Archives of Candlekeep: A Dip in the Astral Sea
This article was first broadcast in Episode Two Hundred and Twelfth on 25th May 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. Recent revelations about Spelljammer have said that the phlogiston is no more. Where the highly volatile mystery substance used to fill the space between local star systems, apparently that void is now going to be filled by the Astral Sea, or at least something called the Astral Sea. A lot of Planescape fans probably raised their eyebrows and worried a bit when they heard that. Because until we get some more details, it’s possible the 5th edition Astral Sea is going to be very different from before. Like most things about the D&D cosmology, the astral sea was something that sort of “appeared” over time. Several resources and…
Archives of Candlekeep: Tieflings
This article was first broadcast in Episode Two Hundred and Eleven on 18th May 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. Like flumphs, dragonborn, and a completely useless system for ranking monsters, tieflings are another thing that’s only become a staple of D&D in recent incarnations, despite being present in D&D as a whole for a long time prior. The tieflings ironically got their name and their start because of the fallout over the “Satanic Panic” of the 1980s. For those who aren’t aware or need a refresher, there were several incidents, most notably the suicide of an adolescent, that had negatively linked Dungeons and Dragons first edition with satanism and demon or devil worship in the United States during the 1980s. As a result, when TSR began…
Gnomish Workshop: Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Support – The Artificer
This article was first broadcast in Episode Two Hundred and Ten on 11th May 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. The Artificer is so far the only official new class that has been released for 5th edition, and that’s something that’s unique in a number of ways. 5th edition released with 12 classes, all of which were present in the initial player’s handbook, and those were the only options for years, despite multiple groups of fans clamoring for old favorites to make a return. And while every other past edition had seen at least one release with a new class or classes in it within a year or two of the initial offering, 5th Edition fans had to wait 5 years before the Artificer made its official…
Archives of Candlekeep: Your Best Friend, the Flumph
This article was first broadcast in Episode Two Hundred and Nine on 4th May 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. Flumphs being common knowledge around D&D tables is a relatively new phenomenon thanks mostly to 5th edition’s wild magic sorcerer. One of the entries on the wild magic eruption table, as Mikey and Branwen can tell you, is that a number of confused flumphs randomly appear for a minute or so. However, despite their popularity skyrocketing in 5th edition, flumphs have actually been around since 1st edition. They didn’t make it into the mainstream, early publications, but then TSR put out the “Fiend Folio” in 1980. The Folio was famous for having some more esoteric creatures in it where most other references had stuck to more stereotypical…
Archives of Candlekeep: Dragonlance
This article was first broadcast in Episode Two Hundred and Six on 6th April 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. Dragonlance as a setting is arguably the second third party setting for D&D that was ever created, depending on your position on Mystara. Either way, originally you started with Greyhawk, and Gary Gygax and his player group were responsible for most of the initial monsters and setting information that eventually formed D&D. Then the Hickmans got involved. Some people argue they should be named the “godparents” of D&D, because while Gygax and his buddies did most of the work of creation and working out the mechanics, the Hickmans gave it that extra push that really got it to take off. By 1982 Tracy Hickman and his wife…
Archives of Candlekeep: What’s Behind the Door?
This article was first broadcast in Episode Two Hundred and Five on 30th March 2022. Sigil, known alternately as the City of Doors, the Great Cage, and the Center of the Multiverse, is one of the major landmarks of D&D. It got its start in, and some would argue defined, the Planescape setting. The idea of a cosmology for the D&D multiverse had been around since 1987, when the first Manual of the Planes was published. However, the rest of the planes only really existed as places where other beings came from when they either invaded or were summoned to the Prime material plane. Or they were locations where the souls of mortals went when they died. By the time 2nd edition rolled around, people were clamoring for more information about the planes and wanted to actually adventure in them. TSR tasked David “Zeb” Cook with developing the setting, and…
Archives of Candlekeep: Gifts of the Aboleths
This article was first broadcast in Episode Two Hundred and Two on 10th March 2022. Aboleths are another B-level D&D creature for most people. They’re nearly always present and they’re really easy to find in the books; until the Aarakocra and the Aasimar came around the Aboleths usually got top billing in all the monster manuals because it’s really hard to beat “AB” as an alphabetical starting place. However if you start digging into the lore and the abilities of the creatures it’s sort of confusing they don’t get used more often because they can be genuinely terrifying. Their aquatic nature is probably the most common reason for them being left aside, but we’ll dive into that more in a minute. The Aboleth species owes its origins to the classic adventure Dwellers of the Forbidden City, put out by TSR in 1980. That adventure was a landmark one because it…
Wisdom of the Masters: Architectural Philosophy and the Five Room Dungeon
This article was first broadcast in Episode Two Hundred and One on 3rd March 2022. Lennon: All right, I’ve gathered you all here because I’m afraid we have to let something go. Ostron: Okay, first of all there’s only myself and Ryu, and I’m not 100% sure Ryu’s not an HR clone, so it may just be the two of us. Lennon: How do you know I’m not an HR clone? Ryu: I’m pretty sure HR would not allow anything associated with it to start off with an idea that’s this silly. Lennon: I haven’t even told you what it is yet! Ostron: Your track record is not encouraging. For the sake of argument, though, lay it out for us. Lennon: Right, so the guild house has too many rooms. We need to get rid of two of them. Ostron: And we’re done here. Ryu: Hang on, hang on let’s…give…
Gnomish Workshop: Pierce de Resistance
This article was first broadcast in Episode One Hundred Ninety Nine on 9th February 2022. Gnomish Workshop door opening Ryu: What are you doing!? Lennon: Gah! Um…this isn’t what it looks like ROSTRO: Please state the nature of the mathematical inquiry Lennon: No, no, you’re already working on mine. ROSTRO: The assumption that my processing capabilities are limited to a single focus is erroneous. Ryu: I thought you were on my side here!? Lennon: Um…well I mean I came in here to ask Ostron a question and he…well he dropped off pretty quick actually, and the machine just started giving me some useful information… Ryu: Ever heard of “fruit of the poisonous tree”? Lennon: Look I was trying to figure out my spells, okay? I seem to be stuck with this Warlock thing so I may as well make the best of it. Are *you* going to help me choose what the most efficient…
Archives of Candlekeep: Colors of Chaos – The Slaad
This article was first broadcast in Episode One Hundred Ninety Seven on 26th January 2022. Ryu: Well at least you’re reading a book and the machine isn’t humming. Ostron: What? Ryu: Never mind, what are you researching? Ostron: Infestations. Ryu: Oh come on, again? Lennon already got rid of the mimics! The Mimic: And a bang-up job he did, too! Ostron: Yes, yes, we’re all very impressed. No, this is a much less pleasant infestation. Slaadi. Lennon: Well thank you for being impressed with me, but what did I do? Ryu: You got rid of the mimics, like we just said. Apparently you have to get rid of…somebody? Somebodies? Ostron: Slaad. Plural is slaadi. Lennon: And all of it is “no thank you.” Ostron, feel free to take this one. Ostron: Ugh, there isn’t a Slaad infestation in the guild house! I’m just trying to be prepared. Lennon: You’re expecting an infestation in the guild house? Ostron: Well you can’t really tell with them; that’s kind of…