Category: Banter (Page 5 of 11)

These posts are just talk, not related to any particular campaign or adventure.

Ending a Session

July 6, 2020 / Fen / 1 Comment

The Dungeon Master role is really multiple roles bundled into one—you’re the rules referee, the narrator, and the administrator of the game you and your players are participating in. You decide when the action starts and when it ends. This applies both to in-game moments (“Okay, so after that conversation between your characters, it takes a few more hours to reach town. Now you’re in town, what do you do?”) and the session at large (“And that’s where we’ll stop for tonight.”)

So what makes a good end to your session? In this post, we’re going to talk about ways you can bring your game session to a close.

Updates to the Centaur and Minotaur in Mythic Odysseys of Theros

June 15, 2020 / Fen / 0 Comments

Mythic Odysseys of Theros, a D&D sourcebook for the world of Theros, is available digitally now!

Theros is a world from Magic: The Gathering.This is the second time we’ve seen a Magic world brought to D&D, with Ravnica being the first. Mythic Odysseys of Theros introduces a world inspired by Greek mythology, where heroic champions strive against the bonds of destiny.

In this book are options for players to create humans, centaurs, leonin, minotaurs, satyrs, and tritons as playable characters. The human options are the same as in the Player’s Handbook, while the triton mechanics are as they appear in Volo’s Guide to Monsters (though the flavor is different). The satyr and leonin options are unique to Theros.

This post will take a look at the centaur and minotaur character options. Both of these appeared in a previous Unearthed Arcana article, so let’s take a look and see what’s changed!

A Note on Current Events

June 8, 2020 / Fen / 0 Comments

Hey, all.

We’re living in a time of inequality. Across the U.S. and across the world, people are coming together to protest police brutality and systemic racism against Black people. This is the time to take a stand however we can. I’ve included links to resources here, and I encourage you to check them out:

Resources—petitions to sign, causes to donate to, and other resources: https://blacklivesmatter.carrd.co/#

https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/

Black AF Roundtable of TTRPG Creators—an hour-long conversation between Black creators about “race, racism and being black in in the RPG space”: Twitch VOD and Youtube

Part two (three hours): Twitch VOD and Youtube

At D&D Live 2020: Youtube

To bring this back around to D&D, let’s keep in mind that the stories we tell can perpetuate harmful ideas. Dungeons & Dragons was created by a group of white men in the 70s; it’s got baggage that has carried forward into 5^th edition. For example, we still have people groups that are represented as being almost always evil—the dark-skinned drow and the superstitious, tribalistic orcs, both of which are antagonistic towards the “civilized” peoples (humans, dwarves, halflings, elves, etc.). Does D&D need that? Does that belong in your game?

What stories are you telling with your game?

If you’re incorporating real-world issues into your game, are you doing it empathetically and truthfully (and with the consent of other players)? Or are you using them as shallow plot devices?

Are these your stories to tell?

It’s okay to recognize that you were wrong and change your actions based on information you didn’t have before. I still have plenty more to learn. Let’s keep listening, learning, and taking action.

Stay safe, everyone.

-Hannah

Update: Wizards of the Coast has released a statement about what they’re doing to address problems with their depiction of orcs, drow, and the Vistani people, plus other notes on what they’re doing to improve.

We’ve seen some of these improvements in the form of edits to Tomb of Annihilation and Curse of Strahd. Many of these are edits to descriptive language. Here’s a link for some deeper considerations for an anti-racist portrayal of the Vistani people (that go beyond simply removing some words).

Comparing the Subclasses Revisited Unearthed Arcana

May 18, 2020 / Fen / 0 Comments

This most recent Unearthed Arcana revises three subclasses from previous articles. The Revived rogue subclass has become the Phantom, the Noble Genie warlock subclass has been revised to the Genie, and the Archivist artificer subclass has become the Order of Scribes wizard.

Also, the survey for the recent Psionics UA is up!

Comparing the Recent Psionics Unearthed Arcana

April 20, 2020 / Fen / 0 Comments

We got a new Unearthed Arcana last week! The survey for the spells and magic tattoos article is also live.

The new article presents revised psionics options for the fighter, the rogue, and the sorcerer. It also revises the new psionics-themed spells and feats. It looks like this is going to be the official approach to psionics in 5e moving forward, as the article notes, “we’ve decided to say farewell to the mystic and explore other ways of giving players psi-themed powers.”

In this blog post, I’m going to compare the new options with their versions in previous UAs.

Looking at UA: Spells and Magic Tattoos

March 30, 2020 / Fen / 0 Comments

We’ve got a surprising new Unearthed Arcana this week! Instead of presenting new subclasses, this UA gives us some new spells and a new type of magic item. Also, the survey for the last UA article is up, so go let your opinions count!

Looking at UA: Subclasses, Part 3

March 2, 2020 / Fen / 0 Comments

Time to dive into some more Unearthed Arcana! For those of you keeping score at home, Part 1 brought us subclasses for the barbarian, monk, paladin, and warlock, Part 2 introduced subclasses for the bard, cleric, and sorcerer, and now we’re at Part 3.

In this post, I’ll take a look at the new subclasses for the Artificer, Druid, and Ranger classes.

Introducing Your Game Idea to Your Group

February 24, 2020 / Fen / 0 Comments

Whether you’re starting a long term campaign or kicking off a oneshot, starting off right is important! A good start helps your game run smoothly and minimize that beginning awkwardness.

One way to start your game off right is to get your players excited about it before you begin. Here, I’m going to talk about communicating what kind of game you’re going to run with your players. This helps your players buy-in to the game from the start. That way, everyone can be on the same page!

Looking at UA: Subclasses, Part 2

February 10, 2020 / Fen / 0 Comments

New month, new Unearthed Arcana! This is part 2 to last month’s UA. The survey for last month’s article is also up, so don’t forget to provide any feedback you have!

This article provides an additional subclass for the bard, cleric, and sorcerer.

What We Know About Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount

February 3, 2020 / Fen / 0 Comments

In January, Wizards of the Coast (WotC) announced the upcoming D&D book for March: Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount. This will be a setting book with both Dungeon Master and player options, headed up by Matt Mercer (DM of Critical Role) and a team of writers and artists.

Wildemount is Matt Mercer’s setting used for the second campaign of Critical Role. It’s described as “classic D&D adventuring with a political background,” where war is brewing between the setting’s various factions.

So what exactly is Wildemount? What sort of options are we looking at? Let’s talk about what we know about this upcoming setting book!