I just open this post just for discussion. After finishing the game, I go on new game + Extra Hard where my team member is at 70+ level and continue playing for a while. I can notice that there are stat up item that can help my Ichiban or other teammate have high stat and meet legend of Yakuza game in their best form. Now I'm thinking of having Ichiban solo Kiryu or Ichiban with 1 other teammate fight 2 on 2 against Majima and Saejima would make the fight so epic, but I can't because there is no unequip teammate option, or maybe I oversight it which make the fight a 4vs1 and feel like we are ganking on another character. It also make me feel Ichiban is not on par with legend like Kiryu or Majima... So, do you think on the next game, if Like a Dragon still use the JRPG game play, there should be an function to unequip teammate as a function?

Does anyone know the exact amount that a morale level increases attack by?
And if your morale is lower than another characters is there a big difference in the damage dealt? In some games, for example, although the morale bonus might be say 5%, if you go up against a character 3 levels above you, you might be penalised by say 50% rather than 15%.
I'm just trying to work out if its worth spending a dragon pot on those purple flags to bump my level up to match an enemy or if the difference is negligible.
Also, does anyone know what the glass smashing sound is when you're attacking? I've tried to figure it out and I thought it might be happening when you break an enemies morale but I don't think that's it. It might just be when you land a full combo as I tend to hear it at the end of a combo but I can't really tell 100%.
Thanks

Platform(s):
PC.
Genre:
3rd person action game, possibly with RPG elements.
Estimated year of release:
Mid 00s, 2005-2006?
Graphics/art style:
Standard graphics for that era. The beginning is in the dark green forest.
Notable characters:
You can choose among several characters. One of them is a dragon/lizard, while all the others are more generic humans/elves.
Notable gameplay mechanics:
Pretty generic gameplay.
Other details:
I haven't played the game much. I think the title sounded something like 'Someone's Blade/DaggeSword.'

which one of the dragon slayers*, in your opinion, deserved a storyline of their own (childhood, possible future and maybe a love interest storyline)?
*apart from natsu ofc because he is a main character

which one of the dragon slayers*, in your opinion, deserved a storyline of their own (childhood, possible future and maybe a love interest storyline)?
*apart from natsu ofc because he is a main character

Hey guys. For a bit of context:
I have a group of players who are long-time friends of Mine, we have played together for 6 years. We have run 3 1-20 5e games in that períod. After all that, with each game became more and more homebrew to make us enjoy the game, we decided to try pf2. The game will be in a customized dragon age setting.
One of my players started reading the system before and playing some oneshots, reading much about the system, things about problems and goods of the game. He is extremely excited to play and learned a bunch in little time, he found somewhere what seems to be a 3-party book about playing a dragon ? He has buyed the book for himself and showed me. The book name is battlezoo or something like that.
He says that the ancestry seems really fun but i looked a little and the ancestry seems to have... SO MANY FEATS.
I'm a bit worried If i should allow It, do anyone know If this is balanced ? Should i allow 3-party in pf2 or this is a bad ideia ? I know that a Fair bunch of 3-party content from 5e is Broken as f*ck
Should i allow It ? Should i stick to the game RAW before trying New books ?
Bonus question: one of my other players wants to maybe play a "dragon rider" character. What would be a good class or way to do that ? Some Archetype or something for this ?

Here I give my personal opinion about the concepts of the skin more than about the beauty of the draw (even if that's always a big bonus).
I'm curious to know your personal top.
I have added conditions for myself: Only pictures that don't need pixiv count to look and only 1 skin by character.
So my top is :

1. Deep Sea Eda by Lycoris Crimson
2. Soul Rend Clarissa by Roninjakenja
3. Iridescent Fae Senya dy Yilia
4. Cyber Granny Alencia by Dysco
5. Ilynav design contest by J_c (Dragon Ilynav)
6. オペレーターセクレット by Nemu.14 (Nurse Op. Sigret)
7. Archaeologist Landy by OnlyMyKPK
8. 魔神的暗影? by 藍樹蛙 (Maid Meru)
9. ドミニエル（夏着) by 比目桑Bimusama (Summer Dominiel)
10. Origamist Tamarinne by Tinkst

As much as I like rolling as a lawful evil character, I wondered what my own alignment as a reallife person would be. After reading through all the descriptions I was rather surprised by the actual meaning of some of the alignments. I copied and pasted the descriptions from https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alignment_(Dungeons_%26_Dragons) below.
After reading this I have to admit that my own alignment is not what I always thought it would be (neutral or chaotic good) but more true neutral. Also turns out the way I like to play is not lawful evil but more neutral evil.
Where would you locate yourself Vs. What do you like to imperson in games?
I wanted to make this a poll but I'd doesn't allow for nine options.
Lawful good Archetype: Crusader
A lawful good character typically acts with compassion and always with honor and a sense of duty. However, lawful good characters will often regret taking any action they fear would violate their code, even if they recognize such action as being good. Such characters include gold dragons, righteous knights, paladins, and most dwarves.[19][31]
Neutral good Archetype: Benefactor
A neutral good character typically acts altruistically, without regard for or against lawful precepts such as rules or tradition. A neutral good character has no problems with cooperating with lawful officials, but does not feel beholden to them. In the event that doing the right thing requires the bending or breaking of rules, they do not suffer the same inner conflict that a lawful good character would. Examples of this alignment include many celestials, some cloud giants, and most gnomes.[11][31]
Chaotic good Archetype: Rebel
A chaotic good character does what is necessary to bring about change for the better, disdains bureaucratic organizations that get in the way of social improvement, and places a high value on personal freedom, not only for oneself, but for others as well. Chaotic good characters usually intend to do the right thing, but their methods are generally disorganized and often out of sync with the rest of society. Examples of this alignment include copper dragons, many elves, and unicorns.[11][31]
Lawful neutral Archetype: Judge
A lawful neutral character typically believes strongly in lawful concepts such as honor, order, rules, and tradition, but often follows a personal code in addition to, or even in preference to, one set down by a benevolent authority. Examples of this alignment include a soldier who always follows orders, a judge or enforcer who adheres mercilessly to the letter of the law, a disciplined monk, and some wizards.[11][31]
True neutral Archetype: Undecided
A neutral character (also called "true neutral") is neutral on both axes and tends not to feel strongly towards any alignment, or actively seeks their balance. Druids frequently follow this dedication to balance and, under Advanced Dungeons & Dragons rules, were required to be this alignment. In an example given in the 2nd Edition Player's Handbook, a typical druid might fight against a band of marauding gnolls, only to switch sides to save the gnolls' clan from being totally exterminated. Examples of this alignment include lizardfolk, most druids, and many humans.[10][11][31]
Chaotic neutral Archetype: Free spirit
A chaotic neutral character is an individualist who follows their own heart and generally shirks rules and traditions. Although chaotic neutral characters promote the ideals of freedom, it is their own freedom that comes first; good and evil come second to their need to be free. Examples of this alignment include many barbarians and rogues, and some bards.[11][31]
Lawful evil Archetype: Dominator
A lawful evil character sees a well-ordered system as being necessary to fulfill their own personal wants and needs, using these systems to further their power and influence. Examples of this alignment include tyrants, devils, corrupt officials, undiscriminating mercenary types who have a strict code of conduct, blue dragons, and hobgoblins.[11][31]
Neutral evil Archetype: Malefactor
A neutral evil character is typically selfish and has no qualms about turning on allies-of-the-moment, and usually makes allies primarily to further their own goals. A neutral evil character has no compunctions about harming others to get what they want, but neither will they go out of their way to cause carnage or mayhem when they see no direct benefit for themselves. Another valid interpretation of neutral evil holds up evil as an ideal, doing evil for evil's sake and trying to spread its influence. Examples of the first type are an assassin who has little regard for formal laws but does not needlessly kill, a henchman who plots behind their superior's back, or a mercenary who readily switches sides if made a better offer. An example of the second type would be a masked killer who strikes only for the sake of causing fear and distrust in the community. Examples of this alignment include many drow, some cloud giants, and yugoloths.[11][31]
Chaotic evil Archetype: Destroyer
A chaotic evil character tends to have no respect for rules, other people's lives, or anything but their own desires, which are typically selfish and cruel. They set a high value on personal freedom, but do not have much regard for the lives or freedom of other people. Chaotic evil characters do not work well in groups because they resent being given orders and usually do not behave themselves unless there is no alternative. Examples of this alignment include higher forms of undead (such as liches), violent killers who strike for pleasure rather than profit, demons, red dragons, and orcs.[11][31]
Unaligned Creatures not sapient enough to make decisions based on moral choices, but operating purely on instinct, are described as "unaligned".[31] Sharks are savage predators, for example, but they are not evil: they have no alignment.[31] The use of "unaligned" for creatures was introduced in the 4th edition, and retained in 5th edition.[19]

I watched a lot of shounen anime when I was younger, from Toriko, Dragon Ball, Naruto, Fairy tail and One Piece, HxH,... Out of all of these anime that I watched, one piece come across as a very light hearted adventure and it has some great moment in it like when the ship die and ace dead. But outside of those moment, I just dont connect much with the mc Luffy. He quite basic imo. Compare to many other shounen, Luffy has shown the least amount of character growth among all of them. The most growth he has is when Ace die but even after that he doesnt seem to change too much. I'm at the Wano arc atm and he still feel like the first episode. You would think that after about 1000 ep of adventure, he would have at least change a bit. Maybe more cautious cus of losing Ace, maybe he respond somewhat more profoundly when someone mention his death. I dont know something to add to his character. After the time skip, I felt like the Straw Hat just lost most of their character as well. Beside Zoro, Usopp and Sanji, the rest are just become trope character (Especially Brook and Chopper). All I'm saying is that it hard to get invest in the story now when the main characters is so boring. All I'm saying here is that with these kind of flaw, I just couldn't see why it so lengendary beside it being one of the longest anime out there. I just want to know why so many people still hold it in a higer regard when compare to other shounen anime. One Piece is a good anime but I dont think it is peak shounen.

English is not my native language, and what I'm say may seem utter nonsense, but myself I consider it important. I not be offended if you all decide that this is unreadable garbage. 🌈
I REALLY like Warframe. Here I rest. Before that, I played in Destiny, which caused me some disarrangement, but in Warframe it's completely the opposite, and I'm so glad that I nevertheless decided to expand my zone of perception, and go after my buddies in Warframe. But sadly, in my language, community is terribly toxic to newcomers. They things, that if newbies easier to play, than they used to, they are unworthy of help. I would have continued to play anyway, but thanks to my buddies I made a lot less mistakes than I could.
I usually notice problems with story and lore, gameplay, and I with caution approach to games that I don't consider monolithic. I can't explain... I have a form in my head, that tells me how perfect everything should be. And if it's not, I get really sick of every mention of it think. But in Warframe that doesn't bother me at all. Absolutely. This is so marvelous and amazing! I this moment in Warframe, some moments, and my brain not react to them at all. Plot holes, storytelling problems, gameplay roughness - I don't care, because the story and gameplay in Warframe is still amazing! It's like living all life with head, what wrapped in barbed wire, on which twisted hot sticky polyethylene, and then suddenly it all disappeared. It's an amazing feeling. I also really like the visual style. It style like a dream, or AI art, when everything around is so fluid and changing, and often you see a picture that suddenly becomes different. For some reason, it relaxes me. And the plot, it so close to me. And I love that there are so many choices for player, as to who the Operator and the Drifter are, and it doesn't contradict world story in any way. For example, in my canon, main character is Drifter, and the Operator's universe is alternate.
I really like frame system because that I'm not limited by one class. I like games like The Elder Scrolls, where I can adapt to situation and not be locked into one role. But there I feel myself very bad from Khajiit. I like cats, and that way they talk about themselves in the third person, it`s like conecting to me... but their lore and strange things make a complete mess in my head. With Argonians, everything is much simpler and good, and they are so monolithic and fluid same time ... and these are the things that give me problems when I come contact with games and their systems. And not only, bruh.
From this I constantly feel guilty from that I not being able to play some relevant frames. Either their mechanics break my brain, or their skins break my brain, or their existence breaks my brain. Huh. And I have a special story with Nekros. It's fine, as long as I don't go into frame editor and try to change color... every time I change something, I put in a piece of myself. And for me, this is a whole special operation for many hours, because every color, every shape, I feel in my head by taste, by sound, sometimes by smell. And often this is all terribly contradictory. Everything not should be too dirty and full of detal, everything not should be too sterile. I very like natural colors, they don't give me attack. But bright, chaotic, iridescent, brilliant colors, cause me a stunning and an attack. I very love brightness and contrast, but I need use it right. But if I see something, that is not right for me, I will feel all sounds, smells and tastes, that relate to these colors and shapes at once. They will get stuck in my head, and there will be only colors and shapes before my eyes, and it will take me about 6 hours to recover. So, Nekros Prime evokes these feelings in me with his meaning, that gets into my head. Nekros style is a stereotype of a necromancer, or lich. I think this is wrong, because death, disease, parasites - this is all life. Life is not a cycle, it's just processes that are cyclical. And I want to reveal this in Nekros, otherwise it will be wrong actions for my mind. But if I don't, my brain will scream, that I need to do this urgently in order to fill empty cell with correct fragment. This happens to me very often, and I feel terrible. Therefore, I like to play with multifunctional classes that not create chaos. Or bright classes in which I don't have to do much. That's why I love druids and warlocks in World of Warcraft, but I really feel bad for Bards and Artifacts in DnD. Just like DnD itself, it`s for me true fictions ultimate chaos. Maybe It's not bad, but my brain becomes too overwhelmed by magnitude, brightness, ability to think and fantasize without rules, that it goes off the rails. And it all, that i can explane to you, turns Necros into a rainbow lord of connections with everything in all, and my brain explodes like a burnt out light bulb. I won't show it. I avoid even thinking about this appearance, although I, like a possessed, want to create it again and burn my brain. I bought almost all him skins, in order to collect something that will not blow my mind. I very love default warframe skins, and immortal skins, suddenly, with right coloration, are amazing! It`s my Nekros - For me would be much easier, if he had a skin that makes him more occult, like Limbo-style. But we have what we have. But I really like his helmet. And this is my favorite Rino, he looks like a dragon. And so amazing! I was a little disappointed that instead of a logical dragon skin... he became a bug. For some reason, this palette does not burn my brain, and I feel myself good. But this Nekros... Gentleman warlock, who summoning demons, would be much easier for me. But Caliban can't buff loot. Hah. And I don't know how to deal with feeling, that I'm doing something wrong, because such frames cause me irreparable discomfort. Last time, in order to get rid of attack, I had to delete my account and start all over again. -_- Therefore, I try to create a positive sensory background around me, that this does not happen. But often, some things aren't meant to be, and there's nothing I can do about it other than avoid them. This is especially sad because I LOVE loot. I collect EVERYTHING that can be collected. But then I have Khora, that is also great.
I've seen trailer and first details about the Soulframe, and I think it suits me a lot more than Warframe. But this slow combat... At least I hope I can put together a Scavenger character, who can buffs everyone for loot, and wreaks chaos on the battlefield with various demonic pets, to be able to loot, lol.
My brain was itching, so I needed to talk about all this. I hope you understand what I'm talking about.

About us
Hello lfg, I’m Dan [23M, he/him], I’ve been DMing off and on for 8 years and weekly for the last 3 and I’m looking for one player to replace a friend who has had to leave as his schedule changed. The campaign is run weekly on Saturday evenings starting at 19:00 and ending at 21:00 GMT+1, these times are unfortunately non-negotiable. We play on a mixture of Discord, roll20 and DnDbeyond. You don’t need to have a fully formed character at this point, but if you have ideas that would certainly help. Your first session will be run on the 1st at the aforementioned times. Here you will be introduced to your fellow players (and maybe even future friends), your DM (wait I know that guy, he’s me!) and the rules of conduct (which boil down to don’t be a dck). We hope to see you there (I put a large bet on *you being the successful candidate. Don’t ruin this for me, DM needs a new pair of shoes).
The setting
Ruin is a post-post-apocalypse setting with (for the most part) only “monstrous” species playable. 700 years ago, orcs, hobgoblins, bugbears, goblins, kobolds, pit trolls (homebrewed) and yuan ti cowered in the Evershade (underdark) as the ground shook and magical energies went wild, an event that would later be dubbed “The Collapse”. Centuries later they returned to a surface covered in destroyed cities and crumbling castles, there was no sign of the standard PHB species only their buildings remained, the world had become a carcass. There were some survivors, some few groups of xenophobic humans, known as the Godless, managed to survive in shielded cities and Remnants, sapient undead with broken memories who had setup small communities to attempt to recreate their pre-Collapse lives. Nature abhors a vacuum and the “monsters” began to colonise the surface. These new settlements that formed are on the cusp of being cities but they still need pioneers. Ancient wizards’ towers, silent dwarven holds and stagnant elven groves still dot the landscape waiting to be plundered for magical goods, money and answers. The biggest question still has no answer, what caused the Collapse and can it happen again?
Your character will be in the rapidly industrialising city of Ghostmuth when you hear rumours of a party who recently returned from a strange digsite in the wilds of Shirelan their bags full of riches and their heads full of stories of dragon cultists. (Or however you and I decide how to integrate your character into the party).
The party and you
Currently the party consists of a yuan-ti sorcerer who hears voices, a remnant minotaur barbarian who is looking for their family, a goblin rogue looking to support the people they care about and a goblin cleric who just wants buddies. Don’t feel pressured to build a character who “fits perfectly” into this mix, just bring your ideas to me.
Your character will start at level 3. All published classes are available (excluding bloodhunter) for you to play, and the following species: Bugbear, Goblin, Half-elf, Half-Hob, Human, Hobgoblin, Orc, Pit Troll and Remnant.
How to apply
Please fill out the following questions and PM them to me so that I can evaluate whether you fit the campaign, don’t worry about a first come first served system as I will read and consider every response that I receive though I will be closing this post in about 10 hours. Good luck either here or with some other group!
A. What name should I use to refer to you and what are your preferred pronouns?
B. What is your prior experience with 5e dnd, dndbeyond and roll20 (no stigma is attached to inexperience; this question just lets me know how I can best help you)?
C. What are you looking in a campaign of DND (What aspects of gameplay do you prefer ie roleplay vs combat, puzzles vs exploration, Strict laws vs rule of cool)?
D. In two sentences how would you sum up your idea for a character (ie what species/class you’re interested in playing and what is their personality like)?
E. What got you interested in DND?
F. What Sci-fi or fantasy series, book, show or comic, is your favourite (I’m not going to lie, this question is just me fishing for recommendations)?
G. What is the best ice cream flavour (I like to make graphs of this data, don’t judge me)?

About us
Hello lfg_europe, I’m Dan [23M, he/him], I’ve been DMing off and on for 8 years and weekly for the last 3 and I’m looking for one player to replace a friend who has had to leave as his schedule changed. The campaign is run weekly on Saturday evenings starting at 19:00 and ending at 21:00 GMT+1, these times are unfortunately non-negotiable. We play on a mixture of Discord, roll20 and DnDbeyond. You don’t need to have a fully formed character at this point, but if you have ideas that would certainly help. Your first session will be run on the 1st at the aforementioned times. Here you will be introduced to your fellow players (and maybe even future friends), your DM (wait I know that guy, he’s me!) and the rules of conduct (which boil down to don’t be a dck). We hope to see you there (I put a large bet on *you being the successful candidate. Don’t ruin this for me, DM needs a new pair of shoes).
The setting
Ruin is a post-post-apocalypse setting with (for the most part) only “monstrous” species playable. 700 years ago, orcs, hobgoblins, bugbears, goblins, kobolds, pit trolls (homebrewed) and yuan ti cowered in the Evershade (underdark) as the ground shook and magical energies went wild, an event that would later be dubbed “The Collapse”. Centuries later they returned to a surface covered in destroyed cities and crumbling castles, there was no sign of the standard PHB species only their buildings remained, the world had become a carcass. There were some survivors, some few groups of xenophobic humans, known as the Godless, managed to survive in shielded cities and Remnants, sapient undead with broken memories who had setup small communities to attempt to recreate their pre-Collapse lives. Nature abhors a vacuum and the “monsters” began to colonise the surface. These new settlements that formed are on the cusp of being cities but they still need pioneers. Ancient wizards’ towers, silent dwarven holds and stagnant elven groves still dot the landscape waiting to be plundered for magical goods, money and answers. The biggest question still has no answer, what caused the Collapse and can it happen again?
Your character will be in the rapidly industrialising city of Ghostmuth when you hear rumours of a party who recently returned from a strange digsite in the wilds of Shirelan their bags full of riches and their heads full of stories of dragon cultists. (Or however you and I decide how to integrate your character into the party).
The party and you
Currently the party consists of a yuan-ti sorcerer who hears voices, a remnant minotaur barbarian who is looking for their family, a goblin rogue looking to support the people they care about and a goblin cleric who just wants buddies. Don’t feel pressured to build a character who “fits perfectly” into this mix, just bring your ideas to me.
Your character will start at level 3. All published classes are available (excluding bloodhunter) for you to play, and the following species: Bugbear, Goblin, Half-elf, Half-Hob, Human, Hobgoblin, Orc, Pit Troll and Remnant.
How to apply
Please fill out the following questions and PM them to me so that I can evaluate whether you fit the campaign, don’t worry about a first come first served system as I will read and consider every response that I receive though I will be closing this post in about 10 hours. Good luck either here or with some other group!
A. What name should I use to refer to you and what are your preferred pronouns?
B. What is your prior experience with 5e dnd, dndbeyond and roll20 (no stigma is attached to inexperience; this question just lets me know how I can best help you)?
C. What are you looking in a campaign of DND (What aspects of gameplay do you prefer ie roleplay vs combat, puzzles vs exploration, Strict laws vs rule of cool)?
D. In two sentences how would you sum up your idea for a character (ie what species/class you’re interested in playing and what is their personality like)?
E. What got you interested in DND?
F. What Sci-fi or fantasy series, book, show or comic, is your favourite (I’m not going to lie, this question is just me fishing for recommendations)?
G. What is the best ice cream flavour (I like to make graphs of this data, don’t judge me)?

So I’m currently playing a bit of ds3 again and I’d just like to respec my statistics so I can use something else. I’m not sure what I want to go for because I still want something strong but also fun. For this character I’m currently ng+2 at level 90 and I’m making my way to cathedral of the deep where Rosaria is located. I was thinking about maybe going for a moonlight gs build, or dragon slayer sword spear (not sure if it’s any good) but basically just any fun melee build that’s not entirely strength as when I did this first play through a few months back now I practically used the heavy gs and nothing else. Any suggestions are welcome!

Three moon cycles later
Galdush fields, Meilume region of the Empire
The time has come and the troops are ready. The chosen commander of Imperial forces is Ylyndar Glynra, general of the IV army, commanding twenty-five thousand infantry, ten thousand cavalry, ten thousand archers along with one hundred wyverns, one hundred battle mages and hundreds of siege elements for a total of fifty thousand troops. The vassal forces number forty thousand. Ten thousand dwarves from Nundolar commanded by Bardek Leadmaster and ten thousand from Halboram under Dalmin Bronzering. The Rosians sent twenty thousand in total under the command of Bodin Zorgen of Alston, king Thavok's eldest son. The imperials have also brought an auxiliary force of ten thousand slaves, which include ferral orcs, trolls, ogres, swine, lepians, feelians, leanoids, and welfen.
In total, the invasion force numbered one hundred thousand strong and they were to start the land attack in the Galdush fields. At the same time, the VI fleet of one hundred ships of various sizes gathered in the western waters away from the port city of Lashil. Admiral Lothar Tanros was also tasked with opening a rift and to attack the enemy's shoreline, making the invasion a pincer assault.
"It is time, general.", a captain said proudly.
"Indeed.", Ylandar replied, "I cannot wait to bring the emperor's light to this savage world. Are the mages in place?"
"Yes, general. They are finishing the ritual. It is a pity we cannot open more rifts."
"Any more and the spiritual energy of North Altia will be completely drained. I do not wish to destroy our world along with theirs."
"Understood sir.", at that moment, a large rift opened up. It was thirty steps wide, ten steps tall, and shining in bright blue. All soldiers stared at it with amazement and fright. This was the gateway to the savage land they were warned about, they must remain vigilant. "I shall prepare the first wave."
"Hold. I shall go.", Ylindar said.
"S-Sir? Are you certain?"
"Yes. I will lead the first wave.". With that, he rode to Bardek, Dalmin, and Bodin. "You know the plan. All Rosian troops, half of the dwarves, the entire auxiliary, and ten thousand of my own troops. Once a foothold has been established, a messenger will ride back and inform the rest of the troops to begin the second wave. The navy has most likely begun its attack. We must hurry. For the light!"
With that they marched forward into the rift, unaware of the dangers they will face. All they could do is pray to the spirits.
---
History is not kind. Many bad things happened throughout human history. Wars, plagues, destruction, and death beyond counting. On top of that, humans themselves were never the best of people. It is they who caused all of it to happen and it is also they who keep doing it. History has always described humans as selfish and self-harming, but history is written by the winner. And this time, the good wins.
The great virus that occurred in the third decade ravaged the planet, killing millions of people. But through human genius, a cure was made and the death was stopped. However, it was then that the true culprits were discovered. One of the greatest problems of humanity is overpopulation. We have grown soft and stopped "culling the herd" so that a sensible number can thrive and be strong. A group calling themselves 'True salvation', sought to fix this. Through decades of careful planning and manipulation, they've reached a solution. For mankind to prosper it needs to suffer. So they showed themselves in 2034 and declared that they will do what was necessary to save the Earth. So they set off fires and explosions all throughout the world. Thousands upon thousands of factories and industries were destroyed, the capital and major cities were devastated, planes kept crashing, ships kept sinking, and it was chaos. The death toll was in the millions, even hundreds of millions as every country suffered.
But the salvationist forgot one important thing. These are human beings. By attacking them all they've united them all. Global governments decided they will not stand by idly while their people were being killed for some 'greater good'. In a united effort, after fifteen years, they tracked down and eliminated the salvationists, ending the crisis. But now the bigger problem took the stage. The world was in chaos and it needed fixing. So for the future years, that is exactly what happened. A new generation replaced the old one and with everyone united they not only repaired but also advanced. New technologies were invented, and life became better. Artificial limbs became more common, medicine was more advanced and the military received more than one upgrade so that no future threat can harm the nations.
NATO got more support from South America and Australia, while East Europe and Asia created a new block called Easter Powers Alliance. The UN now strictly enforces laws against drugs and poachers are shot on sight so to protect the wild and plant life. Renewable energy sources are spread across the world and the atmosphere is being healed. Many monuments were built for the victims of the salvationists. It goes to show that no matter how much humanity is battered, it would always rise stronger.
And now? Now it is the year 2070 and things are going just fine.
5th of May, 2070
Lumberton, North Carolina
The Northeast park is always a wonderful place to visit. With playgrounds and baseball fields, it was always cheerful. Right now the Jaguars were playing against the Bulls and hundreds of people gathered to watch. Officers Bradly O'Neil, or just Brad, and Jack Mitchel pulled their police car over to watch the game.
"So who do think is winning this time?", Jack asked.
"My money is on the Bulls.", Brad said, "They're winning right now."
"No one knows man. I have a gut feeling the Jaguars are gonna make a comeback."
In that moment, a Jaguar pitcher threw the ball and the Bull hit it with the bat, sending it out of the ring.
"Hooooo! Another home run by the Bulls!", said the announcer, "If they keep this up they will win it all!"
The Bull ran full circle and when he finished, a tremor shook the ground. Suddenly, a large rectangle of light appeared. It was nearly fifty feet wide and sixteen feet tall. People were confused and everyone tried to wrap their heads around what exactly was happening.
"Brad?", Jack asked, "Did anyone order a light show?"
"At four pm? Unlikely.", Brad said as he grabbed his radio, "Dispatch this is officer O'Neil, we have a situation at the Northeast park. Unclear if it is a threat but I require reinforcements and-"
Out of the light, men started appearing. They were strange to say the least. They wore medieval-like armor and has pink skin. Behind them appeared something that freaked people out and scarred them even more. Things they would only see in fantasy movies. Green-skinned orcs, dwarves, and even huge dragon-like lizards. No one understood how they got here but they understood their purpose as they attacked the players and spectators.
The green-skinned and pig-like monsters killed and ate everyone they could find. The dragons flew in the air and arrows rained down on the people.
Brad took the radio again and shouted, "Threat confirmed! I repeat the threat is confirmed! Send reinforcements and alert the national guard! They're killing everyone! We need-"
A pig-like monster jumped at him but it got blasted away by a shotgun. "Power or speed?", asked Jack who shot the gun.
"Speed. I'll take the smaller ones.", he replied and grabbed the shotgun while Jack took the SMG, "We have to save as many people as we can! Come on!"
---
The attack is a success. Already these pale-skinned savages flee and are killed by the dozens and soon hundreds. This field will serve as a good foothold for the invasion.
Prince Bodin looked over the scenery and thought, 'This doesn't look like a land filled with chaos. Were the visions a lie after all?'
"Prince Bodin.", called general Ylindar, "It is glorious is it not? We will slaughter these savages and take the lands in the name of the light. I need you to send your forces over to the structures to the southwest, I have already dispatched the dwarves and auxillia to the south."
"This place is not like the one explained in the vision."
"That does not matter. You are to gather as many slaves as you can and kill all the soldiers that attack you. We must clear a path for the second wave." Bodin internally cursed but went with the orders and called his men.
"Sir!", called a captain, "There are several savages that are causing problems for us."
"What do you mean?"
"They are hiding behind strange metal carts and it appears they have boomsticks much like the dwarves."
"Send a group of mages with dwarves and crush them."
"Right away sir!". With that, the captain left and Ylindar started setting up the stronghold and preparing the letter for the second wave.
Five mages along with a hundred dwarf warriors and shooters. The two dozen savages hid behind metal carts and fired at the orcs and swine that ran at them. The dwarves took aim and fired but they only killed a couple. The savages fired and the mages tried to create a force shield, but something was wrong. There was no energy in this world and magic didn't work.
"What's the problem?", asked a dwarf.
"I-I don't know. I can't-"
Before he could finish, he fell to the ground with a hole in his head. The dwarves started to fall as well. The warriors put up their shields, but the weapons of the savages tore through them. Eventually, enough orcs and swine pushed them and killed most while taking one prisoner.
---
Some time later
Noble self-service storage
Bodin never liked the empire or the emperor. They killed his grandfather just because they wanted freedom. But right now, he didn't have a choice. Denying a direct imperial order is a death sentence. He needed to make sure his kingdom, as well as the others, by doing their bidding and dirty work.
On his way to the strange structures, he encountered strange things. Metal carts that moved without horses and the wide roads made of flat stones, as well as soldiers with repeating boomsticks. For every one of them he lost dozens, but they couldn't hold on for long. Bodin gave explicate orders not to kill any retreating soldiers or innocent people. They won't become monstrous killers like the elves.
After a while, they reached the structures. Rows of identical buildings locked with metal doors. They opened them one by one and only found different pieces of furniture and sometimes jewelry.
"Take anything of value.", Bodin said, "We have taken enough people captive. After we are done here we will report to general Ylindar. Captain, take the captives back quickly. I fear the men we've faced are but a fraction of their army."
"Yes my lord.", the captain said and left with his troops in a hurry.
"Are you starting to doubt the visions, prince Bodin.", spoke a man next to him, "Because so far I am."
"Viscount Iaw.", replied Bodin, "I know what you mean. These people don't look like the savage barbarians the elves told us about. They look like us."
"While I do agree with you on that, you cannot deny the differences. These structures look so robust, and the roads are completely flat. The boomsticks, and the metal carts, clearly these people possess great magic and machines. I cannot imagine what would happen if the empire got its hands on them."
"Don't even say that. Let's just get these items back to-". His sentence was cut by a loud explosion that came from the other side of the structures. Bits and pieces of armor, weapons, and bodies fell on all sides. The men panicked as more explosions came from all sides.
"They have cannons!", yelled Bodin, "Scatter! Find the shooters!". After he gave his orders the soldiers ran to all sides, but they stopped shortly after noticing something in the air. Enemy wyverns? No. They looked different and were made of metal much like the carriages. Several of them filled the sky and inside were soldiers with aimed cannons who opened fire on the Rosians. The soldiers died by the hundreds and Bodin knew he was in danger.
"We have to get out of here!", yelled Iaw and hurried forward on his horse. Bodin and the others followed but they slowed down as they saw a roadblock of large and bulky metal carriages. Dozens of enemies came out of them and prepared their weapons.
"I shall clear a path for you!", said Iaw and charged at the enemy with his troops. Bodin attempted to stop him but to no avail. The enemies opened fire and Iaw was filled with holes along with his men. They didn't even get close before they were slaughtered. Paralyzed by fear, the remaining Rosian troops did the only sensible thing, they surrendered. Now they can only hope for the enemy to be merciful.
---
'This was supposed to be a slow day.", thought lieutenant Jefferson, 'What the hell did we get ourselves into.'
This was beyond strange. A portal opening up in Northeast park, fantasy, and medieval people coming out of it and attacking people? This wasn't what Mark signed up to fight. But he did sign up to defend the United States from any threat. This one counts.
As he rode in his helicopter he saw the other choppers literally slaughtering the 'enemy'. If you can call people with swords and bows riding on a horse a proper enemy. They were being killed in the thousands and only several hundred were left at the storage facilities.
"Lieutenant, are you ok?", asked a sergeant, "You spaced out."
"I'm fine Thomas. This is just beyond me. But I guess it's not our job to think about it.", he stood up and grabbed the rope, "We're going down!"
They lowered themselves from the helicopter and got into formation. They moved through the roads and shot every enemy that came after them. It wasn't hard, these 'knights' weren't much of a threat as long as they were out of range.
"Cavalry behind us!", yelled Thomas. The platoon got into a firing line and opened fire, cutting down the dozens of horses and 'men' riding them. As they continued forward they arrived at the JLTVs placed to block the enemy's advance.
"Lieutenant Mark Jefferson.", he said as he saluted.
"Sergeant Norman Cole. Sir, you're not gonna believe this."
"We are under attack by Lord of the rings characters in pink. Try me."
"Well, these people speak a different language, unsurprisingly. But when I introduced myself they spoke English."
This did surprise Mark. "English? Are you sure?"
"Yes. There's an accent definitely but it's unmistakable. And that guy with the cape and silver helmet? He's the leader. Prince Bodin of Alston."
After some pondering, Mark answered, "Load them up in the trucks. Separate the more important ones. I need to get in touch with the forces sent to Food lion."
"Yes, sir."
'This keeps getting weirder and weirder.', Mark thought.
---
Earlier
Near Food lion
Zoya was not happy about this. Being forced to fight for these oppressors alongside animals. It was degrading. But she didn't have a choice. It was serve or die. Because of their animal features, lepians and feelians are sent first to scout the area and bring information. But what the others were doing was horrible.
All around she could see the feral orcs butchering people and raid homes, the swine, trolls, and ogres eating people alive, and the dwarves plundering treasures and taking weapons. It was disgusting. The forces did suffer casualties. These people were armed with weapons more powerful than even the dwarves had. The feral beast suffered the most. Even the trolls and ogress fell to being shot enough times. But eventually, they had to run away.
Plunging her dagger into a blue-clothed soldier's back, Zoya let out a tired sigh. "How much longer?", she asked herself.
"As long as it takes.", said a woman behind her.
"Bora. I thought you were killed."
"I was almost. But I lost many of my own. These weapons are deadly. If we dodge one shot ten more appear."
"What's taking you so long, rabbit?", asked the dwarven general Dalmin in a disrespectful attitude, "I thought you lepians were supposed to be expert scouts."
"Don't talk down at us, dwarf.", said Bora.
"Shut it cat! Or I'll grind you into meat and feed you to my hog.", Bora hissed at that, "Now, get going. It won't be long before Bardek arrives and I intend to have more fun.". With that he rode off, leaving Zoya and Bora.
"I'm going to kill him one day.", said Bora.
Zoya looked behind her and saw a group of children running away from a swine and a feral orc. They went inside what looked like a large market. Zoya ran after them and Bora quickly followed. They reached the mark and when they entered it they saw the women and children cowering in a corner as the swine and orc closed in. Zoya rushed at the orc and slit its throat then quickly spun around and kicked the swine, knocking it to the ground. Without wasting time she plunged her dagger into its heart. She walked over to the children and gestured for them to calm down.
"What was that?", Bora asked.
"I'm not letting let innocent people get butchered and eaten by monsters."
"But if the elves find out-"
"They won't. We can-", she stopped midway after her ears twitched. Looking out the window she saw and hear explosions. That must be this world's army. Dalmin rode on his hog to lead a charge against their metal carriages but was cut down by the enemy's weapons.
Zoya and Bora were scared. Their people were dying and soon they will follow. But just then, a little girl walked to her side and pulled her hand. "Don't worry.", she spoke in the imperial tongue, which surprised Zoya, "We'll tell them you saved us."
---
"This is pretty insane isn't it sir?", asked a soldier.
"It sure is Paterson.", said the sergeant, "Let's just kill everything that can't talk first and worry about the rest later."
"Rodger.". They exited the Bradley and got to work, opening fire on what looked like dwarves and orcs. The Bradley itself focused on the larger targets while the soldiers moved in. House by house and street by street they moved in. The dwarves fired their musket-like weapons but they only managed to land a few lucky shots. The new M16A5 assault rifle with 6.8mm bullets tore through their armor and shields.
An ogre started charging from the back lines, swinging his large stone on a chain. "Paterson! Fire your grenade launcher!", ordered the sergeant. Paterson fired and upon impact the grenade exploded, leaving a gaping hole in the ogre's chest and bursting its organs all around. The battle continued and the stubborn dwarves fought as well as the ugly monsters. The only ones that surrendered were the animalistic 'people'.
As the soldiers progressed they saw horrid things. People were being eaten and ripped apart by the monsters as they screamed and begged for their lives. Homes burned and vehicles crushed. This won't go unanswered. "Kill them all!", yelled the sergeant, and the soldiers happily obliged.
With rifles, grenades, and machine guns they slaughtered the monsters. Trolls and ogres were blown to pieces, orcs, and swine riddled with holes like Swiss cheese. Even the stubborn dwarves were shown little mercy. The sergeant continued with his men to Food lion where he spotted two animal-like people, one looked like a cat and the other like a bunny, with over a dozen children.
They entered and pointed their guns at them immediately, but the children stood in front of them. "Don't shoot them.", said a boy.
"What?", asked the sergeant.
"They saved us from the monsters.", said a girl pointing to the dead orc and pig.
After some delay, the sergeant spoke, "Lower your weapons.". He walked to the two women. "I am gunnery-sergeant Jeff Miller. Who are you?"
"I am Zoya and this is Bora.", answered the rabbit woman, "We are the slave auxiliary of the empire of light."
Confused, Jeff asked, "The what?"
Before she could answer, Paterson walked over to Miller, "Sir, I have a message from lieutenant Mark Jefferson. He asks about a report and if we're ready to join them in the attack on Northeast park."
Jeff looked at the two women before turning to his men, "Paterson, tell the lieutenant that we'll join them soon. Johnson, and Shane, take these two into custody. I'll question them more when I get back."
"Where are you going?", asked Bora suddenly.
Jeff turned to her slowly and answered, "We're gonna end this."
End of chapter 2
---
Thank you very much for reading. If you'd like to support me (for some freakin' reason) feel free to upvote, follow, and check out my Patreon: patreon.com/SimpleWrites
Sorry for the choppy chapter, I promise better work in the future.

Three moon cycles later
Galdush fields, Meilume region of the Empire
The time has come and the troops are ready. The chosen commander of Imperial forces is Ylyndar Glynra, general of the IV army, commanding twenty-five thousand infantry, ten thousand cavalry, ten thousand archers along with one hundred wyverns, one hundred battle mages and hundreds of siege elements for a total of fifty thousand troops. The vassal forces number forty thousand. Ten thousand dwarves from Nundolar commanded by Bardek Leadmaster and ten thousand from Halboram under Dalmin Bronzering. The Rosians sent twenty thousand in total under the command of Bodin Zorgen of Alston, king Thavok's eldest son. The imperials have also brought an auxiliary force of ten thousand slaves, which include ferral orcs, trolls, ogres, swine, lepians, feelians, leanoids, and welfen.
In total, the invasion force numbered one hundred thousand strong and they were to start the land attack in the Galdush fields. At the same time, the VI fleet of one hundred ships of various sizes gathered in the western waters away from the port city of Lashil. Admiral Lothar Tanros was also tasked with opening a rift and to attack the enemy's shoreline, making the invasion a pincer assault.
"It is time, general.", a captain said proudly.
"Indeed.", Ylandar replied, "I cannot wait to bring the emperor's light to this savage world. Are the mages in place?"
"Yes, general. They are finishing the ritual. It is a pity we cannot open more rifts."
"Any more and the spiritual energy of North Altia will be completely drained. I do not wish to destroy our world along with theirs."
"Understood sir.", at that moment, a large rift opened up. It was thirty steps wide, ten steps tall, and shining in bright blue. All soldiers stared at it with amazement and fright. This was the gateway to the savage land they were warned about, they must remain vigilant. "I shall prepare the first wave."
"Hold. I shall go.", Ylindar said.
"S-Sir? Are you certain?"
"Yes. I will lead the first wave.". With that, he rode to Bardek, Dalmin, and Bodin. "You know the plan. All Rosian troops, half of the dwarves, the entire auxiliary, and ten thousand of my own troops. Once a foothold has been established, a messenger will ride back and inform the rest of the troops to begin the second wave. The navy has most likely begun its attack. We must hurry. For the light!"
With that they marched forward into the rift, unaware of the dangers they will face. All they could do is pray to the spirits.
---
History is not kind. Many bad things happened throughout human history. Wars, plagues, destruction, and death beyond counting. On top of that, humans themselves were never the best of people. It is they who caused all of it to happen and it is also they who keep doing it. History has always described humans as selfish and self-harming, but history is written by the winner. And this time, the good wins.
The great virus that occurred in the third decade ravaged the planet, killing millions of people. But through human genius, a cure was made and the death was stopped. However, it was then that the true culprits were discovered. One of the greatest problems of humanity is overpopulation. We have grown soft and stopped "culling the herd" so that a sensible number can thrive and be strong. A group calling themselves 'True salvation', sought to fix this. Through decades of careful planning and manipulation, they've reached a solution. For mankind to prosper it needs to suffer. So they showed themselves in 2034 and declared that they will do what was necessary to save the Earth. So they set off fires and explosions all throughout the world. Thousands upon thousands of factories and industries were destroyed, the capital and major cities were devastated, planes kept crashing, ships kept sinking, and it was chaos. The death toll was in the millions, even hundreds of millions as every country suffered.
But the salvationist forgot one important thing. These are human beings. By attacking them all they've united them all. Global governments decided they will not stand by idly while their people were being killed for some 'greater good'. In a united effort, after fifteen years, they tracked down and eliminated the salvationists, ending the crisis. But now the bigger problem took the stage. The world was in chaos and it needed fixing. So for the future years, that is exactly what happened. A new generation replaced the old one and with everyone united they not only repaired but also advanced. New technologies were invented, and life became better. Artificial limbs became more common, medicine was more advanced and the military received more than one upgrade so that no future threat can harm the nations.
NATO got more support from South America and Australia, while East Europe and Asia created a new block called Easter Powers Alliance. The UN now strictly enforces laws against drugs and poachers are shot on sight so to protect the wild and plant life. Renewable energy sources are spread across the world and the atmosphere is being healed. Many monuments were built for the victims of the salvationists. It goes to show that no matter how much humanity is battered, it would always rise stronger.
And now? Now it is the year 2070 and things are going just fine.
5th of May, 2070
Lumberton, North Carolina
The Northeast park is always a wonderful place to visit. With playgrounds and baseball fields, it was always cheerful. Right now the Jaguars were playing against the Bulls and hundreds of people gathered to watch. Officers Bradly O'Neil, or just Brad, and Jack Mitchel pulled their police car over to watch the game.
"So who do think is winning this time?", Jack asked.
"My money is on the Bulls.", Brad said, "They're winning right now."
"No one knows man. I have a gut feeling the Jaguars are gonna make a comeback."
In that moment, a Jaguar pitcher threw the ball and the Bull hit it with the bat, sending it out of the ring.
"Hooooo! Another home run by the Bulls!", said the announcer, "If they keep this up they will win it all!"
The Bull ran full circle and when he finished, a tremor shook the ground. Suddenly, a large rectangle of light appeared. It was nearly fifty feet wide and sixteen feet tall. People were confused and everyone tried to wrap their heads around what exactly was happening.
"Brad?", Jack asked, "Did anyone order a light show?"
"At four pm? Unlikely.", Brad said as he grabbed his radio, "Dispatch this is officer O'Neil, we have a situation at the Northeast park. Unclear if it is a threat but I require reinforcements and-"
Out of the light, men started appearing. They were strange to say the least. They wore medieval-like armor and has pink skin. Behind them appeared something that freaked people out and scarred them even more. Things they would only see in fantasy movies. Green-skinned orcs, dwarves, and even huge dragon-like lizards. No one understood how they got here but they understood their purpose as they attacked the players and spectators.
The green-skinned and pig-like monsters killed and ate everyone they could find. The dragons flew in the air and arrows rained down on the people.
Brad took the radio again and shouted, "Threat confirmed! I repeat the threat is confirmed! Send reinforcements and alert the national guard! They're killing everyone! We need-"
A pig-like monster jumped at him but it got blasted away by a shotgun. "Power or speed?", asked Jack who shot the gun.
"Speed. I'll take the smaller ones.", he replied and grabbed the shotgun while Jack took the SMG, "We have to save as many people as we can! Come on!"
---
The attack is a success. Already these pale-skinned savages flee and are killed by the dozens and soon hundreds. This field will serve as a good foothold for the invasion.
Prince Bodin looked over the scenery and thought, 'This doesn't look like a land filled with chaos. Were the visions a lie after all?'
"Prince Bodin.", called general Ylindar, "It is glorious is it not? We will slaughter these savages and take the lands in the name of the light. I need you to send your forces over to the structures to the southwest, I have already dispatched the dwarves and auxillia to the south."
"This place is not like the one explained in the vision."
"That does not matter. You are to gather as many slaves as you can and kill all the soldiers that attack you. We must clear a path for the second wave." Bodin internally cursed but went with the orders and called his men.
"Sir!", called a captain, "There are several savages that are causing problems for us."
"What do you mean?"
"They are hiding behind strange metal carts and it appears they have boomsticks much like the dwarves."
"Send a group of mages with dwarves and crush them."
"Right away sir!". With that, the captain left and Ylindar started setting up the stronghold and preparing the letter for the second wave.
Five mages along with a hundred dwarf warriors and shooters. The two dozen savages hid behind metal carts and fired at the orcs and swine that ran at them. The dwarves took aim and fired but they only killed a couple. The savages fired and the mages tried to create a force shield, but something was wrong. There was no energy in this world and magic didn't work.
"What's the problem?", asked a dwarf.
"I-I don't know. I can't-"
Before he could finish, he fell to the ground with a hole in his head. The dwarves started to fall as well. The warriors put up their shields, but the weapons of the savages tore through them. Eventually, enough orcs and swine pushed them and killed most while taking one prisoner.
---
Some time later
Noble self-service storage
Bodin never liked the empire or the emperor. They killed his grandfather just because they wanted freedom. But right now, he didn't have a choice. Denying a direct imperial order is a death sentence. He needed to make sure his kingdom, as well as the others, by doing their bidding and dirty work.
On his way to the strange structures, he encountered strange things. Metal carts that moved without horses and the wide roads made of flat stones, as well as soldiers with repeating boomsticks. For every one of them he lost dozens, but they couldn't hold on for long. Bodin gave explicate orders not to kill any retreating soldiers or innocent people. They won't become monstrous killers like the elves.
After a while, they reached the structures. Rows of identical buildings locked with metal doors. They opened them one by one and only found different pieces of furniture and sometimes jewelry.
"Take anything of value.", Bodin said, "We have taken enough people captive. After we are done here we will report to general Ylindar. Captain, take the captives back quickly. I fear the men we've faced are but a fraction of their army."
"Yes my lord.", the captain said and left with his troops in a hurry.
"Are you starting to doubt the visions, prince Bodin.", spoke a man next to him, "Because so far I am."
"Viscount Iaw.", replied Bodin, "I know what you mean. These people don't look like the savage barbarians the elves told us about. They look like us."
"While I do agree with you on that, you cannot deny the differences. These structures look so robust, and the roads are completely flat. The boomsticks, and the metal carts, clearly these people possess great magic and machines. I cannot imagine what would happen if the empire got its hands on them."
"Don't even say that. Let's just get these items back to-". His sentence was cut by a loud explosion that came from the other side of the structures. Bits and pieces of armor, weapons, and bodies fell on all sides. The men panicked as more explosions came from all sides.
"They have cannons!", yelled Bodin, "Scatter! Find the shooters!". After he gave his orders the soldiers ran to all sides, but they stopped shortly after noticing something in the air. Enemy wyverns? No. They looked different and were made of metal much like the carriages. Several of them filled the sky and inside were soldiers with aimed cannons who opened fire on the Rosians. The soldiers died by the hundreds and Bodin knew he was in danger.
"We have to get out of here!", yelled Iaw and hurried forward on his horse. Bodin and the others followed but they slowed down as they saw a roadblock of large and bulky metal carriages. Dozens of enemies came out of them and prepared their weapons.
"I shall clear a path for you!", said Iaw and charged at the enemy with his troops. Bodin attempted to stop him but to no avail. The enemies opened fire and Iaw was filled with holes along with his men. They didn't even get close before they were slaughtered. Paralyzed by fear, the remaining Rosian troops did the only sensible thing, they surrendered. Now they can only hope for the enemy to be merciful.
---
'This was supposed to be a slow day.", thought lieutenant Jefferson, 'What the hell did we get ourselves into.'
This was beyond strange. A portal opening up in Northeast park, fantasy, and medieval people coming out of it and attacking people? This wasn't what Mark signed up to fight. But he did sign up to defend the United States from any threat. This one counts.
As he rode in his helicopter he saw the other choppers literally slaughtering the 'enemy'. If you can call people with swords and bows riding on a horse a proper enemy. They were being killed in the thousands and only several hundred were left at the storage facilities.
"Lieutenant, are you ok?", asked a sergeant, "You spaced out."
"I'm fine Thomas. This is just beyond me. But I guess it's not our job to think about it.", he stood up and grabbed the rope, "We're going down!"
They lowered themselves from the helicopter and got into formation. They moved through the roads and shot every enemy that came after them. It wasn't hard, these 'knights' weren't much of a threat as long as they were out of range.
"Cavalry behind us!", yelled Thomas. The platoon got into a firing line and opened fire, cutting down the dozens of horses and 'men' riding them. As they continued forward they arrived at the JLTVs placed to block the enemy's advance.
"Lieutenant Mark Jefferson.", he said as he saluted.
"Sergeant Norman Cole. Sir, you're not gonna believe this."
"We are under attack by Lord of the rings characters in pink. Try me."
"Well, these people speak a different language, unsurprisingly. But when I introduced myself they spoke English."
This did surprise Mark. "English? Are you sure?"
"Yes. There's an accent definitely but it's unmistakable. And that guy with the cape and silver helmet? He's the leader. Prince Bodin of Alston."
After some pondering, Mark answered, "Load them up in the trucks. Separate the more important ones. I need to get in touch with the forces sent to Food lion."
"Yes, sir."
'This keeps getting weirder and weirder.', Mark thought.
---
Earlier
Near Food lion
Zoya was not happy about this. Being forced to fight for these oppressors alongside animals. It was degrading. But she didn't have a choice. It was serve or die. Because of their animal features, lepians and feelians are sent first to scout the area and bring information. But what the others were doing was horrible.
All around she could see the feral orcs butchering people and raid homes, the swine, trolls, and ogres eating people alive, and the dwarves plundering treasures and taking weapons. It was disgusting. The forces did suffer casualties. These people were armed with weapons more powerful than even the dwarves had. The feral beast suffered the most. Even the trolls and ogress fell to being shot enough times. But eventually, they had to run away.
Plunging her dagger into a blue-clothed soldier's back, Zoya let out a tired sigh. "How much longer?", she asked herself.
"As long as it takes.", said a woman behind her.
"Bora. I thought you were killed."
"I was almost. But I lost many of my own. These weapons are deadly. If we dodge one shot ten more appear."
"What's taking you so long, rabbit?", asked the dwarven general Dalmin in a disrespectful attitude, "I thought you lepians were supposed to be expert scouts."
"Don't talk down at us, dwarf.", said Bora.
"Shut it cat! Or I'll grind you into meat and feed you to my hog.", Bora hissed at that, "Now, get going. It won't be long before Bardek arrives and I intend to have more fun.". With that he rode off, leaving Zoya and Bora.
"I'm going to kill him one day.", said Bora.
Zoya looked behind her and saw a group of children running away from a swine and a feral orc. They went inside what looked like a large market. Zoya ran after them and Bora quickly followed. They reached the mark and when they entered it they saw the women and children cowering in a corner as the swine and orc closed in. Zoya rushed at the orc and slit its throat then quickly spun around and kicked the swine, knocking it to the ground. Without wasting time she plunged her dagger into its heart. She walked over to the children and gestured for them to calm down.
"What was that?", Bora asked.
"I'm not letting let innocent people get butchered and eaten by monsters."
"But if the elves find out-"
"They won't. We can-", she stopped midway after her ears twitched. Looking out the window she saw and hear explosions. That must be this world's army. Dalmin rode on his hog to lead a charge against their metal carriages but was cut down by the enemy's weapons.
Zoya and Bora were scared. Their people were dying and soon they will follow. But just then, a little girl walked to her side and pulled her hand. "Don't worry.", she spoke in the imperial tongue, which surprised Zoya, "We'll tell them you saved us."
---
"This is pretty insane isn't it sir?", asked a soldier.
"It sure is Paterson.", said the sergeant, "Let's just kill everything that can't talk first and worry about the rest later."
"Rodger.". They exited the Bradley and got to work, opening fire on what looked like dwarves and orcs. The Bradley itself focused on the larger targets while the soldiers moved in. House by house and street by street they moved in. The dwarves fired their musket-like weapons but they only managed to land a few lucky shots. The new M16A5 assault rifle with 6.8mm bullets tore through their armor and shields.
An ogre started charging from the back lines, swinging his large stone on a chain. "Paterson! Fire your grenade launcher!", ordered the sergeant. Paterson fired and upon impact the grenade exploded, leaving a gaping hole in the ogre's chest and bursting its organs all around. The battle continued and the stubborn dwarves fought as well as the ugly monsters. The only ones that surrendered were the animalistic 'people'.
As the soldiers progressed they saw horrid things. People were being eaten and ripped apart by the monsters as they screamed and begged for their lives. Homes burned and vehicles crushed. This won't go unanswered. "Kill them all!", yelled the sergeant, and the soldiers happily obliged.
With rifles, grenades, and machine guns they slaughtered the monsters. Trolls and ogres were blown to pieces, orcs, and swine riddled with holes like Swiss cheese. Even the stubborn dwarves were shown little mercy. The sergeant continued with his men to Food lion where he spotted two animal-like people, one looked like a cat and the other like a bunny, with over a dozen children.
They entered and pointed their guns at them immediately, but the children stood in front of them. "Don't shoot them.", said a boy.
"What?", asked the sergeant.
"They saved us from the monsters.", said a girl pointing to the dead orc and pig.
After some delay, the sergeant spoke, "Lower your weapons.". He walked to the two women. "I am gunnery-sergeant Jeff Miller. Who are you?"
"I am Zoya and this is Bora.", answered the rabbit woman, "We are the slave auxiliary of the empire of light."
Confused, Jeff asked, "The what?"
Before she could answer, Paterson walked over to Miller, "Sir, I have a message from lieutenant Mark Jefferson. He asks about a report and if we're ready to join them in the attack on Northeast park."
Jeff looked at the two women before turning to his men, "Paterson, tell the lieutenant that we'll join them soon. Johnson, and Shane, take these two into custody. I'll question them more when I get back."
"Where are you going?", asked Bora suddenly.
Jeff turned to her slowly and answered, "We're gonna end this."
End of chapter 2
---
Thank you very much for reading. If you'd like to support me (for some freakin' reason) feel free to upvote, follow, and check out my Patreon (DM me for the link, please).
Sorry for the choppy chapter, I promise better work in the future.

i have played mercenaries since launch and have taken a break a few times but I mostly enjoy the mode.
then blizzard had to shut down this mode because they were not making money off of it.but that's not surprising since the monetization has been done poorly - pack value decreases over time, shop offers random skin for a character offers and you cannot buy packs to max out mercenary - there is still some grind but this part is the smallest issue.
but with the addition of mythic boss rush mercenaries have one thing that other modes do not have. infinite progression. you can spend as much money as you can and still there will be things you can unlock.
first change I would like to propose -packs can no longer contain coins for mercenaries you have maxed out. instead, you get renown and skins(skins on same chances) and coins for mercs you have not maxed out. after maxing out all mercenaries you will only receive skins and increased amount of renown - (200+ skin /250 renown)
update skins for mercenaries - add other versions of skins from regular hearthstone, ideally bundle them together so you can get a skin for a mercenary and playable hearthstone skin. stop selling random skins.
bounties will have the same change as packs - you no longer receive coins for maxed out mercenaries - but your best bet to get the coins you want is through the merc bounties you are farming.
next thing is bug fixes and rework of some treasures - some should be removed some could be added and several should be adjusted to more characters.
alexstrasza:alexstrasza game - allows use on ally giving them attack and healing them based on their attack.staff off jordan removed completely.flames of life at the end of turn restore health to allies and deal damage to enemies' scales both with healing power and fire damage on both instances.life binders locket gives healing power
Baine bloodhoof:Thunderclap: permanent attack reductionflametongue totem: now a summoned unit, 3 speed deals fire dmg but also scales with nature dmg
Brann Bronzebeard:survival training removed from the game.new treasure - your first and second ability gives characters damage reduction instead of resistances.
Cairne bloodhoof: bloodlust cooldown 1 speed 3, attack is permanent, you can choose who to attack
Cariel Roame:ring of protection replaced with toughness.taunt tactics replaced with steadfast shieldstormwind spirit, fathers tome removedreadded cariel and cornelius have extra health, whenever they are attacked give them divine shield.saronite shield: your party cannot receive critical strikes and has extra health.
Chromie:ring of protection, rod of roasting for the alliance removed,aluneth added.new treasure - at the end of turn give friendly characters arcane damage and health.new treasure: best timeline: arcane damage, enemies act last.spellthread cloak: heavier spell resistance and health, enemy spells target this character preferably.
Cornelius roame:martial law replaced with divine shield on enemy attack(check Cariel Roame)
Deathwing:drain soul, Pyroblast removedsiphon souls addeddeath and destruction at the start of the turn deal fire damage to all enemies.
Karathress:hidden in plain sight affects all enemiesBold aspiration also gives divine shield, windfury is permanentTrench lightning: extra damage on bolt and it deals damage to all enemies.
Garrosh hellscream:punished hellscream, shout of the unforgiven removedblood fury after this takes damage gain attack and damage reduction.warchief blessing and toughness added.
Genn Greymane:ring of protection, spiked shield removednew treasure at the start of turn summon beastly beauty(based on form) it has extra health(aplies to regular skill as well, in worgen form its extra attack)spirit blade added.
grommash hellscream:punished hellscream, revenge removedblood fury added(updated version, check Garrosh)Mortal strike: enemy cannot heal permanently.new treasure: staggering slam affects all enemies and deals more damage.
Grull:spellthread cloak removednew treasure extra health. enemy dragons target Grull and deal 0 damage to him
Kelthuzad:I have not maxed him yet along with the last batch of mercenaries so I cannot see his treasures yet.
King mukla:Survival training removed:new treasure: all equipment active you, throw more bananas
Kurtrus Ashfallen:Steadfast shield, elven banner, and aiming assailant removedAshfallen rebuke renamed to metamorphosis, permanent effect, 0 cd you can have multiple instances of this simultaneously.spirit blade added.new treasure saronite sword: your party always critically strikes and has extra attackat the start of your turn gain attack(increases every turn) exponential increase
I will continue with more ideas later, ideally I will go over all mercenaries and their treasures.

I've never posted anything here before, but I wanted to share this experience and get some feedback
I had my first player death because of friendly fire caused by a Critical Failure on an attack roll.
Now to be fair, the Player whose Character died, specifically asked to get hit because of their teammate rolling a Critical Failure, but none of us expected it would do enough damage to outright kill her, and in my homebrew world, Resurrection magic is exceptionally rare, meaning she was dead outright.
I'll set the stage with the characters in the story;
Female Gnome Blood Hunter, Elizabeth, the PC who died because of the Critical Failure.
Male Gnome rogue, Dimitri, the in character brother of the Blood Hunter
Male Dragon born Paladin, Seto, the one who rolled the Critical Failure and our problem character
Female Elf Warlock, Yesrial, who had become close friends with Elizabeth.
And me, the DM.
The party was visibly and understandably upset about this so we had a funeral for Elizabeth back in the city and I gave everyone a week of down time, the same length of time between sessions, to process everything and use it as character development.
Dimitri, in his grief, decided to multi class into Warlock and take Arawn the God of Death as their Patron in an attempt to bargain for her return, and while Arawn wouldn't restore Elizabeth, for his loyalty, he promised Dimitri to spare her from Hell. In exchange for this and power, he was told to bring those who defile the dead and profane mortality to Justice, this is important later.
Yesrial prayed to her Patron Deity and the Elven God Alariel for guidance to help understand what happened, but she only got cryptic messages.
Seto didn't really do anything for the downtime.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth's player was, at first, going to just roll a new character and say "oh well, death happens."
But then we came up with an idea.
We decided that we were going to allow her to keep playing Elizabeth by just bringing her back to life but in an unconventional way.
I had Arawn condemn Elizabeth to Hell for her crimes in life from her backstory but he decided to give her a chance to repent and be absolved by bringing those who defile the dead and profane mortality to Justice, exactly like he had said to Dimitri.
Elizabeth was revived as an undead Grave Cleric in the service of Arawn which was supposed to be for flavor, but THAT'S where the real problems begin.
Fast Forward to the next session, I've kept it a secret that Elizabeth is alive again and the rest of the party was gathered at the Adventures Guild.
Enter Elizabeth back from the dead in an epic entrance as a huge surprise to the rest of the party, who was expecting a new character.
Dimitri was half in shock and half angry because of the pact he'd made with Arawn, while being a little bit standoffish.
Seto was definitely angry and instantly armed himself for battle, proclaiming "The Dead should stay dead and Elizabeth needs to be put back in the ground!"
Seto didn't start PvP but DID remain on guard the entire time.
Yesrial was excited to see her friend return and tried to defuse the situation, even welcoming Elizabeth back into the group.
Fast forward a little bit and the party split up for some Role playing to move the situation along.
Dimitri snuck out of the Adventures Guild and went to the Cathedral of Light to talk to Arawn and accost his new Patron because of the deal Arawn made with his Sister and how her return conflicted with his beliefs and the Pact he'd made with Arawn.
Arawn tried to assure Dimitri that there was nothing nefarious about it, but Dimitri was taking his pact very seriously, basically saying "your own beliefs that the Dead should stay that way are being contradicted."
Yesrial prayed at the Elven Temple again and rejoiced in the return of her friend no matter what the form.
Elizabeth herself went to the market to get fresh supplies since she didn't have much after being buried except the clothes on her back and her Brothers Daggers, which she was buried with.
On the way back to the Adventures Guild, Elizabeth met up with Dimitri, and I was afraid it was going to come to a fight.
Thankfully though, with some great RP there was actually an accord reached between Dimitri and Elizabeth, albeit not a perfect one, but I figured it would work itself out as we kept going.
The whole problem boiled over when they met with Seto again, Seto declared openly that Elizabeth needed to die, again, because "Undead are Evil and Arawn is an Evil God." Starting PvP and going for a surprise attack, which didn't connect.
Elizabeth tried to ignore it and head into the Adventures Guild, but Seto followed her back into the Adventures Guild, and the PvP continued.
To attempt to RP, Elizabeth didn't do anything except take the Dodge action and attempt to persuade Seto.
Seto was having none of it.
After a few rounds, I tried to use Divine Intervention by having Arawn appear in the Adventures Guild upon his Gray horse, accompanied by his white hounds with red ears.
Arawn boomed "ENOUGH! I will not have my champion accosted at every turn because of the circumstances of her revival!"
He then addressed Elizabeth directly stating "Had I known reviving you as I did would cause sure turmoil and discord, I'd have just resurrected you from the beginning."
And he revived Elizabeth completely, alive again instead of an undead, which I thought would be the end of it.
It wasn't, because Arawn is still an Evil God by the Rules as Written, and there is no way Seto was going to trust someone resurrected by an Evil God.
Basically, Seto's player was pulling a classic "it's what my character would do." In an attempt to justify it.
On his next turn, Seto attacked, hit and also burned a Smite, knocking Elizabeth unconscious, only to be knocked unconscious by Yesrial a moment later.
This should have been the end of it because now BOTH Elizabeth and Seto were unconscious and non-hostile, not to mention that Elizabeth was alive again.
Seto's player said "When Seto regains consciousness, he's STILL going to be hostile towards Elizabeth and is going to kill her again."
I immediately pointed out that she's ALIVE alive, she is not an Undead, but it didn't matter.
It had come down to either Elizabeth dies again or Seto was going to leave the party.
I called the session at that point because I needed to find a comfortable medium and get this figured out.
In my world, there is one of the "Titans" which is my version of the Gods, who stands above all others, their name is "Deus Omnium" and it was also the Deity worshipped by Seto.
Dimitri's player pointed out that Because of Seto's alignment, only a GOOD aligned Deity would be acceptable to resurrect Elizabeth.
Elizabeth's player was ready to just give up and let Elizabeth die then roll another character but I felt like it was wrong to force that option on her.
I decided to Retcon the Divine Intervention to have been by Deus Omnium who resurrected Elizabeth, and said that we'd reconvene the session in a couple of weeks, but I think at this point the party dynamic is completely destroyed and I'm not sure what is going to happen between Elizabeth and Seto, despite changing the circumstances behind her Resurrection.

Good evening. I'm working on several player characters and I have a few fairly basic concepts going. What I'm looking for is maybe suggestions/alterations to make them a bit more interesting (although making them overpowered for what they do is always a plus.)
Concept 1: Race Siren/Sirine/Half-Siren Class: Pirate
This one likely would be either homebrew or at least maybe through something like Savage Species. The variation would be the mermaid-ish type of siren. The main abilities for her would be Siren's Song (or similar ability) to charm those that hear it. A bonus to swim, or the ability to change between humanoid and siren would be good too. And with her being a pirate, her song would aid her crew in plundering other ships they may come across.
The other ones I plan on making are: 1. An Elf Arcane caster (think I read of a cleric with Force domain that can use Magic Missle?) into Force Missile Mage (. (Dragon Magazine 328 pg 50) Requirements: 9 ranks each Concentration and Spellcraft, Combat Casting feat, able to cast Magic Missile.

1. A Dwarven Ranger into Deepwarden (Races of Stone pg 105) Requirements: Base Attack 5, 5 ranks each in Climb, Heal, Jump, Knowledge (dungeoneering), Survival, and Endurance feat.
   
2. Human Bard/Rogue/Cleric of Trickery domain into Chameleon (Races of Destiny pg 111) Requirements: Skills - Bluff and Disguise 8, Sense Motive 4, Able Learner feat (All skills cost 1 point, also in Races of Destiny)
   

They're all going to be about 5th level or so and just looking for suggestions on the best way to do these. (Or if there's better base-classes than what I have listed, such as maybe warmage or something in 33/3.5eds and early pathfinder or other compatable systems)
Oh. And sub-races are accepted as well

Hi, I’ve tried several times with different character builds but I really am struggling get to a point where I just get stuck. Haven’t gone past the castle yet and struggling with the dragon or the invader bloody fingers. I e probably played around 50 hours over a few different characters. I have tried following a guide online which has helped massively but can’t help feeling I’m missing out by not exploring my own. Just after a few tips and advice really to keep me on the path of playing without a guide.
Thanks

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uh...yeah this is kind've over done but i have ideas, read them and give me the internet popularity i desire.

1. Goku never made it to the earth and as a result, down the line the pilaf gang and the red ribbon army went to war with each other over the dragon balls. Because of this, the hero society had to respond and one Nana Shimura and her protoge Yagi Toshinori (did i spell 'em right?) went to the scene of the crime. Focusing on the bigger threat, that being the litteral army, they both faced the red ribbon goons thus giving time for the pilaf gang to get all seven together and wish back Demon King Piccolo. (no i dont remember much from og dragon ball, this is just the story i came up with ok?) This pretty much put a stop to the fight, Toshinori and Nana left the army for the alien, beat the shit out of him and stuff ect ect. Now many years into the future, is where we find our mc. He's just a random human who can use ki, but doesnt have a quirk. (aka ki isnt a quirk people just can use it.) Now that thats all said and done, no ki techinuques would be used by the main that couldnt learned on earth besides the Kaioken and even then, thats taught to the lead by his grandpa who learned it from king kai when he died once. Also aside from early saiyan saga villains, no other dragon ball character will be here except the deities and frieza.
2. What if bardock came to earth. Basically Bardock somehow survived the whole sun being thrown at him and came to earth cause thats where he sent goku, goku however freakin died on his trip to earth via a collision with a black hole. Bardock basically wipes everyone in mha but this is just a fun idea.

Thats that, enjoy the word vommit you internet dwellers.