#Strixhaven artificer student

[orcamorca]

Trying to figure out how to do armor. It is a never ending feeling of it looking wrong

[5ecardaday]

Colleges of Strixhaven - Prismari

Hey there tumblr, it's been awhile! Believe it or not though, while I haven't been posting here much, I'm still regularly doing new releases over on patreon. In fact, this is a preview for a brand-new, 2-page release focused on the Prismari college from the Strixhaven campaign setting.

If you'd like the other page, which includes rules for using famous Prismari student Rootha Squallheart as an NPC (plus two, brand-new Prismari-focused student extracurriculars) feel free to check them out on my Patreon. My last 4 releases are always free to the public, so this is also a chance to grab statblocks for the new flip-walkers from Modern Horizons 3, plus an artificer-themed cleric subclass, the Invention Domain!

To get all of them, just head here! It's free to join as a member, but you can also sign up for as little as $2/month to get access to a whole backlog of posts.

[chornayadrakoshig]

Aaand this artwork is done, yay!

This is a dnd character I played in a Strixhaven campaign last year! Human artificer and Lorehold student, goes by he/she pronouns. I'm not sure how to translate his name correctly (I wasn't playing in english), I guess it's El? Yel? (with a sofl L at the end) Stormsong. Anyways...

This was actually my first dnd campaign (I participates in handful of writting-based roleplays waaay back in like 2010-2014 and played one session in warhammer 40k campaign which I didn't like because I know next to nothing about the setting but my friend dragged me there).

So, few notes from the campaign itself:

In the first year Larine almost died from exhaustion because she took all her free time for extra practice before the water-dancing club had a large performance on Rose Stage (which was it's own shenanigans to find someone who can cast and controll the huge mass of water to give us, like, temporary magical pool on stage).

Also in year 3 Larine won the magical fashion show and ended up working as designer later on.

My character and Aurora almost killed each other. Not like that, they were besties and tried to handle some issues with Aurora's dhampir hunger that was triggered by her falling in love with another NPC and, well, I'll just say it was one of the most emotional moments in the whole campaign and the only time I cried. Eventually DM decided it's too much and we got a happy ending (both survived) but damn.

Also right after that my character got in trouble because, well, she took so much damage she had to go to the hospital, but he tried to convince people that's just study experiment went wrong and not a dhampir bite so she got scolded by professor for allegedly messing with necromancy.

Quentillius tried to hit on Jawenish (unsuccessfully) and eventually ended up dating my character instead. They married after graduation and opened a shop selling magical music instruments.

[noxlumaris]

Riven

This is my half-orc/half-tielfing character that I play in a Strixhaven campaign! He's a Quandrix student, and an artificer that lives and dies by the "fuck around the find out" principle. He's typically guarded and standoffish and likes to maintain the "punk" image, but secretly he has a heart of gold.

[redroseproudrosesadrose]

Another character made for Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos, an artificer Prismari student (an Edna Mode-inspired designer/armorer)

Download Sim: Razira Dawa Requires: My Wedding Stories, Realm of Magic, Vampires, Vintage Glamour Stuff

Other CC: Crypticsim Cloud Blush DangerouslyFreeJellyfish Whisper Eyes (Default) Lamatisse Rosewater No Eyebags Skin (Default) Ms Blue Lace Gloves Obscurus Nose Bridge Skin Detail Retro-Pixels Steamqueen Dress

[wyrmhaven]

Wyrmhaven Guide

This blog is about a "Strixhaven" game - that title is in quotes because our lovely DM has added some many homebrew NPCs and events that we're approaching Strixhaven of Theseus territory here - if you add a bunch of new content to a DnD module, at what point is it even the same game? The point of this blog isn't to answer this question, it's to enjoy the ride and hopefully share that joy with others. There is a lot of NPCs that are not in the base module, so if you see a name you don't recognize from the base module, chances are they were homebrewed in.

THE SETTING This game takes place in a world known as Kharas, in a city-state called Lux Concordia. The Strixhaven Academy has been renamed to the Wyrm Academy to fit in with the DM's existing worldbuilding, and the headmaster has been replaced with a woman known as Archjusticar Yasha. Lux Concordia is a city of towers built upon several other iterations of itself, and is approaching industrial revolution levels of technology. The layout of the Academy itself is similar to the module, although it is now dominated by a central tower known as the Hexpiral Tower that holds most of the classrooms, and all of the Dragon House Demiplanes There are several other locations of note in this world:

Valtahost, a more technologically advanced empire and Lux Concordia's bitter enemy

The Orzkhov Union, a nation run by vampires

THE PLAYER CHARACTERS Carmilla - Our dhampir warlock/bard who claims to be a vampire despite only being a dhampir. Her patron is a enigmatic figure known as "All Ravens" who lives in the Shadowfell Doya - Our aasimar monk who is a bit over her head in this magic academy Rin - Our roadent (homebrew rat race) sorcerer who thought he was a wizard, but was actually imbued with magic by a tome that his adventurer brother gave him White - Our changeling wizard who doesn't know much of their own past. They are genderfluid, but will be referred to as he/him in the logs for the sake of consistency Zoey - Our bard/warlock with a knack for creating crimes against nature PLAYER FAMILIARS Guillermo - One of Carmilla's raven familiars, who works with different game mechanics than most familiars Nandor - The other one of Carmilla's raven familiars, who is technically a shape-shifted imp Ra - White's hairless cat familiar "La Creatura/The Creature in the Hat" - a strange creature that lives in Zoey's hat. We still don't know what it's deal is Sproing/Slash/Puff/so many others - Zoey's familiars. She goes through them quickly, as all her familiars are doomed to die despite her best efforts

MAJOR HOMEBREW STUDENT NPCs "The Angels" - a trio of popular girls who bully the player characters relentlessly. A parody of the Heathers from the movie of the same name Angelika - An aasimar sorcerer, and the leader of the three Angels. Thinks she is queen of the school, and might as well be Angelique - An elven wizard, and the smart one of the Angels. Always has perfect grades Anjarika AKA Anji - A genasi warlock, and the pretty one of the Angels. Has a lot of suitors, but not a lot of thoughts

"Missing Peace" - A band of four girls whose music is similar to what we would call Punk Rock Asher - A tiefling bard who is the lead singer of Missing Peace that lives up the punk rock image Amalie - An aasimar bard who is the lutist of Missing Peace that seems surprisingly gentle considering her choice of music Larksann - A gnome artificer with a mechanical backpack who is the drummer of Missing Peace and is incredibly anxious. Occasionally a PC when one of our OOC friends wants to join in Mailu - An elven sorcerer with an affinity for pyrotechnics who is the bassist for Missing Peace

Chadriz - A Mage Tower player with a bone to pick with just about everyone. The resident bully Dawn - A kalashtar sorcerer, who is friends with multiple PCs and just about anyone else she talks to Dismay & Violence - A pair of goth tiefling twins would would rather not get caught up in all this drama Max - A human ranger who considers himself a superhero. Has a pet chicken who is his sidekick, which he calls Wonder Chicken Nicollin - A dhampir wizard who is Carmilla's friend, but also inexplicably friends with multiple other PCs despite being the most boring person alive Pain - A tiefling warlock, and the academy's resident bad boy "Sunny" - A halfling bard who comes from a family associated with organized crime, but would rather distance himself from it

MAJOR HOMEBREW FACULTY Archjusticar Yasha - The eladrin headmaster of the Academy who is eternally stuck in her winter form. Cold as ice. Professor Nadia - An elven PC from a previous game, now the physical education teacher for the academy

[ink-flavoured-tea]

Fun D&D Builds 8: Healer Artificer

What you’ll need: 

The Artificer Class - Alchemist Subclass

Mark of Healing Halfling

A Strixhaven Student Background that gives you access to a 1st level Wizard spell - Witherbloom Student or Quandrix Student preferable 

Optional: Cleric Class - Life Domain

Ok so first, you’ll want to be a Mark of Healing Halfling from the Eberron books, this will give you an extra 1d4 to medicine checks and checks with your herbalism kits. You can also cast Cure wounds or Lesser restoration spells for free once per long rest, which is handy if you’re running low on spell slots and an ally goes down. Finally, you’ll get a greater range of healing spells to choose from thanks to the expanded spell list. 

Next, go for the Artificer class, for your spells you’ll need to grab the Spare the Dying cantrip and the Cure wounds spell. For your Infusions the only one you’ll really need is Homunculus Servant, this will allow you to cast your spells through your Homunculus as long as the spell has a range of touch, which means you can position it near an ally and potentially heal or stabilise them if they’re running low on health. 

For your Subclass, choose the Alchemist. This will allow you to brew one potion for free per day (you can brew more but you’ll need to expend a spell slot) admittedly, only one of these will heal you and you’ll have to roll on a table for it so there’s a 1 in 6 chance of getting it. BUT, at higher levels you’ll gain an additional boost to your healing equal to your Intelligence modifier, so using a 1st level spell slot your Cure wounds spell will heal for a minimum of 11 hp and a max of 18. Later on, you’ll be able to brew two potions per day for free at level 6 and three at level 15 and the creature who drinks it will gain extra temporary hipoints. Finally, at level 9 you can cast Lesser restoration a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus and at level 15 you can cast the Heal spell once per day. 

Finally, and this part’s important: Choose a Strixhaven background, personally I would recommend either Witherbloom Student (as you will get additional healing spells) or Quandrix Student (as you will get a balance of attack and support/buffing spells). This will give you the Strixhaven Initiate feat which will give you two extra cantrips and will also let you learn one 1st level spell which you can cast for free once per long rest OR you can expend spell slots to cast it again. Choose a spell from the Wizard Spell list and specifically choose the Unearthed Arcana Spell: Healing Elixir. This takes one minute to cast but you can make a healing potion which heals for 2d4 + 2 hit points, which remain magical for 24 hours and you can make a number of these as long as you have the spell slots (and flasks) 

So, you get a few ways to heal yourself or your allies for free, a way to transport better healing spells than healing word and a way to buff your medicine checks (which if you cast guidance on yourself you gain 2d4 to add to your medicine checks) 

Still not enough? Well you can also multiclass into a Life Domain Cleric and all of your healing spells will gain an extra 2 + the level of the spell hit points in addition to all the other healing buffs you’ll have, and you’ll have Channel Divinity: Preserve Life to help out too. 

Thanks for reading and happy healing! :)

[kingholly]

Also artificer Alen gets to go to college for a quadbloom strixhaven student!

[pad-paper-pen]

After all these weeks...

Finally, I have them all!

What I've been working on lately for a fun little podcast I've been listening to <<<:

Roleplay Radio is a fun, new and tiny DnD podcast based on the Strixhaven: Curriculum of Chaos module (if you don't know it's about a magic college, if you do trust me this shows what the module could've been and more)

It was such a fun and surprisingly amazing show I had to do some sketches

And so I present to you the main cast (plus an extra npc original to the show):

Mistake (Tiefling Rogue) - Serious, clever and distrusting girl from a rough and mistrusting world. Thanks to a little vengeful thievery and her special love for books, she's now given an opportunity to learn more about magic and the genuine goodness in... some people.

Garrett "Gary" Grigg (Human Artificer) - Highly curious, clumsy and an alchemical prodigy. A great cook, talented student and a mess of a man. Quite the skrumblo.

Koss Silvertrove (Changeling Bard) - A sweet and artistic person with a knack for awkward compliments. A kind soul in search for their own identity and form.

Shelly Shell (Tortle Barbarian) - They have a big heart and a not-so-big brain. Their shell is also pretty big. They put all their stuff in it. Clueless, naive and lovely, but scary in the metaphorical battlefield and in slam poetry.

Bonus NPC: Tobias Swiftfoot (Harengon) - a precious little boi

Griff Burninghammer - A man of few (sometimes unexpectedly funny) words. He wears an intimidating and stern deamenor holding an expressive soul lying dormant within.

The DM behind it all is Alex Aguilar-Thompson - a brilliant man in charge of the impressive worldbuilding, enticing storytelling and fun characters. Although the players also do a lot of work on the last two.

If you're a fan of DnD, want to listen to something fun and/or got time to support a new and shiny creator go check them out on YouTube, Spotify and some other places.

[freshroyalmspaint]

A Strixhaven student by the name of Lindolle Snumfluff, Lindie for short. She is a chaotic good fairy artificer.

[orcamorca]

I just realised I never posted my updated Lorehold Wick design.

Cropped jacket, throuses and armor. She is ready for adventure always!

Also her Homunculus Servant Tarmo. Little dragon buddy. With Wicks 10 passive perception, Tarmo serves as her second pair of eyes that actually notice when shit is about to hit the fan.... Or just to locate her friends in a crowd.

+7 to investigation and 0 to perception. The tunnel vision is real.

[gallus-rising]

i’m still on this

ok Melone was a touch harder then Abbacchio bc i made his primary class wizard and wizards theoretically have no upper liment on the number of spells they can know and uuuuuuuuuuugng so if his spell list is off by a bit that’s why lmao. his other class is artificer which i dipped into juuust enough to pick up the  artillerist subclass for it’s eldritch cannon for reasons that will be explained Soon

Mel is a tiefling bc he’s got the Vibes, but more specifically he’s of Dispater descent bc i liked those bonus spells better for him (thaumaturgy, disguise self,  and detect thoughts)

his background is based entirely on my headcanon that he’s a flunked out medical student of some kind. i know fuck all abt Strixhaven and picked Witherbloom just for the spells. one of the background features is the feat Strixhaven Initiate, so that’s where that one came from. the other feat, skilled, was from a level up. i picked it to round out his skill proficiencies w a few i think Melone would need

class feature and *weary sigh* a few spell explanation time

k so wizards actually do get all that much in terms of class features bc there is no theoretical limit to the number of spells they can learn. all these features are from his subclass: order of scribes. this subclass’ main thing is your spellbook is sentient! as you level up your spellbook gets more powers. it can flout around/scout ahead, make casting faster, give you advantages on some skill checks, alter the damage type of your spells, and even take a bit of damage for you! the big reason i gave Mel this subclass tho is bc i want him to be able to summon as many little dudes as possible. the spellbook here being a partial representation of the Babyface Labtop, and his summons being akin to the hommunclus’ it makes

but what’s that? the sentient spellbook is only partially Babyface? here’s where those artificer levels come in babbbbby

when you pick the artillerist subclass you get a walking eldritch cannon. it has a little list of powers to choose from and it appearance is 100% customizable.

Melone’s eldritch cannon if this fuckin thing except it can also breath fire

at this level the other artificer features are mostly abt tinkering with/fixing things up, and making small items. but you also get a handful of special item infusions! for Mel i picked: homunculus servant, self explanatory. mind sharpener, an enchantment for your cloths to make it easier to concentrate on spell casting. enhanced arcane focus, +1 to spell attacks. and magic item he can always make, i went with the alchemy jug. why the jug you ask? once a day it can produce an amount of any fluid you want. moving on

hhhng for spells like i said, there’s no upper limit for how many spells wizards can know. there is a limit on how many they can have prepared to use per day tho, so i just went with that number. he got a few spells for those 3 levels of artificer too, which is why his cantrips and lvl 1 spell lists are maxed out. he could totally have more, but i’d need a separate sheet for that, so i just focused on the higher lvl ones

for his main attack cantrip i pick mind sliver bc it deals psychic damage which just feels v Melone to me for some reason lol. if i had the space for his other cantips they’d def be more damaging ones to help round him out

besides that, most of his spells are either for manipulating ppl, summoning things to fight for you, and manipulating/molding physical matter(based off how Babyface can turn things into cubes and rearrange them). for the Big Damage spells tho, no wizard is complete w/o fireball and chain lightning imho. i also gave synaptic static bc more psychic damage, and crown of stars bc it’s cool and seems like something he’d have (it’s a bunch of little specks of light circling your head and you direct them to hit ppl. either all at once, or at dif targets over the course of the fight

i made Mel’s str and dex rly low since he’s not a physical fighter at all. his cha is also low bc this man is a straight up Freak lmao. his cha bonus actually would’ve been -1 if not for the fact tieflings have extra cha as racial bonus lol

hooooookay i think that’s everything! one squadra member down More Than I Would Hope to go orz

[twoscoopsblog]

Strixhaven Previews

Oh boy oh boy. I cannot begin to tell you how happy I am for Strixhaven to be coming. As someone who grew up reading two main book series, Harry Potter and the Forgotten Realms novels (mostly Drizzt and the books where Kelemvor became a god), I am totally stoked for Strixhaven and the D&D set.

So let’s look at what we know about Strixhaven, shall we? This is the Multiverse’s best wizarding school (take that, Tolarian Academy!) and it had five colleges. 

Lorehold is in Red and White, and is focused on history, artifacts and understanding the magic of artifice. 

Just look at that artwork. An owl student shooting magic. A dwarf student with a GATLING SCROLL!? And those effects - Make a 3/2 token? Make all creatures stronger and indestructible and fast? A lightning helix? A blood divination? And I get TWO OF THEM!? A 3/2 with a free Blood Divination is totally worth 5 mana! And it’s even more modular! I love it!

Then we have the college of dirt, decay and life, Witherbloom.

I love the tusky troll dude. I love the green miasma. Land recursion with mill? Permanent removal? Creature debuffing? Life drain? It’s pretty nice.

Prismari is the art college, full of elemental magics, song and dance. So my wife’s school and my best friend’s school, but not my college.

Look at this. Burn. Rummaging. Treasures. Artifact destruction. This is the school of heavy metal and rock opera, the school of drumlines and dance troops, the school that’ll make you know you just got served. Amazing.

But if you’re more into STEM, maybe Quandrix is where you’ll be.

For only 3 mana, you get two of - a bounce, a counter, a permanent buff, or mill insurance? Yes please, I’ll do math for that! (This would be my sister’s college, btw). 

This one we even know an associated teacher - Kasmina! Remember her, the wizard teacher planeswalker from War of the Spark? We all knew she was from Strixhaven, and it sure is good to be right.

So much cooler than Professor Trelawney, Kasmina can summon fractal owls, and just her being there makes your other planeswalkers have more abilities because she’s a wizard teacher, and she teaches them how. She even lets you tutor and free cast a spell of any color of a sufficiently loyal planeswalker you control. You can keep your Uncommon Walkers from WAR around longer now! I would totally be that guy to use Teyo to Wrath of God you or Angrath to pull a Star of Extinction. It’s just how I am. (Don’t use it with X spells though, because it’ll set X to 0.)

And finally, my college of choice, Silverquill. I wasn’t sure about them at first - they came off like the Slytherins to me, but their black mana isn’t from “Wizard Supremacy” or being literal wizard Nazis, but instead from healthy competition. Compete within the group to get stronger, and your group itself is now stronger. Then you are all better to face your enemies. They’re the school of constructive criticisms and biting witticisms. The writers. And they have ink magic they’re so cool!

Their Command gives you so much fun. An angel buff! Graveyard draw! A deal with the devil! Forcing a death! And the ink! Look at the ink!!!

Man they’re so cool. And we’re pretty sure we know one of their teachers now.

Look, I haven’t had a 2D crush since Sailor Mercury when I was 11, but hot damn. I think I’m hot for teacher. Like I never got the “step on me” jokes, but like, I get it now. As I said on Twitter when someone said “Everyone thirsting for Professor Onyx  is a bottom,” - even if you’re a top, sometimes you have to make an exception. 

Like, Liliana was always attractive. She traded her soul for eternal youth and beauty. But now that’s she’s trying to be good, and on a redemption arc, she’s got a certain je ne sais quoi.

And in that outfit, I suddenly have a lot of feelings I’m not used to, and I don’t want them to stop. 

Like I shipped Lili and Gideon hard for a while, but to quote the sketch Ice Cream Parade “Oh... he’s dead now. Welp, here we go!” Like there’s people on Magic TikTok thirsting for Gids, and I suddenly get it. 

Just... holy fuck, I started this post to try to convince people to play Strixhaven, and now I’m just ready to turn this page into a 100% Liliana Thirst Blog. 

Anyway, I’m going to not shut up about Strixhaven. Come for the non-transphobic wizarding school, stay for the insanely attractive faculty, like holy fuck is this allowed, how in the name of Ugin is this allowed.

[mcfearless1810]

Opps, I did OC again... We just can't stop play DnD and as our main campaign is prepared to be continued our DM introduced us to Strixhaven adventure in the meantime, so I needed to design myself a new character. I am obsessed with connecting my characters stories, so I decided to play with teenage version of my main campaign character's alchemy master.

Name: Setliri Brass Bamire

Race: gnome (forest)

Class: artificer/druid

Background: Witherbloom Student

Characteristics: She is a very dedicated alchemist who cannot miss any oportunity to discover new ingredients to her potions. She collect and try to taste literally everything… Glad she has a good friends to watch over her as this tasting habit is not always safe.

[loreholdlesbian]

Modern Horizons 2 Booster Challenge

Hello everyone, and welcome to the Modern Horizons 2 Booster Challenge! For the past few sets, a bit after release, I’ve been replicating this challenge from GDS3, in which contestants created a draft booster’s worth of cards that could feasibly be in their chosen set. I made a lot of designs for this one (I have 60 different cards made, and those are just the ones that are completely finished with art and everything), so choosing the best for this pack was quite hard. Some of them are definitely pushing the power level a bit, given the nature of the set, but I think that’s okay at least for designs like this. Now let’s jump into it!

Link to the full booster

Common #1

Servo Trainer 4W

Creature- Dwarf Artificer

Mentor

Fabricate 1

3/3

Modern Horizons sets are great, cause you get smash two mechanics together and see what happens. I was really surprised we didn’t get a fabricate card in the set, since it works well with several set themes, so I decided to make one and then looked to see what interesting things I could do with the mechanic. I scrounged fabricate + mentor from an old design of mine cause I really like the combo- it works well on multiple levels.

Common #2

Crusader’s Arrogance 2W

Enchantment- Aura

Enchant creature

Whenever a creature enters the battlefield under your control, put a +1/+1 counter on enchanted creature.

I wanted to make sure I had some designs that didn’t use keywords, and callback designs like this make for good candidates. This is a reference to [[Cathar’s Crusade]]

Common #3

Etherium Strix 2U

Artifact Creature- Bird

Flying

~ enters the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter as long as mana produced by an artifact was spent to cast it.

2/1

I’ve long been interested in cards that care about artifact mana, and Modern Horizons 2, with ten common artifact lands and a bunch of treasure running around seems like a great candidate.

Common #4

Unethical Experiments B

Sorcery

Return target creature card from your graveyard to your hand.

Jump-start

With the various discard and graveyard themes of the set, jump-start seems like a great candidate to use. I wanted to put it in a color that didn’t already get it, and black seemed like the best candidate given draft themes. Creature recursion seemed like a good ability since neither red nor blue could have a card like this. My thought process went jump-start plus recursion, hmm sounds like frankenstein. So i made the card stitcher-themed.

Common #5

Reckless Search R

Instant

Draw a card.

Madness R

This is a colorshifted version of [[Obsessive Search]]. It’s a tiny bit weird, colorpie wise, but not by much. Every color gets cantrips, and while usually cards that are just cantrips tend to be blue, red gets discard then draw, so I think a madness cantrip like this makes a lot of sense in the color. And since blue doesn’t have access to madness in this set, only red black, I think this works well.

Common #6

Sigil of Speed 1R

Enchantment- Aura

Enchant creature

Enchanted creature gets +1/+1 and has haste.

Retrace

I had this spell as one mana for a bit, and I still think it could though it would definitely be kinda strong. I mainly just changed it cause there were already a decent amount of 1 drops in this booster, including the other red common. I really like putting retrace on permanents though, and Auras especially make for good candidates.

Common #7

Acorn Season 1G

Sorcery

Create a 1/1 green Squirrel creature token.

2GG, Exile ~ and three other cards named ~ from your graveyard: Squirrels you control get +3/+3 and gain trample and haste until end of turn.

A deck may have any number of cards named ~.

I really liked the idea of a [[Relentless Rats]] style card for squirrels. So I made one. I played around with the numbers on this a lot, and I’m still not 100% sure if it’s at a good level. I know I wanted the card to cost two though, since at one mana you can fill your graveyard with these way too quickly. And since the card itself is pretty bad on cast, the big payoff could be stronger since it means you’re filling your deck with otherwise bad cards.

Common #8

Relentless Wolf 3G

Creature- Wolf

Undying

Creatures you control with +1/+1 counters on them have trample.

2/2

I’ve played around with undying + counter synergy before, and liked the results so since this set has a +1/+1 counter theme this seemed like a really good place. The second ability is often used with these themes, in fact there was even one in this set, and I like how it plays on undying so I put one here- probably as a replacement for the one already in the set, since it doesn’t need two at common.

Common #9

Metallic Growth 2G

Instant

Search your library for a basic land card or artifact land card and put it onto the battlefield tapped, then shuffle.

Since the set has artifact land cards, I enjoy tacking them onto where we usually see “basic land”. This started out as a [[Lay of the Land]] but I think I prefer it as a ramp spell.

Common #10

Nyxhammer Golem 4

Enchantment Artifact Creature- Golem

Bestow 6

Enchanted creature gets +3/+3.

3/3

I wanted an enchantment artifact creature for the delirium archetype, cause a three type card does a lot for that. So I needed to justify why it was both of those types, and I think being a colorless card with bestow is a good way to do both.

Uncommon #1

Young Psychomancer 1U

Creature- Human Wizard

T: Draw a card then discard a card. If there are five or more cards in your graveyard, sacrifice ~ and draw an additional card.

0/2

I originally named this card Jace’s Prodigy as a reference to [[Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy]] that I copied used as inspiration, but I preferred the flavor of an imitator than a student of Jace since he isn’t really a teacher which made made Young ____ a good candidate. This is definitely a bit of a strong card though, quite possibly too much. It might be better to go for a different payoff than draw a card, but I liked the simplicity.

Uncommon #2

Wild Bewilderer 4R/G

Creature- Elemental

Cascade

Evoke R/G R/G R/G

3/3

This is a card intended to help the RG storm archetype, since it lets you cast two spells for cheap. It also just is a very fun combination of keywords that I’m surprised hasn’t ever been done.

Uncommon #3

Opal Spire

Artifact Land

Metalcraft- T: Add one mana of any color. Activate only if you control three or more artifacts.

Basic landcycling 1

Here’s one of the cards that’s really pushing it power-level wise. Is this wildly broken? Quite possibly. This is by far one of the cards I'm most worried about. Artifact lands are scary, particularly those that enter untapped. This card is, of course, a reference to [[Mox Opal]], but that’s an ability that’s much less scary on an artifact land than it is on a 0 mana normal artifact, so there’s a little room for something extra, I feel, and still be well within a safe power level. And since they generally don’t like to make lands that don’t unconditionally make some kind of mana (they sometimes do, but not often) that seemed like a good place for the extra. I tried “T: Add C” but that seemed like a bit much for artifact decks, so then I moved to basic land cycling which means you can still use it to get an unconditional mana land but the unconditional mana doesn’t get those same artifact synergies. This also adds discard and graveyard synergy, which works well in this set- I could see the UR delirium deck playing this and never intending to have it on the battlefield. The end result, though, is still something I’m incredibly scared of but I think it’s a cool design. So I’m choosing to stick with it, cause since these cards aren’t really gonna get played anywhere I generally tend toward the more exciting numbers.

“Reprint” Slot

Disgust 3B

Creature- Incarnation [r]

Menace

As long as ~ is in your graveyard and you control a Swamp, creatures you control have menace.

2/2

I ran into a similar problem with “reprint slots” with strixhaven’s mystical archive cards, but there I solved the problem by making a card that couldn’t be in Strixhaven by using the mechanic retrace. That approach doesn’t really work here. Separately from this problem, I realized that while the rest of the incarnation cycle fits well with modern design, [[Filth]] doesn’t as much since swampwalk isn’t really used much anymore, so I decided to make a version that used menace. Then I realized that would be a good candidate for a “reprint” here, so I stuck it in.

Rare

Phyrexian Profaner 6BBBB

Creature- Phyrexian Zombie

Delve

When ~ enters the battlefield, return target creature card from your graveyard to the battlefield. You lose life equal to that card’s mana value.

6/4

Here’s another card that’s pushing it, power levelwise. (As I said in the into, that’s a theme in this booster. That’s what happens when I try to make cool cards for modern being the most casual player out there.) MH2 had a joke where they took cards with “eternal” in the name, and gave them the eternalize mechanic. This is a similar reference to [[Phyrexian Delver]], but with delve. It definitely feels strong, and I’m sure it is, but I rationalized it like this- 4 mana reanimation is not gonna make a splash in modern, let alone reanimation with a downside and strict color requirements. So the draw here is that it also comes with a body, which leads to the question of just how pushed does that body need to be to make the card attractive? I decided to stick with the most melviny numbers, where the mana cost and the stats are both double that of delver. But as I’ve said, balancing is not my strong suit.

So there it is! How would you feel opening these cards from a pack? Are any of them wildly broken and going to ruin multiple formats? Let me know in the comments!!!

[bergdg]

Strixhaven Students: Lorehold

In this five-part series, I’ll be creating a brand new Dungeons and Dragons character who would call one of the colleges of Strixhaven home. Each character will be built using content released in either published books or in Unearthed Arcana (UA) documents, such as the recently released Mages of Strixhaven UA.

Today, I’d like to introduce you to Rufus, Dedicated Retriever.

Art by Ralph Horsely

When Rufus was still fairly young, he was adopted by an upper year student from Quandrix College named Cairu, who had a theory about exponential optimism. As the student studied the effects of different stimuli on the puppy's emotional state, they decided that their experiment's results would be enhanced if Rufus could communicate his own thoughts. One sapience spell later, Rufus was gifted with enhanced deductive thinking and telepathic speech.

A few months of research later, Cairu's project had come to a close, with several interesting data points backing up their theory. Rufus had grown as well, having taken a liking to reading nightly from various books students left for him. So, with the support of the student researchers and a surprising endorsement from Lady Kasmina, Rufus applied, and later accepted, to be a Strixhaven student himself.

After taking some introductory courses in archeology, Rufus found he had a knack for hunting down history. There was a certain scent that centuries old metal and sun-bleached bone had; he could just smell it faintly on the wind when it blew just right. And so, the halls of Lorehold became his new home.

Starting Stats (using the Standard Array)

Strength: 10

Dexterity: 15

Constitution: 12

Intelligence: 8

Wisdom: 14

Charisma: 13

Rufus loves to run around. He loves to play and interact with others; his enthusiasm is often contagious. And, his senses of smell and hearing enhance his acute awareness of his surroundings.

Race: Custom Lineage

Rufus is a sapient dog, which doesn’t have a direct character race in D&D. However, in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, the Custom Lineage option was presented, which we will use here. Most of the traits will play into Rufus’s dog nature: his Small size, innate strength, and proficiency in perception. The selected feat of telepathy is a result of the sapience spell placed on Rufus by Cairu, the Quandrix researcher. For the feat, I picked to increase Rufus’s Intelligence score, to show how the spell increased his abilities to read and think critically.

Traits:

Size: Small

Ability Score Increases: Strength +2

Feat: Telepathic (Intelligence). This increases Rufus’s Intelligence score by 1, and allows him to convey his thoughts to another creature within 60 feet. This also allows him to cast Detect Thoughts once per long rest, an interesting side effect of the sapience spell that allows Rufus to understand someone’s true feelings.

Variable Trait: Proficiency - Perception. Like most dogs, Rufus has a keen sense of hearing and smell. For this build, we’ll flavor that as being proficient in Perception.

Background: Athlete

While not an athlete in the traditional sense (at least at the beginning of his story), Rufus’s love of running and play were what drew Cairu to select Rufus and the subject of his optimism optimization research. Later on in his time at Lorehold, Rufus’s skills and speed impress the college’s Mage Tower team captain, and Rufus earns a spot on the team, the first non-humanoid to do so in any college.

Skill Proficiencies: Athletics and Acrobatics

Level 1: Rogue (Level 1)

Rufus begins his adventures as a rogue, as this would be the time directly after Cairu’s research ended and Rufus’s educational journey began. His first few classes introduced him to the basic concepts of magic, which will eventually lead to his second level being a spellcaster (more on that later).

Starting Class Proficiencies: Insight, Intimidation, Investigation, Stealth

Expertise: Investigation, Perception

Starting Weapons: Because he is a dog, I would reskin Rufus’s weapons as bite and claw attacks, such as a dagger slash being a paw swipe and a shortsword jab being a vicious bite.

Level 2: Bard (Level 1)

Rufus’s general joyful demeanor and his interactions with fellow students are what drive his magical powers. As a Bard, he uses his magic primarily to help and encourage others, although he might use Mage Hand to grab a few snacks every once in a while. He also starts to learn more about archeology, which fascinates him: a whole career about digging up the past is more than enough reason for a couple of tail wags.

Proficiencies: History

Spells:

Cantrips: Friends, Mage Hand

Leveled Spells: Cure Wounds, Feather Fall, Heroism, Identify

Level 3: Bard (Level 2)

Rufus’s interest in history has cemented his desire to be involved with the college of Lorehold. He had remained in contact with Cairu as he had gone through the first year of school, and Cairu enthusiastically agreed that this would be the place that would be best for Rufus - “While mathematics is brilliant and precisely in my wheelhouse, I have loved seeing you learn an area you love. After all,” Cairu paused to give a little wink, “your continued happy optimism enhances the validity of my research.”

Within Lorehold, Rufus finds new friends and a new place of belonging. His impressive sense of smell helps him identify the origins of various artifacts and he soon becomes a mentor to other students.

Spells:

Leveled Spells: Thunderwave (an exceptionally loud bark)

Level 4: Rogue (Level 2)

One day, Rufus and a group of Lorehold students were playing a sport-like game that had once been played by an ancient civilization on Arcavios. Their activities were observed by Yovus, the captain of the Lorehold Mage Tower team. He was impressed by Rufus's Cunning Actions, easily dodging the other students as they ran around. There had recently been an opening in the team, as one of the team members had been selected to assist in an important archeological dig out in the Vastlands. After the game ended, Yovus approached Rufus, and offered him the chance to try out on the team. Of course, Rufus heartily accepted the invitation. The day came, and after some stiff competition between three other competitors and himself, he earned the spot on the team.

Level 5: Bard (Level 3)

After a year of lessons within the college, Rufus was prepared to enact the ritual that would summon an Ancient Companion. The day came, and even Rufus’s optimism couldn’t quite calm his nerves as he made his way to Effigy Row. After a moment of reflection, he sat back on his hind legs and drew out the sigils for “The Rousing” with his paws. The statue rumbled and cracked slightly, and then a golden light began to emanate from the stone. “Hello Rufus, I am she who is called Deianira. And you are by far the most precocious dog I have had the good fortune to meet.” She radiated warmth, and Rufus let out a yelp of excitement. “So tell me,” she continued as she stepped down from her pedestal, “What would you like to know? For my belief is that we shall discover great things together.”

Expertise: Athletics, History

Bard College: Mage of Lorehold

Ancient Companion. I’ll include a brief snippet from the UA. Whenever you finish a short or long rest, you can call forth and bond with one such spirit, who comes to inhabit a Medium, freestanding statue within 10 feet of you to serve as your ancient companion. See this creature’s game statistics in the Ancient Companion stat block, which uses your proficiency bonus (PB) in several places. When you bond with your ancient companion, choose the type of spirit you bond with: Healer, Sage, or Warrior. Your choice of spirit determines certain traits in its stat block. The statue determines the spirit’s appearance.

Spells:

Subclass Spells: Comprehend Languages, Knock, Locate Object

Leveled Spells: See Invisibility

Concept Art for Lorehold

Past level 5, I would continue to build up Rufus’s abilities as a Rogue. I could see him taking either the Inquisitive or the Scout subclass as his roguish archetype: Inquisitive would play into his nature as a budding archeologist, while Scout would play into his abilities as a Mage Tower athlete and traveler into the wilds of Archavios.

Now, I will turn it over to you. If you were to play a character from Lorehold College, what type of character would you build?

Next, we’ll be meeting a character from Witherbloom.

Creator tags: @flavoracle @kor-artificer @askkrenko @vorthosjay@wizardsmagic