The Adventures of Mandy

I am Mandy. Lost. Wandering. Prone to melancholy. Lover of Stories Rainy Day Book Reader (Every Day Book Reader) I have a link to the records of the Games I'm Playing too.

[mochazombie]

Since it’s Free Comic Book Day, I figured I’d share my short comic from the Valor Anthology, The Nettle-Witch, (pretty loosely) based on the fairy tale The Wild Swans. Something about the imagery and the locations in the story always made it one of my favourites to read as a kid, and I tried to get some of that feeling into the look of my comic.

[sartorialadventure]

Benny Harlem, an aspiring singer, songwriter, and model, holds the Guinness Book of World Records’ title for tallest high top afro at 52.07 cm (20.5 inches). Photos with his daughter Jaxyn have taken social media by storm.

[themandymae]

These run the gamut from amazing through epic, on to frikin' adorable and a whole mess of adjectives I can't quantify.

[yourplayersaidwhat]

Healer: I hiss at it in my language

DM: the monster hisses back

Cat person Thief: can I join the hissy fit as a free action?

[themandymae]

I do not know if it is better to notice when your brain is doing stupid things, or not. Last week into the start of this week, I was actually able to identify that my inability to slow down and hyper focus was because I was having a manic phase of my bipolar depression. Now, I’m noticing the down section coming along.  Disappointment reigns.  I’ve been preparing a new character for a game because my old one was basically killed. I had tons of excitement about her. But it’s evaporating. Faster now because, sometimes it’s just strange that your very imaginative DM decides, Eh, you said you came to town to find someone. So, you arrive in town. There you go. It kind of gives me no motivation. Like, I arrive in town looking for a friend and discover that she’s been turned into a vampire. And if I want help, I have to go looking for the werewolf monster hunters. That sounds like a great plan for a dhampire who, if she’s from here like I planned, is likely related somehow to the BBEG.” And I get it, I do. But it doesn’t mean I’m not disappointed after all the other ways she’s brought in extra or new characters with complicated back stories and more ties to the story.

And I don’t think I have time to brain another character before game this weekend. But I’m just now sure if she’ll survive an encounter with the rest of the PCs anymore.

Oh look. There’s my brain telling me that I’m a burden and can’t fit in because most of the people I play with have been playing together forever and I’m just a burden.  I know my brain lies, but it still hurts.

[themandymae]

I just almost died. So my d20 went to jail. It landed like that. After I shook it in there before leaving it to think about its life decisions it tried to apologize.

[themandymae]

Update. My tiefling/werewolf may well have died. Our barbarian Lorraine was dominated by Strahd. She attacked the person in front of her, Nash, the rogue in charge of checking for traps. It went downhill fast. Strahd ended up grabbing Nash and commanding Lorraine to follow through his dimension door. Then he separated them and offered them basically the same deal. Standard if you do as I order, I will not hurt them. Yeah. They both signed on the dotted line.

Nash had a small shock/thrill because part of the convincing argument Strahd made was to help explore the half of his heritage he barely knows... his full name plus name marking demonic heritage was on his contract. He's never really thought of himself as a tiefling, that was the lesser of two things that made him unwanted after his father died.

So, now they are a pack of two. Nash has considered every way they can try to get strand to break the contract, but, the pack would never know if they could trust them again.

So, he can hope that Pack Dad will kill them mercifully before they hurt the pack too bad.

And... I'm making a new character.

[themandymae]

I just almost died. So my d20 went to jail. It landed like that. After I shook it in there before leaving it to think about its life decisions it tried to apologize.

[bettyfelon]

Batman Beyond, by Killian Eng (via Mondo’s Batman 75th Anniversary Gallery Show)

[themandymae]

The (Continuing) Tale of J’Awk

The nest session of my D&D game with the undead paladin and his soon to be long suffering squire.

(Here’s the prologue)

Part the First

In Which the Dragon’s Bite is Worse Than It’s Breath.

So far, being a squire only really involves helping make camp (It's much easier to make a fire when you can use magic to spark a flame) and hearing about Sir Hightower's many great exploits.  I just don't have the heart to tell him that he is undead.  And at this point, I know it's too late.  I hope I can warn people off of telling him as we adventure.  I'm not sure what he would do if he found out.

I'm not sure if using a dead necromancer's Orb to help harness the magic I can feel flowing in me is the best idea.  What if the evil of the former user rubs off.  Sir Hightower assures me that Pelor will not let that happen.  That the fact that the orb glows like a small sun means that it is a tool of good. We are heading to Greenest.  It feels like the best way to go based on my dreams of disaster, but I can't say why.  Sir Hightower agrees that we should follow my feelings on this.  He is eager to help save the world again.

Adventuring is much harder than Sir Hightower made it sound.  When we arrived in Greenest the town was under siege. Kobolds and cultists surrounded the keep.  A large blue dragon was circling above the keep.  Sir Hightower rushed right in, sword shining in the sunlight.  I was barely any help.  I was knocked off of a roof by one of the kobolds and out of the fight until it was over. It hurt. A lot.  But. Sir Hightower was able to heal me.  With encouraging words and a soft touch.  He seems so brash and bold so often, but he has a kind heart and I do think he genuinely wants to teach me how to help people with this new magic of mine.  Even if he doesn't know the first thing about magic. We met Rhuu in the fight. She's a nice girl. Her feathers are grey, she's not nearly as bright as the girls back home, but she doesn't seem to notice how dull her colors are.  She does play lovely tunes though.  She showed us the way to a tunnel that led to the keep so we could ask the town's leaders what we can do to help.

In the keep we spoke to Governor Nighthill.  He... I think he thinks I'm a necromancer and that Sir Hightower is my minion. I think I shall have to find a way to deflect these accusations without letting Sir Hightower know.   The Governor asked us to help. We were able to speak to one of the mercenaries that was captured.  He told us that he had been hired bu the Cult of the Dragon to attack and rob the towns in the area. Sir Hightower then convinced this hardened warrior only driven by greed to accept Pelor.  My Master the Knight is a terror in battle and a gentle soul when helping anyone.

When we went to tell the Governor what we learned, we were diverted to the sally port of the keep.  It was under attack.  We were able to help the guards push the invading kobolds out and secure the gate.

It looked to be a long night and we slept while we could. Though, we were awoken in the night to find a Dragonborn challenging the keep.  They brought prisoners and would return them if the strongest warrior could defeat him in battle.  I knew the second the challenge was made that nothing would stop Sir Hightower from saving the town in single combat.  The Governor didn't even have time to ask if anyone would step forth to defend Greenest before Sir Hightower was crossing the field between the keep and the dragonborn.

My Master the Knight of Pelor stepped boldly out into the night. His armor and sword shining as if in the brightest light.  He squared up to his foe, raised his sword high... and was promptly cut in half by the giant blue dragonborn's sword.  The dragonborn thought it was so funny he gathered his invaders and left.

That's when I learned that Sir Hightower collapses into a pile of bones if he is hit hard enough.  If you leave him like that for a short while, he gets up like nothing happened.   I don't know what to do with this knowledge.

[themandymae]

The tale of J’awk

I’ve got a D&D game going that I’m having a great time with so far.  So I’m going to write it as we go. From the perspective of my character. He is J’awk.  An arakocra. Sorcerer and reluctant Squire to our Paladin (Whose player and I should not be allowed to coordinate characters because shenanigans always happens… Though, one of our DMs told me that she loves it because it’s hilarious.)

I’m going to start with a prologue.  Then I’ll get the sessions that we’ve done so far done. Hopefully, I’ll be able to post updates weekly(ish) as we play.

And so…

The Prologue

Keep reading

[themandymae]

The tale of J’awk

I’ve got a D&D game going that I’m having a great time with so far.  So I’m going to write it as we go. From the perspective of my character. He is J’awk.  An arakocra. Sorcerer and reluctant Squire to our Paladin (Whose player and I should not be allowed to coordinate characters because shenanigans always happens... Though, one of our DMs told me that she loves it because it’s hilarious.)

I’m going to start with a prologue.  Then I’ll get the sessions that we’ve done so far done. Hopefully, I’ll be able to post updates weekly(ish) as we play.

And so...

The Prologue

I think the night I met Sir Hightower is the night when my life started getting strange.  In fact. I know it is.

Before that night, I was just exploring.  I was off to see the world.  Just see it. I'd met adventurers who came by our village when I was growing up and I didn't want the danger they have in their lives. I've always had very real dreams about far off places. So I went in search of them to see if they are real.  And they are.  I dream about vast planes and great cliffs over violent ocean waves.  And I've visited them.   And now, I have the life I didn't want.  I think I am officially an Adventurer.  Because of this crazy paladin.

I'll tell you how it started. I found myself in the middle of nowhere when night closed in. I'd been lucky enough to find a small temple or church to take shelter in.  It was old and long abandoned.  But it was shelter enough for one night.  There was a small cemetery with this tiny church.  The graves were very old.  But it was good for just one night.

Something, I'm not exactly sure what, woke me in the middle of the night.  Then I heard noises out in the graveyard.  Carefully I went outside to see what was happening. In the graveyard, near the oldest of the graves there was a young man in dark robes chanting and gesturing at the ground.  As I watched, unsure about what he was doing, a skeletal hand broke the surface of the dirt.  A necromancer!  I knew I had to stay hidden so he wouldn't find me.  I slowly crept into the darker shadows of the church, but not far enough that I couldn't see what happened next.  The skeleton took up an ancient sword and... Struck down the necromancer.  The moment his sword struck the man the sword shone bright as the sun.  The necromancer crumpled to the ground and I froze in the shadows, unsure of what the skeletal warrior would do after the necromancer who raised it died. From behind me there was an odd hissing sound.  No, was that wheezing?  I turned slowly to find an old man doubled over, laughing. "Are... are you all right?" I asked the man who had appeared from nowhere.   He smiled brightly at me.  "You'll want to see this.  It's going to be fun."  He gestured at the skeleton.  I turned to see the skeleton was digging at the grave.   "What...?" I asked, confused.  Beyond confused.  Utterly bewildered. The old man put his hand on my shoulder and said "Aren't you going to help him?" he gave me a small shove toward the grave and the skeleton.   I couldn't help it.  I slowly went to help the skeleton dig whatever he was after out of his own grave. "Do you need help?" I asked tentatively. The skeleton looked up at me.  A bright light glowing in the eye sockets of the grinning skull.   "Ah, yes my boy! Help me get my shield out of this mire." I hesitated. "Get right in there young man, a squire should be ready for any task he's asked to do." "I'm sorry sir, I'm not..." "You're shorter than I expected. But Pelor does put us all in the right place to do the most good.  I'm sure I can teach you much in our time together."  He pulled the shield free of the dirt and dusted it off. "What is your name my boy?" he asked. "Um. J'awk. J'awk of Eastclyffe." He straightened up and gave me a formal sort of look(for a skeleton).  "I am Sir Reginald Hightower.  Knight of Pelor. I am honored to take you, Jaques of Eastclyffe under my care and tutelage." "Actually, it's J'awk sir." "Of course, of course.  Help me bury this fiend's body.  Evil though he was, he deserves a proper burial. And we have many great tasks ahead of us. Spreading Pelor's light. Vanquishing Dragons and banishing the Undead and the evils that create them.  And of course, saving damsels." I opened my mouth to ask him about that banishing part, but it dawned on me.  He didn't know.  Sir Hightower, skeletal Paladin of Pelor didn't know he had just been raised from the dead.  I didn't know how to tell him. So, I didn't. I spent the next hour digging a hole next to the skeleton's grave for the necromancer.  He is a proper knight, he did his fair share of the work, saying that any knight who would make his squire do something he himself would not do is not worth their weight. We heaved the necromancer's body into the fresh grave and gathered the things he had dropped.  I grabbed a small glass orb that had rolled away from him when he fell to toss into the grave with him.  As soon as I touched it it flared to life with the light of a thousand suns.  I dropped it.  The light went out before it even hit the ground. "Jaques," Sir Hightower exclaimed, "No one told me my squire had magic..." "Oh no," I cut him off, "I don't have magic.  There is nothing magical about me." "Oh, but you do.  A sorcerer's focus only reacts to someone who can wield it.  And the light bright as Pelor's own sun is a sign.  You must take this tool and use it to bring good to the world." "I don't know anything about magic." Sir Hightower handed me the orb.  It lit up again, not as bright, just a cloud of light in the glass.  "Do not fret my boy.  It will come to you.  This is a gift.  You will learn how to use it." I was not as confident as Sir Hightower. After we buried the body Sir Hightower looked at the still very dark sky.  "A growing boy like you needs his rest.  Sleep. I'll take the watch this night." I took the knight back to my small camp in the temple.  As he settled in to keep watch, I fell into an uneasy sleep. That night I dreamed of far off places again. This time, in ruins.  I knew I saw the end of the world.

I didn't want an interesting life, but I guess someone wanted it for me.

[themandymae]

There used to be a time in my life when I would try to out sneak my Mother to put things into her and Dad’s stockings while she was trying to out sneak me.

Now, we have a mutual unspoken understanding that I do the stocking sneaking at night and she does it in the morning... All because I spent a decade working the late shift.  

P.S. Christmas is still the only day I’ll voluntarily get up early.

[raeynbowboi]

The Character Forge: How to Play as Rumplestiltskin in DnD 5e

For this build of the Once Upon A Time antagonist, we’re only focused on his fairytale role as Rumplestiltskin, and we’ll be ignoring his mundane counter identity as Mr. Gold. Our goal for this build is to try and balance all of his zany powers into a single compact build.

Evil Isn’t Born, It’s Made

Rumple’s race is a bit dicey. By birth, Rumple is a basic Human. Boring as can be. But after killing the previous Dark One, Rumple gained all the powers of the Dark One and became the new one. This changed his complexion and gave him powers he lacked before. So, you could call him a Human Variant, but if you want to play on his new dark coding, races such as Drow, Shadar-Kai, Tiefling, or Fallen Aasimar. Changling is another viable candidate as Rumple is one among many characters who use magic to shapeshift frequently.

When it comes to morality, Rumple screws over heroes and villains equally, but in general is viewed as an antagonist, though he has been a trusted ally of the heroes on multiple occasions. Enough to land in the Neutral alignment. However, Rumple can be unpredictable and random, making him Chaotic. But he always keeps his word and uses legally binding contracts, which could make him Lawful. So his entire morality is up in the air depending on whether you see him as a hero or a villain. Orderly or chaotic.

When it comes to Background, Rumple started life as a common peasant. But once he became the Dark One, he became a Folk Hero who led the children home from the battlefield of the Ogre Wars. But that fame quickly turned to infamy as he garnered a reputation for being cruel and vindictive, stooping to murdering a man responsible for his son scraping his knee. Although it plays only a small part in his backstory, Rumple did serve as a soldier until he broke his own foot to avoid fighting. Rumple also inherited the Dark One’s Dagger from the previous Dark One, so he could be an Inheritor. Although Rumple tends to keep his word, he also dabbles in half truths and people tend to get screwed over by his deals, making Rumple a candidate for the Charlatan background.

Powers and Abilities

A seer gave Rumple perfect knowledge of the future. He often jokes about ironic play on words years before they’re relevant to the person he’s speaking to at the moment.

Rumple’s most famous ability is of course to spin straw into gold. Rumple also frequently turns other people into things, such as when he turned a man into a snail and squished him to death.

As the Dark One, Rumple’s power is directly connected to the Dark One’s Dagger, which, when held, gives the holder power over the Dark One. So, if he was made a Hexblade Warlock, the flow of control would be reversed. The blade would not be summoned to him, he would be summoned to the blade and forced to obey whoever holds it. The Dark One’s Dagger was created by the Black Fairy using Dark Magic, so even outside of Hexblade, the Dagger and the powers it provides comes from a dark source.

Rumple is a very charming man who often can cut just as deep with his insightful jabs and carefree jovial nature as he could with a sword. As someone who thinks like a lawyer, even though Rumple doesn’t lie or break his promises, he’s also not above exploiting loopholes and carefully phrasing his wording to withhold information without directly lying.

With Rumple, names hold power, and he wrote Emma’s name multiple times on a piece of parchment, which when used, broke the antimagic barrier of his prison cell. 

Keep it Classy

Bard     Eloquence: Rumple is a well-spoken and put-together fellow that makes everything he says sound more convincing.     Lore: Having clairvoyance gives Rumple an exceedingly high level of knowledge and information to work with, making it easy to plant seeds of doubt in others’ minds.

Cleric     Trickery: It’s a weak connection, sure, but the Dark One’s Dagger could almost be viewed as a sacred relic that bestows madness and chaos to whoever possesses it.

Rogue     Arcane Trickster: Rumple is surely no stranger to using his magic to mess with people.     Mastermind: It’s hard to formulate a plan against a man who sees your gambit coming years in advance, which also makes him quite the devious chessmaster.

Sorcerer     Aberrant Mind: The show makes it clear that holding onto the Dark One’s power has caused Rumple’s mind to split and falter, causing him to turn mad.     Shadow: The Dark One’s powers are dark and evil by nature.     Wild Magic: Magic in the universe of Once Upon a Time can be a chaotic and unpredictable force.

Warlock     Archfey: The Dark One’s Dagger was technically created by a fairy, so his power does come from a Fey source.     Great Old One: The power of the Dark One are ancient and esoteric, making the dagger creepy and otherworldly.     Hexblade: Rumple’s powers as the Dark One are directly linked to a dagger. *Pact of the Talisman: It’s not a Warlock subclass, but it is a new Warlock Feature, and one of the Eldritch Invocations for this new Pact allows the Warlock to be summoned to the Talisman. And there’s no rule that says the Talisman can’t be a dagger.

Wizard     Divination: A seer gave Rumple perfect knowledge of the future.     Lore Mastery: Rumple’s knowledge on magic runs so deep that he can do things with magic others couldn’t fathom, bending it to his will.     Onomancy: For Rumple, names are power, and knowing someone’s name gives him power over them.     Transmutation: Rumple famously turns straw into gold, as well as shapeshifting himself and others rather frequently.

Stats and Proficiencies

The number one best stat for Rumple is going to be his Charisma. He’s a charming devil with a quick wit and a silver tongue. Next is going to be Intelligence and Wisdom, he needs to be ready in case he casts magic with something other than Charisma. Next is Dexterity, he’s good at avoiding being hit in a fight. Then Constitution is a bit low, but then, Rumple’s not much of a heavy fighter. And Strength gets dumped as he doesn’t do much with physical combat.

Proficiencies:     Arcana     Deception     Insight     Intimidation     Perception     Persuasion     Sleight of Hand

I won’t actually go through the process of building this one as Rumple fits into so many subclasses and can do so much with magic that there’s almost no wrong way to build him. Trust your gut, and give it your own spin, and I’ll see you guys next time in the Character Forge, where heroes and villains are made.

[shittycryptids]

a teleporting cat. It’s just a regular housecat, but it appears in random places when you could have sworn you just saw it somewhere else

[defectivegembrain]

that’s just a cat

[axmxz]

literally any cat

[themandymae]

My cat teleports into laps. AND. No one is ever sure exactly when she got there. Suddenly, you have a cat. Or, sometimes you want to get up only to realize that the cat is holding you down

[aivelin]

They are trying to learn modern dancing… well, they have all the time in the world!

[unpretty]

idea: the joker, compelled even against his own interests to do whatever he thinks would be funniest. the joker may be a sadist with a really shitty sense of humor but even he knows a high-quality punchline when he sees one. his obsession with batman is rooted in batman’s unfailing ability to trick the joker into a better gag that gets him captured. the joker gets chased into a room with plenty of really great hiding places and escape routes, but also a slender pole in the middle of the room. he has to hide behind the fucking pole. he’s gotta. how can he not go for the hiding behind a pole gag. there’s three doors but there’s also a joker-shaped hole in the wall that will make it look like he broke through the wall. it’s a four-story drop into a bakery dumpster full of pies. the joker is obsessed with batman because deep in his heart he knows that batman is actually funnier than he is but instead he spends his time standing on rooftops in the rain being a stoic piece of shit. the joker is salieri, and batman is a mozart that decided to go into carpentry.

[incorrect-marvel]

[At Disneyland on the teacup ride]

Tony, Steve, and T’Challa: *spinning calmly, enjoy their ride in peace*

Peter, Shuri, and Bucky: *flying past them, spinning as fast as they can, screaming*

[unknowndemigod]

Someone draw this please

[fireflies-from-the-mind]

Bucky is using his metal arm to spin the teacup at the speed of sound, Peter is probably going to fly out and Shuri just keeps chanting “Faster!”

[wadey-wilson]

homecoming's "but I'm ready for more than that!" vs ffh's "i'm just a friendly neighborhood spider-man" is the pinnacle of wanting to be an adult vs actually being an adult and wanting back to the kindergarten