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wanderingnork · 2 months

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Githyanki Deep Dive: Aberrations and Antiheroes in 4th Edition D&D

So according to the githyanki poll I ran a few weeks ago, this was the third most popular option for a deep dive. (After this we'll be hitting up the original Fiend Folio and Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone.) It's also one close to my heart, because it's the edition where I first fell in love with the gith--and especially the githyanki.

In 4th Edition, the githyanki that were virtually unchanged from the Fiend Folio through 2nd and 3rd Editions suddenly switched gears. They were still vicious pirates and terrifying opponents, but also developed another side that has lasted through to the githyanki we know and love in Baldur's Gate 3.

4th Edition Primer

Before we get into the githyanki, though, I have to give a crash course in 4th Edition D&D. Since so many people started playing in 5th Edition or came into the hobby through the gateway of Critical Role or Baldur's Gate 3, you may not know just how...strange...4th Edition was in the context of the game as a whole. I speak from a place of love, because full disclosure I prefer 4E to 5E as DM and as player, but I acknowledge that it was weird.

4th Edition was partially developed as a response to the goings-on of 3.5 D&D. (Don't worry about 3rd Edition, that is a whole other post.) In 3.5, there was a serious problem with system bloat. From the three core books (Dungeon Master's Guide, Player's Handbook, Monster Manual), the game exploded. Five Monster Manuals. Two Player's Handbooks. Two Dungeon Master's Guides. The eight "Complete..." books. Campaign settings. The list goes on and on and on.

It added up fast. Players had vast suites of rules and mechanics that could easily lead to a single character requiring three or four books to run. A single monster could be an entire page and a half of rules and require a DM to have access to three or four books just to understand what a monster's feats could do (because yes, monsters had feats, and they could take class levels). To put it mildly...it was a mess.

So along comes 4th Edition, a well-intentioned new mess.

4E set out to streamline the problem. While it would eventually introduce its own mess of system bloat thanks to the sheer volume of books, its origin maintained some control over mechanical chaos. Instead of vast lists of feats and abilities, players had "powers" that defined exactly what a given ability could do and how often. The sprawling skill list of 3.5 was drastically pared down. Monsters went from an entire page or more of abilities and feats to single "stat blocks" that covered, even for the highest-level monsters, half a page. Movement in feet became movement in squares. Non-combat abilities were stripped down to a bare minimum.

You can spot a few things that 5th Edition kept when it was released. We still have the tight skill list from 4E (minus the "endurance" skill which still makes me grumpy). The idea of the "monster stat block" is retained. The feat list has dramatically shrunk and while 5E has put out many more feats since, it's really, really not at the level of 3.5.

4E also introduced the idea of "tiers" of play: levels 1-10 were the "heroic tier," 11-20 were the "paragon tier," and 21-30 were the "epic tier." Generally speaking, the heroic tier was about fighting your typical mundane monsters. The paragon tier would introduce higher-level mundane monsters and low-level extraplanar monsters. The epic tier almost always required players to leave the Material Plane behind and head onto another plane to find level-appropriate challenges. (Yes, this will be relevant to the githyanki later!)

While the mechanical changes hit hard, the changes to the lore and default world of D&D were just as drastic. The default world of Greyhawk from 3.5 shifted to the "Points of Light" setting. This setting established a background--that two great empires clashed some centuries ago then fell, leaving the world mostly a monster-infested disaster, studded with small points of safe civilization--then set players loose. It also crushed older D&D cosmology. Gone was the Great Wheel of planes and demiplanes. In its place were the Feywild, Shadowfell, Astral Sea, Elemental Chaos, and Far Realm. What Forgotten Realms had to do to make this new cosmology make sense...I don't wanna go into it, but it's a lot to unpack.

This streamlining of the cosmology also changed a lot of monster lore. Many "typical" monsters of the heroic tier (goblins, magical animals, elementals, and the like) stayed largely the same. It's on the other planes and at higher levels that things got weird. The tarrasque was reskinned as an abomination, the spawn of the war between the primordials and the gods. The shadar-kai changed from messed-up shadow fey to eerie servants of the Raven Queen. And so on, and so forth.

On the surface, the githyanki didn't change very much in comparison to other monsters. They still lived on the Astral Sea. They were still piratical. They still hated illithids and githzerai. But, thanks in large part to the cosmology changes at the base of 4E, they were about to take on an entirely new dimension.

The githyanki were about to save the universe.

Githyanki, Old and New

The githyanki make their 4E debut in the first Monster Manual, on page 128. The first line of their writeup sets the stage:

Born out of slavery, the githyanki are fierce psychic warriors that ply the Astral Sea and fight with silver swords.

Hell of an opening line, that. It hands us the key characteristics that 4E wants us to associate with the githyanki. Compare it to the first introduction of the githyanki in the first Monster Manual for 3.5 (p.127):

Githyanki are an ancient line of humanlike beings residing on the Astral Plane, filling their armories for their next skirmish, raid, or war.

Right off the bat, we're dealing with two completely different perspectives. 3.5 tells us the githyanki are ancient, tells us where they live, and informs us that they spend all their time in preparing for war and plunder. 4E's language, on the other hand, frames them in a more...adventurous light. Ferocity, plying the Astral Sea, fighting with silver swords, not much different than any extraplanar adventurer.

Most importantly, the first WORDS of their write-up in 4E tells us their history: they are a lineage of freed slaves. Whose slaves, how they got free, all that is on the next page. (It's the same in 3.5, The Lore is on the next page.) But there it is: if you don't read the "alignment" tag in the stat block and see that little word "evil," what you'll see is freed slaves who adventure in the Astral Sea.

The next change is the art style. The githyanki illustration in the 3.5 Monster Manual makes the warrior look totally skeletal. She's wearing gloriously alien armor, many-colored gems, and has her hair in a strange style. Her knees have those weird bulbous knobs and her feet don't look remotely human. In 4E, our first look at the githyanki is completely different. No more shrinkwrapping here: these are just some weird humans. Their silver armor is elaborate and set with rubies, but it's very much armor a mundane warrior would wear. (Indeed, it's about identical to BG3 armor.) They look away from the viewer, presumably at the same foe, psionic powers and swords at the ready. The githyanki of 3.5 is a monster standing alone. The githyanki of 4E are an adventuring party fighting together.

Sailing the Astral Sea

Cut to The Plane Above: Secrets of the Astral Sea. This supplement focused on all things Astral Sea. Here, 4E finally gets into the deep parts of githyanki lore. The first illustration in the book is a githyanki knight riding a red dragon. From there, they appear frequently. Pirates, tenuous allies, the center of a dramatic campaign arc. The Astral Sea is their home, and as soon as player characters arrive they're trespassing.

(Side note: here we will be setting aside the Scales of War adventure path from Dragon magazine. Even though it's a huge part of githyanki lore, it's acknowledged in "The Plane Above" that the adventure path is an alternate history. It's not a core part of the githyanki story in 4E.)

The shifted characterization of the githyanki continues into this book. On page 12, in discussion of githyanki pirates, we get the following: "few of the githyanki of the Astral Sea bother with kidnapping. It might turn out to be profitable, but it's clearly a criminal act rather than a military operation, and thus beneath them."

So...according to this book, they're still thieves and killers, but within the D&D ethical framework these are often forgivable traits. There's no mention of slavery or other depravity in this or any other section of the book about the githyanki. Other Astral denizens are mentioned keeping and trading in slaves--not the githyanki. The Manual of the Planes mentions githyanki slavers precisely once, on page 110; in all other references, they're simply raiders and plunderers. Dragon magazine #377, "Tu'narath: City of Death," QUITE clearly and thoroughly establishes that the githyanki take and keep slaves. However, many D&D players didn't read Dragon magazine. If they only read The Plane Above, Manual of the Planes, or the Monster Manual, they'd come away with a rather nobler view of the githyanki than 3.5 ever left.

If you are, for some reason, following along with the book itself--skip what you see on page 13. We're gonna come back to that.

The githyanki get a mention on what feels like every other page. But the most focused discussion of the githyanki in this book appears from pages 94-97, in a deep dive on their culture, and from 142-149 with the new stat blocks--including one for Vlaakith herself. Here, we discover that in 4E the githyanki have been broken into factions. There's mainstream githyanki society, the group that lives in Tu'narath and generally behaves as we expect githyanki to behave. Then there are the Far Travelers, a group of githyanki who never settled in Tu'narath. With Gith's blessing, they became true nomads. They don't have silver swords or benefit from the red dragon pact, but they do enjoy immense freedom.

And then there are the gul'othran. While mainstream githyanki society enjoys superiority to other people, pillaging and then departing, the gul'othran take it a step further. They conquer other worlds and rule over them. It's repeatedly mentioned that githyanki players encounter on the Material Plane are probably gul'othran. Not typical githyanki, but extremists. Githyanki bent on conquest, perfectly acceptable opponents for any adventuring party.

Gith's Three Stratagems

The githyanki story in The Plane Above starts with the story of their liberation. Here, the war on mind flayers is defined: not just a perpetual hatred, but an Eternal Crusade decreed by Gith herself. Zerthimon, as usual, objects and the githzerai depart for the Elemental Chaos. The githyanki, left homeless, desperate, and fractured, sail into the Astral Sea. Here, Gith establishes a plan for the future of her people, founded on three stratagems.

First, she wanted a fortified capital. After a long time--anywhere from a few decades to centuries--the githyanki arrived at the One in the Void and founded the city of Tu'narath there. First stratagem, check. Second, Gith sought an alliance with another power. With the first Vlaakith's support, Gith reached out to Tiamat. She sold herself for a pact with the red dragons, who would be allies and friends of the githyanki so long as the pact lasted. (In the 4E Draconomicon: Chromatic Dragons, we get to meet the "pact dragons," red dragons who've spent so long with the githyanki that they've taken on the magic of the Astral Sea.)

Finally, before leaving her people, Gith established the tradition of the silver swords. As has been true since the earliest githyanki lore, the silver swords are capable of cutting silver cords that hold Astral travelers to their material bodies. That makes them highly effective weapons against astral-projecting mind flayers and elder brains, which exist at once on the Astral Sea and the Material Plane. In a previous edition, there was even an incident in the mind flayer city of Ch'Chitl where a githyanki hunting party killed the Astral part of an elder brain.

But 4E takes this a step further. The greatest silver swords are forged to incorporate a tiny fragment of the Living Gate, a strange artifact that held back the Far Realm itself before it was destroyed. In the hands of a powerful githyanki, the swords are able to resonate with the Far Realm and aberrant beings. Fun fact: despite over a decade of separation from the publication of "The Plane Above," Baldur's Gate 3 retains this piece of lore. Talk to Lae'zel after she gets her silver sword. She'll tell you all about it.

What she doesn't tell you is just how important that really is.

4th Edition: It's All About the Far Realm

Throughout 4E, the setting steadily shifted gears and pointed toward the Far Realm as a sort of "ultimate evil." Why that happened is speculation for another post, but what matters here is that it did. The Monster Manual mostly presented your standard aberrant beings (mind flayers, aboleths, beholders, gibbering mouthers). They're mostly designed for paragon and epic tier heroes (levels 11-30), with the least powerful (carrion crawler, grick, and grell) being rated for level 7. Aberrations are high-level foes.

Then in comes the Monster Manual 2, with the fell taints (p. 102-105). These cute little blobs of tentacles and eyes, born from the contact of the Far Realm with reality, are rated for level 2. A low-level beholder, the gauth, is rated for level 5. Suddenly, aberrations and the Far Realm are acceptable foes for adventurers just starting out in their career. Ominously, this book also introduces the horrifying star spawn. They're the heralds of the aberrant stars, avatars in the mortal world. One of them, the Maw of Acamar, is literally A BLACK HOLE.

In the Underdark sourcebook, EXTENSIVE time is spent on mind flayers and their ancient destroyed empire of Nihilath. The gith only get a couple sidebar mentions, but for anyone who knows their lore they loom large. In that book, there's also a heavy focus on the aboleths and beholders, who have vast and bizarre realms in the Underdark. In the aboleth realm of Xarcorr, the stone itself flows like water and the laws of physics break down. A singularity somewhere in Xarcorr is even gradually devouring the substance of the Underdark. The Far Realm is tearing at the seams of reality.

And the Monster Manual 3 seals the deal. Cloakers, derro, more beholders, foulspawn, intellect devourers, krakens, PAGES of mind flayers with an elder brain. It all culminates in the star spawn, and what might be the ultimate creature to fight in all of 4E. You can take on Orcus, Tiamat, Lolth, Asmodeus, and that's cool...but this book offers the chance to fight Allabar, the Opener of the Way.

It's a star.

An entire fucking star covered in eyes and tentacles that wants to tear open reality and let the Far Realm devour everything.

Heroes and Villains

And this is what the githyanki are ultimately contending with. In 4E, their fight isn't just against the mind flayers. The Eternal Crusade the githyanki fight is against the Far Realm itself. The silver swords allow them to recognize the times when the Far Realm manages to seep into the Astral Sea. They marshal a "savage and decisive military response" that ends the threat immediately. Most people don't even realize how often this happens, because the githyanki are always ready.

The gul'othran, the faction that wants to conquer everyone? They do what they do because they want to deny the mind flayers a future empire by conquering everything first. It's horrifying extremism in the face of an apocalypse that could rip all of reality to shreds.

That "page 13" I said to ignore earlier is a description of a possible campaign arc where the githyanki finally go on a full offensive. They want to invade the Far Realm themselves and take the fight to their enemies. The players are tasked with stopping this invasion, because unzipping the Far Realm is a VERY bad idea in general, but in context of the rest of the 4E lore...well. Anyone who hears about Allabar, or experiences the trypophobia-inducing Hatchlands of the beholders, or bears witness to the ruins of the ancient mind flayer empire, might be tempted to let it happen. After all, even with all the horrible things they've done, the githyanki have the weapons, experience, and allies to hold the line. They've been holding the line for eons.

And everyone in the world of 4th Edition should pray to whatever god is listening that the githyanki keep doing that.

#nork rants #githyanki #d&d #this took. three days. to write.#and i trimmed out SO MUCH STUFF

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catulhu333 · 1 year

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Bahamut and Tiamat were aspects of Io/Asgorath in early 2nd edition of AD&D lore?

...as well being the two key archetypes influencing all dragons, and in 1st edition of AD&D, the only gods of dragons?

2014/2015 "Rage of Dragons" miniatures of Tiamat and Bahamut

Wile changes to Bahamut and Tiamat (and deific dragon lore in general) in 5th edition (were Bahamut and Tiamat are the supreme, and only real draconic gods), and to a degree 4th edition (were Bahamut and Tiamat were 2 halves of Io), were controversial; these changes are actually based on far older lore, that was changed mid 2nd edition, with 1992's Monster Mythology and further on.

In 1st edition of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, Bahamut and Tiamat were the only dragon gods, with worship by dragons being split between them, as seen in 1984 article "Dragons and their deities" in Dragon #86: "Evil dragons worship Tiamat, and good dragons worship Bahamut. That is, for all practical purposes, the extent of common knowledge about the way dragons worship their deities."

The divinity of of two was first outright affirmed in 1980 in "Leomund's Tiny Hut: Rearranging and Redefining the Mighty Dragon" in Dragon #38; with Tiamat kinda earlier in the original 1978's Monster Manual, were she was presented among the Lords of Nine.

Miniatures of Bahamut (or as named in the catalog the Platinum Dragon) and Tiamat (or as named in the catalog the Spectral Dragon), from Grenadier Models 1990 catalogue, originally from the 1989 Dragon of the Month II line from 1989. Special thanks @oldschoolfrp, thanks to who I know of this lines existence. Their original post here. I recommend checking them out.

Paladine and Takhisis from Dragonlance, also debuting in 1984, were often identified with Bahamut (Paladine) and Tiamat (Takhisis). It's rather ambiguous though - the creator of both, Jeff Grubb believing this, but writers of Dragonlance novels, and main architects of the setting, Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman (who basically gave them personality and story), believing them as similar, but separate characters/deities.

Official publications either suggested a connection, or stated them to be the same (as well as Bahamut and Tiamat gaining traits of Paladine and Takhisis, like being siblings, and in past, lovers), with 5th edition (with 2021's Fizban's Treasury of Dragons), stating them to be the same.

Constellations of Krynn, in the center Takhisis (left) and Paladine (right) opposing each other, the Gilean' constellation between them. From 1984's "DL5: Dragons of Mystery".

Still, Paladine on Krynn (the world Dragonlance is set in) is/was the leader of the Gods of Good, and Takhisis is/was the leader of the Gods of Evil, and were among the most powerful deities of the setting, equaled only by their brother Gilean and second only to the High God and Chaos.

According to 1989's "Player's Guide to Dragonlance, the two together created the first dragons: "Paladine is Father of Good and Master of Law. During the Age of Dreams, Paladine led the gods in creation. Paladine and Takhisis, Queen of Darkness, infused the raw fury of chaos with form and purpose, creating the first material beings— dragons. Takhisis, jealous the first creations were not entirely hers, corrupted the chromatic dragons to evil. Paladine replaced his fallen children with the good, metallic dragons, but Takhisis’s act began the rift between good and evil."

This origin of dragons on Krynn evolved overtime though, with some changes, but I won't elaborate on this here.

1990's Draconomicon

The draconic pantheon was first expanded with 1990's Draconomicon, though oddly, Bahamat and Tiamat are not among the list of Draconic deities, at least seemingly.

The book instead presents Bahamut and Tiamat instead as seemingly archetypal forms of all dragons (even indeed, the twin Platonic forms of all dragons), even their gods, all of whom (with one exception) are their "pale reflections": " And here the conversation must turn to dragons, for in these species the diffusion theory seems to be the only suitable explanation for their wide-spread existence. Dragons are the only creatures for which there exist archetypal forms. In dragonkind, these forms are Bahamut, the Platinum Dragon, and Tiamat, the Chromatic Dragon. All of the core species of dragonkind the good aligned metallic dragons and the evil-aligned chromatic dragons (ignoring for a moment those fringe species like crystal dragons) seem to be pale reflections of their archetypal forms, displaying some but not all of that archetypes characteristics. For example, a red dragon possesses some but not all of the characteristics attributed to Tiamat, while a gold dragon possesses some but not all of the characteristics attributed to Bahamut. Indulging in mathematical language for a moment, each species of dragon seems to be a subset of properties belonging to one or other of the archetypes. Or, conversely, each archetype seems to possess a superset of the properties possessed by the appropriate class of dragonkind. Some sages truly believe this observation to be representative of the truth of the matter. According to this theory, the very existence of the two archetypal forms Bahamut and Tiamat is responsible for the existence of dragons throughout the multiverse. In metaphorical language, dragons are the shadows that the archetypes cast across the planes. As shadows are, in a sense, subsets of the creatures casting them as they must be, since shadows are two-dimensional so are the shadows of the dragon archetypes subsets of those archetypes characteristics and powers."

Two of the dragon gods, Lendys and Tamara, as Platinum Dragons, seem to be even closer to the archetype of Bahamut, both being platinum dragons themselves, but still lesser than him.

In the same book, there is also mentioned the oldest and highest draconic god, Asgorath the World-Shaper, later identified with Io. Asgorath is stated to to be creator of dragons, and the universe (in the sense of seemingly all existence), at least according to dragons.

But, the myth in the same sourcebook (as found in-universe in the Book of the World, a written down red dragon myth, suggests Asgorath is Tiamat: "It is easy to speculate, based on this myth. The plural inflection of the word breath might be taken as implying multiple heads; the Thorass word for renegade is bahmat. It seems almost too close a correlation can Asgorath be Tiamat and the Renegade be Bahamut?"

This is further alluded in Asgorath's description: "Thus, reds believe that Asgorath is Chaotic Evil as implied in the Book of the World mentioned at the beginning of the chapter while bronzes believe Asgorath is Lawful Good."

Suggesting that like red dragons see/perceive Asgorath as Tiamat, Bronze (and other good dragons) would see the World-Shaper as Bahamut. And that the two "archetypal dragons" are themselves seemingly aspects/parts/avatars of Asgorath. Which is further suggested together with Bahamut's description in Draconomicon: "Sages continue to debate the true nature of Bahamut. Is he the archetype of all good dragonkind, the ideal of which all other dragons are merely shadows? Is he an avatar of a greater deity?"

This is quite obviously an inspiration for Io being split in ancient times into Bahamut and Tiamat in 4th edition/Nerath lore. As well as in "Fizban's Treasury of Dragons", presenting Bahamut and Tiamat as the origin of all dragons, and their forms, it even also using allusions to platonic forms, and shadows of higher reality. As well as Bahamut and Tiamat creating the original universe (that split into the multiverse), like Asgorath was stated to.

Io was first introduced in 1992's Monster Mythology, if very probably taking inspiration from Asgorath (with whom he is directly identified in the book), as well as perhaps Krynn's High God. Io is also stated there to be believed by dragons to be their creator, and of all of existence. As well repeating Platonic and Gnostic ideas from Draconomicon about the world being a shadow of a higher, truer reality: "We Dragon-sages make a distinction between the Two Voids; the First Void, wherein only Io had existence, and the Shadow Void, where Io's willingly shed blood created the potential for existence and creation to come into being. Most non-dragon races only know of the Shadow Void, and they do not know of the earlier time outside time when only the Ninefold Dragon existed."

Monster Mythology though, makes Bahamut and Tiamat somewhat lesser in status, making them Lesser Gods, though only Io (as a Greater God) and Chronepsis (an Intermediate God) are above them, the other two gods (Faluzure and Aesterinian), being on the same level of power. Still though, it is a visible downgrade from their grand role in Draconomicon, and of their counterparts (Paladine and Takhisis) on Krynn. Monster Mythology is also the the first to make Bahamut and Tiamat explicitly siblings and "intended mates".

1998's "Cult of the Dragon" sourcebook, combined the draconic pantheons mentioned described in Draconomicon and Monster Mythology, often identifying/conflating some deities between the two (notably Asgorath and Io, though that was done before). Though this also resulted in a seeming further downgrade in status of Bahamut and Tiamat, them being still Lesser Gods (and Bahamut identified with Xymor, made as possible child of Lendys and Tamara), while including multiple Intermediate Gods (Astilabor, Garyx, Kereska, Lendys, Null as the Guardian of the Lost/Chronepsis, Tamara and Zorquan).

#bahamut #tiamat #dnd #advanced #dungeons & dragons #theory #dragonlance #forgotten realms #draconomicon

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total-cards · 1 month

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REVEALED: Astarion Secret Lair cards, Original Adventure arts, and more for Dungeons & Dragons 50th Anniversary!

Over the past few days, we've seen some exclusive looks at what's to come in two of the Dungeons & Dragons x Secret Lair Super Drop, particularly for Astarion and An Exhibition of Adventure. There are 5 cards for Astarion's Thirst, and 7 in An Exhibition of Adventure. What's interesting about these cards in particular is that they are designed with original artwork from Dungeons & Dragons' first debut 50 years ago!

Within An Exhibition of Adventure you will find some OG artwork of a Beholder, the Player's Handbook and the Basic Red Dragon! If you've been a long-time fan of Dungeons & Dragons, and you're a Magic Player, perhaps this is definitely a set to pick up.

Inside An Exhibition of Adventure the cards are as follows:

Fell the Mighty Sorcery Destroy all creatures with power greater than target creature's power. {Dungeons & Dragons Supplement I: Greyhawk (1975)} Faithless Looting Sorcery Draw two cards, then discard two cards. Flashback {Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Player's Handbook (1978)} Goldspan Dragon Creature - Dragon Flying, haste Whenever Goldspan Dragon attacks or becomes the target of a spell, create a Treasure token. Treasures you control have ", Sacrifice this artifact: Add two mana of any one color." {Dungeons & Dragons Set 1: Basic Rules, "Red Box" (1983)}4/4 Reality Shift Instant Exile target creature. Its controller manifests the top card of their library. {Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Dungeon Master Guide, 2nd Edition (1989)} Monster Manual Artifact Zoological Study Sorcery - Adventure Mill five cards, then return a creature card milled this way to your hand. , : You may put a creature card from your hand onto the battlefield. {Monster Manual, 3rd Edition (2000)} Ponder Sorcery Look at the top three cards of your library, then put them back in any order. You may shuffle. Draw a card. {Dungeon Master's Guide, 4th Edition (2008)} Acererak the Archlich Legendary Creature - Zombie Ward When Acererak the Archlich enters, if you haven't completed Tomb of Annihilation, return Acererak the Archlich to its owner's hand and venture into the dungeon. Whenever Acererak the Archlich attacks, for each opponent, you create a 2/2 black Zombie token unless that player sacrifices a creature. {Dungeon Master's Guide, 5th Edition (2014)} 5/5

In summary, we are eager to see what else this Secret Lair drop has in store. With a good look at Astarion (seen below) and an in-depth view of An Exhibition of Adventure we just can't wait to see what monsters lurk in Death is in the Eye of the Beholder I and II, or Karlach's Rage! To view all the cards in their glory, head to our blog. And be sure to keep checking for new updates regarding the Dungeons & Dragons x Secret Lair 50th Anniversary Drop!

#magic the gathering #secret lair #baldurs gate 3 #dungeons and dragons #dungeons & dragons #dnd #d&d #astarion #karlach #shadowheart #lae'zel #bg3 #gale of waterdeep #bg3 wyll #halsin #total cards #we love gaming #secret lair drops #reveals

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swordscleric · 30 days

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I don't know if anyone's gone through the original Dawn War pantheon* and compared the events of the Dawn War to the events of the Calamity, but it's interesting comparing how Tharizdun acts in the Dawn War to how little we know about it as the Chained Oblivion and might be useful as a theory-crafting aid for how the Chained Oblivion fits with Predathos**.

In the Dawn War, Tharizdun was a normal god, driven mad by extradimensional demons who provided him with huge amounts of power and attempted to force him to open a portal in the Astral Plane to release them. He took this power, and instead of releasing them created the Abyss. He and his would-be masters fought to a stalemate over control of the Abyss, until the rest of the pantheon found out and sealed him away, leaving him chained to a remote part of the Abyss[1].

By contrast, the Chained Oblivion is "something other entirely"[2], "less like a god and more like another world"[3]; it's been categorised as not of the Primes or Betrayers[4], and generally Matt has leaned much more into the cosmic horror vibes (sans a connection to the Far Realm) of the Chained Oblivion. It's a creature of "roiling ink and hungry darkness"[5], and was sealed at the bottom of the Abyss by the Dawnfather and the Knowing Mistress, with support from the Allhammer and the Changebringer[2, 3, 6]. The Chained Oblivion also wants to consume all and end the world and is kept at arms length by the Betrayers[5], and as a result of that plus its association with an unknowable hunger some people have now associated it with Predathos or think it and Predathos are of a similar species.

I think the Chained Oblivion is not Predathos in another form, but I do think that it's of a similar species. Looking at the Dawn War, and assuming (with the full acknowledgement that I'll more than likely be wrong) that Matt will stick as closely to the Dawn War as he has in the past, I think the Chained Oblivion is a smaller and weaker being of nothingness that decided to forge its own path instead of following Predathos' lead. My gut instinct is that the Chained Oblivion, seeing Ethedok and Vordo get eaten, took up Ethedok's mantle of darkness[7]*** and avoided working with Predathos and porentially fought the God Eater in order to survive and work its own odd plans of destruction. The Chained Oblivion makes a lot of plans to try and free itself (see the Angel of Irons or Cognouza), so I wouldn't be surprised if its propensity towards planning was present from the very moment it set foot on Exandria. Does this mean the Chained Oblivion will be let loose to fight the God Eater if Predathos is released? I doubt it, considering that it nearly killed the Knowing Mistress. And we know how the gods feel about family.

Footnotes

*The Dawn War pantheon is the slimmed down pantheon used for 4th edition D&D; can be found on page 11 of the 5th edition Dungeon Master's Guide. Used by Matt for the Primes & Betrayers with the addition of Sarenrae from Pathfinder.

**I'm aware of the pitfalls of using existing narratives and non-Exandrian lore to try and predict what's going on in CR at this moment in time; while there's not a 1:1 overlap between other D&D worlds' lore and Exandria, some of the major relationships do stay the same. For example, Pelor, Ioun and Tharizdun are all linked in Exandria and in D&D "canon" (Pelor, Ioun and Tharizdun all looked into the Far Realm and saw mysterious secrets, secrets which drove Tharizdun to want to destroy the universe as per Gates of Madness (2010). Additionally, Tharizdun is deeply associated with the Abyss across both settings). Bear with me.

***Zehir, the Cloaked Serpent is also associated with darkness; however while the Lawbearer and the Platinum Dragon are associated with order there is no explicit god of order which was Vordo's other domain. The Chained Oblivion is explicitly described as a god of darkness in both the Explorer's Guide to Wildemount (page 27) and the Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn (page 34).

References

1. Demonomicon (2010), pages 7-9. The wording of how the sealing took place is intentionally vague as it's a plot hook for DMs to expand on in their campaigns.

2. Titles and Tattoos, CR Campaign 2, Episode 84, from 14:00.

3. Explorer's Guide to Wildemount (2020), page 27.

4. Matt's Discord post during Nick Marini's AMA (linked here).

5. Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn, page 36.

6. The Endless Atheneum, CR Campaign 1, Episode 106, from 1:08:16.

7. Axiom Shaken, CR Campaign 3, Episode 43, at 3:02:19.

#cr meta #critical role #cr3 #had to wait till the latest episode was out in case there was a big god lore drop #but we're all good. anyway enjoy this maddening (referenced!) thing i decided to do #i know using other d&d settings' lore is not great practice! but idk something about the dawn war scratched a particular itch in my brain #there's something there with predathos and tharizdun and then seeing how matt has paralleled the dawn war (which itself draws on fantasy an #mythological tropes of “wars in heaven” or wars against titans because everything draws on everything)#but i don't know. there's something there with a would-be servant rebelling against its creator and then going onto want total destruction #the demons that provided tharizdun with the power to create the abyss are called obyriths if you're wondering btw #go back to older editions for campaign inspiration there's all kinds of crazy stuff there highly recommend #also before i forget shoutout to encyclopedia exandria without whom i would not have been able to put a lot of this together

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goobthegoblin · 1 year

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Mix potions, heal your allies, and summon spirits! A witch can be a valuable member of a party or a devastating enemy. Use this supplement to help you build the perfect character for your game. With a new 5th edition class, a new background, and many new magic items.

Play the Prophet, a new background. Are you plagued by visions? Maybe the gods allowed you a glimpse at the future and now you must prepare the world for its coming doom!

Summon a living building with the Witch's Hut magic item. Fill your Baba Yaga dreams and ride around your campaign on the back of a house!

Leap into battle alongside your familiar. Cast ancient rituals. Curse disrespectful nobles. And much more with the Witch!

If you like it please leave a rating and share! Consider checking out some of my other community-created titles like Gahears Glorious Guide to Dragons, Mysteries of Magic A Guide for Warlocks, or The Warlord

#goob the goblin #d&d #dungeons & dragons #tabletop homebrew #tabletop #homebrew #dungeons and dragons #ttrpg #dnd stuff #dnd 5e #dnd homebrew #dnd magic #d and d #dungeons and dungeons #d&d homebrew #d&d stuff #d&d ideas #d&d art #fantasy

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thegreenwallrabbit-blog · 1 year

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A List of TTRPG’s Luis Carazo has been in (updated September 2024)

Note these are not listed by date made, click underlined to go to youtube (if link doesn’t work for some reason you can just search for underlined title)

upcoming work

One shots/Charity events/Streamed Con events

LEGO DND- The adventure starts here. Witness history as we stream the first ever LEGO® Dungeons & Dragons game night. Featuring the incredible Dungeon Master debut of Anjali Bhimani. Joining her are @GinnyDi and Luis Carazo. Rounding the party are The LEGO Group Design Manager Jordan Scott and LEGO Ideas design winner Lucas Bolt. April 6th 2024.

Fallout DND | Pixel Circus- One Shot from Pixel Circus staring Luis Carazo, Persephone Valentine, Saige Ryan, Anthony Carboni and Sarah Chaffee in a Fallout DND one shot from May 2024.

GenCon 2023 | All Stars- Call of Cthulhu Live from GenCon 2023! Join Keeper Mark Meer as he guides investigators Harli Kane, Josephine McAdam, Luis Carazo, and Noura Ibrahim through The Dead Boarder! (Nov 23, 2023)

Live at GenCon(2023) W/Brennan Lee Mulliagan/ D&D (new) Join DM Brennan Lee Mulliagan for a Giant sized adventure played live at GenCon 2023 w/ players Jeremy Crawford, Dael Kingsmill, Erika Ishii, Luis Carazo and Gabe Hicks! Follow a group of determined seekers from the world below as they quest through a cloud giants castle for knowledge, family and adventure in this original adventure featuring elements from the new book “Bigby Presents: Glory of Giants”

Pixel Circus Plays Frosthaven (July 2023) New Welcome to the Gloomhaven Grand Festival! Join the Pixel Circus crew as they battle enemies to escape a sinking ship, in a very special Frosthaven scenario! Players: Saige Ryan, Kailey Bray, Luis Carazo, Paula Deming.

Dice Throne Adventures LIVE from the MEGA STAGE at Game Con Canada 2023 in Calgary, AB featuring: Jason Azevedo as the Host, Deborah Ann Woll (True Blood, Daredevil) as The Pyromancer, Luis Carazo as a The Vampire Lord, Noura Ibrahim (Into the Mist, LA by Night) as The Seraph, Omega Jones (Critical Bard) as The

Gloomhaven Rolepaying Game LIVE from Game Con Canada 2023| RealmSmith | Cephalofair Join us for this epic one-shot adventure set in the new Gloomhaven RPG LIVE from the MEGA STAGE at Game Con Canada in Calgary, AB featuring: Deborah Ann Woll (True Blood, Daredevil) as Savvas Elementalist, Luis Carazo (Critical Role) as a Human Scoundrel, Noura Ibrahim (Into the Mist, LA by Night) as an Inbox Bruiser, Joel Augé as a Vermling Soothsinger and our very own Jason Azevedo as the Gloom Master! This actual play takes place during the much-anticipated BackerKit campaign for the Gloomhaven Roleplaying Game.

Humblewood 5e Deck of Many Things- Join Trisha and friends (Xander Jeanneret (DM) , Erika Ishii, Luis Carazo and Whitney Moore) on an epic adventure through the Humblewood setting of D&D 5th edition.

B Dave Walter’s One on One Shots With Luis Carazo. Come and Join B Dave Walters and his amazing list of guests! This week's guest is actor, performer, Werewolf killer... Luis Carazo!

The Missing Heart - A Tale of Oz | D&D 5E Welcome to the magical world of Oz! This whimsical one-shot is presented in partnership with Andrews McMeel Publishing to celebrate the launch of their new Dungeons & Dragons book "OZ: A Fantasy Role-Playing Setting". Markeia McCarty, Luis Carazo( he plays a bear named Brawny), Desirée Strother, and Andrew Strother, are led on a magical adventure through the land of Oz by Dungeon Master Joe Nuzzo. Our players' goal? To recover a stolen artifact and return it to Glinda, the Good Litch of the South, before the thief uses it to strip magic from Oz FOREVER!

Prisoner 13 One Shot | Keys from the Golden Vault | D&D Beyond Join Dungeon Master Lexi McQueen and our heist crew Luis Carazo, Omar Najam, Michael Galvis & Sarah Chaffee as they travel to Revel's End prison in search of the key to a dwarven fortune! Prisoner 13 is one of thirteen exhilarating heist-themed Dungeons and Dragons adventures in Keys From the Golden Vault. Vancover By Night Wavaw Charity Werewolf Stream- The Cubs are lost in the Umbra, what will happen? Who will save them? Is that an Ashtray?Special Guests, Mark Meer, Erika Ishii, Jake Kile, & Luis Carazo Saturday Night One-Shot: Call of Cthulhu | The Mummy: Redux | Charity Stream benefiting RAINN 95 years after Rick, Evelyn, Jonathan, and Ardeth defeat Imhotep and preventing him from resurrecting Anck-su-namun, six tourists in Spain stumble upon a secret hidden within the Temple of Debod. Bringing the Mummy's Curse down upon them... will they survive the ordeal? Cast: Ian E. Muller (GM), Diana DiMicco as Phillipa Branch, Cynthia Marie as Mel Nais, Luis Carazo as Emmanuel "Manny" Martinez, Noordin Ali as Zahir Ayad Adham, Justus Hughes as Rick O'Connell, Andrew Strother as Roy Carnahan.

Ms. Pixel's Fantastical Circus: Call of Cthulhu One Shot Saige Ryan takes Aabria Iyengar, Alex Ward, Emme Montgomery, Luis Carazo, and Kailey Bray through an eldritch nightmare beneath the Big Top. Luis plays against type as a selfish, trapeze artist contortionist Freddy who performs in Ms. Pixel’s circus along side his twin brother bobby. Faster, Purple Worm! Kill! Kill! 3 one shot episodes where level one character face off against a threat they have no chance of beating in a improve comedy show.

Fallout D&D One shot Fallout Dungeons & Dragons by PixelCircus with Luis Carazo, Persephone Valentine, Saige Ryan, Anthony Carboni, Sarah Chaffee. Aired May 2, 2024.

Longer Series, Main Cast:

Good Time Society

Endymion's Gate (completed 6 episodes) ( cast Ash MinnickI(story teller) Alejandra Cejudo, Luis Carazo, Xander Jeanneret, Aabria Iyengar and Becca Scott ) Join the crew of the starship Endymion as they embark on a mind-bending mission filled with mystery and intrigue as they navigate the dangers and wonders of Dream Space! Based on the Hillfolk system by Pelgrane Press, Endymion's Gate explores an original, science fiction TTRPG setting with a cast full of familiar faces that you'll recognize from throughout the roleplaying community! Each week Story Moderator, Ash Minnick, leads the players through a surreal storytelling experience that will thrust them into a parallel universe of shared consciousness and dreams! Come aboard and prepare yourself for Dream Space!

Critical Role

Exandria Unlimited: Calamity (completed 4 part) The flying city of Avalir begins its triumphant return to the continent of Domunas while the Ring of Brass, a group of eminent city dignitaries, begin to uncover hints of something rotten within their gilded home. Cast: Brennan Lee Mulligan( Game Master), Luis Carazo, Aabria Iyengar, Marisha Ray, Sam Riegel, Travis Willingham, Lou Wilson.

Candela Obsurca chapter 2 ( premiere August 31 7PM PST) starting Luis Carazo, Marisha Ray, Travis Willingham, Brennan Lee Mulligan, Spencer Starke, Zehra Fazel. The Circle of Needle and Thread will face off against the duplicates threat that wreaks havoc on the war torn Fairelands. Season 2 is indecent of the events of Season one but if interested this is the link to candela Obscura chapter one (which he’s not in) to watch (3episodes, complete) to get an idea of the setting and game system.

Penny Arcade

Seattle by Night, Season 2 Welcome to the second season of our Vampire the Masquerade chronicles! Join us on Tuesdays at 5pm PT on twitch.tv/pennyarcade for a new live episode, or subscribe on YouTube for the latest videos as they go live. Starring Jason Carl as The Storyteller Mike Krahulik as Tom Hollandaise, Toreador Luis Carazo as Enrique "Rico" Suarez, Brujah Jasmine Bhullar as Betty Lancaster, Lasombra Jerry Holkins as Jamison Keen, Nosferatu

Catalyst Game Labs/RealmSmith

Series Intro | Shadowrun: Excommunication | Shadowrun RPG 2023 | RealmSmith (8 part) Shadowrun is a cyberpunk-fantasy ttrpg that takes place in our world, 60 years in the future. It combines cybernetic technology and magic in a dystopian setting. CAST: Anjali Bhimani as Trigger Christian Navarro as Rio Luis Carazo as Frayne Noura Ibrahim as Liv Talon Coleman as Blaze

Johnny Stanton IV

Of Dawn & Dusk(complete 4 episodes) Journey with us, as we take you on an adventure of Gods and mortals. Cast: Johnny Stanton(Dungeon Master),Persephone Valentine as Holly "Midnight" Danes( Kalashtar sorcerer/artificer/rouge ), Jasmine Bhullar as Mildred Mulvahill( hypochondriac dragonborn druid), Christian Navarro as Leo Goldleaf( half elf paladin, brother of Narrex ),Luis Carazo as Narrex of the Vatrai (half orc barbarian, brother of Leo).

Renegade Game Studios

Hunter: The Reckoning - The Day Shift (Complete 4 episodes) Hunter: The Reckoning is a horror tabletop role-playing game set in modern times, in which players take the roles of regular human characters who become aware of the existence of the supernatural, including vampires, werewolves, and ghosts, and fight back as monster hunters. It is set in the World of darkness (Vampire the masquerade, Werewolf the apocalypse, ect.)Cast: Diana DiMicco( storyteller),Luis Carazo, Briana DeCoster, Justus Hughes, and Markeia McCarty. Luis plays the most adorably dorky bookworm history professor...

Questline

DragonLance: Shadow Of War (complete 4 parts) Cast:Kevin Parr (Dungeon Master), Luis Carazo as Velzin Alara(Half elf rune knight fighter), Michelle Nguyen Bradley as Strigid( Shifter Lunar sorcerer), Tank Tolman as Tyran Iron-Skull (Dwarven ancestral guardian barbarian), QuincysTavern as Felix "Clubfoot" Chance (Harengon arcane trickster rogue), Roz Young as Tango Flux(Rock gnome artificer), Trevor Gemma as Wayreth Rolligtide (Hill dwarf Druid).

ThatBronzeGirl

Mörk Bronze (Complete 4 episodes)-Welcome to Mörk Bronze: a Mörk Borg experience sponsored and powered by Role! Join us through trials and tribulations as these three unfortunate souls attempt to survive in the city of Unguent. Cast: Jasmine Bhullar(fire keeper),Tanya Depass, Luis Carazo, Xander Jeanneret.

Hunters Entertainment

Outbreak: Undead.. is a Survival Horror Simulation RPG, focusing on practical experience and scarcity of resources - rather than sensationalist hero fulfillment. ZOMBV, the first entry of the Strain Series, is world book exploring opponents, a unique virus, locations, and rules to immediately jump into a game of Outbreak: Undead - with you and your friends at the center of the story

Outbreak: Undead- Strain Series: ZOMBV (complete 4 episodes) Cast:B Dave Walters (DM), Luis Carazo, May Leigh, Markeia Mcarthy, Michelle Nguyen Bradley

Outbreak: Undead (season 1) Rag & Bone (complete 60 episodes)Cast: Noxweiler Berf(Game master) Luis Carazo, May Leigh, Markeia Mcarthy, Michelle Nguyen Bradley. Luis plays as Lampwick-(or as the DM once put it bullshit Jesus, Luis RP in this is amazing).

Outbreak: Undead (season 2) United States of the Dead (Complete 13 ep) Cast: Noxweiler Berf (Game master) Luis Carazo, Sarah Chaffee, Michelle Nguyen Bradley, Markeia McCarty,Chelsea. (Luis becomes a main cast member after after the third episode were he is once again playing Lampwick SO do no watch unless you’ve finished season 1: rag and bone. Also season 2 and 3 are running at the same time like parallel events .

Outbreak: Undead (season 3 ) PROJECT NERO-(complete 12 ep) Cast: Noxweiler Berf(Game Master), Luis Carazo, Sarah Chaffee, Michelle Nguyen Bradley, Markeia McCarty, Saige Ryan,May Leigh. Luis plays different characters(but as of yet not Lampwick in this season but still should watch as other characters from season 1 show up.)

Altered Carbon - Osaka Eternal (complete 3 episodes) In this transhumanist neo-noir vision of the future, the human mind is nothing more than digital codeDigital Human Freight saved and stored in a Cortical Stack, advanced technology that allows you to "re-sleeve" your entire consciousness into a new body. Cast: Xander Jeanneret (DM), Luis Carazo, Michelle Nguyen Bradley, Markeia McCarty, May Leigh.

Kids on Bikes: Autumn Rites (Complete 3 episodes)-Strange Adventures in Small TownsChoose your OWN destiny in this storytelling rules-light tabletop role-playing game where adventure is a bike ride away!Kids on Bikes is a Collaborative World Building RPG set in small towns with big mysteries. Written and created by celebrated game designers Jon Gilmour (Dead of Winter, Atari: Centipede/Missile Command/Asteroids) & Doug Levandowski (Gothic Doctor, Seven Minutes in Hell). Cast: Mika Midgett (Game Master), Luis Carazo, Michelle Nguyen Bradley, Markeia McCarty, May Leigh.

Gods of Metal: Ragnarock - Masquerade of Madness (Complete 3 episodes, fist episode only)A bombastic heavy metal-inspired RPG of epic proportions. Bust out the D4's, turn up the volume and live out your rock fantasy! Cast: Ivan Van Norman (Game Master) Luis Carazo, Michelle Nguyen Bradley, Markeia McCarty, May Leigh.

Guest star

Vampire: The Masquerade - L.A. By Night ( first appearance in season 2 episode 6) portraying Nines Rodrigues the famous, charismatic, werewolf killing Brujah Anarch baron of Downtown/East Los Angeles and owner of the Last Round Bar.

ECLIPSE (S2) Episode 11: Escape from Vicom Station

DesiQuest - Fantasy/late 19th early 20th century setting. The story and setting are fictional relm based of mythology from Indian subcontinent. In this, the pilot episode to the South Asian mythology inspired TTRPG actual play, DesiQuest starring @ThatBronzeGirl @sweeetanj @RekhaShankar @omarnajam @SandeepParikh , our adventurers take the perilous journey to pickup one of their squad from the busy port of Chaand Bay. And as most travelers to India can attest to just getting out of the airport can be harrowing. Luis plays a guest character Namir in season 1, episode 2 and 3.

#luis carazo #exu calamity #outbreak: undead #vampire: the masquerade - l.a. by night #LA by night #exu zerxus #zerxus ilerez #ttrpg live play #i remember seeing someone posting wanting something like this #paladin heart #i probably missed something #Lampwick(outbreak undead)#candela obscura #Bigby Presents: Glory of Giants #vampire the masquerade #Gods of Metal: Ragnarock #werewolf the apocalypse

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dungeons-and-dannys · 4 months

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Vordanin's Book of Spellcraft

Unlock the Mysteries of Magic in Your Campaign

Vordanin's Book of Spellcraft, is a must-have tome for any Dungeon Master or player looking to enrich their games with a treasure trove of spells, feats, and spellcrafting knowledge. Offalon Vordanin has delved into arcane archives to bring new and exciting spells to bring you this comprehensive guide that is divided into three enchanting parts, each brimming with arcane secrets and practical enhancements for your magical adventures.

Part 1: Spells

Delve into the heart of magic with over 250 spells that span the ages. Offalon brings together an exquisite collection of spells, both new and cherished classics from earlier editions. Every spell has been meticulously updated for 5th Edition, ensuring seamless integration into your campaign. A useful table summarises each of the spells, telling you the spell's magic school, a description, and what classes can learn the spells!

Part 2: Character Options

Enhance your spellcasting prowess with a variety of new options tailored for spellcasters of all types. This section is dedicated to providing new ways to customize and empower your magical abilities. It also contains new invocations for warlocks and new metamagic options for sorcerers!

Part 3: Spellcraft

Unleash your inner arcanist with a deep dive into the mechanics and mysteries of spell creation. Whether you're a player eager to craft unique spells or a DM looking to design memorable magical experiences, this section provides the comprehensive tools and advice you need.

Vordanin's Book of Spellcraft is not just a spell book; it's a portal to endless magical possibilities. Whether you're a seasoned archmage or a fledgling wizard, this guide will elevate your game, sparking imagination and fostering a deeper understanding of the arcane. Embrace the magic within these pages and transform your 5e experience!

This PDF Contains:

Over 250 spells!

A long table that summarises the spells of this book with easy-to-read information and clickable links to the page of the spell!

Individual spellbooks for each of the 9 spellcasting classes, ordered by spell level. An easy booklet for players to use.

8 new feats for spellcasters.

11 new invocations for warlocks.

9 new metamagic options for sorcerers.

Information and tips for creating new spells as a DM or player.

Comprehensive rules for characters who want to make spells, with many different modifiers based on numerous factors.

Wonderful witticisms from Offalon Vordanin and his...eccentric apprentice.

And much more!

#d&d #dnd #dungeons and dragons #dungeons & dragons #dnd5e

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daisytrails · 11 months

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9 People You Would Like To Know Better

or in my case, i only have five mutuals so i’m tagging everyone bc you all seem really cool and i would love to get to know you more!

Tagged by @likemonstersinlove !! <3

1. Three Ships: in no particular order - Ineffable Husbands from Good Omens, Liam Wilhelmina/Primsy Coldbottle from D20 Crown of Candy, and the 13th Doctor/River Song (I know they’ve never met in canon but listen, shhh) from Doctor Who

2. First Ever Ship: Percabeth from Percy Jackson

3. Last Song: If You’re the Coffee by The Arcadian Wild!

4. Last Film: Rocky Horror Picture Show! I rewatched it to show to a friend who had never seen it. Truly iconic. I barely understand any of the plot in that movie but I honestly think it’s better that way.

5. Currently Reading: Right now I’m not reading anything but I just finished Against The Currant by Olivia Matthews. It’s a cute little mystery set in a family owned Grenadian bakery in Brooklyn. (Yes, the title is a currant roll pun. There’s a recipe in the back!) It’s really good, I highly recommend. And I’m about to start reading the Dungeon Master’s Guide for 5th edition DnD later today. I’m very excited to see where that takes me!

6. Currently Watching: Dimension 20’s Burrow’s End on Dropout tv. Dropout content has consumed my brain almost entirely since I started watching D20 in February and this is no exception. Also Big Brother. I’m not a big reality shows person but I have been watching BB since 2009 at the ripe age of way too young and now I cannot stop.

7. Currently Consuming: A banana oat breakfast bar thing (?) that I found on pinterest and some water.

8. Currently Craving: I’m going to make pumpkin snickerdoodles either tonight or tomorrow, so definitely those rn.

Tagging: @ace-geographer @auteurdefeu @yourstrullyme @terriblethanksforasking !!!!

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davidkendall · 11 months

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Found several years of my youth in a box of stuff I'd stored away. Many years ago, my friends and I were HUGE fans of Dungeons and Dragons (yes, these are all First Edition books and modules). We spent many, many, MANY weekends creating our little worlds and, as the Dungeon Master, I filled countless notebooks with all of the details of the world and the people in it. So many great memories from those days.

It's funny, because my daughter is playing D&D now, with friends, but they play on-line, via Zoom, using 5th edition rules. She has none of the handbooks, or notebooks, or guides, or modules, and was fascinated at the excruciating detail there is in all of these books and modules. When I explain to her how we used to gather together in one of the lounges in the dorms back in college, and set up our graph paper, and notebooks, and rolled actual dice on tables, it boggles her mind.

#dungeons and dragons #ad&d #rpg #role playing #gaming

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haaaaaaaaaaaave-you-met-ted · 1 year

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Dungeon Master's Guide (5th Edition) - Battle! by Ralph Horsley

#Dungeons and Dragons #Dungeons & Dragons #D&D #Dungeon Master's Guide #5th Edition #Battle!#Ralph Horsley #Fantasy #Art #Wizards of the Coast

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jcmarchi · 4 months

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The Art Of The New Dungeons & Dragons

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/the-art-of-the-new-dungeons-dragons/

The Art Of The New Dungeons & Dragons

Dungeons & Dragons has a big year ahead of it. The classic tabletop RPG is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and the most significant event of that celebration is undoubtedly the release of a revision for the game’s core rules, including the Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide, and Monster Manual. Backwards-compatible with the entirety of the 5th edition of the game, the new books are nonetheless a big new step forward for the game, reflecting a decade of iteration and evolution as the game has exploded in popularity.

The books aren’t far off. Players and Dungeon Masters alike can watch for pre-orders starting on June 18; each book is set to be priced at $49.99. Each of the three new books comes in at a hefty 384 pages apiece.

Characters from the classic D&D cartoon get a makeover in this internal art from a chapter opener in the new Player’s Handbook. Artist Credit: Dmitry Burmak

We had the good fortune to visit Wizards of the Coast a few weeks ago to learn more from the artists and designers about what to expect in the revised game, and we have a ton of exclusive details about the revised D&D in this month’s Game Informer magazine. The magazine article includes extensive insight from Wizards of the Coast designers, including Chris Perkins and Jeremy Crawford. Our conversations with the designers offer great depth into what to expect out of each of the three core books on the way. We hope you’ll support that kind of exclusive coverage of D&D with a subscription to GI for less than $2 an issue so you can check the article out for yourself.

In addition to all the fun new design insights discussed in our magazine article, we also wanted to show off some of the remarkable art coming as part of the latest books. We’re including that here, alongside details from the art team working to craft the game’s look.

We’re especially excited to reveal a close look at the cover art for the new Player’s Handbook.

The front cover of the newly revised version of D&D’s Player’s Handbook. Artist Credit: Tyler Jacobson

As the first planned release of the three new core rulebooks, it’s also likely the one that’s most important to the broadest swath of D&D players; its appearance in each prior edition has helped define the tone of the game.

The new Player’s Handbook front cover embraces the game’s revitalized approach to pushing forward legendary characters from across the history of the game. We see the likes of Yolande the Elven queen, Strongheart the knight, Elkhorn the Dwarven warrior, the divine Mercion, and the rogueish Molliver, all charging together into an adventure. These are figures hearkening back to the earliest era of the game. Wrapped around them is a benevolent gold dragon – a nod to the “golden” 50th anniversary of the game and an enticing reminder that the dragons in the game’s title can be allies as frequently as enemies.

A gold dragon teams up with a party of legendary heroes to confront a red dragon and its kobold minions in the full front cover art for the new Player’s Handbook. Artist Credit: Tyler Jacobson

The new cover art comes from the experienced hand of freelance illustrator, Tyler Jacobson. “I’ve worked on DND since 2009. And I did the covers back in the fifth edition,” Jacobson says. “I did the Player’s Handbook and the Dungeon Master’s Guide, as well as many of the other covers that came after that for [titles] like Storm King’s Thunder and Volo’s.”

The direction for the cover art is highly intentional, meant to reflect the content inside. “With the cover art, we wanted to represent each experience,” Jacobson says. “How do we make the Player’s Handbook look like it’s the players’ experience? And how do we make the Dungeon Master’s Guide feel like the Dungeon Master’s experience?”

The back cover of the Player’s Handbook features an unknown party of adventurers flying into danger on the back of a bronze dragon. Artist Credit: Tyler Jacobson

A separate piece of art on the reverse side of the Player’s Handbook goes the other direction from the mythical heroes depicted on the front, depicting a party of unknown heroes, and nodding to players who will craft their own legends.

The new Player’s Handbook (and all the rulebooks moving forward into this new era of the game) features a red book spine, which, in my mind, subtly nods to some classic visual cues like the classic red boxed set from the 1980s. But whether that’s intentional or not, the red hue also easily sets the new books apart from any other recent rulebooks you have on your shelf.

From sketch to completed art of the new Player’s Handbook. Artist Credit: Tyler Jacobson

Early book printings will bear a D&D 50th seal on the back – a recognition of the big five-decade anniversary.

As fans have come to expect, you can also look forward to alternate book covers available in your local game store – the new alternate Player’s Handbook depicts a gorgeous scene of elves and a sinuous gold dragon, all printed in a gold foil treatment.

Beyond the cover, there’s no shortage of art filling the books’ pages, as evidenced by the extensive visuals we saw from the interior pages of the Player’s Handbook.

Artist Néstor Ossandón Leal shows the process from sketch to completed art. Artist Credit: Néstor Ossandón Leal

“A lot of our chapter openers are famous heroes,” says studio art director Josh Herman. “Almost every chapter opening features a different hero, or group of heroes in a different setting. So, you’ve got Dragonlance, and other ones, like Ravenloft; you’ve got a whole suite of them. Whereas the Dungeon Master’s Guide is all about villains. The cover is all about the villains and the sort of threats that the DM gets to play up. And in that art, you get to see a lot of our famous locations and some of our famous villains in its chapter openers. So, it’s sort of like the opposite side of the coin; we want to present all of the facets of the game in a way that hopefully people can understand.”

The completed art that launches the Fighter class section in the Player’s Handbook. Artist Credit: Néstor Ossandón Leal

I was especially struck by the mix of characters and settings on display in the revised books. Where many prior official books seemed to default to the familiar Forgotten Realms setting (chief home of the Baldur’s Gate video games), these new core books seem to embrace the multiversal nature of D&D, including the characters and locations of myriad worlds. “I think like 10 years after [5th edition’s launch], all of these settings have come out,” Herman says. “Like Spelljammer, Dragonlance, Planescape. That’s probably why the differences are so much there; we want to show off all the different ways that players can play just like you can choose any type of character, and we want to create a broad gamut for you to pick from.”

A silver dragon enjoys the adulation of a city’s parade route. Artist Credit: Campbell White

The art in the new core books has a chief goal of helping to further an understanding of the game. Spells are often shown being cast. Art for character backgrounds shows a possible place your hero could have come from. It even extends to the visuals of creatures in the Monster Manual. “There’s a lot of mindfulness about the mixture; to pick the monster design accurately to the stat block,” says art director Emi Tanji. “If it’s a creature that does slashing damage or something like you want to make sure we see claws. And you want to make sure if the art has shows something that’s like a stinger, but there’s nothing in the stat block – that would be weird, right?”

As I had the chance to explore completed pages during my visit to Wizards of the Coast, I was impressed by the bounty of art that fleshes out the books and how the art is presented to act as a visual tool for organization. “We worked with the design team to ensure that every class starts with the left-hand page,” Herman says. “Whereas before in 2014, it was just kind of a running journal. Now what we wanted to do is every class would open with a full-page piece of art on the left-hand side with a similar set of lead data on the right hand, so that every time you get to a new class, you get sort of an immediate visual, which we tried to theme around almost like an iconic version of what that class is.”

Concept art reveals the redesigned look for the red dragon. Artist Credit: Alexander Ostrowski

The revised books also gave the art and design team at Wizards of the Coast a chance to return to some of its most iconic visuals and refine the approach, including the titular dragons of the classic five metallic and five chromatic species. “All the dragon stuff was really great,” Herman says “We went through all 10 of them. We have new designs for all of those and there will be a lot of that in the Monster Manual for sure. We are trying to update those designs to be something in which players could see that dragon’s personality or what biome they live in, or where they fit in the cast of all of the dragons.”

The new look for the bronze dragon, and concepts for its breath weapon. Artist Credit: Alexander Ostrowski

As a longtime D&D player, I came away from perusing this new version of D&D with a lot of excitement. The art we’re sharing here publicly is just a sampling of what I had the opportunity to look over; there’s a cohesive visual language to the new books that is enticing. And I love the way the game seems to embrace the long history of heroes, villains, and iconic named monsters that have arisen over 50 years of play.

If the art on display here has you excited, I hope you don’t miss out on our in-depth tour of the design work expressed in the books themselves, as described in this month’s Game Informer magazine. Our eight-page article includes details on all three books, including new character options, building player bastions, new apex-tier monsters on the way, and the surprising importance and inclusions of what is arguably the oldest D&D campaign setting of them all – Greyhawk. In a magazine that is chiefly focused on video games, we figuratively rolled the dice on offering this level of depth on a tabletop game like D&D in one of our issues, thanks to its incredible influence on gaming, and its recent success and reach to newcomers. If that kind of coverage is something you like, we’d appreciate your support in checking out the magazine.

In the meantime, enjoy exploring the breadth of all this new Dungeons & Dragons art! Click through the gallery below for full-size images of all the art included in this article, plus additional first-look pieces on the way in the new books.

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