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slavonicrhapsody · 10 months

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a closer look at the weapons of Mt. Gelmir

Do you ever get possessed by the uncontrollable urge to catalogue every weapon related to Mt. Gelmir, overanalyze both their visual design and their purpose, and then arrange them in a rough timeline reflecting Mt. Gelmir’s history? Because I do! There might be something wrong with me. Anyway, I ended up grouping the weapons into three main eras: the ancient cult of the great serpent, the Inquisition era under Praetor Rykard, and Rykard’s war of blasphemy against the Erdtree. This analysis became ungodly long, so I’ve put everything under a read more:

CULT OF THE GREAT SERPENT

Long before Rykard took up residence on Mt. Gelmir, the volcano was inhabited by a civilization who worshipped the Great Serpent: they practiced pagan hexes of poison and magma, and offered up blood sacrifices to their Serpent God. The weapons associated with this civilization can be identified by the following characteristics: an association with pagan magic and ritual sacrifice, dull-colored metal or wood material, and serpent imagery.

Serpent God’s Curved Sword

“Curved sword fashioned in the image of an ancient serpent deity and tool of a forgotten religion practiced on Mt. Gelmir. Formerly used to offer up sacrifices, this sword restores HP upon slaying an enemy.”

This weapon helps establish the distinct visual style of the serpent cult, since the cult is specifically referenced in the description.

Serpent Bow and Arrows

“Malformed bow in the shape of a pair of poisonous snakes. Imbues arrows with poison through pagan magic, revealing its true worth when used with poison-infused arrows. Used by assassins known as the Formless Serpents.”

“Arrow carved to resemble a flying snake. Used in tandem with the Serpent Bow. Loyal minions of the Formless Serpents, their fangs are daubed with deadly poison.”

Who are the formless serpents? Who the hell knows. But what tells me that these weapons are from the same era as the serpent cult is both the style and the mention of “pagan magic,” which brings to mind the ancient magma “hexes” that Rykard eventually rediscovered. We find the bow in the Caelid Abandoned Cave, among a hoard of ruined abductor virgins… this seems to be a case of Rykard utilizing the weapons of the serpent cult in tandem with his own modern inventions.

Serpentbone Blade

“Sinister katana modeled after a serpent bone. The densely packed row of spines that jut away from the cutting edge are coated in a lethal poison.”

A quest reward from Tanith, which implies that Volcano Manor has many of these serpent cult weapons stashed away somewhere. This weapon is likely infused with the same poison-imbuing pagan magic as the serpent bow. Notice how the hilt is decorated with coiling serpents in a dull metal color.

Devourer’s Scepter

“Scepter in the shape of a serpent devouring the world. This weapon will one day become the very symbol of the Lord of Blasphemy. A vision of the future briefly seen by Rykard in his final moments before being devoured by the great serpent.”

I believe this weapon was crafted by the serpent cult as a premonition or a prophecy of their god that they had glimpsed, which Rykard himself glimpsed in his final moments. The description says the weapon “will one day become” his symbol, implying that it had existed long before him. We also know that this weapon can’t have been made after Rykard was devoured because, since we know that Tanith was “the only human to remain by his side when he became the serpent of blasphemy,” the only ones who could’ve created the weapon are the man-serpents — and as we’ll later see, the three weapons we know they created have a uniform design that’s entirely different from the Devourer’s Scepter. Lastly, the serpent depicted on the weapon does not have Rykard’s face, while his personal sigil does depict both his and the serpent’s head.

INQUISITION ERA

Now, we skip forward in time to the weapons created under Rykard’s tenure as Praetor, during which he enforced a brutal inquisition involving the imprisonment and torture of people most likely presumed to be heretics (ironically, this inquisition in the name of the Golden Order was itself physically built upon a hotbed of ancient heresy). We can distinguish the newer weapons from the ones of the serpent cult based on a few factors: they were made to be instruments of torture, they are decorated with loopy flourishes, and there should be no serpent imagery — I don’t believe that an Inquisition of the Golden Order would be using weapons decorated with snake imagery due to their society’s view of the serpent as a “traitor to the Erdtree,” especially because the previous heretical denizens of the volcano had been crafting weapons in the serpent’s image.

Inquisitor’s Girandole

“Instrument of torture used on nobles behind the curtain at the Volcano Manor of Mt. Gelmir. Its numerous spikes pierce the flesh, then singe the wounds with flame. The smell of burnt blood induces despair in the victim. A candlestick conceived by a thorough mind.”

Unfortunately, this is really the only example of a purely inquisition-era weapon in the game, but it is immediately noteworthy that there is no snake imagery here whatsoever. The loops and flourishes are consistent with other design work we see throughout Volcano Manor, such as on the mechanized metal bridge:

Ghiza’s Wheel

“Great iron wheel lined with flesh-flaying blades. Device of torture used by Inquisitor Ghiza. As the wheel spins it causes severe pain and blood loss. The design was adopted for use as the iconic weapon wielded by Iron Virgins.”

We know that Ghiza’s Wheel was created as a weapon of the inquisition. The wheel itself is also decorated with a loopy design, but the handle is interestingly covered in golden snakes. However, the description also reads that the design of the wheel was “adopted for use” on the iron virgins: the handle of the wheel matches the gold coiling snakes of the abductor virgins, so I propose that the special handle was added later on, when the iron virgins were likely created as machines of war for Rykard’s blasphemous crusade. Perhaps Ghiza worked on them too, and made adjustments to his wheel’s design himself?

WAR OF BLASPHEMY

When Rykard declared his treason against the Golden Order and the Erdtree, it’s likely he embraced the serpent as a symbol of his blasphemous intentions. For this reason, I theorize that Rykard only started actively using serpent imagery after his treason, which is also why we don’t see serpent imagery in the architecture and design of Volcano Manor itself.

Abductor Virgins

Looking at the abductor virgins, we see serpents throughout the design mixed with intricate swirls and flourishes, which in my opinion places their creation after Rykard's treason. We also don’t know for sure if they were created before or after Rykard fed himself to the great serpent, but I’m inclined to believe it was before: The iron maiden is a notorious real-world torture device, so it would make the most sense if Rykard’s own torturers had a hand in its creation, and we know that they had abandoned him after his devouring. It's also possible that they were altered after the fact by the man-serpents, however.

Magma Weapons of the Man-Serpents

After Rykard’s devouring and the subsequent birth of the man-serpents, we have a new subset of weapons that appear — all of these weapons make use of Rykard’s innovations in magma sorcery based on the old hexes of Mt. Gelmir. They are all made of filigreed gold and embedded with glintstone, and are created and wielded by the man-serpents.

Magma Blade

“Curved sword with a blade fashioned from the lava of Mt. Gelmir. An armament of the man-serpents, impossible for a human to have made.”

This description implies that this trio of magic weapons must have been created by the man-serpents, which makes sense as we know that Tanith was the only human left on the Volcano Manor’s staff. The man-serpents are clearly capable of forging complicated weapons.

Gelmir Glintstone Staff

“Staff with a forked tip, embedded with red glintstones. Enhances lava sorceries. The Man-Serpents of Mt. Gelmir draw from faith in addition to intelligence to enhance the potency of their sorcery.”

Again, this description identifies this as a weapon of the man-serpents, and tells us that they are adept sorcerers who have followed in Rykard’s footsteps. The design references a serpent’s forked tongue.

Magma Whip Candlestick

“This ritual implement is a three pronged candlestick with solid flames formed of the magma of Mt. Gelmir.”

Volcano Manor sure loves its candles!

Man-Serpent’s Shield

“Small copper dome-shaped roundshield carried by the man-serpents of Mt. Gelmir. Said to have been tempered in lava, it boasts great resistance to fire.”

This one isn’t technically a weapon, but it’s still worth examining. Notice the embedded gems and the bright gold snake imagery, consistent with other weapon designs of this era.

CONCLUSION

The art in this game is extremely deliberately designed, and it can tell the story beyond what just the words on the screen say. Many of the specific details are my own conjecture, but I think it’s quite clear that these weapons are consciously designed with similar features in order to place them within the game’s world and history.

#elden ring #elden ring lore #rykard #rykard lord of blasphemy #btw I didn’t include the blasphemous blade because I think it’s possible that rykard brought it with him to mt. gelmir #as opposed to creating it there #also let me know if I missed any weapons! there are so many

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tourneys-by-me · 6 months

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Round One - Aquamancy 3/4

Propaganda under the cut (beware of potential spoilers!!)

Giovanni:

He's really funny. Also he's a super sweet villan who really cares about his minions. His power is soup. Which he uses in a lot of creative ways.

Nya:

She's the elemental master of water and she's a badass. She discovered her powers later than the rest of her team and in the same season she discovered her powers she used them to kill an eldrich-like creature which ended up killing a whole bunch of ghosts as well which also domino effect killed all the djinns in another realm too. She learns to control ice for a little bit (although not fully) She can create water to control from nothing but also control any water around her. And the big one, she literally merged with the ocean itself to defeat an ancient storm snake and she turned into a big water dragon. Vote for Nya, she literally turned into water.

Okay so Nya is literally master of water she IS water she merged with the sea to save the entire realm from a serpent ANYWAYS. Uhm she can use her element to call the creatures of the sea, she can control the rain and she used that to slow a flying ship from crashing down hard she’s also capable of creating a tsunami and she has created a water tornado. In the process of merging with the sea she also expelled the water in her bfs lungs so she’s an all rounder when it comes to water. You need to vote her think of her sacrifice (her merge like drew tears from my eyes im telling you she can control water even through the screen)

#element specific character tournament #aquamancy #round 1 #polls #tumblr polls #giovanni potage #epithet erased #nya #nya ninjago #ninjago #lego ninjago

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flufffilleddonut · 3 months

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Eggcellent Comfort

Summary - Sir Pentious is upset, worried that he will never be able to accomplish his goals, with his talent going unrecognized. His little minions, however, will stop at nothing to cheer up their boss.

Word Count - 600

Sir Pentious’ eggs were in his room at the Hazbin Hotel. Their usual black suits were replaced with yellow pajamas, and their top hats replaced with small, yellow nightcaps.

The Egg Boiz were sitting around, awaiting the arrival of their boss, when, suddenly, the door to the room opened. A downcast Sir Pentious slithered in.

“Boss!” “Hiya Boss!” “We missed you, Boss!” The eggs said gleefully.

“Good evening, my little Egg Boiz.” Sir Pentious responded, sorrow evident in his voice.

The Egg Boiz could tell that something was up with the serpent, making them upset as well.

“What’s wrong, boss?” “Why are you upset?” “Did somebody hurt you?”

Sir Pentious sighed as he changed into his pajamas.

“It’s nothing really, Eggies. I just fear that my dream of becoming an Overlord of Hell will never be realized, especially now that I’m trying to be redeemed. Nobody will ever know, or appreciate, the brilliance and glory of Sir Pentious, inventor extraordinaire!” Sir Pentious said, striking a bold pose, before flopping down onto his bed defeatedly.

As Sir Pentious laid there, his eggs hurried over, surrounding him.

“Don’t fret, boss!” “We know you’re the best!” “Nobody compares to you!” The eggs said encouragingly.

Sir Pentious sighed once more.

“Thank you, eggs. At least I know that I will always have the support of my loyal minio- EEK!”

Sir Pentious was cut off with a small shriek, as a sudden shock passed through his nervous system.

Frank the egg had cuddled up to Sir Pentious’ tail, and was stroking it comfortingly, when he hit a particularly sensitive spot.

Frank continued running his fingers along the length of the tail as Sir Pentious began softly giggling.

“Ssstop thahahat, ehehehe!” Sir Pentious giggled out.

The eggs took notice of their boss’ reaction to the light touch, and, suddenly, all got the same idea.

The Egg Boiz climbed on top of Sir Pentious and began softly grazing their fingers over the snake’s skin. Some were on his tail, others at his stomach, and one at the hood surrounding the back of Sir Pentious’ head.

Sir Pentious began squirming madly, trying his best to get his minions off.

“SSSTAHAHAP! NOHOHO -hiss- AHAHAHA -hiss- HAHAHA!” Sir Pentious laughed madly, the sound interspersed with hissing noises.

“But why, boss?” “Yeah! You sound happy!” “We just want to cheer you up, boss!” The eggs remarked as they continued, their small, nimble fingers tickling seemingly every inch of the snake.

Frank switched from lightly grazing his fingers along the tail to deliberately digging them in with more force. The other eggs took note of how this caused Sir Pentious’ laughter to intensify, prompting them to follow suit and switch to using the same method.

Sir Pentious tried tossing himself from side-to-side, but the eggs didn’t let up.

“EHEHEGGS! -hiss- ENOHOHOUGH! -hiss- AHAHAHA!” Sir Pentious cackled.

“We have to help the boss out!” “We can’t stop until he’s feeling better!” “I think it’s working guys!” The eggs called out to one another.

“IHIHIM HAHAHAPPY! -hiss- EHEHE! -hiss- IHIHIM HAHAHAPPY!” Sir Pentious managed to shout through his laughter.

The eggs stopped their attack.

“Yay!” “We did it!” “Glad we could help, boss!” The eggs cheered, cozying up to Sir Pentious.

Sir Pentious slowed his squirming, catching his breath. He grabbed hold of one of his eggs, pushing it up against his chest like a teddy bear.

“Thank you, Eggies.” Sir Pentious said, shutting his eyes.

As he was drifting off to sleep, Sir Pentious felt grateful for his eggs. While they may not be the smartest, or the most competent minions, they sure manage to brighten up his afterlife with their eggcitable antics.

#hazbin hotel tickle #lee!sir pentious #ler!egg boiz

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panthera-tigris-venenata · 4 months

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Isle landmarks

Port - divided in between three crews, heavily regarded as a very unpleasant area by, well. Almost everyone else. (Important to note: this goes for every single area of the Isle.) Lives at night a lot.

Jolly Roger of Captain James Hook

Scattered Hope of Captain Harriet Hook. Comparatively safer to be around, you might find some goods "accidentally left out" if the Captain's feeling it.

Lost Revenge of Captain Uma Triskelion. Safest of the pirate ships unless you are allied to Mal or insult Uma. (...You know what, I take that back.) Also, it's a cult.

Chipp Shoppe. Firmly under the rule of Lost Revenge.

Hook's inlet. That's a fancy name for a building that port adults go to pass out in by the morning at that brings substantial money to Captain Hook. (His kids are not allowed to work there. They kept stealing from the counter more than they sold.)

Serpents prep, aka the school Captain Hook was forced to fund after dr F refused to deal with two if his children at once. They've got sea ponies and surprisingly good curriculum.

The centre. Counts as, well, semi-neutral territory?

Tremaine salon. The only actual neutral territory on the Isle. You see, if you fight by the Tremaines, you won't get your hair done. (this works because the Villains and their kids are vain as fuck and value their style over their lives. Literally.) Also, Tremaines treat most of their customers as particularly annoying cats.

Mad Maddy's Apothecary. This could count as neutral territory but Mim's are playing favourites. One rule: Do NOT make out in the Apothecary.

Rose Garden of the Queen of Hearts. Yeah no. Do not go near if you like your life.

Dragon Hall, AKA the school Dr Facilier funded for very innocent and inconspicuous reasons that have nothing to do with the other Villains owing him for babysitting their brats and molding the young minds to his picture, how dare you even suggest that.

The Arcade. Funded by Dr F too and operated mostly by his daughters. Also no ulterior motives on this one. (If little kids don't come to school, they're at Arcade. It's always good to know where the kids you're paid to keep alive are.)

Storm Hall. A mostly abandoned building slightly off-the-centre that Isle kids use for official gang meetings.

Frollo's church. Later, it's ruins. The building has suffered from entirely natural structural instability ever since the first Isle kids learned what matches are. While Frollo's alive, it's unsafe to be around if you're a girl, person of colour, or of magical heritage.

Yes, there is a problem of Frollo's being entirely too close to Dragon Hall. Dr F had it under control! Really!

The Market. Yeah. Market. With very reasonable prices that are not theft at all.

Maleficent's Bargain Castle overlooks the market and her goblins provide security for shopkeepers who are willing to pay a steep price. No one's sure why Maleficent tolerates the market so close, she hates people.

Jafar's Junk Shop. If you lost something, there's like seventy percent chance it'll end up there. I've got nothing else to add.

Gaston's Duels Without Rules, slightly off the main market. And yes. It is without rules. Do not ask about the blood under the dumpsters please.

Hell Hall. Few streets down but still close enough, you'll know by the screaming. Close enough for Cruella and her minions to get the finest fabrics whenever she wishes.

Witches Academy. Yes, it is entirely too close to the market for how flammable the stands are. However, the Mims are doing what they do best and being bitches on main.

Landmarks

The End Of The World. Steep cliff on the off-side of Auradon, favourite hang-out spot for Isle kids. Who says they hadn't spent hours there looking into the waves and contemplating life, they're lying.

The Skull Rock. On the Isle for Reasons. Y'know, a generation of kids robbed off their childhood? Magic banned off? (The Isle of the Lost is Neverland and it's your problem now.)

The Jungle. No. Do NOT. You do realise that's where all the tigers and snakes and lions and wolves dwell. Also called the Zoo by kids who like dark humour and/or have a deathwish.

The Caves. There's an entrance to Hades' cave somewhere. Do not try to find it (unless you are Celia Facilier), he's on vacation and doesn't wish to be disturbed.

Other

Castle Across the Way. Is not close to the centre or the market to be counted as such. That's because the Evil Queen refused to interact with the commoners and looked substantially scarrier than Lady Tremaine while communicating that.

The Hun camp. Do NOT attempt to find it.

#disney descendants

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pathfinderunlocked · 2 months

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Lesser Hakkari Kami - CR11 Kami

There is a guardian spirit for all things. Even blood.

Artwork by T SWCK on Artstation.

A weaker version of the CR 15 Hakkari Kami, a monster I previously posted. In an adventure that ends with the CR 15 version the Hakkari Adherents would be lower level minions that the PCs mow through six at a time, but in an adventure that ends with this CR 11 version, the Hakkari Adherents would be pretty powerful leiutenants.

This creature is based on Hakkar the Soulflayer, a loa demigod from from Warcraft. In the Warcraft setting, loa are divine beings connected to nature, usually taking the form of specific types of animals, which grant power to those who worship them. There are countless loa, many of which are worshiped by groups as small as a specific family, which might have very minimal power. Hakkar is a more powerful one; he’s known as the loa of blood, and takes the form of a wind serpent. I’ve adapted this idea into a kami for Hakkar’s Pathfinder conversion; there’s no type of outsider in Pathfinder that perfectly matches the loa, but kami are close enough to work.

In Pathfinder, kami are a lesser-known type of outsider which are usually neutral aligned and peaceful, watching over a specific type of creature, object or place that they consider their “ward.” There are a huge number of different types of kami which each watch over certain types of wards. A hakkari kami’s ward is spilled blood, and it’s not nearly as peaceful as most others.

Like other kami, hakkari kami find themselves stretched thin, with too many potential wards and not enough kami, and seek to create more of their kind in order to protect more wards. They do this by choosing dedicated mortal servants to ascend to kami when they die. In the case of the hakkari, these mortal servants tend to be those that offer countless blood sacrifices, especially sacrifices to the hakkari kami itself, and who may even take their own life in a ritual sacrifice in an attempt to gain the hakkari’s favor and ascend to a more powerful form. If cornered by powerful enemies, a hakkari’s weaker followers may choose to kill themselves instead of fight, hoping to ascend and become kami themselves instead of passing to the afterlife, and gain enough power to then fight their foes.

A lesser hakkari kami is likely to be one of these followers, newly ascended and not yet in full command of its powers.

I included a line of text stating that a kami can choose a new ward by spending 24 hours attuning to it. This isn’t listed in the general rules for kamis’ wards, but I feel confident that it must be intended by the developers for there to be SOME way to obtain a new ward. Otherwise, kami that have short-lived creatures like insects as their wards would only have a ward for the first few years or months of their immortal lives, and then be left sickened and purposeless for all eternity. Since insects are even listed as one of their example wards, I assume that probably isn’t the intent of how this type of outsider is supposed to work; they should be able to take a new ward if their old one is killed or destroyed.

This creatures uses the overwhelmed condition, a custom condition I use in some of my creatures. In my own home games, I nearly always replace any paralyzed, stunned, or nauseated effects caused by monsters with the overwhelmed condition.

Lesser Hakkari - CR 11

Towering above you is a massive winged serpent with a fanged maw and scythe-like claws for arms. Its beautiful violet plumage contrasts against its blood-red scales.

XP 12,800 NE Huge outsider (kami, native) Init +8 Senses darkvision 60 ft., deathwatch, true seeing; Perception +20

DEFENSE

AC 22, touch 13, flat-footed 17 (+4 Dex, +1 dodge, +9 natural, -2 size); +2 vs. good hp 142 (15d10+60); fast healing 10 Fort +11, Ref +13, Will +13; +2 vs. good DR 10/cold iron Immune bleed, mind-affecting effects, petrification, polymorph Resist acid 10, electricity 10, fire 10

OFFENSE

Speed 20 ft., fly 60 ft. (good) Melee bite +19 (1d8+6), 2 claws +19 (3d6+6) Space 15 ft., Reach 15 ft. Special Attacks blood siphon, cleansing bloodrage, corrupted blood

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 15th; concentration +21) Constant—blood scent, deathwatch, protection from good, true seeing At will—blood biography (DC 19) 3/day—confusion (DC 20), quickened blood armor 1/week—dominate monster (DC 25, creatures with blood only)

STATISTICS

Str 23, Dex 18, Con 18, Int 8, Wis 14, Cha 23 Base Atk +15; CMB +23; CMD 38 (40 vs. good) Feats Bloody Assault, Dodge, Great Fortitude, Improved Initiative, Improved Iron Will, Iron Will, Power Attack, Quicken Spell-like Ability (blood armor) Skills Acrobatics +13, Fly +20, Heal +20, Knowledge (local) +15, Linguistics +0, Perception +20, Sense Motive +6, Stealth +12, Survival +7, Spellcraft +12 Languages Common, Kuru; telepathy 100 ft. SQ merge with ward, ward (spilled blood)

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Blood Siphon (Su) As a standard action once every 1d4+1 rounds, a lesser hakkari can drain the blood from targets in a 40 ft. cone. Each target takes 6d8 damage and is overwhelmed for one round. A DC 21 Fortitude save halves the damage and negates the overwhelming effect. Creatures that do not have blood are immune. The lesser hakkari is healed for an amount equal to half of the damage dealt. The save DC is Constitution-based.

If a lesser hakkari uses its blood siphon against a creature that is poisoned, or that has poisonous blood (such as from the poisonous blood universal monster ability, the toxic blood spell, or a vishkanya’s toxic racial ability), the lesser hakkari receives no healing from that creature and must save against the poison.

An overwhelmed creature is staggered and cannot concentrate. If an overwhelmed creature attacks or casts a spell, it falls prone and becomes helpless until the beginning of its next turn after doing so. Effects that would remove or prevent the paralyzed or nauseated conditions also remove or prevent the overwhelmed condition.

Cleansing Bloodrage (Ex) Once per day, while below 25% hit points (usually 39 hp), a lesser hakkari can enter a bloodrage as a free action. While in a bloodrage, a lesser hakkari gains a +4 morale bonus to his Strength and Constitution, as well as a +2 morale bonus on Will saves. This bonus to Constitution typically increases its current and maximum hit points by 30. In addition, it takes a –2 penalty to Armor Class.

This bloodrage lasts for 1 minute. When a lesser hakkari’s bloodrage ends, it is fatigued for 1 minute. It cannot enter a bloodrage while fatigued.

While bloodraging, a lesser hakkari can cast and concentrate on its spell-like abilities, but cannot perform any other action that requires concentration, and cannot use Charisma-, Dexterity-, or Intelligence-based skills (except Acrobatics, Fly, Intimidate, and Ride).

When a lesser hakkari enters a bloodrage, it is affected as though by the cleanse spell, regaining 4d8+15 hit points and recovering from a variety of conditions and effects.

A lesser hakkari can enter a bloodrage even while under the effect of a condition that would normally prevent it from taking an action, as long as that condition is one that can be removed by the cleanse spell, but doing so uses a standard action instead of a free action.

Corrupted Blood (Su) As a move action, a lesser hakkari can corrupt the blood of a target within 60 ft. The target takes 2d6 negative energy damage, and must succeed on a DC 23 Fortitude save or be subjected to 1d10 bleed damage. Creatures that do not have blood are immune.

Whenever a creature takes bleed damage from this ability, all other creatures within 10 ft. of that creature must succeed on a DC 19 Fortitude save or begin bleeding as well for 1d10 bleed damage. The save DCs are Charisma-based, and the secondary save includes a -4 penalty.

Fast Healing (Ex) As long as a kami is within 120 feet of its ward, it gains fast healing 10.

Merge with Ward (Su) As a standard action, a kami can merge its body and mind with its ward (see the Ward ability below). When merged, the kami can observe the surrounding region with its senses as if it were using its own body, as well as via any senses its ward might have. It has no control over its ward, nor can it communicate or otherwise take any action other than to emerge from its ward as a standard action. A kami must be adjacent to its ward to merge with or emerge from it.

Ward (Su) A kami has a specific ward—in a lesser hakkari’s case, its ward is spilled blood, either from a specific creature or on a specific sacrificial altar. Several of a kami’s abilities function only when it is either merged with its ward or within 120 feet of it. If a kami’s ward is portable and travels with the kami to another plane, the kami does not gain the extraplanar subtype on that other plane as long as its ward remains within 120 feet. If a ward is destroyed while a kami is merged with it, the kami dies (no save). If a ward is destroyed while a kami is not merged with it, the kami loses its merge with ward ability and its fast healing, and becomes permanently sickened, until it chooses a new ward.

If a kami’s ward is killed or destroyed, it can choose a new ward by spending 24 hours attuning to it.

#d&d #pathfinder 1e #outsider #native #kami #warcraft

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sapphire-heart-tippy · 9 months

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Here he is!! Bel and his ssssssssssstand, Gilded Cobra

info under the cut! (a few more things have been edited and added!)

About Beleza Muscadine (Bel)

Bel and Vanilla used to be Dio's two main minions. They were both his second in command. However, Dio favored Bel over Vanilla because xe was more attentive, charismatic, and had a knack for persuading the other servants around him to do things. Vanilla was always very jealous of the attention Dio would give to Bel, so he would do whatever he could to gain his master's attention. Bel knew this and relished in Vanilla's misery. They would make snide comments to each other and argue constantly. The other servants remarked on how they acted like snarky teenagers when they were both around each other.

Bel is conceited, sassy, prissy, intelligent, charming, persuasive, competitive, thrives on being popular and well liked by others, xe's vain and has to be the most attractive person in the room at all times. He's actually a pretty good friend, if somebody is making you upset, he'll make them cry just by using his words alone. They are very interested in art, fashion, jewelry, architecture, and animal science. They've been a bit jealous that Vanilla is very talented when it comes to making clothes and jewelry. He's learned a few things by sneaking around and watching how Vanilla makes things. Bel can design his own jewelry and clothing, but mostly has to have somebody else make them. Xe is also a very talented artist and loves to paint and sculpt! Bel may be pretty self centered, but xe recognizes talent and beauty when xe sees it, and xe won't hesitate to tell you. He'll either fill you up with confidence and compliments or trash you like yesterday's pizza box.

Height: 6'2 (yes, he hates the fact Vanilla is a few inches taller than him pffff-)

Sexuality: Gay (mlm)

Gender: Salmacian and trans masculine genderqueer. Bel was born intersex but unfortunately forced to be raised as a daughter. Xe always felt more masculine, but his parents didn't like that, things got heated, and he ran away. Xe prefers masculine language such as man/guy/dude etc, when referring to xem... (But xe'll take any compliment really. Call them pretty, handsome, gorgeous, cute, anything good!) He also had top surgery, and his scars are faded but I'll draw them just a little visible every now and then. (a bit tmi but they are salmacian due to bargaining with somebody's gender affirming stand in order to become sex neutral. He personally felt it would give him gender euphoria. He is very euphoric with his gender and body. (I'm projecting a lot of my gender feelings onto this oc. My future gender affirming surgeries will most likely reflect my projection here))

Pronouns: He/They/Xe

Gilded Cobra's powers:

Spit Venom: Fangs can shoot or inject venom that can paralyze his victims

Snake Charm: Can stare into their victim's eyes and whisper things to them, they will obey him for 60 seconds

Strangle: (self explanatory but anyway) They wrap around their victim and squeeze them to death

Serpent Trance: Xis scales are so beautiful that you might get hypnotized and put in a temporary catatonic state if you look at this stand for too long

#beleza jjba oc #bel jjba oc #jjba oc #oc #art #digital art #jjba #sapphire heartverse #sugar crash void bash #digital drawing #drawing #cartoon #anime #stand user #villain oc

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starleska · 1 year

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I don't know about anybody else, but the way jack horner said "magic snacks" after he ate them was spoken with such a snarly voice, similar to the "what a good boy am i", and i kind of adored it! Do you have any favorite scenes of jack's?

ugh, yes 🥵🥵 honestly the little snarling moments are so delightful. first time i listened through headphones i had to get up and take a walk, it was too much 😂😂 he does the same thing when he says, 'this one is right' and bowls the crystal ball into his nanny bag!! John Mulaney out here showing off his acting chops by dropping riiiight into the sinister every now and again 👀 favourite scenes of Jack's...can i cop out and say all of them? 😂💖 okay, i am very partial to how nasty he is during the scene where the Baker's Dozen are trying to chop through the Pocket Full O' Posies. we just get a lot of personality from him there - he's momentarily discomfited by having a hatchet thrown at his face (...holy shit, is that the same hatchet he tries to use against Kitty later on?? did he just take his dead assistant's weapon?!) but then goes right back to not giving a fuck and casually hunting around for something to push his way through. i find it interesting because you could see how a character with Jack's design could have been so...stereotypical. he could've been a consistently whiny, stupid, greedy asshole who leaves the fighting to his minions and throws constant temper tantrums. but we got something so much better. instead, Jack is a competent, intelligent sadist with an extraordinary degree of agility and physical strength, and he's largely unruffled when things don't go his way. i think they bait-and-switched us by having our introduction to Jack include his anger at The Serpent Sisters...we weren't expecting the degree of amoral behaviour which we got. but oh, i'm so glad we did 😖💖

#big jack horner #jack horner #puss in boots: the last wish #starleskasks

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that-house · 1 year

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Ran the first proper Field of White Flowers playtest the other day.

I stuck them in the Kill Six Billion Demons universe, because i love that setting and its general aesthetics and power level are perfect matches for FoWF (tbh K6BD was a significant inspiration for FoWF)

They were mercenaries hired by the Repossessions Guild to break into the house of a mob boss who’d gone missing and take everything that wasn’t nailed down.

TLDR: it was fun

in depth breakdown of what happened below the cut because i don't wanna nuke everyone's dash <3

For those with no context: Field of White Flowers is a high fantasy high power tabletop roleplaying game system geared towards huge dramatic anime fight scenes, wuxia bullshit, and feats of tremendous heroism and villainy. It draws inspiration from the webcomic Kill Six Billion Demons, fighting games, a vast slew of other roleplaying game systems, and the time-honored video gaming tradition of having a climactic duel in a field of white flowers.

The big thing I was worried about going into the playtest was just that it wouldn’t be fun. I’d had a lot of fun designing it and talking about it, but until you play the game properly it’s impossible to tell whether the game is actually fun.

Like, take Lancer. I love Lancer, I love the design philosophy behind it, I love theorycrafting builds for Lancer. Actually playing through a Lancer combat is like getting a cavity filled without anesthetic. How do 4 rounds with 4 players and no roleplay take 6 hours? We will never know

Our cast, in order of introduction:

Abzu, Newborn God: a young ocean god seeking to prove himself to his brethren. flavorwise he was a waterbender, mechanically he was a fairly supportive debuff engine focusing on lowering enemies’ stats with Chill. Attempts to get Abzu's player to join tumblr have been unsuccessful thus far.

Alizoba, King of Miscellany: sapient pile of trash looking for more stuff to add to themself. had a build based around Baiting enemies into bad moves and following up with huge combos. Alizoba was played by @cyrus-swag.

Ophidia, Serpent Queen of Lead: cowgirl and gun witch, mostly just here to kill people and get money. build revolved (haha gun pun) around throwing flashbangs, vanishing, and reappearing somewhere else with a huge gun. Ophidia was played by @fearlesscomfort.

Sixgill Griseus, The Bartender No One Fucks With: shark man who is a bartender/bouncer/chef/waiter/etc at his bar. magically-enhanced death glare can intimidate inanimate objects and shut down people's nervous systems. Sixgill was played by @historically-innaccurate-dialga.

The events of the session:

Abzu immediately murders someone for polluting a canal

gradually all met up and made their way to the house they were going to rob

encountered two devils, the tiny chainsaw-wielding Ozzy and the colossal Scunge who wielded a machete and a harmonica, guarding the house

Scunge was tackled clean through the door of the house and pinned down by Sixgill until he simply keeled over dead from the force of the bartender's stare

Ozzy mauled Abzu and Ophidia, and was about to coup de grace the latter when Alizoba summoned a building on top of him

Ozzy and Scunge served as a test of the Power Couple mechanic, in which two combatants are represented by a single statblock, one of which dies and changes the statblock when they collectively reach half HP

Inside the house, they encountered a vast horde of living dead who had been employed as meth cooks and house guards. They fought them off for a while before Ophidia finished off the last forty or so by briefly stopping time and lining up a headshot on each one

The zombies were an example of the horde mechanic for representing a TON of enemies with one statblock and a few minions. They worked great

Next was a hall of huge swinging blades, because i wanted to include a few simple skill challenges.

Sixgill just used his enhanced senses to walk through the hall, only getting barely clipped by the last one.

Abzu attempted to freeze the mechanisms, but they exerted too much force and shattered the ice.

Ophidia solved the "there are several thousand pounds of high velocity metal in front of us" with her own several hundred pounds of high velocity metal (she shot the blades with her minigun until they broke)

The next room was a treasure room, with tons of weapons in glass cases. Sixgill broke one of the cases to get a harpoon, causing the rest of the weapons to drop through the floor and poison gas to pour into the room

Abzu waited out the poison in a bubble, while Alizoba summoned a fridge to hide in. Sixgill stared the fucking poison down and the very air said "you know what fuck that I'm not getting paid enough." Ophidia tried to fire off enough guns to replace the air near her with gunsmoke, which went badly

the final thing we had time for in this session (we're going to finish it another day) was a room with an enchanted idol in the middle, which compelled everyone who saw it to want it.

Ophidia burned a fifth of her HP to teleport over to it instantly and take it before anyone else could, and we ended the session as they walked into the next room, which contained a devil named BIG BOY (all caps)

The good stuff:

combat flows quickly from player to player, turns are short but impactful. it's not a tactical wargame, there's no grid or elaborate line of sight rules, but decisions about when to bring up damaged allies and whether or not to take short term disadvantages for long term benefit mattered

even though the system has a lot of room for optimization and certain characters were definitely stronger than others, no one felt useless even with bad rolls

the general Math of the system worked out pretty well. people were critting about as often as I wanted them to be, the HP amount for the players felt right

people had fun (the most important thing)

other important thing: it filled a niche that no other system i've played has filled, and did it well. the experience might have been different if we'd used another system, but it would not have been enriched by the change. Field of White Flowers just. fundamentally. works.

The stuff that needs improvement:

in retrospect it should have been obvious that, given that at its core the game is designed to be roughly balanced (especially at lower levels), making enemies that are on even footing with the players would make the combat REALLY fucking difficult. That was a silly on my part <3 the first encounter was not meant to be that hard. I halved the HP of the second encounter and it was much more reasonable

the mental overhead of certain builds is a little too high. the character sheet handles a lot of things for the players, but some builds have numbers that fluctuate frequently in combat

debuffs didn't quite feel impactful enough on enemies. main issue is that many of the durations are too short, leading to a lot of debuffs just sort of feeling bad when you use your whole turn to apply them, while other debuffs are just VERY VERY VERY good (looking at you Shock)

current out of combat resolution system is very bare-bones (skill checks are roll a few dice against a DC), and either a sliding scale of success or a push mechanic would likely augment it

nerfed Knife Juggler because holy fuck it was so OP for how easy it is to obtain

The nice thing about game design is you can make a system you want to play. Field of White Flowers ticks soooo many of my boxes, and it proved to be pretty easy to pick up, fun to play, and with enough depth of content to keep people talking about it for a good while after the session.

thanks for reading, and always remember: Pariah Stance allows you to tick down the countdown on Forbidden Technique faster

#field of white flowers #that last statement is an inside joke about the fact that Pariah Stance has no actual upsides #rpg design

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myheadsgonenumb · 9 months

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Neil Gaiman says Crowley isn't Lucifer - but I'm pretty sure he is. The bits which specifically got me thinking this had to be the case were:

Good Omens season 2, episode 2, "The Clue", Shax informs Crowley that the previous night a miracle of massive proportions, such as only a Supreme Archangel could perform, had been performed. She thinks Gabriel did it. Gabriel was there - certainly. And the first time through I waited for the reveal that Gabriel had accidentally performed the miracle Crowley and Aziraphale were trying to perform on him. But that reveal never came. So who was the power behind the miracle? We know Aziraphale is not a Supreme Archangel.

This tumblr post which points out all the things Crowley doesn't remember (that he has already met Aziraphale, working with Furfur and Saraquael) and that he seems to truly empathise with how Gabriel is feeling with his memories removed, and suggests that heaven has removed Crowley's memories as well.

But they were going to do this as a "kindness" to Gabriel - and it is done in deference to his rank (and because to send two Supreme Archangels to hell would suggest an institutional problem - which there is not). Other demons don't seem to have had their memories removed, certainly Furfur remembers Crowley - so why has Crowley had his memories removed? Who is he, that he gets this special treatment? (Spoiler alert - Lucifer)

Further evidence to support the suspicion, though:

Well - the first time he introduces himself to Aziraphale (and thus to us) he calls himself "Crawley".

But this is quite literally after he just anthropomorphised from this:

"Crawley" is very definitely his snake name. This guy:

is not a "Crawley". But we don't actually know who this guy is. "Before the Beginning" Aziraphale introduces himself to Nebula building Angel by name. Nebula building Angel does not give his own name in return.

So we don't know his name.

But what do we know about him?

well - we know he creates Nebulas, and seems to be working on this one all by himself, so not a snake guy, but a star guy (that's important).

We know he asks a lot of questions and doesn't seem afraid to ask them directly to the almighty, and even challenge the ineffable plan.

and we know from this moment:

That he was a high enough ranking Angel that he can access the Supreme Archangel Gabriel's file.

We also know that demons in hell seem to be ranked vaguely on what their ranking in heaven was, and Crowley - while never named a Prince or a Duke of Hell - certainly seems to have got a better job than any other demon we meet.

So it seems he was a pretty big cheese back in his heaven days - probably far more highly ranked than Aziraphale, who is rather star struck in his presence even on first meeting.

He's also referred to as "the Archtraitor" by Beelzebub... interesting use of the word "Arch".

Once he has fallen, of course, he becomes "Crawley" the snake who tempts Eve. Now... In Genesis, the snake is just a snake

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

it was not originally written to be an allegory. However, following the book of Revelation:

The great dragon was hurled down--that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray.

the idea that the serpent in the garden was the devil himself became popularised in Christian Mythology... but to be clear, it is the devil - Satan - himself who appears as the snake, not some random demon doing his bidding.

And, in the book of Job,

The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life.” 7 So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.

Again, it is Satan himself doing the dirty work - not some minion. When "Bildad the Shuhite"

reads out his permit, specifically the part that Satan and his minions can do as they please, he raises a hand to indicate himself. It is our assumption he means he is a minion. But - actually canonically, in its real sense of the word and not its fandom sense of the word - it is Satan doing the smiting.

There is also another rather interesting line in the book of Job:

One day the angels[a] came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan[b] also came with them. 7 The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.”

Satan - it seems - does not stay in his pit, he roams the earth.

So here we have it - biblically - the demon who first tempted Eve and who smote Job and who roams the earth (within the show all done by Crowley).

and - canonically (fandom canonically this time) - we have an Angel (whose name we do not know) who created stars and asked questions, who is high ranking enough to open the file of a Supreme Archangel and compel that Archangel to speak the truth even when their memories have been removed, who apparently has power enough to perform a miracle at the level of a Supreme Archangel, who is described as an "Archtraitor" and who has - potentially - had his memories of heaven of erased when no other demons have, a "kindness" which was bestowed upon... a Supreme Archangel.

There used to be two Supreme Archangels. Gabriel was one.

The evidence points to Crowley being the other.

Crowley was Lucifer, himself.

He just doesn't remember it.

(Lucifer is also known as "The Morning Star" - a much more fitting name for Nebula building Angel than "Crawley").

Neil Gaiman says Crowley is definitely not Lucifer because in season one he talks about hanging out with "Lucifer and the boys" and he isn't "randomly talking about himself in the third person". But season one is before we had reason to believe that Crowley's memories had been removed and/ or altered. Now we know he is missing a lot of information. He remembers fighting - but not with Furfur; he remembers building a Nebula, just not with Saraquael, he knows they invented gravity - he just doesn't know why... He remembers hanging out with "Lucifer and the boys" - just not that he is Lucifer.

There is, I think, enough of a biblical dichotomy between Satan and Lucifer that would allow for some kind of split between the two in the show (simply put Lucifer is the Angel, Satan is after the fall). If God is everywhere, so can Satan be - simultaneously both in his pit - the beast we see at the end of season one, and "roaming the earth" - in the demonic version of his heavenly form; missing his memories of his true place in heaven and hell because they are too painful for him to keep.

He doesn't know it. Aziraphale certainly doesn't know it. The higher ranking orders of Angels and demons don't seem to be aware of it. But God will know it. And if God knows it ... then the Metatron knows it.

And the Metatron has just invited Aziraphale back to heaven because he is - apparently - the best (and only) man who can sort everything out and fix their problems. Aziraphale, the Angel who gave away his flaming sword and refused to fight in the recent Armageddon and who never seems to have been a particularly good or well respected Angel.

But for the Metatron "solving their problems" and "putting everything right" doesn't mean finding balance on Earth, or making Heavenly bureaucracy more fair and efficient. It means the final victory in the war. It means the absolute defeat of the devil and the forces of Hell and the triumph of Heaven.

And why would Aziraphale be the best man for that job... unless it was actually Crowley who needed to be defeated?

Crowley is Lucifer - and Aziraphale has been taken by the Metatron, as the person who knows him best, to orchestrate his final defeat.

Unless it turns out that Crowley was God all along, any other reveal of his identity is going to be a bit underwhelming.

Addendum: When Crowley demands that Gabriel tell him the first thing he remembers, Gabriel - under Crowley's influence - says "I remember when the Morning Stars sang together and all the Angels of God shouted for joy."

Morning Stars - you say, Jim? Very specific.

#good omens #good omens 2 #ineffable husbands

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monstersdownthepath · 2 years

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Lord of the Fifth: Geryon, the Serpent

CR 29

Lawful Evil Huge Outsider

Bestiary 6, pg. 24~25

Both the eldest and the largest of the Archdevils by a considerable margin--its lifespan predating Asmodeus’ fall--Geryon was once and still is the greatest of the Asura, having sold out, betrayed, and devoured nearly a thousand of its own kin as part of a bargain with Asmodeus to assure it a spot in Hell’s hierarchy. Now it lays in the fifth layer of Hell, a poisonous bog littered with stolen ruins known as Stygia, sending its minions to scrape the boundaries of creation for secrets and truths it can twist.

The Serpent shares one mind among three bodies which are never far from one another, not one of which has told a whole truth in its eons of existence. It is lord of lies and heresy, blasphemy, and forbidden knowledge, and it may in fact be the Asura born from the very first lie... but whether or not that’s true is known to no one. Because, again, Geryon never tells the whole truth. Ever. Even the other Archdevils and, hell, even Asmodeus have to navigate the labyrinth of lies Geryon erects every time it deigns to speak (never in its own voice, if it even has one, only ever the voices of its past meals), wondering just what part of what it’s saying may contain the kernel of helpful information. This makes Geryon, perhaps, the most dangerous of the Archdevils to risk bargaining with, because no matter what forbidden magic and forgotten knowledge it may promise to give you, it may simply be reciting what it knows you want to hear rather than what you needed.

It’s propensity for speaking in riddles, its threefold body, and its monstrous appearance can trick (and has tricked) powerful adventurers and celestial beings into believing it’s some bizarre form of infernal fauna or even nothing more than a guardian for Stygia’s real Archdevil, an illusion it delights in, toying with ignorant prey for hours until it grows bored. Able to freely shapeshift into any humanoid or serpentine being it can dream of, Geryon may appear before lost explorers as a brilliantly colored and massive serpent to talk them in circles for its own amusement, never once letting them on to what sort of entity they’re speaking to unless they attack... At which point it unfolds and reveals that it’s one of the most physically powerful of all the Archdevils.

The biggest and, possibly, the most dangerous power Geryon has at its disposal, and the one most likely to turn heads and raise eyebrows, the one most likely to make the party quake, is Casterbane. From the name alone you probably think you know what it does! But let me tell you now that what it actually does is so much worse: Geryon automatically counters ANY spell being cast by any enemy it can see with its Greater Dispel Magic spell-like (also available to it at-will). Counterspelling is such a seldom-used rule due to its finicky requirements that a fight with Geryon may be the first time players ever see it, and it’ll make life for casters trying to have a good time absolutely miserable.

Mind, counterspelling doesn’t mean it’s an automatic failure! It still has to succeed a dispel check! So let’s see, what is that... Geryon rolls d20 + 33 (37 if targeting a Divine spell)... and has to beat a DC of 11 + the caster level of the spell being dispelled... and since player caster levels cap at 20... well uh, the math, it, well, just uh,

okay it doesn’t look good for any casters trying anything in combat. This isn’t to say that the player’s dispel DC is stuck at 31 (there’s no shortage of effects, abilities, and even items which can raise caster level!), but without some serious juicing of their CL they’re always at a disadvantage versus Geryon’s monstrous dispel check, especially Divine casters. But at least it can only do this once a round, because Casterbane is an immediate action! So there’s that! Just have a second caster bait out Casterbane with a different spell earlier in the turn! Easy-peasy! Just make sure, for WHATEVER insane reason, they’re not casting within Geryon’s threat radius (15ft space + 15ft reach), because anyone whose spells are shattered by its foresight become flat-footed for one round.

Non-casters don’t get off any easier in the battle with the Threefold Serpent, I’m afraid. As lord of foresight and an accomplished mind-reader, Geryon can level its gaze against any creature as an immediate action to perceive their future actions, gaining Foresight-esque defenses against anything they try until the end of its next turn. Mechanically, this translates to it gaining a +4 to its AC, Reflex saves, attack rolls, and skill checks against that target, raising its AC to 51 and making its most inaccurate attack a +36 to hit. Aside from the fact they’re mutually exclusive and can only be used 1/round, there’s no limit to the number of times Geryon can use Casterbane and Perceive Destiny, letting it easily swap between one or the other as needed on a per-round basis.

Geryon’s free combat tricks have been more or less purely defensive at this point, so how about a look at its offense? Right out of the gate it has TWELVE attacks a round, beating out the previous record-holder, Mammon (who’s tied for second place with Mephistopheles!), and cementing itself as the most attacks-per-round of any of the Archdevils! In fact, 12 might be the highest I’ve seen... just in general! Good on you, Geryon! While its weapon attacks are special enough due to their damage and weapon effects, we’re starting on its natural attacks, 3 claws and 3 tail slaps, not for their unremarkable damage (1d6+7 and 2d6+7), but because of the Corrupting Caress representing their main danger.

A being made of concentrated heresy, even momentary contact with any part of Geryon’s body is hazardous to the health of anyone with connections to the divine. Failing a DC 38 Will save after being stuck by either a natural attack or melee weapon attack will suppress the victim’s faith, cutting off their ability to cast Divine spells, activate Domain powers, channel energy, or use Smite Evil for 1 round... per failed save. While success on a single save renders one immune to Corrupting Caress for the next 24 hours, losing access to entire class abilities for even one round--especially Clerics and Oracles losing their spells--can spell the end for that character. Or worse, for their allies if those spells were supporting them. Even worserer if they were the other caster on the team, since now Geryon has less to worry about when choosing who’s affected by Casterbane!

The Caress isn’t the only danger transmitted by their otherwise unremarkable natural attacks though, their tail slaps shedding toxic scales in every direction that carry an Intelligence-draining poison. Geryon is immune to the effects of the River Styx and spends a disturbing amount of time swimming through them, filter-feeding on lost memories and forgotten secrets or plunging into their depths to find misbegotten treasures, and as such the poisonous river has thoroughly suffused the Asura Archdevil, granting it numerous spell-likes (such as a 3/day Feeblemind and Quickened Mindwipe) but also rendering it untouchably toxic. Not only does its tail slap spread this poison (resisted by a DC 32 Fortitude save but requiring 3 consecutive saves if one ends up afflicted), but its Envenomed Scales expose any creature striking the serpent with touch, unarmed, or natural attacks to the same toxins. If it’s critically struck with a piercing or slashing weapon, shards of broken scales also impale the attacker and threaten to poison them.

“Thankfully,” it’s difficult to confirm a critical hit on Geryon in the first place. Its Threefold Body grants it a pair of powerful defenses, including immunity to blindness and deafness unless it’s blinded and deafened three times and, most importantly, a 75% chance to ignore critical hits and all forms of precision damage. That, of course, typically relies on being in melee with the Serpent, which oh my god I forgot to talk about their weapons didn’t I?

A +5 Cruel Dispelling Burst Unholy Flail and a +5 Arrow Deflection Bashing Heavy Shield are its weapons of choice, deftly wielding both with ease while still retaining all its natural attacks due to its trifurcated body. That shield lets it knock aside one incoming ranged attack away per round just to make things obnoxious, but it also makes for a decent bludgeon, able to smash into targets twice for 2d6+15 damage each round. That flail, though, is where the real threat lays, able to swing four times a round for 3d6+19 damage and casting Greater Dispel Magic on the first target it hits in a battle, potentially ending some or all of their buffs. If needed, Geryon can Greater Teleport away to refresh the Dispelling Burst, essentially countering any mid-fight buffing the party might try.

Mid-fight buffing, however, is unlikely. It’s very likely that you’ll all hate each other too much to try. The third and final weapon in Geryon’s arsenal is its unique Artifact, the Horn of Lies, a tool of damnation that at its basest and most simple can be used as a Greater Horn of Blasting, blowing 10d6 Sonic damage to everything in a 40ft cone as a swift or move action. Anyone damaged by the blast must make a save--which is either Fortitude 19 or 25; I can’t tell which because the blast acts as a Greater Horn of Blasting, which is 19, but the Horn of Lies itself has a DC 25 save against its other effects--or be stunned for 1 round and besieged by deafening whispers of falsehood and heresy for 1 minute. While deafened in this way, creatures treat all other creatures as having concealment and take a -4 penalty to saves against mind-affecting effects, which is dangerous because, again, Geryon has fun tricks like Feeblemind, Quickened Mindwipe, and a 1/day Prediction of Failure to slap a party with. Worse, any competence or insight bonuses are swapped into penalties while the deafness remains, and competence is one of the more common bonus types!

The more dangerous power of the Horn of Lies, however, is the secondary one, usable 3/day and able to twist an entire party against itself. Again, as a swift or move action (this is important, as it allows both functions of the Horn to be used in either order, or used two times a round) the horn can be sounded, granting Geryon and any allies within 60ft of it (such as ones summoned by its 3/day Summon Devil or 1/day Wish) a +4 bonus to saves against Divine spells... and inflicting enemies within that same space with an insidious compulsion to lie unless they succeed a DC 25 Will save. Afflicted enemies become literally unable to convey the truth through any means, and no longer treat any other creature as allies, preventing the use of teamwork feats, flanking, or even harmless spells being cast on one another.

And the cherry on top? Affected creatures can’t use Divine spells or Domain powers. All these effects last for one whole minute, but by the time that minute elapses, most of the party has likely already been torn to pieces. If not by the Serpent attacking them at their weakest, then by one another out of paranoia.

You can read more about it here.

#Monster Spotlight #Nine Tyrants Month #CR 26 and up #Pathfinder #Dungeons and Dragons

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theacedragon0w0 · 2 months

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A Peace Treaty

A Sage and Sir Pentious fic on how Sage got their first prosthetic

Sage stormed into Sir Pentious' room, the serpent jumping at the sudden intrusion. Before he could speak the enrage chef shoved a plate at him, it holding a burnt mix of slop and gruel.

"The fuck isss thisss?"

"This, is what happens when your salmonella ridden pests go into my kitchen and gets in my fucking way."

Pentious scoffed, "I thought you wanted an exsstra hand, esssspecially given your current ssssituation-"

Sage grabbed one of the egg minions by his ankles, seeing how distraught the snake demon looked, Sage growled, "I will have you know that I only agreed to work as a cook for this dump, not to act like a babysitter because you can't be bothered to keep your little gremlins in check, but hey if you wanted an omelet I think these guys would make a good substitute,"

"No! Pleasssse don't hurt them! Listen, I'll make you a deal, I've been ssssaving thisss ssssince Charlie told ussss about the making giftsss for each other," Pentious revealed what he was working on his desk,

A copper hand.

"Pentious,"

Pentious waved his hand, "Don't think of thissss as a gift, I'll keep my minionssss out of your kitchen, and this hand shall be the mark of our peacssse treaty."

Sage reluctantly accepted the prosthetic hand, with Sir Pentious showing them how to install it. The hand felt odd, as it took a couple of minutes for it to be responsive. Sage's eyebrows furrowed, which Sir Pentious noticed, "Issss it not to your liking?"

"No, it's just, I am still getting used to realizing that my hand isn't going to grow back, and it'll take some time for me to adjust." Sage stated, rubbing their wrist.

Sage looked up, seeing Pentious' face making an impression of the most pathetic cat that was sitting in a cardboard box and it is soaked from the rain. "Look, just keep your egg guys from bugging me, and I'll consider making you some soufflé whenever I get enough ingredients for it."

Sir Pentious gave Sage a solute, signifying his cooperation.

#hazbin hotel oc #hazbin hotel sir pentious #oh boy sage lore will be upon us

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just-au-ideas · 11 months

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Lego Monkie Kid SCP au

MK is an intern. Unsuspecting. Innocent. He has no idea of his potential to be an Apollyon-class, and neither does anyone else.

Monkey King is an SCP that was once used for a long while by the Chaos Insurgency, and caused so much destruction that he managed to escape from their clutches and flee back to his mountain. He later was recaptured by the Foundation. He gets overly attached to MK, who reciprocates. Shenanigans ensue.

MK meets Macaque, another SCP, who manipulates MK into helping him breach containment. Monkey King hears about this and ALSO breaches containment and they beat the shit out of each other, after which Monkey King goes back to his cell willingly because he doesn't want to cause more trouble for MK.

PIF is the site director and a spy for the Serpent's Hand. DBK is an SCP that she decided she liked, helped escape, and then married. PIF is part of the Serpent's hand because of her attraction to DBK.

Red Son is an escaped SCP that was taken in by the Serpent's Hand when he was an infant. PIF and DBK adopted him early on and he's pledged his loyalty to them ever since, finding creative new ways to try and help SCPs escape.

Mei is a D-class (admitted for a ridiculous number of arson charges as well as destruction of property, theft, and hit-n-run incidents) who is just so friendly and hardcore that nothing will faze her. She's dodged bullets, told off violent SCPs, and come out of inescapable death scenarios without a scratch. She meets MK during a test and they've been besties ever since, and regularly finds a way out of her cell to hang out with him at mealtimes, so she knows pretty much everyone else too. The guards joke that she's an SCP too.

Pigsy is an SCP that's technically Euclid, but he's allowed to roam some parts of the facility because he cooks for everyone there and is non-violent. He listens to Tang's venting and makes sure the interns remember to eat.

Tang is the head of security. Very paranoid, and for good reason, but nobody else seems to care.

Sandy is a Euclid SCP who had major anger issues when he was first brought to the Foundation. They got him a therapist and now he's the kindest person in the entire facility.

Lady Bone Demon is an Apollyon classification. Her minion (the not-mayor guy) is considered an offshoot of her. She has bad history with the Chaos Insurgency, and hates them so much she wants to forgo all chaos in the world for order, destroying it in the process.

Bai He is an intern who was in the wrong place at the wrong time and got yoinked by the Lady Bone Demon. Vessel time.

Jin and Yin are SCPs that are kept together. Classified Euclid.

Spider Queen is an SCP that's classified Keter. Her minions are considered offshoots of the same SCP. MK once had to find a way to put her back in containment after she escaped, and he hated every second of it.

Chang'e is an SCP that's on the moon. MK gets teleported there once due to a mishap during a test, and discovers her as well as a ring of the Samadhi Fire, but never tells the Foundation about anything other than the ring. She is left free.

Ne Zha is the Captain of the Guard. He was a child being kept for study after a school was affected by an SCP, and he got into several different containment cells after finding a way to cheat the locks. He's now immortal and blessed by several gods. He's been in the Foundation longer than any of the humans.

#lmk #lmk au #lmk aus #scp #scp au #au ideas #au idea #lego monkie kid au #lego monkey kid au

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mudaship39 · 6 months

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Character bio of the Afro Asian Native Fae Elvish, Giant Kin, and Goblinoid Spellcaster, Gunslinger, & Swordfighter Part 3:

Hero:

Disciple of the Obscure (They have spent their time worshiping a deity who's not very well known. They act as an intermediary between the realm of their deity and the mortal world. They perform sacred rites and offer sacrifices in order to please their deity. They are helping a demigod ascend into a goddess. They are worshiping them in private. Their deity wants them to do heroic, virtuous, & lawful acts in their name. Though the demigoddess is true good alignment, not a neutral good alignment like her disciple who swore an oath of vengeance and oath of devotion to her. She speaks directly to them sometimes. Other times it's through messengers such as angels).

Folk Hero. Legendary Lineage. Divine Seeker. Auspicious Birth. Divine Disciple. Fated. Fallen Hero. Dark Hero. Wronged Hero. Local Hero. Celebrity. Divine Champion. Herald of the Gods. Defyer of Fate. Wielder of the Old One (Titan Slayer a sentient Sword forged by giant kin, blessed by primordial beings, & heated and cooled by elemental dragons).

Warrior of a Lost Age. From the Past. Elysium Knight. Ancient King/Queen. Eternal One. Sealed One. Ancient One (Blessed and given purpose by a benevolent being. Gained immortality for better or worse). Time Frozen (Frozen by a deity of time to protect them from calamity). Revenant. Lost Civilization (Person from legendary world filled with magic and technology where citizens used artifacts and relics many consider impossible).

Isekai. Otherworlder. Returned. Primogenitor (They were the first. They started a bloodline with a famous and rich history. An entire bloodline was born from their blood and an illustrious future was born from their actions. It has been many generations. They have lost track. They are recognized by their current family. They were a famous alchemist and renowned wizard who sired children. They, as an innovative inventor, engineer, & scientist, were the creator of some great process or invention that is renowned by many in the past and now is a commonplace sight. They were sealed away in a deep sleep only to have recently awoken. In the modern ages they are living alongside their progeny somehow despite being written out of history ages ago. The means of how they are currently here is sinister). Reborn Soul.

Monstrous Presence. Survivor of the Cataclysm. An S rank calamity. An S rank dungeon. Millions of F rank to S rank adventurers were displaced to an S rank dungeon that was a giant supercontinent. With many environments of islands, jungles, forests, swamps, grasslands, deserts, mountains, arctic tundras, & volcanic mountains. The adventurers were displaced randomly throughout these environments. Terrains home to A to S rank beasts, creatures, & monsters. Environments home to B to S rank humanoid enemies. They were displaced there in the dungeon for a century. Time exists differently in the cataclysm. A century there was a decade in the real world. Of the millions displaced as the decade ended only several hundred thousand C rank to S rank adventurers survived.

Beast, Monster, Creature Tamer:

Dungeon Master of S ranked Monster Dungeon filled with slimes all the way to dragons for an S ranked Adventurers Guild for Training of B Class to S ranked guild members.

Minions:

Slime folk minions with boss summons of humanoid slimes. Undead minions: skeleton soldiers, zombies, ghouls, mummies. Special undead summons: death knights, mummy lords, dullahan. Undead boss summon: a lich. Goblinoid minions: imps, goblins, & boss summons hobgoblins. Special summons, orc, high orc, troll, & high troll. Giant kin summons: ogre, oni, kijin, goliath, giants, & boss summon titans. Avian summons: tengu, kenku, owlin, and boss summons: Aarakocra. Werecreature minions and boss summon pureblood alpha werewolves. Serpent folk summons: gorgon, lamia, naga, yuan ti abominations, yuan ti half bloods, & boss summon yuan ti pureblood. Vampire summons and boss summon vampire lord. Dragon kin summons: kobolds, dragon newt, drake, wyvern, dragon born, half dragons, & boss summons dragons.

Magic User Level:

Circle 10 Magic User specializing in tier 0 to tier 10 magic. 10 magical cores or stars.

Magic Skills:

Skilled in the schools of magic, magical subjects, & magical skills of. Especially absorption, alchemy, amulets, animancy, animation, animism, apparition, arithmancy, artificing, astrology, augmentation, banishment, bestowal, cartomancy, charms, clairvoyance, conjuration, conversion, creation, crystals, curses, dark arts, demonology, disintegration, divination, elements, enchantment, entropy, evocation, familiar bonding, feng shui, geomancy, grimoires, healing, herbology, hexes, hoodoo, hypnosis, illusions, incantations, inscriptions, invocations, mediums, mysticism, necrology, negation, necromancy, nonverbal spellcasting, numerology,

occultism, onmyodo, potions, precognition, psionics, psychometry, reanimation, rituals, runes, runology, scrying, sealing, sensing, shamanism, shapeshifting, sorcery, sourcing, summoning, spellcasting, spiritual projection, talismans, talismongering, tarot cards, technomancy, teleportation, transfiguration, transmogrification, transmutation, voodoo, wandless spellcasting, warding and wards, white arts, witchcraft, & wuxing.

Skilled in the types of magic. Especially aether magic, astral magic, aura magic, barrier magic, battle magic, blessing magic, blood magic, combat magic, conceptual magic, cosmic magic, creation magic, dark magic, dark arts magic, death magic, demonic magic, destiny magic, destruction magic, defensive magic, dimension magic, divine magic, dragon magic, dream magic, druid magic,

eldritch magic, elemental magic, emotional magic, energy magic, environmental magic, evolutionary magic, explosion magic, faith magic, fairy magic, forensic magic, forge magic, holy magic, home magic, hope magic, ink magic, life magic, light magic, love magic, luck magic, lunar magic, medical magic, memory magic, mirror magic, motion magic, momentum magic, music magic, mythic magic, nature magic, nether magic, neutral magic, object magic, order magic,

paper magic, peace magic, planetary magic, plasma magic, poison magic, portal magic, possession magic, psionic magic, psychic magic, purification magic, quantum magic, raw magic, reality magic, reinforcement magic, ritual magic, rural magic, sacrificial magic, sealing magic, sentient magic, shadow magic, sigil magic, solar magic, solid magic, sound magic, space magic, space time magic, spirit magic, stellar magic, strength magic, symbol magic, time magic, techno magic, teleportation magic, transcendent magic, twilight magic, underground magic, urban magic, vector magic, void magic, war magic, warp magic, wild magic, & white arts magic.

Magic User Rank:

Imperial alchemist, master enchanter, journeyman animist, arch mage, grand magician, greater necromancer, lesser psionic, imperial arcanist, great channeler, supreme witch, greater summoner, master conjurer, grand sorcerer, great warlock, apprentice healer, lesser seer, great elementalist, greater illusionist, novice invoker, arch magus, supreme mystic, master transmuter, neophyte diviner, imperial mentalist, & master wizard.

Titles: Strongest S Rank Adventurer. Undefeatable Arcane Swordsman. Most Skilled Spellcaster. Deadeye Esoteric Sharpshooter.

Magic Circles:

A magic circle is a circle of space marked out by practitioners of some branches of magic. They generally believe it will contain energy and form a sacred space. They believe it will also provide them a form of magical protection. Special powers that rely on the power of traced shapes and diagrams to function.

Almost always a circular design. Comes with additional shapes of varying complexity inside the circle. Sometimes only required for a special ceremony. Sometimes necessary for anything and everything remotely magical. It is a form of hermetic magic.

Geometric magic usually sets itself up as a type of functional magic. It is frequently paired with ritual magic. Its instant runes when the magic seems to spawn the shapes rather than the other way around. Instant runes are generally involved anyway as the activation of the shape may cause writing to appear. Magic using wands, mage sticks, scepters, & broomsticks summon magic circles that are geometric magic.

More complicated geometric magic designs are required for more complicated forms of magic. They are called arrays. The more detailed the array and the more stable the magic. The bigger the magic circle the more powerful the magic effect is. There are different geometric shapes depending on the class of magic the caster is using. There are several known variations. Some correspond to the major schools of magic and some to magical specialization. Combining geometric shapes leads to more complex forms of magic. The most powerful of spells use sacred geometry. His/her/their magic circles radiate or shine cardinal, sapphire, obsidian, opal, amethyst, emerald, gold, or silver.

Status: Alive

Died several times as a S rank adventurer.

They were revived and resurrected several times.

Died when a monster stampede of a thunder of hundred chromatic evil dragons attacked the kingdom. Burned by a fire dragon and electrocuted by a lightning dragon. The dragons came when they were attracted by an ancient draconic relic hidden in the kingdom.

Was resurrected by a head clergy of a church in a large city. After members of their party performed a task for the priest to prove their fallen comrade's worth to them. Also had the paladin and cleric of the party take up oaths of the god the head priest and saintess served.

Died when a devil lord killed them for revenge when he/she/they killed devil lords and ladies for vengeance. The devils turned a city into a human sacrifice and turned the citizens into imps, lesser demons, and arch demons. The demons used this to turn themselves into greater demons, demon nobles, & demon royalty.

The guild adventuring party ventured into the underworld to take back the soul of their dead party member themselves.

Died when fighting alongside a metallic dragon against a lich king and their zombie dragon. Lich King amassed an army of two million undead using the dead of a kingdom in a resurrection spell to attack the capital city. The undead army of mummies, vampires, ghosts, skeleton soldiers, banshees, ghasts, jiangshi, wraiths, revenants, zombies, & ghouls was commanded by undead commanders of death knights, pureblood vampire lords, necromancers, undead fighters, undead spellcasters, & mummy lords.

Divine intervention resurrection. He/she/they were resurrected by a different goddess than the one they served. The deity asks that the party promise to perform a favor in exchange for their friend's life. She asked that they become an avatar for her when they were revived to do deeds in her name as her champion.

Was petrified by a fire basilisk. Was un petrified.

He/she/they when he/she/they died were chosen to become a god/goddess/deity as a human with fae elvish, giant kin, and goblinoid ancestry. He/she/they were chosen to become the fae elvish god goddess of magic, the giant kin god goddess of technology, and goblinoid god goddess of smithing including (god smithing weapons meant to kill gods and devils).

Occupation:

Retired:

Military Navy Fleet Admiral

Magical Marine Corp General

Magical Air Force General

Magical Space Navy Captain

Sky Pirate General

Sea Pirate Fleet Admiral

Thief’s Guild Grandmaster

Assassins Guild Grandmaster

Slayer. (Gov. Sanctioned Association of Slayers. Witch Hunter. Mage Hunter. Demon Hunter. Monster Hunter. Slayer of the Undead. Dragon Slayer.)

Elven Royal Advisor

Icon

Active:

High King/High Queen

Paramount Chieftain/Warchief

High End Bar Owner

Five Star Restaurant Owner

Seelie Court Lord/Lady

Merchant Guild Grandmaster

Merchant Navy Fleet Admiral

Knight Order High Elder

God Smith

Paladin Order Elder

Magical School Superintendent/Chancellor

Pathfinder. Wayfinder. Horizon Walker. Outrider. Master Inquisitor. Trailblazer.

Wand Carver.

Magical Amulet and Talisman Carver.

Magical Witch’s Broomstick Carver.

Magical University Dean

High Elder of a Circle of Magi

High Priestess of a Witch Coven

Magic Tower Grandmaster

Mercenary Company Commander

Lord Commander of the City Guard

Lord Commander of the City Watch

Guild Grandmaster (Adventurer’s Guild leader).

Place of Residence: When in magical human federation land he/she/they live at the Norwood Manor on the Norwood Estate. While in Indigenous magical human land he/she/they live in a dome shaped oblong, rounded, undulatory, & sinuous home. It has peaks and spires. It is rib vaulted. It has catenary arches. It is made out of gemstones and magical metals. It is filled with magiteck for accessibility.

Citizenship: Tirione Kingdom, Human Federation of Magical Human Kingdoms and Indigenous Magical Human Nations, Alliance or Coalition, Federation of Aehinara, Continent of Aehinara, Contingent Landmass of Eisio, Giant Planet of Kaishi

Affiliation:

Human Federation of Magical Human Kingdoms and Indigenous Magical Human Nations.

Alliance or Coalition. Confederacy of Indigenous Goblinoid and Giantkin Nations.

Federation of Aehinara

Sword and Shield Knight Order

Paragon Paladin Order

Vanguard Guild Order and Adventuring Guild

Cerberus Mercenary Company

Magic Council

Arcane Order

Education:

High School graduate.

High School Diploma.

He/she/they were part of the magical go, magical shogi, & magical chess club.

U-13 (or under 13), U-15 (or under 15) Magical Dueling first place champion, second place runner up, & third place finalist who took part in magical duels with a rapier, short sword and shield, & long sword.

U-18 or under 18, U-21 or under 21, & 21 and over Magical Dueling first place champion, second place runner up, third place finalist who took part in magical duels with dual wielding short swords, one handed long sword and shield, and two handed great sword.

U-13 or under 13, U-15 or under 15 Magical Archery first place champion, second place runner up, & third place finalist who took part in magical archery with a magical traditional bow and arrow, a magical crossbow, & a magical modern compound bow.

U-18 (or under 18), U-21 (or under 21), & 21 and over Magical Sharpshooting first place champion, second place runner up, third place finalist who took part in magical gunslinging using a magical flintlock pistol, magical revolver revolver, magical semi automatic pistol, magical flintlock rifle, magical ten shot lever action repeating rifle, & magical carbine.

U-13 (or under 13) and U-15 (or under 15) Magical Spellcasting first place champion, second place runner up, & third place finalist who took part in magical duels with a wand, magical baton, & grimoire.

U-18 (or under 18), U-21 (or under 21), & 21 and over Magical Spellcasting first place champion, second place runner up, third place finalist who took part in magical duels with a mage stick, broomstick, & scepter.

He/she/they/they took drama and theater where they met the Night Elf Bard.

He/she/they were the treasurer, vice president, & later student body president.

He/she/they took honors classes and AP classes. He/she/they in high school were on the principal’s honor roll and was valedictorian.

College graduate.

Associates Degree in Arithmancy

Masters Degree in Language.

Dual Major in Goblinoid and Giantkin

Minor in Common and Elvish

Master’s Degree in Military History.

History Major in Elvish History

With emphasis in Dark Elven History

Minor in Draenei History

PHD in Magical Philosophy.

Doctorate in Demonology and Necrology.

He/she/they taught as a professor at the magical four year university.

This is the magical four year university that they were alumni of where they were an English major that received their associate’s degree in Common (English).

They graduated cum laude as someone who graduated in the top twenty percent of their class.

They were a Common (English) major that received their bachelor’s degree of the arts with a dual major in Goblin, Troll, Giantish, and Orcish.

Club member of the Divination, Numerology, Astrology, & Astronomy Club

He/she/they were club president of the Indigenous magical students association. He/she/they were vice president of the magical human students association.

At the magical four year university they were the star-player of the magical sports team.

He/she/they taught magical philosophy as a magical philosopher at a magical Ivy League School.

This is the magical Ivy League School that they were alumni of where they were a Philosophy and Ethics major that received their doctorate degree in magical philosophy.

He/she/they graduated magna cum laude as someone who graduated in the top ten percent of their class.

He/she/they were part of the men’s and women’s magical basketball, baseball, softball, ice hockey, field hockey, soccer, volleyball, track and field, & rugby magical collegiate sports teams.

He/she/they were part of the magical fencing club sport team as Lysander. This is where they met the High Elf Cleric and Paladin.

He/she/they were part of the magical kendo, sai, kobudo, spear, kalaripayattu, stick fighting, bo staff, silat, & nunchucks melee martial art club sport team.

He/she/they were part of the magical mixed martial arts (imagine karate, capoeira, krav maga, savate, muay thai, jiu jitsu, kickboxing, hapkido, judo, aikido, taekwondo, etc.) club sport team.

He/she/they were part of the magical monk class martial arts (imagine bak mei, wushu, changquan, hung gar, xingyiquan, shuai jiao, wing chun, san da, choy li fut, shaolin kung fu, & wuzuquan) martial arts club sport team.

He/she/they were part of the archery crossbow, traditional composite bow, & modern compound bow kyudo club sport team as Luciana. This is where they met the Wood Elf Druid and Ranger.

As an equestrian that was part of the equestrian sports club they were a rider of magical mounts of alicorns, unicorns, & pegasi.

He/she/they were an instructor at a magical military academy as a gun witch, battle wizard, & war mage.

He/she/they at the magical military academy fought other fighters in tourneys with magical two handed greatswords, spears, two handed warhammers, & two handed battle axes.

At the magical military academy they were the star player of the magical mount riding team as a rider of a drake and wyvern.

He/she/they were part of the magical military martial arts competitive sports clubs at the magical military academy.

He/she/they graduated from the military academy as a second lieutenant.

He/she/they graduated summa cum laude as someone who graduated top one percent of their class.

He/she/they graduated from the military academy with a master's degree in History with a major in Elvish military history with an emphasis on Dark Elf history.

He/she/they graduated from the military academy with a minor in geography.

He/she/they as a grand magister who is a multi class magician graduated from a magical academy with certificates in metaplanes studies, astral studies, conceptual magic, quantum magic, magic theory, and theoretical magic.

Researcher and archiver at the magical library at the magical Ivy League university.

Studied college classes in Alchemy, Animal Care, Apparition, Arcane archaeology, Artificing, Arcane Architecture, Arcane Calligraphy, Astral Studies, Attunement, Botany, Centering, Charm Creation, Cleansing, Comparative Anatomy, Comparative Magical Studies, Counter Spellcasting, Curse Casting, Divination, Extra-dimensional Spaces, Fae Relations, Feng Shui, Forensic Magic, Geomancy, Historiography of Magic, Illusionology, Interdimensional law Interspecies Relations, Invisible Writings Studies, Ley Line Studies, Life Gardening, Magical Creature Morphology, Magic Infusion, Magical law, Metaphysics, Metaplanar Studies, Monster Recognition, Mystical Gemology, Mythical Forging Techniques, Necrotic Civil Rights Studies, Occult Studies, Planar Geography, Potions, Political Sorcery, Practical Conjuration, Psychometry, Recent Runes, Somatics, Shamanistic Studies, Spellcasting Styles, Spell Composition, Talismongering, Theoretical Magic, Transmutive Chemistry, War Wizardry, Ward Creation

Base of Operations:

Castle inside a fortress as the High Elder of a Guardian Guild, a Knight Order and Paladin Order. Small buildings populate the grounds as dwellings for workers of the fortress. There are structures outside the bastion that offer a safe home to all those in need. A handful of waterfalls flow into various small rivers and provide the precious farm fields of farmers outside the castle with needed water. Lush fields of crops surround the castle walls and provide the inhabitants with food all year round. Various large houses are scattered outside the castle gates. Surprisingly the rich and middle class are comfortable with living outside the gates as well.

The walls of the bastion have openings for artillery, archers, & anti-siege weaponry. Trees grow close to the castle gates and provide it with valuable wood for all sorts of purposes. Stylish grand windows are scattered here and there around the walls of the castle in seemingly perfect symmetrical patterns. Fifteen thin square towers are a decoration aspect of this elegant castle. The castle is defended by towering four colossal round outposts made out of granite that form a protective barrier all around the castle. The outposts of this citadel are surrounded by eight guard posts made of obsidian. The guard posts have been built on various tactical spots for an ideal defense. The guard posts of this castle are each surrounded by fifteen guard towers. The guard towers dominate the skyline of these guard posts and are connected by tall thick walls made of basalt and stone. The fortress itself is defended by ten forts.

Huge statues of heroes of the past decorate the castle inside. They are memories of glories of the past. The castle is built into a mountain surrounded by a forest. The forest was defended by magical creatures. The guard posts, guard towers, forts, & outposts that protect the castle are built into plains, hills, valleys, and fields. Huge dragon bones litter the forests and small wyvern and drake carcasses litter the fields and hills outside the castle. This castle has clearly been around for at least a thousand years. But it doesn't seem like it will collapse any time soon.

This castle has clearly stood the test of time. This castle has been improved and improved over the ages. Some parts of the castle are clearly newer than others. The inhabitants are determined to keep their castle as modern as possible. This castle shows signs of expansion as some parts are clearly built more recently than others. The inhabitants are already working on another part and hope to keep expanding.

The fortress has a huge gate with a vast gate with huge metal doors connected to a draw bridge built over a moat filled with aquatic magical animals that protects the bastion. These strong defenses give a safe place to rest in this forest stronghold. It's the only easy way in for any other side would be futile. Six strong square towers form a protective barrier all around the fortress. They are connected by towering, thin walls made of obsidian. Wide windows are scattered here and there across the fortress walls in an asymmetric pattern along with symmetric holes for archers, anti-siege weapons, and artillery. A sizable gate with giant metal doors, a regular bridge and various artillery equipment guards the last stronghold along this shoreline that the fortress is built into.

But it's not the only way in when you know the fortress’s secret passages. Remnants of broken siege engines litter the area outside the fortress. Bodies, broken swords and shields, & dead mounts litter the fields outside. As a painful reminder of a past war. This fortress is relatively new but so far it stood its ground with ease and it'll likely do so for ages to come.

Vanguard Guild Hall as the Guild Grandmaster of Vanguard an S rank Adventuring Guild and Guild Order. The Vanguard Guild had an emblem of swords and rifles in front of a sigil of a shield. This guild is designed expressly for those who battle monsters, hunt treasure in dungeons, and go on quests. The guild’s members were trained at a university founded by the guild. This guild will be dynamic. They are always looking for new opportunities. It may be willing to back more risky ventures in return for a share of the profits. It may even sponsor adventuring parties.

The guild hall of the guild included a reception desk, a meeting room, training room, meeting room for guild leaders and VIP like royalty and other important people, treasury, market, dorms for apprentices and trainees, trading hall with traders, trophy room, war room, an arena, a library, workbenches, a brothel, barracks, chemistry lab for alchemists, offices for guild staff, magical lab for scientists, workshop, amphitheater, common room, forge for blacksmiths and artificers, furnace, conference room for guild staff, emporium with merchants, auction room, a quest board, a bank, a notice board, hospital, pub for associates who aren’t members of the guild, mount stable, aviary, game room, archive room, mess hall, rooms with private wardrobes, storage room, warehouse, a tavern bar, kitchen, an armory, shrine for warlocks, chapel for clerics, & a dungeon for temporary prisoners.

The guild had a grand hall. In the grand hall of the guild was a charter which is essentially a list of rules or values outlining the guild’s purpose and mission. The guild had a code of ethics. This addressed the overall behavior of a member, business practices, & product quality. In the reception hall of the guild was a list of requirements for admission and initiation.

The guild’s standing and reputation in the community was excellent. The guild hall was a place where the guild showed off its accumulated power and wealth. The guild building had lodging and work areas for guild members and adventurers. It had a grand hall with ornate architecture and high ceilings. It was an obvious way for a powerful organization to quietly brag to all those who witnessed it. Tapestries hung on the walls in the color of the guild. The guild hall was three stories tall. The skylights at the top let light filter in the guild grand hall giving dramatic ambiance at any time of day. The guild had an underground room for secret meetings.

The guild is led by a single president and overseen by a group of board members. An adventurers guild is an excellent spot for members to relax, share tales of their exploits, pick up rumors of missions within the city, hear gossip of loot in dungeons, and meet with prospective employers. Many people looking to hire adventurers come to an adventurers guild first. People can easily acquire adventuring hirelings or cohorts through the guild or hire freelance mercenaries through a mercenary company. The guild keeps track of its members' abilities. They often direct potential employers to the guild member or adventurer party that best fits their needs.

Members must keep the guild apprised of their abilities and notify the guild when they are undertaking an adventure or quest. They are not required to accept any job offers the guild might point their way, but constant refusal of employment might eventually upset the guild grandmasters. Finally, members must be willing, if asked, to embark on a quest to rescue missing guild members. Finally, all members are expected to pay the guild 10% of the value of any treasure or goods they find on their adventures. In addition to the regular monthly dues. A guild is an organization formed to protect the interests and pursuits of people involved in the same general trade or activity. Within that broad definition a guild can appear in countless different forms. Such as large or small, weak or powerful, & public or secretive. Joining a guild is a simple enough prospect.

One simply approaches it and petitions for membership. There you can find other information about the guild, such as its general membership requirements, operating procedures, and so on. A more covert association, such as a thieves or assassins guild, might require more investigation. Some secret societies are so well hidden that the party must seek out clues through investigation and adventuring. It is also possible that if someone has obtained fame that the relevant guild might approach them directly themselves through a representative. This is a relatively rare occurrence. Some guilds have additional requirements such as passing initiation rites or being a certain rank. Most guilds gain the bulk of their income through entry fees and membership dues. Most guilds provide a standard set of benefits available to all members. While they might vary slightly in specifics. They are generally the same from one guild to the next.

A guild subsidizes the cost of goods, supplies, and services related to its chosen field. Thereby reducing the price to a member by 10 to 15%. A guild can provide monetary loans to members who have fallen on hard times. Should they fail to meet the deadline. Then they are suspended or on probation at the very least or at the most expelled from the guild. The most obvious drawback to guild membership is the monthly dues. While most adventurers should have little problem earning this much money, a slow month can cause problems. A member in good standing might be given one month's leeway, but if they fail to pay their dues including back-dues by then they are suspended and put on probation. A member in bad standing after failing to pay back dues several times is expelled. Additionally, many guilds have enemies or rivals among the other guilds of the city.

Guild members have certain responsibilities which they must perform in order to maintain their standing. In some cases these are fairly minor. Such as keeping the guild apprised of certain topics. In others, this responsibility might involve donating a percentage of earnings as membership dues. Other times it is seeking guild permission to undertake certain actions. An individual who fails to pay their dues or perform their duties for more than two consecutive months is expelled from the guild. Similarly, a member who compromises the guild in some manner is also expelled. Expulsion results in the immediate loss of all benefits gained from the guild.

Guilds have a lot of power and influence. Guild membership can be an attractive prospect. Though most small guilds appeal only to characters who stand to gain from belonging, rather than the adventuring party as a whole. Small and weak guilds often do little more than provide members with a place to belong and perhaps a bit of financial support).

Influential and powerful guilds control entire economic markets and might even guide the course of their local government. The municipal government cannot afford to alienate the guild giving it substantial leverage to make demands. A guild that becomes this powerful often fixes prices, drafts legislation favorable to it, or dominates markets otherwise unrelated to its pursuits.

They played an integral part in magical society. They play a big part in the economies of the cities, counties, & countries that they inhabit. Guilds can provide so much more than a healthy economy and a prosperous working class. Guilds have had an enormous impact on the economy of the territory it covered. These are the organizations that can offer experience and resources. They can be a benevolent ally, a training ground, or a client. A guild is a corporation, a union, & a cartel. This guild has a bureaucratic setup. The best way to hide a glyph of protection is by sheer scale. This is done through facets of a planned city such as walls, streets, lights, sewers, & buildings.

This glyph of protection goes through the entire country. This glyph of protection protects the town, city, & kingdom that the Guild Order is inside of. The symbol passes unnoticed to all but only to a select few of powerful magic users who are grand magisters. It is later forgotten completely by the general public. It is discovered in blueprints and through birds eye view of airships, planes, or flying mounts. It is geometric magic that is hidden in plain sight that is a protection spell for the location. Built alongside the glyph of protection is a giant magic circle that channels energy for the magic users of the guild and adventuring guild.

Hidden away beyond the mountains in a kingdom in the clouds held up by magic is his/her/their own personal magic tower as a grand magister of the circle of magi, magical society, and the magic council. A Circle of Magi consists primarily of spellcasters, but occasionally boasts non-casting members such as alchemists. Magicians, wizards, sorcerers, witches, necromancers, & warlocks make up most of the members. These magical councils offer comfortable and well-stocked libraries for research, and laboratories for experimentation. Perhaps more important is that they offer an environment where casters can exchange ideas and theories. Or simply a place where they can interact with those who actually understand them.

The Circle of Magi is a magocracy and faction. A magocracy is a form of government where only those with ability in magic could wield power and influence. The magocracy of the Circle of Magi is a bureaucratic organization that touches nearly every corner of the Federation of Aehinara of the Alliance and the Legion. It is essentially a government in a government. Its citizens are the billions of users of magic in the Federation.

Arcane councils are also valuable as political leverage in cities where governments or common folk love magic as magical humans, homo magi, & Indigenous magical humans make up a magical society. The circle of magi is a faction of an esoteric society of arcane spellcasters governed by a magical council. The magical council easily rivals the rulers. The Circle of Magi is the main ruling body of the entire magical world of Homo Magi, magical humans, & Indigenous magical humans. The Circle of Magi is the primary governing body of many of the kingdoms, empires, & nations of the Federation of Aehinara.

The Circle of Magi magical council acts as a leading government. The magical council is governed by a magical parliament and magical congress of a house of representatives and senate. The magical parliament consists of a house of commons of a council of elders and a house of lords of a council of high elders. This magical government is led by an executive branch of a Grand Magister.

These 11 high elders are elites that specialize within the schools of magic. Such as abjuration, alteration, conjuration, divination, enchantment, evocation, illusion, necromancy, transfiguration, and transmutation. The 11 high elders are indifferent to the thoughts and concerns of non magicals. The magical council's laws are made to suit the powerful and magical. They enforce a powerful monopoly on key aspects of magical society. The nobility of Aehinara often have magical or sorcerous bloodlines. Many of the past and present 11 of the magical council high elders have come from the bickering magical noble families.

Many elders who are council members are looking for ways to increase their power, influence, control, & supremacy over the 11 high elder members of the Magical Council. The 11 high elders gained their positions of the magical council through various means. Some through the lineage of well known magical ancestors. Some through being an apprentice of an old master. Others were valedictorians of magical academies. Others were heroes in wars as magical users.

The magical council became an arm of the rulers’ of the magical human kingdoms and leaders of the Indigenous magical human nations power base as a separate branch of the military. They provide intelligence, security, and act as a branch of the military as magical soldiers. The Circle of Magi is a governing body of the magical community. They are responsible for regulating and enforcing laws for the magical community. They are responsible for keeping the magical community safe from the non magical community.

On the ground it has several bastions that protect it from invasion. The forts themselves are protected by outposts, guard posts, & guard towers. The magical tower has an unique design and layout tailored to his/her/their personality. It has an observatory for astronomy. It has a saloon and tavern to socialize. The magical tower has an alchemist laboratory where alchemists can brew potions, concoctions, potions, & elixirs. It has a workshop for artificers. The magic tower comes with a personal study for wizards. It has a witch cauldron for a witch coven to brew and concoct elixirs, potions, antidotes, brews, & concoctions. It has a large collection of magical lore.

It has a bestiary full of mounted monster heads, especially a fire basilisk (with its eyes removed), a manticore, a cerberus, a chimera, & a hydra. It has an archive of magical artifacts. It has a large library of scrolls, manuscripts, parchments, tomes, & books. It has an arena for duels between magic users. It has a stable for mounts such as griffins, hippogriffs, hippocampi (sea unicorns), alicorns, unicorns, pegasi, wyverns, & drakes. It has an arena for duels between fighters.

It has a training arena for apprentices. It has an astronomy tower with an observatory. It has apartments and homes for workers. It has a herbology garden with dozens of pots to grow small, medium, to even large magical plants. It has a maze with stone, rock, & metal golem guards. It has secret passages. It has a workshop for carving wands and talismans/amulets.

It has a vivarium for caring for magical beasts, animals, & creatures such as shadow cats, evolved slimes, cerberus puppy, alicorn colt, micro griffon, kitsune nine tailed foxes, flying snakes, astral lynx, cub, guard drakes, shadow ravens, ghost pets, pseudo dragons, phoenixes, wyverns, displacer beast cub, thunderbirds, & hellhounds.

It has a trophy room with the awards, deeds, & accolades they won as a swordfighter, gunslinger, & spellcaster and awards, certificates, & degrees they received at magical: elementary school, junior high, high school, community college, four year college, and military academy.

It has a garden protected by a wood elemental, stone elemental, & nature elementals. It has a tailor famous for weaving clothes with dragon hide leather and giant spider silk. It has a crafting lab to craft, repair, customize, and upgrade equipment. It has an armory with weapons, armor, & shields.

It has a treasure room with loot that he/she/they found from inside dungeons as an adventurer and quests as a guild member. It has a factory to create automatons. It has a viewing room magic mirror to scry on others. It has a room with a table with a crystal ball and tarot cards for cartomancy and divination for fortune telling. It has a summoning and banishing room for his/her/their patron as a warlock.

It is even bigger on the inside because of spatial magic. It is interconnected with other spires that connect to other magical towers. The magic tower is hidden away by illusions. The only way to reach it is by a portal network system. When an intruder attempts to access the portal when they aren’t supposed to it seals access from the portal network off. The magical tower is built on a magical leyline.

It is built with a defense matrix. The magic tower is full of traps that deal with intruders. The magic tower has a room with magically bound guard monsters. The magic tower is defended against magic users with anti magic fields. The magical tower itself is protected by wards and charms and attacks intruders with hexes and curses.

High King/High Queen of the Alliance and Coalition and leader of the Federation of Ahinara. The Alliance or Coalition represents everything good, lawful, tolerant, and progressive in the world. Self-proclaimed or otherwise. This is both an alliance between species and a coalition between nations. The ideals of the alliance are freedom, prosperity, and the security of its people. The alliance was organized by the heroic and righteous High King of the magical humans and Indigenous magical humans and the wise Dark Elven Empress of the Elven Empire. Who gets to define who’s good, lawful, and civilized in the world is an entirely different matter as history written by the victors and truth is defined by the powerful.

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