Dungeons & Dragons, Call of Cthulhu, Chronicles of Darkness, Other TTRPGs

[The Cat]

Ok, this guy gets it.​

 

[The Cat]

 

[Totenkindly]

So we figured out what our "1-2 shot" level 10 Pathfinder 2 alt characters were for -- our pirate crew had to enter a dreamscape inside a large gem, and when we come to our senses inside of it, we're in the bodies of alternate selves a la Jumanji or Dream Warriors.

My kickass monk with amazing action economy just got turned into a prissy (if effective) magus with one of the most constrictive action economies in PF2. This oughta be exciting. I'm looking forward more to the roleplaying, where my kind of masculine and assertive monk now has flowing pink hair, a very girly outfit, and a softer body. I might have her accidentally try to punch someone in the face a few times before realizing she kinda can't do that anymore and swear a blue streak before allowing her new body to fall into its own muscle memory.

So Tyria (personality and ability) is based heavily on Tyrian from RWBY, although Tyria goes for even more direct hits and physical strength. She also shares the kind of half-mad charismatic and reckless personality of Tyrian:

Meanwhile, the body she just got transported into (by name of Thereal Lace) is modeled after Weiss Schnee from RWBY, highlighted here from the White trailer:

Weiss is basically a magus class, using a 1H sword (rapier) + spellstrike and/or casts through her sword, she moves like a ballerina and is very precise and controlled. (This is a cool flashback too, to how Weiss got her eye scar before the series even started, in her initiation test for Beacon Academy.)

 

[Totenkindly]

So we're running the 2-4 session shot starting tomorrow night. Spent 2 days on Spotify looking for the music I was imagining and couldn't find it, then went on Google and YouTube'd it and found something really quickly, lol. I had been imagining fast piano overtop of orchestra rock, and this was pretty much it -- picturing Thereal Lace (elf/sylph) gracefully moving in and out like an anime ballerina with her precise spellstriking alternating with flowing casts from range.

There's 3 hours of music here, it does start to sound alike (maybe they should change keys), I wonder if this was AI generated, but... at least it captures the feeling I had.

2-page character summary

But I'm just amazed PF2 actually had coherent things I could use to build this character.

We were not allowed to use flying for this 2-4 shot (which could have capped her being a sylph) but basically as Aloof Firmament, she's light on the feet, can leap in the air to hit things in the air, and has Cat's Fall to cushion landing. With magic items and feats and long-term spells, she can move 50' / round w/ her 8-hour Tailwind up (that's faster than the monk), can strike her target with the rapier and channel a spell through it simultaneously, then with a reaction can leap 20' backwards without being able to be touched. She also has attack of opportunity if something tries to do something near her.

I have cantrips of all energy types so she can choose the effect she wants to use for the spellstrike attack (based on her enemy). While she recharges her spell strike, she can cast her same cantrips from range (although visually it looks like she's channeling them through her sword).

Some of her best skills are acrobatics, performance, and arcane/occult. She can go into arcane cascade which adds more to her attacks and can buy her resistance against the major four energy forms.

I also picked up the Glamorize cantrip (picture that infamous shot of Prince Charming from Shrek, with his hair magically flowing in the wind), and the Musical Accompaniment cantrip, so yes she's such a performer she has this music from the video blaring around her literally as she dazzles around the battlefield.

Her good 1/day spells are Haste and Greater Invisibility. She also can Call Lightning down one a day (which after blasting the target charges her blade with electricity for 10 rounds). If I was playing her higher (L15 or so), I'd finally buy her a summon elemental spell so she can call a high-level elemental.

So Midjourney seems to really like half-naked women, so ignore the top-heavy first picture (it was the best pose, but the worst top, and MJ was obsessed with not changing it), but her outfit is more like the other two pics -- more modest, but still wispy and gossamer.

And poor bad-ass Tyria is stuck in this body for a bit.
I think she'll hate it at first, then decide to really get into it lol just to be as annoying to everyone else AF.

 

[The Cat]

So we're running the 2-4 session shot starting tomorrow night. Spent 2 days on Spotify looking for the music I was imagining and couldn't find it, then went on Google and YouTube'd it and found something really quickly, lol. I had been imagining fast piano overtop of orchestra rock, and this was pretty much it -- picturing Thereal Lace (elf/sylph) gracefully moving in and out like an anime ballerina with her precise spellstriking alternating with flowing casts from range.

There's 3 hours of music here, it does start to sound alike (maybe they should change keys), I wonder if this was AI generated, but... at least it captures the feeling I had.

I've been using a lot of Demon Slayer Soundtrack for combat in my Eberron game.

Also some of the Inuyasha score some FFXII music and of course the most important combat music:

My players love it ^_^
​

Our gunslinger drank a mysterious potion named XXX, it was described as pink and blue fluid swirling with sparkles, and bits of silk fabric... He said: "Xander Cage here I come." ... After the transformation, she wasnt exactly Xander Cage,

Thank the gods, he didnt drink the mysterious potion labeled "Big Daddy" it could have led to a tpk in such confined quarters.
​

Sometimes its fun to have magical girl transformations in D&D.

​

 

[Totenkindly]

So here is what we got in our new temp party composition:

• Citrus (Ninja): A brown kiwi bird (awakened animal) in a red Ninja mask
• Mage (Barbarian): An orc with a staff, wizards robe, and kilt -- all of his "magic" is fake emulative of magic
• Lucian Kresnik (Investigator): A priestly automaton
• Thereal Lace (Magus): Elf/Sylph wielding a rapier and light on her feet
• Toomy (Cleric): Human with no apparent weapons, wearing plate mail, doesn't heal people [player trademark]

Mage is amusing, but Citrus is kind of amazing based on the powers that he picked up, it's an 18" bird that can run on walls and has a Returning shuriken along with his regular weapons. Just hilarious. Citrus and Thereal kind of slaughtered this pack of ghouls we ran across early, it was utterly obliteration. the bird did some of crazy AoE attack that badly hurt the pack, and Thereal was exploding each of them in turn (stick rapier in throat/torso and exploding them with spell power), then taking a graceful leap across the watery room and landing lightly on the surface of the water -- whereupon the survivors would charge her, and repeat.

.... also, the temp scenario looks like a PF2 alteration of "White Plume Mountain." It's been so long, I don't remember the specific traps. Instead of the three weapons, it's the three pieces of the gem we need to recover.

I've been using a lot of Demon Slayer Soundtrack for combat in my Eberron game.

Yeah, those are pretty good tunes.

Our gunslinger drank a mysterious potion named XXX, it was described as pink and blue fluid swirling with sparkles, and bits of silk fabric... He said: "Xander Cage here I come." ... After the transformation, she wasnt exactly Xander Cage,

Girls can shoot well too -- hello, Annie Oakenshield

 

[The Cat]

Game day was today. Lives were saved and lost. Genders were swapped Goddess of Death were impersonated. Cults were seeded. Ambushes were had by all. 20's and 1's were falling with abandon. War crimes were discovered. The purpetrator was...dealt with. New alliances made with the local underworld. The first part of the Draconic prophecy has come to pass...and one of the Dark gods of legend walks the earth. And the first gunshot rang out. The Demon of the Black Powder has been unleashed upon an unsuspecting world.

The jury is still out whether or not the party will be heroes or villains or somewhere in between. All I know for certain is. This is Eberron. And in Eberron you can have anything you want...if you can pay for it...if you can't...well, you simply remain Needful forever. And Monkey Paws are always on sale down at the crossroads.

 

[Totenkindly]

This is the music for Quickening, my character (Zenith Solar) in a future Exalted Essence campaign -- basically like a priest who can intercede with the various deities of the world. My GM told me I built her as a tank, with her magic robes only helping, and with her feathery shimmering white/lavender gryphon familiar (that she can ride or can send on a rampage). But her name accurately describes the feeling I had for her and hence the meditative music that quickens.

I'm still looking around for additional pieces, although Falling Colour actually captures that pulse-starting-to-speed-up feeling amid moments of deep spiritual breathing. (BTW, this piece showed up in the Netflix season of "One Day" which was really great as an adaptation... I really like this song.)

 

[Totenkindly]

Auspice Quickening
(garbed in the relic armor Starwisp, Mantle of the Universal Expanse)

Aelyne, Alathfar's Breath
(her mount / familiar)

 

[The Cat]

 

[Totenkindly]

 

[Totenkindly]

Our pirates game is still going, although with a few summer skipped sessions. The last bit of the last session (after we had to kill a few t-rex on the island) was kind of funny. For some reason, goblins in our ship's crew continue to multiply no matter how hard we try to red-shirt them, and they keep trying to mutiny to boot. So that led to this moment...

...
When we finally get back to the fort, we see that the front gate has been patched together – but the doors remain shut when we call out for entry. As we’re pondering what this means, one of the goblins on top of the tower announces that this fort is now part of the new “Narcosyndicate Commune of the Goblin Neo-Collective.”

“What in the actual f-ck??” shouts Tyria. “You little shits open this gate right now, so help me, or I will beat each of you to death with my bare hands after I climb up there! And you know I can do it!”

Tetsuko clears her throat carefully. “Perhaps a bit more procedural etiquette is needed, Captain.” When Tyria reluctantly nods, the kitsune abruptly needle darts the sentry goblin in the face and claims victory. Rubbing his wounded visage, the goblin agrees to appoint us “temporary champions” of the Neo-collective, whereupon Tetsuko announces that as a champion she gets 25 votes in their parliament, which outnumbers the 24 goblin votes. Defeated by this undeniable logic, the goblins surrender the fort and open the door to let us back in.

“This doesn’t mean I’m not going to punch all of you twerps at some point!” notes Tyria..

The t-rex fight was fun. Tyria wised up early that the safest place was on their backs -- and she has the agility and athletics to manage it. They couldn't get at her (although feasibly if they weren't so distracted, one could have attacked her on the other's back), and the one time that one (with her on its back) tried to do a complete roll in the grass to squish her, she just leaped up and (rolling a 20 on the die) came right back down on its back as it stood again. Hee hee. She was doing rodeo stuff on its back while beating it up.

 

[Totenkindly]

So this would be a fun character to play -- the model is Albedo from Overlord (which is a welcome departure from all the lascivious figures of this succubus out there).

I statted her up in PF2 last night on a lark as a Champion/Mauler (kind of a neutral evil paladin/2H weapon badass) and she's just absolutely beastly. I'd love to play this for kicks, compared to my normal "fast/mobile melee" builds.

But I'm not sure what system we will be using in the future. We had to tweak PF2 to make it playable for our group, and one of the players really hates the system -- I agree for casters it doesn't seem to be as much fun as for certain melee builds, I know I struggled with the witch class for awhile before having a blast as monk. I doubt we will continue it unfortunately.

They don't want to go back to PF1 (which I still like, despite flaws) nor 5e (in part due to hating WoTC now). Interest has diminished a bit for Aberrant and Fabular Ultima too. I hope we still maintain an interest in Chronicles of Darkness because I really enjoy those game settings and builds.

I would really like to do a cyberpunk-like setting but another player really hates those settings. Sigh.

Our next campaign will be Exalted: Essence, which has seemed more accessible at least in character building than prior editions of Exalted, but I have no idea yet what the play will be like.

I know there's a lot of lesser-known systems out there, but I wonder what is worth actually playing. I like to have individuation of my character and a lot of control over their progression vs cookie-cutter or generic builds.

 

[The Cat]

Introduced their first reoccuring villain yesterday. A Homebrewed Oni with the Book of Vile Darkness. I really broke out the folklore and yokai databases for this one. Have just started using D&D beyond to break WOTC's intentions with custom feats and homebrewed magical items. Budgeting for Ryokos Guide to Yokai and set the ground work for the concurrent campaign the Mayhem Martial Arts Academy, where all the pcs will start as level 1 monks entering their dojo for the first time. Sess 0 will be collaboratively building the school, the teachers and the pc's first rivals.

 

[Totenkindly]

So this would be a fun character to play -- the model is Albedo from Overlord (which is a welcome departure from all the lascivious figures of this succubus out there).

I statted her up in PF2 last night on a lark as a Champion/Mauler (kind of a neutral evil paladin/2H weapon badass) and she's just absolutely beastly. I'd love to play this for kicks, compared to my normal "fast/mobile melee" builds.

So as far as this goes, besides the mechanics --

-- it's still kind of riffing off Overlord, but as far as roleplaying, I would pick the guy character with the most humor quotient in the group to pledge my fealty to, declaring that she knows he is the reincarnation (or houses the soul) of her murdered former lord and master, expressing joy and shock that he has been returned to her, and vowing to serve him unwaveringly with all her might and life.

She will gush over whatever he says and does, violently defend any comment or action that might impugn her mastery's dignity or reputation, and repeatedly offer to do the smallest thing just to bring him pleasure.

It will be as funny AF, especially if the person I pick is soft-spoken, puny, weak, milquetoast, etc, and she's such a raging badass who would never demean herself with servitude to anyone else.

"YOU BASTARD! HOW DARE YOU MAKE MY MASTER WAIT FOR HIS DRINK ORDER!" *buries axe in bar counter

"DO YOU NOT KNOW WHO THIS IS? THIS IS KEVIN, RIGHTFUL BASTION OF TRUTH AND PURITY, SMILED UPON BY THE GODS, AND YOU DEMEAN HIS PRESENCE BY YOUR LACK OF PROPER EYE CONTACT!" *shaking guard by the scruff of his neck until it snaps

"YOU MISERABLE LACKEYS OF THIS CORRUPT REGIMENT, HOW DARE YOU NOT LAUGH AT MY MASTER'S JOKES -- HIS SOUL AND BRILLANCE FAR SURPASSES THE BRAINS OF YOUR SLIMY SNAILSLUDGE EXCUSE FOR INTELLIGENCE!" *summons dark magic to rip their souls from their bodies

"OH MASTER! HAVE THEY HURT YOU? DO YOU NEED ME TO DO SOMETHING? MY SOUL AND BODY ARE YOURS FOREVER, PLEASE LET ME SERVE YOU!" *starts taking off armor and caressing his face

 

[Totenkindly]

Had a fun encounter this past week where one player was supposed to be up late but never showed, so the encounter might have not been balanced properly. We were taking a bunch of switchbacks up a tall hill with swaths of steep shale between the winding goat trail. At the top are some demonic harpies from whom we are trying to rescue a few of our crew they flew off with to impregnate themselves with and then eat.

2/3 of the way up 2-3 harpies flew down to attack us directly (through javelins, then coming at us with talons and weapons), while the rest set large boulders rolling downhill, which would bounce randomly and also bring with them a deluge of shale. Needless to say, it would really suck if you got caught in one of those.

Tyria managed to not get hurt much because as the one harpy closed in, despite it being about 20' in the air, she used her speed to rush up the slope, then turned and leaped out into space (now about on level with the harpy) and managed to grab it in mid-air. She pinned its one wing, then landed on top of it, and began riding it down through the shale like a surfboard, while it was getting lacerated by all the sharp rock. As it tried to twist free, she pinned its opposite arm, then managed to even lock one of its legs up with one of hers while continuing to ride it and cheese-grated its body apart on the shale until it died.

Unfortunately, this positioned her poorly on the battlefield because she was downslope, and to take the switchback trails to reach her friends again would take way too long, so it was actually quicker for her to carefully climb through the shale and go straight up, while taking periodic potshots with her gakgung (monk bow).

Meanwhile, the tank had limited flying and was battling in the air with one, and they were messing each other up pretty well until a second came and flanked him and then he was in serious trouble of going down. Somehow before he dropped he wounded one enough that one of Tyria's arrows managed to finish it, and then the other fled back up the hill to prepare the next assault. The kitsune managed to hold on against her harpy until Tyria got back uphill and they took it out. Meanwhile, the goblin got hit by one of the boulder waves and despite making his save easily still took over half his health in damage, so he laid there under the makeshift cairn and pretended to be dead and refused to help the others until the final harpy had been fleeing, whereupon he cast a chain lighting that it failed the save on and was totally fried by.

The other boulder deluges thank god randomly bounced away and missed us.

I will miss playing Tyria. I jacked up her speed, Athletics, and Acrobatics and am just playing everything into her top skills. It's such a riot to play her, along with her infamously cocky mouth.

 

[The Cat]

this feels so true lol​

 

[Totenkindly]

back to this character

Dungeons & Dragons, Call of Cthulhu, Chronicles of Darkness, Other TTRPGs

Ok, this guy gets it.

www.typologycentral.com

So to complete Umbrahl l'Sivius (Tiefling Champion/Mauler/Necrologist) in Pathfinder 2, here we go:

And the best song I found so far:

Her three archetypes:

• Champion = basically pf2 version of Paladin (but she's a vengeance/anti-pally)
• Mauler = 2H weapon monster / axe murderer
• Necrologist = Summons a huge-sized horde that acts like a swarm and goes after shit -- she can summon zombies, skeletons, or spirits. (This archetype was more for flavor and fun.)

Her most devastating attack is just walking up and clocking someone with the axe and getting a free trip crit with it if she hits, then clocking them again if they stand up due to her reaction. Her axe is technically an orc butchering axe (which is just insane at 3d12+8), but it counts as her patron's divine weapon so she learns it for free. (Her armor is plate but pf2's version of mithril so it doesn't slow her much.)

Her secondary move is having buku Intimidation feats (to even do group intimidates/coercions), + her axe can create Fear 2 condition, and her armor can reinforce fear so it won't reduce below 2.

And the third move is the horde that she'll summon later in the fight just to be a total dick, when everyone is freaking out already.

She also of course has a few spells (Command, Haste, Manifestation of Spirits, Rousing Splash, Divine Lance) and focus spells (Lay on Hands, getting HPs back when things die near her, yet another "freak out" spell by exposing people to the unseen terrors around them), and her champion abilities seem to give her tanky like abilities.

 

[Totenkindly]

Sooooo.... the last encounter in our Pirate campaign (where one of our mortal enemies attacked our fort) really went poorly.

One of the characters (polymorphed into a giant squid at the time) died when we invaded the guy's ship to sink it.

And when he fled into our fort with his pet witch, that fight almost killed another player, came close to killing Tyria, and ended up with the goblin getting turned to stone. (We did kill both of them, at least.) We don't really have a way to unpetrify the little guy, so he's just a statue in our foyer at the moment.

So we're two players down after that mess and are figuring out what to do next.

 

[The Cat]