#campaign: magic sword

[she-aint-no-slow-regard]

The group: Ahah we're getting naked and running through the forest silly time

Matt: ORYM YOU ARE SMELLING YOUR DEAD HUSBAND RIGHT NOW

[the-fluffy-folio]

Blade of the Broken Flame – Weapon (dagger), rare

Those who follow the oath are honored to carry the blade of the broken flame – a blazing symbol of loyalty and a scorching weapon against everyone standing in the purging path of the eminent order.

🔮 If you like my work, kindly consider to support me on Patreon to gain access to monster pages, tokens & artwork of dozens of quirky creatures as well as potions and items based on the monsters’ lore.

[beetnik-jay]

Fyrah and Farrah, tiefling sisters

[merochu-blog]

I had to!!!!!!

[verypartialobserver]

“Now now, if you want a job done Properly, you call the Navy.”

Another day another OC commission. The Grand Admiral in all his 5 foot 5 glory brought to you by the incredibly talented @haematicartwork. From my latest campaign scheme where I was bet I couldn’t make the main enemy of the entire campaign literally just a human dude.

[natandacat]

Good morrow mine own nameth is Osybus Dark'l'rd Necromanc'r Undead Godking and I has't longeth parse white hair like a carrion man (that's how I did get mine own nameth) with green highlights and split tips t’reaches mine own mid-back and fiery r'd eyes like the pits of hell and a lot of people sayeth to me that I resemble Vecna (AN: if 't be true u knoweth not who is't that gent, leaveth da hell out of hither!). I'm not kin with Lolth but I wisheth I wast because the lady's a maj'r fucking hottie.  I'm a lich but mine own teeth art straight and white.  I has't whey-face white gaunt skin.  I'm eke a necromanc'r, and I did start mine own owneth cult called the Augurers of Osybus in Barovia wh're I'm their supreme mast'r (I'm a thousand, three hundr'd and eighty-seven years of age). I'm a goth (in case thee couldn't bid) and I weareth mostly black.  I loveth Hot Topic and I buyeth all mine own robes from thither. F'r example the present day I wast wearing a black corset with matching lace 'round t and a black cheveril glove miniskirt, pink fishnets and black combat boots.  I wast wearing black lipstick, white foundation, black eyeliner and r'd eye shadow. I wast walking outside of Amb'r Temple. T'wast snowing and raining so thither wast the travelling lamp not shining, which I wast v'ry joyous about.  Mine own treach'rous ex lov'r Khazan and his pet Strahd von Zarovich did stare at me. I putteth up mine own middle digit at those folk.

[fjorests-of-wildemount]

Orym, who Liam has spent a whole campaign and a bit insisting he would never change weapons, being drawn to this blue-green blade of strange power . . . His own magic shifting from the pure green of Druidcraft and Melora to the darker mix of Hex and the power of a fey patron . . . Orym has spent so long resisting change, holding onto his past and living in his memories. He misses Dorian. He has new powers. He has a new sword.

I hope he gets a chance to talk about the things he's going through.

[thisisnotthenerd]

ik it's been beat to death by this point

but holy shit the bad kids in-world are fucking terrifying

even starting with the bad boys:

you have fabian, inheritor of the seacaster and lomenelda legacies and the elven oracle's champion in his own right. maximum legend. somehow a straight-a student, captain of the owlbears, and owner of the party house. he fights with the sword of the elven kings and will perform a full dance routine while decapitating you.

you have riz, licensed private investigator and angelic agent of the lower planar reconnaissance task force. litigator. campaign manager. found the rogue teacher by his own effort and then passed the last stand. the kid who showed up to school with a gun on the first day and now dual wields a sword and a magic gun. he will find you, he will fight you, and if he deems necessary he will eat you.

you have gorgug, creator and pioneer of the barbificer subclass, the first barbarian to be able to maintain spells while raging. the greatest wizard of the age. generally chill but will commit murder over a sex lawnmower. rock star drummer on the side. he can buff his party and solo a purple worm at the same time. he fights with an axe that affects nearby gravity as a returning weapon.

and then the bad girls:

you have adaine, the elven oracle. known for her exquisite spellcraft, unerring eye for the future, and a willingness to get her hands dirty. practical magic is her bitch. she issues 13 impossible prophecies in the span of a couple weeks. she defied the will of fallinel and brought modernity to the court of stars through dance battle (via fabian).

you have fig, of fig and the sig figs fame, the infaethable archdevil of the bottomless pit. an illusionist who's caused so much chaos that she has an agent of the council of chosen personally after her. psychologically threatened a guy in his dreams. a phenomenal bard, warlock of her own domain, and a paladin of conviction and rebellion.

you have kristen, the blessed saint who raised cassandra from the nightmare king and yes!/yes? from the void. who performs miracles with the shards of a dying god and holds the power of doubt as her shepherd's crook. she chose to walk away from being chosen and venture into paths unknown, even as gods asked for her worship. one conversation with her can make you question everything you've ever known.

[probablybadrpgideas]

set the campaign in an established Xiphocracy where only sentient magic items have a say in the government (and non-sword items are second-class citizens)

[city-of-ladies]

Women warriors in Chinese history - Part 2

(Part 1)

"However, court confessions, unofficial histories, and local gazetteers do reveal a host of women warriors during the Qing dynasty when patriarchal structures were supposedly most influential. Women in marginal groups were apparently not as observant of mainstream societal gender rules. Daughters and wives of “peasant rebels,” that is, autonomous or bandit stockades, were frequently skilled warriors. Miss Cai 蔡†(Ts’ai) of the Nian (Nien) “army,” for example, “fought better than a man, and she was especially fine on horseback. She was always at the front line, fighting fearlessly despite the large number of government troops.” According to a folktale, she managed to rout an invading government force of several thousand with a hundred men and one cannonball after her husband led most of the Nian off to forage for food.

Related to the female bandits were the women pirates among whom Zheng I Sao 鄭一嫂†(literally, Wife of Zheng I; 1775–1844) is the best researched. “A former prostitute … Cheng [Zheng] I Sao could truly be called the real ‘Dragon Lady’ of the South China Sea.” Consolidating her authority swiftly after the death of her husband, “she was able to win so much support that the pirates openly acclaimed her as the one person capable of holding the confederation together. As its leader she demonstrated her ability to take command by issuing orders, planning military campaigns, and proving that there were profits to be made in piracy. When the time came to dismantle the confederation, it was her negotiating skills above all that allowed her followers to cross the bridge from outlawry to officialdom.”

We know slightly more about some of the women warriors involved in sectarian revolts. Folk stories passed down orally are one of the sources. Tales that proliferated in northern Sichuan on the battle exploits of cult rebels of the White Lotus Religion uprising in Sichuan, Hunan, and Shaanxi beginning in the late eighteenth century glorify several women warriors. The tall and beautiful Big Feet Lan (Lan Dazhu 籃大足) and the smart and skillful Big Feet Xie (Xie Dazhu 謝大足) vanquished a stockade together; the young and attractive Woman He 何氏 could kill within a hundred feet by throwing daggers from horseback. The absence of bound feet in Big Feet Lan and Big Feet Xie suggests their backgrounds were either very poor, unconventional, or non-Han.

Sectarian groups accepted female membership readily, and many of these women trained in the martial arts. Qiu Ersao 邱二嫂†(ca. 1822–53), leader of a Heaven and Earth Society (Tiandihui 天地會) uprising in Guangxi, joined the sect because of poverty and perfected herself in the martial arts. Some women came to the sects with skills. Su Sanniang 蘇三娘, rebel leader of another sect of the Heaven and Earth Society, was the daughter of a martial arts instructor.  Such sectarian rebel bands are frequently regarded as bandit groups. A history of the Taiping Revolutionary Movement refers to these two cult leaders as female bandit chiefs before they joined the Taipings.

Male leaders of religious rebellions frequently married women from families skilled in acrobatic, martial, and magic arts. These women tended to be both beautiful and charismatic. Wang Lun 王倫, who rebelled in 1774 in Shandong, had an “adopted daughter in name, mistress in fact,” by the name of Wu Sanniang 烏三娘 who was one of Wang’s most powerful warriors. Originally an itinerant performer highly skilled in boxing, tightrope walking, and acrobatics, she terrified the enemy with spellbinding magic. She brought a dozen associates from her old life to the sect, and they all became fearsome warriors known as “female immortals” (xiannü 仙女); three of them, including Wu Sanniang, lived with Wang Lun as “adopted wives” (ifu 義婦). A tall, white-haired woman at least sixty years old, possibly the mother of one of these acrobat-turned women warriors, wielded one sword with ease and two almost as effortlessly. Dressed in yellow astride a horse, hair loose and flying, she was feared as much for her sorcery as for her military skills. Her presence indicates that some of the women came from female-dominated itinerant performing families. Woman Zhang 張氏and Woman Zhao 趙氏, wives of Lin Zhe 林哲, another leader of the cult, were also known for being able to brandish a pair of broadswords on horseback.

Hong Xuanjiao 洪宣嬌†(mid nineteenth century), also known as Queen Xiao (xiaohou 蕭后), wife of the West King of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom (taiping tianguo 太平天國), was so stunningly beautiful and impressive in swordsmanship that she mesmerized the entire army during battles. The link between early immortality beliefs and shamanism also suggests that these women warrior “immortals” of sectarian cults may represent surviving relics of the female shamans who occupied high positions during high antiquity.

During the White Lotus Religion rebellion in Sichuan, Hunan, and Shaanxi beginning in 1796, five of the generals were at once leaders and wives of other leaders of the cult. They were Woman Qi née Wang (Qiwangshi 齊王氏; Wang Cong’er 王聰兒), Woman Zhang née Wang (Zhangwangshi 張王氏), Woman Xu née Li (Xulishi 徐李氏), Woman Fan née Zhang (Fanzhangshi 范張氏), and Woman Wang 王†née Li 李 (Wanglishi 王李氏). In the Heavenly Principle Religion (tianlijiao 天理教) rebellion that began in Beijing during 1713, the wife of its leader, Li Wencheng 李文成, led three invasions into the city. There was even a “Female Army” (niangzijun 娘子軍) within the Eight Trigrams (baguajiao 八卦教) uprising in Shandong during the Daoguang 道光† reign (1821–51). The female generals, Cheng Sijie 程四姐†and Yang Wujie 楊五姐, were particularly impressive when they wove among enemy forces in the style of “butterflies flitting among flowers,” wielding broadswords on horseback, their hairpins glittering in the light.

A number of female rebel leaders used religion and magic to buttress their power. Many claimed to be celestials and were leaders of sectarian cults (...). Chen Shuozhen 陳碩貞†(?–653) mobilized a peasants’ uprising by declaring that she had ascended to heaven and become an immortal. Tang Sai’er (ca.1403–20), a head of the White Lotus Religion (bailianjiao 白蓮教), designated herself as a “Buddhist Mother” (fuomu 佛母). The spellbinding old woman warrior in Wang Lun’s Clear Water Religion (qingshuijiao 清水教) sect was known to the rebel community as a reincarnation of the highest White Lotus deity, the Eternal Venerable Mother (wusheng laomu 無生老母). Wang Lun relied on her for performing magic and the rituals for calling on their supreme deity. Woman Wang née Liu (wangliushi 王劉氏), one of the numerous female leaders of the White Lotus Religion revolt, also titled herself the Eternal Venerable Mother. Wang Cong’er (1777–98), originally an itinerant entertainer, became the commander in chief of the rebel army she launched with her husband, a master in the White Lotus Religion.

Indeed, itinerant performers such as Wu Sanniang mentioned above were frequently trained in the martial arts since childhood and must have been skilled at performing magic tricks as well. Lin Hei’er 林黑兒†(?–1900), leader of Red Lanterns (hongdengzhao 紅燈照), the young women’s branch of the Boxer’s Movement (yihetuan 義和團), was also originally an itinerant entertainer (her husband was a boatman). Designating herself the Holy Mother of the Yellow Lotus (huanglian shengmu 黃蓮聖母), she taught her followers the skills of wielding swords and waving fans as well as magic to defeat their enemies.  Wang Nangxian 王囊仙†(literally, Goddess Nang, 1778–97), an ethnic minority of the Miao tribe, was worshipped as a goddess by her tribesmen before she led them in revolt against the Chinese government."

Chinese shadow theatre: history, popular religion, and women warriors, Fan Pen Li Chen

[journeytothewestresearch]

Can you please tell me what abilities sun wukong have because am always confused about it i even hear some people says that sun wukong is omniscient and omnipresent and can control time or that he is is a boundless character

At no point in JTTW is Monkey ever depicted as a boundless character with omniscience, omnipresence, and control over time. Anyone claiming that has never read the novel. Never ever trust any online claims about Sun Wukong unless a cited quote is provided.

Having said that, I am slowly compiling a comprehensive list of all of Monkey's magical abilities and skills, complete with corresponding Chinese terms and citations. However, I am nowhere close to being done (and won't be for years), so I can only give you a general list at this time. But I will link to my past articles where applicable.

The following is based on a list I wrote a few months ago for someone looking to make their D&D campaign more authentic.

Immortality - He has six layers of immortality. But these are more like layers of invulnerability. As a "bogus immortal" (yaoxian, 妖仙) he is still susceptible to injury and death because he hasn’t yet achieved Buddha-nature and broken free of the wheel of rebirth (see note #1 here for an explanation).

Invulnerability - He has an adamantine hide that can't be pierced or hurt by earthly or heavenly weapons and elements (this doesn't count the times that he allows himself to be cut). This is thanks to all of the immortal foodstuff he had eaten in heaven being refined within his body by his samadhi fire, giving him a "diamond body" (jingang zhi qu, 金鋼之軀). Sometimes he uses this invulnerability to freak out demons by blocking a sword strike with his bald head. However, he can still be hurt. For example, he is twice wounded by special elements born from spiritual cultivation, samadhi fire and wind (the book treats cultivated and heavenly elements as two different things). Also, one villain, a scorpion demoness energized with Buddhist dharma power, is able to successfully penetrate his skin by stinging him in the face with her tail.

72 changes - He can transform into anything. The only flaw is his tail, which doesn't always change the way he wants it to. Or, a character recognizes him because of his red butt.

Cloud somersault - This allows him to fly 108,000 li (33,554 mi / 54,000 km) in a single leap. The skill is actually a metaphor for instantaneous enlightenment, for those who achieve it will immediately arrive in the Buddha's paradise.

Magic hairs - He can change any one of his 84,000 hairs into anything he wants (tools, random objects, living creatures, etc.) These include hair clones, which are autonomous copies of himself that can range into the tens, hundreds, thousands, millions, or even billions. However, he only deploys these on a small scale in the novel. He never uses the power to its full stated extent.

Super strength - His greatest feat is carrying two mountains while running "with the speed of a meteor." But there are characters physically stronger than him. For instance, Monkey cannot escape the grip of the Great Peng bird once he is caught in his powerful talons.

Martial arts - He is proficient in armed and unarmed combat, being able to go toe-to-toe with deities with centuries more combat experience than him. "Short Fist," a historical style, is listed as his preferred boxing method. But he mainly relies on his magic iron staff for fighting.

General magic - Monkey is shown capable of calling forth gods and spirits, growing or shrinking to any size, parting fire and water, creating impassable barriers, conjuring wind storms, casting illusions, freezing people in place, putting anyone to sleep, unlocking any lock, bestowing superhuman strength, bringing the dead back to life, turning invisible, changing someone's appearance, traveling to and from heaven and hell, etc.

Magic Eyes - He can see through illusions. But this isn't always portrayed consistently, for I know of several times where Guanyin fools him, and even a god of the soil, a lesser deity, is once able to do the same thing.

Medicine - He can diagnose maladies and concoct medicines to solve the issue.

You can see that omniscience, omnipresence, and control over time are not listed. I think the problem is that people are confusing Sun Wukong at two different points in his character arc. The powers listed above come from the journey itself (ch. 13 to 100). The omni-level powers would come after he achieves Buddhahood at the end of the novel (ch. 100). However, it's very, very important to know that the story ends before Sun Wukong, now the "Victorious Fighting Buddha," performs any feats (i.e. he has no feats as a Buddha). I'm sure people could assign him powers ascribed to other Buddhas in religious literature, but what happens after the story ends is beyond canon.

I hope this helps.

[the-fluffy-folio]

Fungi-Fused Stab-Hit-Sword – Weapon (any sword), uncommon

Strangled by fabulous fungi – embraced by mystical magic. Although the hilt has served its time in countless battles, its sturdy hull won’t let it fade. Where the blade has lost its edge in yearslong slumber, the living shell will sprout and grow.

🔮 If you like my work, kindly consider to support me on Patreon to gain access to monster pages, tokens & artwork of dozens of quirky creatures as well as potions and items based on the monsters’ lore.

[beetnik-jay]

Bad bitch hours

[thydungeongal]

I'm DMing my first dnd campaign with a couple players who are very experienced with 5e. I've found that I really like making homebrew items and that my players get really excited when I give them toys to play with that they've never seen before. Do you know any ttrpgs with exciting items that I could draw inspiration from?

13th Age (a weird lil D&D-like with some fun twists on the formula) had some interesting magic items, as does Earthdawn (a medieval fantasy RPG that is actually related to Shadowrun), and of course Rolemaster, the best game, has an exhaustively detailed system of bonuses and modifiers to be applied on magic items, and the classic Creatures & Treasures books featured interesting unique magic items alongside ones generated with the magic item creation rules. Oh, and Beyond the Wall and Other Adventures too!

But this actually leads to a sort of a mini rant of mine, in that I still haven't found a fantasy RPG that does magic items to a degree where I find them satisfying. In a dungeon combat game like modern D&D +1 swords are the most useful mechanically, but they're really boring. In older editions +math swords are also useful and actually necessary after a certain point when lots of creatures start being immune to nonmagical weapons, but they're still boring! And the fact that D&D has always had lots of really neat magical items that do stuff beyond just +math to sword makes all those boring yet useful items even more disappointing.

Anyway all of this is to say that the world has grown past the need for +1 swords, instead we need more crab

[widogasm]

summaries here if you need a refresher!

[gunpowdercarousel]

Me, the DM: Alright guys, what're your characters for the new campaign? Remember, we're starting at level one.

Bill: Alright cool yeah no problemo, so I'm like a legendary folk hero guy, right? EVERYBODY knows me. I'm super famous. I'm like the hero of the Sword Coast, I've killed minotaurs, stopped cults, fought devils in the Hells, saved the world countless times, all that jazz. Also my dad's a duke, I'm rich, and there's this really hot demon lady who's my patron.

Me: Uuuuuuuuuuuuuugh-

Carla: Oh! I'll go! So I'm a badass tiefling lady, I've been fighting in the Blood War for a decade, I've killed loads of demons - like SO MANY demons - and also my heart is an infernal engine. So I'm constantly on fire basically and anyone who touches me gets burned to ashes instantly. Like just boom dead. TOASTED.

Me: UUUUUUUUUUGH-

Gabe: Lame. Alright, so check this out. Lemme lay this on ya, right? So you know Mystra, the Goddess of Magic?

Me, visibly terrified: .............uh huh?

Gabe: Heheheheh. Yeah. Uh huh. That's right.

Me: .....What-

Gabe: Fucked her.

Me: UM.

Gabe: Also I'm a nuclear bomb