Author: Lily Ross

So… If someone ever were to tell me they never spent more than at least five minutes on a character customization file, then I’m calling you a liar.

When it comes to video games, Dungeons and Dragons, characters I own I can get pretty technical down to their every design. I don’t know why but whenever I see a really advanced and technical character customization screen come up (and I mean you’re changing this whole character’s BONE structure) I swear I light up like a Christmas tree. 

A lot of my most well developed characters that I use in my writing activities also get thoroughly detailed descriptions. Their clothes, the way their hair is styled, if they have leather straps on their boots. All the technical designs you normally wouldn’t think about, I do and It’s NON-STOP. When designing my characters I don’t just simply start with a shirt, pants, and a pair of shoes. I go literally loophole diving in multiple different eras. I’ll stick my nose anywhere if there’s so much as a spectacle of good fashion or something I can use and turn it into a character significant stylistic taste. 

I really like taking from real world History designs, because we don’t really have anything else to refer to. I’ll even mix era fashion, [I mean its history, worst case scenario they come alive and smack me over the head.] Some of the older historic fashion designs actually pair really well with some of the newer designs. The French and the Victorian Era and maybe some of the Renaissance and dare I say Greeks and The Romans (Danny-stay seated) have also really well-developed fashion taste. But again, It’s all about the timing of the era. Some of the more royal and noble clothing some higher-class pedestrians would wear just would look silly. It’s more of the fabrics and materials used in the clothes that makes it so high coin, not the design. 

I mean come on… 

I don’t want my characters looking like that…. Lord Farquaad got it handled…

The point is, there’s no actual fun for me in just being stuck in one era, and this is why it takes me FOREVER just to design a character on a simple piece of notebook paper. I think of literally everything. Weight, Height, Age, skin types, skin color, moles?, Teeth, smell, accent, dialect, and I’m not even remotely close to what I consider “Halfway” done with character designing.

But when it comes to video game characters, I’m limited, which helps it keeps me from diving down another rabbit hole.

Now I’m not saying you HAVE to spend that much time on a character, I do it by accident mostly I just get locked in too quickly, but it’s good to do, just make sure your notes and paper or clear and eligible. 

Hello everyone, I have a particularly new idea for a blog this time. As the title suggests, I have a  birthday Idea for my mother and this idea involves including the literary department. 

My mother has been a big inspiration in my life and my future desires. She’s been the vision at the end of every dark tunnel I’ve taken. She’s also the main reason I decided to attend MSA. 

In return, I’ve told her all about MSA and what has been going on since August. She’s heard all about you guys (all good things of course) and told me how much happier I look with you guys compared to my old school.

So, if it isn’t too much of a task for any of you.  This can be done at any time at any given point, even after her birthday:

February 9th is my mothers birthday, she will be turning fifty-one. I would like to buy a bouquet of flowers for my mother and stick small cards throughout the bouquet wishing my mother a happy birthday and some smaller treats with it. 

My mother loves jokes and sweet things. 

I’m not asking any of you to go out into the wilds and spend money, Lord no. You can make the card on your own, decorate It, bedazzle it, do what you want with it. Nor am I asking any of you to spend money on treats unless YOU want to. 

Some of her favorite things are:

• Sour stuff. (Sour Icebreaker mints, Sour Patch kids.) 
• Canterbury Eggs (It’s a chocolate egg with filling) [She keeps a stash of em] 
• Gift cards. (Starbuck or Amazon) 
• Chex mix. 

THE CHALLENGE: 

Inside your cards, if you have enough room or even on the back or front, I would like you guys, to challenge the literary department, write a small free verse poem about some of your favorite things about mothers, how you feel when around yours, or how they make you feel, or anything that comes to mind. 

As I said, she’s my biggest inspiration in this world and the main reason I decided ultimately to attend MSA. So, in return I want to bring some of it to her.  

The wound in being held back doesn’t scar the age, but the mind and behavior.

I often find myself adrift to these emotions that come and go between fleets

Docked at the harbor, they’re sailboats with tied masts, whilst I drift further away. Perhaps I subconsciously let it happen or was it the confession that masks their willingness to converse with me? 

The bond broke two, yet only one was still tied. 

Mapping these seas, I’ve sailed for nearly thirteen years. Countless of times I have endured the aftermath, storm that follows rejection. Their looks, their quiet responses, the silent distance. 

But a bruised ship has a hardened hull.

The stronger titanium of change after every reckoning.

I do not simply wish to remain idle and expect a sudden sunshine and gusts of wind to blow them to my side.

I can dock, I can read the pools in their eyes, their otherworldly waters filled with unspoken words. 

I will not sink because of one measly iceberg when there had been three others just like it with the same proclamation. The same number of familiars and more.

Because through a storm comes warmer, newer waters, waters that some sails and hulls can’t bear unless put together. 

The white, beautiful sails of youth will be lost. So many holes and tears it has had in my lifetime.

By the date in April, when the clock strikes 12:01 a.m. The mark of the sixteenth day, I’ll raise my black sails and sail away to the new and unchartered waters in the night beneath the nose of others. 

After all, the life of an adult is much colder…

If you are familiar with the name above the you may be familiar with the Bible but also the Netflix series show, Lucifer. 

This show is one of the most outstanding, thrilling, romantical and tear-jerker series I have ever seen. I’ve watched all six seasons three times with season three being the longest, but I can’t help but love the dynamic of the Relationships between Lucifer, his family, his therapist and Chloe Dekker.

Lucifer, otherwise known as the Devil, has led himself on this journey in believing his father, GOD, was manipulating him in ways he couldn’t explain. From rebelling against him to then ascending the throne of Hell as Hells warden then to his time in Las Angeles California or otherwise known as the “City of Angels.” with his demon associate later turned best friend Mazekien, or Maze. By the sudden unfortunate events involving the death of a popstar named Delilah, Lucifer is set on a man hunt for the people who had hurt his friend. 

(Fun fact about Lucifer: He grants favors and never lies, literally, telling people he’s the Devil goes way over their heads, but most importantly Lucifer always helped those in need, like Delilah) 

This disaster sets Lucifer in Chloe Dekkers investigation; the fated lovers were from then on inseparable. 

(I mean come on, look at how he’s looking at her!!!)

You will have to watch for yourself how Lucifer grows from the self-centered man-child to this newfound man with a calling and an amazing future. Not many would guess it would take a single homicide detective and the LAPD, heck it wouldn’t have been an option really. 

It’s something about shows that really slowly brings the main protagonist into a new light that really makes me giggle and kick my feet (metaphorically of course-kind of.)  because it’s a journey, and on top of that, with this show you also get to play detective. 

Lucifer learns a bit about himself and his situational relationships with everyone and everything around him with every case. Sometimes they’re small but sometimes they’re extraordinary. And what’s crazy is that he falls first. 

It’s a very cute and absolutely hilarious show but I will warn you and can get kind of R-rated but it’s just small pop-up moments, not actually graphic. 

I can not express myself enough how much I love this book. I want to steal Homers mind and study it but sadly the man was way before our time back in BCE sooo….

What I love about the Odyssey so much is that there are lessons from every encounter Odysseus, the main protagonist of this story, learns and how much he’s willing to sacrifice and go to get back home to his wife Penelope and his son, Telemakus or in todays translation; Telemachus. 

Most of you may be familiar with he Musical adaptation by Jorge Rivera-Herrans and his commission of casts for all the amazing characters that in the Greek times were considered their gods that they worshipped and some of the men that Odysseus sailed with and who he was commissioned by. 

How many of you who are currently Reading this are familiar with the Trojan War? 

Do you remember the giant Horse? The Trojan Horse? 

Odysseus was the one who composed this idea and arranged for a sequence of events and if you’re a fan of the musical, you’ll recognize the horse on the cover of the album named: The Troy Saga. 

The main story follows with Telemachus wanting to know the whereabouts of Odysseus who hasn’t return after the war for some time. Suitors have come from the kingdom of Ithaka(Ithaca) for Penelope’s hand and the old kings spoils. 

The Odyssey is a cautionary tale of pride but many things about the Odyssey and more specifically Odysseus and most of them are towards his misfortunes with the witch goddess Circe and goddess Kalypso (Calypso) 

In order of events, Odysseus is trying to get home and takes pride in himself and disregards his mentors judgement, Athena, the goddess of wisdom. Bestowing upon himself that he didn’t need her and went against her judgment when confronting Polyphemus, the Cyclops and told the Cyclops his true name. (he had blinded the cyclops and told him his name was Nobody,) This caused Athena to leave and Odysseus was then alone without a guide and had only his own wits to guide him and his crew. He meets another god after a storm on the sea. The wind god Aeolus, who gives Odysseus the wind bag with the storm inside to sail home with clear skies, but he only ever told Odysseus. This outcome drives his crew to wonder what was inside the wind bag and greed overcame them, but it was Odysseus who didn’t tell them. If he had, maybe they wouldn’t have opened the wind bag. The wind sails them to the isle of Aeaea, where Circe is. This is where a lot of the hate comes from towards Odysseus. Circe upon their arrival turned his men into pigs, in order to get them back Hermes helps Odysseus with a magic root (moly) to overpower Circe. IN FEAR AND SUGGESTION Circe attempts to SEDUCE Odysseus who refuses to be corecorced. This infatuated her and drove her to have love for him. So to save his men, Odysseus committed to sleeping with her. 

Keep in mind, he’s trying to get home and has no feelings for this woman what so ever and in comfort of what Circe provides his crew afterwards for a year making them stay but not as prisoners, When Odysseus finally asked her to leave she directs him to the Underworld to see the dead prophet Tiresias. 

This is where I will stop for now, but let me explain Circes and Odysseus situation. 

Circle has a love for a man who can suddenly resist her magic, and he is a man trying to save his men and get home to his wife. WIFE. Odysseus is many things but it’s throughout the story of the Odyssey you will see he really only, truy, harbours love for his wife Penelope and son Telemachus. 

Since Odysseus had to engage in a night with Circe to save his men, he didn’t really have a choice to willingly sleep with her and she made them stay for a year to be comforted from war. 

Some key details that INDICATE what happens in the book are in the musical, hidden within lyrics but wont go overboard in full force telling what has happened. Think of Epic more as a pg-13 film where the Odyssey in a WHOLE with all little details included would be rated R. 

I’m going to end it here, but what do you think? Was Odysseus right for wanting to stay and save his men? 

Also, again, please not that Epic the musical is not entirely accurate in action but subtle hints to those who have read the book (And hopefully this blog) will understand in the lyrics. 

I will make a new blog about similar Lyrics and the out comes of the book and how they link. 

I’m feeling a bit under the weather today so I’, going to make this as brief as possible since really there isn’t much to cover with menus and levels. 

MENUS:

What I mean by “Menus” is the necessity navigational outlets that will help you find things quicker. For instance, BESTIARAY is under the menu called Bestiary. While books that you also collect on The Path of a Witcher is under the Books menu OR one of the categories in your equipment menu. You’d have to see that for yourself if you wish to play the game, the tutorial walks you through equipment nav. 

Now when you first load in, you will see different options depending on which game version you have. For instance, the complete edition of The Witcher 3; The Wild Hunt, includes two side stories 

Heart of Stone

Blood and Wine. 

These two stories are an extension for Geralt’s lore, more so Blood and Wine than Hearts of stone. If you have not played the game or if you have, whichever is the case the game itself offers you a chance to play the stories separately from the main story. Jumping you right into the beginning of the DLC I believe. I have not actually started the DLC stories separately myself. 

I cannot say for sure if they put you in the appropriate approximate level but if you don’t want the complete conclusion of the entire Witcher lore to end, I don’t recommend starting Blood and Wine yet. 

You will also find the game difficulty setting based on easiest to hardest and then of course New Game + where you keep all of your equipment, but the game is automatically harder.

LEVELS:

THIS IS IMPORTANT!

Levels exist for a reason in every game, while some try to beat a boss while severely under level and can win, this game WILL NOT let you do that without stress. Remember what I said about equipment and tools? It’s for this exact reason.

There will be bounties or rather known as Contracts you will find all throughout the cities you travel too. You won’t know the level until you navigate to your bounty drop down menu through your quest’s menu.

IF YOU SEE A GIANT RED SKULL ON THE SIDE OF THAT BOUNTY DO NOT ENGAGE THAT BOUNTY YET.

I kid you not guys, The monsters you will fight in this game are as realistic as they can get with modern tech today, or during their time in when the game released. (2020 or 2022 I can’t remember)

They will kill you in one hit or knock you down to a sliver of one health left. Now if you’re brave and willing to live on the edge, sure go for it. If you’re safe and would rather figure out what the enemy is (it more than likely will be a much bigger or avian monster) gather materials, then fight it later, congrats you’ll live to see another day especially if you save your game.

(You also only get three health potions when first starting out before you begin upgrades.)

For the love of God please save your game before a big fight or story cutscene. It won’t be every time but get accustomed to saving, the game does quick save but if you don’t save manually, it can crash your game and cause a Permanant error. (Especially on ps4-5 if on disc or not) 

Saving a game before you talk to your bounty contractor will help you a lot in future, and I’ll explain more in the future as well.

SKILLS:

I mentioned Upgrades earlier and this ties in with levels since Every time you level up you gain an Attribute/Ability point.

(I apologize if its blurry, you may have to squint)

The image above is the level up/attribute menu. All the boxes on the right-hand side, that’s how many you can have equipped. The small outer boxes are for mutagens but those will come later. 

You have five trees to choose from: 

Combat, Magic, DNA, Alchemy, and Travel. 

Combat: pretty plain and simple. Fighting skills, leveling them up etc.

Magic: also, very forward. You remember when I mentioned Witcher Signs? Thats the only magic you have, and you can upgrade and further improve them in the blue menu.

The green menu is the Mutagen menu; you select your mutagens there to help your attributes. Match the corresponding color of the mutagen with the colored attribute you’ll see if the mutagen enhances that skill and even more if there’s multiple of the same color, but it has to be on the same side as the offside box. 

Alchemy: this is where you can improve your stock of potions, bombs, and oils. 

Travel: The furthest on the right. These skills will help you as time passes using in-game time such as regeneration, meditation attributes and buffs, it’s like a natural honing for Geralt and his Witcher senses. (Which is an actual skill.) 

You see why these are so important?

You have to spend your points wisely and you can also acquire skills that can be maxed out in three uses of attribute points. You don’t get these points back and you don’t get to equip everything; sometime dire situation calls for dire needs so you will have to spend some to gain an upper hand. 

Let me know how you feel about The Witcher 3, The Wild hunt. I’ve received comments on interests as to wanting to play the game and I’ll gladly answer to any questions you may have or will let you know if it’s in an upcoming blog.  

As I said I would, I’m covering some more of the basics when it comes to The Witcher more specifically to the GAME I’m having to write notes on the lore right now to figure out how to summarize it, it’s very similar to the show Arcane for having multiple stories in one big world.)

WARNING: 

I’m very appreciative of some of the comments left about wanting to read The Witcher books but I must warn you, these books are not the typical book. It’s a hard read with very vivid graphic imagery of A LOT OF adult content, so if you’re one to get squeamish when it comes to guts, blood, sex, drinking, death, sometimes sexism, it’s not for you. SOME BOOKS WILL NOT ALWAYS BE GERALT BASED. ITS A BIG WORLD.

The same can be said about the game. Giving you actual real time scenery of what is going on. (Admittedly for it to still be considered content appropriate, the game does censor some of the more intimate scenes with even a skip button, however violence and killing in the game, beasts and other humans is mandatory for the plot. Sorry, can’t skip that and you will get graphic, small, in game, quick cutscenes. A common one being a quick decapitation if fighting a human or lesser monster.)

I would absolutely love to explain more of the books to you, however even I am in the process of still reading these books. (I’ve read the first one like 3 times because I’m trying to buy them all in the same cover.) I can however tell you LOTS about the games!

Being a very late fan into the Witcher most of the previous game (1 and 2) are unavailable to me so Instead I already have the Witcher Three: The Wild Hunt.

YOU NEED TO KNOW THESE FOR THE GAME: 

I, when I was about 12 years old when I played this game, I was amazed at so much thought and detail went into the game but most importantly I loved the BEASTIARY and CRAFTING/BLACKSMITHING so much because I found them out SO LATE! (I had the same armor through the entire game and was dying VERY easily, lol)

This above is the BEASTIARY! 

If you can’t tell what that is above, that my friend is a Fiend. Kinda looks like a Wendigo, doesn’t it? Well, what if I told you the wendigo and another beast called a Leshen were actually pretty similar? 

Figuring this, can you guess what the BEASTIARY is? 

If you guessed a journal or logbook for certain beasts and magical entities or races (including people) then you’d be correct. 

The BEASTIARY is a perfect dictionary of sorts that helps you identify your creature you are hunting. Its lore, where it comes from, if it has similar brethren in different regions, what its weak to, using oils, silver, steel and what sign you must use. 

Brief Sign disclosure: Its Witcher magic (will be covered in the lore blog sometime soon, not the next.) 

If you look up “Bestiary Witcher 3”, a wide variety of images will show you different entities under their respective races recorded section. 

A lot of these drop-down menus show you what they are 

For example:

Beasts:

wolf,

wild dog,

bear

etc. 

Necromancers: 

Ghouls,

Alghouls

etc.

So on, so forth. 

Now again, you wanna pay attention to the small image of the fiend at the top. Refer to the small three or 4 boxes at the bottom of its figure, that’s where you will find its vulnerabilities! 

CRAFTING/BLACKSMITHING: 

oh boy the one thing YOU DEFINETLY WILL HAVE TO DO PROGRESSILVLY throughout the game. Guys…your swords can dull and break! PAY THEM HEED!’ so will your armor!

It is important that you keep an eye on your screen when you see a small diagram pop up on the left-hand side with red armor or swords. Thats an indicator that your equipment is very weak! (Id show you but there no picture found) 

So instead, you’ll need this: A repair kit(s)

(One will usually do it; that’s just the quantity of how many this person has.)

These can be found or bought in local cities or found out in the open world. 

Its kinda small and I’m sorry but below is the crafting menu: 

This is where you will make your potions, oils, bombs, fabrics and other materials for your travels. Diagrams you collect on your journey (aka The Path) will aid you in discovering new items and essentials to crafting new armor or swords. YOU WILL NEED TO DO THIS!

Do not be like 12-year-old me way back when and though that your weak little swords and armor will last you, IT WON’T! 

Trade, craft, go to a blacksmith (it’s a very similar menu like the one above) This is a very slice of life game, you HAVE to play this game like you’re desperately trying to survive. 

With your (hopefully new or restored) armor and weapons you will need to go out and deliberately slice and dice monsters or harvest plants. The tutorial in the game walks you through this phase.  

What it doesn’t always tell you is that if you have a sort of Alcohol in your inventory, Dwarven spirit, then your health potion once you craft it: Swallow, will regenerate once you meditate. 

Meditating is a key factor in resting and regenerating health, magic, toxicity, stamina, and health items/oils. 

To think these are the basics is quite the stretch since I learned these so late! So, if you decide to play the game (Available on ps4-psf5, Xbox one, Xbox series s-x, PC or Nintendo switch) you now know ahead of time to know what to look out for. Sometime people forget things, so I hope this blog was helpful if you ever forget a key detail on your Path. 

(Preferably, when looking for the game look for the one labeled COMPLETE EDITION you get the full pack of DLC’s and extra equipment to hunt and I wouldn’t recommend PS4 or Nintendo switch cause sometimes issues will occur frequently, meaning you may burn/overheat your console.) 

THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING, Its long yet necessary for game depth. And I only covered two factors, next will be navigations of the map, menus, and level differences and gaging, contracts/treasure hunts and currency. Yeah…

The plan:

Next Wednesday, 9/3/25: Menus and levels.

The Wednesday after, 9/10/25: Map nav and Bounty/treasure/currency.

9/17/25: Meat and potatoes of the Lore (AROUND GERALT!) 

The game itself can tell you lore about what’s going on with the world, hence why it’s an open world adventure for a reason. 

(I won’t be stuck on the Witcher for too much longer.)