#I know we're not gods. We can't heal every animal. We can't make all our colleagues competent. I know it's hard to live with.
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VENT: (idk how to add page breaks in mobile so you'll just have to scroll, sorry.)
How do I tell my daughter that every job has things that make you want to quit every day?
How do I tell my daughter that life does get better? That she won't always be this lonely and sad and that there are things worth living for.
How do I tell her all this while I'm still struggling to cope with the thought of going into the world and working? While I'm still struggling to keep myself going every day?
How do I tell her that there's no shame in taking therapy for years, to keep helping her like a warm blanket or vitamin supplements, rather than as a medicine to an acute disease?
How do I tell her that she's worth investing time and money into therapy?
How do I tell her that we're all desperately trying to find reasons to keep going?
I'm trying to find glimpses of heaven in every day. I'm trying to find something that will sustain me when the loneliness hits me and I'm far from home.
I'm just really trying to push against this bit by bit. Trying to find the answers to a problem that might be lifelong. To the loneliness, to the finiteness of life, to wishing things would just be better and less painful.
How do I find the solution to this? How do I tell her it gets better when it hasn't gotten better for me?
How do I tell her that happiness is a daily struggle and that we're all here in this fighting our own battles?
How do I tell her that therapy will help with her night terrors, and make her believe it's okay to keep taking therapy?
How do I
How do I tell my daughter to keep going?
#vent#rant#loneliness#mental illness tw#tw mental illness#It's 01:00AM and she called me and there was nothing I could do.#I know we're not gods. We can't heal every animal. We can't make all our colleagues competent. I know it's hard to live with.#But you are doing great things on your own. You are saving lives and preventing and reducing suffering.#You are following the veterinarian's oath to the letter. You are. But vet med is mentally and emotionally taxing. We are all suicidal.#I fully intend to take therapy forever when I'm a vet. Because I've already had periods of bad mental health.#And I can't expect myself to always be fine. I know I'm going to need a shit ton of support to keep working. This is veterinary medicine.#We are all mentally ill. We see death and suffering firsthand. We aren't gods and we guilt ourselves over it every day.#This is what it is to be a doctor. This is what we deal with. It's worth taking therapy. Please for the love of god get therapy again.
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Answering every question in an ask game because I'm bored and no one can stop me<3
(This game is from a deactivated blog, but you can still find the og post here!)
🦒 Do you have an inner world? If so how big is it?
Yep! It's fuckin massive tbh;-; several islands that we can't really access cus they're too far apart kind of big
🐈⬛ If you have an inner world did an alter consciously create it? And is anyone able to change it at will?
Nope;-; the majority of it was forcefully made by our abusers to distress us but some parts are slowly healing and changing from how it was originally, afaik the only alt that can change anything at will is Felix/Ion and that's only in selective parts.
🦝 Who is the most responsible person in your system?
Darky. All the fuckin way💀
🦋 Who fronts the most?
Me lol, I'm always at least in vague co con cus im the host
🦢 Do you mostly communicate externally or internally?
Bit of both tbh! We have chats in sp and discord that we use if amnesia walls are high, but mostly we can talk with people that are nearby when fronting
🦮 Do you have any animal alters?
Yep, we got a bunch, but our more frequent fronters are Mopha, a blue moth. Vulpix a kitsune looking cat thing and Fredbear a small yellow ish bear that kinda just chills with Darky
🦇 Do you have any parts/fragments that aren't fully alters/headmates?
Yep! Polyfrag goes brrrrrr, so we have a bunch of alts we consider parts rather than headmates
🦄 Do you have supernatural beings in your system?
Yep😭 again religious trauma is a bit silly, so we have most major Catholic demons, jesus, a few angels, God, celestial besings from the stars, and so much more;-;
🐖 If you were to be in a relationship would all of your headmates/alters date that person?
Nope! We have alts that are in strictly monogamous relationships in headspace so they wouldn't date the person the body is dating, same also goes for littles/middles and animal alters due to the fact they aren't mentally able to consent to a relationship (+ also any aroace alters that wouldn't want to date them)
🐭 Do most of your alters/headmates have the same or similar style/aesthetic?
Not in the slightest💀 we have fairly different styles which makes clothes shopping absolute hell
🪱 Do your alters/headmates have different sexualities? Do any contradict?
Yep! Most of us are gay men/masc aligned, but we do have a handful of lesbians and aroace ppl chilling up in this head
🐇 Do you know what your head count is?
700 at our last guess, but really, it could be anything😭
🦥 What is something that instantly makes someone switch in?
The taste of blood instantly makes Darky switch in. This is a but awkward when eating steak/meat, but he's pretty good at masking as me, so it's okay in the end
🐴 Do you have child alters/syskids?
Yep! We have a bunch:] Some are allowed on here, but we mostly keep them off social media due to safety concerns
🐆 If you have syskids/child alters do you have more adults/teens or children in your system?
Probably adults tbh😭 we have a LOT of littles, but if we're counting everyone that's not a little/middle as an adult, we dwarf them by a mile
🦔 Does anyone in your system age regress/dream?
Yep! I age regress in stressful episodes afaik only a few others do but I won't name them just for their privacy
🐶 Who has the best memory in your system?
Either Darky or Felix probably- they're the top gatekeepers, so they have access to everything pretty much
🦊 Do any of your alters have their own blogs just for them?
Darky does! He hasn't posted much on it yet but he's been mumbling about doing book reviews or some shit (like a fuchin old person would do/lh) I half told him to make one cus he needs more friends so go check it out if ya want! @upin-the-dark
Anyway, I had fun doing this:D If you want me to do any specific ask games/want me to do your ask game, send me the link, and I'll check it out!!/gen/nf
-anti💚🗡
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Fate and Phantasms #269: Calamity Jane
Today on Fate and Phantasms we're gonna cheer on our friends alongside Calamity Jane! Calamity is a Valor Bard-a rarity in this day and age-to cheer on her friends and sabotage her enemies, and she's also a Battle Master Fighter to fight smarter, not harder.
Check out her build breakdown below the cut, or her character sheet over here!
Next up: He's got one monster of a sword
Race and Background
Calamity is from the servantverse, that means she's a servant. She's never been a human, so instead we'll make her a Custom Lineage. That means she gets +2 Charisma, proficiency in Persuasion to cheer up even Spishtar, and the Sharpshooter feat for one-in-a-million shots. You can attack at long range without disadvantage, ignore all but full cover, and you can take a -5 penalty to hit in order to get a +10 bonus to damage.
Calamity isn't exactly a Criminal, but honestly it's close enough. That means she has proficiency in Deception and Stealth as well. When you pick fights with gods, it's best you know how to lay low.
Ability Scores
Jane's strongest ability is how she can cheer on just about anyone, and that's Charisma. She's also pretty good with a gun, so that's Dexterity, which will also help you survive a gunfight with a cheerleader's outfit on. After that is her Intelligence- knowing someone's weakness means fuck all if you can't figure a way to exploit it, and she's also the techie of the team. Though considering she's hanging out with Guda and Spishtar, that really isn't saying much. She's a good survivalist, so her Constitution is above average. Her Wisdom is a weird case. Yes, someone good at finding an enemy's weakness would have good perception, but at the same time she doesn't have a lot of common sense, so that averages out to a neutral score. Don't worry, we can fix that later. That means we're dumping Strength. It's the future, nobody needs to lift things now.
Class Levels
Bard 1: Starting off as a bard will let us pick proficiencies in any three skills we want. Grab Sleight of Hand for some card tricks, Survival for some outdoorsmanship, and Perception to lock onto targets. You also get Bardic Inspiration, Charisma Modifier d6s that you can hand out one at a time as a bonus action. Give 'em to an ally and they can add them to an attack, check, or save in the next minute. Anybody can do a little better when they know someone's in their corner. These refresh on long rests though, so make good use of them.
You also get Spells, you cast them with Charisma. Grab Blade Ward to sorta be a rogue with half damage from weapon attacks for a turn, and also pick up Friends to be friends with people. For short periods of time, they will 100% know you used magic on them after the spell ends, and that's usually a dealbreaker.
For leveled spells, Faerie Fire pinpoints the weaknesses of enemies in its area of effect, giving anyone attacking them advantage on attacks against them. That includes allies though, so be careful. You can also use Detect Magic to find magical items and figure out what body part the bad guy is shielding. Spoiler: it's his weak point. Cheer on the party with Heroism, granting them temporary HP and immunity to fear for the duration, and sabotage your enemies with Bane. If they fail their save they'll have to subtract a d4 from most of their d20 rolls for the duration.
Bard 2: Second level bards are Jacks of All Trades, adding half your proficiency bonus to every ability check you aren't proficient in. The Servantverse is a long running anime, I'm sure you've had all sorts of weird episodes by now. You also get a Song of Rest, which has almost never been in character but it's free healing on a short rest so just take it.
Your last level-up goodie is Magical Inspiration. Now when you give an inspiration die to a friend, they can use it on magical damage or healing as well! I admit Illusory Script is a real stretch for a spell, but if someone gets bad information from a fake letter you wrote that's kinda like sabotage, right?
Bard 3: As a third level bard you finally graduate from college, and the Valor bards are the best at cheering their friends on in combat with Combat Inspiration! Now your friends can use their inspiration to boost their weapon damage or AC.
You also get second level spells like See Invisibility. If someone has to fight you while invisible, they probably couldn't do it without that.
Your Expertise doubles your proficiency in two skills. Double down on Persuasion for the ultimate cheer-up sessions, and Sleight of Hand to turn any bunch of five cards into a dead man's hand.
Bard 4: At fourth level you get your first Ability Score Improvement. Bump up your Dexterity for a better AC and more accurate shots. Speaking of accuracy, True Strike doesn't help with that. Just shoot twice. Neither does Enhance Ability, but it will help you cheer on an ally by giving them advantage on one kind of skill check, with additional bonuses if you choose strength, dexterity, or constitution.
Bard 5: Fifth level bards get third level spells like Motivational Speech, which will help you hit more shots! You give temporary HP to up to 5 creatures within 60' of you, and while they have that HP they have advantage on wisdom saves and hitting them causes them to have advantage on their next attack. Your bardic inspiration also grows to a d8, and by becoming a Font of Inspiration your dice recharge on short rests too! A good level all around.
Bard 6: Sixth level bards get a Countercharm which is such a waste of an action I won't cover it here. Instead attack twice with your Extra Attack. Or don't, since crossbows need to be loaded. Don't worry, we'll fix this soon. You can also cast Stinking Cloud, throwing out a gas bomb that'll waste the turn of anyone who fails their save inside of it. Mechanically this is part of Messenger of the Galaxy, flavorfully this is Sabotage, but it's good either way. Just don't use this against Ushiwakamaru.
Fighter 1: Bouncing over to fighter Archery now is great, you get the fighting style for a +2 to all your ranged attack rolls, plus you can find your Second Wind as a bonus action to cheer yourself up! Yeah that's about it.
Bard 7: Seventh level bards get fourth level spells like the ultimate sabotage spell, Confusion. If the creatures in a 10' radius of the spell keep failing their wisdom saves, they'll have to roll to see what they do on their turn. This can make them: run into a wall, space out for a turn, punch someone at random, or maybe take its turn normally. Throw this down in a crowd for some serious pandemonium.
Bard 8: At eighth level we can finally fix that crossbow issue with Crossbow Expert, letting you ignore loading on weapons, fire at melee range without disadvantage, and you can use your bonus action to attack with a hand crossbow if you attacked with a one-handed weapon this turn. A hand crossbow is a one-handed weapon. You can fire that hand crossbow three times a turn if you want, is what I'm saying.
We’re also popping back a bit to pick up Shatter for some explosives. Explosives make everything better! Except hangovers.
Bard 9: At ninth level bards get fifth level spells. Also, song of rest uses a d8 now. More importantly, pick up the spell Legend Lore so you can learn legendary stuff about legendary people, places, or things. A lot of legends will tell you a person’s big weakness, if indirectly. You’ll have to puzzle it out of a poem or something yourself.
Bard 10: Tenth level bards get a d10 for their inspiration, the Light cantrip (no anime character is complete without light coming out of somewhere), and Magical Secrets, two spells from any spell list in the game.
If you can’t find a weakness, make one, with Elemental Bane! It only has one save, and if your target fails it not only removes their resistance to one elemental damage type, it will make the first instance of that damage they take each turn deal extra damage!
If helping your friends is more your style, check out Circle of Power, giving you an aura of 30’ where your allies have advantage on saves against all spells and magical effects, plus, succeeding on that save to take half damage will actually reduce it to 0 damage instead. Your third skill hands out evasion, and now so do you.
You also get another round of Expertise, so double down on Survival and Perception to survive out in the ol’ west. Yeehaw.
Bard 11: Eleventh level bard, sixth level spells. True Seeing will let you see through all sorts of illusions and invisibility to hit your mark every time.
Bard 12: Use this ASI to grab the Skill Expert feat to round up your Charisma for more inspiration and stronger spells. You also get proficiency in Insight and Expertise again in Insight to read people’s body language to find their weaknesses.
Fighter 2: Second level fighters can use an Action Surge to make two attacks in a single turn. There’s no limits on this one, so two spells, two attacks, dash really, really fast, it’s all cool.
Fighter 3: As a third level fighter you gain your martial archetype: the Battle Master. You become a Student of War for proficiency in one kind of artisan’s tools. You also get Combat Superiority, four d8s per short rest which you can use in three ways. You can use it on a Tactical Assessment, adding the die roll to an Investigation, History, or Insight check; a Distracting Strike, dealing extra damage on a hit and giving the next person to hit that creature advantage; or you can set an Ambush, adding the roll to a Stealth check or initiative roll. Either way you slice it, you’re very clever.
Fighter 4: But not as clever as you’ll be with the Observant feat rounding out your intelligence! You can also read lips now, and you get a +5 bonus to your passive perception and investigation scores.
Bard 13: Thirteenth level bards get seventh level spells (and again, song of rest is bigger but it scales badly so who cares) like Project Image. This lets you put an illusory copy of yourself anywhere you’ve been before within 500 miles of your body. It moves, speaks, and behaves however you want, and you can see and hear through it as though you were standing in its shoes. This is a sci-fi series, holograms exist. Now you have one.
Bard 14: Speaking of sci-fi, let’s get more of that with this level’s round of Magical Secrets. Now you can use Plane Shift to travel to any plane of existence you want with up to eight friends. With you and Spishtar working together, it’s almost like you have a whole spaceship!
Alternatively, you can use Tenser’s Transformation to kick your combat prowess into high gear, gaining temporary HP, advantage on all attacks, extra damage when those attacks hit, and proficiency in strength and constitution saves for up to 10 minutes. The downside is you’ll suffer a level of exhaustion when the spell ends if you fail the constitution saving throw. This will make you tough enough to take on a god- just be careful of the blowback.
You also learn Battle Magic, letting you cast a spell with your action and still attack with your bonus action.
Bard 15: For your last spell, it’s hard to pick anything other than Glibness. You’re just such a ray of sunshine even an evil god from another universe couldn’t help but learn the power of friendship from being around you. This makes it so you’ll always roll at least a 15 on all your charisma checks, plus magic can’t tell if you’re lying.
Also your inspiration dice are d12s now, if you’re still interested in that.
Bard 16: Our final level for this build is simple, but effective. Use this last ASI to max out your Charisma. That’s all five inspiration dice, plus your spells are super powerful now.
Pros and Cons:
Pros:
You have a ton you can do outside of combat, with proficiency in seven skills, expertise in five of those, and half proficiency on everything else, you really are able to help with just about everything.
You're also good at messing with people on the battlefield, seeing through their disguises or weakening them with banes, distractions, and gas bombs.
You're also good at supporting your team, helping them find opportunities to attack for extra damage. It's a shame you don't hang out with any assassins, they'd love to have advantage so often.
Cons:
True to your profile, you struggle when it comes to direct damage. Yes, you can use sharpshooter for a silly amount of pain, but since we didn't focus on your dexterity there's a good chance you'll miss more heavily armored targets.
You've also got too many options in a fight. Should you buff? Debuff? Attack? Inspire? There's so much shit going on, you'll have to actually know tactics to pick the right play at the right time.
Your buffs and debuffs both use up your Concentration, and since we didn't start as a fighter you're not great with those saves. Throwing down a sixth level spell just to have it knocked out of you next turn hurts.
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#25: Artio, The Bear Goddess
Fáilte, Gods and Goddesses!
Today, we step onto the green shores of Ireland for our first Celtic deity. Meet Artio, the Bear Goddess. Evidence of her cult was found as far as modern-day Switzerland, where a figure showing a woman feeding a bear was discovered. In SMITE, Artio is a melee druidess who shapeshifts into a bear to protect her allies.
Next Time: Who knew the wisest of the gods would turn out to be the pettiest...
Let's start with the goals of making Artio:
Bear Hug: Easy one, but necessary - we need to be able to transform into a huge bear and deal some serious damage.
Mother Nature: Artio can heal, conjure up vines, and drain vitality from her enemies.
Celtic Guardian: Artio's strong sides are good Crowd Control abilities and High Sustain. We need to be able to soak in some damage and prevent enemies from advancing.
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Now, we could just go with a human or (like Artemis) an elf, but for Artio, I think we'll look at the Wayfinder's Guide to Eberron and one of their races. More specifically, the Beasthide Shifter. Believed to be descendants of humans and lycanthropes, Shifters combine the traits of man and beast into a single, deadly force. Beasthide Shifters get a +2 Constitution and a +1 Strength, 60 feet of Darkvision, and proficiency in Athletics skill. We also get the Shifting ability; as a bonus action, we can assume a more bestial form for up to 1 minute. We gain Temporary Hit Points equal to [our level + our Constitution modifier] plus one more benefit depending on our Shifter subrace. Beasthide Shifters gain an extra 1d6 THP and +1 AC bonus when shifted.
As the Big Bear In Charge, Artio is the protector first and foremost, so making her the Folk Hero seems right to me. We gain proficiency in Animal Handling and Survival, one type of artisan's tools, and land vehicles. The Rustic Hospitality feature allows us to seek help and shelter among the common folk, because of our good reputation among the poor.
ABILITY SCORES
We'll start with Strength - we're a melee combatant, our blows need to pack a punch. Constitution will be next, we're the guardian with a thick bear hide for a reason. Follow that up with Wisdom, it's going to be our casting ability, but we won't be very spell-forward.
Dexterity is next, while not the most nimble of fighters, we need to make sure everyone around is protected. Charisma is a little low, but since Artio keeps mostly to the wilderness and forests, she doesn't necessarily interact with people... although we need to boost this up, bears are pretty intimidating. Finally, we're dumping Intelligence. I don't see a reason to have academic smarts here.
CLASS
Now, I know what you're thinking. Nature, shapeshifting, magic... Druid start-to-finish, right? Well, not necessarily. Half-a-point for trying, though.
Level 1 - Fighter: Artio is a melee character with spellcasting. We need to be a tank first, a magic-user second. Fighters get a d10 Hit Dice, [10 + Constitution modifier] initial Hit Points, and proficiency with light armour, medium armour, heavy armour, shields, simple weapons, and martial weapons. For Artio (when not in the Bear Form) I think we could get regular leather armour and either a quarterstaff or a glaive. Our saving throws are Strength and Constitution and we get to pick two class skills (Intimidation and Perception).
Fighters begin by choosing their Fighting Style, and to fulfil Artio's role as a guardian, we're gonna go with Interception from Tasha's Cauldron of Everything. Whenever a creature within 5 feet of us is hit by an attack, we can use our reaction to reduce the damage taken by [1d10 + our proficiency bonus] to a minimum of 0 damage. We must be wielding a shield or a simple/martial weapon for this.
We also get Second Wind, which lets us take a breather and heal [1d10 + our Fighter level] Hit Points as a bonus action once per short or long rest.
Level 2 - Fighter: We get Action Surge. Once per short or long rest we can take one additional Action on our turn.
Level 3 - Fighter: We get to pick our subclass, our Martial Archetype. For Artio, who uses her bear form to maul any enemy in her sights, we're gonna pick the Brute archetype from a 2018 Unearthed Arcana. With Brute Force we increase our overall weapon damage by an extra 1d4.
Level 4 - Fighter: Time for our first Ability Score Improvement. We're really going to double down on our Hit Points, by taking the Tough feat. Our maximum Hit Points increase by [our level x2]. Whenever we level up afterwards, we get +2 Hit Points Maximum.
Level 5 - Druid: Time for some representation of Nature's might. Multiclassing into a Druid gives us proficiencies we already have, so we're going to skip it. We do, however, learn the Druidic language - a system of phrases and symbols we can use to encrypt messages.
Druids are also full casters, so we learn Spellcasting from the start. Wisdom is our casting ability, and we can learn cantrips and ritual spells. Druids have an access to their full spell list, and can each day prepare [our Wisdom modifier + our Druid level] spells. We start by knowing two cantrips:
Druidcraft is a druid-exclusive cantrip used to influence nature around us. We can make flowers bloom or wither, predict the weather, light and extinguish small flames, and create harmless sensory effects.
Guidance lasts for 1 minute (concentration). A willing creature we touch (or us) can add a 1d4 to one ability check of its choice.
We also start with two 1st-level spell slots:
Cure Wounds is a very useful healing spell. One creature we touch regains [1d8+our spellcasting modifier] Hit Points instantly. The number of Hit Points healed increases if we use a spell slot higher than 1st level.
Earth Tremor creates a shockwave within 10 feet of us. Each creature in the range must make a Dexterity saving throw or take 1d6 bludgeoning damage and fall prone.
Level 6 - Druid: We unlock the Druid's signature ability: Wild Shape. As an action, we can transform into a beast for a number of hours equal to half of our Druid level (rounded down). In the beginning, we can only transform into a beast with no flying or swimming speed and with a maximum CR of 1/4... which means, we can't become a bear yet.
We also get to pick a second subclass, our Druid Circle. We need to become a bear ASAP, therefore we're choosing Circle of the Moon, which focuses on improving our Wild Shape. The Combat Wild Shape feature lets us transform as a bonus action instead of action and lets us spend a spell slot when transformed to regain 1d8 Hit Points. Circle Forms changes our Wild Shape table, giving us the ability to transform into beasts with a maximum CR of 1 as of now. This means we can now become either a brown or black bear.
We gain another 1st-level spell: Entangle causes grasping vines and thick brambles to grow in a 20-foot square area centred at a point within 90 feet of us. For 1 minute (concentration), the area becomes difficult terrain. Any creature that enters (or ends their turn in) the area must make a Strength saving throw or become restrained. On each of their turn, they can make a Strength saving throw to free themselves.
Level 7 - Druid: We don't get any class features here, but we do unlock 2nd-level spells. Gust of Wind causes a strong gale to blow in a line 60 feet long and 10 feet wide for 1 minute (concentration). For every 1 foot they want to move, all creatures within the line must spend 2 feet of their movement speed. The wind disperses gases and fog and can either extinguish flames or fan them (50% chance).
Level 8 - Druid: Time for another ASI. This time, let's put two points into Constitution for even better durability.
Our Wild Shape ability also improves, now giving us the ability to transform into beasts with a maximum CR of 1 but with swimming speed (e.g. a giant octopus).
We also learn a new cantrip: Frostbite causes ice and frost to appear on one target within 60 feet of us. The target must make a Constitution saving throw or take 1d6 cold damage and gain disadvantage on their next weapon attack before the end of its next turn.
We get one more Druid spell: Enhance Ability lasts for 1 hour (concentration) and enhances one ability for one creature of our choice (or ourselves).
Level 9 - Fighter: Coming back to the frontline combatant, we unlock Extra Attack. We can now attack twice instead of once during each Attack action.
Level 10 - Fighter: Halfway through the build and we get an ASI. This time, let's raise our Dexterity by 2 points for better AC and Initiative count.
Level 11 - Fighter: We get another subclass update. With Brutish Durability, we can now shake off more powerful attacks. Whenever we make a saving throw, we can roll a 1d6 and add the result to the overall score. This benefit also works on Death Saving Throws; if a total result is 20 or higher, we gain the DST benefit of a Natural 20 (+2 saves).
Level 12 - Fighter: Another ASI. This time, let's put one point in Strength and one in Dexterity.
Level 13 - Fighter: We get the Indomitable feat. Once per long rest, we can re-roll a failed saving throw. We have to use a new result even if we fail it again.
Level 14 - Fighter: Another subclass upgrade. This time, we get to pick a second Fighting Style. The Superior Technique style lets us choose one manoeuvre from the Battle Master subclass. We also get one d6 Superiority Die to fuel said manoeuvre. Pushing Attack allows us to spend the Superiority Die whenever we hit the enemy and impose the Strength saving throw on them. On a failed save, the target is pushed up to 15 feet away from us.
Level 15 - Fighter: Our Extra Attack can now be used to attack twice instead of once, for a total of three attacks per one Attack action.
Level 16 - Fighter: For another ASI, we once again increase both Strength and Dexterity.
Level 17 - Fighter: We improve our Indomitable feature into two re-rolls between long rests.
Level 18 - Fighter: Another level, another ASI. Let's max out our Constitution into 20.
Level 19 - Fighter: We get our final subclass upgrade. With Devastating Critical, when we score a critical hit with a weapon attack, we gain a bonus to damage roll equal to our Fighter level.
Level 20 - Fighter: Our capstone is Fighter 16, which means final ASI. Let's put two points into Intelligence to get rid of negative modifiers.
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And that is Artio, the Mother Bear of Ireland. Let's see what I came up with here:
To start off, we're an absolute tanking beast (no pun intended). With an average Hit Points of 235 and Temporary HP of 25+1d6 every time we shift, we can soak some serious damage and protect our allies. Our AC is 16, and we have a +3 to our Initiative.
Unfortunately, our magic capabilities are pretty scarce for a Druid. Plus, most of our spells require concentration. Our Intelligence and Charisma scores are also not great, so we might be vulnerable to those kinds of saving throws.
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Another day, another build. I hope you guys enjoyed it and I'll see you for the next one. I'll start with another request when we finish gods beginning at the letter A.
- Nerdy out!
#dnd#d&d#dungeons and dragons#smite#smite gods#artio#celtic gods#druid#d&d druid#circle of the moon#shifter#beasthide shifter#fighter#brute#dnd build
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Words matter...
1. Proverbs 18:21
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue; those who love it will eat its fruit.” (WEB)
“Words kill, words give life; they’re either poison or fruit—you choose.” (MSG)
2. Proverbs 21:23
“Whoever guards his mouth and his tongue keeps his soul from troubles.”
(WEB)
3. Ephesians 4:29-32
“When you talk, don’t say anything bad. But say the good things that people need—whatever will help them grow stronger. Then what you say will be a blessing to those who hear you. And don’t make the Holy Spirit sad. God gave you his Spirit as proof that you belong to him and that he will keep you safe until the day he makes you free. Never be bitter, angry, or mad. Never shout angrily or say things to hurt others. Never do anything evil. Be kind and loving to each other. Forgive each other the same as God forgave you through Christ.” (ERV)
4. Colossians 4:6
“When you talk, you should always be kind and wise. Then you will be able to answer everyone in the way you should.” (ERV)
“Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” (NIV)
5. James 1:26
“If anyone thinks he is religious without controlling his tongue, his religion is useless and he deceives himself.” (CSB)
6. James 3:1-12
“My brothers and sisters, not many of you should be teachers. I say this because, as you know, we who teach will be judged more strictly than others. We all make many mistakes. A person who never said anything wrong would be perfect. Someone like that would be able to control their whole body too. We put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us. With these bits we can control their whole body. It is the same with ships. A ship is very big, and it is pushed by strong winds. But a very small rudder controls that big ship. And the one who controls the rudder decides where the ship will go. It goes where he wants it to go. It is the same with our tongue. It is a small part of the body, but it can boast about doing great things. A big forest fire can be started with only a little flame. The tongue is like a fire. It is a world of evil among the parts of our body. It spreads its evil through our whole body and starts a fire that influences all of life. It gets this fire from hell. Humans have control over every kind of wild animal, bird, reptile, and fish, and they have controlled all these things. But no one can control the tongue. It is wild and evil, full of deadly poison. We use our tongues to praise our Lord and Father, but then we curse people who were created in God’s likeness. These praises and curses come from the same mouth. My brothers and sisters, this should not happen. Do good water and bad water flow from the same spring? Of course not. My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree make olives? Or can a grapevine make figs? No, and a well full of salty water cannot give good water.” (ERV)
7. 1 Peter 3:10
“For, “He who would love life, and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit.” (WEB)
“The Scriptures say, “If you want to enjoy true life and have only good days, then avoid saying anything hurtful, and never let a lie come out of your mouth.” (ERV)
How often do we open our mouths before engaging our brains? Words are so very important! As James 3:8 says, “no one can control the tongue. It is wild and evil, full of deadly poison!”
Proverbs 18:21 says, “death and life are in the power of the tongue.” Words have enormous power to heal and harm. The words of your prayers have enormous power to change all sorts of things in positive ways! James 5:16 (NIV) says, “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”
But words, spoken unkindly, can cause hurts that may last years, possibly a lifetime. We're human and sometimes we'll say things that we regret. The only solution once those words are out is to pray for God to help us to heal the hurts we've caused. There is no hurt that God can't heal (if there's anything we need to do or say as our part in that healing, God will tell us)!
Friend, weigh your words. Be kind with the words you speak about yourself and others, because they absolutely can change your life and the lives of those around you! Amen! 🙏 🕊️
[These are just a few of the many Bible verses (in the order in which they come in the Bible) about why words matter so very much. There are many more!]
#proverbs 18:21#ephesians 4:29#proverbs 21:23#ephesians 4:29-32#colossians 4:6#james 1:26#james 3:1-12#1 peter 3:10#bible#christian blog#god#bibletranslations#biblequotes#encouragement#jesus#prayer#belief in god#faith in god#belief in jesus#faith in jesus#the power of the tongue#controlling the tongue#james 5:16#kind words#words hurt#weigh your words
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On Hawks' Injuries
Alright, let's get this out of the way.
"His back... It's... gone!"
I may like to act like an intellectual, but no amount of analysing the color of the curtains changes the fact that I'm a married, mother of two, in her mid-twenties fixated on a fictional character from a series aimed at teenagers about superhero high school. The innuendo from Dark Shadow, the implications of what this means for Hawks on a personal and professional level - that shit stings and I might actually cry when this dumpster fire ends up in the anime in a few years.
We won't know about the extent of his injuries until he's been examined by a doctor, but considering how quickly his wings went up (this all happens in seconds which means those flames are extremely hot)...
...We're looking easily at huge patches of third degree burns with first and second scattered across his body. The area most affected is in the center of his back which does not have a lot of soft tissue to insulate before you're getting to very important nerves and organs, and the scar tissue that will likely form in the muscles and skin after healing may leave his movement heavily restricted.
Depending on how gruesome Horikoshi wants to be, Hawks not only will never get his wings back, but he could be looking at significant permanent disability for the rest of his life. This isn't even taking into consideration the acute complications he may face on the road to recovery including fighting off bacterial infections, fluid loss, and his immediate increased risk of hypothermia. Left improperly treated, someone with this level of burn injury faces an agonizing death (though, a quick one after passing out without treatment), and proper treatment would likely require huge amounts of pain medication to make the long road to recovery even bearable. This doesn't even take into account any additional injury he may have sustained when he hit his head after Dark Shadow dropped them off the balcony.
Remembering for a minute that this is a battle Shonen we're talking about, this is an absolute worst case scenario, and this post goes over how it likely won't end up this bad in the narrative, but that doesn't minimize the sheer brutality of the beating he just took. The fact that he only passed out after hitting his head is pretty miraculous in and of itself, but I'll force myself to suspend my amazement a little bit given the nature of the source material.
Let's assume at the very least his wings aren't coming back, and he'll need at least a week with good medical attention and healing quirks to just be able to get out of bed again. What then?
It should always be obvious when I predict the future that it's all speculation because I'm not actually clairvoyant, but you know disclaimer or whatever.
We have some nasty red flags staring us down in regards to where this fight is going right now. Shigaraki is awake. Dabi's words after Tokoyami escapes with Hawks insinuates there's an alternate plan than the MLA had, Gigantomachia is moving, and the tides are quickly turning for the heroes without even all of that. This fight looks like it's about to go south real fast.
If the heroes lose with significant losses - with any amount of death or injury - and with the added knowledge they at least partially relied on young, inexperienced kids to help bolster their numbers in the hopes to end this quickly, by the time Hawks wakes up he'll not only be staring down his own personal loss in the wake but the weight of the guilt of what he'll perceive as his own failure will crush him. I also sincerely believe that worst detail at the end of it will be him knowing he personally killed a good man for nothing to even come of it in the end.
Remembering also that the Hero Public Safety Commission is the one who tasked him with this mission in secret and the fact, again, that they pulled children into this failed fight - I do not believe they will take responsibility. This doesn't even take into account the fact he'll be useless as a hero and that they don't even know the extent of his knowledge of their inner workings which makes him a dangerous potential leak.
What's more, news of Hawks' betrayal of the MLA will spread through the ranks and file into the public consciousness. On every single side Hawks will be the scapegoat while he is fighting for his life from a hospital bed. He'll be in more danger without the fierce protection of trusted friends than he was while deep in enemy territory. If he doesn't have a tribe he can trust to keep him safe, maybe even going as far as to clandestinely steal him away where he can't be found, attempts on his life are not out of the question.
Hawks will have a choice to make - rise up and make some real god-damned change while we're already up to our necks or roll over and let the world come crashing down around him as he sinks into despair. He can either settle for being a symbol of failure or he can take the chance to rebirth himself.
Could Hawks' wings ever come back?
This injury is insinuated to be permanently damaging. Whatever mechanism grafted Hawks' wings to his back and allowed him to control them is implied to be damaged beyond recovery, if not completely gone.
However, given Eri's mere existence it's absolutely possible to rewind that injury. Before the battle began it was insinuated Eri will end up using her power again, perhaps even out of necessity. It's an absolutely broken quirk, to be sure; but running with the idea that at some point her power will be offered to Hawks to let him have his wings back - perhaps it's even her idea - I posit two scenarios:
Hawks accepts and he's given a second chance to be whatever he wants to be. His freedom completely restored to him physically and figuratively, he begins life anew with a zeal and solemn appreciation for life and the people in it because the opportunity to make a full return like this is a one in a million chance he's lucky to have.
Hawks turns her down, at least uncomfortable with the idea of using a child's quirk for his own benefit given his own history, even if she offers it freely with no additional obligation to herself. He takes a moral stand in the moment to say, "It's not your job to fix my mistakes and shortcomings" and lives as an example of accountability and living with the hard choices you've made in life and learning how to be happy despite the loss.
I would personally be happy with either if Horikoshi intends to take either route. It's more than possible neither will happen, but with the Eri angle, I hope the possibility is at least touched upon. Maybe it's a one-shot thing and he chooses to let her restore someone like Mirio instead. Maybe it'll get completely broken and bring back every hero - Hawks, Mirio, Mirko, etc. - perhaps even triggered by her own determination to help in any way she can. We'll have to see. The story can take any number of directions after this, and it's not so much where we're going that has me antsy as much as the wait it'll take to get there.
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PLAYING: Breath of Fire 4
After completing Breath of Fire 3, my son insisted we do Breath of Fire 4. I'm glad we're playing this cause I've forgotten most of it...
Final Fantasy 7 is still my favorite JRPG, but Breath of Fire 3 is very close in terms of nostalgia. I enjoyed the mix of 3D environments with hand drawn elements, the music is great, the characters are good, and for the most part, the story is quite enjoyable. So I was super excited to play Breath of Fire 4 back in the day.
I remember the primary plot of a Dragon God separate into halves, and emerging after different times. And in a sense, each half experiences a different side of humanity, leading them to have opposite perspectives on whether or not humans are worthy of continued existence.
Maybe I'm way off.
Whatever the reason, it just didn't stick in my head as well as BoF3. So I'm happy to re-explore:
First off, as soon as the game starts it just feels better than BoF3. The characters have a little more detail, and a more serious style to their art. It's still cartoony, but it's like Disney's Pocahontas film vs the Aladdin TV show. The colors are also more muted, which gives it a more somber tone than BoF3's brightly colored sprites.
Also, the 3D environments are much improved. You start on a sandflier (which is badass), and it's a well modeled and textured 3D asset for the PS1. Not just a series of blocks like every environment and object in BoF3. So it makes the production value of 4 feel leagues ahead of 3.
It's interesting that you don't start as Ryu. Instead, you mostly control Nina in the beginning. It's currently her quest to save her sister we're following. So it almost feels like she's the main character.
Anyway: PLOT SUMMARY!
Princess Nina and Rei rip-off Cray are traveling through the desert looking for clues to Nina's missing sister, Elina. They're attacked by a sand dragon and crash. Cray offers to stay with the sandflier while Nina goes for parts.
She discovers a crater and a dragon inside. The dragon fades a way and a naked man stands before her: Ryu. Nina takes him along to see if they can find out where he's from, cause as of now, he has no memory.
At the town, no one knows Ryu, but we get information about a man we have to bribe for information. He then tells us about black market. We get the password and get in, only to learn they don't have parts: they repair parts. So now we have to go to the Sandflier Graveyard.
This little town is cute, but crowded. I'm not sure why, but the designers made it like a maze, which makes it challenging to navigate and easy to lose your way. But this game also offers a 360 camera in many parts (unlike BoF3 that was fixed at one angle). Maybe they designed it this way to force the player to use the angle-change, teaching them a valuable skill to succeed in the game.
There's some simple puzzles at the graveyard and then we're introduced to a cute mini-game: using a dog to sniff out treasure (and parts). With the parts claimed we head back to town.
The battle system feels fresher than BoF4. For one, the characters actually make contact with the targets, instead of just swinging their weapons in place like Final Fantasy 1. There's also many more frames of animation. Just all around feels better!
I like that Nina has become the healer. In BoF3, Ryu is the first healer, and then other characters get some crossover healing spells. Given that Ryu also has a strong attack, and a dragon form, it seemed weird that he should be a healer as well. Though, I do miss Nina's powerful spells. Ah well, she's still under level 10...
At some point, we cut to a temple in the forest to see Fou Lu emerge. He used to be an emperor and expects to be greeted by his loyal subjects. Instead, soldiers and their general confront and attack him. Looks like they got used to him not being around. Fou Lu gains strength from water, so is weak to fire. It appears he is defeated on a bridge, but we know better--don't we...
Back in town, Nina and Ryu plan to get their parts fixed (weird phrasing...sorry). Instead, imperial soldiers are bullying the locals. Nina steps in and stands her ground, the war is over: she says. No, the Imperial replies, it's just a cease fire. Now they want to capture her. When things escalate, Ryu breaks the King's Sword against a captain's face. The two flee the city.
On their way back to Cray, they are cutoff by soldiers, but clued into an alternate route as suggested by the man they helped in town. This route takes them to the hexed town of Chamba. When I played this as a kid, I thought it was neat how they treated Hexes, but now i feel this was an exploration of the devastating nuclear attacks the US used on Japan. Very clever.
There's a company of folks trying to clear the Hex, but it'll take years. They refuse to escort Nina and Ryu, but then Ershin shows up. It's a robot that looks like a Trashcan Knight. Anyway, Ershin is a person inside this walking bin, and offers to escort Nina and Ryu.
The three head into town and roam across the rooftops, avoiding the toxic mist. They reflect on how horrible the hexing of cities was during the war, and lament the tragedy.
Strangely, this section of the game really stuck with me from middle school. I think my friend started a new game and played past where I was, reaching this part. Something about it just stuck, and when I think of Breath of Fire 4, I always think of Ershin in Chamba.
Escaping the town, we make it back to Cray. We can't fix the sandflier, and there's no point in staying. For whatever reason, we think heading north will lead us closer to Elina. Ershin seems to be aware of Ryu's importance and says she'll go where he does. He decides to go with Nina.
While camping, they have a shared dream that they're breaking into an imperial facility to find Elina. I know what happens to Elina and I'm not sure my son is prepared for it.
It's only a game...
On our way North, we come to a Dam. My son likes Dams, so he's excited. We learn there's a dragon in the water, scaring folks away. Used to, the dragon avoided the damn, but now it's being a dick. We solve some simple puzzles and get across, but then the dragon sends in a flood and everyone flees. We barely escape.
Later, we come to a cliff overlooking the ocean and a water dragon appears. The group thinks it's the same dragon that flooded the damn, but it doesn't seem to want to attack. An old lady with a twangy instrument tells us that the dragons have a profound effect on the world. It's mysterious and the group leaves. The lady mentions to herself that a dragon walks among the group.
It's Ryu. He's a dragon. Four games in, he's always the dragon.
I don't remember much of the details from this game, so I'm excited to relearn them with my son. I'm letting him play more of the game now. It's better designed (I think), so should be less stressful than BoF3. Still, he's struggling with the awkward controls.
Now that we have 4 party members, we've started using the row-switching. It's neat, the whole team technically enters a battle, but only the three on the front row and commit action. You can pick any three to perform actions that round, and the game sort of figures out who's in battle, and who's in the back row. It's a clever system that removes the annoyance of having to choose what party members to use in a dungeon. Something that Final Fantasy X tried to do as well. I think Dragon Quest 11 also uses this...
We're having fun, and we've not cheated yet! (Except we use Save States, cause duh!)
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