Archives of Candlekeep: Don’t Feed the Trolls
This article was first broadcast in Episode Two Hundred and Thirty Seven on 22nd March, 2023. 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. In D&D, trolls are something of an unsung victory of the brand. In almost all modern fantasy series, trolls have mostly the same appearance and behavior; they’re larger than humans, usually by several feet; they have wiry bodies covered in skin that looks diseased, loose, oddly colored, or all of the above; they aren’t that intelligent; and they try to eat anything and anyone they come across. Almost no one thinks D&D invented trolls, and technically they are correct. Trolls exist in multiple mythologies and myths throughout history. However, D&D’s particular brand of troll didn’t come directly from any myth. Most people’s next thought would be…
Heroes Rise two hundred and thirty-seventh entry: Journey of the Radiant Cynical
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 237th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday, April 1st, 2023 (that’s not a joke), and released Wednesday, April 5th, 2023 over at heroesrisepodcast.com. This week we’re going to wander into the Market of Minauros to see what mysterious and magical items have filtered up for sale. Next we check out some D&D News as we take a look at everything that came out of D&D Direct 2023. After that we’ll take a Short Rest and head into the Archives of Candlekeep and learn how to troll, before finally heading into the Scrying Pool to see what you [all] have to say. Links Community Questions
Wisdom of the Masters: Your Sword Says “Hi”
This article was first broadcast in Episode Two Hundred and Thirty Six on 22nd March, 2023. 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. Sentient magic items are another common trope in many fantasy or fantasy-adjacent stories. The One Ring from the Lord of the Rings is an obvious example. All the characters who knew about it talked as if it had a will of it’s own, such as when it supposedly abandoned Isildur and then Gollum in its quest to get back to Sauron. More recently, in the Marvel movies, Dr. Strange’s cloak of levitation is another item that has it’s own will and makes decisions and takes actions due to an intelligence of its own. And in Disney’s adaptations of the Aladdin story, the magic carpet found by…
Heroes Rise two hundred and thirty sixth entry: Holy Nimbus, Batman!
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 236th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday March 18th 2023, and released Wednesday March 22nd 2023 over at heroesrisepodcast.com. In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, the last of our PAX interviews as Ostron and Ryu talk to the fine folks of Turbo Dork, Lethal Shadows, and Baron Smellybones Scented Dice. Next we check out some D&D News, as we take a look at the latest Playtest options for the Druid and Paladin, as well as a few other things from around the D&D multiverse After that we’ll take a Short Rest and hear some Wisdom of the Masters (and also from our swords, apparently); before finally heading into the Scrying Pool to see what you [all] have to say. Community Questions
Heroes Rise two hundred and thirty fifth entry: Badgers from the Golden Vault
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 235th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday, February 18th, 2023, and released Wednesday, February 22nd, 2023 over at heroesrisepodcast.com. In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, more from PAX, this time Ostron and I spoke to the good folks at Beadle and Grimm’s Pandemonium Warehouse Next we check out some D&D News, as we take a look at the latest official release, Keys from the Golden Vault After that we’ll take a Short Rest and open our Adventurer’s Journal for a brief primer on summons; before finally heading into the Scrying Pool to see what you have to say. Community Questions
Archives of Candlekeep: Lich? Please!
Liches, ironically, have been around for a very long time in D&D. It’s ironic because that’s the whole point; liches are very powerful magic users who are usually after immortality. But they don’t want to sell their soul to anyone except themselves to get that never ending existence. They also tend to cause trouble for everyone else around as a side effect of that ambition. When we they’ve been around for a very long time, we’re not kidding; there are few creatures that have been written down in the rules longer. The first lich creature was described in the Greyhawk supplement for Original D&D, put out in 1975. They were only described as “the skeletal monsters are of magical origin, each Lich formerly being a very powerful Magic-User or Magic-User/Cleric in life, and now alive only by means of great spells and will, because of being in some way disturbed.”…
Heroes Rise two hundred and thirty fourth entry: Lich Better Have My Money
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 234th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday February 4th 2023, and released Wednesday February 8th 2023 over at heroesrisepodcast.com. In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, more from PAX, this time a Virtual TableTop Twofer: Next we check out some D&D News, as we bring you right up to date with the latest OGL shenanigans, and we take a look at everything we know so far about the next hardcover release, Keys from the Golden Vault After that we’ll take a Short Rest and head into the Archives of Candlekeep to find out if the KDM is a lich; before finally heading into the Scrying Pool to see what you [all] have to say. Community Questions
Gnomish Workshop: I See AC
Armor class is one of the most consulted stats in D&D 5th edition. It could arguably be *the* most consulted stat, assuming your game has combat as a major part of the play sessions. Even if it’s a war of spellcasters, a number of spells use attack rolls that target AC. In any average combat, though, almost everyone including the DM is going to be looking at that Armor Class statistic multiple times. Now before we gets into the details, we’re going to talk about AC as a concept. Despite the name and the common ways to increase it, “Armor Class” is not only a representation of the amount of armor your character wears. If you think about it for a minute, you’ll realize that makes no sense. Rogues, Bards, and Monks can easily run around the battlefield with ACs of 16 or 17, and they’re dressed in ninja wraps,…
Heroes Rise two hundred and thirty third entry: Oh Em Gee Ell
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 233rd entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday, January 21st, 2023, and released Wednesday, January 25th, 2023 over at heroesrisepodcast.com. In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, Ostron and Ryu went to PAX Unplugged and talked to the goodfolk of Goodman Games. Next we check out some D&D News, brought to you by the letters “O”, “G”, “L” and the number 1.1. Yeah, we’ve got some things to wade through. After that we’ll take a Short Rest and head into the Gnomish Workshop and take a look at everyone’s AC; before finally heading into the Scrying Pool to see what you have to say. Community Questions
Wisdom of the Masters: Everyone’s Getting… A Gun!
Combat in D&D can quickly become repetitive once the characters are at a high enough level and players are familiar enough with their abilities to figure out their best moves. This is especially true if there isn’t a lot of variety in the nature of monsters or environments combat happens in. Apart from changing the type of monsters (like using one or two large ones rather than multiple regular foes) the next easiest way to make combat different is to change the environment around. Pits, changing terrain, and verticality are easy ways to change up the battlefield. However, if you have a campaign taking place in a normalized environment like, say, Waterdeep, that gets a little harder. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to have a pit of lava guarded by Yetis in a warehouse down by the docks. And that’s apart from the fact the Yetis would probably…