#next post: the mechanics of aura wielding
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Exposition Post 0.5: From the Past, To the Present
Tagging @fangaminghell, @alltheoutsinfreeeee, @lurker-extraordinaire-657645and @lemonade-juley for their AU exposition update alerts :p
For those of you who want a refresher, here’s a shortcut to the previous post.
Again, this is a lengthy lore exposition post connecting where we last left off in the history of the Aura Wielders to pre-Calamity Aevium. So sit down, get comfy, maybe brew yourself a hot beverage and/or grab some snacks and enjoy the post :D
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3000 years have passed since Vitus and Nymiera had vanished from the mortal realm. From the ashes left in the wake of the War, seven kingdoms have risen with the combined efforts of man and Pokemon. Among these kingdoms were the Kingdom of Ghovora (present-day Goldenwood), the Kingdom of Kasura (present-day Kingdom of Goomidra) and the Kingdom of Zygara (present-day Sashila Village and Zorrialyn Desert). The rest have unfortunately fallen into obscurity.
For centuries, the Aura Wielders have maintained the peace between kingdoms by traveling the realm as nomads, beholden to no kingdom and yet free to enter or exit their borders. They listened to the woes of the people they met on their journeys, lent them their aid, and - should the need arise - stepped forth and protect the people from dangerous threats.
It is, for this reason, that Aura Wielders are highly regarded by the Seven Kingdoms as protectors and heroes. Even the royal families hold them with great respect.
For millennia, all was well... until it wasn’t.
One day, a large number of refugees arrived at the shores of the Seven Kingdoms, seeking asylum. They called themselves the Garufans, who had allegedly fled their ancestral lands to avoid persecution at the hands of their rival tribes.
Taking pity upon their plight, the Aura Wielders welcomed them with open arms and helped them establish a settlement at the outskirts of Zygara. At first, everything seemed alright despite the unease that rippled through kingdoms. After all, wasn’t it normal for people to fear what they do not understand? And what they did not understand were the bizarrely advanced - to the point it could be called futuristic - technology that the Garufans brought with them.
Even so, the Garufans were peaceful; they mainly kept to themselves and took great lengths to avoid any strife between their neighbours. In all respect, they appear to be sincere in their desire to avoid further conflict... so the Aura Wielders gave them the benefit of the doubt.
However, the other kingdoms did not share this sentiment. Queen Griselda of Ghovora, in particular, was the most mistrustful out of her fellow rulers and saw them as threats to the peace she envisioned. Her paranoia was so great, in fact, that she conspired with a reluctant King Ieisel to conquer the other kingdoms to acquire their resources and manpower. All for the sake of eliminating what she viewed as a threat.
By the time the Aura Wielders had realised what Queen Griselda had been plotting, it was too late to stop her. She had already launched multiple war campaigns against her neighbours and annexed their lands, despite the frantic pleas of her family and her scared, exhausted people.
Realising with horror and resignation that Griselda was beyond redemption and reason, her sisters and eldest daughter took matters into their own hands... only for it to unleash a different monstrosity altogether. From the broken remains of the dead queen, her embittered soul was reborn into a new eldritch form hellbent on wreaking its vengeance upon her murderers. Her daughter was the first to fall victim to her rampage, and was reincarnated into the form of a ghost Pokemon through her powers.
Fortunately, her sisters were able to escape Griselda’s wrath and enlisted the help of the Aura Wielders to seal her away together with the ruins of her kingdom. Where she could no longer harm anyone in a fit of blind rage.
The immediate threat had been neutralised, but the damage had been done. Irreversibly so.
The Garufans, realising that nowhere is safe for them, turned belligerent towards outsiders and sought to subjugate every single one of them to protect themselves. Taking advantage of the chaos brought about by Griselda’s war campaigns, they infilitrated the ruins of the Kingdom of Kasura - where the Archetype was being held - and seized it, intending on weaponising it for their own purposes.
In order to cover their own ulterior motives for using the Archetype, the Garufans secretly leaked its existence to the outside world, ultimately fanning the flames of conflict. It wasn’t long before the regions beyond the borders of the Seven Kingdoms took up arms, each of them wanting to claim the Archetype’s mystical powers for themselves, leading to the start of the Kalos War (also known as the Great War since it was, more accurately, a war on a global scale).
Meanwhile, tensions were at an all-time high in the Seven Kingdoms. The Aura Wielders had their hands full in assisting the survivors of Griselda’s conquests, and keeping an eye out for potential invaders threatening to shatter the fragile peace. The people were uneasy, and with their only link to the outside world being the Garufans, what little news they received had only sent them even more on edge.
Eventually, one young Aura Wielder had enough and foolishly took matters into his own hands. He snuck into his clan’s sacred grounds of Amethyst Grotto, took the Paradigm Crest and revealed the secrets of the Aura Wielders to the Garufans in the hopes that they would use this knowledge to restore the peace.
That did not happen. The boy was imprisoned within their laboratories for his misguided kindness and the Paradigm Crest taken. Soon after, armed with their newly acquired knowledge, the Garufans began to forcibly conscript Aura Wielders to use as their soldiers. However, all of them adamantly refused, so they decided to take their powers for themselves.
Some perished from the inhumane experiments. Many lost their minds as a result of their powers abused to its limit, transforming them into feral Pokemon who attacked everything on sight - including themselves.
It was through these experiments that the Garufans were able to devise a way to allow even the common man to mimic the Aura Wielders’ signature abilities: by sealing their souls (though a Pokemon’s soul is a viable substitute) within a special tome, the holder would be able to wield their powers as if it were their own. This technique would later be dubbed as Garufan magicks.
As for the Paradigm Crest, countless have volunteered to become its host. Only one proved themself up to the challenge, and even then... it came at a great cost. By taking the Crest into themself, their consciousness inevitably merged with Adrest’s, with the latter as the dominant identity, and their memories of their past self permanently lost.
Despite the somewhat disappointing results, the Garufans wrote it off as a success and placed Adrest under the care of one of their subordinates - Variya. Originally, she was to meticulously observe/record their progress and ensure they were ready for their purpose as a weapon when the time comes, but over time she grew to care for Adrest like they were her child and decided to rebel against her superior for their sake.
Meanwhile, the Aura Wielders stormed into the Garufan HQ to retrieve the lost Paradigm Crest and to rescue any surviving captives. While they did not find any survivors, they were able to retrieve the Archetype (which was entrusted to the protection of a human clan) and convince Adrest to come with them, with some persuasion from Variya.
Unfortunately, the Garufans soon learned of the attack and immediately went to reclaim them. The Aura Wielders, fully expecting this, enacted an emergency escape plan.
Prior to their attack on Garufa HQ, the Aura Wielders constructed an illusory realm as a bridge connecting this world to another - an alternate reality where Pokemon never existed - using the energies harvested from sacrificial souls. They called this realm “Phantasmal Arboret”, because of its elusive nature and how its appearance strongly resembled a misty forest. Normally, this would be an impossible feat, but the Great War had caused the barriers between realities to weaken, allowing them to pierce through its weak spots to construct their bridge.
And, to prevent anyone from trespassing, the realm was woven in a way so that the only way to gain entry is via a spiritual key - the Mirage Wing. The Mirage Wing was made from the ceremonial hairpiece worn by the leader of the Aura Wielders, and a few psychic-imbued feathers shed by her beloved partner Pokemon. In order for the Mirage Wing to activate, two conditions must be fulfilled: the holder must be an Aura Wielder, and they must have a powerful desire to reach the realm. Furthermore, the holder of the Mirage Wing has the authority to select who could enter and leave the place, and who to bar entry from, permitting them to grant entrance to their allies if necessary.
Using this, the Aura Wielders plus Adrest fled into the alternate world. And, to ensure that the Garufans would cease their pursuit, the few who stayed behind made a show of destroying their settlements and performing mass ‘suicides’ to solidify the illusion of their demise. Initially, the Garufans were unconvinced of this and continued their hunt, only ceasing when they realised that they could find neither hair nor hide of the Aura Wielders. It was as if they had vanished into thin air, like they never existed to begin with...
In reality, the remaining ones had willingly forced a transformation upon themselves to throw the Garufans off their tails, hiding away from the world until the end of the Kalos War and subsequently the Garufan Civilisation’s collapse. Once the danger has passed, they came out of hiding and continued to keep watch over the region as its protectors... though a few chose to leave and carve out a new path for themselves.
Meanwhile, things had went from bad to worse for the ones taking part in the exodus. As it turned out, the atmosphere of the alternate world was extremely incompatible with their heritage, causing them to gradually lose their abilities and/or die a slow, painful death. For reasons unknown, Adrest was immune to its effects.
It was soon discovered that the Paradigm Crest was able to counteract the atmosphere’s erosion of their bodies, allowing them to live without compromising on their inherent powers. So, with great reluctance, they proposed a grim solution - one that would be considered sacrilegious had it been spoken under normal circumstances.
The solution was to select one of their numbers to become the next host for the Paradigm Crest, pass on their position to their ‘heir’ and the cycle repeats, thus allowing the bloodline to survive long enough for their eventual return.
After Adrest, the next host was Altair - then leader of the Aura Wielders. When the time came, she passed on the role to her daughter, which was handed down to her own daughter and so on. And to mark the bearer of this position, each of them inherited the key to the illusory realm and they were expected to pass it down to their successor. This went on for 200 years, with a girl named Freja becoming the next-in-line for the position; she succeeded her mother at the age of 16.
However, she bore immense bitterness towards this tradition, blaming it as the cause of her mother’s misery and eventual death, and swore never to continue this seemingly bloodstained custom for the sake of her own children. Ironically, she would end up participating in this very tradition that she swore never to take part in... for the sake of reviving her dying newborn. And unbeknownst to Freja, in what looked to be an act of motherly sacrifice, she had unwittingly burdened her daughter with the weight of the world and more...
#pokemon rejuvenation#part 2 people!#ok this is a lot heavier than the last post#guess i've gotten too carried away with this#in case it wasn't clear in the last para#the newborn was artemis who would later become hauyne#so by extension. orion is a direct descendant of the aura wielders as well#and by all rights they were supposed to be the next host after their mother#but because freja refused to take part in it#it didn't happen#instead artemis was the one who became the host#because she was born too early and was dying as a result#so freja transferred the crest into her in the hopes it would save her life#while artemis lived. freja died minutes later#ok. i think that's all that i couldn't cover in the main text#next post: the mechanics of aura wielding#chroniclerverse
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Who is the Old King of the Eclipse?
(This is meant to be an introduction and exploration into the eponymous removed NPC from ds3. Fair warning this is a very long post. I will try to link all my sources for this, so if it’s not on a hyperlink, I compiled it at the end of the text. This also assumes some familiarity with the game itself. I wrote it mostly at like 2 am so I can’t super promise on quality here)
Well, who is he? The Eclipsed King(蝕の王), Old King of the Eclipse (蝕の老王) or Black Old King is an unused character from Dark Souls 3, identified through fragmentary information within the game data. Visually, he shares the exact same model and moveset as Pontiff Sulyvahn (indeed, pontiff’s model is still named “BlackOldKing”), and functioned as the final boss to an earlier iteration of the plot.
The Black Old King was presumably encountered on Firelink Shrine after an event tied to the bell tower; previously locked, and only accessible after the endgame. The bell could then be rung, triggering an undescribed cutscene that would allow this final area to be accessed, similar to the Nexus, the Hunter’s dream, and the original Shrine in other Fromsoft titles. His battle theme (or the music file attributed to the “last boss” of the area) is a variation of the current menu theme.
But what about his function in the rest of the story? Sadly, a lot of the information about this early version of Dark Souls 3 was either purged in the subsequent rewrites, or never got to be developed in the first place. Very little remains to learn even basic qualities of his character. Still, there are some inferences that can be politely guessed from what other information we do possess. Thus, like the shorter section above is dedicated only to cut content explicitly mentioning the Old King, this one will utilize both aspects present in the released product and unused elements otherwise not directly related to him in order to speculate on his role during development. I’ll refer to him from here on out as “Sabled King” for convenience.
Firstly, his appearance. The most striking trait from Sabled King’s design, to which the player’s eyes will first be drawn to, are the pair of luminescent great-swords he wields. The larger one, wrapped in flames, is held by his right hand; the other glows a grim, ethereal purple, and stands to his left. In the base game, they now carry their own separate stories; but together here, before the scenarios that would contextualise their current lore were written, their juxtaposition is indexical of a much simpler concept: the Eclipse.
As for his clothing, he wears a set of tattered robes adorned with swirling, vine-like patterns. Some of his opulent jewellery also follows a botanic theme, like the blossom shaped gems of his bracelet or, most obviously, his golden tree-branch crown. The exception to this are his black stone necklaces, more akin to eyes than any sort of plant ornament. However, behind all this garnishment, the body itself is emaciated and frail; it resembles tree bark, covered in roots that grow from the bottom of its cape up to and over its head. His face is smooth and has no features, overgrown with black tendrils.
On his second phase, a pair of arboreal butterfly wings burst out from his back, surrounded in an inky aura. It’s also then that the gimmick of this battle is revealed, in which a ghostly clone (nicknamed “black old king shade” in the files) will perform his attacks in anticipation to his own. Darkness overcoming light, another example of the eclipse.
Next, of course, is the Eclipse proper. Although the word itself is never used in the base game script, it features quite heavily on unused content. Many character data names feature the epithet formula “[NOUN] of the Eclipse”. Namely, the Wolf of Farron, the Dancer, the garden slugs, Red Knight (NPC version of what would become Soul of Cinder) and The Pilgrims. Additionally, an unused multiplayer mechanic would employ ceremonies in order to “eclipse the world in shadows”, opening it for online multiplayer. The shape of this ceremonial sword imitates an eclipsed solar disk being lifted into the sky; a piece of iconography also present in the crosses of crucifixion woods. Finally, while it is featured in the final product, the aftermath of the eclipse seemed to be originally much more dire. Leaked screenshots and concept art picture the sun bleeding dark ichor into the ruined earth below, as well as amphipteres, flying in a twilit sky. The Eclipse is a very obvious manifestation of the waning Age of Fire as it is replaced by the Age of Dark. The darksign, a symbol associated with the never-ending cycle of firelinking and the submission of mankind to the gods, is visibly subverted into that which brings the ruling age of men in the eschatological narrative of Dark Souls. It also embodies another theme in this title: the synthesis of fire and darkness.
This brings us into how Darkness and Vegetation are thematically interlinked. Now, the intersection between these two spheres is not a novelty in the Souls series: from Darkroot Garden to the parenchymatic veins metastasizing on the chests of hollows, it’s already a long-standing connection. Nonetheless, Dark Souls 3 builds on this link by presenting the dendrofied corpses of the undead, locked in positions of prayer or rest as they turn into greenery. Indeed, there is a voracity to the growths of the environments they stand, covering every surface of every building in the earlier areas, bursting out of the ground and wrapping the stone in creeping limbs. This overabundance of roots, ravenously enveloping all they can grasp, is symbolically charged in many different ways: it’s the metaphysical rot of the order of the old world as it deteriorates; it’s the chthonic and earthly essence of the dark; it’s the concept of kegare and the correlations between profanity and filth, present in some form through all of From-software’s titles.
However, what requires special focus now is the temporal aspect of this “devouring”. Something exists in a past state of glory, and then it decomposes and is consumed in the future. The kanji used for eclipse in DS3, “蝕” (Shoku), can also be interpreted as corrosion, rot, to be ruined, to be carrion-eaten (Mushibamu). It’s used, for example, in the miracle “gnaw”, and in Wolnir’s Holy Sword when describing how it was eroded by the abyss. Eclipse, occultation, is as much a verb as it is a noun. Dark succeeds light like Kaathe’s “course of nature” dictates, and new life is born from this decomposition, illustrated in the insectoid or larval anatomies of many abyss-related enemies. The blend of arboreal and lepidopterous imagery in the Old King is yet but another layer to this.
So, the cosmos is nearing a metamorphosis; one that will completely overturn reality itself. How can anyone know what such a future will look like after the cataclysm? How can anyone... see this new world? Well, they can’t! Darkness is unknowable by essence; it’s where narrative falls apart. When you rescue Dusk from Manus in the chasm of Oolacile, that section of the tale is never even considered, so the role of saviour is attributed to the doomed Artorias instead. Kaathe’s tale of the furtive pygmy is similarly only told while in the abyss. Wherever shadows gather is where explanation is forgotten, expunged or denied. What if the world entire became such a location, comprised only of potential and never of certainty? Then it would live on, yet its curtains would be drawn to us, the audience. The series could end at last. This metanarrative within the apocalyptic premise to the end of the trilogy is embodied in a final type of imagery associated with the Sabled King: Eyes covered in blackness.
The most obvious example, though belonging to the released version, are the firekeeper’s eyes. They are themselves located inside one of those dark corners of the world: the Untended Graves, an optional location. Only after traversing a pitch-black version of the tutorial area, behind a series of illusory walls, that you are able to find them. Every NPC that can react to them does so in abject horror because, in their own words, they allow you to glimpse an existence after the age of fire. They give access to the self-descriptive ending “The End of Fire”.
This motif ties in to the Sabled King through a couple of other elements. Firstly, with the visual impression of the eclipse, resembling a black pupil surrounded by a blazing iris, suspended in the heavens; a comparison made explicitly in Berserk, one of the franchise’s main inspirations. Secondly, through the Pontiff’s eye rings. Like the firekeeper’s, they’re specifically described as “black eyes”. Similarly, they are also objects of horror to those who use them, transforming its bearers into monstrosities.
This last point is an aside, but still necessary for the end-goal of this section: the Sabled King is linked to Lothric Castle. As aforementioned, his location in game was to be Firelink Shrine, physically a part of the High Wall; but the castle itself is also named “Eclipsed King’s Castle” (蝕の王城) on the data. This link is reinforced by the statue on the winged knight square. It’s usually assumed to be an idealized depiction of Prince Lothric, but a key detail stands out: It’s holding the profaned greatsword, the burning blade belonging to Pontiff Sulyvahn. One could infer that the statue is a relic from a prior development stage. Also worthy of note is that he looks very young; and is not yet carrying the greatsword of judgement, linked to the dark.
Finally, with all of this in mind, we can try our hand in imagining what this character’s role beyond a final boss was. I warn this next bit especially is, like any other interpretation on a topic this fragmented, an educated guess at best; in the end, contradicting speculations have just as much validity as this one.
Given the ceremonial greatsword, his location at firelink shrine and the title of king, we can posit the claim that he was, like all other eminent kings before him, a linker of the fire, possibly belonging to Lothric (the kingdom). Human lords that participate in firelinking inherit the mantle of Gwyn, the first Lord, through ritual sacrifice; by immolating themselves on the First Flame (the anima mundi/motor of history), the world begat by the Age of Light is reborn (ekpyrosis), and the inevitable ruin of darkness is kept at bay. This re-enactment, by associating its participants with Gwyn, serves as a symbol of power, but also submission, since it ultimately denies and utilises humanity for the perpetuation of the flame. The epithet “Lord of Cinder”, or “薪の王” (Firewood king), makes this instrumentalization explicit (i.e. they are literal fuel).
There is an oddity to this particular instance, though. While Sabled King does have aspects evocative of Gwyn, he very starkly presents them through a corrupted lens (mushibamu once again), distorted by his darkness. This posits another claim: on his trajectory to lordship, some undisclosed event ought to have darkened him. The recurrence of eyes makes me think it was perhaps, in very broad terms, something he saw, or was revealed to. Perhaps it resulted in a self-willed severance from the Light, like Lothric, or a tragic fall from grace, like Artorias, or something else entirely; but the fact remains that this change, whatever its nature, was either foreshadowed or embodied by the possession of the greatsword of judgement, contrasting with its brighter counterpart. It’s the source of the juxtaposition and subversion that define this character, the personification of what the eclipse is; it follows that the same temporal formula it postulates, dark overcoming light, was also inscribed unto him.
The last, but not least important inference, is that he was dead long before the events of the plot were meant to begin. This comes from the multiple references to a resurrection in old data, and the implication of the bell tower in Firelink Shrine (Similar to Gwyn’s bells of awakening in DS1). To need require resurrection, something first needs to perish, though this creates the corollary that he did link the first flame, even if darkened. Nonetheless, the existence of the “beckoners of the eclipse” and other similarly named characters imply that whatever plan or ability he had that could usher the Age of Dark was carried through posthumously.
Overall, the King of the Eclipse embodies what bothered me so much in Dark Souls 3’s identity crisis. The game sets itself so much to be an end-of-the-world narrative concluding the series, and yet it just can’t let itself end. The apocalyptic overtones are dropped after the climax, and even in the “end of fire” ending the dialogue suggests this isn’t truly a conclusion. The constant referencing of older titles solely for appeal just makes it seem like this title can’t stand by itself, like a cardboard prop, a soulsborne themed attraction in an amusement park. It’s part of what makes cut content so compelling specifically regarding this game, I think, because it explains a lot of why some elements of the finalised version feel so flat or underdeveloped, and yet every so often seem to reach for something genial. The possibility of another story, one with a much stronger sense of finality, is alluring. Ultimately, only the game as we received it exists, but it’s still a fun exercise to imagine the other paths that development would take, something I hope this post was able to do.
On “Sabled” – I used this moniker as opposed to the simpler “Old King” just to differentiate him from the thousand other “Old Kings” in this franchise. The “Sabled” here comes from “Black Old King”, and the way the English localization in III chose to employ the words “sable” and “sabled” instead of merely “black” when naming Sable Church of Londor (plainly “Black Church” originally). Sabled king literally just means “black king”.
On the King proper- [ x x x x x ] These are a bit blink-and-you’ll-miss-it but it’s because I genuinely thought there were clearer primary sources coming directly from Lance McDonald. He does seem to acknowledge it on an above source related to the music but otherwise I’m drawing a blank on it. Either it did exist and was deleted or I honest to god imagined it. There’s also this [x] one but I’m a bit sceptical about this video.
Some Credits:
-The specific use of the term “dendrofication” to refer to the way the hollows grow tree-like features comes from LokeySouls, on this specific post.
-You’ve already seen it but Lance McDonald’s content is probably why most of this is even known to me. Likewise because of ZullieTheWitch, Sanadsk, Sinclair Lore and Sophie JSF.
-The post on growths in DS3 is from @doshmanziari here on tumblr. His blog is generally a phenomenal read so I super recommend it.
#Dark Souls#dark souls#old king of the eclipse#well! got it in time for the anniversary so!#soulsborne#pontiff sulyvahn#dark souls meta
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Airi
Image by Appupen, © Blaft Publications. Accessed at the India Times here
[I will be putting Ghosts, Monsters and Demons of India back on the shelf for a while. Not because I've finished with the monsters it has to offer. But because I have so many commissions! It's more work to completely develop new mechanics and track down art work than it is to convert material from one RPG to another. So I'm going to be alternating between Dark Sun monsters and commissions for the next month or so, and hopefully build up a backlog of one or the other. Peek behind the curtain, I am posting these the day after they're written, with little time for things like queuing. Or proofreading, unfortunately.
The airi comes from Kumaon in Uttarakhand, in the north of India near the Himalaya. Airi Devata is worshiped as a deity by some people here. So hopefully I didn't overstep my bounds. Even as a god, he's the kind who kills you if you come eye to eye with him, so I (and the authors of Ghosts, Monsters and Demons of India) figured he still fits comfortably into the monster category.]
Airi
CR 15 LE Undead
This man has a regal air about him despite his monstrous appearance. His eyes sit at the top of his skull. He has four arms, two of which clutch bows and two of which hold a passel of arrows.
An airi is an undead creature created from the remains of a nobleman who died while on a hunting expedition. They continue to hunt beyond the grave, seeking powerful foes worthy of their talents. They especially delight in hunting other undead creatures, typically giving them the chance to join its retinue or be slain. As such, an established airi has beaters, hound-keepers and other staff on hand, who also serve it as cannon fodder on especially dangerous hunts. Airi are fond of canine monsters to serve it as hunting hounds, but only strong monsters such as Nessian warhounds can keep up with its demands.
An airi has four arms, and they typically wield two shortbows, filling the air with a cloud of arrows at once. Enemies with weak wills flee them immediately, and these may be allowed to live in order to spread tale of the airi’s prowess if the monster has more worthy challengers to attack at the same time. They spit frequently, and this spittle contains a deadly pathogen. Those slain by this disease rise as ghosts, whereupon the airi gets the opportunity to hunt them a second time. If it is bested, or feeling magnanimous, an airi may even heal an opponent after a battle or give them some item of esteem. This should not be interpreted as a permanent reprieve, however, as the airi may hunt that same target again in the future.
Because of their role fighting and slaying powerful monsters and undead, airi are sometimes seen as protective figures by people living in the same regions as they do. This is not because of any kindness or generosity out of the airi’s part, but because it doesn’t feel that killing them would be any sport. Innocents are sometimes struck by an errant arrow, or are attacked by an airi’s retinue, but the airi scarcely notices. To properly propitiate this fickle creature, locals will sometimes create idols, make blood sacrifices, or trick powerful-seeming travelers into venturing into an airi’s territory.
Airi CR 15
XP 15,200
LE Medium undead
Init +9; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Perception +23, see invisibility
Aura fear (30 ft., panicked 1 minute, Will DC 26)
Defense
AC 30, touch 26, flat-footed 20 (+9 Dex, +1 dodge, +6 deflection, +4 natural)
hp 220 (21d8+126); fast healing 10
Fort +13, Ref +16, Will +18
DR 15/magic; Immune undead traits
Defensive Abilities ghostly shield
Offense
Speed 30 ft.
Melee masterwork trident +21/+16/+11 (1d8+7), masterwork dagger +21/+16/+11 (1d4+7/19-20), 2 slams +17 (1d4+3) or 4 slams +22 (1d4+7)
Ranged +1 composite shortbow +23/+23/+17/+17/+12/+12 (1d6+8/19-20x3), spittle +19 touch (disease)
Special Attacks double bow technique, ghostly grasp
Spell-like Abilities CL 15th, concentration +21
At will—pass without trace, see invisibility
3/day—confusion (DC 20), freedom of movement, phantom palanquin, scorching ray
1/day—fire storm (DC 24), harm (DC 22), heal (DC 22), summon (2 nessian warhounds, 100%, 8th level)
Statistics
Str 25, Dex 29, Con -, Int 15, Wis 22, Cha 22
Base Atk +15; CMB +22; CMD 48
Feats Deadly Aim, Dodge, Double Slice, Greater Two-Weapon Fighting, Improved Critical (composite shortbow), Improved Two-Weapon Fighting, Mounted Archery, Mounted Combat, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Two-Weapon Fighting
Skills Acrobatics +23, Bluff +20, Intimidate +23, Knowledge (nature) +16, Knowledge (religion) +19, Perception +23, Ride +23, Stealth +26, Survival +20
Languages Common, Infernal, Necril, Sylvan
Ecology
Environment any forests or plains
Organization solitary or retinue (1 plus 0-4 bhuta, 0-6 baykoks and 1-8 nessian warhounds)
Treasure standard (2 +1 composite shortbows (+7 pull), 60 arrows, masterwork trident, masterwork dagger, other treasure)
Special Abilities
Double Bow Technique (Ex) With its four arms and archery skills, an airi can treat shortbows and composite shortbows as if they were light weapons for the purposes of dual wielding.
Ghostly Grasp (Su) An airi can make attacks with natural and manufactured weapons as if they possessed the ghost touch property.
Ghostly Shield (Su) An airi gains its Charisma modifier as a deflection bonus to Armor Class and CMD.
Phantom Palanquin (Sp) This spell functions as a phantom steedspell, except that the palanquin has 20 hit points + 1 per caster level (or 35 hit points for the average airi) and grants any creature riding it cover. This is the equivalent of a 5th level spell.
Spittle (Ex) An airi can spit as a swift action. Treat this as a ranged touch attack with a range of 10 feet and five range increments. A creature struck takes no damage, but is exposed to the following disease
Airi fever; spittle—contact; save Fort DC 26; onset immediate; frequency 1/day; effect 2d4 Con drain; cure magic only. This is a supernatural disease, and the save DC is Charisma based. A creature reduced to 0 Con by airi fever dies and rises as a ghost 1 day later.
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Project Updates - What to Look Forward To
<3 Hello all! I've realized (humbly) that I have a small following of very nice people that seem quite interested in what I've written so far, and after seeing some mutuals post update-status posts, I thought I should share what's going on with my projects, also. (Thanks for the encouragement, @queenmuzz!)
Updated Dec-10-20
Sons of Fortune
Probably somehow my main focus now, though I am steadily working on other works. Currently working on the “In Between” special short before I start on Chapter 12.
I would also like to talk a little bit about my plans for this story: if anyone has paid attention to this story's tags, yes, I am touching up on the plots of most of the games. In fact, all of them, and the anime. (I already dealt with DMC4. No, I will not tear apart Fortuna lol.) Not all relevant tags are in, yet, because small spoilers. It looks like it's going to be a long while before I even get to the Temen-ni-gru, though. (There is a reason why that event is getting pushed back.) I want to have fun with the family fluff that is the twins each learning how to parent, first.
Hell Froze Over, and We Shall Reignite It
The drama of it all! Dante and Vergil are finally back from Hell, and Nero doesn’t even know his mother is now standing right in front of him. Meanwhile, even I’m anticipating seen how Snow and Dante is going to handle the obvious things currently unsaid... and I have a feeling a small measure of stupidity is still going to be involved.
Current chapter progress: Outline complete.
It's going to feel so interesting, shifting from "Fortune" back to Reignite. I get to write Sera and Vergil falling in love all over again, with a different set of circumstances. Whoa.
And, and... Nero meeting Sera... odd that I'm saying this as the writer, but I have a "I hope he likes his mom" feeling going on.
Also, no doubt Dante's brain is going to 404 when he sees Snow.
Nico prepares popcorn.
This is Not an Office Rom-Com
I have... about 8 new skits planned out. Nothing more written just yet.
That’s all I’m saying about this for now. =P
Hierarchy of Kings
Purely indulgent M/M romance of Vergil and an OC, existing all thanks to
@wordborne
Working on chapter 2.
I know I said 3 chapters only. I might have lied depending on how much I want to write. It's supposed to be just... awkward fluff of a listless part-devil who somewhat-recently lost his mate, got in a bit of a tiff with his brother, and now his children are trying to set him up with the prospective-king-of-hell, Vergil.
I think about this one a lot but I haven't written anything new for it yet, only because "Fortune" is taking over my life right now, haha.
Through the Lens of the Beholder
Okay, so...This story has no real plot. As a result, my drive for it is purely down to "if I think of a badass or cool photograph to describe." There is a TINY bit of plot. Only a little. And I don't know when I'll update. But this is why I'm trying not to START new projects. Four is a lot already! But because this one is supposed to be simpler than the other two, I will most likely finish this one before the others, so I can open a new project.
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Speaking of new projects... Here are things ideas bouncing through my head:
- I still have a prompt from @maybeishouldwait sitting in my inbox. I WILL have it done one day, when I find the perfect way to write it.
A whole, entirely royally late set of Dadgil week fics.
Yep. I want to write them. They just won’t be on time.
Written in Ink
A plot-less post-DMC5 story.
I say plot-less. There is a plot. The plot is:
Dante: Damn it, Verge, are you trying to turn my office into a zoo??
In which Vergil compulsively starts contracting strong demons he's defeated, left and right, because he's discovered "the joy of pets." The demons all take on a dark animistic form and things get wild.
A Persona and DMC fusion/AU
I have no title for this yet, and I absolutely cannot start this one until I have finished one of my other big projects. This one will take a lot of big planning, because I am making a new plot, using the mechanics of Persona, with DMC characters and setup.
What I want to write, is a teenage Nero as the protagonist, trying to solve a mystery... probably starting with the sudden disappearance of his mother. (Most likely Sera.) And he meets a lot of "new" people, and even finds new family... and yes, he will find his dad. (I'm thinking he'll know about Vergil, though. At least in name and a photo? Isn't that an interesting difference?)
For those of you not familiar with Persona, the major theme I really want to play with is that of the protagonist growing as a person (and in power) by befriending different people that helps them grow as a person. Each party member and important NPC is represented by a Tarot Card, signifying the type of journey the protagonist (The Fool) "embarks" with that character. There is growth in both the protagonist and that characters.
Again, this is ambitious to try and pull off... but it's in the back of my head. I'll focus on it once I've cleared some other stuff.
Sugar Sweet
A somewhat short-chapter series reader fic... of a surgeon/doctor!reader (barely 30 and good at what you do) who often saves the lives of shady people (e.g. mafia) because you care about saving lives, not the politics. But you do make good money out of it. (Hey, you gotta be at least a bit morally ambiguous if you're going to deal with devils.)
You meet one mess of a young mercenary named Dante, who is totally not human and deals with things like having bullets healed into his back, and he can't reach them to cut them out.
Dante doesn't care about bills for his office, or a lot of the debts in his life. You don't know where his money is going, or if he even makes much money at all (for the kind of specialty work he does? Money's going somewhere, but that's none of your business.)
You won't pay Dante's bills, or his debts, but he will accept pizza and ice cream. And new parts for his jukebox. And maybe a motorcycle. Or a new coat. Or a new car...
And you might complain to him about your dumb patients. Or just listen to him talk about his job. Or you two watch a movie together.
And this just continues. For years.
Tokusatsu DMC fusion/AU
So. First thing's first: I'm a big fan of Sentai/Tokusatsu. What is that, you might ask? It's a Japanese genre, and if you're familiar with Power Rangers, that's derived from Sentai.
Basically: Masked heroes with transformation gadgets, sometimes with motorcycles, fighting against evil. ("Magical girls" but strictly the opposite, a lot more physical combat involved, may involve upgrade gadgets, and not strictly limited to male heroes though mostly a male cast. Also not strictly for male-only audience. Girls like the eye-candy, too. :eyes-emoji:)
Why am I thinking about this?
Because I have found out that: Vergil's VA, Dan Southworth, was the Quantum Ranger (WHICH WAS RED). Nero's VA, Johnny Yong Bosch, was a Black Ranger and a Green Ranger.
...And Dante's VA, Reuben Langdon, had a role in a Japanese Toku show as "B-Fighter Yanma" forever ago???? (HE WAS BLUE!!)
What am I going to do with this info? I'll let you know later. But my Sentai/Toku-loving little heart is about to burst with hyperfixation overlap.
If I ever write this out, expect it to be just as cheesy as an actual Kamen Rider show. Or, at the very least, expect some art. I love Kamen Rider stuff!
Family Fantasy MMO
Snow introduces Dante, Vergil, Nero, and Kyrie to Final Fantasy 14 (because that’s the MMO I play) for family bonding. Yep. Mainly for silly indulgence.
Stardew Valley Visit
Post DMC5, Vergil and Dante accidentally end up going on a vacation when they try to leave Hell. No pairing with the farmer, but instead just a relaxing and somewhat introspective moment of the boys being stuck with most of their power temporarily sealed, learning how to take care of a farm, and maybe do a bit of healing by interacting with the townsfolk while they try to find out where their swords went and how to get home.
Re-Colourize
Otherwise what I would call the “re-colour of Nero and Snow” AU.
What if Vergil was found by Kassy’s family and raised among them? What if Dante ended up briefly in Fortuna and then convinced Sera to run away from the island?
What if we have a Nero who, though brash, is outwardly more soft and open-hearted, and has red-orange and gold colours instead? What if we have a Snow who is named Chiyuki, who wields her katana more like Vergil does, and has a more ice-queen aura about her, and has a teal and blue colouring about her?
This is my excuse to switch up the pairings, but also write Vergil being taught to fight more like an assassin.
Raised by the Blade
Imagine: Yamato, cracked, broken, and separated from her Master... desperately searching for a way to get back to him, and ended up washed up on the shores of Fortuna. Humanoid, but clearly not if anyone saw the cracked, broken, and no-normal look of “shattered” in her torso, that she would have to keep covered.
Made from the power of Sparda, she is pale with white hair... and she finds herself drawn to the orphanage...
Where she finds the toddler that is Nero.
Devil Hunters’ Podcast
Nico “accidentally” finds entertainment in recording the Sparda Family arguments as they talk about hunting; after all, they all share one braincell.
Ascended Monochrome
A white angel remains by the side of Nelo Angelo. Mundus was not pleased by the behavior of his second creation, from the human woman that he had picked up with the treacherous Son of Sparda. But he later discovered that by using her, he could keep Nelo Angelo complacent. Eventually, underestimating love will be his downfall.
Fall to Royalty
A story of where Vergil wins against Mundus the first time, and takes the throne of Hell. But what is he to do next? Eventually, ruling Hell seemed meaningless when there was no one by his side, so he goes to seek out the Lady Knight that he had vowed to never think of or go back to unless he had obtained the power he sought.
Doppelganger Woes
So, I heard Capcom retconned Gilver to be some sort of imitation created by Mundus. I’m all for this! And I’m going to DO something with this.
Side-Project: DMC Tarot List
I started on this maybe months ago; and I have a tentative list oh what characters go with what card and a few detailed descriptions. I think I should confer with
@harlot-of-oblivion
at some point about this, and anyone else interested in, well, Tarot stuff.
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Borderlands 3 - Breakdown Mega Thread.
Well holy shit guys. We got a teaser trailer full of good things, now we’ve got a full blown Borderlands 3 trailer. And there is certainly some things to unpack. We’re left pretty clueless as to what the majority of the story will be like, but we’re given enough to know what some of the driving points of the game will be. If you want to avoid spoilers quit now, I’m going to do my best to connect some dots. This is an initial reaction / speculation thread. Once again. Some of this is pretty surface level, other parts are pure speculation.
Here’s what I touch on:
Vault Hunters
The Antagonists
Sirens / A Siren theory
7 years between BL2 and BL3?
Psychos + Bandits
*just an fyi, if I put a “ ~ “ it means I’m not sure about the information.
So we have our Vault Hunters.
First up is ~Amara the Siren. Other than the fact that we see her spouting six glowing arms, we’re not all to sure what her siren abilities are. During one of the “montage” sequences in the trailer we do get a single first-person shot of a siren using Phase Lock on an enemy. Seeing as we were not going to be playing as Maya, I’d say ~Amara has several Phase abilities.
Next is Flak, the android Beast Mast / Hunter class. The full extent of his abilities are unknown with the rest of the Vault Hunters but as his class name suggests, he seems to control / have an array of pets to assist in battle. Something notable about his pets is that they seem to sport some mechanical enhancements (image 2). The other notable thing about Flak is that at one point he’s firing a gun and there seems to be an aura growing around him (image 3). Presumably it’s an aura that damages nearby enemies, and maybe giving buffs to allies. I’m fairly certain this is going to be the class I start as.
And now we have Moze the Bot Jock. Her ability seems to be centered around calling in a Mech / Titan / Bot of some kind to assist in battle. Taking it a step further than Mordecai, Gaige, and Wilhelm who could summon assistance in battle, Moze’s ally seems to be an ally that she can ride / control by not only herself, but by her allies as well (image 3). Of the four new Vault Hunters, I suspect Moze is going to be the tankiest.
And last among our new Vault Hunter’s is Zane the Operative. His ability seems to be similar to that of Zero and Timothy (Jack’s body double) in utilizing a device that conjures a holographic clone of himself, most likely to draw the fire of enemies rather than taking it himself. My best guess for Zane is that he’s our sniper class, and relies on tactical approaches to combat. Judging by clothes, he seems to be wealthy. Wealthy enough to afford a holographic-cloning device.
Now this is where I get really excited. I think a number of us were waiting see if Lilith would be an antagonist or an anti-hero in this game, and while this remains unknown she is certainly going to play a big part of this game and will carry a significant amount of focus from the antagonists.
I think the biggest takeaway from our two antagonists is that the female is a siren! Take a look at those glowing tattoos in the first image above and this second one we only got a single frame of in a “montage sequence”. So these two seem to be at the head of a cult-like movement / organization called The Children of the Vault, which was alluded to in the Battleborn easter egg. What the purpose or beliefs of this cult is I’m not too sure yet. But they do seem to have a fixation on the Vault Symbol upside down.
This is where it gets real interesting. Let’s take a look at a couple images of Lilith:
With these first two images everything seems to be fairly normal. Lilith does seem to be alone but that isn’t so surprising judging by the end of TPS. She had some different views and has probably ventured out on her own some to explore herself. Now it gets scary. It seems like the new Antagonist Siren has the ability to strip away the powers of other Sirens AND gift them to someone else, even if they’re male! Check this out.
Below we see Lilith crawling towards a Vault Key. The significance is unknown, but could it be the “key” to an extraordinary power like stripping a Siren’s powers? Notice Lilith’s tattoos are gone both on her arm and chest.
So knowing now that Lilith’s powers have been stripped away, watch the interaction between our two antagonists in the background. When they clasp arms an energy seems to transfer between the two, leaving the male with glowing tattoos! It seems like Lilith’s powers have been stripped away and gifted to a male!
We know in Borderlands lore that only six Sirens can exist at any given point in time, and that they are female. Well our male certainly didn’t come about the powers in the “natural” way, but it seems like we’re going to be dealing with two Siren antagonists.
So now we know out antagonists are certainly a pair to be reckoned with. Can they take away the powers of more than one Siren, making themselves even more powerful? I suspect we will get into this as we are reintroduced to Maya alongside a new addition to Borderlands.
Is this Maya’s daughter? Neophyte? Someone who became a Siren after the passing of Angel in BL2? Well we don’t know. But we will soon! If she is a Siren as I suspect she is, then our Antagonists will not only have their eyes on Maya but this young ~girl as well.
In the “Mask of Mayhem” there is an image of a character model passing a book to a small child, I assumed they were Sirens as the Siren class mod is a book. Here is the image below.
I’m going to take that image as further proof that this young one is indeed a Siren that Maya is either passing the mantle to, or at least teaching her the ropes.
But now that brings into question the character model that I believe is the “counter-part” to our young Siren: this individual below.
Is this individual also a Siren, but one already under the control of the Antagonists? Again. Speculation...
Onto some less serious topics and giving some first impressions!
Below we have Rhys standing with Zero! It’s nice to see these two decided to stick together for a bit. As the head of Atlas, it looks like Rhys has reinstated the Crimson Lance to some degree. It also looks as though his mechanical arm has a couple of bugs...
Also notable is his mustache. Now this gets into a topic matter that I’ve seen rumored, a nd that’s that BL3 takes place roughly 7 years after BL2. That could explain why Rhys is in a secure enough position to pay a Vault Hunter (Zer0) to be his body guard AND reinstate a small army.
Further backing this 7 year theory is Maya and the young girl. If a small child came into a Siren’s power after the passing of Angel she could have been only a couple years old and would now reach the age she is standing next to Maya. This also explains Maya’s very long hair.
Another factor is Tiny Tina’s age! She’s not so tiny anymore.
If it’s been 7 years, that would make Tina around 20 years old in the above image. After the passing of Roland, and Lilith leaving (presumably) it seems like Brick and Mordecai took Tina under their wing to raise her as a Vault Hunter in training! She certainly looks the part with grenades strapped to her forearm.
My last point on this “7 year theory” is that if I’m remembering correctly, in Borderlands lore the seasonal cycle of Pandora is roughly this: 1 Pandora cycle = 6 or 7 Earth cycles. This is why Pandora is so desolate. The DAHL corp shipped prisoners to Pandora as a labor force to build the beginnings of a civilization and begin mining. When they arrived most of the wildlife was hibernating so they got a pretty good start on their construction, but eventually the wildlife woke up. And began killing everyone.
DAHL pulled out and left the prisoners. And so the birth of Bandit camps full of Psychos and the rest making up the majority of what we’ve seen of Pandora with only a few hubs of “civilization”. Introduce rumors of an alien Vault, hello Vault Hunters.
If Gearbox picked up the story with only 1 or 2 years between games we’re starting to shy pretty close to a season change. Rather than re-introduce this and reminding everyone of these minute details, just fast forward a bit and age everyone accordingly.
Some Bandits and Psychos I picked out!
What’s Borderlands without a Psycho?
And we finally have a female Psycho!
A very Daft-Punk-esque Bandit.
And a... Pyro-Bandit? Pyro-Psycho? Either way he’s angry, got a couple screws loose, and wielding a flamethrower probably built by Elon Musk.
And that does it! I really wanted to give some first impressions of our Vault Hunters and out Antagonists, as well as the big deal. The fact that Lilith seems to have lost her powers... the rest will be in smaller posts or I’ll reblog this add more under the cut!
Let me know about your speculations as a “Reply” if you simply want to make a statement, if you want feedback from me / want it published be sure to send it in an “Ask”.
#borderlands#siren#vault hunters#sirens#flak#flak the beast hunter#moze#moze the bot jock#bl3#borderlands 3#FL4K#FL4K the beast master#FL4K the beast hunter
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Unlocking the Tower of Dread (and to be prepared)
There’s a few steps of unlocking the quote quote boss rush of Miitopia
1.) Beat the final boss and unlock the post game stuff
2.) Beat three out of the eight bosses in New Lumos
3.) In order to unlock it, you MUST have choose to forgive the curse and give him his face back (He’ll be waiting out in the outskirts of the map for you and open the tower up). If you don’t, repeat step 1.
To be prepared
1.) Have your Miis be at Level 50! (No exceptions!!!)
2.) Have them wear and wield the Legendary gear into battle (Again, unlocks at Level 50 and their a pain to get. Each cost you 32,000 gold)
3.) Have the HP Bananas and MP candies heal up to 400 HP and 200 MP (To upgrade them you need to eat them (oh joy))
4.) As a heads up, the bosses are the same as the ones in New Lumos. In order (Bottom to Top): King Cow, Calc King, Frog King and Queen, Dragon Lord, King of Hounds, Dark King and Queen, Evil Sage and Dark Sun (Who is the super boss of the game)
5.) Don’t you sprinkles all Willy Nilly! They don’t replenish! So you have limited uses of them, so use them wisely!
6.) Have a team with super high friendship (Preferably close to 99 at best)
7.) Say it once, say it again: You defiantly need a healer!
Classes based on usefulness
Warrior- Having Proud Protector, Snap out of it, Super Snap out of It (the class revive ability), high damaging moves base on their strength. I would bring this class to the tower over the Tank class
Mage- High magic means more firepower to their spells and have a barrier move as well to boost their defenses, again like the Warrior, I would take this along as well
Cleric- HIGHLY RECOMMENDED OVER ANY OTHER HEALING BASED CLASS!!! Heals everyone and one character. Has a revive spell that won’t miss. Also having Aura doesn’t help as well
Thief- This is questionable Class. High speed yes, but more of it’s skills requires them to hide or trap a single attack. Most of these bosses are going to attack twice with magic and attacks that ignores the trap’s effect. So this is a give or take…
Pop Star- The most useless…sadly. Their skills are heavily based off the friendship mechanics. And what happens if your Friendship is 99 across the board? Nothing. Strongly don’t bring this class to the tower…
Chef- Somewhat an replacement to the Cleric but with more physical power and better defenses. It can’t hurt to bring him along for the ride
Cat- This is a weaker version of the Warrior class with more speed. Sharpen requires a turn to power up it’s attack. But can replenish their own HP and restores an ally’s MP with Playful Antics. Bring one if your looking for a challenge
Imp- Has an ability to restore MP but makes them Hype. Have a skill to lower an enemy’s guard. Can attack a single or multiple targets. This and the Mage class goes very well together
Scientist- A mix bag class that can find ways to fight their opponents. If you don’t want to use the Imp, take this one instead as they can heal HP and MP with Cure.exe
Tank- This might be a middle of the road class. High strength and defense but doesn’t have a guard move like the Warrior does. Their standard attacks consume MP and most of the time they might be using Human Cannonball, which can break connections!!!
Flower- Next to the Pop Star, they’re the worst. Low magic meaning that their healing aren’t even worth it. Would rather bring a Cleric along instead…
Princess- A class that is again, middle of the road. Have abilities that can help dodge attacks and protects them (or ally) from status aliments. Can restore MP and deal magic damage. I would try, but don’t count on it
Vampire- If you don’t want to bring a Mage, this class can easily replace it due to high magic. A counter ability that can wither down their foes HP and an auto revive (along to pass it down to an ally) along with skills that deals damage
Elf- Another bag of tricks that is good for support. Can give out barriers like candy and can heal both HP and MP. Have a counter ability to allies and can attack all enemies. This goes well with the Vampire class
These are my opinions and how I see these Class works for the gauntlet. If you guys have any suggestions of a party, don’t be shy and shout it out.
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New Post has been published on https://lovehaswonangelnumbers.org/monthly-astro-forecasts-may-2019/
Monthly Astro-Forecasts May 2019
Monthly Astro-Forecasts May 2019
By Sarah-Jane Grace
Message for May 2019
Change is a constant in life. Sometimes we embrace it wholeheartedly and other times we resist it with every atom in our being. Occasionally we fight it, only to realise how positive it has been, and there are times when the opposite happens. We don’t live with the benefit of hindsight, so our response to change can only either be in the moment or retrospective when we look back. We may try to predict change on the path ahead, but none of us can know what lies around the next corner.
Yet, welcome it or resist it, it happens all the same. Although it’s inevitable, we often hope we can find a way to master change in order to shape and define the pathways we walk. Even though we intuitively know we can’t wield such control, it doesn’t stop us trying all the same – we are complex conundrums at times! It’s inherently human to want to master the ebb and flow of the tides, and we’re unlikely to ever stop trying, yet, there is a sense that we also need to learn the art of graceful acceptance in order to find a deeper level of peace within our hearts and souls.
There are times in our lives when we feel as though we are stuck in a cycle, going round and round, repeating the same mistakes, owning the same beliefs and not sensing any significant change when the cycle starts over again. Obviously this frustrates us, and it can leave us feeling as though we are in a kind of evolutionary stasis where we can struggle to see a way forwards. Yet, the fact we are even looking for a way forward is a sign we have made progress as we are no longer blindly walking around in circles. However, we want more than awareness, we want to see, and feel, change; we want to know that we are on the path from where we are to where we want to be.
Our eagerness to evolve and change can sometimes accelerate our evolution in ways beyond our imagination as pushing too hard, too soon, can crack the cocoon before it’s ready to hatch. A butterfly will only emerge when the times right, after all. The cocoon seems an apt description, as we are all reaching a new stage of evolution, one where we begin to unify more succinctly on all levels. It seems important for us to acknowledge the roles we play in our own destiny, to own our choices and to look within for answers (as we so often look externally). The more centred we become, the more likely we will step more consciously into each and every moment.
We are in the midst of a profound period of change, and many souls are spiralling wildly feeling lost, alone, confused and bewildered. Some of us are riding the whirlwinds with slightly less spin, allowing us to condense and distil the experiences into wisdom and knowledge. It therefore seems important for each of us (when possible) to reach out to others, to offer support, love and compassion, and to realise that whilst each of us will be experiencing these shifts differently, we are all part of the universal whole. It is our willingness to reach out, and to love, that ultimately shapes and defines us, as it’s a sign that we have finally broken out of the cocoon and stepped into a space of love and balance. Of course, we will all continue to be spun around by the whirlwinds of life as that’s a part of being alive, but we will be wiser, stronger and ever more compassionate. What defines us isn’t where we’ve been or what we aspire to be, but how we shine in this moment…
For now, I wish you all kinds of wonderful.
With love,
Sarah-Jane
Aries
♈
There seems to be something of an inner rebellion going on with you at the current time; a sense of one part of you pulling against the other. These two ‘sides’ seem to be non-linear, moveable parts, which never stay the same for long, making it hard to articulate and define the essence of this rebellion, but essentially it seems you are exploring ways to incorporate your free-spirited essence with your slightly more logical and structured side. This is no mean feat! Your free-spirit has always needed some breathing space, so being tied to the same old routine feels like being tethered in a prison cell. At times, this has been deeply challenging for you as you have also worked hard to create an ordered and structured life, one where you have clearly defined goals, and one where you are able to succinctly and concisely measure the level of your successes (and failures), as nebulousness really irks you.
So, how can you bring together these two forces when, on the surface, they seem so very different? Well, in many ways you already have brought them together as you’ve been living with them both for quite some time! Yet, there’s a sense of some friction between these two forces, a bit like a dog living with a cat, they don’t like each other, but they tolerate it. You want more than toleration; you need integration and harmony. It therefore seems important to find a way to achieve a deeper sense of peace between the two sides of your soul, as they are part of the same coin. There is no instruction manual that goes with this process, just a willingness on your part to love all aspects of yourself and to realise that they are not opposing forces, they actually work together perfectly. Just set them free…
Taurus
♉
As you continue to give your dreams and goals some much needed breathing space by allowing them to naturally grow and flourish as an integral part of your life, there is a sense you are beginning to see your life less from a perspective of dealing with never-ending challenges, but more from a perspective of compassion and tranquillity. Whilst this may not sound very vibrant or dynamic, there is a sense that you are weary of the dialogue you’ve created that sees you as one of life’s fighters, pushing on, battling away, climbing up those mountains, and always being prepared for the challenges ahead. This dialogue has hard edges and it leaves you feeling embattled, giving you little room to breathe, create and thrive. Of course, life can be a battle ground, but when your perspective feeds into this, it can be difficult to see beyond this in order to cultivate an aura of calm, creativity and compassion.
May looks set to be a month for you to step back a little in order to re-shape and re-define the ways in which you see both yourself and your life. You are a vibrant and intuitive soul, and the time has come for you to embrace this wholeheartedly now in order to shift your life from where you are to where you want to be. Whilst you may not exactly know where you want to be, you have a good idea of what needs to change in your life, and this is a good place to start. You have spent so long trying to be everything to everyone and trying to battle through each day, and it’s time now to realise that it’s fine to put down the armour and find a new way of living your life as you are ready for a more peaceful and joyful path ahead…
Gemini
♊
Life is full of moments, and moments of moments. Most of these moments are pedestrian, run of the mill moments that you don’t even notice, and there are some that stand out for a host of different reasons. Yet, all moments are equal in terms of the journey of your life, as they have all come together to make you the person you are today. This isn’t to say that some moments haven’t shaped and defined you, carving out features on the many different levels of your soul, but the other, pedestrian moments, are no less important as they are the glue that holds everything else together. It’s easy to become defined by those individual moments of pain, glory, power, grief and otherwise that take centre stage in your heart and soul, but these are not the full story of you. It’s wise to remember this now as you are embarking on a journey towards self-discovery throughout May; you are beginning to realise that the bigger picture of your life is where your focus needs to be rather than on the minutiae and intricacies of individual moments.
This isn’t to say that you should ignore the past, but it’s important not to let it define the present as you are far more than the sum of your past experiences. Of course, it’s often difficult to remember this when you are spinning around in a whirlwind of moments, many of which are clashing and colliding together, but when you take a deep breath, the whirlwind settles and you once again regain a sense of perspective. Part of the path of living consciously is to ride with the whirlwind and to realise that it’s not a force to fight, but a force to love. Love yourself and love your many parts; you are imperfectly perfect exactly as you are…
Cancer
♋
You have spent a great deal of your time focusing hard on keeping on keeping on, trying to keep the wheels on the great big bus of your life rolling even though you can see nuts, bolts and the odd wheel rolling down the hill around you. It may feel as though everything is falling apart and the carefully constructed life you’ve created is changing shape and form. Whilst your life is changing shape and form, it’s important to realise that it always does this as that’s a part of being alive. It seems clear you are currently going through a major transformation and you are facing the depths of your soul in ways you never thought possible. Big decisions may need to be made but, more importantly, take some time out for yourself as you are not the only one riding the big bus, so let others step up and take some of the strain. Nuts and bolts fall away all the time, and you are a master mechanic, keeping things tip top, but the cost of this is a lessening of your sense of self-worth, a feeling that you give so much to the rolling wheels, that you’ve lost yourself in the process.
May looks set to be a month where you ask yourself what you truly want in your life. Are you happy? Are you listening to your own needs? This isn’t about ignoring the needs of others, but it is about listening to what you truly and wholeheartedly want. This is your time; an opportunity to redefine the essence of you. This is exciting, and if bits of the bus continue to fall away, then maybe that’s because it’s time to find a new form of transportation? Use your imagination and your phenomenal intuition, and let them lead the way…
Leo
♌
As you continue to find ways of expressing your inner roar and passion, there is a sense that you are beginning to seek out ways of expanding the ‘you time’ in your life. You spend so much of your time trying to be everything to everyone else, with things to do, people to see and places to go, that you can end up never having the time to do things for yourself. It’s not that you outwardly neglect yourself, but there is a sense that you often gloss over that inner roar when you’re distracted with so many things to do, be and see. Your roar needs the space to flourish and thrive as it’s your life force and your true essence; if it becomes trapped or stifled, your colour fades, and you lose some of your effervescence and passion. Your roar is a central part of your soul, it’s that thread that weaves everything else together to make you, you.
Your roar is your way of expressing your colour, vitality and vibrancy, so it’s really important that you find ways of letting it flow freely. In the past, you may have felt your roar was inappropriate in life as it could be loud and big, and this may have led to challenges and difficulties, but your roar isn’t brash or pig-headed, it’s simply a powerful reflection of your true nature and it’s something to love and be proud of. Although Leo has a reputation for being loud and colourful, your colours are vibrant, but subtle. In fact, much of the loudness comes from trying to be everything to everyone else. Just realise that there is still plenty of room for you to pick up your brush and make your mark; this is your time to create a brand-new way of living and being..
Virgo
♍
As you embrace the winds of change which continue to gather momentum within your heart and soul, there is a sense you are beginning to feel a sense of connection with the swirling winds as they begin to carve out a new pathway in your life. As yet, you are not quite sure where this pathway is heading, but you seem content with this uncertainty as your focus is in the here and now, watching the winds swirling around and gazing in awe as they carve out new shapes and forms. You have always been observant, and your abilities to see the finer details in life have allowed you to explore so much. At the same time though, you have also found yourself lost in the details, unable to see the bigger picture, and it can be hard knowing you’re in a forest when all you can see is the tiny piece of bark you have under your microscope. Whilst you will always be a details person, don’t forget that you are also a bigger picture person as well.
Fine details need context in order for you to make sense of them. So, step back to see the tree, the forest, the continent, the planet, the solar system, the universe. Use your intuitive prowess to discover new terrain within your heart and soul in order to ride those winds of change with courage and confidence. Whilst you have no idea where these winds will take you, enjoy the ride and try to stop clinging on so tightly as you move from fear to peace. May looks set to be a month for re-discovering your true nature and realising that there is plenty of room for fun and breathing space amongst the finer details. Just remember, this is your life, so live it well…
Libra
♎
‘The day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom’. Risk by Anaïs Nin has come to represent something quite powerful for Libra recently, a sense of being on the verge of bursting forth renewed and reinvigorated, but feeling held back by the safety of the knowable darkness of the bud. You have reached a kind of critical mass; a time where staying as you are feels untenable even though you know that stepping into new terrain feels unknowable, unpredictable and incomprehensible. Yet, despite this, you intuitively know that you have to move forward as it’s time to burst free and bloom.
You have spent a great deal of your life hovering on the periphery of here and there. In many ways, this is something we all do as we are always in between here and there as that’s called life, yet, you feel this very deeply and you have struggled to feel at peace with hovering as you intuitively know that whilst you are slowly moving towards the horizon marked ‘there’, you are holding back slightly, feeling the safety of being in bud, of being wrapped up and cocooned. There are a myriad of reasons as to why being a bud has captivated you for so long, but you are ready now to set yourself free in order to stride towards pastures new. Living on the periphery has been tiring as you have been stuck between here and there, not quite committing to either, and the time has come for you to grab hold of your life with both hands and to face the risk of blossoming head on; it’s time to be a flower. No one knows what lies around the next corner, but you won’t find out unless you look…
Scorpio
♏
As you continue to let go of the distractions and clutter in your life, there is a sense you are beginning to breathe more deeply into the nooks and crannies left behind. For the first time in quite a while it seems as though you are able to fully inhale and exhale, and enjoy the moments in between where you are doing neither one nor the other. Space is a wonderful concept, but try not to be too keen to fill it back up again as space doesn’t mean empty. Space can fulfil an important role in its’ own right as it allows you to spend a little bit more time in that gap where you are doing nothing other than being in the moment. It’s easy to see why you would want to fill the space as you’re used to being busy in life with a plethora of things to do, people to see and places to go, and there’s a sense of trepidation with the concept of space that it may mean you end up looking at the bottom of your soul, that place you so rarely get to see.
This trepidation is only natural as it’s unfamiliar territory, but it’s not necessarily a place you should fear to tread, it’s a part of you after all. The trepidation comes from a sense that you don’t know the true sense of what lies within you, and as a mysteriously deep individual, you assume your depths will be arduous and sticky. However, creating space doesn’t mean you need to wallow in your depths, it just allows them some room to breathe. This is a time in your life to find ways of loving yourself; leaning into the space will help you realise that your inner world is one of peace…
Sagittarius
♐
‘Life is like a box of chocolates…’ is a phrase you’re all too familiar with. You take delight in not being too sure ‘what you’re going to get’ as you’re a spontaneous, free-spirited soul. Yet, there is a sense that whilst you accept your free-spirited nature, you don’t quite embrace it wholeheartedly. Life is like a box of chocolates, but you know the chocolates you love and the ones that quite frankly shouldn’t make it into the box. You also love the chocolatier and their unique flavour combinations, something you’d never find in a box. At the same time, a slab of Dairy Milk also goes down quite well. In other words, a box of chocolates doesn’t really cut the mustard for you as you need the freedom to live beyond the box and to eat whatever chocolate you fancy. Of course, moving beyond the chocolate analogy, it seems clear that you need freedom in your life to go ‘off box’ to follow your heart and soul.
You don’t really like diving into a box of chocolates not knowing what you’re going to get as you need some reassurance that it will be something you’ll like! So, a free-spirit, but one with a clearly driven sense of what’s acceptable and what’s not as you like far more clarity than you’d often think. Yes, you’re okay with spontaneity and the unknown, but as long as it’s an unknown you’ll like! There’s nothing wrong with this, but it’s important to acknowledge your true needs and wants as you’ve reached a time in your life to focus on eating the chocolates you love rather than tentatively biting into loads concerned that you’ll get something hideous. In other words, live life by what you want, not by what you don’t…
Capricorn
♑
May looks set to be a month of transformation and revelation as you continue to shake yourself free from aspects of your life that have been weighing you down. In your quest to live more wholeheartedly, there is a sense that you are beginning to realise just how much you compromise your own sense of self when it comes to others. As a result, you have started to wriggle free from areas of your life that have, over time, started to deplete you rather than nourish you. Some of this has come as a surprise to you as the dynamics have changed slowly over time and you haven’t noticed the shift. However, now you’re becoming more aware, you are keen to create some much-needed breathing space in order to fully contemplate your path ahead. It’s important to enjoy this breathing space, rather than rushing ahead towards new projects and goals as you really do need some rest and time to replenish your sense of self.
You have been the person you thought you ought to be for so long that the person you really are has got lost underneath and it will take a little time to acclimatise to the real you re-surfacing. At the same time, although you are letting go of a great deal, you are also realising just how deeply some of these ‘oughts’ have grown into the fabric of your being. Yet, just because it looks complex to untangle doesn’t mean you can’t untangle it. Step back a little to regain some perspective and you’ll see a way. Self-belief is one of your strengths, and whilst it may get lost in the mêlée at times, take a moment to re-centre and realise that this transformation looks set to catapult you towards your dreams…
Aquarius
♒
Your energy levels have felt out of kilter lately, as though you’re oscillating between energy states. As yet, you haven’t been able to pinpoint the exact cause of this. It’s a bit like being in the stagnant, airless space moments before a thunderstorm in hot, humid weather. As the storm grows closer, the air gets thicker and thicker until the storm crashes in, breaks the heat and balance is restored once again. In those moments after the storm, the air feels clear and fresh, birds start singing and the world feels amazing. You’re oscillating between the moments before the storm and after. Whilst it’s hard going at times, there is plenty for you to work with. Of course, it can be hard to feel enthusiastic about circling storms as this suggests tumultuous times ahead. Well, possibly, but not necessarily. Storms are not just about devastation and challenge they are also times for renewal and letting go.
You have been on a journey of release over recent months and this has taken you into some deep, dark territory within your heart and soul. You have faced your depths and walked through the storms in order to find a deeper sense of peace. Storms rage within you all the time, as your mind and soul whiz around at a million miles an hour. It’s hard for anyone other than you to keep up with you as you are on fast forward, and simply don’t live at the same pace as others. As a result, you are on the leading edge of life, and experience things that few could even comprehend. This means you feel the shifts more deeply than others, but it also allows you to walk through life lightly, shedding distractions and clutter as you go. This is a time to release and be free…
Pisces
♓
You’re amazing. Believe it. Those words ended your last forecast and they seem just as relevant in May as they were in April, if not more so. You are very good at giving yourself a hard time for not being enough, doing enough, achieving enough or saying enough. You always feel you ‘could do better’ and rarely feel happy or contented with your efforts and achievements. You have grown so used to feeling somehow ‘less than’ that it has become a part of your everyday belief system. This needs to change. Right now! You are kind, loving, giving, generous and you really are amazing; it’s time to start believing in this now. Yes, there is always an opportunity to do things better or differently, but to constantly berate yourself for not doing more only leads to a life of lack as nothing is ever good enough. Now this isn’t to say you should stop striding towards your dreams or learning from any ‘mistakes’, this is more of a forceful nudge in the ribs to remind you to love yourself more. It’s time to start offering some of that gentleness, loving and generosity to yourself.
May looks set to be a month of a deepening of the connection within your heart and soul, a willingness to become one with the ebb and flow of life. This makes it even more important for you to open up to loving yourself wholeheartedly (warts and all), as without self-love and self-compassion, how can you truly find peace? You are intuitive and wise, so listen to your heart and soul, and let this inner wisdom guide you forwards. Start letting go of the resistance within and start believing just how amazing you are. This isn’t about ego, it’s about self-love. So, take a deep breath, honour yourself, let go and let love…
*****
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Part 31 Alignment May Vary: Ever Deeper
This post takes us to the second part of the tombs. My group is fast approaching the end and has gotten ahead of the posts a bit, so I’m going to not be as descriptive as the last post, in order to do some catching up here. See the map below for reference of movement around the tombs.
Cursed with a Purpose
Having cleared the trap in hallway 23 and having explored the rest of the tomb, room 24 is the next destination. I’ve made some changes throughout the tombs to better fit the high level of my party and some of the changes between 3.5 and 5th edition. For instance, last post I talked about the Mindrot Thrall in the fungal room. In the original campaign, this room is simply filled with violet fungus, a plant monster. Using this monster would have not really challenged my players nor would it have delivered (I feel) on the promise of the room’s premise, that you will be dealing with some serious infection in here. So I used the Mindrot Thrall to keep to the nature of an encounter, but with the added element of a risk of disease.
Similarly, room 23 was designed to be a fight against a couple stone guardians, a last minute drain on the party before they encounter the dungeon’s mid-boss, but it is not a very interesting fight and not one that would be enough of a challenge for my players to keep them engaged. So I turn once again to Tome of Beasts and keep to the nature of the original while putting in something a little more interesting:
This room is tall, with vaulted ceilings. A set of large double doors is set into one wall and next to it and across from it are two gigantic statues, one of a stout dwarven warrior, the other of a fanged wyvern, snarling at you with claws raised. Surrounding the staute of the warrior is a small treasure trove of weapons, over a dozen of them lying there in a pile. Karina, with your detect magic, you can see that three of them are putting off an aura of magic, as is the statue near them.
Tome of Beasts has a Guardian Statue that I borrow and tone down a little bit to make it not too deadly for my players. The big piece of it that I’m interested in is this interesting mechanic that activates when metal weapons hit the guardian. Its body is magically magnetized and players have to succeed on strength rolls after hitting it or lose their weapons.
Because I get bored with just using encounters to take pot shots at player’s health points, I am using the Statue Guardian here to accomplish something else. It is clearly a creature that is resistant to regular damage and so those three magic weapons laying around its feet become very enticing to pick up and use. But two of them are cursed, only the third is a normal magic weapon:
The Weeping Moon
+1 Magical Scimitar, requires attunement, cursed
When the person attuned to this scimitar deals the final blow to any creature, or when they roll a 1 or a 20 on an attack roll, they begin to weep blood and are blinded for 1d4 rounds. The attack does not have to be with this weapon in order to trigger this effect.
The Weeping Moon was the scimitar of a desert prince who murdered his brothers in order to claim the throne of his land for himself. Afterwards, distraught with his actions, he cursed himself to cry tears of blood for the rest of his days, so that he may never forget the sadness of slaying his own kin. This scimitar bears the prince’s mark, that of a crying moon.
Battleaxe of the Brave
+1 Magical Greataxe, requires attunement, cursed
While attuned, the bearer must use only this weapon to attack when making a melee attack. The bearer will never use a shield and he must start his turn by using a movement action to move within 5 feet of an enemy or as close as possible. While he is attuned to this weapon, he is immune to fear.
This mighty axe is shaped so that it looks like the blades are erupting from screaming mouths. Barbarian Kings of old passed down the secrets of forging these axes through their descendants, with strict instructions to never reveal the secrets to any that were not of the bloodline. These instructions were magical in nature and when eventually one of the bloodline betrayed the secret, the power of the axe turned to a curse, forcing those who wielded the axes to dive directly into combat, where many of them died against impossible odds. It has become a badge of honor to wield one of these axes for a long time, as it shows that without a doubt the bearer has survived the greatest odds.
Runic Spear
Magical Spear, requires attunement by a class that can cast magic
While attuned, the bearer gains one extra level one spell slot. When used against Demons, the spear gains +2 to attack and damage.
This spear is covered in archaic runes and designs. It and its fellow spears were forged by the Wizards of the Brotherhand of the Crystal Star during the Magi War, when the demonic Helghast infiltrated the lands of men and disguised themselves in positions of political power throughout the land. These weapons were instrumental in scrying the demons out, as they could not abide even the touch of the cool steel.
I liked cursed weapons which trade power for pain—forcing players to change strategies or work around status effects in order to keep using these power house weapons. The purpose of these weapons is to mix up our game a bit, force them to think differently about combat, and also to potentially make one of my more fighter-focused characters (Abenthy as a Fallen Paladin or Tyrion as a Battle Bard) to drop their shield. Both of them have ended up through a fortunate combination of magic items with high ACs, and this is part of an unobtrusive strategy to lower this just a bit to make some of the upcoming fights a little more even sided.
Interestingly, they almost skip the fight altogether! When they first encounter the Statue, Tyrion casts dispell magic on it, and it critically fails the save, sending it into a torpor for ten minutes. They could, at this point, skip the magic weapons or grab them and run to the next room, but I play a very gritty fantasy game with a lot of potential danger and the players have taken this to heart. It’s a cool moment: in-character, they decide that the risk of moving on is too great, and they fear that the weapons may set up another trap, so they leave the area, take a long rest, and then return. This time, the dispell magic spell fails and they are forced to fight. They win by taking the magic items and using them, ultimately becoming cursed as above: Tyrion grabs the axe, Karina takes the scimitar, and Abenthy takes the spear. Tyrion, in particular, sees a cool character change because of this, more on that coming.
Overall, it’s one of those awesome times where the players are as wary as their characters and the result is a melding of player reaction and character reaction. The decision makes sense, then, not as a meta-decision made by players trying to break the game but as characters reacting to a situation that feels like it contains very real danger of death.
Vulnerability is something I like in Dungeons and Dragons. As a player, it was part of what kept me connected to my in character, because I was feeling the same trepidation they might feel wandering into an unknown forest/dungeon/haunted castle/what-have-you. I’ve tried to maintain that feeling of vulnerability in my games even as the characters have leveled. It’s a tough balancing act: you don’t want your players to feel forever powerless, as if levels don’t matter, but you don’t want them to feel like gods curb-stomping every dragon they come across, either. The challenge has to increase as they level or else the game (at least its combat) becomes bland and predictable. It’s like a video game: the hardest levels are often at the end.
I try to keep that balance by throwing in a mixture of enemies from various CRs and by creating overly hard fights with some easy outs to be discovered (like Dispell Magic to quell the statue, or the traps being used against the Skele-Pede). My philosophy is that a fight should never just be easy to roll your way through. It can be made easy by intelligent and clever use of character abilities, though. Because isn’t that the point of leveling? Not that you outclass your opponents by nature of being a higher level but that you gain skills and abilities that give you more options in combat, thus allowing you to outclass your opponents by nature of what you can do (like Karina’s use of Cloak of Darkness, or Abenthy casting magic weapon on his sword to bypass resistance). At least, that’s what I think makes leveling interesting. Increased damage and all that is already built into the system, but it is the abilities and new tactics that I think make the game stay interesting. A higher level game should get more complex, perhaps even more deadly, as the players take on greater and greater threats and have to use everything at their disposal to conquer them.
As for seeing how far they have grown, well, I have a scenario planned after this dungeon for the players to truly see just how far their levels have actually taken them, when they are tested against some old foes... but let’s keep that secret for now.
Dead Asleep
This room is covered in runic scribings, dwarven writings etched into the walls. A large stone dais in the center of the chamber bears an ornate sarcophagus, and three huge stone chests are placed around the walls. The chamber is extremely cold, however, and frost clings to everything. The chill goes right down to your bones, filling you with a vague unease.
The final room of the false level of the tomb is room 25. Here, Haggemoth has trapped the soul of a Dwarven warrior to act as guard to his real tomb and to make anyone who makes it this far believe that they have defeated Haggemoth and claimed his treasure! Unfortunately for them, the treasure is fake—bits of rusted iron and copper and bronze set with a powerful illusion spell to appear to be +2 and +3 magic weapons, shields, and coin. The scrolls are all rotted blank parchments, similarly illusioned, and the potions are rancid vinegar. The Dwarven Warrior is under a geas to not speak his true name and to force back all who would come here. In the tomb’s history, no one has yet made it this far, and so the warrior has been asleep for a very, very, long time. He is not happy at being awoken, which entry into the room does.
His first action is to use his terrifying howl to age the characters with pure fear. This is an “interpreted” version of the ghost’s ability out of the Monster Manual: it frightens the players if they fail the roll. Now, if the players fail the roll by too much, then they age rapidly. I love DnD 5, but I miss a couple things from Pathfinder, like touch attacks, and ability score hits. As a pathfinder player I remember nothing struck terror into me quite like having an ability score drained (not least because of all the math it forced me to redo on my character sheet). One thing I do love about 5th Edition, though, is that it leaves itself open to interpretation in many areas. Like, what does aging actually do? Well, I decide it does ability score damage: -1 to all ability scores for every certain amount of aging inflicted. And as it happens, Tyrion and Abenthy both fail the roll, Abenthy almost critically so.
“Oh father below,” Abenthy says, invoking his devilish dad, as he stares at that critical one.
Now that Tyrion has his Battleaxe of the Brave, he is immune to fear effects, so he is safe from this aging. But they watch as Abenthy suddenly ages forty-five years in a moment and his stats drop by two for each ability score. The players spring for an inspiration die to reroll the save and this time... well, Abenthy is still frightened, but the aging effect doesn’t occur. It shakes everyone up, though, which is perfect for a ghostly encounter. A moment later, the dwarven spirit rises from the sarcophagus, a vengeful spirit tasked with defending this place, and attacks them.
The battle is nicely cinematic. The ghost uses its flight ability to hover out of reach and pass through objects while still trying to frighten the companions into submission and drain their life with his icy touch. Karina uses her scimitar and her height to slice at the ghost as it flies over her. Tyrion uses his magic and leaps all over the place, getting in strikes where he can. And Abenthy uses his magic spear as a javelin, throwing it and briefly impaling the spirit against a wall as the magic of the spear locks him briefly in the material realm.
Ultimately, despite the rough start to the fight, they defeat the ghost without too much trouble and believe that they have accomplished their goal and beaten Haggemoth!
Stairway to Hell
... of course, they haven’t. Karina is the first to question the deed: “That ghost had a beard,” she says. “Haggemoth didn’t. He was known as the beardless dwarf.”
“Maybe he regrew it as a spirit,” Abenthy says.
“I don’t think that’s how it works,” Karina answers.
Moments later, Tyrion finds the secret passage behind one of the chests and the stairs heading deeper. It is not an easy roll and frankly I’m glad the players make it, because the other option is they cart all that loot back to the entrance of the tomb where it all turns to rust and dust and then they have to walk back in.
Seriously, in that case I might have just had Xaviee find the tomb entrance instead. Or called the adventure over and moved on to the next phase of the adventure. I like the story behind these false tombs, that they are the ultimate trick to turn raiders away, but in practice it’s not very satisfying, at least not for the main quest dungeon. I didn’t like it in Tomb of Horrors, either. At best, the players feel like they beat an underwhelming dungeon and final boss. At worst, they leave, and then have to travel the dungeon again—either frustrating, if it repopulates with monsters, or pointless, if it doesn’t.
In any case, the players move on and descend. Behind them the door closes shut and locks them in the second part of the tomb. They have left behind some of their weapons and armor, trading them out for the +3 and +4 shields and armors and weapons they found. Of course, these are actually just rusted pot metal disguised to look like magic items, and they will find this out soon enough to their dismay during their first combat in the lower half of the tombs. This is a trick I’m okay with—for one thing, it rewards caution. Had anyone thought to “identify” the items as they took them, they would spot the trick. And if they stopped to think why +4 weapons might be guarded by a relatively weak guardian, they might be more wary. But it is also very in character to take the items. I suspect Abenthy’s player may even have caught on to the trick, but as he has said a few times in the adventure, “Abenthy is not very bright.” He plays him accordingly—gullible and singleminded to a sometimes severe fault.
As they descend, Tyrion suddenly hears a voice whispering his name. He turns to the others and asks if they said something, but they just look at him strange. Xaviee, still with them, asks what he heard, but Tyrion just shakes his head. When they reach the bottom of the stairs, a passage extends to the north and the south. And coming from the south, Tyrion hears the call again. This time, he chases after the voice, ignoring the calls of his companions to halt or come back.
His chase brings him to a door, a door which emanates an aura of power and which is carved with runic devices and (his bardic training easily translates them) warnings in multiple languages. It’s a big “DO NOT ENTER” sign. Tyrion kicks open the door and strides into a strange room.
The room is small, and unnaturally silent. At the north end of the room is a crystalline case containing some kind of parchment, while to the south there is a huge hunk of obsidian, taller than a man, floating within some kind of magical circle inscribed on the floor in adamant. In the center of the room is a small pedestal upon which sits a brass bell hanging in a wooden frame. A small mallet is chained to the bell’s frame.
Karina, Xaviee, and Abenthy soon catch up. They try to shout at Tyrion to come out of the room, but their voices will not sound in the soundless room.
“We need to pull him out,” Abenthy tells Karina. She agrees and goes in. Tyrion is standing by the crystal case, looking intently at the scroll inside of it. Karina sees it and her eyes go wide, as it is written in infernal. “It is a contract,” she tries to say, but of course her voice will not work here. But she is right: she has recognized the writing of a demonic contract between Haggemoth and a Herzuo demon by the unpronounceable name of Uhr’khcorgh’hyacch’kc.
Tyrion is already moving. He goes over to the table and strikes the bell with the mallet. It shatters the silence spell in the room with the bell’s sharp DING, which continues to echoe around the room but which is quickly drowned out by the horrendous screams of rage coming from the obsidian. Karina clasps her hands over her ears and screams at the halfing: “TYRION! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?”
In answer, Tyrion steps up to the magical circle and casually wipes away a chunk of it. There is a mighty crack and the obsidian shatters. Something black and ponderous emerges with a smell like all the garbage in the world was trapped with it in the rock for a hundred years. It bellows...
WHERE IS HAGGEMOTH? I WILL KILL I WILL TEAR I WILL RIP I WILL EAT HIS SOUL
But Tyrion smiles, and then he pronounces the unpronounceable name.
The others are not sure exactly what happens next. The half formed demon grabs Tyrion in huge hands and lifts him. Xaviee draws his sword. Abenthy steps forward. Karina backs away, back towards the crystal case. And then the shape is gone, Tyrion is kneeling on the floor inside the magic circle, and there is a smell like sour sulphur in the air. Karina looks back at the case and sees with horror a new name being added to the contract: Tyrion.
In truth, my player has just won a mental battle with the Herzuo, forcing it to lend him its power. This is part of a planned multi-class that Tyrion wished to do, becoming a Bard/Warlock. As it happened, the inner sanctum of Haggemoth included an optional room with this demon encounter. It is supposed to be something the players have to work hard to get into, and then should avoid like the plague after finding it. It is more there for fleshing out the setting and history building of Haggemoth than as a prize—more on that next post—but it is such a good fit for where my player wants to go that I commandeer it for the level up purpose. The mental battle I improvise on the spot, and it is mostly a set of wisdom rolls. Looking back now, if I were to do it again, I would actually have the players fight the Herzuo to have to subdue it, or at least weaken it enough for Tyrion to conquer and force to do his bidding. That would be more dynamic. But at the time, I decided I didn’t want to impede his progress at all towards a level up and anyway Herzuo have the bad habit of making a party very dead, even one as strong as my players. A couple unlucky rolls and he would have them, especially as the armor they are wearing is secretly rusted junk. Except Karina, who kept her Mithril Chain Mail shirt. Abenthy still has his blackguard armor, too, but his shield is gone, discarded in favor of a +4 tower shi—well, it’s actually a big pot lid, but he doesn’t know that.
In any case, now that Tyrion has joined them in a level up, the party moves on, heading back north along the passage until they come to a set of massive double doors, doors that can only be opened with a certain key taken from around Raiden’s neck, which he himself stole from the Tomb of Udo the Grey.
The doors to Haggemoth’s inner sanctum open for the first time since he himself closed them, ages ago. And far away, in Ottoman Dock, the curse on Zennatos is lifted and the old adventurer suddenly sucks in a breath of fresh air and realizes that his strength will return to him, at last.
Next time, the conclusion to the mystery of Haggemoth, and the beginning of the end.
#Tomb of Haggemoth#Playthrough#dnd 5e#epic#Dungeons and Dragons#Journey Log#Wizards of the Coast#fantasy#RPG
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