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Saturday, November 29, 2025

Vintage musician Caricature shirts from Prof. Of Rock

 Caricatures at time 1:07 on his vid “ Country band accidentally mailed song to rock stations turned“

https://www.youtube.com/live/oEtX87JMgw0


Those are some great caricatures… not demeaning or goofy… but so clear I recognize that guy from 1971 on the left but have no idea what his name is.  

Let’s see… the 1967 is 

  • Jimi Hendrix
  • The Doors’s Jim Morrison
  • Beatles, Paul
  • ?Eric Clapton??
1971 is
  • That guy
  • Zeppelin’s Robert Plant
  • ? Lady from the Carpenters? OR THE mama and the Papa’s
  • ? Marvin Gaye (i did not know, the kid knew)
1981
  • Hall and Oats
  • Journey’s Steve Perry
  • ?Foreignor guy? (I didnt know)
  • ?mayyybe Rush… he does have a mic
1984
  • Ah ha
  • Prince
  • Eddie van halen
  • Bruce springsteen?
1987
  • U2’s Bono
  • George Michael
  • Def Leopard’s … Joe Elliot
  • Axel from Guns n Roses
1991
  • Kirt Cobain? From Nirvana
  • REM’s Michael Stipe
  • Eddie Vedder from Pear Jam
  • Metallica’s James Hetfield

Words - Forest etymology

 Forest   https://www.youtube.com/shorts/e2K_IV5slIk

Forestis, Latin but.. that came from 

Furhisti, Frankish a Germanic


Cognates in English like

Fur- like a fir tree. 

-histi like  hurst, means grove. 



Example Pinehurst (dude’s town in comments) = Pine Grove

Friday, November 28, 2025

Dnd names borrowed from Absolum, etc.

 Use some almost common ones from places like

  • Trafalgar
  • Mordenath (heard in fighting fanstasy book)
  • Donmoore 


Some names from Absolum are good. Lizards and goblins and men. 

  • Some French sounding names like,
    • Thibaud! Found it on a stream! (Was thinking Bureau, no.. Favreau, no… Beauregard?…  valeau)
    • Tristan

  • Lizards.
    •  Flesh-eater, One lizard name was funny just this. Again, perspective on names like goblins with name of Goul. 
    • Shadowshot (archer eh)
  • Skeletons
    • Flavius (sounds Roman), i see it in game right now. 
  • Goblins 
    • Goul (yeah, I imagine it is like the goblins are impressed by ghouls, and this guy acts like one)
    • Zoubla
    • Zorga. I finally got Zorga this morning after like 20 tries, but the name was recorded from yesterday. HOW- ran up, hit boxes, killed the gold-tentacle-goblin, hired guy. Then got Ouldar.  HOW2- broke boxes, soup, more boxes, got on dragon, hired guy. 
    • Ouldar.Got him again, after run up, boxes, kill tentacle-gold-goblin, hire guy. Timing different each time killing gold goblin by many seconds.
    • Gim, tree area. Most commonly given? Wait,… if u sprint up, talk to soup guy eat soup, then hire goblin it gives this name i think.Replicated, yep. 
    • Golouf
    • Gilox
    • Zim
    • Bal. Got this name by sprinting up, breaking boxes (no gold tentacle ~goblin), hiring guy. 

    • Ag Og, my favorite. And got it 3 times in a row by sprinting straight to him and talking. So is it randomized by my actions? 4 times in a row. And I even missed the sprint by a second or so. 
  • Green n aqua bandit and pirate types (hire from ship only I think)
    • Filch
    • Scab

  • Gnoll
    • Marcus, lol, why Marcus?
    • Gibus
    • Arya
    • Maya
  • Woman warrior
    • Clothilde , sounds like cloth hyde almost. 
    • Ariane
    • Mathilde , oh. “T” or “th” sound?
    • Elora
    • Severine
  • Giant Mushroom man
    • Sweet tooth, ok that is weird. Tooth was not capitalized btw. 
    • Agaricus
    • Cloud Ear, weird. 
    • Truffle. Somebody’s having fun.
    • Amanita
  • Dog names
    • Sadi
    • Arya
    • Gibus
    • Snowy



Absolum - Patch changes I noticed (November 22, 2025)

 Patched yesterday. 

  • Gold goblins die easier, maybe too easily, but still run in out of bounds areas. 
  • Floating Wind - is this new? The enemies float in a super obvious way, kind of hilarious. Seems very strong. 
  • You can talk to people in town again, without game locking up. 

Monday, November 24, 2025

Absolum - Brome techniques vs. harder monsters

 Some of these apply to any character, not just Brome.

  • Passthrough dash upgrade ritual… time unstable dash.   Great against
    • Underking, instead of clash parry, just go thru and behind
    • Squire skeletons that block
    • The red and black shield guys from the final area 
    • Big lizards that block
    • Runaway shoot ghostly wraiths (dash will block projectile or get behind em)
  • Float plus Skill big magic globe attack, mana burst. 
    • Vs. dogs, because they rush you
    • Vs. little mushrooms, since they are also short, it hits better than the tongue sometimes i think
  • Vs. birds
    • Dash or run into attack, to get spinny air baton staff. Lasts a long time, catches attacking birds easily. 
  • Vs. big mushroom men… the moderate ones, like in the super early cave
    • Float and air attack with tongue, it keeps them from landing on you.
  • Clash kind of required against 
    • The giant owlbear looking monaters
    • The mushroom troll miniboss

Saturday, November 22, 2025

Absolum - prerequisite for twin Rituals

UPDATE/CORRECTION - run 129, i think levels do matter (or u just need one of each ritual) this time i got 

  • Two level-1 necromancy rituals and 
  • One level-2 wind ritual
  • … Twin necro-wind was the next choice. Skeleton Dust lvl 1. 

SIDENOTE- The Crown trinket that gives 10% bonus for same family of rituals, By the way, is impressive with necromancy! For the first time ever, i have a Skill for Spectral armor giving

    • 115% (weird… when i look at it after the run is over, it now says 65%… which is right?? I want to say Skill gave 100% but regular Attacks looked like half, visually soeaking) spectral armor for one skill move or one Attack move. Because I have 6 necro rituals, assuming twin rituals count as one. 

COMPLETE RUN 128 BELOW

 I suspect the prereq is Two of each type. Lvl doesn’t seem to matter (((update, well maybe in a different sense, see correction up top))), because my wind was lvl 1.  I did have crazy hi luck at 17.5  

In my run#128, had these, almost in this order..

  • Two chaos. Cosmic crit lvl 3. Cosmic Arcana lvl 2.
  • Two necro. Bone Revenge lvl 2. Spectral Strike lvl 1. 
  • One wind. Sonic arcana lvl 1. 
  • One electric. Spark arcana lvl 2. 
Then it gave the Twin Ritual Cosmic Pillar, which is the crazy infinite skeleton pillars. 

Soon i got, in this order…
  • Another wind, for a total of Two winds. Sonic Barrage lvl 1. 
  • Electric. Lightning Strike lvl 1. 
  • Fire. Burnin strike lvl 1. 
  • Twin ritual Skeleton Dust.  Lvl 1. 
  • Then got another chaos.  Cosmic clasj lvl 1. 

Friday, November 21, 2025

Music - Earth Tongue, kinda like Castle Rat

 Wonder who was first. Oh wow, I see stuff from 2018, 2019, they must be the first… but these older ones don’t seem very DnD inspired so maybe not… they must be switchimg their focus for uoutube. ? 

Check out Earth Tongue’s videos-

  • Nightmare
  • Dungeon Vision

Castle Rat has more consistently good music I think, love all their stuff. But Earth Tongue has some interesting stuff, especially the videos.  

Monday, November 17, 2025

G3 D&D Results So Far 11-17-2025

Over the weekend we finally got to play a little again. 


He had finished 75% of the first level. Had the northern middle area still to go, rooms like 19-21 or something. 

Hellhounds did a ton of dmg with their fire breath... had 6 low HP and I think 4 medium to high HP Hellhounds. The hellhound keeper and wife got stuck with the restraining energy bow and taken out. But by the end, I think the Warlock had like less than 10 HP, the Barbarian was down to 1/3 (?), the druid down to 1/4(?), and the fighter might have been 1/2 down. I'm definitely guessing/estimating.

**LOOT: He found a cool cloak of "turn into a Hellhound". Is it slightly cursed? I'm going by the 1e rules mostly for it. And there was a sword... 5e calls it a cursed Sword of Vengeance which means it forces you to keep attacking whoever just did dmg to you and worse:

  •  +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls 
  • Curse. This sword is cursed and possessed by a vengeful spirit. As long as you remain cursed, you are unwilling to part with the sword, keeping it on your person at all times. While attuned to this weapon, you have disadvantage on attack rolls made with weapons other than this one.
  • In addition, while the sword is on your person, you must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw whenever you take damage in combat. On a failed save, you must attack the creature that damaged you until you drop to 0 hit points or it does, or until you can't reach the creature to make a melee attack against it.
  • You can break the curse in the usual ways. Alternatively, casting Banishment on the sword forces the vengeful spirit to leave it. The sword then becomes a +1 weapon with no other properties.

Oh, and I threw in 3 fire spouts [holes/vents in stone with fire coming out randomly] where he was fighting so he had to stand away from them... only got hit once for very little, but made it interesting. 

The kid locked up in the room for a short rest, meanwhile he put an alarm on the other door and the bat was watching. When a giantess peaked out and got a guard from another room, the kid quietly [we joked about how quiet a dinosaur could be] turned into a stegosaurus and leaned on the door so it couldn't easily be opened. The two giants were like, hey, what is going on... then left him alone for a bit (he finished the short rest, i thought the dino idea was great). 

So then the fight happens, I made it something like 1 male firegiant, and the 5 others had hill giant stats. He kept them at bay and did pretty well. At the very end, 1 more male fire and 2 with hill stats came from behind and hit the druid, knocking him out of concentration for CALL Lightning (which he had planned to use if enemies stuck in). Druid turned into an earth elemental, went through the stone wall, and attacked the last giant in that left room. Somehow the giants were all pretty quickly nuked, and the good guys came out fine. 

All in all, they lost a ton of HP. Giants just hit hard, and have waaay too many HP in 5e. I say that, they are basically balanced well against the resilient 5e characters, but I still don't like it that the giants are so scary compared to monsters the way things are playing out. It wasn't horrible though. 

Next time, the next level down. I have no idea what's gonna happen, need to read up again!

Sunday, November 16, 2025

AD&D Cube of Force, Vale of the Mage

 Reading up on that 1989 AD&D 2e module for Greyhawk.  I like the set up.  


The art on the front is weird, I kind of like it though. 1989. The drow lady is ... kind of witch-like with the frizzy hair and that expression, not very friendly looking. I'm used to seeing the drow being made overly-model like, I think, so this one kind of threw me off. And you have to remember, they are super evil of course. Greyhawk, that old original world... I don't know a ton about it per se, but it is interesting. 

Main BBEG -

  • The Exalted One, Jason Krimeah, The Black One
    • 19th lvl human mage
    • Potions longevity, rly 80, looks 40. 
    • More neutral than evil now apparently, he has mellowed, but still can turn truly evil when "needed". The people of the vale see him as not evil I guess. 
    • Secretly wants to turn into a Shade before death
    • Rt hand person is a drow chick, see below
    • Weirdly the elves, gnomes, humans in Vale like him.  He protects them. 
Other Badguys -
  • The First Protector, Tysilin San the Drow lady (front cover art). 
    • I read more on her... she's a strangely sentimental sort of drow is what I gather. Her family was killed (probably) and she was taken in by a mage (fell in love with him I think), who eventually died. She then more recently fell in love with the Dark One and is his right hand person. She sort of "likes" the other races in the vale or something, and they accept her despite her race. Not at all like Salvatore's super mega evil Drow. I wonder if this was TSR trying to buy into the Drizzt craze (wait was it a thing in 1989?) and this lady could have more accuratgely been a regular elf that happened to be evil or something. Updated 11-18-2025.
  • Necromancers x 3 (but 6 friends total, … 3 are non necros, but ppl dont know that). They are against The Exalted One. Something like, they are super greedy for power... and Jason K. is just good with staying in the Vale forever. The story around this seems to makes sense, too, I like the write up. 

Magic Items - Made by the Black One

  • Potion of Intensity - max casting for 3 rounds, then can't cast for 3 rounds. Like max dice roll on heals. Max dice roll on fireballs, etc. 
  • Gem of Musing - get back a single level 4 and lower spell, can use 3 x per day. Takes one hour to get back a spell.

Magic Items, not made by him, wow, they (it) exist in 5e too: 
Magic Spells (New, by The Back One, The Exalted One) - 
  • Unmask - 3rd level - reveals true, through polymorph, etc. 
  • Reflection - 5th lvl - reflects harmful spells from level 1 - level 3 back (in 5e terms, I'd say cantrips too). Also reflects magic and non-magic missiles. 
  • The Exalted Eye - 7th lvl - like a super Wizard Eye. For spying mostly. 

Thursday, November 13, 2025

Absolum - Arcanas & Throwables - ranked for casual to advanced

 Absolum Arcanas & Throwable items, ranked for casual to advanced. A work in progress. 

Realized some are easy to use, some are better for boss fights, some are more advanced. Let's start putting this together... might take a few revisions to get right. 

Can use these videos for reference on all arcanas:

Notes, random:
  • When I say things can launch them into the air, I'm pretty sure this only works on normal-sized monsters, not giant bosses. 
Draconic Ascent. Liking this one more and more. Look, it's a dragonhead top right. 


Arcanas - Effectiveness from Casual to Advanced (A work in progress)

  • Casual Friendly (doesn't mean bad at advanced stages though- just simpler, easier, or more user-friendly in a tight spot)
    • Arcanas that push the enemy back are easier to use b/c they are good for emergencies. Let me list some I think do that and some that definitely do. 
      • ? Brome's Wrath Beam, maybe, probably pushes them away. ?
      • Galandra's Necrotic Wave - the big projectile thing can be done from a safe distance and I'm pretty sure it can be done at the last second (well most can be done at the last second for a clash, but this is just a lot safer since it is from a distance). Pushes them away. 
      • Galandra's ... spear looking thing where she rushes fwd and lances them. 
      • Karl's Javelin bullet.
      • Karl's Rifle Bullet (does good pushback) and Dragonbreath flame (caveat: both are much more safe if you have the heat seeking shells, they'll hit monsters sneaking up behind you frequently, which is nice b/c the dragon flame won't let you turn around)
      • Karl's Dragonbreath, note that in Co-op it is incredible, locking random monsters in a stunned state, your ally can go wail on them or attack monsters that are sneaking up on you. 
    • Ones that are just easy to hit with, but may not protect you
      • Brome's Rage Barrage.  Simple, hits stuff automatically. But doesn't exactly protect you. 

      • Galandra's Reaper Cyclone, easy to hit with... might leave you in a bad spot though. Can be hit out of. 
      • Karl's Grenade (depends on spacing)


  • Medium difficulty to use
    • Ones that keep them at bay. Like create a barrier or similar in a larger area. 
      • Brome's Wall of Contempt... to a degree, to separate half the battle field or block ranged attacks. But not as easy for emergencies. 
      • Karl's Grenade, pushes 'em back if positioning is fine/correct/convenient at that moment.
      • Karl's Blast bullet... it hits a big fat area in front of you like a shotgun, and pushes them back pretty well, launching them into the air. 

    • Also ones that can be safe, but your character might end up landing in a dangerous spot. 
      • Brome's Spiteful Tempest... the twisters. Can be kind easy, but then you might end up surrounded if you aren't careful. Also does pretty low damage it seems like. 
        • Update: But good against giant bosses, especially if you get Arcana Mastery. 
      • Galandra's Dark Helix, the spinning arc through the air one (looks like the upgraded skill air spin). 
    • Ranged but not super safe b/c no real pushback
      • Karl's Firestorm, rain fire from the sky thing. I avoid it, seems like monsters just walk through it, huh? 

    • Higher difficulty to use
      • Fancy and hard
        • Brome's Doom Orb, the ball that juggles. Kinda bad in a tight situation, it might never really push them back by itself, you gotta get the enemy in the air first. Looks fancy cool if you know juggle combos. 
          • Update: It technically will launch them and push them away, I guess my problem is it is a narrow thing that will allow other monsters to swarm you. Or maybe whatever I used it against somehow got out of it ... needs more study. See here
          • Update 11-20-2025 - Issues
            • Noticed that red armored guys just walk through it. I think even the big OwlBear looking monsters that pound the ground will just walk through it (won't they? maybe not if they are low on HP or something... need to experiment more). 
            • Vs. undead king, it sucks... you would need to predict when he's going to stay put. Maybe somebody else can do that, not me. 
            • I basically got my butt handed to me using this on a run where they spawned a lot of red glowing armored enemies. Way not good enough for that at my skill level (somewhere above casual but below serious). 
          • Update 11-20-2025 - One good thing
            • It's good against the HeadCrab type monsters from the undead Yeldrim area, especially when they are bunched up from spawning from a Big brawny Lizardman. 
        • Brome's Sigil of Hate. I almost never hit with it... somebody out there is an expert with it I bet. 
          •  Update 11-20-2025 - as often is the case, once you get the Arcana Mastery and it becomes kinda huge, it's much easier to use against certain monsters or groups of monsters. 
            • Like for instance, the runaway and shoot you types like the Caterpillars and little wraith ghosts. They bunch up far away, just nuke em with this. 
      • Tricky for emergencies, but boss killers
        • Brome's Wall of Contempt with Arcana Master (3 walls) and with an Ultimate (you get 3 Bromes... duplicates, so is that 9 walls?) is crazy broken good against the final final end boss. 
          • Sidenote: for that super rare trinket item that says use an Ultimate to kill 5 mobs at once, you get a star back... how's that work for Brome since his duplicates lasts for like 15 seconds? I tried it once and it didn't work. 
        • Galandra's Dragonic Ascent (SF Dragonpunch, lol). It is useful in combos... not super hard, but you need to be aware of how it functions. Then again, the combos are so easy to make on the fly... it's not that hard, which makes this game fun. BUT, I think it is hard to use against mobs of monsters (I had a note that it's fairly safe in practice... time will tell), it's more a boss or mini boss or big monster killer. Combo combo, do the Draconic Ascent, then combo (probably with Skill in the air) on the way down. Moving this to the boss killer section. 

    Arcanas - Fun Factor; why not discuss this?

    • Brome - most are fun. Let's use a 5 point rating. 
      • 4/5 Barrage is just super convenient, and so it is fun. Sidenote, I think it's stationary orb will hit big bosses that are up high, need to check more on that. 4 outta 5. 
      • 3/5 Tempest is easy and twisters look cool. Doesn't damage much tho. 3 outta 5. 
        • Update: it's very good against giant bosses, like the final final end end boss. Especially if you get the Arcana Mastery upgrade. 
      • 4/5 Wall. Nuking the boss put it over the top for me. But it is kinda lackluster in some mass monster situations. And not flashy enough sometimes... getting the enemy to bounce on it once is kinda boring. Seeing them get stuck above it for 5+ bounces is hilarious though.
      • 3/5 Beam. Easy, hits a lot of baddies, looks great, but I dunno, it just doesn't seem as fun so far. 
      • 1/5 Sigil of Hate. The big AoE on the ground. Maybe I need to give it a chance, but since I miss with it 90% of the time, I am downvoting this puppy. 
      • 2/5 Doom Orb. I usually suck with it, but I think I have once or twice gotten some fun juggle combos. I know it has potential, so if I got better at it I'd give it a higher rating. Personal opinion, 2/5. 
    • Galandra - quite possibly all of hers are fun. Let's see if I forgot something.
      • 4/5 Dark Helix. Spinny into the air, yeah, fun against bosses for sure, and I enjoy it vs. masses of monsters. 
      • 5/5 Draconic Ascent. At first I doubted, but once I got into comboing with it, I just love it. 
      • 3/5 Necrotic Wave. It was the first one I was drawn to, but I haven't found a way to combo well with it, so it's kinda just fine. 
      • 4/5 Phantom Impale. When I'm in a mood for skewering, and if I have some options that make arcana activations safer (big waves, skellies)... seems fine to me. The fact that it could leave you surrounded somehow adds to the danger/skill of it, so that brings it up a notch. 
      • 4/5 Reaper Cyclone is pretty fine and definitely great fun when going CoOp and you are in a mix of a million monsters. 
      • 2/5 Revenge Claw. I dunno, I've just never been a sucker for these counterhit things. It's fine if you like that obviously. 
    • Karl - all are pretty fun, but if you are relying on Reload for mana and playing ranged keepaway it can get a little too slow paced. 
      • 4/5 Blast. I think it's probably a combo machine, need to rewatch that semi-speedrunner fellow. 
      • 5/5 Dragonbreath. I'm biased b/c of CoOp, but it is darn fun there when the kidd is using it.
      • 4/5 Grenade. It's always fun blowing stuff up. I really got a kick out of the upgraded Arcana Mastery version of it. 
      • 3/5 Rifle. Fine, but not special.
      • 2/5 Firestorm. Might be biased, but seemed too niche. 
      • 4/5 Javelin. Just too important when you are in the mood for slow paced necromancer style play, where you sit back, reload, send out swarms of skellies, and just feel like playing keepaway. Then again like I said, it can be a little too slow paced sometimes. 
    • Cider - Going to have lower ratings. I haven't been playing her enough, but hers are obviously weird as heck. I'll give it a shot for now. 
      • 1/5 Marionette. Can be useful  sometimes but not exactly fun. 
        • Probably fun if you get Arcana Mastery b/c it auto-Clashes 
      • 4/5 Spidermine. It's more like a 3.5 out of 5 for me, but it's probably the most fun for me. Blowing stuff up, you know. I use it at the end of combos. 
      • 3/5 Flying Shredder spinning blade thing. Juggle combos look interesting, but it is lackluster often. If you get infinite mana somehow (mana bounce plus the option to give you mana back when her arcanas fall apart, you can get a million of these flying around and then I might give it a 4.5/5). 
      • 1/5 Rising Drill. An homage to Cammy in SF I'm sure, but like, it feels like it never hits b/c you have to be right on them. Bad vs. masses of monsters, right? 
      • 2/5 Tinker Blade. The throwing knves that bsically has no pushback. Well, I should give it a chance.. maybe. Seems like it's just a combo ender is all. 
      • 3/5 Kinetic Gear. I kinda like this one for some reason... it auto-aims, right? 3.5/5 maybe for me. 


    Throwables

    • Simple to use
      • axes - higher damage than rocks or knives
      • rocks - plentiful
      • Big AoE hitting breakable magic things... like 
        • Water (giant tidal waves), the pushback matters
        • Urns of spectral hands from the ground (no pushback tho, eh?) - patch from Nov 27 made them bugged. I think because don’t hit at all lately. 
        • Rotten spoiled Meat. These are like the BEST dang things, but you never get very many. They aoe stunlock enemies and give you tons of time to reposition or do more damage. 
      • Leeches, one of the best damaging ones! 
    • Medium
      • knives... passes through, hits many in line, no pushback really. 
      • auto pilot crystal flask magic things that break on the ground... like
        • skeletons
        • brambles that attack
        • rose turrets that attack (wait, are there breakables that do rose turrets?)
    • Harder
      • the pink eyeball thingies you get in Yeldrim. Best to aim carefully, then unload several all at once. 
      • Some of the crystal flask magic things that land and break. Some are hard to aim. 
        • lightning
        • wind
        • fire

    Thursday, November 6, 2025

    Absolum, arcanas and antiboss

    Arcanas

     Brome’s Wall of Contempt plus Arcana Matery plus triple via Ultimate is a final final boss destroyer.  It his a big area and can nuke. 


    Galandra’s first Arcana, the dragon uppercut thing, is great against bosses.  Combo up then on way down hit a Skill.  So safe and hits a big area, bigger than you’d expect. BTW, can be used in the air, hits down. I smell long combos. 


    Karl’s rifle Bullet with arcana mastery and heat seeking shells is incredible. 


    Rituals

    -Galandra dive kick is awesome against the undead elf queen boss. Keeps you above the melee, and knocks her back (if she is outta spectral armor at least). 

    Monday, November 3, 2025

    Absolum - Speedrunner info (continually updated)

    Aipsh, one of the first guys I found: 


    Bragdras, one of First guys I found (looking up Jaroba stuff):  


    Mikwuyma, seems very technically capable, hates thorn daggers (OP),  but doesn't take it toooo seriously during these runs, which makes it better for learning how the game works. Also he states a lot of tidbits during play:  

    • Things I learned from our friend here
      • Timing on Clash is wildly different between the 4 heroes. I mean I kinda already knew, but he pointed it out during his runs... such that the final final boss Absolum the monster has weird clash things to worry about like
        • when falling from sky, BROME has it easier b/c his Skill hits up high
        • Noticed he did vs falling from sky using Karl yesterday so can be done… harder eh?
        • when the final final boss charges you with water waves you have to time it sort of precisely, not really, but when switching between heroes it'll mess you up
          • the waves on that class will count as many clashes
      • You can Clash the annoying fire from the undead giant dwarf king, underKing. It will do gobs of damage to him if you do it right.
        • He did it while jumping fairly closely in front of the boss, with Galandra. I've done it a couple of times, but when you miss, it SUCKS. I think doing it earlier does more dmg to him. 
      • Cant OTG (off the ground) skeletons… at least vs galandra they don’t bouce up enough for the usual combo. 
      • Spectral dragon fight seems to be one of hardest. Then again north all the way Grandery can be hardest w the super chicks, especially if red versions (armor version s). 
      • The giant green goblin miniboss at the end of Grandery is easier to beat then his brother/son the giant red goblin miniboss. 
      • I think The other route Grandery endboss, the goofy guy with the shield... is super rarely (maybe once only) sometimes replaced with either a giant undead guy or a creepy Lovecraft tentacle guy. But is that right or was that somewhere/something else? 
    • Galandra, fresh file https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4iYd1m45fs&pp=0gcJCQMKAYcqIYzv
    • Karl fresh file generic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSdMKwHmlAU&list=LL&index=12  
    • Cider. His 200/50 handicap low dmg given hi-dmg-taken run with Cider
    • Brome, same 200/50 handicap: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKs-Ievb8gM&list=LL&index=11
    • BTW, he did Streets of Rage 4, which is considered the precursor to Absolum: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNsCSzrRTM0


    Ben Auton - World record for the moment apparently guy: 
    • Brome world record https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StYKsPqHiU8
      • Brief comments as I scan through it... need to watch for real tho. 
      • 4 twister super arcana, OK nice, i suspected it was important/good. 
        • Oh, very important for the north shield guy miniboss. With ULTRA triple Brome. 
      • he's doing a lot of dash/run combos early on... i suspected that was also important for Brome. Let's see if it stays that way. 

    Absolum - Combos (attack strings, think SF4+ style)

    General

    Combo damage guide, how it works, etc.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ac06QlbcAyM&pp=ygUXYWJzb2x1bSBnYWxhbmRyYSBjb21ib3M%3D

    What I noticed:

    Seems like you don't want to do the "ender" on your typical hit hit hit hit combos. Instead, hit 1 to 3 times then switch to another type of hit, maybe a Skill hit, or a vertical dash away/dash back to them, or an air attack, or a dash/run into Tiger Knee (in the case of Galandra). 

    Speaking of her dash(?)run into tiger knee, or Brome's run -> into combos... I often find myself constantly double tapping towards and getting a couple of hits in, then getting halfway through the combo, then continuing a run into new combo with them. With Brome, he scoops them up off the ground well doesn't he, when he run attacks? Gets them in the air, slows down when his tongue comes out... but seems like you can repeat pretty easily then get an OTG (off the ground) or off the wall bounce with at Skill Mana(?) Burst move (his big green energy bubble with Skill button). 

    In general, the attack string combos are super forgiving and infinitely creative. You can almost do anything. The trick is how to accomplish certain things, you have choices to make if you think about it:

      • Looking for damage output?
      • Looking for safety, so you don't get hit from behind? Timing and positioning awareness needed. 
      • Staying in the air for safety? Sometimes this is the best route. 
      • Want a longer combo so 
        • you get more mana back or  
        • higher chance of crit/chain lightning/whatever
      • Get that wind gale applied so they are up in the air longer (forever?). Seems like when they have the yellow spinnies around them from wind powers, you are much more open for longer combos AND safety. Don't underestimate those wind powers against hard monsters/bosses. 

     


    Character attack combos

    Galandra:

    Start area https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mulyHC4K0Pk

    Practical vs. regular enemies (speedrunner guys does a lot of these, like dash/run tiger knee into Skill): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIJfnYVqHbU&pp=ygUXYWJzb2x1bSBnYWxhbmRyYSBjb21ib3M%3D


    Brome:

    Note how his beginning Orb super is great for bouncing them up for longer combos, a la  Ed's slow ball super/ultra in SF5/6: https://youtu.be/QCTf9bV-QOE?t=63

    Of course Brom also has Urien's mirror in SF3+ for those juggle bounce combos. 


    Others to come:

     

    Saturday, November 1, 2025

    Absolum - Ken’s 3rd kick sf3, speedrunner???

     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHEs3uyuzdw&t=147s

    Around time 2:00 he mentions Galandra has a move from Street fighter 3 third arrike.  The 3rd kick of Ken? Not sure which one he means, but I need to find out and add this to my big list. 

    Wait i think i kind of see it.  Her regular standing hit hit hit… she does a roundhouse type kick with back turned to camera.  Looks a lot like Ken's HK (standing Roundhouse) in SF3... or maybe his standing far MK (medium kick) in SSF2T or SF3. 

    So looking closer, it's probably more of a standard karate or Muy Thai type kick. Look at Ken's fingers splayed and arm fully extended. I don't think her arm ever fully extends. 

    Conclusion: Close but no cigar. I definitely can see many influences from various versions of Street Fighter, but maybe this particular one is just coincidence and not quite and homage. 

    See her move here at time 2:52 - https://youtu.be/CYXl1TKQTN8?t=232



    See Ken's SF3 version of MK here: https://www.justnopoint.com/zweifuss/ken/ken.htm



    Friday, October 31, 2025

    Chainsaw Man the movie (2025) - some really popular anime movie... action horror romance???

     Well I loved both of the old Vampire Hunter D movies. Could this be a modern movie that is somewhat like that? A ton of high reviews. I dunno, it feels hard to trust it's not just some teen movie... I guess I should check the critics (damn I hate to put faith in them, but if they rate it highly, there could be something to it). 

    IMDB likes it:

    https://www.imdb.com/title/tt30472557/reviews/?ref_=tt_ururv_sm

    Holy crap, Rotten Tom.'s likes it, too. That is flipping rare to agree with IMDB, isn't it? Is this for real... 

    https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/chainsaw_man_the_movie_reze_arc


    I see the guy who is directing is (I think) an animator in Japan who worked on an episode of OnePunchMan and some other well known things. Hmmmm. 


    WORRIES: sounds like it's one of those gorefest movies, so... meh. I dunno. 

    BUT I LIKE: well damn, just watched a 10 second clip of some crazy action in the air, and wow, it looks pretty insanely incredible. See trailer. Man, saw more in the trailer... that is some good animation, my God. 



    Absolum - The Map

     Thank you person who put it here


    Might as well have the map handy. It's a pretty good looking map, though a little cartoonish like the game is. I kinda like the Angler Fish up top, in place of one of those ancient whale-inspired monsters on ancient sea maps. 

    Bosses (and secret bosses) are mostly shown on this map. But... I don't think it shows the secret boss on the north shore of the beginning area, in Grandery. See my secrets post for details, but basically look for a giant dragon skeleton, then do emotes on the controller. You'll get an upgrade if you beat him. 

    Thursday, October 30, 2025

    Ancient 13th century doodles by a young dude... looks like stuff you'd see today

     https://www.popsci.com/science/birch-bark-grafitti-weirdest-thing/

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onfim



    So those were drawn the 1200s, huh? Crazy and kinda funny. Epic battles and even maybe a monster?

    "Onfim's illustrations include pictures of knights, horses, arrows, and slain enemies. One image, "a portrait of himself, disguised as a fantastic animal [[[the one I put above here]]],"[11] is found on item 199 (pictured; it was originally the bottom of a basket made of birch bark), which contains a picture of a beast with a long neck, pointy ears, and a curly tail. The beast either has an arrow with feathers in its mouth or is spewing fire; one of the accompanying texts says "I am a wild beast". Another text says "Greetings from Onfim to Danilo," most likely a friend or classmate of Onfim.[12] The number of fingers on the pictured people's hands varies from three to eight; Onfim had yet to learn how to count.[13]"

    Wednesday, October 29, 2025

    Brome - a reanalysis of that post

     See my original analysis here, of Brome mostly based on that post

    One comment on his Ultimate before we continue: He gets shadow versions of himself... 3 total froggers that can do 3 of the same thing all at the same time. That's not just regular attacks and Skill hits... if you do supers err Arcanas, you'll get three of them. This is pretty awesome, widening the area they hit and probably tripling the damage (I need to find a way to test the dmg). 


    BUILDS as I find 'em:

    • Azra can't touch Brome - Is it a build or more a Combo that protects Brome and nukes the boss? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCTf9bV-QOE
      • Reminds me. How important is the Cloak for Evad vs. the bosses and when you want to do certain combos? B/c taking little damage is one thing, but if you can Evade, seems like even the Azra Clash is going to miss you, right? Kinda nice.


    ReANALYSIS

    Have I changed my mind from my first analysis, now that'd I've played a fair bit more? Highlights and (((comments))) in this color. 


    Brome
    Available from the start:
    -Channelling
    Make Arcana stronger by holding down the Arcana button. I am unsure how much this boosts your damage, but I'll guess it's +50% like Karl's Take Aim. Because
    Brome's Arcanas are mostly amazing at dealing damage already, this can melt lifebars in a split second. Finding the time to charge your Arcana in the middle of a combo or in a tight situation is also a lot of fun.

    -Controlled Grab
    Brome can move the enemy around during a Grab. Strike slams the enemy into the ground. The slam deals more damage than simply throwing your enemy away, and being able to move your victim around before the throw/slam is handy to throw it into a hole or into a group of enemies. Still, this isn't Brome's strongest or most exciting Inspiration.

    -Mana Burst
    Skill can be charged to increase its power. Not only does it deal more damage, it also covers a bigger area. Charging it in the air allows you to stall in the air too. This is handy to time your Clashes manually as well. Basic but well worth a slot. (((Is it really called Mana Burst? Anyway, yeah this is fun and useful. I've mentioned you can position yourself above/below enemies and hit them safely very often. Also that air stall is super important and can be a way to jump into a huge group at the side of the screen then hit them... maybe the upgrade doesn't matter, just the skill in general. But bigger is often better. )))

    -Infused Staff
    For every full Mana chunk, ground Strikes gain an improved energy burst. This improves not only your basic Strikes' range, but their damage (((one of my favorites))) as well. The bonus caps out at NINE Mana chunks, I believe, so you can get a lot of mileage out of this Inspiration if you couple it with ways to get extra chunks and to recover Mana quickly.

    -Battle Rage
    Increase Mana gained on hit in accordance with your Combo meter level. This rewards aggressive and skilled play by allowing you to use Brome's powerful Arcanas often.
    Keep in mind you can maintain your Combo throughout most of the individual screens of the game, thanks to strategically placed breakable items that let you refresh it in between enemy waves (((weird idea, cool idea))), but your combo will always be cashed out at the end of an individual screen.
    Unfortunately, some bosses do have phases where they can't be hit for a little while, which will cash out your combo - but these are usually tanky enough bosses that you'll be able to build it back up and enjoy the flow of Mana. (((in general, Brome seems pretty easy to get a lot of high hit combos with. I do a lot of dash, combo, get 'em in the air a little, dash, repeat... I think it goes like that. It definitely feels that way, but I dont have the game in front  of me. Seems like you can juggle a nice long time. I guess doing the "break nearby objects" in between could be done, but seems like a lot of trouble for me.)))

    -Arcana Overload
    Arcana cost double but deal triple damage. This is great when you have extra Mana chunks to spare, but thankfully you can still use an Arcana if you only have one chunk of Mana filled. This terrifying Inspiration can destroy just about any enemy in the game if used properly. (((I would say... if you want to use, use it with either the tornados or ... his Barrage one.)))

    -Projectile Dispel
    Clash a projectile to spawn a homing missile. Clashing a projectile can be a daunting task, but the returns are worth it. Some boss attacks generate a lot of projectiles that you can Clash all at once, like the Underking's flamethrower or the Lizard King's belly slam...

    -Resonance Field
    Enemy hit by Skill increases the next Arcana damage by 20% (can be accumulated to 10 times). Another great Inspiration for outputting craploads of damage. Boosting your Arcana by up to 200% and unleasing hell on a boss is extremely satisfying, especially against big targets like the Underking or the Beast. (((super duper crazy damage, especially if you stack on some other big options.)))

    Unlocked with Seeds at Ederig the Stalwart:
    -Telekinesis
    Automatically lifts nearby Throwables. Use your Skill to turn them into deadly projectiles. This is kind of a stinker Inspiration in my opinion - picking them up and throwing them manually is usually more practical. Besides, the projectiles do not have tracking and as such it's difficult to aim with them. They also disappear upon transitioning to a new screen, so you can't really stack a million of them.
    Some Throwables won't be picked up by this Inspiration as they would be too chaotic to deal with. (((meh)))

    -Drill Rush
    NEW MOVE: Run + Skill. Also works in the air with Forward, Forward + Skill. This Inspiration is very, very dumb. Though only the start of it has a Clash window, it starts up so fast (((well, double tapping is never fast, so... not sure I agree here b/c the inputs definitely matter. I guess if you are straight running first... yeah maybe that makes it good, but as a raw move, not so fast))) that you can do it at the very last moment against an enemy's attack. Because it is a Running attack, you can also do it after any Strike or after your regular Skill too (((yeah this is the spammyness of it. But that is kinda how this game is designed... you can get complicated if you want, you can spam if you want, all good.))). It's good offense, and great defense. Amazing to plow through a crowd of non-armoured enemies as well. (((Very good. I do drill, skill, drill the other way, skill... and often the skill is by accident, yet it still works out fine.)))

    Unlocked from Brome's personal quest:
    -Arcana Mastery
    Give brand new properties to your equipped Arcanas.
    Wrath beam deals more hits and more damage.
    Doom orb grows bigger and inflicts more damage.
    Sigil of hate cover a bigger area (((is helpful))) and inflicts more damage.
    Wall of contempt turns into three walls (((sounds fun, need to try))) that last an extra 2 seconds.
    Spiteful tempest spawns four extra tornadoes (((seems very good so far))) that spin around the first four in the opposite direction.
    Rage barrage fires its projectiles quicker (((no extra dmg? Hmm.))).

    Tuesday, October 28, 2025

    Fairies were always big like ppl, till Victorian era; folklore historian

     See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i61jkjPtMuw

    See time 14:30 in video.

    Scots and Irish fairies are still big. And fairies used to always be human sized or bigger… also were beautiful. 

    The English in the Victorian era made them smaller.  Victorians were interested in nature and insects… dragonflies and stuff. 

    Irish Aos Sí, Irish fairies (pretty much fairies,), from wikipedia - Riders of the Sidhe (1911), painting by John Duncan . 

    Check out this site

    More from that Irish folklore site

    "While we now see the word Sidhe (pronounced Shee) as meaning an Irish Fairy being, the word in older Irish generally referred to a place associated with the Otherworld, the actual mounds themselves that were said to be connecting places between the worlds."

    That's interesting to me, b/c it is just like the torii gates in Japan... crossing over into the Other World... the world where something like spirits/magical beasts/fairies can live basically in both cultures.  

    -=-=-=

    Toothfairoes used to be mice. Kinda. 

    … commenter veryscarydragon says: mice and rodents eat antlers and bones and teeth in the wilderness.  Seems to be true https://iere.org/why-do-rodents-eat-antlers/

    See Pianotm’s comment. Lord Byron did initial ghost story contest, that’s why ppl contestants wrote him as a vamp. And GRIM REAPER. Based in Greek… the titan Kronos lord of time w his scythe, …. Being Charon the boatman…then associated w the Black Plague as roaming the streets of Europe really solodified him personified as dearh. 

    Absolum - more analysis on Cider

     From: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3590526648


    My (((comments))) or emphasis in this color. 

    Cider
    Available from the start:
    -Turbo Rotor
    Arm blade rotates faster and longer during attacks. This makes Cider deal more hits and damage to enemies
    on the third and fourth Strike, [the] first jumping Strike, and [her] Running attack. This synergizes very well with Rituals that grant you effects on Strikes, and as it gives you more opportunities for Critical Hits (((yes yes yes, this is what I noticed. You will crit like crazy. Go Crit build or Crit + Luck, Luck which increases crit chances, build with it.))) as well, it synergizes well with Rituals, Trinkets, and Inspirations that have an effect on Crits. It's not exactly the flashiest Inspiration but it's quite solid.

    -Critical Toolbox
    Spawns a random Throwable on Criticals. Any build that boosts the power of Throwables will appreciate this Inspiration, and Throwable are very powerful in general. Be careful though: you may cover the ground in Throwables and have a hard time actually throwing the ones you have equipped, as the game prioritizes picking up items on the ground over throwing the ones equipped. Hopefully this gets addressed.

    -Pneumatic Heels
    Gain 2 additional Dashes and allows to Air Dash. A great Inspiration defensively, as it allows you to defend during Cider's lengthy air combos, it also allows you to become more mobile and chain attacks in creative ways. Synergizes well with Rituals that have an effect on Dashes and Deflects, naturally. Very fun to use!

    -Gyro Drop
    NEW MOVE: Up + Skill while Grabbing or in the air. Landing spot can be controlled. This is a versatile move that can help keep you safe during intense situations as you become invincible when you execute it and you can relocate to a safer spot on the screen, or slam your victim against a group of enemies to scatter them. It's a great way to finish your combo when you reach Overpressure as it deals a lot of damage, which gets boosted by the Overpressure hit. Plus, it just looks so cool.

    -Cashback
    When no Throwable is equipped, use gold to throw a damaging coin. The coin will disappear if it hits an enemy, but you'll be able to pick it back up if it lands on the ground. Keep in mind that your co-op partner can also pick up the coins you throw. This can be annoying, but you can also use that to give them extra gold if they need it to buy a Trinket. If you have Throwable Replicator, you'll throw three coins for the price of one...

    -Recycle
    Gadget-based Arcanas spawn Mana orbs when disappearing. This applies to Clockwork marionette, Spider mine, and Flying shredder, and allows you to spam these a lot, especially if you have Arcana Mastery. It unfortunately does nothing for the other three Arcanas.

    -Throwable Replicator
    Throwables are multiplied when thrown. You throw three of every throwable (save for Thorn Daggers) for the price of one! This deals awesome amounts of damage and is also practical for crowd control. Throwable builds are stong on anyone, and stronger still on Cider.

    -Magnetic Jump
    Wall Jump is possible. Press Strike to follow with a diving blade attack. This is Cider's stinker Inspiration... For how cool it is in concept, Wall Jumps are way too infrequent to implement easily in your gameplan. It's a shame, because it looks very cool, and the follow up attack is rad too! I'd advise against picking it up in a serious run, but hey, it's a lot of fun to mess with.

    Unlocked with Seeds at Ederig the Stalwart:
    -Vortex Grip
    NEW MOVE: Hold Skill to Grab and throw an enemy. You spin the enemy around before throwing them, which hits surrounding enemies as well. You can hold forward or back to decide in which direction to throw the enemy, too. You can't do it in the air though.
    NOTE: this does NOT remove your ability to pull enemies towards you with your base Skill: if you tap Skill, release the button, and then hold it again, you'll be able to do your basic pull Skill with your grappling arm. The timing is a little tight, so it may take some practice to pull it off.

    -Slice and Dice
    Attacks from behind deal +50% damage. Forward Dash passes through enemies and deals damage. This is another fun combo tool that opens up your options, especially coupled with Pneumatic Heels, and it heavily boosts your damage when you use it properly. Cider has all the cool-looking stuff!

    Unlocked from Cider's personal quest:
    -Arcana Mastery
    Give brand new properties to your equipped Arcanas.
    Kinetic gear hits six times instead of three.
    Spider mine turns into three mines that track enemies automatically.
    Tinker blade fires five kunai instead of three. By the way, did you know you can aim them up and down when using the Arcana in the air?
    Clockwork marionette Clashes enemy attacks instead of Deflecting them.
    Flying shredder launches an additional drone that spins around the first one.
    Rising drill hits and Clashes in a significantly bigger area of effect, lasts longer and hits more.


    From the other post, Skree says this is overpowered, and I think it is extremely powerful myself:

    "Raise luck and critical chance, and get the power that paralizes enemies in crono stasis when hit with critical hits.

    WIth THOSE Cider is invincible. If you add to those the power up that makes her rotating blade hit more times then it's almost a cheat code."

    And another guy (same post) said something about the gold coins as projectiles there also... with triple shot. And from the youtuber I saw, it is brokenly too good.

    Absolum - more analysis (plus build) - Karl the Dwarf

    Her Original via: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3590526648


    BUILDS as I find em: 

    • Mega bullets + shells. Silly, broken, one-shot-almost, pretty cool. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TFSLgXyNjY
      • Quote "I might make a video on it, but its basically time ritual and chaos twin ritual which spawns clones, and these clones bullets get multiplied, and their heat seeking bullet shells. therefore you get insane damage. And then there is the telescope, and arcane inspiration that boost spell efficiency which also boost damage even further."


    Emphasis and (((My comments))) in other color, b/c red kinda hurts me eyes on their blue-black background.


    Karl
    Available from the start:
    -Ironhead Rush
    NEW MOVE: Run + Skill to perform a powerful
    headbutt. This attack can Clash and starts up quickly, and you can perform it after a normal Skill, which gives you another chance to Clash the enemy if you performed the normal Skill too early. This deals a lot of damage as well, and I believe counts as both a Skill and a Running Attack for Trinket and Ritual effects. (((no real comment, but it seems good at a glance when the kid was using it. I tried it a little and thought it fine, but always ended up doing something else for some reason. Could it be as good as the DRILL on the BROMELIAD FROG?)))

    -Extra Magazines
    Gain 2 Mana chunks but decrease Arcana damage by 30%. Don't sleep on this, the damage debuff may look significant but having more Mana makes you better on offense and defense. This is great if you're unsure about the timing to Clash with your Skill, as you can Arcana afterwards to be safer. Besides, coupled with Infused Shells, this actually buffs your damage output. (((yep, with infused shells, it's great. But with powered up summoned skeletonesses, it is just badass and broken with Reload. I've preached this before.)))

    -Hammer Swing
    Finisher hits multiple times and can be controlled. This deals more damage than your regular Finisher, as well as having a bigger area of effect. This is great for combos and you can position yourself better during it in case you spot danger. Keep in mind you can cancel it at any time with a Run, a Skill or an Arcana, like your regular Finisher. (((Scuber duber duper good. Zee kiddo's fave thing in the game lately.)))

    -Reload
    NEW MOVE: Skill with no directional input, spins weapon and reloads 2 Mana chunks. Works in air.
    This is the mother of all cheese strats - couple this with an Arcana that can keep your enemies at bay (((yeah, I'm saying the harpoony Javeline one is key. Not to mention skellie summoning from Arcana. Did I say that before?))), and you'll be able to kite them from the other end of the screen safely, even more so if you have Infused Shells.
    The attack itself deals a lot of hits when it connects with an enemy, which is great for Rituals that have an effect on your Skill. Reload's Clash window also appears faster than your regular Skill's Clash window, so you can do it rather late and still Clash.
    Keep in mind you still have access to your regular headbutt Skill and gun butt Skill in the air if you hold forward/back while pressing Skill.

    -Earthbreaker
    NEW MOVE: Skill while grabbing an enemy to smash him on the ground. This deals a LOT of damage in a big area, and you are invincible during the first part of the animation, so this move is great for crowd control. You cannot Clash attacks with it though. If you have Throw Mastery, you can do some insanely damaging combos by doing the Throw Mastery dash in the air to regrab the enemy and do Earthbreaker over and over.

    -Take Aim
    Arcana can be charged to deal 50% more damage. I think this is the stinker in Karl's otherwise amazing line up of Inspirations, and even then it's not bad at all. More damage is great, and charging your Arcana means you can time your Clash (or invincibility) window manually. It just pales in comparison to the other choices.

    -Throw Mastery
    NEW MOVE: Up + Y, dash and grab the enemy. Works in the air. In addition, Throws do more damage and launch further. This move is a LOT of fun (((how??? lemme read))), as it opens up Karl's combo game significantly!
    The dash itself has Deflect properties that can keep you safe against non-red attacks and power through your enemies' blows. Don't hesitate to use it against anything that can be grabbed. It unfortunately isn't much use against enemies that cannot be grabbed in combos like Gazorg, but doing it during a combo can grab enemies that normally break out of your grabs, like Rudolf or the blue Goblin Champion (((the little armored helmet dude eh? with the wide swinging sword?))).

    -Bouncing Bash
    Strikes 3 times in the air, bouncing off enemies. Another addition to open up Karl's air game, this deals a lot of damage and can be followed up by an air Skill. The final hit also counts as a Finisher for Rituals that affect them. (((Dude, this thing is as broken good as the Galandra Dive Kick... ok maybe not that powerful, but it is super duper safe and easy to take out scary monsters with b/c you are so safe and like cannot miss once you start. Feels slightly boring maybe.)))

    Unlocked with Seeds at Ederig the Stalwart:
    -Rocket Dwarf
    NEW MOVE: Dash in the air to boost in a chosen direction, up to 3 times. This is another AMAZING Inspiration! Not only can you perform the boost in all 8 directions, this also can hit enemies! It counts as a Skill for Rituals that affect them, AND it can Clash against enemy attacks instantly. You can move at very high speed thanks to this Inspiration. It's amazing offensively and defensively. I hotly recommend messing with it. (((yeah seems fun and kinda nutty good. Just the fast movement is pretty wild. Did I ever mention how I like fast stuff?)))

    -Infused Shells
    Shells produced by Arcana can damage enemies and auto-target them. This Inspiration is not amazing with single-shot Arcanas (Blast, Grenade, and Javelin), but works extremely well with Rifle, Dragonbreath (it's almost mandatory with Dragonbreath, b/c you cannot turn around or cancel Dragonbreath. Still I say Dragonbreath is awesome, b/c in Co-op it helps lock down half the screen, and your buddy can combo up the place))), and Firestorm. You can pelt your foes with half a dozen tracking shells that'll keep you safe even from baddies that sneak up behind you. Couple this with Reload and you have an extremely powerful and cheesy build. Just make sure these don't get Clashed by enemies who can Clash your attacks, like the Lizard King and Azra (((I was wondering about that... on Azra specifically b/c he's pretty annoying with it in general))), or you'll get a taste of your own medicine...

    Unlocked from Karl's personal quest:
    -Arcana Mastery
    Give brand new properties to your equipped Arcanas.
    Blast bullet has a significantly bigger hitbox and generates more Shells.
    Grenade bullet turns into a fragmentation grenade, covering more of the screen in explosions.
    Firestorm bullet lasts longer.
    Rifle bullet fires significantly faster, generating more Shells as well.
    Dragonbreath bullet cover a a bigger area in front of you.
    Javelin bullet, uh, deals more damage? No idea what other effects it has.

    Absolum - more analysis on Galandra

    Via  https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3590526648



    Galandra

    Red = my emphasis. I'll be (((commenting))) shortly. 

    -Blood Harvest
    Gain 10% damage and 10% Move speed for 10 seconds when killing an enemy. This bonus stacks when killing multiple enemies, meaning killing a second enemy before the 10 seconds are up grants you an additional 10% damage and 10% Move speed for the next 10 seconds. (((so I was wondering, and apparently in this writeup she [just noticed it's a chick writing this up, BTW thx to you original poster] says that they stack/overlap... meaning if you kill 3 dudes in 1 second you get like 9 or 10 seconds of 30% extra damage & move-speed. I think that sounds about right. ))) 
    Extra Move speed should also buff the damage of your running attack.

    REMINDS ME, when you get the thing on SKILL that gives you Spectral Armor... I noticed if you spam it against the same monster, it doesn't keep stacking. Maybe it is ONCE per COMBO or something. Noticed it when using BROM and the upgraded SKILL + the give spectral armor on Skill hit, b/c I was bouncing them off the wall a gazillion times and my Spectral armor would only appear to upgrade one time during that combo. THIS HAS IMPLECATIONS that all things tied to SKILL will only trigger once per combo, I guess. Go double check me on all this. 

    -Blade Spin
    Replace Skill in the air with a multi-hit spinning attack. This attack deals more damage than the base Skill and has a slightly larger Clash window. However, against armoured enemies, this can leave you open to counterattacks because of how long the animation takes, so use it with care. Important[l]y, this hits and Clashes behind you as well. (((SheeeEEEeeet. This thing is broken in many cases. Safely, easily hit multi monsters from the air. I guess watch out for Armored enemies, so that's good it has a weakness. Then again... that is interesting, b/c do you want it easy against the mobs of monsters or against just the super duper armored jackholes? Choices are fun.)))

    -Charged Sword
    Hold Skill to perform a Charged Sword attack that deals 300% damage to Armoured enemies. This is amazing to take out an enemy's shield, or deal massive damage against Elites and most Bosses. This also allows you to time your Clashes with more care. You can turn around as well after charging the attack to strike behind you!
    If you have Sword Flurry, you can chain your Charged Sword into the 3 hit sword combo.


    -Spirit Claw
    Replace your Finisher, the end of your Strike combo, with a multi-hit spirit claw attack. Not only does it deal more damage than your normal finisher, it also launches the enemy up in the air, and you can jump out of it to easily follow with an air combo. It can also be done in the air as a Finisher at the end of your air Strike combo. This synergizes very well with Rituals that have an effect on your Finisher, as every hit will trigger the effect.

    -Dive Kick
    NEW MOVE: Down + Strike in the air to perform a dive kick. You will dive diagonally towards the ground and bounce off enemies, allowing you to air combo them afterwards. Be careful though: against Armoured enemies, you will bounce farther and recover slower. (((my comment: sheeeet. There are some bosses that get nuked by this thing. Well, am I dreaming that? I'll say for sure against the doppelganger, it worked all too easy... uh... easily, to almost quote Vader. I could swear some other bosses, if you just spam it, get thrown into the corner and get stunned and crumpled or whatever. Am I nuts? Thinking Giant Goblin boss. Surely some others, huh?)))
    You can peform this out of your running attack as well. It counts as a Finisher (((this mattters a lot for synergy))) for the sake of Rituals.

    -Duellist
    Greatly increase all damage by 40% at the cost of splitting damage among all targets hit. This is an amazing Inspiration for fighting bosses, as most of them are single target fights. The downside can be annoying when dealing with big groups of enemies, but Trinkets and Rituals can more than make up for that damage debuff.

    -Sword Flurry
    Perform 3 consecutive sword attacks with Skill. This allows you to deal more damage in combos, of course, but is also amazing for Clashing - if you do your first hit too early, you can do the second and hopefully catch your enemy's attack!
    You can run cancel or dodge cancel the first two attacks, but not the third one. However, if you have Charged Sword, you can cancel ANY hit with Charged Sword by holding your Skill button, AND you can then continue into another 3 hit combo (((smells like cheese, but the cheese in this game is always called for and tastes great))) with the sword.

    -Dark Grip
    Grabbing an enemy does damage over time and generates Mana. Every hit dealt charges one entire chunk of Mana, so this is great to recover Mana and use many Arcanas. The damage dealt is significant as well, and you can still throw your enemy afterwards! (((Well, I liked it for a moment... but since you are usually swarmed midmap, you need to really keep focused and save it for the last monster on each screen. Do you always know what the last monster is on each screen, b/c I can tell you I am not going to stay focused that long. So i can't really use this correctly. Maybe with a TON of practice + conditioning, but never bothered yet b/c this game is fun b/c I do not have to purposely condition myself all the time, that is not so fun, yo.)))

    Unlocked with Seeds at Ederig the Stalwart:
    -Burial Smash
    After a Run Attack, Strike to extend it into a grab and slam. Unfortunately, this attack does not benefit from Rituals that have an effect on throws. (((it still seems super solid to me vs. large groups of monsters. Hits surrounding foes and knocks them to the ground, right... like major crowd control? Doesn't it also do it in the air, or am I thinking of the other one, the claw ender dooflicky?)))

    -Ghost Blade
    Conjure a permanent floating sword Companion that attacks nearby enemies. This can be a boon when you're low on health and need to play defensively. The sword can also interrupt some enemy attacks, which can save you from getting combo'd. Be aware that the sword will NOT attract the enemy's attention, and so cannot act as a decoy. (((lazy easy mode extra dmg. Sometimes it attacks when you don't want it to or vice versa. It's basically pretty great though.)))

    Unlocked from Galandra's personal quest:
    -Arcana Mastery
    Give brand new properties to your equipped Arcanas.
    Draconic ascent will hit more often and deal more damage.
    Necrotic wave will fire three energy waves instead of a single one.
    Phantom impale will deal more hits and damage.
    Revenge claw will hit the enemy twice upon a succesful Clash.
    Reaper cyclone will last longer, and grant you Armour after the Clash window is over, preventing you from being knocked out of it. (((you don't say. Prevents you from being knocked out of it. Yeah, when that happens to me using whatever super move, it grates on my nerves every single time. )))
    Dark helix will bounce once on the ground, doubling the length of it as well as its damage. (((yep, whoops. Realized this last night. I have a mistake somewhere assuming this was something you could do before the Acana Mastery thing.))))