#dishonored role play

[rottenshotgungames]

No more waiting, let’s talk about what y’all are here to see

Footfall Devlog 4

This Devlog will be covering the basics of what Footfall is and the challenges of making a game so heavily inspired by immersive sims.

So, without further ado:

What is Footfall?

Footfall is an occult-industrial stealth-action rpg inspired by Dishonored and Mistborn. It aims to emulate the systemic ecosystem and emergent gameplay of immersive sims, particularly the fast, creative, movement-centric gameplay of Dishonored.

If this sounds interesting to you, the free playtest is live! You can find it on itch at https://rotten-shotgun-games.itch.io/footfall-playtest

Genre Convention

If you’re interested in Footfall I assume that you’ve played stealth-action games before: Dishonored, Assassin’s Creed, Gloomwood, Sekiro, Metro, etc. If you have, you know that there are generally two categories of stealth mechanics present in any given game

Player tools & indicators (e.g. Thief’s light gem, Dishonored’s stealth kills)

Enemy AI (e.g. The xenomorph in ALIEN: Isolation changing up their search patterns based upon your actions)

These two categories are mostly separated by longevity. Player tools and indicators focus very much on short term actions and consequences that influence the long term consequences of the enemy AI—I’m including the state of unconsciousness or death as a “long term consequence.” Because the first category tends to (mechanically) impact the second more than vice versa—and because this would be a VERY long essay if I talked about both in detail—we’re gonna be covering the player side of stealth today.

The Indicators

An Indicator in a stealth game informs the player when they’ve been spotted and/or how close they are to being spotted. Some stealth games have a few Indicators that track or reveal different things (e.g. The three lightning bolts in Dishonored tell you how aware a certain enemy is toward your presence and location, and the upgraded Dark Vision lets you see enemy Vision Cones, and guards will yelp and say things when they see a body you left behind. All three of these are Indicators). There are two general categories that Indicators fall into:

Hard Indicators—distinct visual trackers, particularly a UI element (e.g. the motion tracker in ALIEN: Isolation).

Soft Indicators—Narrative elements that convey information in a manner that is less precise than Hard Indicators (e.g. the sound made by your actions in AMNESIA: The Bunker).

While most videogames with a stealth mechanic incorporate both kinds of Indicator to some extent, TTRPGs are a bit different. The more tactical subset of this medium often attempts to provide player characters with a plethora of options for solving problems and overcoming tasks, among these being stealth—but almost every one of these games uses solely Soft Indicators. What do I mean by this? Well, think about D&D 5e’s stealth: D&D has no facing rules, no rising gauge of enemy awareness—hell the only semi-Hard indicator is light level, but that’s pointless because of the non-rarity of Dark Vision. There’s exactly two TTRPGs that I can think of which contain Hard Indicators, that being Blades in The Dark and Black Seven (both of which are really cool) but their indicators are both more long-term and therefore fall into my arbitrarily designated Enemy AI portion of stealth mechanics.

Hard Indicators are crucial to giving the player a sense of control in a stealth game, watching the numbers go up and down in direct response to your actions is the foundation of the experience (and just failing one Stealth check as a transition into full-blown combat discourages wide-spread use of stealth anyway). I decided to include two major Hard Indicators in Footfall:

Facing. This one was a no-brainer, Footfall already has a physics engine that would massively benefit from facing rules, it’s no huge leap to describe how your facing impacts your Line of Sight.

Notice. Notice is a riff on the classic stealth tracker (e.g. Dishonored’s lightning bolts, Gloomwood’s huntsman eye colors) that measures how aware nearby enemies are to your presence and actions, combined with the player-centric elements of THIEF’s light gem. This has led to a more generalized resource, measuring the awareness of all nearby enemies, influenced almost entirely by the individual player’s actions. It ranges from 0 (unnoticed) to 3 (spotted).

A consistent question I’ve gotten asked is, “Why did you make Notice a player resource, rather than something tracked by individual enemies?” Firstly, tracking that kind of resource on an enemy-by-enemy basis is hellish for a GM. Secondly, and possibly even more importantly, making Notice a player resource makes it feel like they have control over their own ability to stay hidden. If it’s a number ticking up and down on their character sheet, then it’s something they’ll pay more attention to and attempt to exercise control over/capitalize upon more readily . . . so long as they have the tools to do so, of course.

Tools

There are, generally speaking, two types of stealth-interactive tools:

Maintaining tools

Capitalizing tools

Maintaining tools help you to maintain or regain your hidden status. Think the lockers in Outcast or crouching in everything. These tools make stealth feel interactive and . . . well, functional. If you don’t have the basic ability to hide, how are you supposed to engage with stealth gameplay? The balancing act with Maintaining tools is in making them strong enough that Stealth feels viable, but not so powerful that the game becomes too easy or other options are immediately discarded. These take quite a few forms in Footfall, the most basic being Line of Sight and environmental interactions (e.g. Cover, Hidden Terrain, Darkness) that prevent you from needing to make a Stealth check or slowly reduce Notice over time. Some Gifted powers are also categorized as maintaining tools, particularly the base powers of Passage, Possession, and Shadows.

Capitalizing tools allow you to take advantage of your hidden status. The most common example is the Stealth kill/knock out. Capitalizing tools make stealth feel worth it, they’re a reward for engaging in this style of gameplay. In Footfall the only explicit Capitalizing Tool is the Coup de Grace, an enhanced Attack that’s far more likely to kill/knock out your opponent in one blow; however there are a million-and-one other reasons to maintain stealth, such as the danger of direct combat, the increased freedom of power usage, the penalties from Enemy Awareness, and the Downtime penalties from killing people (some of this will be covered in the next Devlog).

This brings us around to an underrated topic when discussing Stealth TTRPGs:

Centralization

We can talk all we want about the conventions of the Stealth genre, about the specific implementations of common mechanics and mechanical types, but it’ll only ever be useful insofar that such mechanical theory informs how players interact with the game.

The end-goal here is centralization. Your stealth mechanics, where they do exist, need to impact and influence every part of rules and play. Even if your players aren’t engaged in Stealth, that decision needs to be put in context of and conversation with Stealth gameplay.

If I’m not constantly thinking about the light I’m in and the sound I’m making, I’m not playing Thief.

If I’m not constantly working to get to higher ground and hidden terrain so that I can ambush enemies, I’m not playing Assassin’s Creed.

If I’m not thinking in relation to Stealth, I’m not playing a Stealth game.

Self Promo

Hey y’all, sorry about the long wait on this one. The playtest is finally public, and we’re halfway through talking about stealth! The next devlog is gonna be about Enemies, which are a whole can of worms.

If you wanna check out my other games, and get updated when major changes come to the Footfall playtest, follow me on Itch! If you're just looking for more Footfall status updates, or want to have an impact on the design, you can always join my public Discord. If you want more devlogs, and more rpg design talk, follow me here or on twitter.

Have a great night and a great day.

[folkdevilism]

I'll always have a soft spot for Dishonored 2, but I still occasionally wonder what kind of game we could have gotten if it had been allowed to focus solely on Emily instead of trying to accommodate two playable main characters.

[silvvergears]

So I guess I'm going to spend the next four to five business days hyperfocusing on a potential Dishonored au for TOG ft. Hunter as Emily, Eda as Corvo, and Belos as the Royal Spymaster. I've already figured out most of the casting and how the storyline will shift and change (Hunter is older than Emily was and has a much more active role) for both games, and as soon as work is done I'm going to work on some art for it

[nemesis-is-my-middle-name]

also went and backtagged pla dhau while i’m doing housekeeping. not that there’s much there at the moment but knowing myself there’ll be more rambling to nobody at the very least.

also on the subject of that au: i know i said kamado was havelock and i love that and think it fits perfectly but i also thought of beni as daud and i think that would be hilarious

[cosmerelists]

If Other Stormlight Characters Served as the King's Wit

As requested by anon. :)

"The King's Wit" is there to insult people in the king's stead. In this role, Hoid basically gets to stand at the entrance to feasts and make fun of people. It's a good gig for him. But what if other characters had this job?

1. The Stormfather

Stormfather (rumbling with displeasure): You have broken an oath today. Stormfather: You promised your son that you would play "Shattered Plains" with him this afternoon, but you did not. Stormfather: Though you feast for today, my storm winds shall one day scatter your dishonored bones. Elhokar (visibly sweating): Ha ha my new Wit sure is, ah, intense!

2. Kaladin

Kaladin: Ew. Another Lighteyes... Kaladin: Sniff, sniff! Smells like the exploitation of the powerless in here! Kaladin: I can name a dozen men better than you and guess what--they're ALL darkeyed. Kaladin: Nice outfit--did it come free with your ancestral privilege?  Elhokar (muttering to himself): I will not put him in jail again, I will not put him in jail again, I will not...

3. Shallan

Shallan: [sketching] Hapless Lighteyed guest: Is that...me? Shallan: It is! [shows Ideal Self portrait--it's the same person, only their sadness and distrust is gone and they shine with an earnest and honest light, looking out toward their future] Hapless Lighteyed Guest (visibly tearing up): I...It's beautiful. Shallan: Please, go ahead & take it! Elhokar: Shallan-Wit, why is everyone at my feast introspective and crying? Shallan: I'm really good at art.

4. Adolin

Adolin: Wow! You are so brave to put those colors together, and in a style from two years ago ago! Adolin: You are almost pulling it off. 

5. Dalinar

Dalinar: Hello. I could not help but overhear your heated argument, my friends. Dalinar: It reminds me of a tale from the Way of Kings, which I will now quote from memory... Dalinar: ... Dalinar: Aaaaand, they fled. Dalinar: That's the third time that's happened this evening.

6. Ialai

Ialai: [hands hapless lighteyed guest a folded-up sheet of paper] Hapless Lighteyed Guest: W-Where did you get this information about me? And my husband? And my...former boyfriend's sister's cousin? Ialai: [merely smiles] Hapless Lighteyed Guest: W-What do you want? Please! I'll do anything! Ialai: Why...nothing at all. Yet. Please enjoy the feast.

7. Lift

Lift: Mmmm....4. Lift: A solid 6! Lift: Perhaps a 5, but ONLY because of those pants. Lift: Wow! An 8! Wyndle: P-Please mistress, I don't think the job of the King's Wit is to rank the butts of all attendees! Lift: They need to know.

8. Jasnah

Hapless Lighteyed Guest: Ugh, I don't think it's right for the king to employ a heretic as his Wit! Jasnah: It's strange--one might think that your faith in the Almighty would inspire you to strive to be a good man, yet in reality your mother weeps each and every night to have produced a son who loves drinking and gambling more than he loves his children, his wife, or indeed the Almighty. Jasnah: Should you wish to inspire faith in others, perhaps you should try to demonstrate even the smallest reason why yours has produced an iota of good for anyone in this world aside from yourself. Elhokar (across the room, watching): I...am afraid.

9. Lopen

Lopen: Hey, I know you! I got a cousin in your army! Lopen: He always laughs 'bout how weird it is that your officers make the men pay for their own boots 'n' stuff 'cause it's an army not a charity, right? But then your officer son gets an allowance which is funny 'cause that kinda seems like the 'charity' thing that an army isn't! Lopen: We Herdazians tend to use a word to mean a thing, yeah? But you Alethi sure like to make a word mean whatever it is you want!

10. Szeth & Nightblood

Nightblood: Evil. Evil. Evil. Definitely evil. Big evil! Little evil, but still evil. Szeth: You've identified every guest so far as evil, sword-nimi. Nightbood: Yeah, I'm so good at detecting evil! So when does the slaying start? Szeth: I told you. I don't murder entire parties anymore. That is my past, but it does not have to be my future. Nightblood: But you're the King's Wit! You got wit-tle down the evil, right? Szeth: That is not what that means, sword-nimi. Nightblood: ... Szeth: ... Nightblood: People sure do speed up when they have to walk past us, huh? Szeth: I am pretty sure that means we're doing a good job.

[narrativelysignificantturtleduck]

the potential hakoda & aang friendship is so important to me. we know young hakoda loved riding animals and playing pranks but when we see him in canon he's a serious leader who had to leave his kids to do his Duty and i can't help but think about how aang took katara penguin sledding and made her feel like a kid again and how he could do that for hakoda too. aang felt like he had to choose between his duty and the people he loves (cosmic energy or katara, defeating ozai or maintaining his air nomad beliefs) but he found a way to do both, to claim his role as the avatar without letting go of his loved ones or dishonoring their memory. and by doing so, he ensured hakoda would never have to make that choice again. hakoda and aang ride the kyoshi island koi fish together and start a massive cross-national prank war because aang brought childlike fun back to a world that lost it

[itsybitsylemonsqueezy]

Wow, my Baldur's Gate 3 post blew up somewhat... nice. Well, time for more headcanons, of the unapologetically horny variety. (Yes, yes, I know everyone and their mother has done this already, well here's mine. Nyeh.)

Including: Astarion, The Emperor, Gale, Halsin, Jaheira, Karlach, Lae'zel, Raphael, Shadowheart, Wyll, and Zevlor

Tumblr is run by unfun prudes who would like my 30-year-old thoughts to remain Chaste and Pristine™ so filth under the cut until they ban me or whatever

Astarion

So the truly hilarious thing about Astarion is that he claims to be a pillow princess, but is almost always a dom. Like, I find it very funny that he enjoys the Aesthetics™ of being a spoiled brat, too delicate and pampered to lift a finger, but in reality, he's a bit of a work horse who finds having nothing to do dull as rocks.

Not to say that he doesn't enjoy receiving, I fully believe he does, but I think it's mostly relaxing at best and dissociative at worst. We'll assume though he's with a trusted partner for now though, rather than deal with the Hang Ups. I think inevitably he'd eventually roll over and change positions and end up in charge. I think it's an undeniable itch for him, even when he's being treated very well. There's just something so enthralling and exciting about being in control and playing with someone. It gives him a satisfying challenge the way being a pillow princess doesn't.

I think sex is particularly about aesthetics for Astarion as well. Bondage, costume, the art and immersion of it would be appealing. Role play would naturally extend out of this, especially as a safe outlet for some of his more complicated feelings. Succeeding at multiple layers of social interaction and intimacy would be extremely rewarding for him, I think.

He's also a very giving lover. I'm not sure praise would quite do it for him, that's not exactly his build. The submission though... oh yes, that does wonders. And he's very keen to reward that submission with nice things, sweet things, unbearably sweet, more than you can take... that's the kind of torture he's into, whining, begging, pleading, from the too muchness of it all, from how good he's being to you... mmm, yes, that's the stuff. It's soothing to understand you can be in control and not hurt people, to know that the control is not corruptive, not a bad thing in itself. I think it'd do a lot for his confidence and self-image.

Also, very into feeding as a sexual thing. He is a hedonist after all, more pleasure is more pleasure.

(The) Emperor

Hey, haters to the left, please. We believe in free love here and that includes the tentacle-y kind.

Look, okay, the dude comes on... strong. Too strong, to be honest. A little overly possessive, overly needy, but there is a hot, sweet core in there. And with a little patience, time, and reassurance, that can be honed into a respectful balance. If you can be patient and take your time, you can help him understand that he doesn't need to be in your every thought or be constantly touching to still have a deep bond. Do gotta watch those tendencies though.

That said, tentacles are a gift! Strong, dexterous, perfect for holding, squeezing, manipulating, and of course, inserting. It's hard to imagine a more intuitive metaphor for desire than tentacles, constantly grasping as they are. And boy, the Emperor wants. Also potentially has some experience using these, probably has a fair idea of how to make this good for both of you, so a pretty good bonus there.

While the Emperor tends to think he knows best and never enters anything without a plan, I think he'd be willing to take instruction. Your pleasure would be a point of pride so if something could be going better, I think he'd listen. Communication reaffirms trust after all. It's no dishonor to be spoken to or even commanded.

Honestly not sure illithid experience pleasure outside of making you orgasm and just like voyeuring or skimming the pleasure off your brain, so it's probably all about you here. Which also means we're probably not looking at marathon sessions; it'll be just the right amount of attention to a big, satisfying orgasm and then warm, languid rest. But the trick is, you're not going to get any gentle, casual encounters. His focus is unparalleled so it's very hard to back off of 100. That's fun, but can be exhausting, especially if you like a bit of variety.

Gale

Sometimes it's hard to see what Mystra saw in Gale; other times it's blinding. He's the most self-congratulating, infuriating, annoying bastard you know and he's also, somehow, perfect. What the fuck. The basic problem with Gale is that he'll tell you, to your face, that he fucked a goddess and when and where and how and the worst thing of all is he's not lying; he's actually good.

Gale has the enviable qualities of simultaneously being very laid back and very enthusiastic. He's happy with whatever position you suggest and is just thrilled to be invited. Throws himself into whatever's on the table.

Not to say that he doesn't have ideas, god, but he never shuts up about his ideas. And they're all, frustratingly, really good ideas too! "Oh, well I thought since we're in the hot tub, a little ice in my fingertips might be electrifying." "Have you considered the effects of shifting local gravity so you could ride me longer?" "I've taken the liberty of enchanting your dildo so you can feel it when you peg me!" God, don't you just hate him for being right all the time?

And to make matters worse, the stupid prick is full of wondering adoration for you, always trying to give you the best time possible, the best time ever. And he cares So Much he even notices if The Most Sensations Ever isn't the right thing right now and adjusts. He's just as happy to sit and cuddle or read next to each other. Ugh, disgusting. It's like someone made him in the Best Lover Conceivable factory and blew the whole budget on just him! Like, why Mystra gotta ruin the dating scene like that?!

Trouble is, he's obsessively good at doing exactly what you want because he was groomed by a goddess so... 😬 Sometimes you have to remind him he's enough. Sometimes you have to let him know that he isn't as good as what he could do for others, that he was already good, just on his own. Sometimes you gotta take care of him because he won't remember and he won't realize. And he might pout and object, but he deserves a good time too. Not that he wasn't having a good time but... you know what I mean. Let him be the focus.

Gale's very into attention and a slow, sweet time. Work him up painstakingly, bring him to the edge of begging, tell him what a good boy he is. He'll be crying with pleasure. Don't let him rush, rushing is a cheap shortcut and it means he doesn't have to endure being adored just as much as he adores you. It's the only time he'll ever be shy, having to accept love. But this should also, of course, always be paired with letting him reciprocate. One-sided affection or interaction would be torture for the poor boy. He wants so badly to be good, but gotta temper that a bit with reminding him he already is.

Halsin

Oakfather giving Mystra a run for her mother for "ruining the dating scene" with this one. Only The Oakfather went "thicc whores only" and the world cried amen for we were blessed.

What can we say about this polyamorous icon that hasn't already been said? Well, perhaps counter to some above examples, Halsin blessedly doesn't have to be at 110% all the time. Having a soft time is just as good as a rough ride. Although... we all know you're getting more of the latter on average, right?

The nice thing about Halsin is you don't have to worry about him denying himself or doing things just because he thinks you want them; he's a master of balance. He absolutely has his own personal, selfish desires and he knows how to serve them in turn. There's something refreshingly organic about Halsin's attraction, he's into you for perceptible maybe even measurable reasons, you don't have to worry about what's going on in that beautiful head of his so much.

A lot of energy in this one though, gotta be aware of that appetite. But hey, if you're into Halsin, you're probably open to maybe a couple more partners, together or separately. Halsin is certainly down for all of those combos.

Very generous lover, not satisfied until you say so. Down for any length of time, any position, but he strikes me as a man who's not into a lot of frills. Sex is about the physical pleasure, those animalistic instincts, and the kinetic energy between people being used and blended to create something more, something almost beyond us. A lot of artifice and dressing up wouldn't make a lot of sense to him and he's not likely to get much out of it. Don't think he'd yuck your yum, but unlikely to participate himself.

Might even prefer multiple partners at once and the longer the session the better. Short sessions are possible, but he's not going to enjoy it as much unless he can get really into the rhythm of it. Again, it's about balancing the energy, which often involves a bit of warm up and getting into the groove to truly satisfy. If one partner, high energy is best if possible. Come in with some goals in mind or you might get overwhelmed. Wouldn't be surprised if sometimes Halsin doesn't come at all due to his unreal stamina and thresholds.

Can't think of a better teacher to help you try something new though. Patient, kind, thoughtful with feedback from long experience. And he's incredibly appreciative of the unique skills every person has, the things only they bring are always valuable to him, something to be cherished and enjoyed. One of the few people who can be instructive, encouraging, and erotic all at the same time. It's a rare breed.

Jaheira

I'd let Mama Harper boss me around any day. And she is decidedly the boss, she's been giving orders since before I was born and that isn't about to change. Strong dom MILF energy here. And she definitely knows what she wants so those orders are going to be clear and consistent.

I don't think the strap is her preference, but I don't think she'd be opposed. But as another druid, I think she likes to go in bare handed, as it were. And, to be fair, she doesn't need help, I've seen those hands work a lash. She's strong and flexible, whatever you ask for she can give. She seems to have less in the raw energy department than Halsin, but I'll chalk that up to not being chief. I think it would take awhile to wear her down though, can't take her for fast or easy. Just like Halsin, I bet she prefers longer sessions to shorter, but would probably be a bit more flexible on this.

I think her real specialty is probably ropes, any kind of bondage. And she seems keen to teach the uninitiated, to make it not scary and safe. Her argument being the restraint in and of itself heightens the pleasure, why not try it? Not a bad argument.

She also probably enjoys herself most getting a work out in. She can be gentle for you, but her own pleasure is found in conquering, mastering. A test of strength or wills would probably be called for here. Tbh, I can't imagine her being that interested until you can prove you're a match for her in some way. Not terribly interested in coddling.

Karlach

Oh, a goddess among mere mortals. Those tits, that ass! She could break me in half and I would thank her, crying tears of joy. Karlach deserves every happiness on earth. Karlach is maybe the most enthusiastic person here, and that's saying something. The feeling of being close to others, but specifically sex, is such an important love language to Karlach. She has high physical needs and so is very excited and very determined to make you have as good a time as she is having. Unfortunately, sometimes this has a spiraling effect that results in questions like "how many orgasms is too many orgasms?" She just gets carried away, poor thing. But, nonetheless, as addictive as a good time is, you'll probably run out of stamina before she does. Though I bet she'd still keep going past the point of discomfort for herself, just because she's so excited and in love and bursting with joy and energy. It's hard to stop when there's so much you want to say and do and experience. Especially after being restrained so long.

On that topic, bondage probably not a good fit here. Anything that prevents touch for her is not really going to be her thing.

On the flip side, there is no such thing as too much, too hard, too long. I cannot imagine someone more eager to gobble you up, to taste you everywhere, to squeeze you close and shudder and gasp until your sweat smells the same. Like... she is here for this, she is into it. And she'll intuitively go for whatever is going to be more tactile, more of your touch and your body on hers. But also more scent, more excitement. She's going to respond like lightning to any little squeak or shiver to get any reaction out of you. She's so hungry for it.

And she's had a lot of time to think of ideas so you won't run dry on creativity for a good long while. Also important to note, she's only going to be a fast draw in the early days when everything is so urgent. She will slow down in time, though I think she'll end up running faster and hotter than most here. Her appetite is strong, but her stamina is actually on the low side. So more orgasms, but less space between them. Over stimulation is going to be huge here.

Not sure she has the patience for role play or anything fancy. This is not to say she isn't vocal she is... very vocal. Constantly. But that's quite affirming. And I think she'd be pretty into displays, perhaps even a bit of exhibitionism. After all, voyeurism/exhibitionism is all she had for awhile, so I suspect that would carry over into now. I think in particular she'd like to show you off, since she has a keen understanding of the eroticism of visuals. Not everyone's cup of tea of course, and she doesn't have to, but she just gets excited and proud. This makes her feel so good she can't help wanting to shout about it.

All of this said, she's also probably the most attentive in safety and aftercare. Halsin is a safety nut as well, but Karlach absolutely dotes. She wants to make sure she didn't hurt you or wear you out in any way and so will make extra, extra sure any little need is taken care of.

Lae'zel

Lae'zel's pussy could kill a man, in fact, it probably has. Not the most romantic of our choices, at least at first, but vigorous, satisfying, honestly intimidating. But, sex is very accessible with Lae'zel. Sex is part of communion for her, but in a different way than Halsin. It's exercise and contest and entertainment and group cohesion all in one. For these reasons, she's not as intimidating as you'd expect because just you saying yes to her pleases her. If she's invited you, that means she's already judged you worthy. She's not going to be upset when giving pointers because she has no hang ups about how sex is supposed to work. She doesn't expect you to read her mind and would probably be mad if you tried. Clear communication is part of this and you already earned the trust for it.

And on the flip side, she will not be distressed by you stating your desires because she's also not trying to read your mind. She wants you to trust her enough to say what you want. Honestly, she's probably a good starting place for virgins, her openness would be soothing. She might even have the patience to instruct, though she's not a terribly patient woman in general.

Also, not to bury it, Lae'zel just likes sex, the sweat, the scents, the weird, sticky feelings of it, the shivering glow through the body. Sex is fun for her and that's obvious in her vocalizations, both articulated words and not. And she knows that the more times you have sex with the same partner, the easier it gets, the more enjoyable it is. I think she'd like watching that progress, like a good team coming together. It's a sign of trust and affection. And in time, if she comes to trust you a lot, the sex becomes even more intimate and vulnerable, as you start to trust each other experimenting, going by instinct rather than plan. Those little shifts would be thrilling for her as she learns to improvise and accept new ideas. Surprising her would be delightful because she always thinks she has the upper hand. How fun to show her that's not always the case.

Lae'zel is a dom more out of necessity than desire, I think. She's probably a switch, happy with whatever suits; she just ends up doming a lot because no one has earned her subbing/she doesn't trust enough yet. But taking turns would also be valuable team building for her, important everyone trains even the skills they're weak at. Together, we become better at sex and at understanding each other. Weirdly, a very emotionally healthy outlook.

Raphael

I think I feel about Raphael as others feel about Enver Gortash. I want to project every flithy, nasty ass thought onto this wet rag of a man. So, without further ado: humiliation is the name of the game. I think if you fucked Haarlep in front of him, binding him so he couldn't do anything, only watch as Haarlep groans about how much better you are than Raphael, I think he'd come in his over-tailored pants. Cuckold the shit out of him. I think he needs to be stepped on, pegged, and drooling in the street. Never let him have his own way. I think he'd see stars getting pushed around like that. I think it would be great for him. Just use him like a cock sleeve, really dig in there. Absolutely deserved.

Like, imagine if this whole thing is his cringefail attempt to court Zariel. Imagine that level of humiliation. Works on this for thousands of years, only to burn his own house down over a few puny mortals stealing his shit. Oh my goddddd.

If nothing else, it would be Fucking Hilarious.

Shadowheart

So Shadowheart is probably into some hardcore stuff, right? She strikes me as someone with a bit of a home invasion kink. Definitely here for the blindfold/sensory deprivation kink. Restraints, but not just bondage, I'm thinking vinyl suits. Shadowheart's definitely into the unconventional. The more toys and artifice, the better.

It's probably next to impossible for Shadowheart to relax sexually. I don't think it's that she isn't into sex, but it's probably difficult for her to calm down and feel safe being vulnerable, get in touch with soft, gentle things that are just nice. Things that hurt a bit are more comfortable, more familiar, and even have less to do with her personally so she doesn't have to deal with her own feelings and preferences. But, with a bit of patience and a firm hand, you could coax Shadowheart into easing up, allowing herself to be taken care of, and to enjoy just a simple hand job or the too soft touch of lips. She's a bit of a project, but especially if you enjoy a bit of darkness and danger, very rewarding.

And Shadowheart would be big into reciprocation, you can't do something nice for her without her doing the same to you. And she'd take it as a point of pride that she's very good at making people beg for mercy. I think she'd become very giving over time, if you can be patient and teach her how to enjoy herself, in time she will give as much and more back to you.

And to be clear, not suggesting she doesn't also and always enjoy a bit of bondage and sensory deprivation, but I think she'd enjoy it more once she's come to terms with the fact this is not a service she's required to provide, an act which could determine her worth, but just occupations she enjoys for herself, outside of external validation. Teaching Shadowheart to masturbate could be huge. I do worry about her some times. A little self-love lessons might be necessary.

Edging also definitely something to try here. The slower the better. But, it's gotta have that pay off, or she'll start circling back to denial is the end in itself. Which... maybe sometimes, but there's also a lot to be enjoyed in the climax too!

Wyll

Hard to find a sweeter, gentler soul on the road. And a softer touch too. Needless to say, it's a lot of firsts with Wyll. But, he's a quick study and enjoys being tender and lovely. And I'll say it right now, even with this illustrious company, I don't think anyone gives better head than Wyll Ravenguard. Such a soft mouth and singularly focused and determined, he genuinely enjoys it too. It's such an act of service and this boy is all about acts of service. He wouldn't even get distracted by his own pleasure, just entirely focused on what he can give you. Halsin might have greater skill, but that heartfelt desire is unparalleled.

Wyll is made to be commanded, he will do whatever you say in bed. Even if you gave him control, I'm not sure he'd want it and definitely wouldn't know what to do with it. Now, not to say he's a pillow princess, those hips are doing their share of heavy lifting. Just to say that he wants instruction, he wants to follow your lead and let you tell him what to do. Praise would be huge here, tell him what a good boy he is, how well he's doing, he'd go mad.

To prolong the pleasure, a little orgasm denial may be useful, make him work for it. He loves a challenge and a test to prove his worthiness. And, in time, you could get experimental with him as you build his confidence. Maybe a little exhibitionism. Maybe a little bondage, a little role play. As long as the trust and love is there, Wyll's willing to try anything once.

Maybe the most fun thing about Wyll is Wyll actually can keep it down. Some of us just have to scream about it, but Wyll can actually get away with a fair mount because of his cool exterior. And Wyll is available for quickies, an advantage over some others here since he doesn't require a huge amount of energy set aside to have a good time. Wyll responds better to smaller but frequent affection and physical touch than big events spaced out. And Wyll is impulsively romantic, he likes to surprise with fun ideas and sudden invitations, which is a reward unto itself.

Zevlor

And a win for Team Sexualizing Old Men! I remember my roots. It is truly a tragedy that Larian won't let me sex up that old man. Look at him, you know it'd be good. So tender, so thorough. And Zevlor deserves something nice god damn it.

You know he knows what he's about. None of that shy, awkward fumbling you get with the new kids. Heck, he probably knows how to get you off standing against a wall, still in his armor! A true prince among men here. Don't think because no one's asked in awhile his skills have diminished.

Very passable oral skills, surprisingly long stamina, not just in oral too ;). Not the fastest ride you'll ever have and some positions are probably going to be out, battle-scarred knees and such, but for my money, absolutely delightful. Don't have to contend with more power than sense here.

And hey, if you want some Honorable Mentions like Aylin, Enver Gortash, or Dammon, let me know! I'm always down to give sexual headcanons no one wanted! 

[ostrichmonkey-games]

What lumen games would you recommend?

Ooh! There's honestly a ton of great ones out there to check out, so here's a short-ish list of some LUMEN games that I have some experience with!

Monster Guts from @ostermad-blog is great take on Monster Hunter style boss fights.

In Extremis from @keganexe is necromancers in space! (I also wrote a class for the expansion)

Lumen Ryder is, like the name suggests, a Kamen Rider inspired game.

Apocalypse Frame from @binarystargames does some awesome mech stuff.

I've only had the chance to read Firmament from @corsairesix, but ough, the vibes are killer.

Spencer (Gila RPGs), who created the LUMEN engine is also working on LUMEN 2.0 that shifts the whole thing to a diceless framework, which you can see the start of in Dusk and Thorn, if you wanted to see the latest in LUMEN development.

I've also released two LUMEN games myself, Vibe Check (TWEWY inspired) and Paktbound (Dishonored inspired), so I do have to plug those hahaha

But if you're still looking for more, you can check out the LUMEN tag on itch, the submissions to the LUMEN Jam, or one of several LUMEN collections like this one!

Last but not least, there's LUMEN itself, which is more of a "how to LUMEN" if you're interested in making your own game with the engine!

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Just a few years ago, maternal mortality was the rare reproductive justice issue that seemed to transcend partisan politics. In late 2018, Republicans and Democrats in Congress even came together to approve $60 million for state maternal mortality review committees (MMRCs) to study why so many American women die from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. Donald Trump—not exactly famous for his respect toward pregnant women and new mothers in his personal life—signed the bill.

But some Republicans’ enthusiasm for these committees began to wane at around the same time abortion rights advocates began warning that draconian restrictions on reproductive care would only push the shamefully high US maternal mortality rate—the worst among affluent countries—even higher. Nor did conservatives, like Idaho lawmakers, appreciate the policy recommendations that came out of many MMRCs.

Texas, whose record on maternal mortality (and maternal health more broadly) has been an embarrassment since long before Dobbs, has a history of controversial attempts to play down potentially unwelcome findings from its MMRC. After the Dobbs decision, when the state committee was working on its report examining maternal deaths in 2019, Texas officials decided to slow-roll its release until mid-2023—too late for lawmakers to act on its recommendations. “When we bury data, we are dishonorably burying each and every woman that we lost,” one furious committee member told the Texas Tribune. Ultimately, officials released the report three months late, in December 2022. Soon afterward, the Legislature reconfigured the MMRC, increasing its size—but also ejected one of its most outspoken members.

Now Texas officials have stirred up the biggest furor yet, appointing a leading anti-abortion activist to the panel. Dr. Ingrid Skop, an OB-GYN who practiced in San Antonio for 25 years, will join the MMRC as a community member representing rural areas (even though she is from the seventh-largest city in the US). But she also represents a largely overlooked segment of the anti-abortion movement: researchers who seek to discredit the idea that abortion restrictions are putting women’s lives in danger. To the contrary, Skop and her allies argue that abortions are the real, hidden cause of many maternal deaths—and that abortion restrictions actually save mothers’ lives.

One of several doctors suing to revoke the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone, the medication abortion drug at the center of one of this term’s blockbuster Supreme Court cases, Skop has been a familiar face on the anti-abortion expert-witness circuit for more than a decade. She has frequently testified in favor of strict abortion bans in court cases, state legislatures, and before Congress. In a high-profile case this winter, she submitted an affidavit stating that a Dallas woman named Kate Cox— who was seeking a judge’s permission to terminate a nonviable pregnancy—did not qualify for an abortion under Texas’s medical exception. The Texas Supreme Court rejected Cox’s petition, and to get medical care, the 31-year-old mother of two had to flee the state. Apparently, Skop’s hard-line stance against abortion-ban exemptions extends to children. At a 2021 congressional hearing, she testified that rape or incest victims as young as 9 or 10 could potentially carry pregnancies to term. “If she is developed enough to be menstruating and become pregnant, and reached sexual maturity,” Skop said, “she can safely give birth to a baby.”

Skop’s relatively new role as vice president and director of medical affairs for the Charlotte Lozier Institute, the research arm of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, has solidified her standing in the anti-abortion firmament. Lozier, which has positioned itself as the anti-abortion alternative to the Guttmacher Institute, described Skop’s role as “coordinat[ing] the work of Lozier’s network of physicians and medical researchers who counter the abortion industry’s blizzard of misinformation with science and statistics for life.” Elsewhere on its website, Lozier notes that Skop’s “research on maternal mortality, abortion, and women’s health has been published in multiple peer-reviewed journals.”

What her Lozier bio doesn’t mention is that three of the studies Skop co-authored about the purported risks of abortion were retracted by their publisher this February. Attorneys representing Skop and her fellow anti-abortion doctors had cited the studies in the FDA-mifepristone case. As my colleague Madison Pauly reported, an independent review of the papers found “fundamental problems,” “incorrect factual assumptions,” “material errors,” “misleading presentations,” and undisclosed conflicts of interest between the studies’ authors (including Skop) and anti-abortion advocacy groups (including Lozier). In a rebuttal on its website, Lozier called the publisher’s move “meritless,” adding, “There is no legitimate reason for [the] retractions.”

Skop’s work on maternal mortality hasn’t received the same attention as those papers—yet. But her reflections on maternal deaths in the US have raised plenty of eyebrows.

Skop has argued repeatedly that abortions are directly and indirectly behind the rise in maternal mortality in the US. In a 53-page “Handbook of Maternal Mortality” she wrote for Lozier last year, she says that CDC maternal mortality data can’t be trusted in part because “there is much unreported maternal mortality and morbidity associated with legal, induced abortion, often obscured due to the political nature of the issue.” She claims that a history of abortions puts women at risk in pregnancy, childbirth, or during the postpartum period—whether from maternal complications she contends are linked to prior abortions, or from mental health problems, such as drug addiction and suicide, purportedly caused by abortion regret.

In another paper co-written with some of the same co-authors as in her retracted studies, Skop and her colleagues call for an overhaul of how states and the CDC collect maternal mortality data, urging the inclusion of “mandatory certification of all fetal losses,” including abortions.

And whereas the vast majority of public health experts predict that maternal deaths and near-deaths will increase in states with abortion bans, Skop takes the opposite view. In yet another Lozier paper, she lists 12 reasons why states with abortion bans will have fewer maternal deaths. For instance, she argues, because of abortion restrictions, women will have fewer later-term abortions, which tend to be more dangerous to women than first-trimester procedures. (In fact, researchers report, that state bans have led to an increase in second-trimester abortions.) She claims that since women who don’t have abortions won’t have mental health problems supposedly associated with pregnancy loss, their alleged risk of postpartum suicide would be reduced. (In fact, the idea that abortion regret is widespread and dangerous has been thoroughly debunked.) Skop makes a similar argument about abortion’s purported (and disproven) link to breast cancer, arguing that fewer abortions will mean fewer women dying of malignant tumors.

Much of Skop’s advocacy work has been done in collaboration with colleagues who share her strong ideological views. MMRCs, by contrast, have a public health role that is supposed to transcend politics—their focus is on analyzing the deaths of expectant and new mothers that occur within a year of the end of the pregnancy. Typically, committee members come from a wide range of professional backgrounds: In Texas, these include OB-GYNs, high-risk pregnancy specialists, nurses, mental health providers, public health researchers, and community advocates. Panels also aim to be racially and geographically diverse, the better to understand the communities—Black, Indigenous, rural, poor—where mothers are at disproportionate risk of dying. In a country that hasn’t prioritized maternal health, MMRCs are uniquely positioned to identify system failures and guide policy changes that can save lives.

Texas’s most recent maternal mortality report found that 90% of maternal deaths were preventable, racial disparities in maternal outcomes weren’t improving, and severe childbirth complications were up 23%—all before the state’s abortion bans took effect.

It remains to be seen how someone with Skop’s background and agenda will fit in with her new colleagues, especially at this dire moment for women in the state. Maternal health advocates aren’t optimistic: “This appointment speaks volumes about how seriously certain state leaders are taking the issue of maternal mortality,” Kamyon Conner, executive director of the Texas Equal Access Fund, told The Guardian. “It is another sign that the state is more interested in furthering their anti-abortion agenda than protecting the lives of pregnant Texans.”

Skop, contacted through Lozier, didn’t respond to a request for comment. In a statement to the Texas Tribune, Skop said she was joining the Texas MMRC because questions about maternal mortality data deserve “rigorous discourse.” “There are complex reasons for these statistics, including chronic illnesses, poverty, and difficulty obtaining prenatal care, and I have long been motivated to identify ways women’s care can be improved,” she said. “For over 30 years, I have advocated for both of my patients, a pregnant woman and her unborn child, and excellent medicine shouldn’t require I pit one against the other.”

Meanwhile, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists criticized Skop’s appointment, asserting that members of any maternal mortality review committee should be “unbiased, free of conflicts of interest and focused on the appropriate standards of care.”

“The importance of the work done by MMRCs to inform how we respond to the maternal mortality crisis cannot be overstated,” the group said in a statement. “It is crucial that MMRC members be clinical experts whose work is informed by data, not ideology and bias.”

[irkinsblog]

I fell into the Dishonored fandom again, but this time I was really impressed by the story of Daud. The fact that this is a playable character, and he has a much longer history of interacting with the void and the Outsider. The Outsider calls him "my old friend", of course in his ironic manner, but still, unlike "my dear Corvo" it says something. The action of his life as an assassin, a fatal mistake and further drama. I can't stop thinking that Doud plays a more central role in the game than Corvo or Emily.

[thesunfyre4446]

wrt to book alicent and viserys's marriage :

did book alicent want to marry viserys? did she play an active role in becoming his queen? we don't know. all we have from F&B is :

"His Grace had his own notion, and no amount of argument would sway him from his course. He would marry again, yes…but not to a twelve-year-old girl, and not for reasons of state. Another woman had caught his eye. He announced his intention to wed Lady Alicent of House Hightower, the clever and lovely eighteen-year-old daughter of the King’s Hand"

that's it. that's all we know about their marriage.

alicent was 18 when they married, which is obviously better then 14 but still very young. the book does indicate otto's involvement in alicent and viserys's marriage :

" there were those who murmured that the Hand had risen above himself, that he had brought his daughter to court with this in mind "

we also have one more very important and interesting detail about book alicent that people tend to overlook

"As the Old King’s strength and wits began to fail, he was oft confined to his bed .Ser Otto’s precocious fifteen-year-old daughter, Alicent, became his constant companion, fetching His Grace his meals, reading to him, helping him to bathe and dress himself"

i find it very hard to believe that a 15yo girl would willingly become an old man's "constant companion". it's very obvious that otto put her in that position. but why? to get close to viserys? but why would he do that? aemma was young, healthy and fertile. otto would gain nothing from alicent getting close to viserys and becoming his mistress. on the contrary, the hightowers are associated with the faith - alicent becoming the king's mistress would bring shame and dishonor on them.

my guess is that he made alicent jaehaerys companion because it was an honorable position for her to have, and could potentially advance her & his daughter being around the king all the time gives him more control over him. i don't think it had anything to do with viserys. but i do think it shows how otto wants to advance his family & is very comfortable using his daughter . (because who wants to bathe and dress an old dying man? 15yo alicent must have hated being jaehaerys companion)

but it is important to mention that by having alicent so close to the old king, viserys must gotten to know her pretty well. alicent is 18 when they get married. still a very young girl. the idea that she's some sort of evil mastermind maliciously planning to marry viserys is ridicules. book ! alicent is not show!alicent. she's ambitious. she loves the power. she loves being a queen. (you go gurl). but i do believe that otto played a big part in her marriage to viserys & pushed her to become queen. the narrative of teenager alicent being an evil mastermind having an evil masterplan to marry viserys at 17-18 is just ridicules.

her ambitions , her rivalry with rhaenyra, wanting power for herself. all of these things developed over the years. alicent and rhaenyra had a good relationship when alicent and viserys got married. she was still just a girl.

so did alicent want to marry viserys? i don't know. maybe she did. maybe she wanted to be the queen. but she was obviously being influenced and used by her father.

[rottenshotgungames]

I’ve spent three years working on a game about motion

Footfall Devlog 1

It’s really hard for me to talk about my games. It’s even harder to talk about something I’ve been keeping so close to my chest for so long, but it’s time to do so.

This Devlog will be covering the basics of what Footfall is and the first few challenges of making a game so heavily inspired by immersive sims.

So, without further ado:

What is Footfall?

Footfall is an occult-industrial stealth-action rpg inspired by Dishonored, Assassin’s Creed, and Bloodborne. It aims to emulate the systemic ecosystem and emergent gameplay of immersive sims, and particularly the fast, creative, movement-centric gameplay of Dishonored.

You play as Gifted of the Watchman, the god of stories and action. You are functional demigods, arcane in nature and forever part of a great cosmic play of chaos and change.

Some basics about how the game is played before going forward:

You get 3 Action Points at the beginning of your turn, each action point representing a period of 2 seconds.

Movement is measured in ~3 foot increments labeled "Strides." These are about the average length of a walking stride, and tend to be measured with one's arm.

You get powers which move you and others in interesting and unique ways (e.g. teleporting, creating portals, time manipulation, etc.)

Designing a Tabletop ImSim: or How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love the Physics Engine

This game is, first and foremost, a stealth-action game, as such one specific thing was very important to get right: movement. My most important design goal, from the beginning, was to create interesting systems that interact in cool ways, particularly in regards to movement (otherwise, the stealth would just be boring and the action wouldn’t be bombastic enough). Generally speaking, there are a few ways to do movement in TTRPGs:

Narrative abstraction (PBtAs). The strength of this one lies in its lack of necessity of maps, which is not a strength particularly necessary for a game where movement mechanics are a core pillar.

Landmark-defined zones (ALIEN RPG and Celestial Bodies). This option’s strength also lies in its abstraction. You can have tactical combat and actual movement mechanics, but you don’t need codified distances (just a big rock that tells you where you are).

Short grid-based movement based on character stats (Tactics RPGs like Fire Emblem). The strength here is in the tactical importance of moving even one tile. Moving *feels* important because you get to do so little of it in one round, and it makes each tile moved feel like a long distance.

Simplified but simulatory grid-based movement (D&D). The strength of this system is, generally speaking, how thorough yet digestible it is. You’re given jump mechanics, falling mechanics, running mechanics, and they’re all simple enough that you can (usually) remember how they work without opening the book. The issue is that they don’t tend to be very interactive—“Yay, I can jump across a 10-foot gap without that impacting anything other than my positioning. Yay.”

Without beating around the bush, none of these options appealed to me for this project. Option 4 came the closest, but the issue with it is the same as with all of them: these movement systems tend to be very . . . “confined” to only affecting positioning, whether narratively or tactically. I pretty quickly realized that I had one option in front of me, make something I had never seen before:

5. A tabletop physics engine.

First thing’s first, I laid out a few key goals for my physics engine:

Strive for playability, not accuracy. People aren't computers, I don't want you to have to perform complex calculations constantly (unless you want to and therefore choose to).

Interactivity and impact. Even if those decisions aren't codified in the physics engine itself, I want the physics to inform multiple gameplay decisions through its interactions with other systems.

Flexibility of simulation. This is a physics engine, if it breaks when someone tries to jump (which it won't) then it's not working very well, is it? People should be able to toy around with it and get cool interactions out of it without it suddenly turning into a hell of, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN DRIVING A CAR KILLS ME???"

Pretty simple stuff altogether, right? . . . right?

Alright, so what went wrong the first time? Well, I took the last point too far, to the point that I shirked the golden rule: "Strive for Playability, not Accuracy." It would be impossible to accurately model how gravity works in real life without a single round of physics-heavy combat taking 4 hours, which may be your jam but definitely isn't mine. The first version of the physics engine included such awful rules as:

Ground acceleration to model running - "If you move in a direction using 1 action point, and continue moving in the same direction with the following action point you begin to sprint. Your sprint will continue as long as you keep following up one movement with another in the same direction. Your movement speed is considered to be double its base amount and any attacks made with a bow or powder arm that target you have a minor disadvantage to hit if your last action point on your turn was spent sprinting." This was just . . . way too confusing and difficult to track, to the point that it actively disincentivized going fast.

Just straight up incorrect gravitational-acceleration math - It's still not wholly accurate, but I tried for way too long to make it wholly accurate.

An attempt to model fall-damage based upon Momentum - People accelerate downward faster than most people think they do. You will fall about 96 feet (over 29 meters) in a matter of 2 seconds. 1 Action Point. Yeah, there's just no calculating fall damage without relying solely on distance or some over-complicated math that still relies on distance.

Listed out, specific momentums that add damage to your strikes - "When an object or creature lands a strike while in motion, the energy imparted onto their target deals additional damage. If you have a momentum equal to or greater than 24 feet per Action Point before making an attack with a melee weapon, you deal an additional d4 of damage on your strike. If you have a momentum equal to or greater than 48 feet per Action Point before making an attack with a melee weapon, you deal an additional d8 of damage on your strike instead. If you have a momentum equal to . . ." God, this was so stupid of me. It's a really simple formula now: "When making an attack, for each 4 Strides per Action Point of Momentum a creature has in the direction of their target (if the target is in some combination of directions, such as Forward and Left, use the higher of the two) they deal an additional point of damage."

There were more, but it's really not worth going on and on.

Upon revising the physics engine, which was part of a whole system overhaul in the year of our lord 2022, I had one goal: "Simplify the math without simplifying the impact." Which, as you can probably tell from the second to last bullet of the prior list, I did.

The physics engine, as it is, is actually quite simple in practice. You can read the whole thing if you decide to grab the free playtest (which will be releasing soon, just have to finish up some final adjustments and get some art in), but for now I present to you . . .

The Footfall Physics Engine Quick Reference

Momentum: Strides moved in a direction since the beginning of your last Action. Momentum is directional (Forward, Backward, Left, Right, Up, Down). You may change facing at the beginning of an Action. Changing facing mid-air costs an Action Point. Move in the direction of and Strides equal to Momentum when in the air.

Gravity: When not standing on solid ground, you fall. Creatures gain 32 Strides of Downward Momentum at the beginning of each Action Point spent falling. Gifted may choose to halve this to 16 Strides.

Concussive Force: +1 Damage on attacks for each 4 Strides of Momentum in direction of Target. When hit by an object, damage die = +1 die size per 7 Strides of Momentum (1d2 at 7, 1d20 at 42). Throwing an object increases its Momentum by 21 Strides.

Fall Damage: When you hit the ground, damage die = +1 die size per 4 Strides fallen (1d2 at 4, 1d20 at 24). +1d20 for each 4 Strides beyond 24. Gifted falling at 16 Stride Gravity cannot take more than 1d20 Fall Damage.

Wall Damage: When you hit a wall, damage die = +1 die size for each 5 Strides of Momentum beyond 9 (1d2 damage at 9, 1d4 at 14). If damage die > d20, add a new die and start over.

I'm actually really proud of this physics engine. So far, players have LOVED playing around with it, and even some fairly math-dense people understood it after looking at the powers section for a little bit. I can't say for certain if I've accomplished all of my goals, and public playtesting may prove that it needs simplified further, but the successes I've had surrounding the physics engine are what told me that taking the effort to design Footfall wasn't a fool's errand. People used to tell me that movement is boring, it's just the thing you have to do to get to the fun stuff; and I feel as though I've proven it can be interesting, digestible, and—above all-else—fun.

It's fun to move yourself forward multiple strides using a power, then launch yourself into the air where you can soar across the battlefield and directly into a specific foe for increased damage. It's fun to have your buddy sit in a momentum-generation-machine constructed with two vertically aligned portals that triple her downward momentum each time she passes through, then watch as she swaps spots and momentums with a giant enemy monster, which you promptly send hurtling into a wall at 18x terminal velocity with your portals. Honestly, it's just fucking cool.

I'm so excited for people to get their hands on it.

Conclusion

Honestly, I have no idea what design lesson to leave you with. The best I can say is this: Fuck the haters. If you have an idea, and you really believe in that idea, follow through. Anything is possible given some time, planning, reflection, and a willingness to revise.

If you think something would be cool, and nobody's made it yet? Make it. Do it, right now. You can, I'm proof. It's gonna be great, I know it.

I believe in you.

Self Promotion

Welp, it's that time again folks. If you wanna check out my other games, and get updated when the Footfall free playtest goes live, follow me in Itch.io! If you want more devlogs, and more rpg design talk, follow me here or on twitter.

You really can't go wrong either way.

[atla-genderbender]

ATLA Gender Bender: "Princess Zuka"

Zuko -> Zuka

Alternatively, it is possible that female Zuko would still be called "Zuko". The ending -ko is feminine in Japanese. But within Fire Nation royalty, there exist masculine and feminine counterparts to names: Iroh/Ilah, Azulon/Azula. The ending -a is also used for Zuko's mother's name, "Ursa". This suggests that the feminine equivalent of "Zuko" would be "Zuka".

Like her male counterpart, the banished princess would have the most extensive wardrobe. I tried to draw several, but not all of these outfits.

If Zuko had been born a girl, a large theme of her story would be the traumatic loss and restoration of her femininity. I don't think that she would be a tomboy, but would be just as driven as her male counterpart to regain her honor.

I've been picturing Cricket Leigh as the voice of "Princess Zuka". Specifically, her voice as "angry Mai" in the Beach episode.

OUTFIT DESCRIPTIONS:

1: Young Zuka, from "Zuka Alone" flashback

She is supposed to resemble a young Ursa. Rather than being dressed like Azula, her clothes are inspired by ruqun.

2: Zuka at age 13, prior to being burned

Her ponytail is supposed to show off her long, beautiful hair, which is cut off during her banishment.

3: Zuka at age 13, after being burned

"Zuka" is shown with a fully shaved head, to illustrate an alternative scenario where Ozai does not challenge her to an Agni Kai, but immediately deems her actions treasonous and orders her to shave her head. In this alternative scenario, her refusal to cut her topknot is what prompts Ozai to scar her face and banish her anyways. This is supposed to be more in line with the treatment of "dishonorable" women in real life, as there are many world cultures throughout history who punish women by shaving their heads.

Still, I am not sure whether it was appropriate to include this in her wardrobe lineup. The Fire Nation is higher in the gender equality index than the cultures it is based on, as a consequence of firebending being an "equalizer" between the sexes. It is therefore plausible that "Zuka" would have still been challenged to an Agni Kai by Ozai, and that things would have occurred in the same fashion to her male counterpart. In this scenario, she would not have cut off her topknot. I picture her wearing the same hairstyle as regular, male Zuko, where she shaves the sides of her head to symbolize her shame.

4: Book 1 Zuka

Unlike her male counterpart, I think "Zuka" would grow out her hair. Zuko's shaved ponytail is based on a real hairstyle worn by Thai boys. But in-universe, Zuko appears to have fashioned himself after the hairstyle worn by Sun Warriors. A few other men in the Fire Nation also wear this hairstyle, but women are not seen wearing this. If "Zuka" had this hairstyle, I think it would come off as rebellious, instead of loyal to the Fire Nation. It makes more for "Zuka" to fashion herself after female Sun Warriors, who wear their hair in ponytails without shaving the rest of their heads. Her asymmetrical bangs are meant to contrast with Azula's perfectly symmetrical bangs. Underneath her armor, I picture her being very athletic, with lean, defined muscles.

5: Book 1 Zuka, as the "Blue Spirit"

The comics explain the origin of Zuko's Blue Spirit mask, which is based on "The Dark Water Spirit", a male character from the play "Love Amongst the Dragons". While "Princess Zuka" could don the mask of the "Dragon Empress", I think it fits her better to wear the mask of the "Dark Water Spirit" instead. This is because Zuko and Azula would reenact the play as children, with Zuko playing the Dark Water Spirit and Azula playing the Dragon Emperor. If the Azula was a boy and Zuko was a girl, I think "Azulon" would still play the role of the Dragon Emperor, while "Zuka" would still play the role of the Dark Water Spirit. This would foreshadow their eventual rivalry and Agni Kai, and I don't like the implications that come with "Zuka" playing the Dragon Empress. For these reasons, I chose to have "Zuka" don the mask of the "Dark Water Spirit" instead of the "Dragon Empress". This also does a better job of symbolizing the "Blue Spirit"'s role as enemy of the Fire Nation.

Additionally, I think it makes sense for "Zuka" to disguise herself as a male while donning the Blue Spirit mask. Failure to do so would make her disguise a lot less effective, due to the male dominated nature of the Fire Nation army. It would make her and Admiral Zhao both look smarter, as Zhao would still figure out that she is the Blue Spirit. Due to her physical build, she would not be able to pass for a fully grown adult man, but could pass for an adolescent boy. The cross-dressing element of her disguise could also connect the Blue Spirit to her "animus", symbolizing her complicated relationship with her femininity.

6: Book 1 Zuka, after assassination attempt

She would be shown without any color on her lips, due to her beat up state.

7: Book 2 Zuka, after cutting topknot

8: Book 2 Zuka, messy hair

This hairstyle would only be seen briefly during her sick episode

9: Book 2 Zuka, post haircut

After her bout of sickness, "Aunt Ilah" buys "Princess Zuka" new clothes and gets her a hair cut.

10: Book 3 Zuka, emo hair

11: Book 3 Zuka, formal dress

12: Book 3 Zuka, after joining the "good guys"

13: Fire Lord Zuka, coronation outfit

Her hairstyle is inspired by the Kdrama "Queen Seondeok" (2009).

14: Fire Lord Zuka, comics outfit (formal)

Her costume combines elements of Queen Seondeok, Queen Panhtwar, and Empress Wu Zetian.

15: Fire Lord Zuka, comics outfit (casual)

In these drawings, "Zuka" is shown having one of two lip colors: red and pink. The red shade is supposed to be the same color as Azula's lips, while the pink shade is supposed to be the same color as Izumi's lips.

The reason I did this was originally based on a mistake. I thought that Ursa had a lighter shade on her lips than Azula, and was trying to make "Zuka" look like a younger Ursa. However, this was a mistake. Ursa and Azula actually have the same lip color. Ursa's lips only look lighter because of the lighting in the "Zuko Alone" flashbacks.

I decided to keep this decision to have "Zuka" switch between Azula's lip color and a lighter shade of pink. This is supposed to make "Zuka" look a bit like Izumi, Zuko's daughter. It is also supposed to indicate when "Zuka" is wearing makeup and when she is not. I think her lip color should change upon becoming a fugitive, as she wouldn't wear makeup while living in poverty.

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[ourlastbastion]

Reading a book review for a book I'm currently reading (Iron Widow) and you can just tell this review was written by someone who didn’t actually read it.

"The protagonist is supposed to be a feminist, but she hates women and being a women more than men!" Zetian hates the role women have to play in this dystopian society, where their families will drown their girls if they 'bring dishonor' (Even if the dishonor is bc they got r*p*d, so ya know, victim blaming) and girls are expected to quite literally mutilate themselves to be pretty, and a whole lot of other toxic misogynistic bullshit. She is constantly lamenting about how the concubines march happily to a painful and miserable death and how she refuses to let any more girls be sacrificed for men.

"Where she learns to hate the society that has bound her feet and left her handicapped is never explained to readers." Uh, maybe because having your feet broken and mutilated as a kid, and then continuously mangled as you grow up is something you'll naturally hate? That you're naturally going to hate society for encouraging and endorsing that kind of violence?

"Luckily for her, she is conveniently and immediately chosen as the co-pilot of the very man who murdered her sister. She quickly gets her revenge." Amazing how convenient it is that the pilot you and all the other girls in that room specifically signed up to be the concubine for is the pilot you become the concubine for.

"But not before Zetian considers sleeping with the murderer of her sister right off the bat, because he’s attractive, not that mean, and it’s expected of her as a concubine." Dude just really missed the whole point of that scene. His behavior was leaving her confused bc she had expected a monster and instead was facing with a seemingly sweet and normal boy. Plus, she knew that she needed his guard down and him in a vulnerable state if she had a chance to kill him. Meaning out of his armor and asleep. She couldn't reject his advances if she wanted to stay close to him. It had absolutely nothing to do with "Hurr durr he's hot and nice so imma fuck him"

"Then, to furthur the 'woke agenda' it creates a forced throuple" Bitch there is nothing forced about it.

Iron Widow is an amazing story that blends scifi with ancient China, and is filled with righteous survivors rage. I am convinced the dude who wrote the review didn't read it and just read some tumblr posts about it. Especially cause they say 'It has the quality of a Wattpad fic"

[doyouknowthisactor]

By "roles" I mean playing a different character, and in a different piece of media; someone playing one character across a franchise only counts as one thing for the purposes of this poll, as does playing multiple characters in one franchise/piece of media

Below are some of this actor's roles. Please only check after voting!

Gotham as Oswald Cobblepot / The Penguin

John Wick Chapter 3 as Administrator

You as Will Bettelheim

Would You Rather as Julian

Taylor also voices The Outsider in the games Dishonored 2 and Dishonored: Death of the Outsider

More roles

[venusintheblindspots-blog]

Finished the episode so here are my complete thoughts.

Unfortunately, I don’t think it really lives up to the earlier seasons of Game of Thrones, but it isn’t bad, and it’s only the first episode so I’ll reserve judgement when the entire season is out.

One of the main highlights of this episode has to be Rhaenyra grieving Lucerys. Emma did their big one with the acting. Also, I LOVE Syrax’s roar, it’s so distinct. The scene where she embraces Jace as he’s trying to keep a brave face while naming allies is absolutely incredible, so shoutout to Emma and Harry.

Speaking of Jace, the episode opening with the Stark theme and Winterfell, was nostalgic and almost had me tearing up. I was not really feeling “Stark” vibes from Cregan, I’m not sure if it was the lack of a beard, or just the quickness of the scene in Winterfell, but I didn’t connect with him. The “northern” accent from Game of Thrones was a nice touch though.

As for the dragon twins (sisters, since they aren’t twins in hotd) they are still very scarce this episode. As I said earlier though, it is only the first episode and Baela plays a vital role in the war so I’m hoping that she gets more screen time in the upcoming episodes. As for Rhaena, that shot of her at Lucerys’ funeral was beautiful.

Daemon Daemon Daemon. I can’t tell if the writers intended for him to be grief stricken or just hungry for war, (it might just be both) but his character was a tad bit annoying in this episode. As irritating as he is though, his characterization stays true to season one- Daemon handles his negative emotions violently and aims his vitriol to anyone around him- which this episode demonstrates well with his conversations with Rhaenys, Mysaria, and Ser Erryk.

I’m very excited for Rhaenys this season, her first scene was so good and the imagery is top tier. Mysaria’s storyline is also one that I’m very intrigued by. (Also shout out to the directors and writers who toned down Mysaria’s accent. It was the best choice.)

First sight of the dragonseeds- lovely to see Alyn, I can’t wait to see the others. I must admit though, seeing Alyn made me remember that Corlys was cheating on Rhaenys so :/.

Onto the Green faction… Aegon is a delight. Unlike season one, his character is actually quite funny, and his scenes with Jahaerys were very heartwarming, and it did quite a lot to actually make me sympathize with a character that was kind of flat in season one. His frat bros are very funny. There’s one new aspect of him I’m excited to see being explored and it’s his interactions with Larys. Their brief conversation has to mean something by the end of all of this and I’d love to see it.

As for Alicent, I’m not sure what the writers are doing with her, but her scenes with Criston are very delicious though. The guilt between them as they ‘dishonor’ their respective vows is so very intriguing. “We will not do that again”- only to be riding him later? Ma’am?

Aemond was scarce this episode, but his appearances were all hilarious. He’s literally your average anime villain with a dragon.

As for Helaena. The show did her wrong. I cannot even describe how awful the adaptation for blood and cheese was.