Adventures in RPGs

Hi, all! I am starting this blog because I love Roleplaying Games, and I love talking about them! I'm also a huge fan of Critical Role, so some of my stuff will be about that...or maybe most of it will be...

[trimmedbushproductions]

wait. WAIT. god damn it

the attack on Keyleth years ago. THIS is why. they wanted to test if attacking her would draw out Vax, and they wanted to draw her attention so she'd get tangled up in all this. that's the missing reason. that's the puzzle piece we didn't have.

that's why Orym's family died.

because the villains needed to make a point to someone more important.

because history repeats itself, and Will and Derrig were just bodies to hang from a tree.

[jibril-thelibraryangel]

[beliched]

Don't you even dare

[stardustedknuckles]

Beau and Caleb get teleported directly on top of the bad luck bandits. It's unclear who is having the worse day.

[maluspumilaa]

i am having feelings about imogen’s ruidus murder time moment(s) actually guys

[ailustrarte]

"…Instead you see a cloak of feathers. Black raven feathers."

"Don’t you even dare.”

I’m still overwhelmed because of how good this moment was. And I thought Vax'ildan's and Keyleth's story couldn’t be more tragic.

[umbershift]

Choose.

[counterspelling]

Endless Bells Hells

[appetite-pen]

Is she your favourite?

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rbs are appreciated, details below!

Keep reading

[noxarcanaart]

how we feelin lads

[allthecanadianpolitics]

So I’ve always been told “the Queen is just a figurehead” but thinking about it I know there is still way more influence than that from the monarchy (on the currency, “crown” land, the prosecution side in courts is referred to as “crown”, the entire position of Governor General, probably more I’m not aware of) and now that she’s dead, and there might be a chance of Canada breaking free entirely and/or the monarchy being abolished (as I’ve seen some pushing for), I was wondering if you or any of your followers might be able to give a better overview of just how much that would impact things in Canada and in what way? I know this could probably be easily googled but I struggle with things that aren’t in simplified language and don’t want to misunderstand.

~~~~

[scribblinaway]

Speaking as a historian rather than a government expert, The Queen was a figurehead, in that while she was our head of state, she didn’t actually make any decisions for us. For example, technically the queen (or king) appoints the governor general, but they do it on the advice of the prime minister. 

For the most part, the concept of the “crown” in Canada, i.e. Crown lands, Crown corporations, Crown prosecutors, etc. refers to the monarchy but doesn’t refer directly to the queen or king; it’s more of a stand-in for “government” (or more accurately, “Canada as a state” because sometimes we use government to refer to who’s in power at the moment, and the concept of the Crown is more stable than that). If we moved away from the monarchy we’d probably have to rename those things, but on a day-to-day basis I don’t think that would change their role in our lives. They would still represent the Canadian government / Canada as a state. 

The more complicated part of moving away from the monarchy is that being a constitutional monarchy is the basis of our democracy, our constitution, etc. If we want to move away from being a constitutional monarchy, that means reopening all of those foundational documents and rethinking how we want our country to work. Those are big questions and big changes, and we would be fundamentally rethinking parts of our government. We also have a history where making any changes to these kinds of foundational documents tends to open up the door to a lot of controversy and conflict, so I can only imagine how much conflict will arise if we actually start talking about a change of this scale. The situation in Canada is extra complicated in part because of the confederation (i.e. provincial) structure and the sheer scale of the colonial legacy--there are just a lot of different groups with vastly different opinions on how Canada as a country could or should (or shouldn’t) work. I suspect that some other (especially smaller) Commonwealth realms will have an easier time of separating from the monarchy than us. 

tldr, this is not really a good answer to that question, but: for the most part, the involvement of the monarchy in our institutions is “in name only”. Still, removing that name means replacing it with something else, and that process would take many years and much debate before we would even get a sense of how much it would change in our daily lives.

[adventuresinrpg]

It will also probably require rewriting or renegotiating treaties with the Indigenous peoples, since they have all been done under the Crown. Not like we've been particularly great about keeping said treaties...but depending on who in the government would be involved with that, some may decide that the status quo is better for them than actually evaluating what was promised and promising it again.

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

hey if you have a pet or pets you need to reblog this rn and tell me in the tags what their names are. bonus points for including what kind of animal.

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

this is going great you guys' pets have some really excellent names :)

[alexseanchai]

[honourablejester]

Okay, okay. As a girl who grew up on the old swashbuckler films. Can I talk about the fucking romance of Nydas Okiro. Betrayed and backstabbed by his crew. Holding his wound. Panting in effort and grief. Telling his traitorous underling that gold means nothing if you do not use it to lift people up. That gold is a resource by which mortaldom climbs. That they are going to save the people of Avalir, and that cause goes above any oath he ever made in a past life.

You can picture so clearly in this moment the kid who joined a pirate crew to climb the skies. The dream he must have had. The dream he shared with Laerryn.

And it’s the end, and he’s betrayed, and he’s standing on what has to be one or two fucking hit points remaining, and he stabs that traitor in the front, and uses every resource he still possesses to get as many people as possible out and to defend them in the process.

And he’s … he’s not only betrayed, he’s rewarded. For the man he’s been. Because Alessander steps up, Alessander thinks to save the sorcerer school, this other piece of Nydas’ dream. When Nydas and his conjured dragon are standing alone and surrounded by devil puppets, the fucking sphinx from earlier, the sphinx from the parade, busts in and rescues him, and has been protecting them the whole time from further tampering of the constructs. Nydas was the first to step up, to try and protect the tree, to try and avert catastrophe, to try and hold the line, and that ripples out. His people stand up around him.

And an entire army of constructs, on Nydas’ word, burst out of the Golden Scythe to defend Avalir as she dies. His ships fly to evacuate her people. The world might be damned, he might be nearly dead, but by Avalir, he and this city will go down fucking swinging, and saving everyone they can.

The romance of this man. I can’t even.

[theoutcastrogue]

“Cerrit looks at the symbol of the Eyes of Avalir on his ring. The eye is sculpted to look down, ever watchful, the eyes of a city in the clouds.

On a 26 insight, you found many threats to the city of Avalir, long years of being exceptional, perceptive, intelligent, clever, your eyes ever peering down, cultists and criminals, even some magisters, some corrupt officials – but on a 26 insight, often ones without friends or connections.

The Eyes of Avalir never looked up.

And the price you paid was that here at the end of things, you still don’t get to hear the laughter of your children in this home, as was the case so many long nights of devotion and service.”

— Brennan Lee Mulligan, Exandria Unlimited: Calamity finale

See what Brennan did there? Brennan said, on a 26 insight, you finally understand what’s wrong with law enforcement: it enforces only downwards. It investigates and hounds the little people and the outcasts, and leaves the corridors of power unchecked. And it’s not a failure of individuals (this cop is corrupt, that one’s incompetent); that would be easily solved with better individuals, individuals like Cerrit, brilliant and honest and devoted. But it’s an institutional failure. The Eyes of Avalir were meant and made to look down, and never up.

Brennan said, y’all thought that because Cerrit’s the only non-magical guy in the Ring of Brass of the floating city of Avalir in the Age of Arcanum, he’s blameless? Think again! Everyone unwittingly contributed to the Calamity. The Leywright trio by hubris, the paladin by zeal and conviction, the fey by love (if Loquatius hadn’t killed the truth about Evandrin to protect Laerryn, she’d have to explain what she’s building in there, and crucial information could have come to light in time), and the cop by being a normal-ass cop, and thus missing every single clue that could prevent this – because every single clue was up above, and the Eyes of Avalir never looked up.

And then Brennan “I came here to hurt people” Lee Mulligan twists the knife and says, Cerrit, this is what you devoted your whole life to, this is what you spent all your energy on, this is why you missed on your own children growing up. For an institutional failure.

And on a 26 insight, here at the end of things, Cerrit finally takes off his badge ring and sets his fucking office on fire.

[adventuresinrpg]

I know there have to be other people with this experience. Just. When you see a piece of art and you think about it forever.

I was at this art gallery in a former torpedo factory in Alexandria a few years ago wandering through with my family when I saw it.

A black and white drawing of a unicorn skull in a wilderness.

I constantly think back and wish I had bought it then, but I was flying home and wouldn't have had room in my luggage. I went to the gallery website recently trying to find it, but I have no memory of the artist's name.

So if anyone knows who the artist is, pleeease tell me. But also tell me what art has stuck with you.

[adventuresinrpg]

Luis' face at the "blood of the chosen" thing...