#it was mordenkainen's monsters of the multiverse

[dutifullylazybread]

Me: *walks inside holding a package that contains yet another D&D book to add to my collection* My partner: What do you have there? Me: A smoothie?

[rae-nimation]

I have a CHANGELING PALADIN for DND BWARRRRGHH WERE GONNA PLAY CURSE OF STRHAD

[minotaur-in-my-labyrinth]

The Minotaur from Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica

Wonderful, darling, precious. Perfect except for the kind of too small mouth. Bellows need more cavernosity. Excited to go get milkshakes with me.

Minotaur from Mordenkainen's Monsters of the Multiverse.

I think someone took the wrong idea from the word... piebald. You do look like someone put human skin on a bovid.

But your mouth looks right and I love the look of adventurous determination, still look excited to try your first milkshakes with me.

[nho-jungle]

giving gillion a tail: bug's thoughts on triton anatomy

yeah im writing a full thing about this okay let me autism lazerbeam in peace.

so the thing with triton anatomy is that one would assume theyre just human anatomy with some extra bits like gills n stuff. and tails, but we'll go into that in a moment. the problem with this is bone structure. not all fish have bones. sharks don't have bones. instead the support structure of their bodies is made of cartilage. which isnt too different, considering parts of human anatomy are made up of cartilage, but it poses some interesting questions. im no scientist, but i am autistic as hell. so im going to pose a couple of options that are fun to rotate.

the most common depiction of tailed tritons (which i myself have drawn) is some variety of fish or shark. this is aesthetically fun bc of the variety within fish and sharks, in terms of colour and shape, that allows you to get funky with it. anatomically speaking, this would probably be achieved via the tailbone being there, like a monkey, but with the muscle and flesh around it being shark or fish-like. this would all lend to a tail that moves side to side, which would lead to an interesting swimming style that probably wouldnt involve much movement of the legs.

the second thought i had for tailed tritons was seals. seals have very short tails, but as mammals they have the same bone structure as humans. due to this, my initial thought was a second set of hips, so the triton bone structure would look like it had four legs, but the second set of legs would be the tail formation. this would lend itself to a tail that moves up and down, which could probably be utilised in tandem with the legs to create a very efficient swimming style.

however, neither of these ideas take into account one very important thing about tritons:

they're amphibious.

oh but bug, they can have human lungs and fish gills with nothing to do with the tail- silence voice i made up purely to disagree! we are not here to do arts and crafts! we are not gluing random creature aspects together with whimsy and magic! this is real science!

so amphibians. frogs and newts and salamanders and the like.

the amphibian life cycle, in most cases, involves eggs being laid in water and larvae being adapted to an aquatic lifestyle. frogs, toads, and salamanders all hatch with external gills, and develops lungs to breathe air as they grow up. amphibians are very adaptable to their environment, and there are many possible variations among individual species purely caused by outside influence and the area they grow up in.

but what does this have to do with tritons and their tails?

tadpoles

unlike most amphibians, frog tadpoles dont look like the adults. frog tadpoles start out fully aquatic, with external gills. as they grow and develop, they get gill pouches to make their gills internal. they have cartilaginous skeletons (which later develop into bone), lateral line systems (found in fish, used to detect movement, vibration, and pressure under water), and large tails. their lungs develop early. their front legs develop first, and then their back legs soon after.

(oh what about axolotls- axolotls dont have lungs. they are functionally the same as salamander larvae but they never get past that developmental stage. theyre amphibians that arent amphibious.)

im running out of steam for this post but basically what im trying to say is that triton are froglets. this would also make sense for the fact that triton have webbed hands and feet. frogs do too so it would be implemented into the swimming style. bone structure is a whole nother things, especially since both 'mordenkainen presents: monsters of the multiverse' and 'volos guide to monsters' are cowards whos triton designs are just blue people. but working from 'mythic odysseys of theros' designs, who have at least a little bit of flare, i think it's safe to assume that their bones are a little funky. some fun mix of bone and cartilage to have those interesting shapes.

all that being said, i am a big supporter of doing whatever you want forever. i am also just a massive nerd and like to think way too hard about these things.

(shoutout to my dad for assistance with bouncing ideas around, and for being the one to suggest the tadpole thing.)

[y-rhywbeth2]

Elf Lore Dump - 1/???

I had to cut a lot of detail. Wouldn't have to do that with any of the other demihumans; they'd just fill a single fucking post. I could be talking about dwarven druids and their giant bees, or bitching about how much better Tieflings used to be, but nooo elves are fuckin' special!

Elves in brief are fey spirits in mortal flesh, spiritually connected to each other, the world and their gods. Often aloof, considered creatures of ethereal grace... They would also very much appreciate it if you never mentioned their long history of fuckups including several world wars, multiple war crimes and genocides - successful or attempted.

I just shoved a load of elven lore together in an attempt at an overview, occasionally hypothesising when gaps appeared in my knowledge; here's hoping it made sense!

Overview; Spirituality stuff/Afterlife; History rundown; The different types of elf

As always: "D&D is old as balls, there's a lot of stories and information out there that may conflict with what you hear from me because D&D is an old trainwreck pileup of lore that keeps contradicting and tripping over itself and there's stuff I might not be aware of." I personally am mostly taking the angle here that older, detailed Realmslore will take precedence over generic 5e lore.

The elven word for their own race is Tel'Quessir - translated as "The People", or "Of The People". This is due to the aforementioned spiritual link: elves are spiritually linked to each other, which gives them a low-level telepathic link…

"Elves seem to have some sort of mental link between them […] linked with [a] mysterious gland in their brains. It cloaks their brains from [enchantment magic] but it can also emit energy to allow another elf to project his mind into another's and then the two share thoughts on some level. The closeness of elven communities comes from this habitual sharing of minds, and the elves do not understand other races without this ability, for they cannot conceive of being totally alone in one's own head. Apparently, elves look forward to sharing their thoughts with others and do it directly or in "reverie."" - Cormanthyr: Empire of the Elves

"[Elves] mystically acquire [skills they don't have] by drawing them from shared elven memory..." - Mordenkainen's Monsters of the Multiverse

Reverie is the world for the elven trance in the Realms. During reverie the elf falls into a trance like state where they lie down (or recline on a chair or something) and go incredibly still, their eyes open. This can often cause panic amongst non-elves not experienced with elves, to whom they appear to have just died.

In reverie an elf relieves the past events of their life. This is how elves avoid forgetting past events of their lives, despite living for 700+ years.

Pregnant elves eventually fall into a semi-reverie as they commune with the developing infant. The child "learns" of their family, home and is born knowing them and starts off already knowing some basic knowledge of the elven language.

Non-elves are N'Tel'Quessir or N'Quess - "Not of the People." They are not part of this link and not part of the whole that is The People.

I don't think it's ever been specified whether the mind linking applies to half-elves. Half-elves may chose to either reverie as an elf or sleep as a human and possess the elven resistance to enchantment magic, implying that gland exists to some degree. They might be capable of some degree of this connection, at least, but possibly not the full version. Half-elves are sometimes insultingly referred to their more racist cousins as A'Tel'Quessir - "Almost of the People"

Dark elves theoretically should be able to do this, but 99% of them wouldn't, due to Lolthite cult brainwashing.

Considering that vampires are immune to enchantment and psionics due to being corpses with no brain activity, presumably that gland is dead and an elf who becomes a vampire cannot access this communion. They do appear to be capable reverie in some depictions, however - though they probably can't share it. (Even if they can, I highly doubt elves are going to trust a spiritually defiled undead monster that's also an abomination in the eyes of one of the major deities in the elven pantheon.)

Elves are inherently connected to magic and the Weave. This is apparently what gives them their extremely long lifespans and what is behind their cultural adoration of magic.

Random things about elven culture include that they have champagne and they've invented the prog rock genre, according to Ed Greenwood, who created the setting.

Elves live 700+ years and physically and psychologically mature at the same rate as humans. While they are still in their first century of life, and within a human lifespan, they tend to experience the world much the same as a human of equivalent age rather than an ancient fey being to whom next century is the equivalent of next year. Elves in this stage of development usually go through a cultural rebellion stage. They ignore their own communities in favour of humans, if possible; involve themselves in human "fads"; and have flings and relationships with non-elves. Young elves sometimes dabble with evil alignments, something older elves generally consider a phase that they'll grow out of and look back on with embarrassment when they're old enough to know better.

Elves are not considered fully mature adults by their own people's standards until they're into their second century of life. Age 20-120 is basically like being 18 to early 20-something for a century from the elven perspective. Fully mature elves are slow to respond to events (major human events pass in the blink of an eye to elves) and have a rather laissez-faire attitude to the world. That might explain why elven culture values personal freedom and individuality.

--- Afterlife: Elves are kind of fey spirits in mortal flesh - which was backed up in 2e, when the fact that they have spirits and don't have souls meant that resurrecting them could be annoying and expensive sometimes, because Raise Dead wouldn't work on them, only Resurrection and True Resurrection.

According to Ed, the elven spirit is inherently tied to the plane of Arvandor. While they can dedicate themselves to non-elven gods, outside of exceptional cases those elves will still be going to Arvandor when they die.

Dying, in elven terms, is called "Passing West." In their reverie they begin to receive signs from Sehanine Moonbow, elven goddess of dreams and death, who prepares them for the end of this life. A ring of colour like the titular moonbow forms in their iris, marking to other elves that they're in their final days. Then they travel to elven lands where they die amongst their people or pass directly to Arvandor, I'm not sure. Elves that die of unnatural causes are given funerals according to their cultural norms (usually either in tombs or private burials.) It is believed by the very religious that in Arvandor elves will join in a reverie-like communion with the gods - the Seldarine (Tel'Seldarine; "the siblings of the wood") Reincarnation is a part of elven religion, it's believed that Sehanine works with Corellon on preparing elven spirits in Arvandor for the transition to their next life when/if the time comes. In exceptional cases they can also petition the gods to be reincarnated as nymphs, dryads and treants (ents, basically). Or be turned into guardian spirits who will manifest to defend their homes in times of war. There's also a special type of lich (a baelnorn) that can be formed if there's a dire need for it, very begrudgingly tolerated by Sehanine despite her dislike of the undead.

Drow rarely die of old age, and most being Lolthite their souls go to her and I believe she transforms their souls into one of the millions of soul spiders that accompany her (sometimes she makes them into other things, sometimes she eats them) Eilistraeean drow have a similar ending to surface elves, where Eilistraee will call to them at the end of their lives and take them with her to the afterlife (Eilistraee's realm in Arvandor) Most of the Seldarine (with one or two exceptions) actually have no issue accepting dark elven worshippers, so I assume this particular minority of dark elves is also guided to Arvandor by Sehanine. Otherwise they take the half-elven route:

Half-elves have souls like humans, and are not tied to Arvandor in the same way. Worshippers of the Seldarine will be collected by them at the Fugue plane as an elf, and those that worship human gods will be collected by one of them.

-

A brief, clumsy overview of elven history: Elven myths about their origin vary. All claim Corellon Larethian as the creator of their people. The most popular story states they're descended from their chief deity, Corellon Larethian and his/her future-consort Sehanine (and by all accounts, they appear to be correct). The first elves were born from Corellon's shed blood mingled with Sehanine's tears, shed when s/he was wounded fighting the orc god Gruumsh back at the dawn of time.

Of course before Sehanine was consort, Corellon was involved with Araushnee the elven godess of fate. This led to an epic divorce when she allied with Gruumsh and Corellon's other enemies in an attempt to overthrow him and once the dust cleared (following several attempted coups) he turned her into a demon and exiled her to the Abyss (the lower plane of Chaotic Evil), where she renamed herself Lolth and decided that spiders were actually really cool and she was going to start a cult and society based on spiders - a conclusion she almost certainly didn't reach because because spiders eat their mates and she's bitter about her ex, imo. Also, Lolth's banishment would surely not come back to bite everybody on the ass At All.

Elves first leave the Feywild for Toril in -27,000 DR - the Dawn Age, when Dragons rule the world. The Torilian Fey open a portal connecting Abeir-Toril to the Feywild, bringing the dark elves through to come disrupt the dragons. A tribe named the Ilythiiri establish a kingdom in the South of Faerun [Ilythiir] that will be a beacon of elven culture for millennia. Other waves of immigration follow at different times. Elves eventually defeat the dragons at war; elven nations dominate the planet. Five world wars ensue, involving the numerous war crimes nobody wants to talk about because it makes all of them look bad, and ending in the dark elves getting exiled. Humanity rises to power, moving faster than elves can currently comprehend, driving elves out in their expansionism. Most of the elves' bad history with humans involves the Netherese. Various methods are used to try and stop this ranging on a scale from friendship and cultural outreach to founding genocidal terrorist groups because humans are less than animals and must all be exterminated. Elves decide to make Only-Elves-Allowed-Island by dragging a piece of Arvandor into Toril. The Seldarine say; no, please just make friends with the non-elves. The Elves ignore this and end up blowing up a continent, causing mass death. The result is Evermeet (only reachable with permission, and guarded by the avatars of the Seldarine). The elves plan to totally abandon Faerûn and live there alone with no N'Quess. In 1344 DR there's a magical summons that calls all elves to either Evermeet of the elven city of Evereska. It is followed by pretty much everybody except some moon elves and all the copper elves. Everybody except the elves think this disappearance is really sudden, but the elves have been planning this for centuries, actually.

4e had the Spellplague cause the Feywild to realign with Toril, as it did when the elves first moved over. This caused Evermeet to vanish into the Feywild somewhere and allowed "high elves" to step between worlds with ease and then the elves started rebuilding their lost homelands in the Feywild (on the locations where they used to be, but not in the "human" world). I have no idea whether any of that is still canon.

---

A somewhat tongue-in-cheek, overly simplistic guide to elves:

Half-elves - Cha'Tel'Quessir - are the offspring of humans and elves or two half-elves. Very, very rarely they occur in a human lineage that has an elven ancestor a few centuries back in the family tree. Half-elves sport a mixture of human and elven features, sometimes fully passing as one or the other. They generally follow the culture norms of whatever society they were born in, either human or elven. The only places that half-elves make up a significant enough numbers where they can make a significant society are in the Yuirwood in Aglarond of Easter Faerun, and (formerly, I think) the Loviataran half-drow of Dambarath. They live between 100-200 years.

It'd be best to give them their own post, honestly.

The child of a half-elf and a human is, mechanically, a human. The child of a half-elf and an elf is, mechanically, an elf. But these children may inherit traits from their heritage (so a human with pointy ears or a moon elf with brown eyes and skin, for example).

When elves mix (for example, a green elf and a silver elf) the result is a child that, again, mechanically speaking, is the same "subrace" as one of their two parents. They still inherit genes from the other parent. Dark elven genes are almost always dominant, and an elf with one dark elf parent will be a dark elf themselves nine times out of ten.

WOOD ELVES: Copper elf | Sylvan elf | Wood elf | Or'Tel'Quessir - Chill, patient, friendly. The only elven group that's native to Toril, the result of a mixture of the other elven ethnicities after the five world wars (Crown Wars) becoming populous and focused enough to become their own independent culture. As a weird side effect they actually like the world and the non-elven people in it and don't want to lock themselves away from it. They like living in nature in quiet little villages and towns in the wilderness, and are the only elves that don't like arcane magic - locking yourself away studying magic and never seeing the world or other people is unhealthy for you. Druidry is way better. Most half-elves of "wood elven" variety have copper elven ancestry. - Skin is coppery brown, occasionally with a green tinge; eyes are brown, hazel, green; hair is usually brown or black, but occasionally blonde and copper-red turns up.

Green elf | Wild elf (slur) | Sy'Tel'Quessir - Closely related to the dark elves, who they branched off from. Watched as through five world wars one of their dark elven cousins' nations (which they also lived in) was genocided off the map by gold elves for resisting colonisation; and the other dark elven nation started getting involved with Lolth and demons and war crimes; and by the end of it all the other elves had annihilated every single green elven civilisation. They came to the conclusion that permanency and city building is bullshit and they're going to vanish into the wilds, embrace a nomadic lifestyle in touch with the earth and everybody else in the world can fuck off. Bye, don't call (or we'll stab you). They like nature, prefer sorcery to wizardry and have an animistic approach to religion. Often have to deal with other elves either trying to "civilise" them or else going for the "noble savage" angle and appropriating their culture. Very nice bead work. - Dark brown skin; hair is brown or black with the rare blonde; eyes brown, green, hazel with the rare blue.

HIGH ELVES: Silver elf | Moon elf | Grey elf (slur) | Teu'Tel'Quessir - "Flighty, chaotic and irreverent." The party elves who enjoy fun, adventure, hedonism and gambling. Revelry is an important part of their culture. Basically the only type of elf you'll ever meet because the copper elves stay in the forests and the other elves, on average, would rather kill themselves than live with non-elves. Responsible for the vast majority of half-elves in existence. Curiously they make up more than 50% of the demographic of the church of the elven god of moonlight, mystery, dreams, death, and hating the undead. - Silver elven genes include white/silver or black hair; Pale skin, often tinged with blue; Blue, green or grey eyes.

Gold elf | Sun elf | Ar'Tel'Quessir - No actual affinity for the sun, just a reference to their golden colouration. "Dour and serious." "Methodical, careful." Conservative religious types who are raised to believe that they are the purest example of elvendom and that Corellon appointed them defenders of elvendom against the hoards of humans who have driven the elves off their lands and despoil the natural world in their inherent greed and short-sightedness. Would respond to the idea of leaving elven lands much like His Majesty responding to the idea of joining your camp: "I'd rather die." - Gold, bronze, amber skin. Bright golden blonde hair, copper or black. Gold, black, silver and rarely; bright copper or golden-hazel eyes.

Star elf | Mithral elf | Ruar'Tel'Quessir - Human expansion led to the humans trying to conquer them (they lost), so they created an entire plane of existence (Sildëyuir) and all moved there in -699 DR. Recently forced to move back sometime between 1300-1400 DR due to strange monsters invading. They're not very religious, have a strong bardic tradition and wear these weird glowing gems on their foreheads for some reason, they don't know shit about the modern world and they're terrified of non-elves. - Pale skin, like moon elves but with a violet tinge; Gold, red or silver hair; Grey or violet eyes.

DROW - (Who, frankly, take up a post of their own.) Dark elves | Night elves | Ssri'Tel'Quessir | Dhaerow | Drow | Ilythiiri Originally part of the High Elf category, before exile.

Basic overview of the fallout with the dark elves and everyone else: An empire of gold elves (Aryvandaar) decides they're going to conquer the world and starts by colonising the nearby dark elven empire of Miyeritar. Down south, Ilyithiir responds with hostility. Miyeritar resists, Aryvandaar responds with genocide and wipes them off the map with magic that leaves the entire Miyeritaran region permanently wrecked (even into the modern day) and wipes out the worshipers and power base of Eilistraee, leaving no barriers to prevent Lolth from taking over the dark elves as their only god (In the future surface elves will point blank refuse to ever discuss this event). Ilyithiir responds by going apeshit and starts committing imperialistic war crimes claiming to be avenging their Northern kin. The Ilythiiri were also ruled by demon worshipping imperialists who'd fallen under sway of Lolth and the surface elves insist that avenging Miyeritar was just an excuse.

The surface elves say that the dark elves are N'Quess and start calling them dhaerow, which means traitor. The dark elves say that the surface elves are N'Quess and start calling them darthiir, which means traitor.

Lolth dominates 99% of dark elven society with her cult, and basically their entire society is a cycle of abuse married to their bitter divorcee goddess' spider fetish. Yay, toxic matriarchy; Those with power can do whatever they want to those who have less, so you should do everything to make sure you're the one with the power; Love is a lie, kill your mate when you're done with him; If your children aren't trying to kill you, you've failed as a parent; You only have worth because of what worth Mother Lolth gives you. You only live because of Her. etc.

There are also the merchant clans who live outside of city. They're a little more egalitarian, because dealing with outsiders is demeaning, so it's a man's job. They favour plutocratic governance (they're ruled by an inner council formed by the most wealthy members, often male wizards). They're the most "friendly" to outsiders and basically the trade they bring is the only thing that stops the noble house run cities from collapsing.

Minorities include the Eilistraeeans; Eilistraee voluntarily went into exile so that somebody would be there to encourage the dark elves to put down the knives, get away from Lolth, move out of the Underdark and go to fucking therapy.

Her twin brother, Vhaeraun, also encourages the dark elves to put down the knives, get away from Lolth, move out of the Underdark and go to fucking therapy - stab other people instead of each other! This is totally unproductive villainy! You're better than this! How are the drow supposed to conquer the world and rule over the lesser beings if we're still in this glorified cave after a millennia?? - Noticable sexual dimorphism, females are larger and more robust than males. Very dark skin. Hair is usually pale with black being an extremely rare recessive gene (white, platinum blonde, pale copper). Eyes are also typically in pale colours, with red being common because Lolth decided to have the Ilythiiri nobles breed with a demon lord and that got into the gene pool. Other eye colours: white-grey, lavender, pink, amber, black, green is sometimes seen but it's thought to be a sign of surface-elven ancestry.

OTHER: Avariel | Winged Elves | Aril'Tel'Quessir - Flying elves with bird wings who live on mountaintops. Almost extinct. Sea elves | Aquatic Elves | Alu'Tel'Quessir - Elves with gills and webbed hands and feet that live under the sea. Blue with green stripes or green with brown stripes, depending on what sea they're from. Lythari | Ly'Tel'Quessir - An exclusive elf club where you join by getting infected with elf lycanthropy and then you turn into a silver wolf. They're sterile, so they can only make more lythari through recruiting.

[ccadaver]

Btw here's some Dungeons & Dragons books for free

Link here, it's got:

Player's Handbook

Dungeon Master's Guide

Monster Manual

Monsters of the Multiverse

Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes

Volo's Guide to Monsters

Xanathar's Guide to Everything

Tasha's Cauldron of Everything

Explorer's Guide to Wildemount

Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

Eberron Rising from the Last War

[ttrpg-smash-pass-vs]

It'll still be a few months, gotta finish this tournament after all, but I want time to prep. Monsters of the Multiverse is just Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes and Volo's Guide combined, usually even using the same art which is why they aren't there. Though I did scan them for differences, and will post both book's art on the rare occasion they differ. If something laser-focused like Fizban's Dragons or Bigby's Giants wins I'm swapping between it and something else. Maybe every other week, maybe a weekday/weekend scenario, but I don't want to do just one monster for a couple months. If this changes your vote but you clicked before you read, just let me know in a comment or ask and I'll change it after the poll ends. ...and yes, the PF2e Bestiary has more eligible creatures than that stat wise, but I can only use the creatures with a picture. Leaves out some elementals :/

[plumadot]

If you're ok with pulling inspo from source material outside the standard player's handbook et al., Mordenkainen Monsters of the Multiverse introduces the concept of sea elves into the mix, which feels fitting for Scott. Pretty elf who can also breathe underwater and is a friend to the fishes :D

I ACTUALLY DID MAKE HIM A SEA ELF AAAAAAAA LOOK AT US BEING TELEPATHIC HEHEHEHEH

[nerdythebard]

#61: Loki Laufeyson [Marvel Comics]

[Art Credit: Gabriel Hernandez Walta | Doctor Strange (2015)] ---

I'll start by saying this, my dear Deities... I am not a fan. As a resident mythology nerd, I have a few baseball bats with Marvel decision-makers' names on them. But, I am a bard of the people and therefore shall hear my audience's requests. And thus, we're building Loki Laufeyson as depicted by Marvel Comics. Plenty of changes to the real Loki (which will be featured!), so let's see what we can do.

Next Time: You want more gods, I give you more gods. No more monkey business! Unless the monkey's business is to become immortal.

So, what does this so-called Loki brings to the table:

Tall Tales & Tricks: Loki in most of his iterations is known for his speechcraft and manipulation techniques. This one, however, is also quite fond of spells and various magical practices, specialising however in illusions and shapeshifting (although seemingly limited to mostly humanoid forms).

Tough as... Ice: This Loki is a full frost giant (...shh! Keep the Jotunn lecture for those who ask, Nerdy) with all the physiological advantages. We're talking durability, strength, the entire package.

Shinies & Stabbies: This Loki likes his pointy objects. Daggers and the sword Lævateinn seem to be his particular favourites. Plus, we all remember the glaive/scepter he gets in the movies.

---

To properly represent Loki's Jotunn lineage, we will reach for the "distant cousins of giants" in the world of D&D - Firbolgs, as depicted in Mordenkainen's Monsters of the Multiverse. We get +2 Charisma and +1 Constitution, some Firbolg Magic which lets us cast Detect Magic and Disguise Self (once without expending spell slots, unless we have slots to spell - spoilers: we will), ability to turn invisible with Hidden Step, ability to communicate (one way) with nature using the Speech of Beast and Leaf, as well as Powerful Build which makes us count as one category larger for tasks such as carrying, pulling, or lifting.

Loki's many things, but in most instances he is a Charlatan, so that's what we're going with. We gain proficiency in Deception and Sleight of Hand, as well as with disguise and forgery kits (which will be useful to alter our clothes, as it cannot be done via magic). We are also able to craft False Identity for ourselves, completed with an entire past full of tangible evidence. What's better for a foundling child, adopted by a local warlord, who needs to use disguise magic to hid his true form?

ABILITY SCORES

This one's obvious - we are putting our highest score into Charisma, we will be using it most of the time both in and out of combat. We also need to avoid, dodge, and slip into the shadows so Dexterity will be next. Finally, let's grab Constitution, just in case some musclehead with a hammer catches us once in a blue moon.

Intelligence will actually be next, we're good at gathering information and utilising it. Strength comes from our giant lineage, although we rarely get physical. Finally, we're dumping Wisdom - if we had it, we'd learn to not constantly betray our brother or the heroes that gave us a chance (again).

CLASS

Level 1 - Rogue: We will start with our non-magical skills. Rogues get a d8 as their Hit Die, [8 + Constitution modifier] initial Hit Points, proficiencies with light armour, simple weapons, hand crossbows, longswords, rapiers, shortswords, and thieves' tools. Let's give your standard leather armour, and two daggers plus a shortsword (which what would a Norse primary weapon be, provided you're wealthy enough).

Our saving throws are Dexterity and Intelligence, and we can choose four skills from the class list (Acrobatics, Perception, Performance, and Stealth). Rogues start with Expertise to their skills, doubling the proficiency bonus of two chosen skills; for this Loki, who uses illusions and body switching so often, let's put Expertise in Persuasion and Stealth. We also know Thieves' Cant (can't what? - no, that joke will never not be funny), a system of phrases and symbols used by Rogues to communicate. Slip some Asgardian lingo without worry of revealing plans.

We can also apply Sneak Attack to any attack (with a Finesse or Ranged weapon) that we have an advantage on. The amount of damage increase as we level up; for now it's an extra 1d6.

Level 2 - Rogue: Our quick thinking grants us Cunning Action. We can now take the Dash, Disengage, and Hide Actions as Bonus Actions, allowing for better positioning.

Level 3 - Rogue: Our Sneak Attack bonus now becomes 2d6. We also get to pick our subclass, our Roguish Archetype. I'm guessing some of you would go with Arcane Trickster here, but remember we're focusing on quick and stabby Loki in this part; put on your feather caps, we're going Swashbuckler! With Fancy Footwork, we do not provoke opportunity attacks if we make an attack against the enemy (notice, it doesn't say we need to hit the enemy, so this is a perfect testing-the-waters technique). Thanks to our Rakish Audacity, we can add our Charisma modifier to our Initiative, making us a good scout and once again helping with our positioning.

Additionally at this point, when we're in melee range of an enemy and there's nobody else within 5 feet, we do not need advantage for our Sneak Attack.

Level 4 - Sorcerer: As one wise Loki said "blades are worthless in the face of a Loki Sorcery", so we're going to focus on that now. Multiclassing into Sorcerer does not give us any extra bonuses, but it enables Spellcasting. Charisma is our casting ability and we know catrips and regular spells. Sorcerers get a fixed number of spells. We start with four cantrips (Fire Bolt, Friends, Minor Illusion, and Prestidigitation) and two 1st-level spells (Comprehend Languages and Sleep).

Sorcerers also pick their subclass, their Sorcerous Origin, at this level. We shall circle back to our giant legacy and pick the Giant Soul option from the Unearthed Arcana 51. With the legacy of the Frost Giants embedded in our essence, we gain Jotun Resilience - every level up we get an additional 1 Hit Point. We also carry the Mark of Ordning, which grants us some additional spells; at this level it's Armour of Agathys and Ray of Frost.

Level 5 - Sorcerer: We discover our inner Font of Magic and are now able to convert Sorcery Points into Spell Slots and vice versa. We can also grab another 1st-level spell; let's grab Charm Person to emulate the usage of the Mind Stone.

Level 6 - Sorcerer: We unlock Metamagic, which lets us use Sorcery Points to alter the properties of our spells. We get to choose two options: Quickened Spell uses 2 Sorcery Points to change a spell from Action to Bonus Actions. Subtle Spell uses 1 Sorcery Point to cast a spell without verbal or somatic components - perfect to sneakily place an body double illusion.

We also unlock 2nd-level spells here, so in regards to my previous sentence, let's take Mirror Image. We also get Hold Person from our subclass.

Level 7 - Sorcerer: Time for our first Ability Score Improvement. Let's raise our Charisma and Constitution by one, and then we can move to our spell selection. We get a new cantrip (Green-Flame Blade) and another 2nd-level spell: Misty Step.

Level 8 - Sorcerer: At this level, we normally do not get anything; the optional feature from Tasha's Cauldron of Everything called Magical Guidance lets us spend Sorcer Points to re-roll failed ability checks, but ask your DM about that one.

We do, however, unlock 3rd-level spells, so let's take Major Image to improve the quality of our projections, while we stick to the shadows.

Level 9 - Sorcerer: We get another subclass feature. With Soul of Lost Ostoria, we gain a benefit based on the Giant heritage we've chosen previously. For Frost Giants, after casting one of our Mark of Ordning spells, we get temporary Hit Points equal to our Consitution modifier. We also get another 3rd-level spell; let's grab Antagonise.

Level 10 - Sorcerer: Halfway through the build and unfortunately, we get no class boons here. We do, however, unlock 4th-level spells so let's take Charm Monster to hopefully avoid potential non-human fights... or to cause them.

Level 11 - Sorcerer: Time for another ASI. Let's put points into Constitution and Wisdom, and then grab another 4th-level spell: Greater Invisibility.

Level 12 - Sorcerer: Once again, we get nothing class-wise. We do unlock 5th-level spells now, so let's take Creation to have an opportunity to always have a tool or a wepon on our hands.

Level 13 - Sorcerer: We get to pick another Metamagic option here. With Extended Spell, we can extend the duration of our spells (if available) by spending Sorcery Points to a maximum of 24 hours. Useful to keep some illusions or the Creation spell we've picked up last level.

We also pick up our last cantrip of the build (Mending) and another 5th-level spell; this time, let's get Telekinesis to reorganise the environment around us (and pick some loose trinkets laying in the open).

Level 14 - Sorcerer: Once again, no new class boons but we do unlock 6th-level spells. With Mass Suggestion, we can now convince an entire crowd of mortals to bow down before us (or perhaps vote us President).

Level 15 - Sorcerer: For our next ASI, we will increase our Dexterity by two points to get better AC and Initiative options.

Level 16 - Sorcerer: Unlocking 7th-level spells, we can now use Teleport to call up a lift from Heimdall. Just make sure to collect some knick-knacks from the place you want to teleport to for a better chance of actually going there. Spatial travel's tough.

Level 17 - Sorcerer: For our final subclass option of the build, we are able to unleash the Rage of Fallen Ostoria. When casting a spell, we can spend one additional Sorcerer Point to transform into our Giant Form. For 1 minute, we become one category size larger and gain the following benefits:

Our current Hit Points and Hit Points Maximum increase by 1 per Sorcerer Level.

Our reach increases by 5 feet.

Our speed increases by 5 feet.

We have advantage on Strength checks and Strength saving throws.

We get a bonus damage to our weapon attacks equal to our Constitution modifier.

Level 18 - Sorcerer: Once again, no class boons, but we do unlock 8th-level spells. To once again hopefully avoid combat, let's use the power of the Norse Runes and grab Power Word: Stun.

Level 19 - Sorcerer: For our final ASI of the build, let's cap our Charisma to 20. Who knows, maybe the BBEG would be so willing to step down after having a nice little chat.

Level 20 - Sorcerer: For our capstone as Sorcerer 16, we get to enhance our Metamagic yet again. For the late game, let's get Twinned Spell to add one additional target to some of spells (like Telekinesis, Charm Monster, Major Image, etc.).

---

And this is what I can do for the Marvel Comics version of Loki. Let's see what story I came up with:

First of all, we have a fantastic Initiative score. With a +7, we are almost certain to start every combat first which gives us fantastic opportunity to hide, reposition, or distract the enemy before they even make their move. Because this is what we are: we're a skirmisher, a supporter. We have enough to protect ourselves with but mostly we use Crowd Control and sticking to the back lines. We are first and formost the Party's out-of-combat Face for all social interactions.

Our AC is 14 and we have the average of 153 Hit Points.

Despite a solid identity as the Face, our Wisdom score is absolutely abysmal, which is not really great considering that is one of the most used and abused by the enemies. We are very vulnerable to any charmed or feared effects, so it's best to avoid being seen or invest into some magic item protection.

---

So that is it. You guys want more gods, I listen and serve. It's good to be back in the character building saddle. I'll see you soon with another breakdown build, my friends <3

-Nerdy out!

[masterqwertster]

How about some speculation on what powers waking up the Shard of Ka'Mort will grant Ashton.

This list is compiled based on the abilities of the Titanstone Knuckles, Earth Elementals, and just general earth/rock-themed spells pulled from the Druid spell list.

I, in no way, expect Ashton to pick up even half of these. It's just a fun exercise in possibilities. And a very long post.

From the Titanstone Knuckles:

I'm gonna use their Exalted state for the full ability list. And while I don't think Matt's going to go one-for-one with the Shard, I won't be surprised if there's a fair bit of overlap given the Knuckles were crafted from a fragment of an earth titan's heartstone.

Increase Strength Score to 26

Honestly, considering the Quintessence Array is supposed to boost Stat Scores from other items and such, I expect some Stat boost. And given that the basic earth genasi racial boost goes to Constitution and Strength, those are the ones I'd expect it for. And a big strength one like this given a) Belts of [Type] Giant Strength give similar boosts and a titan, who is essentially a walking mountain, should be stronger, and b) Evontra'vir literally said "the dormant strength of the empress."

I would personally like to see Ashton's Constitution restored to what it was, if not further boosted. But also understand that it's probably not gonna happen because that was their (further) punishment for trying something crazy and stupid.

Double Damage to objects and structures (siege damage)

Considering this is also in the Earth Elemental abilities, I think Ashton should get siege damage. It's very situational, but definitely could be useful down the road seeing as Destroy the Malleus Key is on the To Do List. And it's helpful for the bane of all adventuring parties: Doors!

Once a day Enlarge/Reduce, though they may only choose the enlarge effect. The spell lasts for 10 minutes rather than the usual 1 minute

Very much a take it or leave it ability. Titans are impossibly huge, being able to take on a very small fraction of that size makes sense. But the bonuses besides size/weight it offers are kind of meh for a barbarian when Rage already offers advantage on Strength roles, so only a d4 of extra damage is new.

Resistance to cold, fire, lightning, and thunder damage while enlarged

I honestly doubt Matt is going to give Ashton Resistances. Certainly not multiple ones like this unless it strictly follows the Knuckles' rules or some other similar restrictions on use.

From the Earth Elemental:

Guardian Pillars: The guardian creates pillars of stone. Allied creatures within 5 feet of the pillars are protected in some way.

So this was shown by the Earth Guardian Elemental that Abbadina summoned for the assault on the Dawnfather Temple. We don't know what protection the pillars offered, but this is an Earth Elemental ability and Ashton does want to protect Bells Hells, so I think this would be a fun one to pick up.

Darkvision 60 ft. Can see in the dark within a specific radius. Can see in dim light within the radius as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. Can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

More Darkvision for the party is always good. And, in the more recent release for genasi (Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse vs Elemental Evil Player's Companion, which Ashton was built off of), they do just get Darkvision. So not a bad little upgrade to slip Ashton.

Tremorsense 60 ft. Can detect and pinpoint the origin of vibrations within a specific radius, provided that the monster and the source of the vibrations are in contact with the same ground or substance. Tremorsense can't be used to detect flying or incorporeal creatures.

Basically an earth-based Blindsight. Useful for keeping an eye out for invisible enemies following them and navigating and keeping an eye out when using Earth Glide. I would think Ashton would only get Tremorsense if they also got Earth Glide.

Earth Glide: The elemental can burrow at a speed of 30 ft through nonmagical, unworked earth and stone. While doing so, the elemental doesn't disturb the material it moves through.

This could be an interesting ability for Ashton to pick up too. It can open up some interesting mobility work, both in and out of battles. Definitely some potential for sneaking around some places if Ashton can semi-walk through walls at will.

Slam Attack: Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. 2d8 + 5(STR bonus?) bludgeoning damage

I mostly put this in as a different/upgrade to an Unarmed Strike for Ashton's new arm. Very doubtful it will happen.

Siege Monster: double damage to objects and structures

As mentioned up in the Titanstone Knuckles, it's an easy gimme that has very situational good use.

Damage Immunities: Poison

Considering I think Ashton getting Damage Resistances is low, I also doubt he'll get Damage Immunities.

Condition Immunities: Exhaustion, Paralyzed, Petrified, Poisoned, Unconscious

I could see the Immunity to Petrified happening, since Ashton is, technically, already made of stone. I really doubt any of the other Condition Immunities would happen.

From general earth-themed spells pulled from the Druid spell list:

I don't expect many, if any, spells to be picked up. Ashton can't use them while Raging. And no spell above 6th level at the moment since that's as high as Imogen and FCG can go currently. But I also wanted a full list, so here we are.

Cantrips

Magic Stone:

You touch one to three pebbles and imbue them with magic. You or someone else can make a ranged spell attack with one of the pebbles by throwing it or hurling it with a sling. If thrown, it has a range of 60 feet. If someone else attacks with the pebble, that attacker adds your spellcasting ability modifier, not the attacker’s, to the attack roll. On a hit, the target takes bludgeoning damage equal to 1d6 + your spellcasting ability modifier. Hit or miss, the spell then ends on the stone. If you cast this spell again, the spell ends early on any pebbles still affected by it.

Use a bonus action to make magic rocks to throw at people. Semi-useful, and it provides a range option with a bit of prep time since Ashton can't cast while Raging.

Mold Earth:

You choose a portion of dirt or stone that you can see within range and that fits within a 5-foot cube. You manipulate it in one of the following ways: 1) If you target an area of loose earth, you can instantaneously excavate it, move it along the ground, and deposit it up to 5 feet away. This movement doesn’t have enough force to cause damage. 2)You cause shapes, colors, or both to appear on the dirt or stone, spelling out words, creating images, or shaping patterns. The changes last for 1 hour. 3)If the dirt or stone you target is on the ground, you cause it to become difficult terrain. Alternatively, you can cause the ground to become normal terrain if it is already difficult terrain. This change lasts for 1 hour. If you cast this spell multiple times, you can have no more than two of its non-instantaneous effects active at a time, and you can dismiss such an effect as an action.

Definitely strikes me as a powerful, primal entity of earth ability to do some shaping of earth to your will. Good for traps, brief navigational markers, and easing travel for the party or making it difficult for pursuers.

1st Level

Earth Tremor:

You cause a tremor in the ground in a 10-foot radius. Each creature other than you in that area must make a Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes 1d6 bludgeoning damage and is knocked prone. If the ground in that area is loose earth or stone, it becomes difficult terrain until cleared.

Another one that definitely makes sense. A titan shakes the ground with its mere footsteps. This also has the potential for crowd control by making a decent sized circle of them all fall down.

2nd Level

Dust Devil:

Choose an unoccupied 5-foot cube of air that you can see within range. An elemental force that resembles a dust devil appears in the cube and lasts for the spell’s duration. Any creature that ends its turn within 5 feet of the dust devil must make a Strength saving throw. On a failed save, the creature takes 1d8 bludgeoning damage and is pushed 10 feet away. On a successful save, the creature takes half as much damage and isn’t pushed. As a bonus action, you can move the dust devil up to 30 feet in any direction. If the dust devil moves over sand, dust, loose dirt, or small gravel, it sucks up the material and forms a 10-foot-radius cloud of debris around itself that lasts until the start of your next turn. The cloud heavily obscures its area.

Useful for distractions and a bit of ranged coverage. Also calls back to Ashton being spat out in a desert when they were teleported upon receiving the Shard.

3rd Level

Erupting Earth:

Choose a point you can see on the ground within range. A fountain of churned earth and stone erupts in a 20-foot cube centered on that point. Each creature in that area must make a Dexterity saving throw. A creature takes 3d12 bludgeoning damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. Additionally, the ground in that area becomes difficult terrain until cleared away. Each 5-foot-square portion of the area requires at least 1 minute to clear by hand.

Heaving earth always makes sense to me as something a titan can do, and thus an ability one would grant.

Meld into Stone:

You step into a stone object or surface large enough to fully contain your body, melding yourself and all the equipment you carry with the stone for the duration. Using your movement, you step into the stone at a point you can touch. Nothing of your presence remains visible or otherwise detectable by nonmagical senses.While merged with the stone, you can’t see what occurs outside it, and any Wisdom (Perception) checks you make to hear sounds outside it are made with disadvantage. You remain aware of the passage of time and can cast spells on yourself while merged in the stone. You can use your movement to leave the stone where you entered it, which ends the spell. You otherwise can’t move.

If Ashton gets Earth Glide, this is useless. And honestly? Pretty low value for Ashton in general.

4th Level

Conjure Minor Elementals:

You summon elementals that appear in unoccupied spaces that you can see within 90 feet. You choose one the following options for what appears: One elemental of challenge rating 2 or lower Two elementals of challenge rating 1 or lower Four elementals of challenge rating 1/2 or lower Eight elementals of challenge rating 1/4 or lower An elemental summoned by this spell disappears when it drops to 0 hit points or when the spell ends. The summoned creatures are friendly to you and your companions. Roll initiative for the summoned creatures as a group, which has its own turns. They obey any verbal commands that you issue to them (no action required by you). If you don’t issue any commands to them, they defend themselves from hostile creatures, but otherwise take no actions. The DM has the creatures’ statistics.

Considering the Spark idly spat out the Doompa Loompas, which probably fit in this category of Elementals, I think it wouldn't be out of the question for Ashton to get their own minions once the Shard awakens. Number games are useful. So are scouts.

Stone Shape:

You touch a stone object of Medium size or smaller or a section of stone no more than 5 feet in any dimension and form it into any shape that suits your purpose. So, for example, you could shape a large rock into a weapon, idol, or coffer, or make a small passage through a wall, as long as the wall is less than 5 feet thick. You could also shape a stone door or its frame to seal the door shut. The object you create can have up to two hinges and a latch, but finer mechanical detail isn’t possible.

Shaping earth feels like a titan thing. And this can take some burden off of Fearne and FCG to have this spell prepared.

5th Level

Conjure Elemental:

You call forth an elemental servant. Choose an area of air, earth, fire, or water that fills a 10-foot cube within range. An elemental of challenge rating 5 or lower appropriate to the area you chose appears in an unoccupied space within 10 feet of it. For example, a fire elemental emerges from a bonfire, and an earth elemental rises up from the ground. The elemental disappears when it drops to 0 hit points or when the spell ends. The elemental is friendly to you and your companions for the duration. Roll initiative for the elemental, which has its own turns. It obeys any verbal commands that you issue to it (no action required by you). If you don’t issue any commands to the elemental, it defends itself from hostile creatures but otherwise takes no actions. If your concentration is broken, the elemental doesn’t disappear. Instead, you lose control of the elemental, it becomes hostile toward you and your companions, and it might attack. An uncontrolled elemental can’t be dismissed by you, and it disappears 1 hour after you summoned it. The DM has the elemental’s statistics.

A titan probably should be able to whistle up a full Elemental. And given what happened in Hearthdell, I feel like it wouldn't be impossible that Ashton wouldn't have to worry about Concentration since he's higher up the Elemental food chain as a baby titan. But if Ashton gets a summon ability, it's probably going to be one or the other on full or minor.

Transmute Stone:

You choose an area of stone or mud that you can see that fits within a 40-foot cube and that is within 120 feet, and choose one of the following effects. Transmute Rock to Mud. Nonmagical rock of any sort in the area becomes an equal volume of thick and flowing mud that remains for the spell’s duration. If you cast the spell on an area of ground, it becomes muddy enough that creatures can sink into it. Each foot that a creature moves through the mud costs 4 feet of movement, and any creature on the ground when you cast the spell must make a Strength saving throw. A creature must also make this save the first time it enters the area on a turn or ends its turn there. On a failed save, a creature sinks into the mud and is restrained, though it can use an action to end the restrained condition on itself by pulling itself free of the mud. If you cast the spell on a ceiling, the mud falls. Any creature under the mud when it falls must make a Dexterity saving throw. A creature takes 4d8 bludgeoning damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. Transmute Mud to Rock. Nonmagical mud or quicksand in the area no more than 10 feet deep transforms into soft stone for the spell’s duration. Any creature in the mud when it transforms must make a Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, a creature becomes restrained by the rock. The restrained creature can use an action to try to break free by succeeding on a Strength check (DC 20) or by dealing 25 damage to the rock around it. On a successful save, a creature is shunted safely to the surface to an unoccupied space.

Again, shaping and manipulating earth is very much in the titan wheelhouse. Could be useful for ambushes.

Wall of Stone:

A nonmagical wall of solid stone springs into existence at a point you choose within range. The wall is 6 inches thick and is composed of ten 10-foot-by-10-foot panels. Each panel must be contiguous with at least on other panel. Alternatively, you can create 10-foot-by-20-foot panels that are only 3 inches thick. If the wall cuts through a creature’s space when it appears, the creature is pushed to one side of the wall (your choice). If a creature would be surrounded on all sides by the wall (or the wall and another solid surface), that creature can make a Dexterity saving throw. On a success, it can use its reaction to move up to its speed so that it is no longer enclosed by the wall. The wall can have any shape you desire, though it can’t occupy the same space as a creature or object. the wall doesn’t need to be vertical or resting on any firm foundation. It must, however, merge with and be solidly supported by existing stone. Thus you can use this spell to bridge a chasm or create a ramp. If you create a span greater than 20 feet in length, you must halve the size of each panel to create supports. You can crudely shape the wall to create crenelations, battlements, and so on. The wall is an object made of stone that can be damaged and thus breached. Each panel has AC 15 and 30 hit points per inch of thickness. Reducing a panel to 0 hit points destroys it and might cause connected panels to collapse at the DM’s discretion. If you maintain your concentration on this spell for 10 minutes, the wall becomes permanent and can’t be dispelled. Otherwise, the wall disappears when the spell ends.

More earth manipulation. And hey! Potential camping spell. Could make a little rock tent to protect everyone while camping. ...And potentially destroy it really easily with siege damage in the morning.

6th Level

Bones of the Earth:

You cause up to six pillars of stone to burst from places on the ground that you can see within range. Each pillar is a cylinder that has a diameter of 5 feet and a height of up to 30 feet. The ground where a pillar appears must be wide enough for its diameter, and you can target ground under a creature if that creature is Medium or smaller. Each pillar has AC 5 and 30 hit points. When reduced to 0 hit points, a pillar crumbles into rubble, which creates an area of difficult terrain with a 10-foot radius. The rubble lasts until cleared. If a pillar is created under a creature, that creature must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or be lifted by the pillar. A creature can choose to fail the save. If a pillar is prevented from reaching its full height because of a ceiling or other obstacle, a creature on the pillar takes 6d6 bludgeoning damage and is restrained, pinched between the pillar and the obstacle. The restrained creature can use an action to make a Strength or Dexterity check (the creature’s choice) against the spell’s saving throw DC. On a success, the creature is no longer restrained and must either move off the pillar or fall off it.

This is, essentially, the Guardian Pillars from the Earth Elemental section. Just without whatever protection those were supposed to offer.

Investiture of Stone:

Until the spell ends, bits of rock spread across your body, and you gain the following benefits: You have resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical weapons. You can use your action to create a small earthquake on the ground in a 15-foot radius centered on you. Other creatures on that ground must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or be knocked prone. You can move across difficult terrain made of earth or stone without spending extra movement. You can move through solid earth or stone as if it was air and without destabilizing it, but you can’t end your movement there. If you do so, you are ejected to the nearest unoccupied space, this spell ends, and you are stunned until the end of your next turn.

Honestly, this offers a mix from earlier spells and abilities as well as some of Ashton's barbarian abilities. So it's got potential to be highly redundant. So probably not this spell, but maybe the small earthquake ability in general.

Move Earth:

Choose an area of terrain no larger than 40 feet on a side within 120 feet. You can reshape dirt, sand, or clay in the area in any manner you choose for up to 2 hours. You can raise or lower the area’s elevation, create or fill in a trench, erect or flatten a wall, or form a pillar. The extent of any such changes can’t exceed half the area’s largest dimension. So, if you affect a 40-foot square, you can create a pillar up to 20 feet high, raise or lower the square’s elevation by up to 20 feet, dig a trench up to 20 feet deep, and so on. It takes 10 minutes for these changes to complete. At the end of every 10 minutes you spend concentrating on the spell, you can choose a new area of terrain to affect. Because the terrain’s transformation occurs slowly, creatures in the area can’t usually be trapped or injured by the ground’s movement. This spell can’t manipulate natural stone or stone construction. Rocks and structures shift to accommodate the new terrain. If the way you shape the terrain would make a structure unstable, it might collapse. Similarly, this spell doesn’t directly affect plant growth. The moved earth carries any plants along with it.

Yet more earth manipulation. Also another potential camp spell, though honestly more limited in such applicability than Wall of Stone.

8th Level

Earthquake:

You create a seismic disturbance at a point on the ground that you can see within 500 feet. For up to 1 minute, an intense tremor rips through the ground in a 100-foot-radius circle centered on that point and shakes creatures and structures in contact with the ground in that area. The ground in the area becomes difficult terrain. Each creature on the ground that is concentrating must make a Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, the creature’s concentration is broken. When you cast this spell and at the end of each turn you spend concentrating on it, each creature on the ground in the area must make a Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, the creature is knocked prone. This spell can have additional effects depending on the terrain in the area, as determined by the DM. Fissures. Fissures open throughout the spell’s area at the start of your next turn after you cast the spell. A total of 1d6 such fissures open in locations chosen by the DM. Each is 1d10 x 10 feet deep, 10 feet wide, and extends from one edge of the spell’s area to the opposite side. A creature standing on a spot where a fissure opens must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or fall in. A creature that successfully saves moves with the fissure’s edge as it opens. A fissure that opens beneath a structure causes it to automatically collapse (see below). Structures. The tremor deals 50 bludgeoning damage to any structure in contact with the ground in the area when you cast the spell and at the start of each of your turns until the spell ends. If a structure drops to 0 hit points, it collapses and potentially damages nearby creatures. A creature within half the distance of a structure’s height must make a Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, the creature takes 5d6 bludgeoning damage, is knocked prone, and is buried in the rubble, requiring a DC 20 Strength (Athletics) check as an action to escape. The DM can adjust the DC higher or lower, depending on the nature of the rubble. On a successful save, the creature takes half as much damage and doesn’t fall prone or become buried.

Ah, the big earth spell. I'd love to see Ashton become an earthshaker with this spell, but also know that if the Shard is going to give them access to this, it's not going to be until they're at a level that the full casters can use 8th Level spells.

[selfdiagnosedeyemotif]

little thing i've been thinking about as of late:

How could one make the Octopath Travelers II in Dungeons and Dragons?

the rules i've set for myself are as follows:

no variant human. that is boring.

we're going for flavour over optimization but my stupid optimizer brain will nonetheless be the architect behind this all so Watch Out

Unearthed Arcana and things of that sort ARE allowed. UA is my dear wife and to leave her out of my house would be a crime most unforgivable

stats will be calculated using the point buy method, simply because that is much easier than working with the other methods

in a similar vein to the previous, pre-Mordenkainen's Monsters of the Multiverse stat increases and abilities for races will be used (my best friend the Air Genasi gets burnt by this but sacrifices must be made)

characters will range from level 10 (agnea) to level 14 (osvald)

this is what the characters would look like at the END of their journeys, so abilities like the One True Magic would be taken into account

i'll link pages describing all of the things i use, all of which will be from my dnd site of choice, the DND 5th Edition Wikidot Site

that being said...

Ochette, the Hunter

Race:

Tabaxi (+2 DEX, +1 CHA)

Class(es):

Revised Ranger - Beastmaster Conclave - Level 8 Paladin - Oath of the Ancients - Level 3

Feats (if any):

N/A

Stats:

STR - 14 (+2) DEX - 19 (+4) CON - 15 (+2) INT - 10 (0) WIS - 8 (-1) CHA - 13 (+1)

Key Abilities/Explanations:

Tabaxi - Race: Ochette, while more of a fox than a cat, notably has many animal features similar to cats (namely her claws and ears), so the cat race fits her quite well

Cat's Claws - Tabaxi: ability most akin to Ochette's latent power ability Beastly Claws

Animal Companion - Beastmaster Conclave: this is the space for Akala or Mahina, since the BM is the only class/subclass that lets you have an animal companion in any way, not counting the wizard spell Find Familiar (which just doesn't fit Ochette. she aint a wizard)

Oath of the Ancients Paladin - Class/Subclass: at the end of Ochette's story she is touched by the Flame itself, bestowing upon her the power necessary to continue her immediate mission of Stop That Shadow Beast and ongoing mission of protecting the wilds of Solistia. serving something greater than oneself for a specific purpose (divine or not) is how 5e paladins have been flavoured, and the OotA subclass is explicitly based around being the light for the world, and has a general nature theme (see: green knights)

Castti, the Apothecary

Race:

Water Genasi (+2 CON, +1 WIS)

Class(es):

Artificer - Alchemist Speciality - Level 9 Paladin - Oath of Redemption - Level 4

Feats (if any):

Resilient (Wisdom)

Stats:

STR - 12 (+1) DEX - 9 (-1) CON - 14 (+2) INT - 13 (+1) WIS - 20 (+5) CHA - 12 (+1)

Key Abilities/Explanations:

Water Genasi - Race: first off, Castti obviously has a water motif. that's a guarantee. however, i also think that Water Genasi has some good flavour to it because before MMotM, it gave resistance to Acid damage. you know, like trosseau's poison rain. Castti was INSANELY resilient against that shit, and i think it could be fun if that was like. just a thing she did.

Class/Subclass - Alchemist Speciality Artificer: this is the place to go when it comes to apothecaries. i really wanted to make her a warlock of Malaya as well but the best fitting subclasses (Fathomless, Celestial, and Undead) didn't have abilities that fit her very well. regardless, you've gotta be an Alchemist if you wanna be an apothecary

Class/Subclass - Oath of Redemption Paladin: PLEASE go read the tenets of the Oath of Redemption. like yeah its about redeeming yourself but more importantly its about pacifism (that's castti), patience (that's castti), and protecting the weak (that's castti). shes SO Oath of Redemption that it isn't even funny

Experimental Elixir/Restorative Reagent - Alchemist: this is Concoct, to a T. Experimental Elixir allows you to bestow a variety of different effects onto an ally, ranging from healing to haste to defense. just. like. Concoct. also the Restorative Reagent feature that castti would get at level 9 just adds to the healing aspect of EE so like. yeap that tracks.

Lay On Hands - Paladin: Sounds an awful lot like a mix between castti's Healing Hands and Rehabilitate abilities, with a mix of healing damage and disease specifically via touch.

Resilient - Feat: you'll notice that i made Castti's highest stat her Wisdom, which a keen-eyed D&D player might mark as strange, since Artificers are an Intelligence-based class, and Paladins are Charisma-based. well, this in conjunction with Resilient giving her proficiency in Wisdom Saving Throws (basically making her very good at holding on against fear, mind control, and things that affect sanity), are all because of one of my personal favourite Castti moments: she has canonically read the Book of Night and it couldn't do jack SHIT to her. her mind is made of IRON.

Throné, the Thief

Race:

Shadar-Kai (+2 DEX, +1 CON)

Class(es):

Rogue - Assassin Archetype - Level 11 Fighter - No Subclass - Level 2

Feats (if any):

Shadow Touched (spells gained: Invisibility, Silent Image)

Stats:

STR - 11 (0) DEX - 20 (+5) CON - 10 (0) INT - 14 (+2) WIS - 12 (+1) CHA - 14 (+2)

Key Abilities/Explanations:

Shadar-Kai - Race: grabbed simply because i think that being a Dark Elf™ fits Throné really well. technically it also gives her teleportation which would be a cool in-universe explanation for Aeber's Reckoning but honestly this one's for the funsies

Inflitration Expert - Assassin Archetype: she straight-up does this in the first chapter. like full stop. that is the thing that this ability does. also i know it's very much not one-to-one but i also think this is how she would use Disguise but that ventures into headcanon territory

Action Surge - Fighter: the SPECIFIC reason that i gave Throné fighter levels. Action Surge allows the user to, once per short rest, USE TWO ACTIONS IN ONE TURN. THAT IS LEAVE NO TRACE. EXACTLY.

Shadow Touched - Feat: flavour for infiltration stuff but also sort of works as an expy for Veil of Darkness. Silent Image can be used to create a fairly large illusion, including but not limited to a quick and easy way to throw enemies off their game in terms of their attacks. Disguise Self was also considered as an option for the spell to take (Invisibility is always given) but i passed on it because she was already getting Infiltration Expert from her subclass.

Osvald, the Scholar

Race:

Goliath (+2 STR, +1 CON)

Class(es):

Wizard - School of Evocation - Level 14

Feats (if any):

N/A

Stats:

STR - 12 (+1) DEX - 10 (0) CON - 16 (+3) INT - 20 (+5) WIS - 14 (+2) CHA - 8 (-1)

Key Abilities/Explanations:

Goliath - Race: Professor Osvald V. Vanstein is, amoungst other descriptors, fucking MASSIVE. that man is canonically like 6'7" or something. goliaths, the Biggest race in D&D 5e, are absolutely the best fit for him. as a bonus, they give him resistance to Cold damage, a fun reference to that teeny little stay on Frigit Isle

School of Evocation - Subclass: Osvald is canonically very much an offensive caster. that's clear. the School of Evocation, in D&D, is the one with the easiest access to Spells like Fireball, Lightning Bolt, and Cone of Cold, meaning that Osvald "Fire-Ice-Lightning" V. Vanstein simply MUST be one

Overchannel/Sculpt Spells - School of Evocation: neither of these two abilities, on their own, would equate to anything Osvald-y. Overchannel allows the user to make one damaging spell do max damage (and do it more at an HP cost), and Scupt Spells allows them to exempt certain targets from AoE spells. together, however, they form a decent expy for Concentrate Spells, Osvald's latent power

Prismatic Spray - Spell: this spell is a seventh level evocation spell. level 14 is the first time wizards have access to seventh level spells, and Osvald is an evoker. this spell is also a MASSIVE FUCK-YOU RAINBOW BLAST. i won't go through its actual abilities because they dont line up to the One True Magic very well, but aesthetically they're damn-near identical

Partitio, the Merchant

Race:

Human (+1 to all stats)

Class(es):

Paladin - Oath of Devotion - Level 6 Bard - College of Eloquence - Level 5

Feats (if any):

Inspiring Leader

Stats:

STR - 15 (+2) DEX - 11 (0) CON - 14 (+2) INT - 12 (+1) WIS - 10 (0) CHA - 18 (+4)

Key Abilities/Explanations:

Oath of Devotion Paladin - Class/Subclass: mostly based around how Partitio is just. endlessly all about that helping people. you dont need to worship a god to be a paladin, folks, you just need to have a cause that you stand insanely firmly by. that's why they're Charisma-based. anyways Devotion fits Parti best so he gets it

Silver Tongue - College of Eloquence: half of this ability (bonus to Deception) is positively worthless to Partitio because he really doesnt lie much, but the other half (bonus to Persuasion) is DEATHLY important to this build. Partitio is a man built on being extremely good at talking to people, and it really shows in this. also, SILVER Tongue. Oresrush silver. get it? huh? huh?

Inspiring Leader - Feat: genuinely the most Partitio feat ever. it literally has the user make an inspiring speech for a mechanical benefit and if that ain't Partitio i dont know what is

Agnea, the Dancer

Race:

Spring Eladrin (+2 DEX, +1 CHA)

Class(es):

Bard - College of Glamour - Level 10

Feats (if any):

Mobile

Stats:

STR - 8 (-1) DEX - 16 (+3) CON - 12 (+1) INT - 11 (0) WIS - 12 (+1) CHA - 18 (+4)

Key Abilities/Explanations:

Eladrin - Race: this is the most whimsical and fun race ever and i love it. spring Eladrin are the joyous and celebratory version of this race, so it fits Agnie pretty damn well. it also offers a teleportation option in the form of Fey Step (the season-themed version of Throné's teleport), which i feel like she would incorporate into her shows

College of Glamour Bard - Class/Subclass: this is the main performer bard for performers that dont use musical instruments, so it simply had to be Agnea

Enthralling Performance - College of Eloquence: this ability is effectively a make-your-performances-better card, which is exactly the kind of thing that Agnea would pull out if she needed to really bedazzle a crowd (see: Agnea chapter five)

Magical Secrets - Bard: this allows the user to gain two spells from any spell list. Agnea's would be Control Winds (Windy Refrain) and Beacon of Hope (Song of Hope). the latter is a much rougher expy than the former, but it's got hope in the name and i am nothing if not predictable. see the links below for what those spells do

Mobile - Feat: this is meant as an expy of the Dancer ability Ever Evasive, and to a degree Agnea's high base Speed and Evasion, since the Mobile feat both makes it more difficult for enemies to land hits on you, and improves your movement speed

Temenos, the Cleric

Race:

Changeling (+2 CHA, +1 WIS), pretends to be Half-Elf

Class(es):

Rogue - Inquisitive Archetype - Level 4 Cleric - Knowledge Domain - Level 9

Feats (if any):

Keen Mind (+1 INT)

Stats:

STR - 8 (-1) DEX - 10 (0) CON - 8 (-1) INT - 18 (+4) WIS - 18 (+4) CHA - 16 (+3)

Key Abilities/Explanations:

Changeling - Race: i think it would be really cool because Temenos is such a goddamn liar. im so normal about it. sososo normal about it. i just feel that he would lie persistently about his identity lie that because just. i am hopelessly in love with the aspect of Temenos that he does not let anyone know anything ever

Inquisitive Archetype Rogue - Class/Subclass: one will note that this is the first class listed rather than his actual in-game class of Cleric. this is because i think that before he was a cleric, before he was found by the church, Rogue was a deeply fitting class for him. i think it was his base class, and grew into the Inquisitive subclass AFTER taking Cleric levels

Channel Divinity: Read Thoughts - Knowledge Domain: this is the equivalent of Temenos's Coerce path action; both are obviously magical in nature and involve to a certain (albeit different) degree looking into the target's mind. not a lot to say it's just a very good stand-in for Coerce

Legend Lore - Spell: this is the expy for Temenos's doubt-is-what-i-do mystery solving sections (like when he's in the cathedral with Crick investigating the death of the pontiff). it's not exact since Legend Lore targets an object and Temenos's thing targets a location, but i think it's close enough to be good enough. also it's a free spell you get for being a Knowledge Cleric so i think it's a good fit

Expertise - Rogue: this ability allows you to take two skills and become SUPER good at them. this would be Deception and Insight for Temenos, and i think it was important that i bring it up

Hikari, the Warrior

Race:

High Elf (+2 DEX, +1 INT)

Class(es):

Fighter - Samurai Archetype - Level 11 Sorcerer - Shadow Origin - Level 1

Feats (if any):

N/A

Stats:

STR - 18 (+4) DEX - 16 (+3) CON - 16 (+3) INT - 10 (0) WIS - 10 (0) CHA - 10 (0)

Key Abilities/Explanations:

Shadow Origin Sorcerer - Class/Subclass: homeboy's got the blood of D'arqest in him, so he simply MUST have some kind of spooky class. the other class in the running was Hexblade Warlock, but Shadow Sorcerer ultimately won out mostly for mechanical reasons (SO's Strength of the Grave was considered more flavourful than HB's Hexblade's Curse)

Fighting Spirit/Tireless Spirit - Samurai Archetype: these abilities are about the user powering up by sheer force of will and that's literally the most Hikari thing i have ever heard in my life

Fighting Style: Superior Technique - Fighter: this fighting style allows the user to gain one Battlemaster Fighter maneuver. the one selected for Hikari is Riposte, which serves as an equivalent to Hikari's Vengeful Blade ability (both of them are counterattack options)

Extra Attack 2x - Fighter: fighters are the only class that gain access to more than two attacks per turn, similarly to Hikari's Aggressive Slash ability giving him access to the greatest number of hits out of any class in-game

Links:

Ochette, the Hunter

Tabaxi

Ranger, Revised

Beastmaster Conclave

Paladin

Oath of the Ancients

Castti, the Apothecary

Water Genasi

Artificer

Alchemist Speciality

Paladin

Oath of Redemption

Resilient

Throné, the Thief

Shadar-Kai

Rogue

Assassin Archetype

Fighter

Shadow Touched

Silent Image

Osvald, the Scholar

Goliath

Wizard

School of Evocation

Prismatic Spray

Partitio, the Merchant

Human (yeah im linking that)

Paladin

Oath of Devotion

Bard

College of Eloquence

Inspiring Leader

Agnea, the Dancer

Eladrin

Bard

College of Glamour

Mobile

Control Winds

Beacon of Hope

Temenos, the Cleric

Changeling

Rogue

Inquisitive Archetype

Cleric

Knowledge Domain

Keen Mind

Legend Lore

Hikari, the Warrior

High Elf

Fighter

Samurai Archetype

Sorcerer

Shadow Origin

Riposte Maneuver

[crinosmonsters]

Thrulls: General information

Thrulls are grotesque magical constructs created by unscrupulous necromancers from corpses which are broken down and liquefied in specialized breeding pits. Thrulls serve a variety of menial tasks; from servants and couriers, to even rarely even more complex tasks such as assassins, warriors and even sometimes spellcasters, although creating Thrulls that are too complex can often lead to disaster.

Thrulls are best known on Ravnica, where they are employed by the Orzhov Syndicate, however their origins predate their use on Ravnica significantly. The earliest known case of Thrull creation was on the plane of Dominaria, upon the continent of Sarpadia shortly after the brothers war and before the great ice age. On Sarpadia, Endrek Sahr, a wizard in service of the Order of the Ebon Hand, first created Thrulls in his breeding pits, and eventually the order adopted the creation of the Thrulls and made their use common among their order. Sadly Sahr would not enjoy the fruits of his creation, when he was executed because one of his new Thrull designs, the Derelor, suffered from serious design defects.

Perhaps Sahr would rest easier knowing that he would have the last laugh, as his creations would eventually rebel against the Order of the Ebon Hand and overthrow them, a result of the order creating larger, smarter and more aggressive Thrulls as time went on. Eventually the Thrulls would go on to exterminate all other intelligent live on Sarpadia (sparing only the Thallids, another engineered race created by the local elves as a food source) and isolating it from the rest of Dominaria. The Thrulls still rule Sarpadia to this day, although few know what they are actually up to.

Lesser Thrulls

These following represent some of the weaker Thrull breeds, since they do not differentiate too much from one another or the Servitor Thrull found in the Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica, they do not warrant full statblocks like later Thrulls will, so this section will contain minor changes to be made to the Servitor Thrull statblock to represent these Thrulls.

Basal Thrull

The most simple baseline Thrull, these Thrull were created not to be servants, but sacrifices. Each contain a small reservoir of dark magic which serves as the Thrulls animating force. This energy can be extracted by a nearby friendly spellcaster in order to reinvigorate their spellcasting powers a bit.

The Basal Thrull uses the same stats as the Thrull Servitor with the following additions.

Sacrifice: A Spellcaster allied to the Basal Thrull within 60 feet of them can forcibly extract the animating magic energy from the Basal Thrull. Doing this allows the spellcaster to regain one second level spell slot or two first level spell slots (or an additional use of one of their spells per day if you are using the spellcaster statblocks from Mordenkainen's monster of the multiverse). Doing this instantly kills the Basal Thrull.

Armor Thrull

Armor Thrulls are a testament to just how decadent and morbid the Order of the Ebon Hand grew in those days. Armor Thrulls were bred with a thick serrated carapace which could be ripped off and made into a makeshift shield and sword. They were generally bred to serve as emergency equipment for Ebon Hand employed mercenaries They were also sometimes employed by assassins; one famous story tells of an Ebon Hand assassin who was only permitted into his targets home if he turned in all his weapons. The assassin did so, entering only with their loyal Thrull retainer. Later that night, the Assassin fled the castle, leaving behind a mutilated Thrull, and a bony dagger in the back of their target.

The Armor Thrull uses the Thrull Servitor statblock with the following changes.

Increase the Armor Class to 13

Removable carapace: As an action a allied creature may forcibly remove the carapace of the Armored Thrull. Doing so immediately kills the Thrull, and their carapace can be used to make a shield and a longsword. An enemy could conceivably do the same, but it requires either a grapple check or for the Armor Thrull to be restrained, unconscious or incapacitated. The armor is ruined if the Thrull is slained, it must be removed from a living Thrull.

Mindstab Thrull

The Minstab Thrull was an early attempt by Endrek Sahr to create a more intelligent Thrull to be used as a more effective servant. The end result was a Thrull with an overgrown, unstable brain. While only marginally more intelligent than the average Thrull, it was revealed that the resulting creature could unleash a potent psychic attack. Mindstab Thrulls are often employed as weapons of terror, send into crowded areas where the maximum number of victims can be harmed by their psychic attack.

The Mindstab Thrull uses the same statblock as the Thrull Servitor with the following difference:

Increase the Intelligence to 8.

Gains the following action: Mindstab: All creatures within 60 feet of the Mindstab Thrull must make a DC 13 wisdom save or take 3 (1d6) psychic damage and be stunned until the end of their next turn. A successful save prevents the damage and the stun. The Mindstab Thrull dies instantly after using this ability.

Increase the CR from 1/4 to 1.

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[rebelcourtesan]

My D&D 5E Character Build for Vaggie

Vaggie, the protector of the hotel and her princess.

Vaggie is a warror, a fallen angel, and the Princess of Hell's lover. She wears a lot of faces, but above all, she defends the hotel and her friends with love and ferocity. We're going to create a dexterous warrior who reclaimed her wings.

Long post below along with spoilers.

Stats

(In order from Highest to Lowest)

Dexterity: Top Stat Vaggie is very fast and dexterous when fighting. She can also climb high without losing her balance. This should be her highest stat and will need to be maxed out as soon as possible.

Wisdom: 2nd highest Vaggie tends to see things clearly while her girlfriend Charlie tends to view the world with rose color glasses. She's always looking out for Charlie, so she needs a high wisdom to see trouble coming.

Constitution: 3rd Highest Vaggie is no pushover. She took having her wings ripped out and her eye cut out and still lived to fight another day.

Strength: 4th Highest Vaggie was able to bully the guests and staff of the hotel into participating in Charlie's redemption projects and threw Sir Pentious and Angel off a building. I don't think she's the strongest, but this shouldn't be her lowest stat.

Charisma: 5th Highest Vaggie tends to be blunt with her words and takes on a no nonsense attitude with others.

Intelligence: Dump Stat

Race

Since a long fan theory of Vaggie being a fallen angel has been confirmed, we need to go into Aasimar.

For the purpose of this build, we're going to use the Aasimar stats from Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse.

Add 2 points in Dexterity and 1 point into Wisdom.

As an Aasimar, Vaggie gains the following benefits.

Darkvision of 60 feet

resistance to necrotic damage and radiant damage

Healing Hands - We don't see Vaggie use a skill like this, but it's not bad to have. She can lay her hands on a creature and heal it from 1d4 equal to her proficiency. It can be used against after a long rest.

Gains the Light cantrip

Vaggie regains her wings!

At third level, Vaggie can choose a transformation. Of course, we're going to choose Radiant Soul, as a bonus action, Vaggie's grows a set of wings and has a flight speed equal to her walking speed. She can also add radiant damage equal to her proficiency bonus to her attacks and spells. This effect lasts for 1 minute and is regained after a long rest.

Background

Since she was once an Exorcist, her background should be soldier.

She gains proficiency in Athletics and Intimidation

Classes

We're going to start Vaggie off in the Monk class. She fights with a spear which is a simple weapon, but all simple weapons barring the heavy or two handed property, are considered Monk weapons. This will make more sense soon.

Level 1 - Monk 1st Level

For skills, choose Acrobatics and History, as Vaggie seems to be well verse on Hell's politics and Heaven's policies.

As a Monk, Vaggie gains Unarmored Defense. As long as she's not wearing armor (like wearing a hotel staff uniform) her AC is 10 + Dex modifier + Wisdom modifier. Hence why we want her Dex and Wis as high as possible.

Also, she gets Martial Arts with the following benefits:

Vaggie can use Dex instead of Strength for attacks and damage rolls with unarmed strikes or Monk weapons (Vaggie's Spear!).

She use a 1d4 for unarmed strike and the die increases as she levels up in Monk.

As a bonus action, she can make an unarmed strike each turn.

Vaggie gives as good as she gets.

Level 2 - Monk 2nd Level

Vaggie gains Ki Points, she starts off with 2 and gets an extra every level. These refresh after a short or long rest. She can spend a Ki point to perform Monk abilities such as:

Flurry of Blows - she can perform two unarmed strikes as a bonus action after taking the attack action.

Patient Defense - she can take the dodge action as a bonus action

Step of the Wind - she can take the dash or disengage action as a bonus action, and her jump distance is doubled

Vaggie also has Unarmored Movement. Her walking speed increases by 10 feet.

Level 3 - Monk 3rd Level

With this level Vaggie gains Deflect Missile. As a reaction, Vaggie can deflect or catch missile when hit by a missile. When she does so, the damaged is reduced equaled to 1d10 + Dex modifier + Monk Level. If she reduces the damage to 0 and the missile is small enough to fit in her hand, she can spend a Ki point to throw it back within the same reaction.

At this level, Vaggie goes into the Monk subclass Way of the Kensei. With this you can choose a melee and a range weapon to become Kensei Weapons. While this would allow you to choose a martial weapon to be proficient in, for this build I'm sticking with Vaggie's spear. It can double as a melee and range weapon as it can be thrown and still get the same benefit.

As a Kensei Weapon, Vaggie's spear gains the following benefits:

Agile Parry - if Vaggie makes an unarmed strike as park of her attack action and has her spear in hand, she can boost her AC by +2 until her next turn.

Kensei Shot - as a bonus action, Vaggie can throw the spear as a range attack dealing an extra 1d4 damage on a hit.

The only thing that matches Vaggie's ferocity, is her love for Charlie.

Now that we've Vaggie faster and harder to hit, as well as making her spear more effective in battle, we can now give her more strengths in Fighter.

Level 4 - Fighter 1st Level

Right away, she gets Second Wind. As a bonus action, she can heal herself for 1d10 + Fighter level.

Also, she gains a Fighting Style. Take Interception, if an ally within five feet is hit by an attack, as a reaction, Vaggie can reduce the damage with her spear by 1d10 + Proficiency Bonus. Perfect when she's fighting back to back with Charlie.

Level 5 - Fighter 2nd Level

Vaggie gains Action Surge which lets her take a second action in one turn. She can reuse this again after a short or long rest.

Buckle up, buttercups!

Level 6 - Fighter 3rd Level

Since Vaggie has a take charge attitude when it comes to the guests of the hotel, we're giving her the Battlemaster subclass.

She gains a pool of four Superiority Die (d8s), regained after a short or long rest and can choose three Maneuvers.

Brace - when a creature Vaggie can see moves within reach of her spear, she can make an attack as a reaction. if the attack connects, she can add the Superiority Dice to the damage roll.

Commander's Strike - If vaggie foregoes an attack, she can use a bonus action to direct an ally to use a reaction to attack an enemy. They can add the Superiority Die to their damage roll if they hit.

Parry - when an enemy damages her with a melee attack, Vaggie can reduce the damage by a Superiority Die + Dex modifier.

Level 7 - Fighter 4th Level

Instead of an Ability Score Improvement, we'll take the Athelete feat instead.

Add a point to Dexterity

When prone, Vaggie can stand using only 5 feet of movement instead of half.

Climbing doesn't cost her extra movement

She can take a running long or high jump using only 5 feet of movement instead of 10

Level 8 - Fighter 5th Level

Vaggie can now attack twice when she uses the attack action. Couple this Flurry of Blows, she can attack twice with the spear and then attack twice with unarmed strike.

Fighting by her princess's side.

Level 9 - Fighter 6th Level

Ability Score Improvement - Both both points into Dexterity. We want to max this out to 20. Then we'll put points into Wisdom so we can raise Vaggie's AC.

Level 10 - Fighter 7th Level

Vaggie can now gain vital intelligence of her enemy with 1 minute of study. Know Your Enemy lets Vaggie know if how strong the enemy is in and how.

Also, she gains an extra Superiority Die along with two new Maneuvers.

Riposte - When an enemy misses her with a melee attack, Vaggie can attack as a reaction, adding the Superiority to the damage roll if it hits.

Trip Attack - Vaggie can spend a Superiority Die to knock an enemy down with a successful attack and add the die to the damage roll.

Level 11 - Fighter 8th Level

Ability Score Improvement - Let's go ahead and max Dexterity. If it's already maxed out, put the points into Wisdom.

Level 12 - Fighter 9th Level

Vaggie is tougher now with Indomitable, she can rerolled a failed saving throw, but must take the second roll. She regains this after a long rest.

Level 13 - Fighter 10th Level

With Improved Combat Superiority, her Superiority Dice changes from 1d8s to 1d10s, allowing her and others to deal more damage on successful hits.

Also, she gets two more Maneuvers:

Disarming Attack - When Vaggie hits an enemy with a successful weapon attack, she can spend a Superiority Die to force them to drop an item of her choice. They must succeed on a Strength saving throw to keep the item.

Evasive Footwork - when taking the move action, Vaggie can roll a Superiority Die and add the result to her AC which lasts until she stopped moving.

Level 14 - Fighter 11th Level

Vaggie can now attack THREE times when she takes the three action. Couple this with Flurry of Blows, she can take three weapon attacks and two unarmed strikes.

Vaggie sparring with Carmilla Carmine

Level 15 - Fighter 12th Level

Ability Score Improvement - Okay, by this time Dex should be maxed out, so let's max out Wisdom. If by chance both are maxed out, you can round out any odd number Ability Scores.

Level 16 - Fighter 13th Level

Vaggie gets two Indominable after a long rest. She's very resilient.

Level 17 - Fighter 14th Level

Fighter gets another Ability Score Improvement, but if both Dex and Wisdom are maxed, you can take another feat instead. I would take the Lucky feat, which gives Vaggie three luck points which will allow her to roll with advantage on any attack rolls, ability checks, or saving throws. These refresh after a long rest.

Level 18 - Fighter 15th Level

This level Vaggie gets dangerous. She not only gains an extra Superiority Die and Maneuver, she becomes Relentless. Anytime she stars a battle without Superiority Die, she automatically starts the battle with one.

As for the new Maneuvers choose:

Quick Toss - As a bonus action, Vaggie can spend a Supriority Die and throw her spear. If the hit connects, she can add the die to the damage roll.

Grappling Strike - After striking an enemy, Vaggie can spend a Superiority Die to grapple them as a bonus action. She can add the die to her Strength (Athletics Check).

Vaggie is a Warrior Angel!

Level 19 - Fighter 16th Level

Ability Score Improvement - If Dex and Wisdom is maxed out, round out any odd number scores.

Level 20 - Fighter 17th Level

Now we arrive at the level where Vaggie is a force to be reckon with for any angel or demon.

She gains a second Action Surge, giving her two to be refreshed after a short or long rest. And she also gets a third Indomitable.

Vaggie is . . .stronger than anything.

And there you have it. A fallen angel who becomes the warrior lover of the Princess of Hell. Levels in Monk will give her more legwork in battle and also fight in hand to hand combat if she should throw her spear which now deals extra damage as a Kensei Weapon.

Not to mention the Battle Master's Superiority Die will make her able to stand toe to toe with Overlords, Exorcists, Adam, and Lute.

[justavulcan]

Airmark's Guide to Planar Vegetables: Material Plane Plants (Mobile)

I have a small confession to make: I have never traveled to the Material Plane before, and I am thus relatively unfamiliar with the plant life native to its many worlds. Fortunately, as Sigil is the center of the Multiverse and has its fair share of planar travelers, I have had the opportunity to speak with a great many travelers from the various Material Plane worlds taking their first steps into the greater Multiverse. Several of these travelers were kind enough to accept my gold to seek out and provide tomes of this sort of wisdom from their homeworlds, and I am glad to refer any curious parties to those volumes.

Monster Manual

Volo's Guide to Monsters

Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes

Mordenkainen's Monsters of the Multiverse

(Happy April Fool's Day! And thank you for reading Airmark's Guide to Planar Vegetables!)

[cagemasterfantasy]

Hobgoblin Class Rankings and Features (5e)

Guide

1=do not play this class as this race

2= can play but not recommended

3=decent choice

4=perfect

Volo's Guide to Monsters

War is the lifeblood of hobgoblins. Its glories are the dreams that inspire them. Its horrors don't feature in their nightmares. Cowardice is more terrible to hobgoblins than dying, for they carry their living acts into the afterlife. A hero in death becomes a hero eternal.

Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2, and your Intelligence score increases by 1.

Age. Hobgoblins mature at the same rate as humans and have lifespans similar in length to theirs.

Alignment. Hobgoblin society is built on fidelity to a rigid, unforgiving code of conduct. As such, they tend toward lawful evil.

Size. Hobgoblins are between 5 and 6 feet tall and weigh between 150 and 200 pounds. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Martial Training. You are proficient with two martial weapons of your choice and with light armor.

Saving Face. Hobgoblins are careful not to show weakness in front of their allies, for fear of losing status. If you miss with an attack roll or fail an ability check or a saving throw, you can gain a bonus to the roll equal to the number of allies you can see within 30 feet of you (maximum bonus of +5). Once you use this trait, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Goblin.

Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

Hobgoblins trace their origins to the ancient courts of the Feywild, where they first appeared with their goblin and bugbear kin. Many of them were driven from the Feywild by the conquering god Maglubiyet, who marshaled them as soldiers, but the fey realm left its mark; wherever they are in the multiverse, they continue to channel an aspect of the Feywild’s rule of reciprocity, which creates a mystical bond between the giver and the receiver of a gift.

On some worlds, such bonds lead hobgoblins to form communities with deep ties to one another. In Eberron and the Forgotten Realms, vast hobgoblin legions have emerged, with ranks of devoted soldiers famed for their unity.

Hobgoblins are generally taller than their goblin cousins but not quite as big as bugbears. They have curved, pointed ears and noses that turn bright red or blue during displays of emotion.

Ability Score Increase. When determining your character’s ability scores, increase one score by 2 and increase a different score by 1, or increase three different scores by 1. You can't raise any of your scores above 20.

Creature Type. You are a Humanoid. You are also considered a goblinoid for any prerequisite or effect that requires you to be a goblinoid.

Size. You are Medium.

Speed. Your walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light and in darkness as if it were dim light. You discern colors in that darkness only as shades of gray.

Fey Ancestry. You have advantage on saving throws you make to avoid or end the charmed condition on yourself.

Fey Gift. You can use this trait to take the Help action as a bonus action, and you can do so a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus. You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Starting at 3rd level, choose one of the options below each time you take the Help action with this trait:

Hospitality. You and the creature you help each gain a number of temporary hit points equal to 1d6 plus your proficiency bonus.

Passage. You and the creature you help each increase your walking speeds by 10 feet until the start of your next turn.

Spite. Until the start of your next turn, the first time the creature you help hits a target with an attack roll, that target has disadvantage on the next attack roll it makes within the next minute.

Fortune from the Many. If you miss with an attack roll or fail an ability check or a saving throw, you can draw on your bonds of reciprocity to gain a bonus to the roll equal to the number of allies you can see within 30 feet of you (maximum bonus of +3). You can use this trait a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Languages. Your character can speak, read, and write Common and one other language that you and your DM agree is appropriate for the character. The Player’s Handbook offers a list of languages to choose from. The DM is free to modify that list for a campaign.

Volo Hobgoblin

Artificer 3 an Intelligence increase is all that Artificer really needs but proficiency in 2 martial weapons is nice for Battlesmith builds that want to explore weapons before their subclass comes online

Barbarian 1 Barbarians are too dependent on Strength to work without a Strength increase and Saving Face isn’t enough to fix that

Bard 1 nothing useful for Bard

Cleric 1 same as Bard

Druid 1 same as Bard and Cleric

Fighter 2 Constitution and Intelligence could work for Eldritch Knight but without a Strength/Dexterity increase you’ll lag offensively. Saving Face will help but not enough

Monk 1 bad ability spread

Paladin 1 same as Monk

Ranger 1 same as Monk and Paladin

Rogue 2 Constitution and Intelligence could work for Arcane Trickster but without a Dexterity increase you’ll lag offensively. Saving Face will help enough to offset the bonus to attacks if you’re resting often enough to recharge it but your AC will lag behind other Rogues and your damage will likely still be lower

Sorcerer 1 no Charisma increase

Warlock 1 same as Sorcerer

Wizard 4 light armor and Saving Face are fantastic defensive options. You no longer need to commit resources to Mage Armor and Saving Face can be useful in all sorts of situations including on saving throws to maintain Concentration

Mordenkainen Hobgoblin

Artificer 3 between Fortune of the Many and Flash of Genius you’re very well-equipped to recover from failed rolls. It may be difficult to keep Fey Gift available because Artificers nearly always have a use for their Bonus Action

Barbarian 4 many Barbarian subclasses have a way to use their Bonus Action every turn while raging but they may not be as impactful as Fey Gift so skipping your subclass’s Bonus Action for a few rounds per day won’t kill you. If nothing else Hospitality's temporary hit points are a good layer of additional protection especially once you’re raging and have damage resistance. Fortune of the Many can help you succeed on difficult saving throws especially mental ones which often take Narbarians out of a fight

Bard 3 Fey Gift feels like a natural extension of Bard’s existing support options. While you already have Bardic Inspiration it has a limited number of uses per rest so you can use Fey Gift as an additional pool of support. However needing to get within 5 feet of an enemy to Help attack them is a bad place for most Bards to be

Cleric 3 the go-to use for Cleric’s option at basically every level is Spiritual Weapon. Outside of combat you can use Hospitality to get some temporary hit points while helping an ally with something like a skill check

Druid 3 many varieties of Druids have few uses for their Bonus Action so it’s often left open leaving room for Fey Gift. The biggest challenge is that you need to be within 5 feet of a creature in order to Help your ally attack it and that’s a terrible place for most Druids to be. Circle of the Moon is probably your best option since you generally won’t use your Bonus Action once you’re in Wild Shape

Fighter 4 most Fighters don’t use their Bonus Action every turn and if you’re built for melee you’re going to be constantly in melee where you can Help your allies attack a creature. Fortune of the Many provides some insurance against hard saving throws until Indomitable comes online at level 9 and even once you have Indomitable you can still combine it with Fortune of the Many

Monk 2 Monks use their Bonus Action every turn in combat. Hospitality option provides temporary hit points that you can activate before going into combat but I don’t think that’s good enough. Similarly Fortune of the Many provides a helpful bonus to saves but saves aren’t the source of Monk’s frailty problems

Paladin 4 Much like Fighter Paladin doesn’t use their Bonus Action every turn (though many of their spells are cast as a Bonus Action) so Fey Gift is easy to bring into play in combat and giving you a support option that doesn’t require hitting something. Fortune of the Many provides an additional layer on top of Aura of Protection making you exceptionally durable

Ranger 2 Rangers use their Bonus Action heavily making Fey Gift difficult to use in combat. Hospitality works fine

Rogue 2 Rogues use their Bonus Action for Cunning Action two-weapon fighting and sometimes for subclass features. You may find times to fit Fey Gift into your turn but considering that Rogue wants Advantage to make Sneak Attack work it makes more sense for someone else in the party to bring this in order to help you

Sorcerer 2 Fey Gift becomes purely a non-combat support option

Warlock 3 Fey Gift could work for Hexblade in the same way that it works for Fighters and Paladins but other Warlocks will have trouble using it in combat

Wizard 2 Fey Gift becomes purely a non-combat support option. If you want to Help in combat get an Owl familiar

[monsterfuckabilitytournament]

i'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments/tags!

Aarakokra:

"From below, aarakocra look like large birds and thus are sometimes called birdfolk. Only when they roost on a branch or walk across the ground is their Humanoid nature clear. Standing upright, aarakocra are typically about 5 feet tall, and they have long, narrow legs that taper to sharp talons. Feathers cover their bodies — usually red, orange, yellow, brown, or gray. Their heads are also avian, often resembling those of parrots or eagles." Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

Photo credit: DnDBeyond

Baba Yaga:

"A key figure from Slavic folklore, Baba Yaga certainly fulfils the requirements of the wicked witch – she lives in a house that walks through the forest on chicken legs, and sometimes flies around (close to ground level) in a giant mortar and pestle. She usually appears as a hag or crone, and she is known in most witch-like fashion to feast upon children. However, she is also a far more complex character than that synopsis suggests. Cunning, clever, helpful as much as a hindrance, she could indeed be the most feminist character in folklore." BBC.com

Image credit: Baba Yaga, illustration by Ivan Bilibin from Narodnyye russkiye skazki (“Russian Popular Fairy Tales”).