Author Feedback for Academia Nut

Academia Nut · Post by **Academia Nut** » Wed Nov 12, 2008 1:05 pm

They are in the Praxis from the hard sci-fi space opera series Dread Empire's Fall.

Yes, hard sci fi versus 'we always considered the laws of physics really more of guidelines' 40k tech.

frigidmagi · Post by **frigidmagi** » Wed Nov 12, 2008 1:24 pm

Ow, Hope Sula makes it, she was my favorite character in that series.

LadyTevar · Post by **LadyTevar** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 9:49 am

Now that was just fantastic.

And I'm sure the idea "made (Tzishinji) squirm. It was probably all his idea based on what the Emperor told him at the end of the last chapter: "Don't forget you were mortal once".

LadyTevar · Post by **LadyTevar** » Mon Nov 24, 2008 6:53 am

Daemons summoned during "Number of the Beast"

Oh yeah... this is going to be a hell of a concert.

LadyTevar · Post by **LadyTevar** » Sun Nov 30, 2008 9:47 pm

The problem with this is we now need to find out what Lars is running away from

The Cleric · Post by **The Cleric** » Mon Dec 01, 2008 2:18 am

I hate you so much. I got to see them once, and it was nothing short of ecstasy.

Academia Nut · Post by **Academia Nut** » Mon Dec 01, 2008 1:36 pm

To be fair, I only saw them once as they've only been in my part of the world once since I was born, and that was the concert I was at. I just had a friend who had access to some sort of pre-sale thing and thus we got floor tickets and we managed to shove up close. Actually, at the time that video was taken I'm almost certain we had moved back as the press of the crowd was insane. I know what it feels like to be caught in a mob after that concert.

frigidmagi · Post by **frigidmagi** » Fri Dec 05, 2008 12:58 am

I've started reading...

I find your chaos gods confusing and scary. Can a dude get a guide? When the fuck did Shinji the ballless (we're talking about a guy who makes Tenchi and the El Hazard dude look like Conan the Barbarian clones!) become a Chaos god? Where are the 40K gods? When are we gonna see people who can hit back?

Academia Nut · Post by **Academia Nut** » Fri Dec 05, 2008 1:09 am

The semi short answer (on my part anyway) is to read the 135k word story I did before the Open Door

The longer answer is this (massive spoilers for the above):

After losing his mother to the EVA 01 experiment, Shinji is sent off to live with his relatives. While moping about on the beach, a Chaos Sorcerer of the Thousand Sons walks out of the ocean, and realizing that the boy is a massively powerful psyker, becomes his secret tutor, converting Shinji over to the worship of Tzeetch.

Fast forward ten years and Shinji is more devious than Gendo and is telepathic and precognitive to boot. He is then given command of EVA 01. Things explode. Shit goes down. He converts Rei over to worship of Nurgle and Asuka to the worship of Khorne. Things really explode. Things go wrong. Massacres occur. Asuka dies fighting Evafexes. Misato is shot by invading troops. Shinji takes Rei up on Third Impact. Two thirds of the world's population gets turned into tang to fuel their rebirth as gods. We find out the whole thing was an elaborate Xanatos Roulette by the gods of the warp, all of them, to gank the Necrons. You'll probably need to at least read Chapter 20 of Thousand Shinji for this story to make sense.

frigidmagi · Post by **frigidmagi** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 1:15 am

404 Not found. Maybe you could actually post the story here?

Academia Nut · Post by **Academia Nut** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 1:31 am

Sorry, try this link instead

And Thousand Shinji is 135 thousand words, I would really rather not have to post that monster.

frigidmagi · Post by **frigidmagi** » Thu Dec 11, 2008 3:46 am

At chapter 11, have to break for food and homework.

Preliminary Commets: I don't approve of the Chaos gods, no matter what self serving drivel they spout. Their effect on the 40K universe is enough to debunk it. And I am always against Tanging people. That said.

Base Thoughts: This Shinji is massively more interesting then the rather sad and useless one in the anime. He is at least if nothing else a man. And you have managed to stay within the baseline personalities shown while indulging in great changes, that takes a lot of skill and effort, I commend you.

That said, I hope your new Chaos gods run into something that can actually contest with them. I'm only on the 1st page in open door, so if you've done this already I am sorry.

Academia Nut · Post by **Academia Nut** » Thu Dec 11, 2008 8:41 am

Oh yeah, not a fan personally of Chaos myself. Canonically I feel they're a bunch of losers. However Thousand Shinji is a little exploration of if it was possible to make the characters of NGE both simultaneously more screwed up and less screwed up. And the characters get their asses bitten eventually, although Chapter 20 goes a long way to explaining what happened.

New Chaos doesn't exactly get owned by someone more powerful than them since they control when and where they engage their foes, but it doesn't all go their way. And eventually the Open Door evolves into the Lars and Skuld show. Not fully, but there are a lot of chapters devoted to that storyline.

frigidmagi · Post by **frigidmagi** » Thu Dec 11, 2008 9:26 am

And done.

Alright, I still think tanging people is horrific and insane. That said, compared to the say... The death of the universe and all within it, the phrase acceptable loses does come to mind. Yeah I know that's awfully cold blooded but the Marines will tell you Mission Success then Troop Welfare. Also there can be no Troop Welfare if mad star gods are devouring the souls of all there are and slowly but surely killing all of existence.

On the flip having gotten some of the way into Open Door and finished 1000 Shinji... I have to wonder if Shinji has forgotten what the Emperor tried to teach him.

I'm refering of course to:

[quote="That's Mr. God Emperor of Man, Sir, to you"]â€œTo teach you a lesson, one you would never forget: when the gods are assholes, mortals suffer. Humanity, and even those xenos races you encounter, are not toys for you to play with, not just numbers. You will make sacrifices, you will fuck people over who donâ€™t deserve it, its part of being a god in this universe, but I refuse to let you walk down the same path as the old gods. Our arrogance led to our downfall, our toying with the lives of our followers left us divisive and weak. I made it so that you would suffer, so that you would remember what it was like to be mortal,â€

Academia Nut · Post by **Academia Nut** » Thu Dec 11, 2008 11:49 am

Sort of. They haven't forgotten, its just that Tzintchi's plans are deep and intricate. People are going to get hurt along the way, but he has a plan to secure his own home universe against the C'tan and the multiverse against worse things. He's still about an Eldrad level dick against a lot of others though.

Long term, he intends to improve a lot of places in sort of trial by fire type events.

Academia Nut · Post by **Academia Nut** » Mon Dec 15, 2008 2:35 pm

Ghost Rider

Medium outsider (native, good, evil, fire)
Hit Dice: 15d8+90 (157hp)
Initiative: +2
Speed: 30ft
AC: 24, touch 15, flat footed 22 (+2 dexterity, +5 chain mail, +4 natural, +3 deflection)
BAB/Grapple: +15/+21
Space/Reach: 5ft/5ft
Attack: +3 cold iron chain +23 melee (2d4+9+1d6 hellfire 20/x2 +1d8 hellfire) or slam +19 melee (1d4+4+1d6 hellfire 20/x2 +1d8 hellfire)
Full Attack: +3 cold iron chain +23/+18/+13 (2d4+9+1d6 hellfire 20/x2 +1d8 hellfire) or slam +19 melee (1d4+4+1d6 hellfire 20/x2 +1d8 hellfire)
Special Attacks: Hellfire weapons; breath weapon; shared pain; chains that bind; songs of thunder; smite evil
Special Qualities: Fire, sonic and electricity immunity; vulnerability to cold; cold and acid resistance 10; regeneration 5 good; DR 10/good and silver; balance of good and evil; love quenches the flames; flickering shadow; rejuvenation
Saves: Fort +15, Ref +11, Will +11
Abilities: Strength 19, Dexterity 14, Constitution 23, Intelligence 13, Wisdom 14, Charisma 16
Skills: Ride +22, Perform (singing) +21, Diplomacy +23, Spot +20, Search +18, Handle Animal +21, Intimidate +23, Survival +20 (+22 when following tracks), Bluff +21
Feats: Exotic Weapon Proficiency (chain) , Mounted Combat, Ride By Attack, Trample, Weapon Focus (chain), Weapon Expertise, Improved Disarm
Organization: Solitary (plus mount) or pair (plus mounts) or posse (3-8 plus mounts) or Wild Hunt (20-300 plus mounts)
Challenge Rating: Hard
Alignment: Always good, usually lawful
Advancement: 16-25 HD (Medium) or by class

Ghost riders are cursed horsemen who transgressed against a good greater deity they thought was evil and were punished for it to wear forms of wickedness while hunting down evil for the rest of eternity. Tortured individuals, every moment is agony as their forms burn and lightning lashes their backs, but they are compelled not just by the curse to perform good deeds, for their salvation lies in others. Smiles and thanks soothe their pain, and true love will actually suppress the curse completely, for the lifetime of those that love them at least.

Due to their abilities, ghost riders are fearsome demon killers, a task they take to with relish as the existence of non-evil demons is almost completely unheard of. They will occasionally even join in on Blood War battles, disrupting entire battle formations and destroying hundreds of fiends as they crash into their battle lines. Their ability to wield good aligned hellfire is also a rather major concern for the devils as it cuts through their defences and leaves horrific wounds.

Combat

A ghost riderâ€™s natural weapons and any weapon it wields are considered good and evil aligned for the purposes of overcoming damage reduction or regeneration.

Hellfire Weapons: Any weapon wielded by a ghost rider, including natural attacks, is wreathed in hellfire. Treat this effect as a flaming burst weapon, only half the fire damage is hellfire that ignores any sort of resistance or immunity to fire. Grappling with a ghost rider automatically causes 1d6 fire damage, half of which is hellfire.
Breathe Weapon: Three times per day a ghost rider can exhale a stream of hellfire that deals 5d8 damage. Half of this damage is fire, while half is hellfire that ignore any sort of resistance of immunity to fire
Shared Pain: Whenever a ghost rider deals damage to another creature, it takes half that amount as non-lethal damage. Conversely, whenever a ghost rider is dealt damage half that amount is dealt as non-lethal damage to the one that inflicted it
Chains that Bind: Ghost riders are wrapped in chains that represent their servitude for their transgressions. They confer an armour bonus equivalent to chain mail. They also serve as fearful weapons. Treat the chain as a +3 cold iron spiked chain that deals bludgeoning damage instead of piercing damage and that cannot be dropped on an unsuccessful trip attempt. However, the chain can also be used to make ranged grapple checks and confers a +2 bonus to all grapple checks.
Songs of Thunder: When mounted and either at a full gallop or charging, as part of the action the ghost rider may let out a mournful cry. All evil creatures that hear the song must make a Will saving throw with the DC equal to the ghost riderâ€™s Perform (sing) check or become panicked for 2d6 rounds and shaken until the end of the encounter with the ghost rider. If unable to flee, any creature so affected will be paralyzed with fear if confronted while still panicked. Any creature that successfully saves is immune to any ghost riderâ€™s song for the next 24 hours. This is a mind affecting, sonic effect.
Smite Evil: A ghost rider can smite evil as a paladin of a level equal to its HD. Typical ghost riders can smite evil 4/day and add +3 to attack and +15 to damage.
Regeneration: A ghost rider takes normal damage only from good aligned weapons. Their own weapons also have an evil component so they cannot harm each other.
Balance of Good and Evil: Ghost riders are creatures of good, but they were damned for rash action and they have the fires of hell wreathing and strengthening their bodies. Thus they detect as evil and good aligned weapons are required to get through their damage reduction and regeneration, but any spells or abilities that deal damage or status effects based on alignment use their true alignment. Thus an unholy blight spell would hurt them, and while a holy sword would get through their damage reduction and deal real damage, it would not deal extra damage for striking an evil creature.
Love Quenches the Flames: The ghost riders were originally damned for attacking the mate of a goddess thinking him evil, thus the only cure for their condition is for others to not be so blind. If any creature of any alignment truly and honestly loves a ghost rider for who and what they are, then they will revert to a mortal form. Remove all special abilities and attacks except for smite evil, rejuvenation, and love quenches the flames for as long as at least one sentient being loves the ghost rider for whom they are. If killed while in this form they immediately rejuvenate (see below).
Flickering Shadow: Ghost riders are wreathed in flame and shadow that flickers about and makes it difficult to land a telling blow on them. Treat as a deflection bonus equal to their charisma modifier.
Rejuvenation: Like actual undead ghosts, ghost riders are tied to the mortal realms by the deity level strength of their curse and thus if killed they will return in 1d4 days without fail, unless an over deity steps in to undo the curse. Any ghost rider that has just rejuvenated has the love quenches the flames ability suppressed for a year and a day. If killed while in mortal form due to the love quenches the flames ability, they return on the round following their deaths.

---

There we go, the first draft of the D&D version of my ghost riders. Still need to do the mounts, but they'll be based off a combination of nightmares, the celestial template, and the paladin's mount so there is less to think up there. Comments from the other D&D players?

frigidmagi · Post by **frigidmagi** » Mon Dec 15, 2008 4:17 pm

Ghhoooooosssstttriiiiiiddderrrs In the SKKKKKYYYYY!

Just be thankful I don't link to the techno mix version from the Ghost rider movie. The world just isn't ready for that.

LadyTevar · Post by **LadyTevar** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 3:16 pm

Very nicely done.

Academia Nut · Post by **Academia Nut** » Thu Dec 18, 2008 1:39 am

You mean this version frigid? Cause there are about fifty different recordings of the song, not counting remixes.

LadyTevar · Post by **LadyTevar** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 7:00 am

Couldn't happen to a better universe

frigidmagi · Post by **frigidmagi** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 12:42 pm

AARRRRGGGHHHH! May Deamons feasts on your eyes and ears!

Academia Nut · Post by **Academia Nut** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 2:00 pm

Was that for the chapter, or for linking you to the Spiderbait version of Ghost Riders in the Sky?

LadyTevar · Post by **LadyTevar** » Sun Dec 21, 2008 7:13 pm

So.. what's in Western Austrailia again?

And it took me a couple of reads before the information on 'Scipio' clicked. Even took Nitram a couple reads. Then he said one word: BOLO

LadyTevar · Post by **LadyTevar** » Mon Dec 22, 2008 6:18 am

Oh yes, a Very good lesson in 'what is evil'

frigidmagi · Post by **frigidmagi** » Mon Dec 22, 2008 12:15 pm

I'm up to chapter 40. Got kinda of a Doctor Who vibe from Lars in his talk with Skuld. Like the song you linked in chapter 40, hate the techno ghost riders.

LibriumArcana.Games

Author Feedback for Academia Nut

#26

#27

#28

#29

#30

#31

#32

#33

#34

#35

#36

#37

#38

#39

#40

#41

#42

#43

#44

#45

#46

#47

#48

#49

#50