Voidus

Also kind of a big issue of affecting the entire party in huge ways, especially at high levels when the rest of the party wants to teleport around the world but they can't because one of them wouldn't teleport with the others. Would need entire party to buy in on one of them having this restriction. I'd probably suggest Magic Resistance if you really wanted to go this route, it's an existing mechanic and a bit more balanced.

Looks good to me, might have been a little hesitant about whether all the abilities of a Fused could be a single merit but I do like the restrictions imposed so seems quite reasonable. Approved

Still supporting the mirror, Whisper tracked Vivi out the corner of her eye, carefully measuring distance to the window as the girl left through it, then glancing up to the roof, estimating how high it would be to the windows on the next floor. She needed to be ready in case there was an alarm raised, information called out, or if Vivi fell. A single leap back would take her to the window, and Whisper's jump height should easily take her from there up to the next floor. Best to make sure we keep as many of them alive as we can for as long as we can in here. She said, her internal voice sounding oddly like it was searching to justify something to herself. As if to prove a point she quickly shifted her gaze to each of the others in the room, similarly mapping the distance from herself to them, the shortest route, and planning for any obstacles that may occur. A momentary cracking of stone, and then an instant later a crumbling as something was pulled away from the wall. Whisper leapt from the mirror, shifting her attention away from the entrance of the room where the creatures still lurked, screeching in horrific fashion whenever they were confronted with their own reflections. She made sure this time not to let her eyes drift to examine the hostile presence, difficult though that was, instead looking out from the window and up to where the girl had fortunately managed to arrest her own fall. A relief. She thought. Would be a shame to lose one of them to something so mundane and easily avoidable. "The window is closed and I'm not strong enough to break it open." she shouted downwards. "Can maybe someone come up who can do that?" Whisper gave a momentary nod, about to turn to make sure the others could cover the room only to click her tongue when she realized her mistake. Now at the window she couldn't turn back without looking to the creatures once again. Instead she gestured to the wall, a shimmer of Stormlight running along its surface and darkening in colour to form an inky black that began to spell out words. 'Will call down when it is safe. Whoever holds the mirror comes up last. Perses can watch the creatures, they seemed to react to that the least.' She realized while writing that it was unlikely he would be able to read the words, though perhaps given that they were written in Investiture he could manage. Or perhaps someone would simply read it aloud. Either way, she pushed the thoughts immediately out of mind, putting strength beyond that of merely muscles into her legs, crouching down in the window and then leaping suddenly up. Mistborn had often described their ability to soar through mists as more like jumping than flying. And sometimes Whisper could almost understand all that had been written about it, the joy of such a thing. The sense of weightlessness as she soared out from the window and up, not quite slowing to a peak before she was already giving a slight pull on the rope Vivi had dropped to nudge herself back towards the windowsill a story higher that the girl now sat at. Carefully timing her trajectory she sailed right past her, into and through the glass pane of the window which predictably shattered into pieces on impact. She felt an immediate piercing heat as some of the fragments embedded into her legs, a few more scratching her arms as she tucked into a roll to carry her into the room before leaping back to her feet, scanning. Blessedly the space seemed devoid of creatures, though it was much darker than the lower floor had been. But no sounds, no movement. Dropping her stance a little, though no less vigilant for danger, she moved back to the window, giving a slight smirk as she unlocked it from the inside and slid the already shattered window up.

Hey! Just realized I missed this one when I checked the thread, so sorry and hope it hasn't deterred you. Character looks great! Happy to approve this one, would suggest possibly checking in on the collaboration thread for people who might be able to interact with them.

For 5e? Bit too broken, being immune to magic is huge and being unable to use it really just rules out certain classes it's not actually that big a detriment.

Happy to take Acrobatic Lurcher as a Major merit, would probably separate out the combat aspect to a normal one though (Eg. Unarmed fighting expert, marksman, fencer, etc.) But you do have a normal merit to spare so happy to approve with that caveat. Only question for this one is what is her House name? But mechanically and backstory wise looks good, approved!

Many good options outside of D&D, and honestly this year has been a bit of a nail in the coffin for D&D to me, just too many missteps. I may come back to it someday, depending on how things shake out, but for now all my new games are in other systems. I do also recommend people try other systems, even if you quite like D&D. There's so many good things to learn, some of which you can transfer into your own DMing or into homerules. But I love seeing how different designers handle problems. Mutants and Masterminds is very good for versatility, is designed for like superhero games but lets you basically custom make your powers by adding flavour and descriptors to some mechanical bases. Very good, and allows for such a wide range of character creation. Genesys I think has my favourite base-mechanics and I will never stop extolling the virtues of their dice system.

Only real way to compensate is to adjust all the monster stats to the same degree which sort of defeats the purpose. This is also one of the many reasons I'm slowly closing off all my 5e games and replacing them with other systems. PF2e to a decent degree doesn't so much care if your stats are higher than average. If you fight something too high level you will still feel the pain. Whereas in 5e, like a 32 AC means even a CR30 is going to be missing you half the time, or more if you stack disadvantage on top too.

That would require two fully maxed out stat rolls from what I recall you were using. But yeah this is one of the reasons letting stats go above 20 can be a bad idea. AC is not meant to shift much and game design is mostly built around it capping at ~20, which means that even low levelled enemies still stand something of a chance of getting a hit in. Letting it go above that... well I have sometimes allowed it for certain oneshots where the whole point was for the players to be broken but would definitely not recommend for a campaign.

Continuation of the events at the hotel was on Discord, posting here for consistency, events in Voidus' office also continued in Discord. @Mrs. Voidus @ZincAboutIt After some further polite conversation, Voidus finally set his small plate back to the table and rose. He gave a polite smile, seeming a little less tired than usual after the conversation. And helped Vivica to rise next to him. "We will need to be leaving." He said, tone subtly shifting back to formality. "I thank you for the hospitality, and I apologize for intruding so suddenly." He gave a small, courteous, nod. It had indeed been quite pleasant to have a reception like that, a mitigating factor that had helped to ease the conversation from uncomfortable skepticism to a form of resigned acceptance. But it was best to keep to formality for now. Valeria still seemed to hold too tightly onto previous memories, a previous notion of who he was. And one that Voidus was quite sure would not match his current self all too well. "It would be best if you did not use the name 'Esserethel' overly much. It is a problem that I shall manage shortly but for now a topic best avoided. As is any discussion of the... details of your unique situation." He held her gaze for a moment, hoping to impress this at least onto her, before giving another small nod. He turned to his daughter, just as Laurelai too was rising, eyes a little distant as they had been for some time now. Though that was most likely the shock of the day and the Soothing that Lita was currently applying. Voidus shifted his weight forward, on the verge of taking a step closer and... he wasn't quite sure. Offering some contact, a hug perhaps? But her distant look and overall withdrawal from him led him to simply give a second nod to her before stepping past Lita to the door. "See that she has anything she may need." He whispered, lips not seeming to move and with a volume that only tin enhanced ears could hear. "Let me know if there is anything unusual, or if you need more resources. Keep someone watching over her. And... make sure you pay a visit to the individual down the hall. They seem rather interested in this room." As he passed he made the briefest of contact, tracing along the inside of her forearm for a moment as he gave her whispered instructions. "And Lita?" He said, still in the same pitch. "You did well. I will have more tasks for you." He moved past her, keeping his stride and giving a beckon to Vivica behind him. As she reached him and he slid an arm around her shoulder, the two vanished the moment they stepped into the hallway.

Whisper, back to the mirror to help support it, scanned the space with calculating gray eyes. There was nothing new, no more information for her to learn by looking at it a second time, but it helped as she considered the options available to them, trying to shut out the screeches of the creatures on the other side. Trying to optimize a way to escape. "We don't need to break through the ceiling. Or the floor." Vivi suggested. "It's a manor. Maybe we can use it's decorations to climb up or down. Use the curtains as a rope, if nobody has a real one with them. One goes first and take the rope with them, then the others can use it for support." A good plan, better than leaving a giant hole that they could be followed through. And one that Vivi and Whisper herself were most likely to be able to complete, the others would have much more difficulty on the small hand and footholds available on the outside. She also approved of the lack of needing to be caught in a time bubble for it. Cobalt glanced towards the window speculatively, still recovering from the strain of holding the creatures back he takes a moment to recatch his breath before replying. "The exterior... has not been attempted before. It may work, and possibly expedite things quite a bit. But it would be risky if they could catch some of us while we were still climbing." The Steward mused, before locking his eyes to the young thief Willow. "You are a Radiant? Do you perhaps have a Blade? That would do for creating a vertical passage I think." Whisper flinched internally at the question, one she had been hoping nobody would think to ask. She gave a slight shake of the head, gesturing emptily with her hand and hoping that it would simply be assumed she was not sufficiently advanced in Oaths.

Honestly the one people hate on the most (Beastmaster) is actually, theoretically one of the highest damage classes in the game at certain levels.

Coibalt kept his back to the others, sparing only a momentary glance to see their preparations before shifting his attention to the doorway again and retreating at a measured pace, ready at any moment to lunge forward if he should see one of the creatures. He flinched for a moment at a sudden cracking sound, followed shortly after by Malsam's arrival and a sudden unearthly screech from the corridor beyond. "One of the guest rooms." He commented in reply to Byron. "But different. Many of the rooms are like that, faintly recognizable but... changed." Seeing the girl, Vivi struggling with something heavy he spared a moments thought to help her but she was quickly joined by the thief who had introduced herself as Willow. Whether they were attempting to simply use the mirror as a shield or for some other strategy he could not quite tell, because once more the long-fingered hand of one of the creatures grasped the side of the door as it slowly pulled itself into view. There was an instant, the briefest blink of an eye when a monster could be seen. But quickly after its form matched that of Cobalt's own, but for the same eerie lack of eyes that the other copy had displayed. A flicker of something behind it announced another of the creatures, perhaps the one that had copied Malsam or perhaps another as yet unformed. Best not to look at it and make the situation worse. But how could they possibly defend against something without looking at it? Were they to fight blind? Or would that only hamper them and make them even easier prey? A sudden tug at his midsection threw him off balance, stumbling backwards only to be dragged another hastened step as a small hand gripped with unnatural strength to his uniform. Willow had taken hold of him and was dragging him back to where she and the other girl had propped the mirror up to face the door. "That is no shield at all." He remarked, head shaking but moving with the force to avoid upsetting his balance even more. "Those creatures have claws sharp enough to surely pierce..." A secondary shriek at the doorway drew his attention back to the only defensible point in the room, he poised to move forwards and hold this screaming creature at bay, only to find there was little need. With a soul-wrenching scream of utter anguish, the creature behind Cobalt's copy had staggered through the doorway. Its hands clutched at its face, elongated claw-like fingers digging deep furrows through the skin and then suddenly plunging knuckle-deep into its empty orbits. Something seemed to have driven it to madness. But as he watched it slowly calmed, neck twisting with unnerving suddenness as it looked to one of the others who had also glanced to the doorway, the creatures skin began to ripple, shifting in colouration once more. "Behind the mirror and do not watch!" A hoarse voice called, seeming to echo around the room from everywhere and nowhere.

Very very situational max But yes, Volley is quite nice. Almost makes up for base Ranger in 5e getting the short end of the stick as far as classes go.

Yeah I feel that, I'm just insane and overload myself with games. Not currently running any, though I will be probably after my Pathfinder game finishes up. I am playing in one though, which is part of why I want to run it as well so that GM gets a chance to play it too. It's pretty substantially different, rolls can take a little longer to interpret sometimes but so much more narrative flair. It's not just whether you passed or failed but how much, and whether or not something bad or good happened along the way. And there are so many clever facets of game design that I love. Destiny points are a million times better than Inspiration is and have much more interesting story around them too. One of the most interesting aspects is how Despairs and Adversary works, basically enemies of certain importance/danger upgrade the difficulty of your checks and introduce the possibility of rolling a despair, and a despair is just as likely for an incredibly skilled combatant as an unskilled one, though they're more likely to get an overall success. So you might pull off the mother of all sniper shots for example, aiming straight for a vital area but the target moves out of the way at just the wrong moment and you accidentally hit your friend with it instead. Or you were so distracted by the fight you didn't notice you ran out of ammo.

Most common implementation is for Star Wars FFG yeah. But could adjust to fit other settings. I just adore the narrative dice in that system, so much more versatility over a D20.

The existing 5e game I was intending to port to another Pathfinder game but some of the players were hesitant so I'm running it out. Once the game finishes I don't know what I'll run in that slot, depends what else I'm running at that point. Pathfinder probably if people want generic High Fantasy vibes still. Possibly a Genesys game, I love that system.

There's just so many problems with RAW, too much broken nonsense. (See again: WotC are bad at balancing their own game) And most of my games are populated with other DMs as well so we're all pretty accustomed to it. Honestly I'm probably going to be abandoning 5e as soon as current games are finished up, already down to only one 3-year long 5e game and a Mass Effect game built on 5e engine. I'd have swapped them over already if I didn't have some resistance from players.

Yes and yes. PF is way better balanced. Honestly UA is some of the worst balanced homebrew I've seen pretty often.

Ehhh WotC don't know how to balance their own game, I trust me more than them But yes I rarely approve player-introduced homebrew without extensive modification.

I homebrew all my encounters anyway so on the rare chance someone disturbs the tarrasque in my games I have plenty of plans to make them regret it.

They are supposed to be world-ending unkillable threats, but yeah sadly in 5e they're actually not all that hard for a high level party to take out. Or a single Wizard with a Fly spell, Tarrasque sadly has no ranged attacks. Extra Attack requires you to take the Attack action, using your Action to Volley would be a separate action and does not proc multiattack.

Laurelai, The Grand Hotel, The Bindpoint The most Laurelai could manage was a feeble gripping of Valeria's apron in one hand as she sobbed. Part of her wanted to throw her arms around the woman, her mother, and cry, and keep crying until she couldn't any longer. But even in this emotionally raw state two parts of her mind rebelled against the thought. The first, perhaps predictably, was quite worried it would ruin her dress. The other, larger voice, still whispered that this was a trick of some kind. Perhaps not a spy, but some form of trap. Or perhaps she had simply lost her mind and was now hallucinating. Valeria's next words, words that Laurelai had always wanted to hear, did nothing to disabuse her of that thought. "None of what happened after that could have possibly been your fault. OK?" Valeria said, tone familiar and soothing. She doesn't know what happened. A tiny creeping voice reminded her. Doesn't know what you've done. Who you are. If she knew, would she be so happy to have found her daughter again? "Why, how old are you now?" Valeria continued, breaking into Laurelai's thoughts. "I was 28 when you... When it happened. So, if your beautiful face is anything to go by, Its been. what? 20 years?" "Almost exactly." Laurelai said, voice still shaking a little. "Nobody knew exactly how old I was. Nobody could really understand me, even though most people arrive here able to speak the tongue. But I'm twenty three now." And I'm also a murderer, a spy and a monster. The small voice unhelpfully chirped in. "How did you survive?" She asked aloud. wiping the worst of her tears away and pulling back into perfect, straight-backed posture. "I thought everyone was... gone. Except for me and..." She trailed off, realizing she was treading dangerous ground. Voidus couldn't know that Laurelai had come here, he would suspect a ruse as she had, and he was far more suspicious a person than even Laurelai was. Would he question Valeria? Give her a chance to prove her story? Or would he just nip the bud immediately if he heard? No, best to keep her father out of this. She took a deep, calming breath. Recentering herself, and bringing lines of power to the front of her mind. Her stomach tightened again at the thought, but Laurelai pushed through, keeping a firm hold over the torrent as she Forged herself to calmness. @Mrs. Voidus Voidus, Voidus’s office, the Alleys It always interested Voidus to watch, when someone was clever enough to spot a trap, wise enough to know it was unavoidable, and poised enough to walk into it with a smile, accepting their fate as gracefully as they could. Lita Attar was such a person, smiling politely as her heart skipped momentarily in fear before settling into a semblance of acceptance. Fortunate that she had not adopted the Stranger's approach. The Stranger always refused to believe he had been bested, he had always sought to find a loophole, an escape, or better yet a means to fight back. He had found them frustratingly frequently. “How could I refuse such a rare and generous offer?” Lita asked, taking another sip from her glass. "I am glad you properly appreciate the opportunity." He said, draining the last of his own glass. "It is not a lightly made offer. And not one I extend even to all department heads .But I believe this will suitably meet your needs." He gave another smile, holding her gaze as he set his glass back on the table and off slightly to one side. The pause dragged out just long enough to be noticeable, a brief lull during which two sets of tin-enhanced ears could listen to the quiet, hidden sounds that lay within human bodies. His smile widened a little further during the pause, pleased by what he heard, before breaking the silence again. "I have always found the Metallic Arts the most interesting form of Investiture." He remarked, almost casually. "Not as flashy perhaps as the skills Radiants wield. But I appreciate that, almost uniquely, they cannot manifest their fullest possibility in unskilled hands. A dullard will never make for a good Soother, someone with poor aim will be equally poor as a coinshot. I enjoy that cultivation of talent. There are few things as upsetting as skill being wasted. I shall be glad to see that yours go neither underutilized or underappreciated." @ZincAboutIt

Laurelai winced at the infantile nickname, even as it flooded her with fresh nostalgic warmth. "Not very dignified." She muttered, more to herself than anything. "Just um... just Laurelai is fine." Laurelai's hands were shaking. Was it nervousness? Lingering fear from being threatened like that? Excitement? She couldn't say for sure if it were any of them, or none, or all at once. Perhaps it was simply her frayed nerves reaching the end of her ability to conceal them any longer. Almost she simply Forged herself calm, but at the last moment she felt her stomach twist uncomfortably at the thought. The scent of smoke invaded her nose and a scream filled her ears. "I... thought you were gone." She said, blinking and looking down to her hands, voice wavering a little. "Both of you. I was... alone. It was cold and dark and then suddenly... hot. Fires everywhere. I found... people tried to help. But they... I... I didn't mean to but..." She spoke falteringly, not entirely sure what she was trying to say, what story she wanted to convey. As the words came tumbling out she realized that something wet had splashed across her wrist, the damp sliding over trembling skin until it touched the fabric of her dress beneath it and spread immediately into a small circle. Have to stop that. A small, absent part of her mind muttered. Don't want to stain the fabric. "I'm sorry." She whispered, not daring to look up. Not sure what she was apologizing for. But very sure that she needed to. @Mrs. Voidus

Laurelai, The Grand Hotel, The Bindpoint Laurelai watched for careful tells, for a slight absent look of someone who did not comprehend and needed to gloss over that fact to sell a ruse. Failing that she was waiting for Valeria to use the phrase to jump to conclusions, to call Laurelai her daughter and ask to see her father. She did not expect to be threatened. As Valeria stood, deep fury etched into ever line of her face, she spoke with words Laurelai couldn't understand. The memory of a three year old was not an omniscient thing, and she recalled only a few phrases from that time in her life. The words that Valeria used were not among those that Laurelai remembered, dashing any vain hope she may have had that the woman was not fluent in the language, but even in that unfamiliarity there was a nostalgic cadence. She does speak it. This is not just a hastily memorized phrase, this is someone speaking in their natural language. She realized. But even more than that... it's familiar. Angrier than I remember, but this is... this is definitely how she sounded. "Paenitat Mater." Laurelai squeaked instinctively, before her mind could stop the words from slipping out. She froze, posture still shrinking back from Valeria's sudden advance. She tried to think of something, some excuse some reason to justify why she had used those words. Why just now she had called Valeria her mother. But... did she need to? Would a spy, even one who understood that phrase and new that Laurelai had used it in her youth, pretend that she thought Laurelai had abducted her child? If she was a spy then surely she would use it as an excuse to get closer, to 'realize' the truth suddenly. This reaction, it only made sense from someone who wholeheartedly believed that Laurelai Esserethel was still a three year old child. "Meum nomen Laurelai Esserethel est" She said quietly, blue eyes fixed on Valeria's. @Mrs. Voidus