#day 2 of asking for a backstory

[sozzledjuja]

following up on my previous post, I headcanon that Mr. Hissy was later destroyed, either by some mean bullies in the neighborhood, or by Gramorr himself after the twins were recruited by him (god knows how), because such "attachments" were a sign of weakness

ANGST

mephisto was definetly devastaded and cried about it for days. my poor sad child

[imminent-danger-came]

do you think the writers are being too slow revealing what happened with wukong and macaque? like should the full story been revealed in s4

That's very subjective!

For me personally, I'm totally fine with how it's played out. We get enough tidbits every season/developments with their dynamic that I'm pretty content. I also just think that when the time comes, how they choose to reveal that information to us (and especially to MK) will have optimal impact!

Idk, I just think it's going to work out you know

[protagonist-art]

"Uh- I'm Arnold. Bennett. It's profoundly difficult to get your lifes works and studies accepted if your name isn't... yes, oh! Are you a fan of moths, sir?"

NEW RDR2 OC!! a reclusive, clumsy entomologist and bug collector; cooped up in his study of uniformed clutter

[deerspherestudios]

So does Mychael know what happened to his parents or has he always been alone or just doesn't remember?

One of those is the answer 👀!

[moonshine-nightlight]

@cax-per submitted:

me doing my daily check ins to see if the next part of There’s Nothing Wrong With Dale is out yet 🥸💻

this week has flown by so fast, holy shit. my original plan was to edit Monday (possibly Tuesday too depending on how long it took) which is already shakey cuz during the week, but between work and headaches, yeah no editing was accomplished this week

soo i shall be spending today editing chapter 34 of Dale (which is over 10k words) and hopefully posting it today as well

[kewpiekills]

Usually I don't care for oc x canon but I adore your Nurse x Scout art. Its like Mary Shelley's Frankenstein to me. Someday Nurse will torture that poor twink to death and Scout will be too desperate to say no. Once nurse has permanently destroyed Scout's mind he will regret the loss of this actual human being he's ruined<3<3<3<3<3 More unethical experiments on his gay ass please!!!

YOU GET IT FOR REALLLL!!!!!! i’ve kinda decided Nurse calms down on the twink abuse once he realizes how utterly desperate Scout is, willing to injure or kill himself over and over just for a lick of positive attention. but his intentions were definitely just to fuck with him with no realization his actions would have consequences until it was a bit too late. i’ve gotta actually like, make more of a comic with these two sometime, but you got their dynamic down pat <3

[chiropteracupola]

a little pain now, to save a great deal more pain later

[flintlock fortress is a collaboration with @dxppercxdxver]

[indigo-flightly-falls]

Helsmit headcanons

The way I headcanon Helcraft and the Helsmits to work is that during season 3, the Gods decided that Hermitcraft was getting a bit overpowered (it hosted Watchers, Listeners, as well as ancient gods and species that were almost extinct, with many more to join), and decided to create a server to balance it out! Nobody expected Hermitcraft to exist as long as it is, so Helscraft is missing some features.

Namely, they don't get a new world. They're on the same world as when they were created. This is the source of a few problems at times, especially when new members arrive. However, due to farms and careful planning to avoid going into new chunks when not needed, the server is relatively stable.

One of these plans to avoid loading new chunks is the addition of groups. There are three groups set up, and new Helsmits often join one of these. The groups are the following: Spawn, which is a roughly 400 block circle containing spawn, and several friend groups. (such as the NHelsO, Team ZPR, the Space Squad, and the 'Main Four) The Swamp, the smallest group, set in a modified swamp that covers about 100 blocks in total, only four people live here currently. The Mountains, which contains a replica of an Ancient City built inside it. This is a fairly large group, and where the non-social Helsmits stay.

New Helsmits either come from alternate universes or already existed in their universe and got an invite around the time their Hermit joined Hermitcraft!

It should be said that the Helsmits aren't evil. Some of them have bad relationships with their Hermit, but many just want to live. They've all been through some difficult things in the past, and sometimes that means lashing out at others.

They view themselves as protectors of Hermitcraft, due to the fact that Helscraft is a weak spot in the whitelist and protective measures of the server, and as such the Runaway Watchers target the server. The only time this became a big issue was during season 8/9, when a group of Watchers broke into the server and used it to crash the moon, before fully taking over Helscraft.

It should be noted that Etho and Grian, while not being Helsmits, often hang out on the server and see it as a second home. They both get along with their Hels, and many of the other server members!

Ex - Voidwalker/Watcher - he/they Ex was chosen as admin of Helscraft due to their relationship with Xisuma. They were the former prince of the Voidwalkers and as such, treats his role as admin as if he were king. Ex doesn't actually stand for Evil Xisuma, it's short for Exion, an old voidtongue word for 'protector' that was their old name before they became a helsmit. They also pronounce their name as 'E-X', mostly to avoid confusion with X. Ex and Xisuma have a more neutral relationship. Xisuma wants to reconnect with Ex, and Ex feels the same way. However, Ex also suffered at the hands of the Watchers due to Xisuma not listening to his ideas.

Hels - Angel/Watcher - they/it/he/blaze/hell Hels wandered onto Helscraft after escaping the Watchers and has since adopted a protector role. They are headstrong and quick to anger, but truly care for the safety of everyone on the server. Hels is actually their chosen name! They identify as a trans demiboy, and chose Hels both as a way to mock Wels and the entire angel city. Hels and Wels have a heavily negative relationship. Wels wants to hang out with Hels, to revisit the old days when they were kids. However, Hels has a lot of anger directed at Wels, for many things. Honestly, the best way to sum up Hels' feelings towards Wels is the song Feel Better by Penelope Scott.

Badtimed (Bad) - Alleyling/Listener - he/xe/they Bad was traveling with Hels before joining Helscraft, trying to escape the Listeners. They are rather calm for a Helsmit, which is saying something. Xe is Scar's older brother! However, the two were both separated when Scar was a small child, and as such, Scar grew up not knowing Bad existed. Bad and Scar's relationship is fully neutral. They both feel proud of each other, but there is a level of awkwardness due to missing out on so much of their lives.

Xornoth - Elf/demon- They/them Xornoth arrived in Helscraft during mid-season 7, trying to escape Exor. They crash landed onto Helscraft and were taken in by Ex and Hels. Xornoth actually rejects Exor's control, and is actively working against the god. When not corrupted, they have a rather easy going personality, and prefers to stay out of fighting. It is unknown who Xornoth is the Hels of, and it is theorized that they are the Hels of Pearl and Gem. However, nothing is set in stone.

Grain - Watcher/parrot hybrid - she/her Oh my god it's the famous popstar Ariana Griande :0000. Wait sorry, that's the Helsmit of Grian... Aka, meet Grian's sister, Grain! Grain named herself, because when you don't identify as your assigned gender and you've suffered through a high school that could function as hell, you can pick a funny name. Grain and Grian are best friends. They are like the siblings in movies that somehow get along. You put them in a room with some redstone contraption, they'll either break it or it'll be 10 times better then it was before. High positive. Also yes she's also Ariana Griande. It's how she sneaks onto Hermitcraft before the Helsmits were well known.

Renbob - wolf hybrid - he/they Idk what to say about this guy. He just popped into Helscraft when Ren joined and claimed himself a part of the server. They're best friends with Grain and Proto. What more do you need?

Proto - robot - they/he/blue Proto is short for Prototype Grumbot, or a fully humanoid version of the robot from season 7! Blu looks just like Grumbot, only with legs and sentience. Blue's actually one of the chillest server members. Proto feels out of place on Helscraft due to the fact that blu is fully non-human. They are a full robot and that leads to some seperation with the others. Grain and Renbob are always there for blu though, and always make sure he gets what he needs Mumbo and Proto don't really interact with each other, with Proto preferring to keep to blueself instead of interacting with their hermit.

Echo - Voidling/Listener - they/void Echo isn't their actual name, back before they joined Helscraft, it was Pathos. However, due to backstory™, they see themself as a 'echo' of their former self. Echo appears rather scary, but is actual pretty easy going! Voi just loves to blow stuff up! Echo came from a different universe, where the Jungle didn't happen and some other assorted stuff was different. However, they were summoned into Helscraft after they watched their Hermitcraft be overtaken by Watchers and most server members permakilled. Echo and Etho have a highly positive relationship. Their personality's work well together, and they have similar interests!

Chicken - dove avian/Watcher - He/him Chicken, just like the rest of the NHelsO, was from an alternate universe. Chicken got the short end of the stick, coming from a universe where avians like himself were a collectors item. Chicken got his name because Adubs didn't know what doves were and asked if he was a chicken hybrid. Chicken and Beef have a relatively neutral relationship. Neither have really connected with each other but get along well if in a conversation.

Adubs - glare/phantom/Watcher - it/he/rot Adubs doesn't actually remember most of its past, as in rots universe, his body was overtaken by the Jungle and wiped of memories. This is also why when asked to chose a name, rot decided to steal his hermit's name and change one letter like the basic bitch it is. Adubs and Bdubs have a negative relationship, due to Adubs viewing Bdubs as an imposter and Bdubs seeing Adubs as a version of the evil that almost took him.

13 - cat :3 - he/it/blast 13 is just straight up a gray and white anthropomorphic cat. Still has the same missing face and arm as Doc btw. He's just a cat. Nothing else has been changed. Yes he gets hit with furry jokes all the time. He got his name because blast didn't know math and thought 7+7 was 13. Nobody lets it live it down. 13's passion is redstone casino games. But rigged to hell and back. Also anything involving TNT. Blast is a menace. 13 and Doc have surprisingly positive relationship! On bad days, they can't be near each other, but they do enjoy each other's company and love bouncing ideas off each other!

Zedx/Zex/FedX - demon - he/they/swirl/color Don't ask them about their names/nicknames, it was all because Joe Hels is a menace and might not be from this universe. Honestly I don't have a ton figured out for swirl yet, but I have been taking inspiration from both the Nether (Minecraft) and the Spiral from TMA. You know those THA!Zed drawings? Add a bit more black/red/teal and slightly less glitchy-ness and you've got Zex. Zed and Zex love working together. They just chill and break reality whenever they meet up! Positive relationship!

Relic (Reluctance) - Angel - he/they Relic is one of the few Helsmits that is exactly the opposite of their hermit, down to the backstory. While Impulse was used as a free wish machine, Relic was used as a fortune teller by the angels. Relic is the most peaceful of all the Helsmits, as they hate fighting and would rather sit around and heal the others. This doesn't mean he won't fight, he just hates it. Relic and Impulse have a neutral/negative relationship, mostly due to the natural dislike Angels and Demons have for each other. They do both wish that the other has a happy life though.

Polka - Warden/axolotl - he/she Polka. Beautiful mess of a creature. Not Warden enough to live full time in ancient cities and not axolotl enough to have a place underwater. She has mild control of water, and can summon it or give himself waterbreathing for a certain amount of time! As a fun fact, if he summons the water in the Nether, it works like if it was placed in the overworld. Yes she has drowned in the Nether and flooded it before. Polka and Tango are very chill :) they are complete opposites but both love redstone! I'd say a positive relationship!

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

And that's it for the fully fleshed out Helsmits! I do have some other ideas bouncing around, but haven't gotten a chance to fully create the characters!

So here's those none fleshed out characters:

Joe Hels - all pronouns I adore this name for no reason. It gives off all the vibes this guy has. This guy is either a demon or a Listener. but not both he can't be both. I have no idea for anything about xym except for the name.

(unnamed Cleo hels) - she/they (?) I have no idea who they should be or their name. All I know is that she is the single human on this whole server. I will take name ideas because I have none ;-;

True - hawk - she/it/cog Honestly the only reason she's on this list is because I haven't gotten around to hc/empires false lore so until then it's not developed.

CalmCreature - she/her Genuinely have no ideas for her. Got her name and she's not human in any way, but no more ideas yet

Herobrine - Void demon god thingy - he/it Meet TFC's hels and also his brother. Yeah that's all really. He doesn't stay on Helscraft much because it's a god, but he loves to check in and make sure the server isn't on fire

(unnamed Keralis hels) - *screeches in unknown* - it/void/he Eldritch horror Keralis that is all. Also known as I like the idea of EHK but that doesn't work with that Watcher!Keralis that exists in my main headcanons so here. this is my solution.

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

@kamishirosss here's the tag! I'll finish the next few posts about stuff in a few days :D

[kakusu-shipping]

Pre-relationship 4-6 for the Mario Bros.! (Or your favorite of those questions if you only want one haha)

Yes!!! More Mario Bros ramble!!! Blessed!! Thankyou!!

4. Who felt romantic feelings first?

Hard to say, sense they've always been like this. There's not a specific moment either of them could go back to and say when they fell in love, they've always loved eachother, you know?

Though Luigi was the first to recognize these feelings as romantic, and different than how he loved, say, their mom and dad, and that that was something important. Mario didn't think it mattered what kind of love they had, their mama had taught them Love is Love, so what does it matter, right?

This happened when they were like 7.

5. Did either of them try to resist their feelings?

Maybe not quiet resist, but Mario did consider it for a while.

Around middle school-ish age, 12 or 13, their mom sat the brothers down to explain the difference between Familial and Romantic love, and why that difference was important, kind of assuming they didn't really know the difference in their emotions yet.

The whole thing made Mario feel awful. He'd made his mother worry, his father angry, and worst of all he, the older brother, put Luigi on the line for his own selfish reasoning.

The only reason he didn't fully withdrawal from Luigi and stew in an early sea of self deprecation was Luigi rubbing it in Mario's face that he was right, that the love he has for Mario and the love he has for the rest of their family is different. He did an "I Told You So" dance and everything. He was right and Mario was wrong ha ha ha ha ha!

So yeah. Mario considered resisting his feelings for all of about 20 minutes before Luigi snapped him out of it, and reminded him why that would simply never work. Not for them.

6. If you had told one of them that the other would be their soulmate, what would they think?

Mario doesn't believe in soulmates, he's a simple guy and not all that romantic in the grand scheme sense. Luigi on the other hand is all about Cosmic Connection and the "Over and Over again, life after life, I will find you, and I fall in love with you again and again" kind of cheesy nonsense. He'd be over the moon about it.

[frobby]

boy son and girl daughter are the only characters who matter in kaiju no.8

[boypussydilf]

thank you for the lore dump!! theses frogs and their planet drive me crazy. especially since I just watched the jirara ep and, GAH, he would choose to (fake) die to get out of the military goes to show how bad it is on keron!! like being an assassin had to be the very depths of dororos depression.

YEAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH GOD that reminded me of these tags courtesy of @/geroyu, public thank-you to my like 2 keroro followers who keep leaving excellent commentary on all my posts

i actually wanted to find a screenshot of the part of the manga that goes over “if a platoon fails they can be forced to never see or interact with each other ever again” but i couldn’t find where it is but i Do remember that happening. so far ive just thought of garuru blatantly allowing the keroro platoon to win and succeed and keep their jobs despite not being good at their jobs as just, being nice to giroro, his little brother wants this station so he’ll help him keep it, but this made me think Oh it would probably be SO MUCH WORSE. for All of them. if garuru did not opt to Greatly Exaggerate The Keroro Platoon’s Skills. They almost definitely could not officially quit their jobs even if they Wanted to because one way or another it would not. go well. Fail? Get permanently separated from your lifelong friends, at least. Quit and stay? Keron will just send in a new invasion team. (The good thing is, the Keroro Platoon consists of comic idiots who I’m not sure have all even fully realized they don’t want to invade, so they’re probably safe.)

Congratulations, you have been born on Keron! This is the complete list of options for what you can do with your life:

Join the military and continue to believe/convince yourself that it’s super great and the best thing ever and Keron is good forever

Join the military and realize the open secret that it sucks immensely but you’re literally stuck here now. Forever!

Join the military and then leave. You know, because you got unethically experimented on, or something else really fucked up like that. Become a hitman or fake your death or something.

Don’t join the military. No one knows what happens if you pick this option.

It’s just crazy fucked up. *shaking all the writers* i know this is most of the time a light hearted comedy jokes series and i like it that way i like the jokes but also come back here for a second. Explain yourselves. Is anyone going to elaborate on the disastrous state of Keron society or do i have to do it MYSELF

[lyrker]

Oh My ! There’s better ways to transition, King !

Goretober Day 3: Amputation

[moonfurthetemmie]

Is there a backstory for Night and Dream, because I legit can't find it 😥

OH HI I have no idea how long this has been here I went to a see something else JDJDHD

And tbh. All that there is is in Delusion and Pluto’s things

I may have mixed up the links and I apologize if that is the case JSJSHEHE

[bahablastplz]

SKZ Recs (NSFW)

As a chronic fanfic reader, I have a lot of recommendations. So, these are the ones I think about the most. All of them include smut, so they're 18+. Red text indicates fics on AO3. Go support these amazing authors!! Enjoy!! <3

Bang Chan 

The SKZ house @writeonwhiskey (Chan x reader x Hyunjin…SKZ but make it a frat… and also sexy) 

Silent cry @j-0ne25 (Fake dating/friends to lovers, live laugh hurt comfort… emphasis on the hurt) 

Love is intuitive @skzonthebrain (forbidden love and angst… so emotional and loving <3) 

Kinktober Day 8 @dreaming-medium (breeding, best friend, fake dating, so sweet and spicy) 

Summer in Seoul @writeonwhiskey (strangers to lovers, summer love, spicy and romantic) 

Saturday mornings @skzdarlings (Chan/reader/Seungmin where Seungmin is an absolute menace that gets reader in trouble… dom Chan is so good in this one omg) 

It’s cold out @therhythmafterthesummer (roommate Chan is going through his rut… oops there’s more ABO on this list than I realized sorry not sorry) 

Bodyguard: The first guard @skzdarlings (A sequel to the bodyguard, an ongoing work that has elements of enemies to lovers and great, in-depth world building and character development)

However you want it, lover-lover @cbini (you ask your bf Chan to step on you after watching spicy edits of him on tiktok omg)

More than just friends @kwanisms (roommate Chan is entering his rut... he's usually able to control himself but this time you're ovulating. sprinkle some brat taming in here as well and it's so delicious)

Lee Know 

The Experience Project @leeknowsallyoursecrets (Enemies to lovers Lee Know, really good plot and relationship building!) 

Sanguis Limerence @jl-micasea-fics (Vampire OT8, Lee Know x Reader x Chan, SUPER good world building, especially in their sequel with the backstories… I was so invested. And it’s super hot)

Barb Wired Brat @roseykat (BDSM Lee Know with reader going into subspace… awakened things in me) 

Audience @gimmeurtmi (2 min, wet dreams, exhibitionism, degradation… yeah) 

Well Shit @2chopsticks2eyes (Brother’s best friend, inexperienced reader, enemies to lovers and fwb… literally so good) 

Sea May Rise, Sky May Fall @skzms (Lee Know x Reader x Han, complete series, Pirate AU with beautiful world building, in-depth characters and GREAT smut. One of my all time favs)

rsvp @cbini (teasing dom vampire boyfriend Minho and you get the punishment you deserve... brat taming and so so so sexy like it's insane)

Changbin 

 The accidental acquisition of sugar @skzdarlings (accidental sugar daddy Changbin x reader that’s absolutely hilarious with great smut) 

Valentine’s series ‘do you really think you’re in a position to give orders’) @skzdarlings (forbidden love/romeo & juliet style but with gun play… um this was so hot tho) 

Close your eyes (...And count to seven) @MysteryBird (Possessive gang leader bf! Changbin that you’re trying to piss off by sleeping with the other members… 100k+ words and so delicious) 

Hyunjin 

Praise kink Hyunjin @dreaming-medium (A kinktober fic, enemies to lovers detective Hyunjin… absolutely delicious) 

Snowed In @moonjxsung (really artistic, heartfelt, and beautifully written)  

Jury’s still out @straywrds (rivals to hooking up/hate sex… super spicy and hot) 

Dressing down @jl-micasea-fics (shopping trip with best friend Hyunjin turns out spicy ahh the chemistry) 

Four of wands @straywrds (beautifully crafted story I was so immersed in!! witch Hyunjin and sex magick, the characters have so much depth! crazy tension)

Han 

Watch your six  @dreaming-medium (sensory deprivation kinktober ah this is engraved in my brain) 

The same but different @skzdarlings (ahh hanlix fairy au where they’re linked with great world building and is so funny… I maybeee think about this every day) 

Sea May Rise, Sky May Fall @skzms (Lee Know x Reader x Han, complete series, Pirate AU with beautiful world building, in-depth characters and GREAT smut. One of my all time favs)

Screen Identity: Mismatched Passion (SIMP) @leeknowsallyoursecrets (Spin-off series to the experience project! Jisung x reader enemies/academic rivals to lovers in which they’re both anonomously sexting each other on discord without knowing who’s on the other end of the screen!!! top tier level tension)

Felix 

The bodyguard @skzdarlings (Forced proximity, enemies to lovers, had me SUPER invested and made me cry) 

The same but different @skzdarlings (ahh hanlix fairy au where they’re linked with great world building and is so funny… I maybee think about this every day) 

Snap out of it @2baabbies (Felix gives you the option to either go home with your shitty boyfriend or go home with him at the end of the night ahhh!!) 

Seungmin 

Bet on it @skzonthebrain (Academic rivals, enemies to lovers and such good tension/chemistry) 

Audience @gimmeurtmi (2 min, wet dreams, exhibitionism, degradation… yeah) 

Saturday mornings @skzdarlings (Chan/reader/Seungmin where Seungmin is an absolute menace that gets reader in trouble… dom Chan is so good in this one omg) 

Seungmin + hairpulling @straykeedz (kinktober fic, best friend Seungmin finds out you have a thing for hairpulling and can't get you out of his head... this is taken straight from the deepest depths of my fantasies i s2g)

no nut november @gimmeurtmi (this whole nnn series is fantastic but seeing Seungmin lose his composure because of his breeding kink does something for me)

august is a fever @seungminheart (mean dom Seungmin... you don't think he is really into you so you see how far you can push him/I love mean dom Seungmin and I think this fic does it just right)

I.N. 

Lavender boy @hyunsvngs (A/B/O Alpha jeongin… super sexy and great dynamics) 

Clueless @jeongin-lvr (inexperienced big dick I.N. that just wants to make reader feel good… also omg he’s so hot in this pls) 

Better and better @seungminheart (sharing a bed, best friend Jeongin, amazing banter, soft dom Jeongin, brat taming, every trope from my hopes and dreams)

Third leg? @beesspacedotorg (huge dick alpha Innie... some brat taming, great banter and dynamics and sexy)

OT8 

Sharing a bed series @skzdarlings (Best trope ever and they really do it justice) (Chan's is linked but you should read all 8)

Sharing is caring @skzms (Minsung x reader x OT8… really well written spice) 

Fake texts @thefantasyden (I swear these are like crack I read them every single time) 

Kinktober23 @roseykat (one of the first SKZ blogs that I started reading that really brought me deep into the fandom… My fav from this is Table Manners and Bible Studies, and it has a part 2)

All Bark no Bite @doitforbangchan (Main pairing is Chan x Reader with some OT8, it's an ABO au with some really good spice)

Masterlist

[nickmarini]

Ayden’s Build 

TL;DR: Barbarian 1, Druid  2 (Circle of the Stars), Paladin 8 (Oath of the Ancients), and Cleric 9 (Peace Domain). Feats: Squire of Solamnia, Remarkable Recovery, Warcaster, Knight of Crowns, Spelldriver, Tough.

Building Ayden was a joy and a journey. To begin we were told we had 20 levels to work with and stats of 20 across the board. The only thing I knew about Ayden from the session 0 was that he was going to be a Cleric of the Everlight and that I wanted to make him the best support character I could. I also knew that the Dawnfather was aware of the mission briefing and so would have directed his growth to the task at hand. 

Stats of 20 meant multiclassing into any class was possible and that any ability score based bonuses or proficiency based abilities were going to be very good. I figured that with a warlock and a sorcerer we’d have some pretty good counterspelling and 9th level spell access, so I didn’t worry myself about either of those, instead focusing on making sure we all survived. 

The Dawnfather and The Everlight share 2 of 3 Domains. Life and Light. The Everlight’s 3rd domain is Peace. The Peace Domain cleric is an excellent subclass and its 6th level ability, Protective Bond, was something I knew I wanted to build around. The ability to take hits for, and aid, my siblings while teleporting around the battlefield is an excellent support ability and it also lets allies in the bond do the same, fostering sibling unity and cohesion.

With the Dawnfather having Nature as his unique domain separate from the Everlight, and literally sending himself to Exandria to infiltrate a city full of the greatest mages of the age, the Oath of Ancients Paladin seemed like an obvious path. It is the nature Paladin, (his domain) and 7 levels gives you both Aura of Protection and Aura of Warding. This means as Ayden moves through the battlefield with Protective Bond he will be granting allies +5 to saves from his cha as well as resistance to damage from spells. Incredibly good going up against the wizards of Aeor he knew he would encounter. I didn’t want to go to 10 with Paladin because I didn’t want to be immune to frightened. I just felt that fear played too large a role in the reasons the gods were here and although aura of courage is probably my favorite ability going back to 3rd edition, I felt like it wasn’t right for Ayden. He had to fear in order to reinforce his need to hope. 

These two classes were set relatively quickly and then I began looking at how else I was going to build him out. 

I really liked the idea of being able to grant my allies some extra attacks and so I was looking at battle master to get commanders strike and goading attack as well as maneuvering attack to help take hits for and position my allies. Action Surge is also a great ability that could really come in handy if I needed to save someone and needed one extra action to do so. 

I was also looking at the 2nd level Divination Wizard ability Portent. The ability to fully dictate 2 rolls is very powerful in certain circumstances, especially if the numbers are very high or very low.

Both these seemed good but weren’t feeling totally right from a character perspective. They felt too forced.

As I was playing around with these two classes I was also building Aydens backstory. I really liked the idea of him being agriculturally focused, as this aspect of the Dawnfather is actually his youngest. Sun begets days, and thus time and seasons, and as civilization evolves agriculture follows. The fighter levels lent the idea that he has spent some time training under a knight or some such warrior, and I knew that he would eventually find his way to Trist to begin his tutelage and become her cleric. I liked there being these different eras of his life. 

It was around this time that I got an awesome email asking me to describe Ayden visually so that the incredibly talented Hannah Friederichs and Cael Lyons could begin to bring Ayden and the Dawnfather to life. I wanted Ayden to be a simply dressed with a shield he took from his mentor, but no sword for striking. They sent 4 sketches and told me I could mix and match as I desired. Image #1 however was exactly as I had envisioned him. It was the simplest and had this depth to his eyes that told the story of a much older soul in this 15 year old body. It was so perfect that it made me realize I had been going in the totally wrong direction with fighter and wizard. The concepts of nature and agriculture were suddenly staring me in the face. It was not wizard, but druid, and his mentor could have taught him to be a paladin as easily as fighter, but if he is the bringer of agriculture who has he brought it to? A remote tribe still hunting and gathering was the answer. Barbarian therefore replaced fighter. I can’t tell you how influential the sketch I received was. It felt like a bolt of lightning suddenly clarified everything. 

I was for sure cleric 6, Paladin 7 and now looking at druid and barbarian. 

I didn’t know Druid subclasses very well but Circle of the Stars jumped out from the pack just with its name. The Sun after all is a star. When I read its 2nd level abilities Starmap and Starry form it was so obvious. I can cast Guiding Bolt to set up those attacks I wanted to grant, and I can glow instead of wild shape and either heal more or have a massive bonus to maintain the concentration spells I knew I wanted to cast. For the keeper of time to know how to read the stars just felt right. It also feel right that the druids of a tribe that had been hunting and gathering during the tumultuous Calamity would have learned to navigate by the stars, a singular constant in an every changing age. 

Barbarian has a number of interesting subclasses but none felt like they clicked. 1 level of Barbarian though, for a character with 20 dexterity and 20 constitution, catapults your AC to 20 and it also gives you a proficiency in Constitution saving throws if you take it as your first class, again reinforcing those concentration rolls. He was found as a child by this barbarian tribe and his first class is also his first community. Barbarian was the strong foundation I would build upon. 

I was now Cleric 6, Paladin 7, Druid 2, Barbarian 1. Reorganized to be the order Ayden would have taken them in it becomes the following:

Barbarian 1, Druid  2 (Circle of the Stars), Paladin 7 (Oath of the Ancients), and Cleric 6 (Peace Domain)

4 more levels to distribute. As a player who has mostly played 3.5 (I think downfall just about doubled the amount of 5E I have played) feats are my absolute favorite things, so getting to multiples of 4 in class levels to grab some was something I wanted to do (also I didn’t have to worry about ability score increases)! I had already given one feat up by taking barb and druid but I made up for it with the human variant. I also took the Knight of Solamnia background to give me Squire of Solamnia, the prerequisite for Knight of the Crowns which would give me the ability to grant attacks to my allies without needing battle maneuvers. 

So I upped paladin from 7-8 for a feat and then decided to take Cleric from 6-9 because it gave me a feat and access to the spell Dawn. I mean the Dawnfather should be able to cast Dawn after all! 

Now to feats

1) Background: Squire of Solamnia to give me the prerequisite for Knight of the Crowns

2) Human Variant: Remarkable Recovery. I knew I’d be taking extra damage so having 5 extra hp from any healing I get might just be the difference. It also plays into his background. He had to leave the Barbarian tribe he brought agriculture to because his skin could not retain the ceremonial tattoo ink that would have symbolized his initiation into the community. 

3) Cleric 4 Warcaster to get advantage on those concentration checks, that along with proficiency and starry form of the dragon means I need to take 28 damage (56 if it’s a spell) to even have to roll, and when I do I get advantage and proficiency on the check. Getting me to lose concentration is gonna be a task. 

4) Paladin 4 Knight of the Crown getting to grant an attack proficiency times per day combos wonderfully with Starmaps free guiding bolt, conveniently also proficiency times per day. 

5) Cleric 8 Spelldriver I’m gonna be casting a bunch of spells so the ability to cast multiple each turn is going to make my support spells come out much faster. I have a big fam to take care of!

6) Paladin 8 Tough I really went back and forth between this and Inspiring Leader. Granting all my siblings 25 temp hp is amazing but ultimately I decided that as I’d be tanking a bunch of damage I’d need toughness. Toughness gave me 15 more hp than Inspiring leader would have, and I ended up going down to 14 at one point so it was a decision that very much paid off by a single HP! Don’t wanna pop a deathward if you can help it!

Last but not least we were granted 2 magic items. One very rare and one uncommon. For my uncommon I chose a cloak of resistance, a parting gift from the tribe that Ayden could not join. This upped my saves to 11s or 17s and took my AC to 23. For his very rare magic item I took a spellguard shield, inherited from the knight who brought him from the remote tribe to Trist‘s school, giving me advantage on saving throws vs spells and magical effects and inflicting disadvantages on spell effects targeting me. Combine that with resistance to spells from Aura of Warding and that’s a nasty nasty combo v wizards. 

All in all Ayden’s build is an incredibly hard to target tanky support character who can move through the battlefield protecting his allies and being an absolute nightmare for enemy spellcasters. The only thing I really didn’t fully consider was just how much damage he would take from Warding Bond which totally bypasses all those wonderfully crafted defenses. As crazy as it is, I think we barely got to scratch the surface of Aydens full potential and it’s probably good those mages decided to cast spells at everyone else because Ayden was going to be a tough character for a spell caster to crack. The Commanding Rally did get to shine allowing characters who specialized in weapon attacks to get a little extra out of those 20 level commitments. Ayden’s build was crafted to keep his siblings alive and let them shine as bright as possible together. I’m very proud of him!

If you read all this then you’re as nerdy as me and deserve a reward!

[nomaishuttle]

ok yayyy robinfreckle time...