#also she uses like three different types of weapon--sword; axe; and spear

[dlartistanon]

Training with Nearl!

#arknights #nearl #dlarts #some love for my horse #originally some pose studies #nearl alt has a training room skill #also she uses like three different types of weapon--sword; axe; and spear #a woman of plenty hats

[dwellordream]

“...The Dothraki are described as having three main weapons: bows (AGoT, 86, 555, 558, 597, 669), whips (AGoT, 86, 194, 493, 555, 596, 669) and a curved sword called an arakh (AGoT 85, 86, 327, 493, 555, 556, 559, 560, 596, 597, 669, 674); of these, the arakh is clearly the most prominent... When a Dothraki warrior enters Vaes Dothrak, each, “unbelted his arakh and handed it to a waiting slave, and any other weapons he carried as well” – after the arakh, the other weapons are seemingly afterthoughts (AGoT, 327). The prominence of the arakh in the narrative is underscored by the fact that it is the only one of these weapons whose name we learn in Dothraki, or which is described in terms of its shape or special function (AGoT, 85), while the bows and whips remain just bows and whips (ironic, as it was Steppe bows, not Steppe swords, which were unusual).

We might dismiss this as simply an accident of Daenerys’ perspective – that, being Westerosi, she focuses on the weapon most meaningful to the Westerosi – but that’s clearly not true. After all, the offering of an arakh is how Daenerys’ loyal followers demonstrate their fealty to her, in a ceremony that is clearly Dothraki, not Westerosi (AGoT, 674). It is also, I should note, the only weapon we see non-Dothraki using that is clearly identified as being foreign and typical of the Dothraki. It remains special through the eyes of multiple point-of-view characters, including military men.

(And, as an aside, now that we are this far in, it seems obvious but worth saying that the fact that Martin has no Dothraki viewpoint characters in his narrative is hardly a saving grace; it merely intensifies the ‘view of a savage culture from outside’ effect. As we’ll see, this makes perfect sense given what seem to be the actual inspirations for his depiction.)

The prominence of a curved iron (or steel) sword lets us rule out a Great Plains Native American inspiration for this kit right out; the sword was never a significant part of Plains Native American armament (the lack of tool-metal production in the Americas prior to European contact means that there was no indigenous sword-making tradition, although the maquahuitl represents a clever sort of ‘sharpened club’ design). Even after contact, it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that the expense of trading for a sword wouldn’t have been justified by its utility over a steel axe which might also double as a tool (on axes, see W. Lee, “The Military Revolution of Native North America: Firearms, Forts and Politics” in Empires and Indigenes (2011), 62-3). So we must turn to the Eurasian Steppe.

And immediately we run into problems, not that any of these weapons are wrong per se, but that their proportion and prominence is all mixed up and that there are other, far more important weapons missing. For a Steppe nomad, by far, above and away, the most important weapon was the bow. The Armenians literally called the Mongols “the nation of archers” (May, Mongol Art of War, 43). Nomads spent the most time learning the bow (May, op. cit. 42-49) and it was the one indispensable weapon. Indeed, so indispensable that nomads were generally required to have several; the Liao Shi records that Khitan nomad warriors were required to possess four bows and 400 arrows, while John de Plano Carpini reports that the Mongols all needed to have 2-3 bows and three larger quivers (May, op. cit. 49-50). The Steppe bow itself would also have looked unusual in both shape and construction to a Westerosi observer either strung or unstrung – they were composite bows, made with a wood core, a backing of horn and a rigid end-piece (called a siyah in Arabic) and were generally drawn with the use of a thumb-ring to reduce strain on the thumb (May, op. cit., 50-1). This unique construction allowed these bows to reach draw weights and launch energies equivalent to the far larger yew longbows of England and Wales and still be compact enough to use from horseback.

...But even after the bow, the sword is not first. Or even close to first. Or, indeed, even on the list! The Khitan regulations I mentioned included four bows, two spears (one ‘long’ and one ‘short’), a club, an axe and a halberd, but no sword. John de Plano Carpini describes the full kit as two or three bows with quivers, an axe, ropes, and swords only for the wealthy (May. op. cit., 50). Speaking more broadly, May notes that spears (used as lances from horseback) seem universal in accounts of the Mongols, but “accounts are contradictory regarding whether these [swords] were universally used” (May, op. cit., 52). While May supposes that the ughurgh-a, the Mongolian lasso, might have been used in combat – and it may well have – we have no definitive evidence of it. If it was ever a weapon, it doesn’t seem to have been an important one.

In short, while the Dothraki’s weapons are an arakh-sword, a whip, and a bow in that order, the Mongol’s chief weapons were his bow, followed by his backup bow, followed by his other backup bow, followed by his spear, and then his axe and only then followed by a sword, should he have one, which he might well not. The reason for preferring an axe or a spear for the humble nomad should not be too surprising – iron in quantity could be hard to get on the Steppe. Spears and axes are not only weapons, but also useful hunting and survival tools; swords are generally weapons only. Nomads generally cannot do their own metal working, so swords would have to be imported. Moreover, even in a melee, the first recourse would be to a spear, whose reach on horseback was a huge advantage, making a sword an expensive imported foreign luxury backup weapon with no additional utility. Nevertheless, it’s clear that Steppe nomads, once successful and moving into agrarian areas, liked to acquire swords – swords are effective weapons! – but the sword was about the furthest thing from the core of Mongol culture the way the arakh is practically the symbol of Dothraki culture.

The other issue, of course, is the arakh itself. Martin describes the weapons as “long razor-sharp blades, half sword and half scythe” (AGoT, 85) and goes back to that scythe analogy (e.g. ASoS, 245). It seems generally asserted that what Martin means by this is something close to a scimitar (I have to confess, I haven’t found anywhere that Martin says this, but I’ll take the reader consensus). A scimitar of some sort (the term refers not to a specific form of sword, but a whole family of curved sabres, almost all originating in Asia) is the correct sword. Mongol swords were, John de Palno Carpini tells us, “pointed at the end but sharp only on one side and somewhat curved” (May. op. cit., 50), something like a Turkish kilij or a Persian shamshir (both forms of scimitar), though given his description, perhaps not as strongly curved as some of the examples of those types.

I have to admit, ‘scythe-sword’ (ASoS, 245) is a really strange way to describe most of the weapons in the scimitar ‘family’ (which includes a number of different curved sabres from Asia), though. A scythe-blade faces the wrong direction, but it is also sharp on the wrong side – scythes are sharp on the inside of the curve, whereas scimitars are sharp on the outside of the curve. There are swords with sharp edges on the inside of the curve (I tend to class these as ‘forward curving’ swords due to the direction of the curve when the sword is held), such as the Greek kopis, the Spanish falcata and the Nepalese kukri; of these, only the kopis seems to have been a cavalryman’s weapon (Xen. On Horsemanship 12.11). These forward curving weapons, being shorter and stockier, are clearly not what was intended by the arakh, which is consistently described as long (e.g. AGoT, 85, ADwD, 884).

Instead, the scythe metaphor fits the overall framing of the arakh, a weapon “better to cull the infantry ranks without breaking stride,” a “murderous blade against half-naked foes,” (ADwD, 884), a “wickedly sharp scythe-sword” (ASoS, 245), ineffective against armored opponents. Not an elegant, fine weapon, but a cruel ‘murderous’ one, made for ‘culling’ unarmored infantry and peasants, as one reaps wheat or hay. I don’t want to push this point too far – in all of these many pages, the arakh simply doesn’t get enough characterization to make the case watertight – but the characterization it does get all seems to push in this same direction: a murderous weapon for a murderous people…which of course fits with effectively all of the other characterization the Dothraki have been given. On the balance, I think Martin is a skilled enough writer to understand the implications of the scythe-sword description and to have intended them (and then subsequently reinforced them).

Nevertheless, credit where credit is due, while the place of the arakh is entirely out of all sensible proportion with how it would be considered by actual nomads, it is the correct sort of sword for a steppe nomad (if we assume it is, in fact, a scimitar of sorts). That said, prioritizing the arakh belies a fundamental misunderstanding of how Steppe (or Plains Native American, for that matter) warfare and culture worked. Placing the arakhat the front is thus indicative of deeper problems.”

- Bret Devereaux, “That Dothraki Horde, Part IV: Screamers and Howlers.”

#the dothraki #grrm critical #bret devereaux #weapons #history #mongol

[immclate]

✧･ﾟ: * ( cis woman / she/her / kristen stewart ) — welcome to ireyne, [ ZEPHRINE BYRDE ] of [ WALECH ]. when the doom came, you were [ DOOMED ]. at [ TWENTY-NINE ] years of age, your body has changed, and they now call you [ ESCURA ]. the act of [ PERSONAL GUARD 4 HIRE ] suits you; after all, the whispers always said you were [ LION-HEARTED ] but also [ VINDICTIVE ]. you are [ AGAINST ] the doom. 

( TRIGGER WARNINGS: DEATH, VIOLENCE, BLOOD ) 

STAND UP STRAIGHT. don’t let them see you falter -- do not show even a shred of weakness , no traces of fear. don’t smile, either. no one needs to know that you care. 

zephrine was born into a very strict household, both of her parents high ranking military officers. being the youngest of three, there was a lot of pressure to follow in her siblings footsteps, who had of course followed in their parents’. it was expected that she would join as soon as she was of age, but zeph was never like the rest of her family. she didn’t share the same sense of duty that seemed to be instilled in her siblings. she dreamed of leaving walech & becoming her own person, separate from the guilt bestowed on her by parents every day that passed that she did not join them. 

AS IF YOU HAVE A CHOICE. 

despite having no interest in joining the military, she was still trained to be a warrior from a young age. like her older siblings, her parent’s let her choose a weapon to master. being a little more timid than the rest, she immediately chose a bow and arrow. they warned her that it would take practice and determination to master such a precise weapon, but their doubt only solidified her choice. anything that made her just that much more different than them. by the time she was twelve years old, she could hit her mark without fail, every time. her training gained momentum as she got older, her parents challenging her more and more every day. they began setting her up with moving targets, starting with animals. large and slow to start -- it didn’t take long before she had advanced to small, flying creatures like birds and bats. 

after years of excelling at this type of training, she was getting too comfortable. it was all... too safe. she needed to be tested in order to prove that she would one day triumph above her peers. her parents were determined to change her mind, whether they had to force her into their ranks or not. they wouldn’t stand to let their reputation be broken, not now, not ever. 

this will show her.  

HIT YOUR MARK OR FACE THE CONSEQUENCES. 

zephrine was eighteen when her parents decided that she needed something that would really challenge her. she’d been too used to killing animals, creatures who posed no threat. they used their standing in the military to get ahold of some thieves and traitors who had been captured by their platoon, rotting away in a jail cell just begging to be used for just this. they didn’t tell her what her targets would be, just that it would be life or death. her life or theirs. shoot them or die. 

she wasn’t in any position to question their instructions ; she trusted her parents. she couldn’t have imagined they would really put her in harm’s way, not without some kind of back up plan. they were there to protect her, as always, if anything went wrong.... right? 

the training grounds had been enclosed by a tall fence, and inside were plenty of large obstacles to hide behind, as well as perches for her to be able shoot from above. they sent her in first, her head spinning with possible scenarios and outcomes, readying herself for the exercise ahead. the young girl had no idea what was coming. what she thought would just be a few predatory animals, like wolves, perhaps even a bear -- turned out to be living, breathing human... targets?

confusion clouded her thoughts with doubt as she lowered her weapon and watched as they scattered around the arena. they each held a different weapon in their clutches ; one with a spear, one with an axe, and one with a---she ducked as an arrow came flying her way all of the sudden, barely missing her head. she felt as if her heart was about to beat right out of her chest as fear coursed through her veins for the first time in a LONG time. 

“ FOCUS, ZEPHRINE. THIS IS HOW IT IS OUT IN THE WORLD YOU’RE SO EAGER TO SEE. KILL OR BE KILLED! ” 

her father’s voice bellowed from the shadows, hidden in the distance, somewhere she couldn’t see. his presence gave her no sense of peace, especially after what he’d just said. his words echoed in her head over and over: kill or be killed. she took a deep, stabling breath as she pushed all of her fear down, something she’d been taught to do her whole life. she’d never been put into a situation so seemingly dire, but she had to compartmentalize. they’re just targets. you’ve never missed your mark before, you’re not going to start now.

her eyes quickly surveyed the area below her as she ran across the platform she was on, her eyes catching a glint of light reflecting off of someone’s blade. without a second thought, and in one fluid motion, she pulls an arrow from her quiver and lines up the shot, releasing it a split second later. she doesn’t look to see if she hit her mark -- she already knew that she did. she rolled behind a large cart that had been placed in the arena for cover, a place to catch her breath and take in her surroundings. one down -- two to go. 

what she didn’t know -- what she couldn’t have known -- was that every time she hit her target, a new one was released into the arena. it didn’t take her long to figure out, of course, as one enemy turned back into two, and two to three, over and over again. just when she thought she’d gotten them all, more came out of nowhere. after twelve of them, she was exhausted ; partly from the energy it took to draw her bow, partly from the constant fear that someone was going to be quicker than her, that her life would be over before it began. she no longer believed that her parents cared whether she made it out alive. 

kill or be killed. kill or be killed. kill or be killed. 

she drove an arrow through what she hoped to be the last target, she’d lost count at that point, collapsing to her knees as their body dropped with a loud thud. she hadn’t come out unscathed, her body littered with slashes from swords and deep penetrating wounds from stray arrows. her bloodied body had had enough, but despite her exhaustion, she kept her guard up. there was no telling if she was finished. her parents were known to be ruthless commanders. she knew that, but she never imagined that they’d use their tactics against her.

DON’T SHOOT ! 

just when she thought it was finally over, she heard footsteps approaching rapidly. aha -- they were trying to catch her off guard !  they were moving quickly, but she was quicker. she pulled her last arrow from her quiver, knowing she would have to be precise if she wanted to live. she turned to make the shot, all without realizing that the person coming at her was indeed not a target. she heard loud voices around her--don’t shoot! don’t shoot!--, but it was too late. the arrow was plunged straight into her older sister’s chest. NEVER MISS YOUR MARK.

the look of horror on her face was soon mirrored by zephrine as soon as she realized what she’d done. she caught her before she hit the ground, tears already streaming down her face. all she could do was apologize profusely, over and over, as they were the only words that would come out. what happened after that was a blur -- she knew that her parents had pulled her off of her sister’s body, despite trying to cling to her for dear life. she remembered crying until there were no tears left, falling asleep from exhaustion only to wake up and start all over.

WHAT DID I DO? WHAT DID I DO? 

zephrine spent an entire year after that refusing to pick up her bow, feeling completely and utterly defeated. how could she have done such a thing? the overwhelming guilt broke something inside of her, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t mend the pieces. her parents took full responsibility, knowing that they had pushed her too far & they shouldn’t have let their other daughter enter the arena. ‘it was irresponsible of us to let this happen.’ she didn’t care -- it was her hands, her arrow, that lead her sister to her dying breath. 

---- 

( ok switching it up to bullet points now thank u for making it this far my dudes ) 

she left home about a year and half after the incident, not being able to be around her family anymore.

she vowed to never use her bow unless she was protecting herself or someone that she cared about / who needed her help. 

throwing herself into the world after little to no experience was a little scary, and often difficult as she struggled to stay fed and rested. she hunted her own food when she could, also trading furs and meat for ale and a warm place to sleep along the way. she adapted to life on her own fairly quickly, preferring the freedom and the lack of pressure. 

she lived like this, as a vagabond of sorts, for a few years. her heart softened as she met people who were actually good, instead of ones who claimed to be something they were not (her parents)

she loved visiting and trading with merchants at the marketplace, telling them of her journeys and in turn listening to their troubles and experiences. 

after saving someone from some rogue bandits on the road one day, they offered to pay her to escort them on the rest of their journey. she happily obliged, earning a decent amount of coin. their destination was arella, where her companion spread the word of how her bravery made it possible for her to complete her journey. this is how she became a guard for hire, loving the opportunity to keep people safe. 

it was easy for a while, escorting simple traders from one town to the next, fending off simple bandits. a lot of the time, not even having to take out her bow. of course, as her reputation grew, her jobs scaled higher. looking out for nobles who were in real danger, ones with prices on their heads simply for being related to someone in power. she took the jobs in stride, even when it became dangerous for her, too. 

she’s only failed a select few of her clients, mostly when they undersell the amount of danger they’re really in. she always tells people up front that if she doesn’t have all of the information, she can’t properly protect them. she has to know what she is to protect them from, or else she cannot be prepared. despite it usually being the fault of the client, she takes the losses personally. 

CURRENTLY ... 

she still works as a guard for hire, quite proficient at it now, although she does struggle because of the what the doom did to her. 

being an escura, it takes everything in her not to let the dark thoughts that intrude inside her mind get the better of her. if she can help it, she does not use her magic. sometimes it comes without warning, especially when she gets angry or upset. she uses it to her advantage against STRONG enemies, like that of magical nature. 

she’s VERY against the doom, for obvious reasons. she’s tired of fighting within herself, especially because she’s had this battle with darkness too many times before. it would’ve been easy for her to give into it when she was younger, but she has hardened herself in order to remain strong against it. 

she tries to use her magic for good, despite it going against her newfound instincts & the nature of the magic she uses. 

rumors of necromancy has had her thoughts racing about her sister, contemplating whether she even wants to go down that road. she would love to see her again, to tell her she’s sorry, to have more time with her. she is curious about it, but without someone encouraging to try it, she likely won’t do it herself (hint, hint) 

pretty serious most of the time, almost always has her guard up. the only time she’s ever relaxed is when she’s around people that she trusts & knows that she’s not in any immediate danger. keeps her bow close at all times just in case tho. 

will defend ANYONE that she sees is in trouble / danger, esp if they are defenseless. she will NOT put up with any kind of shit. 

drinks ale when there’s something to celebrate, but usually doesn’t ever get drunk. hates the feeling of not being in control. 

pretty easy to get along with, so long as you’re not a complete piece of garbage (i.e. icarius alkdjgAG) 

due to her parents behavior when she was younger, she has a bit of a problem with authority. thinks soldiers in the military are basically just brainwashed goons with superiority complexes 

DOES NOT TRUST EASILY 

but when she does trust you, she is SO loyal and will always have ur back 

kind of want her to have a pet wolf ??? is that weird. a hunting buddy. extra protection. warm cuddles in winter. a cute archery themed name like quiver ???? 

OKAY BEFORE THIS GETS ANY LONGER IM GONNA END IT. i’m sorry this got so ungodly long & if u made it all the way thru .. bless u . i love u. COME PLOT W ME < 3 

(but wait there’s more) SHORT LIST of possible connections 

CLIENTS !! people who have hired her to guard them at one time or another, whether it be recent or in the past

someone who is/was in the military and know her folks and maybe think she’s wack 4 leaving bc they don’t know the whole story ! 

a RIDE OR DIE who she met when she left home & knows everything about her & what happened . :) 

her OLDER BROTHER ... who i’ll probs put a wanted connection up for but if any of y’all want it . come @ me 

HER PARENTS ... lmao same thing as above ^^^ 

an experienced escura friend who helps her with her powers n sheeeit 

A BAD INFLUENCE DOOMED PERSON who leads her astray ~ gets her more into dark magic maybe ~

#thedoomintro #THIS TOOK FAR TOO LONG #it is also .. far too long #im SORRY #tw: death #tw: violence #tw: blood

[howtofightwrite]

Q&A: Weapon Preferences and Specializations versus Signatures

Would it be feasible to have a character that’s bad at fighting with a sword and doing hand-to-hand combat, but is skilled with using a bow and arrows? I’m asking because I’m not sure if being a good archer has any crossover with fighting with your fists, for example, in terms of skills needed. Or would this character be good at all three of them if she just practiced? Is it realistic that she could just have an affinity towards using the bow?

The concept of the signature weapons rather than comprehensive fighting styles is a fictional creation, usually you see them in anime and in video games. To use a bow doesn’t mean you can’t fight with a sword or an axe or with their fists, and, due to the changing nature of the battlefield or the situations they might find themselves in, it would be inadvisable for them to ignore close quarters combat. Even if you’re character was simply a hunter, they’d have a wide ranging skillset with various weapons, including the creation and setting of traps to knives and, possibly, even spears depending on the type of game they hunted. You don’t go after bears and boars with a bow.

One thing to understand about the medieval bow if you plan to have a character use one is that the weapon itself requires a lot of time to set up. A bow is not like a gun, you don’t just pull it out and start shooting. You’ve got to keep it oiled and carefully wrapped so its not exposed to the elements, you carry the bowstring separately so if you’re traveling and didn’t plan to use your bow then it must be restrung. You will also need to either go get your arrows after use, find a fletcher, or make them yourself if you’re not part of a military unit which will provide them to you (and even then, you still want to retrieve them.) The general use for the bow in your standard military was as artillery. They were the cannons before there were cannons. Archers also carried a sidearm in either a sword or axe in cases where the enemy broke through the front lines. At those times, they’d be required to fight in close quarters.

As a writer its important to learn the distinction between “preferred” and “can’t”. This character may prefer to fight with a bow, as a sharpshooter and at range, but combat specialists develop a wide array of skills so they can change out as needed. This includes fighting in hand to hand, fighting with swords (these two crossover), axes, spears, and other weapons.

If you choose to go with a character who only uses a bow and nothing else, then you have a character limited by their positioning who can’t fight in crowded rooms without finding higher ground (and can’t fight past enemies to get to higher ground), who can’t survive an ambush, who has to run and keep running until they put enough distance between themselves and their enemies, who will have difficulty fighting indoors or in places with poor visibility, who may face difficulty fighting at night, who is limited to a specific set of circumstances and does poorly in every single other one. This is a character without any self-defense skills, who is reliant on others to keep them safe when things don’t go according to plan or when they run out of arrows. They also lack the means to create advantageous circumstances for themselves while under threat, which limits their long term survivability.

Every character is going to have preferences for weapons they like to use, and things they don’t like to do. It’s like being told to eat your veggies when you just want to eat fruit, or that you have to do push ups when all you want to do is parkour. Some people prefer fists to kicks, some people prefer standing grappling or joint locks to groundfighting, but you have to learn them all in order to prepare yourself for a variety of situations. If you play shooters, you’ll notice the soldier characters carry a variety of different weapons from assault rifles to SMGs to handguns. That’s not counting the countless other weapons you can choose based on the situation you’re about to walk into. This is so they’ll always have a usable weapon when the situation, scenario, or battlefield changes. You don’t want to lose crucial seconds using a weapon poorly suited for the environment you’re in when a fraction of a second can cost you your life.

Remember, in the combined legends of Robin Hood, his standard kit includes not just a bow but also a sword. We have the legends of his fight on the log with Little John with staves. He might not be better than Little John at using a staff, but he’s trained to fight with one.

Martial combat and weapons work are skills. You learn to use them. Usually, when we’re discussing talent, we’re discussing people who have better than average coordination and great physical mimicry. There’s almost no gap between seeing a technique and applying it. That’s the talent. Your character’s affinity may not just be natural, but learned if she had parents who worked with bows and she grew up around archers. The bow would always feel more natural because she started learning to use one when she was five instead of fifteen.

It’s also important to remember that preference doesn’t always relate to talent. Your character might find learning to use a bow comes more easily to her or she has an “affinity” for it, but likes swords better. At the end of the day, the weapon you like better is the one your better at using because you invest more time into it. A character who uses a bow, might take their hand to hand training and get decent at using their legs for self-defense so they can defend their weapon as well as themselves.

Many writers use talent as an excuse to avoid explanation. Regardless of whatever you plan to write, you should learn as much about the subject as you can. There’s also this idea that you can only train in one thing and that there’s no crossover or blending. Learning to fight hand to hand or with a sword and learning to shoot a bow is no different than learning to shoot and learning to ride a horse. They are two separate skillsets which can be combined, so you can shoot a bow while riding a horse. Otherwise known as mounted combat.

At the end of the day, being a martial combatant is about having a diverse skillset encompassing a very large swath of possibilities in order to prepare for a variety of situations and eventualities. Fighting inside a castle is very different from fighting inside your local village full of houses with thatch roofs. Fighting in a forest is different from fighting on a plain. Fighting an opponent with a spear or staff is fighting a swordsman, or someone with a dagger. Fighting an opponent with a sword and shield is different from fighting someone with a single sword.

Combat is a form of problem solving. There’s never just one way to solve a problem, and you’ll never solve different problems the same way every time. If you choose to do so, your enemy will constantly be developing new ways to stop you and your solution will eventually be countered by new techniques and new technologies. The goalposts are constantly moving, even for characters who are the literal best at what they do.

Don’t hem your characters in, even if they prefer one weapon over others. Let them specialize, but don’t create a one trick pony. This gives you more options to when it comes to constructing scenarios and fight scenes for your characters. You’ll be able to plot a course of action reflective of both your narrative and your characters.

-Michi

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Q&A: Weapon Preferences and Specializations versus Signatures was originally published on How to Fight Write.

#writing advice #writing reference #writing tips

[qarajhcreations]

Fate of Flowers - Chapter Fifteen

This is the fifteenth chapter in the story about the five warriors of the Hana Unit. Please read the first fourteen chapters and the prelude before reading this one.

When the early rays of sunlight beamed unto the stony plain, there was no sight of the hunters or the girls, the bedrolls had been hidden very well amongst the lower leaves of the trees. The weathered hunter, who didn’t seem to have a name, or even talk for that matter, had spotted some low bushes, and as the camp woke up, the bed-rolls were tucked under the vegetation, for them to collect after they’d finished the Troll. They moved in an unorderly manner towards the cave, but the was no signs of the inhabitants being outside. Himawari led the group, closely followed by Butakusa and Churippu. The stench from the depths of the cave made the hunters stop slightly, the girls had tried something that smelled almost as bad. In order to test the concentration of the recruits, Suchiruu had initiated sounds, sights and smells that could divert the focus of an untrained soldier. The sound testing ranged from surprising silence, to barking dogs next to them. The soldiers weren’t trained to fight while blind, although some of the legends of Densetsu of Orgengrad claimed that she trained with a group of mercenaries from far south, that only fought in complete darkness, coordinating their every move, so that their swords would only hit an enemy and not a fellow soldier. The smell testing had been the worst, pleasantries such as soap and chocolate to seduce the soldiers, only to be replaced by putrid and rancid smells, of which the origin was left in the unknown to the soldiers. It was common that these tests where added to the daily training. Slowly, the group moved inside the cave, the rough stone didn’t show signs of being cut or carved, a natural cave. Moss and some other hardy plant-types grew here and there, in the cracks of the stone. The air was denser, the deeper into the cave they moved. Churippu had taken the lead, her broadsword would be more efficient, should a Troll try to rush them, compared to the handaxe and shield Himawari was using. Butakusa had handed the spear back to one of the other hunters, going back to his heavy club, one sitting in his hand, and his longstone-axe in a hanger in his belt. With cloth and leaves tucked in under the metal armour of Churippu and Himawari made almost no sounds. The hide clothing of the hunters made no, or very little, sound against the stone floor in the cave. Occasionally the group would stop to listen, but there was no other sound than their own breathing.

Hozuki took the rear end of the patrol, as the cave narrowed, the unit stretched out. They could walk two, maybe three, side by side, but for the sake of being able to fight at all in the cave, they all walked in a single line. A cold wind reached them, the hunters all, except Butakusa, stopped shortly. In a low voice Hozuki explained that natural caverns, such as this, often had more than one entrance. “If there is a source of water in here, that would also lower the temperature a bit.” While the cave turned and sloped often, it was only a single cave, they had passed some small holes, none of them big enough for a Troll to jump them. The natural light in the entrance of the cave, was almost all but gone here. The hunters were used to hunting at night, but even in the thickest, darkest part of the forest, there was still some things that you could make out in the darkness, a tree, a rock, any kind of things. But the walls of the cave, had nothing of the sort, it was just a mass of cold, damp stone. A couple of the hunters had been talking, in low voices, near the entrance to the cave, but now even their mumbling had ceased. The cave had begun to slope a bit more, going deeper into the ground and everyone began moving slower and more cautiously. After the cave had spiralled a couple of times, they spotted a small light not far ahead. The calm green glow lid up in the dark cave. As they got close, they noticed that the cave walls and floor was covered in a layer of moss. A clear sign of the moisturous climate in the cave. Amongst the moss clumbs stood a small cluster of luminous fungi, a Glowcap. Further down the cave, several other clusters created a dim lighting, just enough to navigate, but nowhere enough to see detail.

Another gust from the depth bought with it a gut-wrenching stench of rotting flesh. Apparently not a fitting smell to the nose of one of the hunters, who suddenly stopped, and in the next painfuily long second, knealed over and spewed the contents of his stomach out onto the moss. Everyone stopped at the sound, but other than the natural sounds of the cave, nothing else was heard. The man slowly wiped his mouth clean, and, looking apologetic, he took place behind Hozuki as the rear guard. Hozuki noticed the proud hunter reduced to a visibly shaken man, then she remembered that the hunters were already undernourished due to their poor hunting luck as of late, and a sudden loss of whatever they had had to eat, would naturally weaken a person. She thought to herself, It would be better for the group, if he could just wait by the entrance of the cave, he’s slowing us down, and in no condition to fight. But then then she thought it through; at no point had they seen a hunter, aside from their encounter with Ueko, where there were no other hunters nearby. A lot of things were easier when you were at least two persons on a job. Four eyes would find tracks better than two. One could act as lookout, while the other readied the prey. The prey would be easier to carry back more quickly. These hunters, she thought, are dependant on eachother, just like a unit of soldiers. This... man probably wouldn’t be able to cope with being alone. That, and when there was both roaming Skavens, Gnolls, and Demons about, a single, poorly-armed and unfit hunter would not last long. No, it is better for him that he stays. Hozuki gazed over her shoulder, in the light from the more frequent Glowcaps, she could see that he was using one of his spears to support himself. His visible cheekbones were making his stubbles appear more protruding on his pale face.

At the next turn Churippu stopped suddenly. A cropping in the stone walls, hid the light from entering, and the last cluster of Glowcap was some steps back. In the shadow, an effigy had been assembled, and it took a minute for the group to realise that it didn’t move. The remains of a bear caucass was staring into the mossy cave. The smell of old, rotten meat seemed to come from the bear, even though only the head of it was still somewhat intact. The bones had, at some point, been placed in a certain matter, but either poor skill of the creator, or time and tear, had made most of the bones collapse into a pile, only the bear’s ribcage and it’s head still stood. A trace of dried-out blood looked like a shadow going deeper into the cave. The weathered hunter, who guided them from the village and to the cave, stepped forward. Where the other hunters weren’t exactly happy with the sight and the smell, even Butakusa had closed his nostrils with a clasp of his fingers, the silver-strained man didn’t seem to mind. His lack of emotion gave no doubts to his professionalism, Himawari was silently impressed. The men still thought they were goddesses, equal to Shigami Maiboku, a mixture of awe and curiosity was always sensed if one of them got too near one of the girls, it was pretty odd. The weathered man picked up what appeared to be one of the bear’s leg-bones, slowly his fingers traced over the pale bone, as if he could tell how the bear had died from the bone alone. The expression on his face seemed grim in the dim light as he turned to face the group, in his hand he held up a large bone-piece. The piece was badly cracked, with his free hand, the hunter pointed first to the bear caucass, and then to his own shoulder. Something had struck the bear with enough force to shatter it’s shoulder blade, which probably would have ended the fight pretty quickly.

They continued further into the cave, which now began to open up, becoming wider. Suddenly a thundering roar made the whole group press against the cave walls; in the light they could only make out the figure, a hulky creature; they had finally found the Troll. And it too had found them. In a swift motion, for a Troll, it picked up a large branch, and lifted it above it’s flat head. A few of the hunters backed slightly; most they’d ever had to face was a bear, a wolf or maybe even a boar. This was something different, something much more dangerous. Butakusa issued a couple of grunts, as the Troll began to advance towards the center of the group. Swiftly the hunters spread out to the sides of the cave, leaving the girls, Butakusa and the weathered hunter in the middle. The Troll didn’t seem to notice, but now it started to move faster, like a dark-grey mass. Silently, a wooden spear cleaved through the stale cave air. One of the hunters from the side groups had thrown his first weapon. To little effort, unfortuneatly. The spear hit, with it’s sharpened wooden tip, on the Troll’s shoulder and bounce harmlessly to the floor. While it didn’t hurt the Troll, it caught it’s attention, and with it’s free hand, it tried to shield itself from where the spear came. It kept running in the same direction as before though, now just with it’s focus to the side of the cave. It roared in anger as another spear whizzed past it’s head, tearing through the skin of it’s large ears. Now spears began to come in from the other side as well, the Troll couldn’t guard from this side, as the branch was meant as a weapon, thus slowing it’s arm just enough to hardly be of any use. As another spear hit it’s free arm’s shoulder, the Troll lifted it’s arm to protect itself again. By doing so it left it’s softer stomach open for attacks, the weathered hunter swiftly grabbed one of his stone-tipped spears and flung it at a low arc at the advancing Troll. The stone pierced through the tan skin, spewing black blood from the wound. But it did not stop the Troll, and now the Troll had reached the five persons in the center. Himawari had her round shield and hand-axe read, Churippu her broadsword and Hozuki her crossbow to her cheek with a bolt nooked already. Butakusa had grabbed club and his axe, twirling them both with his wrists, and finally the weathered hunter, he had his last spear raised. This isn’t good against a charging enemy... A shield wall could minimize the damage, depending on the speed, but the best defense would be a line of pikes or spears, but we don’t have that. Himawari looked concerned around her, none of them were adequately equipped for this fight. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a vague nod from the weathered hunter directed at Butakusa. It was subtle, almost impossible to see, but several hours spent observing the officers at the barracks, had made her keen at seing such small signals. Without a sound both took off, heading straight for the Troll.

Reaching almost at the same time, the weathered hunter ducked in as the Troll swung the branch at where his head would have been. Faster than what any of the girls expected, the hunter managed to land three quick stabs with his spear, before having to duck away from the branch coming the other way back again. Meanwhile Butakusa approached from the other side, in two quick swings, his club hammered against the knuckles of the Troll’s idle fist. His stone axe hit around the Troll’s elbow, but even though Butakusa placed all of his strength into the swing, the flint edge of the axe only grazed the surface of the Troll’s hard skin. However, the Troll reacted by retracting it’s hand away from what was hurting it. Butakusa just barely reached to get his axe back, when the Troll reacted. His axe was sent whirling off somewhere else in the cave, himself knocked off of his feet, landing on the mossy cave-floor, still holding on to his club. He shook his head slightly, seemingly not all that hurt from the blow. The Troll had turned towards him, even though the weathered hunter tried to stab through the cartilage plates on the Troll’s back. The stab wounds in it’s stomach had already closed, only leaving slight scars on the soft skin. As the Troll raised the branch above it’s head, Butakusa still seemed out of balance, however, instead of getting out of the way, Butakusa pushed off with both feet, barreling himself forwards, slamming his club in against the Troll’s face. The Troll began bleeding from it’s nose, and as the black liquid reached the Troll’s mouth, the Troll seemed to go into a trance of rage. Roaring and flailing, the Troll was moving towards Butakusa. Meanwhile, the weathered hunter tried to find an opening. Too late he realised his mistake, as the branch was swung back, the wood hitting him in the stomach. Even though he tried to block the blow with his spear, the dry “whack” mixed with man’s “ooof” as the air was knocked out of, the very second before his feet lifted from the mossy cave-floor. A couple of the other hunters quickly rushed over, attempting to care for their fellow hunter. However, just like the Troll in front of the village gate, this Troll also now exposed itself, it’s slow and savage swings leaving little time to protect itself. In a surprisingly harsh tone, Himawari suddenly broke the tension: “Now, FIRE!” And in the blink of an eye, three small crossbows fired almost simultaneously, the bolts whistling through the air. the first one flew close by, disappearing without a sound somewhere in the depths of the cave, but before the Troll could reach to react, the second bolt found it’s target. The Troll’s cheek was pierced, and the bolt went into it’s mouth, but right as the Troll was about to roar in pain, the third and final bolt struck. With a resounding “thuck”, the bolt struck and penetrated right between the Troll’s small red eyes. The Troll’s pupils turn towards the feathered end of the bolt, now sticking out of it’s own forehead, with the bolt having pierced the brain. Slowly it seemed that the message of death was conveyed to the Troll, a low groan, that sounded surprised, escaped it’s throat, getting lower and more faint. Suddenly it’s knees gave in, and the grey body tumbled forward, dead as the stone that the cave was formed in. Himawari sighed with relief, even though Butakusa went over, whacking the Troll in the back of it’s skull a couple of times, probably just to be certain.

#Fate of Flowers #Qa'Rajh Creations #fiction #Inspired by Anime #Winged Cloud #Trolls #Inspired by Sakura Fantasy #Fantasy #fantasy anime #Dexbonus #flowers #kingdom #Sekai Project #Third Person Narrator

[voidwardenalex]

Long Post - RP Babble

I kind of like thinking about weird mannerisms of the void man, like his weird pole dancing thing. Or how sometimes he’s probably too lazy to walk so he just uses tentacles to crawl around. Like... He’d use his tail to grab and hold things, it’s like a fifth arm. And he’s basically unfit to be a father and yet he’s basically a dad to like three people at this point. For fucks sake, most of the time when he’s around the athenaeum he doesn’t even wear clothes because he just looks like a living shadow but certain people, or at least ONE person knows that isn’t really true.

I imagine he doesn’t drink, but he’d probably be the most nonfunctional drunk. Gets drunk and lays face down in the water. He doesn’t drown, it is water, but nothing really functions naturally in the abyss . Little bubbles around him because he’s gurgling. His brother, Baruk, takes care of him when he gets that way.

Something spooks him and he lets out this girly scream, goes silent, prays no one heard that... Considering the only way to describe his voice is... Well. Chocolate. Smooth. Deep. He’s probably afraid of ghosts, or rather, malevolent spirits and demons. Sees a shadow move along the wall in an unnatural manner. Turns into his beast form and smashes his skull against the wall, leaving a massive crack where the shadow is. Someone walks in and sees him attacking the wall with his body.

Auren, starting a yelling match with Baruk in void but it then devolves into barking. Like, woof woof kind of barking. When he gets scared or angry, he usually descends deeper into the athenaeum, as the structure is in layers. It’s like nightmare purgatory. But sometimes he loses his shit before he manages to get there so half of the place ends up in ruins and everyone’s like “What happened here” and he just replies with, “oh jeez I dunno.”

Bottom layers of the library are actually a prison, it goes from the abyssal athenaeum to the abyssal penitentiary, where he acts as a jailer to some of the more evil nightmares and creatures that were out doing harm to mortals, because he wins ‘Good Guy Shadowman’ of the year. Sits down next to a creature chained in the water and vents to it and it just covers its ears because Auren is being annoying and death would be a more merciful fate.

Auren doesn’t actually like to kill, he avoids it when he can. So there are all of these void manifestations from the nightmare tomes imprisoned down below. In fact, even the ones that have hurt him (Avaline’s...) he can’t bring himself to hurt them. It’s not their fault, they’re self preserving nightmares. It’s fight or flight and he knows that. He blames no one but himself. 

He doesn’t like to kill, but people are totally okay with killing him. It’s like a sport for people who’ve seen him. Like, he’s basically a cryptid. Him and all of his beasts. They’re all just black shadows with these white skulls. Only the top of the skull, the jaw is part of the shadow. (I actually really like finding weird animals and drawing more and more beasts because there are at least 800 of them that he has around.)

Also, he dies. But he comes back, it all depends on how long it took him to die. He doesn’t heal, he can’t regenerate. For instance, say he gets shot. But he doesn’t die for a week, it’s going to take a week for him to reconstitute himself. Or say he manages to die quickly, two hours, it takes two hours to come back and, hoo boy, it’s fresh in his mind and he’s going to be pissed. The reason it usually takes him a bit is because he’ll get hurt and pull the “it’s just a flesh wound” thing where he’ll try to rest it off, but it usually gets worse and he’ll lay in pain for hours before he’s finally like “okay fine I’ll finish this off”

Speaking of. He collects weapons. Swords, spears, bows, axes, maces, he takes care of all of them. He does NOT like guns, they actually scare him because usually when he hears a gunshot it’s directed at him, and as painful as medieval weaponry is, nothing feels quite like a bullet wound that never heals. It only gets more and more painful and there’s nothing he can do about it and he knows that. And sometimes it isn’t even bad enough for him to say “oh, I should just terminate myself.” He’d get shot in the shoulder and be like “oh, alright, I should be able to last a bit longer.”

His personality? Well, he’s 5,396 years old. When he was ‘alive’ he was more of an academic type, as academic as you can be when you’re a slave in the Sumerian empire. He was smart, handsome. That ultimately lead to his sacrifice, as well as his brother, though his brother also brought it upon himself because Baruk was a defiant asshole. Anyway, Auren always beats himself up about the mistakes he’s made, he doesn’t think about the good he’s done, and the good does outweigh the bad. He’s quiet. He tends to stick to the dark, he skulks around. Broody is a good word. There aren’t many positive people in his life, so he’s hesitant to trust, but he’s like a guardian angel to the people he cares about. And the moment he gets comfortable around someone, he does NOT shut up. He’ll actually talk forever if they let him. In actuality, he’s a very friendly person.

He speaks all sorts of different languages that he’s picked up over time, some more fluently than others, but he took in this small woman from Siberia because she was experimented on by her family and they were killed by dire wolves. So Auren pitied her and took her in when things got hard. She taught him Russian, but she screamed a lot, she was a pretty mad person. So he just thought that’s how Russians sounded so he didn’t think to ask if that was right.

Sometimes, he writes. He keeps journals. He’s a hopeless romantic, so he enjoys writing love stories. They’re all in different languages, some of them are even in Sumerian cuneiform. It doesn’t confuse him at all, but between all of the nightmare tomes and the books in his personal study in all sorts of different languages, it can get confusing to other people.

Him, writing raunchy romance stories about his lover in french, forgetting she can speak and read french. And Avaline is curious, she gets into things, she loves stories. He KNOWS that. He probably constantly embarrasses himself in front of her, she knows he’s a huge dork, she knows him better than anyone. She’s the one who walks in on him doing weird shit, like using his tail to do pull ups. Or scratching his back with a stray tentacle because he can’t reach it. Singing. She actually gave him a record player, he’s not one for technology, but he loves that thing, he loves singing, he loves music. She sees him doing that and his voice just cracks because “oh shit it’s Avaline.” And he doesn’t even blush, he goes from pitch black to white so he basically has an anti-blush, the paler he is the more nervous he is. He starts wearing clothes around her.

#ocs #Auren #I just really like this stupid guy #long post #super long post i'm sorry i'm babbling #i'm very sorry omfg

[fantasticalscholar-blog]

 Getting Started - Building a Character! ~ Part II

Howdy everyone! Hopefully your week is slowly sailing along smoothly; I figured that I wanted to try and get to work on the second part of this post when I could, because, you know.

I love Character Creation <3 *Swoons*

ANYWHO! 

Let’s go ahead and dive right in. Here, have the Character Sheet again!

Accuracy

It occurred to me that I forgot to talk about Accuracy (ACC) in my previous Character Creation post. Accuracy is used whenever a PC performs an attack on a target; here’s how it works.

Logoria the Samurai swings her Katana at the Cait Sith. She first rolls two d6 during this attack, and the result is an 8 (3+5= 8). She then may add her ACC stat, which is 4, to this 8. Altogether, her attack roll comes out to 12, which is higher than the Cait Sith’s AVD stat, so the attack successfully hits the foe.

ACC is determined by the base bonus bestowed by the character’s job, and then you add 1/2 of the character’s level. (i.e. Logoria has a ACC Bonus of 2 due to her job as a Samurai, and she is level 4, so this adds an additional 2 points to her stat, coming out to an ACC of 4).

Abilities

I’ll make sure to talk about Abilities more in depth when I touch on each of the Jobs in FFD6, but for a first level character, they start with choosing two Job Abilities; they may select options from either their Job’s Ability list (found in their respective sections of the PDF), or, a player may select abilities from the Shared Abilities list, found on Page 95. Additionally, a character also receives an Innate Ability that is paired with selecting a Job. On every even level a Character reaches, they are able to obtain an additional Job Ability from either list.

Now: an Innate Ability stays with a character so long as they remain in that Job. If a player chooses to change Jobs, though, they will lose that Innate Ability. On the flip side, they do retain all Job Abilities they selected throughout the leveling up process.

It should be noted that, throughout the process of creating a character, some Job Abilities do change the parameters in which a character is created; for example, the ability Heirloom grants a character a weapon, piece of armor, shield, component, or accessory that is tiered at (Half Level + 1). So whereas most characters start only with 500 Gil (the general currency of the Final Fantasy Universe) and basic equipment, Heirloom will shake up the starting game. So make sure to pay attention to Stat additions, subtractions, or manipulations caused by Abilities!

Skills

Like many other modern tabletop RPG’s, not every situation a Party finds itself in can be resolved with wildly swinging swords or unleashing cataclysmic fireballs (despite what some people may try). Thus, Skills exist to show a character’s capabilities in tasks other than combat.

I personally feel like the topic of discussing individual skills should be saved for another post, but for now; know that a Character will start with so many Skill Points (SP) as is allotted by their Job Bonus. You may distribute however many points you have to all of your Skills on one condition; the maximum amount of SP you may put into a skill is capped at your Finesse stat +1.

So Yulio the Time Mage has a Finesse stat of 4.  This means he is allowed to put up to 5 points in his Healing skill.

If a player takes the Shared Ability, Skillful Hero, this grants them additional skill points to spend, and this also increases the amount of points they may put into Skills. If you’re curious, I suggest checking out Page 98. There are some other Job Abilities that grant Skill points or adjust what you can do with certain skills, so be sure to read up on what those Abilities do if you take them at the start!

Weapons and Armor

If clothes make the person, then you can bet your bottom Gil that equipment makes the Hero. Again, a topic that I can touch on more in depth some other time, but seeing as that you probably have a visual interpretation of what your character looks like in your head, with both weapon and armor in hand, it may be a good idea to give a brief description of what these all entail.

Weapons come in a few different categories, though of course you as a player can discuss with the GM (and vice versa) what is classified as what. Here’s the list.

Arcane: Let me tell you; Arcane has a lot of flexibility. Whether your magical weapon is a traditional staff, wand, or orb, some users may use books, dolls, or bells. Arcane weapons utilize MND to calculate damage, though they still deal physical damage.

Blades: Things that are sharp, and normally involve swinging and slicing. These will use either your PWR or RES stat to use, though some may argue swords like the Epees utilize DEX. instead.

Brawl: Though your fists and feet count in this category, things like brass-knuckles, claws, stilettos, and improvised weapons count as well. Think hand-to-hand combat. Brawl weapons rely on PWR for damage.

Concealed: A weapons is considered Concealed if a passerby would not acknowledge it as a weapon upon first glance, or the weapon in question is literally hidden from sight. Typically, these weapons are small pointy things like daggers, kunai, or shuriken, though I’m sure you can find other variations. They also use DEX to determine damage.

Huge:  If it requires you to have a tennis grunt and you hold it in two hands, the thing is probably a Huge weapon. Primarily represented as Mauls, Halberds, Great Axes and the sort, these weapons utilize PWR, though in my games, I also allow players to utilize RES.

Ranged: For those who love to pick off enemies from a distance, Ranged weapons have got you covered. Typically including Firearms, Bows, Shuriken, or other things thrown/shot, Ranged weapons require precision, and thusly use DEX for damage.

Reach:  Though not keeping your enemies closer than your friends, members of the Reach weapon family can include anything from spears, lances, whips,  or anything that doesn’t require you to be breathing on your target to hit them.  Do note that Reach weapons do not grant a defense bonus (outright). They do, however, calculate damage through PWR.

And now, a brief discussion on Armors:

Ranging from anything to shoulder pads, to a dress, circlet, or truly a breastplate, armor manifests itself in many different forms for different characters. No matter what Armor looks like in the end though, they come in three different varieties:

Light Armor: Good for defending against magical attacks, but leave the user open to more damage from physical attacks.

Medium Armor: The middle ground, and provides moderate defenses against both physical and magical attacks.

Heavy Armor: Designed to deflect and reduce the brunt of physical attacks, but do not promise as much protection against magical attacks.

GM’s and players should discuss what kind of armor their characters and the populace will be wearing in the world (would be kind of odd to have a bulletproof vest in the middle of a medieval setting).

I believe it would also be prudent to bring up the shared ability Weapon Training at this point. By choosing this ability, any character, regardless of their initial Job, may either choose to gain access to using Weapons from two new categories, or to gain access to one new Armor type.

I would highly encourage GM’s to allow PC’s to decide the aesthetics of their armor and weapons; it’s a lot more fun to see what players bring to the table with their imagination, and their concept of that Tier 5 sword is much cooler than what you had in mind. Also, it  only makes sense that, by letting players choose what an item looks like, that’s one less thing you have to think about or plan.

~ ~ ~ 

So everyone! After looking at the next enormous list I have compiled for my next post, I think this would be a good cutoff point before we tackle ... Jobs ;3

Thank you all so much for your views! I hope you have a wonderful Friday, and I’ll see ya next time! ~ Ryan

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Credit to Spencer at Siloconera for the image of the jobs from FF Airborne-Brigade at the top  of the page!

#ffd6 #armor #weapons #rpg #final fantasy #ff #tabletop