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jethroholy · 2 years

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I made homebrew. Please tell me if you like it.

This homebrew is some things I thought would be really cool and or neat. I am new to making homebrew. So be gentle. I am up for taking criticism and changing things if they need it. I’m all ears!

Races:

Canis-

ASI- 1 to charisma

Age- 107 years of age

Speed- 35 feet

Darkvision- yes but in grey shades up to 60 feet

Pack tactics- yes

Fangs- you have a natural weapon in the form of a bite attack. 1d4+ strength.

Hunters instincts- You have proficiency in one of the following skills of your choice: Athletics, Intimidation, Perception, or Survival.

Keen sense- you have advantage in smell based checks in the following: perception, survival, and investigation

Languages- common and barking

Sub race options:

Canis Major-

ASI- plus 2 to strength

Size- medium. 5 foot 8 to 9 feet.

Powerful build- you can be counted as one size larger when determining carry capacity and such

Relentless endurance- once per long rest if you are dropped to zero hit points you can instead just drop to a single one hit point.

Canis minor-

ASI- plus two to dexterity

Size- small

Aggression-you can move closer to an opponent as a bonus action with your movement speed

Nimble-you can move between people one size category larger than you

P’lotor-

Raccoon race of medium folks.

ASI- +2 to dex. +1 to con.

Size- medium or small

Age- 90 years

Darkvision- yes up to 60 feet.

Speed- 35 feet.

Expert duplication- when you copy writing or craftwork produced by yourself or another, you have advantage on any check to produce that copy.

Bite- you gotta bite! 1d6 plus strength.

Claw- dig those claws in. 1d6 plus strength.

Poison resistance- resistant to poisons.

Sneaky- you are proficient in stealth! You can fit into and move in any space large enough for a small creature without squeezing.

Rhyno-

ASI- +3 to strength. +1 to Wis.

Size- medium.

Speed- 40 feet.

Age- 100 years.

Darkvision- no.

Ram- you can use your head and horns to make unarmed strikes. When you hit with them, The strike deals 1D6 plus your strength modifier bludgeoning damage, instead of bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.

Adrenaline rush- you can take the dash action as a bonus action. You can use this trait a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest. Whenever you use this trait you gain a number of temporary hit points equal to your proficiency bonus

Natural armor- your thick hide gives you a base AC of 17 (your dexterity modifier does not affect this number). You cannot wear any type of armor and keep this AC. However if you use a shield you can add the shields bonus as normal.

Powerful build- you can be counted as one size larger when determining carry capacity and such

Classes:

Paladin: oath of the Sun knight

Spells-

• 3rd: Burning hands; faerie fire

• 5th:Continual flame; flaming sphere.

• 9th: Ashardalon’s stride; fireball.

• 13th: summon elemental(fire); fire shield.

• 17th: Wall of light; flame strike.

Chanel divinity @ 3rd lv- you gain these two options with this oath.

1. Burning knight: when you invoke this channel divinity any weapon you are holding and your unarmed strikes are infused with the holy radiance of fire and deal fire damage. Opponent’s must make a saving throw equal to your Constitution stat.

2. Holy radiance: when you invoke this channel divinity you erupt in divine light that reaches out 30 feet. Anyone within 5 feet of you is blinded for 1d4 rounds. You have disadvantage on stealth checks and opponents have disadvantage on attacks directed at you. This effect lasts for 30 minutes.

7th lv- Aura of the blaze: when you invoke this affect you are surrounded by an aura of heat. When an opponent comes into attack they are dealt 2d6 fire damage once they reach 5 feet from you. At 9th level you can add this effect to 3 willing creatures. At 18th level the damage goes up to 7d8 and can lend this aura to 5 willing creatures.

15th lv- solar fury: you can invoke this effect 3 times a day. you are filled with the intensity of the burning sun. Any creature you choose has to make a charisma saving throw or be under the fear condition for 1d4 rounds.

20th lv- The suns dragoon: you become an avatar of holy flame and gain the following benefits.

• resistance to fire damage and The ability to instead of taking radiant damage you gain half of the damage you would have taken as health points.

• You are able to change fire damage to radiant damage.

• You are able to give off heat enough i’m to distort your image. Ranged attacks have disadvantage on you.

Wizard: school of Glyphs.

2nd lv- 1.)ritual servant: Beginning when you select this school at 2nd level, the gold and time you must spend to copy a Ritual type spell into your spellbook is halved.

2.) Glyph weaver: you may weave a spell into a glyph for later use. You may only use this feature up to the amount of spells you posses. The glyphs cannot be put upon any worn item or living creature. The spell lasts for 1d4+ wizard level days before activating regardless of use. The glyphs can be activated remotely at the casters discretion. The glyphs can be dispelled by enemies.

6th lv- Glyph savvy: at this level you cut the ritual time in half for ritual spells. In addition you gain access to three glyphs that can be used once per long rest. You can only use one of these per day. Each glyph takes 1 hour of writing and it’s own components.

• Forest of respite- components: 5 seeds, a branch, 0.5 pounds of brown dirt, and a three drops of blood. Effect: a small forest Big enough for eight medium sized creatures. The interior bares fruit and is pleasantly warm. It lasts for 6 hours plus wizard level.

• Guardian- components: a bottle of ink, a skull of a small creature, and wolf fur. Effect: a beast emerges from the glyph, taking the symbols that were written and incorporating it into its own body. The beasts form is yours to describe but it is hazy and transparent. It is a cr 5 creature with a 12 ac and 45 (8d8+5) hp. It will only protect you unless directed otherwise. It deals mainly force damage. The guardian lasts 1d4+2 hours. It’s stats for attacking and such are dependent on what form you give it.

• Containment- components: 1 spell slot, 5 gold, and 3 raven feathers. Effect: you trap a person, beast, monster, or otherwise inside of a wall of force. The wall itself is invisible until it is struck, once visible it has glyphs woven into the walls that go back to being invisible. If the trap individual attempts to escape they take 4d6 damage plus your intelligence modifier. The wall lasts 8 hours.

10th lv- Protection of arcane: once per day you can engrave a glyph into your body to gain resistance to magical damage of a specific type. The damage cannot be the following: bludgeoning, slashing, piercing. The glyph lasts until you take a long rest. At 14th level you may add an additional protection glyph. At 18th level you may have 3 protection glyphs.

14th lv- Shield weaver: you can use a bonus action to weave a shield of arcane glyphs. This shields ac is your current ac plus your intelligence modifier. The shield is able to absorb and reflect long range damage dealing spells as well as Block physical attacks. You can use a reaction to send the absorbed spell back at an opponent. The shield lasts for 1 minute.

#dnd homebrew #dnd #d&d #d&d homebrew #dungeons and dragons #opinon #thoughts #making stuff up #writing #paladin #wizard #homebrew race #homebrew subclass #what has my life come to? please put me out of my misery. please god!!!#pls be visable to the public you dumb app #please help

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cassiale · 2 years

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Birkenstocks Stepping to your initial pair

Outlet Birkenstock UK helps make amazing shoes.

You must locate your appropriate sizing and width to ensure that the shoes use a custom made feel. When you have a size that may be too big or not big enough some great benefits of the shoe will probably be negated. For those who have a large foot and are attempting to press it in a slim footbed the arch assist will truly feel lumpy since it is within the wrong area. On the other hand, if you have a thin foot and acquire a regular footbed you are going to feel as if the shoes are flopping around with every stage.

I strongly recommend that you get a neighborhood merchant that holds the Birkenstock brand name and get properly equipped before you purchase the first pair. In case you are not inside an area that bears this company then make sure to purchase your shoes from an authorized Birkenstock dealership. There is a lot of counterfeit Birkenstock goods on the web. Think about purchasing directly through Birkenstock or Zappos.

When it comes to sizing, Birkenstock shoes may be found in European dimensions.

Birkenstock UK features a Dimensions Conversion process Chart to assist you to get your European dimensions.

For reference point, I typically wear a size 8/8.5 large inside my running shoes (Saucony) as well as a sizing 8 in boot styles. Generally If I implemented the Birkenstock conversion process chart, I might put on a size 39. Nevertheless, after getting fixed, I found that my foot satisfies the best in a dimension 38 in Birkenstock sandals and a size 39 in Birkenstock boots.

Now is available the tricky aspect: width. Folks get mistaken for the widths that Birkenstock delivers. Birkenstock helps make shoes in slim and standard widths. Slim breadth Birkenstocks are actually not what Americans think about “narrow”. A narrow Birkenstock suits people with a thin or medium sized thickness foot. A normal thickness Birkenstock fits an ordinary or a vast breadth foot. The advantage of Birkenstocks is they can be modified with the straps. Anybody can easily add added openings (either to loosen or tighten up) with a strap by using a leather-based punch. You just need to guarantee that the arch help of the footbed is in suitable positioning together with your arch.

Recently i obtained a new kind of Birkenstock sandals from Birkenstock USA and they also arrived in a newly re-designed shoebox. Inside solar panel from the box was strategies for help one establish one’s dimension and width. In the event the area of the foot drops outside of the light blue line our recommendation is that you purchase your shoes in the normal size.

To determine in the event the shoe is really a filter width or possibly a standard size you should check out the footbed. To the left in the shoe dimensions are an mark of your foot. In case the shoe is filter the foot icon is strong. In case the shoe is typical size the foot symbol is shown as layed out.

After you nail down your shoe dimension and thickness you have to decide whether you prefer the original footbed or perhaps the soft footbed. Figuring out between an original and soft footbed is an entirely diverse blog post topic.

The best thing about the Birkenstock manufacturer is you can change the in shape of your shoe without having to pay for custom made shoes. One more reason why I Adore Birkenstocks!

#Birkenstock UK

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nerdythebard · 3 years

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#27: Athena, Goddess of Wisdom

She had to make her appearance eventually, Gods and Goddesses.

Athena is probably one of the most famous deities. Daughter of Zeus, born despite his schemes, ready to defend the people and Olympus. Contrary to Ares's bloodshed, she represents strategy, military wisdom and careful planning. Spoiler alert: we're not making her a Battle Master ;)

Next Time: HAVE YOU EVER HEARD THE JAGUAR CRY TO THE BLUE CORN MOON!?

Let's see what we need for the SMITE version of Athena to appear in our D&D game:

Ultimate Defender: Even bigger protector than Artio, Athena is a Guardian with High Crowd Control and High Defence.

Reach for the Sky: Athena uses long-reach attacks and her Ultimate allows her to appear by her companion's side for some extra protection.

You and what Army: Athena can summon the Defenders of Olympus to form a shield wall around her, as well as taunt and goad enemies into fighting her.

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I know I've done this before many-a-times, but I really have no choice here. Athena is a guardian, she has the divine blood of Zeus in her veins... I have to make her a Protector Aasimar. We get a +2 Charisma and +1 Wisdom, 60 feet of Darkvision, resistance to necrotic and radiant damage, ability to speak Common and Celestial, the Light cantrip, and Healing Hands, which lets us recover Hit Points equal to our level once per long rest.

We're going to take the City Watch background, which gives us proficiencies in Athletics and Insight, two languages of our choice, but we're actually going to customize it and replace the Watcher's Eye feature with Legal Authority from the Inquisitor background. This allows us to become a representative of the law, pass judgments and sometimes even carry out the sentence. Basically, we can now tell those who attempt to invade Olympus

ABILITY SCORES

Strength will be first, our weapon is a spear and those are not labelled as finesse. Next is Constitution, we need to be able to take hits. Follow that up with Wisdom, it's kinda our thing, especially when it comes to strategy.

Charisma will be next, it's important for a good leader (and a proud crafter). Dexterity is a bit lower than I would like it to be, but in SMITE Athena is not the quick-and-nimble type. Finally, we're dumping Intelligence. We really need other abilities more, plus it wasn't a smart decision to punish Arachne for winning a competition.

CLASS

Once again, I'm putting a small twist on the prediction and I think this is the first time on the blog we're doing this.

Level 1 - Paladin: We start with the divine warrior. Paladins get a d10 Hit Dice, [10 + Constitution modifier] initial Hit Points, proficiencies with light armour, medium armour, heavy armour, shields, simple weapons, and martial weapons. In the artwork, we see that Athena is not turtled-up in armour, so giving her a half-plate in addition to a spear and a shield seems like a good option. Our saving throws are Wisdom and Charisma, and we get to choose two class skills (Intimidation and Persuasion).

We start by getting Divine Sense, which informs us of any celestial, fiends, or undead within 60 feet of us. We know the type, but not what the creature actually is.

Lay on Hands is similar to our racial ability, Healing Hands. We have a pool of healing energy, equal to [our Paladin level x5] which restores itself at each long rest. As an action, we can touch a creature and restore its Hit Points by whatever points we have left in the pool. Alternatively, we can spend 5 points to remove one disease or poison from the target.

Level 2 - Paladin: We get Divine Smite. Whenever we hit a creature with a melee weapon attack, we can burn a spell slot to add extra 2d8 radiant damage (+1d8 for each spell slot above 1st-level to a maximum of 5d8). Damage increases by 1d8 if the enemy is a fiend or an undead.

We also get to pick a Fighting Style. To fulfil Athena's role as a guardian, we're once again going to pick Interception. Whenever a creature within 5 feet of us is hit by an attack, we can use our reaction to reduce the damage by [1d10 + our proficiency bonus]. We must be wielding a shield or a simple/martial weapon.

Paladins also get Spellcasting. Charisma is our casting ability, and we do not learn cantrips or rituals. Paladins have access to their full spell list and can each day prepare [Charisma modifier + half of Paladin level rounded down] spells. We start with two 1st-level spell slots:

Divine Favour bathes us in divine light and power, allowing our weapon attacks to deal extra 1d4 radiant damage for 1 minute (concentration).

Heroism increases your allies' morale. Until the spell ends (1 minute, concentration), one willing creature we touch is immune to being frightened and gain Temporary Hit Points equal to our casting ability modifier at the start of each turn.

Shield of Faith surrounds one creature of our choice within range (60 feet) for 10 minutes (concentration), granting it a +2 AC bonus.

Level 3 - Paladin: With Divine Health we are now immune to disease. We also get to pick our subclass, our Sacred Oath. Athena is a devoted protector of her city and the gods, so making her take the Oath of the Crown, to uphold the spirit of the nation and service to law seems fitting. We start by getting some Oath Spells; those are always prepared for us and don't count against the total number of spells known:

Command forces a Wisdom saving throw onto one creature within 60 feet of us, as we utter a single-word demand. On a failed save, the target is compelled to execute that command to the best of their ability at the beginning of their next turn. The command cannot force the target to harm themselves.

Compelled Duel forces one creature within 30 feet to turn their attention towards us and fight one-on-one, provided they fail a Wisdom saving throw. For the duration (1 minute, concentration), the compelled target has a disadvantage on attacks made against targets other than us and must make a Wisdom saving throw when attempting to move more than 30 feet away from us.

We also gain access to the Cleric's Channel Divinity. Once per short or long rest, we can use one of the two effects listed below:

Champion Challenge acts similarly to the Compelled Duel spell, as it prevents creatures who fail a Wisdom saving throw to move further than 30 feet from us. The difference is, this ability affects every creature within 30 feet radius.

Turn the Tide lets us use our bonus action to bolster the injured. Each creature of our choice within 30 feet of us regain [1d6 + our Charisma modifier] Hit Points, provided they have no more than half of their Hit Points.

Level 4 - Paladin: Time for our first Ability Score Improvement. We will, however, take the Spear Mastery feat instead. We gain a +1 to attack rolls made with our spear, the damage dice of the spear change from a d6 to d8, we can use our bonus action to extend the spear's reach by 5 feet until the end of our turn, and finally, we can prepare ourselves for a charge. If a creature that we can see within 20 feet of us gets within our spear's reach on its next turn, we can use a reaction to make an attack against it that deals additional 1d8 damage. If the creature used Disengage before, we're not getting the opportunity.

We can also grab another spell: Protection from Evil and Good grants one willing creature we touch protection from aberrations, celestials, elementals, fey, fiends, and undead. Attack rolls against the target are made with a disadvantage, and the target cannot be charmed or frightened by the aforementioned creatures.

Level 5 - Paladin: With Extra Attack we can now attack twice instead of once during a single Attack action.

We also unlock 2nd-level spells and gain two spells from our subclass spell list:

Warding Bond ties up to one target within 60 feet of us. For 1 hour the target gains a +1 bonus to AC and saving throws, and resistance to all forms of damage. Additionally, whenever the target takes damage we take the same amount of damage.

Zone of Truth creates a 15-foot-radius sphere at a point within 60 feet of us for 10 minutes. Creatures inside the sphere must make a Wisdom saving throw or become unable to lie as long as they remain within the sphere's boundaries. They are not compelled to answer, however.

Level 6 - Paladin: We get our first Aura option. With the Aura of Protection, whenever a friendly creature within 10 feet of us must make a saving throw, it gains a bonus equal to our Charisma modifier.

We also get another spell: Magic Weapon transforms our non-magical weapon into a magical one, for the purpose of overcoming resistances and immunities. Until the spell ends (1 hour, concentration), we also get a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls done with the weapon.

Level 7 - Barbarian: Surprise! I believe it's the first time we jump into the rage machine. I can already hear you saying 'Ares should've been a barbarian!'. Maybe. Maybe not. Hear me out, though: Athena's rage is cold and calculated. Precise and bottled up, to be unleashed only when necessary.

Multiclassing into Barbarian doesn't give us any new proficiencies or skills, but we do get the Unarmoured Defence. When we're not wearing armour, our AC equals [10 + our Dexterity modifier + our Constitution modifier]. Unlike Monks, we still get this benefit even if wielding a shield.

We also get access to the Barbarian's key feature...

As a bonus action, the Barbarian can Rage and gain the following benefits (provided they're not wearing heavy armour):

Advantage on Strength checks and Strength saving throws

Bonus to damage rolls (+2; changes as we level up) for weapons that use Strength

Resistance to bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage

The rage lasts for 1 minute (unless we dismiss it earlier, are knocked unconscious, fail to attack a target on our turn or taken damage during such) and while it's on, we cannot cast spells. For now, we can Rage twice before taking a long rest.

Level 8 - Barbarian: We gain Danger Sense, to better detect hostility. If we're not blinded, deafened or incapacitated, we have an advantage on Dexterity saving throws for effects we can see, such as traps and spells.

We can also forget about defence when making a Reckless Attack. When making our first attack on our turn, we can choose to do it recklessly. This gives us an advantage on melee weapon attacks that use Strength on our turn, but until the end of our next turn, all attacks made against us also have an advantage.

Level 9 - Barbarian: We can now Rage three times per long rest.

We also get to pick our second subclass, our Primal Path. And this is the moment where we get our Athenian warriors with the Path of the Ancestral Guardian. With Ancestral Protectors, we can call upon spectral warriors of the past which hinder the attacks of the first creature we hit while Raging. Until the end of our next turn, the target has a disadvantage on all attacks that aren't against us and when other creatures attack the target, they gain resistance to the damage type of the attack they make.

Level 10 - Barbarian: Halfway through the build and we're getting another ASI. We're gonna raise our Dexterity by 2 points.

Level 11 - Barbarian: Normally, we would've gained Extra Attack here, but we've already got it from our Paladin levels and they do not stack. We do, however, get Fast Movement which increases our movement speed by 10 feet provided we're not wearing heavy armour.

Level 12 - Barbarian: We can now Rage up to four times per long rest.

We get a new subclass upgrade. With Spirit Shield, our ancestral spirits now provide aid to those we defend. While we're raging, and a creature we can see within 30 feet of us takes damage, we can reduce the damage by 2d6.

Level 13 - Barbarian: At this point, our Feral Instincts are so sharp we have an advantage on our Initiative rolls.

Level 14 - Barbarian: Time for another ASI. Let's round up our Strength and put the other point into Dexterity.

Level 15 - Barbarian: Our additional damage while raging now becomes a +3.

We now get a Brutal Critical. Whenever we score a critical hit (Natural 20), apart from doubling our weapon damage die, we roll one more of the same die and add it to the score.

Level 16 - Barbarian: At this point, our Spirit Shield reduces the damage dealt to our allies by 3d6.

We also get another subclass upgrade. With Consult the Spirits, we can now use our ancestral warriors to cast either the Augury or Clairvoyance spells without a spell slot or material components once per short or long rest.

Level 17 - Barbarian: With Relentless Rage, we can now fight despite death. If we drop to 0 Hit Points while raging (and don't get damaged enough to insta-kill us), we can make a DC 10 Constitution saving throw and gain 1 Hit Point on a success. Each time we use this feature after the first, the DC raises by 5 and resets after we finish a short or long rest.

Level 18 - Barbarian: We get the final ASI of the build and we put two points into our Dexterity. We can also now Rage five times before rest.

Level 19 - Barbarian: Our Brutal Critical increases to two additional dice when scoring a Natural 20.

Level 20 - Barbarian: We end with Barbarian 14, which ends with another subclass upgrade. With Vengeful Ancestors, we can truly pull the Uno Reverse Card. When we use our Spirit Shield (which now reduces damage by 4d6), besides just reducing damage, the spirits now deal force damage to the target, equal to the damage prevented.

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And that is Eda Athena, the Owl Lady! Let's see what we got:

To start off, we're a tank with many protection options for both us and our allies. With increased movement, advantages on initiative and damage-dealing rolls, plus some protection spells, we can easily lead and strategize.

With a half-plate and a shield our AC is 17, we have a +2 to our Initiative, 40 feet of movement, and an average HP of 175.

Unfortunately, our spell repertoire is not great, negative modifier to our Intelligence (if you want to fix that, be sure to hunt for the Headband of Intellect), and no ability maxed to 20.

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Okay, I think this is not a bad build. As always, treat these as suggestions and modify your own builds as you please. I hope you've enjoyed yourselves and I'll see you in the next one!

- Nerdy out!

#smite #hirez smite #protector aasimar #aasimar #dnd build #dnd #d&d 5e #dungeons and dragons #greek gods #athena #paladin #oath of the crown #barbarian #ancestral guardian

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tigerkirby215 · 3 years

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5e Fluttershy, the Element of Kindness build (My Little Pony: FIM)

(Artwork by SophiesPlushies on DeviantArt.)

Like, it took me a solid 5 minutes to find the first image in this post and I had to sift through so much softcore porn to find it. I didn’t even find it by searching DeviantArt I had to go on fucking derpibooru oh my lord.

Anyways: here’s another shit brony build because people don’t hate me enough! Well that and I do genuinely love the characters from My Little Pony, and think that they’d be fun to make builds for. But feel free to call me a garbage brony at your leisure.

These are the words of a man who has been beaten down after being a brony for around 10 years.

GOALS

I'm just good with animals - Fluttershy talks to animals. That’s one of the main things she does really.

I'm doing this because you're my very best friend - As the element of kindness we of course need to share our heart and soul with our friends.

Nopony pushes new Fluttershy around! - MLP Wiki makes an express point of mentioning The Stare in Fluttershy’s powers, so of course we’ll do our best to include that.

RACE

Before you say anything no I’m not a pegasi stan just because I did both Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. Regardless Aaracokra still makes the most sense for Fluttershy unfortunately because there’s few bird races and fewer flying races.

As an Aaracokra you +2 to Dexterity and +1 to Wisdom which we’ll be keeping because I don’t know if your DM will allow Tasha’s rules. You also get 50 feet of Flight but you can’t be wearing Medium or Heavy Armor to do this, which means I don’t get to say “something something Medium Armor.” And finally you can buck someone to deal damage equal to a d4 plus your Strength; technically their Talons which deal slashing damage but feel free to view them however you want.

If I was to build Fluttershy I’d honestly use the Owlfolk UA race (which will hopefully be out in Wild Beyond the Witchlight and / or Strixhaven) for a multitude of reasons, the most notable of which being the fact that you can fly with Medium armor as an Owlfolk. But the Detect Magic Ritual ability is also nice as is the reaction to stop yourself from falling. Unfortunately Aaracokra technically made more sense since Fluttershy can’t detect magic.

Basically even I have to make choices which are suboptimal in order to ensure maximum roleplay, and even when I play my builds I change them to make them better to play.

ABILITY SCORES

15; WISDOM - You are compassionate and good with animals: both those things are Wisdom skills!

14; DEXTERITY - Since I can’t go “something something medium armor” for this build (yay Aaracokra) I guess getting a 16 in DEX thanks to your race is a good call. If playing an Owlfolk or something you can afford to having 14 total in DEX, as you can then wear medium armor.

13; CONSTITUTION - Look, roleplay stats are great and all but so is not dying.

12; CHARISMA - You are cute small pony... bird... Pony-bird...

10; INTELLIGENCE - Most of your time was spent taking care of animals and most of your knowledge comes from on-hand training as opposed to studying. Basically you’re not Twilight.

8; STRENGTH - As a young filly Rainbow Dash would do most of the heavy lifting for you. As a young mare Rainbow Dash still does most the heavy lifting for you. She is a Barbarian after all!

BACKGROUND

Most ponies know to come to you if their pets are in trouble, and if you’ve ever had pets you know the doctor that helps them is a true Folk Hero. As a Folk Hero you get proficiency in Animal Handling (yay) but I’d swap the Survival proficiency out for Stealth because well... you’re very good at hiding. You also get proficiency with Land Vehicles (most Land Vehicles in D&D are controlled by animals; usually horses! Wait... aren’t you a horse?) and an Artisan’s Tool of your choice: go for Carpenter’s Tools to make some bird houses and chicken coops!

After living in Ponyville for so long most ponies are willing to give you some Rustic Hospitality, giving you a warm place to rest and recover... as long as you can get over your crippling shyness! Eep!

(Artwork by probablyfakeblonde on DeviantArt.)

THE BUILD

LEVEL 1 - CLERIC 1

Starting off as a Cleric because I thought Wisdom and Charisma saves were more fitting for Fluttershy, and for the Insight and Medicine skill proficiencies.

As a Cleric you get to choose your subclass at level 1, and there’s nothing you love more than a little bit of Peace and quiet. As a Peace Cleric you get proficiency in Performance thanks to Implement of Peace, for those great MLP song numbers. But more importantly you can call on the power of friendship for an Emboldening Bond!

As an action, you choose a number of friends within 30 feet of you (this can include yourself) equal to your proficiency bonus. Your friendship bonds them together for 10 minutes or until you use this feature again. While any bonded creature is within 30 feet of another they get a d4 they can add to an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw once per turn. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

And finally we can talk about the Spellcasting! You get three cantrips from the Cleric list at level 1: Guidance is always welcome among friends, and Spare the Dying can be a literal life safer! Other than that you are still expected to fight in D&D so take Sacred Flame to defend yourself. You can also prepare a number of spells equal to your Cleric level plus your Wisdom modifier. As a Peace Domain Cleric you can inspire Heroism among your friends, or protect yourself (and hide!) with Sanctuary.

Other than that Healing Word is a staple healing spell (we aren’t taking Cure Wounds right now for reasons but feel free to prepare it), Shield of Faith will let you defend your allies, Protection from Evil and Good will help you invoke the Elements of Harmony against the big bad of the season, and Detect Evil and Good will help you find the Elements of Harmony!

You could also take Bless, but I’m not going to tell you to take Bless because optimizers would crucify me for telling you to double up on d4s.

LEVEL 2 - CLERIC 2

Second level Clerics get their Channel Divinity once per short rest and you have a variety of options to choose from:

Turn Undead will make skeletons and zombies not want to hurt the cute little ponies, which will force them to run away for awhile.

Balm of Peace (the main reason we took the second level in Cleric) will let you run around and heal all your friends for 2d6 plus your Wisdom modifier.

And Harness Divine Power (ty Tasha’s) will let you recover a spell slot, but can only be used a limited amount of times per Long Rest.

You can also prepare another spell and be a little less nice with Command. Telling your enemies to “LOVE” isn’t going to be that effective, but making them grovel or drop works just as fine.

LEVEL 3 - RANGER 1

When you spend enough time around animals you’re automatically either a Ranger or a Druid. Quinn? Never heard of ‘em. Regardless multiclassing into Ranger gives you proficiency in a skill from the Ranger list and it’s good to know about Nature so you can find plants to help your fluffy buddies! Deft Explorer also gives you two language proficiencies (again: pick your poison) and Expertise in a skill. You’ll never guess which skill we’ll be getting... it’s Animal Handling. You’re good with animals.

We actually aren’t going to be taking Favored Foe because we aren’t using weapons for one, but more importantly despite it’s name Favored Enemy is also good for tracking friends! You have advantage on Survival checks to track your favored “enemies”, as well as on Intelligence checks to recall information about them. Go for Beasts to easily find a feathered or fluffy friend! Oh and you also get more languages because I don’t know why, so again pick your poison.

LEVEL 4 - RANGER 2

Second level Rangers get their Fighting Style, or as I like to call it your Helping Style because we’ll be going for Druidic Warrior! You can pick up two cantrips from the Druid list: I opted for Druidcraft (you can grow some flowers for your friends; yay!) and Mending to tend to your cottage.

And of course with cantrips we also get more Spellcasting! You can learn two spells from the Druid list: you’re never not going to want Cure Wounds (which is why we didn’t take it earlier btw) and Animal Friendship is an obvious must.

LEVEL 5 - RANGER 3

Third level Rangers get to choose their Ranger Archetype and we’ll be going for the Gloomsta- Ah you all know it’s going to be Beast Master. You get a Ranger’s Companion not from the PHB but from Tasha’s! The Beast of Land would make the most sense and while it’s probably expected that they be a wolf or something you can pretend that you’re playing Fighting is Magic and have Angel Bunny fight for you! Anyways here’s a crash course on your new fluffy friend:

Their AC is equal to 13 plus your proficiency bonus (currently 16.)

Their health is equal to 5 + five times your Ranger level (currently 20) and they have a number of d8 hit die equal to your Ranger level.

They have a 40 foot movement speed and a 40 foot climbing speed.

You can command it to attack with your bonus action; it has the same hit chance as your spell hit chance (WIS mod + Prof Bonus [currently 6]) and deals a d8 + 2 + prof bonus damage.

If they move at least 20 feet straight toward a target and then hit with an attack on the same turn, the target takes an extra 1d6 slashing damage and must make a Strength saving throw against your spell save DC (if they’re a creature.) If they fail they’re knocked prone.

You can command the beast to attack, dash, disengage, or hide with your bonus action.

If you don’t command it they take the dodge action.

You can revive them with a spell of first level or higher 1 hour after they die, and can change your beast after a long rest.

Man, who knew that taking care of a pet was so difficult? Well you also get Primeval Awareness (because Primal Awareness actually doesn’t work that well for this build.) You can use your action and one spell slot to sense the following types of creatures within 1 mile of you: aberrations, celestials, dragons, elementals, fey, fiends, and undead. This lasts for one minute, and doesn’t reveal the creatures’ location or number.

And you learn another spell: Goodberry is good to feed yourself and all your friends! As long as they’re okay with eating berries, of course. C’mon... they’re good for you! Pleeeease?

(Artwork by AssasinMonkey on DeviantArt.)

LEVEL 6 - RANGER 4

Finally an Ability Score Improvement... or Feat? We’ll be going for Eldritch Adept, which is admittedly weird but it’s the only way to get Beast Speech so you can Speak with Animals at will! Is total level 6 a little late to finally be able to speak with animals? Yeah, but this is unlimited so it fits better and doesn’t spend your spell slots.

LEVEL 7 - CLERIC 3

Finally back to Cleric land which means finally we can prepare some second level spells! As a Peace domain Cleric you automatically get Aid and Warding Bond prepared, both of which are very good for keeping your friends alive. You can also finally get Hold Person to finally have The Stare!

LEVEL 8 - CLERIC 4

Level 4 in Cleric means another Ability Score Improvement: Wisdom is still your core stat so increasing that by 2 would be your best choice.

You also get another cantrip at this level, and can prepare two more spells! For cantrips I’d recommend Light to see with your dumb bird eyes unless you’re an Owlfolk, and I’d recommend preparing Lesser Restoration and Enhance Ability to further boost your friends.

(Artwork by Koveliana on DeviantArt.)

LEVEL 9 - CLERIC 5

5th level Clerics can now Destroy Undead of CR 1/2 or lower with their Channel Divinity. Don’t feel too bad about it; they were big dumb meanies anyways!

You can also prepare third level spells too! As a Peace Domain Cleric you get Beacon of Hope to help with healing, and Spike can send letters out for you with Sending. You can also prepare Dispel Magic in case Twilight needs help with more dangerous spells.

LEVEL 10 - CLERIC 6

6th level Peace Clerics get Protective Bond. When a creature affected by your Emboldening Bond is about to take damage, another bonded creature within 30 feet of the first can use its reaction to teleport to an unoccupied space within 5 feet of the first creature. That creature then takes all the damage instead. It’s worth mentioning that since this specifies “creature” you can actually bond with your beast companion and have it use its reaction, or have others go in to defend angel.

You can also prepare another third level spell like Revivify, so you don’t lose any friends. And to top it off you can use your Channel Divinity twice per short rest! Woohoo!

LEVEL 11 - CLERIC 7

7th level Cleric, 4th level spells. As a Peace Domain Cleric you get Aura of Purity to protect your friends, and Otiluke’s Resilient Sphere to put your enemies in time out. You can also prepare another spell like Freedom of Movement, in case you need to run!

LEVEL 12 - CLERIC 8

8th level Clerics get a variety of features. To start off you get an Ability Score Improvement, which means we can finally cap off your Wisdom for maximum spellcasting! This also means you can prepare more spells, but we’re actually going to hold off on getting more spells for now.

You can also put a little more LOVE into your spells with Potent Spellcasting, adding your Wisdom modifier to the damage of your Cleric cantrips. And finally your Channel Divinity will now Destroy Undead or CR 1 or lower.

LEVEL 13 - CLERIC 9

The reason we held off on getting more Cleric spells last level is because now we get those big 5th level spells! As a Peace Domain Cleric you can help your friends out of any jam with Greater Restoration, and know what they really mean to say thanks to Rary’s Telepathic Bond.

You can also prepare some of those big hitter spells like Mass Cure Wounds to save your friends, and you can cast both Dawn and Summon Celestial to call on Celestia herself! Isn’t that Twilight’s job? Well, it’s still good to have contacts!

(Artwork by CigarsCigarettes on DeviantArt.)

LEVEL 14 - RANGER 5

Now that we’ve got all the support we could need for our friends it’s time to return to our roots and focus on Angel! Feel free to focus more on Ranger instead of Cleric if you so desire when building this yourself; I simply opted for more healing instead of damage.

We’re finally 5th level with Ranger which finally means you’ll be getting an Extra Attack!... Which you probably won’t use because you can use cantrips instead. Well it’s still nice to have?

The good thing though is that you can learn more Ranger spells like Healing Spirit, which is a really strong healing spell that was kinda gutted by erratas. But it’s still nice and efficient regardless of what spell slot you casted it at, effectively being a 6d6 heal for a second level spell slot!

LEVEL 15 - RANGER 6

6th level Rangers can now add Roving to their list of skills from Deft Explorer. Your movement speed increases by 5 feet, and you get both a climbing and swimming speed equal to your walking speed. Is total level 15 a little late to get a 30 foot movement speed? Yeah probably, but every little bit helps!

Speaking of another little bit you get another Favored Enemy... I mean friend! ...I don’t know pick whatever you think will be relevant for the campaign. Also yes: you do get more languages, because Ranger.

LEVEL 16 - RANGER 7

7th level Beast Masters have Exceptional Training with their Animal Companion. You can use a bonus action to command the beast to take the Dash, Disengage, or Help action on its turn... which you could already do anyways thanks to Tasha’s.

I’d say that after Tasha’s this feature would work even if you don’t command your beast, but as always discuss the rules with your DM.

Well at least Angel’s attacks count as magical to overcome resistances, which is good because you were probably dealing with nonmagical resistance for awhile now.

You can also prepare another spell like Pass Without Trace, so you and your friends can sneak around unseen. Pass Without Trace is one of those spells that is always useful regardless of what level you are, so picking it up now is still useful!

LEVEL 17 - RANGER 8

8th level Rangers get another Ability Score Improvement. You’ve probably noticed our uneven Constitution score by this point: yeah that was because we were going to grab Resilient Constitution at some point. Increasing your CON gives you a nice +17 to your health and makes your Constitution saves (and concentration saves!) a +8 total.

You’ve also spent so much time on the ground moving through nonmagical difficult terrain costs you no extra movement thanks to Land’s Stride. You can also pass through nonmagical plants without being slowed by them or taking damage from them. Additionally, you have advantage on saving throws against plants that are magically created or manipulated to impede movement. You may be able to fly but that doesn’t mean being able to move on the ground isn’t useful!

(Artwork by AssasinMonkey on DeviantArt.)

LEVEL 18 - RANGER 9

9th level Rangers can learn third level spells, and you’ve probably spent enough time training with Rainbow Dash by this point to make a Wind Wall to protect your friends! (Basically the Ranger spell list sucks and we’re only really going down Ranger still for more subclass features.)

LEVEL 19 - RANGER 10

You get a new feature from Deft Explorer at this level: you are now Tireless! As an action you can give yourself a number of temporary hit points equal to 1d8 plus your Wisdom modifier (so 5.) You can use this action a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest. Additionally whenever you finish a short rest your exhaustion level is decreased by 1.

You’re also a master of avoiding social interaction. Nature’s Veil lets you turn invisible as a Bonus Action until the start of your next turn. You can also use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and regain all expended uses when you finish a Long Rest.

LEVEL 20 - RANGER 11

11th level Beast Masters can invoke Bestial Fury! With 11 level in Ranger and 20 total levels in this build your Animal Companion can now... attack twice! Look Beast Master is playable now, I never said it was good.

At least you can learn one last Ranger spell: in your ultimate stand against darkness Daylight will help you banish the dark! ...Or something. Look again: the Ranger spell list sucks.

FINAL BUILD

PROS

You do not hurt my friends! You got that? - Even with the multiclassing you still get spell slots up to 7th level, and have more than enough magic to shake a stick at. Not to mention that Angel will always be by your side to pump out a bit more damage with your Bonus Action!

You’re the cutest thing ever - Maxed out Wisdom was rather expected from a Cleric, but Expertise in Animal Handling combined with unlimited Beast Speech means that you can easily make friends with any beast you come across! Just make sure your DM is okay with you giving a hydra belly rubs.

Whatever you wanna do is fine... - You’ve got quite a good mix of features that will help you both in and out of combat, meaning that there’s plenty that your friends can rely on you to help with! In fact there’s a lot of things that only you can do as a Ranger which are quite helpful!

CONS

You’re such a loudmouth... - Most of your class resources only come back after a Long Rest, with only your Channel Divinity coming back after a Short Rest. You’re still plenty capable with just Angel by your side but don’t spend everything in one fight, or else you’ll be left with nothing but Sacred Flame and Animal Companion attacks.

Are you coughing because... - So let’s talk about Angel: even with 11 levels in Ranger they’re not great. AC of 19 is pretty good but they’ll probably max out around 60 HP. Your average Wizard will have more HP than this by level 20. Two maul attacks will do decent damage but you could get equal value out of Spiritual Weapon, and you only get the second attack with Angel at total build level 20. And yeah for most of this build Angel is going to be sitting around 25 max HP, meaning they’re likely to go down a lot. Aid can help keep your pets healthy and happy but don’t be upset when your level 4 Ranger companion keeps going down.

Awful, just awful! - We kinda miss the best of both worlds for the sake of a build that’s “in-character.” No 10th level of Cleric means no Divine Intervention (even if it’s only a 10% chance it’s still good to have), and no 12th level of Ranger means no ASIs. One good thing about this build is that it does peak around level 10 or so where the multiclassing doesn’t start to damage it, but if you really expect to run all the way to level 20 I’d sooner play either a straight Ranger or a straight Cleric.

But you’re coming along to share your kindness with everypony around you, and guide your friends to victory! Use your expertise to keep your friends alive while Angel kicks some major tail! Get down and be assertive, but remember not to push yourself too hard. Everypony already loves you for who you are, even if you’re in fact a little shy.

(Artwork by Rodrigues404 on DeviantArt.)

#dnd #dnd build #dnd guide #My Little Pony #Friendship is Magic #mlp: fim #brony #dnd ranger #dnd cleric #fluttershy #flutter pony #animals

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naralanis · 3 years

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My first pen was a Pilot Metro Retro. And was promptly broke by an E-2 I let borrow it to sign paperwork (i kept the cap so he would have to give it back, but alas). And then a couple years later I jumped to a TWSBI Vac700 Iris. Anyway, i have a few different pens, but I havent found even a basic instruction on how to tune tines or maintain them besides washing them out with distilled water. And suggestions?

Hi there! Sorry about your Metro, and hope you're happy with the TWSBI! I once let someone borrow my Décimo and they... mangled it. Heartbreaking! I was eventually able to fix it, but it took some doing, and it was also a last ditch effort -- I was already fully prepared to dish out the money for a brand new nib unit, so I figured there was no harm in trying.

I'll get to the easy stuff first: if your fountain pen is writing OK, it doesn't really require more maintenance than a good flush every now and then. You don't even have to use distilled water (unless the water in your area is like, exceedingly mineral-heavy) -- plain tap water and regular dish soap will do just fine.

As for nib tuning/readjustments, they are not part of a pen's general maintenance. Readjustments are done if there's a problem with how your pen is writing, and personally I view nib tuning as something done to improve the experience to the user -- mostly to smooth a scratchy nib.

Here's the short answer as to why info on making these adjustments is a little less widespread (though still relatively easy to find):

1) While often simple, these alterations can be a bit fiddly, and it's very easy to irreparably damage your pen.

2) These alterations, but especially tuning/otherwise modifying your nib/feed, will almost certainly automatically void your pen's warranty.

Keep that in mind if you decide to undertake any tuning -- it is always at your own (and your pen's) risk.

That's the short of it! For the (much, much) longer version, as always, see below the cut!

sorry this one took so long, I got really, really into it and it is stupidly long adalskjadhls

So, first things first. Your pen writes completely fine, you wash it every now and then or whenever you're changing inks, and have an overall pleasurable experience writing with it.

Congrats! Nothing else needs to be done. Enjoy your pen.

Now, let's say your pen isn't writing completely fine. Maybe it's skipping, maybe it feels scratchy, maybe it's laying down too much ink or not enough.

Before you go straight to tuning your nib, the first thing you do is: you clean it.

"But Nara, I already cleaned it." Clean it again. You'd be amazed how often a more thorough flush fixes simple flow problems -- do it with dish soap if you used only water the second time.

The next step? Try a different ink, if you have some. Then, try some different paper. It's good to have a paper/ink combo that you're familiar with to use as a standard. I like to use a Rhodia No. 19 Dot Pad and Waterman Serenity Blue to test all of my pens -- nearly every pen I buy writes an 'inauguration' page with that exact combination.

If your pen is a cartridge/converter, always make sure the cartridge or converter is the right fit and that it's seated properly. It should fit securely without a ton of pressure -- if you can basically bop it off without trying, it's probably the wrong fit. If the converter provided to you by the retailer doesn't fit, contact them -- maybe you got a defective pen.

Alright, so you've done all of the above, but your pen is still writing funky or not at all. Now it's time to take a closer look at the nib.

Enjoy this expertly made reference image I made on my phone before I realized I could just link you to a better one.

Before you start researching how to tune/grind your nib, let's check the nib and feed alignment -- the feed is what allows the ink to travel from reservoir to paper, and if cleaning your pen hasn't solved the problem, there's a good chance it is probably not seated correctly.

Here's what you should check for:

1) Make sure your feed is flush to the underside of your nib

If there's a major gap between the underside of your nib and the top of the feed (where the ink channel is), the ink simply can't get to where it needs to be (i.e. the tip of the nib). I

If there is a major gap, you can check if your nib and feed are seated correctly in the nib section. This depends a little bit on the pen and the model, but most of the time, you can try grasping nib and feed together and gently pushing down. Remember to never grab your nib by the shoulders/tines, as that will most likely ruin it.

2) Make sure your feed is properly centered with the nib.

This is easier to check if your pen has a breather hole, which most of them do. Basically, check to see if the ink channel at the top of your feed (you can see it through the breather hole) lines up with the ink slit. Here's a good example:

And here are... not so good ones. Coincidentally, both on Conklin pens.

This is usually a simple fit -- sometimes you can gently wriggle it back in place. Other times, you need to remove the nib and feed from the collar (basically the plastic thing that holds the nib unit together) or they are friction fit to the section altogether (like in the Lamy AL-Star). Do a bit of research on your pen model before you try disassembling it.

Feed is centered? All good to go? OK, now we move on to checking the metalworks, so to speak. I recommend using a magnifying glass or loupe for this part. Here's the one I use.

4) Check your tines for a) factory oopsies and b) misalignment.

Here's an example of tines that were just... cut very wrong (sorry for poo-poo pic quality, but you should be able to see the tine on the right just... ain't right)

In the case above, contact your retailer. I noticed this one before even inking my pen, but they should cover a replacement regardless.

DISCLAIMER: all adjustments from here on out may void your pen's warranty.

(maybe not a simple realignment, but don't risk it, or ask your retailer before you try anything).

Here's an example of slightly misaligned tines (ON THE SAME PEN AFTER EXCHANGE BTW).

I stupidly didn't get pictures of my Décimo or the Duragraph above looking straight at nib pointing up -- you could actually see one of the tines sloping slightly downward. That causes unbearable (to me) scratchiness and can tear off paper fibers. No fun.

There are better examples from JetPens' Fountain Pen Troubleshooting Guide (which you should absolutely check out!)

You can fix misaligned tines yourself. It requires patience, a little pressure, and a lot of finesse not to overdo it. You can manually bend the tines back into place, but before you try it yourself, I recommend going to YouTube to see how other pen people do it. My method is similar to this one, but there are several others. You can use your fingernail to push it down, just be very careful with how much force you use.

The one method I personally don't recommend is, ironically, the one JetPens recommend on their guide. It might work just fine, but I just think it is way too easy to overdo it and get splayed tines or create a major gap between nib and feed.

OK, seems like the tines on your pen are fine? Time to...

5) Check the distance between your tines.

Your tines should, ideally, be juuust a hair apart-- only enough for the ink and capillary action do their thing. They shouldn't be touching, since that would hinder ink flow, but there should not be a gulf of distance between them either. Let's revisit another Conklin

Yay. Fun.

This is also fairly simple to fix, but again: you have to be delicate about it. I manually manipulate my tines into position and kind of go by feel by now, always testing and checking with my loupe. Here's how PenBoyRoy does it:

youtube

Again, there are many different methods, and you will often hear different things from different pen people. It's down to preference and what works for you!

OK, now we've gone through an odyssey of troubleshooting (I AM SO SORRY), let's talk about nib tuning.

Yet another disclaimer: doing anything I describe below will 100% void your pen's warranty.

Tuning your nib isn't necessarily fixing it. It certainly can, if you've done pretty much all of the above and everything looks fine but the pen isn't writing the way you want it to. I use it to smooth down pens that are technically writing OK, but the experience of writing with them isn't entirely pleasant for me.

Essentially, you're using a rougher surface to basically... 'sand down' your nib. There's a wide variety of techniques (from using a rough paper bag all the way to actual fine-grit sanding blocks), but the most important detail you need to remember is you're removing tipping material (however little).

While tuning your nibs isn't necessarily hard, it's very, very easy to overdo it, and that will cause pretty much irreparable damage. If tuning nibs is something you're interested in, practice on inexpensive pens first -- I practiced on ye olde Pilot Varsity.

The Varsity is great to practice tuning because 1) it's super cheap, so even if you fuck it up completely, it's not the end of the world. 2) It has a medium tip.

The bigger the tip = the more tipping material = more room for error.

I mainly use two things to tune my pens: micromesh and mylar paper, which are both super fine abrasives. Goulet (and other pen retailers) sell entire nib-tuning kits with everything you might need to get started, but here's my own (plus a few extras that may look scary, but trust me, you don't need all of this):

In my pen kit above, you can see my newer sheets of micromesh and mylar and the scribbles I use to tune my nibs. I hold the pen the way I normally would when writing with it, and scribble over the abrasive, but I don't do it randomly. Figure 8s are usually the go-to for simple tuning; you can also go a particular direction if you know exactly which area of your nib needs to be smoothed.

Again, even micromesh and mylar paper (particularly the latter) are incredibly fine abrasives, it is still very easy to overdo it. I have fucked up nibs before, mostly on my practice pens, but also on a not-super-cheap pen, and I had to buy a whole new nib unit.

So, like I said, possible? Very! Simple? Sure! Finicky? Hell yeah.

Side note: tuning a nib is mostly just making it write more smoothly. If you'd like to change the shape of the tipping material entirely (and thus create line variation), that is totally something that can be done!

It is called nib grinding, and it is better left to the professionals, but it is super cool!

pOK, I didn't quite mean to go into a full nib troubleshooting post, but I should have known my brain could not be stopped. Hopefully, this (extremely) long-winded, tangent-riddled descent into the rabbit hole was at least a little bit useful!

Thanks for dropping by!

#soulofkeys #ask naralanis and maybe she will deign to respond #fountain pen #pen asks #nara rambles #and holy shit how she rambles #I AM SORRY I COULD NOT HELP MYSELF #anyway #have fun I guess?#also #please do more research than reading what 1 (one) hyperfixated idiot put together on a Tumblr post #I avidly encourage it #pen talk

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mostlysignssomeportents · 3 years

Text

K-Zombies

When you and your friends put your fingers on the ouija board planchette and it starts moving around, there's a chance your friends are just yanking your chain - but just as possible is that your friends are experiencing the ideomotor response.

That's when your unconscious mind directs your muscles without your conscious knowledge. The movement of the planchette doesn't tell you what's going on in the spirit world, but it does tell you something about the internal weather of your friend's psyche, fears and hopes.

Our narratives are social-scale planchettes, directed by mass ideomotor response. When a fake news story takes hold, it reveals a true fact: namely, the shared, internal models of how the world really works.

Fake news is an oracle, in other words.

https://locusmag.com/2019/07/cory-doctorow-fake-news-is-an-oracle/

There's no spirit-realm directing planchettes. Supernatural phenomena are nonsense, in all their guises. Mediums are fraudsters or deluded - and so are soothsayers who claim to be able to predict the future. That goes for fortune-tellers and futurists alike.

A shocking number of self-described "rational" science fiction writers share the delusional view that they can predict the future. These pulp Nostradamii point to "predictions" of sf that have "come true" and claim to have an inside line on the world of tomorrow.

Sf *has* an important relationship to the future, though! It can be a planchette: all the futures imagined by all the sf writers are a kind of mutation-space, and the fitness factor that determines whether a story thrives or sinks is whether it captures public imagination.

Sf writers and readers are a means for society to reflect back, amplify and examine our unarticulated hopes and fears about our *present* technology. Sf doesn't predict the future, but sf readers and writers do an excellent job of predicting the present.

And since the present is the standing wave where the past is being transformed into the future, knowing about the present can be a source of insights into what's coming - and not just because sf reveals what's going on in the present, but also because it influences it.

People who are captured by imaginative, futuristic parables about the problems and possibilities of technology acquire a set of intuition-pumps for coping with the future when it arrives, reflexive views and actions about what the future demands of us.

Gene Rodenberry didn't predict the Motorola flip-phone. Rather, when a generation of Motorola designers and engineers were asked to make a mobile communications device their minds immediately flew to the Star Trek communicators they grew up with.

Thinking of fantastic fiction as measurement device and influence machine is a productive way to pick apart the meaning of literary trends.

As I wrote in my intro to the bicentennial re-release of FRANKENSTEIN, the rise and fall of Shelley's book tracks to the rise and fall of fears related to the book's various themes:

https://muse.jhu.edu/chapter/1974387

So what are we to make of K-zombies? Korean pop culture is experiencing a golden age of zombie movies, games, comics and other media.

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-02-23/zombies-are-everywhere-south-korea-fears

Zombies have a lot of different themes, of course, and some are easy to map to the current situation: the fear of contagion and the need to distance yourself from loved ones who have become infected. The parallels to covid hardly need explaining.

But the K-zombie phenomenon predates the pandemic, and zombie stories aren't merely contagion stories - they're often stories about the lurking bestiality of nearly everyone around us.

That's behind stories like The Walking Dead, about the propensity of all our "normal" friends and neighbors to transform into an insensate, rampaging mob. These zombie stories are a throwback to the "cozy catastrophes" of John Wyndham and co:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/03/29/grifters-gonna-grift/#wyndhamesque

These are stories of racial and class anxiety, of xenophobia and the literal othering of someone who *seems* to be just like you but is actually a secret monster. Again, on a divided peninsula, it's not hard to see how stories of lurking otherness would catch hold.

Zombie stories are also stories about the fragility of social cohesion: stories about how we're never "all in this together" and how, when the chips are down, it'll be "the war of all against all." That, too, feels very zeitgeisty given recent South Korean politics.

South Korea has an ugly, authoritarian past that is at odds with its founding myth as the "good Korea," the "democratic Korea." But the post-war reconstruction of the country by the US elevated an elite to a position of near-total authority and impunity.

They abused this power in ghastly ways, running forced-labor camps for poor people and people with disabilities, with rampant physical and sexual abuse. Families who lost their loved ones were traumatized to learn that they'd ended up in the camps.

https://web.archive.org/web/20160423131643/https://bigstory.ap.org/article/c22de3a565fe4e85a0508bbbd72c3c1b/ap-s-korea-covered-mass-abuse-killings-vagrants

These forced-labor camps (which continue in a slightly modified form to this day) supplied slaves to chaebols, the conglomerates that represent the country on a world stage. Unsurprisingly, the leadership of these companies is also grossly corrupt:

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2052871/samsung-chief-jailed-for-2-5-years-over-corruption-scandal

Korea is also riven by messianic cults, and the leaders of these cults have close ties to the Korean political class, an incredibly politically destabilizing fact that has caused recent Korean governments to collapse:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-37971085

South Korea, in other words, isn't just haunted by the spectre of aggression from the north - but also by the possibility of internal rupture. It has a huge, authoritarian secret police force that has been caught secretly meddling in electoral politics.

Far from reining in this spookocracy, the South Korean political class has tried to hand them even MORE powers, with LESS oversight. Today is the fifth anniversary of the Korean opposition's filibuster to stop the worst of these.

(Seo Ki-Ho, a politician with the affectionate nickname "Milhouse" for his resemblance to the Simpsons character read the Korean edition of my novel LITTLE BROTHER into the record during the filibuster!)

https://memex.craphound.com/2016/02/26/south-korean-lawmakers-stage-filibuster-to-protest-anti-terror-bill-read-from-little-brother/

This othering is also sharply illustrated in the country's culture of misogynistic voyeurism, which goes beyond "upskirt" videos and includes a roaring trade in videos captured with hidden cameras in toilets, changing rooms and hotel rooms.

It's hard to overstate the reach of this practice, and its political salience: it has provoked a vast mass-movement of women and allies demanding an end to the practice and a reckoning with institutional sexism:

https://www.khaosodenglish.com/culture/net/2020/10/21/voyeurs-are-selling-photos-of-women-at-the-protest-online/

Zombies aren't ever just about contagion - they're also always an expression of a deep anxiety that your neighbors aren't what they seem, that in a pinch, they'll turn on you, and not just because they've been infected, but also to protect themselves and their comfort.

US zombie booms always have an element of this: 1950s (reds under the bed); 1980s (red menace redux); 2000s (immigration "crisis"), etc. It'd be amazing if the only thing driving K-zombies' popularity was the pandemic, or even less plausibly, a mere aesthetic coincidence.

#pluralistic

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elsanna-shenanigans · 3 years

Text

April Contest Submission #13: A Break From Normalcy

Words: ca. 5,000 Setting: mAU Lemon: no CW: Character death, grief, slight gay panic, minor language

Ever since her childhood, Elsa had been a girl of routine.

Whims were rare for the girl, and her actually following them was even more rare.

In elementary school, she packed the same thing for lunch every day, played on the same swing every day at recess, and wore her hair the same way every morning.

This continued throughout her life. She woke up at 6:15 in the morning, every morning, without an alarm. She ate the same chocolate cereal for breakfast every morning at 6:25 before taking her shower at 6:40.

At 7:00 on the dot, she was always starting her car to go to school. She took a less busy back street to avoid traffic and usually arrived at school at 7:15, give or take three minutes.

She then proceeded to read whatever book had caught her fancy that day until 7:55, at which point she made her way to class, five minutes early. She left school at exactly 3:15 each day, just after the rush of students eager to leave, and she arrived home by 3:30 typically.

When she got home, she would do homework and study until her parents got home at 5:30, though they often fluctuated more than her with their schedules.

She then had dinner with them at 6:30 and played whatever video game caught her fancy at the time or practiced any skills she was learning outside of school.

Then, at last, she was in bed by 9:00.

This routine carried her through high school, and during the summer following her high school graduation she only modified it a little to fit a part time job into her schedule.

Then, she started college.

She watched around her as the other students at Arendelle University seemed more and more broken as the semester dragged on. The bags under their eyes darkened and their grades declined.

Meanwhile, Elsa thrived. A lifetime of setting schedules and deadlines for herself had prepared her for this. Her assignments were always submitted on time, she was always well rested, and her grades were fantastic.

This continued until her senior year when she had a sudden whim to check out a new coffee shop. Whims were rare for her. She was usually strict with her adherence to her schedule, and she normally squashed any whims before she even considered them. However, this whim seemed harmless enough, as she could easily incorporate it into her schedule.

This whim, however, was the first whim that would change her life.

She liked her routine well enough, but sometimes a little break was needed from normalcy.

She usually went to a less busy place for a coffee every day at 10:00 and then worked on her homework at home until 11:30, but now she found herself at a different, busy place, Der Kaffeehausen, each day at 10:15, and instead of going home to do her work, she found herself settling into the table with a broken booth at the coffee shop.

Der Kaffeehausen itself was far different than the old place she frequented. There was live music almost all the time. The crowds were loud. The menu changed up each day. However, within the chaos there was order.

The same barista worked every weekday, which fit Elsa’s school schedule of Monday, Wednesday and Friday well. This meant her coffee, a medium iced mocha coffee with light cream and Splenda, was exactly the same every time she got it.

She also got the same table every day since the booth was broken, so she could count on having her spot whenever she came.

It was about a week into the semester when Elsa met Anna. Well, she didn’t really meet Anna. She overheard the girl from the next table over while she was writing an essay on Joan of Arc.

“Hey, yeah, it’s Anna. Loving college so far, just thought I’d let you know how it’s going. There’s this guy who-“ Elsa heard the girl speaking into her phone.

She didn’t catch the rest of the conversation. Not because eavesdropping was rude, but mostly because the redhead’s name sounded pleasant and that was what stuck with her.

Every weekday after that, Anna became part of her routine, even though the two had never spoken. Anna would show up within five minutes of Elsa’s own arrival. While Elsa would get her coffee and get straight to work, Anna’s routine, or lack thereof, was far less refined.

One day she would loudly slurp a massive bowl of soup and then take a nap in the booth. The next she would do homework of her own. The following day she might play Pokémon on her Nintendo Switch, loudly whooping when she caught a rare Pokémon or won a battle. She was predictable in her unpredictability, Elsa realized.

There was one thing, however, that she noticed Anna did every single day. The phone call. Some days it lasted maybe a minute. Others it lasted almost an hour, but Anna always called someone – the same person each day, Elsa theorized.

She learned that Anna tended to ramble when she talked, and the phone conversations sounded very one sided. It almost sounded like Anna was writing a diary out loud.

Eventually Elsa found herself getting absorbed into Anna’s conversations herself. She usually snapped out of it quickly enough, however. She had work to do, after all. A routine to keep.

-.-.-.-.-

It was October when her routine was once again shaken, but unlike last time, this time it wasn’t her own doing. She was sitting in her normal spot, laptop open as she typed and with a textbook balanced on her lap. Anna was strangely absent, a middle aged couple at the redhead’s usual table.

Elsa’s fingers clicked and clacked, but part of her still felt something was missing without Anna. It was a weird feeling, especially since the two had never even spoken.

That was why she was so surprised at the voice to her right that morning.

“Excuse me,” Anna’s voice muttered sheepishly. Elsa turned up and smiled a little.

“Hi,” she returned.

Anna looked around a bit before gesturing to herself. She then asked, “Hi, me?”

Elsa had to force herself not to giggle.

“Right, me. Who else would you be talking to? You don’t usually talk to many people here,” Anna carried on, “which is okay! Doing your own thing is totally fine, sometimes I just want to be left alone too. I totally get it.”

Elsa waited patiently as the redhead made her point. Truthfully, she had only really heard Anna talk during the phone calls, so to have her voice directed at Elsa was a treat.

“But anyway, uh, I meant to ask if there’s room for one more at your booth? Mine’s kind of taken,” Anna finished with a gesture to the middle aged couple.

It took Elsa a moment to realize the girl was done. It took her a bit longer to realize what Anna had even said. This wasn’t only the first time Elsa had talked to Anna. It was also the first time she looked into the girl’s eyes, and they were beautiful. The teal perfectly complemented her copper hair. She cleared her throat and answered, hoping she wasn’t blushing.

“Of course,” she said, smile still on her face, “The booth is broken a bit on the end, but you’re welcome to join me.”

The relief on Anna’s face was surprising. Was she a person of routine too?

“Thank you! I didn’t want to bother you because you always look so busy. I know that I can be a distraction,” Anna said self deprecatingly.

“No, no, it’s fine,” Elsa assured her, as she settled into Elsa’s booth. The end of the booth was broken, of course, so Anna ended up fairly close to Elsa, but she could handle it. She was a routine-oriented person, not a completely antisocial person.

They settled into a comfortable silence as Elsa continued working on her homework about William of Normandy. Anna, for her part, just rummaged through her bag and then played Pokémon. This lasted until Elsa had to leave to keep her routine. Strangely, at 11:30, she found herself not quite wanting to leave.

It wasn’t that the two had spoken or formed some kind of bond, but Elsa had enjoyed just being in Anna’s presence. However, something felt off about their hour together. Something felt wrong. Elsa had never once really deviated from her routine, but this was the feeling she thought she’d have if she ever did.

It took a few more days of Anna sitting with her in silence to realize what made her feel so anxious.

“Anna…?” she mumbled one day. She didn’t think about the fact that the two hadn’t even introduced themselves and she had no logical reason to know this girl’s name.

“Hmm?”

Anna didn’t even seem a little suspicious at Elsa knowing her name.

“I know what it’s like to have a routine. If you need to make your phone call, I won’t listen in on it,” Elsa said with a gentle smile.

Anna smiled back at her and, surprising her, pulled her into a hug. It was quick, but when it was over, Elsa instantly missed the warmth it provided.

“Thank you,” Anna said with red cheeks, “I just didn’t want to bother you. I know you’re always super busy, and your work is probably way harder than mine. I mean, I’m just a freshman, but you’re like, a senior.”

“No,” Elsa reassured her, “Mr. Weselton’s class is boring, but it’s really easy.”

“Wow,” Anna said as she removed her phone from her satchel, “You must be some kind of genius. I’m in his Historical Perspectives class and I can’t keep up.”

The compliment made Elsa blush even more, so she just made a noncommittal ‘hmm’ and returned to her work so that Anna could make the call.

She noted, as usual, that it sounded as if the conversation was very one sided, but she didn’t pry. She kept typing, pausing only to reference her textbook. When 11:30 rolled around, she packed her things, waved to Anna, and mouthed a silent ‘bye.’

The little wave and smile Anna gave her stuck with her for the rest of the day.

-.-.-.-.-.-

It was ten days until Christmas at Arendelle University, and Elsa was still surprised at how empty Der Kaffeehausen was.

The semester ended on December 14th and resumed on January 3rd, so she knew logically that the campus would be empty, but it was still unnerving being the only customer in the whole place. There was a pianist playing at the piano on stage, but it wasn’t the usual jaunty stuff one would expect here. Likewise, there were only two baristas. Thankfully her favorite was still there.

She felt a little strange going to the broken booth when the entire lobby was empty of people. She didn’t even have homework, but her routine was so ingrained in her that she couldn’t quite bring herself to make the drive home to her family, even for Christmas.

She opened a blank word document, due to muscle memory more than anything else, and tried to find some sort of inspiration to type something. Her mind was drawing a blank. She blamed her lack of homework between semesters, but she knew the truth.

Anna had become part of her routine. The two barely really spoke, and they certainly didn’t know each other well. Had she even told Anna her name?

Regardless, whether Anna was sitting at the next booth over, or playing Pokémon in the same booth as Elsa, Elsa was accustomed to the redhead. She now felt the way she would feel if she were to ever sleep in past 6:15, or go to another different coffee shop. It was a feeling that things were just barely off, and it made her uncomfortable.

“Hi,” Anna’s voice pulled her from her thoughts. Elsa looked up to her and smiled.

“Hi, me?” she asked teasingly.

“Well, you never told me your name, so I didn’t know how else to say ‘hi’,” Anna said with her own teasing grin, sliding easily into the broken booth beside Elsa.

“Didn’t I?” Elsa asked, feigning obliviousness, “I’m pretty sure I did. Maybe you have a poor memory.”

Anna pretended to take offense at that, gasping comically loudly.

“Why, I never! Who could possibly forget your name?” she asked with her usual smile.

Elsa giggled, “You’d be surprised. I’d say if college had superlatives, I’d be voted ‘most forgettable.’”

“Well I could never forget you,” Anna mumbled stubbornly. Elsa blushed and returned to her work – oh. Right. No work. No excuse.

“Thanks,” she muttered shyly.

To her surprise Anna scooted far closer than usual to her in the booth and peeked at the blank word document.

“I was wondering what you were working on during Christmas break,” she said with a tone filled with satisfaction at having her questions answered.

“Uh, yeah, I just don’t like going home for holidays,” Elsa told a half truth, “What about you?”

“Oh, I don’t have much reason to go home either,” she answered, but her voice wasn’t quite as bright as it normally was. Elsa could feel some kind of unspoken tension in the air.

That was when Elsa had the second big whim that would change her life.

“I hear there’s a beautiful lake on the other side of campus. Would you like to go?” she asked hesitantly, not really sure why Anna’s answer was so important to her.

“Really?” Anna asked with a tilt of her head, “I thought you don’t like going outside? That you like, have a thing about dirt or something?”

Elsa laughed at the misunderstanding, not even realizing she was leaning very close to Anna. By the time she realized that their shoulders were touching, she didn’t have it in her to be embarrassed.

“No, you dork,” she teased, “I just like keeping a routine.”

Anna was blushing as she playfully shoved her. She was thankful that they were alone in there, because she was sure their giggles would disturb other customers.

“Well, yes, then. Let’s go see this lake of yours.”

Elsa stood and packed her laptop into her bag, carefully grabbing her coffee in her other hand.

“Well, do you want to drive or walk?”

“I’d say walk. I don’t like cars that much,” Anna mumbled the last bit before teasingly perking up, “Besides. I still don’t know your name, and I’m not in the mood to be kidnapped.”

Elsa jokingly snapped her fingers as the two made for the exit.

“Darn! You’re onto me,” she bantered. With a chuckle she said, “It’s Elsa, by the way.”

Anna said her name out loud a few times as if testing it.

“Such a pretty name,” she marveled, walking through the door Elsa was holding for her, “And such manners! My poor heart can’t take much more of this.”

Elsa was caught between a blush and a giggle. She was aware this was the first conversation the two had really had, but there was something about Anna that was so contagious.

“Shush, you dork,” she said with a smile.

The two walked through the deserted campus, making small talk and occasionally throwing snowballs at each other.

Elsa was surprised to find that she was having fun. She didn’t have the usual headache that accompanied deviations from her routine. She was happy and even laughing.

When the two reached the lake, Elsa wasn’t surprised to see that it was frozen solid. It was very cold outside, after all. It was actually pretty beautiful. She’d never been to the lake, for obvious reasons, so this wasn’t a bad way to see it for the first time.

“It’s so pretty,” Anna said with wide eyes.

“Yeah, it is,” Elsa agreed as she led them to a nearby bench, “I’ve never actually been here.”

“Really?” Anna asked, “How’d you know about it then?”

“My parents made me memorize a map of campus before I moved here.”

“Tell me about them?”

Elsa wasn’t sure why that sounded like a question, but something about it sounded so vulnerable.

“My parents?”

“Yeah, I’d love to know more about Mr. and Mrs. Elsa,” Anna joked, kicking her feet in the snow.

“Ah, yes. My father, Mr. Elsa. He’s great fun at parties,” Elsa teased.

“You know what I mean, you stinker.”

“Well, what do you want to know?” she asked, turning to look at Anna. Anna turned to her and returned the eye contact.

“Anything?”

“Well, they loved me. They were always strict, but in a protective way, I guess?”

“Like the map thing?” Anna offered.

“Like the map thing,“ Elsa nodded, “And they always prepared me for a quality education. It’s why I have my routine.”

“And how does that work?”

“I like to do the same things at the same time each day. It helps me stay organized. And it helps me keep my focus, I think.”

“Oh. So trips like this aren’t usually your thing.”

“Not usually.”

There was a comfortable silence as a dog ran by and rolled in the snow. Elsa half-expected Anna to chase it to pet the cute little thing, but to her surprise, the girl stayed seated.

“Thank you,” Anna said quietly.

“For what?”

“This was my first Christmas without my parents,” she said with a sad smile, “You’re the first real friend I’ve met here at Arendelle U, and I know this wasn’t easy for you, but I was so afraid I’d have to spend Christmas break completely alone.”

Elsa was floored. Anna was such a bright person. She lit everything up around her with her playfulness, her joy, and her general upbeat attitude. To hear such a sobering seriousness from the girl was like a punch to the gut.

“When you say, ‘the first Christmas without your parents,’ do you mean…?”

“My parents died this July in a car crash,” Anna said, almost mechanically. It was like she was reading a paragraph from a book.

“I’m so sorry, Anna. I had no idea,” Elsa said, looking down at the ground between them. She didn’t know what to say, but she so desperately wanted to comfort this girl.

All she could do was scoot closer to Anna and provide a shoulder if she needed it.

Anna graciously accepted it, laying her head on the arm, which was thankfully nice and fluffy due to Elsa’s winter coat.

“I never said anything. I’m just thankful to have someone to spend Christmas with. I knew I could count on you to be in our spot.”

Our spot? Elsa smiled inwardly at the thought that, not only had she made a friend, but she and that friend had their own little thing they could share. Sure, it was just an old broken booth in a coffee shop, but it was theirs.

The pair spent the rest of that day together at that frozen lake, only leaving when interrupted by their empty bellies and the freezing cold.

-.-.-.-.-.-

It was Valentine’s Day when Elsa made a startling discovery about herself.

She stared into the bathroom mirror after her 6:40 shower, but only for a moment. She couldn’t be late.

Her little epiphany wasn’t her fault. It was because of Anna, her newfound best friend. The girl who had piggybacked onto Elsa’s coffee shop routine and become a key part of her life. The girl who had lost her parents just before starting university, leading her to latch emotionally onto Elsa. The girl who, three days ago, on February 11th, had jokingly suggested that Elsa be her Valentine’s Day date.

It had been such a simple throwaway comment from Anna.

‘Since we’re both single, we might as well be each other’s date,’ she had said with a chuckle.

Elsa had fought the blush as best she could. Thankfully it was time for her to leave per her schedule, so she managed to escape the embarrassment she felt. It was also a Friday, so she had the entire weekend to sort through her feelings.

After a weekend of introspection, World of Warcraft, and homework, Elsa came to one conclusion:

“Fuck. I’m so gay.”

She realized, in hindsight, that it should have been obvious to her. She never pined after any men. She found herself admiring the female form (objectively, she always told herself), and the only times she had gotten flustered around others were around girls.

She found herself poring through her every memory as she drove to class. She re-examined every female she had known in school, as well as every male, hoping for some clear indication of any crushes she may have had. She just wanted to understand herself. It was terrifying to not understand her own sexuality and it felt like everything she knew had a different meaning now.

At 10:24, she pulled into Der Kaffeehausen, absentmindedly ordering her drink, thanking her favorite barista, and walked to her normal booth. For what had to be the first time, Anna was there before her, watching her with a smug expression and her feet propped onto Elsa’s spot on the bench.

“You’re late, I was getting worried,” Anna teased. When she noticed Elsa’s serious expression and absentminded demeanor, however, she sat up and shifted to a worried look, “Oh no. Are you okay? Did something happen?”

Elsa wordlessly sat beside Anna, wincing internally as the girl wrapped an arm around her. Her shoulder that Anna’s hand was resting on felt burning hot and every touch from Anna had a new meaning now in her head. She tried to speak but couldn’t find the words.

What would Anna think? Would she be disgusted? Would it make things awkward? Elsa loved their friendship, and she really didn’t want to lose it. Maybe she should just not tell Anna about her discovery?

Then she saw the adoration in Anna’s eyes and the decision was made for her. She took a deep breath.

“Anna, I think I’m gay,” she said with a confidence she didn’t feel.

Anna’s eyes widened a bit, but then her playful smile returned. With a fake haughty aura about her, she said in her most elegant voice, “Ah. So you’ve fallen for my seductive charm. I’m aware of the effect I have on women.”

Elsa just stared, jaw open.

“You absolute dork,” she said as a laugh bubbled up from her belly, “I’m coming out to you and you make an Office reference?”

Anna raised her hands in a placating gesture, “I just wanted to make it clear that I accept you for who you are, and I just assumed the best way would be to tease you like normal.”

Anna’s face fell for a moment.

“Oh wait! I wasn’t like trying to downplay your coming out! I just wanted you to know that I still like being around you. I mean, of course I do. Who wouldn’t like being around you? You’re beautiful and kind and super organized - it’s really inspiring, to be honest. Wait. Sorry, I’m rambling.”

“It’s okay, Anna, really. It’s one of the things I love about you,” Elsa said with a smile, blushing as she realized her own choice of words.

“Ah-hah! Love! Right, cause it’s Valentine’s Day!”

Anna was digging through her satchel and Elsa watched curiously.

“Since you’re my Valentine and all,” Anna began, finally finding a small box in her satchel and holding it up triumphantly, “and you’ve so clearly fallen for my feminine wiles.”

“I have not,” Elsa lied but Anna ignored her, holding the small box out to her.

“I got these for us,” Anna continued, unbothered by Elsa’s denial. Elsa tentatively grabbed the box and looked to Anna. With an eager look, Anna urged her on, “Come on! Open it!”

Elsa tentatively opened the small jewelry box and gasped at what was inside. It was a beautiful silver chain, on which a simple snowflake locket hung. With a delicate touch, Elsa grabbed the locket and opened it. Inside was a selfie the two had taken on their day at the frozen lake back at Christmas. Elsa instinctive held the locket to her heart before pushing it back to Anna.

“Anna, this is beautiful but I can’t accept this. It’s too much.”

Anna shrugged and refused to take the jewelry back.

“If you don’t take it, we won’t match,” Anna argued, reaching into her shirt and pulling out a matching locket with gold instead of silver, “Besides, it wasn’t expensive or anything. I just saw the snowflake and thought of you, you know, because of our little snow day back in December. Crazy how it’s been two months since then!”

Elsa reluctantly held the chain around her neck and blushed as she turned away, asking, “Can you clasp it for me, then?”

She felt the slight click of the hook fastening to the chain and turned to Anna, “H-how do I look?”

“You’ve always been beautiful, but now you look beautifuller, if that’s even possible. Er, not fuller. More beautiful.”

“Seriously, though, thank you for everything,” Elsa whispered, “You accepted my being gay, you accepted my weird habits when it comes to my routine, and you’ve always been so kind to me.”

“I should be thanking you, Elsa,” Anna said with a smile, “After my parents died, I couldn’t cope with it. We were always inseparable and then I was just, well, alone. I tried to cope by calling their phones, kind of like a journal, you know? It was almost like I was talking to them. But then I met you, and you’ve been there for me.”

Elsa pulled Anna into a hug.

It was then that she was hit by the third big, life-changing whim of her life.

“Let’s go on a date,” Elsa said as she stood extending a hand to Anna, who watched with wide eyes.

“Like, a date-date?”

Elsa nodded.

“Right now?”

Elsa nodded again, blushing furiously. Was she rushing things? Maybe. But she knew by now that the rare whims she had were best off not being ignored.

“But, your schedule-“ Anna began, taking Elsa’s hand anyway.

“It’s okay. I think this is more important.”

Anna stood beside Elsa, their hands still clasped together gently. Anna said with a happy smile, “Let’s go, then.”

And they did.

-.-.-.-.-

Ever since her childhood, Elsa had been a girl of routine.

Whims were rare for the girl, and her actually following them were even more rare.

Anna knew this, and she still cared for Elsa. That didn’t mean she couldn’t pull the blonde out of her self-imposed rut every now and again.

With a content sigh, she laid back onto the soft grass.

“This place looks a lot different in Summer,” Anna noted.

Elsa grinned as she turned to look at her girlfriend.

“It’s not the same without the snow and ice,” she agreed, “but the bright sun and the grass really bring out your eyes.”

“I know what you mean. Your eyes were dazzling in the snow when we came here in the winter,” Anna nodded as as she rolled onto her side to cuddle with Elsa. She welcomed the warmth of Elsa’s boob-pillow as she felt an arm wrap around her shoulder. This was the life.

It was late July, and she would start the new semester soon. She would be a senior, like Elsa was when they met. But until then, she was content to enjoy these lazy summer days. When Elsa didn’t have to work, at least.

She was just glad that Elsa wasn’t a strict on herself with her routine anymore. If she was, they could never spend hours just lying in the grass together. It made all the itchiness that would come later worth it.

“This is great,” she said with a yawn.

“Anna?” Elsa asked.

“Hmm?”

“Remember that locket you gave me?” Elsa asked, squirming a bit under Anna. She sounded nervous.

Anna fished hers out of her baggy t-shirt and held it up in front of them, “Yep. Still wear it.”

Elsa chuckled, and Anna recognized the same nervousness from the time she had come out to Anna. Anna turned to look into Elsa’s eyes.

“Are you okay? You’re not going to tell me you’re pregnant or something, are you?” Anna tried to joke.

“No, no, it’s nothing like that,” Elsa said in a slightly more confident manner, “It’s just that I never got a chance to pay you back for that.”

Pay her back…? Anna was confused, but it sounded like Elsa was struggling to find her words, so she was patient.

“So I, well, I got you a gift,” Elsa said with a deep blush as she looked away and handed Anna a small jewelry box. She wasn’t usually this shy.

Anna smiled at her and pecked her on the lips. It was quick and it was chaste, but every time they kissed it still invigorated Anna.

“You didn’t have to do that, you stinker,” she said with a smile as she took the offered box, “but thank you.”

She could have sworn she heard Elsa mumble ‘don’t thank me yet,’ but she wasn’t sure. She just grabbed Elsa’s right hand with her left and used her right hand to slowly, and clumsily, open the jewelry box.

Her eyes widened.

“Holy fuck, is this what I think it is!?” she shouted a bit too excitedly, sitting up and avoiding the glares of the parents around her.

Elsa was sitting up beside her, but wasn’t quite looking at her. Anna felt her girlfriend nod beside her.

“It was, well, just a whim,” Elsa muttered sheepishly,“ and I’ve learned not to ignore those.”

Anna took out the shiny gold ring and stared in awe at the diamond. She held it up to the sun and had to squint to look at it.

“Jesus Elsa, I don’t know what to say,” she said excitedly.

“An answer would be a good start,” Elsa joked with a worried smile.

Anna kissed her again and pulled her into a tight hug. She met Elsa’s misty eyes with her own.

“Yes.”

#elsanna #submission #April 2021 contest #prompt: break

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americangodstalk · 3 years

Note

Hi! I was watching the interview where Mr. Gaiman says that Technical Boy had previous incarnations (Telegraph Boy, Telephone Boy, etc) but when he mentions Television Boy, for some reason it doesn't make sense to me. I mean, isn't Media supposed to be the television goddess? Or at least in a past incarnation she was the one with that title? Hope you have a good day/night! ♥️

Well, actually no it makes sense.

First element: one has to split the book and the television series. In the book, Media is the goddess of television yes, while the Technical Boy is the god of computers. The “players” and “tv people” of the book represent television and cinema, fame and celebrity, popular movies and shows. The “techies” represent technology, all the new innovations and gadgets. (The first ones have a stronghold at Hollywood, the second in the Silicon Valley).

The television series highlighted this concept and expanded/modified it slightly, given technology and media have changed in our modern era.

Media is the goddess of media in itself. She is a goddess of television, of cinema, of radio, of newspaper - but she is actually the goddess of their content, not of the tools themselves. Media is all about fame, celebrities, advertisement, rumors, urban legends, movie tropes, sitcom codes, etc... Technical Boy is here however a god of technology. Overall, each of his incarnations represent what is the highest and most-cutting edge technology of an era, as well as the most omnipresent and powerful one.

As a result there could very well have been a Television Boy - as the god of television itself, of the machine, the device, not of the content itself. Media explains that the television screen is just the “altar” with which people worship her. She is not the television, she merely uses it to get her worship. She also mentions in the television series that smartphones are one of her new altars - she does not depend on the screening device, she is rather what these devices show. On the contrary, Technical Boy is those device. When the smartphones appeared, his old incarnation got scrapped so that a new one would appear.

Now, to answer you more precisely, how come there could be a Television Boy and a Media at the same time? (Also, remember that this is just an element Neil said in an interview as an exemple. We don’t know if it is part of the show’s lore, and as long as it hasn’t been aired or filmed it technically isn’t canon, this is just pure fan theory over unofficial content)

When you retrace Technical Boy’s incarnations chronology, you realize that “Television Boy” would have appeared between “Telephone Boy” and this mysterious other incarnations that I personally call “Game Boy” (I wish I would know how they had planned to call him... ah those deleted scenes drive me crazy). We know Telephone Boy was around during the 30s and 40s, we saw him on screen in this era. A study and list of all the video game consoles present in the deleted scene of “fat-Tech Boy” - I still have screenshots of BTS on this blog - reveal that all of his “games” come from the 1980s and 1990s (or at least got their glory time there). So one would roughly put Television Boy between the 50s and the 70s. Which fits actualy chronology if we consider the real world:

(Again, rememebr Technical Boy is an American god, so the chronology of technology in Europe for exemple doesn’t matter - we need to focus on when this technology came over to America). The first generation of home consoles for video games appeared in the mid-70s, followed very rapidly by a second generation in the late 70s-early 80s. This seems to have been roughly the “birth” of “Game Boy”, “Fat Technical Boy”, “Video Game Boy”, whatever one wants to call him (if we had the official name it would be far easier...) Now, when did television became prevalent in the USA. One should note it seems that an incarnation of TB only appears when one specific technology becomes widespread and more favored than others. Indeed, television knew a high rise after World War II - before, there were 44 000 television sets in American homes for 40 million radios. But starting with 1948 the demand for televisions became massive and overwhelming - and the 50s was also the era when the first television in color appeared. This was probably when Television Boy was birthed (if he ever existed in the show continuity of course). So, Television Boy existed roughly between the 50s and the 70s.

In this era I wouldn’t say that television was considered a tool of “culture”. Because that’s what Media is, the goddess of pop culture. Note that in the first television series she doesn’t take the appearance of a Youtuber, or of memes, but rather of movie stars and old sitcoms. She represents those things that had time to implant themselves inside people’s minds to the point they are considered part of the “cultural landscape”. When television was the new fad, no one thought it would be considered part of a larger pop of culture, and this dignity was still associated with “noble” mediums such as the cinema or the radio, serious and respected mediums that were on since several decades. Media would need a bit more time to get control over television - she would need to wait until television was respected as everyone’s source of entertainment and information, as the main thing to trust and watch when you are bored. [In a similar way, Media didn’t get a hold or control of Internet per se during the 2000s when they developped, it was still under the grip of Technical Boy - one had to wait the late 2010s, when Internet became the main source of information and entertainment, for Media to evolve into New Media, and for Technical Boy to be replaced.]

I don’t know if this answer was very clear... but this is how and why I would say Television Boy and Media could coexist (Media in the 50s being probably still a goddess of cinema, radio and newspaper, not yet of television, since no “television culture” existed then. But as soon as this “television culture” was built, she definitively got a hand on it.]

#ask #american gods #television series #neil gaiman #new gods #television boy #technical boy #media #theory

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paperanddice · 4 years

Text

Tears of the Crocodile God Part 4

Statues in Stasis

My alternate setup for area 6 is more standard to the immediate suspicion of the room, but means that more of the shields are likely to come into play, and that’s to simply have the statues animate and wield the shields themselves. Some of the shields would need some change to their effect to ensure that they always target the attacker instead of the wielder, but putting those on the monsters means that there’s a higher chance of them activating.

The next issue comes from making sure that the characters can’t just snipe the monsters from outside the room before they activate, and prevent them from just huddling in the doorway. A mechanism for that is to put the statues into a form of stasis until a creature spends a full minute in the room, at which point a number of them activate depending on how many creatures are present. Keeps the challenge properly in line with the number of players, and means that it’s highly unlikely that they’ll be able to easily huddle in a single doorway behind the highest AC members. While in stasis the monsters don’t take any damage from attacks, so shooting and fireballing them doesn’t do anything.

5th Edition

For a 5e version, my two runs used slightly different monster setups. The first was a small number of helmed horrors, the second a large number of slightly boosted animated armor. I feel like a better version would be a combination of the two, using the animated armors to hem in characters while a smaller number of elite helmed horrors use flight to get to vulnerable targets. Both may be a little low leveled compared to the party, but the effects of the shields will help change the tides of the fight a bit, as every missed attack against them has the potential for serious consequences. Give the animated armor +2 AC as long as they keep their shield, and reflavor the helmed horrors’ attacks as a slam instead of a longsword, and there isn’t even a visible difference between them until some start flying and are revealed to have resistances and better hp. Or be fairer and have some kind of distinction the players can recognize once they activate, like the horrors glowing or something. That’s really the better option unless you’re very close with your players and they trust you when you pull some tricks like that, but letting them waste a powerful and limited ability on an animated armor they think has helmed horror stats could be quite frustrating.

13th Age

I don’t know of any really conveniently leveled statues I could really easily slot in to this encounter, and adding some of the spellshatter shield effects to a monster built to function without them could bump up the difficulty a bit more than intended, so I’ll have to customize a few for it.

Child Statue 4th level troop [construct] Initiative +4 Heavy punch +9 vs. AC - 13 damage [special trigger] Spellshatter shield - Make ONE spellshatter shield attack. The statue’s shield disintegrates and it takes a -2 penalty to AC and PD. Limited use: 1/battle, as a free action when an enemy misses the statue with a melee attack and rolls a natural odd attack roll. Collect shield: As a quick action, the statue can equip an unused shield, recharging its spellshatter shield attack and gaining a +2 bonus to AC and PD. AC 21 PD 19 MD 14 HP 55

Empowered Child Statue 5th level blocker [construct] Initiative: +5 Shockingly heavy punch +10 vs. AC - 10 damage plus 5 lightning damage [special trigger] Shatterspell shield - Make ONE shatterspell shield attack. The statue’s shield disintegrates and it takes a -2 penalty to AC and PD. Limited use: 1/battle, as a free action when an enemy misses the statue with a melee attack and rolls a natural odd attack roll or when the statue uses intercept strike. Intercept strike: If a creature engaged with the statue hits another creature with a melee attack, the statue can negate all damage and effects of that attack and immediately make a shatterspell shield attack against the attacking creature as a free action. Collect shield: As a quick action, the statue can equip an unused shield, recharging its spellshatter shield attack and gaining a +2 bonus to AC and PD. AC 22 PD 20 MD 15 HP 75

Teenager Statue 7th level leader [construct] Initiative: +7 Shatterspell punch +12 vs. AC - 25 damage and all nearby statues have +2 to spellshatter shield attacks until the end of the statue’s next turn. Natural 16+: One nearby child statue’s shield reforms if it has been used. The statue recharges its spellshatter shield attack and gains +2 AC and PD. [Special trigger] Spellshatter shield - Make ONE spellshatter shield attack. The statue’s shield disintegrates and it takes a -2 penalty to AC and PD. Limited use: 1/battle, as a free action when an enemy misses the statue with a melee attack and rolls a natural odd attack roll. Collect shield: As a quick action, the statue can equip an unused shield, recharging its spellshatter shield attack and gaining a +2 bonus to AC and PD. AC 24 PD 22 MD 17 HP 110

Hag’s Lair

Statting up Old Beshebra and her sons shouldn’t be too significant of an issue in either system. Beshebra is a modification of one of the standard hag stat blocks, just designed to be a bit filthier and to tie her to her sons a bit more, and the sons themselves are a bunch of big brutes.

5th Edition

None of the released hags in the Monster Manual or Volo’s Guide fit perfectly with Beshebra, but given her shapeshifting and focus on claws the green hag is a good starting point. I used a night hag in my runs just to save time, but that really meant her primary action in both combats was to magic missile from a mud pit rather than actually engage the party, so I’ll level up a green hag, add some gross effects and the son related powers, and we’ve got our filth hag.

Old Beshebra Medium fey, neutral evil Armor Class 18 (natural armor) Hit Points 110 (13d8 + 52) Speed 30 ft. Str 24 (+7) Dex 20 (+5) Con 19 (+4) Int 15 (+2) Wis 13 (+1) Cha 17 (+3) Skills Deception +6, Stealth +8 Senses passive Perception 11 Languages Common, Draconic, Sylvan Challenge 6 (2300 XP) Devour Offspring. As a bonus action, Old Beshebra deals 15 damage to one of her sons within 25 feet of her. She regains 10 hit points. Earth Walk. Difficult terrain composed of rock, mud or similar surfaces doesn't cost Old Beshebra extra movement. Stench. Any creature that starts its turn within 5 feet of Old Beshebra must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned until the start of its next turn. On a successful saving throw, the creature is immune to Old Beshebra's Stench for 24 hours. Actions Filthy Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (2d8+7) slashing damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or contract a disease. Until the disease is cured, the target can't regain hit points except by magical means, and the target's hit point maximum decreases by 10 (3d6) every 24 hours. If the target's hit point maximum drops to 0 as a result of this disease, the target dies. Change Shape. Old Beshebra magically polymorphs into a Small or Medium female humanoid, or back into her true form. Any equipment she is wearing or carrying isn't transformed. She reverts to her true form if she dies. Goad Son. Old Beshebra targets one filth hag son she can see within 30 feet of her. If the target can see or hear her, the target can use its reaction to make one melee attack roll with advantage.

As for the sons, a slightly modified shambling mound was the quick and effective solution. Just describe them as including crocodile and human bones and parts within them and you’ve got a filth hag son. Give the hag son the following additional abilities.

The son can understand Old Beshebra but can’t speak. New ability: Son’s Ire. If Old Beshebra is below 55 hit points, and the son can see or hear her within 100 feet, the son has advantage on all attack rolls. New reaction: Silent Fury (Recharge 5-6). If a hostile creature within 20 feet of the son hits Old Beshebra with an attack, the son can move up to its speed and make a slam attack against the triggering creature.

13th Age

The Bestiary has hags in it, and by great fortune they’re at just the right level for our adventure. The main thing is just to pick out the appropriate hag abilities and death curse to inflict upon the party. It may be a bit more work, but I’m actually inclined to give Beshebra a slightly different loadout of abilities depending on how the party encounters her. As a default, weakening touch seems appropriate. Disease, filth, and a deadly touch. If they’re slow and Syere falls victim to the hag, then the Annis skin ability is entirely appropriate, but otherwise she’s not going to be luring them in at all. In that case something like foul-touched may be a good second choice, reflecting what living in a literal pit of toxic mud does to a person. It’s not good. As for the death curse, how about something like, “You came to me and spilled my blood, your boots will always fill with mud.” Frustrating, weird, but not necessarily damaging. Seems to fit the bill.

As an extra skill, the hag could get the following ability: Devour offspring: As a quick action, Old Beshebra deals 20 damage to a nearby filth hag son and regains 15 hit points.

This keeps Beshebra in the fight a little bit longer, but doesn’t extend the length of the entire fight, since the total damage dealt goes up. Of course the hag would be fine with sacrificing her minions.

The sons are best done with a fully customized monster, as nothing in the SRD I’ve found fits for what I’d want. There’s no immediately obvious shambling mound analogue, and most of the monsters around the same level don’t quite fit. The Flowers of Unlife from 13 True Ways were an idea I had, but I don’t think they quite fit.

Filth Hag Son 6th level blocker [plant] Initiative: +5 Putrid Slam +10 vs. AC - 10 damage and 10 poison damage Natural 16+: The target is stuck and hampered (save ends both). [Special trigger] C: Furious tackle +10 vs. PD (one nearby enemy) - The target pops free of any creatures it is engaged with, is engaged with the son, and is stuck and hampered (save ends both). Limited use: 1/round, as an interrupt action when a nearby enemy hits Old Beshebra with an attack. The son can either make a disengage check to try to move to attack the enemy, or move to attack the enemy and only take half damage from opportunity attacks. AC 23 PD 21 MD 14 HP 90

That’s it for the monster discussion for these encounters. Next time I’ll discuss the Mold King’s Crown, the Chained Hydra, and the Mimic’s Parlor. One of those will be relatively easy, the other two much less so. Mold King’s Crown will be one of the most work intensive encounters in the adventure, with the number of hazards and mechanics around the monsters within it. Fortunately, half of that will come in a different post so I can focus on one part at a time.

#D&D #DnD #Dungeons and Dragons #5th Edition #13th Age #Adventure #Tears of the Crocodile God #my homebrew #monster

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princekoo · 4 years

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a bit about forgetfulness | jhs.

pairing. none really

genre/prompt. alien! au

word count. 600+

content. none questionable

synopsis. Hoseok has a very different idea of who’s in the wrong here.

writer’s note. written for the BTS Ghostie Writers Net’s writing bingo! This was a quick little thing I had in mind that I wanted to get out. I plan to make bigger alien fics though maybe one for each member since I really love those kinds of aus.

-x-

“Now, why are you glaring at me?” said the red-haired boy across from you whilst rolling his eyes. You scowled at his answer, clear distaste showing across your features just like the hour prior. He really didn’t see what was wrong with what he did, huh?

“Well, gee, let me think Hoseok! First of all, you drak all the almond milk and left the two other types of milk completely untouched—three cartons by the way, if I needed to remind you-- in the fridge. Then, you clogged the toilet with your… your powers just because you thought it would be funny to see my reaction and now well I don’t know, my roommate is right in front of me acting like he doesn’t know me and looks genuinely concerned! I don’t know Hoseok, it doesn’t seem too farfetched to think that the fact that Jungkook is looking at me like I kidnapped him is your fault! Call it a hunch!” Your statement ended in frustrated screaming as he looked at you with a expression that could be described as guilt mixed with mirth and that only served to fuel your potent fury at your unexpected new roommate. Hoseok was an alien, in simple terms. He referred to himself as an “intergalactic being whose sole purpose is to reignite the Earth with its needed life-force”, but you stopped listening at the big word “intergalactic”. He said he came from the universe over, his planet deeming him most fit to do this role. When he introduced himself, his name was a series of clicking and whistling, and your puny college student brain could not manage to do such a thing any time you wanted to call him so he was simply Hoseok for now. He was well-versed in the English language, though, another attribute that won his superiors over for this mission. Even if he didn’t know the certain word for something, he’d simply use a scenario or a sentence to describe the word he’s looking for and you’d be able to provide, the only real up-side for you to being an English major.

He scrunched his nose and looked at the slightly disheveled younger man sitting on the floor, now coaxed with an ice cream cone and a Switch from his earlier “who are you?! Where am I?!” tangent. If there was anything to calm the younger man from anything during the scorching months of summer, it’d be the banana ice cream cones from the corner store. The Animal Crossing villagers’ language as his character interacted with them was all that rang through the apartment as his brain whirred to formulate a coherent, stutter-less response and his above-average-sized “heart” beat. It took several moments before he met your eyes and simply muttered a guilt laced “I’m sorry”. The roll of your eyes caused him to at least try and defend the Jungkook situation.

“Well, about the chi—err, Jungkook… He had asked, quite enthusiastically if I may add, to see some of my powers and I had planned to simply change his hair color. As you can probably assess, however, my mind… what is it…? Bu… ‘Bugged’ out? Is that the right word? Anyways… since my mind inflicted it with no set ill intent, however, it is most probably that his… amnesia? Forgetfulness will wear off in twenty-four hours or so. Most probably, anyway,” he finished, letting out an awkward cough at you clear distaste at the fact that he wasn’t even sure that your precious little roommate would ever remember you again. You needed Jungkook to pay his part of rent and if he can’t remember anything, he can’t do anything to pay it. So, you were in trouble and so was he. Essentially, Hoseok royally screwed up and you were on the very verge of evicting his otherworldly ass out. It’s not like he paid rent anyway.

“Well, lady, I may not know you, but you sure do know your way into a man’s heart, I’ll tell you that,” spoke up Jungkook from his sitting position on the floor, eyes still glued to the screen. Jungkook’s phase when you had first met of having an infatuation with you was finally happening again. All you could do was groan helplessly and hope that Hoseok was right.

-o-

#btsghostiebingo #hoseok imagine #hoseok fluff #bts imagine #bts fluff #hoseok fanfiction #hoseok scenarios #jung hoseok #jhs #jhs oneshot #bts #kpop #kpop fluff #kpop fanfic #jhope fluff #jhope imagine #jhope fanfiction

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jinruihokankeikaku · 4 years

Note

Could you do a classpect analysis for a Witch of Life?

Alright!! Fef’s Role, this time, and the second Wwitch wwe’vve analysed on this here wwe8log…

Title: Witch of Life

Title Breakdown: One who actively manipulates [transforms, takes advantage of, bends the rules of] Life [growth, youth, rebellion, biology, consumption, privilege]

Role in the Session: Witches are an extremely powerful and adaptable class, and their main struggles are moral and ethical ones, rather than practical ones. They’ve got a natural affinity with their Aspect, much like their Passive counterpart, the Heir, which affinity would in this case manifest as being born into a position of social privilege, good health, or some kind of biological advantage, and/or growing up with rebellious or countercultural ideals. Interestingly enough, these are all qualities which our canon Witch of Life, Feferi Piexes, arguably has in spades (prior to her untimely death). Witches are already a class associated with rebellion or at the very least eccentricity, so in combination with the Life aspect, we get a very clear image of someone who shamelessly flouts the morays of their tempura norms of their society. This is likely to effect their session in a number of ways, even before we get into the Witch’s powers.

Our Witch of Life is meant to shape the flow of Life in the session to make possible for themselves and their team things which would not otherwise be possible. They’ll bend the laws of biology and society to all-but-breaking, pulling teammates back from the brink of Doom and leveraging the ecosystem (literal or metaphorical) to drastically alter the outcome or circumstances of their session. They’ll have to be careful to avoid using to an extent beyond that which is necessary, a temptation that all Witches necessarily face at some point. This temptation may well arise during their Quest on their in-Game Planet, where they will have to dramatically modify the state of a fundamentally inimical ecosystem or economy in order to fight past their Planet’s underlings and ultimately confront their Denizen. Witches can build up a lot of inertia rather quickly, and it will be important for their team to both support them and keep them in check. In terms of support, a Seer of Rage could help teach the Witch which elements of Life actually need to be altered and which should be let be. Also, a Sylph or Bard of Space (passive Creation and Destruction classes, respectively) would be incredibly powerful co-players with a Witch of Life.

Opposite Role: The Seer of Doom. One who “learns of, and ultimately teaches of, death, inevitability, law, order, and decay” – that is to say, the last person the Witch of Life ever wants to listen to, ever. The Seer of Doom is going to be a very solemn and wise, and also often depressive and depressing to be around, and the Witch of Life will be pretty much unable to stand it. If these two wind up in the same session, they’re almost certain to need an intermediary to help them work past the conflict between their outlooks on things. The Seer could, potentially, be a positive sobering influence on the Witch, but only if the Witch is willing to listen and the Seer is less belligerent and despondent than they might otherwise be.

God Tier Powers

Here we’ve got the Expansive-Explosive-Cyclical Aspect and the Active Manipulation class. Powers will generally draw on biological, social, or chemical structures (that is to say, emergent properties of nature), and be oriented towards growth, emergence, and creative transformation, likely bending the rules or inducing structural changes in the medium in which they’re used. Here are a few ideas…

Transmutate: The Witch provokes a fundamental shift in a particular quality of a life form – and this could be just about anything, so long as the life form remains alive and as one single living creature. It might grow or shrink rapidly, it might develop new means of communication or movement, or grow new limbs or natural weapons. Plant life transmuted in this way might become more or less adapted to its current climate, gradually withering away or growing explosively depending on how it’s been changed. The Witch is limited only by their imagination in this regard, and used irresponsibly it’s needless to say that this could have dramatic and unfortunate consequences for a session.

Life Finds A Way: As long as there’s the slightest hope that a person or a species might survive, the Witch of Life might be able to save it, jump-starting cellular respiration or reproduction and pulling an ally back from the brink. The catch to this ability is that the Witch isn’t truly a healer, and nobody comes back from this unchanged – whoever is returned in this way might find their body or even their brain altered in such a way as to make them different – they may lose a limb or a sense, they may acquire new ones, they may simply undergo a subtle shift in personality as they reckon with their near-death experience. As is always the case with Witches, the player using this ability must take great care not to cause problems worse than those they were trying to resolve.

Growth and Change: The Witch of Life can cause the environment to adapt to their presence, somewhat like a Ranger in yr typical tabletop RPG. Perhaps they can walk unimpeded through dense jungles, swim with ease, or even part the flow of water or cause a brief pause in hostile weather. They may well have an affinity for animals, particularly animals with which their familiar due to study or experience with in childhood, and they may even be able to call such animals to their aid in times of need, should they be near enough to answer the call.

Personality: The Witch of Life is likely to be lively, gregarious, and bubbly, very comfortable in complex social situations with an almost uncanny knack for retaining a level-headed attitude when others might be overwhelmed by the intricacies and dramatics of interpersonal relationships. They’ll likely base a large part of their identity on their role or position in society, and will probably have a rebellious or authoritarian streak (or both) that only really comes out in particularly stressful situations. They’re not manipulative, per se, at least not deliberately, but they’re probably a bit charming and persuasive, and certainly friendly enough so long as they don’t feel threatened. Their personal interests outside of their role in society might lean towards life sciences and natural history, and they’re probably not uncomfortable working in the field – they’ll feel as though they’re in their element just as readily among flora and fauna as they do among their own kind. The greatest personal challenge they’ll have to overcome is their inclination towards taking things too far – while they may not pursue risk or adventure for its own sake, they certainly aren’t averse to it either, and may tend towards experimenting or testing boundaries more than is strictly necessary.

Songs

Hmm. Most of wwhat I’vve got doesn’t fit the Life Aspect all that well, unfortun8ly. I might havve to get 8ack to you on this one.

Anywways, I hope you enjoyed this analysis!! Thanks for the ask, and sorry 8out the delay. Do let me know if you havve any more questions!!

~ P L U R ~

#Homestuck #class #aspect #Classpect #Classpect analysis #witch #life #witch of life #anon #ask

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simplysolveduae · 4 years

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#HR Outsourcing #outsourced accounting services #outsourcing hr #outsource services

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tigerkirby215 · 3 years

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5e Zac, the Secret Weapon build (League of Legends)

(Artwork by Christian Fell. Made for Riot Games.)

No one:

Literally no one:

@tigerkirby215: “HEY FUCKERS WHO WANTS A ZAC BUILD?!”

Full disclosure: I watched Dorans and Dragon’s video for Zac and while it’s really well done (like really well done. I honestly suggest you watch it) I felt like it took a bit of an interesting direction. Ds&D and I have always had different ideas for our builds and I think with the release of Tasha’s there’s actually a lot of interesting new directions to take Zac in.

Also spoiler alert but this build is the most jank-ass fucking shit I have ever made but it strangely works really well? Like I literally sat on this build for two months debating if I should even post it. Also Zac’s a grappler, because of course he is.

GOALS

There's plenty of me to go around - Zac stretches and bounces and changes his shape more-or-less at will.

Why thanks; I do work out - Zac is one of those “hold you down for 10 seconds total in a teamfight” types of junglers.

I'm not as squishy as I look - Of course to be a big bundle of green goo we’ll need to be big. Like, really big.

RACE

END ME I’M MAKING A BUGBEAR! :D

Okay to be fair Bugbear hate is kinda overblown, especially by yours truly. You get +2 to Strength and a +1 to Dexterity as well as Darkvision and several other useful traits: you have a Powerful Build to carry more stuff, for one. You are also Sneaky and get proficiency with Stealth, which is nice because if you launch a Surprise Attack you can do an extra 2d6 damage.

But of course the main trait of a Bugbear is their Long-Limbed bodies. All your melee attacks have a 5 foot longer range, which is obviously important to make Stretching Strikes!

Custom Lineage: If you’re insistent on making a custom “goo creature” race with Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything rules here are my suggestions: make yourself Medium (yeah duh) and give yourself proficiency with the Athletics skill. Increase your Strength by 2 and take the Skilled Expert feat for Expertise in Athletics along with a +1 in Wisdom. You will have an uneven DEX score but I dunno just go for Athlete or something later in this build.

ABILITY SCORES

15; WISDOM - Braum isn’t the only champion who believes the heart is the strongest muscle, as if you’d read Zac’s lore he is actually quite a compassionate soul. Also we need Wisdom for our main ability.

14; CONSTITUTION - Zac is a tanky boy, so up the tankiness!

13; DEXTERITY - When you can stretch and squeeze like silly putty dexterity comes naturally. We need that dexterity to jump over walls, among other things.

12; STRENGTH - A lot of it is elastic strength, but if you’re going to throw Cho’gath into Shyvana you do also need upper body strength.

10; CHARISMA - He’s a nice guy when you get to know him, but Zac’s also a bunch of Zaun sewer goo.

8; INTELLIGENCE - Living in the sewers and then later being raised as a weapon means you don’t know any math, science, or history.

BACKGROUND

Zac did grow up in the streets, but the skills from the Urchin background don’t fit him well so we’ll be modifying it heavily. Take proficiency in Acrobatics to squash and stretch as well as Perception to keep those wards up. You can pick your choice of languages or tools because Zac kinda... doesn’t do much other than fight? I mean he’s literally called “the Secret Weapon” what do you want from me?

But your background feature of City Secrets is very useful for traveling the streets of Zaun, letting you find your way around alleys and jungle gank paths to travel through the city twice as fast as the average person! "Put some spring in your step."

(Artist unknown. Made for Riot Games.)

THE BUILD

LEVEL 1 - MONK 1

Been awhile since we’ve visited the good ol’ Monk class eh? Well you can grab Athletics finally, as well as Insight to know if someone’s worth clobbering. You also get proficiency with an artisan’s tool or musical instrument, and I mean... Zac still doesn’t have much lore.

But how about some class features? Monks get Unarmored Defense equal to their Wisdom plus their Dexterity, for 14 AC total. Would medium armor be better? Yes, but you can’t wear armor if you want to use Martial Arts! Martial Arts gives you a variety of benefits: you can punch with DEX or STR, your punches are now a d4 (and will scale as you get levels), and if you punch with your Action you can punch with a Bonus Action after the fact!

LEVEL 2 - MONK 2

Second level Monks get Ki points to use for a variety of features: Flurry of Blows lets you attack twice with your Bonus Action instead of once, Patient Defense lets you dodge as a Bonus Action, and Step of the Wind lets you Dash or Disengage as a Bonus Action. An important thing to mention about Step of the Wind is that it doubles your jump distance, for those big Elastic Slingshot jumps!

You can also put on some boots and get some Unarmored Movement. 10 more feet to be exact!

I guess I’m also obliged to mention Dedicated Weapon from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything which lets you turn any weapon you’re proficient in into a Monk weapon as long as it’s not Heavy or Special. This will be important later but it’s not exactly in-character for Zac.

LEVEL 3 - MONK 3

Third level Monks get to choose their Monastic Tradition and Way of the Astral Self will give you some long stretchy limbs! As a bonus action you can spend 1 Ki to summon Arms of the Astral Self. When you do so, each creature of your choice that you can see within 10 feet of you must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or take force damage equal to two rolls of your Martial Arts die due to your Unstable Matter.

Your arms will stay up for 10 minutes and give the following benefits:

You can use your Wisdom modifier in place of your Strength modifier when making Strength checks and Strength saving throws.

You can use the spectral arms to make unarmed strikes, which has the following benefits:

The reach of the arms is 5 feet greater than normal, which stacks with your Bugbear arms. 15 foot reach with extra stretchy arms!

The unarmed strikes you make with the arms can use your Wisdom modifier in place of your Strength or Dexterity modifier for the attack and damage rolls, and their damage type is force.

You can also absorb some blows with Deflect Missiles. When you are hit by a ranged weapon attack you can use your reaction to reduce the damage by 1d10 + your DEX mod + your monk level. If you reduce the damage to 0, you can catch the missile. You can then spend 1 ki point to throw it back as part of the same reaction. You make this attack with proficiency, regardless of your weapon proficiencies, and the missile counts as a monk weapon for the attack, which has a normal range of 20 feet and a long range of 60 feet.

Tasha’s Cauldron of Everyone also gave Monks the Ki-Fueled Attack ability which pretty much doesn’t impact you in the slightest.

LEVEL 4 - MONK 4

4th level Monks get an Ability Score Improvement but we’re instead going to grab the Skilled Expert feat. You can increase your Wisdom by 1 and grab proficiency in Survival for optimal jungle clear. But what we’re mainly here for is to make our hands extra sticky with expertise in Athletics! Is the build starting to make sense now?

You can also land safely after an Elastic Slingshot jump thanks to Slow Fall, reducing fall damage by 5 times your Monk level. If you want to keep yourself in the fight then Quickened Healing (also from TCoE, because that book really likes giving new Monk features) will let you take advantage of Cell Division for 2 Ki points, healing you for a number rolled on your Martial Arts die plus your Proficiency bonus. It’s not much but in a pinch it might save you!

LEVEL 5 - MONK 5

5th level Monks get an Extra Attack, so you can punch twice with your action, and then punch some more with your Bonus Action! You can also bring some heavy CC into the party with Stunning Strike; if you hit an enemy in melee you can force a Constitution save or stun them! Yes actual honest-to-god League of Legends stun!

Oh and because Tasha’s Cauldron really wanted to buff the Monk you get Focused Aim, letting you use up to 3 Ki points to increase your roll to hit, at a 2:1 ratio. (1 Ki point = +2 to hit)

(Artwork by SemLimit on DeviantArt.)

LEVEL 6 - BARBARIAN 1

Jumping over to Barbarian, land of the true tanks. Barbarians get Unarmored Defense based on Constitution that we won’t be using but I’m obliged to mention anyways. Of course what we’re here for is Rage which will augment you in a number of ways: you’ll resist Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing damage and will do more damage with Strength-based attacks (which you probably won’t be making.) But the most important feature is this line right here:

You have advantage on Strength checks and Strength saving throws.

You know what’s a Strength check? Athletics! So even if you use Wisdom for it you’ll still have Advantage on top of Expertise! And Athletics is used for grappling! At least that’s how I’d rule it, but talk to your DM just to make sure they’ll let this dopey shit into their game.

LEVEL 7 - BARBARIAN 2

Second level Barbarians can let themselves go with Reckless Attack. Your Unstable Matter will give you advantage on your attack at the cost of giving enemies advantage to hit you.

You also get Danger Sense for advantage on Dexterity saves against effects you can see coming. Is a Jinx rocket heading your way? Slingshot out of there!

LEVEL 8 - BARBARIAN 3

Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything gave Barbarians Primal Knowledge for a free skill proficiency from the Barbarian list, so take Intimidation I guess because you are a huge freaky slime guy.

Third level Barbarians get to choose their Primal Path and guess what? It’s Totem Warrior time! As a Spirit Seeker you can cast Speak With Animals and Beast Sense as a Ritual but we all know that’s not what we’re here for. What we’re really here for is the Totem Spirit of the Bear. You can now resist all damage while Raging, with the exception of Psychic damage. Hey there has to be %health damage to deal with tanks after all. (Now if only they’d nerf Grievous Wounds.)

LEVEL 9 - MONK 6

This will be our last Monk level; sad I know. But it’s worth it for the Visage of the Astral Self. You can use a Bonus Action and a Ki point to summon the visage. (And can do it while summoning your arms.) While the spectral visage is present, you gain several benefits:

Astral Sight lets you see through magical (and nonmagical) darkness up to 120 feet.

Wisdom of the Spirit gives you advantage on Wisdom (Insight) and Charisma (Intimidation) checks.

And Word of the Spirit lets you either whisper in team chat to a creature of your choice that you can see within 60 feet of you, or shout in all chat so that everyone within 600 feet can hear you.

Your regular fists are also considered magical thanks to Ki-Empowered Strikes, and you get 5 more feet of Unarmored Movement! "Woohoo!"

(Artwork by Dragonflamebg on DeviantArt.)

LEVEL 10 - FIGHTER 1

Teamfight time? Team Fighter time! First level Fighters get a Fighting Style and since you’re punching people your only real option is Superior Technique, giving you a d6 Combat Superiority die to use on a Battle Master Manuever. That Manuever shall be Grappling Strike, letting you grapple as a Bonus Action after punching someone for some Stretching Strikes!

You can also heal with Cell Division assuming the enemy team doesn’t stack Grievous Wounds thanks to Second Wind; it’s a d10 plus your Fighter level. "Keep it together."

LEVEL 11 - FIGHTER 2

Second level Fighters get Action Surge for even more punching! This will be more important in like, two levels.

LEVEL 12 - FIGHTER 3

Third level Fighters get to choose their Martial Archetype and for some crowd control in a teamfight Battle Master is a great choice. You are a Student of War which means more tool proficiencies which make no sense because Zac has no lore woo! But of course what we’re mainly here for is Combat Superiority: you have four d8 Superiority Die (plus a d6 one from your Fighting Style) which you can use on a variety of Maneuvers:

Trip Attack is good if you want to bounce, forcing the target you hit to make a Strength save or fall over!

Distracting Strike is like stunning the target in the sense that it gives your allies an opening, but unlike Trip Attack you don’t have to force a saving throw. (Instead Distracting Strike just works after you hit them!)

And if you think your arms aren’t stretchy enough already? Boom; Lunging Attack for 20 foot reach!

LEVEL 13 - FIGHTER 4

4th level Fighters get an Ability Score Improvement: hey it’s everyone’s favorite feat Grappler! You have advantage on attacks against enemies you grappled, and if you’re grappling someone you can then pin them to hold them in place!

Now pinning someone you’ve grappled does take an action but here’s where Action Surge comes in: turn 1? Grab them. Turn 2? Pin them! Easy!

LEVEL 14 - FIGHTER 5

5th level Fighters get an Extra Attack... which you already have. "I hate it when this happens."

LEVEL 15 - FIGHTER 6

Hey more Ability Score Improvements! Want all the fun of a high Constitution score without the Constitution? Look no further than the Tough feat: it gives you +2 HP per level for some big gains!

(Artwork by GisAlmeida on DeviantArt.)

LEVEL 16 - FIGHTER 7

7th level Fighters get to Know Your Enemy: by spending a minute studying someone (IE looking at the scoreboard) you can learn if an enemy is superior, inferior, or equal to you in a number of areas described by the ability.

You also get one more Combat Superiority die and learn two more Maneuvers: Goading Attack will make it harder for enemies to hit your friends (and it works against Tier 4 enemies who likely resist fears), and Disarming Attack will let you stick your hand to your opponent’s weapon to make them drop it!

LEVEL 17 - FIGHTER 8

8th level means more ASIs and I’m starting to think ignoring all your stats was a bad idea. More Wisdom means better punches, better grabs, and better AC.

LEVEL 18 - FIGHTER 9

9th level Fighters get Indomitable, letting them reroll a failed saving throw once per Long Rest. Regardless of what you roll on the new die however you have to use the new result. This can be used on Death saves to try to keep alive a little longer thanks to Cell Division.

LEVEL 19 - FIGHTER 10

10th level Battle Masters get Improved Combat Superiority. Your superiority die are d10s now; even the one from your Fighting Style! You do also learn more Maneuvers but honestly? We got just about everything that we need already. If you’ve hit level 19 playing Zac League of Legends then you deserve to make some choices of your own.

LEVEL 20 - FIGHTER 11

Our final level is the 11th level of Fighter for an Extra Attack that does stack! That means you have 3 attacks total and one extra from Martial Arts!

FINAL BUILD

PROS

Beat up, or beat down? I'm flexible - No matter how you look at it 4 attacks per round is great, especially since you can give yourself Advantage and boost your damage output with Battle Master Maneuvers.

Pick on someone your own size - If everything goes well you should have a solid 200 health by level 20! Definitely nothing to sneeze at, especially with Rage giving you resistance to almost everything and Second Wind letting you heal yourself!

This is gonna get messy - You’ve got a +16 to Athletics checks for Grappling when using your Astral Arms, and can give yourself Advantage or add Superiority die to your Grapple checks. Do I need to explain that that’s really good?

CONS

Don't push your luck, champ - None of your stats are maxed out, and that’s bad. Your hit modifier isn’t great, your Battle Master saving throw is low, but most importantly your AC is really bad. Big health is nice but not being hit is also very helpful. Just saying if you have the chance to go for Point Buy I’d take it.

I never skip breakfast - A small pool of Ki combined with limited Maneuver die means that you’re running on some very potent fumes. Frequent short rests will be needed to make the most out of this build.

These jerks don't know when to quit! - Grappling builds have the ever-constant problem of falling off in the late game when most foes simply can’t be grabbed. This build honestly peaks around level 13 and just falls off from there. This is definitely one of my builds that I think works better in a low level campaign.

But if you want something unique that works well early here’s your build! Big reach to hold everyone in place so your party can beat them up. Playing the CC tank might not be that glorious but it’s a job someone’s gotta do. And remember: "It's not how much you can lift. It's how good you look!"

(Artist unknown. Made for Riot Games.)

#dnd #dnd build #dnd guide #League of Legends #League of Legends Zac #dnd monk #dnd fighter #dnd grappler

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tabletsaddict-blog · 4 years

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Rog strix fusion 700 review

ASUS has been terminating on all chambers with its fringe contributions and today we have the most recent expansion to their gaming sound lineup, the ROG Strix Fusion group of gaming headsets. In this survey we'll be investigating the spic and span ROG STRIX Fusion 700. A double mode gaming headset offering both wired and remote capacities that ASUS trusts is sufficient adaptability for some very good quality gamers to think about it. Not just that, the ROG STRIX Fusion 700 brings AURA light matching up by means of the AURA portable application and one, not two, yet different Fusion 700s can be controlled at a solitary time which ASUS expects to be an extra for eSports groups hoping to dress it up further during competitions and LANs. Situating at the highest point of the pack however, there's a lot more that this headset brings to the table to pick up its position. We should discover more as we plunge further about the new lead headset from ASUS, the ROG STRIX Fusion 700.

Highlights and Specifications

Bluetooth 4.2 for visiting with partners by means of VoIP or call, or in any event, tuning in to music while gaming on PC, PS4, or portable

Greetings fi-grade ESS ES9018 DAC and SABRE9601K amp convey practical, unrivaled gaming sound

Finely tuned ASUS Essence drivers and selective hermetically sealed chamber innovation for a vivid sound encounter

Selective attachment and-play virtual 7.1 encompass sound created with Bongiovi Acoustics

RGB light synchronization across headsets by means of Bluetooth, utilizing a committed versatile application

Headset contact plate lets you get calls, modify volume and playback capacities, and control RGB light synchronization.

Specs and features

Shockingly against ROG STRIX convention, the ROG STRIX FUSION 700 is bundled in a medium-sized box with an overwhelmingly dark. A style shot of the item is imprinted on the front alongside the model namme and some advertising slugs. A Playstation4 similarity identification is additionally here alongside the Bluetooth and Hi-Res Audio sound symbols. At the back we get a few insights regarding the highlights of the ROG STRIX Fusion 700.

The included link is 2-meter long and is a lot of length for some applications. It isn't so adaptable however its sleeved nature gives it a specific vibe of toughness and quality. The gold-plated connectors balance the link to give it a total premium feel. There are no inline connectors as you'll discover why later.

Side profile shows us the reflexive plates of the ROG STRIX Fusion 700's earcups. They're generally level and don't have a lot of continuing for them stylishly yet the shiny, smoke silver surface is a consideration magnet also fingerprints too. As signified by the name sticker, which you can evacuate and you should, the left earcup highlights the control touchplate where you can control your matched gadget when utilizing the ROG STRIX FUSION 700.

User Experience

We should talk comfort first. The headband is concerningly delicate yet given the general load of the headband, the pressure against the ears help shoulder the vast majority of the weight and the pad on the headband carries out its responsibility well because of that. Talking about earcups, the cowhide earcups are what we prevalently use on testing this item. As much as we can imagine work texture and its increasingly breathable nature, sound quality is best seen in the fixed, leatherette cups. The earcup pads are perfect, the leatherette being more firm than the work texture ones. Fixing is very acceptable despite the fact that there is some slight spillage yet nothing truly upsetting to anybody adjacent to you except if you're in an extremely tranquil room or are near one another. The headband alteration is fair and the flex modifies very well to bigger head sizes.

Controls are instinctive in spite of the fact that the touch highlight may require some becoming accustomed to. There is no quiet catch so you'll need to stop in the event that you need a speedy bit of quietness. Noting considers quiets any foundation sound when your telephone is combined to the headset, not much however its a decent component to have particularly in case you're utilizing the headset in-game and you get a call. What's more, truly, you can utilize Bluetooth mode while associated with a PC or comfort. Likewise, being able to switch among 7.1 and sound system with a catch press is a helpful component and having them on-ear is an incredible touch as you wont need to mishandle on your rope to discover your inline dongle.

Moving over to sound quality, how about we talk about game execution first. The ROG STRIX Fusion 700 is a gaming headset above all else and its rendering of game sound including gunfire, strides and surrounding impacts are nitty gritty. Since the headset has a little solid stage, everything feels close and in case you're utilized to it, helps recognizing positional sound yet real separation is marginally changed. All things considered, everything is clear and even on max gain, the Fusion 700 doesn't get mutilated.

Going into further insights concerning the sound quality, the ROG STRIX Fusion 700 has a spread vibe to it. While the sound is warm and clear in the low and midrange the highs will in general spill and gets tinny. This is extremely predominant in metallic sound like accident and cymbals, richochets ingame likewise get an additional ping to their note along these lines. The rendering is clear however there isn't a lot of detail to the sound and it needs partition. Be that as it may, this is criticizing as of now. For what it's worth, the ROG STRIX Fusion 700 conveys dynamic and great sound however those searching for an audiophile grade experience will need to look somewhere else.

Given the value, it's not astounding somebody may hope for something else. Yet, ASUS has made a special effort to make an exceptionally, practical headset that consolidates extraordinary innovation for both sound execution and convenience. Add to that its lighting capacity and you have some additional creds. In case you're a road design shaking nerd/gamer patterns, this is the kind of embellishment you'd rock to give you that additional loot however that sleek look gives a false representation of an incredible gaming headset, sufficiently adaptable to go with you both on versatile to PC/support gaming.

No official SRP has been declared for the ROG STRIX Fusion 700 however appraises peg it around $200 making it a top notch offering. It doesn't have a lot of rivalry in its value go bearing a similar list of capabilities and most would be conflicted between this and the wired-just ROG STRIX Fusion 500 on the off chance that they're into a large portion of the highlights of the headset. It will be an intense choice and you truly need to like, and I mean, REALLY LIKE, the ROG STRIX Fusion 700 to legitimize its value premium. For gaming, it's primary contenders are for the most part from SteelSeries and Logitech top of the line offering while for streetwear, Sony's XB950N1 which is a piece on a similar value run.

Verdict

At last, you'd should be in a quite certain specialty to fit the component offering of the ROG STRIX Fusion 700 yet on the off chance that there is one explanation that you'll need to purchase this headset, its for the sheer effortlessness of having the option to plunk down and play on either PC or support and afterward stay strong with your headset still on and make a call. All without taking any kind of action. This consistent experience is the greatest draw of the ROG STRIX Fusion 700 with a lot of sugar on top it as RGB lighting, application synchronizing, contact controls. Also the staggering form quality and consideration regarding subtleties.

#Rog strix fusion 700 #Rog strix fusion 700 review

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