Gold rathian weakness sunbreak

DISCLAIMER: I just want to write a few thoughts to the current state of Mittelafrika and make some propositions. MAF is probably one of my favorite countries in KR, due to its massive size and potential. I love the focus tree but I see that there is still a lot of potential. I haven't read that there are any reworks for MAF planned, and yes, I'd love to learn to mod for the sole reason of expanding MAF.
1. Leaders Göring as leader is somewhat a KR classic but if you read about him, the KR Göring doesn't fit into the KRTL. In OTL, Göring was radicalized after the war by the defeat and a speech of an Austrian Painter, which got him fascinated with his party. This didn't happen in KRTL. Göring would be still strongly influenced by his father, Heinrich Ernst Göring, the first Reichskommissar of Deutsch-Südwestafrika, who was strongly involved in protecting the local natives, creating protection areas especially for the natives that were previously targetted at by Europeans. So there is no reason for Göring to become such a maniac as he is portrayed in KR (except if there is actually good lore what happened to him but I haven't seen anything about that yet). In my opinion, the starting leader of MAF should be Solf, who will then go down in the Kenyatta-Solf-Affair, or alternatively Heinrich Albert Schnee, the last OTL governor of Deutsch-Ostafrika. The other remaining leader options are all good, but Göring should be a more moderate one, while the someone truly radical, like Franz Ritter von Epp should replace him as the "evil" leader.
2. Map I like the way MAF is made up the way it is, especially the change that it doesn't reach all the way up to Liberia was not only a nice gameplay balance but also a good idea as to not overextent the already overburdened MAF. What I'd love to see more would be the immediately visibility of the former non-German colonies not being fully integrated. So that would be: * British Protectorates as loose puppets (Kenya, Uganda, Northern Rhodesia, Nyasaland, Nigeria and the Gold Coast) of MAF, since MAF only moved in after the syndicalist revolution in Britain, to protect these colonies (and to connect the colonies) * French Equatorial Africa and Congo as seperate but stronger integrated puppets * direct control only over the original German colonies: Deutsch-Ostafrika (including Ruanda, Urundi and Bukoba), Deutsch-Südwestafrika, Togo and Cameroon That would show the situation better, that MAF is still trying to integrate these areas (more or less successful), which will be one of the bigger struggles in its gameplay.
3. Foci Personally I like the the current focus tree a lot, also the Cape to Cairo Railway is a beautiful feature. But it has got a lot of potential, especially looking at the recent big focus trees of other nations. MAF is struggling with many problems at once, since it was mainly a prestige-project and not an economical reason to create it. So the focus tree could divide into following parts: * Military tree - self explanatory * Administrative tree - MAF is a massively administratively overburdened entity which can barely assess what it actually contains, due to the lack of communication means and the vast landmass it entails. This could be combined with a strong national spirit debuff which would get reduced and turned into a buff, thanks to thorough German bureaucracy * Economical tree - the colonies are far from self-reliant and most of their wealth gets exported to the Reich, leaving them economically weak. The economic tree could slowly build up the economy, organizing better plantations and mines, sending more prospects out to find more ressources. A choice could then be made to either increase the exports to Germany (in terms of factories and constant supply shipments, becoming the Kaiser's favorite colonial administration), reducing the exports to increase MAF's own power (not in favor with the Kaiser) or trying to balance it. * Integration tree - this one ofc takes care of integrating the earlier mentioned puppet administrations or eventually leaving them at self-governance, for a price (receiving resource-rights, factories, weekly manpower, etc). The integartion could be done slowly and careful, ensuring a smooth transition, or rough and fast, which can lead to a revolt of the puppet (and the others eventually joining too). * Political tree - Classical political trees that pursue the HoS' agenda, depending who came up on top, following the Kenyatta-Solf-Affair. Imo, the current setup is already nice, needs just some more love. The DKG favors doing everything for the Kaiserreich while trying to maintain stability. The NKR tries to become more independent while exploiting the continent much harsher and the Selbstverwalter will try to become independent with the harshest means, trying to look eye-to-eye to the Kaiser. The democratic options would try to give the other Europeans as well as the Natives more rights, equal to the Germans, at the cost of a weaker economy.
4. Miscellaneous The Bush-War is a nice piece of lore that I'd keep and its consequences, especially if you want to annex the Portuguese colonies, you'd make the overextension debuff even worse. I never liked the current native revolt, that all rise up very fast at once without having any communication means to actually agree on something like that. There should rather be a similar system like in the Ottoman Empire with the resistance. The democratic leaders would profit from keeping them low, while the more radical leaders would struggle with it. Should MAF be distracted by a war, these high resistance areas could rise up. MAF should also receive more expansion options, right now it can only receive the French areas south of the Sahara and Bechuanaland can join them if it secedes from South Africa. But I'd like to see more options, like being able to also have South Africa eventually join (or annex them) or even expansion into Egypt?
If you're reading this, you made it through my babbling, so thanks for taking your time and just let me know what you think! I don't know if the Kaiserdevs would accept someone volunteering for that, or if they want to have more suggestions but I'd love to work or help with all that.

Hello hello! Today we are going into the future of Tellius after Path of Radiance with it's sequel, Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn. After the very strong showing axes had in the previous game, will we see that same strength hold up after 3 years (in-game)?
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The systems and mechanics implemented in FE9 were kept the same for FE10. The way Strength was used for weapon weight mitigation, 2RN Hit system, the weapon triangle bonuses and penalties, the Forge and Biorhythm (some slight differences here and there though for these two). The Forge still allowed you to improve basic-level weapons for Gold, but now you could get Coins to spend on Forge Cards, which can give you random special bonuses to your weapon. Biorhythm worked the same in that it gave bonuses and penalties when the BR was high or low. But now instead of just a minor Hit and Avo bonus/penalty, the numbers were bigger and would also affect Skill activation and finding hidden treasure. There were two things that I didn't mention before. Both FE9 and FE10 have skill scrolls which are 1-time-use items that give a unit a skill if they have the Capacity, which are these "skill points" that get expended and refunded if you attach or detach a skill to a unit. In FE9 if you remove a skill, it is lost forever, but in FE10 it still stays with you, so you can take and swap around skills all you want unless they are signature or Occult skills. The other thing is that in both games, all Axes deal effective damage against Doors, which is a really niche use case but a funny and nice bonus nonetheless.
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Just like before, units have both Strength and Magic stats that raise independently, but unlike FE9 there are no magic axes so all the player needs to focus on is Strength. The damage calculation is Strength + (Wpn Might x Effectiveness), with the Effectiveness coefficient going back to 3 like in FE8, so now effective damage matters more since tripled Might is way better than doubled. Defense was still used for defensive calculations. The way to increase these stats were the permanent stat boosters of the Energy Drop and Dragonshield. Sanaki had an exclusive item called the Rudol Gem which boosts her Def by +10. And then these stats could be conditionally raised via support bonus with the proper affinities.
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The weapon list of axes in FE10 was pretty much the same as FE9, but some weapons had their rank requirements and/or stats changed around, creating new shifts in power for certain weapons. There were also a set of brand new weapons in the Poleax subclass of axes, which were beefed up versions of the "basic weapon trio" of Iron, Steel, and Silver. The Hit rates for all axes were generally higher than before, so they hit more reliably at base. There was a new weapon rank in "SS-Rank" which were reserved for the true legendary weapons. But there is actually an SS-Rank axe available to the player, and it was the one that wasn't usable in FE9! The list of axes in FE10 are...

• Bronze Axe
• Iron-Steel-Silver Axe
• Iron-Steel-Silver Poleaxe
• Venin Axe
• Hand Axe
• Hammer
• Brave Axe
• Killer Axe
• Short Axe
• Tomahawk
• Urvan
• Tarvos

The Bronze Axe is a brand new level of basic weapon that has low Weight and Might, high Hit and durability, but cannot critical. It is also the only E-Rank weapon, so literally anyone can use if you need lower damage in certain cases. Iron-Steel-Silver worked the same way it did before, but unlike in FE9, Steel Axes are C-Rank so you have to do a bit of work before you get them. The I-S-S Poleaxe weapons were equivalent to the Blade type weapons we had seen from FE4-FE8, as they were stronger but heavier and more inaccurate versions of their base weapons. They were decent if you had them, but ultimately the normal I-S-S axes were better due to their more reliable stats and access to forging. The Venin Axe was statistically identical to the Iron Axe but with poison, but poison is still bad so if you want an Iron Axe but don't have one for whatever reason, use this instead. Hand Axes actually got stronger since they had better stats overall, and retained their ability to be forged, so they were still one of the best axes in the game. The Hammer was still a bit heavy and inaccurate, but it's no longer the heaviest axe available to the player and due to tripled might, is a lot better at dealing with armors. The Brave Axe was significantly buffed since it only required C-Rank to use, weighed 13 instead of 20 like it did before, had a reliable hit of 80%, and retained its normal Brave Effect, so it was a very valuable axe to have. The Killer Axe exchanged a bit of Might for some Hit, but it was still a great axe because of its high Crit. The Short Axe this time around WASN'T a straight upgrade from the Hand Axe since it had lower Hit, and it can't be forged like the Hand Axe, but it was still a decent weapon if you had it.
The Tomahawk was still the statistically strongest 1-2 range option, but it now required an S-Rank to use. The Urvan is the only SS-Rank axe available to the player, and while it didn't have 1-2 range, it was still an insanely strong axe. 50 uses, 17 Weight, the highest Might of all weapons at 22 (barring Crossbows, but they don't count since they don't take account the users Strength), an insane 110% Hit, and a +3 Res boost to the holder to boot! It was a very easy candidate to be blessed and taken into the endgame Tower. Finally there is the Tarvos, which is the signature weapon that Nolan gets in Part 3, and was a great axe overall. It has the second highest Might of all axes at 18, but only had 12 Weight, an astounding 100% Hit, 40 uses, and gave a +4 Defense boost when held.
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The axe-wielding classes in FE10 work a bit differently than they did in FE9 due to the way these classes were reworked for this game. Paladins were mono-weapon classes, different Generals had different weapons available to them, and of course the biggest change was the introduction of Tier 3 classes that had higher stat caps, access to Occult Skills (for free, no longer needed a scroll), and access to new weapons. T3 classes also will "autolevel" secondary/tertiary weapon ranks if they are below a certain threshold. There are also a lot of these classes that are technically enemy-exclusive since some units join in their Tier 2 classes, so the Tier 1s are never used by the player. The list of axe-wielding classes in FE10 are...

• Hero Vanguard
• Fighter Warrior Reaver
• Axe Armor Axe General Marshall
• Lance Armor Lance General Marshall
• Armor Sword Sword General Marshall
• Axe Knight Axe Paladin Gold Knight
• Sword Knight Blade Paladin Gold Knight
• DracoknightDragonmasterDragonlord
• Bandit (Enemy Only)

Hero was a swordlocked class like it was in FE4, and is the exclusive class of Ike. It's promotion to Vanguard allowed it to wield Swords and Axes like GBA heroes, and it got the signature occult skill Aether, which was a mix of Luna and Sol. It was a very strong class that excelled in most stats aside from Resistance, and was befitting for the main character. Fighters were still the same as strong axe wielders. Warriors were still strong, but instead of wielding traditional bows, they got Crossbows. Crossbows were a subset of bows that required no weapon rank to use as long as the class could use bows at all, all had 100% Hit, and had insane Mights, but that was to make up for the fact that they didn't take into account the users Strength, so the Might you see is the damage you get before defenses. Reaver was the T3 class that had an even bigger emphasis on Strength, and acted as proto-Berserkers since they had an innate 5% crit bonus, and also since Berserkers were not in this game. Their Occult Skill was Colossus, but was much better since it no longer needed a Constitution check and now tripled Strength instead of 1.25, and only required a (Skill/2)% chance to proc. All of the T1 Knights had the same strengths, with Strength and Defense being their highest stats, and their only differences were the weapon they had (which frankly is a big difference). The General classes had some slight differences in stats but they were for the most part very similar and had the same strengths as before. Lance Generals had Lances and Axes, Sword Generals had Lances and Swords, and Axe Generals had Swords and Axes. However all of them promoted to the same T3 class, Marshall. Marshalls could use all 3 weapons, were very tanky and strong, and had access to the Occult Skill Luna. Luna had a (Skill/2)% chance to proc and could only activate in melee range, but on proc it would triple the user's Strength AND bypass Defense. Marshalls didn't have the best Skill stat, so the chance of proccing was rather low, but when it did it was very lethal. Axe Knights and Sword Knights also had similar stats and strengths, being great all-rounders that could provide mounted utility and high mobility, with the drawback of being locked to only one weapon type (how much of a drawback it was depended on the weapon type). Their respective promotions of Axe and Blade Paladins furthered these same strengths and weaknesses. Both of these class lines promoted into the same T3 class of Gold Knight. Gold Knights wielded Axes and Swords, while their counterpart of Silver Knight got Lances and Bows, and this was a weird way of having different weapon-wielding Paladins like they did in FE9. Gold Knight was a strong class due to their overall good stats, access to Axes, mounted utility, and their Occult Skill of Sol. Sol was available to both Gold and Silver Knights, had a (Skill/2)% chance to proc, but when it did it now tripled damage (effectively making it a "guaranteed" crit) in addition to healing the damage done, making it a "sort-of-but-not-really Aether". Wyvern Riders were renamed Dracoknights and created a brand new standard for the class, which is that they now wield Axes as their base weapon instead of Lances. This meant that in FE10, Dracoknights no longer had to wait until promotion to utilize forged axes, so their damage and utility increased a good amount. Also, this whole class line no longer had weaknesses to Bows, so they could easily facetank Archers and probably kill them back with Hand Axes. They were now only weak to Thunder Magic, which was heavily nerfed in FE10 and even if they took damage, that could be patched up via Pure Waters or Barriers, so the Dracoknight line had virtually no weaknesses. The T2 promotion to Dragonmaster gave them Lances as a secondary ability, and they retained their strengths of being strongy, tanky, and mobile. Finally the T3 promotion of Dragonlord helped raise their strengths and round out their other shortcomings, so they were kind of the best of all worlds. Their Occult Skill was Stun, which had a (Skill/2)% chance to proc, and would triple the damage dealt and lock an opponent's movement (but not lock up their other actions) for 1 turn instead of 2 like in FE9.
For the enemy-exclusive classes, Bandits were the only ones and they worked the same way they always did, but now they had no promotion since Berserkers are gone.
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Unlike in FE9 where the unit quality was very clean and consistently good, the way that classes and the story worked, unit quality varied wildly in FE10. One could argue that since the way the game is structured, availability and the "context" these units are in matter even more than they usually do. There is one feature that I won't cover in the analyses, but in this pretext, and that is Transfer Bonuses. If you have an FE9 save on the same system as your FE10 save, and a unit from FE9 maxed out their level AND a stat, that same unit in FE10 will get a static bonus in that stat. An example would be if Ilyana capped Skill and Resistance as a Level 20 Sage in FE9, she would get a +2 Skill and Res bonus to her bases in FE10. The same will go for weapon ranks as depending on a units weapon rank in FE9, it will give a WEXP bonus to them in FE10. Transfers can really help a unit are almost always beneficial, but I won't be mentioning them here since it'll make for a cleaner analysis. The axe unit roster in FE10 are...

• Nolan (Fighter)
  • Nolan is a Fighter available in all of P1, three chapters of P3, and then all of P4 and Endgame. He starts off a bit higher level and stronger than the other 3 initial Dawn Brigade members and is your best tank until you get Sothe. He starts off with C-Rank Axes and pretty good bases, but he has rather odd growths that are more befitting of a Myrmidon (high Skl/Spd, average Str) than a Fighter. He can be trained up to a very fast and skilled Reaver that also has higher Magic than usual (so you can use meme-y Imbue or Renewal strats) and can proc Colossus a lot. It's probably what you wouldn't want from a Reaver, but it is something unique and he can be serviceable if you take him to Endgame.
• Meg (Armor Sword)
  • Meg is an Armor Sword available in five chapters of P1, three chapters of P3, and then all of P4 and Endgame. She is very much a joke unit that has very little going for her. She is an armor unit locked to Swords, a not good weapon in FE10, and has high growths in all the wrong places. She won't be able to do real damage or tank well with her bad bases in 35% growths in Strength and Defense. You can use stat boosters or BEXP to raise her, but those things can be put on some other unit to a much much better effect (like Jill or Ike or even Nolan). But in a normal playthrough, she is very much not worth it
• Tauroneo (Lance General)
  • Tauroneo is a Lance General available in one chapter of P1, two chapters in P3, three chapters in P4, and all of Endgame. He is an absolutely busted unit to have...in the chapter of P1 he is in. He can easily tank and kill any enemy thrown at him due to his high stats across the board. He has terrible overall availability, but his stats can keep him competent on Normal Mode playthroughs on the moments he does rejoin. He does have good growths in all areas if you decide to train him up for Endgame, but with his limited appearances its going to be a bit of a struggle. He's just overall hard to place on an analysis like this since he has so much going for him, but also a lot against him.
• Jill (Dracoknight)
  • Jill is a Dracoknight available in three chapters of P1, and all of P4 and Endgame. Her P3 appearances are weird since she, alongside Zihark, can defect to the Greil Mercenaries and be in more chapters, or they can stay in the Dawn Brigade and be there for fewer chapters (what the outcome is is dependent on the player since there are justifications for going either way). Jill, just like in FE9, has the potential to be one of the best units on your team and uses all the tools and investments given to her very well. She has good bases, good growths, starts off with the best weapon type with a solid B-Rank, there is just very little going against her. As she promotes, she will get stronger and retain her flier utility and Weapon Triangle control as she gains Lance access, she can use whatever skills given to her well. Jill just has so much going for her and she is very much worth using on any playthrough.

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• Haar (Dragonmaster)
  • Haar is a Dragonmaster available at the start and end of P2, nine chapters of P3, and then all of P4 and Endgame. If you thought FE9 Haar was good, FE10 Haar is something else. He has great stats in everything except average Speed and low Resistance, A-Ranks in Axes and Lances, flier mobility and utility, no arrow weakness, and he has pretty great availability. But since Res can be patched up, Thunder mages aren't common, and Thunder magic is bad, Haar has nothing to worry about there (this also applies to Jill). His growths also complement his high damage and tankiness well. He may suffer from being a bit slower than Jill, that can be patched up with BEXP and stat boosters which benefit Haar a lot. He is just an absolute great unit to have and can do so much for your team
• Brom (Axe General)
  • Brom is an Axe General available in three chapters of P2, eight chapters of P3, and all of P4 and Endgame. He has relatively decent stats for an Armor knight and access to the best weapon type, so he can do a good amount for you in the early chapters he is in. But when it gets to P3, he faces stiff competition with Gatrie, who can do the armor-tanking job better. As an axe user, he will already face even stiffer competition with Jill and Haar since they do his job way better and have more mobility. He can be a good unit if you really invest into him, but your resources could go towards other units with a much bigger return-on-investment.
• Kieran (Axe Paladin)
  • Kieran is an Axe Paladin available in the last two chapters of P2, three chapters of P3, and all of P4 and Endgame. He has the best weapon type at A-Rank and all the advantages of being a Paladin, and he has pretty decent stats all around. His growths are all about Strength and Defense, while his other growths are 40% or below. He will probably be your highest Strength and Defense Gold Knight once you raise him up, and can do some decent work in the Endgame. He will have issues with Resistance and Speed, which isn't the best since you'll be fighting a lot of magic enemies in the Tower, so keep that in mind.
• Makalov (Blade Paladin)
  • Makalov is a Blade Paladin available in the last two chapters of P2, three chapters of P3, and all of P4 and Endgame. He has okay stats across the board and all the perks of being a Paladin, but compared to Kieran, he has a worse weapon type and an emphasis on Luck and Speed compared to Kieran's Strength and Defense. As a Gold Knight, he will probably be one of your fastest, but that doesn't matter as much if his Strength is mediocre. He can be brought in the Endgame, but there are much better units more deserving of those slots

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• Ike (Hero)
  • Ike is a Hero forced deployed in the majority of P3, three chapters of P4, and all of Endgame. He is the second main character in FE capable of wielding Axes after FE7 Hector, and he is a damn good one at that. He starts off with great stats aside from okay Speed and low Res, an S-Rank in Swords, and good growths in HP, Str, Skl, and Def with average/low everything else. While he is swordlocked, you will get his signature weapon Ragnell in P3.11, which is a 1-2 range sword that is very strong, has decent accuracy, and gives a +5 Def boost. At the end of P3, he will get his promotion to Vanguard which will give him Nihil, Aether, and Axes, all of which will be very valuable in the Endgame. The benefit of being able to use 1-2 range axes is a bit redundant since he will have the Ragnell, but he can use other strong axes very well like the Brave Axe or the Urvan. His biggest weakness is his Speed, but with BEXP and stat boosters that can be patched up to where it becomes a smaller issue. Of course being the main character, it is "required" to raise him, but he is a very good unit to have since he is just so strong.
• Titania (Axe Paladin)
  • Titania is an Axe Paladin available in majority of P3, three chapters of P4, and all of Endgame. While Titania isn't the godsend carry she was in FE9, she is still a fantastic unit. Great bases overall, an S-Rank in Axes, all the benefits of being mounted. Her growths lean towards Attack, Speed, and Skill so she can be a very good damage dealer, but her defensive growths are a bit lower (but her defensive bases are good so it sort of makes up for it). As a Gold Knight, she'll most likely be your most consistent damage since her growths make her stacked up that way while sacrificing some bulk. Just like with all Paladins, she is worth using on that merit alone, but she also got the stats to back it up.
• Boyd (Warrior)
  • Boyd is a Warrior available in majority of P3, and all of P4 and Endgame. Unlike in FE9 where he had a lot of availability and potential to be one of your best damage dealers, here he has lost a lot of that. He has good Strength and Skill, A-Rank in Axes, and a high Strength growth. But where he really suffers is his Speed, as enemies catch up pretty fast in FE10 and 18 Speed will very quickly not be enough to cut it. And while he has a decent 45% Speed growth, it may not be enough unless you feed him a ton of kills, BEXP, or stat boosters which could probably go to someone like Titania who will probably be a more consistent killer due to her bases and growths. If you want, he can be taken into the Endgame and do some major work with his high Strength and the Urvan, but it may not be the most "optimal decision".
• Gatrie (Lance General)
  • Gatrie is a Lance General available in majority of P3, and all of P4 and Endgame. Gatrie is interesting since he sort of takes the main strengths of Meg and Brom, and outshines them both. He has great bases in HP, Strength, Defense, and oddly even Speed (he has higher Speed than Boyd), so his job at tanking is done pretty well with him, and his strongest growths are in these stats so his job will be done even better. He'll suffer from low Movement like all armors, and he doesn't have the best Res bases or growths. He will probably be your best Marshall out of the 4 potential available to you, so if that is your playstyle, then Gatrie is worth using.

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• Renning (Gold Knight)
  • Renning is a Gold Knight available in the last chapter of P4 and all of Endgame. Renning is someone that on paper, seems like would be very good as he has decent bases, great weapon ranks, and is a mounted unit. BUTTTT, he also has terrible availability and his stats in reality aren't enough to compete with not just other axe units or Paladins, but the special endgame Royal Laguz which you will most likely use over him. If you really need a filler, playing 0% growths, or you lost Titania and Kieran, you can use him to decent efficacy. Otherwise, there are other units that outshine him completely.

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There are 5 items that benefit axe users in FE10. There are the permanent stat boosters of the Energy Drop (+2 Strength), the Dragonshield (+2 Defense), and the Arms Scroll (+1 Weapon Level up). Then there are the promotion items of the Master Seal to promote T1 classes into T2, and then the Master Crown which promotes T2 classes into T3.
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FE10 really kept the high momentum Axes had in FE9 going. The buffs that many axes had in terms of Hit or Weapon Rank requirements, the Tier 3 classes being quite strong, the Forge system, and the many axe-wielding units that were some of the best characters in the game like Haar and Ike. For the past 4 games, Axes have had such an amazing streak and were considered almost the "meta" of these games. But as we finally leave Tellius and go back to Archanea, will axes go back to being the trash weapon meant for ruffians like it was before?
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Thank you guys for reading! Radiant Dawn is always such an essay to write because of the sheer amount of content that is in this game. It's insane, but its also a lot of fun! Any comments and critiques are more than welcome, and it may or may not be tomorrow, but Part 11 will come out soon. Thanks guys, have a great day!

Is it just me, or does the Gold Rathian absolutely suck?? I'm struggling to take her down.

(Let me know if there is any inconsistency.)
Letter R in team REPR(Reaper): Rogert "Roth" Oberon
Gender: Male
Age: 25 during the Fall of Beacon, 26 or 27 during Atlas arc.
Birthday: 18th day of the 10th month
Height: 1,87 meters
Species: Faunus, Bear. Notable markers: Bear snout.
Family: Father and mother, lost a younger sister and brother in a Grimm attack.
Class: Tank. Speciality: Defense, taking and holding ground.
Colours: Cares little for the colour rule yet the colour of the symbol is brown and uses black armour. Varied colours in the rest of the attire intended for camouflage depending on the environment.
Semblance: =Redacted under orders of Headmaster of Beacon= Authorized personnel only as follows:
Animal morphing, Roth Oberon is able to turn into a big bear and is able to remain in full control after years of practice. However, to maintain control of his semblance he needs to change into a bear once every 2 weeks for at least 2 hours to avoid permanently damaging his body. Gained the semblance in his 3rd year as a Huntsman trainee during a hunting mission. Becomes stronger, aura takes more damage and is more animalistic in animal form.
=Classified information ends=
Profession: Huntsman in training at Beacon Academy, team leader. (Former)
Vale defence forces. (Former)
Guardsman of Beacon. (Current)
Appearance: Strong arms with strong legs, broad shoulders, gold brown bear eyes, and brown hair. Bear mouth/snout. Note: Functional muscles instead for show.
Weapons:
Graduate Huntsman in Atlas arc: Two gauntlets with automatic machine guns and a sword blade coming out of them, grappling hooks on both, a spear tip and spear adjusted for his height and physique that can be split into 2 pieces. Carries dust grenades with him with empty dust slots and different dust with him.
Student to Mistral arc: Spear, machine gun gauntlet, sword gauntlet, one-shot reloadable rocket launcher with ammo and a spear tip from a broken spear.
Strengths:
- Roth is very strong and durable allowing him to survive hits that would kill many others.
- Adaptable to changing situations and has strong willpower, keen intelligence, and a sharp mind.
- Versatile combat technique and knows how to use a variety of weapons or forms.
- His ability as a leader and calm attitude has kept his team in tip-top shape and has made them self-reliant on themselves making the team effective alone, in pairs or as a group.
- Bear´s sense of smell.
- Classified ahead: Can gain bear´s abilities because of his semblance when turning fully into a bear or just partially.
Weaknesses:
- Can be slower in a fight than most fighters even in his younger years.
- Workaholic.
- Roth´s darker impulses are closer to the surface when he is in charge.
- Great anger towards Grimm makes him hunt them with abandon or lure them in relatively easily. (Weakness in academy years, in adult years unorthodox trapping and luring method against Grimm. Double-edged sword.)
Inspiration: What I want to be. A person who could beat Hazel Rainart and Brutes from Batman Arkham Knight. Gregor Eisenhorn of Warhammer 40k. Kratos of God of war in his Nordic life.
Skills:
- Knows many melee weapon combat forms and has a lot of fist-fighting experience. After training and fighting in missions in a military unit for 2 years after graduation, he has learned to fight like a commando.
- Knows how to make new weapons from the ground up with primitive equipment and knows how to maintain them effectively and how to repair them.
- Rogert knows how to survive in the wilderness for potentially years. Building shelter, use of camouflage, hunting for food and foraging, how to lose a hunter, navigating etc. His speciality is tracking a target or missing supplies.
- Advanced stealth skills and ability to disappear enhanced by military education.
- Knows how to make grenades and bombs and how to defuse them. (Trained in the military and by Parish Broc.)
- Knows the basics of using military equipment and weapons after graduation and training in the military.
- Interrogation skills enhanced by his physical presence and knows how to gain information by talking. (And knows how to extract information by inflicting pain and suffering. Trained with some success by Elena Nathara.)
- Knows psychological warfare and guerrilla tactics. Specializes in Grimm.
- Knows criminal psychology and how to establish a crime scene and how to gather evidence. (Trained by his father and Raina Odell.)
- Knows how to administer first aid. (Basic and Huntsman academy training.)
Personality: Rogert is a loner who was given the job of a leader despite not wanting it. He became more comfortable in the role over the years yet never truly believed he should be a leader. This dislike ironically might have made Roth a more humble person than he would have been otherwise.
While a humble person, Roth has no illusions of his strengths and how powerful he can be when in battle.
Roth values loyalty and honesty, things he has shown to his team by having no secrets from them and has encouraged his team to do the same with great effect. Because of his values in honesty, Rogert does not forgive attempts to lie to him and tries to limit his words to be as truthful as possible.
Roth has a ruthless attitude when it comes to leadership and dealing with enemies. As a leader, Roth expects nothing but competence and giving 100% in combination with a firm chain of command and on-the-spot obedience.
Roth is a strong believer in learning and improving skills. Because of this Roth has learned from his teammates the skills he lacked before meeting them and has instructed them to do the same.
Desiring to always have the upper hand he learned to keep his emotions in check at all times and focused on his studies in his free time and school time. Other people often consider him emotionless, yet no one is willing to say it in his earshot, and he doesn´t mind this thought about him.
Rogert has mastered his emotions and he can make decisions that would make other people disgusted with themselves be it torture or cruel punishments without flinching as he got older. While his team reminds him about his better nature and while his actions have never been directed against an innocent, Rogert believes he can´t afford to hesitate to act when many lives are at stake.
His team REPR has helped him loosen up and he discovered his liking for playing the saxophone and driving. His team has helped him to become a better man than he thinks he needs to be as the years went by.
Facts about the character:

• Rogert prefers to be called Roth because the name is easier to pronounce and he prefers a shorter name.
• Rogert put the team to vote on whether they should stick together as a group. Ultimately, the team was split up, yet REPR occasionally would help each other on big operations. He voted No, yet never said why even when asked.
• Roth´s closest relationships are with his parents, Elena, and Raina and he thinks highly of Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck due to his teaching and wisdom.

Extra skills:
- Scholar: His lack of social interaction in his school years made Rogert focus more on his studies than on making friends. Due to this, he has gained a lot of knowledge and an interest in researching history and myths. Math skills and history were his best subject and often likes to talk about both when asked.

I was the first person from my family to go to university and, as I packed up my car and got ready to leave home, I felt proud and excited.
There was sadness as well. I would miss my parents and still wondered what might have been if Mary-Beth and I had stayed together.
She was my first love and it still hurt that we’d broken up. Even as I started the car and turned to give my parents a goodbye wave, it was her I was thinking of.
I focused on the road ahead. I would see my parents again when I came back for a visit at the end of term. And no doubt I’d see Mary-Beth around town then as well.
Though hopefully not with Todd, her new boyfriend.
It was warm, clear day in early September as my hometown slipped away behind me, and I was soon on the interstate with the radio on. I’d meet plenty of girls at university, I told myself, and turned the music up.
The campus I would be studying at was on a city centre site and I had found accommodation in a student residence close by. After a long day’s drive, I reached my destination, parked up and climbed out of my car.
My back was aching and my neck was stiff from all the hours behind the wheel but, as I stood on the sidewalk and took a first look at my new neighbourhood, I soon forgot about my discomfort.
There was a myriad of stores that seemed to sell everything under the sun. And I could see at least half a dozen bars and restaurants within a few minutes’ walk. I was not old enough to go in the bars and from the looks of the restaurants I doubted I would be able to afford to eat in them. But that wasn’t the point.
They were pulsing with life, the whole street was, and it was infectious.
Then a police car sped past, its siren blaring. I was in such a good mood this felt exciting rather than worrying. In my small hometown the sound of a police siren after dark would have set off a chorus of barking dogs and twitching curtains. Here, I seemed to be only person who was paying any notice to it.
Even the busker across the road had not missed a note in his enthusiastic rendition of an 80s classic as the police car passed. It had charted when I had still been a glint in my parents’ eyes, but it was one of those songs that endured.
The busker hit an especially high note and coins clinked into his open guitar case from people walking by.
Someone was filming the busker as well. A young woman, maybe a couple of years older than me. Her long dark hair hung almost to her waist, and I only realized I was staring when she finished filming, turned round and glanced at me.
I felt my cheeks colouring, looked down at my feet and sensed rather than saw her walking towards me.
“Hey newbie,” she said brightly.
I looked up.
She was very pretty, and she was smiling at me, so I needed to say something dazzling and funny and cool.
I failed.
Instead, I said, “Hey. Err… How do you know I’m new?”
She turned to my car and replied, “From the number of things packed into your car that were clearly put there by parents. Top tip: it’s not worth the effort of carrying most of those things up to your room.”
I grinned. I knew exactly what she meant. I had boxes of groceries that I could have bought when I arrived, but my mom had insisted I bring them just in case.
She had not specified ‘in case’ of what. Possibly a zombie apocalypse that left the city stores all out of canned soup and toilet rolls
I grinned sheepishly and replied, “It won’t be too bad. I can use the elevator.”
She threw her head back and laughed. “The elevator. That hasn’t worked since I moved in.”
I knew that my room was on the eighteenth floor and the prospect of having to get everything up that many stairs was stressful but, on the plus side, this gorgeous young woman was going to be one of my neighbours, so life was not all bad, I figured.
Especially if I could get to know her better.
“Uh,” I said. “In that case, maybe you could give me a hand carrying my stuff up. We could maybe go out afterwards and I could buy you a coffee as a thank you. Or a pizza,” I added hastily, thinking how weak a coffee sounded the moment the words were out of my mouth.
She laughed again. “Good try,” she said. “See you around. Maybe.”
With that she was gone, letting herself into the student apartment block with a swipe card.
I stood there still smiling for a minute then took a deep breath and started unloading my car.
What felt like an absolute age later, I collapsed onto the bed in my new room surrounded by boxes. I was exhausted and, as my eyes closed, I thought how all I wanted to do was sleep.
Which was the moment the music started up.
It sounded like it was coming from the room directly below mine. A bass beat that felt like it was making my entire room shake.
I lay there with my eyes open, now wide open.
All my neighbours were students, so it was no surprise really that there was music blaring out.
I checked the time on my phone. It was ten pm. So, late for sharing your tunes at volume but not completely unreasonable, I decided.
I sighed and rolled off the bed and decided to unpack. Hopefully soon, the music would quit, and I could get to sleep.
Four hours later, just after two am, the music finally stopped. I was so relieved and lay back down on the bed. The quiet was bliss.
Ten minutes later I heard a door slamming and voices in the room next door. Then a new sound system started up. I pulled a pillow around my head and wished the world would just go away.
At some point, the party next door must have ended, or I was so tired I fell asleep anyway despite the music. When I woke, I felt bleary and was not sure where I was. I blinked and looked around at the half-unpacked boxes and the strange room and remembered.
I rolled off the bed and went to get breakfast.
There were plenty of places to eat with prices that would not break the bank scattered among the more upmarket joints that offered artisan bread and organic everything.
After bacon, grits and a stack of pancakes drowned in syrup, I started to feel human again despite my sleep deprivation, and opened up my laptop.
Classes started in a couple of days and I had a reading list I had barely started, but I had a more pressing concern.
I needed to find a job to make ends meet. The weekdays would have to be set aside for my studies, but that left nights and weekends for earning money.
I had already emailed my resume to hundreds of organizations based in the city but had either heard nothing back or received a standard anonymous response. I checked again and there was still no positive news in my inbox.
Well, I wasn’t going to give up. I couldn’t afford to!
And, now I was here in the city, I could take a more direct approach by calling in person into offices and shops and bars and asking to speak to a manager.
I set off full of hope but, after hours of trying, I had achieved nothing. I was left thoroughly deflated. It had been humiliating.
With the sun starting to set in the sky, I slumped down onto a bench tried to think of alternative ways to earn money. Perhaps I could volunteer for medical experiments and risk developing mutant powers? Or perhaps sell an organ? There must have been something I did not need.
I was wondering if leaving home had been a mistake when I noticed a sign in the window of the building opposite.
The building at first glance looked derelict and the sign was just about visible under smeared-on dirt. It read Delivery Drivers Wanted and was handwritten.
It was massively uninspiring – but I was desperate.
I got to my feet and went to look for an entrance to the building.
I found a door round the back in an alley, and broken glass crunched under my feet as I walked up to it. I pressed the intercom and, when there was no answer at first, I spoke into it: “Hello. I saw your sign.”
There was a crackling sound then the door buzzed open.
Here goes nothing, I thought, and went in.
I found myself in a shabby reception area. An air conditioner rattled, and flies circled a dusty light bulb that hung from the ceiling. There was a desk in the centre of the room with no one sitting at it and an open hatch in the wall behind it. Next to the hatch there was another door. One, presumably, that would take you into the rest of the building.
I noticed as well that there was a strange smell in the room – a rank odour that made me want to put my hand over my nose and mouth.
I was wondering what it was, when the door in front of me opened and a man walked in.
He brought a wave of the fetid smell in with him.
From his odour and the way he looked, I don’t think he must have washed or changed his clothes for months, maybe years. His hair was greased into a side parting and his fingernails were caked with dirt.
Worse was to come. “You here about the delivery driver job?” he asked, and his breath carried across the room and hit me in the face.
I should have said, It’s all a mistake. Then I could have got out of there and back into the relatively fresh air of the city. Car fumes would have never smelt so good.
But I said, “Yes.”
“Do you have your own vehicle?” he asked.
“Yes,” I managed to answer while trying not to gag.
“Good,” he said. “When can you start?”
Through the mental haze caused by the assault on my senses, I wondered if that was it? What about my resume? What about references? Did he need to see my insurance and license?
Feeling flustered, I asked, “Do you mean, I’ve got the job?”
“Yep,” he replied. “After you make each delivery, come back to the depot and I will pay you cash in hand. I’ll go get your first package now.”
With that he went back through the door. His smell lingered.
A couple of minutes later, a small brown cardboard box with an address handwritten on it appeared in the hatch.
The man peered through after it. “I got just one rule,” he said. “Do not ever look inside the package. You got that?”
I gulped and nodded and picked up the box.
Back outside, I took a moment to try and regain my composure.
I was both grossed-out and delighted.
Grossed-out because that dude had some serious personal hygiene issues, and delighted because I had found a job and one for which I would be paid in cash as soon as I delivered the package I was holding.
Time to get busy, I told myself and hurried over to my car. I put the package on the passenger seat and set off.
My maps app directed me to an area of old one- and two-story houses tucked away behind high rise offices. They appeared to be abandoned. There were piles of rubble as well in places, that made me think the houses here were in the process of being demolished. That seemed inevitable. Once they were cleared, this would be a prime location for new residential developments.
Until then, it was Gloomville, and I spent a while driving up and down the old streets, trying to read house numbers.
Finally, I found the house I was looking for and parked up outside it. The paint on the wooden boards of the house’s façade was peeling away and all the windows were boarded up. But the number next to the porch matched the one on the package.
Telling myself this must be the right place. I picked up the package from the passenger seat.
It felt sticky underneath.
I lifted it up and looked at the base. A dark stain had spread out over the cardboard. Something inside had leaked.
And, much worse, whatever it was, had leaked all over my car seat.
I cursed. Hoping I wouldn’t have to spend my fee for the delivery on getting my car cleaned, I climbed out of the car and carried the package up to the house.
It was only when I was at the front door that I noticed the package was still leaking.
A blob of dark liquid dropped from the base and landed on the ground next to my feet.
It wasn’t just leaking, it was dripping. I looked back along the sidewalk. I had left a trail of dark droplets between my car and the house.
My first delivery was going downhill and fast. I wanted to hand over the package and get out of there before things could get any worse.
Only, if I rang the bell and handed over the package, the person I gave it to would realize straight away it was damaged.
They’d refuse delivery. Would start demanding compensation. And I wouldn’t get paid.
I couldn’t let the scenario that had played out in my head happen, so I put the package down, then rang the bell, and made a hasty exit.
It was a lousy plan B, but it was all I could think of.
I was almost back at my car when I heard the door open. I crouched down and looked back.
The door hung half-open. There was no light showing from inside and, at first, no sign of anyone there.
Then a hand reached out. Its fingers were long and bony and its fingernails were overgrown and twisted.
These curled, almost claw-like things, scraped over the package and then began to draw it in, into the house and the waiting darkness.
The door closed. I was left crouching there, wiping away a bead of cold sweat which had trickled down my face.
I opened the car door, got in, started the engine and drove away. It had been a very unsettling experience.
By the time I got back to the depot, I was almost feeling better.
When the man who had hired me handed over my payment, I felt a lot better.
“That’s great,” I told him, putting the bills in my pocket.
“Whatever,” he growled. “Be back here tomorrow night. And don’t be late.”
I smiled and headed off.
Back at my student accommodation, I traipsed up the stairs. This time I did not even make it through my front door before I heard the loud musing blaring out. It seemed to be coming from at least three directions.
Resigning myself to the fact that every night was party night where I now lived, I let myself into my room and lay on the bed.
I got no sleep this time and, when I saw the sky lightning with the approaching dawn, I got up and went out to see if I could clean the stain off my car seat myself.
As a street cleaner rattled past in their truck, I popped the lock and leaned in.
In the growing light of the new day, I could now see that the stain was dark red, and I had an awful feeling I knew what it was.
I’d only ever seen this much blood on crime shows on tv, but there it was, soaked into the fabric of the seat.
My shoulders slumped. No amount of scrubbing with a wet cloth and soap suds would get it out.
I got my phone out and was searching online to try and find out how much it would cost me to get the seat cleaned professionally, when I smelled a pleasant fragrance behind me.
I turned and saw the young woman from the evening before. Her long hair was elegantly plaited and she was wearing running gear. She also looked fresh and full of energy.
I rubbed my face. When I’d glimpsed in a mirror before coming outside, I’d seen the dark patches under my eyes. I was exhausted and looked it.
Yet, she had clearly had a good night’s sleep.
I was about to ask her how she did that – but she was peering over my shoulder at the passenger seat.
“Wow,” she said. “Did you murder your passenger last night?”
I was shocked at her accusation and said with a catch in my voice, “N… No.”
Then I saw the cheeky smile on her face.
“I’ve got a job as a delivery driver,” I told her, “And one of the packages leaked.”
“What was in the package?” she asked.
I really hadn’t considered that. I’d been too stressed at the time. I scratched my chin and said, “Raw meat, perhaps? Something rare that you can’t get in a regular store.”
“Could be,” she replied, then added, “Anyway, I need to get going. See you later.”
With that she jogged away.
I went back to looking for a solution to my ruined seat.
After thirty minutes clicking and scrolling, I did not find anything that I felt I could afford, so decided to leave it for a while.
I had a lot of other things I wanted to get done. I needed to arrange my student photo I.D., register with the university library, and spend some serious time on my reading list.
The day passed quickly, and I was feeling pleased with myself as I set off for the depot.
I’d put a towel over the seat so I would not have to look at it, and ‘out of sight out of mind’ was working for me as I pulled up outside the depot.
The miasma of stale armpits and worse met me as I was buzzed in. The man was on the other side of the hatch with a package ready for me. It was around the same size as the last one and looked sturdy enough – and dry.
I wanted to ask if it would stay that way, but to do so, I would risk altering him to what had really happened with my last delivery.
So, I grinned and said, “Great.” Then took the package out to my car.
When I saw that the address written on the package was for a regular apartment block in a good district, I felt reassured that this was going to be a breeze. The journey was easy, and I found a parking space on a well-lit street.
I checked all sides of the package and, relieved to see nothing had leaked out, I put it under my arm and went to find a soon to be satisfied customer’s front door.
There was no answer on the buzzer for the number on the address, so I tried a couple more until someone let me in. The interior of the building was clean and smelt of air freshener and the elevator was working.
I caught it up to the fifth floor, stepped out into a pleasant passageway, and found the apartment I was looking for.
I pressed the buzzer and knocked but there was no answer.
Not a problem, I thought, I’d just leave it outside the door.
I put it down and smiled – and the package moved. It rocked slightly from side to side.
I blinked and rubbed my eyes. I was tired and must have imagined that the package had moved. Surely?
It rocked again, faster this time, and I heard a dull thud come from inside.
I frowned. I wasn’t imagining this. There seemed to be something inside the package, and it was stirring.
A louder thud sounded, and the package jerked to one side. Whatever was in there was exerting some serious force.
The package rattled and shook. The thudding was constant now. And then the package broke open. It was a small split, just below where the address was written on.
I instinctively took a step backwards.
A second break appeared in the package, close to the first, and something emerged through it.
It was dark and sharp and was moving from side to side.
It looked like some kind of limb – and another one was beginning to break free from the first split.
And another – this one from a tear in the base of the package.
As I watched with a mounting sense of horror a dozen dark limbs appeared from inside the package.
Some probed and twitched into space. Others found the floor and, slowly, uncertainly, they began to crawl. Propelled by the legs of the things inside it, the package began to head towards me.
I tried to run away, but I was so freaked out I tripped myself up and ended up sprawled on the floor. I looked up and saw the hideously animated package was almost on me. One of its limbs was flickering against my sneaker.
I did not hear the elevator open, did not realize someone had stepped out from it, until I saw arms reaching down and lifting the package up.
The limbs went into a frenzy, but now they were clawing at nothing.
I looked up – into a face that was twisted with rage.
“What have you done?” the man standing over me demanded. “This rare specimen is to have pride of place in my collection. If you have hurt it, I will sue you!”
With that outburst, he stormed to his door with the package and hurried inside.
I was left still sitting on my backside. “How would you rate your delivery today on a scale of one to five?” I asked the empty passageway then began to laugh hysterically.
I gave it twenty minutes so I could calm down, before driving back to the depot to collect my money.
I found the man waiting once more behind the hatch with a new package.
I wasn’t sure my nerves were up to it and asked, “Do you have another driver who could take it?”
“You do the jobs I allocate to you, or you don’t get paid anything,” he told me with an ugly sneer on his face.
“Fine,” I said under my breath and took the package.
I did not need to look at the address to know where I was taking it because it started to leak blood before I had even got it into the car.
Muttering to myself, I put it on the towel on the passenger seat and set off.
I drove faster than I normally would and arrived at the house in good time. More of its neighbouring houses had been demolished and there was a digger parked up as well. The redevelopment of the area seemed to be picking up pace.
I picked up my own pace, hopped out of the car, and put package down outside the house. Then I pressed the bell and made myself scarce.
I was back in the car when the door opened. I peered over at the darkness revealed.
At the pale figure standing in its midst.
Its eyes were dark voids in its face, its nose was flattened, and its ears rose into sharp tips. It was holding the package in its grotesque grip.
Blood was dripping from the package and, as I watched, the creature’s tongue flickered out and licked the blood. It smiled, showing teeth that looked like shards of glass. Then it retreated back into the house, and the door closed.
I was left terrified. My hands were shaking so badly, it took me three goes to get the key in the ignition and, as I drove away I vowed never to return.
My very short career as a delivery driver was over. I just couldn’t take the weirdness.
When I arrived back at the depot, I did not tell the malodorous man about my decision. I took the money and ran.
Feeling relieved that I’d never have to see or smell him again, I arrived back at my student accommodation.
Even from the roadside, I could hear music blaring out from inside, so I decided to sleep in the car.
I closed my eyes and leant back.
I slept restlessly and when dawn finally arrived, I felt dreadful. I was sitting there, aching all over and feeling about ninety years old when someone tapped on my window.
It was the young woman. She looked more beautiful every time I saw her.
I wound the window down and smiled in what I hoped was an irresistibly handsome way.
“Hey,” she said. “Did you get locked out last night?”
“No,” I replied. “I’m finding it hard to sleep in my room because of all the noise.”
She laughed and said, “Do you want to come up to my room, I have something that will help.”
How could I say no!
Her room was chaotic, with clothes, books and pictures everywhere. She rooted around inside a pile of tops lying tangled on the floor and brought out a small plastic container.
“Try these,” she said. “They’re noise cancelling ear buds. I have the new model so you’re welcome to have these.”
“That’s amazing,” I said. “Hopefully things will get better now.”
“You seem to be doing OK,” she replied. “I mean, you’ve got your job.”
I frowned and told her about the package that had sprouted legs and described the strange figure that I had seen when I dropped off the second bleeding package.
I expected her to be shocked, but she looked excited.
“Wow!” she exclaimed. “That sounds like a vampire, and I love vampires. You have to let me know next time you’re going to deliver to it.”
She gave me her phone number and made me promise to message her.
All thoughts of giving up the job as a delivery driver forgotten, I told her I would, and left her room with a big grin on my face.
That night I headed for the depot building hoping there would be another package dripping with blood waiting for me.
There wasn’t. The man, smelling as rank as ever, told me I had to collect the package from a different location tonight and I’d be given the delivery address for it when I did,
I had zero enthusiasm for this until he let me know where the collection was to be made.
As soon as I was outside, I sent a message:
Hey, I am heading to the vampire’s house now.
Moments after I pressed send, a reply came:
Take me with you!
Yes! I thought and we arranged a place for me to pick her up. Thirty minutes later I was driving through the night with a beautiful girl by my side.
She’d brought a cushion with her so she didn’t have to sit on the messed up cover of the passenger seat and her cheeks were flushed with excitement.
For my part, I had decided to ask her out on a date as soon as I could get the courage and I was desperately hoping she would say yes.
In the meantime, there was the small matter of a package to collect.
I pulled up in my usual place. More houses had been demolished and I guessed the house we were going to was due to be knocked down soon.
I wondered if, perhaps, the strange creature who lived there was moving out because of this.
I must admit, I did not truly believe it was a vampire. It was grade A freaky looking, but that did not automatically make it one of the undead.
Still, I was feeling very apprehensive now the moment to see it face to face again had arrived. I pressed the bell.
My gorgeous companion had refused to stay in the car and had come with me. She was so stoked she could not stand still as we waited for a response.
But there was nothing.
I was about to press the bell again, when she put her hand on my arm and said, “Wait.”
Then she pushed the door. It creaked and opened.
“Result,” she said brightly and stepped inside.
I took a deep breath and followed.
Bugs with far too many legs scurried out of our way as we walked along a dark hallway. There was a large room at the end of the hallway.
I would have been very happy to not go into it, but she was hurrying ahead. She made her way into the room, then came to a halt and gasped.
I walked up to her side and understood why.
The room was lit by a single candle in an ornate gold holder. Dark curtains hung over the windows, keeping the outside world away, and there were bones all over the floor.
I thought of the packages I had delivered and my theory that they had held raw meat.
It looked like I had been right and that this feast dripping with blood had been a regular delivery to the creature that lived here.
My companion took my arm and said, “Look.”
In an ante room, there was a coffin on a table. She walked over to it and looked at the lid. Then she turned round and her eyes were shining as she told me, “It’s got a note taped to it, saying it’s for collection. And there’s a delivery address as well.”
She clapped her hands together and added a delighted, “Amazing.”
I was still not happy about the whole business and said, “Ok, let’s get the coffin in the car then. The sooner we get it delivered the better.”
“After we look inside,” she said gleefully.
I remembered the disgusting guy at the depot’s rule about never looking inside a package, and said, “I really don’t think that’s a good idea.”
She wrinkled her nose up in the cutest way and replied, “Spoilsport.”
But she didn’t ask again, and together we carried the coffin out to the car. It just about fit onto the back seats and I was relieved when we drove away from the house. Being reduced to rubble was the best thing that could happen to the place, in my opinion.
The delivery address was in a part of the city that neither of us had ever heard of and I got completely lost.
Between the stress of that, and the strange package, and still trying to get up the nerve to ask for a date, my guts started to churn and I had to stop off at a diner so I could use their rest room.
I was the only person in the place apart from a tired looking waitress. Once I’d visited the rest room, I bought a couple of coffees to go, even though caffeine was the last thing I needed, then returned to the car.
It was empty.
The passenger door was open and one of the back seats. As I came closer, I saw that the lid of the coffin was open as well.
I started to feel sick with worry. Had curiosity got the better of my companion, and she had looked inside the coffin?
I peered into the coffin through the car window. There was nothing in there either.
I swore out loud and began to look around frantically – and it was then I saw the body lying on the ground.
It was near a dark corner of the diner. I hurried over.
It was the young woman. I knelt down and touched her face. Two trails of blood ran from cuts on her neck.
She had been so full of life, so beautiful. Now, she was dead.
I began to cry.
She must have disturbed the vampire in its coffin, and it had lashed out. Had fed on her and stolen her life.
As I knelt there weeping, I suddenly became aware of movement nearby.
I turned, thinking it might be the waitress, and saw the vampire crouching in the shadows.
Its hideous, bat-like head was tilted to one side and its tongue flickered out. Its mouth hung slightly open and I could see dark red stains on its monster’s teeth.
“You did this,” I said as anger flared inside me. “You!” I screamed.
It looked at me, and it smiled, and then wings unfurled from its back, and it sped into the sky and away.
I was nothing to it. And the young woman it had killed was growing cold on the ground next to me.
I picked her body up and carried it over to the car. My mind was racing and I’m not sure why, but I put her in the empty coffin as gently as I could then closed the lid, and the car door. I think I did not want anyone to see her like that.
I went to sit in the driver’s seat.
I felt utterly lost and alone and more scared than I had ever been in my life.
With dawn still hours away, I desperately tried to think what I should do next.
I was still trying to think, when I heard the back door click open. I span round. Shock sent cold waves through my body. The lid of the coffin was once more loose and it was empty.
And there was someone standing outside the car. Her long dark hair hung down her back almost to her waist.
Feeling as if I was in a dream, I climbed out of the car. She turned to me and smiled. Her lips were pale. Her fangs razor sharp.
“Help me,” she said in a quiet voice. “I am thirsty. I need to feed.”
Since that night, I have stayed with her. I watch over her coffin while she sleeps during the day. After dusk, I drive her to places where she can hunt for new victims to sate her bloodlust.
I will do this as long as she needs me. Because she is my dark mistress. My savage, beautiful creature of the night.

This is coming from Chinese Immortal MMR
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Mid-tactical changes you should incorporate + pros and cons
2nd wave rotation, If you hard shove quickly enough on Mid you can recall to buy a blasting wand and return to mid lane as the wave is collapsing/about to collapse, If the enemy does not do the same thing and they are wasting their time poking they have now practically lost the lane unless the jungle babysits them. Obviously, as this is now evolving and more and more people are starting to figure this out it is shifting into a (preserve rune instead of bone plating, hard shoving, and rotating back) this alienates many mid-lane champions that cannot hard shove
2nd Con (super big problem) Jhin / AD champions can do this advantage so extremely that MOST AP champions that are NOT assassins are been completely removed from gameplay because it is impossible for them to scale. (also how brokenly easy the windbrothers have laning phase then can just turn off their brains derp rotate everywhere on the map is beyond obnoxious)
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Top Lane
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No one cares about top lane right now you are there to support the ADC and the most likely mid ADC to win the game if you choose any scaling champion top you are hard trolling, ideally you want something with hard CC or you are trolling (Chinese players are extremely toxic, but it is also encouraging culturally to be we-chat toxic unlike western (riot games stance) bullying over there is REAL like people bully you super hard it is a big problem (and they have a tribunal to mitigate this issue but does not matter the population is so large, and because players go to internet cafe you can sometimes get alienated if you do not copy/paste what others are doing so incorporation is pretty standard vs individualism -- I digress but basically yeah HARD CC champions top
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Support / ADC
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basically, Kaisai is GOD, followed by collector Jhin, support Ashe, Varus, Lucian a bit rest of ADC are viable but sub-pick if you are not picking those
support enchanter - do not pick Braum or leona or stupid tanks you want something that can buff your ADC steroids + Leona will die before you even reach the ADC
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Jungle
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Pick anything that has extremely fast clear, grave is good, and lee is good rammus is good because adc is good, twitch is good because adc is good, sad to say but yone is very good because his ganking snowball affect (hopefully Yone gets a big nerf this coming patch 56% win rate in multiple lanes with a staggering 49-50% ban rate disgusting)
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Macro
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1st Dragon IF Ice proceed to 5 man fight for it, first dragon is the most important if it is Ice dragon, If it is not Ice dragon 2nd dragon is the most important if the second is ICE then you MUST win it if you lost 1st if however you lose 1st and 2nd is Ice and also lose it most Chinese lobby will proceed to FF because the game becomes too snowball for the enemy side and it no longer is worth it ( this happen to me in 4 games and the game ended in 8minutes) - Herald if first dragon is NOT ice you may then proceed to aquire Herald and give up dragon if the situation is unfavorable but if not dragon is too important because of the stupid Ice potentially appearing as second
------ for those that did not understand why they FF (im sure I will get comments) It is because if your second is Ice and you win it now has two stacks of ability haste by this point most champion have some ability haste and it starts to equal more then 4k gold worth of ability haste in terms of cooldown reduction and dps increase for some champions this doubles their DPS, If you lose Ice first is not the end of the world but you cannot lose anymore dragon or the game will be nearly impossible to win due to the ability haste from additional dragons
------- Times you need to switch mentality by 7minutes the game is now transitioning into mid game almost late game (this is similar to Season 1)
----- Baron -------- If baron is about to spawn and you win a team fight or two enemy players die OR jungle dies FIGHT for the baron the first baron as soon it spawns is SOOOOO WEAK that it dies in 15seconds flat with a team dishing out proper dps (hence why fast clear junglers are favored because of that early baron)
---- 9 minutes ------
This is LATE game you should be at three items most likely try to pressure the enemy team into a choke hold into their base to finish the game do not aram do not just farm you will start to lose the snowball factor you acquire from the first 8minutes.......
​
And well that is it this is Chinese HIGH MMR currently (my Chinese account is sitting on immortal 3) (western account is sitting on Diamond II which is pathetic but western players are pretty slow on the uptake and anything below master is frustratingly bad) hopefully people read this and start to expand their horizon goodluck.

TLDR: For cryptocurrencies in a free and productive society, Theirs' law applies, good money will drive out bad money.
There are two economic laws regarding money which seem to contradict each other.
Gresham's law

bad money drives out good money

Thiers' law

good money will drive out bad money

However the laws as stated above don't give the societal context in which they apply.
Gresham's law is named after Sir Thomas Gresham a financier advising Elizabeth 1st of England. During the reign of the previous King Henry VIIIth the coinage of England had been debased many times, reducing the quantity and value of the precious metals in the coinage. International merchants had taken the older coins with higher value metals outside the country where they could be traded at value of the metals, whereas the lower metal value coins had stayed in England where the locals were forced to take them at the same value as older coins because of them being declared 'Legal Tender' by Royalty. Bad money had replaced good money in England.
An example of Thiers' law is when hyperinflation occurs and the legal tender becomes worthless. Citizens start refusing 'legal' tender in exchange for goods. In modern times that has resulted in dollarisation, where dollars replace the local currency. The state often fights back with capital controls or other ways to limit the citizen's access to their money. For example Lebanese banks shut so withdrawals could not be made this was to limit citizen's freedom with their money preventing capital flight. However if the state has reached this point it either has become so weak the controls don't work or it has to become an extremely authoritarian police state reducing its people to serfs. When the controls don't work dollarisation occurs because the citizens are free to choose which currency to use. Good money had replaced the bad legal tender.
When Gresham's law applied it was because the citizens were not free to choose their money. They were forced by a tyrant to use the legal tender at face value. The international merchants were not so constrained. Merchants took the good money out of reach of the tyrant, degrading the financial strength of the realm impacting both its people and tyrant alike.
Thiers' law applied because the state lost control of the ability to enforce what the citizen's used for money. With the citizen's being free they made the same decision as the free international merchants and chose good money.
Those advocating for cryptocurrency believe it is in the best interest of society for citizens to be able to choose what they use as money. Citizens will choose the least inflationary money, as that is a property which is in the best interest of the citizen. Traditionally that was gold, with silver in second place.
Conclusion: For those who choose cryptocurrencies as money Thiers' law applies because of a belief that a free citizenry produces a more productive and flourishing society. Tyrants who try to oppose the freedom of the citizenry to choose good money will drive wealth from their realm to freer societies, decreasing the productivity of their state.

WARNING THIS POST IS VERY LONG!!! EDIT: FORMATTING! PLEASE FORGIVE ME!
So I added Warpstone to my 5E game. For the uninitiated its the Warhammer equivalent of Uranium/Weapons Grade Fissile Material. Was it a mistake... perhaps. My players procured it, rolled to refine it, and then paid a substantial amount of gold to have it fashioned into weapons. Currently I have 1 fighter and 1 barbarian that possess these weapons. As it stands whenever the Barbarian Rages, or the Fighter Action Surges, they must roll on the "Warpstone Weapon Table" as detailed below.
The weapons are only +1, but as you can see they have a little more "umph" than your typical +1 weapon. The players are lvl 7, and the ultimate culmination of the weapons table results in a "Wish" (Scroll to the bottom to see effects)... currently, this is what I have (plus some more, but it exceeds the post length).
I need your help to tell me just how badly I screwed up... or if I can make this work. If this seems like something I can manufacture into a table, and if it gains traction within the community I will post a link to the google doc, otherwise... here it is in its bastard glory...

1. Warp Explosion: The weapon overloads with chaotic energy causing a massive explosion. The Weapon is destroyed in the process. Roll a d100, This is the radius of the explosion. Every creature within the radius must roll a DEX Saving throw DC 18. Full damage on a failed save, half on a successful one. For each level of the Wielder roll 1d20, this is the damage caused by the explosion. Any creature caught in the radius of the explosion that fails the DEX save may choose to roll on the Warpstone Weapon table to take half damage instead.
   
2. Corruption: The wielder's flesh begins to mutate and warp, causing physical deformities. Roll 4d6, this is the time in hours the player is affected. Roll 1d6, 1= R leg, 2= L leg, 3= R arm, 4= L arm, 5= Torso, 6= Head. If a leg is affected Speed is reduced by half. If an arm is affected the wielder has disadvantage on attack rolls. If the torso is affected the wielder rolls an additional d10 and their max HP is reduced by that number. If the wielder's head is affected they roll 1d6: on a 1-2 the player is blinded, on a 3-4 the player is deafened, on a 5 the player is muted, and on a 6 their nose falls off. If the player's nose falls off only Greater Restoration may reattach the player's nose to their face. If the number of hours before a player's nose is reattached exceeds the number of hours this effect impacts the player, then then the player's nose disintegrates and the player takes a permanent -2 to persuasion rolls, and -2 to perception rolls involving smell, the player gains a permanent +4 to intimidation rolls. If a player's nose suffers disintegration the only way to restore it is through a wish spell.
   
3. Mind Warp: The weapon's influence seeps into the wielder's mind, causing hallucinations and delusions. Roll 4d6, this is the time in hours the player is affected. During combat, at the beginning of their turn the player rolls a WIS saving throw DC 19, on a failure they may only use an action, reaction, bonus action, or movement. On a success they may take their turn as normal. While out of combat the player has disadvantage on all perception rolls until the effect ends.
   
4. Taint: The wielder's presence becomes repulsive, attracting malevolent entities and causing social ostracism. Roll 4d6, this is the time in hours the player is affected. Player has disadvantage on all CHA rolls and NPC's will treat them with disdain.
   
5. Soul Erosion: The weapon gradually drains the wielder's life force, weakening them over time. Roll 4d6, this is the time in hours the player is affected. On effect, and at the beginning of each hour, the player rolls a CON saving throw starting at a DC 18. On a failure the player may choose one of the following: roll a hit die and lose max HP equivalent to the die roll, roll 1d4 and reduce their STR ability score by that much, or take 2 levels of Exhaustion. On success the player suffers no negative effects and the DC for future saving throws is reduced by 1.
   
6. Warp Madness: Exposure to the weapon's energies drives the wielder to madness, resulting in erratic behavior. Roll 1d100, this is the time in hours the player is affected. Roll an additional 1d100 on the long term madness table. If the player rolls a 1 or 100 at any time they must roll an additional 1d100 on the indefinite madness table. If the player's rolls result in indefinite madness roll the only cure is through a Wish spell.
   
7. Uncontrolled Mutation: The wielder's body undergoes uncontrolled and unpredictable mutations, leading to physical instability. Roll a STR saving throw DC 17. On failure the player Rolls 1d6, 1-2= Leg, 3-4= Arm, 5= Torso, 6= Head.
   

- If a leg is affected Speed is reduced by half.
- If an arm is affected the wielder has disadvantage on attack rolls.
- If the torso is affected the wielder rolls an additional d10 and their max HP is reduced by that number.
- If the wielder's head is affected they roll 1d6:
- 1-2= the player is blinded.
- 3-4= the player is deafened.
- 5= the player is muted
- 6= their nose falls off. If the player's nose falls off only Greater Restoration may reattach the player's nose to their face. If the number of hours before a player's nose is reattached exceeds the number of hours this effect impacts the player, then then the player's nose disintegrates and the player takes a permanent -2 to persuasion rolls, and -2 to perception rolls involving smell, the player gains a permanent +4 to intimidation rolls. If a player's nose suffers disintegration the only way to restore it is through a wish spell.

1. Chaotic Feedback: Wielding the weapon causes chaotic feedback, resulting in random magical effects on the wielder. Roll 1d100 on the Wild Magic Surge table.
   
2. Psychic Instability: The weapon disrupts psychic abilities, causing psychic powers to become unpredictable or uncontrollable. The player rolls 1d10, this is the time in minutes the player is affected. The player rolls 1d100, this is the radius of the effect in feet.
   

The player becomes a psychic lightning rod, any psychic damage that is dealt within the radius of effect is instead redirected towards the player.

1. Warp Sickness: The wielder experiences chronic illness and weakened vitality due to prolonged exposure to the Weapon's Warp energies. The wielder must succeed on a Constitution saving throw DC 15 or take 4d10 radiant damage, suffer one level of exhaustion, and emit a dim, greenish light in a 5-foot radius. This light makes it impossible for the creature to benefit from being invisible. The light and any levels of exhaustion caused by this effect end when the affected player takes a long rest.
   
2. Reality Fracture: The weapon creates temporary ruptures in reality around the wielder, causing unpredictable and dangerous phenomena. The player must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw, DC 14 or it can’t take reactions until the effect ends. The affected target must also roll a d10 at the start of each of its turns; the number rolled determines what happens to the target, as shown on the Reality Break Effects table.
   

1–2 = Vision of the Far Realm. The target takes 2d12 psychic damage, and it is stunned until the end of the turn.
3–5 = Rending Rift. The target must make a Dexterity saving throw, DC 15, taking 2d12 force damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
6–8 = Wormhole. The target is teleported, along with everything it is wearing and carrying, up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space of your choice that you can see. The target also takes 2d12 force damage and is knocked prone.
9–10 = Chill of the Dark Void. The target takes 2d12 cold damage, and it is blinded until the end of the turn.
At the end of each of its turns, the affected target can repeat the Wisdom saving throw, ending the effect on itself on a success.

1. Dark Resonance: The weapon resonates with dark energies, attracting malevolent entities and increasing the risk of possession.

Roll a d20:
- 1 = the Mists of Ravenloft appear and the DM determines the dread realm the party is transported to. - 20 = a portal to Avernus opens and the DM determines if a hellish host erupts from it, or drags the party in.
- 2-9 = Summon Lesser Demons (the demons are hostile to everyone).
- 10 = Summon Greater Demon which is hostile to everyone.
- 11-19 = Summon Fiend which is not immediately hostile.
If a summon effect occurs roll an additional d10 to determine the level of the casting. Any number below the spell's level; causes the spell to fail. Otherwise it is up-cast to the appropriate level. If the spell is 10th level it is to the DM's discretion what comes through the warp.

1. Curse of the Warp: The weapon carries a potent curse that brings misfortune and calamity to the wielder and those around them. If the Remove Curse spell is used, as an action, the player may become unattuned from the weapon and the curse's effects will diminish. Otherwise the weapon must be destroyed.

- Roll 1d12, this is the number in months the player is affected by the curse.
- Roll 1d10 to establish one of the following effects:
1: The victim has disadvantage on attack rolls, if an effect would grant the player advantage or add to their roll it instead has the opposite effect.
2: The victim can’t communicate using language, whether through speaking, sign language, writing, telepathy, or any other means.
3: The victim gains 3 levels of exhaustion that can’t be removed while the curse endures.
4: When the victim finishes a long rest, they must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw, or their hit point maximum is reduced by 1d10. If this reduces their hit point maximum to 0, the victim dies, and their body crumbles to dust.
5: When the victim takes damage, they take an extra 1d10 necrotic damage. This effect can’t happen again until the start of the victim’s next turn.
6: A monster hunts the victim relentlessly. Even if the monster dies, it rises again or a new one takes its place 24 hours later.
7: The victim gains vulnerability to one damage type.
8: The victim’s Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution score is reduced to 3, and the victim can’t be raised from the dead while the curse lasts.
9-10: The victim gains a Dark Gift.

1. Warp Addiction: The wielder becomes addicted to the sensations and power granted by the weapon, leading to reckless behavior to satisfy their cravings. Roll 1d100 on the indefinite madness table 3 times. A greater restoration spell or more powerful magic is required to rid a character of indefinite madness.
   
2. Haunting Whispers: The weapon whispers sinister thoughts and temptations to the wielder, gradually eroding their moral compass. Roll 1d10, this is the time in minutes the effect lasts. Upon being afflicted, and every minute, or at the beginning of each turn if in combat, the player must Roll 1d100 on the short term madness table. The character must then roll a CHA saving throw DC 10 or suffer the effects of madness as well as count the saving throw as a failure. On any success all madness effects are ended and any failed saves are removed. The character is deafened for the remainder of the effect's time. On a Failure they begin to become corrupted by evil forces, after three failed saves their alignment shifts to chaotic evil.
   
3. Soul Corruption: Wielding the weapon corrupts the wielder's soul, staining it with dark and malevolent energies. Roll 1d100 on the short term madness table. While affected the character must roll a CHA saving throw DC 18. On a success the madness effect is ended. On a Failure they are corrupted by evil forces and their alignment shifts to chaotic evil.
   
4. Energy Feedback: The weapon unleashes bursts of chaotic energy upon striking, causing harm to the wielder as well. On a hit, roll 1d6 to deal additional force damage to the target. Half of any damage dealt by the weapon is redirected to the wielder in the form of force damage.
   
5. Power Drain: The weapon drains the wielder's own strength and vitality with each strike, making them weaker over time. On a hit the player rolls 1d4 losing an equivalent amount of STR and Max HP. These are restored at the end of a long rest or by Greater Restoration.
   
6. Reality Deterioration: Prolonged use of the weapon causes the wielder to lose touch with reality, leading to confusion and disorientation. The wielder is affected as if under the effects of the confusion spell.
   
7. Ethereal Binding: The weapon binds itself to the wielder's soul, making it difficult or impossible to part ways with the cursed weapon. The character is gradually consumed with a paranoia surrounding the loss or destruction of the weapon. If the weapon is lost, unattuned to (via remove curse), or destroyed, the player rolls 2 hit dice and their max HP is reduced by the amount rolled. Only greater restoration may restore the lost HP.
   
8. Warp Consumption: The weapon consumes the wielder's essence, eventually turning them into a twisted servant of Chaos. Roll 1d100 on the short term madness table. While affected the character must roll a CHA saving throw DC 19. On a success the madness effect is ended. On a Failure they begin to become corrupted by evil forces, after three failed saves their alignment shifts to chaotic evil.
   
9. Corrosive Touch: The wielder's skin becomes corrosive, causing anything they touch to dissolve or decay. Roll 1d10, this is the time in minutes this effect lasts. Any items the player is currently wearing begin to take damage. A player may use their turn to drop their gear. At the beginning of each turn the player rolls a d20. On a 1-5 any armor, weapons, or gear the player is still touching, rapidly disintegrate into a pile of goo. The player has advantage on rolls to grapple, a grappled creature or an object the player interacts with takes 6d6 acid damage.
   
10. Painful Paralysis: The wielder experiences temporary paralysis and intense pain, making movement difficult or impossible. Roll 1d10, this is the time in minutes the player is affected. At the start of each turn the player rolls a CON saving throw, DC 12, or they become paralyzed. A player may choose to fight the paralysis by rolling a hit die and taking an equivalent amount of damage, but their speed is halved and they have disadvantage on any attack rolls made while affected by the paralysis.
    
11. Rotting Flesh: The wielder's flesh begins to rot and decay, emitting a foul odor and attracting disease-ridden vermin. Roll 4d6, this is the time in hours the player is affected. The player has disadvantage on stealth rolls or attempts to hide. At the start of each turn roll 1d20. If the roll is less then 10 roll 2d4, that many diseased giant rats are summoned. They are hostile to everyone and always attempt to bite the affected player.
    
12. Fractured Bones: The wielder's bones become brittle and prone to fractures, causing constant pain and limited mobility. Roll 4d6, this is the time in hours the player is affected. The player has disadvantage on STR and CON saving throws and ability checks that use those modifiers. Additionally, the player has vulnerability to Bludgeoning and Force damage.
    
13. Warped Nervous System: The wielder's nerves become erratic and hypersensitive, resulting in chronic pain and involuntary muscle spasms. Roll 4d6, this is the time in hours the player is affected. The player has disadvantage on DEX and INT saving throws and any ability checks that use those modifiers. Additionally the player has vulnerability to Lightning and Psychic damage.
    
14. Cursed Blood: The wielder's blood becomes toxic, causing sickness and weakness when exposed to others or ingested. When a player is damaged they may use their reaction to cover an opponent within 5ft with their blood. The player may also cut themselves as an action and throw their blood at an opponent. Upon being hit with the player's blood the affected creature must roll a CON saving throw DC 15 or suffer disadvantage on any attack rolls.
    
15. Deteriorating Vitality: The wielder's life force weakens, leading to fatigue, decreased physical endurance, and overall diminished health. Roll 1d4, this is the time in days the player is affected. While affected the player has disadvantage on attack rolls and STR and CON saving throws and ability checks that use those modifiers. At the start of each day the player must make a CON saving throw DC 12. On a failed save they roll half of their hit die and take an equivalent amount of damage. If the player doesn't have enough hit die to roll they instead take 2 points of exhaustion that cannot be removed until this effect ends. A greater restoration spell ends this effect.
    
16. Uncontrollable Tremors: The wielder experiences uncontrollable shaking and tremors, impairing their coordination and precision. Roll 4d6, this is the time in hours the player is affected. The player has disadvantage on DEX and STR saves and any ability checks that use these modifiers. The player also stutters when they speak. Any spells that use verbal or somatic components are subject to a a DEX save equal to the player's spellcasting modifier. On a fail the spell does not occur.
    
17. Warped Sensations: The wielder's senses become distorted, leading to constant migraines, sensory overload, or loss of sensation. Roll 4d6, this is the time in hours the player is affected. The player has disadvantage on WIS and INT saving throws and any ability checks that use those modifiers. Additionally the player has vulnerability to Thunder and Psychic damage.
    
18. Necrotic Aura: The wielder emits a malignant aura that withers nearby plant life, causing wounds to fester and heal slowly. Roll 1d10, this is the time in minutes this effect lasts. Roll 2d10, this is the size of the aura in meters centered on the warpstone weapon. Any creature that enters or starts its turn in the aura, must make a CON saving throw DC 12 or take 2d6 necrotic damage. While in this aura any attempts to heal or stabilize someone automatically fail.
    
19. Tainted Aura: The wielder's presence causes discomfort and repulsion in others, resulting in social isolation and rejection. Roll 4d6, this is the time in hours the player is affected. While affected the player has disadvantage on CHA and WIS saving throws and any ability checks that use this modifier.
    
20. Darkened Vision: The wielder's eyesight becomes compromised, causing impaired vision, night blindness, or distorted perception. Roll 4d6, this is the time in hours this effect lasts. The player's vision is reduced to 10 ft and if they have darkvision or truesight it is disabled. The player also has disadvantage on perception rolls.
    
21. Slowed Metabolism: The wielder's metabolism drastically slows down, leading to weight gain, sluggishness, and reduced physical performance. Roll 1d12, this is the time in months the player is affected. While affected the player only needs to eat the equivalent of one day's food per 10 day.
    
22. Uncontrolled Growth: The wielder's body experiences abnormal growth spurts, resulting in disproportionate limbs or excessive height. Roll 1d12, this is the time in months the player is affected. Upon being affected and at the beginning of each month roll 1d6, 1= R leg, 2= L leg, 3= R arm, 4= L arm, 5= Torso, 6= Neck. Then roll 1d6, add an equivalent number of inches to the affected body part. These changes can only be reversed by a greater restoration spell after duration of the spell has occurred.
    
23. Depleted Vitality: The wielder's life force drains rapidly, leading to chronic weakness, pale skin, and a fragile constitution. Roll 1d10, this is the time in minutes the player is affected. At the start of each turn roll a CON saving throw DC 12, on a success roll a hit die and take an equivalent amount of damage. On a failure, do the same thing, but reduce your maximum number of hit die by 1. If the player has no hit die remaining, whether by depletion from the effect or if their hit die pool is reduced to zero, they must instead roll 1d4 and subtract the result from their CON score. Any of these effects can be reversed by Greater Restoration.
    
24. Inflammation: The wielder's body becomes chronically inflamed, causing joint pain, swelling, and reduced range of motion. Speed is reduced by half. If the player uses the Dash, Dodge, or Disengage action they must roll a CON saving throw DC 12. On Success they may move their full speed (it cannot be doubled as with the Dash action), or take the respective action, but they will take one point of exhaustion. On failure the player takes one point of exhaustion.
    
25. Searing Burns: The wielder's skin is prone to painful, blistering burns from even the slightest exposure to heat or sunlight. Roll 1d10, this is the time in minutes the player is affected. The player takes 2d10 radiant damage when it starts its turn in sunlight. While in sunlight, it has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks.
    

... I have place holder descriptions for every value after this one, but I wanna fast forward to the ultimate...

1. Wish of the Warp: The weapon transmutes into a dense bead of unstable bright green chaos energy. Although the weapon is lost in the process, the wielder may make one wish. This effect only lasts for a single round, if a wish is not made during the round of combat the energy is unleashed and a chaotic explosion occurs. The wielder is the only creature not affected by the explosion.

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u/KieveKRS providing the Trash certification of quality!
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[Thank you for agreeing to teach them.]
Volta nodded, not entirely sure if it was for the best, but recognizing a request—or in this case, a thinly veiled order—for what it was.
Ever since she had taught Scarlet and the others her field, the occasional rotation of Lilhuns would be assigned to work under her for a time. It made her job easier, especially since the settlement was expanding at a ludicrous rate compared to what she had heard from the new members of the pack.
The Atmo that had joined were quickly treated and cared for, those who did not require so much time for recovery quickly accompanying the existing insects in their tasks. The largest, Mama, frequently assisted in construction and decoration of structures, so they worked with her. Once they had oriented how things progressed and their part in it, they were paired off with a construction group to be assigned a project. It was to the point where there were as many as five buildings nearing completion at once, the majority of them being accommodation for the new members of the pack.
The remaining question was regarding the insect kits. The answer? Well, there were four Atmo slightly smaller than the purple ‘Queen’ that had requested Volta instruct them, the pearlescent shimmer of her scaled carapace dancing in the sunbeams afforded by the skylight the den had been constructed with.
Teaching Violet—as well as the two Atmo that Volta had escorted to this pack—in the ways of sanitation had been an interesting endeavour, all things considered. They held a remarkable dexterity in those long edged appendages, but the lack of something to properly grasp with made finding a way to secure a rag onto the ends difficult. Luckily, Heralt was receptive to assisting her with creating something that would attach to the blades.
It was little more than a mop that secured to the joint and braced around the cutting edge gingerly, the ends of the stick using ‘ironwood’ springs to clamp onto fabric pads that would soak in the cleaning solution and allow them to do the floors and walls. Were it not for how shockingly efficient the task was performed, she would have been useless through the laughter at the sight.
Each Atmo kit held two of the devices on their limbs, allowing them to travel in pairs and simply finish large spaces within the time it would take her to prepare the next batch of cleaners to use. They had only started a short while ago and yet two dens had been finished, Scarlet assisting her in doing whatever furniture or ledges the Atmo were unsuited to completing. The odd pack member going through what Head Sahari called ‘versatility training’ listened to her instructions in an oddly compliant manner, giving the blue-furred female pause at the unusual experience.
All in all; the cleaner was guiding the five insects and three Lilhuns in the ways of cleanliness. Scarlet was primarily keeping an eye on those who interacted with the purple-coloured Atmo, her contributions to the other tasks proficient, despite the split attention. Before, she would have assumed the servant quietly acquiescing orders, but the dark red-furred female was particularly vigilant in matters pertaining to the kit now.
Volta wasn’t sure what happened to the other servants that regularly assisted her on a rotation—save for Kaslin, the female seeming to have been unofficially inducted as Grand…. Toril’s assistant alongside his mate, Tersa—but Faye, the mild-mannered deep gold-furred female, and Raine, the polite and excitable brown-furred female, had been absent for many suns now.
It was almost lonely, in a way.
Almost.
“That should be sufficient for this den,” she announced to the gaggle of Atmo kits and Lilhuns, careful to remind them not to bother the few ‘rock-worms’ that Ferra kept separate from the rest outside. There were only four, the largest one adorned in an odd script, but they were apparently a selection of favourites of the female. Regardless, it would not do to irritate a mate of Atrox.
The brown-furred male was responsible for the ghastly armour that the Grand Hunter wore on occasion, and she was not in a hurry to see if the disturbing tendencies of the male extended to how he displayed his displeasure.
“Where is our next destination?” Scarlet asked, her tail brushing up Volta’s spine in an uncomfortable way. It wasn’t that she disliked the touch, but the owner of it worried her. Something about the servant struck her as more than what was presented, and it was obvious that the female thought of it as immensely entertaining. That much was obvious, even without the sly grin.
“We have proceeded much faster than I was expecting,” the blue-furred female admitted, mentally checking over her itinerary while subtly batting away the offending appendage. “I suppose we should attempt the barracks while the pack is engaged, then rest for a time.”
[May I leave to check on the other Atmo?]
Volta paused, unsure why it was being requested rather than merely presented as a fact. Violet was—as far as it mattered—completely beyond the cleaner’s station, if only because she was an adopted kit of the Grand Hunter, as well as a sort of leadership figure for the insects. It was an enigmatic blend of positions where the purple insect could very well order Volta to do things, rather than ask. Though the hierarchy was not nepotistic in nature, it was safer to adhere to the wishes of the den-kit than it was to disobey.
“You may. What of the others?”
[I will leave them with you and Scarlet.]
The mentioned servant frowned. “I am to accompany you.”
Violet chittered her curious laugh. [These young ones are your task. I must attend to my own.]
Volta discreetly jabbed the female with a claw, glaring at her not to question the wishes of her better. The less attention drawn from the Grand Hunter, the better. Just picturing the disturbing mask and piercing gaze was enough to make her blanch.
Either reminded of her position, or merely interested in playful retaliation, Scarlet sighed quietly, bowing slightly to the insect. “As you wish, young mistress. Do call for me if I am required.”
[I will. Thank you, Scarlet, Volta.]
Volta lowered her head, watching the Queen leave before returning her attention to the group.
“We will do the first barracks, then determine if we are of time to do the second. The kits are to await the floors cleared of obstruction by the Lilhuns before cleaning them. We will manage it in sections so as not to disturb any who may be taking a break. In future—assuming you are to operate independently from myself—it would be best if you are used to working in groups.”
The Lilhuns nodded their understanding, the young Atmo hesitantly conferring with each other before approaching Scarlet to have their mops freed of soiled cloth and materials placed upon their carriages.
The Atmo had all been outfitted with a specially made platform that fitted over their wider base, clasping underneath past their six legs. It allowed them to transport much, their carrying capacity much larger than one would suspect from their size. The kits could comfortably haul all of the materials for the sun by themselves, and the adults had been the subject of idle speculation for mounted weapon platforms—assuming the fragmented conversation she had chanced upon was to be believed.
Volta inspected the odd section that the Lilhuns under her tutelage completed while she waited for packing to finish. She was not necessarily pleased with the results, but it was more important for them to understand the procedure to take for various locations at the moment. They had proven that they understood what to do for the dens, so next came teaching them how to approach high-traffic areas.
Once everyone had been prepared and the materials gathered, they left the den and started towards the barracks, glimpsing the Grand Hunter sparring with some of the pack in the open.
Ever since the Atmo were delivered by a trade caravan, the male had taken to training much of the pack personally, Huntress Pan taking over much of his more mundane work. Those who were deemed adequate were then pawed off to Head Tel for some specialized training, though Volta was not privy to what exactly it was meant to accomplish.
Regardless, Head Sahari was in charge of rotating out the pack amongst tasks, only a few specialists being directly assigned to any one occupation. By all rights, Volta herself should be training under the male, but the nature of her work meant that she was typically better off doing her job when such was under way. Given that the Grand Hunter was a rare case of someone fully understanding the importance of her specialty—and how little she wished to interact with the alien—she was thankfully spared.
Disregarding the events going on, she motioned for her group to follow her. There was work to do.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
“Two up!” he called out, wiping the sweat from his brow. The exertion cleared his mind, and the break from endless paperwork was appreciated. With the influx of members and various training being required, he had gotten rather exhausted mentally. Between the Wraiths being gone for two weeks since he told them to do recon around the Atmo traders, regular interaction with various caravans, planning out what they needed to do, and Robert still not calling him since the man had left to handle something, he had been pretty high-strung.
As always, there was more on his mind. Harrow had become more elusive regarding him ever since he had her transcribe the Union documents regarding the Lilhuns, their conversations vapid and brief. Jax didn’t have anything useful to say about it other than that she wanted time to sort her thoughts. Toril, Idee, Mi’low, and Bratik were given copies of the file to go over recently, since they were the closest thing he had to a counsel unfettered by a close relationship.
His own makeshift family took the news in an odd way. There was a lot to unpack.
Jax had become quiet, his muscles tensing. Harrow ended up staying away from her mate for a few days until he had stopped brooding about it. In the end; the guy just told Joseph that he would trust the Grand Hunter’s decisions regarding it, finding himself at a loss otherwise.
Sahari and Nalah were approached about the bonding information, the latter denying any bond to him, as well as Sahari confirming the same towards her blond-furred mate. The only line of reasoning that they could think of to make sense was that Nalah’s circumstances had messed with her in some way. The two seemed rather distressed by the assertion, but calmed somewhat when he mentioned that nothing would change between them regardless. Sahari could tell how conflicted he was about the whole thing, he just wanted to give them something to hang on to.
It was a bigger deal for them than he had initially internalized. In retrospect; something revered as a literal gift from their god being denied really should have been an obvious point of stress. As begrudging as his acceptance was, he was linked to the whole ‘Great Hunt’ business in their minds, so he was aware of how deeply that belief ran. He didn’t personally subscribe to the religion, but they never really bothered him with anything besides overseeing funeral rites—not that he would have refused anyway.
Pan seemed to mirror his feelings on the matter—a dark feeling of helplessness and sorrow. She had fallen quiet when she heard about the trials on the defectives, that particular section hitting her harder than the others. After an entire day of silence, all she had to say about it was that she loved him, and then spent the night burrowed between him and Tel, unable to sleep. He had a hard time as well, but it extended well past the initial night.
Tel had informed him that his restlessness had made it difficult for her to get any shut-eye, his shifting disturbing her, but it was said in a slightly concerned tone. Her general reaction was fairly subdued compared to the rest otherwise, her lifetime of being at either end of a gun numbing her to the reality of things. It was weird for him, but he was deeply thankful for it on some level.
She kept him sane, her cold response being a candid ‘Wish it, and I will end all who displease you.’
For once, her more violent background gave him something to grip onto. It resonated in him—loose, yet present. A door within him, chained and locked, was brought to mind as he really considered what he wanted for those involved. The traders who abused the Atmo, those who seemed so bent on hurting his friends, the Union ‘GUOS’ who called for the experiments... A thrumming settled in his fists, an itch that couldn’t be sated by just scratching.
A paw flew past his brow, his shifted posture allowing him to slip the claws that had been left exposed in the heat of the spar. His heart hammered, his sweat soaked his clothing, and his focus returned to the fight.
No Union, no traders, no worries. Just the two security members who had doubted Jax’s claims that the smaller Human had somehow bested the male in a fight, and were now bringing out their natural weapons on instinct.
Grabbing the wrist with his right hand and gripping the shoulder with his left, he pulled, using the rotational force to pivot on his left foot and haul the overeager Lilhun to the dirt, the appendage bending behind them sharply. A second fist came from the corner of his eye, the other combatant trying to use the momentary distraction to score a hit.
Using the gripped arm as a balance, Joseph leaned into the spin, firing the sole of his shoe into the head of the opportunistic attacker. The loud slap of his foot connecting with the larger male almost outdid the crumpled form crashing to the ground unconscious. It was only a dull sensation of mercy that stopped him from completing the spin while he maintained his iron grip on the arm of the thrown adversary, saving them a torn and dislocated shoulder.
Joseph breathed heavily, the adrenaline wearing out as Jax checked on the defeated. Minus some stiffness expected in one of them and a sore jaw for the other, they would be fine, albeit embarrassed for such a quick disposal in front of their usual teachers.
The sound of his rubber sole slapping on the ground some distance away killed off whatever motivation he had to continue, his shoes finally giving out.
“I would ask you not to disable my security, Grand Hunter,” Jax said with mock frustration, the black-furred male’s eyes following the two leaving with an expression of exasperation.
“Sorry,” Joseph breathed out, his heart hammering in his chest as his system wound down.
The Head of Security glanced down at him, his expression pensive. “As much as I enjoy my boasting of your prowess to be validated, I do worry that you see more than a spar in them.”
He drew his lips thin as he brushed his sweat-soaked hair back, his arm dropping to his side. He took a few moments to sort the thoughts that returned. “I probably should have called that kick, yeah.”
The larger Lilhun snorted. “They will be fine, it is not their health I am worried about.”
“I’m fine, Jax,” he snapped, averting his eyes when his friend seemed to have made his point. “I…. I’ll be fine. Just some things on my mind right now.”
“Joseph,” the black-furred male started, walking up to place a large paw on his shoulder. “We are here if you wish to talk.”
His breath died in his throat, his eyes closing in defeat. He felt the soreness in his hands surface, hours of constant fighting to soothe the burning in his blood that failed to abate. Bruises made themselves known, dehydration made his joints stiff, and lack of sleep clouded his mind. Jax was right, he was a bit of a mess.
“Grand Hunter,” Mi’low called, his tired glance in her direction revealing the female approaching. “We are ready to speak.”
Joseph placed a hand on Jax’s paw, patting it softly. “Talking will have to wait. Tell Harrow I said hi and that I’d like to hang out again. I miss it.”
The male looked at him apologetically, nodding as he was still unable to offer anything to ease the sting of a friend distancing themselves from the Human. “I will.”
The Human cycled a breath and faced the actress. “The rest?”
Mi’low nodded. “Where will we meet?”
Joseph waved an arm towards the base. “My place. More chairs.”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Toril was wearing his usual smile, his eyes inspecting everything about the hub from the couch while Tersa stood nearby, her body language telling that she was wary about being in a new place without time to scout it. Bratik was in his wheelchair, Sorren holding his paw as he sat on the opposite side of the chemist. Idee—being the only one to spend time in the outpost regularly—simply thanked Kaslin for the water from her place between the two mated males. Mi’low had claimed a free chair, her legs crossed and back straight as she stayed away from the others on the couch. The Wraith handed Joseph his requested tea since Scarlet was babysitting the insects, then occupied a place out of the way, but close enough to act if things got heated.
He stayed standing rather than occupying his usual place on a table, his second choice of seating being filled up. He could have dragged over the Atmo couch, but he didn’t want to stress his body any more than he had already by lugging it. “So, everyone had plenty of time to read the documents.”
“Indeed,” Mi’low commented dryly, a glare shot in his direction. Idee nodded, though her expression fell as it was brought up. Toril maintained his detached look of amusement, but it didn’t escape Joseph’s notice that Tersa stiffened.
The Grand Hunter took a sip of his refreshment, enjoying the fleeting feeling of warmth from something other than exertion. “And what do we think?”
“We?” Sorren asked, the male not quite used to the Human using their tongue. Joseph’s mastery of the language was still spotty at times, but Kaslin could fill any gaps if needed.
“Yeah,” he replied plainly. “It has more to do with you than me. I just got the message.”
“I find it rather fascinating,” Toril opined cheerily, his energy at odds with the atmosphere of the room. “Such thorough study allows us many insights into facets of our own biology that we may never have known!”
“By slaughtering our kin in the thousand,” Mi’low shot back, a slight snarl pulling her lip.
“As regretful as such is, we can not bring them back,” the chemist noted with a small nod. “We must simply use the information gleaned by our foes without repeating their atrocities.”
“You suggest ignoring their sins?”
“I suggest utilizing what they have learned and incorporating it to our advantage.”
“Or,” Joseph interjected, “we talk about it instead of getting into an argument.”
“Your people are not free of fault, Grand Hunter,” the crimson-furred female spat. He remained silent, already having spent far too long thinking about how none of it would have happened if Humans weren’t in the picture for them.
“You can not hold him as a factor, Mi’low,” Idee said softly, shifting in her seat to get comfortable and smiling apologetically at Sorren when she bumped him.
“Were it not for them, then we may not have lost our homes!”
“Were it not for him you would be little more than bones bleached by the sun, or so I hear.”
“We are not here to cast blame,” Bratik disputed quietly, his voice carrying through the room despite the low volume. “The Grand Hunter has saved each of us. Some from demise, others from the shackles of their station, and others from the fate of losing loved ones.”
Toril and Idee shared a glance as the male continued, Tersa paying attention to him for the first time.
“He seeks our counsel. Not our aimless ire to be spewed upon him for that which he himself had no knowledge of, nor involvement in. His kin were as much victims as our own.”
“Quite,” Toril concurred as the two females ceased their bickering reluctantly. “How would you like to address this, Grand Hunter?”
Joseph blinked, expecting the blame, but not Bratik defusing it so quickly. “Well, we have a few things to work off of. Years of experiments coinciding with missing persons after accepting a job, whoever tipped off your military taking info with them about Sol and the ‘blacklist’, whatever bond fuckery they discovered, and the defects.” He shrugged weakly. “Take your pick.”
“There are too many missing across too wide an area to recognize such a comparative few,” Idee stated, the others in the group silently agreeing.
He nodded, nursing his tea with small sips. “Figured that would be a sticking point. Plus, we don’t really know how long it was going on... or when it started... Not even if it was a bulk recruitment or slow trickle. I guess the missing people are something we’ll just have to keep unknown.”
“The bond information was rather enlightening,” Toril mentioned, his eyes rising to the ceiling as he thought about it. “Our peoples are wildly compatible.”
“As servants, perhaps,” came the scathing remark from the High Huntress. “What use is our gift if it is twisted to be mere subservience? To discard ourselves for some alien race?”
Sorren’s ear flicked. “It is hardly ‘twisted’ to protect that which the Hunt Mother has afforded us.”
“Are we to just accept that our bonds are better suited to that,” she emphasized with a pointed claw in Joseph’s direction, “rather than our kin?”
“Drop it,” the Grand Hunter ordered tiredly, his reflection in his beverage shaking as he shifted on his feet. “Arguing isn’t going to help anything.”
Mi’low held her disgusted expression. “You ask us to trust that which led to our downfall? We are yet another strike against your kin, no?”
He shook his head, his eyes buried in remains of the shimmering image he held in his hands. “I blame the sick fucks that did all this. If you can’t agree with that, then there’s not much reason to hold this meeting.”
“What is it you seek to accomplish?” Toril asked, amused by the theatrics. The rest seemed surprised by Mi’low’s pointed aggression, but the chemist was more interested in continuing.
“I have people looking to get me out of here,” Joseph informed them, laying his empty cup on the table with a soft clack. “People who will probably extend the offer to you. If they come, I need to know what we’re doing about it. The last thing I need is people acting like Mi’low and opening fire on whoever comes to drag us out of the mud.”
“Why would we?” Sorren asked, taking his mate’s paw as he gave a worried glance to the offended female.
“Because our people were tortured due to our interactions with them,” the chemist noted in a matter-of-fact tone, his pleasant demeanour remaining despite the morbid topic.
“Did our people not initiate contact with another species on less hostile terms?” Idee asked, her head tilted slightly.
“But no one lived to talk about it,” Joseph countered, gesturing with an upturned palm. “Plus, that’s assuming whoever was in charge of that call being the norm, rather than the exception.”
“You believe our people to act otherwise?” Bratik asked, his tone inquisitive rather than judgmental.
Joseph shrugged. “To be fair, I’ve almost been killed by more of your species than the wildlife. Granted, a few of those were just people being assholes, but still.”
“Many would see the opportunity as retribution for the Union,” Mi’low mentioned dryly.
Sorren’s face fell. “Then we should not propagate this knowledge?”
The Human glanced between each of them. “That’s why you’re here. My group knows because I trust them with it. I think we should keep this to ourselves, but if we do—and someone finds out—it would just cause a lot of issues. Alternatively; we tell everyone.”
“And suffer the consequences of that action as well,” Idee concluded dejectedly. Joseph returned a wry smile as Toril raised a paw, speaking when the Grand Hunter raised a brow at him.
“Perhaps we should withhold the information from the lesser station?”
“Like, just the Grand Hunters?” Joseph inquired cautiously. Toril tilted his head.
“Those who would be more diplomatically minded, perhaps.”
“I don’t exactly see some of them as what you would call ‘diplomatic’ and I’m not going on some voyage to visit everyone with the info in tow.”
“We are able to make copies,” Sorren offered. “Perhaps we could exchange the information using traders and gain something from it as well?”
Mi’low shook her head. “That is assuming they do not claim us manipulative nor seek to remove him. Some may very well move to strike us all down for ‘withholding’ the information, regardless of how readily we supply it.”
“Do your people know?” Bratik interjected, gathering the attention of the others. Joseph winced in uncertainty.
“I’m not sure. I’d guess my brother does, but I don’t know how sensitive things are. It could have been announced and there’s an intergalactic war, or it might be kept under wraps until conflict isn’t as likely. At least until it’s less likely to blow up in our faces, anyway.”
“They are of lesser force?”
“No clue,” he admitted. “Not my area. All I do know is that there are more species allied against us—or at least aren’t inclined to take a bullet—than are.”
“So our options are rather limited,” Idee concluded, receiving a series of agreements.
“We could,” Mi’low said after a few moments of contemplation, “distribute the information anonymously. Humans are not named directly in the document, and we need not divulge its origin.”
“So, what? Just pass people tablets and ask them to forget where they got it?” he probed, not entirely disagreeing with the idea, but skeptical all the same.
“Tersa may make additions to trader inventories without their knowledge,” Toril offered, the mentioned Blade frowning at him, but not protesting. “Or perhaps Trill’s kit, since she is devoted to yourself.”
“Eh. I guess that’s an option,” he conceded, sighing. “So, about the bond; any opinions? Notes?”
“Stay away from me,” Mi’low answered warily, earning a flat scowl.
“I meant something besides that. I’m not too keen on adding to the cluster-fuck I have going on anyway.”
Sorren smiled. “I am excited to meet your people—should I be so blessed. There are many who would never know the joy of the Hunt Mother’s gift otherwise.”
“I would not mind her words, Grand Hunter,” Toril chuckled. “She is a creature of dishonesty—including her own desires.”
The actress glowered at the chemist. “I preferred it when you were nomadic. It was much easier to ignore your presence. Your words were but some distant wind I need not soil my ears with.”
“Perhaps our meeting is best ended here,” Bratik interjected, waving his functional paw. The other arm was coming along, but still too stiff to use for much. “We should propagate the information through unsigned parcels to the Grand Hunters.”
“One last thing,” Joseph said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “The information on Sol; anything ever get done with that?”
“We were capturing habitable planets in a particular direction, though the decision to do such was made by our superiors.”
He nodded. “Makes sense. Same issue we have now. Can’t let everyone know because chaos is a lot easier to manage when it’s directed. Between the religious connotations and the context around it; there’s no saying if it would lead to riots or worship. Rather not bring the problem to our door.”
“Wise,” Mi’low remarked sarcastically, her judgmental side-eye aimed between him and Sorren.
“Alright,” he said with a raised voice, ignoring the red-furred female to the best of his ability. “Drop off letters and lock myself in a room or something. Sounds like a plan.”
“That will not be required,” Sorren corrected with a laugh. “Though the documents confirmed a high percentile of successful bonds, there were many incompatible pairings. It is unlikely that your informant included every variation of failure, but the bond seems to be as selective as usual, just more receptive to those who meet the criteria. I would speculate that the majority of those who would bond to you by now, have. Barring the new additions, of course. I doubt you will need to worry about bonding to half a species by yourself.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” he muttered. “Okay, you’re free to go back to your work. You know who to talk to if something comes up.”
The gathering dispersed, Toril requiring Tersa to drag him by the ear before he got too distracted. Mi’low stayed behind, waiting for everyone else to leave.
“Thoughts?” he asked, glancing over at her. She shook her head as she dropped the antagonistic persona.
“Two attribute you to their religion, Toril is too interested in your species to act against your best interest, and Idee rather enjoys her time here—as well as sympathizes with your position. Tersa’s allegiance is with Toril, so she will follow him, as well as your tentative arrangement as a superior over her.”
“So, we’re good?”
“We are,” she confirmed. He looked at her for a long moment.
“What about you?”
“What about me?”
“Going to try and kill me again?” he questioned wryly.
The High Huntress snorted. “Unfortunately, my pack has ostensibly become yours, and with it, my fate. They would rather watch me go than follow. It seems your influence extends past our biology.”
Without an opportunity for him to ask what she meant, she headed to the exit, pausing in the doorway when he called out to her.
“Mi’low?” Her ear tipped back towards him. “Thanks. For putting yourself on the block like that. I know how risky that could have been for you.”
She afforded a single nod before letting it close behind her.
“’Past our biology’, huh?” he muttered, eyeing the empty cup on the table.
He considered bothering Tel, since she would likely offer him a distraction for a while.
Sighing at his remaining intact shoe flopping as he stepped, he decided to do exactly that.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
“How are we holding up?”
Tech leaned back in her chair, yawning widely. “Communications have been down for a while, navigation software is pointing everywhere at once, and if it wasn’t for me, everything else would be dark too.”
“All hail Tech Ops,” Comms quipped, struggling to make his system do much more than transmit static on a loop.
Willin rolled his eyes at Tech’s boasting, but she was probably right to do so. They had aligned themselves in the right direction and simply let navigation go, communications discreetly blinking out as they got close without warning. All they had left was the actual piloting and onboard support systems, both of them hanging by a thread until Tech could run diagnostics to see if she could counter them properly. She might be able to eventually, but she didn’t seem confident beyond keeping the crew mobile and alive.
“How’s it look down there?”
Nav had long since given up making sense of their controls, opting to keep watch for whatever they were approaching. Since they had gotten within visual range, they had occupied themselves using whatever scanning equipment Tech managed to keep shielded. They leaned over the readouts, brows raising before furrowing at the information.
“It appears that they have remained fairly close together. I am reading several AEC distress signatures... Why am I able to?”
Tech raised a paw. “Right here. The jamming is consistent with the United Military’s algorithms, though boosted past what we have the equipment to manage. Can’t override it for you or Comms, but it was never meant to counter the low-frequency of a distress pulse, since that would get lost in normal noise anyway. I took the liberty of limiting the scope of collected data to increase the sensitivity.”
“Not much frequency pollution on an untapped planet,” Willin remarked dryly, his screen mirroring what Nav was looking at. Thirty-eight sources, most of them repeating the initial call-signs. Two seemed to have retained some power, though not much, implying a makeshift solution. There would normally be more to glean, but the measures taken to make picking them out at all possible had stifled it.
“Orders?” Nav asked after a moment. Willin considered it, scouring the somewhat distorted visual feed.
“Let’s get closer first.”
“Understood.”
He adjusted his uniform as they drew near, Tech frowning as more of her fail-safe measures ironically failed. Quick action saved them from listing aimlessly, but any chance of copying the survivor’s distress call faded. The Atmospheric Entry Crafts were effectively invisible until Tech had dealt with the issue preemptively, and their beacon wasn’t any stronger.
Detriment of a scout craft, he supposed. Help would have to deal with not knowing where his ship had gone until they were up to their necks in the warp-spike’s field. Hopefully, the EW fleet would manage it better.
“Just outside of atmosphere,” Nav reported, activating the scanning equipment again. Normally, it would be able to tell them everything down to the rough number of wildlife in an area, but all the interference gave them little more than confirmation that life existed.
“Well, there goes any advanced recon,” Willin muttered, ignoring Comms silently debating if he should bother Tech to duplicate the feed again. Noticing, she did anyway, the male gesturing their thanks. “Tech, can you get us population density?”
“I’m good, Leader, but not that good.”
“Leader,” Nav called, highlighting a few points on the feed. Whatever it was that they were trying to show him, he didn’t see it. “These areas are likely settlements.”
“Structures?”
“Affirmative. It is subtle, but there.”
He nodded, trusting their judgment. “Which is the largest?”
The feed zoomed in, losing most of the clarity—not that there was much to begin with. “Location coincides with an AEC still actively reporting.”
“They set up around it.”
“Likely, Leader.”
Willin exhaled slowly. “Take us down nearby. I’d say to hide us, but that’s hard to do with open skies.”
“The planet suffers constant rain,” Tech added, her screen already reverting back to a simplistic game while she waited for someone else to need something. “We could descend under the cover of it.”
“Any idea how long?”
Her monitor flickered. “One local sun.”
“Then we spend the time gearing up,” he ordered, waving to have Nav and Comms’ screens defaulted. “You two will make sure our defence armaments ship-board are active and loaded. Tech, queue up whatever armour and equipment we might need for a diplomatic mission.”
She turned in her chair, her head tilting questioningly. “Just us?”
“Just us. We’ll want someone here to keep things warm in case we need to leave quickly. Can you get Comms’ station capable of short-wave?”
She nodded after a moment, her eyes losing focus as she consulted her implant. “We’ll lose the fabricator during, but we should have enough for life-support and in-atmosphere flight. Weapons will have to be swapped out with it too.”
“That bad?”
The purple-furred female shrugged. “It’s that or I take down the defences and we lose it all.” She frowned at her screens. “Even this is pushing it.”
“Can you take down the purifier once we’re down there? Switch to external flow?”
“As long as you don’t mind alien air, sure. It won’t give us more to work with, but it should make it less taxing to keep what we have.”
Willin scratched at his ear. “Do it. They lived here this long, doubt we’ll join the Void breathing it too.”
“Will do.”
He shifted his attention back to Nav. “Set course to that settlement. Keep us above the clouds until it gets bad enough to obscure us.”
Nav signalled their agreement, the scenery shifting slowly as they picked a cloud to shadow in the meantime. Comms looked at Willin expectantly, forcing him to come up with something for the male to do.
“Comms, I want you to monitor anything this place has coming in or out. Set up surveillance.”
The male raised a brow. “My systems are inoperable, Leader.”
“If you try to do anything big, yes,” Willin corrected. “Just keep us informed if something goes through. We don’t need to know what happened, just that it did.”
“Keeping track of possible communications between settlements?”
Willin bobbed his head to the side. “Whatever we learn, it’s more than we know.”
“Understood. I will try to arrange a passive probe.”
The group set about their tasks as he brought up a still-frame of the settlement Nav spotted. It was blocky, blurry, and the chromatic aberration on the edges hurt to look at, but it was a settlement. A large AEC surrounded by silver constructions, all laid out in a slightly haphazard way. He couldn’t judge it too harshly, however. There was a method to the madness. Narrow pathways hidden between dens, each leading to the AEC like a system of routes for select Lilhuns to reach anywhere they may be needed as quickly as possible.
The AEC itself seemed modified, large solar panels placed where a solid hull would be expected, the semi-transparent material likely acting to illuminate the interior. Many of the buildings around it were larger than those beyond, some appearing to be two or three levels.
From sheer volume of dens, Willin figured this was a contender for the largest settlement. His best estimate placed the number of inhabitants in the range of three hundred or so. If the other settlements were even close, then the initial guess of a thousand survivors was woefully short.
That made things complicated, yet so much simpler.
He awaited the distant storm clouds rolling over the landscape, thankful Tech had prioritized the water-proof gear.
He hated being soaked.
Next
A/N: 500k words. Half a fucking million.

I swear this anime as no damn weak points and its so fire to the point it made me hit the gym and made me eat cream puffs. This anime is truely a inspiration and one of the best of all time and I believe that this anime will put other animes into shame because it brings back what is lost which is ambition and Comedy. I plan on buying every single manga to support Hajime Kōmoto into continuing the anime for it is gold pure gold.

Hi, guys!
So the question I have is, what does it take to climb the ladder playing only 1- to 2- cost reroll?
The context is I play TFT strictly on mobile, specifically an iPhone6s+ which is essentially a relic at this point. Due to my phone being a bit slow to load the game, Im not able to play many comps that require me to roll down really fast, which disincentives me to play flexibly.
I found solace in low-cost reroll comps. My first set is set 6, and I got to gold 1 basically just playing yordles in probably 6 weeks. I then achieved diamond 4 with yordles again in 6.5. I achieved diamond 4 again with astrals, dmancer karma, and lagoons in 7 and 7.5 (peak was dia 2). Didnt play much of set 8, only plat 2 with supers yuumi or kaisa vayne reroll. and now I reached diamond 4 again with lucian reroll or ashe reroll (peak dia 2)
I think these past two set/mid sets altered the reroll game by introducing hero augments, where a 1 cost CAN carry but without their augment, it becomes generally weak (Lucian and Lulu are major instances kf not weak). Given my situation, I almost always just force a 1 or 2 cost carry at the expense of only going top 4 and occasionally going 8th for never hitting/prismatic 2-1
I dont think Ill be able to make a change anytime soon, and with the new set incoming, I dont want to be stuck at diamond again. What does it take to climb elo playing only low cost rerolls?

I want to start out with saying hello and I'm new to actually playing D&D, I've been interested in the game since I can remember. I'm a huge RPG gamer so D&D has always made sense to me as a game I could get into. I've listened to hundreds of hours of D&D podcasts and their games from multiple different DMs and groups. So I have an understanding of an outsider's perspective and concepts just not the get down and dirty of making a character, at least not an understanding of a solid 100% great build for a long term game. So what I'm getting at is I know stuff, but I could be overthinking or maybe not understanding everything as far as the player perspective or maybe even the DM's too.
To start off I would like some perspective of fellow lovers of fantasy and character crafting and maybe some DM's for homebrew rules that could be possible so let's go!
I've bought the Grung character creation booklet for D&D Beyond and did some research on these creatures. I created a character for a possible future group once I either find a group or eventually create my own, once I finish my main focus of college. So this character is named c'Doon, he's 2 years of age, is lawful(Grung lawful) natural, and has a weakness of curiosity. The main draw of this character is he has a secret, a secret that I think help from a DM could help me in the future. But my basic overall plot for my character's background is actually plagued with mystery and my character doesn't even fully know.
c'Doon was actually a prophet seen from a neighbor Grung faction that did some ritual magic to change his destiny of being a golden tier Grung. Who would be a great King and make positive changes towards the race as whole (or maybe just his faction of Grung). Either way this neighboring faction plotted a plan and took action. They snuck into the tadpole hatcheries were c'Doon was living his little tadpole life. And they brought a long with them a Bullywug cursed with Lycanthropy or in this case WereFrog (or a WereBullywug if that's possible) either way I want this to be the dividing factor for c'Doon. I believe he should be able to have some control over it since tadpoles are kind of a fetus like state so it could be like he was born with it in a way to make it easier on the DM for my character to have such a powerful trait from the beginning. But back to the story the higher ups catch wind of this and a war happens and before this little c'Doon is fully developed his faction wins out. They strip c'Doon of his gold color and take him down to the lowest tier green. He is stripped of this memory and just believes he's always been a natural born green Grung. And the worst part is they just took a green Grung in his place and swapped them. There's hateful banter between the two of them, but that's because the green Grung turned Gold knows this secret. They let him keep that memory in favor of the idea c'Doon might not being killed for his secret of his curse and the prophecy. All these events causes a weird shift and the faction is much harsher than other factions and in turn c'Doon seeks redemption like I believe most green Grung would and he'd like to rise in the ranks if possible. So he seeks out treasures (he has a weakness for shiny things or anything of value plus his curiosity doesn't help) and his main focus is to seek out the ultimate slave (This is only here bc Grung are a slaver race). His WereFrog only takes over during extreme stress and mostly anger. This also leads him to leaving after 2 years of living on the edge of his society he wants to be cured and given respect for being more than what he feels (a green Grung).
This is where my character starts out able to join a party for adventures. He's able to speak common and Grung, he's a ranger class, and he carries a bucket to submerge himself everyday for at least an hour so he doesn't dehydrate and eventually die (this is part of his race not my decision) but I think the coolest part is I think this bucket should be like a backpack/quiver for him holding his arrows and gear. Of course he applies poison damage on all piercing damage which I find interesting. Which brings me to another part of the character is the race, Grung, has extra traits to their poisons. Does anyone think the Green paralyzing effects should be applied in anyway or maybe like a once a day or once an encounter (per short rest maybe?) type of an effect and depending on the color of c'Doon should there be other effects or multiple added to the character? I plan on seeing how the DM of whatever campaign I could play this character in would allow, but I want other perspectives and maybe just some input. I also would like to explore the idea of controlling the WereFrog aspect and seeing if changing does anything for my character's need for hydration or other things like what are the benefits and things like that. I know in later playthroughs it just becomes annoying to have or just a chore or an extra thing that doesn't get used. So depending on the campaign and how things play out I might lean towards exploring more about it with the DM or getting rid of the curse while also having a story points where my character progresses up the cast system of the Grung. Maybe skipping a few tiers since it might get annoying to do all the ritual stuff everytime. I'm thinking green to purple (skipping blue) then to orange (or red if I want to do magic as a multi class) and finally gold! Finally I think I'd like to make the transformation that of like a wolverine frog, if nobody is familiar with what that real life creature is, it's a frog that looks almost hairy and it basically breaks it's fingers bones to push out of it's finger tips to act as claws like some Wolverine (the comic book character from X-Men) type shit!
That is my first real attempt at a D&D character, sorry for the book 😂😂 hopefully I can post thing long thing and thank you for the input!!

Name: Hal Wesker
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Gender: Male
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Age: 30
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Species: Elf
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Character Level: LV1
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Role: Warlock
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Appearance:
:)
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Personality: Extroverted and kind, he enjoys making little games for children and his friends, especially card games.
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STATS: 14
Strength: + [1]
Constitution: + [2]
Dexterity: + [2]
Wisdom: + [2]
Intelligence: + [2]
Charisma: + [2] +1
Spirit: + [3]
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Proficiencies/Extra characteristics: He’s pretty friendly and is excellent at cooking.
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GEAR:
Mage Robes: Robes built to withstand magic... +5% HP?
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INVENTORY:
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Balance: 10,000 gold
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Weapons:
Knife: A small knife for short-range self-defense, uh, has like +1 to attack, that’s it…
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Utility items:
Rose: A simple rose he has on his lapel, the dc of seduction/deception-based abilities is raised by one, if it doesn’t have a dc the rolls given to such abilities are increased by one.
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Consumables:
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HSD contents:
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ABILITIES: (CURRENT SLOTS: 14. LV1)
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Racial Traits:
Fireball: A basic fireball spell, good for attacking, can deal burn with a critical. -2% burns for 3 turns, and 1D6*4%. (-1)
Seduction: Thanks to his own Patron, she helps make his Charm his best weapon, using Charm to stun enemies. Use a Wisdom saving roll. (-2)
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Core Passives:
Knowledge of Plants: He is a known botanist that allows him to tell what a plant can do and allows him to use it in potions. (-1)
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Core actives:
One With Nature: He is a massive green thumb and is great at making the area around him filled with flora and fauna allowing people around him to gain an advantage in dodge by +2. Lasts for 3 turns and takes another 3 to fully recharge. (-3)
Deceptive Trappings: Using his Charm, he can use his own magic to stun someone, they can get out of it early by using a Wisdom saving throw, DC12. He can do this once every 5 turns. (-4)
Lock Down: He is able to use his Spirit to make a trap, locking someone into a cage of fire, dealing -3% each turn someone's stuck there, making a Spirit saving throw to escape from the cage, must charge for 5 turns. (-4)
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Learnt Passives:
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Learnt Actives:
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Weaknesses:
Strength: He isn't that strong, he only deals about 2%, even if it's a Natural 20 (+2)
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BACKSTORY: A warlock with a succubus patron, who is paid via some… in out, in out. But, Hal is gay and very much not into women, which his patron is…

Alliance and Grobb or die 5k gs Fire/Arc Mage main 4.8k gs Ele and OS resto Shaman alt
Both with decent logs and full HMs for 10M and almost all 25M (my main raids in an OK guild that has been progressing HMs still but most down, no Alg key)
SO the question is: How to get into an Alg kill group when pretty much every single group I’ve asked (pug, guilds filling, GDKP) and I’ve asked a good few - tell me no because I don’t have an alg kill logged?
My thought is GDKP would be easiest to get into, then get the achieve but the few I’ve asked I either didn’t have enough gold to even get in… or they told me no since no alg kill logged. My mage a lot of the time doesn’t even get a response because mages can’t soak and spriest or lock is preferred for high end comps. My shaman has a weak resto set (4.4k? gs) and lesser logs than my mage so it’s even harder.
Any suggestions? Or at this point is it just wait a month or so until ToGC??

People seemed to like the first one I did so I thought I'd do a second now I finally finished AW2. (That last mission is a bitch by the way.)
Andy: The strain of a second war had tired him. He had hoped that after the events of 1, all he'd need to do are practise drills. So when the war was finally over, he dedicated himself to improving Orange Star's early warning systems. If Black Hole rises again in another land, they'll know.
Max: Max decided that, with his extensive knowledge of tanks, he could probably improve the Neotank even if it was already technologicaly advanced. His idea of "add 300 more gun turrets to it" was however shot down by R and D, who said they'd be lucky to add 5.
Sami: Sami decided to do a recruitment drive for Orange Star after the events of the war. She figured the best way of doing that was to do more humanitarian work in the war torn nation. It did wonders to both fixing up the place as well as getting more people to join.
Nell: Having seen the devastation that Black Hole had caused not once, but twice, Nell decided that it would be better for an alliance between the four nations to become more official, on the offchance that they rise again under Hawke. While talks between the four leaders have not progressed past the naming stage yet, she is hopefull for progress. Her sister is still too young to join the army, but seeing Nell attempting to acheive the impossible has only inspired her further to do so.
Hatchi: Confident that he can leave Orange Star's fate in the hands of the youngen's now, he decided to keep enjoying his beach hut and business. Do not ask how he got Sturm as a hirable CO for outside the campaign. You do NOT want to know how he pulled that off. Also he might have to kill you.
Olaf: After seeing his hometown devastated in the war, Olaf was distraught. As part of the negotiations for Nell's upcoming allaince, he requested funds to repair his wartorn nation. They were granted, and Olaf also spent his own resources, even putting in his own physical effort, to repairing the city and other places hit by the Black Hole army. The town square has been restored to it's former glory. Everyone agrees it's pretty nice.
Grit: Grit decided it would be a good idea to try and figure out if any of the resources Black Hole stole were left over, or if they were all spent. Turns out that Sturm had been keeping a horde of them in a secret base on the offchance he did in fact need to retreat and go for Round 3. Grit donated his find to the negotiations for an alliance.
Colin: for his part in the war effort at such a young age, Colin was award the Medal of The Bear, one of Blue Moon's most highly venerated war medals. Not long after, he received a complaint from his men about the shoddieness of their equipment and being thrown into the meat grinder, and how it was bad for moralde. Colin listened ... kind of... and had a arcade room installed in every base. Morale has risen by 20%, but they still would have prefered guns that work.
Eagle: The saying "Great minds think alike" is an accurate one, as, much like Andy, Eagle decided to improve Green Earth's early warning systems AND their defenses, reasoning that since they got hit the hardest by Black Hole, they needed to be better prepared for next time. Every town now has it's own air base. In times of peace, they even put on air shows and fake dogfights.
Drake: Drake meanwhile did a complete overhual of Green Earth's navy, reasoning pretty much the same. He also put forwards the idea of a submersable repair drone for fixing ships up on the fly, but was told that was basicaly impossible, especialy for the already submersable submarines.
Jess: The war over and her homeland safe, Jess went back to her studies abroad. The head of the faclity was annoyed as all get out due to the fact that she had left without any warning, during the middle of a important class, and knocked over and destoryed a valuable teaching tool on the way out... but relented when told the situation. She is in great student debt for the broken tool, but is content.
Kanbei: Kanbei, while absolutely willing to form an allaince with the others, is possibly the main reason it is still in the planning stages, His request to call the alliance "Kanbei's United Army" being repeatedly declined. However, it's not all bad from him, as he is also adamdent on getting every soilder in this new united allaince the best equipment and training possible. The soilders love him for it, but both demands are slowing down talks.
Sonja: Sonja, realising the greatiest threat in their campaign was the genius scientist Lash, begain her own quest: to either hunt down and kill Lash, or recruit her for Gold Comet. Honestly, after her little taunts dug a bit too deep into her soul, she was not sure which she wanted to do. However, despite her best efforts, she did not succed in locating her. Apparently she hid herself much better then Sturm ever did.
Sensei: After a breif trip to some remote isle for a holiday, Sensei thanked the old guard for taking part in the war, and asked Kanbei to increase their pensions dramaticaly for thier effort. Such was agreed. Now Sensei can afford a nice traditional house by the beach. AND hire a jazz band for events!
Flak: Annoyed at one too many failures from him in the campaign, Hawke demonted Flak back down to private again. However, while he may have been useless as a CO, his time as such made him too effective as a private, showing cunning and ruthlessnes greater then his compatriots. In the end, Hawke repromoted him, deciding that a weak but well treat CO was better then a competant and power hungry up and comer.
Lash: Lash decided to go aground, taking the effort of rebuilding by doing so from a hidden location with her Lashbots. She actualy loved the rebuiilding process more then the devastation it caused, a revelation that surprised her, even if she could not yet admit it to herself. Ironicaly, Sonja DID find her one time, but Lash, desperate and out of tricks, pretended to be one of her Lashbots in the vain hope she'd just go away. Somehow, against all odds, it fucking worked. Sonja will never know how close she came...
Adder: Being terrified after the threats made to him by Sensei, Adder also decided to go to ground. Having built himself a hidden panic room in the middle of nowhere with some spare resources, he fled, waiting for the order from Hawke to rebuild. However, when he got to his panic room... someone had already been there, and left a gun with one bullet and a note: "It's a better option then ruining people's homes and meeting me again, sunny." Adder kept the gun out of sheer spite, planning to shoot the old fucker with it if they DO meet again.
Sturm: Sturm is dead, but the fear of someone somehow reviving him once more, dcespite that seemingly being impossible, was so great that the allaince agreed to take his body (Or rather, the dirt where his body was before being vaporized) and scatter them across both lands. They hope this will be enough to make sure that Sturm never rises again.
Hawke: Hawkes whereabouts are unknown...

This is a double post of sorts, as I'm not yet a fully versed reddit poster and asked this in a 1yr old thread, thinking it would be bumped with the new post... (Sorry, sorry, sorry)
TLDR:
Is either of the Saga preamps going to be up to the task of routing signal in a lower-mid level audiophile 2 channel system, without compromising imaging, detail or tonal balance. My tastes run toward neutral and I don't love over-etched *or* romantic/euphonic sound.
The long story:
I'm looking for a basic, unbalanced preamp to slot into a fairly straight forward setup:
Adcom GFA-5400, Cambridge 851n DAC/streamer, Rega Planar 2/AT120(Ortofon X3MC is out for repair) and PSB Stratus Gold speakers, all cables are AudioQuest: GibraltaVipeWildcat.
The Cambridge Audio streamer was purchased to replace a failing Adcom GCD-750 and it all went to hell from there. Once that component entered the system I found that the preamp (now retired: Adcom GFP-565) was a huge weak link in the sound, this was easily corrected by switching the 851n to preamp mode and going direct to the amp, but that left my LP playback high and dry. I thought an easy solution would be to get an ADC and feed the digitized phono signal in through the DAC's USB input, but it seems like most of the phono pre/ADC combo pieces are only intended to interface with a PC to record and don't register as a digital source on Hi-Fi DACs.
I thought about getting a Cambridge 851d preamp, but they're scarce, expensive and seem to be prone to encoder knob issues, similarly the very well reviewed 851a integrated allegedly sounds great, but has an unacceptably high failure rate and out of the box QC issues to boot.
My next thought was to get an Adcom GFP-750 (Pass Aleph circuit), which still ought to provide sound that's close enough to state of the art to satisfy, but they're also scarce, expensive and at least 20 years old.
These Schiit preamps seem custom made to fix my problem, but there are no reviews from the "serious" audiophile press and YouTube or forum reviews can be vague, hyperbolic and usually don't site the associated system components (or they're much lower end than what I'm running) or source media used for review. Sounds awesome with Spotify and powered bookshelf monitors is totally different than doesn't hold back 24bit/96kHz FLAC through a great amp and full range floor standing speakers...
Basically, I'd love an "audiophile" hot take on how either Saga might fair in my setup. Comparisons of the two variants by folks who have experience with both would also be greatly appreciated.
TIA

This is a short introduction about my history to league (you can skip if its boring :P)
I started League in May 2020. I started out spamming Top Lane Sett until I discovered the love of my life (Champion related) Aphelios! A friend showed me the 200 years meme and I was absolutely mesmerized by the versatility of this champion. I spent a lot of time in normals to learn the champion itself, strengths, weaknesses, etc. I only played normal games until January 21 because I was very, very, very…. bad. I stomped through Iron and Bronze until I was stuck just before the Silver promo. After that I learned Irelia and thanks to her I was able to achieve gold in my first ranked season which was a huge success for me. Admittedly, my goal was platinum, but it was still much too early for me. After going gold I played a champion I hadn't noticed before even as an adc. Draven (Yes I know unfair champ, toxic cringe etc) This champion was so hard to play similar to Yasuo for me back then. But the almost unlimited skill ceiling made the attraction. I spammed Draven up to 200k mastery points in normals and the next season I was able to stomp almost to Gold 2. However, from then on it became coinflip who had the better support/jgl (at least in 80% of the cases) I didn't get any further despite 64% WR, my self-critical mentality had completely dissolved and Copium determined my gameplay. So I gave up the Adc dream and started maining Yone. On the top lane, I was finally able to achieve platinum with a year's delay. An absolute milestone for me as many people haven't been able to reach platinum (sometimes even gold) for 5 or more seasons and I've made it in 2. Arrived in platinum I thought now I can play with Competent Supporters. (Spoiler: there are probably bad supports in every elo) I was wondering how do the other adcs climb? I started to acquire macro concepts (wave management, side laning, teamfighting, warding, jgl tracking) In the meantime I would classify myself as an Adc at least Gold 1 (I have no problem competing against Diamond Adcs and making the lane myself with my micro and macro decisions to win.) But now comes the problem, I very often have supporters who either play too passively (no poke/engage are permanently behind me) or too aggressively (push the wave permanently/engages undein front of the tower). And that's absolutely no copium because I almost always win my lane when my supporters listen to my pings. With wave management I can even win with a random silver support against a premade platinum bot, because I always make sure to enable my supporter. The actually much worse part is the jungler. The botlane has no summs, I have a lead, I freeze the wave what will happen? Exactly the enemy jgler comes and gank us or breaks the freeze sometimes we are simply dived full-life together with the mid laner and nothing happens. No objective no crossmap gank, no invade nothing. With a bit of luck, the midlaner gets the tower.

• What do I do if the botlane is ignored (despite lead)?
• What can I do if the enemy Katarina was fed into the heaven again (Itemmazation)
• How do I play if I don't get a peel or there isn't one?
• How can I get mentally stronger and stop getting upset about the jglesupport?
• How can I completely remove an adc from the game?
• What do I do if the enemy team is desperate and waiting somewhere with 4-5 people to collapse?
• What do I do if the jungler is a bot and doesn't do anything?

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I realize that I'm still a far away from being a good player. But what kind of creatures are out there right now in Master pisses me off as most of these people can do is abuse the meta, play cringe cheese playstyles, or wait 24/7 for the Jgler to do something. It is possible because the best players do not depend on anyone and perform in every Elo based on their individual class. I want to be such a player.

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Why?
Genshin Impact is an ever-expansive and ever-growing game released on multiple devices, such as the PS4 and PS5, Android, IOS, and Windows. But there is a place that it said to release in the near future- the infamous Nintendo Switch. Now, why should Genshin Impact of all games be in Super Smash Bros.?
As we learned in (I think) 2021, Steve got added into Smash Ultimate, but what most fans don’t realize is how big this character is. Minecraft is on not only the Switch, but on most Playstations, most XBOXs, some other Nintendo products, and on Windows and even Mobile! Steve is the binder of all of these platforms and will allow for multiple series to get in Super Smash Bros! Disclaimer: all series that are on other game platforms have to be on the Nintendo Switch platform. There is not one example of a game that isn’t introduced through the Fighter Pass that is on or was on a Nintendo Platform at least once. But, as mentioned, Genshin WILL be, leaving any character there fair game. So, let’s take the most remembered character from the beginning of the game, Amber, the Gliding Champion!
Backstory!
Considered to be a rising star within the Knights of Favonius, Amber is a master of gliding, winning her the Gliding Champion title on three separate occasions. Her stories and peers have described her as an optimistic and passionate young girl, even assisting the Traveller and making them feel at home. “At times, however,” the story states, “her excessive energy can make her quite the troublemaker.” She still to this day holds firm to her lost grandfather’s teachings of responsibility and trust. Meeting her as the protagonist was the first friend you would have ever made, and it would last long!
Stats And Others!
Amber will definitely use her bow slinging skills in Super Smash Bros., so she will be a very projectile heavy attacker. Think of Byleth’s moves but all involving a bow instead of just some. Her firecracker-like personality should also translate into an energetic and fast character, with possible middle-of-the-pack weight, and using a bow has to be pretty tricky, huh? So, this is what I came up with:
Zoner + Precision

• Relies on specific sweet spots to maximize attack power.
• Sour spots are usually detrimental.
• Uses mainly projectiles to obtain stage control.
• Focuses on wearing down opponents from a distance.
• Has to outrange opponents!
• Character can crawl

This fighter archetype uses the trickiness of shooting targets as a base, with the more you play the character, the more knowledgeable you get! And no, Amber, despite having the Zoner archetype that houses multiple slow characters, will be an energetic and fast paced character.
So, what about stats?
Weight: 100 (Cloud) Size: 4.5/10
Walk Speed: 0.979 (Kirby-Hero) Frame Data: 3/10
Initial Dash Speed: 2.55 (Marth) Damage: 6.5/10
Run Speed: 1.91 (Toon Link-Mii Brawler) KO Power: 9/10
Air Speed: 1.341 (Jigglypuff-Yoshi) Combo: 1/10
Fall Speed: 1.8 (Mega Man) Recovery: 5/10
Alt 1: Amber in her 5-Star Outrider costume.
Alt 2: Amber but colored like the 100% Outrider costume.
Alt 3: Amber in a black clothes, with gray socks, green hair, and a gold hat. This references Collei.
Alt 4: Amber with aqua clothes, all-white socks, blue hair and a gray hat. This is a reference to Faruzan.
Alt 5: Amber with turquoise pants, a gray shirt, black socks, and a brown hat and hair. This references Gorou.
Alt 6: Amber with black clothes, purple socks, a lavender hat, and blonde hair. This references Fischl.
Alt 7: Amber with silver shorts, a white shirt, gray socks, a blue hat, and brunette hair. This is a reference to Tartaglia
Alt 8: Amber in purple shorts, a lavender shirt, indigo socks, purple ears, and black hair. This references Tighnari.
Attacks!
Jab: Amber does a quick forward punch, then a roundhouse kick, and finishes off with a blow from her bow. By spamming the A-Button, multiple arrows are flung.
Dash Attack: Amber grabs a glider and flies forward with her legs out, which can kick the opponent. This travels a very long distance, but is very easy to see coming and constantly gets weaker and weaker.
Forward Tilt: Amber grabs her bow and swipes it up from 5:00 to 1:00. This isn’t a reliable spam move, but great for punishing.
Up Tilt: Amber grabs her bow and twirls it in a 360 degree circle above her head. This is a highly spammable and weak move.
Down Tilt: Amber swipes her bow along the ground like a sword, which can trip opponents. Highly spammable as well.
Forward Smash: Amber charges her bow to shoot three arrows, all going in different directions unless charged, which has them fire together! These are not projectiles, just extended disjointed hitboxes! The arrows don’t deal very much damage when split apart, so firing this when charged is very helpful!
Up Smash: Very similar to the forward smash! Amber charges her bow to shoot three arrows, all going in different directions unless charged which has them fire together. They don’t deal much by themselves so charging them is very helpful, blah blah blah. This time she just shoots them overhead!
Down Smash: Amber crouches down and, when charged, kicks her legs out on both sides before jumping up from the ground to stand up again. Believe or not, the hardest hitting part of the move is her get up, which can spike opponents on ledges!
Neutral Air: Literally Byleth’s neutral air. (That was easy!)
Forward Air: My least favorite term in all of SSBU, Amber does a s*x kick, or Mario’s neutral air. (Don’t ask me why it’s called that!)
Back Air: Amber turns her body sideways and kicks at a 9:00/3:00 angle, which bounces her forwards if she hits anyone.
Up Air: Amber flips upside down and does an indescribable kick where she kind of does a backflip.
Down Air: Like Inkling’s down air, she pokes down her bow which, at the very very tip, can spike.
Grab: Amber uses something that she would normally not use: an arrow that is connected to a string that can pull opponents in! This wouldn’t be a tether, just a disjointed hitbox.
Pummel: Amber punches with her right hand in the opponent's face or chest depending on size.
Up Throw: Amber throws the opponent up and shoots an arrow up.
Forward Throw: Amber drops the opponent and kicks them away.
Down Throw: Amber lays the opponent down and uses a small version of Fiery Rain that launches the opponent away.
Back Throw: Amber throws the opponent under her legs as she does a leapfrog. This launches the opponent backwards.
Specials!
Neutral Special: Sharpshooter
Shoot an arrow forwards that can be angled slightly. This move is a slightly spammable move that is a great poking tool. Amber can even dodge forwards slightly while using it, like Joker’s neutral special!
Side Special: Explosive Puppet
Send out a cute little bunny that will lock onto the closest foe, and explode next to them! Use this to distract the opponent so Amber can go in for the stock! Only one can appear on screen at a time, and each has a detonation time of one second when they reach the opponent’s location.
Up Special: Wind Glider
Like Steve’s, use an artificial pair of rings and glide forwards. This, however, is more similar to how it works in Genshin Impact, meaning that it doesn’t go wheee and is more controlled. This is also like Mr. Game & Watch’s up special in that as soon as you use an aerial, you go down!
Down Special: Fiery Rain
Amber shoots up an array of burning arrows into the sky that will fall onto a reticle on the ground. You can move the reticle at the cost of losing all mobility, and if you get hit you can no longer move the reticle, leaving the arrows to fall where the reticle was last. After two seconds, the arrows will fall, dealing the most amount of damage out of all the moves in Amber’s kit. Please note: Amber can be hurt by this move as well, so be cautious. This move also leaves her open and in a dangerous state.
The Final Smash!
Final Smash: Crimson Hero Of Mondstadt
Amber’s Final Smash begins like Link’s, shooting a big arrow forwards, leaving anyone who was first hit by the move to cut to a cutscene. It shows Mondstadt, infested by monsters, but then showing multiple flaming arrows falling from the sky, dealing a lot of damage to who is unluckily hit. If they are at a high enough percentage, then it will auto kill! Also the cutscene ends when Amber flies through the front of the screen.

Finding this one to be difficult
As soon as I drop in he’s on my like white on rice
So I’m clear bring my wicked niddoq for the special assignment
Then get ice attack in my gear with blight res 3
I’m wearing
Golden headdress Brachydium chest and legs Ruinous braces Gold rathian waist well maybe two pieces of gold rathian I forget right now
Anyway I just get murdered by this guy and I only sort of understand the mechanics
I just know that I drop in and then I’m getting slapped around like a damn rag doll
Guidance?