one Takajo allows himself to be unguarded around, Itsumi’s feelings change. Plot-wise, You Are My Princess isn’t terribly unique. The guys get together, they have sex in the final chapter, the end. What makes it special, though, is Kujirada-sensei’s clean and expressive artwork, the nonverbal storytelling, and the little moments in which Takajo drops the facade and reveals real vulnerability. And also kitties. In the end, I enjoyed this cute story and look forward to more by this creator! – Michelle Smith

By: Ash Brown

#Anime #News #Manga Bookshelf

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phylophe · 3 years

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100 Warm-Up Roleplaying Questions for Players

Character: Amur Universe: Pathfinder Gender/Race/Class: Male human Paladin/Holy Vindicator Alignment: NG/CG Questions source: here

Full (long) post under the cut.

1. If your character wasn’t an adventurer, what livelihood would they lead?

His parents were peasants who worked as labourers, so probably that. If he ever receives charity from any organisation, he’d strive to work for them.

2. Who in the party would your character trust the most with their life?

If it’s strictly his life, Niyooshan - for some reason the alchemist seems to refuse to let him die or even get too hurt. Maybe it’s a healer thing.

If it’s about making decisions based on his best interest... he doesn’t trust anyone in the current party with that at the moment.

3. What are your character’s core moral beliefs?

People are essentially good.

Mercy and compassion is no less important than justice and righteousness.

Any good is worth doing.

Everyone deserves to be treated with dignity.

4. What relationship does your character have with their parents and siblings?

He left home at the age of 8, and his parents were largely absentee in those years. He honours them out of societal expectations of filial piety, but that’s about it.

He’s the second child of five. His older brother (1st) and younger sister (4th) passed when he was 7; he depended a lot on the former, and got along well with the latter as they have the most similar personalities amongst the siblings at the time.

For his surviving siblings, he is very close to his younger brother (3rd, only a year his junior), and they still exchange letters frequently. He and his youngest sister (5th) barely knew one another until they reunited recently as adults.

5. Does your character have any biases for or against certain races?

Having the privilege of being human, he has the common in-universe biases but he tries his best to check them. He does this especially consciously when it comes to race/ancestry (i.e. species) - one of his friends from his apprentice days was lynched for being a drow.

6. What is your character’s opinion on nobility? On authority?

He respects nobility who is responsible in their post, and righteous authority.

Otherwise he tolerates them and tries not to cause trouble... unless they do something with which he greatly disagrees morally.

7. Describe your character’s current appearance: clothes, armour, scars they’ve picked up along the journey, etc.

(Skipping the part about scars - addressed in #21)

He dresses in full, heavy plate armour complete with a kite shield when out in the field or in battle.

During downtime, he wears simple tunics with trousers and boots, usually with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Sometimes he wears a gambeson on top or a leather cuirass for more formality.

8. What location encountered in the campaign has your character felt the most “at home” in, or just generally liked the most?

(Answering the second part - first part addressed in #40.)

The small towns and villages they’ve passed through with down-to-earth folks. Though he also likes cities with rich histories and culture.

9. What deity, if any, does your character worship? What’s their opinion on other people’s worship?

Sarenrae - the goddess of the sun, redemption, honesty, and healing.

He respects most other gods and religions on the good or neutral side of the good-evil axis. With evil gods, he tries not to judge their believers until evil actions based on such beliefs are actually taken.

10. If your character had time to pick up any artisan’s tools, game set, instrument, etc., what would it be?

Some sort of sculpture, maybe pottery or carving. He’s a very tactile person.

11. Describe your character’s current relationship with the player character sitting to your right.

(Rolling 1d3 between 1. Amalli, 2. Mawari, 3. Niyooshan)

AMALLI: It’s complicated - he trusts that she means well and has his best interest in mind, however what she considers “best” is rather... unusual. He teeters between having faith that she is kind by nature, and being annoyed at her messed up values and principles ingrained by nurture.

12. What is your character’s current goal, summed up in one sentence?

Save the sun, keep his uncle alive, vindicate his friend’s honour.

13. Does your character ever want to “settle down” with a spouse, children, house, etc.?

He’s a sojourner who feels uneasy if he has to stay in one place for an extended amount of time. At this point he’s accepted the single life; it makes it easier to travel.

14. Has your character ever been in love?

He’s aromantic/asexual and can’t really distinguish between romantic and platonic love very well. He does love his friends and found family deeply however.

15. What battle in the campaign has been most memorable to your character?

Against a dragon turtle which is also a divine guardian of sorts. The party angered it and was having trouble hurting it at all; he used Greater Angelic Aspect for the first time to speak to it so it would stop attacking them. It eventually involved taking a massive hit for it and dying (for the first time since level 1), but it ended the battle with no further damages to the party.

16. If your character wasn’t whatever class they are, what would they be instead?

A cleric. Arguably with his temperament he’d have turned out better as one.

17. What is your character’s favourite season?

Spring - the sun gets stronger, the day gets longer, the plants and animals become livelier.

18. What would your character’s Zodiac sign be, following stereotypical astrology?

Pisces.

19. Where in the world does your character most want to visit?

If it’s only Golarion and the material plane - the Padishah Empire of Kelesh.

20. What is the biggest mistake your character has ever made?

Boy where do we begin. A few months ago he’d have said “going to pee alone that one time”, but he’s okay with that now.

He thinks his biggest mistake was to give in to despair and as a result fell from grace and lost his god-given powers. He counts the lives lost that could otherwise be saved as his fault.

21. Does your character have any noticeable scars? If so, what are their stories?

A scar on his neck from a time when he wanted to kill himself, and a stigmata in the form of a sunburst brand on his right hand from when he became a Holy Vindicator.

22. What animal best represents your character?

Bison - sometimes peaceful and absentminded, other times temperamental; bull-headed, tough and hardy, and stubborn.

23. If your character could go back in time and change one thing about their life, what would it be?

Aside from not falling from grace as per #20... pick a more common language to learn in school. See #95.

24. Which other player character does your character find themselves having the most in common with?

Those in the first adventuring party he’s had - with Adeline, Mirele, and Kebarong. Simple people with simple needs. Their personalities may be very different, but at least they live in worlds that are relatable.

25. Does your character regret any particular choice the party has made?

Anything that involves the deaths of innocents, even/especially if it’s for the “greater good”.

26. What would your character say their best trait would be?

His faith in humanity.

27. What is your character’s greatest fear? Deep, irrational?

Having his soul doomed in one way or another. Presently the most plausible method by which this can happen is to have it torn asunder and destroyed.

28. What is currently motivating your character to stay with the party?

He knows he can’t do much of anything alone - not only does he play a supportive role in combat, he needs his companions’ skills, qualities, experience, and expertise to achieve the massive goal they all share (to a degree) - see #12.

29. What are your character’s hobbies and interests outside of their class?

Animals (especially felines), writing letters, pleasant long walks somewhere outdoors.

30. What would most people think when they first see your character?

Big, shiny, clangy, scary-looking, heavily-armoured man. He himself is completely unaware of this perception.

31. What stereotypical group role does your character play in the party? (The Mom, the Mess, the Comic Relief, etc. Optionally: What role would your character play in the “Five Man Band” structure?)

Often he’s the Heart. In a Five Man Band he’d be (conditionally) the Leader, the Lancer, or the Chick.

32. What is your character the most insecure about?

His terrible schmoozing skills.

33. What person does your character admire most?

His benefactor, mentor, and mother figure - a cleric who gave up her peaceful life and comfortable home to travel the world as a missionary and healer.

34. What does your character admire and dislike the most about the player character sitting to your left?

(Rolling 1d3 between 1. Amalli, 2. Mawari, 3. Niyooshan)

NIYOOSHAN: He admires the alchemist’s resourcefulness, calm and analytical mind, general intelligence and skills in what he does.

He dislikes his cold rationality and ability to make brutal decisions without hesitation... but what he dislikes more is his own feeling of envy for such a quality. (See also #67.)

35. Why is your character’s lowest stat their lowest (the in-character reason, not “because there’s no reason for a wizard to have 16 strength, duh”)?

Strength and dexterity (I know). He grew up poor and missed out on some bulking up as a child. He’s hardy though.

36. What would be your character’s theme song/favourite band/favourite genre of music?

Folk music with lots of wind instruments.

37. What stereotypical role would your character play in a high school AU/if they attended a normal high school? (Nerd, jock, bully, goth, etc.)

Looks like a jock, acts like a nerd. Probably would get bullied if not for protective friends.

38. What treasure/item/artifact that your character has collected during the adventure is the most important to them?

His standard issue shield given by the Church (with which he shares a Divine Bond, and he has had various upgrades attached to it), letters from friends and those he considers family, a feather from the Vermillion Bird.

39. Is there any particular weapon, item, etc. that your character longs to find?

Right now, as the campaign demands - the Chronicles of the Righteous. Otherwise he’d love to come across any of Sarenrae’s divine artifacts.

40. Where does your character feel the most at home?

BACKSTORY: the Sarenite church grounds in Absalom, where he grew up.

IN-GAME: Falcon’s Hollow, despite its cursedness, where he met people he grew to trust with his life.

41. Does your character care about how they’re perceived by others? How do they change themselves to fit in with other people?

He cares how his loved ones see him insofar as he wants them to trust him, but he doesn’t compromise easily on the kind of person his principles make him.

42. What does your character think is the true meaning of life?

To find something worth loving in everything and everyone.

43. What is your character’s scent? (Bonus points for a description that sounds like it could be from a bad [or awesome] fanfic.)

Sun-burnt vegetation and a faint but unmistakable hint of metal.

44. Does your character think more with their heart or their brain?

Heart.

45. What is your character’s most recent or frequent nightmare?

His most frequent nightmares all involve fire - a child being incinerated, a pile of bodies being cremated, a gigantic flaming wheel in the sky overlooking chaos befalling a city.

46. What opinion does your character have on [CERTAIN ESTABLISHED GROUPS/AUTHORITIES IN THE GAME WORLD]? (Dragon-marked Houses, royal crown, etc.)

CHURCH OF SARENRAE IN ABSALOM: It was his home once; not anymore. Maybe it can’t ever be home again now that he’s seen how deep the corruption runs.

EAGLE KNIGHTS: They mean well, but they have a ruthless murderer in their own ranks and after all these years they haven’t sorted that out. Helpful to a point, at least.

HELL KNIGHTS OF THE SCOURGE: They’re more reasonable and likeable than he’d expected, and he’s not sure how to feel about that.

PATHFINDER SOCIETY: Crazy resourceful, shamelessly shifty.

JADE REGENT: Shit.

47. How did your character spend their childhood? Where did they grow up/who were their childhood friends?

He lived in poverty in a backwater town (Railford) in southern Taldor until the age of 8, when he was brought to the Church of Sarenrae in Absalom. His years there as an apprentice were the happiest, most peaceful of his life - he had his mentor and her companion as pseudo-parents, and made some close friends when he was training to be a paladin.

48. What aspect of your character’s future are they most curious about? (If they could know one thing about the future, what would it be?)

Whether or not he can redeem Shasriel. See also #52.

49. What colours are associated with your character?

Green, yellow, brown.

50. Who in the party would your character prioritise rescuing, in dire circumstances?

Among his current party of Amalli, Niyooshan, and Mawari, he’d prioritise Amalli because she’s been with him the longest and he knows her best out of the three.

51. Is your character the most swayed by ethos, pathos, or logos?

Pathos.

52. If your character was granted a single use of Wish, what would they use it for?

He’s wary of the repercussions and unforeseen consequences of such a powerful spell, so he’ll restrict it to wishing that the wraith feeding off of his soul be saved from undeath and her uncorrupted nature restored. See also #48.

53. What is your character’s favourite spell? If they don’t use spells: what is their favourite personal weapon/combat manoeuvre/skill/etc.?

Lay on Hands, with mercies and feats.

54. How does your character feel about keeping secrets from the rest of the party?

He doesn’t like it but he does it with people he’s not close to, out of fearing judgement. With close people he only keeps secrets if he himself doesn’t want to confront those things, which actually happens quite often.

55. What type of creature in the world is your character the most intrigued by?

Benevolent creatures that should be evil by nature - devils and undead for example.

56. When they were a child, what did your character want to be, or think they were going to be, when they grew up?

Before he went into paladin-specific training, he wanted to be a missionary cleric - just like his mentor.

57. The player character to your left admits that they’re passionately in love with your character. How would your character respond?

(Rolling 1d3 between 1. Amalli, 2. Mawari, 3. Niyooshan)

MAWARI: He’d think she’s ill, making a bad joke, or trying to curse him.

58. If somebody (an NPC, someone from their backstory, etc.) your character trusts/loves asked your character to do something against the party’s best interest, who would they side with?

It would depend of course, but at this point he doesn’t really trust his current party, so he would probably side with his loved one.

59. Does your character value their own best interest more than the party’s?

Definitely not, to a fault sometimes.

60. What decision would the party have to make in order for your character to consider splitting off from the group?

Something unequivocally cruel and undeniably evil.

61. How does your character imagine the way they will die?

In battle, protecting others with all that he can give.

62. What is your character’s greatest achievement?

Aside from the battle described in #15, being vindicated by his goddess at the exact moment he defied an order from his religious superiors.

63. Is your character willing to risk the well-being of others in order to achieve their goal?

Not at all, unless his goal also happens to be the greater good.

64. What is your character’s opinion on killing others?

He understands the necessity of killing in the kind of life he’s chosen to live, but he tries his best to avoid killing innocents, and even those who are guilty - so long as he thinks they have a chance to be redeemed.

65. What is your character’s favourite food? Beverage?

He doesn’t have single favourite, but he likes homey, hearty meals. Potatoes make him think of Kebarong, one of his closest companions. As of late he seems to have suddenly developed a constant craving for almonds.

66. How generous is your character? Especially to those they don’t know?

Very. He’d fall for any sob story; even if he knows he’s been cheated he wouldn’t change his ways, because his generosity being abused is not his problem, but the abuser’s.

67. What is your character the most envious about, regarding anyone in the party?

As addressed in #34, he’s envious about Niyooshan’s ability to make cruel but rational and/or necessary decisions. He is also sometimes envious of Amalli’s blissful ignorance of some realities of the world, but other times he feels sorry for her.

68. The player character to your left and the player character to your right are both telling your character two different versions of the truth. Who does your character believe?

(Rolling 2d3 between 1. Amalli, 2. Mawari, 3. Niyooshan)

MAWARI & AMALLI: This is a toughie. On the one hand he trusts Amalli more than Mawari, since he’s known the former for a while and became acquainted with the latter only recently; on the other hand Amalli has a way of viewing and interpreting reality that he really doesn’t understand sometimes. Ultimately he’d take Amalli’s word for it if he has to.

69. What is your character’s sexuality/relationship with sex?

He’s aromantic and asexual, although he does enjoy intimacy with friends (i.e. he’s quite touchy-feely). if someone were to pursue him romantically/sexually and he already likes them a lot, he’d do what they request if he thinks that it improves their bond.

70. What is your character’s biggest pet peeve?

People using doublespeak, especially if it’s for politics.

71. Describe how your character feels about the party’s current situation/objective/etc.

It’s a big job and he can’t even fathom how they’ll get there, but it has to be done and it seems like he and his companions are the ones who need to do it, so he’ll just have to take things one step at a time.

72. Who in the party would your character trust the most to keep an important secret?

Niyooshan - he trusts the man to exercise discretion. Amalli means well but tends to run her mouth.

73. If your character knew that they were going to die in a month, how would they spend the rest of their life?

Write heartfelt letters to his friends and family, write strongly-worded letters to his Church and the authorities-that-be, and do his best to further his and his allies’ mission.

74. What makes your character feel safe?

A nice home-cooked meal, a warm fire, knowing people he trusts and loves are close by.

75. If your character had the chance to rename the party/give the party a name, no questions asked, what would it be?

“Not-Rebels”. Because they’re totally not rebels with massive bounties on their heads.

76. What memory does your character want to forget the most?

Technically he’s already forgotten it - the process by which his soul was bound to an ancient Azlanti wraith was traumatic enough that his memory of it is now repressed.

For his intact memories, he’d very much like to forget about the time he watched a child be incinerated in an instant, or the time he’s had to mercy-kill a group of innocents who’d been afflicted by the curse of undeath... or maybe he doesn’t because he thinks he needs to carry his “mistakes” with him.

77. If your character had to multiclass into a class they currently aren’t the next time they level up, what would it be and what reason would they have for doing so?

Fighter - so he can be more flexible with gear, be more effective at controlling the battle, and - most importantly - use tower shields.

78. What television/book/video game/etc. character would your character be best friends with? (Or: what media character is your character the most influenced by/similar to?

Take all the usual Knight Templar tropes and subvert them.

Additionally, my GM compares him to Anders of the Dragon Age franchise. I created Amur way before I knew who Anders was, and some of the similarities are frankly uncanny.

79. What unusual talents does your character possess?

High pain tolerance, and (is this a talent?) diminished self-preservation instincts.

80. How does your character feel about receiving/giving orders? Are they more of a leader, or a follower?

He’s much happier receiving orders than giving them, but he can’t help but question or even defy those he considers immoral. He wants to be a follower but is ultimately too headstrong and impulsive to be a good one.

81. What does your character’s name represent to them? (Or: why as a player did you choose your character’s name?)

His name is one (of the few) ties he has with his birth family, but he’s fine if he has to use a different name temporarily for a good reason.

I named him after the Amur River. As a geomorphologist I sometimes name my OCs after landform features. All my original PCs and NPCs in this universe are named after real-world rivers.

82. Is your character more of an introvert, or an extrovert?

Introvert.

83. How far is your character willing to go to pursue the “greater good”? Do they believe in a greater good at all?

He believes in the greater good, he just doesn’t believe in having to sacrifice innocent individuals to pursue it.

84. What does your character want to be remembered by?

Kindness and compassion.

85. What would be your character’s major in college?

Humanities - more precisely, something along the lines of Anthropology or Cultural Studies.

86. Does your character consider themselves a hero, villain, or something else?

Something else - he sees himself as one who helps someone else become a hero, or turns someone away from villainy.

87. What major arcana tarot card best represents your character?

Strength.

88. Where does your character see themselves in 20 years?

Dead. Still travelling around, with or without a name, finding trouble, and doing whatever needs to be done.

89. What is your character’s relationship with magic? Are they scared of it, wish to know more about it, indifferent to it?

To him, in general magic is just another ability or talent, as much as someone can be gifted physically, intellectually, or artistically. His own magic is granted by his deity, so he sees it as a blessing and not really belonging to him.

90. Who is your character’s biggest rival?

He doesn’t consider anyone his rival, but he does have a nemesis of sorts by the name of Geminus Nero Rugatonn. The guy’s been hounding him and his friends since something like level 6.

91. What is your character’s guiltiest pleasure?

Playing with cats.

92. What does your character hope for the afterlife?

To have his soul intact and actually see Sarenrae in all her glory, and to meet those he thinks he’s failed and apologise to them.

93. Who in the party does your character trust the least?

At this point, Mawari - she’s only just joined them, is a witch with creepy curses and hexes, and is their ally only because their goals align with her being a traitor to the Jade Regent.

94. What is your character’s biggest flaw?

Impulsiveness, and being a bleeding heart who is way too forgiving.

95. How did your character learn the languages that they speak?

TALDANE: His first language, and the common tongue across most of the Inner Sea region.

TERRAN: Learned it as part of the curriculum in his apprentice days. Why he didn’t pick something less obscure is anyone’s guess. Maybe he just doesn’t want to use it much.

NECRIL: Started to learn this after being possessed (?) by a wraith.

TIAN: The common tongue in the continent of the current campaign, Tian Xia.

MINKAI: The local tongue in the country of the current campaign, Minkai.

SIGN LANGUAGE: Learned this after Niyooshan lost his speech.

96. What is your character’s favourite school of magic/type of weaponry?

MAGIC: Healing (conjuration) and harm-negating spells (abjuration).

WEAPONRY: Do shields count?

97. What is most important to your character: health, wealth, or happiness?

Happiness.

98. What advice would your character give to a younger version of themselves?

“Don’t ignore the urging of your conscience; act on it. It’s better to regret what you’ve done than what you haven’t.”

99. Are there any social or political issues your character feels strongly about?

Any sort of persecution or discrimination that is based on some neutral and often unchangeable part of someone’s identity, e.g. being slaves, low-born, or of a particular race.

100. What, currently, is your character the most curious about?

What part he has to play and how he will end up by the end of this whole deal involving nations, religions, legacies, curses, spirits, gods, and Great Old Ones.

#pathfinder #characters #amur #ttrpg #css shenanigans #nakama shenanigans #mana shenanigans #oh boy it just keeps adding up

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cor-are-they-stars · 4 years

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Well, we're back again with them sweet sweet D&D character stats. This time, I was a bit more fastidious in my number-mongering and I DIDN'T count every half breed twice. I also decided to put the most likely and least likely characters I am to make at the bottom.

I pulled from a pool of my 25 most prominent D&D characters (i.e. anyone with a character sheet and picture) and broke them down by alignment, backstory, appearance, skills and so forth. I turned these numbers into fractions over 25, or whatever number was more immediately relevant.

This represents six hours of my life.

If you can't tell, I'm bored as sin.

ALIGNMENTS

34% of my characters are Lawful

36% of my characters are Neutral

30% of my characters are Chaotic

2% of my characters are Evil

52% of my characters are Good

46% of my characters are Neutral

Lawful Good- 18%

Lawful Neutral- 16%

Lawful Evil- 0%

Neutral Good- 18%

True Neutral- 18%

Neutral Evil- 0%

Chaotic Good- 16%

Chaotic Neutral- 12%

Chaotic Evil- 2%

GENDER

Male- 32%

Female- 56%

Other- 12%

CLASS

Artificer- 8%

Barbarian- 4%

Bard- 8%

Cleric- 19%

Druid- 8%

Fighter- 8%

Monk- 4%

Paladin- 8%

Ranger- 1%

Rogue- 0%

Sorcerer- 20%

Warlock- 8%

Wizard- 4%

RACE

Furs- 16%

Firbolgs = 25%

Mice = 25%

Shifter = 25%

Bugbear (Yes I Know They're Goblinoid But Also They're Very Fluffy Don't @ Me) = 25%

Monstrous- 34.5%

Tieflings = 18.84%

Yuan-Ti = 11.59%

Goblin = 11.59%

Kobold = 11.59%

Lizardfolk = 11.59%

Orc = 5.8%

Revenant = 5.8%

Kenku = 11.59%

Aarakocra = 11.59%

Humanoids- 49.5%

Elf = 8.08%

Gnome = 28.28%

Svirfneblin = 28.57%

Rock Gnome = 28.57%

Forest Gnome = 42.86%

Genasi = 21.21%

Earth = 80.95%

Water = 19.04%

Human* = 30.3%

Halfling = 4.04%

Changeling = 8.08%

*About 53% of my human is coming from half breeds.

BACKSTORY ELEMENTS

Was orphaned- 20%

Has/had a significant other- 32%

Has children- 20%

Has siblings- 24%

Lost sibling- 8%

Made a deal with a higher power- 28%

Has memory loss- 24%

Was an urchin- 20%

Lived in seclusion till now- 28%

Had an adventuring parent- 24%

Has a second job- 28%

Didn't know one or more parent- 40%

Didn't have a backstory- 16%

Taken from family at a young age- 28%

Was experimented on- 20%

Family breadwinner- 32%

Criminal- 12%

Lost a romantic partner- 20%

Lost a child- 12%

Adventured previously- 28%

Lost a parent- 12%

Nearly died- 44%

Committed murder- 12%

Is using a false identity- 12%

Lost a role model- 24%

Cursed- 12%

Searching for someone- 24%

Forced to adventure- 28%

Multiclassed- 4%

Secret noble- 16%

Has pet or familiar- 24%

BACKGROUND

Folk Hero- 8%

Sailor- 4%

Outlander- 12%

Acolyte- 4%

Charlatan- 4%

Entertainer- 12%

Haunted One- 4%

Noble- 4%

Sage- 8%

Soldier- 4%

Urchin- 8%

Other/Homebrew/Unspecified- 28%

WEAPONS

Magic- 38%

Music- 8%

Quarterstaff- 18.25%

Axe- 4%

Sword- 8%

Dagger- 4%

Sickle- 6%

Bow- 2.125%

Glaive- 4%

Mace- 4%

THESE HANDS- 4%

Gonne- 4%

Crossbow- .125%

Specifically Sacred Flame- 3.3%

Other- 4%

CHARACTER APPEARANCE

Height

<4 ft tall- 20%

4-6 ft tall- 52%

>6 ft tall- 28%

Age

<30 years old- 52%

31-75 years old- 32%

>76 years old- 12%

Doesn't Know- 4%

Eyes

Blue or Green- 25.32%

Brown- 12%

White or Grey- 13.32%

Red- 4%

Purple or Pink- 1.32%

Yellow or Orange- 4%

Gold- 24%

Black/Absent- 16%

Skin

Odd color- 30.68%

Fur- 12%

Scales- 12%

Feathers- 8%

Dark- 8%

Medium- 12%

Pale- 17.32%

Albino- 4%

Hair Color

Brown or Blond- 20%

White, Black or Silver- 35.33%

Red or Orange- 4%

Green, Purple or Blue- 24.67%

No Hair- 16%

Scars

Yes- 52%

No- 48%

Tattoos

Face- 4%

Arm- 4%

Leg- 8%

Shoulder- 12%

Back- 12%

Yes but heck if I remember where the dude is a pirate probably everywhere- 4%

None- 76%

VISUAL DESIGN

Cape/Cloak/Scarf- 40%

Boots- 56%

Crop Top- 12%

Barefoot- 32%

Incorporated Nature- 24%

Vest- 28%

Corset- 28%

Hood, Mask or Hat- 32%

Pants- 56%

Arm Bracer or Bracelet- 44%

Earrings- 16%

Undercut- 12%

Gloves- 16%

Armor- 20%

Staff and Umbrella- 24%

Dress or Skirt- 40%

Overcoat- 24%

Belt- 44%

Bag- 28%

Weapon Displayed- 48%

Necklace- 24%

Animal or Familiar- 16%

Feather- 16%

Crown or Headband- 20%

DARKVISION

Yes- 56%

No- 44%

SKILL PROFICIENCIES

Acrobatics- 28%

Animal Handling- 24%

Arcana- 16%

Athletics- 20%

Deception- 40%

History- 20%

Insight- 24%

Intimidation- 32%

Investigation- 12%

Medicine- 16%

Nature- 28%

Perception- 12%

Performance- 16%

Persuasion- 36%

Religion- 16%

Sleight of Hand- 16%

Stealth- 28%

Survival- 20%

Oops sorry for long post

#dnd stats

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f4liveblogarchives · 4 years

Text

Fantastic Four Vol 1 #223

Tues Apr 27 2020 [09:18 PM] Wack'd: And so the Four, plus Agatha and Gabriel, are off in the Pogo Plane to New Salem, in order to undo Nicholas Scratch's possession of Franklin. [09:19 PM] Wack'd: Who?! Who calls you that?!

[09:19 PM] Bocaj: His barber [09:19 PM] Umbramatic: the narrator apparently [09:20 PM] Wack'd: There are other "here's how the crew is doing" panels but they're all roughly what you'd expect. Ben angry, Sue determined, Reed thinking, Agatha contemplating fate [09:21 PM] Bocaj: Shake it up, the fantastic four [09:21 PM] Wack'd: Johnny musing on how he's never seen Reed and Sue this intense before besides the thirteen other times he's never seen them this intense before [09:21 PM] Bocaj: Pfft [09:22 PM] Wack'd: Reed and Sue have a moment where Sue gets kinda weepy and Reed reassures her that he'll do everything he can [09:23 PM] Bocaj: Shake it up, the fantastic four book [09:24 PM] Wack'd: How have these fuckers not been consigned to the dustbin of history already

[09:24 PM] maxwellelvis: Because Scratch hasn't yet. [09:25 PM] Wack'd: Even if I concede there are some cool designs, which...eh?... this is the first sign of personality they've exhibited in like three storylines [09:25 PM] Umbramatic: i'm a sucker for nagas but i dunno how to feel about the snake arms

[09:25 PM] maxwellelvis: Gazelle looks a little less Marge Simpson-y this time. [09:26 PM] Wack'd: The lack of yellow skin helps [09:26 PM] Wack'd: Anyway Nick possesses the lion dude and recruits them back into his dark army [09:27 PM] Wack'd: And reveals his master plan, which is to bring back the...essence???...of the Dark Realm to torment humanity [09:27 PM] maxwellelvis: I too am puzzled at how many reappearances these glorified minibosses are getting. [09:27 PM] Bocaj: That’s how I feel about zodiac [09:27 PM] Bocaj: In avengers [09:28 PM] Wack'd: I think seven is too many distinct henchpeople for a villain to have, also, especially in a team book and especially if they're always gonna be a group [09:28 PM] Wack'd: Like there's so much wacky happening here but it just kind of cancels out back to boring [09:28 PM] maxwellelvis: And I do mean glorified because the law of conservation of ninjutsu means they should not have handled the Four as easily as they have in the past. [09:29 PM] Aleph Null: @Wack'd the seven deadly sins? [09:29 PM] Wack'd: The Salem Seven [09:29 PM] maxwellelvis: I could understand that if they had to fight them all one at a time in a series of progressing battles up a tower, but [09:29 PM] Wack'd: Anyway Nick possesses the folks guarding the Seven's cell and lets them out [09:30 PM] Bocaj: I could get behind a shonen style tower climb mini boss squad fight [09:30 PM] Wack'd: Dude seems to be getting a lot of mileage out of possession and it's making me wonder why he even needs a physical form? Though I guess that's not really his goal since he's doing the whole "release the essence of the Dark Realm" thing [09:30 PM] Wack'd: Still though he doesn't seem particularly weaker in this form than he did on earth. He might as well have never been banished at all [09:31 PM] Bocaj: You had one job with several distinct tasks under it, Agatha! [09:31 PM] Wack'd: The Seven, now free, decide they have some free time before the plot kicks in and decide to torture some civilians for shits and giggles [09:32 PM] Wack'd: Really just Nick used to establish what everybody's shtick is with some actual breathing room, which, y'know, finally, but one row of panels each is not a lot [09:33 PM] Wack'd: Vakume (the solid grey one) makes a tornado that sucks air out of everyone's lungs [09:33 PM] Aleph Null: that doesn't sound right but i don't know enough about wind physics to say otherwise [09:33 PM] Wack'd: It's magic, they don't have to explain it [09:33 PM] Aleph Null: ...then why is the tornado necessary? why not just cast a fuck you no breathing spell? [09:33 PM] maxwellelvis: STYLE [09:33 PM] Wack'd: Looks cool [09:33 PM] Wack'd: But not cool enough to screencap [09:33 PM] Wack'd: Vertigo (the Pam Grier one) uh...gives everyone vertigo [09:34 PM] Bocaj: Ah like Zaheer [09:34 PM] Wack'd: Actually I guess that's it because we cut back to the Four [09:36 PM] Wack'd: This is a perfectly prefunctionary, even good, "Ben knows what it's like to be othered" speech, but I'm losing it at it being deployed in defense of Baby's First Dungeons & Dragons Character

[09:38 PM] Wack'd: And I can make that joke because my first Dungeons & Dragons character, before orc vampire and dragonborn stage magician, was in fact a mysterious loner with strange powers who keeps to the shadows. I know from whence I speak [09:38 PM] Umbramatic: pffft [09:38 PM] Umbramatic: i don't think mine was that weird [09:38 PM] Wack'd: I am deliberately and specifically not saying it's weird [09:38 PM] Wack'd: It is super boring [09:39 PM] Bocaj: I’ve been thinking the whole time [09:39 PM] Bocaj: Is this just nick fury doing Dresden larp? [09:39 PM] Wack'd: It is, I assume, everyone's first Dungeons & Dragons character [09:41 PM] Wack'd: Anyway I looked up Gabriel--sorry, *Devil Hunter*--to see if I should bother caring about him. Turns out he's not a new character, but the lead in a short-lived magazine-format book from the mid-70s called *Haunt of Horror*. [09:41 PM] maxwellelvis: I went with Eberk, because clerics were busted as shit in 3.5e [09:41 PM] Wack'd: Written by--and you might wanna sit down for this--Doug Moench. [09:42 PM] Bocaj: Ha [09:42 PM] maxwellelvis: No. Say it ain't so. [09:42 PM] Mousa The 14: Of course [09:43 PM] Wack'd: These two Fantastic Four issues are his first appearances since then, and his last for twelve years before he briefly resurfaces as a recurring Hellstorm supporting character in the early 90s. [09:44 PM] Umbramatic: wow [09:44 PM] Mousa The 14: “I mean, we have the IP, we may as well use him!” “Yeah, but why tho?” [09:44 PM] Wack'd: He has since the only been seen in Marvel encyclopedias. [09:44 PM] Umbramatic: welp [09:45 PM] Bocaj: I still think he’s larp Nick Fury [09:45 PM] Wack'd: Fair [09:46 PM] Wack'd: Anyway, the team arrives in New Salem, where Scratch reappears inside Franklin to say more mean stuff. [09:46 PM] Wack'd: I would assume he's been quiet because he's been busy possessing loads of other people, but no, Gabriel is important

[09:47 PM] Wack'd: Johnny then feels bad for writing him off as a moody loner cliché since he was actually doing shit apparently [09:47 PM] Mousa The 14: Good grief, what a joke [09:48 PM] maxwellelvis: Why's he EMOTING so hard in that second panel? [09:50 PM] Wack'd: (Oh if anyone cares the red haired lady who placed the cryptic phone call is also from Haunt of Horrors and also appears in Hellstorm's 90s book. She dies) [09:50 PM] Mousa The 14: As women do apparently [09:50 PM] Wack'd: Back to the story at hand. It is time for a fight scene [09:51 PM] Wack'd: And then a capture scene [09:51 PM] Wack'd: It's a good thing this book has so much dumb minutia in it or I woulda been done half an hour ago [09:52 PM] Wack'd: So the team is placed on an alter and Franklin's powers are used to bring forth the Dark Realm [09:53 PM] Aleph Null: this is a fantastic four comic right? [09:53 PM] Aleph Null: just checking [09:53 PM] Wack'd: Yeah but this is not terribly off spec for them [09:53 PM] maxwellelvis: Yes [09:54 PM] maxwellelvis: Also we were still in the middle of the Satanic Panic at the time. [09:54 PM] Wack'd: Fantastic Four doesn't really have a consistent tone or manner of threat. They're from the 60s, they'll do whatever [09:55 PM] Wack'd: Gabriel and Agatha use their combined power to turn the Four into a literal love bomb to defeat Nick Scratch's hate

[09:56 PM] Aleph Null: My Little Superheroes: Friendship Is Magic [09:57 PM] Wack'd: This is a nice scene but I'd be a lot more convinced if Nick Scratch didn't try to murder Agatha gruesomely every previous time he appeared

[09:58 PM] Wack'd:

Ben: That wuz the easiest fight we ever had...and it wuz the best weapon we coulda used.

[09:59 PM] maxwellelvis: "We contributed the bare minimum to our own story!" [09:59 PM] Wack'd:

Agatha: Nicholas, you must be punished...severely. I hav erred on the sign of leniency in the past.

[09:59 PM] Wack'd: agatha you banished him to a nightmare dimension but okay [09:59 PM] Mousa The 14: Yeah but she didn’t kill him [10:00 PM] Mousa The 14: They’re magic people, nightmare dimension is really more if a time out for ‘em [10:00 PM] Wack'd: Honestly the "Dark Realm" was originally called "the World Beyond Worlds" [10:00 PM] Wack'd: So I assumed it was a Yu-Gi-Oh "Shadow Realm" thing until this story [10:01 PM] Wack'd: And so Nicholas' punishment is to become like the humans he so despised [10:02 PM] Wack'd: And Agatha decides to stay behind to be an ambassador to her people on behalf of non-magic folks to maybe cut down on future genocide attempts [10:03 PM] Wack'd:

[10:03 PM] Bocaj: Awwwww.....www?? [10:04 PM] Wack'd: Even as the modern age creeps closer, silent panels are still kind of a rarity [10:04 PM] Wack'd: It's smart to deploy one here [10:04 PM] maxwellelvis: "Hey, how 'bout a little sugar for Gabriel?" [10:04 PM] Umbramatic: awwww [10:05 PM] Wack'd: He just kinda...vanishes [10:05 PM] Wack'd: Reed assures us he probably has his own way home [10:05 PM] maxwellelvis: He doesn't need the company of people with no sugar for him. [10:05 PM] Bocaj: Pfft

#1980 #Doug Moench #Bill Sienkiewicz #The Main Book

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anastpaul · 4 years

Text

Saint of the Day – 23 November – Blessed Miguel Agustin Pro SJ (1891 – 1927) Priest and Martyr of the Cristero War, Jesuit – known as “Cocol” – born José Ramón Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez on 13 January 1891 in Guadalupe, Zacatecas, Mexico and died by being shot by firing squad on 23 November 1927 in Mexico City, Mexico. He was 36 years old.

Don Miguel and his wife were the happy parents of eleven children. Miguel Jr, was the third born. Four died in infancy. The two eldest, Maria de la Concepcion and Maria de la Luz, became Sisters of the Good Shepherd. Two of the boys, Miguel and his younger brother Humberto, were martyred. The rest of the children, Ana Maria, Edmundo Jose, and Roberto married. Since a young age, he was called “Cocol” as a nickname. One of his companions, Pulido, said that he “had never seen such an exquisite wit, never coarse, always sparkling.” He was noted for his charity and ability to speak about spiritual subjects without boring his audience. Pulido remarked, that there were two Pros – the playful Pro and the prayerful Pro. He was known for the long periods he spent in the chapel.

Long-time President of Mexico Porfirio Díaz was ousted in 1911 after staging a rigged re-election and a struggle for power – the Mexican Revolution – began.

He entered the Jesuit novitiate at El Llano on 15 August 1911 and studied in Mexico until 1914 when a massive wave of governmental anti-Catholicism forced the novitiate to dissolve and the Jesuits to flee to Los Gatos, California, in the United States. He then went to study in Granada, Spain (1915–19) and from 1919 to 1922 taught in Nicaragua.

For his theological studies Pro was sent to Enghien, Belgium, where the French Jesuits (also in exile) had their faculty of Theology. His health continued to deteriorate. There he was ordained a priest on 31 August 1925. He wrote on that occasion: “How can I explain to you the sweet grace of the Holy Spirit, which invades my poor miner’s soul with such heavenly joys? I could not hold back the tears on the day of my ordination, above all at the moment when I pronounced, together with the bishop, the words of the consecration. After the ceremony the new priests gave their first blessing to their parents. I went to my room, laid out all the photographs of my family on the table and then blessed them from the bottom of my heart.”

His first assignment as a priest was to work with the miners of Charleroi, Belgium. Despite the socialist, communist and anarchist tendencies of the workers, he was able to win them over and preach the Gospel to them.

Three months after ordination, he was forced to undergo several operations for ulcers. He remained cheerful and courageous, explaining that the source of his strength was his prayer.

In summer 1926 – his studies in Europe completed – Pro returned to Mexico. On the way he visited Lourdes where he celebrated Mass and visited the grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes.

He arrived at Veracruz on 8 July 1926. Plutarco Elías Calles was now president of Mexico. Unlike his predecessors, Calles vigorously enforced the anti-Catholic provisions of the 1917 constitution, implementing the so-called Calles Law, which provided specific penalties for priests who criticised the government (five years’ imprisonment) or wore clerical garb in certain situations outside their churches (500 pesos). This law went into effect on 31 July 1926.

By this time, some states, such as Tabasco under the notorious anti-Catholic Tomás Garrido Canabal, had closed all the churches and cleared the entire state of serving priests, killing many of them, forcing a few to marry and the remaining few serving covertly at risk of their lives. On his return, Fr Miguel served a Church which was forced to go “underground.” He celebrated the Eucharist clandestinely and ministered the other sacraments to small groups of Catholics. Details of Pro’s ministry in the underground church come from his many letters, signed with the nickname Cocol. In October 1926, a warrant for his arrest was issued. He was arrested and released from prison the next day but kept under surveillance.

A failed attempt to assassinate Álvaro Obregón, which only wounded him, in November 1927, provided the state with a pretext for arresting Pro again, this time with his brothers Humberto and Roberto. A young engineer who confessed his part in the assassination testified that the Pro brothers were not involved. Miguel and his brothers were taken to the Detective Inspector’s Office in Mexico City.

President Calles gave orders to have Pro executed for the assassination attempt. Pro and his brothers were visited by Generals Roberto Cruz and Palomera Lopez around 11 p.m. on 22 November 1927. The next day, as Pro walked from his cell to the courtyard and the firing squad, he blessed the soldiers, knelt and briefly prayed quietly. Declining a blindfold, he faced his executioners with a crucifix in one hand and a rosary in the other and held his arms out in imitation of the crucified Christ and shouted out, “May God have mercy on you! May God bless you! Lord, Thou knowest that I am innocent! With all my heart I forgive my enemies!” Before the firing squad was ordered to shoot, Pro raised his arms in imitation of Christ and shouted the defiant cry of the Cristeros, “Viva Cristo Rey!” – “Long live Christ the King!”.

When the initial shots of the firing squad failed to kill him, a soldier shot him at point-blank range.

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Calles had the execution meticulously photographed and the newspapers throughout the country carried photos on the front page the following day. Presumably, Calles thought that the sight of the pictures would frighten the Cristero rebels who were fighting against his troops, particularly in the state of Jalisco. However, they had the opposite effect.

Calles is reported to have looked down upon a throng of 40,000 who lined Pro’s funeral procession. Another 20,000 waited at the cemetery where he was buried without a priest present, his father saying the final words. The Cristeros became more animated and fought with renewed enthusiasm, many of them carrying the newspaper photo of Pro before the firing squad.

At Pro’s Beatification in Saint Peter’s Square on 25 September 1988, St Pope John Paul II said:

“Neither suffering nor serious illness, nor the exhausting ministerial activity, frequently carried out in difficult and dangerous circumstances, could stifle the radiating and contagious joy which he brought to his life for Christ and which nothing could take away. Indeed, the deepest root of self-sacrificing surrender for the lowly was his passionate love for Jesus Christ and his ardent desire to be conformed to Him, even unto death.”

This portrait of Blessed Miguel resides in the La Sagrada Familia Basilica in Barcelona, Spain

Saint of the Day – 23 November – Blessed Miguel Agustin Pro SJ (1891 – 1927) Priest and Martyr “Viva Cristo Rey!” Saint of the Day - 23 November - Blessed Miguel Agustin Pro SJ (1891 – 1927) Priest and Martyr of the Cristero War, Jesuit - known as…

#blmiguelpro

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roksanas · 4 years

Text

ROKSANA SIRSK - CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT QUESTIONNAIRE

BASICS -

1. Height?

Roksana is 5’4.

2. Eye colour?

Dark brown.

3. Do they need glasses?

Nah baby this human has 20/20 vision and can see in regular and magical darkness for 120 feet. It’s an invocation, but she will claim she’s just more evolved than most humans.

4. Scars and birthmark?

She has quite a few prominent scars on her hands from burns and cuts when she was training as a blacksmith. She also has a long, vertical scar beneath her ribs from a job that went sideways. She almost died before getting to a cleric; she doesn’t talk about it.

5. Tattoos and piercings?

On her right ear she has 3 lobe piercings, an industrial and a forward helix, and on her left she has a helix, a tragus, and 3 lobe piercings. As for tattoos, she has the symbols of Dol Arrah, Milil, Lathander, and the Raven Queen down her left forearm, and the symbols of Dol Dorn, Tymora, Malar, Sune down her right forearm.

6. Right or left handed?

Sana does most things with her right hand, but she’s trained herself to be useful with both in battle.

7. Any disabilities? Physical or mental.

Sana has lost most of the hearing in her left ear, and as such is hard of hearing.

8. Do they have any allergies?

Roksana is allergic to dogs and NO ONE is allowed to talk to her about it.

9. Favourite colour?

Black, or navy blue.

10. Typical outfits?

Sana likes well-made clothing, and most of her spending is on clothes. She wears mostly black and white. A lot of her tops are blouses, often sporting either lace, embroidery, or flowy sleeves. She loves elaborate dresses, corsets worn in untraditional ways, and interesting belt buckles. If she’s on a job, she wears a breastplate underneath a cloak or a powerful-looking coat. She’s also a fan of leather gloves.

11. Do they wear any makeup?

Sana rarely wears makeup, but she can’t resist a bit of eyeliner here and there.

12. What weapon do they use, if any?

She almost exclusively uses Obit, which is both her pact blade and her spellcasting focus. Obit likes to call itself Darthranok, and speaks to her telepathically.

PERSONALITY -

13. Are they more optimistic or pessimistic?

Sana considers herself a realist, which is to say...she’s mostly pessimistic. If she has any optimism left, it resides in Zari, who does her best to see the light in every situation when Sana is focusing on solutions. She doesn’t waste a lot of time on pessimism, but she certainly doesn’t expect anything good from others or from any situation she walks into.

14. Are they introverted or extroverted?

Introverted. Definitely charismatic and a skilled socializer, but she only gains energy when she’s alone or only around people who are close to her.

15. What are their pet peeves?

Most of Sana’s pet peeves are exhibited by her clients. She hates when people explain things slowly when she didn’t ask them to, she hates when people aren’t punctual - particularly with their payments - and she hates when people act like they know her. Above all, she hates being pitied, and even annoys herself when she gets caught up in the habit of self-pitying. Some smaller pet peeves include loud chewers, Zari wearing her clothes, and people standing too close to her.

16. What bad habits do they have?

She picks at her nails, leans back in pretty much every chair she sits in, and leaves loose strands of hair littered about the house. She always thinks she’s right, she consistently asks too much for the jobs she undertakes, and she tries to get to know people without letting them know her.

17. Do they have any phobias?

The most constant fear she has, the one that gives her the most nightmares, is losing Zari. When she’s away from Khaggon, it often keeps her up at night and she’s considering bringing her sister along on all her jobs again.

18. How do they display affection?

Acts of service all the way. She doesn’t get close with many people, but when she does choose to let someone in she’s very all-or-nothing. She will go out of her way to get that person what they need, and loves to provide for the people she loves. She’s not especially physically affectionate, but when she’s exhausted she can’t deny that she likes to cuddle.

19. How competitive are they?

Oh, god. You don’t wanna know. If she gets even the slightest idea that someone’s coming for her job or for her money, she will go to extreme lengths to make sure they never try that again. She also tends to swear and yell a bit too much when playing card games.

20. If they could change one thing about themselves, what would it be?

She’d like to be a bit softer, a bit more trusting, a bit more open-hearted - if she could manage.

21. Do they have any obscure hobbies or routines?

She loves making her own knives, especially ones that are just for display with elaborate handles. For the past five years, she’s had an omelette for breakfast every morning that she hasn’t been in the wild or otherwise incapacitated. She reorganizes her closet and jewelry once or twice a month, just for kicks. She likes to gamble.

BACKSTORY -

22. What are the names and ages of their close family members? Parents, siblings, etc.

Zari, her sister, is thirteen. Esfir, her mother, would be fifty-two, and her father, Ashkin, would be fifty-one. Roksana was also close to her maternal grandmother, Shirin, who would be eighty-five now.

23. Is their family alive and are they still in contact with them?

Esfir and Ashkin have been dead for almost three and thirteen years respectively, and Shirin has been dead for eight years. Her sister is very much alive, and very much in contact with her.

24. Where are they from? City, nation?

Runswick born-and-raised, though she currently lives in Khaggon.

25. Did they have a childhood best friend?

Ever since she can remember, Sana’s best friend has been a girl named Evangeline. She’s a wealthy merchant’s daughter, and has recently started a family in Runswick. They rarely see each other anymore, but they do still write to each other.

26. Have they had any pets?

The only pet she had growing up was a cat named Stinky. She found him as a stray when she was ten, and he had an incredibly pungent smell. Since then, she always wanted a dog, but their fur gives her hives and their dandruff stuffs her up - so, instead, she got Zari a gray tabby. (Zari’s always liked cats better, anyway.) Her sister named him Quincy, and though Sana is sure he’ll never be as great as Stinky, she is glad that Zari has company when she’s away.

27. Did they grow up rich or poor? What were their living conditions like?

Sana lived in a small home, and had very little excess in her upbringing. Her parents were both righteous and honorable, and usually found that justice was all the payment they needed for their adventures. They did, however, provide Sana and Zari with what they needed, though some months were pretty tight.

28. What is their educational background?

Sana was taught by Evangeline’s governess until she was fifteen.

29. As a child, what did they want to be when they grew up?

Until her father died, she thought perhaps she would be a paladin just like her parents. Then she wanted to be a blacksmith, of course.

30. What advice would they give to their younger self?

Honestly, she’d probably try to dash her hopes earlier in life. She’d tell herself to get used to things not going right. She’d probably be a badder bitch if she let go of childish dreams earlier on. This, however, is far from any advice she’d ever give to Zari.

31. Growing up, were they ever bullied or were they the bully?

She probably made fun of a boy here and there, but she was never bullied. In fact, after her father died, she was treated with so much pity that it makes her gag thinking about it. Even the children in her neighborhood acted like she was fragile.

32. Who do they look up to/who is their role model?

Herself, tbh. But also Zari, because she’s extremely emotionally intelligent and good at a lot of things that she struggles with.

PRESENT -

33. Do they currently have a place of residence?

Yes, she has a small home in Khaggon that she paid for in coin.

34. What is their most treasured possession?

If not Obit, then this particularly sharp and rad dagger that she made herself with a raven’s head as the hilt.

35. What is their drink of choice?

Any sort of liquor. She likes shots.

36. Which king/queen are they loyal to, if any?

Rolland, if she has to choose. She surely doesn’t trust him, but Hegaehend is her home, and she won’t side with anyone who’s trying to invade it.

37. Have they ever killed anyone?

Oh, yeah. She’d never call herself an assassin, but she has been paid to kill specific marks, or paid to finish jobs that had no restrictions on who was left dead or alive. Her sword also feeds on life force, and she doesn’t want to know what will happen if it gets too hungry.

38. What was their last promise and did they keep it?

She promises Zari that she’ll be safe every time she leaves, and she hasn’t died yet, so she considers that a promise kept.

LOVE -

39. What was their first kiss like, if they’ve had one?

Sloppy, gross. She was thirteen and had a crush on the guy for an entire year, and then everything good she’d ever thought about him disappeared when he shoved his tongue down her throat. He tasted like ham.

40. Are they in a relationship/have a love interest?

Nope. She has friends with benefits scattered here and there, but she wouldn’t consider them love interests.

41. Have they ever been in love?

Yes. When Sana was twenty-one, she fell head-over-heels with a half-elf named Mikas. They’d grown up in the same social circle, and he had a tendency to flirt with everyone in that social circle. But after a long night out and a talk under the stars, things were different between them. They were inseparable for a year, and it was a good year, but after that year came two more years that were much less enjoyable.

42. Have they ever had their heart broken?

Of course. She gave her all in the relationship with Mikas. It was the most vulnerable she’d ever been with someone, and he probably still knows her better than anyone. But he still didn’t want to be with her. After that one good year, he stopped trying. He stopped finding time to spend with her, stopped making her feel heard, and then he left her for some girl he hardly knew. Now, she won’t accept anything less than 100% effort from a romantic partner - not that she particularly wants one.

SPIRITUALITY -

43. Do they follow a god, if so who?

Nope! She has those religious symbols tattooed on her mostly as a joke. Probably insensitive, but she likes to keep people guessing about what her religious background is. She’s also still pretty bitter about gods and what they expect of their champions.

44. What do they think happens to them after death?

Regardless of her religious beliefs, she likes to believe in an afterlife. She’s seen ghosts and other kinds of spirits, and she likes to believe that if someone deserves to live on past their mortal life, then they will. It helps her sleep at night to think that the people she kills will live on if they deserve to, and that if they don’t deserve to, then she did the world a service.

45. What is their spirit animal?

Listen I know I said lion for Avi, but she’s a Leo so how can I not say lion…….otherwise maybe a raven or smth.

#romtask #about #( i wrote this extremely quickly and i feel like very few of these are well thought out so just....#take it with a grain of salt )

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probablyevilrpgideas · 5 years

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“Useless” Magic Items

The Sack of Bofa

Allegedly, this overly large, furry belt pouch once belonged to the legendary frost giant Bofa the Synod, a cleric of Thrym of great power to who all other clerics of Thrym deferred to. Though possessed of great magical power, Bofa took particular cruel pleasure in crushing enemies in the two icy boulders he stored in his sack, Blar and Rijm.

It is said that upon his death at the blade of a powerful hero whose name is lost to time, his belt pouch shrank to the size of a large sporran, about the size of the sack you now hold, and indeed, it is cool to the touch, and there are two round objects about the size of small gourds inside, but it seems there is no way to open the pouch, as it is frozen shut and yields to no force or magic. The sack can be hung from the belt by a couple loops near the top, but there is little other notable about the sack.

If worn, the wearer of the Sack of Bofa has their strength increased to that of Bofa (36 in 3.PF, 30 in 5e), but is also more susceptible to critical hits as they are thrown off by the heft of Bofa’s sack (Enemy attacks against the wearer gain +1 critical threat range in 3.PF; enemy attacks against the wearer critical on a 19 or 20 in 5e).

Though the sack cannot be opened, the Sack of Bofa can be wielded as a weapon. In this case, it deals damage as a huge frost sap wielded by a frost giant (2d6+[13 3.PF/10 5e] plus 1d6 cold, Light weapon) and forces a (Will/Wis) save against being frightened (DC 25) for as long as the sack is wielded as a weapon. If the sack is put back on the wearer’s belt and then later taken off to be wielded as a weapon again, anyone in who can see it and has failed a save to it before must make a new save.

While the sack is being wielded as a weapon, the owner does not suffer the increased risk of critical rolls, but also does not have the strength of a frost giant.

5e: Wondrous Item, Very rare, requires attunement

3.X: Wondrous Item; Craft Wondrous Item, Chill Metal, CL 12; 40,000gp

#Useless Magic Items #Dungeons and Dragons #5e #3.X #3.5 #3rd Edition #5th Edition #Yes #this item solely exists as a giant bofa joke #But it's *sound*

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tacticsroom · 5 years

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Mercedes: Kindly Devotee (Unit Review)

Available at 4-5★

Lvl 40 Stats (Flaw/Neutral/Asset)

HP: 35/39/42

Atk: 30/33/36

Spd: 27/30/33

Def: 19/22/25

Res: 30/33/36

Neutral BST: 156

Max Dragonflowers: 5

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Skills

Weapon: Gravity+ (300 SP)

Mt: 10. Rng: 2. After combat, if unit attacked, inflicts status on target and foes within 1 space of target restricting movement to 1 space through their next actions.

Staff. Can be inherited. Can be refined.

Assist: Martyr+ (300 SP)

Rng: 1. Restores HP = damage dealt to unit +50% of Atk. (Minimum of 7 HP.) Restores HP to unit = half damage dealt to unit.

Can be inherited.

Special: Miracle (200 SP)

CD: 5. If unit's HP > 1 and foe would reduce unit's HP to 0, unit survives with 1 HP.

Can be inherited.

A: AR-D Spd/Res 3 (240 SP)

If defending in Aether Raids, grants Spd/Res+X during combat. (Calculates X based on number of your defensive structures: ≥5 structures grants +10; 4 grants +7; 3 grants +4; ≤2 grants +1. Destroyed defensive structures are not counted.)

Can be inherited.

B: None.

C: Odd Res Wave 3 (240 SP)

At start of odd-numbered turns, grants Res+6 to unit and adjacent allies for 1 turn. (Bonus granted to unit even if no allies are adjacent.)

Can be inherited.

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Analysis

Despite being a unit released in 2019 and receiving extra BST, Mercedes is a very underwhelming healer with an awkward statline and lack of a PRF staff, making several other infantry healers outclass her right from her introduction. Her offenses leave a lot to be desired, 33 Atk and 30 Spd is awful in today’s standards, even for healers. Being an infantry unit also means she lacks the mobility of a flying or cavalry healer, but it also means she gets access to infantry exclusive support skills like Infantry Pulse or Infantry Rush.

Mercedes’ skill set doesn’t help her case either: she does not bring any new or rare staff like Flash+; her A skill is useless on literally any mode that isn’t Aether Raids, and even there she is far from the best hero to use in defense, and while Odd Res Wave helps her boost her decent Res, she prefers other support C skills or even other Wave skills.

Despite all of this, Mercedes can still find herself useful thanks to the powerful combination of Wrathful Pain and Dazzling Staff, a set that is impossible for a healer to be bad at. Mercedes also has a decent Res stat sitting at 33, which with enough investment, can allow Mercedes to use Ploys or serve as a Res tank, but its better for her to stay true to her title and stay devoted to supporting others.

Mercedes prefers an asset/boon in Atk and Res, while she prefers a flaw/bane in HP and Def (keep in mind that HP is a superflaw/bane, meaning she will lose 4 points of HP rather than 3).

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Similar Units

Brady: Daunting Priest (41/33/32/23/28)

Mercedes: Kindly Devotee (-2/+0/-2/-1/+5)

Lucius: The Light (37/32/30/13/35)

Mercedes: Kindly Devotee (+2/+1/+0/+9/-2)

Mikoto: Caring Mother (38/35/32/20/26)

Mercedes: Kindly Devotee (+1/-2/-2/+2/+7)

Sakura: Loving Priestess (36/28/30/24/30)

Mercedes: Kindly Devotee (+3/+2/+0/-2/+3)

Serra: Outspoken Cleric (33/31/30/21/33)

Mercedes: Kindly Devotee (+6/+2/+0/-2/+0)

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Builds

Budget

While Mercedes comes with a very lacking skill set, due to nature of being a healer she doesn’t need much inheritance to fill her role. It is prefered to refine Gravity with Dazzling Staff rather than Wrathful since Mercedes’ Atk is nothing to write home about, so it’s better for her to support her team via inflicting negative status on her foes while not fearing enemy counterattacks.

Replacing AR-D Spd/Res is extremely recommended, since she won’t benefit from it at all outside of Aether Raids. Due to healer’s limited A skill options, even moreso in a budget set, she is better off with a simple stat boosting skill like Atk +3 or Res +3. Her B slot can vary, it can be Wings of Mercy on a tight budget, or maybe a Chill skill or Live to Serve. Since its a low investment set. Odd Res Wave can be kept because it boosts Mercedes’ decent Res a bit, and with a seal like Even Def Wave, she can also support her allies when alternating turns.

Mercedes’ sacred seals options are: Atk +3, Atk/Res 2, Atk/Res Bond, Renewal, Live to Serve, Chill Atk and Chill Spd.

Savage Blow Pain+

Even with all of her downsides, Mercedes does have a saving grace: the Savage Blow Pain Build, that is impossible for any healer to be bad at since having an Atk or a Spd stat doesn’t matter for this build to work. With Pain and double Savage Blow, Mercedes deals 10 true damage to her foe and 24 to any foes around them. Add the infamous Dazzling Staff to be extra annoying.

With some investment, Mercedes can actually become a powerful offensive staff unit, but it requires an asset/boon in either Atk or Spd, and another A skill like Atk/Spd Bond or Atk/Spd Solo; the former was given for free on Tempest Trial unit Louise: Eternal Devotion, while the later is still locked to 5 star exclusive units.

Ranged Tank

Mercedes does have a decent Atk and Res stats, and with some investment and an asset/flaw on either of them, she can fill the role of a Magic tank or even a general Ranged tank.

The first set is more on the budget side and focuses on Mercedes’ Atk and Res, boosting them with a double Atk/Res Bond so she can get +10 Atk/Res when adjacent to an ally, but Atk/Res Solo can work as well. Dull Ranged is there so Mercedes won’t have to fear Bladetome mages who would ORKO her otherwise. Odd Res Wave can be kept to further boost her Res, but it can be replaced by an Atk Wave skill.

The second set is a rather expensive one, requiring 2 5 star exclusive units and probably a preferable asset/boon. This build also turns Mercedes in a mixed ranged tank, being able to tank mages easily and also withstand attacks from daggers and bows, though far less reliable. With Distant Defense 4 and the Distant Defense sacred seal, Mercedes gets +14 Def/Res when in combat agains a ranged unit on top of neutralizing enemy buffs, meaning she can be a little though for them to kill even if they double her. Null-C Disrupt is for her to be able to retaliate against other healers, who will most likely deal no damage against her at all.

Arena Support

Thanks to Colorless Duel Infantry, infantry healers can now be used in the higher tiers of Arena. Mercedes’ low Atk actually benefits her a lot here since she will likely deal very little damage to her foes and thus is not prone to stealing kills from the bonus unit. And for all of the Mercedes fans out there who wish to use her as a support unit, she has a wide range of staves to choose from, but most of them come from seasonal units, so these builds are rather expensive.

The first one makes use of the Ovoid Staff to passively heal her allies every turn, and even she can heal the non-bonus unit that was damaged tanking something so they don’t die. Dual Savage Blow is used as chip damage to help the bonus unit secure kills, and Chill Atk is there for general support.

The second build makes Mercedes a Def/Res buffer with the Toasty Skewer, which grants her allies within 2 spaces +3 Def/Res during combat, which, combined with 2 Drives on her C slot and Sacred Seal, can turn Mercedes into either an Omni-Drive unit like Marth, or grant +6 Def/Res to her allies when they are in combat. Both of these options are equally great for support, but its up to personal preference and the team’s needs.

#mod Sonya #fe heroes #fire emblem heroes #unit review #Mercedes: Kindly Devotee #staff/infantry #Changing Winds

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