Announcers

"Announcer: Dr. Kleiner"
"Announcer: Juggernaut"
"Announcer: Nature's Prophet"
"Announcer: Storm Spirit"
"Announcer: The Pirate Cap'n"
"Announcer: Axe"
"Announcer: Death Prophet"
"Announcer: Bastion"
"Announcer: Tuskar"
"Announcer: Pyrion Flax"
"Announcer: Defense Grid"
"Announcer: GLaDOS"
"Announcer: Trine"
"Announcer: Lina"
"Announcer: Clockwerk"
"Announcer: The Stanley Parable"
"Announcer: Techies"
"Announcer: Rick and Morty"
"Announcer: Bristleback"
"Announcer: Fallout 4"
"Mega-Kills: Juggernaut"
"Mega-Kills: Nature's Prophet"
"Mega-Kills: The Pirate Cap'n"
"Mega-Kills: Bastion"
"Mega-Kills: Axe"
"Mega-Kills: Storm Spirit"
"Mega-Kills: Pyrion Flax"
"Mega-Kills: Defense Grid"
"Mega-Kills: GLaDOS"
"Mega-Kills: Trine"
"Mega-Kills: Lina"
"Mega-Kills: Clockwerk"
"Mega-Kills: The Stanley Parable"
"Mega-Kills: Techies"
"Mega-Kills: Rick and Morty"
"Mega-Kills: Fallout 4"
"Announcer: Crystal Maiden"
"Announcer: Monkey King"
"Announcer: Kunkka & Tidehunter"
"Announcer: Meepo"
"Announcer: Dark Willow"
"Mega-Kills: Bristleback"
"Mega-Kills: Crystal Maiden"
"Mega-Kills: Monkey King"
"Mega-Kills: Kunkka & Tidehunter"
"Mega-Kills: Meepo"
"Mega-Kills: Dark Willow"

Arcanas

"Blades of Voth Domosh"
"Demon Eater"
"Fiery Soul of the Slayer"
"Fractal Horns of Inner Abysm"
"Frost Avalanche Bundle"
"Manifold Paradox Bundle"
"Swine of the Sunken Galley Bundle"
"Tempest Helm of the Thundergod"
"Flockheart's Gamble Bundle"
"The Magus Cypher Bundle"
"Feast of Abscession Bundle"
"Great Sage's Reckoning Bundle"
"Bladeform Legacy Bundle"

Immortal treasures

"Immortal Treasure I 2015"
"Immortal Treasure II 2015"
"Immortal Treasure III 2015"
"Immortal Treasure I 2016"
"Immortal Treasure II 2016"
"Immortal Treasure III 2016"
"Immortal Treasure I 2017"
"Immortal Treasure II 2017"
"Immortal Treasure III 2017"
"Immortal Treasure I 2018"
"Immortal Treasure II 2018"
"Immortal Treasure III 2018"
"Immortal Treasure I 2019"
"Immortal Treasure II 2019"
"Immortal Treasure III 2019"
(can have duplicates)

Old treasures

"Treasure of Molten Steel"
"Treasure of the Cannon's Fuse"
"Treasure of the Elemental Trophy"
"Treasure of the Forged Fury"
"Treasure of the Forgotten Myth"
"Treasure of the Frosted Flame"
"Treasure of the Glacial Abyss"
"Treasure of the Mender's Palm"
"Treasure of the Onyx Eye"
"Treasure of the Ram's Renewal"
"Treasure of the Rotted Gallows"
"Treasure of the Spring Blossom"
"Treasure of the Tangled Keepsake"
"Treasure of the Trapper's Pelt"
"Warhammer: Treasure of the Old World"
"Treasure of the Emerald Revival"
"Treasure of the Venerable One"
"Treasure of Unbound Majesty"
"Treasure of the Carmine Cascade"
"Treasure of the Azure Fervor"
"Treasure of the Wordless Trek"
"Treasure of the Tireless Crafter"
"Treasure of the Burning Grove"
"Treasure of the Distinguished Conqueror"
(can have duplicates)

Hero sets

"Acid Hydra"
"Adornments of Blight Set"
"Agaric Flourish"
"Alchemy Essentials Set"
"Alpha Predator Set"
"Ancestors' Pride Set"
"Ancestral Luck Set"
"Ancestral Trappings Set"
"Ancient Armor Set"
"Anointed Armor of Ruination"
"Araceae's Tribute Set"
"Arctic Hunter Set"
"Ardor of the Scarlet Raven Set"
"Aria of the Wild Wind Set"
"Armaments of Leviathan Set"
"Armor of Eternal Reign"
"Armor of Renewed Faith Set"
"Armor of the Sanguine Moon Set"
"Armor of the Stalwart Soul"
"Armored Exoskeleton Set"
"Armour of The Iron Drakken"
"Arms of Burning Turmoil Set"
"Arms of the Bladebreaker Order Set"
"Arms of the Bogatyr"
"Arms of the Bramble Lord Set"
"Arms of the Gwimyeon Warrior Set"
"Arms of the Onyx Crucible"
"Arms of the Penitent Nomad Set"
"Array of Tranquility"
"Arsenal of the Demonic Vessel"
"Artillery of the Crested Cannoneer Set"
"Artisan of Havoc"
"Aspect of the Year Beast"
"Aspects of Summer"
"Attributes of the Foretold Set"
"Augur's Curse Set"
"Azure Constellation"
"Balance of the Bladekeeper"
"Barathrum's Fury Set"
"Battleseeker Set"
"Battletrap"
"Bestowments of the Divine Anchor"
"Bindings of Deep Magma"
"Bindings of Enduring Torment Set"
"Bindings of Frost Set"
"Bindings of the Storm-Stealer Set"
"Bindings of the Trapper"
"Bird's Stone Set"
"Birot's Bindings Set"
"Black Blades of the Qaldin Assassin Set"
"Bladesrunner"
"Blaze Armor"
"Blessings of Lucentyr Set"
"Blessings of the Eternal Eclipse Set"
"Blessings of the Wildwing"
"Bloodmist Armor Set"
"Bloody Ripper"
"Bobusang's Traveling Necessities Set"
"Bonds of Vincere Set"
"Bones of the Slain Dragon Set"
"Cabalist of Dark Magic Set"
"Cadenza Magic Master"
"Carapace of the Hidden Hive Set"
"Caustic Steel Set"
"Ceremonial Carapace of Qaldin Set"
"Chained Mistress Set"
"Chained Slayers Set"
"Chains of the Black Death"
"Chains of the Summoned Lord Set"
"Champion of Discord"
"Cicatrix Regalia"
"Cloud Forged Battle Gear Set"
"Commander of the Dragon Guard Set"
"Councilor's Complete Raiment Set"
"Crescent"
"Cryogenic Embrace Set"
"Crypt Guardian's Set"
"Curse of the Malignant Corruption Set"
"Custom of Karroch Set"
"Cyclopean Marauder"
"Dame de Carreau"
"Dark Reef Escape"
"Dark Ruin Set"
"Dark Wraith Set"
"Darkness Wanderer's Armor Set"
"Dead Winter Set"
"Death Charge Set"
"Death Shadow Set"
"Deep Warden Haul Set"
"Delicacies of Butchery Set"
"Demonic Vandal's Set"
"Desert Gale Set"
"Dials of Claszureme Set"
"Dimensional Infestation Set"
"Divine Ascension"
"Dragon Forged Set"
"Dragon's Ascension"
"Dragonfire"
"Dragonterror"
"Dreadhawk Armor"
"Dressings of the First Light Set"
"Eki Spiritual Implements Set"
"Eldritch Ice Set"
"Eldwurm's Touch"
"Ember Crane Set"
"Ember Tipped Carapace Set"
"Embers of Endless Havoc Set"
"Emerald Frenzy Set"
"Empowered Vestments of the Gods Set"
"Enchanted Plate of the Crimson Wyvern Set"
"Engulfing Spike"
"Ensemble of the Crystalline Comet"
"Epitaphic Bonds"
"Equine Emissary"
"Eternal Nymph"
"Everlasting Heat"
"Falconer's Design Set"
"Fashion of the Scorching Princess Set"
"Fatal Blossom"
"Father of the Forest"
"Featherfall"
"Fire-Blessed Mail of the Drake Set"
"Firestarter"
"Flames of Prosperity Set"
"Flamestitched Suitings Set"
"Flight of the Crescent Moon"
"Flight of the Sparrowhawk Set"
"Forest Hermit Set"
"Foreteller's Robes Set"
"Form of the Great Grey Set"
"Formed Alloy Set"
"Forsaken Beauty Set"
"Frostiron Raider Set"
"Frostiron Sorceress Set"
"Frozen Emperor"
"Frozen Feather Set"
"Fungal Lord Set"
"Garb of the Cruel Magician Set"
"Garbs of the Eastern Range Set"
"Garments of the Nightsilver Sentinel"
"Gear of the Tally-Ho Hunter Set"
"Gemmed Armor of the Priest Kings Set"
"Ghastly Matriarch"
"Gift of the Sea Set"
"Gifts from the Gloom Set"
"Gifts of Fortune Set"
"Gifts of the Heavenly Guardian"
"Gifts of the Shadowcat Set"
"Glacier Duster Set"
"Gladiator's Revenge"
"Golden Reel Guardian Set"
"Guardian of Silence Set"
"Guise of the Winged Bolt"
"Harbinger of the Inauspicious Abyss Set"
"Hardened Hunter's Gear Set"
"Heart of the North Set"
"Heavy Armor of the World Runner Set"
"Heavy Barbed Armor Set"
"Heirlooms of Aeol Drias"
"Hell's Ambassador Set"
"Hidden Flower"
"Highborn Reckoning Set"
"Honors of the Golden Mane Set"
"Humble Drifter"
"Hunter in Distant Sands Set"
"Hunter of Kings"
"Hunter of the Blood Stained Sands Set"
"Hunter of the Red Talon Set"
"Hunter with No Name"
"Iceborn Trinity"
"Iceforged Set"
"Immemorial Emperor Set"
"Immortals Pride"
"Impending Transgressions Set"
"Imperial Relics"
"Implements of the Tahlin Watch Set"
"Instruments of the Claddish Voyager Set"
"Jewel of the Forest Set"
"Jewels of Teardrop Ice Set"
"Jini the Bright Moon Set"
"Keen Machine"
"Keeper of the Northlight Set"
"Legacy of Infernal Wings"
"Legacy of the Awakened Set"
"Light of the Solar Divine"
"Lord of the Scouring Dunes"
"Malicious Efflorescence Set"
"Master Weaver Set"
"Mentor of the High Plains"
"Might of the Thunder Ram"
"Mnemonus Arcanus Set"
"Monstrous Reprisal"
"Mortar Forge"
"Mystic Instruments of Tang-Ki"
"Nether Lord's Regalia Set"
"Nimble Edge Set"
"Obsidian Guard"
"Onyx Lotus"
"Outcast of the Deep Set"
"Peculiar Prestidigitator Set"
"Penumbral Vesture Set"
"Phasma Phasmatis"
"Primeval Prophet"
"Radiant Protector Set"
"Rage of the Three"
"Raiment of the Chiseled Guard"
"Raiments of the Sacrosanct"
"Red Dragon"
"Red Mist Reaper Set"
"Redmoon Assassin's Secret Set"
"Redwood Arms Set"
"Regalia of the Bonelord Set"
"Regalia of the Crystalline Queen Set"
"Regalia of the Mortal Coil Set"
"Regalia of the Wraith Lord Set"
"Relics of the Putrid Pontiff Set"
"Relics of the Sundered King"
"Remains of the Dreadknight Set"
"Reminiscence of Dreams"
"Resentment of the Banished Princess"
"Resonant Vibrance Set"
"Revered Arms Set"
"Rider of Avarice"
"Rider of the Storm Set"
"Ritual Garb of the Father Spirits Set"
"Rune Forged Set"
"Saberhorn's Armor Set"
"Sacred Orb Set"
"Sanguine Royalty"
"Scarlet Quarry"
"Scorched Fletcher"
"Sentinel of the Lucent Gate"
"Sermon of the Frozen Apostle Set"
"Shadow Flame"
"Shadow Hunter Set"
"Shards of the Falling Comet Set"
"Silent Champion"
"Sky-High Warship"
"Snowstorm Huntress"
"Sorcerer of the Black Pool"
"Spirit of the Howling Wolf Set"
"Spoils from the Shifting Sorcerer Bundle"
"Spoils of the Bone Ruins Set"
"Starlight Set"
"Starrider of the Crescent Steel"
"Static Lord"
"Steam Chopper"
"Steelweb of Pytheos Set"
"Stellar Jade"
"Stonehall Royal Guard Set"
"Strength of the Demon Stone Set"
"Styles of Unending Battle"
"Sylvan Guard's Finery Set"
"Tahlin Occult Set"
"Techies' Bombastic Box"
"The Ancient Sovereign Set"
"The Apocalyptic Fire Set"
"The Arms of Retribution Set"
"The Atniw's Fury Set"
"The Battle Caster Set"
"The Bone Scryer Set"
"The Bonehunter Set"
"The Boreal Watch Set"
"The Brood Queen Set"
"The Burden of Eleven Curses Set"
"The Caustic Consumption Set"
"The Clergy Ascetic Set"
"The Commendable Commodore Set"
"The Conquering Tyrant Set"
"The Corpse Maiden's Set"
"The Creeper's Cruelty Set"
"The Crimson Cut-throat Set"
"The Deadly Nightshade Set"
"The Demonic Archivist Set"
"The Dreaded Bravo Set"
"The Ephemeral Haunt Set"
"The Eternal Light Set"
"The Exiled Demonologist Set"
"The Exiled Ronin Set"
"The Fiend Cleaver"
"The Gallows Understudy Set"
"The Garments of the Charred Bloodline Set"
"The Gifts of Yoskreth Set"
"The Hare Hunt Set"
"The Hidden Talent Set"
"The Hierophant's Protection Set"
"The Igneous Stone"
"The Inscrutable Zeal Set"
"The Iron Claw"
"The Mage Slayer's Set"
"The Magus Magnus Set"
"The Maniacal Machinist"
"The Master Assassin Set"
"The Moon Rider Set"
"The Mourning Mother"
"The Mysterious Vagabond Set"
"The Nether Grandmaster's Robes Set"
"The Nightwatcher's Set"
"The Northern Wind Set"
"The Obsidian Blade Set"
"The Ol' Chopper's Set"
"The Red Conqueror Set"
"The Riftshadow Roamer's Set"
"The Rough Rider of Yama Raskav Set"
"The Sea Dragon's Set"
"The Second Disciple Set"
"The Seers Command Set"
"The Slithereen Exile Set"
"The Slithereen Knight Set"
"The Spellbinder's Shape Set"
"The Steadfast Voyager Set"
"The Stoneshard Majesty Set"
"The Stormcrow's Spirit Set"
"The Subtle Demon Set"
"The Tentacular Timelord Set"
"The Third Insight Set"
"The Three Virtues Bundle"
"The True Crow"
"The Twisted Arc Set"
"The Ursine Ravager Set"
"The Witch Hunter"
"The Wolf Hunter"
"The World Splitter"
"Thousand Faces Set"
"Throes of Anguish Set"
"Thunderwrath's Calling Set"
"Timberthaw"
"Tools of the Demon Witch Set"
"Tools of the Haruspex Set"
"Tools of the Mad Harvester Set"
"Toxic Siege Armor Set"
"Traveling Tale-Teller's Set"
"Tree Punisher"
"Tribal Stone Set"
"Twin Blades Assassin"
"Twisted Wisdom Set"
"Umbra Rider"
"Unbroken Stallion"
"Vanquishing Demons General"
"Venomous Deathbringer"
"Vestige of the Arsenal Magus"
"Vestments of the Infinite Waves"
"Vestments of the Ten Plagues Set"
"Viridi Inanitas Set"
"Volatile Firmament"
"Wandering Demon of the Plains Set"
"Wandering Harlequin's Regalia"
"War-Vestments of the Magnoceri"
"Warcog"
"Warrior of the Steppe Set"
"Warrior of the Stormlands"
"Warrior's Retribution Set"
"Web of Thorns Set"
"Webs of Perception Set"
"Weight of Omexe Set"
"Whisper of the Tribunal"
"Whispering Dead Set"
"Wicked Succubus Set"
"Wings of Obelis Set"
"Wings of the Gilded Falcon Set"
"Wings of the Paladin Set"
"Winter Snowdrop"
"Witch of the Outlands Set"
"Woodland Outcast Set"
"Worldforger"
"Wrath of Ka"
"Wrath of the Blood Covenant Set"
"Wyvern Skin"
"Yuwipi Set"
"Zaru'Kina Protector's Garb Set"
"Dusklight Marauder"
"Moonshard Overgrowth"
"Surgical Precision"
"Corruption"
"Fire Tribunal Set"
"Gifts of the Vanished Isle Set"
"Sovereign of the Woodlands"
"Garb of Shades"
"The Dead Reborn"
"The Claddish Renegade"
"Redrage Crawler"
"Noble Warrior"
"Harbinger of War"
"Deep Sea Scoundrel"
"Scavenger of the Basilisk"
"Bedrock Serenity"
"Rhinoceros Order"
"Fluttering Amethyst"
"Dark Curator"
"Eye of the Beholder"
"The Gatekeeper"
"Allure of the Deep"
"The Brinebred Cavalier"
"Fathomless Ravager"
"Rambling Fatebender"
"The Keen Commander"
"Arctic Recluse"
"Enduring Solitude"
"Outlandish Gourmet"
"Golden Nirvana"
"Raucous Gatecrasher"
"Stygian Maw"
"Unblinking Eternity"
"Ironbarde Charger"
"The Undying Light"
"Elder Convergence"
"Boilerplate Bruiser"
"Icebrew Angler"
"Epoch of the Abysm"
"Forgotten Renegade"
"War-Burrow Ravager"
"Portent Payload"
"Iron Hog"
"Icewrack Marauder"
"Mantle of the Prophet Foretold"
"Stoutheart Growler"
"Eye of the Weathered Storm"
"Purveyor of the First Ways"
"Winter's Warden"
"Sign of the Netherfrost"
"Frostshard Ascendant"
"Bitterwing Legacy"
"Snowpack Savage"
"Seasoned Expeditionary"
"Watcher on the Northern Shore"
"Frost Auburn Hideaway"
"Violent Precipitate"
"Desolate Conquest"
"Cruel Reprisal"
"Majesty of the Forbidden Sands"
"Ascendance of the Rime Lord"
"Creed of the Outlaw Huntsman"
"The Corruption of Nezzureem"
"Bestowments of the Centurion Vanguard"
"Vantage of the Breach Warden"

Wards

"Skywrath Sentinel"
"Black Pool Watcher"
"Hellgazer"
"A Dire Gaze"
"Spell Surveyor"
"Ocula the Observer"
"Warding Guise"
"Celestial Observatory"
"Watchful Sotdae"
"Eye of Lyralei"
"Eye of Thunderkeg"
"Bramble Watch"
"Clockwerk Watcher"
"Dead Watch"
"Enchanted Vision"
"Stone Bound Watcher"
"Ward of the Eternal Alliance"
"Eye of Foresight"
"Arctic Watchtower"
"The Eye Fountain"
"Spying Toadstool"
"Overseer's Burden"
"Feather Sentinel"
"Eyes of the Watchroot"
"Starecrow"
"Watchful Wyrm"
"The Eyes of the King"

Couriers

"Captain Bamboo"
"Yonex's Rage"
"Shagbark"
"Nimble Ben"
"Kupu the Metamorpher"
"The Llama Llama"
"Itsy"
"Mok"
"Blotto and Stick"
"Tinkbot"
"Alphid of Lecaciida"
"Waldi the Faithful"
"Arnabus the Fairy Rabbit"
"Deathripper"
"Coco the Courageous"
"Tory the Sky Guardian"
"Throe"
"Cluckles the Brave"
"Butch"
"Ramnaught of Underwool"
"Porcine Princess Penelope"
"Prismatic Drake"
"Tickled Tegu"
"Morok's Mechanical Mediary"
"Wynchell the Wyrmeleon"
"Snowl"
"Snelfret the Snail"
"Maximilian the Beetlebear"
"El Gato"
"Woodchopper"
"Azuremir"
"Snaggletooth Jerry"
"Kangdae the Dokkaebi"
"Amphibian Kid"
"JanJou"
"Beaver Knight"
"Corsair, Son of the Storm"
"Royal Griffin Cub"
"Genuine Snapjaw"
"Promo Redpaw"
"Scribbins the Scarab"
"Snapjaw"
"Jin and Yin Fox Spirits"
"Carty"
"Grimoire The Book Wyrm"
"Redpaw"
"Vigilante Fox"
"Virtus Werebear"
"Mei Nei the Jade Rabbit"
"Nilbog the Mad"
"Lil' Nova"
"Hexgill the Lane Shark"
"Axolotl"
"Noble and Imperial Pride"
"Babka the Bewitcher"
"Promo Bluepaw"
"Flightless Dod"
"Masked Fey, Lord of Tempests"
"Grimsneer"
"Chirpy"
"Warbler and Snikt"
"Coral the Furryfish"
"Fraidy Jack"
"The Wonderously Encumbered Travelling Automaton"
"Master Chocobo"
"Atrophic Skitterwing"
"Amaterasu"

Other

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First of all, I am so thankful I found this sub. I've been lurking reddit for years and this sub is what has finally convinced me to post. Like many of you, I felt like I was losing my mind trying to make sense of season 4.
One of the ongoing jokes (half joke really) is that AI must have written this season because it is all over the place, riddled with plot holes, and just... bad. So, I decided to see if AI could come up with a better plot than the hot turd we were given.
I gave ChatGPT a plot summary of every episode from wikipedia, and gave it a long list of plot holes and random events that seemed to occur throughout the season to help fill in some of the missing info. I only had 3 requirements:
1) The 3 main characters and setting remain the same
2) A supernatural element is presented, but the show remains grounded in reality
3) An environmental issue is presented
Here's ChatGPT's rewritten season, complete with character development, misdirection, and an actual plot...
​

Episode 1: "Whispers in the Snow"

Setting: The eerie quiet of Ennis, Alaska, is disrupted by a chilling discovery. The stark, unforgiving landscape of the Alaskan wilderness sets a somber tone, with the ever-present darkness of the winter months casting long shadows over the town, hinting at the obscured secrets lying beneath.
Main Plot:

• A Grisly Discovery: The episode opens with a harrowing scene as the mutilated body of a local trapper is found on the outskirts of Ennis, arranged in a ritualistic manner that suggests more than a mere animal attack. The town is on edge, with whispers of old legends resurfacing.
• The Missing Scientists: Concurrently, the sudden disappearance of three researchers from the Tsalal Arctic Research Station adds to the growing tension. Their last known communication hinted at a groundbreaking discovery that has now been ominously silenced.

Character Introductions and Dynamics:

• Detective Liz Danvers: Introduced as a seasoned detective with a gritty resolve, Danvers is determined to unravel the mystery. Her methodical and relentless approach to the investigation often puts her at odds with the locals and her own demons.
• Detective Evangeline Navarro: Navarro, of native descent, brings a deep understanding of the local culture and environment to the investigation. Her journey is twofold: solving the crime and reconnecting with her heritage, guided by the wisdom of local elders.
• Detective Elliot Prior: The young, eager detective sees the case as his chance to prove himself. His likability and enthusiasm bring a sense of hope to the grim investigation, but his inexperience and desire for quick results lead to risky decisions.

Subplots:

• The Local Lore: Navarro delves into the local lore, learning from the elders about an ancient evil said to roam the Alaskan wilderness, which some believe is responsible for the trapper's death and the scientists' disappearance.
• Prior's Secret: It's revealed that Prior has a personal connection to one of the missing scientists, a mentor from his college days, adding a layer of personal stakes to his involvement in the case.

Red Herrings and Misdirection:

• A Suspicious Outsider: A researcher who recently arrived in town to study the environmental impact of local mining operations draws suspicion due to his secretive nature and the timing of his arrival.
• The Mining Company: The local mining company, eager to expand their operations, had been at odds with the missing researchers, leading to theories that they might have played a role in the disappearance to silence opposition.

Climax and Resolution:

• The episode climaxes with the discovery of an ancient artifact near the site of the trapper's body, suggesting a connection between the murder and the missing scientists. The artifact, bearing inscriptions similar to those found in Navarro's ancestral stories, hints at a deeper, more ominous mystery.
• The resolution sees the team regrouping, piecing together the disparate clues, and realizing that the case is far more complex than it appears, setting the stage for the overarching mystery of the season.

Closing Scene:

• The episode closes with Prior receiving a cryptic message from his missing mentor, suggesting that what they uncovered at the research station was not just scientifically significant but potentially dangerous. The foreboding message sets a dark and ominous tone for the journey ahead.

​

Episode 2: "The Heart of Winter"

Setting: The relentless Alaskan winter intensifies, mirroring the deepening mystery. Ennis, blanketed in snow and darkness, becomes even more isolated, heightening the sense of urgency and claustrophobia.
Main Plot:

• Ancient Secrets Unveiled: Navarro's exploration of her heritage leads to a significant breakthrough when an elder reveals an ancient legend about "The Heart of Winter," a malevolent spirit said to awaken during the darkest winters to claim the souls of the unwary. This legend eerily aligns with the circumstances surrounding the trapper's death and the researchers' disappearance.
• The Research Station's Dark Past: Danvers and Prior, investigating the Tsalal Arctic Research Station, uncover old records indicating the station was built over an archaeological site of significant cultural importance to the local indigenous community, suggesting the researchers might have uncovered something they shouldn't have.

Character Development and Dynamics:

• Danvers' Skepticism: Danvers grapples with the intertwining of indigenous lore and the investigation, her skepticism clashing with Navarro's growing belief that the legend might hold the key to solving the case.
• Navarro's Inner Conflict: As Navarro delves deeper into her ancestral roots, she faces an inner conflict between her rational detective instincts and the spiritual connections to her heritage, which seem to offer real clues.
• Prior's Recklessness: Eager to make a mark, Prior takes a dangerous solo expedition to the last known location of his mentor, leading to a tense and perilous situation that tests his resolve and skill as a detective.

Subplots:

• The Disgraced Scientist: A former researcher from the station, now ostracized and considered mad, surfaces with wild tales of discoveries that whisper in the wind and shadows that stalk the snow, adding layers of intrigue and potential leads for the detectives.
• The Miners' Strike: Tensions in town escalate as the mining company's push for expansion leads to a strike, with miners protesting not just for better conditions but also out of a growing fear of disturbing something ancient and malevolent beneath the ice.

Red Herrings and Misdirection:

• A Mysterious Illness: An unknown illness begins to afflict the town's residents, starting at the research station, leading to theories of a biological weapon or experiment gone wrong, diverting attention from the supernatural elements.
• The Artifact Smuggler: Investigations into the ancient artifact found near the trapper's body lead to a shady dealer in antiquities with a history of exploiting indigenous cultures, suggesting a motive unrelated to the legends.

Climax and Resolution:

• The climax sees Prior trapped in an ice cave during his expedition, where he experiences surreal visions that hint at a deeper connection between the land's ancient spirits and the recent events.
• The resolution involves Prior's rescue, which brings the team together, solidifying their bond. The episode ends with the revelation that the researchers had indeed uncovered an entrance to an underground chamber beneath the station, directly beneath the ancient site, suggesting they might have awakened something long dormant.

Closing Scene:

• The episode closes with a chilling scene of the research station abandoned, the wind howling through the empty corridors, and a faint, eerie whisper echoing, "The Heart of Winter beats once more." The screen fades to black, leaving a haunting sense of foreboding.

​

Episode 3: "Echoes of the Ancients"

Setting: The darkness of the Alaskan winter deepens, with the aurora borealis casting an eerie glow over Ennis. The beauty of the lights contrasts starkly with the growing dread as the investigation uncovers connections to ancient rites and long-forgotten histories.
Main Plot:

• The Underground Chamber: Following the clue from the research station, the team discovers the entrance to the underground chamber. Inside, they find evidence of ancient rituals and carvings that tell the story of a pact made with the "Heart of Winter" to ensure the survival of the indigenous people during a particularly deadly season centuries ago.
• The Researchers' Fate: Within the chamber, the team uncovers the final research notes of the missing scientists, revealing they believed the recent environmental changes might be awakening ancient forces, validated by unexplained phenomena they witnessed before their disappearance.

Character Development and Dynamics:

• Danvers' Reluctance: Danvers struggles with the blending of myth and reality, her logical mind clashing with the mounting evidence of something beyond scientific explanation. Her character is tested as she begins to accept that conventional methods may not solve this case.
• Navarro's Acceptance: Navarro's journey into her ancestral past reaches a turning point as she embraces her heritage, using it as a strength to bridge the gap between the old ways and modern understanding, becoming the linchpin in interpreting the ancient carvings and rituals.
• Prior's Haunting Experience: Still shaken from his ordeal in the ice cave, Prior becomes increasingly obsessed with the legend of the "Heart of Winter," his demeanor changing as he grapples with the visions he experienced, hinting at a deeper, personal connection to the ancient spirit.

Subplots:

• The Circle of Elders: Navarro engages with a secretive circle of elders who are the keepers of the ancient pact. They warn that the disturbances caused by the research station and the mining operations risk breaking the pact, with dire consequences.
• The Sacrifice: The team learns of a missing local teenager, last seen near the research station. Clues suggest the teenager may have been taken as part of a misguided attempt to appease the awakening spirit, adding urgency to the investigation.

Red Herrings and Misdirection:

• Corporate Sabotage: Evidence surfaces suggesting that the environmental changes might be due to sabotage by a rival company seeking to discredit the mining operations, leading to a temporary diversion from the supernatural elements of the case.
• A Rogue Cult: The detectives uncover a small group of townsfolk who have formed a cult around the "Heart of Winter," believing they can harness its power. While they are involved in some minor disturbances, they are not behind the larger events.

Climax and Resolution:

• The climax unfolds as the team, guided by Navarro and the elders, performs a ritual in the chamber to reestablish the pact, a dangerous endeavor that requires confronting the spirit directly.
• The resolution sees a temporary restoration of peace, with natural phenomena subsiding and the teenager found unharmed. However, the pact's renewal is revealed to be only a temporary solution, with the underlying issue of environmental degradation and cultural disrespect remaining unresolved.

Closing Scene:

• As the team reflects on their experiences, the ground trembles subtly, and a distant howl echoes through the night, a stark reminder that the "Heart of Winter" remains, watching and waiting. The episode closes with Prior, looking out into the snow, his expression one of haunted realization that his connection to the spirit is far from over.

​

Episode 4: "The Fraying Threads"

Setting: The relentless Alaskan winter persists, but the snowstorm that engulfs Ennis in this episode serves as a metaphor for the investigation's complexity and the team's dwindling clarity as the lines between myth and reality blur.
Main Plot:

• The Environmental Anomaly: The team discovers a series of underground thermal vents that were disturbed by the mining operations, explaining some of the "unnatural" phenomena attributed to the "Heart of Winter." These vents, releasing gases and causing temperature fluctuations, align with the scientists' findings and the ancient legends, offering a scientific basis for the supernatural occurrences.
• Uncovering the Truth about the Trapper: As the investigation deepens, a breakthrough comes when the team discovers a hidden connection between the local trapper's murder and the mining operations. It is revealed that the trapper had accidentally come across illegal mining activities in the restricted areas of the wilderness. His murder was a cover-up orchestrated by individuals linked to the mining company, aiming to silence him before he could expose the environmental violations. This revelation ties back to the initial murder, grounding the supernatural suspicions in a more earthly conspiracy.
• Linking the Mining Company: The environmental anomalies are further investigated, revealing the mining company's unauthorized activities as the root cause. This episode solidifies the connection between the trapper's death and the mining operations, suggesting that the trapper stumbled upon these activities and was silenced.
• The Descent of Prior: Prior's obsession with his visions and the legend intensifies, leading him down a dangerous path. His investigation into the missing teenager and the cult reveals a network of hidden caves used by the cultists, who believe they are appeasing the ancient spirit.

Character Development and Dynamics:

• Danvers' Leadership: Faced with Prior's declining mental state and Navarro's struggle to balance her heritage with her duty, Danvers takes decisive action to ground the team in reality, focusing on tangible evidence and scientific explanations.
• Navarro's Conflict: Navarro continues to explore her cultural heritage but becomes a voice of reason, advocating for a balance between respecting ancient beliefs and pursuing rational investigation, challenging the community to confront its superstitions.
• Prior's Downfall: Prior's fixation on his supernatural experiences isolates him from the team. His reckless actions, driven by a misguided sense of destiny, put him in grave danger, testing his resolve and the team's ability to save one of their own.

Subplots:

• The Cultural Divide: The town's divide deepens, with some residents clinging to the supernatural explanations while others demand scientific answers, reflecting broader themes of cultural conflict and the struggle between progress and tradition.
• The Whistleblower: A whistleblower from the mining company comes forward with evidence of negligence and cover-ups related to the thermal vents, implicating the company in the environmental disturbances and the endangerment of the town.

Red Herrings and Misdirection:

• The Discredited Journalist: A journalist who has been fueling the supernatural theories with sensationalized reporting is discovered to have a personal vendetta against the mining company, casting doubt on the veracity of their reports.
• The Misguided Scientist: A scientist from the research station, initially suspected of sabotaging the station to support the supernatural claims, is revealed to have been trying to expose the mining company's environmental violations.

Climax and Resolution:

• The climax sees the team navigating the treacherous caves to rescue Prior, who has been taken by the cultists in a deluded attempt to offer him as a sacrifice to the "Heart of Winter."
• The resolution involves a confrontation between the detectives and the cultists, leading to Prior's rescue. The experience leaves Prior shaken but alive, forcing him to confront the reality of his obsessions. The team manages to link the environmental anomalies to the mining company's activities, leading to a public outcry and demands for accountability.

Closing Scene:

• The episode closes with the team, reunited and strengthened by their ordeal, watching as the mining company faces legal action. However, the final shot of an untouched part of the expanse, with the wind stirring the snow in patterns eerily reminiscent of the ancient carvings, leaves a lingering question about the true nature of the "Heart of Winter."

​

Episode 5: "Veil of Ice"

Setting: The atmosphere in Ennis grows heavier as warmer weather approaches, the melting snow revealing the hidden scars of the land. The legal action against the mining company progresses, but the community remains uneasy, sensing that the core of the mystery remains unsolved.
Main Plot:

• A Sinister Discovery: As the ice begins to thaw, a hidden section of the cave system is revealed, containing evidence of recent, unauthorized mining activities that have dangerously weakened the town's underlying structure, posing an imminent threat of collapse.
• The Researchers' Disappearance Resolved: The narrative around the missing researchers reaches a climax as the detectives, using clues from the underground chamber and the whistleblower's testimony, piece together the fate of the scientists. It becomes clear that their groundbreaking discovery wasn't just scientific but also exposed the extensive damage the mining operations were inflicting on the land, including disturbing a critical ice dam. Fearing the repercussions of this discovery, the mining company had the researchers removed under the guise of their mysterious disappearance. This resolution not only sheds light on the scientists' fate but also amplifies the stakes of the environmental crisis facing Ennis.
• The Cult's Resurgence: With their plans thwarted and their beliefs challenged, the remnants of the cult regroup, focusing their efforts on a new, more dangerous ritual they believe will protect the town by appeasing the "Heart of Winter." Their actions, however, only exacerbate the instability caused by the mining.

Character Development and Dynamics:

• Danvers' Crisis: Danvers faces a crisis of leadership as she grapples with the legal complexities of holding the mining company accountable while also trying to prevent the cult from causing further harm. Her faith in the system is tested as bureaucratic delays impede progress.
• Navarro's Dual Path: Navarro continues her delicate balance between her heritage and her role as a detective. She delves deeper into the ancient lore, seeking a way to counteract the cult's misguided attempts at appeasement with a ritual that truly honors the land.
• Prior's Haunted Return: Still haunted by his experience and the loss of his mentor, Prior becomes increasingly isolated, struggling with PTSD. His dedication to the case becomes a double-edged sword, driving him to uncover critical evidence but also pushing him to the brink.

Subplots:

• The Whistleblower's Warning: The missing whistleblower resurfaces with dire warnings about the extent of the mining company's exploitation and its connections to global interests, hinting at a much larger conspiracy.
• Community Rifts: The town is divided, with some residents blaming the detectives for the ongoing turmoil and others rallying to support their efforts. This division manifests in public confrontations that threaten the fabric of the community.

Red Herrings and Misdirection:

• A False Prophet: A charismatic new leader emerges within the cult, claiming to have visions of a grand solution to all of Ennis's woes. While this figure gains a following, it becomes clear that their motivations are power and control rather than genuine belief.
• Corporate Diversion: The mining company launches a PR campaign to shift the blame for the environmental damage onto natural causes, further muddying the waters and slowing the investigation.

Climax and Resolution:

• The climax reaches a fever pitch as the detectives race to prevent the cult's ritual, which threatens to trigger the town's collapse. In a harrowing confrontation within the newly discovered cave section, they face off against the cultists in a desperate bid to halt the ritual.
• The resolution is tense and bittersweet. The ritual is stopped, and the town is saved from immediate collapse, but the victory is marred by the realization that the underlying issues remain unresolved. The mining company's influence runs deeper than anticipated, and the land's scars are not easily healed.

Closing Scene:

• The episode closes with the team exhausted but more determined than ever, as they piece together the whistleblower's information, revealing a map that hints at the global scale of the mining operation. The final shot is a chilling view of the ice, where faint, ominous cracks begin to spread, mirroring the fractures within Ennis itself.

​

Episode 6: "Beneath the Thaw"

Setting: The onset of spring in Ennis brings a deceptive calm, as the melting snow and ice lay bare the true extent of the damage to the land and the community. The thaw becomes a metaphor for uncovering harsh truths and the consequences of long-buried secrets coming to light.
Main Plot:

• The Final Stand: With the evidence from the whistleblower pointing towards a global conspiracy involving the mining company, the team realizes the situation in Ennis is a microcosm of a much larger crisis. The weakened structure beneath Ennis becomes a ticking time bomb, with the thaw accelerating the risk of collapse.
• The Cult's Desperation: The cult, fractured and leaderless after the failed ritual, splinters into chaos. Some members seek redemption by aiding the detectives, while others double down, planning a catastrophic event to force the town's evacuation, believing it to be the only way to save it from the "Heart of Winter."

Character Development and Dynamics:

• Danvers' Resolve: Danvers, pushed to her limits, orchestrates a daring plan to expose the mining company and dismantle the cult's remaining factions. Her leadership galvanizes the town, turning former skeptics into allies.
• Navarro's Harmony: Embracing her heritage fully, Navarro leads a symbolic ceremony that unites the town, blending ancient rituals with a call to action to protect their home. This act of unity becomes a powerful counter to the cult's fearmongering.
• Prior's Sacrifice: In a heartrending twist, Prior uncovers the final piece of the puzzle—a failsafe device planted by the mining company to obliterate evidence of their illegal activities. In disabling it, he ensures the town's safety but at the cost of his own life, becoming a tragic hero whose actions inspire a legacy of courage and integrity.

Subplots:

• The Global Spotlight: As the truth about the mining company's actions in Ennis breaks internationally, it sparks a global outcry against unchecked corporate exploitation, turning Ennis into a symbol of resistance.
• The Rebirth of Ennis: The community, once divided and on the brink of destruction, begins to rebuild, with a renewed commitment to sustainable living and respect for the land, honoring Prior's memory and the detectives' efforts.

Red Herrings and Misdirection:

• The Mole: Suspicion falls on a member of the community who is believed to be sabotaging the efforts to save Ennis, but it's revealed to be a ploy by the mining company to create internal discord.
• The Phantom Menace: Rumors of a new, more powerful ritual planned by the cult aim to distract the detectives and the town from the imminent structural collapse, keeping them focused on supernatural threats rather than the real, tangible danger.

Climax and Resolution:

• The climax is a race against time, with the team working to prevent the structural collapse while exposing the mining company's broader conspiracy. The confrontation with the last of the cultists, intertwined with efforts to stabilize the town, creates a tense, multifaceted battle for Ennis's soul.
• The resolution sees the town saved from immediate danger, the mining company facing global legal action, and the cult disbanded. However, the victory is bittersweet, marked by Prior's heroic yet devastating loss. The community vows to remember his sacrifice by continuing the fight for justice and environmental preservation.

Closing Scene:

• The series concludes at Prior's memorial, held at the edge of town with a view of the rejuvenating landscape. Danvers, Navarro, and the townsfolk gather, not just in grief, but in a collective pledge to protect their home and each other. The final shot pans over Ennis, showing signs of healing and growth, before resting on a familiar pattern revealed underneath the thawing snow, leaving the viewer to interpret for themselves the true nature of the "Heart of Winter."

-----
It's certainly not a perfect plot by any means, and it lacks caribou and cleaning ladies, but it does contain actual detective work.

Thank you to SpacePaladin15 for creating this universe, and to Daniel Mullins for creating Inscryption.
Also, spoilers for the assault on Earth for NOP, and act 1 of Inscryption ahead! I highly recommend you read/play both!
Also, also, check out this Leshy art by u/RaphaelFrog! Its so good!
FIRST / PREVIOUS / NEXT
Memory transcript subject: Farsul exterminator fleet pilot Yaina
Date: [standardized human time] seventeenth of October, 2136
“Let me think…”
“A frigid gust of wind billowed, unwelcome, into your lungs.”
Leshy let the statement hang in the air for a moment. In the silence I could hear wind. I don’t think it was there before, and without any of the usual sounds I was used to hearing it was somewhat calming.
“The beauty of the falling snow failed to distract you from the chill in your bones.”
I looked down on the new map Leshy had placed down. It looked somewhat similar to the first one, but this one was covered in snow. Even the Farsul figurine on the map I had been using until now had snow on its head.
“You had ascended to… the snow line.”
I shivered, not out of fear but out of cold this time. The room was colder, not enough to be dangerous, but just enough to be noticeably uncomfortable. I licked the hole of my missing tooth, and managed a dry swallow. The pain was mostly gone now. Either that, or my body decided that feeling it wasn’t productive anymore. I looked down to the map Leshy placed down to see what new things I would find.
The first tile I found was another card choice. I knew the routine well, three cards, choose one. I flipped the first card over to find a giant prey-animal called a ‘Moose Buck’.
“The regal moose. The creatures of the wild make way for it.”
The idea of a prey animal commanding respect from predators was a pretty foreign concept, but in this case I could fully believed it. This beast was gigantic, had large horns, and despite the eyes being on the side of the head, its stare was intimidating. It defied expectations slightly, but considering everything else on this planet, I could respect the tools it had to defend itself. Its sigil reflected this. ‘Hefty’. It would move in one direction and push every creature along its path with it.
The next card was called ‘Alpha’, and it was yet another wolf. Like the other wolves I had seen, this one was staring directly at me, and another pair of wolves were behind it as well.
“The venerable alpha. Its courage emboldens the creatures that stand beside it.”
The alpha also had a new sigil, ‘Leader’. It would give the cards adjacent to it one more power. Predators were dangerous on their own, but when they had a leader, or were just in a large herd they were especially dangerous. I was unfortunate enough to have first-paw experience with this, and it was the reason I was here in the first place.
I pressed my paws to my temples and flipped the final card over. It depicted another prey animal with horns. The ‘Pronghorn’
“The sadistic pronghorn. Woe be to those that meet the end of its antlers.”
Not another one of these. By now I had become somewhat accustomed to the false prey of Earth, but it still made me really uncomfortable. Approaching what you assume to be a friendly prey animal to feed it, maybe pet it, only to be gored by it. No chance this thing is going in my deck. Predators are one thing, but false prey using predator trickery is far worse.
If I’m not going to get the sadistic one, I should get the alpha instead. I prefer the moose, in fact I highly respect it, but three blood is too expensive, especially considering the grizzly I already have. The alpha costs two blood, and its sigil is pretty good.
I laid the alpha in my deck. By now I had a good deal of cards, most of which were useful. Back on the map I saw that the next tile was a totem encounter. I moved my figurine to the encounter, and like he had done several times before Leshy removed the map then placed some cards and a totem down.
The totem had the sharp quills sigil on it, and Leshy told me that it would be applied to all ‘hooved’ creatures. The head on top of the totem was similar to the moosebuck and pronghorn I saw, a furred prey animal with antlers. Leshy laid out his cards.
“The sunseeker fears you more than you fear it.”
That’s a predator diseased lie that has been debunked time and time again! The sunseeker doesn’t hide out of fear, it’s just sneaky, hoping for an opportunity to strike any creature smaller than itself!
The sunseeker is a small furry predator that is notoriously difficult to track down. They’re usually too small to seriously harm anyone, but they have been observed to feast upon carcasses and hunting smaller prey. They also have this annoying habit of resting in warm places, which is often on dark infrastructure under the sun or inside people’s homes. Spotting them is usually enough to make them skitter away, but they’re still a giant nuisance. Even when they don’t directly harm anyone, they still disturb the peace.
The portrait Leshy had made showed it lying on its back on top of a tombstone. Only one of its eyes was visible from the angle of the picture, half open as the creature was resting. it only had one attack, one health and had a sigil that the pronghorn from earlier also had. ‘Sprinter’, making it move in the sigil’s direction.
Along with the familiar predator also came the moosebuck, the prey animal that was several times larger and stronger than it. In my own paw I had drawn the pack rat already, but along with it came the geck and the golden pelt I had bought from the trapper.
The encounter was over relatively quickly. I placed down the geck for free to attack, the pelt to defend. On the next turn I saw the moosebuck and the sunseeker move to the side. I then drew another squirrel to place down the pack rat. Four damage from the strengthened geck, two damage from the pack rat, one damage taken from the sunseeker, then three damage from the moosebuck prevented was five damage in my favor. I even got another squirrel in a bottle from the pack rat.
Leshy rolled the map back out after removing his totem, and I got to see that the next tile on the map displayed a small box with some cards within it. I assumed that it was the trader that the trapper had mentioned, simply because it was a new tile that I didn’t recognize. Something that was confirmed by Leshy immediately after.
“You encountered a small outpost in the woods tended by a mysterious woman.”
“It was the trader that the old trapper had mentioned.”
Leshy put on another mask. It had thick fur covering its head and a pelt covering its face obscuring most of its features. The only things I could make out were its eyes, ones used by Leshy to stare at me with. This human mask was far less disturbing than the Prospector or the Angler, but like the trapper, there was something uncanny about it. Something about it was wrong.
“Her appearance was unsettling but you were mollified by her offerings.”
“Mind if I examine those pelts of yours?”
Leshy drew my pelts from my deck and laid them in front of me. Then he laid eight cards along the table. In particular a black goat caught my eye.
“Let’s start with your hare pelt… here’s what I can offer.”
The black goat’s sigil was incredibly useful. Too useful to pass up, even if I already had a black goat in a bottle. I picked up the card and laid it in my deck carefully, before moving on to the golden pelts
“Is that a- a- golden pelt?! Magnificent.”
“I can trade you any of these… take your time.”
This time Leshy laid out only four cards, but they all had the distinct marking of a rare card on them. In particular I noticed an urayuli. Maybe I was being naïve, but its power had become too tempting. I now had a renewable black goat, and seven damage would almost always win an encounter. I picked up the urayuli and placed it carefully in my deck.
“These pelts are most excellent. My thanks.”
I let out a sigh of relief. The encounter with the trader was far less intense than the encounter with the trapper, but there was still something wrong. I couldn’t exactly point at what it was, but I knew there was something. Even so, I shook the feeling and looked back to the map. It had split into three different paths, all winding back and forth, splitting and merging several times. The tiles were also a various mashup, so I sort of just picked a direction and moved my figurine that way.
I ended up going through six tiles before the path finally merged together to reveal the last three. They were another encounter, a campfire then finally the boss battle. Its tile was similar to the other two, but this time I recognized it. It was the trapper with a pair of knives to its side and one of its traps above it. The only thing this could mean was that this would be a boss battle with the trapper. I still found the trapper unsettling, but that didn’t mean that I would let the thing stop me. Especially not now, considering how far I’ve already gotten.
I’ve faced every trial Leshy has thrown at me so far, what’s one last one? I can’t help but feel like I’m nearly at the end. I don’t know what, but something is telling me that after this it’s over.
I had one last normal encounter before the end, but something about it was odd. He just placed a single card on the table. A ‘Raven’, a jet-black bird with harsh white eyes. I was about to place down a squirrel down when I heard a single deep ‘caw’ emanating from the bird and resonating throughout the entire room. I looked up at Leshy, hoping for something from him, and at least getting some comfort from his familiar visage.
“An omen of death.”
I didn’t know what to do, this hadn’t happened before, and I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do. Instead of doing anything useful, I just pressed the bell. But the raven didn’t do anything. It wasn’t even floating like the other airborne cards would, it was just sitting there. Leshy hadn’t placed any new cards down either. After a few moments he just removed the card and rolled out the map again, not even giving me the chance to end the encounter properly.
My breathing had been speeding up throughout the entire encounter, so I took a moment to steady myself before moving forward to the second to last tile on the map. The campfire.
“The warm light of a campfire was a welcome sight.”
“Though the ten starving eyes around it dampened the greeting.”
I still wanted them dead, but I doubted Leshy would give me that chance. I looked to the campfire, and noticed that it was different this time.
“’Warm a creature by the fire? Enchance its Health*?’ said one.*”
The campfire would give my creature of choice two more health instead of one more power this time. If I put the alpha there, it would become really good. A support card that had four health could easily survive attacks from weaker creatures.
“The survivors seemed incredibly aggressive this time, as starvation had begun to set in.”
I took the alpha card out of my deck but stopped for a moment. Then I placed it by the campfire. As I watched its health increase from one to two, then three I had an idea.
“You had an idea.”
“Why not warm your creature by the fire… for just a moment longer?”
I mean, why not? six health would be an even bigger game changer. It wouldn’t be killed in one attack by most creatures and would still be a really strong supporting card.
“One of the survivors took a step closer.”
A shiver went up my spine as I remembered the raven from earlier. Was it a warning or was Leshy just trying to make me doubt myself? Everything in this cabin could be considered an omen of death considering everything that’s transpired here.
“This would be risky.”
“Push your luck? Or pull away?”
Leshy didn’t have to, but he still mentioned the obvious. Would I risk the life of one of my wolves for two extra health? It would be powerful, but was it really worth it? six health is really really good. It would survive most creature attacks and still be able to retaliate. losing it would be- it wouldn’t be good.
…
No. I’m so close now. I’m not leaving something like this up to chance, and I won’t let any of these freaks get a meal due to my negligence. I will beat this accursed game into submission either way!
“The survivors were right about the flames.”
“They had enhanced the creature’s Health*.*”
And it would live to see another day, not eaten by the likes of you freaks.
“As you made a retreat with your Alpha*, one of the survivors tried lounging at you…*”
“But it was too late. You were already gone, and the survivors would have to go hungry.”
I hope you all starve to death. It’s what you deserve. Goodbye forever.
I was satisfied. I was happy to have defeated and overcome the predators, and now I was onto what was likely the final challenge. It had to be the final challenge! It only makes sense for this to be the climax of the story, right? Right?
I grasped my figurine tightly in my paws before moving it to my final challenge.
“A man stood before you. A man you recognized immediately.”
“It was The trapper*.*”
“You reached out to examine his wares, but he stopped you.”
I could faintly hear the sound of humming. A sound that slowly got louder and louder. It was repetitive, yet still rhythmic. Before I could make out what was making the noise, the sounds of something cutting, then something being sanded came through. It sounded oddly fleshy. The cutting and sanding also seemed somewhat nonsensical, but weren’t out of place.
There was also some sort string instrument that was playing in the background. Or was it percussive? I wasn’t familiar with human instruments, mostly because I didn’t know they had any. The song was quite good. It was a bit fast for my tastes, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy some of the deeper tones. It was also far catchier than the themes of the Prospector and Angler.
“Sorry. But today You will supply the pelts.”
“I’ve had my eye on that brown coat of yours for a while now.”
I looked up at Leshy and saw that he was wearing the trappers mask again. I was feeling immense fear. More than I had ever felt before in my life, but soon that fear gave way to an unchecked anger. Anger and hatred at this creature for its crimes and its attempt at my life. Did it think that it could stop me now?! After everything I’ve gone through?! I. will. Kill. You.
I looked down at my cards, my paws were shaking again, but this time it was out of rage. I’d never felt this kind of anger before, and it was intoxicating. In my paw I held a grizzly, a black goat, the alpha wolf and the smoke. On Leshy’s side of the board were all brand-new creatures. Three ‘Strange Frogs’, a clearly fake imitation of the bullfrog. The three leftmost tiles all had them, with one of them being in the back. On the right was a ‘Leaping Trap’, a card that would kill any creature opposing it when activated.
My breathing hastened, and I used the goat in my paw to place the grizzly in the single space it could attack the trapper directly, then ended my turn. Upon doing so the frog imitations advanced then attacked, leading the turn to end with me doing four damage and taking two. I then drew the human card as I continued listening to the odd cutting noise. The music of this boss sounded like the trapper humming to itself while working on something, but there was something about it that made my fur stand on end. I couldn’t do anything with the human card without another squirrel unless I wanted to sacrifice my grizzly, so I just let things play out instead. When the grizzly then killed one of the frog imitations its card was replaced by another leaping trap. If my grizzly were to attack it, it would be killed.
I drew a squirrel from my deck and used it to place the human next to the grizzly, then ended my turn. That lead to an adder and a real bullfrog appearing behind the traps before my creatures attacked. When the grizzly tried to attack the trap, it snapped shut and the grizzly died, the card disintegrating. When it happened some more cutting sounds sharply intruded, sending another shiver up my spine. After a few seconds a new card manifested on the table in front of me that I picked up. ‘Bear Pelt’. When the human attacked the other trap, it snapped shut, but nothing happened. Only the creatures opposing the trap would be killed by the trap activating. Bifurcated strike would prevent this from happening.
I looked down at the bear pelt, then suddenly came to a realization. The cutting noises were coming from the trapper working. It was skinning my own creatures in front of me, then giving me their desecrated corpses. I leaned over the side of the table, feeling like I had to puke, but nothing came out. Instead I just felt sick. This was sickening. The energy had been sapped from my drives as my righteous anger completely vanished. It just felt stupid now. I was stupid.
Back at the table, the turn had continued without me paying attention. The adder and the bullfrog had advanced, and I was at a one-point disadvantage. I leaned back over to the table and drew a card from my deck, the urayuli. I still had my bottled goat that I had gotten [20 minutes] ago, so I uncorked the bottle, and drew it. Then I used the smoke to place the goat, and sacrificed both the goat and the human to place the urayuli down in front of the bullfrog. After every creature had attacked, I was down four points. One more and I’d be dead, but now I had a powerhouse on the board.
I drew a card and ended my turn, watching the score go from four points in Leshy’s favor, to three points in my favor, to equal. I drew another card, then ended my turn again. Watching the urayuli attack once more and end the first round, I let out a sigh of relief and mentally prepared myself for the next round.
“Exquisite pelts… but the cycle must continue.”
Leshy grabbed the trappers mask and flipped it over, revealing the trader. They were the same person. I knew something was wrong with them when I saw them, but I didn’t realize it would be something like this. The same predator was selling desecrated corpses to me, then buying them back. It explains why everything about them was so uncanny. I know it’s just a mask but the way it changed between personas stuck in my head. It would have to somehow twist its head upside down in order to do that.
“Let’s trade.”
Leshy didn’t give me a chance to dwell on the trapper and trader being the same person as the second round continued like nothing had happened.
“Powerful cards… I will accept only the finest pelts for them.”
The trapper trader thing had given me an additional wolf pelt to trade with, so I now had both a wolf pelt and a bear pelt. It had also removed the cards from before and placed down eight new ones, many of which had sigils that they shouldn’t have.
“Trade for what you can, but know this: the rest will stay and fight for me.”
I took a deep breath like I had done several times before and looked down at the table. I had two pelts and could get two cards. Most of them weren’t particularly interesting, but I had an idea. If I took the card in front of my urayuli I could win immediately. It wasn’t very interesting, just a river snapper with the fledgling sigil, but that wasn’t important. I took it, and the card next to it for good measure.
“I would have chosen differently.”
It didn’t matter. They didn’t have to be good cards because I already had good cards. I hit the bell, and the urayuli’s crushing seven attack damage gave me victory immediately.
“Reignite.”
Leshy reignited my candle yet again, and brought out his chest of rare cards. Something that could only mean that I wasn’t done yet…
No! I’m very nearly done, I can feel it! Whatever comes after this is my final trail, then I can be freed from this nightmare. Geez, that was kind of exhilarating; Outsmarting the game like that.
“Perhaps one of these will entice you?”
I put the thought to the back of my mind for now. A new chest still meant a new rare card in my deck. All of the ones I had could easily ignite the spark of victory, and getting a fourth one would be even better. I flipped over the first card and was faced with a mantis. The ‘Mantis God’
“The holy mantis God*. A perfect incarnation of terror.*”
While the mantis I had seen earlier would only attack the two spaces next to it, this creature would attack the space in front of it as well. The uses of such a card were numerous, and with it only costing one blood it was cheap too. Leshy’s comment was somewhat concerning, but I had seen worse from him.
I flipped over the next card to find the ‘Mole Man’, a hulking giant wielding a shovel. It had a head that tilted further down than it probably should, and closed eyes plastered to the sides. Along with this it had a maw that was contorted into a human-like-snarl with a pair of spiked teeth jutting out of the front.
“The stalwart Mole Man*. The ultimate defense.*”
It had a sigil, ‘Burrower’. It might be new, it might not, it was getting difficult keeping track of all of them. According to the book there were 34 different sigils, not including the ones I physically couldn’t read. Either way, the sigil would make the mole man go to empty spaces to block incoming attacks. Along with being able to block flying creatures, and having six health, it really was the ultimate defense.
I flipped over the last card and saw another natural abomination the ‘Amalgam’. It was absolutely hideous, with I think six different animal parts combined into one defiance against the natural order. Something like this shouldn’t be able to survive, much less thrive.
“Canine. Hooved. Reptilian. Feathered. Insectoid. Squirrel. The Amalgam is all.”
I don’t want it to be all, Leshy. A beast like this, having every animalistic tribe mixed into it shouldn’t exist, Leshy. It’s a freak of nature, Leshy! I’ve likely seen worse, but-
I flipped the card back over again. I refused to think about it. just… no. Instead I picked up the mole man. The mantis God was useful, but I already had strong cards. I didn’t have many defensively minded cards.
“With the enigmatic trapper and trader now bleeding into the snow, you persisted.”
The only good thing for a predator. God, I wish I could see that instead of just the description of it. This is what you deserve for betraying me you disgusting waste of space!
“You could see a light in the distance.”
“The end is near.”
I KNEW IT! I’m at the end. Fucking finally! Bring me to the end, Leshy! I have faced everything you’ve put before me, and I have no intention of stopping now.
My adrenaline spike had descended slightly, and I was able to calm myself down. I couldn’t stop now, and I couldn’t be stopped now. It unfortunately didn’t stop me from still being somewhat nervous. I didn’t know what the final part of Leshy’s challenge would entail. Still, I continued.
FIRST / PREVIOUS / NEXT

The Lost Frontier Handbook is an ultimate self-reliance guide that unlocks lost ancestral skills and knowledge for dealing with crisis.
Life is full of unprecedented events, crises, and emergencies, including financial crisis and natural disasters, among other challenges. Overcoming difficulties or unexpected outcomes require preparedness, resilience, and determination. However, the era of innovative technology is oblivious to the vital skills of our ancestors. As a result, the 21st generation is staring into the abyss of losing precious and ancient skills, including making powerful medicinal remedies using herbs and preserving and stockpiling food without refrigeration, among other essential skills.
The Lost Frontier Handbook by Suzanne Sherman reveals multifold secrets related to ancestral times and how they overcame disasters, emergencies, and crises. It provides self-reliance skills to generations on various approaches to survive all odds. What’s the content of the handbook? This review has more on the handbook.
The Lost Frontier Handbook is an ultimate self-reliance guide that unlocks lost ancestral skills and knowledge for dealing with crisis. According to the creator, the handbook also reveals life-saving techniques and tricks of all time. Readers also learn how to prepare various survival measures and equip themselves with essential items during a crisis to overcome unnatural events. Some crucial lessons in the handbook include preservation tips, food stockpiles, and medicinal remedies.
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• The creator reveals the secret of self-sufficiency and finding a home. The guide enlightens consumers on the right geographical locations with proximity to cities and other essential amenities. Moreover, the creator claims that 1/5th of an acre can be ideal for providing the loved ones with what they need using necessary tricks. Some of the highlighted areas include New York, Alaska, and Colorado, with pros and cons for each location.

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• Digital Copy: Consumers can access the Lost Frontier program after paying $37 on the official website. https://www.lostfrontierhandbook.com/

I'm back! I've learned that some folks really depend on these posts to get their SJ music news so I'm renewing my commitment to spreading the word as far as I can.
This week, as always, we're making sure that musicians in our community don't need to worry about their work going unheard.
I learned that one of our EDM artists had ~300 listeners from Saint John, in part from this series. Hyp3r Owl reached out to me to let me know that these listeners were part of what propelled him onto Spotify's discover weekly.
Your listening helps! Keep it up :)

This week's artists ⬇️

Divine Contradictions

“Lamb Chop”
Spotify
Psychedelia is one of SJ's musical hallmarks. Divine Contradictions offers a great compliment to that scene with a rock sound that's just on the straighter side of psychedelia. They have a great live show, too - go see them.

Bizarre Gurgney

“Evil Man Song (Intense Mix)”
Spotify
Gurg used a Line6 Spyder type effect through the Garageband guitar VSTs. It's an impressive use of the software but I'm used to Guitar Pro 5's MIDI sounds so maybe it's just my boomer taste.

Young C6

“So Lost -VIP-”
Spotify
The feature on this track is from Texas and does a LOT of work. C6 is still finding a way onto the rhythm but getting better on this return to his emo trap sound,

SHXMAN.T

“MINDTALITY (Freestyle)”
Spotify
SHXMAN's got good diction and unique rhythm in this freestyle. It's a clinic for the other trappers in the scene who're trying to refine their own off the dome tracks.

Hyp3rOwl

“Lost In Eternity”
Spotify
Hyp3r is doing great with this track. He's on 20k Spotify streams and growing. It's an EDM slapper with two awesome drops that lead into each other seamlessly.

gold punks

“tPND”
Bandcamp
Dan is an SJ music mainstay. He's been creating music like this that goes perfectly with a midnight Guatemalan hand taco for ages. This is no exception and could be a study for those EDM artists in the city who want to know what our alt folks like to dance to.

Spinoza

“Light and Blindness”
Bandcamp
This is a resurrected SJ screamo band from the 90s. This is a collection of their Joy Division covers. I'm guessing they have an even more extensive back catalogue of headbangers than what's available on their bandcamp today.

Rich Junco

“I Don't Suffer Fools”
YouTube
Rich offers another clinic on blues music here. We're lucky to have such an ardent student of that craft and in this song he brings along a great harmonica player to accompany.

Yeats Sommerfeld

“ORION BEST SONG YET”
BandLab
Thrash metal isn't something I find often. In this case - an artist who's still meandering into their style offers us some stream of consciousness shredding that I look forward to hearing more of.

ABGmanni

“dead sinister” (freestyle)
BandLab
Manni is finding his way into an underground hip hop lane. What's usually a driving beat has become something more muddy but in a desirable way.

No Place Like Home/Hypothetical Love

“Cynical Michigan”
SoundCloud
This band is made up of new musicians who're exploring indie rock. This song wanders around the genre, trying out it's different rhythms and timbres. Some phrases really stand out, speaking to the band's developing taste.

Coj

“By the Cover.mp3”
SoundCloud
A darker cut from Coj here. He feverishly releases tracks (4 this weeks) as a way to hone is trap and production skills from the front seat of his car.

Zafiro

“Can't have me”
SoundCloud
We get a brain candy type pluggnb beat from Zafiro here who runs over the top in the usual hard trap sense. He's been collecting momentum since his album release this summer and is preparing another single for us this week.

Ava Strange

“Montreal Metro”
SoundCloud
Avery's been away in Montreal for over a year now. On his return he shares some of his adventure in a glamorous, psychedelic cut. The post-punk is true to genre but there's lots of ear candy to compliment that genre's repetition.

OneDae

“prodigies” (feat teress0)
SoundCloud
My first time covering OneDae. His personality on the mic stands out a ton. The song's trap beat is mixed a little too quiet for my taste but the bars are undeniable.

𖤐yxungtripp𖤐

“Ride (cyber underground)”
SoundCloud
Tripp has remained in bars over singing land. This time his content is more unnerving that enjoyable to me. I prefer his singing if this is going to be the content of his lyricism when he raps.

66hix

“Heavywings.demo-1”
SoundCloud
This demo has LAYERS. It's a folk rock cut on the surface, however, Josh layers in an immense amount of melodic interest and structural uniqueness. He lets us get cozy in a theme then blends in some new element while wooing us with a folky charm.

meorkat

“ONE2XTHREE4XFIVE” [LoopDiggers Sunday Roulette N°139]
SoundCloud
Alternate time signatures and polyrhythms are much less at home in this genre. Meorkat is no slouch, though. He wields the technique in an interesting way to blend it into this trance cut.

Luvantunreleased

“Henny”
SoundCloud
Luvant's unreleased page shows us what attritions as his style goes more toward the "cool bouncy" type rap that's popular in the lesser-mainstream. This cut sounds more like a palette cleanser than his official releases but would be welcome on an album of those.

B$

“Skye is up”
SoundCloud
B$ has been more polished and suburban in the past. On Skye is Up he gets ROUGH. I love the fast bars, sometimes dropping into acapella, alongside a heavy trap beat.

Cyphs Files

“Get 2 Racks”
SoundCloud
Cyph had a hyperpop undertone for almost a year since I started following him. I noticed it bleed away from his main persona but here, in his unreleased material, he shows us where the hyperpop went.

Burb

“DX TX ME” Ft. Obang (Prod. Sky)
SoundCloud
Burb and Obang are my favorite rappers for unique rhythms in SJ. Both of them are finding a lane for their style and we get to enjoy the different rhythmic places they visit. To see them together on a track here is a delight and one I hope to hear much more of.

nappy ryan

“abundance” (prod. by jissa X gateway)
SoundCloud
I followed Ryan as a producer for much of last year. He was on the "free type beat" train. It appears he'd like some notoriety for his lyricism in trap now, too. He's got a good presence and solid rhymes. There's some growth to happen as an MC but I trust we'll watch it live.
---------
Thanks for reading! Hope you found a new artist to enjoy and lift up this week.
​

Bedbugs, overfishing, military action, xenophobia, and nanoplastics. Collapse: are we there yet?
Last Week in Collapse: November 5-11, 2023
This is Last Week in Collapse, a weekly newsletter bringing together some of the most important, timely, useful, soul-crushing, ironic, astounding, or otherwise must-see/can’t-look-away moments in Collapse.
This is the 98th newsletter. You can find the October 29-November 4 edition here if you missed it last week. You can also receive these posts (with images) every Sunday by email from the Substack version.
——————————
The last 12 months were the hottest on record, according to a 15-page report from Climate Central. Saudi Arabia, Mexico, and Indonesia are particularly hard hit by rising temperatures. The implications are dire.
Over 90% of global fish stocks are “fully exploited” according to the United Nations. China specifically is being blamed for the dramatic increase in overfishing, with a fleet that grew 500% over the last decade to now consist of over 550,000 vessels. By the end of this decade, China is projected to be responsible for 37% of global fishing. However, the growth of Japanese, Taiwanese, Vietnamese, and Spanish ships is also a cause for concern. Overfishing, plus devastating “bottom trawling” practices, are leading to a domino dieoff effect for many aquatic ecosystems. The destruction of seagrass also limits carbon sequestration in the oceans. Other fish are dying from hotter temperatures in the sea.
Low rainfall, and the weaponization of water installations has complicated the relationship between Türkiye, Syria, and Iraq, where years of drought and conflict have damaged society. Crop cultivation and livestock ranching is down. 60% of Syrians lack reliable access to safe drinking water. Türkiye uses upstream dams to reduce river flows, increasing its leverage over border zones that it seeks to control. Scientists blame humans for the warmer, drier conditions in the Greater Middle East.
A new 30-page report from a British-American think tank claims that the British & American governments owe $111B ($5B and $106B, respectively) in “climate reparations” for the 430 metric tonnes generated by their armed forces—since the 2015 Paris Climate Accords. The report, which claims to be “extremely conservative” in valuing the impacts of the two militaries, calculated this figure based on the “social cost of carbon.” Will this development make it more or less likely for states to act on climate issues?
A Panamanian-American lawyer shot & killed two environmental protestors blocking a road in Panama. A U.S. court upheld a controversial Alaska mining project by ConocoPhillips to drill for oil & gas.
While some nations are appearing to move towards renewables, it is estimated that the United States, Russia, and Saudi Arabia will extract record fossil fuels in 2030. A new study suggests that “catastrophic forest ecosystem collapse” is likely in the UK within 50 years.
There are only two permanent ice sheets on planet earth, one in the Antarctic, and the other in Greenland. These two ice sheets account for more than two thirds of all freshwater reserves. 3 of the 8 ice shelves in Greenland have already collapsed; the other 5 are on their way out. Scientists are panicking about how the climate (and sea level) will change when the ice sheet is gone forever. Read the 10-page study here if you’re interested. It is also predicted that melting sea ice will result in more earthquakes.
Lightning is the leading cause of wildfires in boreal forests, which of course results in greater CO2 emissions and ecosystem destruction. As the air warms, lightning will become even more common, perpetuating a feedback loop that we are already in the midst of.
Amazon deforestation hit a 5-year low. There were “only” about 9,000 square km of land deforested from August 2022 to July 2023, equivalent to the size of Corsica or Puerto Rico. Africa’s plastics problem is spiraling out of control. Part of Iceland declared a state of emergency regarding a soon-predicted volcanic eruption.
Global wine production is the lowest it’s been in 60+ years, and climate change is being blamed. Freak weather patterns, droughts, and flooding have reduced grape harvests. Australia has started granting the first ever climate refuge visas to the people of Tuvalu (pop: 11,200); however, they are pledging just 280 visas per year.
A growing number of people are not planning to have children because of our unravelling climate. Others are too broke or busy. Yet some philosophers still argue that there aren’t enough humans on planet earth (pop: 8,050,000,000).
Vicious El Niño-linked flooding in Somalia displaced 300,000+ people and accounted for at least 40 deaths in Somalia and Kenya. Thailand is on track for its hottest and driest year ever. Ireland’s largest lake is being swamped by algae. Last October, in addition to being super hot, was also the moistest on record.
A hitherto underestimated factor in Collapse is metabolism—and how rising temperatures can increase it. A higher metabolism requires more energy to sustain life, propelling more consumption of food. During times of drought or flooding or economic hardship or conflict, when food is already limited, this will increase pressure for one of our most precious resources.
Parts of China & Taiwan have seen record November temperatures. Scattered wildfires still burn in Greece. The UN adjusted its estimates for the number of species it considers to be endangered: the new number is two million species—double previous estimates.
——————————
At least 17 outbreaks of bedbugs have occurred in South Korea since September. In the UK, infestations increased 65% since last year. Although they bite and irritate humans, they do not spread diseases. Bedbugs are notoriously difficult to exterminate, and have been around for over 100M years, according to scientists. At least we know one organism likely to survive Collapse…
Nursing homes in the U.S. are suffering from a lack of workers from a combination of low wages, devastating burnout, and lingering fallout from COVID. A tuberculosis outbreak in a California casino sparked fears that hundreds may have contracted TB there over the past 5 years. TB worldwide is at record highs, with 7.5M infections recorded last year.
Chinese investment overseas, mostly in the so-called Global South, has ballooned now [to somewhere between $1.1 Trillion USD and $1.5 T. Some people are worried about how China will collect on its debt once it becomes clear that countries are unable to pay it back. Yet China argues that the U.S. has historically been the biggest debt-trapper nation, with a record of unproductive interference.
American beef hit record prices, a result mostly of drought pushing feed prices up. Half a million Brazilians have lost power after a storm blasted Sao Paolo. Titanium shortages grow, as does the so-called “artificial” rice shortage.
U.S. credit card debt grew 10%+ this year, sitting now at $1.08 T. The annual interest payments on U.S. government debt have also surpassed $1T this year. Total American government debt is now $33.7 trillion USD. If distributed evenly among Americans, it would exceed $100,000 per citizen.
A 46-page assessment of the power grids in the U.S. and Canada concluded that some power networks may face serious strain during peak winter conditions. Lucky for them, winter is almost a thing of the past. The report also has personalized region analysis if you live in North America and want to read about your area’s power grid.
Microplastics are everywhere, in our lakes, and in clouds, and in our blood. It is estimated that the average human eats between 7-287 grams of plastics per year. Microplastics are also being consumed by plankton, which may sound good—however, they’re making everything worse. By digesting microplastics, they break down into smaller particles: nanoplastics, which are even harder to manage. Plastic production is expected to triple over the next 40 years, even as representatives from around the world convened in Nairobi to agree on a framework for managing plastic pollution.
The International Food Policy Research Institute released 4 reports about the convergence of climate change, food, and economics: one for Mozambique, another for Kenya, one for Malawi, and another for Zambia. They’re each about 40 pages, and they draw some overlapping conclusions: droughts, flooding, and severe weather events will become more common. Maize yields will go down, roads will be damaged, livestock will die. Water management is one of the most pressing challenges ahead.
——————————
The ruling junta in Myanmar suffered several surprise defeats against the various insurgents in the country’s northeast. 50,000+ people have been displaced so far, and the President has even admitted the possibility of the state breaking apart. For years, the government forces have been unable to make gains against rebel forces.
Protests in Spain grow amid the purported governmental plans to grant amnesty to Catalonian separatists. At least 3 workers have been killed in Bangladeshi textile strikes, which persisted for their second week. In Tunisia, refugees hide in the expectation that the UN is coming to help them. In Ethiopia, ethnic/political violence continues, killing over 150 people in the week ending on November 3.
Italy is making a deal with Albania in which two “migrant centres” will be built in Albania, planned to open in spring 2024, which will, combined, process about 36,000 “illegal migrants” annually. Germany is starting to cut benefits for refugees. Spain’s Canary Islands have seen record numbers of migrants arrive this year—around 32,000 so far. As European nations try to better control flows in the Mediterranean, a risky opportunity has appeared for migrants trying their luck on the Atlantic, a more dangerous route. Attacks on migrants and foreigners are increasing in South Africa, where corruption, unemployment, and violent crime have tested the people’s patience.
More information has shed light on how Hamas militants executed the surprise attack on October 7, and how Israeli intelligence failed to be aware until it was too late. Netanyahu is promising to control the security of Gaza after the fighting stops, and has ruled out plans for a ceasefire at this time. Hamas reportedly wants a permanent War anyway, and Israel is planning on controlling Gaza for a long time. About 200 hostages remain in Gaza.
The IDF bombarded the largest hospital in Gaza, reportedly also an operational base for Hamas. Some experts fear that the IDF’s response may create more extremists as backlash. Bolivia cut its diplomatic ties with Israel. The IDF are granting 4-hour pauses to allow people to flee. Accusations, and refutations, of genocide have been leveled from all sides.
Russia killed 19 soldiers at an awards ceremony with a missile, a Ukrainian oversight that has outraged President Zelenskyy. At Avdiivka, the hard Russian bombardment continues for the city, a strategic location near Donetsk city, which Russia has held for 13 months. If you believe the Ukrainian army, they slew 1,000+ Russian soldiers and destroyed 25 enemy tanks in a single day.
While much of the world’s attention is fixated on Ukraine Gaza, the Sudan War has given cover for the insurgent, UAE-backed RSF army to continue the Darfur genocide. Death tolls range from low hundreds up to 2,000 massacred at a single location on Thursday. Fighting is also reportedly increasing in the capital, Khartoum, where a strategic bridge was destroyed.
——————————
Things to watch for next week include:
↠ After winning the 2020 Narogno-Karabakh War, and then winning a prolonged post-war siege of the region, integrating it fully into Azerbaijan, now Azerbaijan is demanding several Armenian cities. Is this going to lead to more fighting soon?
Select comments/threads from the subreddit last week suggest:
-The school atmosphere has broken down completely, judging by this post and the many ex-teachers commenting. Go visit teachers or teaching to see some stories from the front line of Collapse. Many schools are becoming unsafe for children—and teachers. It’s easy to blame COVID alone for everything, but it took the strain from the pandemic to shock much of society into seeing how grim the situation really is. Search on YouTube or X or TikTok…
-Sea surface temperatures are at insane levels, based on this graph and the accompanying science. The meme was pretty good too.
Got any feedback, upvotes, questions, comments, complaints, declassified intel, War maps, new Collapse terms you want to trademark, insect farming tips, hate mail, coping philosophy, etc.? Check out the Last Week in Collapse SubStack if you don’t want to check collapse every Sunday, you can get this newsletter sent to your email inbox every weekend. What did I forget this time?

So I was running against the trapper and we were in endgame against NOED. Trapper had padded jaws and I was full health.
As I'm running for the exit, in chase, I get caught in a trap just as NOEDs totem gets cleansed. I don't make it out before trapper hits me. I was at full health but fell like he downed me. A moment goes by and I'm up again and running.
But I was DOWN.
I was running renewal, inner healing, alert and small game. No one was close enough to use an instant heal, and didn't have one anyway.
Any ideas what could have happened there?
I suspect maybe a glitch. Television NOED was cleansed a few moments before I got hit. But the animation was a down animation and I even started recovering for a split second before I was just magically up again.

On January 26, 1950 a C54 Skymaster would take off from Anchorage Alaska and was scheduled to land in Great Falls, Montana the ‘Northwest Staging Route’ it was known as. The flight was scheduled to take approximately 8 hours. The plane was to take a route over the Yukon which required check ins every 30 minutes due to the remote and rugged terrain. Radar was around however it was not around in these remote areas at this point. The last check in from the flight was 2 hours into the trip near Snag, Canada. The C54 had 36 passengers (mainly military but there was an expectant mother flying back to the lower 48 to have her child) and 8 crew members aboard.
The day of the flight, one of the 4 engines on the aircraft was having mechanical issues which weren’t specified anywhere. This caused the flight to be delayed several hours. The flight finally got underway and made check ins normally for the first 2 hours before going silent. During one of the check in’s the pilot reported turbulence and ice developing on the wings. This was the last the aircraft was ever heard from. The next point it should’ve checked in at was Aishihik in the Yukon.
While this is a relatively short write up, that’s really all we know about what occurred during that day. The rest is unconfirmed or theories to explain the disappearance.
Operation Mike was launched to try and locate the aircraft however search and rescue tactics were in their infancy which lead to a lot of people probably not maximizing the search potential. It was a joint Canadian and US effort. In addition, shortly after the alarm bells were raised there was heavy snow in the Yukon which could have potentially buried any evidence of a crash. The rescue operation was also suspended on February 14th (2.5 weeks later) after all resources were sent to the Gulf of Alaska to search for a missing B-36 Bomber carrying a nuclear warhead (without its radioactive core but keep in mind the Cold War and proximity to the Soviet Union). By February 20th, all efforts were suspended and the families were simply given a death certificate with no further explanation or effort to find what occurred.
So let’s introduce and reiterate some of what we know about the flight
-the C54 was not pressurized and had to fly at or below 10,000 feet. It was reported at 10,000 feet during its last check in. This is important due to how mountainous the Yukon is.
-Last check in it was reported there was icing on the wings, turbulence, but otherwise uneventful. These are common issues at the time and no cause for alarm.
-The last radio operator to speak to the flight stated many flights attempt to fly through the Saint Elias Mountains to cut time off their flight, this should be noted as many of those mountains are well over 10,000 feet tall.

• a trapper near Beaver Lake (south of the last check in) saw a large aircraft that he stated ‘appeared in trouble’ over his cabin (there’s not much I can find on why he thought it was in trouble such as low flying, odd flight pattern, falling from the sky etc)

-several eyewitnesses in the East Kootenay-Columbia region and northern Montana report seeing multiple flares, hours after they had seen an aircraft overhead
-people near Newgate reported a low flying aircraft that they believed crash on or near Gold Mountain. This reported smoke coming from one of the engines. The aircraft seemed to circling from the west to the south before dropping behind Gold Mountain.
-a road foreman from Waldo, B.C. Reported to provincial police seeing smoke signals seemingly done intentionally at intervals.
So what happened?
While we can all draw the conclusion the plane crashed somewhere, the mystery to me lies in the lack of communication from the aircraft. This is before radar, transponders, etc were widespread but to me, whatever happened had to have occurred very violently and very quickly.

• Theory 1: It crashed in a lake somewhere.

At face value I really thought this could explain it. Then when you see the record low temperatures occurring, the ice on any standing body of water must’ve been so thick, any accident would’ve produced a lot of debris. The aircraft was fully loaded with fuel and would’ve left some evidence.
-Theory 2: it crashed somewhere on a glacier and fell through a crevasse
Very well could be the unfortunate end but this seems likely if an emergency landing was attempted, again the lack of radio communication drives me away from this because if you’re setting up an emergency landing , you have a little bit of time albeit not much.
-Theory 3: It crashed near Gold Mountain
While there are many reports from the area, these depict a slow decent. Even if the engine was on fire. There have been many independent searches which turn up nothing. And again, this slow descent and no one radioed the plane going down or having issues?
-Theory 4: crashed into the Gulf of Alaska
I like this theory the best, somehow it got way off course and crashed into the Gulf of Alaska. While it would’ve left debris, it’s easy to miss or have no concern if you see a fuel spill if you’re not looking there. This was way outside the search area and until the B36 went down weeks later, no one was looking here.
My outlier theory: the pilots tried following this southerly route through the Saint elias mountains, they realized some of these mountains were way higher than they thought and climbed to get over them and either stalled the aircraft with the ice build up on the wings and crashed into the side of one of them or they became incapacitated from hypoxia and you have a MH370 (maybe) or Helios 522 situation where contact is lost due to incapacitated crew and passengers and the plane flies on aimlessly until the fuel runs out.
There have been a few renewed efforts which haven’t yielded any results.
Insight? Thoughts?
Links:
https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/mystery-of-u-s-aircraft-missing-during-fight-over-canada-continues-to-raise-questions/wcm/908392da-26ca-4f02-b7e4-4841fa6b1bfa/amp/
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1950_Douglas_C-54D_disappearance#:~:text=On%2026%20January%201950%2C%20the,into%20its%20eight%2Dhour%20flight.
https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.6403160
https://www.warhistoryonline.com/cold-wadisappearance-of-a-usaf-c-54.html

Hi all, I have about 900 hours in the game, I'm killer Iri 1 (P30 Wraith, P12 Plague) and survivor Iri 2. As survivor I almost always play solo queue, and I want to share my support-oriented build that I've settled on after much playtesting with different approaches.
Kindred
We'll Make It
Renewal
Off the Record / Sprint Burst
Add-on: Rainbow map with green stamp and glass bead, or green map with stamp and red twine. Important - if you don't have these, run Deja Vu instead of Renewal. If you also don't have Zarina unlocked, run Deja Vu instead of Off the Record.
General approach: Someone gets hooked, Kindred lets you know when the killer is out of the area, you go unhook, immediately fast heal at hook with We'll Make It and finish if you don't hear terror radius. If the unhooked player judges they should run to a safe spot first before taking the heal, accommodate them (within reason). Hop back on a gen. Repeat as needed. If you get hooked later, Renewal will heal you, and Off the Record will prevent the killer from tunneling you, and give you the freedom to get to where you need to get to in the map, whether setting up for another unhook, doing a gen, or possibly healing someone.
If you aren't already, get very familiar and comfortable with how Off the Record works, as it is extremely powerful. Unhooking someone, healing someone else, or touching a gen or totem will end your Endurance, but you still keep the no grunts, no blood, and hidden aura for 80 seconds regardless. (Pro tip, setting up a flame turret does NOT end Endurance.) OTR's long Endurance effect can help you get cross map distance if needed to locate and work the right gen to avoid getting three-genned. Even though touching the gen ends your Endurance, you still got value. Also, remember you still leave scratch marks, so if the killer does come back to the hook to look for you, walking and then hiding can be extremely effective, as he cannot hear you or see any blood pools.
The Renewal + OTR combo is rare which gives it a hidden power. I've sometimes had a killer tunnel me, the Renewal procs before they catch up to me, then they hit me, chase me for a while, hit me again, and then they finally realize the bad news of OTR, but that's all the time they had for chase, and since they just gave me ANOTHER speed boost, they give up and leave me to go back and try to disrupt gens. This is incredible value. Even if they were to then commit for the down, that's easily enough total time in chase for the rest of the team to finish multiple gens.
It's important when you're on the hook to make a note of where everyone is and what they are doing (pay attention to the shape of their auras), so you can plan where to run and how to play after you're unhooked. If Renewal is up, you want to be finding a gen away from everyone else to work on. If Renewal has not been activated, you need to think about the game state and whether it is safe (and necessary) to get healed at/near the hook, and if not, whether to try to get a heal or prioritize finishing a gen and opening the gates.
Either map setup is valuable for spotting things like hag or trapper traps; you can use the map in chase to keep yourself safe, or out of chase to preemptively disarm / wipe them. Note: if you're looking for something, like a totem, watch for the "map scout" notifications as you run. If you haven't seen the notification, channeling the map won't show you anything new, and just waste charges. Extremely advanced but potentially useful tip: with more than one survivor still alive, if you see a map scout notification, and immediately channel your rainbow map, but you don't see anything new, then you just found the hatch.
Use map sparingly so that if hexes appear you can find and cleanse them quickly. If you spot a hex totem near you while in chase, glass bead is useful to mark it with a beacon so someone else can potentially cleanse it. (You don't have to stop running to use the map or glass bead.) Into the late game, glass bead is good for marking the gen with the most progress, or the gate you are opening.
I don't recommend crystal bead, since it takes time for the other survivors to react to the channel and rotate their camera to see what they're looking for, if they even needed or wanted to use it, let alone understood what was happening.
Important! You may be tempted (as I have seen some survivors do) to stack healing speed increases. IMHO this a very significant error, due to diminishing returns on these boosts. You should rarely use a medkit on someone else while under the effects of We'll Make it (the main exception being syringe), neither should you stack perks like Circle of Healing, No One Left Behind, or We're Gonna Live Forever in your build on top of We'll Make it. Here's why: A 100% speed boost means healing twice as fast. So a 16 second heal becomes an 8 second heal. Fantastic, that's a radical benefit. What about a 200% speed boost? That means heal three times as fast. That is now 5.3 seconds, which is only saving you 2.7 extra seconds. A very weak bonus for a whole perk slot.
Don't be an average Claudette. This is not an Empathy build. Don't run all over the map looking for people to heal. Heal after the unhook, heal people nearby if it's convenient. But above all do gens. Time is the ultimate currency in this game, don't waste it. OTOH, you SHOULD try to interrupt people doing Self Care if they're near you. The massive time saved should be worth it, even if you don't activate Renewal due to not 100%-ing the heal yourself.
Don't aggressively try to break up the three gen early in the game if the killer is not yet in chase and/or one or more of your team mates are not yet on a gen. You want to get some kind of gen progress rolling, and you want someone else to be the first hook so you can get the We'll Make It -> Renewal value going. (Similar to the logic applied in Distortion + Deliverance builds for support in SWF). Just pick a convenient gen to work on and monitor the HUD. If you do happen to get found and chased down first, it's not at all a disaster, as Off the Record will keep you safe and ready to be an unhooking, healing mommy to your team.
Some killers can feel they are doing rather well with hooks, but then realize everyone is getting instantly healed and back on gens too quickly for them to secure death hooks before the endgame, and after the third or so survivor hooked they may adjust and start coming straight back for the hook to find and interrupt you, so you may need to adjust and heal somewhere more discreet, or just split up and heal later if you can. Or the killer may come back simply because the surv is on death hook and the value of potentially removing them from the game is too high, making it considerably less safe to heal at the hook. Don't get complacent. I've seen these two patterns of the killer changing their behavior mid-game fairly often.
Don't unhook too quickly and eagerly, especially against fast killers like Xeno, Blight, Wraith, and Oni in his power. It can be hard to restrain yourself, and you can feel like you're trolling your team mate who can see you nearby. But typically don't unhook until 15-20 seconds after the hook (about the time it takes for the average speed killer to run across the map), or until you see something in the HUD that you expect the killer will prioritize, like chase starting, a survivor leaving a gen (probably because of terror radius, which means the killer is about to kick or chase), or a missed skill check. You can also use this time to do productive things like touch a kicked gen or set up a flame turret. Remember, it's not camping if you haven't given the killer a chance to find something else to do before you unhook. On the other hand, if you are closer but Kindred shows you a survivor unnecessarily getting up and heading towards the hook, then go ahead and get your We'll Make It value, to motivate the other survivor to get back on the gen.
The We'll Make It + Renewal combo is so powerful, it can be easy to forget that regular heals activate Renewal as well. So even if you haven't done an unhook, heal your team mates as convenient, whenever you can, if they want to be healed. (They may have good or bad reasons for not wanting to be healed, but you're not in control of them, so just accommodate them.)
The map or Deja Vu is important because gens have to be done, and not all solo queue survivors are great at doing gens, or doing them in a way that sets up a favorable endgame. In solo queue you really have to be a jack of all trades, and fill the niche that your team mates fail to fill, whether it's chase, altruism, or objectives. If you're really stellar at chase, of course, this build isn't for you. Run MFT and Resil, wear your pink bunny hoodie, click your flashy and get in the killer's face and waste their time. Otherwise, this support build is a good approach. But try to be at least decent at chase so you are not an automatic down when/if the killer finds you.
I feel this support approach solves a lot of problems with builds for solo queue games:

1. You don't need your team mates to know in advance what you have or what you are doing. (A downside of otherwise powerful team perks like Deliverance, Unbreakable, Plot Twist, and even Reassurance, which are much more effective when you know everyone knows exactly what is going on.)
2. Renewal will often heal you in circumstances when your team would have failed to do so.
3. If your team mates are excessively altruistic, going aggressively for every unhook, with the map or Deja Vu you can adjust and just be a good gen jockey.
4. You will rarely pip down, even in unwinnable matches. Just keep unhooking and healing, and do gens whenever you can. I feel any intermediate player with only moderate chase skills but clear thinking and good map awareness (e.g. like myself!) can use this build to reach red ranks with little trouble.

Above all, I can't stress this enough, adjust to your team mates and the game state. Don't be stubborn, with an "I AM THE SUPPORT" mentality no matter what. For example, if there is plenty of time before the hook stage advances and the killer finds you on the way to the hook, lead him in chase AWAY from the hook so another survivor in the area can do the honors. (ofc trade if needed to prevent hook stage advancing, or if the others are too far away to help in time.) Another example: when Kindred shows a survivor with no altruism perks getting off their gen to unhook and they'll get there safely before you, it may hurt your soul, but STAY ON YOUR GEN! This is a very common issue with team mates who are obviously a duo queue. They only have eyes for each other and you just have to let them do their thing. That's the best you can do.
That's it! I hope to hear any suggestions, questions, criticisms, or if anyone else has worked on the idea of solo queue support and what your ideas are.

Hey yall, this is my first time posting. I report on renewable energy and I'm working on developing my data cleaning, analysis, science, etc. skills. I'm attempting to develop some better info on renewable energy projects the USDA has funded through its REAP program.
USDA provides a table to describe its loans and grants:
​
https://preview.redd.it/6o7g5s2yanlb1.png?width=1509&format=png&auto=webp&s=95d76d0486639604f11912a65235edef35934f6b
I've converted this PDF to an Excel file with identical rows and columns.
Project descriptions are written in non-standard formats, for example: "This Rural Development investment will be used to help Gold River LLC install a 12.3 kilowatt (kW) photovoltaic solar system on the Shulin Lake Resort near Trapper Creek, Alaska. Gold River LLC purchased the resort last year. This system will offset power produced by a diesel fuel generator. It is estimated to produce 23,687 kilowatt hours (kWh) per year, which is enough electricity to power about two homes for one year."
My focus here is the total annual kilowatt hours the project will generate in a given year. I noticed that most entries say, "This project will *produce* XX kilowatt hours per year." Or, "This project will *replace* XX kilowatt hours per year."
There are over 1,000 entries on this list alone, and awards are given out each quarter, so I'm working with a set that is far too large to go through manually. However, I believe I may be able to run a series of formulas to extract the kilowatt hour (kWh) value from each entry, where it exists.
I was attempting to do so by using the following formula for values following the word "replace":
=MID(H2,(SEARCH"replace ",H2)+8,SEARCH(" kilowatt",H2)-SEARCH("replace ",H2)-8)
This formula successfully extracted the value for this description: "This Rural Development investment will be used to purchase and install a 230.86-kilowatt (kW) solar photovoltaic system. Gretna View Farms is a dairy farming operation in Manheim, Pennsylvania and has been operating since 2019. This project is expected to save the farm approximately $28,000 per year. It will replace 249,691 kilowatt hours (kWh) per year, which is enough energy to power 23 homes."
But it did not work on most others, such as: "This Rural Development investment will be used to purchase and install a 113 kilowatt (kW) solar photovoltaic system. Columbia Falls Inc is a real estate holding company for Kling Magnetics, producer of custom educational magnet products at its facility in Columbia County, Chatham, New York. This project will realize $14,175 per year in savings and will replace 129,462 kilowatt hours (kWh) (100 percent) per year."
In other words, the formula appears to successfully extract the value sometimes, but mostly doesn't work, even when the cells each contain the phrase "replace XXX,XXX kilowatt"
... any idea what might be going on here?

Like a lot of you, I really like the concept of recipes, cooking prepared meals is a very welcome addition to the game, and could really open up a lot of fun depth to the game.
Unique recipes are also really great in concept. However I do feel implementation of cooking is....lacking. Leaving it a far more viable option to just throw a KG of meat directly on the fire.
I really WANT to cook a proper 'meal' each time I sit down at a fire for the evening to prepare food. Every 2-3 days would be ok/realistic, however at present I might do it once every 20 in game days, and then I'm usually pained to do it as I'm watching finite resources vanish.
​
SUSTAINABLE SIMPLE RECIPES
Cooking a prepared meal should ALWAYS be the 'priority' (though not the standard) over cooking meat on its own. I've watched a LOT of survival stuff and they ALWAYS cook some form of stew if at all possible.
I believe the stews are a good answer to this, HOWEVER, they are locked to flour, once it is gone, it is gone. Broth is locked to salt, once it is gone, it is gone. Leading to 99% of my meals being plain ole cooked meat.
My simple answer to this is, salt pockets in costal regions, and acorns being a renewable resource. which brings my next point.
​
SUBSTITUTE INGREDIENTS
Acorns can be ground down and used as flour in some dishes, but cant be substituted for flour in others. Surely I can use acorn grounds to make a stew in absence of flour??!?
"0.5g of flour OR acorn grounds", would open up a lot of cooking, especially if acorns dropped from trees more than once. It is still a long process to get them to grounds, so it isn't a 'free meal' so to speak.
Surely peaches could be substituted with berries? etc, etc.
​
INGREDIENT LOCKING
On the difficulty I play, things are rare, you may find a few potatoes and carrots per region. A lot of recipes require 1-2 of each. Tinned peaches/maple syrup are heavy and not that common. I've never found tinned corn, I heard it is in signal void bunkers only.
This means most of these recipes are locked to me for most of my playthough. It is a very rare occasion I have the ingredients on me to cook Ranger Stew, and if I do, I usually opt not to because they're the last 2 carrots I might ever see, gotta 'save' them, right?! haha.
I've never cooked Thomson Family Stew, because I've never seen corn.
​
NO DOWNSIDE TO EATING PLAIN MEAT
As stated, there is no drawback for me to prepare the meat in the most simple way possible, and no big bonus that would inspire me to cook. I might as well just cook 4kg of meat, no additional ingredients are required, no prep time, no drawbacks, no special cooking utensils.
​
PREDATOR MEAT BEFORE COOKING 5 (recipe suggestion)
Before cooking 5, eating predator meat is very risky, IP can easily end your run. This recipe would make eating it safe, but still not your preferred option as it consumes vital resources and is time consuming.
1kg predator meat.
1 mushroom.
1 birch bark.
1 burdock root.
8 berries.
1 broth.
Cook time 1h 45m, 800-1000 calories.
"The meat is now sterile, but the smell lingers on you for 2 hours after consumption giving +1 to scent."
This one should be found in the heartland, perhaps the seasoned hunters at Trappers Cabin taught this recipe to aspiring hunters!?
​
MYSTERY POT??!?
Finally, I propose the ole "mystery pot". Warming bonus is the only guarantee. Add what you want, results may vary depending on ingredients used. Water or broth base, go from there.
You might get tired, you may get a headache, you might get a boost to carry capacity or condition, you may get rested effect... you might just get a full belly, depending what you add.
​
Cooking is a big part of the game, I'd love to see it fleshed out. Throw your suggestions out there, I'd like to read them.

Hey all,
My TT group is revisiting Vampire the Requiem 1.0 and re playing through the New Orleans book - hit a snag though - Our copy and many like it so it seems is missing Nathaniel Blanch's character sheet.
Could ya'll be so kind as to share your versions of this Gangrel Hierophant's sheet with me to show my Husband-ST?
We're both kind of burned up at the moment with some personal stuff. Thought maybe some fellow STs had one on stand by. Short Synopse of the character and what stats are available are below copied in full from the book - Vampire the Requiem - City of the Damned - New Orleans (page 70-71).
Thank you so much in advance for the assist. You all are beyond appreciated <3
--------------------------------
Nathaniel Blanch, the Hierophant
Clan: Gangrel
Covenant: Circle of the Crone
Apparent Age: Mid-30s
Willpower: 8
Humanity: 4
Virtue: Prudence
Vice: Envy
Blood Potency: 5
Merits: Allies (Hippies and Neo-Pagans) 2, City Status 3, Clan Status (Gangrel) 4, Covenant Status (Circle of the Crone) 5, Fast Reflexes 1, Haven (Security) 4, Language (French, Latin), Resources 3
Disciplines: Animalism 4, Auspex 3, Celerity 1, Crúac 5, Protean 4, Resilience 4, Vigor 2
Devotions: Arcane Sight
Crúac Rituals: Pangs of Proserpina (1), Rigor Mortis (1); The Hydra’s Vitae (2); Deflection of the Wooden
Doom (3); Blood Price (4), Willful Vitae (4); Blood Blight (5), Feeding the Crone (5)
​
One of the most powerful Kindred in the city is also one of the most private, making Baron Cimitiere seem sociable by comparison. As the Hierophant of the local Circle of the Crone, Nathaniel Blanch is most often preoccupied with matters of covenant, spirit or both, and has little time for the political games played by his fellow Kindred. Some Kindred know of him, as he is an elder of the city, and he does make the occasional appearance at select Kindred gatherings, but this is done more out of respect for the local Prince than out of any real desire to attend. Lately, Blanch has grown nigh-obsessed with his latest discovery: He and he alone knows that a mighty elder of his clan—older by far than even the Prince—has recently awakened from his extended slumber somewhere inside the city limits. Blanch, being an experienced Acolyte and elder of the Gangrel clan, has long sought answers to the mysteries posed by the vampiric form, and the secrets this risen elder has to offer have provided Blanch with renewed incentive in his efforts.
Although he has no means of confirming this, Blanch suspects that the elder somehow achieved the exalted state of Golconda not only during his great sleep but in large part because of it. Blanch now longs to discover if this theory is true, and if so, how it came to pass, and how he may benefit from it as well. Blanch is a master of Crúac, and although the journey has been more than enlightening, he is sharply aware that his humanity has ebbed away in the process. And although Blanch doesn’t miss it, he is very keen to know whether or not humanity plays a role in one’s ascending to Golconda, if for no other reason than to know for once and for all whether or not the exalted state of being is still an option for him at all.
Nathaniel Blanch was a true Renaissance man in life—an explorer first and foremost, but along the way, a travel guide, fur trapper, and, finally, civil engineer. He was one of the first white men to enter the area after France granted John Law’s company the right to charter in fact and was even part of the team that laid out the original street plans for Bienville’s new city. He remembers little of those early days, save in the occasional snapshot during his troubled daysleep. Much of his memory is focused on his time as one of the undead and, more specifically, on the rather substantial progress he has made on his own spiritual and mystical development. He prides himself on being attuned to forces and energies to which other Kindred remain blind their entire unlives and doesn’t care to concern himself with anything that will take him away from his growth.
Blanch is somewhat short by today’s standards but has a commanding force of presence that belies his size. His dark brown hair lays flat against his head, coming to rest in a slight curl just below his ears. A well-groomed moustache and Vandyke would give him an almost roguish appearance, but his timeless hazel eyes betray any sense of youth he might otherwise project. When out in public, he favors the long coat and hiking boots that have served him well for centuries.
​

Scariest part that I believe that some of this nerfs can actually can happen...
all 32 killer list:
Trapper: Can no longer pick up active bear traps
Wraith: Basic attack within 10 seconds after uncloack counts as Special attack instead.
Hillbilly: Chainsaw can Instadown survivors only if it’s heat at 50% or more.
Nurse: Nurse cannot lunge after a blink
Huntress: Uncharged hatchets now apply deep wounds instead of putting injured survivor into dying state
Myers: Picking a downed survivor while Tier 3 immediately put Myers into tier 2 but save remaining charges.
Hag: She now looks down after successfully hitting a survivor.
Doctor: Survivors doesn’t scream when shocked anymore.
Cannibal: If Cannibal trying to use his chainsaw sprint within 10 meters of an active hook, he goes into Tantrum instead.
Freddy: Freddy attack’s doesn’t do damage to awake survivors (but still put them into sleep)
Pig: Hitting survivor while they have active RBT pauses it’s timer until next gen completed.
Clown: Clown now get hindered by his pink bottles as well.
Spirit: Is not completely invisible anymore during phasing and survivors can see her shimmering silhouette.
Legion: Injured survivors is not shown via killer instinct during Feral Frenzy
Plague: Non-infected survivors doesn’t take damage from Corrupted Purge and get infection instead.
Ghost Face: Hitting any survivor removes all stalk from all survivors.
Demogorgon: Cannot be played until license renewal
Oni: Oni can only flick his attack only up to 50 degree to left or right.
Deathslinger: Can only reload with lockers now.
Pyramid Head: His M2 now apply torment instead of damaging survivors.
Blight: No changes
.
Trickster: Survivors is now doesn’t take damage from hitting maximum laceration stacks if they were injured or downed by blades until Trickster hit them with basic attack.
Nemesis: Can tier up only by hitting already infected survivors
Pinhead: They don’t open the box.
Artist: Birds no longer deals damage within artist’s terror radius
Sadako: Patch 7.1.0 coming live
Dredge: Lockers cannot be open from inside anymore.
Wesker: All Alive survivors automatically escape after 7 minutes in the trial.
Knight: Guards cannot interact with objects on the map anymore
Skill Merchant: Cannot place drones within 10 meters of unfinished generator
Singularity: EMP now create dead zone where singularity cannot use any abilities and all podes places within this zone is automatically turned off

Hunter was startled to receive a letter from Dr. Lawrence Gordon, whom he had thought was dead. The letter explained that Dr. Gordon had been keeping a low profile for years, working in secret to uncover the truth behind Jigsaw's legacy. Intrigued and curious, Hunter agreed to meet Dr. Gordon at the designated location. When he arrived, he found the doctor looking worn and haggard, but determined. "Jigsaw's legacy is far from over," Dr. Gordon explained. "There are still disciples out there, continuing his work. I need your help to put an end to it once and for all." Hunter listened intently as Dr. Gordon revealed that he had been tracking down leads, investigating new traps and victims, and had discovered a pattern that pointed to a new apprentice carrying on Jigsaw's twisted legacy. Dr. Gordon explained that he had been gathering a team of individuals who were dedicated to stopping Jigsaw's legacy once and for all, and he believed that Hunter's skills and knowledge could be invaluable in their mission. Hunter hesitated, knowing that getting involved would be dangerous and could potentially disrupt his life. But he also felt a sense of duty, knowing that he couldn't stand idly by while innocent people were subjected to Jigsaw's sadistic games. After much deliberation, Hunter agreed to join Dr. Gordon's team. He was determined to put an end to the horrors of Jigsaw's legacy once and for all, and he was willing to risk everything to achieve that goal. Little did he know that the journey ahead would be fraught with peril and challenges that would test his resolve to the core. But he was willing to do whatever it took to bring justice to the victims and finally put an end to Jigsaw's legacy for good. Hunter followed the instructions on the tape and found Hoffman, confronting him in a brutal fight. Despite his injuries, Hunter managed to overpower Hoffman and knock him out. When Hoffman awoke, he found himself chained in the infamous bathroom, the same location of the first Jigsaw trap. Hunter stood before him, a cold and calculated expression on his face. Hoffman pleaded with Hunter, begging for mercy and insisting that he didn't deserve this fate. But Hunter was resolute, knowing that this was the only way to end Hoffman's reign of terror. "You can't do this to me," Hoffman cried, desperation in his voice. Hunter simply smiled and turned off the lights, leaving Hoffman in complete darkness. Hoffman yelled in horror, knowing that his fate was sealed. "Game over," Hunter said, closing the door to the bathroom and leaving Hoffman to face the consequences of his actions. As Hunter walked away, he knew that this was the end of his journey with Jigsaw. He had fulfilled his duty to John and brought justice to those who had been wronged. Though he couldn't change the past, he knew that he could make a difference in the future, and that was enough for him.Hunter was startled to receive a letter from Dr. Lawrence Gordon, whom he had thought was dead. The letter explained that Dr. Gordon had been keeping a low profile for years, working in secret to uncover the truth behind Jigsaw's legacy. Intrigued and curious, Hunter agreed to meet Dr. Gordon at the designated location. When he arrived, he found the doctor looking worn and haggard, but determined. "Jigsaw's legacy is far from over," Dr. Gordon explained. "There are still disciples out there, continuing his work. I need your help to put an end to it once and for all." Hunter listened intently as Dr. Gordon revealed that he had been tracking down leads, investigating new traps and victims, and had discovered a pattern that pointed to a new apprentice carrying on Jigsaw's twisted legacy. Dr. Gordon explained that he had been gathering a team of individuals who were dedicated to stopping Jigsaw's legacy once and for all, and he believed that Hunter's skills and knowledge could be invaluable in their mission. Hunter hesitated, knowing that getting involved would be dangerous and could potentially disrupt his life. But he also felt a sense of duty, knowing that he couldn't stand idly by while innocent people were subjected to Jigsaw's sadistic games. After much deliberation, Hunter agreed to join Dr. Gordon's team. He was determined to put an end to the horrors of Jigsaw's legacy once and for all, and he was willing to risk everything to achieve that goal. Little did he know that the journey ahead would be fraught with peril and challenges that would test his resolve to the core. But he was willing to do whatever it took to bring justice to the victims and finally put an end to Jigsaw's legacy for good.Hunter had been away from the bathroom for 10 long years, but he couldn't help but feel drawn back to the place where he had left Hoffman chained up. Despite knowing that the man who had continued Jigsaw's legacy was dead and gone, he still felt a sense of unease about the place. As he stepped inside the bathroom, Hunter was struck by how little had changed. The air was thick with the same musty scent and the silence was just as eerie as it had been 10 years ago. Hunter made his way over to the spot where he had left Hoffman all those years ago. The man was still there, his chains rusted and his body decayed. Hunter couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction at the sight of the decayed body of the man who had caused so much pain and suffering. But even as he stood there, looking down at the remains of his former enemy, Hunter knew that the battle against Jigsaw's legacy was far from over. There were still disciples out there, still carrying on the twisted legacy of the man who had caused so much pain and suffering. With a renewed sense of purpose, Hunter made a decision. He would continue to fight against Jigsaw's legacy, doing everything in his power to prevent innocent people from being subjected to the same horrors that he had endured. Though Hoffman may be dead and gone, the legacy of Jigsaw still lived on, and it was up to Hunter to put an end to it once and for all. Hunter couldn't shake off the curiosity about the other apprentices of John Kramer, also known as Jigsaw. Later that night, he paid a visit to Dr. Gordon's office, hoping to get some answers. As he sat across from Dr. Gordon, Hunter couldn't contain his curiosity any longer. "Dr. Gordon, I need to know. Who were the other apprentices of Jigsaw?" he asked, his voice filled with urgency. Dr. Gordon looked at Hunter with a somber expression. "There were others who followed in John's footsteps, who believed in his twisted philosophy," he said slowly. "Their names were Amanda Young, Mark Hoffman, and Logan Nelson." Hunter's eyes widened as he heard the names. Amanda Young, who had been Jigsaw's first apprentice and had carried out his gruesome tests with a fervent belief in his ideology. Mark Hoffman, who had taken up Jigsaw's mantle after his death and had continued the deadly games with his own twisted motives. And Logan Nelson, a forensic pathologist who had worked with John and had become his apprentice in his later years. Hunter felt a mix of shock and anger as he learned about the other apprentices. He knew that he would have to be wary of them, as they could still be out there, continuing Jigsaw's legacy in their own ways. He vowed to himself that he would stop them, no matter what it took. Dr. Gordon, seeing the determination in Hunter's eyes, offered him some advice. "Be careful, Hunter," he said solemnly. "The legacy of Jigsaw is powerful, and those who follow it are dangerous. But you have the chance to put an end to it once and for all." Hunter nodded, grateful for the information. He left Dr. Gordon's office with a renewed sense of purpose. He knew that he would have to be vigilant, always watching out for any signs of the other apprentices, and putting an end to their deadly games once and for all. The legacy of Jigsaw would not continue under his watch, and he was determined to make sure of it. Hunter and Amanda faced each other, both knowing the stakes were high. Amanda's eyes widened as Hunter lunged towards her, landing a swift punch that knocked her off her feet. She tried to fight back, but Hunter's relentless determination gave him the upper hand. He dodged her strikes and countered with precise moves, gradually wearing her down. With a final powerful blow, Hunter knocked Amanda out, and she crumpled to the ground, unconscious. He looked down at her, his expression devoid of any emotion. He knew that Amanda had been a willing participant in Jigsaw's deadly games, and she had caused immense pain and suffering to others. As Amanda regained consciousness, she found herself lying on the ground, restrained, with the reverse bear trap looming menacingly over her. She realized the irony of the situation - the trapper was now trapped. Hunter looked at Amanda with a cold stare. "How ironic, Amanda," he said, his voice filled with contempt. "The one who enjoyed setting traps for others is now caught in her own game." Amanda's eyes filled with fear as she realized the gravity of her situation. She desperately tried to free herself from the restraints, but it was futile. The trap was designed to be inescapable. Hunter watched the clock on the reverse bear trap as it began to tick down, the tension building with each passing second. He took a step back, his eyes fixed on Amanda. "Game over," he said, his voice unwavering, as the trap snapped shut, tearing into Amanda's jaw. She let out a blood-curdling scream, but it was too late. Hunter turned and walked away, leaving Amanda to her fate. As he disappeared into the shadows, he heard Amanda's sobs and screams echoing behind him. He felt a mix of emotions - relief that he had finally stopped her, and sorrow for the pain she had caused. But he knew that he had to continue his mission, to confront the remaining apprentices and put an end to the deadly games once and for all. With a determined resolve, Hunter vowed to carry on John Kramer's legacy in seeking justice, not revenge. He knew there were still others out there who needed to be stopped, and he was willing to do whatever it took to bring an end to the dark legacy of Jigsaw. s Hunter faced Logan, he couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction. He had come so far in his journey, from being a victim to becoming the one in control. He raised his gun, aiming it directly at Logan. Logan tried to plead with him, "Please, don't do this. We can still make things right." But Hunter wasn't interested in making things right. He pulled the trigger and Logan fell to the ground, bleeding out. As Logan grasped at Hunter, he managed to utter out, "Gordon is the one..." Hunter's eyes widened in surprise. Could it be true? Was Gordon the mastermind behind everything? He couldn't believe it. But he knew what he had to do. He left Logan there to die and headed straight to Gordon's office. As he entered the office, Gordon looked up, surprised to see him. "Hunter, what are you doing here?" Hunter didn't waste any time. "Logan told me everything. He said you were the one behind everything. The one pulling the strings." Gordon's face paled. "I don't know what you're talking about." Hunter wasn't convinced. He raised his gun, ready to take down Gordon if necessary. "I don't have time for your lies. Where is the evidence?" Gordon reluctantly handed over a file that contained all the details of his involvement in the Jigsaw murders. Hunter quickly scanned through it, confirming that Gordon was indeed the mastermind behind it all. With the evidence in hand, Hunter left the office, ready to bring Gordon to justice. He knew he had come a long way, and this was just the beginning of a new chapter in his life. But still had to get dr Lorance Gordan. As Hunter left Dr. Gordon's office, he felt a sense of relief wash over him. He had finally found closure and could move on from his past traumas. However, as he walked down the street, two figures in pig masks jumped him from behind. Hunter fought back with all his might, but they overpowered him, and one of them removed their mask. To Hunter's shock, the person underneath was someone he recognized: a childhood friend who he had lost touch with years ago. They had always been close, but Hunter had no idea what could have driven them to attack him now. Before Hunter could ask any questions, the other pig-masked figure injected him with a powerful sedative, and he began to feel himself slipping away. The last thing he heard was the words, "Game over," spoken by his former friend. As Hunter lost consciousness,
Hunter wakes up to find himself chained to the pipe in the bathroom. He looks around in confusion, wondering how he ended up here. Suddenly, the bright lights turn on and Hunter sees Adam, the man he thought he had killed years ago, standing in front of him. Adam reveals that he had been the one pulling the strings all along and that Hunter had failed his test. Hunter is angry and confused, demanding to know why he has been brought back to this place. But Adam simply smiles and begins walking towards the light and the door. Hunter tries to grab the saw, but Adam kicks him away and tells him that he doesn't get to make the rules. As Adam reaches the door, Hunter yells in anger and frustration. But Adam turns off the lights and says, "Game over." The metal sliding door slams shut

Edit: I appreciate everybody's comments on this thread, and have unspoilered it. I've both felt and heard a lot of frustration from new players over why so many traits and gear in my favorite live game is borked, and while I don't expect anything in this tread to be taken seriously, I appreciated discussing it with others.
I mostly play PvE, but spend time on every class in every mode, and training new players, have noticed a gap between translating what we learn in casual roaming, to the goals of builds in instanced PvE, PvP, and WvW. The goal of this is to identify themes in PvE, and what a role means through the lens of each attribute available on gear.
TL;DPremise:

• By creating PvE content defined by a combination of tasks each based on a different attribute, players can be educated on the importance of each attribute, make a greater assortment of gear prefixes be valued, increase build diversity, and be a framework for future challenges, elite specs, and core mechanics that go beyond "stack and whack" basics.
• Precision, as an 'activation' trait, should proc other effects than just crit damage more often, and more melee-based traits should communicate Ferocity as a proximity-reward effect over non-sniper ranged builds.
• Expertise should not just be limited to propping up Condition Damage, and could be the key to several non-damage challenges in game, while different enemy types should be explicitly vulnerable to specific damaging conditions.
• Toughness is awful and undermined by Protection, and could negatively impact incoming condition duration, not just strike damage, when interfacing with the right traits, or Protection could scale by 5% stacks for 5-6 stacks.
• Baseline healing and boon duration should be closer to zero without first building for Healing Power and Concentration, which should be their own roles, separate from one another.
• Different casual PvE events shouldn't be defeated by the exact same gear as everything else, and more professions should benefit from a wider variety of gear, and different gear sets than each other.
• Gear prefixes with different purposes should be found in specific, but not unique, places in the game, to promote maps and content that lack replay value.
• 4-stat gear often outperforms 3-stat gear by a wide margin, and Celestial even more than that. 4-stat gear should represent fulfilling multiple roles to a lesser extent, whereas 3-stat gear should perform one role greater, at the loss of every other role. It currently does not, outside of Berserkers, due to the relative weakness of every other attribute combo's roles.

GW2, for it's "departure" from the holy trinity, increasingly promotes it in instanced PvE, never introducing those elements to casual players, and ignoring many of the game's more unique technologies in favor of an extremely rigid meta that heavily discourages new players from pursuing endgame content. An enormous amount of dead traits, equipment prefixes, runes, sigils, and consumable utilities are dead in every game mode, with the devs more preoccupied with hammering down any outperformer that sticks it's head up, than the options that languish in quiet obscurity.
I feel I've seen a shift in open world and instanced PvE balance and design over the last several years, promoting bland, homogenized roles, traits that only serve to inflate numbers with %-increase modifiers rather than promote playstyle choices, blatant dismissal or misunderstanding of any fantasy themes associated with different professions and elites, and increasingly narrow ways to actually succeed at different events in the game, sacrificing choice and fun for efficiency and profit. Failing to communicate those endgame structures to players in the casual game famously leads to false confidence in their mastery, while also famously, shattering that confidence once attempting to enter high-end play, or even on travelling between maps designed many years apart, while "meta" gear ends up 30x the price of options on the lowest end.
I love Guild Wars 2 for having the strongest foundation in MMO buildcraft for personalization of build as any live game I've played. A huge array of diverse traits, component interactions, and playstyle distinctions between classes has kept me playing and exploring for 8 years. As our balance team becomes more and more meta-fixated, and fails to release a balance design philosophy document that could have fit on a PostIt note, I'd like to see a clarification in the intent of what different mechanics and gear is meant to accomplish in this game, even such that the pieces slowly fall into place over time without an immediate, dramatic rework.
Were GW2 to shift to recognize each attribute as a genuine gameplay mechanic, and communicate those mechanics to the casual audience more often and at a lower level, it would grant the designers a foundation from which to design content that harnesses specific challenges, and grant the players of the game confidence in their build, as well as flexibility in purpose, when approaching said challenges for the first time.
(Extra: GW2 isn't the most complicated attribute/trait/boon system, but the game does literally nothing to teach those basics. An UI option to see a breakdown of where stats are coming from, by source, and what impact it's having on each attribute, and how many points are needed for a +1% increase, would be an across the board fix to communicate these systems to players. )
>>>Power:

• As a game where inflicting damage is everything, it makes sense for Power to be the most common attribute, used for inflicting instantaneous damage. However, Power converts to many different attributes in traits, which further reinforces it's dominance, as opposed to promoting diversity. Cleaning up which weapons have damaging conditions, controlling conditions, utilities, boon effects, or trait interactions would better clarify when they're intended to be used, and better communicate a niche: examples include Thief and Ranger MH sword and Willbender OH sword, Dragonhunter longbow, and Guardian scepter, or Daredevil staff. (This isn't to say these things aren't used, especially in PvP, just that in PvE, they're complained about.) If Power is a role, it should reflect in fewer abilities, that inflict higher damage, on longer cooldown, paired with skills that set up or recover them: Ranger's Hilt Bash > Maul, Guardian's Banish > Mighty Blow, and Gunslinger's Gunstinger > Dragon's Roar are excellent examples of this. Additionally, ANet once stripped the damage from disables for purity of purpose; instead, defiance damage on strike-damage weapon skills scale with Power, either passively or with a trait. Traits that increase damage against defiant enemies create a value against bosses, but only to skip the interaction wholesale, and without a distinguishing niche for damage output, powercreep becomes inevitable, as Power damage and Condition damage compete against each other.
• Challenges communicating a Power objective should mostly be a DPS races, with defiant enemies or hordes. If expected to die quickly, there should be a greater emphasis on keeping them coming, or keeping them protected a defiant veteran.

>>>Precision: (a big one)

• When a game that includes critical hits grants so much extra chance that you can critcap and beyond, balance gets incredibly skewed. Such is the case with GW2, especially since without Ferocity, crit damage is often meh. On condi DPS builds, Precision is often crucial for both activating conditions, as well as converting to the attribute. This would suggest Precision has a role of "special activation" rather than explicitly damage, and if so, it could be combined with other builds as well:
• Precision+Ferocity already sees heavy use, for good reason. It has ample tech and gearing options.
• Precision+Healing Power: healing or barrier on crit, either AoE or on self, could be a way to 'gate' builds with access to both, especially frontline assault builds like Spellbreaker, Willbender, Daredevil, Scrapper, Soulbeast, Vindicator, and Weaver. Revenant's Battlescars could trigger on crit, but be worse without Healing Power instead of better, and Elementalist's Healing Ripple could proc on crit, not just on attuning to Water. "Barrier on crit" traits would both help reign in blown-out tech on Mechanist, and grant some extra benefits to Scourge, while increasing the diversity of both, and heal-on-crit traits would help differentiate heal-Vindicator from other Revenant heal options, and better reflect Alliance's "fusion of DPS and healing" identity. Zealot's, Marshal's, Seraph's, and Magi's gear see use in WvW, but could see renewed purpose this way.
• Precision+Conditions: Applying conditions on crit is very reasonable for hybrid-DPS builds, but by making cDPS builds rely on it for their damage, Vipers has become oppressive in gearing a cDPS for the last 8 years, as the only source of both Expertise and Precision. More traits that pit "extra condition damage and duration" against "more applications, on crit" could help distinguish the difference.
• Precision+Expertise: Applying controlling conditions on crit, like cripple or chill or slow, creates some very intriguing debuff builds. Paired with traits that could trigger on "application of a non-damaging conditions" would make Necromancers, Mesmers, Rangers, Engineers, Thieves, or ice/stone Elementalist become very real control casters in competitive play. The Bringers' attribute set, with Expertise/precision/vitality sees no use, but becomes interesting for this purpose.
• Precision+Concentration: More traits and weapons that grant additional boons on crit instead of by default, or "If X boon is already present, apply [other boon] instead" effects like Specter's Well of Bounty or Sorrow, would help give Concentration a secondary attribute to balance out and diversify what Booncasters do, compared to feverishly mashing utilities off cooldown, with quickness and alacrity casters being the obvious winners here. Use of Commander's or Seraphs would go back up, instead of just Diviner's or Ritualist's.
• Promoting Precision in an event would involve durable champions in some way. Precision/Ferocity builds would chip health down much more effectively, and Precision/Expertise builds would assist in controlling the enemy. That said, Precision could easily take a role in just about any team-wide content that involves striking quickly and often to proc the various effects.

>>>Toughness: (a big one)

• The least popular attribute in the game, despite making up a sizeable chunk of our available gear options, Toughness is simple in concept: the more you have, the more durable you are. What shocks would-be tanks and bruisers is how completely invisible it is, requiring 100 Toughness for 1% damage reduction instead of 15 like other attributes, few traits that rely on or interact with Toughness, tanking with it having no role outside of 1/3 of raid bosses, and condition damage cutting through it like butter.
• What's worse, it's Concentration that enables protection uptime of a whopping 33% damage reduction (40% on Tempest or shield Engi) on up to 5 players simultaneously, requiring 3-stat, Toughness priority heavy armor, good food, a utility, and Rune of the Dolyak to match just for a single target.
• Recommendation 1: Convert protection to a stacking boon, at 5% per stack for a maximum of 5 stacks, and Hardy Conduit and Over Shield granting 7% per stack instead. If paired with "Gain extra Protection uptime based on a percentage of your Toughness", this would create a more appropriate role for booncasters to use stats like Giver's or Minstrel's, but also Commander's, Vigilant, and Wanderer's, as a "caster tank" identity instead of Harrier's.
• Recommendation 2: Make more traits and skills that have a flat damage reduction value also scale with and improve the effect of Toughness, the way healing skills do. Elementalist's Elemental Shielding could grant extra damage reduction on all auras based on a percentage of your Toughness, and Rite of the Great Dwarf could grant additional duration based on Toughness investment.
• Recommendation 3?: A trait that grants additional Taunt duration based on a percentage of your Toughness would be an interesting way to bring the tanking expected in other MMOs into PvE, which could be easily split for reduced effectiveness in PvP and WvW.
• Recommendation 4: Either as a core mechanic, but more likely as a trait, grant a 1% reduction in incoming condition duration for each point of 15 Toughness above baseline, as a counter-stat to Expertise. This would only confirm Toughness and heavy armor as durable tanks in the game, but grant another role in pulling conditions off of allies to snuff out on themselves, such as Necromancer, Guardian's Save Yourselves, Rev's Pain Absorption, and Specter's Hungering Darkness. This would combo with, but not displace resolution and resistance boons, in the same way as how Toughness doesn't displace protection. Prefixes such as Crusader's, Knight's, Cavalier's, Nomad's, Settlers, Givers, and Trailblazer's, Cleric's, and Apothecary's are all great for heal-tank builds as well.
• When indicated as a role in PvE, Toughness should involve a lot of sudden or prolonged threats, and if tied to reduced condi duration, regular condition application in groups. Dangerous traps, or an environment that applies conditions over time, would be repelled by anyone who has better armor and defenses, and the overall nerf to protection as a boon would means that proper healing, blocking, dodging, and relocation are all made more important. Making more protection events (example: civilian escort in Dragon's End south) grant the target Toughness and make enemies focus whoever's got the highest, would both reward Toughness in the open world, as well as introduce the concept to players outside of raids.

>>>Vitality:

• Simple: more +VIT, more health. There needs to be some purity of purpose, however, where traits granting Vitality should be a distinct tanking/front-liner option, or have traits that convert their Vitality into other, more thematic attributes; various alchemical effects make sense, as does Necromancer's manipulation of life forces and Ranger's Wilderness Survival, but Guardian Power of the Virtuous, Force of Will, and Imbued Haste, and Virtuoso Quiet Intensity, are questionable sources, especially given their other effects and themes. Specter's Strength of Shadows feels custom-made for Ritualist's, not just a convenient coincidence, since it doubles or even triples up on different technologies and build requirements, while Plaguedoctor's, Shaman's, and Sentinal's all fail to see use by comparison.
• Should Vitality be considered a role, having a Vitality challenge would mean enemies strike hard and often, in a way that having less than a certain amount of health could put you on the floor. This may be through strike damage, possibly after a knockdown or disable, or repeatedly applied damaging conditions, or fights with a strong opening strike, requiring either high Vitality, or barrier application to survive for those first few seconds. Alternatively, an applied debuff that prevents the player from receiving health for a period of time would be a great test of their Vitality.

>>>Ferocity:

• A UI element showcasing the end value of a critical hit on weapon and skill tooltips would help describe the value of this attribute at a glance.
• While not necessarily overpowered, the prevalence of "easy, ranged DPS" from pre-nerf Mechanist shows that providing effects at range while avoiding risk proves to be optimal for many players. While Ferocity is useless without Precision, it also lacks a theme on it's own. I'd propose to marry the two, and make a better effort in communicating Ferocity advantages to melee-range attacks, and high-impact snipers. Some features already reflect this, such as Warrior's Axe Mastery, enhancing the melee-range axe, and Spellbreaker's dagger AA chain granting better crit damage, though that's more aligned with Precision. When aligned with ranged builds, it should promote low-firerate, single-shot attacks to promote a skill-sniper mechanic. For now though, prefixes like Valkyrie's and Crusaders should be more appealing to arcane Elementalist, Spellbreaker, and Renegade, who have high innate crit chance, but who often end up adhering to the same Berserker's meta.
• Including Ferocity as a role in a scenario would likely mean high-stakes combat in a close-quarters space, inside a room or hallway, or otherwise have some kind of barrier or line-of-sight obstacle that discourages trying to take potshots from a 'safe' distance. Once combat is met, high-Ferocity fighters should clean house very quickly, perhaps as a result of a short window of high vulnerability to crit damage, such as Exposed.

>>>Healing Power:

• As the third role of "Damage, Boons, and Healing" described by ANet's PvE design philosophy, healing is a bit scuffed. While true that in instanced play, healing can be useful, it fails to see any meaningful interpretation in casual play, with only "do or die" scenarios in instanced and competitive reflecting your investments. Futher, while DPS can be a single role, neither Boons nor Healing are a desirable single role in PvE play, and trait and weapon interactions as a "Heal DPS" are slim to none.
• When not supported by a backline healer, assault classes can take healing to supplement themselves, and do so in PvP and WvW. But this is mostly the result of taking DPS tech, and Healing tech, with no crossover between them. Fast-moving, selfish assault units like Revenant (battlescars and Vindicator), sword Weaver, Willbender, and various forms of Thief, all have insanely low multipliers to their healing skills, or features that don't scale with Healing Power at all, such that investing in the stat when you already get the skill's full effects is meaningless. (Battlescars' healing multiplier is 0.006, and even less in competitive. With maximum Healing Power, runes, and tapioca pudding, on Devestation/Salvation Vindicator below half health, that means you can only squeeze an extra 13.4 extra health per strike out of Healing Power scaling alone. If the healing done by battlescars was a serious problem in competitive play, the solution should have been to nerf the base healing to essentially zero, and crank the multiplier to reward gear investment, not crash the multiplier to rely on the unmodifiable base heal instead).
• Despite the "no holy trinity" mentality, Heal Warrior is the domain of memes, and despite the incredible cheese potential of Scourge, as an actual healer with Blood Magic, it leaves some things to be desired. The regeneration boon is often the only consistent source of personal or group healing over time, and sometimes scales more than twice as powerfully as other skills or passives with healing attached, all while inflated by Concentration, which is just ye olde "Boon Healer" raising it's head again.
• Given how Healing Power begins at a base of 0, if healing skills received a significant buff to their multipliers, especially on single-target or self-healing skills, while hammering down their base values, perhaps 'group healer' may actually get an opportunity to breathe in PvE, the way the devs like to pretend it does. If this is tied into Precision's special-trigger identity, gear such as Magi's and Seraph would have a use as well, and if battlescars only inflicted their lifesteal on a crit, or Elementalist's Healing Ripple caused AoE heals on a critical hit, there would be a very real incentive to put Healing Power in the hands of front-line fighters, and not just in the back row of people who have Concentration and who are providing other boons.
• If a scenario was described with the Healing Power role, then there would likely be prolonged exposure to a damaging effect, such as a smog or psychic ripple, as the party rushes around to solve puzzles or explore zones. Or, a space where the party is expected to split up, and be responsible for their own healing for a time. Or a measurement of raw, single-target healing, such as granting a bonus reward for every 1 million healing done to the Forever Tree in Echovald while the Brotherhood tries to destroy it.

>>>Condition Damage:

• The UI should reflect both how much damage a skill does per second AS WELL as across the full duration of it's lifetime, to help get a feeling for the moment-by-moment effects in shorter fights.
• With five different damaging conditions at variable accessibility on the nine different professions and 27 elite specs, it can be extremely difficult to balance all cDPS roles against each other, especially if they aren't bringing some kind of other value to the team. Enemies succumbing to wounds wipes their conditions with them, which should make bosses the go-to target for condition builds, but many bosses phase, drop their conditions, and lose flow. Some bosses with higher Toughness, an unconfirmable stat, may make cDPS more effective than pDPS, but there is never any way to know that.
• My first proposal would be that different, specific enemies have telegraphed vulnerabilities to one or more conditions: "burning destroys plants and undead" is always a popular one, but few enemies, if any, have this effect. Torment should have extra effect on spellcasters and ghosts, while bleeding and poison should have extra effect on beefier, beastlike enemies. Confusion is fine, since it already has an identity against enemies that make many attacks at a time. Destroyers used to be immune to burning, and frankly, the game was better for it, if only to shake things up your approach a bit with a "not effective absolutely everywhere" attitude.
• Second, a trait in professions that predominantly rely on long-duration conditions, like poison and bleeding, granting extra stacks if over the threshold. "Stack if stacks" traits would help with ramp-up during fights where those durations actually matter, without infringing on the ability of hybrid-dps and pDPS to deal damage quickly.
• This wouldn't all be so bad (just requires an affirmation of intention), if Expertise wasn't so monumentally instrumental in propping up competitive cDPS, and had it's own identity. Plus, due to the lack of a proper 3-stat "Berserkers for condi" prefix, the cDPS game has revolved around Viper's for the last 8 years, as the only attribute prefix with both Condition Damage, Precision, and Expertise. Grieving gear and Sinister should have been fantastic for burning hybrid-dps, Trailblazer's for tank-dps, Seraph for heal-dps, and Ritualist's for boon-DPS, but Viper's is so overwhelmingly useful on every single profession in the game, that there is very little reason to pursue these gear sets if you don't have to, leading to gear costs 30x higher Berserkers on average.
• Fights promoting Condition Damage challenges simply mean a single boss, that doesn't use invulnerability phases to drop applied conditions. It would discourage Power damage by moving around a lot, using blocks and reflects, or pulsing damage in a small AoE around it. Additionally, it could communicate that it is either vulnerable to a specific condition, or could be once it's shield or armor was broken, or interact with specific conditions, such as healing over time, but cleansing poison and taking damage each time it does so instead.

>>>Concentration:

• A nightmare attribute, Concentration is responsible for every single Poweoffense boon, Healing/defense boon, and quickness/alacrity support boon in the game. It lacks personal identity as a Booncaster, due to the insistence on going halfies with DPS or Healing, often with no tangible downside on the latter, and with Harrier's, Ritualist's, and Diviner's, gear doesn't offer a mechanical downside to filling the role either.
• Many boons in the game suffer from incredibly short durations, making Concentration lose effectiveness as a %-duration increase, and the ones that have long durations suffer "set and forget" issues as a gameplay loop. Boons are so pivotal to the balance meta right now that none deny that boons are desirable or even crucial to group performance, but granting boons often ends up being a tiresome, thankless job, requiring you to fill out your bar with extremely specific utilities, and mash your boon-generators on cooldown, rather than engage with the mechanics in any interesting way.
• While many self-boons are reasonable for having longer durations, for the sake of the 'Booncaster' role, skills and traits that apply their boons to 5 targets need to have their durations axed by more than half in most cases while boosting Concentration to a +1% duration per 10 points threshold instead, and a real focus in creating traits that increase SPECIFIC boon durations. 1) If Warrior banners all granted quickness for 1s, but Doubled Standards said "Skills that apply quickness to more than one target have their baseline durations increased by 4s", then it would promote warhorn use as well, and create a synergy with Roaring Reveille. 2) Ranger's Nature's Vengeance should grant an extremely short, but different boon whenever you activate each spirit, such as aegis, resistance, resolution, and stability, while Ranger should have a separate trait that grants alacrity to any target you apply a boon to who already has that boon, for 3s once every 5 seconds. This would still promote spirit use for each unique effect, but free Ranger to use other methods of applying boons, such as commands while using Resounding Timbre, Healing Spring, Signets while under Brutish Seals, and pets that grant boons in a wide area, while also allowing for options during solo play. A trait granting Catalyst spheres the ability to pulse their boon whenever you perform a combo or use an Augment within their radius would be huge to promote play of other Ele options, and Harbinger granting quickness, 3s every 5s, whenever a skill affects 5 or more allies would see use of Well of Power, Blood is Power, staff Mark of Blood, and minions to boost the number of receiving targets in low-pop spaces, ON TOP OF a variety of elixir options, rather than "group quickness during shroud" trait by default.
• Concentration as a role in content would probably require the team to split up for long periods of time, such that the more duration you have, the longer you can benefit from the effects, until you can safely return to your healer or boon-giver. Moving ground hazards and social-distancing mechanics that discourage group stacking for very long would also enable this, as would regular knockdown tremors and debuff conditions, promoting stability and resistance uptime.

>>>Expertise:

• My favorite, Expertise only serves to prop up cDPS, but could define the role of a "debuff and control"-caster. Many non-damaging conditions last either too short to benefit from Expertise investment at all, or so insanely long that Expertise isn't necessary, and on the damaging side, only sees fruit in fights long enough to matter, with conditions being dropped whenever bosses phase or change locations.
• Like Concentration, should baseline condition duration be axed and Expertise boosted to +1% per 10 points, and more traits to amplify the effects and durations of SPECIFIC conditions, and striking foes with these conditions, a greater investment in debuff-casting and buildcraft could see value. Traited or baseline amplification in the defiance damage inflicted by specific conditions could also see more use in PvE, and compete with Powestrike CC. Additionally, Expertise NEEDS to be on more prefixes in the game, with an embarrassing number of options that all fall away when faced with the dominance of Viper's. As control-casters, more prefixes that offer Expertise, but not Concentration, would help promote this.
• Rangers should be using mud, thorns, and conditions earned in Trapper's Expertise and specific pet effects to be hit-and-run guerilla fighters using Taste for Danger. WateEarth Elementalists should be chilling with ice and entombing in stone with increases to Chill and Immobilize durations. Necromancers should be the dark beacon from which the land and people suffer debilitating curses, instead of INSANE vulnerability application but only Decimate Defenses as a way to benefit from it. Thieves have no trait or gear interaction with preparation skills, and could apply a unique condition for each trap, and Dragonhunter actively competes with itself between it's trap trait, Piercing Light, and Dulled Senses, which inflicts cripple on disable. Even a trait, "Traps/preparations increase duration/pulses when activated based on your Expertise" would reinforce the role of control artist.
• Using Expertise as a role in content design would likely mean the single boss in Condition Damage, but ideally, side-tasks encouraging NON-damaging conditions. Snowblind fractal's ice elementals run to try to put the bonfire out, Gorseval's ghosts needing to be immobilized long enough to prevent them from hitting the boss in the middle, and Rigom in the Samarog fight, are all good examples of this application.

With these roles defined, each attribute combination becomes not just a build type, but a distinct element of encounter design. Simply select two sets of 2-3 different attributes, combine them together, and you have a meaningful encounter:

• The front gate of the Ascalon Fractal sees many enemies together (Power), with a constantly occurring arrow barrage (Healing Power and Toughness), boiling oil (burning, healing again but could be solved with the Toughness %-reduction), and a champion guarding the gate (Precision, Ferocity).
• A boss that's immune to projectiles (Ferocity), but which sheds extremely damaging conditions (Vitality, Healing Power, and %-down Toughness), would mean an active decision between how many DPS, healers, self-heals, and boons are necessary to win. Boneskinner comes close to this, only undermined by the fact that cheesing the torches wasn't the intention of the dev team.
• A Healing Power + Vitality + Toughness +Expertise fight where the boss will die after a 5-minute chase sequence requiring you to jump through an obstacle course while you slow it down would require ENTIRELY different technologies to win than most players are capable of spinning today. Spirit Vale's Spirit Run could have been this, but instead, was limited to a series of DPS checks against walls, and the River of Souls is instead steeped in cheese mechanics and demands for superspeed and stability.
• A Power + Precision + Expertise fight, where the boss gains Exposed for 2 seconds before inflicting a devastating blow, but who's Exposed state can be drawn out with additional time based on the defiance-damage inflicted by non-damaging conditions, would require several control artists to debuff the boss, long enough and often enough for the DPS to take it down. Disable builds already enable this, in a way, but Defiance Bars completely invalidate the non-damaging aspects of Expertise without insane durations at the moment.

An obstacle with "Attribute as rewarding roles in encounter design" is our gear options themselves. 4-stat prefixes, despite being advertised at first as slightly-less min-max-y but more diverse prefix than 3-stat gear, has a staggering advantage over said 3-stat gear with it's current values, and Celestial even more than that, despite it's "jack of all trades" array. While many of these proposals could be done without disrupting metas too badly, I would honestly, personally, recommend:
1) lowering the stats associated with 4-stat and Celestial gear, even by 5% total, to help 3-stat gear, which is infinitely more narrow in application, stronger and more specialized for purpose.
2) make a real, concerted effort to introduce 3-stat prefixes for 'missing' combos, such as a CondiDMG/precision/expertise prefix, and balancing cDPS around that as standard, rather than Viper's as default.
3) changing which stat conversions exist on which professions, how, and increasing what % they take from other, less ideal attributes, to mean that the exact same prefixes aren't the "best in slot meta" on every single profession, and encourage use of the other 33 less-represented stat combos.
Nadijeh's Marshal gear (PoweHeal, precision/condi), Thackeray's Seraph gear (Precision/Condi, concentration/healing), Ruka's Wanderer gear (PoweVitality, toughness/concentration), Ossa's Crusader gear (PoweToughness, ferocity/healing) (bizarre, ferocity tank with no precision), Laranthir's Vigilant gear (PoweToughness, concentration/expertise), Tizlak's Commander gear (PowePrecision, toughness/concentration) (again a crit-tank with no ferocity), and many 3-stat gear from launch fails to see use, or be reflected in the buildcraft, by any profession in any game mode, as a mix of healing, toughness, and other stats.
Much of this is exacerbated by the fact that stat-selectable gear is so readily available, with every single stat an option. Gearing a new build has turned from what used to be, at minimum, an excuse to run certain dungeons or farm Heart of Thorns, and devolved into a fairly meaningless scramble to grab up stat-select gear from any source, select either Berserker's, Viper's, Harrier's, Diviner's, Ritualist's, or Celestial, and sigh in relief as you ignore the game's 32 other options. (Not that all those are ignored, I'm just being facetious, but easily 90% of all online builds use the above 6 options, and those are the ones that are going to be pushed the hardest.)
I'd like to open discussion:

1. Should there be a stronger initiative to get different professions to use different gear, or should all professions benefit identically from the same prefix options and attributes?
2. Should more archetypes and build fantasies benefit from gear, such as trap duration off Expertise, or should gear not matter for playstyle as much?
3. Do you think stat-selectable gear a good thing, or should more gear be available from either different zones, or from different content? For example, high-durability gear looted by roaming open world, or "PvE meta" gear looted from fractals, strikes, and raids, and open-world champions and meta-event bosses?
4. Should 4-stat and Celestial be nerfed, or 3-stat buffed, in order to make them more appealing, or create more 3-stat specialized gear such as a 3-stat "Berserkers for condi"? Should Vipers be the baseline prefix for cDPS balance?
5. If more PvE content started to use a greater variety of challenges, other than just "hit big monster make big numbers go up more", would you be excited to experiment with different gear setups, in order to be better prepared for the challenges of each encounter? Or, do you prefer having a small number of loadouts, that can handle any and all content in the game?