Within the World of the Everflow every thinking peoples from the Land of Kin bonds with an animal. The most common of these are dogs (especially among halflings), birds (especially among goliaths), and horses (especially among humans). These beasts are family, inseparable companion, and essentially an extension of that person. They share personality and aid each other throughout their shared lives.
This intimate companionship started after magic left the world. Now, the norm, bonding started with Az, his dog Sel, and a three-hole pipe. Together they created more and more and more and more and more bondings. Eventually this drove Az mad, for the thoughts of 100s of beasts were in his head. What was to be a blessing from one of the gods, turned into a curse for young Az. As he aged, the nation of Azsel formed around Az and Sel. Their whistle becoming the symbol of the nation, it was once under guard as a holy relic. Over the millennia the whistle disappeared. The power of bondings spread beyond what the Whistle started. Companionship is now so common that few consider it magical.
Many also think legend of Az and Sel is merely a story, not real. But the Whistle of Az and Sel is in fact real, and dangerous, for the curse will drive you as mad. If any have found the Whistle in the current era they are not making that discovery public.
When playing the Whistle of Az and Sel the user can cast the following spells at will, without expending a charge and as a bonus action. These require no spell components nor concentration if that is normally required.
Animal Friendship
Beast Bond
Speak with Animals
Animal Messenger
Locate Animals
Summon Beast
Conjure Animals
Dominate Beast
Commune with Nature
Druid Grove
This power comes with a cost. That cost varies by user.
When one attunes with the Whistle of Az and Sel they experience two minor and one major detrimental properties. They also suffer from one long-term madness upon attuning and indefinite madness for as long as they are attuned (see DMG page 260). This cursed item requires a quest from a god or powerful magic to be unattuned.
With a week away from collaging about Dungeon lore and Dragon news, this collation of links, videos, podcasts, and maps is bigger than every. It may be the last in the weekly collection. They are becoming too hefty. Maybe a scheduled day for the major topics of the Collage makes more sense? We’ll see.
If you’ve ever wanted to play a carnival barker or newsie you had to reskin other backgrounds. Until now. The Crier/Herald/Barker is what you are looking for.
I started listening to The Black Dice Society because I wanted to prepare for Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft. What wound up happening is me discovering a layered horror show with excellent characterization and a creep factor that hits me just right.
Just so you don’t forget, the Derek Kolstad TV project isn’t the only D&D TV project. It is merely the only one with a known personality attached to it.
Yawning Portal Opens for Virtual Weekend Play May 7-9
Event Grid for the May Virtual D&D Weekend? Why of course.
ThinkDM has a review of MCDM’s Illrigger, their first custom class. It’s an evil leaning class that has some flavors similar to Paladins, Warlocks, and blood magic.
Auroboros: Coils of the Serpent is the heavy metal, overpowered D&D setting from the creator of Warcraft. The Kickstarter will hit One Million Dollars shortly.
ThinkDM expands on the discussion of the Illrigger. The class may echo other class themes, but takes a unique mechanical approach that amplifies the story elements.
Calendaring is the number one death of any D&D campaign. One way to reduce that impact is through Duet-play. That style does take an even more character-centric approach to design, luckily the experts at Duet have a guide for you.
D&D is too often seen as an American phenomena. That’s lazy. The game is popular throughout the English speaking world with it continuing to rebuild in Spanish, Portuguese, German-speaking countries and more. | Rolling with it: Ottawa’s Dungeons and Dragons community thriving online – Capital Current
Remember when everyone in geekdom, and mainstream, cared about Game of Thrones and now no one does? It’s ten years old and the world has forgotten.
Are you a comics fan that’s into D&D? IDW has a Humble Bunble of up to 100 titles starting at just 1$.
Amazon Prime’s Second Age telling of JRR Tolkien’s saga of The Rings will cost over $465 million in season one. To put that in some perspective that’s more than WandaVision and The Mandalorian season ones, combined. We are in peak fantasy in TV and movies.
There are lighter fantasy tales to tell. Wanderhome is an RPG about sentient animal folk living lives that aren’t necessarily violent, but still quite dramatic.
Someone needs to invite me into a Strixhaven D&D campaign, because that world s amazing.
I owe Jeff a review of Blue Planet: Recontact still. For now, here’s an interview about the sci-fi setting that combines David Brin’s Uplift world with heavy doses of environmental stewardship.
As Always, Maps
Your next trip to the feywild or Domains of Dread needs a dungeon where you are going both up and down at the same time.
What happens when the lich doesn't follow the Ikea dungeon assembly directions properly…
The quiet little cottage sits on the lakeside, smoke billowing from the chimney and plants steadily growing from the personal garden tucked away on the side. Wouldn't you like to come for a swim? pic.twitter.com/qW95JhJcow
Unfamiliar with the Domains of Dread, besides a short dip into Barovia back in my original gaming group’s Interview with a Vampire phase, I’ve been drinking up the recent Lore You Should Know segments in Dragontalk, which helps. But, as a pandemic-retired DM and current player it helps to see the different angles to horror. The Black Dice Society does that.
The show involves an intricate plot, with dream sequences and appearances by various Darklords who are pushing the characters through the mists, using them as pawns in the struggles between various Domains. Those Lords of Dread are ever present, even if merely as shadowy figures that the characters know could interfere with their lives and hopes. Sometimes they are much more than that.
Within BDS is a group of characters who have grown up within the Domains and those who are from “normal” places. This dynamic leads to some characters having powers that are a bit creepy for the normies. This twist helps immerse the viewer or listener in the Mists. You are made as uncomfortable as the characters, who roleplay this quite well. As the group bands together these outsiders will become familiar with each other, but until then there will be a bit more creepy factor that is unusual within streamed shows. This dynamic is perfect for the story and genre of Black Dice Society.
The whole thing is horror, PG-13 horror. Fear is ever present. Death and afterlife are significant themes. B.Dave Walters has crafted a tale that is much more complex than my other listens (NADDPod, D20 Dames). The buy-in from the players helps create a tale that is full of apprehension and unease.
Then he spins another story over the PCs, creating a dizzying disquiet Walters has the Darklords observing. Their plots and treatment of the PCs as potential minions keeps a watcher-listener worried about betrayal. There is a sense of cosmic horror because they are all just so puny against those that rule the Domains. So far, the balance has allowed success with a constant fear of failure. That delicate string could break at any time.
And that’s why I keep watching. What started as a desire for me to learn more about Ravenloft became an attachment to the story. What started as background audio is now foreground audio – no longer my second screen, but my first.
How to Watch: Playlist of The Black Dice Society on YouTube
It’s live on Twitch.TV/DnD on Thursday, without interfering with your Critical Role schedule. You can also catch up on the D&D YouTube channel.
That’s their session 0.5 at GaryCon and a link to the full official D&D playlist for The Black Dice Society.
Cast of Characters
B.Dave Walters – DM
Deejay Knight – Desmond, a human Ranger or light Fighter
Tanya DePass – Fen, a Bloodhunter dhampir drow
Becca Scott – Tatyana, a genasi Barbarian
Saige Ryan – Valentine, a reborn abberant mind Sorcerer
Mark Meer – Brother Uriah, a Cleric of the Grave
Nora Ibrahim – Nahara, a reborn fallen aasimar Warlock
Social Names: Twitter: @TheBlackDiceSoc IG: @blackdicesociety Facebook: Black Dice Society Twitch: TheBDSociety Youtube: Black Dice Society https://t.co/hdAmlfd0OW
— The Black Dice Society (@TheBlackDiceSoc) April 13, 2021
Their billboard with Patreon, social links, and a way to buy dice inspired by the show.
From the Greatest Showman, to Newsies, to the nameless town criers belting out “Hear ye, Hear ye” the fiction that inspires our gaming has included symbols of governments, news guilds, carnivals, circuses, and religious orders in the streets are regularly part of the scenery. Some of these people would be dragged into heroic adventures.
Amadin the Barker is one of these. Originally a barker for a travelling carnival, this fey hobgoblin fits within the normal world because of the cover of the carnival. Their uncommon lineage belongs among the strongmen who aren’t strong, the acrobatic performers, the owlbear trainers, and the oracles without magic.
Created through a series of polls and prompts on Twitter, Amadin the Barker is discovered to be a Blessed Warrior Paladin of Redemption. They are generally peaceful, able to help their circus make money, prevent serious loss of live, and work to redeem themselves.
Peace. Innocence. Patience. Wisdom.
They swear upon these values. Sure, they are a warrior when needed. Those needs are rare. Amadin’s greatest tool is their booming voice and their desire to help the peoples who took them in when they were a stranger.
laaaadeees and geenntleemeeen, step right up and see the most amazing art show in the world by Robert Couse-Baker (CC BY 2.0)
Skill Proficiencies: History, Persuasion Tool Proficiencies: None Languages: Two of your choice Equipment: A noisy instrument (bell, gong, horn, drum), fine clothes (a Barker should have a costume), common clothes, scroll case, 3 sheets of parchment, quill, jar of ink, 15 gp
Feature: You Will Hear Me
When in a crowd, or during a heated discussion, your words always break through the background noise. When you shout out, or clap, or ring the bell, etc., the attention of the multitudes shifts to the Crier/Herald/Barker who can make an appeal to them. Your pronouncements carry the weight and heft of your organization.
Barker Design choices
Skills: Persuasion was obvious. That’s where this background had to start. Their whole role in society is to convince people to do things. The other choice came down to Insight or History. Insight made sense because reading a crowd may be necessary, but History fits the idea that the symbol of an area’s governance or a news guild or a traveler would have this level of knowledge. If a campaign is using Culture rather than Language, drop History for Insight.
Tools: One of the spaces I’m exploring is giving various Backgrounds tools that they possess that they aren’t necessarily proficient in – in this case a musical instrument. The Crier may use a gong to gain attention. They don’t need to know how to perform a musical piece.
Languages: With two more slots and the modern cosmopolitan nature of default D&D granting two languages makes sense.
Equipment: The non-proficient instrument is a little note that some Criers need an assist before they gain attention of the masses. Most backgrounds do not include two sets of clothes. In the case of the Crier/Herald they should have fine clothes for official duties and look common when not. For a Barker replace the fine clothing with a costume, if you’d like.
Feature: First off, yes, I modified the Sounder at Heart motto for this one. You Will Hear Me captures the feel of a person standing in the crowd and demanding attention. A character could use this as a distraction, or a rallying cry, or maybe as a way to start a charity drive. As always, the feature fits into social and exploration moments more so than combat.
For personality attributes use Folk Hero, Scholar, Noble, or others that fit. The finished product, whenever it is done will include unique characteristics for all 40 or so Backgrounds.
Custom Backgrounds for 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons
I love blogging. It’s been a huge part of my identity and part of my profession from 2008 to the present day (with the largest exception being the first few months of pandemic furlough). D&D blogging is in an interesting space – most of the conversation is happening on reddit, via video, or sectioned off into various closed systems like Patreon. And most of those conversations are about the happenings at a specific table, not the broader game.
With Wizards of the Coast bringing back the official Dungeons & Dragons blog that may shift, even if just a bit. There’s so much fuel for longer conversations that do not translate well to modern social.
This first blog entry in the resurrected kingdom of D&D blogging is from Ray Winninger, and the focus is on the D&D Studio and what it does. tl;dr – it is in charge of the tabletop game, and works with other versions of D&D to make certain that they maintain the flavor and notes that make D&D D&D.
But, hidden within each of the section are a bunch of interesting notes about the structure of the team, how they design products, and what they are working on.
Product Pitches
These are all from internal submissions. No outside personnel participate. Those projects that move forward get a Product Lead. The current Leads are Jeremy Crawford, Amanda Hamon, Chris Perkins, Wes Schneider, and James Wyatt. From their past works within 5e we know what types of primary products most of those work on, and by the end of the year we’ll have an example for each.
Crawford – rules expansions
Perkins – adventures
Schneider – horror
Wyatt – world building
Hamon – an upcoming product not yet announced. Her experience with Kobold Press could mean magic or setting while her experience with Paizo could mean space fantasy. Or it could be something different. The conversation fuel is great.
By design, we develop almost twice as many products as we publish. Developing more projects than needed allows us to pick and choose based on how those projects progress; it’s a strategy we use to boost the odds of bringing only the very best concepts to market.
Within those glassed-in halls of south Renton are a couple dozen near-finished projects that sit in dark dungeons guarded by dragons.
Five Major Releases in 2021
Candlekeep Mysteries is already out. I’m avoiding most of the adventures because I expect to play in a few one shots. Still, I own the book because I wanted to support the new creators.
Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft is coming out in mid May, just in time for my birthday. As someone who doesn’t know the Domains of Dread beyond Barovia, I’ve started to expand my knowledge through The Black Dice Society.
Unannounced summer adventure with Perkins as lead.
Unannounced Wyatt lead project that is a Winninger pitch.
Unannounced Hamon pitch and project, her first on the team.
A book project takes 12+ months to go from pitch to release. They’re also working on developing more leads. The growth of the game spurred by 5e and supercharged by the pandemic is leading to a higher output of product than the early years of 5e indicated would happen.
With this first entry being from the head of the D&D Studio there’s a lot of high level information. Since, by nature, a blog is throughput from the passions and mind of an author to their audience, each entry will be a reflection of the primary author, carved and shaped by their editor.
Not only will the official blog provide inspiration for further conversation among fans, it is another route to learning about the people behind the game. For those of us that are readers it is a piece that helps us use a second screen while other things are on the primary one (whereas video streams tend to need to be the primary screen).
What’s up next? We can only guess and talk about our theories.
