#paladin rankings

[cagemasterfantasy]

Every Single Spell Paladin Can Learn Ranked

Guide:

1=useless

2=often useful

3=sometimes useful

4=perfect

Cantrips

Guidance 3 really good but you likely can’t make room for it

Light 1 buy a torch instead

Mending 1 too situational

Resistance 1 BAD

Sacred Flame 3  not as much damage as Toll the Dead and unless you plan to fight a lot of undead and you’ll use both in the same situations so you can only justify having 1 of the 2

Spare the Dying 1  you have Lay on Hands

Thaumaturgy 1 disappointing utility

Toll the Dead 4 60 ft range the damage is measured in d12’s (unless the target has all their hp in which case it's a d8) and since it’s Necrotic damage almost nothing will resist it. This is your best single-target damage option

Word of Radiance 4  a great way to handle crowds of multiple enemies. Grab full plate and a shield and walk into a crowd of enemies

1st level spells

Bless 3 if you don’t have something else on which to use your Concentration use Bless. +1d4 to attack rolls is huge in 5e

Ceremony ??? this is a weird spell. The fact that it exists implies that clerics perform burial rites wedding ceremonies and rites of passage magically at a cost of 25gp each placing a heavy financial burden on poor commoners and removing the possibility of non-magical clergy performing these functions. It certainly feels cool for a cleric to have a dedicated mechanic for performing these functions but I don’t know why this isn’t just a Religion check or something. Regardless of all of that the spell provides weird incentives to do things like getting married before a dungeon crawl or a boss fight.

Command 1 difficult for the Paladin to use with few spell slots and relatively low save DC

Compelled Duel 4 forcing a foe into single combat with you is extremely helpful. You are your party’s Defender and while much of the time that only requires you to stand in the right place sometimes you will need to actively force enemies to attack you instead of your allies

Cure Wounds 1 use Lay on Hands. You don’t get enough spell slots to spend them on healing

Detect Evil and Good 2 situationally useful and you can use it to find invisible enemies or detect enemies through thin walls

Detect Magic 3 someone in the party needs this and ideally it should be someone with the ability to cast rituals

Detect Poison and Disease 1 very situational and unless you can also cast Protection from Poison there’s little you can do about it anyway. Fortunately this can be cast as a ritual but you can’t do that so leave it to someone who can

Divine Favor 3 more damage than you’ll get from Divine Smite and it’s especially effective if you have Polearm Master and Extra Attack

Heroism 2  a truly fantastic buff for a 1st level spell but you’re going to be the one taking damage and Concentration will make the spell difficult to rely upon. Shield of Faith may be more effective especially if your AC is already high

Protection From Evil and Good 4 a fantastic defensive buff and even though it requires Concentration it will be reliable between Disadvantage on attacks against you and your high AC while stomping around in heavy armor

Purify Food and Drink 1 1 of many reasons that DND makes a terrible wilderness survival game. Leave this for someone who can cast rituals if possible

Searing Smite 3  a great way to deal ongoing damage to an enemy with poor Constitution saves which you’re having trouble hitting (like a spellcaster with defensive buffs) but if you just want damage you’ll get more consistent results from Divine Smite or Divine Favor

Shield of Faith 4 not very exciting and it takes Concentration but a paladin with full plate a shield Defense fighting style and Shield of Faith has an AC of 23 which will keep you very safe for a very long time

Thunderous Smite 4 you only lose 2 damage on average compared to Divine Smite and knocking enemies prone is easily worth the lost damage

Wrathful Smite 4 many big tough creatures like Beasts and Giants have poor Wisdom saves, which makes this an easy way to debuff them. Once the spell is in place the target needs to pass a Wisdom CHECK as an Action to remove the effect. Not only is that a horrifyingly high Action cost but few creatures will be able to reliably beat the DC even if they’re built around Wisdom simply because your save DC will scale better than their Wisdom modifier even with the Paladin’s relatively poor spell save DC compared to full spellcasters

2nd levle spells

Aid 3 not essential but a good way to pad your party’s hit points throughout the day. Just be careful if the spell ends while you’re below 5 hit points you’ll fall to 0 and fall unconscious. Aid’s casting time allows it to be used in combat which is unusual but offers an interesting option. With three targets and a 30-foot range you can cast it to both buff and heal your allies during combat. Targets current hit points and hit point maximum both increase so allies at 0 hit points are healed in addition to having their hit point maximum raised thereby allowing Aid to serve a similar function to Mass Healing Word. However since spells don’t stack with themselves it’s hard to repeat this trick. You’ll need to cast Aid again using higher-level spell slots which can get expensive quickly so Mass Healing Word is probably better if Aid is already running and if Mass Healing Word is an option for your party.

Branding Smite 2 you need to hit an invisible enemy to use this meaningfully and that’s hard to do unless you already have a way to make them visible. If you already have a way to make invisible foes visible why do you need this spell?

Find Steed 4 exclusive to the Paladin spell list Find Steed gives you a magical horse. While this steed doesn’t get anything to make it more durable than a normal horse it’s smarter than a typical animal and has some cool abilities. Among them, you can share the effect on any spell that you cast which targets only yourself. That means many buffs like Protection From Evil and Good but you can also use spells like Cure Wounds to heal yourself and your mount at the same time. Unfortunately you can’t do this with spells like Branding Smite because the target of the spell is the creature which you attack.

Lesser Restoration 3 situational but a situation that comes up often. If you don’t have a cleric in the party you may be the only one with access to this spell so you’ll want to take it at some point.

Locate Object 1 too situational and too easy to counter. Anyone with any knowledge of magic that’s trying to hide something will wrap it in lead.

Magic Weapon 2 if your game uses magic items skip this. If it doesn’t someone in your party needs to have this available. I hope that it’s not you but it needs to be someone.

Protection from Poison 3 situational but poison is common across the full Challenge Rating range so this is a fantastic defensive option at any level. The 1 hour duration means that you can get a lot of mileage out of a single spell slot even if you cast it ahead of time.

Zone of Truth 1 situational and much less reliable than you would hope. Creatures are aware that they’re under the effect and they can choose to “be evasive” which means that they could give you true but useless answers or simply not answer. Creatures other than the caster also don’t know who passed or failed the save so unless they already trust you other creatures might not believe you when you tell them that a creature is telling the truth. If a creature is willing to talk they can prove that they are saying what they believe to be true and you can know whether or not they believe it to be true. But if the creature is incorrect if you’re lying to other creatures (which they might believe that you are) or if any other number of other things go wrong this spell simply fails to meet its intended purpose. In short this helps honest creatures prove to you that they are being honest. Nothing else. If you want to get answers from an unwilling or unhelpful subject cast Detect Thoughts.

3rd level spells

Aura of Vitality 3 never use this in combat but 20d6 healing for a 3rd-level spell is very efficient. Even Healing Spirit can’t match this amount of healing at the same spell level.

Blinding Smite 4 compared to burning the spell slot for Divine Smite you lose 1d8 damage but you can blind the target. That’s a really good trade even if the blindness only lasts for 1 round.

Create Food and Water 2 rations are cheap but it’s good that you can prepare this if you somehow find yourself somewhere without food for extended periods. This also lets you create 30 gallons of water which is enough for a nice bath but not enough to fill a 5-foot cube.

Crusader's Mantle 4 Divine Favor but for yourself and all of your allies within 30 ft. It gets better in larger parties especially if you have allies who make lots of attacks using Two-Weapon Fighting or Crossbow Expert.

Daylight 2 useful but you get very few spell slots to throw around so it may be hard to justify if you have other ways to get light.

Dispel Magic 2 useful but you get this so much later that your party should have access to this from a full spellcaster.

Elemental Weapon 2 Divine Favor will get you the same amount of extra damage, so the only appeal is the +1 to attacks. If you need the +1 to attacks cast Magic Weapon.

Magic Circle 2 with a 1-minute casting time, you can’t use this in combat unless you have time to prepare and your enemies are coming to you. Even then using this in combat isn’t reliable protection because it doesn’t mitigate the effects of spells and abilities which don’t require attack rolls like breath weapons or fireballs. The best use case is generally to invert the effects and use a spell to summon a creature so that you can bargain with it without risk of the creature escaping. Even then the 1 hour duration may not be enough to guarantee your safety. If you want similar effects in combat Protection from Evil and Good will do the trick.

Remove Curse 2 situational but irreplaceable. Fortunately you can usually wait a day to prepare this.

Revivify 4 too good to forgo. Everyone who can get this should take it.

4th level spells

Aura of Life 2 only useful if you know that you’re facing the types of undead which reduce your hit point maximum (there are several).

Aura of Purity 3 technically situational but the defenses are broad enough that you can cover a wide variety of situations. In most encounters it’s unlikely that you’ll be hit with more than 1 or 2 negative status conditions but Aura of Purity provides broad enough protection that you’ll be able to common many of the most common conditions with the same spell.

Banishment 2 useful but drop it once you can cast Banishing Smite.

Death Ward 4 this will absolutely save your life and with an 8 hour duration you can cast it at the beginning of the day before you go do anything dangerous.

Find Greater Steed 4 a linear improvement to Find Steed cast this on a day when you’re not adventuring and get an awesome new mount. Flight is a massive tactical advantage so unfortunately cool options like Dire Wolf and Rhinoceros aren’t a good idea unless you spend most of your time riding around in dungeons with weirdly wide rooms but low ceilings.

Locate Creature 2 more effective than mundane tracking but the 1,000 foot range can be a problem if the target is actively fleeing from you. If you’re going to use this be sure that you’re moving faster than your target.

Staggering Smite 2 this would be much better if the effect lasted more than 1 round.

5th level spells

Banishing Smite 3 you can’t use Divine Smite with 5th level spell slots, so this is arguably the Paladin’s best smite option. The rider effect doesn’t allow a saving throw, and banishing the target could dramatically affect the outcome of an encounter. 50 hit points is a reasonably large window, especially since you check it after applying damage from your attack, but ask anyone who has tried to use Power Word Kill how frustrating it is to guess how many hit points a target has. It’s frequently easier to just kill them.

Circle of Power 3 technically situational but spellcasting enemies are common at such high level.

Destructive Wave 4 this is a fantastic AOE for a class that otherwise struggles to handle groups of foes. 10d6 damage is a big pile and the damage types are very rarely resisted.

Dispel Evil and Good 2 In most cases Protection from Evil and Good will do the trick, but Dispel Evil and Good has two additional effects. You can prematurely end the spell to end a charm/frighten/possession effect or to attempt to banish creatures from other planes. They do still get a saving throw and if the creatures are native to the plane they’re on nothing happens. It’s very important to note that the banishment effect isn’t limited by the spell’s duration creatures banished this way are sent to another plane and must return by normal means. However since the banishment effect doesn’t effect creatures on their home plane the banishment may not be as appealing as spells like Banishment which can affect creatures native to your current plane.

Geas 2 this spell is situational by design. It has a 1 minute casting time and Verbal components so you’re not going to break this out in combat or while sneaking around in a dungeon. You’re going to restrain the subject and stand around chanting for a full minute and hope that they fail the save. Once that’s done you need to give them a suitable command (read the spell description). Generally you’ll want it to be something that benefits you but will also take the target most of the duration to keep them from becoming a problem for you. Also remember that the base effect of the Charmed condition makes it easier for you to talk the creature into doing things with Charisma checks so a Geased creature may be a useful ally for the duration of the effect even if the original order isn’t directly related to what you want them to do. Increasing the spell level extends the duration but weirdly the damage doesn’t increase. 5d10 is a nice pile of damage but it doesn’t scale with spell level and at some point the target will get smart enough to wake up trigger the 5d10 damage take a short rest then go about their business. If the damage scaled this would be less of a problem but damage is so easily repaired in 5th edition outside of combat that without further penalties Geas is more a tax on hit dice than the magical shackles it’s intended to be. If you want a homebrew fix add a level of fatigue each day that the target is out of compliance or make the damage impossible to heal until they go a day without taking it. Neither of those is a perfect solution but they’re miles better than an average of 27 damage.

Holy Weapon 4 this spell is amazing. Your weapon becomes a magic weapon so you can bypass many creatures damage reduction. You get all of this for an hour with Concentration and you can cast it as a Bonus Action. You can also dismiss the spell for a cool burst of damage but that’s probably not going to see a lot of use unless the duration happens to run out while you’re fighting.

Raise Dead 3 essential but by this level you should have access to Raise Dead already from other spellcasters in the party.

[lordsammichsilas]

So here's the comic in its entirety!

Danse deserved his magical girl moment and the fact that Maxson robbed him of that is unforgivable.

.

Support my work 💜

[useyourglutes]

CLANCY ALBUM RANKING!!!

i hate ranking my babies because i love them all so very much but im doing this to myself so i cant even be mad

1 - Vignette

2 - Navigating

3 - Backslide

4 - Oldies station

5 - Paladin strait

6 - The craving (Jenna's version)

7 - Next semester

8 - Midwest indigo

9 - Snap back

10 - At the risk of feeling dumb

11 - Routines in the night

12 - Overcompensate

13 - Lavish

AND AS A FINAL WORD:

this list is bullshit they're all my favs goodnight

[discordiansamba]

VLD tried to tell us that Hunk would be weirded out by cave bug stew but I think he'd actually be into it. This is a guy who has eaten bugs before. I know this.

[300iqprower]

HRU Preview: Charlemagne

Not nearly as bad as I expected but still not exactly what I want. I like the parallel to Quirinus's on-crit-trait-effect thing, and it's especially nice that the 5 turn duration means unlike Quirinus there won't be any uptime issues. The star bomb is flat out unnecessary though and he would've been much better off with better NP gain up or....i can't believe I'm saying this, but yeah a small battery would've probably been better. A conditional one preferably, like based on how many X trait you have (paladins, knights, whatever). Also just like Quirinus, we really didn't need another "Crit focused Lancer/Saber with AOE Buster/Quick NP".

Either way, great for Charlie's gimmick, would be a lot better if his gimmick was something more unique rather than just a convuluted way of upping his NP Damage. At least with Quirinus you can use his Roma status with other Roman specific effects, this one is JUST for Charlie and his NP, so....yeah, let's give him wayyyyyyyyyy more! As well as take away one or two things, because Charlie's biggest issue is how redundant his kit is, whether in the sense of regarding himself or regarding how many servants already fill his niches.

Over the Royal Road C -> ‘C’

Apply Invincible to an ally (2 times, 3 turns). Increase own NP Gain if not Invincible (5 turns).^ [10-30%?] Apply buff to self if not Invincible (5 turns): Apply [Brave King] trait to self when attacked (5 turns). Inflict NP Seal on self if Invincible (1 turn) [Demerit]. Apply various effects based on Ascension. [For Ascension 1-2] - Apply [Fairy Tale] trait to self (5 turns). - Apply [Earth] attribute to self for ally support effects (3 turns). - Increase own Instant Death Resist by 100% (X times, 3 turns).[For Ascension 3] - Apply [Human] attribute to self for ally support effects only (5 turns). - Increase own Buff Removal Resist by 100% (X times, 5 turns). [X varies with skill level; 1 to start, 2 at 5, 3 at 7, 4 at skill level 9+]

Holy Knight Emperor EX -> ‘EX’

Increase ATK for all allies (3 turns). Apply Special ATK [Demonic] to self (3 turns). Increase own DEF against [Heaven] enemies (3 turns). Apply status to self (5 turns): If Critical Stars >35, apply Damage Cut to all allies based on the total number of stars. Choose an effect: - Apply Target Focus to all [Holy Warrior] allies (2 turns). - Increase NP Gauge for all [Paladin of Charlemagne] allies.^

(yes i replaced "Divine" with "Heaven". We have MORE than enough anti divine units already while i can count the number of anti-heaven units on one hand)

Mana Burst (Light) A -> A+

Increase own Critical Strength (3 turns).^ [20-65%] Increase own Quick Card effectiveness (3 turns).^ [20-40%] Further increase own Critical Strength against [Evil] alignment enemies (3 turns). Inflict Skill Seal on all [Evil or Insane] alignment enemies (1 turn). Chance to inflict NP Seal on all [Chaotic] enemies (1 turn). [40-80%] 85% Chance to inflict Confusion on all [Evil] alignment enemies (3 turns). [20-70%/turn] 500% Chance to inflict Myopia on all [Sight-Reliant] enemies (3 turns).

(Reminder: Myopia = all evade on units a Myopic unit attacks is treated as True Evade, meaning the Myopic unit cannot bypass it with Ignore Invincible)

Honestly this is only like 70% of what I have planned I'm still probably gonna give him at least 2 passives and definitely an NP rank up but since his official rank up for a skill dropped and people are asking, i'll go ahead and save that for the full write-up and post these now!

[wings-of-flying]

hmmm au where the albatrio have 'opposite' classes

gillion's a warlock with niklaus as a patron

chip is a barbarian

jay is a fighter

[fanartfic]

Blood for the Blood god.

Tavya goes into the depths of the undercity to rescue Halsin from Orin’s torment.

TW: Blood, battle, talk of loss, violence, mild language (like, one b word, that’s about it.)

Also, Act 3 spoilers. Read at your own peril.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~{*}~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Do you have proof of your faith to our lord?

The door to Bhaal’s temple awaited Tav’s reply. She held up the amulet. “I have proven myself. I carry an Amulet of Bhaal, let me pass.”

You hold proof of faith, but to hold and deserve are different. Have you proven yourself in the Dread Lord’s eyes.

Tavya’s eyes narrowed as she eyed the door. “I slaughtered the Murder Tribunal. Sarevok’s blood has been spilled for Bhaal.”

Unorthodox. . . But a show of faith nonetheless. Walk in Blood.

The door slowly lifted, revealing the passageway within. Tav looked over her shoulder at her companions, who stood behind her, nervously shifting their feet.

Well, all except for Lae’Zel. She seemed to vibrate in anticipation of the coming violence, her giant githyanki longsword held in her hands, ready to strike at a moments notice.

“Last chance to turn around,” Tav said, turning to face them.

“Halsin needs help.” Karlach shifted her axe off her shoulder.

“Chk! Only a coward would turn back now,”

Shadowheart took in a deep steadying breath. “Well, someone has to keep you folks alive,”

Tav smiled gratefully.

“Let's go.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~}}{{~~~~~~~~~~

The journey through the dungeon was difficult, as every step of their way was tested by the servants of Bhaal. Tav could feel the blood dripping off of her hands by the time they finally made it to the doors of the inner sanctum, and a good bit of it was her own.

A grim determination settled in her eyes. She was loathe to rest when they were so close, but she also knew the prior fights had left them depleted. They found a secluded chamber in the Undercity ruins nearby to make camp.

Tav sat by their small fire, running a whetstone along the edge of her blade. Lae’Zel joined her, offering her some oil to ease the process.

“Thank you,” said Tav, taking the oil and dripping some along the blade.

“You are at unrest.” Lae’Zel observed.

“That would be one way to put it.”

“You crave this battle,”

Tav paused with her whetstone, thumbing the blade to test the sharpness.

“I never crave battle.” She said, resuming with the whetstone. “But Orin made a mistake taking someone I care about.”

“I wonder. . . Is this something you would have done for the rest of us?”

Tav looked over at Lae’Zel. “Of course, I would have. What makes you think otherwise?”

“It is that Halsin and you seem particularly close. It is clear you desire one another. Would you have taken such risks if myself, or any of the others were taken instead?”

Tav set down the whetstone and sheathed her blade.

“You– all of you– have become like family to me. There is hardly nothing I wouldn't do to make sure you were safe.”

“T’skva. A weakness to be exploited,”

“No, it's where my strength comes from.” Tav’s eyes bore into Lae’Zel. “I know your customs aren't like mine. Your kind are all about survival of the fittest. But here, in Faerun, true strength comes from those who choose to fight by your side, not from what your power is alone.”

Lae’Zel considered her words. Truly, some of her most glorious battles had happened after meeting her on the illithid ship. And always in the company of the others in their group. There was truth to her words.

Tavya continued. “And as someone who has been on both sides of that line, I can assure you that I am stronger for the friends and companions I have than I ever was when I wandered by myself.”

She handed the oil back to Lae’Zel.

“So yes, if Orin had taken you, I would have come for you with just as much zeal.”

Lae’Zel held Tav’s gaze. Those eyes were unwavering in her conviction. She nodded her head in reply as she pocketed the blade oil and returned to her bedroll.

Tav finished maintaining her weapons and armor and tried to rest, but meditation was fleeting. After failing for several hours, she sat up and looked over at Shadowheart, who was on watch.

“Get some sleep. I'll take watch.”

Shadowheart turned to face her. “It isn't your turn yet,”

“And rest is evading me. I might as well stay awake.”

Shadowheart came over to her and sat down beside her.

“I'll keep you company for a bit.” She said.

They sat in silence for a while, staring into the crackling embers of the fire. At length, Shadowheart spoke.

“I overheard what you said to Lae’Zel.”

Tav pulled her gaze from the fire and looked at the young half elf beside her.

“I. . . I’ve never had anyone care for me like this before. I'm at a loss.”

Tav’s somber face broke as a small smile lifted her face.

“Your parents love you very much,” she said, looping an arm around Shadowheart's back.

“How do you know?” She asked. “How could you possibly know?”

“Because I am a mother myself.” Tav explained. “And I would have done anything for my daughter.”

Shadowheart blinked in surprise.

“You have a daughter?”

Tav’s smile faded as she pulled a locket from beneath her shirt.

“I did.”

“Oh. . . I'm sorry.”

Tav opened the locket and looked at the image within. Shadowheart could see the family portrait.

“Who is he?” She asked, pointing at Terryn’s likeness.

“My husband.”

“What happened to them?”

Tav sighed heavily as she closed the locket and put it away beneath her tunic.

“They’re both gone.”

“Gods. . . I'm sorry.”

Tav leaned her shoulder and gave Shadowheart a nudge. “It's alright. . . The wounds are still fresh, but becoming more bearable. All of you had a part in that.”

“And Halsin?”

“Especially Halsin.”

Shadowheart nodded in understanding. In the course of their journey she had come to love everyone, even Lae’Zel, as family.

“We’ll get him back.” She said, resting a reassuring hand on Tav’s arm. “With Selune’s guidance.”

Tav nodded. “And the Oak Father’s blessing.” She said.

They continued to watch the fire until Shadowheart began to sway as she fell asleep. Tav adjusted her legs so that Shadowheart could lay her head in her lap.

“Sleep well,” Tav whispered.

Then, out of impulse, or practiced routine, she didn't know which, she bent over and gently kissed Shadowheart's temple.

Even tho Tav hadn't rested very much, she felt revived once what they could only assume was the morning sun began lightening the Undercity. She took a moment to offer up a quick prayer before joining the others on the path up to Bhaal’s temple.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~•}{•~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“We’ve got a hell of a fight coming. You ready for it?”

Karlach came up next to Tav, her axe resting easy on her shoulder.

Tav checked her pack and reassured herself with the stash of health potions within. “I'm ready. How many potions do you have?”

“One or two, I think.”

“Well, is it one or two?” Tav said, raising an eyebrow. “You're the one who is going to be taking the brunt of this.”

Karlach checked the pouch at her belt and looked up sheepishly. “Uh. . .one.”

Tav huffed and pulled out three more potions from her pack. The stronger ones that could heal deeper wounds.

“Here. Use them wisely.”

“Thanks, Mama T.” Karlach said as she gratefully pocketed the vials. Tav looked over at Lae’Zel.

“How about you, how many healing potions do you have?” She asked, walking over.

Lae’Zel took a quick look. “I have 3 small vials.”

Tav pressed two more bottles into her hand. “Take these.”

“My thanks.”

“I’m good on potions, and my spells can heal me too.” Said Shadowheart.

Tav nodded, then looked at the 3 small vials left to her before shouldering her pack.

It would have to do.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~°{°}°~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Getting through the main door of the temple was easier than Tav had anticipated. All that had been needed was the amulet, and no proof of faith was asked for.

Blood soaked stone surrounded them on all sides, and the smell of rotting flesh and fresh blood intermingled together into a fetid stench. As they came out into the main chamber, they spotted the alter to Bhaal, situated below them down a grand staircase. The visage of a skull was carved into the stone above it, leering at those who beheld it with red glowing eyes.

Tav’s breath came out in a stifled gasp.

There was Halsin, bound hand and foot in chains, with Orin kneeling over him. He looked unconscious.

Something told Tav that was a mercy.

“Easy soldier,” Karlach gripped Tav’s armored shoulder. “Keep your head about you.”

Tav took in a steadying breath and nodded as a familiar look of determination settled in.

“Let's go. . . There is no stealth about this mission,” she said, heading down the stairs.

“Hush, hush, I hear footsteps trip-trapping on the Murder Lord’s stone.” Orin’s voice was a hiss, as if through gritted teeth. She spoke to Halsin as if he could hear her. It grated Tav’s ears. “It lied to me. It lets the tyrant live, and crawls into Bhaal’s sanctum instead.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~[•]~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tav stopped a few yards away. Orin was unpredictable, and she didn't know if she would slaughter Halsin right then and there. Orin looked up with murderous eyes.

“Oh…tsk tsk tsk… did it think it could protect? Did it think it could save? Only the blade can offer salvation.” That wicked red dagger, with the Netherstones embedded in its hilt, glinted maliciously in the light as Orin moved to slit Halsin’s throat.

“Anything you do to him, I will inflict on you tenfold.” Tav said with a growl.

Orin paused, intrigued. “And what does it think it could inflict?”

“Fight us and find out.”

“It thinks I should give up this sacrifice. How quaint.” Orin’s neck twisted in an unsettling fashion so she could lock eyes with Tav.

“You’re the one who said Bhaal wanted us to fight. Won’t he reject this offering?” Tav pointed out, remembering all she could about the god of murder.

“You do not lie. It is your blood I am determined to spill. Your death spot will stain these walls, little lamb.” she stood up and stepped over Halsin, jumping lightly to the ground and approaching the group. “Your murder should have been exquisite, a crypt born effigy to Bhaal's bleeding dawn. Now, it will be nothing. It is ruined.”

“I will ensure you will meet the same fate as your grandfather,” Tav warned. “In fact, I'll send you to him myself.”

Orin froze, her face twisting in rage.

“No. No! His crimson was mine to spill!”

“Beat you to it, bitch!” Tav retorted.

Karlach cast a side-eye at Lae’Zel and Shadowheart. This was a side of Tav they hadn’t seen before. Lae’Zel nodded and readied herself.

“You wretch! I will bathe in your blood!” Orin screeched. She looked up at the ceiling with outstretched arms “Come to me, Father. Set my flesh to your unholy purpose!”

Orin’s bones snapped and rearranged, and in what looked like an explosion of blood, transformed before them into a monstrous beast. A toothy maw opened up in a roar, and four arms ending in cruel clawed hands extended towards them. A long tail flicked back and forth, ready to swipe someone's feet from under them. And it was twice as tall as Karlach. Tav took a moment to recenter herself. She had only heard of such creatures. Slayers, a higher form of shape-changers known to serve Bhaal. She sent up a quick prayer to Sylvanus.

“I know I’m not the best of your followers, but you have always helped Halsin…. I beg you, help me save him again.” She muttered under her breath as her free hand went to where her amulet rested under her breastplate. She cast her hunters mark as she pulled her bow from her shoulder and nocked an arrow.

“Karlach! Lae’Zel! Now!”

“You are not the only one who craves blood, istick!” Lae’Zel cried, charging with her silver greatsword at the ready. Karlach let out a war cry of her own, her infernal engine going to work as she once again used a soul coin.

Shadowheart looked around a the baleful clerics that surrounded the platform, praying to their obscene god. Their chanting sent power to the skull, which then protected Orin with a shimmering red shield of energy. Two more of the cultists fanned out on either side, readying their weapons.

“I got the clerics, Tav. Get the other two!” Shadowheart called out as she ran towards the nearest one. She tried to swing at him with her mace, but found her blow ineffective. He had cast Sanctuary on himself. He looked at Shadowheart smugly as he continued to chant.

“Well then, guess we’ll do a different approach,” Shadowheart huffed. “Ire et Dolor!”

A flash of golden light and her guardians appeared, swirling around her in a protective circle. They centered in on the cleric and attacked, hitting him with radiant energy. With a look of shock and terror, he burst into white flame and fell screaming to the floor.

One down, 7 more to go. Shadowheart cast a healing spell on Karlach, who had gotten hit a few times before moving on to the next one.

As Karlach and Lae’Zel kept Orin occupied, Tavya went to work on the other two. The first one went down easy, with an arrow in his throat. The other one, however, had a trick up their sleeve.

They went invisible.

Too bad for them, Tavya had a tool at her disposal. At the beginning of their journey, the eccentric bard Volo had offered to try and remove the parasite, and Tav, desperate as she had been, and maybe a little drunk, had agreed.

Volo’s exploration of her orbital cavity had resulted in her eye being popped out. To avoid the wrath of the elven ranger, Volvo offered a replacement. A magic item that could see invisibility: An All-Seeing Eye.

Tav could see him, creeping around to her side, a cruel looking sword drawn and a spell at the ready in his hands. Tav pretended she didn’t see him, instead sending an arrow off towards Orin. Just as the cultist was about to strike, Tav pounced, pulling out her sword and swiping its keen edge across his belly. His guts spilled to the floor, and he looked on in shock as he fell to his knees in his own viscera.

“Nice try,” said Tav, her attention zeroing in on Orin.

Shadowheart had finished off about half of the chanting cultists by then. Karlach finally landed a hit on one of Orin’s claws. An ear splitting screech echoed in the cavern and Orin retaliated, focusing all of her fury on the barbarian.

This was going to be a long fight. Tav fired off arrow after arrow, only to watch as Orin dodged them with unnatural speed. Orin was frighteningly fast in this form. She laid into Karlach and Lae'Zel with a barrage of hits, slicing their skin through their armor as if it wasn’t even there. Karlach managed a few solid hits on the creature’s body, but after a few moments, it was clear that they might be outmatched by the monster.

Four strikes sliced across Karlach’s body and sent her skidding backwards. She had managed to keep her feet, but blood was pouring from the wounds. Karlach reached into the pouch on her belt and pulled out a potion.

Tav knew it wasn’t going to be enough.

“On my oath, as a servant of Sylvanus, You will die today!” She cried, letting her arrow loose.

After several more tense moments and exhausting all of their potions and spells, Lae’Zel was hit hard and flung across the platform to crash into Shadowheart, who lost her concentration on her guardians. Tav herself had just received a nasty blow to her arm, and it burned as she moved towards the edge of the platform, pulling her bow from her shoulder. She cast hunter’s mark on Orin once again, as the latest onslaught had broken her concentration.

A green and golden glow shone through the cavern as the arrow streaked towards its target. The shot was straight and true, landing into Orin’s chest. It buried itself deep, bursting into vines that wrapped around Orin’s beastly body and dropped her to the floor, writhing in agony. Karlach took advantage of the opening and buried her axe deep into the monster’s leg. Orin responded by diving a claw into Karlach’s shoulder and pushing her back. Tav dropped her bow and ran back up to the creature, brandishing her sword and shield. She blocked one hit, then sliced off the offending hand. Orin screeched and shifted back into her humanoid form, reaching out a pleading hand. Her white skin was no longer visible under all the blood that coated her body.

“No, don’t!” She gasped, clutching at the arrow in her chest.

“The only blood you’ll bathe in is your own, witch.” Tav said, her voice low. She stepped to the side of Orin’s last ditch effort to wound her and swung downward, her adamantine blade neatly slicing into Orin’s exposed neck. Her head dropped to the floor with a thud, the rest of her body following shortly after.

It was finally done. Orin’s body seemed to disintegrate into a pool of blood and viscera, leaving behind only her belongings. The Netherstone gleamed in the hilt of the dagger, inviting her to take it and sieze it’s power.

Tav’s attention was elsewhere tho. She ran over to Karlach and helped her to her feet, shoving her last potion into the tiefling’s hand.

“Here, take this.” She said, uncorking it.

“Thanks, Mama T,” Karlach smiled a grim smile, downing the potion. “Gods that hurt. How are the others?”

Tav glanced around and found Shadowheart helping Lae’Zel to her feet. She too was covered in blood, a satisfied grin on her face. Her armor was now beat up and in desperate need of repairs.

“Do you have anything left?” Shadowheart asked, leading Lae’Zel over to them. “I am all out of everything.”

Tav drew her strength together for one last healing spell, casting it on Lae’Zel so that she would stop bleeding from every cut on her body. For the moment, everyone was alive and on their feet. It would have to do for now. She looked back to the altar where Halsin lay still and motionless and began to see red. Literally.

Tav wiped away the blood that had begun to drip into her eye. She had gotten a nasty cut that stretched vertically from her cheekbone to the middle of her forehand.

“Ooh, that looks bad,” Karlach grabbed Tav’s arm and looked her over. “You got a potion?” Tav shook her head. “No, I gave you my last one. Thankfully, it didn’t hit my eye.” She dabbed at the wound with the back of her glove as she rushed over to Halsin, who lay totally and completely vulnerable on the cold stone.

“Halsin! Can you hear me?” Tav worked to remove the chains, but it was useless. She couldn’t break the lock, and she had left her lock pick kit back at camp to make room for the healing potions.

“Damn it, there has to be a key somewhere,” Tav looked around desperately until a glint on the gruesome pile that was Orin caught her eye. She ran over to it and found a small key.

“Gods I hope this works,” Tav muttered to herself as she rushed back over to the alter and tried the key in the locks.

A click, and the cuff fell away from Halsin’s wrist. In desperate haste she unlocked his other hand and the cuffs around his ankles, then leaned over him, grasping each side of his face.

“Halsin? Halsin!”

He didn’t respond. Tav climbed up onto the altar, and pulled Halsin’s head and shoulders into her lap. “Halsin!”

His skin was cold and clammy. Tav feared the worst. “No. . . No, no, no, no, no.” Tav squeezed her eyes shut as the tears flowed down her face. “No, not again. I can’t do this again!” She sobbed, holding Halsin close. She buried her face into the crook of his neck, taking no comfort now in the familiar smell of leather and herbs that came from his shirt.

“We can’t leave Halsin,” said Karlach.

The others looked on helplessly as Tav wept on the altar. Shadowheart looked around furtively. “We should leave this place.’ She said.

“He is too heavy to take with us,” said Lae’Zel, always the pragmatist. “And in our condition, we are far too weak to carry him.”

Karlach growled in frustration and looked over at Tav.

“Just give her a moment, okay?”

Tav clutched Halsin close to her heart. She kissed his forehead before looking up at the stone ceiling of the cavern above her.

“Please, Sylvanus! Help us!” She sobbed.

She said nothing more, only continued to hold the elven Druid, lightly rocking back and forth.

A warm sensation began in her chest, then extended down her arm. She looked up and saw her hand glowing in a pale green light.

One last bit of healing magic that was left to her.

Tav closed her eyes and sighed, pressing the palm of her hand onto Halsin’s chest, her forehead against his as she silently prayed.

A few moments later, and she felt trembling fingers cover her own, then heard Halsin take in a deep breath and cough as he finally came back to consciousness. He looked up at Tav in bewilderment.

“You came for me?. . . I. . .Thank you.”

Tav sobbed as relief flooded her. “Of course I did! I’ll always come for you!”

Halsin moved to sit up opposite of Tav on the altar. “I feared Orin’s accursed grin would be the last thing I ever beheld.” He grabbed Tav by the shoulders. “You are really Tavya, yes?” He asked. “You’re not Orin again, come back to torment me?”

“It’s me, Halsin.” Tav cupped his cheek in her hand, her tears freely and unashamedly falling down her face.

“Recall something, anything that only you have told me then.” Halsin asked. “Please, I need this peace.”

Tav looked up at him and thought for a moment. She knew she would have to remember something from before defeating Ketheric.

“Remember our first night in the Shadowlands?”

“Of course, I woke you from a nightmare.”

Tav nodded. “I told you about my life before the Nautoloid, before all of this. About my daughter and husband.”

“What were their names?” Halsin asked apprehensively.

Tav pulled the locket and ring out from under her armor, the silver chain glittered in the light. “Japheth and Terryn.”

Halsin pulled her in for a bone crushing hug, finally letting relief flood him to his very core. He buried his face into her hair that still smelled of mint and rosemary in spite of being soaked in blood and the battle that she had just fought. Tavya winced as her unhealed wounds made their presence known, but she didn't care, and wrapped her arms as far as she could reach around the druid. His shoulders began to shake as he wept in relief.

Tav let him. After everything he had just been through, he deserved it.

After a few moments, Tavya tapped his back, kissing his cheek lightly as she pulled away.

“Now lets get the hells out of here.” She said, standing up, wiping her own tears from her face.

“Absolutely.” Halsin agreed, composing himself. He hopped off the table. “But first, let me see to that cut.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~•§•~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[wandercr]

even though i know, realistically, eliana would crumble under a high pressure leadership role, i've always wanted to explore the idea of her accidentally forming her own group of brotherhood outcasts when the bos starts to veer back to their old ways.

just. her speaking up during meetings and slowly garnering the favor of others here and there, so when she DOES leave, they're like "okay, we'll go, too :)" and she's stunned but also kind of boundary-less so she lets them follow her

[luliho]

I was going to do FE sorter for all archers next but Tobin isn't included this is a CRIME. There's no point then.

Leonie and Ignatz are there and imo Tobin is as much a canon archer as them

[manganimetradnow]

14 Best Manga Like The Reincarnation of the Strongest Exorcist in Another World

This article is about the best manga like Another World’s The Reincarnation of the Strongest Exorcist. As everyone knows, the main character of the series The Reincarnation of the Strongest Exorcist in Another World is reborn in a different universe. Summary – 10 Best Manga Like The Reincarnation of the Strongest Exorcist in Another World Fuyu Fenrir no Itoshigo to Natta Watashi ga, Zetsubou…

[taz-writes]

i made a uquiz to tell you which of my hyperfixation ocs matches your vibes and i really wanna post it but first i need art of aelia that isn’t massive spoilers for book 4 :/

and also art of dusk that’s newer than 4 entire years old, godDAMN it’s been a long time since i’ve drawn most of these dorks

[cagemasterfantasy]

Oathbreaker Ranking (My personal favorite Paladin subclass)

Guide:

1=useless

2=often useful

3=sometimes useful

4=perfect

Level 3 Hellish Rebuke and Inflict Wounds 3 Hellish Rebuke is fantastic for a Defender who spends a lot of time drawing fire and deals more damage as Divine Smite for the same spell slot, provided that the target fails the save compare 2d8 from Divine Smite to 2d10 for Hellish Rebuke. Inflict Wounds will almost never see use because your weapon plus Divine Smite with the same spell slot will do as much or more damage.

Level 5 Crown of Madness and Darkness 1 Crown of Madness is difficult to use because it consumes your Action and only does anything if your target is adjacent to something which you want the target to attack at the beginning of their turn and Darkness isn’t very helpful since you can’t see inside the area even with Darkvision.

Level 9 Animate Dead and Bestow Curse 3 Animate Dead is always nice to have and Bestow Curse has several excellent options. Consider combining the two by cursing your foe to give them disadvantage on Strength checks and saves then have your undead pets grapple them and shove them to the ground.

Level 13 Blight and Confusion 2 Blight is decent single-target damage especially against plants but your spell save DC won’t match a full spellcaster and by this level the damage may feel underwhelming. Divine Smite does 5d8 damage for the same spell slot compared to Blight’s 8d8 and Divine Smite can be doubled on a critical hit and doesn’t allow a save for half. I have never liked Confusion because it’s so unpredictable even though it is an AoE.

Level 17 Contagion and Dominate Person 4 Contagion is great but complicated and relies on your hitting with a spell attack first Slimy Doom will essentially end an encounter especially if you can apply a damage over time effect to keep them perpetually stunned. Dominate Person is a powerful way to temporarily gain an extra party member but your save DC may not be high enough to make it reliable.

Control Undead 3 Save-or-suck an undead creature for up to 24 hours. Turn powerful undead into slaves. They must obey your commands they don’t get additional saves and they can’t break the effect by any means specified in the feature. Undead aren’t every creature so this is technically situational but they’re still a very common creature type in many games. If you’re worried about the creature’s behavior at the end of the duration and you think it might pass a save to renew the effect you can command the creature to destroy itself right before the duration expires. But given enough time you can restrain the creature while you rest then you and your allies could hit the creature with effects which penalize saving throws like Bane Mind Spike or Cutting Words then you can re-use Control Undead to reset the duration.

Dreadful Aspect 4 Considerably better than the Turn Whatever abilities other oaths get since it affects everything. This is similar in many ways to the spell Fear but Dreadful Aspect is a sphere rather than a cone and creatures only get more saves if they move away from you. Conveniently Dreadful Aspect doesn’t make foes run away so they might be content to stay within 30 feet of you and struggle along in hopes that the fear will wear off.

Aura of Hate 4 Not terribly helpful in an adventuring party unless you’ve got plenty of Undead minions but even if it only applies to you you can get a bunch of extra damage on your melee weapon attacks. Between Strength and Charisma you can easily add +7 damage at this level and with the right Ability Score Increases you can raise that to +10 total. If you’re using this with a bunch of Animate Dead minions the best option is Skeletons. Unlike Zombies Skeletons are proficient with weapons including Shortswords which allows for Dual Wielding to get double the bonus out of the Aura. You’ll likely have to supply your Skeletons Squires with their weapons though. Skeletons can also wear armor so if you can really spare the money Scale Mail would boost them all up to 16 AC.

Supernatural Resistance 4 permanent Stoneskin. This makes you very difficult to kill especially in games with no magic items. However in games where magic items are common or where the world is dominated by spellcasters this might be completely useless.

Dread Lord 4 lots of damage a good use for your Bonus Action and it makes it hard for enemies to see. Be sure that you have Darkvision so that you’re not a victim of your own effect and strongly consider using Dreadful Aspect for the ongoing damage.

Final Ranking 4 sometimes difficult to bring into many adventuring parties but Oathbreaker has a lot of excellent options including an AOE fear effect and options for animating and controlling undead creatures. Oathbreakers must be evil which can be a problem but in a non-good party that likes to do things like summoning fiends or command undead Oathbreaker can be a powerful asset on the party’s front line

[achillean-knight]

So I've been playing FFIV and I have some feelings LMAO 8 or 9 hours in, and MAN it's very lovely ;0;

[kyngsnake]

Does Star Paladin not have a rank symbol? I mean I don’t think the rank comes up even once in Fallout 4 so I wouldn’t be surprised. Mostly thinking about this because it means I get to design a fancy little symbol just for Danse.

[tomurakii]

I'm abandoning creed he is irritating to me and also not distinct enough from my other durges I feel. Also too many tieflings

[ruralcat]

ya we silver 1. climbing to gold. yeah this is my first fps. yeah i still forget to reload 9/10 times. yeah im a gamer girl :)