The Harbinger of Ferocity

"You Are Your Avatar"

There seemed to be no arguing with her logic, based upon the rate at which Junko spoke. It was though she had decided upon it long in advance, as if this was fact of matter. As such, the great felid proved to add nothing in protest, not that it wished to in particular other than that statements could not be wholly validated. Who knew what the red haired newcomer or the equally recent serpent woman were capable of? At the very moment there was a snake holding an only slightly smaller snake and there was too a giant machine made up of many strange armored plates.

"I am an aspect of nature, a long dead one." The cat remarked, revealing it to be as much a spirit as it were an apparent physical thing, "So you can surmise that I can influence those things astral and physical, even at distance."

D&D 5e - The Lost Lands

The pained cry of the enormous avian echoed throughout the woods and immediately the second wing took to its side as they descended together on the Templar. Badly injured, but oddly the bolt nowhere to be found from the shot to its body, the first large bird flapped furiously and struck out with its feet in wild abandon. With all of the commotion that came from this, literal feathers flying, it scored a few hits through Theodore's defenses before it at last landed. After, it then tilted its head in an observant manner and shrieked loudly in the man's face before it tapped him directly upon the head with its beak. Stepping back, it flapped and squawked, allowing the other unexpected attacker its turn in what seemed to be some sort of belligerent game.

Prior to Theodore shaking off the daze of being hit on the head, he was leapt upon and pushed to the ground. Instinctively, rolling to fend off his attacker, he too dodged an angry beak, which hit the ground rather than him. Now viewing his enemy face to face, he could note how it paid him less mind given that he was in its talons rather than free, watching instead the sword bearing elf who was no more than a few feet away. Its sizable black eyes, as seemingly difficult to read as they were, watched the wizard for a moment with apparent confusion and then moved back to inches from his face where it crowed again and blinked.

Not far off however, Cesar - at the end of his spell - slammed into the grass and leaf litter, sending pine needles into the air all around them and covering Thea. The last great raven now stood where it fell atop Cesar and seemed to laugh, its beak tipped to the sky above and mockingly cawing repeatedly. It did not hesitate beyond that to then begin rapidly striking with the point of its beak around the ground until it smacked square into the bard by sheer chance rather than any semblance of skill or direction.

And in spite of this something was off about it all.

There wasn't an ounce of blood to be found, well, anywhere. Understandably, and better than anyone else no less in this moment, both Theodore and Cesar felt hurt but in a way they never had before. It wasn't the pain of a spell, a knife wound, being bludgeoned or the like, just that something in their entirety felt... empty. As though a something in them was gone. This was a scarier thought in truth in some manners, although there was no time to ponder or muse with what was going on in the midst of a battle! They first needed to defeat their feathered assailants.

Effects

Map
Field

The injured Great Raven which Theodore shot descends upon him and lashes in a blind, squawking rage at him; it deals 8 points of slashing damage. After disorienting him, it pecks him with its enormous beak for a wounding 5 piercing damage. The second Great Raven that approaches flies down to Theodore and succeeds in grappling him, but the Templar fends off its beak attack. Both these ravens are on the ground now.

The last Great Raven decides to plummet atop Cesar and knock him prone, where after it then follows with its beak for 8 piercing damage. It stands over Cesar's square and continues to crow and squabble.

@Hekazu, @Cu Chulainn

"You Are Your Avatar"

"An adventure?"

One of the sabertooth's brows perked, eyes shifting from the animated motions of the girl to the titanic machine. Uncertain why the world's greatest fashionista was so excited at this prospect and just whatever it actually was, more so with her later comments, the beast withheld its tongue for the time being and did its best to part out the conversation. That was until they both took note of the snake.

"I imagine more things are going to be stirred by the..." The Harbinger of Ferocity looked over the over martial designs of the machine, "Construct."

Frokane's Mildly Politcal Hangout Thread

@Vilageidiotx

You would be right that is not how people think, which I believe to be detrimental, and while it is on that level of inconvenience that everyone would rather to just avoid, the sort where it is just another irritation in life perceived as irrelevant, there's few cheaper, more expedient options to implement as examples that are not only practical, but effective. The reduction in the rate of traffic is to be expected with it, but I find that a small price to pay. Areas of extremely high population density, such as New York and California would need to use their traffic data, as would they all, to help alleviate issues of that nature while meeting the objective.

I am of the thought that the advancement of socialism, as with the New Deal, as a platform in the United States is inherently negative to the system as a whole. Sanders arguments by comparison to the general qualities of the Democratic party are much further left, throwback or not. I would say the same and more about anyone openly advocating communism in the United States, to add at that point they have become largely un-American. I can see the appeal of socialism, even to citizens of the United States, but it is still much further left leaning in the same vein that hysteria was made about how "Alt-Right" Donald Trump was and that the Nazi party and its ilk are running for presidency. The difference being, Sanders and others with socialist values are actually strongly left leaning compared to the rest of their party and embraced for it while we have even seen here in this discussion that Trump and his administration is its own animal which is mainly Republican in label, with some overt leanings.

To me, anything that varies too far from center enters the realm of potential for extremes. To use an example of my stance, communists and libertarians are far to the sides of their associations in my eyes. As I will maintain no less, I never accused anyone of being evil, just that I cannot sympathize with the right - which I belong to - on those grounds and others related. And yes, while you would be correct the "taxation is theft" crowd has existed for quite a long time, I am fairly confident that they are still a minority and not even a vocal one at that in comparison to some of their neighbors or those on the other end.

If you want to argue about whether or not they are being treated unjustly, that's one thing, but saying "There isn't enough of them to care about." is fucked up.

A minority of people should not be explicitly catered to at the cost of the rest of the norm. I will repeat my opinion as preface, but I do not believe transgendered - or other - persons should be allowed to use the male or female restroom that does not match their biological sex unless they've transitioned completely to that gender. I do believe it should be requirement that there is a neutral bathroom, using the model some locations had of the "family restroom", which could be used by anyone. It is not the duty of those regularly gendered people to compromise themselves or morals for others; they can if they want to.

You do not see me arguing that Autistic people are treated unfairly in the public eye, even being the butt of a joke here, and demanding they receive special accommodations such as non-fluorescent lighting or making the outrageous argument that wanting to treat it as an illness and cure it is a "Final Solution" type ordeal. These people in question are significantly more common, roughly 1 in 68, albeit still considered statistically abnormal. If you revert this back to my prior example and overlay the parallels, I believe my point to become clear - that the far left made a far larger deal about transgender, among other issues, than legitimately exists; they're all still people in the end.

To change topics entirely, the fact that this behavior has been permitted at all is proof enough to me that it is not taken seriously. I would say the same for the "Alt-Right" if people began flying Nazi flags, fighting with the police, setting fire to things and other improper behavior I described. Regardless of who is doing it or why, it is uncalled for and allows a dangerous standard to set in. It does not matter how much is occurring either; it needs to be controlled and put to an end all the same. Either you protest peacefully and obey the rules, or your protest has become unlawful and needs to be disbanded. If you riot, you are to be treated as criminals.

To address the other point, the difference with Dylan Roof is that he and his faction have remained largely out of sight and out of mind, with no one in disagreement about the hatefulness or cruelty of his actions. However, he's considered as much a lone wolf as Micah Xavier Johnson is, despite both being racially motivated, advocating violence and being involved in radical political movements; this is a clear double standard. Again, we do not see the Alt-Right marching in the streets promoting conflict or gaining the momentum to do so; for one reason or another, people believe that to be wrong, but turn a blind eye to the backing of movements like the New Black Panther Party or Black Lives Matter. Both are wrong no matter what way one views it.

As for the "Alt-Right guys who keep showing up to protests now", I imagine you are referring to the sorts as with the Based Stickman, Based Spartan and Based Kickman personalities, so correct me if I am wrong about who you are referring to. In truth, I have no issue with them given how abysmal the police response has been throughout and how it has been proven that the mayor of Berkeley has ties to the Far Left and had allow these incidents to occur by compromising his station with politics. I believe it to be a natural and needed reaction from Americans to restore order if law enforcement will not. At what point I find that to end, is when the police begin doing their job, albeit I still advocate the deployment of National Guard units to restore order and as a show of force regardless.

D&D 5e - Hoard of the Dragon Queen

@Hekazu, you would be correct that I would go with the former than the latter.

As for critical hits @Norschtalen, let us just hope they remain in our favor.

D&D 5e - Hoard of the Dragon Queen

Invigorated by the successful capture, albeit not as much he would be if the attack had been to kill their marks, Brannor set upon these people with all the raging fury of an animal protecting its den. He closed between the two groups, cutting through the low lying grass and laid siege to the nearest foe and that who appeared to have magical inclinations; the hunter would not entertain the perversion of restoration he had seen earlier as in the dank, moldered port of the keep and it helped none for the victim of his coming strike that his frustrations were steadily rising, so when the blow did at last come, it did with unleashed fury.

The engraved sword swept across him, cutting the air just as the bow of a ship at sea, and connected with such immense force that made its entire length shudder. Brannor did not stop and he did not wait. The moment the resistance to the weapon ended, he took another snarling step forward and readied the blade again, flexing his worn leathers about its bindings. Whatever the enemy witnessed, if at all, he hoped it ran their blood cold with fear, something they deserved for all they had done to terrorize these people and snuff out their humbled sparks of life. But the light, that flame in the heart made of goodness that Brannor knew innately, could both soothe and it could burn.

And for now, it was burning bright.

Rolls

Brannor closes the distance of less than 30 feet to one of the raiders, moving 25 feet and attacking one of the apparent spellcasters. His greatsword's blow sings with a brutal 26, a natural critical hit. The greatsword deals 16 points of slashing damage to the target.

After his initial movement and attack, he takes another 5 foot step toward the other enemies using the last of his movement. If an enemy provokes an opportunity attack from him, he will attack.

@Hekazu@Ryonara@Lucius Cypher@Gordian Nought@Norschtalen

Frokane's Mildly Politcal Hangout Thread

@Vilageidiotx

There is no level of "getting fucked around with" by the police transacting in this example. Will there inevitably be those officers who purposefully antagonize civilian populace? Yes, but they already exist and no one is fond of them as. This sort of screening is not an attack on anyone to be viewed as being born of doing something wrong when they haven't. In reality, the purpose of a security checkpoint as I said, even if it is not taking account of every vehicle, is to give the perception to a potential threat they might be caught before they can act and by additional quality, find a few persons of interest accidentally.

I would like to know your issue with sobriety checkpoints, because even living in a location with one of the highest numbers of yearly intoxicated driving casualties, these have been less than a few minutes of my time consistently. And I will note I am none too fond of the potentially radical implication leveled against law enforcement officers, which I will address in light later.

No, the Democratic party is not all true leftists, but when your party was fielding a candidate, with any seriousness at all, such as Sanders, I would call that extreme. Not to mention that he had as many supporters as he did tells me there is a more focused environment than there had been. Furthermore, I believe the extremeness of the left at all, those being that of the Antifa/Social Justice Warrior/modern feminist/LBGTQ+/"democratic socialist" and other stereotypes, and with their being brought to the forefront, show clearly the evolution of that. No less, the amount of racket they make for their relative size and the sympathy they receive in return from their side suggests to me the left as a whole is more extreme; you do not see me showing much sympathy for those on the true Alt-Right who might hold beliefs that some races or faiths are inherently inferior or that taxation is theft and the central government is evil.

Carrying on, those stereotypes are all targets of the Alt-Right and the "Alt-Right" who they both strike and lash out at, as minority as they are, but I also note that approximately .3% of the United States population, as example, is transgendered yet look at the level of catering received or allocated to it and the amount of attention it received. The left found a niche in this tiny percentage and as a relative whole, leveraged it into a national debate when it was and is a non-issue.

The difference with these fringe radicals is that one group, the Far Left, has shown they are willing to do that or permit that sort of mindset in public. They are the ones burning down their colleges, breaking windows, attacking citizens to include committing assault with deadly weapons, using low-level explosives and smoke, and any other number of more violent criminal activity to help broadcast their message. No less, some of those fragments in the far left who advocate, and at least many more provide excuse for, the infamous rally cry of "Pigs in the blanket, fry them like bacon." Again, the Far Left demonstrates an intent to do harm, acting on opportunities to do harm, and the capability to do harm.

And to reiterate, I am not saying all of the Far Left do, but that they are not policing their own people or fighting against this within their own individual and overlapping communities is why I am confident in my assessment that they will do so unknowingly, or in worst cast, willingly.

No, I am not "doing anything right now", putting the shoe on the other foot, or lumping people together, all of which you mean demonizing the left; I have never once said, "The entire left is corrupt because I think they all agree with someone in their group acting on political motives to harm and kill others." I simply and have repeatedly said I believe it is their general culture as a whole that holds greater possibility of advertently or inadvertently allowing the scenario to happen. If I had made such a statement, there would be plenty of valid arguments about the "gun-loving right" to use.

D&D 5e - The Lost Lands

The Vale

Unknown,
Currently

After gathering themselves, their items and their spirits, the heroes had seemingly found their path to success; through the great vale that stretched before them and wherever it seemed to lead them. If anything the sheer scope of their adventure, pursuing the darkness that left them without their beloved home, had only grown to portions beyond their ability, at least for the moment. In the time to come, they would need not only discover what befell them and where to go from there, but also what it would take to defeat the Kingdom of Darkness, preferably once and for all.

Despite these difficulties, they found none such in the terrain they found their way through. The rolling grassland before them, with its lively blades of ever so gently tanned leaves and wildflowers, made for an easy walk, that of which at times passed by tremendous woods, whose trees were as broad as a giant at their base and whose apparent saplings were as big as a man. Now and then the chitter and chatter of nature reached their ears, with the few animals they witnessed disappearing the moment they took sight of the new company; some bounded off into the distance upon springy, long legs and others merely skittered into the brush in flight. None dared pose opposition just as one imagined they would not.

The hours of walking, from what seemed to be morning on, were met with little advancement in terms of scope, but there was clear progress all the same. In fact, the eyes high above in the sky were those to take the most notice, for as they sailed around upon ivory wings, they revealed more and more of the great world beyond and at times offering insight to their master whenever anything of interest appeared that surely they could not see far below.

Effects

The group traverses a vast area of grassland and woodland combined. They avoid the forest and the start of the hills by following the vale itself.

Wick's avian familiar is entitled to a Wisdom (Perception) check. It fails on a roll of 5, using its Passive Perception of 14 instead.

A group of massive black birds, the scale of which were as large as draft horses and certainly no ordinary fowl, begin a descent from on high. The trio, like feathered streaks of ink on a canvas of sky, flew past the comparatively insignificant hawk with a whipping of wind following in their wake; they hooted and hollered their mockery as they passed, plummeting further below until they came upon the troupe of travelers. Ceasing above them and pulling out of their dive, the giant feathery figures beat the air around their wings as they begin an apparent descent.

Effects

Score
The Vale

Map
Field

Initiative Order

• Cesar (22)
• Theodore (21)
• Great Ravens (20)
• Wick (20)
• Thea (19)
• Katia (13)
• Haemar (6)

The Great Ravens were able to fly past the hawk after gaining a surprise round against it. They choose not to attack and instead maneuver into position above their locations on the map. They are flying at about 80 feet in height, gaining partial cover, and have begun crowing up a storm, that of which has alerted the rest of the party below. They appear to have been roosted in one of the nearby giant trees and are in the process of descending still.

@Big Dread, @Cu Chulainn, @Gordian Nought, @Hekazu, @JBRam2002, @Zverda

D&D 5e - Hoard of the Dragon Queen

I like how "dragon attack" and "not doing well on perception" are in the same category. No wonder Greenest is burning. Dragon attacks are now the norm, I suppose?

@Hekazu, Brannor has an initiative roll of 19, again. Not that I take issue with that.

D&D 5e - Hoard of the Dragon Queen

These bowmen securing the walls of the keep seemed to have failed us, that or these enemies are extremely lucky. In either case, I say to arms and that we cut these fools down.