#or maybe a custom character. probably bard. idk

[pikayay213]

yeah okay. played the epilogue. my merry band of friends and heroes had some tragic undertones but damn. i almost cried. like three times. ok wow yeah. baldur's gate 3 my favorite game now and for all time unbeatable forever

[choccy-zefirka]

I am absolutely baffled that this opinion is getting hatepilled, but can't people see how gatekeepy "specific Tavs" are? Say, I want to read a romance fic with Shadowheart, whom I am currently pursuing through act 2. My Tav is a curly redhead human woman. Another person's Tav may be a tiefling with blue hair and purple eyes. Or a yellow dragonborn. In a good fic, the writer would be considerate of that and leave Tav/"you" undescribed so that we can easily put these characters in their place. But if I open a fic and the Tav there is "a big green Orc man with such and such tattoos and piercings". That automatically excludes all readers whose Tavs do not look like that, which is probably 99.9℅ of them. That is poor practice that alienates the readerbase.

Anon... I mean this in the kindest way possible... How do you read published fiction? Even the blandest of everyman protagonists, like idk, Bella Swan, have some sort of defined appearance and interests! (Usually English literature lol)

Also, I will use this opportunity to point out that it's not just about appearance, but about backstory and character dynamics. Who is this big green Orc? Is he a gentle giant that grows comically shy and flustered around Shadowheart? Is he a boisterous noisy bard that causes her to roll her eyes but also endears himself to her, coaxing out a laugh? Is he quiet and stoic, never prying out her secrets? Is he an edgelord who pushes her to become a Dark Justiciar?

I suppose it does not matter that much if the fic is pwp... Or does it? Maybe it's a kinky Orc who wants nothing more than for Shadowheart to step on his throat/forbid him from climaxing until she tells him to/etc etc? Maybe he is asexual and is content letting Shadowheart spend the night with Halsin and then return to him with stories? Or maybe he's allo but a virgin, because people were too appalled by his appearance for him to find a lover?

I am sorry, this response got away from me because I obsessed with his hypothetical Orc now. I am not sure if the point I was trying to make came across well or not. My intention, when offering custom Tavs, is not to gatekeep people whose Tavs are different; it's to tell their unique stories (whether or not I can do it as well as Larian is, of course, up for debate). Just as I would have loved to hear about your Tav, she sounds super-cute!

[reveristcalicocan]

GENSHIN MEN AND YOU TRIPPING HC

characters: Albedo, Cyno, Diluc, Kazuha,

Warnings: none! completely sfw!

ALBEDO

• Eyes would widen in surprise when he saw you trip.

• Probably wouldn’t catch you in time.

• Kneels next to you asking if you’re injured, would then tell you to be careful and to watch where you’re going next time.

• Wouldn’t bring it up again because he knows you’re embarrassed, but will keep an eye on you anytime you guys are walking through a steep terrain.

Maybe the snow was to thick today or the wind was a lot stronger than it usually was. You found yourself tripping on the snow for the second time while climbing up the slope of dragonspine to see a certain alchemist.

Finally seeing Albedo’s camp up ahead, you picked up your pace calling out to him.

Upon hearing his name, he turned around and gave you a small smile, “y/n you’re her-” before he could finish his sentence he saw you trip over yourself falling face first into the thick snow.

He wanted to laugh but you would definitely get mad at him for it, suppressing his giggle he walked up to check on you.

“Come on now, you’ve got to be careful…” Helping you up, he brushed away the snow stuck in your hair.

“ahaha, sorry,” you scratched the back of your neck in embarrassment.

CYNO

• Caught you just in time before you fell, grips your waist tightly a bit too long than needed.

• “you could get seriously injured if you keep walking mindlessly.” he scolds you.

• His words don’t match the worry in his eye though, he knows you’ve got a knack for injuring yourself.

The two of you were on your way to meet Tighnari and Collei, trekking through the muddy water caused by the rain. Good thing you didn’t wear your nice shoes, otherwise you’d have a hard time cleaning it up later.

I wonder how Collei’s been doing these days, tighnari’s going to ask me to tutor her again isn’t he..?

With these thoughts swirling in your mind, you didn’t see the tree trunk at your feet.

A surprised yelp left your mouth.

Instinctively, Cyno reached out his arm to catch you. A strong pair of arms held your waist, you could feel Cyno’s hair brushing your cheeks.

Looking up at him, you smiled sheepishly. The close proximity going unnoticed by both of you.

DILUC

• Probably slipped on spilt wine while helping him at angels share.

• He would definitely drop whatever he was holding just to catch you, even if it was a bottle of expensive wine.

• Asks Charles to mop the floor and tells you to be careful.

It wasn’t everyday you get to work alongside your boyfriend, he usually tells you that there are stupid bards who will eat your brains out if you stayed there too long. But it seems that your pleading finally worked!

Letting out a defeated sigh, Diluc agreed to take you with him.

He was right, there was a drunken bard.

You couldn’t help but laugh at the green bard, Venti who kept talking about his music. Diluc on the other hand… he was furious that you were getting along with him.

Going unnoticed by both of you, a few drops of wine spilled out of the glass in Diluc’s hand. The customer sweat dropped when he slammed the glass on the counter.

“??” You turned around to see your boyfriend glaring at Venti, you could have sworn you saw smoke coming out of his ears.

hehehe

Giggling at Diluc’s jealous face, you couldn’t help but want to tease him a little. Walking up to him—bad idea.

He saw you stagger as you lost your balance. Both hands reached out protectively to catch you.

Great, now you’ve embarrassed yourself.

“are you alright? I knew i shouldn’t have let you come…”

Suffice to say, it would be more than difficult to persuade him into letting you work at the share again.

KAZUHA

• Would tell you to be careful right before you tripped, claiming that the wind told him to.

• Sits on the floor next to you and continues your conversation.

• Honestly idk i feel like he’d be very chill about it.

This was your first time on the Crux, after meeting Kazuha in Liyue, you’ve actually hung out a few times. Often times he would bring a dendrobium or something he got from Thoma for you.

But after the sakoku decree was lifted, he invited you to accompany him to Inazuma. Beidou welcomed you onboard the Crux with a warm hug, telling the two of you to enjoy your trip.

While Kazuha was reciting a haiku for you, you were busy looking around to realise that there was a step in front of you.

“be careful,” Kazuha suddenly stopped reciting.

ah

You reached out your hands to cushion your fall. Didn’t see that step there now did ya?

“oh” so that’s what he told you to be careful about.

To your surprise, instead of helping you up he sat down next to you in the middle of the crux and continued to recite poems he made for you.

[but-the-library-of-alexandria]

dnd characters I’ll never use: player or npcs

I already shared this with my dnd playing friends but I’ll put them here too to spread the love far and wide. Disclaimer: I’m not at all experienced with dnd, these are all largely based on fun character ideas and not very rooted in stats, class stuff or tactics. Genders are of course always arbitrary and interchangeable.

Before she was a party member, she was a store clerk. Worked at a soul-sucking supermarket. Has very high persuasion, charisma and constitution. Why? Dude, she’s worked in customer service. She had to pretend to be friendly while putting up the with the worst humanity can offer. War is nothing. She’s being dragged along on this quest, but is largely apathetic. Her job has crushed her spark for good. True neutral. A bard? Maybe? It makes sense that she went to music school and ended up with a retail career.

A paladin/knight who thinks he’s Don Quixote - naive and good-hearted, a classic white knight who wants to rescue all the damsels and ride all the noble steeds. The drawback is that he’s a complete idiot. Very low wisdom and intelligence. Good combat stats, and amusingly high charisma. Probably a noble. Very green. Lawful good to the max.

A fine lady who is extremely posh, quite elderly. Lost her rich husband recently. Probably owns a poodle called Wetherby. Wields the biggest, most vicious giant axe you’ve ever seen. It’s called Verity. She is, in fact, a barbarian. Lawful neutral.

(Based on a tumblr post) This character is secretly just two gnomes stacked in a trench coat. Nobody but the DM must know. Try to keep up the facade for as long as possible. Why are they doing this stunt? Literally just fee evasion. It’s cheaper to pay for one human with very short arms than two gnomes. Obviously chaotic, neutral or good. Maybe each is a bit different.

An ex-schoolteacher who becomes the group mother. Literally. She calls the party her ‘children’. A bard, Sound-of-Music style? Or a cleric. Very patronising in the way she speaks. However, much liked. An all-rounder. Lawful good. Might make a good patron-type npc.

A bard who literally thinks life is a musical. Always singing; speaks only in song, or if she does speak, it’s in a disney-like tone - strong Giselle from enchanted vibes. Terrible stealth modifiers, because she does her own theme music like Kronk. She and the above paladin knight fall in love instantly. Nobody has ever understood either of them until now. They will definitely insist on romantic duets and a giant fancy wedding, despite not really knowing each other. Noble background; an ex actress. Lawful good.

Someone otherwise useful and skillful, perhaps a rogue or a fighter, who has a weakness of instantly falling in lust with any villain they encounter. They just have a thing for the bad guys/girls. Chaotic good, or lawful neutral.

A character who can’t seem to talk without mentioning her boyfriend, Freddie: ‘it’s just like Freddie, my boyfriend, said the other day… Back in the city, where I met my boyfriend, Freddie… damn, this monster is so tough even Freddie, my boyfriend, might not be able to kill it!’ Freddie does not, as it turns out, exist. After this is disclosed, the question is - was she lying? Does she actually think Freddie is real? Is she crazy? Or did Freddie exist, once, and some magical weirdness is going on? Who knows. The poor girl - probably a cleric or someone religiously magical - clearly has some mental shit to deal with.

A mage or sorcerer who performs magic in the style of irl kids’ magicians. They don’t actually believe in magic, and keep insisting it’s all just clever tricks and illusions. Idk enough about the magic-type classes to decide which one this would suit best - maybe a book-learned character, who thinks their entire education system was just really in-character with the whole ‘real magic’ thing. A wizard? Very lawful - so lawful they can’t conceive of a force as irrational and physics-defying as magic. Probably good.

A character who is the butler of another party member - jeeves-style, long-suffering and ever efficient. His most common line is “*sigh* very good, sir/ma’am.” It would be cool if he was a monk class character - maybe coming from a kind of ‘training temple’ for butlers, Artemis Fowl style. Has the patience of a god, the combat skills of a champion street-fighter, and makes excellent tea. Might be a good player character for someone who’s new to dnd and is coming with a friend - or rather, a good character for someone who is experienced and is bringing an inexperienced friend, whose butler they could be. The butler could then advise and cover for their inexperienced ‘master’.

A variation on the above: a character travelling with their fussy, overbearing mother or father, another obviously good one for a friend to teach their inexperienced new friend how to play.

A religious character, probably a cleric or paladin, who has an element of the creationist fangirl-religious Christianity of the midwest to her. Speaks in a texas drawl. She wears a shirt that says ‘what would [insert name of deity here] do?’ and is always singing the praises of their lord/lady and saviour, trying to convert people and reminding everyone of various rules from their holy book. Lawful neutral, because she follows the rules of the faith no matter how immoral they may be. Often burst into hymns. Everything good that happens, it was the lord’s blessing. Everything bad, it was punishment for some obscure sin. Probably had a rough background and found and adhered to this faith later in life, as a kind of religious rebirth - maybe to escape a criminal past…?

A character who is a child but has all the skill in certain areas of an adult. Very creepy, Wednesday Addams vibes. Talks like a grown up. Dark and cynical. Always underestimated. Probably a sorcerer. Neutral or maybe a tad evil. Maybe could be a halfling or something, to implement that small-cute-person stealth bonus. Occasionally takes on the performance of being a normal little girl to manipulate NPCs - fake crying to get to the front of a queue, etc.

Two PCs who are long lost siblings. The DM and the two players know this. No other players and none of the characters know - including the two characters who are related. One or both of them may know they have a lost sibling, but it is only in the course of the game that they find out who they are to each other. I feel like this would be most interesting if they were of a non human species, and of very different backgrounds and classes, and maybe different alignments.

A character who is joining the party as a tourist. He has now retired from adventuring in his homeland and travels around other lands, getting the ‘authentic local experience’ by tagging onto other people’s quests. If you’re in a steampunk-y setting or your DM will let you homebrew it a bit, it would be great if he had some kind of camera and was always snapping pictures at inappropriate times. It would be even better if some of these pictures ending up being vitally useful later in the game. Probably neutral good, probably something pretty low-key class wise. Could be joined by a tour-guide type PC.

A variation on the above: a young character who is trying to break into the adventuring career market and is tagging along on work experience, always taking notes. This might be a good one for a new and inexperienced player to help them learn without compromising their characterisation. Neutral good, any class really.

A member of a certain race who is convinced they are of another race, probably due to adoption, and will attack anyone who tries to correct her, like Ellie in ice age 2. The more physically different her ‘real’ race and her ‘adopted’ race are, the better. A warrior type, hot headed. Chaotic something. Maybe even a barbarian. Someone you would be too scared to contradict.

A case of mistaken identity - the party assume this character is someone, but later it is revealed that they are in fact just a delivery boy or a maidservant. There was a mix up, they were in the wrong place at the wrong time, and when the party mistook them for a powerful ally they were planning to meet, they were too awkward to correct them so they just went with it. The party shouldn’t know they aren’t who they say they are until the person reveals it, either by making enough mistakes and confessing or by being outed by someone else. An NPC or a player. Probably chaotic good. Definitely a people pleaser. Poor kid.

A ‘male’ character who is actually a woman wearing a fake moustache. She had to fake her gender to get into a prestigious all male institution - maybe a cleric or paladin, or a wizard at wizard school. Definitely a con-woman type background. Intensely good persuasion modifier so that people genuinely believe she is a man as soon as the moustache goes on. Other players may or may not know her real gender from the start. Chaotic good.

An adventuring couple who have decided to spend their honeymoon, or second honeymoon, fighting and killing with the rest of the party. Fighters or another physical-combat-heavy class. Good. Full of romantic stories about people they beheaded together and times they almost died together. Bonus points if they have, are having or have had an adventuring child too - the kind who was already wielding a tiny knife in the cradle. Good for couples who play together, and good if one partner is just teaching the other to play, so they can stick together and help them.

A druid who has spent her last ten years in animal form. She has now almost forgotten how to be a person. Still forgets she isn’t an animal sometimes. Lots of animalistic mannerisms and slip ups - trying to fly, using the wrong body language, etc. She’s just very frazzled by everything right now, so please just go easy on her, okay? She’s trying her best to readjust.

A pirate woman who sailed with an all-female pirate crew on a ship with a massively misandristic name. She’s almost definitely gay and very much a bitch to men. Sailor-pirate background, probably a simple fighter, chaotic neutral af. Bonus points if she was the captain. Double bonus points if she was the captain because she engineered a mutiny and is now constantly afraid of finding her jilted ex captain (and possibly also her ex lover) hot on her heels. More bonus points if she is a very butch, bearded dwarf lady.

Champion athlete who turned their particular sporting prowess to a life of adventure, because of some event that befell them - maybe a medal winning runner’s hometown was sacked, and their swiftness allowed them to save forty children before the fires reached the school. Or maybe a record-breaking swimmer was the sole survivor of a flood that wiped out their people and now they have to get by on nothing but their wits and their abnormally massive deltoids. Obviously good stats relating to their sport. Class will depend on the sport too. You could get really creative with sports lauded amongst different races, eg. a dragonborn who was the world champion at distance fire-breathing.

(Based in a tumblr post) A bard whose main attack is Vicious Mockery. Super chaotic neutral, they focus on almost nothing else, just developing this one skill until they can practically just kill with a single insult. Their main driving motivation or goal is to eventually find a certain person - maybe a powerful and abusive parent figure or a hated tyrant, someone who did evil to them or their people - and just fucking obliterate them with the perfect, all-destroying insult, which they hope to have composed by the time they meet this person.

The youngest son of a king or ruler with like twelve children, so far from inheriting the throne nobody knew what to do with him and he ended up being tossed from institution to institution, being kicked out and kicked out until he joined the current party (or an institution the party are working with if he’s an NPC). He’s pretty dumb, with no education, essentially raised by castle servants and never learning a thing about politics. Probably a fighter. Low intelligence, good alignment. All is well, until, uh oh, all his twelve brothers die at once and he is suddenly expected to be king. What do? Help me, more intelligent party members!