Altair the Blue (Dubious Origins)

Every roleplaying game and fantasy story, from Cops and Robbers to The Hobbit, was always about killing, looting, and adventure. Like the Hero's Journey, it's elemental to the human experience. Anything else is just perversion of the natural order.

@pika_nekopanda To warm your legs during the winter :) Koukan ryuugakuseidatta toki ni tsukatte imashita.

アメリカ人へクイズです。 これは何に使うものでしょう？ #Quiz

Hollow Choir “The Light split us, but the dark made us whole.” –Unknown The Hollow Choir is not a single creature, but dozens, sometimes hundreds of bodies, fused by ritual and bound by a single soul. They drift in unison through ruined churches and fallen cathedrals, stitched together by tendons of ash and sinew, their ribcages hollowed to act as echo chambers. Their song is ceaseless; a mournful, layered dirge that causes bleeding from the ears, madness, and even death in those who listen too long. The origin of the Hollow Choir is lost, but some say it began with a failed exorcism, or a heretical sect that sought to transcend mortality by becoming one voice. Others believe they are the cursed remnants of a mass martyrdom, the voices that refused to die with their bodies, now stitched into an eternal hymn of vengeance. They sing not in anger, but in grief. Their tones are chillingly beautiful, full of longing and pain, but their song corrupts all it touches. Those who hear it in full may find themselves humming it days later, and eventually, if not stopped, join the Choir themselves, becoming one more voice added to the dissonant harmony.

Was thinking about drawing a monster next. Any suggestions?

Once something is destroyed, it is impossible to recreate it exactly as it was before. You can try to emulate the past, but the things that come after -- the neo-things -- often feel ersatz, incomplete, or contrived. This applies to anything from the Aztec Empire, pagan religions, or even @Wizards_DnD.

I started by playing MUME (mume.org) -- I still play it today!

@CorpseKings That D&D is gone, and it isn't coming back.

If Wizards wants to truly makes things right, they have a lot to make up to this man and his family. 🎲

Black Bear by Veli Nyström artstation.com/artwork/Nq8a35

"Other lands have kings and lords to tell them what to do. We have swords and axes, and we decide things for ourselves." –Rogan Thrice-Wed, Seafarer Captain

@TeawithTolkien mume.org It's the oldest running, free to play, text-based LOTR game. I still play it today!

How were you introduced to the world of The Lord of the Rings?

The entire essence of "conservatism" hinges on there actually being something to conserve. This is why D&D, under WOTC's stewardship, will never go back. They've already butchered the golden goose. There is nothing to go back to.

@CorpseKings Elves make good corpses.

Do you think Elves make good Necromancers? 🤔

This might be too much info, but... :) Magic is a powerful force in Aedyria, though it manifests differently across regions and traditions. While magic saturates the world like an unseen mist, most mortals lack the perception or knowledge to harness its power. To some, it is a tool; to others, a weapon. To the common folk, it is a source of endless superstition and whispered fear. Magic has existed in Aedyria well before the arrival of humanity. Among the indigenous races, magic was deeply interwoven with culture and survival, existing in myriad forms. As humanity rose to dominance, magic use became more homogenized, and many of the older, wilder traditions faded into obscurity; though some whisper that remnants of Aedyria’s untamed magic still exist in the darkest forests, the highest peaks, the deepest deserts, and in the lost places of the world. Theories abound regarding the origins of magic. Some believe it stems from divine forces, while others argue that magic is a fundamental part of nature, no different than gravity or fire. The Crimson Empire, at its height, sought to unravel these mysteries, turning to ruthless experimentation and excavation. Their studies led them to the leylines, arcane conduits threading beneath the land like veins of raw power. Magic in Aedyria is broadly categorized into distinct disciplines, each tapping into different aspects of reality: - Shadow. The manipulation of death, unlife, and life force. Also associated with communication with the undead and extraplanar entities. Forbidden by Morhal’s Church of Undying Light. - Light. The magic of purification, healing, and radiance, wielded exclusively by Morhal’s clergy. It can mend wounds or sear the impure. - Order. The shaping of structure, stability, and control. - Chaos. The magic of entropy, unpredictability, and sudden change. - Fire. The conjuration and shaping of fire and heat. - Ice. The command of water, ice, and cold. - Air. The control of wind and electricity. - Stone. The shaping of earth, rock, and minerals. - Nature. The magic of plants, animals, and the raw vitality of the natural world. - Pestilence. The control of disease, poison, and bodily affliction. - Ablative. Protective magic, shielding the body and mind from harm. - Rejuvenation. Healing magic distinct from Light, focused on restoring physical and magical energy. - Arcanamancy. The disciplined command of arcane fundamentals. Other forms of magic exist outside these classifications: - Runecarving. The ancient Dwarven art of inscribing runes to create magical effects. - Alchemy. The mixing of potions, toxins, and elixirs infused with magical properties. - Branding. The magic of the Inquisition, channeling Light magic into symbols that burn and purge. - Music and Chanting. The power of spoken word and melody, wielded primarily by minstrels and skalds. - Possession. The most dangerous form of magic, drawing power through pacts with extraplanar beings at the cost of one's own soul.

@DubiousOrigins Yes. What manner of magic exists in Aedyria?

Would anyone like to know anything about Sovereign Rule's dark fantasy setting -- The world of Aedyria?

Ok, I'm going to talk about TTRPGs I think. See you online.

You can't frighten a kender. Everyone knows that. So Takhisis didn't try. She appeared to Tasslehoff in the Abyss as the single most boring, measured, unremarkable presence imaginable. No flames. No dragons. No seduction. Just this. For a race with terminal curiosity and the attention span of a hummingbird — being trapped in conversation with something so deliberately, suffocatingly dull was the cruelest and most intimidating form imaginable. Takhisis — Queen of Darkness, as she appears to Tasslehoff Burrfoot in the Abyss. War of the Twins. This version has never been illustrated before. #Dragonlance #Takhisis #Tasslehoff #CharacterDesign #FantasyArt #DragonlanceChronicles #DragonsOfIce

@DaddyWarpig There are some defenders of the faith remaining. @LordGrimdark is one of the best.

They don't publish fantasy anymore. You get to pick from Romantasy or LitRPG. Such a glorious new future we live in. They didn't give us flying cars, and they ruined Epic Fantasy.

@CorpseKings Find your tribe.

"People build their identity with shared cultural experiences. Thats what they destroy." Nailed it.

@CorpseKings The Old Guard is moving on, I think.

I think Wizards has A LOT of work to do rebuilding trust with Old School players.

@SandyofCthulhu I think the players can feel that, too. We've all played games and thought to ourselves, "Do the creators even play this? Do they even care?"

@DubiousOrigins I always tried to design a game that I wanted to play but which didn’t exist yet. That’s why I worked on Call of Cthulhu, Civilization, Doom, Age of Empires, Hyperspace, etc.

The most important realization I had designing TTRPGs: you can’t please everyone -- and you shouldn’t try. A game needs a clear point of view. Drawing a bright line around what you’re building defines its priorities, its tone, and the kind of players it’s for. It makes the experience coherent now and into the future. Simply, when you appeal to everyone, you end up appealing to no one. I think one of the core issues with @Wizards_DnD stewardship of Dungeons & Dragons is the erosion of those boundaries. They cannibalized their identity in order to make a bigger tent that welcomed everyone (ie. trading distinctiveness for reach). It isn't an accident that people just... went elsewhere. And the magic that D&D once had has been diluted or completely lost.