#gMS luna

[gunthermunch]

ooooh, could we get a layout of Jacques, Carmen, and Max just to see his features in comparison to his parents?

i already did some kind of comparison between the villareals at some point SO,

[simulation-machine]

They weren't even talking, they were just staring at each other and it made my heart squuueeeze

[nosferslotu]

Most of the chronicles I’m playing in or running take place on the US west coast and Midwest (Vegas, Seattle, Salt Lake City) which means that L.A naturally comes up sometimes in game. Since me and my co-GM both love Bloodlines, obviously we made it canon. However, as two fans who watched ALL of kindred the embraced- there’s another canon prince in San Francisco-

All this to say in one conversation my Ventrue PC was able to mention both Sebastian lacroix and Julian Luna in a sentence.

I love vampire so much.

[c0smiccom3t]

new pj masks follower. i win. :D

[oshlet]

RX-77-2 Guncannon, the heavily armed, heavily armoured fire support mobile suit of the Federation. With the same luna titanium armour as the Gundam, and enough generator output to operate a beam rifle, it surpassed the Guntank by practically every metric. Unfortunately it was still easy to outmanoeuvre with zakus and other zeon mobile suits, and fell far short of the capabilities of the Gundam.

Although a fairly competent design, the Guncannon never saw mass production like its successor, the GM. Nor did it reach the iconic status of the Gundam and thus fell into a somewhat obscure status.

[thisisnotthenerd]

do you ever give yourself ideas that seem like they shouldn't take much time in execution and then end up taking up way too much time?

anyway we're back with the first real entry for thisisnotthenerd's d20 stats of 2024. this time we're talking:

cast appearances by episode count

season count is one thing; there's only 21 of those so far. by contrast, we've had 222 episodes of d20 as of 1/16/2024. by may 2024 we'll have finished fhjy and hit 241.

by the current count, the intrepid heroes' full seasons account for 128 episodes of the total 222, or around 57.6% of the total episode count. if you add the fantasy high oneshots, it bumps up to 59.4%, and if you consider that we're adding 20 to the count with fhjy, by may 2024, intrepid heroes episodes will make up 62.6% of the dimension 20 catalog.

anyway here's the cast list:

the uncontested winner is brennan lee mulligan with 211/222 episodes. 95% attendance. the only times he hasn't been there are: the 4 episodes of shriek week, the 6 episodes of coffin run, and the gencon mismag oneshot.

in second place is lou wilson, with 151/222 episodes. this is every intrepid heroes season (128/222), plus 3 sidequests (4+10+6) and 3 oneshots.

in third, sweeping her way with the most recent season, is siobhan thompson with 147/222, after the ih seasons, 3 oneshots and 2 sidequests (6+10)

in fourth, we have ally beardsley with 144/222, after the ih seasons, 2 oneshots, and 2 sidequests (10+4)

very close in fifth, we have zac oyama, with 143/222, after the ih seasons, 4 oneshots, and 2 sidequests (6+6).

in sixth is emily axford, with 138/222, from 126 ih episodes, 2 oneshots, and one sidequest (10)

and in seventh is brian murphy, with 130 episodes, from the ih seasons and 3 oneshots.

after this we have a steep drop off, since the ih episodes make up 57% of the total count, and will make up 61% by the end of junior year. anyway next is aabria iyengar, with 48 episodes, a little over half which she gm'd (26).

next is erika ishii, with 37 episodes. they've been in 5 sidequests (6+4+10+6+10) and one oneshot.

to finish off the top ten, rekha shankar and izzy roland are tied with 26, since both have been in three sidequests [(6+10+10) and (10+6+10) respectively]

the last of the three cree, in 11th place, is matthew mercer, with 18 (6+6+6) episodes, 6 of which he gm'd

after which is carlos luna with 12, though he's been behind the scenes as crew in many more.

13th is taken up with another tie, this time between danielle radford and becca scott, who each have 11, though their splits are different, since danielle has been in 2 sidequests and a oneshot (4+6+1), while becca has been in 1 sidequest and 1 oneshot (10+1)

after this we get into the mass groups:

with 10 episodes there's a couple of options for how they got to that point, but less options for 6 and 4

10 episodes: ify nwadiwe (6+4), lily du (6+4), katie marovitch (10), sam reich (10), raphael chestang (10), grant o'brien (10), persephone valentine (10), omar najam (10), oscar montoya (10), surena marie (10), rashawn nadine scott (10), and jasper william cartwright (10)

next is griffin mcelroy, with 7 episodes, because he did the RTX oneshot along with tiny heist.

6 episodes: amy vorpahl, justin mcelroy, travis mcelroy, clint mcelroy, jessica ross, marisha ray, krystina arielle, b. dave walters, jasmine bhullar (GM), anjali bhimani, alex song-xia, freddie wong, hank green

4 episodes: gabe hicks (GM), dani fernandez, monét x change, alaska thunderfuck, bob the drag queen, jujubee

and last but not least, our oneshot only friends: brian david gilbert, michelle nguyen bradley, noxweiler berf, and markeia mccarty

and that's all for this time! check out the spreadsheet to see where the data comes from and every individual checkbox that i had to click for this to be fully accurate.

[chungledown-bimothy]

Top 5 guest d20 cast members (aka non intrepid heroes or DMs)

I'm not going to make the joke, but you do see what you set up for me by not including a question mark, right? <3

Aabria has been in the dome as a player as many times as she's been behind the gm screen, so if she counts, she's #1 for sure (I think she should, and I've been very vocal about why she's my favorite). But my top 5 if she doesn't:

1- Erika Ishii. I don't need to explain, right? Like, pick any aspect of what makes someone perfect to play ttrpgs with and he's got it in spades.

2- Izzy Roland. Truly one of the funniest people on the planet. Whoever decided to put her and Zac next to each other in Coffin Run was a genius. And I love how unafraid she is to take absolutely wild swings with character choices or mechanical asks in combat. She givesn't a fuck, and it's iconic.

3- Hank Green. I was a huge nerdfighter back in the day, so that was fun. But also I loved that he didn't try for a second to hide the Huge Dimension Twenty Fan Living The Dream energy or waste his chance to flirt with Brennan.

4- Carlos Luna. All of the characters of his I've seen (Cheese, Wetzel, I forget which Ken he was in the Barbie oneshot) are so funny but then casually drop things that are DEVASTATING. I think about Cheese and Ayda's conversation at the end of Pirates regularly. And he does such incredible work off camera as well. Everything he touches turns to gold.

5- Jasper William Cartwright. He's got an energy that is just so much fun. I didn't even know who he was before Burrow's End, but he's so damn funny. Idk how to explain it, but his energy is just so damn Good.

[arsene-inc]

GilaRPGs and the Novaverse : Getting the setting out of the game line

Or What is a game line really ?

Getting out of the game line to develop a setting. What does it mean ? Well there's no better start than an exemple so let's check what Spencer Campbell or GilaRPGs is doing.

Actually no, a better start is defining the terms. Curse you leftovers from uni. So what is a game line ? In the TTRPG scene, it is usually thought as all the games that shares a Name, or all the books that share the same setting AND system. We all know the D&D line even if we sometimes wish we didn't. But there's other lines : Pathfinder, Nephilim, Knight, Vampire the Mascarade, etc...

Multiple editions ? Supplements ? That's a line, don't cross it.

But if games with the same setting and the same system are of the same line, what about game with the same setting but different systems ?

A New Challenger appears : Spencer Campbell, one of my fav. His name is often reason enough for me to buy.

(translation for a future video on my french ttrpg channel)

I could talk about the evolution of LUMEN toward a diceless,healthless system, how every other games influence this transition. I'll leave you waiting on this one.

In short, one of his big games is Nova, inspired by Warframe, Destiny and the likes. To summarize : Sun exploded. Nobody knows why. Sun shards implanted on the planet. Now the night won't leave me alone.

A Measly lot of years later, the power of these shards can be harnessed, Humanity can continue. Sparks are invented, mecha-armour to explore the Dusk and defend settlements from their many ennemies. Cause we weren't alone when the sun exploded.

Well I said invented but some Sparks...... One of them was inspired by Satan and the only thing we know about it is thus : The Sky went red and it appeard out of the Dusk. Great. No reason to worry at all. It's not like you can't make a horseman of the Apocalypse party with some other Sparks... (something my player actually did, these edgy mfers) The setting is very succint, it's a small book. But it's the Start of the Novaverse.

No, we can also find Luna and Nest in the same setting. Interesting detail : they focus on two of the enemies' factions found in Nova. And none of them have the same system. Well that may be a little exaggeration. Dusk also exists with a similar system and on the Sparks side.

Before writing about them, I will note that supplements for Nova exist. Nova Dusk Denizen. Zine sized, each zine on a singular faction with more lore, more enemies, more tactics for the GM.

So Dusk is the first new game of this Novaverse. The first to use the LUMEN 2.0, now diceless and based on ressources. For me, it's a debate if Lumen and Lumen 2.0 can be considered the same system. More importantly, this is not a supplement. This is a full game. A modular game (another discussion for the future). Nova's focus was on combat, action. Dusk is not. It is exploration. The monsters usually die in 1 hit. Clearly two distinct experiences.

Then Spencer crowdfunded and published Luna. Another change. Here we play a Nova enemy faction : The Lunar Cult. Their goal : infiltrate a city and convert its sun shard for holy moonstone. This is not the type of adventures Lumen is built for. So the game uses the Resistance system, from Spire and Heart, a more adapted system.

This rpg also does something I appreciate more and more : One type of story only, we know what we want and we will play it in a fewshot campaign, 5 sessions max.

To go back to the original question, I ask of you : Same lore, same setting, but is it the same line ? It is a different experience and a different system after all.

Last May, GilaRPGs crowdfunded Nest. Back to Lumen 2.0, still an enemy faction : the Corvus Dominion, an avian alien race. And again, a game for fewshots. Since nothing has been published about it yet,I can't tell you more.

Same setting, sorta same system, but another game.

Thus what is a line ? How do you conceive it ? A base game and supplements ? Including the various editions of its base game ?

It's not like I can't use these games for Nova. Here we have two problems for the sparks to solve. How about multitable ? Between Nest and Nova ? Between Dusk and Nova ? The players of one game reacting to the actions from the other game and vice verse ? Wouldn't that be an interesting experience ? Wouldn't you want to try ?

Plus, the novaverse is not Spencer's only setting like this. He also has Obron, starting with Rune, his solo game inspired by Elden Ring and Dark Souls, where we play an Engraved. Then comes Reap, also solo in Obron, same system, but this time, you're a necromancer.

Since the game designer opens his game to 3rd party content (another reason to love him), someone had the great and terrific idea of a Realm that works for both games. Both characters are there at the same time. On the Rune side, you fight the Necromancer. On the Reap side, you fight the Engraved.

Now we leave the Rune system to go back to Lumen 2.0 again, with a group, for Thorn, also happening in Obron. And that's all I will say about it, the game is not completed yet.

I love this concept, especially with smaller games. While not zine sized, Spencer's game usually count around 50 pages.

We can focus our game on one type of story, of adventure in a particular setting, with an apropos system. Then make another game in this setting but for another story, another system adapted to this story. No more breaking your brain to try and make a size fit all system.

Generally, with a game it's the system that gets out of the line. We create an SRD for other creators. (Don't be afraid to use SRDs , they're here for you) It's rarer to take a setting and make a new different game in it.

Imagine the possibilities : Multitables with different games, reacting to each other, especially if they have opposed goals. There are players who love a setting but hate the system, the types of adventures the base book proposes. Now they can find a game for them in this setting.

 It is (or is it ?) a new direction for ttrpgs. The world of darkness games may profess to happen in the same world, but I always found them too separated. It is something I think about when creating my own games. What would happen if I take this and change the system ? We can find similar ideas in other games.

Starfinder and Pathfinder share the same setting, the same system, bur with different scopes, in different genres.

Spire and Heart : same setting, same system, different stories. Knight and Parias share the same setting too, for the system, it is the same base, but one is heroic horror, the other is survival of the outcasts. The french author Vivien Féasson also does something similar with Perdus sous la pluie. 3 games in the same setting but one is an horror experience, one is exploration and settlement building, and the last is Life in the biggest citadel.

Let's see what sort of discussions this causes...

Wait a minute ! Isn't Obron the name he gave to the planet in the Novaverse game Dusk ? What is happening ? What secrets are you hiding Spencer !?

[bananasofthorns]

GM: Okay, gang, are we ready? Luna: Ah, I’m ready. Mon: If you wanna call it that, sure. Jamie: We ready! GM: Cool. Very reassuring responses, alright. Luna: I don’t know why I got so nervous when you said that. Anyway. GM: (overlapping) Alright. [laughs] I am beginning my silly little opening monologue. GM: Our adventure begins in the Republic of Pixandria. Long ago, it was an empire ruled by the ancient and wise Copper King. When he vanished, Pixandria’s splendor slowly began to disappear. Most of its rare and powerful artifacts have been long lost to the sands. Its Vigil, once a great holy landmark, now stands dim above the sprawling city. Many are afraid that someday soon, its light will go out for good. GM: Recently, rumors have begun to circulate about a shrine buried deep in the northern desert. Some think it’s a temple dedicated to a now-forgotten god. Others call it an ancient, holy tomb. Either way, the shrine is said to hold great treasures for anyone brave and clever enough to seek them out. And that is what your party has gathered here to do. Can everyone introduce themselves?

BIG NEWS!!! we had our first session for my Pixandria/forgotten shrine adventure a few days ago, and I have started on the transcript! (if you don't know what I'm talking about, see here)

it is going to take me. A While. to get all of this done, even if I get some people to help me, because the recording is over two hours long. BUT! I am very excited, so here is a sneak peak of the beginning of the session.

right now the plan is that I'm gonna post the full transcripts on ao3 as I finish them. haven't decided yet if each session is gonna be a chapter in a fic or if I'm going to split the sessions into chapters as well so things aren't Super Long in one go. leave thoughts in the notes perhaps?

anyway. hope you guys are excited about this because I definitely am :D

[hypahfixations]

~ Hello One and All! ~

And Welcome to a Thrilling Breakdown of Dimension 20!

You’ve met our humble dungeon master Brennan Lee Mulligan, and now you’re curious on what other stories he and his crew have told. Whether you have encountered Brennan as a player from his various one-shots across different Actual Play TTRPG brands or have fallen from the heights of Avalir itself during Exandria Unlimited: The Calamity, it can be a little daunting figuring out where to start.  

Allow this Intrepid Hero to be your guide, Gang!

~ Who is the Core Cast? ~

The core cast for Dimension 20 are a group of seven improv comedians, but don't let that fool you into thinking that they are not masterful storytellers.

From Left to Right: Brian Murphy, Lou Wilson, Emily Axford, Brennan Lee Mulligan, Siobhan Thompson, Zac Oyama, and Ally Beardsley.

~ Where to Watch ~

The first episode of every campaign can be watched for free from Dimension 20’s YouTube channel, with some of the older seasons being fully available for free. To gain access to all Dimension 20’s content, along with everything else on Drop Out (including Game Changers and Um, Actually?), you can either become a member on College Humor’s YouTube channel or sign up for DropOutTV. The subscription price is the same for both, just $6 a month, but the DropOut app allows you to download as many episodes as you’d like to watch in offline mode, as well as offer podcast versions.

~ List of Campaigns ~

Dimension 20 has 17 seasons, nearly half of which are played by the core cast while the others are a rotation of guest players and GMs. Rather than listing the campaigns in just release date order, I opted to list by congruency as well for those of us who like to experience one story fully.

~~~

In the World of Spyre

Genre: Fantasy John Hughes movie

System: DnD 5e

Fantasy High

Core Cast

Meet our Intrepid Heroes in their first recorded DnD campaign as teenagers attending Aguefort’s Adventuring Academy! Watch as they overcome the trials and tribulations of high school life…oh, and saving the world.

Full Season Available Here

Pirates of Leviathan

Players: Aabria Iyengar, B. Dave Walters, Carlos Luna, Krystina Arielle, Marisha Ray, and Matthew Mercer

Aboard the floating city of Leviathan, our players discover an incredibly powerful artifact and an incredibly devious scheme. Will they be able to contain it or will they sink the city into the briny depths.

**Note: This was recorded at the start of the 2020 pandemic partially through the recording of Sophomore Year.

Fantasy High: Sophomore Year

Core Cast

It’s sophomore year, baby, and you know what that means! That’s right, time for young love, tragic backstories, and hiring your parents as your employee while on a quest that 70% of your final grade!

First Six Episodes Available Here

** Note: This season is a bit heavier and has aspects of psychological horror.

The Seven

Players: Aabria Iyengar, Becca Scott, Erika Ishii, Isabella Roland, Persephone Valentine, and Rekha Shankar

Playing as the Seven Maidens set a year and a half after the finale of Fantasy High, the girls have to come to terms that their party will be broken up at the end of the year due to being in different graduation classes…or do they?

~~~

Escape From the Bloodkeep

Players: Amy Vorpal, Erika Ishii, Ify Nwadiwe, Matthew Mercer, Mike Trapp, and Rekha Shanker

Genre: Lord of the Rings Parody

System: DnD 5e

Fighting for the side of Darkness and Evil, the players are the elite advisors of the Lord of Shadows. Except the Dark Lord just suddenly died and now they have to figure out how to thwart Good once and for all!

Full Season Available Here

~~~

In the World of Actual New York City

Genre: Urban Fantasy / Superhero Adjacent

System: DnD 5e

The Unsleeping City

Core Cast

Inspired by concepts from Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere, natives of the Big Apple discover the city has so much more than meets the eye. They must come together and discover their power to defeat corruption before it destroys everything.

Full Season Available Here

The Unsleeping City: Chapter Two

Core Cast

Taking place three years after the finale of the first chapter, the players must reunite to confront the evilest enemy of them all: Capitalism Part Duex Electric Boogaloo!

~~~

Tiny Heist

Players: Clint McElroy, Griffin McElroy, Jessica Ross, Justin McElroy, Lily Du, and Travis McElroy

Genre: Ocean’s 11 meets Toy Story

System: DnD 5e

Our players embody the whimsical personas of bugs, toys, and Bitty folk to take down an overreaching mafia boss. After all, there is only one thing more motivating that the love of a child, and that’s a roll of quarters.

~~~

A Crown of Candy

Core Cast

Genre: High Fantasy / Medieval Political Intrigue

System: DnD 5e

The epic story exploring the world of Calorum, where each kingdom is comprised of different food groups that their citizens are made of. Our players are members of the House of Rocks, rulers of Candia, on their way to the naming of the next Emperor of Calorum during a time of great strife.

** Note: This campaign is perhaps the most serious out of anything else in their compendium. They explore themes of war, death, and betrayal with the gravity those topics deserve.

~~~

Mice & Murder

Players: Ally Beardsley, Grant O’Brien, Katie Marovitch, Raphael Chestang, Rekha Shankar, and Sam Reich

Genre: Whodunit / Murder Mystery

System: DnD 5e

In a world where the denizens are anthropomorphic woodland critters, the players have been invited to a fancy birthday party…where a tragedy most foul occurs.

~~~

Misfits And Magic

Guest GM: Aabria Iyengar

Players: Brennan Lee Mulligan, Danielle Radford, Erika Ishii, and Lou Wilson

Genre: Harry Potter Parody

System: Kids on Brooms

Set in the modern day, our players are invited to a prestigious wizarding school to participate in the foreign exchange pilot program, where they discover magic, themselves, and just how impractical this school can be.

** Note: There’s a Holiday Special too!

~~~

Shriek Week

Guest GM: Gabe Hicks

Players: Ally Beardsley, Dani Fernandez, Lily Du, and Ify Nwadiwe

Genre: Monster College

System: The Mythic System

Follow our players in their final semester of university as they try to find a Roëmænce Partnær before the end of year rager, as well as fend off some unwelcome visitors to their campus.

~~~

A Starstruck Odyssey

Core Cast

Genre: Sci-fi / Space Opera

System: Star Wars 5e

The players are a rag-tag group of down-on-their luck spacers just trying to survive the rough and tough galaxy of Starstruck, a technicolor multiverse based on the series of comic books created by Elaine Lee and Michael Kaluta.

~~~

Coffin Run

Guest GM: Jasmine Bhullar

Players: Carlos Luna, Erika Ishii, Isabella Roland, and Zac Oyama

Genre: Gothic Horror

System: DnD 5e

The followers of Count Dracula eagerly await his return home only to find their dark lord has been ambushed. The players are tasked with desperately trying to get his coffin back to the safety of the Castle.

~~~

A Court of Fey & Flowers

Guest GM: Aabria Iyengar

Players: Brennan Lee Mulligan, Emily Axford, Lou Wilson, Omar Najam, Oscar Montoya, and Surena Marie

Genre: Whimsical High Regency

System: Homebrew blend of Good Society & DnD 5e

Fey from all corners of the Faerie gather for The Bloom - a celebration of society, propriety, and abundance of arcane power. Sipping and serving piping hot tea, all eyes and ears are upon the players as they navigate rumors, scandals, and mysteries.

~~~

Neverafter

Core Cast

Genre: Twisted Fairytales

System: DnD 5e

Once upon a time has been cast into happily neverafter; a drought of shadow and misery plaguing the land and players of timeless storybook fame. When awareness of the wrongness is gleamed, and stories intersect in ways they should not, a glimpse between the lines and into the maw of cosmic horror spur our heroes to define destiny.

~~~

TBD

Guest GM: Matthew Mercer

Players: TBD

Genre: TBD

System: TBD

Release Date: May 2023

~ That's a lot. Recommendations? ~

Honestly, I would start with Fantasy High! It's a really good introduction to both the core cast and the way Dimension 20 sets itself apart from other Actual Play shows. From there, you can either go in order (release or series), or simply dabble with whichever genre or campaign trailer catches your eyes most.

As for my personal favorites:

Core Cast would be between A Crown of Candy and A Starstruck Odyssey. A Crown of Candy has some of the most incredible storytelling I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing - Game of Thrones wishes it could be as good! Meanwhile A Starstruck Odyssey is perhaps the funniest games I have ever watched.

Guest Cast is A Court of Fey and Flowers with a very close second being The Seven. I had never understood the appeal of regency before A Court of Fey and Flowers absolutely rocked me with the slightest brush of an ungloved hand. And no media has truly captured what it's like to be in that weird, volatile transition of teenager to young adult quiet like the Seven in the most unhinged way possible.

Wanna do a deeper dive? Visit the Dimension 20 Fan Wiki!

[rpgsandbox]

We find peace together in a small cottage within a village, nestled inside a forest filled with monsters. Only by working together will we survive.

Welcome to Cottages & Cerberus.

'Cottages and Cerberus' is a new cottagecore monster-hunting TTRPG system.   Inspired by games such as Animal Crossing, Harvest Moon, and Monster Hunter, you and your group of friends will live out your lives day to day in a cottage in a fantasy realm. You will hunt vicious monsters to gain materials and improve your cottage. The Core Rulebook includes 50+ monsters to hunt and slay, and each monster  comes with a hunt that is taken before the true fight can begin.

As part of this campaign we are offering special bestiaries for Pathfinder 2E and the D&D 5E. These bestiaries will be available as both PDFs and as a softcover book. Both are available individually in their own tier and also as add-ons.

Download the Preview HERE!!! 

CHARACTER SHEET HERE

Pick up and Play

Cottages & Cerberus is a cottagecore monster-slaying tabletop RPG. The game is simple to pick up but hard to put down. The base rules can be learned in minutes, and since each monster has a hunt— a mini adventure that leads up to the boss fight– you can pick one and start running within minutes. Quickstart characters found in the back of the book reduce the friction of having too many character choices, so players can just choose one and go. But, for those who want to nerd out creating your character and load out, you can spend hours picking the perfect abilities for your character. The rules are easy enough to learn quickly, but varied enough to support a vast array of complex and unique characters.

The core of the system involves making checks. When attempting a check, characters roll a number of six-sided dice based on their attributes and circumstances. The GM will then set a target number, determining how difficult the check is. Players will count the number of dice that rolled the target number or higher and then consult the chart below.

Spoons 

Spoons are the key resource system in C&C. They are an abstraction of a character's physical and mental capacity. The spoon resource system was inspired by the Spoon Theory, an abstract model created by Christine Miserandino that attempts to explain the energy cost of certain actions for people with chronic pain/illness and mental health conditions. Failing checks and being attacked by monsters cost players spoons, as do some abilities.

Cozy Mode 

While in Cozy Mode, you can make checks to do things such as fishing, gardening, crafting, and more. Success grants you Cozy Points. Gain enough Cozy Points and Miss Luna, the goddess of the Moon, will increase your Cottage Rank. In addition, the book presents an optional PC+NPC romance subsystem that is explicitly meant to emulate romance elements found in farming/life sim games.

Character creation in C&C is very simple but rich.  Character creation consists of 4 steps: assign your CALM, chose 3 ABILITIES, pick a VIBE and chose either a MAGIC ITEM or a PET

CALM

CALM refers to your attributes. These 4 scores (CHARM, ALCHEMY, LORE, and MUSCLE) range from 1 to 4 at character creation. Whenever you make a check, you roll a number of dice equal to one of these attributes. 

Abilities 

Next you chose 3 abilities from the over 200 abilities in the book. ABILITIES can have several tags. Abilities with labels like <ACTION> or <REACTION> are powerful combat-focused skills, while tags like <PASSIVE> or <POWER> denote abilities that offer creative, character-focused uses in and out of combat.

Vibes 

VIBES are the general energy your character gives off. Each vibe offers a way to restore spoons.

Pet or Magic item 

Magic Items can grant various benefits. Pets are fully loyal creatures that are controlled by the player. They have a miniature stat block and can be used both in and out of combat.

Start playing quickly 

If all of these character options feel overwhelming, don't worry! The book offers  options that can help you build your character. The back of the book also contains several quick start characters. 

Cozy Calling 

The book also presents an optional system called Cozy Callings. Each Cozy Calling includes a bit of lore and questions to help you write your backstory. They also include recommended abilities, and abilities written specially for that Calling (but available to all characters). Cozy Callings are optional, you can take several Callings or take none. A Cozy Calling is merely a starting point for creating your character. Cozy Callings in the book include concepts such as the Cheerleader and the Spell Knight.

Hunting mode is the a core part of the game loop in Cottages & Cerberus. After defeating a monster, players gain new materials that they can use to craft items for their cottage. There are over 50 monsters to slay in Cottages & Cerberus. Each monsters contains an hunt, a miniature adventure consisting of anywhere from 1 to 5+ scenes and minor challenges that must be completed in order to face the fearsome beast.

Quick and Brutual Boss Fights 

Fights in C&C are meant to be brutal, intense, but quick. These monster fights are explicitly meant to be BOSS fights, and the rules for combat are built to emulate intense battles. The monster starts each fight with an OPENER before its first real turn. Afterwards, it's the players turn. Players decide among themselves what order they want to take their actions. After all players have gone, the monster activates CLOSER abilities that auto-target based on which character(s) meets  certain conditions.  (As an example, one monster might have an ability that deals damage to the character with the most spoons).

Each monster also has challenges. Challenges come in two varieties. Hook Challenges offer plot hooks related to the monster. Variation Challenges represent subspecies of the monster that alter its ecology, lore and abilities.

Kickstarter campaign ends: Sat, October 7 2023 2:03 AM BST

Website: [twitter]

[gunthermunch]

This is quite late but any chance we could get little funfacts or tidbits about Carmen Villarreal please?

small detail we can pick up from the prologue but she used to own a moon shaped necklace because of Luna

[inkdemonapologist]

In the BatIM Call of Cthulhu game, the Yellow King’s cult actually already has an established habit of replacing people’s heads with other things so y’know wHY NOT DO SOMETHING WITH THE LEFTOVER HEAD!!!! dealing with the head-half of Bertrum was GENUINELY TERRIFYING ACTUALLY, HOW ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO FIGHT A GIANT WHIRLING CARNIVAL RIDE,,

Prophet was pretty distressed by the amount of noise caused by Large Angry Man + Out Of Tune Carnival Ride Music + Giant Mechanical Thing Whirling Around and did his best to shoot it, but Jack was the real MVP with his incredible skill of JUST BEING REALLY FRIENDLY AND LIKEABLE AND CONVINCING THE OTHER HALF OF BERTRUM TO HELP US.

Prophet giving himself a nosebleed by pushing his ink-sensing abilities isn’t related I just needed another image to get the photoset not to stretch out too long LMAO

anyway have some out of context quotes from our last session!

[Sammy is played by me, Joey is played by Boo (inkyvendingmachine), Henry is played by Maf (inkcryptid), Jack is played by Mochi (whatyouwantedmetosee) and Thren (haunted-hijinxer) is our GM!]

[Sammy] Okay, well, Prophet’s plan is to wander around until he ends up where wants to go. So. If anyone has a better plan than that –

[Henry] If Henry has spares, he might distribute them to people who don’t have weapons. [Sammy] In the middle of Luna Park?!? [Henry] Before they left, I mean! [Henry] YOU get a stick, and YOU get a stick! EVERYONE GETS A STICK!!! [Joey] I feel like Allison might not need a weapon. I feel like Allison could possibly, be a weapon, [GM] Allison has a very large, thin handbag. :) [Sammy] Hm. [Joey]...yeah. [GM] It looks very fashionable!

[GM] Joey thinks he notices something moving in the water! [Joey] *nervous* WELL,,, CAN HE TELL WHAT IT IS,,, [GM] A shape, a shadow, maybe limbs; hard to tell. [Sammy] I mean, there’s NO aquatic creatures at ALL in the Cthulhu Mythos, so that’s probably FINE! [Sammy] That’s what it’s known for, right? Its LACK of aquatic creatures???

[GM] You do think you see, kind of in the detritus of this ride-thing – a figure? [Sammy] Of ink? That shines in the darkness?

[Sammy] *rolling to dodge* Extreme success!! [GM] With an extreme, I think Sammy probably could move Joey out of the way as well, if he wants to! [Sammy] [Sammy] …not really. [Joey] *sighs* Yeah, I thought so.

[Sammy] I think this is the first time Leon has heard Bendy? So, from his perspective, Joey just… explained what was wrong in a cartoon voice for some reason???

[Jack] I see that we have an interesting head, for Bertrum… Are we going to have to hire another guy, because he got traumatised? Or, coincidentally hire a guy who also got traumatised, [Sammy] He’s fine! I don’t see a problem; I think he’s fine. [GM] You didn’t hire Avedon. You don’t have to hire every traumatised person. [Sammy] SEE!! We don’t have to hire every traumatised person!!!

[Sammy] And then medic guy who seems to have no other useful skills is with us, obviously. [Joey] He wanted to come! [Sammy] Yeah, I know, I’m just picking on him.

[GM] You hear a much louder rumbling; make a Dexterity check! [Joey] Oh boy… *rolls* Hm! Well,, [GM] Hm? [Joey] Got a double zero, but the other die is also a zero, [Henry] OHHHhhh, [Sammy] Oh NO, that’s VERY bad, [GM] Oh, that’s a fumble! Okay, cool! Excellent, great! Cool. [Henry] … it’s not good when your GM says “excellent.”

[Henry] Henry’s ready to fight an amusement park ride. [GM] You got your perception check, right? There IS an axe on the wall! [Henry] We really are just doing Bendy and the Ink Machine, huh?

[Henry] *distressed* I don’t wanna lose Joey! [GM] It’s fine! He’s having a nice ride. : ) Okay, it’s Prophet Sammy’s turn! [Sammy] Bendy said that these things whipped people around withOUT killing them. [GM] Yeah. Yeah, he’s disappointed,

[Sammy] Well, Henry’s in Murder-Mode or whatever, so I’m sure he can handle it. [Henry] AN ENTIRE AMUSEMENT PARK RIDE??? [Sammy] WELL YOU HANDLED AN ENTIRE CULT JUST FINE!!

[Jack] Does Jack recognise the voice of Bertrum? [GM] ... I’d make you roll for it, but he was being so loud the entire contest, I think you just recognise it. [Joey] Can’t NOT recognise it!

[GM] Henry could use that Other Thing. [Sammy] Other thing??? Why does everyone have so many secret powers?!? [Henry] This one’s only unlockable on special occasions! [Sammy] Sammy doesn’t have SPECIAL POWERS, he just has FIVE DIFFERENT MENTAL DISORDERS

[GM] It’s a spell that the Cult Leader in Haiti had, and tried to use on Henry -- it is a compulsion spell! [Jack] *laughing in disbelief* What is Henry compelling the octopus ride to DO?!? [Henry] Just heckin’ stop. [Henry] Calm down, put Joey down, go to bed. [Joey] *laughing* Henry just treats the octopus ride like it’s one of his kids who had a tantrum – [Jack] The Great Bertrum Piedmont gets angrier! [Sammy] *Bertrum voice* HE TOLD ME TO GO TO BED, LIKE I WAS A CHILD!

[Sammy] Bendy, let’s talk about our wording, and how you don’t say “I lost Joey.” Like. Word that differently. [GM] No, he’s doing very good! He didn’t say he was dead; that’s the important one, right? [Sammy] …Alright, we’re going to have a talk about this later.

[GM] Pete also doesn’t know what to do with this. He’s willing to help, but he’s not going to fight an Octopus Machine. [Joey] *dying laughing* I love how this started with “there’s an axe on the wall.” S…SURE!! Except we’re playing CALL OF CTHULHU and NONE of us are sure what an axe on the wall might do to help!!! [GM] I just needed Henry to know! It was important to me that he was aware. [Henry] Henry DID grab the axe. He doesn’t know if he can use it, but he’s grabbed it!

[Sammy] Who knows! We’ve split people into different pieces before. [GM] We sure have, [Sammy] Can’t think of any examples offhand, but it seems like a thing that could happen!

[Sammy] But if it doesn’t work, I would like to shoot, uh, The Great Bertrum Piedmont, in the head. [Jack] Ohhh, the other Sammy isn’t gonna like this one… [Sammy] HE DIDN’T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THIS GUY! This isn’t one of the ones I’m not supposed to hurt!

[GM] It is Jack’s turn! Henry’s chanting a creepy spell, Joey is no longer screaming, and Sammy is aiming a gun at the head! [Jack] All of the other options seem to be accounted for. We have someone who’s doing magic at it, we have someone who’s doing violence at it, we have someone who is passing out on it, we have someone who’s watching and not doing anything – we have two of those, in fact, so we don’t need a third one! [Jack] Jack is going to go back, and try to befriend, The Great Bertrum Piedmont.

[GM] *points out that an early note from the mob refers to “TGBP”* [Sammy] OH………. The Great Bertrum Piedmont….. [GM] I’m glad you guys all had the same reaction as the gangsters, to this guy.

[Jack] He’s saying he wants to help him, and “I’m not going to hurt you, I’m trying to help,” [GM] He’s just a little guy. [Jack] Just a little guy, and it’s his birthday. His… Bert-day… [Sammy] And Then He Shoots Steam At You

[GM] I’m going to roll a sanity check for Bertrum… *rolls* I ROLLED A ONE? [Henry] This is a VERY sane man! [Joey] No, this is the power of Jack Fain.

[Sammy] This gun doesn’t have any special, like, “definitely hit octopus rides when shooting at the heads imbedded within” stats, right?

[GM] *discussing different effects of major wounds vs dying* That said, I do not know as the Lurker knows the difference, [Joey] I feel like so far, the Lurker has taken any amount of damage as “dying” – [Jack] –not to be confused with “bleeding,” which is fine if it’s just a little bit!

[Sammy] Look, all Prophet’s been told with Joey, is that the Masked Messenger wants to see how things play out! And dying on a carnival ride is a way that things could play out! I don’t feel like I’ve done anything wrong here!

[Joey] I need to say this, before we get into it again: I don’t think Joey’s walking out of this season~!!!

[Jack] This is going to be the second time, that Jack goes to get help from someone he befriends who has a giant replaced head, from some kind of machinery, and then walks back into the room, where there’s a circle and lots of magic things and weird things are happening, and Joey and Henry are both unconscious. [Joey] It’s Weird That It Happened Twice, [GM] That’s an impressive two nickels! [Jack] *has the inflation calculator open* That’s like two dollars! You could buy something with that!

[GM] Man, I was reviewing all this gun stuff, and I didn’t review fumbles! I was like, oh they’re actually doing guns – I know how to do multiple shots a round, and things that give you dice –! [Sammy] And you weren’t ready for us to fumble? Thren, it’s like you don’t know us at all!

[Henry] *noticing Bertrum* Henry might yell over to Jack, if he thinks that thing can help??? Sorry, he’s rude now.

[corcnaiism]

;-- gm friendly reminder that i don't ship noctis x lunafreya romantically. and this isn't me hating on the ship or anything bc it's cute but i didn't get enough vibes from them throughout my own playthrough for me to personally ship it. i see them more as childhood friends that tried dating once but it didn't work out though they continued being close. noctis would turn to luna to talk about stuff every now and then especially when there is conflict with the boys, asking for advice and whatnot. they would go out shopping together at times and walk pryna and umbra to a dog park for some quality time.

[smubiess]

someone else asked me about ships but they used a derogatory term so I'm just gonna say them here

100% CANON

William x Anette (duh)

Henry x Bella (until they divorce)

Teddy x Vixen (funtime frexy)

ONE SIDED

Dolly x Ballora (dolly has a small crush on ballora)

Sunny x GM Chica (this one seems random as hell, I get that. Sunny just has a really big celebrity crush on their coworker lol)

GM Freddy x Monty

Luna (moondrop) x Monty

PLATONIC (excluding family relationships here)

Jeremy and Michael

Sunny (springbon sunny not sundrop sunny) and Fredbear

Willaim and Bella

Charlie and Elizabeth

GM Chica and Monty

there's probably more, but they're not entering my brain atm

[thisisnotthenerd]

got a little too bored today and started tallying up d20 cast appearances for the intrepid heroes (and brennan). this is only off of the top of my head so if i forget something don't get on me about it.

Intrepid Heroes D20 Cast Appearances, including sidequests (and BLeeM), ranked from highest to lowest:

Brennan Lee Mulligan with a total of 17/19 seasons that he has appeared in; dm/gming for 14 of those seasons. 7 of those are main cast/intrepid heroes, so assume they each have a baseline of seven.

next up is mister Lou Wilson, with a total of 10 seasons; 3 sidequests, all with guest gms. the man is a combination of dnd knowledge and commit to the bit. great with any season, but has always sidequested with brennan.

tied at nine, we have zac oyama and ally beardsley; ally featured heavily in 2021 sidequests while zac has been more recent in '22 and '23.

tied at eight we have the lovely ladies emily axford and siobhan thompson! i'm so glad siobhan has joined the ranks of intrepid heroes in sidequests, it feels like they just have a lot of fun on the shorter runs.

and in last place, mr brian 'murph' murphy. i know he's busy with naddpod but only intrepid heroes seasons? 7/19? please come on a sidequest my guy. i promise it's fun.

halfway through this process i've decided that guests are also being included now.

Guest Cast D20 Appearances, ranked from highest to lowest:

at the top of the guest list, the effervescent aabria iyengar, with 5/12 sidequest seasons! 2 seasons of gming, 3 seasons as a player, all 3 of which are in established d20 worlds e.g. spyre and calorum. assuming we have an intrepid heroes season coming up at some point in the future, murph can get a bit of a lead, but if aabria's coming on to guest more there's a very real potential that she will outcompete him. i look forward to the day.

next up: erika ishii with 4 seasons. they came on in the first sidequest and have had a steady stream of appearances since. always some kind of mage--tends towards druids/nature magic. 2/3 of her dnd appearances have been druids with an eye for creepy crawlies and the darker side of nature. he's got an aesthetic that he sticks to, and i admire that. real commitment, and not just to the bit.

tied with three we have rekha shankar and matthew mercer. ooh four-syllable names. sorry i got distracted. anyway. very excited to see rekha in desiquest, though she's a fantastic player on d20. big swings, fun character choices, a good balance of support for narrative and spotlight. and then we have matt--one season gming, but for the seasons he's played? some truly cringefail guys who learn to believe in themselves and break out of their personal depression to deliver an asskicking in their finale episode. man likes his themes.

now for the team of two (not the 2 crew) in chronological order of first appearance: mike trapp, ify nwadiwe, lily du, carlos luna, danielle radford, and izzy roland. just enough to make an average d20 table! i'm getting my fill of trapp and danielle in the current season, but seeing a table of these players together? it has potential.

and for the full list of one time appearances on d20 in chronological order of first appearance (only full seasons, not including oneshots atm):

amy vorpahl

justin mcelroy

clint mcelroy

jessica ross

griffin mcelroy

travis mcelroy

marisha ray

krystina arielle

b. dave walters

katie marovitch

sam reich

raphael chestang

grant o'brien

becca scott

persephone valentine

gabe hicks (gm!)

dani fernandez

jasmine bhullar (gm!)

omar najam

oscar montoya

surena marie

anjali bhimani

monét x change

alaska thunderfuck

bob the drag queen

jujubee

alex song-xia

freddie wong

hank green

i've devoted entirely too much thought to this. and i still have more thoughts. too many thoughts and not enough time. can't wait to see who comes on in the future! don't know if i'll edit this or make a new one. probably just edit this.