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chains-of-destiny · 4 months

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Few families can say that they've been blessed by the gods, and even fewer can count ancestors as illustrious and celebrated as Niemon, your great-grandfather. He was the very man who led the rebellion against a tyrannical magocracy and laid the founding stones for a free and fair republic. Your family was destined for greatness and respect, but your grandfather ruined it all… You are the heir to House Serin, and the burden of your family's legacy weighs heavily on you. However, your destiny is much greater than that of your forefathers, maybe even the great Niemon's. So, let the chronicles begin! But remember, the chains of destiny are strong and will not be easily broken. Do you have the power to defy fate?

This is the first book of Chains of Destiny, a planned trilogy where you step into the shoes of the heir to House Serin. Set in the fictional continent of Runsas, your choices will not only shape your life but also impact the lives of those around you and the future of the republic. Uncover the secrets behind your grandfather's betrayal, break free from the chains that bind you, and finally take control of your destiny.

The game is more character/story-focused and places less emphasis on stats.

[Link to the demo]

Total word count: ~190k words (as of 2024/05/01)

ROs | Forum Page | Update Log

The intention is not to make the story as dark as possible but to establish a living, breathing world that exists within the setting it found itself in. So, you will not be swimming in a sea of blood and body parts, it is not the point of the story. Still, I feel obliged to warn any potential players before playing this game, as certain scenes contain things that may not be for everyone.

Reader Discretion Advised: This content may be disturbing or triggering for some players. Proceed with caution and consider your own emotional well-being before continuing.

[Content warning] - this game currently contains (or will contain in the future):

Strong language

Graphic scenes of violence

Graphic depictions of injuries, wounds, and corpses

Scenes of physical and emotional abuse

Blood and gore

Dark and disturbing themes

Body horror - Transformation (skippable)

Alcohol and drug use

Mentions and references to animal death

Mutilation

Physical and psychological Trauma

War crimes

Manipulation and gaslighting

Themes of authoritarianism and oppression/discrimination of certain groups of people

Themes of war and conflict

- The list may or may not expand as the development progresses.

Also, this story was created purely out of my passion for writing. It does not intend to preach or lecture anyone about any particular topic or belief.

If you feel that any part of this game is preaching or trying to convey a specific message, it is unintentional, and I sincerely apologize. The primary goal is to provide an enjoyable and fun experience for everyone.

PS: I should've already made a post like this in the beginning, but somehow I just forgot to.😄

#chains of destiny #wip #cog #choice of games #interactive fiction #choice script #interactive novel #if #if wip #dashingdon #wips #fantasy #interactive game #if game #demo #if demo #fantasy if #fantasy wip

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tutti-says · 3 months

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ReRe: Sexuality, labeling theory, and accepting your own ignorance in BG3 fandom

One thing I have learned in my life is to,well, learn. Discourse over companion sexuality surged on Twitter at a time I just happened to be on yesterday. As I preached my own QT about the characters being playersexual, I happened upon a tweet about this word being bi/pan phibic due to its history.

While I was confused, I took my post down and decided to find out the root instead. I began my usual route: asking questions and running a search on google. To me at a surface understanding, the term playersexual encompassed the gambit of all sexualities-allowing the player character (PC) to choose whomever they wish to romance. For those who are unfamiliar- BG3 is a dnd set CRPG where the PC is able to engage in romantic interactions. The more special part of BG3 is that these romances can play a substantial part in the overall story of your playthrough. And as most of the western hemishphere probably knows the name Astarion, it suffices to say that these companions and possible romances are important to the playerbase. Though the numbers aren't in yet, there is a sizeable chunk of queer persons involved in the BG3 fandom and it only takes a cursory glance at twitter in order to realize that. And of course, representation of queer romances plays into that. So, while I thought the term would resonate with people of the freedom to choose, the term "player -sexual" as Larian devs described the companions, only druged up old wounds. And I was very, very ignorant on this. From my conversations, I learned that the term was coined in the time of Dragon Age 2 by a confirmed biphobic dev in response to fans praising bisexual characters. As well, it was brought to my attention by my mutual Mish that Larian winning awards for inclusivity, while also using this term, left people feeling like the devs were once again erasing the canon sexuality of pansexuals. For context, Niel Newbon spoke in response to a question that Astarion is pansexual. This can be confirmed in game by Lae'zel possibly sleeping with Astarion during the night of the Tiefling party. The companions aren't just sleeping with any PC no matter what, but with other NPCs as well. Once my moot on twitter, mon, pointed this out-it suddenly made sense. I was wrong. There are some more conversations surrounding this topic I would love to expand on later, but for the point of this already being long I will save it. At first, I thought the problem of labels was solved by the term playersexual, but it turns out that label was stuck on to cover sexualities and their validity. Ignorance is often used as an insult; a euphamism for stup[id. However, ignorance in itself is nuetral. It is neither good nor bad until the option to learn is put forth, and the ignorant make a choice to learn or not. Unfortunately, most cause of discourse is rooted in willful ignorance, or refusing to acknoowledge and understand knowledge when presented. I don't use the words attached to phobics or isms without careful consideration. In this instance I do believe the word playersexual to be pan or bi phobic due to its history. I do hope that Larians reconsiders this word in the future. I can't win every war, but I can learn which wars to fight with not being afraid to be wrong and learn different. thank you <3

#halsin #wyll #auntie ethel #jaheira #shadowheart #karlach #tav #bg3 tav #bg3 #bg3 dark urge #bg3 astarion #bg3 spoilers #baldurs gate 3

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utilitycaster · 1 year

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How to actually get people to try TTRPGs other than D&D

I've probably said most of this stuff separately, but here it is all together. This was originally even longer, and way more satirical, but honestly, while it was very funny, I think just a straight shot is what's called for.

The long "in defense of D&D" toll you must pay first as it's crucial to understand why so many efforts fail:

The popularity is a feature.

Yes, there is a reason it has the name recognition it does, and yes, that reason is capitalism; this post explains that far better than I ever could. You do need to go about this assuming that you are not going to personally end capitalism tomorrow, and even if you did, more people would be familiar with D&D than any other TTRPG, and 5e would have a number of materials geared specifically towards new players. Pretending this isn't the case will not help you.

Switching TTRPGs, particularly to anything that vaguely resembles D&D in genre, theme, and character creation, requires obtaining materials, finding a group (possibly even a GM, and those are thin on the ground), and learning a new system. This takes significant time, effort, and possibly money. That's often ignored. More importantly, people will have emotional attachments to the games they like. I've found that often, the "hook" in posts encouraging people to leave D&D is when WoTC does something sketchy. However, as a lot of players and creators in the industry pointed out recently, if someone already owns all the D&D content they need, they can sustain a boycott and have no need to switch; and what's more, when someone is considering other games not to better meet their gameplay needs or to expand their horizons, but because they feel cheated, the last person they want to hear from is a gleefully circling vulture.

So if you're reading this and saying "well then, where's my opportunity? when do I pounce?" the answer is "if you are thinking of introducing people to new games as an opportunity to pounce and poach rather than a warm welcome, I feel incredibly sorry for you, and you will probably alienate more people than you attract."

Anyway, onto the actual mechanical merits of D&D. It is a flexible system. It is not infinitely flexible - it has many limitations - but a lot of other systems are even narrower in scope, not broader. D&D can be rules-heavy, but RP is largely open and, barring charm spells, I control my PC, which I vastly prefer to games that will tell me how my character feels. It accommodates a wide range of play styles, from very loose to very crunchy.

D&D hits on a particular balance of strict, though often streamlined mechanical rules for combat and abilities, and wide-open freedom for character personality and agency, which is very appealing to many. In fact, a common complaint I've seen from D&D players about other systems is that they are rigid and overcomplicated in the areas where they want more freedom and ease, and too loose in the places where they want structure. This doesn't mean those systems are wrong or bad! It does however mean that they are not a natural fit for people who genuinely enjoy D&D as a system.

Also, just to get it out of the way: I (and a lot of D&D players I know):

strongly dislike games that regularly just tell you how your character feels, mechanically

Feel that D&D handles mixed successes in a way that feels rewarding for the player and which moves forth the narrative

Feel that D&D has, in the base PHB form, a manageable (ie, non-overwhelming) number of classes/subclasses and races such that you can start people off simple and then those with experience can explore other resources.

In other words: games with mechanics that regularly tell you what your character's emotions are instead of letting you choose through open RP? Games where nearly every success comes with a serious consequence? The 20+ classes of Pathfinder before you even get into archetypes? Not always a selling point! In fact, often a drawback for people coming from D&D! which brings me to the first real point:

Listen to the person you’re trying to convince before you recommend anything.

This doesn't apply if you're making a "hey! this game is cool!" post in general, provided you're actually focusing on said game's own merits, but if you're trying to interact with an individual or a group, you have to personalize it.

First, think theme. This should be obvious, but I have had people recommend survival horror when I've asked for farcical mystery, so it needs to be said. Many TTRPGs - I'd even argue most, and that includes D&D - have pretty significant genre expectations, and so you should be matching those to the interests of the person you're talking to.

This also goes for tools and mechanics! Having a virtual character sheet or dice rollers (for example) isn't terribly important to me, but some people do want the support of these tools and that should be taken under consideration. Don't tell someone who is primarily playing remotely to try to play Dread; don't tell someone looking for a system that supports character advancement over time to play Honey Heist. Again, seemingly intuitive, but you'd be surprised at how often people ignore the entire content of a request simply to hype their favorite game and in doing so harm that game's perception.

The person you're interacting with is a human with preferences, not a faceless proselytizing target. This is about them. It's not about your favorite game. It's about the game you think could be their favorite game.

A crash course will do wonders.

A crash course isn't as immediately attention-grabbing as saying "this is/isn't just like D&D," but it is actually useful. This is why actual play is such a powerful tool for encouraging people to play games - they can see an example. I'm the kind of person who does read a rulebook cover to cover, but this is still useful, because games can come off as far more intimidating or finicky on paper than they are in play. Understanding common player shortcuts and rules as intended vs. written is pure gold in terms of being convincing.

(For what it's worth: I do think it's important to read the rules once you've gotten the gist from actual play. I'm not a fan of "rules by osmosis." However, I think having crash courses or actual play examples are an important part of making people decide it's worth investing the time and often money involved in obtaining the game and reading the rules in the first place.)

If there's a free quickstart guide, an actual play episode or one-shot, or any kind of succinct but reasonably thorough introduction to the game, start there. Disseminate it. Put the rules in someone's hands and say "if this is interesting to you, join us!" and let them make their decision.

Don't sell a fixer-upper

(This also goes for D&D players talking mechanics - it's a community-wide problem to be sure.)

If you don't know of a game that fits someone's needs? Admit it. Point them towards people who know more about the TTRPG landscape, but my god, do not tell them "well, you can learn another system, and then immediately start hacking it with twenty add-ons and house rules before you have any fluency." It's okay to not know! It's even okay to say "I don't know something that achieves all of X, Y, and Z, but you might like this game, which is really good at X and decent at Y out of the box." Again: change is hard. Change that requires even more effort than usual is harder.

Are you trying to convince people to change, or are you trying to convince them to stop?

Shame is useful when you want people to stop doing something, or do something that doesn't require continued interactions with those yelling at them. It's useful to get people to stop making off-color jokes. It's very bad for getting people to join your community. (It's very good for making people leave your community).

This is especially true with TTRPGs, which do not have to be a zero sum game - we all have finite amounts of time, but people can and do play multiple games. And so again: do you genuinely want people to play your favorite game? Or do you just want to get them to stop playing D&D? Would you be welcoming to someone who runs alternating one shots or mini campaigns in both systems, or is it more important to you that they not play D&D, even if that means they never give your favorite indie creator a dime? And if it's the latter...what does that say about you?

In summary:

My general experience in TTRPG spaces as a D&D player has been, honestly, that many indie players are less interested in getting D&D players to join them than in getting D&D players to stop playing D&D. In my admittedly spiteful case, this means that there are a few TTRPGs I truly will not check out because I've found the online community to be far too unpleasant for it to be worth my time.

I'm well aware those people are not representative of all players. I'm sure there are many lovely players. And, for what it's worth, while I would never do something as invasive or obnoxious as going on other people's posts or worse, into their inbox or DMs to berate them for saying they dislike the game I play, I'm sure there are people who have come across my posts and said, for whatever reason, "I don't want to play with her."

I think D&D does have a certain amount of leeway in that it is the predominant game, for better or for worse, and so it's much easier to find the voices you enjoy and drown out those who don't, whereas there are indie games where one single person has been my sole introduction to it, and they have immediately fucked it up by making that introduction to it in the form of being incredibly obnoxious. Again: it's not fair. I'm not pretending it's fair. But it is the reality.

So it's worth checking to see if aggressive evangelizers in your own community are actively making your favorite game seem more unpalatable. You will do more good by getting them to cut it out than by promising the people they're bothering that not all of you are like that.

If you're interested in hyping up a game, then I'd focus on making posts about why it's good - not why others are bad; capitalizing in a positive way on popular shows branching out into other systems (eg, TAZ's BitD and Monster Hunter campaigns and dips into Urban Shadows; D20's Kids on Brooms or Good Society hacks; the CR and RQG one-shots of your choosing); and providing crash courses and fun, easily navigable paths to playing it.

#writing this reminded me of like. 3 separate specific incidents.#anyway! hopefully this is useful #long post

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saorikuhara39 · 1 year

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Apr 2023 Issue of B'sLOG Obey Me translation Obey Me!: Nightbringer Announcement - Staff Comment

25 Mar UPDATE: the Obey Me Official has an official translation of the interview, please check it out!

Apr 2023 Issue of B'sLOG Obey Me translation Obey Me!: Nightbringer Announcement - Staff Comment (On sale Feb 2023)

[PLEASE DO NOT REPOST]

(Reblogging/Comments ok)

A new title, 'Obey Me! Nightbringer' has finally been announced! We interviewed the development staff about this highly anticipated new title! We will be bringing you the latest information, along with a beautiful opening movie.

What was the inspiration behind the development of the new title 'Obey Me! Nightbringer'?

The goal of developing 'Obey Me!' is to bring smiles to exchange students (the collective term for 'Obey Me! players') through the concept of characters cuddling up like best friends or lovers while blending in real life. 3 years have passed since the release of the English version, and during that time, the world has been changing dramatically. In response to these changes, and to make the characters more accessible, enjoyable, and supportive to exchange students, we decided to develop a large-scale feature and to make this happen, we chose to develop a brand-new app.

What will the 'Obey Me! Nightbringer' game features look like?

Although it will be a while to release more information in the future, but we are planning to introduce several features that will make the characters even more real to exchange students. This will make communication with the characters even more versatile.

What will the plot of 'Obey Me! Nightbringer' be about? And what about the stories from the past?

'Obey Me! Nightbringer' will focus on the story of the brothers right after the Celestial War, which has been highly requested. We aim to make it enjoyable not only for those who have already played 'Obey Me!', but also for those who know 'Obey Me!' from this title. Also, the original 'Obey Me!' app will remain in operation, so it is possible to continue to enjoy the story up to now.

The animation, which was released at the same time as the announcement, showed the brothers as angels. Does this scene have much to do with the main storyline?

The brothers are each conflicted about the difference between who they were when they were angels and who they are now as demons, and often reminisce about their days in the Celestial Realm. You will get to know their trivial stories during their days as angels and scenes of their relationships with other characters at the time.

Please leave a message to your fans who are looking forward to this title.

Thank you for playing 'Obey Me!'. This is the Obey Me! Team. 'Obey Me! Nightbringer' is a title that will expand the world of 'Obey Me!', bringing a new stage within Devildom, Celestial Realm, and Human World. We are working hard to develop an app that will entertain you even more than before, so please check the official 'Obey Me! Nightbringer' social media sites for future information. We are also planning to release new information at the "Obey Me! The Anime -Best Party- " stage greeting by the Obey Me! Boys at TOHO Cinemas Namba in Osaka on 25 March. Please look forward to it as well!

//From the looks of it, it seems that there won't be any upcoming main story updates from the main game?

#obey me #おべいみー #obeyme #obey me jp #bslog #b's LOG #B'slog #translations #obey me translation #translation #saori k translations

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clevermird · 5 months

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Review: The Old Republic: Revan by Drew Karpyshyn

I remember that back when this book was released, it was pretty controversial in the Star Wars fandom. Reading it now, I see why.

The Old Republic: Revan follows two storylines: the first is that of former Sith Lord turned Jedi hero Revan who, years after the events of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, begins having strange dreams about a dead planet and sets out with Canderous Ordo to figure out what happened to him during the years that he can’t remember. Meanwhile, in an empire hidden in the Unknown Regions, Sith Lord Scourge investigates a series of murder attempts on a high-ranked Sith and begins to learn the truth about the man who sits on the throne.

The first thing that needs to be said about this book is that, while it makes a token effort to be accessible to Star Wars fans who aren’t familiar with the KOTOR games, it really assumes that readers have played at least the first one – characters and their relationships are given perfunctory introductions, important backstory is glossed over, and the story will generally have little impact if you don’t already know and care about this particular sub-era of the Star Wars universe. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing (it is a sequel/spinoff, after all), but it’s worth noting.

With that being said, Drew Karpyshyn is an excellent writer. Even when little was happening in the story, his prose kept me engaged and the book was very easy to read. While the main cast is somewhat limited by what was established in the games (Revan, in particular, suffers from the bland “everyman” issues that result when writers are trying to adapt an RPG protagonist whose story is designed to be as flexible for player choice as possible), many of the new minor characters introduced are well-drawn and interesting for the amount of screen time they get. The fight scenes are fun and there’s a cool setpiece or two.

It’s probably not much of a spoiler to say that the two storylines eventually converge. Around that point, we get a reveal that casts several major events from the KOTOR games in a new light and provides an explanation to some mysteries left unsolved in those games. I really was not a fan of this reveal. In my opinion, it cheapens several characters’ choices and makes one of the most interesting moral questions of the games moot. I also was not a fan of the ending, which I feel treats one of my favorite characters from the games poorly by denying them a resolution to their character arc in favor of turning them into support for Revan’s story.

My overall thoughts on this book are hard to summarize, but I’d say that it’s a well-written, engaging book that falls apart more the longer I think about it. A must-read for Star Wars expanded universe completionists or for those desperate to know what happened after KOTOR, but confusing for those not familiar with the games and an ultimately unsatisfying addition to the universe.

Rating: 6/10

#mird reviews stuff #star wars extended universe #swtor #kotor #kotor spoilers #drew karpyshyn #darth revan

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i-can-even-burn-salad · 4 months

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Research Story

[ID: The banner of the game research story, drawn in anime style. It shows a person next to the game's title, looking at a yellow flower through a magnifying glass, papers in hand and a black cat with a sprout on its head on their shoulder. End ID]

You move into the cozy little village Shimmerbrook as a researcher. Unlike in other farming sims, that means you don't purchase seeds/animals, you have to pick up a plant/animal/fish part, start researching, observe, learn how to forage seeds and how to tame the creatures, then grow the plants and bond with the creatures by fulfilling their needs.

Once it likes you, every creature has a different perk, from giving you bonus seeds when foraging plants, over finding mushrooms, over automatically fertilizing soil when planting seeds, over finding treasure, over…

[ID: A screenshot of the game. The artstyle is pixel graphics, the colors are muted because it's after nightfall. The player character, with pink hair and yellow and pink clothes, walks across a meadow towards a house looking like a giant tree stump. A chicken, a rabbit, and a fox are following them. End ID ]

Different plants/creatures appear depending on weather, location, season & time of day. Some plants only grow next to water, some fish only appear in caves at night. All creatures have multiple possible traits, for example needing a buddy to be happy, and some being sheltered by a nearby tree. The more things you research, the more your rank increases, unlocking more things - like weekly fetch quests for villagers.

There's:

Research (d'uh)

Farming

Fishing

Mining

Crafting

Decorating

Festivals

Dating

Looking at it objectively, no feature is extremely deep (though I believe some will be expanded before 1.0). There's only a limited selection of decor items, no farm buildings, different requirements make large-scale farming tedious, and the fishing minigame is very simple. Dating is still getting expanded (no marriage yet), and crafting is rather limited, mostly things you need for research like different kinds of feed, bait, soil, and crafting stations. There's no cooking yet other than throwing a few basic items into a campfire to get a roasted version, and only a few equippable items as rewards.

[ID: The same player character stands in a small, square house against a black background. The house is furnished with a bed, a bedside table, a desk with a pot of pink flowers on top, a painting, a pale yellow rug, and several wooden chests. End ID]

But, at least for me, it all fits together incredibly well if you accept the research part as the main goal. There's just enough of a carrot on a stick I want to keep playing.

Shortly after release, I already put about 25 hours in and didn't even reach the first year's fall. That was before a lot of the content updates, so there's definitely enough to do for the price tag. I want to earn more money because I want to buy some furniture, and I need those recipes because and I want more sprinklers, and oh my, I forgot upgrading the scythe gives a chance of getting insects, I need insects, so I need more ore, two more days and my research is done, oh yay I reached the next mine level and can finally get sand, and why is it 2am?

Now to be fair, the gameplay loop is - as so often in those kinds of games - rather repetitive. Feed animals, water plants, forage whatever grows today, fish and mine, talk to some people, day's over. Especially feeding the creatures is tedious at the start, since some food items are rare, you have to hand-craft the food, and each pen only holds 2 servings.

But later, there's sprinklers, and feed crafting stations, and autofeeders, and also - creatures don't die. If you don't need the creature's perk, you can just ignore it (Sorry, Rock Salamander!)

[ID: A screenshot of the town in the game, showing 4 different houses to both sides of a river. Two are built out of wood, one being a tavern, the other a potion ship with a small garden in front, and two are built out of stone, one with a forge, the other with masonry tools in front. The player character stands next to the river, fishing. End ID]

As for the game world, it's incredibly cute and the artstyle is minimalist but adorable. The town itself is by far the highlight - other areas have a bit much open/empty space. Speaking of maps, the mini map is great: not only does it show you the opening hours of each store, once you befriend people to a certain level, you can also see their position on the map.

In general, this game has so many convenient features. Excellent auto-stacking and quick transfer into chests. A bell tool to send creatures back into their pens. You can adjust the length of day and amount of energy in the settings (at the moment with no achievement penalty, though there might be one in the future requiring to play with default settings). Energy itself is on the lower side, but you're supposed to use food, not hoard it like a little raccoon as I do. Oh, and - you can save anytime, anywhere. Yay!

[ID: A screenshot showing the dialogue window of the character Teagan in their potion shop decorated with purple furniture, shelves with potions, and various potted plants as well as a big cauldron. The portrait is drawn in anime style. They have pale skin, long, pale pink hair with blonde tips and are wearing purple clothes and a headband with feathers and a bird skull. They ask: What can I do for you? End ID]

The controller support (and, therefore, the steam deck support) is great. Everything works, and what little hiccups there are I expect to be gone by the time it leaves early access. Cloud save between the deck and a pc work as well. The only thing missing is the 1200x800 resolution, which is really no good reason for an "unsupported" label.

I really love this game. Sometimes I don't want to build a farming empire. Sometimes I just wanna crawl in the dirt while watching a little bunny poop so I can pick up the droppings and figure out what it eats.

#salad-games #Research Story

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cannoliparty · 3 months

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Hello, ma'am, your analysis are quite awesome, can I ask to analyze of mage of breath/maid of breath/rogue of blood (any of those three) thank you in advance, have a nice day

omg... my first ask!!!! tysm anon, ur so sweet ^_^ these were all super cool classpects to possibly analyze!!

i chose to analyze the mage of breath because i havent analyzed its class OR aspect before!! not to mention i was already wanting to do an entry on mages sometime, and breath is such a fun aspect ^_^

mages

"mages are the active knowledge class, and are 'ones who are most aware of their aspect and its influence'. these players fully understand their aspect and how far its reach extends, because they have freely tested the bounds of their aspect through trial and error. adversely they are affected negatively by their aspect every step of the way as a price for their vast knowledge & ability. the mage's challenge is to overcome their aspect and become in control of it, acting on all their knowledge."

mages have grown with their aspect hand-in-hand, as one of the few classes who start out with the most knowledge on it. but because of this great connection, other elements in the mage's life are strained and difficult to reach. they are granted boundless knowledge of their aspect, but this can get the mage stuck on other problems.

but of course they still have their upsides! being well-versed in their aspect means the mage has come to terms with its consequences, and that can come in handy in times of need. as an active class, they have plenty of reach for using/helping with their aspect.

an example is sollux captor, mage of doom. he "knew doom/knew through doom", with doom representing decay, sacrifice, and inevitability. in his situation, doom represented sgrub, the game the trolls would play, but it would ultimately be fruitless with them not being able to go to their created universe. this means sgrub could be considered a great deal of doom! and sollux knew a lot about sgrub, and how to guide his friends to play it.

but in a more vast sense, sollux is aware that everything is doomed. his sgrub game, his friends, himself. but what he did wrong was not act against this knowledge, probably because of doom's seemingly strong sense of fate. sollux thought he couldn't do anything about it, and already having a long relationship with doom didnt really care to.

a more vague example is meulin leijon/the disciple, mage of heart. shes very active with her aspect, using her vast knowledge on the heart and romance especially to portray her friends in several pairings and fanfiction, exploring and projecting all that she knows about feelings in terms of the souls around her. albeit shipping real people isn't the best thing to do, meulin as a mage obviously just embraces her aspect, and sticks to what she knows. its not very known what effect this had on the alpha trolls' session, but it was either stunting or expanding on their session's heart, depending on how you view meulin's way of applying her knowledge.

the disciple was also a mage, and i believe her abilities and vast knowledge on the soul was used by her to actively help the signless, capture his feelings in text as much as she could.

breath

breath is an aspect representing wind, freedom, choice, and openness. breath players tend to be very flexible in almost any way! whether they're carefree, willing to be manipulated/follow, or detached and on their own path, this greatly reflects on breath players' sense of self and their ability to adapt.

john egbert is one of the best examples of a breath player. he was an heir of breath, inheriting breath and able to "provide it/provide through it". john was practically the most breath-embodying character in homestuck, being carefree and usually very easily bending to anyones will! this is shown through how he easily cooperated to vriska and was open with karkat, not paying mind to his insults or crabbiness.

especially with vriska! she was manipulating him at first, but overtime johns adaptability to vriskas intense personality let her open up to john, and because of his openness the two formed a strong mutual friendship. but later on in the session he started embodying more intense aspects of breath, such as a detachedness from the session and everyone else. overall, john is often maneuvering around from person to person throughout the session, while also being a very carefree and willing guy! ^_^ perfectly embodies both the positive & negative aspects of breath players.

tavros, page of breath, is a strong example in his own areas too! pages start out lacking in their aspect, with their challenge being to learn how to gain their full power, and thus full understanding and use over their aspect. tavros deeply wanted to become more self-confident and assertive, much like a breath player's standard qualities! but like more pages, he started out with more of the negative parts of his aspect, like how tavros easily bent to the will of vriska, being too flexible/cooperative.

rufioh, a rogue of breath, also has an interesting take on the aspect. he gathers breath for others, giving them the air to be carefree and open. this is shown by rufioh getting with horuss and letting him freely and often express himself in the relationship. but because rogues lack in supplying their aspect for themselves, rufioh struggled to be open about his negative feelings in their relationship and just let them fester. overall, he gave breath to others but not himself.

the mage of breath

now let's put these terms together! a mage of breath will have lived with all faces of breath for a long while. they're carefree, quickly adapting, and cooperative! but experiencing all aspects of breath includes the more stunting ones too, and with a mages intensity..

the mage of breath can be VERY hard to reach. at any sign, they'll pack up all their things in a matter of moments and leave even quicker, without a trace. they move from place to place, seemingly never being able to stay anywhere. this makes the mage naturally very distant, and even overly independent. they go their own path, but they stick to it at all costs no matter what! paired with their freedom, this can come off as carelessness to their allies...

mages are stubborn and can stick to the path of their aspect, but breath players are even more difficult to get off that path! the mage of breath's challenge is to learn when they need help and accept it, and that they don't have to do everything alone and/or distance themselves!

after beating their challenge, the mage of breath would be a super useful asset to their team, able to get around quickly and how they want. their open-mindedness and cooperativeness can then be used more freely, not to mention in a more positive breath-aspect way! ^_^

conclusion

OMG!!!!! that was actually such a huge word dump... but this classpect was sooso worth it, also im so happy with this entry tbh.... i hope you guys are too ^_^!!! lmk if youd like a classpect of your own analyzed, these are always such a treat to explore!

#cannoliblabbing #homestuck #classpecting #classpects #mage of breath #john egbert #sollux captor #meulin leijon #tavros nitram #rufioh nitram

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tanadrin · 2 years

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Additional World of Ardacraft patch notes

MAJOR VERSION UPDATE - WORLD OF ARDACRAFT 2.0

Welcome to World of Ardacraft: Lords of Numenor!

The continent of Numenor is now available for exploration!

New regions of Middle-Earth are now available for exploration!

Due to a server crash and corruption of important game data, the region of Beleriand is no longer available. We apologize for the inconvenience.

All players have been given a free name change.

Valar characters are once again restricted from leaving Valinor.

Maiar characters have been nerfed.

The “Dunadan” class of Human is now available for play! Dunedain have the “Legacy of the First Age” racial ability, and start in the zone of Armenalos.

The new Expeditions system is available for use! Expeditions is an adaptation of the territorial control system from the previous version of the game that allows you to build ships, explore the seas and coasts of Middle-Earth, and establish player settlements to control territory.

You can use these settlements to develop player cities back in Numenor, or you can expand your realms in Middle-Earth. Players can also engage in competition between realms.

Because of the bugs involved in the rapid changing of control of territory in heavily populated zones like Beleriand in the previous version, Numenor has been designated a non-PVP zone. All territory in Numenor belongs to the “Kingdom of Numenor” NPC faction.

Instead, players can compete in the cutthroat politics and Byzantine political system of the Numenorean state.

Due to repeated requests from Vanyar, Valar, and Maiar players, the Aman zone, including Valinor, Taniquetil, Araman, Tol Eressea, and Tirion upon Tuna, have been designated non-PVP zones, as part of our “Creative Zones” initiative. These zones still permit legacy gamemodes such as those from the Beta, though please be advised that the creation of new Vanyar, Valar, and Maiar characters is not possible at this time.

Many new visual customization and class options for Humans have been added.

Our linguist informs us that he’s written about two thousand pages of new lore for this patch. We haven’t read it. We’re not sure he even sent us a copy, or if he was just bragging.

He has a girlfriend now. They go to ren faires in cosplay together. This isn’t relevant to the game, we just think it’s incredibly cute.

PATCH 2.1 - “ECONOMY UPDATE”

We’ve received complaints about the OP nature of Numenoreans in PVP due to the higher level of gear available to them. We’d like to note that this gear is tradable, and some of it has already found its way into the economy of Middle-Earth zones. In short: git gud, scrubs.

Some players have asked us to implement a creative building mode in Numenor that resembles the one available in Valinor. Unfortunately, this would cause Numenorean players to desire to overpass the limits set to their bliss, becoming enamored of the immortality of the Valar and the Eldar and the lands where all things endure unbalance the Numenorean and Middle-Earth economy. Player-built structures in Numenor will continue to have to use resources harvested in Numenor or Middle-Earth.

We have no plans to permit Human characters in Valinor at this time. The ability of the Valar to limit who enters and leaves the Valinor zone is an important legacy feature of the game, and while we wouldn’t implement it the same way today, the Valinor zone doesn’t support all the same systems of as the Numenor and Middle-Earth zones, and it would be unfair to remove it.

We’re trialing a new Epic Crafting system that will allow players to create items of unsurpassing power, and even to permanently imbue them with a fragment of their power. The loss or destruction of these items may be devastating to your character, however, so be careful!

PATCH 2.2 - “EMPIRE UPDATE”

New options for customizing player realms in Middle-Earth are now available! We’re delighted that so many players are enjoying this feature!

We’re aware of the Dan Olson video raising questions about the Lords of Numenor expansion, and in particular that it might be “imperialist propaganda” that “uses the Age of Discovery as fodder for a second-rate GoT knockoff” and “ignores or outright revels in the violence of this period in history.”

We like to think of it as “emergent gameplay.”

Congratulations to player “LordOfGifs” and the “MurdeR” guild for winning the 1st Realm v Realm tournament! You have all been awarded shiny hats. However, we do need you to change your guild’s name. Reenacting historical atrocities is fine, but threats of real-world violence are right out.

PATCH 2.3 - “POLITICS UPDATE”

We are aware of the flame war on the forums (2,337 pages and counting at time of writing) concerning Numenor. No, we will not implement PVP, or separate faction in the Numenor zone. We feel it would be counter to the intended spirit of play in that part of the game. Take it to Middle-Earth.

At the same time, players are entitled to build whatever they want on their housing plots. It doesn’t matter if you think it’s “ugly,” “ruins the skyline,” “looks like a big dumb tomb,” or “is literally a giant gold-covered dick.” We don’t have the staff to ban people for their architectural taste, and we don’t get paid enough, honestly.

We’re aware that player “GoldenBoy25″ seized the throne of Numenor using a corner case in the new Politics system, but because of the ambiguity of this exploit we feel an actual ban would be unfair. We’re looking on patching, however, and future use of this mechanic to usurp the throne may result in a ban.

PATCH 2.3 NEWS UPDATE

Congratulations to player “GoldenBoy25″ for winning the 2nd Realm v Realm tournament in a dark horse last minute concession!

We’re aware that some players are complaining that LordOfGifts and his guild may have been paid off, but we have found no evidence of this, and as far as we can tell that’s not actually against the TOS.

PATCH 2.3 NEWS UPDATE 2

Big political shakeup in World of Ardacraft: it’s being reported that LordOfGifs has left the guild MordoR and joined the NPC faction “Kings of Numenor.”

To be honest, we didn’t code for a Maia player using the Numenorean politics system. As an emergency balance hotfix, we’ve temporarily disabled access to the player ranking system, the reputation rewards, and the politics system for Maia and Vala characters that are members of the “Kings of Numenor” NPC faction.

LordOfGifts may still spread his influence through lies and flattery informally, of course.

Rumors of a player-led death cult in the Numenor zone are wildly exaggerated.

PATCH 2.3 NEWS UPDATE 3

Okay, they’re not *that* exaggerated.

Use of the Dueling feature to turn other players in the Numenor zone into “Human sacrifices” was not anticipated, but is not currently considered an exploit. We’re looking into a hotfix.

Dedicating your sacrifices to Melkor will not get him unbound from the divine chain which will restrain him until the end of time unbanned.

Rumors of server instability in the Numenor zone are patently untrue. Rumors that the duel bug is triggering glitches like those that caused the Beleriand crash are wild exaggerations.

PATCH 2.3 NEWS UPDATE 4

We’re aware that use of the so-called “Human sacrifice bug” has spread. We’re looking into it. Players wishing to avoid this bug should avoid Numenor, as this seems to be the only zone where it is possible.

We’re likewise aware that player “LordOfGifs” claims he can unban Melkor, conquer Valinor, and restore all lost Human player characters. These are obvious lies, come on people.

You know who doesn’t have any of these problems? Dwarf players. You should go check out Moria, they’ve been building some really cool stuff in the Misty Mountains away from all this drama. Dwarf PC realms are quiet and calm and honestly those guys are really chill. There’s a reason most of the dev team mains Dwarves.

PATCH 2.4 - VALINOR PVP HOTFIX

At about 10:30 GMT on Sunday, a large player force led by GoldenBoy25 attempted to exploit a glitch discovered by LordOfGifs that permits PVP in Valinor, to invade Valinor, conquer it, and depose the Valar PCs from their faction leadership positions.

While this exploit did exist, devs were on hand to take the server offline and patch it before any damage could be done.

The rumor that exploit of the “Human sacrifice bug” would increase the power of Numenorean players was unfounded. Unfortunately, abuse of this bug has caused corruption of the Numenor zone, and that data cannot be retrieved.

We’re a little embarrassed about this one, to be honest.

Players GoldenBoy25, LordOfGifs, and all PC members of the “Army of Numenor” have been cast into the outermost dark banned. Note all Epic Crafting Artifact-tier loot held by these players still exists, though clicking on the [Crafter information] option on these items will currently show only a blank box.

Resource and empire mechanics have been revised to not depend on the Numenor zone or its NPC faction anymore. However, we consider these mechanics generally successful, and we won’t be removing them.

To prevent anything like a repeat occurrence of this bug, we’ve moved Valinor and all associated zones to another server. We plan to replace those zones on the current map with new ones at some future date.

Noldor and Sindar players can still request a transfer to Valinor. This will require logging off in a coastal zone, and accessing your Account page from a web browser. There will be a one-time fee of $15. This transfer is not reversible.

PATCH 2.5 - “PLAYER REALMS UPDATE”

We’re aware of complaints that there are crafting recipes in the game that can no longer be completed since the loss of Numenor. The recipes will be removed from the crafting interface, but items created with these recipes won’t be affected. We will consider ways to restore these recipes in future updates.

Players looking for the latest in player-created content should check out the PC realms of Gondor and Arnor!

Player “Saur0n” (formerly “LordOfGifs”) appears to be exploiting a combination of an old bug and a new one related to name change to prevent being cast into the outer dark reduced to a formless shadow banned. We’re looking into it.

Player faction “MordoR” is once again in control of the zone “MordoR.” We advise new players to avoid this zone (unless they’re looking to join, of course).

PATCH 2.5 NEWS UPDATE

Players may indeed be reduced to a formless shadow, haunting the desolate places of the world after losing Epic Crafting Artifact-tier objects which they forged in ancient fires and poured all their power into crafted with a Total Stamina Conversion modifier. This is working as intended. Don’t go into battle with items you can’t afford to lose, folks.

Player “Saur0n” is officially invited to git gud.

Player “1sildur” is also officially invited to git gud.

Player “3lrond” has been awarded the cosmetic title “Mr. Told-You-So.”

Yes, the player-created artifact [r1ng_of_ultimate_p0wer] still exists in the world. No, we’re not telling you where it is.

PATCH 2.5.1

A skunkworks project by one of our devs, the “Halfling” sub-race, is now available for play! Currently they start in a wilderness zone, and play as Humans with a bonus to Sneak, Cooking, Theft, and Partying skills, and a large passive Magic Resistance bonus.

As the current expansion is nearing the end of its life, we’re planning a major Middle-Earth focused expansion next, tentatively titled “The Third Age.” We realize that the realms of the Elven-Kings have grown weary with age, that ruins dot the landscape, and none now have the strength of the mighty princes of old player population has declined a bit, but we think the new expansion will revitalize interest in Word of ArdaCraft, and we’re looking forward to seeing what you think! Planned features include an expanded mounted combat and siege system, the ability of players to create Feudal sub-realms, ways to repurpose existing Artifacts, and ways to rebuild long-lost abandoned kingdoms.

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dazaiandhislovelybandages · 1 year

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A thought on S4 of Obey Me

Warnings: spoilers for season 4 of obey me and also spoilers for season 2 and 3 so proceed at your own risk

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Okay so this whole thing started yesterday with me reading some theories on obey me purely because I was bored. Among those theories I also read a few opinions on season 4. Now the only reason I am writing this now is because I recently started season 4 and today I entered lesson 69 already having been spoiled. So allow me to present you with my honest opinions on season 4 that no one asked for.

So I think we can all agree that when it comes to the relationships between MC and the demon brothers and also between the brothers themselves a huge progress was made. Satan finally came to terms with Lucifer and the two of them found a common ground, Levi had started seeing himself as something more than just a shut in thus gaining confidence etc etc. However, as most obey me players have noticed, upon entering season 4 we quickly returned to point zero with Satan despising Lucifer once again, Mammon acting like he did in the early lessons of season 1, Levi considering himself a worthless otaku again and so on.

At first I hadn't paid much attention but for some reason yesterday something in me just snapped I guess. So there are two possibilities and I mean no hate or harm to the writers of the plot or the characters

1. In the new season, we were introduced to some new characters (and I'll get into that later). I think that maybe the writers lost the point of the story a bit by focusing more on the three new characters

2. There is some sort of importance to the characters' behaviour changing, a possibility that I sort of rule out

In addition to the characters' behaviour changing, the behaviour of MC has changed as well with us being more passive in the story. I can't remember exactly where I saw this but no matter the case credits to the person who said it: whenever we do participate in the story it always has to do with magic. To this I will add that at this part of the story it feels to me that magic is our only personality trait whereas in previous seasons we had a few options to choose from. Yes, I get it we are supposed to be badass etc etc but idk I find us just snob. We don't need the help of the brothers anymore since we can take care of everything ourselves and even though I like this, we shouldn't forget that this is an otome game.

On the note of obey me being an otome game, we barely get any private interactions with the demon brothers and the other datables. It feels as if the new characters are taking most of our time. And because of that there is no balance anymore.

My opinion on the new characters might come off as a bit controversial so please don't come at me. Other than Raphael, Mephistopheles and Thirteen are essentially useless to the plot. And yes I know Thirteen is here because Diavolo decided to expand the exchange program etc etc but so far she hasn't been of some importance. Mephisto's personality is Satan and Belphie's personalities combined with his only trait being his hate for Lucifer. Raphael on the other hand is an important addition due to the whole Simeon sub plot (which despite being poorly written, it was my favourite part of the season and is the only thing that's keeping me going)

Now when it comes to the plot, it's pretty basic and other than the Simeon subplot it's a combination of some important subplots of the previous seasons like Diavolo being something close to an antagonist for example.

This is as far as I am willing to go and anyone is more than welcome to comment their own beliefs as long as they are considerate and polite. Again I am not hating on anyone and I am just presenting my opinions that yes no one asked for.

#obey me #obey me anime #obey me mammon #obey me simeon #obey me theory #obey me theories #obey me asmodeus #obey me lucifer #obey me leviathan #obey me satan #obey me barbatos #obey me solomon #obey me beel #obey me belphie #obey me otome

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glon-morski · 2 months

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After months (years?) of tumblr inactivity, I am finally back (we'll see for how long, though ^^'). What brought me back? The need to talk about FF7 Rebirth, that's what. Figures it would take a brand new obsession to get me back to gushing on tumblr LOL

As the game only came out two weeks ago - MAJOR SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT

There is a lot - and I mean a lot - I could talk about regarding Rebirth, and especially its ending. There will probably be a massive meta coming up on how I interpret what happened in it in detail another time, so look forward to that! But this time, I'd like to focus on a different part than the most obvious "so... what happened to Aerith?" Namely, what I think is being set up here for Part 3.

Going back in time a bit, FF7 Remake already ended in a way that kinda-sorta promised deviation from the OG - an idea that was welcomed by some, and despised by others, as these things always go. Those who never played the OG obviously wouldn't have as much sentimental attachment to it as those who did and are "long-time fans", but even among this second set, there were those who would prefer a 1:1 remake with no changes to the story, and those who were looking forward to some things going differently.

At first glance, Rebirth listened to those who yelled for no changes. Zack should not join up with the party. Aerith must not survive. The OG story must remain largely untouched. And for better or for worse, Rebirth seemed to do just that save for a few rearrangements here and there (like the fact we skipped Rocket Town's first visit altogether for example) and some additions that didn't so much change the story, as they expanded it and tied some lose ends from Remake. But was it really all it did? Did it not set up for part 3 to possibly break free of the OG script as Remake already indicated might happen?

I think it did, in more ways than one. I think the last leg of the game is, in a very meta sense, the devs telling the players "we gave you what you wanted, and now we'll do what we want". Allow me to elaborate.

To start, let's once again look at how the "multiverse" works here. This is not the kind of multiverse we usually see in Western media, or at least not yet. Its creation began with the destruction of the Whispers in Remake - the destruction of Fate and the Planet's iron hold on the plot of the story. Instead of the Planet, it is now the characters choices that shape the story, and since they can make different choices, each one always creates a branch leading to a different world and a different outcome. We've seen that with Zack, as the devs promised he would be the one to show us what the world in Rebirth is governed by. But while the Whispers' destruction happened in the Singularity, a place outside of usual space-time, Rebirth reveals that the effects did not, in fact, affect the past, or at least not much.

I can already feel your skepticism here. What am I talking about? Zack still survived and that's a change in the past, isn't it?

Well technically, yes. But there's something very interesting about the whole thing.

First of all, how did Zack survive? Unlike what the rules of different worlds clearly are later on, it wasn't a stroke of luck, a different possibility or any conscious choice he made that affected the outcome. No. When he talks with Biggs about his last stand and his survival, he felt "wind" and we, the players, see the Whispers interfering so that one bullet grazes his cheek instead of hitting him dead between the eyes. And interestingly, it's the only time in Rebirth that we see Whispers as they were in Remake. Not the black ones with a creepy white glow under their hoods that Sephiroth controls. Not the white ones that clearly have something to do with Aerith. The regular, gray Whispers of Fate. (Incidentally, this is also one of the first times we see the rainbow-color-effect that later gets associated with the creation of a new world. More on that later.)

It was not chance or any conscious choice that saved Zack. It was the Planet, presumably right before Fate got nuked. Why? We can only speculate based on what we saw in Rebirth, but my bet is a last ditch attempt to raise the Planet's own chances at survival despite no longer being able to guide the story and characters on the known path that would lead to... well, maybe not a "happy ending", because there's plenty of tragedy incoming, but at least an ending where the Planet survives, humans do as well and Sephiroth is largely taken care of (even if he keeps coming back and annoying people LMAO).

Here's where Zack's survival becomes interesting in how it's handled in Rebirth. In your usual multiverse (at least the way we know them in the West), you would expect this to have a butterfly effect that would, in sum, amount to "Remake can't happen as we've seen it" because Cloud is no longer alone, no longer wakes up, doesn't meet Tifa or the rest of Avalanche and thus wasn't there for the first reactor bombing. But... that isn't the case. We see this already in the beginning of the game, when Zack sees the news of the collapsed express way. It becomes obvious to us, players, that this is right after Remake, and the troopers remark that "one suspect is missing" - i.e. Cloud.

This is something that shouldn't be possible, because Zack sees this news report pretty much as soon as he enters Midgar. Except... Zack died at the end of September [ ν ] – εγλ 0007. The first reactor bombing was in December [ ν ] – εγλ 0007. The end of Remake was somewhere mid-December [ ν ] – εγλ 0007, as we know everything in it only really took a few days, a week or two at most. Even if we assume it took Zack a while to drag himself and Cloud the remaining way to Midgar in the state he was in, it's difficult to believe it would take him a whole-ass month (+/- a few days). He wasn't that far from Midgar at that point. That was the whole tragedy of it.

But then that would mean that somehow, for some reason, Zack skipped ahead in time. Which he also seems to indicate even if he doesn't realize that's what happened. "One minuted, I'm outnumbered. The next, I'm alone." If we assume the Whispers saved him and something somehow made him (and his version of Cloud) skip a month, that would make sense. There would be no Shinra troopers in that spot a month later. And that something might have been either the Whispers themselves, or a side-effect of the Singularity (again, singularity is a point that warps space-time outside of its usual norms and is, in a way, outside of it). Similarly, Biggs "miraculously teleports" from the Sector 7 Support Pillar to the orphanage (since nobody can tell him who brought him or how he got there, that seems to be the implication). One of them travels in time and skips a month ahead, the other remains in the correct time, but skips in space to a different place. Similarly, Biggs's recollection of his survival is also full of the "new world rainbow effect"... but the interesting thing is that despite how it seems to work later (one choice leads to one new world), they both end up in the Terrier world. There was no butterfly effect. The past didn't change. And yet these two men, who should both have died, meet in the same space and time, both remembering their miraculous survivals.

If you're still not convinced, here's another thing: as Marlene points out, Zack was still not there in November or the beginning of December when the bombings happened. And they still happened. We know this because Biggs still knows Cloud as the "badass mercenary" . He still remembers meeting him for the first bombing, even if his memories are getting weird. ("How long ago was that again? [laughs] Weird. My internal clock's busted." "Yeah. Mine too.") And yet, Cloud was not on the express way when everyone else from the party was. He was looked for, but not found. He didn't appear anywhere afterward. There are no two Clouds in this world. There is only the mako poisoned Cloud Zack brought to Midgar. It's almost as if the Planet wanted to save him from being taken by Shinra in this weird world so it still had the Champion that can beat Sephiroth in this off-shot world, too; so it saved Zack to achieve that. (Why did it pick Biggs, though? That we don't know yet. Given his fate in one of the worlds, he almost seems to have been brought back just so the devs can kill him again, but hey, that was only one world, right?)

So. We have a mutliverse that starts off with two worlds. The world of OG/Remake (the "Beagle Stamp" world, where the main party remains) and the world where they lost against Sephiroth on the express way but Fate/the Whispers pulled a couple last strings before it/they disappeared (the "Terrier Stamp" world). But it doesn't remain at only two worlds. We later see a world in which Stamp is a Pug, a Shiba and a Spitz (I assume one of the larger breeds of German Spitz, though I'm by far not a dog breed expert LOL). Of note is that two of these words are Zack's, created by his own choices - the Pug, where he went after Biggs to reactor 6, and the Shiba where he couldn't decide where to go and who to save because he wanted to save Biggs, Cloud and Aerith, so he went to the church first. I assume the world in which he went to Hojo is the Terrier world, but we can't be sure for certain. [edit: Actually, we can. When Zack is pointing out to himself which road leads where in the tunnel, there is a Terrier Stamp drawn on the wall behind him.] As for the German Spitz, this is the world where Cloud and Aerith have their "dream date", and as far as we can tell, Zack is not alive (or at least not around) in this world. It's either that, or he's went off somewhere else entirely, and apparently so did Marlene and Elmyra. But it's not any of the worlds we've seen Zack in thus far.

(I can already imagine you wondering what any of this has to do with "the devs telling us they gave us what we wanted and will now do what they want". Bear with me a little longer. I'm getting to that.)

The particular Spitz World is important for two reasons. On the more obvious side, it's where Cloud gets a working White Materia from Aerith so that Rebirth's main Aerith can cast Holy. On a more subtle side, it shows a limitation to how far this multiverse can go, because in that world, none of Cloud's choices matter. There isn't a world in which Cloud gave Aerith a hair ornament, a world where he gave her a bracelet and a world where he gave her a pendant. There isn't a world in which he chose to pick the different snacks at the food stall. No matter what he chooses, he gets steamrolled into a fourth option, as if the world itself rejects his choices because he's technically not a part of it. He belongs in a different world.

And as we later find out, he can make a difference and create new worlds there. This is exactly what we see when Cloud attempts to save Aerith and when we see him parrying Sephiroth's blow to save her. Remember how I mentioned the "rainbow effect" being indicative of a new world being created? That scene is full of it... right up until Jenova's interference starts playing up.

So. Here we finally are at what I was trying to get at: the devs giving us the message that "they gave us what we wanted". For those fans who wanted Aerith to die, well, they now got to see it in high res. She died. There is a world in this multiverse in which she died. That's the world of the OG. That remained unchanged as they wanted. But... I do not believe this is the world we're in at the very end of Rebirth, nor the world in which Part 3 will take place.

Take another good look at the Pug-Stamp World. More importantly, listen to Zack's lines. Every single line of his in this particular world makes as much sense for him to say as it is a meta-commentary on things. "Fate has a twisted sense of humor, and I'm always the punchline." - this is Zack's character and the summary of the plot of both CC and his appearance in Rebirth to a T. "Well, I'm sick of its bullshit. This is my life! I make the rules!" - I don't know about you, but this really feels like the devs saying "this is our game. We make the rules." Couple that with the back and forth of Aerith's death and the final message at the end of the game: "No promises remain at journey's end", and that message only seems to be driven home even further.

Fans wanted Aerith to die? Well, she did. In one world. The OG world.

Fans wanted Zack to get out of Aerith's way because she's supposed to have moved on? Well, he did. In one world. The world where he asked Marlene about Aerith's feelings for Cloud, got a childish response that still hit him hard and took Aerith's ribbon - which was basically her one memento of him - as if to remove everything that could remind her of him, and himself, from the equation. The world in which he went to Hojo.

Fans wanted Zack to still die? Well, he did that too! Arguably in more worlds than one, even! The world where he went to Hojo for sure, and possibly the world where he went after Biggs and jumped into the dried-out reactor.

The devs have given the fans who screamed for no changes all that they wanted. They kept all the promises from the OG and not changing things too much and then some. Now, no promises remain. Now, unlike Remake where it was still difficult to picture, there is a very real chance that the main party (and the main story) is no longer the OG world, but the world Cloud created when he saved Aerith. Now, the devs can do whatever the Hell they want. This is their game. Their story to tell. They make the rules.

And honestly? As far as I'm concerned, I hope they go for it! I already know the OG game. I can always replay it (or failing that watch the cutscenes or a let's play on YT) if I want the "original experience" and original plot. So can everyone else, really. I don't need for the story of the trilogy to be a one-to-one recreation with no major changes. Changes is what makes it interesting in the first place. The changes and the possibilities. Like Aerith surviving. Like her reuniting with Zack. Let them have a happy ending where they both survive. They honestly deserve it. And personally? I hope they get it, too.

#FF7 Rebirth #FF7 Rebirth Spoilers #Meta Analysis #Glon's meta wordvomit

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draugsresurrection · 3 months

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Draug's Resurrection 1.2.1

1.2.1 marks the addition of a whole new tab to the main menu, called Passives. It introduces a new way to upgrade your character, by Enhancing Spells/Skills along various basic attributes (MP Cost, Damage, Recharge Time, etc). In the original design for DR, every spell had five versions as you learned it, each with steadily improving stats. That's why the spell learning is broken into five sections like that. This addition harkens back to that idea, but makes it a bit more specialized and puts some player control into it.

Passive Abilities is also part of the earlier mentioned Passive tab, and gives characters boosts in more specific circumstances, like when surrounding an enemy, making Buff spells hit all allies but take much longer, or make an archer-type characters do more damage when performing their scarce few Direct attacks or while standing in the middle of the battlefield. About 70% of these Abilities have been completed right now, although they're naturally the less mechanically complex ones. Which generally means less interesting, too. They're all visible, just the ones that aren't done cost 99 Points to equip, of a maximum possible 50 or so.

The Passive tab also lets you see character's support status with each other (now called Unities), and now raises characters' elemental defenses as well.

Along with new upgrade routes comes more weapon types, also giving you a higher total maximum level. I was always dissatisfied that some mid-late Skills were created, some didn't actually end up on weapons themselves, and had to be Personal Skills (notably Rapier-oriented Clear Thrust and Lance-oriented Joust). First came Flamberges and Sarissas, then Chimes as a heavy physical Staff weapon (though they were Maces for a bit, until Macana came along and gave a decent non-Bash option for Maces), and the rest shortly fell into place.

Some of those new weapons have some of 25 new Spells and Skills added, many of which are focused on Terrain Effects, Movement Skills, and Enhancements. The existing Terrain Effects are now stored on the tile, rather than the caster, making them more versatile than before, and some fights now start with Terrain Effects already in place.

Minor, but probably really useful to everyone who isn't me. Pulling up the Battle Log can now also give you access to a nifty lil' reference of any active Ailments or the like currently active in the battle. It can expand to be bigger if it's a really convoluted battle.

The last big new thing is the ability to remove Draug from the party. Storywise, nothing changes, but it's great news if you didn't like the defensive-oriented playstyle Draug prefers, or just want to level your characters more evenly.

Actually, the really big last thing should be the end of the game crashing due to memory issues. I don't fully understand all of it, but older programs had a cap of how much Memory they could use, usually 1-2 GB. The cap has been editted to now be 4 GB. Why it was hitting 1GB at all is still a mystery to me, but considering a could run a random given game from ~2000 and it'll also hit 600+ MBs of RAM (despite their recommended requirements back in the day being about a tenth that), it's something about how modern PCs run… something. I dunno. I don't really get it. Regardless, issue should be fixed realistically forever.

It didn't amount to anything, but I would like to make a brief footnote here that I seriously played with the idea of doubling the resolution of Draug's Resurrection, but ultimately went against it. In part because a lot of things are hardcoded in a way that would make that not great, but mostly because it seems like certain resolutions simply cause the game to freeze, and it seems machine dependant. Disappointing, especially as boards looked way better when viewed further back, but the stability risk was just too great.

In more normal news, Alternate outfits have been expanded a fair bit over the year, with most characters having two alternates and their default. Since that's honestly probably the most interesting thing to look at, I'll end this post with a few characters, showing of all their outfits.

Download still available on itch.io.

#draug's resurrection #rpg #gamedev #indie game dev #screenshot

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raeynbowboi · 2 years

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What I Want from Elder Scrolls VI: Magic

I already talked about what I’d fix for Stealth builds, but my other favorite play style is Magic builds. Don’t expect one for warriors though. I have only ever played a warrior one time, and I got bored of it pretty quickly.

- I want Necromancers to be able to do more. I liked that Skyrim expanded magic to give players the chance to play Necromancers, but for Elder Scrolls VI I want them to take Necromancy, and push it further. In Skyrim, necromancy pretty much only brings back the dead. While we got more options in Creation Club and Anniversary Edition, most times when I build a necromancer, I still rely on mods to give my necromancer damage-dealing spells. Elder Scrolls Online moves in the right direction, giving Necromancers a multitude of different necromancy spells that aren’t all just animating skeletons, and I’d like Bethesda to keep going in that direction. Let me create a Spirit Cloak of wailing phantoms or necrotic energy. Let me manifest skeletal armor and lob magical skulls. Let me drain life, magicka, and/or stamina from my foes to make them weak and easy to kill. Let me sacrifice a portion of my health to deal massive damage with forbidden dark magic, paying a blood price for power.

- Allow players to interact with their summons. It’s all fun and games summoning frost atronochs or having an army of skeletons. Until you need to move through a hallway and your stupid summon is blocking your way. You can’t move them out of the way either. It takes the fun out of playing a necromancer when you have to just stand there and wait for the spell to expire, attack your own summon, or pointlessly run into them, hoping you might push them out of the way just long enough to get past them.

- Give damaging spells to every spell category. Are you trying to play a sneaky illusionist, but oops, Frenzy is your only means of fighting enemies with your illusion magic. Good thing sometimes you only get attacked by one enemy and now Frenzy is worthless. This sort of feeds back into the expanding Necromancy thing. Sometimes players want magic catered to their character, or they challenge themselves with a certain build.

- Add or Expand Upon Spell Types. In the Dawnguard DLC, there are a few Restoration spells that deal Sun damage. Through mods, it’s possible to build an entire character around being a sun-damage cleric type, and it’s a lot of fun for roleplaying. I’d like to see Elder Scrolls VI take this idea and expand it further, making Sun damage the main damage type of the Restoration school. Maybe make Psychic spells the damage type of the Illusion School. Necrotic or Shadow damage for Conjuration. Stone and Wood magic for Alteration, altering Alteration to the school for environmental magic. Maybe Water and Wind would also be Alteration. Add Blood magic or Dark magic to the school of Destruction.

- Add unique quest and faction spells. Have you finished a quest for the priests of Dibella, or joined their priest faction? Maybe the high priestess will teach you some Illusion or Restoration spells only available to those favored by Dibella and/or the Aedra. Have you killed in the name of Sithis and the Night Mother? Here’s some spells that deal Poison and/or Necrotic damage, disguise your appearance to frame others for murder, or a spell that disorient guards while turning you invisible, allowing you to escape detection and hide from authorities. Did you become a vampire? Here’s spells you only gain access to as a vampire. Have you won the favor of Nocturnal? You should get some spells available only to those favored by the Daedra, as well as some stuff exclusive to Nocturnal. Now, if I want to build a Priest of the Divines, I can win the favor of all the Eight Divines, and just build a character around Sun damage, Aedric Spells, and the unique spells I can only get from each Aedra. Did I build a Necromancer? I’ll bet the unique spells from Vampires, Sithis, or even Arkay made that build more diverse and interesting.

- Allow Mages to Play Different Archetypes. While I don’t want hard classes in Elder Scrolls VI (we have Elder Scrolls Online for that) make it possible for magic builds to cater to every magical archetype: Wizards, Necromancers, Clerics, Druids, Bards, and Cultists/Warlocks (Daedric Priests). And by mixing those with other builds, you can make a Paladin, Ranger, Arcane Trickster, or Arcane Knight. Just add spells that fit those archetypes.

- Give mages a Lockpicking Spell. Have you ever played a mage in a dungeon and come across a mandatory expert level lock that you need to pick, but you’re a mage build and picking a lock just feels out of character? Give mages spells to open the door or teleport past it so that they aren’t forced into one type of gameplay. Maybe it’s the point that Stealth characters are the best dungeon delvers, but it kinda breaks the immersion of playing a master wizard. It’s also not very immersive for Warrior players, but this isn’t about them. Sure, you could just make your follower pick the lock, but that’s not the point. You’re a mage. Use magic to solve the problem.

- Make learning and mastering magic part of the Mage Guild Questline. You barely need to know magic to become the Archmage of the College. I’ve never completed the Mages’ College storyline, but I’m pretty sure you only need to know two spells to complete the storyline. Whatever random spell you demonstrate to Faldi to cross the bridge and join the college (which you can skip with a high enough Persuasion. I would know, I’ve done it) and Steadfast Ward. You can become the Archmage of Skyrim knowing only 3 - 5 spells depending on race and persuading Faldi. I should need to learn spells and prove my level of progress before my guild master trusts that I’m strong enough for the next task in the main storyline. Is it possibly frustrating and grindy? Maybe. But I’d rather have a main storyline take me 20 hours than 20 minutes. This kinda gets back to the issue of ranks within factions I’ve mentioned over several posts now. I should not be the archmage of Skyrim with 3-5 apprentice level spells.

- Have multiple Mage Guilds. Ideally, the best choice Bethesda could make in giving us factions is to basically make one for every archetype: a wizard’s college, a cleric’s cloister/temple, a druid’s grove, a witch’s/hagraven’s coven, a bard’s troupe, a necromancer’s sect, and a warlock’s cult. But I’d settle for 4 factions: Wizards, Aedric Priests, Necromancers, and Daedric Priests. Though for the Priests, I would like it if you could join the temple/cult of a specific Aedra or Daedra. While I’d settle for a blanket faction of Priest that worships all of the Aedra or a Cultist that serves all the Daedra, it would be fun to be able to play through a game as solely a Priest of Dibella, and serving only her for that character without automatically being in a faction for all of the aedra. Plus, more factions means more storylines, more hours of gameplay, more builds, more playthroughs, and more unique characters.

- Have Multiple Mage Colleges. If they can’t manage to have multiple “class” factions, then just having the mage college be split into literal schools of magic would be the next best thing. It would still be an improvement over Skyrim. Let there be a school of restoration, so that if I want to only focus on restoration magic, I can just attend that school if I so choose. I cannot emphasize how barren and empty the College of Winterhold feels. At least across multiple colleges, 3 students each would actually amount to something.

- Streamline the Mage Perk Tree. If you’re going to play a mage, you’re going to dump a lot of points into boosting every type of magic. It’s doable, but mages have to invest a lot more perk points than Warrior or Stealth characters.

- Make Magic less taxing. It costs a LOT of magicka to be a mage. I often hear people say when building mage characters to split your skill points 70-30. 70% Magicka, 30% Health. Magic basically requires complete commitment, because if you only put a few points into magicka, you will struggle to cast just about any spell, making playing an Arcane Trickster or an Arcane Knight very difficult, forcing you to invest a lot of resources into magic that you maybe only wanted as a support skill.

- Add a Faith/Alliance Perk Tree. This is again mostly for Aedra/Daedra, but the concept could be expanded to other things, like how Skyrim has perk trees for the Vampire Lord and Werewolf but use different points than the ones you use for leveling your main skills. Conceptually, it would give unique perk trees for either the Aedra as a collective whole, or each aedra individually, and likewise for the Daedra (and possibly other gods and powerful figures like Sithis). This would allow you to earn points with those you serve, unlocking new features as you level up your faith or loyalty with that higher power. Thus allowing a character to really worship and devote their build to either a single higher being like a Priest of Dibella build, or an entire pantheon like a Priest of the Divines build. However, maybe this idea could work as sort of a faction tree. Unlocking unique skills and perks as you level up in a faction, like how joining factions in Elder Scrolls Online gives the player unique skills and perks from joining that faction. Or, you could even earn the respect of high power NPCs. Wouldn’t it be nice if befriending someone like Maven Black-Briar came with perks? An Alliance skill tree where you unlock new perks as you win over NPCs would give players incentive to become invested in the social aspect of Tamriel. Not unlike confidante perks in Persona 5. Your friends make you powerful, and it’s good to have friends in high places. Especially if you’re set in High Rock where there’s so much intrigue, backstabbing, and plotting, having perks from your allies would be beneficial and immersive.

- Vampires of Every Shape and Size. I mentioned this in my vampire post, but I’ll repeat it here. I’d like to see multiple vampire factions in the next game. Elder Scrolls VI is theorized to be set in the Iliac Bay region of High Rock and Hammerfell, which is host to NINE different Vampire Clans. That’s enough options and variety that you could have 3 clans each that lean more toward Warrior builds, Stealth Builds, and Magicka Builds. And those are just the ones in the Iliac Bay region, that’s not including the other vampire clans that exist in Rivenspire.

- Allow Players to become a Lich. Not everyone wants to be the hero. Sometimes, they want to become the most evil thing possible. If we’re going to be expanding necromancy spells, and maybe even getting a necromancer faction, I’d love the option to perform the wicked sacrament that turns us into a lich. Let it be like becoming a Vampire Lord or Werewolf, with its own skill tree. I don’t know if players would be able to enter and exist Lich form the way they can do with Vampire Lord and Werewolf, but it would truly take playing a Necromancer to new heights to be able to become a true master of undeath.

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shadowkat678 · 2 years

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Looking for players for a Friday D&D game, a greatly expanded and modified Waterdeep: Dragon Heist adventure!

SO! I got fired from my new job, and now I have all the time in the world. And also, I need some money for groceries, and to pay off a credit debt I’ve gotten to help my girlfriend who had a financial emergency.

For $8 a session with the first session and session zero free, I’m trying my hand at paid dming. If you don’t like it and back out within the first three sessions, I will refund you. But here’s some details on the game, me as a dm, and why I think my game is worth a small weekly amount for. First of all, I've been creating content for this module since its release in 2018. This is an accumulation of my own work mixed with bits and pieces I've incorporated from the larger module community and Faerun lore, into a more complex and cohesive overarching adventure that fleshes out aspects I feel the original Dragon Heist sadly overlooked. This is not the Alexandrian, though I've taken some of those ideas

Game Times

First off, if possible I’d like to start multiple games, so reach out to me if my original time slot doesn’t work and lets see what we can do! But for my first thought I’d like to try it on Fridays, at 5PM CST though I’m more than happy to move that back an hour or two. I only have one player so far who has already confirmed that would work. And for this time slot I’m looking for between 3-6 players, with one spot already filled.

Game Blurb

Waterdeep, commonly referred to as The Crown of the North. Outside the city, the world has been thrown into chaos. Demon lords have risen, cults have struck throughout the Sword Coast, and now the City of Splendors is facing its own crises that threaten to rip it apart at the seams.

Over the past month, the Zhentarim and Xanathar Guilds have begun clashing in broad daylight, and guard patrols have increased tenfold. Rumors of a famous thief called The Black Viper returning from the past fly from lips highborn and low, as the thief steals right from under the nobility’s nose. Murders of elves and half-elves in the lower districts of the city are occurring weekly, and accusations seem to be pointing directly towards the newly formed Eilistraeen sanctuary. And on top of it all, Dagult Neverember, previous Open Lord of Waterdeep, has stashed half a million gold somewhere in the city, and it seems everyone is racing for the same prize.

Dropped in the middle of it all, you come in. In a city rife with intrigue, clever words and good friends can serve you better than an open blade. Though, a sharp knife wouldn't be a bad thing to carry as well...

About The Game

We will be using Roll20, along with Discord for chat, and D&D Beyond for character sheets where I will give you shared access to all D&D Beyond content for character building. The sessions will be between three and four hours long, and you can either do voice chat only or voice and video. I'll be doing voice because I have not yet mastered my poker face.

This Waterdeep game is going to be heavily focused on role-play, storytelling, and intrigue. Combat will not be nearly as regular an occurrence as in many other 5e games. I would put the ratio firmly in 80% RP and exploration, and 20% or less combat. If this is not your style, I would suggest looking elsewhere.I will be focusing on weaving in player narrative with NPC and world narrative, in a way where they complement each other. I believe that TTRPGs are a unique medium for communal storytelling, and coming from a storytelling background more than a war-gaming background that is the aspect I am always most excited to highlight. I want to work one on one with each player on crafting a character that fits well with the story, world, and tone while allowing creative freedom for unique ideas and interesting narratives.

Creating connections to organizations and NPCs will also be a big part of this campaign. Dragon Heist's main gimmick upon release was choosing one of four villains. I am not choosing. Instead, I have expanded the story line to include all the antagonists, plus additional minor ones, and fleshed out the stories of all the major characters, and even added new ones to further tie together the plot. Each of them has their own goals, secrets, and motivations, and opinions just like the party, and will interact accordingly. This is something I have crafted and run to great success in my other groups, and I think creates very interesting situations where the party finds success in the bonds they choose to cultivate, and how they navigate social challenges that can be just as hazardous as high powered boss battles.

For example, what will the party choose to do when a socially powerful individual has connections that make them basically untouchable through violence without the party being expelled from the city? Blackmail? Subterfuge? Do they attack the foundations of those social connections that are being leveraged? And if they're caught, what else is on the line? Maybe the friends the party made, or their homes and reputations.

There are a lot of moving parts, so note takers will find their skill sets coming in very handy, but if you aren't one to take good notes, don't worry. Because I have sheets for locations, NPCs, organizations, and recaps to look back on if you ever need any refreshers.Due to lower levels of combat, this will not be a high lethality game, unless you make some very poor unadvised choices. That does not mean, however, it will not be a high consequence or high stakes game.

People who will get the most out of this campaign are people that aren't afraid to get into the role-play and actively engage. This is not a spoon-fed plot. You will get out of it what you put in, and the effort you take to learn about the people, places, and events will directly feed into what happens. This does not mean that your character has to be socially competent. You can choose any type of character or personality as long as it's one that will work with a team, and I will work with you and your concept to weave it into the narrative.

At the core of my DM philosophy, your characters matter, and their story matters, and what they do will matter, regardless of what the outcome will be.

If you would like a sneak peek at some lore and spoiler-free information about Waterdeep, you can see my NPC Guide and Location Guide for Waterdeep here. These are things anyone from Waterdeep would know off the top of their head about the city and its organizations, as well as the most notable landmarks:

People and Organizations of Waterdeep: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1W8n9-iYcCYvZKWo4kZPjZnrgSg6uj-fco8mnAYBdGTs/edit?usp=sharing

Locations of Waterdeep: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AIFr2DWnJvx3XfXHEDTrCUqRam8VCtKIhFIxpbivUDY/edit?usp=sharing

I will update each as well as the documents that will keep track of objectives and recaps after every session.

About Me

Hello, my name is Kat. I started playing Tabletop games about seven years ago after stumbling across some one-shots at a convention, and since then it has become my main hobby. The idea of a story that can be built together and then changes each time depending on the group and their choices is one that really drew me in. I've always loved storytelling, but writing was often a pretty lonely time. I love the idea of not knowing what is going to happen next, and reacting to and growing the campaign with other people who think of things I never would have come up with on my own.

I also have ventured out into short games of Vampire the Masquerade, Call of Cthulhu, Cyberpunk Red, and Blades in the Dark. I love political intrigue, suspense, and social adventures. As my choice in games and this whole listing probably gives away. Fighting can be fun occasionally, but definitely isn't why I play tabletop games. I also do a lot of advocacy work, and this often bleeds into my DMing where I want to create nuanced, and diverse stories and a welcoming environment for players of all backgrounds.

About Table Rules

My biggest, most important rule is this: Do not play at my table if you're a bigot. No TERFs, no exclusionists, no ablelists, racists, etc.

My social circle is full to the brim with diverse individuals, and this can and will bleed into my game world. Hate has no place at my table. Period. If you think that's too politically correct, we will not get along, and you should find another DM.

Most of my other rules stem from these philosophies. I value communication and mutual respect. If you have problems or concerns, we will talk about them like mature adults and try our best to find a solution. You treat your fellow players and me with human decency, and everyone agrees to follow a shared social contract not to be an ass to each other.

No cheating. There's no reason for it. We are not here to find the "right" solution, we are here to create a story together. Even if you've played Waterdeep Dragon Heist before, there is no guarantee that plot points have stayed the same, or that what was in the original book is going to play out the exact same way. All you'll be doing is shooting yourself in the foot.

If you become a problem player and end up being kicked from the group, I will not offer refunds. I do not play in this area. I am here to make sure the game is fun for everyone involved, and will not let one person's enjoyment come to the detriment of everyone else's.

Character Creation

I will work with premade characters if we can fit them into the story. I will not work with pre rolled stats. We will decide on a stat generation method together as a group from a range of options, and then everyone will stick with it. This is to prevent extreme power discrepancies.

As mentioned, all races and classes that are official material are welcome. Yes, even flying races, though the Griffin Calvary might have something to say if you keep flying in their airspace. I will allow unearthed arcana and third-party content IF it is balanced, and you must run it by me first.

Unlike vanilla Dragon Heist, we will start at level 3, and it will go far beyond level 5. You get one free feat, as long as it matches flavor with your character and can be justified by their background.

I ask that player backstories do not exceed three and a half pages and that when you make a backstory, you include at least a few background NPCs, and one major and one minor goal. They can be from Waterdeep or outside of Waterdeep, but the more ammo you give me the more I can use to bring your character into the story and draw on it for narrative focus.

I will want to work with you directly on how the backstory is going to be implemented and the details of where they are coming from before the start of the game. I'm excited about your character and I want you to be excited too. That makes things more fun.

Any alignment is allowed, as long as they can realistically work in the group. The moment their demeanor and goals get in the way of group cohesion at a detrimental and irreparable level, they will become an NPC, and you will need to roll up a new character. In-game conflict can be fun! But all players need to be able to enjoy it, or it just becomes frustrating.

Here is my Character Creation guide: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OBiLPJx-rt8AYVUhJUtbQwwKLiQjSDpjpLw2PzW0pFI/edit#

Why I Deserve Your Money

First off, I am not a voice actor. I cannot do accents to save my life, though I would love to learn and I do try to vary tones, speech patterns, and other small aspects. But if you come in expecting Matthew Mercer's level of acting skill, you will be disappointed. I have not been to VA school, though I DID take a drama class once

!I do, however, put a lot of thought and time and heart into my games. I put time into prep and crafting a story around a group of players, and I'd venture to say I'm actually really good at it too. Storytelling is something I've been doing as a child, and my DMing is an extension of that love. Not in a way that I want to tell a story AT you, but I want to tell it with you. I want to see you having fun, and I will include maps and tokens, music, and detailed document keeping to make sure you get the most out of my sessions.

Part of why I put this as a paid game is I have sunk a lot of time and money into my hobby. Another is because I want to make sure there's a point of investment. I've seen time and again good games fall apart because of flaky players, and a small fee for sessions provides an incentive against ghosting everyone and it also helps me put that money towards crafting a better experience for everyone involved. Lastly, I need at least some money to help put towards food. I’m lucky enough to be living with a family member right now, but with the rising cost of living I want to at least contribute SOMETHING and this is what I’m best at, so we might as well try and see how it goes.

But at the end of the day, that's up to you if you think I deserve your hard-earned cash. As mentioned, I will also let the first two sessions be completely free (plus session zero, which does not count towards this total), and if you decide it's not a good fit, you're more than welcome to bow out with no judgment from me.

What you can do if you don’t want to play

I would greatly appreciate spreading this around, and if you would reach out to someone if you think they might be interested! I know paid DMing is something that can be a divisive subject, and I know money is tight for a lot of people right now, which is why I’m trying to keep prices low.

If you would like to just kick some cash my way to help out, please pm me as I have paypal and Venmo and can give you my names on there.

Anyway, thank you so much for reading and in advance for those who can share or help in any way.

@taulupis you asked me to let you know when I made this, so here it is!

#Dungeons and Dragons #5e #looking for players

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aidaino · 1 month

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Crash Course on my custom M:tG Xenoblade Set

While Timewind is my more professionally minded project, this is my more recreational project. It is a custom Magic: the Gathering set inspired by the Xenoblade Chronicles franchise that I've been working on primarily as a way to explore the various design restrictions that Magic places upon itself. I started on this project a bit over a year ago and have been tinkering on it in my off hours throughout that time.

Why Xenoblade? Well it started in a more common place, which is I made a couple one-off custom cards of Xenoblade characters because they're my favorite game series and I had gotten into Magic about a year and a half earlier. For those cards I tried to make some mechanics that could work more generally, as a common challenge that magic designers talk about is making designs that gel well with the many cards from magic history. Specifically I remember starting with a Blade Bonding mechanic from XC2 which I initially made strictly flavorfully in that the blades could only bond with creatures they had "partner with". But eventually I changed it to a more generic thing where they could just tap to bond with any non-blade creature. Then after solving that, I wondered what a common would look like with this ability and made a 2u 1/4 with it. That sat for a while until I had a more open month and decided to commit making more commons and possibly even expand into making a whole set, which is naturally what ended up happening. In terms of making that many cards (btw if you have it stuck in your head to try doing something of similar magnitude pay attention to this part) using the Xenoblade franchise, which I knew in and out, helped a lot as I could make bottom-up designs much more easily. Basically if I wanted a certain card effect, because I knew Xenoblade so well I could think of a reasonable analogy to a mechanic, skill, or event from the game that could represent that effect. This saved so much time and was the main skill that made this project manageable.

Why Magic? After stumbling on sources like Gavin Verhey's "Good Morning Magic" and Mark Rosewater's "Drive to Work Podcast" where mtg designers talk about their design process, I became sort of fascinated with the ways in which Magic both seemingly could represent just about any mechanic and yet was subject to so many design restriction. Also I'm a skill-less commander player and I wanted to get better at understanding draft and limited balance but that reason sounds less poetic.

And that about covers why this project exists. Throughout the last year I've iterated a lot, changed a lot of mechanics, tested a lot on tabletop, and even printed out the set to run an in-person draft pod recently. That last bit has naturally been the catalyst for trying out a lot of different takes on the set's mechanics so the set is actually currently in a good deal of flux. But this post has already turned into a long one so what I might do is when it's not past midnight, I'll make posts detailing the mechanics of the sets, and since I can do it that way I can also give a nice little history of different things I've tried or want to try so look forward to that!

#magic the gathering #xenoblade #mtg custom card #mtg #mtg draft #xbc1 #xbc2 #xbc3 #xbcx

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happymodiosjailbreak · 1 month

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Dune Imperium Uprising

"Dune Imperium Uprising" is the latest expansion that has taken the gaming community by storm, offering an immersive experience into the strategic depths of the Dune universe. Whether you are a seasoned strategist or a newcomer to the world of tabletop games, this expansion brings fresh dynamics and challenging scenarios that promise to enhance your gaming sessions. Now you can follow https://www.duneimperiumios.com/dune-imperium-uprising/ for more details.

What is Dune Imperium Uprising?

Dune Imperium Uprising builds on the success of its predecessor, "Dune Imperium," a game that skillfully blends deck-building and worker placement mechanics. The original game set a high bar for strategic depth and thematic integration, allowing players to assume the roles of leaders from different factions vying for control over the desert planet of Arrakis.

This expansion introduces new elements that deepen the strategic possibilities and narrative engagement. It includes new characters, enhanced mechanics, and additional cards that expand the game's already rich lore and tactical complexity. Players can expect a rejuvenated gameplay experience that remains true to the intricate political, military, and economic maneuverings characteristic of the Dune series.

Key Features of the Expansion

New Leaders and Factions: Uprising adds several new leaders and factions, each bringing unique abilities and strategies to the table. These additions increase the variability of the game, ensuring no two playthroughs are the same.

Enhanced Game Mechanics: With the introduction of new mechanics like espionage and rebellion, players can engage in more complex strategies. These features not only reflect the thematic elements of subterfuge and conflict found in the Dune books but also offer players new pathways to victory.

Greater Strategic Depth: The expansion enhances the game's strategic depth through additional decision-making layers and strategic choices. This makes the gameplay even more engaging and challenging, appealing to players who enjoy games that require thoughtful planning and tactical execution.

Gameplay Experience

"Dune Imperium Uprising" requires players to adapt their strategies constantly. With the addition of new cards and abilities, players must think critically about how to use their resources, when to form alliances, and when to challenge others for supremacy. The game encourages strategic thinking and forward planning, making it a mentally stimulating experience.

The expansion also maintains a balance between competition and cooperation. Players may find themselves temporarily aligning with others to achieve common goals, only to compete fiercely against those same allies moments later. This dynamic is reflective of the ever-shifting allegiances and power struggles that define the Dune universe.

Who Should Play?

"Dune Imperium Uprising" is ideal for players who enjoy strategic games that involve a high level of player interaction. It is well-suited for those who are fans of the Dune series, as it remains faithful to the source material's themes and characters. However, even those unfamiliar with the Dune saga can appreciate the complex gameplay and the competitive spirit it fosters.

How to Get the Game

For those looking to dive into the action of "Dune Imperium Uprising," the expansion is available for download. You can access the game by visiting https://www.duneimperiumios.com/dune-imperium-uprising/. The website provides a straightforward way to obtain and begin playing the expansion, ensuring that both newcomers and veterans can easily start their adventure in the world of Dune.

Conclusion

"Dune Imperium Uprising" is a testament to the enduring appeal of the Dune franchise. It successfully builds on the solid foundation laid by its predecessor, offering a more profound and more engaging gameplay experience. Whether you are battling for control of Arrakis or navigating the complex political landscape, this game is sure to provide hours of entertainment and challenge. With its strategic depth, thematic fidelity, and innovative mechanics, "Dune Imperium Uprising" is a must-play for anyone looking to test their skills in the art of strategy and diplomacy.

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