#Commons and Cantrips month
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How did you and B meet?
I'm sure I've talked about this before, but here's the Official Story from our reception invitations:
Erica met B through their mutual friend G while rock climbing at the Austin greenbelt in April of 2019.
Erica had just purchased a new camera and 80% of the photos she took that day were of B. She shyly sent B the best ones and noted he was a lovely subject. B said, “thanks bro” and used those pictures for his Bumble profile.
It was an auspicious beginning.
At the time, B was living and working in Austin while Erica was a PhD student in Dallas. She often visited “home” to see her parents and climb, so they met up regularly over the next two years.
When the pandemic hit, Erica moved back to Austin to work on her dissertation, and isolated with a small group of climbers that included B. They also started playing D&D together.
Erica’s character was a chaotic neutral half-elf bard who cast spells and cantrips exclusively via limerick. Her go-to solutions to problems they encountered were seduction, inciting political rebellion, befriending monsters, and stabbing.
B played a lawful good half-elf paladin who found Erica’s character extremely vexing.
In real life, however, they had quite a bit in common, and started spending time alone outside of group climbing and D&D meetups. Later, they would discover they had a mutual romantic interest at this point, but neither acted on it since Erica had accepted a visiting professorship in Colorado. She moved in July.
When Erica returned briefly to Austin over spring break the following year, she spent most of her time with B: climbing, hiking, grilling at her parent’s place, and staunchly denying there was anything happening between them even if she wished there was because honestly, mom, he's never shown the slightest bit of interest in me (her father scoffed loudly from the other room).
She decided to move back to Austin at the end of the school year. When B (and G) came to visit her a few weeks before she moved, Erica decided to be brave and make her intentions known. While watching a UFC fight with B on the couch, she tucked her toes, lasciviously, under B’s thigh.
Shockingly, he did not respond to this unequivocal romantic overture. But he did help her remove all the temporary wallpaper on her ugly rental cabinets before they left, so that was nice.
The following month, when Erica moved back to Austin, B asked if she’d like to come over for dinner after climbing. She agreed because she wanted to procrastinate unpacking and also she was slightly in love with him. The following day, he asked if she wanted to have dinner again. She did.
“Wow,” Erica said to her mother that morning, “I guess B is really lonely since G moved. He’s been asking me to hang out with him a lot.”
“You're an idiot,” her mother said.
That night, B asked Erica if she'd ever thought about them dating.
“I’m thinking about it now,” she said, cavalier, suave, blasé, and not nervous at all.
This wasn’t a lie, but she had also thought about it once or twice prior to that moment as well.
“Great,” B said, “How would you feel if I kissed you?”
And Erica said, “Yeah, I’d feel pretty good about that.”
A few weeks later, B casually showed Erica an empty shelf in his bathroom cabinet and an inviting space in his closet and a couple spare drawers in his dresser and she, equally casually, moved in with him.
Over the next year, the apartment’s decor and Erica’s diet improved drastically. They traveled, they climbed, they spent time with each others families. They lived, laughed, loved and reduced, reused, recycled. Shortly after moving into their new house, combining bank accounts, making each other their medical powers of attorney, solidifying their retirement plans, and discussing whether getting married would have tax benefits, they realized most people got engaged before doing…a good portion of those things. So they planned to propose to each other.
Christmas of 2022, they took a road trip across Colorado. B proposed to Erica on the gondola in Telluride; two days later, Erica proposed to B on the Train to Cascade Canyon in Durango. They both said yes.
In August 2023 they will elope, with their dog Deacon as a witness, to Mt. Rainier national park.
In November 2023, they’ll celebrate with their friends and family at a backyard reception that will include food, drinks, swimming, croquet, corn hole, axe-throwing and a bounce house (the axe-throwing and the bounce-house will be on opposite sides of the lawn; if it's cold, the pool will be heated). They hope you’ll come and share their joy with them.
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Calls of the Grave | Some weird and useful necromancy spells
PDFs of this and more can be found over on at my Patreon here!
My Kickstarter is live! Support it and get rad new lycanthropes!
I would have used the "spelling dead" but that one already exists! Anyway, I decided I would do some undead targeting spells, or just dead targeting in some senses of the word. Good day to be a cleric wizard or warlock, it seems.
Animate Corpse
This is an elder scrolls styled scaling reanimation spell. One target, and short time, to give you full access to the corpse's abilities at a low level. I thought it was neat. I highly suspect that the durations aren't worth the 6th level+ spell slots, but you generally get diminishing returns on scaling spells.
Corpse Explosion
This one is diablo inspired, which I did something similar in my rot druid. But that was more accelerating a natural process, where as this is just shoving necromancy into something until it explodes.
Death Knell
Ironically, this is a cantrip with a similar etymological root as toll the dead, but toll the dead's gimmick is weird AKA "The first hit sucks, afterwards this is the strongest cantrip in the game" So instead, I decided that the mark of death from the death knell more strongly affects those who should already be dead. Works well with last week's necromancer who ignores the resistance or immunity undead have to the damage type, which is admittedly not as common as you'd think.
Knit Flesh
An undead cure wounds. I often use this for my undead boss characters so they can heal themselves, but it's handy for any necromancer… kinda. 3rd level so a 17th level wizard can't just heal their zombies for free
Restless Dead
An interesting concept. A damaging reaction cantrip, but with a rather limited trigger. The intent is to have revenge for having your friends die, but I'm sure someone can find a weird use for it. The bonus here is the virtually completely unresisted damage type.
And now to plug my stuff. I release homebrews weekly over on my Patreon.
Anyone who pledges $1 or more per post don't have to wait a month to see them, and also help fund my being alive habit.
At the moment, they have exclusive access to the following:
Otherworldly Patron: The Absolute
Martial Archetype: Knight of the Fallen Oak
Words of Power
Maelstrom Hammer
I also have three classes, and a splatbook over on DriveThrueRPG to check out:
The Rift Binder. A class specialising in summoning monsters and controlling the battlefield.
The Witch Knight. A class that combines swords and sorcery in the most literal way.
The Werebeast. A class that turns you into a half beast to destroy your foes.
d'Artagnan's Adventurer Almanac. A compendium of races, subclasses, feats, spells, monsters and more!
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Making High Fantasy Settings more Internally Consistent (Part 1)
Most high fantasy settings for tabletop games in the West (and elsewhere, but I'm focusing on tabletop games) have a couple of problems with internal setting consistency. Some of these result from game rules with very unclear fictional implications, and some come from writers and game designers not thinking through the results of the things they put in their books, and simply imposing their loosely remembered understanding of European medieval history onto their fictional setting.
Widespread Magic isn't that Widespread
Character classes are one of the biggest offenders here. Players tend to start off with interesting character abilities and a little bit of useful magic (for spellcasters, particularly), yet the vast majority of non-player characters have none of these abilities - no matter how useful they would be in their day-to-day life. A farmer with "create water", a blacksmith with "mending", or a valet with "prestidigitation" would find their jobs immensely more easy and productive. Two of these are cantrips that players can throw around for free all day in D&D.
If your setting is overflowing with magic to the point that low-level starting characters can access quite a bit of it, is there a reason that the people with the most use for it (as in, multiple times a day, every day, for their whole working lives) don't have any access to it? It would be so beneficial that, even if it takes months or years to learn, it would be worth it, and those would be the first sort of lessons from master to apprentice. Most children would be learning a cantrip or two beside their parents before taking an apprenticeship where they might pick up a few more. I'm not suggesting that every single person in every single village would have a full level of a spellcasting class, but also maybe they should? Or you should think about having each background come with one or more cantrips, and let each NPC have 2-5 cantrips appropriate to the sort of work they do or life they lead.
Then think about how different the lives of these common people would be: how much relative leisure they might enjoy, or how much time they would have for innovation or creativity, or how improved their comfort would be.
Nevermind that the common media portrayal of a medieval peasant as an unkempt and dirty person toiling for long hours every day in brown rags is woefully inaccurate (they regularly cleaned themselves and their clothing, which tended to be brightly colored in reds, yellows, blues, whites, and blacks, and had more days off than most white collar workers in the 21st century US). Now most of the peasants and common folk have just a touch of magic to make their lives that much easier, their bodies that much healthier, their clothes that much cleaner and fancier. How would you then describe the smells of a common farmer's home? How would you describe their clothing? How would you describe their personal appearance?
Next time, Technological Stagnation, Dungeons, Ruins, and Places of Adventure?
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Yellow
Set between Acts 2 and 3, Wyll confronts Astarion about the Rite of Profane Ascension; Astarion realizes that they have more in common than meets the eye.
It's nice to see the stars again, he thinks, after so many days spent cloaked in the gloomy, arcane shadows that had marred the landscape nearly from Elturel to Anga Vled. He'd only just gotten used to the sun's warmth when they'd entered the dark cloud, somehow so oppressive as to be almost tangible; like breathing in curls of steam, if steam were cold and necrotic. But the air is clear now. Clear enough, in fact, that he can see the whole of the Gate sprawled out on the horizon, the warm glow of candles and cantrips a lively reflection of so many icy stars above. An all too familiar silhouette looms menacingly from its perch along the curve of the lower city’s central wall, and Astarion has to quash the fear rising up in his throat as his eyes skate past it. He has a plan. A real one, now. When he gets to Baldur's Gate, he will ascend, and Cazador will be no more.
But he's not in Bladur’s Gate, yet. The gray stones of Wyrm’s Lookout are cool beneath him, warmed ineffectively by the dying coals in front of him. It's late, and the others have gone to bed. He considers curling up on his bedroll to trance, but suddenly there's sounds of movement from down below, where the camp has been set up. Rustling of blankets; shuffling footsteps. A pause. Then the clink of buckles on a pack being undone, the whisper of canvas as something is removed. The footsteps are heading for him now, ascending the ladder to the roof of the squat tower where Astarion is sprawled by the remains of his fire. The breeze carries a scent towards him, and it's all yellow: lightly floral, lemony, golden honey-mead middle notes, and a barely discernible undertone of brimstone. Sickeningly sweet. Sunshine-sour. Sulfurous.
Wyll Ravengard lowers himself wordlessly to the ground next to him, uncorking the bottle he's brought with him and taking a swig. Looking up at the stars, he proffers the amber liquid to Astarion. At first, he screws up his face and prepares to decline, but then thinks better of it; he takes a long pull. It's exactly the sort of drink he'd expect to find in one of the lavish estates of the Upper City, and he's not even sure how Wyll had managed to procure it: aged whiskey, peppery, vanilla, biting. It's not good. It's strong, though, and he figures that's what they're both after.
“Nightmares, is it then, darling?" he says dully, passing the bottle back.
Wyll shakes his head. “Actually, unless you count our nocturnal visitor, I haven't dreamt at all since this," he replies as he taps his forehead and sighs. ”Just couldn't sleep, is all.”
Astarion's question had been rhetorical and he doesn't much care to hear about whatever's ailing the restless warlock, so he doesn't deign to respond. Wyll starts talking anyway.
“I haven't seen my father in almost seven years. I keep running over in my head how it could go when we find him– gods, if we find him alive. I don't know how I'll feel. Angry? Relieved? Maybe he won't even want my help, when he sees these horns. But I have to try.”
"Hm.” Astarion truly wishes he had not asked. The quiet solitude of his night seems out of reach now. Last month, he'd have counted himself mad if someone had told him that his nights would consist of wrangling an owlbear cub to bed or listening to the laments of Duke Ravengard’s wayward son.
"Do you have anyone you're looking forward to seeing in the city, Astarion? A lover, perhaps?”
Oh, no. He is not having this discussion at all. He shoots Wyll a glare that hopes is interpreted as daggers coming out of his eyes. “Oh, yes. Hundreds. I'm adored by many people, you see."
The daggers fall flat against the shield of Wyll’s earnestness, or stupidity, whichever it be. “Oh, I have no doubt about that. Family, then? Parents?"
“No." Astarion can't remember his father, or even if he knew one to begin with. Seeing Wyll's discomfort, he thinks maybe that's for the best.
“What about Cazador's other spawn?"
He's had enough. “My ‘siblings’ should consider themselves lucky that their miserable lives will serve a higher purpose, for when I see them next, they will live their last.”
Finally, Wyll tightens his lips into a thin line, seeing that he's struck a nerve. Rather than back down, he needles it. "Siblings, though? So they are family to you?”
“It's not my chosen wording, it's– Ravengard, did you come up here just to bother me about my personal life?”
Wyll puts his hands up in surrender. “I'm just trying to make conversation, is all. And I have to admit, I've been curious about your relationship with them, and your plan, since you told us about the ritual. This… Rite of Profane Ascension. The name is a little on the nose, no?"
Astarion can't fathom why he'd take any interest in the plan beyond what would be expected of him for his involvement– which was very little. Either he'd help or he wouldn't, but that has no bearing on the decision Astarion has already made. "What would you have it be then, hm?” he asks. " The Rite of Puppies and Sunshine?”
"Listen, all I'm saying is that if it sounds downright evil and it's a contract drafted with a godsdamned devil, then maybe it's not all it's cracked up to be. Trust me, I would know. It just seems… nefarious in nature.” His mismatched eyes beseech him in silent plea.
He can't be serious. Astarion flops over dramatically, the back of his hand raising to meet his forehead as his eyes flutter shut. "Oh! At last, the famed Blade of Frontiers has come to save me from my own incompetence. My very soul is in danger– well, if there's still one to speak of, that is.” He peeks out of one eye at the last sentence, flashing a catlike smile.
The Blade of Frontiers purses his lips. “I'm being serious, Astarion. And while, yes, I am concerned about how this affects you, it's not just your life we're talking about.”
He scoffs, returning to his lounging position. "I'd be doing you a personal favor by carrying out this ritual. Six spawn and a full vampire lord disposed of, and you don't even need to lift a finger! What more could any monster hunter want?”
“To not create an even greater monster." He turns away, looking pointedly at the coals. The dim glow reflects off the dark sclera of his good eye.
Astarion suddenly understands the aim of the confrontation. Wyll’s not concerned about him, not really, but about the threat of unleashing a vampire ascendant; a wholly unknown type of being which exists entirely at odds with his naïve philosophy. He's still trying to play the hero– but Astarion knows that heroes don't exist.
He raises himself to a sitting position on his knees and spreads his arms wide. "Stake me now then, if you're so concerned.”
And Wyll looks like he really considers it, which stings a bit. Eventually, he says in a pained voice, "You have to understand the dilemma I have. Astarion, I don't want to go against you. But you confound me.” He shakes his head, running a hand up his braids between the horns. “On the one hand, if you don't perform this ritual, then it's easier for me to believe that a vampire is capable of good; but it also leaves alive seven vampires, one of whom I know is not good by virtue of your description of him. On the other hand, if you do go through with this, then maybe you are a monster. And while it's true the world would be net negative vampires, it would be hard for me to… trust you, after that. If you would sacrifice your siblings for power, the people you've spent two hundred years with, who's to say you would stop there?”
Astarion pouts in mock pity. "Aw, have we discovered what morally gray means?”
Wyll's fists gather on his thighs. "Don't condescend me, Astarion! I've dedicated my life to protecting the people of the Sword Coast, and I'm trying to do that here while giving you the benefit of the doubt because you're my friend.”
And that surprises him, because he hadn't considered them friends. He'd only recently stopped worrying about being staked in his sleep; although maybe that was a mistake. "Which is it, then? Am I a friend or a monster?”
"You tell me.”
Astarion is furious, then. What right does Wyll have to sit there and demand that he justify his own continued existence? As if he hadn't made his own deal with the devil? As if he were a hero, when no one is truly that good? If it were possible, then Astarion would have been saved long ago. Wyll's too late. Astarion would be his own savior now.
“I think," he snarls, “you're a sniveling pup poking his nose where it doesn't belong. I think you're an insufferable hypocrite to threaten me with the borrowed power of a devil. And I think you'll regret it if you cross me, because I'm going to live. I'm going to endure. I will ascend."
Wyll matches his intensity, nostrils flaring. “And I think you're making the wrong choice because you're afraid. You're too weak to do the right thing.”
Astarion is practically animal, hinged forward and fangs bared, because somewhere buried deep he knows the warlock is right. “Don't you dare think for a moment that you could presume my emotions. You are an infant. You could not conceive of the centuries of torture I have endured, the fetid conditions in which I was kept, the things I had to do to stay alive. I am claiming my right to be free; and to make sure I am never a slave to anyone else, ever again. And if that makes me a monster, then so be it."
“Just because I am human does not mean I don't understand what it is to be used. To be trapped. We both have our masters."
Wyll's voice is soft and flat; a hand rubs absentmindedly at his throat, and Astarion sees him for what he is beneath the heroic charade: a child, yes, but one who's lost his father, one who's under the thumb of a devil. He feels a little bad for yelling; but not that bad.
“Then you understand that I have to do this. No matter the cost. If given the opportunity, would you not make sacrifices to be free of Mizora?”
Wyll's response is immediate and resolute. “No. I agreed to this pact, and I would do the same if I was faced with the choice again. I may not have known the details at the time, but that's no one's fault but my own. I would not have anyone suffer for it."
“Then you are a fool. Can't you see that she tricked you? You were too young to soundly make that decision, however she coerced you into it." Gods, he can't imagine defending Cazador like that. He finds that he pities Wyll; so desperate to hide from the fact that he'd been taken advantage of that he tries to look strong by bearing the needless guilt, by indulging in this foolish fairy-tale heroism when he can't even save himself. The Blade of Frontiers is just a story he tells himself so he can sleep at night– and his presence here is only evidence to the fact that it isn't working.
Wyll has been silent, eyes scanning the horizon after taking another deep drink of the whiskey. After a time, he reaches out and points toward the base of Dusthawk Hill, a towering black silhouette which manifests mainly as a lack of stars. "That's where it happened, seven years ago. I told Tav the whole story earlier; Mizora granted me that, at least. In my father's absence, a cult made a move to summon Tiamat to Toril. The city would have fallen to the Dragon Queen; Mizora warned me just in time, and gave me the power to save it. Whatever price I have to pay is worth the lives of everyone in Baldur's Gate– so sacrificing more lives to undo my choice would render it meaningless. Besides, I've saved more lives with my patron’s power than I could have otherwise. I will bear it for their sake."
How boringly predictable. “And how do you know that Mizora didn't set the whole thing up? That she didn't tip the cultists off about your father's absence, precisely so you could fall into her waiting claws?"
He pauses as if he's genuinely never considered it before. “I suppose I don't. But what's done is done, and there's no use wishing it had gone differently. I can only hope to use these infernal powers for good now, when I'm not busy playing her games."
“You are hopelessly dull. Look at what she's done to you!"
“I–” he stops himself, and lets his face fall, realization finally setting in. “You're right. She's fashioned me into one of the very villains I'm sworn to hunt. I saw the way all those tieflings in the Grove looked at me– I can't imagine how my father will see me. I hardly recognize myself." He brushes a few fingers softly over one horned temple, releasing Astarion from the hellfire of his gaze.
Astarion runs his tongue along his fangs, remembering his own unpleasant transformation; the pain as his body healed over the fatal wounds, the feeling of his own blood drying up and cooling in his veins, and the gaping silence from where his heart was that would take years to get used to. He can’t imagine being dragged through each layer of the Hells had been any more pleasant.
“I can… sympathize," he says hesitantly, not even knowing why he wants to offer comfort to the man who's still deciding whether or not to kill him. “I'm not sure I would recognize myself, either, if I could see my own reflection. But for what it's worth, the horns do look quite flattering on you."
He looks a bit surprised at the compliment, which Astarion supposes is reasonable given the insults he's been hurling up until this point in the conversation. “... Thank you, Astarion. I'm sure if you could see yourself, you'd find yourself just as dashing as in your mortal life. I mean that– from one red-eyed fiend to another.”
And as much as Astarion is frustrated by Wyll's storybook prince persona, his annoying black-or-white morality, he admits that parts of him are the closest he's come in a long time to looking in a mirror. He has a plan towards his own salvation, and he can't help but want the same for Wyll. "You know… In my mortal life, I was a magistrate. If– Don't snort, it's unbecoming. One must have respect for the law’s intricacies to know how to escape its consequences. As I was saying, if Mizora has now freed you to discuss the terms of your pact… I would be willing to look over it for you. Perhaps there's a loophole. One that follows your rigidly virtuous creed, without demanding a sacrifice. A way for you to be truly free."
Wyll's eyes widen at the thought. “If such a thing were possible… I would truly owe you a great debt of gratitude. You would really do that for me? After what I've said tonight?”
"Just call it a favor. From a friend. And, of course, feel free to pay me back in advance by not killing me in my sleep tonight.”
Wyll smiles, although it hadn't really been a joke. “One of the stipulations of my contract actually spells out who I can kill. Clause G, section 9: Targets shall be limited to the infernal, the demonic, the heartless, and the soulless. I think I can safely strike you from the heartless category.”
Astarion tries to hide the worry from his voice when he asks, "And the soulless?”
The monster hunter is serious once again. “I don't pretend to be an arbiter of the soul, having sold my own. That one's up to you. You've been winning me over, as of late, Astarion, but please… think about what this ritual will cost you. I won't intervene, and I understand what's at stake for you. I'm going to trust you, so just… don't make me regret it."
He's not sure he deserves this trust; he knows he's not good like Wyll. But… he's starting to see a universe where he might try to be. He knows he'll never escape the sins of his past, and, gods willing, he won't become some nagging do-gooder, but with Cazador out of the picture… he might evolve into a version of himself that he hates less. It's just such a waste of all that power, at the tips of his fingers. And the blood on his hands would taste so sweet.
"I can't promise that I'll change my mind. But… I'll consider it,” he relents at last. It's the best offer he's going to give. Still, Wyll's posture relaxes minutely, and he clamps a warm hand on the vampire's shoulder.
"To considerations, then,” he says, bringing the bottle to his lips and then offering it out.
Astarion can smell the strange perfume of his blood from the wrist near his face, so he looks up from beneath his lashes and bravely ventures, “I can think of something better to drink, if you're willing… ?”
Wyll flattens his lips together and pats him a few times on the shoulder where his hand rests before getting up. "And here I thought we were making progress. Good night, Astarion.”
"Wh– I thought you said we were friends?" he protests at the retreating figure.
“Not that good of friends," Wyll replies as he descends the ladder. “Keep telling me how nice my horns look, though, and we'll see how we get on."
“You are surely the most fetching sheep I've ever met,” Astarion teases.
“Don’t push it.”
“Good night, Wyll."
#woe wyllstarion be upon ye#baldur's gate 3#bg3#astarion#astarion ancunin#wyll ravengard#bg3 wyll#wyllstarion#wyll x astarion#this is platonic but also they want each other carnally#jupyt3r writes
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I’ve just recent started playing wiz again after not touching it for months and saw the dude who tells you about cantrips in the commons I love his wheelchair design!! I love the direction the devs r going in for the future npcs!
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161. Various Authors - Dragon #61 (May 1982)
Hey, look! It's the issue of Dragon that came out the month I was born! Happy birthday to me! In this issue Gary Gygax continues his series of articles that introduce cantrips into AD&D and this time he brings us cantrips for illusionists, more interesting as a concept that will have a long life in the game (up until today, at least) than for the spells themselves, most of which have in time disappeared and been replaced by more workable ones, it's still a pretty cool thing.
This issue also includes a couple of articles on unarmed combat and the use of exotic weapons. This is pretty useful stuff, with tables and information on how to include and develop these fighting systems in the context of the game. For those who, like me, are particularly into lore and roleplaying rather than the minutiae of weapons there is a whole section on Gnomes as a continuation of the articles on the different races in AD&D. Covering Gnomes and Gnome deities, even if most of the information is taken from non-D&D sources, we do get some information on what makes gnomes unique and their main god: Garl Glittergold.
As a bonus for D&D players we get not only a free adventure module, something which was by now common with Dragon, but also 80 monster cards for DMs to have easy access to their stats. As a curiosity we also get a pretty middling review of Call of Cthulhu, which had just come out in the review section of the magazine, they shouldn't have worried, it did become pretty successful. As usual we close off the issue with pretty funny What's New and Wormy comics.
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An Offer of Ownership
Tags: original drow characters, D/s dynamics, teacher-student relationship, master/apprentice, discussion of marking, anal sex, restraint, porn with feelings, mutual pining, they're so oblivious it hurts, they're idiots your honour
Summary:
Ashenivir’s second attempt at graduation is drawing closer, and Rizeth finally takes a leap, offering him a mark of ownership.
He then proceeds to have a complete meltdown, convinced he has ruined his relationship with his Ra’soltha, as he did once before. Like a mature adult, he avoids Ashenivir for as long as possible before his apprentice finally confronts him with an answer.
—
“You mean to tell me you have mastered High Drow, Elvish, Draconic, Gnomish, and Dwarven, yet Common eludes you?”
Ashenivir passed the unreadable book back to Rizeth, ducking his head in embarrassment.
“I never saw any use in learning it,” he protested. “It’s not as if I’m ever likely to go to the surface.”
“That as may be, you can make an effort to learn the fundamentals before you graduate.” Rizeth set the book between them on the desk, resting the tips of his fingers on the cover. “Do not try and tell me you can’t—you were fluent in High Drow after six months when you set your mind to it. You can be conversational in Common in four.”
“Yes, Master,” Ashenivir sighed.
Four months, that was all he had left at the Arcanum. It had taken until the end of the year to fully recover from his disastrous attempt at modifying a sleep spell. The relief he’d felt at being able to access the Weave again after a tenday—even if he’d been forbidden from casting anything more powerful than a cantrip—had been phenomenal. He hadn’t said a word to anybody, especially not Rizeth, but a part of him had been terrified he’d permanently damaged his connection to it. Even now, every time he reached for it, he worried it wasn’t going to be there.
Anxiety notwithstanding, he had recovered now, and had returned to his studies shortly after the new year had begun. It felt good to be back doing the thing he loved most, even if his stomach still churned every time he thought about graduating.
Read more on AO3
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Obedience is a D/s, m/m dungeons & dragons fic series set in my homebrew drow city, featuring two wizard boys, the kinky magic they get up to, and the feelings they definitely don’t have for each other.
Read the series so far here: Obedience - thespacelizard
#fanfiction#dungeons and dragons fanfiction#dnd fanfiction#dnd fic#m/m#m/m fanfic#oc fanfiction#dnd#obedience fic blogging#please enjoy nearly eight thousand words of Boy Being Idiots#a treat also for Rizeth Backstory Enjoyers
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Fate and Phantasms #291
Okay, one more! We can do this! And by this, I mean Murasaki Shikibu! …Wait, that came out wrong.
Anyway. Miss Purple is a Spirits Bard to use demonic spiders in her spellcasting, and we’re also checking out the brand-new Fate Cleric for a little genre-savviness. It kept talking about strands of fate and the thematic possibilities just wouldn’t let me go.
Check out her build breakdown below the cut, or her character sheet over here!
Next up: I’m startin’ with the man in the mirror! I’m asking him to change his ways!
Race and Background
Murasaki’s still a Variant Human as well as a Cloistered Scholar. On top of that, her proficiencies are the same, getting that bonus in History, Arcana, and Religion, and you’ve also still have a Keen Mind, which gives you +1 Intelligence, and you always know which way is north, you know how much time is left before sunrise or sunset, and you can recall anything you’ve seen or heard within the last month. So go on that movie binge and get ready for summer, we’re heading to camp!
(She also gets +1 Wisdom and Charisma)
Ability Scores
This time around Murasaki’s highest stat is Charisma, since navigating a horror movie is more of an art than a science. This also means her Dexterity and Wisdom are pretty high too- not getting stabbed helps a bunch, so now you can dodge out of the way of the killer you see coming. Sadly this means her Intelligence isn’t as high as last time- too many scary movies’ll rot your brain. This means we’ve got a low Constitution and Strength. I mean she’s not a caster this time, but she’s still like 90% a caster this time.
Class Levels
1. Bard 1: So obviously Murasaki’s a bard, right? Like, what kind of idiot would look at one of the most famous authors in Japan and not make her a bard?
*cough* moving on.
This gives her proficiency in Dexterity and Charisma saves, as well as three skills of her choice. Animal Handling and Athletics will take care of her riding skills, while Performance helps both with her writing and with her cosplay!
Speaking of cosplay, Bards can cast spells like Disguise Self, letting you instantly change outfits on the fly! They don’t physically change, but it’s still pretty good for the fashion of it. You also get cantrips like Dancing Lights and Message to put on a light show and send messages to friends while avoiding the zombie horde. For leveled spells we get disguise self like I said, but you can also pick up Color Spray for a flashy spell that shuts down enemies, Feather Fall to weave some webs beneath your friends when they fall, and Dissonant Whispers. It’s a horror movie, everyone’s a little creepy and cursed. You cast spells using your Charisma, btw.
Also using your charisma is your Bardic Inspiration. Spend a bonus action explaining exactly what kind of horror movie you’re trapped in, and you’ll give an ally a d6 they can add to any check, save, or attack roll they make in the next minute! Genre savviness is powerful stuff when dealing with works as by-the-numbers as a horror show. These recharge on long rests, and you have Charisma Modifier dice per day.
2. Bard 2: Second level bards are Jacks of All Trades, giving you half proficiency in just about every check you’re not already proficient in. This includes ability checks like initiative, not just skill checks. Horror movies ain’t subtle, you’ll know when a fight’s about to break out.
You can also use a Song of Rest on short rests, adding a d6 to the healing done over that period of time. Get in all the healing you can, you’re gonna need it.
On top of all that, your Magical Inspiration means your bardic inspiration can now be used to improve a spell’s healing or damage to one creature.
Speaking of healing or damage, Identify does neither of those things! But it’s still useful for avoiding cursed objects. Common sense could also do that, but a backup’s always good.
3. Bard 3: The third level of bard is where things get spicy as you get more in-tune with the Spirits of the summer camp. Starting now, you can hear their Guiding Whispers, giving you the Guidance cantrip for free for a d4 to add on the next check you make. It also has a 60’ range instead of touch, which is super useful given how much gross shit people get covered with in these kinds of films.
You can also use a Spiritual Focus, increasing the amount of stuff you can cast spells through, using a candle, crystal ball, skull, spirit board, or legally-distinct tarot deck! Also, at sixth level you can add a d6 to the healing or damage dealt by a spell cast from these objects towards one creature per spell.
Finally, the big addition for this level is the ability to tell Tales from Beyond. The singularity, that is. Obviously, most horror movies aren’t going to have their own horror movies in them. At least, not ones that will help you survive. While holding a Spiritual Focus, you can spend an inspiration as a bonus action, rolling the die to tell that tale from the Spirit Tales table. Then, you can target a creature within 30’ of you with that effect as an action, and you can hold this effect until you roll again. Right now, you know six tales. The tale of the clever animal adds an inspiration-sized die to all their intelligence, wisdom, or charisma checks for 10 minutes. When you’re trying to strategize, looking at other movies can be helpful. Or, you can tell the tale of the renowned duelist, making a spell attack against a target to deal force damage. If you want to help out Brynhildr and Sigurd, the tale of the beloved friends gives a creature and one other they choose temporary HP, the perfect gift for a man who is constantly on the verge of death. If you’d rather escape death entirely, the tale of the runaway lets the target use their reaction to teleport up to 30’ away, and then nearby creatures can do the same. If your fighter’s still stuck with nonmagical damage, the tale of the avenger can help, adding force damage to all their attacks for a minute. Finally, the tale of the traveler gives a target temporary HP, as well as extra movement and a boost to their AC. Perfect for escaping walkers. And maybe runners, if you’re lucky.
Your expertise in performance and animal handling lets you add double your proficiency to those checks, and if that wasn’t enough of a boon from your movie watching you can also use some Borrowed Knowledge to gain full proficiency in a skill of your choice for an hour. You don’t need to know how to do something, you just need to know how the movie wants you to do it.
4. Bard 4: Fourth level bards get an Ability Score Improvement, so add that to your Charisma for stronger spells and more inspiration.
You can also use Mending to patch up your outfits, and make a Phantasmal Force to sic spiders on your enemies for the first time. It only deals psychic damage, but we’ll get there.
5. Bard 5: Fifth level bards get a larger inspiration die, a d8. This also gives you two more tales. The tale of the beguiler forces a wisdom save on the target, or they take psychic damage and become incapacitated. Once you survive the slasher movie you can also tell the tale of the phantom, making a target invisible for a round. If they hit a creature with an attack, they take necrotic damage and become frightened until the end of their next turn.
You can also use these tales more often with the Font of Inspiration, letting you recharge your inspiration on short rests.
Finally, you get third level spells! Slow reduces the speed of up to six creatures. They get a penalty to AC and Dex saves, and they can’t use reactions. On top of that, they only get an action or bonus action each turn, and there’s a 50/50 chance their 1 action spells will take 2 actions instead. They can make a wisdom save to avoid this, and they get another one each turn, but it’s a crippling web to be trapped in.
6. Bard 6: Sixth level bards get a Countercharm they can spend an action on, giving nearby creatures advantage on saves against being charmed and frightened. Marginally more powerful in a horror movie, but I still think a Spirit Session is more powerful. You and willing creatures can perform an hour-long ceremony (which can be done over a short rest), learning one spell from any class as long as its level is equal or less than the number of creatures performing the ritual. It also has to be divination or necromancy, and you can do it once per long rest, and after the rest you forget the spell.
Speaking of spells, use Sending to keep in contact with the other members of your party, who are absolutely not on the other side of the lake, obviously. But even if they were, you could contact them from any space in the same plane with no issue, or even in another plane with a 5% chance of failure.
7. Bard 7: Seventh level bard, fourth level spell. Make your spider demons bigger with Phantasmal Killer, a bigger monster that can frighten its target, and if it keeps failing its wisdom save it’ll chase them down and deal 4d10 psychic damage per turn. Your NP is actually single-target, so this works better than I thought it would! We’ll keep ramping it up as we progress though.
8. Bard 8: Eighth level bards get another ASI, so bump up that Wisdom. It’s a secret tool that’ll help us later.
In the meantime, Raulothim’s Psychic Lance lets you hit someone in 120 feet of you if you can see them or know their name. They make an intelligence save, taking psychic damage and incapacitating them on a failure. This sort of mixes your first skill with a big attack, so it’s pretty cool. Just hit the dumb one first, everyone knows slashers aren’t known for their smarts.
9. Bard 9: Second verse, same as the first. Ninth level bard, fifth level spell. Legend Lore is a must for anyone trying to take down an ancient artifact. The info you’ll get from this is a little vague, but everyone knows you’re not supposed to figure that stuff out til the third act anyway.
Also your song of rest is a d8 now. Yay.
10. Bard 10: One last level of bard nets you Expertise in two more skills like Arcana and History. Knowing more makes Legend Lore work better, so you’d better study up.
You also get a d10 inspiration die, which means two more possible stories. The tale of the brute forces all creatures around the target (that they choose) must make a strength save or be knocked prone and take thunder damage. I didn’t realize Phantom could sing that loud. Must be the slasher power-up he got. The Tale of the Dragon lets a targeted creature breathe fire in a cone, forcing a dexterity save on everyone inside or they take fire damage. I don’t think Sigurd is part dragon like Siegfried is, but he could be! It’s your fanfic, do what you want.
On top of all that, pick up the Minor Illusion cantrip before checking out your Magical Secrets, which let you pick two spells from any spell list to add to your repertoire. Despite your NP being all about spider demons we’ve yet to summon one. Which admittedly works for the build, given how 0 of her kit even implies she can summon spiders, but whatever!
Grab Web to make webs, and Conjure Animals to make giant spiders. Or regular spiders. At third level you can make 2 giant spiders or 8 regular ones. Since you have fifth level slots you can double those with a higher-level slot. Maybe go for giant wolf spiders though, regular spiders aren’t gonna do much at level 10.
11. Cleric 1: Okay, time for some fun. So like, three days ago we got a new cleric subclass from the Wonders of the Multiverse UA, and if Fate is the will of the gods and cliches are the will of the writers, knowing how fate works is practically the same as knowing how the movie’s going to end. Also Fate’s in the name of this blog, it would be a shame not to use it.
So, Fate clerics learn Spells using their Wisdom. You can prepare spells, but you have to check the multiclassing table to find out how many slots you get in total. Since you prepare your magic, it’s not as important for you to pick exact spells, though you do get Dissonant Whispers and Heroism for free. You also get some cantrips like Resistance, Light, and Word of Radiance, since everyone knows a majority of horror movies’ biggest weaknesses are bright lights and well-lit rooms. I’d also recommend Detect Evil and Good for more curse protection, Protection from Evil and Good for the same, and Purify Food and Drink to keep your mushrooms curse-free.
Aside from spells, you can see Omens and Portents, letting you cast the augury spell for free with no components necessary once per day. After using that augury, any spells that include a chance at failing to tell you anything have a reduced rate of failure. I’m not entirely sure if that means the rate is 25% lower in total or like 3/4s as likely, that’s up to the DM and god.
A less difficult to understand ability is the Ties That Bind, spending an action to attach your fate to another person for an hour at a time, one at a time. Unwilling creatures can make a wisdom save, but if they’re willing or unwise you can sense what direction they’re in, and once per turn a spell you cast deals extra damage or healing to that creature. You can use this action proficiency times per day. Once you know what you’re up against, the fight’s a little less uphill.
12. Cleric 2: Okay yes, you can use your Channel Divinity to Turn Undead once per short rest, but that takes the fun out of the zombie movie! Surely using it to see the Strands of Fate is way more fun. As a bonus action you can manipulate fate up to a minute, using your reaction each turn to give any attack or check of your choosing advantage or disadvantage. Once you’ve got a monster’s weakness, it’s pretty much in the bag.
If you’re hankering for more spell slots you can also Harness Divine Power once a day, turning that Channel Divinity use into a spell slot.
13. Cleric 3: Third level clerics get 2nd level spells like See Invisibility and Warding Bond. You can also Calm Emotions to completely nullify all effects causing a target to be charmed or frightened. A second level spell does that. Bards get something worse at level 6.
14. Cleric 4: We aren’t able to get out of cleric completely without being a little ooky spooky, so grab Toll the Dead for your cantrip this level. Also, bump up your Dexterity for more not-dying. AC is good y’all. Especially in the summer heat.
15. Cleric 5: At fifth level you can really suck the fun out of a zombie movie when you Destroy Undead instead of turning them. Now every undead at or under CR 1/2 that fails their wisdom save just explodes and dies instantly.
You also learn some third level spells, making you a Beacon of Hope and giving you Clairvoyance. I’d also suggest checking out Dispel Magic and Remove Curse to pry away at the outer layers of dark energy permeating this singularity. Also because curses are really bad and you don’t want those.
16. Cleric 6: Sixth level clerics can use Channel Divinity twice per short rest, and you can also Harness Divine Power twice a day. We also get one more fateful feature, Insightful Striking. As a bonus action, you can gain insight on a monster’s weaknesses, giving you one of two effects for the next two turns- you can add a d6 to your next attack roll, or you can subtract a d6 from their next save against your magic. You can do this proficiency times per long rest.
17. Bard 11: Back in bard now! Eleventh level bards get sixth level spells. Spells like Eyebite, which can knock out, frighten, or sicken creatures you see. If you can’t tell from the bolding, I prefer the second option here. Your first ascension’s all about creeping people out. Honestly there wasn’t a sixth level spell I was 100% sold on, but Eyebite was the closest fit.
18. Bard 12: Use this ASI to max out your Charisma for the most tales and the most powerful spells. You can tell we’re getting to the end of a build when a level’s two sentences long.
19. Bard 13: Thirteenth level bards get another bonus to their song of rest, but more importantly you can cast seventh level spells like Prismatic Spray. Honestly I feel like we’ve had so many utility spells to grab our damage is probably a little lacking, so have this to make up for it.
20. Bard 14: Our final level of the build gives you a Mystical Connection to make your tales less random. Now you can roll twice on the table and pick either tale- plus, if you roll the same number twice you can choose any effect, including ones you can’t get otherwise.
You also get two more Magical Secrets! Giant spiders are cool, but they’re not Jorogumo. If we want one of those, our best bet is to Summon Fiend. This makes a fiend that’s still large enough to ride on, but it can be a demon, devil, or yugoloth. I’d say the first is most spidery, with some death throes to still do damage when it dies, a necrotic bite attack, and a climbing speed. The devil can fly and shoot fire though, and the yugoloth can teleport around with more HP, so pick your poison.
If you’d rather make a mass of regular spiders like in your NP animation, Insect Plague can do the job right, creating a 20’ radius sphere of locusts that obscure the area, make it difficult terrain, and deal piercing damage to creatures who enter or end their turn in the area.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
So, fun fact: Spirit Sessions don’t need humanoids, just creatures. That means you can game the system by summoning a bunch of spiders to help you out. On top of that, Conjure Animals lasts exactly an hour- the same length as a spirit session. (Ok, your DM might be a real stickler and say the six seconds spent summoning them doesn’t count, but… cmon.)
Also worth noting: Dissonant Whispers (Which you get from two different sources) forces the creature you hit to run away. So if you make eight giant wolf spiders and send a creature running through them, that's a lot of damage in a short amount of time. Kind of power buildy, but still really good.
This, along with many other features, makes you incredibly Versatile, with access to every necromancy and divination spell below sixth level, plenty of enhanced skill checks, and several ways to empower your own spells for your allies or against your enemies.
You’re also great at gathering information to take down bigger foes, with spells like Augury, Clairvoyance, and again, any divination spell you want, all with reduced failure rates, finding the BBEG’s hidden weakness will be a cakewalk! You’d better hope they have one though, since…
Cons:
You are godawful at direct combat. With barely over 100 HP, a middling AC, and a limited suite of offensive spells, you’re mostly working to weaken the enemies for other party members. And if those other party members aren’t there, it could get messy. You could always summon some creatures to help, but then…
You have to worry about your Concentration, which isn’t good and hampers your ability to work as well as you can. Spiders are cool, but honestly I think Strands of Fate is better.
We also dipped from Bard right before getting d12 inspiration dice, which are pretty powerful in their own right. Obviously 9th level spells are even stronger, but the spirit subclass is entirely based around using your inspiration to tell tales, so it’s a particularly rough blow for this build.
#murasaki shikibu#D&D 5e#DND#FGO#Fate Grand Order#Bard#Cleric#This one's gonna be bot bait I can feel it
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Legacy Battle for bling
De Vrolijke Vinking is a gaming café that organises Legacy events in Ghent once a month. Because of life, no events fired since I live here but it finally came back last sunday.
This time it was a battle for bling with a hefty entry fee of 20€ but I was eager to cardsling so I joined the party. 12 other players had the same idea and the merry group battled at it. Not too shabby for a low key sunday afternoon. I decided to upgrade and test 40k bant control again after a not too bad FNM run with the deck.
Last friday was #mtglegacy #fnm @OutpostGhent. I had a blast miracleing ToSK and drawing shitload of cards but finished with a 2-2 record. 🍔2-1 cloudpost, 🌵1-2 doomsday, 🍔2-1 beseech storm, 🌵1-2 hammertime pic.twitter.com/hiRYUcqE1l
— pierre-henri (@phulkor) October 29, 2023
This time it really did not pan out for me.
I went:
0-1-time against rhinos
0-2 against ninjas
1-2 against lands
1-2 agains 4c delver
Against my 2 first opponents I durdled to establish my mana as well, leading in long games or my sudden death. From the games I remember, I had 2 wastelands against my ninja opponents on basics or 5 cantrips cast and 2 mana in play against my rhino oppo. What I noticed from the other games is that Triumph of Saint Katherine was not strong enough to close games and my Beans 🫘 engine was not often online. There are many things I would change if I had to re-play the deck but my most common complain is always the same with control. Why durdle if you can just cheat an Emrakul 👾 into play or win with Thassa's oracle 🔮.
Takeways
I'm guess I'm not gandalf yet 🧙♂️ and I'll have to hone my skills more before I can make my ennemies fold into submission by sheer boredom ^^' ... still love legacy though 😘
Happy card slinging!
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my dnd character
Character Idea
Scourge (Chaotic Good)
Black Dragonborn College of Valour Bard Level 3/Level 2 Wild Magic Sorcerer
HP: 32
Weapons: 2 Scimitars (d6), 2 Shortswords (d6), 2 Daggers (d4) (+8 to hit)
Armour: Breastplate
Stats: 20 Str (+5), 16 Dex (+3), 12 Con (+1), 12 Int(+1), 10 Wis (+0), 16 Cha (+3)
AC: 16
Urchin Background
Spellcasting
Ability: Cha, Spell Save DC: 13, Spell Attack Modifier +6
Bard Cantrips: Vicious Mockery, Prestigitation
1st Level (4 Slots): Cure Wounds, Healing Word, Disguise Self
2nd Level (2 Slots): Invisibility, Knock, Shatter
Sorcerer Cantrips: Ray of Frost, Fire Bolt, Shocking Grasp, Minor Illusion
Sorcerer 1st Level (3 Slots): Sleep, Charm Person, Expeditious Retreat
Proficiencies (+3)
Skills: Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Intimidation, Perception, Survival, Persuasion, Deception
Equipment: Light and Medium Armor, Simple and Martial Weapons, Shields
Tools: Disguise Kit, Thieves’ Tools, Flute, Reed Pipes, Shawm
Languages: Draconic, Common
Saving Throws: Dex, Cha
Features
Bardic Inspiration (d6, 3 Charges)
Jack of all Trades (+1)
Song of Rest (d6)
Expertise (Sleight of Hand, Stealth)
Combat Inspiration (d6)
Wild Magic Surge
Tides of Chaos
Flexible Casting (2 Sorcery Points available)
City Secrets
Acid Breath
Acid Damage Resistance
Items
Component Pouch
Map of Baldur’s Gate
Common Clothes
Age: 19, Height: 6’3”
Appearance
She has a tall and muscular frame, with a long tail that is significantly taller than her when fully extended. Her scales are black, but fade to a dark blue around the tips of her horns. Her horns curl around from the back of her head before sharpening to a point at either side of her mouth, as well as smaller spikes adorning the top of her head like a crown. At her chin, there are three spikes, two short ones with a taller one in the middle. On her right arm, a spiked ridge travels down and splits into three, going along her pointer, ring, and middle fingers, sharing the same coloration as her horns. On her left arm, a similar pattern appears, though far less pronounced. She wears a cloak dyed a similar colour to her scales, and breastplate with the right sleeve cut off and a cut over the ridge on her other arm. The plate on her armour is painted black, but evidently not recently as the paint is dull and chipped over her heart, revealing the dull gray of steel. Her tail has a dagger tied to the tip for combat, though it hasn’t been used in a while. Her eyes are dark blue, similar to her horns.
Backstory
She never learned her given name, since her parents were exiles who died shortly after she was born, putting her on the street where she had to learn to take care of herself, still keeping a strong sense of independence now after fourteen years. She joined and underground fight club around twelve years old, where she quickly rose to the top (though not exactly by fighting cleanly) and made enough money there to get the equipment to join a mercenary group at sixteen, when an odd ridge appeared on her arm. A couple months later, she realized that she could harness the Weave to cast spells using it to focus her power, though not everything would go to plan. After realizing the power that she had now, she began to study music and integrate it with her magic, disguising herself and opening locks with ease, but also being able to patch up wounds with minimal effort. Her first instrument was a set of simple pipes, but she has since crafted a flute that is now one of her most treasured possessions. As she used magic more, the ridge grew, and eventually formed on her other arm, though not as tall. Now, she will always do her best to help out others in a similar situation to her younger self, giving them enough gold for a few good meals and a night with a roof over their head. If she doesn’t have the gold, she’ll try to convince one of the more generous party members to donate a few gold pieces to her new friend. If that fails, she’ll take the urchin to an inn and do her best to convince the innkeeper to donate a free meal or just try to pickpocket someone nearby for the coin.
You can do any thing with this character, no credit is required but is appreciated
#d&d#d&d character#dnd character#dnd oc#dnd5e#dungeons and dungeons#dungeons and dragons#bard#sorcerer#dnd sorcerer#dnd bard
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Character Idea
Scourge (Chaotic Good)
Black Dragonborn College of Valour Bard Level 3/Level 2 Wild Magic Sorcerer
HP: 32
Weapons: 2 Scimitars (d6), 2 Shortswords (d6), 2 Daggers (d4) (+8 to hit)
Armour: Breastplate
Stats: 20 Str (+5), 16 Dex (+3), 12 Con (+1), 12 Int(+1), 10 Wis (+0), 16 Cha (+3)
AC: 16
Urchin Background
Spellcasting
Ability: Cha, Spell Save DC: 13, Spell Attack Modifier +6
Bard Cantrips: Vicious Mockery, Prestigitation
1st Level (4 Slots): Cure Wounds, Healing Word, Disguise Self
2nd Level (2 Slots): Invisibility, Knock, Shatter
Sorcerer Cantrips: Ray of Frost, Fire Bolt, Shocking Grasp, Minor Illusion
Sorcerer 1st Level (3 Slots): Sleep, Charm Person, Expeditious Retreat
Proficiencies (+3)
Skills: Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Intimidation, Perception, Survival, Persuasion, Deception
Equipment: Light and Medium Armor, Simple and Martial Weapons, Shields
Tools: Disguise Kit, Thieves’ Tools, Flute, Reed Pipes, Shawm
Languages: Draconic, Common
Saving Throws: Dex, Cha
Features
Bardic Inspiration (d6, 3 Charges)
Jack of all Trades (+1)
Song of Rest (d6)
Expertise (Sleight of Hand, Stealth)
Combat Inspiration (d6)
Wild Magic Surge
Tides of Chaos
Flexible Casting (2 Sorcery Points available)
City Secrets
Acid Breath
Acid Damage Resistance
Items
Component Pouch
Map of Baldur’s Gate
Common Clothes
Age: 19, Height: 6’3”
Appearance
She has a tall and muscular frame, with a long tail that is significantly taller than her when fully extended. Her scales are black, but fade to a dark blue around the tips of her horns. Her horns curl around from the back of her head before sharpening to a point at either side of her mouth, as well as smaller spikes adorning the top of her head like a crown. At her chin, there are three spikes, two short ones with a taller one in the middle. On her right arm, a spiked ridge travels down and splits into three, going along her pointer, ring, and middle fingers, sharing the same coloration as her horns. On her left arm, a similar pattern appears, though far less pronounced. She wears a cloak dyed a similar colour to her scales, and breastplate with the right sleeve cut off and a cut over the ridge on her other arm. The plate on her armour is painted black, but evidently not recently as the paint is dull and chipped over her heart, revealing the dull gray of steel. Her tail has a dagger tied to the tip for combat, though it hasn’t been used in a while. Her eyes are dark blue, similar to her horns.
Backstory
She never learned her given name, since her parents were exiles who died shortly after she was born, putting her on the street where she had to learn to take care of herself, still keeping a strong sense of independence now after fourteen years. She joined and underground fight club around twelve years old, where she quickly rose to the top (though not exactly by fighting cleanly) and made enough money there to get the equipment to join a mercenary group at sixteen, when an odd ridge appeared on her arm. A couple months later, she realized that she could harness the Weave to cast spells using it to focus her power, though not everything would go to plan. After realizing the power that she had now, she began to study music and integrate it with her magic, disguising herself and opening locks with ease, but also being able to patch up wounds with minimal effort. Her first instrument was a set of simple pipes, but she has since crafted a flute that is now one of her most treasured possessions. As she used magic more, the ridge grew, and eventually formed on her other arm, though not as tall. Now, she will always do her best to help out others in a similar situation to her younger self, giving them enough gold for a few good meals and a night with a roof over their head. If she doesn’t have the gold, she’ll try to convince one of the more generous party members to donate a few gold pieces to her new friend. If that fails, she’ll take the urchin to an inn and do her best to convince the innkeeper to donate a free meal or just try to pickpocket someone nearby for the coin.
You can do any thing with this character, no credit is required but is appreciated
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Mandrake
Laymen believe that mandrakes are screaming, crying babies grown from the roots of a plant. However, small, wailing mandrakes are those which are harvested too early; literally children still in infancy. If allowed to grow for a year and a day before being harvested, they emerge fully formed, able to mature into great and powerful tree people
Because you are neither beast nor plant, you have the following characteristics:
Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 2.
Age. Mandrakes must grow undisturbed for a year and a day before they are harvested. They then mature in a decade and live for centuries, growing wider with more gnarled bark as they age.
Alignment. Mandrakes are known to keep centuries-old concords known only to the oldest of creatures. Though they stay neutral in most matters, they tend to lean toward lawful alignments.
Size. Mandrakes usually stand tall and slim, typically almost seven feet high, with spring mandrakes being smaller and winter mandrakes being slightly larger, and often hunched over. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Plant Nature. Even though you are not fully a plant, you still possess many of the same traits as one. As long as you are within direct sunlight for at least 4
hours a day, you do not need to eat. Additionally, you can breathe through your leaves and extremities, and can absorb water and nutrients through your feet. Even if you aren’t proficient in Stealth, you can add your proficiency bonus to Dexterity (Stealth) checks that you make to hide in natural environments, such as forests.
Root Magic. You know the shillelagh cantrip and can target yourself with the spell, treating one of your limbs as a club instead of an unarmed strike. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the goodberry spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. When you reach 5th level,
you can cast the barkskin spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common. You can also communicate simple ideas to nonmagical plants and can question plants about events that occurred nearby during the past day, gaining information about creatures that have passed, weather, and other circumstances.
Seasonal Subrace. Depending on the season in which mandrakes are harvested, they take on vastly different characteristics when they mature. Pick one seasonal subrace from Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter.
SPRING
Mandrakes harvested in the spring are limber and flexible, bearing lighter bark and short green buds instead of leaves. They are by far the thinnest and most agile of the mandrakes.
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 1.
Sprightly Movement. Your walking speed increases by 5 feet.
Storm Resistance. Accustomed to the thunderstorms of spring, you have resistance to lightning damage.
SUMMER
Summer mandrakes grow high and strong, as they are accustomed to the warm months and ever abundant sunlight. Their leaves almost form a canopy, and the roots along their feet can hold fast to the loam when the need arises.
Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 1.
Deep Roots. As long as your feet are on natural ground, you have advantage on Strength saving throws and on all ability checks you make to resist being pushed, shoved, knocked prone, or otherwise moved involuntarily.
Wildfire Resistance. Having withstood the dry conditions and occasional forest fires of midsummer, you have resistance to fire damage.
AUTUMN
Mandrakes harvested during autumn are more colorful than the other varieties, both in disposition and appearance. They are decorated with leaves in a myriad of reds, purples, and yellows. They reflect the natural world at its most bountiful and seek to share the harvest’s gifts with all who will accept them.
Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 1.
Abundance. You gain the ability to cast the goodberry spell, as per your Root Magic trait, when you choose this subrace at 1st level, instead of at 3rd level. When you cast this spell using this trait, each creature that consumes a berry regains hit points equal to your proficiency bonus.
Toxin Resistance. The vibrant colors of autumn bring with them the promise of harvests to come. To protect such a harvest, you have resistance to poison damage.
WINTER
Mandrakes which are harvested in winter first glimpse the natural world at its harshest, and become harsh in return. Winter mandrakes never grow leaves, and develop gnarled bark that makes them look much older than they are. In addition, they grow large; surviving the winter months fosters a certain strength that other mandrakes rarely, if ever, develop.
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 1.
Frost Resistance. Due to the bitter frost of the long winter months, you have resistance to cold damage.
Powerful Build. You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.
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Day 13: sir that's my emotional support rock.
and i love him
#dnd#dnd homebrew#homebrew#5e homebrew#dungeons and dragons#dnd stuff#dnd item#homebrew item#Commons and Cantrips month#oh my god!!!! 2.5k!? what the Heck bless you all
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Mechanic: Crafting Pt 1, Weapons and Armor
Can we agree that crafting in 5th edition sucks? Actually cancel that, crafting in d&d has almost always sucked: 5th edition just went so far as to pretty much remove it from the game, to the point where tool kits are almost useless and the one class with crafting at its core just gets already established items in place of class abilities.
I’m tired of having to quash my player’s dreams of making something cool or living out their fantasy as a blacksmith/master inventor/alchemist by saying “ sorry, the crafting system is dumb and/or nonexistent, you’re sorta stuck with what you’ve got”. Oh sure, you can hand wave a lot of things and I’ve tried a number of different 3rd party solutions, but they always seem to be either lackluster or tremendously clunky.
I’m someone who cares a lot about GAME-FEEL, way more than I care about things like balance, and just about every crafting system I’ve encountered (core or otherwise) feels BAD in one way or another. Too often they slow the game down to a crawl for not much benefit, either making them irrelevant to ongoing adventures by requiring months of in-game time, or being so complex that they bring any session they’re brought up into to a grinding halt.
So, here’s my absolutely bare bones crafting system so you can skip all the glut and get on with the fun:
Items have a quality rating that sync up with the rarities of magic items: Mundane, Common, Uncommon, Rare, Very rare, Legendary.
To craft an item, you (or an npc you’re working with) need proficiency in the right toolset and a proficiency bonus based on the Quality of the item you’re trying to make (+2 for common, +3 for uncommon, etc)
You’ll need a properly equipped workshop for the task at hand, and sufficient components for the project you’re attempting (more on this below the cut)
An item requires a number of “work sessions” per grade of quality, each amounting to eight hours out of a day, though these days need not be contiguous. Each session requires the crafter to make a skill check using the appropriate proficiency (or use my mini-game rules for extra special crafting projects) against a DC determined by the quality of the object: 10 for mundane, 15 for common, 20 for uncommon etc.
If half or more of the item’s work sessions are successful by the end of the run, the item is complete!
And that’s it, a light and simple crafting system that you can manage at the table but lets your players actually make the things they want to make. I have a lot more ideas that chain off this one, but I’ll save them for below the cut. With that in mind, here’s a few of the things I’d like to use these systems to solve:
Giving your party a reason to visit craftspeople in town, and things to actually spend gold on
Fixing Consumable magic items
Making weapons and armor more mechanically interesting than just stacking magical bonuses
Making toolkits actually useful and adding them to the player’s gameplay loop
introducing scaling weapon damage in a way to keep melee characters in-line with cantrip users.
Using crafting materials as adventure hooks, & Loot rewards.
Magical item upgrades to keep old favorites relevant into the late game.
A disclaimer: In my time dealing with homebrew, I’ve come to realize that it’s always better to make extraneous or 3rd party rules changes opt-in, allowing your players to choose the level of complexity that they want while keeping the game simple. Rather than force everyone at your table to learn yet more rules at the onset, instead wait for one of the players to dip their toe into your expanded mechanics, then let the group follow as they will. To that end, try to run everything in your game as vanilla as possible until such time as your players begin asking about doing things the rules wouldn’t allow. Then introduce these options piecemeal
Tool kits: mostly useless flavor items, toolkits were given a slight buff over time in Xanathar’s and a few other places online ( which I encourage you to go seek out). In my system, each toolkit has 10 charges which are expended whenever a character undertakes a work session. Charges can be refreshed in the following ways:
Spending an hour ( including a short rest) in a workshop related to your kit replenishes all charges. Generally you need to be friendly to this workshop, stealing from an unoccupied one, or pay for the privilege ( see below)
The herbalist’s kit and others that rely on natural ingredients can be replenished by spending an hour per use in an appropriate environment, possibly requiring a survival check to restock if the surroundings are harsh.
Visiting a market and paying 1/10th the value of the kit per charge. you may spend as much as you want this way, but in total the process only takes an hour.
Harvesting components from creatures relevant to your Kit’s specific trade, providing a number of charges equal to their CR.
Upgrading your gear: 5e’s options for weapons and armor are both painfully shallow, offering almost 0 flexibility beyond getting slightly better armor over time and waiting for magic items to drop. This completely nullifies a very tactile narrative experience of our heroes kitting themselves out before a big fight/upgrading their kit as they get access to better materials. To that end I offer this system, intended to replicate the feeling of building a custom item rather than just taking one off the rack.
Weapons:
Weapons have quality, independent of their magical rarity, representing the skill with which they were crafted and the materials from which they were made. An item can be crafted at a certain quality (usually mundane), and then can be enchanted or have it’s quality improved in any order.
Improving a weapon’s quality to Common sees it gain access to Traits, small bonuses which improve a weapon’s overall functionality. Such traits might include: Wieldy ( adds user’s proficiency bonus to damage), sharp edged (doubles your key ability modifier on a critical hit), Steadfast ( advantage against being disarmed). An item gains a number of traits equal to the crafter’s proficiency bonus, and the same weapon can be refined by more skilled hands without pushing it any farther than common, simply requiring another common quality work period.
I’m not going to pad out this list by suggesting a whole catalog of traits, but there are a multitude of “customizing weapons” 3rd party materials out there for you to draw from.
Traits are also a great way to build in the features of more exotic weapons, without having to worry about bloating the equipment list. Sure a magical sickle is nice, but wouldn’t you like to take it into town and get it upgraded into a kusarigama?
Upgrading a weapon to a quality higher than common requires the use of special materials such as adamantine or mithril, elemental infused ore, or the bodyparts of monsters. These materials are valued as if they were items of equivalent magical rarity ( 100-500 for uncommon, etc). When incorporated into an item, the base damage of the weapon increases by 1 die, (so an uncommon shortsword does 2d6, where as a very rare greataxe does 3d12), and can grant a number of special traits based on the material.
Yes, I know, this doesn’t comply with the default “balance” of martial classes but if you haven’t noticed high level d&d is sort of a slugfest for those who rely on their basic attacks. Casters get their scaling cantrips, and this is a way for some characters to keep pace).
Armor
Since armor tends to be very complex and require custom fitting, crafting or resizing it requires a number of work sessions based on it’s price compared to that of a magical item’s rarity (IE a chain shirt requiring two, a suit of plate requiring four). This also affects the DC of the crafting check. Fresh off the rack is still considered to be “mundane” in quality though.
Just like weapons, armor has a quality, unlocking its own set of traits when upgraded to common grade. It also requires special materials to upgrade to uncommon quality or above.
A character wearing armor (or shield) that has been upgraded to uncommon or higher quality has the ability to use a new reaction: glancing blow, suffering half the expected damage from an incoming attack. When a character uses this ability, they mark a tally next to their armor’s listing. When a piece of armor has taken a number of tallies equal to their armor’s AC -10 ( or in the case of shields, their flat bonus), the armor is damaged, Providing none of its usual benefits and imposing disadvantage on athletics, acrobatics, and stealth rolls until it is removed.
Broken Armor & Weapons:
Broken items can be used as if they were special materials of their original grade in order to construct new items, whether by patching holes and mending cracks to reforge them into their original state, or melting them down into base components to create something entirely new. An item that is broken keeps all the enchantments it previously had, though they may not be applicable in its newest form.
While this does allow a player to reconstruct favored items lost during the course of an adventure, it also allows dms to place broken pieces of arms and armor into derelict dungeons as both a reward and a mini quest hook in seeking out a worthwhile crafter for repairs.
This post is getting VERY long, so I’m going to split off consumable crafting and magic items into their own post.
#D&D#D&D adventure#Homebrew Adventure#Adventure#DnD#d&d mechanics#homebrew#homebrew mechanic#the loot overhaul
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Faoladh (Fwee Luh) (Playable Race - Homebrew)
To my brother, @jwslw Thank you for enduring my non-sense.
Faoladh, Wardens of Children, Lost Souls and Wounded Soldiers. It is said these Therianthropes are born to human families on the edge of civilization, and they have the ability to take on the shape of wolves, a form they use to watch for harmful Fey and other threats to society. While they rarely swear any formal service, they can often be found in careers that see them caring for the meek, supporting the local guards, or guiding others through harsh terrain, or providing their community with food. Villages that have Faoladh guardians near by often accept the loss of a handful of sheep each month as the price for being so blessed, as the Faoladh are prone to taking to their animal form and helping themselves to such a feast. Faoladh, it is said, are born understanding the language of Worg.
Type: Humanoid (Human and Shapechanger Subtypes).
Age: Faoladh reach adulthood around 15 years of age, and live roughly One century.
Size: Medium, The Faoladh stand around 6 feet tall.
Base Speed: 30 ft. / 6 squares.
Typical Alignment: Any, often Rebel Moral or Social Moral.
Base Languages: Sylvan, Worg, and the language of their home nation if not already listed. Faoladh Adventurers also speak Common or Oriental depending on your campaign setting. (in humanoid form, Faoladh may understand but not actually speak worg)
Ability Scores: +2 Dexterity, +1 Wisdom.
• Darkvision (60 Ft.) [Ancestral]: Compared to Humans, you have superior vision in conditions of Dim Lighting and Darkness. In low light conditions you can see out to a range of 60 feet as if it were normal lighting, and in darkness you can see in muted shades of gray out to a range of 60 feet.
• Handy [Cultural]: You have Advantage on all Wisdom (Animal Handling) checks. You begin play Proficient in the Medicine (Wisdom) and Survival (Wisdom) skills.
• Camouflage [Ancestral]: Faoladh are shapechangers who, with a standard action, can take on the form of a wolf, or change back to that of a human. While in Wolf form, Your Strength, Dexterity and Constitution scores change to those of the the wolf but your Intelligence Score, Wisdom Score, Charisma Score, and Hit Points are unchanged. While in Wolf Form you may not use any class abilities or manipulate any item that requires fine motor skills. While in Wolf form you are considered Proficient in the Deception Skill (Charisma) when attempting to pass as a normal wolf, and while in wolf form you have Advantage on all Dexterity (Stealth) checks. You may speak Worg in wolf form.
• Warden of the Meek [Cultural]: You begin play knowing the “Spare the Dying” Cantrip. You may cast this Cantrip in wolf form.
• Immunity [Ancestral]: You are Immune to Lycanthropy and starting at 3rd level have Advantage on all saves vs Diseases and Curses.
#5th edition#d20#Homebrew#Irish#Samhain#shifter#Werewolf#folklore#faoladh#HASBRO#dungeons & dragons#Wizards of the Coast#Happy Halloween
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tubbo dnd design is finally here!!! this marks the beginning of my dnd design series - i’ll be making complete dnd 5e builds and corresponding designs for dream smp members! full build and explanation below the cut:
Tubbo
swarmkeeper ranger 5/alchemist artificer 3
satyr
urchin
scores:
str - 12
dex - 16
con - 9
int - 18
wis - 14
cha - 10
miscellaneous:
speed: 35ft
proficiencies: performance, persuasion, sleight of hand, stealth, perception, insight, investigation
tool proficiencies: disguise kit, thieves tools, tinker’s tools
languages: common, sylvan
armour: light, medium, shields
weapons: simple, martial
feats: crossbow expert
saves: strength, dex
artificer infusions: replicate magic item (bag of holding), enhanced defense (studded leather armour), enhanced weapon (shortsword), repeating shot (hand crossbow)
fighting style: defense
optional class features: favoured foe, deft explorer
ranger spells:
cantrips: mage hand (swarm takes the form)
1st level: speak with animals, faerie fire, hunter's mark, cure wounds, longstrider
2nd level: beast sense, web, pass without trace
artificer spells:
cantrips: prestidigitation, guidance
1st level: healing word, ray of sickness, feather fall, sanctuary, catapult, false life
aaalright!!! i've been working on these builds for months, and i'm so excited to finally be posting them. originally, i made tubbo a sheperd druid/fiend warlock (i made it around his presidency), but i switched it up once tasha's came out and i realised the potential that artificer tubbo had because of the nukes. as a swarmkeeper ranger, he has a swarm of bees that live in the hive that he carries around on his back! he fights with either two shortswords or a shortsword and a hand crossbow, and has studded leather armour.
i've playtested this build, and it's scarily effective damage wise lmao. he has two shortsword attacks from being lv5 ranger, and gets an extra crossbow attack from his feat, and adding favoured foe and gathered swarm onto it allows him to do up to 73 damage in one turn, if my calculations are correct, and that's just on the first turn of favoured foe. add in his spells and artificer elixirs... he's very good. i'll be honest, i don't quite remember why i gave him urchin, but he doesn't really have a backstory in canon other than he was found on the side of the road, so i just ran with it i guess!!!
when designing this i wanted to go all in on the steampunk vibes. being a satyr meant that i didn't need to give him shoes, so i went all in on the puffy trousers. those along with the gauntlets are the main focus points, but there's a lot of little details i had a lot of fun adding in. i really like the beehive backpack idea. i like to think that it also functions as his bag of holding, because i think it's hilarious that you have to reach into a beehive whenever you want to get items out.
more builds and their designs will be posted soon!!!
#dream smp#mcyt#dnd#character design#tubbo#tubbo fanart#dungeons and dream smp#<- my tag for this series!!!#i actually designed most of these in a fevered hyperfocus that lasted over a week straight but i will post them slowly lmao#gonna start scheduling reblogs also i have decided
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