#with a sixth-level spell slot no less!

[thevalleyisjolly]

Peak wizard episode for Adaine, nothing more wizard than inadvertently unleashing the ancient sealed Horrors(TM) because you were so intensely focused on understanding the arcane mystery and then successfully Counterspelling a god.

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #284: Artoria (Caster)

Today on Fate and Phantasms we’re finally heading back to D&D 5e for all of… one build. You know her, you love her, she just made a CEO at Lasengle richer than the entire country of Greece, it’s Artoria (Caster)!

Now admittedly I’m still not 100% sure what Castoria does in Lostbelt 6, but neither did DW when they made her kit-if anything, this build’s extra authentic. Besides, she’s an Evocation Wizard, so you’ll have a billion and one chances to pick up whatever spells you want anyway. We’ll also pick up a blade from a Dao as a Warlock, just in case you feel like making a legendary sword the old-fashioned way.

Check out her build breakdown below the cut, or her character sheet over here!

Next up: That’s not what we meant when we called the horny police on Kiara.

(Also worth noting, Artoria does have a big role in the sixth lostbelt, so expect spoilers for said chapter ahead!)

Race and Background

So… this Artoria is weird. She’s kind of a faerie, kind of not a faerie, but either way she doesn’t even do faerie stuff, so we’ll play it safe and make her Custom Lineage instead for +2 Intelligence, a smaller size, and darkvision over a skill proficiency. That’s not to say you’re not Skilled though- you’ve spent plenty of time working on your thievery skills, like Thieves’ Tools, Stealth, and Deception. You’re also a Folk Hero for a… generous definition of “hero”, giving you proficiency with Animal Handling and Survival. You lived in a barn, that kinda thing’s gonna happen.

Ability Scores

Your number one score is Intelligence- your magic and your skills were both honed through study. After that is Charisma. You made contact with faeries and didn’t get murdered day one, that’s a successful persuasion check in my book. I doubt that’s for a lack of trying though, so your Constitution is above average too. You also don’t wear too much armor though, so let’s keep your Dexterity above a ten too. This means your Wisdom isn’t as high as it could be, but we’re dumping Strength. She’s a caster for a reason.

Class Levels

1. Wizard 1: Starting as a wizard is neat- you get proficiency in Intelligence and Wisdom saves as well as two wizard skills like Arcana and Insight. Your magic may be weak by faerie standards, but you’re still a game-breaking caster. Also, people who can’t tell when faeries are lying aren’t going to last long in Britain unless they’re the main character.

You can cast Spells using your Intelligence and your spellbook, which holds a buttload of magic that you prepare from. Obviously we’re just going to mention the important ones here, but you get six at level one and two each level after that, plus any spells you pick up along the way.

That’s a lot of magic, but you can use even more of it thanks to your Arcane Recovery, letting you recharge some spell slots once per day on a short rest.

As far as spells go, we’re picking up the standard Mage Armor and Magic Missile to not die and make some caster balls, respectively. We’ll also get some sleeping pills with the Sleep spell. We’ll also start on your path to making weapons and defenses with Shield and Ice Knife. Humble beginnings.

… feels kind of weird finishing a first level synopsis in a reasonable amount of time.

2. Wizard 2: Anyways. At second level you study the School of Evocation, making you an Evocation Savant, so you spend less money and time copying evocation spells. You can also Sculpt Spells, so you can allow a number of creatures to automatically pass their saves when you cast an evocation spell. This also means they take no damage instead of half, if applicable. I mean I don’t think there’s many faeries you’d want to save, but maybe you’ll meet a nice human one of these days.

3. Wizard 3: At third level you get second level spells! If your lockpicks fail to open a door, Knock can probably get it open, albeit with a lot of noise. You can also build an actual weapon now with Shadow Blade, creating a simple melee weapon that deals psychic damage and gives you advantage in dim light or darkness. Annoyingly it doesn’t use your spellcasting ability like Flame Blade, but still, a sword’s a sword.

We’ll also get Magic Weapon next level, but if you want to help reforge your friends’ swords you can grab it now, nobody’s gonna stop you.

4. Wizard 4: Fourth level wizards get their first Ability Score Improvement, so we can finally round up your Intelligence and Constitution. Odd numbers are bad, m’kay?

5. Wizard 5: At fifth level you get access to third level spells like Fireball for some bombs and Wall of Sand, the best wall you can get to date. It… doesn’t actually stop anyone, but it blocks sight and makes anyone moving through it super slow, so it’s good for a low-level spell.

6. Wizard 6: At sixth level you have Potent Cantrips, so your save-based cantrips still deal half damage if their target succeeds their save. I think the only cantrip we have that’s actually affected by that is Thunderclap. Ah well, at least it’s better.

7. Wizard 7: At seventh level you get fourth level spells like Fabricate to make your own swords for real and Greater Invisibility. It’s not quite defense, but if it keeps your enemies from hitting you I’ll count it. It’ll be a while ‘til we get a decent shield anyway.

8. Wizard 8: At eighth level you get another ASI, so bump up your Charisma. That’s about to get a lot more important.

9. Warlock 1: It gets more important with your first level in warlock. I know Merlin being your mentor is kind of a thing, but I want the spells from the Dao Genie list and Merlin grants wishes sometimes so now he’s a genie. Besides, you’re clearly not getting your power from the Archfey this time around, she hates you. You get a Genie’s Vessel, which isn’t super in-character but we’ll take it. You can use it as a Bottled Respite, letting you hide inside it for a couple hours per day, and it also gives you access to the Genie’s Wrath, adding some bludgeoning damage to one of your attacks each turn. Yeah your swords are a little dull, you’ve just started making them that’ll happen.

For spells, grab Blade Ward for another kind of protection if your shield fails, Green-Flame Blade for extra-spicy forging, Charm Person to survive in Faerie Britain, and Sanctuary for some extra protection against the faeries. It forces any creature you tries to attack you or cast a harmful spell to make a wisdom save, and if they fail they have to change targets or waste that attack/spell. It only lasts a minute or until you make an attack though, so you’d better be careful with it.

10. Warlock 2: Second level warlocks get Eldritch Invocations to customize their hellish existence as England’s chosen one, so grab Eldritch Mind to keep your spells up for longer with advantage on concentration saves. We’ll replace your second invocation eventually, but for now pick whatever you’d like.

You can also Detect Evil and Good now, which despite the name actually lets you detect fey creatures.

I don’t know if you know this, but I think… just a hypothesis, but there might be some fey creatures in Fey Britain. I know, it’s shocking, right? At least they can’t sneak up on you now. For ten minutes per spell slot.

11. Wizard 9: Ninth level wizards get fifth level spells like Wall of Force. Now we’re getting somewhere! This wall is immune to damage, and can’t be dispelled, and it even blocks passage through the ethereal plane. The one downside is it only lasts 10 minutes, plus Disintegrate does what you’d think it’d do to the wall.

Also, you get Legend Lore. It’s hard being a child of prophecy if you don’t even know what the prophecy is. I mean it’s hard either way, but at least you’ll have some idea what you need to do.

12. Wizard 10: Tenth level evocation wizards have Empowered Evocation, letting you add your intelligence modifier to the damage of a spell for one target. Not really that wild compared to fifth level spells, but not every level can be a banger.

13. Wizard 11: Eleventh level wizards get the best defense possible with the sixth level spell Globe of Invulnerability. It makes a 10’ radius ball around you that can’t move, but it blocks the effects of all outside spells of level 5 or lower. This is a great option for protection, though it doesn’t affect objects, so arrows and people with legs can still get in. I mean people without legs can get in too it’s just- I’m going to stop talking now.

If you’d rather use the swords you’re making, Tasha’s Otherworldly Guise lets you use your Intelligence to stab people, plus you get a second attack each turn.

14. Wizard 12: Make your intelligence even better for the smartest dang Artoria you ever did see. It also boosts your spell power and maybe your sword power if you’re using that spell I literally just brought up.

15. Wizard 13: Thirteenth level wizards get seventh level spells.  Forcecage is a great option to block attackers as long as they’re large or smaller. You can make it have gaps to trap something that is gargantuan, though that leaves space open for it to attack. Not only does it block all matter and spells, it can even eat up teleportation spells, forcing a charisma save on anyone trying to use one to escape.

The one downside is it costs 1,500 gold to cast this spell, which is pretty steep for someone living in a barn.

A more economical option is creating Mordenkainen’s Sword for a minute at a cool 250 gold. It’s an action to cast, and as part of that action and as a bonus action each turn you can slap a creature near the sword for a lot of force damage.

16. Warlock 3: We finally head back to warlock to get the Pact of the Blade, letting us make a sword properly, one that will always stay with us. It’s Chastiefol, basically. Especially when you turn that second invocation into Improved Pact Weapon so you can cast spells through your sword and turn it into just about any melee weapon you want.

We’ll also pick up Shatter for some homemade pipe bombs. CIA, I am clearly talking about in D&D here, it’s something Castoria does, calm down.

17. Wizard 14: Fourteenth level wizards get our final feature, Overchannel. Once a day you can deal maximum damage with any wizard spell of 1st-5th level you cast. I mean you can do this more times per day too, but each time you take necrotic damage based on the level of the spell, starting at 2d12 per level and increasing by 1d12 each time you use it. I honestly don’t know why they bothered giving it a type since it ignores resistances anyway, but there you go. If you ever wanted to give your life to hit something really, really hard, now you can! I’m sure that’ll never come up in-story though, don’t worry.

18. Wizard 15: Fifteenth level wizards get eighth level spells, and if you’re tired of defensive spells that require your concentration check out Mighty Fortress. The casting time’s a lot, but it makes a real-ass fortress that lasts for seven days, or permanently if you keep casting it in the same spot.

19. Wizard 16: Use your last ASI to grab the Tough feat for 38 extra HP now, plus 2 more when you level up. Better make sure you don’t heroically sacrifice yourself before the third act, after all.

20. Wizard 17: Seventeenth level wizards get ninth level spells, and they’re just as overpowered as you’d think. Invulnerability is exactly what it sounds like: you are immune to all damage for 10 minutes, or until concentration drops. There’s like, one ability that makes a concentration check without dealing damage though, so it’s pretty much at will. If you’d rather go on the offensive with the holy sword, Blade of Disaster is your go-to. As a bonus action you make a big-ass sword and swing it, dealing tons of damage. You have triple the critical hit range, and it deals triple the damage on a crit too. You can keep using this sword each bonus action for up to a minute, and it passes through any barrier.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

Overchannel has a very interesting effect with spells that deal damage over time, like your spell Shadow Blade. It just makes that spell deal maximum damage, period. Not the first damage you deal, not to one creature, just. Big. Sword. With a fifth level spell slot, that’s 33 damage per turn, or 65 with a critical hit. For context, a level 20 barbarian deals an average of 18-19 damage per turn, with an average of 45 on a crit. This isn’t even the wildest option for overchannel either, just the one that’s most in-character. You can do crazy damage if you get creative.

On top of that, you’re great at preventing damage too, you can increase AC, reduce damage, make yourself impossible to hit, and even become immortal. Hell, you have a first level spell that lets you take their damage and push it somewhere else. You’re like Shuckle, if Shuckle could kill people. So like Shuckle.

Finally, you’re still a wizard, so you have tons of utility options and flexibility when it comes to your spell list. I think we mentioned like half the spells you can get, so you have tons of space to play with even before we bring up spell copying.

Cons:

Using Shadow Blade for big damage requires, y’know, swinging a sword. Your best attacking stat is a +1, you’re not hitting that often.

On a related note, your AC is fourteen, and your HP doesn’t go over 200. You really shouldn’t be on the frontline, even if you’re the best shield the party’s got. Also, casting spells from HP really stacks up quickly, so don't get too wild with the damage.

A lot of your best spells use Concentration, and even if your saves are good thanks to Eldritch Mind, you still only get one concentration spell at a time.

[swarmkeepers]

esther and ricky back to back battle couple casting counterspell all over the place is beautiful on just the level of “that’s some gorgeous and competent magic happening” and also on the level of esther wielding the reforged version of ricky’s weapon/ricky wielding a tangible connection to his girlfriend whom he loves. but also! mechanically it is so cool that both the war mage and the redemption paladin subclasses have specific reference to counterspell. redemption paladins get it enumerated as one of their ninth level oath spells even though it’s usually only for arcane casters! war mages have it as the center of their sixth level subclass feature (power surge) about being able to steal/store magic when they end a magical effect!

i just. oath of redemption is so much about balance and it’s not the hopeless idealism of (what for ricky at least) devotion was because there’s such a fundamental acknowledgement of evil in the world! and the war mage subclass does not on the surface feel like it’s about balance but it is—it’s about how much to protect yourself (abjuration) and how much to empower yourself (evocation) to combine those two schools in a practical and useful way. the power surge feature is such a perfect combination of abjuration/evocation because it’s so one-to-one (one abjuration aka counterspell/dispel magic lets you power up one evocation aka damage dealing wizard spell).

i refuse to make a “two sides of the same coin” thing out of this but like. when ricky counterspells something it’s so inherently protective he’s a paladin he’s a tank he has relatively few spells so it’s a big deal to use them. it’s a one-to-one sacrifice because if he doesn’t use that slot on counterspell it’ll probably be a smite: more counterspell/less damage. when esther counterspells something in defense it’s going to power up her attacks later she’s a wizard she’s at war: more counterspell/more damage. between the two of them it is, so much, about balance.

i just think that! esther and ricky come at this spell from such fundamentally different directions but 1) not only is it super cool when they get to do it together as a couple both because it’s cute and because it’s badass 2) but also t’s similar but not the same and all the differences exemplify what makes them the adventurers/heroes that they are, with all the granularity of their subclasses 3) and also they balance each other out one protecting one attacking even when it’s literally the same spell/literally using the other person’s former arcane focus

[snarglefoop]

The Trouble with 5e (Fit the First)

You've presumably seen the edition wars, and you've heard the complaints. 5e is too dumbed down, 5e characters are too overpowered, 5e druids are ruining my game because they keep summoning herds of elk ... whatever. If they're 2e players they probably complain that 5e is "like a video game". But in my humble opinion, all of that could be summarized as "5e is different from my edition". However, there's actually a deeper problem, which I've encountered in DMing 5e. Interestingly, it's not just a problem; it's also part of the "5e solution". I'm talking about....

Balance

In earlier editions, at first level wizards were total wimps and died like flies, while first level fighters were reasonably tough. At really high levels, fighters got somewhat tougher, but wizards practically became gods. High level characters became capable of dishing out huge amounts of damage per round, and essentially ignoring armor. Trivial case in point: In 3.5, a "straight" cleric might be hardly more than a heal stick at level 1. But by L15 that same cleric could consistently blow through spell resistance, reliably hit most targets' touch ACs, and, if the target failed its save, deliver Harm for 150 points in damage, boom, no damage roll required. In short, the game wasn't balanced. In 5e this was solved with a sledge hammer. Absolutely every decision about game design seems to have been tempered by the question, ''How does this affect the balance?'' Anything that's too strong is called "broken" and ruled out. In fact the result is a very playable game, and the streamlined rules mean you can spend more time playing and less time leafing through books (though at my table we manage to spend a lot of time leafing through books anyway, but that's just us). However there are a number of consequences which are, in my humble opinion, really not so good. I'll be exploring them in my next few posts (unless I see a squirrel and get distracted). And right now, we'll start with the most annoying one, because it crops up instantly, as soon as you run the introductory "Lost Mines" campaign.

NPCs

Adventures tend to be built around powerful, colorful NPCs who do interesting Bad Stuff. So, you need to be able to construct characters like that within the context of the game. Unfortunately, in 5e, as soon as you try you start bumping up against the limits which have been placed on everything. Case in point: There is an evil mage in The Lost Mine of Phandelver (the introductory campaign). He is stated explicitly in the text to have control over 12 zombies. He's a necromancer; that should be a no-brainer, right? Stats for the "evil mage" are given in the book as well. He's a level 4 spellcaster (so far so good); his list of known spells are given along with his stats. I won't repeat them here; I'll just observe that there are no spells for creating or controlling zombies on his spell list. So that's just a glitch, right? Patch up his spell list and you're good to go, right? Wrong. He's fourth level (says so right in the text) and Animate Dead is a third level spell. He can't cast it. I find it disturbing that in the starter set, the introductory campaign, they couldn't think of a way to build their bad guys that didn't involve end running around the rules. First, I think it says something about how restrictive the rules are, and second, I just don't like it. The world should work, according to its own rules. This one doesn't. But, OK, so they cheated a little, right? Let's cut them some slack. They want him to have zombies but they want him low enough level so the party can "take" him if a fight breaks out, so his level is knocked down one notch. No biggie, right? They only cheated a little. If you want everything to be "by the book" just knock him up to L5 so he can cast "Animate Dead", and he's good to go! Wrong. You can't fix it that easily, because Animate Dead, the goto spell for building your zombie army, limits control of the created zombies to 24 hours. After that they're on their own. You can cast the spell again the next day to get control back -- but you can only control four zombies at a time with it. So, to have twelve zombies under his control, he'd need to cast Animate Dead three times every day just to keep them in line. To cast three third level spells a day, he'd need to be at least sixth level and he'd need to burn off all his level three slots every day just to keep his zombies in line. This is really impractical, but the authors wanted a necromancer to have zombies, so they just ignored the rules. Good on them; he's a nifty character, and the adventure is most excellent; I have no beef with that. But bad on the rules. When you scale this up to something a little more epic the problems just get worse. Suppose we wanted a Big Bad who had a "zombie army". How many zombies would that be? More than 12, certainly; that's a zombie platoon, at best. Let's say fifty zombies. How could you control them? That 24 hour limit is lethal; you'd be spending all your time over breakfast, every day, just casting "Animate Dead" to keep your army going. When I ran this, I .... actually it's conceivable that somebody in the game I'm running might read this so I won't say, exactly, beyond saying I stuck a patch on the adventure so the necromancer would work. Again, that should not be necessary; the rules are just too tight. In the name of Balance, the system has been pared down so much that a great deal of the flavor and flexibility has been lost. One more example, then we'll end this comment (and leave further whining for another day): There's a Spectator in the adventure. It's been bound to its current task for about 400 years, by in-game calculations. According to the monster manual, a spectator cannot be bound to a task for more than 101 years. Oh, dear... To get around it this one is said to have "gone mad" and (apparently) lost track of the time. But that kind of escape hatch shouldn't be necessary -- and certainly not in the introductory adventure! Enough for today. -- S.

[ravenclawlitza]

❛  benny havarak, human librarian abjuration wizard

                   original character for DUNGEONS & DRAGONS fifth edition

      STR  6 / -3 / -3   •   DEX  8 / -1 / -1   •   CON  12 / +1 / +1       INT  16 / +3 / +8   •   WIS  16 / +3 / +8   •   CHA  18 / +4 / +4

      HP:  78   •   AC:  9   •   LEVEL:  15   •   HIT DICE:  15d6   •   PROFICIENCY:  +5       SPEED:  30ft   •   ARMOR:  none   •   LANGUAGES:  common, dwarvish, elvish

skills:

STR:  -3 athletics

DEX:  -1 acrobatics  •  -1 sleight of hand  •  -1 stealth

INT:  +8 arcana  •  +8 history  •  +8 investigation  •  +3 nature  •  +3 religion

WIS:  +3 animal handling  •  +8 insight  •  +3 medicine  •  +3 perception  •  +3 survival

CHA:  +4 deception  •  +4 intimidation  •  +4 performance  •  +9 persuasion

school of abjuration:

ABJURATION SAVANT:  the gold and time you must spend to copy an abjuration spell into your spellbook is halved.

ARCANE WARD:  you can weave magic around yourself for protection.  when you cast an abjuration spell of 1st level or higher (alarm), you can simultaneously use a strand of the spell’s magic to create a magical ward on yourself that lasts until you finish a long rest.  the ward has a hit point maximum equal to 33 (twice your wizard level + your intelligence modifier).  whenever you take damage, the ward takes the damage instead.  if this damage reduces the ward to 0 hit points, you take any remaining damage.  the ward is not destroyed at 0 hit points, and whenever you cast an abjuration spell of 1st level or higher, the ward regains a number of hit points equal to twice the level of the spell.  you can create a ward once per long rest.

PROJECTED WARD:  when a creature you can see within 30 feet of you takes damage, you can use your reaction to cause your arcane ward to absorb that damage.  if this damage reduces the ward to 0 hit points, the warded creature takes any remaining damage.

IMPROVED ABJURATION:  when you cast an abjuration spell that requires you to make an ability check as a part of casting that spell (as in counterspell and dispel magic), you add your proficiency bonus to that ability check.

SPELL RESISTANCE:  you have advantage on saving throws against spells and resistance against the damage of spells.

spellcasting:

SPELLS:  you may prepare eighteen spells per long rest, spending at least one minute per spell level for each new spell you prepare.  you know 5 cantrips and have 4 first level, 3 second level, 3 third level, 3 fourth level, 2 fifth level, 1 sixth level, 1 seventh level, and 1 eighth level spell slots.  you can cast a spell as a ritual if it is a ritual spell and you have that spell in your spellbook, even if it’s not prepared, multiplying the original casting time by 1d20 minus your intelligence and dexterity modifiers.

ARCANE RECOVERY:  once per day when you finish a short rest, you can choose expended spell slots to recover.  the spell slots can have a combined level that is equal to or less than 8 (half your wizard level rounded up), and cannot be 6th level or higher.

ARTHRITIS:  benny has learned many, many spells over his long years of study and experience, but he can no longer cast most spells that require a somatic component because of arthritis and tremors in his hands.  some spells, like teleportation circle, he cannot cast because they require precise drawing of runes that he is no longer capable of, though there are somatic spells he can still cast as rituals by taking his time or getting assistance from his party members.

SPELL SAVE DC:  16

SPELL ATTACK MODIFIER:  +8

cantrips:

LIGHT:  one action, verbal / a firefly or phosphorescent moss, touch, one hour.  you touch one object that is no larger than 10 feet in any dimension.  until the spell ends, the object sheds bright light in a 20 foot radius and dim light for an additional 20 feet.  the light can be colored as you like.  completely covering the object with something opaque blocks the light.  the spell ends if you cast it again or dismiss it as an action.  if you target an object held or worn by a hostile creature, that creature must succeed on a dexterity saving throw vs 16 to avoid the spell.

MENDING:  one minute, verbal / holding an object during the full casting / two lodestones, touch, instantaneous. you repair a single break or tear in an object no larger than 1 foot in any dimension, leaving no trace of the former damage.  the spell cannot restore magic to a magic item or construct.

MESSAGE:  one action, verbal / pointing a finger / a short piece of copper wire, 120 foot range, one round.  you point a finger toward a creature within range and whisper a message.  the target and only the target hears the message and can reply in a whisper that only you can hear.  you can cast this spell through solid objects if you are familiar with the target and know it is beyond the barrier.  the spell doesn't have to follow a straight line and can travel freely around corners or through openings.

first level spells:

FEATHER FALL:  one reaction, verbal / a small feather or a piece of down, 60 foot range, 1 minute.  when you or a creature within 60 feet of you falls, choose up to five falling creatures within range.  a falling creature's rate of descent slows to 60 feet per round until the spell ends.  if the creature lands before the spell ends, it takes no falling damage and can land on its feet, and the spell ends for that creature.

RITUAL SPELLS:  alarm (abjuration), comprehend languages, detect magic, floating disk, identify, illusory script, unseen servant.

second level spells:

BLINDNESS/DEAFNESS:  one action, verbal, 30 foot range, one minute duration.  you can blind or deafen a foe.  choose one creature you can see within range to make a constitution saving throw vs 16.  if it fails, the target is either blinded or deafened (your choice) for the duration.  at the end of each of its turns, the target can make a constitution saving throw to end the spell on a success.  when you cast this spell using a spell slot of 3rd level of higher, you can target one additional creature per slot level.

BLUR:  one action, verbal, self, up to one minute with concentration.  your body becomes blurred, shifting and wavering to all who can see you.  for the duration, any creature has disadvantage on attack rolls against you.  an attacker is immune to this effect if it doesn't rely on sight or can see through illusions.

DARKNESS:  one action, verbal / bat fur and a drop of pitch or piece of coal, 60 foot range, up to ten minutes with concentration.  magical darkness spreads from a point you choose within range to fill a 15 foot radius sphere for the duration.  the darkness spreads around corners.  a creature with darkvision can't see through this darkness, and nonmagical light can't illuminate it.

KNOCK:  one action, verbal, 60 foot range, instantaneous.  choose an object that you can see within range that contains a mundane or magical means that prevents access.  a target that is held shut by a mundane lock or that is stuck or barred becomes unlocked, unstuck, or unbarred.  if the object has multiple locks, only one of them is unlocked.  if you choose a target that is held shut with arcane lock, that spell is suppressed for 10 minutes, during which time the target can be opened and shut normally.  when you cast the spell, a loud knock, audible from as far away as 300 feet, emanates from the target object.

MISTY STEP:  one bonus action, verbal, self, instantaneous.  briefly surrounded by silvery mist, you teleport up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space that you can see.

SUGGESTION:  one action, verbal / a snake's tongue and either a bit of honeycomb or a drop of sweet oil, 30 foot range, up to eight hours with concentration.  you suggest a course of activity and magically influence a creature you can see within range that can hear and understand you.  creatures that can't be charmed are immune to this effect.  the suggestion must make the course of action sound reasonable and the target must make a wisdom saving throw vs 16 or pursue the course of action you described to the best of its ability.  if you or any of your companions damage the target, the spell ends.

RITUAL SPELLS:  gentle repose, magic mouth.

third level spells:

TONGUES:  one action, verbal / a small clay model of a ziggurat, touch, one hour duration.  you grant any creature you touch the ability to understand any spoken language it hears, and when the target speaks, any creature that knows at least on language and can hear the target understands what it says.

RITUAL SPELLS:  phantom steed, tiny hut, water breathing.

fourth level spells:

DIMENSION DOOR:  one action, verbal, 500 foot range, instantaneous.  you teleport yourself from your current location to any other spot within range.  you arrive at exactly the spot desired.  it can be a place you can see, one you can visualize, or one you can describe by stating distance and direction, such as 200 feet straight downward or upward to the northwest at a 45 degree angle, 300 feet.  you can bring along objects as long as their weight doesn't exceed what you can carry.  you can also bring one willing creature of your size or smaller who is carrying gear up to its carrying capacity.  the creature must be within 5 feet of you when you cast this spell.  if you would arrive in a place already occupied by an object or a creature, you and any creature traveling with you each take 4d6 force damage, and the spell fails to teleport you.

fifth level spells:

CONTACT OTHER PLANE:  one minute, verbal, self, one minute duration, ritual.  you mentally contact a demigod, the spirit of a long-dead sage, or some other mysterious entity from another plane.  make a dc 15 intelligence saving throw and on a failure take 6d6 psychic damage and become insane until you finish a long rest.  while insane, you can't take actions, can't understand what other creatures say, can't read, and speak only in gibberish.  a greater restoration spell cast on you ends this effect.  on a successful save, you can ask the entity up to five questions before the spell ends.  the dm answers each question with one word or a short phrase if a one-word answer would be misleading.

GEAS:  one minute, verbal, 60 foot range, 30 day duration.  you place a magical command on a creature that you can see within range.  you can issue any command you choose, short of an activity that would result in certain death.  if the creature can understand you, it must succeed on a wisdom saving throw vs 16 or become charmed by you for the duration.  while the creature is charmed by you, it takes 5d10 psychic damage each time it acts in a manner directly counter to your instructions, no more than once each day.  you can end the spell early by using an action to dismiss it, or it can be ended by a remove curse, greater restoration, or wish spell.  when you cast this spell using a spell slot of 7th or 8th level, the duration is one year.

RITUAL SPELLS:  telepathic bond.

sixth level spells:

IRRESISTIBLE DANCE:  one action, verbal, 30 foot range, up to one minute with concentration.  one creature you can see within range begins a comic dance in place unless it can't be charmed.  a dancing creature must use all its movement to dance without leaving its spce and has disadvantage on dexterity saving throws and attack rolls, and other creatures have advantage on attack rolls against it.  as an action, a dancing creature makes a wisdom saving throw to regain control of itself and end the spell.

MASS SUGGESTION:  one action, verbal / a snake's tongue and either a bit of honeycomb or a drop of sweet oil, 60 foot range, 24 hour duration.  you suggest a course of activity that sounds reasonable and magically influence up to twelve creatures of your choice that you can see within range and that can hear and understand you.  each target must make a wisdom saving throw vs 16 or pursue the course of action to the best of its ability.  if you or any of your companions damage a creature affected by this spell, the spell ends for that creature.  when you cast this spell using a 7th level spell slot, the duration is 10 days.

RITUAL SPELLS:  instant summons.

seventh level spells:

TELEPORT:  one action, verbal, 10 foot range, instantaneous.  this spell instantly transports you and up to eight willing creatures of your choice that you can see within range, or a single object less than 10 feet cube in size that you can see within range, to a destination you select.  the destination you choose must be known to you, and it must be on the same plane of existence as you, with a one hundred percent chance of success when teleporting to a teleportation circle or in possession of an object taken from the desired destination within the last six months.  in all other cases, the dm rolls a d100 and consults the table based on your familiarity with the destination to determine whether you arrive there successfully.

weapons:

DAGGER:  -1 to attack, 1d4-1 piercing, finesse, light, thrown 20/60

residence:

CLOTHING:  common clothes, a light leather jacket, a raven usually perched on his shoulder.

WORKSHOP:  he shares space with his grandson, roman, who has cluttered the majority of their ground floor workshop with bolts of lace, cotton, velvet, brocade, and every other material imaginable, sacks of colorful feathers, piles of ribbon and gauze and multicolored thread, and stuffed sack busts draped with strange clothing in various states of completion.

background:

SAGE LIBRARIAN:  spending years mastering magic and learning the lore of the multiverse, benny has s listened to great experts, studied scrolls, and read more books than he can remember.  he is recognized at libraries, scriptoriums, and universities as a fellow scholar, and is generally able to gain access to their private libraries and restricted sections.

PERSONALITY:  elderly and kind, there's nothing about benny that isn't friendly and genuine, and he's always willing to share his knowledge with anyone interested, patiently explaining anything and everything a person might want to know.

IDEAL:  he believes the goal of a life of study is the betterment of oneself.

BOND:  he considers it his duty to use his knowledge to help others, if he can.

FLAW:  he’s become a bit slow and plodding in his old age, and has always has difficulty discerning who he should keep secrets from.

[kittyrinn-aiko]

Canterlot Sixth installment of the Kitzumi the fox pony story. 

“I...” Celestia began, but stopped not sure what she wanted to say. Celestia and Luna are sitting down for dinner at a modestly sized table, long oblong table long enough for no less then two dozen ponies, with Celestia at the head. Modestly sized for the palace in Canterlot. “You’ve moved closer.” Her tone cautious, and hopeful. When Luna had first returned she’d sat at the opposite end of the table, and every so often she would ask to be seated a little closer. “Was your talk with Twilight Sparkle a good one?” “You were out all day.”

“Yes, it was.” I wound up sleeping there most of the morning. “Met a rather charming young filly there as well.”

“Did you?”

“I think I’d like to take her on as a student.” “I know you’ve wanted me to take a more active role in the school. Any chance a slot can be opened up next quarter?”

“She’s that impressive?”

“To be honest, I’ve no idea what her skill level is.”

“Then why take her on as your student?”

“Well the primary reason is that she’s not afraid of me.” Luna’s statement was met by a long awkward silence. “I happened to talk with Starlight Glimmer this afternoon.” “She mentioned that there are among the Pegasus the occasional foal born with a unicorn button horn that never grows. They’re called button heads.”

“I wasn’t aware of that.”

“By any chance, would you know if Cadence was born with a button?”

“Afraid I can’t really answer that.”

“No, you only took her in after she became an Alicorn.”

“Well I didn’t even know she existed before then.” Luna protested. “What exactly are you getting at?”

“That dear Cadence was driven from her home. Abandoned. And before you say anything, let me continue.” Luna took a breath. “Miss Glimmer informed me that such ponies are notoriously weak fliers. She’s encountered Pegasus foals that have been banished from their homes. She didn’t elaborate.” “I paid Lord Dash a visit in Cloudsdale to see if he might be able to enlighten me as to the truth.”

“He denied it?”

“He confirmed it.”

“What?”

“Apparently a small percentage, less then one percent of the over all pony population by his guesstimates, are born button heads. The more prominent the family, the more likely they are to either ship the foal off to be cared for by earth ponies, or abandon them completely.”

“Abandon them?! That’s outrageous!” Celestia was shocked, and outraged. “I can just imagine what your reaction was, what with how strong your maternal instincts are.” There was a moment between the two where not a word could be said.

“For a thousand years I wanted to kill you.” Luna said in a nearly inaudible whisper. “In the end all I wanted was to be reconciled with you.”

“There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t regret what happened.”

“Can I ask you something more about Cadence?”

“You might just as well.”

“Did you know, or at least suspect who her parents are when you told her to call you Aunt?” “I mean, why not just adopt her outright, and let her call you mother?”

“I wanted to adopt her as my own. She didn’t really have anyone.” “I was advised not to.”

“I wouldn't be a bit surprised if your advisers know who her parents are.” “She may even be related to us, through one of your foals.”

“I find the idea that one of my own would abandon their own foal just because she can’t fly most distasteful.”

“You want to know the kicker?”

“Kicker?” Celestia asked astonished there could be more.

“When I was still at Twilight’s we came up with a very interesting theory.”

“That would be?”

“That every last one of them have within themselves the potential to become an Alicorn.”

“Wait, how would that work?”

“Well the idea is that to become an Alicorn, one must already be an Alicorn.”

“Twilight was a unicorn.”

“And used a transformation spell you gave her.” “A very dangerous gamble considering she started with the same spell as Sombra.” “I’ve seen Twilight’s transformation spell, and I’ve seen the spell Sombra used. Twilight got it right while he got it horribly wrong.”

“Are you sure it was the same spell?”

“I’m positive.” “Now either Sombra was truly evil down to his core, and I simply can’t bring myself to believe that, or he was lacking some vital quality. Regarding the buttons, the idea is that all they need is a boost of magical energy.”

“But isn’t that the sort of thing Sombra was saying? All you need is a boost of magical energy?”

“Sombra was from a noble line of Unicorns. A line that has all but died off so badly tarnished their reputation had become. He did not posses any ancestry from Pegasus, or Earth ponies.” “Our ancestry comes from all three, as does Twilight’s.”

“So you’re saying that...”

“In order for the transformation spell to work properly, the caster must have ancestry from all three primary pony tribes.” “And for a button to become an Alicorn they must be exposed to a large amount of magic to create that spark that causes the horn to grow. If the theory is correct, it could explain Flurry.”

“You’ve put a lot of thought into this.” Celestia said stunned.

“I have at that.” “Granted it’s going to take a lot of research to know for sure.” “I just wish the wise old ponies who raised us could have told us more about what we are, and what makes us Alicorns. What did they know that was forgotten? How did they know we would be special?” “Ponies who may well be like us, are being cast aside.”

“If only I had known, I might not have tried to take your son by force.” Celestia offered dropping her head down till her nose nearly touched the table. “The castle wouldn't have collapsed, and I wouldn't have resorted to the elements of harmony when you lost yourself to rage.” “When I’d time to reflect I couldn't bring you back because the elements had rejected me.” “Had that spell backfired on Twilight, my failure would truly have been complete.”

“But it’s not. You’ve made some horrible mistakes, even so, I’m willing to forgive you, little by little. And you need to forgive yourself as well.” “Just one thing...”

“That is?”

“Twilight doesn’t need to know she had the same spell as Sombra. I doubt she’d take it well.”

“Agreed.” Celestia offered looking back up. “That filly obsesses worse then you did at that age. She kind of reminds me of you too.”

On to number 7

[esportsrush-blog]

Dota 2 Guide: How To Play With Arc Warden

Post URL - https://esportsrush.com/dota-2-guide-how-to-play-with-arc-warden/

Dota 2 Guide: How To Play With Arc Warden

Arc Warden has been in the game for a while. However, people have still not understood how to play the hero. Below is a detailed guide about how to play the hero. Pros:

one of the best snowballers in the game.

strong teamfighter, very strong pusher.

wrecks hard disorganized pub teams.

very good against non-unit heroes if left 1v1.

late game rat menace.

Cons:

early ganks slaughter his progression.

against unit heroes like Broodmother (his no.1 counter) immediately swap lanes.

He's a very immobile hero that's extremely positioning dependent. Most of the fights you take are already decided by how good you placed yourself and your Tempest.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Credits Devian Art[/caption]

Skillset

FLUX - deals damage over time when there are no units around the enemy. Try to use it at lvl2 to harass your enemy in the lane.

MAGNETIC FIELD - provides full physical evasion to everyone inside the field. Buffs you, neutrals and your team with attack speed (tower ignores evasion on the creeps).

SPARK WRAITH - aka techies mine. use them sparingly because they're mana costly. If people are dumb enough you can stack them near a tp spot in the tree, they tp into it sometimes.

TEMPEST DOUBLE - Sixth man off the bench, you cannot use consumables on him. He shares full stats with the real Arc Warden. Rapier isn't cloned anymore. Whenever you summon him try to use his mana to the fullest. (for instance you're jungling, kill the smallest creeps first, use the Flux from the Tempest on the biggest creep)

Arc Warden is not an easy hero to master. He's easier than Meepo, but harder than Invoker. If that makes any sense. Microing him and the Tempest itself isn't really a hassle. It becomes hard when you get 6(7) slotted. That being said he's extremely item dependent.

Extremely Item Dependent

After getting an Aquila and Boots, you're buying a Midas. ~2100 gold for an item that gets you to your second farming (and fighting) item, Maelstrom, which is ~2700 gold. That's nearly 6.5k early gold for farming items. Compare that stupid amount for any other agility carry:

Slark: Shadow Blade, Treads, Aquila, Wand ~5.6k early gold and he's pretty much ready to fight.

Phantom Lancer: Wand, Treads, Aquila, Diffusal blade ~6k gold and ready to fuck shit up.

Arc Warden with those items can only properly set up to farm up the next core items that allow him to actually fight.

This guide is divided into few sections which cover up when to pick him, laning, items, skills and talent progression.

Draft

His hardest counters are those who can get into your face - Slark, PA, Spectre and illusion based heroes like CK and PL. But if they got into your face, you're not playing him well. Positioning is the key in those matchups. Also, try not to pick him up against those pesky 5man-group-up-and-push-together lineups. First 15mins you're completely useless to your team so you will have a hard time catching up. He absolutely wrecks every 1v1 mid matchup (except Brood) if you're skilled enough.

Honorable mentions that don't stand a chance against Arc are. Sniper, Shadow Fiend, Zeus, Skywrath, Clinkz, Ember and Storm pre level 6 and pretty much any melee hero that shows up.

Skill Order

Skill order depends on the matchup. Obviously, at 6 you are 3-0-2-1 which works great against any hero. If you're against an Invoker, you will have to take a different approach and go 1-1-3-1 to be able to trade hits and kill off his forge spirit. My choice of skills is 3-1-1-1 if you've managed to deny a lot from them and establish the level difference. That kind of skill build allows you to bait them into your Magnetic Field which can bring you some pesky kills pre level 5.

Proper Combo

You always flux first. It guarantees spark not missing them when they run away. 1 is the Main, 2 is the Tempest.1Q, ULT, 2Q, 1E, 2E and 2W to finish off or protect yourself when diving the tower. The reasoning behind this combo is mana conservation on the real Arc.

Talents

LVL10:+8% CD reduction, It really proves it's worth later when you're TPing everywhere.

LVL15: I'm a firm believer that Flux range is superior to HP talent. Being able to Flux them as they flee from the fights or as you approach the fight from across the screen is OP. Also, you almost always never want to be in the middle of a fight with the real Arc. Imagine real Arc as a backline Sniper and his Tempest as an Axe. Tempest is meant to soak up the damage. Although, against PA, Slark and WR I pick up the HP talent and an early Blademail.

LVL20: Attack range. I see that Icefrog meant some kind of support/caster Arc Warden coming into the play with the CD reduction on the sparks. It is doable with the level 25 talent. But physical Arc Warden is always preferred since he scales much better into the lategame.

LVL25: Well if you're constantly fighting take the +30 lifesteal. If you wanna play a worse version of Techies, take the spark dmg buff. It's good when the enemy supports don't expect it. You stack upto 3-4 sparks and they're probably dead. But since we're in lategame, pickoffs are very often rare. People group up and march down mid with the creeps. So, there are games when it's good and games where It's criminally bad to take it.

Laning

Mid 90% of the time. 10% safelane. The reason for taking the mid is solo XP and the pure potential of killing their mid over and over again. Once you hit lvl6 - it becomes 2v1.

When mid

Start with Wraith band, Branch, Faerie fire and 2 pooled tangos. Blocking your creeps every wave is very important to be able to harass them properly. Your last hitting ability is crucial those few first waves. Try not to waste level 1 mana and completely focus on your last hitting. Sub 3 min Aquila is a must. Follow it up by naked brown boots. You will need a ward to be able to see them on their ramp. This is probably your first power spike if you catch enemy offguard (not close to their creeps). You flux them and chase them down.

Some people advocate on getting Phase Boots. I haven't experimented with those yet but I believe that +24 dmg *2 units does make a difference early. In my opinion those boots are a waste of gold that early on since you need BoTs very early to contribute to your team. When you hit level 6 this is where the fun starts. Remember the part where I've said to always block your creeps a bit? You do this so their ranged creep is in the river, not on top of their ramp. This allows you to place a zoning spark wraith behind the creeps.

This way enemy has 2 choices: eat up a spark or not get close to it. He eats up a spark: instakill with the above said combo. He stands there and doesn't do anything: you deny everything and lasthit everything. If you have vision of him highground and at least level 3 flux you can attempt the combo above. If you manage to catch the first flux, which is very likely to succeed.

Other small tricks are to never stop harassing them with right clicks (try not to aggro their creeps). It's very frustrating for them because you have a superior attack range in most of the cases. It makes them pull back from the creeps which again leaves you with kill opportunities. There is also a trick if you fail to block your creeps. Hit the ranged creep 2 times and place level 2 spark on them. If enemy stays close you combo up. It's all mind games from there on. Finish up your Midas after you've gathered those 3-4 kills.

When Safelane

you will be behind on XP, but once you reach lvl6 tell your supports to leave, same principles above apply, harass them and zone them out with sparks

The transition from Early to Mid Game

Your objective is to bring down their mid tower. From there you TP to the weakest sidelane and help them bring down another tower. With that amount of map control you finish up the Maelstrom and farm BoTs. Try to realise that this itemisation is most common in 99% of the games. If you're against a pushing lineup I'd rather get a Mjollnir to be able to deal with them.

Mid Game

You got your Maelstrom and the BoTs sub 18mins or even less. Now what? Split push like a maniac? Join fights? These great questions don't have great answers. It's really tough to judge as a beginner what you should be doing. Communicate with your team. I always tell them that I will probably spend 3-4 more minutes farming up a Mjollnir by split pushing.

Try to TP to the outskirts of fights. Park your real Arc Warden behind and spam spells with him, while microing the Tempest in front. Never, ever come in as 2 unless you're completely sure that Slark is on another side of the map. Or that they don't have gap closer heroes capable of backlining you. In lower bracket games people seem to believe that the Tempest is an illusion so they don't expect him dishing out full damage while ignoring him. He's the 6th hero on your team. So to sum it up, fight with your team, gain map control, jungle their wards, ward their jungle, etc.

Itemisation

You can build whatever you want to. He's such a diverse hero. SnY and Manta? E-blade and Dagons? Gotcha fam. Situational builds aside, go to build, after Maelstrom and BoTs is as follows:

Blademail, SB or Pike, Mjollnir, Orchid, Nullifier --- constant fighting build against gap closers or spell spammers

Mjollnir, SB or Pike, Orchid, Nullifier, MKB --- true right click build

Some games demand a Force Staff (Riki smokes, saving your teammates, double forcestaffing yourself out) while some allow for using SB to infiltrate their jungle and picking off their carry. It's really up to your playstyle. I've found equal success with both, sometimes I even get both. BKB is often that 7th item in your backpack. Don't fear to get it. If you're against a Slark, I suggest getting a Hex instead of the Nullifier (has a projectile time, Hex is instant and not purgeable). In most cases Nullifier is preferred since it boosts your damage output.

Late Game

As I've said in the beginning, Arc Warden is a late-game menace. You can always keep 2 lanes pushed in. You will probably sit on 10k gold while being six slotted. Buy your carry a Moonshard if possible. With the acquired map control get the Aegis on your carry. While pushing in try to keep your team under Magnetic field since it gives them the attack speed. If you're defending try to reach their backlines with the Tempest (Shadow Blade or Force Staff). Always keep a track on your buyback status.

Bonus Tips

Try to synergize first few Midas usages (earlier maelstrom)

Getting chased and nowhere to run? place yourself near any trees and field that place so you can tp out or kill them

Learn to double forcestaff yourself, very useful skill

Don't be afraid to bring yourself any sort of regen, going back to fountain is the worst outcome

So this is it for now. Feel free to discuss this guide and add some tips on the abysmally low-picked hero. If you've got any questions feel free to discuss here.

Dota 2

Arc Warden, dota 2, Hero guide

[nflfanpointii]

Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints Facing Most Challenging Season Since Katrina

Drew Brees is chasing records as father time slowly gains ground. Sean Payton went through a Jeff Fisher-esqe 7-9 spell before last season’s surprise division title. Mickey Loomis is still building a defense while Mark Ingram fights for a pay raise before serving a suspension. With NOLA’s reputation as a football town being challenged with increasing NBA viewership, the Saints are facing pressure from all sides to make a Super Bowl run. The Saints offense is usually the headline when missed tackles do not doom the Saints to defeat. Brees’ pursuit of NFL records and the Saints redemption for last year’s playoff heartbreak will shape the narratives early through the preseason. However, the Saints will face the most scrutiny this year than any season since Katrina and perhaps beyond.

Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints Face One of Their Most Challenging Seasons in Years

Drew Brees Facing the Undefeated Father Time

Brees’ championship window is closing, but not as quickly as Brees is closing in on the NFL all-time passing yards record. It may take a few extra games to achieve the milestone, but Brees is on track to eclipse Peyton Manning this season. Behind an offensive line that could go to the Pro Bowl as a unit, Brees should have ample time to pick his spots.

In those gloomy 7-9 years, Brees’ arm was wearing out at the end of seasons. Ingram andAlvin Kamara solved the problems of overuse. No more games of 55 passes and 30 being mid-range out routes and long post. The Saints balanced their offense and found some game-changers in the draft over the last two years. Now they play with and defend leads instead of wearing out Brees’ arm playing catch up.

“The efficiency aspect of it is, I think is, very key being that you know you never know from week to week how it’s going to play out,” Brees said at organized team activities. “I mean, listen, I hope we can run the ball as well as we did last year with the complement of Mark [Ingram] and AK [Alvin Kamara] and whoever else might be in the mix because that just adds balance to your offense.”

There were dozens of articles or television segments addressing the lack of a plan behind Brees. The questions of succession should have ended with the draft. No one in the Crescent City is so drunk as to be oblivious to the fact that if Brees goes down so does the Saints season.

Sean Payton Seemingly Settled?

Payton has been increasingly mentioned as a target for other teams’ coaching vacancies. Possible trade scenarios were floated even after contract extensions. In 2016, Payton signed a five-year, $45 million contract extension. After that season there were reports of the Rams putting in an offer. With an extension not due for another year or two and Brees career winding down, the Payton watch will be on again next off-season regardless of the teams’ record.

Mark Ingram’s Superdome Swan Song?

Ingram came in at 43 in the NFL Top 100 list, but that was before his suspension. Michael Thomas and Kamara look more than capable of carrying an offense captained by Brees. These missed games due to suspension will cost Ingram millions.

Players that miss games do not meet contract incentives. Suspended players are not likely to make any Pro Bowl or All-Pro team. Endorsement opportunities vanish quicker than the lost game checks. Not only is Ingram less rich, the suspension likely cost him an opportunity to re-sign in New Orleans.

A slow start to his career, a breakout season, then a season of touches split with Kamara. Ingram’s looming contract talks kept him away from team activities so far. Any further distractions past this suspension may sour even the most loyal fan. There already aren’t many fans of a contract that is more than two years and $10 million. That would be a slight pay raise with an option to cut bait on the other side of 30.

The Saints need Ingram to come back in shape and ready to perform. The Saints have arguably the toughest schedule against the run. From Week Three on the Saints face the Atlanta Falcons, New York Giants, Washington Redskins, Baltimore Ravens, Minnesota Vikings, Los Angeles Rams, Cincinnati Bengals, Philadelphia Eagles, Falcons again, Dallas Cowboys, Tampa Bay Bucs, Carolina Panthers, Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Panthers. Every team was in the top third of run-stuffing categories last year or is known to be a historically tough defense.

Michael Thomas: The Next Great Saints Receiver?

Thomas should get half of every dollar Mickey Loomis saves from letting Ingram walk. As a rookie, he hauled in 92 catches for over 1,100 yards and nine touchdowns. His sophomore campaign saw Thomas announce his intentions to be seen as elite. Thomas took over games, compiling 104 passes for 1,245 yards and five touchdowns.

This while sharing touches the Ingram-Kamara duo. The first four games will be an experiment into what the team could be sans Ingram a la the Pelicans and DeMarcus Cousins. Both teams could use those stars, but at what price does the risk outweigh the rewards. Crossing that line due to sentimental value gets teams in trouble.

I love my players, but I want my general manager to do business like Marlo Stanfield, a man not known for sentiment. If Cameron Meredith can work outside the hash marks, it would allow Thomas to work from the slot. Thomas destroyed defenses when allowed a free release. It allows Brees to target him with a whole field to work with.

Is the Defense Built Yet?

Loomis still needs to prove he can build a defense. Former coordinator Greg Williams‘turnover heavy scheme was a one-hit wonder. Was last year’s draft class? With an off-season to find weaknesses, the Saints will need to sustain the improvements of last year instead of regressing like previous inconsistent squads.

Alex Anzalone only played four games last year. The Saints 2017 third round pick will serve as much needed depth behind free agent signing Demario Davis and Craig Robertson. If Anzalone can show improved coverage skills he would allow the Saints three linebackers and a full complement of swarming safeties on third down passing situations. If he cannot, the Saints will need Manti Te’o or a sixth defensive back to step up. New Saint Kurt Coleman has not been the best-rated safety in coverage in his nine years of experience.

Marcus Davenport cost the Saints assets to move up in the draft. First round picks are usually under pressure to perform but doubly so those who teams traded up to draft. Davenport will need to provide immediate pressure to take the focus off of Cameron Jordan. Working on the other side of David Onyemata and Sheldon Rankins will isolate Davenport on the edge.

If Davenport can grab a few sacks and prove he was worth the draft capital, Davenport will give the young secondary chances to make plays. If Davenport needs time to adjust coming from UTSA to the NFL, last year’s third-round pick Trey Hendrickson and Alex Okafor will provide depth.

Can the Saints Cover Anyone?

The secondary may be the strongest position group for New Orleans after years of being the weakest link. Patrick Robinson is back in the Big Easy, now sporting new jewelry. Marshon Lattimore has shown the skills to be the premier shutdown corner in the NFL. Vonn Bell and Marcus Williams will serve in the roaming safety spots. Coleman is solid against the run and has the closing speed to chase down routes in the flat.

Williams must come back from arguably the worst defensive blunder in Saints history. He is talking the redemption talk. Questions will remain until he walks out and proves it is in his past. Playing with a ghost makes a player slow. He needs to play without hesitation to maintain his top five NFC safety level. If the Saints play up to expectations, there will be late January football played in New Orleans.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOwtQ9Ll-oE

Who Will Coach Special Teams?

Also of note: Coach Mike Westhoff faces the biggest challenge. Any issue that is debilitating, paralyzing and could potentially be life-threatening take priority. Payton and the Saints convinced him to come out of retirement for the special teams job. His changes paid immediate dividends, and fans around the league have sent their best wishes. Grayson Hill (?) and Alvin Kamara most notably rewarded his faith.

[lrtfcu10sunday]

22/04/18 : Shelfield United Whites 3 v 7 LRT Blues

After the semi final exit last Sunday we returned to league action today against what we knew would be a strong and physical side in Shelfield. Our last match against them produced a hard fought 3-3 draw so we knew the qualities they had and the threat that their forward players would offer.

We started very slowly and despite knowing the way they would look to get the ball forward quickly we failed to deal with a number of long balls into the midfield area and the channels and allowed the hosts two simple goals without really testing their keeper at the other end. The sloppy start to the match suddenly triggered a reaction from the lads with Izzy, Raff and Rocky working hard to win the ball back and charge down clearances deep in the home side’s half. Our first goal came after good work from Isaac out on the left and a perfect delivery into the area that Rocky calmly dispatched from close range. We were starting to dictate play more and more and just before half time a free kick in a central area was well struck by Isaac with the keeper managing to get something on it but as he spilled the ball in front of him Rocky was the only one who reacted to slot home to bring us level at the break.

The second half saw us use the football quality we have throughout the team as we took the game to Shelfield who were being stretched every time we drove forward. After Louis was injured in the closing stages of the first half Joe was now in goal and Josh had dropped in at the back with Callum and Conor. These three now seemed to have the measure of their strong attack and largely negated any advances towards Joe’s goal with Luke and Reece working non-stop in front of them. Harry and Liam were also tracking back to ensure it wasn’t long before we regained possession and constantly fed Isaac, Corey, Raff and Rocky who were threatening to brush aside the struggling defence of the home side. Isaac seemed to be on a mission to repeat his heroics of our visit here last season as he notched a quickfire hatrick. His first came after good work by Raff in the centre of midfield finding Rocky steaming forward through the middle. His deft touch out to his right fell just in front of Isaac in full flow and he strode forward, steadied himself and buried the ball past the diving keeper. His second was also supplied by a through ball from Rocky and once again Isaac was cool and clinical in front of goal. A rare foray into our half was stopped by Josh who looked up from his position at right back and floated the ball over their defence for Isaac to run onto before finishing low into the far corner. Our sixth came from Raff who had already threatened to score a couple of times in a few minutes. Conor’s free kick from the left side near the halfway line was flicked over the advancing keeper by Raff as the hours of watching re-runs of the Karate Kid seemed to pay off. Shelfield grabbed a late goal back after their player appeared to scoop the ball up with his hand and drop it into his path before firing home. Although our lads weren’t impressed by this they reacted exactly how they should - they went up the other end more or less from the kick off and Raff’s pass to Harry on the right side of area was finished well from a tight angle.

After the initial spell the lads showed their quality on the ball and in the end we ran out worthy winners. There were good performances all over the pitch today as, once again, lads had to play in unfamiliar positions to help fill the gaps we had but today’s man of the match was awarded to Rocky who came on and scored two goals just before half time, set up two for Isaac early in the second and worked tirelessly when we didn’t have the ball.

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #200

Wow, what a milestone, huh? It feels like only yesterday we were building Mash. Didn't even know you could grab multiple fighting styles back then. We were also one person back then. Things change. Things change even faster when you have magic eyes that let you bend anything you can see, so let's hurry up and build Asagami Fujino already. She is a Quandrix Sorcerer to tear apart anything she lays eyes on, as well as expand her field of vision beyond what her eyes can see. Dangerous combination, that.

Check out her build breakdown below the cut, or her character sheet over here!

Next up: In the dark of the night, evil will find you! (If Rasputin ever become a playable character I am really going to regret using that one here.)

Wait, what's that...

Race and Background

No surprises here, Fujino is a Variant Human, because normal humans can't tear people apart with their mind. That means she gets +1 Dexterity and Charisma, as well as proficiency with Perception (kind of her deal) and the Tough feat. HP isn't just how much body you have to get hurt, it's also how badly getting hurt affects you. Fujino's deadened sense of pain means she can take hits and keep going, purely due to the fact that she doesn't realize she should stop. That means you're getting an extra 2 HP each level.

Fujino is a schoolgirl, so the closest thing we have is the Cloistered Scholar background. That gives you History and Nature proficiency.

Ability Scores

Your highest score should be Charisma. Your magic eyes are an innate part of you, and it's really easy to be frightening when you can tear a bridge down around you. Second highest should be Constitution, for the reasons we outlined in your background feat. Your Dexterity should probably be pretty high, you fight in clothing, and you fought against Shiki for more than five seconds without dying. That's impressive. Your Intelligence isn't that bad, though you're still going through school. We aren't dumping Strength, it's alright, but we are dumping Wisdom. You have a hard time feeling yourself and feeling connected to other people.

Class Levels

You're a Sorcerer, giving you proficiency with Constitution and Charisma saves, as well as proficiency with the Intimidation and Arcana skills. You've got magic implanted in your face, and again, bridge. As a Sorcerer, you can cast spells using your Charisma. Blade Ward deadens your senses further, giving you resistance to physical damage types for a round. Mending lets you twist a small item back together, instead of tearing it apart. Sword Burst is a short range bending... sorta. Force damage is hard to quantify. But it's free, so that's nice. You can also Shape Water to bend liquids to your will. For first level spells, Mage Armor helps you not die, and Magic Missile lets you shoot little bursts of twistiness that'll never miss. You also join the school of Quandrix, which gives you the starting gift of the spells Guidance and Guiding Bolt. They aren't super in character, but they're free, so suck it up. More Importantly, you learn Functions of Probability, helping you bend luck in your favor. When you cast a leveled spell targeting a creature, you can add an effect to a nearby creature (yourself included). A Diminishing Function forces a wisdom save (DC 8 + Chr mod + proficiency), and if it fails it subtracts 1d6 from the next attack roll it makes this round. Turns out swordfighting is hard when your sword is a corkscrew. Alternatively, a Supplemental Function lets a creature add a d6 to an attack or save made in the next round. This part is less believable, but if you're creative I'm sure it'll look good.

Second level sorcerers are a Font of Magic, giving you sorcery points equal to your level per long rest. You can turn them into slots, or turn slots into points. Eventually you can do other things. Also, you can cast Thunderwave now. It destroys objects, you destroy objects, it's a match made in heaven.

Now that you're a third level sorcerer, you can make your spells truly your own thanks to Metamagic! If you cast a Heightened spell, one creature in its effect has disadvantage on their save against it. If you cast an Empowered spell, you can re-roll a couple damage dice. Tearing people in half is generally hard to avoid, and kind of damaging. You can also bend the air itself by casting Dust Devil, creating a Medium sized tornado, dealing damage to creatures nearby and pushing them around. It'll even pick up dust and make things hard to see, though that's kind of a drawback for you.

Use your very first Ability Score Improvement to bump up your Charisma. Kind of a spell-based build, to be honest. Speaking of, Mage Hand probably doesn't have much tearing force behind it, but it's free. You can also cast Shatter for more indiscriminate destruction.

Fifth level sorcerers gain third level spells like Clairvoyance! Now you can see a bird's eye view of the battlefield, tearing your way through it like, well, you.

At sixth level it's about time you started bending the earth to your will. You can Velocity Shift nearby creatures if they start their turn or move within 30' of you. If they fail a charisma save you can shove them to any other point within 30' of you. You can react this way 30' per long rest. Twist debris at people and watch them scatter, it's fun. To help with that, you can also cast Erupting Earth, bending the ground in a 20' cube. This forces dex saves on creatures in the cube, dealing damage and making the area difficult terrain until it's cleaned up.

Seventh level sorcerers get fourth level spells like Stoneskin for even more deadened senses. Now you resist physical damage without having to waste your action every turn. It does use your concentration, but it lasts an hour.

Another ASI! Max out your Charisma for super special eyes. You can also Control Water to create truly damaging whirlpools. There's other options, but whirlpools! Who'd want anything else?

Oh hey, I found something you might want else. It's fifth level spell Bigby's Hand! You can grab people and play with them like a stress ball. Technically there isn't a twisting option, but a Grasping Hand is probably the best you'll do. It'll grapple a huge or smaller creature, and if it successfully does so you can Crush it as a bonus action for damage.

Another Metamagic option! Technically these spells are all just you looking at things, so grab Subtle Spell so you don't have to yell out all your attack names. You can also Mold Earth. It's not that powerful, but it's free twisting. You also get Telekinesis! Again, no "twisting" in the rules, but it's strong enough to lift an object of 1000 pounds, and fine enough to open a door. Their heads should be popping off here.

Sixth level spells! Here are the big boys of the spell world. If you twist anything enough, eventually it'll Disintegrate, dealing plenty of force damage and leaving behind a mess you can't even revive. A little too clean for Fujino, but it's destructive enough.

ASI time. Bump up Constitution for a thicker skin and more HP. HP changes retroactively, so you get an extra 12 HP here.

Did you know turning into rotini is painful? Your enemies certainly know that, thanks to Power Word Pain. If a charmable creature has 100 HP or less, their speed drops to 10', and it gets disadvantage on all attacks, checks, and saves, aside from constitution saves. If it tries to cast a spell, it'll be wasted if it can't pass a constitution save. The target stays in pain forever until it can pass a constitution save.

Cool, so fun thing about these Multi Class Subclasses! As long as you're the correct level, you can take any one feature they have each time you hit the appropriate level in your main class. Since the highest requirement is 14, we're taking Quantum Tunneling now, and we'll pop back to the other one later. Your senses permanently deaden, giving you complete resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage. You can also bend your way through any physical objects, as long as you're willing to deal with a halved movement speed and 1d10 damage each square you move. You also have to end your turn in an empty spot. Playing to character this should leave a huge hole behind you, but maybe you're conscientious? You weren't raised in a barn, after all.

Your eighth level spell is Earthquake. Now no structure in your view is safe from your destructive powers. Tear open the earth, shatter structures, and interrupt concentration, there's nothing you can't do!

Bump up your Dexterity this ASI. Not getting hit is still pretty useful, even if you can't feel it.

Remember when I said turning into rotini hurts? I was wrong. Actually, it kills you. Please grab Power Word Kill to reflect these changes. You have become death, destroyer of mages. You also learn how to cast Distant Spells, doubling your spell's range. Your range should be "anywhere in sight", so this is a step in the right direction.

Okay, I guess we'll grab Null Equation. Once per turn you can twist up a creature you damaged. If they fail a constitution save, they get disadvantage on strength and dexterity saves, and they only deal half damage with weapon attacks, all for a round. You can do this Proficiency times per long rest. Again, real hard to hit people when your femurs are spring shaped.

Use your last ASI for more Constitution for more HP and better concentration.

We've finally done it, we've made a pure sorcerer build! It's time to finally learn the dark secret of the Sorcerer capstone. What feature could be so powerful we've completely avoided it for 200 builds? It's Sorcerous Restoration. You get 4 sorcery points per short rest. It's not good. Sorry.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

You're good at dealing damage, and your most powerful spells deal Force damage, which almost nothing blocks against. That means you're consistent and deadly, a solid combination.

You're so good at damage that it isn't just limited to creatures. Use telekinesis, mold earth, and shatter to tear apart structures that are getting in your way. Walls? Torn down. Steel Beams? Melted. Bridges? Falling down.

Despite spending your entire time in a class with the worst hit dice imaginable, you're pretty tough to kill, with just over 200 HP, a decent AC for a spellcaster, and permanent resistance to physical damage types. To make things worse for fighters, it's also a pain to get near you, since you can tear up the area around you and shunt melee fighters away as a reaction.

Cons:

While you do have magic missile, a lot of your spells deal damage in wide areas, so your party might have words with you about using earthquake one too many times.

While you're good at tearing things up, that's just about all your magic can do. There's the occasional Clairvoyance and some defensive spells, but by and large you're either dealing damage or doing nothing.

Despite your great physical defense, you struggle a bit more against other damage types. If you end up fighting someone who can turn their knife into psychic damage, you might have a problem on your hands.

[junker-town]

Can Derek Mason’s experienced Vanderbilt win in an improved SEC East?

The good news: the Dores should again be better. The bad news: so should their opponents.

Derek Mason was maybe the most confident man in Hoover, Ala. During his half-hour appearance at the podium, he spoke like a man ready to lead his Commodores to an SEC title.

“Vanderbilt football is on the rise.”

“We’re starting to close the talent gap.”

“We’re moving the envelope. We’re pushing the needle.”

“When your team grows up, you’ve got a chance.”

“For the first time in my tenure, I look at depth on this football team, and I truly believe we have a chance to do something special.”

“I said to myself, I couldn’t wait to be a junior-senior football team in this conference. Now, I’m not having to wait anymore.”

“I’m excited to see what this team does this year. We are relentless, tough and intelligent.”

After a dreadful first season, Mason has moved the program forward. The Commodores fell from 9-4 and 68th in S&P+ in 2013, James Franklin’s final season, to 3-9 and 110th in 2014. They stabilized at 79th in 2015 and moved to 71st last fall, and with help from a less demanding schedule — five opponents with 10-plus wins in 2015, one in 2016 — they improved from 4-8 to 6-7, qualifying for their first bowl since Franklin left.

That, in and of itself, is an accomplishment. Franklin moved the goalposts when he went to bowls in each of his three seasons; before that, the program had four postseason trips, total.

Now Mason has his most experienced team yet. Even in a division loaded with continuity, Vandy’s returning production percentages stand out. The odds of further improvement are quite high.

So what does that actually mean? What’s the ceiling?

In the last 60 years, Vanderbilt has ranked in the S&P+ top 40 just four times. During Franklin’s three-year tenure, undeniably the best short run for the school since the 1950s, they averaged a ranking of 48th. They haven’t had a top-50 S&P+ offense since 1987. Their defense has proven to have a much higher ceiling (five top-30 finishes in Def. S&P+ since 2007) and returns a lot of experience from last year’s No. 40 unit but might have to replace its three best play-makers.

Plus, there’s the matter of seemingly everybody in the East improving. Georgia, Kentucky, and South Carolina return as much production as the Dores, and Missouri isn’t far behind. Florida and Tennessee built a lot more margin for error in recruiting.

VU can still win plenty of games. The Commodores have bowled five times in nine years and will have a sturdy defense. S&P+ projects the Commodores only 63rd, worst in the SEC, but they have at least a 44 percent win probability in six games and at least 31 percent in eight.

Now, that’s not what Mason is envisioning. He likely has the bar set higher than that. But this continuity does spell improvement, especially combined with the progress the offense made in the second half of last season.

If anything else, the experience this year and next will establish the likely ceiling. I said basically the same thing about Northwestern in the Wildcats’ preview, and that fits, considering they’re the same type of program: teams with built-in recruiting limitations (because of academics, size of fanbase, etc.) but the ability to attract smart personnel and compete at a high level, given the right continuity.

NU has proved itself capable of being a competitive bowl team, and Pat Fitzgerald’s Wildcats might have as much upside in 2017 as ever. The obvious difference: VU’s proved itself only once under Mason, and that was marginal. There’s room for growth; we’ll see if Mason can realize it.

2016 in review

2016 Vanderbilt statistical profile.

Part of the reason for optimism is how the offense blossomed last year, averaging nine more points per game over the final six games than the first seven. Of course, the defense regressed by a similar amount.

First 7 games (3-4): Avg. percentile performance: 41% (26% offense, 62% defense) | Avg. yards per play: Opp 5.6, VU 4.4 (minus-1.2) | Avg. score: Opp 22, VU 19

Last 6 games (3-3): Avg. percentile performance: 58% (57% offense, 48% defense) | Avg. yards per play: Opp 6.3, VU 6.0 (minus-0.3) | Avg. score: VU 28, Opp 26

The formula was easy to understand. The Commodores stunk at the field position game, but dominated the red zone — 4.6 points per scoring opportunity on offense (56th in FBS), 3.5 on defense (sixth), meaning they scored as many points in five trips as opponents would in 6.5 — and relied on their ability to win on standard downs.

Either the formula worked, or it didn’t. In terms of postgame win expectancy (which looks at the key stats and says, “Team A would have won this game X percent of the time”), Vandy was at 66 percent or higher four times and at 20 percent or lower eight times. The Dores eked out a bowl bid because of unlikely wins against WKU (27 percent) and Georgia (15 percent).

The next two steps: occasional passing-downs success and far less horrendous field position.

Even with the late-year improvement, Vandy’s offense ranked a miserable 123rd in Passing Downs S&P+; quarterback Kyle Shurmur was constantly under pressure, and the Commodores managed a 40 percent passing downs success rate in just two games. Granted, they were the last two of the regular season (hope!), but they followed with a 21 percent in the blowout bowl loss to NC State (less hope!).

The field position problems were due to a combination of passing-downs inefficiency and poor legwork. Vandy ranked 102nd in punt efficiency and 89th in kickoff efficiency. Not having a freshman punter will help there.

Offense

Full advanced stats glossary.

I cannot stress how important Vanderbilt’s offensive line is.

This is an over-generalization, but you can boil a lot of a line’s performance down to two key situations: short-yardage and passing-downs pass protection. Is there a lot of other context going on in those situations? Of course. But the fact that Vandy ranked 121st (out of 128) in power success rate and 124th in passing-downs sack rate says a lot.

In certain situations, everything was fine. Vandy ranked a healthy 44th in Standard Downs S&P+; defenses were preoccupied with stopping star running back Ralph Webb, and it opened up some passing opportunities. Shumur was only okay in such situations — his passer rating on first downs was a paltry 107.8; for comparison, Tennessee’s Josh Dobbs’ was 190.1 — but there was enough balance for VU to avoid passing downs reasonably well.

You can win with a “stay on schedule and avoid passing-downs disaster” approach. But it’s harder to pull that off when you’re awful at both converting short yardage and, well, avoiding passing-downs disaster.

That four linemen with starting experience return is good, and the fact that all four are either sophomores or juniors tells you how young Vandy’s line was. But all-conference left tackle Will Holden and two-year starting center Barrett Gouger are gone, and Vandy might end up relying on a couple of redshirt freshmen — center Sean Auwae-McMoore and tackle Devin Cochran — to fill in the gaps. Yikes.

Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

Ralph Webb

Webb still has eligibility despite the fact that it feels like he was in Nashville when Jay Cutler was Vandy’s quarterback. In three seasons, he has racked up a combined 3,726 rushing and receiving yards and 24 touchdowns, all on bad or mostly bad offenses. And while there are still questions about the line, the passing game might be in better shape than it has been since Cutler left.

Okay, that’s presumptuous. Vandy still ranked just 87th in Passing S&P+ last year. But after a dreadful start, Shurmur really did show progress.

Shurmur, first 7 games: 51% completion rate, 10.4 yards per completion, 98.5 passer rating

Shurmur, next 5 games: 62% completion rate, 13.9 yards per completion, 141.7 passer rating

The interception rate ticked up a bit, and his bowl game was miserable (19-for-46 for 158 yards and three picks against an awesome NC State defense), but he showed the kind of trend you want in a sophomore.

The development of Caleb Scott was key. Scott had four catches in the first seven games, then 16 in the next five. That took pressure off of freshman receiver Kalija Lipscomb, who had been asked to do far too much early on. And the fact that Scott averaged 19.4 yards per catch gave Vandy an honest-to-god big-play threat. Webb has his moments, but he needed more help.

Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Kyle Shurmur

Continuity in the passing game is a sign of likely improvement. Shurmur is back, as are each of the eight players targeted at least 10 times last year. If Late-Season Scott makes an extended appearance, then possession targets like slot man C.J. Duncan and sophomore tight end Jared Pinkney could find a bit more room to run. So could Webb, for just about the first time ever.

It comes back to that line, though. Webb needs more of a push than he got, and Shurmur needs protection.

Defense

Vanderbilt’s 2016 defense was ... unique. The Commodores were disruptive against the run, ranking 29th in stuff rate and 31st in power success rate. That usually correlates with good run efficiency, but they were 72nd in rushing success rate.

Meanwhile, they were good at big-play prevention, allowing just 13 passes of 30-plus yards all year (10th in FBS); that typically coincides with strong explosiveness ratings, but they ranked 55th in Passing isoPPP (which measures the magnitude of successful plays).

They were aggressive against the run, but it backfired occasionally; they were bend-don’t-break against the pass (with the No. 117 Adj. Sack Rate ranking to match) but gave up a few too many passes in the 10- to 15-yard range.

And through all that, they ranked a cohesive 47th in Standard Downs S&P+, 48th in Passing S&P+, and 40th in overall Def. S&P+.

Makes sense, right?

Stats don’t paint a clear picture here, but here’s what I think I know from watching Vandy:

The line, still not blessed with the type of size you like to see from a 3-4 front, was quick but could be pushed around under the wrong circumstances.

A lot was asked of the linebacking corps, and the trio of Zach Cunningham, Oren Burks, and Ja’karri Thomas (but mostly Cunningham) responded incredibly.

The backfield punished mistakes if you made them (but didn’t force a lot of mistakes).

Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Joejuan Williams (8) and Oren Burks (20)

If this is true, it’s a good-news, bad-news situation.

Good news: almost the entire secondary is back. Losing cornerback Torren McGaster hurts, but he’s the only departure — a sturdy foursome of senior safeties (LaDarius Wiley, Ryan White, Taurean Ferguson, Arnold Tarpley III) is back, as are senior corner Tre Herndon and sophomore Joejuan Williams.

Good news: the line is nearly as experienced. Tackles Adam Butler and Torey Agee are gone, but senior nose Nifae Lealao returns and has a seasoned dance partner in Jay Woods. At end, Jonathan Wynn and Dare Odeyingbo are back, though after them it’s all redshirt freshmen and true freshmen (including Dare’s incoming brother Dayo). Depth here could be a concern, but you’ve got four solid pieces.

Bad news: the linebacking corps got thinned out. The all-world Cunningham is gone, and so are Thomas and backup Landon Stokes. After Burks come juniors Jordan Griffin, Charles Wright, and Josh Smith, who combined for 30 tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss in mostly backup roles.

Generally speaking, it’s easier to replace production at linebacker than it is in the front or (especially) back of the defense. But there was a lot of responsibility on the shoulders of Cunningham and company, so turnover there is alarming.

Though Mason doesn’t get the offensive benefit of the doubt, he does on defense. In his six years as either a coordinator or head coach, he’s had four defenses in the Def. S&P+ top 40. If the Commodores don’t have that, they’ll have something close.

Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Nifae Lealao (77)

Special Teams

Despite shakiness in punts and kickoffs, Vandy’s overall Special Teams S&P+ ranking was 70th; it could have been worse, but while Tommy Openshaw isn’t much of a kickoffs guy, he’s a wonderfully steady place-kicker. He made 11 of 12 field goals inside of 40 yards and four of seven outside. His return will help, as will the presence of Kalija Lipscomb in punt returns.

Lipscomb may have been asked to do more than he was ready to do in the passing game, but he averaged 14.9 yards per return and ranked 33rd in punt return efficiency. That Vandy still did poorly in the field position battle says a lot about the inefficient offense.

2017 outlook

2017 Schedule & Projection Factors

Date Opponent Proj. S&P+ Rk Proj. Margin Win Probability 2-Sep at Middle Tennessee 89 8.3 68% 9-Sep Alabama A&M NR 49.7 100% 16-Sep Kansas State 35 -1.0 48% 23-Sep Alabama 1 -27.6 6% 30-Sep at Florida 15 -16.4 17% 7-Oct Georgia 20 -7.0 34% 14-Oct at Ole Miss 26 -9.4 29% 28-Oct at South Carolina 36 -5.4 38% 4-Nov Western Kentucky 51 2.3 55% 11-Nov Kentucky 41 0.5 51% 18-Nov Missouri 53 2.5 56% 25-Nov at Tennessee 24 -9.8 28%

Projected S&P+ Rk 53 Proj. Off. / Def. Rk 22 / 94 Projected wins 5.3 Five-Year S&P+ Rk 7.0 (40) 2- and 5-Year Recruiting Rk 50 / 38 2016 TO Margin / Adj. TO Margin* -3 / -7.0 2016 TO Luck/Game +1.7 Returning Production (Off. / Def.) 72% (89%, 54%) 2016 Second-order wins (difference) 5.2 (-1.2)

In one way, Mason is right to be excited. The experience his team has compiled — and not just returning production (like what South Carolina’s batch of sophomores and juniors have), but the experience that comes with loads of fourth- and fifth-year guys — should pay off in the form of maybe the highest floor in the SEC East, outside of Georgia or Florida.

That means that if basically any division rival plays a C-game or worse against Vandy this year, that rival will lose. But while the Commodores may have the highest floor, they also have the lowest ceiling. If an opponent plays its A-game, that opponent wins, perhaps comfortably.

In a division like the 2016 East, that worked. A high floor allowed the Commodores to beat Ole Miss, Tennessee, Western Kentucky, Georgia, and a Middle Tennessee that beat Missouri. But they also lost by 31 to Georgia Tech, by 24 to NC State, and fell to Mizzou.

If the East improves as I think it might, then a lot of Vandy’s growth will be neutralized. S&P+ gives Vandy between a 35 and 65 percent chance of winning in six of 12 games. That five of the other six are below 35 percent tells you that a second bowl would be a heck of an accomplishment. But it’s on the table.

Team preview stats

All power conference preview data to date.

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #201

Welcome to Fate and Phantasms Season 2! With our vacation over, we're gonna hop straight into the queen of beasts and pranks, Anastasia! Since she gets a lot of her power from a fictional character, making her a Silverquill Warlock just makes sense. Kinda. Check out her build breakdown below the cut (but expect Lostbelt 1 Spoilers), or her character sheet over here!

Next up: We're going whole hog!

Race and Background

Viy is... something else entirely, but Anastasia is clearly a Human from a Variant timeline, a.k.a. a lostbelt. This gives her +1 Charisma and +1 Intelligence, proficiency in Sleight of Hand to sneak rocks into snowballs, and the Elemental Adept feat to ignore cold resistance and bump all cold damage dice up so the minimum they can roll is a 2. We get a disappointingly small amount of snow and ice in this build (turns out Demons are mana hogs), but this'll make sure the ice you do get has some bite to it.

Ability Scores

Make your Charisma super high this time, you're good at messing with people and dealing with extraplanar monsters, both of those are charisma for some reason. Dexterity is next for a better chance at playing practical jokes on people. You gotta be sneaky and have fast hands, that's dexterity. Your Intelligence is also pretty high, you have to come up with schemes to act upon them. Wisdom's decent, but it's not like Yaga are good liars anyway. Your Constitution isn't great though, turns out you're weak to bullets, but we're dumping Strength. Nobles typically don't turn to heavy lifting, and you died when you were 17, so that's two strikes against the "buff Ana" theory. Finding out she died at 17 also makes the degree to which a certain part of this fandom gets horny for Anastasia waaaay creepier. Like, they probably don't know she's a kid, and that's FGO's fault, but still.

Class Levels

Aaanyway, let's start leveling! As a 100% Silverquill Warlock build, you'll find the pen is mightier than the sword! And the pen, in this metaphor, is a terrifying demon. The swords are still swords. You get Wisdom and Charisma save proficiency, as well as Arcana and Religion. Your doll's into the former and your boss is super into the latter. Not Kadoc, the guy who's actually in charge. Warlocks get Pact Magic, letting you cast one spell per short rest. You'll get more & stronger spell slots as you get stronger, but they all recharge on short rests. Grab the cantrips Eldritch Blast for casterballs, and Frostbite for ice. You also get first level spells like Armor of Agathys for a protective layer of ice, and Hex, Viy's first attempts at creating weaknesses. You deal an extra 1d6 necrotic damage to the target each attack, and they get disadvantage on one kind of ability check. If they drop to 0 HP, you can even move the spell over to a new sucker for up to an hour. The fun doesn't stop there, though! Your subclass makes you an Eloquent Apprentice, giving you proficiency in Deception and Insight, plus you get the Vicious Mockery cantrip to demoralize enemies. You can also use Viy's eyes to plant Silvery Barbs into enemies, weakening them and strengthening your allies at the same time. You can force a creature to re-roll a successful attack, check, or save, and take the lower roll. If the new roll fails, you can then give another creature effectively advantage on an attack, check, or save within the next minute. You can use this as much as you want, but after succeeding once, you'll have to burn a spell slot to reuse it before the end of a long rest. You... don't have many of those.

Second level warlocks get Eldritch Invocations! Grab Armor of Shadows for not dying, and Lance of Lethargy to make your eldritch blasts extra icy! Now they slow down someone you hit once per turn. You can also cast Unseen Servant so Viy can carry stuff for you!

Third level warlocks get the Pact of the Chain, so you can have your little dolly now. You also get a second level spell, Hold Person! It's not cold damage, but it does frost over a person and make it easier to beat them up!

Fourth level warlocks get their first Ability Score Improvement, so bump up your Charisma for better spells! You can also cast Mind Sliver to mess up people's minds, and Ray of Enfeeblement to weaken them further.

This level you get third level spells like Spirit Shroud! More slowing, and more cold damage! You're also a Sign of Ill Omen, letting you cast Bestow Curse once per long rest.

Sixth level silverquills can summon Viy in his big shadow form thanks to Inky Shroud! You learn the Darkness spell, and you can cast it for free once per long rest! If you cast it for free, you can see through Viy, and he'll deal a bit of psychic damage to creatures that start their turn in him. If you want him to be a bit less smokey, you can Summon Shadowspawn, creating a shadow guy that can beat people up an deal cold damage and scare people!

Fourth level spells! Grab Elemental Bane to make your cold spells even colder once a turn. You get another invocation too, and Devil's Sight will let you see through all sorts of darkness, even if it isn't Viy.

Another ASI! Max out that Charisma for super strong spells! You also get Raulothim's Psychic Lance, which deals a buncha psychic damage if they fail an intelligence save, and it'll incapacitate them too if they fail. That freezes them up just enough that they can't take actions or reactions. They can still move around, but they can't do much to help.

Fifth level spell time. Ice don't care about what it's freezing, so grab Hold Monster. You also get the invocation Ghostly Gaze, which'll let you see through solid objects, up to a minute per short rest!

Tenth level silverquills can add an Infusion of Eloquence to their spells, changing the damage type to Psychic or Radiant. Any creature hurt by the spell takes extra damage, and is also charmed (radiant) or frightened (psychic) of you until your next turn. You can do this proficiency times per long rest. Slap it on a spell that does damage over time like hex and you're in business! It's a shame that it takes the ice out of your spells, but it'll really weaken some enemies! Also, grab Prestidigitation. The only thing better than a rock in a snowball is a rock in a snowball that'll disappear after you throw it!

Eleventh level warlocks get a sixth level Mystic Arcanum, letting you cast the spell once per long rest. If you want more Anastasia goodies, grab Investiture of Ice to freeze up your foes. If you want more Viy goodies, grab Eyebite to weaken your enemies with just a glance. Either's good.

Now that your charisma's all good, use this ASI to bump up your dexterity for better sneaking and AC! You can also Mire the Mind (tho really you're more miring the body, with ice), casting Slow once per long rest.

You get a seventh level MA now, so pick up Power Word Pain. If a creature has less than 100 HP, it'll be super hurt, with a speed of 10' maximum and disadvantage on all attacks, checks, and saves, other than constitution. If it tries to cast a spell, it also has to make a save or it wastes the slot!

On a completely unrelated note, fourteenth level silverquills learn a Word of Power. (It's actually two words? idk) You can invoke Deadly Despair in an enemy who fails a roll due to your silver barbs, giving them vulnerability to a damage type until the start of your next turn. Alternatively, you can use a Selfless Invocation as a reaction, giving a creature resistance to the damage they're taking, and you take as much psychic damage as the damage that gets through. This one's why Silverquill beat out the undead warlock; now you can take a bullet for the ones you care about!

Fifteenth level warlocks get an eighth level MA, so grab Maddening Darkness for even more spooky smoke. a 60' radius sphere turns into darkness like the other spell, but creatures that start their turn in the sphere make a wisdom save, taking a bunch of psychic damage if they fail. Your eyes get even better thanks to your Witch Sight, letting you see through shapeshifters and people with magical disguises. People tend to keep that stuff hidden for a reason, and now you get to find out!

Use this ASI to bump up your Constitution. A lot of your spells need concentration, so it should probably be a bit better. Also, this gives you 16 HP instead of 1; Hit points get changed retroactively.

Seventeenth level warlocks get their big ninth level spell! Grab Imprisonment to freeze someone away forever! (Okay, not for "forever" ever, but a really long time.) If the target fails a wisdom save they're trapped, and don't need to breathe, eat, drink, or age. It also can't be found with magic. There's a lot of options, but you can probably talk your DM into letting you ice someone over. There are three ways the target can be set free if they fail the save: 1) A ninth level dispel magic, either on the prison or on the material component you used to cast the spell. 2) You try to make another prison using the same material component. That's a no-no. And 3) a special condition you set, accepted by the DM. The condition has to be reasonable, and possible to happen.

Eighteenth level warlocks get one more Invocation, and the Chains of Carceri will make you just a bit icier. Now you can cast Hold Monster at will, if only against celestials, fiends, and elementals. You can only cast it on the same creature once per long rest.

One last ASI, so bump up that Constitution again for more HP! You also get one last spell; it sucks we can't go back and grab the other sixth level spell we want, but you can grab Fear instead. Viy's a pretty creepy dude.

The capstone ability of the warlock class makes you an Eldritch Master. And by that it makes your patron an Eldritch Master, because you have to spend 1 minute begging your Viy to use this feature. It recharges all your spell slots for free, but you can only use this once per long rest.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

While it doesn't have as many spells as fire damage, ice damage is still a pretty solid pick to specialize in, and thanks to Elemental Adept there's only a very small number of creatures that can slow you down. Just don't play this character in Icewind Dale, and you'll be set.

You have plenty of ways to debuff your foes, ranging from slowing them down, freezing them in place, frightening them, charming them, and weakening their attacks and saves. Unlike Abigail, you diversify your status effects, and you can still deal plenty of damage at the same time, with powerful spells and the ability to shove vulnerabilities into people as a reaction. And those debuffs are both effective and flexible! Spells like Vicious Mockery plus your Silvery Barbs let you tank any kind of save the enemy tries to do. Elemental Bane works for all sorts of damage types, not just cold, and Bestow Curse literally just lets you do whatever you want if your DM signs off on it.

Your Eyesight is incredible, with the ability to see in the dark, through walls, and even through magical disguises. You can pull apart mysteries pretty well with those peepers.

Cons:

A lot of your spells require Concentration, which you aren't that good at. It also means you have to pick one and stick with it for the duration.

On a similar note, being a pure warlock build means you only get a maximum of 4 spells per short rest. We took a couple invocations to help with this, but it's still a small number of slots.

While you can be terrifying on your own with Viy's assistance, it's clear a lot of your features work better with teamwork, so fighting on your own can be a little awkward. For example, deadly despair lasts until the start of your next turn, so if you use your silvery barbs to block an attack, you won't get any damage out of it.

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #167

Today on Fate and Phantasms we’re making the single horniest character in FGO (in every sense of the word), Heaven’s Hole, a.k.a. Kiara Sessyoin. One half enlightened saint, 99% insatiable demon, all NSFW. Kiara’s an Open-Hand Monk to give off that aura of purity she loves so much, but she’s also a Great Old One Warlock to finally answer the question, “Can you really be a warlock if your patron is yourself?” (The answer is yes)

Check out her build breakdown below the cut, or her character sheet over here!

Next up: Cheer for your empress! Wooooo!

Race and Background

Kiara may be human, but she’s been infused with the spirit of an otherworldly horror. That’s a Kalashtar, baby! This gives her +2 Wisdom and +1 Charisma, as well as some other mentally themed goodies. Your Dual Mind gives you advantage on all wisdom saves, and your religious training gives you the Mental Discipline to resist psychic damage. You can Mind Link to creatures within 10 times your level in feet, speaking to them telepathically for up to an hour or until you end the effect or link with another creature. Finally, you’re Severed from Dreams, meaning you’re immune to spells involving your dreams. Sleep still works, Dream doesn’t. God I wish that was me, it would make youtube so much less annoying.

As a Devilish Bodhisattva, you’re kind of a Sage, giving you proficiency with the Arcana and History skills.

Ability Scores

First things first, you’ve got to be so hot you can make people masturbate to death. That’s non-negotiable. I’ll leave the exact mechanics of that to your imagination, but it’s probably based on Charisma. Aside from manipulating people, you’re also just as good at reading people, and that’s Wisdom. You fight in a habit and  do it all without dying, so your Dexterity isn’t that bad either. Unfortunately this leaves your Intelligence a little lower than we’d like. You’re a hacker nun, but we needed other stuff more. Your Constitution isn’t that great, you’re so eager for pleasure you don’t last that long. Finally, dump Strength. You’ve got a demon god to do all the lifting for you, who needs muscles?

Class Levels

1. Monk 1: Starting off as a monk gives you Unarmored Defense, which is really useful for that “not dying” thing you like to do. You also get Martial Arts, letting you use your dexterity for your unarmed attacks. You can also attack as a bonus action after attacking with your action, and your unarmed attacks deal 1d4 damage, and they grow as you level up.

You get proficiency with Strength and Dexterity Saves, as well as Insight for your psychological training, and Religion for the whole nun/buddhist thing. You have a lot going on as a character, to be honest.

2. Monk 2: Second level monks get Ki Points they can spend to attack twice, dash, disengage, or dodge as a bonus action. You also get Unarmored Movement to speed things up a bit, and you get even faster as you level up.

3. Monk 3: Third level monks can summon a bit of demon pillar to Deflect Missiles, slowing down incoming ranged weapons and possibly even shooting them back as a reaction. (Obviously the demon thing isn’t all monks, but hush.) You also set down the Way of the Open Hand, learning the Open Hand Technique in the process. When you hit a creature with a flurry of blows attack (the two attacks as a bonus action thing), you can: force a dexterity save to knock the enemy prone; force a strength save to push it away; or remove its ability to react for the round. I’m not sure how you touching a person makes them fall to their knees or get distracted, get your mind out of the gutter.

4. Monk 4: Use your first Ability Score Improvement to bump up your Dexterity so you can actually hit people with your fists. You can also Slow Fall to reduce falling damage, presumably by swinging around on a demon pillar like some kind of spider woman, and you get Quickened Healing, letting you spend a ki point as an action to heal thy burgers. Despite your looks, you’re pretty tanky with all that healing.

5. Monk 5: Your Extra Attack does exactly what it sounds like, attacking twice in a single action. You can turn any of your attacks into Stunning Strikes, forcing a constitution save against getting stunned for a round. Ironically this is just leading into the explosive climax, where you beat the hell out of them. Where did you think I was going with that?

6. Monk 6: Sixth level monks get a little magical thanks to their Ki-Empowered Strikes so now your unarmed attacks ignore nonmagical damage resistances. You also gain a Wholeness of Body to heal yourself as an action. Unlike quickened healing, this baby heals you for 3 times your monk level once per long rest.

7. Warlock 1: Making your hands a little magical is nice, but we want to make stuff a lot of magical, and for that we’ll need to make some questionable deals. That’s where the Great Old One comes in, giving you Pact Magic you can cast with your Charisma and an Awakened Mind. It’s more telepathy. Not a huge boon, but now you can talk to two people at once, neat!

As far as spells go, Chill Touch lets you make creepy hands (kind of your thing), and Eldritch Blast gives you some generic magic projectiles. Charm Person makes you a bit more charming, and Protection from Evil and Good will help cut through those pesky rulers more easily by just straight up ignoring their god.

8. Warlock 2: Second level warlocks get Eldritch Invocations, to customize your soul pact a bit. Beguiling Influence makes you proficient with Deception and Persuasion to help cover up the whole demon pillar thing, and Thief of Five Fates lets you cast Bane with a spell slot once per long rest, further weakening your enemies.

You can also cast Arms of Hadar to launch more arms all around you for an AoE attack.

9. Warlock 3: Kiara’s definitely a weird one when it comes to her pact boon. Books have kind of fallen out of fashion by 2030, she doesn’t use weapons, and she really doesn’t care for a sidekick. That leaves her with the Pact of the Talisman to make her a little bit better than everyone else, letting the wearer add 1d4 to a failed ability check Proficiency times per long rest.

She can also cast second level spells now, like Enthrall! She’s the only person in the world according to herself, and now she is to you too! Just fail that wisdom save and you’ll have disadvantage on perception checks to notice anyone else!

10. Warlock 4: Use this ASI to bump up your Charisma for stronger warlock spells. You also get the On/Off cantrip from a super old UA to become a bit of a hacker, magically turning on or off an electronic device within range. You can also Detect Thoughts to be one hell of a therapist, being able to read the mind of a nearby creature as an action while the spell lasts. You can read surface thoughts over and over again, or you can probe deeper into the mind of a creature you’ve already read, forcing a wisdom save against the intrusion. Also, creatures are aware you’re reading their mind, and they can force a contested intelligence check to end the spell while they’re being read.

11. Warlock 5: Your first 3rd level spell is Hypnotic Pattern, to help dominate the minds of crowds all at once. You can also Mire the Mind to cast Slow once per long rest with a spell slot. Up to six creatures make a wisdom save, or they have their speed and AC reduced, take a penalty to dexterity saves, and can’t use reactions. On their turns, they can make either an action or bonus action, not both. It also can’t make more than one attack per turn. Finally, spellcasters affected by the spell have a 50% chance of taking 2 turns to cast a 1 action spell. Another wisdom save at the end of each turn can end the effect.

12. Warlock 6: All those hands and mind tricks coalesce into an Entropic Ward this level, letting you spend your reaction to impose disadvantage on an incoming attack. If it misses, you get advantage on your next attack against that creature. You can use this once per short rest.

You can also slip into your Heaven’s Hole persona by donning a Spirit Shroud, dealing more damage within a short area around you, preventing healing from enemies you hit with attacks, and slowing them down even further.

13. Monk 7: Bouncing back into monk gives you the Stillness of Mind to end effects messing with your thoughts as an action. The only person around here doing any charming today is you, thank you very much. You’d also be correct in saying the only person around here period is you, but I digress.

Your Evasion boosts your dexterity saves, so your failures are as good as other people’s successes, and your successes avoid damage entirely.

14. Monk 8: Use this ASI to bump up your Wisdom to become more observant, and get stronger techniques and a higher AC.

15. Monk 9: Ninth level monks get an Unarmored Movement Improvement, helping you run straight up walls and over water, as long as you end the turn on solid ground. Admittedly that’s not very in-character, but you’ve got tentacles growing outta ya, I’m sure you can justify it somehow.

16. Monk 10: Tenth level monks have a Purity of Body that makes you immune to poisons and disease.

17. Monk 11: Your final level of monk grants you a Tranquility that makes you harder to hit, effectively giving you the effect of a Sanctuary spell starting and ending on your long rests, though the spell ends early if you directly attack or cast a spell at an enemy. While active, creatures trying to attack you directly have to make a wisdom save. If they fail, they have to choose a new target or waste their action. The DC is 8 + your wisdom modifier + your proficiency bonus.

18. Warlock 7: Seventh level monks get fourth level spells, like Evard’s Black Tentacles. A 20′ square becomes a mass of tentacles (or demon god pillars), forcing a dexterity save against taking bludgeoning damage and get restrained. They can use their action to try and escape the tentacles, otherwise they don’t get a save on their next turn to avoid damage.

You can also use your Gaze of Two Minds to see and hear though a willing humanoid, like, say, your enthralled servants. Great for espionage, or just being a creep in general.

19. Warlock 8: Use your last ASI to max out your Charisma for super strong spells and the most sex appeal you can squeeze into a single servant.

You can also cast Summon Aberration now to give Zepar a bit of breathing room outside of your body. Honestly the poor guy deserves a break.

20. Warlock 9: Ninth level warlocks get fifth level spells, and Dominate Person lets you completely take over a creature’s mind. They have a wisdom save to avoid it, and they can make another every time they take damage, but if you’re forcing them into a really one sided fight, like say, against an agent of the counter force, that’ll be a one hit kill, so you don’t have to worry too much.

You also get one last invocation, and the Grasp of Hadar turns your eldritch blasts into even more hands, so once per turn you can pull a creature hit by the blast 10 feet closer to you. Bet they thought they were real smug waiting on the other side of your tentacle pit, huh?

Pros:

With an AC of 16, tons of mobility, and a wisdom save between you and even getting hit in the first place, you can be tough to attack, giving you a weird sort of tankiness to avoid conflict altogether.

You’re also good at manipulating people, with charms, mind reading, and just good persuasion scores making it easy for you to turn the tide of a conversation in your favor. Also if you’re having trouble with an enemy you can just dominate them and tell them to jump off a cliff, really easy. You won’t even have to fight if you can just inspire a mob to do it for you.

While the biggest part of your defense does come with a caveat, you’re good at indirect combat, which will keep your sanctuary up longer. Sure, you can’t cast spells affecting a creature, but you can always cast a spell now, and have it affect a creature later, the old “I’m just moving my fist and walking forward, if you get hit it’s your own fault” technique. Putting Evard’s Tentacles down between you and enemies, summoning aberrations, and just using On/Off to cause industrial accidents are all ways to get around this restriction and leave you looking clean as a brand new pair of panties.

Cons:

Your dexterity isn’t great, especially for a monk. That’ll make it harder to effectively use your martial techniques later in the game, and it also hampers your AC.

Despite all your defenses and healing, you’re still only rocking a touch over 100 HP, meaning a light sneeze will put you into power word kill territory. Which is, admittedly, still affected by your Tranquility, so it might not be a bad way to trick people into wasting a 9th level spell...

You only get two spells per short rest, that just isn’t enough to manipulate everyone you want to, so you’ll have to learn to pick and choose what happens when.

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #203

Today on Fate and Phantasms, we've only got one goal in mind: Golems! Thanks to Avicebron, we'll make just that; lots and lots of golems! Avicebron is a Battle Smith Artificer, so you'll always have at least one on standby.

Check out his build breakdown below the cut, or his character sheet over here!

Next up: I did naht kill him, I did naht. Oh hi Mark.

Race and Background

Avvy might not look it, but he's still a Variant Human, giving him +1 Intelligence and Wisdom, plus proficiency with Deception to keep your mentees close and your golem ingredients just as close, plus you get the Servo Crafting feat! You can cast Find Familiar as a ritual, but instead of getting an animal, you build a small golem called a Servo. You can speak with and through the servo, plus sense through it, as long as you share a plane of existence. You can also attack with the servo instead of your wimpy noodlearms once per attack action.

You're also a Cloistered Scholar, which gives you History and Religion proficiency. You are nerd! No duh!

Ability Scores

Your Intelligence should be pretty high, you make golems and you don't afraid of anything, that's what you do. After that is Dexterity, you're better off not getting hit than anything else, and also having 4 arms means you're pretty good at sleight of hand. Wisdom is also pretty good, you're a religious man, and while you don't get power from that you're still wise. Unfortunately we gotta make Strength the next highest stat. I mean, two of your arms are robots, so I guess it kinda works? Your Charisma is pretty low, you just don't care about people that much, but we're dumping Constitution. Trust me, it'll make sense in a bit. (Don't do this in-game, this is a flavor thing, you WILL DIE)

Class Levels

You're 100% artificer, so you start off with Magical Tinkering, letting you stuff minor magical effects into tiny items. I don't know why you'd make a fart sound producing golem out of a pen, but I'm not Avicebron. You also learn Spells. They use your Intelligence score for prep and casting. Grab Mage Hand to build a little drone to carry stuff for you, and Message for a messenger golem. Really you can take whatever spells you like as long as you call them golems, but the most golemy are Alarm golem and Catapult golem. Why throw stuff when you can just make it throw itself? You also get proficiency in a buncha stuff, like Constitution and Intelligence saves, plus Nature to figure out good materials for golems and Arcana to build them!

Second level artificers can Infuse Items, adding cool effects to up to two items per long rest from a list of four options. Grab Armor of Tools so you'll always have your golem-making kit on ya, Enhanced Arcane Focus for stronger golems, Homunculus Servant for a golem, and Mind Sharpener to help keep track of your golems. I can already tell golem isn't even gonna look like a word by the end of this build.

Your artificer subclass is the Battle Smith, which makes you Battle Ready, so your golems can use martial weapons. Of course you're not swinging them yourself, so you can use your intelligence instead of strength when attacking with magical weapons. You also get a second permanent golem, the Steel Defender! You gotta use your bonus action to make it do stuff, but it'll hit people, repair stuff, and protect its allies! Also, you can cast Mending on it to heal it. You don't have that yet, but you will! You can also make The Right Tool for the Job over a long rest, and you also get subclass spells for free. Heroism makes a very pretty golem that inspires all your allies to not get scared and get temporary HP. Shield makes a golem that'll stand in front of someone as a reaction, adding 5 to their AC and blocking magic missiles for a round.

Use your first Ability Score Improvement to bump up your Intelligence. You use it for pretty much everything, so your brain's gotta be good!

Fifth level battlesmiths get an Extra Attack, so your servo, your steel defender, and your sword-holding golem can all attack at the same time. You also get second level spells, like Branding Smite and Warding Bond. Neither of those are golems tho. Grab Rope Trick for the first of many rope golems, and Enlarge/Reduce for later. Adam's a big boy, so you've gotta make a big golem.

Sixth level artificers get Tool Expertise, doubling your proficiency bonus with all tools. Golem making is complicated, the DCs are gonna be high. You also get two more blueprints and one more infused item, like a Spell-Refueling Ring for extra spell slots and a Rope of Climbing for another rope-based golem to help your bad climbing skills.

At seventh level you get so smart you have Flashes of Genius, adding your intelligence modifier to checks and saves near you intelligence modifier times per long rest. Yeah, it's actually just weirdly specific golems.

Bump up your Intelligence this ASI for more of everything you like. Smrt.

Ninth level battle smiths add an Arcane Jolt to their steel defender and magical weapons. Once per turn, intelligence modifier times per long rest, you can either add extra force damage to the hit, or heal a nearby creature. Still not sure how to make those golems, but you'll figure something out, you've got 20 Intelligence! You also get third level spells, like an Aura of Vitality golem and a Conjure Barrage golem. You can also can Create Food and Water golems for gathering, or turn just about anything into a Tiny Servant. For up to 8 hours after casting, you can turn a tiny object into a tiny creature, commanding it as a bonus action. Finally, a spell that makes golems! You can also use Glyph of Warding now, though it won't be that useful for the build until you get fourth level spells. The idea is, you can keep a bunch of these bad boys in your base, all set to trigger against a creature that knocks you down to 0 HP. All of them summon constructs, beating up the guy after you're already unconscious. This is the closest we could get to Avicebron's third skill, D&D doesn't really plan for character death that well. Also, just a correction. I just found out you can't carry glyphs around without them breaking :(

Tenth level artificers are Magic Item Adepts, giving you an extra attunement slot and you can create uncommon magic items for cheaper. You also get the Mending cantrip for golems, and two more blueprints for an extra infused item. The Helm of Awareness will help you stay out of trouble, and the Periapt of Wound Closure makes it easier to not die. Your master strategy is all about getting knocked out, so it would be nice if you automatically stabilize.

Eleventh level artificers can create Spell-Storing Items, stuffing weapons or focii full of first/second level magical goodness. It's like you're casting the spell, but it uses the other guy's concentration.

Another ASI! Bump up your Dexterity for less dying.

With fourth level spells, you can cast all sorts of golems. You're stuck with Aura of Purity and Fire Shield, but you also get an Arcane Eye for a drone golem, plus Mordenkainen's Faithful Hound and Summon Construct for fighting golems.

As a Magic Item Savant you get another attunement slot, and you can ignore requirements when attuning magic items. You also get the Prestidigitation cantrip to make whatever small tools you need for a second, and two more blueprints for one more infusion. Bracers of Defense will help you not die if you don't think Avicebron's outfit is armor, and the Ring of Protection will also do that regardless.

At fifteenth level you get your last subclass improvement, the Improved Defender. Your arcane jolt gets bigger, and your golem gets tougher and can reflect damage, not just deflect it.

Use the rest of your ASI to bump up your Wisdom. Making yourself better isn't in character, so just be wise.

You've got fifth level spells! Banishing smite isn't a golem, but I guess Mass Cure Wounds could be Adam's feet? Idk. You can also use Bigby's Hand for Adam's hand, and Animate Objects for more item-based golems. Now you can turn your trusty frying pan into a-golem. Everything turns into a golem.

Eighteenth level artificers are Magic Item Masters, letting you attune to six items at the same time. You also get two more blueprints, so grab two copies of Arcane Propulsion Arm for the four arms of your third ascension. Arms are cool.

One last ASI, grab more Wisdom.

Your capstone ability grants you a Soul of Artifice, giving you a +1 bonus to all your saves for each magic item you're attuned to, and you can destroy an infusion to drop to 1 HP instead of 0. Remember, getting KOd only helps if you're near one of your glyphs.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

Between your Steel Defender, servo, tiny servants, and animated objects, you don't have to do much. Plus you can just rope trick away and let them take care of everything!

If your DM ever tries to spook the party by fighting you in your own base, you can spook him right back by taking a fall and filling your study with angry golems.

With expertise and flashes to help your repairs along plus mending, you're a great repairman. If the DM tries to block your path with a broken bridge, it won't stay broken for long. Plus, your warforged allies will love you.

Cons:

DONT DUMP CON. You have less than 100 HP at level 20, and your constitution save is really bad (for an artificer). Don't do it. Look me in the eyes, don't. do it!

Having any part of your battle plan being getting knocked out is not going to make you popular with your party members. Maybe you should help out yourself? Nah, golems are better.

All of your infusions and spells are focused on helping yourself, a stark contrast to most of our artificer builds. Keeping all your toys to yourself will not help your party like you, especially with a +0 charisma.

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #192

Today on Fate and Phantasms we're building the enchanting Caster of Okeanos, which despite her name doesn't actually show up in Okeanos, but rather the fourth pseudosingularity, Salem. She's also one of the last servants in the game (so far) to have her true name hidden, so pretty soon I can stop pointing out how her character build below the cut has true name spoilers. Specifically, this build also includes spoilers for the Salem pseudosingularity, so read at your own peril.

If you'd rather just check out her character sheet, you can find that over here.

Next up: The equal to the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, so just, equal to heaven, I guess.

Circe is a Transmutation Wizard, because she is a witch, and Transmutation is where they stuck polymorph.

Race and Background

Like her protege, Circe is an Elf, but if we want kindasorta falcon wings, that might be tricky. Just kidding, for some reason WotC thought winged elves were a priority, so we got Avariel Elves from an unearthed arcana. This means you only get +2 to a single stat, but we can make that Intelligence thanks to Tasha's for a brain blast. Your subrace gives you 30' of flying speed as long as you don't wear medium or heavy armor (not an issue), as well as the standard elf kit: Darkvision, Fey Ancestry to protect against charms, Trances instead of sleep, and proficiency in Perception thanks to your Keen Senses.

Circe lives on her island alone (if you don't count pigs) so that makes her a Hermit, privy to the secrets of the universe as well as Medicine and replacing the other proficiency (which we'll get back as a class proficiency) with Deception. Tricking men into turning into pigs is kind of a hobby for you.

Ability Scores

Your strongest score should go into Intelligence, that's how you cast spells, and also you're clearly more intelligent than the men who show up on your island. Speaking of, Charisma is next- you're a witch in the middle of a witch hunt that somehow never got caught, and there's also that whole Pig Island thing. Your Dexterity is also pretty good, it's hard enough to cast spells while walking, let alone flying. Also those heels, oh my fucking god how have you not broken an ankle yet. Your Constitution is above average mostly because I'd feel bad putting it any lower. That means your Wisdom is pretty low. You publicly introduce yourself as a witch in the middle of the Salem Witch Trials, and you're pretty flighty in general. Finally, dump Strength. You're a wizard, and you're clearly not that buff.

Class Levels

Circe is a wizard, meaning she starts off with proficiency in Intelligence and Wisdom saves, as well as Arcana and Religion. When you worship the goddess of magic, there isn't much of a difference, tbh. Speaking of magic, you can cast and prepare Spells using your Intelligence. Your spell slots normally only recharge on long rests, but once per long rest you can get a couple slots back on a short rest thanks to your Arcane Recovery, giving you back slots of a total level equal to half your wizard level rounded up. So when you hit level three, you can get back one 2nd level slot, or two 1st level slots. The thing about wizard is, they get a lot of spells. Six now, and two each level, plus whatever they can scavenge from other wizards. Since Circe's whole power set is "good at magic", there really isn't a set of spells that fit- any spell you could cast would be applicable. So rather than try to boil it down myself, we're just giving a rough guide here. There's a whole ass list on the character sheet, and we'll bring up the super important ones here, but really there's three qualifications: if a spell fits into one of these categories, Circe would probably have it. 1. Is it useful? The most open-ended, but just fill in spaces left by the other 2 with spells you want. I'm not a goddamn baby sitter, pick spells you like. 2. Can it turn one thing into another? Men to pigs, You into Medea, whatever kykeon is made out of into kykeon, this one's pretty easy to spot. 3. Can it help someone sail a ship? A bit specific, but helping the sailors she doesn't turn into pigs is also Circe's thing. Skill empowerment, weather control, that kind of thing. With all that out of the way, the big spells you'll probably want at first level are Mage Armor for not dying, Magic Missile for caster balls, and Sleep to knock out the sailors while you go around turning them to pigs. True Polymorph takes an hour per sailor and you need to recharge with a long rest, so this’ll take a while.

At second level, you become a Transmutation Savant, giving you all sorts of bonuses, like how copying transmutation spells into your book is cheaper and faster now. You can also make Minor Alchemy, turning 1 cubic foot of wood, stone, iron, copper, or silver, into another material on that list over the course of 10 minutes. You're not strong enough to shatter wooden chains either, but hopefully someone on your team is. This transformation lasts up to an hour or until you lose concentration, then it turns back to its regular form.

Third level wizards get Cantrip Formulas, letting you swap out one cantrip you know with a cantrip you don't know at the end of a long rest. You also get second level spells, like Alter Self to turn into Medea (among other benefits), and Gust of Wind to help out with sailing.

Use your first Ability Score Improvement to get a Keen Mind- always knowing which way you're facing and the angle the sun should be at are both really useful on the open sea. It also rounds up your Intelligence for stronger spells, and you can make your DM's life hell by remembering things up to a month after they happened.

Fifth level wizards get third level spells. Feign Death will help fake Mata Hari’s hanging later on, and Bestow Curse is super useful, since it can give a creature disadvantage on one kind of save. Like, say, wisdom saves. I wonder if there's a spell you like that requires a wisdom save coming up?

Sixth level transmutation wizards can create a Transmuter's Stone, a tiny object that gives its holder one of several benefits. When you make the stone, and if you're holding it while casting a transmutation spell, you can choose its beneft from the following: Darkvision, increased speed, proficiency in constitution saves, or resistance to one of acid, cold, fire, lightning, or thunder. You can only make one at a time after 8 hours of work, so don't try to stack them.

Seventh level wizards get fourth level spells, and you could get polymorph now if you really want, but you can also get that spell later for free, so if you're patient, you can get another spell now. If you do go for polymorph, it forces a wisdom save on a creature, and if they fail the save or they're willing, you can turn one creature into a beast with a CR equal to or less than the target's CR or level. All of the creature's stats are replaced by the new creature's, outside of alignment and personality. If it drops to 0 HP in this form, and hour passes, or you drop concentration, they turn back to normal. You can also cast other fourth level spells, like Control Water for sailing, Fabricate to turn... barley, just looked it up, into kykeon. Or any raw materials into a finished product that is Large or smaller.

At eighth level, you get another ASI that'll let you max out your Intelligence for super strong spells. That, plus your curses, will make your polymorph super hard to resist. When you get it.

Ninth level wizards get fifth level spells, like Control Winds and Skill Empowerment, as well as Scrying.

A tenth level transmuter is a Shapechanger, giving you the polymorph spell for free. You can also cast it on yourself once per short rest for free, but only if you turn into something CR 1 or lower. Sadly Medea isn't a beast or CR 1, but it doesn't hurt to practice. Also, yeah! You can now turn pretty much anyone into a Pig (CR 0, so there’s no excuse) or if you want to weaponize it, a Giant Boar (CR 2). Just promise to turn them back if they do your bidding. Still only lasts an hour, but they don’t have to know that.

Eleventh level wizards get sixth level spells. There really isn’t anything specifically Circe-like I want at this level, so just grab whatever your heart wants. There will be time for specifics later.

At twelfth level you get another ASI, and since your intelligence is maxed out we can diversify. Grab the War Caster feat for advantage on concentration saves (very good for pigmaking), the ability to cast spells with your hands full (not applicable), and best of all, you can cast spells as opportunity attacks if that spell as an action casting time and targets a creature. Oh hey, guess what spell fits that description?

Thirteenth level casters get seventh level spells! Again, not necessarily anything you need from here, but Plane Shift is always cool. Maybe you can stumble onto the pig dimension or something.

Your last goody from the transmutation specialty is to become a Master Transmuter, burning your transmuter stone in one go for a burst of magical power. Afterwards, you can’t make a new one until you take a long rest. You can use this for a Major Transformation, permanently changing a medium or smaller nonmagical object into another of similar size & mass (you also can’t cheese value out of this) over the course of 10 minutes. Alternatively, you make a Panacea, removing all curses, diseases, and poisons from a single creature, while also healing it back to full health. That’s some good eating. Going even further, you can Restore Life to cast Raise Dead without a spell slot. Death is a pretty hard line in the Nasuverse, but if anyone could do it it’d probably be Circe. Finally, you can Restore Youth to reduce a creature’s age by 3d10 years without extending their lifespan. You’ve clearly used that on yourself a couple times, but I can’t blame you.

Fifteenth level wizards get eighth level spells, and for once there is something I want to get. You might not use Scylla in-game, but hey, giant sea monsters are cool, so use either Summon Greater Demon, Dominate Monster, or Illusory Dragon to get one, depending on your preferred method.

You get yet another ASI, so bump up your Constitution for better concentration and more health- remember, health gets added retroactively, so that’s 16 extra this level, not one.

At seventeenth level you finally get ninth level spells, giving you access to Mass Polymorph for a proper pig banquet. This one is limited to only half the targets’ levels, but a pig is still CR 0, so it shouldn’t be a big issue. However, if you’re feeling really cruel, you can use True Polymorph for a more... permanent solution. If you keep concentration up for a full hour, the change lasts until it is dispelled. You can also turn objects into creatures, or creatures into objects, but none of those are particularly in character.

Eighteenth level wizards get Spell Mastery, giving you a 1st & 2nd level spell that you can cast for absolutely free, no restrictions. You can always change it later, but I highly suggest Magic Missile so you always have some damage on standby, and Alter Self for the versatility of it.

Your penultimate level grants you your ultimate ASI, so bump up your Charisma for an easier time tricking sailors. It doesn’t do much for the build, but at this point it doesn’t need to.

Your final level of the build gives you two Signature Spells, 3rd level spells that you can cast once per short rest without spending a spell slot. Sadly polymorph is a fourth level spell so it isn’t in the running, but Bestow Curse and Tidal Wave are good runners up. I never said you had to be nice to sailors, just help them out occasionally.

Pros and Cons

Pros

Polymorph is one of the easiest ways to utterly shut down an enemy if it hits, at the very least buying you an hour to run away and regroup. It’s also very funny.

The Transmuter’s Stone is a very powerful support tool, protecting you and giving you healing options wizards don’t normally get. You also come loaded with tools like Skill Empowerment, which is just flexible enough to be useful even when you’re not on a ship.

You get concentration free flight, which is incredibly useful for a spellcaster. Being able to completely avoid an enemy’s front line and turn their back line into pigs is very useful.

Cons

The reason your flight being concentration free is such a big deal is because a lot of your spells use concentration. Honestly, your saves aren’t that bad (esp. with war caster) but it still limits your options, especially when your signature move requires concentration.

While your stone is powerful, it has a huge recharge time to contend with, requiring a long rest followed by an extra 8 hours of work, and the entire time between now and then you might as well not have a subclass. It’s a pretty harsh penalty for actually using your class feature.

It takes a while for this build to go from level one to casting polymorph, so if you want a build you can jump right into and feel like the character, this build definitely isn’t what you’re looking for.

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #199

Today on Fate and Phantasms we're making the Jotaro Kujo of FGO, Semiramis! (Seriously, how does that cape/hair... thing work? It's wild.) The queen of poisons is a Graviturgy Wizard to make building a floating castle slightly less difficult to make and cooler to live in, plus a Witherbloom Druid for some dove friends and extra poisons. If you've seen our builds for Waver and Edison, you might know already that building things with magic is costly and time-consuming, and for once that is 100% accurate to the character. Get ready, this is gonna be a weird one.

Check out her build breakdown below the cut, or her character sheet over here!

Next up: I'm 40% appendicitis!

Race and Background

Semiramis is technically an aasimar, but she doesn't fly around or heal people, so we can just focus on her human side. .... Oooor we can focus on those ears, because we need to nick some stuff from being an Elf. Specifically, we're going with the Vahadar Elf from Plane Shift Kaladesh, since they've got the ears, the proficiencies we'll need later, and their backstory's still about living in general society, unlike wood elves and other Kaladeshian elves. Thanks to Tasha's Cauldron of Everything, this gives her +2 Intelligence and +1 Wisdom, as well as Darkvision, Fey Ancestry against being charmed, a Trance instead of sleep so she can't be put to sleep, Keen Senses for proficiency in Perception, the Mending cantrip to piece together the castle later, and most importantly Elf Weapon Training. Normally this would give her proficiency with four weapons, but thanks to Tasha's we can swap this out with four tools instead. Carpenter's, Glassblower's, Mason's, and Smith's Tools proficiency should give us everything we need to build a castle later- we'll go into the why when we get there.

Semiramis is also a Noble- grab History, but swap out Persuasion for Deception. Yeah, not even her background can escape how weird this build is.

Ability Scores

Poisoning skills come from Intelligence (I think. WotC are really nonspecific about how to actually fucking make poison), and it's also your main casting modifier: put that first. Second should be your Charisma, nobody drinks poison on purpose, so you'd better get good at lying. After that is Wisdom. If your poisons aren't made with Intelligence it'll definitely be wisdom. That means your Dexterity isn't great- yeah, you fight in a dress, but if you're fighting and not your lackeys, something's gone wrong. We're not dumping Constitution because we're not stupid, so dump Strength instead. You've got minions to carry rocks around for you.

Class Levels

Wizard 1: Starting as a wizard nets you the weakest hit die in the game, but it also gets you proficiency in Intelligence and Wisdom saves, plus the Arcana and Medicine skills. You're half caster, and if you want to ruin someone's bodily functions you have to know what those are first. Starting as a wizard also gets you Spells that you can cast and prepare using your Intelligence. You get six at first level and two each level after. That's a lot, so we're just going to over spells that are important for the build here, though there's a full list of what we'd get in the character sheet. For cantrips, grab Infestation and Poison Spray for poison damage. For once infestation is completely kosher as is, since Semiramis can summon any creature as long as its poisonous. Also, grab Message. Castle halls are big and echo-y, and it's probably not a good idea to shout at people to find out which glass they put the poison in. Aside from that, grab Mage Armor so you die less, Magic Missile for Assassin balls, and Tenser's Floating Disk to carry all the raw materials you'll be using later. Finally, you get an Arcane Recovery once per long rest, letting you recover a couple spell slots on a short rest. The total level you recover is equal to half your wizard level, rounded up.

Wizard 2: Going into second level of wizard gives you a school of magic, and it's hard to lift several tons of stone into the air if you're not into Graviturgy. When you take the subclass, you can Adjust Density as an action, doubling or halving a large or smaller creature/object's weight for up to a minute with concentration. If you reduce a creature's weight it'll increase their speed by 10', double their jump distance, and have disadvantage on strength saves and checks, and vice versa if you increase it. I checked, and stone is roughly 1,000 times denser than air, not 2, so we'll have to do some brewing later to make this work out. Make your strong minions stronger, your fast minions faster, or do the opposite for your enemies.

Wizard 3: Third level wizards get second level spells. You won't get any dragons in this build, sad to say, but you can use Dragon's Breath to turn just about anything into a dragon. They can even spit poison breath, which is really good with the poisoner's feat. Speaking of..

Wizard 4: First Ability Score Improvement of the build, so grab the Poisoner's Feat for more poisony goodness. All poison-based damage rolls you make ignore resistance, you can coat weapons as a bonus action, and you get proficiency in the poisoner's kit. You also learn a special poison that'll force a dc 14 constitution save on the creature you use it on, dealing 2d8 poison damage and poisoning them for a round.

Wizard 5: Fifth level wizards get third level spells. Animate Dead will help you make dragontooth warriors, a.k.a. skeletons. You can make one per casting right now, but you can recast the spell to retain control over up to three skeletons at once. Otherwise they'll be uncontrollable monsters, which is probably less of a goal.

Druid 1: Semiramis might be known for her poisons, but she's really a multifaceted person. Well, not really, but if you want poisons, you're going to get them from animals. If you want animals, you're going to get them from druids. First level druids learn Druidic- it's a language! They also get another set of Spellcasting using their Wisdom to cast and prepare spells. Check the multiclassing table to figure out your spell slots. Grab Guidance and Resistance to be a bit better than everyone else. For first level spells, look for Entangle and Snare to summon chains to slow down enemies, and Speak with Animals to make sure your dovey-woveys know their work is appreciated. We haven't gotten dovey-woveys yet? Don't worry, they're coming.

Druid 2: Second level druids join their circle, and you're so goddamn smart you just joined another school. At the college of Witherbloom, you'll learn how to turn the vitality of nature into deadly poisons. Right off the bat you get circle spells, which are always prepared for you and don't count against how many spells you can prepare. Right now you get the Spare the Dying cantrip as well as Cure and Inflict Wounds. Now you don't literally have to summon a whip every time you want to hit someone. You can also tap in creatures' essences with your Essence Tap. As a bonus action, you empower yourself for 1 minute, gaining one of two options. Overgrowth lets you heal yourself with a hit die each turn as a bonus action, adding your wisdom modifier to the amount healed. Withering Strike lets you change your damage to necrotic when you hit someone with any sort of damage, ignoring resistances to make your poisons even deadlier. You can use this proficiency times per long rest. Most importantly, you gain a Wild Shape / Wild Companion. Both features use the same two charges per short rest. You're limited to what you can turn into based on its CR and movement options, but those limits and how long you can transform/summon a creature for grows as you level up. Currently I'd stick with Wild Companion for dove familiars, but some versions of Semiramis' story include her turning into a dove herself at the end, so Wild Shape isn't out of the question. As long as we sink eight levels into druid, at least.

Druid 3: Third level druids get second level spells, like your freebies Lesser Restoration and Ray of Enfeeblement. Look, if you're going to make poisons it only makes sense that you'd have antidotes on hand. You can also grab spells like Animal Messenger to send your doves out for ingredients, and Locate Animals or Plants to find them yourself.

Wizard 6: Sixth level graviturgists can make a Gravity Well when you cast a spell, moving the target 5 feet in any direction if it is willing or you successfully hit it with the spell. Speaking of spells that push people, Pulse Wave does just that, stepping in for the big stompy dragon animation. Creatures in a 30' cone make a constitution save, and if they fail they'll take force damage and get pushed back 15', or 20' with Gravity Well. You can also pull them, but that's not really stompy at that point. You can also Summon Undead to create a stronger skeleton to lead the others.

Druid 4: At fourth level, druids can transform into swimming creatures, and you also get another ASI. Bump up your Intelligence for stronger spells. Also, grab the Control Fire cantrip, it'll be cold in your castle without it.

Druid 5: Fifth level druids get third level spells, like Revivify and Vampiric Touch. Neither of those are in character, but you can also Conjure Animals (as long as they're poisonous) and Dispel Magic to keep your throne room free of nonsense.

Wizard 7: Seventh level wizard get fourth level spells, including the one we've been working our way up to, Fabricate! As long as you have the raw materials, you can turn them into products of the same material. Since you're working with stone, you're limited to creating Medium objects this way. Just line the outside of the medium objects you make with halves of smaller objects, then mend them together, and eventually you'll have a castle. This will take a while. For a decent-sized castle of 300'x400', you'll be looking at roughly 480 medium-sized blocks per floor. At level 20 you'll have 12 spell slots of fourth level or higher, so you can knock out a floor in roughly 40 days, not including things like doors or other furniture. Also worth noting, you can't make fancy things like glass without proficiency in the tools required to make them normally, hence all the tool proficiencies from your racial bonuses.

Wizard 8: Use your next ASI to bump up your Wisdom for better healing and stronger druid spells. You also learn Mordenkainen's Private Sanctum, so you can prevent creatures from spying into your hanging gardens. Especially useful is the ability to block creatures from teleporting or plane shifting onto your grounds, as that's probably the only way to approach your gardens safely. Or at least it is after you learn Ice Storm, a long range spell that pelts enemies with ice and turns the area into difficult terrain. Of note, it doesn't say the ground, so the entire cylinder will be difficult to fly through. If you want to build giant arcane cannons instead for authenticity, I salute you. Just remember that'll have to come out of your budget.

Wizard 9: Ninth level wizards get fifth level spells, and Wall of Stone will help you speed up construction by making ten 10'x10' panels or ten 10'x20' panels. You can also use this spell to create bridges or the like, and if you hold concentration for 10 minutes the stone remains permanently. If you want to skimp on materials so you can just get this fucking thing in the air already, this'll help with that. You're also learning Geas. If you can't summon a dragon, forcibly controlling a dragon is the next best thing.

Druid 6: Did you think we were done with druid? I said we were stuck here for 8 levels, didn't I? Sixth level witherbloom druids can make a Witherbloom Brew thanks to their new proficiency with Herbalism kits. At the end of a long rest, you can use that kit to make Proficiency brews, which last for 24 hours. A Fortifying brew gives a creature resistance to a damage type chosen at brewing (cold, fire, necrotic, poison, or radiant) for an hour. A Quickening brew heals its drinker, and ends one disease or an effect of charming, frightening, paralyzation, poisoning, or stunning. Again, antidotes might be useful to have on hand, but the real reason we're here is for the Toxifying brew. You can apply the brew to a weapon, and the next time within an hour that weapon hits a creature, they take 2d6 poison damage and have to make a constituiton saving throw (DC 8 + your wisdom modifier + proficiency) or be poisoned for a minute. This is literally so much better than the poisoner feat what the hell.

Druid 7: Seventh level druids get fourth level spells, like Blight and Greater Restoration for stronger poisons and antidotes respectively. You can also Dominate Beast to hold any poisonous critters still while you milk them, or summon Giant Insects instead. They obey you and stay giant until they drop to 0 HP, dismiss the effect, the spell ends.

Druid 8: Our last level of druid finally lets you turn into a dove with a second Wild Shape Improvement. You also get another ASI, so bump up that Wisdom for stronger spells and poisons.

Wizard 10: Tenth level graviturgists can create a Violent Attraction between a creature's face and a weapon, causing a nearby weapon attack to deal an extra 1d10 damage. Alternatively, you can increase the attraction between a creature and the ground, adding 2d10. I doubt your hanging gardens need help making the fall more deadly, but now you can help out of need be. You can do this Intelligence modifier per long rest.

Wizard 11: Eleventh level wizards get sixth level spells, like Guards and Wards. This will make it so much harder for enemies to breach your castle it isn't even funny, if the "hanging out in the stratosphere" thing didn't tip them off already.

Wizard 12: By twentieth level you should have a castle set up, so grab the Lucky feat. Basically, everything that can go right for you does while you're in your castle, so now you get 3 luck points per long rest to make sure that happens, letting you re-roll your attacks, saves, and checks, as well as attacks aimed at you.

So how the fuck do I get a flying castle?

So, admittedly this is up to DM fiat, but let's be real, a flying castle sounds sick as hell and gathering resources is a great reason to go adventuring. If I was your DM, it'd go something like this; After x months of research, you find a way to prepare materials so Adjust Density is permanent on them if you concentrate for the duration. Then you make and fuse together castle chunks as described in level twelve, and eventually you lighten the load on the special rocks so much they're lighter than air. Boom, liftoff, you're fucking awesome now. If you want to go down, just make the float rocks heavier again.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

Even if you don't build a giant floating castle in your adventure, that doesn't mean all this prepwork went to waste. You are a master at protecting areas from invasion, so no matter where you lay your head you know it's going to be safe. Not as safe as a floating castle, but still, safe.

By mixing together all your tool proficiencies with Fabricate, you can make pretty much whatever you need from raw materials. No more paying a smithy for fancier armor!

If you do get your castle in the air or you're near a cliff, you are incredibly deadly, with plenty of ways to shove opponents around or otherwise control movement. Slow them down, trip them up, or shove them off a cliff it's so good. Pulse people off the edge of your garden and laugh at them as they fall.

Cons:

There's literally no rules about building your own castles & poisons, so most of this build is entirely dependent on your DM. If you get a cool one, cool! If you don't, this build is pretty much a writeoff.

You need to hide away in your castle and send out minions because you're kind of pathetic in person. With only 14 AC and less than 100 HP, you'll go down faster than Medb if you don't use your Wild Shapes well.

A lot of that can be chalked up to mixing caster classes, meaning we have to spend more ASIs to make both spell modifiers good, and we miss out on higher level spells. Also, spending 8 levels in druid just to turn into a dove isn't that great unless you really want the flavor. I highly recommend skipping out after 6, the last graviturgy effect is great both to knock people out of the sky and make them bow if they get to your throne room.

But, getting to your throne room is 90% of the fight. This build is one that emphasizes patience, and that's what puts you above the common folk. Hang out in the stratosphere, attend social events in style, and let your poisons and skeleton warriors do the fighting for you. Just be glad there aren't any wacky knights riding hippogryphs around.