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justanotherpersonsuniverse · 3 years

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Game Master Akuma AU by crisisdparity

Xavier Duchamp was rather proud of himself. What he had before him was an absolute masterpiece of a campaign if he did say so himself. The product of over six months of study, research, and rebalancing efforts followed by two weeks of discussion with his five players to hash out schedules, meeting times, characters, backstories, potential character arcs, and getting them set up with a messaging app that was really good for sending discrete messages between the GM and the players. Valentine and her boyfriend Justin were onboard in an instant. Within days, he’d greenlighted their Half-Elf Bard of the College of Glamour whose spell list was 100% Illusion spells and Half-Orc Fighter (Eldritch Knight) who was focusing entirely on Abjuration as Rena Rouge and Carapace respectively. Olivia had spent a few days coming up with a Halfling Rogue and debating subclasses with him until settling on Scout. Along with some discussion over how her special magic item’s stunning and paralysis effect would work with Sneak Attack, the campaign had its Vesperia. Jeanette had gone back and forth with him for a week looking at various homebrew subclasses for her Gnome Artificer before they both agreed on one particular Master Tinkerer entry that would be balanced and do the character justice. And with that they had their Ladybug. Even Matt was on board with a stealthy human Chat the Barbarian using the Path of the Beast. The class choice was something Matt had insisted on (and that Xavier would have suggested anyway just for the high hit point totals given Matt’s history with characters dying) and he’d even come up with a backstory that Xavier felt was quite compelling compared to Matt’s usual efforts. Morally ambiguous, likely to be tempted by promises of power, but with a great deal of story potential to work with. Which was a relief. Getting a new player into their group to replace Matt was not something Xavier really felt comfortable with. There were too many unknowns with introducing a new person, far too many for him to risk his masterpiece on an unknown factor. He knew Matt. He could work with Matt. Despite the history. He’d put everything he had into this. Every known Akuma ever fought by the heroes had been made into a boss-tier foe. He’d carefully documented each and every power the heroes had shown to craft special legendary magic items based on the Miraculous. Hawkmoth and Mayura themselves were going to be the final bosses of his campaign. In response to criticism about the difficulty of his campaigns (he tried to make them fair, but still challenging enough to be memorable), he’d made several guest NPCs based on every other hero that had ever been called upon, statted out like player characters that might show up in a pinch to help. He even had a genuine Deus ex Machina that he was ready to use to get the players out of a truly impossible jam if they found themselves in one. Not always, but a few times at least. Enough to get them to the point where they wouldn’t need it anymore. —– It was thirty minutes in, right in the middle of exposition from the Guardian NPC, when Xavier got his first message on the app. Matt/Chat - Chat’s going to wait until everyone breaks up and follow Ladybug stealthily. Xavier/GM - Starting party conflict on the first session? Not what I’d advise, but it’s your character. Go ahead and make your Stealth roll now. Matt/Chat - <photo> 17 Xavier/GM - Yeah, that beats everyone’s passive Perception easily. You’ll sneak off handily without anyone noticing. —– “Jeanette, Ladybug is grabbed from behind by an unknown assailant. Roll to resist the grapple.” “Geez, already? Okay, what did my assailant get for their grapple? How screwed am I?” Xavier pretended to roll a die while consulting the message from Matt. “19.” “Okay, difficult, but not undoable… Crap.” “What’d you get?” “Nat 1…” “Hah! I rip off her earrings and claim them for myself! The Wish is mine!” “Seriously Matt?! What the hell?!” “Because it’s payback time! Payback for every character of mine killed in these hellish

campaigns!” “Oh, come on! You’re not the only person whose had a character die at this table! <GM> runs some pretty challenging campaigns, but they’re always fair!” “What about the time he killed Allric the Allmighty in a single round of combat?” “Dude, you tried to Leroy Jenkins straight into melee with a 4th-level Wizard that had a CON penalty. Even at full health you had like 10 hp.” “14!” “Not much better, dude.” “Guys, it’s fine. I can handle this. Okay, Matt. Chat the Barbarian managed to get the earrings-” “Yeah, Ladybug screams bloody murder when he rips them out. Good luck getting out of this in one piece.” “The moment Rena hears Ladybug scream, she bolts for the sound.” “So does Carapace.” “Vesperia too.” “-and with their current locations and movement speeds, I assume you’re all using the Dash action?, you’ve got maybe one round to decide on your Wish before they’re all over you, so choose carefully. And be aware that I plan to grant whatever you wish for in the worst possible way, just as I would if any of the others pulled this.” “Rena screams ‘What the HELL, Chat?! We’re supposed to protect the Miraculous, not use them for our own selfish purposes! Didn’t you listen to the Guardian? Such actions always bring misfortune upon those who misuse the Miraculous!’” “Because I am Chat, avatar of Destruction and I WISH THIS WORLD NEVER EXISTED!” There was dead silence at the table. “Matt… What… just… WHAT?!” “Hah! You like that?! How does it feel now that the shoe’s on the other foot, huh?!” “What the hell is your problem, Matt?!” “My problem? MY problem?! Do you know how much time I’ve spent making characters for these shitty campaigns only to have them turned into paste in one session?!” “Because you made primary spellcasters and played every last one of them like a barbarian, charging in headfirst without thinking! All of us breathed a sigh of relief when you revealed that your character finally matched your playstyle!” “I HATE BARBARIANS! THEY’RE BORING! I SHOULD GET TO PLAY CHARACTERS THAT CAN AT LEAST CHUCK FIREBALLS!” “THEN MAYBE YOU SHOULD STOP RUNNING THEM FACE FIRST INTO ENEMY SWORDS!” “NONE OF YOU COULD EVER HANDLE THE FACT THE I MAKE MORE AWESOME CHARACTERS THAN ANY OF YOU, SO YOU JUST LET THIS DOUCHEBAG KILL THEM OFF SO YOU WOULDN’T GET OVERSHADOWED BY HOW AMAZING I AM! WELL NOW I KILLED SOMETHING YOU ALL WORKED HARD ON, SO SUCK IT! I’M DONE WITH ALL OF YOU FOREVER!” “MATT! HEY! GET BACK HERE YOU JERK! MATT!” “Crap, I think Olivia might actually kill him this time…” “It’s going to take all of us to stop her from getting arrested at least.” Xavier just watched numbly as the rest of the group ran out of his apartment. Over six months of work. Gone in less than an hour. He’d given so much to making sure this would work. He’d apologized to Matt at least twice for every character of his that had died to get him to come back. He’d agreed to demand after demand just to keep a familiar face on board, never dreaming he’d pull something like this. He’d nearly gotten fired from his job trying to rearrange his schedule to fit with everyone else’s. They’d somehow, miraculously, gotten the whole day with no other obligations among any of them and decided to make the first session a true marathon. They’d meet in the morning after breakfast and eat both lunch and dinner at the game table before calling it a night late in the evening. It was barely 10:00 in the morning and the whole campaign he’d slaved over for months was kaput. He never noticed the butterfly landing on his custom Miraculous-themed Game Master screen and being absorbed into it. “Game Master, I am Hawkmoth. Few people appreciate the kind of effort that goes into making something truly grand and memorable. I shall give you the power to bring your entire world to life and in return, I ask only for a few simple things.” This was wrong. Hawkmoth was the worst of the worst. The kind of person who would be at home among all the final bosses he’d ever made for his campaigns. Heartless, manipulative, cruel. “Not

enough? Ah, but what is a game without players? How would you like to have the Miraculous heroes themselves run your great campaign? Surely they would be far more appreciative than those ungrateful peons that left you alone with nothing but the broken remains of your efforts.” He knew all these things, but the allure of bringing the world he’d spent so much time on to life… What creator could ever turn down an offer like that? “I, the Game Master, accept… Hawkmoth.” “Excellent. And in exchange, you shall bring me one of two things: The Miraculous, or the identities of their wielders.” “No.” Hawkmoth was silent for a moment. “I beg your pardon?” “I said no. I am the Game Master. I make the world. I craft the challenges. I decide the rewards. But I do not do anything for anyone. If you want these things, get them yourself.” “If you refuse me, it shall be very unpleasant for you.” “No. As Game Master, I decide the limits of all powers within my realm. And I decide that you have none over me.” And with that, he unleashed his creation over all of Paris, drawing everyone and everything within into his sphere of influence. —– Ladybug blinked the spots (ha) out of her eyes as the flash of light died down and looked at herself. She didn’t remember transforming, but she was clearly in her spots. Except her red and black superhero uniform didn’t usually look like it was headed to a steampunk convention. Looking around, she tried to figure out what had happened and her eyes landed on a familiar belt and pants combo. Problem. Whoever this was, their groin was at eye level for her. She looked up. And up. To find a grinning Chat Noir, sans anything resembling a shirt and having put on at least a foot of height and apparently a hundred pounds of pure muscle, grinning down at her. “How’s the weather down there?” Chat Noir chuckled as he flexed his unfairly attractive muscleman physique. “I WILL END YOU!” the heroine snarled, already 100% done with whatever new insanity Hawkmoth had cooked up. Characters: Ladybug - Gnome Artificer (Master Tinkerer - Homebrew) Chat Noir - Human Barbarian (Path of the Beast) —– Vesperia had to admit, as Akuma attacks went, this was pretty dope. She was currently a halfling. A halfling! If it wasn’t for her fantasy ensemble being yellow and black, she’d have thought she stepped straight out of Lord of the Rings. Of course, fantasy setting or not, there were still things she’d have rather left back in the real world. Like racism. And stigma against mixed couples. Not directed at her, but rather at the two walking down the street next to her. “You know, people are staring…” she said as she craned her head to look at her companions. “Let them,” the Half-Elf Rena Rouge (who looked like a cross between a musician and a belly dancer) said from her perch atop the shoulders of the heavily armored (and surprisingly buff) Half-Orc Carapace. “They’re just jealous because their boyfriends can’t carry them everywhere.” Characters: Vesperia - Halfling Rogue (Scout) Rena Rouge - Half-Elf Bard (College of Glamour) Carapace - Half-Orc Fighter (Eldritch Knight) —– Ryuko blinked as she studied the apparent snake-man-thing before her who claimed to be Viperion. She lifted a hand to study it and found what appeared to be bronze scales covering every inch of her skin. She sniffed herself, smelling the sharp tang of ozone. What was she? And why did she appear to be wearing wooden armor? Characters: Ryuko - Dragonborn (bronze) Druid (Circle of Storms - Third Party) Viperion - Naga Sorcerer (Divination Magic - Homebrew) —– Polymouse giggled as her friends ran over her. Okay, she’d freaked out a little to find a swarm of mice (with hair like hers no less) crawling all over her surprisingly mouse-like body when she’d come to in the middle of some forest somewhere. But she’d gotten over it pretty quickly. It helped that her new friends were adorable. It might help more if she could figure out where she was. Or find another person. Characters: Polymouse - Kobold

(rodentlike) Ranger (Swarmkeeper - Reskinned) —– Purple Tigress sighed as she felt the hair (fur?) on the top of her head being shifted around and twitched her new catlike ears in mild annoyance. “Are you quite done?” “Almost!” Pigella’s cheerful voice answered. “Your fur is so comfy!” Tigress sighed. Of course Pigella would end up being a fairy, and having her normal cheerful enthusiasm cranked up to previously unimagined levels. “I love you dearly, but if you start shouting 'hey listen’ I will stick you in a bottle.” “Aw, I love you too! Hey, what’s that?” “I think it’s my character sheet?” Characters: Purple Tigress - Tabaxi Paladin (Oath of Glory) Pigella - Fairy Cleric (Order Domain - Reskinned) —– “According to my analysis, we have been placed into what appears to be a Dungeons and Dragons campaign under 5th edition rules,” Pegasus stated in a mechanical monotone. “I am apparently a Warforged Wizard using the School of Conjuration whose spells create portals to bridge dimensions and summon or banish my intended targets. You are what is known as a Simic Hybrid, with the class of Monk, following the Way of the Drunken Master.” “Aweshum,” King Monkey slurred, his generally human appearance clad in monk’s robes marred by his monkey-like hands and feet as well as the monkey tail swishing behind him. “Why do you keep slurring like that? According to my sensors, your gourd is filled with only water.” “Gotta keep up appearanshes!” King Monkey grinned as he continued faking drunkenness. Characters: Pegasus - Warforged Wizard (School of Conjuration - Reskinned) King Monkey - Simic Hybrid Monk (Way of the Drunken Master) —– Hawkmoth studied the dark red horns growing out of his head in the mirror. The change in appearance was disconcerting, but he felt a rush of power in this new form that he’d never felt before. “Hmm… perhaps I can work with this…” “Speak for yourself…” Mayura muttered off to the side, ruffling her peacock-like feathers in annoyance as she tried to glare at the beak on her own face. Characters: Hawkmoth - Tiefling Dark Lord, Warlock Patron, Contracted by Lila Rossi, Volpina, Queen Wasp, and many others. Mayura - Kenku Assistant to the Dark Lord, Creator of Monsters —– “Oh, come on!” A figure in a cyan and white hooded robe complained as they waved a similarly colored umbrella around angrily. “Everyone else gets to be part of this adventure, why can’t I join them?” “Because you’re too OP. You’d completely break everything and remove all challenge from the adventure.” “But sitting around is no fun at all!” “If you like, I can put you in the position of the main quest giver. Your job would be to direct them towards their enemies and means of becoming stronger.” “That’s it?! I’m on 'mysterious hooded figure’ duty? Boo! Why can’t I fight with them?!” “Because you’re too OP. But if you insist, I’ll allow some Deus ex Machina interventions.” “YES!” “Five.” “I’m sorry?” “I’ll allow five interventions at your discretion to aid them when they are in peril. Once you have come to their aid five times, I will allow no more meetings save to impart quest information.” “That’s it?” “Yes. Choose your interventions wisely.” “So… if I manage to save one for when they fight Hawmoth and Mayura in the final battle…?” “Then I would allow you to join them of course.” “Score!” Characters: Bunnyx: Mysterious Hooded Figure, Deus-ex-Machina (5) Game Master: Akuma Lord of the Miraculous Campaign —– Addendum When the Game Master is finally purified and the damage reversed, it turns out that he took the effort to trap all of Paris in a temporal stasis bubble so that no matter how long passed inside no more than a few moments passed outside. Meaning that after what seemed like months in the bubble, it’s basically less than a minute after he was akumatized when everything is put back. All his friends, minus Matt, come back in bringing a new person named Zack that they vetted themselves to take Matt’s place in case he pulled something like what he did. And while he

has a similar playstyle to Matt, he’s savvy enough to know what kind of characters that is suited for and he loves playing barbarians. They all sit back down and restart the game they were all looking forward to.

—-

oh wow- that’s- wow. good job dude, seems like you worked on this a lot. Next time You should post this on your own account though, as this isn’t getting tagged or anything. Thank you though, you did a good job with this.

#submission

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magicalrocketships · 3 years

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@gloryhalleloujah asked for some book recs, so here are some I've rated really highly this year (links go to goodreads). A variety of genres but I've loved them all.

Chalice by Robin McKinley - Beekeeper Marisol has been chosen as the new Chalice, destined to stand beside the Master and mix the ceremonial brews that hold the Willowlands together. But the relationship between Chalice and Master has always been tumultuous, and the new Master is unlike any before him. - This was such a gorgeous, lyrical, beautiful book. I loved it and came out feeling like a better person.

As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes and Joe Layden - I've read a lot of actor/film memoirs/biographies over the years and this one was really one of the best. If, like me, you have any sort of fondness for The Princess Bride, then this will gently accentuate that. It's a very warm book, an interesting insight into film making, but also terribly kind too. Everyone's affection for each other, for Andre the Giant, for the film they've made just jumps off the page. Just a really lovely read.

Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging by Afua Hirsch - Blending history, memoir and individual experiences, Afua Hirsch reveals the identity crisis at the heart of Britain today. Far from affecting only minority people, Britain is a nation in denial about its past and its present. We believe we are the nation of abolition, but forget we are the nation of slavery. We sit proudly at the apex of the Commonwealth, but we flinch from the legacy of the Empire. We are convinced that fairness is one of our values, but that immigration is one of our problems. - Loved this. Fascinating, angry, frustrating, informative, and more than anything: excellently and expertly written.

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune - Linus Baker leads a quiet, solitary life. At forty, he lives in a tiny house with a devious cat and his old records. As a Case Worker at the Department in Charge Of Magical Youth, he spends his days overseeing the well-being of children in government-sanctioned orphanages. When Linus is unexpectedly summoned by Extremely Upper Management he's given a curious and highly classified assignment: travel to Marsyas Island Orphanage, where six dangerous children reside: a gnome, a sprite, a wyvern, an unidentifiable green blob, a were-Pomeranian, and the Antichrist. Linus must set aside his fears and determine whether or not they’re likely to bring about the end of days.

But the children aren’t the only secret the island keeps. Their caretaker is the charming and enigmatic Arthur Parnassus, who will do anything to keep his wards safe. As Arthur and Linus grow closer, long-held secrets are exposed, and Linus must make a choice: destroy a home or watch the world burn. - I've both read this and listened to the audiobook this year. What a kind and humane and queer and quiet and utterly perfect read. Loved this. Found family!

Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid - Pro hockey star Shane Hollander isn’t just crazy talented, he’s got a spotless reputation. Hockey is his life. Now that he’s captain of the Montreal Voyageurs, he won’t let anything jeopardize that, especially the sexy Russian whose hard body keeps him awake at night. Boston Bears captain Ilya Rozanov is everything Shane’s not. The self-proclaimed king of the ice, he’s as cocky as he is talented. No one can beat him—except Shane. They’ve made a career on their legendary rivalry, but when the skates come off, the heat between them is undeniable. When Ilya realizes he wants more than a few secret hookups, he knows he must walk away. The risk is too great. As their attraction intensifies, they struggle to keep their relationship out of the public eye. If the truth comes out, it could ruin them both. But when their need for each other rivals their ambition on the ice, secrecy is no longer an option… - Another one I've read more than once this year. Three times, in fact.

The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard. A simple act of friendship can change the course of history. Cliopher Mdang is the personal secretary of the Last Emperor of Astandalas, the Lord of Rising Stars, the Lord Magus of Zunidh, the Sun-on-Earth, the god. He has spent more time with the Emperor of Astandalas than any other person. He has never once touched his lord. He has never called him by name. He has never initiated a conversation. One day Cliopher invites the Sun-on-Earth home to the proverbially remote Vangavaye-ve for a holiday. The mere invitation could have seen Cliopher executed for blasphemy. The acceptance upends the world. - Oh, what a beautiful, lyrical, gorgeous book. A beautifully realised fantasy world where one brilliant administrator can bring friendship and joy into his life and others, and change the world. I loved this. It's not explicitly queer but it genuinely feels like it could be, given time? Queer platonic, at least. Just beautiful.

Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade - Marcus Caster-Rupp has a secret. While the world knows him as Aeneas, the star of the biggest show on TV, Gods of the Gates, he's known to fanfiction readers as Book!AeneasWouldNever, an anonymous and popular poster. Marcus is able to get out his own frustrations with his character through his stories, especially the ones that feature the internet’s favorite couple to ship, Aeneas and Lavinia. But if anyone ever found out about his online persona, he’d be fired. Immediately. April Whittier has secrets of her own. A hardcore Lavinia fan, she’s hidden her fanfiction and cosplay hobby from her “real life” for years—but not anymore. When she decides to post her latest Lavinia creation on Twitter, her photo goes viral. Trolls and supporters alike are commenting on her plus-size take, but when Marcus, one half of her OTP, sees her pic and asks her out on a date to spite her critics, she realizes life is really stranger than fanfiction. - bloody loved this, and its representation of a corner of fandom.

The Heiress: The Revelations of Anne de Bourgh by Molly Greeley - As a fussy baby, Anne de Bourgh’s doctor prescribed laudanum to quiet her, and now the young woman must take the opium-heavy tincture every day. Growing up sheltered and confined, removed from sunshine and fresh air, the pale and overly slender Anne grew up with few companions except her cousins, including Fitzwilliam Darcy. Throughout their childhoods, it was understood that Darcy and Anne would marry and combine their vast estates of Pemberley and Rosings. But Darcy does not love Anne or want her. After her father dies unexpectedly, leaving her his vast fortune, Anne has a moment of clarity: what if her life of fragility and illness isn’t truly real? What if she could free herself from the medicine that clouds her sharp mind and leaves her body weak and lethargic? Might there be a better life without the medicine she has been told she cannot live without? - Beautifully, deliciously queer. Devoured this book in one sitting. So good. Loved it.

Restored by Joanna Chambers - Eighteen years ago, Henry Asquith, Duke of Avesbury had to leave his kept lover, Kit Redford, in order to devote himself to raising his young family. Now, a lifetime later, his children are moving on and for the first time in years, Henry is alone. During a rare visit to London, Henry unexpectedly happens upon an old friend of Kit’s and learns that Kit did not receive the financial pay off he was entitled to when Henry left him. Instead Kit was thrown out of his home and left destitute. Horrified, Henry begs Kit to see him and allow Henry to compensate him. But Kit, who now owns a discreet club for gentlemen of a certain persuasion, neither needs nor wants Henry’s money. - Technically part of the Enlightenment series but absolutely stands alone. Love a queer book about older characters with life experience. Gentle redemption and super hot and just delightful.

Top Secret by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy - enemies to lovers, frat brothers, undercover identities. They meet on an app, trying to organise a threesome with a girlfriend. It doesn't go that way. I've read/listened to this three times this year.

#waffling on about books

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crisisdparity · 3 years

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Game Master Akuma AU

(Note: Originally submitted to @justanotherpersonsuniverse, on their advice I will be using my own tumblr for anything in the future related to this AU.)

Valentine and her boyfriend Justin were onboard in an instant. Within days, he'd greenlighted their Half-Elf Bard of the College of Glamour whose spell list was 100% Illusion spells and Half-Orc Fighter (Eldritch Knight) who was focusing entirely on Abjuration as Rena Rouge and Carapace respectively.

Olivia had spent a few days coming up with a Halfling Rogue and debating subclasses with him until settling on Scout. Along with some discussion over how her special magic item's stunning and paralysis effect would work with Sneak Attack, the campaign had its Vesperia.

Jeanette had gone back and forth with him for a week looking at various homebrew subclasses for her Gnome Artificer before they both agreed on one particular Master Tinkerer entry that would be balanced and do the character justice. And with that they had their Ladybug.

Even Matt was on board with a stealthy human Chat the Barbarian using the Path of the Beast. The class choice was something Matt had insisted on (and that Xavier would have suggested anyway just for the high hit point totals given Matt's history with characters dying) and he'd even come up with a backstory that Xavier felt was quite compelling compared to Matt's usual efforts. Morally ambiguous, likely to be tempted by promises of power, but with a great deal of story potential to work with.

Which was a relief. Getting a new player into their group to replace Matt was not something Xavier really felt comfortable with. There were too many unknowns with introducing a new person, far too many for him to risk his masterpiece on an unknown factor. He knew Matt. He could work with Matt. Despite the history.

He'd put everything he had into this. Every known Akuma ever fought by the heroes had been made into a boss-tier foe. He'd carefully documented each and every power the heroes had shown to craft special legendary magic items based on the Miraculous. Hawkmoth and Mayura themselves were going to be the final bosses of his campaign.

In response to criticism about the difficulty of his campaigns (he tried to make them fair, but still challenging enough to be memorable), he'd made several guest NPCs based on every other hero that had ever been called upon, statted out like player characters that might show up in a pinch to help. He even had a genuine Deus ex Machina that he was ready to use to get the players out of a truly impossible jam if they found themselves in one.

Not always, but a few times at least. Enough to get them to the point where they wouldn't need it anymore.

-----

It was thirty minutes in, right in the middle of exposition from the Guardian NPC, when Xavier got his first message on the app.

Matt/Chat - Chat's going to wait until everyone breaks up and follow Ladybug stealthily.

Xavier/GM - Starting party conflict on the first session? Not what I'd advise, but it's your character. Go ahead and make your Stealth roll now.

Matt/Chat - <photo> 17

Xavier/GM - Yeah, that beats everyone's passive Perception easily. You'll sneak off handily without anyone noticing.

-----

"Jeanette, Ladybug is grabbed from behind by an unknown assailant. Roll to resist the grapple."

"Geez, already? Okay, what did my assailant get for their grapple? How screwed am I?"

Xavier pretended to roll a die while consulting the message from Matt.

"19."

"Okay, difficult, but not undoable... Crap."

"What'd you get?"

"Nat 1..."

"Hah! I rip off her earrings and claim them for myself! The Wish is mine!"

"Seriously Matt?! What the hell?!"

"Because it's payback time! Payback for every character of mine killed in these hellish campaigns!"

"Oh, come on! You're not the only person whose had a character die at this table! Xavier runs some pretty challenging campaigns, but they're always fair!"

"What about the time he killed Allric the Allmighty in a single round of combat?"

"Dude, you tried to Leroy Jenkins straight into melee with a 4th-level Wizard that had a CON penalty. Even at full health you had like 10 hp."

"14!"

"Not much better, dude."

"Guys, it's fine. I can handle this. Okay, Matt. Chat the Barbarian managed to get the earrings-"

"Yeah, Ladybug screams bloody murder when he rips them out. Good luck getting out of this in one piece."

"The moment Rena hears Ladybug scream, she bolts for the sound."

"So does Carapace."

"Vesperia too."

"-and with their current locations and movement speeds, I assume you're all using the Dash action?, you've got maybe one round to decide on your Wish before they're all over you, so choose carefully. And be aware that I plan to grant whatever you wish for in the worst possible way, just as I would if any of the others pulled this."

"Rena screams 'What the HELL, Chat?! We're supposed to protect the Miraculous, not use them for our own selfish purposes! Didn't you listen to the Guardian? Such actions always bring misfortune upon those who misuse the Miraculous!'"

"Because I am Chat, avatar of Destruction and I WISH THIS WORLD NEVER EXISTED!"

There was dead silence at the table.

"Matt... What... just... WHAT?!"

"Hah! You like that?! How does it feel now that the shoe's on the other foot, huh?!"

"What the hell is your problem, Matt?!"

"My problem? MY problem?! Do you know how much time I've spent making characters for these shitty campaigns only to have them turned into paste in one session?!"

"Because you made primary spellcasters and played every last one of them like a barbarian, charging in headfirst without thinking! All of us breathed a sigh of relief when you revealed that your character finally matched your playstyle!"

"I HATE BARBARIANS! THEY'RE BORING! I SHOULD GET TO PLAY CHARACTERS THAT CAN AT LEAST CHUCK FIREBALLS!"

"THEN MAYBE YOU SHOULD STOP RUNNING THEM FACE FIRST INTO ENEMY SWORDS!"

"NONE OF YOU COULD EVER HANDLE THE FACT THE I MAKE MORE AWESOME CHARACTERS THAN ANY OF YOU, SO YOU JUST LET THIS DOUCHEBAG KILL THEM OFF SO YOU WOULDN'T GET OVERSHADOWED BY HOW AMAZING I AM! WELL NOW I KILLED SOMETHING YOU ALL WORKED HARD ON, SO SUCK IT! I'M DONE WITH ALL OF YOU FOREVER!"

"MATT! HEY! GET BACK HERE YOU JERK! MATT!"

"Crap, I think Olivia might actually kill him this time..."

"It's going to take all of us to stop her from getting arrested at least."

Xavier just watched numbly as the rest of the group ran out of his apartment. Over six months of work. Gone in less than an hour.

He'd given so much to making sure this would work. He'd apologized to Matt at least twice for every character of his that had died to get him to come back. He'd agreed to demand after demand just to keep a familiar face on board, never dreaming he'd pull something like this.

He'd nearly gotten fired from his job trying to rearrange his schedule to fit with everyone else's. They'd somehow, miraculously, gotten the whole day with no other obligations among any of them and decided to make the first session a true marathon. They'd meet in the morning after breakfast and eat both lunch and dinner at the game table before calling it a night late in the evening.

It was barely 10:00 in the morning and the whole campaign he'd slaved over for months was kaput.

He never noticed the butterfly landing on his custom Miraculous-themed Game Master screen and being absorbed into it.

"Game Master, I am Hawkmoth. Few people appreciate the kind of effort that goes into making something truly grand and memorable. I shall give you the power to bring your entire world to life and in return, I ask only for a few simple things."

This was wrong. Hawkmoth was the worst of the worst. The kind of person who would be at home among all the final bosses he'd ever made for his campaigns. Heartless, manipulative, cruel.

"Not enough? Ah, but what is a game without players? How would you like to have the Miraculous heroes themselves run your great campaign? Surely they would be far more appreciative than those ungrateful peons that left you alone with nothing but the broken remains of your efforts."

He knew all these things, but the allure of bringing the world he'd spent so much time on to life... What creator could ever turn down an offer like that?

"I, the Game Master, accept... Hawkmoth."

"Excellent. And in exchange, you shall bring me one of two things: The Miraculous, or the identities of their wielders."

"No."

Hawkmoth was silent for a moment.

"I beg your pardon?"

"I said no. I am the Game Master. I make the world. I craft the challenges. I decide the rewards. But I do not do anything for anyone. If you want these things, get them yourself."

"If you refuse me, it shall be very unpleasant for you."

"No. As Game Master, I decide the limits of all powers within my realm. And I decide that you have none over me."

And with that, he unleashed his creation over all of Paris, drawing everyone and everything within into his sphere of influence.

-----

Ladybug blinked the spots (ha) out of her eyes as the flash of light died down and looked at herself. She didn't remember transforming, but she was clearly in her spots. Except her red and black superhero uniform didn't usually look like it was headed to a steampunk convention. Looking around, she tried to figure out what had happened and her eyes landed on a familiar belt and pants combo.

Problem. Whoever this was, their groin was at eye level for her.

She looked up.

And up.

To find a grinning Chat Noir, sans anything resembling a shirt and having put on at least a foot of height and apparently a hundred pounds of pure muscle, grinning down at her.

"How's the weather down there?" Chat Noir chuckled as he flexed his unfairly attractive muscleman physique.

"I WILL END YOU!" the heroine snarled, already 100% done with whatever new insanity Hawkmoth had cooked up.

Characters:

Ladybug - Gnome Artificer (Master Tinkerer - Homebrew)

Chat Noir - Human Barbarian (Path of the Beast)

-----

Vesperia had to admit, as Akuma attacks went, this was pretty dope.

She was currently a halfling. A halfling! If it wasn't for her fantasy ensemble being yellow and black, she'd have thought she stepped straight out of Lord of the Rings.

Of course, fantasy setting or not, there were still things she'd have rather left back in the real world. Like racism. And stigma against mixed couples. Not directed at her, but rather at the two walking down the street next to her.

"You know, people are staring..." she said as she craned her head to look at her companions.

"Let them," the Half-Elf Rena Rouge (who looked like a cross between a musician and a belly dancer) said from her perch atop the shoulders of the heavily armored (and surprisingly buff) Half-Orc Carapace. "They're just jealous because their boyfriends can't carry them everywhere."

Characters:

Vesperia - Halfling Rogue (Scout)

Rena Rouge - Half-Elf Bard (College of Glamour)

Carapace - Half-Orc Fighter (Eldritch Knight)

-----

Ryuko blinked as she studied the apparent snake-man-thing before her who claimed to be Viperion. She lifted a hand to study it and found what appeared to be bronze scales covering every inch of her skin.

She sniffed herself, smelling the sharp tang of ozone. What was she?

And why did she appear to be wearing wooden armor?

Characters:

Ryuko - Dragonborn (bronze) Druid (Circle of Storms - Third Party)

Viperion - Naga Sorcerer (Divination Magic - Homebrew)

-----

Polymouse giggled as her friends ran over her. Okay, she'd freaked out a little to find a swarm of mice (with hair like hers no less) crawling all over her surprisingly mouse-like body when she'd come to in the middle of some forest somewhere. But she'd gotten over it pretty quickly. It helped that her new friends were adorable.

It might help more if she could figure out where she was.

Or find another person.

Characters:

Polymouse - Kobold (rodentlike) Ranger (Swarmkeeper - Reskinned)

-----

Purple Tigress sighed as she felt the hair (fur?) on the top of her head being shifted around and twitched her new catlike ears in mild annoyance.

"Are you quite done?"

"Almost!" Pigella's cheerful voice answered. "Your fur is so comfy!"

Tigress sighed. Of course Pigella would end up being a fairy, and having her normal cheerful enthusiasm cranked up to previously unimagined levels.

"I love you dearly, but if you start shouting 'hey listen' I will stick you in a bottle."

"Aw, I love you too! Hey, what's that?"

"I think it's my character sheet?"

Characters:

Purple Tigress - Tabaxi Paladin (Oath of Glory)

Pigella - Fairy Cleric (Order Domain - Reskinned)

-----

"According to my analysis, we have been placed into what appears to be a Dungeons and Dragons campaign under 5th edition rules," Pegasus stated in a mechanical monotone. "I am apparently a Warforged Wizard using the School of Conjuration whose spells create portals to bridge dimensions and summon or banish my intended targets. You are what is known as a Simic Hybrid, with the class of Monk, following the Way of the Drunken Master."

"Aweshum," King Monkey slurred, his generally human appearance clad in monk's robes marred by his monkey-like hands and feet as well as the monkey tail swishing behind him.

"Why do you keep slurring like that? According to my sensors, your gourd is filled with only water."

"Gotta keep up appearanshes!" King Monkey grinned as he continued faking drunkenness.

Characters:

Pegasus - Warforged Wizard (School of Conjuration - Reskinned)

King Monkey - Simic Hybrid Monk (Way of the Drunken Master)

-----

Hawkmoth studied the dark red horns growing out of his head in the mirror. The change in appearance was disconcerting, but he felt a rush of power in this new form that he'd never felt before.

"Hmm... perhaps I can work with this..."

"Speak for yourself..." Mayura muttered off to the side, ruffling her peacock-like feathers in annoyance as she tried to glare at the beak on her own face.

Characters:

Hawkmoth - Tiefling Dark Lord, Warlock Patron, Contracted by Lila Rossi, Volpina, Queen Wasp, and many others.

Mayura - Kenku Assistant to the Dark Lord, Creator of Monsters

-----

"Oh, come on!" A figure in a cyan and white hooded robe complained as they waved a similarly colored umbrella around angrily. "Everyone else gets to be part of this adventure, why can't I join them?"

"Because you're too OP. You'd completely break everything and remove all challenge from the adventure."

"But sitting around is no fun at all!"

"If you like, I can put you in the position of the main quest giver. Your job would be to direct them towards their enemies and means of becoming stronger."

"That's it?! I'm on 'mysterious hooded figure' duty? Boo! Why can't I fight with them?!"

"Because you're too OP. But if you insist, I'll allow some Deus ex Machina interventions."

"YES!"

"Five."

"I'm sorry?"

"I'll allow five interventions at your discretion to aid them when they are in peril. Once you have come to their aid five times, I will allow no more meetings save to impart quest information."

"That's it?"

"Yes. Choose your interventions wisely."

"So... if I manage to save one for when they fight Hawmoth and Mayura in the final battle...?"

"Then I would allow you to join them of course."

"Score!"

Characters:

Bunnyx: Mysterious Hooded Figure, Deus-ex-Machina (5)

Game Master: Akuma Lord of the Miraculous Campaign

-----

Addendum

When the Game Master is finally purified and the damage reversed, it turns out that he took the effort to trap all of Paris in a temporal stasis bubble so that no matter how long passed inside no more than a few moments passed outside. Meaning that after what seemed like months in the bubble, it's basically less than a minute after he was akumatized when everything is put back.

All his friends, minus Matt, come back in bringing a new person named Zack that they vetted themselves to take Matt's place in case he pulled something like what he did. And while he has a similar playstyle to Matt, he's savvy enough to know what kind of characters that is suited for and he loves playing barbarians.

They all sit back down and restart the game they were all looking forward to.

#game master akuma au #miraculous ladybug #fanfic #writings

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maribatshipper · 3 years

Text

Trollhunting Lantern Chapter 3

Previous part:

“This is incredible.” Oriel whispers.

Scarlett nods, “Yep.”

“Woah.” Crystal gasps.

“Pretty much.” Bracha smiles.

“Trollmarket is home and hearth and sanctuary for all good trolls.” Blinky smiles.

Scarlett tries get a grasp of all the beauty within Trollmarket.

“This way, ladies. There is much to see.” Blinky smiles.

Oriel said, “And I thought caves just had normal stones. Not giant awesomeness.”

“Stay close, ladies. Trolls haven’t been the most kind about humans being around. They have grown used to Claire and Tobias; no others have been in Trollmarket.” Blinky warns.

Claire nods, “Yeah, they’ll grow used to you after they find out about you being the Trollhunter.”

Scarlett sees a book in a stall and sneaks a peak at the cover, seeing a dragon on it. She plans to ask Blinky for some books later.

“Hey, Scarlett, look at this!” Oriel exclaims.

Scarlett runs over to her sisters and sees Oriel looking at a living, breathing gnome.

“It’s so amazing!” Oriel smiles.

Crystal sighs, barely amused, then suddenly, the gnome bares incredibly sharp teeth.

“What on earth?!” Oriel exclaims and jumps back.

Blinky stamps near the gnomes. Crystal is now excited.

“Scum of the earth!” He yells.

“I want one now!” Crystal smiles.

Scarlett exclaims, “You want anything that ends up being dangerous! Blinky, what exactly was that?”

“Gnomes are vermin. Pickpockets, scum of the earth. We only tolerate them for their grooming services.” Blinky frowns.

Claire mumbles, “Chompsky wasn’t.”

Bracha raises her eyebrow, but ignores the sentence and plans to ask about that later.

“I’m not even gonna ask if you groom like apes or humans.” Crystal mumbles.

Bracha suddenly takes notice of the biggest crystal in the cave.

“What’s that?” She asks.

Claire smiles, “That’s the Heartstone, the lifeforce of Trollkind. I’ve been here so long that I have grown… attuned to the effects it has on trolls. I’ve been told that it’s the means that keeps trolls from crumbling to stone. It’s also a source of light and sustenance.”

Scarlett stares at the Heartstone. She walks closer to it. Bracha tries to scan the Heartstone without anyone noticing. She looks at the results of the scan. She sighs and puts away the scan. She’ll look over it with her friends later.

“What are more Fleshbags doing here?!” They hear a troll exclaim.

Scarlett asks, “Is Fleshbag an insult?”

Blinky ignores her as more trolls complain.

“Puny humans!”

“Where’s the Trollhunter?”

Crystal sighs, “We attracted paparazzi.”

“There is no need to be afraid, friends.” Blinky exclaims.

Another troll exclaims, “You brought more humans! It’s a disgrace! Why were you made leader again?!”

Scarlett clears her throat and smirks, “Probably because he was one who was a very close acquaintance of the previous Trollhunter, and therefore has a right.”

All the trolls shut up. The human girl had a point. The previous Trollhunter had done some questionable things, but they turned out being the right choices in the end.

“Now, we must start her training, for this young girl is our new Trollhunter.” Blinky smiles.

The trolls stare in shock. One of them mutters “Bushigal” as they all part and let them through. The girls and troll walk through.

“Okay, so what as that about? Why don’t they like you?” Scarlett asks.

“They have always persecuted me for my intelligence, although it has lessened after I have become the leader.” Blinky replies.

Crystal giggles, “So you’re a nerd.”

Scarlett scolds, “Crystal!”

Crystal sighs, “Sorry.”

Scarlett then realises something.

“Wait a cotton-picking minute!” Scarlett exclaims.

“I am unfamiliar with that term, Lady Scarlett.” Blinky frowns, confused.

“If you have all this in New Jersey, and have to protect the Trolls in New Jersey, why were you in Australia in the first place?” Scarlett asks.

Blinky pauses, clearly not prepared for this question.

Claire answers, “You see, when we were in the previous Trollmarket, the Heartstone there was kind of killed by Gunmar the Black. So we heard talk of a Heartstone in Australia, and we went there-”

Scarlett then interrupts, “So you could prepare a new Trollmarket in Australia if anything ever happened to the Heartstone in New Jersey!”

Blinky and Claire stare in shock.

“Yeah, she does that a lot.” Bracha smirks, clearly used to it.

Blinky shakes his head and smiles, “Well, you are correct, Lady Scarlett, but now is the time for your training.”

***

“This is our new Hero’s Forge!” Blinky smiles.

The girls stare at the stadium-like place in front of them. They look up, and sure enough, there are places for people to stand and watch. Scarlett notices some statues being put on pedestals inside the Hero’s Forge. She looks carefully, and something inside tells her they aren’t statues.

“Are those-?” Crystal asks.

Claire sighs, “Trollhunters. Your predecessors. Actually, it took us forever to move them here away from Arcadia. We’re lucky only Unkar got broken.”

Suddenly, a giant arm falls right next to Bracha. She wipes dust off her face and moves away from the pedestal she started leaning against.

Blinky smiles, “They are a line of heroism that reaches back to the age of Merlin,” He then mumbles, “before he came back.” But it was too quiet for the girls to hear. “This is the final resting place for Jim, the Gunmar Slayer. One day, there will be a statue of you here, Lady Scarlett. One day far in the future, of course.”

Bracha smirks, “Nice save.”

Blinky ignores her, “We must start Lady Scarlett’s training now. Step back, please.”

Scarlett walks backward, grabbing both her sisters, and noticing some pillars are not ones for placing Trollhunters, making her go back a little farther than necessary. Blinky pushes a button and giant blades come out of the Forge. The girls scatter, dodging the swinging axes. Oriel and Crystal immediately rush to Bracha, who has a giant force-field around herself. She opens it to let the sisters in. Scarlett runs over to Blinky.

“Excellent reflexes, Lady Scarlett.” Blinky praises.

“Yeah, I don’t know how troll physiology works, but being hit with a giant axe is not ideal for a human!” Scarlett exclaims.

Suddenly, Blinky sees something and turns off the Forge, much to the siblings and Bracha’s relief. A human man walks up to Blinky and Claire.

He frowns, “So, he’s gone, isn’t he, Blinkous?”

Claire frowns, “Yes. But not that it’s any of your business, Merlin.”

Bracha and the siblings stare at each other, then towards the man, then back towards each other, then back towards the man.

“MERLIN!? You mean the guy that was a wizard a thousand years ago and was with King Arthur and his knights at the round table?!” Crystal exclaims.

Oriel nudges Crystals ribs, causing Crystal to stop talking.

“Yes, I am he. I’m also the one that created the amulet that your sister now possesses, young one.” Merlin smirks.

Scarlett stares in shock.

“Wait, back up. There is no way you’re Merlin. A human’s lifespan is quite short, we only live a hundred years, if we’re lucky. Admittedly, that was different a thousand years ago, but you shouldn’t be alive according to any human lifespan. Unless you were put into a stasis chamber or something, because if you’ve been asleep with nothing around you except air, you would’ve decomposed ages ago! It’s basic science you learn as a child!” Scarlett frowns.

Claire stares at Scarlett in shock, then realisation, then facepalms.

“Trollhunter, I got other magic users to cast a spell around my body, so I never decomposed.” Merlin replies.

Scarlett mumbles, “Spells wear off.”

“So, my amulet chose not just a human, but one with attitude. Maybe she’ll end up like Unkar, Blinkous.” Merlin frowns.

Scarlett turns to Blinky, waiting for an explanation.

Claire sighs, “Blinky trained a different Trollhunter. Unkar the Unfortunate.”

Bracha asks, “Do I even want to know?”

“His first night out, he got torn… Limb from limb.” Claire finishes.

Merlin frowns, “Remember what Vendel did for the previous Trollhunter? Maybe we should do that.”

Claire and Blinky glare at Merlin.

“Lady Scarlett hasn’t had a minute’s training!” Blinky exclaims.

Scarlett puts her hand on Blinky’s shoulder and smirks, “I’ll be fine. I just need to know what to do.”

Merlin points right in front of him on the floor, where Scarlett sees a place for Troll feet. She puts her feet there and brings out her amulet. A giant statue-like thing comes out of the ground, and it looks much like a Troll head with shark teeth in the mouth.

“This is the Soothscryer. It will judge your true spirit. Insert your right hand.” Merlin smirks.

“You mean in the mouth with rows of teeth?” Scarlett asks.

Merlin nods. Bracha comes over and uses her willpower to make a platform for Scarlett to stand on so she can reach to put her hand in. As soon as Scarlett gets high enough to put her hand in, the mouth no longer looks like a shark’s, but a Whispering Death’s mouth because the teeth are spinning. She throws her hand in, and the Soothscryer clamps around her hand, seeming to squish it. Her face contorts in pain, and she doesn’t scream, but let’s out a yelp in surprise. Bracha makes green pillows underneath Scarlett, and the Soothscryer finally lets go of Scarlett, causing her to fall on the pillows. She checks her arm.

“Well, I was hoping I wouldn’t lose that. That would’ve been the biggest lie to make up.” Scarlett jokes.

“You aren’t in pain?” Claire asks.

Scarlett giggles, “Life is pain, Claire. Anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something.”

Crystal walks forward and asks, “Well? What’s the giant stone say?”

Merlin shrugs, “Inconclusive.”

Scarlett stares at him, then groans, “Do I have to do that again?”

“No. There’s only ever been one human Trollhunter. It needs time to render its judgement. Let’s hope you live long enough to see.” Merlin replies.

Scarlett imagines throwing something at him.

***

“What have we gotten ourselves into?” Scarlett asks as the girls walk home from the portal.

Crystal smiles, “Something that can take us from Australia to New Jersey in 5 seconds flat, Trolls, underground city, shiny stuff, am I missing anything?”

“Yes actually. The risk of death.” Scarlett frowns.

Bracha smiles, “It’s not that bad, Scar. I have the risk of death every time I go into space. My ring could go flat while I’m up there if I don’t charge it, thus exposing me to the vacuum of space.”

Scarlett nods, “You’re right. Besides, if Blinky fails to train me well, you can train me. I may even use my sword as a baseball bat. But we’re gonna do it all in your house. Mum will get suspicious of a punching bag hanging from the roof.”

Oriel frowns, “Mum and Dad are home.”

Scarlett looks at her phone. 9:47 p.m.

“We are so dead.” Scarlett frowns.

“I’ll tell your mother that it was my fault. We say we went shopping for clothes for me and I needed your opinions, and we’re just exhausted and trudged back, and that’s why you’re so late home. Besides, I need to put some info into your computer.” Bracha quickly plans.

“How do you always come up with good excuses?” Scarlett whispers, glad she went through with this plan before they went into the house.

They open the door, and immediately, Scarlett apologises.

“I am so sorry we’re late home, Mum!” Scarlett exclaims.

Heather walks towards the girls and smiles, “I’m just glad you’re home. Ahh, miss Gilthoniel, what are you doing here? You know what, never mind, come in. You can tell us later. Aaron is here.”

Scarlett suddenly looks behind her Mum to see that Aaron is indeed sitting in the loungeroom. He has been a family friend for years.

“Please tell me he didn’t bring his kid.” Scarlett whispers.

Crystal rolls her eyes.

“Jonas isn’t here. Just go say hi.” Heather whispers back.

The girls walk forward.

“Hi, Aaron. What’s up?” Scarlett asks.

Aaron smiles, “There’s a singing competition coming up. I know how much you three girls love to sing. Besides, if you all go separately, you get more chances to win. Even if you’ll only go in to show them some old songs.”

Scarlett smirks, “Like Ego Is Not A Dirty Word?”

“Exactly.”

Michael laughs, “My daughter has the best songs in mind for the perfect occasion. For arguing with her brother, she’ll have a song. For doing the dishes, she’ll have a song. For sword fighting, even! I’m sure she’ll have the best songs that exist in that talent show.”

Oriel lists, “Do What You Gotta Do from Descendants 3, Something Better from Muppets Treasure Island, and Bad Reputation. In that order.”

Scarlett nods, “Yep, I just need to change the words slightly for that first one. Other than that, it’s inconceivable for me to not have a song for arguing with my brother.”

Heather exclaims, “Don’t you dare!” to Michael.

Michael ignores her. He suddenly speaks in a Spaniard accent.

“You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” He says in the accent.

Everyone has a good giggle.

“Princess Bride is the best movie.” Crystal smiles.

Suddenly, the door opens and in wobbles Nicholas. Scarlett grabs Crystal before she can punch his face out again. He wobbles to his room, not speaking to anyone.

“I should be going. Have a lovely evening, Atkin Family.” Aaron smiles.

Scarlett smiles, “Have a great night, Aaron!”

Aaron walks out the door and Heather turns to the girls.

“So, full story, girls.” Heather frowns.

Scarlett smirks, “You want the fun story, or the normal story?”

Michael hasn’t heard Scarlett say this for years and perks up, ready to hear the fun story.

“Fun first!” Michael says excitedly.

Scarlett says, “We were chased by an evil troll! I fought him off with a sword while Crystal was playing Bad Reputation from my phone! Then he was crushing me, Bracha body-slammed him, we ran into a portal, where a good troll was ready to protect my sisters, and we hopped into a giant hamster ball and went to New Jersey at Flash speeds, then we came home!”

Bracha stares, wondering why Scarlett’s telling her parents this.

“And the normal story?” Heather asks.

Scarlett turns to Bracha.

Bracha sighs, “It was actually my fault we were late. I dragged the girls shopping for me and I needed their opinions. I didn’t want to look bad, and some clothes you just can’t tell anymore until someone else looks at it.”

Heather raises her eyebrow, then looks at Michael.

“Only one of those stories is true. You pick which one.” Crystal smiles.

The girls walk upstairs, and Bracha whispers, “What was that?! You basically told them everything!”

Scarlett sighs, “When I was younger, when I did something wrong, I always asked if they wanted the fun story or the normal story. It became… a tradition. Dad loved fun stories. Of course, mum hated that I made up that a velociraptor came into the kitchen and broke the ceramic plates I was putting away. But she was proud that I did tell her the truth afterwards. I found a way to tell them everything and give them a story they’d believe. Now, if something happens and they find out, they’ll know I have told them.”

As Scarlett puts away most of her things, Bracha raises her eyebrow, never hearing this story before.

“You serious?” Bracha asks.

Crystal sighs, “Yeah, I followed in her footsteps. Dr Seuss helps me come up with good stories.”

Bracha shrugs and smiles, “Well, that explains that.”

“Pizza’s here! There’s even some for your friend!” Michael yells.

The girls exchange glances, then Oriel and Crystal run downstairs. Bracha and Scarlett just laugh and walk down to eat something.

***

Meanwhile, in Washington

“Listen to this, guys! According to these readings, there have been strange magical energy spikes in Australia, Queensland. The exact location can’t be tracked, though!” a guy in a red suit and a lightning bolt symbol on the front exclaims.

A man in a bat costume frowns, “Has Zatanna had any shows there, Flash?”

“Nope. No one we know of has been there, Batman. Plus, the magic readings are different. It reads as ancient magic, like Captain Marvel’s, but different.” Flash replies.

Batman frowns, thinking, “And it’s around the same place that Bruce Wayne will be judging a talent show.”

A man with a similar outfit to Bracha’s walks over and frowns, “That’s around the place one of our lanterns lives. I’ll check in with her this evening.”

Flash asks, “Why this evening, Hal?”

Hal responds, “Time difference, remember? It’s night-time over there right now.”

“Well, I’ll be visiting Australia anyway, I may as well check what’s going on.” Batman frowns.

Hal asks, “Should I get Martian Manhunter?”

Batman doesn’t respond as he walks away, leaving the room to assume his secret identity.

“Yeah, I’ll get Martian Manhunter.” Hal frowns.

***

Morning in Australia, but in New Jersey

"Wider stance, keep your frame." Blinky corrects Scarlett's fighting stance. "No, that's good, that's good. All right, fine. That's better. Raise your sword, Lady Scarlett. Head up, chin out, stomach in.'

Scarlett has her armour on with her hair tied up, but one strip of hair escaped and is hanging in front of her face in a ringlet. Her sisters, Claire, and Bracha stand off to the sides.

"Can she get that stomach in any further? If it gets much smaller, she won't have one." Crystal jokes.

Oriel bumps Crystal, making Crystal shut up. Claire rolls her eyes.

"The Trollhunter lives and dies by three rules. Rule 1, Always be afraid." Blinky explains.

Scarlett nods, "That makes sense. I don't think it'll be much of a problem. I just- woah!"

Scarlett dodges as Claire throws a rock towards her. Bracha catches the rock, quite surprised.

"See? Fear is good! Keeps us alert! Keeps us on guard, makes us vigilant! A hero is not he who is fearless, but he who is not stopped by it." Blinky smiles as he throws rocks at Scarlett.

Scarlett sighs, "Well, if you let certain people up there know you're scared, they will do everything to make you so scared you quit. So, be scared, just don't show it. How's that?"

Claire and Blinky blink in surprise.

Claire smiles, "That actually makes sense. Anyway, rule 2, Blinky?"

Blinky nods, "Of course. Rule 2, always finish the fight. An opponent must be given no mercy."

Suddenly, Bracha, Oriel, and Scarlett pale. Crystal raises her eyebrow in confusion. Scarlett dodges more rocks.

"Uh, okay then. My sisters are not allowed on my missions then. They can only watch me train." Scarlett immediately orders as she dodges.

Oriel says, "That's OK with me." At the same time Crystal asks, "Why not, Scarlett?"

Scarlett doesn't answer but gives Bracha a signal to cover Crystals ears. Bracha covers both siblings' ears with green soundproof earplugs.

"First off, I don't think it's appropriate for my little sisters to see me... dispose of my enemies. It could ruin their lives worse than it's already been ruined by my brother. Plus, with Crystal having autism, she won't be able to understand that you can't go around killing things. Mum's even gone so far as to not let any of us watch any international news while Crystal's nearby because of all the people going around getting rid of people in other countries. Plus, I'm not very comfortable with it. Even pretending some troll or other thing is a rodent, like a rat or I'm hunting an animal to eat may not help me. Especially if the thing looks humanoid." Scarlett frowns.

Blinky sighs, "Our's is an unforgiving world, Lady Scarlett. I understand you will have hesitations, but you will need to vanquish your enemies. Hence, the third rule: When in doubt, always kick in the gronk-nuks."

He makes a move, raising his foot up, and Bracha gets rid of the earplugs.

"Gronk-nuks? That's a new word for them. That is a rule we can all use in self-defence." Scarlett smirks. "So, a third of being a Trollhunter is kicking someone... there? Easiest rule to follow."

"Ahh, so the New Trollhunter's training begins!" A troll exclaims.

Scarlett looks at the troll, confused as to why the troll cares when training begins.

"I thought the great Trollhunter might accept my services as a sparring partner. Part of your training regiment, isn't it?" He continues.

Scarlett quickly analyses him. He stands well above her, purple stone skin, giant spikes on his back, horns on his head, and a nose-ring. She knows that if she were to go against him, he could easily win. Blinky looks like he's about to say something, but Scarlett speaks first.

"Well, as much as I would love to learn how to dodge a troll much bigger than me and quite obviously would have the advantage, given size, strength, and how long they've been fighting the troll way, I have to decline, because I am not experienced enough to go up against someone who has been in glorious battles, while I have been in none." She tactfully refuses.

"Why wait?" Merlin's voice echoes.

Scarlett looks up to see him standing in the stadium-like seat part.

"I am eager to see her demonstrate her mettle." Merlin continues.

Scarlett mentally facepalms. Did he not just hear what Scarlett said?

"Let them spar!"

Scarlett gulps and grabs her sword, following Blinky.

"What do I do now, Blinky?" Scarlett asks.

"Hit him as hard as you can." Blinky says.

"I can't do that. He's made of stone. If I hit him hard, I'll break my hand! He'll only feel a tickle! Does he have any weaknesses?" Scarlett frowns.

"Only that of a normal troll." Claire answers.

"Not helping."

"You fought Venjo, although quite briefly, and it was glorious!" Blinky responds.

Scarlett facepalms, "I was using moves from dancing and spy movies, and they don't actually teach you how to knock your enemy out by just touching their necks!"

"Exactly! The fight is within you, Lady Scarlett. Trust yourself. One hit!"

Scarlett growls, getting ready.

"Begin!" Merlin’s voice orders.

The troll growls and suddenly rolls at her, spikes digging into the ground.

"HE'S BLOOMING SONIC THE HEDGEHOG!" Scarlett thinks as she dodges his attack.

He rolls to attack her again, and without any thought, throws her sword towards the incoming spike ball. He hits the sword, unrolls and grabs her chest, bringing her over to the seemingly bottomless pit. She then grabs his nose-ring and pulls as hard as she can. If Scarlett can't punch, she can certainly give this troll some nasal discomfort. He groans in pain and drops her, only being saved by the nose-ring she still has a grip on.

"Let go!" He grumbles.

She tightens her grip and frowns, "Only if you walk back onto firm ground. I'm not letting go until my feet are at least 5 feet away from the edge, Rocky!"

The troll grumbles and pulls back 3 troll feet. Scarlett lets go and takes a gasp for air, something she hasn't had a chance to do yet. She gives the troll a glare as he walks off, the spar over. Scarlett holds her chest in pain, the armour protecting her partly. She pulls off the amulet and groans, her sisters and Bracha running towards her.

"I think that's enough training for one day. I'm going back to Australia. I'm exhausted." Scarlett sighs as she walks towards the Gyre.

Bracha smiles, "So you messed up a little. Like you said, you haven't had any experience."

Blinky smiles, "I concur with Lady Bracha. You've barely had a day’s training. There's no shame in what just transpired."

Scarlett glares, and Oriel whispers, "Bad choice of words."

"I heard that!" Scarlett hisses.

Claire winces at the hiss.

"And, by the way, if you think there was absolutely no shame there, you must be blind as a bat! There was certainly some shame there! The only reason I survived was because I pulled his nose-ring! It may not have been enough to hurt him, but it was enough to irritate him!" Scarlett practically screams.

Claire sighs, "It could've been worse. Jim didn't even think to grab Draal's nose-ring. He was just dropped and threatened."

Scarlett sighs, "I don't care at the moment. All I know is that I need rest before midday in Australia. Come on girls. Claire, you can come too if you want."

Claire sighs, "I have things to do in Trollmarket. Sorry."

Scarlett just grabs her sister’s arms and drags them to the Gyre. She hops in and taps a few buttons, already knowing how to use it. Bracha jumps in a few seconds before the gyre zooms back to Australia.

***

“Okay, we try out for this competition, and go during the day, while at night, Trollhunting. We’ll just say we are practicing our singing far away at night. Unless we don’t get in. Then we’re gonna have to sneak out, or make up some gigantic stories, or tell the truth.” Scarlett explains the plan, seemingly forgetting about her previous failure.

Bracha sighs, “Let’s focus on the here and now.”

Suddenly, Bracha’s ring makes a beeping noise. The sisters sit down and watch the sky, Crystal naming things she sees.

“Hello, is this a bad time?” A voice asks from the ring.

“No, I’m just hanging out with friends. What’s going on, Hal?” Bracha replies.

“The League found odd magical readings around your location. Have you noticed anything different?” Hal asks.

Bracha pauses, Scarlett getting an idea.

“Hey, B! You got any strange rocks to add to my collection?” She exclaims loud enough for Hal to hear, winking.

Bracha gets the idea.

“It could be some strange rocks. My friend loves collecting the weirdest objects. I swear I’ve seen some Kryptonite in her collection. She told me she had a mask that turns green if put on at night. I’ll scan her objects later and send you through the readings.” Bracha smirks, actually being half honest.

“Good. I’ll check back in five hours, got it?” Hal asks

“Got it. We have a competition to enroll in, so we’ll be busy there for now. Seeya, Hal.” Bracha smiles.

“Bye, Bracha. Don’t get into any trouble.” Hal hangs up.

“Too late.” Bracha frowns.

Scarlett asks, “You serious about Kryptonite being in my collection?”

Bracha nods, “Yep. Anyway, more important at the moment what songs are you going to sing? Are you going in as 1 big team, 1 team of 2 and a solo, or 3 solos, how are we gonna do it?”

“I thought you were gonna sing with us? Aren’t we doing that?” Scarlett asks.

Bracha sighs, “I can’t do it. I can’t sing as well as you girls.”

Scarlett sighs, “Come on. You have more knowledge of music than Twisted Sister and Taylor Swift. My Dad’s exact words about her were, “She may think she can sing, but she’s rubbish.” And honestly? I kinda agree with him. If you really don’t want to be in the big picture with us, you can be a back-up singer later, and the music/tech person. Would be helpful.”

Oriel whispers, “I don’t want to be alone.”

“I have an idea! Let’s draw straws. Whoever can draw an amazing looking straw wins and chooses how many teams we have!” Crystal exclaims.

Bracha, Scarlett, and Oriel exchange glances.

Bracha sighs, “That’s not what drawing straws is.”

***

“You ready?” Oriel asks, completely worried.

“I am. Thanks for drawing the short straw and having us compete at the same time. Why are you worried, Oriel?” Scarlett asks.

“Bruce Wayne is a judge.” Oriel gulps.

All the girls stare at Oriel in shock, then look through the curtains on the stage.

“Which one’s Bruce Wayne?” Crystal asks.

Bracha sighs, “The one that has bags under his eyes, next to Jessica Mauboy.”

Scarlett sees him, and Bruce’s and her eyes lock. She doesn’t dare look away, feeling a fear go up her back and a familiar sensation covering her body. Bruce gets tapped on the shoulder, and he’s the first to break eye contact and talks to Jessica Mauboy. Scarlett closes the curtain.

“Scar, can you take off the armour? It’s not a good time.” Bracha whispers.

Scarlett looks down and jumps about six feet in the air.

“Not now. We’ve already rented costumes for this! I’m not changing my outfit choice before the show! I’ve already gone through enough stress for you today.” Scarlett glares at her amulet.

She tries pulling it off, but it doesn’t work.

“Good thing a few other people go on before us. That’ll give you time to take it off and leave the magic amulet with Bracha so it doesn’t go weird again.” Oriel suggests.

Scarlett nods and runs into the costume change room, the girls following her. She pulls outfits out of her bag. She tosses them to each girl.

“I made sure they were just right.” Scarlett smiles.

Oriel unfolds a purple outfit that looks sort of like Princess Jasmine’s animated version of her outfit. Crystal unfolds a red outfit very similar. Scarlett unfolds a blue one. Bracha unfolds a green one.

(Like this, only different colours.)

“Which one, sis, Prince Ali or Friend Like Me?” Crystal asks, not very amused.

Scarlett flips a coin, “Friend Like Me.”

Now that Scarlett’s relaxed, her armour disappears. Another person walks in as Scarlett smiles and moves into a room to change. The others follow suit.

“This is gonna be fun.” Scarlett smiles.

They all come out wearing the outfits, looking absolutely stunning. The other person stares in shock.

“What? Never seen a person dress up for a singing competition before?” Crystal suddenly snaps.

Scarlett smiles, “Sorry about my sister. She’s protective. Come on girls. It’s almost our time.”

***

With Bruce Wayne

Bruce nods politely. Most of these singers are singing popular songs, like Taylor Swifts songs. He frowns, thinking of the person who managed to make eye contact with earlier. He could tell it was a girl, her eyes said she was at least 16. He couldn’t tell much because of how much of her body was obscured by the curtains. She was hiding something. Suddenly, the lights turn down. Another singer maybe? Suddenly, 3 girls roll out as the music starts. They all stand up, and Bruce locks eyes with the one in blue for a split second and recognises that it’s the girl he saw. Looking at her, she looks like she’s 13. Suddenly, the girls start singing and dancing, being extremely dramatic. (Go crazy with your imagination here, guys.)

youtube

S: MASTER! I don’t think you quite realise what you got here!

C: So why don’t you just ruminate

O: Whilst I illuminate the possibilities!

B: Watch this. Here I go. Uh, ooh, woo! Back up! Uh, Watch out! Uh, You done wound me up! ‘Bout to show you what I’m workin’ with!

C: Well Ali Baba had them forty thieves,

Scheherazade had a thousand tales

S: But, master, you’re in luck, ‘cause up your sleeves

You got a brand of magic never fails

B: You got some POWER in your corner now

Heavy ammunition in your camp!

You got some punch

C: Pizzazz!

S: Yahoo, and how?

All: See, all you gotta do is rub that lamp!

B: And then I’ll say,

Mister-

C, S, & O: Aladdin, sir.

B: Whatever, what will your pleasure be?

C: Let me take your order, jot it down!

You ain’t never had a friend like me!

Life is your restaurant

And I’m your maître D!

All: Come on, whisper to me whatever it is you want

You ain’t never had a friend like me!

O: Yes sir, we pride ourselves on service

C & O: You’re the boss, the king, the shah!

B & S: Say what you wish, it’s yours! True dish

How ‘bout a little more baklavaaaa?

B: Have some of column A,

B & S: Try all of column B!

I’m in the mood to help you dude!

You ain’t never had a friend like me!

O: Wah wah wah!

C & O: Oh my!

O: Wah wah wah!

C & O: No, No!

O: Wah wah wah

C & O: wah ah ah!

O: Wat ba bado ah!

B: Can your friends do this?

C: Can your friends do that?

S: Can your friends pull this

C, & O: Out their little hat?

Can your friends go-

B: *Beatboxes*

C: Well, looky here!

B: I’m the genie of the lamp

I can sing, rap, dance if you give me a chance! Oh!

C & O: Well don’t just sit there, slack jawed, buggy-eyed!

I’m here to answer all your midday prayers!

C & S: You got me bona fide, certified

Got a genie for your charge d’affaires

O: I got a powerful urge to help you out

So what you wish? I really wanna know

S & O: You got a list that’s three miles long, no doubt

Well, all you gotta do is rub like so, ay ohhhhh!

B: Mister

S, C, & O: Aladdin!

B: Yes, have a wish or two or three!

C, S, & O: I’m on the job, you big nabob!

You ain’t never had a friend, never had a friend

B: You ain’t never had a friend, Never had a friend

C & O: You ain’t never!

B: Never!

C & O: Had a

B: Had a

C & O: Friend

B: Friend

C & O: Like

B: Like

All: Meeeeeeee!

You ain’t never had a friend like me!

Everyone claps, glad for something different.

“Well, it seems that everyone likes you. What are you called?”

The one wearing the blue outfit smirks, “We are known as the Lantern’s Daylight! I’m Scarlett, the one in red is Crystal, and the one in purple is Oriel.”

Bruce asks, “Wouldn’t it make more sense for you, Scarlett, to wear the red?”

The girls exchange glances and giggle.

“Yeah, if I tried to do that, Crystal here would rip off my arm and hang it above her bed.” Scarlett jokes.

Oriel frowns, upset by that comment. Bruce notices that as Scarlett hugs Oriel and whispers something in her ear.

Jessica Mauboy smiles, “I assume that you are competing together?”

The girls look at each other and shrug, “We’re flexible. As long as Oriel gets to team up with one of us, we don’t care if one of us is a solo.”

“Well, you three are through to the next round!” Jessica Mauboy smiles.

The girls hug each other and do a strange handshake.

“Hi five! Shoulder bump, hip bump, shimmy shake!” Scarlett giggles as they do those moves.

The girls walk backstage and Bruce Wayne thinks carefully about those girls. Something’s different. They’re hiding something. Bruce shakes his head. He should focus on finding the energy readings.

***

“You guys were awesome. I swear that if I had to choose a winner, it’d be you three!” Bracha smiles.

Scarlett smirks, “Aren’t you a little biased? Being our friend and all.”

Bracha lightly punches Scarlett’s arms. Scarlett pulls her hairband out letting her hair flow.

“Who cares? I say we were 20% cooler than everyone else!” Crystal smiles.

Bracha and Scarlett roll their eyes. Crystal was always so over the top.

“I’m gonna hang around here for a while longer. Could you escort my sisters’ home, Bracha? For safety reasons.” Scarlett requests.

Bracha nods, “Of course, Scar. Be careful. If he shows up, call me.”

Scarlett nods. She pulls out her phone, seeing it’s 85%.

“Seeya.”

Scarlett walks towards a tree and leans against it. Australian sun is just too hot. Even in spring near sunset, it’s too hot.

“You’re Scarlett, right?” a male voice asks.

Scarlett asks, “Who’s asking?”

“Bruce Wayne.” The voice says.

Scarlett looks over to him and notices he’s still wearing a suit.

“Don’t you feel a little hot, mate?” Scarlett asks.

She’s already changed into a shirt that says, “Installing Muscles, please wait” and some denim shorts.

“Yes, but it’s good to keep up appearances.” He responds.

Scarlett sighs, “Please, Mr Wayne, don’t. Our prime minister doesn’t always wear a suit. He wore Budgie Smugglers for crying out loud.”

Bruce tilts his head in confusion. Scarlett rolls her eyes, remembering that not everyone understands the lingo.

“Right, Aussie slang. He wore just a pair of swimming pants. Can’t say I blame him. After all Australian weather, feels too hot to be natural.” Scarlett shrugs.

She suddenly tenses. The sun is going down much faster than she’d like. She hopes she doesn’t run into Venjo.

“I actually wanted to ask you about something, Miss Scarlett.” Bruce says.

“Well, ask away, Mr Wayne.” She responds.

She then looks around and realises, she’s in a park with only Bruce Wayne nearby. She feels her fear rise, but she pushes it down. Maybe Venjo can smell fear and she may lead him straight to her.

“Are you okay? You seem to be jumpy. You’re not worried about an ex, are you?”

Scarlett sighs, “Just heard some disturbing reports a while ago. And an ex? Please! I am staying away from that kind of relationship until I’m 20 or 30. Decided that when I was 10.”

“Okay… Has anything strange been happening around here?” Bruce asks.

Scarlett suddenly looks at him and scoffs, “Please! Strange? Mate, we’re Australians. Anything that’s strange is actually pretty normal. If someone hangs from a tree like a bat, we’re ok with it. If someone likes going under bridges for the sake of it, we’re ok with that. If someone wanted a Medusa wig to totally freak people out, we’re ok with that. Heck, some of us have even had our snakes come out of the toilet. I've even seen a guy dressed up as Santa here. The whole shebang, in hot, Summer, Aussie heat, at Wet'n'Wild. You want strange, you came to the right place.”

She then realises it’s very dark.

Scarlett smiles, “Ya know, I’d love to stay and chat, but my mum’s gonna kill me if I’m not home by 10:00.”

Bruce nods, “I understand. Be careful. Wouldn’t want one of the singers to disappear right after her first performance.”

Scarlett nods, “Thanks for your concern Mr Wayne. I’m think I’ll be fine. Seeya.”

Scarlett walks off, a bad feeling in her stomach.

***

Bruce Wayne changes into his Batman outfit and follows Scarlett for a few blocks. She’s hiding something and he’s curious what it is. Plus, he picked up some of the previous energy readings on her. He follows on the rooftops. She stops every now and then to look around.

“Why follow her? Shouldn’t you be investigating the magical energy, Batman?” Martian Manhunter asks, appearing behind Batman.

Batman frowns, “She’s hiding something. I think she’s connected to the readouts. I picked up some energy on her.”

Scarlett turns around again. She has fear written in her eyes. She then looks towards the roofs of the houses. Batman ducks from her sight. She looks straight up as well, which both men found odd.

“Why is she scared?” Batman mumbles.

“It could simply be she’s broken up with someone and she’s worried he’ll show up.” Martian Manhunter suggests.

Batman frowns, “No. This is a different fear. She said she’s staying away from romance until she’s older. She’s paranoid, like something is going to come from anywhere to attack.”

Suddenly, a buff man comes near to her. He makes some suggestive comments.

“I’m not that desperate, and you’re not that lucky.” Scarlett shuts him down.

He suddenly grabs her and drags her to an alley. Batman and Martian Manhunter jump towards them.

“Leave me alone, you creepy, barbarous, brainless, cold-blooded, animalised jerkazoid!” Scarlett hisses.

“I don’t think so, pretty. We’re gonna have a little fun!” The man smiles.

Scarlett looks him up and down and says, “Dude, your and my definition of fun are 2 very different things. And I’m not gonna be a victim again! How about you go back to Hell!”

Scarlett grabs at air next to her, then facepalms.

“I think now would be a good time to intervene, Batman.” Manhunter suggests.

The man punches Scarlett, making her fall to the ground. She goes to get up and he kicks her. She groans in pain. She moves her hand to her pocket.

“You’re gonna feel more of that if you resist, worm.” The man says.

Suddenly, Scarlett turns around and gives him an uppercut, then kicks him where the sun don’t shine.

“No one calls me worm, you little piece of troll poo!” Scarlett hisses.

He growls, “You’re gonna regret that you #*&%$!”

“Wash your mouth out with soap!” Scarlett orders.

Batman decides enough is enough and throws a batarang in between the two people. Scarlett looks up and sees both Batman and Martian Manhunter. She mumbles something Batman doesn’t catch.

*From Scarlett’s point of view; earlier*

Scarlett stops and looks around. Someone’s following her. She’s sure. Her guts are going haywire. She remembers rule number 1. Always be afraid. She’s afraid now, and she swears someone’s around. Could Venjo be around? She looks to the roofs. She thinks she sees something, but it could’ve been just the shadows. Scarlett then looks up.

“Why am I looking up? Trolls can’t fly, can they? I’m gonna ask Blinky for a list of troll species now.”

Suddenly, a buff man walks towards Scarlett. He makes a suggestive comment.

“Today just isn’t my day.”

She scoffs, “I’m not that desperate, and you’re not that lucky.”

*Trigger Warning!*

The man grabs her and drags her into an alley. She struggles against him.

“Leave me alone, you creepy, barbarous, brainless, cold-blooded, animalised jerkazoid!” Scarlett spits.

“I don’t think so, pretty. We’re gonna have a little fun!” The man smiles.

“Ugly jerk.”

Scarlett looks him up and down and says, “Dude, your and my definition of fun are 2 very different things. And I’m not gonna be a victim again! How about you go back to Hell!”

She grabs at her bag, only to realise she gave it to Bracha earlier. No pepper-spray to use this time. She facepalms. Suddenly, the man punches her in the guts. Scarlett collapses. She tries to get up, only to get kicked. She holds in tears.

“It’s Nicholas all over again.”

“You’re gonna feel more of that if you resist, worm.” The man says.

Something clicks in Scarlett’s brain. She feels pure, hard anger and hatred. She turns around and gives him a good, hard, uppercut, then kicks him in the Gronk-nuks.

“No one calls me worm, you little piece of troll poo!” Scarlett hisses.

He growls, “You’re gonna regret that you #*&%$!”

“Wash your mouth out with soap!” Scarlett orders.

She’s not going to be his victim. She’s going to be her own hero. A boomerang suddenly goes in between the two. Scarlett notice the shape is of a bat and looks up and sees 2 figures. One green and one black. She recognises them as the American superheroes Batman and Martian Manhunter.

*Trigger ending*

“Bushigal.” She mumbles.

“Only spent a day with them and I’m already using Trolls words!”

The guy runs away after seeing the boomerang.

“Hey, hey! I’m not through with you, Ugly!” Scarlett calls after the crook.

Batman jumps in front of him and knocks him out.

“Never mind.” Scarlett sighs.

Batman frowns, “You shouldn’t be alone at night.”

Scarlett sighs, "Shouldn't you be in America, where all the supervillains are? Or are you on Holidays?"

Batman raises an eyebrow in what seems to be surprise.

"Why else would you two be in Australia if you weren't having a break? I don't remember the Joker being in Australia." Scarlett smirks.

"Just investigating something." Martian Manhunter replies.

Scarlett frowns, "And I suppose that you just happened to be passing by while I'm going home and just happened to see me almost get abducted by a guy like him?"

Batman deadpans, "Yes."

Scarlett frowns, "And I suppose you weren't following me?"

Batman doesn't respond.

"I had a feeling." Scarlett frowns.

"Did he pick up on the Amulet? Maybe it gives off magic radiation. That sounds silly. But maybe?"

"Okay, you know what? You can follow me home if you are so worried. And if you need to question me about stuff, like whatever you are investigating, give me a number to call to arrange a date, time, and place to answer your questions. But please bring in a girl. Being around just a guy who ya don't know is enough to set a girl on edge, ya know?" Scarlett suggests.

Batman looks to Martian Manhunter and they seem to be speaking telepathically, discussing the matter. Scarlett then gets bad memories about her brother. She shakes the memories out of head, putting her hands in her pockets, holding the Amulet in her right. Its’ cool surface surprisingly calms her.

"Agreed." Batman suddenly speaks, snapping Scarlett out of her thoughts.

"Great!" Scarlett smiles and suddenly turns to walk home.

She feels the smile fall from her face. Then it comes back, and she giggles slightly. She hums "Giggle At the Ghostly" while swaying side to side.

"There goes my logic tonight. Wonder if he's reading my thoughts?"

She looks behind her to see Batman and Manhunter have already disappeared. Probably hiding in the shadows, because Batman just walking behind her would draw suspicion. She suddenly finds herself at her house.

"That trip went by fast." Scarlett mumbles.

She goes to open the door, but it's locked. She pulls out her phone, notices it's actually 11, and rings her Mum.

"Yes?" Her mother's tired voice answers.

"I have a good excuse, Mum." Scarlett says guiltily.

Heather hangs up and opens the door.

"What happened, Scarlett?" Heather asks.

Scarlett hesitates, "I was attacked, but I got away from him."

Heather suddenly pulls Scarlett inside and checks Scarlett all over for any cuts, scratches, and bruises.

"Mum, calm down, I'm fine. Look, I'm here, aren't I? And he didn't even get far. Just a few bruises, nothing more." Scarlett reassures her paranoid mother.

"You should be more careful, honey! What would've happened if he kidnapped you, or worse?!" Heather exclaims.

Scarlett puts her hand over her mother's mouth.

"Do you want to wake Dad up? Doesn't he have a 3 o'clock start in the morning?" Scarlett asks.

Heather sighs, trying to calm herself down.

"We're talking about this tomorrow." Heather orders.

Scarlett nods, then realises she has unfinished business in New Jersey.

"I'm going to bed Mum. Seeya in the morning." Scarlett smiles, knowing she probably won't be able to wake up until midday.

She walks into her bedroom, to see her sisters still awake. She sighs and tucks them both into bed.

"We can't sleep, Scar." Oriel sighs.

Scarlett sighs and sings Aladdin's Desert Moon to lull them to sleep. She searches her pants pockets for her amulet and finds a piece of paper with a bat symbol on it. She reads over it.

3:00p.m. Wivenhoe Dam, Tomorrow.

Scarlett sighs. She's glad she only has Trollhunting training on tomorrow. When she's sure her sisters are asleep, she stuffs pillows and toys under her blanket. The girls don't have to know about this sneak out. She changes her shoes into Roller shoes.

***

"I was going to kill her, but I couldn't make up my mind as to how! Then she grabbed my nose-ring! That irritating Fleshbag. She isn't worthy of the amulet. I could've killed her then and there. But where's the fun in that?" The troll laughs.

Blinky grumbles at another table, drinking his glug. Claire sighs and rolls her eyes.

"If only Lady Scarlett had managed a single hit! She would've been changed forever." Blinky grumbles.

"All I want is to wail on that Fleshbag again!" The troll laughs.

Suddenly, Scarlett rolls in on her heels. She nudges the troll she sparred with, making him spill his drink.

"That was a wonderful spar earlier. Very enlightening. I'd love to do it again sometime! As long as neither of us die in our next spar, I'm sure we can be wonderful, glorious allies! I'm sure with some training with you, after a while, I will be a glorious warrior, fighting battles and will have the most honourable death!" Scarlett smirks as she rolls over to Blinky and Claire's table and sits down, an evil smile on her face.

"What happened in Australia?" Claire asks.

"Let's just say, I gave a jerk what he deserved." Scarlett smiles, still looking evil.

A few trolls move away from the table, and Blinky and Claire stare in shock.

"Changed forever." Claire whispers.

"Oh, by the way, I never got his name." Scarlett asks.

“Yavo.” Blinky says, still in shock.

#Trollhunting Lantern #Trollhunters #Green Lantern #Crossover

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sebeth · 5 years

Text

Young Justice: Welcome To Happy Harbor, Drop-Zone, What’s The Story

Warning, Spoilers Ahead…

Episode 3: “Welcome To Happy Harbor”

The episode begins with Speedy interrupting one of Brick’s shipments. Robin, Kid Flash, and Aqualad soon join the party.

Brick gets cocky and pays for it. I’d completely forgotten about Brick’s appearance in this episode. We see Brick in the trailer for the third season. I bet he appears in Arrowette’s origin/recruitment episode. It would be a nice callback to the first season.

The boys attempt to recruit Speedy to the team but he’s a manly man who doesn’t need to be part of a team.

“Recognized Robin B-01, Kid Flash B-03”

You know Batman programmed the codes and was all “Robin will be the first”. It’s also a nice nod to Robin’s status as the first sidekick.

“Mission assignments are the Batman’s responsibility.” – Yep, poor Red is the one who has to reign in their shenanigans. This Red doesn’t know how easy he has it – there should be a crossover between the Red of the cartoon universe and the Red of the comic book universe. Comic book-Red can terrify Cartoon-Red with tales of his Conner and Bart.

“This team is not a social club.” – Kaldur would be the one most adamant about assignments and not wasting time on socializing. He entered the Atlantean military at 12 years old. He’s had structure and duty drilled into him at a young age.

“I cannot read his mind.” – Ooh, foreshadowing of M’gann’s later abuse of her powers? That is a pretty clear violation of privacy for no other reason than convenience. On the one hand, I cut M’gann some slack because even at 45 years old she is still a teenager by her race’s standards. Teenagers don’t always make the best decisions and she’s obviously attempting to impress her teammates. On the other hand, J’onn is a very ethical telepath and I’m positive he would have coached M’gann on the proper uses of telepathy.

“We all know what you’re thinking right now.” – Wally the horn dog is taken straight out of his solo comic in the late 1980s.

Wally and Dick competing over M’gann’s attention is hilarious. I don’t think Dick event wants M’gann’s attention as much as he wants to annoy Wally. Meanwhile, Superboy is not amused by their shenanigans. At all.

Kaldur continues to be the only “adult” in the room.

“Granny Jones’ recipe from episode 17” – Subtle foreshadowing of an element that wouldn’t become prominent until much later in the season.

Wally needs to learn subtleness in his flirtations.

“Here, your powers are an extreme invasion of privacy.” – Wouldn’t that have been one of the first things J’onn would have gone over with her?”

Superboy would be highly sensitive to telepathic intrusions due to his experiences in Cadmus. If your entire upbringing revolved around telepathic manipulation, you are sure not going to want anyone randomly popping into your head.

“Helo, Megan.” – What we thought was a catchphrase is more foreshadowing.

The Martian bio-ship is cool.

“Fast with his feet. Not so much with his mouth.”

“Dude!”

Yep, Dick is having too much fun giving Wally a bad time.

Kaldur takes the lead and reaches out to Superboy. Even before it was made official, the writers did a great job laying the foundation for Aqualad to become the leader of the team.

“Mimicking boys is a lot harder.” – Would it be? Do Martians even have gender? Their natural forms – green or white – are basically androgynous.

“Are tornadoes common in New England?” – A pretty sensible question. Kaldur lives underwater, Conner’s a newborn, Megan’s an alien, and Wally’s from the Midwest. Dick is the only one who lives in New England area.

The team battles Mr. Twister and comes out on the losing end. I’ve always felt Red Tornado was one of the most formidable heroes around. How do you fight a tornado?

“That was quite turbing.” – Dick’s mangling of the English language is thrown back into his face.

Megan deduces (wrongly) that Mr. Twister is the Red Tornado. To be fair, it was an obvious guess.

“Stay out of our way.” – Is this Conner’s catchphrase? This is the second time in three episodes he’s stated a variation of it.

The rematch with Mr. Twister is going as well as the first round.

“First thing Batman taught me.” – Yeah, I can see Bruce believing “never be without a weapon” is a valuable life lesson.

Where did Dick hide the utility belt? It’s rather bulky.

Megan devises a plan and the team makes short work of Mr. Twister.

“Cool. Souvenir.” – Wally begins his collection of trophies.

The scientist at the end is Dr. T.O. Morrow – his search for Red Tornado sets up a future episode.

“Sorry. I’ll strive to be more accurate.”

“And more respectful.”

Yep, Dick and Conner could both use lessons in manners and tact.

Conner mutters an awkward “Sorry” to Megan. Judging from his expression, it pained him in his soul to do so.

Episode 4: “Drop-Zone”

For those curious, the first three episodes of the cartoon, along with the first five issues of the comic, took place from July 4th through the 12th.

“Drop-Zone” begins on June 19th – Kobra has forcibly taken control of Bane’s Venom-production facilities on Santa Prisca. Bane is not happy.

Bane battles Mammoth for control of the island and loses.

I like Kobra and his minions visual design. Very nice. I’m not sold on Shimmer or Mammoth (pre-transformation.”

We flip ahead to June 22nd. Two possibilities for why we are now in June – which is before July, not after. One – the creators messed up and put June in the captions instead of July. Two – we skipped a year between episodes 3 and 4. I’m going with the first option as the team still hasn’t elected a leader. Pretty sure you can’t have a year’s worth of adventures without an established leader.

That said, I’m pausing “Drop-Zone” and switching to the comic as the fifth issue takes place on July 20th. I’m trying to keep this in chronological order.

Issue 5: “What’s The Story?”

Wally is at the HQ – bored and flirthing with Megan. Wally suggest a camp fire. Megan enthusiastically agrees but dashes Wally’s hopes by inviting the rest of the team.

Tents are set, fires lit, and smores made.

Dick tells Wally to tone down his flirting as it’s “kinda bordering on the creepy.” Yeah, Wally isnt’ exactly smooth.

Conner’s not impressed with camping: “Sleep in these flimsy things called tents and sit around the fire?”

Dick scolds Wally again: “You’re about as subtle as a train wreck.”

Megan wants to learn more about her teammates.

Aqualad begins. Here are the highlights:

· Grew up in Shayeris, a city of Atlantis

· Atlantis has many people, many cultures

· Completed his education at 12 and began mandatory service in the Atlantean military

· At 14 years old - Transferred to the prestigious Conservatory of Science in Poseidonis

· Queen Mera is the headmistress of the Conservatory

· Met Garth and Tula at the Conservatory

· Garth Kaldur saved Aquaman’s life during an attack by the Ocean Master

· Aquaman offered the boys a chance to become his protégé and later carry on his “suface duties” while he focused on running the Kingdom

· Kaldur leapt at the chance while Garth continued his magical studies

Nice origin recap for Kaldur. I love the inclusion of Garth and Tula as it is a nice nod to Arthur’s original sidekicks.

Wally goes next. Highlights:

· Jay Garrick is still the original Flash! Yes! I love the nods to the depth of the DC Universe. Modern creators don’t seem to care about characters and continuity but Greg Weisman and company flawlessly incorporate all aspects and elements of DC’s history.

· Barry’s next.

· Wally desperately wants to be Kid Flash but Barry is “No! No partners! I don’t want the responsibility!”

· Wally’s all “Screw that. I do what I want.” and recreates the chemical combination that caused Barry to turn into the Flash.

· Wally as a science nerd is unique to the Young Justice universe but it’s a nice addition to the character.

· After a few weeks, Wally gains super-speed. He campaigns to be Barry’s new partner. Barry’s not thrilled but agrees as long as Wally does “exactly as I say, when I say it.”

The writers did an excellent job of establishing exactly why the heroes allowed the teenagers to run around in costumes:

· Aquaman is training a protégé to assume his role as surface world ambassador/protector.

· Batman doesn’t want Dick to turn out like him. Bruce doesn’t want Dick’s “inner light” to face out.

· Barry had no choice as Wally was hell-bent on being a hero. Better to have Wally by his side than face the danger alone.

Roy is too busy being a manly loner to discover Ollie’s reasons. Traditionally, Ollie doesn’t make the best life choices so it could have been the more typical “well, letting a kid run around in a mask and punch criminals seemed like a good idea at the time.”

Robin passes on story-telling time. At first, Wally ribs Dick about Batman not letting him say anything but realizes he’s rubbing salt in the wound and passes the story-telling baton to Conner.

Conner doesn’t say much. He mentions the G-Gnomes and the containment pod. Conner states he never thought for himself until his rescue.

Conner states the one thing that’s always on his mind is “Destroying Superman.

And with that bombshell, I’m off to work.

Up next, we continue story time and resume “Drop-Zone”.

#Young Justice #Wally West #Aqualad #Kaldur #Dick Grayson #Superboy #Miss Martian #Red Tornado #Kid Flash #Conner Kent #Robin #Kon-El #Roy Harper #Speedy

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wintersolbear-blog · 7 years

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I Know You

They had desperately needed to go out. It was tough business working for the Order, and rumor was it that soon they might have to go into hiding. So James and Lily Potter left Harry in the care of Molly Weasley for just one night. Typically it would have been Remus to watch him, or Sirius, and in desperate cases, Peter. But all were busy that night on missions for the Order. But Lily had insisted, one last night out before they very possibly hunkered down to stay safe. She and Molly had spoken all the time, and James had worked with her brothers before... well, before. Molly was one of the few members with children of her own, so to Lily it was an obvious choice. And that's how Harry Potter, at two months old, found himself at The Burrow. It had taken Lily ten minutes to tear James away, who kept telling Molly about Harry's feeding schedule. Molly simply smiled and affirmed what he was saying, remembering how hard the separation anxiety had been with her first child. A little boy with fiery red hair clung to her leg tightly, he looked shyly up at the little bundle of blankets. "And you're sure it's no bother?" Lily pressed, feeling guilty for leaving this exasperated mother with another baby, just seven months after she'd had her youngest son, Ronald. As an answer, Molly Weasley gently lifted the sleeping baby out of Lily's arms, "He'll always be welcome here, Lily. Now you two had better head off, you don't want to miss your dinner." She clucked and the young couple kissed Harry goodbye before heading off into the night. "Percy, dear," she said as she closed the door, "Please let go of Mummy, I need to warm up the baby's milk." The four year old hesitantly loosened his grip on his mothers skirt, looking around with a suspicious eye. "Honestly Percy," Molly chuckled as she placed Harry in an old and tattered bassinet. In which, was a wide awake, chubby little baby with hair to match his brothers. This baby was kicking up a fuss, but strangely stilled when the baby with jet black hair was placed beside him. "You can't be afraid of the twins forever. They're two for Heavens sake." Just as Molly was filling a pot with warm water, yet another boy with red hair flew down the steps. "Mum?" He asked excitedly, "Is the other baby here now? Can I see him?" The seven year old spoke with a bit of a lisp, and a bit too loudly for Molly's liking seeing as she shushed him quickly. "He's sleeping, Charlie. Hopefully Ron can take a page from his book." Charlie, quite a gangly boy for his age, sauntered over to the bassinet, peering over the edge at the two infants. "He's so small compared to Ron. Mum, I thought all babies had red hair." Percy, now convinced the twins were definitely not hiding somewhere, joined Charlie as his smaller body tried to stretch to see into the basket. Molly Weasley had just placed the bottle of milk into the simmering water when Charlie's comment made her laugh, "Just the babies from our family, love." When she glanced over she spotted a scratch on Charlie's neck, "Charles Weasley, you best not have some vicious creature hiding up in your room right now. And who is watching the twins?!" Percy bawled at the mention of the twins and the seven year old shook his head quickly, "Bill's with them and No, mum!" But Molly swore she heard him mutter the words 'not anything vicious' under his breath but he was luckily saved as Harry began to wake and uttered soft and low cries that left his bassinet mate looking around in confusion. Molly lifted the smaller child from his bassinet, Charlie taking the opportunity to run from his mothers questioning. The tired mother held Harry close to her chest and paused a moment, something clicking within her. It was subtle, so subtle she nearly missed it, but when his head rested against her beating heart, it was like the feeling she got when she suddenly recognized someone she had once loved out on the street. There was no time to dwell on that as she had to feed Harry, just as Bill and the twins came down for a snack. And Ron, seeming to miss his new friend began to wail loudly. Percy joined his tears when the two year old twins began smashing pieces of the bananas into his curly hair. The next few hours were hectic, as Molly struggled to get everything under control. Bill, her responsible nine year old, was very unhappy that he was sharing a room with the twins and chose that night to complain loudly for hours on end. And the devote mother spent an hour trying to chase the pixies she discovered in Charlie's closet out the window, all while trying to burp Harry and talk Bill through changing Ron's diaper. By the end of the night, all was right in the world and everyone in the house was asleep except for Molly and Harry. Harry had been quietly fussing all night, since he'd woken up. She'd tried feeding him, and rocking him, but nothing seemed to completely console the babe. So Molly Weasley sat down on her lumpy old couch and held the wee baby Potter in her arms. "Come now, Harry." She whispered, "Aren't you tired?" At the sound of her voice, the fussing stopped, and Harry Potter looked up at her with big green eyes. But the moment silence filled the air, he began to fuss once more. "Oh, I get it now." Immediately Harry quieted down once more, "You wanna talk, don't you? You want to have a little conversation with old Molly Weasley?" Maybe it was gas, but Harry Potter seemed to smile at the words. And so Molly talked and talked. She told Harry of how she met Arthur, and how important it was to not care about a wizards blood. She told him how to properly de-gnome a garden and exactly how many cubes of sugar Arthur takes in his tea. Molly let out a few tears as she told the baby about her brothers, the twins named Gideon and Fabian. And through it all, almond shaped green eyes never left hers, only interrupting with the occasional coo. It could have been minutes or hours that Molly whispered to the baby in the silent house. "You're a very good listener, Harry." Molly smiled down at the infant, "You'll make an excellent husband one day, she'll be a lucky woman." Then Harry gripped his little, chubby fingers around one of Molly's long and slender ones and Molly got that feeling again, like her soul somehow knew Harry's. "Do we know each other, Harry?" She laughed at the notion, but the baby seemed to blink meaningfully. "I reckon we do." She looked at the time, Harry's parents would be back any minute now, but Molly shamefully wished they would run late. Molly loved her children, but in her heart for a while it had felt like her family wasn't quite complete. She still had the feeling, but she felt more whole than she had before. "It's almost time for you to go, Harry." The baby's lids began to droop, heavy with sleep, "It's been so nice to have you here with us. I do hope you'll visit again soon." Molly couldn't explain the tears that were welling up. "It would be so nice for Ron to have a friend. And I do so love your company." Her voice quaked as his eyes shut and those green eyes were hidden from her view. Molly didn't know why she was so emotional, it wasn't as if it would be THAT long before she saw those eyes again. They had years of play dates, and Christmas parties, and babysitting ahead of them. Molly made mental note to invite the Potters to all of their future get togethers and was in the middle of picking the sapphire blue yarn she would use on the sweaters she planned on making all the Potters for Christmas when there was a knock at the door. Molly Weasley handed Harry over to his parents, who were thrilled to be reunited. There's no reason to be sad, she told herself as they turned to leave, I'll see him again before I know it. The Potters and the Weasley's have a bright future ahead of them. More than a decade later, Molly Weasley stood searching for the platform of nine and three quarters, scrambling to get her children all together when she saw him. All these years, all these stories and here he was, at Kings Cross station, looking much skinnier than she'd hoped he'd be. But that didn't change the fact that he'd just tugged on her sleeve. Jet black hair and almond shaped green eyes looked up at her and asked her where to go. The first thought that ran through her mind, before the answer to the question, was 'I know you'. It was then that it all clicked in to place. All of it. Even after Ginny was born, the daughter she had longed for, she'd still felt that missing piece and all this time it was him. Harry Potter, not the boy who lived, but the baby who she'd held just once in her life. Her final son. Careful not to overwhelm him, she helped him to the train. Waving goodbye to all her children, four with fiery red hair and one with jet black, who had no clue that she was waving to him too. And that night, Molly Weasley pulled from the bottom of her yarn pile an untouched and dusty ball of sapphire blue yarn and began to knit.

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ramajmedia · 5 years

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WoW Classic Guide: Which Class & Race Combos Work Best?

WoW Classic class and race combinations are strict, but they're not unforgiving for those who are well informed, and they can give players a major edge in leveling their character to the end-game - not to mention a significant boost to PvE and PvP performance once they're there, too. WoW Classic is Blizzard's return to a simpler Azeroth, before the Burning Legion ever opened the Dark Portal for an expansion or the Lich King met his demise in Icecrown Citadel.

WoW Classic is a unique "remake" in the sense that it isn't really improving much beyond some behind the scenes fixes - and even then, Blizzard committed to recreating the full vanilla experience, right down to the preservation of some of the most important WoW Classic bugs and exploits. For many games, like Square Enix's Final Fantasy remasters, the goal is to dramatically improve quality-of-life and graphics while keeping the gameplay experience as close to the original as possible. For Blizzard's WoW Classic, it's more like striving to preserve a period of time so absolutely perfectly that even the most die-hard fans can barely tell a difference.

Related: WoW Classic: Alliance or Horde - Which Faction to Choose?

Thanks to that, the game will be just as imposing when it comes to deciding which WoW Classic class and race combinations make the most sense for a player. Luckily, since the game isn't making too many changes to the way it progresses, fans have already largely figured out which WoW Classic class and race combinations make the most sense and which are better left as a hypothetical - and Screen Rant has compiled at least one suggestion for every class to help players decide.

This one is pretty straightforward. Night Elves are the only option for Druid.

Night Elves once again do well here, at least in PvE. Their high agility base stat naturally lends itself well to Hunter's stat concerns, and their Wisp Spirit racial makes leveling faster thanks to a massive bonus to movement speed when a player dies and must run back to the place of their demise to retrieve their body. For PvP, there's at least some argument for Dwarven Hunters instead - despite lower agility, Gun Specialization provides a decent bit of bonus damage for Hunters using guns while Stoneform is an excellent PvP skill that grants immunity to Bleed, Poison and Disease effects.

Although the community doesn't feel as strongly about Mage race choices in WoW Classic Alliance, we tend to believe that Gnomes are the right choice for both PvE and PvP. Expansive Mind provides a hefty 5% Intelligence increase which can help find points of damage when it really matters in tough PvE scenarios, and Escape Artist helps the Gnome player avoid movement speed reduction effects, something that becomes very handy in PvP. By contrast, despite Humans appearing to be a strong choice for Mage as well, they don't have the same kind of PvP prowess that would make them quite as appealing.

There are only two choices for Paladins in Human and Dwarf. Overall, Humans do a bit better thanks to their Sword and Mace Specialization. Although The Human Spirit's 5% spirit bonus sounds as though it would benefit a class with heals, it's actually largely irrelevant for Paladin players. Dwarves don't really offer the same kind of weapon bonuses that Humans do, and Human's more spread-out base stats actually benefit Paladin, which has weird concerns for what it wants in optimal stat builds.

Humans get the nod here for PvE thanks to The Human Spirit, as the 5% spirit increase is much more relevant to Priest players. For PvP, Dwarves pick up a great class-specific racial in Fear Ward, which helps mitigate one of the most problematic PvP mechanics in the game.

There aren't any amazing choices for Alliance here, but Humans once again get the nod thanks to their diverse base stats and weapon bonuses - Sword Specialization matters here.

Gnomes are the best choice here in both PvE and PvP thanks to Expansive Mind providing such a large boost to damage.

Humans win out thanks to both Sword and Mace Specializations, two weapons that can be useful to Warriors.

Another straightforward choice, as only Tauren can roll Druid for Horde.

Trolls are the best choice for PvE thanks to their Bow Specialization and Berserking, which increases damage output greatly in a class that is only concerned with DPS. In PvP, Orcs win out over Trolls due to Hardiness, a racial passive that increases stun resistance chance by 25%. Given how prevalent stun mechanics are in WoW Classic PvP, this is a huge bonus.

Get used to this; Trolls are once again the best choice for PvE here thanks to Berserking, which increases cast speed and DPS, making the Mage a wonderful damage dealer. Undead win out in PvP, something that also becomes quite common in WoW Classic Horde class and race combinations, thanks to Will of the Forsaken, which provides immunity to Charm, Fear, and Sleep while active for 5 seconds and can be used to break those afflictions if they're already afflicting the player.

Surprise! Trolls win out for PvE once more thanks to Berserking, which increases cast speed and can help in some clutch heal situations. Undead repeat here as the ideal PvP choice thanks to the extremely powerful Will of the Forsaken.

Breaking the monotony of the Troll dominance in PvE WoW Classic Horde class and race combinations, Orcs are the most desirable choice thanks to Blood Fury, which increases base melee attack power by 25% for 15 seconds, vastly improving Rogue DPS. Trolls are still a defensible choice though - Berserking really is that good. Will of the Forsaken remains too strong a PvP option to advise anything else for Rogue race combinations for Horde.

Stop if players have heard this one before. Trolls get the nod for both healer and ranged DPS versions of Shaman thanks to the increase in cast and attack speed from Berserking. For melee Shaman builds, however, Orcs are preferable thanks to Blood Fury. For PvP, Tauren might be a decent choice thanks to War Stomp, which is a solid CC ability.

PvE WoW Classic Horde Warlocks should essentially always choose to be Orcs, as they have a racial in Command that increases pet damage by 5%, dramatically improving the leveling process and helping in dungeons when pet sacrifice isn't necessary. For PvP, Undead once again rises to the top for its positively busted Will of the Forsaken racial ability.

Warriors are by far the most divisive WoW Classic Horde class and race combination debate. Orcs are incredibly powerful DPS Warriors because of Blood Fury, while Trolls have great synergy between Heroic Strike, which increases melee damage and threat, and Berserking. Taurens have the aforementioned War Stomp, which is an incredibly useful PvE stun ability that can also shine in PvP. As always, Undead remain in the conversation as far as PvP is concerned and are even likely the right choice once again, but fall well short of the PvE options that the other races offer the class.

Next: Some WoW Classic Realms Are Already Getting Too Full

source https://screenrant.com/world-warcraft-wow-classic-class-race-combo-best-guide/

#screenrant

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entergamingxp · 4 years

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Achievements or Trophies • Eurogamer.net

Five of the Best is a weekly series about the small details we rush past when we’re playing but which shape a game in our memory for years to come. Details like the way a character jumps or the title screen you load into, or the potions you use and maps you refer back to. We’ve talked about so many in our Five of the Best series so far. But there are always more.

Five of the Best works like this. Various Eurogamer writers will share their memories in the article and then you – probably outraged we didn’t include the thing you’re thinking of – can share the thing you’re thinking of in the comments below. Your collective memory has never failed to amaze us – don’t let that stop now!

Today’s Five of the Best is…

Achievements or trophies! Achievements arrived first on Xbox 360 of course. Do you remember the first time you received one, that little pop-up opening to tell you what you’d been awarded? Bewitching, wasn’t it. A prize, and who doesn’t want to be given a prize? They caught on like wildfire and pretty soon, PlayStation 3 had a Trophy system of its own.

The more common they became, the more creative developers got. Soon straightlaced awards for reaching milestones were only the half of the picture and awards were used to tell jokes, encourage wayward behaviour, or entice you off the beaten track. Today there are hundreds of thousands of Achievements and Trophies out there. Question is, which of them are the best? Happy Friday!

(Where we refer specifically to Xbox 360 Achievements, we capitalise the word, but otherwise we mean achievement to include Trophies and every other kind of award.)

Crackdown – High Flyer

Crackdown had an excellent campaign – it was just hidden in the Achievements. Here’s where you’d find the real keys to unlocking fun in Pacific City. The best designers of the 360 era seemed to understand that Achievements were about encouraging you to play across the general rules of the game rather than just ticking off the story highlights. So it is with Crackdown. You’re a supercop, sure, but the Achievements are largely about the kind of stuff that would, at best, get you landed with an ASBO.

And the very best of the best: High Flyer – Make your way to the top of the Agency Tower. I can still remember the exact moment I unlocked this one. Late in the evening, a quick play session that, as is so often the case with Crackdown, had gone deliriously awry. Slowly as I climbed, the city sounds dwindled. And then at the top actual soundtrack music – a real rarity in Crackdown – started to play, strange melancholic chords that never quite came together to form a theme.

This in a way is where Crackdown ends. Once you can climb the tallest building, what else is there for you to do? But as with the best Achievements it’s also where the game begins: you have learned to speak Crackdown. Now go and play it properly.

-Christian Donlan

‘Apparently this is the hardest Achievement in the game.’ Such nonchalance!

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare – Mile High Club

12th April 2007 is a date I’ll remember forever because it was on that day, after weeks of trying, I finally earned the Mile High Club achievement in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. For those of you who don’t know, Mile High Club requires you to complete the bonus epilogue level of Modern Warfare on Veteran difficulty, and it. Is. Solid. Even now, only a miniscule 3.3 per cent of players on Xbox have unlocked it, and if you think how many people have played…

At that point in my life I was not only a huge Call of Duty fan but well into collecting achievements, and I’d taken it upon myself to get the full 1000 Gamerscore on each and every COD game going. I’d already done it with COD 2 and 3, and I’d unlocked every other achievement in MW – but Mile High Club was my nemesis. Each attempt was a nonstop, repetitive cycle of gunfire, fury and failure, and I’d truly begun to think the achievement impossible to earn.

The level itself is short but as it’s set onboard a plane, your path is linear without room to manoeuvre. On Veteran difficulty, this lack of wiggle room means there’s practically no escape from the constant hail of gunfire and death, which comes at you fast. It feels like the enemies have wallhacks enabled because of their ability to anticipate your every move. You need only expose a tiny part of your body a millisecond too soon and BLAMMO, back to the start.

The worst thing, though, is the mission is timed, and on Veteran difficulty you have only 60 seconds to make it through this army of super-accurate soldiers. But that’s not all. Once you reach the top of the plane, you need to test your aim and nerve by taking out an enemy using a passenger as a human shield, and all while the timer ticks down.

Over and over I tried, two steps forwards, three steps back. One run would come close but the next would fail instantly due to the impossible accuracy of the AI and a bullet homing into my face.

I’d all but given up when one day, it miraculously happened for me. I made it to the end, hit my mark and parachuted, finally, to freedom.

Nowadays I don’t have the time nor patience to pursue such brutal achievements as this, but I’ll always remember Mile High Club not only as the hardest achievement I’ve earned, but also the one I’m most proud of.

-Ian Higton

Oh come on, Ian, it doesn’t look that hard.

The Lego games – One Does Not Simply, Solid Snape, Don’t I Know You?

If timing is the secret of comedy then the achievement pop-up punchlines in Lego’s cheeky adaptations are some of gaming’s best. The Lego games aren’t the only ones to employ them this way of course, but their ability to treat the source material with a side-eye to the camera breaks the fourth wall with frequently amusing effect.

There are examples which the Lego developers have clearly crafted to provide a chuckle at a specific moment, such as the memey “One does not simply…” award in Lego Lord of the Rings, which is unlocked by doing exactly that: walking into Mordor.

One does.

Then there are examples you uncover often by accident. Hop into a barrel and sneak around while playing as Professor Snape in Lego Harry Potter and you’ll get the “Solid Snape” achievement, which is as terrible a pun as you’ll ever see on Eurogamer.

Even better are the achievements it takes a moment to register why you’ve just unlocked them. Play as both Captain America and Human Torch in Lego Marvel Super Heroes, in co-op, and you’ll get “Don’t I know you?” achievement – a nod to actor Chris Evans having played both roles.

-Tom Phillips

A barrel of laughs!

Grand Theft Auto 4 – Warm Coffee

There aren’t many mods more infamous than the Hot Coffee mod for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. It reinstated graphic sex scenes cut from the game and showed character CJ humping like a camel to fill an excitement gauge. It was something Rockstar wanted but was forced to remove – Simon Parkin wrote all about the GTA Hot Coffee mod if you’re interested in the full story. The upshot was a multi-million dollar class action lawsuit against Rockstar parent company Take-Two, and an eventual settlement of $20m. Yeesh.

It’s against that backdrop Grand Theft Auto 4 arrived, the next game in the series, and the question was, how would Rockstar handle sex this time? After all, it’s not like Rockstar to obey the rules. It’s this question that’s on your mind the night you take your in-game girlfriend – there’s a choice of a few – home from a date and get the option to try your luck for something more than a kiss goodnight. My girlfriend was Michelle, if you’re asking, and one night I got lucky.

The screen faded to black. Would it show what came next? Excuse the pun. No it wouldn’t, it turns out. All I saw was the outside of the building accompanied by Michelle’s enthusiastic yells of appreciation. It was only upon exiting the building, thinking about how Rockstar had shown surprising obedience this time around, the Achievement popped up. Warm Coffee. It was a wry smile in Achievement form if ever I saw one.

-Bertie

Great, Niko Bellic – you’re great!

Half-Life 2: Episode 2 – Little Rocket Man

Oh Gnorman; I will never forget our time together in Half-Life 2: Episode 2.

Before my chance encounter with Valve’s spacefaring gnome, I’d almost entirely, and rather snobbishly, dismissed Achievements as pointless contrivances in service to an endless numerical dick-waving contest for those with too much time to kill.

There was something about Episode 2’s gnome-themed challenge, however – appropriately titled Little Rocket Man – that captured my imagination and compelled me to get involved. And so it was, one balmy afternoon, that I found myself fishing an unassuming garden gnome from beneath a bed early on in the game, ready to deposit it in a rocket ship situated several fraught hours later. The resulting adventure – somewhere between slapstick road trip and highly unlikely buddy movie – was one I still remember, well over a decade on.

More than anything, it’s the driving that’s stayed with me; there were the beautiful scenic vistas of course, but most of my attention was consumed by constant vigilance of that tricksy little gnome. Thanks to Episode 2’s flamboyant driving physics, rising anything above a genteel crawl as you traversed the sprawling countryside would invariably make your diminutive companion launch dramatically out the back of your open-top vehicle, causing it to ricochet into oblivion or, if you were lucky, merely wind up several miles behind you.

What followed, then, was a journey of painfully pedestrian progress and comical frustration, as I invariably hit the pedal too eagerly, whipping around just in time to watch my tiny pal wave a sudden high-velocity farewell. Needless to say, by the time I located that rocket ship hours later, it was with a mix of relief and genuine sadness that our adventure finally came to a close.

But more than the experience itself, our time together transformed my view of Achievements, showing me how the best could bring unexpected new life to a game you thought you already knew. They’re the ones that reveal hitherto unseen layers and demand a different kind of thinking, forcing you to find new and creative ways to exploit familiar mechanics or opening entirely new avenues for mastery. Thanks to Gnorman (as he became known somewhere along our journey), I always take time to scan through a game’s Achievements now.

-Matt Wales

Four hours, that’s how long this video is. Four hours.

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2020/05/achievements-or-trophies-%e2%80%a2-eurogamer-net/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=achievements-or-trophies-%25e2%2580%25a2-eurogamer-net

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superbard-blog · 5 years

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Brother Crow, Article 1

Okay, so I’ve been working on a world for a little bit longer than a year now. I’ve given it the name “Corza”, but honestly I forget that I’ve named it half the time because it was nameless for basically 9 of its 12 months of life. See what a good parent I am? Anyway, the part of the world I’ve given the most thought to is the religious aspect. There was a whole process to determine how religion worked in this world (I attempted a monotheistic approach early on because I’d never seen it before and it sounded cool. Fool.), but I eventually settled on deities heavily determined by their alignments. There are 5 deities, one for each alignment component; there’s a LN god, a NG god, a NE god, a CN god, and a N god. Because they’re the ultimate representations of their alignments, however, they’re all “stupid” varieties of their alignment. For instance, Brother Crow, the CN god, is Chaotic Stupid. I thought it would be fun, and it kind of is.

Speaking of Brother Crow, I’ve made a bit of a write up for him. More’s coming soon, but I’ll just throw down what I already have done here. Feel free to leave any critics of it. It probably won’t get changed, but I like seeing what people think. Feel free to steal it, too. Highest flattery, am I right? Also, the stat parts are written for 1st edition Pathfinder. The rest can be taken for anything.

BROTHER CROW

Old Dark Wing

God of art, chance, chaos, freedom, the moon, theft, and trickery

Alignment Chaotic Neutral

Domains Chaos, Darkness, Liberation, Luck, Travel, Trickery

Subdomains

Centers of Worship

Favored Weapon Short sword

Symbol A crow perched on a branch in front of the moon

Sacred Animal Crow

Sacred Colors Black, Silver

Obedience On the night of a full moon, steal something to adorn your home. The value of the good isn’t important, only the act of theft. On nights without a full moon, tell a short story to a small group that promotes trickery and living life to the fullest. Gain a +2 sacred or profane bonus on stealth checks. The type of bonus depends on your alignment- if you’re neither good nor evil, you must choose either sacred or profane the first time you preform your obedience, and this choice can’t be changed.

EVANGELIST BOONS

1: Nightbringer (Sp) obscuring mist 3/day, darkness 2/day, or deeper darkness 1/day

2: Peerless Thief (Ex) You gain the skill talent ability in Pathfinder Unchained for both the sleight of hand and stealth skills. If you already possess these abilities, you instead gain a +3 bonus to said skills.

3: Shadow Strike (Ex) You ignore the restrictions on sneak attacking in dim or dark light conditions; this does not apply to other sources of precision damage. In addition, when you sneak attack a target in dim or dark light you deal an additional amount of damage equal to +1 per number of sneak attack die you possess. If you don’t possess the sneak attack ability, you instead gain a +2 bonus to attack and damage rolls in dim or dark light

EXALTED BOONS

1: Enthralling Storyteller (Sp) hypnotism 3/day, daze monster 2/day, or suggestion 1/day

2: Crowbound (Su) For a number of minutes per day equal to your hit dice, you gain some of the traits of crows. Your arms sprout feathers, granting you a fly speed of 30 feet (average maneuverability). You also gain a +2 sacred or profane bonus to Appraise checks and your Intelligence score while in crow form. This Intelligence boost is treated as temporary and does not grant bonus spells to Intelligence-based casters like wizards or witches, though it does increase the save DCs for their spells. The minutes spent in crowform need not be consecutive, but they do need to be spent in minute long increments. This ability can be activated as a move action.

3: Luck of the Crow God (Su) You gain a small amount of Brother Crow’s godly luck. 3 times per day, you may treat any natural 1s you roll as natural 20s.

SENTIAL BOONS

1: Unbound (Sp) grease 3/day, knock 2/day, or remove curse 1/day

2: Artful Strikes (Ex) Your sword work has become a thing of beauty. Whenever you make a full attack with a short sword, choose one target within 30 feet who you did not attack this round; they must make a Will saving throw (with a DC of 10 + your Charisma modifier + ½ your hit dice) or be staggered for 1 round by your perfect movements.

3: Chaos Moonblade (Ex) Brother Crow grants his favored followers some of the chaotic, frigid powers of the ever-changing moon when the need is dire. As a free action, you can cause your weapon to appear as a shaft of hard moonlight for a number of rounds per day equal to 1+1 for every 4 hit dice you possess. When you do so, a single weapon you hold gains the archanic and freezing weapon special abilities (you can use this ability on a ranged weapon but can’t apply it directly to a piece of ammunition). If you drop or give the weapon away, the effect ends. The rounds of use do not need to be consecutive.

It is said that when Father Turtle had split the light from the dark two entities sprang forth. One was made of solid light while the other was composed of shifting shadow. The two fought for eternity before the dark one fled to the newly created moon. The godling of shadow became known as Brother Crow and took into himself everything the night represents: luck, change, inspiration, and deception. Since his inception, Brother Crow has used these traits to hinder his twin and eternal foe, Brother Lion.

While not evil, Brother Crow places little stock in the laws or conventions of society. As a result, artists, thieves, and revolutionaries are some of his most ardent worshipers. Those seeking luck or inspiration also flock to his side, hoping that their fortunes change as rapidly as the moon. Transmuters, gamblers, and inventers tend to favor this aspect of Old Black Wing over his more disruptive views. This is not to say that Brother Crow distances himself from the more morally sensitive parts of his church. At his heart, he’s a god of chaos, the night, and trickery. As long as his church follows these ideals, he cares little for what they do. Of all the gods, he’s the least directly involved with its affairs.

Although neither deity would admit it, both Brother Lion and Brother Crow are responsible for the advent of civilization. Whereas the Lion provides the more visible focus of cities, towns, and laws, Brother Crow inspired things such as architecture and the principles of freedom. He also elevated the Cukar into the first forest gnomes, and while they’re still devotees of chaos, their tower gnome kin are bound to the rule of law. As a result, he has mixed feelings about civilization as a whole. On one hand, Brother Crow wishes to tear it all down to spite his brother. On another, he finds it to be an excellent place to practice certain aspects of his portfolio, such as theft and art. At the end of the day, he finds bringing his full force to bear against these works of law to be too much effort.

A consummate shape changer, even Brother Crow can’t remember what his initial shape once was. As such, he might appear as anything, though his favored form is of a large black crow with eyes that gently glow white. This is unusually how he appears when he wants to send a message quickly, as it is almost instantly recognizable. When he appears as a humanoid, he’s usually identifiable by his slight frame and pale complexion. Of course, Brother Crow is not restricted to these shapes and could easily appear however he pleases. Artist depictions tend to show him in his crow form or as a pale man surrounded by shadows. The moon is a common motif in such pieces, as are musical instruments, broken chains, and bags of treasure. Most paintings show Old Black Wing in the art of stealing or tricking people.

Brother Crow’s holy symbol is a crow perched on a twig in front of a full moon. Anything bearing a moon on it can bear his power, however, though the more artistically talented amongst his followers take great pride in possessing aesthetically pleasing holy symbols. Brother Crow goes by many names, including Old Black Wing, the Trickster, the Crow God, the Crow King, and CukarKun (meaning “Gnome Father” in gnomish). Brother Crow’s clergy is mostly composed of priests, though many rogues, bards, and scoundrels spread his doctrine of change and freedom. When pleased, worshipers find guard dogs fortuitously asleep, unexpected artistic talent rises, and crows drop items useful for the task at hand nearby. If Brother Crow is angered, fingers become clumsy, pick pockets get drawn towards the offender, and the victim speaks with a perpetually cawing voice.

#pathfinder #dungeons and dragons #gods #d&d

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thisaffordableflowers-blog · 6 years

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aspenrosearts · 6 years

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Iris K Barratt

Ask Win is a podcast where you are a VIP. Win wants to focus and teach people more and Cerebral Palsy. You’re welcome to ask questions about anything that you want. CP questions but mainly life questions on how to deal with CP or not. Win can ask you base questions if you want. Please let us know or there will be no base questions. If you have any questions for Win please email her at [email protected]. In 2018 let be open and honest on Ask Win. To learn more about Ask Win visit http://askwin.weebly.com. Be sure to FOLLOW this program https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/wins-women-of-wisdom/id1060801905. To learn more about Challenge Aspen go to https://challengeaspen.org. To learn how Win walk and about Ekso go to http://www.bridgingbionics.org/, or email Amanda Boxtel at [email protected].

On AsK Win today (Tuesday, February 13, 2018), Best-Selling Author, Win C welcomes Iris K Barratt. Iris is a prolific writer living in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. She is an inspirational catalyst who empowers genuine connection through teaching, speaking engagements and writing. Her writing passionately strengthens a deeper sense of connection within yourself, your family, community and humanity in healthy and memorable ways. Her work excels at providing practical public benefit with fun educationally based programs. Several of Iris’ Ebook processes are now being shared in study groups in several countries around the world. Iris’ Ebook titles include, Ranting of a Psychic Grandmother, Children’s Celebrations and Ceremonies Workbook, The Oneness Process, The Collective Genius Fundraising Program for Events and her latest work, Leave a Legacy of Wisdom: A Process to Inspire Sharing Your Stories, Values and Insights. This groovy grandmother’s greatest passion, is inspiring the joy that comes from honoring people and telling the truth anonymously. Her intriguing website AnonymousExpressions.com offers over 30 Honoring Awards you can send anonymously to spread unconditional love, joy, laughter and mysterious fun. Enjoy this award-winning humanitarian and visionary author. To learn more about Iris visit http://www.anonymousexpressions.com/. To learn more about Win Kelly Charles visit http://wincharles.weebly.com/. To follow Win on Twitter go to @winkellycharles. To follow Win on Instagram go to winkcharles. To follow Win on Snapchat go to Wcharles422. To follow Win on Snapchat go to Wcharles422. To see Win's art go to https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/2-win-charles.html. Interview with Mel Marton: http://traffic.libsyn.com/winwisdom/LAF3494_08172017150526412_1189015.mp3. "Books for Books," you buy Win's books so she can purchase books for school. "Getting through school is a 'win' for her fans and a 'win' for her." Win is a professional writer and in 2018 she is going to get a new MacBook to write her books and do the podcast. With every book she sells and the donations from Ask Win will go to her new MacBook. Please support her in getting her new MacBook. Win Kelly Charles’ book “She is CP” will get to the New York Times somehow and to help her either by voting or send her good vibe. Please vote at https://soopllc.com/blog/book-ideas/cp-win-charles/. Please send feedback to Win by email her at [email protected], or go to http://survey.libsyn.com/winwisdom and http://survey.libsyn.com/thebutterfly. To be on the show please fill out the intake at https://goo.gl/forms/aS4L6FuHyDSUhvrj2. If you would like to support Ask Win go to https://www.patreon.com/wcharles. Superwomen Secrets Revealed: Successful Women Talk About Fitting in Fitness and Dare You to Join Them on Amazon http://amzn.to/2gImve5. :) I have a Facebook page for the book http://facebook.com/SuperwomenSecretsRevealed Instagram http://instagram.com/SuperwomenSecretsRevealed and book page on the website: http://FitArmadillo.com/books. If you want to check out what Win’s friend, Dannidoll, is doing (a.k.a. Dannielle) go to https://www.facebook.com/dannidolltheragdollclown/?notif_t=page_invite_accepted&notif_id=1492366163404241. To learn more about Danielle visit http://www.dancanshred.com. For iOS 11 update: https://www.youtube.com/embed/HNupFUYqcRY. To learn about the magic of Siri go to https://www.udemy.com/writing-a-book-using-siri/?utm_campaign=email&utm_source=sendgrid.com&utm_medium=email. If you want to donate Ask Win, please send a PayPal donation to [email protected] or [email protected]. Please donate to Challenge Aspen or the Bridging Bionics Foundation. Please send a check in the mail so 100% goes to Bridging Bionics Foundation.

In the Memo section have people write: In honor of Win Charles. Please donate to the charity of your choice thank you in advance, Win.

Send to:

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Thank you Win

Tuesday notes from fans:

Jennifer is inviting you to be a part of Jenny’s Tutoring in Jackson, NJ area. She can tutor online, SKYPE, or on the phone as well. She can tutor in the following areas: American Sign Language, English as a Second Language, Psychology, History, Special Needs, basic skills (reading, writing and math), career services and essays etc. Jennifer Beilis is a current American Sign Language Professor on the college level and past Psychology Professor as well. She holds her Master’s degree in Education and Deafness Rehabilitation, New York University, SCPI, BA in Psychology, Rowan University and AA in Social Sciences from Brookdale Community College. You can email or call her at [email protected] or (732)534-6422, FB [email protected] or Twitter @JenniferBeilis and Linked In #JenniferBeilis.

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You're important and I'm excited to welcome you on behalf of myself and The Digital Navigator team!

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We'll publish a monthly online business growth interview or training, and weekly tips to help you optimize your online marketing machine and boost your productivity. Every week we'll send you an email with a description of the resource and why we think it will help your business.

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belerencodex · 6 years

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Artan Bay Player Guide

Races

What makes Artan Bay a major source of adventure and interest is the great diversity of races, cultures, and nationalities that are enticed into trying to make their fortunes on the high seas. Below are descriptions and racial attributes for the different races available when playing games set in Artan Bay. Dwarves and Oreads are conspicuously absent because they sink.

City Elf

Hailing from Aigados, the ‘Koinoi’ as they are known in their native tongue are proud, beautiful, lithe, and vain. Though blessed with tremendous longevity, city elves mature quickly as humans. They are tremendous artists, actors, and diplomats, considered the height of culture throughout the world. Many Koinoi call Feldri home and have done for centuries as it’s prosperity draws entertainers, others may have come fleeing the Aigadosi law or after shaming their house, some are drawn by the call of adventure in the tempestuous lands of the Crucible States. City Elves receive a +2 bonus to Charisma and Dexterity, -2 to Wisdom, they also receive the Urbanite and Envoy alternative racial traits.

Swamp Elf

The Great Belnoi Swampland stretches broad and thick over the coast of the Crucible States West of Felri. Dense mangrove swamps inhabited by all manner of strange fey creatures, hags, giant alligators, and most dangerous of all the Belnoi, Swamp Elves to humans. These proud and spiritual warriors have resisted all attempts to subjugate them, eternally retaining the option to slink into the deep wilderness beyond the reach of outsiders. However there are always the curious exceptions. Many things lead Belnoi to move into the civilized territories. Some seek knowledge beyond their tribal oral traditions, some come for love, some searching for an enemy of their people. The Belnoi are spiritual and clever, garnering a +2 bonus to Wisdom, like all elves they are also lithe and agile with a +2 to Dexterity. However there is great mutual distrust between the Belnoi and other races, their customs are sometimes seen as savage or primitive, by the same turn they often consider most outsiders rootless, petty, and dirty, resulting in a -2 to Charisma. Belnoi also receive the Eternal Grudge or Silent Hunter alternative racial traits.

Gnome

Small, friendly, unconventional, Gnomes may not be numerous, but they are found everywhere. It’s often said when one tries to find out who’s really in charge of the world eventually they discover it’s Gnomes all the way down. Gnomes are free spirited creatures filled with wanderlust. They often join crews on sailing ships purely for the sake of the adventure or to see somewhere new. Their charming personalities and hardy constitutions make them excellent travel companions though sterner folks may be displeased by their tendency towards mischief. Gnomes broadly fall into the personality categories of Tinker or Green, Feldri is home to many Tinkers drawn by its complex infrastructure system and marvelous engineering, such Gnomes gain the Master Tinker alternative racial trait. Green gnomes tend to be more closely tied to nature and the fey, often green gnomes will gather animal ‘friends’ sometimes alarming their comrades upon the inevitable prison break. Charming and hardy but small in size and frame, Gnomes receive a +2 bonus to Charisma and Constitution, but a -2 to Strength.

Grippli

Not all denizens of the Great Belnoi Swamp are so hostile. The frog-like Grippli are a welcome sight to many of the riverside towns and cities that dot the outer deltas. While most of their number live in communes deep in the wilderness, many Grippli travel the waterways on rafts, trading, fishing, and traveling simply for the fun of it. Most Grippli are strongly attached to their native homeland, however a sizeable enclave has developed in the cisterns and sewers beneath Feldri’s streets. These squalid shanties are dangerous though and there are those Grippli who decide to seek their fortunes on boats, hoping one day to afford to live above ground along the beautiful river front and canals. Grippli are nimble and cunning but small and slightly built, gaining +2 to Dexterity and Wisdom, while suffering a -2 to Strength.

Human

Humans are the common denominator of the entire continent on which the nations mentioned here reside. The youngest yet most populous of the races, Humans are gifted with incredible adaptability and diversity but live relatively short lives compared to most races, rarely surpassing 100 years. Throughout the Crucible States, Humans are found living in cities and towns ruled most often by hereditary nobles or merchant councils. In Aigados, Humans live as second class citizens, holding seats in the Senate but rarely getting their way where it conflicts with the ruling Koinoi. South in Rijan, Tuar, and Kulvin the majority of the commonfolk are human, though the blood of Genies flows through nearly everyone’s veins to some extent, there humans usually defer rulership to the elemental races, seeing the purity of their blood as drawing them closer to the divinity of the genies. All sorts of things drive Humans to life at sea, they are as varied as grains of sand, an uncaring observer may see bland uniformity but under closer scrutiny is discovered infinity variety. Humans receive a +2 bonus to one attribute.

Halfling

Two kinds of halfling are found commonly in Artan Bay, the more numerous are the Urbini. As the name suggests they are most often found living as townies in densely packed enclaves built to their scale, some of these are simple farming towns in the countryside where they seek quiet, sleepy lives, while others are found wedged into Bigfolk cities. Though today most of the city is built to a larger scale, Feldri was in fact originally built by Urbini, though much of the grander engineering dates to the Ascren Empire. Urbini believe strongly in taking care of their own and often see themselves as under threat from the machinations of Bigfolk. Urbini may no longer own Feldri but in the criminal underworld it’s well known the best thieves and con artists come from these quiet and unassuming smallfolk, Urbini gain the Resourceful alternative racial trait. The other common variety of Halfling are the Asphonans. West beyond the ocean lies an archipelago of lush jungle islands. This is the land of Asphona, few other humanoid races inhabit this land besides Halflings, however the Asphonans are always on guard against attack by the large creatures that dwell there, sharks, crocodiles, snakes, birds, and even dragons. They have developed into fearsome warriors and competent sailors, slicing through the waves on catamarans and windboards. The seasonal monsoons created by the bronze dragon mating season in Winter sometimes catch these vessels, pushing them ahead of the storm across the ocean to Artan Bay. Other times Asphonans come as captives on Orcish slave ships destined for Kulvin. Their adaption to life in these jungle islands has given them the Deep Jungle alternative racial trait. Halflings are sly and nimble but small, gaining +2 Dexterity and Charisma with -2 Strength.

Half-Elf

Elves are often beautiful or at least striking in appearance. The prolific cultural pressure of the Koinoi has given humans something of a warped beauty standard as they often compare themselves with artistic renditions of elven forms and find themselves wanting. While there may be conflict between Humans and Elves, both races love drama and often end up interbreeding. While such partnerships are doomed by the shortness of Human lives and the capriciousness of Elves, they do often result in children. In Aigados such children more often stay with the human parent as Koinoi parents tend not to invest heavily in children, instead handing them off to professionals. In the Crucible States such children are often in some amount of danger due to the ethnic tensions of their people, many move to Feldri seeking safer or better lives for their children in a more cosmopolitan world. But life in Feldri can be harsh and discriminatory. Often the best chance a young Half-Elf has of making it in the world is a life of adventuring. In Cymrin though Half-Elves have a very different experience. The nobility there are predominately Half-Elf including the royal family and among the commonfolk of Cymrin they are treated with immediate deference on the off chance that they have noble blood. Half-Elves have a +2 bonus to one attribute of their choice.

Half-Orc

Orcs are savage brutish creatures who revel in violence and cruelty, however the same could be said of some humans. While the slavers of Tarat Brigdesh are persona-non-grata, many of the orcish pirates of Grotar have caught onto the fact that they will be allowed to trade in the rougher free ports and Feldri as long as they reserve their raiding for the Kulvinese. The Kulvinese are skilled warriors and this challenge keeps the Grotari entertained. When these pirates then arrive in port with treasure to spend they often head straight for the nearest brothel. Many a half-orc has been born this way, growing up in port towns where they often feel out of place, eventually heading to sea themselves. Half-Orcs are welcome among the Grotari who see the value in a more well spoken and charismatic negotiator when dealing with port authorities and merchants. Along the Orumic Coast and on the Isle of Orum itself though there is a very different story to Half-Orcs. Few true orcs remain in the region as they slowly interbred with humans until they had more or less ceased to exist. Orc blood runs thick in the veins of the Orumic and while some would suggest this is the cause of their quarrelsome nature, many find pride in their ancestry. It wasn’t always this way but the priesthood of Idnarra’s arrival changed attitudes greatly, where once half-orcs hunched over in shame they walk tall and proud. In honor of Idnarra many Orumic Half-Orcs call themselves dogs. Half-Orcs can choose one attribute to give a +2 bonus. They also have the option to take the Sea Raider alternative racial trait.

Ifrit

Ifrit are the descendants of humans who have interbred with Efreeti, Azer, or one of the other denizens of Arrush: the Elemental Plane of Fire. Most commonly found in Kulvin and Rijan, the Ifrit have a warrior culture. In Rijan the Fire Clan is a system of hereditary nobility dominated by the Ifrit, their mixed lineage makes them masterful sorcerers and agile fighters, in the caste system of Suriyanism: the guiding doctrine of Rijan, it is the duty of the Ifrit to use their gifts to protect the weak and destroy the wicked. The Kulvinese on the other hand espouse the supremacy of their kind, believing it their right by power to enslave the lesser races of the world. Beyond their homelands, Ifrit are found often as mercenaries, sellspells, merchants, and bards. The exodus from Rijan after the war included many of their number who were routed in battle and left home rather than face the shame of their failure. Some of their numbers have become opportunistic pirates in the Gulf of Toz striking the Kulvinese where they can and stealing from merchants and islanders to fuel their revenge. In Feldri, there is a small enclave based around a mercenary company of Rijani expatriates and Kulvinese defectors, they take contracts from merchants and nobles in the Crucible States and are said to occasionally intervene to protect other Suriyan worshippers. Ifrit may be treated with suspicion if mistaken for the Kulvinese but they are famed for their strong personalities with a +2 to Charisma, their frames are usually long and muscled giving them +2 Dexterity, but the fire burning in their hearts is easily stoked, they are prone to quick anger and reactions garnering -2 Wisdom. Kulvinese Ifrit can take the Fire Starter alternative racial trait and Rijani can take the Brazen Heart alternative racial trait.

Ratfolk

Natives of the urban sprawl of the Crucible States, little is known about the origins of these diminutive peoples. Some say they are dire rats given intelligence by druids to spite the now fallen Ascren Empire. Others suggest that they are the spawn of the rat-faced god of pestilence. No one has yet discovered the true answer, what is known is the Ratfolk are clever and tenacious. The Empire tried to wipe them out but they eluded them in the vast networks of tunnels and sewers that run beneath the cities of the Crucible States. With time people have gentled in their attitudes towards ratfolk but still they are often mistreated. Feldri doesn’t allow them to live above ground and they are routinely denied entry to Aigadosi ports as a plague risk. Despite these prejudicial attitudes many ratfolk remain defiant, forging their own destiny and forming close companionships with those good souls who recognize their personhood. Their tiny hands are nimble and their minds are sharp, giving them +2 to Dexterity and Intelligence, but their diminutive stature imposes a -2 Strength upon them.

Sylph

Children of humans and djinni, the Sylphs are natives of Rijan however many of their number live rambling nomadic lifestyles. When Kulvin conquered the coastal territories of Rijan is forced many Sylphs to relocate, some headed south into deeper Rijan but many others sought shelter with relatives living in Tuar, Aigados, and even Feldri. Everywhere they went they found robust networks of their kin and cousins the Windborn. True nomads and descendants of an earlier exodus from Rijan, the Windborn control vast trade networks ranging across Ib into Nashto and overland to the Gulf of Toz and Aigados. From there nomadic sea clans of Sylphs carry on the goods as they travel in large civilian flotillas carrying exotic goods from far and wide as they travel from port to port. It is said the Windborn retain the knowledge of hidden islands, shrouded paradises one ruled by their extraplanar ancestors. These hidden islands act as refuges for the flotillas, a welcome respite as they are frequently preyed upon by Kulvinese and Orcish slavers. Sylphs are canny merchants and artisans, skilled in many crafts. Both the Rijani and Windborn Sylphs have robust wizarding traditions and create wondrous items to rival the greatest artisans of the Dwarves. Their style of spellcraft is markedly different to that of the hedgewizards and university mages of the Crucible States, relying on intricate calligraphic diagrams and a more attuned sense of religious significance. Quick witted and light on their feet, Sylphs receive +2 Dexterity and Intelligence, however they are slightly built and plagued by a host of strange inherited illnesses, taking a -2 Constitution penalty. Windborn can take the Weather Savvy alternative racial trait. Rijani can take the Air Insight alternative racial trait.

Undine

With their webbed fingers, blue skin, and strangely thin frames Undine are considered by many to be one of the more alien races of the material plane. They are the children of Humans and Marids, the capricious genies of water. As their ancestry suggests, Undine have always found supernatural affinity with the waters. Their homeland in Rijan was conquered 25 years ago by the Kulvinese and many of their number have been cruelly enslaved, shipped to the dry, salty desert to wither and die. But the Undine are a proud and cunning people and have adapted, in partnership with Windborn many Undine have taken to the sea as merchants and pirates where once they were priests and fisherfolk. The island of Tuar was originally settled by an Undine pirate queen and many of them still reside there. What Undine are found in Feldri live in a seaside enclave where they have tried to hold onto their ancient traditions, fishing the fertile deltas and warm currents of the bay. Others have not so easily forgotten the injustices done to their people by the Kulvinese and carry out a holy crusade against their sworn enemies. Undine are deeply religious, paying great reverence to their ancestors and natural spirits around them, gaining +2 Wisdom. Their movements are lithe and graceful, granting them +2 Dexterity, however they are physically weak, their narrow frames not supporting a great deal of muscle and so have -2 Strength. Undine can take the Amphibious or Deepsight alternative racial traits.

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