#morrigan plays dnd

[six-improbable-things]

I don't ever want to make my hobbies my job or monetize them, because that would make them stop being fun, but it would be SO much fun to work on some kind of dnd homebrew project to share with the public. I love figuring out mechanics and abilities and coming up with all kinds of whacky creatures. And it's a shame that I'm never able to share those with anyone aside from my one DM.

I don't have any kind of platform here, but I'd love to maybe publish some of my homebrew creations to the public someday. Make a PDF of all the statblocks or something, idk.

[morrigan-sims]

simblr game: Freeze!🧊✋️ Stop there and show simblr the most recently saved household within your gallery and, if you like, tell us all about them while your at it! 🤗🤍

ahhhh, hi!!!! Thanks so much for the ask! And for giving me the opportunity to talk about this boy.

His name is Orion, he's ~18 in this picture, and he's the 2nd worst thing that's ever happened to Carrion.

[more details under the cut, because I talk too much. fair warning, it's really long.]

tl;dr: This kid used to be friends with Carrion before he was Carrion, and is (accidentally) the reason Carrion has his monster transformations in the first place. Carrion got mad at him and punched him but accidentally transformed mid-swing. After that he was left for dead, and to this day does not know whether or not Orion survived. I don't know either and left it up to the DM.

I sometimes re-write scenes from my dnd games in full prose form, and I also sometimes write little "vignettes" of moments from the characters' pasts, also in full prose. So far the only two who have gotten that kind of treatment are Rook and Carrion, but I hope to do it with others eventually.

So anyways, I've had in my head for months the idea to write out a prose vignette of the backstory behind Carrion's name. But the idea was always very vague: Reverence attacks one of his fellow paladins and is left for dead because of it. (Hence the line, "Soon you'll be nothing but carrion" that struck me like a bolt of lightning.)

Talking with the DM of Carrion's game (hiiii Izzy 💖💖💖) a couple of weeks ago gave me a better idea of where I wanted the vignette to go (a tragedy of misunderstandings / no one wanted to hurt anyone / the path to hell is paved with good intentions). And then exactly one week ago (down to the minutes, actually. I was writing between 7-8:30pm) I actually sat down and wrote the damn thing.

And because it's me, it turned out sadder than I expected it to. (And the concept on its own was already sad enough.) Orion here is a BIG part of that. He originally wrote himself into the story as a bit of a plot device. A young, freshly knighted paladin who wasn't allowed to go on the mission that got them the Delirium shard. So he begged the older paladin stationed on guard with him (Reverence, aka Carrion) to let him have a peek. Reverence relents, Orion opens the chest, and Carrion transforms. It only lasts a few seconds though, before he's back in his normal body.

Now, as far as the paladins know, any transformations are permanent, and essentially result in your death. So they try desperately for WEEKS to find someone who can "cure" him. Unfortunately they're wrong, and the ticking clock they're all imagining doesn't actually exist. But they exhaust all of their resources and options in an attempt to help one of their own.

Now, Reverence has been confronted with the fact that he's going to die at any moment (or so he thinks), and so he's understandably in a bit of a shitty mood. He keeps his distance from the other paladins when they camp, but is eventually approached by one of his friends, a guy named Beren. (I have a sim of Beren, too. I'll add his pic at the bottom of this post.) Reverence and Beren talk, and they're having two very different conversations. Rev assumes that Beren was sent to watch him because he's dangerous now, meanwhile Beren volunteered to hang out with and keep an eye on his friend who recently got bad news.

Things get a little tense, and Orion (who has also volunteered to hang out with Rev, but had gone to get food for the three of them) walks in at just the wrong moment. He assumes Reverence is threatening Beren, and draws his sword. The combo of the reminder of how this started and a fear instinct, on top of the already heightened emotions and stress he's feeling, makes Reverence snap, throwing a punch at Orion.

Not having control of things, he transforms mid-swing, and by the time he realizes what's happened and that he might actually truly hurt Orion, it's too late. Orion goes down, and Reverence is tackled by the rest of the paladins.

After that, he wakes up in chains hearing Beren try and persuade Theodore (the leader of the paladins and Reverence's mentor) that he should have killed Rev while he was unconscious. Rev tries to ask about Orion, but gets no straight answer.

Because Theodore is too selfish to do the (based on their knowledge) "right" thing and give Reverence a quick death, they leave him bound on a ledge about 40ft down a cliff. The last thing Reverence hears as the paladins walk away is Theodore saying to Beren "Put Reverence out of your mind. Soon he'll be nothing but carrion."

When he survives, he takes that name and plots to kill Theodore, not knowing or understanding that Theodore did what he did out of love, and also has regretted it every day since -- to the point that he literally lost his divine magic over it.

Now, here's the kicker. I never specified if Orion lived or died. And I told the DM that it was her choice. So we'll see what happens. Both options are thoroughly upsetting for Carrion, so I'm happy with either.

As promised, here's a pic of Beren.

He's trans and does woodcarving, and neither of those things are relevant to his role in the story, or even mentioned, but I know them about him anyways.

[memento-morri-writes]

whumpril day one: hug - "reunion"

I'm going to be doing a few scattered prompts for @whumpril this year. I'm not sure how many I'll actually get done (so far I have three written), but hey, some is better than none!! I'm trying to train myself to write a little more regularly. pov: Rook wordcount: 2.2k character(s): Rook & Zara (D&D) canon status: canon, session expansion trigger warnings: discussion of kidnapping, past torture and healed injuries. summary: Rook reunites with his former captain, Zara, after not seeing her for 3 years. In their conversation, she learns some disturbing details about what's happened to him since she last saw him.

Rook hesitated, his hand on the doorknob. His mind was racing, his heart beating faster than it had in weeks as he thought about what was waiting for him inside the room. Zara. How would she react to seeing him again? Would she even want to see him again? Taking a deep breath, he wiped his sweaty palms on his pants and opened the door. 

As he stepped inside and closed the door, his eyes immediately locked onto the woman seated at the desk in the center of the room. She looked almost exactly the way she did in his memories, though with maybe a few more lines on her face. She was dressed more formally than normal, but he supposed that was fitting for her station as mayor. 

As he took a stuttering step forwards she looked up from the desk and gasped, her hand flying to her mouth as she leapt to her feet. Trying, and failing, to keep his voice from shaking, he said “Hello, Captain.”

Mouth still open in surprise, she replied “Well, hello yourself.” The reality of what she was seeing seemed to hit her as she rounded the desk. “Rook, is that really you?”

He nodded. “It’s me.”

Zara ran towards him, stopping just short of touching him, and said “What did she do to you?”

Rook’s heart stuttered and he had to brush his fingers together to confirm Sigmar’s ring was still in place. Could she possibly see through its illusion? But then he remembered what Lanny had said. She knew where you were. His throat clenched and he choked out “Two years.”

A wave of grief swept across Zara’s face as she said “I’m so, so sorry.”

Rook shook his head vigorously. “It’s not your fault.”

Zara ignored him. “It is my fault. I failed you. As your captain, it’s my responsibility to keep you safe, and I failed you.” Rook wanted to say something, to reassure her, but she pushed on. “She sent me letters, told me all the terrible things she was doing to you. I… I let you down.”

Those words hit Rook with the force of a dozen cannonballs. Lanny had said that Zara knew Wolf had him, but knowing that Zara had been aware of what Wolf was doing to him… somehow that was more painful than any wound Wolf had ever inflicted. He barely managed to force his next words out around the lump in his throat. “Where were you?” And why didn’t you come?

“She said she’d kill you if I came to get you. Or if I hired anyone to get you. You’re standing here because I stopped sailing.” 

He stared at her, his mind tossed like a ship in a storm. Zara looked him up and down. She reached out a hand but pulled it back. “You look good,” she said, clearly forcing a smile. 

He forced down the lump in his throat and said, “You have my friends to thank for that.”

Zara narrowed her eyes, and his stomach sank. “You are okay, right?”

He looked away, unable to meet her gaze. He twisted the ring on his finger again and again. 

She took a step closer. Her eyes bored into him, as though stripping away the illusion. “Rook… Are you hurt? Ill?” 

The concern in her voice nearly knocked the air from his lungs. His chest constricted. It would be so easy to lie. He had the ring. But when he opened his mouth, he couldn’t force the words out. With one final twist, he pulled the ring from his finger.

He could only imagine how he looked: every inch of body cut or bruised, his skin pale and dull, dark shadows under his eyes. 

Zara reeled backwards. “Liar,” she hissed. She sounded furious.

Rook jerked back, away from her. He heard Sigmar’s voice echoing in his head. You and I are both liars. 

There was immediate regret on Zara’s face as her voice pulled him back to the present. “I’m so sorry. I- She wouldn’t have gone after you if I hadn’t-” 

He held up a hand, interrupting her before she could finish. Looking her in the eyes he spoke, forcing his voice to stay at least somewhat steady. “No. That’s not true. Not anymore.” He swallowed, trying not to choke on the lump in his throat. “Not after I set her ship on fire.” 

Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. “You…”

He nodded. “She loved that ship.” The words drifted out of his mouth. He hardly heard them. All of his attention was on Zara’s face, trying to read her emotions. The anger from a moment earlier was gone, replaced with shock and grief. She looked heartbroken, and Rook’s own heart ached. He’d never seen her look so hurt, so raw. 

It was only for an instant, though. She took a breath and composed herself slightly, shock melting into concern. “She does… But what do you mean you set her ship on fire?”

Uncertain where to begin explaining the events of the months since his escape, he began to ramble. “Well, it was when I escaped her. Escaped the first time, I mean.” He immediately realized what he had said and clamped his mouth shut. 

“W-what do you mean ‘the first time’?” Zara’s voice trembled, sounding utterly unlike the confident, brave captain he knew. 

Rook started at her blankly, uncertain where to begin. There was so much to tell, and much of it he didn’t think he could say aloud. Not yet, anyways. “Well…” he began, slowly. “I told you I was with her for two years. At the end of that time, the ship was docked in Bon Largo. Most of the crew was ashore, leaving only a skeleton crew to load supplies. I’d been waiting for an opening for weeks, months. I don’t know how long. So when I heard the crew talking about shore leave, I knew it was my chance. Maybe my only chance.”

He paused, trying to set his memories in order. The escape wavered between being branded into his mind and a hazy blur. “Once I made it to the deck, I could have jumped overboard and swam. No one would have been the wiser. But…” he looked down at the sword sheathed at his side, “I couldn’t bring myself to leave without your rapier.” 

Zara spoke, voice barely louder than a whisper. “I can’t believe you still have it.” Beneath the disbelief, there was a note of pride in her voice. His heart swelled and he nodded.

“The thought of leaving it there, with her… I couldn’t stand it. So I broke into her cabin and stole it.” He sighed. “But that cost me. When I came back on deck, someone had noticed I was missing and sounded the alarm. I killed a member of her crew and made for the gangplank, but they were blocking the way.”

He fell silent for a moment, remembering the chaos of the moment. The crew yelling, running towards him. The panic clouding his mind, the thought that he might have lost his chance. And the knowledge that if Wolf learned of his escape attempt, she would make death seem like a mercy.

“So, what did you do?” Zara’s voice was soft, prompting but not demanding. 

Rook shook his head slightly. “They’d been loading supplies onto the ship. There were a bunch of barrels. Lamp oil and cooking oil. I knocked one over and threw a lantern on it. The whole deck burst into flames. The fire was between them and me, and they knew that if they valued their lives, they couldn’t let the ship burn.” 

He paused. He’d never considered what happened to the crew who was on board when he escaped. He doubted they had lived long after Wolf returned. The thought didn’t disturb him. They’d made their choice when they joined her crew. “I jumped overboard and swam to the docks. Hid under one for hours, until I was sure it was safe to leave.” It had been cold and miserable, and the saltwater had stung his wounds, but the fear of being recaptured had kept him alive, clinging to the barnacle-crusted wood even when he thought his limbs would give out.

“When I finally left the water, I was so tired I couldn’t even stand. I crawled under a tarp on the dock and passed out.” He’d awoken sore and shivering, skin nearly blue from cold, but he’d never felt more alive. “When I woke, I knew I couldn’t stay in Bon Largo. I stole some food and clothes, and just started walking. I didn’t really have a plan, I just needed to get away. I hitched rides with wagons when I could, but I was mostly too afraid of being found to ask for help.”

“Weeks later, I made it to the Black Desert. I was frightened, paranoid. I had decided to avoid the main roads, but I was hopelessly lost.” The reason for his paranoia had been extreme exhaustion from traveling by night and keeping watch during the day. But Zara already seemed sad enough without those details. “I stumbled across a portal and ended up in the Feywild.” He’d arrived exhausted, starving, and dehydrated after days of wandering in the desert. The Feywild’s lush green forests and clear streams had seemed like heaven, and at first he’d been certain he was hallucinating, driven mad by the desert. 

“I found my way to a clearing, and a waterfall that flowed up instead of down. There was food and water, so I made a camp there.” At first he’d gorged himself on wild berries and fruits. Once he had regained some strength, he started going after fish in the pool and small game in the woods. It was simple food, and he was a terrible cook, but after years in Wolf’s hold, it had seemed like a royal feast.

“I eventually started to explore a little further, and came across a town. Started doing mercenary work. That’s where I ran into the party.” A faint smile spread across his face. “They just… stumbled into my camp one day. Literally appeared out of thin air.” His smile grew as he remembered how they’d arrived, bickering and confused, but still willing to invite him into their fold.

“They helped me take on a job. We saved an archfey lady, and in return she gave me one of her tears.” He ran his thumb over the gem embedded in the rapier’s pommel. 

“It’s a beautiful addition,” Zara said. She seemed to have relaxed slightly, her grief-stricken expression softening as he talked about his friends. A sense of relief hit him as he realized she wasn’t mad about the rapier. He hadn’t realized it until now, but some part of him had worried she would be upset with him for changing it. But she just nodded for him to continue.

“I ended up returning to the material plane with them. Helped them on their adventures. They helped me. Kept me safe.” He swallowed. “Well, until Wolf got her hands on me again.” He saw Zara’s face darken and he hurriedly added, “It’s not their fault. They tried their best. I told one of them I’d end up dead or back in her hold… Turns out it was both.”

Zara’s eyes widened. “But… but you’re standing right here!” Her voice was almost pleading, like she was trying to reason with herself. 

He shook his head slightly. “My friends… They brought me back. A few times, actually.”

Her face fell, and Rook’s chest tightened again. “Don’t blame them. It’s my fault. I…” He suddenly found himself speechless, unable to explain what had transpired in the werebeast labs. After a long silence, he settled on saying, “I lost some people, and I couldn’t stand to be around the party. I ran off on my own, and Wolf found me.” Memories of the past month came flooding back to him, but he shoved them away. “They rescued me.”

For a long moment, she said nothing. His heart began to race, beating faster and faster as his breaths grew shorter. Then all of a sudden the air was knocked from his lungs as Zara lunged forwards, wrapping her arms around him. 

It was all he could do to stop himself from crying out in pain. Her tight embrace was agony where it touched the wounds on his back. He froze, not daring to move, lest it make the pain worse. His mind was racing. He couldn’t remember the last time someone had touched him outside of a fight. 

His instincts screamed that he was in danger, that any moment she was going to tackle him, stab him, or shove him somewhere small and dark. But he forced himself to focus on Zara. Her curly brown hair that brushed against his cheek. The stiff collar of her shirt. The rise and fall of her chest as she breathed.

Slowly, so very slowly, the panic began to drain from his body. His arms, frozen out at his sides in shock, began to relax. Cautiously, awkwardly, he wrapped his arms around her. It felt odd, and completely unfamiliar, but not totally unpleasant. If not for the battered state of his body, he imagined it might even be enjoyable.

He had no idea how long they stood there, but eventually Zara pulled back. She planted her hands on his shoulders and looked him in the eyes. “That is never, ever going to happen again.”

[rooolt]

Brian Murphy is constantly looking out for us losergirl dykes, first jaina bronzebeard, now Kenna ironheart. He knows what the people want

[paragonrobits]

"Gaining Karlach's approval centers around being forthcoming and somewhat heroic - showing compassion toward the wronged and almost uncompromising good." WELL I KNOW WHO I'M BEFRIENDING WHEN I PLAY THIS GAME

[willowwormwood]

2018 > 2023

I got reminded of this drawing, this was the first drawing I made of my OC Morrigan! They were my first d&d character

[geezmarty]

ooo what inspired your tav design? like did you go in with a specific character in mind, or did it come from playing around with the character maker?

Oh boy ok. You’re about to find out just how insane I get over RPG character creation. “marty you don’t have to disclose it” I can’t believe you guys are forcing me to do this.

SO, I actually started bg3 with another character entirely, a ghityanki bard, which I thought would be fun and for a bit it was! But I wasn’t feeling crazy about her and when I play an RPG I love to turn my PC into a proper OC I can be obsessed with, so I restarted the game and before I went to character creation I literally sat down with a sketchbook and started brainstorming.

I wanted my pc to have an aesthetic of her own separate from the main companions but I also wanted her to blend in with the rest of the cast, I went for dark urge bc I heard that it gives you a personal quest and I landed for half drow and wild magic sorcerer, which is another class no major companion has (and also, I’ve always wanted to play wild magic even in regular dnd and this was a nice excuse to!)

Her aesthetic pretty much came up as I was sketching her and thinking about all the info above, what could set her apart but still feel like she could blend in? And most importantly, what would be fun for ME to draw? And so I went for witchy goth woman and luckily the design I sketched was very easy to reproduce in the character creator - and the rest came up organically as I drew more of her.

(I also named her after my very first dnd character Brigha, a half orc warlock, and it’s only after I finalized her design that I realized I’d borrowed some elements from hers eheh)

Witch goth was especially fun to play with bc I feel like most companions have a goth vibe about them but we’re missing the mean, spooky, feminine witch archetype (yes, morrigan from dao was part of the inspiration I love my wife <3). You could argue that Gale sort of fills the witch role already but I feel like they stand very nicely at opposite ends of the witch spectrum which is also fun considering their wizard-sorcerer one sided animosity.

[nellieofthevalley]

Been playing lots of DND lately and decided to draw my character for my main campaign, Morrigan! Shes from “The curse of strahd” universe :))

[six-improbable-things]

I had to open the ship combat rules doc I made for Rook's campaign the other day, and man, that thing was (and still is tbh) my fucking magnum opus. I put so much effort into creating rules for a type of combat that dnd doesn't naturally support, and it was SUCH a fun challenge. I'll admit it's not perfect, but it works for our campaign, and everyone seemed to like it during our one test so far, so that's good enough for me.

I think between the stat blocks, the rules themselves, and the maps of the ships, I spent easily 48 hours total on making this sailing arc happen. (No, I'm not the DM, I just like homebrewing shit, and also happen to be the one who decided to play a pirate and make that involved in the story.)

[morrigan-sims]

D&D OC Intro

(inspired by @goldenwaves's post!!)

[transcript under the cut]

This is FAR from everyone, but it's the characters I've played for more than a oneshot, and the ones I actually talk about.

TRANSCRIPT:

Zenara Raventhorn (aka Zen)

Tiefling Warlock (Pact of the Fiend)

The first D&D character I ever played.

Only got to play two sessions with them.

Unintentionally inspired by Critical Role Campaign 2

Backstory written between 1-3am on my phone.

Has an imp familiar who looks like a raven.

Occasionally gets possessed by their patron, and then gets given new powers as an "apology".

Fire theme.

Rook (Adrian Lockwood)

Half-elf Rogue (Swashbuckler)

First (and only) character to make it past 8 sessions. (So far.)

Disaster bisexual pirate boy with SO MUCH trauma.

Wields a magic rapier that was a gift from his captain + first mentor.

Enemies with a different pirate captain who wants to capture him.

Has decent charisma but relatively terrible social skills.

Bastard son of a nobleman. Has daddy issues.

Reckless and impulsive to a fault. Would die for his friends.

May or may not be cursed by a demon lord.

Asola Riava Ashmark

Aasimar Paladin (Oath of Vengeance)

Made it 8 sessions before we switched campaigns.

Doesn't know she's an aasimar. Her powers show up when she experiences extreme emotions and it's only ever happened twice in her life.

Got briefly possessed and then force-shut-down by a literal god.

Has a habit of picking up stray traumatized young people.

The party's moral compass. Tried to keep them somewhat in line.

Believes that laying down her life to save someone else's is worth it. Swears she doesn't have self-worth issues.

Morana Novak

Witch (Curse Patron)

Character for an eventual Pathfinder game.

Named after a Slavic goddess of death and winter.

Necromancer, got kicked out of her hometown for graverobbing and experimenting on corpses.

Her familiar is a raven named Miro, who she rescued and trained.

Autistic as hell, which will be fun for me to play.

Very creepy and unsettling person.

One of her future party members nicknamed her "Mortician".

Cyra

Fire Genasi Barbarian (Path of the Storm Herald)

Newest character on this powerpoint.

Fights with a magical flaming quarterstaff that she can summon from inside herself.

Has a stolen, magically powered vehicle.

Formerly part of a cult. Only stayed around for their toxic then-girlfriend.

Somehow basically the least traumatized member of the party. That was NOT the plan.

Avra Shadaowbreath

Shadar-Kai/Reborn Rogue (Phantom)

Devout follower of the Raven Queen, has utter faith in her actions.

Used to work for an assassin's guild until she was killed after a job gone wrong.

Revived by the Raven Queen herself to be her assassin.

Sent to Barovia to kill a powerful lich.

Has complicated feelings on her own resurrection, but her faith in the Raven Queen is stronger than her doubts about herself, for now...

A massive hypocrite when it comes to other people being resurrected.

Odynia Adrasteia Erinys

Aasimar Paladin (Oath of Vengeance)

Devoted follower of Nemesis, goddess of divine retribution.

Got transformed into an aasimar after being chosen to be Nemesis's eye on the mortal plane.

"And eye for an eye" but make it literal.

Has black feathered wings sometimes.

More than a little bit of a bitch. Very prickly at best.

Her name means "inescapable pain/grief" so that bodes well.

Hellbent on revenge... but why?

Aspen Vale

Half-Elf/Changeling Bard/Warlock (Glamour/Archfey)

Pied Piper'd into the Feywild as a child.

Learned bardic magic there, and made a pact with their patron, Fin, the god of death.

Sent back to the material plane with ZERO memories.

Named themself after the first thing they saw in the material plane - an aspen grove.

Carries a "broken" compass that Fin uses to guide them in the right direction without their knowledge.

Carrion Vice

Barbarian (Path of the Fractured)

Physically a tiefling, mechanically a Beasthide shifter.

He grew up religious and his birth name was Reverence.

Received his name after being left for dead and told "Soon you'll be nothing but carrion".

Transforms into an unrecognizable monster when he rages.

Transformations caused by exposure to Delirium (magically radioactive crystal) when he was a kid.

Current goal is to kill his former mentor, the one who left him behind...

[six-improbable-things]

"summon lesser chicken" was a success.

i love dungeons and dragons

[memento-morri-writes]

whump-y wednesday

I don't know if this is actually a thing, but it's Wednesday, and I wrote a really fucked-up snippet that I liked, so I'm posting it. But most of it's going under the cut because uh, well, it's fucked up. My boy was not having a good time before the party came to rescue him.

tw for mentions of blood, illness, and torture

A horrible screech pulled him out of the dark. He opened his eyes, trying to figure out where he was. Light poured in from the open door, illuminating the walls of his cell. The door. Its rusty hinges were what had made the screeching sound. He tried to lift his head to look around, but pain shot through his chest. Since when did it hurt to breathe? He heard the sound of metal against wood and the sloshing of liquid as someone set down a small bucket of water. “I dunno what the point of givin’ him any water is.” A gruff voice said. “He’s been burnin’ up for days now, and we all know the captain won’t let a healer within a hundred yards of him.” A grunt of agreement and another voice said, “If he’s still alive in a week, I’ll give Zafira a kiss.” The first voice laughed, and the last thing Rook heard as the door swung closed was, “Your funeral.”

Blindly, he reached towards where he had seen the bucket of water. His muscles screamed, and he felt scabs and dried blood cracking as he moved for the first time in… hours? Days? He wasn’t sure. His fingers met metal and eagerly he pulled the bucket towards him, too weak to lift it off the floor. Water sloshed over the sides, blissfully cool where it touched his skin. Hands shaking with effort and excitement, he dipped them into the bucket and splashed water on his face. He could have cried. How had he never known how good water could feel? He cupped water in his hands and brought it to his lips. Only a few drops actually made it into his mouth, but even those felt heavenly. Again and again he dipped his hands into the bucket, getting more water on the floor and his body than in his mouth. After several mouthfuls the water started to taste odd, slightly salty, and he distantly realized that the blood and grime from his hands must be washing off, mixing with the water. He didn’t care. It was still the best thing he’d ever tasted.  He thought he heard laughter. Who was laughing? Was he laughing? He couldn’t blame himself if he was.

[dice-sociation]

Girls Who Don’t DnD

Quick Info

Audio Quality: High-Quality Audio, Effects, Music. (Occasional fan-submitted recordings)

Vibes: Throne of Glass, Doctor Who, Alice in Wonderland, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Princess and the Pauper

Extras: Patreon rewards, Discord Community with Book Club, and more!

System: 5e DnD

Campaign/ Show Length: Long Term Campaign

Average Episode time: 1.5 Hours (varies a bit)

Uploads 1 episode a month. 

Diversity: Majority Women

Platforms: Podcast, Audio Only. 

Number of Episodes This Review is based on: 30+ 

** If you want the TLDR, scroll to the bottom of the post **

Why Girls Who Don’t DnD?

How often have you said to yourself, “Man, I wish I could experience that for the first time again?” While we can’t reset your brain, you can live vicariously through the Girls Who Don’t D&D podcast. 

If you're looking for a podcast with relaxed gameplay, fantastic humor, great editing, and effects, you should read on to learn more. This wonderful adventure showcases the beautiful experience of watching three girls fall in love with Dungeons and Dragons (D&D). 

Starting the Pod

The podcast starts with Cory, the Dungeon Master (DM), explaining that he has invited three girls, Indy, Alana, and Stacey, who have never played D&D, into his world of Kalee with premade characters. If you, the listener, haven’t played before, you’ll learn a lot just from listening. Cory purposely doesn’t edit out explanations of how to play. I’m confident my experience was better because I was still learning to play the game myself as I started listening.

Right from the start you will hear how much work Cory puts into editing and pre-recording. He recruits people to voice-act for non-player characters (NPCs) or to play out memories or scenes. Some additions are just for the listeners, giving us a little extra information about the lore of the world. This includes the origin of magical artifacts, gods, and sometimes an NPC’s perspective that the players don’t get to hear.  It feels like listening to an audiobook and honestly, I think “booktok” would love Girls Who Don’t DnD. 

We learn that the three player characters, Freya, Kaa'Riin, and Morrigan, have lost their memories and need to recover them. The story and the discovery of who the player characters are and what happened to them work in tandem with the players themselves learning the game in a beautiful way. 

Power gamers and hardcore strategy? We don’t need that here. (Tosses book over shoulder). This group is made of story-tellers who usually choose to progress the narrative over strategy. At first, it's like watching Without A Recipe or the British Bake Off challenge where they have no clue what they are supposed to be making. This makes it all the more special when the players get more comfortable with the gameplay and more grounded in their characters. 

About the Team

Cory, "(who owns all the books but hasn't read them)"* completely absorbs the chaos the girls bring to the table and somehow also keeps them immersed in the story. He holds onto the rules of D&D loosely, letting his players use their abilities in different and unique ways. You still get full epic fights with no pulled punches, yet they feel more cinematic than the usual D&D grind. Outside of combat, Cory introduces challenging puzzles and encounters that present more opportunities for his players to think outside the mechanics of the game.

I adore Alana, Indy, and Stacy. I have some difficulty with telling their voices apart, but I never felt like that took away from my enjoyment of the show. Over time they develop their characters and have different play styles. They all have so much personality and bring their own flavor to the table. 

Indy, playing Freya the Rogue, has to be the most classic of first-time players, starting a little hack-and-slash happy, but eventually, she gets really into the strategy of the game. Freya is a cheeky scamp of a character and Indy leans naturally into the rogue class.  

Alana, playing Morrigan the Sorcerer, is usually the most sensible of the group. She is a leader in a way. There is so much more I want to say but I can't think of anything that isn't a big spoiler. Playing a sorcerer for your first time playing D&D is never easy, but Cory was able to ease her into the role and she runs with it.

Stacey, playing Kaa'Riin the Bearbarian (Druid with some Barbarian), has some epic combat moments. She can change from one animal to another without reverting to humanoid form, which deviates from traditional Druid rules. This decision, as well as other tweaks of the rules, help the pacing of the overall production. 

And sure, you're probably thinking their whole schtick is that they don't know D&D, so wouldn't it lose its charm after they get better? Absolutely not. Not even a little bit. This table is casual, silly, charming, and gripping. They make me feel like I am with my best friends playing our chaos gremlins together. 

A special shout to Mia Stegner (https://www.miastegner.com/) who composed and performed the opening and closing songs. It’s the cherry on top of this podcast sunday.

*Referenced from the Podcast Description. https://www.girlswhodontdnd.com/ 

About the world

“There is a saying among the good people of Kalee, when you know what is right, do what is right, and then deliver it all into the endless sea” From Episode 1: Throw it Into the Sea, Aug 16, 2021.

Cory presents a world both complex and informed by the player's choices and features some of the more bizarre parts of typical High Fantasy settings. 

There is just something so satisfying about learning the characters' backstories and how their stories are expertly baked in the many-layered cake that makes the world. Flavors include; wild magic, strange and whimsical characters, Evil Queens, “timey-wimey” stuff, super cute plans, snails, Gods, magic crystals, trapped souls, and Alan (the real star of the later episodes).

Extras

There are so many Patreon perks! You get behind-the-scenes talks, recipes from Indy, DMing tips, Lana's book reviews, and more! You can also join their Discord server where Cory is pretty active and they encourage community gaming and have a book club.

TL;DR: 

This podcast is about girls learning to play D&D using premade characters with amnesia. The girls learning to play parallels the story’s progression as they regain memories. 

Reliving the experience of learning to play for the first time all over again. 

Loosely follows the rules of 5e to keep the pacing up.

DM Cory recruits people to voice act for NPCs or to play out memories or scenes. Some additions are just for the listeners, giving us a little extra information about the lore of the world.

It's a little hard to tell the girls apart, but I don’t think it takes away from my enjoyment at all. 

Wild magic, strange and whimsical characters, Evil Queens, “timey-wimey” stuff, super cute plans, snails, Gods, magic crystals, trapped souls, and Alan. 

DM Cory presents a world both complex and informed by the player's choices and features some of the more bizarre parts of typical High Fantasy settings.

Special thanks to Artax of Who's Taking Watch for helping with editing!

No Context Gifs:

[motherlarkspur]

So I remember yapping in the tags of a recent reblog that I was gonna be playing a new DnD game soon (the 18th of December) and that date has PASSED and the fjrst session went GREAT. So great, in fact, that we are going to play again on Friday, and I can't wait because I love my silly Bahram.

He is a hobgoblin warlord who, after swearing an oath of conquest, has a very paranoid and murderous voice in his head, and he DOES NOT LIKE IT‼️‼️‼️

I have had horrible art block recently so I haven't drawn much 👉👈 augh but here is all the art I have of him (featuring Morrigan, one of his wives). Ignore the weird head proportions I am gay

[cosmichorrorlesbians]

what's your dnd campaign about?

smiles so sweetly. you have hit my obsession button squarely on the head. come closer I am a very normal dungeon master.

Beyond the Pale is a DnD 5e (yes I know) campaign set in a world that for the last thirty years has been slowly freezing to death, its one still-functioning city, and the tiny morticianry practice of the Morrigan (PhD) (played by the inimitable @thedapperraven), a bird-masked mortician with dark magical powers, the remains of a cult looking disapprovingly over her shoulder, and a lot of unresolved trauma. oh, and it's also home to her platonic life partner Scratch Silvertongue (played by the incomparable @mossycrumpet), a quick-talking bastard schemer of a thief, who crashed through her window with some nasty wounds one day following a heist (gone wrong) (gone very, very wrong) (gone eldritch) and never really left. when the duo are unexpectedly hired to investigate the brutal murder of a plutocrat coal baron, they quickly discover a network of religious conspiracy, capitalist cover-up and eldritch terror whose roots threaten to stretch back into aspects of their pasts they'd rather not see dragged back into the light.

it's gaslamp-fantasy apocalyptic horror murder mystery that would make a Victorian historian scream and tonally incoherent as DnD always is. Scratch and Mori bicker with detectives, screw over billionaires, fight their reanimated mentor's corpse, psychologically torture a mean-girl cleric, start gang wars, have homoerotic duels with hot mob bosses (quite literally. she was on fire) and witness two old women have one of the most cataclysmic divorces known to man. and-- both being characters utterly allergic to emotional vulnerability-- they both have to grapple with the way their pasts have fucked them over, how that has changed them, how uneasily loving someone coexists with keeping secrets, and what it means to care about someone else more than you care about yourself.

in my eyes? it's about free will versus fate, trauma, love, mentorship, dealing with the mistakes of the people who came before you, tragedy, codependent duos, the end of the world and what we do to get through it, and lots and lots of body horror. but mostly it's about how much I love my irl best friends.

misc art for the vibes <3

[corvidquartz]

Moments When I Feel The Presence Of My Deities

I got this idea from @persephonesfoxway, who in turn got this idea from @caduceussky! Please give both of them a follow! ^^

☀️Apollo:

When I'm working on freelance work (I'm a video editor)

When I sing solo karaoke in my room

When I take morning walks

When I do tarot card readings

When I smell something citrus-y

When I play DnD (he loves to listen in)

🌖 Cerridwen:

When I listen to Celtic Woman

When I research something I'm interested in

When I think about my Celtic heritage (she's the one that pushed for me to delve further into it)

When I look at the moon

When I read poetry

When I write in my Book of Shadows (She's really big about me gaining knowledge and learning more about my craft and the path that suits me best. I can feel her pride with every new spell I take the time to learn and write down)

🦋 Oonagh:

When I see butterflies (like I said before, she LOVES butterflies)

When I think about my childhood

When I watch dance videos (she's been adamant about me taking it up myself)

When I think of Spring

When I practice self care

When I put a gift together for my partner (she always seems so excited to listen whenever I gush about him and I can feel her smile whenever I take the time to put together something to show him I'm thinking of him)

💀 Hades:

When I walk by the graveyard near my workplace (was the place that truly had me start feeling his presence)

When I spend time with my younger sibling (they're a Hades devotee and I can always feel him right there with us whenever we're together)

When I see a dog

When I brew peppermint tea

When I watch a horror movie or video series

When I wear all black

⚔️The Morrigan:

When I feel that burning rage in the face of injustice (the landscape of current Twitter certainly made that feeling well known)

When I'm playing a difficult video game

When I see the color red

When I show support to my friends and loved ones

When I go through with doing something that initially made me feel scared or anxious (despite her being new to my space, I'm starting to realize that her presence has been here for a long time; ever since I started on this journey figuring out who I am)

When I take the time to move my body and exercise