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mass-effect-galaxy · 3 months

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Another Baldur's Gate 3 Roleplaying Idea: The House Baenre Retrainer

After the concept for the "good drow", the Eilistraee Sworddancer, here is an idea for an "evil drow": The House Baenre Retrainer. She is one of the assassins of Minthara's mother. She is comparably young and holds no official rank in Lady Baenre's retinue, so Minthara doesn't know her.

She calls herself Jezzara, sometimes also Ssizzara or Shessara. She is no nobility but a classical rouge assassin from the depth of Menzoberranzan. That's why Lady Baenre entrusts her with the most delicate family matters. No one knows Jezzara and her connections to House Baenre, and since she hasn't the habit of leaving behind witnesses, it stays that way.

Her current assignment, however, is a rescue mission: Minthara has gone to the surface with her entire retinue in pursuit of some bizzar cult. No one has heard of them since then and Minthara's mother is worried sick. Of course, she can't show openly that, despite all the times those two tried to kill each other, she still cares about her daughter. That would be a show of weakness and an invitation for the rest of Menzoberranzan to use Minthara to get to the head of the house.

In fact, Lady Baerne wouldn't even admit it to Minthara. So, Jezzara has strict orders to not tell Minthara that she was sent after her, let alone by whom. Jezzara's orders are to go to the surface, find Minthara, get her out of whatever trouble she has gotten herself into, and bring her back alive; failing that, to kill everyone and their next of kin who could be held responsible for the death of Minthara and recover Minthara's body. You don't fuck with House Baerne and life to tell the tale.

Of course, getting infected by Mindflayers wasn't part of the plan, nor was falling in love with the target.

Roleplay-wise, this is a typical red-eyed drow: arrogant, ruthless, cruel. She doesn't care about the surfacers. She is here to do a job, not to make merry with faeries like Shadowheart and Astarion, let alone an abomination like Lae'Zel (a drow would rather tolerate an illithid than a githyanki). So, if companions are recruited at all, she considers them "helpers" not "friends" and plans to kill them after the job is done (the "no witnesses" part).

Because we will destroy the grove, no point in recruiting Wyll and Karlach. Gale would be a no-go too: Jezzara is a sellsword and that way quite greedy. There is no chance that she would feed valuable magical items to some wizard tramp.

While Jezzara doesn't care about the other companions, Minthara's wishes are her creed. This also includes the ending.

#baldur’s gate 3 #baldurs gate 3 #bg3 #minthara #minthara baenre #drow #roleplay

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kit-williams · 4 months

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Zahirah Bint Qarmzi

She has some homebrew stuff that I will try to explain but probably do terribly. This is my current character in the D&D game that this AU is drawing inspiration from

Zahirah Bint Qarmzi Class: Sword Dancer of Alexandros (think fighter-cleric-bard hybrid) Personal Deity: Zafirah Arif Alignment: Neutral Good

The Deity Zafirah Arif is the goddess of death and joy

Sworddancers are both her warriors and clerics... they celebrate her funerary rites as well as protect others

It is better to go down dancing with laughter in your voice

The church has their hand in all levels of Alexandros and its not a party without a sworddancer to grace it

They don't have vows of celibacy

They aren't picky as to who calls their services even the undead buried in the desert will ask for a dancer to court their halls when the sands receed

Now onto Zahirah

She is between the 2nd to 6th child of Magnus and his wife, she is not from one of the two concubines.

She is very close to her twin brothers Ahzek and Ohrmuzd they are the eldest and like their counterparts inherited quite powerful magic from their father

Magnus has a habit of naming his children after powerful magical beings or deities from his home realm, the boys tend to be space marines while the girls after goddesses

But when Zahirah was born Magnus and his wife could not feel an ounce of magic from her. And Magnus did not want to give her a name that did not fit or burden her with expectations

He had locked himself in his study days after she was born trying to figure out what to call her till his wife came in with the unnamed baby girl

'All those names I had chosen before... none will fit. I feel no magic at all from her.' Magnus said looking down mournfully at the little girl 'Perhaps it will come to her later.' His wife spoke and Magnus held his tongue as he could feel no spark of magic at all unlike other humans here who had some modicum of magic in them he felt none at all from her. 'She still needs a name dear. And you as the husband and father have final say.' Magnus groaned at his wife as she was so powerful so amazing that she didn't need to hold herself to silly tradition! She could be her own woman and bring others to their knees! Yet perhaps that's why he loved her? She had such power at her fingertips and was humble about it... he took the tiny frail thing. He remembers back upon Prospero having seen others given birth... he could not stop the smile... babies were rather cutely ugly things, eyes too big for their head, tiny and oddly old looking. But she was his cute little ugly thing. He held her as the sky was clear and walked over to the balcony, magic swirling around her to keep her warm from the chill of the night. He looked up at the stars all unfamiliar and all wrong but when he looked down at her she opened her eyes the blue grey capturing the light of the stars. 'Zahirah...' He whispered. His little star... she would be their starlight

Her nickname from her father is Starlight

She has a childhood friend in a blue dragon that she used a wish spell on to save his life, he is also the one who would send her admirer letters when she became a sword dancer (he is determined on making her the crowning jewel of his hoard)

However she quickly learned early on that no one wanted to marry her as being from a powerful sorcerer family led to expectations. Younger siblings would find mates over her and many would try to renegotiate if it was found out that they were meeting Zahirah.

Her jealousy over the fact that she was unwanted would grow into a bitter ugly thing to the point she determined that if no one wanted her she would be come the object of desire of all and none could have her

She became the object of attention in all the courts of Alexandros. Her long dark red hair and her slightly reddened skin meant everyone knew what her breeding was and suddenly she was desired but no one could keep her attention... no amount of money could keep her in a man's court or keep her in their bed.

She broke many hearts and lust kept many more after her

Her right eye, like all children of Magnus, has a tattoo on it that gives it an eye of Ra appearance and the rumor among her siblings is that their father can look through their eyes should the mark be visible. Now she can't turn it off but she can cover it up with makeup

Her favorite weapon is a kopesh; she has one from her father that when she activates the small magical effect on it in a dark room. Projects the stars that would be overhead at him

Magnus is overly protective of his non magical daughter afraid that the flesh change will take hold of her

She was never allowed to leave Alexandros for long but one night she left spurred on about the way her father would speak about his brother in arms A man who held to many secrets; A man who enraptured all who saw him; An artisan with no equal; A khan that always tried to race the wind; A wolf in the shape of a man; A builder who could build a castle out of sand; A prince of bats; One with wings as white as snow... as gentle as his soul but hid the depths of his rage; A man with silver hands; A man who knew only pain and rage but a depth of understanding no equal; A leader among men; A man who shared a crib with pestilence and death; A man with the drive no even gods can stop; A man with unfaltering faith; A smith with no equal; A prince of crows; And trickster twins When asked what he was called he would simply say The crimson king or with a chuckle the red cyclops

So she left without telling her parents where she was going and started to collect her 'cousins in arms'

Of course she was very much in trouble when she contacted her family when there was an incident involving demons in gold and her family found out she was alive.

She very much sees herself as a pretty face as she loves to dance, seeing herself less of the cleric side of her order but she has been trained in the funerary rites

This art by @guiborba-art is honestly the inspiration for actually taking this idea further than just 'oh what if children of primarch' idea and making it be a brain worm in my head for years.

#warhammer 40k #d&d #warhammer 40k au #noblebright #d&d au #OC #Zahirah #Magnus the red #Magnus

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eohpmdsteams · 1 year

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Team Sworddance’s entry for Mission 5 part 1: Mountain climbing

Bluey and Bastion make their way up the Dragonspire alongside many other guild teams. But there is more than just snow and bitter cold waiting for them in this sea of white.

story below the read more (Word Count 2,433)

Characters cameoed:

Group NPC’S: Percy & Bramble

Members from other teams: Chess, Hana, and Zion

Daunting.

That's what Bastion thought as they made their way through the thick snow-laden pass. The guilds had been traveling for days up the sides of the steep peaks of Dragonspire Mountain. The deafening sound of snow and ice crunching beneath not only his own weight, but the many other creatures drudging their way up the mountain mixed with whistles of wind winding through the chasms, peaks, and trees, and the ever-growing irritation of ice forming in the crevices where his blades were sheathed, followed by the sickening crunching of said ice each time he flexed his blades in and out to break the ice away. The chill air nipped at his thick hide and stung/ his sinuses with each breath of air he took and the ever-confusing soup that was the mingling scents of dozens of different species and pokemon traveling together. It was all so overwhelming. Every mile they claimed of this fridged pass drove him to be further on edge.

While Bastion did not feel cold thanks to his towering size and bulk mixed with his sturdy steel typing, he could tell the same was not said for many of the others who traveled with them. He had noticed several grass types beginning to fall behind or start to lose much of the plant life that grew on their bodies. His eyes moved from Bluey trudging easily through the snow in front of him, to officer Percy who seemed to take several strides ahead before he’d stop and wait for his brother to close the gap between them. Bastion sighed letting out a mass of fog from his breath as his eyes fixed on officer Bramble and part of him felt nothing but sheer pity for the Cacturne. This trek must have been a living hell for this desert native. And his own partner Bluey, despite her small size seemed to be moving faster than him through the thick snow.

But as much as Bastion wanted to press forward and pick up their pace to get them through the pass faster, Bluey was insistent on not letting Bramble fall too far behind. While he could understand her worry for the Cacturne and not wanting to leave him or his brother who she fancied behind, there was part of Bastion who was not fond of how much longer it was making this journey. Why the guilds insisted on allowing Grass and Bug types to make this journey baffled him. It’s almost as if they willingly sent some of these ‘mon to their deaths.

He was pulled from his own thoughts when he heard Bluey shout, “The weather is getting worse maybe we should make camp and get under some shelter!”

-Drauzen said we all had to get through the pass as quickly as possible- Bastion signed as he shook snow and ice off of his body with ease. -We do not require any shelter. I want to make it to the ridge before nightfall-

“Miss Bluey brings up a good idea tho! The weather is really starting to do a number on Bramble.” Percy said whilst he halted so his younger brother could catch up, before frowning “His legs are starting to turn a weird color.”

“Yeah…I don’t like how much ice is stuck on his hat either.” Bluey said with a shake of her head, “Are you doing ok Bramble? Do you wanna stop now and get warmed up a bit before we keep going? No one is gonna mind if you need to get warmed up.”

Bramble gave a nod and motioned with his hands that he was ok to push forward a little bit longer, but it was clear to the rest of the group that he was absolutely miserable in this weather.

“You sure you’ll be ok? Your legs look as purple as Wiki Berries.” Percy frowned.

“I’m making the executive decision we find a proper place to bunker down. Because I really don't like how that looks.” Bluey said as she began digging the snow away from the trunk of a tree, “Here we can hunker down here in the root system. Bastion put those new claws of yours to work and give me a hand to hallow this out! You too Percy!” She chuffed pointing at the dent she had made in the trunk of a large dead tree. Bastion let a deep throaty groan rumble in his chest before he stepped forward and began to carve through the frozen soil as Bluey and Percy carefully sliced the bark from the trunk tree in large wide sheets to form a barrier to cover the den Bastion had started to hollow out. It took roughly an hour to make it large enough to fit more than one of them, during that time Bluey had managed to make a fire by striking her blades against rocks to light it, and during that time she tossed rocks into the base of the fire before pulling them out once warm enough and had filled the entire bottom of the den with hot rocks which she covered with the branches and leaves of the neighboring pine trees so that it was warm in the den but the rocks wouldn’t Burn either of them, especially Bramble’s legs.

“Where did you learn to do this Miss Bluey?” Percy asked from the spot he had settled down on, next to his brother, who seemed far more comfortable now with his frigid legs resting on the warm, soft, pine nettles. The purple color slowly started to fade.

“Oh, my grandfather. My pappy Verde used to travel a lot when he was in a guild, and he was the only one on his team who did poorly in cold climates. This was one of the many tricks he taught me that helped him out when he had to deal with these kinds of places. He was a Cacturne too, funny enough!” She said with a smile as she sealed the entrance with the bark sheets, leaves, snow, and branches.

“So long as we don’t pop this open until we are ready to leave the temperature should stay comfortably warm for several hours, especially with four of us in here. Hopefully, it doesn't take too long for Bramble to warm up. If anything, it gives the teams further down the mountain a chance to catch up and moving in a bigger group may be best.” She sighed sitting next to Bastion, “Still can’t believe we lost track of Drauzen. Man, that Gallade is quick! But I’m sure we will catch him at the base camp we’re all supposed to gather at on the other side of the ridge.”

“Yeah, I think it's the last ridge before the final stretch to where that library is supposed to be,” Percy said as he picked some ice off his arm, “I don’t like the cold either.”

“Perfect! Well since we’ll be here for a bit while Bramble recuperates, why don’t we have something to eat while we wait? Luckily Bash and I stocked up with plenty of rations for this climb so we should have plenty to share if you two are hungry! I can cut it up small enough for Bramble to be able to have some too, it may help warm you up too! It's a bit spicy, 'cause we used a curry recipe from our homelands to season the meat, but it's perfect to warm someone up when it's this cold!” She chirped.

The mention of food easily peaked the attention of the other two, especially Percy. Bastion couldn’t help but wonder if that Bisharp was a bottomless pit. Regardless he began to tune out their conversations and reclined back against the wall of the den. If they were going to be here for a while, he was going to get a nap in, once comfortable he signed for Bluey to wake him after the storm had passed. However, as he dosed off, he felt an off sensation that something wasn’t quite right, but he brushed it off as him still being overwhelmed from the assault on his senses from earlier. Though it had done little to shake the weird smell of death he thought he picked up in the wind.

Soon, much sooner than he would have liked, Bastion was stirred from his slumber by Bluey’s firm shaking of his shoulder. He flashed her a tired grumpy glare as she shoved him some more, “C’Mon up you get lazy bones! Brambles got most of his color back and the storms calmed down enough outside that we can keep moving!” She smiled as she removed the barricade that plugged the entrance.

Bastion groaned as he arched his back in a large lazy stretch before sitting up and shuffling out from the den after the others, once able to fully stand he gave another big stretch before following the others. While the snowfall had slowed, he noticed just how much actually fell during his nap. With the soft powder now coming up to his ankle, it must have snowed well over a foot over those few hours. But as his eyes scanned the area the evidence of more teams having recently passed by was clear from a mix of footsteps and mini trenches made in the snow. As the group walked along for another 3 hours, they finally caught up to the group that had passed them as those on the tail end came into sight. “Oh look there are the rest of the teams! We must be getting close now since so many teams are coming through this area. I can’t wait to get off this mountain, the light reflecting off the snow has been bugging my eyes.” Bluey said while rubbing at her face.

“What about you guy’s happy to get off this mou-” Bluey suddenly stopped as she turned and looked over at Bastion, “hey Bash, you ok?”

But Bastion didn’t respond. Mostly because he didn’t even register Bluey had spoken to him. His eyes were fixated on something east of them. He swore he heard something. It was quiet and barely audible over the sound of pokemon walking past him. But he knew he heard something…or someone, crying. And without a moment's notice, a cloud of white was kicked up as Bastion charged toward the direction he was certain he heard the noise. He didn’t even pay mind to Bluey shouting after him as he vanished into the thicket of the trees, his mind hyper-fixated on what he was sure was a child’s cry. And from the smell of iron, he began to pick up on as he continued forward, he was certain he was heading in the correct direction. He stopped for only a moment to silence the sound of his own heavy footsteps and waited, his eyes scanning the tree lines and the snowbanks around him as he waited, for a smell, the sight of movement, or a sound.

And after several minutes of silence’ it was the sound of snow behind him that caught his attention, turning to look he spotted Bluey who angrily threw a clump of snow at him, “Wha’cha run off for you dingus!?” she barked.

And there it was as if reinvigorated by the sound of someone's voice both Bastion and Bluey heard it. The faintest cry of what had to be a hatchling came from the direction of a heavy smell of iron just beyond the rocks in front of them.

“Hold up is that a baby crying? Wait Bastion hold up!” She said as she tried to grab his leg, missing as he climbed over the boulders with ease. “Show off...” She grumbled.

However, what Bastion saw on the other side of the rocks was a scene far different than what they had seen on the rest of the mountain. Instead of an endless sea of white with grey rocks and green pines, there was a lake of red and a pungent smell of death. Looking around Bastion managed to count 13 Sneasels and Weaviles strewn around this clearing. From the looks of the area whatever happened here happened within the last few hours, though he couldn’t be sure of an exact time, but long enough that the culprit was long gone, and not even their scent remained.

“By the great mothers, what happened here?” Bluey gasped as she managed to clamor over the rock and landing with a thud on the other side.

-Feral.- Bastioned signed with a deep growl as he began the circle the area, smelling every crack and crevice he could spot.

“It didn’t eat any of them…A turned ‘mon you thin-” and she was cut off by a throaty hiss as Bastion angrily signed for her to be quiet. “Don’t you fuckin’ hiss at me.” -Shut your yap! I’m trying to listen!- He then returned to circling the clearing before a tiny whimper finally caught his attention.

It came from what looked like a small burrow under some twisted roots and rock. Getting down onto all fours Bastion peered into the hole and his cerulean eyes locked with a pair of mint eyes staring right back. Tucked as far back as its tiny body could hide was what had to be the smallest Sneasel cub he’d ever seen. She couldn’t have been more than a few weeks old she was so frighteningly tiny.

“What is it? What did you find?” Bluey asked squeezing her head into the hole right next to his, “Oh my god…she’s so little.”

Bastion shoved Bluey out of his way as he reached into the hole and ever so gently scooped the small shivering purple ball of fuzz. She was practically frozen by how cold she felt against his metal. How could she have survived so long in this weather, he had no idea, but he wasted no time removing his bandana and cocooning her with it before pulling her close to his chest to warm her up against his body while he used his massive hands to shield her from the cold. He turned to look down at Bluey before scooping her up with his other arm and making a b-line for the direction of the ridge campsite. Storming past Percy and Bramble and refusing to slow down until Bluey practically screeched for him to take it easy. However, once he spotted the tents and fires of the base camp, he sprinted as fast as he could toward Cherri’s tent. The whimpering infant having finally warmed up enough that the campsite filled with her wailing.

To be continued in part 2…Monsters of Memory Lane.

#blueythepawniard #bastionthepawniard #bastionthebisharp #percythebisharp #bramblethecacturne #group related #group entry #group mission entry #story #long post

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