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victorie552 · 3 months

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Ok, so Noldolantë, "The Fall of the Noldor" is a lament composed by Maglor about what happened before, during and after First Kinslaying at Alqualondë. It's such a good song that it's played regularly in Aman and Valar listen to it often (I swear, I swear it was in the Silmarillion I just can't find it now).

It's also a more or less common fanon that Maglor continues writing Noldolante through the whole First Age. Makes sense - it's about fall of the Noldor, and Noldor did a lot of falling back then.

Headcannon time: So my first thought was that Noldolante must a long, long, long epic of a song. So it probably has many parts, right? Iliad has 24 books/parts, somehow I think Noldolante would be at least just as long, and there are longer epics. And again, just like Iliad, unless you're a scholar, in the daily life you don't really listen to/read the whole thing, just reread and repeat the most dramatic fragments. What I'm trying to impress upon you all is that the story would have different segments, or chapters, if you will.

And if Maglor continues to write the story during the FA, there would absolutely be a moment in the lament where the OG Noldolante becomes Noldolante 2, and even Noldolante 3. There may be the same musical motif or something, I decided that Maglor IS that good of a bard to keep it all consistent enough so you know it's all the same story, but the style changes a lot - it's been 400 years in the making, let The Music Elf have fun!

So, Point 1: Many, Many Parts, basically Maglor's FA WIP

My second thought was that, while Feanor invented his alphabet, elves learned their history mostly through oral tradition aka songs and spoken stories. Noldolante is definitely a historical record, where a historical event was archived for future generations.

(It was a also a way to deal with grief, guilt and blame Maglor and all Noldor have faced regarding First Kinslaying - free therapy! But that's not what this post is about)

Archived.

My 2.5 thought was that Noldolante isn't just recallings of how pretty and horrified the beach looked during the murdering or how mad and sorrowful the sea was at everyone during the voyage or even how awesome and charismatic Feanor looked during his speeches that every single Noldo was ready to fight Morgoth barehanded in his name - no, this is a record of who killed who, who got killed by whom, and how.

Noldor and Teleri knew each other (were friends, even!) before the First Kinslaying, so I'm confident that after a lot of interviews, detective work, and cross-referencing, Maglor could and would create a very good... name list. Practically every Noldo and Teler present during First Kinslaying would get a stanza in a song, more if he killed someone, most if he killed many people. Killers and killed would show up twice, first in a fragment listing the killers and their victims, then in a part listing the victims and their murderers. Basically it's the same thing twice, but from different POVs. With when, where and how included.

(It was seen to be in bad taste to compare kills during Maglor's Regency, when most of his interview-part work happened. People did it anyway. There were a Saddest Kill, Funniest Kill, and Weirdest Kill discusions. There was a Tier List. These were weird times to be a Feanorian Noldo.)

(It WAS in Bad Taste, but at least people talked about it. I cannot stress enough how much free therapy this lament provided)

(Little did they know, when Teleri started getting reembodied in Aman, they had very similar discussions, but more in a "I can't believe he killed me like THAT" way. Long, long, long after the First Age. Noldolante is a gift that keeps giving)

So, Maglor had all the historical grith and no common shame to create a "We Killed All These People And We Feel Bad About It" banger of a song, and every Noldo had a very personal reason to at least remember the fragments they are in. It's a hit on a scale never seen before.

(I'm not sure how to tackle the issue of Nolofinweans and Arafinweans learning about Noldolante after crossing the Ice. But there were discussions. There was anger, there was "????", there was controversy. Basically, the song got bigger and bigger rep no matter what your opinion on it was. By the time of Mereth Aderthad it was an important cultural and political piece and at least Fingon's forces were included in the main song. It had parodies.)

Point 2: Archive Function/Kill count storage. Cultural phenomen, every Noldo included

This is where my personal nonsense begins: Main Noldolante was done, there was nothing more to say about First Kinslaying, all killings and deaths were well documented.

But the Siege started. And the Noldor kept dying.

It was less dramatic than it sounded - between the big battles the siege was maintained, but orc raids also happened and sometimes one to few Noldor died in skirmishes. The legal procedure was to document the death of a fellow elf and send a word to king Fingolfin. The cultural procedure, technically started by Feranorians but adapted by many more, was to send the name, common characteristics and cause of death to Maglor's Gap. After few months, King Fingolfin would send reinforcements, short condolences and financial compensation if they had family. After few months, family of an elf would also receive a personal lament for them and a place for them in a Noldolante.

Yes, every lament Maglor created in that time was technically part of the Noldolante. Noldolante 1.5, if you will. Laments make in that time were very customized, and simpler than Noldolante Main, but were still considered a part of the same song. Of course, nobody was expected to know and remember laments for every single Noldo, younger Noldor born in Beleriand could even only know fragments about their family members. Only Maglor would ever know Noldolante in full, but it was understood that everyone had their place in The Song.

The results of Great Battles were harder to document, but Maglor did that. Of course, Dagor Bragollach was hard on him personally, but he worked his way through.

(High King Fingon forbade creating laments for his father. There were no songs for Fingolfin. Apart from in Noldolante, of course. Of course. Maglor did not share the lament with anyone, but he sat long hours and many nights with a blank paper before him, looking at the candle flame and thinking of the past and the future. The song unsung, but there)

Nirnaeth was... Maglor was never more hated and more approached at the same time than then. Still, Noldolante grew and grew, as if people knew the end was near.

It was Second Kinslaying that destroyed the myth of Maglor's song. Feanorians didn't know the Sindar they killed, but surely, they couldn't just left their names unmentioned like they did with orcs? So, Noldor talked, but the battle happened in caves - it wasn't uncommon to find dead bodies in empty rooms, with no witnesses to what happened. Surviving Sindar didn't want to share any names, even when Maglor strong-armed some into talking with him, and good for them. Maglor made a big lament anyway. Maglor, wild, with no shame and dead brothers, with legacy crumbling around him. Noldolante, with holes.

After Third Kinslaying, Noldor didn't want to talk. Lament for Sirion didn't have any names. Clearly, songs weren't a way to go anymore, it was always about live witnesses. And so Maglor raised the twins.

Lament for Maedhros was sung repeatedly. There was no one to hear it.

Point 3: Only Maglor knows Noldolante in full. But that doesn't matter, because everyone knows the important part: the Noldolante is finished. The Star of Hope rises in the West and the story goes on. The Fall has ended.

#silm #silmarillion #noldolante #maglor #yet another post that went in different direction than I planned #started with meta went into headcannon and ended with fanfic angst #I wanted to end it with crack!!!#I mean. I mean #it all makes kind of some sense if we're talking about elves here #but guys Noldor had Men and Dwarves as allies #Maglor would want them in his Historical Record song #I think with Dwarves they would mainly refuse when he asked them if they wanted a part in Noldolante #so maybe he would only get some allies and personal friends of Maedhros in #but Men #guys Men. they would agree and they would make lists and it would become Clown City so fast #but Sons of Feanor aren't known for their ability of knowing when to quit #so Maglor has a Noldolante 3.0 Standard Version with 254 Parts that has Elves and an Occasional Dwarf Only #and Special Version Noldolante Deluxe Extra Edition with 547398134 Parts that includes Men #everyone is included you don't have to die in battle #all common causes of death have a dedicated jingle to them #to the point you know a man's cause of death after 3 notes #these parts of Noldolante well the music bit actually survived into the Fourth Age #the words are gone but the music is played at funerals in some places #The Noldolante Main survived only in parodies though #actually Finished Noldolante is a very good thing huh #as in no more Fall of The Noldor #they can finally catch some break #I believe that during Maglor's Regency Era all Noldor did was Processing. and breeding horses.#Noldolante? more like Maglor Finally Discovers Shame: A Story #I think some personal revelations on legacy and connections between children and life's works would be made

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racingliners · 11 months

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F1 Lockscreens

Mercedes AMG Petronas 2023 Livery Lockscreens

Logo, text-free, and drivers (Lewis Hamilton, George Russell & Mick Schumacher)

1080x2340 (will fit Samsung Galaxy A40 and others, can make other sizes on request)

#I really thought I'd have the aston set done first but nope 😅#f1 lockscreens #my lockscreens #lockscreens #my edit #f1 edit #Formula 1 #Mercedes #I am sooooooo happy with how these turned out!!#picture hunting ended up being the hardest; but I think they look okay #especially the logo one I am THRILLED with how it turned out #I originally had it so it was going to be the Merc star with Mercedes; but it didn't look right without AMG Petronas on the end #so this is the only set with the 'full' team name; the rest will have the short versions #the Merc font is Eurostile Extended if anyone likes it enough to want to use it for stuff #I had to put in 3.0 letter spacing to get it to match how Petronas is written in the logo

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radationalgastly · 1 year

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Tiamat - Evil Dragon Goddess

#D&D #D&D 3.5 #3.5 #dungeons and dragons #version 3.5 #tiamat #evil dragon #goddess of evil dragons #lore #D&D 5E #fifth edition #D&D 4E #fourth edition #3.0 #third edition #D&D 3.0 #AD&D #advanced dungeons and dragons

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canary3d-obsessed · 2 months

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Restless Rewatch: The Untamed, Episode 40 part two

(Masterpost) (Pinboard) (whole thing on AO3)

Warning! Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!

What a Relief

After spending a few weeks in Gusu doing...stuff, our trio comes to Jinlintai for the discussion conference. Unusually for a CQL stair-climbing scene, nobody is planning to murder anyone once they get to the top.

Our crew walks up the stairs past 3 massive sculpted reliefs featuring Jin Guangyao.

First and most important, I have to point out that the sculpture version of Lan Xichen [edit: Nie Mingjue actually, whoops] is wearing a sash that looks like this:

*cough*

Meanwhile, for the picture with the sword and flames, qhanzi.com tells me that the written characters are 伏殺, fú shā; Google translate tells me this means "ambush." Specifically Fu=conceal, Sha=kill. Ballsy to have a monumental artwork on your front steps announcing that you're a backstabbing turncoat, Jin Guangyao.

Speaking of balls, Jiang Cheng jumps at the opportunity to bust some when the Lan bros arrive with Wei Wuxian in tow. He pretends not to know who Wei Wuxian is, but obviously does know something, given how bitchily he asks to be introduced. Lan Wangji continues his 13-year-long silent treatment of JC while Lan Xichen tries to figure out which bland smile he's meant to be deploying in this situation.

(more after the cut!)

They're all rescued by the appearance of Jin Guangyao 3.0, who has discarded his Nie braids and his Wen hotness in favor of Jin ostentatiousness.

He's no longer wearing the v-neck robe and topknot crown that we associate with the cultivation sects. Instead he's wearing a hat and a round-necked robe with a big embroidered design on the chest, that resembles the clothing style of a court official.

Some people see JGY's bureaucratic wardrobe as signaling that he's an unassuming administrator, someone who is not threatening to the power structure or is not ambitious. I see it more as conveying that his ambition reaches beyond the cultivation sects into the realm of dynastic/imperial politics.

Anyway, Jiang Cheng turns his ire towards his nephew, and Lan Xichen relaxes again. Possibly he is a little too relaxed, judging by how he's ogling Jiang Cheng.

I'm high as a kite, I just might stop to check you out

Party Monster

Fanfics are often accused of giving us an out-of-character (OOC) Wei Wuxian, but no fanfic Wei Wuxian is as OOC as the Wei Wuxian who attends this banquet. Normally Wei Wuxian is a mildly annoying flirt, but as soon as soon as he arrives in Koi tower he is (presumably) possessed by the spirit of Jin Guangshan, and becomes a gross sex pest.

He goes out of his way to hit on the wife of the clan leader and make googly eyes at all of the maids, whose social status doesn't allow them to be rude to him. And he does it in front of his date! What the hell, possessed Wei Wuxian.

While oblivious to Lan Wangji's jealousy, Wei Wuxian does check in with him to make sure it's ok to put on his "crazy Mo Xuanyu" act. LWJ replies with a certain amount of salt, but once Wei Wuxian makes it clear he's thinking about Lan Wangji's public face, LWJ chills out and answers him normally.

Side note: in no universe would this cute lil maid be making eyes at heavily-masked Mo Xuanyu when unmasked, radiant, filthy-rich Lan Wangji is right there to be smiled at.

Jin Guangyao greets everyone and some dancers start doing their thing; mercifully, possessed Wei Wuxian refrains from hitting on the dancers. As soon as Jin Guangyao starts to circulate through the room, Nie Huaisang has an epic nervous breakdown all over him, which is even better entertainment than the dancers.

This gives Wei Wuxian the cover he needs to slip out of the hall unnoticed. Well, as long as nobody notices Lan Wangji's obvious pining.

Fight Club

The prophecy foretells that into each generation of Jins will be born one douchebag cousin. Jin Chan is the douchebag cousin of his generation.

Jin Chan accuses "Mo Xuanyu" of being a sex pest, and Wei Wuxian suddenly understands why the plot made him act so OOC at the party. Mo Xuanyu wasn't really a sex pest; he was a regular pest, trying to get information out of Qin Su, not trying to seduce her. But he doesn't know that yet. In other adaptations Mo Xuanyu is gay, but CQL exists in a strange censorship-created realm in which gayness is pervasive but never mentioned, and therefore there is no homophobia. So nobody would care if Mo Xuanyu was gay.

When Wei Wuxian realizes what Mo Xuanyu did, he thinks "Mo Xuanyu, do you want to die?"

Nice choice of idiom, Wei Wuxian. I believe we have firmly established that yes, Mo Xuanyu absolutely did want to die.

The show is kind of vague, verbally, about whether Wei Wuxian 2.0 has a golden core. But there are a lot of moments that strongly suggest he does, at this point, have a functioning core.

This rock attack is, I hope, one of those moments, or else Jin Chan is a total pussy, getting knocked back by landscape gravel.

Next, Wei Wuxian shows Jin Ling the super-secret move known as "arm twisting," which Jin Ling, as an only child, has never encountered before.

Anyone with siblings is very familiar with this move.

Because this is The Untamed, this move should be executed with extra spinning whenever possible.

Jin Ling learns the move right away, and uses it to win the scuffle.

Avuncular

After the fight, Wei Wuxian sits with Jin Ling for a chat, and gives him the classic uncle advice "have as many fights as possible while you're young, because when you're older you'll have to be mature and get along with people."

I love Wei Wuxian so much.

For contrast, Jin Ling says that Jin Guangyao tells him not to get in fights. This makes Wei Wuxian seem like the cooler elder, but it also has a more sinister element, of Jin Guangyao holding Jin Ling back. Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian grew up constantly fighting with each other--sparring as well as informal fights, presumably. And their cultivation was super strong, partly as a result of that.

Wei Wuxian takes the opportunity to tell Jin Ling that he's not in love with Qin Su any more, because he's transferred his affections to someone else. Obviously Hanguang-Jun is the someone else, given that they've been inseparable for weeks. To keep Jin Ling from yelling while he explains, he clamps his hand over Jin Ling's mouth.

The thing is, in order to effectively clamp your hand over someone's mouth, there has to be something behind them--a wall, the mattress, your own torso, or something else solid. Otherwise they can just jerk their head backwards to get away from your hand. Or they can stand up and walk away, even.

Jin Ling, hilariously, does not realize this, and spends a ridiculously long time sitting still and making angry faces while Wei Wuxian rests his hand on his face.

Spy Game

Later that night, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji get ready for some shenanigans.

Not the sexy kind, alas, just some paperman snooping.

Wei Wuxian, because he's facing serious danger, is feeling extra playful and cute, and he takes time to goof around with Lan Wangji before getting down to business.

In paperman form, he's able to do some things that the censors overlook, including tugging on Lan Wangji's headband and apparently blowing him a kiss. In the book and the donghua, he catches onto Lan Wangji's lip on his way down his face, too.

One thing that's kind of muted in the live action as compared to the novel is how much Lan Wangji enjoys Wei Wuxian's childish and playful behavior. Lan Wangji never got to be playful as a child, but with Wei Wuxian he can cut loose--which he does mostly in the sack or when they're drinking together. But even when he stays in control of himself, he likes Wei Wuxian's silliness.

He tells Paper-Xian, tenderly, to be very careful, before he sends him on his way.

The Adventures of Paperman

The CGI department outdoes itself with paperman, making an animated character so adorable I'd be happy to watch a whole episode of him.

Paper-Xian sneaks into JGY's study and pokes around, finding an empty envelope. Then he listens and watches while Qin Su stumbles in, retching.

She's followed closely by Jin Guangyao; they proceed to have an absolutely fucking endless argument in which the words "sister," "brother," "incest" "rapist dad" are never said, instead using vagueburger phrasing like "this matter."

Jin Guangyao does freely admit to killing their kid, though, and wants to know who told Qin Su about it so he can kill them, too. She won't tell him, shockingly.

Jin Guangyao ends the fight by putting a paralysis spell on his wife and then making her go to sleep with another spell, which is the cultivator equivalent of saying "I've said what I had to say and I need some space."

He takes her into a secret room where he is also keeping a bunch of talisman-protected stuff and a shockingly small number of books.

Seriously, as a person who has way too many books, I am personally offended by the way Jin Guangyao wastes shelf space in his secret room.

As Paper-Xian sneaks around the room, Jin Guangyao helpfully pulls aside the curtain covering the shelf with Nie Mingjue's head on it, so he can grouse at NMJ for (figuratively) haunting him. Seriously? Dude, you keep a guy's head on your bookshelf, he gonna haunt ya.

The episode ends with Paper-Xian bowing (adorably) to Nie Mingjue, and then sitting laying on his face, which would make BOTH Lan brothers jealous if they found out.

Soundtrack: Ring the Alarm, by Beyonce; Blister in the Sun, by the Violent Femmes

#the untamed #ooc wei wuxian #possessed wei wuxian #the untamed gifs #restless rewatch the untamed #the untamed meta #canary3d-original #ep40 #YOLO #YOLT if you're wei wuxian

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diversestardewvalley · 11 months

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Diverse Stardew Valley 4.0 is officially here!

DSV 4.0 is a pretty different beast than 3.0+, and it’s bigger & better than ever 😆 The biggest difference is that we’re back on NexusMods and we’ve returned to an all-in-one download: the changes we made for 3.0 was the best move for the DSV team at the time, but things have changed in the last couple of years and we’ve updated accordingly.

DSV 4.0 also overhauls the interior of the mod with a shiny new C# engine, DSV Core, coded by the amazing KediDili. This should improve performance and make it much easier to configure DSV to your liking!

It’d take too long to list everything that 4.0 adds or changes, but here’s a quick summary:

Added over 250+ lines of variant-based dialogue

Added new additional variants which can be used alongside other variants:

Nonbinary Abigail, Sebastian, and Emily

Aro-Ace Gus

Jewish Mullners and Elliott

Hard-of-Hearing Haley

Added new small cultural map edits for modded variants

Re-added Marigold, Linus's service dog (this option requires Sprites in Detail, Custom NPC Exclusions, & Anti-Social NPCs) with improved higher-resolution sprites

Added new minor config options:

Mermaid Pendants - Rival Hearts & Canon Couples

Flower Queen's Crown Immersion Mode

Vanilla Beach Style

Enable Variant-Based Dialogue and individual dialogue toggles for each character

Abigail Goth Makeup

Elliott Helix Piercing & Ear Piercing

Penny & Pam Dynamic Outfits

Penny Freckles

Shane Punk Accessories

Marnie Dynamic Outfits

Clint Beard

Reworked character art for modded Pam, Black Haley & Emily, and modded Sikh and non-Sikh Harvey so that they have brighter, more accurate skintones

Clarified cultural backgrounds on the DSV website for several characters:

Romani Haley and Emily are of the Lovari vitsa

Black Haley and Emily have Ghanaian heritage

Indian Sandy is Deccani

Native Leah is of the Haida nation

Black Elliott has Jamaican heritage

Updated many outfits

Added compatibility with many mods

We also have a non-seasonal version for anyone who just wants the diversity edits (although it also contains some small tidbits for vanilla players such as improved beach art) and an add-on pack so that Always Raining in the Valley NPCs Sterling, Mia, and Henry can become Flower Queens through DSV’s Flower Queen’s Crown feature.

The DSV website has also been updated with visual guides to all of the new options, so please check it out! For any translators or mod authors interested in adding compatibility, there's also a new page with detailed instructions to help you out.

Thank you all for supporting DSV! 💖

#DSV #diverse stardew valley #diverse sdv #sdv #stardew valley #stardew valley mods #mod update #airyn

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bast-sims · 4 months

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Good day, friends!

I really like the city and I have been building and rebuilding it for more than 9 years. And apparently I won’t stop there yet… I want to share with you the list from the first version of the city to the latest.

The entire series of this city is listed below in hierarchy:

✔ Tara V 1.0

✔ Tara V 2.0

✔ Tara V 3.0

✔ Tariya

✔ Tariya 2

✔ TARIA (GOLD EDITION)

Families:

✔ Families of the city Tara V 3.0

✔ Families of the city of Taria

There is also a city. Perhaps you will like it too:

✔ Town Sleepy Hollow

Happy holidays and have a great mood!

#city for sims 3 #the sims 3 #sims 3 #s3cc download #sims 3 download #bast-sims #bast sims

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talenlee · 4 months

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3e: Monk Attacks

Have you ever encountered something where a system is evident but the language for discussing it isn’t?

Cast your mind back to the days of Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition. No, not 3.5, the one that forms the basis for Pathfinder that people generally claim is ‘the good one’ before 4th edition (the best edition) came along. 3rd edition, the edition before 3.5, which is what it definitely was, was notable for being ‘the things people like about 3.5 D&D, but all quite a bit more shit.’

Know what was really bad in 3rd edition? Well, a lot of things, including Paladins, Rangers, Fighters, Barbarians, Bards, Half-Orcs, Half-Elves, Halflings and all but two melee weapons, but, in particular for this conversation, one class that was quite bad was the monk.

I won’t relitigate the whole story of how 3rd edition was a bad place to be a person whose primary job was punching things in the face. If you want to know more about that, I’ve written about it elsewhere, but just as an example, haste was a really stupidly powerful spell that made every melee character struggle to keep up. But if we cut off the top of the graph where all the spellcasters that are good (like the wizard, druid, and cleric) live, and focus just on the 3.0 Loser Brigade that do melee damage, even then in that space, the monk had some problems.

The way the monk worked is that the monk, limiting itself to melee attacks made with its fist or its collection of ‘exotic’ monk weapons, would get to attack more often, at lower accuracy. At level 1, instead of swinging a 2d6 greatsword, you could make two 1d6 attacks at -2, for… well, less likely to deal 2d6. But okay, you may think, the trade-off isn’t good at level 1, but what if the monk gets better, faster, than the fighter does?

Well, let’s assume that’s the case, and before we move on to talk about how badly that is implemented, that idea is a really bad one for the actual game. If a level 1 wizard, level 1 fighter, and level 1 monk all approach roughly equal threats knowing that some of them are just plain out worse at dealing with things, then you’ve got a balance problem. Being unfairly bad at level 1 doesn’t make being unfairly strong at level 16 okay, and vice versa. The notion that power ‘scales up’ in this non-linear way is one of the poisons 3e has had in it, because you run into a problem so obvious that it’s got a TVtropes page.

No I’m not going to link to it.

But here’s where things get really weird, when we talk about iterative attacks. Except I’m not sure the game rules call them ‘iterative’ – that’s game language that cropped up for sad dorks online. The way the rules worked is that you have a stat, universal for all characters, called a base attack bonus. When your base attack bonus passed a 5 threshold, you got another attack at -5, at the end, if you ever did a full attack. That means when your base attack bonus was 6, you could make two attacks, one at +6, one at +1.

Monks got a different version of this; they got to iterate their attacks when their Base Attack Bonus crossed the number 4. Since they got the medium Base Attack Bonus (which improves at a rate of three points every four levels), that meant that they got their second attack at level 6, just like a fighter, their third at level 10, one level before the fighter, their fourth at level 14, two levels before the fighter, and their fifth at level 18. Fighters never got a fifth attack (I know, I know, you in the back, you’re very clever, leave it for now). At level 18, the monk could be attacking for 6d20, whenever they make a full attack, with their flurry, and that sounds pretty cool!

And we’re going to set aside the gap between magical powers and weapon enchantments and things like bleeding weapons that monks can’t use and all that jazz, but the important thing here is this is all due to the way that the monk adds its base attack bonus. The rules, once you know that iterative attacks work by adding base attack bonus, are evident. Monks get their extra attacks at +4, so, hey, maybe you could push the monk to get more attacks, faster, if you mix monk levels with fighter levels? What does that do?

It does nothing.

Don’t get me wrong, there were some vague attempts to work on it – there was in the 3e book Sword and Fist, where a monk prestige class said some things about adding and it counting, and monk levels count, but the whole thing was written in a very confusing way. And like, the rules didn’t have a good formal way to say: Monks gain extra attacks for every 4 points of base attack bonus. Or A monk’s unarmed attack iterates at +4.

It was a weird thing where the game rules clearly had this complex rules operation, but also the game had no in-language way to refer to it. Like, the game doesn’t refer to as ‘points of base attack bonus’ or even ‘when your base attack bonus exceeds.’ It’s just something the game only represented on tables. And that means that it was very easy to work out how the rules worked, but the game rules then had a very hard time explaining how the rules worked to players. The way it wound up wording things for Monk Prestige Class is that monk prestige class levels stacked with monk class levels for determining bonus attacks, but not actually base attack bonus. So you had to always make sure you were taking levels in 4s, which was awkward and untidy.

Monks were helped quite a bit in the next edition, 3.5, where they had a smoother damage curve and more abilities and they were just a little bit less hooped by damage resistance and the like in general. It was a much needed improvement necessary to keep Monks as about as shitty as Barbarians and Fighters, and well away from being actually strong.

Check it out on PRESS.exe to see it with images and links!

#DnD 3e #Dungeons &amp; Dragons #Games

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carsthatnevermadeitetc · 1 year

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What a difference 50 years makes juxtaposition of BMW 3.0 CSL, 1973 and BMW 3.0 CSL, 2023. A special numbered edition of 50 cars has been created to close the marking of a half century of BMW M GmbH. Just as the original CSL featured the most powerful straight 6-cylinder engine ever used in a road-legal BMW M automobile, the 2023 version has a maximum output of 560hp, a new record for straight 6-cylinder models from BMW M GmbH with road approval.

#BMW #BMW 3.0 CSL #1973 #2023 #50th anniversary #BMW M GmbH #special edition #limited edition #straight 6 #what a difference #lightweight #50 years #BMW E9

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ruhua-langblr · 11 months

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The 4 Classic Novels of China— Easy Mode

I’ve mentioned several times how important the classic novels are to learning Chinese, but like classic English novels, they’re not incredibly accessible due to their old-fashioned and highly literary writing. I collected a few options for people who want to read these novels, but aren’t at the level required for the original versions.

The Journey to the West Series by Jeff Pepper and Xiao Hui Wang

This is the one that I have personally used out of this list. This version of 《西游记》begins at a 600 word requirement, but as the story goes on, grows to 2,000 words. All of the volumes have been published and come in MANY formats. Not only is this available in Simplified and Traditional, it’s available as individual books, collections, and an omnibus edition—all of which are in print, ebook, and include an online audiobook.

The book is formatted as one page is pinyin, one page is Chinese, and an English translation and glossary in the back of the book. I think this is a nice format as everything is there, but there’s also enough control to read it with the least amount of aids. I really hope the other classics get adapted as this really set a solid standard for this style of learning material.

Sinolingua Press

This will contain two series published under Sinolingua Press that contain the same books, but with differences!

Abridged Chinese Classic Series

This is exactly what it says! It is the four classic novels that are abridged. All of these are geared towards an expected HSK 5 (pre-HSK 3.0) 2,500 word level.

Rainbow Bridge Graded Chinese Reader

This series includes the four classic novels as well as other stories such as Butterfly Lovers, Legend of the White Snake, Hua Mulan, Nüwa, and Romance of the West Chamber. For the classics, 《西游记》and《水浒传》are at 2,500 word level and 《红楼梦》and《三国演义》are at the 1,500 word level.

Now, I’m not sure what the difference is between 《西游记》and《水浒传》in the first series and this series. Format wise, both use pinyin above the Chinese (a special bookmark is included if you want to block the pinyin). If you’re like me and do judge books by their cover, the Abridged Classic series is a very pretty set! Some of the Graded Chinese Reader books have received updated cover art that looks great, but it’s not across the whole series. From what I can tell, the Abridged Chinese Classic Series is for an older audience as it doesn’t have the cartoon illustrations. All of these novels are in Simplified Chinese.

Comparisons and other options

The Sinolingua versions are HIGHLY abridged. For comparison, the Pepper/Wang version is over 10 times longer than both of the Sinolingua versions. All of the versions of the classics come in around ~300 pages when the originals are multi-volume novels. This isn’t inherently bad, and is common in the last option: Chinese children’s version. There are multiple publishings in this style and these also tend to be around the same length. They have their own benefits and drawbacks. The Chinese editions will not include any English and aren’t tailored to the HSK style, but reading age.

Final Thoughts

Of the four options, it’s all about personal preference and what you want in a book. I hoped this was of some help! Books mentioned above can be found on Amazon (Pepper/Wang), Purple Culture (Sinolingua), and Aliexpress (Sinolingua/Chinese Published versions).

#four chinese classics #classic literature #chinese resources #mandarinblr #long post

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newwavenosferatu · 6 months

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So here's an OOC post about some of the setting changes I made for my own WoD games, as I combined some 5th edition lore with majority v20 stuff.

- SchreckNet is still around! If you know me you know I love SchreckNet, and it while it getting compromised is a good metaplot development, I want to use SchreckNet in my games. The newest version, SchreckNet 3.0 uses a sort of VPN type deal. It's kinda like a reddit-radio combo where people go to different "tunnels" (channels/subreddits) where they get information uploaded in time sensitive transmissions. Most of these fade after a couple of days, and all tunnels are heavily watched and surveilled. It's a Nossie only deal right now, with some Nossies acting/posting on behalf of other clans.

-Hecata is a mini-sect, not a clan. Many members of the "necromantic" clans and bloodlines have joined together in a very volatile alliance for strength and protection. I know this is pretty much just v5 but I want to get rid of the idea that they are a clan in their own right, as I think them being a sect that some deathly Kindred join, but not all. There's still independent Giovanni for example

-Beckoning and Gehenna War are dialed back a lot. Not nonexistent but there are still plenty of elders and even older generations around. Many used the Beckoning as a clever disguise to advance their schemes, move to new territory, etc. Gehenna War skirmishes are happening around the world, not just in East Asia

-Sabbat is still around in plenty of places, if now being a bit more secretive in their operations.

-Many Anarchs still viewed by Cam as an unruly group population of their population, not their own sect. In many places, Anarchs are more of a problem for the Ivory Tower than Sabbat packs or other outsiders .Many Anarchs have also established their own small, but heavily defended Baronies nearby or even within Cam territories.

-WoD Orientalism and other Problems. Probably gonna be the part some people don't like, but I don't care. I'm not interested in perpetuating harmful, misinformed views of other cultures, in life or in my games.I love WoD and it's games, but it had some horrible ideas that are still haunting the modern iteration of the games. Frankly, The Banu Haqim, Ministry, and Ravnos are just stereotypes-as-clans. They have been partially improved, but it's very hard to distance them from their initial versions. I will eventually be doing a major rewrite for these clans to remove the more unsavory bits . This goes for other WoD games too however. I think the lore changes to W5 were mostly positive. However, the majority of the tribes are based on a weird understanding of culture and ethnicity which in removing that, which is in my opinion is a good step, did kind of leave the clans feeling a little "samey". It's not that there can't or shouldn't be a wide array of cultures that our splats are a part of, the exact opposite is true. But to have so many of these clans/tribes/etc being rooted in only stereotypes just doesn't . For example, only about 30% of Get fell to Hauglosk. The ones that fell were the worst of the tribe, and now the main tribe don't have any fashy undertones, basically just Klingon Garou, which is what I always saw them as. Ministry are probably going to be focused on a fictional vampiric deity rather than a real world one, and not be as connected to ancient Egyptian mythology. It's sometimes a thin line between talking inspiration from other cultures and appropriating them in the most stereotypical ways but that's no excuse for doing some research and treating other cultures with respect . Banu Haqim being focused on justice is an improvement from them being just foreign assassins, but I feel like it still comes from a weird understanding of Islam and its laws and traditions. Ravnos are perhaps the hardest to separate from their cultural "influences" (in quotes because it's one of the worst most basic stereotype of GRT people I've ever seen). Even getting rid of the travelling element that makes the stereotypical association undeniable and keeping them as a sneaky clan ruling from the shadows is just as offensive and backwards.

#ooc #ooc post #vtm #wod #world of darkness #vampire the masquerade #worldbuilding #wod worldbuilding

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canigetacupofugh · 1 year

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How the OGL will affect YOU the Player

Gamer Solidarity is important, but here are the ways it might affect you the player. If the new OGL happens as it was written in the leak, here's how it might affect you, the person who only plays - It WILL cost you more money - WotC/Hasbro wants to move to a monthly subscription. One D&D would see you paying a monthly fee even if you're not online. So if you're using something like Roll20 or Tabletop Simulator, you'd be paying licensing fees for D&D on top of whatever they charge to use their platform. (they also want to do micro-transactions, which could also make it pay-to-win, but I'll cover that in another point).

It will be harder to find a group - Gamer Solidarity means a lot to a lot of people. Those of us who are mostly unaffected are still likely to side with the creators of the content we love. People are going to be refusing to play the new version, and moving to totally different systems or playing the old versions straight from the books. It's also going to be harder to find somebody willing to GM, which leads me into the next point -

There will be less GMs - Even if you somehow don't care that it's goinng to cost more for GMs, the new OGL will make it harder for them to run the game (which, BTW, 5th is already a lot more work for GMs than a lot of other systems) it's going to make the pool of people willing to run D&D smaller. Just don't play the new system you might say? Well, WotC has made it so it costs licensing fees to run it with Roll20 or Tabletop Simulator- and they're charging GMs more. Not to mention how if a GM uses 3rd party content, that content may not be available anymore thanks to the new OGL. Also, if you manage to find a GM running the newest version, the micro-transactions WotC wants to add in will make balancing encounters much more difficult.

Your favorite 3rd party creators will probably leave D&D - There's a lot of content that's been published under the old OGL and instead of grandfathering that in, WotC wants to just revoke the license. These means legal action could possibly be taken against them, even if they're publishing for versions of D&D that are out of print. The new OGL also means that WotC is allowed to just TAKE their content - so for fear of having their IP stolen, a lot of creators just aren't going to make things for D&D anymore. For ANY version.

Public Play will be an even bigger nightmare - This isn't really the OGL here, but this monthly subscription and micro-transaction BS only rewards those with cash and you WILL find yourself at the table with some asshole who bought a bunch of crap and is making the session all about them. I was there, I saw it happen with 4th.

None of this will affect me! - Well, good for you I guess? If you already have a steady game group who is all financially well off enough (or has a member willing to sponsor those that aren't) and you're all excited to try out the next edition D&D - cool, but if there are enough of you, you're supporting the people who do NOT care about you or the game. All they want is your money - and wouldn't it FEEL better to put that money somewhere better? (if your answer is to play in person, with an old edition, from books you already have, you're actually already kinda supporting the movement against the new OGL - be vocal about it)

Final Points - WotC didn't make D&D, they bought it. We aren't talking about a creator trying to regain control of their IP here, we're talking about a greedy company that wants to squash the competition. 3.0 saw a huge D&D resurgence into popularity, thanks a lot to the OGL. They tried messing with it before, this is why 4th edition gets shit on so much - I was there. (4th is actually a wonderfully accessible system and corporate greed messed it up). Fifth is so popular because the OGL came back, because content creators could make stuff for the new system again. WotC wants to STEAL these creators content. It's baked into the new OGL - they want the 3rd Party Creators to pay WotC royalties but if they take your self-published content and print it in one of their official books? They owe you jack-all. This will change the face of how IP legally works if it's allowed to just happen. It sets a DANGEROUS precedent for large companies to be able to retroactively steal IP.

Call to Action - Be against it, be loud, share with others WHY this is bad. Vote with your wallet, because that's all that WotC cares about- they have shown us now more than ever before, they do NOT care about you or the community. CANCEL YOUR DnD BEYOND if you have one - they have actually said this internally that the only numbers they're looking at as proof of if this will work are the DnD Beyond memberships. Cancel it. Might I suggest Roll20, Foundery, Tabletop Simulator, or Obsidian Portal for storing your character sheets for now?

Hope this helped somebody. I might write more about this topic.

#ogl 1.1 #wizards of the coast #one dnd #wotc #gamer solidarity #dnd drama #support small creators #ttrpg

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