#dnd creature critique

[fantasy-anatomy-analyst]

DnD 5e goblins and bugbears

are these designs racist? Well, as I am white, I can't really say I'm the expert on this particular concern, and I don't think I've ever seen anyone else point it out, so take this with a grain of salt.

They probably aren't intentionally racist designs. They do make me feel uncomfortable. I haven't finished my redesign for them yet, but I wanted to get this post started since I have other big projects to get to and if I just go straight to those, I will continue to forget about this one. So let's get started!

(image description: the official dnd 5e art for goblins and bugbears. They're related species, though the bugbear is much taller and covered in fur, while the goblin is very small and mostly hairless. they both have large triangular ears and a rounded hook nose with no bridge. The goblin has very yellow skin, the bugbear has very orange fur, and both have red-yellow eyes with flared eyebrows. Their weapons and armor look a bit scrappy, with bones and spikes and metal studs all over the design. notes on the image will be explained below. end description)

the fur color can probably be given a pass because it's fur, but the goblin's skin is so yellow. By itself, I don't think that would be enough to call it a bad design choice, but it is a little odd. what really makes me suspicious are the face shapes, especially the nose and eyebrows. And also the armor. There's not much armor, and it doesn't look like an exact match for any specific type of armor. Honestly I think it's a mix of inspirations, since the bugbear's leather skirt thing does look more like typical roman-inspired battle skirts. but there's enough going on with layered panels and metal studs, mixed with hide and bone and spikes for that "primitive" flair, that I do wonder a bit.

I gathered a few images that these designs reminded me of, as a visual reference.

(image description: both images contain screenshots of the huns from the animated disney Mulan film. The first image also shows old samurai armor and mongolian armor. the armor all has similar designs of layered metal and/or leather with metal studs all over it. The second image contains close ups of the goblin and bugbear faces with the animated film hun characters for comparison. They do all have similarly flared eyebrows and eye colors, as well as some similarities in the nose designs. end description)

Just, kinda makes me uncomfortable. Feels like someone should have double checked their work a bit before finalizing these monster designs. It's not blatant enough to be like, really on purpose, I don't think? I could be wrong, I very well may be missing some details. But the similarities to the hun designs alone are enough to make me say "oh gee, this doesn't seem right." Honestly, I think it's part of a larger trending problem with monster design. There are just some visual features that get used as the universal indicators that these creatures are Evil by nature. These features typically include some form of hooked nose, "primitive" armor, weapons, and clothing, and facial shapes that are angular and blocky, with a very heavy brow.

as a result of these common "evil" visual features, it's kind of inevitable that humanoid monster designs will end up feeling racist in some manner. It's much easier to avoid accidental racism with more animal or insectoid monster designs, but everyone always wants sapient-ish enemies they can use as cannon fodder, with even more humanoid final bosses. So they default to these visual traits again and again, because those are just the visual traits that have always been used. So it's an ongoing issue. Heck, if I tried to design evil humanoids from scratch for a job, I'm sure someone above me would request edits to give them the more obvious "evil" traits so they look more scary and intimidating. this is an industry problem more than an individual one. I hope I've helped point it out here, so more people can recognize it and add their own commentary.

I am also working on a redesign for these, in as close a stye match as I can manage. here's a WIP sample:

(image description: in the first image, a sketched redesign of the goblin and bugbear. Their noses and ears have been altered to look more bat-like, with prominent fleshy ridges on the noses that stick up away from the face. In the second image, the goblin is mostly finished with new colors and altered armor. It is now wearing a short leather wrap with strands of leather or hide hanging off the belt, alongside the arm bracers and leg bracers that were already there. Its skin is now a pale grey color and its hair has been redone as short bristly fur, with facial whiskers on the brow and chin. The bugbear has not been repainted, but it has been cut up and repositioned in preparation for the repaint. end description.)

fixed the poses while i was at it, making the goblin a little more dynamic and the bugbear a little more balanced. They're cave dwellers, so i went further with the bat-like features and the pallid complexion like other cave dwelling creatures have. It's going to take a while to repaint these, so this WIP will have to do for now. I hope it shows how a similar art style can be maintained while also making the designs a little more interesting and not so reliant on racist features.

[dailyadventureprompts]

Hello Mr. Dapper! Love this blog and your many reimaginings of classic dnd deities and creatures. I was curious about something: Considering your dislike of purely evil gods and DnDs future focusing on the guy, what are your thoughts on Vecna?

Deity: Vecna, the Whispered One

My task of overhauling d&d’s villanous pantheon was started by a simple critique:  that if god was evil, there still needed to be a reason for people to worship it. To go with one example,  So many of the death gods in d&d want to kill everything that lives, yet they’re still presented as having legions of followers who are happy to die for them in opposition to the party.   You can say “Oh they’re just brainwashed, crazy cultists” but that’s just bad writing and thematically empty, neither of which I want for the sort of games I run. 

Vecna is actually an interesting case study in that he’s an outwardly wicked deity that has a theme which people would actively want to follow:   As a god of secrets, Vecna is the patron of any who will sacrifice anything to learn the answer to their problems, or conversely, the ones desperate to ensure their own secrets will never be known.  The story of Vecna as a mortal mage who attained first lichdom, then godhood is an aspirational one for all those power mad occultists out there, a common enough demographic in the d&d world both as villains and as player characters. 

Cults of Vecna worshippers likewise make sense as the whole point behind the historical practice of mystery cults was that those at the upper levels maintained their power through control of information and access to secret learnings.  You want to learn how to do magic? To speak to the dead? To protect your secrets from being known? Put on this ominous robe, learn the secret handshake, and don’t forget to drop your tithe intto the altar’s collection skull. Think of it like a forbidden knowledge based MLM. 

 Here’s some adventure hooks: 

While many of the whispered one’s acolytes dedicate themselves to discovering to the delving of arcane mysteries, others focus their attention on more worldly secrets. A powerful noblewoman is being blackmailed by a worshipper of Vecna not only for personal enrichment but also as an act of devotion, after he uncovered proof of indiscretions that would ruin her reputation.  While she’s too afraid to go for help herself and risk exposure, a devoted servant has seen her hidden suffering and has contacted the party for aid. 

Barely disguising its fiendish nature, a devil in service to Vecna approaches the party with an offer to reveal the secret intents or weaknesses of their enemies, if only they will deign to meet its terrible price.  While this information could do great good, or even save lives, just how low are the heroes willing to stoop? 

Seeking out the aid of a powerful mage, the party discover the old man on the brink of nervous collapse, having looked to deeply into the void and filled his mind with visions best left unmentioned.  Haunted by nightmares both real and imagined, he needs their help in quieting his mind through the gathering of rare ingredients and the distillation of a potent elixir. The process is not without risk however, are the party willing to help if it means erasing the information they need from his head, to say nothing of potentially lobotomizing the poor wizard? 

Art

[warsamongthestars]

With my sheer pedantic rage about TBB, one might ask one's self, "Okay, what about the rest of Star Wars? Is it the golden path that has been sullied by this one bit of medium that is damned and forsaken?"

Well, for one, I'd tell you that making ideas of "Canon" to be some absolute unchangable uninterperatable storyline of events to be wrong, terrible, and you need to really rethink how you digest information and use imagination. Yes, even if its by the same creator. You should always be open to telling a powerful authority to fuck off. ( If you go after independent artists, writers or more however, you're the one being the dick. ) And a production line is not art.

So what about Star Wars?

Well, I think Star Wars is fun and imaginative, and that a lot of love was put into the OG, so I'm hooked. If it means anything to me after that, and it does (i've written a lot about it after all), its going to start with the fact that its held my attention.

And I do love to play imagination in the world-build based on the elements presented and the world-build laws and character that the fantasy has argued to exist. And it is always a very easy argument, because its Fun.

( We must always remember that the reason we're here to have fun and play imaginative games and build morale, which is one of the most important parts of healthy humanity. )

SO what about Star Wars?

I follow the lines of argument for Star Wars... and there is a distinct difference between my interpretation and what is being presented, versus what I would make out of the Star Wars.

( Because I find TBB to be a personal insult or set of insults to a place I cannot fathomably describe on a blog post, my personal interpretation and analysis on what is being presented, will be biased to my sheer rage (though I do strive to not let that blind me to what successes it does have... I'm never going to give it an easy win as I prolly would give other Star Wars mediums that have even less quality writing or presentation.))

There's plenty of Star Wars mediums I like, where i can poke massive holes in, but I don't because that's not fun or imaginative. If anything, they're opportunities to create a puzzle piece to make the medium even more fun (as is the power of interpretation and imagination).

Can even pick and choose pieces to ignore whilst still keeping the whole.

( TBB doesn't get a pass because it has my undivided attention and I look for Everything. )

I like to create within the argument I've been presented with, and that means studying what's there to ensure I know the rules and laws and lore of the sandbox. Once you know the world-build, you can make Anything in that world-build (I guess, in a sense, its basically playing imaginary DnD, and let's face it, the work, the journey and the creation is the fun part. )

Do I think Star Wars is a holy grail? Fuck no. But I ask you, what is? The true answer is nothing that isn't up to personal choice, so we all ultimately make do with what we know, and its actually very easy to just have fun with it.

My critiquing of TBB has nothing to do with ideas of canon, word of gods, or thinking that the rest of Star Wars is some pure creature that cannot stand sullying... For some one thing, its Star Wars. Star Wars doesn't need help to soil itself.

As for, what I can make of Star Wars... that seems to be a post for another time.

[chaifootsteps]

Anon roll call? I’ve never tagged myself with a name but I’ve sent quite a few anons to ramble about character design and story structure and the like!

Guess you can call me feather anon or 🪶! I’m in my early twenties and first discovered Viv through her Die Young video. I loosely followed her after that, I really liked watching her speed paints and I’d watch some of the other short animations she’d post. I really enjoyed her art style for how expressive and colorful it was- I know we all like to poke fun at the whole “sparkle dog design” thing but I think if Viv continued to strive for improvement then her art really could have been something fun, colorful, and eye catching! My brain always connected it to those Lisa Frank books and stickers-

I’m an artist and a writer, though it’s hard to find the time to engage with them as much as I want to. I love storytelling and analyzing media- I think it’s fun to critique things and it helps me develop my own skills as a storyteller. I like to try and find the positives in media and focus on the things I like, but it is fun (and healthy!) to be a little hater sometimes.

I really did enjoy the concept of Hazbin Hotel presented by the pilot- it was clearly a labor of love- and I really did enjoy the first season of Helluva before Viv decided to start retconning and dropping all the previous set up that drew people to the show in the first place.

I have my own stories I would love to develop sometime in the future- likely through webcomics or just plain writing. I love fantasy and dnd-type settings. I am obsessed with horror and gore- body horror is right up my alley and I love creature features and monsters! I am a monster lover to my soul <3 very aroace but I would romance a dragon if given the chance!!

Don’t think there much beyond that. I haven’t left a lot of the fandoms I’ve been in since I was a kid: MLP, FNAF, HTTYD, Pokemon, LOZ, etc etc. But I also love shows like Bojack Horseman and The Thing (1982) is easily one of my favorite movies. I’ll try to sign my asks off after this but no guarantees I’ll remember! I’m a very wordy person so it might be obvious who I am lol

🪶

High five for dragon romancers! Also, in an eerie coincidence, Lisa Frank was a raging asshole too.

[a-halfblood-named-coin]

Saw DND:Honor among thieves and I have THOUGHTSSSSS

Disclaimer: I am a dnd nerd but not intensely so. So compared to other more serious dnd people I probably care less about ‘game accuracy’ or whatever. Also, if your gonna reblog with “weren’t we boycotting” or smth, just leave bestie also SPOLIERS duh

ANYWAY- my main critique is the pacing. Overall, the fast paced nature helped keep the vibe flowing without getting caught but their were a couple times where I kinda got overwhelmed with how often we were switching scenes. That and I agree with the critiques of the tiefling design being rather boring, especially when you factor in her whole “I hate humans” thing since she looks almost exactly like them.

…and that’s it….no really! I found myself enjoying this film FAAARRRR more than I thought I would. At the end, I think why I loved it much more than similar movies is that it nailed the humor and comedic timing. It has its serious moments and it does them well, but overall it’s a really fucking funny movie where one of the main villains is defeated with a potato to the face. There are several stellar jokes, like-

The fat dragon

Everything Xenk says

The death of the red wizard lady lol

“What’s wrong with my lips!?”

The dwarven bridge

The fake window at the end

And of course NAT 20 potato!

I was laughing a lot throughout the movie, definitely it’s best aspect in my opinion. But I also loved the relationship between Edgin (the bard) and Hulga (the barbarian). I LOVE that they have raised this child platonically and have no desire to change that. There’s no secret crush or anything, they’re both interested in the opposite sex, just not each other. Simon is stellar, his arc is very sweet and simple and I love how his magic is shown. I like how he knows what he can or cannot do, the range of his spells and stuff like that. He doesn’t just wave his hands and magic just happens, it’s an actual skill. Of course the Druid solos, the use of the wild shape is so creative and very fun. And xenk (the paladin) is so deadpan and serious, I love him. All these characters are very silly and fun and fit very well into the goofy writing. I will say, the red wizards are not very fleshed out, but for most of the movie they aren’t really the main villain so it’s whatever to me.

The effects were really dope! They were several times where I think the practical effects really made the creatures that much more real. Defiantly a great case study for why it’s a great idea to ditch CGI (at least partially) and go practical.

Lastly, the serious scenes are really nice here, I’ll discuss two.

1st, the scene where they almost break up. Every good campaign needs to almost break up but I really like this scene. Yes, Edgin has lied by omission but only because he truly believes that Simon can do it. I like how he brings them back together, he doesn’t exclude himself from being a fuckup as well. But you have to keep trekking until youre happy, becuase if you don’t, your past trauma has won. Its very sweet how they all sit together. But what I love most is that they pivot their plan, Edgin still believes in Simon but realizes that not every insecurity can be over come by encouragement. So they come up with a plan that feels more comfortable, but just as crazy.

And 2nd, of course the death scene at the end. Yes it was predictable,but hulga dying and coming back is not what makes this scene, it’s Edgin putting his daughter first. Obviously I think she would want to meet her birth mother, but at the same time it’s a women she’s never known. Edgin realizes that he’s the only person here who would rather bring back his wife than Hulga. He comes to terms with the fact the Hulga is just as much his child’s parent as him or his wife, she means just as much to her. So, finally, he puts his daughters feelings first and resurrects the closest thing to a mother she’s ever had. It’s heartbreaking, but the action of a true parent.

OVERALL, I really loved this movie, again a lot more than I thought I would. Its funny, witty, fast paced fantasy fun. If you don’t want to give money to WOTC or Hasbro, watch it after it gets released online. But I definitely recommend it!

[cross-edition-dnd]

Today's DnD Creature, The Gnoll

Editions appeared in: ODnD, DnD B/X, ADnD, ADnD 2e, DnD 3.5e, DnD 4e, & DnD 5e

Consistent Elements:

Although Iconic as a hybrid human/hyena marauder, the history of the Gnoll's development over the years seems to hold procedural changes over the decades. In fact, from ADnD onward, the Gnoll progresses from a simple antagonist that values strength and cooperation and detests menial labor, to a sadistic, hunger-driven, demon-spawned scourge that would sooner bite your face off before any shared words could even be considered.

In a way, the true consistent element for Gnolls is a steady decline from what they used to be. I say this only as an observation rather than a critique, as such a decline can still be interesting from a storytelling standpoint if used effectively.

Notable Differences:

Defined Appearance. While appearing in ODnD, Gnolls don’t get much of a description until DnD B/X and ADnD establishes them as Hyena-like humanoids that operate in bands of loose organizations.

Gnoll Creation. In the begining, Gnolls of ODnD were just labled as a cross between Gnomes and Trolls. Not much is stated about the origins of Gnolls until DnD B/X where gnolls are said to be the magical infusion of Gnomes and Trolls. This detail is omitted in later editions, including ADnD where no clear origin is stated. In DnD 5e, however, gnolls are stated to spawn when hyenas cursed by Yeenoghu overfeed on carrion found in battlefields or places of mass carnage, from which the hyena's guts burst and a gnoll spawns from the bile.

From Slavers to Cannibals. While noted in ADnD to having prisoners stored for slave labor or food, the sadism and savagery of Gnolls begin to be emphasized in ADnD 2e with how they find preference in eating intelligent creatures over animals due to how they “scream better”. In fact, it’s first mentioned in ADnD 2e of how Gnolls may prioritize their hunger over their allegiances with orcs, hobgoblins, bugbears, ogres, and trolls if their strength overpowers their partners’. This trend for hunger and sadism seems to get worse with each edition.

Rising Demon Allegiance. The Gnolls’ worship of Yeenoghu is mentioned under said demon’s monster entry in ADnD, but wouldn't become part of the Gnoll’s entry until DnD 3.5e where he’s mentioned as a being they “serve and revere”. This trend of demon worship continues onto DnD 4e.

Lost Playable Option. Despite being a more sadistic antagonist, DnD 3.5e does make note of Gnolls as a playable character option. Such an option hasn’t appeared in official WotC books since.

Too hungry to be lazy anymore. From ADnD to DnD 4e, Gnolls are stated to be creatures that detest manual labor and will force captive prisoners into slave labor to perform tasks they would rather not do. Such a detail seems to be omitted for the most part in DnD 5e. While such a change is likely due to a change of political climate, I also think this suggests that Gnolls are at a point where they can't even manage their hunger to keep slaves anymore.

Decline in Tactics. From ADnD 2e to DnD 4e, Gnolls are said to prefer ambushing and flanking adversaries over laying out traps. Even this tactical strategy is omitted from DnD 5e, as gnolls would likely just rush in and strike quickly, relying on overwhelming force and taking out as many opponents as possible within quick succession.

Origins: This creature is a Gygax original, initially a cross between gnome and troll inspired by the works of Lord Dunsany [from the man himself, ]. Though how they became hyena/human hybrids in later versions remains a mystery.

[weepingpussywillowtree]

So in light of people FINALLY starting to fall out of love with Devon Price (I don't really keep up with Tumblr drama, but I've been seeing more critiques of his books recently), I decided to post the thing I've had in my drafts for months about my misgivings with his book "Unmasking Autism". Feel free to ignore this if you don't care, this is mostly a personal rant.

Unmasking Autism has some weird ideas in it I was wary of, though I liked most of the first third. This is the most research based, and as the citations decrease, the quality of the content does as well. Some issues:

- There's some aspie supremacy going on, as much as he'd like to insist there's not. He definitely falls into the fallacy of trying to prove that autistic people have to be "useful" somehow to have value, or trying to insist that autistic people are somehow superior. Ick. He also implies that the only reason a majority of autistic people aren't employed is because we aren't accommodated at work, which just isn't true. Accomodations are good, but some people cannot work. That is not a bad thing.

- I really did not like the policy section at the end (making dimmable lights legally mandated??? Who has the authority to dim them? We all going to have a victim contest in the grocery store?? What about visually impaired people?) There is myriad other similar silly ideas in this section.

- It also spreads some misinformation about the relationship between ADHD and autism. There's a really weird line in the book implying they are somehow related disorders and/or comprable?? And all the research I've seen suggests that while they can have overlapping symptoms and ADHD can be more frequently co-occurring in those with ASD, them being related or sister disorders is definitely NOT the case.

- the content of the book is very unfocused. A lot of it felt like a personal rant, and some chunks felt like they were part of a different book about his experience as a trans man. Other parts of the book felt like they were there exclusively to pad the page count.

- it has some weird contradictions in it. For instance, he says he wants to avoid stereotyping autistic people, but towards the end of the book goes on and on about how nerdy hobbies like DND and anime cons, etc. are perfect for autistic people to make friends at which felt very stereotypey and also ignores how nerdy spaces can be very very unwelcoming to women and POC.

- the comparison between neurotypicals being themselves and autistic people unmasking being almost the same thing left a really really bad taste in my mouth. Autistic masking is totally different from a neurotypical person not always being themselves, and though the book tangentially acknowledges that unmasking can be dangerous for masked autistics, it comes across as very judgemental towards autistic people who choose to continue to mask in their day to day lives. To Price, unmasking is a political statement or act of protest, and I find this very shortsighted. Masking is a survival technique, not a moral choice.

-finally, he almost entirely dismisses the medical model of disability. While the medical model has problems for sure, no amount of societal change would change the fact that humans are social creatures and I have social and sensory deficits that impact my ability to engage with that. Again, this smells of aspie supremacy to me, because lots of higher support need autistics would still be disabled no matter how utopic society was.

Also, this isn't a critique of his book, but he tends to be very reductive, reactive, and nasty to people in online spaces based on some tweet screenshots I've seen which I'm not a fan of at all. The book lacks nuance, focus, and sensitivity in the same way and comes across as patronizing.

[abarn82]

Here is my DnD 5e character, a Loxodon I call Manjula. She goes on a culinary quest in the feywilds. Manjula is a force of nature, a woman whose warmth and wit reflect an inner core of steel. As a master of the culinary arts with a penchant for the absurd, she finds herself an unlikely adventurer in the whimsical yet perilous Feywilds. Her days were once filled with the comforting rhythm of the kitchen, but a fateful cooking competition has thrown her into a world teeming with magic, danger, and the downright peculiar. Recently, she entered an annual cooking competition set in the Feywilds, which quickly spiraled into a wild and wacky adventure. Accompanied by her retired war veteran friend, Markus, she faced a series of magical plants and the chaotic nature of the Feywild itself. Despite the absurdity around her, Manjula maintains a sharp, humorous perspective. She often goes to comical lengths to secure the perfect ingredients, playfully critiquing the Feywild's bizarre logic while embracing its whimsy.

Race: Loxodon Gender: Female

Age: 80 years old

Alignment: Neutral Good

Class: Level 20 Chef: Huntsman (Made by TJGreatness)

Favored Cuisine: Jumbo Size Monsterous Recipes: Giant, Aberration, Dragon, Monstrosity

Tool Proficiencies: Cooking Utensils, Brewers Background: Cook (Build Your Own Background: Background Features)

Languages: Common, Loxodon, Sylvain, Elvish

Proficiency: Athletics, Perception (Expertise), Insight, Survival, Investigation, Nature, Stealth, Animal Handling Feats: Skill Expert, Alert, Chef, Skulker, Tough, Inspiring Leader

Boon of Fate

Epic Boon Feat (Prerequisite: Level 19+)

You gain the following benefits. Ability Score Increase. Increase one ability score of your choice by 1, to a maximum of 30. Improve Fate. When you or another creature within 60 feet of you succeeds on or fails a D20 Test, you can roll 2d4 and apply the total rolled as a bonus or penalty to the d20 roll. Once you use this benefit, you can't use it again until you roll Initiative or finish a Short or Long Rest.

[stinkybrowndogs]

Critterfolk- introduction

How it started:

Did you ever read this book?

And have you played this game?

Have you ever thought to yourself, “well dang I wish I could play dnd as a little mouse” (and then proceeded to not google anything to see if someone out there had already had this idea?) ((they have))

So you get the picture.

The world of critterfolk is an unholy, Frankenstein, home-brew abomination. This is a high fantasy world of small, sentient little critters. They quest, they fight, they cast spells and they fight monsters. They wear little clothes and tiny hats (maybe made of leaves, flowers, or perhaps an acorn). Mice, foxes, birds and even snakes exist together and along side of each other in incredibly adorable houses and miniature towns, tucked into the roots of trees and the underbrush of the forest.

This started as a simple wish to create playable versions (for dungeons and dragons 5th edition) of the different animals found in the redwall series, and quickly spiralled out of control. My end goal is to create playable races for as many different biomes and regions as i can, with each playable species having unique traits and features that are inspired by that animal's real life evolutionary qualities. For simplicities sake, I have started with those creatures found in the redwall books. As I expanded the world I was building, it has taken on a shape all of its own, and is no longer recognizable as “redwall”, even though that was the original goal. Most of the world building I have done at this point wouldn’t fit within the universe of the books.

(That being said, I have also been working on settings and now stat blocks for the Redwall universe, so fans of the series can still run a campaign within the setting. )

Before you ask me:

Why would you not simply create an entirely new game system?

I wanted to play dungeons and dragons. But also be a little mouse. Also I don’t think I am familiar enough with ttrpgs to create a new system.

What about the mouse guard? Isn't that game exactly what you are looking for?

While mouse guard is very cool and fun (as well as being a wonderful series of graphic novels) the system is not dungeons and dragons.

Ok, but what about Humblewood?

Humblewood is an incredibly fun 5e module! The world building is cute and the new subclasses are great. The world building is just not the exact flavor that I'm looking for (the bird folk have hands instead of wings, i'm not a huge fan of the deer based race, and there doesn't seem to be any options for mounts or alternate familiars/animal companions outside of their fire bats), and I specifically want to create a much larger pool of playable races, eventually beginning focusing on ecosystems outside of europe. You should be able to take the race stats that I have created and use them in a humblewood setting.

Isn't all of this a little bit excessive?

Oh yeah, for sure.

What are your qualifications?

I have none. Thanks for asking :)

I have a critique, suggestion and/or criticism!

Awesome! By all means send it my way!

I think this is bad/stupid/poorly done and I want to tell you.

No thanks! You can keep it to yourself

How it’s going:

This project is my interpretation and expansion of a universe of little woodland creatures. Wind in the willows, watership down, warrior cats, guardians of ga'hoole and most importantly redwall all play a part in the building and inspiration for this game.

Currently, I have detailed out a rather large list of playable races, created alternate versions of each of the planes of existence based on the Great Wheel Cosmology, and started detailing settings and maps of different locations. I have written a theology, pulling inspiration from several of the above works. Class options will mostly stay the same, with some edits to change the language of some traits or features. I may dabble in creating new subclasses in the future, but that is rather far down on my list. I have also been working on creating playable snake and bird races, each with their own set of specialized weapons and armor.

Though it pulls inspiration from many sources, the world building for this project is my own. This is very much me creating a world that I, personally, would want to play in. Please feel free to take what work I’ve done and build on it, change it, cherry pick aspects that you enjoy, and ignore those that you don’t. The only real rule of dnd is to have fun with your friends.

I’ll probably be uploading things in small chunks, and everything will be tagged with “critterfolk” if you don’t want to see it. I’ll do my best to detail all of the races, cultures, and other world building details that I have come up with. At this point, this is all still a WIP. I am currently running a short campaign within this setting, and I am making edits as I go. Critiques and suggestions are always welcome, please just be kind :’)

Thanks for reading!

[feralborntrading]

🔮 𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐌 - 𝐒𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐏𝐒 ​Screaming Caltrops (bag of 20) ​Wondrous item, common ​ ​As an action, you can spread a bag of caltrops to cover a square area that is 5 feet on a side. When you spread the caltrops you choose whether their scream is mental or audible. ​ ​Any creature that enters the area must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or stop moving this turn, take 1 piercing damage, and cause the caltrops to scream. Taking this damage also reduces the creature's walking speed by 10 feet until the creature regains at least 1 hit point. A creature that perceives the caltrops can move through the area at half speed to avoid making the save. ​ ​A mental scream alerts you in your mind if you are within 1 mile of the caltrops. This scream awakens you if you are sleeping. ​ ​An audible scream produces the sound of 20 screaming humanoids for 10 seconds. ​ ​📜 Thank you to everyone that responded my simple poll. The results were heavily in favor of new subclasses/class variants and house rules. However, the most common write-in response was for more common and low level magic items and spells. ​ ​All critiques and comments are encouraged, welcome, and considered. Items are continuously revised based on follower feedback and playtesting. Finished items are uploaded to @dndbeyond and to freely use in your campaign. More fun stuff can be found for on my Patreon and Ko-fi (https://linktr.ee/Feralborntrading). Thank you so much for the follows, likes, and inspiration. ​ ​#dndhomebrew #dnd #dnd5e #dungeonsanddragons #dnditems #criticalrole #criticalrolefanart #ttrpg #d20 https://www.instagram.com/p/CWI7N2JJL87/?utm_medium=tumblr

[captainsspnanon]

C2E47 - The Second Seal - rewatch reaction

I am MOST excited to watch this episode.  Mainly because this is the transition from Fjord arc to Nott/Xhorhas arc.  And we get a break from the combat, at least for a bit.  I love it all, but omg is it draining.  I know this is starting off with like an hour and a half combat and I don’t want to click play because I don’t want the combaaaaat.  /whine

AAAAH It’s the start of the DND Beyond candidacy ad bits!! Yaaaay!!!!

Marisha what are those glasses.  wut.

Also for whatever reason, top table feels less lit?

(two seconds of thirsting here…. MATT WITH A BEARD.  WE HAVE MATT WITH A BEARD.  ahem)

I consider this being one of the rare Matt missteps, when he has them roll initiative right off the bat, and everyone is like ‘are we fighting?’.  He does this I think only one other time, with the ghosts on the  island of Vokodo, and I feel like it was as much as a misstep there (even more so when he starts telling the players that they could have just talked...which they WERE doing before he had them roll initiative).  I do get the aspect of “they can still talk if they want to use their initiative to do so, or sneak if they want to use their initiative for it”, very similar to how Beau with the Plank King went.  But I don’t feel like it’s unreasonable for players to essentially be trained that initiative = combat, and rolling initiative = must do combat now.  Especially when you consider how infrequently this actually occurs (I think it’s only twice in C2, and I’d forgotten this initiative and had only thought it happened once!), I feel like the table definitely and reasonably has a set idea of what rolling initiative means for them as a group.

….*snerk* now I’m picturing Beau trying to negotiate with the crab-monsters.  XDDDD  It was never going to be a talking situation here, but they may have leaned more to stealthing or trying to set up a trap.  I suppose it’s because Matt knew the creatures were going regardless, and so put the group into combat because he was initiating it.  I can’t really say if I’d do it more one way or the other.  This instance isn’t so clear cut, whereas the one on the island is much more clear.  (so much easier to critique from this side of the screen XD)

Double Bless!!!!  Honestly, I miss having a two cleric party so so much, but it’s probably just because of the characters, not the class.  But having double Bless or Bless and Bane is just SUCH a power combo.  (...it might just be the PCs.  Again, how can I be missing Jester and Caduceus if I’m actively watching them??)

omg how did I never notice???  So I use subtitles because these fuckers (affectionate) talk all over each other and it just helps make things easier.  Laura is freaking out about ‘how did she forget how to play’ with Matt and the subtitles showing what to add and how to calculate it.  MEANWHILE, NEVER NOTICED, Travis is in the background saying she forgot because she was at home with him “i’m very distracting, charming, good looking, smell nice” I LOVE THESE DORKS SO MUCH

Aw, Marisha elbowing Liam by accident, knocking the mug against his teeth.  It’s hard to tell from the video, but it seems fairly gentle?  The chin whack looked way more (and I can blame it on Liam ‘cause he totally was leaning into Marisha’s space XD).  I miss these two sitting next to each other.  Whether or not it’s true, it feels like on camera physical touching is happening less in C3.  I’m hoping it’s just the difference between watching one a week versus watching more frequently, but in C2 you’ve got top table all touching and leaning and slapping each other all the time, bottom table you’ve got Sam and Laura leaning into each other a bunch.  C3 so far seems to just be Liam and Taliesin or Liam and Laura.  Which is still delightful, don’t get me wrong!  But it seems less.

I adore when Laura gets flustered because combat isn’t working out well for her, but she leans into the ‘anger’ – this time saying ‘fucking’ every other word.  It’s clear that while she’s bothered by it, she’s also still having fun.  It’s a lot less enjoyable when she gets frustrated by it and it looks like it’s really taking away enjoyment for her, I just feel bad for her at those times.

Heee, Caleb collapses and leans against Beau.  EMPIRE SIBS!!!

Jester has now moved into being more awkward and uncomfortable with it when Nott tries to push Jester and Fjord together.  Her whole emotional arc with Fjord has always been fascinating to watch, with the over the top flirtiness followed by treating him normally followed by this, not shyness, but almost being uncomfortable with being reminded that she likes him.  It’s a very true journey, with some aspects played to overtly, and others coming out much more subtly through the play.

Whether or not Matt was already intending it, I very much appreciate that Caduceus talking to the seaweed actually helped in this instance.  It may be just a little bit, and it may actually be flavor only, but I still appreciate it.

What must it have been to be watching this bit live, where Fjord is arguing that he should place the sphere in the temple alone with the others out of the way, for all good intended reasons, but with the lack of knowledge about what his character becomes.  Were there people who truly did think Fjord would turn evil?  Were there fans just as suspicious as Caleb or Nott, that he might be turned even against his own wishes?  Did everyone know that this was Fjord and he wasn’t going to go bad?  It’s such a different matter when you’re watching it with tons of episodes to go (I only started watching in late January 2021), or watching it with the knowledge of all the episodes.  

FJORD VOICE FJORD VOICE!!!!!!!!!  and Sam full on freaks out YESSSSSSSS  (oh wow, I’m surprised by how much I missed Fjord’s true voice, even though I love Texblade!Fjord.)

I love how Matt never comes out and says ‘Uk’otoa is fucking evil and you shouldn’t release him’, but uses very subtle but negative descriptors.  During this scene, Fjord is being rewarded, it should be good!  But Matt consistently uses words ‘cold’ ‘squeezing’ ‘numb’, and so there is a pervasive sense of this being WRONG without straight out being told as such.  ATMOSPHERE.  IT DOES A LOT.

Congratulations Fjord, you now have Control Water, just like Jester and Caduceus XD

For a split second I got very bothered because a ship was sighted and I’m like MORE????  But then I remembered this is where Taliesin fucks up all of Matt’s plans, so it’ll be very quick. :)   I swear, I’m not usually against combat!  But it feels like it’s been SO MUCH this arc.  SO MUCH.  SOOO MUUUCH.  And even though it’s varied and not repetitive, it’s still exhausting.

I just took a shower and made some food, and got lost in a train of thought about Fjord’s deception.  Travis built Fjord to be proficient in deception, and yet Fjord ends up being one of the most honest PCs throughout the game.  Fjord frequently persuades, rather than deceives.  But his real deceptions are so rarely discovered, because he is deceiving himself.  His voice is a deception, because ‘if he sounds like Vandren he’ll be more respected’.  His confidence is a deception because ‘he’s not a leader, he’s a follower’.  Even his willingness to keep his power with Uk’otoa, that felt almost like TRAVIS lying to himself, because Fjord, even to the end, kept to morals and safety and Good alignment, even when the key to getting his powers back was to unleash the monster.  In a party that is full of deceivers, all for their various reasons for deceiving, Fjord’s seems the most clean, the most childlike in a way.  If he can deceive himself, he can deceive anyone.  But he will always default to persuading, because he wants to tell the truth and he wants to be believed.  Thinking on his late-game deceptions, they had a point but they were also due to Travis noticing/remembering that Fjord was more proficient with deception than persuasion.  Fjord may have gone either way, but Travis made the mechanical choice.

Alright!  Back to the episode and the Ship Combat that Never Was.

LOL the durian candies.  I have never had nor smelled durian, but I’ve seen youtubers from Singapore who love it, so I admit I’m curious to try it.  However, I have no clue if the durian available here is comparable to the varieties over there, as I did a little bit of research and apparently there are kinds with milder smells?  Or tastes?  I don’t remember.  I hate blue cheese, but I love natto, so my taste judgements are all over the place.

I will never not love Beau/Marisha being ‘as a FIRST MATE’, ‘because I’m FIRST MATE’, ‘speaking as the FIRST MATE’ I LOVE IT SO MUCH.  (also I don’t remember if I went into it at all during my earlier rewatches, but she’s so proud of the responsibility!  And she deserves it all so much!  LOOK AT HER NOW, DAD.)

Awwww, poor Matt handing out those rule sheets like they’re gonna get used.  XDDDDD  they do get used at some point, I recall.  I don’t remember when the actual ship to ship combat happens, maybe it’s just against the dragon turtle?  Looking up “cannon”, YUP.  It looks like poor Matt needs to wait until episode 100 (and right back from the pandemic break) to be able to use his ship combat rules.  (I think he said he used a modified version of something already existing though, so hopefully not as terrible as if he’d created it all himself)

Matt wants this combat so much, you guys!  He let the players Full Speed Ahead, but then had the wind die so that they weren’t going as fast but the other boat still was, not necessary FORCING combat, but making it pretty damn likely.

These poor pirates.  Sodden, lost their ship, and lost to the Balleater.  Their dignity is in shambles.

Wait, do they ever find out how much money Nott and Jester got from the tower?

Wait (again).  Does Jester EVER tattoo someone who actually wanted it?????   The only time I can think of is when she did tattooed rings for Veth and Yeza, which I’m not counting.  ...how many times does she even tattoo someone?  TO THE TRANSCRIPTS.  Okay, she gives, on screen, three tattoos of Captain Tusktooth to people who don’t want them.  Then the rings for Veth and Yeza, and then in the final episode she tells Kingsley that she’ll have to tattoo him in order for him to join Fjord’s crew, which he agrees to.  It doesn’t happen on screen, but I’m willing to assume it happened.  So three involuntary tattoos.  And then three voluntary tattoos.  Oh, and Veth asks in the epilogue if when Jester returns, can she tattoo a picture of Luc onto her.  So four voluntary tattoos.

It’s so interesting to see this conversation between Beau and Fjord about returning to the Empire and checking in on families.  Even though it gets mentioned that Nott is from Felderwin, it’s checking to see if they go to Kamordah, and Beau proposes to go back to Zadash.  There’s not any checking in with Nott or proposing going to Felderwin.  I honestly think it’s a bit of a dnd-racial bias, because why would the goblin want to check in on where she’s from? It’s not like she’s a person-race, she’s a monster-race. Especially once you add on that Fjord pushing Beau a bit to go warn her family would be just that, WARNING them, whereas they already know that Nott’s hometown has been attacked.  Now granted, Nott did say that she didn’t mind if the goblins were wiped out, which to the others sounds like she doesn’t care if her family was wiped out, but I still got the impression that she wanted to go.

I may have mentioned this before, but I would like if in C3 they had someone who has what they describe as a shitty family, and it actually remains a shitty family where there is no reconciliation and the healthiest thing is just ending it.  Vex and Vax love their sister, and Vex ends up getting along somewhat with her father once Vax dies.  Taryon ends up having a wonderful relationship with his mother.  Pike ends up getting along great with her cousin I’m forgetting the name of.  Beau ends up having a great relationship with TJ (god marisha’s tie in for that which she talked about during the wrap up broke my heart).  Dorian’s brother ended up being frickin awesome.  Grog is the only one who maybe can be considered, but isn’t it his cousin who ends up leading the Herd? Can’t remember.  And yes it makes sense that orphan!Fjord is the one saying you’ve only got one family, don’t cut them out, but I want a Matilda message.  I want there to be a family who DOES suck, and it’s so much healthier and happier to just say goodbye and never deal with them again.  (for the record, I do have a wonderful relationship with my family members, so this is a desire for a story-aspect, rather than wanting something to relate to.)  I don’t know if it will happen, because I don’t know if Matt wants to have that level of blood being irredeemable in his stories.  He’s clearly fine with making the villains as such (Trent, Chroma Conclave, Vecna), but while he includes the awfulness of family, he also does so with what seems like the intention of good-but-misguided, and then tends to include at least one member who isn’t so awful.  The kids, Taryon’s mother, Pike’s cousin, etc. (I also do recognize that maybe no one wants to play with that full on awful family, and I can probably find it in another dnd campaign online.  I guess I just wanna see these guys play with it, and have it go the full extent.)  (also I don’t think it’ll happen for C3, because SPOILERS but very few PCs may actually have blood family to interact with?  And the one which seems not right doesn’t really seem awful, just bad circumstances.)

Oh wow, I always thought the lucky rock was what he found with Nott and then made into the Transmuter’s Stone.  I didn’t realize that he got an actual Stone of Good Luck as loot!  And if I remembered this at all the first time, it was probably gone very very quickly from my memory.

I utterly adore that they give the ship to Orly, and Orly, while becoming the captain, is immediately like ‘I’m only doing this while you’re gone, you’re still the captain, and you get a share of any money that we end up making’.  Not only that, but it doesn’t feel like a Matt gimme either.  It truly feels in character for Orly to do this.  ONE OF THE MANY REASONS THAT ORLY IS THE BEST NPC.

Awww, Caduceus looking into Vandran.  And the Wildmother speaks again.  I wonder if Matt made the change to non-verbal answers just for Commune, and if Cad had ever done more Divination that he would get verbal answers again.

BEAU ASKING CALEB TO TUTOR HER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   I am nothing but a melted pile of feels right now.  AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

The level of RESPECT, the level of TRUST, and the level of VULNERABILITY that Beau has in order to ask that of Caleb AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

I can’t speak with any level of intelligence about this I AM LOST IN EMPIRE SIBS FEELS FOREVER

Also lol at Jester training Sprinkle.  Two campaigns and no one ever really succeeds in training a pet.  The only time it occurs is when it’s 100% going to, a la Trinket and Frumpkin.  No luck for Lockheed, no luck for Professor Thaddeus, no luck for Sprinkle, and no luck for Nugget.  They learn the tiniest of tricks, and then it NEVER comes up.  I think the only one that applies is “home” for Nugget, and he frequently is doing his own shit.

Ah, Liam forgetting about Yeza, but Caleb wouldn’t have forgotten about him probably.  The difficulties of not having Keen Mind.  But man, this conversation and Nott dancing around the truth.  I still question of how much her ‘backstory’ that she shared with the group was legit and how much was just lies.  I don’t think anybody insight checked her.  We know it’s been about a year since the change, and we know that she was on the run with Caleb for about six months, so there’s maybe six months or less since her change.  (I say less, because I don’t know if in game time is being counted to her year.  If it is, then 128 days have passed, so call that four months?  Which means that Nott was only a goblin for two months before meeting up with Caleb.  If not, then six months before meeting up with Caleb.)  We already know the whole story she told about Yeza was a lie, because she did not meet and get to know Yeza as a goblin. So is the torturer’s assistant a lie?  And the rest?  I personally think so, because I can’t imagine that the clan would have wanted to keep her around considering she killed the chief and then they killed her and reincarnated her as a goblin.  But I don’t think it’s ever clarified.

OMG the Alpha message!  “Halfing Friend.  Just a friend.  He is Nott the Father.” BUT HE TOTALLY IS XDDDDD  Okay, this makes me appreciate the Alpha messages on the side, at least a little bit. Usually I’m not a fan because they are so much brighter than the rest of the screen.

“You can even change things from one thing to another.  You’re very good at that, aren’t you?” and such a POINTED look in Sam’s eyes if you know what you’re looking for.  OMG.

@suicidallyreckless

[fantasy-anatomy-analyst]

Previous post over here. Now it's time to use the references from before to alter the vrock to have a more anatomically correct skeleton and musculature. First I sketch out how i think the skeleton should look:

Image description: the first altered picture of the vrock with better wings, faded out so I could draw the skeleton over it. I have corrected the length of the leg that's further back, because it looked pretty long compared to the other one. But where no ribcage really fit before I have now draw a much larger ribcage with a large keel bone so it has somewhere for flight muscles to anchor. And since it has both wings and arms, I've given it an extended shoulder blade. Part of it drops down to cup the arm shoulder while the rest is long and thin like a bird shoulder blade to create the wing joint.

Is that a realistic way to draw this shoulder? Well frankly there are no real animals with wings and arms so this is the type of fantasy anatomy that has to be fudged a little. It's perfectly okay to fudge some anatomy when designing a creature that doesn't exist! But my purpose with this blog is to point out creature designs that just straight up ignore all anatomy for the sake of Aesthetics like making the vrock incredibly scrawny and lanky just because it looks creepier.

So now I add the Beef.

Image description: same image as before but the skeleton is faded out a little so I can draw muscles over it. I'm no professional expert in how to draw muscles but I can at least get some nice basic shapes down as a guide. It's important to think about where muscles anchor and how they overlap, as well as considering that there still needs to be space for internal organs and that adding skin and such will obscure the muscle shapes somewhat.

I've put the wing pectorals in a position to overlap the arm shoulder muscle. Since they're so close together, one kinda has to take precedence over the other or there will just be too much muscle bulk. So the arm muscles stay kinda scrawny and the wing muscles take up more space.

So the final result of these alterations!

Image description: the vrock with better wings and a bigger barrel shaped chest. To give it that look, I just selected parts of the base image of the vrock and reshaped them into the new beefier figure. It still has its long scrawny arms, but I've fixed the shoulder position a little. I also added feathers to the chest and upper arms to help them blend into the body (and to cover up the weird shrink wrapped muscle texture the original had.)

And that's that! The original design of the vrock has been altered into something that looks like it can actually fly now.

And my next posts will detail my own process to totally redesign the vrock in my own style. Next

[icanteventhat]

So I made a kinda mythological creature for my original comic I’m working on, or maybe just for my DND campaign. It’s like a caterpillar/peacock mix, except the whole “feathers looking like eyes” thing is very literal. Still thinking of names. I’m taking all critiques because I’m still learning lol

[queerasaurus-rexx]

ok, let's talk about the goblins in harry potter. because if we're gonna critique harry potter, we're gonna do it right.

it's fairly clear the goblins in harry potter are based on anti-semitic representations of jewish people. but i might piss some people off when i say i don't think their depiction indicates anti-semitism on jk rowling's part - and don't take this as me defending her. she really just took an existing fairytale creature and threw them in the books without any kind of re-examination or new additions. she basically transplanted goblins from dnd into harry potter, and for a woman that claims to do so much research, she should have researched the origins of the creatures she was using. it was lazy, but again, i don't think it was because of anti-semitism.

the origins of goblins trace back much further than jk rowling and her increasingly more maligned book series.

according to the new world encyclopedia, there is no consensus on the origin of goblin myths. since goblins are similar to faeries and other spirits of europe, it is possible that they share a similar origin. many scholars believe that such creatures came out of an interest in paganism and its mysticism, especially the belief in nature spirits and magic. goblins could possibly come from the belief that, along with virtuous pagans, there were evil ones that became evil spirits.

while from a folkloric perspective their origin may not be known, there were mythological tales that recount it: one of the most popular origin stories for goblins states that they originated in france, in a cleft of the pyrenees, but left at some point in history, spreading throughout all of europe. (source.)

according to wikipedia, the first recognized use of the english word goblin is first recorded in the 14th century and is probably from unattested anglo-norman gobelin.

what does this tell us? well, it tells us that the concept of goblins is far older, even, then the english word we use to name them.

but there even works citing the link between goblins and anti-semitism going back almost 50-60 years. these books are probably available in your local library. the link between jews and goblins is not a new idea, but one that's only been picked up by activists in the last 20 or so years.

i am not going to sit here and try to refute jews who see anti-semitism in the mannerisms and features of goblins. but if we're going to give thoughtful critique to a piece of media, we need to know the difference between purposeful bigotry and a lack of research.

[transenbyhollis]

things that have happened in this dnd campaign:

we temporarily lost the horses that we had pulling our cart. my druid turned into a horse to pull it, but the dm pointed out that one horse wouldnt be very effective for a cart made for two horses. so the rest of the party and the two lizardfolk with us pulled on the other side. two lizardfolk and three dnd characters with okayish strength=one horse. however, the sorcerer was not satisfied with this. so she used phantasmal force, an illusory attack spell, on herself to try to make herself stronger. naturally we all said hold on what the fuck could that possibly mean. she wanted to use it to make herself seem stronger, so eventually we decided she needed to roll and attempt to fail a wisdom save against herself. she failed succesfully, and got a minute of cart pulling adrenaline followed by exhaustion.

one of our characters had found a map. in roll20, there was a picture from the dm. at first i thought it was just an abstract representation of a map because it was so simply drawn, but the dm said no it really looks like that. when the first player rolled to investigate the map, they got a nat 1. so the dm was like it just looks like some kind of abatract art piece. so they started spouting art critique. then i tried to look at it and ALSO GOT A NAT 1. so then i was like, i dont think the artist was putting that much effort into this, seems like just a little doodle. the third person tried to look at it and got a THREE. so the dm was like you think this bit here might be waves. so we were like oh so maybe this is some kind of boat. our friend who is currently asleep knows about boats. so when she woke up, we consulted her

me: hey what do you think of this boat drawing

her: what the fuck its a map

me: so you mean.... its like an artists interpretation of a guide to finding the self?

her: starts labeling the map

me: hey dont deface the art! i know its not very good art but still

for this one, i should clarify that my character likes to eat dry beans. they have a bag of dry beans that they sometimes crunch on. a few sessions ago, my character got pickpocketed. the dm was explained to me how a couple things are missing, and was like oh and the other two probably find you here as youre realizing this, how are you reacting?

me: i put the thing down, straighten, and suddenly freeze, realizing my waist feels lighter. i grab at my waist, and pat myself all over.

other player: you alright?

me: someone stole my beans!

her: oh thats-

me: oh and also some of my money

her: strangled noise

me: im mostly upset about the beans though

then, during yesterdays session, there was a situation where one of the players was making the same check multiple times and not doing especially well. the dm asked if anyone wanted to try to help and we werent sure how any of us could help with this particular thing. so i said i give her a back massage while she steers the boat. then i remembered i have guidance, so i said also i cast guidance on her. and that was when the dm decided the somatic component of guidance is giving the recipient a back massage

shortly after that, we encountered some kind of water creature. this thing had the ability to grab us and pull us into the water. fortunately the first person it got was the triton, who can breathe underwater. but i was worried it would get the warlock or sorcerer. i would prefer it get me, since i could just wildshape into a shark. so i yelled at it, "hey fuck you water! i hate water! i drink water every day! and then pee it out! into more water!" and then i said oh elementals speak primordial right? i just yelled all that in primordial. the dm gave me inspiration for that

[inventors-fair]

Combat Commentary

Thank you all for your entries! Here is commentary for all the entries that weren’t winners or runners-up. I hope that this format, along with the gallery, allows for people to get everything they can out of the Fair.

@ace-hobo — All for One // One for All

This was a clever use of the split-card naming convention, and I liked this card in general. There’s an amount of math to do that can make combat difficult, and if this card isn’t uncommon it probably should be. It’s hard to make it out with that symbol. Regardless, a fine card, costed effectively, a good split. Some people might be pedantic about the name; I think it’s nice.

@competitive-casual-magic — Oil and Fire

Now this is a cool card. Wrecking Ball, but shock, but deathtouch, but not. What an interesting idea. I like the fact that it deals two damage to any target, not just a creature. Giving it flash is very cool. I imagined a lot of scenarios in which this card could blow out someone during combat and make for some complex scenarios. I don’t think this should be rare, personally, but maybe it’s complex enough. In something like Modern Horizons, it would be uncommon. For standard, hm... I’m on the fence about that.

@dabudder — Adrenaline Sliver

This card irks me, not because you did anything mechanically wrong or because it’s not a great idea, but because it gives slivers a boost based on the number of slivers you control rather than +3/+2. Part of the flavor of bloodrush was the fact that it based it on the creatures P/T and abilities. The dissonance in this specific card is frustrating. Still, forget that. I love the concept. I do enjoy this card. Don’t forget in future iterations to capitalize all instances of the word “Sliver.”

@dancepatternalpha — One Last Fight

Follower really liked this card. I liked it as a combo piece. Flavorfully, it’s pretty neat and I like the effort that you put into the flavor text. It’s very difficult for a new player to understand exactly what use this card does without understanding how combat works, but that’s what makes it a good uncommon. I imagined pairing this with Spikeshot Elder and having fun there, heh. 

@fivetrillionelves — Conquer Fear

Interesting card, pretty strong trick! I like the way it makes one of White’s weaknesses, its small creatures, a lot better. Flavor text does need that end quote. Not a whole lot to say about this card. It gets the job done. Might be hard to understand in multiples on the same creature, though.

@fractured-infinity — Unstoppable Curiosity

I am not a fan of this card, clever as it is. I don’t like buffing an opponent’s creature just for minor card advantage. If this was “Whenever a creature deals combat damage to you this turn, draw a card” or some effect where you could utilize the weakness without making yourself weaker, I feel like this card could be cool. As-is, I’d never use this card on an opponent’s creature. On my own, it’s not bad. “Trample” doesn’t need to be capitalized. Also, I JUST got the flavor text. It’s a touch unclear.

@ghost3141596535 — Bullshift

He, nice name. I can see that you intended this for Ikoria, and I like that aspect of it. Thank you for marking the rarity. Don’t forget your periods. As someone who hasn’t played with mutate, I can’t really say how strong this card is in practicality. It’s odd that it allows for mutate in creatures without mutate. I don’t know how that works within the rules.

@guardgomabroa — Sudden Desertion

I really like the flavor of destroying an army (which should be capitalized) but I feel that that’s too narrow to really have a strong reason to exist. It’s a cute card that’s using Magic naming conventions for flavor reasons rather than the game itself. Maybe that’s enough. I’m a little more of a stickler. It’s kinda cute, though, and I’m a fan of white removing things from combat, too. Maybe in WAR it could have been played. 

@i-am-the-one-who-wololoes — Desperate Effort

I don’t believe “sacrificing” a “target” blocks well. The fact that it makes this card need two targets is confusing. Why not just “As an additional cost” the sacrifice? What’s the point of doing a creature that your team controls? Why only an unblocked creature? Why does it give the +X/+Y effect instead of a simpler +X/+X effect? I think that this card has too many moving parts and could have been simplified significantly while keeping the same strong flavor.

@machine-elf-paladin — Hunger of the Grave

This card was a contender for runners-up. It also could have used flavor text. It’s a great addition to Zombie tribal, great with graveyard strategies, well-worded and powerful with the lifelink. Not much to critique here. Good job.

@mardu-lesbian — Phantasmal Fallacy

I like what you did with the name. I think that this is a powerful cantrip that’s playing with some design space. “Planeswalker” becomes a 4/4? That’s a control card for sure. I’ll smack you in the face with a Mind Sculptor. The cantrip might be too powerful, as four power is pretty strong as-is, but I think this card is basically fine and pretty fun.

@misterstingyjack — Quickdraw

Interesting card. I like the magically influenced gunslinging flavor and what can be done with other equipment in this set. The fact that this can essentially be a five-mana do-nothing spell without so much as a cantrip is frustrating. This card should be, I feel, three mana at most. Might require playtesting, but still. Definitely not five.

@nikkatsu-dnd-mtg — Trade-Off

Firstly, this card’s name doesn’t stand on its own without flavor text to back up whatever’s happening, and the fact that there’s no flavor text is a major blow. I’m not sure why it’s an Arcane spell, and I’m definitely not sure why this is common. This card is a blowout and a half. Getting tokens is worth it, and swinging with a team of 6/6s minimum is insane. It’s a one-mana go-wide spell that should cost at least five mana and be at least uncommon. I know you thought that static abilities was a good enough loss, but I assure you: it is not.

@nine-effing-hells — Bardic Performance

I’m on the fence about this card, even though it’s probably good. You took the fairly complex addition of sagas and made it a simple and fun buff in the vein of Travel Preparations. I think this card is a fine uncommon, probably. There’s a tiny bit of disconnect between bard things and counters like that, but the flavor can be bent, and I can just suck it up. This card is good.

@piecesofliquid — Instinct of Greed

Concept is good. There are three specific things I would do to improve this card. One: Change the name to “Greedy Instinct.” No real reason, I just like it. Two: Most importantly, I would change the “exile” to “sacrifice” and take out “you control.” Sacrificing is only something you can do anyway, and it would work better with other red strategies. Three: The flavor text needs to be in quotes. Other than that? Again: good.

@real-aspen-hours — Sudden saplings

Yeah, as you said in Discord, this card is basically Blinding Fog. Instead, let’s talk about improvements for future submissions! Firstly, the card name should be capitalized; I copied it exactly as you submitted it. Secondly, you didn’t include a rarity, which is something you need to consider. Thirdly, if the flavor text is a quote, which it appears to be, it needs to be in quotation marks. That’s all I can think of off the top of my head. Card’s fine for a functional reprint, lol. I like how you changed it to “by creatures” for a more Fog-gy effect. Why ALL creatures?

@shandylamb — Knowledge Breeds Strength

Strict +X/+X effects are not in Blue’s slice of the color pie. This is a green card through and through. I think the flavor text could have been a little more creative. The idea, however, is sound. This card would have been fine twenty years ago, probably. I don’t mean to sound snarky with that; it’s simply something old Blue could have done that isn’t done anymore. 

@snugz — Necromantic Ninjutsu

I am of the opinion that this card should be rare. I am also of the opinion that if this card was rare it would have won above and beyond. What a fantastically creative card. Follower loved it, as did I. For a standard set, though, rareify that baby. Great great great job.

@starch255 — Invisible Wall

Wow, this card is... Not Fun At Uncommon In Limited. The idea is sound and I would love playing this card, but it’s just too much! The hexproof, nuts. The nigh-infinite life, crazy. What a frustrating card to play against. If this was FOUR mana, I might consider it. However, I do like how trample effs this card over. Regardless of that, though, I’m not a big fan, no matter how much if a fan I am. If that makes any sense.

@teaxch​ — Serene Crane Maneuver

Interesting! I think this is one that needs the two targets, unfortunately, but I can imagine how this would work in limited. I would probably only sideboard this card if I felt really really clever, but I like it for flavor reasons and mechanical reasons. Again, I just wouldn’t...play it, necessarily. Maybe I would, but it would take the right environment. This is a volatile card.

@theobligatorysql​ — Combat Trick

This card absolutely needs to be an uncommon and absolutely needs a better name/flavor combo. Now, I do like it mechanically, and it’s pretty cool, but I’m not a fan of the fact that this is a meta-card. In a vacuum, I freakin’ love it. I feel that this card would go well in something like a Custom Cube.

@tmstage​ — One-Two Punch

Very cool. Aethertouch is one of those things that you’re introducing that I would have to see played out before I pass judgement on it. As of right now, I think that this card could have been a cantrip or something. “Non-lethal damage” — hm. Not sure how I feel about that, though. But I assume also that blue is what makes this card Jeskai. Personally, for three colors, I’d like to see something simpler and/or more streamlines. New concepts are scawwy, o noes!... In all seriousness, keep Aethertouch for future designs.

@walker-of-the-yellow-path​ — Meat Shield

“Target creature GAINS indestructible until end of turn.” It’s an actual ability now, remember? Aside from that, this card is...fine for one mana. It’s not perfect, it’s kinda clunky, but it seems like something WotC would print so you have that going for you. I like the simplicity of the flavor text.

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