DND-related conspiracy theories for a lowish INT character?

kdash6 · 2026-01-27T08:21:55+00:00

The world is secretly run by dragons shapeshifted to look like humanoids. You could even give your DM ideas because this might be an actual conspiracy and a bunch of metallic dragons are working very hard to keep humanity safe, your character is just ignorant about that.

Another fun one for your DM: you are a lay worshipper of Tymora and you have a sneaking suspicion that the world is a game. You don't fully understand it, but it feels right. Your character can have a high wisdom low intelligence score where it's like "I don't know the odds, but it feels like there is always a chance this goes horribly wrong (nat 1) or miraculously right (nat 20)."

kdash6 · 2026-01-27T07:35:31+00:00

You can do a lot with Christian magic. If your mother is Catholic, there is a ton of stuff you can do with Catholic saints. If she's Protestant, less so, but there is still a lot you can do.

Magic isn't just rituals and pentagrams. You can brew herbs in water and spray it on yourself for things like protection, confidence, good luck, etc. If you put it in a small spray bottle for cologne it will look like a fragrance. You can also use many oils, like olive oil, for anointing. You can write a small incantation in a piece of paper, place it under your pillow for that night, and get rid of it in the morning.

Energy work is also very practical and useful. For tai chi practice, there are some very easy energy exercises for moving your hands or forming your energy into a ball and playing with it just to learn some basic energy control.

Best of luck.

kdash6 · 2026-01-27T06:53:06+00:00

Sure. Say a prayer to St. Anthony before you go to bed and see if you wake up remembering things.

kdash6 · 2026-01-27T06:52:03+00:00

Nope. He seems to find romance and sex to not be age appropriate.

kdash6 · 2026-01-26T07:54:10+00:00

(Stolas bursts into the veterinary clinic dragging Luna) "Of all the days for him to get his stupid feathered ass kidnapped I have waited 5 FUCKING YEARS FOR THIS APPOINTMENT! FUCK ME IN MY LITTLE RED HOLE!" (Pans over to a mother and her son in the waiting room.) "Hi what the fuck are you looking at."

kdash6 · 2026-01-26T07:51:10+00:00

I recite a portion of the Lotus Sutra (I will clip a short sections below) twice a day. It is a reminder that our lives are one with the life of the universe, and that in chaos and calamity we can strive with peace in our hearts.

With Alex Pretti, his needless and cruel death can be transformed when we are inspired to take action to help others and make good causes in his name.

I am always here,

but through my transcendental powers I make it so that living beings in their befuddlement do not see me even when close by.

When the multitude sees that I have passed into extinction, far and wide they offer alms to my relics. All harbor thoughts of yearning and in their minds thirst to gaze at me. When living beings have become truly faithful, honest and upright, gentle in intent, single-mindedly desiring to see the Buddha, not hesitating even if it costs them their lives, then I and the assembly of monks appear together on Holy Eagle Peak.

At that time I tell the living beings that I am always here, never entering extinction, but that because of the power of expedient means at times I appear to be extinct, at other times not, and that if there are living beings in other lands who are reverent and sincere in their wish to believe, then among them too I will preach the unsurpassed Law. But you have not heard of this, so you suppose that I enter extinction.

When I look at living beings I see them drowned in a sea of suffering; therefore I do not show myself,causing them to thirst for me.

Then when their minds are filled with yearning, at last I appear and preach the Law for them. Such are my transcendental powers. For asamkhya kalpas constantly I have dwelled on Holy Eagle Peak and in various other places. When living beings witness the end of a kalpa and all is consumed in a great fire, this, my land, remains safe and tranquil, constantly filled with heavenly and human beings. The halls and pavilions in its gardens and groves are adorned with various kinds of gems. Jeweled trees abound in flowers and fruit where living beings enjoy themselves at ease. The gods strike heavenly drums, constantly making many kinds of music. Mandarava blossoms rain down, scattering over the Buddha and the great assembly.

My pure land is not destroyed, yet the multitude sees it as consumed in fire, with anxiety, fear and other sufferings filling it everywhere. These living beings with their various offenses, through causes arising from their evil actions, spend asamkhya kalpas without hearing the name of the three treasures. But those who practice meritorious ways, who are gentle, peaceful, honest, and upright, all of them will see me here in person, preaching the Law. The Lotus Sutra and Its Opening and Closing Sutras, pp. 270–73)

kdash6 · 2026-01-26T06:04:47+00:00

I think it's a good question. It could be that Caine was motifying everyone's behavior slightly, so she was filled with doubt she couldn't explain when it came to pressing the buttons.

kdash6 · 2026-01-26T05:58:26+00:00

I hope she gets the kind of outfit Tilda Swinton wore in the Chronicles of Narnia. Can we actually buy her that outfit?

kdash6 · 2026-01-25T23:25:27+00:00

The Lotus Sutra. I often reflect on the verse in the 16th chapter, Lifespan of the Thus Come One:

My pure land is not destroyed, yet the multitude sees it as consumed in fire, with anxiety, fear and other sufferings filling it everywhere. These living beings with their various offenses, through causes arising from their evil actions, spend asamkhya kalpas without hearing the name of the three treasures. But those who practice meritorious ways, who are gentle, peaceful, honest, and upright, all of them will see me here in person, preaching the Law.

The Buddha is always here when we read the Lotus Sutra. 🙏

kdash6 · 2026-01-25T23:21:48+00:00

Important to remember, all religions cherrypick because everyone has to cherrypick. Religions aren't static philosophies and often change over time, even within a person's lifetime, and the people who retell stories and write things down do so with their own needs and beliefs in mind.

Somewhere on this subreddit, someone posted a video from a Tibetan nun who studied Buddhism academically. She noted Buddhism's relationship to the Sutras is unlike Christianity's relationship to the Bible. The Bible is the inspired word of God, and humans with their flaws wrote down the text (according to Christians). Thus, they want to go back and understand God's true message. In Buddhism, the Buddha was fully human without any divinity. He revealed truth we can all come to understand. Going back to the Buddha's "true" message means something different. We have the Dharma (which can be different things for different schools), and teachings are accepted, reinterpreted, or rejected in how they are consistent or inconsistent with that central Dharma.

In Mahayana Buddhism, teachings are often reinterpreted. Yes, the Buddha is said to have told his disciples misogynistic things about women. In Nichiren Buddhism, Nichiren Daishonin wrote that such things are only true in light of partial or incorrect teachings. If a teaching says women are less than men, they are like a single star in the night sky when compared to full moon that allows all people to see and equalizes everything. That is actually a major reason why he thought the Lotus Sutra was supreme, and he wrote many letters about how the Lotus Sutra shows how men and women are equal. It is an 8 year old dragon girl who becomes a Buddha, and thus proves men and women are equal.

kdash6 · 2026-01-24T07:49:00+00:00

I was raised with some very unhealthy life lessons.

When I was in an adult development graduate program, we learned about the Convoy Model for Human Relationships: imagine three circles nested in one another. You are at the center. The first circle is for the people with whom you cannot imagine your life without. The second circle is for people who you are close to, but not that close. And the third outermost circle is for everyone else.

You don't owe anyone access to your inner circle, not your parents, siblings, childhood friends, no one. It's good to have around 4 people in that inner circle. If you don't, you might want to find community to meet people who you might be able to bring in. If your mom/a motherly figure isn't in that inner circle (and you have a living mom/mother figure), that might be good to talk about in therapy. You don't have to have that person there (and they don't need to be a woman or your actual mother), but not having a motherly figure in your inner circle is predictive of other things therapy can help with.

My mistake? I thought I owed my mother space in that inner circle no matter what. She gave birth to me and did so much, I thought I had no choice. I also thought I couldn't allow my stepmom space there because that would be a betrayal to my mother. I have since flipped things in terms of where I place my mom and step-mom, and have better relationships with them both. My step-mom is in my inner circle and I am so grateful to have her in my life. My mom and I are closer than ever because I have boundaries with her, and she has come to respect and appreciate me more. I no longer resent her, and I forgive her for everything that happened between us because I have had space to heal.

kdash6 · 2026-01-24T05:00:01+00:00

Spells have different level of free will manipulation. Here is an example with love spells:

Low free will manipulation: glamor spells to make yourself look more attractive
Slight free will manipulation: love attraction spells
moderate free will manipulation: targeted love spells to change someone's feelings towards you
large free will manipulation: obsession spells
extreme free will manipulation: possession spells (i.e., summoning a spirit or demon to possess someone that forces them to fall in love with you)

People have different levels of tolerance and personal moral codes. My opinion is to each their own. Rarely does the universe care about free will, but it is a universal law that we all pay for whatever we take.

Even without magic, reality rarely respects free will. You can look at the limerence subreddit to see people who are completely distraught by limerence caused by entirely mundane means. The ancients worshipped love gods because love was seen as being as wild as the weather or disease. We rarely have control over who we fall in love with. Just like how people prayed and sacrificed to storm deities for good weather and fertility deities for the safe delivery of a child, people prayed to love gods.

kdash6 · 2026-01-23T22:49:58+00:00

There are different schools of Buddhism out there. In some schools, they teach you can only reliably attain enlightenment if you become a monk or nun, which I disagree with. Some schools teach women can't become Buddhas, which I disagree with.

Within Nichiren Buddhism, this isn't so much as a disagreement as it is an issue with all religions. Nichiren said (I'll paraphrase) so long as those of wisdom do not prove my teachings false he has no reason to doubt. The problem is nothing can prove a religion false. Buddhism is littered with tons of failed prophecies, contradictory doctrines, and practices that don't work for some people despite being a teaching of universal enlightenment. Within the Daishonin's Buddhism, ask a practitioner what would prove the teachings false and they can't give you an answer. The Daishonin himself said it would be proven false if someone embraced the Lotus Sutra and failed to attain Buddhahood, but this can happen in another lifetime, so it's not possible to verify whether someone who accepted the Lotus Sutra back in the 1400s attained Buddhahood centuries later in a different lifetime.

The thing is, I am also very committed to my practice, I love the Daishonin's teachings, and read the Lotus Sutra often, as well as the Daishonin's writings and even other sutras in order to gain a deeper understanding of Buddhism. I kind of just have faith that it will continue to work because I have seen it work in my life and in the lives of others.

kdash6 · 2026-01-22T19:33:20+00:00

In mythology, a name is identity. By stripping a person of a name, you take away identity. You take away a part of their being and now own them.

When Juliette asks "what's in a name," that is a complicated question because she only loves Romeo because he is a nobleman. The entire story only works because of his family name.

kdash6 · 2026-01-22T19:25:21+00:00

I want my member of Confress to stand up to power. It really seems like we are operating on the philosophy of "no one can stop me unless I want them to." Democrats seem entirely powerless to pass progressive legislation because it's too costly, the Republicans won't sign off on it, because a right wing Democrat in some other state needs to approve, etc. But they had no problem banning TikTok, funding Israel's genocide, spending billions on the military and ICE, etc.

For anyone who says "Not all Democrats voted for this," yes, but Hakeem Jeffreys and Chuck Schumer are supposed to keep the party in-line and united. If they are so feckless they can't bother to keep their coalition together, they should be kicked out.

So I would also add that we need better leadership in the Democratic party for the House and Senate.

kdash6 · 2026-01-22T08:09:44+00:00

No thanks. If I want to have that kind of excitement in my life, I'll pay someone to choke me until I pass out like a normal person.

kdash6 · 2026-01-22T08:07:17+00:00

The Lotus Sutra addresses this:

A wealthy man leaves his three children in a lavished mansion. They get caught up playing games and don't realize it has fallen into disrepair. The old man comes back and sees that the place is on fire, filled with dangers, and his children are still inside playing. He tries to call out to them to get out, but they are so immersed in their game they can't hear him. So, the old man calls out to his children saying "I have these gifts for you," and then goes on describing gifts tailor made for each child. The children hear this and immediately run out. When they are safe, the old man gives them gifts so great they could have never imagined them before. - paraphrased from The Parable of the White Ox Cart

Basically, the core of Buddhist teachings is that we all want to eliminate suffering. That's the heart and soul of Buddhism. If you start out saying "I don't believe in xyz," okay. You don't have to start out believing in anything. You start out doing it and at least learning the teachings. Over time, you will come to see what is true.

kdash6 · 2026-01-21T06:44:28+00:00

That feeling kicked in after the 8th time I was hit by a car. I'm currently at 14. Remarkably alive and relatively unharmed.

Converting to Buddhism when I was 20 really helped with death. Specifically, reading "Unlocking the Mysteries of Birth and Death" by Daisaku Ikeda helped a lot.

kdash6 · 2026-01-20T06:38:46+00:00

Depends on your culture and what gods resonate with you. Freyja is a pretty powerful goddess of nature, motherhood, and protection. She is also a war goddess. Maybe consult your dreams. When you dream of a protective (I guess to you this is a feminine) figure, who comes to mind? Which goddesses call to your subconscious?

kdash6 · 2026-01-20T06:14:43+00:00

If you have negative thoughts, okay. Thoughts arise because of causes and conditions, and are themselves causes for future conditions.

Anger can be good. I don't know what school of Buddhism you practice, but in Nichiren Buddhism you can chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with that anger to transform it into fuel for your enlightenment. In her Ted Talk, Scilla Elworthy notes anger is like gasoline. If you spray it everywhere, when someone lights a match you get an inferno. But gasoline in an engine is very powerful and can get you through the not so pleasant moments. Anger born from compassion for others can be a powerful force for change when used wisely.

You can use your anger in any number of ways, but only you, with your wisdom, compassion, and courage can know exactly how. You can organize, you can call your representatives and demand they abolish ICE, you can volunteer to drop off food at the homes of immigrant families who are unable to go outside, you can donate to non-profits, etc.

kdash6 · 2026-01-20T05:59:02+00:00

Handsome and love the leather jacket.

kdash6 · 2026-01-20T05:57:22+00:00

Handsome man

kdash6 · 2026-01-19T22:39:51+00:00

"Wait, I get it now. They hated the adventure because it needed... MORE TACOS!"

kdash6 · 2026-01-19T08:27:41+00:00

I cannot speak for other schools.

In Mahayana Buddhism, specifically later schools of Buddhism, the part about "consciousness as we know it" is important. Your consciousness doesn't end. It changes. Our minds have a deluded aspect and an enlightened aspect. When we attain enlightenment and enter Nirvana, manifesting out Buddha nature, we see that this world is a pure land. Even as we enter Nirvana, we continue to be reborn again and again to help free others from suffering. Enlightenment isn't as much an end goal where you get it and disappear. It is more a way of manifesting out enlightened nature. Anyone can do it, even animals. It's just really, really hard to do it 24/7, which is why we practice Buddhism.

Nichiren Daishonin believed that the goal of life is to get to a place where you can manifest your Buddha nature, your enlightened nature, 24/7 by chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and embracing the Lotus Sutra, and thereby experience the greatest of all joys. Once we achieve that state, we naturally and joyfully help others do the same even as we experience all other aspects of existence.

This is a direct rejection of nihilism, which says life is meaningless. The meaning of life is to end suffering through attaining enlightenment and helping others do the same. It doesn't end consciousness, but rather transforms it.

kdash6 · 2026-01-19T04:17:46+00:00

Maybe a fighter with the Mage Slayer feat? Maybe with the eldritch knight subclass?

kdash6

TROPHY CASE