#it has the added bonus of leaning into her assassin background

[starry-bi-sky]

Your fem danyal is living in my mind rent free, not going to lie! (I want to write the things my brainworms were daydreaming so freaking bad)

Your art is also very pretty (⁠◍⁠•⁠ᴗ⁠•⁠◍⁠)⁠❤

ME TOO BRO, ME TOO. She is very gorgeous to me and she’s been living in my mind rent free all week <33 good for her. So I have to inflict her on everyone else (and you should totally act on those brainworms if possible)

And thank you so much!! I’m so proud of how my art’s been improving lately, fem danyal has been my best muse for it

[thisisnotthenerd]

got infected by the brainrot of creating d&d characters so:

leverage as d&d characters

note: the setting doesn't involve magic and only has combat encounters in very specific circumstances, so there's an obvious lean towards classes that go hard on the rp based on their abilities. they're thieves. they're a bunch of rogues fundamentally. if a character has magic, the assumption is that it's filtered through the setting, i.e. sophie using disguise self or hardison using remote access.

level wise, the original team is rocking at level 15 minimum in the original series. they’re some of the best of the best before they start working together. think of it this way: the reason they’re so high level is for rp reasons, not for combat, except for eliot. they’re trying to avoid encounters and solve puzzles through various means, not beat up a dragon. plus, given a low magic world, i’m assuming scaling of power is adjusted to the reality these characters exist in; they don't have the hp of a dnd adventurer, but they have the proficiency bonus and ASIs.

obviously there’s potential for better systems / systems that are more suited to heists than combats. i'm most familiar with dnd, so that's what i'm using atm.

first, the obvious:

parker: thief rogue. the base abilities allow for bonus action sleight of hand checks as well as no reduction to climbing speed. i would also add the opportunistic thief feat, as well as the acrobat feat because of her extensive training.

highest stats are dexterity and intelligence, with above average wisdom and constitution, average strength, and charisma is her dump stat. proficiency / expertise for the skills she needs: perception, survival, but not insight. over time with the crew she improves on wis/cha by working with sophie primarily.

nate ford: inquisitive rogue. all about seeing through people, digging into the cracks and finding what’s missing. i considered adding a dip into paladin for oath of vengeance, but one can commit to a code of honor without getting magic for it, so i'm sticking to pure rogue for nate.

i would add inspiring leader, and maybe the acolyte background for his background in seminary school, or city watch investigator for his work with iys. high mental stats, average physical, though intelligence and charisma are higher than wisdom for nate.

sophie devereaux: eloquence bard/mastermind rogue multiclass. both have really good abilities wrt talking to people which is her whole deal. she's often the one talking the group through grifts; if that's not bonus action help i don't know what is. plus jack of all trades allows sophie to work with a ton of different scenarios.

i'd say high mental stats again; max charisma, high wisdom, above average intelligence, with expertise in history, insight, persuasion, and deception, and average physical stats. disadvantage on performance when not on the con.

eliot spencer: another multiclass: fighter/rogue. base is battlemaster fighter, with a hefty dip into assassin rogue for expertise and uncanny dodge, etc. he gets a bunch of ASIs as a fighter, so he can be very well rounded and add feats to round out his rp e.g. chef, athlete, observant/alert. for combat, add the tavern brawler feat, unarmed fighting style, and the mercenary veteran background and you have yourself an eliot spencer.

highest stats are strength & wisdom, followed by charisma & constitution, then intelligence & dexterity, though all of them are above average, because he starts off with good physicals and builds up the mentals with ASIs.

alec hardison: a little tricky, but i’d make him a multi class of arcane trickster rogue and divination wizard, with a heavier emphasis on the rogue than the wizard. filtered through his use of tech, this man basically spams remote access, identify, arcane eye, scrying, rary’s telepathic bond, legend lore, locate object/creature, etc.* i would tack on the skilled feat because he picks up forgery and a bunch of other skills along the way.

highest stats are intelligence and wisdom, followed by charisma, with average physical stats, though his dexterity is higher than his strength and constitution.

*technically he can't cast some of the higher level spells on that list without getting up to 9th level in wizard--i'm handwaving this as him utilizing permanently enchanted items to work around it with his own 5th level spell slots. which he can get with the 9-6 split i set him at. it works with him being limited by location--hardison is at the top of his game in lucille, but when he doesn't have access, it's a little harder to work around.

harry wilson: courtier background to start; he has expertise in the law and its applications, but starts leveling in inquisitive rogue when he starts working with leverage. alternatively, it would be really funny if he starts leveling in lore bard by virtue of being guided by sophie. i could see him fitting into something like the scholar class from SW5e, but that's not what we're doing here, is it.

highest stat is intelligence, followed by wisdom, then charisma, with average physical stats. i would say that he starts off lower level—no higher than 5. the point is that he provides contrast and his specific expertise in the law.

breanna casey: arcane trickster rogue/artillerist artificer multiclass, but more of an even split than hardison to start. leaning towards artillerist, given the nature of the world and the fact that she would love an eldritch cannon. she starts leveling in rogue more after joining up with leverage and working with parker.

highest stats are intelligence and charisma, then wisdom and dexterity, then average strength and constitution. starts around level 8, by contrast to harry, but is still learning and leveling up with the leverage crew.

[raeynbowboi]

Building an Embodiment of the Fairytale Princess (2.0)

This is nothing new. I’ve done this build before, which I’ll link right [here]. The post did really well, and people seemed to love the concept. However, since then, Mythic Odysseys of Theros and Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything have both come out, bringing with them not only new subclasses, but new features, spells, mechanics, and elements that I couldn’t take into consideration the first time around. So, I decided that rather than just adding a tag on post like I did before, I’d just remake the build with the new features being taken into consideration. Like before, the focus of the build is to create an embodiment of the generic fairytale princess and not any one particular character. So without further ado, let’s get into it.

Like before, we’ll be choosing Variant Human for our race of choice. We’ll channel Sleeping Beauty to be gifted by the fey with blessings of Beauty, Grace, and Song for +1 CHA, +1 DEX, and Performance proficiency. We also get a bonus feat, and thanks to Tasha’s, we can now take Fey Blessed for +1 CHA. However, if she doesn’t cast with Charisma, then substitute those CHA bonuses with Wisdom instead.

The generic fairytale princess is a maid of purest heart, so we’re Lawful Good. But for your more rebellious princesses, Neutral Good or Chaotic Good are also valid.

Background is obviously Noble for proficiency with History and Persuasion.

CLASSES & SUBCLASSES

BARD

This one seems pretty obvious. Bards love to sing and dance, like your stereotypical princess. Because Charisma is their top stat, and they have expertise, it can make them great negotiators, and allow them to excel in dialogue interactions.

GLAMOUR

This college is very fitting for a fairytale princess, as it is focused on making oneself as beautiful and charming as the Fairest of Them All.

LORE 

Lore bards share information, whether they tell stories, recite plays, share philosophy, or spread juicy gossip, the Lore Bard gets more magical secrets, and added expertise to make your princess an even bigger Mary Sue. In actual medieval history, princesses often learned to play instruments and sing, recite prayers or poems, or tell stories to visiting guests, and it was considered a part of her education and duty to do so.

CLERIC

While not every princess is a devout religious girl, their stories tend to be set in the medieval period when a good princess would have been expected to be chaste and pious. So on that front, worshiping a good deity would be befitting of such a character.

LIFE

The fairytale princess raises up those they care about, and nothing is more supportive and helpful than keeping your friends on their feet. The Life Cleric turns your princess into a kind soul who weeps for her friends and patches them up after the battle, turning your princess into a useful ally against the wicked witches and dangerous dragons.

LIGHT

Not all Fairytale Princesses are passive or support players. Those who lean toward Light are the princesses who stand as the Big Good of their story and battle the forces of Darkness with the power of the Light. Of the three Cleric options that fit the archetype, this is the best option for being a powerhouse in combat.

PEACE

Don’t get me wrong, I still hate this domain for wearing the skin of the Love Domain we were supposed to get, and you can absolutely still play it that way. How this domain went from Love to Togetherness to Pacifism is beyond me, but it’s a fairly strong subclass. The classic princess archetype is supposed to be gentle and kind, fitting for one who worships a god of mercy and forgiveness. It’s a value often toted as the strongest characterization of the early Disney princesses.

DRUID

My first time building the fairytale princess, I ignored Druid as an option because the wildshaping didn’t really make sense for a fairytale princess, but a lot of the Bardic Magical Secrets were used to steal Druid spells. However, thanks to the optional rules from Tasha’s, Druids can now use their Wildshape to summon fey that take on the shapes of animals instead of turning into the animals themselves, which makes Druid far more viable, as summoning animals is very in-character for a fairytale princess.

DREAMS 

The Circle of Dreams has heavy Fey associations with references to the Summer Court ruled by Titania. It also is strongly focused on healing, and has a very Fairy Tale flavor to it. It’s an especially great option if you want to invoke Sleeping Beauty, as you can cloak your party while you sleep and send messages to people through your dreams.

SHEPHERD

The fairytale princess is strongly associated with animal buddies, and nothing makes better use of that than the Shepherd Druid, which focuses on amassing an army of critters. What’s more, the Unicorn Totem is very fitting, not only because Unicorns only approach maidens with pure hearts, but Shepherds of the Unicorn Totem get empowered healing.

SORCERER

The sorcerer is born with a spark of something special in them, and a lot of fantasy royalty have magical powers that other people in their world lack.

DIVINE SOUL

The princess doesn’t literally have to be the descendant of the gods, as the original name for the subclass was more about being favored by the gods. Still, if you want to lean into the idea of the princess as the Big Good against the Big Bad, then having her be born with the spark of the gods inside her makes for a neat characterization.

WILD MAGIC 

With the new Sorcerer Shards as I’ve come to call them, we were introduced to the Feywild Shard, which was heavily geared toward Wild Magic Sorcerers, which seems to be WoTC’s way of saying that Wild Magic Sorcerers are the fey-linked sorcerous origin, so I’m including it because of our fey connection. 

WARLOCK

This is the only class where there’s exactly one good option, but it’s one that works surprisingly well.

ARCHFEY 

As a Warlock with a Pact of the Chain, your fairytale princess can choose to Find Familiar any cute little animal companion, or a Sprite to be your Fairy Godmother. Or rather, you can sign a pact with your Fairy Godmother, and use your Chain Pact to summon one of her emissaries to help you. The Archfey patron themselves can act as your Fairygodther, granting you and your party boons and aid where they need it.

WARLOCK INVOCATIONS

Agonizing Blast Armor of Shadows Beast Speech Eldritch Mind Eldritch Sight Gift of the Ever-Living Ones Shroud of Shadow Voice of the Chain Master

CHARISMA vs WISDOM

The big split in how you build your princess falls down the line between these two camps. The wise princess works better as a Druid/Cleric, while a charming princess is more of a Bardlock. For me personally, as much as the Cleruid fits the fairytale princess, the stereotype of the princess is usually that she is gullible, naïve, and overly trusting. Insight is a wisdom check, and something the classic princess archetype is usually bad at. Granted, Animal Handling is also Wisdom, but the Bard’s expertise can overrule a low Wisdom score. Think of it like a clash between Princess Zelda from the Legend of Zelda vs Princess Peach from Mario. Princess Zelda is wise and is much more focused on leadership and protecting her kingdom. Peach is more about the pretty dresses and having servants help her. They’re two very different camps on the princess archetype. Ultimately, which one you choose will depend on the type of princess you wish to invoke. The Classic Damsel or the Wise Matriarch.

SIDEKICKS

A new feature added in Tasha’s, sidekicks are secondary characters that can help the party and are basically simplified character builds with fewer bells and whistles. There are three main camps:

Expert. Experts are clever and knowledgeable, be they minstrels, librarians, pickpockets, merchants, or assassins. They can pick proficiency with DEX, INT, or CHA saving throws, and can be proficient or an expert with any five skills of your choice, and humanoids also gain proficiency with light armor, simple weapons, and two tools of your choice.

Spellcaster. Trained in the secrets of the Arcane, be they a priest, a fortuneteller, or a magical creature. They can choose proficiency with INT, WIS, or CHA checks, and can be proficient in Arcana, History, Insight, Investigation, Medicine, Performance, Persuasion, or Religion. They choose a roll to determine their spell list: Mage (Wizard), Healer (Cleric, Druid) or Prodigy (Bard, Warlock). The sidekick has access to the spell list of the classes their role aligns with, as well as casting with that stat.

Warrior. trained fighters, be they a soldier, a city guard, a trained animal, or a hired sword. They can pick proficiency with STR, DEX, or CON saving throws, and their skill options are Acrobatics, Animal Handling, Athletics, Intimidation, Nature, Perception, and Survival. Warriors can pick a fighting style: either Offensive to add +2 to attack and damage rolls, or Defender to impose disadvantage on hitting creatures other than them while within 5 feet of the princess.

Generic Princess Sidekicks

Humanoid Guard Warrior (bodyguard) Humanoid Commoner Expert (handmaiden, governess, etc.) Humanoid Magewright Spellcaster (court mage, or advisor) Any Beast-type Warrior (animal companion)

Fairytale Inspired Sidekicks

Seven Dwarves - Dwarf Warrior Fairy Godmother - Sprite or Pixie Spellcaster Prince Charming - Humanoid Noble Warrior Wicked Witch - Barovian Witch Spellcaster Beast - Gnoll, Jackalwere, Orc, or Troglodyte Warrior Puss in Boots - Awakened Cat or Tabaxi Warrior The Frog Prince - Awakened Frog or Grung Warrior Three Little Pigs - Awakened Pig Expert, Spellcaster, & Warrior Big Bad Wolf - Wolf Warrior or Awakened Wolf Expert Robin Hood - Redbrand Ruffian or Bandit Expert Djinn of the Lamp - Dust, Ice, or Magma Mephit Spellcaster Pinocchio - Giant Stone Statue Warrior White Rabbit - Awakened Rabbit Expert Cheshire Cat - Awakened Cat Expert or Spellcaster

There is no actual limit to the number of sidekicks your character can have, so in theory, your fairytale princess could have an entire posse of talking animals hanging out and helping her.

Skills, Spells, and Features

As a Variant Human, we got Performance proficiency alongside our Fey Touched feat, and as a Noble, we have proficiency with Persuasion and History. For everything else, we’re just looking to be a standard Fairytale Princess. So we should look to be proficient with: Animal Handling, Arcana, Religion, Nature, or Medicine.

BASIC FAIRIES

Dancing Lights Faerie Fire Healing Spirits Spirit Guardians Summon Fey Conjure Woodland Beings Conjure Fey

BASIC PRINCESS THINGS

Animal Friendship Command Heroism Speak With Animals Animal Messenger Calm Emotions Find Steed Warding Bond Zone of Truth Conjure Animals Mord’s Magnificent Mansion

SNOW WHITE

Armor of Agathys Mirror Image Beacon of Hope Aura of Purity Heroes’ Feast

CINDERELLA

Fabricate Creation True Polymorph Wish

SLEEPING BEAUTY

Sleep Phantasmal Killer Dream Wall of Thorns Dream of the Blue Veil

THE LITTLE MERMAID

Charm Person Shatter Suggestion Tidal Wave Compulsion Control Water Dominate Person Maelstrom Control Weather Tsunami Storm of Vengeance

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

Charm Monster Unseen Servant Tiny Servant Animate Objects Awaken Hold Monster Summon Fiend

Last time I built the fairytale princess, I gave her exactly 1 build. 18 levels of glamour bard and 2 levels of Archfey Warlock. But recently I’ve begun to instead put more stock in leaving builds open, showing instead the options that a player has to choose from. So, for this update, I’m not pushing for a specific build. I’ve laid out the appropriate spells, and the types of princesses that a player can strive to emulate with their spell lists. Consider this more of a guide to help you decide how you want to play your fairytale princess.

[bladeoftruths]

Fate/stay night [Heaven’s Feel] 1. presage flower - Ren’s review

Alright, it’s been a long time since I reviewed an anime, let alone an anime movie, but dang, this movie is the sole reason I got into fate series. I even get to invest myself into Unlimited Blade Works (the ufotable one, I aint gonna touch the DEEN version ever], Fate/Zero and even tried the visual novel just for the sake of gaining the full main Fate experience.

Without further ado, everything is under the cut for viewing pleasure. 

For starters, Heaven’s Feel (HF for short) route is preferably enjoyed if you played the visual novel firsthand, especially after you completed Fate (Saber’s route) and Unlimited Blade Works (Rin’s route, I’m gonna call this route UBW for short). Because this route carries a bunch of stuff from the previous two routes. If you start from this route, it’ll leave you confused. Like, really. 

Also, the visual novel has stuff that the anime adaptation left out but if you’re not the person to spend hours and hours playing visual novel, then you’re only left with the OG Fate/stay night anime (the 2006 DEEN version, adapted Fate route btw) and the UBW anime by ufotable (came out in 2014). I personally haven’t seen the 2006 F/sn anime bcos I heard bad stuff coming from the original adaptation (cough cough). On the other hand, the UBW is quite good (bless ufotable for their splendid direction, but I’ll save my praises for this studio below) and I personally like it because of Shirou and Rin >:3c

Anyways, onto the main point. 

Story [10/10] - Not trying to be biased just because this route is my favourite story-wise, but I love where the story is heading. I like how the director, Tomonori Sudou, change some parts of the story to make the beginning of the route less boring contrary to the VN. 

The temple attack, where originally in the VN, Shirou and Saber heads there to investigate only to find Team Caster wiped out was removed to give a more unsettling feeling.

The ‘wet dreams’ scene, I must say, it’s very ‘interesting’ in its own way. Without adding the explicit scenes, they are able to execute the scene in an ‘interesting’ way. I honestly prefer this version compared to the censored version and the explicit version in the VN (I just replayed this route for the good ending with the H-mod on and I honestly cannot stop laughing bcos of how unconfortable this scene is, even though it was a scene involving Rin XD).

I also love how the movie begins with how Shirou and Shinji’s friendship got ruined, and how Sakura met Shirou. It’s a nice touch to see how things begin. And the scenes involving Shinji and Shirou fighting makes it feel so heartbreaking. Also, I love how the movie adaptation really makes the story feel like it revolves around Shirou and Sakura.

I also love how the story concluded with a bittersweet cliffhanger; Shirou returned injured and Saber disappeared, brief scene of Rin looking terrified as she discovers the underground room at the Matou residence, Shinji prepping up for that certain scene in the next part, and Illya bracing up for her next move.

Art [10/10] - Ahh yes, more praise for Director Sudou, who’s also in charge of the character designs. I like how smooth the artwork is, and bonus points for ripped Shirou bcos, heck yeah, he is ripped (the VNs, though inconsistent when it comes to him, but there are scenes where they reveal a peek on his ripped body >:3c), contrary to the UBW adaptation where they make him look slightly lean but fit.

Also, Sakura is so lovely here (fun fact: she’s the director’s best girl), and Rin, contrary to UBW, she looks more cool and less-dorky to set her aside from being the main girl (but she’s still the core cast of the series). 

I like how some of the gritty scenes were made even more gritty here to reflect how dark this route is. Like, they show all the thrown out organs and stuff and reveal them like no tomorrow. I’m not a fan of gore but hey, can I say it’s ‘cool’?

Animation [10/10] - Hoo boy, where do I begin? I have too many praises for ufotable, send help.

Smooth animation, epic VFX and compositing, improved photorealistic lighting and utilizing 3D into 2D animation. Dang, can I apply an internship here?

I’m really a sucker for all this cool cheese. The battle scenes’ animation are especially stellar, as always from ufotable. I cannot say anything much beyond this. Also, some of the daily life scenes, like the part where Sakura was cutting vegetables, it was smoothly animated. I can see that they’re really working hard on.

I can praise a thousand times to Ufotable Digital Team for improving their VFX and compositing. This is my absolute favourite thing about this studio. I can see how much they improved ever since they worked on UBW anime. I’ve seen a few clips of Tales of Zestiria the X and Katsugeki Touken Ranbu and dang, they’re really showing it here at long last.

Anyways, I want to praise them for the Lancer VS True Assassin scene. I like how they integrate 3D for the backgrounds and camera with the 2D animation for the fight scenes. It was really cool.

Music [10/10] - I don’t usually concentrate much on the music while I’m watching it, but when I listen to the OST first hand, I can really feel it.

Yuki Kajiura did a great job setting the mood for each scenes. Some of the melancholic scenes makes it feel so heartbreaking, and the last scene almost made me cry because of the music. I hope she returns for composing Part 2 because recently, she left her agent. The ending theme, which was sung by Aimer is quite nice. I like how some of the tracks for the movie were a remix from the theme itself. I’ve loved her songs since I listened to ‘Rokutousei no Yoru’ (no. 6′s ED theme) and this one is among her best of recently, after Brave Shine (UBW anime’s 2nd OP theme).

PS: Somehow I want Kalafina to sing the next movie’s ending theme but we’ll see. (given the recent news that one of their members left the group...)

Overall, my verdict is:

10/10

As a fan of this route, it was a great adaptation so far. I really like where this route is going, and I really can’t wait for Part 2, which will be even more interesting as that part will focus even more secrets of Sakura. I ain’t spoiling what they are but you’ll just see it for yourself.

Alright, I guess that’s it for my review. See you in Part 2 - Lost Butterfly (next year, bcos I doubt it’ll be screened here)