#i use crystal cave as an adjective now.

[necronatural]

Just realized this was posted in 2014. does everyone know about the how to respond to criticism article. we have got to talk about the how to respond to criticism article

[loreculus]

adventures in dragonspine

character(s): albedo

the frigid wind whipped at your skin as you trekked up the snow covered mountain, face pink and fingers frozen from the more than cold temperature. gripping the side of your cloak and wrapping it around your body further, you looked at the figure next to you to see if he was losing his battle with the cold as bad as you were. to your displeasure, he seemed mostly unfazed, rosey cheeks aside.

"albedo," you called your platinum-haired companion through shivers. "do you mind if we stop and rest somewhere for a bit? i'm dangerously cold."

the alchemist slowed his pace and flicked his eyes around the environment looking for a cave or cavity in the mountain to use as a makeshift shelter. spotting an opening to a small cavern, albedo reached his hand behind your back, gently pushing you towards it. the cave was small but not suffocating, it's walls protecting you from the unforgiving winds of the mountain.

"we should be able to rest here for a little while," albedo said as he started a fire while you set a blanket out for him and cocooned yourself in another.

"every time i come to dragonspine i say I'll be okay, and i am wrong every time," you say with a flat face. "i don't know how you do this all the time."

albedo smirked slightly at your remark, glad his back was facing you to hide his amused expression. "a trick of the trade i suppose." he turned to you and picked up the blanket waiting for him at his feet, draping it over his shoulders. he spoke again, his voice calm as ever, "maybe next time you'll wear an insulated coat instead of a fur-line cloak.

you gaped at him. "there's an insulated coat? an insulated coat!?" the fact that all of your previous trips up this mountain could have been warmer had you known makes you want to laugh and cry. "i really need to do better research."

the ends of albedo's lips tipped up, a small smile gracing his features. "no worries, i should have told you about them, i-" the man's words were cut off by a rumbling sound accompanied by an intense shaking that made your face high-five the ground.

hand pressing your forehead, you let out a trivial groan, breaking free from your cocooned state as you sit up to keep yourself from falling again. "what's happening?" you looked at the genius beside you.

"i cannot say for certain, but from the sound coming above us, i think it's an avalanche," he said, voice raised.

at his words, as if he beckoned it, snow came rumbling down, the white substance obstructed the entrance, leaving you and albedo with no way out. It all happened so fast, and you were wide-eyed at it all.

"are we stuck in here?" you asked, one part of you wanting to scream and another wanting to laugh hysterically.

"it would appear so."

eventually, the latter feeling won you over, and you doubled-over on the ground laughing. with happy tears pooling in your eyes, you tried to gain some composure. "sorry, albedo, had i known we would get stuck in a cave, i wouldn't have proposed we take a break."

"well, i am actually glad we stopped," he looked at you thoughtfully. "had we not, we would be under ten feet of snow right now."

you bounced your head left and right, as if weighing the options. "yup," you popped the "p" sound, "definitely happy to be in a cave right now." you then looked over to your bags and asked, "you wanna do some work right now to pass the time?"

albedo nodded, immediately going over to the bags and picking them up, placing them beside you and him as he sat back down on the chilled stone. he pulled out his sketchbook and pen, his eyes reflecting deep thought as he analyzed his art and annotations. you opened your notes as well, going over the properties of forging materials and imprinting the location of crystal chunks in your brain. that's why you came on this journey with albedo -- for he needed to return to his dragonspine research camp and you needed to gather materials to ascend your sword, it's current state not being enough for the battles you get yourself into anymore.

"hey, albedo," if he heard your call he didn't show it, but you knew he was listening anyway. "what did you need from your research camp up here?"

still in his position, he replied, "i left something when i was there last, it is--" he paused, mentally searching for a fitting adjective. "sentimental."

you gave him a look of understanding and pressed the subject no further. "hmm, what are you working on?" you knew you should not have asked, as distracting him from his work was sort of rude, but you loved it when he talked about his work -- his eyes brightened, his features softened, and his whole demeanor livened up -- even if only slightly.

he only meant to give you a basic breakdown, but he eventually began to ramble. although the content of his words were complete gibberish, his intonation and inflection were music to your ears. his voice, so silky and smooth, calmed your insides and warmed the frigid atmosphere of the cave.

"but, anyways," albedo's ramble had come to an end. "how do you feel about getting out of this place now?"

"get...out…?" you asked, a confused expression etched on your face. "why do you make that sound easy, i thought you said we were stuck in here?"

the alchemist chuckled, his mouth curving into a slight smirk. "i believe i said we appeared to be stuck, not that we actually were." with that, he turned and aimed his hand at the pile of snow covering the entrance. his hand glowed brightly, a brilliant gold light emitting from his fingers. the light pooled into a ball slightly in front of his palm, shooting out, dissipating the snow as if it was never there.

"h-how did you-"

albedo let out a big laugh at your dumbfounded look. "alchemy, darling."

"right, alchemy, of course." you shook your head vigorously and sucked on your cheeks as you slung your things over your shoulder and left the cave. "teach me that trick, albedo. i've needed a get out of jail free card like that on many occasions."

"i will, but let's finish our job up here in dragonspine first, eh?"

"yes, yes, of course."

[tixelsketchbookuniverse]

Name: Mystic (Pronounced like Miss-Tic) Nickname(s): Mr Crystal, Mysty (Nickname from Muffet and his adopted siblings), Sweetie (Taffy), Pudding (Muffet) Gender: Male Age: 25 years (backstory), Around 30 Years (current) Species/What Are They: Crystal Monster Just a head's up! The way I wrote the info about his breed is a little jumbled up. This is my first time making a new species, so 1) It's probably not the best, but I'll get better, and 2) I wasn't sure what order everything should be in, so sorry about that ^ Fan made creature. Crystal Monsters are humanoid monsters that are born from crystal caves near Waterfall. Their entire bodies are made of rock and crystal. They are actually hollow and don't require food or water to live, but they can consume foods and drink if they so choose. Those that chose to consume foods have drill a little hole in their foot to evacuate the food which they then have to plug in with a cork or something. They are also unaffected by the climat, as they do not feel the cold or warmth. So they can live virtually anywhere. The fact that they are mostly hollow makes them incredibly fragile, they can be compared to china teacups. If one were to fall from a high place (ex: On top of a wardrobe) their body would smash on impact. The only place were they are not hollow is inside their mouths. A crystal monster's maturity is measured by how many small crystals appear on their bodies. They appear on the face (typically cheeks and forehead but it can vary), ankles, back, neck, collar, legs and biceps. A mature adult Crystal monster has crystals on all these places. Crystals can appear in other places but it's less common. The crystals never stop growing so they have to either be cut off or shaved when they get too big. Cutting them and shaving them doesn't hurt, it's just like clipping your nails. However if ripped out, it would cause intense pain. This is actually the only time a Crystal monster would feel pain, as they are immune to it the rest of the time. Especially rare CMs have these crytals covering their heads (instead of their stone "hair"), this is the case for Mystic's sister Burma. All other CMs are born with a large rounded square stone on their heads, which is their "hair". Most wait until they are at a more mature age to style it or cut it off completely. Styling it is stone carving, which can be hard to do. Most prefer to cut the entire thing off and resort to wigs or plugging their heads with fake hair (the top of their heads is hollow after all). They live for about 80 years, and only reach full adulthood at around 30 years. However if a crystal monster proves that they are capable of taking care of themselves before that (which most are) they are legally adults. A crystal monster's body is whatever colour crystal they are born from, Mystic was born from a Rose Quartz, so his primary colour is pink. Crystal monsters are named after adjectives associated with gemstones (Ex: Smoky (Quartz), Paraiba (Tourmaline), Snowflake (Obsidian), Kurma (Sapphire), Mystic (Topaz) etc... When hit in combat they do not bleed, the impacted zones crumble away or crack, and if hit hard enough fall off. This is also an issue when they are looking for jobs. Because they are so vulnerable they can't do jobs that require hard manual labour or anything that could cause even small injuries. When in combat a CM will try and make as much distance as possible from their opponent and will use projectiles for weapons and attacks. They can create crystals and use them to fight, known as Crystal Magic. The crystals also start to grow around where a CM settles for a long time, essentially marking it's territory. While rare, it is possible for a baby to be born from them. The ability to use said crystals varies from person to person. It appears to be that rarer gemstones have more powerful Crystal Magic than more common gems. Mystic's brother Honey is one them, as he is able to create entires houses out crystals. He is subsequently an architect who charges very high prises for his Gemstone Homes. Music and dancing is very important to their race, it's a big part of their culture. Most of them go into the entertainment business as singers and dancers. They have the reputation of being fragile and while beautiful, they are actually meretricious. This is not actually the case. Their souls are white like all the other monsters, but they are all enclosed in a crystal that protects it. Mystic's soul is protected by a pink crystal, so it appears pink in combat. They are not born with gender defining body parts, they are like Barbie and Ken dolls under their clothes. They are genderless, but female CMs tend to have wider hips, while males have wider shoulders and torsos. They are all born with a large rock on their heads which could be considered hair. It always starts off looking like a rock afro, and they have to carve and shave them to have a better hairdo. However it doesn’t grow, so they have to be very careful with it. A lot of them cut them off entirely and resort to wearing wigs. (It has been brought to my attention the similarities between the CMs and the Gems from the Steven Universe. Despite agreeing that they are very similar, I have to stress it was purely coincidence  I DO watch SU, but it never came to mind when making my species. The two have nothing to do with each other, and I didn't intentionally rip-off the gems. This is just a massive oops from me) Soul (Color): Pastel Pink, crystallised; White, vulnerable Sexuality: Homosexual ~BATTLE INFO~ -Honestly at the moment I'm really not 100% sure about his attack powers and levels and stuff, so this part is still a WIP. HP: 1000 (looses 500 hp when he looses the crystals around his SOUL, and 500 hp again when struck a final time) Atc: 36 Def: 0 (crumbles when hit) Exp: 400 LV: Unknown Powers/Attacks: Crystal Shard (single shard that pops out from either side of the box) (initial attack to see if the protagonist is serious about fighting him) Crystal Shard combo (series of crystals coming from either side of the box) (main attack) Rolling Crystal Screw (series of small spinning crystals that circle around the player's SOUL before being thrown at it one by one) Crystal Megaton Shower (Shower of fast moving small crystals falling from the top of the box followed by a giant one) Weapons: None, manipulates crystals (technically not a weapon, more like an element) Oh wait he throws tea, tea cups and tea pots at you as a last resort Fighting Style: Long distance, element user (Crystals), Crystal projectiles ~RELATIONSHIP INFO~ Friends With: Muffet, Nice Cream Guy, Asgore, Frisk (Pacifist and Neutral Route), Grillby, Nyki and Chi , Taffy , Cypher , Betsy Bell , Hairy Popper , Jackie Lantern , Kasper Tanopl , Farren Mystic has a one sided friendship with Chi, a demon monster. She doesn't want anything to do with anyone, while Mystic wants to help her come out of her shell and enjoy life. It's not going well so far. Neutral With: Almost everyone, he sees everyone as either a potential friend or customer Enemies With: Flowey, Asriel Frisk (Genoside Route), Taffy (more rivals than enemies) (Reconciled) Family: None technically, but considers every other Crystal Monster he knows his family, as he grew up with them, they all see each other as siblings; Angel (Surrogate Mother), Honey (Adopted Brother), Sky (Adopted Brother)(sta.sh/0qbb9zf92wu) , Snowflake (Adopted Sister), Burma (Adopted Sister), Unnamed number of older and younger adopted siblings Crush(es): Asgore (Small crush but that ain't going nowhere), Taffy (But it'll be a cold day in hell when he admits it) Single, Taken, Or Talking (If the last two, with who): Married (Taffy) ~PERSONALITY~ In his youth, Mystic was headstrong and ambitious. He had a habit of biting off more than he can chew, and as a result often ended up failing at what he set out to do. He used to be very proud and could be considered pig headed. He’s an optimist however, and he’ll always try again when he fails. He took himself way to seriously, which resulted in him often getting laughed at by other for his behaviour. He’s pretty sensitive, so that didn’t sit well with him. He was, and still is, very patient and dedicated. But something he concentrates too hard on a task and can become unpleasant to deal with. He had a lot of growing up to do, but now he has changed for the better. His uptight and proud attitude has mellowed out, he’s a very “chill” guy now. He's kind and patient to everyone he meets, and loves a good chat with a cup of tea. He now fully embraces his other side. His passionate, imaginative and wonderfully ambitious side. He’ll forever be a workaholic, but he loves his life and isn’t unpleasant about it anymore. He’s unrivalled in rampant enthusiasm and passion for his business, proudly calling it his pride and joy. He holds his heritage very close to his heart. He's a very talented singer and dancer. His personal favourite being swing dancing (he can't resist a little jazz music), but he's knows quite a few more. He learned a lot from working with his siblings on stage shows, so he knows mambo (Honey), Jive (Sky), Disco (Sky), Tango (Burma, though she never let him lead) among others. He is very enthusiastic about tea, musicals and singing. He installed a TV in his shop and has a large collection of musicals on VHS which he plays while working, often singing along and dancing a little behind the counter. He can get very pushy and won't let go of a task until he succeeds (but will stop eventually if another person convinces him to). He inherited Angel's stubbornness, that's for sure! He's a bit of a hoarder, he hates throwing away stuff, so his house is very cluttered and full of old stuff he doesn't need. He's sassy and a fast talker, and listens to little too much gossip. And he's a total diva. Like the worst kind. Strengths: Good projectile attacks, makes a great cup of tea Weaknesses: Abysmally physically weak, literally falls apart if struck in battle Flaws: Dorky, takes himself too seriously, quick to judge, Clumsy, clingy, pushy, loud and proud (previously), Stubborn, Sensitive, Can be short tempered (previously), Impatient (previously) Likes: Tea (WOW who saw that coming?), Pudding, Cakes, Donuts, Being a Gentleman, Pink, Muffet's food, Happy Customers, Yogurt, Musicals (namely Hello, Dolly!), Singing, Dancing, Everything Pink, 1920s aesthetic Dislikes: Coffee, Awkward Customers, Embarrassing himself, Failure, Mess, Unrequited crushes, being bested at things by Taffy, being seen as a joke, being laughed at, socks and sandals Fears: His Business Failing, Cockroaches, Water (Rocks can't swim they plummet) Pacifist Route/Neutral Route: Mystic's tea parlour can be found by the player in Snowdin. When you first enter the shop/parlour Mystic will get scared and will hide behind the counter. To lure him out, the place must select the dialogue option to "say a heartfelt compliment about tea/the colour pink". Mystic will stop hiding and say "Oh my! Well maybe humans can be civil after all! How may I help you, teacup?" You have to buy some tea from Mystic and say yes to him offering a chat with you to become his friend. During the conversation you learn of his backstory and likes. After this you can buy and sell items to him like any other shop keeper (however he only sells tea) and he has an optional mini game for you to grind money. It's a very simple give the right order to the right person mini game and your timing and accuracy determines your final paycheque. This mini game is always available, and depending on what point of the game you're at, characters you've met will appear as customers (Ex: Papyrus, Undyne etc...). You can also have a Chat with Mystic any time you want to replenish your health completely, and you learn more stuff about him in the chat. He calls the player "Teacup". You only fight him in the Genoside Route. In the Pacifist and Neutral Route he is either stand behind the counter of his parlour, or walking around the tables. In the G Route, he is standing in front of the counter. Genoside Route: Unlike the rest of the townsfolk, Mystic refuses to go into hiding. He keeps his shop open, despite no longer getting customers, because he believes he's worked too hard and too long to just abandon it (He's not a very smart rock). The player does end up meeting him and to get the true genoside route you have to kill him. Mystic's attacks are projectiles that the player has to avoid. While he attacks the player will spot a hand or a foot (indicating which body part Mystic used to make the attack). The player simply has to touch each one twice (two for left hand, two for left foot etc...) with their SOUL to break them. When done correctly, Mystic becomes his most vulnerable (having no limbs as they were broken off) and is left defenceless. One hit at this stage does a substantial amount of damage to him and the crystal around his soul is destroyed. After the one hit he regenerates his lost limbs and the player has to repeat the previous step. After that, Mystic is dead. From the fight the player collects the small crystals on his body and can sell them. ~APPEARANCE~ Eye Color: Pink Height: 5'6 Weight: (I'm not too sure what to write for this. Mystic is made of rock, which is heavy, but he's also mostly hollow, which would make him lighter.) Clothes: His work clothes consist of a white shirt and dark grey trousers. He wears red shiny shoes. He sometimes wears a black fedora with it, but not often (because it's rude to wear hats inside). When making his hand made tea he wears a mostly clean white apron over his clothes. On special events he wears a dark grey dress suit vest over his shirt. His style is inspired from the 1920s When he was younger he wore an oversized shirt (it was blue with different coloured stripes), grey-pink trousers and orange plastic sandals. Hair: Used to have a block of stone that was his natural "hair", it looked like a solid afro. As a young adult he cut it off and had his head replugged with pale pink wool which he now styles short and curly. Skin: Pale Pink Other: The moron's fashion sense makes it so that he often wears high heels, but he's too clumsy to actually walk in high heels so he typically doesn't move around a lot when at work. He has a crack on his left cheek that he got from a punch. He airbrushes it in the morning with pink paint to make it less obvious. He has small crystals on his cheeks, neck, back, and left thigh. While he does like them, and they show his maturity, they tend to get in the way of his work and would require him making holes in all his clothing. If he was in show-business, he would have let them grow out. ~OTHER INFO~ Alignment: Good Goals/Purpose: Run a successful business, getting enough money to buy his shop to beat Taffy (succeeded) Job: Tea shop owner  teaandpixels.deviantart.com/ar… Various odd jobs (previously) Entertainment (Theatre and part time singer) (previously) Items: Infinite number of tea brews and tea boxes to sell Voice: Nick Pitera www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZ0Km_… Theme song: Don't Rain On My Parade, Barbara Streisand www.youtube.com/watch?v=aO3Gb5… OR Mad Tea Party www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdVoZC… ~BACKSTORY~ (Note: This is a pretty long backstory, and I still need to iron out details and stuff. I worked really hard on it, and I know I can still improve it. The backstory might be a little too long for an Undertale oc thought. I don't know. And finally, I've structured the story to follow the movie format (three act structure with an overarching character arc) and in my mind, if it would be told with musical intervals. Think movies like Greatest Showman and Hello Dolly!.) Backstory: Mystic was born in a cave hidden deep in Waterfall. It’s the birthplace of all Crystal monsters and it is said to be exceptionally beautiful but very difficult to find. A glamorous diamond monster named Angel, who had tasked herself with caring for all newly born Crystal Monsters, found him while doing her monthly trip to the cave to find/"harvest" newly borns. Upon finding him, she notices how the crystals on the walls were glowing this time of year and that it looked truly mystical to her. This reminded her of a baby she'd found the month prior, who had taken a fall and shattered before she could save him. That baby was born from a Mystic Topaz, so she named the newfound baby Mystic. Mystic was found with four other babies, Snowflake, Honey, Sky and Burma. He grew up with all the other CMs she’d adopted and new siblings were a common occurrence. Angel had made an absolute fortune for herself as a drag queen in her youth (she is still a drag queen to this day) (as well as many marriages to many wealthy men) and she’d bought herself a palace like house with an east and west wing to accommodate everyone. She often likes to boast that her home is actually a palace, which may or may not be true. But it is certainly a very nice place to live. Mystic was closest to the four he was found with, the five always being together. One day they were playing outside in the rain in Waterfall, when Mystic and Sky wandered off on their own to look at the castle. They are surprised by a monster they'd accidentally woken up, and in their fright they take a stumble and fall down a rocky ledge. Their fall is broken by a bush they fall into, but Sky's arm gets cracked on the impact, it was dangerously close to being broken off completely. Mystic landed on his face, cracking his cheek a little, but nothing too bad. It was too dark for them to see how to climb back up, and they were too scared to even try. They wonder through the stone and bush forest they'd landed in, calling out for help. They keep walking for a long time, well into the night, Mystic eventually carrying his now crying brother. They reach a lake were they stop to rest. By this point they were both crying, and had no idea what to do. They are approached by a tall figure, and in his terror Mystic accidentally creates a big pink crystal shard to shield him and Sky. The figure told them to not be scared, and that he meant no harm. It was King Asgore. They brings them in to the castle to rest, and he offers them tea to make them feel better. Sky, still scared and wary of him, refuses. But Mystic accepts, and it's love at first taste. He'd never had anything like it before. This began his tea addiction. Asgore brought the two back to Angel the following day, promising them they'd meet again one day. They were both grounded for a week. But Mystic didn't care, he knew he'd found his DESTINY. The crystal children all had relatively similar plans for their futures. Going into show business or marrying into money. They are naturally talented in singing and due to them being born from precious gems they are typically very lovely looking. But Mystic knew what he wanted, he wanted to open a tea shop of his very own. He grew up into a young man, a set off to accomplish his dream. Many many people tried to discourage him from pursuing his dream. They said he was too young and naïf, and if it wasn't for his afro like hair and mismatched clothing style, he could get by in show business with his looks alone. He worked at as many odd jobs as he could to get money (markets, waiter, cleaning jobs etc) and saved up every penny. He eventually sets his sights on a cute little place up for sale located in the Hotlands that had a big shed next door. For him it was perfect because it would be his parlour and a house at the same time. He talks with the owner of the place about buying it, only to find someone else also had their sights on it. The other person was a Spider monster named Taffy. The two debated with the owner over who should get it and got more and more passive aggressive with each other as the conversation went on. The owner finally decided that since neither of them actually had enough money to buy the place, they should race and whoever manages to get the right amount by the end of the year would win. And if both of them had enough it was however with more that would win. They agree, but the second Mystic and Taffy are alone together they verbally fight, vowing to take the other down. Taffy lays down the cold hard truth that Mystic had no idea what he was doing, to which Mystic squawked a lot of "WHAT?"s. The argument ends with Taffy calling Mystic “You're just a joke, sweetie”. Growing up, Mystic became very good friends with Muffet and at some point he met Grillby and they’ve been friends ever since. He went straight to them to complain about Taffy, and they lay the hard truth on them that he really didn’t know anything about running a business and that Taffy was already ahead of him by leaps and bounds. It turns out Muffet and Taffy were also old friends. So Muffet and Grillby agree to teach Mystic in the ways of owning a business. He takes their lessons and advice very seriously and eventually gets up to speed with them. Mystic and Taffy have a lot of run-ins from that point on, and they butt heads every time. They both get waiter jobs at a local restaurant and have to deal with each other on a daily basis. Taffy is popular within the restaurant and around town, which Mystic hates. Their rivalry goes beyond the place they both want and they fight over everything. And what infuriates Mystic more is how many people side with Taffy and see him as little more than a complete joke. Taffy just seemed to be good at everything, and was naturally very charming and could talk in the most infuriatingly condescending way to Mystic. It made Mystic's blood boil. Taffy was constantly discouraging Mystic from pursuing the place, he was way too young! Their co-workers teased him that they were actually flirting, but he wasn't having ANY of that and told them to jog on. His brother Honey tells Mystic that one way to be taken more seriously is to update his appearance. He’d been so dedicated on his work that he didn’t take any time to look presentable. He was meant to be 25 but he looked like a 15 year old. With Burma, Honey helps him buy new clothes (Mystic has a love for 1920s inspired suits) and they make the bold decision to cut off his hair. They replaced it by rerooting pale pink yarn into his head and styled it. Snowflake chips in and teaches him how to apply make-up. The make-over does him a world of good. The restaurant he was working at was hosting a staff party, Burma decided it would be the perfect chance for Mystic to show them he was serious. They go with him as moral support, and everyone is very impressed with his new look. He inevitably gets into an argument with Taffy, though it was much more flirtatious than normal. They challenge each other to a dance off. Taffy was a gifted dancer (“Oh of COURSE he is” Mystic muttered bitterly) but he was no match for Mytic’s natural talent. And the music was jazzy, perfect for swing dancing, Mystic's favourite style of dance. Neither of them could hide how much fun they were having. Eventually everyone forgets that this was a “fight” of sort and just left them to it. They danced for a while until they realised what they were doing. They quickly separated and went their different ways. Taffy actually ends up leaving, accidentally forgetting his coat. Mystic notices this, and decides to bring it to him (he'll later claim it was the punch he'd be guzzling that had scrambled his brain). He gets directions from Muffet, and he sets off. He expects to go to some high end place full of very well off snobby people, but ends up going downtown to the poorest parts of the Underground. This was odd, as Taffy was always well dressed and groomed, a proper gentleman. (Note that for this story, I am expanding how big the Underground is a little). As he begins to wonder if he's taken a wrong turn, he hears some faint singing. He follows the voice to a run down make-shift home. He peeks inside to see Taffy standing over a table making something while humming a little tune. This surprises Mystic. With the way Taffy dresses and how he holds himself, one wouldn't assume he lived like this. He then feels pretty stupid, remembering that Muffet's whole spider family is poor, so Taffy wouldn't be any different. He joins in on Taffy's song, scaring the poor man half to death. Taffy is mortified that Mystic found out where he lived, and more importantly how he lived. He orders him to leave, but Mystic yells back, telling him he was only doing a favour by bringing his coat back. This calms Taffy down a little, taking said coat from Mystic. There's an awkward silence before the Crystal Monster asks him what he's making. Taffy explains he was making sweets. They end up talking about them, Taffy explaining that he wanted to open up his own sweet shop. Mystic then mentions that Taffy was pretty good at fooling everyone into thinking he wasn't poor. Taffy explains that your outward appearance is always going to be judged by others. If he looked and acted like everyone else, he was going to be respected. He hated living like that, he hated having to be someone else to appease others. But if he wanted to be taken seriously, he had to adapt. That was why he often criticised Mystic. Despite everything, he hates seeing someone get laughed at and pitied. It sickened him. Mystic promises he would never tell anyone about his secret. A Crystal Monster keeps their secrets til the grave. Everyone starts treating Mystic a little different from then on. People take him much more seriously. He also hangs out with Taffy a lot more often (that his time would allow) and they end up becoming ‘frenemies’ of sort. However things take a turn when Mystic meets Taffy’s friend Nyki, a demon monster. Taffy makes it very clear that he likes Nyki more than as a friend and that doesn’t sit well with Mystic. But he refuses to admit it, even to himself. Taffy also stops discouraging Mystic from buying the place, to his confusion. Mystic suddenly realises that the end of the year was fast approaching and yes he was steadily grinding away at the money he needed, he wasn’t even close to having enough. He needed to stop wasting time. The sudden stress of this and the whole Nyki business made Mystic a pain to deal with. He was frustrated at everything and just poured every fibre of his soul into getting that money. Taffy himself actually gets very confused and concerned by this, and they start fighting again like before. The year was up. Mystic ends up loosing to Taffy, and everything in his world crumbles. He shuts off from everyone, wallowing in self pity. He couldn’t believe he’d lost. But he was too proud and stubborn to admit he’s maybe bitten off more that he could chew. He’s a bitter loser, ending up drinking away his sorrow in a bar. He’s found, drunk, by a very concerned Taffy. In his drunken stupor, he starts another fight with him. At some point, Mystic angry shouts at him that’d only won because everyone took pity on him because he was poor. This sends Taffy over the edge, and attacks Mystic in his rage. They physically fight each other, but it comes to an abrupt end when Taffy lands a solid hit on Mystic’s cracked cheek, breaking it. His cheek cracks and crumbles to pieces. This breaks up the fight immediately, regret hitting Taffy like a truck. They gather all the pieces, including having to shake Mystic upside down to retrieve anything inside of him (which also removed all the alcohol in him at the same time). Taffy takes him home, where Mystic’s siblings help glue his face back together. All his siblings come to see if he was alright, and suddenly he understood. He’d been acting horribly and unfairly towards everyone since the start. He’d been to dead-set on his dream that he’d forgotten everyone who supported him and loved him. Even Taffy. He’d come to find him in that bar, concerned about his wellbeing. He’d been so selfish to everyone, and he’d hurt Taffy. He apologises to everyone, and promises that from now on, he wasn’t going to be blind. He was going to change. He was going to pursue his dream, but this time with new found passion. He works with his siblings, playing to his strengths (singing and dancing), in their stage shows. He’d play background characters, and occasionally got bigger roles. He eventually set his sights on a new place. It was still Snowdin, and he knew it was right. He worked very hard, and with his family and friend’s help, he finally bought the place. With help from his friends and family he turned the place into a charming tea parlour and handmade every sachet of tea for it. The grand opening was one of the happiest moments of Mystic’s life, and of course he requested that the dress code was Dapper. Asgore came too, much to everyone's surprise. He, Sky and Mystic have a little chat, catching up after all these years. The brothers finally thanking him for helping them all those years ago, to which the King told them to "not worry about it, all he wants in return is a mean cup of tea." Mystic obliges. Mystic's triumph actually had a very impactful impact on Crystal Monster culture in general. He had proved that they didn't have to be what everyone thought they should. Cousins, siblings and friend were coming to him announcing career plans and projects they were starting thanks to him. He has pushed them to go for what they really wanted. Even his brother Honey talked to him about a company he wanted to start, a house building business he's calling "Gemstone Homes". Mystic was over the moon about it. But things didn’t feel right. He wanted Taffy to be there, he needed Taffy to be there. And sure enough, Taffy came. He brought Mystic a bouquet of flowers as a congratulations gift and they asked each other for forgiveness. Mystic says that he’d only forgive Taffy if he let him eat as many sweets as he liked, and Taffy says he’d only forgive Mystic if they danced together tonight. And so they did. I don't own Undertale

[writinggeisha]

Why is color in writing so important?

Pablo Picasso said that “Colors, like features, follow the changes of the emotions.” Picasso was an artist who evoked emotion with colorful pigments. As a writer, you can do the same with colorful words.

Note the different pictures painted by the following two paragraphs.

Ned gazed at the calypso-orange horizon. A lapis-blue speck sparkled above it in the deepening violet of a new night sky—Planet Vorton, home.

Ned gaped at the corpse-grey horizon. A mold-blue speck festered above it in the deepening black of a smoggy night sky—Planet Vorton, home.

Same number of words, different colors, with complementing adjectives and verbs. One paragraph emanates optimism, the other gloom.

Compound adjectives sometimes require hyphens.

According to The Chicago Manual of Style, if a compound adjective appears before a noun, it should be hyphenated.

Compare the following examples:

Tristan wore an eye-catching purple tie. Tristan’s purple tie was eye catching.

Wendi modeled a melon-pink dress. Wendi’s dress was melon pink.

Accent colors with adjectives.

Here’s a list over one hundred adjectives from thousands you could choose to produce more vivid descriptions of the colors in your writing.

A Accented, achromatic, ashen, ashy, atomic

B Blazing, bleached, bleak, blinding, blotchy, bold, brash, bright, brilliant, burnt

C Chromatic, classic, clean, cold, complementing, contrasting, cool, coordinating, creamy, crisp

D Dark, dayglow, dazzling, deep, delicate, digital, dim, dirty, drab, dreary, dull, dusty

E Earthy, electric, energetic, eye-catching

F Faded, faint, festive, fiery, flashy, flattering, fluorescent, frosty, full-toned

G Gaudy, glistening, glittering, glossy, glowing

H Harsh, hazy, hot

I Icy, illuminated, incandescent, intense, iridescent

K Knockout

L Lambent, light, loud, luminous, lusterless, lustrous

M Majestic, matte, medium, mellow, milky, monochromatic, muddy, murky, muted

N Natural, neon, neutral

O Opalescent, opaque

P Pale, pastel, patchy, pearly, perfect, picturesque, plain, primary, pure

R Radiant, reflective, rich, royal, ruddy, rustic

S Satiny, saturated, shaded, sheer, shining, shiny, shocking, showy, smoky, soft, solid, somber, soothing, sooty, sparkling, stained, streaked, streaky, striking, strong, subdued, subtle, sunny, swirling

T Tacky, tinged, tinted, tonal, toned, traditional, translucent, transparent

U Undiluted, uneven, uniform

V Vibrant, vivid

W Wan, warm, washed-out, waxen, wild

Enhance multicolored objects with adjectives such as these.

B Bicolor, blended, braided

C Cataclysmic-colored, checkered, compound, contrasting, crisscrossed

D Dappled, disparate, dotted, dusted

F Flecked, freckled, fused

I Intermixed, interwoven

J Jumbled

L Lined

K Kaleidoscopic

M Many-hued, marbled, mingled, mixed, motley, mottled, multicolored, multihued

P Particolored, patterned, peppered, piebald, pied, polychromatic, prismatic, psychedelic

S Salted, speckled, splotched, stippled

T Two-tone, tricolor

V Varied, variegated, veined

Nouns provide more opportunities to add color and detail.

A Accent

B Bleach, brightness, brilliance

C Chroma, clarity, CMYK, coating, color wheel, colorant, coloration, cover

D Deposit, depth, diffusion, dimension, dispersion, dye

F Film, finish, flicker, fluorescence

G Glare, glaze, gleam, glimmer, glint, glisten, glitter, glow, gradation

H Henna, highlight, hint, hue

I Incandescence, intensity, iridescence

L Lacquer, layer, lightness, lowlight, luminosity, luster

M Monotone

N Nuance

O Opacity, opalescence

P Paint, Pantone, patina, peroxide, pigment, pigmentation, polish, prism, purity

R Radiance, rainbow, RGB, residue, rinse

S Sample, saturation, seam, shade, sheen, shimmer, shine, smidgeon, sparkle, spectrum, stain, stratum, streak, stripe, suggestion, surface, swatch

T Tattoo, tester, tier, tincture, tinge, tint, tone, touch, trace, twinkle

U Undertone

V Varnish, vein, veneer

Find more writing tips in

The Writer’s Lexicon and The Writer’s Lexicon Volume II

.

Available in both digital and print editions. –

Perhaps these verbs will provide inspiration.

Colors can blend, clash, or enhance. They might revitalize, fade, or overlap. Choose carefully to provide the nuance you need in your writing.

A Accent, accentuate, appear, attract

B Balance, bathe, bespatter, blanch, blare, blaze, blench, bleach, blend, blotch, brighten, brush, burn

C Captivate, clash, color, combine, complement, conflict, contrast, coordinate, crayon

D Darken, daub, draw, decolorize, decorate, deepen, dot, draw, dye

E Embellish, emit, enhance, enliven

F Fade, flare, flash, flatter, fleck

G Glare, glaze, gleam, glimmer, glint, glisten, glow

H Harmonize, heighten, highlight

I Illuminate, infuse, intensify

J Jar

L Light, lighten

M Match, meld, merge, mingle, mix

O Outline, overlap

P Paint, permeate, pervade, plaster

R Radiate, revitalize

S Saturate, seal, shade, shine, sketch, smear, sparkle, splash, splatter, spray, spread, stain, suffuse

T Tinge, tint

V Varnish

W Wash

Invent colors.

Your ingenuity is the only limit with invented colors. Consider a few examples.

Yolanda sashayed toward me, hips swiveling in a seduction-red skirt that complemented her bad-baby-black lipstick.

Either Yolanda intends to ravish our narrator, or he hopes she’s a bad girl with seduction on her mind.

Bruise-blue eyes stared out through glasses crisscrossed with cracks. Matching lumps burgeoned from Marco’s chin and cheeks.

Readers will make the connection between bruise-blue and the lumps, imagining someone who has been beaten or injured.

Find color ideas by googling phrases such as “things that are green” or “things that look blue.”

And now, a kaleidoscope of colors.

Some of the following lists contain invented colors. Many are based on objects we encounter in our environment. You can use almost any noun to create an adjective that will resonate with readers.

For the next several years, Trump blond or Hillary blonde will produce instant mental images.

Science fiction might use deep-space black, quasar blue, or starburst yellow.

An environmentalist could choose colors such as oil-slick black, smog grey, or acid-rain yellow.

Choose or invent colors that intensify your writing.

You can use many of these words as is, or precede the color they represent to produce a compound adjective. Rather than anthracite, for example, you might prefer anthracite black.

Black Anger black, anthracite, bat black, boot black, cat black, cave black, cavity black, charcoal, coal black, crow black, deep-space black, ebony, evil black, funeral black, grease black, ink, jade black, jet, leather black, licorice, metal black, midnight, mildew black, mold black, night black, obsidian, oil-slick black, onyx, pitch black, raven, sable, shadow black, shoe-polish black, silhouette black, smoky, sooty, spider black, tar black, tire black, tuxedo black, uber black, velvet black

Blond/Blonde Although blond can be used for either males or females, I and many writers prefer blond to describe males and blonde to describe females. Likewise with gender-identified pets and animals.

Why?

Blond was adopted into English from French, and the French language uses gender-specific descriptors.

Compound adjectives in the following list are spelled with the feminine form.

Almond-crème blonde, amber, apple-cider blonde, apricot, ash blonde, banana-bread blonde, blanched, bleached, bombshell, bottle blonde, brassy, bronze, brown-sugar blonde, butter blonde, butternut, butterscotch, caramel, chamomile blonde, champagne, chardonnay blonde, corn blonde, diamond blonde, dirty blonde, dishwater blonde, electric blonde, flaxen, French-fry blonde, frosted blonde, gilded blonde, ginger, ginger-ale blonde, ginger spice, golden, goldenrod, Hillary blonde, honey blonde, honey-butter blonde, honeysuckle blonde, hot-toffee blonde, macadamia blonde, mushroom blonde, neon blonde, peroxide blonde, platinum, sand blonde, straw blonde, strawberry blonde, sunflower blonde, sun-kissed blonde, sunset blonde, tarnished-gold blonde, Trump blond/e, trumpet blonde, vanilla-malt blonde, vintage gold, wheat blonde

Blue Admiral blue, Aegean blue, agate blue, arctic blue, azure, baby blue, berry blue, blue-jay blue, blue-jeans blue, bluebell blue, blueberry blue, blueberry-juice blue, bluebird blue, blue-jay blue, brook blue, bruise blue, cadet blue, cerulean, china-blue, cobalt, cornflower blue, crystal blue, denim blue, electric blue, forget-me-not blue, galaxy glue, gunmetal blue, ice blue, indigo, ink blue, jellyfish blue, lagoon blue, lake blue, lapis blue, laser blue, lilac blue, lobelia blue, mold blue, moon blue, navy, ocean blue, quasar blue, river blue, robin-egg blue, sapphire blue, sky blue, star blue, steel-blue, swimming-pool blue, teal, toilet-water blue, toothpaste blue, ultramarine

Brown Acorn brown, almond brown, amber, auburn, autumn brown, Bambi brown, beige, brandy brown, brick brown, bronze, brunet, buckeye brown, camel brown, caramel, carob brown, cedar brown, champagne brown, chestnut, chipmunk brown, chocolate brown, cinnamon, cider brown, clay brown, coffee brown, cognac brown, cookie brown, copper, cork brown, desert sand, drab brown, dun brown, ecru, espresso brown, fawn brown, football brown, freckle brown, ginger, gingerbread brown, golden brown, hazel, hickory brown, honey brown, infrabeige, kiwi brown, lion brown, loam brown, mahogany, maroon, merlot brown, mocha, mouse brown, mud brown, muddy brown, nut brown, oak brown, orange brown, peanut brown, pecan brown, pekoe brown, penny brown, pigskin brown, pretzel brown, rosewood, russet, rust, sandstone brown, seal brown, sepia, sienna, spice brown, syrup brown, taffy, tan, taupe, tawny brown, teddy-bear brown, topaz brown, tortilla brown, tourmaline brown, umber, walnut, wheat brown, whiskey brown, wood brown

Green Apple green, army green, artichoke green, asparagus green, avocado green, barf green, basil green, blue green, bottle green, bright green, cabbage green, camouflage green, cat’s-eye green, celery green, chartreuse, clover green, crocodile green, crystal-marble green, cyan, electric green, elf green, emerald, fern green, frog green, grape green, grass green, hypergreen, jade, jasper green, jelly green, juniper, kale green, khaki green, kiwi green, leaf green, LED green, olive, leprechaun green, lettuce green, lime, lizard green, loden, mildew green, mint, moss green, neon green, ocean green, parsley green, pea green, pea-soup green, peacock green, pear green, Perrier-bottle green, pickle green, pine green, puke green, sage, sea green, seafoam green, seasick green, seaweed green, seedling green, shamrock green, snot green, spinach green, spring green, sprout green, spruce green, tea green, teal, toad green, velvet green, viridian, watermelon green, yellow green

Grey/Gray Alien grey, aluminum grey, anchor grey, ash grey, battleship grey, bottle grey, boulder grey, carbon grey, cement grey, charcoal grey, cloud grey, coin grey, corpse grey, crater grey, death grey, dove grey, elephant grey, exhaust grey, fling grey, flint grey, fog grey, fossil grey, fungus grey, ginger grey, granite grey, graphite, gravel grey, gruel grey, gum grey, gunmetal grey, hippo grey, hoary grey, ice grey, iron grey, knife grey, lead grey, mercury grey, meteor grey, mummy grey, nail grey, nickel, otter grey, pebble grey, pepper grey, pewter, pigeon grey, porpoise grey, porridge grey, rat grey, salt-and-pepper, seal grey, shadow grey, shark grey, shovel grey, silver, slate, sleet grey, slug grey, slush grey, smog grey, smoke, steel grey, stone grey, storm grey, stormy grey, stormy-sea grey, sword grey, tabby grey, tank grey, tweed grey, wax grey, wolf grey

Orange Apricot orange, burnt orange, butternut orange, calypso orange, candlelight orange, cantaloupe orange, caramelized orange, carrot orange, cayenne orange, cheddar orange, cheese-cracker orange, Chinese-lantern orange, cider orange, citrus orange, clementine orange, coral orange, crayon orange, curry orange, fire orange, flame orange, goldfish orange, mac-and-cheese orange, mango-tango orange, mandarin orange, marigold orange, marmalade orange, monarch orange, nacho orange, nasturtium orange, naval orange, papaya orange, peach orange, peach-butter orange, peach-sorbet orange, popsicle orange, pumpkin orange, safety-vest orange, salamander orange, salmon orange, sherbet orange, shrimp orange, starfish orange, sunset orange, sweet-potato orange, tangelo orange, tangerine orange, terra cotta, tiger orange, traffic orange, yam orange

Pink Amaranth, azalea pink, baby pink, ballet-slipper pink, blush, bright pink, bubblegum pink, cantaloupe pink, carnation pink, cerise, champagne pink, cherry-rose pink, coral, cotton-candy pink, crepe pink, cupid pink, cyclamen pink, damask, flamingo pink, fuchsia, geranium pink, grapefruit pink, lemonade pink, magenta, mandarin pink, mango pink, melon pink, old-rose pink, oleander pink, parfait pink, pastel pink, peach, peach-blossom pink, peony pink, piggy pink, piglet pink, pomegranate pink, prom pink, punch pink, raspberry-smoothie pink, rose, rosewood pink, rouge pink, salmon pink, seashell pink, sherbet pink, shocking pink, strawberry pink, swine pink, taffy pink, watermelon pink, Zinfandel pink

Purple Amethyst purple, amparo purple, boysenberry purple, burgundy purple, Byzantium purple, clover purple, concord purple, coneflower purple, cyclamen purple, eggplant purple, fig purple, gentian purple, gooseberry purple, grape purple, heather, heliotrope, hyacinth purple, indigo, iris purple, jam purple, kazoo purple, lavender, lilac, lollipop purple, lotus purple, magenta, mauve, mulberry purple, onion purple, opal purple, orchid purple, periwinkle purple, petunia purple, pillow purple, plum, posy purple, primrose purple, raisin purple, regalia purple, rhubarb purple, royal purple, sage-flower purple, sangria purple, sugar-plum purple, tanzanite purple, Tyrian purple, violet, wild-berry purple, wine purple, wisteria purple

Red Apple red, auburn, beet red, berry red, blaze red, blood red, blush red, brick red, burgundy red, candy red, candy-apple red, candy-cane red, carrot red, cherry red, cherry-soda red, Christmas red, cinnamon-candy red, communist red, copper red, coral red, crab-apple red, cranberry red, crimson, currant red, fire red, fire-engine red, fire-hydrant red, flame red, flaming red, garnet red, ginger red, heart red, henna, holly-berry red, jam red, ketchup red, lady-bug red, LED red, licorice red, lipstick red, lobster red, maple-leaf red, merlot red, mulberry red, neon red, pepper red, pomegranate red, poppy red, radish red, raspberry red, roan, rose, rouge, ruby, Russian red, rust, rusty, Santa-suit red, scarlet, sorrel, stoplight red, strawberry red, sunburn red, titian, tomato red, tulip red, Valentine red, wanton red, watermelon red, wine red

White Alabaster, angel white, ash white, blizzard white, bone white, bread-dough white, cake white, cameo white, chalk, chaste white, chiffon white, china white, clamshell white, cloud white, coconut white, cornstarch white, cream, crème, dumpling white, eggshell white, fizz white, foam white, fog white, frost white, gardenia white, ghost white, goose-down white, heron white, hospital white, KKK white, ivory, lace white, lather white, lily white, linen white, lotus white, milk white, mist white, moonstone white, noodle white, paper white, parchment white, pearl white, phantom white, picket white, platinum white, polar white, porcelain white, powder white, rice white, salt white, Samoyed white, sheet white, skeleton white, snowflake white, specter white, starch white, sugar white, talc white, vellum white, virgin white, wedding-veil white, winter white, wonton white

Yellow Acid-rain yellow, autumn yellow, banana yellow, bourbon yellow, bumblebee yellow, butter yellow, buttercup yellow, butterscotch yellow, cadmium, canary yellow, chick yellow, corn yellow, custard yellow, daffodil yellow, daisy yellow, dandelion yellow, Dijon yellow, duckling yellow, egg-yolk yellow, flaxen, ginger yellow, gold, goldenrod, grapefruit yellow, hardhat yellow, honey yellow, jaundice yellow, lemon, macaroni yellow, maize, mustard, omelet yellow, pencil yellow, pineapple yellow, plantain yellow, poppy yellow, rubber-ducky yellow, saffron, sawdust yellow, school-bus yellow, scrambled-egg yellow, starburst yellow, sticky-note yellow, straw yellow, sulfur yellow, sun yellow, sunflower yellow, sweetcorn yellow, tallow yellow, taxi yellow, turmeric yellow, wasp yellow, whisky yellow, yield-sign yellow

[ginnyzero]

Completely Harmless Ch. 35

Completely Harmless An SSO SilverGlade Re-imagining Story (Or Fix it Fan Salt fic) By Ginny O.

When Lily and her friends wanted to buy horses and were directed to the Silverglade Manor and its myriad of problems, they didn’t expect to start a revolution. They were just a bunch a stable girls. Completely harmless. Right?

A/N: Things are only canon if I say they’re canon. Pre-Saving the Moorland Stables compliant for the most part. Posted in its entirety on my website. Posted in 2000 to 4000 word bits here. Rated T for Swearing Word Count 177,577

Chapter Thirty-Five Rainbow Week Fun...

It was Day 3 of Rainbow Week and everyone was still excited.

A frantic phone call from Derek didn’t dampen that excitement. He’d had a whole bag of letters break open and blow away on the breeze. And it would be a tremendous help to him if when they were out and about if they saw them that they’d deliver them for him.

They promised to keep their eyes open for them.

They decided to do their own area before heading to Cape West. Though Tony had tsked slightly over them having sherbet and a cookie for breakfast. She made them Swedish pancakes and dished up bowls of fresh fruit and fried them duck eggs. They couldn’t go until they ate it all.

They all hugged her. She was just trying to look after them!

Judy laughed at them all, “waiting until day three to do your own events,” she teased as she passed out the rose charms to them.

They teased her good naturedly right back.

The strains of the Silversong Quartet drifted on the morning breeze as they slowly rode through the rose arch path to the Moon Garden. Water poured out of the urn being held by Aideen forming a joyful waterfall to the pond below.

The tunnel had been finished with bas relief carvings of horses, roses, and the phases of the moon under the paddock. (Above them, the Jorvik Warmblood Sports had their own special dressage event to show off how they were perfect eventing horses.)

Ducks quacked at them and nosed in the reeds of the pond looking for food. Some swam in lazy circles around the waterfall or just rested letting the current push them about. The Folly gardens were a riot of roses and ‘wild’ blooms such as Queen Anne’s lace and Alium mixed with tall and low grasses like the white Pampas Grass and the aptly named purple fountain grass.

In the middle of the second terrace, inside the rose strewn bandstand, the Silversong Quartet played light spring sounding music. They paused to listen for a couple of songs, but none of them favored string music really.

“There’s classical string music and then there’s epic string music,” Regina said as soon as they were out of ear shot.

They all raised an eyebrow.

“You know, the stuff in movies and trailers,” Regina waved her hand.

Some of them rolled their eyes.

They made beaded headbands, and bracelets and earrings at the tent. They had the option of making topaz ones or making rainbow themed selections. Linda had helpfully provided a display of different gay pride flags.

They had to be careful not to lose any beads. There were ducks seeking attention down here too and no one wanted them to get sick. They scrambled after beads before they hit the floor and a poor duck mistook them for food!

After doing the showjumping event in the Riding Arena, they headed into Cape West.

Jasper was in charge of the Treasure Hunt as it started in East Glade. He provided them with the map, reminded them there was a race in the Golden Woods, and gave them their first clue.

He had races around his farm of course that they’d never tried, so of course, they did those first before going to the Golden Woods and trying the race there.

They were delayed by Chaun and his crashing rainbow. He was still muttering about Brogan.

“We’re trying!” Lily said.

The jumps in The Golden Woods were piles of birch tree trunks, thick hedges of smaller low growing shrubs they still didn’t know the names of, and piles of rocks with yellow flowers sprouting in the cracks. Things that if you didn’t know there was a race there that one could mistake for being natural to the forest. Though the forest was well kept without much dried grasses. The ground was covered in grass and flowers.

Which was good, because dried grasses would lead to fires.

Between doing the race and the finding the next clue of the Treasure Hunt. They found a letter swirling about in front of a gated area. They chased it around and caught it. Reading it over, they decided that it was meant for Captain Brus at Cape West. And surely, the treasure hunt would take them that way. The gated area was part of the clue.

The Treasure Hunt ended up taking up most the day. They ended up on top of a hill where the path was lined with scarecrows (and were chased back down by witches that had been terrifying.) The tree at the top had a golden apple hanging from it but they hadn’t been able to get close. They met Bob and Rob who refused to give them the next clue until they were given cookies.

Fortunately, they had some on hand.

The Labyrinth was a maze and they had to be very careful to look down to watch the water level. Rob and Bob had put floating barrel buoys to mark the path, but they didn’t always help.

In Cape West itself, there were several clues. One from Mayor Klaus who lamented missing his wife as she was still a witch in the Cauldron.

Lily wondered out loud if they had been chased down the hill by a coven of witches or one witch who was very clever with illusions.

“Does it matter? It was scary!” Melody shivered.

“Yeah, can we not do that again?” Stacey said.

The Flaming Trio was playing pop rock on the hill of the Lighthouse so their music could reach out over all of Cape West.

The club paused to have lunch at the café, and get some of the layered rainbow jello dessert. They ended up making suncatchers (and crystal earrings and bracelets and a couple of them cheekily made more headbands, because why not?) Linda had also provided a handy gay pride flag selection information board here too. The beads were different than the beads they had at their pavilion. These were faceted crystals rather than smooth round beads.

“All the better to catch the light!”

“Rainbow power!”

Captain Brus didn’t like his letter. He crumpled it up and tossed it into the Golden Bay muttering about it the entire time. They rolled their eyes and moved on.

The clues led them to the Cape West stable, where they were able to get their charm for their bracelet from the Stable Master.

The clues led back east across a fjord and up the hill.

“This is the path of the Light Ride,” Linn said. “It’s a trail ride that we do in the fall during Happy Horse Week.”

Tyra nodded. “It’s where Aideen first touched down on Jorvik as she raced across the island to give it life.”

“And the UFO behind our North Paddock?” Lily asked.

“Um,” Pauline said.

“No idea,” Linn shrugged.

“You can’t have it both ways,” Lily waved her hands. “So, either that is where the UFO crashed and they came out first, or Aideen, what jumped out before it hit the ground?”

They giggled.

They ended up in another cave of the smugglers and met Bob and Rob again.

“I’d ask how you got ahead of us, but we dawdled,” Lily said dryly.

They at least didn’t demand cookies again.

Brogan was jumping around the clover field. They caught up to him and before they could do much, he asked them to gather him clover. They did it, only for him to disappear again.

They went over the pass and the trees changed slightly, there were less birch trees, but they were mixed with beeches and quivering Aspen.

“This is still second growth forest for the most part,” Brittany observed.

“So, what is the Hollow Woods?”

“Third growth, with all the oaks,” Brittany said with a nod.

The clues led them up to the Old King’s Road. In the distance, they could see a castle.

“That looks rather frightening, like an insane asylum,” Grace said with a shudder.

“It’s a medieval gothic style castle,” Brittany argued.

“And it looks like an insane asylum,” Grace insisted.

They found a sign.

“Marchenghast Castle,” Lily read. “I’m going to side with Grace and say that doesn’t sound pleasant.”

“I wonder if that’s where our missing Count or Countess lives,” Jennifer mused as she gathered up the reins more in her hands.

“Yep, that’s the home of the Marchenghast family,” Linn nodded. “They’re the most powerful family in these parts outside of the Silverglades and the Winterwells.”

Stacey had her phone out. “Marchen means folk or fairy tale. It’s german. While ghast is either to meditate or frighten, afflict, or torment, from Old English.”

“Let’s just keep agreeing with Grace then,” Lily said.

“Why is the road blocked off though?”

“Probably an Avalanche and no one has been around to fix it. It can happen in the winter. They end up locking the Golden Hills off because of ice spirits that come down from the mountain.” Tyra shifted in her saddle seat. “Not that I’ve ever seen any of these ice spirits.”

They all looked at her.

“They say there’s an ice witch locked up in Dino Valley,” Tyra lowered her voice. “And if she ever breaks loose, she’ll try to bring eternal winter to Jorvik.”

“Like, Jadis, in Narnia,” Regina said.

“And never Christmas,” Brittany said.

“Anyways, the ice spirits were hers and now they don’t have a mistress, and they can’t do anything except in the winter,” Tyra shrugged.

“Or, it could simply be wolves,” Lily said. “I like the idea its wolves. Though wolves are pretty harmless unless they’re sick.”

“Like us.”

“No. We’re completely harmless. Not pretty harmless.”

“But I want to be pretty!”

The club members good naturedly bickered over what adverb or adjective they wanted to be as they went down the trail and around what looked like another mini avalanche.

The end of the treasure hunt was a huge fire, where they received a sun catcher they could hang in their windows in the inn. And by the time they finished it was late afternoon.

“Chaun’s rainbow has crashed in the Forgotten Fields,” Elsa observed.

“Somebody ought to go help him,” Theresa said.

“Yes, somebody,” Elsa retorted.

“It’s on the way to Jarlaheim,” Linn pointed out.

So with a few good natured sighs, they trotted off to the Forgotten Fields to help Chaun round up rainbow gold.

They were further later because the pass led past the Goldspur Farm and Idun Goldspur, the intimidating farm wife of Angus, mistook them for some of the Singing Swans and insisted they needed to help around the farm and pick flowers in the forest before they delivered sugar and chocolate to Catherine at the Stablebucks Café.

Brogan was jumping around Greendale Forest celebrating crashing the rainbow again. He wanted grapes and fortunately, they had grapes on them or else they would have had to run to the Storm Garden to pick some. He disappeared with a cackle and a pop.

And Catherine, who was raving over lasagna she’d had with her girlfriend one Rainbow Week, needed more strawberries and blueberries from the forest and would they be so kind.

So, the sun was setting by the time they were able to run the two special races at Jorvik Stables, get their charm from Stable Master Johanna, and make wrist bands. But that was fine because the best time to listen to a rock group like the Miscreants was after the sun set and they could hold up their cellphones. There were lights, lasers, and fog machines, and all in all it was a hell of a show.

They bought boxes of donuts to take with them for breakfast the next day. There were five different kinds at least, one was even filled with a rainbow colored Bavarian cream.

It was so late though when it was over, they ended up taking the transports back to the Manor. They hung up their sun catchers in the window giggling about placement.

But they were exhausted and more than willing to fall into bed.

FOR THE ACCOMPANYING IMAGES PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE MY WATERMARK AND CONTACT INFORMATION. THANK YOU. I get it. Some of you might get excited and want to see this stuff in the game, especially the clothes, tack, and pets. However, the only way I want to see this in the game is if I get paid for it. If I see it in the game and I’m not paid for it, there will be hell to pay. You think I’m salty. I’d be angry. Personally, I’m not going to send this info to SSO. If you do, leave my contact information there! Don’t give them any excuses to steal.

Now, I’ll know you haven’t read this note if you leave me comments about how ‘salty’ I am about the game and if I hate it so much I should do something else. I am doing something else. It’s called Mystic Riders MMORPG Project. Mystic Riders however is a very baby phase game. You can check out our plans on the game dev blog. (Skills, Factions, Professions, Crafting, Mini-Games, 25+ horse breeds!) If you know anyone who would be interested and has money or contacts about game making, direct them to the blog.

[mikazukikannagisjourney]

Mercury Retrograde in Pisces - February 17- March 10 2020 (With Energetic Support and Tips)

Hi all, how are you all doing? Sorry I wasn’t able to post anything when the Rx started, well, let’s just say it’s an effect, both in physical (devices) and non-physical (I got drowned in emotional purging and all that stuff, as usual lol). But then again, that’s what happens when there isn’t much preparation for mercury retrogrades. 

And what’s even more WONDERFUL is that for this year, ALL of the mercury retrogrades are in WATER SIGNS. Surprise, surprise. 

Here are the dates:

In Pisces: Feb 17- Mar 10

In Cancer: June 19- July 11

In Scorpio: Oct 16-Nov 2

So what does this mean for us? Well, it depends actually on your priorities, or what your Soul needs to do. If you’re able to read your own natal chart I think you can have an idea on what you need to do to ensure that you’re doing what your Higher Self needs you to clear or what. 

Well, like what?

For example, old projects, ideas, memories, old and stale relationships, family karma (If you’re reading this you’re probably the Family Karma carrier, so yeah, hugs to you, we’re on the same boat. We can clear that though, just believe). Basically we make CLOSURE on all of these things. Or finish what needs to be finished. Even if that’s just cleaning your closet, laundry, or house because that moves energy and allows the good Chi/Qi to flow into your space. That may sound woo-woo but seriously, after crying and getting suuuuuper tired after cleaning, doesn’t it feel good SEEING EVERYTHING CLEANED AND ORDERLY? That’s already good Qi right there, my friend. I have no Virgo in my chart, but in my chart where I have all water signs (which sorta affects me a bit more during this retrograde, aside from my Gemini sun) I still think despite crying and getting tired I feel like I have accomplished something when I see one corner of my place cleaned. Even more so whenever I feel depressive. If you can relate to that, yeah I feel you, fam.

Apart from cleaning and finishing and making closure on things, hey, it’s not a bad idea to also have some fun every now and then, I mean, I do mention a lot that in this journey of awakening, and emotional and karmic purging and shadow work, it is important to feel all emotions, and I mean ALL. Which means that to find balance, especially when you’re stuck in a sad rut, it’s OK to feel bad, but it’s even more OK-er to do everything in your power to be happy.

Yes, happiness is something you make, it’s not a by-product. It’s like love, it’s not an adjective, or a noun, it’s a freaking VERB. It’s something you act upon, or act into. You do it, basically. 

But hooooooowww?

Don’t worry fam, again I got you covered on that.

If you need tips on HOW to make room for happiness, here’s a short list:

Pet your pet. Whatever that pet is. I have cacti, a California reaper seedling, dogs, and even pet rocks aka my crystals. I pet them all and for some weird reason the energy moves. Try it, even if it’s a pet rock. For at least 2 minutes. Feel the energy lifting and clearing up. Do more as needed.

Drink water. The most beneficial mineral-rich and cleanest you can. Please for the love of glob don’t drink 100% water AKA Nuclease-free water AKA Deionized water unless you want to suffer so much before greeting Death. That just sucks. I mean, we’re all infinite beings so no matter how much you do your best to leave the physical plane you’ll get bumped into elsewhere and that might be suckier than now. I had a feeling that I did that in a past life so now it’s even more suckier so might as well clear my entire being in this lifetime so I can go back to source for good. Yeah now you know my lifeplan lol

I don’t preach eating ONLY fruits and vegetables. I advocate BALANCED DIET. And eating JUNK every now and then. I just make sure to eat MORE of the good stuff (which is actually easy for me because in this part of the world, poor people eat veggies and the rich people eat meat so as I try to shift my mindset into an abundance mindset I still eat vegetables from my garden or what.) Remember this disclaimer: IF some spiritual gurus shame you from you eating some form of junk that they say is bad BUT you actually eat just whatever you want AND YOU ACTUALLY FEEL GREAT from eating what you crave despite what others say, it just means that your body is calibrated to function at a different level. If you need more tips on that, hit me up with a comment or like and I will make that information available for you. =)

Make other people happy with no expectations of getting something from them back. TAKE NOTE: I say FROM THEM, because the universe can handle and send the rewards for you. No matter how tiny that would be. Honestly me sharing this post right now, or even as I type this without any expectations that people will even like or read this, I feel happy already, and looking forward to what the universe would bring.

Meditate, in all ways, shapes or forms. Choose your adventure, because at times active meditation can help you move energies, going Yang on feeling great, and at times inactive meditation like undergoing altered states and doing it Yin style can give you a lot of insights. Again, if we are to dismantle the DUALISTIC nature of things to move past that, we can start by accepting that there is no ONE thing to do anything. As the old saying goes: There is more than one way to skin a rat. And as a person who worked in research for more than 10 year, I can attest that this is true.

Do creative stuff, however your skills are in that activity. Whether you’re sucky at it or a really good one at it, just do it. Especially when you haven’t done anything creative in the past years, or even your life. Sing, dance, draw, make poems or fanfics, whatever floats your boat. Keep at it until the dense energies move, and feel the nice and feel-good Qi flow to you. Being a dumbass at it will all be worth it. Besides, if you really want to find some purpose while you’re feeling heavy, do your best mastering that chosen activity. If you’re reading this right now and this helped you in any way, tag me with your output. I’ll wait. =)

Grow and keep something alive. Be it an animal, a plant, or a rogue mushroom or that weird slimy thing in your kimchi bottle, help something stay alive. You can be as attached and hands-on as you want, or as minimalistic and detached as you want. I just send Reiki to my plants and dogs and aside from petting and feeding them I just leave them alone. It kills the destructive thought patterns, helps the energies move through my body, and weirdly gives me insight on what I need to do and clear.

Among all the stuff I have written here, I didn’t mention anything about binge-watching anything, or looking at the feeds or posts of other people. Simple trick to improve your happiness level: Just focus on yourself, keep other people away from you while you work on yourself. Once you’ve raised your happiness levels to a maximum, then sure, look at the achievements of other people. If you feel happy at other people’s happiness, it means that you’ve reached that level. Otherwise, go back to your cave and work on your happiness some more.

Of course, this works mostly for introverts who like to turn inward to solve things and reenergize through their own efforts, but if you’re an extrovert who thrives on other people’s energy sorry I can’t give any sound suggestions. Maybe find some friends to hang out with and be happy with? No pity parties, or maybe you can host a pity party but remember to end that with a happy high note. So you can sleep happy and wake up refreshed.

I also didn’t mention getting high on drugs or getting low through getting drunk. Those aren’t exactly options I offer, because those just keep people in a destructive spiral of finding the low-vibrational or temporary form of happiness and if you’re thinking that those are the best options to be happy, well, WE DON’T DO THAT HERE. Also you might have some problems, please talk to a counselor, a trained and certified mental health professional, an elder or a mentor you trust, life coaches or energetic healers (ahem, ahem), or if you’re brave enough like everyone who’s in this journey, well, do it at your own pace and own way. Not the best option but for someone who has no other options other than leaving this planet, for me that was what made me want to live a bit longer, 3 years and counting. Of course, leaving abruptly is still on the table but right now I am just exhausting all options until I find that breakthrough, I mean, that’s still a thing for me so I just respect it looming above my head, but also at the same time do my best to swim in this mudflow of life.

Well that escalated quickly. But at least I am not sugarcoating my message. I strive to be honest and authentic, because it’s already 2020, lies and pretending to be what I am not aren’t hot now. Truth and honesty are the new soul handbags lol what kind of analogy is that even. Zero regrets though.

So before I log out, here’s a photo infused with energy to help you navigate the Mercury Retrograde energies, as energetic support:

Yeah it’s Pisces season I think a photo of a disc or a flowerhorn is fitting. Honestly I don’t know what it is, I think the owner mislabed it flowerhorn but that’s just my opinion lol

I hope this post served you well, I will come back on Sunday for the Piscean Full moon post to give more energetic support and other insights that I might get from the universe and Source. 

Despite what happens right now, whether it’s happy for you or sad, always remember:

All these too, shall pass.

So just enjoy the RIDE.

Love and hugs from Source Above,

Mikazuki

PS: Hey, do you feel generous because the information I shared have so much value for you? Don’t fret, you can share energetic exchanges here! Any amount from the heart is welcome. Thank you!

[sentientgenesis]

Gems and Unique Monsters

Now that you know a majority of what can be found or seen in Colony 9 at this point, it’s time I went over how I optimized Shulk and Reyn for Tephra Cave. However, to do so, I’ll have to go over some things first.

First up, let’s talk about the gem man. The gem man can be found at, you guessed it, the Gem Man’s Stall Landmark. The gem man’s ether furnace compresses ether crystals, which are dropped by monsters into gems.These gems can be equipped to the weapons and armor of your party members. At the moment you can’t actually use the ether furnace, but just for talkting to him you get a HP Up II gem (12%) and a Strength Up II gem (20) The roman numerals basically just indicate the strength of the gem or crystal, for organizational purposes.

Now, just because you can’t craft gems doesn’t mean you can’t get more of them, this is where the Collectopaedia comes in. For almost every completed row (category) in the Collectopaedia, you will get a different gem and here’s the completed page for Colony 9 in the Collectopaedia.

Here’s the list of rewards for completing each row of this page, and even the entire page:

Veg- Quick Step III (10%) Improves movement speed

Fruit- Agility Up II (10) Improves Agility (basically evasion and accuracy)

Flower- Poison Defence III (10%) Reduces Poison damage taken

Bug- Regnas Gauntlets

Parts- Ether Up II (15)

Strange- Strength Up II (15)

Entire Page- Carbon Driver

You can also get gems via trades with named residents, but they usually aren’t too helpful and aren’t worth the cost.

Lastly, is the subject of Unique Monsters. Unique monsters are much more powerful versions of monsters found within an area. Unique monsters will always drop gold rarity of chests and sometimes unique items. Meaning that they’re very worth your time to fight a couple times over for as much experience and as high of a chance to get powerful pieces of equipment. Unique monsters also drop Affinity Coins the first time they are defeated, these will become crucial towards the end of the game. Much of the armor that I went into Tephra Cave with had been acquired through Unique Monsters, rather than fighting weaker monsters over and over again.

Unique Monsters are one of a kind and therefore have ridiculous names. Most Unique Monster names include a adjective or location and then a name. Here are some examples: Speedy Ramshyde, Lake Magdalena, Gentle Rodriguez, and Lakebed Orthlus. Unique monsters also don’t always respawn, they have a 30% chance to respawn when a save file is reloaded. Lastly, many of them will only spawn at a time of day and or during a specific weather event.

There are 8 Unique Monsters that you won’t be fighting yet due to how high leveled and powerful they are, unless you grind for levels for hours. But here are the Unique Monsters that can be fought at this time and any time forward:

Enchanting Grune- Level 13. Found at the beach under the Tephra Cave entrance

Evil Rhangrot- Level 6. Found at Tephra Hill

Itinerant Dorothea- Level 6. Found at Cliff Lake

Lake Magdalena- Level 6. Found at the small body of water under Outlook Park

Speedy Ramshyde- Level 10. Found at Cliff Lake

Verdant Bluchal- Level 5. Found at the beach south of the Anti-Air Battery 1.

Some of these Unique Monsters are also part of quests in which you just have to defeat them once after accepting the quest to complete it. If you have already defeated the Unique Monster and then accept the quest, you’ll have to fight it over again.

Next time I’ll talk about what I had Reyn and Shulk optimized with when heading into Tephra Cave.

Today’s track is the battle theme when fighting a Unique Monster,and it’s my favorite in the game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooZyHLLQ5e8

Completed Collectaepedia page from: http://xenoblade.wikia.com/wiki/Collectopaedia

[swipestream]

Should ALL Dungeons Be Five Room Dungeons?

After having read several great articles on Mike Shea’s blog, I picked up his book The Lazy Dungeon Master. It’s a fast read, and worth the $5.99 asking price, (It’s around 60 pages and mostly about common things DMs spend a lot of time prepping that they don’t need to and how to streamline them, supported by a pretty cool survey he collected about DMing.) In his book, Mike talks about the minimal level of prep required for locations and gives (among others) this example location:

The Saltmines: Former center for the town’s industry, now closed down when they found a dark power buried deep within. Leads from Yellowtop to Ashland Fortress.

What the book doesn’t discuss, and what I was curious about, is how exactly, using Mike’s “lazy” method, one goes about mapping and populating a location like this that has the potential to be the proverbial “twisty little passages, all alike“. So, I emailed Mike and asked how he handled that type of location.  He very quickly got back to me and I asked for his permission to share here. Here’s an excerpt: (Link to his product is mine, not his):

On the Lazy Dungeon Master and maps.

If the characters are going to explore a dungeon-type setting, I’ll usually try to steal and reskin a map to fit the situation. Either that or I’ll sketch a very rough stick-figure map that shows how locations are connected.

Since writing the Lazy Game Master I focused a fair bit of time on the idea of building “fantastic locations”. These are the interesting places that characters discover in their journeys and can be connected by various caves, tunnels, or passages. To me, the overall dungeon isn’t as interesting as the individual interesting locations in that dungeon so I tend not to let them get too complicated.

… There might be five fantastic locations in the cove interconnected by natural water-carved caves. Each location will have a name and three interesting traits (or “aspects”) that the characters can investigate or use if there’s a battle. Here are some examples:

The Tentacle Pillars: Huge stone tentacles that appear to pierce out of the ground; sinkhole that leads into the tunnels below; old octopus statue sitting on a pedestal that appears very old.

The Weeping Caverns: Stone caverns eaten away by streams of saltwater; carvings of strange symbols on the walls; illuminated shells of phosphorescent mollusks.

The Nursery: Submerged oily pool filled with psychic baby octopuses; large channeling crystal piercing down from the ceiling; chained screaming madman on the wall.

Those three come to mind but its early and I can’t think of three more at the moment. Hopefully you get the idea =)

If you poke around on Sly Flourish for more discussions of Fantastic Locations you’ll find more about it including the book of 20 locations I wrote around these ideas.

Hope that answers your questions. …

Mike

The two approaches that Mike offers are good ones: swipe a map from elsewhere, or reduce a big complicated complex to a five room dungeon with “you travel east for a while, through a maze of tunnels until you come across . . . “. I don’t have much to say about the first one, except to point everyone to my favorite site for random dungeon generators. But the second suggestion about reducing a big complex to a five room dungeon with handwavey bits between rooms has made me think quite a bit.

You see, I’m not sure I’m quite ready to give up my twisty mazes full of empty rooms, red herrings, and minor treasures just yet.

Maybe it’s nostalgia for the afternoons of lonely fun (which I have just amusingly learned is now called a game’s “solitaire component“) and gold box CRPGS, maybe it’s just me perpetuating the same skinner boxes of my youth where poking into nooks and crannies of maze like passages eventually resulted in a handful of GP until they could be traded in for a new breastplate, but to me half the fun of RPGs is skulking down damp passageways, ransacking moldering garbage heaps and searching areas where the map is weird in hopes of finding secret doors.

Maybe the answer lies somewhere in between the two. In one of his “MegaDungeon Monday” articles, The Angry GM discusses the “encounter space” which by his definition is a piece of the dungeon in which all inhabitants work as a unit. So if you have the stacks of a great library with study cubbies and there’s a wight in the stacks and skeletons in the cubbies, but engaging with the wight will alert the skeletons and they will open the cubby doors and surround the PCs, that’s an encounter area.

This middle ground definition allows for a bit of both worlds. You can create just a handful of encounter areas, each with something interesting in it, but you still get the nooks and crannies to explore, because each encounter area (most anyway) is comprised of a handful of rooms, some of which are interesting, some of which are not, some of which hold secrets and treasure, some of which don’t etc . . .

But, how much exploring and poking about in otherwise uninteresting space to do is really a secondary concern. Because the trivial answer is that you should do only as much of it as is interesting. Uninteresting exploration of uninteresting space is a waste of time and should be avoided. I have indeed played in games where no one did much exploring and if there was space that wasn’t an active encounter, paused only long enough to say: “I loot the room.”, toss off a search check, and move on. It may just be selective memory, but the reason for this was that exploration in these games was boring. Rooms were just a collection of squares, sometimes from a battle map, tiles, or a software program, description was minimal and there was the feeling that if a room contained a statue or a desk it was because it was filler, not because it may have been something interesting to interact with.

So the bigger question is, how do you make exploration interesting, even of areas that aren’t inherently interesting themselves? While I don’t claim to be an expert, there are a few tips I can give:

Grid maps are counter productive: Grid maps are great for combat, but shitty for exploration gameplay, which is good because it implies that there’s not a lot of reason to painstakingly map areas that you want players to explore, only combat encounters (and if one turns into the other that a very simple map with walls and features of interest is sufficient). Players will naturally imagine areas you describe verbally, in ways that they will not when presented with pictures, and it’s very easy to ad lib and add as much detail as you can improvise with verbal descriptions, which is not the case with drawings.

Pick a few adjectives: Part of the draw of exploration is immersion, which is enhanced by good description (in fact, a quick search of the stew shows we’ve written articles about using sensory cues to describe things no less than a half dozen times). In this case, I suggest giving a few seconds of thought to the traits of an area (a dungeon as a whole is fine, but you can break it down further if it warrants) and make a back of the envelope (3×5 card) list. Refer to this list often and weave a few of the traits into every description. If that library above is “crumbling” you can describe the collapsing shelves, the piles of tumbled books that fall apart at a touch, the dust in the air. If instead it’s “flooded” you can describe the mold crawling up the shelves, the ankle deep black water with floating piles of mush that may once have been books, and the warped damp pages.

There have to be successes,especially early ones: This goes back to that skinner box I mentioned earlier. Even if you explicitly tell your players that searching and exploring will net secrets and treasure, if they meet with no success while doing so, they’ll stop. On the other hand, even a few small successes will have them searching under the cushions of every moldy couch they find. Of course these finds have to be of value. Finding a handful of coins is (should be) of value to low level characters, but the same isn’t true for high level ones. As such, it’s fine to have these caches be money, but it’s equally useful to hide secret paths, maps, clues and items of strange origin, as well as items which do little except establish flavor, all of which will retain value through characters’ careers. Consider having a small table of incidental loot that can be found in each large area so this is easy to do off the cuff.

So I put it to all of you, because I’m not sure what the end conclusion is. Is poking into nooks and crannies, riffling through the pockets of ancient moldering coats, and sifting through dungeon trash heaps a valid and fun play style or am I biased and it’s more fun to hop between big set pieces? If it is a compelling play style, what are your best tricks to keep it fun and interesting? Like I said above, I’m not the expert on this, so I’d love to hear everyone’s thoughts and techniques.

Should ALL Dungeons Be Five Room Dungeons? published first on http://ift.tt/2zdiasi