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vampkomori · 26 days

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Ena the Order is the concept of conforming to Fate, and Elio is an Emanator of Order

welcome to my pre-2,2 theory, i got carried away.

for those yet unaware, theres been a theory flying around that the Goddess of Sigonia, Gaiathra Triclops, is a folkloric interpretation of Ena the Order, on account of the iris of Ena's eye having the same colors as Aventurine's. we can go much further with this though.

(Aventurine's pupils are diamond-shaped, but little Kakavasha has round pupils. its likely that diamond-shaped pupils are a result of becoming a Stoneheart, because Topaz also has diamond-shaped pupils, and Aventurine used to not have them. but i digress)

Anyway, Gaiathra=Ena. Gaiathra is described as a left palm with 3 eyes, arguably Ena also has 3 eyes- two closed ones on their face, and one massive, open eye floating around them.

Gaiathra "reigns over all matters related to fertility, travels, and trickery." (Sigonia, Planar Ornament Relic Set) and is said to have been the one to bestow Aventurine with his luck.

but first: What is Order? Based on the words alone, youd think Order would have more in common with Equilibrium, but evidently that wasnt the case. Considering it was assimilated into the Harmony, it must have overlaps with that though, since the broader path is the one that absorbs the narrower one if their concepts are too similar. So, if Harmony is unity and peace, the idea of everyone joining a happy paradise, then how did the Harmony manage to absorb Order?

"I am filled with curiosity about how THEY swallowed up Order. The hymns of Xipe continue to spread and grow, occasionally overseen by ideology. In contrast, Ena's harmonic songs seems to align within a three-dimensional framework, akin to an emperor maintaining hierarchical order among all creatures. While there may be some overlap between THEIR Paths, the ancient Order is enormous in size, and swallowing THEM would prove far from effortless... Among the Aeons, there exist countless enigmas that surpass my own speculations." - Dev Log for Xipe in Simulated Universe, Herta's comment

Herta doesnt know either, and by all means a freshly ascended Aeon should not have an easy time absorbing someone as ancient as Ena- that is, unless Ena intended for it to happen.

This is a lot of establishing facts before i get to the meat of things. We still dont technically know what Order even is, so lets try figure it out!

"The planets governed by Ena adhere staunchly to established rules, yet I must acknowledge that the various calamities in the cosmos were all hindered by Ena's guardianship, leading to extremely efficient development of civilization among diverse planets. Interestingly, however, civilizations all eventually hit rock bottom because of Order. The ancient planets that once fervently worshiped Order would shine briefly before their total collapse... Perhaps this is the "Path" of these planets." - Dev Log for Ena in Simulated Universe, Herta's comment

So: Order is the concept of adhering to a predetermined outcome- their "path". Ena observes humanity "gazing into a crystal orb containing the cosmos" and ensures that they all follow their predetermined path of Fate. None may go astray, no outside influence may interfere, no matter what fate awaits them, they must follow their set path.

"THEIR voice is composed of syllables sequencing the rise and fall of civilizations in accordance with the Aeon's path."

Ena has the ability to foresee the future, as they dont just sequence the rise, but also the fall of civilizations. They are inherently impartial, just, things are destined to happen and so they see to it that they happen. Order is the concept of conforming to Fate, if a planet is destined to be destroyed by a calamity, then Ena guides it to that outcome.

However, Aeons, despite being concepts, arent just concepts, they have some semblance of sentience, self-awareness. they have goals, they make deals, though humans are unable to comprehend them.

So, Ena conforms to fate, but what is the purpose of doing so? Ena can see the future, but we know Kafka. there isnt just ONE future, theres a lot of futures, and endless paths. So its logical to assume that Ena, by being able to see the fates of civilizations, can actually see the endless amount of paths towards all possible fates, and personally chooses which path is specifically followed. and for the sake of the theory, lets assume Ena is benevolent and guides humanity towards the most fortunate fate (though even the most "fortunate" of fates can still end in destruction)

Before Ena was assimilated into the Harmony, they made a deal with Qlipoth the Preservation: Qlipoth will bring an end to Tayzzyronth the Propagation (as they are interfering with the predetermined Fates of planets) and in turn Ena will help Qlipoth against Oroboros the Voracity somehow (likely foreseeing its Fate and interfering with it). Qlipoth held up their end of the bargain, but Ena was assimilated before they were able uphold their part, which is interesting

We know theres something fishy about the Orders assmiliation into Harmony- it doesnt make sense, especially knowing that Ena foresees the future, and is likely aware of their own fate.

Heres where we remember that Gaiathra is also a goddess of trickery. Theres two possibilities:

Ena foresaw their own "demise" and made a deal with Qlipoth knowing they wouldnt be able to follow through on their part of the promise

Ena, able to see multiple paths for the future, foresaw that being assimilated into Xipe would lead them towards the most fortunate one, so they let themselves be absorbed on purpose, as the Harmony would not have been able to absorb the Order otherwise. The deal was just a bonus.

Either way, Ena would have known of the future, and making a deal shortly before the assimiliation of their path is clearly a scheme- they get something great out of it, and dont have to follow up on it.

Heres where we bring up Elio (and the Stellaron Hunters). We actually still dont know what path they follow, and isnt that so interesting? What path could possibly include following a "script" to ensure a certain future? hmmm

sounds like Order to me!

Elio possesses the ability to foresee future possibilities and the paths that lead towards them. Essentially, the exact ability that Ena is shown to possess. All the futures look pretty bleak though, except for one, which hes trying to achieve by making sure to follow that exact path: his "script". the very definition of Order.

Note also that despite Enas assimiliation, their faction can still exist. After all, Idrila the Beauty is also gone, but the Knights of Beauty still roam around. The path of a deceased or assimiliated Aeon can still be upheld even if the Aeon no longer exists.

Anyway, Elio is basically upholding Ena's legacy by ensuring that we adhere to fate, and guides us towards the most fortunate one. His ability is far too powerful though, so its safe to assume hes an Emanator, since theyre considered to be "as good as emissaries of the Aeons' wills"

*As a bonus, Gaiathra also reigns over "all matters related to 'travels'". if you stretch the definition a little, "travels" could refer to the idea of embarking on paths towards fate. you "travel" on a path, after all.

Theres also this interesting little tidbit here:

"THEY are always so symmetrical and so equal. If we were to rank those most sublime beings, only the Voracity and the Permanence can stand toe-to-toe with the Equilibrium's antiquity... Oh, and also the Order. After Ena disappeared, the Equilibrium's duties have only grown greater. Then, how would HooH perceive Nanook?"- Dev Log for HooH in Simulated Universe, Herta's comment

The fact that Nanook is brought up is pretty funny as theyre the youngest Aeon, and since only the most ancient ones would be able to stand "toe-to-toe" with HooH, youd think as the youngest, Nanook wouldnt stand a chance against them. but they were brought up regardless, in tandem with Ena no less

Coincidentally, Nanook is also the Aeon that Elio wants the Trailblazer to defeat too. Curious! You could say that it is the Will of the Order to see the fall of the Destruction? anyway,

HooH's duties "have grown only greater" since Ena disappeared, meaning that they must have overlapped in some way before, but coexisted. (similarly to how the Remembrance and Preservation coexist, possibly) We dont know much of anything about Equilibrium yet though, so lets put that aside.

Lets talk about luck.

Luck is just chance. The results of "chance" are left up to "fate". We know that not all choices or events matter in the grand scheme of things. Theres endless possible paths, so rolling a 1 or a 6 doesnt matter because it will still lead you onto the same destiny. Luck is irrelevant to fate, it does not influence it. Luck only influences how you arrive at it.

So how do you reconcile that with Order? if Order is staunchly adhering to fate, observing humanity to ensure they all end up on the "right" path, then how does chance, luck, happenstance, fit into all this?

Luck is the ultimate Order, because there is only ONE path that luck can take: the most fortunate one. It does not influence your fate however, luck only influences which one of the countless paths towards your fate you end up on. and always being lucky narrows your potential paths down to just one.

This is also why Nihility was the natural conclusion for Aventurine. If you realize that no matter what you do, you cannot change the outcome of your choices, then you realize its futile and decide to succumb to it. youll always win, so whats the point? Thats Nihility: succumbing to Fate, the inevitability of everything, realizing your choices dont matter. When youre lucky and everything you do leads to the same result then you start to think that maybe nothing matters.

Back on track though. Fate, despite being predetermined, is not singular. as in, theres predetermined fates (plural) waiting for you at the end of your path. theres multiple endings. Luck means you have less paths to end up on but luck does not influence the end goal.

In a way, what Elio is trying to do is very similar to what Aventurines "luck" does: he wants to end up on a very specific path that leads him to a very specific fate, and luck leads you onto one single path, theoretically making it easier to achieve certain fates. Its an interesting parallel.

"Blessing" someone with luck seems a bit too hands-on for someone like Ena, so while we might never know why Aventurine was blessed specifically, we can kind of see it as a sort of trial-run. Ena does not interfere, does not "defy" fate, but bestowing luck onto someone to narrow down their futures is a bit like interference- except its not, only on a technicality. theyre still adhering to the set paths that exist, after all, im not changing fate, what are you talking about? look, hes still on one of your predetermined paths. the fact that he cant go onto other paths is irrelevant if he still ends up at one of the predetermined endings.

As a note though, Ena is not Fate itself. Ena adheres to fate and ensures that humanity follows it. Nihility is basically succumbing to fate and thinking its inevitable and change is futile, and I guess you could see Harmony as the concept of circumventing fate- instead of arriving at one of your predetermined endings, how about you get assimilated into our harmonious hivemind and experience eternal bliss? (lets wait on that 2.2 harmony lore-drop before saying anything about that though)

got off track a little. basically, Ena's Order is the concept of conforming/adhering to Fate. potentially, in their era, Fate was a singular end, because they were the one to guide humanity onto certain paths and towards certain ends (which is why civilizations thrived but ultimately still collapsed). Enas assimiliation was on purpose, although we can only speculate on the reason. so i will. heres my speculation:

Ena is not Fate itself, but a Guide. seeing the countless possible paths and possible fates for humanity, they foresaw the same thing that Elio foresees- a terrible End at the hands of the Destruction that may affect humans and Aeons alike. potentially, Enas Will mightve been to avoid that (but remaining within the confines of fate, not defying it) so they set in motion the steps needed to embark on said path, which necessitated their assimilation into Harmony. if Enas reign caused the Fates of humans to be "set in stone", then Enas disappearance could be seen as humans regaining the ability to choose their own paths, their own fate. Essentially, Enas disappearance wouldve been necessary in order to even create the possibility of an "alternate ending" and leaving the choice up to humanity.

anyway thats the conclusion thanks for coming, godspeed if you read the whole thing. im bad at keeping things short and concise. and i started rambling near the end

as a disclaimer: these are vague thoughts and i change my view on things often. if we get new info in the future that says this was all nonsense then thats that. im not trying to convince anyone. just offering a perspective for funsies

#honkai star rail #ena the order #gaiathra triclops #when the new simverse update comes out with a new harmony path and we get lore about Ena we popping the BIGGEST bottles #cough. well anyway. Order am i right.#i didnt talk about Enas imagery but its pretty insane what with the puppet strings and and giant eye and #well. to offer another perspective: genshin is very fond of describing fate as a panopticon. 'casting an examining eye on humanity'#(especially with the new lore about the crimson moon- the eye of fate and judgement)#and literally calling Fate the strings that puppeteer humanity. haha. ha. HA.#not necessarily saying hsr and gi are connected. but rather that hoyo has a definitive view of fate and often uses the same ideas #over and over again. so. rather than saying theyre connected its more like. the imagery is so similar #that you could say the heavenly principles are how theyre representing their idea of fate in genshin. and ena is hsr's idea #i just wanted to mention that though its been driving me insane #um. ena sweep. live love laugh #vampy.txt

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utilitycaster · 2 years

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So, lore-wise, here's what I can put together regarding Ruidus specifically in comparison to other sealed things:

The cage around Ruidus appears to be very similar to the Divine Gate, which is repeatedly described as a lattice. The Divine Gate very specifically only keeps the gods from reaching the Material Plane: travel to and from other planes is possible for anyone else with the spellcasting ability or with access to a portal.

Ruidus is on the Material Plane, a statement I have bolded for reasons of "if you know, you know"; though it has been seen in the Feywild as of late.

Ruidus is also implied to be a prison for two now-unknown deities who had been sealed away and forgotten prior to the height of the Age of Arcanum. It is also indicated to have not existed at the time of the Founding, though it was around by the time of the Calamity. Call of the Netherdeep uses some very deft language to sidestep whether it's truly canonically an alien, dark power that "seep[ed] through the fabric of reality" or if that's just a legend, but does note that Ruidus does have an influence on the fates of those it flares upon. There are enchantments intended to make scrying on Ruidus or discerning its true nature difficult, which is what the Veilscatter Scope bypasses.

Here's where it gets interesting. The Divine Gate is permeable by the avatars of deities and by their favor (ie, Melora can speak to and grant powers to Caduceus and Fjord even though she can't physically manifest on the Material Plane). We know that whatever barriers existed between the Betrayer Gods and the Material Plane prior to them being broken at the onset of the Calamity could not be breached in this way, ie, Betrayer Gods could not grant powers to their worshipers. If Ruidus is surrounded by something similar to the Divine Gate, in theory, that which is on it is sealed off but can grant powers. Which makes sense, because, you know, Imogen.

Imogen notes that the cage around Ruidus distinctly does not look like ley lines. It's worth noting that one of the other barriers we know of, the long-since blighted Tree of Names, was tied to the ley lines. It's also worth noting the Divine Gate is divinely crafted and the Tree of Names was at least implied to be created by the mortal Gau Drashari druidic order. That said, Ruidus itself seems to have ties to the ley lines and planes given that the celestial solstices (of which apogee solstices are a subset) involve the alignment of celestial bodies on the Material Plane leading to a thinning of planar boundaries and potential shifts in ley lines. We also know ley lines can cross planes, although we don't know if this occurs naturally vs. only when wizards get cocky.

The city meanwhile can't really be explained by anything here, so...that's new, and I would presume (though I could be wrong) that Otohan and "guy who is probably Ludinus but could be another elf" are not physically on Ruidus, so the exact nature of Imogen's dreams is still in question. It's also not clear why Imogen has seen several recently departed people, notably Bertrand and the Lumas Twins, in her visions. I'd love to know if there's a third (fourth?), even more secret death god on the moon, which is a wild thing to say.

#divine gate? call that a lords on high-pass filter #ask me how my thoughts on d&d theology can still win and indeed have never stopped winning #also. as always. shut the FUCK up about spelljammer I do not care.#long post #critical role #critical role spoilers

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dungeonmalcontent · 1 year

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So, I'd like to showcase a few things that I've put on DMsGuild because there's a whole lot more now.

I want to start off with Grimdark & Dangerous. Follower turnover is pretty high on Tumblr, and people go inactive pretty quick. So many people that see this will not be familiar with G&D. It was a huge project for me and I am very proud of it.

Grimdark & Dangerous is a 5e d&d homebrew book available for purchase on DMsGuild for $19.99. It comes as a PDF (for now) and is 159 pages of content geared towards gritty aesthetics. You can follow this link to see my full post on the book or the DMsGuild page here. It has a lot of content and is more than worth the price tag.

While G&D is my biggest item on DMsGuild, I have a nice handful of middle sized docs as well. These are mostly pay what you want (PWYW) titles and quite old. They are also more prone to errors and unintelligible text (where I just started writing and went into a stupor and created something I no longer fully understand).

+ Ancient Artifice Primer for Modern Practitioners (PWYW) - A magic item crafting system which can allow players to create magic items with some degree of value based balancing. It doesn't cover as much as it should in my opinion and is one of those unintelligible texts. However, I do still appreciate my very limited world-building of early runic magic and early graphic design work.

+ Better Backgrounds: 5e Character Building Alternative (PWYW) - A short book on how players can build characters without relying on race based ability score increases. I built on this premise in Grimdark & Dangerous and I'm still quite proud of how I did it in Better Backgrounds. This is a much rougher document than G&D and the writing has a handful of errors, but still decent.

+ The Inheritor: An Artifact and Exploration Class (PWYW) - A homebrew class option. I always say that if you want to play in a game and have a strong connection to the setting, run vestiges (Critical Role), or have a complex backstory this is the class for you. Inheritor characters come with a prebuilt artifact which functions as a growing magic item. You get to customize the item and there is a lot of variability to what your item can do (also includes a modular builder if you aren't very creative). Still pretty proud of this.

+ Mystic Revised (PWYW) - A full remake of the mystic UA class using my own opinions of what it should be. It's based, roughly, on the Nen system in Hunter x Hunter. It's a pretty fun class, but is not very mystic/psionic-y.

+ An Outcast's Notes on the Plane of Pensos - A Planar Adventure Setting for 5e (PWYW) - Don't pay money for this one unless you really genuinely love it. It's an outline and not worth much (IMO). Technically, it can't really even be sold on DMsGuild because it constitutes a homebrew setting (which they don't allow). I created it because I ran (and still do run) this setting and figured it could be a fun thing to share.

+ Plague Pestilence Parasite (PWYW) - A disease book that introduces new mechanics for how contagious diseases spread and how they can be integrated into 5e adventure settings. It also includes a handful of new diseases of varying danger (not all of which are actually threats to player characters). Still a decent book, though I now recognize it lacks some clear writing and has a handful of errors (I may come back and redo this book at some point).

+ Plague Pestilence Parasite: Avolakia Overrun (PWYW) - I don't think I'm really fit to write actual adventure modules, and this book is why. It is an adventure module written to use the rules in Plague Pestilence Parasite. It is still technically an open beta test. It's not unplayable, but I don't think it represents an adventure that players would latch on to (feel free to prove me wrong).

+ The Emissary: An Extraplanar Class (PWYW) - One of my first docs. It's a homebrew class heavily inspired by the Fate/Stay series (has nothing to do with any of the core themes/tropes/abilities of any Fate title) and is actually way more fun than it may sound. The premise: you get a little pocket dimension to store things in and it gives you a variety of powers (the ability to make a little nature preserve, become an auto-crafter, or be Gilgamesh in UBW and launch items at people).

Then there are smaller docs. These are moderately more expensive than most of my short docs (will list those later) but have a significant amount more content than my short docs. These are more recent docs and I generally have higher opinions of them because I was more skilled when I made them.

+ Grimdark Puzzles ($5) - An extension of the themes present in Grimdark & Dangerous. This document contains three (technically 5-6 depending on how you think about it) puzzles that present unique puzzles with dark aesthetics. I really like this doc.

+ From the Dwarven Vault ($1.50) - An item collection themed for dwarven cultures. This does rely a lot on dwarven stereotypes in fantasy, but I did get to bring in some fun things (like burial armor and the DUBA) that I think most people would really appreciate having in their games for lore and aesthetics. Also includes some content for rune carving.

+ From the Elven Vault ($1.50) - Like FTDV, this is a collection of items themed for elves. However, this one is a bit different. While Dwarves are smiths and warriors, elves are crafters. Not just of metal, but most mediums and particularly with mediums that take a great deal of time. If you like crafting in campaigns (if artificer is your favorite class), you want to take a look here because I added in crystal singing and there are three new sets of artisan's tools.

+ Lich Minions: A Lair Building Guide ($2.50) - I really liked making this doc and I am very happy with it. This is a guide for making lairs when your BBEG is a lich. It includes a variety of undead themed minions and how they fit into a lich's minion hierarchy. Each minion has some unique difference from their generic variety or are outright unique, they all have stat blocks. This is a really good resource if you want to do a short dungeon run campaign or a siege campaign. I plan on making more docs like this and I really enjoy this format.

Finally, I have my short docs (there's a lot of these). For simplicity I'll break these into two sub-categories: "Encounter With" and "Subclass".

The “encounter with” docs are short docs that include information on a unique or updated monster, a specific NPC, or a type of NPC. Each is given a stat block, has an outline of what kind of hazards are in the same area as this creature, and lists what kind of loot you might be able to gather from encountering this monster. These encounters include:

+ Archchancellor Ensiid

+ Dracolich Gollryn

+ The Athach

+ The Beholdra

+ The Boom Goblin

+ The Chaos Beast

+ The Destrachan

+ The Drow Paleweaver

+ The Introspective Terror

+ The Lifeblood Magus

+ The Musclemancer

+ The Non-Phaneron Beast (note the cover of this doc is intentional, as the beast does not have a visible form)

+ The Pale Widow

+ The Silkscale Coiler

+ The Soliptic Nightmare

+ The Sunken Effigy

+ The Venomous Plesiodrake

+ The Werewolf Lord

(I feel like I'm missing one...). All encounters have a $0.50 or $0.75 price tag depending on if the encounter features an original or converted stat block.

The subclasses are just that, subclass docs. I really love making subclasses and I try not to burn out on them because I have so many subclass WIPs I want to do. These subclasses include:

+ Druid: Circle of the Grove (Plant druid. Why doesn't this exist already?)

+ Druid: Circle of Witchcraft (Discworld witches, love this one)

+ Fighter: Blade Drifter (I just want to link a song from the Sonic Riders franchise here, but they're all so corny)

+ Ranger: Hell Skulker (nine hells/abyss ranger, also really like this one)

+ Warlock: The Greatwyrm (DRAGON PATRON! Why doesn't this exist already?)

These subclasses all have a $0.75 price tag. I will probably be making a lot more of these, they just take a bit longer than the encounter docs.

#d&d #dnd #homebrew #dungeons and dragons #5e #ttrpg #fantasy #grimdark & dangerous #writing #masterlist

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bracketsoffear · 11 months

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Major Tom (David Bowie) "An astronaut who was sent into deep space and vanishes -- possibly intentionally, depending on your reading of the lyrics. The line "And the papers want to know whose shirts you wear" emphasizes the mundane, capitalist nature of the world he left behind. This is further supported by the later portions of the song devoted to Major Tom's awe at the beauty and infinity of space, contrasted against the small, claustrophobic description of his spaceship as a 'tin can', which reduces humanity's great achievement of space travel to nothing more than cosmic debris. The line 'And I'm floating in a most peculiar way' may also refer to an inability to connect emotionally to others, feeding into the Vast's themes of disconnect and insignificance. The line "Though I'm past one hundred thousand miles, I'm feeling very still," refers both to the lack of any body relative to which he can judge his motion and his own sense of peace about the phenomenon. This is followed by the line, "And I think my spaceship knows which way to go," which can be interpreted as Major Tom's realization that he doesn't need to be there anymore, and can just let go. The mission and the world will go on without him. Whether or not he intentionally sabotaged his equipment to drift off forever into space, the song's ending shows him peacefully floating off into eternity, accepting and possibly even enjoying his fate. This is also supported by Peter Schilling's interpretation of the Major in his song, Major Tom (Coming Home), which emphasizes in the final verse "Now the light commands/This is my home/I'm coming home." Major Tom has chosen the stars over the planet, and he is prepared to fall forever to reach them.

Space Oddity Major Tom (Coming Home)"

John Hunger (The Adventure Zone: Balance) "John was a philosopher and the most accomplished motivational speaker in his planar system, who came to realize the limitations of being mortal after 'truly pondering eternity'. John came to believe that "living is horrible." He shared his dissatisfaction and fury with the people of his home plane, getting all his kinsmen from his plane to understand and accept the futility of individual life when presented with the cloying void of infinity. Using sheer charisma, he convinced every entity on every plane of his system to use the Light of Creation by breaking one of the fundamental laws of the multiverse-- that two things cannot occupy the same space. All things in the Planar system abandoned the concept of life itself and were bound together by their bonds, turning them into the Hunger--a sentient plane that feeds on other planes. The Hunger seeks to transcend existence regardless of the cost, by using the Light of Creation to similarly fuse other Planar systems to itself in an attempt to literally 'become bigger than existence' and see what is outside."

#vast poll #the magnus archives #the vast #poll #david bowie #the adventure zone #taz: balance

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avcnturine · 19 days

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I’ve seen a number of theories about Aventurine’s eyes, how they’re viewed within the Avgin culture and how they’re viewed by outsiders, what they symbolism, their powers, etc., so I want to hear your headcanons 👀

〈　　　from　　∶　　　　𝐁𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐇𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀 𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐍 𝐌𝐈𝐂　/　🇦🇨🇨🇪🇵🇹🇮🇳🇬　　〉

ooooo!! granted, i don't know what others have been saying myself, so apologies if my headcanons aren't quite up to their theories

how they're viewed within the avgin culture,

note to myself here to talk at some later date about avgin cultural history and origins because looking at the flashback scenes gave me some more thoughts. anyway!

brightly-colored, multi-toned eyes are seen as a good omen, specifically that the child is a gift from fenge biyos herself. for the life of me, i'm almost sure i remember there being a line either from his mother or his sister or his younger self in one of the flashbacks about how aventurine's eyes are a sign of gaiathra triclops' blessing, but i can't find it rn!!!!!! anyway, the association comes from their veneration of the aurora, which is believed to be the embodiment of fenge biyos' divine essence when she leaves behind her body to ascend for the rebirth of kakava. because the avgins' signature brightly-colored eyes mirror the hues and vibrancy of this aurora, it's believed that these children are in essence "fragments" of fenge biyos' divinity brought down and shared among the people as sources of blessing and good fortune. there's more i could say here about the embodiment of fenge biyos' divinity here ( as in divinity made bodily ) given the avgins' beliefs that sigonia itself is shaped from the goddess' body. so there's definitely a common thread that runs through the avgin belief system here. anyway, in particular, blessed children like these are seen as a kind of deliverance for the avgin people from their reality of suffering. there's a clear collectivistic value system and sense of community duty that comes with it. this is, i would argue, where aventurine's own view on fate and how good fortune can be used to combat it, stems from. from the scene where kakavasha returns the stolen necklace to his sister:

???: Pain and poverty are the trials of Gaiathra Triclops. SHE has also granted us a chance, and that's your good luck, Kakavasha. Your good luck is the most precious wealth that we — and all avgins — have. ???: You're a child blessed by Gaiathra Triclops and can lead the clan to happiness.

not every avgin has them. the sigonia planar ornament, as well as numerous other characters' reactions to aventurine, indicates that the "sigonian eyes" are a well-known phenotypical stereotype. but given that they seem to so far broadly associate the eyes with sigonia even though the avgin is only one of its numerous tribal groups, i'm willing to believe that the distinctive eyes themselves are a case of generalization also. there are plenty of sigonians, and avgins, who have gone unrecognized by the larger galaxy due to not possessing them. 　

the exact colors and hues vary. aventurine's are distinctively a sharp sky blue and bright lilac, but there have been other variations of different colors, shades, and combinations. the lighter and more vibrant ( thus closer to the aurora ), the luckier the child is considered to be. notably, no two individuals with the exact same colors have existed at the same time, something that's only deepened the avgins' beliefs.

how they're viewed by outsiders,

aside from the established indication of stereotype,

superstition. some other buried text that i can't remember right this second, as well as sunday's question to aventurine during the interrogation of whether "the avgins have any ability to read, tamper with, or manipulation one's own or another's mind", tell us that the rumor or urban legend that this may be the case is fairly commonplace. it's pretty clear that hoyo takes some inspiration here from how the roma people are similarly perceived and distrusted. 　

jealousy and envy. the description for "sigonia: the unclaimed desolation" also tells us that the avgins frequently draw "jealousy and ire" from others due to their naturally attractive features, beautiful eyes, and inborn ease of social maneuvering. the interaction of these two faces ( the superstition / distrust and the envy ) can be seen whenever aventurine's defining features are brought up — his eyes are almost always called " beautiful " by others ( such as by sparkle ) in the same breath that they and what they represent are also disparaged. we also see this in of course his former slavemaster, who valued him in part for his beauty while also treating him like dirt. though in this case the direct correlation to aventurine being avgin isn't present, we still see that same dichotomy. 　

so do those eyes have powers? most likely not. ( i say most likely because frankly, the cutscene where he accosts the trailblazer like hella aggro plays up specifically the force of his gaze super super intensely, with his eyes clearly being the locus of the intimidation going on there. so i wouldn't be entirely surprised if hoyo was trying to imply that there is "some" sort of pseudo-hypnotic / psychic thing he can pull out. idk. ) 　 ultimately though i land on no. the reason for this, even despite said cutscene, is because i think aventurine understands the power of suggestion very, very well — and knows that if everyone already sort of buys into the idea that avgin eyes have the ability to bend their minds, then it's already most of the way there to being true. it's basically placebo effect in reverse. i think this is actually why the cutscene is the way it is, and why the game doesn't give us any other clear answer otherwise — it's essentially putting this same "is there, isn't there?" question in the player's mind that the characters in-game themselves have. 　 the knowledge of this power of suggestion is why aventurine doesn't oppose or correct any of the avgin stereotypes others have about him, instead actively playing into them and using them to benefit himself. the sunglasses are not to hide his eyes; they're there to enhance them. he knows that with sunglasses that flashy, the eyes are where most people are going to look first on his face. so he leans into that, and when he takes them off, it only brings out his eyes even more. if people who are confronted by them then think they might be getting psychic'd, and are then jumping through hoops in their own minds and psyching themselves out, then they're doing half the work for him. and at that point, isn't the rumor then just kind of true?

#◟〈 ♠ 〉　bluff，or double bluff?　━━　ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑐𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑛﹒🝊#i havent been readmoreing these yikes gomen #i feel like i've already said most of this in your dms... scattered... hahaha #but just consolidating it all here i guess #thank you so much ree!! you know i love them kaa eyes #flashbacks to the very first time we saw him on screen together and i went “LOOK AT THIS GOBSTOPPER ASS”

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dailycharacteroption · 2 months

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Roleplaying Races 15: Duskwalker

(art by JoshBurns on DeviantArt)

And so we continue this special with the very last of the planar scion ancestries that Pathfinder 1st edition has to offer: the Duskwalker, the neutral-aligned planetouched.

Much like Aphorites, duskwalkers do not come into being in the same way as most. No mingling of bloodlines occurs in their case. Instead, they are born the way they are by the divine mandate of the forces they represent, but we’ll get into that.

According to legend, two powerful psychopomps, a yamaraj and an olethros mother, entered into a discussion about the interplay between fate and fortune, and how many souls lose their chance at destiny when their lives are cut short, and whether that is fair.

This discussion led to an agreement, approved by Pharasma, in which some souls whose fates were severed too soon and whose lives led to them being distinguished among the psychopomps and other guardians of the cycle to get a second chance.

These souls are sent back to the material plane along the secret planar paths known as the dead roads, taking the form of young children with a basket of supplies in hand, and are often found by locals wandering the graveyards where they exit the Dead Roads. These are duskwalkers.

Now, as you might imagine, off-putting children found roaming graveyards are likely to be viewed with apprehension by most simple folk, so while the psychopomps do their best to send them places where they will be accepted, some are not, and are forced to mature physically and mentally very rapidly in order to survive.

Having not experienced infancy, duskwalkers are born into this world knowing their duty to help protect the cycle of life and death as mortal beings, however, they can still shape their own fate, and a few reject it, even going as far as to ally with the sahkils, the terrible enemies of the psychopomps.

While many duskwalkers resemble humans, it is possible for them to be born resembling any sapient ancestry, though they typically sport gray skin, and sometimes sport odd features that resemble one of the various forms of psychopomps, such as feathers, animal-like features on the face, hands, and feet, and so on.

Like many other planar scions, duskwalkers don’t have much in the way of a society of their own. Most go their entire second lives never meeting another of their kind, and what few communities do exist are almost universally founded as part of or after some great unified goal to protect the cycle and/or destroy some great undead threat. Due to the sporatic nature of duskwalker creation, such communities may cease to even be duskwalker communites after a generation, populated by their mortal descendants and those of their mortal allies. Perhaps the only other peoples they feel common ground with are planar scions and other hybrid folk, though naturally they share a mutual distrust with most dhampir.

Duskwalkers are agile and cunning, but their connections to death makes their bodies somewhat fragile.

Their nature as native outsiders also gives them incredible night vision, the better for seeing the undead that hide from the light.

Many are also created with innate understanding of living bodies and also they mysteries of faith and the undead, making them more skilled in areas of medicine, religion, and undead-hunting.

Perhaps their most iconic ability, however, is their ability to channel their undead-slaying power into any weapon they touch, making even mundane blades at least partially effective against the spectral dead, though they can focus further once a day to improve this to strike true against such lost souls for a short while.

Naturally, being a duskwalker gives them natural resistance to negative energy and harmful necromancy. What’s more, they are totally immune to magic and supernatural power that would cause them to rise as the undead. (though rumor has it that duskwalkers that forsake their duty and ally with the sahkils lose that protection, making for truly terrible undead indeed)

Of course, not all duskwalkers are built the same, so there are some alternate traits for them as well. For example, some were utterly shunned by the locals and forced to steal and scavenge to survive, affecting what they were skilled in. Others were taken in by big families that showered them with love, making them more social with both people and animals. Meanwhile, some were favored by the olethros associated with the origins of their kind, and trade their resistances for a knack for finding the perfect chink in a foe’s armor at the right time. Those that were favored by the yamaraj side trade the same protections for a measure of their wisdom, navigating social situations with their sagacity rather than charm.

With their agility and wisdom, duskwalkers make excellent ranged combatants, (particularly gunslingers, rangers, and hunters), as well as rogues, slayers, ninjas, and of course various wisdom casters like clerics and druids. However, their knack for fighting the undead with mundane weapons also means that combat classes both mundane and magical are also a good choice. Naturally, any build or archetype that focuses on hunting the undead is a good choice as well, though those built around using the undead are anathema to all but the most corrupted of their kind. Their con penalty does mean that fighting in a straight-up fight is a bit risky for them, but not impossible to get around.

That will do for today, but I hope you enjoyed this final look at a planar scion option in first edition!

#pathfinder #race #duskwalker #planar adventures

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masterqwertster · 11 months

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I've been sitting on this for a while but I suppose I would like to hear an opinion on this one... An AU where Ashton was displaced to Zephrah and was a polycule with Orym and Will but was displaced again during the attack/went to Marquet in search of his own answers about his past and didn't know about Will's death and there was no contact between Orym and Ashton for 6 years until they met in Jrusar

You know, I have thought about Ashton ending up with the Ashari instead of staying in Greymoore/Bassuras.

Though I haven't considered, nor would I use, an Oym/Will/Ashton polycule. I don't ship Ashrym (I don't necessarily mind it, I just don't see it happening on the current path). Plus, in this AU Orym and Will's first impression of Ashton would be "child" since they'd be around 15 and Ashton would be 10 at most, making that a whole thing to overcome for a romance. Not to mention that I'm not sure Ashton would even want that romance, given the only hard evidence/knowledge of their (canon) romantic leanings is they loved, but the relationship ended in such a way that ten years later they questioned if it was even actually a romantic love.

Anyways:

Ashton of the Ashari AU

Ashton is picked up from Bassuras and adopted by the Ashari

The Ashari stumble into investigating the destruction of Hishari about a month after it blew, so any and all survivors have already scattered and left. So the only way to find potential survivors is to Scry using personal items that are laying around the ruins and hope they get lucky

Keyleth is a part of this group since she's the Outreach Leader for the Ashari

One of their later survivor scrying successes, like two-ish weeks after investigations began, is little Ashton off of one of their toys. How the hell did this child end up in a desert area? There are no deserts in the Demithore Valley.

It takes a few sessions to get Bassuras as the location, and a while longer yet to figure out travel logistics because there's not a lot of trees, especially big ones, out there

Little Ashton has had a rough few months adjusting to life at Greymoore. And then the Leaf Cloak Lady shows up to adopt him? No, not adopt, just not going to leave him in a shitty state home because she's looking into how his old home blew up?

So Ashton gets shuffled to Zephrah and ends up living next door to Orym. And the air in Zephrah is weird in a not-good way to Ashton (the adults say it's just the altitude, he'll adjust to it eventually)

Orym is, of course, seen as the cool older kid in the neighborhood (especially with his Tempest Blade sword training) and ends up being roped into babysitting with some regularity. Orym's best buddy Will is also a cool kid of the neighborhood (if tormented by his older sisters)

A few months later, Orym and Will discover Ashton passed out (possibly while babysitting), and when they look for a cause, they notice a bruise peeking out of his sock-line on each foot. They pull the socks off and... they're pretty sure the kid’s feet aren't supposed to be green stone. Time to get the adults

Turns out having an aasimar turn into an earth genasi in a place of elemental air is too much extra-planar power strain on a little kid's body. Ashton is relocated once more, this time to Terrah

Orym and Will end up accompanying Keyleth when she goes to Terrah a month later to see how Ashton is doing (she feels responsible for bringing them to Zephrah where it wasn't healthy for them, the boys are a bit traumatized and need to see for themselves the younger kid is okay)

As part of Keyleth's initiatives for better communication and partnership between the Ashari tribes, the friendship between Will, Orym, and Ashton is encouraged and somewhat catered to with visits and correspondence. Ashton remains with the Earth Ashari

At 18-20, Ashton decides to get out to see the world, and goes to Bassuras because "there has to be some reason I was spat out there, right?" Instead of some fated thing to find, he gets into punk and crime. After a year, year and a half, he decides Bassuras sucks, he's gonna crime elsewhere. Move to Jrusar and befriend and rent a room from Milo Krook (occasionally he'll take jobs with this group called the Nobodies that Milo supplies jobs for)

Ashton also gets a "home for the holidays" tree arranged back to Terrah about once a year after he leaves, and will bounce over to Zephrah to visit with Orym and Will (who are married by the time Ashton leaves) during the trip back home

Ashton has a hard falling out/disownment with their Earth Ashari foster parents over the life of crime, once the fosters find out. Ends up bouncing over to Zephrah to sulk on Will and Orym's couch for the rest of the "vacation" with the vague explanation of a disagreement about their career choices (because Ashton has been telling no one in the Ashari about the shady end of what they do in Marquet)

That's the last time they all get together

Not too long after that, the Hexum Job occurs. Difference is Milo has to argue harder to get the Nobodies to haul Ashton out and Ashton did not want to pay off their bounty in addition to his own since those "friends" (not family, Milo is family) bounced and left him holding the bag.

Hexum makes Ashton take the debt for the full group's bounty, otherwise she'll put him to the other consequences. And she imposes limits on Ashton's travel to make sure he doesn't bounce too. Which, Ashton wanted to maybe go back to Terrah for a proper genasi check-up on/for Milo's patchwork, even if he wasn't sure if he'd be welcome after the whole criminal reveal to the fosters, but adding Hexum's threat to the mix takes that off the table

The attack on Zephrah happens pretty close on the heels of the Hexum job, so when Orym tries to contact Ashton to inform them about Will (and Derrig) and the funeral, they're in no condition to respond, much less attend

Orym ends up setting off on his own journey before it's the time of year to invite Ashton back around for a visit (he's not even sure they would come. They didn't even attend Will's funeral)

And since the fosters aren't inviting a criminal back into their home, Ashton ends up with zero invites to catch a tree back to the Ashari (and kind of take it as a full culture disownment because obviously the fosters have gotten his criminal ass excommunicated)

So Ashton and Orym don't see each other for six years until the campaign start. Though I will note that Orym was actually leading Fearne and Dorian towards the Krook House when they encounter the furniture, as he hoped Ashton hadn't moved and would be willing to try and mend their untended friendship

Orym is wondering what the hell happened to Ashton to end up in the glass and gold (and where/when they picked up the automaton companion). Ashton is wondering where/why Orym left his fucking husband to travel with the two new friends.

They don't really get to talk until after the larger group is established. At which point, Ashton blurts out "Where the fuck is Will?" and knows by the way Orym's face crumples that Will is gone. They both cry about it. Then Orym questions how Ashton didn't already know when he was invited to the funeral, and Ashton reveals that they a bad fall on a job and were recovering at the time and then trapped in a pile of debt over the job ever since (no crime is mentioned). Orym knows there's something up with that story, but he's just happy to have his psuedo-little brother back in his life finally

It becomes pretty clear to Orym after a short while with (the not yet named) Bells Hells that Ashton's secret is crime. He doesn't approve, but considering the people he's been hanging with recently... It's not worth making a fuss over

#MQ&A #MQ Au machine #Ashton of the Ashari AU #critical role #bells hells #ashton greymoore #orym of the air ashari

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fantomcomics · 6 months

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What's Out This Week? 11/15

Upcoming events:

11/19 - Anti-Imperialist Collage Workshop!

11/20 - Scott Pilgrim Book Club & Netflix Watch Party!

Alien #1 - Declan Shalvey, Andrea Broccardo & Javier Fernandez

EVERYONE WILL HEAR YOU SCREAM! • In deep space spins a world infected by the universe's greatest killers. Most people - sane people - would construct a barrier thicker than the hulls of ten Nostromos and leave it to rot. • But where most people see a death trap, Weyland-Yutani sees the biggest payout in the history of civilization. And if it costs a few human lives to secure? Those come cheap here. • Corporate corruption, personal betrayals and extraordinary violence - Declan Shalvey and Andrea Broccardo's next and greatest Alien story starts here!

Catians #1 - Cortney Cameron & Luyi Bennett

Stray cat Felix leads a happy life skimming milk from his human friend Rose's convenient store, until the local protection racket turns violent. To save Rose's life, Felix breaks his vows and shares an ancient secret. Unfortunately, Rose uses her newfound knowledge to mix revenge and forbidden magic, unleashing a monstrous abomination that forces the mysterious Council of Cats to launch a global quest for the Relics of the divine Great Cat.

Deadpool: Seven Slaughters #1 - Rob Liefeld & Greg Capullo

Seven kills in seven days! Welcome to a week in the life of Wade Wilson, the best mercenary Marvel's ever had (just ask him)! From facing off with rival killers to top secret assassinations, DEADPOOL has a lot of work to do in this blood-soaked oversized issue full of fan-favorite creators past and future!

Dungeons & Dragons: Fortune Finder #1 - Jim Zub, Joe Jaro & Max Dunbar

In the city of Sigil, an amnesiac hero only known as "Finder" tries to uncover who they are and why they're being chased by planar beings intent on capturing them-or worse. But as their tumultuous journey unfolds, they discover that their fate is tied to grand forces that dictate reality itself throughout the planes! A shocking surprise lurks around every corner in FortuneFinder, a miniseries inspired by the new Dungeons & Dragons sourcebook Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse.

Speed Force #1 (of 6) - Jarrett Williams & Daniele Di Nicuolo

Wallace West and Avery Ho: the young speedsters have been Teen Titans, Justice Leaguers, and above all, members of the Flash Family. As they become aware of mysterious changes happening to the Speed Force, they race to Keystone City, where they encounter old friends, new threats, and a chance to forge their own paths.

Geiger: Ground Zero #1 (of 2) - Geoff Johns & Gary Frank

The saga of THE UNNAMED continues! GEOFF JOHNS and GARY FRANK return to the apocalyptic world of GEIGER for a special explosive two-issue origin epic.

What happened to Tariq Geiger in the days after the nuclear bombs first dropped? How did mankind survive the UNKNOWN WAR? Who is the mysterious Russian scientist Dr. Molotov and why is he hunting Geiger? And how does this tie all the way back to the American Revolution? Get ready to put on your hazmat suit and find out!

GI Joe: A Real American Hero One-Shot - Bob Mcleod & Herb Trimpe

Celebrate the return of G.I. JOE: A REAL AMERICAN HERO with the definitive edition of its historic first issue! This issue restores Larry Hama's original, unedited dialogue, which has never before seen print!

Godzilla Rivals VS Mechagodzilla #1 - Mark Martinez

IS YOUR CITY BESIEGED BY KAIJU? DO YOU LIE AWAKE AT NIGHT ANXIOUSLY LISTENING FOR THE MONSTER SIRENS? HAVE YOU HAD ALL YOU CAN TAKE OF GIANT LIZARDS, MOTHS, PTERODACTYLS, AND SHRIMP? THEN CALL TRACER TECH TODAY! OUR STATE-OF-THE-ART ANTI-KAIJU TECHNOLOGY HAS ALLOWED DOZENS OF CITIES AROUND THE WORLD TO FEND OFF THE THREAT OF MONSTER ATTACK.

San Palomar, California. It's a sleepy city with not much going on. That is, until Tracer Tech built their new corporate headquarters there, displacing lifelong citizens and forcing out local businesses. But what is the source of Tracer's amazing, almost alien technology, and why has it put San Palomar in Godzilla's sights? And what can a couple of local kids like Alex and Jaz do to protect their city when the King of the Monsters and its robot doppelgänger clash?

Lotus Land #1 (of 6) - Darcy Van Poelgeest, Caio Filipe & Alex Eckman-Lawn

In a Vancouver of the future painted with ultramodern decay, a groundbreaking advancement in technology promises an end to entropy itself.

But when an attack on this mysterious "Keeper Program" threatens the lives of everyone tied to it, retired Police Detective Bennie Strikman is called to investigate one last case.

The Ministry Of Compliance #1 - John Ridley & Stefano Raffaele

Thirty-seven years ago, Earth was secretly invaded by an alien force known as the Devolution, and they have been shaping the direction humanity has been going in ever since to prepare us to be assimilated into their empire.

The Devolution has thirteen ministries, each responsible for manipulating a different aspect of human life. The Ministry of Compliance, the most feared of all the ministries, led by the fierce Avigail Senna, makes sure all the ministries stay in line and remain focused on the Devolution's mission. As it appears the Ministry's mission is on the verge of being completed and Earth will be assimilated, things begin to go terribly wrong, and a conspiracy among the ministries breaks out that Avigail must deal with head-on.

Outsiders #1 (of 12) - Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly & Robert Carey

Never the End. A universe of secrets is about to come to light. Batman protects Gotham City from evil. Batman Inc. protects the rest of the known world. But what of the unknown world? What of the ancient evils in hidden tombs and forgotten tragedies from a magic-and-mad-science fueled super-heroic century? Using his fortune, Luke Fox launches a new organization dedicated to shining light into the world's darkest corners. His first recruit: Kate Kane, the Batwoman--who will re-embrace her military background to protect Luke's dream and encounter every bit of strangeness the DCU has to offer. And just wait until you meet the Third Man...or learn what universe-shattering secret they've discovered buried under Antarctica. Outsiders is the return of comic book archaeology, digging into all the forgotten corners of DC's history to preserve, record, and better understand the true nature of the DC Multiverse...and the forgotten stories that make up its fabric.

Red Light #1 (of 4) - Sarah Cho, Priscilla Petraites & Jeff Dekal

Lacy is an A.I. sex worker in a futuristic Red Light District. And Lacy knows exactly what her clients want - better than they know it themselves. Housed in a high-tech brothel under the watchful eye of the mysterious Mister, Lacy has little in her manufactured life besides work. All that changes when she befriends Natalie, an orphaned child who comes into her care. Now Lacy and Natalie are on a mission to escape the Red Light District, only to find themselves flung headlong into the mystery behind Lacy's creation.

Superior Spider-Man #1 - Dan Slott & Mark Bagley

A Superior Reckoning! SPIDER-MAN faces a NEW VILLAIN from his SUPERIOR past. As she fries New York with all the power of a living star, DOC OCK makes a life-changing discovery! MARK BAGLEY and DAN SLOTT continue their Spider-Man run with this 10th-ANNIVERSARY celebration of everything that made Spider-Man Superior.

Street Fighter 6 Evolution Special #1 - Capcom, Matt Moylan, Hanzo Steinbach, Tovio Rogers, Jeffrey Chamba Cruz & Genzoman

The new era of fighting games continues with three short-stories starring six World Warriors! Featuring Rashid, Cammy, Dee Jay, Luke, Jamie, and the debut of an all-new Street Fighter 6 character.... the deadly A.K.I.!

365 Days To The Wedding GN Vol 1 - Tamiki Wakaki

A sweet "fake engagement" romance about quiet coworkers by the creator of The World God Only Knows! The J.T.C. travel agency is looking for someone to manage its brand-new branch in Irkutsk. But for employees Oohara Takuya and Honjouji Rika, they'd rather just stay home in Tokyo! Thankfully, they've discovered a way out-their manager has narrowed down the recruits to bachelors, so what if they just... got married? The problem is they barely know each other at all! Can they convince their office they're engaged just long enough for the transfer to finish up?

Cat On The Hero's Lap GN Vol 1 - Kosuke Iijima & Shiori

In this hilarious fantasy adventure, will the hero triumph against the evil demon king, or face defeat... because he can't fight with a cat on his lap?! Our brave hero, Red, has embarked alongside his companions on a journey to defeat the great demon king. Or at least, that was the plan. But then a cat sat on Red's lap and fell asleep. There's no way he can fight monsters like this! As it turns out, Red's greatest enemy is right on top of him!

Curses GN - George Wylesol

"Sometimes I think I see things. Out of the corner of my eye, behind a door, I catch a glimpse of something. It's like a curtain caught in the wind, and then it's gone." From hospitals to hell to the wilderness, George Wylesol's short stories take place in liminal spaces where nothing is as it seems; the surreal becomes real; and something is lying in wait around every corner. As our main characters navigate through corridors, passageways, and highways, they sink deeper and deeper into everyday strangeness that slips into peculiarity, creating an internal journey from normalcy to the supernatural.

Dai Dark Box Set Vol 1 - Q. Hayashida

Introducing the first box set for this hilarious, gruesome, unforgettable tale where dark magic and space action collide! Zaha Sanko's body has great and terrible powers-they say that possessing his bones will grant you any wish, even the desire to become ruler of the universe. But Sanko is still a teenage dude with his own life, and he isn't about to let every monstrous lowlife in the galaxy rip him limb from limb. He and his skeletal buddy Avakian will use their dark powers to fend off any murder attempts while they search space for whomever put this curse on Sanko's bones... because killing them might end the madness. (And then Sanko can celebrate with his favorite spaghetti.) This beautiful box contains Vol. 1-4 of the manga and one double-sided poster.

The Dangerous Convenience Store GN Vol 1 - 945/gusao

This hit Boys' Love webtoon/manhwa (comic) is coming to print in English for the first time! Yeo Eui-joon needs cash, so he works part-time at a convenience store-where the clientele includes hoodlums and mobsters. He's tired of being yelled at while ringing up booze and trying to talk his way out of extortion, but he's not tired of seeing a certain good-looking gangster walk in the door. Gunwoo is huge, gruff, and intimidating at first... but he seems to care about Eui-joon's well-being, and is quick to knock aside anyone giving Eui-joon a hard time. After Eui-joon gets a peek at the enormous condom size Gunwoo buys, a little spark of attraction might just grow into a big, fiery love story!

Disturbed: Dark Messiah TP - Tim Seeley, Angel Hernandez, Esau Escorza & Ryan Christensen

In the not so distant future, firefighter Griffin DeSanto has found himself a man out of time, stumbling into a harsh world of poverty, automation, and subjugation. Technology rules and a tech empire built on suffering keeps the population in check through surveillance and mechanized policing. Though lost, Griffin is never alone, he was brought here for a reason, and The Vengeful One is his guide.

Gunhild GN Vol 1 - Fred Tornager

Her travels lead mainly to many foes, but a few enemies become friends, persuaded by Gunhild's unwavering determination and burning passion for her own cause. Being a tiny Jotun against a big, powerful world, Gunhild must fight smart and learn a trick or two from Loki to earn the title of godhood. Certainly, Gunhild will stop at nothing to forge her own fantastic path and make her dream come true.

The History Club HC Vol 1 - Bret Baier & Marvin Sianipar

From Bret Baier comes the first book in a thrilling new time-bending graphic novel series about kids who use their love of history to thwart an evil time traveler's scheme to change the past! Becca, Zack, Cam, and Thomas are best friends who may seem like an unlikely group on the surface but who have something very important in common: a love of history! Together, they make up their school's history club that has an all-important secret mission: stop the villainous History Twister's plot to destroy the past, forever altering the future. Knowledge of history is their superpower as they chase the Twister through time. After all, who knows what would have happened if Alexander Hamilton had lived and Aaron Burr had died in their infamous duel? It's up to the History Club to save the world from utter destruction!

Jim Henson's Labyrinth: Beyond The Goblin City TP - Delilah S Dawson, Gustavo Duarte, Jeff Stokely, Ross Curry, Jonathan Case, Adam Smith, Lara Elena Donnelly, Sas Milledge, Daniel Bayliss, Pius Bak, French Carlomagno, Jeff Stokely, Kyla Vanderklugt, Samantha Dodge, Gustavo Duarte & Mike Allred

Featuring the secret history of Sir Didymus and the untold story of one of Jareth's Masquerade guests, in addition to stories featuring fan-favorite characters like Ludo, Hoggle, Sir Didymus, and the Goblin King himself.

This epic collection showcases imaginative tales from critically acclaimed writers and artists, including Jonathan Case (The New Deal), Delilah S. Dawson (Star Wars: Phasma), Gustavo Duarte (Bizarro), Roger Langridge (Snarked), Katie Cook (Star Wars: ABC-3PO), Jeff Stokely (The Ludocrats), S.M. Vidaurri (Labyrinth: Under the Spell), Sina Grace (Superman: Kal-El Returns), Michael Dialynas (Wynd), Sarah Webb (The Storyteller: Sirens), Boya Sun (5 Worlds), Lara Elena Donnelly (The Amberlough Dossier), French Carlomagno (The Dead Lucky), Pius Bak (Eat The Rich), Samantha Dodge (Catwoman: Soulstealer), and many more!

Collects Jim Henson's Labyrinth: Shortcuts and Jim Henson's Labyrinth: Under the Spell.

No Touching At All GN - Kou Yoneda

On the first day of his new job, the shy and introverted Shima suddenly finds himself trapped in an elevator with an extremely hungover man, who turns out to be none other than his new boss, Togawa. Though Shima is initially put-off by Togawa's rude and shameless behavior, he can't help but be drawn in by the man's compassionate side, and he soon finds his thoughts are completely consumed by the charismatic man. Unfortunately, painful experiences from his past continue to haunt Shima, and ultimately prevent him from taking the first step. Even when Togawa makes his feelings for the young man blatantly clear, despite also having agonizing memories and an unpleasant past of his own, Shima still hesitates to open himself up to the man. How will things turn out when a love is so obvious that it can felt, but the individuals in question can't express it directly?

Osamu Dazai's No Longer Human GN - Osamu Dazai & Chika Ito

This manga version of novelist Osamu Dazai's masterpiece No Longer Human, the #2 bestselling novel of all time in Japan. Yozo Oba, a young man growing up in Japan in the immediate aftermath of World War II, is tormented by a failure to find any value in himself or in human relationships, despite being surrounded by women who love him. He creates the persona of a buffoon who mocks himself while entertaining others. But inside he is tortured, and as he moves from childhood to adulthood he becomes addicted to sex and alcohol. Largely autobiographical, No Longer Human explores Dazai's own sense of failure and alienation which drove him to self-destruct with alcohol and numerous suicide attempts.

Power Rangers Universe TP - Nicole Andelfinger, Simone Ragazzoni & Derrick Chew

WHAT IS THE TRUE ORIGIN OF THE PHANTOM RANGER?

On a journey across time and dimensional space, writer Nicole Andelfinger (Dragon Prince: Bloodmoon Huntress), artist Simone Ragazzoni (Odessa), and colorist Mattia Iacono answer the questions fans have been asking since the beginning!

A mysterious pod crashes to earth, while the Legendary Ranger Teens take on thrilling new forms, powerful against their foes and dangerous to themselves, and even contend with a corrupted former ally. Can they save their friend and protect the Morphin Grid from destruction?

Discover the truth behind the Phantom Ranger, the Morphin Masters, Power Rangers, and the Morphin Grid itself in the series that will unlock the secrets of the Power Rangers Universe!

Saigami GN - Seny

The girl known as Ayumi is a troubled European teenager who feels lost, like a stranger in her world. Her father left when she was little, while her mother's work means she is never around. A love of manga and books keeps her happy, while honest-to-goodness friends seem to be something only other people have. But this is not the case in the fantasy land known as Aesztrea. In this strange new world, there are dragons, creatures, and warriors who can wield power beyond our wildest imagination. When Ayumi arrives in Aesztrea, she learns that she may also be a Saigami. This warrior class of supernatural and superhuman abilities is one of the most honored and respected people in this new world. For the first time in her life, her potential is limitless, and she has seemingly found a place and a people where she can belong. But not all is right in Aesztrea, Ayumi will have to face her own demons to get to the bottom of this and determine who she wants to be.

Sakura Saku GN Vol 1 - Io Sakisaka

Saku Fujigaya would like to thank the boy who helped her, but all she has is a note signed "Ryosuke Sakura." She discovers that a boy at her high school, Haruki Sakura, has an older brother named Ryosuke. She asks Haruki to deliver her thank-you letter to Ryosuke, but why does he refuse?

Sheep Princess In Wolf's Clothing GN - Mito

In this beautifully illustrated yuri/Girls' Love fairy tale, a wolf-woman butler must tutor a sheep princess who's not as soft as she looks! Aki Rikujo, a Wolfa, works as a butler at the royal castle in the land of Sheepa. Her quiet and peaceful days get shaken up when she saves the life of Princess Momo Shiudafaris. The shy sheep princess immediately latches onto Aki who, before she knows it, becomes the princess's private tutor. Momo wants more than just math lessons from Aki, and even sneaks into the wolf-woman's bedroom to seduce her! Aki soon realizes that, under the timid woolly exterior, Momo is a wild animal!

The Star Seekers GN - HYBE & Tomorrow X Together

When assailants interrupt Star One's comeback stage, the boys spring into action...all except Eugene! Though he helps as best he can, his lack of magic limits what he can do. That is, until the strange stray cat he picked up appears in a flash of light and offers him power...

Whatcha snaggin' this week, Fantom Fam?

#comic books #wotw #comics #comic book #comic #what's out this week?#manga

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gorgynei · 1 year

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i do wonder if one of the things that ludinus plans to try and destroy when releasing predathos is like.... the rigidity of time/space. if by "removing the binds of fate" he doesn't just mean the concept of destiny, he also means the idea that mortals must move forwards and age and die. he's obsessed with dunamis, obviously, and he's already seen that a calamity scale event can reshape perceived fundamentals about the world (the calamity making planar travel possible). it's something i didn't think about before but would be a SUPER awesome goal. if he wanted to turn back time and undo aeor's falling, or un-age himself, or reshape the planet, or change the rate of time.... it could also explain why a beacon specifically was needed to break predathos out

#like its always been interesting to me that temporal magic takes SUCH a toll on the caster. maybe its like the tree of names' spell.#something is MAKING temporal changes so difficult same way something was MAKING planar jumping difficult #ramblings #cr spoilers #ludinus da'leth

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lutethebodies · 12 days

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LTB Tav Tuesdays: Olinitza Cuel, the Silent Sentinel

My fourth Tav is one of two rangers, and a fave among faves in both 5e and BG3. Olini is my current tabletop character, stomping all over my brother's unique homebrew game (Magic as deteriorated AI! Perma-storms hiding secret islands! Mad underground bioengineers! Dragons on the moon!) as a half-drow planar-warrior-wielding Horizon Walker ranger who was (unwittingly at first) working for a patron that once helped cause an apocalypse.

Her name is a very loose translation of (as I understand it) "she who moves quickly" from Nahuatl. In 5e she has the Investigator background, and was sent by her superiors in the big city to investigate war crimes (and their cover-up) committed by commanders of the same unit she used to scout for in the wilderness. Discovered, she was run off the frontier as a traitor and, at the game's start, was back in the city taking up the righteous yet thankless task of petitioning bureaucratic authority for justice.

Olini is a natural explorer annoyed by civilization's limits and rules, driven to seek justice on her own terms, and will push any boundary to do so. Her ideals are 1) freedom; she relishes her self-appointed role as the spear-tip protecting innocents from abuses of authority; and 2) people; she respects like-minded friends more than powerful titles. When not seeking righteous retribution against the war criminals who cast her out, she is sentimentally attached to her spyglass and scimitar, mementos of her childhood and long-lost ranger father.

Her flaw is an insufficient patience with nuance or the gray realities of life; she is quick to react and judge if it confirms her priors. This can curdle into selfish denial if unchecked, and earned her the ironic moniker of "silent" after frequent outbursts as she raged against incessantly-postponed audiences with corrupt power brokers. That temper caught her future patron's attention, who promised her help in exchange for temporary silence and other vague "services yet to be named." Eager to clear her name, Olini readily agreed.

In BG3 Olini is translated to a Gloom Stalker with the Soldier background, which in addition to being insanely overpowered, fits a bit better with her backstory and half-drow lineage. An ex-Fist who witnessed first-hand that unit's incompetence in Chult, she was in Baldur's Gate seeking an audience with Ulder Ravengard, but missed him by a few days when the Grand Duke left for Elturel (and his subsequent fate). Put off by Blaze Portyr and ignored by Gortash, she was back in the wilderness seeking Ravengard's party when captured by the Nautiloid.

I've played her for years as a belligerent force of chaotic good, with many sources of inspiration but most recently the character of Evangeline Navarro from True Detective 4. Navarro fits Olini to a T, complete with the "haunted by her dead mother" bit. She fights hard (she nearly killed Absolutist-Minthara on the spot for calling her "half-breed") and loves harder, which got awkward with Karlach (who's unrequitedly down bad for her) and got her into bed with Shadowheart (who did indeed become her romance).

Metagame tidbit 1: I haven't explored their romance yet beyond superficial commonalities (shadow magic, caring for animals, half-elven lineage), but I like the idea of Olini learning subtlety and tact from Shadowheart, and our favorite cleric learning self-assurance by example from someone like Olini, who's so comfortable in her own skin. Metagame tidbit 2: Olini is also the first character for whom I've kept track of long rests; she defeated the goblins and hit Level 5 within 8 in-game days (which has pretty much become my standard for subsequent runs).

Tune in next week for another ranger-ific Tav!

#ltb tav tuesdays #bg3 #bg3 oc #bg3 ocs #olini the sentinel #bg3 ranger #bg3 tav #my ocs #my bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #my bg3 character #my bg3 ocs #tav tuesday

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honourablejester · 6 months

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Factions of Sigil

I’ve been noodling around character options from Sigil and the Outlands (sidenote: I didn’t even hear of this book until it had been out a couple weeks), just out of curiosity. I do like Sigil as a setting, but I just like big fantastic urban settings, and Sigil is an excellent example. I especially like the Hive and Lower Wards and Undersigil, but this will hardly surprise anyone.

I’m browsing the factions of Sigil. The whole defined-by-philosophy is an interesting angle, even if it does feel a little bit Hogwarts-House-y as a player option. But, you know. People like categorising themselves, and I’m likely no exception. So no harm to browse the options, and with that in mind …

I like the Bleakers. Instinctive knee-jerk favourite. First choice of faction, Bleak Cabal. Life has no meaning, so make your own, and generally try to be nice about it. (Yes, I am primarily a cleric player, what about it?). The Bleakers as an organisation offer sanctuary and respite and food and healing for planar maladies or for people who’ve just seen/been through the horrors, and I like them. There’s no grand cause, no greater meaning, so you might as well just help people. Also their home base is in the Hive Ward, which does not detract.

As someone who plays a lot of clerics, and also someone who likes cosmic horror, the Athar are also interesting. The gods are charlatans, because they’re too comprehensible to really be the powers behind something as vast and complicated as the multiverse. Clerics are actually drawing power from unknowable sources, and the deities we know are just taking the credit. That’s … toothy. I could do some stuff with the Defiers, for sure.

The Seekers are also … I mean. Archetypes I like, let’s count them down? It’s funny that the Mind’s Eye and the Bleak Cabal are opposed, but I do enjoy them both. Seekers want to expand their minds and power by constantly seeking and experiencing and learning. Also they make tools for the city, so they pull in the smith archetype, the mad scientist, the iconoclast. Also, becoming a god is a perfectly acceptable goal for a Seeker, as divinity might be one of the steps to your inner truth that you unlock.

The Dusters are … complicated for me. Initially I do quite like them? They have a fair amount in common with the Bleakers, and I also love the undertaker thing, the carers for the dead. That they believe that the multiverse is already an afterlife is fascinating and fun. But the progression, already dead to undead to true death, is where I lose the faction a little bit. Wanting to experience all the facets of death until finally finding true death probably isn’t a character motivation I’d go for myself. I would work for them, but I wouldn’t join them.

I could also noodle around with the Fraternity of Order and the Doomguard. The Fraternity’s rigid legalising isn’t something I’m interested in, but their search for underlying truth via categorisation is, and could make an interesting lawful knowledge seeker. The Doomguard’s cyclical understanding of creation and destruction, what goes up must come down again, plus their access to the smith archetype again, and their bone-and-rust-and-scars aesthetic are all interesting. I could have fun with a Sinker too, I think.

I’m not interested in the Mercykillers, Hands of Havoc, the Fated, or the Transcendent Order. I like that the Society of Sensation exists, but I wouldn’t be part of it. And the Harmonium is … complicated. I feel like it’s a faction where there’s a lot of decent people in it, people that I’d individually like, but ‘peace through might’ as an overriding philosophy is just not one I enjoy.

But. Kneejerk first instincts? Bleaker Life Cleric, Athar Goolock, possibly Fraternity Knowledge Cleric or Doomguard Barbarian.

While we’re in Sigil, though, some random locations and NPCs that I just enjoy:

All of the Hive Ward, I’m greatly enjoying the Hive Ward, but the Grease Pit is just fantastic casual worldbuilding, this fun little alley full of incredibly questionable planar street food. You’ve got a roadkill eatery run by aarakocra, a seafood eatery where you catch your own fish out of an aquatic demiplane, a myconic-operated fungal sandwich shop that sells psychoactive foodstuffs, and a sweet shop run by a faerie dragon and an imp that advertise concoctions ‘sweet enough to rot a lich’s teeth’, among other things. The art has demonic rotisserie shops, yetis selling ice cream, and a mind flayer selling something fried onna stick. It’s fantastic.

All of the Lower Ward also, but Bones of the Night, the cavern library complex of skulls collected by one old dude who uses necromancy (speak with dead) to gain access to their combined knowledge, is definitely a stand-out location. Also the Ditch, Sigil’s one body of water, a horrifying ‘reeking morass’ of corrosive and polluted water and slime (and bodies that have been melted smooth by it), that occasionally runs sweet and clear when a portal opens up and dumps water from a celestial river into it, and everybody in the district bolts down for wash day when this happens.

The Planar Energy Cooperative in the Market Ward is really cool? Founded by archmages from worlds that blew up or were otherwise destroyed due to destructive magic, they run a massive multiversal divination set up to monitor for other worlds that are about to blow themselves up too, and try to siphon magic out of worlds about to go up to stave off destruction. Like. There’s a lot you could do with that, as a concept.

And then Undersigil, all of Undersigil, but the Loop is fantastic. The loop is a closed, circular loop of tunnel that’s only accessed via portal, and if a portal dumps you in here, you can’t get out. And it’s a bit loose from reality, so as you’re running around it in a panic trying to get out, you might see your own back running around a bend ahead of you. It also bends time, so while you were lost in there for ten minutes, you could come out ten thousand years in the future. Or past. Or just sixteen days late. There are also Undersigil factions that know how to navigate it, and use it to telefrag pursuers by running into it, making sure they’re followed, and then running out again and leaving their enemies stuck. Fantastic. Excellent little bit of a thing to stick into your city.

Undersigil also has a hive mind of cranium rats called the Us or the Many-as-One, which is rapidly developing into a neural network that rivals the intellect of a god. So there’s also that. Heh.

I haven’t gotten too far into the Outlands and the Gate Towns yet, but I do like the idea that they’re constantly at risk of being devoured by the planes they’re connected to, so you have to do something ideologically opposed to that plane to keep them in the Outlands. I’m not generally fond of the alignment-based cosmology of D&D, but I do like the idea of people or even an organisation going around being evil in good aligned towns and lawful in chaotic ones not out of any necessary belief in evil or law or good or chaos, but out of pure pragmatism to keep your hometown from being flushed down the planar toilet because it got too extremely one thing or the other. That’d be a great job for a party: your organisation’s whole deal is to be a light in darkness, a dark temptation among virtue, a bastion of law amongst chaos, or a liberating flare amid rigidity, all as required when required, for no ideological reason beyond the physical preservation of your realm.

This is definitely an interesting book.

#d&d #sigil and the outlands #city of doors #factions #locations #worldbuilding #some interesting things

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shardssystem · 2 months

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Lore24 Compilation - March

As they say: Better Nate than lever! Continuing the chain from the February post, here's the entries for March, where we move on from the impressive city of Nuvain to get a wider look at the world.

1 - One of the greatest secrets of Matea is that of all the great Citadels, there is one that still travels the skies. But with the effects of Rakhada’s Folly, people are only familiar with the magic that dwells within the city’s core, in the bowels of the engine control chambers. Like Bul-Ji-Ma, the citadel of Si’dae acted upon the orders of their Guiding Hand to push the magitek engines to, and past, their limits to escape doom. Any wreckage, or survivors were never found.

2 - In trying to reverse their descent, Si’dae unknowingly signed up for their own eternal damnation. The citadel still flies, but is locked in time. From a brief period before hearing the first distress calls, to its catastrophic destruction, the city and its populace experiences the same events on an endless loop, helpless to change their fate. To outsiders, the only evidence they have of anything out of the ordinary is that occasionally, people get caught in loops of their own.

3 - The effects of Si’dae’s passing overhead can be experienced anywhere on Matea, excluding any extra-planar locations. Though the citadel and its residents experience the same length of time on repeat, external experiences report a variety of time differentials. Some say they felt the same 10 minutes for a full day, while others have had a day for a week. One unlucky merchant tells the tale of the time she spent reliving the same three day span for four years.

4 - Through great chance and skill, one could make their way onto Si’dae, to experience life on the citadel, albeit in the same end-of-days loop. On the second loop, the citizens respond to you as a visitor. On the third, you appear as a neighbour or friend. Past the third loop, you become a resident, lost to time. One might think they could bring someone with them and escape, but attempts result in the immediate aging of the resident, and the reversal of your memory.

5 - Should someone escape from Si’dae’s clutches at the expense of another, they find their lives inverted; the escapee becomes a regular citizen of Matea; their memory altered to fit, and their life now accounted for. It is in this way that one of the greatest secrets of Matea maintains its secrecy: Si’dae, the Last Citadel; the Citadel Out of Time. Scholars argue over its existence, despite ancient records, and the remains of a designated docktown, citing the lack of ruin.

6 - Many suspect, though none are sure, that the prevalence of giant crabs across Matea is a holdover from the seafaring Tortle empire. Their domesticity shows that the crabs have no inherent fear response towards other races; a fact that has led to their capture, taming, and utilisation as a form of transportation and labour. Crab-drawn carriages cross the countryside, crab farming is a profitable lifestyle, and some even indulge in sporting competitions and breeding exhibitions.

7 - Delicious, nutritious, and plentiful, schools of horses traverse the oceans, scavenging as they can. Many a seafarer sails out for their morning harvest with horse cages onboard in the hopes of collecting a delicacy. Boiled and seasoned in the correct manner, the meat slides right off the bone. Though aquatic, scholars have questioned how such a creature resembles land-bound mammals. But the facts are undeniable, and horse meat is one of the staples of coastal communities.

8 - Wichi is the southernmost town on the map of Matea. Despite the perpetual cold, it has a reputation as the most romantic location in the world. This is mostly due to the appearance of the Wedded Lights; an aurora that’s visible most nights. The story goes that the lights were one of the gifts that Father prepared for Mother as thanks for helping him create the world. As people are people, residents of Wichi lean in, and work to make the town ever more romantic and hospitable.

9 - On the northern continent of Butang, the Pobari Desert is a harsh environment, even for the seldom-seen residents. With surface water sources scarce, the people who choose to stay, or are otherwise unable to relocate, have adapted their lifestyles and residences. Whereas more forgiving climates allow for traditional buildings, those of the Pobari have chosen to descend, building and carving their cities into the stone under the shifting sands, to tap underground water supplies.

10 - According to popular map depictions, the continent of Junalla is situated just off from the center, and is the smallest of the five recognised landmasses. Junalla is also home to the Jungles of Wheng, the Tabaxi home away from home. As a culture, they know they are outsiders to this world, and are only borrowing a place to stay until they choose to return. The jungle would be prized for its abundance of wood, if only the ones removed were not mysteriously poisonous…

11 - The western continent of Nodoye is not only home to the previously mentioned capital of Dun, but is known for The Vow; a breathtaking canyon carved in layered bismuth. Though many wish to harvest the metal for their own uses, the site is protected by the religious sector, as according to the story, the canyon was formed when Sister raged against the Family in her war. The metallic coating was implemented as part of her peace treaty, which is where the name also comes from. The landscape imagery lends itself to picturing the outcome: Just because she was asked to make amends for her damages, that doesn’t mean Sister had to comply perfectly. The fractal square shapes of the canyon walls, while beautiful in rainbow hues, make traversal through the valley a potential deathtrap for the unprepared. But for those experienced enough, or brave enough to take the incredible risk, it can be the adventure of a lifetime with a visual feast.

12 - Legend goes that somewhere in the frozen expanse of Gojaam, the southern continent, an oasis of warmth exists. Should you drink from its waters, there is a high chance you simply die. But if you manage to survive, not only will you become immune to extreme temperatures, but you will receive one true prophecy of your future for something guaranteed to be positive, even if it doesn’t appear so. The legend mentions a warrior grievously injured, but finding his true love as a result.

13 - Nestled in the hillsides of Sou’je, the eastern continent, the city of Umpton is home to the banking guild and the Mint. Thankfully, having converted to paper currency before the Fall, and maintaining the presses without manasteel, the economy wasn’t hit as hard by disaster. They still maintain a massive vault hidden underneath the city with piles of gold and the original coins; in case anyone wished to manage a more physical savings account. But the treasure has its guards…

14 - The gold storage vault of the Umpton Mint is protected by a number of Midasian Mimics. One bite, and you run the risk of contracting a magical disease that turns your body into a solid gold statue. If, however, you are antagonistic enough to get devoured, your body will become gold coins, to be excreted and added to the pile. The Mimics are named for Verna Midasa, founding governess of the banking guild, discoverer and initial tamer of the Mimics, and on display within the vault.

15 - Muchen is the site of the former Opera House, and retains its place as the cultural landmark of Matea. Spanning the Daylan River in Sou'je, the city features numerous bridges than have largely survived the Fall, only losing some of their support structures. The Opera House fell apart as the manasteel skeleton dissolved, but the citizens rallied, and built a variety of smaller, more intimate venues, better able to cater for a number of artistic outlets.

16 - The island of Cinera, far to the west of Nodoye is known for a curious reason: Colour no longer exists. Once a tropical rainforest, the land still exists, but only in greyscale. The studious folk of Matea have investigated, finding no logical reason for the chromatic aberration. The effect follows the coastline and outwards. Any materials removed from the site retain their desaturation, and any left for long enough gain that trait, even after retrieval. Including living matter.

17 - Tucked into one of the many inlets of Gojaam is the Deep Research Institute. Though manasteel was required during its construction, the facility is protected by layers of crystal panels acting as windows capable of resisting pressure. Abandoned and forgotten since the Fall, the Institute once collected valuable information about the denizens of the ocean far past where manned vessels could travel, and even a tunnelling project. The drill was constructed of manasteel, however.

18 - The Gidan River in Nodoye is the largest and longest river on Matea. While a fertile ground for the hunting of fish, horses, and other aquatic creatures, it is also home to the nesting grounds of saylen: creatures capable of disguising themselves as elves, they will feast upon anything they can find along the shores. Incapable of speech, their alluring song is enough to draw the unaware to their doom.

19 - Before the Fall, the province of Gylead in Nodoye, north of Dun, was gradually abandoned as migrants sought richer pursuits than extracting oil. With the departure of manasteel from the world, their descendants have returned to reinvigorate the land. Across the arid plains, people tend to their livestock atop their mounts; a mix of the imported crab and the Gylead-specific dinosaur. Historically, the citizens have politely refused offers to train the creatures for use in warfare.

20 - Port Pinako in Butang is a combination trade hub and wildlife refuge. The city’s architecture serves as a reminder of its history as a base of operations for the Tortle seafarers that once lived there. An isolated region of the city is protected as a sanctuary for turtles and tortoises alike; a decree that stands to this day. Pinako pepper is a valuable commodity among the locales that can afford the journey. While nearly flavourless alone, it greatly enhances any paired flavour.

21 - The Weeping Bayou of Junalla was created by the Sister as a trap to slow down or disable enemy forces from marching on the Great Rift in the days of the Family War. A treacherous swampland of relentless storms, the ground is difficult at best to traverse. The name originates with the localised weather tending towards typhoon level rains and wind, though it has “good” days too. While there are many dangers, one that stands out is the Blightserpent. Beware its cursing bite!

22 - The trade port of Chidabo, located in the northern shore of Gojaam, where the external temperature is still bearable for most of the year, is still a prosperous trade hub, owing to its easily accessible location between Junalla, Nodoye, and Sou’je. The famous Zeyta’s House held many grand auctions before Rakhada’s Folly, and though the offerings are perhaps not as fanciful, there are a great many items of interest to the keen-eyed profiteer.

23 - Once, the King’s Road connected (the now renamed) Dun and the (now former) paired-capital of Danis; the docktown of Silwa’na. Since the Fall, the need to maintain it has been left by the wayside. Now it is a monument to the excess of the world that was, and a haven of the unsavoury. People that have been exiled from Dun under the new rule of the world that is can find a home along the trail, scavenging a life with the rest of the outcasts.

24 - Sikado, in Junalla, is a city as much as it is a spectacle, though also known for the quality of artisans that study there. Once every two years, a lottery is held for any citizen to become mayor. During the first year, the main role is to construct one building, or other construction, to their dream specifications. The second year is for its demolition and recycling. It’s said that the first mayor to start this is the person whose feet Matea uses as a measurement reference.

25 - If not for people passing on the word of the events of the Fall, Nasè Grove would be still unaware of the events of the outside world. In an isolated section of the woods west of Nuvain, those of the persuasion of natural magic and lifestyle tend to the plants with care. A specialty they grow is a tree shaped into a spiral. A wooden disc on a track controls the direction of light as it grows. While hard to use in building, crafters admire its shape and strength for their art.

26 - South-East of Umpton, out into the ocean, sits a solitary island. Lym is completely unassailable, so none know of the outlay of the interior. Records say it is likely the nesting place of Altreta the Small, a silver-scaled dragon. Large obsidian spikes prevent travellers from landing on the island via conventional means, and even on approach, they fall ill, and receive visions of themselves, their family and friends, begging them to turn back.

27 - South of The Vow in Nodoye sits the island community of Nonjasseum. What was intended as a kind of retirement location has been reinvigorated as the home of a gladiatorial arena for all levels of experience. Suddenly having to learn physical skills in a world devoid of creature comforts leaving no time to adjust, the most skilled were veterans of previous conflicts; those who felt they’d already earned the right to peace. As such, entertainment typically trumps practicality.

28 - Near the mountainous regions of Butang, shielded from the extreme temperatures of the Pobari Desert, the Tiefling city of Janapin is the home and refuge of the descendants of those summoned by Sister to fight her ill-fated war. More in tune with Matea than their ancestors, Janapin citizens are known for their practice of mindfulness, community, and physical combat. Viewing weapons as largely unnecessary tools of warfare, they opt to train their bodies as a form of self-defense.

29 - The twin cities of Inssè and Aguè exist due to their founders being unable to cohabitate. Descendant from the angels summoned forth to defend Matea, the Aasimar rulers find division over who should hold the most blame for their failings. The citizens of Aguè suggest that the Gods created them intentionally to suffer. Meanwhile, those of Inssè say that the people that needed defending shouldn’t have been weak enough to need it.

30 - Considered the finest institute of arcane study and historical archivism on Matea, the oceanic city of Gomun was governed and maintained by the dolphinfolk. Frustratingly, they would never tell if their kind were magically awakened, or naturally evolved, but their skills were unmatched, and their record keeping dates back to before the Family War. With magic failing, they remain equally silent on the state of their civilisation, refusing to talk or accept new students.

31 - Until covenants were formed between the Divinities and their followers, healing was as dangerous in potential as any of the other forms of magic. Since, safeguards have been instituted, but still there are risks. Each living thing has a capacity within for life and positive energy, which is drained by all manner of offensive action. Healing and rest restores it; but be warned: If the capacity becomes overfilled to an extreme, the overflow of energy will cause lethal harm.

#tabletop #ttrpg #worldbuilding #lore24 #d&d #creative writing #long post

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