#wheres the kobold wheres the goblin or orc wheres the dragon

[koko2unite]

don't call yourself an epic fantasy if the furthest you go is a young elf

#wow our party is so diverse we have 1 elf and 2 human #literally shut up #wheres the kobold wheres the goblin or orc wheres the dragon #like not even dragon girl

[coreene]

There is a whole chapter on the traits dnd races give regards to sex and pregnancy. I'm only sharing the races we see in bg3 here.

source: The 5e Guide to Sex (unofficial)

Transcript under the cut

AASIMAR

Aasimar views on sex vary wildly from one individual to the next; however, many aasmiar are known for their physical beauty and force of personality that makes them quite alluring.

Seductive. You have advantage on Charisma checks to seduce someone

DRAGONBORN

Like aaracokra, dragonborn are not a particularly sensual people. However, they are known for their robustness and toughness, which do translate well in the bedchambers.

Enduring. You have advantage on Constitution checks made to avoid exhaustion from having sex more than once in an hour.

DWARF

Most dwarf clans view sex as strictly for procreation between a husband and wife. However, dwarves thoroughly encourage a husband and wife to get it on as often as possible, so as to increase the size of the clan and counteract their relatively low fertility.

Enduring. You have advantage on Constitution checks made to avoid exhaustion from having sex more than once in an hour.

Infertile. You have disadvantage on checks to impregnate (if male) or become pregnant (if female)

ELF

Elves are an alluring, sensual race that greatly benefits from their long lives where matters of sex are concerned. When one can live nearly a millennium, one tends to pick up quite a few tricks, particularly since elven culture is fairly permissive and lax about sexual adventures.

Imaginative. You have advantage on Wisdom saving throws made to endure foreplay.

Infertile. You have disadvantage on checks to impregnate (if male) or become pregnant (if female)

GOBLINOID

The three goblinoid races – goblins, hobgoblins, and bugbears – have sex often, principally as a means of producing children. Powerful goblinoids will often take multiple partners as a sign of their strength and power, but goblinoids lack style and finesse with their sex.

Fertile. You have advantage on checks to impregnate (if male) or become pregnant (if female).

GNOME

Gnomes enjoy sex almost recreationally. They are not one for forming close attachments to individuals, but rather to the community as a whole. Group sex is common, and the gnomish love of pranks and jests is a fundamental part of their sex lives.

Imaginative. You have advantage on Wisdom saving throws made to endure foreplay.

HALF-ELF

Half-elves tend to view sex like either humans or elves, depending on who raised them. Their natural charm aids them well, although many half-elves suffer awkward first years in spite of this: they reach puberty later than humans and so “fall behind” their human friends’ interest in sex, while those raised by elves mature rapidly and desire sexual activity at a younger age than their peers.

Seductive. You have advantage on Charisma checks to seduce someone.

HALF-ORC

Half-orcs, like their full-blooded kin, tend to like sex rough and are innately promiscuous. While some find their semi-orcish appearance unattractive, there are plenty others for whom that is their fetish – which is well rewarded once they get into bed.

Enduring. You have advantage on Constitution checks made to avoid exhaustion from having sex more than once in an hour.

HALFLING

Halflings don’t really need an excuse to party, and a natural result of partying tends to be sex sooner or later. Halflings have no particular kinks or skills beyond what other races have, though many halflings find the idea of sex with larger humanoids surprisingly alluring, given

how often they otherwise hate being treated by them.

Halflings gain no racial traits related to sex.

HUMAN

Human perceptions on sex run the gamut from restrictive to permissive, depending on the time period and culture. Particularly in the fantasy worlds of Dungeons & Dragons, no generalizations can be made.

Humans gain no racial traits related to sex.

KOBOLD

In most D&D worlds, kobolds lack a sex drive altogether. Sex is exclusively for procreation, with those rare kobolds who do derive pleasure and thrill from it being seen as weird at best and degenerate at worst. Even “love” is a foreign concept to most kobolds, with many viewing it as a sort of mental illness.

Fertile. You have advantage on checks to impregnate (if male) or become pregnant (if female)

TIEFLING

Like aasimars, tieflings have few unifying views on sex and sexual relations. Their physical appearance can be darkly alluring to some, however, giving them a natural seductiveness regardless of their own personal tastes.

Seductive. You have advantage on Charisma checks to seduce someone

#Forgotten Realms #dnd #dnd lore #dungeons and dragons #d&d #dungeons & dragons #The 5e Guide to Sex #this is from an unofficial book - dont take it as canon #Bloody tumblr on mobile sending the queued posts when I was just trying to edit

[the-gnomish-bastard]

What video game each dnd species plays:

Aasimar play Kid Icarus or something like that.

Arakocra play Bird Simulator.

Bugbears play literally any game where they can bully someone.

Beholders have the best gaming setup possible, and they will play For Honor and be as scummy as possible.

Dwarves will play Minecraft, and if you steal or grief, they will hunt you down until you leave the server. Except for Duergar. They play DRG.

Elves play League of Legends and they will trash talk you and it will be Shakespearean.

Goblins play Payday, they will try to stealth, it will go loud.

Dragons play Skyrim, just so they can kill wyverns.

For gnomes, it’s a bit different. Forest Gnomes play stardew valley, rock gnomes play scrap mechanic, and deep gnomes play DRG.

Orcs play ARK.

Hobgoblins play Shadow of Mordor.

Kobolds play TF2, they all play pyro.

Halflings play slime rancher.

Giff play shotgun roulette.

Demons play Doom Eternal just so they can fuck with hell.

Devils and Fey both play ace attorney.

Thri-keen play Roblox Ant Simulator.

Goliaths play Mike Tyson’s Punch Out.

Liches play Killing Floor 2.

Angels think Video games are pointless.

The mechanus play satisfactory.

Mindflayers play Sea of Thieves, trying to find cool shit.

The Gith play Sea of Thieves, they keep sinking the mindflayers and hunting down the kraken.

The gods play God of War because they don’t like each other.

And the Tarrasque really wants to get into PC gaming but nobody has one his size.

#dnd #dungeons and dragons #d&d #dnd races

[feudalismoffire]

Hello folks, so today I am here with two dnd ocs, Launairk and Landishura, really liked how they ended up, I think its the most 2D disney-ish artstyle I have come up yet, especially Launairk, and my new oc that will appear in the story, Landishura, the copper dragon,

Ah yeah, go read it!!!!!! The Smiling Red Wyrm Part 1/?

but well, now a bit about the two:

----------

Launairk:

Status: Alive

Gender: Male

Race: Red Dragon

Alignment: Lawful Good

Personality Traits:

- Ambitious: Launairk has as much ambition and greedy as any red dragon and he is ready to go above and beyond to reach his goals

- Merciful: He is a merciful dragon and does not believe spilling blood senselessly is the key to achieve any of his goals, for the value of the lesser races' work far outvalues their destruction

- Diplomatic: He is diplomatic and prefers to create deals and partnerships instead of the bloody subjulgation and conquest of the lesser races, such deals cause his reputation to split between a respectable dealer and a disgrace to the chromatic dragonkind.

- Protective: Launairk will fight to death to protect himself, his hoard and subjects and won't allow any danger to come to them in the first place

Background:

Launairk, once a hatchling from a clutch of a red dragoness in the southern mountains of Faerun, would come to see the actions of his kind as malicious and disgusting, thing the young dragon was later outcasted for, harder than his siblings after the fateful day their mother wouldn't take care of them anymore.

The young dragon moved north, to the Spine of the World mountains, where he came in contact of a local fishing village. After firstly cold steps, they warmed to him and vice-versa, Launairk become the defender of the village, as well as settling up his kobold followers in the base of the mountain, where they started mining to add to his hoard, eventually completely stopping his raids to trade caravans.

At this moment, he has big plans for the village, to turn into a trade empire, rich enough to fill his own hoard, and of course, with him at the top of it and a lesser member as the official ruler of it. Aside a few attacks here and there, orcs, goblins and white dragons, his plans are going on motion, his biggest troublemaker, however, is a peculiar copper dragon, as heroic and greedy as himself, Landishura.

------------------------------------------------

Landishura:

Status: Alive

Gender: Female

Race: Copper Dragon

Alignment: Chaotic Evil

Personality Traits:

- Greedy: Through her unquenchable greed, there's nothing she won't do to gain a very easy and quick coin, which includes the less heroic and noble stuff, of course

- Jokester: As a proud copper dragon, she is a jokester and loves to make jokes, puns and pranks over whoever she meets. Long ago, of course, those harmless funnies become something far darker and chaotic, to not laugh or enjoy her jokes brings death

- Nosy: Under her human disguise, there's very little Landishura can't uncover about anyone and everyone, these information she holds dearly just in case she needs to perform a less than overdramatic presentation of one's wrong doings

- Impulsive: Due to her rather hot-tempered nature, Landishura always jump to opportunities, regardless of how ready she is to deal with the situation, and will do anything to gain her precious treasures to add to the hoard

Background:

Landishura once begun as your typical copper dragon, she flew around and joked and pranked over traders and curious individuals around her, and was overall a joyful and sociable dragon to have around. Her slow descent into madness and evil begun one day a party of adventurers raided her lair and tried to steal her treasure; While they were defeated, Landishura grew overzealous of her treasure and the desire to expand and protect it.

Most of all, she realized the relationships she nurtured over the years mattered little, a quick coin could turn even the most loyal of friends into enemies. And so she desired to apply such logic to herself, the desire of increasing her wealth so she could buy everyone as her friends would make her obsessed with it. She would later perform many tasks, missions and adventures in name of royal houses and towns in order to gain her hard earned wealth.

All her effort however, would be in vain once her lair was discovered by a red dragon, whom she could barely scratch the scales in the fight, forced to abandon all her hoard to it, she become crazy mad and removed all barriers in order to create her new hoard. Her flight made her follow the caravans to the north, into a remote populated place, where she could make her new hoard very far from preying eyes.

Until the moment she found Launairk, the both of them would clash a few times, Landishura believing his town's project had opportunities for herself, at the same time, her more proud and heroic sense trying to befriend the villagers and free them from what she thought to be the beginning of tyranny.

------------------------------------------------

Welp, so yeah, I went with a kinda of an ironic take, a good chromatic dragon versus an evil metallic dragon, and I will try to my fullest extent to never make them too evil or too good, they are individuals who are very self-serving, typical of dragons, and will portray themselves any way necessary to achieve their goals, from a merciful tyrant to a pride hero.

#copperdragon #digitalart #dragon #dragonart #oc #ocs #reddragon #dragonartwork #dragonoc #dnddragon #art #simplegeneraldraws #dndcharacter #dungeonsanddragons #dungeons_and_dragons #dungeonsanddragonscharacter #dungeonsanddragonsart #dndcharacterart

[silversiren1101]

Veera seems like a cinnamon roll, I'd love to know if she's problematic 👀

Waited until we finished book 5 of Curse of the Crimson Throne!

Veera is my pf1e Slayer/Vigilante, now level 15. She is the daughter of Vudran immigrants in Korvosa, and has taken up the mantle of local vigilante in her efforts to take down a tyrannical queen choking the life of her city. She's generally neutral good, a real goody two shoes! ...But she's also done/said some pretty dumb stuff.

Has never told her parents the truth about what she does and where she's been. She's out away for weeks and months at a time and they have no clue where is!

The above included when a crazy deadly plague was sweeping through the city and everyone was forced to quarantine. She was out and about never returning home! They probably thought she'd caught it and died out on the streets.

It continued when martial law was declared and brutally enforced.

It continued even more when the district they lived in was forcibly isolated and quarantined, and she couldn't even get back to her family. Her parents and small army of aunties and uncles were worried sick and had no way of knowing she was fine - much less fighting tyranny, devils, daemons, and fighting a cult of Urgathoa backed by the state.

And when she did reconnect with her family, she had the audacity to show up with NEON COLORED HAIR!?!? Her mom literally wept. (Thanks 'lightly cursed' chameleon ring).

She played Blood Pig. So many innocent little pigs... dead because of her...

Most of the time defaults to killing her foes rather than letting them live. Most are unrepentent or truly monsters at least...!

And yet among the people she has spared are Red Mantis assassins (Desna asked us to tbf)... Kuthonites... Nosferatu vampire guy... wererat terrorists... a sakhil... hags... AND

Decided to ally and work together with a rival Vudran business family (mafia) that her father has warned her against her whole life and she is like 99% sure are actually rakshasas

Of which said family had kidnapped the superhero vigilante she looked up to her whole life and had also kidnapped the city seneschal who is the only person who can oppose the tyrant queen legally and let them be tortured by asuras. Of which he said "whoopsie doodle I gave them express orders NOT to do that teethee." She was able to look past this.

When she found out the identity of the vigilante she spent her entire life idolizing, she was... not happy or nice about it. Refused to become his successor and chose her OWN vigilante identity, acting cold and spiteful about his inaction and failures to fix the mess of their city.

100% knowingly drank very poisoned "beer" from a goblin in a sewer as an intimidation tactic, crushed the fort save, and then cornered the goblin and tried to force them to drink it themselves (said goblin turned out to be a greater barghest so don't feel bad).

When her friend was bit by a wererat she told him it was okay he could just buy a cage and lock himself up at night. (He did jsdljskldja)

Nearly killed a gargantuan wurm connected with the plane of fire that's a literal living legend and sacred beast to local Shoanti tribes trying to get it to eat her friend to recreate a myth for clout with them

Said wurm kept refusing to eat him, so she let it eat her instead rather than risk letting it die which denied him, also a Shoanti, a key moment to connect with his culture and heritage. The experience wasn't spiritual for her. She rather hated it lol (mmm super heated wurm viscera)

Tricked kobolds into thinking we wanted to pledge ourselves to their red dragon master so that they'd take us to his lair. We killed them. And the dragon.

Cooperated with Kuthonites on numerous occasions, including helping them retake an ancient castle that's been cursed for 700 years and was the home of a divinely sent blue dragon super turbo tyrant warlord chosen by Zonny Boy himself.

This castle has been under watch by the local orcs because said dragon genocided them in the past and they have taken oaths to never let him rise again - we ended up having to kill one of them to get past... sorry guy...

Fought a graveknight and upon learning they're unkillable so long as their armor sticks around, opted to throw the armor into a well without its weapons and let the cleric seal it with wall of stone.

Fought a mummy lord and upon learning they ALSO are unkillable (except by a series of convoluted means), dragged the not-yet-regenerated corpse into a star tower (the zon-kuthon created nails in Rovagug's cage) and shackled it into adamantine manacles.

In said tower, a "curate" was needed to keep it from decaying and thus weakening Rovagug's cage. A divinely sent nightwing asked us if we wanted the job. Obviously not, we're Kuthonites. Veera wanted to offer the souls of their Kuthonite allies (stuck in gems thanks to a demilich obliterating their bodies) directly to it assuming they'd be cool with it and thrilled to go directly to Zon Kuthon... instead of, you know, being resurrected

They in fact were not cool with it. Upon bringing them back and telling them the situation they tried to kill each other to force the other into being the new curate. Veera intervened and brutalized the instigator so badly in a single round that he dragged himself over to the nightwing and begged to be saved by taking on the role.

And this is why her vigilante persona, Raja, is chaotic neutral, and she herself is neutral good :)

#oc: veera rao #curse of the crimson throne #honestly I know im forgetting shit #this has been a wild game #ask game #ask meme

[ludmithjacques]

BLOG POST

This is just a big post showing all my currently active(ish) blogs.

tyrannicalshiv - An erotic role play blog for Spades Slick, of Homestuck fame. This iteration of Spades Slick has over a decade of history from me specifically, so he’s fairly canon divergent. He was once part of an RP Ring called ‘Dominationstuck’ that imploded several years ago. It still happened in his canon, but most people who were in it aren’t about to associate with it. A side blog.

theblackkingofderse - An erotic role play blog for the Black King, of Homestuck fame. Originally created for ‘Dominationstuck’ I grew bored of him and axed him and his original blog, but eventually remade it here as an Indie. The history carried over though. A side blog.

bodiceburstingqueen - An erotic role play blog for the Black Queen, of Homestuck fame. Originally designed as an application for an RP Ring called ‘SaveScumStuck’, the role for the Ring’s BQ went to someone else, so I kept her for an Indie blog. Details can be found there. A side blog

troubledcentaurandcompany - An erotic role play blog featuring, a varied cast of original characters who were all created for a story I am writing, A Centaur’s Troubles. The core cast is a centaur, an elf, a goblin, an orc, and a kobold. All of them are cursed in various ways. Details can be found there. A side blog.

magicsugarbaby - A frequently-but-not-solely erotic role play blog for an Isekai-Dungeons & Dragons OC of mine originally made for a group that fell through when almost everyone simultaneously lost interest in the idea. A seperate blog.

wistfulgadget - An erotic role play for a depressed robot OC! A side blog.

turntechboobhead - An erotic roleplay blog featuring Dave Strider from homestuck, but with massive fake boobs. This blog is part of the Silicon-victs AU, where people are forced to get implants as a punishment for various crimes. A side blog.

ludmithrp - It’s me! It’s a self-insert, mun-play RP blog. It will be almost entirely horny, probably. A side blog.

[roleplaying-grenade]

My son has been watching a lot of archaeology documentaries, like a lot, and today I saw a photo of ancient Greek architecture.

This immediately led to thoughts about Dungeons and Dragons and ttrpgs in general, as well as Wasters. So buckle up, this may ramble.

I think DnD shines best when you’re dungeon crawling. Big surprise, it’s not called Ballrooms and Beholders, although that game sounds sick.

The question that I frequently run against is ‘why dungeons?’

It doesn’t really make sense in most campaigns that a family of bugbears or guardbots have crafted a residence in neat 5x5 squares.

Here’s where we circle back. In the same way medieval Europeans walked on Roman roads, or modern archaeological digs extrapolate meanings, a party of adventurers should consistently be tramping over, under, around and through the remains of culture.

“But Ryan, what about just using caves as a setting? That seems way easier.”

You’re right! It doesn’t entail thinking about who ruled the land 2,000 years ago, or why elves don’t just remember all these things.

I think it’s more interesting, though.

A lived in world with history feels real and gives so much depth to a table.

“Okay. Reasonable, but how?”

After you’ve spent your thirty minutes thinking about who it was (make it gnomes, but that’s a second thread) just start sprinkling art. Art survives.

Empty tombs colonized and trapped by goblins are covered in the triptychs and reliefs of preFall elven burial practices and death beliefs.

Kobolde have hollowed out a mound and found an ancient orcish palace with murals, statuary and ornamental weapons.

It’s easy to watch any historical tv show or documentary and just dip your setting in it.

Does this seem a little colonizery, having bloodthirsty monster hunters and treasure seekers plumb the depths of a dead civilization? Yes.

Can we push back against that? Yes.

It’s crucial that you add in an NPC somewhere who is interested in this civilization and is OF this civilization, at least through ancestry or heritage. If the gnomish diaspora has been scattered for 5,000 years, having a single scholar be interested in logging places of importance and beginning to uncover their peoples lost history is needed.

If the orcish empire fell to the demonways 2,000 years ago, then a council of orcs needs to be searching for answers in the background to head off some recurrent threat.

Having these NPCs be able to guide and interface with, let’s you treat a lost or forgotten culture respectfully, as well as the type of thing that livens a world.

Also, elves live to 400 years max. Immortal species are the worst.

#ttrpg #dungeons and dragons #dnd #wasters #dungeonmaster #dm advice #campaign design

[dykesanddragons]

🌸 d&d character maker

want to make a dungeons and dragons character but don't know where to start? let's make one together!

🌿 class

to determine your character's class, use the first letter of your first name (can be any name that you go by, online or irl). randomize your subclass.

a or b: artificer

c or d: barbarian

e or f: blood hunter

g or h: cleric

i or j: druid

k or l: fighter

m or n: monk

o or p: paladin

q or r: ranger

s or t: rogue

u or v: sorcerer

w or x: warlock

y: wizard

z: multiclasser

🌿 lineage

to determine your lineage, use the day you were born!

aarakocra or kobold

aasimar or lizardfolk

air genasi or locathah

bugbear or metallic dragonborn

centaur or minotaur

changeling or orc

chromatic dragonborn or owlin

dark elf or satyr

deep gnome or sea elf

duergar or shadar-kai

dwarf or shifter

earth genasi or tabaxi

eladrin or tiefling

fairy or tortle

firbolg or triton

fire genasi or verdan

gem dragonborn or water genasi

githyanki or yuan-ti

githzerai or warforged

goblin or leonin

goliath or plasmoid

grung or astral elf

half-elf or dhampir

half-orc or reborn

halfling or simic hybrid

harengon or vampire

high elf

hobgoblin

human

kenku

hexblood

#dungeons and dragons #d&d 5e #d&d #d&d character

[tlaquetzqui]

Wait, what if I replace troglodytes and kobolds (in mine, related like goblins and hobgoblins are) with morlocks and derros?

About the only downside I can see to this is that “kobolds” have been almost completely replaced, in the popular imagination, by the little dragon dudes. Never mind that they’re really just German tommyknockers. In OD&D, BECMI, and the first two editions of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, kobolds were (along with orcs in fact) considered a “goblinoid” race, rather than their own independent type of humanoid.

Huh. I was worrying about a thing in my story set in my game-world, where there’s some stuff in the language the kobolds use—Undercommon, but in my version it’s spoken mainly by lizardfolk and serpentfolk (Pathfinder’s non-copyright infringing yuan-ti, and even more openly a tribute to the Serpent Men of Valusia). But it still could be, I can just have the morlocks, who presumably already deal a lot with scaly horrors from beneath the earth, use it while on raids so unmutated humans (whose language is related to theirs, in the main setting) won’t understand them.

So, yeah, definitely gonna replace kobolds and troglodytes with morlocks and small morlocks, i.e. derros. (Also gonna have mine be blind, like grimlocks in D&D proper. And the Falmer.)

#fantasy writing #fantasy worldbuilding #honestly the draconic kobold is almost as irritating to me as an amateur folklorist as the bestial firbolg #at least in warcraft they spelled it FUR not FIR

[ideahat-universe]

Not my Orcs.

So Rings of Power is making the rounds and I have no interest in it.

Here's my Tier List.

Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings: SSS

Ralph Bakshi's the Hobbit: A

Ralph Bakshi's Lord of the Rings: B

Shadow of Mordor: C (We'll be speaking more about that one later).

Lord of the Rings Online: D (for DEAD)

Everything else F tier.

That includes Peter Jackson's Hobbit and it automatically includes Rings of Power as well as that PlayStation 2 game where you play as the non canon party that is trailing the fellowship.

I'm sorry, I don't make these rules.

We're not really talking about that show, it's not doing well. There's all sorts of Ghostbuster's 2016 style nonsense going on and I just don't have time for it. If Amazon wanted a hit they should have greenlit another season of Niko and the Sword of Light.

What we're talking about is Orcs and how people got screwed up on what Orcs are supposed to be and why.

I was watching Lindsey Ellis' review on Bright and learned some interesting things about the film that no one else who reviewed it cared to mention.

That made for a good review, up until a point. The problem I have with that review and the Bright film is that there are people creating a parallel where Blacks, presumably of any nationality are in some ways analogous to Orcs.

Lindsey makes her case that this idea is not only suitable but is rooted in Tolkien's works but the observation is skin deep (pun not intended).

The reality is that Orcs don't have anything in common with any nationality of Blacks.

Tolkien just used Orcs as canon fodder for lord Sauron. All the other races were either neutral and can't be tempted by his power or they had their own rings and are automatically opposed to Sauron.

The Orcs are no different than the Putty Patrollers from Power Rangers and I mean those guys specifically because the Orcs were made to serve Sauron, they didn't have a well established culture where they had civility and harmony amongst each other. There's no Orc women or Orc babies and Orcs that had to pay taxes who made their living making jewelry and fine tailored clothing.

No one made Black people (unless you believe in god or space aliens of course) so right out the gate if you want to compare blacks to the canon fodder version of the Orcs you're off to a bad start because blacks aren't spawned from the ether.

And I guess the other thing to note is that the Modern Orc is nothing like Orc Classic. Aside from Tolkien, Orcs were very standard opponents in D&D. I don't think this is the case anymore but at one point Orcs were aligned chaotic evil and the average DM had no interest in allowing creatures (or the player) to play outside of alignment.

But this wasn't personal in most cases. Orcs were part of an entire bestiary that Dungeon Masters used to present the players with as many different obstacles as possible because most campaigns were just dungeon crawlers or castle raids. Orcs fell into place when appropriate but it could have just as easily been kobolds or lizard people or goblins and of course the undead. It really depended on what the stats the DM was either told to do by the module or what he personally thought would present the best challenge to his players.

And it's really important to note that there is basically no plot or complex motivations in classic Dungeons and Dragons and invariably if you have drop in drop out, one day campaigns, or meat grinder (or Killer dungeon) campaigns you can't have plots or characterization and the expectation is that it's purely a test of your skill, luck, and raw stats.

In that scenario the dungeon master doesn't have time to humanize orcs, or slimes, or even the players. You just have to accept that every so often DnD is really just a board game.

So here's the reality of Orcs for a lot of people. People adore Orcs. The parallels between Orcs and black people ignore the fact that typically a non racist person judges people based on their individual actions (and if you don't have what it takes to judge a person on their merit as a singular entity you just don't have an existence worth acknowledging) and in fiction the writers who incorporate Orcs typically humanize them and dungeon masters and players like characterizing Orcs.

Lindsey (and Bright) tether interpretations of Orcs as characters to their origins as goons and it's reductive.

This is where we return to Shadow of Mordor. See that's a Lord of the Rings inspired game. Very much not canon BUT it shows how things have changed. Back then Orcs didn't mean much outside of the narrative as bad guys to fight, now Orcs have complex personalities and can be the cornerstones of narratives, being break out characters who develop and arc.

The whole point of Shadow or Mordor is that you get attached to the Orcs that you fight and form meaningful rivalries and long lasting friendships.

Warcraft is almost centered around Orcs fighting humans and look at how the narrative evolved for the Orcs.

Now, if you're like me. You want to know how many people play Horde in comparison to Alliance. Well um. I don't have solid numbers but apparently the difference is quite noticeable. People align themselves with the Horde quite often despite their origins and Orcs are the second most popular choice for Western players (with Blood Elves being the first).

The most popular race in Star Trek the Klingons are just Space Orcs.

Orks are number 7 (of 61) of the top favorite factions to play in Warhammer 40k

Orcs are a fully playable race in DnD.

Do we even need to talk about Orc fanart?

Or the Novels even?

Has the point been made? I think that the point has been made. Lastly and this is very important. The real life cultures of black people do not match up with Orcs either.

There's just no reason to make this comparison other than the fact that you are ignorant about Orcs and harbor a denigrating opinion of blacks.

Even if you want to have a conversation about racism in America what does the modern Orc have to do in that conversation other than remind the audience that the writer is filthy alliance scum?

I don't have anything else to say on this matter. I could have taken the more negative route. I could have jumped into the muck of it and made a more negative point to illustrate how bad negative observations are but we're trying to do something new, something that's better.

This is my meta modern take on post modernist observation of Orcs.

People love Orcs on a fundamental level and I don't care what happened to Orcs in the past. Today, Orcs are winners.

Those are my Orcs.

#lotr orcs #fandom #lord of the rings #i love orcs #dnd #Youtube

[critacademy]

Spelljammer: Adventures in Space

The world of Dungeons & Dragons has hundreds, even thousands of monsters for a Dungeon Master to choose from. But, we can often find ourselves using some of the same monsters on a regular basis. A goblin, kobold, and orcs to name a few. But there are so many more interesting monsters to flesh out your adventures and stories with. We polled our audience and discovered what are some of the most underused monsters in D&D.

This is a continuation of a previous blog and youtube video right here.

Not only will we discuss some of these monsters, but we will also delve into the myriad of different ways you can get the most out of them in your D&D game.

📢 Blog: https://www.critacademy.com/post/spelljammer-adventures-in-space

🚩 𝙀𝙭𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙀𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 is 𝙉𝙊𝙒 𝘼𝙑𝘼𝙄𝙇𝘼𝘽𝙇𝙀! Don't miss out on this book of 10 Modular adventures, featuring beautiful 𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒎 𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌. These adventures can be run as one-shots or dropped into any ongoing campaign. Explore the wondrous places that can be found when you just take a moment to explore! 𝗔𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗣𝗗𝗙 𝗼𝗿 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿. 𝗕𝗨𝗬 𝗜𝗧 𝗧𝗢𝗗𝗔𝗬 https://rebrand.ly/Extraordinary-Expeditions

💜 Support Crit Academy on Patreon: www.patreon.com/critacademy

🎉Crit Academy is a Dungeons & Dragons talk show and bestselling D&D content publisher. Crit Academy’s mission is to provide tips, tricks, guidance, and inspiration to both new and veteran players and game masters. We have published over 25 5th Edition supplements in both PDF and print. Crit Academy continues to grow as an influencer in the tabletop RPG community. Visit our Patreon page (www.patreon.com/critacademy) where we release tons of new content every month. Follow us on social media @critacademy or visit us at www.critacademy.com.

❤️ Do you want to become a better D&D Dungeon Master or Player? If so, then make sure to smash that Subscribe Button to join over 10,000 subscribers who are buffing their D&D skills with Crit Academy! http://www.youtube.com/c/critacademy?sub_confirmation=1

Noteworthy Links:

Spelljammer: Adventures in Space (2e) Wizards of the Coast

Spelljammer: Adventures in Space 5e Campaign Collection

Plane Shifting in Dungeons and Dragons

RPG Music Bardly.io

Jarlaxle's Guide to Traps ------------------------------------💥MORE D&D Content💥-------------------------------------- ▶️ Playlists ✅ 🥇 1 Minute D&D Tips: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vDv4ljqPBQ&list=PL41kl7X_ZiEPjCF7iOzrvs9O6MxjDlHz8

🥈 Live Shows: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7G77Xm5knTE&list=PL41kl7X_ZiENnlFR8tr6p9I_IZJY4Vyhb

🥉Actual Play: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9S8wj-iovvw&list=PL41kl7X_ZiENsyCCM8aqXfOppH_OnS0V4

-------------------------------- 💜 Support the Channel 💜 --------------------------------- 🐉JOIN PATREON: www.patreon.com/critacademy

🎲Dungeon Masters Guild Content: https://www.dmsguild.com/browse.php?author=Crit%20Academy

📚 Merch Shop: https://www.critacademy.com/critstore

🏰 Free Loot! https://www.critacademy.com/freeloot

💲 Advertise with us! https://rebrand.ly/advertisewithcritacademy

-------------------------------- 📱 Social Media📱 -------------------------------- 🐉 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/critacademy

⌨️ Discord: https://discord.gg/GEftMaxuEp

🙋‍♂️ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/critacademy

🕊️ Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/critacademy

💬 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@critacademy?lang=en

🎉 ALMOST THERE🎉 : 10,000 SUBSCRIBERS! Here we come! http://www.youtube.com/c/critacademy?sub_confirmation=1

Check out this episode!

[www-donck-com]

Goblin Lore (In conjunction with Riz Gukgak)

This is just an info dump, may be hard to read my apologies. This was spurred on by me re-watching fantasy high, and getting goblin brain rot! Have fun!!

cave cavern systems

thats where they live

generally they live in 'nests'

think of these like a state

then within that large cavern system, there's smaller familial groups/tribes

think 40 to 50 people per group, and like 10 to 15 groups per nest

ok so the nation that goblins live in, is really just a large mountain range

it's the mountains of chaos, honestly just a mostly old stereotypical term

goblins themselves call the mountain range "the mountains"

But within the last 3 or so generations they call it the mountains of chaos like other countries

there's about 34 major nests within that mountain range, and roughly 60 minor ones

minor nests just have 5 to 10 groups rather than 10 to 15

minor nests hold 450, while major nests hold 675

meaning the nation in total has a very small population, only about 50,000 goblins total

they also have different anatomy than humans (obv)

they are much smaller, and take more after elves and cats than humans

they have lion like tales, huge yellow eyes with slit pupils, big ears that look similar to an expanded elven ear, they also have fangs and claws

similarly to cats, the claw isn't just 'fingernail' it's actually built into the joint of their fingers

their blood is blue, so bruises/blush/scars are a dark turquoise color rather than the pink we commonly associate with those things

goblins are often portrayed with long straight hair, this is only accurate when they are in their home (warm, dry, volcanic caverns) when they exit, the humidity actually makes their hair puff up and curl wildly

they have a full written language, however verbally mostly communicate through screeches, hisses, and clicks

they're ears and the positioning of them can tell a lot about their emotions, mostly they move involuntarily but with a lot of work goblins can keep their ears stationary/have control over them

their fangs are similar to rodents in that they will continue growing, and rough things to chew on is the only thing that curbs it

mostly bones and gems/crystals

within their home territory goblins maintain a system based entirely on trading and favors, so they have no frame of reference for currency the way other nations do

goblins also don't have names in the traditional sense,

They have a first name, often either chosen themself or earned through actions.

each nest has a name, and each group within the nest has a name

most goblins when meeting others introduce themself by where their from

so like (first name) (nest name only used if your outside your home nest) (group name)

the way that each goblin communicates and goes about life is highly unique based on what nest and group you grew up in

they also are hyper flexible, given that they need to climb through crevices in the caverns they live in

digging into your food with your hands and eating as fast as you can is seen as respectful in goblin coulture

letting someone's hard work come into direct contact with your hands is appreciative, and eating quickly so that others cant get it is like "your food is so good i am not sharing"

sadly goblins are often seen as 'uncivilized' and 'violent' by humans, elves, and most other humanoids

not including dragon born, orcs, satyrs, kobolds, and kenku

as those races/ethnicities have similar customs

if goblins choose to immigrate to other countries, they often just shove together their hive and group name and call it a day

hence long surnames in immigrated goblin populations

almost all goblins have vocal spasms and tics if they're not speaking in their native language, as certain tones of click/purr denote emotion and intent in goblin speech

sorta like tone indicators

many goblins are also hard of hearing or fully deaf, so GHS (Goblin hand speak, later adapted into CHS or common hand speak) is a common known language

many non-goblin or halfling (deafness is also common) people call it thieves cant also due to stereotyping

halfling people actually call themselves hin, as halfling is a demeaning term created by humans

hin and goblins have a long history of collaboration, as goblins are investigative and good at finding things by nature. and hin are renowned for their prowess in crafting and engineering

many items needed by hin are hard to find or hidden in small spaces, and goblins find and return those things to the hin people in exchange for excess gems, knick knacks, and broke inventions

goblins like assembling and dis-assembling things

it's common for goblin youth to roughhouse and play bite/scratch each other while their fangs and claws are coming in

goblins also howl as a form of music/celebrating big things happening/expressing big emotions

goblins are neither nocturnal or diurnal, they can sleep and function at any time and actually work better with several short naps throughout the day

they only need about 4 hours of sleep total per day, so it works best to work 6 ish hours then sleep, then work then sleep and so on

they also eat a LOT for being very small, they burn calories fast. their constantly moving and even when stationary HAVE to move to keep their blood flowing equally and their brains from spiraling

moving constantly helps be hyper aware of their surroundings, which is important when living in a mountain as earthquakes are common

within their home groups and nests they live in both a matriarchal and patriarchal society, it flips every generation

however when decisions are made your vote has more weight the younger you are (voting starts at 14) because the eldest of the group aren't the ones who have to live with the decisions the longest

matriarch/patriarch of the group is just there to do a headcount daily, provide food, resolve conflict, and speak for the group in conventions of the full nest, or in some cases the full nation

despite those duties, the responsible elder spends most of their time in the nursery (for kids 1-6) taking care of the younglings, because the two most unable to work groups stick together in the safest part of the nest/group den

all the elders work in the nursery but the responsible elder is obligated to spend at least 8 hours every day in it, the other may come and go as they please as long as there's at least 3 elders (excluding the responsible elder) in the nursery at all times

all goblins are intersex until age 14, when the patron deity of the goblins comes to them in a dream to ask where theyd like to remain, and how they want their bodies to look/be structured and when they wake up thats how it is

it can also be changed at any point in life by a quick ritual summoning of said deity

The deity isn't even an actual deity, in each nest when the elders of the group die, they become part of spiritual hive mind that sticks with and looks after every goblin from their nest

the concept of gender is very loose in goblin communities, they don't use pronouns, mostly names and nicknames, and all you have to decide for yourself when you get to the age where your allowed to run for group elder is whether you would be a matriarch or patriarch

and those are separated by thinking patterns rather than gender

men can be matriarchs if they show more the thinking patterns associated with the title (and vice versa)

goblins actually develop from crystals, parents who want a child go to the sacred garden (a crystal growing cavern at the center of every nest) and choose a crystal, its then incubated for 5 to 7 months and turns into a bassinet

the parents are then notified and they come to scoop up their child

#goblin time #goblin lore #goblins #world building #dnd5e #dnd homebrew #dimension 20 #dimension 20 fantasy high #riz gukgak #see prior post for riz family head cannons #goblins mean so much to me #and now all of you have to deal with it #take this #idk what im doing #idk what it is #riz is blorbo from my shows #perhaps my favorite blorbo

[scholarlypidgeot]

What is the general attitude towards the various races in Swoat? This includes the attitude towards the more common races of humans, elves, dwarves, and halflings; and also the more uncommon or monstrous races of D&D, e.g. teiflings, aasimar, dragonborn, gnomes, goblins, orcs, kobolds, minotaurs, centaurs, the various furries scattered across most D&D settings, etc..

Humans are the most populous race in Swoat, and as such are the most likely to be accepted without batting an eye, but half-elves and elves are also very common. Dwarves are actually uncommon in the setting as a whole; those who come to the surface often do so as traders, and so are treated with the respect owed to business partners. Halflings and gnomes are fairly uncommon in the City, but they can find easy enough employment on all levels when they're interested and as such, while they'll get second glances, don't meet much trouble.

Tieflings are actually fairly common in certain families of the nobility, and so don't really face the same prejudice as they might in other locations; aasimar less so, but when they do appear, they do so in the same families; and genasi, especially of the air and water variety, spring up among the docks on occasion. Minotaurs, centaurs, and other (as we politely call them) Beastfolk tend to avoid the City, as do Firbolgs, but like dwarves, those that come through are either adventurers or traders of some kind and treated according to their behavior rather than their appearance.

Dragonborn actually don't get a second glance in Swoat, and are often positioned as guards of some kind or clearly presenting as representatives from some powerful entity- if not a dragon, maybe a prestigious member of the Tiamatist syndicate, or a cleric of one of the draconic deities. Kobolds are common, but exist mostly out of sight of the middle and upper class as utility workers within Swoat's underground sewer system. With their skills as constructors, trappers, and alchemists, they're uniquely adapted for life under the feet of the City, and as an added benefit prefer to keep to themselves anyway.

People have a mixed opinion of orcs, depending on where in the City you ask. Southside tends to see them hired into the position of brutes or enforcers, and so that's the reputation they receive. On the Eastside, there are families and merchants that still remember orcish raids from the Tshome desert, but as those days fall into the past and the tribes take on a more peaceful approach to their neighbors, so too has faded most people's fear of them. On the Northside there isn't so much fear as curiosity when an orcish or half-orcish individual is seen; and on the Westside, they're commonly employed as dock workers and sailors, and are treated as anyone else.

Bonus round: Changelings. Changelings are held in high suspicion within Swoat, but they're far more common than people realize, often using human personas to do their business in broad daylight. Some changelings only show their true faces in the presence of their families and spouses. Their unfortunate reputation as spies, assassins, and general scoundrels isn't unearned, as those changelings that are discovered tend to be doing something criminal-- but in their defense, if the same standard was held for humans, humans would have an identical, if not worse, reputation among other races.

Goblins, hobgoblins, and bugbears-- collectively, goblinoids-- are the outcasts of society. While a few goblins do find work within the Law or as clerics with devotion to Erathists, human settlements often faced the burning hand of the hobgoblin war-god Bane and the Legion that worshiped him; and the City hasn't forgotten. Hobgoblins do occasionally appear as brutes or dock workers, but they are given a wide berth by common people; goblins have a reputation similar to that of sewer rats; and hobgoblin gangs still acting violently in Bane's name within the confines of the City walls don't exactly help their reputation.

[littjara-mirrorlake]

I want to hear more about your fan-planes! Tell me about the creatures that can be found there, what are the staple creatures like? Most importantly what are the dragons like!

I unfortunately haven't developed my fan plane ideas fully yet, but there are some ideas I've been bouncing around. Two main ones:

"Phyrexian world": A world where Phyrexians and other humanoids have learned to live in harmony after Karn passed by and dropped oil there long ago. They arrived at a certain earth-shattering revelation earlier than many other Phyrexian civilizations did, allowing them to forsake Yawgmoth’s control.

The Phyrexians of the plane are great healers, artificers, and archivists thanks to their ancestral memory bank.

Generally, society is extremely diverse, including stereotypically “monstrous” races like goblins, orcs, and kobolds without prejudice. Most classic fantasy races are there, as well as many rarer ones.

Dragons regularly intermingle with other species and even occasionally have kids with them! Dragonborn aren’t uncommon here.

If there were gods on this plane, they’ve long faded into obscurity, as its people have taken the values of self-sufficiency and scientific/magical progress to heart. They believe a lot in carving their own paths, instead of following celestial dictates.

They’re going through a kind of renaissance, and the arts and sciences are flourishing.

The level of technology is intermediate to high, making me think of high-fantasy Athens—the polis of Meletis in Theros actually might not be a bad comparison. More robots, though, and fewer temples.

"Aquatic world": A world that is almost completely covered in ocean, except for a smattering of small islands (some of which are in fact slumbering leviathans). Deep trenches extend miles down, with bioluminescent animals and fish clinging to their steep sides. There is civilization even at the very bottom of the ocean.

Merfolk could be considered the “dominant” species here, like how humans are often regarded on other planes. There are a number of different subraces sorted by cultural origin and the ecosystems they call home (coral reefs, kelp forests, open ocean, deep sea, hydrothermal vents, etc.)

Merfolk cities are known for their elaborate architecture and advanced arcane knowledge. Spires carved from sea stone, with coral shelves spiralling up their sides, are a beautiful sight in shallower, sunlit waters.

Humans sparsely populate the islands, along with other land-dwelling peoples, but the vast majority of the population is aquatic.

There are dragons.... aquatic dragons. Massive, streamlined reptiles with flaring fins resembling those of nudibranchs or tropical fish, the most powerful of which can bring whole weather systems with them above the water. (They can fly, but spend most of their time in the open ocean.)

Species like elementals, dryads, elves, goblins, and vampires are present, but all have an aquatic twist—fire elementals dwell near volcanoes or hydrothermic vents, dryads are bound to kelp forests or coral reefs, goblins have gills and make their lives in the mid-ocean mountain ranges, etc.

There are eldritch, ancient gods in the deep seas, worshipped by small circles of deep-sea merfolk and vampires.

Overall, the plane has a big Subnautica aesthetic, with surreal creatures and bioluminescence everywhere.

#mtg #magic the gathering #oc #mtg fan plane #worldbuilding #phyrexia #merfolk #phyrexian #dragonborn #askbox #little-red-rabbit

[thewarriorandtheking]

The Bargain

For the @writersmonth challenge...

Prompt 4. Play

The King Under the Mountain’s daughter gets herself in trouble while playing explorer and finds some unexpected help.

(Still working on Prompt 3...) 

Warnings: None 

Find The Warrior and The King MasterList here

*******************************************

Freya flattened herself against the stone, willing the guards not to see her. She breathed a sigh of relief as they turned into the other corridor. Now her way was clear, she sprinted down the hall, under the carved archway that led to the mines and into a little-used side tunnel. Her mother was away in Dale, and her father had a day full of meetings. She could play explorer for hours before anyone missed her. It was one of her favorite games, to picture herself as Kaylea Wolf, her father’s Woman, the golden-haired warrior, off on an adventure.

She paused to put on Thorin’s magic glasses, a gift from Kaylea’s land. They were special spectacles, feather-light with wide lenses, you hardly knew they were there. But when you put them on everything was bright as day, even in the deepest shafts. Thorin guarded them closely, she knew she was not supposed to take them without permission, but she planned to have them back before the King noticed they were missing. She would only need them for a few hours.

Freya picked her way through the old tunnels. The rock was solid, but there was a lot of old equipment and debris in this part of the mines. She loved to examine the rusty machines and wonder what they were once used for. As the princess of Erebor she had learned a bit about the business of mining, but her tutors were always more interested in teaching her the latest dance steps. She had persuaded her father to take her on a tour, but that had been in the working mines. Techniques had changed since her great-grandfather’s time.

She found a wide tunnel that led steadily downward, found herself imagining she was traveling through the great mines of Moria. She had once heard Kaylea describe a journey through those mines, it had sent shivers up her spine. To think of traveling under the Misty Mountains, with dangers on every side! She knew there were no orcs or goblins here, even in the deepest parts of the mines, but she could pretend. Freya came to a place where a shaft had been sunk right across the tunnel. It looked deep, but narrow. She was confident she could jump the gap. Freya backed up to get a running start and leaped across. She easily made the distance, but landed on a loose stone. The floor gave out from under her, she grabbed for anything to hold onto, felt herself falling.

Freya awoke, aware some time had passed. She had lost the magic glasses in the fall and all around her was pitch black. She felt panic rising in her chest, and tried to calm herself as Kaylea had taught her. Three short breaths, three long ones. She felt her body, bruised but nothing broken. She folded her legs and closed her eyes, concentrating. No one knew where she was, it might be days before any search party came this way. She had a miner’s helmet in her bag, the light should last ten hours, but she would have to be careful only to use it if she heard searchers nearby. She had some apples and a bit of bread, enough to last a few days. Freya opened her eyes, now adjusted to the dark, she could just see the walls of the shaft stretching up to the tunnel, about thirty meters away. The walls were smooth and damp, a current of air caught her hair, she could hear dripping water. Moving carefully, Freya started to feel the stone around her, she found she had landed on a ledge in the shaft, maybe four meters square, past that was open space. Something moved under her hand and she jerked back, then realized it was her father’s glasses. Gratefully, she put them on, looking around curiously. The shaft continued on past the ledge, she could not see the bottom. She had hoped to find a way to climb out, but there were no handholds in the stone. She started to feel panic again, but told herself that her father would come. Once he found she was missing, Thorin would tear Erebor apart to find her, of that she was certain.

Freya knew she could do nothing now but wait. She moved close to the wall, away from the open shaft and tried to make herself comfortable. She chided herself for not bringing more supplies, for not telling her handmaids what she was doing. Her mother would never let her hear the end of this. She rummaged in her bag, rechecking her supplies and realized she had her dice with her. Hoping it would pass the time, she brought them out and played a game with herself. That one where you shook them in a cup and then tried to guess what you had rolled. Her father had told her there was a pattern to it, but she had never been able to find one. She had been playing for awhile before she suddenly realized she was not alone, something was watching her. She took her hand off the cup, reaching for her knife as she looked up.

There was a little creature sitting at the edge of the ledge watching her. He wasn’t a goblin, or an orc, in fact he didn’t seem threatening at all. He was about half her size, dressed like a miner, with pointed ears and sharp features. His skin was the color of the stone.

“What is this game you are playing?” The strange creature asked. “Can you teach me?”

“Who are you?” Freya asked, curious despite her fears. “Where did you come from?”

“This is my home.” He moved closer, Freya drew back. “We have lived here longer than your people.”

“Why didn’t the dragon eat you?” Freya asked, without thinking. She scolded herself, hoping she hadn’t offended the stranger. He didn’t seem dangerous, but she did not want to provoke him.

“Dragons don’t bother with us,” the creature chuckled. “And we don’t bother them.” He put his hand on the dice cup. “How do you play this game?”

Freya swallowed hard. “If I tell you, will you show me the way out?” Her hand tightened on her knife.

“Ah, a bargain!” He smiled, showing pointed teeth. “Very well. But I will have to take you, the way we travel you cannot follow.”

“Maybe I should wait for my father.”

“It will be days before he finds you down here, your highness.”

Freya gasped. He knew who she was, but how? “You know who I am.”

“Of course, everyone knows the King’s daughter. The one so careful to follow the old ways.” The little creature smiled again. “It has been a very long time since I learned a new game. Shall we play?”

Freya was afraid, but she did not feel that he meant her any harm. And he knew a path to the ledge. She nodded. “Yes, let’s play.”

For long hours they sat in the dark, the princess of Erebor and the strange grey-skinned creature, playing dice. They traded wins, using little bits of stone to place their bets. Freya had accumulated quite a little pile before she found herself becoming very sleepy.

“I’m sorry,” she said, yawning. “I’m suddenly so very tired. I can’t play anymore.”

The creature stood up and bowed. “I think you know that I will not harm you if you sleep, princess. I have enjoyed our game very much.”

“I had fun, too,” Freya told him. “You may keep my dice. You can teach the game to your friends.” Her eyes were so heavy. “Remember your promise to take me away from here.”

The last thing Freya saw was the little creature giving her a look filled with compassion, a smile of his pointy face, she felt the touch of his hand on her arm. It was cold, like stone. Then she had the strangest dream. She was moving through the stone, she could feel it around her, the ores, the layers. It was flowing around her like water. And then all was dark and quiet.

 When Freya woke, the first thing she felt was hard stone. She was no longer on the ledge, but in one of the mine tunnels, close to the active works. She could hear the hammers, the rumble of the ore carts. She barely had time to get to her feet before she heard shouts, iron-shod boots running toward her.

“Princess! Thank Mahal, you have been found!” The miner was staring at her wide-eyed, he moved to help her but then drew back, remembering he should not touch her. “Are you in need of a Healer, your highness?”

“No, thank you,” Freya drew herself up. “But if you could show me the way out, I would be grateful.”

“Of course, of course,” the miner bowed. “At your service! The King will be very relieved to see you, we have all been searching high and low.”

Freya felt embarrassed. “I’m sorry to have caused such a fuss. I was only gone a few hours.”

“A few hours?” The miner turned to stare at her. “Your highness, you have been missing for three days!”

 As they came closer to the palace, Freya screwed up her courage to face her parents. She knew the trouble she was in. And she really didn’t have a good explanation for where she had been. Playing dice with a strange creature in an abandoned mine shaft! Her mother was going to tear her to shreds.

The miner turned her over to the palace guard. As they led the way to her father’s office she regretted not asking the man’s name, he was certainly due some kind of reward. Freya took a deep breath before opening the door, hoping she only had to face her father. Thorin was standing at the hearth, hands behind his back. When he heard the door open he turned, then rushed forward to fold his daughter into his arms.

“My girl, you will be the death of me!” He told her, hugging her close. “Where have you been? We have been searching everywhere!”

“You wouldn’t believe it,” Freya answered, pressing her head against his chest. Her father always smelled so good, she always felt so safe when he put his arms around her.

“Let me decide what to believe, daughter.”

Slowly, Freya told him all that had happened. Thorin listened intently, asking many questions about the creature she had encountered. He nodded when she told him of her dream about traveling through the stone of the mountain.

“I didn’t know there were any of those left,” the King smiled.

“Of what?”

“They have a lot of names. Kobolds, nisse. Men call them tommyknockers,” Thorin said. “They’re a kind of spirit, harmless most of the time, but they can be nasty if they are wronged.” He smiled at some old memory. “I thought I saw one once, when I was about your age.”

“I would still be in that shaft, if not for him.”

Thorin nodded. “Yes, you did very well!” He held out his hand. Freya stared at it for a moment before reaching into her tunic to hand him the glasses. “You are not to take these again, not ever. And you are not to be exploring without telling someone where you are going.” He frowned at her. “Am I understood?”

Freya gulped. “Yes, father,” she managed to answer in a small voice. “I am sorry I worried you.” She curtsied low. “May I be excused now?”

“Yes,” Thorin couldn’t keep himself from pulling her into another hug. “Go get cleaned up before you see your mother.”

Freya quickly hurried away to her apartments, already planning her next adventure.

#writersmonth2021 #writing challenge #fanfiction #thewarriorandtheking #tolkien fanfic #thorin oakenshield #original female character #middle earth #writersmonth

[darkmist111]

Phantom Thieves Play Dungeons and Dragons

The Wander and the Worker

Akira had faced many trials, both legally and spiritually. He had also been a master of organization, stuffing as much activity as he could into a single year.

Yet this challenge nearly brought him to his knees.

“So you only add 2 to armor class?”

“No that's only for medium armor your un-armored right now.”

“Shit I should've picked a race with more dexterity.”

It was like herding cat's, without Morgana’s help.

“You guys ready? It's almost 5.” Akira said know that this group could double a session’s play time.

“Hold on I’m trying to memorize our modifiers.” Ann said squinting as she had forgot her glasses at home.

“Don't worry just remember your crap at everything not dexterity and charisma.” Ryuji said nonchalantly.

The plan was to get all the players to level 2 before they got to the main campaign, so Akira did this little mini session with 2 characters first so the players could slip into their roles.

“Alright are we ready to play?”

Ryuji had finally gotten Ann to stop fusing over her papers.

“As we’ll ever be I guess *sigh* I really hope I don't die at level 1 again.” Ann groaned.

“Hell yeah let's kick some ass!”

“Alright close your eyes and listen.” Akira took a deep breath and his voice changed.

“This is the world of Exceeden”

Akira peaked and caught the grins on his two friends faces.

“Unlike our world with disconnected planets, the world of Exceeden is but one layer stacked in-between other realms, but different from the other realms Exceeden did not occur naturally but was created by 20 core gods. The gods were once one shared in their love of their creation, however what they didn't know was it would grant them more power than even their unparalleled minds could imagine.

Jealousy, anger, spite, and rage broke them apart each believing their creation should go the way they decided and the 20 became 5. 6 of Law, 6 of Chaos, 2 of Good, 2 of Evil, and 4 to keep the balance.

While the realm has no supreme rule the cycles of mortals carry on. Empires rise and fall, stories are told and forgotten, until finally the sands of time cycle towards something or someone that can shatter the heavens despite their humble beginnings.

The year is 997 A.I.(After Invasion) and our story takes place on the continent of Almoria. While not the largest continent it houses a wide array of People and Cultures in no small part due to the many differences environments.

In the far north in the icy tundras Orc and Goliath tribes war against the Tiefling Solos Empire and their Minotaur allies even further north in the Shadow Lands.

Below that are the eternal plans of Sparks where wild magic hum and fae slip into our world. Bands of Centaur and Satyr dance across the fields, unknowingly starting war with the Leonin Clans.

On the east of the Great Sezali Desert a new and ambitious clan of HobGoblins are gathering their forces of Goblin and Bugbear.

This makes the Elven Allied Council to the west nervous and the desert has become a sort of cold war, but also a hive of activity for trade and merchants.

On the West Coast the Aarakocra war against the Triton and the East Coast, the legendary Tortle Cleric Genbu brokers peace between the Locathah and the Grung.

In the Mountains Kobold, Lizardmen and Dragonborn War against a unfathomable threat as the Chromatic dragons and Metal Dragons have united to control the Arcane Canyons.

With the fall of Tyrant Human King Rexanik, many flee to the peaceful mountains city of Eternix. The city, nicknamed the city of small folk, was almost completely Gnomes, Halfling, Dwarfs, as well as the Black Wing Monastery, suddenly has possibly the highest human density in the continent.

Humans have also tried their luck in the chaotic Forest of Nayan only to be never heard from again.

In the south peace is almost a certainty as the brotherhood between the Loxodon and Gith remains just a strong as a century ago. Their city Omniox hold the Verdan trading Guild the only constant in these turbulent times

Not all is so clear though, hidden in the desert are rumors of cults who use arcane, scientific, and religious methods to create inhuman monsters that stalk the night.

However it is that Desert where we start our story in the town of Ixyana. Ixyana is a port town to the sea of sand, willing to offer weary travelers any pleasure they require... for the right price. Ixyana has always been self governed but with escalating tensions between the Elven and HobGoblin armies, the town is being pressured to pick a loyalty. But today neither a Goblin nor Elf is the new stranger in town.”

“Ryuji please introduce your character.”

“I’m just a guy who looks like an average traveler, I’m wearing normal cloths and using a spear like a walking stick, the only unusual thing about me is that have blue skin and white “Hair”. I’m a Fighter but only because you get in fights when you wander as much as I do, but it's clear I’m not formally trained.”

The wanderer enters the town carrying a satchel over his back midday. He makes his way towards a inn looking to rest for the night. He hears a commotion and see several HobGoblin warriors speaking angrily toward each other, before rushing off. The young man enters into a alley to avoid crossing their path, as he steps out he sees another beautiful HobGoblin women in revealing clothes dart out from behind a stack of boxes. Before his eyes she begins to shift form before becoming a striking dark haired Elven women and quickly entering the Inn.

“Well That's a Flag if I’ve ever seen one.”

The man is overcome with curiosity and follows her. He enter the inn and sees the first floor is a diner/bar.

At this time of day not many people are drinking and lunch is already over so the inn is uncrowded.

The blue man sees the former HobGoblin women now Elven sit in the corner of the bar skillfully blending in for those not looking.

As he walks up to her she glances before biting her lip.

“Sorry I’m not working right now.”

You realize from her statement and her outfit that this women is one of the courtesans of the towns most powerful group in place of a formal government, The Desert Respite, worshipers of Bast one of the 20 original Gods and practitioners of the arts of pleasure both of a sexual nature and of entertainment.

“I still can believe your playing a Prostitute.” Ryuji says teasing.

“For your information I’m a high class escort. And let's see if you’ll be laughing in a few minutes.”

“Sorry it's not that I... I just... saw you change.”

The woman tenses her eyes narrowing and grits her teeth.

“So what?”

“Are... Are you a Spirit.”

The women slowly turns her head, seeing the nervous young man though in her eyes he's more of a boy shift his weight nervously.

“Perception check!”

“Roll for it.”

“...!!!! Natural 20!”

“Heh, yeah he's a pretty easy mark.”

“Hey!”

She smirks before tipping her drink back and gesturing to the seat across from her.

“From out of town.”

“Out from... everywhere.”

She changes her posture, trained but attractive.

“The desert must've been quite the ordeal, I didn't notice a Caravan enter town. Is your group somewhere else?”

“No, I’ve been traveling alone.”

“Alone?”

“Yes I am quite skilled at traveling, born and raised doing it in fact.”

“Incredible, you must be strong.”

The women bit her lip while the blue skinned man sweat feeling nervous from the shapeshifters forward flirtations.

“You know I have a certain need for a strong man.”

“Role Wisdom Ryuji.”

“What! She hasn't even cast anything.”

“Your mouth was dropped.” Ann teased. “Let's hope your character isn't a simp.”

“No way!”

Ryuji rolled.

“Shit! 6, 7 total.”

“Simp”

“Shut up!”

“What did- What do you need. I’m always looking to help out.”

“You see a girl can only stay in one town for so long before she needs a change of pace. I’m thinking you’ve been to plenty of places, why don't you and I go on adventure.”

The spearman let out a yelp as he felt her leg delicately trace his own.

“And I’ll be sure your thoroughly compensated.”

“Roll Perception against Ann’s Persuasion.”

“Yes!”

“Shit”

Ann rolled and grinned which caused Ryuji to hang his head.

“21 total Persuasion!”

“Goddamnit, 14 total.”

“Yeah she has you wrapped around her finger.”

“*Gulp* There’s no need for that ma’am, I'd be happy to guide you wherever you desire.”

The man saw her smile turn victorious and her leg rubbed a little higher.

“Don’t worry it's no trouble, when we stop for the night I can give you a nice and long compensating.”

_______________________________________

The pair quickly gather their things the shapeshifter, changing again into a stunning Yuan-Ti. They walked through the town. Some men stared at the shabby looking Traveler and the beautiful courtesan, leering at her exposed cleavage, open thighs, and toned belly, others smirked and gave respecting nods. He glared and the former while that latter made him feel like a scumbag.

She insisted they walk on foot so not to draw attention. The man frowned but didn't say anything.

As they walked they chatted.

“My names Zap by the way.”

“Nais of the Desert Respite.”

“So Nais, are you wondering what I am?”

“Probably not as much as your wondering what I am.”

“Well I don't know, I’ve never seen someone change what they look like except my dad.”

“Your dad?”

“Yeah, he’s a Genie.”

“...”

“...”

“...You're not joking?”

“Nope. A Lightning Genie to be specific.”

“Insight Check... 11?”

“He seems to be pretty honest.”

“So you can grant wishes?”

“He could, not me. I’m only half genie, my other half is Human from my mom. Dad said my type of people are called Genasi.”

“Where’s you dad now?”

“He’s only allowed to stay in the material plane for 20 years at a time. He left on my 10th birthday, I’m 22, so he’ll be back in 8 years. Though he’ll probably see my mom before me.”

“... You know that is a really weird story right?”

“I actually didn't know until later in life. For a long time it was just the 3 of us, then the 2, now me.”

“I see.”

“What about you?”

“What about me?”

“You can change into other things, is it magic?”

Nias looked away not wanting to meet Zap’s eyes.

“It's not magic it's just something I’m able to do, as well as my mother and her mother before her. She said that we might be descended from Doppelgängers.”

“That's amazing.” Zap said with awe.

“Perception Check!” Ann yelled out.

“Zap doesn't lie. He's a open book.”

“19!”

“Zap really does think your amazing.”

“Geez he doesn't have to try so hard I already said I’d fuck him.”

“Excuse me! But Zap is a gentleman he doesn't only think about sex.”

“Unlike his player.”

#persona 5 #phantom thieves #joker persona 5 #persona 5 ryuji #ryuji sakamoto #ann takamaki #p5 yusuke #yusuke kitawaga #makoto niijima #haru okumaru #p5 akechi #morgana #dungeons and dungeons #changlings #genasi