Tag: DnD

  • Thunder Monkeys and Other Remarkable Beasts for Your D&D Campaign

    Thunder Monkeys and Other Remarkable Beasts for Your D&D Campaign

    How magic interacts with the world is often a defining space in Dungeons & Dragons. In the Forgotten Realms magic, whether arcane or divine, exists as 5th edition defines it. In Eberron magic is instead something that is common, fueling the themes of steampunk and noir with orcs and elves. Dark Sun goes the opposite direction. Magic there is not just limited. Magic continues the ecological disaster that mars the world.

    In the World of the Everflow magic burst forth onto the world in two awakenings. The first, explored mostly through short fiction and table narration gave the Kin (People of Love) a single cantrip, all of them. The second awakening brought the ability to cast spells to certain Kin and saw the return of the Ken (People of Knowledge) and Kon (People of Technology) to the shores of the Six Kingdoms.

    As my worldspace, and the associated tales continuing to develop, the thought popped into my head “What happened to the animals during the Awakening?” Throughout known time the Kin were always bonded with companions (initial rules). With the bond between beast and person so strong, did some beasts get small magics?

    The answer is yes.

    And so the Thunder Monkey became a reality in the World of the Everflow.

    Photo by Arindam Raha on Pexels.com

    The mechanics are fairly simple. The Thunder Monkey can cast Thunderclap once per short rest. They can also use the first bullet point from Thaumaturgy at will. All other stats are like the basic version of a baboon with minor tweaks that you feel are appropriate. This spectacular beast is rare within the Six Kingdoms, mostly found in Douad, a Mediterranean feeling space.

    A character, player or non-player, with a Thunder Monkey becomes more notable and memorable.

    Combining mundane beasts with other cantrips can lead to other fun combinations.

    • Lightning Lure Bugs are giant wasps without a stinger, but instead the ability to cast Lightning Lure and Dancing Lights making them useful in a conflict or able to help light the darkness.
    • Flapping Foxes are fennec foxes that cast Gust with the breeze originating from their big ears.
    • Pointers are tracking dogs able to cast True Strike as they direct their companion where the target is.
    • Slinging Spiners are porcupines that cast Sword Burst flinging more spines than their body carries.
    • Fixin’ Friends are spiders that cast Mending, using their silk to fix what is broken.
    • Tidings Birds are pigeons with the ability to cast Encode Thoughts, carrying messages throughout the town.
    • Savage Mousers are housecats with the ability to cast Primal Savagery, their normal painful non-damaging bites now capable of felling a threat.

    These remarkable companions are practically limitless. The damage dealing cantrips (probably Guidance and True Strike as well) at just 1 per short rest will not create any sort of imbalance on any world. Others can be more frequent, likely at 2 or 3 ties a short rest, so that they are used but do not overshadow the players.

    Every cantrip and every beast is an opportunity to expand the stories you are telling through the use of magic. This expands the 1,000 times a thousands tales available at the table.

    What will be the first remarkable beast your character meets?

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  • Turn flavors into the story you wish to tell

    Turn flavors into the story you wish to tell

    In wine, beer, coffee, etc there’s the concept of the perfect pairing. At its simplest, the concept is to find foods that complement that specific flavor notes of the beverage. More completely you can find ways to do this through similar and disparate notes – sometimes hitting opposites on the flavor wheel gives the taster an experience that highlights both the food and the beverage.

    Pairing beverages with gaming in something I just do. When playing Awf I always have a beverage. Sometimes that beverage is inspired by his personality – drinking an earl grey lavender toddy out of a masonry mug to highlight his duel cultures of dwarf and bladesinger. Other times the beverage connects to the adventure that Droop’s Brigade is going – Skookum Caverns, a barrel aged strong ale, as we enter Wave Echo Cave.

    https://twitter.com/bedirthan/status/1315839234020798465

    The use of flavor here helps inspire the story being told during that gaming session. The flavors evoke a mental space where Awf’s unique history of annoying elves enough that they taught him bladesong, despite his being a stubby dwarf, is brought to the forefront. Or, the dangers and darkness of a cave are brought to the front of mind through can art and the potency of a strong ale.

    Flavor does wonderful things. Pairings aren’t just about maximizing the flavor experience. The connection between taste-smell and memory is powerful. People buy Kona coffee because it awakens memory, much more than due to its quality. A margarita on a cold winter day can put your headspace back to a nice beach vacation. Hot cocoa in front of a fire, even while home alone by yourself, will send you dreaming back to a Christmas visit to a small town.

    As roleplayers, in Dungeons & Dragons or any other game, we can use the magic of flavor to help us. The foods and beverages of your game night are important. Make those small choices that aid gaming, just like you would a token, art, or cosplay.

    Rather than confine yourself into using flavor as a way to connect your current character, you can also use flavor to inspire new characters.

    https://twitter.com/bedirthan/status/1335066277476372481
    https://twitter.com/bedirthan/status/1335080716913106945
    https://twitter.com/bedirthan/status/1335440812889391104
    https://twitter.com/bedirthan/status/1335280984602726400
    https://twitter.com/bedirthan/status/1335302097407860736

    Each of those characters started with the simple prompt related to a beverage and the object out of which it is consumed. From there decisions were made not just regarding the race, class, and background, but also to inform the skills, attributes, spells, and weapons chosen.

    Rum connected to sailors, pirates, merchants, or water genasi. Carbonation was an indication of something light, refreshing. Salt a connection to authority. The mistaken belief that halflings are just old children popped into the head with the root beer.

    What those various prompts did was start internet searches into the techniques used to create certain beverages, into their history, into their cultural significance. Chasing those touchpoints and activating them through D&D and by including others in the process, my character portfolio expanded. These are now new NPCs, or maybe even PCs, that would never exist.

    Food and drink can inform your characters just as art, books, movies, shows, music and media can. Great cooks say that their meals tell stories. Adapt that into your PC and NPCs.

    Empower flavor to empower the stories you tell.

    A replica viking longboat loaded up in charcuterie. From the 4-foot tall mast hangs shaved prosciutto. The base of the boat has cured meats, pickled vegetables, and various cheeses.

    What type of character builds a replica longboat and uses it as a charcuterie table? How does that inform who they are?

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  • Lore Collage: 34 D&D Links to Read and Videos to Watch

    Lore Collage: 34 D&D Links to Read and Videos to Watch

    Last week Lore Collage was on a break. In its place was a holiday gift guide designed around the types of people into Dungeons & Dragons, with a sprinkling of what makes me, me. But, all the normal sources I trawl for news, opinion, and stories about D&D still kept putting stuff out. That means that there are over 30 things to read or vids to watch. There’s still more Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, as well as some other new products, but the focus on the latest new has faded a bit.

    FanWraps D&D Inspired Shirts

    They’re known for geek inspired car decals, and more, but the line of shirts that FanWraps put out is pretty awesome. The Dark Matter shirt includes dragonfire that only shows under flash photography. Here I am wearing the thing. Use the discount code DAVE10 for 10% off any purchase over 8$.

    https://twitter.com/bedirthan/status/1333449094828703744

    Official D&D Products Releases and Reviews

    If you’re a big minis person who plays in Waterdeep the use of the new Yawning Portal mini is rather obvious. Big set pieces like this need a game that centers that space to have value in most groups.

    Jeremy Crawford spoke to Dicebreaker about how the racial changes in Tasha’s are a beginning, not an endpoint.

    Think DM evaluates the Psionic Die and how multiclassing changes the Psi Warrior and Soul Knife. They also evaluate the impact of Steady Aim. If you want to optimize your understanding of mechanics, there’s no better place than Think DM.

    D&D During the Pandemic

    Virginia news site, the Augusta Free Press is recommending D&D as a way to stay in touch with your tech coworkers now that you aren’t playing pinball or visiting the cereal bar.

    Local game stores are struggling to stay open during the covid-19 pandemic. Wilmington Biz shines the spotlight on Cape Fear Games. Support your local gaming stores so that when we are together again we have a place to gather again.

    A group in Queensland Australia is using D&D to help neurodivergent teens and young adults grow.

    Tabletale Games launched during the pandemic because so many players are looking for DMs that DMs can get paid. Mox Boarding House is hosting D&D too.

    Inspiration for Your Next Adventure

    Not every world has a murder tree, but every world should have a murder tree.

    https://twitter.com/SHelmigh/status/1332264248584654850

    Screenrant walks you through how to create a powerful, heroic blacksmith. You can also be a sports star or a barista. Use tools to add more story to your story.

    Being a Dungeon Master is daunting. DM David (no relation) is here to help with four key rules to DMing.

    Steve outlines the Spent Condition, a new approach regarding the impact of using up all your limited abilities.

    The mighty chestnut tree once defined societies throughout parts of North America. Now, it’s essentially gone. Use this knowledge of a tree that was food, fuel, and shelter all at once as a seed for your next worldspace.

    Dungeons, Dragons, and Mainstream News

    Comedian Louie Anderson plays – via Orange County Register.

    Ta-Nehisi Coates plays – Oprah Magazine

    Assassin’s Creed Valhalla has a D&D Easter Egg.

    In Praise of Dungeons and Dragons – via The Week.

    Other Geek Stuff, not D&D Necessarily

    G4 TV is coming back, and like the resurgence of D&D there’s a wrestler involved.

    Swordfall puts together a great guide on how to support creators.

    Ten must see streaming shows, including Dimension 20.

    Harry Turtledove wrote a short story without any period.

    The Legendary Ben Bova passed away. He discovered and promoted so many of the sci-fi authors who helped me fall in love with genre writing and is possibly the best editor in the history of the genre.

    https://twitter.com/WOTonPrime/status/1334195629438894081

    The Amazon Prime Tolkien show (I can’t call it Lord of the Rings, because it’s not set within those three books) revealed even more of its cast. The show is currently being filmed in New Zealand, a place that isn’t suffering from the pandemic.

    As Always, Maps

    https://twitter.com/FengZhuDesign/status/1333240775333724160
    Returning to / Redrawing the Thorp at Appletree Pond
  • Fighter: Conscript, version 1.3

    Fighter: Conscript, version 1.3

    In general I’m fascinated with Tier 1 play. But there’s another trope that I enjoy — the old-timer who retreated from the life of adventure and war, but who for some reason gets called back into it. They’ve done their best to avoid violence. Instead violence seeks them out. The Fighter: Conscript (final name TBD) has seen things. Things no one else should see.

    When they get the call to return to their former life they are no longer concerned with having the best weapon and the best armor. Their wits and experience taught them that any tool can be used for any job.

    Design Goals

    With this subclass the desire was to build a character who attempted to retire from their life of violence. They still know how to fight, they just stopped. Then, for whatever the cause, they re-entered the realm of warfare. Most often this transition occurs when they are on their farm, in their tavern, working their forge.

    They use the weapons at hand and the armor of peasants, and yet fight like the mightiest warriors. The build should support the use of simple weapons and lesser armors with Strength being the primary stat.

    Fighter: Conscript

    You are a light fighter who once served as a conscript in a standing army or militia. While there you learned the horrors of war. You also learned how to survive. You fought with what was available. Then, the war ended.

    Now, you attempt to forget your past. Your neighbors may look at you as a hero or a villain. That depends on your behavior and their opinion of the forces for which you fought. You go about your days, an expert smith, carpenter, vintner, or other artisan.

    Recently you’ve felt the call. You are duty bound to pick up your sickle, spear, gambeson, and those well-worn boots again. Your people need help, and you are called to serve.

    Tough as Nails

    Starting at third level you may choose to use your Strength bonus to Armor Class rather than Dexterity when wearing any light armor or medium armor.

    Plowshares into Swords

    At third level you gain the following abilities as a reflection of your life after service.

    • You are proficient in improvised weapons.
    • When using simple or and improvised weapons you gain +1 to damage on a successful attack.
    • You gain proficiency in an Artisan’s Tool. If you are already proficient in an Artisan’s Tool you may instead choose to have expertise in that Tool.
    • When recovering spent ammunition you recover all of it, rather than half.

    Wise Beyond Years

    At seventh level you gain proficiency in Insight and Intimidation. If you already have one or both of these skills you may take any Wisdom skill instead.

    Heart of the Lion

    At tenth level you are noted for refusal to give up the fight. You have advantage on saving throws that would impose the following conditions: Charmed, Exhaustion, Frightened, or Stunned.

    Rally from Defeat

    At 15th level you inspire your teammates. When an ally within 30 feet fails a saving throw that causes damage you may use a reaction to grant them temporary hit points equal to your Fighter level + your Wisdom bonus and they may reroll the saving throw. They must accept the second result. Your ally must be able to hear you. This ability may be used proficiency bonus number of times per long rest.

    Bones of Steel

    At 18th level your Armor Class is adjusted by both your Strength and your Dexterity Bonus. This bonus is not subjected to a limit based on the armor. When you take damage you may use a reaction to spend a Hit Die to recover Hit Points as if you were taking a short rest.

  • Swarmkeeper of Terriers

    Swarmkeeper of Terriers

    Thoumas Javelot Kern of Aviceland is the first character built from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything I’ve taken for a spin in actual play. He is a Ranger: Swarmkeeper. With a background as a hunter (used fisher and reskinned) and a forest gnome, the only new rules in Tasha’s that took a spin were related to the Ranger.

    https://twitter.com/bedirthan/status/1333154759985950720

    Swapping in Deft Explorer, Favored Foe, Primal Awareness, and Thrown Weapon Fighting changed his flavor and story from the baseline Ranger quite a bit.

    The rules were also much simpler. Implementation of the new rules via VTT was simple (we played using Roll20). Deft Explorer reduces the need to negotiate with the DM about when/how to gain advantage on skill checks since you will have Expertise on one of the Ranger’s signature skills. Favored Foe means more dice for damage. It doesn’t combine well with most Ranger spells, but it gave a nice boost to the average damage done. Thrown Weapon Fighting let me hurl 3 daggers in a round, and when all hit the small damage of the weapon combined with Favored Foe and Gathered Swarm became significant. Flinging out 3d4 (daggers) + 1d6 (Favored Foe) + 1d6 (Gathered Swarm) + 6 (Thrown Weapon Fighting) + 12 (Dex) is a significant first round attack potential. Plus, lots of dice!

    Seven Things I Love in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything.

    More significant to me, was the fun of flavoring the Gathered Swarm. The connection to the fey spirits that are the swarm is what powers this subclass. How those appear is nearly infinite. The book suggests pixies, twig blights, birds, insects – do not limit yourself to those stories.

    Thoumas’ swarm appears as significant number of cairn terriers. They can do anything another swarm can do, because these are fey spirits. How they do it is up to the player. In play I described the swarm as abnormally playful (terriers are basically fey creations anyway), to include the way they fetched the thrown daggers after the combat (this is essentially Mage Hand, reskinned).

    There was also description of Thoumas reaching down to pet his swarm. They don’t exist except as spirits, except when they manifest, but the natural habit of his time with dogs in reality emerges frequently. He converses and experiences life as if these are real cairn terriers.

    Aviceland was created using the Village Generator

    Part of my build process for any character is to imagine where they are from and how they became heroes. It informs my play. Often using the Traits, Ideals, Bonds, Flaws from the chosen Background, the vision that emerges helps inform roleplay in the game.

    Personality Traits
    Rich folk don’t know the satisfaction of hard work.
    I am unmoved by the wrath of nature.
    Ideals
    Balance. Do not hunt the same spot twice in a row; suppress your greed, and nature will reward you. (Neutral)
    Bonds
    I will hunt the many famous forests of this land.
    Flaws
    I am inclined to tell long-winded stories at inopportune times.

    Thoumas is from a small village, and even then he lived on the outskirts, separated from the other families by a small wood out in the southeast corner of the map.

    He, and his family, hunted, but never over-hunted the region. The Kern clan of gnomes were tied to the land, working as a bridge between the people and the animals. This helped explain why he became a Ranger, eventually. As a gnome (or halfling) having a pack of terriers help the family just made sense. Pets are fun, both in real life and in gaming. Including working pets in the apocryphal world of D&D is something I do frequently.

    Overall, Thoumas felt as powerful as the other characters, but again, more important than the power was the story that could be told of this tiny man with a swarm of terriers serving him as an extra set of hands and even some pesky little biting.

  • What Tools Tell You About Your D&D Character

    What Tools Tell You About Your D&D Character

    Within Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything there is an optional rule that allows you to create a character that shifts their proficiencies around. No longer is every Dwarf a brewer, mason, or smith. No longer will every Elf know how to use a sword.

    The ability to swap these out lets you tell new stories through new mechanics. But the change to the game mechanics are quite minor. Half the classes already allow the weapons that the Dwarf and Elf start with in the Player’s Handbook, in this case many optimizers will take Tools in order to expand their skills.

    Yes, this expands the powers of certain combinations Race and Class. Frankly, ignore that tiny tic up in power.

    This optional rule in Tasha’s grants you the ability to expand the story of your character.

    Photo by Anna Shvets on Pexels.com

    Since your Dwarf didn’t grow up knowing masonry, but instead was a woodsman, what does Woodcarver’s Tools mean for them? Were they part of the crew that regularly left the caves of the fathers to harvest the massive trunks that became reinforcement for the great halls? Or were they just not raised among their people, instead taking their mother’s stone carving tools but applying those to the softer structure of wood to create art?

    Your High Elf that did not learn the sword and bow, maybe instead they have Coffee Gear and Insight, because they founded a cafe where they interacted with wizards, nobles, and adventurers. You aren’t a warrior by nature, instead you are someone who understands the people who go out and see the world beyond the city.

    Photo by Tom Swinnen on Pexels.com

    Like so much of Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, the mechanics by this decision do not create power creep – they fashion story creep. There are 25 tools, plus Gaming Sets and Musical Instruments. Your character that has more of these than typical or usual has reasons for these.

    As you generate new ways that your spells manifest (one of my favorite suggestions in Tasha’s) you should generate the reasons for your differing skill set from the classical presentations within your race. Whether it is all in your head, or a single line on your character sheet, a hint in the art you commission or draw, or an entire blog entry is up to you, the player.

    But it should be there, because the 1000 thousands of stories that can be told in any game session originate in the mechanics, but the mechanics aren’t the point – the story is.

  • Lore Collage: 20 Links You Should Read and Watch This Week

    Lore Collage: 20 Links You Should Read and Watch This Week

    Most of what you need to know about Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything is all over the internet. No one has overlooked the latest book release from D&D, but for those that want a slightly different approach to a review here are 7 non-crunch reasons I love the book.

    Lore Collage’s focus this week is primarily on resources and approaches to Dungeons & Dragons during the pandemic. Remember to support local businesses as you purchase products, since they remain in danger of closing permanently, not just pausing.

    Official Survey Time

    Not Tasha’s, the Other New Product

    There was another new product, one that got a lot less fanfare. The DM’s Screen Wilderness Kit is something that will be much more useful when you resume play in-person. The focus is on the exploration pillar. Newbie DM offers a flip through.

    Other Official Updates

    With many Actual Play podcasts and streams taking a pause Wizards has a collection of holiday and winter themed one-offs for your ear-holes.

    Changes coming to how Adventurer’s League info spreads information. There will be greater integration into official D&D channels and websites, which should make it easier to follow the seasonal changes.

    Gift Ideas

    After Thanksgiving Full Moon Storytelling will offer a mega-list of D&D products for the fan, or soon-to-be-fan, in your life. For now here is the official guide from D&D and a review of Field Notes new Game Master Journal.

    D&D During Pandemic

    Mainstream media continues to explore how the game of D&D can help people cope with the isolation necessary to combat coronavirus. Up in the Great White North there is also a feature on the educational benefits of D&D.

    Playing remotely or following major AP shows creates connections to community that we lack while inspiring the creation of new stories that we are unable to tell on your own.

    https://oxfordstories.net/2020/11/16/column-how-dungeons-dragons-can-help-players-escape-isolation/

    For the thousands of thousands who are just beginning Tribality continues to put out fresh information to connect a new player with classes and concepts within the game.

    Brief Description of 5e Classes and Subclasses (Ideal to Show to your Players), Part 6

    Documentary on Polyhedrals

    Watch the history of dice.

    Not D&D but Other RPG Stuff

    Screen Rant has a list of RPGs that aren’t based in Euro-American fantasy. What would happen if you combined Strato-matic Baseball with D&D? Blaseball.

    A Romany Lesson

    Read about the modern Romany in America.

    https://19silverlinings.com/2020/11/14/calling-us-gypsies-is-fine-but-we-call-ourselves-romany-travellers-because-some-of-them-like-wi-me-used-to-roam/

    As Always, Maps

    Want a Dungeons & Dragons world with a map that reminds you of Google Earth? Welcome to Kobold Press’s Midgard.

    https://koboldpress.com/so-you-still-want-to-play-in-midgard-part-one/

    Paths Peculiar takes a tiny map and creates an entire campaign with it. The simple approach is an excellent lesson for a first time DM.

  • 7 Things I Love in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything

    7 Things I Love in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything

    Tasha’s Cauldon of Everything is packed with new mechanics to add to the game. The expansion of racial options, which reduces but doesn’t eliminate the bioessentialism in D&D, and the new class options was the focus of most of the attention of previews. Now that the book is in the hands of the masses there a few other things that deserve your eyeballs, your character sheet, and your campaign.

    Wizards provides this handy list about how to get your handses [in voco Gollum] on the book, but we strongly recommend supporting your local gaming store. The main digital play tools all have Tasha’s at this time and are in various stages of integration for what is a massive update and reworking of character creation.

    Lean Into Personalization

    While every player-facing book in 5th edition talks about creating your character’s identity through minor reskinning of features, none go as heavy into this as Tasha’s. There aren’t just lists. Through the ample use of sidebars and even art, the designers make it clear that your character is yours, and how that character presents itself is up to you.

    The art with the chicken-shaped Magic Missiles is the most clear demonstration of this concept.

    I’m leaning into this with a Swarmkeeper Ranger whose swarm is a bunch of terriers. They can nip the opponent’s heals, overwhelm them and force them to move, pull me to safety, and even fetch my spent ammunition after the fight.

    Make the world yours, that’s what Tasha would do.

    Battle Master Builds

    The Fighter’s two non-magical subclasses from the Player’s Handbook can lack the identifying traits that connect them to fantasy literature in ways that every other subclass does. Tasha’s helps solve this by providing some sample builds for the Battle Master.

    Each example includes the fighting styles, maneuvers, and feats that help create a cohesive identity rather than have a character that is merely a collection of mechanics.

    With a sampling of those mechanics and about 50 words your Battle Master transforms into a representation of the legendary heroes of yore, that is uniquely yours.

    Session Zero

    Many, many, many blogs, vids, podcasts and articles over the decades have focused on Session Zero. Nowhere has the concept been laid out as clearly in a book produced by the maker of the game.

    Adding this guide to what will almost certainly be the 4th best selling book in the arsenal of official products will help so many people who want to try the game. New players and new DMs will have a foundation upon which to establish their own social contract.

    Sidekicks

    Puppy! Wait, no warrior-wolf.

    Scheduling play sessions during a global pandemic are a different struggle than they were in the Before Times. Getting a group together, using the same technology. In games with only 1 or 2 PCs having a sidekick can help solve the issues of game balance and limit the chances of a total party kill. They also fit the stories we try to tell.

    Here, again, the creators used art to provide examples of the variety of sidekicks that can be created through the three “classes.”

    The Expert shows up as a tortle scout/navigator, a winged kobold with some kind of charm, and a kenku historian/sage. The three versions of the Spellcaster are a bullywug wizard, a goblin mage (love that pink dress), and a tabaxi oracle with a pack of extra large scrolls. For the Warrior the art is of an aasimar with a sword & shield, a wolf, and a firbolg chef ready to smash someone with a cast iron pan.

    Class Icons

    Each of the 13 core classes (Artificer is in two books, it’s core now in my mind) has a icon that represents them. These small images are not new (they’re in the Player’s Handbook), they are just more obvious in their presentation within Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything.

    They’re a clean look that I hope to see on merch at some point. Many third-party D&D inspired jewelers and apparel companies use class iconography. There is no reason why Wizards shouldn’t embrace this as well.

    Parleying

    People have been homebrewing versions of this for years, but including it in such a common book is important. D&D is, at its core, a combat game. But it doesn’t have to be and more rules to demonstrate that are good.

    Hints, Allegations, Rumors of What’s to Come

    Hidden within Tasha’s in character conversations and the rules sidebars are a plethora of hints about the future of the game. All attempts to figure out what these mean will be futile fun. Search them all and you too can shout “[setting name] confirmed.”

    What are you looking forward to using from Tasha’s?

  • Uprising & Rebellion in a Magic Setting

    Uprising & Rebellion in a Magic Setting

    Oppressive governments are a staple of genre fiction. From Robin Hood to the Vlad Taltos series, from Thay to any place ruled by a Sorcerer-King in Athas – the tales of tyranny that must be overcome are common.

    An uprising is nearly impossible against these powers though. They have access to magics and personnel that make hiding difficult. Identifying who is in rebellion within a society that has the fantastic equivalent of an NSA, CIA, KGB, etc at the surface level seems easy. Yet, in our modern world with facial recognition and AI-infused communication monitoring there are still those who rise up against injustice.

    The following are how you make certain that a rebellion that starts like this

    Photo by Rene Asmussen on Pexels.com

    doesn’t end up like this?

    Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

    Baseline D&D

    There are some tools to help the Dungeons & Dragons themed revolt within the standard rules.

    Illusion Spells

    Everything starts here, really. From something as simple as Disguise Self to the potent Seeming and Mislead the usages are obvious. They must still be stated and reviewed, lest we overlook the obvious.

    Enchantment Spells

    These go hand-in-hand with Illusion. Getting past the guard who recognizes you is key. Having a huge crowd be under Sympathy can turn the entire tide of the movement.

    Rogues and Bards

    These two classes are natural fits for revolution. A College of Whispers Bard can sneak into a castle or manor and learn the secrets of the realm. A College of Glamour will work the nobles The College of Lore will know the History of the peoples, helping define and refine the message of the group, as can Eloquence. The Colleges of Swords and Valor fight among a crowd quite well.

    Every Rogue fits. Every. They’re probably the baseline for your rebellion. Assassins, Tricksters, Masterminds, Inquisitives, Thieves, Swashbucklers, Scouts – the list of rogues involved in uprising reads like a casting call for Hunger Games or Divergent.

    All Classes Can Fit

    • Artificers can build the defenses needed.
    • Barbarians are those enraged by injustice.
    • Clerics are more than the needed healers, but the ministers pushing for the rights of their flock.
    • Fighters can be the thug guarding a raid, or the armored noble who joins the cause.
    • Monks need not be confined to the outsider from another land, but the brethren who know the ancient ways of the nation.
    • Paladins who take their oath to the betterment of the commoner over the ruling class join your uprising.
    • Sorcerers exist in uprising literature often as the targets of a realm that do not like those born to authority.
    • Warlocks may join their pact to gain powers to help their peoples.
    • Wizards are masters of the spells most important to helping the revolution.
    • Druids and Rangers probably take the most work to have them fit the story, but difficulties are not impossibilities.
    by Hartwig HKD (CC BY-ND 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/aDwaAx

    Filling in Gaps via Homebrew

    There are gaps within the common D&D classes, and these won’t be filled by Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything. The literature and other fictions around resistance feature some tropes that are currently difficult to build in the base rules.

    Each of the following subclasses is a work in progress. Some are more finished than others.

    Society of Veil and Shadow: Rogue

    The Society of Veil and Shadows are a group of rogues dedicated to obscuring and protecting their guild from spies — both arcane and mundane. While able to contribute to the uprising’s success via sneak attacks and other clandestine abilities their true power is their ability to cast a few spells, most of which help keep the rebellion secret.

    Society of Veil and Shadow

    Way of the Frayed Knot: Monk

    The Way of the Frayed Knot is a Monk subclass that attempts to feature some Western fantasy tropes. The most common of these is Friar Tuck from Robin Hood, but there are other studious, religious types that fought alongside rogues and pirates.

    Way of the Frayed Knot

    The Way of Mercy in Tasha’s may be close enough that my own version gets retired.

    Conscript: Fighter

    An old-timer who retreated from the life of adventure and war, but who for some reason gets called back into it. They’ve done their best to avoid violence. Instead violence seeks them out. The Fighter: Conscript (final name TBD) has seen things. Things no one else should see.

    When they get the call to return to their former life they are no longer concerned with having the best weapon and the best armor. Their wits and experience taught them that any tool can be used for any job.

    Conscript

    Propagandist: Rogue

    You rose from the underbelly of empire to demand a better life for all. Your pamphlets and speeches can inspire hope, or fear. Whether from the soapbox or via pamphlet your proclamations turn the tides of rebellion.

    Propagandist

    Still to Come – Circle of Sewers: Druid

    They come from the urchins and gangs, getting to know the vermin of civilization. Simultaneously they serve the people and the animals that run the streets of a city. Able to help feed and heal those in need, the Sewers Druid is equally at home within a gang of thieves as they are a swarm of rats.

    How would you run a D&D campaign that focuses on rebelling against a power much mightier than the player-characters? What tools would you use to rise against The White Witch, or The Union, or the Burgue?

    Fediverse Reactions
  • Lore Collage: 22 Links to Click

    Lore Collage: 22 Links to Click

    Welcome to Lore Collage, a weekly look at things going on around Dungeons & Dragons, fiction related to D&D, and a few other things within RPG and fantasy that you should grab for your next character or campaign. This list is curated with the goal to make certain that readers will not miss major announcement because they aren’t online at all times, as well as to expose them to unique and/or interesting projects that deserve amplification.

    Add Mechanical Wolves to Your Campaign

    Your next town of gnomes and/or artificers should copy Takikawa, Japan. They defended themselves from bear attacks by installing mechanical wolves — that are way too creepy. It’s a new twist on warforged, and frankly your home table needs this. Whatever natural plague is impacting your urban areas in D&D can be defended by completely bizarre things, not just walls and towers.

    Official D&D Announcements

    This weekend is the first ever Virtual Weekend of play for Adventurers League. There’s trial size and standard adventures still available. Creators and DMs will have the option to expand beyond prepared content. That will increase the variety of stories available to players in ways that past AL and convention play did not.

    Sage Advice got a massive update in preparation for release of Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything. Awf will be impacted by this, as Bladesingers took a low-level nerf and a high-level buff.

    Learn more about Tasha through Ginny D’s cosplay or the Lore You Should Know in DragonTalk.

    Famous People Play D&D – Star Trek: Discovery, Vince Vaughn, Andrew Ervin

    Star Trek: Discovery’s cast plays together using DnD Beyond and Zoom. No fancy VTT, just a camera pointed at a map and Theater of the Mind.

    https://etcanada.com/news/712807/vince-vaughn-reveals-sofia-vergaras-reaction-to-him-and-joe-manganiello-playing-dungeons-dragons/

    Andrew Ervin credits playing D&D for informing his ability to create worlds.

    At this point it will start being news when someone in Hollywood doesn’t play.

    Chase Scenes Are Classics in Genre, but Hard to Run – Merric Solves That

    Running Chase Movement in Dungeons & Dragons

    Dyson Logos Latest Town

    Every few days Dyson Logos comes up with a new map, including the lore around it. If you’re running behind your session prep or just need a one-off dropping these into your campaign are simple and easy.

    Lautuntown on the River

    Not D&D – Creators to Back

    Swordsfall continues to expand on the lore for their Afro-hope-punk future RPG. The latest drop is a massive graphic novel.

    I’m a sucker for rebellion stories. I just watched the BBC Robin Hood from 2006, love Thomas Paine, and have a few subclass concepts I’m working through for my own campaign. Backing Flames of Freedom made too much sense. Their Kickstarter is done, but you can still order via Backerkit. Watch the amazing blend of rebellion, dark magick, and the power of all the peoples of the grimm alt-history of Boston on their Twitch channel.

    Ribbons

    Ali’s latest twitter thread on djinn focuses on the djinn of plagues.

    Destiny City Comics is going to give youth the gift of comics.

    Tor’s gift guide is based on your family’s personalities.

    SFF Books to Gift Every Member of Your Weird and Cranky Family

    D&D is so ubiquitous that it is used in elections stories now.