The Book of Exalted Darkness Kickstarter is live!

May 23, 2017 //

head KS graphic

I am SO STOKED about this Kickstarter–my fifth campaign setting and last big foray into D&D 5e! If you are like me and love playing an evil character or get lost in worlds with some style and flair, you are going to love this.

I go into detail about it on the Kickstarter page but we really found something truly unique with this campaign setting, providing a genuinely good reason to be wicked.

Don’t take my word for it–go to the project page, download the 2 free PDFs (the Evil Primer and Killing the Golden Twins), and make a pledge!

Tags Book of Exalted Darkness, Book of Vile Darkness, DnD 5E, Kickstarter

Categories D&D 5th, Tabletop RPGs

Aku and Samurai Jack!

May 22, 2017 //

Someone on Facebook asked “what would Aku look like in D&D 5E?” and to that I say: here’s a build for Aku and Samurai Jack (using the handy dandy mechanics in Mists of Akuma!, all of which I think are in the freebie PDFs)!

Enjoy!

^^ Psssst! If you dig on evil, this and its 2 free PDFs have launched! ^^

Art by SIINS

Aku

Colossal fiend, neutral evil
Armor Class 19 (natural)
Hit Points 247 (15d20+110)
Speed 50 ft., fly 50 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA	Dignity	Haitoku
22 (+6)	22 (+6)	22 (+6)	21 (+5)	19 (+4)	19 (+4)	4 (-3)	24 (+7)

Skills Arcana +12, Deception +11, History +12, Insight +11, Intimidation +11, Perception +11, Persuasion +11, Religion +11, Stealth +13
Damage Vulnerabilities bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from divine magical weapons
Damage Resistances acid, cold, fire, lightning, thunder; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from non-divine magical weapons
Damage Immunities bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical weapons
Condition Immunities mists of akuma
Senses darkvision 300 ft., passive Perception 21
Languages any seven languages
Challenge 24 (62,000 XP)

Amorphous. Aku can move through a space as narrow as 1 inch wide without squeezing.
Color Scheme. Aku typically uses polymorph to change into the following forms: amorphous darkness (as darkness and gaseous form), bird, cannonball, cloud, doppelganger, dragon, frog, fish, giant beetle, giant spider, goat, gorilla, human, imperial dragon, kraken, manta ray, mouse, pacman, praying mantis, scorpion, snake, spiked tubeworm, squid, swarm of humanoids. Whatever form he takes, he always remains red, black, and green, and his reflection always shows his true form.
Corruption. Aku may spend an action to transform up to 3 creatures he can see, forcing them to make a DC 20 Constitution saving throw or be changed. The creatures gain the adeddo-oni template [MoA] and increase up to 3 categories in size, gaining both a +4 bonus to Strength and Constitution as well as a +1d4 bonus to damage for its natural attacks for every size increase (to a maximum ability score of 22 and +4d4 damage). When a corrupted creature dies, it transforms back to its original form. In addition, Aku can spend 1 hour creating a contagion, device, or song able to utilize this feature.
Immortality. Aku is immune to the effects of aging and requires no sustenance. Aku is also able to spend an action to impart immortality on a creature. After using this feature 3 times, Aku requires a long rest before he can use it again.
Interstellar Travel. Aku is capable of interstellar travel, well beyond the speed of light.
Magic Resistance. Aku has advantage on saving throws against arcane spells and other arcane magical effects.
Mimicry. Aku can mimic animal sounds and humanoid voices. A creature that hears the sounds can tell they are imitations with a successful DC 21 Wisdom (Insight) check.
Object Creation. When Aku casts creation he may use it to make gold and other objects of exceptional value.
Possession (Recharge 6). Aku can spit on a creature within 40 feet, forcing it to make a DC 19 Charisma saving throw or be possessed by Aku, taking on his appearance and personality as the target becomes incapacitated and loses control of its body. Aku now controls the body but doesn’t deprive the target of awareness. Aku gains access to the target’s class features and proficiencies but not knowledge. Creatures that were begat by Aku receive no saving throw.
The possession lasts until the body drops to 0 hit points, Aku ends it as a bonus action, or Aku is turned or forced out by an effect like the dispel evil and good spell. The target is immune to Aku’s Possession for 24 hours after succeeding on the saving throw or after the possession ends.
Precognitive Dreams. Aku sometimes receives premonitions of his future through dreams.
Reducing Form. Aku reduces in size by one category for every 50 points of damage he takes, reducing his reach by 5 feet each time.

Spellcasting. Aku is a 24th-level spellcaster. His spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 20, +12 to hit with spell attacks). Aku can cast animate dead, creation, polymorph, scrying, and telekinesis at will and he has the following wizard spells prepared:

Cantrips (at will): fire bolt, light, mage hand, prestidigitation, shocking grasp
1st level (4 slots): detect magic, magic missile, primal burst[MoA], thunderwave
2nd level (4 slots): detect thoughts, flame blade, mirror image, misty step
3rd level (4 slots): counterspell, fear, fireball, lightning bolt
4th level (4 slots): banishment, ice storm, stone shape, wall of fire
5th level (4 slots): cone of cold, cloudkill, sphere of seasons[MoA], wall of force
6th level (3 slots): chain lightning, globe of invulnerability, move earth
7th level (3 slots): force cage, reverse gravity, teleport
8th level (3 slot): control weather, earthquake, incendiary cloud
9th level (2 slot): storm of vengeance, time stop

Time Portal (1/long rest). Aku can spend an action to create a portal that sends any objects or creatures thrown into it forward through time by 3d100 years. A time portal created by Aku remains open for 5 minutes unless he expends an additional action fortifying it (in which case it can last indefinitely and also allow for creatures to return to the point in time that the portal was created).

ACTIONS
Multiattack. Aku casts one spell and attacks with his eye beams or makes four unarmed strikes and attacks with his eye beams.
Unarmed Strike. Melee Weapon Attack: +13 to hit, reach 50 ft., one target. Hit: 18 (4d6+6) magical bludgeoning, necrotic, piercing, or slashing damage.
Eye Beams. Ranged Weapon Attack: +13 to hit, range 500 ft., two eye beams that can each target one creature. Hit: 65 (10d12) fire, force, lightning, or slashing damage. Instead of dealing damage, Aku can cause a target to make a DC 19 Wisdom saving throw or be harmlessly teleported to a point within his sight. Alternatively Aku can restore 12d6+5 hit points to a creature.

REACTIONS
Concentrated Regeneration. Aku can spend a reaction to regain 30 hit points at the start of his turn. If Aku takes damage from a divine source, he cannot activate this feature at the start of his next turn. Aku dies only if he starts his turn with 0 hit points and doesn’t regenerate.

Art by Broneil95!

Samurai Jack

Medium humanoid (Soburi), lawful good paladin (samurai) 20
Armor Class 20 (haramaki, martial arts stance, swordmaster)
Hit Points 170 (20d8+80)
Speed 30 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA	Dignity	Haitoku
19 (+4)	20 (+5)	19 (+4)	18 (+4)	21 (+5)	20 (+5)	20 (+5)	5 (-3)

Saving Throws Wisdom +17, Charisma +11 (+5 to all while conscious)
Skills Acrobatics +11 [Advantage], Athletics +10 [Advantage to jump], Culture +11, Insight +11, Medicine +11, Persuasion +11
Tools gaming set, herbalism kit
Damage Resistances piercing
Condition Immunities disease, exhaustion, frightened
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 15
Languages Common (Soburi), Ceram, Ropa
Challenge 20 (25,000 XP)

Ancestral Weapon: Katana. Samurai Jack treats his katana with the same reverence he would a holy book or symbol. Accordingly, he never willingly parts with his ancestral weapon—he may not sell it, lend it to others, or otherwise abandon it. If for any reason his ancestral weapon is taken from him, he must do everything in his power to recover it.

Samurai Jack’s katana grants a +3 bonus to attack and damage. It is a divine magical weapon.
The first time he attacks with his ancestral weapon on each of his turns, Samurai Jack can transfer some or all of his weapon’s bonus to attack and damage to his Armor Class instead.
When Samurai Jack scores a critical hit with his ancestral weapon, his bonus to damage is doubled.
Samurai Jack’s katana deals an additional 1d4 psychic damage. This damage multiplies on a critical hit.

Aura of Protection. Whenever Samurai Jack or a friendly creature within 30 feet of him must make a saving throw, the creature gains a +5 bonus to the saving throw. He must be conscious to grant this bonus.
Aura of Courage. Samurai Jack and friendly creatures within 30 feet of him can’t be frightened while he is conscious.
Cleansing Touch (5/long rest. Samurai Jack can use his action to end one spell on himself or on one willing creature that he touches.
Divine Sense (6/long rest. As an action, until the end of his next turn Samurai Jack knows the location of any celestial, fiend, or undead within 60 feet of her that is not behind total cover. He knows the type (celestial, fiend, or undead) of any being whose presence he senses, but not its identity. Within the same radius, he also detects the presence of any place or object that has been consecrated or desecrated, as with the hallow spell.
Enjin Leaper. Samurai Jack’s training with a tribe of ape people granted him their incredible ability for leaping. He gains advantage on Athletics checks made to jump and doubles the distance of any jumps he makes.
Fighting Style: Great Weapon Fighting. When Samurai Jack rolls a 1 or 2 on a damage die for an attack he makes with a melee weapon that he is wielding with two hands, he can reroll the die and must use the new roll. The weapon must have the two-handed or versatile property for him to gain this benefit.
Honor Challenge (1/short rest). As a bonus action, Samurai Jack can shout out an Honor Challenge against an enemy creature he can see. Until combat ends or either he or his target gains the incapacitated condition, he receives immunity to all damage from attacks and spells made by creatures other than the target of his Honor Challenge, and resistance to damage from attacks and spells made by the target of his Honor Challenge. Any attacks Samurai Jack makes against creatures other than the target of his Honor Challenge deal half damage and are made at disadvantage.
Improved Divine Smite. When Samurai Jack hits a creature with a melee weapon attack, he can expend one spell slot to deal radiant damage to the target (3d8 if a fiend or undead), in addition to the weapon’s damage. The extra damage is 2d8 for a 1st-level spell slot, plus 1d8 for each spell level higher than 1st, to a maximum of 5d8. The damage increases by 1d8 if the target is an undead or a fiend.
Lay on Hands (100 points). As an action, Samurai Jack can touch a creature and restore a number of hit points to that creature, up to the maximum amount remaining in this pool. Alternatively, he can expend 5 hit points to cure the target of one disease or neutralize one poison affecting it.

Spellcasting. Samurai Jack is a 20th-level spellcaster that uses Charisma as his spellcasting ability (spell save DC 19; +11 to hit with spell attacks). Samurai Jack has the following spells prepared from the paladin spell list:

1st-level (4 slots): bless, cure wounds, expeditious retreat, heroism, protection from evil and good, purify food and drink, shield of faith
2nd-level (3 slots): aid, blade attraction[MoA], protection from poison, strike within & without[MoA], zone of truth
3rd-level (3 slots): daylight, dispel magic, ghost needle[MoA], haste, remove curse
4th-level (3 slots): banishment, death ward, locate creature, resilient sphere
5th-level (2 slots): dispel evil and good, geas, legend lore, raise dead

Stance of the Striking Serpent (3). Samurai Jack’s unarmed strikes deal an additional 1d8 piercing damage, he gains advantage on Acrobatics checks, checks and saves to avoid the prone condition, and creatures are at disadvantage to resist his attempts to grant them the prone condition.
Unarmed Savant. Samurai Jack’s unarmed strike damage increases by one step (to 1d4) due to his soburi heritage and he gains proficiency in the Athletics skill.

ACTIONS

Multiattack. Samurai Jack makes two attacks.
Unarmed Strike. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (1d4+1d8+4) bludgeoning and piercing damage.
Ancestral Katana. Melee Weapon Attack: +13 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (1d12+6) magical slashing damage plus 4 (1d8) radiant damage and 2 (1d4) psychic damage. When Samurai Jack scores a critical hit that kills his opponent, he may make another attack against a target within his reach as part of the same action.
Dashing Strike (5/long rest). As an action, Samurai Jack may make a single attack against a foe in between using his movement. This movement must be in a straight line, and take Samurai Jack through the space of the target of their attack. Regardless of if the attack hits, this movement doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks. If Samurai Jack’s attack hits and their movement both begins and ends outside of the target’s reach, this attack is a critical hit.
Iaijutsu Strike (1/short rest). As an action, Samurai Jack can draw his weapon and attack with it. This attack deals 27 (6d8) additional damage.

REACTIONS
Swordmaster (Feat). When an enemy would provoke an opportunity attack, Samurai Jack may spend his reaction to move up to his speed, ending his movement adjacent to that enemy (or as close as possible).
Swordmaster (Feat). While wielding a katana, Samurai Jack can use his reaction to cut a missile in twain when he is hit by a ranged weapon attack, reducing its damage by 19 (1d12+1d8+1d4+6).

Categories D&D 5th, Tabletop RPGs

Hyper Score Marvel: The Venom Symbiote

May 20, 2017 //

Welcome to Hyper Score Marvel where every week I use Hypercorps 2099 to put together an iconic hero or villain from the world’s most popular superhero universe! Unlike Street Fighter D&D, this series is for both the Pathfinder players out there and D&D 5E groups as well.

Somebody requested a character I’ve already spent some time thinking quite a lot about bringing into Hypercorps 2099–Venom. So today we’ve got a *special* treat for Pathfinder players, a preview of one of the coolest parts of FAMOTH (Failures and Merits of the Hypernet, A Treatise by Haxx0r Brinekeys PhD). Mind you there are quite a few different types of nanosymbiote suits in the book, but what follows is wrought from one of my favorites of the bunch. 😀

Next on deck was a request for Ghost Rider but Clinton Boomer has already done a solid job with a build for the vengeful one and many others were put into the queue: Thor, Vision, Thanos (this will probably be the Infinity Gauntlet instead with some suggestions on what to use for Thanos), The Hulk, Rocket Raccoon, Daredevil, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Jessica Jones, Punisher, Doctor Doom, and Cyclops. My work is really cut out for me for a while but if you’ve got someone you want to see, let me know and we’ll add them on the back end there.

Also if you spot a way this can improve, share the info! I’m on Twitter @MikeMyler2, Facebook, Google+, and you can leave messages below the post. Thanks!

PS: If you dig on 5E and evil, check out the Book of Exalted Darkness before it launches (with 2 free PDFs!) on Tuesday!

Hypercorps venom promo.png

NANOSYMBIOTES

Nanosymbiotes were first introduced by DRAPA shortly after the tachyon flux fundamentally changed the world in 2074. In the quarter century since the technology of miniaturized and synchronized robotics has evolved exponentially, producing various kinds of suits from a variety of manufacturers available at prices some operators can afford. In order for these nanites to function correctly they must be integrated into a creature’s body and accepted by the immune system—rejection means finding another nanosymbiote.
Once accepted into a creature’s body, a nanosymbiote can only be taken off after its host creature dies or while under the effects of an antitech fieldTG (being in such an area causes the host creature to gain the staggered condition, no save) but even then the process is dangerous. The host creature must first make a DC 10 Fortitude save or die. If they live through this initial saving throw, the host creature makes a DC 20 Fortitude save or takes 2d4 Constitution ability damage (or 1d4 Constitution ability damage on a successful saving throw). There is a 50% chance that a nanosymbiote permanently goes inert when removed from its host creature, but a DC 50 Use Technology check made throughout the 8 hour surgery (which requires a cybernetics labTG) eliminates that possibility. The percentile chance that the nanosymbiote does not go inert increases by the result of the Use Technology check (even on a failure). For example, a Use Technology check with a result of 25 would increase the chances of the nanosymbiotes remaining viable to 75%.
Nanosymbiotes allow their host creature to use disguise self as a constant hyper spell-like ability and they can be willingly retracted as a swift action. These bonuses have costs, however; a host creature requires six times as much food as normal and 25% more rest (whether that be meditation, sleep, or another form of rest). One week failing to maintain this additional upkeep causes the host creature to become fatigued. One month without this additional upkeep causes the host creature to be exhausted. More than 6 weeks of not properly resting and feeding nanosymbiotes causes the host creature to make a DC 20 Fortitude save. On a failed saving throw the host creature dies and the nanosymbiotes go inert.
In addition, different nanosymbiotes grant other abilities to their host creature. The specific type of abilities granted alters the implant’s price, implantation value, install DCs, and Craft DCs as listed below. Some nanosymbiotes may also possibly violate local law—lightsuit nanosymbiotes, for example, are highly illegal in Wallachia—but these occurrences are at the GM’s discretion.

FLUID NANOSYMBIOTE

Slot body; Weight 30 lbs.
Price 60,000bt; Install DC 36; Implantation 10
Fluid nanosymbiotes grant a +6 size bonus to Dexterity, the ability to move through an area as small as one-eighth the host creature’s space without squeezing or one-sixteenth the host creature’s space when squeezing, a climb speed equal to the host creature’s base speed, and the host creature’s CMD against grapple combat maneuvers is doubled.
As a standard action, the host creature can fire a strand of nanosymbiotes to briefly harden to anchor on corners and walls of objects and structures, trailing a thin high-tensile line back to the host creature. As a move action, the host creature can pull towards the anchor, swiftly carrying itself to the anchor point. This ability has a maximum range of 120 feet, and can anchor only to a structure sturdy enough to support the host creature’s weight. If there is not a platform appropriate for the host creature to land on next to the anchor, the host creature must succeed at a Climb check (DC appropriate to climbing the surface the nanosymbiote strand is anchored to) or immediately fall. The strand of nanosymbiotes disappears in 1d4 rounds, just after the host creature uses it to move, or when the next strand of nanosymbiotes is fired, whichever comes first. The strands of nanosymbiotes deal no damage, and creatures other than the wielder are unaffected by them.

CONSTRUCTION
Craft DC 36; Cost 30,000bt; Craft Magical Arms and Armor, Craft Technological Arms and Armor[TG], Craft Technological Item[TG], cybernetics lab[TG]

VENOM SYMBIOTE

Aura none (alien); CL 18th
Slot none; Weight 30 lbs.

STATISTICS
Alignment chaotic neutral
Int 18, Wis 14, Cha 14, Ego 22; Senses darkvision 200 ft., scent
Languages speech (Common)
Abilities Alertness, telepathy (host only), unbreakable, vulnerability (thunder)

DESCRIPTION
This fluid nanosymbiote grants all the abilities of a similar suit in addition to the following changes:

The host gains vulnerability to fire and sonic damage and takes a -5 penalty on saves against spells or effects that deal fire and/or sonic damage.
The host can increase its size from Medium to Large or Small to Medium (as enlarge person).
The host gains darkvision 200 feet and scent.
The host gains a +20 ft. hyper bonus to speed and a climb speed equal to their speed.
The host gains 2 ranks of Hyper Strength with the Strong Back and Strong Leap hyper traits.
The host gains 2 ranks of Hyper Constitution with the Hyper Blooded and Hyper Touch hyper traits.
The host gains a primary natural bite attack that deals 1d10 piercing damage.
The host can alter its appearance at will (as disguise self).
The host can only remove it if the venom symbiote leaves willingly or by making a DC 22 Will save while taking at least 10 points of fire and/or sonic damage for a minimum of 3 consecutive rounds.

A creature that already possesses an ability granted by the venom symbiote doubles the benefit of the ability (this does not include attribute bonuses). In addition to the abilities above, the venom symbiote itself has a climb speed of 40 feet, Escape Artist +23, and Survival +11.

NOTES ON VENOM (Pathfinder)

For a full on Venom build, go grab up the Spidey build and hit him with the venom symbiote intelligent item! I thought about doing one but figured it’d be way cooler to just give out the symbiote and let folks surprise a player with their suddenly ultra cool new item…
To diehard fans: Venom’s “spider-sense” isn’t as good as Spidey’s so he gets no special thing for it (just the regular Dexterity boost from a fluid nanosymbiote).

venom symbiote.png

Venom Symbiote

Alien symbiote, legendary (requires attunement)

The venom symbiote is an intelligent alien parasite that vastly increases the physical attributes of its host–though it shares its weaknesses as well.
While it has no host, the venom symbiote has the following statistics: size of small, AC 14, hp 20, speed 40 ft. (climb 40 ft.), Str 13, Dex 18, Con 14, darkvision 200 ft., Perception +6, resistance to all types of damage except for fire and thunder (which it is vulnerable to), immunity to all conditions, and it can adhere to anything that touches it (an adhered creature is also grappled, escape DC 16, and ability checks made to escape this grapple have disadvantage.)
If the venom symbiote does not respect its host or hasn’t engaged in bloodlusted violence after 24 hours, the host must make a DC 15 Charisma saving throw. On a successful save, the host takes 1d6 psychic damage. On a failed save the wielder is dominated by the venom symbiote (as if by the dominate monster spell) and the parasite demands that the host taste flesh. The spell effect ends when the parasite’s demand is met.

Magic Properties. The venom symbiote grants the following benefits:

You can increase your size at will (as enlarge).
You can change your appearance at will (as disguise self).
Your Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution increase by 4 (to a maximum of 22).
Your speed increases by 10 feet and you can Dash as a bonus action.
Your vertical jump distances increase by up to 10 feet and horizontal jump distances by up to 20 feet.
You may spend hit dice to heal as an action at double the normal cost (for example at the cost of 4 hit dice you regain 2 hit dice worth of hit points).
You gain vulnerability to fire and thunder.
You gain or increase your darkvision range to 200 feet and you gain advantage on Wisdom (Survival) checks made to track by scent.
Your unarmed strike damage increases to 1d8 and you gain a +1 magical bonus to attack and damage.
You gain a bite melee attack that deals 1d10 slashing damage.
You gain a web ranged attack that grapples a creature (DC equal to your passive Athletics). A creature already grappled by your webs gains the restrained condition if hit by your web a second time. A creature restrained by your webs gains the incapacitated condition.
Webs. As an action you can fire a strand of webbing to briefly harden to anchor on corners and walls of objects and structures, trailing a thin high-tensile line back to you. As your movement you can pull towards the anchor, swiftly carrying yourself to the anchor point. This feature has a maximum range of 100 feet and can anchor only to a structure sturdy enough to support your weight. If there is not a platform appropriate for you to land on next to the anchor, you must succeed at a Climb/Athletics check (DC appropriate to climbing the surface the webbing is anchored to) or immediately fall. The strand of webbing disappears in 1d4 hours. The strands of webbing deal no damage and normally creatures other than you are unaffected by them.
You can also spend an action to create a tether-line or net with webs (AC 15, 20 hit points per 5-ft. of length) to catch or stop objects (maximum weight 5,000 lbs.), or to cast web on a creature within 50 feet except the webbing made has the statistics listed above. At the GM’s discretion, you may create other simple objects with your webbing (such as a parachute or large pillow).
You cannot remove the venom symbiote without it willingly leaving or if you succeed at a DC 19 Wisdom saving throw after 3 continuous rounds of taking 10 or more damage from fire or thunder.

Sentience. The venom symbiote is a sentient chaotic neutral parasite with an Intelligence of 12, a Wisdom of 20, and a Charisma of 20. It has hearing and darkvision out to a range of 200 feet and gains advantage on Wisdom (Survival) checks made to track by scent. The parasite communicates telepathically with its host and can speak, read, and understand Common.

Personality. The venom symbiote is an alien with mysterious objectives, though what these are beyond a basic thirst for violence remain unknown (and are entirely at the GM’s discretion).

NOTES ON VENOM (5e)

I have no notes on this–it’s pretty dope already. There’s also a Spider-Man build for 5e if you want to hit that with the venom symbiote for a full-on villain, although again I think it’s probably a better surprise for a player. 😀

Tags DnD5e, Hypercorps 2099, MIke Myler, Pathfinder, Venom, venom symbiote

Categories D&D 5th, Hyper Score Marvel, Pathfinder

Street Fighter D&D 5E: Vega

May 19, 2017 //

Welcome to the 14th post for Street Fighter D&D 5E! If you dig this please comment or share it about or like it or what have you, check out last week’s character (Guile!), and if you think this can be improved in any way don’t hesitate to speak up (@MikeMyler2 on Twitter, over here on Facebook, and also on Google+) and let me know!

Requests have poured in so we’ve got a bit of a queue worked up–Cody, Ibuki, Dan, and Abel are on the way. After that though who gets built can be up to you so tell me what to make in a comment somewhere!

Also check out Mists of Akuma! There’s free stuff! ^_^ Thanks for visiting my website!

PS: If you are down for some evil, the Book of Exalted Darkness launches on Tuesday with 2 free PDFs so stay tuned!

EDIT: Redditors (a grand total of 3 now) have asked for shortened statblocks and since I’m probably going to make a free fan-product PDF of all these eventually (and it’ll save me some work down the line) why not? I’ll slowly start updating the older statblocks and moving forward will be adding on Reduced Statblocks (like the one below :D) at the end of every Street Fighter D&D 5E post!

Vega MoA Promo.png

Vega

Medium humanoid (soburi), neutral rogue (thief) 5 / monk (martial artist) 11
Armor Class 20 (Wisdom, stances)
Hit Points 120 (16d8+48)
Speed 50 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
15 (+2)	20 (+5)	17 (+3)	13 (+1)	16 (+3)	18 (+4)

Saving Throws Dex +10, Int +6
Skills Acrobatics +15, Athletics +7, Deception +14, Insight +8, Perception +8, Performance +9, Stealth +10
Tools disguise kit, poisoner’s kit, thieves’ tools
Damage Resistances acid, bludgeoning, piercing, slashing
Condition Immunities disease, poisoned
Senses passive Perception 18
Languages Ropa, Soburi (Common)
Challenge 16 (15,000 XP)

Background Feature: Shinobi – Blend In. Vega is able to craft a disguise in 1 minute so long as suitable materials are available. Spending an hour or more crafting a disguise grants him advantage on the check. This disguise allows Vega to blend in with his surroundings like camouflage, allowing him to hide without cover in a specific 5 foot square chosen at the time he creates the disguise. Vega must be familiar with the location and have appropriate materials on hand (foliage, paint, canvas, etc.) to create this disguise. Once created the disguise weighs 5 lbs. and can be donned as an action or removed as a bonus action.
Cunning Action. Vega can take a bonus action on each of his turns in combat to take the Dash, Disengage, or Hide action.
Evasion. If Vega is subjected to an effect that allows his to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, he instead takes no damage if he succeeds on the saving throw, and only half damage if he fails.
Expertise. Vega’s proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check he makes that uses Acrobatics or Deception.
Fast Hands. Vega can use the bonus action granted by his Cunning Action to make a Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) check, use his thieves’ tools to disarm a trap or open a lock, or take the Use an Object action.

Ki (11 points). Vega harnesses the mystic energy of ki and can spend these points to fuel various ki features. When he spends a ki point, it is unavailable until he finishes a short or long rest, at the end of which he draws all of his expended ki back into himself. He must spend at least 30 minutes of the rest meditating to regain his ki points.

Flurry of Blows. Immediately after Vega takes the Attack action on his turn, he can spend 1 ki point to make two unarmed strikes as a bonus action.
Patient Defense. Vega can spend 1 ki point to take the Dodge action as a bonus action on his turn.
Step of the Wind. Vega can spend 1 ki point to take the Disengage or Dash action as a bonus action on his turn, and his jump distance is doubled for the turn.
Stunning Attack. Vega can spend 1 ki point to attempt to stun a creature he hits with a melee weapon attack. The target must succeed on a DC 16 Constitution saving throw or be stunned until the end of his next turn.

Martial Arts. Vega can use Dexterity instead of Strength for the attack and damage rolls of his unarmed strikes and monk weapons, and he rolls a 1d8 in place of the normal damage of his unarmed strike or monk weapons. In addition, when Vega uses the Attack action with an unarmed strike or a monk weapon on his turn, he can make one unarmed strike as a bonus action.
Purity of Body. Vega’s mastery of the ki flowing through his makes him immune to disease and poison.
Second-Story Work. Climbing no longer costs Vega extra movement. In addition, when he makes a running jump, the distance he covers increases by 5 feet.
Sneak Attack 3d6 (1/turn). Vega deals an extra 10 (3d6) damage when it hits a target with a weapon attack and has advantage on the attack roll, or when the target is within 5 feet of an ally of his that isn’t incapacitated and he doesn’t have disadvantage on the attack roll.
Stance Scion. Vega has learned 3 martial arts stances from his monk training and is able to simultaneously utilize up to 3 at once.
Stance of the Tiger’s Claw (3). Vega’s unarmed strikes deal an additional 1d8 slashing damage and he gains resistance to slashing damage. He gains advantage on Intimidation checks and checks made to disarm a foe or avoid being disarmed. In addition, Vega may roar as a bonus action to give enemies within 20 feet of him the frightened condition for 1d4 rounds; a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw resists the effect. He cannot use this feature again until he has completed a long rest.
Stance of the Striking Serpent (3). Vega’s unarmed strikes deal an additional 1d8 piercing damage, he gains advantage on Acrobatics checks, checks and saves to avoid the prone condition, and creatures are at disadvantage to resist his attempts to grant them the prone condition.
Unarmored Defense. While he is wearing no armor and not wielding a shield, Vega’s AC equals 10 + his Dexterity modifier + his Wisdom modifier + the number of martial arts stances he knows.
Unarmored Movement. Vega’s speed increases by 20 feet while he is not wearing armor or wielding a shield, and he is able to move along vertical surfaces and across liquids on his turn without falling during the move.
Unarmed Savant. Vega’s unarmed strike damage increases by one step (to 1d10) due to his soburi heritage and he gains proficiency in the Athletics skill.

ACTIONS
Multiattack. Vega makes three unarmed strikes when he attacks.
Unarmed. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (1d10+5) magical bludgeoning damage plus 4 (1d8) piercing damage and 9 (1d8+5) slashing damage.

REACTIONS
Deflect Missile. Vega can spend his reaction to strike a missile when he is hit by a ranged weapon attack. When he does so, the damage he takes from the attack is reduced by 24 (1d10+2d8+10).
Uncanny Dodge. When an attacker that Vega can see hits him with an attack, he can use his reaction to halve the attack’s damage against him.

VEGA’S CLAW

Wondrous item, legendary
The weapon Vega wears strapped to his arm has been there for years and he knows how to use the ki that has accrued inside to deadly effect. When wearing this item, Vega cannot wield another item in that hand but gains a climb speed equal to his speed (able to climb any surface) and he deals 5 additional slashing damage with his unarmed attacks.

VEGA’S MASK

Wondrous item, legendary
While wearing the mask he’s kept since his youth to protect his face from battle damage, Vega gains resistance to acid and bludgeoning. In addition, he is able to use his cunning action to make a Charisma (Deception) check opposed by the Wisdom (Insight) check of a creature within 15 feet. If he succeeds, he gains advantage against the target and may deal sneak attack damage to it (even if Vega has already dealt sneak attack damage that turn).

——-REDUCED STATBLOCK——-

Vega

Medium humanoid (soburi), neutral rogue 5/monk 11
Armor Class 20 (Wisdom, stances)
Hit Points 120 (16d8+48)
Speed 50 ft., climb 50 ft., jump +5 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
15 (+2)	20 (+5)	17 (+3)	13 (+1)	16 (+3)	18 (+4)

Saving Throws Dex +10, Int +6
Skills Acrobatics +15 (Advantage), Athletics +7, Deception +14, Insight +8, Intimidation +4 (Advantage), Perception +8, Performance +9, Stealth +10
Tools disguise kit, poisoner’s kit, thieves’ tools
Damage Resistances acid, bludgeoning, piercing, slashing
Condition Immunities disease, poisoned
Senses passive Perception 18
Languages Ropa, Soburi (Common)
Challenge 16 (15,000 XP)

Background Feature: Shinobi – Blend In. Vega is able to craft a disguise in 1 minute so long as suitable materials are available. Spending an hour or more crafting a disguise grants him advantage on the check. This disguise allows Vega to blend in with his surroundings like camouflage, allowing him to hide without cover in a specific 5 foot square chosen at the time he creates the disguise. Vega must be familiar with the location and have appropriate materials on hand (foliage, paint, canvas, etc.) to create this disguise. Once created the disguise weighs 5 lbs. and can be donned as an action or removed as a bonus action.
Cunning Action. Vega can take a bonus action on each of his turns in combat to take the Dash, Disengage, or Hide action, to make a Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) check, use his thieves’ tools to disarm a trap or open a lock, or take the Use an Object action.
While wearing his mask he is able to use his cunning action to make a Charisma (Deception) check opposed by the Wisdom (Insight) check of a creature within 15 feet. If he succeeds, he gains advantage against the target and may deal sneak attack damage to it (even if Vega has already dealt sneak attack damage that turn).
Evasion. If Vega is subjected to an effect that allows him to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, he instead takes no damage if he succeeds on the saving throw, and only half damage if he fails.
Ki (11 points).

Flurry of Blows. Immediately after Vega takes the Attack action on his turn, he can spend 1 ki point to make two unarmed strikes as a bonus action.
Patient Defense. Vega can spend 1 ki point to take the Dodge action as a bonus action on his turn.
Step of the Wind. Vega can spend 1 ki point as a bonus action on his turn to double his jump distance for the turn.
Stunning Attack. Vega can spend 1 ki point to attempt to stun a creature he hits with a melee weapon attack (DC 16 Constitution saving throw or be stunned until the end of his next turn).

Sneak Attack 3d6 (1/turn). Vega deals an extra 10 (3d6) damage when he hits a target with a weapon attack and has advantage on the attack roll, or when the target is within 5 feet of an ally of his that isn’t incapacitated and he doesn’t have disadvantage on the attack roll.
Stance of the Tiger’s Claw (3). Vega gains advantage on checks made to disarm a foe or avoid being disarmed. In addition, he may roar as a bonus action to give enemies within 20 feet of him the frightened condition for 1d4 rounds; a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw resists the effect. He cannot use this feature again until he has completed a long rest.
Stance of the Striking Serpent (3). Vega has advantage on saves to avoid the prone condition and creatures are at disadvantage to resist his attempts to grant them the prone condition.
Unarmored Movement. Vega is able to move along vertical surfaces and across liquids on his turn without falling during the move.

ACTIONS
Multiattack. Vega makes three unarmed strikes when he attacks.
Unarmed. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 24 (1d10+2d8+10) magical bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage.

REACTIONS
Deflect Missile. Vega can spend his reaction to strike a missile when he is hit by a ranged weapon attack, reducing its damage by 24 (1d10+2d8+10).
Uncanny Dodge. When an attacker that Vega can see hits him with an attack, he can use his reaction to halve the attack’s damage against him.

Tags Dnd, DnD 5E, MIke Myler, Mists of Akuma, Street Fighter, Vega

Categories D&D 5th, Street Fighter D&D 5E

The New Zealand Trip (this is a long one)

May 17, 2017 //

Stephanie and I finished our trip to New Zealand late yesterday after a thrilling ~20 hours in airplanes.

Before I get into things:

Videos of some of the trip’s highlights are on my YouTube channel.

This includes the Shire, a lot of our hotel rooms (including a beachfront motel and a spot with its own onsen baths), and other sundry. DEFINITELY check them out. 😀

What we did not like about New Zealand:

Veggieburgers are not ubiquitous over there and Stephanie almost lost her mind after ordering a “salad burger” from Burger King (which is a burger bun with some onion rings, mayo, lettuce, and tomatoes — not what she wanted).
All the children have to wear school uniforms. I understand how this came to be and why this is, I just dislike the idea of anything stifling my (eventual) child’s creative expression.
New Zealand is far away. Getting there actually took longer (flying against headwinds) and I am not going to fly American Airlines when traveling to/from what I have come to believe is Neverland.

20170506_164630

I started with this list because frankly, there’s very little about New Zealand that I didn’t like! Everything made f#$%ing sense!

Stephanie is on Instagram as @inpartiesss and has many photos of New Zealand I do not have.

DRIVING IN NEW ZEALAND
Cars drive on the left side of the road in New Zealand but this is easy enough to adjust to quickly in an automatic–except for constantly hitting the windshield wipers instead of the turn signal. There’s also a bunch of roundabouts but people are much, much friendlier about merging than here in the states. On top of that when getting onto the highway, most city on-ramps have signal lights that gradually feed cars onto the highway in such a way that there is almost NEVER a dead stop. Add in kilometers (which make it feel like you are going faster and further than you do traveling than in the US despite traveling more slowly) and countryside that literally makes you say “jesus christ is it every going to stop taking my breath away?” about 50 times in a week, and you have what is a much more pleasant driving experience than what I’ve become accustomed to in the rustbelt. Cars are also thinner so I felt way more confident about staying inside the lane/not being hit by things.
Of note: I specifically did not want to get navigated around by a GPS so we printed out directions and had very little trouble getting around. Like I said above, this place makes sense.

GROCERIES AND SUCH
We went to several different grocery stores (both in downtown Auckland and out in the boonies) and generally prices are the same with two exceptions: soda is more expensive (about 50%, and there’s no Wild Cherry Pepsi) and cigarettes are way more expensive. I don’t count these as negatives though because they’ll pressure me into drinking less soda (I down about a 2-liter or more a day) and get Steph off of cigarettes (which are double or triple what they cost in the US, depending on if you are buying it outside or inside of a major city). On the whole, we’re confident we can get by with just about the same grocery budget as we have now.
Of note: Restaurants cost a bit more but you don’t tip and you walk away with leftovers every time (about a second meal’s worth). Also very doable for us. Service didn’t seem to suffer and ended up being more honest–one guy was like “look we’ll seat you, but two huge tables just sat down and we have one cook so it could be an hour before we can serve you” which I think most waiters wouldn’t be candid about.

KIWIS ARE SERIOUSLY THE FRIENDLIEST PEOPLE ON THE GOD DAMN PLANET
This is not an exaggeration. You will find multiple examples of this below and as an American–the land of aggressive people–I was constantly bewildered and confused by it. I mean, these people are even nicer than Canadians.
NICER THAN CANADIANS.
What more, everyone that found out we were there on a fact-finding mission and considering moving to New Zealand was enthusiastically kind and genuinely wanted us to do so. Disturbingly encouraging, like there is some deep dark secret that I just don’t know about–not that there is, at least as far as I’m aware, but whatever, it definitely threw me off constantly.

DAY 1

The flight to New Zealand was long and expensive, and because we flew American Airlines, crazy uncomfortable so I slept perhaps 20 minutes and Stephanie grabbed maybe an hour. Shortly after landing and speedily getting through customs, we snagged a travel SIM card for my phone for $50–now able to call in-country for free and out of country for like 200 minutes–and were picked up by the rental car company.

After some paperwork we got on the road and went straight to Kelly Tarton’s Aquarium. I’m already behind where I should be for work, so if you want to check the videos for that out they are still on my Google Drive. There’s a glass tunnel aquarium you walk under that’s pretty dope!

We strolled around the harbor nearby for a bit, made friends with some old folks also visiting the country (my extremely limited Chinese came in handy!), and then, quite hungry, began looking for Dominion Road–Auckland’s Chinatown. This would be the first and most troublesome obstacle for us and after roaming around it for 20 minutes, I pulled up beside an older woman walking down the sidewalk. The following exchange is in no way embellished.

Mike: Hello! I’m sorry to bother you ma’am, but could you point us to Dominion Road?
Kiwi: Dominion Road? Oh it’s just down the way, take the second right, head down a bit to the next light–you know what? I’ll just show you.
<Kiwi woman gets into our car.>
<Stephanie and I are dumbfounded.>
Kiwi: Head straight and get into the right lane.

Our passenger was Greta, an extremely kind and trusting lady that was on her way back from the dentist and could get her walk in from a few blocks away after helping us out. Which she did! We exchanged pleasantries and explained why we were so awestruck–and in what I have found is the typical New Zealander fashion–she was quite amused but not terribly surprised.

Stephanie first succumbed to my unending desire for chinese food here (something I am very happy to say repeated many times) and we found a nice little place to fill up our stomachs. I particularly like it when I get into a restaurant and there’s a language barrier because while in my experience these may not at first seem to be the most elegant high-ranking spots, the food can’t be beat.

Next we headed to our first hotel to wash up and prepare for a night out, but we ended up taking a “power nap” that became a 14 hour sleep marathon. Kind of a bummer (Queens Street was less than a block away and is the center of Auckland’s night life) but ultimately not so bad as it reset our jet lag on the first day.

Here’s the view from the balcony of our (upgraded for free) $60 room at the Ibis Budget Hotel:

DAY 2

Waking up bright and early we took in the gorgeous sunrise from high up in the Auckland skyline then headed down to a charming little spot called Remedy Coffee, went about to various shops (notably a spot called Japan Dollar Mart that I loved to death) and played a bit in Time Zone Games, then grabbed bento boxes in Nikko Japanese.

I acquired THE BEST DRINKING GAME EVER (confirmed by our chef at the restaurant who pointed out to us that he used to have one for just that purpose).

The rest of the day was spent visiting the various LUSH stores around Auckland so Stephanie could introduce herself to the staff and get a feel for what it would be like to transfer here. This went quite wonderfully–we found our way around the city without much trouble and she got along with folks very well. 😀

For dinner we met up with Bevan and Sarika at a place called Burger Burger where we were introduced to Roman, Emma, and Bruna (the latter two our hosts for the evening). After a hearty dinner–although at no point did I get a burger in New Zealand where I was down with everything going on–I lost the keys to the rental car while transferring like 60 pounds of books into Bevan’s car! We scoured everywhere for a good 20 minutes until after a second pass looking in his trunk, my kiwi buddy found them in one of the recesses where the hydraulics holding it up are.

THIS is what a natural 20 Perception check looks like.

Roman and Emma were fantastic hosts and we were treated to a CRAZY expensive scotch tasting while arguing about art, mythology, literature, and had genuinely the best night we’ve had with another couple in years. He also gave me a memory boost for my phone and suggested (rightly) that we download an offline map from GoogleMaps just in case we need it while on the road. I have to admit we did use it once or twice when really at a loss so Roman–mad props sir!

The view from Roman and Emma’s awesome place.

DAY 3

Both Emma and Roman had to work early so were already gone by the time we woke up (again, incredibly trusting and generous). Humorously, I had the thought to make up the bed with sheets and such from their closet but we were undone from the start–apparently Roman’s mom was the next person to visit and was not super pleased that the backup sheets were on the mattress (and they, of course, were humorous about it and genuinely thankful that we made the effort.)

Grabbing breakfast at a nearby restaurant Emma suggested called Meadows (an elegant little place Stephanie was all about!) we got on the road to Matamata for the Shire. We made it to the town quite early so went about shopping (I found a blue man bodysuit for just $20! WHAAAAAAAAT!) then had a few beers in a tavern. One thing we very quickly realized is that New Zealand has a lot of immigrants and we wasted no time in pumping them all for information about their experiences with the move, all of which was overwhelmingly positive.

Regulation in New Zealand is not amazing.

I’m going to drop a few photos of Hobbiton here but I have to tell you all–you have to go to The Shire. It is an AMAZING place and you will instantly be enchanted.

Once again, there are a bunch of videos on my YouTube channel. Unfortunately my phone died during the Green Dragon Inn 8 minute walkthrough but it was just as fantastic as the rest of the movie set.

Shortly after arrival I noticed this young guy was going barefoot and I was like “Shit! That’s brilliant!” so I rolled up my jeans and tied my shoes off on the sides of my belt, walking across Hobbiton as a hobbit ought to.

Once again, these photos and the videos DO NOT DO IT JUSTICE and you should make going here before you die a priority.

And again, @inpartiesss on Instagram has more photos of the trip.

I ended up befriending the barefooted fro-kid and after we got back to Matamata, realizing he was a hitchhiker, offered him a ride to Rotorua. Thilsje (? pronounced “Daishe”) is an 18 year old from the Netherlands that had spent the last 8 months backpacking across the country so the ride to the next town was filled with lots of excellent discussion. Unfortunately that night he realized he lost his iPhone and while we tried to help him find it, as of yet he hasn’t had any luck. If you happen to be coming across this while on the way to the tour and find an iPhone in Dutch, please turn it into an Apple store!

After dropping him off near city center we navigated to our hotel for the next two days–the Terume Hot Springs Resort–and hopped into the onsen bath after snagging some excellent thai food.

I REALLY liked this hotel. Normally mixed genders in the public onsen are verboten, but Raymond (the proprietor) only had one other guest so made an exception for us. A+ buddy! (and don’t worry, we just took an excellent relaxing bath–she *did* get a footrub but trust me, she’s the only one that enjoys that activity). We will definitely be going back here.

DAY 4

A cyclone hit New Zealand and dropped a crazy amount of rain all over the country so we were a bit bummed, but much to our surprise all the outdoor activities we had planned were still good to go!

Radio Stations and Advertisements
It occurs to me that I should mention these two things: New Zealand is not f#%(ing covered in advertisements like America and their radio stations kick ass. They played all the songs we (including esoteric Stephanie) would be playing had we brought CDs. It was crazy. Also their morning television news program? 300% better than anything on our cable networks.

First we went to some coastal bistro for breakfast then to Offroad New Zealand and hopped into 60 mph go-karts on a track covered with 2 inches of rain. Stephanie drove like a grandma and though I spun out 3 times, I also lapped her twice (and was 30 seconds from the leaderboard despite horrendous conditions). Next up was luging at Skyline Rotorua which ended up being way more fun than anticipated.

For dinner we snagged some EXCELLENT Sichuan Chinese then got back to the hotel for some more relaxing. Here’s another shot of how stunning this place was:

20170511_083906(0).jpg

DAY 5

I couldn’t resist another dip into the onsen baths before leaving this hotel. God do I want to go back there.

Even the indoor baths are excellent.

We went to the 3-D Trick Art Gallery and had a BLAST! See Steph’s Instragram for photos! It was a great time, cheap, and will be entertaining for everyone of all ages–go do it. Then we filled up the tank and headed southeast toward Napier. I have to say again that the countryside of New Zealand is just stupid gorgeous, even in a rainstorm, and when I realized we were driving through the F#(%ING HILLS OF ROHAN I LOST MY MIND. I surprised Stephanie with a visit to The Craters of the Moon in Lake Taupo whilst on the way and got lucky with the rain reducing to a drizzle while we walked around the (cheap, awesome) state park–also recommended.

By the time we got to Napier we were tired so just grabbed some food then got into the Beachfront Motel, a very snazzy spot with a big hot tub in the room and a balcony facing the sunrise.

DAY 6

Despite weather predictions the rain didn’t fall in Napier so we dallied longer than we should have so I could snag about a dozen awesome art-deco pictures–which will totally be showing up in the Book of Exalted Darkness! It was a long (gorgeous) drive to Waitomo and on the way we stopped at Lauren’s Lavender where I tragically realized we were not going to make it to our cave tour on time. The farm’s proprietor let me use her phone to call ahead and we organized a $50 upcharge to switch to the next morning (whew!) but do not worry–this was a blessing in disguise (see below).

In a few hours we made it to Waitomo proper, stopped by the caving place to apologize in person (and nail down exactly where it was so we could find it easily the next day), then made it to the Big Bird Bed and Breakfast to check in–another spot I loved. Not only did it involve a pretty sweet animal tour (including a miniature bull that will be declared the World’s Smallest Bull in 3 months time!), but the lady that owned it is named Anne and is the spitting image of my grandmother 20 years younger. The room itself was charming, rustic, crazy affordable, and the breakfast we got was awesome–we will be staying at this place in the future. With full bellies from sumptuous meals at HUHU Cafe we turned in early.

DAY 7

That mishap with the Glowing Adventures cave tour? Turned out that the time we were scheduled for ended up going on the alternate path but with our new group, we got to take the main route at the maximum level of water! WHICH WAS AWESOME! I got a ton of excellent cave photographs (once again for use in the book I’m Kickstarting next week), Stephanie loved it (her favorite activity from the trip–even more than shopping), and it is a must-do activity if you are headed to New Zealand. Our tour was through untouched caverns so there were no railings or concrete paths, it was straight up spelunking and it was fantastic (even if the water was cold).

Afterward we decided to head straight back to Auckland, going to the Auckland VR Studio before our appointed time. Unfortunately we couldn’t start early but they did have a retro room that included the (unbeknownst to me) Sailor Moon arcade game which Steph bit into with zeal.

Getting to play in their VR rooms was amazing and convinced Stephanie that we need to get a setup in the house. I was particularly impressed with her doodling with Google Tilt Brush and had a hell of a good time playing both Quiver and Accounting (among others). Another great activity if you’re in the city.

Stephanie needed a break so we checked into our final place to stay: The Ascott Parnell Boutique Bed and Breakfast. Bart, I know you are going to come across this blog post and I want you take this in the best way possible because you are a consummate host and gave us a wonderful stay far exceeding our expectations, but what we could not tell you in person is this: you are totally a Bond villain, my friend. It was crazy entertaining and dubiously charming and I look forward to enjoying your particular charisma again over more drinks in the future, but it was truly uncanny.
For anyone considering staying with Bart and Therese, Stephanie and I both strongly, strongly recommend you do so and I look forward to the overwhelmingly positive impact I know they will have when Stephanie’s mother stays with them after we make the move to Auckland ourselves.
Once again: thank you both for allowing us to be guests at your wonderful home!

As a bonus, before we even set down our bags Bart pegged my hankering for malaysian food and suggested a delicious restaurant (Kopio) where I finally got myself some (phenomenal) rendeng.

DAY 8

Obviously, this was Stephanie’s favorite place among the hotels and so on that we stayed at throughout the trip. Not only was everything modern and tres-chic (including a heated floor in the bathroom!), Bart and Therese cook great breakfasts and have some excellent wine on hand.
Unfortunately Therese does not come off as an overwhelmingly kind Bond villain, just an overwhelmingly kind host (but I’m not going to hold it against her).

We spent the day checking out more of Auckland, Steph grabbed some Gucci shoes (and I got to give some tips to an aspiring childrens book author!), we ate INCREDIBLE ramen at Kiraku off the Queens Street Arcade, and then turned over the rental car. Afterward we wandered about, I bought a book from 1844 for my mom for Mother’s Day (it has flowers in the title because I keep it fre-fre-fre-fresssshhh), then I met someone very important about something very important, solidifying my move to New Zealand–so I got my drink on at Galbraiths Alehouse where the bartenders totally hooked us up with extra booze on the house to celebrate! More drinking was had back at the BnB (where Bart joined us for a great nightcap–again, I cannot stress how great of hosts he and Therese are, not to mention their honed talents for intriguing and lively conversation), and then we passed out for our last night in the city.

DAY 9

We took our time getting things together, having another great breakfast at the Ascott Parnell, and during the ride to the airport much to my chagrin Bart managed to guess my age down to the year (he was just a year off for Stephanie but I suspect he shot low because, as a Bond villain, he is a ladies’ man). The ride back was just as uncomfortable and unpleasant as the ride there but mercifully shorter, and my parents–my great parents–picked us up from the airport with a sack of Chic-Fil-A, drove us to their house to snag Steph’s car, and we booked it back here so I could slide in late for an appearance on the Tome Show (which goes up this Monday).

WHEW!

Unfortunately I can’t yet talk about what the job I’ll be doing is, but rest assured: it is awesome and many of you are going to be like “daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn!” when I can hit the ground with it and get running. Until then though I’m going to diligently get up to speed on Veranthea, Hypercorps 2099, 2099 Wasteland, Mists of Akuma, and Book of Exalted Darkness but within 6-9 months my output is going to shrink considerably because I will be working a salaried gig halfway across the world.

If you made it all the way down here: thank you. Please comment and ask me any questions you might have and so on and so forth.

And for heaven’s sake: visit New Zealand!

Tags Auckland, Hobbiton, MIke Myler, New Zealand, The Shire

Categories Independent

Out of the Office

May 5, 2017 //

I’m not in the office for the next two weeks so Street Fighter D&D 5E and Hyper Score Marvel are on hold while I’m out of town.

In the meanwhile I encourage you to take a look at and speculate about my next big project (this one for D&D 5E):

Thanks!

Tags Book of Exalted Darkness, Book of Vile Darkness, DnD 5E, MIke Myler

Categories D&D 5th, D&D Next, Tabletop RPGs

Hyper Score Marvel: Moon Knight!

April 29, 2017 //

There has been an explosion of interest in this series so we’ve got a bit of a queue built up now: next week it’s the Venom symbiote (folks that have FAMOTH will know what’s coming!), then Ghost Rider (in which case I may just point at Clinton Boomer’s tumbler), Thor, and then like 10+ others on deck. I am still taking requests however so let me know and we’ll get them on the list–the sooner the better!

Also if you spot a way this can improve, share the info! I’m on Twitter @MikeMyler2, Facebook, Google+, and you can leave messages below the post. Thanks!

FUN ASIDE: Earlier today I was prompted to create a spreadsheet that lists the grosse numbers for the various DC Comics and Marvel Comics films in a simple box-office comparison. It is not adjusted for inflation and may not have every single movie that qualifies but it’s not bad: check it out if you like!

moon knight hypercorps promo

MOON KNIGHT CR 17—XP 102,400

Male human brawler 5/investigator (sleuth) 4/vigilante 3 [hs 4; hypernaut 1, meganaut 1]
CG Medium humanoid (human, hyper)
Init +10; Senses low-light vision, darkvision 60 ft.; Awareness +18

DEFENSE
AC 32, bullet 28, touch 23, flat-footed 26 (+9 armor, +5 deflection, +4 Dex, +2 dodge, +2 hyper)
hp 135 (5d10+4d8+3d8+60+12); Hyper Bonus +2
Fort +11, Ref +15, Will +9
DR 5/—
Hyper Flaw lunar-powered (during the day and on moonless nights, the bonuses from Moon Knight’s Hyper Attribute traits are halved: DR 3/—, Speed 35 ft., leap 10 ft., -1 melee atk/dmg; during a full moon they are increased by 50%: DR 7/—, Speed 45 ft., leap 30 ft., +1 melee atk/dmg), multiple personalities

OFFENSE
Speed 40 ft., leap 20 ft.
Melee unarmed +20/+15/+15 (1d8+11) or unarmed flurry +18/+18/+13/+13 (1d8+11) or [+5 adamantine quarterstaff] +24/+19/+19 (1d6+14) or [+5 adamantine quarterstaff] flurry +22/+22/+17/+17 (1d6+14)
Ranged lunar shuriken +16/+11/+11 (1d2+7, Range 20 ft.) or combat pistol +16/+11/+11 (2d6+4, Crit x4, Range 100 ft.)
Special Attacks brawler’s flurry, hidden strike +2d8/+2d4, hyper bonus +2, knockout 1/day (DC 16+Str/Dex), martial flexibility (1 min, 5/day)

STATISTICS
Str 21, Dex 19, Con 20, Int 14, Wis 12, Cha 14
Hyper Strength 2 (strong leap, strong warrior), Hyper Dexterity 1 (dexterous footwork), Hyper Constitution 2 (hyper tough)
Base Atk +10; CMB +17 (+18 trip); CMD 34 (35 vs. trip)
Feats Alertness [B], Combat Expertise [B], Combat Reflexes, Dodge [B], Improved Unarmed Strike [B], Mobility, Point-Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Shot on the Run, Spring Attack, Weapon Focus (unarmed strike) [B], Weapon Specialization (unarmed strike) [B]
Hyper Feats Extra Attribute Trait, Extra Hyper Attribute (2)
Skills Acrobatics +13, Appraise +6, Athletics +16, Awareness +18, Bluff +9, Craft (technology) +7, Diplomacy +7, Disable Device +13, Disguise +6, Escape Artist +8, Handle Animal +6, Heal +5, Intimidate +11, Knowledge (engineering, local) +8, Knowledge (history, law) +6, Knowledge (technology) +7, Linguistics +6, Profession (business) +5, Ride +8, Sense Motive +12, Search +13, Sleight of Hand +10, Spellcraft +6, Stealth +17, Survival +9, Use Magic Device +6, Use Technology +7
Languages English, French, German
SQ AC bonus +1, brawler’s cunning, brawler’s strike (magic), close weapon mastery, dual identity, hyper attack 1, hyper initiative, hyper mortality, inspiration (free action +1d6 5/day to Knowledge, Linguistics, or Spellcraft; +1d6 to attack roll or saving throw at double cost, immediate action for saving throw), investigator talent (quick study), keen recollection, maneuver training (trip +1), martial training, poison lore, poison resistance +2, unarmed strike (1d8), seamless guise, sleuth’s luck (3 points, regain one on natural 20 Knowledge/Sense Motive, rolling 6 or higher on inspiration), social talents (case the joint, gossip collector), studied combat, studied strike +1d6, trap sense +1, trapfinding +3, vigilante specialization (stalker), vigilante talents (shadow’s sight, silent dispatch)
Gear [+5 adamantine chain shirt], [+5 adamantine quarterstaff] with integrated cornerstone crossbow for grapple gun, [ring of deflection +5], [lunar cape that allows the use of glide as an at-will extraordinary spell-like ability], various gadgets (see Wealthy hypernaut power)

SPECIAL ABILITIES
Case the Joint (Ex) If Moon Knight spends at least 1 hour in a location while in his social identity, he can attempt a DC 20 Knowledge (engineering) check. If he succeeds, he gains the ability to later reroll any one failed skill check involving the location’s layout (such as a Stealth check to sneak into the location, a Disable Device check to disable an alarm, or a Sleight of Hand check to snatch an object from a pedestal). For every 10 by which the check exceeds 20, Moon Knight gains an additional reroll. If he fails to return to the location within 1 week, the situation changes too much and he cannot use the rerolls. Moon Knight can’t case the same joint more than once a week.
Dual Identity (Ex) This character has two identities: his NG social identity as Marc Spector, and his CG vigilante identity, Moon Knight. Knowledge checks about one identity do not reveal information about the other, and spells and effects that would locate one identity don’t find the other unless the caster knows both identities. The character picks an identity each morning and can change to the other one with 1 minute of costuming and mental preparation. This character sheet refers to him as Moon Knight for simplicity, except in abilities that he can use only in his social identity. He can use abilities marked with a [V] in his social guise—but risks betraying his secret identity. He can share his dual nature with fellow PCs without penalty.
Gossip Collector (Ex) In his social identity, Marc Spector can gather information in 1d2 hours instead of 1d4 hours.
Hidden Strike (Ex) Moon Knight deals 2d8 points of precision damage against enemies that are completely unaware of his presence or who consider him an ally. He can also deal hidden strike damage to a target he is flanking or that is denied its Dexterity bonus to AC, but he deals 2d4 points of precision damage to such targets instead.
Quick-Change Mask (Ex) Moon Knight can remove his mask as a move action for one of two uses. He may either change his appearance as if using disguise self (giving him a +10 bonus on his Disguise check to appear to be another Medium humanoid) or switch into his other identity. He can attempt a Bluff check to create a diversion before taking off the mask. If successful, he can roll a Stealth check to hide as a part of the same move action he uses to remove the mask.
Seamless Guise (Ex) If a creature suspects Moon Knight of being Marc Spector (or vice versa), he can attempt a Disguise check with a +20 circumstance bonus to reinforce his current identity.
Silent Dispatch (Ex) [V]: When Moon Knight ambushes an enemy or enemies unaware of his presence, he can attempt a Stealth check at a –5 penalty. The result indicates the DC of Perception checks to hear his attacks until an opponent’s first action, when the DC returns to the normal –10 for hearing battle. Other enemies present can still see the attack; this talent only prevents the sounds of battle from alerting others.
Sleuth Deeds (Ex) Daring (1 luck point for +1d6 to Acrobatics, Climb, Escape Artist, Fly, Ride, or Swim; reroll results of 6 up to 2/day); Make It Count (1 luck point to gain investigator talent he does not already know to effect his studied strike; must meet prerequisites of the investigator talent); Opportunistic Evasion (1 luck point to gain benefits of evasion on successful Reflex save to take half damage); Run Like Hell (1 luck point to gain a +20-foot bonus speed for 1 minute; while active if he moves more than his normal speed in a round, he gains a +4 bonus to AC until the start of his next turn); Second Chance (1 luck point when rolling an inspiration die or using the daring deed (see above) to reroll either the inspiration die or the daring deed die; rolling 6 or higher on reroll does not regain a luck point and new result is kept even if lower); Sleuth’s Initiative (+2 initiative while Moon Knight has 1 luck point).
Studied Combat (Ex) Moon Knight can use a move action to study his enemy’s moves and gain a +2 insight bonus to melee attack and damage rolls against that enemy for 4 rounds or until he ends it with a studied strike. The damage is precision damage, and it isn’t multiplied on critical hits. Moon Knight can only have one enemy studied at a time, and if he wants to study an enemy he already studied that day, he must spend 1 use of inspiration.
Studied Strike (Ex) Moon Knight can end his studied combat early to add 1d6 extra precision damage to a successful melee attack against his target. He must be able to see the target well, and the damage doesn’t multiply on a critical hit or affect creatures immune to sneak attacks.
Unshakable (Ex) Moon Knight adds +4 to the DC of attempts to intimidate him.
Wealthy Hypernaut Power (Ex): Moon Knight is financially independent or otherwise able to procure goods and services with money not represented on his character sheet. None of these items may exceed a value of 12,000 gold. At the GM’s discretion, lethal or illegal items (such as robots or weapons) may require a normal expenditure of gold or roleplay to acquire.

NOTES ON MOON KNIGHT’S PATHFINDER BUILD

Yeesh! Bit off quite a bit here! Fortunately I can foresee many times I’ll be revisiting this to save some time designing future characters. A+ for the Pathfinder (and Hyper Score!) systems for fitting the bill here, I think, though I’m not super familiar with Moon Knight and I’m sure I missed something. :p

MOON KNIGHT

Medium humanoid (human), chaotic good
Armor Class 16 (studded leather of bludgeoning resistance)
Hit Points 190 (20d8+100)
Speed 40 ft., leap 20 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
20 (+5)	19 (+4)	20 (+5)	14 (+2)	13 (+1)	15 (+2)

Saving Throws Str +10, Int +7
Skills Athletics +10, Acrobatics +9, Investigation +7, Insight +6, Perception +6, Stealth +9
Damage Resistances slashing and piercing from nonmagical weapons, bludgeoning
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 16
Languages English, French, German
Challenge 14 (11,400 XP)

Two Identities. Marc Spector and Moon Knight are one and the same. While he is assuming one persona any attempt to locate the other persona fails, as though they did not exist. Any attempt to identify the two identities as one another (without evidence, such as witnessing him changing identities) requires a DC 23 Investigation check. Changing identities takes 1 minute, as much a mental change as it is a change in clothing and manner.
Exceptional Resources. If given 24 hours Moon Knight can collect, purchase, or craft a high-quality item that grants him advantage to any specific skill or ability check, or modify his attacks to grant advantage when targeting a single, specific enemy. He may carry up to five skill resources at any one time, and one weapon resource.
Lunar Cape. When Moon Knight would fall he may instead choose to glide on his cape, traveling 5 feet horizontally for every 5 he feet falls. Even when he does not glide, he never takes damage from falling and always lands on his feet.
Lunar Power. During nights when the moon is out, Moon Knight gains a +2 bonus to all checks and rolls. When the moon is full, he gains advantage on all ability checks. During the day and on moonless knights, Moon Knight takes a -2 penalty to all rolls (except for damage).

ACTIONS
Multiattack. Moon Knight makes five unarmed strike, lunar staff strike, or lunar shuriken attacks in any combination.
Unarmed Strike. Melee Weapon Attack. +10 to hit, one target. Hit: 23 (4d8+5) bludgeoning damage.
Lunar Staff. Melee Weapon Attack. +10 to hit, one target. Hit: 23 (4d8+5) magical bludgeoning damage (double damage to objects).
Lunar Shuriken. Ranged Weapon Attack. +9 to hit, range (30/150), one target. Hit: 18 (4d6+4) slashing damage.

NOTES ON MOON KNIGHT’S 5E BUILD

Fortunately I had a vigilante nearby that was already well-suited for a lot of what Moon Knight is about so if you’ve got Mists of Akuma, you may recognize some bits in here. Either way it’s a good example of one of the differences between PF and 5E — you can build virtually anything in Pathfinder. Making him in DnD5e as a PC from the ground up would be impossible but there it is with PF, and on the other hand, *one* of these easily fits on a single page. Simulation or narrative folks, choose your poison! 😀

Tags DnD5e, Hyper Score Marvel, Hypercorps 2099, MIke Myler, Moon Knight, Pathfinder

Categories D&D 5th, Hyper Score Marvel, Pathfinder