Alia Scott

Ki is an absolutely amazing storyteller, and can immerse you in such a large, complete world, that you feel the impact of your choices quite thoroughly. I have had experiences playing with them where I genuinely worried for the safety of characters who had never been in danger, because we had made powerful enemies, and I expected hostages to be taken. I feel such extremely deep connections with the worlds Ki creates, that I am frequently reduced to tears from events that occur. My first character in one of Ki's campaigns was a child soldier of a dying race, raised by a tribe of craftsmen in the woods, and groomed by an evil village elder into being a living weapon. This girl has made contact with forgotten gods, and been to hell and back (literally). Part of that soldier mindset the girl had was an "action first, analysis later" instinct, so every single time that things got tough, she'd make a drastic decision with very little thought put into it, and that has consequences for her. Some of her mistakes include gambling her soul on a coinflip for information, accidentally branding a friend's whole body while trying to use magic to remove a single brand, handing an artifact of a war god to someone she met two days ago because they seemed to know what they were doing, causing a terrorist attack, and the turning point for her was when the elder ordered her to kill an enemy leader with a wand of disintegration. That leader was the brother of a close friend, and in a moment of panic, she did end up killing the man. After that, she allowed herself to be beaten to death, and upon resurrection, immediately swore an oath to never harm another person again, lest her soul be destroyed. She then worked the next three years trying to save up the money to buy a wish scroll and bring back the brother she killed. I'm sharing the story of this character because she's the first D&D character I've ever had that really felt alive. Without the immense world she was in, there wouldn't be so many people that she had connections to, and she wouldn't ever get so fleshed out. Ki brought this world to life, and breathed the same life into my character. And even with all that madness going on in her life, she doesn't feel at all like a special person in the world, she's not a main character, and her death certainly isn't going to bring doom to any cities (although the people who want her magic blood will be quite sad to see the death of a species). Everywhere you look in this world, something is happening, and you are never the top rung. Someone used mind control during a children's beauty pageant. There's a fairy running from the feywild because she doesn't want to work for the government. A dragon mafia boss wants to interfere with politicians. A musician has been cursed by his childhood friend who was part of a covenant. There's an old lady running a bookstore who can vaporize demons in a single spell, and she brokers information to her favourite customers. A princess kills her dad and plans to wipe her city off the face of the planet to destroy the deep-seated corruption found everywhere. An automaton maid sacrifices herself to stop a murder in the royal palace, and upon reconstruction, now wanders the world looking to find a purpose in life beyond her job. An archeologist is infuriated watching grown adults deface ancient monuments, and learns from a magic shop owner that the pre-teen he knows is being clung to by an aberrant being that can see into the future. A noblewoman drags a giant cannon into the desert to raid a temple and learn about a major war in the world. An outcast from a recluse society travels with pirates, looking for artifacts from eldritch gods. A cult that can cure instant death curses on a scale of magic unheard of hides in the belly of a city. This world is full of so much intrigue and wonder, no matter where you go you will stumble upon something important, whether it's an item, knowledge, or something else. Every single session I find myself in anticipation of what's going to come next, because the adventures are enrapturing, the down times are entertaining, the hunt for information is intriguing, and the development of relationships is special. Out of all the things that are amazing about Ki's worlds, the characters are the most amazing. Each one is a shard of magic with so much story behind them, and every character has a unique perspective to offer up. Knowing people isn't just to get favours from them, becoming friends with characters feels good. Gaining the trust of others is satisfying, and losing it is heartbreaking. Dynamics develop naturally, and characters have motivations. If you say mean things too many times, allies won't put up with it. Acting deranged will get you ostracized. Some people will put up with certain things, while others won't. Some people are good at lying, others aren't. Some folk will put everything on the line in a gambling den. Some folk will protect you from pickpockets to build trust. Some people will endanger themselves out of laziness, some want to watch the world burn. The entire worlds that Ki forges are all magical, and every tiny piece of the canvas is incredible to experience.