#spikerwolf5896

[timothylawrence]

A part of the character creator that bugs me is that for some of the races, they have POC faces for only half of the body types. I wanted to create a male Asian gnome, but that option wasn't available for the masc gnome body, only the other fem body.

What made it worse for me was masc gnomes only get like 1 or 2 poc heads with the rest being a bunch of very similar Caucasian heads.

Another big gripe I have with the CC is that muscle mass is fixed to body type. I get why they it, since making sliders is probably a development nightmare. But I feel a potential solution would be to have height and muscle mass be independent choices.

Please correct if I'm using the wrong terminology for the body types

Noooo I big agree... !! i've heard that complaint before and its 100000% valid, it just seems like such an oversight to lock faces onto body types idk!!! And the fact all the clothes change the way they look depending on which body type was chosen,,, its just ugh.

[justanotherignot]

Been thinking about this for a little bit

Due to both of them being immortal, Aylin and Durge keep in touch with each other through the hundreds of years that pass after the events of BG3.

I imagine the story picks up in what is basically a modern-day version of Faerun. Aylin and Durge are having one of their regular meetups, discussing what has been going on in their lives, and often reflect and remember the people no longer with them.

The passage of time has afforded Durge a good deal of anonymity, with very few people knowing they saved Baldur's Gate from the Absolute all those centuries ago.

Aylin is still a Paladin, fighting the same fight she always has.

My Durge, Kazz, is a bard so I imagine she's an instructor at a Bard College. She still has adventures from time to time, some even accompanied by Aylin, but never as grand as the one that freed her from Bhaal's grip.

In the office of her flat are various mementos from her companions:

A purple cape embroidered with ornate flowers gifted by Wyll at her and Karlach's wedding. Clive, whom Karlach had continuously repaired religiously, sits on the desk. A tome of spells Gale made specifically for her occupies a lone section of her bookshelf. A Selunite pendant and Harper pin lie within a miniature glass display case. A hand-carved wooden duck right next to it.

Three swords rest on one of the walls. The first is of Githyanki make. The second is a curved two-handed Drow blade forged in Menzoberranzan. The third is the longsword she made at the Adamantine Forge.

What would your Durge be doing in a modern-day Faerun?

As someone who also thinks Durge is also immortal, this is so beautiful and bittersweet. I love the idea that Durge and Aylin stay friends because at least they have each other when everyone else is gone.

Your durge is so pretty! And a drow. I love drow ❤️

As for my durge, I haven't really thought that far into the future for her because thinking about her losing Karlach and of Aylin losing Isobel makes me sad :(

Thank you for sharing this, though. It was a treat to read!

[alienturnipp]

Hi! Just want to pop in and say as another Asian Dragon Age fan I love seeing Asian clothing and culture headcanons! It's definitely given me a lot more confidence in doing something similar for my version of Clan Lavellan

Hi! I'm so sorry to have gotten this so late but please know that my heart grew a size reading it 💓

Good luck with your worldbuilding! If you have smt you like to share I'd love to read about them! Here is a sketch of Ellana & Edra as kids

[crossdressingdeath]

One headcanon I have for Templar abilities is the factor of willpower.

Basically, a mental battle between a mage and a Templar over the mage's own abilities/mana. A task more onesided if the mage is conditioned to have a weak mind. A large part of Circle "education" is to make the mages have a lot of self-doubts and it makes the Templars appear much more powerful than they actually are. A tactic seen in a lot of authoritarian systems.

This is why more times than not, any new apprentice of the Circles are children, easier to mold. It also makes them easier to recapture if they escape. However, adult apostates, especially those who have never been inside a Circle, such as Hawke, Morrigan, and Merrill, prove a much higher danger to them. They lack the mental conditioning and that eliminates a lot of the Templars' strength/.

The advantage swings so far the other way that it's a general rule to try and kill non-Circle apostates instead of trying to take them in alive. And the success rate of killing them is incredibly low, a fact that Chantry keeps secret for obvious reasons. Any survivors are told to shut up, with the consequences being basically what happened to Sampson.

Once blood magic and spirit-bonded mages come into play, it's over for the Templars. As their powers affect fade-based powers only and spirits are just too powerful for them to counter, even in larger numbers. However, encounters with either are very rare.

The main reason I came up with this HC is that I felt Templar powers were too much of a universal trump card for all magic and I never liked those types of anti-magic powers. It's just so boring.

But at the same time, I didn't want them to be a complete joke. So I added a little bit of nuance to them. Sorry if this isn't well written, my brain is fried from school.

The fascinating thing to me is that Templar abilities seem almost tailor-made to be used on Circle mages. If the mage has ways to defend themself other than magic (which, any apostate would likely know at least one other means of fighting just so they wouldn't be reliant on their magic in a fight) or uses a form of magic that the Templars can't mess with (blood magic being the prime example), Templars can't do shit to them. Circle mages are specifically blocked from learning how to defend themselves with mundane weapons and blood magic and spirit possession are eeeeeeeeeeeeevil, which keeps them vulnerable to Templars. Plus Circle mages are blocked from meeting non-mages other than Chantry people and Templars, so they never get the chance to ally with non-mages who wouldn't be affected by Templar abilities; the fights in the games featuring loads of Templars are a lot easier with some non-mage party members! And yeah, if you look at the companions and the various codex entries it does look like Templars fail to capture apostates more often than not, except for when those apostates are Circle escapees.

I think the thing with the Templars that gets missed a lot is that they're not some sort of Chantry super-soldier. They're bullies. You'll note they tend to fold the second they're faced with any sort of actual threat! Circle mages are conditioned to be terrified of them, which keeps them vulnerable. Meanwhile apostates are still scared of Templars, but they don't have that learned helplessness and would know ways to defend themselves that don't rely entirely on magic that they know their greatest enemy can neutralize. Side note, this does almost certainly mean that the prevalence of mages turning to blood magic that the Templars insist is what they're protecting people from only exists because of Templars, because those mages don't want to be left without magic if the Templars catch up to them. But Templars just... are not anywhere near as big a threat to a mage who's lived outside the Circle, especially not one with allies to support them. See the Dalish clans, who the Templars largely leave alone (although with some exceptions) despite them passing through Chantry lands; that's not because they've abruptly developed some respect for other cultures, that's because the Keepers and their Firsts are competent mages comfortable with their abilities and because the clan will defend their mages. The Templars aren't going to pick a fight with them! In other words I don't know if it's a willpower thing, but definitely being raised with that sense of learned helplessness and terror leaves Circle mages vulnerable to Templars in a way apostates aren't.

[swtorpadawan]

There's a passage in the Revenge of the Sith novelization that I believe would make a good baseline for how the Bar'senthor fights.

-

This is Obi-Wan Kenobi in the light:

As he is prodded onto the bridge along with Anakin and Chancellor Palpatine, he has no need to look around to see the banks of control consoles tended by terrified Neimoidians. He doesn't need to turn his head to count the droidekas and super battle droids, or to gauge the positions of the brutal droid bodyguards. He doesn't bother to raise his eyes to meet the cold yellow stare fixed on him through a skull-mask of armorplast.

He doesn't even need to reach into the Force.

He has already let the Force reach into him.

The force flows over him and round him as though he has stepped into a crystal-pure waterfall lost in the green coils of a forgotten rain forest; when he opens himself to heat sparkling stream it flows into him and through him and out again without the slightest interference from his conscious will. The part of him that calls itself Obi-Wan Kenobi is no more than a ripple, an eddy in the pool into which he endlessly pours.

There are other parts of him here, as well; there is nothing here that is not a part of him, from the scuff mark on R2-D2's dome to the tattered hem of Palpatine's robe, from the spidering crack in one transparisteel panel of the curving view wall above to the great starships that still battle beyond it.

Because this is all part of the Force.

Somehow, mysteriously, the cloud that has darkened the Force for near to decade and half has lightened around him now, and he finds within himself the limped clarity he recalls from his schooldays at the Jedi Temple, when the Force was pure, and clean, and perfect. It is as though the darkness has withdrawn, has coiled back upon itself, to allow him this moment of clarity, to return to him the full power of the light, if only for the moment; he does not know why, but he is incapable of even wondering. In the Force, he is beyond questions.

Why is meaningless; it is an echo of the past, or a whisper from the future. All that matters, for this infinite now, is what, and where, and who.

He is all sixteen of the super battle droids, gleaming in laser-reflective chrome, arms loaded with heavy blasters. He is those blasters and he is their targets. He is all eight destroyer droids waiting with electronic patience within their energy shields, and both bodyguards, and every single one of the shivering Neimoidians. He is their cloths, their boots, even each drop of reptile-scented moisture that rolls off them from the misting sprays they use to keep their internal temperatures down. He is the binders that cuff his hands, and he is the elctrostaff in the hands of the bodyguard at his back.

He is both of the lightsabers that the other droid bodyguard marches forward to offer to General Grevious.

And he is the general himself.

He is the general's duranium ribs. He is the beating of Grevious's alien heart, and is the silent pulse of oxygen pumped through his alien veins. He is the weight of four lightsabers at the general's belt, and is the greedy anticipation the captured weapons sparked behind the general's eyes. He is even the plan for his own execution simmering within the general's brain.

He is all of these things, but most important, he is still Obi-Wan Kenobi.

This is why he can simply stand. Why he can simply wait. He has no need to attack, or to defend. There will be battle here, but he is perfectly at ease, perfectly content to let the battle start when it will start, and let it end when it will end.

Just as he will let himself live, or let himself die.

This is how a great Jedi makes war.

-

I do wonder how this would apply to a Shadow Bar'senthor, if they let the Force guide them to where they'll hunt down their next dark side relic.

I can easily see this playing a major factor into their choice of lightsaber form(s). After all, they're as much warriors as they are scholars.

My Shadow, Lomia, uses Niman on the backbone of Shii-Cho, Soresu, and Ataru. All four implement the Force heavily, whether allowing the Force to direct the user or the user directing the Force.

This is also why I love pairing the Consular with Lana, as the two likely view and use the Force in completely opposite ways. Yet this wouldn't diminish their effectiveness as a team. Case and point, Obi-Wan and Anakin.

One HC I have that uses this mindset/technique is during the Eternal Empire story arc. Lomia's use of oneness with the Force is what allows her to block out Valkorian, or at the very least, diminish his presence in her mind. His presence alone does it make it harder for her to do so, but not impossible. Though as the story progresses, it gets harder and harder for her to completely open up to the Force. Thus, her urgency to get rid of him.

Thanks for this, @spikerwolf5896 !

There's definitely a lot of Obi-Wan Kenobi inspiration with the Jedi Consular concept. I have… serious opinions about the structure of that class story, but this is entirely legitimate.

I think I may borrow your ideas for one of my Jedi Consulars, Zerahte. She's a Miraluka Shadow, and it would make excellent sense.

I wish the Jedi Consular got more credit in the JC story for being skilled at feeling the Force.

But thank you!

[cairaleighexe]

Just want to drop in and say I love the way you draw elves! It's always really nice to come across DA fanart where elves have muscle mass, as the first DA character I ever made was a warrior Tabris. I want more elves with a greatsword and a cocky smirk that just says "try me!"

Body vallaslin is another thing I love finding. Because it doesn't have a canon design, it's fascinating to see each artist's interpretation. Not just in terms of design, but also layout.

Thank you so much!! Lowkey highkey gonna ramble in this jfsjfk

I agree! I love seeing elves with different body types, the canon reason for elves' typical build felt more like someone's preferences than something that would make sense so I just ignored it!

Even though Hanan is a double dagger rogue I hc that she is trained in fighting hand-to-hand and with sticks and blades. I also just wanted her to be able to pick someone up and throw them and have it visually make sense in my head.

Nude sketch below the cut!

I drew this reference sketch when I was designing her outfit for the WEWH quest to see how the outfit would sit on her but I also needed a reference for her vallaslin during DAI. Her vallaslin design is based on winding tree branches, Post main game she has her vallaslin expanded to have the more complex mythal design and to include flowers. I also have all her vallaslin on her upper body for character reasons.

[luwupercal]

Just read your more Primarchs turn against the Emperor AU idea and I love it!

Out of curiousity what do you think the Emperor would do to try to counter the traitors (Would Dorn be his only remaining loyal Primarch since he wasn't mentioned?) and once Terra falls, what happens to humanity afterward?

oh tysm for the ask!!!! <3 unfortunately i am super unprepared for it lmfaoooooo

like first of all ive posited multiple times ideas of like "what if more primarchs turn against the emperor lol" so im not actually entirely sure which one you mean, i presume you mean this one bc it's the only one that's like, compiled into one listicle post and not just 17 different miscellaneous posts with each one having 1 thought (twitter has given me permanent brain damage), but i also could be wrong TwT

second of all I am not actually sure what i'm doing with dorn, i made that post long enough ago that i forgot the mental thread i was going at with the perturabo thing, and also he's not necessarily the primarch i'm strongest on? there's a lot of interesting possibilities regardless of whether he sticks with the imperium or he goes with chaos, but i'm still unsure of where i should go specifically...

terra i've actually thought a little about and the situation is complex! because i do think that the way i've set things up the primarchs are less... enthusiastic about squeezing it like an orange (there's gonna be significantly less turning people into cocaine, albeit not zero, necessarily). so that's gonna slow the siege down significantly and make them way less oppressive an opponent. also, they have a lot more troops and significantly less infraestructure to support those troops, too... and all of that does give the emperor some advantage, even devoid of most of a significant chunk of his military might and cut off from his resources by the siege.

i do think in this au humanity fragments a bit more? i figure that if the primarchs win the conflict (which is still up in the air mind you) then horus would take over the imperium but there'd be a lot more seceding and generally there'd be a lot of fragmented borders and splinter factions and all kinds of things with tenuous alliances and such. which is kind of fun, geopolitically

and I have a whooooole bunch of thoughts on things the emperor would try to stop the primarchs ranging from regular custodes incursions on traitor territory to purposefully doing subterfuge and sowing discord between the primarchs (occasionally successfully) to sending them guilt slinging text messages through konrads ipad. it would actually probably be easier to ask what the emperor wouldn't try, tbh (and there's a lot of fun ideas here...)

anyway thank you for the questions!! the terra one in particular made me think a whole bunch lololol which is always great

[luckyspacerabbit]

I just want to say from the very bottom of my heart, thank you. Thank you for openly and unapologetically putting Dan Hyun, an Asian Commander Shepard, out into the world.

As a Chinese-American, it means so much to me to see representation like this. I had tried for years to create my own Asian Shepard, but each time it never looked right. At times, it even looked like someone wearing yellowface, despite using face claims as references. Creating a massive disconnect between me and the character I created, despite the massive love I have for the franchise.

The next issue is down to the story/world-building of the franchise. So much of Mass Effect feels exclusively influenced by Western society, ideals, and philosophy. And the option to be a person from outside of that culture doesn't exist. We get small references in the form of characters and groups having Chinese names such as Emily Wong, the colony of Shanxi, and some lore of various Asian governments, but they are all backdrop with none taking center stage.

It also doesn't help that the biggest character to be of Asian descent is a character part of a human supremacist group and is extremely controversial among the fanbase. Not helping is his design invokes a lot of Asian stereotypes, at least from my perspective.

This is a big reason why I was able to relate to and see parts of myself in the City Elves of Dragon Age: Origins. Being a minority that grew up in a culture that has historically and presently continues to demonize them while having next to zero ties to their native culture, even linguistically, hit home very hard. And when I was able to successfully create an Asian Tabris, it made it feel that much more real.

Once again, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.

❤️

[viiisenyas]

I have a bad feeling about this...

oh... oh no...

[rabidchilde]

Found a good non-sexualized artwork of a Soritas

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/9NDLao

Yeah you did! Anyone who finds non-sexualized art or minis of women in 40k are welcome to send them my way.

No battle-bra or war-corset in in this art, despite their universal presence in the army.

No heels!

Even the leg-armor looks like armor rather than leggings or tights. (When SoB cosplayers often use leggings for the thigh armor and it looks model-accurate, you have a sexualization problem.)

Her face looks like it is free of makeup which is a nice change from the ubiquitous lipstick.

She's also not in a model pose; no pouty lips, or doe eyes here. No arched back or cocked hip either.

Her armor looks like it's wearable and protective without any pieces that look like they would impale her if she made a wrong move. No boob-window here.

She has long hair which is impractical for combat, but at least it's not in a stylish bob, untouched by battle, which puts attention on her appearance and attractiveness.

These are all so predicable I feel like I should make a bingo card.

My thanks to @spikerwolf5896 for the submission.

[boo-moved]

Thank youuu @bladeofavernus for taggin me ^^ five songs, ten tags

Desert Song by MCR

Birthday Suit by Cosmo Sheldrake

Still Into You by Paramore

Panic by Caravan Palace

Creep - acoustic by Radiohead

...😭

@whimsywins @yourubersawcrit @spikerwolf5896 @mitangy @apocalyptic-dancehall @6-2-aestheticsofhate @magnuficentwo @coward2coward @seawillfuckyourshitup

[timothylawrence]

One thing that disappointed me while doing my Warlock Tav x Wyll playthrough was beyond first meeting Mizora, Warlocks don't get any special dialogue with Wyll. Platonic or romanced.

This is the #1 character who would understand Wyll's position, even if their patron isn't a fiend (mine is a chaotic good Archfey). Warlocks should at the very least have the same amount of special dialogue Sorcerers get with Gale and other wizards

I know!!! I was SOOOO sad when i found that out... IDK it just feels like another opportunity the tav could've had to comfort Wyll that was taken away :( I guess it would've been difficult to implement due to the constraints of the Tav's story but :(((!!!!! It's not fair that Gale gets so many unique conversations with Sorcerers and Wizards but Wyll gets... like nothing. IDK. I have similar feelings about a tiefling Tav having unique reactions to Wyll if romanced.... </3

[justanotherignot]

My new headcanon is that during both fights with Ketheric, Aylin summons those Selunite angels

That is an amazing canon, and honestly the least Selûne can do for Aylin.

[uchidachi]

@spikerwolf5896 asked for Hawke training Merrill to use a sword:

“Put your fingers like this,” Hawke said, as she used both hands to adjust Merrill’s hold on the sword’s grip. The blade went from drooping slightly to staying parallel with the ground, but still wavered. Hawke gently adjusted Merrill’s arm next, bringing her elbow in closer to her body. When she looked back up, Merrill was watching her intently. “And keep your eyes on your enemy, my love” Hawke gestured to the exceptionally beat-up training dummy a few feet away from them.

“Ah, yes,” Merrill agreed, regarding the dummy with mock seriousness, “He’s dangerous, and may strike at any moment!”

[crossdressingdeath]

If DAO gets a proper remake in the style of Resident Evil 2/Dead Space, I'd so happy

That's not going to happen, because DAO is not a third person horror game wherein you shoot things until they die. It's a third person fantasy RPG with a party system and a strong focus on tactical decisions. DAO just would not work in the style of Dead Space or RE2 unless Bioware rewrote the whole thing from the ground up, at which point it... wouldn't be DAO anymore, it'd be Mass Effect in fantasy land. DAO isn't a horror game, it's a fantasy game with some horror elements! No, a remake in the style of RE2/Dead Space would ruin the best parts of DAO's gameplay.

[swtorpadawan]

Do any of your characters use curved-hilted lightsabers?

This is an excellent question... I don't think I've designated any?

Hmmmm... i need to think about this one.