Text
guess who's back! that's right, it's another edition of thisisnotthenerd's d20 stats. this time we're talking level progression.
a few disclaimers: this is only inclusive of initial and final levels. i may go through each season to find the exact points of change and the full progression at some point, but not right now. i don't have the time for that. this is already incredibly long with just initial and final levels. anyways:
level progressions
these are sorted into a couple of categories: major level progressions, minor level progressions, nonprogression seasons, and nonleveled seasons (which basically just means they are non dnd seasons).
to start we have:
major level progression seasons
this includes most of the intrepid heroes' seasons, plus a couple of sidequests that had or are in the process of having major level changes. major level changes means the party levels up two or more levels during the season. without further ado:
fantasy high freshman year: this season had a fairly standard progression; everyone starting from level one, milestone leveling with each battle until they hit level 8 for the finale.
fig faeth:
initial level: bard 1
final level: whispers bard 8
gorgug thistlespring:
initial level: barbarian 1
final level: berserker barbarian 1
adaine abernant:
initial level: wizard 1
final level: divination wizard 8
fabian seacaster:
initial level: fighter 1
final level: champion fighter 8
kristen applebees:
initial level: life cleric 1
final level: life cleric 8
riz gukgak:
initial level: rogue 1
final level: inquisitive rogue 8
the unsleeping city: this season follows a similar progression to fantasy high--the characters just start at level 3 instead of level 1. this let them start with subclasses and a more features that let them swing harder in battle earlier.
ricky matsui:
initial level: devotion paladin 3
final level: devotion paladin 10
sofia lee:
initial level: drunken master monk 3
final level: drunken master monk 8 | hexblade warlock 2
kingston brown:
initial level: city cleric 3
final level: city cleric 10
misty moore/rowan berry:
initial level: lore bard 3
final level: lore bard 10
kugrash:
initial level: shepherd druid 3
final level: shepherd druid 10
pete conlan:
initial level: wild magic sorcerer 3
final level: wild magic sorcerer 10
a crown of candy: this season was a little different because of the initial party composition--the adults started at level 3, while liam and the twins started at levels 2 and 1 respectively. the entry points of cumulous and saccharina obviously affected their starting levels, since they had to match the party at the point of entry. there was also more multiclassing and subclass switches for story reasons this season. just a bit more complexity as d20 itself got more complex.
liam wilhelmina: the most effective subclass switch i think ever. he became a war guy.
initial level: ranger 2 (took beastmaster after 1st battle)
final level: gloomstalker ranger 6 | assassin rogue 4
theobald gumbar:
initial level: eldritch knight 3
final level: eldritch knight 10
jet rocks: she started in rogue with martial adept to match ruby, multiclassed into fighter and dropped her rogue level before she died.
initial level: rogue 1
final level: battlemaster fighter 7
ruby rocks:
initial level: rogue 1
final level: arcane trickster rogue 9 | shadow sorcerer 1
amethar rocks:
initial level: storm herald barbarian 3
final level: storm herald barbarian 5 | battlemaster fighter 5
lapin cadbury:
initial level: celestial warlock 3
final level: celestial warlock 5
cumulous rocks: came in as a cloud, cried over magic, killed chickens for temp hp
initial level: long death monk 6
final level: long death monk 10
saccharina frostwhip: a powerful queen
initial level: storm sorcerer 6 | tempest cleric 2
final level: storm sorcerer 8 | tempest cleric 2
the unsleeping city chapter 2: only a couple of subclass switches this season, but more new characters that played in the multiclass space.
ricky matsui:
initial level: redemption paladin 12
final level: redemption paladin 10
sofia lee:
initial level: shadow monk 8 | hexblade warlock 2
final level: shadow monk 10 | hexblade warlock 2
kingston brown:
initial level: city cleric 10
final level: city cleric 12
iga lisowski: she comes in statted with the party, but it tracks because she's been the steward of a magic Polish dragon box for decades.
initial level: genie warlock 10
final level: genie warlock 10 | draconic sorcerer 2
rowan berry: she comes in late and so only really has the opportunity to start at level 12
initial level: lore bard 12
final level: lore bard 12
cody walsh: can you imagine your intro to magic being selling your soul to a lesser devil and instantly jumping to level 10. he's so bad at everything that it balances. the athletics checks? insane. absolute loser of a mall goth sword guy. a time capsule of the year 2003.
initial level: oathbreaker paladin 10
final level: oathbreaker paladin 12
pete conlan:
initial level: wild magic sorcerer 10
final level: wild magic sorcerer 12
a starstruck odyssey: this season isn't precisely DND and so works a little differently. the party started with level differences: all nonhumans started at level 3, the humans started at level 2, and gunnie was level 1. i think this was indicative of the fact that a) takamori leveled up by getting brain slugged, b) margaret leveled up by undergoing a quarter-life crisis, and c) gunnie probably joined the ship more recently. they also have ship deployments that they take levels in to be able to competently run a ship. deployments are indicated in [brackets] like so.
gunnie miggles-rashbax:
initial level: engineer 1 [mechanic 1]
final level: engineer 6 [mechanic 3]
riva:
initial level: suggestion consular 3 [coordinator 1]
final level: suggestion consular 6 [coordinator 3]
norman 'skip' takamori
initial level: operative 2 [pilot 1]
final level: lethality operative 6 [pilot 3]
margaret encino:
initial level: scholar 2 [operator 1]
final level: politician pursuit scholar 6 [operator 3]
sundry sidney:
initial level: corsair sentinel 3 [gunner 1]
final level: corsair sentinel 6 [gunner 3]
big barry syx:
initial level: ballistic berserker 3 [gunner 1]
final level: ballistic berserker 6 [gunner 3]
neverafter: this season marks the first level 1 party since fantasy high, and also follows a similar level progression pattern. however, they got episode 3'd, and so skipped levels 2 & 3. they woke up with subclasses. the baba yaga also helped them skip from level 6 to level 8 iirc.
rosamund du prix
initial level: ranger 1
final level: swarmkeeper ranger 5 | stars druid 2 | fighter 1
mother timothy goose:
initial level: bard 1
final level: lore bard 8
pinocchio:
initial level: archfey warlock 1
final level: destiny (homebrew) warlock 8
puss in boots (pib):
initial level: rogue 1
final level: mastermind rogue 8
gerard of greenleigh:
initial level: fighter 1
final level: battlemaster fighter 8
ylfa snorgelsson:
initial level: barbarian 1
final level: bear totem barbarian 6 | moon druid 2
the ravening war: here's where the distinction between 'leveled up two or more times' and leveled up two or more levels' has to be made. technically there's really only one major change during the season, but they go from level 4-5 to level 9, so it's counted as a significant jump.
delissandro katzon: this is the second time lou wilson has played a fighter barbarian in calorum. truly i would have two nickels. also the second time he's played a champion fighter that switched to battlemaster and multiclassed. really starting to collect nickels here.
initial level: champion fighter 5
final level: battlemaster fighter 8 | barbarian 1
raphaniel charlock: i don't feel like tracking his titles. also he has so many feats. dear god.
initial level: eloquence bard 4 | rogue 1
final level: eloquence bard 6 | rogue 3
karna solara: the third triple multiclass in d20 history. the only characters that i can think of that are of equivalent assassin vibes are liam, gangie, and skip.
initial level: whispers bard 3 | great old one warlock 2
final level: phantom rogue 4 | whispers bard 3 | great old one warlock 2
colin provolone: oh what a guy. a traditional mercenary if you ever saw one
initial level: battlemaster fighter 3 | rogue 2
final level: battlemaster fighter 6 | swashbuckler rogue 3
lady amangeaux epiceé du peche: she starts lower level than the rest of the party because she's more naive and less prepared for the intrigue and assassination plots. she's the only to not multiclass in this season. the only one.
initial level: arcane trickster rogue 4
final level: arcane trickster rogue 9
burrow's end: i know that it's the ongoing season, but evidenced by the fact that they double leveled up in episode 2, i have a feeling this is going to be a major leveling season. i'm anticipating level 10 as a stopping point, but who knows where they go from here.
tula: stoat mom as a feat is all i'm going to say
initial level: redemption paladin 4
final level: ?
jaysohn: adhd karate boy, or all stoats in a nutshell
initial level: astral self monk 4
final level: ?
viola: the embryonic diapause storyline is going to kill me, i can feel it.
initial level: devotion paladin 4
final level: ?
thorn vale: anxious wife guy cult leader is something i didn't know i needed until now, but i'm so glad that that's where jasper went with him.
initial level: fey wanderer ranger 4
final level: ?
ava: if generational trauma was a stoat. the commitment to the werther's? phenomenal.
initial level: ancestral guardians barbarian 3 | fighter
final level: ?
lila: i'm living for izzy as a stoat that can sneak attack people and read???
initial level: inquisitive rogue 4
final level: ?
and that's all of the major progression seasons. with that concluded, we move into:
minor level progression seasons
as stated earlier, these seasons really only have one major level change as opposed to the progressive milestones of the major leveling seasons. i think that comes down to a couple of things: 1) they all start as midlevel characters who are reasonably powerful 2) two of these are 10 episode seasons that had less time to do progressive leveling than most of the intrepid heroes' seasons, and 3) the timeline of the level ups really only makes sense for one level change, especially since they start out of the low levels that shift easily. fhfy is like a week and a half in universe, t7 and acofaf are each like a week. anyways, here it is:
fantasy high sophomore year: mostly carried over from fhfy to start, with one major level but we really got into multiclassing and subclass switches for story here, i think in part because running live sessions is inherently a little more spontaneous than a pre-recorded season.
fig faeth:
initial level: whispers bard 6 | hexblade warlock 2
final level: lore bard 6 | hexblade warlock 3
gorgug thistlespring:
initial level: berserker barbarian 8
final level: berserker barbarian 8 | artificer 1
adaine abernant:
initial level: divination wizard 8
final level: divination wizard 9
fabian seacaster:
initial level: champion fighter 8
final level: battlemaster fighter 6 | swords bard 3
kristen applebees:
initial level: life cleric 8
final level: twilight cleric 9
riz gukgak:
initial level: inquisitive rogue 8
final level: inquisitive rogue 9
the seven: the ladies are here! they start at the level 9 baseline set by the end of fhsy and hit level 10 in like a week. granted the second half of the season is almost all encounters--three double episode battles total, with two in the back half.
antiope jones: the reluctant leader, not that kind of ranger. a choice aabria character. sometimes i think about the fact that both of aabria's spyre characters could conceivably meet, and it's not even that contrived. myrtle is sam's cousin.
initial level: arcane archer fighter 6 | monster slayer ranger 3
final level: arcane archer fighter 6 | monster slayer ranger 4
katja cleaver: half horse girl, half childhood neglect and abandonment, half rekha shankar's brand of ttrpg decisions.
initial level: battlemaster fighter 9
final level: battlemaster fighter 9 | barbarian 1
penny luckstone: eldest daughter syndrome to the max. deeply funny. an incredible rogue, even if she feeds old men horse meat candy hearts.
initial level: arcane trickster rogue 9
final level: arcane trickster rogue 10
danielle barkstock: actually erika ishii's second shepherd druid. they really like summoning geese, spiders, pixies, and various creatures that can absolutely ruin brennan's day. with a side of no self-care.
initial level: shepherd druid 9
final level: shepherd druid 10
ostentatia wallace: she lives up to the name. the forge cleric i want to be when i grow up.
initial level: forge cleric 9
final level: forge cleric 10
sam nightingale: a masterwork in character building, from a mechanical and story standpoint. i love the use of eldritch adept to maintain the build and keep with the story during their level up.
initial level: storm sorcerer 6 | glamour bard 3
final level: storm sorcerer 6 | glamour bard 4
zelda donovan: my girl! the other fighter barb of the group, but built in the opposite direction. also 55 movement speed? by god she can hustle.
initial level: eagle totem barbarian 8 | fighter 1
final level: eagle totem barbarian 8 | fighter 2
a court of fey and flowers: this season starts in a similar place to the seven with midlevel characters and levels up mostly for story reasons. it's a little more important to track reputation by episode, but i don't have the time for that at the moment.
andhera: hot, but built mid according to omar. an ace he/they king. never actually levels up, probably because they avoid conflict by beign a slippery pillar boy in wet cotton pants.
initial level: devotion paladin 8
final level: devotion paladin 8
k.p. hob: triple multiclass, builds on brennan's theme of self-sacrificial characters who don't think love can find them.
initial level: battlemaster fighter 6 | rogue 1 | barbarian 1
final level: battlemaster fighter 6 | rogue 2 | barbarian 1
lady chirp featherfowl: an assassin wizard with bird puns, a wife and daughter, and no regard for her reputation.
initial level: bladesinger wizard 8
final level: bladesinger wizard 9
lord squak airavis: the sluttiest bird you'll ever meet. the author of the green hunter. they got renner.
initial level: lore bard 8
final level: lore bard 9
delloso de la rue: made me cry when i watched them come out. the outfits. the pizzazz. the 'i love him'. the miscommunications. an icon. doesn't use subclass features, so we'll never know.
initial level: bard 8
final level: bard 9
binx choppley: another fantastic reveal. a single mom who works two jobs, but she's a warlock patron and trying to revive her dead court while masquerading as her friend while said friend dates her warlock on the material plane. truly who is doing it like them.
initial level: arcane trickster rogue 8
final level: arcane trickster rogue 9
now that we're through with the minor progression seasons, let's look at the single-level seasons.
nonprogression seasons
there's variance in these--there's not really a consistent start level. they go low level when they need to and high level when they need to. the lack of progression here also indicates timeline and season length: most of these are 4-6 episodes, and all of these seasons happen over the span of about a day or two in-game.
escape from the bloodkeep: d20's highest level season to date. unbelievable shenanigans, deeply funny. it's also fun for me to note that d20 and cr both have their morally dubious seasons that start and end at level 14 (eftbk and exu calamity) but they end up in literal opposite ends of the comedy/tragedy scale.
maggie (magfelda):
level: berserker barbarian 14
leiland (kraz-thun):
level: hexblade warlock 14
efink murderdeath:
level: grave cleric 14
sokhbarr:
level: beastmaster ranger 14
lilith:
level: shepherd druid 14
markus st. vincent
level: swashbuckler rogue 14
tiny heist:
rick diggins: the most charisma rogue i think you can get. negative dex and strength? grifter
level: mastermind rogue 4
boomer coleoptera: his subclass is unknown--it's never really mentioned during the season. it's theorized that he may be a battlemaster. the muscle
level: fighter 4
agnes: she also doesn't use any subclass specific features during the season. the other grifter
level: bard 4
ti-83: what a little fount of violence. the techie/explosive specialist
level: artillerist artificer 4
bean: the grease with a bone to pick
level: shadow monk 4
car-go jones: the mastermind, even though he's not a mastermind rogue. the danny ocean.
level: inquisitive rogue 4
pirates of leviathan: this entire season happens pretty much in the course of 24 hours. a good chunk of that time is just spent having a spa night at the gold gardens. who is doing it like them. everyone in this party can do magic.
sunny biscotto:
level: devotion paladin 5
bob (barbarella sarsaparilla gainglynn):
level: lore bard 3 | city cleric 2
cheese:
level: necromancy wizard 5
myrtle (the bitch):
level: tempest cleric 5
jack brakkow:
level: ancestral guardians barbarian 5
marcid the typhoon:
level: gloomstalker ranger 5
mice & murder: the oops all rogues season. for a low level season there are some astronomical dcs here. it really does a lot to show off the range of subclasses. all of them have dramatically different abilities, when they're not competing.
gangie green:
level: thief rogue 3
buckster $ boyd:
level: mastermind rogue 3
daisy d'umpstaire:
level: assassin rogue 3
vicar ian prescott:
level: eloquence bard 3
lars vandenchomp:
level: battlemaster fighter 3
sylvester cross:
level: inquisitive rogue 3
coffin run: this season is actually another one with mixed leveling--maybe to indicate time spent with dracula, maybe to level out powers on from a spellcasting level
aleksandr astrovsky:
level: alchemist artificer 7
squing:
level: undead warlock 8
wetzel:
level: mastermind rogue 7
may wong:
level: shadow sorcerer 6
dungeons and drag queens: i'm fairly sure they filmed this season in one shot. a great intro to dnd and the mechanics of level 5 characters.
troyánn:
level: arcane archer fighter 5
princess foehammer:
level: berserker barbarian 5
gertrude:
level: shadow sorcerer 5
twyla:
level: gloomstalker ranger 5
fantasy high oneshots: this is just the one-off characters from the fh oneshots. both of these characters show up in between freshman and sophomore year and so land at level 8.
hargis:
level: brute fighter 8
ficus:
level: dreams druid 8
and last but not least, we have the non-DnD seasons that have no level progressions:
misfits and magic
shriek week
mentopolis
and that's all folks! this one got so long. as always the spreadsheet is open to perusal. i hope you like it!
#dimension 20#dimension 20 meta#thisisnotthenerd's d20 stats#fantasy high#escape from the bloodkeep#the unsleeping city#tiny heist#a crown of candy#pirates of leviathan#mice & murder#d20 the seven#a starstruck odyssey#coffin run#a court of fey and flowers#neverafter#the ravening war#dungeons and drag queens#burrow's end#long post#dimension 20 spoilers#dimension 20 statistics
93 notes
·
View notes
Text
AO3 Year in Review (that's the ship stats one) is out and you guys got Alhaitham/Kaveh to position 5 on the ship's debut year! That is incredibly impressive, congratulations to everyone involved!
I mean you literally out-wrote the biggest fandoms out there, those that have only one or two big ships. It is impressive, is what I'm saying.
Knowing that centreoftheselights focus her stats on ship growth I was stunned to find out Tartaglia/Zhongli lost 20 positions and both of my beloved ships that were ranking last year are just gone.
So of course I spent the whole afternoon collecting data to see what happened. Who do you think I am? A person without a completely unrelated essay to write?
Proceed beyond the cut if you want to see some Genshin Impact ship data.
So I had a question: what happened with our ships' growth this year? Time to do some data collecting!
Method
So here's what I did. Knowing that several writers have opted to archive-lock their fics in order to stave off the bots, I chose to collect the data manually, with my logged-on profile, and using the search operator created_at:["2023-01-01" TO "2023-12-31"] to restrict the search to works created in that time period.
This means backdated works don't make it in, but it may also mean that works which were fully written in the drafts before being posted at a later date count as being created in 2023 even if you posted it in January 10th 2024.
I'm not citing names here but I see you there and all I can say is please don't write directly in your drafts. There's no guarantee your fic will survive there. Have backups. Please. If you can't download an app/software, then at least use Amplenote. It's free, online and supports formatting of all kinds.
Method (really now)
Using the archive's filters set to all languages and the period up to December 31st 2023, I pulled the list of the top ten tagged relationships. Then, setting the period from January 1st to December 31st 2023, I did the same. With that data I graphed the growth pattern.
The data
As of my cut-off date, December 31st 2023, there were 163,902 works under the 原��� | Genshin Impact (Video Game) tag in AO3. The top ten relationships tagged were:
Tartaglia | Childe/Zhongli: 14571 works
Alhaitham/Kaveh: 9645 works
Diluc/Kaeya: 7295 works
Diluc & Kaeya: 6077 works
Venti/Xiao | Alatus: 4870 works
Albedo/Kaeya: 4442 works
Aether/Xiao: 4127 works
Tartaglia | Childe/Lumine: 4046 works
Chongyun/Xingqiu: 3524 works
Kaedehara Kazuha/Scaramouche: 3432 works
59,092 of those works were posted between January 1st and December 31st 2023. During the year, the top relationships were:
Alhaitham/Kaveh: 8591 works
Tartaglia | Childe/Zhongli: 3513 works
Alhaitham & Kaveh: 2446 works
Cyno/Tighnari: 2342 works
Neuvillette/Wriothesley: 1950 works
Kaedehara Kazuha/Scaramouche: 1810 works
Diluc & Kaeya: 1721 works
Diluc/Kaeya: 1551 works
Venti/Xiao: 1106 works
Aether/Xiao: 1101 works
Now, that's impressive growth, isn't it? Here's how that tracks over the historical number:
Just look at that bar. That was a single year! And Tartaglia/Zhongli had a nice amount of growth, more than any other ship besides Alhaitham/Kaveh.
So there it is, what happened. You guys are just absolutely amazing :)
Side notes:
1. Hm, what about Neuvillette/Wriothesley?
A fairly new ship that showed up on AO3 Stats ranked 68, with 1938 works. On my counts (with the locked works) the number goes up to 1950. So, not a small ship at all but also not close enough to enter our top ten.
At least not this year.
2. Is it all about smut? I bet it's all about smut!
It is not. When you exclude the Explicit tag there are still 46,001 works created in 2023. And, honestly, the Explicit tag can be used for gore and violence as well, so even that isn't a solid way to exclude smut from the count.
But if you're wondering how the ranking goes without the Explicit fics, here is the data for the works up to December 31st 2023:
Tartaglia | Childe/Zhongli: 10406 works
Alhaitham/Kaveh: 7330 works
Diluc & Kaeya: 5761 works
Diluc/Kaeya: 4651 works
Venti/Xiao: 4253 works
Albedo/Kaeya: 3759 works
Aether/Xiao: 3441 works
Tartaglia | Childe/Lumine: 3216 works
Chongyun/Xingqiu: 3165 works
Kaedehara Kazuha/Scaramouche: 2785 works
And this is the data for just 2023:
Alhaitham/Kaveh: 6545 works
Tartaglia | Childe/Zhongli: 2534 works
Alhaitham & Kaveh: 2115 works
Cyno/Tighnari: 1885 works
Diluc & Kaeya: 1645 works
Neuvillette/Wriothesley: 1467 works
Kaedehara Kazuha/Scaramouche: 1397 works
Diluc/Kaeya: 1057 works
Venti/Xiao | Alatus: 937 works
Aether/Xiao: 911 works
If this tells you anything, make it that people will tag a ship and either fade to black or just not put any sex at all in the story.
3. So, no love for gen fics?
No, no, no, lots of love for gen fics! Immense love for gen fics!
I'll talk about that in another post, though, because I have more graphs to make before I can post it.
#genshin impact#meta#fandom stats#not tagging the ships-- it would feel too much like trying to start a war#this data collection was done mostly out of curiosity#if you use it to harass other people no fluffy animal shall ever let you pet it ever again#(yes yes I'm cursing the data)
1 note
·
View note
Text
i am once again thinking about viserra getting eaten by cannibal
she was so desperate to prove she was a true targaryen by claiming a dragon that she had to claim the most dangerous one and it ended up being her downfall
like do i think a sixteen year old getting eaten by a dragon stopped the war between her family? not at all, do i think there was a pause, a calm while the blacks mourned? hopefully.
#also why did no one tell me viserra's bio is filled with mistakes what the fuck yall im gonna go fix it stat#something something if there wasnt a war viserra would have been better supervised and maybe she wouldn't have died#*[ TARGARYEN V : META & COMMENTARY ]#character : viserra targaryen
0 notes
Text
For senior year I think the bad kids would be insanely over powered (high level dnd is nutty) so here are some fun ideas to spice up encounters in a zany sit-com sort of way. This is a long post btw.
1. Physical regression fight
The bad kids are reverted to their freshman bodies and have to fight as their original level one forms.
I’d imagine it as a Last Standard Exam style onslaught. They start as their level one characters and after each semi-quick wave they regrow a little bit, regaining a few levels, until they finally re-reach their present body. Also funny if they have to go through their bodies most awkward puberty stages again.
2. Freaky Friday
The bad kids all swap bodies. All of the players swap character sheets and have to play their character but using the stats/classes entirely of another character. Extra fun if they can’t meta-game by reminding each other of certain abilities or actions they can do irl, as to hammer in how inproficient they are at being one another.
3. Dance Fight
Similar to the Broadway fight from unsleeping city. All the bad kids have to fight in the middle of some major performance/dance act. Maybe it happens during some sort of audition or performance Fabian is doing.
They all have to navigate doing very high level performance and acrobatic checks which means balance actions and recourses have to be spent on both making sure everyone is good at performing and also on fighting well.
4. Doppelgängers
The bad kids fight themselves. Exact same levels, exact same stats.
Extra points if they don’t know which ones are the real ones, so half of the players are fighting with npc versions of the other half and vice versa. This means they have to also figure out which ones are the fakes mid-fight and some of them were actually playing as their own doppelgänger, semi-similar to the Baron fight in junior year. This also means Brennan would be playing as some doppelgängers but also as some of the actual real characters since those players are unknowingly the doppelgängers.
5. Shipping wars
Some ultra-powerful weirdo god-monster is running a spicy dating game and has kidnapped the bad kids. It is super over the top and annoying and is trying to convince/make the bad kids date eachother and fight eachother as couples. The fight is about tricking the freaky god-monster into thinking they actually have fallen for their assigned partner while pretending to fight the other pairs, with the eventual goal of killing it.
Can’t think of any pairing combo that this wouldn’t be funny with. Adaine and Riz would be bad at acting no matter what, Fig and Fabian would be way to convincing, and Gorgug and Kristen would be super awkward with their partner and also not fully know if Fig and Fabian were actually being serious about their respective partner.
6. Babysitter
Fabian has to spend the entire fight protecting/dealing with new baby sibling. Can hand them off to friends if need be. This includes dealing with a child who has 1 hit point in a high level battle, but also doing stuff like making sure they stay asleep (somehow) or changing a dirty diaper.
7. Freaky Friday 2: Parental Controls
All swapped to their parent’s bodies. Adaine becomes Jawbone, Fig becomes Sandra Lynn, Gorgug becomes one of the thistlesprings, Riz becomes Sklonda, Kristen becomes Lydia Barkrock (her secret mother figure), and Fabian becomes Hallaarial (or funnier option, Gilear).
This is funny to me because whatever spell or curse did this considers adoptive/non-genetic parental figures over biological/legal Gaurdians. Also this is extra funny if they have to team up with their parent who has swapped with them. So Adaine has to deal with Jawbone being in her body, Fig with Sandra Lyn being in hers, Gorgug with one of the thistlesprings, etc.
Also funny if other npcs show up (Ayda became Arthur Aguefort, Bucky Applebees as either Mac or Donna, etc).
Would love to see all of these honestly, would love to hear other dumb silly fighting bits y’all would want to see.
#dimension 20#fantasy high#fantasy high senior year#the bad kids#adaine o'shaughnessey#adaine fantasy high#fig faeth#fig fantasy high#gorgug thistlespring#gorgug fantasy high#kristen applebees#kristen fantasy high#riz gukgak#riz fantasy high#fabian seacaster#fabian fantasy high
301 notes
·
View notes
Text
Chiastic Structure of S1
Here it is!
Yes, I deliberately made it detailed. You NEED to see the detail, it is, quite frankly, eye-opening in parts.
If the image I have posted is not clear, let me know, and I'll post a broken-down version in sections so you can read it. I'm just not sure how this is going to work.
I've got five footnotes for various sections where I want to make extra comments, so see them below.
If you don't know why some of us are looking into this - a chiastic structure or pattern a literary device where a sequence of events is presented then repeated in reverse order. For a complicated story like Good Omens this can and does gives us some interesting insights into the hidden stories we meta writers like to speculate on and discuss.
I have to admit it got a bit messy in places, so there still might be some tweaking to do in the middle parts.
The plain parallels still exist - I have a couple to mention in the footnotes. I'm also very excited about taking this challenge on because I've basically found proof that backs up my theory about the scene at Tadfield Manor telling part of the story of the Great War in Heaven, and also proof that the Flood may have been the time of their first "vavoom."
[1] M-pair: When Newt turns up to his new job there is an office meeting called and the upcoming "training initiative" is discussed. This then leads on to the paintball fight at Tadfield Manor. I discussed how the two scenes give us an insight into the past and the Great War in two metas, The Great War of Tadfield Manor, and The Newton/Crowley Mirror-Parallel in S1. The mirror-pair here is Dagon is rousing the troops with reminders of the "Glorious Revolution," providing us with a direct connection to the events of Tadfield Manor.
[2] Q-pair: This is a really interesting pair, as as it is still tied in with Tadfield Manor. Does it give us any insights into Crowley's role in the Great War and his Fall? I'll be looking more closely at this in the future!
[3] There is an interesting set of parallels around this area that didn't quite fit into the chiastic structure proper that I though was worth mentioning and I have already flagged for a meta before I had finished plotting this out. It's to do with Newt and Anathema and the prophecies in the book - oh, and the Velvet underground reference. Actually, I really need more space for that...you'll have to wait for the meta, sorry.
[4] Ohhh yeah. This one. The Vavoom moment. I wondered if the sex under the bed between Newt and Anathema would reveal anything. It certainly did! If you haven't read @vidavalor's meta about the first time they probably kissed, then you should. Stat! This pair backs it up - and maybe more.
[5] There is a parallel noted here that doesn't fit in the structure, that Crowley signs to start everything rolling, and Aziraphale signs to end it.
On to S2. Then I'll see if I can work a three-series structure together for some predictions.
Link to S2 Chiastic Structure Post.
@aprilodite @kayleefansposts @ineffable-endearments @sendarya
165 notes
·
View notes
Text
How the Drow Became Problematic Faves - a Badly Written Meta History of D&D
Oh, hey. It feels like newcomers to D&D via BG3 fandom have discovered the Problematic Nature of Drow via Halsin vs Minthara conflict.
Cut because of talk of racism and it being fucking long.
Let's talk about meta, first. So, the very first usage of 'drow' came from a dialetc of Scots as a term for troll, which was used to talk about all sorts of evil spirits. When Gary Gygax had to make a war game, he decided he'd make evil elves. They were based on 'black elves' in the Prose Edda and saw the word 'Drow' in a dictionary that claimed it was a term for underground elves who were skilled workers in metal. Being a white guy in the late 70s, he saw no issues in making evil elves actually black. For the next decade or so, they were canon fodder for modules and novels and always evil and repugnant.
In the late 80s and early 90s, R. A. Salavotre and Ed Greenwood slapped on the concept of drow society being an evil dystopian society run by dominatrixes who emasculate men, in the Forgotten Realms setting. There were a few token dark elves, namely the super popular Drizzt Do'Urden, who were good but the majority were not. Like Gary, RA and Ed were white guys who did not see the problem of black elves and putting their kink into deep lore. Not all settings went by this, Dragonlance for example had drow just be ‘evil assholes elves who got kicked out of their society’ and look like just any other elves.
(Quick note on Drizzt, he became iconic not because of his race but so much as being an outsider to two cultures while being a badass. I might not be a fan personally, but I know the appeal of the character.)
The 90s came along and by the end of the decade, TSR was bought by Wizards of he Coast who proceeded to make the Drow even Grim Darker during 3rd edition to go along with the times. Yet, too, didn’t stop to think about the problematic issues that were being brought up by more thoughtful fans - WotC hired another module company who wrote about drow women being so fucking evil, they an orgasm like reaction when embryo killed each other in the womb.
4th Edition came and went. No one talks about those times. Drow existed as evil.
2014, 5e comes along and drow are so fucking popular, they’re included in the Player’s Handbook, rather in errata based books, as ‘humanoid’. In fact other evil races were introduced under the label of ‘humanoid’, indicating orcs and goblinkin. About a year later, Matt Mercer switched up his TTRPG to 5e because it was an easier system for his friends to understand, and they began to show their games online under Critical Role while a year after that Stranger Things came out and became a smash hit.
Between these two, D&D explodes in popularity with an entirely new demographic group that began to outnumber the old guard. This larger and more diverse popular saw drow and other ‘evil races’ and went ‘wtf’. They didn’t exactly like the concept of ‘an always evil race’ and discovered the problematic issues that collected over the last several decades not with just drow, but with ‘monstrous’ races.
WotC wanting money began to listen - just really slowly, and not so much in Forgotten Realms.They dropped the ‘always evil’ from the stat block but refused to change anything else to their older settings.
(Incidentally, the company that made Grim Dark Drow really disliked 4e. They decided to make their own take of 3.5e with Hookers and Blackjack and made Pathfinder, which was supposed to be Edgier Game than D&D. However, a lot of people they hired were quick to notice the nature of the game and say, ‘nah, this shit is stupid’. As of now, Pazio is retconning drow from their lore. - That my friends, is called a character arc.)
During this 46 year span, drow have been fucking evil because their goddess made them do it as justification of their evilness - and not because they were black or born into it. In fact, Lloth, Gruumsh and Maglubiyet are the reasons why the Drow, Orc, and Goblinkin society is so evil and they’re also why they can function as a society when in truth, they all should have fallen apart. And no one has bothered to change this lore. In fact they avoid mentioning this lore rather than changing it to avoid conflict with older fans and newer fans.
Then BG3 hits and hits harder than anyone expected. A lot of new fans come on aboard and really begin to like Drow, who are super sexy evil elves, not knowing the lore and kicking the problematic issues down the road. Larian was a bit quicker than TSR/WotC to realize ‘wow, this is fucking yikes’ and decided to make Seldarine drow. I’ve been playing since I was young teen, in the last years of 3.xe. I saw a lot of wanna-be Drizzt and Good Aligned Drow that were played variably, but there were a lot of people who loved the concept. While Seldarine aren’t a concept in TTRPG canon proper, the idea of Seldarine drow has existed for decades at tables, and Larian acknowledging that is something I love.
But they made Llothsworn Drow as the ‘lore compliant drow’ because WotC hasn’t changed drow in decades.
The thing is, Drow being Problematic Faves isn’t because WotC is wildly racist on purpose, it’s just that during the majority of Drow being A Thing in D&D, they have been Sexy and Evil Villains and play the role of Misunderstood Outsider (though this recently has been taken over by tieflings).
In fact, I’m seeing a lot of new fans getting kicked in the teeth when characters react to a Llothsworn drow as flat out evil and not being judged by their actions, because they don’t know it’s been a thing in D&D for years with narrative excuses to justify in-universe racism. And then there are some players who make an evil Llothsworn drow and still get upset despite playing into in-universe reasons for the excuses of racism.
We’re seeing it as a reaction to datamined information with little context other than an abused white guy feels uncomfortable with an abused black woman - and it’s super hard to justify in-universe reasons for this because in the real world, a white guy is going to be listened to and believed regardless of it being true or not.
Essentially, the drow are a fucking mess due to D&D ignoring the racial implications of drow in the real world for nearly 50 years. The only way to fix it is making major lore changes, which is something they’re reluctant to do because they’re making their errata books so damn light on lore as to avoid conflict and the model sells.
Will this change with BG3? I don’t know. But I kinda hope so.
60 notes
·
View notes
Note
Hi Word Lady!!! I'm back. 😁 Can you talk about Shadwell's asking how many nipples people have? I've never really gotten this.
Thank you!!!
PS Pumpkin donuts for you.
Hi there. 💕Yum- those sound delicious! Thank you. 😊 There is a smidgen of word stuff happening here but it's really more of a historical reference related to witch hunts. You asked just the right person for this, actually. I was born in & grew up near Salem, MA & have studied mass hysteria and global witch hunts pretty extensively. It's a subject of morbid fascination for me. Anyway...
Throwing this under a cut because of non-graphic mention of real life torture of people accused of witches.
In both the Salem Witch Trials and in their European counterparts, if you were accused of being a witch, it was almost impossible to prove your innocence because you were pretty much presumed guilty from the get-go. Women were disproportionally accused of witchcraft and remain at least 80% (higher, in some counts) of the victims of witch hunts globally. It was very much a war waged and raged against women by men. These repressed, religious zealots used it as an opportunity to torture women and subject them to all sorts of horrors and humiliations. The nipple question relates to this.
One of the things that would happen is that accused people would be forced to strip and be examined by a group (of men, of course) made up of clergy and local officials. They'd be looking for what is known as a "witch's tit" or a "witch's mark", which is to what Shadwell is referring when he asks people how many nipples they have. The idea of the witch's tit comes from the batty religious notion that a person who was a witch was in possession of a third nipple somewhere on their person from which The Devil sucked on their blood as nourishment. (Yes, these people seriously needed to do more than plant grain and read the Bible, I agree lol.)
What I just described above about someone being born with more than two nipples is rare-- but not as rare as you might think. It's referred to as polythelia. The most common occurrence of them is a third nipple that is virtually alongside/underneath the main one on one breast. They're completely harmless medically and don't really affect much of anything. It's really no different from being born with a birthmark. *shrug* The differences are what make us beautiful. I pulled some stats for the meta but, while it varies, people with more than two nipples are estimated to be about 2-6% of people, though it varies within different population groups. That is common enough for religious zealots to be aware enough of it to have demonized it but also rare enough for them to need to expand that "witch's tit" definition to use it as "evidence" of witchcraft. So, they made it more of a "witch's mark" for which they were looking and this is where it gets even more wacked...
A witch's mark could be literally anything on a person's skin-- a birthmark, a scar, a scratch, a stretchmark, a pimple, hives you broke out in because you were being examined against your will by a bunch of creeps... a fucking freckle. If you're thinking that there is no person on Earth who doesn't have some sort of marking on their skin, you are correct. That's mah point-- there was no way out. By their definition, we're all witches.
Shadwell is not the sharpest tool in the toolshed and fancied himself the last line of defense against the supposed evil of supposed witchcraft. He somehow thinks that, even if he were to come across a person with a third nipple, that said person would just share this information casually with him and that they would be in the wrong not to do so, as if the details of this person's body is at all Shadwell's business.
While the question is amusing to our modern sensibilities because who the hell goes around asking this? lol, it is also reflecting something darker, which is that there is a part of Shadwell-- an older, white man-- who believes that somebody else's body is his concern. Shadwell, in pursuing private information about a person's body, believes himself capable of judgement of that person and that his own ideas about what is "right" are the only ones that matter. He has no qualms about trying to expose a person he feels is outside of the norm of a society where people who look and act like him have historically been in control and, in Shadwell's view, should remain in power.
Sound familiar?
He's basically a dumbass, personally pretty powerless (but not socially powerless) version of The Metatron.
Shadwell is not frightening because he's on his own, doesn't have much economic power (the social capital of poor white men is lesser than rich ones but still capital), and is comically inept, but his mentality is still very dangerous. The Metatron, by contrast, is fucking terrifying because he is intelligent, conniving, holds a great deal of power, and genuinely has an actual army at his disposal.
Both of them hunt witches of different kinds. The Metatron is a floating head who believes himself above a body and exerts power by trying to make everyone else in Heaven feel less holy for even having a full, human body for a corporation... let alone for daring to do much of anything with it. Aziraphale's love of really living in his body and experiencing life through it is the complete antithesis of The Metatron. Even Gabriel's vanity is empathetic in this light because it's also something of an act of rebellion-- taking pride in his body, even if he struggles with consuming what he needs to truly be healthy, is also the opposite of what The Metatron would say is really becoming of an angel, let alone The Supreme Archangel.
The Metatron represents both the church and secular societies coming at people with their ideas about sin and social norms and otherizing those who don't follow the rules of what they say your body-- if you must have one-- is for. Shadwell is like the radicalized lone wolf nut jobs of these groups who view everyone else as a threat and think their social power is diminished by the existence of others who are, in some way, unlike them. [In that way, he's a bit Sandalphon as well.]
Shadwell has fashioned himself the gender and sexuality police and what brings humor to his story is that he's completely and utterly ineffectual. The joke is that he has been, since we first met him during the sexual revolution of the late 1960s, the entirety of The Witchfinder Army, because while there are still plenty of men on Earth like this-- plenty-- and they're doing plenty of damage, they no longer have the complete, social control that they had a few centuries ago that led to things like the global witch hunts in the way that they were conducted then. Not that we shouldn't remain ever-vigilant, though...
I think the key to the nipple question lies in who Shadwell asks more than anything else-- and who he doesn't ask.
The two characters besides Tracy who get asked the nipple question or something like it are Crowley and Newt. Crowley gets asked if he's "a witch, a warlock..." in 1967, while Newt gets asked the nipple question not long after he and Shadwell have met.
Newt and Shadwell conduct themselves very differently. Newt is softer, more timid, and gentler in approach to the world by comparison to Shadwell's brusqueness. Newt's way of navigating life is at odds with Shadwell's ideas about masculinity and that, alone, could be the reason for Newt getting the nipple question. Those qualities in Newt aren't gendered things and his own gender identity ideas are not something explored in the story. To some, he has potential as a character to be someone who might come to see himself-- or come to tell people that he sees himself-- as non-binary. It's not really relevant either way to my point, though, which is that, regardless of Newt's actual gender identity, he got asked the nipple question because Shadwell perceived some of Newt's traits to be unmasculine by Shadwell's definition. He finds coloring outside gender binary lines confusing and that's in line with his witch hunting predecessors. He's lonely enough to not care as much but he also sees himself as guiding Newt towards his purpose as a man and that purpose, in Shadwell's mind, is one of great and positive, manly-man masculinity, as he also sees himself not as anti-feminist but as a gallant knight rescuing women from The Devil and human perverts alike.
Crowley and Newt, for different but similar reasons, challenge Shadwell's ideas about gender. Aziraphale challenges Shadwell's ideas about sexuality by being the most flaming of swords and that has a gendered component in Shadwell's view as it is Aziraphale being "*the* Southern pansy"-- being effeminate, in Shadwell's eyes-- that Shadwell finds offensive. Only Anathema really escaped Shadwell's gender and sexuality bigotry unscathed...
...and she's the one who is *actually* a witch. 😂
Not that he'll not find something. I'm sure the fact that she's Latina would be something to make him nervous. And American. And Californian... What if she serves him kale? WHAT THEN?!?! 😂
The little bit of word thing happening here is that the word nipple (original spelling: nyppell), was apparently an alteration of the word neble. Neble evolved from neb, a word relating to birds and other animals, which meant a bill, a beak, or a snout. These words-- particularly, the latter two-- are also slang words for the human nose.
The inclusion of birds and other animals references in the etymology of the word is also funny considering the ties to them that our angels and demons have in the story. Most people Shadwell will ask the nipple question of should really be answering three, if they have two nipples and a nose. 😉 Not that he or they likely know that... Neither did any of those witch hunters in real life. All that time thinking that they had to expand the definition to any mark on the skin when, really, people just having a nose would have done the trick because all of this witch's tit/number of nipples nonsense is obviously absolutely, completely, and utterly ridiculous.
7 notes
·
View notes
Text
Got myself a copy of the 1st Ed 40k Rulebook! Spent an evening going through the thing, and you know, it's goofy as hell but it really is a cool book. I really appreciate how much work they put into this thing, not only selling the concept of 40k as a setting for the very first time, but making the entire game standalone and very playable. Seriously, there are few things in the 1st ed core book that doesn't have some kind of stats.
For instance, it mentions Custodes and within a few pages it has Custodes stated out. Most of everything has at least one block of stats and some kind of rules to field them, maybe not as a competitive army as we understand today, but as something playable for the sake of narrative. You can explore so much in one book, and honestly I wish modern 40k books gave that much love to their universe.
I think it would be amazing if modern GW published a core rulebook that could be played without anything else for 40k. Human stats, aeldari stats, Necron stats, chaos, kroot, random xenos and warp entities, charts to make your own, and standard weapons profiles for everything. So you have a game, a solid game that is playable by itself with a skew towards narrative play and making one's own characters- then releasing Codices and supplements for army building, special military units and rules pertaining to what a specific xenos race looks like as a military force rather than just a random band of them.
I do think modern 40k is very fun, but man, reading through this it does make me beg for a time where fun was the focus. I hate shit like meta play, tournaments, and balancing. It just isn't my jam. The way 1st ed is set up? I want a modern take on that. Even include the concept of having a GM for a campaign of it! I loooove that shit, I love the idea of having a GM for a 1v1 tabletop war game. Oh yeah, your list rocks, but did you expect the GM to have a renegade titan wander onto the map? My goodness.
I really dig it. When Dorothy and I move in two months, I'll try and trick some of my pals into playing 1st ed. I'll let you folks know how it goes! Who knows, maybe it'll be my favorite edition of 40k yet. I've played most of them at this point. Got in at the start of 5th, went back and played 3 and 4, and have been playing every edition up till now as they come out. Haven't touched 1 and 2, but I am very excited to do so!
24 notes
·
View notes
Note
Ok, have some basic wf tips with some questions regarding socialization at the bottom:
-Best early game warframes are Rhino and literally every Warframe you can get from the Tenno Lab of a Clan Dojo. You can check guides to see how each frame is built, but i can also give you an overview directly if any warframe specifically catches your eye.
-Level up your damage mods and elemental damage mods. They will get you through with your weapons.
-Each weapon has either a higher crit chance or a higher status chance. Build either a full crit build for a weapon or a status build with elemental mods (best are viral, corrosive against grineer, heat and slash) depending on which stat is higher for your weapon. (Btw, you normally get weapons by buying their blueprints from the market for credits, yes for credits not plat, then building it wih the right materials. Same for Warframes, but you need to craft their components first which drop from their own places before you can craft the blueprint for the warframe itself)
-Experiment, get slots from Nightwave or by buying them with plat (if you still have starter plat remaining), and stick with weapons you enjoy using the most rather than whats meta or good. You can get an Mk-1 strun (a very bad weapon for all but the very early game) to kill level 100+ enemies, so meta is a suggestion. (Also, theres a set of mk-1 weapons you can buy for credits which are slightly worse versions of the same weapon without the mk-1 prefix. They serve as intro weapons and consider buying them, but remember to sell them if you need slots/get their base counterpart or a better weapon)
-Progress through the starchart at your own pace. All Warframe content since 2022 and probably forever will be locked behind the New War quest. Do not fret over this, Warframe is not made to be rushed. Play at your pace, everything can be earned.
-Prime gear is not necessary to do good in Warframe, it is a bonus
-If youre confused by the story, thats normal
-if you ever get stuck, the wiki is your friend (but i am also available, being a veteran of the game)
So, yea, that should be all you need to know to get started. Now, onto questions regarfing your interaction with the community:
1. How much do you usually interact with other fandoms youre in?
2. Do you even wish to be a part of the Waframe fandom?
3. Do you prefer to stay at a distance or would you like to interact a bit more? (Asking cause if its the latter, I can offer to be your training wheels considering the sheer number of people in the warframe community im actively friends with).
Ok, thats about all of the questions i can think of right now, but heres one more thing:
Warframe is a game filled to the brim with customization and fashion. It is an oc creator's wet dream. So just saying, if you like making ocs like your blog suggest you do, you will not wanna miss out on the later content in Warframe, trust me. As a proud owner of a bunch of ocs made over the course of multiple years...I would know
Ahh thank you so much this will probably help me a lot! (genuinely had no clue what I was doing in game lmao) I’ll have a look into these when I next log on because I’ll most likely need to change and upgrade stuff like mods, and I’ll try to acquire more Warframes since Excalibur’s the only one I’ve got right now. Also you’re 100% right about the OCs when I saw the amount of customisation options I was so excited lol
In terms of interacting with fandoms whilst I’d like to be able to be more social in the future I’m mostly just a casual observer at the moment, the extent of my interaction is usually just drawing and reblogging fanart, occasionally coming up with theories if I’m really invested in the story but that’s about as much as I interact most of the time and I’ll probably be like that for a while longer knowing me.
That being said I really appreciate the offer and I’m very grateful for the help you’ve given me, thank you so much! :)
13 notes
·
View notes
Text
# ♛ FELLMONARCH ━━━ private, roleplay blog for SOMBRON of FIRE EMBLEM ENGAGE; interpreted & loved by BARELY ( any pronouns & eighteen ); affiliated with THE OFFICER'S ACADEMY.
PORTRAYAL NOTES.
as stated on the blog's side descriptions, SOMBRON will be written in affiliation to the organization, THOSE WHO SLITHER IN THE DARK, known otherwise as TWSITD. rather than serving as an agent, the Agarthans have seen to it that his purpose equals that of a war machine, not yet set into position but loaded all the same; held within the ranks of Seiros' knights. so, dressed from head to toe in armor, helmet locked over sneering fangs, ELYOS MUSES will not recognize him at first glance, though suspicion is granted freely ( simply because he is, in fact, seven feet tall and unknightly in everything but appearance ) . however, he will recognize all Elyos muses and their respective EMBLEMS, which can and will affect future interactions between said characters. the only instances of Sombron outside of his disguise are when he's resting in the forest or mountains, usually in his dragon form to gather energy. approach with caution, or don't, for those are lawless lands ( there are laws everywhere ) .
a very important factor of this blog, too, is that I am experimenting with both character and style. Sombron, at the base of his interpretation, is an UNREDEEMABLE ANTAGONIST, and I have no intent to make you all think otherwise; his crimes are not to be justified, just studied. I want to explore what made him the beast he is and why his fate will always be inevitable, as much as his horrors are inescapable. similarly, future writing partners must understand that the majority of this muse's interactions will be foul, whether in atmosphere or tongue. this cannot and will not be adjusted, as anything less does not give his character justice. while I am lenient with softening certain verbal choices, I will not allow malicious nor pranking actions to be done against Sombron without discussing the expected consequences. this is for the safety of everyone involved, even if I want him to be bullied.
CONTENT WARNINGS for this blog, as introduced in the interview, are discussions, mentions, and examples of, but not limited to, child abuse, mass murder, prolicide & the reproduction of children simply for usage, unnecessary & canon - typical violence, unrecognized survivor’s guilt, dehumanization, abstract & concrete religious themes, prejudice against other races, genocide, and ideations & thoughts of a religious zealot.
for now, that's all ! thank you for reading and i hope to write with you all in the near future 💕
NAVIGATION.
i. lawbook ━━━ includes mun information, blog rules, art credit, writing specifics, & more! ii. portrait ━━━ includes muse information, expectations, shipping availability, headcanons, & more! iii. abilities ━━━ necessary stats page, as of the affiliated group's rule, which includes a link to the respective tracker. iv. interview ━━━ the interview and interpretation prompts of the muse.
TAGS EXPLAINED.
♛ ━━━ ❝ 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐎𝐅 𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 ; 𝐆𝐎𝐁𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐒 𝐅𝐔𝐋𝐋 ・ / in character . ( all posts that are "in character", hence the tag )
♛ ━━━ ❝ 𝐀𝐍 𝐄𝐗𝐈𝐋𝐄 𝐒𝐎 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐇𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐆 ・ / out of character . ( all posts that are "out of character", ex. shitposts, maintenance, meta, etc )
♛ ━━━ ❝ 𝐀𝐃𝐌𝐈𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 ; 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐀𝐋 𝐄𝐘𝐄𝐒 ・ / gallery . ( reblogged art, including possible art by the mun, of the muse )
♛ ━━━ ❝ 𝐌𝐄𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐘𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐄𝐀𝐊 ・ / headcanons . ( posts centered around a muse's headcanons, meta, etc )
♛ ━━━ ❝ 𝐅𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀 𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐕𝐈𝐕𝐎𝐑'𝐒 𝐇𝐔𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑 ・ / prompts . ( all reblogged posts with prompts, ask memes, sentence starters and the likes )
♛ ━━━ ❝ 𝐎𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 𝐁𝐄𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐀𝐂𝐑𝐈𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐄 ・ / inbox . ( all posts that are replies to an ask, excluding threads made from certain asks )
♛ ━━━ ❝ 𝐀 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 ・ / thread name . ( the threads tag )
#pinned post .#♛ ━━━ ❝ 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐎𝐅 𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 ; 𝐆𝐎𝐁𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐒 𝐅𝐔𝐋𝐋 ・ / in character .#♛ ━━━ ❝ 𝐀𝐍 𝐄𝐗𝐈𝐋𝐄 𝐒𝐎 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐇𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐆 ・ / out of character .#♛ ━━━ ❝ 𝐀𝐃𝐌𝐈𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 ; 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐀𝐋 𝐄𝐘𝐄𝐒 ・ / gallery .#♛ ━━━ ❝ 𝐌𝐄𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐘𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐄𝐀𝐊 ・ / headcanons .#♛ ━━━ ❝ 𝐅𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀 𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐕𝐈𝐕𝐎𝐑'𝐒 𝐇𝐔𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑 ・ / prompts .#♛ ━━━ ❝ 𝐎𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 𝐁𝐄𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐀𝐂𝐑𝐈𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐄 ・ / inbox .#♛ ━━━ ❝ 𝐀 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 ・ / thread name .
12 notes
·
View notes
Text
[Book 6 Spoilers]
Night Raven Quest but make that TTRPG, baby (ft. The Overblots)
Riddle doesn't really understand the whole roleplaying thing at first but surprisingly enjoys the whole dungeon exploring and puzzle solving. He'd be a Human, pretty basic, I know. And a boy scout like him would be a Paladin with very strict moral code and is very stubborn about it. His stubbornness and temper sometimes causes conflict on the table but he'll work on that. Most of the time it's not even him starting the conflict, but rather some people (Azul) getting on his nerves and causing his anger to explode. This boy seriously needs to learn to cut himself and others some slack and have fun like a normal goddamn teenager.
Leona is the type of mf who makes a hard-boiled character with serious fucked up backstory but gave them a goofy ahh name no one can keep a straight face calling him that. His character would be a war veteran Dwarf Cleric named Angus Schmungus or something. And you know what? That's probably not even his real name. His character name, background, affiliation, etc. is between him and god (the DM). And if anyone asks him about his background and/or motivations he'd just give different outlandish story every time like that one ex-convict dude from Ratatouille, neither confirming or denying the credibility of the story.
Azul would try to cheat, so they'd need a dice tower. They'd also need to check his dice before every campaign (can't be too careful with this slimy mf). During his character creation process, he prioritize stats like Charisma, Intelligence, etc. He plays a Bard and a Tiefling for that extra +2 Charisma and +1 Intelligence. Though when I said a bard, he's more like a...conman of some sorts (though he wouldn't call himself that). He'd Mansplain, Manipulate and sometimes Manwhore (should the situation call for it) his way into and out of situations.
I genuinely feel like Jamil would be a Yuan-Ti Warlock. I know how obvious and on-the-nose this is but idk it just feels right. He'd make very calculated decisions even if Lady Luck isn't on his side all the time. He'd also be the one who always take one for the team whenever one of them need to make a skill check, even if his stats doesn't seem to be the highest. He doesn't seem to be fazed by any trials that come his way and generally keeps his cool, unlike some people in this table. That is, until the DM puts down a giant enemy spider mini figure on the table and Jamil falls off his goddamn chair.
Vil surprisingly takes roleplaying pretty seriously? Idk I just can't see Vil half-assing acting even if it's only for a table top roleplaying game. And who knows? Maybe he'll finally get to be the hero he always wanted to be. His only obstacle? Leona's goofy ahh character name. Anyways, his character is an High Elf who comes from a long line of powerful noble Wizards.
Idia wanted to go fully on a "stealth DPS" (whatever that means) build, so his character creation focused primarily on what stats benefits his class more, which in this case is a Rogue Artificer. He'd invest most of his stats in Dexterity and Intelligence. For the race, he'd probably be an Elf for that +2 Dexterity; or maybe a Lightfoot Halfling for the nimbleness trait, no darkvision tho; or he could be a gnome for darkvision, +2 Intelligence and +1 Dexterity. All depends on what kind of Rogue Artificer he wants to be, he'd either be a Arcane Trickster or a Phantom (oof too close to home?). Whatever he is, he's all about that "Meta".
Malleus is very unfamiliar with the whole rules, character creation, etc but he's just happy to be invited here :). His whole thought process while creating his character is probably like 'hm..a Dragonborn? Well, I am a dragon fae..". So yeah, his character is a Dragonborn Sorcerer. Kinda predictable tbh, but very... Malleus, also his solution for every problem is to cast Fireball. Yea, his character is pretty much just him but a dragon. But hey, my golden rule in DnD is that it's all about having fun, regardless of the characters.
Almost all of them would try to be the team leader, so there's gonna be a lot of fighting and arguing on the table.
This party is dysfunctional as hell idk what to tell you
Did I mention that this is also a group therapy?
Nothing says group therapy more than a whimsical adventure with your not-friends am I right?
Yea that's all I got for them, not much but yeah idk man
#disney twisted wonderland#disney twst#twisted wonderland#twst#twst fanfic#twst riddle#twst leona#twst azul#twst jamil#twst vil#twst idia#twst malleus#twst headcanons#twst hcs#twisted wonderland headcanons#twisted wonderland hcs#riddle rosehearts#leona kingscholar#azul ashengrotto#jamil viper#vil shoenheit#idia shroud#malleus draconia#twst ttrpg AU
62 notes
·
View notes
Text
detailed level progressions
it's been a while since i did one of these; welcome back to thisisnotthenerd's d20 stats. this time, we're taking a deeper dive into level progressions.
i went into this a bit back in october, but the chart has been updated to reflect fantasy high junior year's level progression, as seen below.
we're going to focus on the seasons with level changes primarily, but a note on the non progression seasons--they tend to reflect a short timetable: events occurring over the course of a day/week. the non leveled seasons are not run in dnd and don't really have stat changes in that way, though they sometimes reflect changes in attributes, e.g. the wand evolution in misfits & magic or dan fucks getting the wealthy attribute in mentopolis.
before we get into the level progression, let's talk adventure level. this just describes the scale of adventure; tier 1 is levels 1-4, tier 2 is levels 5-10, tier 3 is levels 11-16, and tier 4 is levels 17-20.
the majority of d20 seasons fall into tier 1 or 2, with more in the latter category. this makes sense--it's easy to create interesting/potentially deadly encounters without risking character death every time. you may notice repetition of the major progression seasons (fantasy high, the unsleeping city, a crown of candy, a starstruck odyssey, neverafter)—this is because of their general progression, with leveling after battle episodes. they cannot be fully classified as one or the other, and are thus counted in both. the scale of combat significantly changes.
with the lower levels, they run the risk of pc death, as we saw in both fantasy high and neverafter, where the parties started at level 1. in starstruck the characters go down in combat often; with the exception of the ship combats and the finale, someone goes down in every starstruck battle; sometimes multiple characters. acoc was intentionally deadly, but once the party got a primary caster they were pretty much set. the point of all of this is to say that at a certain point dnd characters get hard to kill and you have to get creative to get them to feel the stakes.
as of now, dimension 20 does not have any tier 4 adventures. it's easy to understand why; the scale of adventure, once the party gets to that point, becomes difficult to balance and make interesting over time. the high levels can be fun for oneshots and potentially a mini campaign, but without previous emotional investment, they can be difficult to make interesting--if the party is level with gods, how can you effectively challenge them? the nature of the medium is that the storytelling arcs are tied to mechanical growth; the short-form structure of dimension 20 means that they don't have the time to get characters from 1 to 20, except in the case of sequel seasons.
fantasy high senior year might potentially be a tier 4 adventure because we've had time to see the bad kids grow and change and progress through the previous levels; any tier 4 adventure would be a simple escalation of the threats the party already faced.
anyway. let's take a look at some specifics of level progressions.
check them out in spreadsheet form here
--------
major level progressions
the organization will be slightly different here, to account for continual progressions in sequel seasons, so keep that in mind. this will also include individual commentary in some cases. fair warning: if you're looking for a specific character/season it's better to ctrl+F.
the intrepid heroes seasons are major progression of varying degrees. initially this meant the characters went up one level after each combat encounter. as the formats for seasons varied, this changed. for example, there is only one level jump in fantasy high sophomore year, and only two in chapter 2 of the unsleeping city. these season are included as part of their greater series such that we can track the characters' growth.
---------
fantasy high
the bad kids have had some major growth from their first appearance until now--they began with milestone growth, briefly switched to xp leveling (shh!) and then returned to milestone growth with their return to battlemaps.
in freshman year, they all went through linear milestone leveling, taking subclasses at third level. in sophomore year, some of them leaned into multiclassing and chose to switch subclasses for the sake of narrative growth. in junior year, we saw a continuation of the multiclassing and subclass switches.
fig faeth
freshman year: fig leveled exclusively in bard from levels 1 to 8, taking whispers bard as her subclass at level 3.
sophomore year: fig altered her build partially, to begin the season with 6 levels of whispers bard and 2 levels of hexblade warlock. at the mid-season level up, fig swapped to the bard college of lore and dropped one level of hexblade warlock in order to end the season with 8 levels of lore bard and 1 level of hexblade warlock.
junior year: fig started the season with 8 levels of lore bard and 2 levels of hexblade warlock that she affirmed with an ancestral pact in the first battle. after taking an additional level of bard, she made the decision to take on paladin levels, exchanging one of her hexblade warlock levels to take two levels of paladin at once. for the rest of the season she alternated between leveling in lore bard and devotion paladin, thus ending with 10 levels of lore bard, 3 levels of devotion paladin, and 1 level hexblade warlock.
overall level change:
initial level: bard 1
final level: lore bard 10 | devotion paladin 3 | hexblade warlock 1
gorgug thistlespring
freshman year: gorgug leveled exclusively in barbarian from levels 1 to 8, taking berserker barbarian as his subclass at level 3.
sophomore year: gorgug started the season as a level 8 berserker barbarian. at the mid-season level up, gorgug took his first level of artificer to end the season with 8 levels of berserker barbarian and 1 level of artificer.
junior year: gorgug started the season having redistributed his levels somewhat: 7 levels of berserker barbarian and 3 levels of artificer (subclass unconfirmed but expected to be alchemist). with each subsequent level up, he removed barbarian levels to replace them with higher artificer levels; he went from 7 | 3 -> 6 | 5 -> 6 | 6 -> 6 | 7 -> 5 | 9. furthermore, he swapped from the battlesmith subclass (declared at first level up) to the barbificer subclass (homebrew) to reflect his narrative growth. he ended the season with 5 levels of berserker barbarian and 9 levels of barbificer artificer.
overall level change:
initial level: barbarian 1
final level: berserker barbarian 5 | barbificer artificer 9
adaine abernant
freshman year: adaine leveled exclusively in wizard from levels 1 to 8, taking divination wizard as her subclass at level 3.
sophomore year: adaine started the season as a level 8 divination wizard. at the mid-season level up, she took another level of divination wizard.
junior year: adaine started the season with 10 levels of divination wizard; she continued leveling in it throughout the season to end with 14 levels of divination wizard. she was the only one of the bad kids to not change her subclass or multiclass in any season.
overall level change:
initial level: wizard 1
final level: divination wizard 14
fabian aramais seacaster
freshman year: fabian leveled exclusively in fighter from levels 1 to 8, taking champion fighter as his subclass at level 3.
sophomore year: fabian started the season as a level 8 champion fighter. after his catastrophic fall in leviathan, fabian lost the use of his class/subclass features. at the mid-season level up, he redistributed his build: he took 6 levels of battlemaster fighter and 3 levels of swords bard.
junior year: fabian started the season with 6 levels of battlemaster fighter and 4 levels of swords bard; he exclusively leveled in swords bard for the rest of the season to end with 6 levels of battlemaster fighter and 8 levels of swords bard.
overall level change:
initial level: fighter 1
final level: battlemaster fighter 6 | swords bard 8
kristen applebees
freshman year: kristen leveled exclusively in life cleric from levels 1 to 8.
sophomore year: kristen started the season as a level 8 life cleric. at the mid-season level up, she took another level of life cleric. after her death and council of the gods, she swapped her subclass to twilight cleric to reflect her new deity.
junior year: kristen started the season with 10 levels of twilight cleric; she continued leveling in it throughout the season to end with 14 levels of twlight cleric.
overall level change:
initial level: life cleric 1
final level: twilight cleric 14
riz gukgak
freshman year: riz leveled exclusively in rogue from levels 1 to 8, taking inquisitive rogue as his subclass at level 3.
sophomore year: riz started the season as a level 8 inquisitive rogue. at the mid-season level up, he took another level of inquisitive rogue.
junior year: riz started the season with 10 levels of arcane trickster rogue, having switched his subclass to improve efficiency and reflect his work as an angelic agent; he continued leveling in it throughout the season to end with 14 levels of arcane trickster rogue.
overall level change:
initial level: rogue 1
final level: arcane trickster rogue 14
--------
the unsleeping city
the dream team also experienced major growth, though they swapped from single battle-milestone to a more spread out approach from chapter i to chapter ii. there were notably fewer multiclasses and subclass swaps, though they were still present. given that the setting required engagement with the magical side of new york, all of the party members had some kind of magic and the party overall had a higher than average number of full casters (chapter i: 4, chapter 2: 4)
this is our first sequel season where new characters come in to play; the descriptions will reflect this change.
ricky matsui
chapter i: ricky leveled exclusively in devotion paladin from level 3 to level 10.
chapter ii: ricky started the season with a subclass change to redemption paladin, then continually leveled in it to finish the season at level 12.
overall level change:
initial level: devotion paladin 3
final level: redemption paladin 12
sofia lee
chapter i: sofia started the season as a level 3 drunken master monk--she leveled in it until mid-way through the season, when she made a pact with la gran gata and picked up two levels of hexblade warlock. she finished the season with 8 levels of drunken master monk and 2 levels of hexblade warlock.
chapter ii: sofia started the season with a subclass change to shadow monk, to symbolize her journey away from alcoholism, and then exclusively leveled in it to end the season with 10 levels of shadow monk and 2 levels of hexblade warlock. she utilized downtime addiction mechanics (progressive rolls on each die in the suite to symbolize her state; the highest roll on each given die would trigger a move to the next, e.g. a 4 on the d4 means she'd move to the d6, so on and so forth).
overall level change:
initial level: drunken master monk 3
final level: shadow monk 10 | hexblade warlock 2
kingston brown
chapter i: kingston leveled exclusively in city cleric from level 3 to level 10.
chapter ii: kingston leveled exclusively in city cleric from level 10 to level 12.
overall level change:
initial level: city cleric 3
final level: city cleric 12
misty moore/rowan berry
chapter i: misty leveled exclusively in lore bard from level 3 to level 10.
chapter ii: rowan presumably leveled up off-screen; we meet her with 12 levels of lore bard in chapter ii.
overall level change:
initial level: lore bard 3
final level: lore bard 12
iga lisowski
chapter i: iga was not present in chapter i; presumably she progressively leveled up throughout her lifetime.
chapter ii: iga started the season with 10 levels of genie warlock; after unlocking the secret of her ancestral chest, she took 2 levels of draconic sorcerer to finish the season.
overall level change:
initial level: genie warlock 10
final level: genie warlock 10 | draconic sorcerer 2
kugrash
chapter i: kugrash leveled exclusively in shepherd druid from level 3 to level 10.
chapter ii: kugrash was not present as a PC in chapter ii, but as an omnipotent spirit of the city of new york.
overall level change:
initial level: shepherd druid 3
final level: shepherd druid 10
cody walsh
chapter i: cody was not present in chapter i; presumably he leveled up throughout his lifetime.
chapter ii: cody leveled exclusively in oathbreaker paladin from level 10 to level 12.
overall level change:
initial level: oathbreaker paladin 10
final level: oathbreaker paladin 12
pete conlan
chapter i: pete leveled exclusively in wild magic sorcerer from level 3 to level 10. pete utilized a modified build to reflect his role as the vox phantasma and his background as an addict; instead of triggering wild magic surges solely on nat 1s, his magic increased the dc with each spell he used, thus increasing the probability of surges. he also received the 14th level subclass feature controlled chaos (advantage on d100 roll for wild magic) midway through the season.
chapter ii: pete leveled exclusively in wild magic sorcerer from level 10 to level 12. he retained his altered build features and utilized the addiction mechanics that he shared with sofia.
overall level change:
initial level: wild magic sorcerer 3
final level: wild magic sorcerer 12
--------
a crown of candy
the taste buds also saw major growth, though some saw different progressions; the pcs started the season at staggered levels. multiclassing and subclass switches were common in this season perhaps more than any other. maximization of the builds was a focus due to the deadly nature of the season.
liam wilhelmina
liam started the season with 2 levels of ranger and selected the beastmaster subclass after the ambush on sucrosi road. he continued to level in ranger, but after the death of his companion, he 'became a war guy' and took on the gloomstalker subclass. after the death of his cousin, liam restructured his build to include 5 levels of gloomstalker ranger and 2 levels of rogue. from there, he alternated between adding levels of rogue and levels of ranger. he finished the season with 6 levels of gloomstalker ranger and 4 levels of assassin rogue.
overall level change:
initial level: ranger 2
final level: gloomstalker ranger 6 | assassin rogue 4
theobald gumbar
theo leveled exclusively in eldritch knight fighter from level 3 to level 10.
overall level change:
initial level: eldritch knight fighter 3
final level: eldritch knight fighter 10
jet rocks
jet started the season with 1 level of rogue; she took 3 levels of battlemaster fighter in preparation for the grand tournament. jet continued to increase her fighter levels--she dropped her rogue level to prioritize her fighter levels just before her death, ending with 7 levels of battlemaster fighter.
overall level change:
initial level: rogue 1
final level: battlemaster fighter 7
saccharina frostwhip
saccharina joined the party with 6 levels of storm sorcerer and 2 levels of tempest cleric; she prioritized her sorcerer levels and ended the season with 8 levels of storm sorcerer and 2 levels of tempest cleric. she was the party's only full caster and her build was optimized to reflect that.
overall level change:
initial level: storm sorcerer 6 | tempest cleric 2
final level: storm sorcerer 8 | tempest cleric 2
ruby rocks
ruby started the season with 1 level of rogue; she continued to level it, taking arcane trickster as her subclass in preparation for the grand tournament. she took 1 level of shadow sorcerer after communing with her aunt lazuli and the sugar plum fairy, but continued to level in rogue for the rest of the season, ending with 9 levels of arcane trickster rogue and 1 level of shadow sorcerer
overall level change:
initial level: rogue 1
final level: arcane trickster rogue 9 | shadow sorcerer 1
amethar rocks
amethar started the season with 3 levels of storm herald barbarian; he tok two further levels in it until the ambush at st. arugula's, when he started to level in fighter, selecting battlemaster as his subclass to match his daughter. he ended the season with 5 levels of storm herald barbarian and 5 levels of battlemaster fighter.
overall level change:
initial level: storm herald barbarian 3
final level: storm herald barbarian 5 | battlemaster fighter 5
lapin cadbury
lapin leveled exclusively in celestial warlock from level 3 to level 5. he passed away early in the campaign, thus precluding further level changes.
overall level change:
initial level: celestial warlock 3
final level: celestial warlock 5
cumulous rocks
cumulous leveled exclusively in long death monk from level 6 to level 10. he joined the party midway through the campaign as they returned to candia.
overall level change:
initial level: long death monk 6
final level: long death monk 10
--------
a starstruck odyssey
starstruck runs a little differently than previous seasons of dimension 20 by virtue of using sw5e--a dnd-influenced game system that utilizes aspects of the world of star wars to bring a sci-fi galaxy to life. you can check out sw5e here; i highly recommend it.
the major change is the inclusion of ship deployments as additional customization; this allows the characters to level up their proficiencies on the ship and provides additional abilities for use on space craft. ship deployment levels do not necessarily correlate to character class levels; characters technically start at level 0 and level up as they prove their mastery in ship combat. the gunner channel is technically a little overleveled in their ship deployment levels with respect to their character classes, if we assume the 5 levels of ship deployment are evenly spaced among the 20 character class levels.
this serves to balance the season, because the gunner channel ends the season at level 6 after fighting some enemies that were seriously above their weight class, though they had fewer battles in general. we saw some staggered starts again, though no subclass swaps or multiclassing. they leveled up after combats with battle boards; there were a few encounters that did not qualify (e.g. flee from fantanimalland).
gunnie miggles-rashbax
character class: gunnie leveled exclusively in engineer from level 1 to level 6, taking 3 levels and the gadgeteer subclass at the party's first level up. this class is comparable to artificer, with the full casting progression and inspiration from bard.
ship deployment: gunnie leveled exclusively in mechanic from level 1 to level 3.
overall level change:
initial level: engineer 1 [mechanic 1]
final level: gadgeteer engineer 6 [mechanic 3]
riva
character class: riva leveled exclusively in suggestion consular from level 3 to level 6. this class combines features of the cleric, wizard, and sorcerer, and utilizes metamagic as an additional feature.
ship deployment: riva leveled exclusively in coordinator from level 1 to level 3.
overall level change:
initial level: suggestion consular 3 [coordinator 1]
final level: suggestion consular 6 [coordinator 3]
norman 'skip' takamori
character class: skip leveled exclusively in operative from level 2 to level 6, taking 2 levels and the lethality subclass at the party's first level up. this class is primarily based on the rogue, but provides different uses of sneak attack and additional maneuvers.
ship deployment: skip leveled exclusively in pilot from level 1 to level 3
overall level change:
initial level: operative 2 [pilot 1]
final level: lethality operative 6 [pilot 3]
margaret encino
character class: margaret leveled exclusively in scholar from level 2 to level 6, taking 2 levels and the politician subclass at the party's first level up. this is a brand new class which incorporates maneuvers from the battlemaster fighter and new features knows as discoveries that serve to support the party in battle and provide expertise out of combat.
ship deployment: margaret leveled exclusively in operator from level 1 to level 3.
overall level change:
initial level: scholar 2 [operator 1]
final level: politician scholar 6 [operator 3]
sundry sidney
character class: sidney leveled exclusively in corsair sentinel from level 3 to level 6. this class uses a 2/3rds progression that supports combat support casting from the bard and an additional level of customization known as ideals
ship deployment: sidney leveled exclusively in gunner from level 1 to level 3
overall level change:
initial level: corsair sentinel 3 [gunner 1]
final level: corsair sentinel 6 [gunner 3]
big barry syx
character class: barry leveled exclusively in ballistic berserker from level 3 to level 6. this class is based on the barbarian, with the addition of instincts that provide unique abilities aside from subclass.
ship deployment: barry leveled exclusively in gunner from level 1 to level 3
overall level change:
initial level: ballistic berserker 3 [gunner 1]
final level: ballistic berserker 6 [gunner 3]
--------
neverafter
neverafter has the most traditional high fantasy dnd setting--the leveling of the party is relatively normal, with a couple of subclass swaps and multiclasses, but generally standard progression.
we saw a couple of narrative moments that signaled different level shifts: destiny's children had a notable level jump after their first battle because they committed to a darker universe after death. the party had symbolic changes after their encounter with the baba yaga as well, with a second level jump going into the finale.
rosamund du prix
rosamund started the season as a level 1 ranger. at the first major jump, she continued on the ranger track and took the swarmkeeper subclass. she maintained this progression until the second major jump, when she restructured her build to incorporate 5 levels of swarmkeeper ranger, 2 levels of stars druid, and 1 level of fighter, where she ended the season.
overall level change:
initial level: ranger 1
final level: swarmkeeper ranger 5 | stars druid 2 | fighter 1
mother timothy goose
timothy started the season as a level 1 bard. at the first major jump, he continued on the bard track and took the lore subclass. he maintained this progression through the second major jump, and ended the season with 8 levels of lore bard.
overall level change:
initial level: bard 1
final level: lore bard 8
pinocchio
pinocchio started the season as a level 1 archfey warlock. at the first major jump, he continued on this track. after breaking his ties with the stepmother, he changed his subclass to destiny, a homebrew that allowed him to affect elements of fate relating to his own story. he maintained this progression through the second major jump, and ended the season with 8 levels of destiny warlock.
overall level change:
initial level: archfey warlock 1
final level: destiny warlock 8
puss in boots | pib
pib started the season as a level 1 rogue. at the first major jump, he continued on the rogue track and took the mastermind subclass. he maintained this progression through the second major jump, and ended the season with 8 levels of mastermind rogue.
overall level change:
initial level: rogue 1
final level: mastermind rogue 8
gerard of greenleigh
gerard started the season as a level 1 fighter. at the first major jump, he continued on the fighter track and took the battlemaster subclass. he maintained this progression through the second major jump, and ended the season with 8 levels of battlemaster fighter.
overall level change:
initial level: fighter 1
final level: battlemaster fighter 8
ylfa snorgelsson
ylfa started the season as a level 1 barbarian. at the first major jump, she paused her barbarian progression for 2 levels of moon druid. she then returned to the barbarian progression, taking the bear totem subclass, and ended the season with 6 levels of bear totem barbarian and 2 levels of moon druid.
overall level change:
initial level: barbarian 1
final level: bear totem barbarian 6 | moon druid 2
--------
the ravening war
unlike the other seasons we've discussed so far, the ravening war has a time skip over wartime that constitutes a major level jump--almost doubling the previous builds. much like a crown of candy, this season involved lots of multiclasses and subclass swaps, with min-maxing for political intrigue as opposed to pure combat.
delissandro katzon
delissandro started the season with 5 levels of champion fighter. at the time skip he swapped his fighter subclass out and took a level of barbarian, to end the season with 8 levels of battlemaster fighter and 1 level of barbarian.
overall level change:
initial level: champion fighter 5
final level: battlemaster fighter 8 | barbarian 1
raphaniel charlock
raphaniel started the season with 4 levels of eloquence bard and 1 level of rogue. at the time skip he took two levels of each and the inquisitive rogue subclass, to end the season with 6 levels of eloquence bard and 3 levels of inquisitive rogue. his build included feats that allowed him the use of metamagic and telepathy, which heightened his use of magic and secretive nature.
overall level change:
initial level: eloquence bard 4 | rogue 1
final level: eloquence bard 6 | inquisitive rogue 3
karna solara
karna started the season with 3 levels of whispers bard and 2 levels of great old one warlock. at the time skip she took 4 levels of phantom rogue, to end the season with 4 levels of phantom rogue, 3 levels of whispers bard, and 2 levels of great old one warlock.
overall level change:
initial level: whispers bard 3 | great old one warlock 2
final level: phantom rogue 4 | whispers bard 3 | great old one warlock 2
colin provolone
colin started the season with 3 levels of battlemaster fighter and 2 levels of rogue. at the time skip he took 3 fighter levels and 1 rogue level, to end the season with 6 levels of battlemaster fighter and 3 levels of swashbuckler rogue.
overall level change:
initial level: battlemaster fighter 3 | rogue 2
final level: battlemaster fighter 6 | swashbuckler rogue 3
lady amangeaux epiceé du peche
amangeaux started the season with 4 levels of arcane trickster rogue, comparatively lower level than the rest of the party. at the time skip, she continued in the progression to end the season with 9 levels of arcane trickster rogue.
overall level change:
initial level: arcane trickster rogue 4
final level: arcane trickster rogue 9
--------
burrow's end
burrow's end is the first true major progression sidequest, despite occurring on a compressed timespan. each level up is a double jump, signifying the party's exposure to the blue and the society of last bast. multiclassing, subclass swaps, and restructured builds were common in this season; all of the characters multiclass at least once.
tula
tula started the season with 4 levels of redemption paladin. at the first level jump she continued the progression with two additional levels. at the second level jump she continued the progression with two additional levels. at the final level jump she restructured her build to finish the season with 7 levels of redemption paladin and 3 levels of life cleric.
overall level change:
initial level: redemption paladin 4
final level: redemption paladin 7 | life cleric 3
jaysohn
jaysohn started the season with 4 levels of astral self monk. at the first level jump he took 1 additional level as well as 1 level of rogue. at the second level jump he continued the rogue progression with two additional levels, taking the swashbuckler subclass. at the final level jump he took two additional levels of rogue to finish the season with 5 levels of astral self monk and 5 levels of swashbuckler rogue.
overall level change:
initial level: astral self monk 4
final level: astral self monk 5 | swashbuckler rogue 5
viola
viola started the season with 4 levels of devotion paladin. at the first level jump she continued the progression with two additional levels. at the second level jump she continued the progression with two additional levels. at the final level jump she restructured her build to finish the season with 7 levels of devotion paladin and 3 levels of champion fighter.
overall level change:
initial level: devotion paladin 4
final level: devotion paladin 7 | champion fighter 3
thorn vale
thorn started the season with 4 levels of fey wanderer ranger. at the first level jump he continued the progression with two additional levels. at the second level jump he took 1 additional level as well as 1 level of tempest cleric. at the final level jump he restructured his build to finish the season with 5 levels of fey wanderer ranger and 5 levels of tempest cleric.
overall level change:
initial level: fey wanderer ranger 4
final level: fey wanderer ranger 5 | tempest cleric 5
ava
ava started the season with 3 levels of ancestral guardians barbarian and 1 level of fighter. at the first level jump she continued the barbarian progression with two additional levels. at the second level jump she continued the fighter progression with two additional levels, taking the battlemaster subclass. at the final level jump she added two grave cleric levels to finish the season with 5 levels of ancestral guardians barbarian, 3 levels of battlemaster fighter, and 2 levels of grave cleric.
overall level change:
initial level: ancestral guardians barbarian 3 | fighter 1
final level: ancestral guardians barbarian 5 | battlemaster fighter 3 | life cleric 2
lila
lila started the season with 4 levels of inquisitive rogue. at the first level jump she continued the rogue progression with two additional levels, and swapped her subclass to arcane trickster. at the second level jump she took two levels of wizard. at the final level jump she restructured her build to finish the season with 4 levels of arcane trickster rogue and 6 levels of bladesinger wizard.
overall level change:
initial level: inquisitive rogue 4
final level: arcane trickster rogue 4 | bladesinger wizard 6
--------
minor level progressions
these are the seasons with only one level jump--this reflects having narrative growth on a compressed timeline. if we include fhsy for the sake of argument, all of these seasons fall into tier 2--it makes sense that there's only a minor level change because the characters don't need to be significantly scaled up to face more powerful foes. it's also notable that these are 10 episode seasons, and the other 10-eps either have no level change or major level changes--the length has room for variance.
this section kind of restates the obvious, but it's interesting to see the difference in how much each season prioritizes optimization; for example, brennan gets got by a feat (alert) that antiope takes with her level up.
--------
the seven
not too many crazy changes, though we do see a few multiclasses/multiclass extensions. the notable changes really fall into the nitty-gritty, with class features, subclass features, and feats.
antiope jones
antiope started the season with 6 levels of arcane archer fighter and 3 levels of monster slayer ranger. at the mid-season level up, she took another ranger level and the alert feat.
overall level change:
initial level: arcane archer fighter 6 | monster slayer ranger 3
final level: arcane archer fighter 6 | monster slayer ranger 4
katja cleaver
katja started the season with 9 levels of battlemaster fighter. at the mid-season level up, she took 1 level of barbarian.
overall level change:
initial level: battlemaster fighter 9
final level: battlemaster fighter 9 | barbarian 1
penny luckstone
penny started the season with 9 levels of arcane trickster rogue. at the mid-season level up, she took another rogue level.
overall level change:
initial level: arcane trickster rogue 9
final level: arcane trickster rogue 10
danielle barkstock
danielle started the season with 9 levels of shepherd druid. at the mid-season level up, she took another druid level.
overall level change:
initial level: shepherd druid 9
final level: shepherd druid 10
ostentatia wallace
ostentatia started the season with 9 levels of forge cleric. at the mid-season level up, she took another cleric level.
overall level change:
initial level: forge cleric 9
final level: forge cleric 10
sam nightingale
sam started the season with 6 levels of storm sorcerer and 3 levels of glamour bard. at the mid-season level up, she took another bard level, as well as a magic initiate: warlock to reflect her pact with talura.
overall level change:
initial level: storm sorcerer 6 | glamour bard 3
final level: storm sorcerer 6 | glamour bard 4
zelda donovan
zelda started the season with 8 levels of eagle totem barbarian and 1 level of fighter. at the mid-season level up, she took another fighter level.
overall level change:
initial level: eagle totem barbarian 8 | fighter 1
final level: eagle totem barbarian 8 | fighter 2
--------
a court of fey and flowers
another season without crazy changes--all of the characters continue their standard progression, no subclass changes or multiclasses, though hob continues a multiclass progression.
andhera
andhera started the season with 8 levels of devotion paladin. at the mid-season level up, he took another paladin level.
overall level change:
initial level: devotion paladin 8
final level: devotion paladin 9
k.p. hob
hob started the season with 6 levels of battlemaster fighter, 1 level of rogue, and 1 level of barbarian. at the mid-season level up, he took another rogue level to get cunning action.
overall level change:
initial level: battlemaster fighter 6 | rogue 1 | barbarian 1
final level: battlemaster fighter 6 | rogue 2 | barbarian 1
chirp featherfowl
chirp started the season with 8 levels of bladesinger wizard. at the mid-season level up, she took another wizard level.
overall level change:
initial level: bladesinger wizard 8
final level: bladesinger wizard 9
squak airavis
squak started the season with 8 levels of lore bard. at the mid-season level up, he took another bard level.
overall level change:
initial level: lore bard 8
final level: lore bard 9
delloso de la rue
rue started the season with 8 levels of bard, subclass unknown. at the mid-season level up, they took another bard level.
overall level change:
initial level: bard 8
final level: bard 9
binx choppley
binx started the season with 8 levels of arcane trickster rogue. at the mid-season level up, they took another rogue level.
overall level change:
initial level: arcane trickster rogue 8
final level: arcane trickster rogue 9
--------
nonprogression seasons
i really don't feel like writing all of these out individually, so reference the images for specifics of leveling. i do have some commentary on the tiering of these seasons and what it means for the scale of the adventure.
--------
escape from the bloodkeep
the vile villains are still tied for highest level party at level 14, though they have fewer multiclasses--thus the characters are running around with roughly the same amount in each of their toolkits. they're sturdy enough that battles can be in precarious environments and include multiple objectives, while leaving room for shenanigans. honestly, given the lava shenanigans in bloodkeep, you'd think brennan would have learned for fhjy.
--------
tiny heist
given the genre, it makes sense that the tiny thieves would be capped at level 4. getting them up into tier 2 would lead to shenanigans that would stretch the bounds of a heist movie. they tend to run low magic, and the few spells in use are explained by the presence of fairies, technology, or monastic tradition. that doesn't stop them from doing things like rolling on a roll of quarters like a circus bear, crushing a man in a transforming car, or blowing up a bomb with a flamethrower.
--------
pirates of leviathan
at level 5, the buccaneer buddies are securely beyond the abilities of the average person, and that's clear in their roles on leviathan. it means that the threats feel real and present and that the characters inhabit the world as protectors of their home. the entire party has some degree of magic/supernatural aid, which tracks for the people that end up facing a magical threat to leviathan.
--------
mice & murder
much like the tiny thieves, if the sylvan sleuths got too high level it would stretch the bounds of credulity for the mystery genre. the party is low magic; the vicar's magic is explained by blessings from the lord, though he is actually pretty bad at it. to even out the need for high rolls with the need for low leveling, all of the characters have a feat granting them skill expertise in one of the key skills of the mystery: history, insight, investigation, perception, and athletics for lars. this lets them work with the 15-20-25-nat 20 system for ability checks; all of them could theoretically find clues, but realistically they have different skillsets and would look for different things, which balances the info they find.
--------
coffin run
the fang gang has a mix of levels that reflects the amount of time each character has spent with dracula--may at level 6, aleksandr and wetzel at level 7, and squing at level 8. it affects their strategy in unusual ways: squing is the tank, wetzel and aleksandr fight on the front/midlines while running support, and may does crowd control. the party is fairly magic by nature, but leans more toward partial than full progressions.
--------
dungeons and drag queens
the questing queens are in much the same situation as the buccaneer buddies; powerful enough to start venturing out, but still low enough that the threats feel real and present. tier 2 is the bread and butter of 5e--fun abilities for the characters, enough that you have to think about what you're doing, but not too much for new players. this party leans a little bit harder to the martial side of things--with two long-ranged specialists they tend to space their fights out and take people out from afar, while staging princess as a shield and gertrude present for dps.
--------
and that's all for this time! i hope you enjoyed this installment--it's a long one (6.3k words!). kudos to you for making it this far.
obligatory spreadsheet link: thisisnotthenerd's d20 stats
#dimension 20#dimension 20 spoilers#dimension 20 meta#dimension 20 statistics#thisisnotthenerd's d20 stats#long post#fantasy high#fantasy high sophomore year#fantasy high junior year#the unsleeping city#the unsleeping city chapter ii#a crown of candy#a starstruck odyssey#neverafter#the ravening war#burrow's end#the seven#a court of fey and flowers#escape from the bloodkeep#tiny heist#pirates of leviathan#mice & murder#coffin run#dungeons and drag queens
22 notes
·
View notes
Note
ive never played the games so i dont know what to picture when im reading your fics, how tall do you think soren and ike are?
I said recently that they have a Mulder and Scully level height difference and I stand by that statement. This one is a little hard to answer, because I don't think there is a definitive answer -- it's not like comics where there's an official handbook with heights and weights listed, although there is like, a vague equivalent. I'll get to that. I know recently some people deduced heights by, I think, converting the measurements of their respective models in Fire Emblem Engage, the anniversary game for the series that featured both characters, but I'll be honest, that's too much math for me, and I'd rather rip into the text of the original games until I come up with my own answer. So I'm gonna give you my thoughts, and the canon evidence that backs them up, but it's just my opinion.
Anyway I'm going into this with the same amount of thought that I go into with all my comics meta. I'm sorry about that in advance.
So two things about Fire Emblem 9 and 10. The first is that the games aren't new -- FE9 came out in 2005, and FE10 in 2007. Graphically, they hold up well, but it's because they're not very complicated. The majority of conversations take place involving still portraits with text underneath -- there's only a few fully animated cutscenes. (Soren is in exactly one FE10 cutscene, and they're not standing next to each other.) The second is that the games take place over a period of a few years (each game takes place over about a year, with a three year gap in between FE9 and FE10). Ike starts FE9 at 17, and he's about 20 at the start of FE10. And he evolves like a Pokemon.
This is not meant to be to height scale; I just wanted these three pieces of official art next to each other for comparison. Graphic design is not my passion.
Also, this has nothing to do with height, but I'm going to point it out anyway: Ike's FE10 artbook page literally ends by talking about how he's in love with Soren.
(credit to Kantopia for the translation.) (did I mention that, by FE rules, the ship is canon. because it's canon.) The character designer, Kita Senri, also drew this picture of FE9 and FE10 Ike standing back to back, which. Yeah. Okay!
By FE10, at least, so by age 20, Ike is tall. (His parents come from the Tall People Country, Daein.) His size is remarked upon a couple of times in the script, too, by people who hadn't seen him for a few years:
Ike: Tormod, it's been a while. Tormod: Holy moly! You are absolutely huge! I feel puny next to you… Ike: That's because you are puny. Magic clearly doesn't give you much muscle tone. (...) Tormod: Nah, you just can't see me properly because all of your blood gets pumped to your muscles, away from your brain! [leaves] Ike: A little touchy, Tormod?
(FE10, Part 4 Chapter 4)
Volke: You’ve grown quite a bit since the last time I saw you. Ike: Everyone loves telling me that. Volke: You’re starting to look like Greil. Ike: That might be true, too. He IS my dad.
(FE10, Part 4 Endgame-1) It should be noted that Ike's dad, Greil, was pretty huge.
Engage also has it remarked upon, with one character saying that Emblems (essentially FE main character force ghosts in-game) are big, and Ike remarking that that's not an Emblem thing, he's just huge. (He's the funniest Fire Emblem main character except for his co-star, Micaiah, Little Miss War Crimes, and I'm barely even biased at all.)
There are in-game stats for height and weight (build/constitution and weight, respectively), as they relate to mechanics -- if one character is significantly bigger and heavier than the other, the smaller character can't rescue them or shove them. Weight varies because, for example, if a character is on a horse, the horse factors into the weight, or if they're wearing heavy armor, etc. Build, for me, is the best indicator of general (not exact) height. In FE9, Ike's build and weight start off at 9, which is pretty average, and then 10/11 upon class promotion. In FE10, his build is 12 and weight is 13, which is on the bigger side -- I'd say compared to other human men in the game, but there are a lot of big guys in this game. Again, he's twenty, so he's probably still growing, and everyone is already remarking that he's huge. I'm almost always gonna go with what the text says, and the text in FE10 says he's huge, pretty unequivocally.
Soren... is not huge. Soren is, debatably, pretty tiny.
If we're going to use build/weight as a metric, and I think for these purposes we have to, then Soren is a 6 build and 6 weight to Ike's 12 build and 13 weight. So half Ike's size. Either way, 6 build and 6 weight is small -- the only people who are smaller than him are a handful of the female characters, including the one with literal bird bones. How much this reflects on his actual height is up for debate -- I think when that FE Engage height math was done, it was determined that, based on his model there, he was probably 5'10", which is obviously not that short, but if that's the case he's probably very thin to account for that weight stat. His father and his eldest uncle, if not also his mother, are very tall, so there is that to factor in. Soren is half-dragon and he ages slower than an average human, so there's potential for him to end up quite tall -- but it could take twenty, thirty years. (Soren is 19 in FE9 and 22 in FE10.) It's kind of a big shrug in his case. I don't think he's particularly tall, but I think it's more up for personal interpretation how tall he is, as opposed to Ike where the text is repeatedly shouting "HE'S HUGE!!!" at you. He is, pretty clearly, quite a bit smaller than Ike.
I'm going to wrap up this insane person analysis with this pretty art of Soren which does nothing to suggest anything height-wise. I just like to look at it.
(PS thank you for reading my fic even though you haven't played the games! It always makes me really happy to hear that people like my writing enough to do that. but also I have like, fully conspiracy theoried my way into believing they'll rerelease the games.)
16 notes
·
View notes
Note
There's this specific genre of informational post that drives me up the wall and over. It's basically a collage which may or may not be connected together always with a caption that's either off kilter to what's presented or simply reductive. It would be a collage of a screenie of an article then, for some reason, a google search of article titles then a stat graph of some sort, then whatever social post. What am I suppose to do with an infodump in visual form? It almost feels like filler. You see it everywhere in whatever argument on the internet. It's especially jarring to see people bust it out during a ship war because that is exactly the tone we were arguing in with our long paragraphed metas.
--
13 notes
·
View notes
Text
honestly when it comes to guild wars 2 kinda almost got it with what i wanted out of a post-trinity mmo game setup. every class could be built in any way, unlike FFXIV (where each job only has one playstyle) or WOW (where each job only really had like two-ish skill trees and so two playstyles), GW2 was doing a multiple playstyle per job thing. if you wanted to build a Condi Damage Guardian you could with Burning! A Protection Guardian, a Buffer Guardian, a Healer Guardian, an Area Denier Guardian, or a straight Direct Damage Guardian were more or less viable
the tragedy of it all was that the approach to its design was more of "okay we don't have to design around the trinity, lets just do whatever!" and like a river the community just went through the path of least resistance: just raising damage as much as possible and then just learning dodges (the berserker meta of pre xpac GW2)
i think the problem was the devs didn't update their monster design alongside their class design. they had an absolute winner, but they had to know the inside outs of their system. they should've made it so that while each profession had a primary theme (like a Guardian playing with Boons and Warriors being straightforward) and then build around options to enable each aspect of design. instead of a trinity, they should've had a holy octagon, builds built around different aspects of a fight: direct damage, condition damage, damage mitigation, healing, boon support, condi cleanse, area control and movement.
and then, what they should've done is building mobs around 1 to 5 of these fight aspects to force a player to choose appropriate stats. make it so that some fights require condi damage, or make it so that in general, direct damage is the slowest but most reliable way to chip away at an enemy's hp bar. now boon support is good, but make boon be target based or a place down aoe that cannot be close to where you are, and then make bosses and mobs that severely punish stacking/blobbing up (and thus also make movement skills really important, and making movement focused builds great).
with the three specializations thing that they have for the current version of the game, you can do a spread among three different fight aspects, singularly focus on one (like an elite spec that really hones in on a single fight aspect and really changes the primary theme of a class, like the specter for thief)
instead i feel like they've regressed to wow/ffxiv style raid fights with pure telegraph mechanics. though there are some raids that have really cool stuff like forcing gliders to be used or for items to be interacted with, carried and brought to specific places. those are always the fun ones, not the ones that force blobbing
5 notes
·
View notes
Text
Introduction to Rinea from FE15 (Shadows of Valentia)!
Rinea is set post-canon events. Pre-war, she was engaged to the crown prince of Rigel, Berkut. During canon events, she dies as a sacrifice to the fell god Duma. She has been resurrected and ran away from Valentia for fear of being found alive.
She is currently 20 years old and enrolled in the Ashen Wolves house. Here, she lies low and has taken to learning sword should she ever need it in this new walk of life.
Note to Valentians, excluding Alm, Celica, Berkut, Fernand and anyone of noble birth, she probably will not know you. She has always stayed away from the battlefield until she was forced into it and even then, her soul was already gone by that point.
She is a bit... standoffish, quiet, and skittish, but she can be chatty once you do get her to open up.
Her URL is a portmanteau of gale and güvercin (meaning dove/pigeon), as well as being a wordplay of latter.
Looking forward to writing with you all!
Easy mobile links:
Biography
Stats
HCs
Meta
Mun
#ooc#(( the bio is a wip but should hopefully be finished and up within the week ))#(( simply cannot do any headers or sprites on this go round bois ))
10 notes
·
View notes