Tag: DnD

  • Lore Collage: Adventurer’s League changes, UA survey, and 38 other items to read and watch this week.

    Lore Collage: Adventurer’s League changes, UA survey, and 38 other items to read and watch this week.

    This is the final week for Lore Collage to contain the “Inspiration” section. Instead that will be spit out as simpler quick articles similar to Inspiration is Everywhere: Trees. This is part of my effort to show that everyone is creative enough to play Dungeons & Dragons, as well as a reinforcement of the concept that every lived moment is prep for a Dungeon Master.

    Last week, on the Wolf Moon, I published my latest tiny fiction. Please read it and the other fiction on this here blog because frankly, I like it when people see my stuff.

    Official D&D Products Releases and Reviews

    Adventurer’s League

    The biggest news in D&D land is that the Adventurer’s League is moving all support to within official D&D channels. You’ll find games, rules announcements, and related news through the Yawning Portal. Whereas many see this as a reduction in the importance of AL, folding its presence within the tent where fans would look for D&D stuff more than anywhere else consolidates and amplifies its presence. It is no longer an adjunct, but a feature.

    https://twitter.com/DnD_AdvLeague/status/1355281262059999233

    Alphastream (Teos) is a huge advocate for AL. He reviews what the changes mean for a player or DM.

    Unearthed Arcana: Gothic Lineages

    The survey is already up for the Gothic Lineages UA. With race/lineages being light on mechanics there can be a quick practical review of those. POCGamer, who is one of the authors in Candlekeep Mysteries, says that the non-mechanical racial changes are necessary step that doesn’t go far enough. A sentiment that I share.

    Other Wizards of the Coast Stuff

    Screen Rant doesn’t like 5e slings, and I’m with them on that. My solve would be to switch up the typical 5e difference between standard and long ranges. Slings should have a much longer ranger available — let’s triple that.

    Third-Party Products

    Tribality reviews MCDM’s Arcadia, the latest effort in a D&D magazine. tl;dr — it’s pro quality with pros who have put in extensive effort building 3rd party products.

    Streaming D&D Shows

    Basements & Bugbears is a D&D show focused on suicide prevention and involving Broadway theater talent.

    The latest streaming partner for Wizards of the Coast features puppets.

    https://twitter.com/Wizards_DnD/status/1355153853101072387

    The top 68 D&D themed podcasts. My listens are at spots 1, 8, 38, and 52.

    Playing D&D During the Pandemic

    Wyoming county libraries continue to host D&D.

    Saratoga Springs, Florida libraries are hosting D&D.

    Queen Anne’s County, Maryland libraries are hosting D&D.

    In Australia a group is using D&D to help children on the spectrum.

    Dungeons & Dragons & Mainstream

    Yes, that’s Black Irish rapper mixing medieval themes into her latest video. Fader has a review.

    CNET reviews Heroes’ Feast, the D&D cookbook. This is still on my wishlist. As a flavor nerd I must have it.

    Arizona State University’s student paper features the campus D&D and other RPG group.

    If you’re a D&D fan and haven’t watched Onward yet you are missing the best D&D movie of 2020.

    ABC (Australian version) focuses on how D&D helps writers of any genre.

    Boston’s NPR station, WBUR, featured how D&D and Critical Role are helping people cope with the pandemic. The mainstreaming of the hobby will never stop surprising me.

    In Huntsville, Alabama a D&D–themed café opens and is featured in AL.com and its affiliates.

    Inspiration for Your Next Adventure

    https://twitter.com/livepixelart/status/1355293799795179520
    I want to be a solo player who experiences this.

    Every time there is a new discovery of ancient pre-history in the real world it is a reminder that your D&D world needs similar history. In this case a little girl found a 220-million year old footprint. Give your creation a sense of history.

    https://twitter.com/kiwamissimo/status/1355703231590981632
    Green Flame Blade without the green.

    Always, always, always think about the foods that your character enjoys. Flavor can inform other character decisions. Why does your character enjoy cabbage soup thickened with bread crumbs?

    Make people, not stats — design stronger characters for your game.

    https://twitter.com/BeholderPie/status/1354159556058902528
    Tired: Bards | Wired: Wizards whose spellbook is a violin
    https://twitter.com/CitrusFoam/status/1351302821073842181
    My next D&D character is…

    Other Geek Stuff

    This game makes me want a Nintendo Switch. Linguistic archeology is a great fit for a D&D game as well.

    Your dice storage boxes can look like swords and stuff.

    SyFy has all the genre coming to your TV, or whatever screen you watch streaming shows and movies on these days.

    Sundance Film Festival entry Cryptozoo tells the tale of unreal animals.

    There’s a Magic: The Gathering video game that combines the lore and card play of MTG with the video game stylings of original Diablo.

    That shanty-band we featured in a previous Lore Collage signed a major label contract.

    As Always, Maps

    https://twitter.com/dimitrisromeo/status/1355484956336730112

    This is your next hobbitton. It’s real.

    If you make your own maps KM Alexander has a great new paintbrush for you.

    Hyacinth: A Free 19th Century Mountain Brush Set for Fantasy Maps
  • Taien Sahul – the ripper lizard

    Taien Sahul – the ripper lizard

    Out in the lands of Mehmd mammals and avians are rare. Many of the ecological and domestic niches are instead filled by lizards, amphibians and dinosaur-like creatures. The Taien Sahul are small saurs based on the Velociraptor by Sam Stockdale at ENWorld.

    In Mehmd they tend to roam the wilderness, though certain tribes of Unkempt in the South and the Isles use them as companions. When free they roam in packs of 9 or so (3d6). Their Pounce needs quite a distance in order to be used, but when the commit they tend to rush prey quickly. Taien Sahul can survive in deserts, having advantage on CON checks to deal with dehydration.

    Photo by Innermost Limits on Pexels.com

    Taien Sahul – the ripper lizard
    Small beast, unaligned

    Armor Class 13 (natural)
    Hit Points 3 (1d6)
    Speed 45 ft., climb 10 ft.

    STR 7 (–2)
    DEX 15 (+2)
    CON 10 (+0)
    INT 3 (–4)
    WIS 14 (+2)
    CHA 7 (–2)

    Skills Perception +4, Stealth +4
    Senses passive Perception 14
    Languages —
    Challenge: ½ CR 50 xp

    Keen Sight: The raptor has advantage on sight-based Perception (WIS) checks.
    Pounce: If the raptor moves at least 30 feet straight toward a target and then hits with a claw attack on the same turn, that target must succeed on a DC 10 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone. If a target is prone, the raptor can make one bite attack against it as a bonus action.
    Pack Tactics: The raptor has advantage on an attack roll against a target if at least one of the raptor’s allies is within 5 feet of the target and isn’t incapacitated.

    ACTIONS
    Multiattack: The raptor makes two melee attacks, usually using both claws unless they’ve pounced.
    Bite: Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1d4+2 piercing damage.
    Claws: Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1d4+2 slashing damage.

  • Inspiration Is Everywhere: Trees

    Inspiration Is Everywhere: Trees

    There’s a doc open on my computer almost every day. I’m crafting an original D&D adventure for a charity game come spring time. For that adventure I’m researching various tree-monsters. These are common in the fiction which is inspired by and that inspired Dungeons & Dragons. There’s Treants/Ents from Lord of the Rings and the Flying Forest and Sentient Trees of The Magicians.

    Within the game there are Awakened Shrubs and Awakened Trees in the Basic Rules. Kobold Press introduces us to a Dragonleaf Tree, in Tome of Beasts for 5e.

    But trees can help us with more than just monsters. They can inspire creative decisions. Look at this stand across the river.

    There’s some scarring from disease, or something, several dozen feet up. Take a closer look at that.

    Put your “not in the real world” hat on. What if that scaring was from a massive beast? What if the Giant Elk of this realm were so huge that their antlers (looking it up, yes elk have antlers) rubbed off that bark that’s a full 30 feet or so above the river.

    What happens when a herd of them walk the river during logging season with their massive legs crushing through or between the barges? Or are these Elk the friends of your woodland dwelling elves, gnomes, goblins, or other races? Are they ridden like elephants?

    The answers are up to you.

    Trees are also our mighty connection to history.

    Tolkien recognized that. The age of trees is why the Ents knew so much and also why they’d become peaceful and rooted. When you see so much life pass before you are the little lives so precious?

    In the World of the Everflow, the Dragonleaf Trees are ancient, from the era before legends, when Dragons and the other Ken were part of the world of Kin. But they are also dying. A breed that is honored while also being forgotten. They do not seed. They do not spread. There are only twenty or so of these ancient trees left, with almost all of them in the Tree District of Qin.

    When a tree is a millennia old what does that signal in your world? Are they like the trees of Solace in Krynn, with homes and workplaces scattered within the branches? Or is it a single tree from the time before time the sits alone in a desert, with roots that stretch hundreds of feet down and branches in the sky that reach to the clouds, a trade post surrounding this tree so big that it creates its own climate?

    Every journey you take. Every book you read. Every show or movie you watch. Every song you here. Every social media post you scan.

    They’re all inspiration for your world, your character, your dreams. Share them with your table.

  • Latest Unearthed Arcana further uncouples race from mechanics

    Latest Unearthed Arcana further uncouples race from mechanics

    When a new Unearthed Arcana drops much of the focus is on the mechanics. They are mechanical tests after all. In some cases the development team removes story mentions to not taint the survey results. This UA drop is focused on playing as Undead or Fey. The purpose is to test Dhampir (emergent vampires, kinda), Hexblood (emergent hags, kinda), Reborn (those that hover between living and dead, mostly).

    Photo by freestocks.org on Pexels.com

    The mechanics are intriguing. The Dhampir has a bite attack that uses Constitution for its damage stat, which makes sense. The Hexblood has a superior version of Message and Arcane Eye combo. Reborn are sleepless, with a kind of elvish trance available.

    More important than the new racial options and mechanics is the sidebar titled Design Note: Changes to Racial Traits. Thanks to Justice Arman for calling this out on Twitter and forcing me to look deeper into the change.

    Let’s take it piece by piece.

    The first paragraph further emphasizes the small changes in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything. It’s a solid reminder of the product and the small steps already taken.

    In 2020, the book Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything introduced the option to customize several of your character’s racial traits, specifically the Ability Score Increase trait, the Language trait, and traits that give skill, armor, weapon, or tool proficiencies.

    From UNEARTHED ARCANA 2021: Gothic Lineages

    Paragraph two is a reminder that the work is not done. Forward all D&D books are removing those elements from races that are purely cultural, as well as the Ability Score increase. This will obviously, and *necessarily*, impact the current races (a change that will be simpler via DnDBeyond and other digital systems than those with physical books. There will still be physical and magical differences for the characters with certain races.

    Following in that book’s footsteps, the race options in this article and in future D&D books lack the Ability Score Increase trait, the Language trait, the Alignment trait, and any other trait that is purely cultural. Racial traits henceforth reflect only the physical or magical realities of being a player character who’s a member of a particular lineage. Such traits include things like darkvision, a breath weapon (as in the dragonborn), or innate magical ability (as in the forest gnome). Such traits don’t include cultural characteristics, like language or training with a weapon or a tool, and the traits also don’t include an alignment suggestion, since alignment is a choice for each individual, not a characteristic shared by a lineage.

    The final paragraph is a strong reminder that a character is not the normal part of any culture, species, lineage, or race. The player-character occupies a unique space within a D&D world. They are heroes or anti-heroes, not paragons of a racial group.

    Finally, going forward, the term “race” in D&D refers only to the suite of game features used by player
    characters. Said features don’t have any bearing on monsters and NPCs who are members of the same species or lineage, since monsters and NPCs in D&D don’t rely on race or class to function. Moreover, DMs are empowered to customize the features of the creatures in their game as they wish.

    The multi-year critique directed at D&D in regards to its history and legacy of racism and racial-tinged rules is having an impact — a slow one. This are necessary changes. Some of them are small. Some of them are big.

    To borrow from Jemma Simmons, Agents of SHIELD, “The steps you take don’t need to be big. They just need to take you in the right direction.”

    These are steps in the right direction. This is progress. The path forward is exciting.

  • Lore Collage: Dragonlance returns, knife-coins, one-page dungeons, and 27 other things to read and watch

    Lore Collage: Dragonlance returns, knife-coins, one-page dungeons, and 27 other things to read and watch

    A day late, Lore Collage took a break while I focused some creative efforts on soccer (9 players the Sounders should try to sign), a new session recap in the story of Awf and the Brigade, some fiction to post here, and an expansion of the Gobkon teknologies in the World of the Everflow.

    Now, our weekly feature of Dungeons & Dragons news, reviews, and inspiration.

    Official D&D Products Releases and Reviews

    Dragonlance is back, in particularly the original creators of the tales of high fantasy with mighty dragons are writing and publishing stories set on Krynn. It seems like they are returning to stories set in the Chronicles era through their use of “Classic” and mentioning the original character set. Polygon has more than just the press release.

    Candlekeep Mysteries is still getting attention. The next official book from Wizards of the Coast features a diverse set of authors and short adventures. Get to know the people behind the product.

    What’s the best official adventure for a first-time DM to run? Outside of the entry level boxes (Starter Set, Essentials, Stranger Things, Rick&Morty) Polygon thinks you should try Curse of Strahd. The gothic horror elements are things that anyone who likes fantasy, horror, or sci-fi understand and the story is one that is familiar.

    Wired takes a deep dive into how the hobby must eliminate racism and that the recent steps taken are small, slow.

    I’ll be picking up Barber’s Variant Experience and Leveling system. My games involve just as much social and exploration as they do combat. Awards should reflect that.

    The D&D video game Dark Alliance features the Drizzt and his classic companions. Likely the most famous character from D&D novels, some people (like me) may not know much about his friends. So read up.

    Defending a tower, keep, even a bar needs magical aid in the worlds of magic that are D&D. ThinkDM has a list of the best wizard spells to defend a location.

    A ranger conclave for moon lovers — yes, of course this suits me and my four moon world.

    The next big convention with significant Adventurer’s League support is Winter Fantasy. Register and play.

    D&D During the Pandemic

    The Kendallville Public Library in Indiana is hosting D&D.

    Dungeons & Dragons & Mainstream News

    Once upon a time midwestern moms thought that D&D was all about Satan. Now, midwestern moms are encouraging their kids to play the game as a creative outlet. Go modern moms.

    And now featuring a rabbi that uses D&D spiritually.

    Inspiration for Your Next Adventure

    Snag yourself the best One-page Dungeon of 2020. These small adventures are excellent ways for experienced DMs to introduce new players to the game.

    I’m adding knife-coins to my next D&D character.

    What mundane item is also coinage in your world?

    Speaking of knives, or should I say singing? — in the Renaissance some knives had sheet music written on them. This is how that sounds.

    Take wingdings and make them D&D. Yes, that’s a font of icons for your game.

    The world’s richest athlete was a charioteer in the Roman Age. Add more sports to your games.

    FanWraps D&D Inspired Shirts

    Other Geek Stuff

    The “origin” of ShantyTok just signed a big record deal. Am I mentioning this just so I can link myself and the post about adding shanties to your home game? No, but also yes. And also no. It might just be because I like shanties, whether from Nickleback or the Navy Choir.

    The Sports-Magic mashup I didn’t know I needed until I saw it.

    Cute dice stuff I want to cuddle with.

    MT Black has advice on how to help your RPG products sell.

    As Always, Maps

    My homebrew includes bladder style airships, so I love this.
    Yes, I printed this out for inspiration. All those parks make great places for fantasy sports.