#Conceptopolis

[crabridgedart]

C3E32 Abridged - Art by jacobgrimoire, @akanelogics, Conceptopolis, @tylerwalpole, @wingbuffet

[haaaaaaaaaaaave-you-met-ted]

Tsai-tsu by Conceptopolis

[exandriacityshowdown]

Round 2 Poll 15

Vesrah, Ozmit Sea: Vesrah is a remote island settlement in the Ozmit sea. Its location is not well-known. It is home to the Water Ashari. Vox Machina accompanied Keyleth there in 811 to complete the final portion of her Aramenté, and there they learned about the fate of Keyleth’s mother Vilya.

image uses the official map by andy law and ashari crest by conceptopolis.

Byroden, Tal'Dorei: Byroden is a rapidly-growing frontier town in the south of the Tal’Dorei Republic. It is the hometown of Vox Machina’s twins Vex’ahlia and Vax’ildan, as well as Opal of the Crown Keepers. When the twins spoke of the place they left in 793, they considered it a backwater farming village, but it was significantly changed by the time the Crown Keepers visited in 842. 

image is official art by blacksalander

[open-hearth-rpg]

#RPGCovers Week Fourteen Feng Shu 2 (2015) Conceptopolis

Sometimes you’ve just got a metric shit-ton of great interior art. Tons of evocative pieces running the insane gamut of your rpg illustration menagerie. No single piece can live up to it. They’ve tried: see the weak covers of the first two printings of Feng Shui– they look cool, but the weird anatomy of the first one and the mundane trio on the second pale in comparison. 

It’s particularly a problem given the wild visual elements and characters on display in Shadowfist, the ccg which Feng Shui sprang from. 

So here comes Feng Shui 2, already a game about going over the top: why not just slice and put everything together and call it a day? I’ve seen covers that have done that and melted into visual incomprehensibility. But FS2 organizes things: we have our wheel of characters. Strong figures at the top: scenes and groups at the bottom. 

We have clean divisions– the ornamental swords matching the combat and violence of the setting. We have the title and logo at the center, which form the spoke to this wheel of fortune. Two fans, edges gilded in gold mirror each other. The elements hold together and feel right. It’s a cover with adrenaline and action– and importantly the promise of what’s to come. These snippets are only pieces: we’ll begin to see the whole when we finally dive in.

[candlekeep]

By Jetpack7

[elfgirls]

Wood Elf (female) by Conceptopolis

[theseworldsareyours]

Spaceport Color by Conceptopolis

[oh-no-eu-didnt]

Fae Coven was a Jenet Jedi Master and Grand Master of the Council during the Old Republic. Following the Ruusan Reformations, Coven helped reorganize the Jedi Order, writing a definitive guidebook on the Order and its traditions. Yoda, a successor, remembered her fondly.

Source: The Jedi Path: A Manual for Students of the Force (Art: Conceptopolis, LLC; 2010)

Read more on Wookieepedia.

[iamtheancient-blog]

Review for Jetpack7's / Conceptopolis Gods & Goddesses 5th edition supplement

Those familiar with 3.5e edition of D&D, can recall one of the books written during its time was “Deities and Demigods “. This book was a supplement that detailed dozens of god's, giving their statistics, suggestions on creating your own gods, and even information on how to advance your character into god hood. This book was a wealth of information. One which I still pick up from time to time to read into when making and developing characters.  I'm excited that Jetpack7 / Conceptopolis developed a 5th edition supplement in the same vein as Deities and Demigods. Some information on Jetpack7 is they are responsible for some of the great looking art in both the Dungeon Master's Guide and the Monster Manual, also their art can found in several other locations and popular products such as League of Legends.

This book is laid out as follows. An introduction, and how to use this book. After this there are 16 Gods & Goddesses. Each God or Goddess has a page dedicated to who they are, dogma, clergy and temples. As well as who worship such a god/goddess. Afterward is a great picture of said god. A stat block of their avatar, then a Cleric sub-class and a paladin sub-class. After these pages are an appendix of companions to these deities. Some wondrous items from them as well. New spells, boons that deities can grant in this book, two new weapons and a couple NPC stat blocks.

Now will move into the distinct sections of the book.

For each page about these deities it goes into depth on who the god is, their dogma, clergy and temples to said gods. Also who worships them. These pages are great, and get the imagination flowing when reading these pieces. Reading through this book, as a DM it gave me ideas on how to incorporate these deities into my games and also inspired me to make characters who worshiped these same deities. These sections are great. The pictures afterword give plenty to tell your players if they ever meet an avatar of the deity face to face.

After each deity is a stat block of an “Avatar” of that deity that the players could face. All these deities are in the Challenge Rating 30 range, like Tiamat in The Rise of Tiamat. What worried me most in reading through these stat blocks was the wording and placement on them. An example would be, when comparing the Goddess known as “Baba Yaga” to a “Ancient Red Dragon” as far as placement goes. It lists in Baba Yaga’s stat block that she has a Frightful Presence. The stat block lists Baba Yaga’s Frightful presence as a feature, like Legendary Resistance rather than an action. The wording is correct on it but it is not clear whether her Frightful presence is something she can do at will requiring no action, or if it requires an action as normal.

Listed under actions for Baba Yaga, are actions like her gaining a fly speed. Mention of a pestle wand she uses and it acts as a wand of war mage +3. It is a bit odd that her fly speed is not built in, but requires an action for her to use. As well as the mentioning of her wand of war mage. Another odd thing on this stat block is mention of “Baba Yaga makes 4 magical attacks per a round”. It is unclear if they mean she can cast 4 spells or if her attacks count as magical, and she can make four per a round. Other unclear terms are such as Elemental Immunity which states, “Baba Yaga is immune to all (including magical) water, earth, wind and fire damage”, It might be better phrased as, “When Baba Yaga takes damage from a magical or otherwise elemental attack, she instead takes no damage from the attack”

Moving onto the next big part of this book Cleric and Paladin domains for each of these deities. A lot of these Cleric Domain and Paladin’s oaths feel a bit rushed and unoriginal. Before each domain and oath is a paragraph or two describing what a Cleric or Paladin of this deity would be like. This gives a great deal of inspiration when you’re sitting down to make a Cleric or Paladin of this chosen deity.  Going back to the rushed and unoriginal aspects of these domains and oaths. Some of these domains / oaths take existing material from, or magic items in general. An example of this would be the, “Domain of the Devious Spider” as a 2nd level ability they can spend a use of their channel divinity to displace themselves much like the the magical item “Cloak of Displacement” in the dungeon master’s guide.

The difference being the effect lasts for 1 minute in the Channel Divinity. The effect does not disappear when taking damage. Another example would be the 6th level feature from “Domain of the Wise”. Is the same exact feature as of that of the Nature Cleric from the Player’s Handbook. Also the “Champion of Baba Yaga (Paladin Oath)” its 15th level feature is a copy paste of “Relentless Endurance” from the Half-Orc traits in the Player’s Handbook. Other errors I picked up were feign death as a 3rd level oath spell. When Paladins don’t get 3rd level spell casting till 9th level. In another instance a paladin got True Strike, which is a cantrip as a 3rd level oath spell as well.

These sub-classes need to be looked at more, especially because of these simple errors. While I understand you cannot reinvent the wheel with every single subclass put into this book, since there are two for each of the of the 16 deities. More work should have be put into making them more unique. I make take on a project later re-making the sub-classes presented in this book for fun. To better align with the deities presented, at least the ones that need a bit of reworking.

Looking at the companion stat blocks to deities already listed. There is nothing glaring on them, and look fine as is.

Next in the list we have a few wondrous items, all which are on the artifact level because of what they are. The only issue I have with these, is when comparing these items to the ones in the Dungeon Master's Guide, the formula for artifacts in the DMG (besides the effect of the listed item). Each item also has those effects and a minor/major beneficial and or a detrimental property. Besides not following this formula the items seem great.

In the next section, there is a list of new spells. I am assuming these spells are  for clerics and paladins. There is nothing to specify who gets these spells on their spell lists. Some of these spells go beyond the spell casting capabilities of a single classed paladin. Yet some of these spells are on the domains of both clerics and paladins.  Looking at these spells and comparing them to others of the same levels. Some of these spells are weaker versions of existing spells. Such as whisper, a 1st level spell that lasts 10 minutes, extends 10ft, and gives a +5 to stealth checks, acting like Pass Without a Trace. Otherwise nothing seems crazy about these spells but they would need some play testing to be 100% sure.

The boons of the gods seem fine, and a lot of them seem inline with what is existing in the DMG.

In the NPC stat block section, it describes each of the NPC’s, a bit of history, assets, flaws of the character and how the NPC would interact with the party. There isn’t many errors I saw besides  forgetting the weapon of one of the NPC’s. You’re not sure what the NPC is attacking with, but you can find the information in the Players Handbook due to the damage it deals.

In closing, the book should have had some more time put into it. I would have rather waited longer for the book to be a 100% ready than coming out with so many glaring errors in the book. The first iteration of the PDF was missing the 17th level ability of the Cleric ability for Baba Yaga’s domain, comparing the first iteration of the original PDF to the new one, they have fixed some errors but a lot of others still remain.

I also got a hard copy of the book as well as the PDF, and it’s a bit sad to see the 17th level of the Cleric ability missing. As well as these other errors I pointed out before in the book. The hard copy of the book is right around the same size of the Player’s Handbook. The quality of the pages and book itself seem great as well.

If I had to give a review on this book out of 5 stars, I’d give it a solid 3. The artwork is beautiful, there is a great deal of inspiration in the book, but the many errors and thrown together cleric domains / paladin oaths bring the quality of the product down.

[mobbothetrue]

“Wait why is this one blank— oh god fucking dammit”

[crabridgedart]

CR Abridged Art Masterpost

Because tagging posts is an art form.

By artist:

Hannah Friederichs (@agarthanguide)

Shaun Ellis (@shmaba)

Bree Williams (@larkspurns)

Lap Pun Cheung (@lappuncheung)

Wesley Griffith (@wesley_griffith)

Deven Rue (@devenrue)

Cris Trinci (galaxybandit)

Hampus Viklander (@spookystirfry)

Azraelion (@azraelion)

Mike Pape (@wingbuffet)

Elisa Serio (@ellinainthesky)

Clara Daly (@eldritchblep)

Nikki Dawes (@nikkidawes)

Ian MacDonald (@ian_macdonald_art)

Akane (@akanelogics)

David Rodrigues (@3rdclover)

Tyler Walpole (@tylerwalpole)

Hugo Cardenas (@takayuuki_art)

Jacob Grimoire (@jacobgrimoire)

Conceptopolis, LLC

Katarzyna Wrobel (@quietsphere)

Meg Simmons (@megzilla87)

Tori Bennet (victori_jane)

Jonah Baumann (@galacticjonah)

Jessica Scates (@jessmightwork)

Natalie de Corsair (@natalie_corsair)

Lyadrielle (@lyadrielle)

Chiara Papalia "Lia" (@iliadeleart)

Jessica Nguyen (jessketchin)

Adrian Ibarra Lugo (ailustrar)

Cameron Grant (aurex_aldori)

(if you’re one of the artists and I made a mistake or prefer a different credit or link, message me!)

By category

Characters

Monsters

Scenes

Locations

Objects

Maps

By character:

Annaline

Armand Treshi

Artana Voe

Ashton Greymoore

Birdie Calloway

Captain Xandis

Chetney Pock O'Pea

Cyrus Wyverwind

Dancer

Delilah Briarwood

Dorian Storm

Dusk

Evon Hytroga

Fresh Cut Grass (FCG)

Fearne Calloway

General Ratanish

Greenseeker Gus

Greenseeker Olly

Hondir

Imahara Joe

Imogen Temult

Ira Wendagoth

Jianna Hexum

Keyleth

Lady Emoth Kade

Laudna

Lord Eshteross

Milo Krook

Ollie Calloway

Orym of the Air Ashari

Otohan Thull

Pate de Rolo

Percy de Rolo

Pike Trickfoot

Planerider Ryn

Pretty the Ogre

Roe Estani

Sir Bertrand Bell

Sorrowlord Zathuda

Vex'ahlia de Rolo

Yu Suffiad

By type

Episode

Spotlight

[haaaaaaaaaaaave-you-met-ted]

Shiba Tsukimi (Experienced 4) by Conceptopolis

[exandriacityshowdown]

Round 1 Stage 4 Poll 5

Vesrah, Ozmit Sea: Vesrah is a remote island settlement in the Ozmit sea. Its location is not well-known. It is home to the Water Ashari. Vox Machina accompanied Keyleth there in 811 to complete the final portion of her Aramenté, and there they learned about the fate of Keyleth’s mother Vilya.

image uses the official map by andy law and ashari crest by conceptopolis. apologies about the aspect ratio >_<

Druvenlode, Wildemount: Druvenlode is a city in the centre of the Dwendalian Empire, known for its mines. It has only been mentioned in passing onstream.

[kaijusrpgbrainstorm]

This seems timely...

Gnoll by Conceptopolis

[manfrommars2049]

Lady of the Lake by CONCEPTOPOLIS, LLC via ImaginaryWarriors

[thecreaturecodex]

Daemon, Ultrodaemon

Image by Conceptopolis, © Wizards of the Coast.

[Commissioned by @justicegundam82​, who is of a similar mind to me: the ultroloth/ultrodaemon has gotten a raw deal for the last 20 years. In the original Monster Manual 2, the ultrodaemon actually had more hit dice than a pit fiend or balor, and in 2e they were on an even footing with those two paragons of evil (thanks, Planescape!). But in 3.0 they were CR 16, 3.5 they were CR 13, and they’re CR 13 in the current edition. If you want a CR 13 ultrodaemon for Pathfinder, @thecreaturechronicle​ did one here.

Also, the olethrodaemon is a little disappointing for the capstone daemon. Maybe because they’re adorable]

Daemon, Ultrodaemon CR 20 NE Outsider This regal-looking creature has no face, merely a blank green-grey void with eyes that shine like opals. It carries a finely made sword in one hand.

An ultrodaemon is an extinction event made manifest, the representation of the death of an entire species. They are the generals of Abaddon’s armies and the masterminds of its triumphs. An ultrodaemon is mercenary to the extreme, working with other ultrodaemons, daemonic harbingers or Horsemen of the Apocalypse as their own needs see fit. They are especially fond of obcisidaemons—after the daemons of genocide have wiped out a culture or civilization, the ultrodaemons savor mopping up pockets of survivors to lead the species to oblivion.

Ultrodaemons are unusual among daemons in that they prefer subtlety to mass murder. They are capable of walking the earth in mortal guise, and between their natural skills at persuasion and their telepathic commands, are able to shape the efforts of kingdoms and nations towards destructive and deadly ends. Only when their plans come to fruition do they enter the battlefield directly, although they are happy to test their skills and those of their minions.

An ultrodaemon rarely if ever fights alone, and if caught off guard is capable of summoning aid to its side. They often bolster their forces with magical enhancements, flying over the battlefield and surveying weak points that require their attention. Their opalescent eyes flash in ways to render foes completely helpless, but ultrodaemons much prefer to leave these enemies with self-destructive or murderous suggestions rather than merely finish them off. Thanks to their selective spell immunity and ability to conjure symbols with a mere gesture, ultrodaemons are versatile combatants, and no two fights with them are likely to go the same way. If badly pressed, an ultrodaemon will flee to fight another day, plotting revenge against those that best them.

An ultrodaemon stands over six feet tall in its natural form, and weighs about two hundred pounds. They do tend to indulge their vanity with fine clothes and jewelry, and often wear trophies from especially memorable fights—necklaces of preserved fingers are a favorite.

Ultrodaemon     CR 20 XP 307,200 NE Medium outsider (daemon, evil, extraplanar, shapechanger) Init +9; Senses arcane sight, darkvision 60 ft., Perception +32, true seeing Defense AC 38, touch 28, flat-footed 29 (+9 Dex, +9 profane, +10 natural)hp 341 (22d10+220); fast healing 10 Fort +17, Ref +22, Will +20 DR 15/good and silver; Immune acid, death effects, disease, poison; Resist cold 10, electricity 10, fire 10; SR 31 Defensive Abilities profane shield, selective spell immunity Offense Speed 30 ft., fly 60 ft. (good) Melee +4 unholy longsword +35/+30/+25/+20 (1d8+13/17-20 plus 2d6 unholy), slam +26 (1d12+4) or 2 slams +31 (1d12+9) Ranged oblivion ray +31 touch (20d8 typeless plus energy drain) Special Attacks energy drain (1d4 negative levels, DC 30), mesmerizing gaze, symbol master, telepathic urge Spell-like Abilities CL 22nd, concentration +31 Constant—arcane sight, fly, true seeing At will—blasphemy (DC 26), greater dispel magic, greater teleport (self plus 50 lbs. objects only), invisibility, prying eyes, unholy blight (DC 23) 3/day— quickened contagious flame, empowered fire storm (DC 27), mass bear’s endurance, mass bull’s strength, mass cat’s grace, mass suggestion (DC 25), prismatic spray (DC 26) 1/day—greater scrying (DC 26), implosion (DC 28), plane shift (DC 26), prismatic wall (DC 27), summon (1 daemon of CR 19 or lower, 9th level, 100%), unholy aura (DC 27) Statistics Str 28, Dex 28, Con 30, Int 27, Wis 25, Cha 29 Base Atk +22; CMB +31 (+35 disarm); CMD 50 Feats Combat Expertise, Empower SLA (fire storm), Greater Disarm, Improved Critical (longsword), Improved Disarm, Persuasive, Point-Blank Shot, Power Attack, Precise Shot,  Quicken SLA (contagious flame),Vital Strike Skills Bluff +34, Diplomacy +38, Disguise +34 (+44 when using change shape), Fly +46, Intimidate +38, Knowledge (arcana) +30,  Knowledge (history) +30, Knowledge (nature) +30, Knowledge (planes) +33, Knowledge (religion) +30, Perception +32, Sense Motive +32, Spellcraft +30, Stealth +34, Use Magic Device +34 Languages Abyssal, Celestial, Common, Draconic, Infernal, telepathy 100 ft. SQ change shape (humanoid, alter self), perfect copy Ecology Environment any land or underground (Abaddon) Organization solitary, council (2-6), or army (1 plus 20-200 HD of daemons) Treasure double standard (+4 unholy longsword, other treasure) Special Abilities Mesmerizing Gaze (Su) Paralyzed 1d4 rounds, 30 ft., Will DC 30 negates. Daemons are immune to this effect. The save DC is Charisma based. Oblivion Ray (Su) As a standard action, an ultrodaemon can fire a ray at a range of 240 feet with no range increment. A creature struck by this ray takes 20d8 points of typeless damage and suffers 1d4 negative levels. A successful DC 31 Fortitude save halves the damage and negates the negative levels. A creature reduced to 0 hit points by this ability is utterly destroyed, as if killed with a destruction spell. The save DC is Constitution based. Perfect Copy (Ex) An ultrodaemon can assume the form of specific creatures when using its change shape ability. Profane Shield (Su) An ultrodaemon gains a profane bonus to its Armor Class equal to its Charisma modifier. Selective Spell Immunity (Su) Once per day, an ultroloth can spend 10 minutes in meditation to grant itself immunity to nine spells, one of each spell level. These spells must be subject to spell resistance, and this effect otherwise acts as unimpeachable spell resistance against those spells specifically. The following is a list of sample spells that may be taken by an ultroloth as its immunities—magic missile, spiritual weapon, vampiric touch, holy smite, waves of fatigue, banishment, holy word, fire storm, dominate monster Symbol Master (Su) Once per day as a standard action, an ultrodaemon can trace a glyph in the air to have the effect of any symbol spell it chooses. This symbol has a save DC of 30 and is treated as being CL 22nd for the purposes of dispelling or other effects. The save DC is Charisma based. Telepathic Urge (Su) An ultrodaemon can implant a suggestion, as per the spell, in the mind of a creature paralyzed by its gaze as a swift action. A creature can resist this suggestion with a DC 30 Will save. The save DC is Charisma based.