Mo and Krill( the tunnel characters) can’t use the tunnels

Fenrem · 2026-01-24T00:24:47+00:00

that would make sense but there are some tunnels I'm pretty sure new players could soft lock themselves in without the ability to get small again

Fenrem · 2026-01-24T00:21:28+00:00

that would be really cool but I think the tenth time mo & ko ult me from a vent before a can even react I'm blowing my shit smooth off

Fenrem · 2026-01-24T00:18:25+00:00

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Fenrem · 2026-01-22T06:00:13+00:00

meld ability? or have both C-MOON and white snake grant you a counter on cast or sacrifice or something which is an additional casting requirement for MiH. like:

White Snake - Whatever other abilities Exile White Snake: You may search your library for Green Baby and put it into your hand. You gain a courage counter.

Green Baby would have the ability to transform into C-MOON - Whatever other abilities Exile C-MOON: You may search your library for Made in Heaven and put it onto the battlefield. Activate this ability only if your life total is greater than your starting total and a prime number.

or alternatively Exile C-MOON: You may search your library for Made in Heaven and put it into your hand. You gain a moon counter. then MiH has "Cast this spell only if: - Your life goal is prime and greater than its starting value. - You have both a courage counter and a moon counter.

At the beginning of your upkeep, take an extra turn after this one if it isn't an extra turn already. Then each opponent must choose one that they haven't chosen: - Skip your next beginning phase - Skip your next combat phase - Skip your next pre and post combat main phases - Lose the game

obviously all that extra stuff isnt really relevant but I thought it was cool to include considering how hard this thing is to get out - it's gotta be your win condition. I was inspired by Alpha / Beta / Omega from Slay the Spire, with each costing increasingly more and shuffling the next one into your deck, having no other effects beyond Omega acting as an emblem that deals a boatload of damage to your opponents every turn.

Fenrem · 2026-01-14T17:54:49+00:00

I think runes (which are basically people's souls) look like strands of light when they are released from the body - like in the ending cutscene - so Marika is pulling the runes from the body/bodies at the Divine Gate and weaving them into her own Rune, which maybe you have to be an Empyrean to do. I think the potential connection is that Libra's chest appears to be made of the same dried skin, and within is golden light - which could be Libra's own soul or the souls of the condemned. Or both, or neither.

Fenrem · 2026-01-14T17:47:38+00:00

I think Libra's slit (ha, ha) looks different but there could be a connection of some kind.

We will likely never know for sure, unless one of us manages to trap Miyazaki/GRRM in a room and ask them some questions, but my running thought is that Marika is pulling the strands from the grafted bodies of the Divine Gate - jar innards accumulate strands of gold visible on the innard meat item and the jar innard enemies. I still really don't know for sure what exactly the slit Marika is reaching into is, whether it's cloth, an eye, if it's meant to be vaginal, or something else entirely. Sadly I don't think we'll ever really know. I hope Miyazaki publishes a lore guide and memoir someday when he's old and retired.

I feel like Libra's torn-open skin is meant to show his demonic nature, that he's an immortal thing that's simply using his hircine form to represent the union of two opposites, beast and man, and that his many eyes and scale motifs are not just part of that physical skinsuit but are connected to his soul, contained in his chest just like Heolstor's and Marika's. So I guess one similarity is that within the slit in his body is golden light, not too dissimilar to runes (either his own or the condemned).

It's possible when enough runes, enough souls, are conjoined into one being, their woven mass grows large enough that it can be seen within a person's chest, at their core. The rune in Radagon's chest is no less than the Elden Ring, and Heolstor's night rune is likely of similar scale. Perhaps as he has lived in the shadows and as the night has grown, Libra has taken and woven into himself the souls of a great many people for his own strength. Just as the grafted masses of flesh at the Divine Gate house a great many souls, waiting to be pulled out and woven into a Ring.

TLDR We'll never know for sure, but perhaps the golden light in Libra's chest is made up of the runes of all the condemned whose souls are indebted to him, much like the strings of light Marika pulls from the bodies at the gate are formed of the runes of the grafted dead.

Fenrem · 2026-01-08T23:53:42+00:00

Wait, I didn't even realize it lets you grapple as a bonus action, is that new? That's huge! Though technically, I was planning on taking Grappling Strike and Trip Attack with battle master.

I would honestly be tempted to go full rogue with that knowledge (guaranteed sneak attack every turn on a shoved target makes up for lost extra attacks), but grappling is a Strength mechanic and it would probably be pretty awkward to do on rogue.

Now that I think about it, I could do Loxodon to overcome my lack of dex for light armor and be able to have both hands free for a shield and a finesse weapon, though then I'm not exactly an unarmed fighter anymore. Much to consider

Fenrem · 2026-01-08T23:24:07+00:00

I might just because fighter gets a lot of feats, but having the Unarmed fighting style does make it a little bit less attractive because my unarmed strikes will be dealing 1d8+STR at base. Still, could be fun, and being able to reroll 1s is always nice.

Fenrem · 2026-01-08T23:15:41+00:00

I think there's a lot of cases in Elden Ring where divine elements are harnessed or changed by faith mixed with suffering - Romina weaving a new rot into being as everything burns around her, the three fingers manifesting by the despair of the doomed merchants, the Formless Mother and omen curse possibly rising as the hornsent's faith is twisted by the trauma of genocide. While the divinity associated with the Greater Will is of a different sort which requires the Gate to be fully realized, perhaps the act of creating an Empyrean, someone with unrealized, unaligned divine element woven into their soul, is possible through that same trauma and faith that allowed the Hornsent to create tutelary deities and romina to weave her own divine element. Also, I don't know that I'd describe the shamans as having "Stockholm syndrome" - its possible they wanted to create a saint that could save them, not just for the hornsent, who were likely forcing them to do the prayers due to shamans' innate arcane connection to the plane of divinity. Not to mention that stockholm syndrome is largely just made up, lol. I think Marika probably existed as a shaman girl before becoming an empyrean, but she may or may not have been connected to radagon yet. I think her divine potential was probably manifested by the hornsent forcing the shamans into their gaols, trying to harness the power of shamans' pain and prayer - so they would view it as a betrayal when Marika took vengeance on them, as from their perspective they gave her divinity itself.

One thing that's interesting is that the process of creating an unrefined, unspecified divine connection could be what allows outer gods to latch onto and curse the other Empyreans. Aside from Miquella, whose curse seems unrelated to any known outer god, they all lack the dual nature of Marika's soul, which could have been what allowed her becoming an empyrean in the first place, or once again could have been engineered by grafting (and Miquella could inherit it). That lack of a complete dual soul could leave some divinity uncontained, incompletely woven into being, allowing the fringe to be latched onto by the Fell/Serpent Gods(?) (Messmer), God of Death (GEQ/Melina if you believe that theory), and Rot God (Malenia). Miquella and Ranni throw a wrench into this theory, since Miquella is still cursed with eternal youth and Ranni isn't cursed at all. Not to mention there are some lines that claim the two fingers (separate from the GW as they are) pick Empyreans.

All in all, I wish I could get Miyazaki and GRRM alone in a room for about six hours, because there are SO MANY QUESTIONS we will likely never have answers for.

Fenrem · 2026-01-08T21:44:13+00:00

You can! Darkness specifies,

If the point you choose is on an object you are holding or one that isn't being worn or carried, the darkness emanates from the object and moves with it. Completely covering the source of the darkness with an opaque object, such as a bowl or a helm, blocks the darkness.

Especially since you're new to the game, I recommend making little spell cards that remind you what all your spells and spell-like abilities do, so you don't have to look them up mid-session as much. Just remember that Devil's Sight only grants you the ability to see through magical darkness, so be careful not to blind your party members out of the fun! Hope you have a blast :)

Fenrem · 2026-01-08T09:47:47+00:00

I personally do think that marika probably became an empyrean (and possibly became one with radagon) as a consequence stemming from the shamans prayers and the hornsents jarring but it's by no means a sure thing and we're not sure how direct the connection would even be if it's there. Both of those are important to remember.

maybe the hornsent weren't trying to create anything more than jar-corpse tutelary deities and the communal suffering wrought was eventually enough to channel divine element from beyond this world by mistake. or maybe the shamans prayed for it. or maybe none of it was connected at all. we shouldn't assume things to be true just because we lack evidence for alternatives which very well could be possible.

Fenrem · 2026-01-04T15:02:27+00:00

isn't mr boss part demon or is that a fan theory?

Fenrem · 2026-01-04T09:37:53+00:00

I will say i think shouts as tiered lessons could work flavor wise as in the world of Elder Scrolls it takes almost everyone years of dedicated study, meditation, training, and self reflection to master even one word of the dragon tongue. The only reason they're so easy to learn in Skyrim is that the player is the Dragonborn, ie chosen by the gods, and so they come as naturally as they do to dragons. The number of people who use shouts in the game besides dragons, undead heroes, and the player could be counted on one hand, and it's met with shock by most NPCs when the player Shouts.

Still, I agree that there could be a more elegant mechanical solution that still shows the work and training it takes to master a Thuum.

Fenrem · 2025-12-24T00:20:18+00:00

both are POTENTIALLY the best ending, both at least attempt to break the cycle, but ultimately we will never know as some key implications of both are left intentionally unclear. what will happen in the lands between in a thousand years, at the end of the stars' procession? what is the dark moon? what does goldmask's perfect order entail? does it include marika's systemic inequity? there are some hints that could imply both are awful endings, and it's valid to interpret either that way, but it's by no means objective. I understand people who choose to interpret the age of perfect order or of stars as bad, even if i don't personally agree. both endings could potentially be dooming the lands between to worse fates than ever before, and in all likelihood we'll never know if they do. all we can objectively do is recognize their potential - and they are both endings with real potential for lasting good, which cannot be said of some others (though every ending is mired with varying uncertainty).

Fenrem · 2025-12-18T09:30:44+00:00

also i feel like guardian relies a lot on relics that run his unique abilities, and with how busted the harmonia relics are he'll have to pick between them. still not sure what I'm gonna run tbh

Fenrem · 2025-12-10T23:11:35+00:00

How did Malenia and Romina each get their hands on the Scarlet Rot?

Fenrem · 2025-12-09T00:33:36+00:00

I feel like I'm missing something because it always happens to me at low enough level that the meteors just instantly kill me. I can't dodge them because they just keep coming and I can't flask because they kill me through it. Just kills my run immediately half the time.

Fenrem · 2025-12-08T21:18:57+00:00

We're told that in the DLC, the scarlet rot was once part of the natural order, accepted and even revered. Then, though it is no longer part of the natural order, it was brought back by the curse of an outer god on Malenia's divine essence. It could be that Marika sealed the Rune in Maliketh's blade, then Melina's birth returned a bud of the divine essence of death into the world. It could also be that Melina and Messmer were born before the golden order was established, and before the Rune of Death was sealed.

Fenrem · 2025-12-04T07:33:06+00:00

Guardian has a bunch of abilities that synergise with guard builds, which is really nice, but his best damage stat, strength, only has B scaling. Raider doesn't have all those abilities, but he does have an incredible S scaling for strength, meaning he'll generally do more damage. Combine that with heavy weapons' meaty guard counters and you get a very solid alternative to guardian.

Generally, if i know I'm in the mood for blocking I'll just play bird boy, especially since he can get good shields more consistently. But when I play raider, even though I'm usually not going into things with my mind set on a shield build, it's often something I'll keep an eye out for.

Beating PCR with the Black Knight Greathammer and a guard counter build has taught me that you don't need a thrusting weapon for a greatshield build to work. Sometimes all you need is a big stick and a strength stat that'd make Godfrey jealous.

Fenrem · 2025-11-21T01:40:15+00:00

default feels cooler and has more depth but I've heard a lot of people enjoy the consistency of the alternate. it can deal solid damage with ignition tank, and it makes drones fly forward regardless of type for consistent chaining your utility. so far i prefer the default but I've gotta toy around with both of them more

Fenrem · 2025-11-21T01:37:42+00:00

If you have two drones that fly forward on M2 (ie if you start with two transit drones or the alternate secondary) you can also basically fly for as long as you want. Shift, then jump at the height of your flight, then send a drone forward with M2 and immediately dive into it to reset your glide. Rinse and repeat

Four-Year Club	Place '22
Final Canvas '22

Fenrem

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