#d&d campaign style discussions

[dailyadventureprompts]

The Daily Adventure Prompts Masterpost

After several years of running this blog, it’s become more and more evident that I need some central reference where people can access all my different DM advice posts, important tags, and ongoing series. Sharing my ideas with people and helping to improve the art and craft of being a dungeonmaster was always the point of DAP after all, and its of no help to anyone if the answers to important questions are buried under a hundred or more pages of my rambling.

To that end, I present this post as an ever expanding catalogue of my thoughts. Something that you can page through at your leisure in hopes some of my hardwon lessons will be of use to you.  

DM Advice: The go-to tag for all my rambling on how to improve your d&d game, with some highlights presented here,

My Process

Getting Organized

Basics of Campaign writing

Railroading & Rollercoasters

The “more than you can chew” universal d&d story structure

Ghosts on the Horizon: not getting bogged down with overplanning

Mapmaking 101

Writer’s Block

Better Random Encounters

Better Loredumps and Exposition

Writing Adventures to Make your party care about your world

Series of Interest

The DM Starterpack: Focused on first timers or those who want to re-learn d&d from the ground up this series of posts is intended to give you an idea how to come up with a campaign concept, write a first adventure, run a session zero, and slowly pivot into running a larger campaign.

Tableskills: While a lot of my work focuses on how you can write better stories, these posts talk about being a better storyteller focusing in on the performance art of DMing.

Mechanics: On the flipside, sometimes you need to put on your game designer hat and focus in on ways to make the underlying engine of the game run more smoothly to better facilitate fun and storytelling.

How to Run...: there are certain types of adventure that need more thought put into them then the average monsterhunt or dungeon delve, and so I wrote a series of articles to not only help you write/design them but to pull them off at your table.

Wilderness Exploration

Heists

Naval Combat

Infiltrating a fancy party

Mystery

Airship Adventures

Political Intrigue

Mythology style epic labours

The Loot Overhaul: A series of posts where I focus in on different aspects of d&d’s treasure and item

An overhaul to player wealth & The Economy

Better Loot & Treasure Hoard generation

A case for magic item shops & Item focused treasure hauls

Shopping trips & Group Inventory Management

Making Identifying & Attuning to Items interesting

Crafting Overhaul pt 1: Weapons & Armour

Crafting Overhaul pt 2: Magic & Consumables

Monsters Reimagined: My ongoing delve into d&d’s bad monster lore and how it can be improved. Sometimes it’s because a cool monster is just underwritten, sometimes its because how they’re used in the narrative just doesn’t make sense, sometimes its because there’s decades or even centuries old pro-genocide talking points that we need to unpack.

Footnotes on Foes: For those topics that don’t warrant a full “monsters reimagined” but I still want to give my take on. Fun stuff in there, especially with lesser known monsters that could use a revamp.  

Heavy Topics: Where I deepdrive on the nuance of particular topics, ranging from uncomfortable touchstones in history that are important to my writing to sensitive subjects that you’ll want to discuss with others around your table.

Bad Opinions: Sometimes a take so awful lands in my inbox that I need to hold it up infront of my audience and perform a vivisection. Its part media study, part bloodsport.

Dungeon Design: An attempt to do what the creators of the game have put off for decades (despite being half of the title) and actually provide a coherent framework for step by step dungeon design. After nearly twenty years of banging my head against a wall, it finally seems to have worked.

Planescape: Where I try to add cool new (or revamped) destinations to the tapestry of d&d’s multiverse.

Special mention to “Why I don’t use the Great Wheel Cosmology” as it underscores a lot of my overall problems with d&d’s cosmic lore and its weird moralistic claims.

Deities: A collection of new/overhauled gods focusing on making them represent ideals that people would actually believe in as an embodiment of ideals and narrative themes.

How to use the divine in your game: a story first view of how to use faith, religion, and gods in your campaigns aiming for things more subtle and thematic.

Outer Gods: For when you want to get lovecraftian

Religion is the tag I use to talk about the concept of both faith as a theme in writing, as well as how the organized religion serves as a worldbuilding tool

Adventures by Type: not a comprehensive list

Press Start: Opening adventures for those who want a solid start for future campaigns or adventures

Campaigns: For those who’d like a larger story framework to play with

Adventure Compendium: If you’d like a lot of ideas on the same theme

Dungeon: Need I say More?

Monsterhunt: Facing off against a powerful enemy that has some tricks

Villain: In both Quantity and Quality

Player Home: Every party needs a place to rest their head

Ally: They’re here to help, usually

Patron: Benefactors of the shady and non shady verity

Mystery: Put your Sleuthing Hat on

Thief: Time to steal something

Faction: Larger groups the party can join

Adventures by Environment

Lowland

Swamp

Field

Desert

Wasteland

Highland

Cave

Mountain

Forest

Seaside

Ruin

Settlement

Village

Town

City

#DM advice #masterpost

[utilitycaster]

Would LOVE that essay on combat in dnd because full agree. But not even just for people watching live play, like, combat is an essential feature of dnd as a game system and it endlessly frustrates me when i see dms be like “yeah combat is just too complicated and no fun so i dont do it in my game :)!” Like i guess thats your right, but any non-caster class is gonna be miserable in your game. I saw a video recently talking about how dnd has kind of become the default ttrpg and is marketed as the perfect system for everyone and any style of play which is just. So not true. Combat in dnd is equally as integral as roleplay is and theres really no argument otherwise. Very valid if you hate dnd combat, it sure isnt for everyone, but in that case maybe play a different ttrpg where the characters arent constructed around combat abilities, i promise you’ll have more fun.

So this is one of those things that touches on maybe 99% of my feelings on Experiencing Fiction in general and actual play in particular; I apologize in advance for the length and digressions within this response.

Here are the reasons I have seen or I surmise why people don’t like D&D combat, either in actual play or in home games:

It can get crunchy and involves a lot of rules

There are long stretches in which individuals do not necessarily act (not exclusive to combat but I think this is a factor)

It contains violence

There is a potential for character death

Now, it’s fine if you aren’t interested in D&D-style combat, for whatever reason, when you play ttrpgs. It’s just that this is a core feature of D&D. As you say, this is what the martial classes are structured around - and, frankly, no small number of casting classes/subclasses as well. By avoiding it when you play D&D, you’re avoiding the bulk of the game, and there are plenty of ttrpgs that permit open RP that aren’t combat focused that would probably fit your needs better (eg: PbtA and Savage Worlds are both generic systems that can support a heroic fantasy like D&D without the emphasis on combat skills). I happen to love and prefer D&D, but that is specifically because I love combat, and yeah, there are other games and people should seek out those games if they don’t like combat.

When it comes to D&D actual play though…skipping combat is just straight-up stupid. And to be clear I mean fully skipping it and not watching it at all; while this is piggybacking off my post about spoilers, it’s fine if you are the sort of person who needs to know how combat ends in order to enjoy it! That’s just a personal preference that I respect even if I don’t share it.

D&D combat isn’t just an inherent part of the game; it’s an inherent part of the story. The idea of D&D being split into combat and RP is a false dichotomy. There is RP and crucial story within combat scenes, and you simply do not achieve the same effects by reading an after-the-fact summary. To use examples from Critical Role, consider one of the most famous RP moments from Campaign 1, when Scanlan uses his 9th level counterspell in the Vecna fight. The weight of that moment derives from mechanics and from the fact that it is in the midst of combat and well into a climatic final battle. Or for lighter examples, there’s a ton of Beau/Yasha and Fjord/Jester mid-combat flirting running through much of Campaign 2 that informs those relationships. Molly’s death? Caleb going into a fugue state when he kills humanoids with fire? Yasha destroying Obann? Fjord dying mid-deep scion fight? Those are all moments that have deep character weight and meaning that are within the context of combat, and you cannot divorce them from that context and hope to retain the same effect.

This is what dovetails into a larger discussion of Experiencing Fiction which is a (in my opinion) worrying tendency among some people to truly believe that you can cut up media into the palatable bits and pieces and push all of what you see as icky vegetables to the side of your plate. I fucking hate this. I think it’s what drives a lot of things including a distaste for combat. This is how you get, for example, people who dislike combat because Violence And Death Bad, which, do I think that in the real world violence is most often a thing to be avoided? Do I think that in the real world death is heartbreaking? Yes, but this is fiction. There’s that great Brennan Lee Mulligan quote about how TTRPGs like D&D allow people who usually must be conflict-avoidant in real life to let out their anger and frustration in a place where it is safe and harmless, and I believe that whole-heartedly. I want stories about death because I want to know I'm not alone in how I feel about death. I want stories in which people can express their rage in ways both healthy and unhealthy, because big same. (I also think it’s absolutely not coincidental that people who believe they are ‘protecting’ people by circumscribing what is acceptable in fiction tend to be strongly associated with either bigoted, violent policies in real life, or harassment and doxxing online; maybe enjoy a fucked up movie, as John Waters once said, and you'll calm down.)

This idea that you can cut up media and only consume what you like is also what I think is behind some of the really ill-considered and overly granular timestamped content warnings I’ve mentioned previously. It is fine if there are things you don’t want to watch or which will be upsetting or even triggering to watch! It’s fine if you as an individual don’t like violence! But I think there’s a problem when people believe they are entitled to be able to watch whatever they want and have it mold to their exact wants and needs (and that it’s a failing if it doesn’t), rather than taking on the responsibility of seeking out media that already fits the bill. Actual Play D&D will nearly always have violent encounters. If this will be an issue this is not for you. It is not gatekeeping to say “you can come through this gate, but the gate is in fact here for your specifically requested protection"; and yet people think that instead, gates should be placed around everything else. So (to give an example) this is why the warnings for D20’s Neverafter strike me as a symptom of this larger problem - if you have discomfort with violence towards animals and children, that’s fine, but you are watching a D&D horror series in which over half the player characters are either animals or children. This is not something where you can skip a few seconds of a flashing gif that might be a migraine or seizure trigger, or a case where an exceptionally rough scene of gaslighting can be read instead of watched; this is inherent to the show, and if this is not for you, you need to go elsewhere.

To give one last example, I was looking for fanart for Worlds Beyond Number, and came across a picture of Suvi with a caption of “Suvi but without the imperialism” and like…Aabria has said in interviews that this engagement with the empire is extremely deliberate; that Suvi is intended to be tied into the political structures of this world as an intentional contrast with Eursulon’s status as an outsider and Ame’s role at the smaller, community level. Suvi without imperialism is not identifiable as the same character and it throws the entire story off-kilter; she is of this empire and that is the fucking point. Any story worth telling is not just items thrown haphazardly into a bowl; they are combined and mixed. Someone is giving you a plate of brownies and you are acting like it’s physically possible to take out the cocoa powder without fucking the end result, and buddy, it’s not.

(Truly, I was not joking when I said this is like, the load-bearing pillar of most of my complaints about fiction consumption patterns in general. This is about how people will deny the flaws in characters even though any reasonably intelligent ten-year-old, and I know because I fucking was one once, understands that person vs. themself is one of the core conflicts and overcoming one’s flaws is in many cases the entire story and if you start out perfect there is nothing to be said. Like…I think a lot of people genuinely just want to watch a nonstop Monterey Bay Otter Cam of their sufficiently sanitized, focus-group-tested blorbos baking cookies together, and are affronted when people with the tiniest sliver of empathy and/or curiosity want a story with plot and character growth, which in turn require conflict.)

Anyway. I think the takeaways here are that there’s this awful entitlement people have in which they think that they can simply consume anything and it is the failure of that media if it doesn’t cater specifically to them, rather than a failure of them to seek out that which they would enjoy (and I could go on this rant indefinitely; it is truly the most constant theme among Takes I Think Are Dumb); and also I really want to bake something right now, given my choices of metaphor. Combat is part of D&D as a game and as a storytelling medium, and it is incumbent upon people who do not like combat to find something that doesn’t have D&D combat, rather than try to pull out the vital organs of the story.

#answered #faltermoth #long post #to continue with food metaphors it's really like. you are going to an italian restaurant and being mad there are tomatoes there #girl why are you at the devil's sacrament and so forth #i was going to make a joke about bombing all your coffee shop aus but actually i read a coffee shop au that was like. dark. and good. #(it was also professionally published in a work specifically about retellings though)

[r-anela]

A ring for happiness and eternity E.M×Female!Reader

Summary: this Easter is very special for you and Eddie, he has a big surprise for you ❤️

Warnings: none, this is pure fluff!

Thank you to @sleepy-wyvern for proofreading!💚

Eddie planned it for months, he wanted to do it on a special day, but not on New Year's Eve or Valentine's Day because that is totally predictable and a cliché.

He finally decided on Easter because it was close to your anniversary and he didn't want to do it then either because that's also stereotypical. This way he could already be calling you his fiancée on your 5th anniversary and Easter is the feast of the resurrection, so basically the celebration of a zombie. You can't get more metal than that!

Actually, you two never wanted to marry. You had agreed that it is much more metal and against society if you live together without getting married. But when he heard how the old neighbor always called you Mrs. Munson and you always blushed slightly, he knew for himself that he really wanted to make you Mrs. Munson.

His idea was to make a kind of scavenger hunt at Easter instead of the usual egg hunt. And since it should not be obvious that you would have a special search, he had thought that there would be three different treasure hunts. One for you, because you were his girlfriend. Then one for the Hellfire guys to find out about the new campaign, and finally one for Steve, Robin, Jonathan, Nancy, Max and Eleven, because they didn't know much about D&D, they would get a classic scavenger hunt.

As a starting point he had chosen Steve's garden, there would be the first clue for each group, hidden under normal Easter eggs and sweets. After that each group would do a little tour through Hawkins, with the goal to arrive at the end together at Lovers Lake where an Easter fire was planned and you would find your last Easter egg with the clue.

The others knew about it and had also taken on a role or two in the whole affair. Jonathan would take pictures of you after and before you found your last clue, Steve had the ring stored at his house and would slip it to Eddie in the morning. Nancy, Max and Eleven had been given the task of making you look extra pretty and the Hellfire boys were to distract you as their paths would cross yours often to take your mind off the situation.

While everyone was searching he would set up the Easter fire and anything else.

Once it hit 8:00 in the morning your alarm clock rang. You had been awake for half an hour and had gotten dressed, put on makeup and done your hair. Because today was the big Easter scavenger hunt from Eddie and he had specially noted that all who participated should dress nicely, for whatever reason was not clear to you, but it was Eddie, his game, his rules. Whether in D&D or elsewhere, if he was planning then everyone would have to follow his rules.

Robin, of course, was only semi-enthusiastic about the idea of making herself pretty, but Eddie had encouraged her that she could wear what she wanted, he and she being different in their own way and style technically in the minority. Robin had gone shopping with you, El and Max, but Nancy had no time that day, and promised to take you to the hairdresser and nail salon a few days later.

At the mall there was a beautiful dark green dress you picked out. And for Robin, a new blazer, while El and Max both picked up a new pair of shoes and some jewelry.

At the hairdresser you had your hair cut a little and at the nail salon you had your fingernails painted to match the new dress.

Looking at these dark green lacquered fingers, you now tightened the bow of your boots. Eddie had recommended comfortable shoes, you would have to walk a lot today.

A look at the alarm clock told you that you still had 40 min of time before you had to go, enough for breakfast.

Well fed and excited you arrived at Steve's, Robin and he were visibly discussing something you couldn't understand what they were talking about. Only that they were very much at odds about whatever it was about.

Less than ten minutes later you were all standing in Steve's backyard and Eddie was explaining in his Dungeon Master Narrator voice the rules and how it would all go down.".... Each group has been assigned a specific color, if one group encounters clues from another they are required to ignore the clue or help the other group find it. No direct transfer of clues is allowed. Also, an update is to be given via the walkie-talkie every half hour to hour regarding which clue you are on. So that no one gets lost on me here!"

"At the end of the search, everyone should meet again at the same point, this is where we will have an Easter fire and let the evening wrap up. If someone has difficulties, the walkie-talkie may also be used in an emergency. The first clues for each group are hidden here somewhere in the garden, after that you will go different paths, see you later! And with this, let the games begin!" a smile flitted across his face which immediately made you blush and spread warmth throughout your body.

He gave you a heartfelt kiss and a tight hug, after which he spoke in a lowered voice just to you, most of the others were already wandering across Steve's garden in search of the first egg. "Since I'm about to leave you alone, I've arranged your search so that you'll go to the same places as the others now and then. I just hope they do not act totally stupid and you really meet in between" at his last statement you had to laugh for a second. "Eds I'm an adult too, we're all not children anymore" and with that you gave him one last kiss on the cheek and walked briskly out into the garden.

Your plastic eggs were none other than green, of course. There were also yellow and red. All the other colors from the mix bag Eddie had hidden around the garden as well, but these would contain candy or snacks, you knew. You had actually helped him two days ago to fill the various colored eggs.

So far no one had found their clue, but they already had some other eggs. You had a suspicion where your clue might be. Whenever you are in Steve's backyard, you sit on the same chairs by the pool. Lo and behold, there was a green egg taped under the first chair.

Clue after clue led you through Hawkins, to all the different places Eddie connected you to. But you didn't know about that, because all those places were like a second home to all of you; Benny's Burgers, Family Video, a park bench by the library, and even at Hopper's. So far, you had met the others five times and should have only a few more clues ahead of you because in an hour the Easter Fire was supposed to start.

You found your last egg in your parents' front yard, you had moved out a few years ago, but you and Eddie came over regularly for dinner. Inside the egg was a small rock you had given Eddie two years ago when you were at Lovers Lake, it was shaped like a heart. Attached to it was a little note that said "Your last journey will take you to the place where you found me". So you knew right away where to go. After giving Eddie the update, you set off.

When you arrived at Lovers Lake you saw the Easter fire already set up and Eddie waiting for you and the others. Now that you had arrived at your destination, you expected no more than to just sit around the campfire and have a picnic.

Since the Hellfire boys were still missing, you helped Eddie light the campfire and told him how great you found his ideas and the whole scavenger hunt.

When the Hellfire Guys arrived, Eddie rounded up everyone and announced that there was one last egg for each group to find on the beach. What you couldn't guess was that Eddie had actually told the others that there was only one egg left for you to find and where it was hidden. But they should act as if they would search and then go to their designated places.

After what felt like 10 minutes of searching you finally discovered the egg, it was stuck in a tree stump. If you remember correctly, it was the tree stump you had been sitting on when Eddie asked you to be his girlfriend.

You held up the egg triumphantly and *click* Jonathan took your picture. Which was not unusual, he often took pictures of all of you. Today, too, he had taken photos of all of you at one time or another throughout the day.

When you opened the egg, there was a small box inside and in that box was a note. The note had read "a ring to promise you eternity, a ring to promise you happiness, in the dark as well as in the light and also in the land of Mordor, where the shadows threaten"...

And when you wanted to put the note aside with tears in your eyes, Eddie knelt in front of you, a ring in his hand and asked, "Would you be willing to marry me?

Tag list: @tiannamortis @tiannasfanfic @kokoshka67

Comments, Likes and rebloggs are highly appreciated 💚

#eddie munson #eddie munson fiction #eddie munson fan fiction #eddie munson × reader #eddie munson comfort #eddie munson fluff #stranger things fanfiction #eddie x reader #stranger things fic #eddie munson x fem!reader #eddie munson easter fic #eddie munson wedding #eddie munson x female reader #eddie fanfic #eddie munson x fem!reader fluff #eddie munson x reader #stranger things #eddie stranger things

[shiikiyun]

Futa Kajiyama and Remorse

by someone that would hit him in the head if they had the chance

The discussion over whether Futa's shown remorse over his actions is genuine or not is something that has existed for years at this point, and it'll probably always be a debate. Just thought I'd give my personal take on it.

Starting off by saying that it is very ironic that a huge part of the discussion on his character and crime is how genuine he is when he admits fault, considering his case is entirely related to social media, almost like how when public figures online mess up and everyone else picks apart their apologies and rate the sincerity of them (not saying it's a bad thing, influencers will explode before handing a good apology, i just thought it was funny to point out). That aside, let me actually talk about him.

First, what did he do? In short, he began a witch-hunt campaign and doxxed a middle-schooler over a claim with no basis that said kid tried to reason with him over and he ignored, (pressumably) pushing her to suicide. Fucked up. Very understandable unforgiven veredict in the first trial, since his denial of his actions was so strong, he had it coming for sure.

Now, his feelings around his crime. It's said a lot that he doesn't feel sorry for his victim, that he only feels anxious and "guilty" because he's facing consequences and he's scared of dying, so he'll do anything to avoid that (so; admit fault, even if he doesn't believe he was wrong). And he is stubborn, so it's not crazy to see it that way, but—

Does he really not care?

From the way I see it, Futa is telling the truth when he says he never intended her to die. Personally, I would "should've thought about it twice then?" 'd him if I could, but I can't in good faith call him disingenuous for saying he didn't want it to end that way.

People don't take their actions on social media seriously. This happens all the time. People will say they most cruel things to strangers over minimal disagreements, and they don't consider it to be that damaging because "it's just social media". Futa is no different than that.

He got a power trip from the praise he received after he called out a teacher for sexual harrassment (which is obviously an actually fair reason to dunk on someone), took it too far over something mundane, and it actually had real life consequences on an innocent person. And he knows this. He's always known. The very moment he realizes what he did is when he's horrified of himself and is visibly shocked— He didn't want this. But he did it, and now there's blood on his hands.

To call that reaction disingenuous, or relate those feelings solely to the fact that he's facing consequences now, is completely ignoring that it happens before he's aware about receiving backlash from his friends.

That's where his anxiety comes from. He's always known he fucked up awfully. When ES insists on him being a murderer, what makes him stutter and show fear is that same word. He's a murderer, and he can't cope with that, but he knows what he did no matter how much he denies it. From the very beginning all Futa has been is a coward; unable to accept that his actions killed someone until he gets some sense literally beat up on him.

Now, this is where I drift onto something even more people might disagree with, but personally I think it's intentional. The representation of his victim, in both MVs.

Because Futa saw no difference between her and other people him and his friendgroup judged, firstly, she's shown as a videogame monster. Her silhouette changes to a more human-like one when he realizes she died, but that's about it. It shows more of his attempt at dettaching from what he did, refusing to see things for what they are.

But then Backdraft came and totally changed that.

I have to bring up the other 2 monsters to make my point clearer. Like I said, in Jihen Joutou, Futa pictures all of his targets as monsters. In Backdraft, the first 2 remain the same style, but Killcheroy changes.

isn't she adorable, by the way?

Unlike the other two, she's a completely different art style. Cartoony, cute, childish. Because Futa finally got to a point where he can't separate his actions from himself anymore, and had to recognize to have played part in her death, we see his victim for what she is—

A middle schooler.

Of course, her straight up appearing would've been enough to convey that, but the addition of making her character different (innocent, friendly, harmless) further shows how Futa does recognize that he hurt a child that ultimately wasn't doing anything wrong.

And, lastly, and this is entirely personal and where even More people might not agree: I just don't he's lying. I don't think he's trying to manipulate anyone into thinking he feels remorse just to get relief. I believe him when he says he knows what he did was wrong and he regrets doing it, that he wouldn't do it again. And I also understand (and agree) when he says ES, and us by extent, are doing the same.

People in the fandom like to act like he's crazy in the head (hyperbole) for saying that, that he is entirely saying it to guilt ES into forgiving him, and it honestly exhausts me. So like, hey, I'm not Futa, I'm part of the audience and I've voted. So let me say it: We are in fact the same.

He is not wrong in believing it. The MILGRAM system only abuses people under the excuse of giving justice and punishment to those that deserve it regardless of the degree of their crime— And I'm not talking about Kotoko. The psychological torture all 10 of these people are going through is not fair, not on the most forgivable one, nor the least. It is just an abusive system. This system killed people, some of which were teenagers, for having a troubled life. How is that any different from him?

Now I just said we are the same for the dramatism— Of course we are not the same on the basis that we are not actually hurting real people, but like, this fictional character doesn't have a conscience. By MILGRAM canon we really are just a bunch of people getting entertainment from 10 troubled people getting tortured. And as for ES, them continuing to partake on their role when they saw the extreme consequences it has just because they were told to do it is... Yeah, can you really blame any of the prisoners for thinking the guard is also in the wrong?

Ultimately, to conclude: I don't think Futa feels no remorse, nor do I think he only feels bad because he got consequences for it, and I don't understand this point of view. He's shown distress over his actions before backlash came his way, and right now he's at a point where he can't ignore that he fucked up and he will admit to it just fine. He is just simultaneously (and rightfully) upset that a fucked up system that does the same if not worse is the one that gets to decide whether he should be forgiven or not, because in all honesty, none of the prisoners deserve to be judged by MILGRAM.

Aaanyhow, that is it for me. I wrote this in a delirious state from sickness so I hope it's readable and coherent. Peace

Note: i know its implied es attempted to stop the trials and it didnt work, i dont think theyre evil and entirely on a power trip... please dont misunderstand the bit i talk abt es as me saying theyre evil and entirely on a power trip thank you

#milgram #fuuta kajiyama #fuuta milgram #character analysis #i guess #theory too? #idk. its once again almost 4 am #ive repeated it a lot in the text but this is my PERSONAL take #if you disagree youre free to do so but i feel very strongly about my stance on this #specially the very end #this isnt an open for debate post #im just putting my thoughts out there. u may add urs if u want though i just wont be actively debating but ill read it

[indierpgnewsletter]

New Games From December 23 and January 24

I. Dear Reader Another regularly scheduled roundup of games that have been released on itch.io that caught my eye over the last two months. Usual disclaimer that I haven’t really read or played these games; they just seem cool based on the pitch alone. Also, most of them now come to me by people using this form.

Protect the Child: A Forged in the Dark game about monsters caring for a strange, mystical child. Playtest version. (Mintrabbit, Free)

Aftermath: A solo-friendly sci-fi about a team of first responders trying to make the world a better place after a terrible war. (Ember and Ash)

Space Aces: Voyages in Infinite Space: A comedy scifi sandbox inspired by the Hitchhikers’ Guide. (Stephen Hans)

The Connection Machine: A cerebral scifi game about exploring a dreamlike world and overcoming trauma. (Tanya Floaker & Julia Nevalainen)

Daybreak on the Battlefield: An unofficial set of extra playbooks for Girl by Moonlight, the excellent magical girls game. (Ben K Rosenbloom)

Buried in Ice: A mystery for Apocalypse Keys, the Hellboy-inspired PbtA game. Something trapped in a glacier thaws out and causes havoc. (Morgan Eilish)

Boyfriend Dungeon: Life on the Edge: The videogame gets officially adapted into a PbtA game. Explore your inner psyche, confront you fears, and also smooch swords. (Trumoi)

Like Real People Do: A two-player prompt-driven game about a mage trying to keep secrets in a vault but the vault wants to be a real person. (Meghan Cross)

The Mystery Business: Scooby Doo-inspired mystery solving game with no combat. You beat the baddies by setting traps to catch them. (Greg L)

The Flood Bell Tolls in Saint Magnus: A system-neutral campaign set in a drowning city on the verge of rebellion. (Tempest RPG, PWYW)

Also, cheeky last minute addition, the Showcase Zero bundle features games that came out of my playtest community. It’s got my scifi horror game, This Ship Is No Mother, as well as the mecha game of friendship and war, Spectres of Brocken and more.

II. Media of the Week

People Make Games take a good look at jubensha, a gaming phenomenon in China that started out just as spiffy murder mystery party games but has transformed into much more, including what sounds like scripted larps where everyone cries at the end. Really cool story.

The new season of DiceExploder is back with John Harper talking about Psi*Run, a unique game by Meguey Baker that should’ve inspired a slew of games but inexplicably didn’t.

Please consider joining 100+ other patrons and support the newsletter on patreon to help keep me going.

If you’ve released a new game on itch.io this month, let me know through this form so I can potentially include it in the end of the month round-up.

III. Links of the Week

Reviews

Indie Game Reading Club reviews Stonetop, the community-focused iron age fantasy game from Jeremy Strandberg.

It’s a solid review and also features this neat bit of analysis about how PbtA developed: “Monsterhearts spawned the branch of PbtA games that are concerned with constrained, evocative moves with a strong editorial voice. Dungeon World, conceived as a reverse-engineering of Dungeons & Dragons style play, is concerned with efficiently resolving tasks, boiling down the activity to its core essence.”

Cannibal Halfling reviews Free League’s vanilla-ish fantasy game, Dragonbane: “…when we live in the world of Old-School Essentials (also a translation, though from Gygax to English instead of Swedish to English), there’s clearly recognized value in taking an old system, cleaning it up, and sending it back out.”

Explore Beneath and Beyond has a blog series reviewing and discussing all the early adventures and scenarios published for D&D. This is part one.

Possum Creek Games publish their 2023 year in review including completing the mammoth Yazeba’s Bed and Breakfast.

DIY & Dragons explains why we should all probably stick to calling it “Jaquaysing”.

A short post about the oldest ttrpg forums – usenet groups.

Misc

ZineMonth 2024 is around the corner and since the “official” site isn’t ready yet, there’s an unofficial” page listing all the projects being crowdfunded. Take a look and submit your own if you’re doing one.

There’s a game jam to create a megadungeon in honour of Jennell Jaquays.

From the archive

Skerples’ cool blog post about how to portray aliens and alien intelligences in your game, approaching it from a bunch of different angles. (Issue #8, Sep 2020)

View On WordPress

#gaming #rpg #ttrpgsolidarity #indie ttrpg #ttrpg community #ttrpg #ttrpg design #Youtube

[maniculum]

When four knights enter a tournament to win the same lady's hand (after she's led them all on), what could go wrong? Quite a lot, really. Join us in this episode as we explore this soap opera of a reverse-harem, medieval style. Plus, we discuss how medieval tournaments were actually set up, and how to adapt them to your D&D campaign!

Join our discord community! Check out our Tumblr for even more! Support us on patreon! Check out our merch!

Socials: Tumblr Website Twitter Instagram Facebook

Citations & References:

The Lais of Marie de France

The Medieval Tournament as Spectacle: Tourneys, Jousts and Pas d'Armes, 1100-1600

Tournament rules

The Medieval Tournament: A Functional Sport of the Upper Class

Our very own blog post!

#medieval literature #marie de france #medieval #podcast #maniculum #d&d #ttrpg #dungeons and dragons #dnd

[cybernightart]

Totally isn't my third post in a row because I'm having ADHD fueled brain Zoomies at 1:00 a.m.

Jumping back to the theme of season 5 with the whole D&D Overland quest thing

And how there is three fitting mercy skins for the theme. And every one of the skins from the event are to do with the campaign and all of them are a part of the campaign that they're playing together.

So what if Angela not being able to be there for every session instead of playing one constant character throughout the campaign instead whenever she can be there she plays one of three reoccurring characters that will pop in from time to time and she'll play whatever one is necessary for where the party is currently. Alot of genji X mercy btw!

The first one being Angela one of the fellow nights of Queen Emily's court, who works alongside knight Genji, and even trained together to become Knights. They're very close friends with some bubbling romance between them

The second being the witch, deep in the enchanted woods during a quest they encounter a town who are apparently a terrified of a supposed witch, kind of set a bounty for whoever can get rid of her by any means necessary. Intrigue the party ask around and the Nearby townspeople worn the party of how dangerous the witch is, which of course the party agrees to get rid of her believing she's dangerous. Being the brave night he is Genji of course wanders into the forest by himself, which inevitably leads to him being captured by the witch who was revealed to actually be a good witch only wishing to help and heal people but is just very misunderstood. And the only reason she captured Genji was because she believed Genji was there to kill her, so after they come to some sort of understanding after a long discussion with quite a lot of heavy flirting from the witch leaving the night quite heavily flustered, the rest of the party arrives to witness what they believe at first to be the witch literally enchanting genji, but pretty quickly they realize she was enchanting him in a different way.

And the third character that Angela would play, would be the duchess of castle Ziegler, who has been missing ever since an attack on castle Ziegler. The party of course once again sets off to find the missing duchess with not only the hopes of saving The duchess and being heroes but also the very high reward for her return powering them forward, but along the way they hear news of a dragon and how the dragon was the one to have supposedly attacked castle Ziegler and is the one holding the duchess captive. once they reach castle Ziegler they come to find the place completely abandoned aside from all the skeletons of the other knights and adventurers who have tried to save the seeming damsel in distress, so after a couple not so great roles it's decided that they will split up in hopes of finding the duchess faster. Once again Genji inevitably gets himself caught, leading it to a very Shrek one style encounter where he discovers that not only is it a lady dragon but the lady dragon is in fact The duchess herself. Genji comes to find out that it was actually some attackers who had came to take over castle Ziegler that had made The duchess reveal herself to be the magical dragon being that she is in order to defend her home, with the ones that escaped spreading the news of what they saw which inevitably got twisted and spun the more the story spread. Eventually turning into the story that the party heard. Knight Genji in hopes of getting out alive being that he is currently unarmed and trapped by a dragon as much as she is at the same time a beautiful duchess, he would rather not end up like all the other knights chard in the corner, trys talking with the duchess which after rolling a very high natural 20 plus modifiers results in him doing far too well with talking with the dragon lady. With him accidentally seducing the dragon (that's meant to be the bards job but what ever/j), and once the party finally find where Genji is as well as the duchess/dragon and find out everything that has happened (with certain parts left out) they're still very confused at why genji look so disheveled and why he looks so shaken up, with Lena eventually putting two and two together when she sees the what we can hope is lipstick covering his mask, she teases him hard for this which only gets worsened when as they are leaving the premises lady Ziegler looks out the window calls for the knight and blows a kiss his direction. Leaving him incredibly flustered and the rest of the party floored with laughter.

Basically she used every single one of her characters to flirt with Genji in some fashion. Adorable if they're dating at this point outside of the D&D campaign and hilarious if they're not and are still just in the flirting phase, because Genji would get so flustered even outside of the campaign leading to him making some slightly worse roles and decisions within the campaign during these moments. Because Angela figuratively and literally knows how to press all of genji's buttons.

#questwatch #mercy #angela ziegler #gency #dragoon mercy #witch mercy #knight mercy #knight genji #genji #they are so cute

[melancholia-ennui]

So one thing that seems to get overlooked in a lot of the discussions around the current state state of D&D, the OGL changes, etc., is why it's D&D 5e that accrued such an mass following - not Pathfinder 2e, not previous versions of D&D, not any other OGL game.

Part of it is, of course, brand recognition. Part of it is "right place, right time" for the nostalgia cycle. But imo there's more to it than that.

At least to me, 5e seems to hit a surprisingly good sweet-spot between a bunch of conflicting trends in TTRPGs.

It's crunchy enough that you can optimise and build around cool combos and synergies if you want to, but also,

It's rules-light enough that it's very easy to pick up and learn for new players and GMs.

The balancing is robust enough that it mostly feels fair and yet flexible enough that it's easy to mod with homebrew content without breaking anything (as long as you understand the basics of bounded accuracy and action economy).

It's got enough of a default setting that you can just pick up and play without needing to build a whole world of your own, but also,

It's setting-agnostic and genre-agnostic enough that you can easily world build your own settings, as long as you're happy for it to be high magic and use the D&D-style magic system.

For all the "just try another system" posts I've seen - and for all the other RPGs I've played - I'm yet to find another system that works so damn well as both an entry point to the hobby and as a fairly robust "default", in the sense that while in many cases there will be some RPG that's better suited for a particular game, it's very rarely the case that there's any kind of game you simply cannot play in 5e without a little tinkering under the hood.

I adored playing Pathfinder 2e, but the simple truth is that I played in two campaigns for the better part of 2 years and I still don't feel like I have a strong grasp on all of the rules and tags and nuances of the system, and it's so thoroughly balanced that I never felt confident doing any homebrew for it because I was worried I would accidentally break something. (I also have more fundamental issues with the play feel of the game - I dislike action economies that punish movement, and I also dislike the way that a lot of the feats and magic items seem to amount to minor "number get bigger" rather than being able to do something new - but these are more personal judgment issues and there are also many points that I feel Pathfinder 2e gets more right than 5e, and you can actually see a lot of those in the bits that WotC is shamelessly stealing for OneD&D.) I would absolutely recommend PF2e to experienced players looking to try something different, but I would never put it in front of a new player who'd never touched TTRPGs before.

On the other end, there are plenty of systems that could work as good introductions to the hobby, even ones with a lot of brand recognition - your Call of Cthulhu, your Vampire: The Masquerade, etc. - but most of these are so thoroughly embedded in their setting and/or genre that they just do not have that capacity to work as a robust default, as a system you can pick up if you're not sure which system would be best for your game and you're feeling too lazy to check (or too broke to buy new books!). They're also fairly limited to being played by people who enjoy the particular genre they are designed for, and that can also just reduce their general mass appeal.

So it's not as simple as "try another game" - while it's very true that there are players and GMs who suffer unnecessarily trying to cram their game into D&D rules when another system would work better, and it's very true that you'll get more out of the hobby in the long run if your do diversify your systems, it's equally true that 5e serves a very particular niche which no other system has managed to satisfy to the same degree.

Which brings us back to the OGL

and one thing that I think a lot of people seem to be missing in the #OpenD&D campaign: any victory we get here is only a temporary concession.

Hasbro is a big international company deeply embedded in neoliberal capitalism. It wants da money. It's primary prerogative is constant growth - a constant increase in profit. D&D - TTRPGs generally - are not good profit making machines. It is entirely possible with D&D for one person to buy three books and then run weekly sessions with a group of six people for four years without ever giving another penny to Hasbro.

From a corporate perspective, this is a Bad Thing™. From a player perspective, it is a Good Thing™.

We already knew before the OGL 1.1 announcement and leak that Hasbro were worrying about D&D being "under-monetized". The move to make D&D more "monetized" would partially mean expanding into new media forms - more books, more toys, more TV shows and movies - but it also means finding more ways to wring money out of the player base.

Given the company's clear focus on D&D Beyond, it seems likely to me that the main direction for this will be a move towards increasing amounts of subscription-only content, which everyone who wants to use the content will need to individually pay for (as they also see DMs being the main people who pay for content as a "problem" to be "solved"), likely associated with attempts to suppress alternatives - e.g. one of the OneD&D announcements seems to be an attempt to push their own VTT, which in part explains why VTTs are specifically targetted in the proposed OGL 1.1.

All that said, it seems very likely that OneD&D is being set up to be much more player-hostile than 5e was.

Through this lens, it's pretty clear that part of the point of the OGL 1.1 changes is to try and force a captive audience. The one thing which would absolutely sink WotC/Hasbro's plans for an increasingly hostile but increasingly profitable D&D space would be someone doing a Pathfinder to 5e - that is, creating an alternative system that has all of the merits of 5e, potentially with a number of improvements, but is provided without the constant profiteering and hostile environment created by WotC/Hasbro's monetization policies. The changes to the OGL are an attempt to pre-emptively prevent any such alternative.

As such,

even if we get the OGL 1.1 decision reversed in the short term, we should expect WotC/Hasbro to try and pull the exact same BS down the line.

It could be months - a revised OGL 1.1 that claims it fixes the complaints people had but doesn't. It could be a year. It could be several years. But they will try and pull this again, for one very simple reason: the popular backlash to this decision may prove that people hate it, but it also proves that for a lot of people, they don't have anywhere else to go.

If people felt like there was a viable alternative to 5e, they would've just jumped ship on mass the moment the OGL 1.1 was leaked - and sure, a lot of people did that, but a lot more people didn't. So while the player base are showing an excellent display of solidarity in face of WotC/Hasbro, they're also half-acknowledging that they do have us just a little bit cornered. We're stuck in this room together.

So what can we do?

Well, signing the #OpenDND open letter and making a fuss about the OGL 1.1 changes is a good start.

However, even if we win the fight over the OGL 1.1, this is only a temporary victory - and we need to start looking to build a serious alternative structure to take power back from WotC/Hasbro.

The smallest way to do this is to avoid using the OGL if you can - get proper legal advice on this, but from what I can tell, a lot more of the 5e system would fall under noncopyrightable material than the OGL/SRD lets on. One lawyer even went as far as to say the original OGL actually gives up rights to material you could've potentially used. If you're making third party content and it only uses noncopyrightable material from 5e, simply release it without the OGL, and then WotC will be unable to pull the rug out from under you.

Of course, the ideal would be for someone to do a Pathfinder and release an alternative to 5e - something which is largely compatible with 5e and third party 5e materiesl, which captures the main merits of 5e (as outlined above), but which is released under a Creative Commons or similar open license, something which irrevocably guarantees the rights of third party content creators far more robustly than the OGL ever did.

This would require walking a fine line - Pathfinder, after all, is an OGL system, so if you were hoping to circumvent the OGL entirely you'd have to work a lot harder to make sure your system only overlapped with 5e/OneD&D in its noncopyrightable material. And that's in addition to the actual difficulty of, y'know, building an entire new TTRPG system from the ground up (or at least from a little above the ground).

But in the long run, creating a really open alternative to D&D - one which was a genuinely community collaborative effort, and which was guaranteed for third party creators under a robust and reliable license... well, it would be an absolute game-changer. (Especially if you could get the content creators and third party authors who've really driven the 5e boom on board, though that in itself is a whole other issue!)

I am aware that Kobold Press are already talking about creating a new system which they describe as "available, open, and subscription-free" (see here), and that could be one direction to keep an eye on in this regard. That said, while I will be keeping my fungal feelers pointed at that project, I would warn that any D&D alternative developed by a corporation and not released under a sufficiently robust open license could easily run into the exact same problems a decade down the line - or worse, be bought out by WotC/Hasbro and folded into the same hellscape that D&D is becoming.

All told, the response of the wider D&D and TTRPG community to these proposed OGL 1.1 changes has been very encouraging, but I feel like our sights are still too narrow - and if we want to avoid this becoming a perpetual war of attrition between WotC/Hasbro and the fans, we really need to be willing to think bigger, and consider more drastic measures to guarantee the future of our favourite game.

#opendnd #open dnd #onednd #one dnd #dnd #ttrpg #tabletop role-playing #ogl #ogl 1.1 #ogl 1.0a #.txt #thoughts and musings #wotc #wizards of the coast

[thestylesindependent]

It’s more than just Harry, it’s an ensemble.

Amazon Studios is moving forward with an awards push for director Michael Grandage’s romantic drama “My Policeman,” despite mixed reviews out of the Toronto Film Festival, where it received an ensemble tribute. Variety has learned exclusively that Amazon will be submitting the entire cast, which includes music superstar Harry Styles and Emmy nominee Emma Corrin, all in the supporting categories for Oscar consideration.

Going between younger and older versions of the three main characters over a 40-year span, the British drama tells the story of Tom (Styles and Linus Roache), Marion (Corrin and Gina McKee) and Patrick (David Dawson and Rupert Everett) and how events from their past affect their future when reunited.

While awards strategists tend to commit “category fraud,” the act of submitting a lead performance in supporting categories for an easier pathway to a nom or win, this is not the case for “My Policeman.” Just like Barry Jenkins’ “Moonlight” (2016), the film features lead characters, not lead actors.

The pathway for noms will rely on support from the international demographics of the Academy, in particular the British voting block. BAFTA recognition will be essential to keep the discussion alive.

Singers-turned-actors have had an inconsistent road to the Academy Awards. While there are success stories such as Cher (“Moonstruck”) and Jennifer Hudson (“Dreamgirls”), Academy voters sometimes tend to make actors prove themselves before recognizing them for their achievements. As Tom, a closeted gay police officer, Styles conveys the internalizing conflict effectively, and if he decides to campaign and make a play for his first Oscar nomination, it will have to begin with Amazon choosing to submit him for supporting actor attention — which is not category fraud.

Corrin is an outstanding actor, showcasing the pain and torment of a woman feeling betrayed by her lover. With another role this year in Netflix’s “Lady Chatterley’s Lover,” this becomes Corrin’s best vehicle for recognition after breaking out with an Emmy nom for “The Crown.”

Adapted from the book by Bethan Roberts, the film is written by Ron Nyswaner, a former Oscar nominee for “Philadelphia” (1993). As one of the contenders for Amazon, alongside the international submission “Argentina, 1985” and “Nanny,” the film could find traction for production design (from “The Imitation Game” Oscar nominee Maria Djurkovic), costumes (from Emmy winner Annie Symons) and original score (from “Gravity” Oscar winner Steven Price).

#harry styles #emma corrin #my policeman #september 2022 #academy awards

[thevalleyisjolly]

Hey, remember the awful audio quality back in C1, especially with the liveshows and the Skype-in episodes, and how nobody blamed the cast for having loud reactions or said that they should stop yelling and shouting despite the literal blowouts?  Hey, remember when Percy used to take over every other group conversation and push for his ideas over the rest of the party’s suggestions, and people just went “Yeah, he’s being a dick, but that’s the type of person Percy is and Taliesin is doing a great job of role-playing as this character”?  Hey, remember when Joe Manganiello came in with a clearly evil PC with his own agenda who ultimately ended up betraying the party, but no one complained that Joe was making the cast uncomfortable and should leave the show?  Hey, remember when Kashaw was interested in Keyleth back in the early days of C1, and no one mocked him for pursuing a PC who wasn’t yet in any canon relationship but had hints of romance with other characters?

Gotta take another peek at those standards because they sure are looking doubled right now.  But hey, I’m sure those are the only reasons why people are criticizing Erika so much for things that other cast members and guests get away with and are even praised for.

Now, this might be a wee bit of a controversial take, but the Critical Role cast are in fact adults who have been playing D&D on and off the Internet for a long time and who have invited many guests to play with them.  They’ve spoken extensively about safe play environments as well as open communication both at and away from the table.  If anyone was uncomfortable even for a minute with someone’s character choices or play style, they’d bring it up off-camera.  If Matt thought a character concept wasn’t a good fit for the table or the story, he’d work with the player to develop something that was. Hell, Erika is a long-time personal friend whom most of them have played with before. If they didn't like how Erika played D&D, or weren't comfortable with something they did in-game, they're perfectly capable of having that discussion with each other as friends and professionals.

Y’know, you don’t have to like either Dusk or Erika, but you do have to examine how you’re talking about them because right now, a lot of the flack they get boils down to “I don’t like them for doing the exact same thing that white cast members are doing/have done, and I assume that because I dislike how they're playing D&D, they must also be making the cast uncomfortable.” And it does not matter whether you had any conscious racist intent or reasoning, because the impact of your words is singling out the sole nonbinary person of colour at the table and treating them as some kind of aggressive "threat" towards the white cast members, whom I will reiterate, are their long-time personal friends who invited them to play in this campaign in the first place.

#critical role #critical role spoilers #cr discourse #i mean...i expected this the moment erika showed up because i've been in fandom too long #and fortunately i'm blocking enough people that i don't have to see the more rancid takes that are apparently out there #it's just. sigh. #look; i also do not like loud voices but you know what? #one of the more common forms of hate that get levied against people of colour who are AFAB is that they're 'too loud" #it's perfectly alright for white men to yell their heads off; then they're just being passionate about the thing at hand #and you'll get some psuedo-science bullshit about how people who are AFAB have higher decibel voices that are painful to listen to #as if opera singers or pop stars don't also hit those high notes loudly and get applauded for it #they'll also get accused of being 'too emotional' and 'too aggressive' and even 'talking over [white fave's name]' #do you even hear yourself at that point #if the yelling bothers you; there's literally a cr blog that warns for loud noises in the episode #for myself; i just like to take off my headphones when the audio gets loud and follow the captions until the sound is normal again #absolutely wild that everything people critique erika for is something that a white cast member or guest has done before #and i assure you; the cr cast is more than capable of dealing with players who make other players uncomfortable #just look at the or*on debacle and chr*s h*rdwick

[fuzzyizmit]

Fuzzy's Commissions to Reduce Medical Debt!

I have wanted to do something like this for a while. I can't do much on my own, but maybe my art will help get some people out of a hole. After the commission sheets I will have more info and links.

[text from images]

Fandoms: Fallout, Dragon Age, D&D

With some references, I am willing to consider anything. Please just ask!

Style: I am sticking to mostly illustrative/chibi/tattoo.

If you have another idea, I will consider it.

YES

Human

Non-Human

Ghouls

Synths

Animals

Furries

Light Gore

Romantic/Saucy

LGBTQ+

NO

Robots/Vehicles

Buildings

Lots of Gore/Body Horror

Nudity/NSFW

Racism/Hate/Bigotry

Underage/Pedo Stuff

Anything I don't/can't do

Complex Backgrounds

How it Works

1. Message me so we can discuss exactly what you want and if I can do it.

2. Once we agree on the subject and price, donate through my Tiltify campaign for RIP Medical Debt.

3. Once the donation is completed, I will put you on the list and start working as soon as I can.

4. I will try and send a WIP shot to make sure I am going in the right direction. I'll send you your art as soon as I finish it. Please keep in mind I have a full time job and a family. Art is something I do for fun. I will get exactly $0 of what you donate. If you are looking for a quick turn around or a piece where you can do massive edits, then I am not the artist for you. This is for charity. Please keep that in mind.

If you have any questions, just message me!

Now... for the important stuff! LINKS!

Tiltify Link. Tiltify is mainly used by streamers to raise money for charity. I chose Tiltify because they are trusted by many people to properly get the donations to the charities and I don't have to deal with any of the money handling.

My goal is to raise $100 for RIP Medical Debt. RIP Medical Debt is a charity that buys medical debt for pennies on the dollar and forgives it. They have been around for a while and I trust them. For every $100 they forgive $100000 of debt.

Here is a link to see my creative pursuits

Here is my Art Fight page to see more examples of my work.

#rip medical debt #tiltify #commission #commission page

[tyrantisterror]

Those of you who are fond of my Midgaheim stuff might like to know that I am now running a campaign in that same setting - one that I'd like to be more or less canon, too! Having a campaign set in Midgaheim is something my tabletop friends and I have discussed a few times before, and up until now I've been hesitant because no system I knew of really seemed to fit it. Like, all of my friends play D&D 5e, but I don't really... like 5e, at least as a DM, because I find the mechanics of it a bit stifling. I mean, I don't hate it or anything, it just doesn't gel with my style. And while I do like Monster of the Week, the system I use for my Offbeat Melody campaign, it doesn't really fit with Midgaheim either.

But then my friend @dinosaurana introduced me to a system called Fabula Ultima, which is explicitly patterned off of JRPGs like Final Fantasy and Chrono Trigger. And I love JRPGs! It's not as rules light as MOTW, but it's not as complex and specific as D&D 5e either, finding this really nice balance of complexity and freedom that I'm excited to explore. And since it's designed to fit stories as wildly different in content as the many different entries in the Final Fantasy series, as well as other JRPGs for that matter, it was not hard at all to make those rules mesh with Midgaheim's specific brand of bullshit.

^ The Player Characters. Lines & colors by @scatha5, @northstarcene, and @dinosaurana, pencils by me.

^ Some NPCs. Lines by @scatha5, colors & pencils by me.

Last night we did our first session of the first Midgaheim campaign I've ever run, which is also the first Fabula Ultima campaign I've ever run, and I think it's going to be a good one. We've got cursed princes, heartless witches, foul-mouthed dragons, and more! So join us, won't you, as every Monday night we play a new session of No Small Feat: A Midgaheim Fairy Tale.

And if this goes as well as it has so far, it may well be just the first Midgaheim/Fabula Ultima campaign I run.

#Midgaheim #No Small Feat

[utilitycaster]

you mentioned that liam and marisha's styles tend not to really hit for you; i'm curious as to why? i tend not to vibe with them myself, but i've gotten tired of the "marisha's metagaming/liam's a spotlight hog and a misogynist" fanwank; obviously it's not your job to articulate my feelings for me, but i've never been able to put my own finger on it and i'm wondering what your thoughts are.

Sure! And I fully agree re: said nonsense about Marisha metagaming or Liam hogging the spotlight or being misogynist. (I actually find the idea that Liam is a misogynist baffling, like, while I disagree with Marisha being a metagamer or Liam being a spotlight hog I at least see why someone who isn't very medium-aware or, well, smart, might reach those conclusions. The misogyny accusations are actually baffling. Liam is a bigger fan of the women of the cast than most of the fandom.)

I should also note that when I say "doesn't hit" it means "I tend to prefer other cast members' styles, but I still think both of them are very good performers and like their characters a lot...I just find myself at odds with a lot of very common fandom ideas about them." I happen to, for example, think Marisha does a particularly great job with portraying the true complexity and mess of interpersonal relationships, and her descriptions in combat are consistently some of the best; and that Liam's explorations of grief across campaigns in very different contexts are a highlight of the series. In the end I want to stress this is all personal preference. Also this is below a cut just because it's very long.

For Marisha, I think a huge part of it is that she just doesn't explore the themes I am most interested in (this is true of Sam too - I think they're making valid choices that are meaningful for them and just aren't necessarily what excites me the most). My personal favorite characters have pretty much always tended towards people who were fighting pretty significant internal demons, and who barely won out over their darker impulses. I also tend to be more interested in characters who are putting on a facade or are reluctant to show vulnerability but for very valid reasons (often, said internal demons). And I like explorations of arrogance and hubris. That's just not what Marisha usually does. She can, for what it's worth! I loved how she played Patia, and the things I like about Keyleth, Beau, and Laudna (and I do like all these characters) deal with these themes at least in passing: Keyleth's struggles with anger and bitterness, Beau's refusal to show vulnerability, and Laudna's reluctance to express darker emotions. It's just not as central nor as thoroughly explored as what Travis, Laura, and Taliesin have consistently done every single campaign. I also feel that particularly with Laudna - whom I like, and will discuss below - she kind of leaned into the aesthetic first, and the backstory feels patchy and incomplete, and I wish she'd spent some more time thinking the character through. She doesn't always fill out the backstory quite as thoroughly as I prefer, essentially.

Meanwhile, Liam's style in particular reminds me of one person I played with who was like, a fairly old-school D&D player. I don't think Liam is a spotlight hog - I think he is actually notable for how much he tries to start scenes with other people and bring them in and support the other players- but he does sometimes start moments that feel a bit disruptive to the flow, if that makes sense? Like, it's not that he's taking up too much space, but sometimes he takes up space when I wish he'd waited a little for a more natural break, and it happens enough for me to have noticed it. He also is at times particularly theatrical, and to be clear, I think watching Liam as an actor, on stage, in a theater, would be an amazing experience! But it doesn't always work for me in a filmed medium where I would rather have something more subtle and naturalistic. I loved Caleb because I think his more subdued and introverted nature in RP, combined with the theatrics when it came to his spells really worked, but it translates less well for me with Vax and Orym, who are Just Some Guys. I also have to say that while three of the Core 4 classes are among my favorite classes, and I would be excited if CR does a fourth campaign and Liam plays a cleric, I also feel like he's holding himself back from some interesting explorations. I love a battlemaster fighter but Orym genuinely would make more sense as a ranger. It's again kind of like Marisha and themes - I think he's doing what's right for him, and I support that, but yeah, I'm going to be more invested then in people who make choices that happen to appeal more to me.

I will say their choice to go back to Tal'Dorei for their campaign 3 characters also did not help. I actually really like the aspects of their personalities for Campaign 3: I like that Laudna is a cheerful weird girl who sort of never did anything about the evil patron who murdered her for 30 years and is slowly blossoming as Bells Hells shows that they will stand by their weird dangerous friends, and that Orym is several years out of a loss and tentatively exploring relationships again and has a deep sense of obligation and justice, but I think this would have been better achieved by making these characters from Marquet. I have very mixed feelings about the Whitestone Nostalgia Tour even as someone who does very much love Percy and Vex, because I would much prefer to see new places and new characters and engage with the setting. I particularly don't love that they're not just from Tal'Dorei but very deeply tied into Vox Machina and the hometowns of two VM characters. At least, if you must, have someone who like, was a child during the Seige of Emon.

Finally, I debated including this in here for obvious reasons but it is, in fact, a factor for me: I am deeply uncomfortable with the particularly rabid and obsessive portions of both Liam and Marisha's fans that no other cast members seem to have - and to be clear I don't think this is at all a commentary on Liam and Marisha (I doubt they know these people exist), but as someone who is skeptical and contrary by nature the nonstop fawning by those people for Liam and Marisha even when they are doing completely run-of-the-mill things, or the belief that the campaign should center their character at all times or the insistence that (for example) Orym MUST have an inner darkness because...because LIAM, is a turn off. It's something I'm working on ignoring, but well, it's a process.

(For what it's worth: I've joked about the Vex-to-Fjord pipeline and the Keyleth-to-Caleb pipeline and the thing is: while I'm obviously a Vex and Fjord person, I have nothing but profound respect with people who prefer Keyleth and Caleb, because exploring the effect of high expectations on someone in adulthood is a very good theme, and the people who followed that path are, as a rule, engaging with the characters in an insightful way that sees them as full complicated characters and not Unproblematic Angel or Sadboy.)

#answered #burr-ell #cr tag #long post

[the-lunar-warrior]

looking for ppl for a MC roleplay group!

hello! we (myself @pancakeofsin, ally popcornghost, and @phantoids) are looking for 8-12 people to join a rp group :D

The base idea is a two-fold roleplay group.

First part would be an SMP server that everyone can access at any given time, more focused on just playing with friends/building.

The main feature of the server would be us using seeds that have unusual features or are straight up broken, with loose roleplay as we see fit - think x life/origins smp/hermitcraft. The only real lore/build requirement is to stick close to whatever unusual feature the seed has, and to work with it, not against it (aka no super heavy terraforming, ect)

If it DOES evolve into heavy roleplay dsmp style, so it be - but it's not planned. This is to make friends and have fun. We do plan on having "seasons" so to speak, where after each we change to a new broken/weird seed. Those seasons would be pre-planned to be a certain length - the idea now is approx. 6 months, but that's subject to discussion (could be also something like 3 big arcs/events, ect)

Second part would be smaller, TTRPG inspired campaigns - think Karl Jacobs' tales of the smp, or oneshot dnd campaigns (3-6 players per oneshot)

There would be a given concept with brief descriptions of the characters and setting, and upon accepting to participate in a given oneshot, the players would be given the defining trait of their character - a secret motive, goal, unshakable belief that somehow affects their actions. From there all the players participating in a given story would meet for ~2h long session (the length is up to participants, but in spirit of table top, the sessions would have a set meeting time). There might be some more classic ttrpg elements involved (like rolling dice for checks, GM narration, ect) but honestly speaking, the format idea is pretty loose as of now, and the plan is to experiment with it a bit to see what will fit us all most.

If a story runs long it could be extended to another session, but ideally we would aim to not go above 3 sessions per story. The characters then might be used again for new storylines if the players are up for it, using the previous sessions as backstory.

If you're interested in applying, or would just like to join the discord, click here.

#mc roleplay #minecraft smp #dnd #i talk sometimes #idk how to tag this besties i'll be honest #ttrpg #roleplay server

[sigmasupreme]

Zeb Cook’s Player Types

I recently remembered this AD&D 2e module. It’s written by David “Zeb” Cook who some may know as the author of the original D&D expert set.

It’s most interesting to me because of the section title “the great treasure”, wherein Cook discusses how to cater the rewards and treasures of this campaign to different kinds of players.

He describes 5 different player types.

It’s important to note, he’s talking about each player type in the context of the kinds of treasures that these players might like.

It’s also worth noting that Cook described these as “styles of play” a term that has a completely different meaning today, referring to the style of the overall campaign and how the rules support that style, rather than a way that a player plays the game.

Warlords appear to be a kind of player that isn’t as well accommodated in something like 5e, with the absence of the old stronghold rules.

However some might argue this isn’t accommodated in OD&D and Basic D&D either, since in some games, you were supposed to retire a character once they became a monarch.

This one interests me most because I’m wondering how long Cook had known about this kind of player. Was it very common to see players who played this way?

On “The Storyteller” I believe this one is not named correctly and reading the description, I feel “story-reader” is more appropriate, since it doesn’t appear like they actually want to tell stories as their character.

Interesting that the rewards for puzzle solvers are simply more puzzles. This one is cool because I feel this kind of player would enjoy “solving” a dungeon.

And there you have it.

Tag yourself for which one you think you are.

#David Zeb Cook #Cook #D&D Expert #AD&D 2e #TTRPG #D&D #Old-School #OSR #I feel like I have a bit of all of these in me #perhaps right now I lean closer to the puzzle solver

[lowkeyclueless5137]

There’s a kung fu panda AU with the shroud bros as stars? SIGN ME UP! WHERE IS IT! >:D

On a discord server, buried with the rest of the Au iceberg that I have.

Kung-fu panda was like... One of my favorite childhood movie series. Like I never got to see the 2nd movie, but I saw the first and on TV there was the legends of awesomeness show, which was, luckily, after school. When I tell you me and my siblings LOVED that shit... Like we were hooked on it.

Unfortunately, the only merch I do have is a Po plush that was part of a campaign at the mall shop. It's chonky and a good pillow tbh

A bit of a fair warning: it is LONG af.

Now y'all know where we are going, so I believe I need no introduction on this:

We have a pretty comune setting to the og movie. Except that in here, in the village, the restaurant is owned by Mrs Ashengrotto, a widow, with her son, Azul as the sole heir and one hard-working lad. He was engaged to Idia, as an arrangement in between them, arrangement which both families were more than excited about. (I mean... One is a great cook with a successful restaurant and one is a blacksmith who can fix anything he comes across)

The Shrouds on the other hand, were blacksmiths. Idia was one mad lad, always up to try and invent something. Meanwhile, his little brother, Ortho, was more of a happy-go-lucky kid, just like the other kids, absolutely thrilled over the furious 5 and their epic adventures in protecting their lands. It didn't help that excitement when the temple they would train was right on the top of the mountain, under which their village was located.

In here, what made the furious 5 so great was the power to turn into different animals. Each one had a corresponding animal, whom represented their fighting style as well.

Idia didn't seem that hyped with all that bazzazz, but he did creak a smile when his little brother would excitedly speak about the new stories he heard from the other kids.

And as such, when the big ceremony of choosing a legendary warrior, everyone is excited and going to see the demonstrations of the furious 5.

Idia, of course, is late to the whole thing because he is helping his fiancé with the food. They didn't have to be late at all since Mrs Ashengrotto was counting on them.

But there were A. LOT. OF. STAIRS.

And we all know these 2's track record. :'3

So Idia comes up with a plan to use fireworks. Azul tells him that it's a horrible idea. Like sure, they have to be fast, but not actually blow up.

And ya know what? It does turns out to be a bad idea. Who would've guessed?!

The thing ends up with both Azul and Idia not only being fucking late to the introduction and the whole demonstrations, but they end up literally toppling down in the middle of the arena, right when the great old master Maleficia was choosing the next legendary warrior.

Of course, Idia opens his eyes to see a finger pointed straight at his nose and people just gasping. It was thought this was a mistake, Azul and Idia both were dying with embarrassment, but Maleficia insists that this was the legendary warrior. That Idia, this noodle arms mf who never touched grass in ages, was the chosen one.

Of course, this starts a whole controversy. Especially since Idia himself wanted nothing to do with this.

As such, Idia gets dragged to the temple, where he gets confronted by master Lilia, who was absolutely disappointed that out of the finest 5 warriors he could train, this stick guy that couldn't even defeat a mosquito, was chosen. There had to be an error. And Idia wholeheartedly agreed that it was an error. That he could never be a great warrior. He was just a blacksmith's son who wants to invent a few things and live cozily in his village without much care. Just a quiet cozy life, please and thank you. :'3

Of course, the furious 5(who now all were annoyed) discussed in between them. Kalim brings out that maybe Idia could bring something new, something they would need or haven't thought about. Leona is salty af, since out of the 5, he and Malleus were the best with 0 doubts. In between these 2 it was the true competition. Riddle brings it up how they maybe should've trained harder, but Vil interjects and says that there is no way, no matter how hard they tried. Malefica saw something on that lazyass guy and decided that he would be a warrior.

Their goal is to convince Idia to get his ass to train. Maybe then they would see what Maleficia saw in him.

Back to Idia, man just wanted to leave. Just say that it was a mistake and let him leave like this. But Maleficia was 100% set onto her choice, much to everyone's cargain.

So they put Idia to trial. It was the training room and Idia had to pass from one side to another. For at least an example, Kalim was demonstrating, since he was the most acrobatic from all of them.

Imagine Idia just losing his soul when he sees what stunts Kalim pulls. And he makes it look just so effortlessly that Idia is racking his brain to find out how much stamina does this guy even have.

Of course, Idia, like any sane mf who had no ounce of training, doesn't want to go.

Leona yeets him in there anyway.

And it's just the biggest flop of the year. Everyone looking was just absolutely dying on the inside as Idia was trying really hard to not actually die in there. Man bearly makes it through by sheer desperation.

To try and make him feel better, Vil introduces him to the training dummy, which is mostly a thing little kids could defeat too.

Idia fails at that as well.

Still, Lilia was absolutely racking his brain to see how he could help this case. It was very important that Idia would either train to be a good warrior or prove that he is so BAD, Maleficia will choose someone else by default. One of the 2 had to be fulfilled in the end.

Of course, Lilia tried everything. Absolutely everything. Nothing worked. Idia was simply not wanting to learn. He wanted only home and at this point he was actively trying to survive, not Excell at anything. Just leave the guy alone please. :'3

Malleus does express his worry, that mayhaps his grandma was too old. She was ready to pass away anytime now. Maybe the age got to her. Malleus really didn't want to lose or disrespect his grandma, but he had to face the reality at one point. Lilia gives him a point, but he retorts that Maleficia never let anything such as old age from keeping her mind calm and ordered. Malleus should leave his worries aside and try to accept the new. They all really try to.

Of course, one night, Idia is absolutely done and over with the bland ass food the rest were eating. Like he was used to Azul's great ass cooking, so naturally, Idia knew a few of the easy to do recipes. Some that won't take long to do.

Malleus catches whim of the smell and is absolutely sure that it wasn't by any means Lilia in that kitchen. Curious, he finds Idia there, with a bowl of something he did.

Of course, being one shamels and hungry Boi, Malleus reaches out to the said food, to just take a bite, but Idia slaps it away, saying that he did it for himself and himself only. He misses his home and is denied of going back until this fuckery is solved, at least let him have this.

Malleus, being still hungry, still wants some. He insists that he skipped lunch, much like Idia did, so he wants something to eat too. Idia tho, keeps to his compass that Malleus shall get none of the food made by him.

At this, Malleus gets petty too, saying that he could take it by force if he wanted, but right now he's playing nice. Idia takes it as a fucking challenge, so he takes some bowls and plays a game of guess the cup with Malleus. Of course, hi first 2 guesses out of the 3 were wrong. So Idia leaves the kitchen as Malleus is ready to enjoy his prize.

But under the 3rd bowl it was nothing.

See, Idia pulled a trick, by having a 4th bowl hidden underneath, swapping those and leaving with the 4th bowl while Malleus was way too distracted with the guessing game.

Of course, Malleus was fucking salty about this. Also so embarrassed that he didn't utter any word when Riddle, who was passing by, asked him why he was refusing to eat from a bowl something that clearly was meant for bowl. :'3

The next day, Malleus demands to know where Idia hid the food. The response was, of course, in his stomach. He was absolutely teasing Malleus about it in front of the other furious 5, just to add salt to the wound. The others were absolutely finding this hilarious since 'how come the great Malleus Draconia is defeated by noodle arms?!'. Malleus defends by saying that he was outsmarted, not in a fight, but in a mind game. The others think that it's bullshit, but Malleus insists that Idia shouldn't be ever let to try and defend his food via mind games.

Today tho, it's also the day Sebek, a worker at the temple, announces that they would have dumplings for dinner. Idia recognises them as the dumplings Azul's mom makes and immediately demands to have at least one.

Good news, for the group, as a treat, there were given 7 dumplings. Bad news, they were 6 and all wanted an extra dumpling. Either for the sake of a reward or, in Idia's case, for the sake of that homey feeling.

Of course, Idia grabs the last dumpling first, so the others, who also wanted, are challenged to the same game that put Malleus to the wall of shame. Malleus is absolutely pumped up, wanting to clean up his name after the shameful defeat.

So Idia takes this time 5 bowls, saying that there can be only 1 winner, so each will choose one individual bowl. He shuffles them and everyone is watching those things like hawks. Idia finishes the shuffling and presents to the 5 the bowls.

Leona tho, decides to check for any tricks, so he rounds the table. He finds out Idia was staying on one leg, with the other holding a bowl that hid something. He points it out, thinking he wins the dumpling.

But it was the extra bowl, the one Idia ate from. He holded it off the table to have a clean game.

Still not happy with it, the group decide to put Idia in the middle of the table as they drag towards them the bowls. They were all around the table, so they would see if Idia tries anything funny.

So they start in order. First is Vil, who isn't a winner. Then Riddle, Leona and Kalim are also met with nothing. Malleus seems excited, since finally he would win. So the others have all the eyes on him.

Nothing under his bowl as well.

Being absolutely dumbfounded and enraged, all 5 look at Idia, only to realise that Idia himself was eating the 6th dumpling without a care in the world. He does notice the stares and asks if they only now caught onto the gig, since Ortho always knew about it.

Before he leaves, Idia adds that his little brother is currently 6.

Even a 6 years old could figure this out and not 5 highly trained warriors. Oh the shame. The absolute shame was unbearable.

Lilia does pass by and asks if by chance, they have an extra dumpling, which, of course, has everyone groaning and collectively saying that no. Idia was already gone to his assigned room by then, so of course, the 5 were trying to figure out how the trick was performed. They saw Idia placing the dumpling under a bowl and they saw the bowls shuffling on the table. They caught only an empty bowl as a 'trick', but still! What kind of witchcraft was this even?!

Lilia finds it curious. He saw only the Aftermath and knew that Idia did something to fool everyone and get that extra dumpling. But what? Maybe that was the spark from the potential Maleficia saw.

Later, Kalim is the one on washing duty, so he was a bit late to go to bed. That's also when he spots Idia outside. Curious, Kalim follows him, trying to find out what Idia is up to. He expected the firehead to be beat from all the training.

Surprisingly, Kalim finds it hard to keep pace with Idia, who was headed to the roof of the temple.

That's also when Kalim sees Idia poofing into a bird made out the same blue flames as his hair, gently flapping it's wings and gliding off from the mountain, straight to the village.

Kalim, of course, follows as a small monkey, realising that Idia was actually going to his home.

He was visiting his family, mostly to check on them.

Of course, Kalim's cover is blown up when he is noticed by Ortho, much to Idia's horror. Idia was absolutely scared since Kalim caught him in the act. Of course, Kalim was a very kind and happy guy, not once badmouthing Idia, but saying that it is a bit difficult to adapt.

Idia also sneaks in to see Azul, Kalim also meeting Azul. Still being salty about the dumpling incident, Kalim brings up that woe to Azul, who was the one who actually made those when Sebek bought them from his errands around. Azul just reassures that it's one of the silly tricks Idia does. Don't think it too much as the answer is very simple. This actually makes Kalim more embarrassed since they overthought everything and still found nothing.

But, after that, Idia and Kalim go back, Idia begging to not say a thing. He kept visiting at night from time to time, mostly because he couldn't handle all this strangeness and how everything felt so hostile.

Kalim tho, asks if Idia could always turn into a bird. Idia responds that he could always do it. It wasn't very hard for him, but it was something only his close ones knew about. He asks Kalim to tell no one about it. Anyway he wasn't any warrior material and he would be out as quick as possible.

Kalim wanted to say something else, but only tells Idia that maybe he should try to put as much effort in his training as he does in his tricks. Idia just says that they are childish tricks. He doesn't put effort in them, unlike in the trainings where he does put a lot effort. That's why he doesn't like it. He tries and tries but gets no results.

So Kalim starts to think. How come Idia was so fast and agile, but also a total flop at training? What was the secret?

Well, meanwhile, Mrs Maleficia passes away, while giving advice to her grandson. So Malleus was very down about this.

So of course, everyone was a bit down. To at least cheer up, Kalim turns to Idia and asks to figure out that bowl trick. Idia, of course doesn't really want to reveal his trick, since it was his only advantage against the others. Then again, Idia had the fear that Kalim might blackmail him.

So he just shows the same trick a few times, Kalim still not being able to figure it out. Idia was getting impatient and Kalim was still without any idea of the execution.

That's when Riddle catches them in the act. He asks what are they trying to do, so Idia shows to Riddle the trick as well. They still can't figure it out and as such Idia wants to give up, since it was obvious.

Disappointed they didn't figure it out, the 2 go to sleep and think about it.

Malleus tho, who happened to pass by, asks how Idia manages to mask the sound of the chopsticks. Idia was on dishwashing duty, so he does catch up that Malleus figured out his gig, so he points to the ceiling cracks due to the wood planks. It's all about the aim. And Idia proves it by throwing the chopstick in the ceiling, getting straight in a crack and making only a small creak. Malleus says that it is impressive and gets the other chopstick to stick it next to Idia's.

The 2 bond a bit over sticking chopsticks to the ceiling. :'3

But, after the death of Maleficia, we get the news of Crewel, a past protige of Lilia's that turned to the evil side. As he was trained and praised, thinking he would be the legendary warrior, but instead he wasn't chosen.

Of course, the furious 5 demand to go and challenge Crewel, but Lilia insists that it is too dangerous. But what they could do? Idia was still being absolutely useless, having no progress in training.

Even so, the 5 decide to still go and at least try.

So left with Idia, Lilia doesn't know what to do with him. Nothing really worked. Idia wasn't making any progress at all.

And Lilia, rightfully, felt absolutely at his lowest. Idia also didn't want to do this, not being reassured the slightest by his poor skills in this.

So he consults with Silver. Now Silver had one leg missing, so the best he could do was to tend to the gardens. Lilia does ask Silver, as Silver was his previous protige.

And Silver says that Maleficia didn't see any legendary warrior spark in him either, but Lilia still managed to find a way to train him. Even after he got his leg ripped off by Crewel and Sebek was blinded in his right eye and his right hand was missing too, Lilia didn't try to give up on neither of them. Silver gave up on his training, as he knew Lilia had to focus on the 5 protiges. And Sebek's goal was only to guard the temple and the warriors that are training in here. Lilia wanted them to be legendary warriors, he got so innovative in trying to prove this that one actually thought there was a chance.

But that chance wasn't there. And now, Idia is given to him as the chosen legendary warrior. Silver saw Idia and he knows that there is that talent. Lilia just has to do what he did to him and Sebek's training: seeing through their eyes. Trying to understand how they think and what they truly want.

Lilia ends up praising Silver, mostly because of how calm and composed he was in times where people like Lilia were losing their mind.

So Lilia tries to see how Idia does. How he thinks and reacts to things. He only found out that Idia loves the food made by Azul and that he is knowledgeable in different tricks, mostly used to confuse the others and get him an extra piece at dinner.

So Lilia sets up a little thing. He tells Idia that Sebek got some of those sweet desserts from the village restaurant and he doesn't know where they are hid. He also plays it as being just Sebek not wanting to share since usually the others always haul the food.

Lilia immediately finds Idia doing a perfect split in between 2 cabinets, looking above them and trying to find those desserts. Of course, when being caught in the act, he immediately drops down and crashes on the floor.

Lilia slowly comes to the realisation that Idia's problem was not his skill, but the fact that people were looking. He was always awkward, unless he performed a trick he knows so well he is aware he can't possibly mess it up.

So he tries a new way to train Idia. Train him without being actually there. Of course, it sounded outrageous, but Lilia had a plan.

He blindfolds Idia. So he tells him to do tasks alone in the room until he comes back.

Thing was, Lilia never left the room. He was there all the time, watching how Idia performed. Unlike before, his approach was far more calculated, far more calm and clean.

Slowly, Lilia tries to 'catch' Idia in more opportune positions, where he cannot fall off that easy. He wants to have Idia slowly lose that sudden 'drop everything and overthink' reflex, by giving the illusion that he isn't there, that he's just giving him a task and lets him do whatever to just get the result wanted.

Meanwhile, the 5 return. Unfortunately, the first one who finds them was Azul, who deems that all 5 are in no condition to even continue and try to climb all those stairs. He takes them in for at least a bit until they get a bit more energy and treat their wounds. Vil was absolutely frozen, Kalim had his head bashed on rock and as such it was all wounded and he was dizzy. Leona and Riddle both got strangled by bridge strings and Malleus was almost killed. It was a miracle they were alive by what Azul concludes.

Unfortunately, it wasn't a miracle, it was a warning from Crewel to Lilia and everyone.

So Azul writes a letter and takes Ortho to send it to the temple as fast as possible. Riddle and Kalim are the fastest ones who recover and they are asked to take Vil along Leona to the temple. Malleus still could bearly walk and as such, he needed a bit more time to either recover or for Azul to decide to finally carry his ass to the temple too.

For Idia, the training was going well when Ortho arrives. Surprisingly, Idia himself seems not fazed, even adapting to the situation when he rushes to Ortho to see why he was here. Lilia also comes when Ortho says that Azul gave him an urgent letter to deliver, regarding the furious 5.

That's when Lilia allows Idia to get the blindfold off so he could read the letter. It is revealed that Azul penned the report from the 5 and added how 4 of them are coming to the temple since they are recovering faster than Malleus.

Of course, Lilia gets worried when the others come in and he has to unfreeze Vil. They said the same things as in the letter, that Crewel was coming.

So finally deeming that Idia was ready and with the situation at hand, Lilia is giving to him the legendary scroll that holds the said secret only the legendary warrior shall know.

Idia says that it's literally empty. Literally that whole scene with the scroll but it's Idia and Lilia instead.

So with this, there is the problem of what to do? They had little time and their priority was the innocents first and foremost.

So Lilia gives the order to evacuate the village. He would stay behind to keep Crewel from trying to track them. The others try to convince Lilia to at least have the 5 to help, but Lilia says that they are were wounded beyond any possibility of fighting at the moment.

So the order is given and everyone is leaving the village.

Ortho asks why they are leaving, Idia saying that it's something they cannot stop, something that threatens their lives and the risk was too big to be ignored. Idia tries to reassure that it's alright and that they would all be safe and happy in the end.

But of course, Ortho was bummed about it. When asked about why, he says that Idia never backed down. When there was a challenge for him, Idia would try and try whether it was a success or not. And many times it turned out to be a failure, but Idia still didn't give up. That was the thing that made Idia... Well Idia... So to see his big brother running away, it was a bit disappointing. No.... Scrap that... Very disappointing. Ortho says that it is like Idia completely forgot what was inside of him.

Idia tho, has a realisation moment. So he drops everything and tells Azul that he has to go back, because he finally figured it out. Azul, already having himself busy with the wounded Malleus, couldn't stop Idia at all before he ran off back to the temple.

Ortho tho, notices that Idia forgot something: the scroll. So he asks Malleus if he knows what it was. Malleus responds that it's the thing Crewel is after, the scroll that could only be read by the legendary warrior. He guesses Idia already read it or at least was given to keep safe by Lilia, even so, it was a very important object. Azul gets a bit worried, since if Crewel is after this, then surely he won't stay too much at the temple.

At the temple tho, Crewel arrives and challenges Lilia for the scroll in question. Of course they fight, but their fight gets put off when it's realised that the scroll wasn't anymore in the temple.

And Idia arrives! He was absolutely beat from all that running, but ya know, gotta commit to it. Crewel inquires to know who this noodle arms is, to which Idia declares that he is the one who hid the scroll away from Crewel. He states that it was too late, as Crewel will never find it.

Of course... This results in Idia getting yeeted off the mountain. Thankfully, he turns into his usual bird self to avoid getting smashed into a roof.

Cue very epic fight. Crewel wanted to know where the scroll was, but Idia was not telling a soul. If he tries to end him, he'd never find out, so it was a condition to also keep Idia alive.

Except that all goes to vain when Idia realises that Ortho returned, with the scroll he forgot. Idia intended to hide it on his person, but now everything was blown up. Crewel, of course, sees the younger brother and is absolutely ready to tear everything into shreds just to get that damn scroll.

But that also seems to hit some buttons for Idia, as this time he immediately puts the man down and takes Ortho to put some distance in between them. Of course, Idia is worried sick for his brother and takes the scroll from him, telling Ortho to hide. He couldn't run back, since Crewel would most likely follow and try to use him as a pawn, which would lead to the other villagers. As such, Ortho is told to hide until Idia tells him it's safe to come out.

So now Idia has the scroll with him, initiating another epic fight.

Of course Crewel finally gets an upper hand, putting Idia to the ground. Except that, to the horror of Ortho, who was watching from his hiding spot, Idia admits defeat and turns into ashes, which are blown away by the wind. Of course, being absolutely devastated, Ortho gets out of his hiding spot, crying that his brother was killed. Crewel, of course, pays little mind as he opens the scroll.

But is meant with an empty shiny paper.

That's when Idia, fully alive and with no scratch, puts his hand on Crewel's shoulder, telling him that it took him a while to figure it out as well, but it wasn't about an invincible technique or some sort of hidden magical power. It was absolutely nothing, because one didn't need anything but themselves and their will to become a legendary warrior. Well... Whatever that legendary meant, was up to everyone's interpretation in Idia's vision.

But for him, at least, legendary meant that he gets to make his brother proud of him.

So finally, Idia uses on Crewel the same technique of freezing one's body. Initially, Crewel attempted to do it on Idia, but he was way too slippery. Didn't mean he didn't get to see the technique up close, enough so he could attempt to copy it.

In the end, Idia is worrying over his little brother, while Ortho laughs it off and tells Idia that he was amazing and that this is why he was chosen in the first place. Ortho never doubted his brother in the first place. But if Idia still has a few doubts still, Ortho would spell it out for him.

He was very proud of his big brother. Weather he was a legendary warrior or not.

Idia does ask of Ortho to keep, like usual, the fact that he could turn already into an animal a secret, bit they are interrupted by Kalim, who apparently rushed here to retrieve the 2 when he was told Idia ran off and Ortho after him.

Kalim tho, still tells Idia that maybe he should show it to the others, but Idia insists that no one shall know for now. Even so, Kalim is asked to go with Ortho and tell the others about the defeat of Crewel while he goes to the temple to check on Lilia.

When everyone returns with cheers and everything, Idia is found napping next to Lilia.

And that would be the prologue :3

#twisted wonderland #asks :3