Does the Knight of Wands fit Valentine "Val" McKee?
Yes, this is the perfect card for him!
This fits him well enough.
No, another Wands card would work better.
No, another card entirely would work better.
I don't know this character (Results)
Voting ended onNov 3, 2025
The Knight of Wands represents hastiness, confidence, heroism, a hot temper, and risk taking. Reversed, it indicates arrogance, showing off, passivity, volatility, and violence.
We continue our journey in the Anesh desert, fight a few worms, find Perfection, and make plans to beat up the matricidal babies in town.
Alt Title: Tremors 8 - The D&D AU
@gher-bear @aradow @telurin @epimetala
On this day we continue our journey across the Anesh desert, have a nice spot of lunch just outside the valley, and then in one fell swoop, discover exactly what Perfection’s problem is along with what those mole hills all over the desert were about.
Somehow our camels all survive!
We kill a few giant worms, then sneak off from the remainder to check in on the town asap. There we find the town infested by an equally unrecognizable creature with only 3 remaining townsfolk all up on their roofs.
We get on a roof as well, use message to communicate with the others and hatch a plan.
In our pause we discover these new creatures are parthenogenic, two of them hawking up whole new babies ready to fight. Lovely.
(Read More)
Over the journey across the desert, we note that Rana and Diem have practically swapped roles with Rana energetic and smiley while Diem in their Tarma guise remains quiet and stoic.
Rana tells Edea all about the meteor and the detour she has planned that the rest of us don’t know about.
First morning there are more birds in distance but hard to see in the sun. It’s a quiet morning with meat stick breakfast on the go, good and early to make the most of the last hours of good travel time.
Eventually we see mesas and get close enough to also see that it’s the lip of a large basin.
The little valley below is more green than rest
Edea’s in good mood so she tells us about the surrounding area with Pebbles interjecting.
Mostly the whole area is made up of sandstone and limestone
Natural springs dotting the landscape ahead, no visible people, though Phi spots some buildings and glimmer of water.
Rana notices the road area has been widened for more traffic very recently
Tarma-Diem is too interested in storytime to do much talking (though they aren’t nearly as expressive under the Tarma guise)
We get just over the lip to the main area of the road close enough to the cliffs for shade and stop for real food (lunch).
Tarma-Diem summons the hut for this, much to Edea’s amusement (though she also partakes of the comfort). One of us (Rana? Phi? Lingers outside the hut for a bit because looking through transparent walls at the view just isn’t the same as seeing it unfiltered.
Then...breadsticks!
17 con check, I manage an hour of scribing alarm.
(”Big like hell underground monsters and they’re coming after you guys, they’re comin right now!”)
Up on camels again, we get in the valley and Phi notices a whispered thing as Tarma-Diem’s method acting fails to make them even reasonably perceptive.
Phi calls out and points at poofs of dust moving toward us but it goes away before anyone else sees it.
Phi: You guys didn’t see it?
Phi describes it as foof foof dust lol
Rana gets off the camel to perceive while feeling more connected through direct contact with the ground, but it doesn’t help. She definitely senses nothing in time to avoid getting grappled by two snake like things popping up out of the ground.
Another pair pop out near me and try to hook my camel, but Jadrie dances out of the way.
Edea stoneskins Pebbles
I stay on my camel.
Edea: Everyone stay off the ground!
I cast fly on my camel in response, it hovers about a foot off the ground and I’m able to steer it forward a little toward the rocks and away from the snakes, but not up.
Rana nature checks: These are not purple worms
Rana tries to polymorph one of the snakes into a mouse. It turns into a clinging mouse on her leg.
Rana: I have one, don’t touch it!
She tries to grab it by the tail. She nat 20 animal handles that shit to set the mouse on the ground and climb back on the camel. “One’s a mouse!”
Phi shoots at the furthest snake in front of her - one of the two that tried to snag Jadrie (since Rana said not to touch the one that’s a mouse now lol).
She does 7 dmg.
The one she shot and its nearby buddy both slink back into the ground, leaving loose earth where they were.
Phi runs the camel (east) in the opposite direction from Diem, and up another bit of rocky area but only gets animal handling of 4.
Phi’s camel gets a nat 20 on dex save when 3 pop up at her camel and it freaks out, then belatedly realizes why she was trying to make it a rock climber. Said camel manages to get up on the rock after all. One of the 3 has an arrow sticking out of it still, grasping blindly at the rocks trying to get her.
Pebbles moves himself and Edea up onto the rocks.
Ixayl’anu drives the elk toward the ones after Phi to try and take a stab at one of the worms that are still trying to get to Phi. She misses. 2nd swing hits for crit dmg 20. They all go underground.
Graboid mouse tries to bite the camel for 1 pt of damage.
Camel flings mouse away but it’s light and doesn’t take any damage, is thrown about 10-15 ft away, squeaking angrily.
Edea: “Get to the rocks!”
Edea then casts silence on Rana’s area, just enough for Rana to get on a rock - Rana suddenly goes deaf, Edea motions her forward.
Rana rolls low on animal handling check, Rana slaps its side with spider climb and tries again.
Phi holds her action for next one’s appearance. Ixayl’anu also holds her action to the same end.
Mouse runs after last spot of sound, but freaks out just inside the silence circle and stops moving.
Whole huge graboid head comes out of the ground at Ixayl’anu.
15 to hit from Phi, it skitters off the hard armor plating of its head.
Ixayl’anu misses. Her 2nd attack succeeds - 6dmg
Creature attacks back - 16 dmg on Ixayl’anu directly, she rolls a nat 20 on her dex save. It let her go because she stabbed it. However, it does not completely retreat, withdraws only a tiny bit back.
Edea casts 5th level blight on the graboid next to Ixayl’anu. 48 pts necro dmg
It shudders and rests a little on the ground, too hurt to go under.
11 pts of eldritch blast from Tarma-Diem finishes it off, electrocuting it with prismatic lightning eldritch blast making it stiffen up and scream, shuddering and exploding all over Ixie.
Tarma-Diem to self: Dammit, I’m gonna be the one cleaning that up later…
Rana watches the mouse trying to figure out what to do. She can’t shout anything to anyone, so Rana has her fist raised to get attention while watching her mouse.
Phi is confused why Rana is looking away from the giant worm with her hand raised, but she also sees two more puffs in the distance, and Rana still has the mouse.
Phi: Good job Diem! Two more over there (plus words I missed).
Tarma-Diem, nodding toward Edea: Pretty sure that was mostly Edea, but you’re welcome!
Pebbles passes his action.
Ixayl’anu charges up on her mount, Rana waving a frantic no, Ixayl’anu casts nature’s wrath, restraining the mouse in little tiny vines, Ixayl’anu sees it’s mouth opening up but doesn’t hear any of the angry squeaks. No one hear’s the mouse’s deadly anger. It is so hungry. But no one hears. No one cares. Edea has put up a censor blocking out all of its foul language.
Dex sav throw for Ixayl’anu’s elk as 3 new little guys pop up around her - 15: The elk is grappled by one, wrapped around its leg.
More vibrations are part of what Rana was trying to no no no about, to no avail.
Edea drops the silence and attempts to cast polymorph on the one on Ixayl’anu. It turns into a rat, still clinging to the elk’s leg.
I hold a toll the dead for any new emergence that has not been polymorphed: “What do we do now?!”
Edea: I think we found their problem.
Rana: What do we wanna do about the polymorphs?
Tarma-Diem: Well, Phi said there’s more out there.
Phi: Yeah, there’s more out that way (points vaguely at two spots south and east)
Rana holds erupting earth in that case.
Phi holds an arrow and then uses rat speak to say to snake ~hellooooo friend~ all menacing like.
The rat whips its head around to her and just screams at her.
Phi screams back at it.
Rana tries and fails to perceive a dirt cloud
Pebbles passes
Ixayl’anu tries to stab the rat twice since it’s still clinging to her - 8dmg, *whole worm pops up above ground*
All held actions come into play.
Tarma-Diem: Holy shit that’s huge! *toll the dead for 12 dmg*
Rana casts erupting earth at it and does 8 dmg. Area in the 20 ft square becomes difficult terrain until cleared.
Phi shoots it, but it skitters off the head armor.
Ixayl’anu misses her 2nd swipe, the moving earth fucked it up. Ixayl’anu moves up on top a rock with her elk and bonus action casts shield of faith.
The graboid submerges in the freshly turned earth.
Mouse graboid bites at the vines and gets free. It huffs and looks at Ixayl’anu with all the fury of a no-longer-blind rage.
Edea: If ya’ll get over here, I can hit us with pass without a trace so we can get out of here.
Rana: If you can get Diem, I’ll get Ixie and Phi - Phi get closer to Ixie!
Phi: I don’t think my camel can get there.
Rana casts pass without a trace on herself, which pops the mouse at full health above ground (concentration switched).
The submerged one notices her movements, but her camel rolls really well, notices the snake tongue and lifts it hoof up very slow, very gently sets foot back down because Rana and camel’s goals are one now lol. Basically, that gif up at the top happens with camel toes instead of cowboy boots (yes I chose that wording on purpose. You’re welcome)
Rana slaps guidance on her camel with a pat, +4 to next dex roll as she gets in range to stealth up Ixayl’anu and Phi.
Ixayl’anu gets a 17 stealth to move closer to Rana.
Phi gets a whopping 35 stealth. Where did she go? We don’t know!
I got a 14 on my stealth, when my camel touches down it makes enough noise they both worms focus my direction. Tarma-Diem casts toll the dead on the one above ground and does 12 dmg, it dives away from them.
Rana’s head whips around, Tarma-Diem makes a shushing motion (like: I did it, but over there, away from us, keep going). Otherwise Tarma-Diem is actually taking all their cues from Edea and heading south with their camel.
("I don’t care what they’re doin, long as they’re doin it waaaay over there.”)
Edea quietly gestures us farther down the road, and falls back to be last in line. Rana takes point.
We move ahead quietly, keeping an eye out but nobody sees anything, despite Phi’s 26.
New stealth I do the worst at 14 (again). We later decide this was because I was too busy cleaning up smelly monster guck from Ixayl’anu.
We’re all distracted for the walk, except Phi, who notices disappearing cows in the distance and sends it message stone to us.
Rana is ever practical (this is literally ALL I wrote here lol - I think it’s referring to her not at all minding that they’re busy eating the cows instead of us?).
Tarma-Diem cantrip-messages back: I guess that’s why they’re leaving us alone.
Edea motions us to move a little faster as a result, seeing Phi’s motions.
Last stealth check my gentle whispers helped Jadrie get a 27 on her stealth this time around. Rana practically disappeared (nat 20). Phi got 32, Ixaylanu got 24.
Perception rolls coming into town, Rana and Tarma-Diem are too focused on sealthiness (AKA we’re too focused on looking at the ground)
Ixayl’anu notices this town is VERY quiet. (The townsfolk are wabbits?)
Phi: Woah, looks like some shit went down here…
Rana and I look around at those words and see the wreck of Perfection, blood spatters on walls, doors shoved in, buildings caving in, walkways shattered and more.
Human on roof, tries to quietly make hand gestures like what are you doing, get on a roof, off the ground (Later introduced as Lee Beck, a research student).
Edea casts wall of stone for all our mounts to theoretically keep them all safe, letting us know she’ll have to drop pass without a trace after we all get our mounts on the stone corral. 10ft high walls on either side so the mounts can get out. She concentrates for 10 minutes until it’s permanent.
Rana hung hamlet pouch off camels, phi copied that and told them to stay.
We follow rana into nearest building with door ajar and she sees a creature rummaging. Little flaps raise off the top of said creature’s head and it screams
Rana had her arms out to stop us from passing and slams the door shut.
3 thuds hit the door with echoed screams. Rana tries to hold it shut.
Phi tries to parkour up the building across the way. 22 to get up. She looks around a little from her new vantage point and sees 5 more behind her in the courtyard, other side of the building she parkoured up.
Phi lets us know and says that’s probably what that lady was motioning about, getting off the ground.
Meanwhile, one of the others on the other side of the door from Rana manages to break thru like heeeeeere’s Johnny from the shining, but can’t really open it’s mouth.
Edea reaches out and confuses it - it fails and is sitting there dazed and blocking the others.
(”Everybody...get up on your roofs!”)
Ixayl’anu misty steps herself and rana to the roof with Phi.
I cross to that same building and pull out my rope, make it tie off on the roof. Edea and I climb up and I slip it back into my pack as we duck down low.
2 of the original 3 scream again as they all bust through.
Their flaps raise and they scream one more time, spotting us. We got a 28 stealth from the second group on the other side of the building though, so they see nothing and don’t seem to be responding to the screams.
Rana gestures toward Tarma-Diem then the villager who was playing charades earlier.
Tarma-Diem nods and pauses to sort out exactly what to say first about all this.
Tarma-Diem to Charade Lady: Well...what the fuck do we do now? You can respond to this message.
Charade Lady: We don’t know they just showed up they don’t hear but big ones do, so try not to make too much noise.
I relay these messages
Rana: Why are we whispering?
Tarma-Diem: Because she also said the big ones might come back.
Through some back and forth messaging we establish that her name is Lee Beck (I don’t care where, we just do, okay?) and that we are indeed with the druid who’d been sent this way to answer a call for help. That we’ll take care of it and just need caught up to speed on everything that’s happened.
Lee Beck, together with the half orc female and male human on two other roofs (Val and Earl, respectively) drove big ones away with some explosives, staying behind to do so while the rest of the town got to safely up in the mountains, but now they’re out of explosions and these new screaming guys just showed up.
I ask how long ago and how many. The rest of these exchanges are relayed piece meal to the group, but I didn’t record most of our chatter.
Lee: New ones are very recent, used to be only be four and we’ve counted and killed at least twice that many now.
Tarma-Diem: Where do they come from?
Lee: *exasperated* We don’t know they obvs look the same in the face but they’re different.
*We talk amongst ourselves about that, Phi suggests maybe each piece becomes a new one, maybe?*
Tarma-Diem to Lee: You’re sure when you killed them it wasn’t some sort of hydra situation?
Lee: Yeah we’re sure, the one’s we’ve killed have stayed dead.
We talk amongst ourselves again about just going for it vs. coming up with a plan, trying to figure out how many we’re up against, etc.
After much of this back and forth, Tarma-Diem to Lee: We’re gonna start a fight then over here, so if we shouldn’t...you should respond to this message.
Lee: Be careful to keep it quiet, the big ones are still around and they get smarter - learn from their mistakes, plus they’ll just wait us out, go off and eat cattle, come back.
We do a little bit more planning in response to this. We talk about whether or not we should try and lure them out of the town to avoid as much damage as possible to the remaining structures. How we’d even get out there though, whether or not we’d even make it very far or be able to draw out all of them without having to worry about attracting more of the big ones back into town.
Eventually I message Lee again asking about any better places to start the attack, stronger structures, whether or not, in her experience, she thinks luring them away from town would work.
She informs me she is just a researcher and the two guys behind her are just local handymen, but the person who lived there got swallowed whole and there’s not even a floor under our building any more. Overall though, without any more explosives, the three of them wouldn’t be of much help even if we all did gather on the same roof.
About this time, as Edea has been studying the group not occasionally shrieking at us, she gets our attention to tell us they’re parthenogenic. Two of the ones behind us had each hawked up a new baby, now smaller, but apparently just as capable as they forage around.
Tarma-Diem messages this back to Lee, just to keep her up to speed, just in case.
Lee: Lovely *she just sits down, completely done with this day*
y’all I think my husband genuinely considered buying me a cardboard cutout for my birthday this year…
he asked me who I would choose if I had to pick one person to have a cutout of… he narrowed it down (correctly) to my top 3…
aaron tveit, ben barnes, kevin bacon
and the winner? Kevin Bacon, but specifically in his 1990 tremors era haircut 😍😂
Genuinely not sure if it was a joke or not, so if you see me post a pic of me next to cardboard kevin at the end of the month, we will have our answer 😂😂
