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mybg3notebook · 3 years

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Astarion Analysis

Disclaimer Game Version: All these analyses were made up to the game version v4.1.101.4425. As long as new content is added, and as long as I have free time for that, I will try to keep updating this information.

“Morals are all well and good, but power always wins.”

“If all I want is shallow praise? Hardly, there is also gold, sex, revenge, quite the list, really. But failing any of those, I will always settle for shallow praise.”

--Astarion

The majority of sources used for this article are in the game itself (including Astarion-solo playthroughs) and the dev’s notes and datamined information provided by pjenn. Astarion as origin is (almost) not taken into account since it’s not finished and is highly unpolished.

The itemised list will show some instances of approval or disapproval as seen in the game. To make the reading of this article easier and shorter, you can skip them since they are basically the proof I use to sustain the introductory concept of each block.

We can infer a lot of Astarion by analysing what he approves and disapproves of. Sometimes, we can even lightly infer some information from his neutral reactions, but let’s be honest: this way of analysing a char is pretty poor since it leaves everything to speculation. Neutral reactions can only be analysed by contrasting the same situation in other contexts, and seeing what other options Astarion approves or disapproves of. With these considerations in mind, we can proceed to describe this character.

Disclaimer: this is a meta with my personal interpretation of the character, sticking as much as possible to the facts and leaving little to “desires” or “projections” of what I want him to be. If I do so, I will state it explicitly in the text for the sake of analysis honesty. I want to be clear about what is canon (facts shown in bg3 EA), from what’s personal interpretation with little proof.

Also, this list is extensive, gathering as much as I could in my many playthroughs, but I’m sure it’s not absolutely complete. Some details may have escaped to me, but honestly, I believe they will be easily fit in these blocks once the pattern has been seen.

Understanding Astarion by enumerating his reactions

Astarion is usually seen as a character whose behaviour is the embodiment of “randomness”, and after several Astarion-solo playthoughts, I began to see the patterns that showed little randomness in my opinion.

We can say that he likes gratuitous cruelty and murder. He has a special taste for animal cruelty too. He is greedy, but mostly if it leads to murder or to make little people suffer. Sometimes this greedy side comes from the fact that he doesn’t like to “work for free”: most quests should have a reward for him to be neutral to them. Accepting them without asking anything in return tends to earn a disapproval. He is more reticent to humiliate or outsmart NPCs that may be potentially stronger and more powerful than him.

[[1]] Situations showing his greed:

He supports the robbery of the fishermen that were helping the mind flayer (MF) after the crash.

Astarion supports stealing the “magical” ring from the tiefling kid (Mattis). This could be seen also as a gesture of outsmarting a person or mere trickster behaviour (see below).

He supports asking for compensation from the deep gnome we saved at the windmill.

He agrees to force Tulla (dying gnome in the myconid camp) to give you her magical boots.

Denying Baelen the scrolls because “they don’t come cheap”.

He approves pickpocketing Mirkon while being lured by the harpies.

[[2]]Situations displaying plain murder or violence:

He supports joining Lae’zel against the tieflings if you persuade them to free her, since this means killing (which is always an entertainment for him) creatures he considers lesser.

He supports killing Gimblebok and his gang near the Jergal ruins if you avoid any attempt of persuasion. This can be shown as a demonstration of power. (see below)

He supports killing Kagha without trying to persuade her or change her ways, not because he thinks Arabella’s death was an aberration (he enjoyed the show, as his approval and later comment confirm it) but simply because he enjoys murder.

He supports attacking the goblin camp. It’s a great spectacle of murder combined with his personal dismiss towards goblinoid races.

He approves of joining Minthara and massacrating the tieflings. It’s another great spectacle of murder, but in this time, of weak people (He detests weak creatures, and despises Tieflings in general).

He approves of killing Lae’Zel in the scene where she attacks Tav during the night, out of fear of turning into MF.

He approves of killing Rugan in the hideout.

Still related to this level of violence and cruelty, he supports learning more about Shar once Shadowheart explains Shar’s teachings, all about violence and death, fighting against the illusion of safety.

He approves killing Ellyka, the tiefling spying on the Gith patrol, if Tav is a Githyanki (true or disguised as) and chooses “Attack.”

He approves of helping Glut in massacring the whole Myconid colony.

He approves of sacrificing one of the companions to the fish-people who worship Booal.

He approves fighting the fake god Booal because it’s a massacre; where there is bloodshed, there is Astarion’s approval.

For the same reason he approves killing the Githyanki patrol: pure bloodshed.

[[3]] Situations of gratuitous cruelty: I understand that a lot of people confuse this trait of his personality as a “trolling attitude”. There are different archetypes of tricksters in DnD, and he is not particularly the silly-funny one (e.i. Jester in Critical Role), but the cruel-funny one. His “pranks” don’t cause annoyance or silly troubles, they usually end up in murdering the person he is pranking, or causing them great pain. What he considers “funny” is always related to a lot of blood and suffering. Examples of this:

He disapproves of diffusing the situation between Aradin and Zevlor after the first goblin attack. He is “missing” his show. This situation is also related to enjoying humiliation of others (see below).

After letting Arka kill the goblin and take her revenge, Astarion will approve the comment that refugees are desperate and they will do anything. He is enjoying the show of despair of weak creatures. And he is also expecting for some of them to become survivalist beasts.

He approves of telling Kagha that you enjoyed the show of Arabella’s death as an answer to her question about if she is a monster.

He also approves of telling Arabella's parents that Kagha will release their daughter when the Rite of Thorns is completed (while Arabella, in fact, has been killed by Kagha's snake). This is another example of Evil Trickster, a prank with a really dark taste. This also shows that Astarion likes to give false hopes [One of the most iconic characteristic of Cazador]

He approves of telling the tiefling kids training with Wyll that they are going to die, inspiring that despair he enjoys to see in weak creatures. (see below)

He approves of breaking Alfira’s teacher’s lute, leaving the tiefling heartbroken because that had been the only memento she got from her teacher, and could not finish her tribute song.

Astarion approves of interrupting the goblinoid couple having sex, which he considers disgusting. After killing them, Astarion will support the idea that it was funny. Another example of Evil Trickster where the prank ends up with the death of the pranked one. But we also know Astarion despises goblinoid races.

He approves of killing Crusher after humiliating him.

He supports Tav who volunteers to torture Liam at the goblin camp.

He supports of laughing at Lorin (the elf trapped in Ethel’s house) after pretending to be the monster he sees (psychological torture). This example can be part of the list of humiliation too.

He states that seeing Mayrina’s horrified face after resurrecting her husband was funny. Another example of false hopes [One of the most iconic characteristics of Cazador] On the contrary, if Tav kills the undead afterwards, Astarion will disapprove, since he missed the “fun” of seeing Mayrina tortured.

He enjoys every state of Abdirak’s torture upon Tav. This can be seen as a fine bloody show he is enjoying, or as a way to put Tav in a humiliating situation (as he approved the dung-smearing or the foot-kissing instances)

Using the leader gnoll Flind to attack her own gnolls earns his approval. Asking her to devour herself increases approval once more. This situation could also be seen as enjoyment of animal cruelty (since gnolls are considered animals by Astarion too) but also as the reflection of Astarion’s inner desire of becoming a Master of bending wills.

Probably the most innocent prank so far we saw, he approves of doing Baaa at the redcaps in the Bog.

[[4]] As I said previously, he suports any form of animal cruelty:

He approves of kicking and killing the squirrel Timber in the Druid Grove. According to the dev’s notes, he is “shocked and annoyed” because “you stamped a squirrel to death when he could’ve eaten it.” (DEN_General_Squirrel)

He supports prodding to death the bird that Nettie was healing during the dialogue (you need Speak with Animals for this).

He supports freeing the Owlbear cub at the Goblin Camp, and feeding it later, because he wants to bite the owlbear cub eventually (he uses the word “delectable” to describe him, and when the owlbear escapes, Astarions states “You‘ve scared off the little snack.”)

When we find Halsin in his bear form, Astarion will have two instances of approval: the first one when Tav tells the goblin kids that throwing stones with sharp edges would hurt the animal more, and then when Tav themself joins the goblins in throwing rocks at Halsin.

We can also add the confrontation with Flind, the Gnoll leader, as another example of animal cruelty since he approves a smart yet twisted way of killing her by double-using the tadpole. First to command her to attack the gnolls, and then to devour herself. However, since Gnolls are considered aberrations lore-wise, this point could be left aside in this particular case.

If we take into consideration that Astarion sees Goblins, Kobolds, and Gnomes as animals, killing them always increases his approval. This happens when we kill, out of the blue, most goblin NPCs, or simply attack the camp. (Datamined content) He will also approve of killing slave gnomes in Duergar Encampment (place you find after the boat). All these moments can be also seen as “animal” cruelty if we take into account Astarion’s perspective.

He approves of killing Priestess Gut in the Goblin Camp. It could also be interpreted as his usual dismissal towards goblins (he sees them as animals), since he never believed that she could help them in the first place. Or this approval can fit perfectly fine the cruel, murderous aspect of Astarion. As I said, many approvals overlap different aspects of Astarion, but all seem to fit his patterns either way.

I suspect that the reason behind this particular kind of cruelty comes from those two hundred years of torture, in which he had to drink animal blood. Considering he was such an unfair magistrate, directing his rage against the ones who are not the root of the problem seems fitting.

[[5]] Astarion is filled with racial bias and prejudices.

He only sees elves and humans as the only creatures capable of thinking. (Scene after the bite)

However, he has strong biases against a particular ethnic group of humans: Gurs. He thinks they are all cut-throat, and probably would approve the rest of stereotypes that Gandrel added in that scene. (Scene of meeting Gandrel)

He mocks halfling and dwarf Tavs, who he thinks are naturally weak, until they prove him wrong. (Stargaze scene for short-sized Tav)

He supports the idea that tieflings have demonic powers just because of their heritage. (Speaking with the Grove halfling seller). During the party, he compares the lives of the tieflings with the lives of the goblins as something of similar value (which we know he considers as animal).

He sees goblins, kobolds, and gnomes as animals. (Scene after the bite)

After killing the goblinoid couple which was having sex, if Tav choose to say that the situation made them scrub their eyes, Astarion would add and extra “dehumanizing” comment against gnomes. “I’ve seen worse. Gnomes can be… ughh.” (Scene of interrupting sex)

[[6]] He finds pleasure in humiliating people or in outsmarting them, especially if they are trying to outsmart Tav. He dislikes weakness and loves to humiliate weak people in particular.

He approves telling Lae’Zel to say “please” when we met her again in the cage, humiliating her.

He disapproves of diffusing the situation between Aradin and Zevlor after the first goblin attack. We know he is “missing” his show where one of them is being humiliated.

Astarion approves of telling Elegis that she is pathetic for being scared of a few goblins. Once more, humiliation due to weakness.

He disapproves of telling Arabella's parents that the Druids overreacted when speaking in the Druid Grove’s stairs. He is disapproving for defending a weak and silly creature who was not smart enough to survive on her own.

Astarion supports stealing the “magical” ring from the tiefling kid. This is another situation of humiliation of a weak person and outsmarting them. This could be considered a prank of a more silly-funny trickster doing an innocent prank.

He approves of telling the tiefling kids that they are going to die.

He feels disappointed when Lae’Zel did not kill Zorru, the tiefling that she forces to kneel and confess where he saw the Gith patrol. He approves the psychological torture of the interrogation.

He enjoys interrupting the goblinoid couple having sex. This is an example of the prank cruel-funny trickster. This “prank” ends up with the goblinoid couple being killed.

Astarion approves of smearing dung in the guard's face at the goblin camp entrance. The show of seeing someone being humiliated is satisfying.

He supports booing and humiliating Volo off the stage in the goblin camp.

He supports licking the goblin’s foot (It could also be considered a prank).

He supports kissing the goblin’s foot while stealing the ring. This situation puts two things he enjoys in the same place: the humiliation experienced by Tav and how the Crusher was outsmarted in the process. Astarion will approve if Crusher is the one humiliated and forced to kiss Tav’s foot.

He approves of laughing at Lorin (the elf trapped in Ethel’s house) when the elf is scared of Tav who pretends to be the monster that’s torturing him.

Humiliating “low people'' is an important aspect of Astarion’s personality, since it’s a small petty pleasure he can have now, when during the last two hundred years it had been done to him. Humiliation has to do with power as well, another symbol tight to Astarion’s personality. Through humiliation Astarion can taste a little bit of power, that power he lacked for two hundred years. That power that, if his backstory is not retconned in future versions or in the full release game, he had before turning into a vampire, abusing those groups he considered less.

[[7]] If we think in power, we also have to think in manipulation. And of course, Astarion is a great master of it. Sometimes the events that stand out his taste for manipulation overlap with the ones displayed in the humiliation section.

Since the moment we meet Astarion, we know he keeps working in turning himself into a pleasant and useful companion for Tav. Astarion knows he has bigger chances to succeed and survive staying with this group. A lot of his “neutral” behaviours respond to this goal: he doesn’t want to enrage Tav to the point of being kicked out of the party, it’s not about a hidden gentle side inside he is showing with an apathetic neutrality, it’s, once more, raw preservation and survival. During the first scenes of the game, when we don’t know he is a vampire, Astarion tries to avoid taking a position in the situations we face: he is just feeling the ground all the time: with Sazza and with Arabella’s death is clear. He doesn’t judge hard, he is testing Tav, he is trying to understand their mind, and acting as pleasant as he can according to what he sees. It’s a natural use of manipulation to guarantee his survival in a group of strangers. During the bite scene—when this façade finally ends—he is truly nervous of being killed for his vampiric nature, and tries to convince Tav of keeping him in the group using arguments that go from seduction to practical usefulness.

The scene of stargaze also shows his usage of seduction as a manipulative tool to guarantee his survival (he weponises seduction and sex). Although he says mostly the same, he reacts very differently in tone depending on Tav’s approach. If Tav is wary, Astarion will act encouraging their ego and enumerating several feats, while getting uncomfortably closer. If Tav is already interested in Astarion, the elf will use softer manners to keep the seduction into a more intimate tone. This is a scene of a predator tasting his future prey as well (Dev’s notes are pretty clear about his manipulation). In this scene, also, Astarion is light-headed because he has not drunk blood in a while, and has “his head foggy” (something we can repeat during his origin as a personal tag). Exact words he will use as a narrative hint during the bite scene. Therefore, this scene has little of “Astarion falling for Tav”, and has everything of vampiric hunger combined with a raw sense of survival and usage of seduction to guaranteed it.

(potential interpretation) He approves when he is persuaded into sharing his dream with Tav. In any other character, we usually would understand this as an approval for caring about the character himself. In that scenario, failing the approval doesn’t cause a penalty (unless the character understands this failure as prying, as it happens with Shadowheart). In Astarion’s case, when you fail this persuasion, you are penalised with a disapproval. We can understand this in the same way we see it with Shadowheart: this is his annoyance for prying into his personal business. But there is another interpretation in this disapproval: he recognised a bad execution of persuasion as a manipulative attempt, and Astarion is in particular very sensitive to manipulations and mind games (see point [12]).

Most of his “romance” is manipulation as well, keeping in mind the first point of this section: he becomes pleasant for Tav, using whatever shape he needs, so he can survive (this is especially noticeable with a good-aligned Tav). Astarion has weaponised seduction and sex without any hint of subtetly for the player (As the Dev’s notes say: “For Astarion, this is a game of power - one he’s played many times before in the taverns of Baldur’s Gate, trying to lure people back to his master. He’s an old hand at seduction, very self-assured at first, but the player might not go along with the script he expects them to follow.”) We can assure that Astarion will find more satisfaction in having “fun” with a high-approval Tav rather than a low-approval Tav.

If Tav is not evil enough (and therefore has a low approval), Astarion will need to be the one inviting Tav to have sex (to be sure the control is still in his hand, still pushing for “catching” Tav). If a low-approval-Tav invites Astarion, he will decline saying that he “has standards'', implying he needs to be the one controlling the situation (he is basically playing “hard to catch”. Astarion already knows that he “caught” Tav in this scenario since Tav was the first one showing their interest). If Tav is evil-like (and has enough approval), Astarion will not only weaponise sex, he may express some degree of personal desire in having “fun” with Tav. After all, evil characters can like one another. In this case, he would accept Tav’s invitation for more hedonist reasons such as personal pleasure and not mere survival. Still it’s always present the layer of using this situation as a manipulative tool to have control on Tav.

Approves persuading Crusher without a fight, understanding it as an approval earnt for the good manipulation tool used. Of course this scene is combined with the natural approval that Astarion gives when outsmarting creatures he considers lower or animal-like (See point [6]).

Successfully persuade Lae'Zel to "play along" when meeting the Githyanki patrol, and pull off the deception.

I personally found funny that Astarion, without the intention of the writer, is so good in his manipulations, that he broke the fourth wall and ended up manipulating a good amount of players as well into believing him.

[[8]] He supports revenge in all its forms and degrees, which is not strange since it’s his main motivation against Cazador.

He approves of letting Arka kill Sazza in the cage as revenge for her brother’s death.

He approves of the attack against Nettie when she poisons Tav.

He approves of telling Edowin's siblings to find the beast that attacked him as a way to avenge the True Soul.

Astarion approves of Arabella’s mother killing Kagha at the party.

He approves of helping the Sovereign to take revenge against the Duergars that killed their young. However, it’s not clear if Astarion approves the revenge itself or the method proposed, which is, according to his own words, “a bit genocidal” and therefore more entertaining for him (we need to remember he enjoys the display of murder and violence in all its forms, [2,3]).

He approves of helping Glut in massacring the whole Myconid colony, since according to Glut’s words, they saw Glut’s circle being killed by the Duergars and did nothing, so Glut is looking for revenge.

[[9]] He doesn’t like to get involved in anyone’s problems unless you can obtain a benefit or a reward for it (this is directly connected to his greed aspect [1])

He approves of telling Mayrina’s brothers that they are on their own, and actively disapproves if Tav agrees to help them find Mayrina.

He approves of declining to help Halsin in killing the Goblin leaders.

He disapproves of helping Wyll to save the Tiefling refugees in the Grove.

He disapproves of helping Zevlor.

He disapproves of finding evidence that confirms that Kagha is working with Shadow Druids. He will additionally disapprove again if, after exposing her, Tav asks her to change her ways. From Astarion’s point of view, Tav is basically meddling too much in the Grove’s problems for free, and ruining all the instances where murder could happen.

He also disapproves if Tav agrees to help the two Zhentarim humans that are attacked by gnolls without asking for compensation.

He approves of not getting involved in the rescue of the Duke when Tav speaks with Florrick

[[10]] Despite having been a slave, he lacks of empathy for those who shared his fate and, instead, he supports slavery:

If we take into consideration what Swen said about his background in one of the first playthough he showed, we know that Astarion, as a magistrate, used criminals as food for local vampires, and in an attempt to outsmart them, he began to sell them into slavery (we can see in this brief background that Astarion has been greedy and cruel before turning into a vampire).

Although he disapproves paying for Oskar, the painter in the Zhentarim Hideout, he does it because of the money. When Tav buys the painter and demands him to stay silent because “slaves should speak when they are spoken to”, Oskar will think this is a joke (which is not the case, since none of those options has, in this patch at least, a (performance) tag). When Tav reinforces the idea that this is not a joke, and Oskar is now a true slave, only then, Astarion will approve.

When seeing one of the servant Duergars of the Myconite Colony, Astarion will comment on how useful they are, and how Underdark drows should learn about these creatures, since these slaves are more efficient than the standard ones. If Tav brings awareness about the contradiction that those thoughts cause coming from an ex-slave, Astarion will justify his thinking saying that they are husks without mind, claiming that his feelings “may be different, had they been conscious beings. Or maybe not.” He emphasises in this dual possibility. And we can be sure that he certainly would not care slavery on conscious creatures, as we confirm it later with Oskar (A human who is not a Gur, and therefore, a creature that Astarion consider thinking acceptable beings).

(Datamined content) When reaching the Duergar Encampment, once Nere is rescued, there is approval for killing the slave gnomes when the True Soul orders it. One can interpret that Astarion minds little for these slaves because they are gnomes, and therefore, animals.

[[11]] He looks for power and dominance, to have control over others and also as a way to guarantee his own freedom.

In the discussion after every dream, Astarion supports the use of the tadpole's power in every opportunity, dismissing their effects. He is thrilling for the ability of bending everyone’s will (curious note, this is one of Cazador’s characteristics most hated by him)

He approves of letting the Koa-Toes bow before them as the Booal's chosen. This scene can be understood as a typical prank of a trickster, but also as a taste for being adored as a master/entity with more power. This scene shows that he and Tav are placed in the “Master” position. This reinforces the idea that Astarion wants to be a Master/Cazador, eventually. (Check post about Astarion and Power 1 and 2)

If Tav claims that the worship to them as True Souls can be useful after letting Edowin’s siblings leave, Astarion will approve. He shows in every instance more delight for having Cazador’s powers, making emphasis in the mind control ability, again.

Astarion approves of keeping the Necromancy of Thay tome. As we see later in his scene, he believes that there is something powerful hidden in it that may help him against Cazador. He wants to muster all the power of any kind he can.

Astarion approves of sparing Auntie Ethel’s life when she surrenders during battle because she will grant them power in exchange. He wants to muster all the power of any kind he can.

[[12]] Astarion is particularly sensitive to mind control. His expressions and the tone of his voice against any type of mind control are filled with feral ire (video here):

He is angrily affected by the movements of his worm in his own head,

He screams against Ethel’s control when using the mask,

The insults at the harpies when he is lured,

The way he is annoyed by the telepathic spores in the Underdark,

He disapproves failed attempts of persuasion (understood by his character as failed, obvious attempts of manipulations).

And, potentially, this is the reason why he disapproves of Priestess Gut cleaning Tav’s mind.

[[13]] Because he likes power, he also likes the demonstration of power whether his own or his allies’, therefore he likes most intimidation options in general

He approves of intimidating Gimblebok and the gang near the ruins.

He approves of intimidating or provoking both Aradin and Zevlor at the Druid Grove.

At camp, when discussing preferred methods of death, he approves if Tav tells him "If I die, I'll take you with me." (after first picking "Try it and I'll spill your guts") . He also approves if Tav chooses a method of death (decapitation, knife, poison). Both options show resolve, strength, and freedom in deciding one’s fate. Since Astarion died at the hands of strangers, he values the freedom of choosing how to die. He will disapprove picking the option of letting others decide your death.

He approves if you intimidate the mirror into allowing passage.

[[14]] He is a survivalist character, and therefore, a lot of his approvals are related to elements that will guarantee his life, such as looking for his own freedom, the acceptance of his vampire nature, and the encouragement in looking for strong alliances or keeping alive strong individuals that can be useful as allies.

He approves of being accepted with his vampire nature and allowing him to feed on Tav’s blood. He keeps approving if Tav defends him during the exchange of opinions in the camp.

He approves if he has permission to feed on enemies.

He approves of killing Gandrel. This approval is also mere raw survival.

He approves if during sex, Tav allows him to drink their blood.

He disapproves of promising Nettie to take Wyvern Poison if you feel symptoms of the Tadpole, since it goes against his survival instinct.

When Lae’Zel is killed by the Gith patrol, he will state in banter that it was a waste since Lae’Zel was a powerful/strong specimen, so clearly he is lamenting the loss of a powerful ally.

Despite appreciating his freedom, he has explicitly stated that he “would choose servitude over oblivion any day”, showing how extremely survivalist he can be.

[[15]] He likes to find a solution to their tadpole problem using unconventional ways, or at least, using options that may lead him to the twisted solution he needs (which is not exactly being cured of the tadpole, but to control it, he certainly needs more exceptional means)

He approves of telling Auntie Ethel about the tadpole in the Druid Grove simply because she “looks lunatic”.

At first, Astarion disapproves of Raphael's invitation to remove the Tadpole, claiming that he would not change one master for another. However, when the situation starts looking dire, he will approve of the idea, because anything “may be better than Cazador” adding later that he “would choose servitude over oblivion any day.”

A bit contradictory when he was the first one claiming that Raphael used mind games similar to Cazador’s, games they know they have won before starting.

[[16]] He has a “soft spot” for helping people to escape their masters or killing/rejecting people that can be seen as Masters. However it’s requirement that those escapees could be seen by Aastarion as strong and capable creatures. He would mind little for creatures he sees as underlings. (Weak concept, seeing it with squinted eyes)

He approves of helping Karlach to get rid of the Tyr followers, since they are in fact working for Zariel, Karlach’s previous master. With all what Karlach explained about her past, she certainly qualifies as a strong person who is trying to get rid of her master.

He disapproves of Tav who tells Raphael that they would do anything to remove the Tadpole. This is probably resounding in Astarion: his past bad choice when he was at death's door due to the Gur attack and Cazador appeared to “save” him. He knows that going to that extent has poor results.

Astarion approves of Tav if they say that they won’t become Raphael's pawn (conversation in the camp after the encounter with Raphael). It’s true that when the other options narrow, Astarion starts to consider the possibility of changing a vampiric master for an infernal one.

This post was written on April 2021.

→ For more Astarion: Analysis Series Index

#astarion #bg3 early access #bg3 meta

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vizowrites · 3 years

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Helluva Boss - DnD

So my friends/roommates recently got me into playing DnD, and after how much fun I had playing around here on Tumblr with the Game Night AU thing, it got me thinking:

What would happen if the I.M.P. family decided to do a campaign together?? :D

For the sake of.....sake, I’m going off of the The Lost Mine of Phandelver campaign because that was the one that my friends and I did. It’s a really nice starter campaign and I could see Moxxie picking it out if they went into a game store on Earth or something and found it sitting there on the shelf. Which, actually, coincidentally leads me into which roles I think they would’ve taken. :3

Moxxie, for sure, would’ve ended up as the DM. Bltiz thought that he wanted to be the DM at first--riiiiiight up until he realized that it meant that he had to deal with all the maps and lore and random shit. That changed his mind pretty quickly, and he just shoved all of the books onto Moxxie’s lap and said “Have fun, Mox! I’m gonna be a wizard!”

The thing that Blitz didn’t realize, though, is that Moxxie had chosen to assign each of them the premade character sheets that came with the game--which of course got the very loud “WHAT THE FUCK MOXXIE?!” from Blitz, but, as Moxxie pointed out.....that was one of his many powers alloted to him as the DM so they just had to deal with it. :) So he slides each of the four players [Blitz, Striker, Millie, and Loona] their premade sheets upside down on the table, and eagerly watches them each flip them over.

Striker’s tail rattling is the first sound that breaks out.

“What the hell is this “Noble” bullshit?!” he demands as he slaps his character sheet back down on the table, furiously pointing at the spot where his character background is listed. “Do I look like I’d be playin’ as some ditzy ass blueblood?!?”

“You’re playing as a fighter,” Moxxie replied airily, trying not to [and failing miserably at trying not to] smile. “You just happen to be a fighter that has a history of being in the nobility. It adds character dimension.”

Striker’s tail began to rattle louder.

“And I’m a--ohhhhh!! I’m a Rogue!!” Millie’s voice spiked excitedly as she read through her sheet. “My background’s as a Criminal. Hell yes!! And I have a shortsword and a shortbow with 20 arrows--oh come on, I’m not THAT short!!--but ooohhh I have Thieves Tools too.....this sounds like fun!!”

She leaned over the table to throw her arms around Moxxie in a hug, giggling happily as he hugged her back and hummed, “I thought you’d like that one.”

“I’m a.....Wizard,” Loona read, her head tilting as she looked through her info and stats. “I’m a High Elf--what’s an elf?--and I have this book that I carry around with me all the time......oh come on!!”

“I-I thought it would be something you’d be more comfortable with,” Moxxie tried to justify a bit sheepishly, nuzzling softly against the side of Millie’s head as he continued to hug her. “You get Darkvision too, though, which I thought you’d like! And you get to cast a bunch of magic spells to attack people with!”

“Woah, really?” Loona blinked once, then went back down to the spellcasting section of her sheet. “You mean I can do more than just open a portal?”

“Yes!”

“Sweet.” Loona set her sheet back down on the table with a satisfied little smile, glancing over at Blitz who was looking at his own with a perplexed look on his face. “What? What’s yours, Blitz?”

Blitz’s eyes lifted from his paper to meet Moxxie’s across the table, the look on his face only becoming more pronounced as he saw Moxxie cling a bit tighter to Millie as he kept her in between the two of them.

“The fuck is a Cleric?!”

#vizowritesideas #BlitzStrike #game night au #a helluva DnD campaign #I know this is really random and I'm sorry #I thought it'd be funny tho #it's honestly even funnier if you look at the character sheets themselves XD #Moxxie's so mean but I love it >3 #hope you guys like this one!!#<3 <3

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tigerkirby215 · 2 years

Text

Talking about Unearthed Arcana: Heroes of Krynn

(Artwork by Yuhong Ding of West Studios. Made for Riot Games.)

https://media.wizards.com/2022/dnd/downloads/UA2022HeroesofKrynn.pdf

It’s been awhile since we got a UA, and here we are with some content straight from Dragonlance! I don’t know much about Dragonlance so I’m purely judging this as an outsider looking in. They’ve done a lot of experimental stuff with this UA; is it for the better? Ehhhhh...

RACE - THE KENDER

So my literal only knowledge about the Kender before this was my one DM who really fucking hated Kender, like to the degree that I hate Vedalken. However browsing on Reddit it seems that a lot of people who have played a Dragonlance campaign really fucking hate the Kender because of their kleptomania (but not really I’m not going to go in-depth into it.) I’m not going to judge the race based on their lore and purely evaluate the stat block, so what have we got?

Brave - This is more-or-less directly lifted from Halflings. Never a bad thing to have, but their small size makes it a little harder to play this race as a martial (who’d benefit the most from being able to cleanse fears.)

Kender Ace - Reddit has been bitching about how poorly designed this ability is and uh... Yeah. Being able to produce an item out of thin air is useful but the fact that it’s almost completely random is what hurts this ability and makes it so aggravating to both use and DM for. But let’s evaluate the options:

1. The gold is obviously magical and no shopkeeper with half a brain is going to accept it. Especially from a Kender.

2. This consists of a Club, Dagger, Handaxe, Light Hammer, and Sickle. The ability to produce a thrown weapon has some implications, and similarly with the ability to produce either a bludgeoning (skeletons) or slashing (vines) weapon. Reddit has also pointed out that these weapons are technically magical, making them usable to bypass nonmagical resistance.

Honestly I don’t get why the “Light” limitation was added because that cuts a total of 5 weapons (Greatclub, Javelin, Mace, Quarterstaff, Spear.) Overall there’s so few situations where you’d want to pull a weapon from this ability since not carrying a weapon in the first place is a dumb idea unless you want to intentionally gimp yourself for roleplay purposes. There’s maybe some funny interactions you can do with giving an NPC a weapon or producing a thrown weapon but that’s not worth having as a racial feature.

3. For the sake of completion here’s a full list of what you can produce (which means I have to fuck up Tumblr’s formatting and also make this post way longer than it needs to be)

Arrows (20)

Blowgun Darts (50)

Sprig of Mistletoe (Druidic Focus)

Totem (Druidic Focus)

Bell

Candle

Crossbow Bolt case

Scroll / Map case

Chalk

Flask / Tankard

Ink Pen

Lamp

Mess Kit

Oil (1 flask)

Paper (1 sheet)

Parchment (1 sheet)

Piton

Pouch

Quiver

Sack

Sealing Wax

Soap

Tinderbox

Torch

Vial (empty)

Whetstone

Of that list there are a few that stand out excluding the obvious pick of arrows (it's a free 20 arrows to give to the party archer) and oil (free oil for a lamp.)

A bell can be used to make a trap or alarm.

A candle or sealing wax both provide wax which can be used for a variety of useful (if admittedly temporary) features such as maxing wax molds or rubbings.

A case (for either crossbow bolts or a map / scroll) can be used to store important small objects and documents. Good if going through a waterlogged area, or if you just want to hide something. Same with a pouch, quiver, or sack.

Chalk (or a candle / sealing wax if the DM allows them to be colored) can be used to mark important objects on walls / floors.

Anything made of glass (Flask, Vial) can be smashed to make sharp glass for a trap, or smashed in someone's face if push comes to shove.

Anything flammable (Sprig of Mistletoe, Totem, Candle, Paper, Parchment, Torch) has that going for it.

Speaking of flammable: a lamp can keep a fire safe if you need it for light in an area where an exposed flame would be snuffed easily. (High winds or waterlogged area.)

Also speaking of flammable: a tinderbox is never bad to have

A mess kit, along with being good for etiquette, contains a variety of kitchen utensils that can be useful in a variety of situations. (Cup to carry liquids, forks and knives to do pokey stuff, spoon to dig technically, the mess kit itself can be fashioned into a pan which can be used as an improvised weapon.)

A piton can be used as a door-stopper, or wedged between something to jam it.

I know a bar of soap has adventuring uses but bugger me if I can remember them.

A whetstone is a good rock which can be good for chuckin'. (Possibly with the Magic Stone cantrip.) Alternatively you can sharpen your weapons which is not the worst idea.

4. Trinkets are fun but they’re mostly gimmick items, and I doubt any DM will let you pull out anything useful. Still: you can roll on the trinket table and have a bit of RP fun with whatever you find.

5. Neither are bad to have in a pinch but neither are the kind of thing you wouldn’t already have on-person. The grappling hook can be good to attach to a rope you won’t need later, and the crowbar is sorta there as insurance more than anything.

6. Very similar to the equipment creation, only for tools (which are more limited) with a bigger price tag. Again here’s a full list of what you can pull out with this:

Calligrapher’s Supplies

Carpenter’s Tools

Cobbler’s Tools

Cook’s Utensils

Leatherworker’s Tools

Mason’s Tools

Painter’s Supplies

Potter’s Tools

Weaver’s Tools

Woodcarver’s Tools

Herbalism Kit

(The following are technically listed under the “tools” section but are either Gaming Sets or Musical Instruments.)

Dice set

Dragonchess set

Playing Card set

Three-Dragon Ante set

Drum

Flute

Horn

Shawm

All tools have their uses, especially if you use Xanathar's rules for tools. However there are a few that stand out I think:

Calligrapher’s Supplies and Painter’s Supplies both theoretically come with ink, which (like chalk) can be used to mark important things in a dungeon.

Carpenter’s Tools may contain tools to easily break or reshape wooden objects into something useful. If someone is carrying something to use as glue (or nails, for some reason) you can make a variety of useful wooden objects on the fly.

Mason’s Tools often contain tools to break smaller stones, which may be useful.

Woodcarver’s Tools likely contains some small sharp objects that can be used as improvised weapons.

A Herbalism Kit is probably the most useful tool of the bunch, as it can be used to identify plants.

A Playing Card (or Three-Dragon Ante) set contains a bunch of flammable playing cards. Alternatively you can try to use a playing card as a makeshift lockpick depending on your DM.

A Drum or a Horn can both easily create loud noises that can be used as an alarm or to startle foes.

Overall when you consider that over half the options on this list are memes (1, 2, and 4 are essentially useless) this is a racial trait you can use proficiency bonus times for long rest that has a 50/50 chance of being useless, and even if you do get one of the “good” options often the tools or the crowbar won’t be that helpful. The only good option is being able to produce an equipment item, and I’d much rather this ability expand upon that one option instead of giving these 6 different options that only serve to frustrate both the player and the DM.

Taunt - Should I rewrite my Teemo build to make him a Kender? Jokes aside Teemo still makes more sense as a Gnome. Will all that being said this is basically a Bonus Action Vicious Mockery (without damage) which is... alright?

(Artwork by Horace “Hozure” Hsu. Made for Riot Games.)

The big question to ask is why does this have a limited amount of charges from a lore standpoint. I understand the game design reason but the point does stand that making someone mad having a limited amount of charges is weird. I feel like this should be 1 use per Short Rest but I know WoTC is phasing out Short Rests. My only other complaint is that this also gives enemies disadvantage to hit you which again: I understand from a game design perspective but in terms of abilities it feels weird to me.

---

In conclusion Kender Ace needs a big rework but I think the race is fine on a pure conceptual level. They feel rather boring to me is the thing and while I know the lore will likely carry them for the people who are interested the actual racial traits leave a lot to be desired in my humble opinion.

(I get to use Legends of Runeterra artwork yay! Artwork made by SixMoreVodka Studios. Made for Riot Games.)

SORCERER - LUNAR MAGIC

This subclass is... messy, to say the least. It feels like it’s trying to do way too much at once and ends up being overloaded as a result. (Just like the average Season 10 League of Legends champion; badum-tiss!)

LEVEL 1 - MOON FIRE

Sacred Flame is a good damaging cantrip and being able to hit two enemies instead of one (even if it’s situational) is very strong. Thing is Sorcerers get cantrips up the ass so giving them one for free (especially one that will be stronger than most other options they can grab) is questionable to say the least? Still: I won’t look a gift horse in the mouth. It’s a very fun and evocative feature for the fantasy the subclass is looking to fill.

LEVEL 1 - LUNAR EMBODIMENT

So you get fifteen additional spells known?! To call that excessive would be an understatement! And these are good spells too: the only duds imo are Darkness and Bestow Curse, and even then those spells aren’t bad.

The Full Moon has the best spell list by far. There’s little reason to pick the Crescent Moon imo since all the spells are situational.

LEVEL 6 - LUNAR BOONS

Wow this is huge. It’s essentially a free boost to the number of Sorcery points you have equal to your proficiency bonus. Considering that Sorcery points are kinda your main thing as a Sorcerer getting more of them is never bad.

Crescent Moon is still the worst option since the vast majority of Divination spells are situational. (Transmutation is alright though and there’s a lot of them.) Full Moon is also a bit iffy since a lot of the Abjuration and Conjuration spells don’t get much of a benefit from using Sorcery points on them, excluding obvious options like Quickened Spell.

LEVEL 6 - WAXING AND WANING

So your 5 free spells from Lunar Embodiment now turns into 15 for the low low price of 2 Sorcery points, and getting bad Lunar Boons doesn’t even matter because you can just swap them on the fly.

Ima be real with you chief I feel like this shouldn’t be a thing. Honestly I think you should just be forced to pick a specific moon state and have that be your whole subclass.

LEVEL 14 - LUNAR EMPOWERMENT

Full Moon lets you turn into a discount Paladin, once again furthering my opinion that Full Moon is the best option. New Moon is also nice with both combat and non-combat benefits. Crescent Moon is still garbage but hey at least it has its uses, and combines well with the level 6 ability Waxing and Waning.

LEVEL 18 - LUNAR PHENOMENON

Honestly for a level 18 class feature these are kinda... bad? I mean, Full Moon can do good damage yeah but you need to be within 30 feet of your foes as a Sorcerer with a d6 hit die. New Moon is a little better as an escape tool but it still requires you to get close as a Sorcerer. And Crescent Moon is just a slightly better Misty Step.

Overall these options are at least nice because they’re a Bonus Action (and since they’re not spells you can cast regular spells alongside them) but even then they feel somewhat underwhelming to me as 18th level features. I also feel like they have no synergy with what the subclass was originally intended to be, which primarily seems to be a Sorcerer with a “spell school” that gets empowered abilities based on which spell schools you choose to focus on.

---

Overall I like the idea of the Moon Sorcerer but I feel like it should either be three sub-subclasses (that can’t swap between moon states) or three whole separate subclasses entirely. It ABSOLUTELY shouldn’t get FIFTEEN WHOLE SPELLS FOR FREE and I also think Lunar Boons is a bit too strong for its own good.

But beyond that? It’s salvageable. Not like some of the UA subclasses we got in Tasha’s (Astral Self, Fey Wanderer) which essentially had to be reworked from the ground-up. Overall I think the core concept is good but the balance needs some major tweaking.

BACKGROUNDS

I’m not going to talk about them much (they’re very specific to the Dragonlance setting which I don’t know much about, and are basically the Soldier / Knight background and the Sage background) but I will talk about how they’re seemingly adopting more of the mechanics from the Strixhaven backgrounds.

I didn’t like how the Strixhaven background gave you feats as background features and I don’t like it here either. I found the Strixhaven backgrounds extremely restrictive as it essentially forced you to take a student background unless you wanted to be objectively worse than everyone else, and it restricted the Strixhaven backgrounds to only be used in a Strixhaven campaign.

I understand these backgrounds are only meant to be used in their specific settings but being unable to easily modify these backgrounds to fit another setting is annoying. I know from personal experience having played two “Rakdos Cultist” characters and having played with a “Simic Scientist” outside of Ravnica that these backgrounds can still be played outside of their main setting with their features and background traits in mind. With that being said let’s talk about those background traits, or rather the lack there-of:

These backgrounds have 6 traits, no bonds, no ideals, and no flaws. I didn’t like it when they did this with Strixhaven and I don’t like it now. I see no need to do more than just quote myself in the Reddit thread I just linked:

I know that for some people ideals, bonds, and flaws are more of a nuisance than anything, but I personally find them to be great inspiration when making a character. Rolling on these tables for backgrounds I found interesting has allowed me to make up characters on the fly, and also add personality traits that I wouldn't have otherwise given my characters. So seeing backgrounds essentially be ignored (...) is extremely disappointing

(May as well post more League artwork. Artwork by Xiao Guang Sun of West Studios. Made for Riot Games.)

FEATS

We’re seeing the reintroduction of feat trees! After the... lukewarm reception to Strixhaven I’m glad to see them looking at branching feats again. The only comment I can really make is that 5e doesn’t give enough ASIs to make taking multiple feats worth it. But I don’t think that devalues feat trees as a DM can simply allow more feats in their game.

With that being said there’s three different sets of feats that we’ve got to talk about, being the Divine feats, the “Sorcery” feats (or perhaps “Robes” feats? The caster feats), and the Knight feats:

Divinely Favored - I actually really like this feat as it allows you to bring some divine power to any of your characters. My only complaint is that it feels extremely main character-like. Oh and that this is basically just worse Magic Initiate.

Divine Communications - Amazing RP feat; kinda a bad feat on its own. Just let the Cleric cast these spells if you really need them.

Initiate of High Sorcery - Black Moon is best by far as you can grab one of three very strong cantrips along with Healing Word. White Moon is second best cuz cantrips are bad but you can get Find Familiar. Red Moon is trash: not worth a worthless 1st level spell just to get Guidance. Of course the big caveat is the feats they lead into.

Adept of the Black Robes - There's some decent spells for this feat. That being said Life Channel is fucking trash: oh yeah I'm going to waste my d6 hit die as a Wizard or d8 hit die as a Cleric to do like 12 more damage with my third level spell. Considering that you don't add CON to this it's a massive waste, but even if you did it would still be horrible.

Adept of the Red Robes - You get Heat Metal which is never bad? Everything else is kinda meh. Magical Balance is alright: it's the Clockwork Soul's Trance of Order ability on a much smaller scale. It has its uses but I wouldn't go out of my way to get this feat really.

Adept of the White Robes - Worth it for Find Steed alone, but there's a ton of crazy good Conjuration spells at 2nd level (also Aid and Lesser Restoration, I guess) Protective Ward is kinda poop unless you're playing a class that can afford to spend its spell slots: the two classes I'm thinking of are either a Ranger or an unbelievably generous Warlock, but you could also play a more martial-focused caster (Swords Bard, Bladesinger Wizard, Artificer?) and still get use out of this ability. With all that being said: Protective Ward is almost always objectively worse than just casting a spell. Still worth taking this feat just for Find Steed though.

Squire of Solamnia - Free Medium armor rather ironically makes this feat really damn good for casters and fucking garbage for martials, but thing is I’m honestly okay with there being an easier way for a caster to get armor proficiency. (As long as it’s not attached to a background.) The other two abilities are honestly kinda shit and this feat overall feels like trash.

Knight of the Crown - Woah Pack Tactics on a stick. This is particularly good depending on your team comp (ironically enough not that good with Rogues; very good with Paladins though) and a pretty solid feat overall.

Knight of the Sword - Woah okay now this is powerful! Even if you can only (successfully) use it once most martial classes can afford to throw a hit die away to save an ally from a devastating saving throw.

Knight of the Rose - Hey look guys its Inspiring Leader but bad. I mean it can obviously be taken alongside Inspo and it allows low-Charisma classes (such as Barbarians which this feat synergizes with very well) to give out Temp HP but... I fail to see any situation where you'd want this over Inspo Leader.

(Artwork made for Riot Games.)

FINAL THOUGHTS

This UA felt very experimental, which both a good and a bad thing. We got a lot of unique ideas but a lot of it felt poorly balanced and just outright poorly designed. But overall there isn’t anything I particularly “hate” in this UA other than the fact that they’re making more backgrounds with feats attached, since I still firmly believe that’s not a healthy direction for the game. But I’m excited to see the final version of all this content in the potential new Dragonlance book!

#Unearthed Arcana #dnd #dnd 5e #dragonlance #review #discussion #feats #Sorcerer #kender

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analogseeker · 2 years

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I legitimately want it all

ill probably give some of mine too if that’s fine

putting a read more option for your sake

OHOHOHO OKAY !!! well i already posted my pronoun hcs so thats already out of the way (i have a giant complex polycule but idk if yall r ready for that /lh)

okay so. first of all everyone in danganronpa has adhd i dont care . im right.

sayaka!!!!!

sayaka is bi with a pref towards women, shes def trans too!!!!!!! she likes making metaphors n loves symbolism! she is very good at understanding people !

mukuro!!!!!!!

mukuro is transmasc, theyre still figuring out what he likes but he knows he likes women <3

leon!!!!!!

leon.. leon my beloved. he has adhd you can't tell me otherwise. anyways ! he sings in his freetime and is pretty good at it but they are really embarrassed about it, especially when someone notices and mentions it. leon has fish memory and struggles to remember things, but he can remember random stuff at the worst times !! he has little to none impulse control.

n back on my adhd leon bs but. leon has adhd and only used his baseball talent to get rid of excess energy and then it developed into a hyperfix but the killing game happened so it kinda died down and he hyperfixated on being a musician/singer n stuff

chi!!!!!!!!

okay so. chi is bi n ace n theyre transfem (please no discourse i will only trans their gender more<3) !!!! they play dnd (yasuhiro taught em n they hold dnd nights - its a total disaster)

chihiro collects lalaloopsys and a bit of monster highs because she saw celeste had a collection and was like :0 !!!!! n so celeste gave her one and that's how she started collect monster high dolls

chihiro, miu an celeste meetup and they watched monster high movies also chihiro sleeps with plushies you can't tell me otherwise

taka.. taka..

hes nonbinary (chihiro is transfem, mondo is transmasc n taka is nonbinary they are trans buddies<3) n is gay ?? he doesnt rlly kno but he knows he likes men ! (theyre a flaming homosexual .) he physically cant swear sorrye<3 n uhhh hes neurodivergent idc idc

celeste!!!!!

OHOHO I GOT SO MANY HCS FOR HER.. <3 shes aroace (an alt hc i have is that shes bi!!!!!!!!!!!!) . whenever shes angry or frustrated she stims and sometimes she goes non verbal n semi verbal. she ended up masking her stims alot during the killing game tho </3

on a lighter note ! celeste def had a tea party with her cat when she was younger and still does . i know this. celeste has a vampire, gambling and twilight hyperfixation !!<3 she wants to have fangs soo bad (alt hc is that she does have fangs n likes to freak people out w em!).

she likes mystery and horror novels. she also likes those deep/philosophical books. she likes the books more when they're longer too :] anywywaya. she collects monster high dolls and has meetups with miu about them and a seperate meetup with chihiro (she doesn't trust miu near chihiro). anyways her favourite doll is elissabat

kyoko

the only important hc you need to know is that she had a r/imnotlikeothergirls and a r/im13andthisisdeep phase and is transmasc.

toko

she knows how to sew ! she sews in her free time ! it helps her calm down :]

peko

she likes going on midnight strolls . shes also a mom friend (especially towards kazuichi idc what yall say)

ibuki miodaaaa!!!!!!!!

i have so many hcs for her. ok so . genderfluid, bisexual n ace . she is THE adhd. she totally uses typing quirks . she can rollerskate n skateboard . shes okay ish at skating but thats only cause mikan helped her. after the killing game she was rlly anxious around mikan :( n junko n mukuro (bc they associated w mikan) n so she was vv hesitant but overtime they healed n :) theyre inlove.

she also steals everyones hoodies . yes. everyones. she also forces people to match w her n steals ppls clothes /r or /p she doesnt care. if its comfy she wants it. she got into pokemon n other games because of chiaki n references it a lot :]

some sadder hcs ,, uh,, she deflects a lot and avoids talking about her problems because she feels like she's too much to deal with. she doesnt like being bossed around/getting told what to do, she dislikes tasks an being told to ‘focus’ and such</3 she also hides her problems and always acts energetic and excited :((

on a lighter note uh!!!!!! they're very forgetful so they write notes but they tend to misplace them so everyone finds random notes laying around so if ibuki plans out a surprise party everyone knows ahead of time and ask to help set it up and ibuki always goes “how'd you know??”, thankfully no one has found out about the surprise parties for them as someone else finds out before them

mikan

she stims! a lot ! she decides to cut her hair n start over :] she knows how to figure skate n used to do it ! shes pretty good at it ! also shes bi n trans . yea.

gundham

has a forked tongue n likes to freak kazuichi out w it . he also plays dnd !!!! chihiro , hiro n gundham dnd buddies!!!!!!!! anyways they collect dragon figurines, toys & other dragon themed stuff.

gundham had a dragon and dinosaur hyperfixation at some point. he still somewhat has one but it's not super intense but he does know lots. lots of dinosaur facts. like. he will be calling everyone a fiend and then be like ‘ok pause. did you know [dinosaur fact]?’. kazuichi and him will be arguing and he will say a dinosaur fact and kazuichi is like “ok what. we are in the middle of the argument- also wait really??”

they bond over dinosaur facts and infodumping and kazuichi is just how the fuck did this happen i was just calling him an asshole like 0.2 seconds ago and now im infodumping to him about how cars work

“hey you know what ur a fucking asshole” “you fool! you dare insult me?? also [dinosaur fact]” and then 2 seconds they're just sitting down infodumping “and that's how cars work!” “i see.... maybe you are worthy of talking to me” “gundham we've been talking for an hour about dinosaurs and cars”

they also came up with the great idea of dinosaur cars. and say stupid shit about it and No One understands it except them.

the nagito komaeda himself !!!

when anxious they tend to play classical music and it surprisingly calms them down :] hes also nonbiney <3 he tends to zone out n likes to jokingly go "am i ur little pogchamp" to hajime. its very funny

chiaki

she is almost always listening to music, she also carries earbuds or headphones with her incase she gets overwhelmed, she can play music . she has cat headphones . yea

kazuichi

he is the adhd . sometimes he will hyperfocus on smth n then ibuki will have to call akane just to drag him into bed . tho this usually ends up in kazuichi hearing ibuki call akane n then bolting it moments after (they find him passed out under the table).

he has lots of fidget toys (he hoards them) ,, when he's nervous he plays with his hair and fidgets with his braid. tho if gundham is there when he's nervous he plays with his rings!!!!!! hes also surprisingly flexiable????

sonia

i hc her as aroace . she is aroace. i think its funny gundham n kazuchi r inlove w her n shes like ahaha,,, im aroace actually! i dont like u !

rantaro

hes agender n aroace . idk something something triple a battery. he fidgets with his bracelets n rings a lot :] he has horrible memory tho </3 also. insomniac. him n kiyo.

kaede

she has music note earrings n is dating all the danganronpa girls . she is the Sapphic. she has nicknames for all of em :]

kirumi

shes nonbiney n aroace<3 she spoils n favourites kokichi . she is also a wine mom. i know it in my bones. she also carries around different types of bandaid boxes with the v3 casts names on different ones because she knows they are picky about their bandaids and its unbearable (affectionate)

angie

angie has a million little bracelets n knick knacks !!!!!!! :] she also names plants after her classmates (she named sour grapes after kokichi bc she hates them both<3)

miu

miu my aroace sex repulsed icon who makes sex jokes jus for funzies.... i love you.. anyways they have fangs and tend to make jokes about being a vampire. <3 its funny<3 shes funny i love her<3 i am her<3

she watches kids shows & movies and forces the others to watch them with her. gonta and her watch them together a lot, especially the ones about bugs!!!!!!!

miu can beat almost anyone in chess and she always flexes because she is the gorgeous girl genius. she doesnt even try tho shes just naturally good at it . tho when she plays against kokichi its like that one (me who's eating the chess pieces vs the smart kid confused why he's losing) and kokichi is the one eating the chess pieces

she collects dolls and has a monster high collection n she customizes some of them. celeste and miu collect dolls together and they have meetups and its super fancy and miu likes to make sexual jokes n puts doll togethers n goes 'theyre fucking' an celeste is just. sacrifices must be made if i want to talk about dolls huh

keebo

MY NONBINARY KING I LOVE YOU!!!!!!! KISSING HIM RN . HOLDING HIS HAND AS WE SPEAK. anyways. he doesnt know what milf, dilf & gilf mean and everyone tries to keep it that way. minus kokichi. cause hes a little shit.

“what does .. milf mean?” “it means mom i’d-” “IT MEANS MAN I LIKE FISHING”

“what does gilf mean?” “hehe it means grand-” “IT MEANS GOSH I LOVE FORESTS”

because of this he says milf and gilf thinking it means the innocent version of what everyone told him and everyone thinks its funny (keebos confused)

shuichi

he had a warrior cats phase. i know it. never seen the books but he did. he kinned them and had a whole clan (no one lets him live it down. especially kokichi once he finds out). he infodumps to kaede about the books n lore . so she has random warrior cat knowledge .

#kaz.text #my headcanons #danganronpa #i aint tagging em all sorry #asks #friends #i hyperfixated on this help<3

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hawkinsschoolcounselor · 3 years

Note

My friends and I occasionally play that made-up game called "Kerfuffle" - A bit like DnD but with everyday life tasks and not as nerdy (sadly :D). You pick a random politician, TV char., etc. and try to overcome some challenges in a way you assume they'd do it. Last time we played, I obv picked s.o. from ST - Joyce. That was when a random thought crossed my mind: If s.o. were to name each ST main character's greatest weakness/ strength, what would be the outcome? I immediately thought of you. :D

Ok, now that the election is over, and my anxiety has come back down to its usual “only a little high” status, it’s back to business here. This is an interesting question from my pal @sollody here. I’m not going to be able to go too much into depth given the breadth of the question here, but it’ll be a nice look at several characters. Perhaps this will result in requests for more in-depth looks at some of them individually. For the sake of having a defined meaning of “main character,” I am only going with characters who were in all three seasons and were directly involved in the action (sorry, Mr. Clarke). I will make an exception for Max, as she’s just too central to leave out.

The Party

Mike

Greatest Strength: Determination. Once he sets his mind on something, he does everything in his power to see that it happens. Do not try to come between Mike and his objective. God help you if you try to stop him when his objective involves Will or El.

Greatest Weakness: A lack of emotional intelligence. Mike reacts to his emotions as they come. There’s no apparent self-awareness, and this results in impulsive behavior that leads to negative outcomes for himself and his relationships. The feelings themselves aren’t the problem. Mike just doesn’t understand them enough to react appropriately.

Will

Greatest Strength: Quick thinking. I was tempted to mention his compassion, but really Will’s greatest asset is his mental acuity. Since season 1 he has shown an impressive capacity for quick thinking in stressful situations.

Greatest Weakness: Insecurity. Will has self-esteem issues resulting from not only the Upside Down situation, but also more mundane personal and family experiences. He worries about how people view him and fears that he’s being left behind. This leads to him keeping important things to himself, things nobody, especially a child, should be expected to deal with alone.

Lucas

Greatest Strength: Rationality. Lucas has generally been the member of the party with the most down-to-earth mindset. Regardless of all of the supernatural goings on, Lucas has tried to view things realistically. His approaches to the events of the series have typically been the most practical, skeptical, and grounded. Ironically, this actually does make him a good Winston, though I wouldn’t want to be the one to tell him this.

Greatest Weakness: Overconfidence. Lucas is very sure of himself, sometimes too much so, even when warned off by others. From being sure that El was trouble, to risking a beating from Billy, to thinking he’s some suave expert on women, Lucas has made trouble for himself and his friends. He doesn’t meant to, of course, and a lot of this may come from some desire to “be a man.” Lucas needs to learn to accept himself as he is.

Dustin

Greatest Strength: Curiosity. Dustin is always looking to learn more about anything and everything. Nothing is too weird or off-putting for him. His knowledge has come very much in handy for the Party, and this general attitude has led to him accepting the supernatural events in stride.

Greatest Weakness: Recklessness. Dustin, in his pursuit of satisfying his curiosity, or some other goal, can fail to see clearly obvious dangers. Find a strange creature? Raise it yourself. See a strange growth in the underground tunnels? Go get a closer look. Find out about a possible Russian base in the mall? Let’s go check it out! His goals are often admirable, but his approach is often foolish.

Greatest Strength: Adaptability. El has managed to escape a government facility, survive in the woods, and travel to unfamiliar locations despite her young age. While she has been somewhat dependent on her powers, she’s managed to accomplish some impressive feats for someone who hasn’t had anything close to resembling a normal upbringing.

Greatest Weakness: Ignorance. This isn’t the “you’re so ignorant!” meaning of the word. I mean it in the truest sense of the word: El just lacks a lot of information in life. Most critically, she’s emotionally and socially unaware. A lot of her schemas for relationships come from TV shows and what little she picked up from Mike in season 1. She’s gotten somewhat better as the seasons moved on, but there’s just a lot she doesn’t know. This had led to her being suspicious, angry, and possessive (specifically of Mike), harming her relationships with others.

Max

Greatest Strength: Acceptance. Max doesn’t unduly judge anyone. Her issues with Mike stemmed from his treatment of her. Aside from that, some light teasing aside, she was more than happy to accept the Party as her friends. She didn’t let Lucas’ race get in the way of their mutual attraction, despite knowing what Neil and Billy would think about it. She wanted to be El’s friend from the start, and, despite being harshly rebuffed at first, she accepted El when she sought Max out in season 3. It’s really a testament to how determined she is to not continue the cycle that Neil and Billy brought into her life.

Greatest Weakness: Family. Honestly, Max’s biggest drawback is her home life. She’s worried that she may end up going down the same angry, abusive road as Billy and Neil. She’s mistrustful, snarky, and blunt even when not worked up, behaviors she likely developed due to exposure to Billy and Neil. She also seems to still love Billy despite his abusive behavior. This sort of family dynamic can be very damaging (and it was probably just as harmful to Billy). Hopefully, Max’s found family serves to offset the harm done by her “real” family.

Older Teens

Nancy

Greatest Strength: Determination. It must be a family trait. Nancy is relentless, and she will get to the truth of the matter, one way or another. Nobody, and indeed no monster, will keep her from what she’s after.

Greatest Weakness: Egocentrism. Nancy can easily lose sight of how things impact those around her. Her desire to prove herself has left her somewhat blind to the difficulties other people face. She has trouble relating to people from other situations.

Jonathan

Greatest Strength: Compassion. Jonathan has sacrificed a great deal for his family, and he’s apparent done it without any noticeable resentment. His treatment of Will resembles the ideal that a lot of parents hope for in their kids (though in reality Mike/Nancy or Lucas/Erica is the more realistic outcome). Jonathan just wants those important to him to be happy.

Greatest Weakness: Social Awkwardness. Jonathan has a great deal of trouble interacting with other people. This likely stems from his family situation, as his father leaving left his family as pariahs of sorts, and it also left him having to be a sort of father figure when he should have been able to be a regular teenager.

Steve

Greatest Strength: Courage. Yes, Steve has been freaked out by everything, but that’s irrelevant. Courage isn’t the absence of fear, it’s the ability to feel fear and not let it control you. Steve has willingly put himself in harm’s way for the sake of others in all three seasons. The only thing that scares Steve too much to overcome is social judgment...

Greatest Weakness: Insecurity. Yes, our buddy, King Steve, has self-esteem issues. This is why he’s always trying to play himself off as a hotshot. He’s simply too afraid to just be himself. Sadly, it’s only when he lets this guard down that he’s at his best. He’s made some stride at overcoming this, and I’m hopeful that he continues this in season 4.

Adults

Joyce

Greatest Strength: Ferocity. Do I even need to explain this? Do NOT threaten Joyce’s loved ones, especially Will. Just don’t.

Greatest Weakness: Emotional Reactivity. When stress hits Joyce, she reacts hard. It’s perfectly normal, given the level of stress she feels, but it leaves her seeming “crazy” and makes it hard for others to understand what she’s trying to get across. As a result, her message, warning, etc. is lost and her credibility is damaged. In less serious occurrences, she instead just comes across as belligerent or annoying, even though she’s generally right about whatever she’s on about.

Hopper

Greatest Strength: Compassion. Hopper is at his best when he’s trying to protect others. Despite having worked to close himself off from the world after his personal trauma, Hopper still feels compassion. He probably never wanted to feel anything for anyone again (perhaps why he returned to a boring town like Hawkins), but when tragedy struck it brought out the best in him. Though, that brings us to his weakness...

Greatest Weakness: Insensitivity. Perhaps ironically, Hopper’s weakness is the complete opposite of his strength. Hopper is a man who runs hot and cold. Which version of him that you get depends on his mood. If you get his bad side, prepare for harsh words, and perhaps harsher fists. This may help him get the job done at times, but it harms his relationships. He has a tremendous fear of loss, which results in him lashing out fiercely at those he cares for if they do something to that risks him losing them.

Ok, that’s the best I could come up with. I’d love to read other people’s thoughts on the matter.

#stranger things #mike wheeler #will byers #lucas sinclair #dustin henderson #eleven #max mayfield #nancy wheeler #jonathan byers #steve harringrove #joyce byers #jim hopper

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dino-folly · 4 years

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Spur of the moment dnd game starting with a joke notes

Just so I don't forget since we may continue

Most this is from memory, will do best to be accurate

Blobbers kissed a worm, and the worms ran off before returning with flowers on their backs

Theo asks to trade and be dm

Blob eats the flowers

Failed constitution saving throw

-10 hp, 8/18 hp remains

Blob gets mad at worms "Bro what the fuck?"

"We are sorry, but you reminded us of somebody. The one we need to return to the forest." The worms explained

Insert confused player blob noises

"She has short brown hair, a purple backpack, and a monkey friend with rainbows. She ran away chased by a bright orange fox with a mask"

Angy player blob noises

Me laughing and singing the dora the explorer theme

Blobbers sighed "Where can I find this lord faquad looking ass?"

“nobody knows exactly where she went but people say you can hear womanly screams from the mountains exactly 1092 miles south from here, us worms, we are too slow to get there before she perishes of starvation, but you! We bet you could get her!” the worms offered

"What do I get in return tho, aside from an almost lethal allergic reaction to some plants." Blobbers tried

“well,” said the worms, “lets just say. If you dont,.,.,.,., we could always,..,. have a makeover montage until you look enough like the girl and then we would leave you at the edge of the forest for the person who wants her :)”

"Fuck that, I'm going home."

“But dearest blob,.,., you have no choice”

Scared player noises "tHEY KNOW MY NAME"

“Either find her or BE HER” The worms threaten, and so blob deeply terrified goes home to pack

Nat takes back over as DM

Blob goes into her room, finding her turtle sleeping peaceful in a bundle of stolen laundry and towels

Roll perception, and passes

She realizes she hears an odd sound, glancing about she realizes that it comes from her bed. The blankets twitch and in the shadows undee the bed an odd shape squirms.

"What the fuck??" Blob questions

The blanket stills. Then something silently falls over the bed and onto the floor.

Worms.

Blobbers screamed, awaking the turtle who quickly run to her leg. The blanket shifts and falls of the bed to reveal the bed had been eaten through the millions of worms.

"Blobbers, there is nothing to be afraid of. We are simply, keeping an eye on you."

Blobbers calms down, and frustratedly grabs her things

+2 healing potions(10 hp healed each.)

+1 flask of holy water

+1 disguise kit(includes,

+1 broad sword(2d4 damage)

+1 sleeping bag

+5 days provisions

+ one empty flask

+ 1 turtle(lorenzo)

Blob asks how the holy water is there

Nat explains she doesn't remember it being there before, maybe someone left it there.

Blob takes a long rest in the other room on a floor of pillows and blankets and wakes up at 1 am

hit points return to 18/18

Blobbers decides to go into town and steal a horse under the cover of night

"I don't like horses they scary and eat meat" "Horses are herbivores??*confused dm noises*"

Stlerch check, passed

Animal handling check passed

Blobbers grabs a handful of horsefeed and sneaks in through a window of the stables, soundless and invisible despite her pink clothing

She holds up the feed to the horse, and it silently nuzzles her face before eating out of her hand

"I change my mind QwQ I love horses"

Blob runs off, and looks to the sky looking to find which way is south

Intelligence check, passed

Blobbers finds a star pointed south this time of year and chases after it on her horse, then finds a perfectly smooth stone wall, stretching as far as the eye can see and blocking her path. The only opening a bared gate with a steal lock. Watched above the gate way with letters

Sld wl blf urc z yilpvm kfnkprm?

"Somebody needs to learn to spell"

Lorenzo nods, at least blobbers thinks it is a nod, but Lorenzo is a turtle eating a random bug they found on the ground.

"How do you fix a broke pumpkin?" She translated the puzzle, then furrowed her brows "eat it?"

A choking noise comes from the other side, and a slight laugh before a woman's voice is heard "I can't tell you the answer, the gate burns cheaters. Though I can help! What is a feild of a bunch of pumpkins called?" The voice

Language barriers get in way and dm gives answer for the sake of the game. And also because it would be unfair to just let blobbers suffer

"A pumpkin patch?"

The moment the words left her lips the lock melted, and fell to the floor in aa red hot pile of goo

Roll perception, 17

Blobbers walks through the gate, and her eyes lock with a woman of warm firey skin and bright green long hair that fell down her face in knots

Blobbers takes a moment, before realizing that she was staring at a nymph. A nature spirit, specifically a pumpkin

"Can I do a little dance that makes her want to hit me? Like the macarena"

Rolls charisma and passes

Blobbers dances, and the woman resists the urge to slap blob but instead laughs "Have you a reason to dance at such a late hour, or are you just /this/ happy to have passed the gate"

"Do you need a reason to dance at 3 am?"

She watches blobber for a moment, almost like she is studying blob

Then the pretty pumpkin lady begins to dance with blob doing her best to follow the movements "My name is Autumn Tarta" she grinned as she followed blob's lead in the macarena under the stars

Nap time, will add part two whenever we play again

#swearing #profanity #tw worms #dungeons and blobbers

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grailfinders · 4 years

Text

Fate and Phantasms #44: The Phantom of the Opera

Today on Fate and Phantasms, we’re starting with the Man in the Mirror, a.k.a. the Phantom of The Opera! The role of the phantom will tonight be played by a Phantom Rogue/Whispers Bard mix with some dramatic cantrips and plenty of psychic damage to keep him inside your mind.

You can check out the level-by-level breakdown below the cut, or the summary spreadsheet. Either way, enjoy the show.

Race and Background

He may be the Angel of Music, but he’s definitely not an Aasimar. I mean, probably? The DnD universe has a lot more sentient races than ours, you can get funky with it if you want; maybe a siren? But for canon’s sake, he’s clearly a Human, giving him +1 to all stats. He’s also a Hermit, but we’re going to change it up a bit from the usual. He lived alone, yes, but under and Opera House, so he’ll be proficient in Performance and Religion instead. He also might get a terrible secret of the multiverse if you want to talk to your DM about it. Why the multiverse always gives its secrets to dangerously unstable people, I don’t know. But maybe you do!

Stats

If you’re using the standard array like we are, put your highest score in Charisma; you’re a good enough singer to tutor professionals despite never being taught yourself, so that’s all raw talent. You were also able to build a concerning number of secret passages into an opera house without anyone noticing, so your Intelligence is probably pretty high as well. You’re clearly not powerfully build, but can handle yourself pretty well in a fight: all signs point to your Dexterity being next. Your Constitution and Strength are decent enough; I’d even consider them pretty high considering you’ve spent an indeterminable amount of time living in a sewer maze. Finally, dump Wisdom. The phrases “Mental Pollution” and “High Wisdom” do not go together.

Class Levels

1. Rogue 1: We’re starting off as a rogue, they get relevant proficiencies and lots of them, and you’ll need a lot to fuel all the expertise you’re getting. Specifically, you’re proficient in Dexterity and Intelligence saves and four rogue skills. Acrobatics and Stealth will help you worm your way through secret passages without getting caught. Your powers of Persuasion can convince people that you’re some kind of angel (though that might just be grooming), and when that falls through you always have Intimidation as well.

At first level, you double your proficiency in two skills thanks to your Expertise. We’ll start with your Performance and Stealth: you have the most beautiful voice in the world, and are weirdly good at creeping through old opera houses without creaking any floorboards. You can add more damage to your attacks with a Sneak Attack, and you know Thieves’ Cant, a secret language of rogues. Nobody understands what happens in operas anyway, so it’ll be easy to slip some hidden messages in.

As far as weapons go, dual-wielding daggers are probably your best bet as stand-ins for your claw hands. It will also use up your bonus action, but having a back-up attack is always useful.

2. Rogue 2: Vanishing from the scene becomes much easier with your Cunning Action, allowing you to dodge, disengage or hide as a bonus action. Disappearing in the nick of time is kind of your thing, and this will make it much easier.

3. Rogue 3: Third level rogues get a sneak attack boost as well as their archetype, and yours is the appropriately named Phantom archetype from Tasha’s Cauldron. When you take this archetype, you gain Wails from the Grave, meaning the dramatic music stings that accompany your attacks can actually do damage now. When you attack someone with your sneak attack, you can deal half your sneak attack dice in psychic damage to another creature nearby. You can use this a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus per long rest. You also can hear Whispers of the Dead, giving you proficiency in one skill of your choice that you can swap out each short rest. Erik’s a multitalented man, but being proficient in every skill takes up way more ASIs than we have, so this is a happy medium.

4. Bard 1: Bard pull people under their sway with the power of music, and that’s literally your entire MO, so this is a no-brainer. At first level, you get a free skill of your choice. Operas cover a lot of subjects, but I think History is the most consistent. Sure, it’s fictionalized history, but you’re fictional too, so it all works out.

First level bards gain Spellcasting using charisma as your casting stat, as well as some Bardic Inspiration dice, a couple D6 you can throw at people to encourage their best performances.

For spells, grab Prestidigitation and Minor Illusion for some stage magic, Charm Person and Unearthly Chorus to charm your way out of any situation, and Dissonant Whispers and Puppet to really worm your way into people’s minds.

5. Bard 2: You’re now a Jack of All Trades, adding half your proficiency to any check you’re not already proficient with. Seriously, Erik’s a stage magician, skilled architect, and a world class singer, all while being shunned by polite society. How does he do it?

You also learn a Song of Rest, letting you ease your party’s worries during short rests with your skillful performance. I’d think hearing the phantom sing would put someone even more on edge, but that’s why I’m not a dnd character.

For your spell, grab Feather Fall. It’s great for when you need to jump off a balcony to escape, or if you forget about the time limit on a late-game feature.

6. Bard 3: Being a bard also gives you some Expertise, this time enhance your Persuasion and Intimidation to perfect your “people skills”. You also graduate from the College of Whispers at this level, giving you a couple extra features as well.

Psychic Blades lets you burn through inspiration dice to add 2d6 Psychic Damage to your attack once per round. You also learn Words of Terror, so if you talk to someone for a while you can try and make them afraid of you or someone else for up to an hour. That can be done once per short rest.

Grab Suggestion to politely remind people why they always do all you ask of them.

7. Rogue 4: Use your first ASI to increase your dexterity for more AC and more stabbage.

8. Rogue 5: Your sneak attack is boosted to 3d6, and you gain an Uncanny Dodge, letting you react to avoid half the damage from an attack. Sometimes your flair for the dramatic means escapes aren’t quite as easy as they should be. This will help you avoid dying while still being the center of attention.

9. Rogue 6: Your third round of expertise will help you remember more about the subjects of operas you’ve watched, doubling your proficiency in History and Religion.

10. Rogue 7: Seventh level rogues get another sneak attack bonus, and they learn about Evasion, meaning dexterity based attacks deal a lot less damage to you. I don’t know exactly what kind of save a falling chandelier requires, but dexterity is a pretty safe bet.

11. Rogue 8: For your next ASI, we’re taking the Dual Wielder feat. This gives you a bit of extra AC and you can trade up for larger claws for some extra damage. If you really want to powergame though, you could switch this out for the mobile feat instead, as we’ll be getting a feature later on that makes ignoring difficult terrain very useful.

12. Rogue 9: Ninth level rogues get another sneak attack bonus, bringing you up to 5d6. Ninth level phantoms learn how to make Tokens of the Departed. You can react when a creature dies within 30′ of you to turn part of their soul into a random trinket from the trinket table. While you have at least one trinket on your person, you have advantage on death and constitution saves. You can only keep a small number on you, and can destroy a trinket to ask the dead one question. You can also destroy a trinket to use Wails from the Grave for free. Admittedly this has very little to do with being the phantom of the opera, but the advantage is really nice if you’re trying to keep someone charmed while in combat, and we’ll get a better use for the trinkets later.

13. Bard 4: Back in bardsville, you’ve got another ASI waiting for you. Boost your Charisma for more powerful spells and more uses of your Psychic Blades and inspiration.

For spells, pick up Vicious Mockery for even more psychic damage, and Blindness/Deafness to make tracking you down even harder via a quick blast of organ playing.

14. Bard 5: With our last level in bard, your inspiration dice increase to a d8, and your psychic blades now add 3d6 damage to attacks. You also become a Font of Inspiration, regaining inspiration uses on short rests rather than long ones.

For your last spell, grab Fear. This hardly should even count as magic for you, you just have that kind of effect on people.

15. Rogue 10: Switching back to rogue, you get one more ASI, which we’re putting into Dexterity. You hit harder and are harder to hit, what’s not to love?

16. Rogue 11: Your sneak attack goes up again, and you now have Reliable Talent. This means any skill check you make that you’re proficient in will always have a roll of at least 10. Basically, whatever you’re good at, you’re really good. And you’re good at whatever you need to be, which is great for you.

17. Rogue 12: With your last ASI, we’re maxing your Charisma. Maximizing dexterity would be nice, but we only have so much space and the extra inspiration is too useful to pass up. Don’t worry though, we’ll get something to guarantee our attacks hit in two levels.

18. Rogue 13: You know the drill: sneak attack goes up to 7d6, and you get your last Phantom ability. Ghost Walk lets you turn into, let’s say a “specter”, for ten minutes as a bonus action. You gain 10′ of flying speed and can hover in midair, attacks against you are made with disadvantage, and you can move through objects as difficult terrain. If you stay inside an object at the end of your turn though, you take 1d10 force damage. Honestly though, that’s a lot less damage than anything else that’s happening at 18th level. Why would you stay outside? There’s fighters out there. You can use this feature once per long rest, or by burning a soul trinket for this feature. I know that all the ghostly things you do in the musical are thanks to secret passages in your opera house, but most adventures don’t take place in your opera house. This is a good way to still dramatically pop out of mirrors without needing several years of prep time and a zoning permit.

One important thing to note: There’s no rules regarding what happens if you become tangible inside a wall, so try not to find out.

19. Rogue 14: You now gain a Blindsense, making you aware of hidden creatures within 10′ of you as long as you can hear. This combined with Ghost Walk means you’re now the master of the ambush. Why bother being in a fight when you can just stick your hands out of the floorboards and remove someone’s ankles? This gives you advantage on your attack because your opponent can’t see you, and makes you immune to any counterattacks unless they feel like tearing up the entire dungeon around them.

20. Rogue 15: With your capstone level, your sneak attack becomes an extra 8d6, and your fraying sanity becomes so obtuse it goes right back around to being good. Your Slippery Mind gives you proficiency in wisdom saves, making you harder to charm and fool with illusions.

Pros: A majority of your saves are pretty good, with only strength really being a weakness thanks to your features covering your constitution and wisdom saves. The only thing with a wider range than your save proficiencies is your skill proficiencies: anything you’re good at, you’re really good at. Anything you’re not good at, you’re still pretty good at. And Whispers of the Grave can even give you tool proficiencies. Your party needs a boat captain? You’ve watched Riders to the Sea once, it’ll probably be fine. Finally, specializing in one type of damage is usually a bad idea. Unless it’s psychic damage, in which case it’s generally a great idea. Very few creatures resist or are immune to it, and it’s pretty easy to argue that it’s magical damage.

Cons: Outside of Wails from the Grave and one or two bard spells, you don’t have many ranged attacks. Also, the psychic damage effects from your Psychic Blades are a significant part of your damage early on, and they eat into your inspiration stores very quickly until you get Font of Inspiration. Finally, we weren’t able to pick up War Caster in this build, so trying to dual wield your claws and cast spells at the same time might be a bit cumbersome, depending on your DM.

Next up: ...Sorry, I got distracted. What were we talking about?

#fate grand order #fgo #fate and phantasms #dnd 5e #the Phantom of the Opera

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askthemist · 4 years

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DND with the Swordsmen: Fancy Fomps

Kushimaru: Ah the Grand Magician's ball. Lavished, luxurious, and laden with danger! Your next quest is to smooge with the upper crusts of society in New Roe city, and find out about the missing elven refugees. All of you have been taken to a tailor to get some new fancy clothes. However some of you must be on your best behavior. *Looks at Zabuza and Jinpachi*

Jinpachi: ...hey man come on I'm a wererat for fuks sake. Can't I just....I don't know not be at the party?

Zabuza: *thinking of all kinds of edgy ways to steal people's stuff* don't worry it's going to be fun. Besides all the good shit is there.

Kushimaru: and that hot half teifling chick from the town of thieves is there too and suspiciously talking to the high counc-

Zabuza: IROLLTOSTABHERFORSTEALINGMYGOLD.

Kushimaru:......you can't. You my dear friend are in a social and civil environment, a place of civility and common courtesy, you causing a scene will create such a spectacular disaster that the sheer juxtaposed nature what you're going to do is going to shatter the fabric of reality.

Zabuza: .... You could have just said no.

Kushimaru: and be a basic fucking cunt like the rest of those ignorant plebes backing comic book store fuck no. Anyway, there are guards looking around so stealth checks will be a little harder to pull. It's all about wits and charisma. Kisame, Ameyuri, Raiga, since your intelligence stats are the highest amongst our party, why don't you guys start with the interrogational small talk? While Zabuza, Jinpachi and Juzo can just ...I don't know do what rouges, swashbucklers and warriors do in fancy places like this.

Juzo, Zabuza and Jinpachi: MOSH PI-

Kushimaru: STAND COMPLETELY STILL AND BEHAVE YOURSELVES.

Zabuza: .....damn it

Juzo: it's cool, I roll to talk to a random person at the ball.

Kushimaru: here, roll this, courtesy of my secretary and her board of interesting dice. *Hands juzo a 100 sided die*

Juzo: *rolls it and gets 85*

Kushimaru: *reads the effect list* hmmm... She proceeded to talk with you about the political implications of hair clips and how fashionable hair can lead you to genetically becoming a Superior being.

Juzo: .....wuh.

Jinpachi: OH OH ME ME NEXT! I ROLL TO TALK TO THE GIRL WITH THE BIGGEST BREASTS!

Kushimaru: *gives the 100 die*

Jinpachi: *rolls and gets a 19*

Kushimaru: *sees the list* ....hmmm..she...um...looks at you with disgust aaaaaaand.... *Looks at his watch*....and it's likely night time so she sees you him wererat form.

Jinpachi: :C *sad rat hours*

Zabuza:......I roll to STAB THE THOT WHO STOLE MY SHIT.

Kushimaru: *rubs his temples* no.

*after an hour of interesting investigation rolls*

Kisame: ok it seem most of the city doesn't care about the elven refugees, some have made some rather deplorable remarks on the political situation.

Ameyuri: my side of the convos have revealed that there's been a few lobbyists going around doing stuff nothing really weird

Raiga: ....... Kushimaru did you make that effect list yourself or is that all what actual rich people say and think?

Kushimaru: .....um....

*flashback to earlier that morning*

Kushimaru: hey my lovely guide to the dark and horrid past my I borrow that book on "16th-19th century life of aristocratic society and social inquiry" I need for a campaign...

Kiri: *working on filing papers and records at the museum of natural history* ......and?

Kushimaru: ....*sigh* I'm sorry for breaking into the museum .....and your apartment to borrow some paperclips....and...I'm sorry for forgetting about our ....little thing

Kiri: .....*sigh* fine, but next time ask me to get you a entry pass. *goes and finds the book and gives him* by the way....when are you going to let "us" in the campaign?

Kushimaru: don't worry sweetheart....I got something extra special.

Kiri: oh also your boss came by and he's coming by your next campaign to join in and "experience the game". He's got a character sheet and everything

Kushimaru: .....oh no.

Kiri: oh yes, and he says if you say no you're fired.

Kushimaru: *bangs his head on the book in defeat*

Kiri: *pats his beyond fluffy hair*

#kisame #kushimaru #Juzo #Ameyuri #Jinpachi #sad rat hours for Jinpachi #Zabuza #dnd #kiri

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bookworm-2692 · 4 years

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Reader ask meme: A10, B6, C4 and D2?

Questions are from here!

A10: Who did you have your first fanfic-related conversation with? What was it about?

I… don’t remember? First irl conversation? Or online? Online would be someone from the Salad on Dreamwidth in the comments section in like 2014??? Real life… maybe my sister @adrift-in-eden or my friend @lebannabell or another friend who doesn’t use tumblr. Or maybe… wait I remember when I was young and my dad downloaded these “James Potter and the X” ebooks (here is the first on Goodreads), as well as Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality or something? It’s only now in hindsight that I realise they were fanfic lmao. I read the James Potter ones, I remember enjoying them. My dad talked about the Methods of Rationality all the damn time! He found it absolutely hilarious, tho I never read it. I think those would have been the first conversations about fanfic, given that I remember not knowing that term in those days (a couple of months ago my sister and I were talking about this fic at the beach in the ocean and my dad overheard some and started talking about Methods of Rationality again (bc we tried to make him go away by saying “hp fanfic” but he didn’t and instead started relating to us) and it wasn’t until that moment that I was like “hey that’s fanfic… those James Potter ebooks were also fanfic… wtf”, so I clearly didn’t know the term fanfic back when I first read them).

Looking on the Goodreads now, JP1 was published 2007, JP2 in 2008, JP3 in 2010 and JP4 in 2013. JP5 wasn’t published until 2017. I definitely read 1-3 all at once, and definitely did not read #5. From the title on the Goodreads I feel like I recognise #4? Nope ok so I went into iBooks, and I have 1-3 but not 4 or 5. So my dad downloaded them somewhere in 2010-2013? I remember being disappointed it stopped at number 3 lmao. Trying to work out exactly, but all the other ones of his I read were published in 2008 so that doesn’t help. It was definitely after I read the whole series, and I know I started after the last book came out in 2008, and had definitely finished the series multiple times by year 5 or year 6 (2010/2011). So I would’ve read my first fanfic in maybe 2011 or 2012 lets say, at the age of like 12 or 13, and the first fanfic conversation would’ve been with my dad, and would have been about that fic he sent me lmao

B6: What is your favourite story trope? Why?

Um idk about trope?? But I really like stories where it’s like… one tiny thing changed, which changes the entire plot. Canon divergence fics. For Want Of A Nail I think it’s called on TV Tropes? Like all the NDRV3 fics where (spoiler alert) Akamatsu isn’t executed, because Saihara lies that he killed Amami and Monokuma rolls with it, or because he actually killed Amami, or instead Chapter 1 goes as canon, but instead Saihara is the second victim, or changes to Chapter 5: Saihara is Ouma’s hostage, or both Ouma and Momota are in the Exisal, or if they play by the rules in Chapter 6. I also really enjoy when canon mentions a thing happening, but not in any great detail, but then a fic goes over that event in great detail. For example, the First Nonary Game in Zero Escape, or the events of VLR from Phi’s POV, or the audition process in NDRV3 and showing how they actually “become” their characters. Also wasn’t it mentioned somewhere that Hongou went through Gordain’s Game? Dammit this is almost turning into a rec list from me. I guess I just really like long detailed fics with a good plot?

Since some of my favourite fics didn’t manage to fit into the above: (Danganronpa) after the events of DR1, Naegi is kidnapped by Ultimate Despair, (Danganronpa) a time loop AU where we see the loops that lead to the canon timeline, rather than that one being the first one, (Harry Potter) Salazar Slytherin’s brother crawls out of his portrait during Harry’s fifth year ready to be the competent teacher Hogwarts needs (here is my longer recommendation to this fic that I posted a few days ago), (Harry Potter) Harry gets adopted by loving Muggles as a baby and raised in a loving home, (Harry Potter) Draco and Harry another others are 24 and professors at Hogwarts, this expands on the ideas of wizarding Lords and Ladies and has super amazing worldbuilding/characterisation, (Harry Potter) a series of wonderful “what if AUs”, (Harry Potter) 19/20 year old Harry wakes up in a 14 year old Slytherin body in 1942 - deals with Slytherin politics in such a Gryffindor way, it’s absolutely beautiful, (Harry Potter) a Muggle becomes the Weasleys new neighbour, and they all think she’s actually a witch, (Zero Escape) the boys are playing DND over Discord and now a real life mystery is occurring, (Zero Escape) snippets leading up to Dcom, and also during the experiment, (Zero Escape) a look at what happens after ZTD, and how they try to continue saving the world (it’s very good), (Zero Escape) random scenes from every timeline, (Zero Escape) a complete AU, Crash Keys are doing crime, it’s good stuff, (Zero Escape) the story of 1904 Phi (also really good)

I’m now getting tired but if you want more fic recs then please just ask! Also if you have your own fic recs please send them to me!

C4: What thing that fandom loves do you actually kind of hate? Why?

To be honest? The shipping. Like I’m not an anti-shipper, I’m not trying to stop people from shipping. You do you boo. But I just sort of dislike when shipping gets shoe horned in unnecessarily? Similar to how I dislike romance subplots and love interests being added to mainstream media “for the sake of it”. If it’s needed for the plot (or extremely well done) then it’s absolutely fine. But if it has no bearing on the plot, or is badly written, or feels OOC or something, then it annoys me. Generally it’s fine though, but.

D2: Who/Where did you get your last fic rec from?

I think my sister?? When she was reading a lot of Harry Potter fic, she’d send me the best of them and I’d open the links and just have the tabs open until I got around to reading them. I was at uni and busy, so I just kept on accumulating links, and she wasn’t even sending me every single thing I read! She’s since moved on to reading another fandom (and hence hasn’t been sending me any fics in a while), but I still haven’t caught up on all she sent. Some of them were really good though, super amazing.

#ask #bookworm-2692 #chessanator #fanfic #idk this is a lot of rambling #and a lot of not fully answering the question and getting distracted answering an adjacent question haha sorry #but this was fun #i answered the questions in reverse order fun fact #mainly bc the first one freaked me out bc i had no clue #but now that ive determined the answer is my dad?#even more freaked out lmao #ive got like 130 fics in my bookmarks okay i could have gone forever w the second question #but im tired #was like 11:30pm when i decided to start finishing that question #is now 12:20am i need to sleep

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performanceroll-blog · 5 years

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YOU MEET IN A TAVERN! You've got your world built, the players made their characters and you can't wait to unleash all the monsters you know on the poor unsuspecting lvl 1s. The characters, however, have to somehow get to the goblin caves/basement filled with giant rats/kobold den first. How do you introduce the PCs into the world and to each other? Let me just start off saying that there are as many ways to do this as there are DMs - and equally as many opinions on what way is the best. We're gonna go through some of the classic ones to give you the general idea, as well as some more unique ones if you want to surprise your players. Overall, though, it all boils down to your own personal prefrence. THE TAVERN Yup, you guessed it. The number one most popular way to start a campaign is in a tavern. Hey, if it's not broken, don't fix it, right? Tropes are tropes for a reason. They work. Starting off in a tavern has its numerous benefits. A tavern is a place where the most varied of people can meet. You can put almost anyone and anything in there and not have to think too hard on why they’re there. It's a great way to introduce npcs you'd like your players to know right off the bat. If the players are new, you can ease them into social interactions and roleplaying by engaging them on a level they are familiar with - have a bartender simply ask them for their order. It starts off a conversation and also offers the opportunity to try out some skill checks. Trust me, all players, be they new or veteran, are going to try to haggle for prices. Ask for that persuasion roll. If the players are more roleplay-firendly, you can leave the first few minutes up to them to interact amongst themselves. That way they can get to know each other a bit before you throw them to the wolves. Taverns are also a great place to introduce some lore. This works best when it comes naturally and doesn't seem forced. Nobody likes an exposition dump. Try to wait for the players' initiative to learn something about their surroundings. Maybe the PCs overhear a conversation at the nearest table. Maybe the bard in the corner is playing a song about the latest world events. Maybe the tavern itself is a piece of lore - there are carvings above the bar that hold various names and when the PCs inquire about them, they learn that they are the names of all the people who held the title of Deepest Throat in the past 10 years. (pun intended - and you can do with the title what you will :)) From there a drinking contest is bound to happen. A little harmless competition to start off a campaign won’t hurt anyone....OR WILL IT? :) When everyone's a bit more relaxed, you've tried some rolls, had a few conversations, you can start introducing the plot. A notice board with local mercenary work, a damsel in distress barges into the tavern, the barkeep needs help with deratization in the basement... anything can be thrown into a tavern and has every right to be there. THE ESCORT MISSION Again, one of the common tropes. Often times it is troublesome to put the PCs into one place and have there be a plausible reason for them to be there at the same time. It can be even more troublesome to have them immediately form a party and stay together. You can sort of cheat your way into this by having them be working on the same job - such as escorting someone or something from point A to point B. Regardless of their backstories, they need only to figure out a reason why they're escorting this merchant to that coastal town in the south. Not even all of them need that to be their actual job. Maybe one of them was simply traveling in that direction and met up with the others who were guarding the caravan. This set up also gives you the opportunity to take a few of the oppening moments to encourage conversation and getting to know one another. After the oppening stages, you can start the plot with having something unexpected occur. - maybe a simple pack of wolves attacks the caravan and you can introduce combat without having it be something really stressfull right off the bat. Or maybe the caravan itself is part of the narative and you can start the "plot" after they arrive at the destination. Whatever the case, now you have your PCs together. PART OF THE SAME ORGANIZATION A mercenary company, an adventuring guild, students at the same school, soldiers in the army, part of the same pottery class... there are countless possibilities here. This particular premise does demand some cooperation from your players with having to synchronise their backstories, but hey, if they're up for it, it's a great way to skip past the potential initial awkward stages. You just assume the PCs already know each other and you can even discuss how close they are, who likes who, why the elf and dwarf are best friends etc. They can describe their party dynamics and have that be the roleplaying intro into the game. Then simply give them a task to complete for the organization and the story writes itself from there. THE JAIL Whether it was grand theft cart, petty thievery or even an unjust sentence, the PCs found themselves in jail. And would you know it, the mayor is just in need of a couple of people willing to walk the grey area of law to deal with a particular problem he has. Do this for him and your sentence will be revoked. This also offers the potential for the PCs to get to know each other before you introduce the mayor as the driving force of the plot. Hey, maybe there's this other inmate there too who seems to be a random person locked up for public indecency but is actually the big bad of the story. I myself do love foreshadowing things to my players. THE SHIPWRECK Not unlike the jail, it is a situation that has been forced upon the PCs and requires them to work together to get out of it. It's a construct of storytelling that allows you to circumvent the "Why would I even travel with these people..my character would never..." trap of PC backstory and alignment. This one is a great way to have there be a contained introductory story to your campaign. You don't have to spend a ton of time developing the whole world if the party can't leave this tiny island for the first 4-5 levels. A little railroading at the begining doesn't have to be a bad thing - especially when done well. AMNESIA Here we go into the more complex options. There are countless books, games, movies and tv shows that hinge on the protagonist not remembering their past. This can also be used in dnd and to various degrees. First of all, though, it requires cooperation from your players and they have to be complicit to this kind of start. Now, you can go with everything ranging from the PCs not remembering their names, to their whole backgrounds, to not actually having access to their character sheets. The first 2 are simple enough. You can have it just be a plot point and for some reason important to the story that they have amnesia. I wouldn't recommend using it just for the sake of it. If you're going with amnesia, there has to be a plot related reason for it. Maybe they are all part of a medical/scientific/magical experiment. Maybe they were all killed and ressurected as chosen of the god(s) for some higher purpose - I dunno, you do the brainstorming there.... Regardless of the reason, they now immediately have something in common which will hold them together as a group. The last one, though, is a bit tricky, and one that I'd like to try out at least once myself. You can go with the players not remembering anything about themselves. To avoid metagaming, that would constitute them not having access to their sheets - at least in the begining. It also means that they would probably have to roll totally random classes. Most players already have an idea on what they want to play, though, and would be against such a campaign start, I would assume - but if you have a table of veterans, maybe they'd like to try out something out of the ordinary. Through the first few sessions, via skill checks, attack rolls and everything else, they slowly learn about their stats. They take notes on modifiers you give them and piece by piece put together what their actual class and background is. I can see it being quite fun and a good roleplaying excercise. It also requires no background story whatsoever and you can fill in the blanks as you go through the campaign. The DM does have to do a lot more work than usual though, as they have to be familiar with all the PCs and their abilities, and engaged enough to offer bits of information on the char sheets to the players when it is appropriate. LEVEL 0 One interesting way to start is having the PCs be simple commoners in a village or small town. This takes care of having them need to get to know each other and having a reason for them to be there. As you've probably gathered by now, I find these to be the main problems in regards to storytelling when starting a campaign. Similarily to the Amnesia start, PCs would not have classes to begin with. They would essentially be commoners with no special abilities. Then you introduce a plot point they need to deal with which will initiate them into the adventuring lifestyle. There are various ways to do that. The simple one would be a band of goblins/wolves attacking the farms. The difficulty here is risking a tpk because the PCs don't have any combat capabilities to speak of. You should probably encourage creative ways to deal with the problem rather than rush them into a combat encounter. I would, however, prefer something like a village fair with various games that nudge the PCs towards their respective classes - an archery competition, arm wrestling, hide-and-seek, etc. This also provides a ton of opportunities for social interaction. When you grow tired of the village life, introduce a new plot point and set the newly baked adventurers on their adventuring way. ISEKAI Anime has had an oversaturation of this genre in the past few years. That doesn't mean, however, that you can't go with it in your dnd game. This is actually my favorite potential way to start a campaign, and one I haven't tried or seen anyone do yet. If you don't know what "isekai" means, it is the trope of a regular Joe from our plain ol' boring world being transported into a video-game (usually a mmorpg) world, usually being overpowerd in said world and having to deal with their newfound circumstances. Your players would start off as regular people doing their regular everyday things and all of a sudden be transported into your dnd setting. This would be an interesting way of allowing meta player knowledge being used in game. Also an interesting roleplay excercize. They would essentiatlly be playing themselves as someone else - their new characters. Another way you could go about this is to have them play PCs from the real world from the get go and have them be transported into a dnd world. That way you could roleplay their characters knowing nothing about monsters, magic or fighting. I miss the excitement of not knowing what it is you're encountering. Nowadays, everyone knows what a goblin is... or a kobold, or a beholder... Imagine if you, as you are now, sitting in front of a computer, would all of a sudden be dropped into a cave with a beholder in front of you. Yup, I'd be terrified as well. . . There are a couple more common tropes I could mention, but I hope you got the gist of what's important and can adapt that to your own possibly original attempt to start a campaign. My start was not as elegant as it could have been if I had gone with one of the above, but I wanted evrything to play out as naturally as possible with a healthy dose of realism in game -so I started the PCs in the same small town with their own personal reasons for being there that all had a common thread which eventually brought them together. It actually took 2 sessions for them to convene at the same place and form a circumstantial party, but we got there and it was quite an excercise in DMing. Thanks for reading and, as always, have yourself some inspiration ;)

#dnd 5e #dnd5e #dnd #d&d 5e #d&d #dungeons and dragons #fantasy #stories #storytelling #campaign #tavern #nerdy #nerd #roleplay #tabletop #games #backstory #hobby

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quillyfied · 5 years

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playing catchup, here’s some thoughts about DCA episode 120, with 121 coming here in a bit.

- I love these fireside episodes, and Satine Phoenix is an excellent person to mediate their discussions; she’s very warm and empathetic and these losers need that desperately

- Strix’s timeline is screwy, as I believe I have discussed on this blog before, but…uh…there’s a particular piece of Strix backstory Holly wrote that if it happened before she went to Baba Yaga…yikes. I don’t want to discuss it in too much detail but Strix would still have been so, so young for this particular piece of trauma, that’s gut-wrenching to think about. All of their childhoods included some form of trauma at a heartbreakingly young age and all of it is hard to think about but wooow.

- Paladin training is no joke, but I wonder how much younger than the others Evelyn was, to have advanced to full paladin status at 22 (probably younger). Given her leg, that’s really hella impressive.

- Relissa and Kagan are TERRIBLE and I can’t wait until we meet them, I am hoping for bloodshed on Diath’s behalf. But now Diath’s question to Paultin during the therapy episode makes more sense—“Was she nice to you?” KILL ME

- Diath’s fond smile and his tone of voice when he says her name after Strix says “so we CAN kill them!”, I’m drowning in my feelings pls help

- Yeah, trying to parse the conversation better, it does sound like Diath was dating both of them. So polyamorous Diath is most likely canon, which is…huge, honestly.

- Just going off of the body language and his facial expressions…that is not Diath’s root fear of cages and enclosed spaces. He probably had that long before Relissa and Kagan got to him. If anything, being imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit would probably crystalize that fear into a full-on psychosis, if it wasn’t there already

- okay imagining little bitty Evelyn zipping around in her boots makes me SO HAPPY, what a cutie patootie she must’ve been. Her expressed desire to be helpful is also very telling of an active child who felt useless bc she couldn’t get around as well, and I’m sure Father Sunbright capitalized on that desire to be useful to turn her into the self-sacrificing paladin she is (I’m sure to make her self-sacrificing and indebted to him personally, not just Lathander, but I’m bitter about him and hope either he doesn’t get raised or if Telastin tries, he just doesn’t come back…sidenote, I wonder if Chris is worried about too many plot threads out there waving in the wind that he has to braid back together, I’m sure he can do it, but this season is so complex compared to others)

- MORE ABOUT PAULTIN’S CHILDHOOD PLS. NATE. NATE PLS. I know that alcohol-induced amnesia is a huge part of Paultin’s character as an in-game expression of Nate not having much of a backstory for him, but come on, it’s been years XD He probably wouldn’t spill about it just yet, anyway, Diath hasn’t. I’m just grumpy and impatient.

- Aww yeee plot pie

- I feel like Paultin and Sandra having a rental is an important detail in this particular case; it feels like a setup, if this crime family was making a habit out of going into noble houses and Paultin and Sandra’s house was close to one. Maybe Sandra was mixed up in something she shouldn’t have been and Paultin didn’t know about it bc he’d been busy with work before she died, but the face-mangling in particular is suspicious to me. The whole death scenario in general is just brutal, suggesting extreme emotion or senseless bestial mauling (leaning towards the second), but making the face unrecognizable…there’s usually a reason why that happens, and that reason is usually either trying to cover their tracks or body-planting. So what I’m saying is, I’m reserving a shred of suspicion that Sandra might not be dead (actually evil, off doing other things, not sure what the motive would be, we just don’t know enough about her for me to make a clear judgement, but I’ve got my eye on you, Chris). I do not want that to happen at all in the least, for many reasons, but still…hmm.

- Diath’s reticence makes so much more sense now but I’m still a little heartbroken that he doesn’t feel comfortable enough with Strix, at least, to divulge a bit of his childhood to her. Yes I am upset as a viewer that there’s still so much we don’t know (upset AND excited), but after everything the Waffle Crew has been through together, it’s still baffling to me that they have mistrust and uncertainty. But them’s people, I guess, they all have their trauma that they’re carrying around.

- “Please don’t call me Hokage” OMGF JARED

- For real, though, after the clusterbumble Plurio tried to pull with saying Paultin owed him, seeing the real legit 100% authentic Diath express yet more of his devotion to his friend by tracking down people who hurt him deeply in the past has me absolutely sobbing, these stupid boys care about each other so much. Also vengeance!Paultin is kinda terrifying to watch but it’s been a while, it will be interesting to see where his rage takes him this time.

- (Esepcially given the talk he gave Alisanda about rage and revenge and how that hatred never goes away and changes a person for the worse, hoo boy, I hope for their sake that Relissa and Kagan really didn’t kill Sandra)

- EVELYN NO THAT’S NOT HOW YOU CHILDREN. My inner daycare teacher is screaming.

- Nat’s devotion to Diath is a+++++ and I think she in particular is very good for Diath’s development as a person and a leader. Also Anna and Jared using sign language onstage was great, I don’t know if all if it was legit since I don’t know much, but it was still cool to watch.

- Diath needs to go bond with Simon next…especially once next episode finally sinks into him :P (I am pretty sure they let slip to Diath what happened with Simon and the kid during the therapy episode, but the players forgetting details is okay, they’re all human beings with busy lives and insane schedules)

- Paultin acknowledging Evelyn as Simon’s mom is the BEST, I’m just waiting for Simon to call them Mom and Dad out loud now :P

- THROW THAT SHADE, PAULTIN, YOUR SON HAS LEARNED FROM THE BEST. YES DIATH, LET’S DISCUSS HIDING THINGS.

- AGREED, VLAHNYA, THEY SHOULD ABSOLUTELY TALK MORE.

- Squiddly’s mode of breaking the fourth wall without actually breaking the fourth wall is amazing, I’m not sure what to call his in-universe fluidity with the rules of reality but it’s delightful, I’m so upset it is a little weird for Nate to hold entire conversations with himself in a dnd setting

- They need to learn to take care of the kids…and themselves…AND EACH OTHER…I think I feel a whump fic coming on

- All of these poor broken adults need a mental health day where they just do things for themselves, where’s that special episode, Chris Perkins

- little lesson about love~ (once again getting SO CLOSE to someone explaining to Strix about feelings and giving her context for romantic emotions, WHY DO PEOPLE KEEP CHICKENING OUT ON HER, SOMEONE EXPLAIN THIS BEFORE I DIE)

- Paultin’s face-touch to Diath is a masterful little touch of comedy, combining Paultin’s two favorite pastimes: 1. Messing with Diath, and 2. Bringing back random plot elements and using them to greatest effect. I am 99% sure that part of Paultin’s motivation for doing that was planting the idea in Diath to touch someone ELSE’S face :P Or at least, the part of me that knows Paultin ships his friends as much as we do wants to believe that. Jared’s face through the whole thing was killing me.

- Parenting, you guys. PARENTING. BEING RESPONSIBLE ADULTS. Oh gosh they’re going to have to leave Waterdeep at some point (bc I have a suspicion that Dungeon of the Mad Mage is going to be, if not THE last, then one of the last arcs DCA has, IDK how much longer fifth edition is gonna last and how many adventures they can turn out for it?? How often do they update DnD???), which means leaving the kids, which means there’s going to be a goodbye episode and I’m NOT READY.

- Elements of this are bleeding pretty flawlessly into the next episode, whether Chris actually watched the fireside as of streaming 121 or not, so once that post goes up, I’ll be glad to explore more about Simon and why I’m screaming in terror and delight.

#dice camera action #dca spoilers #just some late late thoughts don't mind me

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dingus-the-mingus · 7 years

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To all who follow me with the reason of good content ignore this. Also this is a tag game

of course as always this was brought upon me by none other then the mighty @het-lelijke-eendje, thanks yet again for making my evening less boring and more filled with personal and emotionally charged questions which is way better then just browsing dead dark souls memes

Last

1. Drink: cold mint tea

2. Phone call: i think my dad

3. Text message: “yo can you bring me my jacket tomorrow and drop it off later at my place?”

4. Song you listened to: Macdemarco “baby you’re out”

5. Time you cried: i’m not sharing that but what i can say is that i mostly cry because of my amnesia.

HAVE YOU

6. Dated someone twice: can’t say i have

7. Kissed someone and regretted it: every kiss is the beginning of regrets

8. Been cheated on: nope

9. Lost someone special: every dog i ever owned, who cares about humans

10. Been depressed: yes severely, but it’s in the past and i moved on like everyone who got rid of their depression.

11. Gotten drunk and thrown up: of course, Cactus liquor of any kind tastes like nuclear waste now thanks to that one “drunk souls” evening with some friends.

LIST 3 FAVORITE COLORS

12-14: i’m colourblind and i like blue hues and maybe some purple

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU

15. Made new friends: a few

16. Fallen out of love: well it’s more of a “stopped loving” but yes and it sux.

17. Laughed until you cried: my friends make that happen on a daily basis. but mostly when we play DnD or when we’re super high.

18. Found out someone was talking about you: why should they? i’m a bland animator shut-in with no redeeming values except my undying love for the souls series, they should be ashamed if they were talking about me.

19. Met someone who changed you: yes, although i still can’t tell if it was for the better or not. i’m really reflecting on that part right now.

20. Found out who your friends are: I already know who my friends are and they know i’m theirs.

21. Kissed someone on your Facebook list: yes,

GENERAL

22. How many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life: all of them but i have circle of about 30 where i keep constant contact with.

23. Do you have any pets: Yes, a boston terrier he’s my silent animation buddy

24. Do you want to change your name: do i look like a guy with identity issues? i’m fine with my name.

25. What did you do for your last Birthday: got extremely high with my closest friends and dungeonmastered a game.

26. What time did you wake up: god idk i don’t keep track of time in the summer vacation.

27. What were you doing at midnight last night: listening to some podcasts (just started harmontown and i’m halfway through acquisitions incorporated) and drawing some new homebrew enemies for my DnD campaign.

28. Name something you can’t wait for: this is gonna sound sad but to be loved.

29. When was the last time you saw your mom: a few minutes ago when she said she was gonna go to bed.

30. What is one thing you wish you could change in your life: Everyone wants to change things, but no one is ever happy with the ways things are. it’s funny how we always yearn for anything we can’t have or didn’t do in our lives. but if i could i would change the way i handled things with my ex.

31. What are you listening to right now: Biig Piig “Vice city”

32. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom: probably,

33. Something that is getting on your nerves: my always increasing solitude and hermit lifestyle which is at the same time very relaxing. it’s really conflicting

34. Most visited website: Tumblr, reddit, youtube, 4chan in that order

RANDOM INFO ABOUT YOURSELF

35. Mole/s: hidden on my back

36. Mark/s: the upper part of my right ringfinger doesn’t have any feeling anymore because it got stuck between a car door when i was child. that and an eyebrow scar that was created during a weird collision between me and the radiator in kindergarden.

37. Childhood dream: as child i didn’t know. right now i’m aiming to become an art school teacher and to follow in the footsteps of the art teacher who taught me how to draw and find meaning in life. Jeff if you’re reading this i’m coming for you!

38. Hair color: Black, just black

39. Long or short hair: can i say medium/short for the sake of being difficult?

40. Do you have a crush on someone: Yes,

41. What do you like about yourself: that i quit drinking and that i like to help people who struggle with personal problems. i also am quite a good Dungeonmaster but that’s just plain out bragging.

42. Piercings: None

43. Blood type: O positive so that means i can donate to all you suckers!

44. Nickname: Lewis, Jewie (i’m not jewish) but generally just Louis

45. Relationship status: single

46. Zodiac: Pisces

47. Pronouns: call me whichever i’m not a sensitive person on the issue

48. Favourite TV Shows: none, any belgian TV show is complete garbage.

49. Tattoos: one day each of my closest friends including me is gonna make a tattoo design (we’re all artists so we know it’s gonna look ok) then we’re gonna put it in a hat and then we all take one randomly from the hat and put it wherever we want. but that’s all high concept stuff.

50. Right or left hand: Right

51. Surgery: i don’t wanna talk about that, it wasn’t fun and neither is having a neurological issue.

52. Hair dyed in different color: I’m fine with my black,

53. Sport: swimming

55. Vacation: this year it’s Japan and afterwards italy

56. Pair of trainers: no clue

MORE GENERAL

57. Eating: a small cookie

58. Drinking: yup still burning on that cold mint tea

59. I’m about to: finish this of and go for some dark souls pvp

61. Waiting for: some person to live for.

62. Want: to achieve new heights in my animation and drawing and to have an awesome DnD campaign this vacation.

63. Get married: god no, do you know how many people divorce these days? Nobody can withstand another person to the end of their lives. nothing lasts forever just go live together and have your own ceremony without all the paperwork and promises.

64. Career: again being an art teacher at my old middle school.

WHICH IS BETTER

65. Hugs or kisses: hugs definitely

66. Lips or eyes: i can’t really see eye colours so i’m gonna have to go with lips even though it’s not a feature i necesarily look for.

67. Shorter or taller: neither every size is fine.

68. Older or younger: again it doesn’t matter!

70. Nice arms or nice stomach: who caaaaares

71. Sensitive or loud: again i’m not a guy who looks for these parameters in people. everyone is sensitive and loud in some way.

72. Hook up or relationship: Relationship

73. Troublemaker or hesitant: troublemaker.

HAVE YOU EVER

74. Kissed a Stranger: Nope

75. Drank hard liquor: i’m a belgian who got over his alcoholism a year ago...

76. Lost glasses/contact lenses: no lenses no glasses no problems

77. Turned someone down: yes, it never feels good tho

78. Sex on the first date: haha what do you take me for? no not in the slightest.

79. Broken someone’s heart: yeah...i’m a dork

80. Had your heart broken: yes, Not so long ago actually. it’ll heal with time i suppose...

81. Been arrested: can’t say i have but i have been warned not to smoke pot outside once by a cop.

82. Cried when someone died: i’m human you know of course.

83. Fallen for a friend: yah

DO YOU BELIEVE IN…

84. Yourself: despite every action i make i would say yes. willpower is something immensely strong and is necesary for dealing with the hardships of life. but i’m not perfect i’m still trying to find such strong willpower.

85. Miracles: nope

86. Love at first sight: i believe in love at first sentence.

87. Santa Claus: krampus is the only santa i believe in.

88. Kiss on the first date: if it were to actually happen for once then yes.

OTHER:

90. Current best friend name: i’ve got several and no i won’t name them

91. Eye colour: dark green

92. Favorite movie: District 9, the usual suspect.

HOLY MOLY THAT WAS A LONG LIST

i’m not gonna tag anyone further sadly. unless any of those lurking schmucks wants to follow up on this then feel free to reply.

#personal ignore it

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