Hail, traveler!

Welcome to a creative repository for my tabletop RPG works and characters. It's mostly Dungeons & Dragons. If you were ever curious about the amount of effort I put into one of my favorite hobbies, you're in the right place.Please feel free to check out the few* things I made! This site's still very much a WIP, so you might find more being added progressively.

Heya, this is me, Frosty.
I use they/them.

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Creative works & majority characters © Frosty 2015 - 2024

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Character Biographies

Overly detailed biographies of my TTRPG player characters.
Click on a character's thumbnail to visit their dossier.

Creative Works

Short stories, playlists, animations, and more. Ranging from about my characters to even 5e homebrew you can use for your own games.

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Listed in chronological order by publication date, from oldest to newest

A Star to Guide Us

Opus Loregit is proud of their best friend graduating from Livingwood College. Osprey's studies and thesis lead him to opening the eye on a new deity. Yet, the thought of Osprey leaving terrifies Opus. He's done so much for them. Help them cope. Solve mysteries. What would they do without him?

• Published: April 10, 2020

• Word Count: ~6,800 words

• Content Tags: Graduation, close friendship, confession, grief, kissing

📝Short Story

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🧩5e Homebrew - Ancestry

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Ihelmen

The enigmatic ihelmen are volcanic creatures found in the deepest pockets of the earth. Their existence is a mystery, for they have no eyes, no noses, no mouths, and no hair—save for those considered deformed to be exiled to the surface. These genderless folk of the flame shed the need for such surface physiologies, sensing the world through infrared sight thanks to their ear-like protrusions and communicating with nonverbal telepathy. Their rigid culture and caste system form their dogma of excellence in metallurgy and mining.Check out the homebrew ancestry on Homebrewery.

• First Published: April 30, 2020

• Last Updated: April 30, 2024

Always and Forever

A curated playlist of music and songs that chronicle Opus Loregit's journey. Everything from their greenhorn wanderlust, their talent for artifice, making new friends, losing said friends, learning to love, finding faith, and much more.Each track comes with an accompanying breakdown, and each one inspired by our D&D campaign Wanderers / Skies of Shambhala.

• Published: April 30, 2021

• Track Count: 18

🎵Music Playlist

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🧩5e Homebrew - Spells & Subclasses

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Lux Asterum Phari

"Wayfinder's Starlight," a new school of magic pioneered by Opus Loregit that draws upon the energy of the cosmos, stars, space, and prisms to manifest into various effects. Stored in vibrant, colorful crystals, this malleable, liquid light can be sculpted and flash-forged to suit the whims of the caster, taking the form of prismatic orbs, chromatic mirages, protective halos, twisted light, and much more. Also includes new subclasses like the Lightsmith Artificer!Each spell was made to produce a myriad of different and unique effects! Learn more about the homebrew including extensive design commentary.

• First Published: July 3, 2021

• Last Updated: April 30, 2024 with v4.0

How to Spot a Frosty D&D Character

When I realized how similar my TTRPG characters are with each other, I decided to create a fun, multi-part graphic series to explore just how many archetypes and typecasts they share. Turns out, they're very similar. Originally posted on Twitter but now replicated here for a streamlined viewing experience and some additional commentary since then.

• First Published: September 16, 2021

• Last Updated: January 30, 2023

• Card Count: 32

📊Infographic Series

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💬5e Public Discord Community

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Big Bounty Elimination Guild

BBEG is a D&D 5e community centered around combat-focused one-shots. Bounties are posted on the Bounty Board by DMs, then PCs come together and form teams to tackle the challenge! This asynchronous Discord server plays much like Monster Hunter with no commitment required. Play in one Bounty or play in 30, you're welcome at BBEG!

• Began: October 3, 2021

The Azurist

A homebrew class reimagining Final Fantasy's renowned Blue Mage job into a D&D setting, specifically tailored towards my Big Bounty Elimination Guild's style of play. Defeat foes and attune to their spirits to attain Blue Bonds and mimic their powers. Though not applicable for all D&D games, the homebrew is easily convertible to suit any manner of play.Check out the homebrew class on Homebrewery.

• First Published: October 15, 2021

• Last Updated: November 27, 2023

🧩5e Homebrew - Class

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🎥Animation

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We're Heroes

An animation commemorating the completion of a 2+ year campaign. An older Opus Loregit tells a story of how heroes are made to their daughter in a heartfelt epilogue.

• Published: January 22, 2022

• Video Length: 9:12

Where the Heart Is

An animation commemorating the completion of a nearly 2 year campaign. Ákos Kalnath and their fiancé Isnath spend time together and play a song to reminisce about their old ship crew in a heartfelt epilogue.

• Published: January 19, 2023

• Video Length: 3:30

🎥Animation

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🧩5e Homebrew - Ancestry

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Allayi

The Allayi are a faction of bat-moth-goat-like creatures from the game Endless Legends.You beings fixed, inflexible and slow, are not true Aurigans and do not see…
That She, our Mother, as her life ebbs low, shall be delivered by the Allayi.
For we, who change, adapt and persevere, will fight for Her survival come what may.
So heed these dire warnings most sincere, for ruin comes to those who bar our way.
– The AllayiCheck out the homebrew converted ancestry on Homebrewery.

• Published: June 4, 2024

Ledger of Legends

As a habitual notetaker my brain compels me to write over several novels' worth of words in notes for all the TTRPG games I play. Including thorough combat logs. Turn-by-turn. And as a stats nerd, I made Ledger of Legends to compile all the numbers!Check out the damage endured, dealt, and healing done by all of my D&D characters as of the publication date on the Google Sheet.

• Published: September 16, 2024

• Character Count: 11

• Total Damage Dealt: 14,392

• Total Damage Endured: 10,745

📊Stats Spreadsheet

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Opus Loregit

The Wanderer

System	D&D 5e
Ancestry	Rock Gnome
Class	Artificer (Battle Smith)
Level	Lv. 20
Gender	++enby++ Nonbinary (they/them)
Age	20 (start of campaign) - 23+ (end)
World	Shambhala
Date Created	Early-to-mid 2018
Status	Campaign concluded in Jan. 2022

Table of Contents

(Side note: throughout this section you'll find some @@highlighted words##If you never hovered over me, you'd've never known that you're cool! :0##. Hover over them for more context, clarification, or supplemental info!)

Summary

Opus Loregit, known also as The Wanderer, is a gnome artificer from the levitating, technological metropolis Magnis in the world of Shambhala. Though born in the quaint port town of Sîal Gales, the inventive tinkerer underwent their family's Itinere tradition and traveled the world to discover something big to bring back to their Hall of Histories. What they found, however, permanently transformed their life in ways they never expected.From their initial adventures with their first outside friends The Wanderers, to their discovery of a new god the Wayfinder, to their exploration and later thwarting of Tiamat's machinations of stealing said god's ascension, Opus devoted themself to becoming a beacon of light to those lost in darkness. They weathered many crises of faith, grieving, and threatening of friendships, but each time they triumphed and grew as a person. But they could only persevere from the love of their friends, family, and loved ones.Magnanimous Magic. One of Opus's first achievements in their Itinere was finally animating their childhood (imaginary) friend and prototype, an elvish-inspired yak-based Steel Defender they named Magnum. Magnum comforted Opus when The Wanderers died to the bheur hag and they retreated to the Livingwood College. Their bond was tested when Opus first came across the floating city of Magnis, whose top thinkers told the duo the construct held the lost secrets to sentience that could ultimately save the @@Arcons##Arcadian Constructs; mechanically synonymous with the Warforged but setting-wise are more recent in origin and tied to Magnis##. The gnome was able to dissect Magnum's nascent soul to develop a new school of magic: Animancy. Soul magic.Along with their second major discovery in the form of another school of magic: Lux Asterum Phari (Wayfinder's Starlight in Gnomish), Opus's drive to push the boundaries of magic, technology, artifice, and the cosmos is nearly unparalleled. Their faith in the Wayfinder and ushering in an arcane renaissance after Tiamat's death held true through thick and thin.Family Found. After having defeated Tiamat in the epic battle at the Rift in her attempts to siege divinity at the @@Heart of Magic##The secluded extradimensional plane where all magic and divinity originate##, Opus stayed connected with their friends and fellow heroes the Astral Architects. Opus's wanderlust never dwindles, even through the ages, and they'll gladly take up arms again in an instant if it meant protecting those they care for the most.Opus married Ephram Wixwicket, the operator of the world's most powerful and advanced telescope at the Observatory in Magnis. They also found platonic (later romantic) love in their best friend and life partner Osprey Lorendiel, the budding archdruid of the newly established Circle of Stars and co-discoverer of the Wayfinder's Guiding Star. Together, the polycule face all of life's challenges, whether it's raising children as part of their odd, queer family, to working to circumnavigate impending cataclysms that endanger their world.Personal Growth. I played Opus for a 2.5 year D&D 5e campaign that started in 2019, from levels 2 to 20. Opus means a lot to me, and their growth through the turmoils and challenges they've overcome have encouraged the same such tenacity in myself. As I mentioned in my Always and Forever playlist, Opus represents a brilliant flare of creativity. They represent growth, healing, and failing forward until you get it. They represent being lost and alone, but the tempered ties of love, friendship, and family pulling you back up to the surface and not letting you drown in the darkness. Opus themself had lead me on a journey of my own growth and healing, and their character, though fictional, is a real, core inspiration to me myself as Frosty. It's ironic that some folks have actually mistook my name for Opus from how much they mean to me. I learned to play guitar entirely because I wanted to make acoustic covers from the perspective of Opus. I hope this biography can shed light on the centuries-long life of this gnome artificer that lives in my head way too much.

Origin

The character Opus was originally conceived around early-to-mid 2018. The prior year I had concluded my first ever D&D campaign of 3 years with Nozzy and began my journey as a novice DM for a new campaign (which would last until my college graduation). Yet I still wanted to also be a player, so I came up with the first draft of Opus and convinced a good friend to experiment with DMing a loose 1-on-1 campaign.Having more experience with D&D, I wanted to also experiment with homebrew. One of the main inspirations for Opus was to play a mage-like character that sought lost, esoteric knowledge and was deeply religious, so after some time browsing online I found the Archivist homebrew class. Think Wizard x Cleric with a focus on lore that was based on an official class in D&D 3.5e. At the time, Opus and their family were disciples to Ioun, the Goddess of Knowledge from D&D 4e.Opus came from a desire to be invested in a D&D world and its intricacies and lore from the perspective of a storytelling nerd. Nozzy, my first ever D&D character, had a bumpy beginning and a few change of DM hands before the group (mostly) solidified—with Opus I wanted to feel immersed and engaged from session 1. I put a lot of care into detailing Opus's personality, goals, fears, and backstory so that I could achieve this from the first moment of embarking on their quest. Where most of Nozzy's modern lore is retconned and fairly modified from his early non-serious backstory, Opus was written to be deeply intertwined from the start.I also wanted to experiment with myself and Opus became the conduit for that expression. Around that time I started questioning my own gender and built Opus to be nonbinary with a slightly feminine aesthetic. Roleplaying as Opus helped me be comfortable in my own skin as a nonbinary demimasc person and adopting they/them pronouns.Here's a few extra Opus concept tidbits:

Opus from the original 1-on-1 campaign

• Opus's Southern US accent, mannerisms, and colloquialisms come from wanting to play a character with a wildly different voice than Nozzy, but also to mesh their politeness, kindness, and their queer identity with subverting stereotypical expectations of the real world regional equivalent. Opus is folksy, but incredibly inclusive that I wanted to embody to deconstruct harmful clichés of bigotry.

• Nozzy's transition from 3.5e to 5e as a fullcaster Druid made me want to continue learning how fullcasters were like in 5e proper.

• Opus loves trivia; I wanted to incorporate random bits of it in conversation and made a vast fantasy-esque trivia list to reference.

• One of Opus's original goals was to build a portable telescope with several enchanted lenses to detect anything; and that required adventuring in the world to find components.

• I loved the idea of Opus casting @@Guidance##A spell that adds a small bonus to the next skill check## with the visual of drawing their personal symbol of an O and a P (see the image above) to boost their self-confidence!

• Partly inspired by Caleb Widogast from Critical Role's Mighty Nein campaign, I designed Opus to have "book holsters" on their knee-high boots to contain their spelltome and notebook and to show a sense of greenhorn exploration.

While the 1-on-1 campaign unfortunately fell through, I still wanted to play as Opus. In mid 2019, after having graduated, I put out this tweet and eventually found and put together the online group that continues to persist to this day! Opus's backstory was slightly tweaked to fit the DM's setting and I shifted Opus from the homebrew Archivist to the official Artificer class. At the time it was still in the Unearthed Arcana playtesting phase, but the concept of blending magic and engineering was fascinating and built off of one of Opus's core foundations of enchanting and tinkering from their Rock Gnome familial background.

Backstory. The Loregits are a wealthy Gnomish family that live on an expansive estate on a hill overlooking the quaint port city Sîal Gales on the continent of Arcadia. Many travel and visit the seaside town from all corners of the land for one reason and one reason alone: the Hall of Histories. As its curators for generations, the Loregit family has built, managed, and iterated on a massive museum of various artifacts, relics, fragments, archives, records, stories, tales, tomes, and much, much more. If one could imagine it, it might exist in some shape or manner, direct or indirect, at the Hall of Histories.Many wonder how the Loregit gnomes have acquisitioned such widespread pieces of the world’s histories and cultures. Several relate it to their patron fey deity @@Veldmir##The goddess of forests, invention, and the natural process of death## extending a guiding hand in their worldly explorations. Others believe their affluence pave the way to hiring multitudes of dungeon-delving teams on their behalf, placing bounties on unmarked ruins and paying members to recover anything of note. Perhaps the family associates with sanctioned guilds of archaeologists and anthropologists and came to a mutual, beneficial agreement. Whatever the case, the Loregits have come to be linked with a sort of motto: “Participes enim intelligere,” which is @@Gnomish##Really just Latin## for “a shared history leads to an understanding future.”Opus and their three siblings make the latest generation in the Loregit family. While twins have existed within their lineage, the family was surprised when they were blessed by four healthy gnome children—quadruplets—for the first time in history. The young gnome grew up a mostly sheltered life in their family estate. During the children’s 8th birthday, the family brought in skilled tutors from across the world, specialized in different walks of life. Their choice, their parents said, would shape their own unique discipline and perspective of the material plane. Having been inquisitive and curious their entire childhood about arcane energies, Opus selected to be partnered with Mrylori, an Elven spellcaster. Mrylori, a long-time friend of the Loregits, would mentor Opus for the next dozen years in learning the arcane art of harnessing and controlling magical energy. In turn, Opus would learn to weave this technique into their developing interests in tinkering and engineering.While their time was mostly spent studying old texts and undergoing rigorous, restless training in ascertaining the capability to safely direct magic, Opus also spent time with their siblings. Their eldest brother by two minutes, Moñu took up practice in swordsmanship, mentored by Sîal Gales’ very same captain of the guard. The second eldest brother, Scrim, was always fascinated with the outside world around him and the creatures that inhabited it. He was mentored by a renowned pathfinder and hunter, who taught him the ways of surviving in the wilderness and animal handling. Opus was particularly jealous of Scrim’s early adventures in the regions around the estate and the fact that he befriended and tamed a blood hawk he called Shaw. Most peculiarly, however, was Opus’s third eldest sibling, Alette. She refused a mentor and decided to take her own path in her studies.It was with their time studying as Mrylori’s apprentice that Opus learned a wide variety of Elven culture and their way of life. The young student felt their gender identity align similarly with Elven perceptions of gender as a fluid characteristic of the soul, and thus, realized they were nonbinary. Moñu was stubborn and couldn’t fully accept his sibling’s identity at the time, often bullying them for a supposed warping of magical energies that confused their soul. Even the family’s father, Rueinn, had believed the mentor was “brainwashing” Opus with pointless and unnecessary teachings. It took a stern reminder from the family head, Pýra, that Mrylori was a respected friend of the family who has done nothing but assist the gnomes in translating ancient Elvish texts for the Halls.Regardless, Opus holds fond memories of their older siblings. Being the youngest, they were often teased for being the last born of the four, but Opus would frequently triumph in trivia bouts. They pride themselves in knowing obscure knowledge and lore about their family’s Halls and the contents within. The young magical apprentice is easily excited by the unknown and dreams of exploring every nook and cranny of the world. Scrim and Opus would sometimes get caught sneaking out of the estate by one of their personal guards in their attempts to build a treehouse downhill. Although distant, reclusive, and calculating in modern times, Opus remembers times where they and Alette would prank Hall guards by sneakily swapping a few old scrolls with each other. It took a week for anyone to notice. She was shy and soft-spoken back then, and Opus would find themselves covering for her the one instance the group was caught.The Loregits hold a cultural tradition that’s persisted for centuries. When a new generation comes around, the family’s children set off on a rite of passage they call the “Itinere,” Gnomish for “journey.” When the youngest child reaches age 20, the family holds a celebratory festival to commemorate their 5 year travel across the world’s wonders in pursuit of exploration, self-growth, and knowledge. The children are encouraged to return with valuable gifts to decorate the annals of the Halls at the end of this five year period. There are tales of Loregit gnomes having perished during their Itinere, but the unknowns of the world fuel the gnomish children’s wanderlust enough to brush the fear away. At the end of this period, the gnome children return to their hometown estate, having officially grown from children to adults. A festival is once again held to celebrate their homecoming, and the family head judges the new additions they have brought before the Halls. The Loregit who has brought lore and knowledge that has most enlightened the family is thus named the new Loregit family head.Opus and their siblings have just turned 20. Whatever may have happened during their childhood between their siblings, they hold no grudge over now. The apprentice artificer is certain that their clever and witty attitude will hold them true throughout their journey, gaining an edge over their siblings. Competitive in nature, Opus believes that they will not only uncover a major breakthrough that unravels the world’s deepest and most well-kept secrets, but reign superior in their Itinere 5 years down the line. With a handcrafted violet shawl given to them as a farewell gift from Mrylori with a symbol of Veldmir sewn on the front, Opus knows they will become the next Loregit family head, the highest honor imaginable.

Personality

Curiosity. There's no other word that can succinctly illustrate Opus other than curious. As a Loregit gnome they were raised to wonder about the world's workings and histories. They dove into books, tomes, and tales that consumed their time. When they chose to be tutored by the elven mage Mrylori, they tackled blending a taste of elvish magic with their father's gnomish engineering that they greatly admired. The Loregit's core foundational values of exploration, knowledge, and sharing is replicated wholesale in Opus. They engrossed themself in their family's Hall of Histories, memorizing the contents of their mother's precise curation every year. They never stop asking questions, wondering what's what, where's where, and why's why. This fact builds upon their wanderlust, a unique drive to explore the world and learn every facet of every crevice. With their fascination of the cosmos' link to the unknown leading to their discovery of a new god of the stars Opus developed an unabating want to learn and adventure. Everything is worth learning, from smallest details of fun, meaningless factoids to esoteric, fundamental laws of the universe and the existence of magic.
While deeply kind and caring, this inquisitive nature can be seen as prying to some, especially to sensitive information or knowledge.Trailblazer. It's one thing to be curious, it's another to commit to bettering what you find through curiosity. For Opus, to be curious is not to be fascinated by a subject and simply discarded when the novelty wears off, it is a desire of improving the world (or themself) with it. Opus pushes to innovate, develop, and research methods and applications to make progress in bettering the world. Whether this be with their inventions, their new schools of magic, their teaching as a professor long after their triumph over Tiamat, or lending a guiding hand as an adherent of the Wayfinder. Opus intimately understands that bettering the world first comes from bettering yourself; always open to learning from others as well as themself through their actions.Empathic. Opus's devotion to the wellbeing and lives of people and their nonviolent upbringing makes them an empathic individual. As a staunch adherent to the Wayfinder, they see themself as a guiding hand and listening ear to those who need them, especially to family and friends. Opus will not hesitate to drop anything to aid a loved one even in trivial matters. This love is immense, leading to relationships with their life partner Osprey Lorendiel and their boyfriend (later husband) Ephram Wixwicket.
This love also lends to a deep-seeded fear of death and witnessing death. To Opus, every person has a story to tell and a path to explore. When that person dies, that path is snipped.Trauma. During their 5 year Itinere to compete in becoming the next Loregit family head, Opus struggled with death and loss. Witnessing death was deeply traumatic for the budding gnome greenhorn, even to the highest offender. They naively believed everyone had a chance at redeeming themselves if they had wronged, and while that belief is still present to a lesser extent, it caused a dread when a person died when they didn't have to. Opus kept a list close to their chest of everyone they knew that died, a coping mechanism to remember the names and people of those whose lives were cut short.
During the first few months of their Itinere Opus's first real world companions died from a bheur hag who froze them to death as icy statues. This sparked a terrifying anxiety that spiraled into a PTSD-riddled depression and survivor's guilt. It took years and many relapses to overcome these challenges in their life, from their friendship with theology student Osprey Lorendiel to the compassion of their new friends that pushed past near life-or-death situations they caused as a result of these attacks.
Despite this, Opus represents growth and healing past the trauma. Learning from it and emerging from an ocean of darkness from the ties of love connecting them like a buoyant. Accepting their own flaws and learn to grieve and nourish once more.Impassioned. Opus is fervent with their work and never gives less than 100% if they can help it. Their keen focus benefits their mechanical and magical prowess and with enough concentration and a willingness to experiment, Opus believes they can tackle any problem. While this has led to the pioneering and ushering of an arcane renaissance with the invention of two new schools of magic Lux Asterum Phari and Animancy as well as the revival of Arcadian Construct sentience, this mindset also plays a part in making problems worse. Their wish to share their work, passion, and knowledge with little desire to hide (many) secrets they know can lead to other nefarious folks exploiting this information for their own gains.
At least learning to play the banjo is probably harmless.Colloquialisms. Conversing with the gnome artificer is an ordeal. Their speech and mannerisms are littered with rarely-understood colloquialisms and idiosyncratic slang. Every sentence is suffused with some hillbilly bumpkin phrasing making them much longer than what they need to be. Even Opus's life-long friends and loved ones can take a bit to process what they say, and it's a skill to swiftly translate their utterances.Faithful. Spiritually entwined with the teachings of Veldmir since their childhood, Opus takes the tenets of the goddess of forests, invention, and the natural process of death to heart. She is said to be one of the patrons of the family's Halls of Histories, the museum like a temple of shared knowledge. Experimenting, exploring, and improving their craft is a principle aspect of their spirituality. During their Itinere, however, Opus's faith was called into question. They discovered the Wayfinder and his Guiding Star and meshed with his beliefs and tenets, especially after the fresh grief of their friends' deaths. To act as a beacon of light to those who need to travel the road home and to protect the paramount bonds of family are true ideals they stick to. Opus even helped grant the Wayfinder additional divinity when Tiamat threatened to seize it for herself. The gnome wrestled with attempting to balance their faith with two gods or even if it was tolerable amongst the pantheon, but eventually learned to accept their spirituality for what it is—not divided, shared.
They also struggled with accepting the nature of one of their companions upon learning of his undeath. They initially viewed him as a defiling of Veldmir's tenet of never disrupting the natural process of death, but over time they came to understand their friend.

Mechanics

Character Sheet. Below is an embed containing Opus's level 20 character sheet on D&D Beyond following the conclusion of the campaign. It doesn't possess everything (especially inventory), but it's a great overview of Opus's mechanical workings.

Build. Though I could not use the Archivist homebrew class mentioned before, opting for Artificer with Opus was a good decision. Being my second full campaign character, I had no intention of multiclassing and introducing more complexity than a brand new UA class already did, so going simply full Artificer 20 was good enough. Plus, the capstone @@Soul of Artifice##Grants the artificer a cumulative +1 bonus to every saving throw per attuned item. Typically this is +5 to +6 at max level since artificers can attune to more magic items than every other class. It also lets artificers resist death by unattuning to one.## is completely busted to not take.
During this time Tasha's optional rule of swapping ancestral ability score increases wasn't around, but incidentally the Rock Gnome's +2 INT and +1 CON perfectly synergized with Artificer.
Being a @@SAD##Single Attribute Dependent; the class only needs to be good at one stat to be the best at what they can be## class, all I really had to do was max 20 Intelligence at level 8 and I was allowed to play around with feats and other features as I wished.

Playstyle. Opus was the catalyst to me embracing the "battlemage" or "spellsword" playstyle in TTRPGs. The classic @@gish##Sword and sorcery characters## archetype is one of my favorites in any fantasy. With Opus's setup being a budding tinkerer that mixes artifice with magic and a splash of martial, it was the perfect playground for the @@Battle Smith##These combat medic artificers can build a friendly Steel Defender buddy to join them## subclass.

Opus mounted on Magnum

For the time period in the campaign where Opus adventured with their stalwart Steel Defender Magnum, he acted as their greatest ally. As a medium creature, Opus (a small gnome) was able to mount him. Often they resorted to using a +1 Repeating Crossbow from range while Magnum protected in melee with his @@Deflect Attack##A reaction Magnum can use to impose disadvantage on an attack next to him##. In time, thanks to the Battle Smith's ability of using Intelligence for attacks and damage, Opus could tag-team with Magnum with their own longsword and similarly protect themself with the @@Shield##A reaction spell that adds +5 to Armor Class## and @@Absorb Elements##A reaction spell that mainly reduces elemental damage## spells and an @@Enhanced Breastplate##Adds a bonus to the wearer's Armor Class## infusion.
This inclination was further enhanced with Opus's magic. Spells such as @@Branding Smite##A spell that adds damage to the next weapon attack##, @@Warding Bond##A spell that functionally splits damage between two people, among other buffs##, @@Aid##A spell that temporarily boosts max HP##, and even @@Haste##A spell that significantly boosts combat ability and makes the target much faster## bolstered the duo's survivability and damage output. Not to mention the Battle Smith's subclass feature of Arcane Jolt that either boosts damage or provides healing.

Early on I took the gnome racial feat Fade Away, allowing Opus to turn invisible as a reaction to being damaged. That, along with finding an Amulet of Health that raised their Constitution to 19, really helped solidify Opus as being tanky. Having the Artificer's busted Flash of Genius feature of just adding their INT modifier to anyone's saving throw also rescued us in over a dozen situations.
Despite Opus's resilience, they often displayed moments of weakness and cowardice, especially after their first friends died in the first campaign. They would be distant from their party in combat, ready to turn heel on a moment's notice if the battle went south or something triggered their PTSD. A major character arc for Opus was overcoming their trauma and being much braver in fights—going as far as intercepting enemies' blows towards allies.Opus gradually tinkered with Magnum to give him a soul core and develop nascent sentience. During the campaign Opus sacrificed Magnum so that the @@Arcon peoples##Arcadian Constructs; mechanically synonymous with the Warforged but setting-wise are more recent in origin and tied to Magnis## could rediscover the process of sentient awakening. Up until @@the final sessions of the campaign##Where Opus rebuilt Magnum as an Arcon and underwent a trial put forth by their god the Wayfinder to ressurect his soul##, Opus was forced to adapt without Magnum's protections despite his spirit lending +2 AC to them. Thankfully the feats @@Wayfinder's Boon##A reflavored Fey-Touched with the Bless (bonus to attack and saving throw rolls) and Misty Step (short-distance teleport) spells##, @@Tough##Boosts max HP##, and eventually @@Lucky##Allows you to reroll any of your d20s three times a day, or reroll an attacker's d20 against you## ensured Opus's spot as a frontline fighter with their clever engineering and magic to augment their prowess. Doesn't hurt to stock up on the Cure Wounds spell with their Spell-Storing Item artificer feature for juicy 1d8+5 healing 10 times a day.

Invention & Spellcraft. One aspect of Opus's mechanics that I loved exploring was them inventing and upgrading magic items, discovering new schools of magic, and creating new spells to use. After Opus helped discover the Wayfinder god with their best friend Osprey during a year-long downtime, the gnome was forever inspired by his Guiding Star and incorporating the cosmos into magic. This drive and inspiration was deepened after having met the god in the @@Heart of Magic##The secluded extradimensional plane where all magic and divinity originate##.

Opus invented many new spells in a new school of magic called Lux Asterum Phari, or Wayfinder's Starlight. Clicking on that link will take you to its homebrew section on this site. Check out the of the custom spells they developed that you can use in your game! This new type of magic utilizes the energy of the cosmos and prisms to manifest into various effects. Stored in vibrant, colorful crystals, this malleable, liquid light can be sculpted and flash-forged to suit the whims of the caster, taking the form of translucent bindings, radiant orbs, illusory mirages, holographic projections, and much more.Though the homebrew doc is non-exhaustive and continues to grow with experimentation, Opus had particularly invented the spells Prismatic Grasp, Maledict Mirage, Astral Arc Attack, and Astral Flare during the campaign; and the rest in their epilogue. It lets me explore 5e spell design with a ludonarrative connection via Opus.

Cover page of the Lux Asterum Phari homebrew

Zenith, the boltblade Opus invented

Another notable invention was the boltblade. I personally think gunblades, like in Final Fantasy, are such a rad fantastical weapon. So when our DM introduced a pirate BBEG wielding one, I set my eyes on replicating it for myself. However, Opus is fiercely anti-gun (having destroyed any they came across). My compromise was inventing a device that could switch between crossbow and longsword powered by starlight prisms: Zenith.
Ultimately, Opus used a variety of components, materials, and disenchanting their own magical items to create a +3 weapon with a @@cosmic luck point##Acts like the aforementioned Lucky feat, but for any visibly made d20 roll##, the @@Wounding property##Its damage cannot be healed other than by resting##, the @@Repeating property##Ignores the crossbow's requirement of reloading between shots##, a +1 to all saving throws, and infinite starry ammunition.

Flavoring. Whenever I casted a spell I always tried to flavor the description to evoke imagery of combining magic and engineering with a "magitech" vibe. I even went so far as creating a whole chart that had a paragraph description for every spell Opus was capable of casting. Thanks to Artificers being a @@prepared caster##Prepared casters can choose and swap between any spell in the game they're eligible to cast when they sleep and begin a new day; learned casters can only learn new spells upon level up and keep them indefinitely## (and Opus's additional spells from other sources), it ended up being a ton. Whenever a spell called for a material component, I always tried to incorporate it in the description somehow as well. (Side note: I've learned some material components were grandfathered in from archaic and silly references from the OG D&D era. Many were just outright ridiculous.)Some of my favorites include:

• Check out the Entire Flavor Chart

Relationships

The Wanderers. The Wanderers were the first companions Opus made during their Itinere away from home and the first party of Player Characters.

Opus first met the Wanderers in Istandell, the trade capital of the world located in the deserts of Deist. There in the closed ports they aided in solving a series of murders and a jailbreak instigated by the head of the royal Shieldbearers. Afterwards they sailed with the crew of the Dueling Dragons to adventure in other regions of the world and pursue leads relating to their new friends, all leading to their deaths at the hands of a bheur hag.

Opus briefly reunites with the spirits of their first friends

Opus saw Sonya as their second mother, caring for her and her family even through their strong early homesickness; an intelligent linguist that inspired them greatly. Following after their early crush of her, Opus saw Karen as a sister, reminding them of their own cunning quadruplet sister and wanting to help protect her from a family seeking her for nefarious means. Opus saw Valakas as a close friend, wanting to unwind the mysteries following him and help him find a family, to help him figure out why he was a changeling that thought he was a tiefling.

The Astral Architects. Though named during Opus's wedding with Ephram years after their final triumph over Tiamat, the Astral Architects were the life-long companions Opus traveled with for the rest of their Itinere and the second party of Player Characters.

After a year of grieving at the Livingwood College, Opus set out to pursue an extraplanar lead in Astoria, an island chain continent in the southwestern end of Shambhala. There they reunite with the Dueling Dragons, meet with their friends, and set upon a royal-given mission to investigate concerns beyond the country's Elemental Rift to the Plane of Air. This kickstarts the party's time together, where they would later bond and grow stronger. Iblis and Kali would eventually swap with Austice and Kay through the campaign (until the final arc where they joined back up for the final fight), but they would always remain connected. The Astral Architects would go on to scour Tiamat's deserted Temple, recover her stolen divinity and bestow it upon their newly discovered Wayfinder, aid the Great Caliph of the Air Plane and the Djinni in the Citadel of Ice and Steel, be stranded in the forsaken Dragon Wilds, take down a Pirate King's prior incarnation and his simulacra, attend a Feywild wedding, deal with Tiamat's agents, eventually defeat the god-wannabe dragon queen, and much more.

Osprey Lorendiel with Opus

Osprey Lorendiel. During the aforementioned year of grieving, Opus wobbled and sought refuge at the Livingwood College, an institution of magic surrounding the largest tree in Shambhala. There they met Osprey, a short, pudgy elf wizard and 7th year theology student. Shortly after meeting him, both gnome and elf stumble across a strange lead that deals with recent fallout of the previous headmaster's mad plots. They open up the Pandora's Box despite the dangers it presented. After months of investigation, companionship, and mystery solving, they manage to crack the case of a splinter obscurantist faction using strange light-bending magic with intents to obscure the knowledge of arcana from the world. Opus and Osprey became best friends with a shared interest in stargazing; and Opus became inspired by the villains' light-bending magic. Osprey's fascination with the cosmos drove his religious and spiritual studies, where his thesis examined deific connections to the world through constellations. With Opus collaborating with his research, they both discover a new north star in the sky—the Guiding Star. A new deity and domain of the recently ascendant Wayfinder. Osprey graduated with a new spiritual purpose to follow this god and discover more. Though before they departed Opus confessed their romantic crush for him; a story of which you can read called A Star to Guide Us!

Osprey Lorendiel, according to Opus, is one of the gentlest people in the world with the most tranquil demeanor and serene voice. Adopting a mostly laissez-faire attitude, Ospy (Opus's nickname for him) uses both his inexperience as a young elf in his 110s and his experience in studying the cosmos to back his self-confidence. His thick skin lets him easily ignore any attempt of mockery directed toward his placid attitude or scant style of dress. Although kind, gregarious, and altruistic, Osprey doesn't take well to cruelty and bullying, preferring to use words to diffuse conflict than the destructive magic his wizardly peers might incline. His Dream magic specialization allows him to soothe and ease worries, enjoying any opportunity to connect to another during his elven trances and simply chill and relax.As Opus was the Wanderer, they also bestowed Osprey the superlative title of the Astrologer. Throughout the campaign the Astral Architects met Osprey investigating the Giants' new connection to the Wayfinder and exploring the cosmos with his telescope, a gift given by Opus before his graduation. The two were always bonded with the leathery friendship bracelets Opus crafted, inset opals for each of them acting as rechargeable @@Sending Stones##Pagers that can be used once per day to send a 25 word message##.

Opus unconditionally loves Osprey; he became a guiding beacon during their lowest point in their life and they would be together for the rest of the gnome's nearly five century life as their life partner. Though Osprey considers himself somewhere between ++grayce++ gray asexual and
++demi++ demisexual, his platonic love for the Wanderer eventually evolved into something romantic (after a decade or two) during the Epilogue.The elf's magic slowly sculpted into something increasing astral-like when the Wayfinder took notice, and during the campaign Osprey occasionally aided the party as a high level Stars Druid. The Astrologer through the years and with Opus's aid became a herald for the god's faith. The two became guiding beacons to those lost from their families throughout the world and ensured that they would be protected under starlight. Osprey found himself taking a leadership role with other adherents of hopefuls, undergoing a rite-of-passage to become an archdruid-errant of the newly established Circle of Stars.

Osprey and Opus in fancy outfits attending a Feywild wedding

Fun tidbits about Osprey:

Ephram Wixwicket with Opus

Ephram Wixwicket. Also known by Opus's superlative title the Operator, Ephram is the engineer who handles the world's most powerful and advanced telescope in the floating city of Magnis at the Observatory. Born to an abusive family, the gnome found escape through daydreaming and stargazing, eventually fueling his drive to mathematically understand the fundamentals of the universe.Though somewhat of a recluse, Ephram found purpose at his station at the Observatory, his skills of handling the fickle device resourceful. His calm demeanor accentuates his analytical, disciplined disposition, but is prone to overthinking when at the center of attention. The Operator's primary hobby is chess, and he believes everyone's world view shapes their style of play, something he finds incredibly fascinating.

He met Opus Loregit during one of their trips to the hovering metropolis, where his aid in tracking Tiamat's movements and schemes through the stars proved invaluable. Their friendship kicked off from there, and eventually the two developed a romantic love for each other, with Opus marrying Ephram a couple years after their victory over the god-wannabe. This frequently flustered man adorably hides behind his goggles whenever doted upon by his partners. Unlike the other two in the polycule with Osprey, Ephram is often too nervous and believes himself ill-equipped to accompany their adventures, much preferring to admire his loves from afar whenever they embark on a lofty quest.

Fun tidbits about Ephram:

Convergence of Clouds. Still a WIP :)

Convergence of Clouds
🎨OneTrueBears

Scrim Loregit with his bloodhawk companion Shaw

The Loregit Family. Still a WIP :)

The Next Generation of Loregits. Still a WIP :)

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Ákos Kalnath

The Trailblazer

Oracle Bard

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System	D&D 5e
Ancestry	Mountain Dwarf
Class	Bard (Creation) / Warlock (Hexblade)
Level	Lv. 16 (Bard) + Lv. 1 (Warlock)
Gender	++enby++ Nonbinary (they/them)
Age	44 (start of campaign) - 45+ (end)
World	Shambhala
Date Created	March 2021
Status	Campaign concluded in Jan. 2023

Table of Contents

(Side note: throughout this section you'll find some @@highlighted words##If you never hovered over me, you'd've never known that you're cool! :0##. Hover over them for more context, clarification, or supplemental info!)

Summary

Ákos Kalnath is a castoff exile of the Dwarven Empire, the scoundrel branded with the mark of the Farstrider. Wandering the outskirts of Deeperhold's mountain range, they integrated with the Kalnath Clan of similar exiles. When the Clan's grandmother fell gravely ill, however, Ákos's attempts at a grand heist for a magical curative nearly fell to an explosive disaster—were it not for the keen eye of the Wayfinder god. The deity of stars and family blessed Ákos with his gift of cosmic magic, appearing as constellation tattoos that sprawl across the dwarf's body.The Emperor would pardon Ákos's crimes. And the sins of the Kalnath's Clan's bloody stain on the Empire's history. But only if Ákos works to reignite the fractured Golden Road, that which made the Dwarven Empire so prosperous and all-encompassing in the world. What Ákos won't realize in that moment of opportunistic acceptance is that such charge would transform them into an honest dwarf, a beacon of hope, and the charming partner of a certain dragonborn shipwright.

Build. Ákos is a jack-of-all-trades blessed with cosmic magic. I wanted to achieve three things: an opportunist who used their magic to bolster their scoundrel tendencies via illusions, a support controller who misdirects enemies and boosts allies, and a stubborn dwarf who would find a way to use their newfound gift to augment their roguish swordplay. Something like a @@gish##Sword and sorcery characters##.A level 1 dip into Hexblade Warlock easily addresses the third goal quite well, especially since my main interest was experimenting with Creation Bard for the rest of the build.

Ákos casts a spell from invisibility

The illusionist facet was accomplished by focusing on spells like Minor Illusion, Invisibility, and Major Image. A fun synergy I discovered later on is that Creation Bard pairs well too; if Ákos mixes up their strategy, adversaries might assume a @@Performance of Creation##Ákos can magically conjure an object or item## object to be an illusion only to their befuddlement when that Large wall splitting the battlefield is actually real.The support controller aspect is multifaceted. On the support side, Ákos's @@Cosmic Inspiration##Like a Bard's normal Bardic Inspiration where they bestow a bonus to an ally's die roll, but further boosted by the Creation Bard feature Mote of Potential## was among the most enjoyment I had when playing a support-focused PC. Mote of Potential enhancing allies' rolls in relevant ways was more than meaningful. For ability checks, giving a CI to our party crafter and Rogue meant bounded accuracy weeped when they rolled the CI with advantage paired with their Expertise. For attack rolls, our party's Stars Druid was able to snipe specific foes from a distance where the CI's collateral explosion gave it immense value. For saving throws, our frontliner and partial Barbarian gained great use out of the CI's temp HP when she tanked big hits. Besides the loaded Cosmic Inspiration, Performance of Creation was a godsend during dire moments. Ákos would recreate weapons when they were confiscated, conjure Large ice cubes to protect against a fire tornado's onslaught, costly material components for Heroes' Feast, an adamantine fortress, and more. Ákos was also fond of upcasting the Aid spell before big fights as well.Ákos wielded several tools for their controlling and debuffing arsenal. One that was of at least mild annoyance to the DM was Ákos's reactionary spells. Shield to deny an attack against the dwarf, Counterspell to deny enemy spellcasters, and Silvery Barbs to deny vital successes from the enemy. None of base Bard gets these, by the way; so thank you to Hexblade, Magical Secrets, and @@Wayfinder's Boon##A reflavored Fey-Touched with the Silvery Barbs (reroll enemy success) and Misty Step (short-distance teleport) spells## respectively for these spells. If Ákos wasn't using a reaction every round, something was wrong. Not quite reactionary in the sense that it used Ákos's reaction, but the @@Watcher's Precognition##A reflavored Lucky; allows you to reroll any of your d20s three times a day, or reroll an attacker's d20 against you## feat that they learned from their cloud giant companion was crucial to ensuring enemies would seldom strike the dwarf. Besides these features, Ákos also knew impactful control spells: Dissonant Whispers, Dispel Magic, Psychic Lance, Synaptic Static, Modify Memory, and Circle of Power. When Counterspell didn't work, Circle of Power would likely mean that our party fully negated the incoming magic burst anyway. Psychic Lance disabled key foes with incapacitation and Synaptic Static's seldom-resisted INT save made it even tougher for enemy hordes to attack our frontliner.I could also extol the value of @@Animating Performance##Ákos animates an object that allows it to fight## to no end. Additional action economy, a great slowing debuff aura, and the fact that it drew so much damage away from the party to this disposable summon made it essential to our party's tactics. I did the math: 14% of damage endured in this campaign was directed towards an animated object and not a PC.I would also be remiss to elaborate on Ákos's prowess as a spellblade thanks to their Hexblade dip. A lot of that facet was complemented by the legendary Bard weapon the Violint that Ákos earned. It sparked their journey to full barddom, but mechanically it would let them attack with the same bonus action when granting a CI. That, plus the bonus psychic damage pushed by the weapon and Hexblade's Curse meant Ákos was no slouch in melee either.Besides all of this, Ákos's gift of cosmic magic evolved to include some spells from Lux Asterum Phari when they met the Wayfinder god. It was a diagetic inclusion of Opus's astral spellcraft that further enhanced Ákos's build.hi I'm a WIP :)

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Nos'akaze

Scion of Nos'Reu'Diz

Avatar of Nos'Reu'Diz

The Soulmender

Exalt of the Hidden City

System	D&D 3.5e 🠆 D&D 5e
Ancestry	Copper Dragonborn
Class	Druid (Land - Forest)
Level	Lv. 20
Gender	Male (he/him)
Age	20 (start of campaign) - 23+ (end)
World	Imperial League (PC) / Worldwhen (NPC)
Date Created	October 2015
Status	Campaign concluded in Oct. 2017

Table of Contents

(Side note: throughout this section you'll find some @@highlighted words##If you never hovered over me, you'd've never known that you're cool! :0##. Hover over them for more context, clarification, or supplemental info!)

Summary

Nos'akaze was born the druidic Scion of the ailing Nos'Reu'Diz, the progenitor draconian god and the protector of the World Soul who fell in battle. Raised with the fervor to sacrifice himself so that his trained primal power could mend the gash upon Nos'Reu'Diz's dying soul, Nos'akaze was prepared to fulfill his sacred duty. But that fell apart when assassins disrupted the ritual and destroyed the clan, the grove, and everything he held dear. Set upon a quest for vengeance, the dragonborn would later learn to move beyond his prejudices and embrace acceptance and kinship with companions and allies. A balance in all things, especially as Nozzy earns the opportunity to slay the soul-snatching Faluzure that threatened to consume the world itself.And finally revive their god and become His Avatar.

Nos'akaze calls down a lightning storm

Build. Being my first D&D character and starting in D&D 3.5e, Nozzy's build isn't very detailed nor organized.In World of Warcraft my main and favorite class was Druid. During Wrath of the Lich King and Cataclysm I raided as a Restoration Druid and enjoyed the healing and primal magic gameplay. 2015 was my first foray with TTRPGs and I wanted to try my hand at druids in D&D, hoping that they were somewhat similar.Oops.I rarely used Wild Shape; I just didn't like it. It didn't fit the vision I had for Nozzy as a shaman-esque character.

Still in my novice days I wanted to embrace the primal force of the elements through my spell choices. There were some fun ones I remember: Icelance, Storm of Ice and Fire, Flame Strike, Nature's Wrath, and Saltray among others. I also enjoyed the occasional support versatility Nozzy had through healing spells like Mass Lesser Vigor and Mass Cure Wounds.But what I most remember is that Nozzy focused on their sling using homebrew feats (that we didn't quite realize were homebrew at the time; thanks Dndwiki). Nozzy's Holy Warrior gave him a bonus to attack damage based on the highest unexpended spell slot he had and Divine Bulwark gave him an AC boost from his WIS. Besides this, the dragonborn was also able to craft Fire Seeds, which were the equivalent to today's Fireball in effectiveness and damage when launched from his sling.When we converted to 5e after Xanathar's release, Nos'akaze transformed to be a Land Druid as I was aiming for that "nature Wizard" vibe it offered. Nozzy's defining magical gear Blue Dragon Scale Mail and Wings of Flying were essential for the final boss fight of the campaign, protecting him as he got off his high level spells.hi I'm a WIP :)

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Roscoe

The Cursed Lycan

System	Several, primarily D&D 5e
Ancestry	"Human"
Class	Blood Hunter (Lycan)
Level	Varies (Usually Lv. 3+)
Gender	Male (he/him)
Age	@@5*##Roscoe's an adult lion at 5 years old; his cursed human form appears to be mid-20s##
World	The Multiverse
Date Created	January 2018
Status	Sitting at 44 adventures strong

Table of Contents

(Side note: throughout this section you'll find some @@highlighted words##If you never hovered over me, you'd've never known that you're cool! :0##. Hover over them for more context, clarification, or supplemental info! Try it with Roscoe's age.)

Summary

Roscoe is a beastly, feral, affable idiot, supernatural hunter, and multiversal wandering werelion. In an age lost to the man's memory, a wizard cursed him from lion to human with the scorching crimson Brand on his right shoulder. Though Roscoe possesses a degree of control in transforming himself into his lycanthropic counterpart, his Sisyphean and oft-forgotten quest of returning to lionhood spans infinite worlds and adventures. Might as well enjoy the hunt and the men on the way.

Werelion Roscoe

"Build". There's no set build for Roscoe since he's my One-Shot Wonder™ with occasional visits to other TTRPG systems.My primary goals with Roscoe in any one-shot are the flavorful ability to transform into a lycanthrope, martial prowess, and some form of fire magic. In D&D 5e this is generally accomplished with the Lycan Blood Hunter or the Shifter ancestry, but in other systems it can be a little tricky.Other than this, his stat spread is quite straightforward too: he's dumb and strong. And if it's D&D, he must have a maximum of 5 Charisma as a silly homage to his first ever one-shot where the rolled numbers dictated it so.hi I'm a WIP :)

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Lýtingr Shyvrgand

Reghed Pariah

System	D&D 5e
Ancestry	Half-Orc
Class	Blood Hunter (Profane Soul)
Level	Lv. 5
Gender	++trans++ Trans male (they/he)
Age	24
World	Faerûn - Icewind Dale
Date Created	September 2020
Status	Campaign ended in Mar. 2021 due to @@TPK##Total Party Kill; every character (except Lýtingr) died##

Table of Contents

(Side note: throughout this section you'll find some @@highlighted words##If you never hovered over me, you'd've never known that you're cool! :0##. Hover over them for more context, clarification, or supplemental info! Try it with Lýtingr's status.)

Summary

Lýtingr Shyvrgand was a pariah of the Reghed Tribes of the bitterfrost Icewind Dale region. When half their Bear Clan was slain by chardalyn-maddened clanmates, Lýtingr turned to the Blood Curse to attempt to rescue their spirit-trapped fiancé. Lýtingr is a character about turning to ancient lore and eldritch, forbidden magic to accomplish their goals. Even if said goal is as candid and straightforward as restoring their fiancé's soul to life. It leads to a campaign of ending Auril's Everlasting Rime in the region and making a pact with a temperamental ambitious goddess, but Lýtingr is a character about learning whatever necessary talent, taboo or not, if it means they can be embraced again by their husband-to-be.

Build. Lýtingr's mechanics came from a desire to play a Blood Hunter in a proper campaign setting compared to Roscoe as my one-shot wonder. I wanted to create a PC who wasn't originally an adventurer but answered the call for the strong drive of reviving their fiancé. As such, most of my build decisions originate from how Lýtingr picks up the mantle and tries to emulate Ymir as much as possible—a well-accomplished and seasoned hunter and tracker.That, and the added twist that Lýtingr had to turn to the Blood Curse to acquire eldritch powers in hopes of furthering this goal. The Blood Hunter's Profane Soul subclass was the perfect (and only) fit, describing Lýtingr's mechanical relationship like a mini-Warlock. With Hex, @@Crimson Rite of the Frozen##Lýtingr takes necrotic damage to imbue their longbow to deal extra cold damage##, and the @@Piercer##Lýtingr can reroll piercing damage and deal more on a critical hit## feat, Lýtingr functioned as a damage-stacking sniper. Their @@Blood Curse of Binding##Curses a creature's speed to 0 ft.## also prevented enemies from escaping.hi I'm a WIP :)

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Xyʑʑy

Fey Envoy

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• 

System	D&D 5e
Ancestry	Fey (based on Forest Gnome)
Class	Barbarian & Sorcerer (Wild Magic)
Level	Lv. 6 (Barbarian) + Lv. 1 (Sorcerer)
Gender	@@yes##Xyʑʑy is ++agen++ Agender, mostly because they don't know what gender is. So they simply let everyone else give them a gender## (any pronouns)
Age	@@4*##Feywild time shenanigans aside, Xyʑʑy was Awakened approximately 4 years ago and was made to be physically and mentally in their 20s##
World	Eristrea
Date Created	March 2021
Status	Campaign ongoing

Table of Contents

(Side note: throughout this section you'll find some @@highlighted words##If you never hovered over me, you'd've never known that you're cool! :0##. Hover over them for more context, clarification, or supplemental info! Try it on Xyʑʑy's gender or age.)

Summary

Xyʑʑy is characterized by three major themes: food, fights, and fornication. They're a literal peach from the Feywild (Glamourtide and Dreamland in their setting) polymorphed into an exhilarating, glamorous, short, chubby creature. Think of a himbo, then expand that by 10x. That's Xyʑʑy, a fey / glam who loves kindness, flirting, kissing, cooking, and adventuring as an envoy for their Archfey parent Gosh in the material plane.

Build. Wild, raw, uncontrollable, fun, chaos. If there's anything in 5e that remotely resembles that concept, Xyʑʑy has it or wants to have it.Naturally, Xyʑʑy is a Wild Magic Sorcerer and Wild Magic Barbarian. We've homebrewed the Wild Magic Sorcerer's Wild Surge table to be even more chaotic and draw from the Barbarian class too. The feat @@Wild Magic Mark##Reflavored Aberrant Dragonmark with the spell Chaos Bolt (and a homebrew cantrip Fluttering Fist), Xyʑʑy can use a Hit Die to randomly gain temp HP or damage a random creature## lets Xyʑʑy initiate a whole string of silly havoc when they cast Chaos Bolt. @@Tides of Chaos##Gain advantage on a d20 roll, but cause a Wild Magic Surge upon the next spell cast## ensures that while Xyʑʑy's luck counteracts their playful recklessness, raw fey magic will often ensue.

Xyʑʑy

Xyʑʑy being awakened with only one arm means that they can't wield any two-handed heavy weapons (not like they could effectively anyway as a Small PC). In fact, they prefer the natural ferocity of their body—unarmed strikes. Xyʑʑy's new Razzle Dazzle Tattoo grants the glamorous creature the ability to freely cause a Wild Magic Surge once a day. Arousing Chaos! Just for fun! Their unarmed strikes are similarly effective to a Monk's, which thankfully counterbalanced the multiple combats were Xyʑʑy was only doing 1 + STR damage since I wanted to stick to the character's silly flavor. And finally, Allure-icane lets Xyʑʑy randomly cast @@Glamourwild's Mischief##Reflavored Nathair's Mischief, which causes a random silly debuff in an AoE## or a homebrew spell Hexenringe, which either does poison damage, grant temp HP, or perform a random effect within its AoE. Xyʑʑy is 100% all about casting the dice and letting fate decide how the game plays.Barbarians generally get angry and Rage. Not to Xyʑʑy. This charismatic creature Dances with nothing less than a fun, happy-go-lucky, flirtatious attitude. They see battle as a show to give their best performance. They'd rather wrestle and Grapple than punch and beat down; if Xyʑʑy's insistence on being up close and personal with the enemy causes them to be distracted by the fey's charm, it's more opportunity for the party's fullcasters to work their magic. Xyʑʑy wants to bring the vibrant magic of the Feywild / Glamourtide to everyone in the material plane so they can experience nothing short than bliss and joy. The homebrew spell Glim Glamour, which is sort of like a 1st-level Enhance Ability but specifically for Charisma, aids Xyʑʑy as the party's harbinger of chaos. And their face if the Wizard prince permits it. The @@Chef##Give temp HP snacks and boost Hit Dice healing## feat represents Xyʑʑy's love of cooking to make others happy and further bolsters Xyʑʑy's high CON stat, allowing them to endure much more than the average PC.Also, @@Silvery Barbs##React to force a creature to reroll a successful d20, then give advantage to another creature## is never a bad spell to have.hi I'm a WIP :)

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Taroo

The Navy Nightingale

System	D&D 5e
Ancestry	Stout Halfling
Class	Azurist (Navy Nightingale)
Level	Lv. 9
Gender	++const++ @@Constellimasc##Imagine male, demiguy, and nonbinary. For Taroo, these all form a single configuration, not unlike a constellation, that describes them best## (they/he)
Age	28
World	The Realm
Date Created	October 2021
Status	Big Bounty Elimination Guild member

Table of Contents

(Side note: throughout this section you'll find some @@highlighted words##If you never hovered over me, you'd've never known that you're cool! :0##. Hover over them for more context, clarification, or supplemental info! Try it with Taroo's gender.)

Summary

Taroo is more known by their moniker "The Navy Nightingale", a cocky spell-slinger of the Blue ΦβΦ fraternity that partake in world-class gladiatorial bouts and heroic derring-do. The Azurist found and forged meaningful companionship through an arduous period of listlessness and soul-searching before the lucky, furry halfling chanced upon the fraternity in their queer hometown of Gardenvale. Blessed by their celestial spirit guardian Alnilam, the stargazing halfling calls upon cosmic magic to mimic abilities from creatures they've bonded with—either via friendship or battle. And armed with their brotherhood comradery with the Blue ΦβΦ and lasting friendships in the Big Bounty Elimination Guild, Taroo is a short friend with the tall noble goal of responding to the Realm's problems.

Build. The Blue Mage archetype is one of my favorite gameplay classes in any game—the power to mimic and utilize enemy abilities to your own end is incredibly fun. Final Fantasy, Kirby, Mega Man, you name it. I love discovering new skill combos and synergies and the actionable method of engaging with the world's verisimilitude via its living is quite immersive. There is nothing in D&D 5e that enables this niche gameplay, so when I started @@Big Bounty Elimination Guild##A public 5e Discord community that focuses on combat-based one-shots with Monster Hunter-like meta-progression## I figured I could design my own class for my upcoming character. That's the Azurist.Knowing exactly how BBEG operates, I crafted the Azurist class to key off of the server's leveling pacing in line with other fullcasters. Which means every Bounty, or combat one-shot, Taroo potentially can learn some of the enemy's abilities. And so far I've been having a blast figuring out great combinations of which @@Blue Bonds##Taroo has a limited number of ability pairs they can bring, like preparing spells## to prepare and being the ultimate flex slot in any team composition.It also means I can't control what Taroo learns unlike any other spellcaster. Bounty Coordinators design the combats they want to DM and I'm at their mercy for if Taroo is able to learn from those enemies or not. So while my build and the types of powers Taroo acquires is entirely dependent on their BBEG career, it's honestly a beautiful story of narrative legacy in a mechanics-first server and experimenting with unique ability combinations.That being said, I have a degree in designing Taroo's playstyle with their subclass. As a notorious enjoyer of the @@gish##Sword and sorcery characters## fantasy I wanted Taroo to wield considerable martial skill too. With the Navy Nightingale subclass, Taroo could spend spell points to become a sort of mini-Hexblade that's specialized in focus-targeting a specific foe with 1d4 bonuses against them thanks to @@Moonstone Melody##Taroo can attune to the spirit of a creature; once per round they can add a 1d4 bonus to various events against that creature, like attack rolls, damage, saving throws, and AC##. Boss battles and solitary tough combatants are Taroo's forte, and the Azurist's ultimate versatility allows me to prep more AoE when we know we're up against hordes of enemies instead. Taroo's always a wildcard.To further emphasize Taroo's mix of might and magic, the halfling's starting Blue Bonds are of their fratmates in the Blue ΦβΦ. One-Who-Claims-Victory grants Taroo the iconic goblin ancestry trait @@Fury of the Small##Deal extra damage = level## and an artificer specialty @@Clockwork Infusion##Set an attack roll to a 10 on the d20##. Dreamer of the Azure Curtain gives @@Combat Inspiration##The same as the Valor Bard's Bardic Inspiration; give a d6 bonus to an ally, to which they can add it to an attack roll, ability check, saving throw, damage, or AC## and @@Dissonant Whispers##A 1st level spell that deals psychic damage and may cause the enemy to flee##. Finally, Wayward Wayfarer by the Wayside bestows Taroo @@Bear Totem##React to gain resistance to all damage except psychic against one incoming damage source## and @@Dwarven Toughness##Gain temporary HP = level##. All three of these Blue Bonds complement nicely with Taroo's future acquisitions that let Taroo slot into any role needed of them on the team.For those curious, you can check out Taroo's public character sheet and Sapphire Stats, a stats chart of Taroo's combat career so far.hi I'm a WIP :)

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Ptero / Tarot

Nevermore

System	D&D 5e
Ancestry	Tiefling
Class	Monk (Kensei)
Level	Lv. 9
Gender	++enby++ Nonbinary (they/them)
Age	59
World	Kebsiir
Date Created	October 2021
Status	Campaign dropped off in Aug. 2023

Table of Contents

(Side note: throughout this section you'll find some @@highlighted words##If you never hovered over me, you'd've never known that you're cool! :0##. Hover over them for more context, clarification, or supplemental info!)

Summary

Ptero / Tarot is a very nuanced character looking to overcome past trauma and seek some form of atonement as a former assassin. Their decades as the supernatural killer Lugus for the Nevermores haunts the older wayfarer as they struggle to pay repentance. But in their journey they come across kind souls who break through that cold shell and motivate them to reunite with their estranged daughter and try to dismantle their former, clandestine organization that sought to puppeteer the world through manipulation and precise target elimination.Tarot abandoned their Name—Lugus. But they dangerously hope they reclaim a semblance of their old life as the fire-weaving Rāzuwari of the Solupū. A broken soul. Slowly mending. Even if it means they must take up the heavy burden that redemption may never be possible.

Build. Ptero is a pacifist who vowed to never kill again, which made Monk the best class. I'm enamored with chakrams in fantasy games and how they're designed, so Ptero's background as a Weaver lent to both the use of bludgeoning mid-range weapons that return to their hands and the use of their tribe's old fire magic combining with their new tiefling physiology.Ptero's homebrew tiefling trait Legacy of Kua Solra upgrades the Monk's Ki abilities and gave them fiery riders, marking Tarot's wish to embrace their heritage even if they were physically transformed.With the @@Crusher##Dealing bludgeoning damage allows Ptero to move a creature 5 ft. in any direction## feat applying to both melee and ranged strikes, Ptero possessed the flexibility of being a very mobile skirmisher and disabler, especially with Stunning Strike.hi I'm a WIP :)

Ptero's unmasked, marred face

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Lazulum Jasper Ambersand

Glimhaven Vagrant

System	D&D 5e 🠆 D&D 5.5e (2024)
Ancestry	Svirfneblin (Deep Gnome)
Class	Rogue (Lapidarist)
Level	Lv. 6
Gender	++enby++ Nonbinary (they/them)
Age	21
World	Umber
Date Created	September 2023
Status	Campaign ongoing

Table of Contents

(Side note: throughout this section you'll find some @@highlighted words##If you never hovered over me, you'd've never known that you're cool! :0##. Hover over them for more context, clarification, or supplemental info!)

Summary

Lazulum Jasper Ambersand is a svirfneblin, or deep gnome, hailing from their capital city of Glimhaven in Umbra, the vast subterranean world below Umber. Laz struggles with overcoming their deep-seeded anxiety, but when their incredibly supportive uncle, Berylin Ambersand, goes missing following an urgent summit, it spurs the young gnome to venture forth. Armed with Uncle's hat, his elemental gems, their crossbow, and the lithvein on their skin, Laz hopes that somewhere on Umber above they will find Uncle and bring him back home.If only it were that simple.

Laz faceting a gem

Build. I designed Laz's homebrew subclass Lapidarist to take inspiration from D&D 5.5e / 2024's Rogue's Cunning Strike back when it was in UA. As Laz is primarily a crossbow user, I wanted more interactivity in combat than just staying far away and Steady Aim → Attack.Laz's subclass is directly tied to their character and story. Resonant Strike allows them to imbue their bolts with magic from their gems, removing damage from their Sneak Attack to change the damage type and tack on an additional effect. Jolt, for example, changes the damage of the attack to lightning and prevents the target from taking reactions.

Despite the campaign being light on combat, one of my favorite aspects of tying Laz's Resonant Strike to their character is that they periodically develop new gems to use with the feature. I generally tailor these new gems to synergize with particular party members, transforming Rogue from a solitary class to a proper team player.Besides these portable magical gems, Laz's lithvein depicts how I imagine svirfneblin physiology and their innate magic. This is represented by the Svirfneblin Magic and Fade Away ancestry feats, granting Laz more versatility and utility than simple martial prowess.As of writing, we're converting mostly to D&D 5.5 / 2024, so these may vary, especially with respect to how Laz's elemental Resonant Strike interacts with the new Rogue's Cunning Strike.hi I'm a WIP :)

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Weaver

Runetailor

System	D&D 5e
Ancestry	Firbolg
Class	Thaumaturge (Runetailor)
Level	Lv. 4
Gender	++agen++ Agender (any pronouns)
Age	46
World	The Library
Date Created	September 2023
Status	Campaign ongoing

Table of Contents

(Side note: throughout this section you'll find some @@highlighted words##If you never hovered over me, you'd've never known that you're cool! :0##. Hover over them for more context, clarification, or supplemental info!)

Summary

Weaver is a firbolg hailing from Qixing, more widely known to the rest of their world as the Solitary Shallows. Although a gregarious and gentle soul who prefers to empower others in the limelight and support their endeavors, the thaumaturge bears lingering regrets and conflicts with their community's reclusiveness. When the Seer's prophecy of a wicked invasion falls flat to the passive ears of the community's elders, it spurs the half-giant to make the jump and venture beyond in an attempt to learn whatever they can. With quiet ambition in search of power and a solution to protect their loved ones.Weaver is not a name they've given themself, rather a nickname based on their rune-tailoring encountered early on in their travels. The firbolg doesn't mind and is comfortable with any name and pronouns folks ascribe—it's all the same to them.Specialized in the art of evoking the elements around them, the firbolg finds themself embroiled in the multi-world-spanning plots revolving around the Library's Doors.

Build. Weaver's homebrew class is the Thaumaturge designed by Benjamin Huffman. Thaumaturges are characterized by their spells curated to spell schools you choose to specialize in rather than predefined lists, in addition to the ability to Overcast spells by boosting their slot level or casting two spells with the same action. I personally designed Weaver's Runetailor subclass to better fit their cultural identity; they gain Charge Points when casting a spell with a slot and can expend those points to boost another spell within a short timeframe.

Early art of Weaver commanding the elements

Although Weaver is hailed as the "dad friend", they very much embody the dangerous blaster caster mage when push comes to shove. I never played a damage-focused fullcaster PC before and wanted to see how I could twist the archetype to my own liking. I wanted to focus on an Intelligence casting stat to fit Weaver's "shrewd but ultimately caring despite vast power" mentality, but I would do away with the frankly boring progression of the Wizard class. Weaver is meant to be hard-set on Evocation with a small belt of Abjuration spells for self-defense. End conflicts swiftly with overwhelming power.Still, if there's one thing I enjoy from Wizards, the Scribes subclass's feature of swapping damage types is very fascinating and would give a whole new depth of tactics for Weaver's turns in combat. I decided to translate that into the homebrew feat Rune Weaver!Lastly, one of Weaver's goals is to etch the runes of Starlight Magic from my Lux Asterum Phari homebrew, an accomplishment in their most recent session as of writing!hi I'm a WIP :)

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Ðrex-Íjad

Sovereign of the Old World

System	D&D 5e
Ancestry	Elder Dragon (based on Kobold)
Class	Beastheart (Primordial)
Level	Lv. 6
Gender	@@no##Íjad is ++agen++ Agender because they believe themself above the mortal social construct of gender## (they/them)
Age	@@Pre-Historic##Present day Íjad is the same Elder Dragon from pre-history millennia ago##
World	Ea
Date Created	October 2023
Status	Campaign ongoing

Table of Contents

(Side note: throughout this section you'll find some @@highlighted words##If you never hovered over me, you'd've never known that you're cool! :0##. Hover over them for more context, clarification, or supplemental info! Try it on Íjad's gender or age.)

Summary

Ðrex-Íjad is the reincarnation of an ancient Elder Dragon from the prehistoric era… in the form of a kobold-like bipedal, talking lizard. Íjad dreams of their old self, sovereign and king of the Old World, ruler of all, but wakes in a realm completely unfamiliar to them, uncountable centuries in the future. Slowly gathering their bearings and learning of the passage of time, this short, burly beast tamer rides with their imbued draconic companion to figure out their purpose, to shove their whim upon others, and to regain a semblance of their old power.Unfortunately, the star they devoured to attain War Godhood during their Elder Dragon era infected them with empathy. An empathy so scintillating that the small lizard gradually begins to understand the benefits of being mortal. The love of their partner Dion and the companionship of their friends."Love". What a filthy, mortal word.

Build. Íjad's homebrew class is MCDM's Beastheart—the Beast Master Ranger if it were its own properly fleshed out class. My concept with Íjad's build was to make a dragonrider character who rides with their dragon companion and they both pester with divebomb attacks and superior martial strength. I didn't want lackluster spells or to depend on Hunter's Mark or Favored Foe for a majority of combats, so I looked for something more than what Ranger could offer me. The Beastheart offers mechanical complexity, tactical substance with its ferocity actions, and allowed me to actually ride my dragon companion as a Small-sized kobold. Something the Drakewarden subclass would've never allowed me to do until level 15.

Íjad with Dion

However, Íjad's build is somewhat unusual. After all, Beasthearts aren't typically Strength focused, they're supposed to be the archers in the back while their pets rush to the frontlines. Part of my aspiration with a Strength build was to emphasize Reach weapons and the fly-in fly-out combat cadence all without provoking Opportunity Attacks. For a Small-sized character in 5e, that meant only lances due to their special property. Beasthearts don't get lance proficiency, but for the build to function our DM allowed it.Íjad is an excellent hunter with their later specialization in piercing weapons due to the Piercer feat (3d12 damage from a lance on a crit is amazing) and a reflavored and repurposed Knight of the Crown feat to benefit the draconic companion's onslaught with an extra, buffed attack. As a kobold, Draconic Cry is excellent as an advantage engine for everyone in the party. Their physical damage output is no joke, but another aspect of Íjad's build is that I wanted to finally create a PC that revolved around poison and acid damage, some of the most scarce damage types in D&D. A tweaked Primordial subclass that focuses on caustic strikes for its Nature Exploits characterizes this. And with their ancient knowledge, Íjad is an adept toxicologist with proficiency in a Poisoner's Kit, allowing them to concoct many different kinds of poisons (along with their partner Dion) to coat their weapons. For future levels I'm excited to further explore this facet with hemocraft and other pursuits in the campaign's world.Overall, Íjad's build is summarized in three ways: small dragonrider, max Strength, and acid + poison.hi I'm a WIP :)

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Bermúda Cobaltongue

Ex-Armiger Company

System	D&D 5e
Ancestry	Hill Dwarf
Class	Artificer (Artillerist)
Level	Lv. 3
Gender	++enby++ Nonbinary (they/them)
Age	"33 for a dwarf"
World	—
Date Created	December 2023
Status	Game ended before it could begin

Table of Contents

(Side note: throughout this section you'll find some @@highlighted words##If you never hovered over me, you'd've never known that you're cool! :0##. Hover over them for more context, clarification, or supplemental info!)

Summary

Bermúda Cobaltongue apprenticed under the Bronze-Toothed Men to learn the ins and outs of metallurgy and brass-forging, a position that would earn them a spot in the Armiger Company. Charged by the very Head Clan of the Hill Dwarves, the Armiger Company were to construct a network of cobalt waystations across their hilled homelands that would bolster the peoples' readiness for defense and secure them a spot as a global powerhouse.After years of toiling the initiative silently fell through and fizzled out. No reason. No tragedy. No deaths. Just "stop".Having drifted from their mates, Bermúda sought to take their artificing and artillerist skills to better use elsewhere as an adventurer. There's gotta be someplace that'd make use of their protective 'sapphire-arms', right?hi I'm a WIP :)

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Magnum

Wayfinder's Warden

Peaceforged

• 
• 

System	D&D 5e 🠆 D&D 5.5e (2024)
Ancestry	Warforged
Class	Fighter (Echo Knight) / Cleric (Peace)
Level	Lv. 4 (Fighter) + Lv. 1 (Cleric)
Gender	Male (he/him)
Age	@@~620+##Magnum was killed and placed in stasis for over ~600 years before being revived; he was 20 before##
World	Shambhala
Date Created	October 2019 (Opus's Steel Defender) / September 2021 (Warforged Revival) / June 2024 (Campaign Begins)
Status	Campaign ongoing

Table of Contents

(Side note: throughout this section you'll find some @@highlighted words##If you never hovered over me, you'd've never known that you're cool! :0##. Hover over them for more context, clarification, or supplemental info! Try it with Magnum's age.)

Summary

Magnum is an Arcadian Construct, son of Opus Loregit, and a relic of the pre-Cataclysm era. He was Opus's prior Steel Defender who sacrificed himself so his genius parent could figure out the secrets to the Warforged's budding sentience. After the Dark Year in which Magnum was gone, Opus beseeched the Wayfinder to revive him, to which the gnome artificer rebuilt him as a star-forged construct with a tiny sliver of the god's divinity.As a pacifistic warrior and student of few great heroes of that age, including Ákos Kalnath and Osprey Lorendiel, Magnum would loyally serve as the Wayfinder's Warden to shield the newly sentient Warforged peoples and guard them from prejudices of their former function as tools of a bygone war. He was the bridge between the generations of diasporic Warforged and the newly built Arcadian Constructs.Unfortunately, the tender construct was destroyed, and his spirit severed by champions of malevolent dead gods in their attempts to weaken the Wayfinder. Magnum sat in solitary stasis for centuries waiting to be slowly mended under the Guiding Star’s light. When he did wake as a side effect from the Cosmitter’s global broadcast it was in a cruel, post-Cataclysm world without loved ones. Still, a will-o’-wisp spurs the rusted, altruistic construct to find and help the people that need him most—towards Brambleshire. And hope that he could reorient himself in this new, unfamiliar world and maybe even reunite with his family.Those that still remain.

Build. Magnum's campaign is in the midst of converting to D&D 5.5e / 2024 as of writing this, so take this blurb with a small grain of salt.I built Magnum to function very similarly to how he did as Opus's Steel Defender: a protector. He can tank damage with Heavy Armor Master, draw attention of the enemy with Sentinel, and shield others with the Interception Fighting Style (later Protector, seems like it got a nice buff in 5.5e).

Magnum, newly revived, covered in verdigris

As a student of magic, he adopted his mentor Ákos's cosmic creation abilities to become the Echo Knight subclass and synergize iconically with the Sentinel feat. It's also a subclass I've always wanted to try myself for years. Opus's second husband Osprey Lorendiel taught Magnum to draw from his exceptionally unique star-forged nature and manifest it as Cleric magic. Magnum's Peace Cleric dip is entirely supportive, relying on Emboldening Bond, Bless, Shield of Faith, and Heroism to buff allies. Although he does launch the occasional Guiding Bolt if he needs range.Overall, although his campaign is still quite fresh, I expect Mags to be a very supportive martial gish, buffing allies with 2d4 to rolls between Bless and Bond, preventing foes from reaching allies with Sentinel, and being able to withstand hits with high AC and damage reduction.hi I'm a WIP :)

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Lazarus
Forysthe

Ex-Overseer

System	Dishonored RPG
Archetype	Miscreant
Outlook	Maverick
Gender	++enby++ Nonbinary (they/them)
Age	30
World	Morley - World of Dishonored
Date Created	August 2022
Status	Campaign dropped off early

Table of Contents

(Side note: throughout this section you'll find some @@highlighted words##If you never hovered over me, you'd've never known that you're cool! :0##. Hover over them for more context, clarification, or supplemental info!)

Summary

Lazarus Forsythe was an Overseer that loved no one but their brothers-in-arms. Once upon a time.They awoke in a pile of corpses, a hollow hole through their head and a reverberating bone charm amongst their only remaining possessions. With some semblance of void having stitched together their soul, they still yet "live".With nothing but their broken Overseer sabre, the ancient bone charm, and the skin on their back, Lazarus sought to live their truest, second life. To start anew. They rejected the rigidity of the Abbey and became a new person.hi I'm a WIP :)

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EYEBALL

Pilot of Perception Check

System	Lancer
Background	Spaceborn
License	SSC Swallowtail
Level	LL2
Gender	++agen++ Agender (they/them)
Age	@@24*##In their first campaign, they were chronologically 111 due to lightspeed travel, physically 24##
World	The Diaspora World of Ninue
Date Created	December 2019
Status	Campaign dropped off early

Table of Contents

(Side note: throughout this section you'll find some @@highlighted words##If you never hovered over me, you'd've never known that you're cool! :0##. Hover over them for more context, clarification, or supplemental info! Try it with EYEBALL's age.)

Summary

EYEBALL is the callsign of Ernesto Yago Eduardo Bruno Augusto Lisandro Lobo, spacerat grease monkey from a backwater station by Cradle.You might be more familiar with Deadeye, EYEBALL's notorious mother who never misses a shot. When she goes missing and dad dies, it spurs EYEBALL to finally open what was in the black box she left behind.And use its NHP, Reticle, as their eyes to learn a fraction of her skill and seek her out.hi I'm a WIP :)

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Gallery

Hi! This page's still a majorly a WIP, but there's a few illustrations included. Check back periodically for more rad art. I have way too much.

Quick Navigation

Loregit Family

Ákos Kalnath and Isnath

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Miscellaneous

Hi! This page's still majorly a WIP but there's a few things included. Check back periodically for a whole bunch of new fun and neat things. I have way too much of them.

Quick Navigation

Listed in chronological order by publication date, from oldest to newest

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Characters as Pokémon Trainers

I don't play Pokémon much anymore, but I still keep up with the franchise and appreciate their designs. In late 2022 I started imagining my D&D and TTRPG characters as if they were Pokémon trainers with kitted teams. What would they be like in a Pokémon alternate universe and why would they have the pokémon they do?Guidelines
It may seem a little strange but I decided to self-impose a few criteria and limitations when translating my TTRPG characters as Pokémon Trainers. It's more fun to imagine them within the confines of the Pokémon world as if you could reasonably encounter them in a game.

Opus Loregit

🔎Overall. Opus is a character heavily themed around exploration, curiosity, and invention. Lots of the pokémon they gravitate towards are often associated with history, being artificial, or being innovative. As an artificer and a gnome obsessed with learning, I can easily imagine Opus bonding with pokémon forgotten by time (or even reviving them if they're a fossil), sprucing them up, and adventuring across the world. Just like Cynthia is the researcher of myths, Opus is a kindred spirit. With four Steel types Opus could almost masquerade as a gym leader.⭐Bastiodon is one-to-one a parallel of Magnum while he was a Steel Defender. As a fossil pokémon, Opus would've specifically needed to revive a Shieldon at a lab, which is what they did do with Magnum to turn him into a Warforged / Arcon. Not to mention that Opus had built a prototypal Magnum before their Itinere journey. More encompassing however, Bastiodon's specialty is quite literally defending and is a staunch ally at that, something befitting Magnum to a tee. Some Pokédex entries also describe Bastiodon as a docile creature that feeds on grass and berries. Magnum too is very peaceable with a comprehensive nature-like aesthetic; he loves to grow plants and berries. I can't think of anything more apt as Opus's ace than something perfectly representing their best friend and son. Bastiodon's moveset was selected to be heavily defensive to mirror the Steel Defender's role in battle, but reflective in how it can retaliate with fierce attacks of its own.
— 💥Moves: Protect | Iron Defense | Magic Coat | Heavy Slam
— ✨Ability: Sturdy
— 🍂Nature: Brave (+Atk, -Spe)
— 🧶Held Item: Sitrus BerryCosmoem is Opus's legendary. It's not quite a powerful pokémon as its status might suggest, but I view it as a representation of Opus's budding new invention of Lux Asterum Phari, or starlight magic. It's a new school of magic they've pioneered that's gradually flourishing but not quite as broad as the traditional schools of magic in their world. Likewise, Cosmoem's nature is as a transitionary period between fully evolving into either Solgaleo or Lunala. The Pokédex calls it the Protostar Pokémon, and another in-universe title is the "cocoon of the stars". Both are evocative of Opus's goals and experiences in ushering in a new arcane age with their artifice magic in dedication to the Wayfinder god of the stars. Coincidentally Cosmog and Lunala are also represented here for other star-themed characters. Even though Cosmoem can't learn more than 3 moves, I like to imagine Opus creating new TMs to accomodate for it.
— 💥Moves: Cosmic Power | Stored Power* | Lumina Crash* | Dazzling Gleam*Aegislash is a versatile pokémon with a Shield Forme and a Blade Forme, matching Opus's adaptability as a Battle Smith artificer. Though Aegislash's evolution line is sinister with its soul draining theme, I like the one Pokédex entry that makes mention of using spectral force fields to reduce damage. With its other Pokédex entries I can also imagine, with Opus's accomplishments and achievements throughout their campaign and epilogue, that Aegislash might recognize their leadership qualities. Yet Opus definitely wouldn't see themself a monarch, even during their time as the Head of Academic Research. Still, more reason for Aegislash to respect the gnome.
— 💥Moves: Sword's Dance | Shadow Sneak | King's Shield | Sacred SwordGolurk is fascinating with its golem-like design and purpose as a guardian. For Opus, it digs into their archaeology and history buff side. The Loregit's Hall of Histories is one of the most famous museums in the world, and though I could see a conflict where many believe Golurk strictly belongs in a museum exhibit, Opus would be adamant in wanting to let it free. Golurk, after all, was made to protect both people and pokémon. Its Ghost typing is probably inspired by the Jewish story of the golem and how they contained spirits. Opus as a character is quite sensitive to death who strives to learn from the past to ensure that forgotten peoples and cultures are remembered.
— 💥Moves: Phantom Force | Earthquake | Stealth RockBronzong is more of an artifact analogue than Golurk is. Bronzong is inspired by Japanese dōtaku, which are bronze bells used to pray for good harvests. It's why a vast majority of its Pokédex entries relate to summoning rain. Studying culture and how people worshipped Bronzong as a deity would definitely be something up Opus's alley. Opus would be keenly interested in how to translate Bronzong's cultural significance and its power into something usable and helpful today. And a pokémon able to conjure rain to cultivate harvests sounds just like the thing. There's also some fun hints in some entries about opening portals from other worlds, which touches on some of Opus's extraplanar studies too! Opus's mother Pýra also rigorously studied and visited many extradimensional planes of existence; subconsciously Bronzong is like Opus's extension of her.
— 💥Moves: Rain Dance | Future Sight | Extrasensory | Metal Sound
— ✨Ability: Heatproof
— 🧶Held Item: Damp RockKingambit represents Opus's husband Ephram, a chess grandmaster. Kingambit and its evolution line is at least partially inspired by chess puns and strategy. King Gambit is a type of opener in chess too, which fittingly is one of Ephram's favorites to employ. I like to imagine Opus and Ephram bonding with their own Pawniards and Opus taking the knowledge they learn with their first husband Ephram to train and practice with their eventual Kingambit. Kingambit depicts Opus's keen mind with tactics and strategy, always wanting to make sure they can gain the upper hand in a combat.
— 💥Moves: Kowtow Cleave | Low Kick
— ✨Ability: Supreme Overlord
— 🍂Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)

Osprey Lorendiel

🔎Overall. Osprey is the first Archdruid of the newly established and budding Circle of Stars. As Opus's lifelong best friend and eventual second husband, the relatively young elf's pokémon team stems from his love of the Astral Sea and his power as a strong astrologer. Together with Opus, Osprey also is at the forefront of Starlight Magic research, and although he doesn't tackle the new field with a logical or technological perspective, his spiritual faith grants him the merit and trust to lead. I tried to reflect that in his pokémon team in a condensed manner—he's an inspiring man that seeks to aid and provide succor to others. He ought to have the pokémon to match, even if his team is smaller due to him being a secondary character.⭐Lunala as Osprey's frontlining legendary ace demonstrates how powerful he is as the Archdruid. Despite the omionous description in its Pokédex entries of devouring light, I prefer to see Lunala as the story of how Osprey nurtured and bonded with a Cosmog to where it evolved into a fierce guardian of the stars. It's also said that Lunala was depicted as the emissary of the moon, in the same way that Osprey is now an emissary of the newly discovered Wayfinder god. When defending his adherents and/or those he loves, Osprey showcases the trainer skills he's picked up from his spouse Opus and the strong synchronicity he shares with Lunala. He isn't afraid to be swift to spring into action, which really fits how Osprey's Lunala is a bit speed-focused. As Osprey's primarily offensive pokémon, Lunala's build is definitely more of a powerhouse than any other on his team.
— 💥Moves: Moongeist Beam | Agility | Moonblast | Meteor Beam
— ✨Ability: Shadow Shield
— 🍂Nature: Hasty (+Spe, -Atk)
— 🧶Held Item: Power HerbCresselia is Osprey's second legendary. I think Cresselia slots in tremendously well in Osprey's team as a foil to Lunala. Both pokémon are intrinsically linked to the moon. Interestingly, Lunala has a Forme dedicated to the full moon, while Cresselia's design is based on the crescent moon, both in Osprey's portfolio as the Archdruid. As Lunala's counterpoint, Cresselia is Osprey's main method of support and healing. In one of her Pokédex entries she's described as the bringer of joyful dreams. Perfectly, one of Osprey's specialties is dream magic and soothing those in his care by shaping their dreams to their wishes. She represents Osprey's virtues seamlessly which is why I felt it necessary to make an exception to the "one legendary" limitation here. I wanted her moveset to be entirely support and defensive, complementing Lunala. In a double battle they'd be a great team.
— 💥Moves: Lunar Blessing | Light Screen | Reflect | Safeguard
— 🍂Nature: Calm (+SpD, -Atk)Alolan Ninetales, like Cresselia, represents Osprey's tranquil and serene personality. Alolan Ninetales are also graceful and virtuous, and it is this demeanor that Osprey embodies when they're together. Rarely is Osprey perturbed or agitated to the point of breaking their calm mind and gregarious attitude. In the Legends: Arceus entry, an Alolan Ninetails is said to guide lost folk, which is one of the tenets of the Guiding Star and the Wayfinder god.
— 💥Moves: Aurora Beam | Aurora Veil | Blizzard | Dazzling GleamAbsol's power in predicting disaster, protecting fields, and warning the people fits Osprey's role as leader very well. It's an often misunderstood pokémon—many mistake it as the cause of disaster. But Osprey is welcoming to many and inclusive as the Archdruid of the Circle of Stars. I can easily see him taking notice of a stray Absol trying it's best to warn a local farming community and wanting to help it flourish. Both him and the Absol being known for their calmness is certainly very complementary as well. While Osprey doesn't have the Mega Stone to cause Absol's Mega Evolution, I do find it interesting that its respective Pokédex says it really hates fighting. Osprey too is a pacifist at heart whenever he can be.
— 💥Moves: Detect
— 🍂Nature: Calm (+SpD, -Atk)

Ephram Wixwicket

🔎Overall. Unlike the other two in his polycule, Ephram is not a fighter. As the operator for the world's most advanced telescope, Ephram prefers to remain in his comfort zone at the Observatory, study the stars, and support his loves from home. He's a kind, domestic man, albeit shy and timid from time to time. Catch him playing chess and you'll notice his skills as a grandmaster. For his team I wanted to succinctly capture his interests and reflect his homebody personality in just a few pokémon.⭐Rotom is Ephram's ace, and its sheer versatility in forms speaks to Ephram's expertise in operating advanced technological machinery, especially the Telescope. With Rotom represented in the franchise as a pokémon that embodies many different kinds of devices, I think it perfectly fits as Ephram's primary buddy. I can easily imagine Rotom assisting Ephram with handling telescope operations or at home with an energetic helping hand. Or, well, zap. Might give Ephram some trouble time to time for being quite vibrant too! Especially when Rotom possesses some of Opus's tinkering prototypes when they're not around occasionally, true to its prankster nature. For long nights at the Observatory, Rotom might take control of a coffee maker to cheer up Ephram.
— 🍂Nature: Naughty (+Atk, -SpD)Bisharp represents Ephram's skill as a chess grandmaster. While Opus is the superior trainer and manages to evolve their Bisharp into a fierce Kingambit, Ephram's Bisharp is more domestic like his trainer and less battle-hungry. A companion to bounce ideas off of. Still, both his Bisharp and Opus's Kingambit, in my mind, evolved from the same Pawniard brothers. There's a cute brotherly relationship between the two pokémon and Kingambit absolutely teases Bisharp on all the adventures Opus goes on while Bisharp stays with Ephram at home.Solrock is Ephram's comfort pokémon and represents his love of the stars and the cosmos. Its expressionless, almost zen-like appearance relaxes Ephram and reminds him of his husband Osprey. I think Ephram is skeptical of Solrock's ability to read others' emotions, and yet is always surprised when it responds to Ephram's bashfulness. I like to imagine Ephram befriended Solrock after tracking a meteorite from the Telescope and requesting his spouse Opus to investigate it—where the result was this pokémon's appearance. Ephram's first instinct might've been to inspect and study it due to its relation to the sun, but it's domicile quiet nature eventually convinced him that Solrock deserved more. I also think that Solrock looks very similar to Ephram's boisterous Rotom, and having a counterpart helps balance out the two vastly different vibes these pokémon give off.
— 💥Moves: Rest | Solar Beam | Sunny Day | Morning Sun
— 🍂Nature: Docile (Neutral)

Kari Loregit

🔎Overall. Kari is Opus's adoptive daughter that they and Magnum rescued in the Deist deserts as an infant. As an aasimar, she was blessed by the Wayfinder god and in her adult years, Kari is a clever sorcerer who studied to become an anthropologist of various religions and faiths. I wanted to represent her team as if Kari followed in Opus's footsteps to become a pokémon trainer too. Her pokémon are those she resonates with most and keeps her company during grueling fieldwork days, but also those that pack a punch and synergize with her own magic.⭐Gardevoir is Kari's ace as I imagine her evolving from a Ralts discovered around the same time Kari was rescued as an infant. With Gardevoir being with Kari for her whole life, they've developed a strong sisterly bond and the two would rarely be seen apart. As Gardevoir might give her all to protect Kari, the same could be said vice versa. They inspire and encourage each other to improve and strive to even higher heights, from Gardevoir's elegance to Kari's prowess and much more I feel. I can picture a teen Kari being comforted by Kirlia when the former couldn't muster her divine magic. Much like how Ash bonded with Greninja to form a special kind of form, I believe Kari would have a similar dynamic with Gardevoir here. Something beyond the Mega Evolution that Kari would only use in moments of dire need.
— 💥Moves: Psychic | Moonblast | Mystical Fire | Heal Pulse
— ✨Ability: Synchronize
— 🍂Nature: Quirky (Neutral)
— 🧶Held Item: GardevoiriteAltaria is one of Kari's favorite pokémon. Although she's a wheelchair user, her parent Opus built a tricked-out, lightweight wheelchair capable of limited hovering. Thanks to Altaria's billowing, cotton-like clouds, Kari is able to fly and soar through the skies, something she would've never thought possible without Altaria. Altaria's kind disposition and gentle humming also calms Kari like a warm blanket.
— 💥Moves: Fly | Cotton Guard | Sing | Disarming Voice
— ✨Ability: Cloud Nine
— 🍂Nature: Gentle (+SpD, -Def)Noctowl is Kari's best friend while performing anthropological fieldwork or delving into ancient religious ruins. Noctowl is, like Kari, a workaholic. It helps Kari in detecting the tiniest of objects and Kari's developed an understanding with Noctowl to the point where she can decipher its hoots as if they were intellectually speaking. One Pokédex entry mentions that if Noctowl's head is rotated 180 degrees, it appears to be deep in thought. I like to imagine Kari interpreting this as it figuring out something before Kari had the chance to. It can be mischievous like that sometimes. True to its owl nature, Noctowl keeps Kari company during long nights.
— 💥Moves: Echoed Voice | Extrasensory | Hypnosis

Ákos Kalnath

🔎Overall. Ákos was rescued by the Wayfinder god when trying to save their clan's grandmother. In the process, the god took a liking to the dwarf and blessed them with the gift of cosmic magic. These manifest as glowing constellations tattoos sprawled across the dwarf's body, with each constellation a different meaning attributed to some aspect of the dwarf's nature or birth. Not only were some of these constellation tattoo designs inspired by a few pokémon initially, but in this AU, Ákos's team is comprised entirely of pokémon that relate to their constellation markings. It all comes full circle!

⭐Corviknight represents the constellation of Corvus on the left side of Ákos's head and the primary star sign that Ákos was born under. As a crow in side-profile covered in snow, it's commonly interpreted to be known for its cunning and adamant independence. As Ákos's ace, Corviknight shares in Ákos's guile and stubborn qualities. Corviknight should be so heavy due to the black steel that make its wings, and yet it flies with ease. In a similar way, Ákos's cosmic magic and blessing is to antithetical to the dwarven way of life in Shambhala, and yet they manage to make it flourish. Any to underestimate either Ákos or Corviknight are in for a surprise. Ákos's Creation Bard magic also lends well to imbuing Corvus with Gigantamax energy. Plus, Corviknight's Defog move synergizes well with Ákos's anti-magic theme and their Circle of Power spell.

— 💥Moves: Brave Bird | Defog | Steel Wing | Tailwind
— ✨Ability: Mirror Armor
— 🍂Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
— 🧶Held Item: Life Orb

Heatmor represents the constellation of Vindir on Ákos's upper left arm. Vindir depicts a wild-maned, flame-licking anteater in side-profile, very much inspired by Heatmor! It's commonly known for its ingenuity and those born under it are said to be renowned for their stubbornness. Heatmor's flames can melt through solid steel and I imagine that Ákos and Heatmor both are stubborn enough that they'll keep chipping away at a roadblock until they manage to pass through one way or another.

— 💥Moves: Fire Lash | Fire Spin | Hone Claws | Lick
— ✨Ability: White Smoke
— 🍂Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)

Lycanroc Dusk Form represents the constellation of the Guardian on Ákos's upper right arm. It depicts a well-armored wolf wearing a shield and represents fierce loyalty to family. Those born under it are said to be steadfast and protective towards family and friends. Okay, so I must admit that the Guardian constellation was heavily based on Zamazenta's design back when Pokémon Sword/Shield was just released and Ákos was being conceptually created. It almost feels like a crime to not have Zamazenta be Ákos's pokémon representation. BUT I've elected to pick Lycanroc over Zamazenta for a couple reasons! For starters, Lycanroc's rock typing better befits Ákos as a dwarf. As a Bard, Ákos is a rather involved Jack of All Trades who's dabbled in many tools and crafts. Lycanroc's Dusk Form is a sort of combination between its Midday Form and its Midnight Form. Where Midday is calm and cautious and where Midnight is ferocious and reckless, Dusk balances all of these traits, much like how a Bard might. Lycanroc Dusk Form knows when to protect its family and pack as a loyal and staunch defender, and when to strike first and fierce. There's also something to be said about its Pokédex entry stating that Dusk Form is the most troublesome to raise—Ákos was certainly the same!

— 💥Moves: Stone Edge | Crush Claw | Quick Guard | Counter
— ✨Ability: Tough Claws
— 🍂Nature: Hardy (Neutral)
— 🧶Held Item: Assault Vest

Ampharos represents the constellation of the Lighthouse on Ákos right forearm. It's one of the most important constellations that's scrawled on Ákos's body, as the beacon represents the Wayfinder's Guiding Star, the brightest star in the night sky that represents true noth. Like a lighthouse, this constellation guides those who follow it to safety. One of Ampharos's defining characteristics is that its tail is treasured for being a shining beacon for lost people. As Ákos learned more about their purpose and devoted it to the Wayfinder and guiding the lost to their families from dark places, I imagine they easily resonate with Ampharos and see it as a loyal companion in their spiritual journey. One interesting aspect of Ákos's journey is that their constellation tattoos were originally cyan-colored; it's only after directly meeting with their god that he blessed them to turn gold-colored in a similar hue to Ampharos's body. The Wayfinder even taught Ákos the radiant Starlight Magic that Opus created in his name, which I like to see as Ákos synergizing this power with Ampharos's. If Corviknight represents Ákos's sly cunning, Ampharos represents their acute drive to help others in their dire, darkest moments. To this end, the dragon typing of Ampharos's Mega Evolution is iconic of this noble quality. It also looks quite majestic; Ákos would definitely train their Ampharos to harness that energy.

— 💥Moves: Dazzling Gleam | Discharge | Light Screen | Dragon Pulse
— 🍂Nature: Rash (+SpA, -SpD)
— 🧶Held Item: Ampharosite

Torterra represents the constellation of Lardinn on Ákos's left forearm. Lardinn depicts a river flowing from a mountain and represents the flow of life and adaptability and is most significant during the winter solstice when it appears high in the sky. Those born under it are said to have fiery tempers, which certainly describes Ákos aptly like any other constellation on this list! While Torterra certainly visually resembles Lardinn, one part of its Legends: Arceus Pokédex entry is fascinating to me: "Torterra roams the wilderness in search of clean water." I like to read this as Torterra and Ákos both being challenged to adapt to life's struggles and eventually emerging victorious. That's what Lardinn is about!

— 💥Moves: Earthquake | Shell Smash | Wood Hammer | Stealth Rock
— ✨Ability: Shell Armor
— 🍂Nature: Brave (+Atk, -Spe)
— 🧶Held Item: White Herb

Minior, while not directly resembling any constellation tattoo, finds a spot in Ákos's pokémon team as a general representation of the dwarf's awe of the stars. It might even be Ákos's first pokémon, depending on when Minior fell from the ozone layer. Before Ákos was blessed by the Wayfinder they loved to stargaze and wander the mountain paths at night. It was fascinating to them—the stars being so far above the ground and the depths of the earth, and yet they yielded so much meaning. It was disorienting as a dwarf, akin to vertigo at first, but they found comfort in seeing the same stars every night amidst the turmoil their clan of exiles faced in trying to survive. I imagine Minior's shell being shed when it fell to the ground and cracked to reveal the inner indigo-colored pokémon. Ákos must've been stunned to see this falling star take form as a conscious creature!
— 💥Moves: Cosmic Power | Power Gem | Ancient Power | Confuse Ray
— ✨Ability: Shields Down

Isnath

🔎Overall. Isnath is Ákos's initially-grumpy dragonborn husband who warmed up to them during their campaign's journey. He's the shipwright and carpenter of the Opulent Folley's crew and later became its boatswain. For a majority of the campaign Isnath wasn't a fighter, often lamenting that he couldn't help out his partner. While he did maintain the integrity of the ship, Ákos eventually devised an immensely powerful ritual that allowed Isnath to transform into the Lunar Dragon. All this I wanted to encompass with Isnath's pokémon team! He isn't a proper battle trainer, but he and his team symbiotically bond with his profession.⭐Timburr, while a weaker pokémon, is Isnath's ace because it's been with him for a long while. Isnath is a builder at heart and loves to work with woodcraft. It's why Timburr refuses to evolve into Gurdurr, it doesn't think it needs to in order to be satisfied while building with Isnath. Both Isnath and Timburr are strong folk, and the two build off each other with equally strong companionship. I like to imagine Timburr is quite proud and protective of its work with Isnath! It might even come to odds with Ákos who enjoys teasing Isnath when his softer side slips out while he nerds out on the different types of lumber or carpentry techniques.
— 💥Moves: Hammer Arm | Bulk Up
— ✨Ability: Guts
— 🍂Nature: Sassy (+SpD, -Spe)
— 🧶Held Item: EvioliteKingdra represents Isnath as a dragonborn and more dives into that base draconic nature combined with his presence as the glue that held together Ákos's party's ship during their campaign. Kingdra's water and dragon typing perfectly fit this seafaring aspect of him. Although in the epilogue Isnath "settled down" with his spouse on land, Kingdra still taps into that primal part of him that he leans on when transforming into the Lunar Dragon.
— 💥Moves: Dragon Dance | Dragon Pulse | Hydro PumpDhelmise is an interesting part of Isnath's team. He has a fear of sinking, especially due to any self-perceived incompetence of his job. It was quite evident early on in the campaign when the party kept rushing into perilous encounters and endangering the ship. Dhelmise as the seaweed that clings to a deteriorated anchor symbolizes Isnath's fear, and I think him taming this pokémon equally symbolizes him overcoming that fear later on. If Ákos had the guts to continuously flirt with Isnath and ask him out, Isnath drew upon that same persistence as inspiration here to befriend Dhelmise.
— 💥Moves: Phantom Force | Power Whip | Brine | Anchor Shot

Nos'akaze

🔎Overall. Nos'akaze's team represents two eras of his life. The first is his early life as the Scion, where he was the surviving druid of his massacred dragonborn clan with a desire of revenge and a strong drive to resurrect his dying god Nos'Reu'Diz. The second era is his life post-campaign, where said god was revived and he became the Soulmender. Nozzy is a character themed around balance and self-reflection. His pokémon, in turn, represent his connection to the natural world and his growth from being fueled by blind rage to embracing zen harmony.⭐Zarude sincerely represents both phases of Nozzy's life, even with not much being known about it as a Gen 8 DLC pokémon. Nozzy was born and raised fully in dedication to the primordial dragon god Nos'Reu'Diz. He based his entire life around gaining power so that he could be sacrificed to restore his dying god. When that dream was shattered by assassins, Nozzy became the embodiment of blind vindication. His sacred druidic circle and his god were violated in the worst imaginational way. And so Nozzy, like Zarude, would be incredibly aggressive, relying on sharp claws, quick wit, and magical prowess. But we know from the Secrets of the Jungle movie that Zarude has a soft side as well. In his later years, Nozzy restored his god, became an Avatar of him, and dedicated himself to healing the world's fractured soul. He became a father figure to many as well as an emissary of dragons and natural menders alike. His power stemmed from striving for personal and worldly growth, and his love for the people he cared for. Dada from the movie was much the same way. I can think of no pokémon more fitting for Nozzy's ace. Plus, the move Jungle Healing perfectly sums up Nozzy's druidic ability too!
— 💥Moves: Jungle Healing | Power Whip | Lash Out | Drain Punch
— ✨Ability: Leaf Guard
— 🍂Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
— 🧶Held Item: Sitrus BerrySalamence is often described as a destructive pokémon in its Pokédex entries, something which describes Nozzy's first era quite apt. I like to imagine Nozzy training a Bagon from its youth and the two sharing in their ferocious fighting habits. Salamence is strong and flame-headed. Nozzy too was known for his castings of a few very potent destructive spells here and there. Like a Fire Storm. That's basically Salemence's Flamethrower move. Adorably, it's also often mentioned that Salamence came to be due to its dream in wanting to fly causing it to grow wings. While a dragonborn, Nozzy wasn't able to fly until a silver dragon bestowed unto him a silver-scaled scarf-cape. They're quite similar! In the Ultra Moon entry, Mega Salamence flies at high speeds over all kinds of places; when Nozzy grows to be in their archdruid days I like to think he takes "joy flies" along with, both having mellowed out over the years.
— 💥Moves: Draco Meteor | Flamethrower | Hurricane | Earthquake
— ✨Ability: Moxie
— 🧶Held Item: SalamenciteHeliolisk is a frilled-neck lizard, which, coincidentally, were a staple in the forests where Nozzy's dragonborn druid clan was located! Heliolisk is also a pokémon that photosynthesizes energy from the sun into electricity and power. Nozzy was determined to be his generation's Scion due to him being a copper dragonborn with an affinity towards lightning instead of the typical acid. Thus, Nozzy's always favored lightning-based magic and would easily get along with the zappy nature of Heliolisk! It helps that both are quite zealous reptiles.
— 💥Moves: Eerie Impulse | Parabolic Charge | Thunderbolt | Dragon Pulse
— 🍂Nature: Hasty (+Spe, -Def)Kommo-o is a companion I imagine comes later in Nozzy's life as the Exalt of the Hidden City. As the leader of this community of like-minded folk with the aim to heal the injured soul of the world, Nozzy is very protective and paternal of his people. Kommo-o is a pokémon who's completed rigorous training and has undergone an arduous journey. According to the old Pokémon Sun and Moon website, there's a prominent legend that Kommo-o "seeks to drive away a great darkness covering the world" and "this pokémon seeks out battle to gain the power needed to defeat this darkness". Kommo-o is certainly the valiant draconic companion that would bond with an older Nozzy. Both of them have shared goals, after all! Soulmender Nozzy also wears the Dragonscale Sleeve; it has a scale from every known dragon type in the world. Kommo-o's design and theme around sound also reinforces that aspect! Nozzy excels in addressing and solving challenges swiftly, never letting inaction take hold of him. Kommo-o keeps him practiced in this regard, and one of its moves is Upper Hand, allowing for quick retaliation of priority moves.
— 💥Moves: Clanging Scales | Clangerous Soul | Dragon Claw | Upper Hand
— 🍂Nature: Serious (Neutral)Trevenant represents Nozzy's grief over his slain druidic circle almost too perfectly. To that end, Nozzy can be seen as a sort of surviving ghost of his clan. Nozzy wanted to be feared by chromatic dragons—he believed they were the cause behind the assassins that destroyed his people—so he did everything he could to achieve that effect. And yet, later on, Trevenant can also represent Nozzy's older years as a reformed man who's grown beyond blind ire. Many of its Pokédex speak to its character as a kind nurturer and guardian of the forest.
— 💥Moves: Shadow Claw | Will-O-Wisp | Ingrain | Wood HammerGigalith represents Nozzy's druidic mastery not only with leaf and life (as others in his team succinctly do), but also with earth and terrain. I also like to imagine it as a protector of the Hidden City that Nozzy is the leader of in his later years, with its orange crystals absorbing solar energy and using them to blast any that would encroach and invade their home. Especially with its immense inner core.
— 💥Moves: Stone Edge | Rock Slide | Stealth Rock | Stomping Tantrum
— ✨Ability: Sturdy

Roscoe

🔎Overall. Roscoe is a werelion. He loves hunting, meeting new friends, and the crimson mark on his arm brands him as a fiery lycanthrope with blazing magic. He's a simple, feral, multiversal traveling himbo and his pokémon team matches that personality. They're the companions he's met along his many journeys and that resonate with his nature most. In fact, I can easily imagine him wanting to partake in battle alongside his pokémon.⭐Pyroar is literally Roscoe if he were a pokémon. A fiery lion? Can't be much more Roscoe than that. Like Pyroar, Roscoe will protect his friends with no regard for his own safety, he prefers to eat raw meat (he can simply cook it with his fiery claws), and his mane is quite glorious. The Life Orb item in draining HP also resembles how Roscoe's Blood Hunter abilities work.
— 💥Moves: Fire Fang | Noble Roar | Overheat | Taunt
— ✨Ability: Unnerve
— 🍂Nature: Naughty (+Atk, -SpD)
— 🧶Held Item: Life OrbIncineroar also represents Roscoe quite well. Roscoe too is motivated by strong opponents, bored by weak challengers, proud of his fighting spirit, and rough-mannered. Even Pokémon Shield's Pokédex entry of "but the way it helps out small pokémon shows that it has a kind side as well" exceptionally fits Roscoe, who has a weakness for cute things and must protect them at all costs. Incineroar fittingly is also a feline.
— 💥Moves: Darkest Lariat | Flare Blitz | Fake Out | Knock Off
— ✨Ability: IntimidateEmboar, while not a feline, is quite accurate to Roscoe too. Like Emboar, Roscoe can throw a good fiery punch / claw and enjoys himself in dire situations and fights. Emboar represents Roscoe's musclehead and brawny qualities, but also his gentler character in how he deeply cares for his friends too.
— 💥Moves: Heat Crash | Hammer Arm | Close CombatObstagoon is a punk. So is Roscoe. The former's also kinda inspired by gnolls, which fit Roscoe to some degree. He and Obstagoon share a staggering roar and shout.
— 💥Moves: Submission | Obstruct | Taunt | Fire PunchLuxray is an excellent hunter who can spot any prey and even see through solid objects. This is a useful ability not only for battle, but also for investigation and scouting. When Roscoe's keen nose fails him, Luxray's unbeatable sight can pick up his slack. Luxray being a feline justifies him being on Roscoe's predominantly fire-type team.
— 💥Moves: Wild Charge | CrunchLycanroc Midnight Form is a lycanthrope. Its eyes glow when it's excited and it loves to battle strong opponents. It is reckless, doesn't seem to be mind getting hurt, and loves to goad their opponent to making a false first move that's easily countered. Hey! These are all things Roscoe is too. Lycanroc's Rock typing also nicely balances out Roscoe's clear Fire type affinity. This is one of the rare instances where a different form of the same pokémon are on my characters' teams for wildly different reasons; while Ákos's Dusk Form Lycanroc represents them balancing offense and defense, Roscoe's Midnight Form Lycanroc is all about the thrill of the battle.
— 💥Moves: Fire Fang | Foul Play | Counter | Rock Slide

Lýtingr Shyvrgand

🔎Overall. Lýtingr was a pariah of the Reghed Tribes of the bitterfrost Icewind Dale region. When half their Bear Clan was slain by chardalyn-maddened clanmates, Lýtingr turned to the Blood Curse to attempt to rescue their spirit-trapped fiancé. Lýtingr is a character about turning to ancient lore and eldritch, forbidden magic to accomplish their goals. Even if said goal is as candid and straightforward as restoring their fiancé's soul to life. It leads to a campaign of ending Auril's Everlasting Rime in the region and making a pact with a temperamental ambitious goddess, but Lýtingr is a character about learning whatever necessary talent, taboo or not, if it means they can be embraced again by their husband-to-be. Many pokémon on their team reflect their nomadic hunter lifestyle, their region, and their delving into the Blood Hunter arts. They can even disguise themself as a Ghost or Ice-type gym leader!⭐Decidueye, as I imagine it, is not originally Lýtingr's pokémon. Lýtingr's fiancé Ymir was the tribe's best hunter. By far. With the keenest eye in the frigid dale, I easily see Ymir raising and venturing with a Rowlet and evolving it into a Decidueye. Ymir's Rowlet was quite special too, being shiny-colored and a better chameleon in the arctic tundras of the north. When Ymir's bow was discovered without the half-elf in sight, it would've been Decidueye to have gone to Lýtingr and show them the perils of chardalyn. Thus, while it may have been a rocky relationship at first, the two joined in their mutual goal of saving Ymir. Decidueye being Lýtingr's ace also represents the latter's journey in perfecting the longbow and adapting to Ymir's old hunting techniques as they explored Icewind Dale in hopes of discovering a solution to Ymir's spirit being trapped in the bow they wielded. Decidueye is a superb hunter and marksman, concealing arrow quills in its wings and launching them with pinprick precision. In fact, I think in this AU, it would've done a lot of the mentoring to impart onto Lýtingr even a fraction of their fiancé's skill. While only Hisuian Decidueye can learn the move Triple Arrows, I simply choose to believe Ymir is just that skilled of a trainer to come up with the move himself for his normal Decidueye to learn.
— 💥Moves: Spirit Shackle | Leaf Blade | Aerial Ace | Triple Arrows*
— ✨Ability: Long Reach
— 🍂Nature: Hardy (Neutral)
— 🧶Held Item: Yache BerryWeavile is likely Lýtingr's first pokémon that they had when it was a young Sneasel. Weaviles are cunning, intelligent, and adept hunters, having their own language of signals they use via carving claw marks and patterns on trees in their territory. When Lýtingr didn't end up being the expert hunter like they were expected to be at birth, Sneasel picked up the slack. After Ymir's entrapment, Lýtingr had learned to coordinate with Weavile, and the two make for a synchronized team of chilling hunters. Lýtingr was born with the Deadwinter Mark, which identifies them as one of Auril's Midwinter Children—a blessing that in actuality was meant to serve as fuel for the goddess's eventual rebirth. Their learning of the Blood Curse has allowed the half-orc to shape their innate ice magic from their mark to synergize with Weavile's swift and deadly ice moves.
— 💥Moves: Ice Shard | Triple Axel | Ice Spinner | Knock Off
— ✨Ability: PressureRunerigus represents Lýtingr's foray into the dark and forbidden arts of the Blood Curse. It is a cursed pokémon that has absorbed the spirit of a Yamask—a pokémon that arise from the spirits of the dead. How Runerigus is based on runestone paintings and serpentine mythology also conveys the sense of malicious eldritch knowledge that Lýtingr is attempting to wrangle and control to their own noble end of retrieving their beloved. I like to think that Runerigus is not exactly loyal like Weavile might be. Lýtingr made a pact to gain the primordial knowledge Runerigus possesses. It has a mind of its own and it keeps close / pretends to be on Lýtingr's team. There must be something that keeps its interest in the Blood Hunter, but we aren't privy to its mysterious reasons. Lýtingr's Hex spell might even be something taught by Runerigus, who has the same move.
— 💥Moves: Destiny Bond | Hex | Curse | Shadow Claw
— ✨Ability: Wandering Spirit
— 🧶Held Item: Spell TagMismagius is the counter to Runerigus. Where Runerigus is an eerie eldritch pokémon with unknowing motives, Mismagius stems from Lýtingr's fascination with ancient lore and knowledge learned through legitimate means like old recovered tomes and codices. Less desperation to revive their fiancé. Lýtingr wasn't a great hunter before they took the mantle of Ymir. They were a minstrel who told rousing stories of old heroes to motivate their clan, sourcing their tales from books and material their tribe's hunters gathered from scouring ruins. In this, Mismagius is a perfect representation of Lýtingr's esoteric bardship and "ye olde" speech. In some Pokédex entries Mismagius is described as sometimes uttering incantations that bring about happiness. And that was certainly one of Lýtingr's skills as a minstrel. It would definitely accompany Lýtingr whenever they played their odd langspil instrument and their true-to-name mischievous nature is a lighthearted foil to Runerigus's sinister aura.
— 💥Moves: Mystical Fire | Poltergeist | Future SightMamoswine is a wooly mammoth, abundant near the Bear Clan territories in Lýtingr's Reghed Tribe. As the Icewind Dale region is bitterly cold and equivalent to the arctic norths, it is the perfect climate for such a pokémon. An excellent strong companion that balances out the otherwise swift and agile pokémon. While Weaviles and other Reghed hunters would often prey upon Mamoswine, having a huge pokémon like it is clearly an advantage when the region is also home to ancient frost giants.
— 💥Moves: Earthquake | Ice Fang | Bulldoze | TakedownHisuian Avalugg, as I see it, is Lýtingr's most recent pokémon they obtained during their journey in ridding Icewind Dale from the Everlasting Rime. In part of their campaign they ventured to the Sea of Moving Ice, a series of ice floes. It was a treacherous, uncharted seascape with ice-locked shipwrecks scattered about. However, in order to reach Auril's abode of Grimskalle in the island of Solstice, Lýtingr had to cross the Sea. On said island there were gardens of statues of creatures petrified by the Frostmaiden's cruel ice magic. I imagine that Avalugg was one such creature that Lýtingr helped thaw. A creature so ancient that it had traveled centuries from the past of Auril's last period of activity. Its companionship, impenetrable defense, and pure immunity to the cold has proven to be a great boon to Lýtingr's team and quest.
— 💥Moves: Mountain Gale | Recover | Body Press | Stealth Rock
— ✨Ability: Sturdy
— 🧶Held Item: Chople Berry

Xyʑʑy

🔎Overall. Xyʑʑy is characterized by three major themes: food, fights, and fornication. They're a literal peach from the Feywild (Glamourtide and Dreamland in their setting) polymorphed into an exhilarating, glamorous, short, chubby creature. Think of a himbo, then expand that by 10x. That's Xyʑʑy, a fey who loves kindness, flirting, kissing, cooking, and adventuring as an envoy for their Archfey parent Gosh. The pokémon on Xyʑʑy's team are symbolic of their boundless positivity and their goals of making everyone happy and joyful. It's no wonder why Xyʑʑy would make an excellent fairy-type gym leader. They are, after all, borne from the realm of fairies!⭐Alcremie is exemplary of who and what Xyʑʑy is. A creature with a love for sweetness in all things and who is sweetness incarnate. Fruit is Xyʑʑy's specialty in their pastry chefhood, and Alcremie's multitude of variations means the pokémon is a natural duet partner for the short fey peach in their mixing. You could tell me Alcremie came from the same garden that Xyʑʑy did and their backstory would still make perfect sense. As Xyʑʑy's ace, the cook would absolutely Gigantamax their closest companion every opportunity they could—making Alcremie a majestic towering cake that would rival any pâtissier's skill. Xyʑʑy's favorite appearance of Alcremie is her Ruby Swirl with heart sweets. Xyʑʑy's unconditional love pairs well with Alcremie. Not because Xyʑʑy wants Alcremie to produce the exquisite, cherished cream that she does when she's loved, but simply because Xyʑʑy loves to make her happy and delighted.
— 💥Moves: Draining Kiss | Sweet Kiss | Aromatic Mist | Decorate
— ✨Ability: Sweet Veil
— 🍂Nature: Sassy (+SpD, -Spe)
— 🧶Held Item: Sitrus BerryBlissey is the embodiment of joy and happiness. It's in her instincts to nurture weakened and ill pokémon to full health with her eggs. With her very compassionate and unfailingly caring nature, she's wishes the best for any and all pokémon. Xyʑʑy, barring the egg-laying quality, is nearly the spitting image of Blissey. As a chef, Xyʑʑy would use Blissey's eggs to cook up a delightful dish that would put a smile on the dourest of people. Xyʑʑy would see it as a challenge! They are similar to a point where they are both sensitive to sad feelings and their first response is to rush over to them and make them happy by any means. It is very difficult to tear away Blissey from Xyʑʑy's side. One question remains: why does Blissey know Seismis Toss? Ever the gladiator and performer, perhaps Xyʑʑy's style rubbed off on her...
— 💥Moves: Soft-Boiled | Protect | Heal Bell | Seismic Toss
— ✨Ability: HealerTogekiss is the bringer of kindness, sweet blessings, and is known as the Jubilee Pokémon! Ever since it was a small Togepi, Xyʑʑy's Togekiss has accompanied the travelling bouncy fey, granting good luck and delight to any who come across them! Xyʑʑy never turns anyone down, and sees the positivity in people to a fault—even if they've hurt Xyʑʑy before. While Togekiss is sensitive to conflict, and sometimes Xyʑʑy marchin' to the beat of their own drum can cause this conflict, the two ultimately strive to usher in an era of peace, fun, and delight. Xyʑʑy doesn't know much about the concept of time—an era is longer than a week, right?
— 💥Moves: Roost | Air Slash | Wish | Moonblast
— ✨Ability: Serene Grace
— 🍂Nature: Timid (+Spe, -Atk)Lopunny is on Xyʑʑy's team for two obvious reasons. One: the internet memes and loves her. She's literally based on a playboy bunny. Xyʑʑy was awakened to be a sex icon and thus resonates with that vibe. Plus, Xyʑʑy has worn a playboy bunny outfit pleeeenty times before too. They love feeling sexy (it's all the time). Second reason: she's an amazing fighter. Her Mega Evolution transforms her into a powerhouse and an acrobatic brawler. Xyʑʑy's in awe of her graceful legs (Pokédex's wording by the way) being weapons of superdestruction and aspires to be just as sprightly and fierce as her. As a gladiator themself, Xyʑʑy is no stranger to theatrical combats. Lopunny evolves via friendship, so I imagine the two building a strong bond from reigning victorious in many colosseum doubles tournaments while in Dreamland. And of course, exactly like her trainer, her nature is naughty.
— 💥Moves: Return | High Jump Kick | Play Rough | Low Kick
— ✨Ability: Cute Charm
— 🍂Nature: Naughty (+Atk, -SpD)
— 🧶Held Item: LopunniteGrimmsnarl is a lot like Bayonetta if you think about it. The pokémon uses all the hair wrapped around his body to enhance his power and muscles to overwhelm foes. Grimmsnarl is no Gomorrah, but he's still demonic in aesthetic and vibe, especially considering his inspiration in oni and troll mythology. Plus, it's very fitting that Grimmsnarl is a lover of misdeeds and pranks, for it's in Xyʑʑy's nature too as a fey! I also really can't deny Xyʑʑy is a kinky character. Grimmsnarl, in a way, represents that aspect of them. Have you seen those strong muscles??? He can Spirit Break Xyʑʑy and they'd die content.
— 💥Moves: Bulk Up | Spirit Break | Crunch | Substitute
— ✨Ability: Prankster
— 🍂Nature: Naughty (+Atk, -SpD)Tinkaton is a hilariously accurate pokémon for Xyʑʑy's team. When I first saw her reveal in Scarlet / Violet I immediately knew she required a spot. She's got this larger-than-life bubbly personality. Also a huge screw-off hammer. She's probably based on the character trope of small innocent girls with colossal weapons, a trope I think represents Xyʑʑy quite well too! She's reckless and loves to fight. AND she steals whatever the heck she pleases with a carefree attitude? Yeah, that's Xyʑʑy. She's an absolute gremlin and I love her. Her item is an Air Balloon not because it's competitively sound in VGC, but simply because the idea of her dropping in a battle from dozens of feet high is amazing.
— 💥Moves: Gigaton Hammer | Knock Off | Encore | Play Rough
— ✨Ability: Own Tempo
— 🍂Nature: Brave (+Atk, -Spe)
— 🧶Held Item: Air Balloon

Taroo

🔎Overall. Taroo is three things: a kinesthetic learner, a stargazer, and a good friend. Ever since they were blessed by their celestial spirit guardian Alnilam, the furry halfling's been able to call upon Azure Magic to mimic abilities from creatures they've bonded with—either via friendship or battle. Taroo's pokémon team is split between these qualities of reflection with their cosmic imitation magic and their brotherhood comradery with their fratmates in the Blue ΦβΦ.⭐Smeargle is so obviously Taroo-coded that it would've been a crime if the pokémon wasn't the Azurist's ace. Smeargle's whole gimmick is learning other pokémons' moves, something that represents Taroo and Blue Mages perfectly! I also see Smeargle as a pokémon who loves exploring and discovering as much as it can, making it a faithful companion to the halfling whose whole drive is gaining experience by mimicking others' powers to overcome adversaries and obstacles. Smeargle is an expressive, creative artist, a trait very fitting of my halflings' culture. In one Pokédex entry, "once Smeagle becomes an adult, it has a tendency to let its comrades plant footprints on its back". I honestly think this is quite sweet—the pokémon always wants to keep the memory of its loved ones close with them wherever they go on their journey. Taroo's first Blue Bonds they gained with their Azure Magic was their best friends and fratmates in the the Blue ΦβΦ fraternity, meaning Taroo always travels with their mates even should they be separated. I think Smeargle gets along quite well with Taroo—Smeargle is based on a beagle and my version of halflings faintly resemble otter-like people! I also imagine that Smeargle's moves are always cycling out; it's too stubborn to ever forget Sketch. There's a few moves that Taroo might've taught it, but Smeargle isn't satisfied with a static move pool.
— 💥Moves: Sketch — Icy Wind 🗘 Mystical Power 🗘 Spore 🗘 Signal Beam
— ✨Ability: Own Tempo
— 🍂Nature: Rash (+SpA, -SpD)
— 🧶Held Item: Focus SashDitto is another perfect Taroo pokémon. Where Smeargle mimics moves, Ditto mimics the entire pokémon itself. Taroo is the type of Azurist that when mimicking abilities, they transform parts of their own body to resemble that of the creature they're borrowing from. Very much like Ditto! There's something about Ditto's devil-may-care smile that's relatable when Taroo discovered a shiny Ditto. It's a similar coloration to their Azure Magic, so perhaps it was even fate...
— 💥Moves: Transform
— ✨Ability: ImposterCosmog embodies the spark of cosmic magic that Taroo's celestial spirit guardian bestowed upon them, unlocking their latent potential for Azure Magic. Cosmog in ages past was called the "child of the stars", a phrase similar to what Alnilam called Taroo for having noticed the latter stargaze for most of their life. Such phrases seem like common parlance for ancient beings. In Shield's Pokédex entry, "Cosmog is very curious but not very cautious, often placing itself in danger". As a curious halfling, Taroo is reckless and leaves caution as an afterthought. They leave the caution to their preparations, letting their whim and inquisitive spirit take the reins when they're out adventuring or resolving bounties. I also see Cosmog as a small spirit that will eventually transform into something magnificent and legendary if nurtured well. Though Taroo has been accumulating much experience, they've still much to learn before they can become the legendary Navy Nightingale! Unlike Cosmoem and Lunala also in other characters' teams, I don't think Taroo uses Cosmog in battle. They don't want to put it in harm's way!

Perrserker represents Taroo's battle-hardy thrill-seeking dwarven barbarian fratmate Wayward Wayfarer by the Wayside! While Wayfarer is not the Berserker subclass, Perrserker's Steely Spirit ability does aptly describe the dwarf's agile swings with his dual scimitars! Plus he can take any hit that comes his way, complementing the pokémon's great resistances from its pure steel typing.
— 💥Moves: Iron Head | U-Turn | Fake Out | Steel Claw
— ✨Ability: Steely Spirit

Delphox represents Taroo's dramatic showman tiefling bard fratmate Dreamer of the Azure Curtain! Most Delphox aren't as emotive as Dreamer, but the bard's focus on expressive performative magic complement the witch fox quite well.
— 💥Moves: Mystical Fire | Calm Mind | Psychic | Fire Spin
— ✨Ability: Magician

Magnezone represents Taroo's ingenious energized goblin artificer fratmate One-Who-Claims-Victory! Don't be fooled by the Final Fantasy Tactics Dark Knight art, Victory is a nimble creature with a deadly Lightning Launcher. Magnezone is a strange pokémon of strange make that emits strange signals and evolved via strange methods. That's a lotta strange; Victory's circumstance as an dabbler of artifice differs quite radically from his old goblin clan. Adapting from his exile, Victory's keen genius resorted to odd dark metallic materials and wild magics to hone his craft to be the cunning artificer he is today. I can easily see him building a Magnezone of his own!
— 💥Moves: Flash Cannon | Thunderbolt | Eerie Impulse | Toxic
— ✨Ability: Analytic

Ptero / Tarot

🔎Overall. Ptero is a very nuanced character looking to overcome past trauma and seek some form of atonement as a former assassin. Their decades as a supernatural killer for the Nevermores haunts the older wayfarer as they struggle to pay repentance. But in their journey they come across kind souls who break through that cold shell and motivate them to reunite with their estranged daughter and try to dismantle their former, clandestine organization that sought to puppeteer the world through manipulation and precise target elimination. Ptero's pokémon team is a reflection of the phases of their life—their youth as a fire dancer for their tribe, their adult life as a grim assassin, and their elder years as an atoning monk. Ptero is drawn to these pokémon, relating to how they're usually pariahs, seen as malicious, or otherwise unwanted. They want to use their own skills and the skills of their team to improve the world around them as a protector, rather than a killer or a haunter. Even if it means they must take up the heavy burden that redemption may never be possible. It's quite fitting that Ptero has five ghost-type pokémon, and the only one that isn't is a representation of Ptero's pacifistic attempts to atone.⭐Urshifu Rapid Strike . . .
— 💥Moves: Surging Strikes | Fire Punch | Aerial Ace | Close Combat
— ✨Ability: Unseen Fist
— 🍂Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
— 🧶Held Item: Protective PadsCeruledge is . . .

• Go Back

Big Bounty Elimination Guild is a public D&D 5e Discord server with a focus on asynchronous combat-based one-shots that plays like Monster Hunter with no commitment requirement and is new player & homebrew friendly. We're a welcoming, inclusive community dedicated to exploring and pushing the boundaries of 5e combat through fun and interesting encounter design.

• Join using this Invite Link

Server sidebar

Here's how Big Bounty Elimination Guild (BBEG) works at its core.

1. You create a character by following the process in #📋member-registration. This will be your sole character as you play in BBEG, emphasizing meta progression. Your starting rank and level is @🐣Fledgling (Lv. 2).

2. Bounties are the mainstay of BBEG. They are one-shots centered around combat encounters of myriad kinds. Bounty Coordinators (BCs) are the DMs for these, and whenever they want to run a Bounty, its information will be posted in #🔪bounty-board for your perusal.

3. Find an interesting Bounty you're eligible for? The BC for that will have also made an LFG post in 🗪👥lfg. Check that forum out and send a message expressing your interest! The BC will also note down any quirks or details that a Bounty might possess.

4. Once enough folks have expressed interest, the BC will create a When2Meet or similar scheduling table. Scheduling is the biggest battle of D&D, so it's up to the whole team + the BC to figure out the best time slot to run the Bounty.

5. When game time comes, the team will congregate in the 🔊︎🏹Strike Squad voice channel. The BC will introduce the Bounty and have your characters travel from the in-universe hub location (lovingly called HUB, or Hunter's United Bastion) to the combat encounter! Roll intiative!

6. Should your team prevail, you will be awarded with XP and gold. Enough XP, you'll be able to level up and ascend the ranks! Enough gold and you can browse through #💰mercenarys-market, 🗪💠catalysts-crystarium, and more to provision better equipment and gear!

Of course, there's more, but this is the foundational gameplay loop of BBEG. Ever played or watched Monster Hunter? Then you get the idea. The #🤝onboarding-program channel provides an excellent bundle of details about the overall functions and features of the server.

Combat comes in all sizes, and Bounty Coordinators are encouraged to explore all sorts of unique encounters! Bounties can range from a singular boss monster, to hordes of smaller enemies besieging a small village, and much more. Bounties might often have the simple objective of defeating your quarry, but they could very well also have other twists and turns, like search & rescuing, capturing creatures, or retrieving a particular item. Monster Hunter was a huge inspiration in BBEG's conception, but teaming up and hunting large beasts and behemoths isn't our only specialty!

An example of a Bounty post

Hunter's United Bastion, or HUB, is the center city-state of our in-world operations, situated in the fantasy world of The Realm. This setting is amorphous, flexible to suit the needs of our game. Places, regions, peoples, cultures, and anything that fits the worldbuilding scope exists when we need it to for the purposes of serving a Bounty. Other than HUB, nothing else is truly written in stone. Pantheons of gods may come and go. Cities and regions may spring up overnight. And even other planes of existence may spawn if a Bounty calls for it. Bounty Coordinators designing Bounties and combat encounters are granted vast creative freedom to explore their ideas. Lore doesn't even have to exist for a Bounty if it's too bothersome! As long as Bounties are relatively fantasy-adjacent, you'll find a great variety of missions and tasks on the Bounty Board. On the flip side, this also means members are free to write their own creative (optional) backstories for their characters!

BBEG members wrangle a dragon tamer's rowdy wyrmlings

Naturally, this extends to our fondness for homebrew. I love core 5e as much as the next person, but I often see the shortcomings of official monster design in the system. As a keen enthusiast of homebrew, BBEG was infused with it from the very beginning. You'll find homebrew in all facets of play, including encounter design, a creature's statblock, items sold in the shops, and even in PC classes. Bounty Coordinators are encouraged to homebrew their Bounties to give them a unique and memorable edge. If a recruit wants to use homebrew during character creation, all they need to do is but ask and we'll evaluate it together to ensure our server is balanced towards a fun experience for all. We don't want one member outshining everyone else, after all. Heck, even my own character in BBEG, Taroo is a Blue Mage-esque class I homebrewed based on Final Fantasy's incarnation!

If homebrew doesn't appeal to you, you will not enjoy BBEG.To that end, I understand that tons of homebrew building over time can be overwhelming. A Bounty Coordinator might have a team where everyone is a homebrew class, or the local Wizard has a good deal of homebrew spells. Conversely, a player might find a Bounty's main enemy to be steeped in complex mechanics difficult to keep track of.
BBEG has a few systems to help alleviate this:

1. All player-used homebrew is publicly catalogued in the #🧰homebrew-hall channel and all such homebrew should be easily accessible for anyone.

2. Bounty Coordinators have access to our internal resources that compiles every character's stats, info, and where to find their character sheets.

3. For players, BBEG introduces a new learnable skill called 🔍Analyze. It represents a character's ability to discern the combat capabilities of a foe, augmented by their knowledge of battle, martial skills, strategy, warfare, and instinct. Analyze is a catch-all skill when it comes to determining what a creature can do in combat, such as identifying a dragon's Breath Weapon, a skeleton's weakness to bludgeoning or radiant damage, or a kobold band's Pack Tactics. It can even be used to determine more statistical abilities of a creature, like armor class or a saving throw bonus. Analyze is designed to allow tactical thinking and strategizing during Bounties. To not punish player action economy, the Analyze skill is a free action that can be used once per character's turn. And a second Analyze can be performed at the cost of an action. Whenever an Analyze check is successful, the Bounty Coordinator posts the respective result in the #🎬voice-chat channel so that the team can freely refer to it.

An example of an overall Analyze

BBEG is a community where you determine your level of participation. All members' time is valuable. We do not hold anyone to complete a sort of Bounty quota per arbitrary period. Sometimes life takes us away from the sword and no matter the reason, those folks are valid. Members can participate in as many or as little Bounties as they wish, and even choose to retire if they find BBEG work too much to handle. Participate in over 30 Bounties or in just a couple, our community welcomes you!

BBEG members battle against the Phoenox

When I say that we're a community, I want to emphasize that as a pillar of what BBEG is. From the start, inclusivity is the backbone of who we are and I don't ever intend to change that. As a queer person, I wanted to foster a community that's welcoming to folks like me. Bigotry is never tolerated on our server in any shape or form. Indeed, the first rule of the server is that we're the Big Bigot Elimination Guild too. Bounties are never made with a premise that aims at othering. We're here to enjoy 5e combat in the company of friends, not to worry if some tool might passive-aggressively complain that they can't be fantasy racist.Free speech does not mean you're exempt from consequence.

On that note, there's more to BBEG than just participating in Bounties and dispatching your foes. Though roleplaying is totally optional, there's a dedicated space for it in the 🗪🎭role-play-parlor forum. Boast about your successful exploits in #🎤boasters-balcony with anything creative to get further rewards like Inspiration for your next venture. Trade with other members in the #🎪traders-tent. Occasionally we even have seasonal server-wide festivals that anyone can partake in, like #⛄winters-wishlight or the PvP oriented #🌀battle-of-the-blue! Many of these feature mini-games.Anyone can become a Bounty Coordinator upon spectating or participating in a Greenhorn Bounty; there's no other requirement than your enthusiasm to add to our ever-expanding Bounty list!

Want to join a friend but their character is off defeating adult dragons and you're but a smol 2nd level character? Or are you wanting to join a friend who recently signed up, but you yourself are the dragon slayer, too competent to participate in a 1st level Fledgling Bounty? We've gotchu covered. BBEG employs a Guest Character system, allowing members to create a temporary, one time use character to participate in such Bounties. While BBEG focuses on progressing through the ranks with a single character, level gaps like these are inevitable and we still want to play with our buds!

BBEG members protect a canine wizard from zombies; note the blue-bordered Guest Character Bori'quen

Should any of this interest you, why don't you check out the server and browse through our channels? We'd love to add your story to our brandishing tales of heroism!

• Join using this Invite Link

• Go Back

How to Spot a Frosty D&D Character

The Lineup

⚔️ Mix of Martial and Magic ☄️

Additional commentary:
— Starlight magic, or Lux Asterum Phari has homebrew spells you can use for yourself at this Homebrewery link
— Opus's magically shifting weapon is called Zenith, a boltblade, the combination of a longsword and a crossbow. Aka a gunblade but not. Gunblades are rad.
— Roscoe wielded a gunblade himself for the one-shot he was a Gunslinger. He called it his boomblade.

🌈Queer

Additional commentary:
— Opus is also polyamorous. In the epilogue of their campaign they married Ephram Wixwicket, and decades later Osprey Lorendiel found romantic love with both gnomes.
— Ákos is dating Isnath now!

💫 Body Markings

Additional commentary:
— Ákos's constellation tattoos have changed since then. After meeting their god the Wayfinder in a vision, he imbued their constellations with a gold color to ward off death. In addition, in a side adventure with Opus, Ákos released a family of fire giant ghosts from the seething hatred of a dwarf wraith and vowed to protect them, gaining them Tessidrack's constellation on the back of their left hand. Tessidrack is the original god of the giants who died fighting Tiamat ages ago, his symbol being six eyes of the primal elements. In Opus's campaign, the Wayfinder took the lost giants under his wing.

🔗 Earrings

🧔 Facial Hair

🧵 Outfits with Patterns

💬 Accents and/or Other Speech Idiosyncrasies

🪕 Plays an Unusual Instrument 🥁

🌟 Newfound Faith

Additional commentary:
— Ákos met the Wayfinder in a vision! Both Ákos's and Opus's meeting their god sparked a crisis of faith in the two. Still, their expression of faith is still polar opposite, even after having met each other.

💖 Immensely Values Love (of many kinds)

Additional commentary:
— Opus married Ephram post-campaign! As well as Osprey decades later.
— Guess who asked out Isnath? That's right. Ákos. Hell yeah.

👤 Profession Changed From Adventuring 🏃

🔤 Meaningful Names, sometimes w/ diacritics

📜 Big Backstory

🛠️ Tool Proficiencies

🕊️ Good-Aligned

🎯 Meet EYEBALL
My old Lancer character when I was in a campaign for that!

🌱 Starts off Young

Miscellaneous - 🐲 Part 1

Additional commentary:
— "It will happen😡" well it did :)
— I'm wearing a tanktop right now developing this website, so it still holds true, huh

• Go Back

Always and Forever

Preface

Heya! For those reading that may be unfamiliar (which should be a vast majority?), Opus Loregit is a Rock Gnome Artificer that I play in an ongoing Dungeons & Dragons 5e campaign called Skies of Shambhala, ran by my good friend Jay. Over the past couple of years, Opus gradually became an incredibly meaningful and special character to me. Ever since they set out on their family's rite-of-passage, they've experienced a lot of character development. They went through the highest highs of making new friends, finding love, nurturing the soul of their robotic yak companion Magnum, discovering a new god, and even inventing two new schools of magic. But they've also gone through the throes of the lowest lows—seeing death for the first time, watching their friends die, struggling with PTSD, survivor's guilt, and sacrificing the spirit of Magnum.
Yet in all of this, Opus grew and matured more than I ever imagined. They've learned to truly love and cherish the bonds of friendship and family. They've learned to heal and grieve. They've learned to open up, and that it's okay to be vulnerable. They've learned to keep nourishing the spark of genius that nestles within to new heights, and to act as a faithful guide to the god Wayfinder. As once a lost Wanderer who needed guidance in the path they walked astray, they too will follow the Guiding Star, hoping to give the same guidance to those lost from their families and paths.Opus represents a brilliant flare of creativity. They represent growth, healing, and failing forward until you get it. They represent being lost and alone, but the tempered ties of love, friendship, and family pulling them back up to the surface, not letting them drown in the darkness. It's my hope that this playlist can act as but a small window into the eyes of Opus "The Wanderer" Loregit.The tracks that I've selected can generally be sorted in a few ways.
1 Opus was taught how to play the banjo by their best friend Osprey, so many songs heavily feature it or a similar stringed instrument like the guitar. I can imagine many of these being played by the gnome by the licking of a campfire's flame, whether as a tune they've composed or a tune they've heard.
2 Many of these don't feature lyrics and rather focuses on the instrumental or the melody of a song, mostly out of personal taste. Experiencing emotion through melody is a big part of how I enjoy music, and I hope that you can feel the same things I feel when listening to them.
Tracks with lyrics are marked with a ⛯ symbol.
3 The playlist is placed in a rough chronological order of the D&D campaigns' events, telling a narrative story of Opus's character development through the 18 tracks.Thank you so much for spending your time here, and I hope you enjoy.

1. Seeing Gales from Sîal Gales

Sugar Maple - Noam Pikelny

For all of Opus's childhood, they've trained, read, built, scrapped, and built again the idea of their family's heritage and their role in it. Being one of four quadruplets and vying for the honor of family head at the end of their rite-of-passage meant the world to the young artificer. Not only does this track represent the quaint life of the port town of Sîal Gales, but the lack of true hardships Opus experienced with their wealthy status. In a way, it embodies the gnome's idiosyncrasies, their quirky phrases that many don't seem to understand, and their naivete towards true life outside their family's estate and in the world, beyond the books and lessons they've learned from their mentor Mrylori.

2. Tales from the Dusty Pages ⛯

Vagrant Song - Pyre

Being an avid bookworm for the entirety of their childhood, Opus is well versed in the tales of yore and the fables of eld. Vagrant Song is a solemn song about such stories that enticed and fostered the young gnome's wanderlust. Not only igniting a want to replicate the bardic legends of the world's mysteries in strum but to explore them as well. Why did the moon cry? Where is the corpse of the titan? Opus's curiosity leads them wanting to understand but to also immortalize their sorrowful tale as they cross the vast oceans at the beginning of their 5 year long rite-of-passage—their Itinere.

3. Battle Buzz

Knights of the Sea (Acoustic) - Pyre

Fantasizing about battling a damned foe with a hearty, haughty tune to match, Opus imagined awesome skirmishes against evil villains, putting them in their rightful place as the hero of the story. To solve any dastardly crime as the hailed detective! The laureled artificer who fuses magic and engineering both!Does this child's fantasy shatter when they witness their first tinge of reality? Of death? Perhaps. But perhaps a tiny sliver of that battle buzz remains within the gnome.

4. Death, ⛯

My Long Lost Friend - We Are All Fossils

Missing the memories never made. Missing the friends they never got to fully know. Missing the stories they never told. Missing their family they couldn't go back to.
Why did they have to die?
Why did the hag spare them?Scarred.
Alone.
Afraid.

5. A Nova That Lasts Forever ⛯

Alone - Alan Walker

Alan Walker's Alone is so incredibly inspiring (its lyrics even inspired a later track's name in this playlist), and I feel that Opus meeting Osprey at the Livingwood College post TPK and befriending him is representative of that inspiration. That truly, they didn't have to be alone. They didn't have to grieve alone. And every day and every night with that elf scholar was something the coping gnome never wanted to forget. If I were to emphasize one central line that Opus clung to throughout that year of healing, it would definitely be "never let me go."

6. Twilight Memories of a Woebegone Wanderer

Orewell, Beneath the Crags - Octopath Traveler
Metal arrangement by FamilyJules

A woeful track backed by a distant swelling of hope, this song was the first that Opus learned when Osprey taught them the banjo. Rather, it was something they both composed as a tribute to the lost Wanderers of Shambhala. It took months in the year following their old friends' deaths to learn it, but they eventually grew to fancy its tangle. The song's a curtain of sunsetting dusk, a wrapping on the memories that will linger forever, but to also continue in their name as the Wanderer. Opus on the sorrowful strings, with Osprey on the uplifting winds, sporting a gentle, encouraging smile.

7. Event Horizon ⛯

Alone, Pt. II - Alan Walker & Ava Max
Cover by ZERØ

If there's one infallibly true statement about that weird, quirky gnome Opus Loregit, it's that they unapologetically love Osprey Lorendiel. They couldn't deny they crushed hard on the elf, almost unhealthily so. Nothing they've read in their childhood about love stories prepared them for the butterflies, the burning knots in their stomach, and the fumbling of their duo adventures. Being around Ospy was simultaneously soothing and a tumultuous tempest of emotions and feelings. From being rescued by the mage from obscurantists under the Livingwood College that sought to keep secrets hidden, to discovering a new god—the Wayfinder and his Guiding Star—to helping him write his thesis, to spending nights watching the stars and playing music together; Opus was ensorcelled by him in every way.
Alone, Pt. II builds on the first Alone track featured in this playlist, a nova that lasts forever, where Opus crosses the event horizon and finally gathers their courage to confess (you can read that story here!). Though Osprey is a gray ace of sorts, there's no refuting that the platonic love between their best friendship is perhaps stronger than the toughest metals in the world. These two queer kids deserve each other.
ZERØ's cover of the song better resonates with the chemistry between these two over the original, fully capturing the complex emotions Opus felt.

8. I Know I'm Not Alone

Main Theme - Outer Wilds

A simple, short, homespun melody that reminds Opus that they aren't alone. As the tune grows slightly more complex beyond the first third, the gnome remembers that each new bit is a friend that's there with them, and a friend that they'd travel with to the ends of the earth if it means they're safe.

9. With You Here

The Legendary Theme (Acoustic) - Gitaroo Man

"I reckon everythin'll be alright s'long as we've got each otha's backs, right?"

10. Wayfinder's Will ⛯

In the Flame - Pyre

Resolute. Resolve.
Tiamat hunts the Wayfinder, seeking to seize that spark of Divinity that she once held. That allowed him to Ascend. Blessed by the Wayfinder and under his Guiding Star's beacon, Opus sets forth to thwart her nefarious plan.
Strands may break alone, and Opus knows they cannot do this by themself, for they are hunted by Arkhan the Cruel, the five-headed dragon's vilest general.
But together, twisted, they and their party make a braid.
And the journey shall be made.

11. A Web of Shared Sorrow

Waveland - Noam Pikelny

To truly care is to share in the sorrow of another. To empathize with their pain and their suffering. To offer a shoulder and lend an ear.
Waveland is such an intricate, interwoven piece that I never thought was possible for a banjo, but Noam pulls it off masterfully, a tangled web of grief and melancholy that Opus feels for their friends and family.
For slaying Ardanaste, the last guardian angel of Shambhala, in the necessary trial to release and redeem Kaeman from his eternal prison. To free Merro.
For the people that suffered eons ago from Kaeman's tyranny.
For the countrymen that lost their nation, their families, their livelihoods.
For the lost leader Rentalla, ripped from her time to one of a derelict home.
For the strong Kali and the wise Amani, wishing to keep their families safe from danger.
For the friend who lost contact with her son.
For the friend that was scared of who he really was.
For the friend who felt only two-thirds of a whole.

12. Magnum Opus ⛯

For the Widows in Paradise, for the Fatherless in Ypsilanti - Sufjan Stevens

Sufjan's song is steeped in religious overtones. While it's possible to compare the lyrics to Opus's newfound faith and purpose of following the Wayfinder, it's much more appropriate to relate to Opus's love for Magnum, the robotic yak companion they built.
The title I crafted for it, Magnum Opus, and the whole inspiration for their initial character, Opus and Magnum were a synchronous unit. Ever since they were a young child mentored by the elven scribe Mrylori, Opus kept tinkering with a yak construct, hoping to animate it, hoping to gain a new friend. Shortly after they set off, Magnum sprung to life, and the two traveled together, feeling invincible as artificer and steel defender.
Opus did everything for Magnum like a parent for their son. They rebuilt him after every scrap, upgraded him to hover and fly, and even developed a soul core that awakened a spirit. Their love and bond was unbreakable, and it felt that there wasn't anything they couldn't do by each other's side.
But then harrowing tidings came, and Opus had to make a choice. The Warforged would perish if Opus's miraculous invention of the soul core couldn't be dismantled and reverse-engineered. Magnum had to be taken apart; one soul to save a family of hundreds.
His final words were "I don’t fully understand everything, but I believe in you. You can fix me."And so, like the lyrics say, "if there's anything to do, I'll do anything for you," Opus examined the self-sentient, infinitely unraveling soul core of Magnum and decided to begin remaking him as a Warforged with the help of Magnis and the world's best tinkerers. Anything to bring him back. The first step? By inventing Animancy—magic of the soul.

13. Astral Arc Attack!

Field of Hopes and Dreams - Deltarune
Banjo Cover by BanjoGuyOllie

A wave of determination fills Opus with a track that fuels their will to fight to protect what's right! Always protect the bonds of family, and they'll use whatever skills at their disposal to secure their wellbeing! Opus isn't a naïve kid anymore, and the upbeat, valiant tune of this song represents their progress along this road of growth, but also indicates their worth as a clever and competent combatant. The days of cowering are gone (mostly), and despite the traumatic fear of death always rooted in their skull, they'll do everything they can to shift the battlefield under their control.They may be timid, but you best not provoke them. For your sake.Also check out this rad as heck symphonic metal cover of the same song for extra intense battles!

14. Home Is Wherever I Roam ⛯

Reach for the Stars - Sonic Colors
Cover by Emi Jones ft. Skye Rocket & Jesse Pajamas

This beautiful guitar cover of Reach for the Stars is a relaxing rendition of the original. While the original boasted a fiery, upbeat electric track that the Sonic franchise is known for, this slower cover presents a unique rhythm that's even more uplifting, something I think fits Opus and their life's purpose quite well.
Their ambition to roam the world, continue to invent, guide those in need, and experience life under the Guiding Star with their best friend Osprey Lorendiel is all summarized in this serene piece.
They're going to reach for the stars, and nothing will stop them from finding their way.

15. Home's Hearth

Travelers - Outer Wilds

Outer Wilds is one of my top 3 favorite games of all time, and I think its themes resonate extremely well with Opus's entire premise. Opus wrote this song as an ultimate homage to their family, both blood and found, their friends, and those they love. Ever since Opus expressed interest in wanting to learn music (even as far back as the first few sessions of the campaign of them asking Sonya—a late companion they saw as a second mother—to help them build a banjo), I've been ruminating on how I could express Opus's empathy and drive to protect the bonds they cared so much about. The answer was this: Home's Hearth, based on the Travelers theme from Outer Wilds.
With Opus's banjo, Osprey's ocarina, the instruments of their friends and siblings, and a style reminiscent of their home of Sîal Gales (even accounting for some of the instruments being out of tune based on Opus's inexperience), this track represents everything Opus strives to live for.Learning to play guitar through late 2020 and 2021 and finally playing it in place of Kain White's cover when reuniting with Osprey and Scrim (one of their siblings) is one of the most memorable moments I ever had in D&D.
Come and sit by the hearth, friend. Let's play a tune.

16. Observatory

Timber Hearth - Outer Wilds

When they're not reminiscing on the past, there's aspirations to hold for the future. Sometimes it's okay to take a break from the hard work, the breakthroughs in science and magic, and sit down for a spell to relax. This tune, another one of my favorites from Outer Wilds, is just that. A soft, gentle yearning for what the future may hold in store, a glimmer of hope that shines from the brightest star in the cosmos, just waiting to be observed.
To Magnis's trove of likeminded gnomes, inventors, wizards, and artificers where they can settle and work on Lux asterum phari (Wayfinder's Starlight) or Animancy.
To Ushkult's giantkin and their rejuvenating culture thanks to the welkin of the Wayfinder. To all other regions and places in the world that they itch to set foot with Osprey. To deeper friendships with Ephram and other new, budding folk. The future is where the heart is.

17. Live,

End Theme - 5 Centimeters per Second
Piano cover by Theishter

First, I want to say that 5 Centimeters per Second is my absolute favorite film of all time. It was the last thing I watched with my late best friend before he passed away in 2012, and ever since that memory has never left. The movie is a masterpiece, and it was a struggle to single out one piece from it to put here. A good majority of it represents not only Opus's journey but my own with grief.5 Centimeters per Second is a film about distance causing drift amongst those who were very close, feeling empty and chasing something unreachable. In a way, that is the life of Opus. Ever since the start of their Itinere, a rite-of-passage to discover something new for their family's world-renowned Hall of Histories, Opus chased the prospect of new. They had ambition, they had drive, they had motivation to become the next family head of the Loregits.
But a lot of that fizzled. They were alone. Away from family, away from their siblings. Away from everything they loved. Their first friends died to a horrible hag who relentlessly pursued them. It all was desolate.Then they learned to live. To live is to move on and to accept. When Opus reunited with the spirits of their late friends in the Heart of all Magic, they finally realized they were bottling up their will to move on. That they were loved, not only by them, but by Osprey, their best friend. That they would become someone that they would be proud of. That they themself could be proud of.
I particularly love this cover of the song; the beginning is played with hesitation, signaling a sense of reluctance to take the first step—to move on. But as the melody progresses, the song is played with increasing confidence. Reaching maturity.
That, no matter what happens, you continue to Live.

18. Always and Forever

End Credits - It Takes Two

Sometimes words cannot express emotion. Sometimes it can't express the all the pain you've endured. Sometimes it can't express the growth you've experienced. Sometimes it can't express the love you have for those you cherish.Sometimes it can't express the weight of the past, the friendships made, or the friendships lost. The people, each with stories to tell, each a beautiful tale. Sometimes it can't express the fleeting present, how things come and go. Sometimes it can't express the hopes and fears of the future.Sometimes it can't express what Opus had learned, nor can it express what Opus had taught me. In and out of the game. With friends. Loved ones. Memories.In these moments, you don't need words—just heart. The doubts, the desires, the dallying. The evermoving ripple of time. Of friends that have drifted away. Of friends you love so much. Of friends that you will make. Of loved ones past. Of loved ones future. Of many achievements you will make. Of many mistakes you will learn from. That the cruel moments that burden you now will come to pass. That the light will come.That you don't need to be perfect to be loved.
You just need to be you. Always, and forever.

• Go Back

A Star to Guide Us

“Congrats Ospy! I’m so happy fer ya!”“Opus! I’m glad you came to my class’s graduation. Was nice seeing you and Magnum out in the crowd, hehe.”“How’s it feel? Havin’ graduated ‘nd all.”Osprey smiled, pulled a hand to scratch an itch behind his head, and took a good look at everything around him. Many folk gravitated towards the trunk of the absolutely colossal tree the Livingwood College was built around. With the autumn season in full swing, beautiful, vibrant leaves layered the outdoor auditorium stage in a plethora of colors. It was a time of pride and a time of celebration. Many of his classmates were here with their families, several having traversed the span of the world in order to reach the solitary campus underneath the realm’s largest tree. It was a time to be hopeful towards the future.He looked back towards his bright-eyed gnome friend, clad in their usual violet swirls that contrasted the navy sea of graduation robes. “Certainly surreal.” He laughed, almost in disbelief to having gone through the whole ceremony. After removing his cap and unfurling his curly red hair, he felt the slight wind brush against the back of his neck. The rush of folk stepping off the stage and speaking with professors and fellow students was in full swing, and the two certainly felt constricted by the lack of space.“Is your metal buddy alright?” He asked Opus, noting their brass four-legged construct sticking close to his master, albeit a bit more quivery than normal.“I reckon he’s a li’l antsy havin’ to stay still for a few hours ‘nd listen to all yer profs’ speeches.”The hefty short elf put a thumb to his chin and closed his eyes for a moment, “c’mon, let’s head to our spot. You can ride him on the way.”A surprised Opus shook their head and instinctively ruffled the artificial foliage they built their metallic companion with, “huh? But ain’t it early afternoon? Don’tcha wanna talk to yer profs or somethin’?”“Nah,” the taller of the two started, turning his back to Opus and getting a start on the journey, “everyone wants to talk to them right now. I got some time tomorrow to say my goodbyes. Plus, they have to prep for the Arcanacraft’s graduation in an hour. I’m not privy to subjecting you to that.”“Hey…!” Opus exclaimed to an elf who wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer, “didn’t you minor in Arcanacraft?”They mounted the leather saddle on Magnum, strapping their spell tome and notebooks in their appropriate holsters. It wasn’t uncommon for Opus to get curious looks at the Livingwood College; after all they were a gnome far from home with a mechanical construct blending engineering and magic. Many of their conversations on campus the past year started with an innocent “so what courses did you take to build that thing,” believing that they were a fellow student. And while that did net the lonely gnome a few acquaintances, they did have to push past a few unsavory types looking to tap into the artificer’s mind for nefarious purposes.Maneuvering around crowds, the duo made their way through administrative buildings of tanned wood and clockwork and trendsetting cafes that smelled of mint. One of the many benefits with building the world’s largest magical college underneath the world’s largest tree was the never-ending span of shade it provided. Perfect in the summer season, but in autumn, its vicious winds required even most wizard apprentices to shield themselves from leaf storms. Despite minor inconveniences, Opus still found an awe-inspiring sight every time they strolled campus, finding beauty in the pattern of the Tree’s enormous roots or the self-sufficient ecosystem it seemed to provide. It was an explorer’s dream, and that first month of befriending Osprey was a lengthy one, considering the gnome’s incessant desire to sketch every slight detail of the Tree from all angles.They stopped by Osprey’s apartment flat on the eastern edge of campus for just a few minutes. Opus mentally noted the last time they might see the teal and black feathers that adorned the doors and windows of the small building’s spiritual common rooms his companion had attached. Finally, after long moments of what seemed like lamentful reminiscing of every tiny detail of the oaken-built, creaky flat, their elven friend reemerged outside, ready in his cheery white and blue loose robes that highlighted his inviting and calming nature. He always looked good in that, Opus thought, more so than the modest navy graduation robes plastered with the College’s gaudy crest.Despite Opus’s pride and happiness towards their closest friend’s graduation, they masked a sense of nervousness. That feeling crept to the surface on the two’s silent journey out of campus and through the woods. As they traveled further southward, the Tree’s canopy increasingly broke through beams of light, where bundled vines, brush, and potpourris of flowers wildly flourished.Then, right at the edge of the Tree’s shady grasp, they found their spot. A spot dotted with hills and waterfalls descending tall cliffs towards the Zadyne Strait and its shimmering, reflective waters. A spot where a friendship was forged and memories were made.Opus rolled up their detached violet sleeves and dismounted Magnum, petting him and tuning the etherite crystal levitating between his twisty horns to power him down. “Do ya... want me to set it up?” They asked with a raised eyebrow, unfastening their patchwork Bag of Holding and lending it to a lonesome tree’s side atop the hill.“Nah,” the elf said, “not yet at least. Let’s just chat.”The platinum blonde-haired gnome raced through flashbacks of their companionship. Their spot evoked several memories of the past four months of observing the newfound Guiding Star in the night sky as part of Osprey’s stressful thesis and of the first few months of grieving and loneliness.Osprey’s face lifted, his freckles accentuating his smile as he sat by the tree and straightened his legs, resting a hand on his exposed belly. “I owe it to you,” he said, calmly looking towards the drifting clouds in the blue sky.“Naw naw. It’s fine, Ospy! Ya needed yer time, I understand.”“Still, I’m sorry. Hope that a week of shutting myself in my apartment can be made up with a self-care day like this, hehe.”The artificer sat next to their wizard friend, “I heard from Eris that Miss Enyorel hated yer revised thesis worse’n she hated her children. Like, worse’n the time she kept try’na say the device I built fer ya ‘ain’t a valid measurement o’ the star’s alignments.’”A tiny white bird landed on the tip of Osprey’s finger, pecking at it before moving on with its day. “Meh. Ms. Enyorel was just looking out for me. It’s not every year that a stranger to the College comes in and builds one of the most accurate instruments to chart the stars. I* wasn’t* surprised she was suspect of you.”With a calm smile on his face, the elven graduate pointed out the slew of sea vessels crossing the Strait towards the Livingwood College’s port. Even from far up atop a cliff, their multicolored sails and multinational flags flew firm and bold. Never on a boat past his birth, Osprey wondered how sea life was like. How it must have felt to live in wooden ships of wonder, sailing across a vast blue stretch of waves. Was it the life his parents intended for him, having been born on such a seafaring vessel? Or was it because his family was inspired by a group of sea hawks patiently hunting for prey in a connecting river the day before, and it was their way of bestowing the bird’s blessings on their child?Whatever the reason, his gnomish companion observed his distracted stare towards the skies. “I’m glad things worked out fer ya, though,” they said, their quiet and uneasy tone betraying their relief, “y’ain’t deservin’ o’ that stress.”Osprey chuckled softly, putting a robed hand over his mouth, “it would have been irresponsible of me to simply lose myself to the joys of stargazing when the brightest star in the sky was birthed in our lifetime.” However, he couldn’t deny feeling relieved, “of course, now that I’ve graduated, I can worry less on having to defend my thesis to the Theology Board and focus more on following my heart.”Opus shifted a bit, bunching their lips and taking their gaze away from the cloudy skies and towards the grassy hilltop. A peaceful silence took over them with the only sounds being the swaying branches of trees behind them. Minutes pass, and though Osprey revels in the tranquil vibes, his shorter friend fidgets with their swirly detached sleeves in nervousness. “I… I’m scared o’ bein’ lonely again without’cha. I just—I just get the naggin’ feelin’ I ain’t ever seein’ ya again when ya move out t’morrow ‘nd leave to go back.”The elf parted a strand of hair in front of his eyes and crossed his legs, seeing how the emotional artificer struggled to hold their tears crushed him. “Opus…” he began, fighting through the gnome’s sniffles and looking at their glossy violet eyes with a serene look, “you’ll be okay.”He gestured to the sky, where the daylight gradually reddened and the clouds slowly dispersed. “The world is huge, just waiting to be explored by you. And even though we might be apart,” he pointed to a precise spot in the sky above them, “the Guiding Star’s light will always burn bright and keep us connected.”Although he didn’t give the violet-clad gnome a chance to respond, he ushered them on their weary feet with a gleeful smirk, “c’mon, friend, let’s get it set up.”While normally Osprey kept their dress tidy, he never minded getting his white and blue patterned robes dirtied when helping Opus do their magic. The worst of it was just getting soot and grease on their exposed midriff and open-toed sandals after all. Nothing spells dedication to a friend’s craft than getting down and dirty with them to ensure their inventions don’t blow up.Though having configured the setup over several months has taken the process less and less time, it was still a meticulous arrangement. Opus gathered the necessary parts from the infinite extradimensional space of their Bag of Holding, retrieving copper tubes, metallic components, glass lenses, and other instruments that definitely seemed too large for the jerrybuilt satchel to contain individually. The artificer planted the embellished tripod at the normal spot, three indentations atop the hill apparent of its frequent use. Though Osprey had to shoo away curious small birds, he assisted with placing connecting clockwork so that Opus had time to install the adjustable and extendable copper tube that funneled outward towards the sky.After placing a few enchanted lenses at the end of the tube, mounting the appropriate celestial sextant and its angular mirrors underneath it, and doubly checking for smooth joints and rotations, Osprey wipes a developing bead of sweat from an eyebrow and crosses his arms. He twirls a teal feather affixed to his left sleeve. “Alright, ready for me to power it up?”“Ya bet’cha. Didn’t prep the See Invisibility lens t’night though, so that possum’s stayin’ in the pen.”The elven astral mage clasped his hands together, tensing his fingers and focusing intensely. It was one of the rare times he frowned, as glowing strings of white, dim light emerged from the joints of his fingers and conjoined into a lengthy ribbon of magic. Breathing a sigh of relief and relaxing his hands, Osprey directed the ribbon to overlay the elven inscriptions carved on the copper tube’s sides, the singular cursive phrase now fully lit with a magical battery. Opus couldn’t help but admire the nearly nonsensical wind blowing their friend’s hair in a powerful way during this step. It must have been an added prestidigitatious effect to make him look cooler, they thought.Both Opus and Osprey looked up and saw the sky dominated by darkening oranges and decorated with miniscule white dots. A dark blue night was approaching.“Hey, Opus,” the taller one said after a belligerent breeze died down, “let’s enjoy this. Twilight is ours to see.”With their fully configured and magically powered telescope, the two friends began to stargaze. It was odd for the duo, having been to this spot for the past month purely for the purposes of measuring alignments, celestial data, and magical resonance. Not having a thesis to continuously iterate and refine was a huge burden off their shoulders. Recalling earlier times in the year where Osprey was developing his thesis, the artificer retrieved a chart from their notebook on preliminary data the two gathered on the Guiding Star’s birth.“Remember this?” they said, holding up the parchment with neatly drawn sketches of their favorite hilltop spot complementing the margins, “remember how they said this ain’t a valid research source since I had ‘no credibility?’ And outright told ya the all-nighters we spent ain’t gonna fly?”The hefty graduate gave a knowing, deep laugh, “hehe, well, I remember reminding them that you’re from the Loregit family in Arcadia and it wouldn’t do right by them to disrespect a patron of the College’s archives.” He gave Opus a wink, “the Board straightened up after they recalled they were loaned some artifacts from your family’s Hall of Histories.”“Only a li’l, I reckon. Miss Enyorel still kept bendin’ yer ear ‘bout me.”“Ah, well, she always saw your family as an oddity she couldn’t pin down. That annoyed her.”The Loregit gnome stepped closer to Osprey as he adjusted the telescope to be at eye level. Looking away towards the earthly colors of the ground, their breathing quickened slightly and their gaze wavered. Thoughts scrambled in their mind and butterflies spawned in their stomach; it took several minutes for them to muster the courage to open their mouth. They kept reminding themself that this was perhaps the last day they might ever see each other. “Can-Can I… hold your hand, Ospy?”“Huh? Oh! Sure.” The elf responded, unfazed by the nature of his shorter companion’s request.For but a moment, Opus’s senses cut off the world around them, and all they could feel was the satisfaction of their closest friend’s hand wrapped around their own. Ospy’s hand was warm and soft. It was smooth and delicate with ensorcelling swirls on his palms.“Are you alright? I don’t recall you wanting to hold my hand before.” He added, grounding Opus back to reality.Embarrassed, Opus recovered from their tongue-tied state and managed a sentence, “oh... y-yer okay wit’ me holdin’ yer hand?”“Hehe,” they chuckled, as if the answer were obvious, “of course, friend. Why wouldn’t I let you hold my hand?”Opus’s heart raced. So many other theology students were over-the-top with how snobby and pretentious they were. They’d make nasty remarks of even one student challenging the status quo of spiritual views they dubbed “common sense.” They were afraid that Ospy would suddenly turn out to be like that… despite the adventures they had, dangers they’ve overcome, and mysteries they solved. They feared rejection. “I-I dunno, I reckoned…”The wizard cut them off, a droopy, sad look to his eyes when he saw his shaking friend, “Opus… can you tell me what’s on your mind?” He took Opus’s other hand and tightened his grasp, causing the nonbinary gnome to turn red. It took them a minute of darting their eyes to everywhere but their companion’s face before they could take a deep breath.“I just… I just… felt like I oughta say somethin’ ‘fore you move out t’morrow. It’s just… tough fer me to spout…”Osprey raised a single hand and twirled it, articulating his fingers with a whispering incantation that caused the low hum of the telescope to power down and lose its magical shimmer. He led his anxious companion back to the lonesome tree, where they sat down abreast. The earth and dirt below them felt strangely soothing to the rock gnome, but that feeling doubled when Ospy held their hand again, almost massaging it.“Take your time, friend. Know that I can wait all night if you need it.”With his elven, keen eyes, Osprey pays close attention to Opus, watching them thoughtfully and patiently. Tears drop on the artificer’s purple shawl as they absentmindedly rub the three earrings on their right ear.

“Hey,” he whispered softly, a voice that felt like it could calm the most enraged of beasts, “I never had the chance to touch your earrings. May I? They’re beautifully crafted.”“O-Oh. Yeah, ya can.”The sounds of crunchy leaves perpetuated the air as Osprey shifted closer, gently placing two fingers on his friend’s ear. He focused on the memories the earrings stored, the painful memories of Opus’s late friends. He focused on the brown wing, feeling the memories of a divine and simultaneously elemental pulse. He felt the memories of a cold nose. Gingerly rubbing the blue bear, he felt the uncertainty of their past actions, a welling of regret. He felt a changing presence, as if a supernatural shapeshifter were nearby. Finally, he concentrated on the gleaming eye, slashed with a scar, where an overwhelming sense of safety rushed through his mind. He felt the memories of motherly protection wash over him, and of a shared grief.“They really meant a lot to you.”“You mean a lot to me,” Opus added, “you… helped me cope…”Osprey smiled, a tear rolling down his own face as he recalled the memories of meeting a grief-stricken Opus a year ago. The night sky stole his glance for a second, where he spotted the constellation of Ursuus’s bear face just underneath the Guiding Star, signifying the solemn change that autumn brings.Scratching an itch behind their neck and gathering the bravery they needed, the Loregit gnome turned to their friend, “I… I reckon I fancy you, Ospy… a lot,” a slow, wobbly drawl built their words, “l-like… I feel more’n a smidge o’ green in the gills when I think ‘bout ye movin’ away…”Despite the gnome’s peculiar language sugarcoating it, the chubby elf realized what Opus was trying to say and hugged them. It was a tight hug that coerced sobs from them. He squeezed on his friend’s shawl, feeling the rugged and worn texture it endured for so long. “I truly appreciate that I mean so much to you, Opus,” he whispered, his own soft voice cracking a bit. No longer having the will to keep their tears held back, Opus began to cry, turning the valve to let the waterworks flow.“I-I-I don’t know why I love you, Ospy. T-This ain’t feelin’ like anythin’ o’ the stories I read when I was younger. I’m-I’m so sorry Ospy.”“Don’t be sorry for loving me, Opus!” Osprey was normally a calm and serene person that was infamous for his permanent, relaxed aura, but this was the second time Opus ever heard him this riled up. “It’s okay! It’s okay to feel like that.”“Ospy…”A determined expression formed on the graduate’s soft face, the light of the stars highlighting his wide jaw and round cheeks.“Can… can I ask ye fer somethin’? Somethin’… weird.” They looked away, lowering their chin as if they were already convinced they’d be rejected and prepared to be emotionally devastated.Osprey nodded.“Can you kiss me?” The shock of hearing their voice crack under pressure caused them to shudder and hastily hide themselves underneath their shawl. They muttered numerous inaudible apologies, feeling it was the most absurd request in the realm. Yet, when their warm elven friend lifted up their face and pulled the shawl down, they saw nothing but a cheerful smile on his face and heard a stifled giggle. It felt like Osprey painted their cheeks with red paint.“Would it be your first kiss?” He asked.“Y-Yeah.” They felt ashamed and vulnerable, like revealing a dark secret that could be manipulated.Delicately placing a hand under his friend’s chin, Ospy lifted it gently once more. “Then let’s make it special.”The world disappeared, everything a black void save for Osprey’s soft lips that came into contact with Opus’s. The elf felt the insecurities of his closest companion fade away when they finally accepted reality and shut their glossy, violet eyes. It was soft. And it felt too short.They both took comparatively short minutes to catch their breath and re-attune to the calm hill around them. Osprey giggled when a stunned Opus couldn’t find words to speak as if the entire common language escaped their grasp. “So? How’d it feel?” He tilted his head to the side and held the gnome’s shivering hand.“I-I… Over the moon…! Ospy… you… ye kissed me! A-Am I dreamin’? Oh gosh… please don’t tell me…” Opus grabbed a surprised Osprey’s shoulders and rattled him violently, “Yer not usin’ yer dream magic on me, right?”“Hehe, no, Opus! The only magic is the magic your heart’s feeling right now.” Osprey said, accompanied with a rumbly chuckle and a grin, “and it burns very fervently… I can feel just how much you love me.” He embraced the blush across his freckles, almost drunken by the experience. “That means more to me than what you can imagine, friend.”The sounds of burrowing owls of the night made their way to the two as they propped themselves back against the tree, still riding the high. “When did you first fall in love with me, Opus?” Osprey asked, never letting go of his close companion’s calloused hand and rubbing the swelled swirls tenderly.Opus found themself huddling against the chubby elf’s warmth with Osprey happily accepting the invitation to cuddle and wrapping a softly covered arm around them. They needed this. “I… I dunno.” They started, still struggling to believe this isn’t a dream he was working on them, “I reckoned... maybe when ye shielded me from an animated greataxe nearly slicin’ me in two.”“Really? From the obscurantists’ secret archives below the plaza?” The elf blushed, feeling almost nostalgic for the months the duo spent unraveling a series of deadly mysteries underneath the College.Yet the smaller gnome sighed, unsure of where to look but adamant in their refusal to never stray from their best friend’s warmth, tugging on his hand like it was the last thing they’d ever feel. “Ospy… I feel like I can’t tell if this is real o’ not. Why’re ya lettin’ me get this close to ya? Why’d ye kiss me? Why’d ye let me feel so… giddy?”Almost as if he were spoiling Opus with affection, Osprey began to stroke their hair, feeling the weathered strands. “May I?” He asked, curious if he could continue. Though they had a forlorn look in their eyes, they just couldn’t say no to their crush.“Opus… don’t feel bad for falling in love with me. You followed your heart, and because of that you’re one of the strongest folk I know.”“B-But… y’ain’t feelin’ likewise wit’ me, r-right?”Osprey played with his gnomish friend’s light hair and earrings but his movements slowed. He thought about all the grief they had to endure and how much he meant to them when they first met and befriended each other.“I guess… I love a bit differently.” He said, trying to piece together the right words. Never having to explain it, he had some difficulty figuring out what he meant; the silence of which became obvious to his cuddle buddy like the location of the Guiding Star in the night sky. “I do love, but… I suppose it’s tough for me to show it.”“Even when ye were swell wit’ kissin’ me…?”The wizard of cosmos covered a soft chuckle with a hand, “hehe, well, love comes in many ways, I would think. Just like the stars.” He continued after a minute of gazing at the sparkles blanketing the black ether above. “I do love you, Opus. I cherish you… incredibly so. You’re the closest companion I’ve ever had the pleasure of befriending.”Those words rang through the artificer’s head. They repeated like a faulty recording box that never overwrote its prior phrase, and the one it stuck with was ‘I do love you.’ Like the cogs sprung out of their invention and went missing forever, but they were the only gears of its kind and thus the gadget couldn’t be fixed, a permanent reminder. A reminder they dared not to ever scrap.“But… I think… hmm, how do say this?” The elf grunted, absentmindedly scratching an itch, “this is harder than rewriting my darn thesis, heh.” Not wanting to let his Loregit friend lament further from the wait, he started once more, “I don’t see myself with a singular partner. And I don’t know if that’s because I’m an elf with so much of his life ahead of him, but I believe my path is one treasuring the love of many, rather than pinned to the love of one.”“Whaddya mean?”Osprey stroked Opus’s cheek, feeling the lingering grease and dirt from when they built the telescope. “My love’s a bit grayer than how most see things; romance for me is admittedly weird. And that’s okay. What matters now is that we can cherish each other and enjoy the night.” Smirking, he gave the younger gnome a smug grin, “and don’t we both want more kisses?”Opus felt their chest stiffen. Someone suddenly stuffed a dozen iron ingots underneath their leather gear. “I-I, umm… y-yeah.” Melting under the elf’s smile, the violet-donning Opus hesitantly closed their eyes as their crush drew in. With a delicate hand, the handsome hefty elf basked in the light of the stars as he pressed his lips to Opus’s.Oddly, the gnome rushed away mid-kiss, feeling bewildered. “H-Hold on. So ye wouldn’t date me… right? B-But if I... if I ain’t told ye ‘bout my feelin’s, then…?”“Well…” The elf inhaled and idly rubbed his chin, “not many people understand that peculiar gray love; I barely understand it. I’ve had many close friends over the years at the College, but I just kept things to myself. I suppose I convinced myself that revealing anything to them might tarnish our deep bond… something I didn’t want.”He reminded himself of the love his gnomish friend had for him, “hehe, but knowing that my deep bond with you is reciprocated in your own unique way means the cosmos to me. I don’t have to hide anything for fear of losing your precious friendship.” He felt tears dampening his loose garments. These weren’t tears of melancholy or anxiety, these were tears of relief, a rush of sobs and cries that demonstrated Opus’s final acceptance of everything. That this was truth.They nestled closer to Osprey, resting their face under his chin. “I’ve… I dreamt lots o’ snugglin’ wit’cha.” A distant shooting star passed overhead, a long tail of purple and cyan following behind it that the both of them watched in serene silence until it crossed over the watery, sparkling horizon. “When ye were workin’ yer dream magic ‘nd told me ‘dream the dream you most desire,’ that was it.”“Really? Even over your Itinere? The whole reason for your adventuring? Not even triumphing over your siblings?”The inventor shook their head, realizing how strange it was, reflecting back on it. Their desire for closeness with Ospy overpowered their desire to return home with an uncovered artifact or fundamental property of the realm that they’d share with the world and gain renown for.In silent solitude, Osprey invited Opus to a warm, seated snuggle by the lonesome tree. Where they could hold hands and watch the twinkling of the night sky. “Well, then let’s make that dream come true.” The elf said to a bright-eyed gnome flushed with red.They spent hours enjoying each other’s company, pointing out stars, constellations, and reminiscing on the hurdles they’ve overcome this past year. Without worrying about a hidden group of wizards with their nefarious plots, stressing about thesis writing, or having to work a part time job at the College’s library, they felt serene. A tranquil night of laughter and smiles.It was also a time to process the tangled concoction of emotions Opus sifted through. The crush they had built up for their best friend over the year they spent staying at the College. The uncertainty of how he would feel about it, but knowing the regret that they would feel for not confessing before he departed. They couldn’t imagine a better outcome, but some fraction of them felt like they were floating in the Astral Sea with nothing but their garbled emotions entangling them.Eventually, Opus reminded themself of their best friend’s departure, causing them to sigh longingly. “What time’re ye movin’ out t’morrow?”The elf thought to himself, similarly suddenly aware that he’s departing and that he graduated. “Late afternoon, I think. The journey home is a long one, so it’s not set in stone, really; not like it matters if I leave one hour later than anticipated.”Feeling preemptively dejected about Osprey needing to return to pack up his apartment, the Loregit gnome shifted uncomfortably, their grasp on his elven hand tightening. They hate saying goodbye and didn’t want to start that process just yet. “W-What do we oughta do now…?”“Hehe, there’s a few things, I would imagine.” Ospy’s smile was infectious. “We could use the telescope we set up hours ago. I can carry you back to my flat and I can work my dream magic while you drift off to sleep on my bed and I’d pack up. We could pull an all-nighter like we used to and stay here and strum Twilight Memories for the last time. We could uncover *another group of manipulating mages underneath the College. What did you have in mind?”“Then… can we do li’l o’ all the above? I… I wanna be there when ye leave, Ospy…”The red-haired mage extended his hand, helping the gnome on their feet. Gently, he guided them back to the telescope configured beside them, where he adjusted a few panels and mirrors to account for the sun’s now rising rays. “Of course, Opus, but I don’t think there’s much of an opportunity for the last option.” He winked.The gnome laughed as they shifted the telescope to get a view of the rippling waves battering the morning vessels soon to arrive at port. “I s’pose it’s a shame ye ain’t gonna trip over another stray book like in’at secret archive when that sorcerer trapped me in a soddin’ anti-magic cage.”Memories flooding back to him, the graduate laughed from the lighthearted jab. “Heheh, well then that makes for another awkward moment successfully avoided, huh?” He snaked his arms around Opus’s shoulders and rested his head atop theirs as they adjusted a mirror to the side of the copper tube.“Well ye look pleased as a pig,” they said in response, angling the mirror to get a clear, zoomed in sight of the tranquil, smiling face resting atop them. Though with a smug look, they totally felt fuzzy and teeming with warmth, relaxing into their partner’s hug.“As do you, friend.”After some time passed idly catching the last sights of stars in the morning sky, the two resolved to retrieve their instruments from the gnome’s Bag of Holding. Opus’s banjo had immense meaning; their late friends helped them build it and Ospy was the one to teach them how to play it. The pinks grasping the underside of the gray passing clouds overhead provided a calm backdrop to their playing. It was odd at first, knowing this may be the last time they might ever play together, but when they saw their elven best friend whip out his wooden ocarina and comfortably join with their classic duet, they felt at ease. Though they only played one song together, every strum and every breath emanated a bounty of emotions. The hopeful highs and lamenting lows of Ospy’s composition fueled Opus to play slowly, their fingers moving on their own as the sounds of their crush’s woodwind instrument join to a crescendo of honoring reminiscence. They opened their eyes as the sounds faded and echoed, casting their gaze to the names of their late friends that they had carved on the banjo’s wooden rim. Finally, they sat there, downtrodden and frozen, mouthing the song’s title to themself. Twilight Memories of a Woebegone Wanderer.The elf hugged them and squeezed tight, setting aside their instruments. He saw them spiraling down a lane of regret that he felt compelled to pull them out of. “It’ll be okay. You played beautifully.” He said.“T-Thanks fer composin’ that song ‘gain… An’ fer teachin’ me how to play it.”“Of course, Opus. It was a joy watching you fumble your way to success after all, hehe.”

They talked about love. Osprey was curious about how Opus felt about what type of person they saw themself with, if any. It would have been easy to stare at the golden growing sun and reply with “you,” but the inventor wanted to reflect and give an honest answer. Did they really think so many of the people they saw in their travels were attractive? Or was it some form of infatuation as a result of being sheltered for most of their life, their only idea of romance stemming from reading novels and books? Perhaps they were truly attracted to people they shared a bond with. Were they like Ospy in that way? They didn’t have a solid grasp on how their mind worked, and though they felt ashamed of that, the elf was quick to remind them that people change all the time. It’s not like the first draft of a gnome’s blueprints are necessarily their… ahem, magnum opus.Whatever the case, Ospy cited his confidence in Opus discovering a significant other should they choose to pursue for one. Their Itinere may be the most important journey of their life, but if their mother found the love of her life in the elemental realms of all places, then surely her children must be blessed with similar luck too, no? Besides, if all else, the two will surely meet again one day. Be it during their Itinere, after their Itinere and they’re declared the next Loregit family head, in 10 years, or even in 100 years, the elf will be there for the gnome and he will still love them. “Some feelings don’t die,” he said.“A-Are ye sure I can’t come wit’cha?” The gnome mumbled as they began breaking down the telescope into pieces in preparation to leave. They knew the answer, but they were hoping for that sliver of a chance that things were different.But things weren’t different. “Opus… You know I can’t take you along with. I sincerely wish I could, but you know my family wouldn’t allow that.”“I know…” They shielded their eyes from the growing light of the sun as the gnome dismantled the mirrors and fully depowered the magical glyphs on the side of the copper telescope tube.Osprey held their hand, wanting to look towards the future. “Are you still thinking about that lead in Astoria? Their rift to the elemental realm of air is sure to be hiding a breakthrough with that light magic theory of yours.”The gnome nodded, retracting the tripod and taking in the autumn morning breeze. When the two friends finished dismantling the telescope, Opus haphazardly wiped a bead of sweat from their face, twiddled with their pierced ear, and looked at the array of organized components near their Bag of Holding. “Y-Yea. Well… I ain’t be needing the ‘scope’s company way’s I’m goin’.” Nervous, they scratched an itch on their neck, “reckon ye oughta use it wit’ yer mission—wit’ the Guidin’ Star ‘nd all.”“Hehe, really? For me?” The elven graduate scooped up the tinkerer with his arms and pressed them to a warm hug, nuzzling their nose with his own through a toothy smile. “Thank you, Opus,” he looked at the complex components that he slowly learned to configure on his own this past year when the artificer eagerly demonstrated its workings, “I will cherish it greatly.” The tinkerer couldn’t keep down a smile when it was their best friend that was happy.As the two were packing up for the return journey, Ospy looked back at the earthy hilltop spot they spent so much time together, curling the edge of his mouth into a smile and feeling nostalgic for the memories they made. Pulling taut the strings to keep their detached sleeves in place, Opus gathered a parked mechanical Magnum down the hill under the shade of a tree, powering him to life by magically fueling the amethyst etherite crystal hovering between his twisted horns. They ruffled his foliage as he shook off a stray, sleeping bird that nested itself on the saddle during the night. “Nice to see ya again, partner,” they whispered as they double-checked for damage and tear on their brass yak companion.The elf approached with an inquisitive look to his face. “I had a thought.” He proudly announced.“Is it one o’ ‘em thoughts akin to where ya decided to add a whole dozen pages to yer thesis?”“Thankfully not!” He said, “remember at the graduation ceremony where they honored the ‘most academically inclined’ students from the major and awarded them superlatives? Where they’re traditionally meant to carry these titles for the rest of their lives?”The gnome nodded slowly, mounting their metal companion. They remembered the particularly strange titles that the professors awarded like “The Eye of Valencia’s Tomes,” or “The Warden of Atlea’s Pennant.”“Let’s give each other a neat title! One that isn’t superfluous and won’t be forgotten in a week from today. A name we could boast to the world and have the stars remember us by.”A personal title, huh? There were certainly other Loregit gnomes in past generations that wore prestigious titles like laurels. That piqued their interest. A title might give them sway over their siblings in their Itinere, too. And what better to have it originate from your best friend? “What were ye thinkin’?” They asked, their tone cracked with curiosity.“Seeing as you have the wanderlust of your family in your blood... how about ‘The Wanderer’?”Just like the song he composed for them all those months ago. “Just like yer song…” They said, immediately appreciating the meaning behind the title, “I like it, Ospy. Sounds like it’d fit right in me deck o’ cards.”They crossed over a large, winding branch as they passed by the woodlands on their way back under the Tree’s enormous shade, thinking of a title that would fit the aesthetic of their best friend’s mantle. Something to do with his astral magic—his dream magic—his thesis and now mission with the Guiding Star.There it was.Flourishing their inspiration, they took an exaggerated bow, “I, Opus Loregit, an esteemed companion o’ the recipient, grant him, Osprey Lorendiel, the budding title of ‘The Astrologer,’ may ye wear it wit’ pride.”They both laughed. “Hehe, I think I will wear it with pride, if you don’t mind!” Osprey draped an arm around an elated tinkerer, pulling them closer as they navigated the woodlands, “I expect to hear tales of The Wanderer while I’m pursuing my mission in the coming years.”“And I reckon I oughta hear stories of The Astrologer while I’m out there, followin’ the Guidin’ Star’s light.”Another cheerful laugh. In a fit of joy, the chubby wizard of cosmos pulled Opus closer, almost hauling them off their mount, and kissed them on the lips. Their cheeks flared in fiery red as any feelings of drowsiness from the all-nighter vanished immediately.“C’mon,” the Astrologer said, ushering to hasten their pace, “there’s a long day ahead of us. A flat to pack up. Professors to say my farewells to. Textbooks to return. I would love your company, Opus.”Opus looked at their best friend’s face. A face of pure happiness. A face that, despite having endured many ordeals and dangers hidden throughout the Livingwood College, still smiled. A face that comforted them through their grief and was there to support them. A face that revealed to them a type of deep, platonic love they never knew existed. A tear streamed down their cheek, and wordlessly, they uttered ‘thank you.’

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Lux Asterum Phari

Lux Asterum Phari is a D&D 5e homebrew consisting of an entirely new school of magic that draws upon the energy of the cosmos, stars, space, and prisms to manifest into various effects. Stored in vibrant, colorful crystals, this malleable, liquid light can be sculpted and flash-forged to suit the whims of the caster, taking the form of prismatic orbs, chromatic mirages, protective halos, twisted light, and much more.Check out over 80+ spells of unique mechanics and interactions to introduce to your game, alongside the new Lightsmith Artificer subclass!

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• Spell Design Commentaries

Check out the first link for a more thorough introduction and the homebrew itself!
The Homebrewery site works best on Chromium browsers like Google Chrome. For other browsers, you can check the PDF file on Google Drive.Who Can Cast. Though these Starlight spells all exist in a nice flavorful wrapping of a new school of magic, their classification still follow traditional 5e mechanics. Introducing an actual new school of magic mechanically is unproductive and uninteractive with existing mechanics!
Following that, Lux Asterum Phari does not restrict any of these spells to certain caster lists. The original character who invented and crafted these spells is Opus Loregit, an Artificer. If these were all limited to Artificers, that'd severely limit the use and appeal of the homebrew! It's only fitting that these spells be expanded to suit any class whose magic derives or draws from the energy of the stars. As this is homebrew anyway, it's expected to communicate with your DM and/or players about how these spells are introduced and who has access to them.
Additionally, the max spell level you'll find on the homebrew is 6th level (with the rare 7th). I found that it's more productive and exciting to design spells for the more common tiers of play. Everyone ought to experience the vast majority of these spells, rather than agonizingly wait until the higher tiers to learn 'em!Beyond Spells. A recent addition beginning in v4 is the inclusion of thematic subclasses! Starting off with the Lightsmith Artificer subclass, I hope to add more than just spells in Lux Asterum Phari. All that explore uncharted territory in 5e design and mechanics.Feedback and Iteration. This is a living homebrew; it'll continue to receive updates, changes, adjustments, and even completely new spells, subclasses, and the like! Just like the cosmos, Lux Asterum Phari is ever-expanding, and I'm determined to make it the best it can be!
In order to do so, however, I need your help! Feedback is the best way to express your experience with these spells, and I welcome all sorts of it! It's my desire to host as many playtests as I possibly can to further iterate and transform these spells into unique, memorable aspects of any D&D game. If you're interested in leaving feedback, check out the Google Form!
With One D&D around the corner, I fully intend to make this compatible with the new upcoming edition as well.Tips Appreciated. I poured a lot of myself and my creativity in fleshing out these Starlight spells, pushing and exploring unknown territories in 5e spell design. A lot of passion was similarly channeled in designing its subclasses too. This homebrew is free and I hope to keep it that way. If you enjoyed this homebrew, I'd greatly appreciate any tips of any amount. It helps your friendly disabled enby survive in today's unforgiving environment. Consider leaving a tip at my Ko-fi! :)

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Spell Design Commentary

Homebrew spell design is hard. For anyone who dives into the vast realm of homebrew for 5e, it's easy to tell when something hasn't been thought through or looks unbalanced. It can take time to sift through the dirt and find the diamond in the rough.

To that end, it doesn't help when the author or creator doesn't provide insight to why or how they came up with those particular designs. This section is to help alleviate that. For all of the spells in Lux Asterum Phari I sought to pen my reasoning, intents, design philosophies, inspirations, and ideas that brought me to create the spell as it exists currently. Hopefully someone might find it useful in learning why these spells came to be and/or how they're balanced this way!In an effort to avoid bloating the Homebrewery doc and the PDF with numerous, wordy commentaries, I thought it best to instead list them all here. If you're wondering why you were brought to this site from the Homebrewery, this is the reason! Also thank you for even being interested. Keep in mind that the spells listed here are in a different order than that on the Homebrewery, for my sake of not needing to adjust large amounts of text each time I edit the latter's formatting. If you're looking for a specific spell, it's best to Ctrl+F search its name.

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Cantrips (0th level)

1st Level Spells

2nd Level Spells

3rd Level Spells

Realignment

3rd-level Conjuration
_{last commentary update: v3}

The quintessential sentiment of this spell is "now you're thinking with portals." Realignment, on paper, looks incredibly similar to Arcane Gate. Both spells produce linked portals over a distance that creatures can pass through. In practice these two are functionally very distinct. Realignment has the great benefit of vision between portal entrances and express interaction to and fro each side. You can attack from one side to another and you can even shoot a Fireball through it! As long as you've got the right angle, you're golden. Realignment warps space and makes both squares adjacent, meaning if you can measure a point beyond through that portal, you effectively have +30 ft. reach to whatever it is you're trying to do.So, why is Realignment a 3rd level spell, half of Arcane Gate's 6th level? Here's the obvious differences: Arcane Gate has a 10 minute duration, a range of 500 ft., its portal is 10 ft. wide, and the portal can be rotated as a bonus action. Realignment has a 1 minute duration, a range of 30 ft., a 5 ft. wide portal, and cannot be rotated. Arcane Gate's portal is obscured, meaning you can't effectively do anything beyond it without passing through, but Realignment provides clear vision to enable these shenanigans. Arcane Gate's function is less combat-oriented. It can be effective for engaging in battle or infiltration, but its misty obscuration is a drawback. Arcane Gate is more practical for ferrying folks and large-scale transportation between distant points, including running away. By the time 6th level spells are obtained, distance between objectives can tend to be larger to account for the tools a party has in their repertoire. Stakes are higher too; higher stakes call for more powerful options. Realignment is primarily intended to be a combat spell. The space between the portals cannot be totally obstructed, so you can't have a sly Wizard buddy pop this spell on the other end of a locked vault door. That's what Passwall's for. I think Realignment is thought best as a mind twisty spell to achieve previously-thought-impossible ranges and angles for amazing combos. A Cleric Readying their action to cast Realignment so the Rogue can immediately backstab an unsuspecting foe.And, like usual, it wouldn't be a Frosty homebrew spell if it didn't come with its high risk high reward style. Your enemies can equally exploit the connected portals as well, so you might want to think twice before plopping one down. Or simply just fight Large enemies.Previously, the spell disabled other AoE spells from passing through the portal. I felt however that this made little logical sense. A player can easily argue that the target point beyond the portal is in range of their Hypnotic Pattern. Distinguishing between what made spells' AoE eligible for portal travel required too much DM fiat.To help illustrate my thought process with Realignment, I visualized some scenarios in Roll20 with our friend Taroo and included them here.

4th Level Spells