Latest Posts by post-maester - Page 3
MTG Tutorials #34: The Legend Rule and the Planeswalker Uniqueness Rule
by the way i fell in love with the little map marker drawings when I saw them at their biggest size because look at them they're adorable, and I don't think I've ever seen anyone share them before so here they all are in their original size. The first two images are from the base game, the last one from SotE.
𝑲𝑯𝑶𝑹𝑵𝑨𝑻𝑬 𝑭𝑨𝑼𝑵𝑨 - 𝑾𝑨𝑹𝑯𝑨𝑴𝑴𝑬𝑹 𝑭𝑨𝑵𝑻𝑨𝑺𝒀
Khorne lacks the whimsy of his siblings and so does not find it prudent to actively design life forms for his Kingdom, especially not when the mutating energy of the Warp does this anyway. Thusly, almost all fauna and flora in Khorne's kingdom are not the Blood God's doing. That being said, Khornate daemons interact with these creatures in ways important to their culture and traditions and so the Blood God makes no move to exterminate most of them. This list is not exhaustive.
Blood Worms - An invasive species originating from the lands of Nurgle, Blood Worms were Bloodletter parasites that have grown fat on the death and gore of Khorne's realm. They are massive beasts able to swallow a Bloodthirster whole.
Flesh Hounds - The Sole Creatures created by Khorne's hand, Flesh Hounds are fiercely territorial daemon-dogs whose packs can number in the hundreds. The hunt overground when hungry and sleep underground in nests of bones when inactive. Like mortal dogs, Flesh Hounds come in a wide variety of breeds and even species.
Brass Ticks - Another Nurgle-devised parasite unique to Khornates.
Blood-Flies - Tiny crimson insects that feed on the blood-nectar of black-petaled Death-Flowers near the Tree of Souls. They lay their eggs in the bodies of the fallen, which give rise to Blood-Fly Maggots. Though called flies, they serve a purpose more similar to bees and are aggressive as wasps.
Brazen Bulls - Brass-furred daemon-beasts and one of the few obligate herbivores in the Aethyr. They consume the twisted, gnarled vegetation of Khorne's realm. Brazen bulls are ritually hunted and killed by daemons and, when they fin their way into the mortal realm, by men. Their prized brass skulls are offered to Khorne and their blood and bones are used in rituals and rites. They resemble bulls of various species. Their horns are often turned into war-horns or drinking devices.
Drownscale - Living in the myriad Blood Lakes and rivers snaking through the Realm of Khorne are the Drownscale. These reptilian horrors snatch the unsuspecting from the banks of their territory in the manner of giant, bloodthirsty daemon-crocodilians.
Drowndrake - Similar to the Drownscale, Drowndrakes are massive creatures that make their homes in the abyssal blood-oceans of Khorne's realm. They are more draconic than the Drownscale and can breath blood-fire onto enemies, but prefer snatching daemons from the sky and dragging them to a watery doom beneath a sea of boiling blood. Drowndrake skulls, when acquired, may be worked into Daemon Lairs.
Furnace Beasts - Furnace beasts are creatures of twisted metal; the remains of slain Juggers and battle debris pulled together and reanimated by the hatred and bloodshed abound throughout the Realm of Khorne. They affect no one shape, but tend to have a discernable mouth, body, and be-weaponed limbs. Some are covered in a layer of stolen flesh and sinew, while others are purely daemonic-alloy.
Gorger - Another massive creature, Gorgers are heavy-jawed knuckle-walking daemon-animals important to Khornate culture. A beast of sinew, multiple mouths, and endless hunger, they are common targets for enterprising Bloodthirsters. When Slain, the skull of a Gorger is made into or worked into the lair of a Deathbringer and it's host. The larger the Gorger, the more prestige the Deathbringer has.
Bonestealer - One of the more unwelcome daemon-beasts in Khorne's realm, Bonestealers are bipedal, therapsid looking creatures with spinal crests. One of their hands ends in a long scything bone and the other in obsidian claws. As their name implies, they steal and horde skulls and bones from battlefields-- Blood Hosts often busy themselves with finding, slaying, and retrieving these stashes so that they may be added to Khorne's throne.
Skull-Lairds - Skull-Laird are a variant of the Bonestealer, the result of several lairing together and one gaining primacy over the other. This larger beast is called a Skull-Laird and is a fair challenge to a Daemon Prince. These creatures never stop growing, commanding a nest of Bonestealers, and every so often grow to massive proportions. Such beasts are Greater Skull-Lairds and the most infamous of them is Vah'lruhk, the Skulls Thief, who has many Daemon Prince, Herald, and even Greater Daemon skulls in its horde.
Butcherboar - The Butcher Boar is a disturbing creature which broadly resembles a wild hog, but there is a vaguely humanoid quality about the animal as well. They are hooved nightmares with a bladed mess of tusks and overlong claws on their front limbs. Like the Gorger, they walk on their knuckles. Butcherboars are often hunted by Flesh Hounds and vice versa.
Kharndrill - The Kharndrills live in the dense jungle-wood near the Tree of Damned Shades, in the Forest of Damned Shades. They are dog-ape creatures with long fangs and dominant among them have large horns and brightly colored faces of red and orange. Kharndrills eat bloodfruit, but will snatch up and eat daemons who venture through their forest. They can overpower a Bloodletter and will snatch Chaos Furies from the sky if they catch them. When the forest is barren of fruit, they raid the gardens of Daemons who tend Khorne's meadows.
Bloodsteed - Bloodsteeds are equine-like creatures kept by daemons and used for work and war. On occasion, they are granted to mortals as godly gifts. Bloodsteeds have black or deep-crimson fur, fiery eyes, and flaming hooves. Their temperament is more fit for work, but they are warbeasts just as any creature of Khorne. Wild herds of them run above Khorne's lands, eating the coarse vegetation or flesh when they cannot find it.
Brand Ant - Brand Ants are so named for their superheated mandibles, which leave last marks in flesh when they bite a victim. They are hyperaggressive eusocial insects that create large mounds from the red earth of the realm. Brand Ants war amongst themselves, attacking rival mounds. They are fearless and will not even hesitate to swarm a Bloodthirster should it step on their home. Though typically not dangerous in small numbers, Brand Ant venom has an agonizing sting-- this species has found purchase in some Slaaneshi and Nurglite circles for that reason.
Wrothsire - A Wrothsire is among the largest of beasts found in Khorne's realm. They thick, leathery skin that can turn aside blade and spear and a 'Y' shaped horn on the end of a beaked nose. The slumber beneath the earth, and may awaken during a particular vehement rage by Khorne. Wrothsires bring fell storms and burning rain when they rip their way from the ground, able to toss about bloodhost as a child might several small toys. The biggest Wrothsires require a coordinated effort from several daemonic armies to fell and by the time the beast is killed, the death-toll is high. The Daemon who struck the killing blow is accorded the skull of the creature and the most sought after Skull-Fortresses are made from the heads of these beasts.
NEED HELP WRITING? (a masterlist)
I have likely not added many that I've reblogged to this list. Please feel free to roam my blog and/or ask/message me to add something you'd like to see on this list!
Synonym Lists
Look by @writers-potion
Descriptors
Voices by @saraswritingtipps
Show, Don't Tell by @lyralit
Tips & Tricks
5 Tips for Creating Intimidating Antagonists by @writingwithfolklore
How To (Realistically) Make a Habit of Writing by @byoldervine
Let's Talk About Misdirection by @deception-united
Tips to Improve Character Voice by @tanaor
Stephen King's Top 20 Rules for Writers posted by @toocoolformedschool
Fun Things to Add to a Fight Scene (Hand to Hand Edition) by @illarian-rambling
Questions I Ask My Beta Readers by @burntoutdaydreamer
Skip Google for Research by @s-n-arly
Breaking Writing Rules Right: Don't Write Direct Dialogue by @septemberercfawkes
Databases/Resources
International Clothing
Advice/Uplifting
Too Ashamed of Writing To Write by @writingquestionsanswered
"Said" is Beautiful by @blue-eyed-author
Writing Resources
My main thesaurus website which is up while I write:
My favorite Random Name Generator: There are so many ways to tweak the settings and generate names to choose from:
If you have spare credits/moolah/kruge, these are awesome:
Translations: Nothing beats having a native or fluent speaker's help, but DeepL tends to do better than Google Translate:
I don't heed even a third of its suggestions, but the Hemingway Editor is good for finding stupidly long run-on sentences that I otherwise skim over. It encourages me to rework some things, make them more succinct:
How To Write Good Dialogue (Part 1)
I'm gonna start this by saying I'm not trying to sound like a know-it-all. I am just tired of posts like these being absolutely fucking useless. I am aware this is basically me screaming into a void and I’m more than okay with that.
This guide is meant for intermediate screenwriters, but beginners are also absolutely welcome. :)
(about me)
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I've noticed a rise in film students who want to make films that have no dialogue. Probably after your professor showed you Doodlebug, right? Fuck that.
I'll make another post about writing a short film, but all you need to know is: Don't waste the audience’s time. Most of these no-dialogue shorts have very little substance and take way too long to tell the shortest possible story. Not a good idea.
Useless Dialogue
Plain and simple, don't write useless dialogue. Useless dialogue is dialogue that just doesn't fucking matter. Dialogue matters by having ✨subtext.✨
What is subtext? Subtext is the meaning behind the action. That's it.
If I tell you that I love you and I got big doe eyes while I say it, it means I love you. If I tell you I love you through a clenched jaw without looking at you, I don't necessarily love you right now.
Simple, right? Great.
Now think about the subtext behind every line. Does your character mean what they're saying? Are they doing it to get what they want? What is going through their mind as they say it? As long as you know your character, you’ll have these answers ready to go. If you don’t, you’ll figure it out eventually. Just keep writing.
When you write your character walking into a Starbucks and saying, "One venti iced coffee," does that do something? Why do I need to see someone's boring Starbucks order? Do I need to know that your character's boring? Why are you writing a boring character? [Of course, in the rare situation where this is some revealing clue to the massive crime investigation, then it makes sense.]
Useless dialogue is any dialogue that has no meaning or purpose in your script. Delete and move on. You don't need to write entire conversations or scenes that bore us, just write what we care about.
I took a class once where my professor called a version of this "trimming the fat." Get us into your scene and out of your scene in as little time as it takes to have it achieve its full purpose in the script.
[P.S. You don’t “inject” subtext into your lines. Idk who started that vernacular in subtext teachings but I hate it.]
Show vs. Tell
I remember a glorious fight I got into with a Redditor last year about show vs. tell… TL;DR: Dialogue is “show” if you write it with intention and subtext. If someone says that dialogue is inherently “tell,” they’re wrong and can go fuck themselves.
Dialogue that is “tell” is expositional dialogue. But, hot take: Exposition isn't just in dialogue. It’s also those annoying clichés that make you roll your eyes in the theater (which we just call clichés and not exposition). I’m sure every professor I’ve had will disagree with this and then get me into a long conversation about it, but let’s ignore that for right now.
Have you ever seen a movie where a character rubs an old, worn-out photo of a young girl while looking depressed? That's exposition. That character has a dead daughter. No shit.
Clichés are incredibly annoying. We all know that. Assume that any cliché you see - in this context - is exposition and try your best not to write it. (Tropes are different and sometimes necessary, so I’m not talking about that.)
Point blank: When you have subtext in your lines, they are "show,” not “tell.”
Before moving on, I'll bring up that while technically the dead daughter photo is subtextual, it is as close to the character saying “My daughter is dead,” as you can get. Don't treat the audience like we're fucking stupid.
The First 15
If you don’t know what the Inciting Incident is, please look up “3 Act Structure” before reading this.
The first 15 pages of your script is the part that comes before the Inciting Incident. This is the part you want to get right because, although people probably won’t leave the theater, they will absolutely find something else on the streaming service they’re using. The people making said movie will also just toss your script in the trash before it’s even produced, so it's best to get it right.
Dialogue in the first 15 generally follows the same rules, but carries a heftier additional rule. All dialogue in the first 15 minutes must, must, must tell us something about your character.
Remember when I talked about that boring Starbucks order? Why is your character boring? Don’t write that. Don’t write nice characters. Or pleasant characters. Or friendly characters. No one cares.
You want empathy. This does not mean “relatable.” It means “empathetic.” There is a difference.
I personally relate to Vi in Arcane, but I empathize with Theo in Children of Men. Both are excellent, but one personally resonates a bit more with me. You cannot write a character that deeply resonates with every single person, it is impossible.
With each line of dialogue, you must be saying something about your character that generates the empathy. Instead of telling you how to do this, I’ll direct you to a movie that will do better than an explanation: Casablanca.
Watch how Rick interacts with the world. What kind of man is Rick? Watch what he does, what he says, and how he treats people and himself. Watch that empty glass on the table. Watch his contradictions. Everything. Those things matter and it’s what makes you want to watch Rick for the entire duration of Casablanca.
“Realism”
This is maybe more directorial, but make your characters human enough, not too human.
Too human is when you’ve tried your best to capture all those little life-like speech patterns. You know, the ones that no one fucking cares about.
If your character coughs, they’re sick. If they clear they’re throat, they’re uncomfortable. If a bruise isn’t going away, they’re going to die. Simple.
Every moment on screen matters. Everything the audience sees is meant to lead them to a conclusion. Not the conclusion, just a conclusion.
The realism you want is in the choices your character makes, not how many times they say “Uh,” in a sentence.
Conclusion
Dialogue matters and should not be treated lightly or without care. Once you have this all engrained in your mind, dialogue should become effortless.
If you want an excellent way to think about this, Robert McKee's Story has an excellent chapter that helped clarify this all for me. Here's an excerpt and the context.
Warning, spoilers for Chinatown.
"If I were Gittes at this moment, what would I do?"
Letting your imagination roam, the answer comes:
"Rehearse. I always rehearse in my head before taking on life's big confrontations."
Now work deeper into Gittes's emotions and psyche:
Hands white-knuckled on the steering wheel, thoughts racing: "She killed him, then used me. She lied to me, came on to me. Man, I fell for her. My guts are in a knot, but I'll be cool. I'll stroll to the door, step in and accuse her. She lies. I send for the cops. She plays innocent, a few tears. But I stay ice cold, show her Mulwray's glasses, then lay out how she did it, step by step, as if I was there. She con-fesses. I turn her over to Escobar; I'm off the hook."
EXT. BUNGALOW-SANTA MONICA
Gittes' car speeds into the driveway.
You continue working from inside Gittes' pov, thinking:
"I'll be cool, I'll be cool ..." Suddenly, with the sight of her house, an image of Evelyn flashes in your imagination. A rush of anger. A gap cracks open between your cool resolve and your fury.
The Buick SCREECHES to a halt. Gittes jumps out.
"To hell with her!"
Gittes SLAMS the car door and bolts up the steps.
Story by Robert McKee, pg 156
The context of this page is McKee's way of explaining how to write characters. I found it very helpful.
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Thanks for reading! I probably forgot something, so I made this a “part 1.”
I hope this helps someone since I’m really tired of finding short films on YouTube that are all fucking silent. The few who have done it well have been copied to death, so please write some dialogue. I promise you it’s so much better if you do.
Asks are open! :)
How to Write on Final Draft (without it feeling so daunting)
It's incredibly difficult to open up a Final Draft document without feeling like you're literally writing your final draft, so here's a few features you can use your advantage!
1. Turn on dark mode
Dark mode makes it look like less of a script and more of an outline. Edit and rewrite in light mode, you will feel the difference.
2. Use speed view
Speed view gets rid of pages and page numbers and therefore you are only looking at the words you type.
3. Use focus mode
Focus mode removes the scenes, page numbers, and outlines you have at the top on the program while writing. Another way to forget about focusing on progress.
4. Make a messy beat board
Throw all your ideas onto the beat board, it should help make the document feel a bit more lived-in and less pristine.
Bonus:
5. Set a template with your formatting and use that to start every script you write
While a script format is very ridged, there are things you can do to personalize it. When you find those things, make them in a Final Draft doc (without actual writing) and save as your own template so you don't have to change all the elements every time.
how to write convincing dialogue
did you know that show, not tell applies to dialogue, too? while dialogue can be used to further your narrative, it can also be used to showcase your characters. here's how:
-what is your character hiding? most people don't say things at face value. they hide what they mean within their words and tone, but in writing, you can't verbally hear the character's tone. ways to convey non-verbal tone include: contradictions between words and actions, context behind the words (ie. the scenario, character's actions and feelings), syntax (ie. fragments, repetition, awkward phrasing). also consider who the character is hiding information from: is it the reader? the characters? both?
-favorite words or phrases. does your character use a certain phrase or word a lot? do they often put their prepositions at the beginning or the end of the sentence? these are questions to ask when you're arranging the syntax of the dialogue. everyone has a specific way of talking. make sure you give each character a distinguishable voice.
-personality. this is how you can create a distinguishable voice. is your character confident? are they shy or hesitant? do they repeat the phases of others because they have nothing to add to the conversation? are they confrontational or do they beat around the bush? ask questions like these. if your character is confident, they may make bold statements and appear sure of themselves unlike shy characters who use words such as "maybe" or "should" or "think." to boil it down, think active wordage versus passive.
-observe others. don't look solely at television or other books. sit at your local coffee shop and listen in on conversations, then try and break it down. are they hiding anything? do they frequently use any words or phrases? how would you describe their personality? the better you get at breaking down conversations, the better you can create convincing ones, whether shallow, deep, or as a narrative device, because even if you use your dialogue to move your narrative along, it should still be compulsively convincing.
one way to tell if you've ticked all these boxes is if you can tell who is speaking without any tags.
happy writing! if you have any questions about how to implement any of these tips, our ask box is always open.
Cultural Quirks for Fantasy Country 📜
Once a year the community gives the oldest person to the forests as tribute to preserve the community. They then hold a happy festival with the soon-to-be-deceased as the guest of honor
The community believes that the world beyond the towns borders does not exist. It is a dream realm that one can become lost in if you stray too far. Any creatures or people coming from the dreamlands are welcome to pass through but cannot stay.
They believe that all spells to revive the dead must have a dove present while the ritual takes place. The dove carries soul back into the mortal plane and withoutit the wrong soul could find its way into the body.
Every single home must have a living firefly inside their vase It is said that it’s the only thing protecting the death force from stepping inside their home at night
Lies are punishable by death. As a result of this, down through the years the definition of “lie” has been clouded. Now everyone habitually speaks every through that comes to their mind.
Hundred of years ago, ther was a plague in the region and the people used a certain type of flower as an amulet against it. Now these flowers are farmed here in spring, made into wreaths and given as gifts.
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🪽😈Good Traits to bad
Our perfect imperfections make us imperfect perfections.
Nice <> passive/unassertive
Strong-willed <> stubborn
Sensitive <> easily upset
Honest/communicative/trustworthy <> insensitive/brutal
Loyal/devoted/faithful <> tolerates bad behaviour from others
Perfectionism <> Never beign satisifed
Generosity <> Being taken advantage of
Being dependable <> People always depending on them
Protectivenss <> Overprotective, obsessive
Cautiousness <> Never risking anything
Ambitiousness <> Coming off as ruthless
Tidiness <> Obsessive and compulsive
Assertiveness <> Coming off as bossy
Pride <> Not accepting help
Being realistic <> Being seen as pessimistic
Innocence <> Being seen as naive
Optimism <> Not realistic
Diligent <> not able to bend rules
If you like my blog, buy me a coffee☕ and find me on instagram! 📸
🖱️References
https://townsvillepsychologist.com.au/personality-traits-can-be-positive-and-negative/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/9359111719786856/
🧦☕🧸A Guide to Writing Cozy Fantasy
Check out my masterpost for more tips :)
What is "cozy fantasy"? 🧺🪵
Cozy fantasy is a subgenre that is characterized by a more everyday approach to fantasy.
While its definition is not as clear-cut (everyone will have a sightly different idea of what it needs to look like), there are some general approaches to writing in this subgenre.
Elements of Cozy Fantasy 🕯️ೀ
A comforting, healing ambience 🍪
Rather than bloody battle and cunning witches, we have our next door wizard baker chumming up his special pumpkin pie.
Every magical book at their deepest core evoke a healing quality, but for these cozy novels, this warm element takes control.
2. "Kindness” and ‘gentleness” tropes 🍂
Found family/community, a sense of togetherness
Kind hearted protangoists
Plots gull of joy, hope or happy endings. Give your readers reassurance that everything will work out. And they do.
Ambience woven in the worldbuilding that gets the reader intitamely close to the world
Slower pace, allow the reader to delve into the story world and build stake in these kind, loving characters.
Slice of life: provide personal insight into the character’s “mundane” lives.
The plot must take this "happy" nad kind" element as the MAIN theme. Every book provides catharsis at the end, but if the process if filled with dark, dangerous adventures, that's not cozy at all!
3. Cozy doesn’t mean “no/low stake” 📖
No novel would be interesting without conflict and some kind of loss.
Think of “personal” stakes. Cozy fantasy can be grand adventures, quiet magical quests, fairytales or healing slice of life stories.
For example, the protagonist can develop new relationship around town and figure out her passion to express the theme of importance of enduring.
4. Generally slower pace, focusing more on the inner development of the protagonist and the main side characters.
Cozy Fantasy Starter Recommendations 🎧🌙
Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
Can't Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne
The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J.Klune
Bookshops & Bonedust by Travie Baldree
Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
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Writing the "Mean Girl" Character
How do we write the "mean girl" without making her another shallow copy of the brainless, pink-clad, cheerleader we see in high teen dramas?
Of course, there's nothing wrong with such a character if you want them to be funny/light in the first place.
However, I can hear myself slowly losing my last two brain cells when I keep reading about such papercut characters for more than an hour - reading clearly requires more effort than watching a class B movie, so I always appreciate when authors put more effort to make the characters dynamic.
No "Mean for the Sake of Being Mean
The classic way to avoid this is to give them a sad backstory. They used to be overweight/ugly and were bullied, or their parents don't care about them enough, or they are too insecure. Obviously these plot points are quiet stale now, but the basic principle still stands - if your charcter is mean, she needs A REASON.
I love reading about a mean character's backstory then feeling, "actually, I would have felt like doing that, too."
Whatever their motivations may be, remember that bullies pick on the weak, not the successful/powerful. While the Mean Girl might feel jealous/inferior towards the protagonist, I hardly think that should be the sole reason why they picked their victim. There must be a flaw in your protagonist that happened to be something that the Mean Girl knows how to exploit, which makes them a target above others.
Give Them A Twist
There are two ways that I can think of: (1) A seemingly nice character is in fact a mean girlie, or (2) A mean character turns out to be kind and well-intended.
Personally, I love Mean Girls who are intelligent/ know what they are doing. They are purposely manipulative:"are you okay?" as if the victim has something wrong with them or providing "constructive" criticism. Or kindly inviting them to a party that she knows they wouldn't fit in.
The conflict deepens when everyone else likes the Mean Girl due to her manipulative nature, making the protagonist doubt themselves.
A Purpose beyond Providing Conflict
Think about what the mean girl aims to gain from bullying your protagonist.
Is she continuously trying to prove herself "superior" so that she can feel better inside? Is she an academic rival who just needs to be the first in everything, even is that means reverting to questionable behavior?
Overly ambitious/perfectionist characters can come off as mean when they feel like others fail to live up to their standards (which only they know about, and are usually up in the sky)
Give Them A Proper Redemption
If you plan on giving her a redemption arc, make sure that she has earned it! The worst thing you can do is make it sound like you approve of the horrible things she has done.
this transition doesn’t mean the character does a complete 180 and is suddenly all smiles and good favors. They can fall back on their old ways of thinking, but is trying to make an effort to step out of their old clothes.
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Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!
References:
https://writingquestionsanswered.tumblr.com/post/668302340882857984/how-would-you-write-a-mean-girl-character-without
https://www.writingforums.org/threads/how-to-write-the-mean-girl-character.160729/
My Favorite Fantasy Tropes
MONSTER TROPES!
A deadly monster with a terrifying appearance bonds with a small child with its life.
An injured hero comes upon a monster, or a hero comes upon an injured monster and they understand each other. Giant vicious-looking monsters that answer to names you would give to a pet dog.
A character rescues or spares the life of a wounded or infant monster; later th fully- healed/matured creature returns the favor.
The horrifying eldritch creature that's been stalking the heroes turns out to be benevolent and actually, trying to protect them from something deadlier.
HERO TROPES!
The hero is the secret heir to a throne. It may be that he was whisked away and hidden as a child, his parents sent them away or were killed, etc.
There's someone in power in your book who might be described as "pure evil." This can feed into the "Good vs Evil" trope listed further down this list.
The hero refuses to give into the dark magic and instead ascends to a new level of power. This may change their hair to their dream color.
The hero falls in love with a princess/prince who turns out to be working with the real Dark Lord and killed her whole family just to rule the kingdom.
SETTING TROPES!
Pseudo-medieval European setting especially in places like the British Isles, France and Germany.
A library full of secret, lost, important knowledge. The characters may have to travel to this library, or they may stumble across it for some kind of revelation.
Ancient Japan/Chinese royalty setting where clues about the mystery is given out in subtle, secretive ways. Plus, the hero can't travel outside the palace.
A fantastical world can hide in plain sight without being discovered. When the secret is unmasked by the hero, he is trust into the world. Now, there's no going back.
CHARACTER RELATIONSHIP TROPES!
The characters involved don't know they're soulmates for part of the book but feel drawn to each other.
Twisting the original dynamic between characters from legends, myths and folklore
Semi-humanoid/ multi-race characters bonding with monsters/people of other race like elves, dwarves, goblins, etc.
Enemies-to-lovers
Marriages of convenience based upon political/power dynamic leverage
The main character(s), with a ton of romantic tension, must, for some reason, share a bed.
DARK FANTASY TROPES!
Magic is eveil and often The Corruption. Blood magic, human sacrifice and forsaken children are commonplace.
Magical artifacts with bad omens/curses attached to them. They require a grievous price in order to wield.
The gods are all assholes who pass time eating prayer chips and drinking soul-booze while placing bets and trolling the helpless mortals.
Organized religion of the country is Corrupt Church or Religion of Evil. The leader is totalitarian and strange cults prevail.
The dead find staying buried a little boring and resist any and all attempts to keep them buried, short of cremation or dismemberment.
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The classic betrayer
This is where everyone subtly knows that this guy's going to turn the other way.
The betrayer puts on a show for our heroes - kind, compassionate and supporting at first.
it just so happens that the villainthinks the heros are the bad guys.
make them actually likable.emotionally ruin the hero upon betrayal.
The remorseful traitor
whether he had bad intentions from the start or was deceived by others, the betrayer regrets his choices.
when he realizes his mistakes, it's too late to stop the evil, which introduces guilt.
throw the guilt and shame on the character.
even the protagonist can be a traitor! will others forgive him?
The Double Agent
this type of traitor will keep the readers wondering whether this guy is truly on your side.
keep your readers guessing. is that an evil smirk or a genuine smile? does he really love drinking, or is he just trying to get the hero drugged?
Snape in Harry Potter is a great example.
The guy can be good or bad - just keep balancing the two
Unrealiable narrators
these characters are not entirely betrayers, but horribly misinformed. they can make others appear like traitors - when in truth, they just have it wrong.
pit your narrow-minded narrator against his allies.
these characters are great for misunderstanding plots.
have your narrator do irreversible damage to the hero. would they forgive him?
Tragic betrayers
these are characters, due to their past wounds and trauma, cannot help but betray the group.
they confess the hero's secrets under physical/mental torment and doesn't have the backbone to do otherwise.
these characters can either be pitiful or frustrating would the hero still fight for the betrayer?
Play around with pov
you can have the readers know about the upcomong betrayal by switching points of view, building up anticipation to the moment of realization.
on the flip side, you can change povs in a way that the reader doens't see what's happening at the hero's back.
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World Building Checklist
Have you ever started writing a story and realized your world has a bunch of unexplained shit and you have to fill in the gaps as you go? Me too, buddy. Me too. Here’s a checklist so that you can fully flesh out your world to the max. (I’m dying)
How does Time work? (Minutes, hours, days, the daylight cycle, years, ect.)
Species (if Fantasy. Will probably make another post on this.)
Countries, Nations, Tribes, ect. (nationalities/ races. Will probably make another post on this.)
The geography of the world (draw a map. Doesnt have to be good. Just for a general idea.)
Rivalries between races (includes prejudice, racism, ect.)
Religions
Technology
The Magic system. (Will probably make a whole other post on this.)
animals, plants, ect.
The sky: Sun, Moon(s), Stars, Constellation, Are there rings? (If the planet has rings)
Educations system
Government system
Politics
Methods of transport (Vehicles)
Can’t really think of anything else. If you have more to add then reblog and add to the list! :) bye bee
While exploring some different shapes and styles for laser defense bastions, I was left with the conundrum of where to put garrisoning infantry stands when the roof is mostly laser. After noodling on it, I struck upon the notion of building plinth to provide conveniently infantry-sized platforms to represent troops occupying the structure.
The layout is taken almost entirely from the official Grimdark Terrain Dominator Prison Complex Xhi build, but I wanted to try and replicate the look of the now discontinued Imperial Bastion.
We also wound up using it as a proof of concept for pre-arranging the components in Blender and exporting to a flat .STL for printing, which worked reasonably well. Some minor artifacts due do to inadequate precision arranging the parts and I'm not sure it's actually that much of a time savings over hand assembly, but the finished product is rock solid and looks great on the tabletop.
Adonael of the Blood Angels Legion, by @marsskop!
The Last Stand by David Ok
Dantioch and Polux, a love, not of Eros, but of brotherhood
Imperial Fists Praetor
by Ivan Klimenko
Dorn Vs Perturabo
by Serdjek Sholohovshek
I might've added the BG3 Art Book to my dnd assets stash
It' 100% does not have things like the 5e players' handbook + 5e’s character sheet, several gm guides, critical role's explorer's guide to wildmount, baldur's gate and waterdeep city encounters, 101 potions and their effects, volo's guide to monsters, both of xanathar's guides, a bunch of other encounters, one shots, and class builds
In no way are there any pdf’s relating to any wizard who may or may not be residing on any coast
(Edit that I’ve moved the folder to the new link above! So if you catch a different version of this post that link won’t work anymore!)
Tzimisce fashion show ft. Nikifor and Laszlo the Revenant
Sister Of Chaos Undivided by Rotaken(DA)/Rotaken(Tb)
Festivities
by fat-elf
Alright! Let's actually talk about this waterfall thing. It is an amazing showcase of many things that I adore from late 90s graphics. I am replicating this in Blender, through mere observation of the final game, so some things might not be exactly accurate to what the PS1 does.
First off, this is what I started off with, straight from the Noesis exporter into Blender.
"Looks boring!" "What are those weird gradient quads?!" Oh we'll talk about those too, don't worry.
Let's start simple, figuring out the Layers.
We've got the base level geometry, then two layers of water, each with a different texture.
Let's focus on the bottom Water layer first. A waterfall's water falls, and the age old trick to replicate that behaviour is to scroll the texture along the mesh by offsetting the texture coordinates every frame.
Simple enough. Not too convincing yet.
Let's do the same with the other layer.
Look at it goooo!
An often-used trick to enhance the waterfall effect is to increase the distance between vertices (or squash texture coordinates) as the geometry goes down.
This affects the scrolling velocity for the texture in each section, making it look like gravity is accelerating the water.
MGS pulls yet another trick on top of that:
Vertices are subtly animated to oscillate, making the water flow seem more irregular.
It seems to be something similar to what is done to geometry when the camera goes underwater in the docks or vents area.
One opaque layer of water on top of another is no good.
Alpha Blending is an expensive technique and it'd not give the desired effect.
Additive Blending is used instead. The lower layer is rendered first, the second layer is then rendered on top, adding the color values together.
Now we get to talk about those weird quads.
They are darkening gradients! Instead of using Additive Blending, they do the opposite, the color value from the texture is subtracted from the scene that was rendered below, effectively creating shadowed areas.
Who needs HBAO+ anyway?
Lighting pass!
I just threw a few point lights to try and replicate the original vibes of the scene.
MGS, instead, uses lighting information baked into the vertices of the scene to create this mood. And what a mood it is!
Here's an additional example of the same techniques used in the bottom part of the same scene. Although the game seems to be rendering that water mesh as (almost?) completely opaque, there is an actual floor mesh under it.
There, I fixed this post. If you enjoy my posts, shit or not, consider supporting me on Ko-fi, I will appreciate it a lot 💞: https://ko-fi.com/parametricpalta
by Damir Šnajder
Today's budget commander sleeper is one that was already featured in our series on Wilds of Eldraine, but I feel like this is the most underrated card in the set for commander, so it gets a standalone post, this card should see play beyond decks that want tapping effects.
In limited, the crown is excellent by virtue of being a tapper. Having something that removes an attacker from combat every turn at instant speed and isn't easy to remove as an artifact is stellar there. You almost never want to cash it in for card draw because it's doing its tapping job.
In commander, this dynamic flips on its head. Tapping one thing is a nice upside on the card, will keep you alive sometimes, but not something you'd use a slot in most decks for. However, the sacrifice ability scales with the number of players, it takes into account the tapped creatures of every opponent. This is really good. For a total of six mana, payable in installments, on the typical board, you should be able to draw reliably what, three to six cards? Given that the tapping is free on your turn, you can even tap an additional creature before cracking it, netting you an extra card, and if you wait before cracking it, you can pay 1 to tap a creature at end step then crack it on your turn for card draw.
Now, is it the best card draw ever? No, but as far as mass card draw effect, this beats almost everything in red and white, and a good bunch of Black's too. And you incidentally get a tapping effect while you wait on your big card draw spell, which is quite an upside.
If you want a mass card draw effect to refuel your hand outside of blue (and green), at mid-power tables that often have a lot of creatures running around, take another look at this card. It's relatively easy to deploy early and cash in later, or in the late game just cast as a mass card draw spell.
Oh, and it's a 3-drop, which means sun titan, Sevinne's Reclamation and Goblin Engineer are all able to grab it back for more card draw if you want to. It's currently under half a dollar, the set has only been out for a month, and I already got three copies that all found homes in decks that wanted one among my collection
Today’s recent budget commander sleeper is one that made a bit of noise on release with the latest set precons, but ended up drowned in the constant noise of magic these days.
Ramp is good in commander. That’s not news. And it’s hard to come by in white, at least cheaply. Knight of the White Orchid is still the gold standard of white (catch up) ramp, able to fetch nonbasics, and coming on a solid body on turn 2, it’s a white Rampant Growth that sometimes doesn’t work.
This is similar. It’s a turn slower, because it has a tap ability, the land enters tapped and the body it’ll leave behind will end up being a 1/1. However, that’s where the downsides end and the upsides start. Just like Knight of the White Orchid, it can fetch nonbasic Plains, which is even important on a budget nowadays with the two cycles of common typed duals in Kaldheim and Dominaria United.
Scholar of New Horizons also works even if you’re not behind. Granted, it only tutors to hand and doesn’t ramp you then, but hitting every land drop is oftentimes more important than ramping, since you don’t have to spend resources on it. It can also be used cheekily with this with the cycling typed duals (and triomes) to draw a different card. Oh, and the ability can be activated at instant speed which most of the time won’t matter, but will be very appreciated when it comes up that you’re going first and an opponent ramped on turn 3 and suddenly unlocks your own ramp instead of the land draw you’d resigned yourself to.
Beyond that, Scholar, by itself, can be used multiple times for no extra cost, as long as you have counters in your deck, which most decks do, even if incidentally. Have a cathar’s crusade? A Felidar retreat? A luminarch ascension? You’ll have a plentiful supply of counters to feed this turn after turn then, and those are just for mono-white.
In some cases, removing counters might even be an upside, if you expect -1/-1 counters, or, much more importantly, have any saga in your deck. Having the scholar out with the saga allow you to not only keep ramping or making your land drops and keep the saga forever, it also allows you to repeat any chapter from that saga every turn, even the last one should you so wish. It gets absurd with many of them, from Urza’s Saga tutoring every turn and sticking around to the Cruelty of Gix being a free tutor or reanimation every turn. With a Luminous Broodmoth, it’ll make any creature be able to die every single turn and come back.
Don’t get me wrong, this card doesn’t NEED synergies to be good. I’d play it in any white deck as ramp even if no other card in the deck ever had counters, right behind Knight of the White Orchid and in front of Loyal Warhound. On a budget or not. But it does much more than it would in a vacuum, and basically any deck will have some tools to synergize with it. It might actively up the number of incidental sagas I include in white decks just by existing. (But I’m mostly looking for an excuse, I love sagas.)
The card currently retails for under $1 (with the extended art version where you can read the name and artist for half of that), and I’d encourage you to snag one as soon as you find the occasion, in case this doesn’t get reprinted. It’s just staple-level good, much more than any other card that has been featured on here so far.
New budget Commander cards: Lost Caverns of Ixalan: White
You know these by now, we’ll go color by color, mixing main set and commander set. Reprints can be included if they brought the price down under our bar or are otherwise notable. All the cards presented here are under $2 at time of writing. Cards will be evaluated as part of the 99, not as commanders.
Let's start with three cards for the price of one, three one-drops to keep your curve lean and clean, with useful effects in some decks. Helping Hand is solid recursive value but will need specific decks that are running a toolbox of cheap creatures.
The reliquary is a very serviceable removal if your deck will reliably have stuff to throw away to cast it, adding Ward to an O-Ring makes it a bit less likely for it to be removed. Being a one-mana artifact also means you can find it, a removal for any creature or artifact, off of a Trinket Mage if you need to, which could be clutch.
The Gnome will basically shield you from early aggression then be cashed in as a cantrip later, particularly in decks that can sac it themself. With a reliquary, for example!
I don't know how long this will stay in the budget, but Karnstructs are strong. This represents two artifacts by itself, can be blinked or reused, and even without a board it's not hard to flip it with a few equipments or artifacts lying around and start pumping out more Karnstructs every turn. Consider it in token decks, in artifact decks, in artifact token decks...
Abuelo's Awakening is not great reanimation in any form, but four mana to bring back any powerful enchantment or artifact is pretty much the cheapest we've seen this effect... Just don't be banking on that artifact or enchantment surviving too long. And you need to know what you want to be doing to be playing this, it won't just go in any deck.
A sun titan for 4 is an interesting offer, and one that will do work in pretty much any deck. We're not replacing Sun Titan here (nor Guardian Scalelord) though, Coven requires you to have at least three creatures around, which makes this significantly worse at redeploying after a board wipe and will be much more of a feels bad when you just don't have coven when you need it, and attacking with a 3/3 on the ground can be tricky to trigger it later. I'll stick to my existing options for the time being, but if I ever run a deck that wants 4 different Sun Titan effects and has plenty of creatures, this likely would make the cut.
This is a good removal. White has a plethora of good options for removal, but have another here that's both versatile and efficient, your middle-point between a Swords to Plowshares and a Generous Gift on versatility vs cost.
Grasp of Fate on a body for just one more mana! Of course, that means it'll die much more easily, but that's why the activated ability is there to munch on things... Which will end up costing you a lot more than four mana to get rid of stuff permanently. If your pod can expect a creature to survive a turn cycle though, might still have some places to play this, particularly if you can hold up mana and threaten munching on stuff at instant speed if they point something in your foragers' direction.
This is a two-mana mana rock for artifact decks, that also happens to loop artifacts once or twice. Play it in all your artifact decks with white. Exiling your own stuff means you're less likely to go infinite with it than the average artifact, but if it merely brings back your other infinite pieces while also being a rock, it's good enough.
If you want your board wipes to be artifacts, you now have one more option in white. With a lot of artifact support pieces being creatures with low power (did you know all the Urzas have power 2 or less?), and you picking for all players, this should allow you to keep your best cheap enabler while leaving the opponents with hopefully less impactful dorks. Beyond that, the flip side is a pretty great windborn muse: who would skip their turn of casting spells just to attack you? And you get a 5/3 flier, which isn't too shabby either.
It's a new flying Pridemate, and one with quite an upside when your opponent finally removes her or wipes the board. Beyond the classic souls' attendant style decks, she will also make her way into aristocrat decks, where every blood artist turns every creature sacrificed before her into more creatures when you run out, allowing relatively easy aristocrat combo wins.
Reanimating every turn is nice when you start on the first turn, though the six mana are pretty steep here, you'll want to make sure what you're reanimating is impactful every turn. A card for angels, dragons, demons and such, but in those decks, the top of your curve tends to be filled with creatures of that type, so you might not find room for this.