Welcome, brave adventurers…
… to the fifty-fourth entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday December 22nd 2018, and released Wednesday December 26th 2018 over at heroesrisepodcast.com
For our Adventurer’s Packs this week, something a little different. After all, the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful, and since we’ve no place to go, we’re going to exchange Christmas gifts. Next we check out some D&D news as we uncover:
- Just the one item — the latest Unearthed Arcana detailing sidekicks
After that we take a Short Rest and check out some Wisdom From The Masters as the KillerDM has a few Christmas Gifts of her own, before finally looking into the Scrying Pool to see what you have to say.
Links
- Draconomicon I: Chromatic Dragons
- Wizardawn Dungeon Maps
- 5e Character Book
- Sidekicks UA & Survey
- Heroes Rise Discord Channel
A Short Rest: Wisdom of the Masters: The KDM’s Christmas Gifts
This Week’s Community Questions
Did you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year? Was it D&D for days, or are you dying to get back to the table?
What are your thoughts on the sidekick classes? Will you be looking to find a Bert for your Ernie? Let us know!
What optional rules are in use at your table? Have you had any good or bad experiences implementing them?
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A special thanks to Vindsvept for making the awesome music you hear throughout the show, be sure to check him out at vindsvept.bandcamp.com; and a special thanks to the designer of our banners and avatars, Lo of Lo’s Lair — you can find him on Twitter @RealLarryD and on Facebook at facebook.com/LosLair
I wish I could attach an image to this post… The following just went zinging by on Twitter… Dice (large dice) that you roll to make random dungeons.
Here’s the link: http://dungeonmorphs.com/
They look really good.
Possible Adventurer’s Pack fodder?
I’m not gonna lie, I got very excited at the mentioning of sidekicks. However, having listened to all of your thoughts and reading through the UA, they do seem to be a bit much. Historically, sidekicks are far more under powered than their mentor/friend. They do have an ability here or there exclusive to them that comes in handy but they, in my opinion, shouldn’t run on the same type of abilities/skills as the PCs.
As an example, I’ve been in a long running campaign as a Dwarf Cleric. Very early on I got myself a pet mastiff. Our DM has home brewed how he works both mechanically and within the party. He started out as a right out of the PHB standard mastiff. Whatever skills and abilities he started with he has kept. The dog has the same character level as the rest of the party but receives no ability score increases. His HP is very low compared to the PCs which means direct combat must be entered into carefully. I have fitted him with armor increasing his AC which helps preserve him a bit in a fight. Any other improvements he has gained have been completely story driven and gifted by the DM. (the DM never forgets my sidekick and has gifted him very well).
The dog acts on my turn/initiative. I must pass an animal handling check to command the dog’s actions. If I fail, he acts on instinct and the DM decides his action. His natural bite attack ability is very cool and has played a role in many combat encounters. However, as we are now in the higher levels of play, it’s very rare that an enemy fails a DC 13 strength save. This just makes it all the more epic when his attack is successful.
So from a mechanics/combat perspective Firefang is nowhere as good as the PCs. From a role play perspective he has been gold. I’ve actually become quite attached to this imaginary dog. So whether I command him to attack, stay, hide or protect the squishy wizard, he is always part of the team and quite an attraction when dealing with many NPCs. I prefer how we home brewed this sidekick to the UA rules. He’s a party member but not a PC, if that makes sense.
Oh. I should mention, it doesn’t end well for anyone that knocks my dog to zero HP. I have indeed gone John Wick on more than one occasion.