• Lore Collage: Candlekeep Mysteries releases March 16 and more news you can use

    Lore Collage: Candlekeep Mysteries releases March 16 and more news you can use

    Product release week is on us again — these will speed up, per the recent quarterly earnings review. One of the benefits to Wizards/Hasbro having so many new freelancers on the Candlekeep Mysteries project is that they have an extra couple dozen voices who can hit the promotions circuit, and many did.

    As a reminder, I’m running DDD: 253, a charity game, Sunday March 21 at 7p. It is part of YachtCon: Back to School, the Puget Sound’s largest annual soccer convention. Sign up to watch for free, or sign up for our other “classes” and commune with Seattle’s soccer scene about pizza, beer, art, wine, cocktails, trivia, and more.

    Inspiration is everywhere.

    Official D&D Product Releases and Reviews

    Candlekeep Mysteries Previews

    With Candlekeep Mysteries releasing this week the internet is full of preview material. Some focuses on the individual writers, as diverse a group as Wizards has ever put forward on an official product, and others give broad overviews of the product.

    D&D Twitter featured every writer from from the adventure in a massive multi-week thread. Excellent use of social media to amplify their contract writers.

    Chris Perkins wasn’t just the lead on the product, he was also one of the adventure writers. D&D puts his voice behind this 9 minute overview of the book of books.

    The latest episode of DragonTalk includes a little nugget that Wizards is donating to a library of each library’s choice.

    Fey Races Unearthed Arcana

    Last week a new Unearthed Arcana started testing four fey races. Inevitably people are trying to guess what book this will be for.

    Dungeons & Dragons Movie News

    Sophia Lillis was playing D&D during the pandemic. Now she’s starring in the movie.

    Other Official D&D News

    Comic Relief and D&D combine for Red Nose Day. Help raise money and maybe win the opportunity to play D&D in a castle.

    After Dark Alliance, Screen Rant wants more D&D video games.

    Third-Party Products

    Free adventure on DMs Guild? Yep. Their weekly newsletter features a free adventure as well as strong recommendations of quality products.

    What D&D character action figure do you want? Wizards is launching a D&D action figure line and I’m looking forward to whichever halfling I can get.

    Advice for Dungeons & Dragons Payers and DMs

    SlyFlourish doesn’t want you to forget about the DMG — frankly, I needed the reminder. Currently the book I re-read most frequently is Xanathar’s Guide to Everything, but that’s mostly because I’m doing a lot of writing about Tools. After that, I’m spending time with Rime of the Frostmaiden’s introduction to help me with writing for DDD: 253 – Invasion of the Trees.

    Merric supplies guidance on how empty rooms in your dungeon impact pacing.

    One of the tricks the DM can use as the players get more familiar with the dungeon’s baseline is to speed past the areas that conform to that baseline and instead describe the exciting places.

    This twist to Critical Fails is a great addition and will be part of my table rules from here forward.

    Playing D&D in Civic Spaces During the Pandemic

    The City of Menlo Park, California is hosting a Ravnica campaign.

    Portage County, Wisconsin is hosting virtual D&D using DnDBeyond.com. They launched the digital version after donations from Wizards of the Coast and Fandom.

    BYU-Idaho is hosting D&D sessions. They are transitioning back to in-person gaming.

    Missoula, Montana’s arts scene is hosting D&D for kids.

    Dungeons & Dragons is Mainstream Now

    Another week, another musician releases a D&D inspired song. | Premiere: Jenny Owen Youngs Shares “Dungeons and Dragons” – Under the Radar

    If you haven’t started watching Critical Role, here’s an introduction to the massive phenomena. | An Introduction to Critical Role: Prepare Your Emotions – TOR

    D&D went virtual and became more powerful than ever. | Dungeons & Dragons had its biggest year ever as Covid forced the game off tables and onto the web – CNBC

    Other Geek Stuff

    Video games are able to tell stories in ways that books, movies, and role-playing games cannot.

    When that stimmy hits I’m backing Coyote and Crow. I love alt-histories. One designed from the ground up to honor the First Peoples of North America will be exciting.

    Dice that light up for you? Sure, why not.

    As Always, Maps

    Your interior maps can reflect the night.

    This tower with the stairs inside the walls is going to be my next character’s home.

  • Inspiration Is Everywhere: Beer Factories and other modern approaches to food

    Inspiration Is Everywhere: Beer Factories and other modern approaches to food

    Many D&D worlds are anachronistic in their approach to the world space. The inn has rooms with bunks for a single person. Clothing and bathing habits also mimic our current world. Reading is common.

    Here’s the thing — the idea that these things are too modern for a “real” approach to world building is wrong. The ancient world through the Renaissance contained modern conveniences, and they didn’t have magic.

    Beer Factories

    No, your average inn or tavern will not have canned tall boys to crush when the adventurers visit. They most certainly would have lower carbonation beers that are mass produced, not just niche ales, lagers, meads, and such. Beer factories were present in ancient Egypt.

    Archaeologists found eight huge units — each is 20 meters (about 65 feet) long and 2.5 meters (about 8 feet) wide. Each unit includes some 40 pottery basins in two rows, which had been used to heat up a mixture of grains and water to produce beer, Waziri said.

    That’s a lot of beer. In Curse of Strahd there’s the embrace of a rather large winery.

    Embrace this. Have a popular beer, wine, liquor, etc within a region. Develop trade routes with it. Maybe your character tried it when their richer friend gifted them a bottle, jar, or cask. Maybe they carry a small vial of their favorite with them to remember home. Were they part of the merchant class that helped ship the goods from town to town?

    There are plenty of ways to add mass produced beverages to your game. Embrace the additional ways that flavor can connect to your world.

    Recipe Books

    Related to beer is that recipe books go back to the dawn of writing. Your brewer or vintner could be producing a recipe from many towns over, not due to word of mouth, but because the recipe is known to the world.

    https://twitter.com/marinamaral2/status/1370360221080633346

    The foods will be different than the modern era. Eel was a quite popular protein in England, for example.

    Grab Heroes Feast for some modern foods inspired by Dungeons & Dragons, or just follow Dollop of History for pre-WWII foods going back to the early Middle Ages.

    And, of course, the Redwall Feasts bot has foods that work for any indulgent culture.

    https://twitter.com/RedwallFeasts/status/1371082030478426112

    Your world can and should include the senses of taste and smell. Street foods and walkups should exist. Develop a vibrant food culture not because it adds verisimilitude, but because it expands the stories you can tell with D&D.

  • Critical Fumble Fix

    Critical Fumble Fix

    I love this little twist for crit fails. As your character gets better, they should get better at what they do.

    thinkdm's avatarThinkDM

    We talked about critical fumbles last week while covering the Gunslinger’s Misfire mechanic. While I stand by the conclusion that you shouldn’t build a (sub)class around a critical fumble mechanic, there may be a solution to the problem fumbles experience interacting with extra attacks.

    The Problem

    Critical fumbles impose an additional penalty on players who roll a 1 on a d20.

    For the sake of discussion, we’ll assume you’ve already set your heart on running critical fumbles, notwithstanding the narrative perils.

    The mechanical problem you still need to resolve is that extra attacks make more proficient martial characters more likely to fail. This is not an impediment that “linear” fighters need to experience against “quadratic” wizards. Especially considering the spellcaster’s reliance on fumble-immune saving throw spells at higher levels.

    The Solution

    For tables that insist on using critical fumbles, a tidy solution comes courtesy of reader Alexander Davis:

    The…

    View original post 194 more words

  • Fey-folk enter testing with March Unearthed Arcana; continues floating ASIs

    Fey-folk enter testing with March Unearthed Arcana; continues floating ASIs

    Four Fey-folk are explored in the March 11 Unearthed Arcana drop. This includes the classic Fairy, two animal-folk (rabbit and owl), and a Fey Hobgoblin. While all of these races are connected to the Feywild, they are not called out specifically as being from the Feywild, just connected to it. Only the Fairy is Fey, by creature category. In some ways this makes the other three racial options (the document does not call them out as lineages) like “normal” Elves rather than Eladarin. If this UA gets strong feedback there will be two Hobgoblins in existence, one a martial warrior and the other that creates a unique bond through gift giving.

    Just as in the last Unearthed Arcana there is a sidebar explaining the path forward in regards to Ability Score Increases at character creation. Mostly it is a reminder about the rules in Tasha’s, but it continues the commitment to reduce racism and bioessentialism within Dungeons & Dragons.

    The “Creating Your Character” section provides special character-creation rules for the race options in this article. The races that use these rules can coexist seamlessly with races that use other rules. For example, the race options in the Player’s Handbook have built-in ability score increases, while the races in this article don’t. Race options from both sources can adventure together.
    If you’d like a race that doesn’t appear in this article, such as an elf or a dwarf, to have similar ability score flexibility, the book Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything provides a rule, called Customizing Your Origin, that gives you that flexibility. That book also gives you the option of building your own race, rather than choosing an existing one. That option is called the Custom Lineage. No matter which option you choose for your character—a race in this article, a Player’s Handbook race, a race modified by the Customizing Your Origin rule, or a Custom Lineage—you can adventure with characters who are built with a different option.
    This sidebar builds on the design note in our previous Unearthed Arcana, “Gothic Lineages.”

    UNEARTHED ARCANA 2021 | Folk of the Feywild

    Fairy

    Any fey centered story has to have fairies as playable characters. Fifth edition is finally adding them. They fly, of course. The Fairy joins Aarakocra and Feral Tieflings as able to fly at first level. Owlfolk join that group shortly. These are the only races limited away from some versions of Adventurers League.

    All of the abilities just make sense for what we expect from fairies, but the one that stands out to me as unique and situationally potent is Fey Passage. The ability of a small fey to enter nearly sealed spaces fits so much of the legend and lore surrounding these peoples.

    Hobgoblin of the Feywild

    Whereas the Volo’s version of Hobgoblins focused on every single one of them being at least a light fighter, those Hobgoblins with connections to the Feywild are helpers. Rather than armor or weapon proficiencies, your Hobgoblin gains a leveling version of the Help action. This is much more interesting flavor.

    Hopefully when the Fey Hobgoblin gets dialed into official material the two version appear more like subraces, rather than having similar, but still different abilities. There is language drift between the new Fortune from the Many and the old Saving Face. Also, the older version of the Hobgoblin is just weaker. Three proficiencies is just weaker than Fey Gift and Fey Ancestry.

    Owlfolk

    Another flying creature, of course. The choice to be either medium or small makes sense, as there is variation in size for real owls, as well as the stories upon which the Owlfolk are based. There are two sight based abilities, but neither directly relate to Perception. This UA does insert a third scale of Darkvision. It should likely be changed to either 60′ or 120′ to be inline with other races. 5e is about those kinds of simplicity.

    My favorite ability for Owlfolk is Magic Sight. Adding a ritual spell makes so much sense for a race that is so storied in wisdom and intelligence. It combines well with spellcasters and martial types. Hopefully there are more races that access rituals rather than the now standard 1 per long rest usage of a 1st level spell.

    Rabbitfolk

    Hip, hop and hippity hop. Yes, there will be a Rabbitfolk Bard in my future. There’s some interesting mirroring of Halfling abilities here, which makes sense. The two generally smaller folk both love freedom and large families. Rather than Lucky, the Rabbitfolk get a minor bonus on failed Dexterity saving throws. These similar abilities maintain interest while connecting to their stories.

    Here, the Rabbit Hop is the ability that leaps out. Being able to jump around is key for a rabbit. Getting to use it with no cost is wonderful. The d12 of additional feet is clunky (just as the similar rules regarding Athletics are clunky). For gridded play something like +5′ per proficiency bonus would be simpler. For those playing with Theater of the Mind the difference between 3 feet and 4 feet is meaningless in combat.

    Overall these should be popular. There are entire game systems dedicated to animal folk. Humblewood was extraordinarily popular, because people just enjoy being little floofs of magic and power. Official support for similar folk makes sense.

    Hopefully the feedback helps dial in some changes to the various hobgoblins and other non-core races that have clear subraces but operate as completely separate instances rather than those that share story and abilities.

  • Lore Collage: D&D books, D&D movies, D&D video games, D&D in libraries – we’re in the D&D era

    Lore Collage: D&D books, D&D movies, D&D video games, D&D in libraries – we’re in the D&D era

    There’s a packed week’s worth of news around Dungeons & Dragons this week — two books are in the preview stages, the movie keeps getting attention, a new AAA video game is now public and more. This amount of news should no longer be a surprise, as Wizards of the Coast and D&D are the fuel to Hasbro’s machine now. We’ll dive into that as well.

    Before all of that a reminder that though DDD:253‘s table is sold out YachtCon has plenty of other opportunities to support the Autism Center at Seattle Children’s Hospital. You can also audit the game with Tacoma Defiance Head Coach Wade Webber, Defy Wrestler Ethan HD, and myself. Even if you don’t like Puget Sound soccer, there are classes on pizza making and cocktail shaking for you to enjoy.

    Check out the Remarkable Drudge, a laborer background for your 5th edition D&D game.

    Official D&D Product Releases and Reviews

    Candlekeep Mysteries Previews

    Physical copies of Candlekeep Mysteries are out in influencer and media hands.

    The iconic library-castle is a huge part of the story. Candlekeep gets a map and chapter to expand your own setting or your understanding of the Forgotten Realms.

    Candlekeep Mysteries authors are doing the rounds as well. Kelly Lynne D’Angelo is featured in Polygon.

    New AAA Open World Video Game – untitled

    Hidden Path, the Bellevue gaming studio, is working on a D&D game. The open world concept is something that is ripe for D&D, as the success of Assassin’s Creed, Grand Theft Auto, and Breath of the Wild have demonstrated. No sandbox, no railroad – just a world to explore. Hidden Path worked on Counter-Strike with Valve, as well as having a portfolio of their own games. The Narrative Director is Strix, who is also one of the writers of Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft.

    Baldur’s Gate 3 and Dark Alliance launch this year.

    Hasbro’s Stock News Features D&D and Magic: The Gathering

    The quarterly earnings report for Hasbro was full of D&D and other Wizards of the Coast news, including making Wizards a larger aspect of the company.

    Dungeons & Dragons Movie News

    As a reminder, Hugh Grant is the villain in the untitled D&D movie project from Paramount and eOne. Sophia Lillis was the other big addition last week. Deadline broke the news on both actors.

    Third-Party Products

    Adam Bradford, formerly of DnDBeyond is off to Demiplane. This move indicates that the expanding digital options around D&D and tabletop roleplaying games will continue to grow and compete with each other.

    Several miniature manufactures are making wheelchair users for D&D play. Yorktown this week connects with Strata Miniatures and Sara Thompson about the Combat Wheelchair.

    Keith Baker has a post about Arcane Industry in Eberron, where magic is involved in everything.

    LevelUp released a preview of their Exploration pillar. The baseline rules of the game address this pillar less than any other aspect of the game. It will be interesting to see where LevelUp diverges from Adventures in Middle Earth, which also expanded exploration.

    Advice for Dungeons & Dragons Payers and DMs

    POC Gamer’s OrcaCon session on worldbuilding is now available to all.

    Playing D&D in Civic Spaces During the Pandemic

    The Museum of Design-Atanta is hosting a D&D/LEGO mashup focusing on helping kids learn design.

    In Indiana the Lawrenceburg Main Library is hosting D&D in its café. As regions climb out of pandemic social distancing it will be interesting to see how many libraries take their virtual sessions into real life.

    Dungeons & Dragons is Mainstream Now

    An offseason gift guide suggests a massive pack of dice. | All the Under-$20 Style, Tech, and Home Goods We’re Feeling This March – GQ

    Other Geek Stuff

    Peter Straub and Stephen King’s The Talisman is next up on the movie/show list of fantasy properties. It already has Spielberg and the Duffer Brothers behind it.

    As Always, Maps

    There are times when it is hard to tell if something is art or a map. The best of these times are when a thing is both.

    Not all maps need to be on paper or parchment.

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