About Me

My name is Luke Joseph Verrips, or, Skilfularcher. I enjoy spending my time world-building, game-design, playing music, and in general doing anything creative. I have recently been working a lot of Project Istari (working title), an entirely new TTRPG built on the desires of having a simple, yet deep TTRPG that has complex decision making. The desire is to have a game fluid enough that it doesn't have a ton of bloat with unnecessary or needlessly complicated rules, allowing it to be very narrative focused, while still having engaging combat and mechanics. I am currently in my second semester of my junior year of high-school, which I will hopefully be finishing in about a month. I am driven, can put a lot of work into the things I'm passionate about, and can produce a massive amount of ideas.

Resume

Here is my resume:

Contact Info

If you have any questions, you can contact me at [email protected].

Hobbies

My hobbies include just about anything creative, from world-building, to piano, to poetry, to game-design. I have a YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmeD_IakA3tsDZhGXfu5D7Q) which I will hopefully be uploading more to in the future, and I have a lot of work done on Project Istari, which is in a playable, albeit early and unpolished, state in a single month.

I also enjoy writing poetry, and will hopefully get around to writing some more, as well as composing music for it. Most of my poetry and future songs will be about the world of Drakomere, the Sword & Sorcery fantasy world I'm creating which I hope to work a lot on.

The Heroes of the Soul of the World

A Poem of the five heroes that saved Drakomere in the 28th Age.

In Drakomere corruption spread and festered the un-thought
Like Woe Striders who walked on legs as tall as Bugbear coarse
Or Shrieking Terrors ringed by ten heads where long necks then meld
To outstretched wings that pound and fly o’er frightened victims caught
A summons sent for heroes aid to find the ab’rrant source
Of monsters dark and horrid things named aberrations felled
The summons sent and heroes came, their number five was strong
A lizard man, two walking trees, one mighty and one wise
A shelled champion and a man that sung a mighty song
The heroes steeled at The College for the quest of their lives

The Ìqáalìe named Brax Tideprancer, tall with psychic blade
He swiftly moved and ducked and dodged so none could pin him down
His Chain of Boundless Mind empowers his blades of mental might
He braved the Citadel and now provides the quest with aid
And Jack the Angry Lumber strong, his waist by belts did crown
His cleaving strikes of woodish brawn engulfed his foe now flayed
The Treant hulked, his size was vast and fury filled his roots
To overpower and overcome the challenge that awaits
The third champion was Artham O’Carrick, with Halberd and his Flute
Sang mighty songs and cast his spells and with his Halberd braced

And Artham spoke his tales of old of legend and of hope
How other heroes braved this plight and broke the monsters cruel
Torcilyus shelled a tortle strong with family’s mighty sword
Could take on foes who’re twice his size like evil lycanthrope
His hulking shell could take all blows in any form of duel
His turtle form for those protected acted as a ward
And finally the fifth hero was Starbough Walking Oak
Who grabbed celestial bodies bright and brought foes to defeat
His own Night-Sky did shimmer bright even when they awoke
And guided like a map of light on glowing magic sheet

They sailed through sea to the land Twin-Shards, made up of fire and cold
The group then docked at Blazing Dunes, traversing Frostburnt Hills
And traveled over Shadow Tundra to port in east Drakion
From there they sailed through the Chaos to find Soul-Well old
And now they stand at ancient hole preparing all their skills
To venture through the Catacomb now ab’rrant dominion
The heroes now descend through dark with Starbough’s light to guide
And Artham plays a tune of strength to bolster courage strong
With Jack and Torcilyus up front now looking side to side
And Brax steeling his psychic blades to slay the monstrous throng

The heroes came to Soul of World where the three Dragons made
This world that we call Drakomere with each one’s unique gift
First Bahumat the Platinum Father, holding up hist’ry
And too guarded creative souls for all that they displayed
And Second Tiamat the bold with retribution swift
Her justice met all wicked ones that from all goodness strayed
Third Sardior the Ruby Counsel, wise and playful drake
He values wit and clever thought in all that he creates
The heroes stood and saw their foe its writhing flesh did wake
They steeled once more, one final time, they knew its doom awaits

The Power of Creation flowed now through the heroes veins
Improving all their race’s gifts and helping in battle
Artham O’Carrick, Bard of Old now filled with will of men
Could influence both friend and foe without hindering strains
The Treants grew and hardened bark so none could, them rattle
No fire nor axe could break their trunk or bring harm e’re again
Torcilyus’ shell grew thick and strong and held against all blows
Making him fight without falter into the wicked night
And Brax the mind breaker ancient improved his deadly throws
His blades now sharper than before his foes now greatest plight

The five then charged now ringed with pow’r to fight the monstrous beast
The monster struck first in the fray, it psychically lashed out
The Bard was struck, with faltering breath he faintly played his flute
And swarms of flaming boulders fell caused by his pow’r released
Then Brax threw one, two, three blades true as Lizard went all out
And Jack began to scream and swing like massive Treant brute.
The monster blinked and shifted space to bite the Ìqáalìe
So Torcilyus struck four times true so dealt it mortal wounds
And Starbough changed the gravity for writhing mass provoked
The Beast then fell and grew and shrank and melded to cocoons

The writhing mass exploded out it’s size had been increased
It’s monstrous pow’r now doubly strong shot orbs of psychic pain
And struck the minds of Jack and Brax and Starbough bright
So Artham spoke his words of pow’r and held the monster leashed
And Torcilyus struck blow on blow with mighty sword arcane
Brax then flung more psychic knives causing beast its plight
Then Starbough spread his astral leaves and healed heroes’ pain
While Torcilyus and Jack both hacked away at foe undone
The Monster shook and gave a wail, it’s fight had been in vain
The Beast was dead, Incursion purged, the heroes, they had won

The world returned to normalcy, and Twenty-Ninth Age begun
Now Brax began to teach his own craft to aspiring folk
And Jack hunted all monsters though eventually he fell
Starbough grew and stretched to sky, Loonaarie he had sprung
And Torcilyus then trained his child to keep his lineage cloak
And Artham died to guard Caloro against Faethon fel
For as is said in Ballad Artham, which tells of his fall
Our heroes names fade into legend and become a lyric
But those verses can guide new heroes to answer the call
And that’s the tale of heroes old which now is a true epic