Tag: homebrew

  • In darkness there is light — the Lamplighter is a new 5th edition D&D Background

    In darkness there is light — the Lamplighter is a new 5th edition D&D Background

    Within our fantasy worlds are massive cites. There are lots of problems with the scale of some of these cities — they need farms, roads, and light because residents are up at all hours. Settings like Ravnica and Eberron deal with the largest cites via magic. Those worlds with less magic manage metropolises with some magic, some magically imbued races and hand-waving. One of those hands we can wave relates to light.

    Magic is the simple way to add light to cities. Another way to have them with some level of light for safety and to encourage all races to reside within is via a public lantern system. For about 150 years this was the process in Western Europe and Northeast America. People would go through and light lanterns along the street. Those shops and establishments that wanted business in the evening or early morning would do the same.

    These workers would live split lives as early risers and night owls.

    Let’s crank all of this up to d20 and make them potential heroes. Meet the Lamplighter, for “in darkness there is light.”

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    Lamplighter

    You know your neighborhood. You don’t have a favorite bar, or food stand, or favorite bakery — they all are you favorite. They know your route, you know when every one gets up or goes to sleep. You know the street urchin, the acolyte, the haberdasher, the goblin family that makes the best trinkets (maybe you have one favorite). They all know you too.

    Getting around the city you use a run-jump parkour along the crates and awnings, somehow never letting your lighting candle go out. You flow through the streets and alleys. You’re a great observer and with the other Lamplighters the group always knows the secrets and rumors of a land — a nobleman leaving the tavern too late, a merchant up too early with visitors on the stoop, a door left opened. And you know the guilds and gangs of the underground, because when your lights go out they are there, ready to do their work. They know you, and never act against you (unless you count putting out a light early), because you are a beloved symbol of the city. You are a Lamplighter.

    Skill Proficiencies: Acrobatics, Insight
    Tool Proficiencies: None
    Languages: Thieves Cant, one other language (as always, use Cultures instead of Languages)
    Equipment: Common Clothes, Ladder, 5 Flasks Oil, Flint & Steal, 5 Candles, Hourglass, Signal Whistle, Pouch with 2 GP and 7 SP

    Feature: Songs of the Street

    When visiting a new town or city you quickly pick up the rhythm of the streets. The Lamplighter is able to figure out what neighborhoods and buildings are most active at what times, when the urchins and gangs are out, when the guards are on patrol. The pace of a city and its people is second nature to the Lamplighter.

    In your hometown your knowledge is more accurate and more complete, and you will always know someone who will help you in a time of need.

    Lamplighter Design Goals

    Frankly, this background started with Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Jack in Mary Poppins Returns. The lamplighters featured throughout the movie, riding bikes, lighting the neighborhoods of London, and inspiring people to be their best through song, dance, and conversation. There are some bard themes, but nothing is magical besides a few people loving their town and making it better.

    Beyond what Jack does in the movie, there’s also an opportunity for a Lamplighter in the massive cities of not-quite Eberron levels of magic. These workers are active at dawn and dusk. As Waterdeep, Skuld, Calimport and other transition between night and day the neighborhoods transition too. Lamplighters are not guards or police. They fill of space of advisor, guide, and concerned citizen.

    They know that the world’s largest cities need the hope and safety that lanterns provide. Without that comforting light what is a city anyway?

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  • Goblin Guilds of the Queen’s Fleets

    Goblin Guilds of the Queen’s Fleets

    Queen’s Fleet continues to expand presence in Kirtin-on-the-Lake; various factions may lead to infighting; what are these stunning and dirty technologies?

    Kirtin-on-the-Lake | Neremyn Quizana

    Lately you’ve seen, heard, or smelled the newest additions to Kirtin-on-the-Lake. During this stalemate between Daoud and the Dragons and Kirtin traders from the Free City of Sheljar have entered the city. Some land on the lake with ships under great balloons filled with oily gasses; others enter with the rackety-clackety of wooden gears on various cycles of one, two, and even four wheels — like a cart without a horse.

    These goblins (we shall use this word for all of them whether merely the size of halflings or the masses of muscle as large as goliaths) are organized differently than any of the Five Kingdoms of the Everflow. Most similar to the guild-houses of Qin, the Kon organize into at least six guilds that are based in familial relationship and what they call ‘teknical’ skills.

    Through numerous conversations we have learned that these are their guilds active in the Western Wildes. Not all have been seen in Kirtin-on-the-Lake yet. According to our sources all are present in Sheljar and the towns under the Free City’s sway — Fort Ooshar, Mira, Telse, Bell-an-Fair, Hagtown, and possibly The Ferments.

    A new peoples to the Western Wildes, these snapshots should help the fair people of Kirtin-on-the-Lake understand the goblins and their bizarre systems that ignore the shared bonds of people with animal or the potent magicks of the Dragons and their allies.

    Clockwerks League

    Photo by Coledoco on Pexels.com

    Most noticed on the streets of Kirtin-on-the-Lake due to their loud clanking cycles, the Clockwerks League is currently the most powerful of the various goblins. The Queen herself is a member, having won many flags prior to ascending to the throne.

    Besides the cycles, the Clockwerks include clocks, timers, repeating crossbows, giant powerwheels similar to a waterwheel that uses their mulgobs rather than water. There is word that they will open a new grain mill took.

    Ratxets Guild

    Conflicting reports say that the Ratxets Guild are a spinoff from the League or something entirely new. They make wonderful climbing devices and on many days you can find a demonstration down by Theater. The ability to use their rope and ratxet to climb the side of Rock is amazing. When this author used the device it made the journey up Rock pleasant rather than the long chore that the stairway can be.

    Rumor is that the Ratxet may install a gondola from the Rock that connects several districts by massive sky-ropes.

    Springwerks Union

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    Coils of strong metal come off of smiths that burn hotter than ours. Without the tartek maybe the Springwerks Union couldn’t exist. This symbiotic relationship betwixt the guilds is routine. They compete harshly for recognition from the Queen and yet their greatest werks are interconnected and use tekniques of others.

    Their crossbows are a bit lighter. A siege engine powered by a Springwerk may be able to fell a Dragon. The energy trapped within the springs is grand. It may take days for the muls and hobs to get the springs set, but once they are the power can slowly release or go all at once.

    Airmatics and Waterwerks Alliance

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    A good little friendly goblin introduced me to how the Alliance works. Our waterwheels are what they used a life of lifes ago. Now using either water or something called pneumatics the Alliance is two former competitors joined. Anything that flows can be trapped, contained, and utilized.

    If you’ve been to Haystreet after DragonTree you’ll have seen the inn there with running water! There is an attached bath with a dryer!

    Why do so many goblins stink of their tartek when the Alliance allows such great cleanliness? I know after a day at print (our newsletter has bids out to the League and Guild for help reducing prices for you our fair reader) I will use that bath of warm water.

    Alchems Sisterhood

    Photo by Ioannis Ritos on Pexels.com

    At Carnival you’ve seen the Sparklers. They contain joy in their little packets. The Sisterhood is a group that takes that type of energy and applies it to more than just entertainment. The Alchems are busy foraging the rocks, vegetation, and even animal waste of our lands to find new ways to create violence. Their inventions are on par with many of the magicks of Dragons, in a way that can be taught and handed over.

    This Sisterhood will not share their methods of creation. They make the Sparklers look like a newspaper since the Alchms refuse to be public in how they operate.

    Also, they hate the Tarteks Federation. Supposedly these groups could be the unified, there’s some sort of familial break that has nothing to do with the teknology used.

    Tarteks Federation

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    You know the smell by know. Using their tar-trees the goblins have changed the air and water in Kirtin-on-the-Lake, maybe forever. They burn this sticky oil and create self-powered cycles, no pedaling needed. Like the Sisterhood, The Federation are reclusive.

    This lack of information seems to be how the gobs keep their strength and respect. A combination of Tartek and Airxip work is what enabled the gobkon to cross the Teeth of Sheljar and, as they claim, return to their lands.

    Airxip Syndicate

    100,000 Cubic Meter Comercial Zeppelin
    Fings (CC BY 2.0)

    Those massive ships travel the air, floating above the rapids of rivers, the mountain passes, the brigands and bandits. Their ‘airxips’ are barely related to Daoud’s large galleons. Some of the airxips cannot even land in the waters of Kin! They must have towers or long rope ladders to interact with the grounds below.

    Bladders may be filled with the works of Alchems, Tarteks, or even Airmatics. Each insists their techniques are best. This author does not know which is best. The xips and gliders of the Syndicate enable travel and connection to communities in ways that our horses cannot. Sheljar’s connection to Hagtown shouldn’t be possible. It is just uphill from us, but due to regular visits from the Syndicate it maintains a relationship to the Free City rather than Kirtin or Daoud as it was in the past.

    These transports are stunning, if slow. I have booked a ride to go to Kirtin-in-the-Sky for the summer as my first test of what the Syndicate can do. Hopefully the stalemate between rebel, Daoud, Kirtin, and the Dragons will hold until after my report.

    Additional reporting was provided by allies and sources within Hagtown, Sheljar, and Telse. Those sources will not be revealed.
  • Add the bright lights and big booms of fireworks to D&D – the Sparkler Background

    Add the bright lights and big booms of fireworks to D&D – the Sparkler Background

    Combing magic with an emergent technology these workers of fire are usually about celebration and frivolity. They remain rare in most D&D worlds. When they work they are paid quite well. But outside of the largest communities there is little need for a Sparkler. For this reason they often travel in a small group of other Sparklers, attached to a circus, or maybe even part of an empires retinue.

    This Dungeons & Dragons background is designed for 5th edition. It also adds a new tool (using PHB rules) and a new exotic weapon. The Sparkler grants a cantrip rather than one of the skills and tools/languages that are typical of backgrounds.

    Photo by Rakicevic Nenad on Pexels.com

    Sparkler

    You are a master of smokepowder or gunpowder as appropriate to your world. Using these powders you can create displays to inspire or scare thinking beings. As a Sparkler you have also learned how to combine these effects with magic, thereby increasing the the scope of your art.

    Often hired as an entertainer the Sparkler is in high demand during festival season. Due to wandering between large and/or rich communities your close friends tend to be the other Sparklers and your hosts.

    Your knowledge of the powders is often approached as a magic much more powerful than it is, because it is both different and rare. Most Sparklers hide this knowledge from the general public working in secret except during their performances. Some Sparklers specialize in aerial displays, others in massive thunderous noises, and a few even weave the illuminating powder into their fluid dances and twirling — all are artists.

    Skill Proficiencies: Acrobatics or Performance
    Tool Proficiencies: Fireworks
    Languages: None
    Cantrip: Minor Illusion
    Equipment: Traveler’s Clothes, Costume, flint & steel, assorted fireworks including 3 rockets all stored in an oilcloth backpack, pouch with 5 gp

    Feature: Ooohs and Ahhhhhs

    Given a few minutes to prepare, you can create a wonderous display of lights and sounds that can serve as a distraction. This display may be augmented by your Minor Illusion. This display can serve as a distraction for some guards, as inspiration for a besieged city, or as a reward for those who have worked hard. The display, whether spells are used or not, feels supernatural to those who watch it.

    Characteristics: For now, use those from the Entertainer, Guild Artisan, or pick & choose as appropriate for your concept. Whenever my background project sees full publication there will be unique characteristics for each of them.

    Fireworks (Tool)

    Cost: 150 gp | Weight: 20 lbs

    Proficiency with fireworks means that you know how to safely store and transport the pseudomagical devices known as fireworks. You are also proficient in how to set up a small display that would entertain a group for a few minutes. This could be an aerial, ground, or sound based display — or a mix of all three. Larger displays would require several people proficient in the tool to work together.

    Additionally you know how to create more fireworks. With the necessary supplies you can create a new display or three rockets during a long rest. The supplies may not be readily available.

    Rocket (weapon)

    Type: Firearms Ranged Weapon | Cost: 10 gp | Weight: 1 lbs | Damage: 2d4 | Type: Fire | Properties: Ranged (30/90), Loading, Special*

    *On a hit those within 5′ of the target must succeed on a saving throw or take half damage.

    All awakened rodents are proficient in rockets.

    Sparkler Design Goals

    The desire here is to have a real-world, culture-neutral version of a fireworks specialist. The primary example of these in fiction is the Illuminators from the Wheel of Time series, which share some aspects of Romany culture and some from aspects from various northeast Asian cultures.

    Additionally the Sparkler serves to introduce a new tool and a new weapon to the game. The Rocket varies from the standard firearms rules by being a charge on a stick that would be pointed at a target either held in the hand or planted in ground, and then lit. Players may develop other ways to use them rather than just as a first round attack.

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  • Call the Midwife – a 5th edition D&D Background

    Call the Midwife – a 5th edition D&D Background

    In a city you might be part of a guild, where in rural communities you could be the only midwife for miles. You are there to aid during pregnancy and birth. Your role goes beyond just those times, as you are also the confidant within the region. Your charges trust you, confide in you, and know that you will support them in their time of need.

    You are capable of calming emotions during impassioned times, trained in techniques of general healing, when you are present life is honored and saved. Whether itinerant or attached to a guild, your role within the community is respected. Those who don’t need your services still hold you in esteem, if from a distance.

    Cottage

    Midwife

    Skill Proficiencies: Insight
    Tool Proficiencies: Herbalism Kit
    Languages: None
    Cantrip: Spare the Dying
    Equipment: Druidic focus or religious symbol, healer’s kit, traveler’s clothes, flask, jug, steel mirror, soap, 5 gp

    Feature: Welcome to our home

    Folk that care for families will always welcome a midwife into their house. They will not fight for the midwife, but will help them hide, provide some food or provisions for the midwife and their friends if able, and share the gossip that caregivers invariably know about a community.

    Characteristics: For now, use those from the Folk Hero or pick & choose your favorites. Whenever my background project sees full publication there will be unique characteristics for each of them

    Midwife Design Goals

    First and foremost, this design is to honor my late mother-in-law. She was a maternity nurse, and through her I met many other nurses. Secondly, the background leans into Call the Midwife, which my wife watches regularly. There is a bit of inspiration from Nynaeve al’Meara (Wheel of Time) and her time as Wisdom of Emond’s Field when she cared for the community as a healer and confidant for the women of the community. As there is no healer among official D&D products, the Midwife attempts to fill some of that niche (as will the Barber, the Apothecary, and the Healer).

    Like the Remarkable Drudge, the Midwife grants a cantrip at the cost of a skill and a tool/language.

    Custom Backgrounds for 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons

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  • Born to be Wild: A Feat of Wild Magic

    Born to be Wild: A Feat of Wild Magic

    Within the literature that inspires Dungeons & Dragons we see many tales of those born to magic. Some of these peoples are untrained, their magic barely controlled. In 5th edition D&D these are represented by Wild Magic Sorcerers. Not all fit the narrative around Sorcerers, because they are more than just an in-born mage. They have hints of spellcasting, but because it is born rather than learned control is not there.

    Yes, multiclassing can solve this. So can a Feat.

    The desire with Born to be Wild is to capture the feeling of those who have a tiny bit of innate magic in their bodies, but no control. Their magic sparks bizarre occurrences that range from helpful to destructive. Maybe they get trained someday. Maybe they are a warrior who can heal an ally, or a thief that can blast with missiles of power. Whoever they are, they struggle with innate powers and the impact of casting.

    Photo by Max Aquino

    Born to be Wild

    • Choose a cantrip from the following list: Prestidigitation, Thaumaturgy, Druidcraft. [This represents that you have innate minor powers]
    • Choose any 1st level spell. You may now cast this spell once per short rest, but when you do you roll on the Wild Magic Surge table of the Wild Magic Sorcerer. This spell may be added to your spell list, but whenever cast does cause a surge. [There is a temptation to have the player roll on the table twice and let them choose the better effect.]
    • Your spellcasting ability for these spells is Constitution. [This is to represent that the magic courses through your body.]

    Design notes

    The intent here is to be similar in power to Magic Initiate, but to embrace the chaos of the Wild Magic Sorcerer. Dropping one cantrip and upping the usage of the spell is similar to the Artificer Initiate. Adding Metamagic would give the holder of the Feat control, which is in opposition to the intent.