#balance druid guide

[manglednatalia]

Time for another headcanon based on something very obscure

On Zandalar you might've encounter Lun'alai. They're heretics in other Zandalari's eyes as their goddess isn't a loa. Thinking how similar sounding Lun'al is to Elune and how the Tauren worship her too under different name, I'm very willing to assume that it is her (and she's probably an Eternal since she's Winter Queen's sister, so not a loa). My headcanon is that despite that all Gonk and Elune are friends because he doesn't mind his followers choosing other loa. He also likes going against other loa's wishes so he might see others' dislike of her as silly

#warcraft #world of warcraft #wow #balance #druid #troll #zandalari #elune #lun'al #headcanon #zaniya: lun'al guide your path! some nelf: 👁️👁️ #i'm also curious about the relationship between elune and bwonsamdi. for some reason (might be just bc it's cool) turns the moon red #and winter queen REALLY doesn't like him (protective big sis?)

[littlejuicebox]

Drunken nights.

Pairing: Astarion x GN!Reader/Tav Summary/Setting: You've just arrived in BG; this follows the standard romance plot for Astarion after the Shadowlands. Rating/Warnings: PG / all fluff / very mild in game spoilers Word Count: 1600+ Notes: Shadowheart gives me major bi panic. Tried to keep this GN but please let me know if you see something! I loved the ending to @leighsartworks216 post here and I uno-reversed it. :)

-----

You are dancing atop a table. Well, really, you are grinding atop a table. You hold a mug of beer in one hand and the curve of Shadowheart’s hip in the other as the two of you move your bodies in a drunken haze to some drum-heavy tune the band is playing. Everything is fuzzy — your vision, your tongue, the fur on the edges of your jacket as it brushes into the cleric while you two dance to the beat. The bar is in an inebriated riot; several members of your blurry audience are shouting in a cacophony you can barely understand over the music.

“Come on, kiss already!”

“Take your clothes off!”

For a moment you consider ripping your shirt over your head and exposing your chest to the feral crowd. But then Astarion is at the edge of the table, gently grasping the wrists of both you and your dance partner. He gives each of you a little tug, beckoning you both off the table, catalyzing an uproar of boos and jeering. An apple is thrown at the vampire’s head, which he deftly dodges before turning to glare daggers at the offender. Halsin stood from the bar and made his way towards the rogue after that, hoping to avoid further violence. The looming threat of the druid’s large frame caused the crowd’s rage to fizzle out; the tavern’s patrons quickly turned to look for other forms of entertainment.

“Well, would you just look at the time? I do believe the free show is over and you’re both thoroughly drunk. You two had better be off to bed.”

Shadowheart is a flurry of giggles as she steps off the table, practically crumpling to the floor. Halsin narrowly catches her by the back of her shirt, steadying her with one hand. “What, Astarion? You jealous? Didn’t want me to kiss your lover and steal them away from you for the night?”

Your face is tucked into his neck as you drunkenly cling to the rogue, the stability of his frame the only thing keeping you from nearly melting into a pile of bones like the cleric had moments ago. Your breath is tickling against the elf’s ear, causing the pink flush of the pointed pinna to rise.

Astarion chuckles good-naturedly, “Far be it from me to keep my lover from their appetites, Shadowheart. And I’m sure you’re more Tav’s type now, what with the new hair color you have going on, but I’m quite certain neither of you would actually be interested in putting on such a show for the entire tavern… if either of you could be trusted with your current judgment, that is. Let’s circle back tomorrow morning, when everyone is sober.”

Shadowheart takes a step toward Astarion, fully intending to goad him with another quip, but she loses her balance once more and slides to the ground. Halsin is forced to scoop her over his shoulder. A slew of garbled protests comes out of the cleric’s mouth, and the mountain man’s brow crinkles in confusion as he tries to interpret the gibberish. Finally, the druid shakes his head and sighs, turning to the silver-haired elf before gesturing with an open palm. “Lead the way, my friend.”

Astarion grabs you by the waist to guide your clumsy footing as all four of you head upstairs and to the rooms located above the tavern. The vampire rapidly knocks on the first door, which swings open to reveal an irritated Lae’zel.

“Here’s a present for you, darling.” Astarion greets in a sarcastic sing-song voice as Halsin enters the room and plops Shadowheart onto the bed. Lae’zel hisses a “tch” as she slams the door shut upon the druid’s exit. You see Karlach lounging on the floor and greet her with a drunken wave as the entryway shuts. All of you hear something clatter to the ground, followed by Karlach’s muffled laughter and Lae’zel’s complaints on the other side of the wall.

“You’re welcome!” Your lover calls through the closed door before Halsin bids you both a good night in the hallway with a small chuckle. The wild man looks like he wants to say something more while staring at the two of you, but he blinks the thought away before meandering down to the fair end of the hall towards the room he’s sharing with Gale.

Your room is next door to the three female fighters. You and Astarion made the decision to sleep in separate rooms for now, after your talk at Moonrise Towers. Everyone had been so happy to make it out of the Shadowlands and into the city that day; you’d even successfully charmed the inn owner into offering you a heavy discount on the only private room left available for the night.

Earlier, you’d taken a delicious soak in the well-appointed bedchamber’s clawfoot tub while Astarion read beside you. You’d invited him to join the luxurious bath — there was plenty of room for two — but he’d gently refused the offer, opting instead for a quick shower in the room he’d shared with Wyll while you dressed.

Now, Astarion looks through your pockets, patting you down to find anything you’ve stowed away on your person. All he discovers is a few gold coins and your trusty dagger. “Darling, where on earth is your room key?”

“I ‘unno. Had it downstairs… prolly lost it.” You murmur, now practically hugging the wall to keep yourself up. You can’t help but think how cute the vampire is when he’s flustered.

“You can’t be serious, Tav.” He deadpans, pinching the bridge of his nose. The rogue heaves a frustrated sigh as you stare at him with glassy eyes and nod.

“As a heart attack… hey, you can’t actually have one of those can you?”

“Sit.” He commands, ignoring your tangent and forcing you into the plush chaise bench pressed along the wall across from your bedroom door.

“Yes, sir.” You respond with an uncoordinated salute, half sitting, half laying on the chaise. Your fingers dance across the velvet, the texture of the fabric absolutely mesmerizing you.

Astarion pulls out his lockpicking tools and sets to work, opening the door with a few rattles of the lock and flicks of the wrist. He quickly hoists you out of the chaise and pulls you into the room, where he begins to strip off your clothing, careful to avoid grazing his hands against your skin. “If you’re potentially going to vomit, my sweet, best to make sure you don’t end up doing it on the nicest things you currently own.”

The vampire unceremoniously tosses your clothes into the armchair nestled in the corner of the room and then pulls back the covers of the queen bed, shoving your unbalanced frame onto the mattress. “Now get some rest.”

“Will you tuck me in?” You’re on your back, limbs starfished out. You think Astarion looks so pretty in the moonlight; you love the way it’s dappling the side of his face and shooting shiny streaks through his silver hair.

The elf stares at you; his white eyebrows furrow as he scrunches his nose. You can tell the rogue is annoyed, but you don’t care. All you can think about is how pretty he is, even when he’s annoyed. You adore the little crinkle between his eyebrows.

“Seriously, Tav?”

You nod slowly. A smile creeps across your face, and the dopey-eyed expression you can’t think to conceal in your drunken state wins him over.

“You’re lucky you’re cute, darling.” The rogue huffs, rolling his eyes in performed annoyance. But truthfully, he was just as enamored by you and the way your beautiful eyes glimmered in the moonlight as you stared at him with unabashed adoration. He’d almost kissed you right there, but he didn’t trust himself to perform such an act while in a potentially triggering situation. He’d spent far too many nights in far too many taverns with far too many drunks for him to feel truly at ease here. Instead, the vampire deftly tucks the blankets around you, wrapping you in a cocoon of warmth. “There. Happy?”

“Mhmm.” You agree with a nod, already feeling yourself drifting toward sleep as Astarion situates himself on the other side of you. You’d been wrapped in the large, fluffy comforter provided by the inn; the vampire covered himself in your lighter, personal blanket before rolling on his side to stare at you.

“You’re not going to your room?” You ask with a yawn, sneaking your hand out from the cocoon to find the elf’s fingers and coil yours around his.

“And leave you here alone, absolutely sloshed and unable to adequately defend yourself, in a private room, with a key that is probably lost somewhere in the same tavern full of patrons that were asking you to take your clothes off minutes ago? I think not.”

“Mm… my knight in shining armor.”

“More like… rogue with glinting dagger.”

“Mm… my rogue…”

You yawn again. Your eyelids are so heavy, but you want to keep them open to admire the vampire for just a while longer. You try to fight off the pull of sleep, but you’re too inebriated and so so tired. The journey to get here took all day on foot and everything felt unbelievably warm and cozy; the bed seemed like a cloud in comparison to the hard earth you’d been resting on for weeks. You are unable to finish the rest of the phrase as your lids flutter closed for the final time that night, stitched shut by the long curls of your interlaced lashes.

“Your rogue.” Astarion agrees in a soft murmur, lifting the hand that you’d snaked out of the blanket toward his lips, pressing a soft kiss against your callused knuckles. The elf watches you for a few minutes longer, a small, adoring smile crossing his face. He knew then, in the quiet of that random tavern, with your angelic face covered in the beautiful glow of moonlight, that he loved you. If only he had the courage to say it.

#astarion fanfic #astarion fic #astarion x tav #baulders gate 3 #baulders gate astarion #baulders gate tav #bg3 fanfic idea #bg3 fanfiction #slow burn #astarion x gn reader #astarion x gn!tav #astarion x you #astarion x reader #astarion fluff #astarion romance #astarion ancunin #astarion

[autistichalsin]

I'm sorry, like, I can legit understand where quite a few criticisms of Halsin come from even if I don't agree, but when people get upset that he's a bad leader, I just-

You guys. That's literally the point. The entire point is that he is unable to balance his own moral compass with the strict requirements of Druidic leadership, leaving him with the worst of both worlds, because he can't find a way to act that satisfies everyone. (A lot of) non-Druids see him as too obsessed with nature at the cost of people, and (a lot of) his Druids think he's weak and ineffective. The Grove does as good, if not better, without him around because his successor is able to adhere to Druidic code, preventing discordance. Halsin comments on this several times.

He struggles the entire time with being a devoted worshipper of Silvanus, (who is the god of wild nature in particular and doesn't even care that much about "balance" between nature and humanity, though Halsin clearly does a great deal), and his deep love of humanity- caring so much about others, about suffering, even about suffering that is entirely the result of the problems with civilization.

The entire reason he gets the much-maligned arc about hating the city isn't because "lol hippies", it's because it is the ultimate stress test for his priorities- and what ultimately illuminates his solution. Let the people in need be at the forefront while also getting a chance to serve nature as he loves so much. Him creating his commune isn't just running away from a romanced player- it's him balancing his need to serve the greater good with his struggles with leadership with his love of nature with his love of humanity. And this provides the best solution.

And he agrees with the assessment that he wasn't meant to be a leader, at least not in the Druidic order; if a romanced player tells him his new dream suits him, he softly says, "better than Archdruid ever did. The old teachings could never have foreseen this world."

Halsin isn't bad at all kinds of leadership, if you look closely at OTHER situations where he takes the lead outside of being Archdruid. It's just that weighing his beliefs vs those of the Druids left him unable to act effectively. If he's no longer constrained by those rival beliefs, he shows himself to be extremely effective, and his kindness and compassion guide him to helping those the most in need.

There is, after all, a reason that the first thing we learn about Halsin is that he took a group of Tiefling refugees into his Grove- a highly unusual act for the leader of a Druidic circle. It was all foreshadowing, all along, that his soft heart was going to be in DEEP conflict with the harder nature of the Druids.

That is literally his entire arc. Snarking that Halsin isn't great as an Archdruid is like snarking that Shadowheart seems unable to fully commit to worshipping Shar.

#halsin #bg3 #baldur's gate 3

[randomname3]

Okay SO

Saiki k dnd headcannons GO

Kaidou obviously is the one to try to get the group into it, and tried to run a session for them, tho secretly he is scared he gets stuck as the forever dm and wants to play a pc.

Saiki agrees to join eventually, he read about the game in a book once and thought it might be interesting. He rolls a human fighter and barely makes it through one session before he walks up to kaidou amd offers to dm in his place. And saiki realises very quickly that dnd is what he was missing; he cant get spoilers to a story no one knows how it would end, not even the writers. while he can read minds he cant always predict what his players will do(especially with nendo there). The game is almost like a low stakes competition against himself, both challenging his ability to think on his toes and to prepare for the unknown. The time it takes to prepare for a session gives him easy excuse he can use once a week to avoid hanging out with the group that they respect, but i feel like saiki isnt an over prep-er(might be projecting on that one) he is the type of dm to write a few paragraphs, have some loot ready and a map or two and trust his instincts to guide him through the session. After he kicks kaidou out kaidou rolls a dark elf sorcerer and they start their main campaign.

Nendo thinks its stupid and doesn't 100% gets what is rollplaying.but i feel like the moment the dm sets the scene nendo gets really into it tho he justs desribes what he would do, so he doesn't rly have a charachter. I feel like he has instinctual grasp of the rules and always tells the others what they need to roll, much to kaidous frustration.

Chiyo hears them talking about them and asks if she can join in, plays an elf druid and tries to romance all of kaidous charachter

Teruhashi will spend a few nights conducting research and finding the perfect balance between being a roleplayer and a munchkin (the perfect player). The game is very stressfull for the first few sessions but with time as she gets comfortable with her charachter the game is almost theraputic for her, a chance to be someone else and not the perfect girl, she ugly cried in the end of their first campaign.she never rolled natural one and handles most of the partys social interactions, occasionally saiki will use his powers to get her to roll low to keep things interesting.

#saiki k #the disastrous life of saiki k #kaidou shun #but it would be so cool #teruhashi kokomi #tdlosk #nendou riki #chiyo yumehara #oh god i want to write this fanfic #i probably wont #i did

[felassan]

Article: 'If Anthem is the "anti-BioWare game", then James Ohlen is correcting the balance'

Text [quote]:

"The hugely influential design director talks Baldur’s Gate, his next RPG, and the abandonment of the BioWare model.

“Baldur’s Gate II set the model, and I obviously loved that model,” says James Ohlen. “But there were a ton of people at BioWare who didn’t like it.” During leadership meetings over the course of the Canadian designer’s 22 years at the RPG studio, he’d sometimes feel totally outnumbered when talking about the importance of story. “Game developers don’t get into the industry to create stories, they get into the industry to create games,” he says. “And so there’s this conflict between game developers and story - my entire career it's been a constant fight.”

Ohlen picked his side early. He was telling BioWare stories even before he joined the company. The meeting of Minsc and Boo, one of the most enduring partnerships in PC gaming, came about in a tabletop Dungeons & Dragons game he ran as a teenager. Then a comic book store manager, he took advantage of his premises to guide no fewer than three concurrent D&D groups through their campaigns. “I didn’t really have much of a life outside of Dungeons & Dragons,” he says.

BioWare programmer Cam Tofer played Minsc in one of those campaigns, “as a guy who’s basically been knocked on the head too many times in fights”. A merchant NPC of Ohlen’s invention sold him Boo, the miniature giant space hamster, in an apparent scam. Tofer ran with it, declaring that Boo would be Minsc’s animal companion, and holding one-sided conversations with the confidant that lived in his pocket. “In my campaign he was just a hamster,” Ohlen says. “I always thought of him as just a hamster.”

Back then, in the early 90s, there were no game design degrees, but Ohlen had dedicated himself to the next best thing. DMing proved to be an intensive training course in giving players agency and immersing them in another world - and his local reputation as a story wrangler landed him a job working on Baldur’s Gate. It’s a similar origin story to that of David Gaider, another D&D head who was plucked from the hotel industry to tell tales about vampires and druid groves.

“Have you ever read Malcolm Gladwell on the 10,000 hour rule? I think by the time I got hired by BioWare, I had done 20,000 hours of dungeon mastering,” Ohlen says. “It was ridiculous. I owe a lot to D&D. My friendships, my career, my mental stability.”

BioWare co-founder Ray Muzyka encouraged Ohlen to dig into the huge binders that contained the details of all the player characters and NPCs in his campaigns, and to let them spill out into the world of Baldur’s Gate. “I hadn’t intended to do that,” Ohlen says. “It seemed narcissistic. But he was right. Once I started using them, I started getting things done real fast. All the characters had personalities that I already knew.”

Those tabletop campaigns turned out to be accidental writers’ rooms - producing distinct personalities that reflected the voices of their individual players. From the binders came some of Baldur’s Gate’s most beloved companions, like Minsc and the egotistical conjurer Edwin, as well as its villains - leading all the way up to the sequel’s Hannibal Lector-esque antagonist, Jon Irenicus.

That said, inspiration for Baldur’s Gate II’s much deeper companion stories came from an unlikely source. During a freezing winter smoke break in Edmonton, an Interplay producer named Dermot Clarke mentioned that Baldur’s Gate’s characters weren’t nearly as developed as those in Final Fantasy VII.

“I’m very competitive,” Ohlen says. “I went and played Final Fantasy VII and was like, ‘Oh my good god, these characters make ours look like a bunch of cardboard cutouts. This is terrible.’” The disparity convinced BioWare to up their game, leading to the complex journeys of companions like Jaheira - the grieving wife and activist, whose sense of duty has been shaken by so much loss. Despite Ohlen’s distaste for the way SquareSoft’s RPGs played, he continued to be influenced by their character work - all the way up to Knights Of The Old Republic, which was partly inspired by the twist-laden Chrono Cross. That and Star Wars, of course.

“I actually totally, entirely ripped off The Empire Strikes Back in such blatant fashion,” Ohlen says. “You basically go to face the dark lord by yourself, and then you get into a lightsaber fight with him, and he kicks your ass. And then, after kicking your ass, he does the big twist. Then you don’t die because you’re rescued by your friends on the Millennium Falcon - I mean, the Ebon Hawk. It’s beat by beat the same thing.”

Of course, KOTOR’s plot twist didn’t feel familiar to players because it impacted not Luke Skywalker but them personally. For those who don’t know - and spoiler warning, if so - it revealed that your character was in fact a former Sith Lord, their memory wiped by the Jedi Council. In an RPG genre rooted by knowing your avatar down to their last stat, having your identity ripped out from under you felt genuinely radical. BioWare had succeeded in making its biggest setpiece not a battle, but a revelation. And in the process, it proved that BioWare storytelling was packed with the kind of explosive potential a publisher could bank on.

After the sale of the company to EA in 2007, Ohlen was put in charge of creative development on a Star Wars MMO, The Old Republic. It was BioWare’s next great hope, and an enormous undertaking - involving the founding of a brand new studio in Austin, Texas. At launch, it featured eight story campaigns which unfolded across 19 planets. In 2011, executive producer Rich Vogel told Fast Company that The Old Republic hosted “the most content in a video game ever”. Looking back, Ohlen views that as a fundamental problem.

“If open-world is the enemy of storytelling, multiplayer is the arch-villain,” Ohlen says. “If I was to go back in time to give my 2006 self some advice it would be, ‘Don’t try to make the game so long that you can fill up 200 hours. Instead, keep it shorter.’” With less ground to cover, the Austin team could have committed more resources to its Flashpoints - story-heavy missions which forefronted the difficult decision-making and tight encounter design that had elevated previous BioWare games. “Everyone wanted Knights of the Old Republic Online, and it felt more like World Of Warcraft with Star Wars spray-painted on it and some BioWare juice thrown in,” Ohlen says. “Even though the Metacritic was pretty good, it wasn’t new enough to really take off.”

At this point, a Knights Of The Old Republic 3 directed by Ohlen would be “not great”, he says. “Because I’m all Star Wars’d out. I have nothing else to say about Star Wars. But if a whole new studio does KOTOR 3 that loved KOTOR, that could be an amazing game. So hopefully Disney makes that happen. But probably not, because executives around there are all probably going, ‘It’s too hardcore.’” Ohlen still remembers the efforts he made to convince EA boss John Riccitiello that fantasy was a genre that could sell. “I had this whole PowerPoint presentation,” he says. “We have Lord Of The Rings! We have World Of Warcraft! We have Diablo!”

The year after The Old Republic’s launch, with the arch-villain of multiplayer still undefeated, development of Anthem began - and BioWare fought that increasingly costly battle for the better part of a decade. Those at the studio tired of the Baldur’s Gate model had the backing of EA, since a live service looter-shooter in the mode of Destiny could unlock years of long-term revenue beyond the reach of a single-player RPG. Or so the theory went. “It was always chasing the gigantic successes instead of leaning into what BioWare was good at,” Ohlen says. “It wasn’t just EA leaning on BioWare - there were lots of people in BioWare who wanted to do something different.”

Ohlen understood why others at the company would want to get away from a formula that empowered old hands like him and Gaider, and embrace one that empowered them instead. And he knew first-hand that freedom to experiment was what had set BioWare on the path to success decades before. Yet this new direction felt like an abandonment of the studio’s strengths. “Anthem was the ultimate expression of that,” Ohlen says. “It got away from everything. It’s kind of like the anti-BioWare game.”

Ohlen left in 2018, intending to retire from videogames altogether. “The big games have a formula and they don’t adjust it too much,” he says. “It’s very production driven, and I was like, ‘I’m not gonna get to make a game that I want to make at EA.’” He returned to the tabletop, putting together a new Baldur’s Gate adventure book featuring Minsc and the gang. But then Wizards Of The Coast called and flew him up to Seattle to discuss starting a new studio. Ohlen didn’t need or necessarily want a videogame development team under his wing - and that proved to be a perfect negotiating position.

“My demands were, ‘I only do this if I get to start my own studio in Austin, I get to choose who I hire, I get to choose exactly the kind of IP I want to make, no one’s gonna tell me anything about how to make the game.” At this point, Ohlen adopts a megalomaniacal tone, as if he were Baldur’s Gate baddy Sarevok, ascending to the throne of the dead god Bhaal. “I want control over absolutely everything! I want all the power!”

To his surprise, Wizards said yes, and Ohlen has been happily presiding over Archetype Entertainment ever since, building a new sci-fi RPG world without interference. “If you’ve seen the games I like to build, it’s that style of game,” he says. “But then it leans into the people and technology that I have available.” Ohlen won’t elaborate on what’s in his toybox, for fear of spilling secrets - but it��s worth noting that Mass Effect legend Drew Karpyshyn joined Archetype in 2020 as lead writer. “The feel in the studio reminds me of my early days at BioWare,” wrote Karpyshyn on his blog at the time. “I can feel the magic in the air.”

Magic and Wizards and science fiction - it’s the kind of atmosphere in which you could believe a hamster isn’t just a hamster, but something altogether sillier and more exciting. An act of collective imagination is happening, the binders are filled to bursting, and all we have to do is wait."

[source]

#bioware #sw:tor #long post #longpost #anthem #mass effect #smoking mention

[hushcaringdemons]

A Druidic Demonolator's Guide to Invocation

I have been asked many a times to kindly offer guidance on how to do ritual invocation for demonolatry. I will oblige those inquires now, and all future ones by revealing how I personally do invocations as a syncretic theistic Satanist and Druidic Pagan. This is only one individual’s example. Yours will surely be different based off of tradition, experience, and preference. (Please with all gratitude credit back to Hushcaringdemons when sharing.)

THE SACRED CIRCLE

In order to conduct ritual, one must call upon the elemental forces and balance the spiritual energies within and without you. This sacred space is brought into existence by the might of your own Will. It serves as a gateway between the Mundane and the Spirit World as well as a stabilizing force during your ritual workings (especially if this involves working with a spirit like a Daemon). Depending on the tradition, a wand or a ceremonial dagger is used to summon and direct energy. A hand with the pointer and middle finger extended can fill the role of a ceremonial tool if one is absent. A scared circle can be cast pretty much anywhere.

THE WATCHTOWERS

Watchtowers refers to the cardinal direction (East, South, West, North, and Center), their elemental association (Air, Fire, Water, Earth, and Spirit), and the spiritual entities that represents them. Calling upon the spirit of the Watchtowers instills their power in your circle and rite. What spirit is called upon varies between traditions as well as practitioner preference. Direction and elemental associations are very open to interpretation, especially in the case of Pagan Gods where it is largely a modern invention. It is the metaphor that matters here.

THE WORD OF POWER

Choosing a Word of Power to shout at the end of prayers, blessing, or invocations serves as a release of spiritual energy in accordance to your Will. Give it focus and some oomph. Like Watchtower spirits, Power Words vary by tradition and preference. Examples include:

Amen - Useful for practitioners with leanings toward Traditional Ceremonial Magic. A Jewish word meaning "So Be It" inherited by Christianity and Islam. If one comes from a culturally Abrahamic background and is unbothered by that, it is a perfectly serviceable word.

Amun - It is a common falsehood in magic communities that the true origin of the word Amen comes from the name of Amun, a High God of Ancient Egypt whose dominion is the deepest and most hidden parts of the cosmos. I list it here as an example because calling upon the highest, and preferably most primordial, entity or force in your pantheon sends out your magic intent to those parts of the universe. For me, that name would be Satan who I view similarly representing the hidden and the primordial.

Awen - Useful for druidic practitioners such as myself. Awen is divine inspiration in the Welsh bardic tradition. Neo-Druids have expanded it to encompass the animating force of the universe.

A STANDARD RITUAL INVOCATION

Now, lets put all of the above components together. The following instructions will be using my personal invocation as a template.

Turn to face East, and use your ritual tool to point outward. Starting from the East, the direction associated with the sunrise and new beginnings, is a common way to start Sacred Circles through out traditions. Beckon:

“HAIL LUCIFER, Prince of the East. Spirits of Air anoint thee for thou art Truth and Enlightenment amoung them all. HAIL AND WELCOME.”

Turn to face South, and use your ritual tool to point outward. It is another common tradition to use clockwise motions in order to create. Beckon:

“HAIL ASMODEUS, Prince of the South. Spirits of Fire anoint thee for thou art Passion and Desire amoung them all. HAIL AND WELCOME."

Turn to face West, and use your ritual tool to point outward. Beckon:

"HAIL LEVIATHAN, Prince of the Wests. Spirits of Water anoint thee for thou art Chaos and Rebirth amoung them all. HAIL AND WELCOME."

Turn to face North, and use your ritual tool to point outward. Beckon:

"HAIL BELIAL, Prince of the North. Spirits of Earth anoint thee for thou art Filth and Fecundity amoung them all. HAIL AND WELCOME."

Hold your ritual tool high over your head, and state:

“HAIL SATAN, Master of Darkness. All Spirits are within thee.”

Say the following as you move clockwise, weaving all the elements and directions together with your ritual tool:

“Thou art the Adversary, the Black Goat, the Ram-Headed Serpent.

All that is Above, and all that is Below.

All that is Hidden Without, and what is Hidden Within.”

At this point you should have completed your circle. Hold your ritual tool high over your head again. Stand tall and proclaim:

“What is hidden in me! Myself! I am God!”

(This is technique I stole from LaVeyan Satanism. A little puffing up of the ego helps with energy building.) Maintain your erect pose as you conclude the invocation:

“By the Might of the Four Watchtowers

And by the Binding Power of the Baphomet,

I proclaim this ritual circle cast.”

Use your ritual tool to draw a sigil in the air such as the pentacle or pentagram, and declare:

“It is my Will, and it is Done.”

Complete the invocation with your Power Word. Congratulations, your Sacred Circle is cast, and you are now ready to proceed to your ritual.

#demonolatry #theistic satanism #left hand path #magick #witchcraft #ritual magic #dear reader

[raayllum]

MOONSHADOW ELVES:

Moonshadow elves believe in oath and duty above all else. Their bond with the Moon primal is exemplified through their elusive nature and profound connection with the concept of balance. Stealthy and speedy, they’re well-suited to the role of assassin or scout. Though many are peaceful guardians of the forests in southwestern Xadia, Moonshadow elves are among the most feared kinds of elves. Some human cultures consider them synonymous with death itself.

Moonshadow elves usually wear garments that allow them to move quickly, comfortably, and silently. They favor dark garments that evoke the colors of the night sky and the shadows below, such as deep green and violet. Horn rings and decoration are a traditional symbol of marriage. Elves express affection and intimacy by braiding each other’s hair.

In ancient times, before they assisted in the banishment of humans, there were Moonshadow druids in western Xadia. Conducting their studies around the Moon Nexus, they created the Moon Henge, which allowed them to open a portal to the strange and dreamlike realm between life and death. Unfortunately they were forced to destroy it when the world was divided, separating them from their most sacred place of power.

Moonshadow elves tend to live amongst the trees or near the mountains. Because they guard their emotions well and the more martial among them are trained to never show fear, they can appear rather rigid to outsiders. Yet they incorporate dancing into their rituals more than any other elves, from magical protection spells to marriage ceremonies.

The Silvergrove

Deep in the Moonshadow Forest lies a hidden community of Moonshadow elves. Home to the most feared assassins in all of Xadia, it’s also known for its weaponcraft. The village’s entrance is difficult to find without a Moonshadow guide, and the assassins there might not have a warm welcome for every party that manages to get past their entryway defense. Despite their hostile reputation, the elves here value tranquility.

Stories of Note:

Blood Moon

Long ago, a group of Moonshadow elves embraced a forbidden practice: they drank the blood of still-living beings to extend their lives and enhance their magical powers. Their fellow elves shunned them, and eventually the blood-drinkers were hunted down and killed by their own kind. Only one is known to have survived: their former leader, Kim’dael, or as most know her, the Bloodmoon Huntress.

Flowers of Elarion (note: Katolis has its own version of this tale known as Lasair the Insidious) 

When the world was divided in two, an unfortunate elf called Lasair was stranded in the west. Lasair lived in fear of human hunters and mages, tormented and lonely for years. While not a thief by nature, they began to take items left unattended out of necessity, but never without an exchange. Lasair left beautiful blooms called flowers of Elarion, rare and precious blossoms that glow with soft light and have a scent that can soothe the most ragged spirit. While Lasair hoped the trade would lay the grounds for friendship with humans—a fair exchange of beloved for beloved—they never saw the precious blossoms fade and turn to cold ashes when exposed to the dawn. They never learned their gift was perceived as a curse, not a trade, and never knew why their name drew ire and hatred across the Human Kingdoms.

#tales of xadia #might do this for each of the elves bc not everyone has TOX #worldbuilding #the silvergrove #for the rutharis and rayllums #tdp

[a-driftamongopenstars]

indulging in you; tav x halsin;

finally writing something for myself :D have some Gleam (my Tav) x Halsin, who get up to some fun stuff in nature :) m rated ish! also on ao3

It is not often that they get to camp in picturesque places. But in the interim between the wilderness and the city of Baldur’s Gate, there is plenty to enjoy before diving into the depths of an urban society.

They find such one spot amidst green trees, near a river that splits into a narrow stream.

Gleam breathes in deep, their chest expanding with night air and the sweetness of midnight flowers. They stretch their arms, their legs, feeling the wind blow over their bare skin, their hair, the folds of their vest and trousers. 

The sound of the running stream fills their ears, together with the crickets and an owl hidden up in the branches.

In the distance, they hear the camp, their quiet conversations, Karlach’s cheerful laughter, Gale’s storytelling. They smell the dinner, roasting over the campfire. Even as danger looms nearer, it is good to have these moments of respite.

Gleam turns at the sound of leaves brushing against each other, finding Halsin standing there, his soft smile and gaze directed straight at them.

“Astarion said I would have no trouble finding you here,” he says, stepping a little closer, careful of the delicate branches that graze his arms and legs. “You have always had an eye for the beautiful.”

Gleam smiles and shrugs, their icy blue eyes taking Halsin in.

“If you say so.”

“I do, my heart. And your coyness does not escape me.”

Gleam’s smile widens, and they gesture for the druid to join them. They step together towards the stream that runs powerful and free, curling behind the rocks and wild twisted thickets.

“The day has taken its toll on us, has it not? Shall we indulge?”

Halsin gestures towards the stream, his eyes flickering with ravenous gold. It is something that always twists Gleam’s chest into a tight knot in need of unravelling. Briefly they glance towards the camp, certain that through the rush of water and conversation, they would not be heard.

“I would not say no.”

“Then come to me,” Halsin invites, bringing Gleam closer to himself. His chest presses against their back, his arms lock around the barbarian with surprising ease. How pleasant it is to let go and allow Halsin to guide them. They feel magic draw closer to their fingertips, always ready to burst in a wild flare, but that much they can control.

“You smell of it,” Halsin whispers against their neck with reverence, finding the most sensitive spot with skillful accuracy. “Of magic and strength. Do you know how alluring that makes you?”

Gleam has some notion, feeling the druid’s excited body press against them, his lips bothering that awfully sensitive spot until their knees buckle.

Halsin’s fingers pinch the fabric of Gleam’s vest, easily sliding it off one arm, then the other. His hands roam in a way that Gleam cannot help but compare with the very night wind they find themselves in. Strong, powerful, hungry.

When their clothes are off and done with, they turn around, touching Halsin’s chest and shoulders, the feeling of him making Gleam’s fingers tingle. Their magic seems to call to each other, both entwined with different kinds of wildness.

With ease, Halsin brings Gleam up into his arms, carrying them into the stream that gives them a sharp cold welcome. Gleam clings to Halsin, their shared body warmth balancing out the flux of the stream. They wrap their legs around the druid, supported by his hold.

And then, their hungry mouths meet. Halsin’s kiss is assertive, indulgent in ways that he is. He is taking as much as giving, and Gleam relishes that generosity. They cannot help but smile from every move of their lips, and then get lost in every brush of their tongues.

Water runs past them, unaware, taking with it the dirt of the travel and the exhaustion of it. Yet it does not touch that which Halsin and Gleam share, the insatiable hunger they have for each other, only elevated by the nightly air. 

They know they would not leave the stream until either indulges in more than just kissing. Until they have each other, until their voices turn hoarse from whispers and praise and sounds of pleasure, until neither can go on any more.

Their love making drowns in the sounds of the running stream.

#baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #tav x halsin #halsin #gleam #fanfiction #driftcreates

[perilegs]

your choices in character creation regarding durge can be so funny. like yeah i just woke up on some nautiloid, i can't remember shit from my life before this moment, but i know i have strong dragonborn values, i would give up anything for my clan. i'm also a druid and the balance of nature and its wellbeing are of the utmost importance, silvanus guide me hehe ♡

i am also. experiencing extremely violent intrusive thoughts and urges. wonder what that's about. it's probably okay. what's that? uhm. turns out bhaal is my father and i've spent all of my life before this moment murdering thousands of innocents

#bg3 spoilers #durge #the dark urge

[patchodraws]

moldur’s gate 4 mirkon and arabella !!! backstories below:

Arabella, Circle of Spores Druid: arabella followed the path of the weave after her lessons from withers, finding solace in the natural weave between all living things and how they thrive on the circle of life. she became a nomadic druid of spores, wandering the sword coast wherever the weave would guide her to help maintain its balance. most recently, it has guided her back to moldur’s gate, where something has fundamentally damaged it…

Mirkon, College of Swords Bard: it didn’t take the imaginative mirkon long to find work aboard one of the guild’s many smuggling vessels, spending many years working as a deck hand and boatswain. eventually, their guild’s leader demanded they start robbing ships along the sword coast, and when mirkon joined a small mutiny against the order, he was brought to stormwreck isle and left to the harpies, as the crew knew he feared them. ultimately, a colony of myconids rescued him from that fate, and he spent the next few years studying swordplay and language at the monstery before setting off for moldur’s gate again, set on confronting his old crew.

#my art #patchodraws #baldur's gate #baldur's gate 3 #baldurs gate 3 #bg3 #baldur's gate fanart #arabella bg3 #mirkon bg3

[justavulcan]

Backgrounds With Class: Boros Legionnaire

I'll be honest: Ravnica has always fascinated me. I was a high schooler when the first set came out, and I was immediately consumed creating characters for the setting. Now that we've actually received my long-awaited crossover, I thought it would be nice to write a love letter to the setting in the form of another Backgrounds with Class series. After all: some guilds have natural class choices tied in, from a conceptual standpoint. Boros and Fighter, Izzet and Wizard, Selesnya and Druid. But guilds aren’t class-restricted, and so I wonder what it would look like if you paired every class with every guild background, even the ones that seem at odds, like Izzet and Barbarian, or Gruul and Artificer.  So I thought about it, and this is what I came up with.  Some character concepts for each class, and each Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica background for each class.

Boros Legionnaire

The Boros Legionnaire Artificer is a walking proof that workers in magic are just as important as workers of brass and steel to the Legion.  Although her magical talents are shorter-lived than her material ones, they are certainly more flexible in the heat of battle.  Armed with a sword she made and backed up by a brass construct in the shape of a large war-hound, she joined the legion to follow in her family’s footsteps- supplying the Legion has always been the family business, and she’s just taken the next logical step testing her creations in the field personally.

The Boros Legionnaire Barbarian has always been a competitive soul.  The Ordruun line of minotaurs has been the standard bearers for their people in the Legion for centuries if not millennia.  This minotaur is not one of those line, and if the truth is told, his motives for joining the Legion have more to do with this family he is not part of than the good he can do serving under the Warleader Aurelia.  Competitive spirit and the raw zeal that the Boros embodied before current leadership ascended are far more familiar to this soldier, and his target is the entire Ordruun line- who he would very much love to show up.

The Boros Legionnaire Bard has always been a perfomer at heart, no matter the purpose of their performance.  A child to Rakdos parents who somehow acquired an overwhelming respect for authority would be absolutely fascinated by the talents of a Boros bugler- equal parts inspiration and mayhem-bringer.  Still, in their way their parents are proud of the literally street-shattering performances their child can put on.  That they happen in the midst of quashing the more violent Rakdos parties at the head of a Boros strike force is bittersweet, but still bombastic.

The Boros Legionnaire Cleric knows that violence is not always the way of the legion.  Certainly, as the military police to all of Ravnica, it is their primary function, but in a guild that deals so matter-of-factly with violence there must be those who protect life and heal both their comrades and those they go to defend.  Dedicated spiritually to aiding those around them, this loxodon healer wears the heaviest armor she can tolerate and carries no weapon but that which she must from her station.  For her, the Legion is and has always been meant to be a shield for those who cannot or dare not raise arms in their own defense, and a poultice laid on any wounds savagery or scheming brings.

The Boros Legionnaire Druid walks a delicate line.  Armed with the Legion’s typical fiery magic, he maintains a delicate balance between his duties and the cycles of Ravnica’s limited wilderness.  He’s a fan of cycles- patrolling territory, keeping routines, bringing both healers’ and embermages’ talents to bear in battle in turn, and even (secretly) inciting unrest to justify cleaning out neighborhoods with unsavory elements.  Familiar with the cycle of burn-cleanse-grow of ancient forest destruction and regrowth, this centaur is as tied to the green space of Ravnica as tightly as any gruul anarch or selesnya initiate; he just views the city as subject to the same natural cycle.

The Boros Legionnaire Fighter was always a runt among his kin- noble cyclops blood adulterated by too many ogres and humans through the centuries, he barely breaks eight feet tall and will never see the immense stature of his two-story ancestors.  Still, he’s a natural hand at the forge and an avid student of his runes, so he has unique talents to bring to bear against the Legion’s enemies.  He hopes, secretly, that studying the ancient language-magic of his people will lend some of their more storied traits.

The Boros Legionnaire Monk is a bearer of the light so often spoke of among the Legion.  Raised in the strictest traditions of a multigenerational family of wojeks, it was always assumed that she would take her inner light and cast it about to find the darker sides of her peers and serve as one of the Legion’s investigators.  Instead she’s proven her talents again and again as a natural complement to her allies’ heavy armor and broad shields, darting across and through the battlefield with a sword in hand and a growing trail of radiance behind her.  Perhaps one day the light will be able to do more than show her trail, but she’s content to serve until it shows in its fullness.

The Boros Legionnaire Paladin has sworn an oath, as paladins are wont to do, to Aurelia herself.  An oath of service, of fealty, of devotion, naturally.  However, it paints him in an uncommon light- as one of Ravnica’s unquiet dead, a zombie still shambling around tied to a deteriorating body and encrusted with mold that peels and bleaches in the sun, he should be among the Golgari.  A memory is all that stands between him and that path- one of battle, sprinting with great urgency, with an angel at their backs and surrounded by warriors in gleaming armor.

The Boros Legionnaire Ranger wasn’t taught to stalk, to hunt, and to use the bow.  They come naturally, a strange talent for a human from the grittiest part of Precinct Six, raised near an iron foundry.  Still, his talents are unrefined, and formal training at Sunhome has taught him to bring them to bear on the legion’s behalf, stalking and occasionally killing Ravnica’s malcontents and anarchists into the Rubblebelts and beyond.  When not tasked with a mission such as this, there is always work as a support for a squad on the street, but he hungers for larger quarries than Tin street gangs and the occasional belligerent ogre.

The Boros Legionnaire Rogue lives by the motto “who dares, wins.”  Daring bordering on foolhardy, even for a goblin, she is known for pelting ahead of her comrades to bring her dual swords to bear against the enemy before all others have their chance.  Boastful and proud to match her admittedly sterling reputation as a promising candidate among duellists, she’s broadly disliked among the other cadets for how she seems to dodge the due punishments for defying orders.

The Boros Legionnaire Sorcerer was exposed to heavenly fire as a child- the consecrated flames of a firemane angel’s blade set alight the wagon in which her family dwelt, and her burns were grievous.  As the rest of her family was a small Gruul clan that had just rampaged through a city block, that same angel had just finished leading the counterattack that cost her parents her life.  Years later, fully aware of the source of her burgeoning powers and how she acquired them, she joined the legion, facing that same angel as she proved her ability with the fire that scorched her.

The Boros Legionnaire Warlock met Aurelia of the Legion for the first time as a child.  At this first meeting, when she told the warleader of the Rakdos ‘surprise party’ waiting around the corner, the angel gave her a feather from her wing for her vigilance and aid to the legion.  From that first meeting, she knew that the Legion was her way out of the chaos-wracked Precinct Four and joined the legion as soon as she was able.  There, swearing her oaths of service, she reaffirmed her commitment to Aurelia herself, and the angel honored the oath with a pact.  Now she serves proudly as embermage and medic both- whichever is needed for the engagement, she brings to bear.

The Boros Legionnaire Wizard serves as a critical component of the Boros war machine- the one that keeps their troops from being torn apart by Golgari necromancers or Gruul druids.  Armed with countermagic and explosive battlemagic like few others, this dispassionate vedalken warmage is known for his poker face- in battle, his face is a mask beyond which no insight penetrates.  Despite his apparently frozen demeanor in battle, his heart burns no less brightly than his comrades’, and he shows it in the rare moments between battles when he remembers who he’s protected.

#D&D #Dungeons and Dragons #Dungeons & Dragons #Character Ideas #Character Designs #Character Concepts #Ravnica #Battle Smith #Zealot #Valor #Life #Wildfire #Rune Knight #Sun Soul #Devotion #Hunter #Swashbuckler #Divine Soul #Celestial #Pact of the Talisman #War Magic

[beyondthetemples-ooc]

People often ask me about DnD classes for my OCs but I don't know jack nor squat about DnD classes. So I took the DnD quiz for all of them to see which they'd actually fit!

tl;dr Dove is straight-up Monk (with Cleric and Paladin as runner-ups), Srentha is also Monk (but with Bard as a close second), Leyla is again a Monk (with heavy Wizard leanings), and Evangeline kept tying but I'll call her Sorceror because that was consistently the highest tied score (but she also scored high for Barbarian and Warlock).

Dove:

100% Monk, and I think it fits her quite nicely!

"The monk is a disciplined warrior of mind, body, and spirit, embodying harmony, self-mastery, and enlightenment. They are ascetics who have devoted themselves to a life of rigorous training and spiritual discipline, seeking to transcend the limitations of the mortal realm. Monks harness the power of ki, an inner energy that flows through all living beings, enabling them to perform extraordinary feats of agility, speed, and resilience. Through meditation and martial arts, they achieve a state of inner peace and focus, allowing them to unleash their full potential in combat. Monks often follow a code of ethics or philosophy, which guides their actions and shapes their worldview. Whether serving as humble protectors of their monastic order, wandering philosophers seeking enlightenment, or righteous warriors defending the innocent, monks embody the virtues of balance, discipline, and inner strength."

Srentha:

Also got Monk, but was SO close to getting Bard! (And from what I hear, Bard is a good class for his eccentric and entertaining friend-making self.) He seems to be the most balanced among different class characteristics so far.

Leyla:

Okay, all of my Azarathean characters are getting Monk and I'm laughing. The core tenet of their belief system is peace, okay. Meditation and mindfulness are parts of the package deal. But Wizard was a close second for her!

Kary:

If she doesn't get Druid, I will be amazed. That's the nature class, right? Forests and animals are Kary's Things.

Okay, color me amazed? Kary got Barbarian with 95% and Druid was only 70!

"The barbarian is a primal force of nature, embodying raw strength, unbridled fury, and untamed wilderness. They are warriors who eschew the trappings of civilization, preferring instead to embrace their innate instincts and physical prowess. Barbarians are driven by a deep connection to their primal roots, drawing strength from the untamed landscapes they call home. Their rage is both a weapon and a shield, fueling their ferocity in battle while also providing a means of survival in harsh environments. Despite their outward appearance of savagery, barbarians often possess a keen intuition and a strong sense of loyalty to their tribes or companions. They are fierce defenders of their homeland and fiercely independent individuals, embodying the wild spirit that courses through their veins. In essence, the barbarian is a primal guardian of the natural world, embodying the untamed essence of the wilderness itself."

And you know what, that's actually PERFECT for her.

Just for fun, I want to see what Evangeline would get, perhaps one of the only characters I've ever written that lands solidly in the Evil alignment:

Evangeline:

...Hm, apparently when you get multiple results, you don't get to read what the tied classes are.

She tied for Warlock and Sorcerer, both at 95%.

So I retook it, tweaked some results, and somehow STILL got her tied, this time between Barbarian and Sorcerer, both at 90%.

So I can't get a description, but I'm going to assume Sorcerer for her.

Is sorcerer a good class for someone who's selfish, hedonistic, driven by fury, and ferociously loyal to those she considers friends?

#rhs has ocs and this is the tag about them #personality quiz #dnd

[nightmarist]

its been fucking years since i thought about godtiers but lets try.....

bg3 x homestuck classpects

Astarion — Knight of Heart he has deep intimacy issues and is greatly guarding his own heart and desires. in fact, he barely knows what he wants. he knows how to manipulate people and use it to his advantage. he needs to get over said issues and learn to trust people that care about him and get a better grip on his own wants and needs.

Gale — Prince of Void hes an intelligent man who loves to learn and reveal knowledge, thus destructing secrets and revealing truths, and especially believes in knowledge being available for mortals. he has the Netherese orb, which is quite literally an orb of Nothing that can destroy half the world. he needs to learn to let things be, put down hubris, not everything needs to be revealed and taken and touched.

Lae'zel — Maid of Doom she is strict and follows a paradigm that has been thrust upon her without question. she is also strategic in the way she approaches destruction, no matter who it is that needs to die - such as her cousins in K'liir. she needs to learn how to break free of convention and make her own rules to live by.

Shadowheart — Witch of Void an expert manipulator in secrecy and nothingness, especially by way of her willingness to remove her own memory and knowledge. she has hidden herself inside herself multiple times and needs help finding her true self or else she will be confined to a lie of her own making made to bury the truth of her kidnapping.

Karlach — Maid of Rage her anger is her conviction, her strength comes from her rage while she also empowers others through that rage, it is righteous and raw and powerful and protective. she is in dire need of emotional support and making connections beyond pain and anger.

Wyll — Heir of Blood he feels responsible for helping others, and by mizora we see he can be manipulated into doing self destructive if not awful things as long as it can help someone else, especially by way of his lack of close personal bonds as the fabled Blade of Frontiers. he needs to be guided on the right path by the people who care about him, and needs to learn to make and trust real bonds.

Halsin — Mage of Life he is an excellent caretaker and knowledgeable in health and life as a druid and a healer. however, he has an obsession with the shadow curse feeling responsible for it as though fixingit would also fix him, and simultaneously over-sacrifices himself for others. he needs to learn to balance helping themselves and others correctly.

Minthara — Thief of Blood she manipulates others in order to reach the top, no bond is too sacred to be severed, blood and bonds are merely tools to achieve her goals. she is proud to her very core, she knows what she wants and she Will get it. she needs to learn to worth doesn't require status.

Minsc — Page of Breath hes almost childishly idealistic and an excitable free spirit, more than happy to support and cheer others on. he wants to do absolute good to protect the lands from evil. tends to follow the will of others to an extreme degree. he needs to learn to think for himself a bit more.

Jaheira — Page of Heart shes jaded to the events of the world, dry but not yet out of hope. she tends to have a flippant view of the world while still acting compassionate towards others. she can put up the necessary front of being an excellent leader but tends to be emotionally distant. her leadership is necessary but superficial, especially as a parent. she needs to balance sincerity.

The Emperor — Lord of Mind the literal embodiment and manipulation of the mind. controlling others through manipulation like puppets, making the people around them believe his subliminal ideas are their own original ones inorder to get others to do his work. needs to not be a dick.

Gortash — Lord of Void the embodiment of lies, manipulation, and, well, tyranny. rules with an iron fist, manipulates others through carefully placed conspiracies and lies, uses a network in order to get what he wants. needs to learn to accept the truth of matters and his own situation.

Ketheric — Prince of Breath oppressive destruction. keeps all things regulated, in perfect alignment. seeks to usher a new order for the sake of his goals, including taking away the freedoms of his only daughter. needs to learn to let go.

Orin — Heir of Rage embodiment of anger, she is explosive and unpredictable in her rage and petulant anger. acting out to create dire and violent consequences. inspires others to join her and commit acts of violence for the sake of rage, not for the sake of Bhaal. needs to learn to channel her anger in the right direction.

Durge — Heir of Blood embodiment of unity and bonds, as well as literal blood. either as embrace or resist the Urge, durge is driven by the bonds that inherently tie them to Bhaal and Orin, as well as chasing the threads that once bound them to other people (ketheric, gortash, potential others they knew prior to their lobotomy or prior to their bhaalspawn awakening). needs to choose a side, to choose the people they consider close.

Tav — Heir of Space the embodiment of creation and creativity. they go with the flow of the world thrown at them, influenced by the people around them and the ideas of others. they can drastically change the substance of the world around them with a single decision. the world is quite literally in their hands. they need to learn responsibility for their actions.

Zevlor — Page of Hope an excellent leader and harbinger of hope. he gives people hope but never leaves any left for himself. deeply self sacrificing to the point of self destruction. needs to learn to have his own hope.

Raphael — Bard of Hope he sees others as his personal playthings to get what he wants, dangling hope in front of them to lure them and manipulate them, ultimately leading them to their doom and destruction. at times, creating a false hope is just as fun if only to watch others unravel themselves for a morsel of it. putting up a front of hope, he is internally wrathful and petty. contradictorily, he needs to learn hope is not just a useful weapon of falsehood, but a very real thing.

Haarlep — Bard of Heart they see desire and want as their personal plaything. they have desires of their own, and uses what they're good at (sex and embodiment of desire) to manipulate others into destroying themselves for their sake. desire is both their cage and key, the very thing that allowed them to be the personal incubus of a prince, and the thing that entraps them to the very same petulant prince. they need to learn desire isn't just a useful tool or weapon, but something real and good.

Isobel — Sylph of Light as a cleric of selune, she heals through light and knowledge - including the obfuscation of that knowledge. if it is better to help someone to hide information, she would do so. withholding secret knowledge she could save people and cause them less harm. she needs to be less drastic and trust more easily.

Dame Aylin — Heir of Rage the embodiment of rage. when rage exists especially through means of injustice, she cannot simply stand by, she Must act, and act out with all her heart, pouring all her hatred and frustration into everything she does. she is also just as deeply passionate. she gives in to her emotions readily and easily. she needs to not let it consume and destroy her.

Withers — Muse of Time as all things are written, fate sees what is to come. he is patience itself. he can rewrite loss if it is necessary but will allow fate to run its course. he needs to learn to take a more active role in protecting fate.

Volo — Bard of Void the embodiment of obfuscation, secrets, and lies. he is a con artist at heart and Will tell the better story no matter how improbable it is. he hides lies within nuggets of truth because it tells a better story or has better excitement. likewise, he is simultaneously terrible at keeping secrets. as a seeker of knowledge and contradictorily a faux bard in search of fame, he would use the truth and spin his own web of lies to make up whatever outcome he desires.

#i spent way too much time on this tbh #i cant remember half of the classpects so i Tried but there are probably better matches out there #anyway lmao happy 413 with my latest obsession

[autistichalsin]

Even if Halsin have not felt suited to the role of the First Druid, I have never agreed with this statement. Although he may have been hesitant, he truly went above and beyond his duties. I hold this belief strongly and will continue to encourage Halsin to see this through my Tav.

If he doesn't wish to assume the mantle of Archdruid, that's completely acceptable. He gave his all, demonstrated exemplary skill, and ensured peace within the Grove before departing. If I were his mentor, I would have felt an immense sense of pride in my heart because of his dedication.

Honestly, thinking about what happens during the game and after, I think the problem is this:

Halsin is a great leader, but he's bad at Druidic leadership, specifically. When you're in a leadership position, your values and goals need to align with the group's. While Halsin, of course, lives and breaths Druidic doctrine, he isn't so good at balancing the needs of his group members with his own goals; he looks at things outside the Grove, like the Shadow Curse, and prioritizes what he sees as the most important thing without necessarily explaining this to the group. He doesn't communicate clearly enough; Kagha talks about him "stumbling after the past", obviously not understanding the importance of curing the Shadow Curse. Everyone else, except Halsin, was willing to let the Shadow Curse continue. And of course it's a morally good act to cure the Shadow Curse, but his focus on it made him oblivious to some of the needs of the Druids.

Then you add in his avoidance of his responsibilities due to his tremendous amounts of trauma arising from his first day as Archdruid, and his own admitted inability to persuade the way Francesca could. Unfortunately, persuasiveness is a vital quality of a leader, and Halsin, while wise, isn't always so good at making his case.

It's very telling, to me, that Kagha was so willing to badmouth Halsin to outsiders. The Emerald Enclave (it's not explicitly stated that the Grove is under their authority, IIRC, but very heavily hinted that they're at LEAST allied, because Halsin mentions them refusing to help with the Shadow Curse in a note) has a very strict rule that while, in a meeting, Druids are free to air complaints, outside of it, they are to always act as a unified front, because open airing of grievances weakens the perception of the group to outsiders. Kagha, and many of the other Druids under Halsin's command, were willing to abandon this rule to trash talk Halsin to complete strangers, which means that he never properly instilled that rule in them, either.

Yet at the commune, where his leadership role is less strict and formal, everyone thrives; he enjoys his role. The key difference is that the leadership expected of an Archdruid was more structured and authoritarian; they were expected to be the firm decision makers, the ones In Charge, the ones to make plans of action and to manage problems. On the other hand, he indicates in tone and with a few lines (and a devnote that refers to him as an "informal elder") that his commune is a group effort; he's a guide, he gives advice and takes initiative to fix things, but everyone has a say in things.

In other words, he's suited for the gentler type of leadership where he's guiding others and everyone has a role, and not so well suited for the type of leadership where he is meant to be The Authority, What He Says Goes.

That said, he did, of course, do amazingly under the circumstances- he really did the best anyone could be expected to, and if he was TERRIBLE at it instead of simply not GREAT, he would have been ousted at some point over the past 100 years. Clearly no one else felt like they could do better.

But I think it's telling that when Halsin talks to you about his letter from the Grove in act 3, that there's only one response that he truly responds happily to (and gives approval to). He will give vague answers about leaving the Grove if the player reassures him that he was good, or that it's okay to leave (saying that this is true but he has a lot of knowledge and wants to find a way to pass that on). But the response that makes him happiest is:

"Grove aside, I'm glad you stayed with me."

Because what he wants isn't to be Archdruid, or to be reassured of his skills as such. What he wants is to belong, and be needed, somewhere else- somewhere where he is happy. Because he says, multiple times in multiple scenarios, that traveling with Tav is among his happiest memories. With a world-ending threat in front of him, he's the happiest he's been because he's being shown kindness, and consideration as a person, he never got at the Grove. He wants to belong with you because you're the first one to show him it doesn't matter if he is a good leader, he still has a place at your side, he's welcome as he is. And that's what he wants, more than anything- even being reassured of his leadership skills is, to him, almost a confirmation that he has to be a good leader to be Good and Worthy. But saying "look, good leader or not, I'm glad you're with me" tells him that he finally has somewhere he is treasured for himself, and that is huge for him.

#halsin #halsin silverbough #bg3 #baldur's gate 3

[dailycharacteroption]

Green Scourge (Druid Archetype)

(art by Jim “Dreadjim” Ling on Artstation)

It can sometimes be hard to remember with all the heroic and not-so-heroic violence of the game that divine casters, at their cores, are usually something of guides and protectors. Even an evil cleric protects their flock, even if it is only for selfish reasons of power or to sacrifice them later, to say nothing of a paladin’s goal as a protector first. Druids too are protectors, albeit mostly of nature itself.

However, every divine order has it’s exceptions that focus on destroying the foes of what they protect over directly protecting them, which may or may not lead to problems if their laser focus on that goal undermines the ultimate goal of protection or doing what is right by their estimation. We’ve seen this represented in archetypes before, and today, it’s a druidic one!

The so-called Green Scourges are the hunters of the unnatural, particularly aberrations. Whether they are mutants spawned from some corruption, alien lifeforms that disrupt the balance as any invasive species might, or an outright blight on nature itself, these scourges seek to destroy them and other similar blights such as undead, oozes born of foul magic such as actual blight oozes, and so on.

They might be encouraged to do so by more militant orders or by orders large enough to warrant having specialized subgroups within, or they might be loose cannons whose power is shaped by they ways they wish to use it, making their elders worry that they’ll go too far.

In any case, the result is a druid that is surprisingly deadly in direct combat without having to wild shape, though they still have access to that.

While most druids are able to expend spells meant for other magic to conjure allies from the natural world, green scourges instead do so to arm themselves, either turning a simple wooden weapon into a deadly implement, on conjuring forth a sword-like projection of fire. While this is all simple druidic fare, where this gets interesting is their ability to expend higher magic to get even more powerful weaponry, adding base enhancement and magical abilities to these supernatural weapons to fit the situation. What’s more, if they add an enchantment that adds elemental damage to a flame blade, the blade itself becomes that damage type, allowing them to wield blades of frost or lightning. However, there is a baseline cost in the spell level increase, so don’t expect to become too powerful too quickly. Also, note that the list of possible enchantments, while effective, is a bit limited, with aberration bane being the only option, and the list being a bit short overall.

They also train in recognizing aberrations and their signs of their passing, to better combat their foe.

Though they specialize in fighting aberrations, sometimes it is good to be hidden from a variety of foes. As such, these druids learn how to suppress their own scent, hiding it from foes that might detect them.

Just as other druids are resistant to plants and the fey, these mystic warriors tune their resistance to be against their hated aberrant foes.

This archetype is interesting. While it is clearly focused on aberrant foes, it is not so specialized as to be unusable against everything else. Moreover, this archetype begs for you to create a melee druid build that can do so not just with wild shape, but in their true form as well. With that in mind, your feats should dive into that as much as you can, while your daily spells should probably be a mix of support for that as well as variety for the challenges of the day, including combat spells that help inhibit foes before wading into combat. Also consider whether you want a domain that can buff you further, or a companion to flank with.

There are plenty of reasons to want aberrations dead, seeing them as a threat to the natural order, personal tales of revenge, and so on, but something to remember is that not all aberrations are necessarily unnatural or harmful, such as flumphs. Does your character make that distinction? Might that be part of their character development?

Despite their serpentine forms, nagas are considered aberrant creatures, which marks them for purging by the druidic guardians of Velshaka Rainforest. As such, any naga venturing into the jungle from their empire is sure to bring strong nagaji bodyguards with them in case of ambush.

When reports surface of a humanoid mole-like creature, Gevos of the Circle of the Scourge arrives seeking to destroy whatever unnatural mutant has crawled forth, but what he fails to realize is the creature is a muldnal, an agathion from the upper planes. Can the benevolent celestial convince the druidic assassin of his good intentions, or will he need help from goodly allies?

When the outlanders came from across the sea, they brought with them their faith, one that gave reverence to beings from beyond the starts, which they called upon to aid them with their many eyes and mouths. However, the indigenous people of the land have a response, orders of wise ones who command nature and bring it’s wrath down on upon the invaders and their monstrous bedfellows

#pathfinder #archetype #druid #green scourge #naga #nagaji #muldnal #agathion #Monster Hunter's Handbook

[dasenergi]

It is the absolute most perfect day out there. I just got home from our local wetlands nature preserve. It's 75°/ 24° C out there. A slight breeze, 8 mph. The sunshine feels so good on my skin! When I got into my car this morning, it was covered in pollen. Spring is here!

I went to the nature preserve to work on the "The Sacred Trees" module from the Inner Temple Mystery School.

When I arrived I did an intuitive nature walk and let my crystal pendulum guide me along the path, it told me which direction to go. First it took me down a hidden path to a tree where I used to have sex with an ex-boyfriend. When I arrived under the tree, it is a great old tree with stories to tell, but the pendulum was telling me, "No." So we went back to the main path.

It eventually led me off of the main trail to a young oak grove. When I was in the middle of three young oak trees it told me, "This is the spot!" (It was swinging in a circle.) So I setup camp to spend about 90 minutes in meditation, limbs from the trees overlapped above to create a canopy protecting me.

First I did a grounding meditation, planting my roots in the soil, connecting to the trees and life around me. My hands reached down to the soil. When I do reiki (energy work), my hands get so hot. The same this time. My hands hot, the energy tingling down my arms. My energy field was reaching out to the trees on either side of me. Connection.

I felt held, supported, inspired by the interconnectedness of all life around me. The bees gathering pollen from the trees above me. Beneath me the dark and rich soil full of life, bacteria, fungi, insects, and worms, breaking down fallen leaves and dead wood releasing nutrients back into the soil. The warm breeze, carrying pollen, and life-giving oxygen, fresh and clean from the trees, the sound of leaves blowing in the wind. (Later, when I opened my eyes I found fallen leaves in my beard, shoulders, and on my shirt and lap.)

I was in bliss. This is what a forest bath is all about.

I did a Rebecca Campbell guided meditation, "Earth Pulsing With Trees." It was so calming, deep breathing with the pulse of the Earth, leaning into the trees, supported by the warm breeze. So much interconnected life energy surrounding me. I felt the balance of, "We are One." Humans are a kindred of the trees. Distant cousins. We both come from water and need water to survive. But trees also provide us with oxygen that we also need to survive.

Then I did the "Tree of Life, Soul Journey" meditation. I already did this one a couple of weeks back. Again, the Green Man came to me as my nature spirit guiding me through the Enchanted Forest. It told me its name is Kneebog. (The same name it told me last time.)

Whenever I visit the Enchanted Forest during my "Tree of Life, Soul Journey" meditation, I am reminded of the fantasy forest in the 1985 Tom Cruise, Ridley Scott, Tim Curry movie "Legend". I think I need to watch it again soon.

As always, my "Tree of Life" is a giant Majestic Oak like the one at the Botanic Garden near me in Claremont. So big. Such a huge canopy. Hundreds of years old. I've always imagined Queen Titania, King Oberon and the rest of the faeries dancing around the tree in Claremont on some midsummer eve. (As a druid, it truly is an ancient, sacred, holy tree. The Tongva tribe, native to this region also thought so.)

The Tree of Life didn't give me any new information today, as usual it tells me I am on the right path and to keep doing what I am doing. My job in this phase of our awakening (evolution) is a sower of seeds. It is important to keep sharing this wisdom on Tumblr, spreading seeds. This wisdom will take root in other minds and the knowledge will grow.

I didn't try kything with the trees too much today. I actually got an odd feeling from them when I first tried. The trees are too young, and they aren't naturally grown from that land. They were planted there. Kything with them almost felt like reading the mind, emotions, and energy of an awkward confused and insecure 12 year old going through puberty. It was very complex and challenging. And I wasn't in the emotional state to handle that. I wanted calm and grounded.

But I touched them all, and thanked them all. I told them I will revisit them again in the Spring/Summer. And I will see how much they have changed in that time.

Then I did a closing ritual, packed-up, and began the walk back to my car. All the while, simply enjoying what a beautiful perfect day it is today. Not too hot, not too cold, but just right.

The dark days of Winter are behind us. Life and renewal are here.