TTRPG TALK: MIXING POTIONS

So, on Saturday I got to thinking about what could happen if a someone wanted to mix potions and this is what I came up with. This can apply to any TTRPG that has potions in them, not just Dungeons & Dragons or Pathfinder 1E (the latter of which this article is written for); you might want to adjudicate the effects of some of these. Of course, the esoteric effects here are just a baseline and the table can be expanded to d100 or d1000...both of which would take considerable time to expand upon. 

Mixing potions is incredibly tricky, most of the time both potions are wasted. Only two potions can be mixed, trying to mix more than two always results in an acrid cloud wasting all potions mixed together.

There is a twenty percent chance of the mixture result in normalcy, meaning both potions can be mixed and the full advantages of both potions can be applied to consumed. Very rarely will there be esoteric effects the can manifest in weird ways. When mixing two potions, roll 1d100 and consult the following table;

D100 ROLL    AFFECT
01-10               The potions mix, but the desired effect is not what is expected. 

                        Roll on the next table to determine the esoteric effect.

11-20               The potions mix perfectly and can be consumed to gain the full 

                        benefits of both.

41-80               The potions are ruined and nothing beneficial remains.
81-90               The potions mix perfectly and can be consumed to gain the full 

                        benefits of both.
91-100             The potions mix, but the desired effect is not what is expected. 

                        Roll on the next table to determine the esoteric effect.

ESOTERIC EFFECTS
All effects last for 4D4+2 rounds unless otherwise noted.

D20 RESULT      

01. EXPLOSIVE ERUPTION! The creature mixing the two potions takes 5D4+20 points of force damage and is covered in volcanic ash. Further, all creatures in a twenty foot radius take 2D6+8 points of force damage.

02. PRISMATIC SWITCH! A prismatic gas emanates from the mixed potions and hovers over the space the mixer is in and then reaches out towards the creature nearest them and then the two creatures switch bodies. This effect is permanent.

03. SHRINKING GAS! The gas shrinks the mixer by two size categories. 

04. BABEL TONGUE! Once consumed, the mixed potions make everything the drinker says come out backwards...to the effect of of every word in every sentence being reversed.

05. BLOBULOUS BODY! Upon consumption the drinkers' creature type changes to ooze; they retain their Intelligence and ability to see but they do not gain ooze immunities. This allows the consumer to slip beneath closed doors or through tiny cracks. 

06. BUG EYES! Upon consumption the eyes of the drinker become cartoonishly large, granting them a +10 bonus on sight based Perception checks.

07. GOLDEN SHOWER! In a radius centered on the mixer, equal in feet to the level of the mixer x10, is filled with golden gas which immediately coalesces into gold coins and rains down; any creatures caught in the area take 1D4 points of damage per round of exposure. After the shower is over the coins magically disappear.

08. GRAVITIC REPULSION! Upon consumption the drinker floats one inch above the surface of the floor/ground allowing them to move, but avoid most traps (especially any that are tripwire or weight dependant). 

09. TOADIFICATION! Upon consumption, the drinker is polymorphed into a giant toad.

10. TRANSFORMATION! The potions are mixed perfectly but also change the ancestry/race/species of the drinker, as if subject to the effect of reincarnation. This effect is permanent. 

11. ENHANCEMENT! The potions are mixed perfectly but also grant a temporary +4 bonus to one ability score (roll 1D6 to determine which one is affected).

12. BEASTIFICATION! Upon consumption the drinker grows thick fur all over their body granting them a +2 bonus to their AC, Darkvision 60 feet, low-light vision and they can make lethal unarmed attacks; after the duration the fur molts off.

13. LUCKY NUMBER! The consumer gains a +7 luck bonus to all task resolution checks.

14. POOF! The consumer can teleport to any place/spot within line of sight.

15. EYE SEE YOU! The consumer cannot be flanked.

16. CALCIFIED CARAPACE! The consumers' skin hardens and mottles, granting them a +3 bonus to their natural AC.

17. CUNNING BRILLIANCE! The consumer gains the benefit of fox's cunning, as if cast upon them by a 20th level wizard.

 

18. ENLARGING GAS! The gas makes the character grow by one size category. 

19. TWINNING SMOKE! A puff of blue or pink smoke fills the area of the creature mixing the two potions, one minute later a male (blue smoke) or female twin (pink smoke) of the character coalesces from the smoke. The twin effectively is treated as a clone and only one such clone of this type can exist at any time; the exception to this is if the original character dies. The clone remains indefinitely.

20. WONDERBLOOM! All creatures in a 30' radius, including the creature mixing the two potions, is healed of 5D4+20 hit points. In addition all creatures are affected as if they inhaled Inspiration Dust, but with no chance of becoming addicted.

TOUR OF MY HIGH SCHOOL SKETCHBOOK: PART 1

Okay, so as I have mentioned in my prospectus I [used to be] an artist. It's been ages since I've picked up a pencil or any other held medium to do anything artsy, and it's likely going to be a lot longer now than I thought it was going to me...and there's a good reason for that, but I'll get into that in a future blog entry. Anyway, back in High School my art teacher had us students keep a sketchbook and would expect a quota by a certain date, it was easy to do one a day but sometimes I did batches just in case I got inundated with homework or studying, I could devote myself to doing that instead of working on art. I do really miss sketching, as it was quite cathartic. Thing is, sketching is one the easiest means of pursuing art...so while I wait to get back to doing art in other forms at least in the mean time I can sketch on a regular basis.

Anyway, while I am struggling to start getting back to sketching I thought I would share some of the sketches from my old HS sketchbook. I have no idea how many parts there are going to be to this series, but I'll do my best not to flood the blog with entries from this series...I'll try to only do one every couple of weeks.

Ornate Dagger

Blowgun & Dart

A couple of dice (D6)

Dagger stuck in wall

Amulet & Vase

Held baseball

As you can see, I took inspiration from weapons and everyday objects. This was a period of my life where I was smitten with TTRPGs, especially Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition. As a matter of fact, if you are familiar with the game, the artwork here should be nostalgic. Some of the inspiration I got for my sketches came out of various AD&D gaming books. That's it for this look into my sketchbook, stay tuned for the next one!

TTRPG TALK: The Martial Rogue

I've always been a fan of fighters and rogues and can play either quite well. When the Unearthed Arcana book came out for D&D 3E, WotC gave us variants on the core classes, my favorite being the martial rogue. I'm not the biggest fan of D&D 5E, so I am a little bit excited to see what the next edition is going to bring...I do know it is going to be a soft reboot of the 5E rules, but heaven willing there will be enough changes to the classes to make them as appealing as 3E & Pathfinder 1E made them. Anyways, today I am here to present to you the option of the Martial Rogue for D&D 5E. This isn't content I came up with myself, I have to credit Herosmith14 from EnWorld for giving this a write-up. If I ever find myself in a 5E game again, I very well might ask the DM to allow me to play this homebrew variant presented below.

Rogue: Warrior​

It is not uncommon for rogues to appear in the military. Many are scouts, spies, saboteurs, and assassins, but not many have a large place on the battlefield. You do. You have honed your craft to a point where you can take place in the front line, next to the knights and cavaliers.

Martial Finesse
At 3rd level, you have trained with certain weapons to the point of mastery. Choose one melee weapon that does not have the heavy or two handed property. You gain proficiency with that weapon, and it counts as a finesse weapon for you. You get to choose another weapon at 9th, 13th, and 17th level.

If the weapon has the versatile property, it only counts as a finesse weapon if wielded in one hand.

Fighting Style
At 3rd level, you have learned the arts of other warriors. Choose one of the following fighting styles.

Archery
You gain a +2 bonus to attack rolls you make with ranged weapons.

Dueling
When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon.

Two-Weapon Fighting
When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack.

Armored Shadow
By 9th level, you have become accustomed to armor heavier than most other rogues are used to. You gain proficiency in medium armor. Additionally, the Dexterity cap on medium armor increases by 1 for you, and medium armor does not impose disadvantage on stealth.

Precise Strike
At 13th level, you have learned how to find and exploit weak points in your foe. While you are wielding a finesse or ranged weapon, you roll a critical hit on a 19 or 20.

Combat Master
By 17th level, you no longer need help to distract your enemy. You do not require an ally within 5ft of your target in order to use sneak attack.

ONE D&D (or D&D 6E)

The World Reveal Trailer for the next version of D&D dropped yesterday! It's pretty exciting that we are coming up quickly on the gold anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons. I have to say, as someone that is not impressed with 5E, that the energy put into the video has me just a little bit excited for what is forthcoming out of the next version of the world's most popular role-playing game. I am not going to go over here what I dislike about 5E, that will be a subject for a future blog post.

Anyway, I do like the direction that WotC is going with gaming...making an effort to make it more inclusive and dropping time worn concepts that the game no longer needs, such as some races being inherent evil. There is far more acceptance for gaming now and due to the exposure it has gotten in entertainment it is becoming more known than it ever has in the past. This is great for the future of RPGs overall as it encourages more people to be creative and pursue endeavors of the mind that will also engage them socially.

I think of my three nephews and how much they are into sports, all three of them are encouraged by my sister and her husband to be involved physically. They love football, and I can imagine them taking the strategies they learn participating on the field will help them to be great role-players, regardless of whether it is D&D or another rpg they may take interest in.

I am excited for the future of gaming and am finding my heart becoming warm again towards gaming. I've struggled so much with being a gamer and having finally accepted myself as one I imagine I am going to be one for the rest of my life; there may times where it will become something that I need to put aside for important matters, but I know in my heart and soul that the joy I have for creating, DMing and playing will always be burning.

If you are interested in playtesting One D&D, you can find the documents for doing so here. If you're not signed up for D&D beyond, you'll have to before you can download the material.

COMING CLEAN/OUT

It's been five years since I have come out as transgender.

It's been longer than that since I knew that I wasn't cis. When my dad died over fourteen years ago something inside me changed...something dark and powerful spoke to me in my dreams. I was broken for so very long before that. Growing up all I wanted out of life was to met someone special that I spend the rest of my life with, someone to give my love to that would fully reciprocate the way I felt about them. I wanted a family. My own immediate family has dealt with its hardships and struggles and my extended family only made matters worse. I dealt with bullying in elementary, middle and high school. All the crap that I had been through made me bottle up so much darkness, self-hatred and self-loathing. At some point before my dad died I was completely turned off by PDAs (public displays of affection) and seeing tenderness in the entertainment I consumed and I had to turn away from it because I just couldn't deal with it. All the anger I had, and still somewhat struggle with, over people that abuse/abused me had blown over into my subconscious with the passing of my father. 

It took seven years in battling myself, the demon within, to come to terms with something unrealized. In my dreams I had seen blood, carnage, despair, destruction and the wake of evil wrought into the worlds I created subconsciously. I saw the demon causing all the evil in my dreams...at first it was something of a cross between a naga and a marilith. The creature started to morph into something more human like in appearance but retained demonic features in its physical qualities. At some point in the process of these dreams, like a saga unfolding, I had cast myself as a hero that needed to put an end to the evils of the beast. When it came to the final battle, the creature had become more physically like a demon with no remaining serpent qualities. I stood there on the battlefield, clad in armor and with sword and shield in hand. The demon came into clearer view and I could see it with more clarity, and noticed her. HER! This was an unexpected twist, for I wasn't ready in any capacity to harm a woman, regardless of whether or not she was human or something else. In a fit of confusion, I took my life in hands by dropping my sword and shield and unfastening my armor. The demon watched me and took no action against me as I did this. I then walked up to her and threw arms around her in a moment of affection...I gave her a hug. It was in that moment that my subconscious told me that the demon was an extension of myself, a homunculus created from my emotions made manifest in my dreams. It took years of giving her my love that she continued to transform and she showed me the beauty within...and eventually she made me realized who I am. That she is me and that I am her. 

In the love I gave my demon, she became my angel...and in loving her I was able to undo all the self-hatred and self-loathing that I had inside me. In accepting myself as a woman I was able to find a sense of peace and became able to finally love myself. 

And it's been so long since then; many, many years.

Although I have not [yet] received therapy to help me pursue medically transitioning, I have made a lot of growth mentally. I have way good days than bad, as a matter of fact I can't remember the last time I had a bad day...I think the last one was back in May. I know I deal with some depression over the body I have, but it only is at its worst two or three days out of 365. I do have bouts and fits of crying due to my body dysmorphia, but even that I have more control over now...it seems to only rear its head when I am emotionally drawn out or [emotionally] abused in some way. There are specific triggering times of the year where the the dysphoria really hits...my actual birth month (which I will not disclose online, only a handful of friends that I trust know it) and around the holidays; my family is so fractured that the pain of that destroys me...I want nothing more than to be around people that I love that love me, and to feel that love from those people by being in the same room with them. A lot of my friends, the people that I want time with physically...I can't due to my vastly limited income. 

I am grateful to those of you that have stuck by my side, that have been there for me and that have made an effort to do more than just engage with me on more than just a surface level...you can't possibly know how much my heart needs that. My living situation isn't ideal, as many of you know I live with my mom. I will not go into why it isn't ideal but many of you may have a clue due to the things I have said and shared in the past. 

Know that I am in a much better place now than I was five years ago. I have entertained some dark thoughts and struggled with suicidal ideation; I am grateful to have been born with a fierce willpower to be alive, to be grateful for every day I am give no matter how dark any of those days might be. I remember my worst moment very clearly, it was right after I heard the news of the death of Leelah Alcorn. I wanted to join her so badly, because I feared for the future...and I was right. Donald Trump becoming the president of the United States is one of the worst things that has happened to the LGBT community; he systematically rolled back protections on human rights and made the lives of many people so much worse. 

I fear for the near-future of my brothers and sisters in the LGBT community, but I know in my heart that what we are dealing with is a stepping stone to the universal rights for the freedoms that we deserve in the USA and the world over.

The Vampire Diaries Season 1: A Quick Look

 The Vampire Diaries Season 1: A Quick Look

Spoilers ahoy... 

So last week I watched the first three episodes of The Vampire Diaries. While the show was interesting, it is taking too long to get to the central plot of the season. The show revolves around the city of Mystic Falls and the three central characters are Elena Gilbert (played by Nina Dobrev), Stefan Salvatore (played by Paul Wesley) and Damon Salvatore (played by Ian Somerhalder). In these first three episodes we see that Stefan and Damon are brother embroiled in a centuries long feud over the loss of someone they both loved. Elena is an orphan, survived by her parents win which all three were in a car wreck on a bridge and only Elena survived. For reasons not given Stefan takes an interest in Elena (although it is alluded to that she bares a striking resemblance to a past interest of his).

The amity between the two brothers is the difference of night and day, literally. Stefan is more reserved and has compassion for humanity and Damon has no qualms with using humans to gain the upper hand in his crusade against his brother...hw will use, corrupt, kill and manipulate anyone to torture his brother into giving into his primal vampiric instincts. Stefan resists giving in despite the carnage and the wake of death left by his kin. We see that Stefan takes an interest in helping humans and protecting them from themselves...going so far to step in between what could have lethal fight between two other humans. We see that Stefan wants to overcome his vampiric curse and do what is right and uphold a code of moral justice.

The show provides an interesting setting. While the first three episodes languish in developing a deep overall plot, we do see that Mystic Falls lives up to its name as we see that there aren't just vampires in this world, but witches as well. The powers of witchery are somewhat shown and may be akin to how precognition was used in Charmed (the original series); but there are no flashes of insight so far only that touch can give them an insight to the depths of those that they come into contact with and that numerology/numeromancy has a place in the one witch that we see. Overall the show is decent for the three episodes, but I found myself divise of using the time spent watching it focusing on a few other things before getting back to watching the entertainment at hand. I am torn between watching more and just letting it go due my mixed feelings about the series so far...it is a weird vibe of a mixture of Interview With The Vampire and Twilight. Take that for what you will and maybe give it a chance, it may interest you more than it does this reviewer.

Prospectus!

BLOGGING PROSPECTUS!

I thought I would touch base with all of you today to let you know my plans for moving forward with this blog. The first is that you can expect to see a new blog post every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 5am EST. The content will vary from day to day, and there will be no consistent theme on any given day. The idea for now is just to create content and put it out for everyone to enjoy. I may eventually have themed days, and even possibly spin off some ideas into new blogs. 

ART
Okay, so I am not much of an artist right now...I took some classes in high school and while I was no Tina (she was the student that put the rest of us to shame), I did enjoy it. I fully plan on getting back into art the way I used to do it; sketching, watercolor and colored pencils/prisma colors. Right now my art is especially simple and my primary and very easy way of engaging myself with art is working on home plans...more accurately downloading a plan from a site like The Plan Collection and modifying it to suit my taste in a potential home; this is what you can expect to see for now until I can get the supplies I need to pursue art done by hand as the way I do it now is by mouse. Sure there plenty of artists that do digital art, but I don't classify floor/home plans digital art...since I what I do is completed strictly and only in MS Paint. While I have created maps of fantasy worlds using MS paint, they were done so easily that I doubt they could be classified as actual digital art. 

LGBT TALK
I fully plan on getting into talking about the issues in the news, especially with what is happening here in the states. In addition, I would love to talk about my own experience with coming to terms with identity, my struggles and the opposition I have faced; I will do my best to protect the identity of those that have wronged me as absolutely no one, not even bullies, deserved to be bullied.

I would also love to talk to other people in the LGBT community, perhaps as an interview to share their experiences here on my blog if they so desire. Depending on how popular this gets, it could spawn a podcast. 

MOVIES & TV SHOWS
I have a huge love for movies and tv shows, and I fully intend to use this blog to convey my thoughts on what I consume and share it with all of you. Right now, I don't have it in me to write full-on in-depth reviews of movies, but I have done a handful in the past so it's not without question that I won't do more any time soon, it is just a matter of inspiration giving me the material to write them. I much more adept at writing reviews on tv shows, so you can expect to see plenty of that here.

I do not have a schedule of things that I want to watch, I just watch whatever I want when I am in the mood for it. I currently have access to the current streaming services to take advantage of; Amazon Prime, Disney+ and Netflix. I plan to use these services to review the content exclusive to those platforms.   

There are so many tv shows that I have not seen, and some that I have but have watched so long ago that when I do get around to watching them all of you can expect to see a review of some sort. I have a process for review tv shows that I nailed down last night:

A Quick Look (One-Eighth of Season 1, min. 3 eps in a 22 ep S1)
First Impressions (First half of season one)
The Full Monty (Complete season one review)

Doing the style of A Quick Look will easy for me to nail down and get published to the blog with ease as it is the shortest amount of time that I need to invest in regarding the number of episodes watched, however when it comes to Netflix original shows the Quick Look format is not even worth doing, considering how short one of their seasons is...so doing a First Impressions of a Netflix original is way more likely to happen than A Quick Look. Depending on how much in to a show will dictate whether or not I watch more of it...if I do a A Quick Look and my consensus is overall negative, than odds are that I will leave it at that and move on to watching something else.

There are some shows I would love to do full reviews of; Charmed (original series), Disney's Gargoyles, Highlander, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, M*A*S*H, Quantum Leap and Sliders to name a few. Even with the previous shows mentioned, that still leaves me with a wealth of blog entries to create for all of you as I will review each season, the series overall and do an addendum listing my favorite episodes, ranking them and possibly going into a bit more depth on these eps. 

GAMING, TTRPGs
I have a deep love for gaming of all sorts; board and card as well as table-top role-playing games. Some days may be reviews of games (though this may be skewed since reviewing a game from the point of not being able to play it with others is haphazard) and other days may be musings on games or homebrew content for any of the table-top role-playing games I have interest in. If you are new to this blog and in the dark as to what a TTRPG is I am sure you may have some passing idea about Dungeons & Dragons, as with its' increasing popularity it has casual nods and actively shown in the media you currently digest...if you are a nerd (please don't take this term as a slight, as I do not mean it that way in any regard) of any sort you should have at least heard of D&D by now even if you have never played it.

I have many worlds that I would like to develop for various RPG engines, however please be aware that as Pathfinder 1st Edition is my favorite RPG and that most of what I create will more than likely be for this system. If you are a fan of Old School Roleplaying (OSR), you might be aware of The Piazza RPG Forums. If you haven't heard of the website, please be sure to check it out, possibly register and if you do go ahead and introduce yourself to your fellow gamers. You can find me on The Piazza as Neko Princex, and I am using two threads over there to collect my homebrew material that I am creating;

[PF1E] Archive Of Things Wondrous & Strange
[PF2E] Encyclopaedia of the Exotic & Bizarre

While I do enjoy creating for Pathfinder, I am trying to get out of my comfort zone to read more systems to become familiar with RPG system design, as it is one of my goals to eventually write my own derivative on the D20 System, drawing heavy inspiration from D&D 3E and Pathfinder 1st Edition.

I also have a lot of worlds percolating in my head, but there are mostly three to five that I am focusing on to the extent of all others. My primary world, Talas, I will do my best to create a system free campaign conspectus and release a separate player conspectus using Pathfinder 1E.

Exploring the worlds I have in my mind could possibly allow me to lay down some ideas on this blog and if there is enough interest in any of them to warrant more in-depth discussion of them, they might become new blogs...however this is a lofty goal and not one that I am concerned with right now.  

MISC.
Like I said in my intro yesterday, I am a person of many interests. Above and beyond the previously mentioned, there is also photography. While my interest in photography hasn't been coaxed in a very long time, I would love to get back to it. I have a very big love for black and white photography and would like to explore that further, so it is something you might see here on the blog. 

I may, for the time being, do a a bit of journaling. It's something I have done in the past, but the desire comes and goes, and as I am currently on hiatus from vlogging keeping a journal seems like a good way to keep you all in the loop with what is going on in my life above and beyond the blog posts on everything else...if I do end up journaling I will likely release the entries on a separate day (perhaps on Sunday) to buffer it against the other blog entries.

I also expect other things to crop up into the blogs, but I can't imagine everything that it will be right now. Stay tuned and we'll find out together. 

Welcome to my blog!

Greetings and welcome fellow travelers!

My name is Angel Tarragon (well, okay, it is my stage name) and I am a 46 year old individual residing in Scottsdale, Arizona. There are a few places online where I go by the handle of Neko Princex, but I'll get into that in a bit.

I have a lot of interests, the primary three in my life are art and games (mostly TTRPG, but I also enjoy board and card games as well as the occasional video game) as well as movies/tv. The goal of this blog is to share my interests with all of you. I also have a YouTube channel which is currently on hiatus, which I mostly use as a vlog channel. I will get back to vlogging at some point, but for right now I need a way to express myself while off camera...and I find that I am better able to articulate my thoughts when I channel them into the written form.

I bring a different perspective into my interests by way of being transgender and gynesexual; for years I have struggled with my body dysmorphia and gender dysphoria, I won't go into details over this as that is a blog entry in its own right...anyway as way to distinguish myself in a manner that is gender non-conforming you can find me in a few places online where I use the handle of Neko Princex. For a while it was Neko Princess, but as I am finding the need to express myself more due to my hiatus from YouTube, I needed a name that was gender neutral and princex is a term that fit the bill.

I am welcoming of many LGBT people into the space of this blog, and will rejoice and share what I can when I can regarding this; there is a lot going on in the world, and more locally here in the USA, regarding the future of LGBT rights and I will use this blog as a sounding board for sharing my thoughts on politics (I have a lot to learn in this department) as well as developments, for good or bad, in LGBT diversity and equality. The only rule I will enforce on the blog is Wheaton's Law; don't be a dick. Any hate speech or belligerent behavior of any kind I see in the comments of any of my blog entries will get the boot as swiftly as I am capable of dealing with it.

The goal for this blog is mostly to share reviews of the entertainment I consume, but there will be a lot more as well...as I do have many interests, those that share in the journey of this blog will learn more about me here than anywhere else online. Please feel free to share this blog with your family and friends so that I broaden the scope of this blog and bring more people into the fold of it.