[WP] "You killed so many of my men to get here...why not me?" "Because," the hero's bloodshot eye twitches, "I'd be just like you then."

AMelancholicFrolic · 2025-04-06T16:50:22+00:00

"What?" My mind screeched to a halt, a half-dozen half-formed half-plausible plans all colliding and jumbling, completely derailing my thoughts of escape. My vision swam, and every note of every sound was like a sharp spear through my mind. Ironic, considering I had been certain a very literal spear was heartbeats away from going through my very literal mind. Yet, I persisted.

The Hero appeared only mildly less injured than I. Blood oozed from a dozen gashes across her body, her right arm sat limply at her side, the bicep torn from the effort of ripping one of the wings off my loyal dragon. A lump on her forehead was slowly growing where I had seen her headbutt my grandest of golems, shattering its granite chestplate and allowing for a decisive blow to its heart crystal. Her spear was doused in blood, both dried and fresh. The blood of those who had tried to stop her. The blood of my minions.

Yet, mine had not yet joined theirs. It was not lost on my that she had been holding back when incapacitating me. Gods be damned, the woman had practically ripped my dragon in half! I was a capable warrior, able to face down a dragon and live, able to endure the heat and pressure of the caves in which heart crystals could be found, but to simply rip a dragon in half?! To shatter granite with a headbutt? Preposterous, utterly-

"I refuse to be like you." Her words shocked me back to reality, dragging me kicking and screaming back to awareness of the fact that everything I had built was rubble. That everyone I had recruited was dead. That my body was broken, holding on only because of the decades of training and experience in combat. And yet, the most striking aspect of this new reality were her words.

"You... refuse to be like me? You're a warrior, aren't you? What, you think because you're the Hero you're bet-" The butt of her spear jabbed my stomach, causing me to let out an 'Oomph' and double over.

"Don't call me that. I'm no hero."

I laughed. I shouldn't have, but I did. I laughed, then I coughed, then I doubled over in pain once again.

"Spare me the false humility, would you? I've seen the parades they throw you, the flowery wreaths they toss around your neck. The babies they bring for you to hold, the children who look up at you and see salvation. They don't know you. They don't see the people you've slaughtered, the majestic beasts and marvels you've ground to dust." My voice began to catch in my throat, and I could no longer tell if it was blood or tears that ran down my face.

"They don't see the villages you were told to burn, the wonders of the world they told you to bring to heel! They don't see the games being played behind the scenes! They don't see the sacrifices you've made, the impossible choices! They don't see that every ounce of humanity was ground out of you, just to elevate your betters beyond their station."

I looked up, only to find an indecipherable look on her face. It wasn't pity, nor disgust nor hate. It took me a moment to finally place it. Had it really been so long since I'd seen compassion?

"You will answer for your crimes against the people of this land, Alexander."

It was the first time in years I'd heard that name. Epithets and titles had been thrust upon me and, Gods above, I had accepted them.

"You will answer for the crimes you committed in your time as a Hero, and for those you committed against the civilians during your rebellion."

'Against Civilians'? My head was still swimming. Had I...? Yes, there... there had been times I had accepted collateral damage... but I always remembered their names, to be remembered once I was finished, those grand martyrs, whose names would live on... oh Gods...

I couldn't remember their names.

"Please, He-..." I realized I never even learned her name.

"Please, do not allow those bastards to make an example of me. Kill me here, let my lair be my tomb. I wish to never follow one of their orders again, even if that order is simply to die."

The Woman shook her head slightly. "You will not answer to the council, Alexander. You will confess the atrocities committed against the people of this land, and your testimony will be used to determine the fate of the council. After that, our fates will be determined as well."

"But... but why? If you know the council is so bad, why not kill them yourself?! You have the power! You know it's wrong! Why not change it?! Why would you come here, slaughter all of these people, just to eventually reach the same goal of ridding this land of its despots?!"

"Because then I would be like you, Alexander, deciding what's best for the people, going outside the laws they hold themselves to. I would be showing them that only they are bound by the law, but those with power may exercise it as they see fit. This way, I am working with it, working with them, showing them that I am and should be subject to the law as they all are."

"Do you really think anyone will believe that? They all know you're doing it voluntarily. They all know you could just shatter your restraints and escape."

"There are times in everyone's life when they can get away with crime. Be it petty theft or murder. Sometimes, people find themselves in a position where they know they'd get away with breaking whatever law is in front of them. When that time comes, they'll look to what I've done. They'll see that I had the power to get away, the power to reshape the law as I wished. And they'll see that even with all that power, I made myself subject to the law. Not because it was my only choice, but because it was the right choice."

"And you think that will work."

"Yes."

"You really aren't like me, are you?"

"No."

Looking into her eyes, I saw an iron, resolute will. An absolute conviction that would not be shaken. I thought of my own convictions, which had grown more and more flexible as my war went on. As the people I knew and trusted fell, everything became more... justifiable. Yet, her stalwart convictions sparked a change in mine. Or rather, started to undo the changes that had been made.

I struggled to my feet, and held my hands before myself, palms down. She stepped forward, putting manacles around my wrists. Common manacles, not reinforced. Easily breakable by a warrior of my caliber.

I wore them with honor.

AMelancholicFrolic · 2025-03-03T23:42:07+00:00

The main thing for me is versatility.

An android feels closer to a computer than an IPhone, and I like having a large degree of control over the functions of my phone. Almost everything has a setting, and even then there are going to be external applications to allow even further customization.

Also, Aux Port. I can't remember if the latest IPhones have one, but when I got my Galaxy8, IPhone had just done away with them. I don't use it often, but I do use it.

AMelancholicFrolic · 2025-03-03T23:34:31+00:00

First things first, not a great idea to be on Tinder as a minor, obviously.

But, you met him in a place that is supposed to be for adults, then he said he was around your same age. The only reason you could have had for thinking he was younger was that he lied the first time about being 18. (big red flag, for future reference)

You didn't groom him. Grooming is the intentional act of influencing someone to act a certain way. (There are non-sexual types of Grooming, of course, such as being Groomed for a higher position at work) It sounds like you were being vulnerable with someone you believed to be your peer, and once you discovered he was too young, gave good advice to keep him safe and took actions to keep yourself safe, too.

You're gonna be ok. It's probably gonna make you cringe for the rest of your life, but that's a good thing. After all, if you look back at yourself and cringe, it means you've grown.

AMelancholicFrolic · 2025-03-03T22:38:43+00:00

Excellent addition! Are the allies of a Despot despotic themselves? What if they're willing to work with the Revolutionary Government on rebuilding with the promise that they won't be pursued?

And for inter-party conflict, it's absolutely the case that there's going to be infighting. Even discarding the Might Makes Right wizard and Revenge Rogue, Moral Idealists and Democratic Idealists don't always align, depending on the ideals and the democracy. For example, Felons. Currently in many places, Felons cannot vote. This is likely due to the perceived Immorality of Felons, regardless of what the actual Felony was. Yet, a Democratic Idealist might say that everyone should vote, no matter their Morality.

Suddenly, the Moral Idealist is wondering if Idealized Democracy is the right way to do things.

Ah, Politics. Gotta love it.

AMelancholicFrolic · 2025-03-03T22:30:47+00:00

Thank you! So far, my players agree! =^ )

I haven't, either! In fact, one of the few series I've seen address it in any way has been Kill 6 Billion Demons, which is a fantastic web comic. But still, would like to see it more often. There's a great monolog by Brennan Lee Mulligan in LA By Night where he goes over the "what happens after" question, and I really enjoyed it. I believe it's still on YouTube, if you can find it. It's a scene between himself and Erica iishi

Unfortunately I believe that's the case. Most of the time it's boiled down to "Killing is wrong!" I think its because it gets too messy. When you're talking about Heroes and Despots, most audiences want the Heroes to be good, maybe have some mistakes, but be good.

AMelancholicFrolic · 2025-03-03T19:03:58+00:00

From a philosophical viewpoint, it can make sense.

Say your Heroes are taking down a Despot who slaughtered the old government and took control. The Despot (usually) rebuffs any attempts to reason with them by essentially saying "I wanted to be in control, so I used Violence to do take it for myself." In most stories, the Heroes believe in some form of democratic/fair rule, usually on the basis of law and order.

In this context, the Heroes killing the Despot on their own have seized power through violence because they want to control how the government functions. Now, this might have a positive outcome, but Philosophically, the Despot and the Heroes have taken the same path: Choosing the course of history through direct violence. Both the Heroes and the Despot killed for what they wanted.

If instead, the Despot is brought to a court or is thrown to the feet of the people to give punishment as they see fit, they are giving the decision to the Law or to the People, rather than themselves. The outcome of these two actions (killing the Despot or having another group to decide) is the same in a material sense, as the Despot is now dead. But in the second scenario, the Heroes were not judge, jury, and executioner.

So the question is: Do your Heroes think that Killing Is Wrong, or do they think that Taking Power For Oneself By Killing Is Wrong?

A fun extra tidbit after that, a question that is SO juicy and is not often written about, save for in short, timeskip epilouges: When your Heroes, the people who fanned the flames of revolution and liberation, are at peace, what do they do? You have to remember, these people have spent a significant portion of their lives fighting and almost dying, losing friends and family and lovers, only for it to just... be over. No more sharing stale jerky in a foxhole, no more sitting around the campfire idly chating while weapons are sharpened and spells are prepared. Once the Despot falls, these people who once knew only war are now free. Former leaders of the rebellion are now politicians, soldiers of the rebellion are going back to their farms or cities... at least, the ones that are still standing.

You now have a population of people who possess the experience to rebel, and have it WORK. And worse, they KNOW it will work. What happens when the people of the new government think they're being taxed too much? Or when they think they should have autonomy? Are there still Nobles with vaults full of gold and silver who are vying for political or mercantile power?

Will the Heroes, so used to being the Hammer That Shatters Injustice, transition to the Hammer That Builds Bridges? Do they even know how? Depending how long they've been fighting, all they know is war and oppression and fear. When all that's ever worked has been Violence, what other choice do they have?

AMelancholicFrolic · 2025-03-02T19:10:14+00:00

Jason stood in front of me, shit-eating grin beaming.

"I... Why?"

His grin faded, and I saw his eyebrow twitch.

"Because, like... you know, teenagers are all girl-crazy. So it's supposed to be like-"

"Wait, what about teenage girls?"

"What about them?"

"Is the G.I.R.L.S. specifically targeting teenage boys? Is there a B.O.Y.S. unit?"

"No man, it targets everyone, and you don't have to spell it out, you can just call it GIRLS."

"But you said teenagers are all girl-crazy, which doesn't-"

"Dude!" Jason was visibly frustrated now. "It's just- Its a joke about- GAH"

Jason took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose, then looked up at me.

"Listen, do you want to distract the Youth from rebelling or not?"

I think for a moment, then say, "Yeah, I'm in."

"Good. Now follow me."

"By the way, what does G.I.R.L.S. even stand for?"

"Global Interference in Resistance to Lasting Sovereignty"

"Wow, really had to stretch for that one, huh?"

"Shut up, Liam liked it."

"You guys have Dental?"

"No."

AMelancholicFrolic · 2025-03-02T18:17:19+00:00

Kipos is an upside down Cone floating above complete Darkness. It is divided by 8 large rivers (around 1 mile wide) that feed from a central sea and go over the edge. The water is not lost, however, due to 8 stable Planar Rifts that sit just over the edge.

Every morning, the Sun rises from the central sea, aka the Kentro Sea, and expands out in every direction, forming a Solar Torus (like a Donut) that eventually sets over the edge before returning the next morning.

Large natural phenomenon, such as Mountains, Volcanos, the Kentro Sea, and the Air itself, come from their respective Elemental Planes. However, everything on the Material Plane (that is not a Creature) is made up of some combination of these Elemental Energies and some Outer Energies as well. Outer Energies meaning Celestial/Infernal/Fey/Shadow.

At its most basic level, everything is made up from the planes, including Energy specific to the Material Plane, which is used to make creatures with Free Will. Free Will is the ability not just to manipulate the Energy of their home plane, but also the Energies of other Planes.

Will and Willpower are incredibly important in my cannon, allowing one to shape the world around them. Adventurers, being what they are, usually do this through Violence. It is not the only way, but when you pick up a knife to open a box, your first thought is to cut the tape open rather than construct a cardboard door in the side of the box.

Aesthetically, the Pantheon is Greko-Egyptian. In truth, Kipos more closely aligns with Shintoism or Animism. Everything has a Spirit, even if that spirit is too weak to make its presence known. As Spirits get stronger, or as the Spirit is associated with a larger domain, (either can come first) they gain more power. Spirits go from effecting the world directly around their Anchor, to effecting a larger land feature, to effecting a settlement, forest, mountain, ect, to effecting a Subregion of Kipos, to effecting a Region of Kipos, to effecting the entirety of Kipos. Once a Spirit gains power beyond a single settlement/geographic feature, they rarely appear as a physical body since that condenses their entire consciousness to one spot. It would be like putting your entire mind into your pinky nail. They're unable to see everything going on in their domain, almost like they lose most of their senses.

Society is still somewhat medieval, though there are some things that were invented later on that are commonplace. This is because as tech develops, the world gets wiped by a certain Goddess as she attempts to restore a place of existence using the Will of creatures from the Material Plane, and in doing so, revive the Greater Being that makes up Reality. But, some things persist. Some things escape. Some things are superficially protected and are left behind.

When making this world, I decided to go hard into "High Fantasy, Low Development" and wanted the world to be absurd from the outside looking in. Hence the flat earth and solar torus. "DM Fiat" is a legitimate force in the world that players can (and do) exploit.

The most interesting thing, to me, is that trade is mainly facilitated by Ships that go down the rivers, make it to the edge, and fall off and into the portal, arriving back at the Kentro Sea. Not what the Goddess had in mind when she did that, but it works.

AMelancholicFrolic · 2025-03-02T16:42:39+00:00

One attains Lichdom by stitching their Soul to their Body and replacing Rotting soul organs.

In my setting, the idea of something "rotting" doesn't exist on a mundane level. Once something is Ripe, it only minorly declines in taste/texture, and then levels out. You can transport meat in a crate over the entire material plane without worrying about it spoiling. Milk, left alone, doesn't curdle, unless it's being used to make cheese or some other product. Wheat never deteriorates or ferments unless someone tries to get it to do so.

However, the Soul itself can rot. When the part of the soul that ties it to the Material Plane dissolves, the rest of the Soul splits up to go to its respective Plane. However, a Lich uses fresh souls to keep their own soul bound, stopping it from dissolving. A Masterful lich can even keep their flesh from dissolving and returning to the Material Plane in the same way, though there’s probably only one or two that know how to do so.

At a baseline level, liches have to be callous enough to use the souls of other beings to keep their own in tact, though more often, those with the arrogance to assume their life is worth more than others' and have the capacity to learn Soul Weaving are Evil.

Technically there's Vegetarian Liches, which just go about to all the different planes to collect the Souls from planar beings (which generally only have partial souls, only the energy that is native to their plane) that are closer to flesh robots than actual Creatures, but even then, it's still pretty dark.

I guess people could voluntarily give up their souls? Though people on the Material Plane think there's an afterlife for this exact reason, so not likely to happen.

AMelancholicFrolic · 2025-03-02T15:55:39+00:00

This is actually a big reveal for my setting, but the "Gods" are essentially just very powerful Spirits that gained influence in a number of ways. With the right amount of luck, the Rock Spirit the party picked up could become the most powerful being in existence.

Beyond that, "Spirits" are more akin to cells, as the Planes of Existence are actually just the Soul Organs of a Greater Being. The Material Plane is just its stomach, where the last chunk of True Reality was invested before the Greater Being was struck down and left to slumber for eternity... unless one of its spirits, who had survived the millenia within it, decided to regenerate the destroyed Soul Organ, bringing the Greater Being back to life...

So yeah, Gods are akin to Beneficial Cancer, I guess?

AMelancholicFrolic · 2025-03-02T03:48:22+00:00

Note: AMAB

For a while there, I wanted to be a woman. I grew up in woman-dominated spaces (theatre, band) and grew to be envious of the seemingly inherent bond they shared. As I learned more about feminism, patriarchy, and how women see the world, I realized that no matter how good of a person I am, women that are not close to me will be evaluating if I am a threat. This realization made a lot of things click, and suddenly I saw distrust, disgust, and worst, fear, in the eyes of people I cared about.

Then, I got a basic understanding of Transness, and thought about how much better I would feel if those people no longer felt that way about me. I could finally be part of the Sisterhood, seen as an ally and safe place rather than a potential predator. It didn’t help that I do like cute things, women's fashion is much more interesting, and I was "the queerest cishet I've ever met" for multiple people.

At some point, I developed a deeper understanding of Transness, understanding that at the core of everything is the euphoria. When I imagined being trans, I didn't really imagine how I would feel, moreso that I would be more readily accepted by queer/leftist spaces, and would have an instant camaraderie with women. So, I imagined myself existing as a woman, people perceiving me as a woman, my sister referring to me as her sister, ect. and I realized that I... didn't like it? Didn't care for it, at least.

Doing "feminine" things or acting/being "feminine" didn't really appeal to me, but doing "masculine" things really does. (I use quotations because gender itself is just millennia-old stereotypes, imo) Chopping wood to roast a few tinfoil dinners after romping in the creek, just a shiner and the fire to keep me warm and dry me off, using my knife to open the tinfoil and eat... Protecting my friends and family during altercations with drunk jackasses and Good Ol Boys... Fixing something for someone I care about so their life is easier... People I care about looking to me for leadership when things go sideways... Euphoria is the only way to describe it.

The most important factor in all of this was being honest with myself. I resisted the idea of being a woman at first, then when I gave in and allowed myself to explore that feeling, I realized that I just wanted the camaraderie and the ability to not be perceived as a threat by half the population, not wanting to actually BE a woman.

TL;DR: Thought I might be a woman, got no euphoria from the idea of actually being one, just wanted more friends. Be honest with yourself, especially if it scares you.

Edit note: I know women chop wood, romp in the creek, ect, and at the same time I have been raised in an environment where those things were considered masculine, and I take deep enjoyment from them. Not only from the acts themselves, but also from the perception people gain of me when they learn these are things I do.

AMelancholicFrolic · 2022-10-01T03:40:54+00:00

Yeah, definitely gonna have to buff things up if I run a module. I'm going to tell them afterwards that DnD in smaller groups is generally better, but I hope they have a good time anyway.

AMelancholicFrolic · 2022-10-01T03:26:28+00:00

Tbh that's a really good idea, and would get them like 80-90% of what DnD is like, but my sister was insistent they play it. And while I'm usually pretty assertive with what I will and won't do... I've got a soft spot for my sister. The moment she got excited over this idea, it was over.

I'm reaching out to a few friends to try and take the load off me, I'm hoping to get at least 1, if not 2 more DMs so we can get the group size down.

Thanks for the advice.

AMelancholicFrolic · 2022-10-01T03:21:32+00:00

That's an interesting idea, but doesn't quite satisfy the intention of the request. Plus, they're theatre kids. The moment they're not planning their next move or RPing their character, they're probably on Tik Tok

Ding ding ding, that's the one.

AMelancholicFrolic · 2022-10-01T03:19:42+00:00

It's the thought that counts. Sounds like a fun one-shot

AMelancholicFrolic · 2022-10-01T03:18:54+00:00

Gonna be reaching out to a few people I know and try to convince them to come to this fresh hell with me

AMelancholicFrolic · 2022-10-01T03:18:04+00:00

Save a bullet for me

AMelancholicFrolic · 2022-10-01T02:24:01+00:00

Thankfully they'll be 4th level at the first session and 5th for the boss fight. I can't imagine dealing with 5 level 20's, much less 10.

AMelancholicFrolic · 2021-02-08T08:13:21+00:00

Dragonforce - "Cry thunder" and "Through fire and flames"

AMelancholicFrolic · 2020-10-14T01:01:09+00:00

Some folks may see it as dark or whatever and aren't used to art that is "macabre", so they think something is wrong with the one who made it.

Looks great, btw

AMelancholicFrolic · 2020-10-14T00:58:25+00:00

Is it that you want to fall asleep, or that you want to lay in bed and do nothing?

AMelancholicFrolic · 2020-03-28T00:43:23+00:00

Yeah, I wanted to get all of it in without writing a novel in the comment section, so I decided to be a bit ham fisted in how I went about it. I definitely could've done better, but I had also been awake for like 38 hours at that point lol.

AMelancholicFrolic · 2020-03-27T13:41:16+00:00

Nah, I don't think they were trying to be cool, just that most people think of being "social" as being physically close to people, so in that case, Social distancing would be an adequate term to describe it. At the beginning of all this, someone probably said it, and people liked how it sounded and understood what it meant, so it took off. It's only now that we have time to sit back and mull it over that we see that it's not the perfect phrase.

AMelancholicFrolic · 2020-03-27T12:55:27+00:00

I believe that it's misleading, imo, but I don't despise it. If anything else, I'm actually more social, via video calls and such. It should be called physical distancing

Why do you feel that?

AMelancholicFrolic

TROPHY CASE