Archives of Candlekeep: Drizzt
This article was first broadcast in Episode Two Hundred and Twenty Seven on 19th October 2022. Note: This article was adapted from an episode script, and so there may be parts that don’t flow well when read, because they were initially designed for broadcast. Drizzt Do’Urden is one of the most famous fictional characters to come out of D&D. Some people say he is the 100% most famous character, Stranger Things notwithstanding. He’s the rebel drow that forsook his heritage, made his way on the surface, and established a long-running legacy with his swords, panther, and companions. There is debate about some things, but a lot of people consider him to be the main reason the Forgotten Realms rose to as much prominence as it did. Some say he is also the reason Rangers, drow playable races, and animal companions are always the focus of a lot of fan attention in…
Archives of Candlekeep: No, My Mother Did Not Hook Up With a Dragon: Dragonborn
This article was first broadcast in Episode One Hundred Ninety Four on 5th January 2022. Lennon (through sending stone, angry voices in background): Ostron? Ostron! Oh please don’t let ROSTRO be active and he’s out on the floor- Ostron: Yes, I’m here, what’s going…you’re being chased, aren’t you? Lennon: How did you know that? Ostron: I can hear them. All right, where are you? Lennon: Tim-ah-ree, I think it’s called? Time of weee? No, that doesn’t sound right-ow! That was a rock! Ostron: Thymari? Okay, that’s the name of the people, not the place but I know where you are. How did you get there? Lennon: I’ll tell you if you get me out of here! Ostron: Yeah, yeah, hang on. (Gnomish Workshop door opens) Ryu: What’s going on? Ostron: Lennon went abroad and made friends again. Ryu: Oh come on! I already used up all our favors with the Blackstaff, how many wars did he start this time? Ostron: Based on where he…
Archives of Candlekeep: The Underdark
This article was first broadcast in Episode One Hundred Ninety on 24th November 2021. Ryu (nervously): So…Lennon? Lennon: Yes? Ryu: You’ve done some traveling, right? Lennon: Oh don’t remind me. It’s basically a piece of living geography, how do you lose track of a hill!? Ryu: What? Lennon: Sorry, fey patron issues. Right, traveling, you need some help packing? I recommend a towel. Possibly four. Ryu (nervously): No…um…I was wondering if…you’d been to the Underdark? Lennon: Um, not recently; my patron doesn’t have much business there, for obvious reasons. Why, you hoping I ran into someone you know? Ryu: Well…not exactly… Lennon: I don’t…oh hey, Ostron! Ryu: No no! It’s noth- Lennon: You been to the Underdark recently? Ostron: Yes and no. Lennon: Can you ever just give me a straight answer to a question? Ostron: I give you straight answers all the time. Lennon: Yes, fine, I’ll rephrase; can you give me a straight answer that is still an answer I expect to be possible when I…
Archives of Candlekeep: Spelljammer Redux
This article was first broadcast in Episode One Hundred Eighty Seven on 30th October 2021. Like many modern settings and elements of D&D, Spelljammer’s roots are in 2nd edition, and they owe their existence to a man named Jeff Grubb. As Keith Baker is to Eberron, Jeff Grubb is to Spelljammer, although he doesn’t have the laser focus on his setting Mr.Baker does for Eberron. Grubb is the author of the first Manual of the Planes and created the forgotten Al-Qadim setting, and is credited as being part of the team that originated the Forgotten Realms itself. Later on, he was also contracted by Wizards to work on a lot of d20 system resources such as d20 Modern, their d20 Star Wars RPG, and Urban Arcana, as well as writing some of the lore novels for Magic: The Gathering. Spelljammer specifically came out in 1989, and based on the forward…
Archives of Candlekeep: Greyhawk
This article was first broadcast in Episode One Hundred Seventy Six on 4 August 2021. Lennon: So, Ryu? Ryu: What? Lennon: You’ve been to Greyhawk before, right? Ryu: Ugggggh. Lennon: Um, is that a yes? Ryu: Yeah, but I don’t want to talk about it. Lennon: Why what happened? Ryu (clearly exasperated): I had a bad experience. Lennon: How so? Ryu: Greyhawk is just a mess, okay? Everything is confusing and nobody really pays attention and…I just can’t deal. Lennon: But so much stuff comes out of there. I mean, Mordenkainen, and Tenser…here we are! Ostron! What do you know about Greyhawk? Ostron: Which one? Lennon: What do you mean which one, it’s one place isn’t it? Ostron: No, you’ve got the plane, the city, the plains, the castle- Lennon: Wait wait wait there’s more than one plane of Greyhawk? Ryu: (sighing): No; he means the geography. You know, mostly flat, lots of brownish-yellow plants, large herds of creatures that will stampede over you? Lennon: Oh, okay. Why…
Archives of Candlekeep: Da Drow
This article was first broadcast in Episode One Hundred Sixty Seven on 26 May 2021. Ryu: Okay, so thank you all for meeting. I have an…uncomfortable subject to discuss. Lennon: Look, sometimes the outhouse is just too far to walk to and someone’s been in there forever and it’s really an emergency, and the scrying pool is self-cleaning anyway. I mean, we’ve all done it, right? Ryu: Um…what? No? Please don’t be talking about what I think you’re talking about. Lennon: Oh, um…no, I wasn’t. Just…sorry, what did you want to talk about? Ryu: So I think KayDee’s been doing research. Ostron: Oh that can’t be good. I wonder if she’s been using ROSTRO for it too? Lennon: I haven’t noticed you passed out on the floor any more than usual. Ostron: I…I usually sleep in my bed… Ryu: Not important right now. I think KayDee was in a hurry and ran into one of the research beholders and it knocked…