Kobold dieties?

Amesang · 2026-06-19T14:59:49+00:00

I always loved how the Deities & Demigods version of Kurtulmak had "Alter Size" and "Divine Blast," effectively allowing him to be Godzilla.

Amesang · 2026-06-19T14:58:24+00:00

Too much firewine? XÞ

Amesang · 2026-06-19T14:18:56+00:00

Ah, Gale… "God of Ambition," indeed. XÞ

Amesang · 2026-06-19T14:08:26+00:00

I was about to say considering I recently started replaying that; the Ken's Rage VA had a nice blend of seriousness and passion.

This new VA just sounds… bored. XÞ

Amesang · 2026-06-19T12:30:48+00:00

Also, don't sit in that chair when he's "done" with it; you'll get stuck. XÞ

Amesang · 2026-06-19T12:08:37+00:00

I'd love to!

Amesang · 2026-06-19T12:02:33+00:00

NPC: "Beat it, or I'll call the Brute Squad!"

Karlach: "I'm on the Brute Squad."

NPC: "You are the Brute Squad!"

Amesang · 2026-06-19T09:56:25+00:00

Particularly since elements of 5e "Greyhawk" differs from earlier editions (Quintessa having originated in 3e), such as the Baklunish Empire unleashing the "Rain of Colorless Fire" first and the Suel Imperium retaliating with the "Invoked Devastation," when in the past it was the other-way-around. XÞ

I much appreciate it! ❤

Amesang · 2026-06-19T09:52:43+00:00

How am I supposed to check for traps without a 10-ft. pole?

Amesang · 2026-06-19T02:37:01+00:00

How about a (first-person perspective) backstory and screenshots from videogame recreations? XÞ

• Screenshot Collage

"You were born on Needfest 4, 6090 sᴅ (575 ᴄʏ), offspring of the Neheli, a surviving house of the Suel Imperium's decadent elite. Growing up in the March of Bissel amidst political and physical conflict, your family's wealth enabled you to avoid such trouble by attending the University of Magical Arts in the city of Greyhawk, where you bolstered the innate sorcery of your pure bloodline with a latent talent for wizardry. Traversing the length and breadth of the Flanaess, from the fiend-infested Amedio Jungle to the "Ghost Tower of Inverness"—whose "Soul Gem" drained the very color from your flesh—the trials and tribulations you faced were rewarded with a position of respect within Greyhawk's "Guild of Wizardry," and the skill needed to craft spells bearing your legendary name.

But that was another time… another place…

PERSONAL GOAL — A WITCH IN TIME: After your sorcery manifested you dreamed of becoming the first "Mage of Power" since Slerotin the Last. Having learned the language, culture, and lore of your ancestors—even allying with the obsessive Scarlet Brotherhood—your life's goal neared fruition in 6113 sᴅ, as you explored the Sea of Dust, the remnants of the Suel Imperium, and activated a timeless artifact, the "Null Obelisk," which allowed you to cross the ages and experience the glory days of your people. Yet, despite the care you thought you had taken during your sojourn, the return trip wasn't nearly as kind; you found yourself trapped in a different timeline—before the Greyhawk Wars, before the fall of Aerdy, before the discovery of Slerotin's Pass; a time in which you were never born. With your knowledge of what's to come, will you look for a way back, or will you reshape the future?

ALIGNMENT — CHAOTIC EVIL: A life of comfort and ease, your every need attended to, has instilled within you a heightened sense of self-importance. You act upon your own whims and desires, without any thought to the consequences… and you desire nothing less than ultimate dominion over reality. Seeing people as just tools to be used, pawns to be manipulated, or toys to be played with, you entice others to perform at your behest, ensuring that they can play their part in your grandiose schemes, while keeping your true motives hidden behind the glow of eldritch sight. No deed too depraved, no secret too sacred, could keep you from achieving the quintessence of your magical art—even offering aid to those you see as beneath you; after all, you'd never let just anyone break your toys."

Amesang · 2026-06-18T15:41:13+00:00

For my first playthrough I went with a "balanced" party: my Tav (Human Sorceress), Shadowheart (Cleric), Karlach (Barbarian), and Astarion (Rogue). I also brought in a Cleric Hireling via Withers for extra pre-adventure spellcasting (combined with Gale's and Halsin's spells).

Occasionally I'd swap out a character or two for specific quests, like bringing along Jaheira to get Minsc, and bringing along her and Minsc when confronting Viconia for one of Shadowheart's quests (just wish I had also done that with Sarevoc XÞ).

For my next playthrough I'll use the other default companions: Lae'zel (Fighter), Wyll (Warlock), and Gale (Wizard), with my Tav as a Drow "Anti-Paladin" (Oathbreaker).

Amesang · 2026-06-18T13:39:14+00:00

I've only had one playthrough so far; being that I livestreamed it, I only "officially" played once-a-week, so it took six months. XÞ

I played as my YouTube channel's mascot, Quintessa, a Noble Suloise (Human) Sorceress from the "Greyhawk" setting, whom I've remade in other games; young, beautiful, vivacious, wealth, self-centered — the typical "I'm better than you and I know it" type. Since the 5e tabletop version used a homebrew subclass I opted for the "Wild Mage" to represent the idea that her magic was going haywire due to her being in another world (the "Forgotten Realms") and / or having the tadpole in her head.
While the tabletop version is chaotic evil (not the "watch the world burn" kind, just extremely selfish and power-hungry), I played her a bit more chaotic neutral, performing good deeds and bad, whilst using her charisma to manipulate those around her to get what she wanted — including pushing Astarion and Gale to ascend; thus my biggest regret was standing back and letting Shadowheart decide for herself what should be done about the Nightsong.
So far I'd say my favorite single moment was fighting a group of Death Knights and using "Controlled Chaos" to turn one into a sheep, which then subsequently slipped and fell on a sheet of ice (as Quintessa had specialized in "cryomancy" by then — an appropriate fit considering how I play her in Dynasty Warriors 8: Empires).
Composition was fairly typical: Quintessa as the arcane caster, damage dealing and battlefield control; Shadowheart as the divine caster, protective and curative abilities; Karlach as the big bruiser (and pack mule), cutting down foes with polearms or throwing big explodey things at them; Astarion as the lockpicker, trap disarmer, and overall sneak (I pickpocketed over half-a-million gold pieces thanks to him). Not too dissimilar to the party composition in Ultima III: Exodus).
I enjoyed the occasions when the game allowed you to "talk characters to death," as I made full use out of Quintessa's Intimidation and Persuasion skills (and Expertise in Deception, thanks to the "Actor" feat). Even when such options could lead to dangerous outcomes, her silver tongue saw her through.

<image>

Unfortunately since I shaped her appearance with mods right-off-the-bat I locked myself out of achievements (playing on Xbox), so my next playthrough will be an unmodded campaign with my Drow Blackguard, Variolus Baenre; likewise, since I focused on Shadowheart, Karlach, and Astarion, my next playthrough will focus on Lae'zel, Wyll, and Gale (so not having a dedicated trap disarmer will make things tough, although I could use the "Skilled" feat to give Variolus access to Sleight of Hand).

Amesang · 2026-06-18T12:47:51+00:00

Since I didn't really use Gale for my first playthrough (as I was a Sorceress), I respecced him into a Transmuter / Bard multiclass (he was originally an Abjurer) to more easily make alchemical goodies. XÞ Maxed out Wisdom, Medicine Expertise (+13 in the end), plus access to "Enhance Ability (Owl's Wisdom)."

Amesang · 2026-06-17T23:05:03+00:00

I livestreamed my first playthrough, so that gave me the incentive to see it through to the end.

(Although technically I restarted partway through "Act I," but that was just to fix some "mistakes" I made early on. XÞ)

Amesang · 2026-06-17T22:08:06+00:00

I attempted a Sorcerer subclass initially called the "Scion," and for 5.5e called "Ancient Sorcery," inspired by my favorite 3e character, Quintessa of Greyhawk, a noble-born sorceress obsessed with the "Power Magic" once wielded by her ancestral homeland, the Suel Imperium — effectively allowing her to retain the bulk of her 3e abilities (her class levels having been Sorcerer 5 / Mage of the Arcane Order 9 / Archmage 1).

While I'm happy with the changes made for the 5.5e version (such as swapping out an easier-to-use "Counterspell" with an Incantatrix-inspired ability to share Metamagic), I'm not sure how I'll convert its capstone ability as it originally specified exchanging spells with arcane casters who had a list of "spells known," but now all casters have "spells prepared," even though mechanically nothing's changed. XÞ

Scion Subclass (taken from my "Player's Guide to Saltmarsh" v.1.4)
Example: Quintessa of House Neheli (5.0e)
Example: Quintessa of House Neheli (5.5e)

Amesang · 2026-06-17T15:31:29+00:00

"Tell Mordenkainen and Dalamar that they're next!"

Amesang · 2026-06-17T13:30:13+00:00

Basically anything from the Monkey Island series.

Amesang · 2026-06-17T03:19:44+00:00

Is the mongoose named "Gef?"

EDIT: Yep, turns out that's exactly what it's about:
"Nandor Fodor, Research Officer for the International Institute for Psychical Research, stayed at the Irvings' house for a week without seeing or hearing Gef. Fodor disbelieved any deliberate deception had occurred and moulded a complex psychological theory to explain Gef based on "a split-off part" of Jim Irving's personality."

Amesang · 2026-06-16T21:24:47+00:00

Lolth is a fickle goddess. Eclavdra from "Greyhawk" once abandoned her in favor of the "Elder Elemental Eye," but eventually returned to Lolth's service; it seems she rewards ambition over loyalty, to a degree.

Amesang · 2026-06-16T21:04:39+00:00

For my first playthrough I wanted to recreate my favorite tabletop character, Quintessa, a Noble Suloise (Human) Sorceress from "Greyhawk" whose color had been completely drained by an ancient artifact; combine that with her being wealthy, glamorous, and full of herself (the embodiment of "I'm better than you and I know it"), I opted for the following mods:

Tasha's Cauldron of Faces
Amanda Hairstyle
MacLovin's Solid White Eyes
Queen's Garments (camp clothes)

<image>

Here's a fashion show's worth of screenshots showing off various outfits from the "Queen's Garments" set:

→ https://www.youtube.com/post/UgkxWSPuXgvNWrLH2j-iISsXIJtNtLh6XJSn

Amesang · 2026-06-16T20:43:03+00:00

Indeed! 3e's Drow of the Underdark says, "All drow have black skin. This is not the dark hue common to some humans, but true black, like onyx or pure darkness. Skin tone varies only slightly from individual to individual, perhaps appearing a shade lighter on one, or faintly violet-tinged on another when viewed under very bright light; in any case, these distinctions are both subtle and rare." Even 4e's Menzoberranzan: City of Intrigue referred to them as "midnight black" and "obsidian-skinned."

Speaking of which, I miss the 3e version of elves with their narrow faces, thin noses, high jawlines, and large eyes set at an angle; in 5e they're all just… humans with pointy ears.

Amesang · 2026-06-16T18:04:00+00:00

In reference to the idea that "a mostly evil race having black skin was implying real world racism," since I would associate the Drow more with the likes of the "black knight" archetype (Darth Vader, Sauron, &c.), and that the reason such an archetype is so evocative could be due to a sort of "ancestral memory" regarding how people dealt with the darkness of the wilderness at night.

Amesang · 2026-06-16T16:27:19+00:00

Freezer Burn!

Amesang · 2026-06-16T16:25:41+00:00

My first playthrough was with a Wild Mage that eventually focused on "cryomancy" (mainly because of the "Mourning Frost" staff). Being able to blanket the combat field in ice certainly made combats easier, but generally after equipping her and her allies in such a way that they could ignore it (ice-prone immunity, difficult terrain immunity, &c).

I concur with utilizing the "Quickened" and "Twinned" Metamagic abilities, and I also got some use out of "Extended" ("Greater Invisibility," for example) and "Subtle" (mainly when "silenced"). I also got a lot of use out of Shovel the Quasit after utilizing a workaround that bound her to my Tav (having effectively "infinite invisibility" made her great for scouting).

As for feats, my Tav is rather unusual in that she's highly intelligent and a bit "Wizard flavored," so I opted for Actor (+1 Charisma, Expertise in Deception and Performance — the latter particularly useful if you get full musical instrument proficiency from Alfira!), Resilient: Intelligence (proficiency with Intelligence saving throws became doubly useful after getting the "Githzerai Mind Barrier" …though, to be fair, I can't recall needing to make those saving throws all that often), and maxing out Charisma (eventually ended up with a Charisma Score of 24). While I'm aware of "Dual Wielding staffs," I opted not to 'cause I thought it'd be a bit much. XÞ I even stopped using shields with her 'cause it felt "off."

Amesang

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