#d&d worldbuilding

[gaygreyhawkgrognardgirl]

Pelor's tits, there are so many things you could do with this. Just off the top of my head:

originally just one moral axis between Law and Chaos, then suddenly there's a Good to Evil cross-axis.

First appearance of Tieflings, dragonborn, etc. Aasimar appeared at the same time as tieflings, but then disappeared again while tieflings stayed.

there were never elf or gnome or halfling barbarian cultures before but now there are (3e). Maybe some corner of the world had a sort of Bronze Age collapse and they are the survivors?

Wizards used to either be generalists or specialists in Necromancy. Then somebody figured out how to specialize in other schools of Magic.

Sorcerers didn't exist and then they did (3e). This is probably not a setting where sorcerers come from dragon-fucking. Or maybe it IS and that raises questions about why there was suddenly so much dragon-fucking!

Bards used to be this elite group with really stringent entrance requirements, and then (2e) it got a LOT easier to be a bard. I bet old-school (1e) bards really resent having the entrance requirements lowered.

For years I've had this on-again-off-again project about creating a D&D setting that uses edition changes to build a World of Darkness style metaplot. And maybe I should start parting the veil on it a bit.

The history of the world of Qwerth is told from the time of the Great War of Law and Chaos onward, anything before that being lost to the mists of prehistory. So basically I'm starting from Chainmail.

The changes in the game that affect changes in lore are those that actually affect how something works within the fictional world. Going from THAC0 to base attack bonus is nothing, nobody in the world talks about those things. But halflings having druids and then not having druids and then having druids again? That's something, that can tell us something about the world and its history.

There's a lot to cover, so I'm gonna crowdsource this a bit.

Whatever you vote for, I'd appreciate suggestions for that type of thing so I can make a follow-up poll.

[capngoosey]

Trying to start a D&D campaign with some coworkers. They’re struggling to come up with character ideas for a world that’s made of food, so I gave them a buffet of ideas

[nerd-at-sea5]

worldbuilding: when i go into way to much detail and play god and my characters are all suddenly becoming atheists

[katjapetersart]

NPCtember 3: An arcane interpreter works during a lecture at Ninestar Arcane Academy.

Polyglot arcanists are often hired as arcane subtitlers. Using illusion magics like Prestidigitation, they can translate, interpret or subtitle speakers live. In a multicultural, multilingual city as Ninestar, they are often used by public speakers wishing to make a statement on inclusion.

They are also employed for nearly every lecture at Ninestar Arcane Academy. Spellcasters have a high risk of disability due to their chaotic field. The most high ranking lecturers usually need accessibility options.

Derrek loves his job and really values his accuracy and connection to the lecturers. He wishes he had more time to chat with the students- he loves seeing the younger generations of arcanists. When he gets the chance, he tries to convince them to specialize in arcane linguistics.

(And a companion comic.🏜🌄, or for vocal speakers, Golden-Sun Warmed-Rock-Home, is an Awakened lion. He is communicating with direct telepathy with Derrek here. He uses written or typed word with mouth utensils. He also uses a telepathy to speech device, but because his grasp of language requires a lot of effort, the telepathy to speech device is often muddled or hard to understand.

If he can, he sends his telepathy directly to an interpreter who speaks fluent Common. In the lecture, Derrek might be accompanied by a vocal interpreter, or might also be saying the words out loud at the same time.)

[neilanuruodo]

I can't think of any specific question so this is your free "ramble about any fic or idea or character you want" card now!!

Thank you so much for the free license! (...and sorry I've been so slow to respond. I'm about 1/8th of a person trying to get by in life LOL)

I'm gonna take this as an opportunity to talk about the worldbuilding I've done more or less within Toril, specifically in creating a number of related illithid colonies that behave rather differently than others in the Underdark. It... started as one and just got a bit out of hand, as worldbuilding tends to do, heh.

It began with a trio of illithid OCs in a throuple and the colony that gave rise to them, and then I began thinking about how their colony might have come about in the first place and that turned into a fanfic featuring madness, tragedy, and Ilsensine's meddling. I haven't updated it in a little while but it's far from forgotten, and I have plans to work on it as soon as I clear out a few smaller ideas that are pestering me.

The ultimate aim for this story is to create a setting that people will be welcome to use in their own games or writing, either the specific colony and NPCs I've come up with or other colonies founded by this one that they can tailor to their own wishes. (And all with thanks to @tcfactory for putting the idea of a "wine aunt Elder Brain" into my mind in the first place. The ulitharid that becomes this particular Elder Brain ends up being one of the main characters in this fic eventually.)

The main point of view character is an illithid who has begun dabbling in the arcane, but before they are caught and made to flee for their life madness seizes the colony. They manage to protect themself with a spell, and then (along with a few other survivors and the help of a visiting ulitharid) they begin putting their lives back together, albeit in a new order. The other survivors are the priests of Ilsensine, and the fic is written from each of their perspectives in the form of records left behind, inscribed in the absence of an Elder Brain to hold their knowledge.

If this sounds interesting and up your alley, feel free to check it out, though I certainly won't be offended if you'd rather wait for actual updates or until it's finished.

And thanks again for the lovely ask!

[ithinkthiswasabadidea]

Hey RPG friends! Open call for any suggestions or opinions on various map making tools!!

I've heard/seen good things about both RPG Maps Forge and also Map Effects, in regards to the toolsets and asset packs that are available and good value for their price

I haven't tried either of them myself, and I ask on behalf of a friend who is looking for something to create general world maps, as well as maybe some building interiors. Anything compatible with procreate or can be accessed on laptop is preferred

I'm hoping someone here may have experience with the above, or some other map making tools 🤗

Please leave your suggestions or tips!

[bonkusdonkus]

I’ve been thinking about bunnies again!

A while ago, I made a list of list ideas, headcanons, and hombrew thoughts on the Harengon, one of my favorite D&D races. Mostly because WotC just kind of slapped them into a book, mumbled something about how they like freedom, and left it at that, and I didn’t like that.

Well I’ve had more ideas since then!

I will now shotgun them onto the Internet so others may steal and\or get inspiration from them! Same rules apply as last time, Harengon and Rabbit folk are interchangeable terms, you can use any of these you like, or don’t! Okay! Let’s talk about bunnies!

Harengon traditionally have extremely long, extremely difficult to remember names. Their names are often literal paragraphs long, or even multiple pages. Some Rabbit Folk actually have names so long they literally need a novel sized book to write them down, and that’s just their first name. Harengon surnames can be encyclopedia sized. On average. As bizarre as it sounds, there is a reason for this. It’s a defense mechanism! In the Feywild, names have immense power. Giving a Fae your full name can have terrible consequences. So, being native to the Feywild, the Harengon counteracted this by making their names impossibly long and complicated, so that remembering them to use against them is near impossible. Plus, many Fae have short attention spans, by the time they’re even halfway through reciting their name, the dangerous Fae will probably just get bored and leave. Obviously, in every day life most Harengon only use a part of their full name, but traditionally all harengon are taught to memorize the full thing, just in case.

It’s common knowledge that Harengon are considered lucky. They have an unusual propensity for pulling victory from the jaws of defeat, or landing that one-in-a-million chance. Hilariously, this means that many casinos or gambling dens often ban Rabbit Folk from playing. Less amusingly though, it has also led to some ugly superstitions. One fairly harmless belief is that a kiss from a Harengon grants the kissed good luck. Some considerably less harmless beliefs are that drinking Harengon blood will give their luck to the drinker, or that having a charm made from Harengon teeth will ward off misfortune. There is little to no evidence that either of these superstitions are true, but doesn’t stop the depraved or the desperate from trying to find out…

On occasion, a Harengon will be born with pure red eyes. No pupils, no whites, just red. These Rabbitfolk are typically referred to as Unfortunates. Not because they’re particularly unlucky, but because they have a peculiar… Aura, let’s call it. Whereas normal Rabbitfolk are known for their supernatural luck, Unfortunates seem to almost suck the luck out of people around them. Specifically, people who wrong them. This is a very difficult thing to catalogue or measure, so it very well could just be a cultural belief of the Harengon, and not an actual phenomenon. But, well, they are from the Feywild. It also could be true…

Harengon aren’t immune to poison, but they are immune to several notable poisonous plants, such as hemlock and nightshade. In fact, they think these plants are quite tasty. They often eat them raw in salads, or cooked much like spinach. But the most famous use of these poisons, is the infamous Snake Blood wine. A potent, magically charged alcoholic wine said to taste like angel’s dreams and unicorn tears. Fanciful descriptions aside aside, it is an exceptionally valuable item, a luxury among luxuries. Brewing it is not only extremely difficult and time consuming, the method is a jealously guarded secret among the Harengon. And while it is still very much poisonous to most species, It can be imbibed by non-harengon, in very, VERY small amounts. Because of this, among wine enthusiasts, it’s become something of a pilgrimage or right of passage to taste the legendary Snake Blood wine of the Rabbitfolk.

One of the most common jokes people make about Harengon is that they love carrots. Because, you know, bunnies. The Rabbitfolk have no particular attachment to carrots, culturally or biologically. Though it’s not unheard of for them to like the orange vegetables, it’s no different than if a human liked them, just a matter of personal preference. However, some Harengon have heard so many stupid carrot jokes, that they have developed a deep seated hatred of them. There are multiple incidents of Harengon actively going out of their way to destroy carrots, out of sheer spite.

[snackastackas]

B1;T1 — Titans, Gods, and the Four Great Powers

The ever knowledgeable titans of old created the heavens, mortal plane and the underworld from nothing, populating it with humans from a grand design of existence in which they would create and destroy in reference from. From nothing spoke four great powers alien even to the titans,

“We are patient Thánatos, judicial Limos, conquesting Zelos and irascible Martius, we wish to spread onto all four corners your world the cruelty of nature strong and ever-present; death, famine, pestilence and war. In return, we shall create a pact to hold the world by its four corners strong and high so it may sit between the underworld and heaven.” 

The ever knowledgeable titans agreed, and the pact was sealed. Humans now died and knew pain, however they now went to the underworld and the heavens beamed down to them so their world would grow full and healthy with life. The ever knowledgeable titans would go on to create the gods to take over their heavenly duties upon the mortal realms so they may bring their attention elsewhere, leaving them the heavens unto where they would look down to the mortal plane. However, the gods were burdened with human attributes that gave them many flaws; jealousy, love, hate, greed and much more. They decided to abuse their heavenly responsibilities, removing sleep and night, giving the humans fire and magic, and creating elves, dwarves, and many more fantastic peoples. Mortal kingdoms arose and civilisation flourished, yet when the ever knowledgeable titans returned their attention they brought with them their ire. They spoke with rolling thunder and the power of earthquakes,

“Our children who we give power to so you may maintain the world have abused our trust, made a mockery of the grand design and spat in the face of our respect. We will destroy your creations and wipe humans from this world; we will cause great chasms in the earth, send our lightning down and toss the sea onto the land.” 

The gods grew angry with their superior titans and waged war, if given heavenly power, why not use it? The titans slew many gods and bent, broke and misshaped many more, but one god called Basileus the Venerable slew the titan called Lightning, his first daughter Armathan the Ruined slew Sea, and their brother in arms Hades the Vigilant slew Damned. Basellius the Venerable rallied the gods and slew or imprisoned the ever knowledgeable titans. The gods continued to shower their mortals with many more gifts, and used their total freedom to infringe on the edges of the pact with the four great powers that held up the portal plane, healing pestilence, creating bountiful harvests, reviving the dead and commanding peace. The great powers called out,

“Great titan-spawn above, you transgress upon our pact. Conquesting pestilence, judicial, patient death, and irascible war should run through your world that we hold aloft. You break your own cycle of life and the world grows much too crowded and heavy to hold aloft.” 

The gods retorted, offended by the habitually stoic four powers and responded egoistically,

“Your ways are cruel and archaic; such a pact was made with the tyrannical titans, and calling us their spawn is as much an insult to us as your influence is to the mortal plane. We have no obligation to humor demands from owners of depraved portfolios of power such as yourself. Our heavenly power demonstrates ultimate good and reason whilst yours bring suffering and pain, and we have slain even the titans; what threat could you pose”

Two of the members of the four powers grew into great uproar—one louder than the other—the underworld shook with the stomping of feet each as large as moons and bellows of anger louder than lightning itself. Patient Thánatos, unmoving, spoke with reason that they should wait and that the gods will come to reason. Judicial Limos, surpassing patient Thánatos only slightly in volume, spoke bluntly that justice will come to all, even the gods. Conquesting Zelos, once again more voluminous in speech, retorted that the gods have already broken the wheel of nature and that justice will not reach them. Irascible Martius then spoke in turn the most loud of them all, that their pact was voided and that the gods must be dealt with. With that, irascible Martius let go of the world, and it flew greatly out of balance. The earth trembled and fractured, and one side of the plane descended down to the underworld where then great kingdoms slid into, and the other side scorched by the heavens was left in ruin and became a charred desert. Irascible Martius then roared to the heavens

“You all try with powers greater than your own, and for that we demonstrate our horrible power greater than even the titans.” 

Irascible Matrius then cleaved the underworld in two with one massive swing of his sword, and then scooped all the denizens of his half of the underworld into one hand and scorched that same half in eternal flame. He then blew a putrid smog onto these damned, and turned them into demons, placing them onto the mortal plane and into his scorched half of the underworld. He then returned to lift the mortal plane and took over from conquesting Zelos so that she may shoot from her bow a shooting star that would empower the demons onto a march through the mortal plane, conquering their way to the heavens. Returning, it became judicial Limos’s turn, where they swapped the sun with the moon and left it so until an equal time had passed, then the two would turn as they should. Finally, it became patient Thánatos’ turn to let the other three hold the mortal plane, and made it so the god’s interference would bring immediate death upon any individual they dared to help or interfere with. The great powers then left the mortal plane lopsided. The gods cried out,

“We recognise your great power, and fear for our mortals and the endurance of our heavenly gates that hold against your wicked bevy of demons. Please oh great ones return to which the planes once were, and we will respect your pact.”

The four great powers then slowly responded,

“Let this be a lesson for you foolish gods, as patient Thánatos, judicial Limos, conquesting Zelos and irascible Martius never forget a promise. Leave the plane as so until the moon returns to be cradled by the underworld and the sun returns to the heavens, then the world will be held aloft equally once more.”

[cosmosis-mitosis]

Also more d&d content. Cause. Yeah.

Creepypasta content will continue ofc I just need to give myself a break on occasion !! This is not a strictly creepypasta blog after all :]

Anyway on the d&d content -

In the current main setting for the campaign I’m running for some friends, the world has recently gotten over ANOTHER PLAGUE called the White Death.

Which has since been contained as a little girl is supposedly now the judge of the world. Since yknow the Plague Goddess slumbers inside her.

She’s my fave NPC,,

[jesseisstuckinside]

Based on your new DM post, what is the general fauna in it?

hey oaty I want you to know that I'm not ignoring this question but it's WAY more in-depth and now I'm making a map starting with my own Pangea and I am overthinking EVERYTHING

[blazestar345]

Hey!!! Please ask me questions about my D&D world. Whether through my ask box, comments, or reblogs. I wanna talk about it so badly. Also your questions may prompt me to add something cool to it so ask your weird out of pocket questions.

(It's inspired by Rolling with Difficulty's planescape setting so if you see it on those tags that's why)

[digital-magus]

The fantasy world I’m building for a D&D campaign now has steam trains for no reason other than I like trains.

Does it fit with the rest of the setting? Not really. Will it be worth it when my players inevitably try to skip a boss fight by hitting them with a train? Absolutely.

[words-from-the-coast]

The Woods

so! it’s once again that time of year when i disappear into my hobbit hole of seasonal sadness. as such, i will be cheering myself up with some worldbuilding and character making. this time around, i’m proud to introduce the Woods! (this is the current working title and i haven’t really found a better name.) 

this whole dealio is my first real big worldbuilding project that i’ve actually made comprehensible! 

the Woods is a place full of magic and strange creatures. i’ve based most of it off scandinavian and european folklore, as well as some other stuff from pop culture like the spiderwick chronicles, hilda, epic (the movie where they ride hummingbirds), thumbelina, disney pixie hollow, etc. it’s full of whimsical creatures and plots, and designed for exploration. 

the trees are boundaried tall mountains, fully enclosing the forest. the isolation has caused the Woods to develop by itself, with its own rules and cultures. (another idea i had was that this was actually on the back of a huge creature that wanders the word and the rock spikes are the edges of the island.) this could also be interpreted as a chunk of the feywild for those who are D&D purists. (i didn’t write it that way, but you can use it like that if you’d like.) 

the Woods has its own set of deities (also currently in production, but the big ones are done), each pertaining to the different archetypes present in the people who live there. 

the most notable piece of lore from the Woods is that everything and everyone is pretty small. in pitching this campaign setting and game to my friends, i called it “the little guy game. you play as a lil guy exploring a big forest.” much like disney’s pixie hollow and epic (the movie), the creatures live in trees, gourds, fruits, old teapots, etc. the people are small. 

i had to make some changes to the playable races sizing in order to make them fit into this setting. i also had to make a list of playable races, including a variety of creatures like goblins, plasmoids, pixies, etc. basically anything one could possibly think of and adapted it to be smaller. it wasn’t much just a “you are very small now.” for example, an elf wouldn’t be the standard 5e elf height. they would, instead, be scandinavian elf height (tiny). think of the elves from hilda. 

there’s certainly more to share from this setting. lots of additional information and specifics to be created and shared. but for now, this is what will be sent into the void. enjoy. 

[corvidstoneage]

Ronin pt. 1

TW: Graphic violence.

This short story takes place in my "Peninsula" world a couple weeks after the fall of the second age. It follows a young Sklann warrior and is intended to showcase the Sklann culture and traditions I didn't get to explore much because my players decided to create a shadow army and destroy the world. go figure.

The Sklann culture doesn't deal with gender in the same way as we're accustomed to but I don't have the language finished yet so apologies for the weirdness with pronouns.

Hopefully I have enough material to make a series of sorts out of this. Again, this is unedited. Enjoy!

My legs burned as I crested the top of yet another hill, my clan’s menuki sitting heavily in the pouch on my right hip, my sword seeming much lighter on the left. It seemed like I had been walking for months since I left home, though it had only been that morning.

I started down the next hill with a sigh and tried to shake the memory. Early that morning a rider had come barreling through our gates. Most of the family was out in the fields trying to salvage what they could from the ash storms of the week before. So it was me and my cousin Emry who were at the house to hear about the incoming army.

“An army of shadows” he had said, his horse shuffling nervously as he spoke. “They don’t feel pain and they don’t bleed. They’ve slaughtered my clan and taken our menuki.”

I flinched at that. A clan’s menuki collection was one of the most important things it had. Another Sklann wouldn’t take menuki even in the worst times of war. Menuki were literally family, dead family sure, but still family.

I scarcely heard the rest of what he said before running towards the family temple checking my sword as I went. I knew it was there, it was always there, but it made me feel a little better to check. A single sword wouldn’t do much against an army but carrying a spear and armor everywhere wasn’t exactly practical.

I slid off my sandals as I ran up the stairs and through the beautifully carved archway, the cold stone oddly calming on my bare feet. Behind me I could hear Emry blowing the horn to call the rest of the family home.

Before me were the massive set of wooden drawers containing my clan’s menuki. Each tiny drawer was inscribed with the name of the person it contained. Most of them were still empty. Our clan wasn’t that old. One day my own name would be on one of those drawers and my own menuki would be within, my spirit and experience bound within it.

I lit the braziers to either side of the drawers and drew my sword. It glittered in the firelight as I placed it on the low table in front of the drawers and began to sing my clan’s war song.

The melody, simple and strong, started from my own lips and echoed in my grandmother’s menuki in the hilt of my sword, soon grew to an almost deafening volume as the rest of the stones joined in.

The horn in the background trailed off and I soon heard Emry’s voice join the melody as another sword joined mine on the table. We glanced at eachother for a moment before I began the descant, Emry continuing the melody beneath.

It would be both of our first actual combat and I thanked our ancestors, both in my heart and in the music, that we would have eachother and the will of our ancestors to aid us.

Emry finished the melody and began to sing the descant with me, our voices raised over the humming of the menuki. We sang of blood and war, we sang of the family we fought to protect and the family that had fought to protect us, and most importantly, we sang of the peace to follow the battle.

The humming rose and fell and I felt the ages old magic wrap around and through me, the rest of the world seeming to fall away. I reached out for my sword, held it horizontally in front of me, and sighed as I felt the spell complete, binding me to my menuki and my grandmother’s menuki to me.

As the music died away I sheathed my sword and turned to the doorway, reaching for Emry’s hand as I did. A brief squeeze assured me that I wouldn’t be alone physically and my grandmother stepping into my bones from her menuki assured me I wouldn’t be alone spiritually either.

Together we stepped out of the temple and into chaos. Emry’s parent group was armed with spears and shields and was struggling to close the gates as a group of people seeming to seeth with dark mist piled over eachother in an attempt to get in.

Looking up I saw several of Emry’s younger siblings on the roof of the house looking scared. They all had their bows but couldn’t get a good angle through the gate without hitting their parents.

Grabbing a spear and skjoldor from the side of the house, I ran to help defend the gate. Emry took the position to my left and as the youngest members of the shield wall we maneuvered to the left flank where the more experienced warriors would be covering us with their shields.

As we got into position the gates slammed open and one of the people outside lunged forward; unnaturally clawed hands lunging for Tauri, one of Emry’s parents. ddey were immediately struck in the left side with a spear but seemed not to care, running up the spearhead until ddey slammed into the cross piece and the point jutted grotesquely out their back. ddey stuck there then, eyes hungry and claws scrabbling at the spear shaft, still trying to overrun our shield wall.

Tauri shoved forward and the horrible thing that used to be a person stumbled backwards, dark smoke curling from the gaping spear wound, and was replaced by several more similar creatures.

We fought there for what felt like both hours and at the same time less than a minute. I stabbed and cut with my spear and shoved them away from Emry as best I could with my shield in the cramped confines of the shield wall but gradually we were pushed back under the onslaught.

We had only moved maybe ten feet back when Emry suddenly stumbled and fell. I looked down and saw blood. A lot of blood. I froze there looking at my best friend in horror.

“Stop just staring and help me up! My knee’s cut but I can still fight”

I jolted into action, dropping the spear and covering Emry with my shield as I pulled ddem to ddeir feet.

“Kids! Go guard the temple! They cannot be allowed to get the menuki.”

I didn’t know who said it but I grabbed Emry’s hand, my shield and spear forgotten in the dirt, and ran for the temple.

[katjapetersart]

I've been very busy with other pieces, so NPCtember's goal is gonna be 20 characters.

NPCtember 15: A working lady poses for a sketch by a friend.

It's a nice spring day, the sun is warm but the wind is cool. They're far away enough from the docks now that the fish smell is less. No luck on the Big Bridge but it doesn't matter. Here's a nice place.

Her friend tells her to sit how she likes. Well, her dad always said 'cross your ankles like a good girl when you're in the city' and that's what she's gonna do. How long will this take? He isn't usually fast. What will he look at? Oh, a guard drake. No, no, don't look, gotta stay still. They're pretty close by to the common market. Maybe they could go get a lobster sandwich, or some eel. That'd be nice.

Wind's a bit chilly. She can hear the crews of the ships around. Tomorrow it's back to her job on the docks as well. Hopefully the boss is better and they can actually set sail to pick up those bricks.

Oh, it's done.

Being a river city, though it prides itself on its universities, a lot of economy is based on the backs of many hardworking dock workers. They're almost always not citizens, work hard for little pay, but also have a strong community that can breed highly specialized workers and shipfolks. Containerization is not a thing quite yet, so similarly shaped loads are a little bit of peace from difficult, unsteady loads.

[prokopetz]

Old-school D&D's penchant for magic items which appear to have some beneficial property and automatically defeat every conceivable test that would demonstrate otherwise, but the first time you use them in a life-or-death situation they can somehow tell that it's for real this time and suddenly reveal themselves to be horribly cursed has rightly been criticised as player-hostile bullshit, but the oft-unacknowledged corollary is that many of them are also, in context, extremely funny.

There's a flying broom that gets mad when you try to ride it and attempts to beat you to death with its handle. This is separate from, and unrelated to, the flying carpet that gets mad when you try to ride it and attempts to wrap you up and squeeze you to death.

There's a spear which performs normally in sparring matches, but in mortal combat it curves around to make you stab yourself in the back like some sort of fucking Looney Tunes gag.

There's a magic ring which appears to have the powers of a randomly chosen different magic ring, but in reality the only power it has is to employ mental illusions to trick its wearer into thinking it has powers. You are being gaslit by jewellery.

None of these require you to go to obscure sourcebooks, nor are they apparently particularly rare – they're just hanging out on the standard treasure tables in the Dungeon Master's Guide, ready to pop up in any random hoard.

You can even create them by accident by biffing your roll when crafting your own magic items (the roll in question of course being made secretly by the GM, so you can never know whether this has happened until it's too late), which implies several fascinating things about the nature of magic.

There's a hat that makes you stupid and it's plotting against you.