#why is the moonlight greatsword so pretty
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He's so pretty
#my art#commission#lies of p#lies of p pinocchio#p lies of p#pinocchio#yall#why is the moonlight greatsword so pretty
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Lord Gwyn: The Perfect Anticlimax
"Dark Souls is a hard game"
To anyone who's even a little bit familiar with the franchise, this is an obnoxiously obvious statement. The game has held the title of THE "hard game" for so long, that not only has the statement "X is the Dark Souls of Y" become a cliche, but so has every subsequent mocking subversion of that comparison. To even acknowledge its obviousness, as I did, is territory so well-worn, that I'm at risk of falling through, into the hackneyed void. But it's still worth mentioning. It's a well-earned reputation. Not only is Dark Souls, on a purely technical level, difficult to beat, but its entire identity is based around its difficulty, if the name of the "Prepare to Die" edition is any indication. Its world is a punishing one, seeking to beat the player character down at every single opportunity, until they can't stand to move another step forward, lest they get thwacked by a swinging axe, skewered by a demon, swept off a cliff, or obliterated by a dragon with teeth where its torso should be. It's a game that crushes you down, intending to make very clear just how easy your character can die, and, importantly, just how unimportant your death will be. To these bosses, these titans, these near-gods, you are nothing but an annoyance. Many of these fights feel like climactic struggles against an ancient, near-unbeatable foe, who existed long before you were born, and has a pretty solid chance of existing after you've expired. When you enter the arena of Ornstein and Smough, the music swells, and the two knights flex the skills that they're going to use to kill you over and over again. Many of the game's bosses, try to tap into that sense of scale, of importance, of grandiosity, each of their respective battles feeling like they could easily be the final one.
Then, after a long struggle, you make it to the end.
The game's final boss is Gwyn, a towering figure who's been hinted at throughout the game, through dialogue and item descriptions. Even if you didn't pay much attention to the little pieces of lore that the game hands you, you're able to put together that he's a pretty important guy: the mighty Lord of Cinder. The buildup to his fight hints at an even larger presence than the other bosses. You travel beneath Firelink Shrine, your home base for most of the game, where you find a massive expanse of land, cold and dark, a mysterious coliseum-like structure looming in the distance, which is impossibly large, even so far away. As you get closer, ghosts of old knights appear to attack you. They are easily dispatched, but still a shock. The structure towers over you, emphasizing just how much space is needed to house this mythologically strong figure, and the power that he holds. You enter, and find…….a hollowed old man. He's slightly taller than you, dressed in robes, and wielding a flaming greatsword, but he's nowhere near the scale of other bosses. However, he rushes at you all the same. When you begin the duel, it feels different from the others. There is no dramatic, sweeping music. All you get is a somber piano, like something that would play during a funeral, rather than a climactic duel. It feels like Gwyn's theme is actively pitying him. Granted, it's appropriate for the fight. All Gwyn can do is swing is flaming blade, which you can avoid with ease. There's been some easier bosses, but at least they didn't feel like they WANTED to die. Besides, this isn't the fragile Moonlight Butterfly, or the starting Asylum Demon, this is the final boss! He should be challenging you! Putting all the skills you've learned to the test! He's a fucking King! Why isn't he stronger? Fighting Gwyn after you've fought everyone else feels like walking into the home of an old, dilapidated hoarder, and kicking him while he's down. If you've been practicing your parrying, its like doing the same, except with cleats. He just seems………tired. As pathetically destitute as you were at the start. He might as well just keel over when you walk in the door. You beat him, naturally, and then the game just kinda….ends. If you got the ending I did, you just exit the area, look at all the nice snake friends you just made, and then roll credits. For all the work you've put into getting here, and all the struggles you've had to overcome, it feels like a severe anticlimax, like the game is playing a prank on you.
But if you know anything about the setting of Dark Souls, you'd know that there's really no other way this could end.
"The world of Dark Souls is dying"
This is a phrase that, while not as oft repeated as the above, is also pretty common knowledge at this point. Lodran, the game's setting, is a desolate place, long past its glory years. Once a powerful kingdom, teeming with life and magic, it is now in ruin, every citizen either dead, hollowed, or left to survive amongst the numerous deadly creatures that now roam the land. Everyone who's still around at the start of the game is either destined for misery, or already there (Unless you're Andre. He seems to be doing pretty well, all things considered). Somewhere around the time Lordran has reached the end of its life cycle, is when the player character enters the story, albeit with a rather unenviable role. Your job is to essentially be the world's janitor, cleaning out the world's former main characters, most of whom are insane, and all of whom are well past their useful days (or, if you have the DLC, you get to see Artorias right as he passes this point). Unfortunately, most of them would like to keep being alive, so they're going to make that difficult for you, by turning you into red mist until you stop trying to kill them. Even the grandiose presentation some of them have can't entirely hide the fact that this is a rather sad state of affairs for everyone, especially for those who haven't really done anything wrong (I nearly cried at having to kill Sif, and I will never fight Priscilla). Fortunately, some of these bastards contributed to the world's current bleakness, so killing them provides at least a twinge of catharsis, albeit one that will certainly be gone by the time you move onto the next bastard. The goal of this whole clean-up process, is to prepare the world to either continue with the age of fire with you as the catalyst, hopefully without those brutes who were clogging the power vacuums, or plunge the world into a new age of darkness, now that it has been cleansed of its polluting influences.
The only mean to either of these ends, is to kill Gwyn, the Lord of Cinder, former ruler of Lordran, and one of the primary reasons that this world is such a goddamn mess. To sum up his actions without getting too deep into the lore's intricacies; Gwyn knew that his kingdom was destined to fall, due to the world's oncoming transition from the age of fire into the age of shadow. This transition was represented by the dwindling light of the first flame, the lifeblood of the kingdom. After utterly failing to rekindle it, Gwyn entered a final gambit to prolong the life of his empire, linking himself with the first flame, but burning himself, and many of his knights, away in the process. This left him as a hollow, doomed to languish in his kiln, until another unfortunate soul took his place, linking the flame to further prolong the changeover. In doing this, Gwyn went against the natural laws of his world, which didn't react well to having its transitionary cycle interrupted. The world fell into a sharp decline, becoming a desolate, unhappy place, festering with demons and monsters (many of whom were the result of the last time someone tried to rekindle the first flame), making life hell for anyone unlucky enough to still be around afterwards. Gwyn wanted to prolong the inevitable, prevent the death of his kingdom, and continue its prosperity, so he sacrificed everything. His realm has persisted, but in a state of undeath, having stuck around long past its natural expiration date, just like him. Gwyn's story can be properly summarized as what happens when someone is psychotically obsessed with preserving their power, even when that preservation only serves to make the world a substantially worse place. Gwyn, in his hollow state, is a symbol of Lordran's persistent deterioration.
None of this information is directly handed to the player. Some bits are alluded to through snippets of dialogue and item descriptions, and the opening cutscene depicts one of the major inciting events of the narrative, but for the most part, it's a sprawling, multi-phased story, that is dolled out non-linearly, and piecemeal.
Now, with that context, let's cast a new lens on that fight…
After delving underneath Firelink Shrine for the final time, you come upon a desolate landscape, the Kiln of the First Flame looming in the distance. It's clearly well past its glory days, looking decrepit and sad. It is home of the world's lifeblood, but in name only. Now, it holds the last remnant of an age long past. As you approach, the spirits of old knights come to attack you, but they aren't much of a challenge, being just shadows of their former selves. They're victims, really; their loyalty has bound them to a sorry task, but they're in the way, and they weren't really living much of a life anyway. When you get closer to the kiln, it feels impossibly large, but also cold, and surprisingly dark, for something that's supposed to house an eternal flame. When you can see more details, it becomes clear just how long it's been falling into ruin. It feels abandoned, but you know its not. After all, you're here to end the life of its only resident. You enter, and find…. Lord Gwyn, a king who destroyed himself and cast the world into ruin, just to hold on to a formerly prosperous time. Lord Gwyn, whose refusal to let the fire die is the reason why you had to struggle through this entire journey. Lord Gwyn, whose death will mark the end of a era, no matter what you do afterwards. He charges at you, barely even conscious anymore, having been locked in this tomb for unknowable amounts of time. But he can't really fight you, at least not well. His strength isn't nearly what it used to be, now that he's a hollow, tired and worn-down, just like you were at the start. He's a pitiable figure, and the music knows. That sorrowful piano fades in, almost like something that would play at a funeral. But this isn't a funeral. This is a mercy killing. Spiritually, Gwyn died a long time ago. You're just putting his body to rest. When he's finally dispatched, it feels like an anticlimax. But of course it is. Gwyn is the embodiment of the world you've spent so much time exploring. Lordran has been denied a proper climax for so long, because he extended the story long past where it should have ended. He's been waiting to be killed for ages now. It feels only right that Gwyn be an easy, anticlimactic boss, because how could such a destitute figure be anything else?
"Dark Souls is a hard game for a reason"
The above statement is a simplified summation of why Dark Souls is one of my favorite games that I’ve ever played. It's set in a dying, hostile world, that's been brought to ruin by the violation of its natural laws. Thus, the game is insistent on making the player struggle at every turn, to make them feel just as downtrodden as the world they explore. Lord Gwyn is a example of just how thoroughly holding onto power can corrupt someone, leaving them as a husk, the scraps of their former glory existing only the in the memory of the people who are still forced to cope with the consequences of their selfish actions. Thus, his boss fight is an intentionally easy anticlimax, to emphasize just how far he's fallen, to the point that he can't even put up a good point. It's the themes of his character, perfectly melding with the gameplay. It's a perfect encapsulation of the game's best quality, how the experience of playing the game, reflects the themes and tone of its story. The reasons why the fight with Gwyn is the perfect anticlimax, and why Dark Souls is a near-perfect game, are one and the same.
#video games#gaming#dark souls#dark souls 1#fromsoftware#fromsoft games#Gwyn#game writing#game analysis#boss fight#videogame#game#long post
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any expectations/predictions about the DLC you might like to share, Mr Dreamo?
(This is about the Elden Ring DLC)
My expectations are very high, because FromSoft has always done their very best on DLCs to their games, due to a strong internal culture of taking in criticisms of their base games and trying to rectify them while elevating their base, solid formula. It's why they tend to take a while with DLC: They don't immediately go into DLC development as soon as their base game ends, at least not in full (they likely do conceptual groundwork and all the sundry parts you don't really need a lot of feedback for, like world assets and such), they always take their sweet time cranking out those bad boys, and it always feels like they address the weaknesses of their base games in their DLC.
So to hear that this is the biggest expansion they've ever produced as a company is not surprising at all: Elden Ring is, by far, their biggest game. And not only that, they managed to make an open world game that actually feels full. Miyazaki mentioned in an interview that the DLC map will be as big, if not bigger, than Limgrave, and Limgrave in terms of size alone is like a fourth of the base game, so That's Pretty Impressive (though... Is he counting the Weeping Peninsula in there? WP is part of Limgrave so I assume he is but there was no specificity). There's also apparently 8 new equipment categories, which is kind of insane to me? Likely they'll have 1-3 weapons each obviously but making 8 new equipment types is also pretty ambitious. We saw Dueling Shields, and we've heard rumors of odachi as well (Walmart Mortal Blade real?), and I will be cautious in my enthusiasm and assume it won't be 8 new weapon types specifically (probably some kooky meme items there like the double door shields or some gimmick torch with attacks from DS3, wouldn't be Fromsoft without clown nose equipment) but new weapon types outright is in fact a perfect way to revitalize a game further. All I want is for the new weapons to be relatively easily accessed for new characters instead of necessarily an endgame or NG+ deal unless you're willing to kill endgame bosses with a very low level character so we can do full NG runs with these new toys (see: Moonlight Greatsword runs or Rakuyo runs in Bloodborne. Have fun REALLY learning Ludwig and Maria on no-hit formats! Hope you brought plenty Fire and Bolt Paper, respectively!)
And my biggest hope, perhaps even cope, is that the triple flying kicks we saw in the trailer are Martial Arts weapons and not just an Ash of War. If the Bone Fist from DS2 finally returns in spirit, you will catch me dropkicking player and god alike until the end of time.
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Adventures of Solis - Chapter 1: The Art of Sword Conjuring
Adventures of Solis
Chapter Index
Next | Previous | Beginning
Yup, its another one of these.
Trying to keep it concise this round; more build discussion and less minor details.
Once again, the rules are - 1. themed character, 2. natural playthrough compatible 3. playable in PvE and PvP
Solis, Sword Conjurer
The starting concept was 'Conjured Sidearm' - using Glintblade Sorceries like a magical off-hand. Not the most original idea, but wanted to give it my own spin. I also wanted to do an Intelligence Hybrid.
In short; a mage-fighter hybrid using a mainhand weapon + magical tools in the off-hand, and not a Carian Slicer spam build.
Which then begs the question - Do we limit to Glintblade Spells only? or how many non-school spells to allow?
Theres also the question of swap speed/sanity - the magic sidearm has to be drawn fast/convenient. Too large a spell arsenal limits this.
1.1 Arcane Arsenal
Since magic = off-hand weapon, the spells should roughly equate to a weapon type. The playstyle is melee-focus, so spell choice is affected by that.
Main
Carian Slicer - Dagger equivalent, can be drawn fast with absurd damage.
Carian Piercer - Lance equivalent, reach and stopping power when charged. Also a good tool in PvP for sudden lunges.
Gavel of Haima - Great Hammer equivalent. One of few spells with hyper armour during cast, also a source of AOE damage.
Ranged: Magic Glintblade or Swift Glintstone Shard
Having easy ranged attacks is the main reason to be a caster. Felt these were the most on theme, as once you start adding things like Comet - it pretty much plays like any other 'normal wizard'.
Glintblade gives the option to prepare a big opening move, while Shard is more a 'quickshot' - small damage with near instant poke.
Other
Adula's Moonblade - Not in the Glintblade School, despite conjuring a sword. Source of Cold Status and more AOE. As this is a late-game spell - its more of a 'I'll try it when I get there' than a commited inclusion.
Zamor Ice Storm - Another Cold + AOE spell. This is a personal bias, I love it for its own sake. Given that the playstyle already up close - why not?
Gravity Well - We are melee, therefore why not use the spell that pulls things to you? also another ranged consideration.
Theres too many spells here to reasonably carry at all times, and so I opted for 3-4 at any time, swapping situationally. 2 slots for common use and 1-2 for situational use.
In short, spells alots are...
1. 'Dagger' aka. Carian Slicer
2. 'Ranged' - Swift Glintstone/Magic Glintblade
3. 'Heavy Weapon' - Piercer/Gavel
4. Off-School/Utility
Staff - Carian Glintblade
On theme, and the best staff (the +15% to Glintblade School beats more magic scaling in most cases).
At low-level, DHQ (Demi-Human Queen) is *technically* better; but CG can be found relatively early - (ie. losing a little damage early vs. never having to replace your staff)
1.2 Main Hand Weapon
The ideal weapon was something with the following.
Ability to stagger human-type enemies - did not want to rely on specific spells in order stop an aggresive enemy. This is true in both PvE and PvP.
Generalist moveset and speed - as we are a martial build in neutral. Casting takes time, thus something that doesnt' compete with spells for 'openings' in combat.
No overlap with spells - Since our spell choice coverd reach, fast close up slashes and the occasional AOE, the choice mainhand weapon should not be specialist in any of these.
Thus, Greatswords were the choice.
Here there are 3 options
Claymore/Flamberge for regular infusables - Claymore if we end up Int+Str, Flamberge for Int+Dex.
Helphen's Steeple - Unique Str/Int weapon with a frostbite buff.
Given that Helphen's is late-game and Flamberge needs a signficant run, Claymore was the early-game weapon.
note: excluded Death's Poker and Moonlight GS as they are more 'magic wands', built around a ranged skill - rather than a weapon for swinging.
1.3 Equipment
Here we wanted a proper battlemage - able to fight up close. A metallic/crystalline fashion with good protection - no robes.
Prisoner Helm + Scaled Set was the 'ideal fashion'.
Until then, the Chainmail set from Kale will do. Swapping in more pieces of the Scaled Set as endurance allows.
Since elemental damage weapons are very strong early on - we aim for 1H Claymore and throw an elemental infusion on.
Being able to 1-Hand a weapon is important. Stopping to cast, then swap back to 2H grip just to swing is very slow and makes combat less smooth.
The specific elemental infusion really does not matter, as scaling early is non-existent. Opted for Sacred Blade for the free weapon buff, then replaced it with any of the Rogier weapon arts ASAP.
Stats and Levelling
We need for (Int, Mind) for magic, (Str, Dex) for weapons and (Vig,End) for defense - so the stat spread is going to be really rough.
To get the most basic setup going we need...
min stats to use 1H Claymore (16 str, 14 dex)
min end for equipment weight; Prisoner Head + Chainmail set + Claymore + Staff (14 end)
min int for spells
note: Radagon Soreseal covers all Str + End requirements
Starting Class - Prisoner
The int+dex class
wastes no points on faith; a stat we are definitely not using.
Starter spell; Magic Glintblade - is of the blade school.
14 dex at base covers Claymore requirements
14 int at base covers all relevant spells until Liurnia
As with everything, Vagabond is always good in the long run - but I wanted to cast from start and not have to unlock magic.
Levelling Priority
14 end min
min str/dex/int for weapon/spell options
The rest is Vigor and Mind to taste
Closing Thoughts
As of writing, character is RL60 +12/5. Will followup on what aspect of the setup worked + new discoveries.
Adventures of Solis
Chapter Index
Next | Previous | Beginning
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for the soulsborne ask!
1 5 14 18 21 and 30
sorry for asking so many but i actually narrowed it down all these questions are GOLD
Thanks for the ask! And I don't mind a lot of questions, so no worries!
"What is your favorite boss gameplay-wise?"
This one is extremely difficult to decide on, because there are so many I like! I am cheating and giving several answers, sorry:
Ludwig, Malenia, Gael, Nameless King, Maria, Midir, Friede
5. "What are your top 3 weapons and why?"
Moonlight Greatsword, because every version looks great and plays enjoyably to me. In the games where you can adjust your build, I usually end up switching from a quality build to an int build later on, because I enjoy it so much.
Ludwig's Holy Blade, because you can PUT MORE SWORD ON YOUR SWORD. The Tsubasa Kazanari of weapons.
Moonveil, because it's like the katana version of the moonlight greatsword and is just extremely fun. I know some people think it's a basic choice because of how early you can get it if you're using a guide, but I still enjoy it.
Honorable mentions
-The Black Knight Sword, because I had one drop very early in Dark Souls 1, the first fromsoft game I played, and I ended using it for pretty much my entire first playthrough. It also returns in 2 and 3, and in 3 it was also my main weapon for almost everything.
-Malenia's Katana, because it's extremely cool that you can use the bonus boss' weapon AND their most powerful move with it.
-Threaded Cane, because I started with it and used it for most of my first Bloodborne playthrough, and its whip form reminds me of Airgetlam.
-Friede's Ice Scythes and The Burial Blade, because scythe go swish swish, dess.
14. "Who is the most underrated boss in your opinion?"
Bed of Chaos.
Just kidding, I can't really think of a boss that people hate but I really like. I don't really see people talk about Martyr Logarius much, and I think his fight is extremely good! Also maybe Rennala from Elden Ring? I'm not sure what opinions are on her fight.
18. "What are your 3 favorite OST tracks?"
Maiden Astraea (the original, not the missing the point remix from the demon's souls PS5 remake)
Dark Eater Midir
Slave Knight Gael AND Abyss Watchers (they tie for this slot)
Honorable Mentions
-Malenia, Blade of Miquella
-Ornstein and Smough
-Ludwig The Accursed/The Holy Blade
21. "Best Poison Swamp?"
Farron Keep! I really enjoyed this zone actually, and Abyss Watchers is at the end.
30. "Rank the games you've played!"
I've played all of them (including DLC) except for Sekiro, and platinumed/100%'d them (twice for some games because I did it over again for Scholar, Remaster, and PS5 Remake). I have Sekiro but keep getting distracted from actually starting it. I'm not going to give an explanation for why I feel the way I do about each game because it would make this post untenably long. I'm happy to explain in a follow up if anyone has a burning desire to know why I placed one in a certain rank. I enjoy all of them a lot though!
Elden Ring
Bloodborne
Dark Souls 3
Dark Souls 2
Dark Souls
Demon's Souls
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For the Souls Ask: 6, 7, 9, and 12
6 - Boss you found strangely easy
Capra Demon. I had heard so many horror stories about Capra Demon ruining people's days, the speed run killer, the first major wall...and then I did it on my first try. I can totally get WHY people can get wrecked by Capra, but it just never gave me trouble.
7 - Boss you found strangely difficult
Hrmm, none come to mind as "this is super easy, why is it fucking me up this bad". Not to say I've never struggled on a boss, I just can't recall feeling like I was stonewalled by a boss that should have been easy.
9 - Three favorite weapons and why?
Fume Ultra Greatsword in DS2, Stake Driver in Bloodborne, Dark Moon Greatsword in Elden Ring.
The DS2 Fume Ultra is probably one of the best feeling two handed swords in the franchise. It's heavy, it hits hard, it has a good moveset, and you get to remember fighting FUME KNIGHT.
Stake Driver earns points just by nature of being an arm mounted pilebunker, and few things are as satisfying as landing that fully charged R2 and just knocking anything flat on its ass. I also enjoy its standard moveset of punches while loaded and broad swipes when extended.
Dark Moon Greatsword is probably my favorite iteration of the Moonlight Greatsword (though Bloodborne's comes close), in no small part to its connection to Ranni. It was the first weapon that really made me want to commit to specific build in ER, as up to that point I'd just been trying out whatever as I got it.
12 - Any ships you enjoy?
Not particularly, Soulsborne characters tend to be pretty isolated from each other, so I don't really see the chemistry I'd need to get behind a ship. I've seen some very cute Melina/Ranni art here and there, so I'll go with that.
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Character Opinion: Ludwig the Holy Blade
He has one of my favourite boss designs of all time! The first phase where he’s a screeching horse-man abomination is incredible (along with the weird eye mouth thing that shoots literal lasers). Fromsoft really perfected the body horror aesthetic with his design. Then that second phase! One of the best cutscenes imo. Covering the beastly side of his face with the Moonlight Greatsword? Perfection. Also the detail of him being a leftie and having his sword on that side of his back was pretty cool.
I’ve always been interested in his character. He seems like the stereotypical ‘knight in shining armour’ character, but as all things Bloodborne he isn’t as straight forward as he seems. I mean, it’s hinted that his weird cosmic sword basically guided him (sentient sword?). His theme being a waltz also always made me curious because most other bosses have proper bombastic themes.
Plus, two of the best weapons in the game are directly associated with him.
tldr: He is so cool looking, but also why does he look like that. Human Ludwig was probably a pretty normal looking dude, but I would not like to bump into his beast form. Cool sword.
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Wisty plays Cinders part... 6?
I forgot how many long posts I’ve made of this so far lol
In any case I finished my first playthrough of the mod
But I know that there’s NG+ enemies and other things I still need to clear
So when I read the name “Soul of Lordran Remnants” I was expecting an original boss and I should’ve expected it to be put in the least inspired boss in the vanilla game.
Artorias uses Phase 2 SoC (with an extra high jump move thats like his signature jumping aerial stab)
Ornstein is Nameless King
Ciaran is..... a Grave Warden (LOL)
Gough is raining arrows, its a bit obnoxious but not that big of an issue if it knocks you down, usually.
Bit of an intense marathon fight, though I feel Artorias should’ve also had some extra moves from Abyss Watchers (Pretty sure Nameless King doesn’t have Lightning Stake, that was a SoC move). It’s a nice bit of fanservice but it was a shame Artorias didn’t have something closer to his moveset.
Ciaran’s Tracers actually have a fully functioning unique moveset and WA which I actually forgot that was a thing (why did they cut it anyway, who knows). It might’ve been better for her to just act like a player NPC using her weapon.
Greatsword of Artorias is pretty much the exact same as the Wolf Knight GS which also still exists, weird. Unfortunate that its R2s fucking suck.
Lotta cool new spells and spell tools, magic is maybe a bit OP now with revamps to both various tools, buffs to spells and new spells.
This guy would spam Shield Splitter almost infinitely and there was nothing I could do to punish him because of his poise. He also did way more damage with that sword than I ever could have. It was really dumb and obnoxious, and of course like literally every npc invader will point down at you if you die and it just feels so unnecessary? Why do people insist on being like this.
Overall, still hope more weapons get changed to have more unique moves, and they implement more armors (seriously, no hunter set?) It’s too difficult to implement the cloth physics so its very DS2 like which can be a bit weird to look at in DS3′s graphics
If they can put in the Beast Cutter animations for it. Then I’d like to see Straight Swords use the 4 hit combo from ludwig’s holy blade, the Holy Moonlight Sword slashes for the MLGS, and the Chikage two handed swings for various other swords.
The wide variety of hybrid spell tools are fun
I just wish there were more that had Weapon Skill like the Jester’s Flame/Talisman, but those scale with Luck otherwise I’d use them.
I guess I could if I level Luck to 40 but I’ve leveled just about everything else to 40 save for ATN/VIT/STR and I’m getting really tired of dealing with the level curve at this point.
Before I go into NG+ I wanna clear the Trial of Perseverance at least once
Still a really good experience overall, though I hope I’m not the only one who’d like an option in the initialization file to be able to toggle passive poise off because it just doesn’t fucking work with this game at all (not to mention it invalidates like 80% of boss movesets being designed to punish panic rolling)
I’ll never shut up about it.
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Scars
I wanted to write about Marel and Dorian’s first kiss, since it happened differently in my head. That was supposed to be a drabble but then it got past 2k words. :’D
Anyway, story takes place shortly after Dorian’s personal quest. Enjoy a little angst and fluff.
———
Marel sat on a tree stump, quietly observing the camp surroundings. It was fairly easy to sleep in the Hinterlands, except for the occasional wolfs preying around. Still, it was a minor problem compared to other areas such as Fallowmire, where dead people crawled out of nowhere to attack them. Stormcoast also had its problems for obvious reasons.
The elf sighed, finally deciding to brush his hair aside and leave his left eye exposed. He was so used to cover it by now, up to the point that seeing with both eyes felt a little strange. He leaned back a little and enjoyed the gentle night breeze on his cheeks, eyes slowly closing as he attempted to relax. Nothing but the sound of crickets and-
Footsteps.
Marel grabbed his greatsword as fast as possible and stood up, turning his body to see who approached. As someone used to make night watches for the clan, he had honed his reflexes to react almost instantly in any situation. His arms were already moving to swing his sword - that is, until he actually realized who was there.
"Dorian," Marel mumbled, his expression quickly changing from shock to annoyance, furrowing brows at the other man. "What the hell?! I could have killed you!"
"Yes, remind me not to sneak on you again. I thought you were falling asleep, which is clearly not the case." Dorian approached the elf as he put his weapon down.
Marel sat on the grass, leaving the greatsword by his side. "I don't fall asleep in my shifts," he grumbled while looking at the hills straight ahead.
The mage smirked. "I can see that." He strolled closer. "Can I join you?"
"Sure." Marel glanced at the man, his voice filled with curiosity. "Can't sleep?"
Dorian took a seat next to him. Despite the darkness around them, the subtle moonlight was enough to reveal a tired look on his face. "Well, no. These bedrolls are dreadful."
Marel chuckled. There was something funny about the mage's complaints- maybe the fact that he usually exaggerated things. "They are actually not that bad," he shrugged.
"Not if you like to sleep on stone," Dorian promptly countered.
The elf's smile grew a little wider. "And I thought I complained a lot." He expected another answer, but there was silence instead. His eyes gazed back at Dorian, and oddly enough, he seemed surprised at something. Marel furrowed brows in confusion. "What?"
"Nothing," Dorian shook his head. "It's just- rare to see you like this."
It took Marel a few seconds to realize his left eye was still exposed- and so were his scars. They were usually covered for a reason, so that people wouldn't stare at him. He wondered how long Dorian had been doing that, feeling a rush of self consciousness hit his mind.
Shit.
Marel quickly covered his eye again. Dorian wasn't supposed to see that. His heart and mind began to race together. "Fuck. Just- forget you saw that."
Dorian noticed the way Marel's muscles stiffened. He was completely at ease a few seconds ago, and it just took one comment to screw things up. It was like suddenly a stone wall stood between them. The elf hugged his knees, jaw slightly clenched as he looked ahead.
"Did I say something wrong?" Dorian asked, instantly regretting his own words. "If that's the case, I apologize."
"Don't," his tone was a little harsher than intended. A short pause followed. Marel sighed, rubbing his temple for a bit. That was a disaster. "It's not your fault."
"Alright." Dorian felt more relieved at that. Still, he wanted to know what bothered him so much. It was excruciating to see Marel so guarded, after all, the elf had helped him more than anyone in the South until now. It felt only right to return the favor. "If there's anything you wish to talk about, I'm here."
"You wanna know why I cover my eye, right?" Marel's bluntness, despite common, still surprised the mage sometimes. He looked at Dorian, who slowly nodded in response.
"You don't need to answer though. I'm merely curious," he added.
"It's fine." Marel let go of his knees, leaning his arms back instead. Both his hands touched the grass beneath them. It was a familiar texture, one that made him relax a little. "There are two reasons. First one is that I don't see really well with my left eye. Blurred vision and all."
Dorian crossed his legs, appearing to be drawn into their conversation. "Was it always like that?"
"No. It happened around six years ago." Marel stopped talking for a moment. Besides his clan, he actually never told anyone about that. It felt too personal to share. Not even Bull or Josephine, his other closest friends, knew about it. Strangely enough, it didn't feel like such a big deal with Dorian.
"My father became very ill one day,” he sighed, “and we needed a rare herb to cure his poisoning. There weren’t any in our camp, so we had to search around the nearest city. The Keeper said a scout would go at first light. My father didn't have that time.”
“So you went there,” Dorian guessed, trying to picture the whole scenario in his mind.
“Yeah. Me and my sister.” Marel crossed legs as well. “Her name is Ghilana by the way. We sneaked out in the middle of night.” Memories started to flash into his mind. “It was safe for a while. There had been some animals and a few people on the way but they didn’t see us. The herb was pretty close to the city walls. I covered for Ghilana as she started to gather it.”
“I saw a couple guards coming,” Marel recalled, “and we tried to hide. They found us anyway. We explained the reason we went there. I thought we could leave, but they... kept staring at Ghilana. In a really disgusting way.”
He unconsciously clenched his fists. “They said we were free to go as long as she agreed to spend some time with them. I said fuck you and that was the beginning of a shitstorm. We all fought until they managed to hold me down."
Dorian swallowed heavily. His throat felt dry. "Marel…"
"They started to cut my face with a knife," the elf said, his gaze pinned to the grass.
Silence followed. He remembered the pain way too clearly, after all, those were deep cuts. Trying to squirm out made things even worse. The only option was enduring it until Ghilana managed to defeat the guards. Marel lightly touched his scars, wearing a distant look on his face.
“I went through it all without making a sound." His voice sounded hoarse. "Didn’t want her to know how much I suffered.”
Dorian couldn't stand seeing him like that. One could only wonder how terrible that night was. It took him a moment to search for the right words to say. “...You were brave, Marel. Still are, in fact.” He touched the elf’s right shoulder in hopes of giving him some reassurance.
Marel couldn’t help but glance at him. He sighed, trying to forget those damned memories. "It's in the past. No need to comfort me."
Dorian nodded, moving his hand away. “You said there were two reasons. What’s the second one?”
“The scars are ugly,” Marel shrugged. “That’s pretty obvious.”
Everyone knew Marel didn't care for appearances. He always kept his hair somewhat messy and wore whatever armor he found, valuing usability over good looks. To hear him saying something like that… it was somehow heartbreaking. Even now, the elf acted like it didn't matter. But Dorian had seen through it. He saw the way Marel narrowed his eyes, unspoken sadness lingering on them. He saw- how vulnerable he was, despite everything.
Marel was self conscious after all.
“You really don’t give yourself much credit," Dorian said.
“Don't flatter me, Dorian.” The elf rolled his eyes. He hated to hear those kinds of things. There was nothing worse than meaningless words. “I’m only being honest. You should be too.”
Dorian sighed. “I am. You’re way better looking than you think, I can assure.”
That one compliment made Marel’s heart race in a stupid way. He simply wasn’t able to look at Dorian’s eyes- not with the moonlight shining on them like that. It made him look beautiful, almost ethereal in a way. His pretty words weren’t helping either.
Fenedhis, only the Creators knew how much he wanted that man.
Still, he fought against it. Firstly because it was silly to presume Dorian would want him as well. The safest choice was to remain friends, but that certainly didn’t mean it was the easiest. He swallowed, trying to recompose himself.
“You- barely saw my scars.” Marel stammered a little, silently cursing himself for being such an idiot. “You wouldn’t say that if you knew.”
“Well, in that case, I would like to see them. Properly this time.” Dorian was eager to make the elf believe in him. He was also the most stubborn between the two of them, so that discussion was far from over. “Just so you know I’m telling the truth.”
That man would be the death of him. Marel took a deep breath, not believing in what he was about to say.
“Fine,” he mumbled, turning his face to see Dorian again. He couldn't understand the point of that. He was about to complain more- until a hand moved towards his face. The elf stood speechless, eyes open wide as the other man carefully brushed his hair away. It felt terribly intimate, and yet Marel just wanted to lean for his touch. Instead he swallowed, more worried about Dorian’s reaction than anything else.
The next few seconds of silence felt like endless torture. He watched the mage intently, still as stone, holding his breath after feeling fingertips touch his skin. Dorian was tracing his scars. Slowly and carefully, taking his time to memorize them and also enjoying the chance to look at Marel’s whole face. That made the elf’s heart hammer inside his chest and his mind buzz in anticipation.
“It seems I was right after all,” Dorian stated. “You are beautiful.”
Marel stared at those grey eyes, and in that moment he knew the mage was telling the truth. That he wasn’t making up something just to make him feel better. No one ever said that to him, at least not genuinely. But Dorian? He meant every single word
Tears brimmed over Marel’s eyes. He blinked them back, his brain slowly remembering how to speak again. “You mean it,” he said breathlessly.
Dorian smiled a little. “Of course I do.”
Yet another moment of silence. This time, however, Marel couldn't look away - didn't want to. He had spent too long in denial, trying to drown his own feelings purely by fear of rejection. It never crossed his mind that Dorian would look at him like that, but he did.
The following moments happened fast. Marel leaned closer, and the next thing he knew is that they were kissing, feeling hands on his hair and neck. Each touch sent shivers down his spine. He had waited so long for that. What began with a soft peck quickly turned into a passionate kiss. Still, both of them took their time- Marel grabbed Dorian’s shoulders, slowly pulling him so the distance between them was even smaller.
It was easily the most intoxicating kiss he ever had, because not once he ceased to want for more. Marel opened his eyes again when Dorian pulled back, panting as he recovered his own breath.
"I have to admit, that was a bit unexpected." Although surprised, the mage smirked. He was still catching his breath. "A good surprise nonetheless."
"Yeah." Marel distanced himself a little so that he could actually process what just happened. "I… wanted to do that for a long time now."
Dorian arched his brows. "Now that's intriguing."
"What?" Marel asked, sounding genuinely confused.
"What, you say?" The mage repeated. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry at that. "Marel, I've been flirting with you for months."
Oh.
The elf stood silent for a moment, his cheeks flushing from complete embarrassment. He felt like a total idiot for being so clueless. "Fuck," was all he managed to say. "I… didn't notice."
“Clearly.” Dorian shook his head, laughing a little. The sound of it was oddly comforting. "You are truly something else."
"Yeah, right." Marel rolled eyes, still feeling his face burn. He wasn't sure if that was a compliment - probably yes - but he was done feeling stupid for the night. Plus, his body was already craving for a good night sleep. They had a long day after all. "Okay, I need to sleep," he said bluntly. "Your watch is next."
Dorian nodded, letting out a heavy sigh. "Don't tell me. I'll probably die of boredom here."
Marel's lips twitched into a smirk. "Yeah. Good luck with that."
It was the mage's turn to roll eyes. "Yes, go ahead and laugh at my misery," he said dramatically. "I probably deserve it-"
He stopped talking when Marel kissed his cheek. Yet another unexpected action that left him speechless for a moment.
"Goodnight, Dorian."
And so he returned to his tent. Dorian resisted the urge to look back, because no way he would let the elf see that he was caught off guard. Marel could be a little shit sometimes and would certainly tease him for it. He cleared his throat, straightening his posture while focusing on the camp's surroundings.
He couldn't help but smile, though.
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chapter 10 of the evergrace novel the one where darius wakes up on a nice bed for once and then everything goes TO THE SHITS!!!!!!
so after all that wild stuff from last chapter... the fucked up shadow tower hell, the sharline who wanted to kill darius, and then the moonlight greatsword...................
he sees a white ceiling at first.
darius wakes up to the sounds of birds chirping. he’s in a large bed with white sheets, feeling quite light and comfortable. a light breeze and light touches his face. it comes from the small window fluttering with beige curtains. there’s even a fancy (fit for an aristocrat) yellow chair, embroidered and made for one person to sit on. a polished mirror and lamp completes the room, painted with a thin red colour.
how cozy! even the grave injuries of the last chapter and before then (you know the huge axe that sunk into his side) seem to have all healed. that’s great. a faint medicinal smell hits his nose. this bed and pillow is stuff with wool. damn.... bro.... it’s so cozy. “the fluffiness seemed to swallow darius up” or something like that. but he has to get out regardless.
“Where... am I?”
darius looks out the window. there’s bluish rocky mountains and a cape overseeing a truly blue ocean. a blurry wall (hmm *is thinking*) seems to be at the horizon, and then a green sky above. he scans the rocky mountains a bit, and notices the royal shrine. enduring a bit of pain, he looked up to the sky - a tower seeming to reach the beyond the clouds and green skies, and into the heavens
no doubt about it
It’s THE TOWER BABEY!!!!
youtube
(shameless self plug. piercing the heavens my favourite song :) i uploaded it on youtube because the other video with the song has a audio hiccup. also check it out i made a better analysis of kota hoshino’s indigenous inspirations of the OST as a whole)
“ah you’ve woken up? how’s your injuries?”
hey oldbshdhsbb! he’s alive and just opened the door a bit for darius. he motions him to come out of the room and into... another nice room! embroidery and desks and chairs and all that. even a window where a birdcage sits! yeah! there’s a bird and cats here. how nice.
everyone’s armor is laid out cleanly on a table.
“the master of this house mended it for you.” oldbdjdhdbbd mentions as he plays with a cat. he gives a light knock on the nearby door.
“medina, he’s up. what should we do?”
here’s a good place to put a read more just because i don’t wanna bother the dashboard TOO MUCH LOL. enjoy the rest of it, this bit goes up until medina finishes her conversation with darius and they figure out what 2 do next.
Now we introduce... Medina!!!! Compared to the game she’s a lot more talkative and has a great helpful role. legit super power up here and i’m happy she got a big role in the novel. also i just drank a radler anyways here wawe go
so they go into the room and it’s pretty colourful. medina is there. she wears a brown dress and has blonde hair. i’ll paste an image of her from the twikia
we love you WAIT THAT’S GREY!? anywaywws
“this woman saved us. so don’t be rude zo” orlfkjdsl tells darius who is right behind him. medina gives an easygoing smile :)
“sorry about the mess. i have something to tell you all, but i know you’re short on time so i’ll get it all out quickly”
“you saved us?” Darius asks.
“Mhm. Oh, so you’re Darius... You’re the boy that Sharline talked about...”
“You know Sharline? Who are you?”
“I’m Medina... Morpheus’ grandaughter.” “WHAT”
“I’m... I have to give you an apology. To stop any more suffering of innocent lives at the hands of my grandfather (she uses ojiisama btw), I told Sharline how to reach his secret laboratory.” medina’s eyes look down
“Sharline said that she had to save the woman named Sienna no matter what. Along with her, she also had a desire to save Trandin.”
“What did Morpheus want to do with the Crest?”
“...My grandfather, he did such horrible things.... Because of my sake.”
Medina rolled up the sleeves of her dress. iiiii think there’s an alcrest symbol on both of her arms bascailly.
“The reason I am alive before you two is because of the Alcrest. Without it, my body would quickly grow weak and die.
My grandfather sought out the Billiana trees for their power to make its surroundings flourish or suffer. That ‘Power to manipulate life’ must’ve been connected to that. Taking the sap of the tree to make Palmira to study, then seeing how the Crest manipulated Palmira, then from there...The Alcrest was born. With that Alcrest, it was like my body was reborn again.”
Medina took a small breath, and continued.
“...How happy it would be if that was the end of the story. But, because of this Alcrest, Trandin and his mother, Sienna, had to suffer so deeply...”
“Ahh, because Trandin has the Crest, that’s why he...”
“Ah, no. He doesn’t have a Crest...” (this is untrue btw but no one knows right now lol) “For a while, he lived here with me. He was just... A perfectly normal and good child. He was so cheerful, he often chased my cats around, getting scratched in the process.”
okay i stop here for a moment because this is so cute. imagining medina owning these cute cats and then trandin playing with them, is very sweet. you don’t see this in the game because of a typo, but she treats him like a little brother. here’s her proper bio from the prima guide kindly shared to me by my friend:
“Medina is like an older sister to Trandin. She takes care of him when Morpheus isn’t around, but currently she and Trandin are kept separate. She doesn’t like the fact that Morpheus treats Trandin as a mere laboratory rat. She desperately wants to help free Trandin and stop Morpheus’ experiments, which bring great sorrow to others.”
they’re bros basically <:’) cute cute, must draw art of that one day. trandin being fussed over by his mom and sister (s?) anyways i’ve sobered up now:
Medina’s faced brightened up for a moment, but that smile quickly disappeared.
���But, in less than a month, my grandfather took him away. He said that “it was necessary, in order to bring out the Crest-branded Parent Bird...”“
Hmm..... what a weird phrase. the crest-branded parent bird..... hmmmmm *is thinking*
“So you couldn’t stop him?” darius asks kinda meanly. of course not bro. great. Medina’s body seems to shrink as she puts her face in her hands.
“I couldn’t do anything against my grandfather. If this Alcrest ceased to function, I would die just like that.
My grandfather, back then, he wouldn’t have done these things, and I would’ve trusted in him, you know? But now, he’s... with a snap of his fingers, I could be gone, just like that. It frightens me...”
“So that’s why you sent Sharline up there.”
“Yes. At first, I tried to stop her. It would be ridiculous for someone to scale the tower alone. But, she told me how she felt - how in her own village, there was a child with the Crest on his right hand. How because of that Crest, he had suffered things that he didn’t deserve, and she was powerless to protect him.
She told me how upon seeing Trandin and the Alcrest on his right hand... Those painful thoughts of not being able to protect Darius rose up again. She had to save Sienna and Trandin, that was her one desire.”
“I couldn’t stop her. As the days pass with no change, my mind can’t help but think that I led her to her death... Maybe if I’d tried harder, I could have stopped her... I regret it so much now...”
...
“You don’t have to regret it.”
“No matter how many times you tried to stop her, Sharline would have gone ahead anyways.”
Medina raised her head, jolted back to reality with Darius’ words. The silver-haired youth looked at her with a gentle gaze.
“That’s just the kind of person she is.”
“...Thank you.” Medina’s face softened ever so slightly.
OH MY GOD THIS IS ALREADY A LOT?!? OKAY TO BE CONTINUED, IN THE NEXT POST........
DARIUS ORLDFJDLFJI AND MEDINA FIGURE OUT WHAT TO DO NEXT
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Tagged to do this by @punkahontus thank you.
Gender: Human girl
Birthday: October 7
Last movie seen: Guardians of the Galaxy 2
What do you post/reblog: Mostly art. Lots of special interest stuff actually. Just a lot of it usually comes in some sort of art form.
Last thing you googled: Buddy Armstrong. I also googled Bojack Horseman as well.
Favourite blog: Honestly, my mutuals. Though like some people on here i know better than others and have been super cool to me or i just like seeing them post stuff or liking my posts. it’s nice to see they’re alive and well
@sarcasm-the-toad @rust-dust-and-guts @tragedyfound--us @lampshroomomg @scarsoftheshatteredsky are just some of the people who i’ve like either had good times playing games with or just had really nice interactions as whole.
oh and @periberrytea and @serenityinsunrises and @breetheraven are all super sweet for leaving me kind messages and stuff and checking up on me and all that.
Also i feel it is truly criminal that @fragmentalize doesn’t have more notes on their art bc O M F G SERIOUSLY SO GOOD.
ps @symmetralove special mention bc i love all the symm stuff all the time. it’s great
pss i forgot to put how cool i think @drama-bomb is too.
(i am so sorry for swooning over everyone xD)
I love everyone though. You all have swell blogs and i’m actually a goon and try to go through and see everything i’ve missed because everyone’s got awesome stuff i want to see.
Dream job: honestly, i want to be a creative writer for professional wrestling. seems fun.
or make games.
Dream trip: i am a stay at home gal.
What would be your first entry in a new diary? probably a lot of gibberish. I can't journal.
i just spout out words
3 things you love about yourself: i do neat things, i like neat things, i am at times a neat thing
3 things you wish you knew how to do: be a person, fly a plane, communicate more fluidly with animals
Something you wish you had discovered/invented first: truly, i don't know. i don't really care about being first
3 qualities you like in a person: creativity, paitience, i like people who can be still and quiet without fuss.
3 qualities you dislike in a person: honestly, i just dislike people who make excuses for why they continually feel the urge to hurt other people.
Favourite planet: PLANET PISS
A resolution you make every year: i don't honestly. i don't like changes
Something you’re better at than most people: being a big old dumb.
Something you’re worse at than most people: preventing myself from continually being a big old dumb.
Favourite thing about Tumblr: cool dudes and LOTS OF AMAZING ART o m g
Least favourite thing about Tumblr: honestly, i've seen Orisa porn because of tumblr. i will never forgive this site for that.
Weapon of choice: i dunno, is it neckbeard to be like "i kind of katanas my dudes"
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
actually, moonlight greatsword. no one said this was based on reality.
Something not many people know about you: i'm pretty open honestly.
Like truthfully tumblr's been like sort of an outlet for me to be like sort of way more open about myself than i normally am in real life or even like in game spaces and stuff mostly because like people are really brutal or shitty and forget that people are actual human beings with like real things affecting them.
Like, i'm not a meme guys.
Favourite means of transport: i'm a stay at home gal
Favourite story: at the mountains of madness or i dunno, Post Office is a REALLY strong contender too.
Chicken or egg: I mean, it's far mor likely that what ever organism the chicken came from was laying eggs before it was properly a chicken yeah? I mean it's pretty clear that the chicken is a micro dino so yeah, egg?
Something that always makes you laugh: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Oco4WYRdaU
ALWAYS THIS.
I tag: @sarcasm-the-toad @draculateethtlsp @rileywasyes @scarsoftheshatteredsky @lampshroomomg @digital--liberator @serenityinsunrises
#tagged#about me#sorry about kind of swooning a bit in the favourite blog section#it's true though i really like a lot of the people i know here#and everyone's into awesome stuff and i love seeing the things people post
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Quilethen’s Deal
So I wrote this bit of Quilethen’s backstory a while ago, but it needed to be kept secret for reasons that might become apparent if you read it. And now I want to share this with you guys, because I’m pretty happy with how this turned out.
Quilethen is my High Elf Paladin of Corellon Larethian.
Dinner parties always exhausted Quilethen, especially when Anaerion wasn’t there. He was far better than she at the social maneuvering, at picking apart thinly veiled insults and the subtle machinations of the other guests. Oh, surely she was perfectly charming and delightful in her own right, but when it came to reading others, she paled in comparison.
But Luranaia had begged her to attend, and who was she to deny her precious daughter a chance to perfect her own skills in the field? She was taking more after her father, after all. What was her own weakness could be her strength. And Naia had done excellently; Quilethen wasn’t ashamed to admit that she’d guided her out of at least two potential blunders with the other noble ladies in attendance.
So, when the evening was finished and Naia asked for her mother’s blessing to spend the remainder of the night with some of her friends, she’d happily given it.
Quilethen returned home, alone.
Shedding her thin, delicate slippers by the door, the house was quiet, lit by floating faerie lights. Tension eased out of her shoulders, a feeling of safety, of being able to lower her mask settling over her like a warm blanket. She grasped the gossamer skirts of her dark blue dress, picked with silver threads to resemble a starlit night sky, and climbed the stairs to check on Anaerion.
He hadn’t felt well. He hadn’t been feeling well more and more often, and it was starting to worry Quilethen. They’d been told he still had at least a century, long enough to see their daughter into adulthood, but as the years passed since the news Anaerion was noticeably weaker. Some days, his worst days, he was only able to spend a few hours out of bed.
Hugging herself, one hand tracing the points of the star of Corellon Larethian that rested over her heart, against her skin, her thoughts were so turned inward that it took her a moment to notice one of the floating lights flicker and then die. One outside of her husband’s study. She halted, eyes narrowing with confusion as she looked to where the light had just been a moment ago.
Anaerion had said he’d renew the lights while she was gone, despite her insistence that Naia do it for him. They’d had an argument about it. She wanted him to save his strength, and he’d accused her of treating him like an invalid. It had been the sour note that had followed her all the way to dinner, until she’d forced it from her mind. If he’d been so stubborn about it, why hadn’t he--
Another light, this one closer to her than the first, wavered and extinguished.
Fear, sudden and icy, gripped her heart as she hiked up her dress once again to hurry down the hall on bare feet. “Anaerion?” she called out, anxiousness sharpening her voice. “Naer?”
There was no answer. She checked their bedroom first, only to find it empty, then pushed her way across the hall, through the door, into his study. The magic lights had already extinguished, and in their place were half a dozen candles, halfway burned, scattered throughout the room. Wasn’t it dangerous, to have open flame so close to so many books and papers? Her eyes immediately went to his desk, to his empty chair, and then--
In the center of the room, where normally there sat a plush couch (the couch where they had sat together so many times, where he would read to her, where they would sit and talk and had on more than one occasion taken pleasure in one another) instead was a circle scrawled in red, with magic runes (or was it Abyssal?) interspersed between segments of a sharp, geometric design. In the center of the circle lay her sword. The sword her husband had given her as a courting gift, the one she carried with her always when she tended to her duties.
And outside the circle was Anaerion.
He was laying on the ground, on his side, coppery hair fanned out around his head, his hand limp across the edge of the circle. “Naer!” she cried out, rushing to his side, falling to her knees on the edge of the circle. One hand pressed against the floor, unaware of the way the blood flaked away under her fingers and smeared across her dress and skin. Her other hand went to his face, pushing his hair away as she bent over him and turned his face to look up at her.
He was cold. His eyes stared blankly, unblinkingly, and his body was limp as he slumped over onto his back.
“No,” she breathed, shaking her head, smoothing her hand across his cheek, down his neck, tracing a path to his chest and stopping over his heart. Reaching for the star hanging from her throat, grasping her holy symbol and smudging it with dried blood, Quilethen sobbed out a hurried prayer as pale light (starlight, moonlight) poured from her fingers and into Anaerion.
Nothing happened.
“Anaerion!” She let go of her necklace to cradle his head in both of her hands, weeping as she leaned over him and searched his face, desperately seeking some sign of life that she knew she’d never find. “No, no, please. You can’t-- You can’t be gone.”
Quilethen?
His voice was so sudden, so unexpected, that she lurched away, releasing his head and gaping down at his body. Heart pounding, tears streaming down her face, she let out a weak, near-hysterical laugh. She’d been hearing things, he was-- He was still laying there, lifeless. Dead. The word was like a punch to her gut, knocking the wind out of her as she covered her mouth with one hand and squeezed her eyes shut, sobbing.
Quil. I-- Is that you?
Her eyes flew open and she looked around the room, vision blurred with tears. “Who’s there?” she demanded, anger stirring in her breast.
It’s me, my love. For a moment it was as though he were speaking right into her ear. His voice carried that same familiar warmth, that richness to it that had been a part of her life for over a century. But this time she realized that it wasn't coming from anywhere in the room, he was speaking directly into her head. She could feel him there, like a gentle touch in the back of her mind. I’m inside your sword. I wasn’t sure-- Can you hear me? Everything I’m saying?
“Yes, yes I can hear you,” she blurted out, whirling around to face her sword. For a moment a desperate, giddy smile tugged at her face, confused relief flooding through her before she was yanked back forcefully by the reality of the situation. Her sword rested there on the floor, no more remarkable than it had been before, the sapphires set into the crescent-shaped crossguard glittering in the candlelight. With trembling hands she wiped at her face, blinking to try and clear her vision as she tried to make sense of what she was seeing, of what she had been told. “What-- how-- Naer, what is going on?”
Orcus. While you were gone --my love, I’m so sorry-- I called for him, for answers. I thought, after these years in his service-- I was a fool. Anaerion’s voice betrayed his anger and his shame. She knew him well enough for that without needing to see his face. He said he had a way to extend my life, had me bring your sword here as a ‘component’ in a ritual. I should have guessed he’d trick me.
Quilethen reached for the greatsword. It was unsheathed and, as far as she could tell from just looking at it, the same as it had always been. For a moment she was afraid to touch it, but then she pulled it to rest across her lap, one hand wrapped around the hilt with the other cradling the blade. “Are you... “ She trailed off, swallowing, her eyes skimming over the sword, uncertain where she should look as she spoke to him. Finally she settled on the largest, center sapphire. “Are you trapped? How do you feel? Can you… do you know I’m holding the-- the sword? Or, you? I don’t… Naer this is…”
I can hear you. And I can see you, he said, and somehow she could hear the smile in his voice. You look beautiful. I should have gone to that dinner, shouldn’t I?
“Shut up,” she said, breathing out a weak laugh. Her lips twitched but the smile wouldn’t stick. “You didn’t answer my questions.”
There’s silence, but she could feel him thinking. Like whatever connected his voice with her mind was still functioning, but just quiet. I can’t feel anything. I’m aware that you’re holding me, but I can’t feel your touch.
“Oh.”
My love, I’m so sorry.
Her vision swam again, and as she bent over the sword, gripping it tight enough that the blade bit her palm, she could hear the soft pat of her tears strike the steel. “Are you trapped?” she repeated, shoulders trembling, fearing she knew the answer already.
Yes, he said, and the weight of that word was like a stone in her stomach.
“For how long?” she said, her voice a raspy whisper.
Forever.
She was silent.
He said he would give me a way to cheat my own demise, to rid myself of my weakness and--
“No.”
I should have been more cautious when he agreed to my demands--
“No!” she shouted, her voice wavering, releasing the sword --her husband-- to clutch at her stomach. She felt physically ill, her heart hammering in her chest, realization and horror filling her. “You can’t. You can’t be in there forever. We agreed--”
I know, he said, his regret plain enough for her to hear.
But she pushed forward. “We agreed that even if you were only to live half as long as you should, at least we would have after! That when we found each other again that I would--” A sob interrupted her, arching her back as she covered her mouth. Drawing in a shuddering breath, a wordless sound of pain escaped past her lips. “That I would tell you everything you didn’t get to see! Anaerion, how am I to do that when you will never pass on from the material plane?”
“You won’t.”
The voice was deep and rumbling, filling the room and her body with fear. Looking up for the source of it, eyes wide as she fumbled for her sword--
“Be still.”
Clutching the blade, kneeling there on the ground, Quilethen stared up at the shadow that loomed on the other side of the circle, an indiscernible shape that filled her with terror and dread. “Orcus,” she whispered, as certain as she was afraid.
Quilethen, don’t--
The shadow shuddered and a muted red glow of some kind of magic encircled the blade. Dark, echoing laughter swept through the room. “You will be silent, for now. I did not wait here just to hear more of your incessant prattling.” She could feel Orcus’s attention shift to her as a shiver ran down her spine. “I am here for you.”
“Please,” she begged, tears still slipping down her cheeks as she knelt there, powerless, defenseless, her own meager holy gifts dwarfed in the presence of such an immense evil. She felt tiny and nearly naked, clothed in just her gown. “Please spare him. He’ll never anger you again, please--”
“He will never anger me again as he is now,” Orcus said, amusement in his voice. “I am far less interested in what he might do than in what you will do now. Will you take up your sword, paladin? Will you attempt to strike down this evil to whom your husband had sold his soul, against your wishes? How far will your contempt and hatred of me send you?”
Shaking, holding the sword as if it were a body cradled in her arms, Quilethen stared up at the shadow, mouth agape, before hanging her head and letting her pale hair form a veil around her head. “Please,” she said again, pleading. “I will do anything, just free his soul. Please don’t trap him here forever.”
“Hmm.” The sound seemed to come from right beside her ear, making her shudder, though she refused to look up. “Your husband’s body is dead.”
“I know. I don’t expect his life, but please. Please spare him this eternity of imprisonment.”
“You would rather him die, for his soul to be taken from your grasp and sent to pass on, than to spend the rest of your life with him at your side?” He sounded curious. Entertained by the thought.
Closing her eyes, tears slipping down her cheeks, she nodded quickly. “Yes.”
He laughed, and she could feel goosebumps raise over her flesh. “He gave his life for this opportunity to persist, to cheat death! And you would strip it from him for your own comfort.”
“Please, he never wanted this,” she said, bowing lower, her face parallel with the foor. “I’m begging you. I will do anything that you ask, just release him.”
“Are you so sure? He’d gone to such lengths to find a way to stay with you, with your sweet Luranaia. He could stay with you, with your daughter, with your grandchildren. How selfish of you, to deny him such immortality.”
Uncertainty filled her heart, leaving her speechless. Orcus chuckled, looming over her, waiting for her answer. But surely this is what he wanted, for her to question herself with Anaerion unable to speak on his own behalf. Why else would he silence him?
“I’m sure,” she breathed, tipping her head back, looking up at the shadow. Somewhere within the depths of it, something seemed to smile. “Please, tell me what you wish in return.”
“You,” he said. “Your service. Forsake your oath to Corellon Larethian and swear a new one. To me.”
Eyes widening, horrified, Quilethen stared up at him. “I… I’m no arcanist. I would make a poor warlock.”
“I’m not offering you a pact. You will continue as you are, in my service. Make your oath to me, serve faithfully like a good paladin, and I will free Anaerion’s soul.” The shadow moved closer, pressing nearer to where she knelt nearly prostrate in front of it. “What has Corellon ever done for you in return for your faithful service? Certainly not healed your husband.”
The truth of it stung, like a slap across the face. She swallowed. “When will you free him?”
“When I am satisfied. He can help you in your duties if you wish. He is a sword after all.”
“But, how long--”
“For such a long-lived people, your husband was lacking in patience,” he cut in, his words edged with malice. “Do you have patience, Quilethen Galanodel?”
“Yes, yes I-- I’ll do it. Whatever you ask,” she blurted out, reaching for the star around her neck. As she reached for it, to pull it over her head--
“No, keep it,” Orcus said, chuckling. “Keep up appearances. It will make things simpler. No need to raise suspicion in your travels.”
“Travels?”
“In due time. For now, swear your oath.”
Staring up at the shadow, at the darkness that filled the space in front of her and was her one chance of saving her husband, Quilethen only hesitated for a moment before committing herself to the demon prince. As she spoke, and made her promises of faithfulness, of obedience, of loyalty, the shadow crept ever closer, until, as she finished and fell silent, something like a hand slipped out from the shadow and pushed her upright, knocking her holy symbol over her shoulder and pressing against the bare skin over her heart.
“I accept your oath,” Orcus said, and once again she thought she could see something like a smile, before sudden, horrible, blinding agony overwhelmed her senses.
Gasping, a ragged cry of pain escaping her, she bent forward over herself and reached to touch her chest before yanking her hand away; it only made it worse.
Quilethen!
Anaerion’s voice was enough to snap her out of it and open her eyes, looking down at the sword for a moment before holding her hands out in front of her. They were stained with blood. She could feel it soaking into her dress, down her front. What did Orcus do to her?
Quil, what have you done?
“What?” she breathed, blinking hard, feeling dazed and hazy. “I… I’m going to save you.”
By damning yourself? His voice wasn’t accusatory, just filled with pain. But she could hear it anyway.
“Yes,” she said, looking up. The shadow was gone. Numbly, she said, “What did he do? Why am I bleeding?”
Can you heal yourself?
Sluggish, wondering why she hadn’t thought of that herself, Quilethen raised a hand in front of her chest and called upon her divine power, just like she always had. For a moment she wondered if it wouldn’t come, if her new oath to Orcus would rid her of her magic, but it still came. The light seemed colder, harsher than it had been before, but that same pale glow filled her hand. But her chest still throbbed and stung.
“What did he do?” she asked again, dropping her hand away to hang at her side.
He… My love…
“Just tell me. Please.”
He marked you. He carved the word ‘traitor’ in Abyssal over your heart. His voice was flat, defeated.
“Oh,” was all she could think to say.
You shouldn’t have--
“Don’t, Anaerion. It’s done.” Hanging her head, one hand resting on the blade, the other reaching up to clutch the bloody front of her dress, Quilethen wept. “It’s done.”
Anaerion was silent.
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Is Elden Ring Set in the Dark Souls Universe?
https://ift.tt/eA8V8J
While there’s a lot to talk about when it comes to the new Elden Ring trailer, it’s hardly a surprise that the early buzz over the recent preview includes heated debates over whether or not Elden Ring takes place in the Dark Souls universe.
Yes, I know that sounds exactly like the kind of theory that the infamous Elden Ring subreddit would have dreamed up during their nearly two-year wait for new Elden Ring footage. Actually, there’s a very good chance some version of that theory was shared or even created by that community at some point.
However, it’s hard to watch the latest Elden Ring trailer and not think of Dark Souls. It features more than a few callbacks, similarities, and references that now have more people than ever at least willing to entertain the idea that Elden Ring and Dark Souls share more than a developer
cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });
To be fair, some of the Dark Souls references featured in the latest Elden Ring trailer can almost immediately be written off as little more than nods towards those games. For instance, we clearly see a walking pot that bears a strong resemblance to Dark Souls‘ treasure chest mimics (even if that concept isn’t exclusive to the Dark Souls universe). There’s also a moment when what we assume is the player’s character is seen sitting in front of a bonfire. It’s pretty obvious that FromSoftware knew what they were doing with that one.
There are other details in the trailer, though, that contribute to a far more convincing argument that Elden Ring could indeed somehow be related to Dark Souls from a lore perspective. For instance, we get a brief look at an Elden Ring city that some say looks like the legendary Dark Souls level, Anor Londo. Some fans were also quick to point out that the Elden Ring trailer’s narrator sounds a lot like a painter you encounter in Dark Souls 3. Interestingly, that painter even tells the player that they intend to create a new world.
I could go on, but the point is that there are numerous character, world, and item designs prominently featured in the Elden Ring trailer that were either simply inspired by similar concepts seen in Dark Souls (and Bloodborne) or were implemented as a way to clearly inform the player that Dark Souls and Elden Ring somehow exist in the same universe.
Just in case your tin foil hat isn’t on tight enough yet, consider the fact that Dark Souls was supposed to be called Dark Ring until FromSoftware decided to change the name late in development. That’s part of the reason why some fans speculate that Elden Ring could somehow help tie all the FromSoftware games together or perhaps even serve as a kind of prequel to Dark Souls.
As interesting as all of those possibilities are, this is the portion of the program where we have to throw some cold water on most of the fan theories we’ve heard so far.
First off, this is hardly the first time that FromSoftware games have shared ideas and even assets. For instance, a variation of the Moonlight Greatsword is featured in several of the studio’s games, and a character named Patches appears in Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls, and Bloodborne. Even Sekiro features a few curious nods to the Soulsborne games. FromSoftware loves to reference its previous works in their games even if they don’t technically appear to share a universe.
Second, FromSoftware and Bandai Namco have gone out of their way to describe Elden Ring as a “new fantasy world.” While that doesn’t necessarily rule out the possibility that the game’s world could share some connections with previous FromSoftware creations, other aspects of the game’s development do make it unlikely that’s the case. For instance, it’s been reported that George R.R. Martin was involved in crafting Elden Ring‘s lore and history, which would be a strange assignment for Dark Souls creator Hidetaka Miyazaki to give to an outsider if Elden Ring was so closely related to Miyazaki’s previous works.
Finally, there’s the game’s official plot description. While the description of the Elden Ring universe posted on the game’s website doesn’t directly rule out some kind of potential direct Dark Souls connection, it does strengthen the idea that this game is more interested in doing its own thing and building its own universe.
Based on everything we know now, it feels like every Dark Souls reference that we’ve seen in Elden Ring so far is nothing more than just a reference or an example of how FromSoftware often utilizes a particular design style. While it wouldn’t necessarily be shocking to learn that there’s actually more to this story, this feels like more of a case of fun fan speculation at the moment than anything else.
The post Is Elden Ring Set in the Dark Souls Universe? appeared first on Den of Geek.
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LP D&D: Tumble in the Tundra
It’s like the Rumble in the Jungle, except not in central Africa.
Something about the concept of magic items really tickles my fancy, moreso than a lot of other fantasy tropes. Stuff like the Moonlight Greatsword from the Dark Souls games, Link’s heaping arsenal of hyper-specialized tools, and Guts’ berserker suit and robot hand strike me as being super cool. If I had to rationalize it, I guess it comes down to gadget-based heroes being more fundamentally human in my mind than someone with the innate ability to light things on fire with their brain, and in the context of tabletop games, magic items can provide some more flavor to combat and river crossing puzzles than a party of totally mundane humans. Like, the time when Coy ended the battle at the late Lord Hier’s dinner party by crashing the airship through clever use of the teleport hat was wayyy cooler than the dozens of other encounters the party just brute forced their way through.
One of these days, I really want to run a campaign in a low-genre game like Call of Cthulhu, Delta Green or something, and use quadcopters or smartphones the same way our DM in this game uses the helm of teleportation or the cloak of the bat.
I’m bringing all this up because the map the party had been carting around this whole time is basically a smartphone. As usual, content under the break.
Teller redrew the map
While he was drawing, a woman’s face appears in the map and speaks to the party
Her name is Natalie
She’s the map
Of Amarak //The last empire to control western Faerun
Natalie is having none of our berk questions
Connie asks about the sisters, Natalie gives an info-dump
They were anti-imperialist
Minnia formed a pact with some demons
Amarak successfully repelled them, and recorded their strategies in Natalie
Lucas asks about Minnia’s location
Apparently she was split into 5 pieces, and her remains scattered
One near Luskan and Syrup Leaf
One near Calimport
One near Shulk
One near Amathar
One in Winterkeep
One in Candlekeep
Natalie can give the party more detailed advice as we get close
“You seem kind of full of yourself. I like that. I’m also kind of full of myself”-Lucas
Coy asks Natalie what she knows about what’s-her-name
My responses are limited. You must ask the right question.
Max works through his headache and remembers names
Natalie has an image of her on file
Graham realizes something is off about the map
Coy and Graham take a closer look
The kingdom of Demara was apparently bigger in the past
It was slightly smaller than Amarak, and its ally
Graham puts his ear to the map
Natalie recommends he clean his ears
He does. On Natalie.
Natalie is violated
Lucas tries to concuss Graham, but he’s doing the dance of his people
Natalie dislikes being called “Map”
Coy recommends the party go check out the giblets at Syrup Leaf
Lucas is confus. What’s a syrup leaf?
Coy attempts to explain
Natalie wants to map out a relationship chart for the party
Esmeralda is a lady
no srs guys
Telepathy sex dungeon //from Sigil trip one
Lucas denies any knowledge of this “Rolen” //Rich also denies any knowledge of this “Rolen.”
He literally has no knowledge of Rolen
Or the drow attack on Amnswater
Graham reveals he’s never learned anyone else’s name
Coy considers storage options for Natalie
Can we laminate her?
Can she survive in a bag of holding?
Natalie the smartphone can keep track of our quests. How convenient! //Not like we tend to think in terms of “quests” anyway. We mostly just bumble around and then things happen
Connie asks about the Sigil portal
The ruins of the Sigil-Amarak trade hub is nearby
It’s by the crags
Graham has a question for Map
Where’s Catarina?
There isn’t one lol
It’s recently independent obvs
What’s the dog to milk ratio?
It’s 3:1, Rap
Coy asks for a brief overview of the war
Amarak allied with nearby kingdoms
They cornered Minnia in Beydale and dismembered her
There was also a golem army, which Natalie can activate
Escrima asks about extraplanar creatures
They came out through the underchasm
He asks about mother
Apparently, she patroned a few generals during the war
Callie Thorngage, Nedda Brushgather, and Escrima Smith
Natalie shows images of said generals
They bear a striking resemblance to Graham, Connie, and Escrima Smith, respectively
//From what little we know so far, Callie Thorngage was ostensibly a cis woman. The implication is pretty clearly that the members of the current party are reincarnations of these other three folks, with Escrima being the Gordon Freeman to MOTHER’s G-man. So like, why would Graham’s previous incarnation be a cis girl? Wouldn’t it make more sense if the old Graham was also a dude, and the trans thing happened because he was literally a dude dumped into a girl’s body? I swear, cis folk have no idea how to write this sort of thing.
They made it out of the war okay, and joined mother in the ether
Escrima accuses Natalie of tripping balls
She is a map. She does not trip
Amarak awarded mother some sort of reward for its assistance
Other team photos are revealed
There’s doppelgangers of Greg and Eva too.
Greg’s clone being the son of Theodin, King of Amarak
In a painting of the dicing of Minnia, a soldier uses The Cleaver to cut up Minnia’s body
The Cleaver is stored near the Sea of Fallen Stars, in a vault
Vaults are scattered around the continent, full of puzzles and treasure
Well ain’t that somethin’!
Graham and Escrima develop a plan to shoulder check the sisters and the bits of Minnia into the ocean, and then burn down the ocean. They will play their victory jingle on a triangle made of snakes
The hammer is also a snake
Coy accidentally lets slip that she has a soft stummy
Graham wants to touch it
Coy tries to be intimidating, but fails
Lucas prays to Oghma to try and figure out all that Rolen nonsense
All his memories are starting to get fuzzy, come to think of it
Eva’s are getting pretty strong, though
Lucas decides to take a look
She kept a Lucas shrine back in Candlekeep
She reduced it down to a drawing of Lucas, hidden in her cape
Lucas finds the picture. It’s of the two of them getting married.
The gang interrupts Lucas’ meditation session
He’s crying a bit, so he tries to use thaumaturgy to cover it
He makes flames come out of his eyes (by accident?)
Coy throws a potion of healing in his face
He feels very healthy
Coy explains to Lucas about the information the gang gleaned from the map
Lucas would rather Natalie just give him the information herself
Natalie recalls MOTHER as the “entity of dreams”
Lucas wants to know if it’s good or evil.
Natalie gives him a cryptic answer
It’s a force of stability more than anything
Lucas asks Natalie if the Escrimas are the same
The one in the painting was 23 at the time of the war
Escrima always assumed he was 18
Natalie displays the group portrait with the generals, not-Greg, and not-Eva
not-Greg was named “Silifrey”
not-Eva was named “Merla Terlef,” and was married to Silifrey
Coy is irritated she doesn’t have a double
Lucas Explains Proskur to the party
He regrets getting involved, and blames himself for Eva’s pseudo death
Lucas goes to bed, as does Coy
Connie goes to the bathhouse
There’s a human man and an elf woman in the bath already
They’re married. Damn.
They’re here to open their business selling devices, gadgets and things
It’s a clock, but portable. Astounding!
Escrima wants to talk to Natalie
Coy opens the map, and prudently decides not to let Escrima touch it
Escrima asks about the generals
They were adventurers before joining the war
Lots of dragons killed, innocents saved, etc.
He wants to know about Callie Thorngage
She was a lady knight in the army of Amarak
Part of the agreement between Theodin V and mother was for the three to become generals
He asks to see the stats of the sister’s army
Several million gnolls, orcs, drow, and, oddly, fiends
The sister’s army had some generals too
They’re doubles of Lucas and legacy edition Coy. what?
//Again, why would Coy’s past-self-apparent be a dude? Grumble grumgle grumble
not-Coy was named “KUNG” in all-caps. Most dragonborn were on the sisters’ side. KUNG was killed in battle
not-Lucas’ name was Cefrey, who was the lead mage in their army. He was a necromancer who led a legion of undead
He looks like edgiest Lucas
Escrima and Coy go show Lucas
Lucas is appalled at Cefrey’s fashion sense
Lucas contemplates joining Minnia
The trio contemplate soul recycling, and realize it’s totally possible
Something or other did this intentionally
Natalie points the gang towards the planes
Lucas asks Natalie who put her in the box
It looks like Rocky. It’s probably Rocky.
Torix resumes control
Zerander heads for the bathhouse
The gang manages to sleep soundly for once
Lucas dreams about spiders
Connie has her recurring dream again
The next morning, Lucas goes to the scroll place. He spends the day copying spells
Zerander visits the blacksmith
He wants to get a silver zweihander
The smith agrees to make it out of the silver the gang sold to the armorer
Connie wants to take Nat 20 to the library
She tracks down Coy, and retrieves Natalie
She makes her way to the library in the main castle
Nat 20 has limited space, and can only absorb like 50 books
Connie feeds her a bunch of atlases and encyclopedias
She takes a bit too much pleasure from absorbing books
Zerander and Coy continue shopping
He visits an apothecary looking for alchemist’s fire
Coy bought all the fire in town
Graham goes looking for a way to upgrade grey matter //His hammer
Most of the people he asks are kids for some reason
He ends up at the blacksmith anyway
The smith upgrades it a dice class
In order to reduce the price, he spends the day working under the smith
Zerander goes looking for firearms
A shop sells old-timey hand cannons
The cannon and five rounds are 650gp
1d12 + 6 blunt damage!
Zerander talks the shopkeeper down to 600
He also goes to buy some basic supplies
He gets some holy water from the temple of Oghma
The priests want a donation of knowledge as payment
Zerander tells them about the time he fought a bear
Escrima spent the day swimming in the boiling hot river
He finds 5gp
He also finds a constitution saving throw
The water he drank is... not great
His goal was to get all wrinkly, and counts that as a success
During the night, Graham goes to check on Escrima
There’s puke everywhere. It smells disgusting
A maid tries to clean it up
Escrima asks Graham how he’s handling Nat 20’s info dump
Graham can barely understand a ham sandwich
Escrima suggests they go to the bathhouse and turn it into puke water
They instead decide to try to become frogs
For some reason, they are unsuccessful
They’re not even green
Mother tells Escrima that she has more things to do
Escrima feels rebellious. He wants a piercing.
Graham considers having the blacksmith make Escrima a lily pad-shaped helmet
Lucas tries to relax in the hot spring
Distracted by current events, he fails to notice Coy and Zerander in the springs when he got in
Zerander explains the boomstick
Lucas doesn’t pay attention, and is instead transfixed by Zerander’s giant dong
It’s like, the size of his leg
“Eyes up here!”
Lucas comments that Coy looked better when she was a guy //Damn it, Rich
Lucas and Zerander fail their diversity training courses miserably
//Specifically, Zerander calls Coy “it.” Of all the shitty things to call a trans or intersex person, “it” stings the most in my mind. We’re human too, damn it. I’m still a bit sore about this whole interaction, but I guess this is the sort of thing that happens when you hang out with cis people in stealth. Since opening up to the players about being trans, it really hasn’t been an issue.
The gang goes to retrieve the items they ordered
Graham also has the lily pad hat made
He dubs Escrima “Sir Escrima of the Lotus Helm”
He tries to remove the hat, and fails
Lucas is informed of the frog plan, and polymorphs him into one
Graham kisses frogscrima, returning him to normal
Lucas turns him back in the middle of this
Lucas then polymorphs Graham
Graham attempts to pee on Lucas
REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Coy buys a crossbow that she can fire grappling hooks out of
Zerander goes to find a boxing ring
He meets a half-orc boxer named “GGrumsh”
GGrumsh wants to fight. The organizer sets up a match for that night
The whole of Neverwinter will be there
Connie asks Nat 20 about airships
Invented by dorfs on the continent of shulk
Big business in Neverwinter
Denyr’s Mechanical Marvels
The gang heads over to the shipyard to check things out
Their couches are okay
The boss mentions that they’re manufacturing ships for the sisters of dawn
Coy remarks that the sister’s ship was poorly made, having had firsthand experience
Coy has Connie message Rocky about the appraisal of the diamond
Janice, Rocky’s secretary answers back, which is odd
It was worth 1,125,000
The gang asks about types of construction
They gravitate towards rune-fueled, heavier than air flight
They pass a few of the sister’s ships on the way out
As Lucas wraps up, he hears some murmurs about the fight between GGrumsh and a foreigner. It’s starting soon!
The gang goes to watch the fight
Zerander strips down to boxing gear
The crowd cheers for GGrumsh
They boo Zerander as he enters. He flips them off
Graham bets on Zerander, and Lucas bets on Zerander’s dick
Battle against Ultraheavyweight GGrumsh of Neverwinter
Zerander pulls a “Well! What is it!” to try and goad his opponent into attacking
...which he does.
Zerander trips GGrumsh
GGrumsh regains his balance and attacks
He calls his attacks like a true monk
Zerander tries to trip him again, but sneak attacks only work once!
He then tries to grapple GGrumsh, and again fails
GGrumsh releases a flurry of blows, wounding Zerander
Zerander pins GGrumsh to the ground and slugs him several times
GGrumsh tries to get up, but is unable to get out from under the goliath
Zerander continues to pummel GGrumsh
GGrumsh manages to land a solid hit from his compromised position
He continues to try to escape the grapple, but fails
Zerander continues to pulverize GGrumsh
Zerander pulls out an elbow drop!
GGrumsh yields to nobody
Zerander picks him up, and slams him into the ground, knocking him unconscious
Zerander is awarded a belt adorned with the crest of Neverwinter
It grants +1 CHA
Also 250gp
Graham won 80gp on the fight
Escrima christened him “Dong, Champion of the Crucible”
The crowd begins calling him that, angering Zerander
The next day, Zerander goes to the smith, and asks about melding it into his armor
You can’t do that
Coy has pancakes
The gang heads to the old trade hub
It’s abandoned
They venture deeper into the castle, and find a courtyard
The castle is covered in seals of Amarak and other kingdoms
The party is curious as to why the castle was abandoned, and consult Nat 20
It has teleportation circles to Calimport and Baldur’s Gate
Lucas asks Natalie whether or not we could easily travel back and forth from Calimport
Probably, if the return portal is still active
Escrima expresses distress at the idea of going back to Calimshan
The temple Escrima was living in was ransacked, and the perpetrators are likely still there
He fled with another acolyte from Calimport to Candlekeep
“Now I gotta go take a shit in that bush”
Lucas opens the door to the portal rooms
There are a number of safety measures in the complex designed to brutally murder invaders
DAE acid?
As they go deeper, they hear a deep moaning noise coming from the portal room
Lucas uses an arcane eye to see into the portal room
There’s a beholder in there!
END
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