Archives of Candlekeep: Odd Dragon Out
This article was first broadcast in Episode Thirty-Five on 8th August 2018. Ryu: Now? Now? Can we do it now? Lennon: Yes, fine, go ahead Ryu: Yaaaay! THUNK Ostron: What is that? Ryu: That’s my notes on all the other dragons Lennon: *sigh* okay, we can cover SOME of them. Pick the ones most people will recognize, at least. Ryu: Fine… People familiar with D&D will immediately recognize the more famous types of dragons. Most players know what colors most chromatic dragons come in and where they live, and they can usually name the major metallic dragons as well, though they might be less sure of the details like their habits and where the lairs are likely to be. But D&D has had some dragons that wander well off the beaten path. Most of these haven’t shown up in 5th edition yet, but they could be coming. But of course we’ll start with an exception: the Dragon Turtle. People…
Archives of Candlekeep: Behold the Beholders
This article was first broadcast in Episode Thirty-Three on 25th July 2018. Mikey: So this is backstage, huh? Ryu: You’ve never been here before? Mikey: They don’t let me leave the cave that often… thumbing through papers What’s this? Lennon: Those are some notes that Ostron was having difficulty compiling. Mikey: What happened to the research beholders? Ryu: Well, this is ON beholders, specifically their history, so when he tried to get their help they all just passed in their own life stories and said that’s all he needed to know. Mikey: Ah, yeah…that makes sense. I mean, it doesn’t but it does when we’re talking about beholders. Ryu: Let’s see what he has so far… While dragons are part of the core of D&D, if D&D is said to have a mascot, it is probably the Beholder. One of the first creatures that is wholly a creation of D&D, rather than being a creature borrowed from mythology, nature, or…
Archives of Candlekeep: Never Enough, the Story of the Hit Point
This article was first broadcast in Episode Twenty-Nine on 20th June 2018. Lennon: Holy mother of Avandra, that stings… Are you nearly done Ostron: Oh will you quit whining?! And hold still otherwise I can’t stitch it properly Lennon: I nearly lost an arm to that allegedly juvenile dragon Ryu: It was so pretty though. The way its scales glistened in the moonlight… Lennon: I’ve lost a *lot* of blood Ostron: Blood, yes. I’d be more concerned with losing Hit Points. Lennon: Yeah, though I don’t have a lot of those left either. But what does it mean to have a lot of hit points? Last time we talked about how Armor Class really only represents a miss chance, though that chance can take different forms. Hit points represent a character’s ability to survive, say, being stabbed by a sword, so if Person A dies when stabbed through the heart by a sword, does Person B with…
Archives of Candlekeep: Dragons
This article was first broadcast in Episode Twenty-Seven on 6th June 2018. Lennon: Ryu… are you ok? Ryu: *disappointed* Yeah, it’s fine… just… why’d they put “Dragon Heist” in the title if it’s nothing to do with dragons? Lennon: Yeah, I’m sorry, though Dungeon of the Mad Mage might have them… Ostron: Ok guys, I’ve finished my article on Comparative analysis of Ranged vs Melee Damage per Class and– Ryu, are you alright? Ryu: Yeah, it’s fine… Lennon: You know… I don’t really know much about the history of dragons Ostron: Yeah you do, you’re the one who told me about– why are you looking at me like tha— oooh! Yeah, he knows nothing. Lennon: Right, nothing! Fancy catching me up on it? Ryu: Well… Alright! Ooh, where to start… Ah yes! The Core dragons! In the original D&D set, there were only six dragons: White, Black, Green, Blue, Red, and Gold. The Gold dragon was the only dragon…