Inspiration: I am going to blatantly ignore his status as a Problem Hunter, detective, and handiman, and even my instincts telling me that he is a Manipulator, because I want more Transmuters in the Zodiacs and I have an ability in mind that I really like lol

Name:

Nen Type: Transmutation

Effects: Saccho's ability allows him to shape his aura in the form of a horse and its individual body parts, and explosively so. He can use this ability to complement his swordsmanship, unexpectedly striking his opponent with hooves that blast out of his aura or shaping his aura into horse legs to deflect blows he cannot reach with his arms, or to quickly recuperate in the event of a fall.

The most advanced application of his ability encases his lower body into horse-shaped aura, functionally turning him into a centaur, enhancing his movement speed.

Inspiration: We've seen her turn her arm into a snake, and she's a Poison Hunter lol But more than that, I want some body transformation that isn't just another application of Conjuration for whatever reason, and I'll justify it via Youpi. Plus, we have Tubeppa's GSB.

Name: Love Bite (?)

Nen Type: Transmutation, Conjuration(?)

Effects: Gel's ability to extend her arm, make it flexible, and give it a snake's head simply serves as a vector for injecting her aura, which she can transmute into several different toxins, into the target's body.

Inspiration: Botobai is a Terrorist Hunter and military analyst, so it's safe to say his ability has something to do with that, and is probably combat-leaning. Not sure how his talents as a public prosecutor ties into his ability, but what I find fascinating about Chinese dragons (including the one from the Zodiac story) is their ability to bring rain. So... let's do something with that.

Name: Purple Rain (It's Raining Men)

Nen Type: Specialization (all)

Effects: First, Botobai releases his aura as a vapor around himself, potentially filling a medium-to-large-sized building. In this state, his aura has the properties of En. At any time thereafter, Botobai can cause his aura to gather in small clouds and rain down. The liquid aura then congeals into up to a dozen humanoid constructs wearing black dusters and a dragon mask: his Special Assault Team.

Each construct is significantly more powerful than Morel's Deep Purple soldiers. Drawing on Botobai's knowledge of martial arts and military tactics, it is a combatant capable of fighting on equal standing with the average Hunter.

The Special Assault Team is autonomous and it aims to subdue their targets, although they can coordinate with each other. They are difficult to destroy, and can freely change from a solid form into a liquid one to avoid damage and sneak around, or back into their solid form.

Inspiration: Kanzai's baseball outfit. It's boring an dsimple, but he probably has a very simple ability and, based on his profession as a bodyguard and the role he'll take on the DC expedition, I think he has a very powerful combat ability.

Other Traits: Not part of his Nen ability, but Kanzai boasts extremely good eyesight over long and even very long distances. He can see well even in conditions of dim light. His enhanced vision contributes to his ridiculous accuracy, making him an extremely powerful sniper.

Name: Eye of the Tiger (no kanji name because he's too dumb lol)

Nen Type: Emission

Effects: An extremely simple ability: Kanzai creates a ball of aura in his hand and hurls it at a target. The extreme speed of his pitches vastly increases their power, making them as powerful as the spike Razor used to sink the Phantom Troupe's boat, and their accuracy over long distances (up to a few kilometers).

Part of the power of the ability comes in part from Kanzai having to physically throw the ball, making him more vulnerable to attack; however, needless to say, his pitching motions have grown extremely quick over time, and he can perform simple throws in very quick succession.

When he throws the ball, he can also impart special momentum to it as if it was a regular baseball: he can throw speedballs, curveballs, knuckleballs...

I misspelled the title, it should be "Twelve Days of the Zodiac", singular.

Oh, you thought we were done after Hatsu week? Think again!

Starting in two days (Wednesday), we are all heading to r/HatsuVault and coming up with abilities for our favorite group of fanatical furries: the Zodiacs! And naturally, we are following the order of the Zodiac signs:

• 12/08: Pariston Hill (Rat)
• 13/08: Mizaistom Nana (Ox)
• 14/08: Kanzai (Tiger)
• 15/08: Pyon (Rabbit)
• 16/08: Botobai Gigante (Dragon)
• 17/08: Gel (Snake)
• 18/08: Saccho Kobayakawa (Horse)
• 19/08: Saiyu (Monkey) (should we skip this one?)
• 20/08: Ginta (Sheep)
• 21/08: Cluck (Chicken)
• 22/08: Cheadle Yorkshire (Dog)
• 23/08: Ging Freecss (Boar)

For Zodiacs who identify with their sign, I'm hoping to see abilities that match their animal theme (like Saiyu's) or their profession (like Gel's and Mizaistom's)... but go where your heart takes you! Maybe Kanzai's ability revolves around knees. Who knows!

Hatsu Week Retrospective

If there are any abilities you particularly liked that you saw during Hatsu Week, or any changes that you'd make to your own now that it's over, sound off below!

EDIT: moved the starting day to Wednesday.

During Hatsu week, I missed Transmutation day because even though the concept was clear in my mind, I failed to execute it in a way that satisfied me.

Summary: give aura the properties of a (nearly frictionless) liquid

Aura Properties: I can grant some of the properties of water to my aura, making it somewhat liquid. It has the following applications:

• Expansion: unless controlled via my ability (see below), the liquid aura expands from me to fill up the space much like a liquid would. I cannot control thi sprocess, but this also allows it to expand farther away from my body than I would be able to extend my normal aura, for example by flowing downhill or following a current.
• Perception: the liquid aura is still aura and shares some of the properties of En. I can feel what shape it takes, how it moves and how quickly, and, as such, it could be used to map out a building by moving through its plumbing system (with the right currents). I can also feel the aura of anyone who comes in contact with it. However, the liquid aura evaporates pretty much instantaneously if it is no longer in contact with me/the rest of my aura, unless it occupies most of a closed container (such as a water bottle).
• Friction: the liquid aura happens to be pretty much frictionless, making any surface it coats extremely slippery; however, because of that, it is also very easy to displace. Combined with how quickly it evaporates if left in the open air, it is difficult to lay effective traps with it even when hidden with In.
• Restoration: like Machi's threads and Biscuit's lotion, the liquid aura retains some of its natural beneficial qualities. If drunk, it has a mild energizing effect and even weaker healing properties.

This is all well and good, but I could feel that something was missing. To make it a Transmutation ability I would actually use, I would need to be able to control the watery aura in ever-increasing amounts like a waterbender, and I am also convinced the ability would have a Counteractive application due to my personality. But I apparently failed to come up with anything :-/ Any ideas?

Ability Name: Dream Engine (Practice is for Suckers)

Nen Type(s): Enhancement

Level: 1-2/5

Summary: memorize martial techniques and practice in your sleep

Effects: If I watched one hour of footage/demonstration of martial art techniques/combos/forms immediately before falling asleep, I dream about it, training my body and muscle memory to learn and imitate those forms. Training in this way is about half as efficient as training for real: every hour of dreaming is half as effective as an hour of "waking" training for unarmed combat, and one third as effective as an hour of waking training for combat with a weapon (no firearms).

Since Nen can be considered a martial art via Shingen-ryu, I can also practice Nen techniques with this ability, but apart from being less efficient than the "real thing", it also causes me to expend aura in my sleep, ensuring I will wake up tired and low on aura the following day.

This ability cannot be used to memorize or practice anything else, largely due to my belief that it would be extremely depressing to use your sleeping hours for something practical rather than something cool.

Restrictions: The ability can be activated only once every 24 hours for up to 8 hours; if I wake up while it is active, the rest of the night is "wasted".

Ability Name: Occult Atelier (Wisdom of the Moon)

Nen Type(s): Emission (some effetcs include Enhancement or Manipulation)

Level: */5

Summary: "cast spells" (Emission abilities) from a grimoire, depending on the current phase of the moon

Medium: The ability requires a hand-written (and -drawn, and -crafted) grimoire that contains drawings and descriptions of all the Emissive abilities it contains/I can use. At the top of each page, next to the name of the ability, is also the phase of the moon that gives me access to the ability (more on this later).

To "cast a spell", I must have the grimoire open to the correct page and chant the correct incantation.

If a page (or the grimoire) is damaged or destroyed, I can't use that ability again until I prepare a new grimoire, which is a lengthy process that takes 30 days exactly.

Ordinarily, the grimoire is stored in a Nen space (Witch Hat Space) that can only house the grimoire and that I can access to store/retrieve the book only while wearing a specific wide-brimmed witch hat with all the phases of the moon embroidered under it. If the hat is damaged significantly, I lose access to the Witch Hat Space.

Effects: The grimoire contains a number of "spells", which are really Emissive abilities that are activated by touching the grimoire while it is on the correct page and chanting the appropriate incantation.

The length of the incantation is directly proportional to the complexity of the ability, not necessarily to its power; its power (level of proficiency required to use it) instead determines at what point of the lunar cycle the spell can be cast.

The strongest spells can only be cast during a full moon. Whether the moon is waxing or waning, the less full it is, the weaker the spells that can be cast from the grimoire; on the 24 hours of a new moon, no spells can be cast at all.

• Ranged Attacks: Most "spells" are beams or bullets of different levels of power: a line of aura that can phase through non-living matter, machine-gun-like fire, slow-moving bullets that can be controlled like a storm of petals, homing beams, remotely-controlled beams, exploding bullets, etc. The most powerful spell is a searing column of "moonlight" that can only be cast while the full moon is shining directly overhead (at night).
• Barriers: There are multiple barriers in the book, from a weaker, generic ones, to those that can only counter abilities of a certain type and are useless against all others. One also includes elements of Enhancement to provide a modicum of healing (basically first-aid). They can also be used to trap weaker enemies/targets. The most powerful barrier can only be cast in the 24 hours of a full moon.
• Teleportation: 3 of the abilities in the book are teleportation abilities. The most advanced one is a teleportation circle that allows me and a few others to teleport to one of a few specially marked locations, and it can only be used on the night of a full moon.
• Seals: aura seals that can contain other spells so they can be triggered remotely. They do not need to a formula to be yelled out like in the other cases, but they double the aura consumption of whatever spell they contain (regardless of whether they are triggered).
• Familiars: a group of (weak) Nen beasts à la Tocino that are more powerful at night and more numerous the closer we are to a full moon (to a maximum of 15 familiars).
• Scrying: one ability that can only be used on the night of a full moon, allowing me to observe a person I have already seen and of whom I possess a body part through any reflective surfaces in their vicinity.
• Propulsion: on the night of a full moon, I can propel aura out of my witch hat with enough power to allow me to fly at high speeds, though mostly in a straight line and only if I hold onto the hat, or to hover in place.

If I come in contact with a purely emissive ability on the night of a new moon, I can add it to the grimoire if I find out its name, have a good enough understanding of how it works, and scribe it before dawn. I'm not stealing the original ability, merely copying it, so the power of my version would be determined by my level of proficiency in Emission (i.e. my Dragon Head would be much weaker than Zeno's and limited to full moons).

Ability Name: The 1088 Pearls (Gotta Catch 'Em All)

Nen Type(s): Manipulation (probably with elements of Conjuration and Emission)

Level: 5/5

Summary: exorcise and/or capture Nen spirits and Nen Beasts after a battle of wills (or be possessed)

Medium: The ability requires a specific loop of prayer beads counting 1088 beads exactly. The string connecting them can be repaired or replaced if broken, but if a single bead is lost or shattered, the ability can never be used again, and any captured Nen spirits or Beasts are freed.

Effects: By wrapping the rosary loop around a Nen spirit or Nen Beast and reciting a specific prayer/invocation, I can start a battle of wills with the entity or whoever created it (if alive):

• If my desire to aid the target of the spirit/beast is stronger than the emotions the spirit or creator of the beast felt for the target when they used the ability, I can either exorcise the spirit/beast, dispelling it, or capture it (more on that later).
• If my desire to aid the target of the spirit/beast is weaker than the emotions the spirit or creator of the beast felt for the target when they used the ability, I instead become possessed by the spirit/beast, as if I was manipulated coercively, and I will aid the beast/spirit in whatever way I can until the spirit/beast is dispelled or I die.

The power of the creator of a Nen Beast does not matter for the purposes of the battle of wills, only their emotions: a Nen Beast created by a dispassionate hitman can be overcome easily, while one created by a novice filled with hate is extremely difficult to exorcise. Spirits/Nen Beasts targeting me are more difficult to exorcise, and it is almost impossible to exorcise post-mortem Nen.

After I win the contest, I am forced into a state of Zetsu for a little over 18 hours and 13 minutes (1088 minutes).

Capturing Beasts/Spirits: If I win the battle of wills, instead of exorcising the spirit/beast, I can capture it, trapping it inside one of the rosary beads. Whatever its original essence, a captured spirit/beast becomes a parasitic Nen Beast that feeds off my aura and that is under my control, as if I had stolen the user's ability (who cannot use it again until the beast is released, such as when a bead is destroyed or when I die, unless they would normally be able to create multiple Nen Beasts with that ability).

When I'm not using a captured Nen Beast, the drain on my aura is smaller, but my output is still reduced: for each Nen Beast I have captured, my output decreases (effectively putting a cap on the number of Nen Beasts I can capture that is far lower than the number of beads), but the aura in the rosary loop increases.

Rosary Loop: The rosary loop becomes more powerful the more Nen Beasts it contains, becoming an effective mid-ranged weapon and being potentially able to restrain other Nen users (depending on their power and mine, their Nen type, and the number of Nen Beasts it contains).

When the rosary loop touches a spirit/Nen Beast, which it can do even if the target would normally be incorporeal, I learn the extent of the spirit's or user's feelings towards the target, helping me decide whether it is wise to carry out the exorcism.

Two living beings who are both in contact with the bead can feel and potentially influence each other's emotions in turn.

Ability Name: Teacher's Pet (Thy Cup Overfloweth)

Nen Type(s): Specialization (combination)

Level: 3/5

Summary: borrow abilities I have helped to create for a limited time; support the development of Nen abilities

Effects: Before I can borrow an ability, I must:

1. explain how my ability works to a (prospective) ability creator in full (the student)
2. obtain their consent to me borrowing their ability in the future
3. conjure a glass and have the student put a leaf (any that would be suitable for Water Divination) at the bottom
4. all of the above must be performed by the student willingly, without Manipulation or coercion

Coaching and Borrowing: After these conditions have been met, I begin coaching my student. As I do, water begins to appear in the conjured glass. The water level rises very slowly, at a speed that is determined by how useful my Nen coaching is to the student specifically for the purposes of developing or perfecting their Nen ability.

When I dispel the glass, the amount of water that was in it determines how long I can borrow the target's ability for before I need to coach them again (a full glass is depleted after about 5 minutes of use). The student retains priority: I cannot borrow an ability that is currently being used, and if the student activates their ability while I am using it, I lose access to it (but my time is still consumed until they deactivate it).

If my time with an ability reaches 0, I can never borrow it again.

If the same leaf is placed in the glass again before all the water/time in it is expended, the remaining amount of water (time I can borrow the ability for) is conjured anew in the glass, so I need the student's cooperation to figure out how long I can still access their ability for. This also means that the same glass can be used by multiple students, but not at the same time (there is only one glass).

I can also combine multiple borrowed abilities, but the speed at which my access to them expires increases the more borrowed abilities I have active: twice as fast for 2 abilities, 4 times as fast for 3 abilities, 8 times as fast for 4 abilities, etc.

Teacher's Pet: My ability also has a supportive side: if the glass becomes full, the student can use the glass, water, and leaf to perform Water Divination. Doing so allows creates a Nen tool/beast that helps them train and hone their Nen ability for 5 hours, provided they have already created one.

I fuel the Nen tool/beast with my own aura, and it also depletes the water in the glass. Depleting all of the water does not have the same adverse effects as borrowing the ability.

I can only maintain one Teacher's Pet at a time.

Hey! I'm posting this today because the official chapter drops tomorrow and the sub will be swarmed with new posts (which I'm really looking forward to!!!).

I wanted to propose a little something: whoever feels like it will post one ability per day over at r/HatsuVault, starting on Monday.

My hope is that we will post ideas for abilities we would actually like to have/develop if we were Nen users of a given Nen type, rather than ability concepts in general... but the latter are fine too!

Every day we will all share our ability ideas for different Nen types:

• Monday: Specialization
• Tuesday: Manipulation
• Wednesday: Conjuration
• Thursday: Emission
• Friday: Transmutation
• Saturday: Enhancement

I went with the reverse of the usual order because I'm hoping to see some crazy concepts first!

I think the format I'll go with for the title is "Hatsu Week: [Nen Type] - [Main Ability Name (Katakana)] ([Secondary Ability Name: Kanji])"

Then I think I'll go:

Ability Name:

Nen Type(s): The main type used should be the one for that day, but the ability can combine multiple types.

Level: n/5 -> how talented and proficient a Nen user you need to be in order to make that ability in the first place. This doesn't have to match your hypothetical potential, it's just so we don't get too hung up on what is broken and what isn't.

Summary: one line max about what the ability does

Effects: the meat of the ability

(Activation Conditions/Restrictions/Limitations): optional, if you think you can separate them from the effects and the page looks cleaner.

Really looking forward to seeing what everyone comes up with! :-)

EDIT: Yes, I know the words "Hatsu" and "Nen ability" are not interchangeable, but "Hatsu" is shorter and punchier.

This is not about RAI, but RAW:

>Your touch inflicts a magical contagion. The target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or take 11d8 Necrotic damage and have the Poisoned condition. Also, choose one ability when you cast the spell. While Poisoned, the target has Disadvantage on saving throws made with the chosen ability.
The target must repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns until it gets three successes or failures. If the target succeeds on three of these saves, the spell ends on the target. If the target fails three of the saves, the spell lasts for 7 days on it.
Whenever the Poisoned target receives an effect that would end the Poisoned condition, the target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw, or the Poisoned condition doesn't end on it.

Both the Necrotic damage (0 on a save, meh) and the Poisoned condition are part and parcel of the same save. This should mean that "repeating the save" causes both of the effects to recur, meaning that you could deal up to 11d8 + 11d8 + 11d8 = 33d8 Necrotic damage with this spell.

EDIT: Also, since there's this part as well:

>Also, choose one ability when you cast the spell. While Poisoned, the target has Disadvantage on saving throws made with the chosen ability.

you could also give the target Disadvantage on subsequent saves.

Of course, you need the target to fail the first save, meaning they shouldn't have Legendary Resistance, and not to be immune to the Poisoned condition.

Actually, the Necrotic damage seems to be independent of the Poisoned condition, since nothing states that removing the Poisoned condition ends the spell.

TL;DR

1. The Necrotic damage recourses with each failed save (so up to 3 instances)
2. It is independent of the Poisoned condition, so even creatures immune to being Poisoned or for whom the condition ends would still need to save against the damage
3. You can use the spell to impose Disadvantage on the next saves against it.

EDIT 2: Since this is proving to be more contentious than I thought, let's look at Contagion (or any lingering AoE):

>When the swarm appears, each creature in it makes a Constitution saving throw, taking 4d10 Piercing damage on a failed save or half as much damage on a successful one. A creature also makes this save when it enters the spell's area for the first time on a turn or ends its turn there. A creature makes this save only once per turn.

They don't mention any damage for the save that creatures make when they enter the area for the first time on a turn or when they end their turn there... because it is the same save that was previously established, with the same effects.

RAI or not, the same should apply to Contagion.

By contrast, let's look at Synaptic Static (thank you u/Chagdoo):

>After a failed save, a target has muddled thoughts for 1 minute. During that time, it rolls a d6 and subtracts the number rolled from all its attack rolls and ability checks, as well as its Constitution saving throws to maintain concentration. The target can make an Intelligence saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.

The description specifie sthat you are aking an Intelligence save (like the original save), but not that you are repeating it... because the effects are different.

The Hollow Warden is the first Ranger subclass I'm excited to play. Or I was, because I had wanted to play a Wisdom-based Ranger for a LONG time. Unfortunately, both Shillelagh and the subclass's core feature, Wrath of the Wild, require a Bonus Action.

Now, I'm primarily a DM and I know that any DMs in my group would be ok with it if I asked, but would you allow a player to activate both Shillelagh and Wrath of the Wild with the same Bonus Action?

The new Sending spell has been (sensibly) made into a Divination spell. The range is "Unlimited" rather than "Self", meaning that the spell's target is whoever you send the message to.

One of the options of Private Sanctum reads:

>Creatures in the area can't be targeted by Divination spells.

So, as written, warding creatures against Divination spells like Locate Cretaure (but not, interestingly, Locate Objects), has the side effect of preventing you from casting Sending on any of your allies in the area.

Just a small thing I noticed, run it however you like. I strongly doubt it's RAI.