In reference to my comment about your latest work perfectly evoking that 80's fantasy painting feel and it would fit right in on a magic card... I decided to have a little fun with the MTG website's "cardsmith" function. =3
I think it's fitting that an utter bastard(tm) like Hyden would have to be represented by an utter bastard of a card.
(For those that do not play Magic: The Gathering, "Counterspell" is one of cards that's so good, it's remained remained unchanged/the bar for what it does for 30 years. Basically, you pay mana at instant speed (whenever you want, including other people's turns), and you can prevent someone from playing a card, as they are playing the card. And unlike the Counterspell card itself - that is 'spent' once you play it like a rocket - Hyden is a creature on the field that has that as an ability, and thus, can be used as much as you like provided you have the mana to spend.)
So, Hyden just having The Counterspell on demand with no perquisites or drawbacks would be hilariously broken and unfun to play against - a card that equals his real abilities as a Wizard... before his 'injury' anyways.
Oh, and he can take your favorite person/creature, and dissolve them into black goop that'll try to kill you. That is also very Hydencore.
I think Hyden would be proud to be on a card that's so good, it's either A) Banned from play/locked to an obscure format, or B) will make you public enemy #1 with every other player at the table.
Hahaha this is very fun! Thank you for whipping this up, and for the explanation on his abilities, too! I briefly dabbled in Magic as a teenager and don't remember all that much about the meta, but know enough to see how broken this guy is. I like that you made him a 1/1 too--as he should be, sitting on the back row being protected by burlier creatures while he slings his annoying cheap shot spells.
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My skeksona has a big western dragon form! In this case, it's a big boost to his physical and magical powers. Unfortunately, his power boost increases his "floor" as well, making any kind of delicate application of spells nigh-impossible.
So although it's technically an upgrade, the size and lack of magical throttling makes the form impractical to be in all the time. But even so, this form catches people off gaurd when they assume a relatively "squishy" mage suddenly needs an army to take them on, instead of a couple of assassins.
He'd be into it. He enjoys meeting fellow connoisseurs of the dark arts and people who are "bold" and "enlightened" enough to seek darker and stranger things beyond the mundane, beyond what society deems socially acceptable.
...Also he'd make a FANTASTIC Skeksis. He's already an infirm dotty old bastard draped in ornate robes who drains people of their magical blood and drinks it when he's a bunny... he'd fit right in with the Skeksis (which, of course, means he'd need to up the ante and become even more deranged and degenerate than the rest of them to maintain his status of being That Extra Fucked Up Guy We Don't Trust).
It's just a shame that Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance and Bloodborne came out before I brought his character back. I'd love to see him lose his mind and get consumed by dark magic indulgences in various different settings.
A piece commissioned from SkekLa: https://www.deviantart.com/skekla
Ever since I saw SkekLa's art of the skeksis, (especially the youthful ones in their prime), I've always wanted a skeksona. And knowing my tastes, a very corpulent one ^^.
Though SkekDris cares about his personal fitness a fair degree more than other skeksis, (which most of them honestly) he still loves to flaunt around his heft. SkekDris, though a secretive hermit and scholar, adores having guests over for tea, indulging in exotic substances, and if one is so inclined - a night in his bed chamber. Though not to the self-destructive degree of other skeksis, hedonism is a core part of their being that can never truly be erased. Rather than try and fight it completely (which is an impossible task that ends in despair) or losing themselves entirely to their vices like the others, Skekdris has managed to find the fine line of control. Much like a sea captain; Rather than fight the current, they learn and understand it to use it in their travels without being subject to the whims of the sea.
Pictured left, is one of his servants. One of the emaciates mentioned in my previous lore post. In short, they are skeksis (or beings transformed into a skeksis-like vessel) that seem unhealthily thin - save for their protruding paunches - and yet seem just as fit as an ordinary person, perhaps even a moderately athletic one. Through dark rituals and deals, these emaciates are granted magical sustenance, vitality, and even extraordinary senses... at the cost of their vision.
In this matter for the first and current servant, SkekZur, they were already blind. These two characters sort of exist in my own setting/vacuum, but if were to fit them into in the dark crystal setting, I'd see it that SkekDris was likely exiled for bucking a lot of skeksis social norms - as well as him being a skilled magic user causing him to be seen as a political threat. SkekZur being blind made him a target of vicious bullying. Partaking in a ritual that was 'free' for him and secluding himself from the petty squabbles of the castle was an easy contract in his mind. Thus, though a bound servant, SkekZur is eager to serve. He has since worn a leather mask across his beak - as do all future emaciates - symbolizing their blind devotion. Though be warned, though they are blind, they quite sharp and remarkably independent when contrasted with other servants. SkekDris has learned many a pretty secret from those whom paid them too little mind...
My sona, SkekDris, having a post-banquet lounge after a long day of mingling (putting up) with nobility. Really, he is there for the food. But now that his social obligations are over, he's free to lounge as he pleases, and he does not care if he is not adopting the most flattering pose.
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My new dice and dice box! (And character lore below)
Dice box is an Elderwood Academy Mini spellbook with purpleheart wood, and Urwizards astrology style resin dice.
If you have seen my skeksona, it's clear why I went with purple/silver/gold for the aesthetic, it's so him. Lore post below!
Though he'd personally not be the most fond of dice games. SkekDris is very much a planner and dislikes taking chances. If he'd have to roll the dice so to speak, he'd long have since weighed out the probability and manipulate the circumstance and game knowledge to give him the best odds possible as far as TTRPG's go.
Most of his enjoyment from such games and having to deal with probability at all is honing his sense of X-factor and adapting to bad circumstances on the fly. SkekDris is smart enough to be a schemer, but wise and humble enough to know that even the best laid plans can unravel due to unseen information.
He'd likely be the type of person that would be banned at casinos for being too good at math and card counting. Emphasis on would. Against guests and people, he'd play honorably, if heavilly power-gamed. Against institutions? Forget sleight of hand and mathmatics. He's using magic to cheat them blind and peniless with supernatural luck.
In addtion, in the setting I have imagined for him; magic that can be cast clandestinely is exceedingly difficult. The majority of magic in his setting needs at least a material, verbal, or somatic component, and not infrequently any combination of the three. Thus, magic is fairly obvious when it's being cast, especially in calm situations. Savvy foes deal with mages by stripping them of their posessions, restraining them, and/or muting them.
Crafting personal spells to only require merely one of these limitations is the sign of a well learned mage.
Casting spells without a channeling medium or focus (such as a wand or amulet) safely is the sign of a very well learned mage.
Spells that can be cast from simply 'force of will' alone is the holy grail/zenith of magic in Skekdris' world. Even in this case where it's only done on a scale as minor cheating dice, cards, and other assorted probability baubles; a mage capable of such a feat is one who'd consider robbing the place conventionally or even taking armed security head-on lesser challenges of magic. Any mage with a modicum of skill can go invisible and sneak into the safe with a lockpick spell or cast a searing lance through the chest of every guard and leave with an empty vault and a trail of bodies.
But to use magic without any of it's visual tells? That is a mage who is of such prowess that he can do what he damn well pleases to that casino and they should be grateful that losing them money is the worst thing he's doing there.
A fun little pixel art doodle (NOT A MOD) of my sona, SkekDris is the Deltarune style.
In terms of (made up for flavor, mind you) stats, he (without special conditions) does less damage overall than Susie, but is tankier and has better magic. Debatably makes the game easier since his toolkit adds survivability, which is useful in all fights.
Obviously adding or changing one of the roster members would have some lore shattering implications for the Deltarune plotline... but lets not worry about that right now. Lore wise, I think he'd be a the school theater guy that somehow gets pulled in the dark world stuff from being in the wrong place at the right time, and as someone steeped in fantasy as it is, he takes to it like a duck to water.
Going back to the scuffed timeline, While Susie thinks he's a dorky tag along, Kris and Ralsei are crashing out internally. Kris for having a random adult getting involved - since he would be much harder to lie to, throwing a huge wrench into their plans. Ralsei of course is freaking out, because there is a whole ass Lightner involved the prophecy didn't mention.
As for the specifics of his spells, here's how I would break them down in-game.
MageBarrier: Self Explanatory. Only note is it's basically a better defend that *costs* TP rather than gain it as the trade off.
ArcMissile: 10 + Attack x 5 + Magic x 8
With 10 AT and 5 MG, that's 100 damage, or 33% more damage than a crit (75 at 10 AT). No hitting CONFIRM before hit for bonus damage. I figured that's a Susie thing. Not flashy, but it's consistent. Slightly weaker than a regular Crit with Susie (105), keeping in theme that SkekDris needs to juice up his attacks with magic to be on par with base Susie.
Transfuse: 20% HP Damage to Self (defense is not applied) x 2 hp lost + Magic x 3
63 healing from. Best* heal spell in the game, but with stipulations. Cannot heal self, only slightly better than Ralsei's heal in net party HP gain, and healing is specifically from HP lost. So it becomes less effective below 20% HP and stops all together at 1 hp. "Skekdris cast transfuse! ... But there was nothing to give!"
ArcNova: Hoo boy, the math is on this on is going to be a monstrosity. CW: MATH
Attack x 9 + Magic x 6, (120) x1.N, where N is +0.1 for every 10% HP lost + a hidden 0.5N and + 15 base damage per downed ally.
ArcNova at full health: 120 x 1.0 = 120 (much worse than Rude Buster (159+30=189))
ArcNova at half health: 120 x 1.5 = 180 (par with Rude Buster)
ArcNova at >10%: 120 x 2.0 = 240 (much better than rude buster, worse than Red Buster (278+30=308))
ArcNova at >10% with two downed allies: 120 + 30 x 3.0 = 450 (Much better than Red Buster base, equivalent to Red Buster with a max Susie build: 448 )
For a bit of fun math, lets assume SkekDris with chapter 1-end equipment, >10% hp, and two allies down.
Attack: 10 (15) (+2 from weapon, +1 from Ironshackle, +2 from Jevilstail)
Magic: 5 (7) (+ 2 from Jevilstail)
ArcNova: 177+30 (207) With max multiplier of x3, that's 621 damage. (I did not mean for it to be the number of Monosodium glutamate, just how the math worked out) Comfortably breezing past Kris's 558 damage a full chapter later from their X-slash. I don't think he would have a logical way to appear in CH3 for obvious reasons, but for funsies, max damage against the knight is 415 damage. With their damage resistance. That would also add a bit of dramatic irony to the player that the potentially strongest Lightner is not available for the one fight where his kit would be desperately needed.
I think it fits thematically that SkekDris in most gameplay contexts, is worse at damage than Susie, but steps up to be on par as people are hurt, and unleashes truly nuclear amounts of damage when everything is on the line, chunking boss's HP bars for 20%-30% their health. In terms of settings with teen protagonists, he would take the role of a supportive figure that would let the "kids" prove themselves in the adventure, but lock the fuck in when the chips are down.
As for how he would fit into the story of Deltarune...
To elaborate, besides being a fun thought exercise of doodling my OC in pixel art, I think his story would end half way into the game. Between being much harder to keep secrets around, being a credible source (compared to Susie) if info were leaked, and explosive damage potential because of mentor instinct (Ralsei and Kris are holding back for their own reasons, and Susie, though strong, doesn't really process the danger they are in) SkekDris would probably be an X-factor that cannot be allowed to interfere with the plans of Kris's benefactor, and has to go.
Would be a fun bit of AU where SkekDris is killed in CH4, when the just before the Titan appears. SkekDris, as the adult, steps up to fight the knight solo to keep the fun gang out of danger, and we get a run back of the Knight fight. When SkekDris goes down either by losing normally or the HP threshold sucker punch Susie got, the cutscene plays as normal.
"We don't even have to beat you! All we have to to is get past you and it's over!"
Then, the wounded SkekDris grabs the fun-gang and tosses them out of the way of the Titan's beam. It's unknown how much damage it does, but I am assuming it's fatal like snowgrave, especially on someone not at full strength and not guarding. The ensuing Titan fight would be much more serious than it already was.
I think for this little AU/Thought experiment, this would be the sledgehammer straw that breaks the camel's back as far as Kris's allegiance to their benefactor is concerned. Kris was about to literally go out the window before that phone call. Without lore dumping a video essay on you (or just looking at their reactions in the weird route), I am pretty confident Kris isn't evil, and would definitely be not okay with the knight (indirectly or otherwise) outright killing someone. I also think Kris would be personally upset at themselves, because while they did not want this outsider to screw up the plan, this is the last way they wanted the "problem" to resolve.
It would also be a devastating emotional blow to the player Susie who just learned dark worlds can't bring back someone if you didn't know them that well... And that's as far as this thought experiment goes, because the story as we know it has gone completely off the rails.
So yeah, I guess my powerful self-insert OC breaks Deltarune... in a way. I just hope I did it tastefully, haha. ^^; Thanks for sticking with me if you've read this far.
In the late 1600's two kingdoms warred, using state sanctioned mages as tools of war to carry out the Nation's. Not every mage was aligned. A lone Skeksis was more content in studying the cosmos and astral projecting across the stars to learn the secrets of the constellations. Nonetheless, the shadowy figures that had orchestrated their war made it clear that all non-aligned mages (read: fanatically devoted) were to be eliminated. SkekDris was seemingly an important enough target to send in a specialized team of hunters that had a mythical beholder under their thrall, a creature thought to be of fables past. One look of it's gaze could neutralize the magic a mage could wield, making them easy pickings.
SkekDris, was cornered in his tower that had been set ablaze. Multiple lifetimes worth of work, knowledge, priceless heirlooms and unforgettable mementos, gone. With nothing left, he looked to the stars he spent his life gazing upon. In those final moments, he saw something different, the shimmering, impossible constellations that only his alien eyes could make sense of seemed to collapse down into something knowable. The constellations themselves were the ley lines of the universe, and the magic that flowed through it. And what he saw was more startling; out of those infinite arrangements of stars, the constellations that appeared to him matched the natural weave of his own self.
In that moment of realization, the weave of the cosmos reached down to him with an invisible runner of magic - the instant it touched skekdris and bridged the earth and stars, unfathomable power ignited the SkekSis' soul. The power was overwhelming; too much even, yet the map of the cosmos allowed him to guide the magic's flow in such fashion, that it would not immediately destroy him. Instead, magic flowed from his body like a cascade from the sun - power pure and unending.
One of the dark mages shouted to the enthralled beholder. "What the hell are you doing? I thought you were supposed to dispel magic!" To which the inquisitor mage turned around, and witnessed a sight that filled him with terror in his final moments; The beholder had nothing to gaze upon, for they were blinded by the radiance of the sun tenfold. That one day of cosmic power cost SkekDris decades of his life - but that was sacrifice he was willing to make to put an end to this scheming war of nations.
What SkekDris had discovered was a phenomena that would later coined as "Radiant Star" (as this setting has not developed the term nova). In essence, magic flows through the body at means exceedingly beyond what is natural. In nearly all cases, it results in the death of the mage through loss of lifespan… or more immediate conflagration. But SkekDris in his moment of clarity in the storm, had the means channel this tremendous power. In this state one can cast spells without effort or limit.
To put this into more game-y terms, no spell slots, no verbal or material requirements, and all spells are massively upcast to the point magic even basic spells like missile looks more like magic fireball. Oh, and anything that can detect/see magic within several miles is basically witnessing the flash of a nuclear explosion. Continuously.
Even with the skill and know how to channel this power "safely;" the strain it puts on the body and soul is immense. Unlimited power seems to have it's limitations in the form of the vessel that wields it. Unrivaled power as it is, SkekDris hopes he never has to use it again.
