#ranging: the caster chronicles

[fioras-resolve]

hey, you ever design a tactics game? you ever want to? i've done it a few times, and i also think a lot about tactics games. i made a taxonomy a while ago of different types of unit functionality, and i actually forgot about it until today. lemme just copy-paste it

Fighter: Not particularly unique on any movement or range front, but comes with good stats in an RPG sense. The specifics of this can vary, but if most of your units are like this, you probably haven't made a good tactics game, but a normal RPG with a few extra steps.

Armored: Typically lower movement overall, but specifically has higher defenses in order to hold ground or survive an onslaught. classic tank stuff.

Ranged: Attacks reach from farther distance, allowing safer attacks from more places, but struggles up close, usually due to low defense and just not being able to win a damage war.

Cavalry: This one's more common in war games like Shining and FE, it's a unit with very high movement and generally average attributes otherwise? The high movement is the crucial part here, but what that movement is for (offense, support, defense, etc.) will vary by what the game is going for.

Flying: Ignores terrain (epic) but is either very vulnerable generally or is extremely vulnerable to specific types of attack (not epic).

Support: Not useful for attacking usually, supplying some other benefit to allied units. I'm leaving this pretty woolly because this is never ever consistent across games, and in something like Into The Breach basically every attack also has some supportive function, like pushing a unit.

Shooter: These are the ones with the really high range, like the Ballistae in the DS FE games, the Gunner classes in FFT, and that one cannon boss from Shining Force. This is also a pretty woolly archetype, because their downside can be anything from low damage to low mobility, but their role in the design of a tactics game is to supersede all other range battles.

Breaker: I was tempted to call this Caster earlier, but it also applies to the explosives users in Valkyria Chronicles. Essentially, these are ranged units with attacks that specifically break through the defenses of otherwise incredibly tough units. This is most often a mage in fantasy games, because they inherit RPGs' separation of physical and magical defense, but in something like classic FE or Shining Force the whole point is that everyone's magic defense is zero.

Terrain: These characters have moves that directly modify the terrain in some way, like setting a tile on fire, building a bridge over water, or placing a boulder in enemies' path. The cool thing about Into The Breach is that a lot of moves are exactly this, and a lot more are incidentally this, as damaging a tile can break ice, ignite forests, and destroy mountains

Summoning: These characters have the power to create other units! Awesome! With FE Echoes, this is a skill that some Clerics have, in ITB it's usually a weapon you have to unlock, and in a Wars-style game this is what barracks tiles are for.

Traveler: This is a very broad and situational category, but it refers to any non-flying unit who crosses specific terrain types much more easily than other units. Pirates in the Archanea Fire Emblem games, for instance, can cross Sea tiles, some units in Shining Force cross through Forest and Mountain at no additional cost, and the various Aquatic units in the Wars series travel through Water, but no other tile. Often this is paired with other archetypes: Mages in Fire Emblem are Breakers, but they also move freely in Sand.

Crux of Fate: Typically the protagonist(s) of a given game, these characters dying is a lose condition. The Lords in Fire Emblem, the Heroes in Wargroove, and the King in Chess all fall into this category.

[justicegundam82]

D&D 3.5 to PF1e Conversion: Beholderkin, Overseer

In the end, I was able to get back to my conversions, and right now, I'm converting one of my fave aberrations ever! This has been quite an undertaking, since it's my highest-CR creation yet (though of course, I plan on taking on much greater ones). I've tried to be consistent and balanced with the power level, but I'm still not sure if I managed it. It doesn't help that there aren't many CR 17 Aberrations around - and I must thank the Creature Codex for their hard work and for providing me some examples to confront my own work with. Of course, suggestions and constructive criticism are always welcome.

And as always, I hope you enjoy.

P.S.: If you're looking for conversions of the Beholder, both the Creature Codex and the Creature Chronicle blogs have some excellent ones.

BEHOLDERKIN, OVERSEER

Image (c) Wizards of the Coast, author C. Fix

This horror resembles a black tree made of rubbery, pulsating flesh. Each of its branches ends in a single unblinking eye, and three fanged maws yawn open on the creature’s trunk. It propels itself forward by crawling on several root-like tentacles.

OVERSEER                       CR 17

XP 102’400

LE Huge Aberration (beholderkin)

Init +6; Senses; all-around vision, darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +31

DEFENSE

AC 31, touch 10, flat-footed 29 (+6 armor, +2 Dex, +15 natural, -2 size)

hp 297 (22d8+198)

Fort +18, Ref +9, Will +19

Damage Reduction 5 / - (see below); Spell Resistance 28

OFFENSE

Speed 10 ft.; air walk

Melee 3 bites +24 (2d8+11), 4 tentacles +22 (1d8+5 plus grab)

Ranged 4 eye rays +14 touch (spell effect)

Space 15 ft.; Reach 15 ft. (20 ft. with tentacles)

Special Attacks command beholder, constrict (tentacle, 1d8+5), eye rays

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 17th, concentration +24, +28 when casting defensively)

At will - air walk, crushing despair (DC 21), hold monster (DC 22), magic missile, scorching ray, ray of enfeeblement (DC 18), ray of sickening (DC 18), suggestion (DC 20), telekinesis (DC 22)

3 / day - chain lightning (DC 23), dominate person (DC 22), empowered scorching ray, freezing sphere (DC 23), greater dispel magic, major creation, quickened magic missile, ray of exhaustion (DC 20)

1 / day - polar ray, temporal stasis (DC 25)

STATISTICS

Str 33, Dex 15, Con 28, Int 24, Wis 22, Cha 25

Base Atk +15; CMB +27 (+29 disarm, +31 grab); CMD 44 (46 vs. disarm)

Feats Alertness (B), Combat Casting, Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes, Defensive Combat Training, Empower Spell-Like Ability, Great Fortitude, Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Improved Vital Strike, Multiattack, Power Attack, Quicken Spell-Like Ability, Vital Strike

Skills Acrobatics +21, Bluff +25, Climb +21, Intimidate +26, Knowledge (arcana) +24, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +27, Knowledge (any two) +20, Knowledge (planes) +24, Linguistics +12, Perception +31, Sense Motive +24, Spellcraft +24, Stealth +15 (+23 with fungal armor), Survival +24, Use Magic Device +24; Racial Modifiers +4 Perception, +8 Stealth with fungal armor 

Languages Aklo, Beholder, Common, Draconic, Infernal, Undercommon

Special Qualities fungal armor, reactive spell immunity, reactive spell turning

ECOLOGY

Environment cold hills or mountains

Organization solitary, pair or grove (2-4 plus 3-6 beholders and 3-6 director beholderkin)

Treasure double standard

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Command Beholder (Su): An overseer can use dominate monster at will as a spell-like ability (caster level 17th), but only against beholders and creatures with the beholderkin subtype. Any such creature can resist this effect with a Will saving throw (DC 28). The save DC is Charisma-based. This is the equivalent of a 9th-level spell. Hive mothers and other overseers are immune to this ability.

The maximum number of beholders and beholderkin an overseer can command at one time equals half its Hit Dice plus its Charisma modifier. Thus, the average overseer can command up to 18 beholders or beholderkin at a time.

If an overseer loses control of a dominated beholder (as is the case if a dominated beholder is in the antimagic cone of another beholder), the overseer can immediately sense the loss of control and knows the position and distance to the beholder at the time control was lost. If control does not return within a few rounds, the overseer seeks out the rogue beholder to investigate and possibly punish it.

Eye Rays (Su): An overseer uses its spell-like abilities by producing magical rays from the eyeballs on its branch-like limbs. Each round, as a standard action, it may use up to 4 of its spell-like abilities within the set limits of uses per day.  Treat these as ranged touch attacks with a range of 180 feet and no range increment. An overseer may not use the same spell-like ability two rounds in a row, and may not use the same spell-like ability with more than a single eye in a given round. Typically, an overseer uses three eye rays,  leaving it with the option to use either its reactive spell turning or reactive spell immunity (see below) as needed.

Fungal Armor (Ex): A layer of thick, wiry fungus grows on an overseer's body. This provides the overseer with a +6 armor bonus to its Armor Class and gives the overseer a damage reduction of 5/- and a +8 circumstance bonus to Stealth checks as the fungus changes hue to match its surroundings (already figured in the above statistics). Fungal armor has no maximum Dexterity bonus, no armor check penalty and no arcane spell failure chance, and does not reduce the overseer's speed. However, the fungus is vulnerable to extreme temperatures. If an overseer ever fails a saving throw against a fire or cold effect that deals hit point damage, it must make a Fortitude save against the same DC of the attack it was hit with. Failing this Fortitude save means that enough of the fungus has been scoured away from the overseer's body that the overseer loses the benefits of its fungal armor for 1 hour - at which point the fungus has regenerated enough that the benefits are active again. Diminish plants also suppresses the overseer's fungal armor for 1d3 rounds, with no saving throw.

Reactive Spell Immunity (Su): Once per round as an immediate action, an overseer can use one of its eye rays to negate a single spell that affects it as the spell is being cast. The overseer must successfully hit the creature that cast the spell in question with a ranged touch attack; if successful, it is immune to that casting of that particular spell. Otherwise, the spell affects the overseer normally (though the overseer is still allowed a saving throw and/or spell resistance if applicable). If the spell influenced by this ability affects multiple targets or an area, it affects any other targets or the area normally, but the overseer remains immune to its effect. An overseer may not use this ability if it is considered flat-footed against the source of the spell, and may not use it in the same round as its reactive spell turning ability.

Reactive Spell Turning (Su): Once per round as an immediate action, an overseer can use one of its eye rays to reflect a single-target spell that targets the overseer back to its source. The overseer must hit the caster with the eye ray; if successful, the target suffers the effects of its own spell, allowing for a saving throw as normal. Otherwise, the spell affects the overseer normally (though the overseer is still allowed a saving throw and/or spell resistance if applicable). An overseer may not use this ability if it is considered flat-footed against the source of the spell, and may not use it in the same round as its reactive spell immunity ability.

An overseer is a particular breed of beholderkin that serves as a direct subordinate to the hive mother in large beholder communities. A beholder hive city ruled by an hive mother always contains a handful of these monstrosities, who concern themselves with keeping watch over lesser beholderkin and report any deviant behaviour to the mother. However, many overseers, possessing the typical beholderkin's arrogance and self-centeredness,  chafe at this arrangement and seek greater stations for themselves. While few overseers are reckless enough to directly challenge an hive mother's power, they often vie for the position of favored enforcer, and rivalries among groups of overseers often provide a weak point in a beholder hive city's formidable defenses. A few rare overseers decide to leave beholder communities and seek out non-beholder societies to dominate from behind the scenes, often helped by a few dominated beholderkin. 

Perhaps one of the most peculiar characteristics about overseers is the fact that they live in a symbiothic relationship with a strange, otherworldly fungus that grows inside their bodies and expands on their skin. The creature has some measure of control over this fungus, and can vary its color in order to express emotion or camouflage itself, as well as use it as some sort of impromptu body armor. However, the fungus is susceptible to sudden and large variations in environmental temperature - a cold or fire based attack covering a large enough portion of the creature's body can kill enough of the fungus as to temporarily negate its living armor, leaving the overseer in a state of relative vulnerability. 

Despite their formidable combat skills, overseers tend to consider themselves above such vulgar activities as physical combat, and their preferred place to be in a conflict is behind charmed and dominated minions, which they're never in short supply of. They usually direct their servants (both beholderkin and otherwise) in battle while at the same time using their spell-like abilities to harass and inflict pain on their enemies. They particularly enjoy disrupting enemy spellcasters, using their reactive spell immunity and spell turning to frustrate them. If forced into physical fighting, they are more than capable of holding their own, but are quick to understand when their situation is becoming untenable, and they rarely hesitate to retreat when significantly injured or when their fungal armor is compromised. An overseer is skilled in the use of several magic items, and typically keeps an item or two allowing teleportation with itself for such an emergency. However, an overseer will not forget such a humiliation, and is patient enough to wait for years before enacting its revenge, if necessary.

An overseer is about 20 feet tall, though its branch-like limbs can make it appear even larger, and weighs between 7 and 8 tons.

[mahou-furbies]

The Caster Chronicles character design ranking (Solis)

(source)

And finally, the sweet type! I tend to really like candy themed characters so let's see how these rank against the other types.

Other rankings:

Ignus - Terra - Aes - Silva - Luna - Aqua

Yuina Kubo Orange Peko

Love all the fluffy fur, especially the collar. And in general I like this kind of tops with two colours placed in this way. But then we get to the pants and it's like... The rest of the fur-look makes me think of winter (even though she wears very little...) but the pants are more like frilly floral summer pants. The rest of the look goes well together but the shorts don't seem to have anything to do with anything. Then there's the cream thing behind her, what is it? It looks cute but I'd rather it be a part of the outfit and not just hang there. Finally an utensil weapon is a good fit for a food themed girl. 5/10.

Manami Kawada Mia Laira

Uhhh... Here's another one of the designs that are kind of all over the place. My favourite thing is the porecelain pitcher-like shoes, that is a fun idea, and the detail on the pants is also good for making them not boring but also not too busy. But from waist up the outfit is very much a mess; I like many of the things about it but it could really use some pruning. Especially the headgear is distracting and unbalanced. Nice colour palette though, the pink and green details give it a more fresh look than if it was just all yellow. 3/10.

Kaya Tomari Tricker Heather

Not a huge fan of the art style here and the eyes in the staff gross me out. What I do like is the candy wrapper type pants, even if I'd like them a lot more if they were actual pants rather than... whatever these are called, chaps? Other than that I can't think of a lot to say about this one other than that it's nice how she's candy themed but not in as obvious a way as some of the others in this set. 3/10.

Suzume Yabuki Lufue Yuni

A candy witch! Love the doughnut staff, with all the icing and sprinkles! The cape is also lovely with how over the top it is with the frill levels and the icing pattern, though I'm not a fan of the frills inside the cape, they look stuffy. And... that's about it, she pretty much just put on a witch hat and a cape on top of a normal school uniform? But in this case I kinda like it, it gives variety from the other characters and the cape is interesting looking enough on its own. Personality-wise she looks like she'd be an annoying bratty character though... 8/10.

Hina Kujyou Mona Styla

She doesn't resemble any food that I know of but oh well. I really like this look, makes me think of some middle European folktales. Especially the cape thingy is really pretty with the flower embroidery and the cut is unique. Not a fan of the metal "wings" though and I think the design could use a bit more frills or something to look more like a magical girl, but still really like the look. 9/10.

Natsume Hoshigaoka Nebula Soleil

Can't think of anything that's wrong about this one but it just doesn't do anything for me. Maybe it's the art style? The three-layered train is cute, as is the bunny-ears ribbon on her back. The colour palette is nice and simple. Also there is a doughnut in her staff. The line of ribbons from her waist to the train, that's a good detail! But I really can't muster up a better reaction to this, but let's give some points for the ribbons. 6/10.

Hitori Kusaka Sunny

Her hair looks too heavy and bulky for my liking, but I like the idea that she has macarons circling the whole thing (also gotta love the coloured bangs). She too has a fork weapon but this time I don't care for it too much since it's just a fork with no fun details. As for her dress I like the subtle candy wrapper details, but I don't get what's going on with her skirt. Does she have some kind of tubes inside the folds or what? The dress is cute in its simpleness and the colour scheme is appealing but there's also a lot of stuff that doesn't quite work for me. 5/10.

Aria Itsuki Aria Citrus

The weapon is cute and there's stripes, but other than that there's not a lot that interests me here. There's... some frills and layers on the dress, and I guess the shoes are kinda nice, but... yeah. Nothing is technically wrong but I can't think of a single individual detail about the outfit that grabs my attention. Next! 3/10.

Mao Mizoguchi Lilia Chocolate

The floating cakes are deceptive since sadly there isn't actually any cake in her outfit. However there are those ball objects which I assume are candy, and they at least appear consistently through the design. The super layered skirt and the top with frills over one shoulder are a fun combo and the hair and the huge cream-like ribbon on her back balance the skimpy outfit nicely. Not a fan of the socks though and what is going on around her ankles? 8/10.

An Mitarashi Gentry Gold

Is this supposed to be dango? I ate dango once and it was not a pleasant experience, but let's not hold it against her. The design is a bit on the busy side with the details and I'd prefer she lose the purple, but many of the details are really nice. I especially like the sleeves, the matching hairpin and the shoes. Hair is also cute and I tend to really like multicoloured hair. Not a fan how the skirt is open at the side. 7/10.

--

Solis average: 5,7.

[illegiblewords]

ILLEGIBLE’S TOTALLY SUBJECTIVE FAVORITE EORZEA COLLECTION DESIGNS: FEMALE

I’ve mentioned in the past, the main thing that made me start playing FFXIV properly was seeing people’s character designs. I’m still honestly blown away by the creativity and range of approaches people bring to this game, so I’ve decided to be an absolute madwoman and break my favorites into subcategories to share with anyone curious.

And to be clear. I’m not going to do something so broad as “oh top ten in-general :3″ because that would be sensible. No, I’m going to do it for all the current combat jobs. And all the current races. And different genders within the races and combat jobs as things stand. And I’m going to make a face-focus subcategory. And there are gonna be LOTS. Because I seriously cannot understate how inspired I’ve been by this community, and after however many years I just feel the need to vomit some incredible visuals I’ve encountered at you guys lol.

NOTE: In an abundance of caution, I want to stress this list isn’t a value judgment on anyone but a fragment of things that blew me personally away. Looking at the DRK sections it will be immediately clear that I Illegible really like that edgy dark knight aesthetic lmao, but there are plenty of non-edgy dark knights that I also love to bits. Other people might not like edgy dark knights. Due to a combination of size and search constraints plus trying to keep gear somewhat varied, these glamours are just what wound up on this particular list of mine. I could make another list one day. Other people can make lists too that are totally different.

Also, I was originally going to make a single post that went over male and female options presented in the character creator but straight up tumblr wouldn’t let me save because it got too big. You can see the male character post here.

Without further ado, let us begin.

COMBAT JOB GLAMOURS

PALADIN

- Sword Oath by Ariadne Lacroix

- Chevalier by Erin Arckanger

- Neo - Halone’s Sword by Goelia Sarantia

- Commander by Nya Nya

- Bellona - Goddess of War by Aurora Hearts

- Kirin by R'yo Aderyd

- In All Innocence by Lohia Aihol

- Pink Paladin Princess by Mepis Pheles

- Protector of the Creed by Kirin Anderfels

- Ivalician Spud Knight by Augwyn Usynthota 

WARRIOR

- Savage by Ihon Nuzhysa

- Bonk by Toasty Steambun

- Vinland Reaver by Tenpenny Tiffany

- Insurmountable by M'rhene Tia

- Cerberus by Lohia Aihol

- Freyja by Ihon Nuzhysa

- Warrior by Beso' Neko

- Fierce Red by Verona Lunich

- Regal Warrior by Sonora Swift

- KWEH!-rrior by Nitus Hyenborn

DARK KNIGHT

- Demon Knight by Ihon Nuzhysa 

- Demon DRK by Rosdy Mry

- Abyss by Vexa Crow

- Ritter by Miyu Fubuki

- Berserker princess by Allia Aenor

- Abaddon by Alma Sophia

- Furnace Knight by Tenpenny Tiffany

- Dark Divinity by Siren Sokute

- Absolution of Faith by Paragon Moon

- Druid DRK by Rosdy Mry

GUNBREAKER

- Flux by Flash Galathynius

- Ending SB by Una Veil

- Soldier E-075 by Ihon Nuzhysa

- Lost Allagan Future-Punk Knight by Nge Lik

- Neo - Wasteland Dust by Goelia Sarantia

- Blade’s Resolve by Erin Arckanger

- Sand Crawler by Sveta Raybrant

- Daring Gunbreaker by Radi Sativadi

- Bozjan Warfront by Keres Amiya

- Neo - Royal Guard by Goelia Sarantia

DRAGOON

- Leviathan’s Envoy by Ihon Nuzhysa

- Durium by Mihna Nhokiri

- Crimson Dragoon by Kotone Khatayin

- Heavenly Knight by Ciel Leblanc

- Gold Dragon Knight by Makenshi Dragonsbane

- Athena - The Goddess of War by Lohia Aihol

- Ryubi Warrior by Korkana Ryubi

- Native Warg by Schan Starfall

- Stranger from Across the Ruby Sea by Vederah Kilmister

- Onion Knight by Tess Tickle

SAMURAI

- Of Crimson Plumage by Cyrene Devana

- Crimson Wanderer by Sierra Delacroix

- Warmonger by Ethelin Aldren

- Yoroi of the Black Dragon by Mog Champ

- Cute war criminal by Nunui Nui

- Sirens Beckon by Adeline Grace

- Black Tide by Ihon Nuzhysa

- Kotetsu by Leisha Aysheen

- Neo - Universe’s Echo (SAM) by Goelia Sarantia

- Samurai Vagabond by Tranquil Rain

NINJA

- Midori no Ninja by Dezel Windriders

- Phtonos by R'yo Aderyd

- Neo - Flower Bowknot by Goelia Sarantia

- Church Assassin by Ien Torr

- Little Bat by Messenger Pigeon

- Birdkeep by Nya Nya

- Astrological Sign - Taurus by Leisha Aysheen

- The Nothing by Vederah Kilmister

- The Trickster by Little Toussaint

- Bloodborne-inspired Rogue by Valentyne Louvier

MONK

- Night Walker by Madoras Yorigami

- Elegant Scavenger by Mia Fletcher

- Wild Rose by Ihon Nuzhysa

- YAOI HANDS FROM HELL by Cool Mom

- Astrological Sign - Cancer by Leisha Aysheen

- Neo - Fist of Suzaku by Goelia Sarantia

- Sting Like A Bee by Arsibra Therion

- Orochi no Kaze by Liesel Mahora

- Heavensent by Ren Sakurai

- The Burn’s Wraith by Arsibra Therion

BARD

- Cherry March by Toasty Steambun

- Scarlet Vagabond by Rena Nox

- Suzaku’s Champion by Kotomi Krios

- Serpent Elite Hunter by Vesper Amaris

- Rathian by Nya Nya

- Obsolete Ribbon Bard by Karielle Davva

- Ronkan The Huntress by Raven Ashfell

- Peacock Elegance by Lohia Aihol

- Purple Rain by Franya Mohali

- Aoidos by Miyu Fubuki

DANCER

- Sidereal Goddess by Leisha Aysheen

- Crepuscule by Lohia Aihol

- Loving Blue Dancer by Kaisa Miyahara

- The First Ride by Kirin Anderfels

- Armored Bladedancer by Flower Blossom

- Masked Dancer by Aoi Umi

- Dancer of the Flame by Lohia Aihol

- Apothecary by Leisha Aysheen

- From sands to ashes by R'yo Aderyd

- The Monkey King by Stole Your'cat

MACHINIST

- Skysteel Valentine by Pastel Alerion

- Artic War by Ihon Nuzhysa

- Allied Officer by Mihri Ninaka

- Neo - doomsday by Goelia Sarantia

- bang bang shoot by Vegetable Juice

- Infiltrator: Lancehead and Gunmetal by Flash Galathynius

- Ruby Engineer by Lys Aludra

- GOBBIE BOOM! by Loki- Kun

- Wanderer: Dirt and Grit by Flash Galathynius

- Mysterious Stranger by Paragon Moon

BLACK MAGE

- Taker of Souls by Cassiopeia Fauconnoix

- Ruby Moon by Dezel Windriders

- The Dark Illusionist by The Fashionista

- Ferryman by Ien Torr

- Wayward Temptress by Atsinquela Athenruse

- Cybinki by Binki Bowie

- Wicked Wolf by Binki Bowie

- Black Mage by Fuu Min

- Neo - Demon Caller by Goelia Sarantia

- Paglth’an Black Mage by Erin Arckanger

SUMMONER

- Egyptian chocolate by Graceful Khamseen

- Summoner Goddess by Noire Faye

- Broken Nobility by Ylynna Aethis

- Black Bishop by Rosdy Mry

- Caller by Nya Nya

- Cute Magical Assistant by Lohia Aihol

- The Magus’ Apprentice by Pastel Alerion

- Oracle by Vesper Amaris

- Bismark by Lohia Aihol

- Siren Call by Atsinquela Athenruse

RED MAGE

- Aristocratic Intellectual by Vederah Kilmister

- Neo - Top Student by Goelia Sarantia

- Diligent Musketeer by Nitus Hyenborn

- Battle Bride by Rena Adyrin

- Neo - Golden Dance by Goelia Sarantia

- Elegant Musketeer by Yoko Okoy

- Meadow Musketeer by K'uro Hana

- Bozjan Duelist by Livia Illia

- Battlemage by Sagume Kishin

- Ruby Mage by Cyane Monis

- Caster of a Thousand Steps by Burning Heart

WHITE MAGE

- Shadowless Healer by Vinilite Beoulve

- Gridanian Medic by Luna Ariana

- Sands of Time by Ihon Nuzhysa

- Fae Healer by Amaya Nakamura

- Legacy by Larisse Larassier

- Neo - Silence Demon by Goelia Sarantia

- Vampire Chronicles by Ihon Nuzhysa

- Neo - Theresia by Goelia Sarantia

- Mechanic Heart by Ashia Luin

- Greatwood Druidess by Isilian Volantia

SCHOLAR

- Neo - Steam:Dream by Goelia Sarantia

- Timekeeper by Lohia Aihol

- Scholarly Grace by Joyce Blythe

- Neo - Checkmate by Goelia Sarantia

- Neo - Admiral by Goelia Sarantia

- Curator of the Great Library by Vederah Kilmister

- Fae Scholar by Miyu Fubuki

- Sharlayan Schooler by Lia Tales

- Druidic Knowledge by K'uro Hana

- Fairy Tales by Luma Rose

ASTROLOGIAN

- Sharay by Leisha Aysheen

- Oracle by Xiah Bajihri

- Ice Sight by Juicy Beefcake

- Winter Vibes by Verona Lunich

- Soothsayer by Nya Nya

- Goddess with a thousand jewels by Eji Ka

- Astrological Sign - Geminis by Leisha Aysheen

- Dark Astrologian by Zabine Fortemps

- Neo - Aromatherapy by Goelia Sarantia

- Cosmo Astrology by Katie Kox

BLUE MAGE

- I’m Just A Fool by Lohia Aihol

- azure by Persephone Athanasios

- Cute and Blue by Lia Tales

- Sapphire by Hana Rose

- No title by Goelia Sarantia

GLAMOUR SPILLOVER

HYUR MIDLANDER

- Skydruid by Dezel Windriders

- Shield of the Light by Ezelion Rykana

- Drachen by Nya Nya

- Jade Dragon by Ophelia Au'rel

- Faerie King by Naleia To

- Villainous Stride: Stalwart by Celer Acedius

- Souls Legacy by Ihon Nuzhysa

- forgiven impunity by Persephone Athanasios

- wanderer by Persephone Athanasios

- Off With Their Heads! by Binki Bowie

FAVORITE MODELS:

- Faerie King by Naleia To

- Makai Elemental Guide by Shard Nuphar

- Shield of the Light by Ezelion Rykana

- Discount Red Mage by Bb Channel

- Off With Their Heads! by Binki Bowie

HYUR HIGHLANDER

- Tequila Sunrise by Kirin Anderfels

- Flame Kissed Soother by Karielle Davva

- Dancer of Ala Mhigo by Tenpenny Tiffany

- Vampire Hunter by Dezel Windriders

- The Red Princess by Asra Ashryver

- Black Hare by Lominn Lomi 

- Overseer by Ien Torr

- Falcon of Light by Tess Tickle

- Waiting in the Shire by Tess Tickle

- Alexandrian Ninja by Tranquil Rain

FAVORITE MODELS:

- Warmonger by Ethelin Aldren

- Bozjan Warfront by Keres Amiya

- The Red Princess by Asra Ashryver

- Black Hare by Lominn Lomi

- Vampire Hunter by Dezel Windriders

ELEZEN

- Alexandrian Huntress by Louise Aquitaine

- The Forgotten Knight by Nova Kie

- Halone’s Royal Guard by Isilian Volantia

- Theatrics by Giomeo Wind

- Aeolian Tempest by Ariadne Lacroix

- East Hingashi Company Admiral by Louise Aquitaine

- Death’s Embrace by Ophelia Au'rel

- Seeing Leadwitch by Flash Galathynius

- The Golden Dahlia by Yurina Dia-oerb

- Wings of Fate by Louise Aquitaine

FAVORITE MODELS:

- Theatrics by Giomeo Wind

- Vinland Reaver by Tenpenny Tiffany

- Legacy by Larisse Larassier

- Eorzean Army Lady by Dezel Windriders

- Wandering Weaponmaster by Ariadne Lacroix

LALAFELL

- Winter Doll by Lohia Aihol

- Pistachio Colored Velveteen by Corrigible Argyros

- Flippant Eulmoran by Vederah Kilmister

- Priestess of the East by Liesel Mahora

- Samurai of Darkness by MsYue

- Lominsan Guardian by Mizora Saphira

- Valerian Hunter by Ashia Luin

- Wolf Warrior by Lalatua Ul'tua

- Breath of the Wildwood by Vederah Kilmister

- Fields Little Demoness by Liesel Mahora

FAVORITE MODELS:

- Cute war criminal by Nunui Nui

- Fierce Red by Verona Lunich

- Priestess of the East by Liesel Mahora

- Winter Doll by Lohia Aihol

- Pistachio Colored Velveteen by

MIQO’TE

- Mercantile Machinist by Nadya Lesrekta

- Western Ninja by San Kyu

- Astrologian Noble by Amira Lynn

- Gemmaster's Collection - ft. body piece by Sonora Swift

- Meiyo by Lohia Aihol

- Bozjan Thief by Specter Saruu

- Lavender Knight by Lohia Aihol

- Lycan by Aya Mihaal

- Desert Mirage by Lohia Aihol

- Aloe Vera by Lyn Saikuma

FAVORITE MODELS:

- Lycan by Aya Mihaal

- Mercantile Machinist by Nadya Lesrekta

- bang bang shoot by Vegetable Juice

- Dancer of the Flame by Lohia Aihol

- Bozjan Thief by Specter Saruu

ROEGADYN

- Blonde Ale by Kirin Anderfels

- Edenchoir Holy Knight by Marien Fury

- Dark Fae by Sahl Suh

- Thaliak’s Maiden by R'yo Aderyd

- Paladin II by Fuu Min

- Electric Princess by Anais Silverclaw

- My my, such unruly guests! by Sarafina Vadrel

- The Regal Magister by Rohariel Hellwitch

- Green Riding Hood by Tranquil Rain

- Assassin of the sands by Graceful Khamseen

FAVORITE MODELS:

- From sands to ashes by R'yo Aderyd

- Ice Sight by Juicy Beefcake

- Blonde Ale by Kirin Anderfels

- Dust and Shadows by Sarafina Vadrel

- Egyptian chocolate by Graceful Khamseen

AU RA

- Astrological Sign - Pisces by Leisha Aysheen

- Edenmorn by Kyary Valentine

- Amaranthine by Atsinquela Athenruse

- Garlean Warlord by Teresa Stormhand

- Wandering Priestess by Toasty Steambun

- Queen of the South by Leisha Aysheen

- Baphomet by Madoras

- Lone Wonderer by Bright Dancer

- Druid by Leisha Aysheen

- Dreadnaught Viking by Ormr Kishna 

FAVORITE MODELS:

- Midori no Ninja by Dezel Windriders

- Garlean Warlord by Teresa Stormhand

- Dreadnaught Viking by by Ormr Kishna

- Demon Knight by Ihon Nuzhysa 

- Ivalician Oni by Leisha Aysheen

VIERA

- Yanxian Rounin by Siddh Brumedecendre

- Wealthy Merchant by San Tokki

- Desert Dancer by Erzulie One

- Dark Knight Guard by Valentyne Louvier

- Sands of Amber by Erzulie One

- Worthy Sacrifice by Erzulie One

- Lilac Wicca by Clodagh Lunaria

- Royal Musketeer by Ashia Luin

- Violet Tides by Siddh Brumedecendre

- Street Style by Yoko Okoy

FAVORITE MODELS:

- Rathian by Nya Nya

- Explorer by Yliana Oria

- Paglth’an Princess by Ximena Reign

- Cosmo Astrology by Katie Kox

- Desert Dancer by Erzulie One

[kuipernebula]

Anyway as much as I’m gonna love being Reaper and Gunbreaker in Endwalker, I’m really looking forward to whatever caster we get in 7.0 which will hopefully be a DoT caster (now that Summoner isn’t one)

My guesses go to Geomancer (Please, with a bell for a weapon and ground-placed DoT’s) or Mystic (Curses/Shinigami possession as DoT’s, uses a rosary or a fan)

Or they’ll listen to the wild amount of fans asking for Green Mage? Probably using a mace (or if they’re really wild, a racket based on the Selkie weapons from Crystal Chronicles) which would be neat entirely for it being a Melee-range caster. Dunno how its support side would work since it needs support abilities far more than Red Mage does, but Dancer’s suite of Utility provides a good groundwork for potential support-caster abilities.

[monstersdownthepath]

Spiritual Spotlight: Chucaro, Maiden of Haze and Whimsy

Chaotic Good Azata Empyreal Lord of Dreams, Hallucinations, and Mists

Domains: Chaos, Good, Madness, Magic Subdomains: Azata, Insanity, Revelry, Whimsy

Chronicles of the Righteous, pg. 10

Obedience: Drape yourself in gauze and eat hallucinogenic mushrooms or fungi while meditating on the teachings of Chucaro. Benefit: Gain a +4 sacred bonus on saving throws against poison.

I can’t recall having ever seen a Good-aligned god of drugs (though Pathfinder does contain two or three Good deities of madness!), so this is a refreshing change of pace. Rather than demonize the whole practice, Chucaro here advocates for responsible and safe use, like what you have to do when performing your Obedience! Somewhat restrictive in that you can only munch hallucinogenic mushrooms, of which very few are actually statted out (rather than the more commonly available Flayleaf), leading to the necessity of DM fiat. You can always get around the complication by growing your own fungi in a dank terrarium in your Bag of Holding, or you could plop a bunch of ranks in Survival to always be able to scavenge up a nice loopyshroom no matter your environment.

In times of troubles when you can’t find some good fungi, I think Chucaro would allow you any old hallucinogen, such as the commonly available Pesh (and, again, Flayleaf). This is definitely one of the Obediences you can’t do if denied your inventory, though, as it also requires a bit of gauze--not enough to wrap yourself up, but just enough to ‘drape yourself’ in it, making you look kind of like you walked into a spiderweb. The gauze and ingesting of hallucinogens also makes it one of the better Obediences to do just before you go to bed rather than when you first wake up; as a goddess whose portfolio includes drug-induced dreams, I’m sure she’d appreciate your before-bed trip as well.

The benefit is one we’ve seen before. It’s a little on the weaker side, but preventing stat damage from poison will save you and your party some gold in the long run, and it means the casters will have one or two extra spell slots available that would have otherwise been used on Neutralize Poison. Ironically, it doesn’t prevent you from becoming addicted to your nightly fungus crunching, because addiction is, mechanically, a disease! Be careful! 

Boons are gained slowly, typically achieved once you reach 12, 16, and 20 Hit Dice. Followers of the Empyreal Lords, however, can enter the Mystery Cultist Prestige Class at level 8, which grants them their Boons much quicker! Entered as early as possible, you gain the Boons at levels 10, 13, and 16 instead. Mystery Cultists MUST take the Celestial Obedience feat, NOT Deific Obedience.

Empyreal Lords do not grant the typical Evangelist/Exalted/Sentinel spread, instead having only one set of Boons granted to their followers regardless of their class.

Boon 1: Kaleidoscopic Images. Gain Color spray 3/day, Hypnotic Pattern 2/day, or Gaseous Form 1/day.

I’ve stated multiple times in past articles that Gaseous Form’s biggest weakness is the absolutely crippling movespeed reduction it slaps you with, capping your cloudy shape at 10ft/round, limiting its use as an effective scouting tool or a method of escaping some nasty situation, except perhaps in the rare cases where you have access to vents or a window out of a preposterously tall tower. The actions you can perform while gaseous are painfully limited, and it can’t even really be used to stealth around since you still look like you, just cloudy.

Plus, it’s up against Color Spray and Hypnotic Pattern. Both of them excel in knocking minions out of the fight, with Pattern’s 10+2d4 HD limit potentially lets it affect boss-level monsters, or at least their larger minions, freezing them in place for as long as you can keep concentrating on the effect. Not only is it useful in battle, but throwing it out as a distraction before a fight even begins can work as well, keeping a guard’s eyes off you or redirecting the attention of civilians elsewhere.

And Color Spray? A classic, always useful... Provided you don’t mind getting within 15ft of your enemy, or multiple enemies. It’s at its most powerful at low levels, but you’re going to be at 10 when you finally get this power, so its saving throw (11+Cha) is struggling to keep up with the enemy’s rapidly growing saves. At its best, it’s a 1-round stun against foes kind enough to line up in a 15ft cone. At its worst, you’ve essentially gotten into melee range of your foe. I’d stick with Hypnotic Pattern. 

Boon 2: Wispy Form. Your body becomes misty when you are under attack, diluting the damage of edged weapons. Though outwardly you appear the same, you gain DR 5/bludgeoning.

This is one of those Boons that’s great, but difficult to talk about since it’s a simple mechanical bonus with little room for creativity. It’s a one-size-fits-all Boon that benefits literally any class it’s slapped on, subtracting 5 damage from pretty much every melee attack (characters with bludgeoning weapons are remarkably uncommon--swords are cool!) you see coming your way. You want it as a frontliner because it’s extra protection, you want it as a midliner because it makes getting caught out easier to handle, and you definitely want it as a backlner because suddenly taking physical damage likely means your life is about to meet an abrupt end. Having 5 whole free DR against the most common physical damage types can be a world of difference!

That’s all I can really say here, unfortunately, because at the end of the day it is just a simple buff.

Boon 3: Terrible Reverie. 1/day, you can cast Weird.

And this, this is much more fun to talk about. We haven’t seen Weird as a Boon before, and one look at what it actually does may give you a hint as to why: It’s a mass Phantasmal Killer with no limit to the number of creatures it can target. Far from the pathetically crunched version some people may get disappointed by in 5e, Pathfinder’s Weird is the widest Save-Or-Die effect available to players, able to affect entire crowds so long as none of them are more than 30ft apart and plucking their lives from them in a single instant. To say you can clear a room is an understatement; you can clear an entire city if it’s densely packed enough.

Good thing you’re a good guy!

It’s not all sunshine, roses, and horrifying death, though. Phantasmal Killer has some pretty hefty downsides: namely, it’s a mind-affecting, emotion, AND fear effect, meaning it’s unlikely to affect higher-end Outsiders and is utterly useless against Constructs, Undead, Plants, and most Oozes and Vermin. However, it’s notably NOT a death effect, so creatures relying on immunity to instant death effects without making themselves immune to mental attacks is still vulnerable to Weird.

The other biggest weakness is that Phantasmal Killer and, thus, Weird require the subject to fail two saves, first a Will save to fail to realize the illusion is an illusion, and second a Fortitude save to keep from having a fatal heart attack as fear overwhelms them. The good news is that succeeding the Fortitude save still causes the target to take 3d6 damage, 1d4 Str damage, and become stunned for 1 round, so it’s still potentially a Save-Or-Suck if your party can capitalize on the enemy losing their next turn.

The third but perhaps most dangerous weakness, however, is that if the victim of Weird succeeds the Will save to disbelieve the illusion and they possess telepathy, they can send the attack back to you and force you to make a save against it. Now, I can’t find any particulars on how Weird’s mass-terror interacts with this particular rule from Phantasmal Killer, but for the sake of safety, I would avoid hurling into a crowd of minions with telepathy, lest they force you to make dozens of saves to avoid being terrified to death.

Still a good spell, but just be careful with who you send it against!

You can read more about Chucaro here.

[lornaslibrary]

Fantasy

Last week I asked you to recommend your favourite fantasy books. These are all the books that were recommended!!

Bold = the books I’ve read * = the books I personally would recommend + = want to read/on my TBR

Shadow and Bone (The Grisha Trilogy #1), by Leigh Bardugo *

Six of Crows (Six of Crows #1), by Leigh Bardugo *

King of Scars (The Nikolai Duology #1), by Leigh Bardugo +

Girls Made of Snow and Glass, Melissa Bashardoust +

Range of Ghosts (Eternal Sky #1), by Elizabeth Bear

Chime, by Franny Billingsley

Three Dark Crowns (Three Dark Crowns #1), by Kendare Blake

The Halloween Tree, by Ray Bradbury

Ninth Grade Slays (The Chronicles of Vladimir Todd #1), by Heather Brewer

The Wolf in the Whale, by Jordanna Max Brodsky

Our Bloody Pearl (These Traitorous Tides #1), by D. N. Bryn *

A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce

Spellslinger (Spellslinger #1), by Sebastien de Castell

Traitor’s Blade (Greatcoats #1), by Sebastien de Castell +

The City of Brass (The Daevabad Trilogy #1), S.A. Chakraborty +

The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo

To Kill a Kingdom, by Alexandra Christo *

The Bone Witch (The Bone Witch #1), by Rin Chupeco +

The Iron Trial (Magisterium #1), by Cassandra Clare & Holly Black

The Dark is Rising, by Susan Cooper

London Falling (Shadow Police #1), by Paul Cornell

The Fire Within (The Last Dragon Chronicles #1), by Chris D’Lacey

The King’s Bastard (King Rolen’s Kin #1), by Rowena Cory Daniells

Kings of the Wyld (The Band #1), by Nicholas Eames

We Hunt the Flame (Sand of Arawiya #1), by Hafsah Faizal

Bitter Greens, by Kate Forsyth

The Skylark’s Song (The Skylark Saga #1), by J. M. Frey

The Untold Turn (The Accidental Turn #1), by J.M. Frey

Neverwhere (London Below #1), by Neil Gaiman

The Written (Emaneska #1), by Ben Galley

The Sentinel Mage (The Cursed Kingdoms #1), by Emily Gee

The Goose Girl (The Books of Bayern #1), by Shannon Hale

Seraphina (Seraphina #1), by Rachel Hartman +

Assassin’s Apprentice (Farseer Trilogy #1), by Robin Hobb

Fool’s Gold (The Dragon Lords #1), by Jon Hollins

The Snow Child, Eowyn Ivey

Wintersong (Wintersong #1), by S. Jae-Jones

The Traitor God (Age of Tyranny #1), by Cameron Johnston

Howl’s Moving Castle (Howl’s Moving Castle #1), by Diana Wynne Jones

The Dark Lord of Derkholm (Derkholm #1), by Diana Wynne Jones

Fires of the Faithful (Eliana’s Song #1), by Naomi Kritzer

The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis

Monstress, Vol 1: Awakening (Monstress #1), by Marjorie M. Liu and  Sana Takeda +

Ash, by Malinda Lo *

First Watch (The Fifth Ward #1), by Dale Lucas

Down Among the Stick and Bones (Wayward Children #2), by Seanan McGuire +

Middlegame, by Seanan McGuire +

Chalice, by Robin McKinley

Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass #1), by Sarah J. Maas

Blood’s Pride (Shattered Kingdoms #1), by Evie Manieri

Finnikin of the Rock (Lumatere Chronicles #1), by Melina Marchetta

Wildwood Dancing (Wildwood #1), by Juliet Marillier

Heart’s Blood, by Juliet Marillier

The Summoner (Chronicles of the Necromancer #1), by Gail Z. Martin

A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire #1), by George R.R. Martin

The Orphan Queen (The Orphan Queen #1), by Jodi Meadows

Veiled Intentions (The Dragon’s Blade #2), by Michael R. Miller

The Philosopher’s Flight, by Tom Miller 

Lud-in-the-Mist, by Hope Mirrlees +

Girls of Paper and Fire (Girls of Paper and Fire #1), by Natasha Ngan +

Sabriel (The Old Kingdom #1), by Garth Nix

Uprooted, Naomi Novik 

Here, There Be Dragons (The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geograpica #1), by James A. Owen

Eragon (The Inheritance Cycle #1), by Christopher Paolini

East (East #1), by Edith Pattou

The Kiss of Deception (The Remnant Chronicles #1), by Mary E. Pearson

Sorcery of Thorns, by Margaret Rogerson

Forging Divinity (The War of Broken Mirrors #1), by Andrew Rowe

Carry On (Simon Snow #1), by Rainbow Rowell

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Harry Potter #1), by J.K. Rowling *

The Final Empire (Mistborn #1), Brandon Sanderson

A Living Nightmare (Cirque du Freak #1), by Darren Shan *

The Priory of the Orange Tree, by Samantha Shannon

Tantalize (Tantalize #1), by Cynthia Leitich Smith

The Chronicles of Ixia, by Maria V Snyder +

The Scorpio Races, by Maggie Stiefvater

Shiver (The Wolves of Mercy Falls #1), by Maggie Stiefvater

The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle #1), by Maggie Stiefvater

Beautiful Creatures (Caster Chronicles #1), by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl 

Strange the Dreamer (Strange the Dreamer #1), by Laini Taylor *

Empire in Black and Gold (Shadows of the Apt #1), by Adrian Tchaikovsky  

The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien

The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien  

The Trials of Morrigan Crow (Nevermoor #1), by Jessica Townsend 

Dragon Weather (The Obsidian Chronicles #1), by Lawrence Watt-Evans

The Black Prism (Lightbringer #1), by Brent Weeks  

The Cloud Roads (Books of the Raksura #1), by Martha Wells

The Happy Prince and Other Tales, by Oscar Wilde

A House of Pomegranates, by Oscar Wilde 

Dealing with Dragons (Enchanted Forest Chronicle #1), Patricia C. Wrede

[dnd5a]

Chain Marches v1.1

After two months of work and over six months of game, Chain Marches hits v1.1! With this update comes the Junior Officer system and significant balance changes to the main game.

CHAIN MARCHES V1.1 HANDBOOK

JUNIOR OFFICERS

With statistics and systems of their own, the Junior Officers are here! They fight directly at your side, attacking with you, using their own special powers. Pick from a long list of templates and re-flavour them into your Junior Officers.

Read up on the Junior Officer Booklet for details on how your new junior officers work.

ROLES

ANTIQUARIAN Antiquarian has proven time and time again that it is the ‘because I have to’ pick for casters, who largely only take it because someone else stole Arcanist. This is going to be fixed by making them the most versatile of all the roles, by giving them multiple powers.Note that each role power can be used once, so an antiquarian can use both Shutdown and Risk Assessment in the same quest.

New - Power: Risk Assessment Cost: 5 Leadership

At the start of your turn, you may choose a number of creatures within 30 feet of you up to your proficiency bonus. For each of those creatures, you may ask the DM three of the following questions about that creature, learning the answer:·      The creature’s AC.

The creature’s physical ability scores: Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution.

The creature’s mental ability scores: Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma.

The creature’s damage vulnerabilities.

The creature’s damage resistances.

The creature’s damage immunities.

The creature’s condition immunities.

Whether the creature has any special senses, what those special senses are, and the distance they reach to.

If the creature can cast any spells, and the highest level of spell available to it.

COMMANDER The lieutenant’s Field Control is an excellent ability that everyone seems to always enjoy, and the fact that Commanders don’t seem to have anything like it is somewhat disheartening.Commander’s Voice isn’t really an effect of the role on the game, it’s just part of the Chain of Command, so changing it into something more interesting is more in tune.

Rework - Commander’s Voice At the start of each of your turns, you may choose a number of creatures within 30 feet of you up to your proficiency bonus. For each chosen creature, you may increase or decrease that creature’s initiative result by 1.

If moving a creature’s initiative would cause its initiative to overtake yours (which would cause it to lose its turn), it takes its next turn immediately after yours. Alternatively, if this feature would cause a creature to take a second turn in a round, that creature does not take a second turn.

NEW - DEFENDER We can always use more roles, and a role for tanks is an excellent idea

Prerequisites: AC of 18 or higher, proficiency in heavy armour Defenders act as front-line protectors of their allies, taking the hits so they don’t have to. The defend is first on the field, and last to go down.

Role Effect – Endurance Whenever a creature rolls damage against you, you reduce that incoming damage by an amount equal to half your proficiency bonus.

Role Power – Bulwark Cost: 10 Leadership Whenever a creature within 15 feet of you would suffer damage that is not poison or psychic type from a source that you can see, you may use your reaction, moving up to half your speed to an unoccupied space within 5 feet of the target. The target creature takes no damage and you take half the damage it would have taken otherwise. The target creature can then suffer no additional effects from the damage source.

MAN-AT-ARMS Gunslingers lacking access to man-at-arms seemed like an oversight, especially considering how exciting it is to pair with Dead Shot at 11th level

Rework - Prerequisites: Proficiency in marital weapons, smith’s tools, or a gunsmith’s kit

SCOUT Scout has proven to be the most powerful of all the roles, strictly because of this ability. The buff this gives to rogues and monks alone was just insane.

Nerf - Nimble Step: You can take the Dash action as a bonus action.If you can already take the Dash action as a bonus action, you gain an additional 5 feet of movement.

STANDARD-BEARER This power always seemed a little lacklustre, so adding more benefits and utility is probably a reasonable boost in strength.

Buff -  Plant the Flag: Grants a +1d4 bonus to the first attack roll creatures in range make each turn.

THE ASTRAL FORT

THE CHRONICLE When you write an entry to the chronicle, you do not gain company points. Instead, you gain the Chronicle’s Blessing on your next quest.

New - Chronicle’s Blessing: When you miss an attack roll, or fail on an ability check or saving throw, you may expend the chronicle’s blessing to succeed instead.

BOLSTERING The original bolstering system is very powerful, and much too cheap.

Now costs 25 Influence and only one object may be bolstered per quest.

MEALS The meal system in v1 was ok, but it was very poorly balanced. V1.1 aims to fix that.

Now costs 25 Influence per meal

Nerf - Arcane Meal:  Arcane meal was absolutely insane, and has been nerfed down to something more reasonable. You can now only deal damage to one creature with a spell of 1st level or higher.

New - Brilliant Meal: You gain a bonus to saving throws equal to half your proficiency bonus.

Removed - Chilled Meal & Spicy Meal: These two were never taken, and thus they’ve been removed.

Adjust - Might Meal: Removed bonus to attack rolls. Increased bonus to damage rolls as equal to half proficiency bonus.

New - Protective Meal: Choose one of the following damage types: acid, cold, fire, lightning, poison, or thunder. You gain resistance to the chosen type.

[dailycharacteroption]

Prestige Class Spotlight 9: Ritualist

 I figured I’d end off this week’s special with the other new prestige class from Chronicle of Legends, which is a pretty fun idea blending full spellcasting with a greater mastery over the occult ritual subsystem.

Occult rituals put magical powers within the hands of even non-spellcasters, and range from replicating various utility spells to complex and powerful magical effects that linger on a person or location, but they are often time consuming, expensive, and/or dangerous. As such, many spellcasters eschew them in favor of more reliable spells.

However, there are those that seek to master both spells and rituals to the fullest extent, adding practical teachings to improve rituals in various ways. These ritualists might be arcane researchers, or they might be heads of cults both benign or malevolent. Either way, they pack magical potential both practical and esoteric.

 As previously mentioned, ritualists are something of a rarity among prestige classes, as they have full spellcasting progression, so there is no loss of spellcasting for going into this prestige class.

Additionally, as they grow in power, they delve into the secrets of how various skills and vocations are used in a ritual context, allowing them to utilize said skills much more easily, but only for the purposes of said rituals.

They also learn new occult rituals much more easily than most.

Normally, pausing a ritual causes a ritual to be more likely to fail, but ritualists learn special incantations to keep the magic stable when postponing one of the rituals they cast that day.

Their knowledge of how to use skills in occult rituals bleeds over into other occult practices associated with certain skills, such as lay hypnotism, automatic writing, and dowsing.

Sometimes a ritual is deemed risky enough that a ritualist deems it necessary to practice a cautious version of it. While this is more difficult to do, it makes it less likely that a catastrophic failure event occurs if the ritual fails, though this is no guarantee.

On the other hand, sometimes a ritual cannot wait the full time it takes to cast, forcing the ritualist to use another technique to expedite the ritual, though of course this also makes the ritual difficult.

Sometimes things cannot be left up to chance with less skilled allies, and so ritualists sometimes take the whole burden of casting a ritual on themselves, allowing other participants to benefit without actually contributing. However this is taxing, and can only be done once per day.

Ideally, rituals should be performed somewhere out of danger and with minimal distractions, but such is not always possible. Still, they perservere, and these ritualists can maintain focus on the magic and complete the ritual even if their fellow ritual caster become incapacitated or indisposed during the ritual thanks to outside forces.

The most powerful of these mystics can finish rituals in record time even without making them more difficult.

Have an interest in the occult ritual subsystem and not concerned about capstone abilities? This prestige class may be for you, particularly if you also want to have full casting ability for your class. Obviously this prestige class is only as useful as the degree of which rituals make up the campaign’s play experience, but if they are, you could play a character that has a trick for everything, both with regular spells, and with rituals. The myriad of spellcasting builds with this prestige class are numerous, though I’d recommend a full casting class, since their biggest advantage is those high-level spells that they don’t miss out on because of the ritualist.

 With so many possible builds, ritualists could be anyone with the dedication to learn such obscure mystical arts. They likely have a large body of knowledge on other topics as their interest spreads into other areas as well.

  Just as surface dwellers struggled with the ocean, so too do aquatic races have difficulty with dry land. The locathah of Brenbal Bay have developed a way around this, magic rituals to bless either race to freely more in the opposing environment. They were blessed with this knowledge by one of the greatest locathah mystics of the age.

 Tapping into occult secrets, a cult dedicated to dark fertility has researched a ritual to bring a drakainia, one of the dreaded mothers of monsters, into this world. Worse still, the cult leader is extremely skilled at performing rituals, so merely slaying her aids will not be enough to prevent the summoning.

 The library of Zha Iranc once held knowledge of all manner of mystical and occult secrets. Sadly, it was lost with the city. However, they say that it still exists in the Dimension of Dreams, for those willing to seek it out.

[pencil-drawn-protagonist]

Spells of the Savant Wizard: Knights of the Round

5th level evocation

Casting Time: 1 action

Range: 60 feet

Components: V, S

Duration: Concentration, up to one minute.

This spell is creates 12 slim swords of radiant light that circle around the caster.

As a ranged spell attack action, the caster may send swords spinning into a target, each sword dealing 1d10 radiant damage on a hit.

As a reaction, the caster may have up to three swords intercept a melee attack against either the caster or a creature in range, adding +1 AC per sword.

When used as either an attack or a defense, the sword shatters into motes of sparkling light, and are considered expended.

This spell ends early if all swords are expended before the duration.

When cast as a spell of 6th level or higher, three additional swords appear, up to a maximum of 24 swords.

This spell is available for Paladins, Clerics, Eldritch Knights, Wizards, Chroniclers, Divine Sorcerers, and Celestial Warlocks.

For me, this spell was created for a more warrioresque caster, as opposed to the classically physically weak mages. It truly fits a paladin, in my opinion, due to it dealing radiant damage, as well as being able to be used for both offense and defense.

As always, feel free to critique or respond!

[b133d-4-u]

Korosion Chronicles Workshop #16

Pawning

A spell granted only to those deemed worthy by the Patrons, the Pawning ritual grants the caster the ability to mold a target's mind to their whim by forcing a battle of wills. The spell is directly taught by their patron, and as such each ritual is unique to them.

Rules and Regulations

•Each Patron's Pawning has a limiter to prevent disciples from amassing too much power too quickly. 

•Pawning can be interrupted, but the Pawn dies as a result regardless of the deity or progress. 

•Pawning requires an incantation unique to each Patron recited before beginning. 

•Pawning automatically removes any resistance to the Disciple, although Disciples can adjust this to suit their needs during the ritual. 

•Pawns retain their will, however unless the Disciple decides otherwise, they cannot act against the wishes of their masters. 

•Disciples can invoke extreme sensations from the sigils, ranging from pain to euphoria. 

•Pawns cannot be Pawned by another Disciple, unless afflicted by Godblight. 

•Even when afflicted with Godblight, Pawns can resist a Pawning with a strong enough will. 

Chants

Like all powerful magics, each pawning ritual has a deity specific incantation that disciples recite. Through the chant, the disciple invokes their patron deity and uses their power to grant incredible ability to the pawn.

Ortos

I call upon Ortos, the Elder, to bring this being under my care. With all the fairness I can muster, I invoke the damage of time in my goal to ensure safety for all who call this world home. As you become one with the passage of time, so too will your fate, and I grant you strength in your coming trials. By my command, become my Pawn! 

Kiraas

I call upon Kiraas, the Gavel, to bring this being under my rule. With all the power I can muster, I invoke the darkness of space in my goal to ensure law and order are maintained. As your body is removed from this plane, so too will your weakness, and I grant you strength in your coming trials. By my command, become my Pawn! 

Shakkar

I call upon Shakkar, the Phoenix, to bring this being under my wing. With all the knowledge I can muster, I invoke the flames of rebirth in my goal to ensure life and death continue as determined. As these flames consume you, so too will they invigorate you, and I grant you strength in your coming trials. By my command, become my Pawn! 

Dorinum

I call upon Dorinum, the Shadow, to bring this being under my control. With all the pain I can muster, I invoke the agony of pestilence in my goal to ensure the destruction of this world. As your body rots by my hand, so does your mind, and you become my eternal slave. By my command, become my Pawn! 

Balseer

I call upon Balseer, the Sigil, to bring this being under my tutelage. With all the wisdom I can muster, I invoke the energy of the universe in my goal to ensure knowledge is shared. As the energy fills your body, so too is the world, and I grant you strength in your coming trials. By my command, become my Pawn! 

Marrion

I call upon Marrion, the Forest, to bring this being under my growth. With all the nurturing I can muster, I invoke the tenacity of nature in my goal to ensure our world is not harmed. As these thorns break your skin, so too are your barriers, and I grant you strength in your coming trials. By my command, become my Pawn! 

Moriat

I call upon Moriat, the Chariot, to bring this being under my progress. With all the speed I can muster, I invoke the experience of labour in my goal to ensure life never stops moving forward. As your body is lifted, so too is your spirit, and I grant you strength in your coming trials. By my command, become my Pawn! 

Kairoban

I call upon Kairoban, the Anvil, to bring this being under my forge. With all the skill I can muster, I invoke the heat of the mountain in my goal to ensure those with skill never waste it. As your body is reforged, so too are your tools, and I grant you strength in your coming trials. By my command, become my Pawn! 

Teribos

I call upon Teribos, the Song, to bring this being under my spell. With all the emotion I can muster, I invoke the notes of my instrument in my goal to ensure free will is never limited. As your mind is filled with music, so too is your heart, and I grant you strength in your coming trials. By my command, become my Pawn! 

Corina

I call upon Corina, the Ocean, to bring this being under my contract. With all the greed I can muster, I invoke the waters of life in my goal to ensure profit is maximized. As your heart becomes ice, so too does your spirit, and I grant you strength in your coming trials. By my command, become my Pawn! 

Faeridor

I call upon Faeridor, the Hearth, to bring this being under my caress. With all the love I can muster, I invoke the warmth of a mother's embrace in my goal to ensure every life is loved. As your body becomes a mother's, so too do your duties, and I grant you strength in your coming trials. By my command, become my Pawn!

[ultra-mamajafali]

Protection Spell for Loved One in usa, new york, new jersey

Protection Spell for Loved One

The Chronicles of Protection Spell for Loved One With a protection spell, you aren't just confined to helping yourself. Often these spells are somewhat more complex and require a higher degree of concentration than those used for offense, but they're ultimately more rewarding. This spell has to be performed in the shape of a ritual in which you need a black candle, spring water, and a black bowl. It will successfully remove any charm cast on you by someone else. Spells may be used for offensive reasons and it's often these spells which are the absolute most publicized and frequently the most impressive. To sum up, protection spells are a potent type of spell and there is a massive range of reasons for applying them. This simple yet strong protection spell and charm are an exemplary instance of that easy truth. Prof Mama Jafali is the Most Powerful Spell Caster with 100% Guarantee, Private and Confidential. Talk to her Now and Solve your Problem. Phone or Whatsapp: +27731356845 Email: Sultanbahoo87@gmail.com Why Almost Everything You've Learned About Protection Spell for Loved One Is Wrong Violence should not be left unpunished. Punishment of your offender isn't your problem. In this manner, no harm can visit your residence, where your beloved individuals live. It's possible to think and revolve around the person for whom you need protection. It can help you to create a better situation for yourself and everybody in the family. I have a couple of questions relating to this talisman though and I was wondering in the event that you could answer them. Meditate around the idea about what is threatening you. It is going to only work properly if your head is focused entirely on what you making an effort to protect from, similar to the manner in which any other type of spell works. Until you know what it is that you would like to guard yourself against, there's no method of knowing which spell you will need to cast to guard yourself against it. Within this world, there are several likelihoods of harm or evil forces that may impact your nearest and dearest. Now we've got a chance to make the world know about doing it. And in the event of any help, don't hesitate to speak to us and we shall assist you in the best way possible. This might be the work of an enemy or someone who would like to do you harm. Give up the notion of revenge and punishment. This could help to highlight what originally led to the negativity or the problem and may allow it to be a lot easier to defend you from it. Family members and friends are quite important for a man and everyone always thinks about the betterment of their family members. We're available round the clock to provide you assistance. Wear it yourself for a day and a night on a sheet of string that is a bit longer than usual so that it sits in the middle of your chest (over the center of energy). The powers of a protection spell can be pushed out so as to add a degree of protection to anybody else of your choosing, which can be especially useful should you want to bring a spell to secure your home and everyone within it. This adds a fundamental amount of protection to your residence which ensures your house functions as the sort of safe haven that it needs to be. Prof Mama Jafali is the Most Powerful Spell Caster with 100% Guarantee, Private and Confidential. Talk to her Now and Solve your Problem. Phone or Whatsapp: +27731356845 Email: Sultanbahoo87@gmail.com Read the full article

[awaragainstboredom]

Writer’s Block: The RPG Method Part 2

I continue on with Rota’s background by adding in the other NPCs that have played an important role in her upbringing. I kind of had to go back an touch up on more with everyone of them. Though there are some like her father Beolf, that I haven’t done yet, because his is a more complicated tale, and also a lot of the plot with a lot of the characters in Rota’s backstory revolve around Beolf. At some point I will have to finish what I came up for with him. The same goes for Tsubame, Ilsa’s adventuring and life partner. I’ve always like the Avarial elves, and I came up with a clan that migrated to the eastern kingdom of Shou, where they were seen another form of Tengu, or Hengeyokai, and not as elves. Things to think about. Anyways, here you go:

Rota’s friends and family character background

Mother: Herja Grendelstadt   Class: Barbarian\Race: Tiefling (rumored to be descended from a Balor)\Age :(is only for wine) Ht: 6’7 and ¾\Wt:(Of her boot on your head if you ask this question)

Herja is brash, bold, loud and outspoken. Though she does come off as crass, she actually kind hearted and is ready to aid those she cares about when in need. Has no tolerance for idleness and laziness. She is quick to get to the point. She was really distant and even rougher around the edges in the beginning, being that she was raised by her father in the mountains and her later years by the man Thorin who killed her father in a duel (Thorin left her the farm before he passed away, because he owed it to her, and he knew his own two children didn’t want to keep it).

Of course when she became closer to her adventuring party, she started to warm up to people, but in her own brutish sort of way. Beolf, “The skald who never shuts up” would eventually marry and settle down with was a major element in her change. She shows everyone that she has moved on after his death, but is curious about how her husband really died.

Herja cares deeply for Rota, and wants her to be strong, so that she may be able to fend for herself and protect others. This is why she put her through a bunch of crazy training routines and made her work hard on the farm, from age 5 -12 and then at 18 after her first year of apprenticeship under Dragnar (in which she kicked her ass in a duel sent her back to Dragnar and scolded him for “shitty training”).

She also knows what it’s like to see your father die right in front of your eyes, and wants Rota to find strength inside herself with that tragedy. She waits to see her daughter again to see how her training has gone, and also she likes her, she guesses…

She also has two adopted siblings, who are Thorin’s children and are also tieflings. Olaf, who left the farm to become a sailor, and Kara, who left to learn the magic arts (rumors say she was a wizard school dropout, but is a powerful magic user).

Godfather: Touchstone (Real name unknown, or has forgotten) \Race: Human Class: Wizard/Hedonist\Age: (Whatever you want me to be…) \Height 5’9 Wt: 140

The genius (and handsome) wizard Touchstone was Rota’s Beolf’s closest (and handsomest) friend since he started adventuring. They met each other in Waterdarvia, after Touchstone got in a bind from gambling with some ruffians. Beolf , starving and lacking funds saw that Touchstone had plenty of coin(and plenty of good looks), and was able to fool the thugs and get away with(the fetching) Touchstone. In the end, he was going to use (the sexy) Touchstone to take his cash for deescalating the situation, but was up front with him about it. But (the striking)Touchstone knew that was his plan, and was looking for someone else to distract them while he would cast a spell unnoticed to get out of the situation. The opportunist saw the opportunist, and thus their (beautiful, but remember I am the prettiest) friendship began.

He took care of Rota when she was sent off to Hippocampus Scale at age 12 to be safe from Jarl Falken and his cult, and to teach her the magic she had always wanted to learn (a more fervent request seeing she wanted to find out what magic killed her father). Touchstone saw that Beolf always wanted to nurture her mind, so he made sure that she had plenty of books that He saw that she was really adept at learning spell formulas and theory (she learned it a lot faster than those who had been learning it at an earlier age in life), but the fact that she could not connect to mana meant she couldn’t go any further in Mage School.

However he didn’t give up on encouraging Rota to look at magic in different ways. And he had her tutor wizards that had issues with script or language barrier problems when it came to reading formulas and theory, and also tutored languages for those that needed it. He figured that her doing this she was able to make friends and be seen as reliable to students who were having a hard time in the Academy.

Another strength he saw in her was magic combat, and though she couldn’t cast spells, she was asked to come in to be the aggressor/protector in the lessons, and in turn learned a good deal on how to handle wizards straight ahead, and understanding what type of spell they might be casting themselves or for her. Touchstone also saw this as a good opportunity to boost her confidence against the students that bullied her, by understanding real life tactics (and a bit of physical dominance).

He saw there was a little spark inside of her that would allow her to be able to use magic, and thought that perhaps continuing with physical training might ignite that out of her releasing the magic power within her. And she thus at age 17 she was sent to learn under Dragnar, who could also help look after her and the book.

Touchstone is a master spell caster and a savant in understanding spells in formula and in action. He is also a hedonist, and probably would be considered to be among the Pantheon of Arch-mages. That is if he actually wouldn’t be running around embracing major amounts of debauchery. How he is an instructor at Hippocampus Scale is beyond a lot of people, but his lessons have a 100% success rate (so he says).

He is incredibly sardonic, acerbic, a big fan of gallows humor, a narcissist, and always has wine in hand. Despite all that, he is a caring individual, it’s just how he deals with things in life. He is very protective of Rota, and makes sure that he strengthens her mind to handle the trials of life (though he regrets he wasn’t able to help her with that awkward personality and anger she has as much as he wanted to).

He doesn’t feel bad that he gave her the book that her father was coveting from the cult, because with eyes on him at Hippocampus Scale, it was better off with her as she went to train under Dragnar. On a side note, Touchstone regrets getting her addicted to the “Darkblade Chronicles”, an epic series written by Val Ros’help about Sehl, a brooding Warrior Mage Half Moon Elf Damphir with magical longswords that are possessed by his dead siblings, who are also sorcerers.  

Weapon Master: Dragnar Fafnirson Class: Fighter\Race: Human (a child of a dragon blooded sorcerer)\Age: 48\Ht: 6’5

Rota’s master in her weapons training. The grizzled mountain of a man is also a close friend to Herja, Beolf and Touchstone. He is the son of heroes who were disappointed in him turning down learning magic to take up the sword. He was the reluctant leader of their adventuring party and would get into heated arguments with Herja about battle tactics being the brains of the operation. Dragnar is all about timing and patience, and understanding one’s terrain when fighting the enemy. They were also in an on and off relationship, before Herja started having feelings for Beolf. This caused Beolf and him to become rivals for Herja’s affection, but in the end she chose the bard. Dragnar, though bitter about them being together, was supportive of them and was always there for them. He even helped on the farm and gave gifts on the holidays.

When Touchstone couldn’t teach Rota anymore, he sent her to learn with him. Dragnar saw that her fighting style is wild like her mother’s, which made him work to reign in her rage and fight with more control. Though he also teaches her that you can’t be to controlled in fighting and must find a flow, and there is nothing wrong with cockiness in a fight as long as it remains in the “flow” and you can use it to psyche out your opponents.  

Dragnar believes: “Swordplay without swagger is like rain without clouds. Sure, it’s possible, but only because the wind brought it from a cloud in the first place. Just like that, your swagger will always be there in your swordwork no matter how distant you are to it.” Rota laughs at this advice, every time she thinks about it, and dubbed the “Dragnar Style” as: “Sword and Swagger”.

He sent Rota to meet her mother in a remote area, so that she could test out her daughter’s new fighting prowess after a year of training her. Herja won in small matter of time, and chewed out Dragnar for his “shitty training”. Ashamed, Dragnar spent the next 5 years training her more, and sent her out on her own to gain experience and hopefully will be ready to take on her mother and prove that she is strong enough to protect herself.

Five years after Beolf died, He and Herja had started seeing each other again,  on and off. Dragnar loves Herja, but knows that she only sees it as a physical relationship, because of Beolf. This is why he always gives out a long sigh when deep in thought. Rota, actually found out about it when she accidentally walked in on them making out, but was unnoticed. Touchstone knew before Rota and calls Dragnar “Your Mom’s Special Sword”.

The Dragnar Style is a known Two Weapon style ranging from an assortment of weapons, dragon wing like cross slashes and being adept at throwing them.

Secret Godparent: Ilsa Hildrsdottir Class: Ranger\Race: Dwarf\Age:??\Ht: 4’5\Wt: 90 lbs.

The cool and collective Ilsa. The ranger of the party, who originally left because of her partner and lover Tsubame died. Ilsa was a bounty hunter and Tsubame was an occult investigator. They worked mostly on occult based cases, and on one of their cases they clashed with Dragnar, Herja, Beolf, and Touchstone (Beolf called his group “The Spoilers”, much to his party’s dismay). Ilsa and Tsubame were bitter rivals with the other group, and would every once in a while run into each other for the same job. Eventually on a mission they ended up uniting their forces, which led to she and Tsubame becoming a part of the team, thus  making them a force to be reckoned with.

In the situation involving “The Order of the Unsung Rhyme”, summoning something from beyond that almost devoured the entire party, Tsubame called upon the power of her patron and sacrificed herself in order to save the rest of the party from death. After she died, the party was broken up, but not as much as Ilsa, who left the group because she was devastated and wished she went with Tsubame. A few years after Ilsa left the party, they disbanded, retired and went on with their lives. Ilsa had only come back to the world for Rota’s birth (in secret with Beolf and Herja), and Beolf’s funeral. Beolf’s death angered her even more and tempered her vow of vengeance against “The Order of the Unsung Rhyme”.

Ilsa has been the secondary form of insurance to protect Rota from within the shadows, finding out who would be a threat and who works for the Jarl and his cult.  Many a silent arrow shot, and many a throat has been slit, though Rota will never know. And in some way this acts as vengeance for Tsubame and Beolf.

When Rota went to train with Dragnar, Ilsa assisted her in Archery lessons, and speed. She did what she could to help her with walking silently, but just gave up. She taught her to read and speak Dwarven. Despite her gruff exterior, she is a very talkative person, and an avid reader, which is why she and Beolf got along so well. She and Rota go on and on about books they read, and she too is a fan of the “Darkblade Chronicles”, her favorite character is “Hard Target” the Dwarven Sniper Ranger with her bow, “Chill-bane” which is made from the bone of a frost giant’s spine. When they talk books, she sees a lot of Beolf in Rota. She also is a fan of sweets. She once almost killed Touchstone for eating her pie (This incident gave birth to Beolf song a called: The Pie Thief of the White Whale).

Though Touchstone and Dragnar don’t know it, but if anything was to happen to Herja and Touchstone, she would be the one to take care of Rota until she was old enough to be on her own.

[mahou-furbies]

The Caster Chronicles character design ranking (Aqua)

(source)

Remember when I did these? Only one more set left!

Other rankings:

Ignus - Terra - Aes - Silva - Luna

Ema Ashiya Chakoru Senti

I’ve never been a fan of tiny glasses like these, on an anime character they give me a stuck-up know-it-all vibe, but apart from them I like this one quite a lot. The gold embroided train with tassels looks majestic (and without it the character would look much less formidable), and with the militaristic vibe she looks like the reliable senpai who knows her stuff. The see-through heels that appear to have water inside are a nice touch. Hair’s kinda dumb though, I don’t think the carefree half-ponytail fits the otherwise more sophisticated look, and the fact that her hair seems shorter on the other side adds to the careless effect. 9/10.

Mahiru Inuzuka Canal 

Girl you have already outgrown that top, please get a bigger one.

The shoes that have a sailor collar is a fun touch and fits well with a water-themed character and a syringe is a unique weapon. However I find the design of the hat uncute, though with the belt tail it does create a fun sporty vibe for the character. Scarf is a little odd choice here, like otherwise she’s in a bikini top and hot pants so she shouldn’t need more warmth... but it’s a fantasy design so who cares. So overall mostly an alright design I guess but the top is just awful and ruins everything for me. 3/10.

Rui Saotome Deshi Lion 

Now here is the smart quiet character who will absolutely destroy you in a battle if you anger her, but she will be very polite about it. I like the skirt that is actually pants. And there’s stripes on the inside, that is attention to detail! The shirt hem is also fun, with the way it looks like it has pleats. In general I like this design in that it has really basic elements (sailor uniform & lab coat), but there are enough little details to make it interesting. Honeycombs are a bit odd choice here, but at least the shape repeats in her hair accessories and weapon, and gold looks great with the white-blue colour scheme. Weapon is too mecha for my tastes but otherwise a really solid design. 9/10.

Akira Nakaya Saira Treverse

She looks like a magical girl police officer, like I could imagine her as a side character who is first introduced showing up at the end of an episode after the heroes have done their thing and now it’s the authorities’ turn to get involved. Maybe the design is a bit on the busy side but I always love some stripes and sailor collars, and the metallic parts give it a nice official and formal vibe. 7/10

Kotoko Mizusaku Zoi Russel

A nice sporty sea witch design if we ignore the wardrobe malfunction. I like how it gives off this sinister seaweedy octopus vibe without having any actual tentacles or seaweed. Cogs are a bit odd design choice here, like nothing else in the look is steampunk, but at least they aren't too distracting and fit the colour palette. Also the weapon looks really cool. So ultimately I really like the idea of a young and energetic dark sea witch, but the top is just stupid, at least give her a bikini top under it or something. 6/10.

Shizuku Mizumoto Hilde Willow

Again a great weapon, let's start with that. But overall... The cut of the dress is kind of generic, so it's on the little details to make this design interesting. I always like the scalloped edges and jewelry dangling from bead strings is often a good idea as well. But other than that I can't think of much to say; the design is consistent, doesn't look overdesigned or completely forgettable, but I'm not particularly interested in it either. 6/10.

Karen Kashima Karen Urania

Not a fan of the cape thingy, it looks like it’s been starched and in general doesn’t seem like something that’s nice to move around in. Also is it just me or is there something wonky with the perspective? The head ribbon and her boobs just look like they’re at a weird angle for me. And not a fan of the pants either. Weapon is cool and the off-the-shoulder poofy sleeves are cute (though they give a royalty vibe which has nothing to do with the rest of the look), but apart from them I don’t really care for this one. 4/10.

Tomoka Nakamura Broom Spica

I like the fresh cool colour palette even if the design otherwise doesn't appear to have anything to do with ice. But it makes me think of refreshing cool water on a hot summer day so that's already a plus. Otherwise there's not much to say about this one, sailor collars are always nice I guess (and it appears she has two of them), the floral pattern is nice, hair looks cute and soft, and a fun weapon again, but overall not a very memorable look. 5/10.

Hakari Shikimori Lineal

From this angle at least that almost looks more like a belt than a skirt. Apart from that, that is some dedication to collars, in addition to the normal collar she also has a collar on her hat, skirt and shoes. And the green diamond thingy also repeats in many places. What I don't like is that the diamonds look too heavy and bulky on her hair, and also the skirt is too short, but overall... I guess I appreciate how consistent the look is. 8/10.

Kaede Himuro Lady Lupinus

The outfit itself doesn’t interest me at all, but there’s other things to talk about this one. The posture, expression and the droopy hair ribbon gives the impression that she really couldn’t care less. Relatable at times. But what does she measure? The only interesting detail here is the measurement tape theme, and I really want to know more about her powers. Thanks to this one detail I kinda like this design since it makes me think. 6/10.

--

Aqua average: 6.3

[ciathyzareposts]

Abandoned Places: Empty Frame

Spider webs posed a (mild) obstacle on some of this session’s dungeons.

           A second session with Abandoned Places has shown it to be an adequate but unmemorable Dungeon Master clone. Most of the things I initially liked about it–elements in which it departed from the usual Dungeon Master template–have not really compensated for a certain lack of imagination and challenge.

You’ll recall that the plot involved the resurrection of four long-dead heroes to save the land of Kalynthia from a new threat posed by a threatening figure named Bronakh. It turns out that I was missing a large part of the backstory, kept in a book separate from the game manual called The 23rd Chronicles of Kalynthia. The 40 pages of this book tell a Tolkienesque history, full of allusions, partial biographies, and heroes lost to history except for their names. It’s an impressive effort, one that suggests epic ambitions for the series that were frustrated by poor sales or lack of interest.

It’s probably not worth trying to summarize all of it, but I’ll cover it in broad strokes. Thousands of years ago, Kalynthia was an icy world with a technologically advanced population. The manual is written from the perspective of someone who doesn’t understand the ancient technology (“armored carriages that could release explosions of fire”), but the population clearly had firearms, bombs, airplanes, and tanks. Some leader named Zander united this world through a combination of diplomacy and conquest. A million-year peace followed in which the population built shining cities and fortresses, tunneled deep into the earth and built entire cities underground, and mastered the art of magic.             

A long backstory is delivered in a 40-page book with thick text and no illustrations.

              A warming of the world caused this ancient population to decline and vanished, replaced in dominance by the human creations of two gods, Kiri-Sam and Gardi. After several thousand years of tribal living, a figure named Drexel the Great established the first major civilization. Guilds of craftsmen and storytellers thrived in this civilization, and the most powerful of the guildmasters became the world’s first kings and queens.

Several generations later, a queen named Solara ruled a Camelot-like kingdom when a mysterious, dark, charismatic stranger named Zorin became her steward. Her husband died under mysterious circumstances, and she remarried Zorin, bearing from him a child named Bronakh. A “strange and willful” child, Bronakh exerted a power over his mother that caused her to disown her previous children and make one desperate attempt after another to please him. As she descended into insanity, Bronakh was raised by his wetnurse, a gypsy witch named Xonia. As he grew, he became lovers with Xonia’s daughter, Ellida. Anyone who spoke against him or Xonia suffered a mysterious death.           

Here’s a random shot of the guy who runs the jewelry shop in town.

           When Solara died, Bronakh declared himself king and Ellida used enchantments to help him win the support of the people. Solara’s older sons (Nikor, Igon, Drel, and Erik) raised an army to oppose Bronakh, but Ellida filled their heads with mistrust for each other, so that when the battle came, the brothers’ armies turned on each other and left Bronakh unharmed and victorious. However, Bronakh was mentally exhausted by the many glamours that he’d cast to get this far, and he ended up retreating to an island in the northwest and establishing his kingdom there. On the mainland, with the help of a great Council, the four brothers established four separate kingdoms.

Generations passed and peace reigned for a while, but eventually Bronakh stirred and began sending abominations to the mainland to threaten the populace. The citizenry had to retreat into walled cities to avoid certain death. The rulers of the four kingdoms decided to commission warriors and mages to clear the world of these monsters. Lacking the resources to establish a true army, they selected the 12 most talented specialists in war, magic, and healing, commissioning a Great Contest to suss them out. Bronakh tried to sabotage the contest by sending his own son, Ignis, to compete, but King Soron discovered the plot and destroyed Ignis by pouring a jug of holy water on his head. The 12 heroes did their jobs, and ultimately Bronakh was bound and tossed into a volcano. But the rulers knew that he was immortal and would eventually return, and thus they used magic to turn the 12 heroes to stone and stuck them in the Temple of Heaven’s Light to await the world’s need.         So this is all nice to know, but what strikes me more is how little it would have affected my experience of the game if I’d never found this document. Because as with Dungeon Master, the story is simply a framing story. Telling a more elaborate framing story is like putting a more ornate frame around a painting–it may be an interesting object in and of itself, but it doesn’t fundamentally change the experience of the central piece. What’s annoying is that Abandoned Places at first shows every intent of abandoning the framing story as the main plot device. It has an overworld with numerous interesting-looking locations. Wouldn’t it be nice if visiting those locations produced NPCs and encounters that referred back to the story? Perhaps a couple of places where knowledge of the story helps you solve a puzzle? Alas, the story hardly references actual locations on the map (it mostly contradicts it), and the places you can visit either have generic menu towns or nothing at all. You can’t even visit the different dungeons out of order. Thus, the overworld just becomes an interlude between dungeon levels in a game that otherwise plays like most other games in its sub-genre.         

I forgot to include the overworld map int he last entry. Here it is.

           We began last session with four of the heroes awakened. It is unclear why there were only four, who awakened them, and what happened to him. The four heroes had to fight their way out of the Tempe, make their way to the mainland, and visit over a dozen locations before finding anything to do at Souls Abbey. There, it wasn’t even clear that the (unidentified) person who greeted them knew who they were or why they were there; he simply sent them on a “prove yourself” quest to clear out monsters from a dungeon.

      The dungeon was a single 22 x 22 level with the same sort of navigation puzzles already described: buttons and levers on the walls, keys and keyed doors, squares of fire or water that you must avoid or take damage crossing, pressure plates, and illusory walls. There were enemies in the form of flying skulls and zombie-like humanoids.          

How did skulls acquire wings? How do they affix?

        When I cleared the monsters and returned to the abbey, the unidentified representative–again not suggesting that he knew anything about us–suggested we go seek the Book of the World in the “old library” at Kal Kalon. Kal Kalon is the capital of the land, with a full set of services, so I certainly didn’t mind the visit. I sold some excess equipment and leveled up before clicking on the “sage” icon option. There, another unidentified old man gave me permission to enter the library.          

Souls Abbey.

            The library was three levels, but fragmented so that they really only took up two 22 x 22 level spaces. Other than the textures suggesting books at certain points, the only thing the dungeon introduced was furniture that I had to push out of the way and cobwebs that I had to destroy. (The only way I could find to do it was with the priest’s “Fire Path” spell, but I feel like there must be other options.) Enemies included what looked like ghosts of priests and hairy monsters with long claws and razor teeth. In the end, I got the Book of Worlds and returned to the abbey.          

I don’t even have a placeholder name for these guys.

          It turns out that when you activate the Book of Worlds, it activates a little auto-map in the lower right corner. But it shows only a small space and doesn’t annotate puzzles or anything. I haven’t been mapping very faithfully for reasons I’ll discuss below, but if this were the sort of game where you really had to map, I don’t think the automap would do much to help you.           

Note the automap in the lower right window.

        Back at the abbey, the priest finally figured out that we were four of the 12 heroes from hundreds of years ago. He then said we’d find a valuable scroll at the Steps and sent us away again.

The Steps are a mountain range southeast of the abbey. From the manual, I learned that when searching for a dungeon entrance over a large area, you need to turn the “search” option on in the overworld interface. From a commenter, I learned that you needed to be dismounted for this to work. Eventually, we found the dungeon entrance.                

The Steps featured the first pit, and thus the first use of a rope.

             It was another pair of 22 x 22s. This dungeon introduced a pit that we had to climb down, explore for a while, and climb back up. Ropes we’d found plus my fighters’ “climbing” skills did the trick.     Finally, in this dungeon, we found our first item of armor–a suit of ringmail. I had begun to wonder if the game even had armor given that there’s no explicit slot for it. It turns out that the character figure in the inventory section has been reflecting armor all along. When I dropped the ringmail on a fighter, he gave up his previous suit of leather.           

My fighter wears a fancy new set of ringmail as we fight some kind of warrior.

            Enemies in the Steps were mostly skeletons and large, armored warriors. The culmination was a scroll that I couldn’t read. I took it back to the abbey, and the priest couldn’t read it either. He told me to take it to the “wise” at Kal Kalon. He, in turn, said that the scroll discussed the Ruling Symbols.             

The Ruling Symbols are some kind of magical items. They were created by a group of powerful spell casters to keep evil from Kalynthia. The work was completed too late. Evil got to them. Then after an adventurous fight of mighty heroes the items were brought back to the Council of Elders. They decided that these items may help forthcoming generations. So they cut the items into pieces, and hid the around the empire. Only the worthy ones can find them. You will need all of these artifacts to destroy Bronakh.

            The Ruling Symbols turn out to be three items: the Sword of Darkness, the Staff of Supremacy, and the Globe of Forthcoming. Each is in three pieces, leaving nine total pieces to find. For each piece, the first one will somehow lead me to the others. The scroll describes the location of each first piece: the Broken Isles, the Sands of Fire, and Seers Point. So it appears I have a bit of freedom at this point. I can start in any of those three locations and then either finish finding an entire item before moving on to the next, or find all “first pieces” before the seconds, and so on.             

The wise man doesn’t seem to care one way or another if I save the world.

           We’ve seen that Abandoned Places doesn’t break much new ground, although it initially seems to, in its narrative or game world. That leaves how it plays as a dungeon crawler, and as I said before, it distinguishes itself in neither mechanics nor challenge. To start, I haven’t suffered a single character death the entire game so far. In fact, I don’t think any of my characters have seen their hit points drop below 50%. Enemies hardly ever hit, and when they do, they don’t hit that hard.     Combat itself is unsatisfying. The cool-down period for attacks is just a little too long, so a lot of the time you and the enemy are just standing there looking at each other. Even if combat was faster and harder, the game lacks many of Dungeon Master‘s tactics. Closing them in doors doesn’t work. Combat waltzing (check the glossary!) doesn’t work because enemies are always facing you. Enemies have fixed patrol zones, so you can’t do the backpedal.           

Fighting a ghostly librarian in the library. Trying to close the door to crush him just closed it behind him.

          Meanwhile, the puzzles have also lacked any real challenge. They’ve all been of the find-the-switch-here-to-open-the-wall-there variety. I’ve been stuck a couple of times, but mostly because I failed to note a wall switch, or because I hadn’t yet tested every wall to see if it was illusory. As the game has progressed, the puzzles haven’t gotten harder so much as more distant, so a switch might open a wall on the other end of the dungeon, or even another dungeon level. Usually in games like this, I map everything I can without touching anything, then start experimenting witch switches and plates. I do it carefully because you never know when a switch might be temporary, or a plate might open one door but close another. But here, the causes and effects are so rudimentary that I’ve started activating every switch the moment I find it.           

The brick above the cursor is a button.

           Abandoned Places retains two quirks of Dungeon Master that have always annoyed me: inability to see the names of your enemies and inability to see weapon statistics. At least in Dungeon Master, you could track the damage done to enemies and basically figure out which item was better, but in Abandoned Places, the only feedback you get is whether you hit or missed. Naturally, the ease of combat makes it a lesser consideration for now. My characters have upgraded from clubs and daggers to short swords, maces, and axes. I’ve found two magic weapons: a magic club and a magic dagger. I gave the club to my cleric, who almost never gets to act in combat and thus has the lowest experience point total of the group (he gets most of his experience from “Minor Cure Wounds” and “Create Food” spells). To help him get more, I have him attack to the rear. After my fighters attack forward in combat, I spin around and give the cleric an attack or two. My mage remains aiming forward, as she can cast offensive spells past the fighters.  

Opening a chest with a key. You can see the mage’s spell list here.

         Miscellaneous notes:       

So far, no dungeons have allowed enemies to respawn. If I did end up feeling I needed a little grinding, I’d have to do it with random encounters in the overworld.

The game’s font makes a w look like an m. It’s driving me crazy.

             The mise maits the scroll before telling me what is mritten.

              I’ve found some missile weapons, including a bunch of shurikens, but picking them up after battle is annoying even in games where you desperately need them. There’s no chance I’m doing that here. 

I found a reasonable amount of gold in the last dungeon, plus lots of items to sell for more gold. I’m just hesitant to spend any of it.

               This dungeon room had piles of gold on the floor.

            Food depletes very fast, and “Create Food” doesn’t create much. I probably have to spend 5 minutes casting “Create Food” multiple times, passing it around, and eating it to get 15 interrupted minutes of dungeon crawling. Once characters are starving, they periodically lose 1 hit point, accompanied by an “oof!” I’m not sure, but I think the standard hit point regeneration might be faster than the 1 point they’re losing by starving, but the “oof!” is so annoying that I feed them. The whole system exists only to annoy you.

Half the time you try to visit some place in town, you get a screen saying that it’s “closed now.” Most of the time, if you acknowledge the message and try again a couple times, you can get in. Yet another thing that seems to exist solely to annoy.

Spellcasters get spells automatically on leveling up. So far, I’ve been relying heavily on the mage’s “Mage Bolt” and “Mage Cloud.”  My priest has a spell called “Death Clow”; I don’t know if it was supposed to be “claw” or “glow,” but either way it doesn’t seem to do anything. There are some other mysterious ones, such as the priest’s “Create Water” (characters don’t need water separately from food) and the mage’s “Teleport,” which seems to be the “recall” part of a “mark/recall” spell except I can’t figure out how to specify the “mark” part.

            Moving from the abbey to Kal Kalon.

             Late in this session, I was Googling around to see if I’d missed any documentation on spells. I took note of a walkthrough, checking out only what it said for the parts that I’d already played, and I realized that an entire facet of the game had escaped my notice. The Soul Abbey is one of only three possible places that you can wind up where they give you the initial series of quests. The other two are the castle called Twilight and Vo Marris on the Isle of Mists. Each one of them sends you to a different starter dungeon. The library at Kal Kalon is the same for all three, but then each sends you to a different place to look for the scroll. The three potential paths converge at the point where I am now. It’s an interesting approach that enhances replayability.

         I’m considering whether to declare that I’ve explored this one enough and just move on, not because it’s bad, but because it seems likely to take another 20 hours without offering anything substantially different. I’ll give it at least one more session and perhaps a quick scout of other sites to see if someone else has documented the endgame.

         Time so far: 9 hours       

source http://reposts.ciathyza.com/abandoned-places-empty-frame/

[jerrelltighe544-blog]

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