Fading Memory

The Wild Beyond Witchlight

The pact would be mind boggling. ‘What do you mean I get these spells from 6AM to 6PM, but these spells from 6PM to 6 AM? Why do my Arcanum change on the solstice? Why does the contract have question marks written on Leap Years? What does ‘Paid Time Off’ mean?’

Aesithas (D&D 5e Homebrew) - On Hiatus

@Squashedquatch I forgot to flip it to full! Unless someone drops, I have the six-full party I desire to tell my story for now. Apologies!

Aesithas (D&D 5e Homebrew) - On Hiatus

Two boats; dozen pirates by rough guess. Maybe fewer, maybe more, but a solid guess. Apologies for the wall of text making that not clear if it wasn’t.

Aesithas (D&D 5e Homebrew) - On Hiatus

The Journey Begins

The party sets forth from Fenhall, introductions and grand purpose fueling their steps across friendly Dale-country. The rains of the past week were sorely missed; despite the coolness of the season, the earth was desperate for replenishment and the torrent of day of the Tralaya attack had barely sated the need for moisture. The surrounding farmlands struggle to produce healthy crop; Amaryllis' attunement to the lands gives her the beginnings of a dark unease as she traverses this place, no longer bearing the immense haste she utilized to reach Fenhall.

And yet, things were worse elsewhere. The road was clear, and as the first few days of their journey pass they encounter amicable-enough travelers on the road. The safety wrought by the First Fort over the western Dale roads was not to be discounted. On the third day, they pass under the shadow of the First Fort, and over the ridge of the Dale. They leave the valley behind, and following rumor of Castle Lancre and the chaos of the South, the River makes for the best guide. Following its waters brings with it a health and vitality juxtaposed against the encroaching dryness of the Dale itself- and a brightness that contrasts the gloom of the Heartlands, which loom over the southern ridge of the Dale Valley here. Their route bypasses the forest directly, skirting its edge as they follow the river southwards.

@Guardian Angel Haruki (Do not feel pressured, your absence is explained; I rolled perceptions on your behalf to keep Amaryllis along with the company; she netted 22 and 23). Amaryllis' extreme capabilities in this familiar environ proves to be a boon. As they skirt the edge of her homeland, she discerns a tree of note on the edge of the river. Digging at its roots, she verifies that it is indeed a Heartroot! Though struggling against the rot of the deeper wood, the tree still lives and bears its blessing. The party can harvest a bounty of 6 Units of Heartroot from the tree; a generous boon of the Gods to be sure.

@Lucius Cypher: Fran's experience in the field pays off as the party rests one night. As they made camp, she discovered markings carved into the trunk of a tree w hose boughs stretched lazily over the river and cast shade upon its dappled waters in the day. The markings, by her reckoning, mark this tree as a landmark for River Pirates. A warning to turn vessels back; the edge of the bandit territory. From this day forth they were entering the perilous Southron Dale-Lands.

@karamonnom@Neianna86@XxFellsingxX: With this warning from Fran, your vigilance is keen and well rewarded. As the party emerges from the Heartland Border, the River Dale winds and bends against the rise of a hill and arcs far to the west. Iris, aided by her flight, detects a small village to the south, otherwise concealed from sight by the rising of young hills here, in a place where the River Dale arced back to the East through a gap in the hills. It was two days' journey to the south as the crow flies, or another five by following the river's bend... This revelation, whilst potentially critical, cannot be immediately acted upon yet however; Dag'Tyr witnesses a portent in this moment, and Vigil's keen senses and life-instilled cautious nature pay off.

As Iris relays this information back to the group, the afternoon uncharacteristically warm for the early autumnal season on this day, a Thrush alights upon the top of the hill and, seemingly at random, lifts a rock and cracks it upon a larger stone outcrop. The sound reverberates within Dag'Tyr, drawing his attention to the bird as it tosses its stone aside and flies away. As Dag'Tyr mounts the crest of this hill, he sees that the stone outcrop he had been drawn to was in truth a barrow-mound capstone. The mound was man-made atop the natural hill, and this cap-stone bore no inscription save for the simple engraving of his God; the neverending circle of Life and Death. His familiarity with Veratul's rites would reveal to him that a capstone such as this could be easily moved with the aid of his companions, and that these tombs had the potential for both great treasures or terrible curses alike. Such was the nature of Veratul.

Vigil, perhaps driven by his past to maintain...er...vigil... Notices before all others, a pair of masts rising over the low hill; two small river-boats, moving upriver, small box-sails furled. The pennants they bore were unfamiliar to him, but Alyson of Waltone fills that gap in his knowledge swiftly upon his raising the party's attention to them;

"...Those are the flags of the lost castle Lancre, if memory serves; Crossed scythes upon a field of grain..." She offers in a grim tone. "Peasants usurping an icon. A sign of the times."

They must be pirates, coming up the river and towards the Heartland Forest at the party's back...

How do you react? You are not yet seen, and collective assessment of potential vessel sizes based on the sails and masts would give reason to estimate the ballpark of a dozen potential hostiles.

Gods, Angels, Demons in New Haven Definitive HD Mix Edition

Mostly on how rusty I am in a non-tabletop setting after all these years of running D&D games off-guild, and that I'm struggling with how much power I possess as a singular entity to drive things forward. I'll get over the hump, and it's better to say this and ask what expectations are than it is for me to chew my nails over it.

Gods, Angels, Demons in New Haven Definitive HD Mix Edition

If it’s my turn I’ll get to work ASAP, I’ve just been vibing and thinking here.

ELDEN RING

I dig everything discussed so far. Treating Sites of Grace in the aforementioned ‘tavern before an adventure’ would give us a good episodic framework, and permit ‘interludes’ at the Roundtable or scenes in places in the world ‘between’ those adventures. I think that’s extremely solid, good idea Odin!

The topic of Ashes and summoning- I thin delegating that to a ‘Spirit Tuner’ character would be best conceptually. Rather than it being purely some NPC role, if someone wanted to play that zookeeeper style they’d be a Spirit Tuner. The idea is already there, and rather than creating a new title we’d just be slightly adjusting the existing one. As for the idea of Dragon Magic, I’m cool with it if that’s a character’s schtick/gimmick- I just also like the idea of us being more moderate/low-key and growing into our power quite a bit. A story of growth, hardship, and how rising power affects the sanity, comraderie, and world around us. As for my initial ideas…

LET CHAOS TAKE THE WORLD

Personally, I planned on playing an open-secret character aligned with (probably) the Frenzied Flame. I think there’s a lot of interesting roleplay to be had with the group OOC knowing this alignment in the style of open secret and the IC dancing around the topic.

Naturally if the group decided on more buddy-buddy we’re all true boon companions as a theme, I’d go with something else, but that was my initial stirrings.

ELDEN RING

I am soundly interested myself. I third an AU approach, and third a step away from any sort of stat system. Elden Ring is rich and complex enough without us bothering with a statistic adaptation for forum play.

I also like the idea Hillian proposed specifically where we’re Tarnished seeking the quest of Elden Lord. My curiosity personally lies especially in a world of alternate characters, but by god the world is complex and curious as is and creating alternate characters from ground up may as well be building a new world entirely. I just would want to see unique or different original folks than purely canon NPCs if they crop up.

The Wild Beyond Witchlight

I don’t think fourth edition was a mistake. I think the mistake came with their licensing fiascos; 4E was supposed to launch with a scratch-built virtual tabletop to facilitate global play but they botched the licensing and had to scrap the VTT, leaving 4e with a ‘jarring’ change of language with no context on those language changes due to the lack of accessible VTT tech dedicated to the edition.

Frankly I think its Power system is clean, its mechanical uniqueness is refreshing, and its monster creation has been a major source of inspiration for my 5e homebrew. Heck, I use many things from 4e in my 5e games since I can’t find anyone willing to try proper 4e with me.

Aesithas (D&D 5e Homebrew) - On Hiatus

Apologies, got swept up in spending time with my fiance; I'll have a post up by this tuesday.