Caveat: I've only read these two adventures, though I've seen a bit of the new Eberron one played by Saving Throw in "Dark Lanterns" on the official D&D Youtube channel - only the first episode, though.
I love the Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica. Admittedly, I was always going to be a little biased toward it given my love of Ravnica as a setting for Magic: the Gathering, but I also think they came up with a lot of interesting ways to make the Guilds really central to a D&D campaign. I've been champing at the bit to run a game set there (with plans to start one sometime next year.)
As a sort of introduction to Ravnica, the book contains a relatively short level 1 adventure called Krenko's Way (presumably a play on Carlito's Way, the crime movie.) In it, players are sent after Krenko, an escaped goblin gang leader.
While this does bring in the urban-adventure theme to Ravnica, it always felt a little flat to me. The Guilds play, at best, a supporting role in the adventure, which really feels a bit more like just tracking down a gang of troublesome goblins. Sure, goblin gangs in Ravnica are a thing, but it seems that if you're going to be introducing Ravnica to new players, you want the Guilds to play a central role in that introduction.
I'll admit that that's a difficult proposition, given that it would be hard to do all ten guilds in an adventure designed just for level 1 characters. So it might be that they were painted into a bit of a corner.
However, Forgotten Relics, the one they provide in Eberron: RFTLW, seems to nail the setting's tone in a similarly brief adventure - something you could probably fit into one or two sessions (maybe more depending on how into RP your players are.)
And to be fair, I think that this is in part because Eberron is defined more by tone than Ravnica is. Ravnica can certainly have its Noir or Conspiracy thriller genre stuff, but only if you're focusing on, for example, House Dimir. A story about the Selesyna is probably going to be very different in tone than one about the Rakdos. It is that clashing of tones and personalities that gives Ravnica its own unique feel.
Meanwhile, Eberron starts with tone - pulpy adventure, whether that be detective stories, westerns, or Indiana-Jones-style capers.
Forgotten Relics hits a number of important aspects of the setting. Starting off as a noir story, you're sent by a member of the Sharn city guard (Sharn being the biggest city in Eberron) to go find a Warforged friend of hers. You eventually find out that Warforged veterans are being exploited by a gang in the city that also kidnapped the son of an important member of one of the Dragonmarked Houses. After finding the kid, you are sent to track down major player in the gang responsible for all of this, which ends with a fight on top of a moving train.
So yeah, that's some real pulp adventure.
There's a ton of potential for weary cynicism but also opportunities for characters who retain a sense of empathy to do some good in the world.
Plus, you get your players fighting on top of a train at level 1.
Did I mention you fight on top of a train?
Anyway, I'm pretty eager to run this at some point. I'm also pretty excited that it (as with nearly anything from Eberron) could easily fit in my homebrew setting with a few proper-noun changes.
Tuesday, November 26, 2019
Monday, November 25, 2019
New Unearthed Arcana Brings Psionic Subclasses to Fighters, Rogues, and WIzards
Man, Wizards of the Coast is really pumping out a lot of these UA subclasses, aren't they? Makes you wonder if they're planning something like a new Xanathar's-like book.
Which I will certainly purchase immediately if it's announced.
While we've just gotten a single subclass per class in the latest round of UAs, having hit all 12 (though with the Artificer we're at 13 now - they might want to wait for some feedback on the three subclasses for that one before adding more) this time we're getting three that are tightly themed together. To be fair, we've gotten a number of Psionic-themed subclasses in those earlier UAs - like for the Monk and the Sorcerer - but it looks as if they're really focusing in on it. Is a Dark Sun sourcebook in the works? Or just another PHB supplement?
The Psychic Warrior is a Fighter subclass. Given that the Fighter is a very physical class, this subclass is largely themed around the telekinetic aspects of Psionics. The features here are a mix of offense and defense, including a very powerful one at level 3 that, if you choose the defensive option, allows you to subtract a d10 (later a d12) from damage that you or an ally takes as a reaction. There's psychic damage to be had, knocking people back and down with psychic blasts, and you also learn Mage Hand, can make it invisible, and can even shove people around with it.
The Soulknife is a Rogue subclass. This one allows you to manifest psychic blades - not only giving you non-physical damage early on, but also letting you potentially assassinate people without leaving any visible wounds. While I think you can come up with a number of heroic versions of this subclass (Jeremy Crawford suggests a Psylocke-like superhero) I also think that an NPC assassin of this subclass could make for a really interesting and scary villain (or of course you could play as an antihero or reformed villain.) You can also go invisible, in a way that suggests that you're basically editing yourself out of peoples' perception. House Dimir absolutely uses this kind of rogue.
Finally, we have the Arcane Tradition of Psionics, a Wizard subclass. The real headliner here is the ability to take a "Thought Form" where you become a kind of incorporeal avatar of your own mind, which has various benefits, including, eventually, the ability to fly.
In addition, this UA comes with a list of spell suggestions for psionic characters - pointing to spells that fit thematically with the type of magic. This also includes a few new spells, as well as two feats - Telekinetic and Telepathic.
Which I will certainly purchase immediately if it's announced.
While we've just gotten a single subclass per class in the latest round of UAs, having hit all 12 (though with the Artificer we're at 13 now - they might want to wait for some feedback on the three subclasses for that one before adding more) this time we're getting three that are tightly themed together. To be fair, we've gotten a number of Psionic-themed subclasses in those earlier UAs - like for the Monk and the Sorcerer - but it looks as if they're really focusing in on it. Is a Dark Sun sourcebook in the works? Or just another PHB supplement?
The Psychic Warrior is a Fighter subclass. Given that the Fighter is a very physical class, this subclass is largely themed around the telekinetic aspects of Psionics. The features here are a mix of offense and defense, including a very powerful one at level 3 that, if you choose the defensive option, allows you to subtract a d10 (later a d12) from damage that you or an ally takes as a reaction. There's psychic damage to be had, knocking people back and down with psychic blasts, and you also learn Mage Hand, can make it invisible, and can even shove people around with it.
The Soulknife is a Rogue subclass. This one allows you to manifest psychic blades - not only giving you non-physical damage early on, but also letting you potentially assassinate people without leaving any visible wounds. While I think you can come up with a number of heroic versions of this subclass (Jeremy Crawford suggests a Psylocke-like superhero) I also think that an NPC assassin of this subclass could make for a really interesting and scary villain (or of course you could play as an antihero or reformed villain.) You can also go invisible, in a way that suggests that you're basically editing yourself out of peoples' perception. House Dimir absolutely uses this kind of rogue.
Finally, we have the Arcane Tradition of Psionics, a Wizard subclass. The real headliner here is the ability to take a "Thought Form" where you become a kind of incorporeal avatar of your own mind, which has various benefits, including, eventually, the ability to fly.
In addition, this UA comes with a list of spell suggestions for psionic characters - pointing to spells that fit thematically with the type of magic. This also includes a few new spells, as well as two feats - Telekinetic and Telepathic.
Saturday, November 23, 2019
Should We Be Concerned About the Lack of a New Class in Shadowlands?
Every odd-numbered X.0 patch has given us a new class in WoW. 1.0 obviously brought in the original nine. Then we got Death Knights in 3.0, Monks in 5.0, and Demon Hunters in 7.0 (the latter quite literally, as you could actually play your DH before the expansion proper came out.)
So color me somewhat surprised that we did not see any new class announcement with the Shadowlands features trailer. Indeed, while the premise and setting of the expansion seems profoundly cool, I'll confess that, until we have a better sense of how big a deal Covenants are going to be, the trailer felt a little thin (though you could also argue that a "going back to basics" approach to WoW in terms of how many new mechanics are in place could be a shot in the arm for the game.)
I think it was either Taliesin from Taliesin & Evitel or Matt Rossi from Blizzard Watch who made a good point: it's not clear that WoW itself needs a thirteenth class. But it might be that Shadowlands does.
Legion, as an example, was a great expansion. There was tons to do, and I'm sure some players just briefly touched a DH to check it out but then moved on. But there's something really exciting about adding a new class to the game. Even if you're not playing it (my Monk was never one of my top alts) it's sort of exciting to see them added to the mix. During Legion I got a certain rush when I was on a DPS character and we got a Demon Hunter tank (when they understood the way the class worked, like maybe use Demon Spikes instead of saving all your Pain for Soul Cleave...)
The last expansion we got in which there was no new class and no new races was Warlords of Draenor, which I think most players consider the nadir of WoW (I'm sure some will consider BFA to be that. I'll confess that while I feel less motivated to play this expansion than I did Warlords, I think that's in part due to outside things. While the Azerite system has been a train wreck, I really cannot toss out all of BFA, which introduced some really cool ideas and an interesting story - even if it's a story whose plot I wish were resolved already.)
Now, I don't think we can assume that just because it lacks races and a class that Shadowlands will be another Warlords. Warlords had three major problems going for it:
The first is that Garrisons did basically the opposite of what players wanted them to do. We wanted a highly-customizable player housing that was mostly a reward in itself - where we might be able to earn new ways to decorate it and show off what our characters would want in a home. Instead, we got something deeply mechanical and with practically zero cosmetic customization, which also seemed to solve a bunch of problems that the designers then needed to create (like the one-a-day profession reagents.)
The second is that there just wasn't as much content. For a normal expansion, Hellfire Citadel should have been the "midway raid," like Tomb of Sargeras or the Eternal Palace were in the subsequent expansions. Blizzard had apparently wanted to turn out the next expansion in a year, which, given how big Legion was, was a pretty naive goal to have. So instead, we just got less of Warlords and were left sitting with that for a very long time.
The third is that the whole reason for the very, very convoluted story was, in theory, to have us deal with these figures of Warcraft's past, but we chewed through the eponymous Warlords so quickly that we never really got a chance to get any personality from any of them, other than "this Orc is an aggressive jerk." There could have been a lot of interesting nuance and maybe even shifting loyalities to this story, but instead it was basically the heroes of Azeroth versus the testosterone brigade. And then, a jarring shift in which Grom just recognizes that we're the good guys and fights alongside us and we just go "ok, sure, all that genocide and destruction is fine now that you're a good guy."
For Shadowlands, we just don't really know what to expect, storywise. Because at this point we only have the barest idea of a premise. The major players we know are Sylvanas, the Jailor, Bolvar, and the Arbiter. Presumably there will be important characters amongst the various Covenants, but how they interact and how familiar faces like Jaina, Thrall, Khadgar, and Lor'themar will play into this story remains totally unknown.
It also remains to be seen how the mechanics develop over time. Personally, I hope they kind of nail the Covenants on the first go, and instead of further complicating them, they can do "horizontal" expansion by adding new Soulbinds or, potentially, even new Covenants if they bring in new zones. However, what's more likely is that they'll just find new wrinkles in the system for us to keep track of as the patches come out, similar to Artifacts and Azerite.
In terms of classes, I'm very curious to see what the "unpruning" looks like. If they bring back two-handed Frost for DKs I'll be very happy indeed (though I will say that I've been enjoying Unholy a lot more since the Legion-era changes. I just prefer my Frostwyrm blue!)
Still, I do feel a certain remorse. I realize that a Necromancer would be stepping on a bunch of other classes' toes (Warlock and Death Knight mainly) but it would have been cool to A: add a dark-themed healing class and B: add a new ranged spec for the first time in 15 years.
It does also make me wonder about future classes. Should we take this to mean that Blizzard just doesn't want to do more classes? Or does this instead just mean that the old, predictable schedule of their every-four-years release is no longer valid? By the end of Shadowlands, we'll have gone six years without a new class.
So color me somewhat surprised that we did not see any new class announcement with the Shadowlands features trailer. Indeed, while the premise and setting of the expansion seems profoundly cool, I'll confess that, until we have a better sense of how big a deal Covenants are going to be, the trailer felt a little thin (though you could also argue that a "going back to basics" approach to WoW in terms of how many new mechanics are in place could be a shot in the arm for the game.)
I think it was either Taliesin from Taliesin & Evitel or Matt Rossi from Blizzard Watch who made a good point: it's not clear that WoW itself needs a thirteenth class. But it might be that Shadowlands does.
Legion, as an example, was a great expansion. There was tons to do, and I'm sure some players just briefly touched a DH to check it out but then moved on. But there's something really exciting about adding a new class to the game. Even if you're not playing it (my Monk was never one of my top alts) it's sort of exciting to see them added to the mix. During Legion I got a certain rush when I was on a DPS character and we got a Demon Hunter tank (when they understood the way the class worked, like maybe use Demon Spikes instead of saving all your Pain for Soul Cleave...)
The last expansion we got in which there was no new class and no new races was Warlords of Draenor, which I think most players consider the nadir of WoW (I'm sure some will consider BFA to be that. I'll confess that while I feel less motivated to play this expansion than I did Warlords, I think that's in part due to outside things. While the Azerite system has been a train wreck, I really cannot toss out all of BFA, which introduced some really cool ideas and an interesting story - even if it's a story whose plot I wish were resolved already.)
Now, I don't think we can assume that just because it lacks races and a class that Shadowlands will be another Warlords. Warlords had three major problems going for it:
The first is that Garrisons did basically the opposite of what players wanted them to do. We wanted a highly-customizable player housing that was mostly a reward in itself - where we might be able to earn new ways to decorate it and show off what our characters would want in a home. Instead, we got something deeply mechanical and with practically zero cosmetic customization, which also seemed to solve a bunch of problems that the designers then needed to create (like the one-a-day profession reagents.)
The second is that there just wasn't as much content. For a normal expansion, Hellfire Citadel should have been the "midway raid," like Tomb of Sargeras or the Eternal Palace were in the subsequent expansions. Blizzard had apparently wanted to turn out the next expansion in a year, which, given how big Legion was, was a pretty naive goal to have. So instead, we just got less of Warlords and were left sitting with that for a very long time.
The third is that the whole reason for the very, very convoluted story was, in theory, to have us deal with these figures of Warcraft's past, but we chewed through the eponymous Warlords so quickly that we never really got a chance to get any personality from any of them, other than "this Orc is an aggressive jerk." There could have been a lot of interesting nuance and maybe even shifting loyalities to this story, but instead it was basically the heroes of Azeroth versus the testosterone brigade. And then, a jarring shift in which Grom just recognizes that we're the good guys and fights alongside us and we just go "ok, sure, all that genocide and destruction is fine now that you're a good guy."
For Shadowlands, we just don't really know what to expect, storywise. Because at this point we only have the barest idea of a premise. The major players we know are Sylvanas, the Jailor, Bolvar, and the Arbiter. Presumably there will be important characters amongst the various Covenants, but how they interact and how familiar faces like Jaina, Thrall, Khadgar, and Lor'themar will play into this story remains totally unknown.
It also remains to be seen how the mechanics develop over time. Personally, I hope they kind of nail the Covenants on the first go, and instead of further complicating them, they can do "horizontal" expansion by adding new Soulbinds or, potentially, even new Covenants if they bring in new zones. However, what's more likely is that they'll just find new wrinkles in the system for us to keep track of as the patches come out, similar to Artifacts and Azerite.
In terms of classes, I'm very curious to see what the "unpruning" looks like. If they bring back two-handed Frost for DKs I'll be very happy indeed (though I will say that I've been enjoying Unholy a lot more since the Legion-era changes. I just prefer my Frostwyrm blue!)
Still, I do feel a certain remorse. I realize that a Necromancer would be stepping on a bunch of other classes' toes (Warlock and Death Knight mainly) but it would have been cool to A: add a dark-themed healing class and B: add a new ranged spec for the first time in 15 years.
It does also make me wonder about future classes. Should we take this to mean that Blizzard just doesn't want to do more classes? Or does this instead just mean that the old, predictable schedule of their every-four-years release is no longer valid? By the end of Shadowlands, we'll have gone six years without a new class.
Friday, November 22, 2019
Homebrewing a Warcraft-Style Shaman for 5E: Should It Even Be Done?
WoW is probably the first really standard class-based, multiplayer RPG that I played. I'd played Quest for Glory back in the day - a Sierra adventure series in the style of King's Quest but with RPG elements and three classes to choose from, but which really leaned more toward the Adventure style than the RPG style.
The WoW Shaman is one of two nature-based classes in the game. The other, the Druid, is a more classic D&D-style class, and has some of the D&D Druid's iconic themes, like its animal forms, calling upon moonlight, and with its thematic focus on a connection to nature.
The Shaman, however, is tied to nature in a different way. While the Druid's focus is life and natural life - as well as a sort of secondary theme of celestial elements like the sun, moon, and stars - the Shaman is tied much more to the primordial elements and has a secondary theme of being tied also to ancestral spirits.
In D&D 5E, there are a number of classes that fill similar roles:
The Druid, of course, in D&D, is more versatile than the WoW Druid (to be fair, all classes are) and has access to a lot of the same elemental spells that the Shaman has. Indeed, even Wizards get things like Lightning Bolt.
I'd argue that Tempest Clerics actually might be the closest to Shamans thematically, as both a spiritual class and one that focuses on storm-themed magic. Meanwhile, the Storm Herald and Ancestral Guardian Barbarians both play into Shaman themes as well.
So from the outset, there is an argument to be made that the Shaman can already be recreated to a certain extent in 5E already, either by taking one of these classes or blending them through multiclassing.
But, for the sake of argument and the sake of an exercise, let's say that we want to make a Shaman as something separate from the Druid or Cleric (which I'd say are the two closest in nature.)
First, we should take a look at the defining themes and iconic abilities the Shaman has. We're going to be looking at the breadth of WoW history, as certain themes (you'll be able to tell which one in particular pretty easily) have been de-emphasized over the years.
Totems:
Totems are really the iconic thing Shamans put on the battlefield. Not only did it give them a niche as the people who put up stationary things as an ability, but it also played into the four-elements theme of the class.
Imbued Weapons:
Another thing that doesn't actually exist anymore was the Shaman ability to imbue weapons with certain powers. It was fun as a low level-player to have your little glowing weapon enchants long before the levels you'd actually get legit enchantments. And things like Windfury could also be very powerful effects.
Ghost Wolf:
While not the kind of combat-shapeshifting ability that Druids got, Ghost Wolf was a flavorful way to get across the battlefield or to travel before you got a mount.
Reincarnate:
The ability to self-rez is massive, and would really set the class apart in a lot of ways.
Four Elements:
This is at the core of the Shaman class, though admittedly it might be a little harder to emphasize in D&D rules. Even the modern Shaman often struggles to get each spec using all four - Enhancement and Elemental only opt in to use Frost spells rotationally.
Mystical Otherworldliness:
Admittedly something less emphasized in the abilities themselves, Shamans are lore-wise very aware of the spirit world, and thus I think it would make sense for them to have some kind of planar theme - probably focused on the Inner Planes.
With those elements in mind, I'm trying to think of how to build the class.
First off, I think that all Shamans are going to be pure casters. We should have a subclass that allows for melee characters as well as ranged casters and healers. The thing is, do we want to go the artificer route and really pigeonhole each subclass into those roles? Or should we build them to be a little more flexible?
I'm thinking we'll want one true melee subclass, which will get an extra attack and access to martial weapons. This subclass will probably focus on, or perhaps have exclusive access to, the weapon buffs.
Separating out the casting-focused subclasses, I think we could have one really focus on the spiritual side of things, while the other is more of an elementalist.
Flavorwise, I think that all Shamans are going to have some kind of Vision-quest theme, and so we can call the subclasses Vision of X.
To give the melee subclass a distinct identity beyond its mechanics, we should also come up with a lore theme. I think that it should be focused on honoring ancestors, perhaps Vision of Triumph.
The others I think would be Vision of the Primordial and Vision of Spirits.
Next, I think we would put these sub classes at level 3, with the flavor of a Shaman going through a Vision Quest as a rite of passage.
I think the Shaman would have proficiency in simple weapons, shields, and probably light and medium armor. Vision of Triumph would get Martial weapons, but I can't decide if they should also get Heavy armor. Something to mull over.
I'd also want to add a couple new spells - like a ranged Lightning or Thunder-based cantrip.
The spellcasting ability is an interesting question: Shamans in WoW sort of treat with elemental sprits, which I could see being a Charisma-based casting ability. On the other hand, they're also supposed to be attuned to the forces of nature, which makes Wisdom the more appropriate option. Wisdom would make it easier for them to multiclass with Druids, Clerics, and Rangers, but maybe that would feel redundant? (Of course, if it does, the class itself might be redundant.)
I think Wisdom is probably the right call here.
Anyway, I think this is a good start. I'll see what I come up with.
The WoW Shaman is one of two nature-based classes in the game. The other, the Druid, is a more classic D&D-style class, and has some of the D&D Druid's iconic themes, like its animal forms, calling upon moonlight, and with its thematic focus on a connection to nature.
The Shaman, however, is tied to nature in a different way. While the Druid's focus is life and natural life - as well as a sort of secondary theme of celestial elements like the sun, moon, and stars - the Shaman is tied much more to the primordial elements and has a secondary theme of being tied also to ancestral spirits.
In D&D 5E, there are a number of classes that fill similar roles:
The Druid, of course, in D&D, is more versatile than the WoW Druid (to be fair, all classes are) and has access to a lot of the same elemental spells that the Shaman has. Indeed, even Wizards get things like Lightning Bolt.
I'd argue that Tempest Clerics actually might be the closest to Shamans thematically, as both a spiritual class and one that focuses on storm-themed magic. Meanwhile, the Storm Herald and Ancestral Guardian Barbarians both play into Shaman themes as well.
So from the outset, there is an argument to be made that the Shaman can already be recreated to a certain extent in 5E already, either by taking one of these classes or blending them through multiclassing.
But, for the sake of argument and the sake of an exercise, let's say that we want to make a Shaman as something separate from the Druid or Cleric (which I'd say are the two closest in nature.)
First, we should take a look at the defining themes and iconic abilities the Shaman has. We're going to be looking at the breadth of WoW history, as certain themes (you'll be able to tell which one in particular pretty easily) have been de-emphasized over the years.
Totems:
Totems are really the iconic thing Shamans put on the battlefield. Not only did it give them a niche as the people who put up stationary things as an ability, but it also played into the four-elements theme of the class.
Imbued Weapons:
Another thing that doesn't actually exist anymore was the Shaman ability to imbue weapons with certain powers. It was fun as a low level-player to have your little glowing weapon enchants long before the levels you'd actually get legit enchantments. And things like Windfury could also be very powerful effects.
Ghost Wolf:
While not the kind of combat-shapeshifting ability that Druids got, Ghost Wolf was a flavorful way to get across the battlefield or to travel before you got a mount.
Reincarnate:
The ability to self-rez is massive, and would really set the class apart in a lot of ways.
Four Elements:
This is at the core of the Shaman class, though admittedly it might be a little harder to emphasize in D&D rules. Even the modern Shaman often struggles to get each spec using all four - Enhancement and Elemental only opt in to use Frost spells rotationally.
Mystical Otherworldliness:
Admittedly something less emphasized in the abilities themselves, Shamans are lore-wise very aware of the spirit world, and thus I think it would make sense for them to have some kind of planar theme - probably focused on the Inner Planes.
With those elements in mind, I'm trying to think of how to build the class.
First off, I think that all Shamans are going to be pure casters. We should have a subclass that allows for melee characters as well as ranged casters and healers. The thing is, do we want to go the artificer route and really pigeonhole each subclass into those roles? Or should we build them to be a little more flexible?
I'm thinking we'll want one true melee subclass, which will get an extra attack and access to martial weapons. This subclass will probably focus on, or perhaps have exclusive access to, the weapon buffs.
Separating out the casting-focused subclasses, I think we could have one really focus on the spiritual side of things, while the other is more of an elementalist.
Flavorwise, I think that all Shamans are going to have some kind of Vision-quest theme, and so we can call the subclasses Vision of X.
To give the melee subclass a distinct identity beyond its mechanics, we should also come up with a lore theme. I think that it should be focused on honoring ancestors, perhaps Vision of Triumph.
The others I think would be Vision of the Primordial and Vision of Spirits.
Next, I think we would put these sub classes at level 3, with the flavor of a Shaman going through a Vision Quest as a rite of passage.
I think the Shaman would have proficiency in simple weapons, shields, and probably light and medium armor. Vision of Triumph would get Martial weapons, but I can't decide if they should also get Heavy armor. Something to mull over.
I'd also want to add a couple new spells - like a ranged Lightning or Thunder-based cantrip.
The spellcasting ability is an interesting question: Shamans in WoW sort of treat with elemental sprits, which I could see being a Charisma-based casting ability. On the other hand, they're also supposed to be attuned to the forces of nature, which makes Wisdom the more appropriate option. Wisdom would make it easier for them to multiclass with Druids, Clerics, and Rangers, but maybe that would feel redundant? (Of course, if it does, the class itself might be redundant.)
I think Wisdom is probably the right call here.
Anyway, I think this is a good start. I'll see what I come up with.
Thursday, November 21, 2019
The Irony of 5E's Campaign Setting Releases
In theory, all the D&D settings take place within the same multiverse.
The "Great Wheel" cosmology places worlds like Oerth (Greyhawk), Krynn (Dragonlance), and Toril (Forgotten Realms) all in the same Prime Material Plane, separated into different "cosmic spheres" but still ultimately in the same physical reality. That means each of them is also affected by the various other planes - the Feywild and Shadowfell, and the Outer Planes like Limbo, Mechanus, the Abyss, and Mount Celestia.
Ironically, however, the two official Campaign Setting books that have come out for 5th Edition do not fit within that same cosmos.
First off: Ravnica's exceptionalism is to be expected - created originally (and continuing as) a setting for Magic: the Gathering, Ravnica naturally has to be tied to the whole Magic multiverse (which used to be canonically called "Dominia," but that's a term they probably haven't used in twenty years. The primary plane in Magic, Dominaria, is "Song of Dominia" because it was at the center of that multiverse.)
Given the, I think, canonicity of the Acquisitions Incorporated games, it would seem that it is, technically, possible to travel from the Great Wheel cosmos to the Magic multiverse, but requires crossing the Far Realm (something I did to allow my friend's level 18 half-orc sorcerer to get there for a one-shot.)
The Far Realm, in fact, works pretty well as a catch-all to link fictional universes. Because it is essentially "outside the outside," you could argue that the Far Realm is just one name for the most alien place imaginable. Indeed, my own D&D setting is technically in its own pocket away from the Great Wheel (largely because I wanted to make up my own outer planes.)
Eberron is in an odd position, though.
Created at a time when there was not the same desire to link all D&D setting together in this way, Eberron has its own planes, which work very differently than the Great Wheel. They aren't linked to alignment in the same way, and elemental planes are not all that distinct from the planes of fiends and celestials.
Eberron is, of course, one of the most popular D&D settings, but it does strike me as kind of funny that they've only done two non-Forgotten Realms setting books and neither has the same cosmology as FR.
Personally, I'd like to see something very outlandish for the next 5E setting book (which, you know, take your time - Rising from the Last War just came out two days ago.) I'm hoping for Ravenloft, Spelljammer, or Planescape, none of which take place in the Prime Material Plane.
Still, particularly if it is Spelljammer, I do wonder if we'll get some fleshing-out of rules on how to travel from one of these setting to another. In theory, I believe just normal physical teleportation allows you to go from one world in the Prime Material to another, but given that Eberron is isolated thanks to the Dragon Above and Ravnica's in a whole other multiverse, I wonder if you could really do a 5th Edition Spelljammer setting yet. Yes, Ghosts of Saltmarsh technically took us to Greyhawk, but that was certainly not a full campaign setting book.
The "Great Wheel" cosmology places worlds like Oerth (Greyhawk), Krynn (Dragonlance), and Toril (Forgotten Realms) all in the same Prime Material Plane, separated into different "cosmic spheres" but still ultimately in the same physical reality. That means each of them is also affected by the various other planes - the Feywild and Shadowfell, and the Outer Planes like Limbo, Mechanus, the Abyss, and Mount Celestia.
Ironically, however, the two official Campaign Setting books that have come out for 5th Edition do not fit within that same cosmos.
First off: Ravnica's exceptionalism is to be expected - created originally (and continuing as) a setting for Magic: the Gathering, Ravnica naturally has to be tied to the whole Magic multiverse (which used to be canonically called "Dominia," but that's a term they probably haven't used in twenty years. The primary plane in Magic, Dominaria, is "Song of Dominia" because it was at the center of that multiverse.)
Given the, I think, canonicity of the Acquisitions Incorporated games, it would seem that it is, technically, possible to travel from the Great Wheel cosmos to the Magic multiverse, but requires crossing the Far Realm (something I did to allow my friend's level 18 half-orc sorcerer to get there for a one-shot.)
The Far Realm, in fact, works pretty well as a catch-all to link fictional universes. Because it is essentially "outside the outside," you could argue that the Far Realm is just one name for the most alien place imaginable. Indeed, my own D&D setting is technically in its own pocket away from the Great Wheel (largely because I wanted to make up my own outer planes.)
Eberron is in an odd position, though.
Created at a time when there was not the same desire to link all D&D setting together in this way, Eberron has its own planes, which work very differently than the Great Wheel. They aren't linked to alignment in the same way, and elemental planes are not all that distinct from the planes of fiends and celestials.
Eberron is, of course, one of the most popular D&D settings, but it does strike me as kind of funny that they've only done two non-Forgotten Realms setting books and neither has the same cosmology as FR.
Personally, I'd like to see something very outlandish for the next 5E setting book (which, you know, take your time - Rising from the Last War just came out two days ago.) I'm hoping for Ravenloft, Spelljammer, or Planescape, none of which take place in the Prime Material Plane.
Still, particularly if it is Spelljammer, I do wonder if we'll get some fleshing-out of rules on how to travel from one of these setting to another. In theory, I believe just normal physical teleportation allows you to go from one world in the Prime Material to another, but given that Eberron is isolated thanks to the Dragon Above and Ravnica's in a whole other multiverse, I wonder if you could really do a 5th Edition Spelljammer setting yet. Yes, Ghosts of Saltmarsh technically took us to Greyhawk, but that was certainly not a full campaign setting book.
Tool, Warforged Artificer
My Adventurer's League Descent into Avernus game is not officially meeting next week, but given that many of us will still be in LA for Thanksgiving, we're doing a sort of "off the books" game, and I've decided to try to incorporate as many non-AL-legal sources as I could (sadly, I think I only got two in.)
I'm playing a Warforged Artificer who is... a member of the Izzet League on Ravnica!
Because I was given the express instruction to come up with a dumb Warforged name, I'm going with "Tool," because between being Warforged, an Izzet Engineer, and an Artificer, I have, unless I screwed up at some point, a full seven artisan's tool proficiencies. This guy is a walking Swiss Army Knife, and can use Thieves' Tools, Smith's Tools, Alchemy Supplies, Woodcarver's Tools, Glass Blower's Tools, Tinker's Tools, and I think one more I can't remember.
I've already gotten approval to use Firearms, and as such I decided to go Battle Smith, as the most martial of the Artificer classes. Given that we're starting at level 8, I figure he's had enough time to construct a Musket (I figured limiting myself to Renaissance-era firearms would balance things decently) and he's taken the infusion that gives you a +1 ranged weapon that generates its own ammo.
What I need to figure out (or might just do on my own) is see if I can use the expanded Izzet Spell list.
Granted, as a Battle Smith, you're really going for more of a Paladin or Ranger-like build. Artillerist is more for playing a pure caster (and Alchemists are, I think, a decently viable healer.)
The Battle Smith has the following features that let you play a "no guilt" melee/caster hybrid:
You get access to Martial weapons (hello Maul for melee.)
Like Hexblade Warlocks, you get to use your spellcasting ability in place of Strength or Dexterity for your weapons (and unlike Hexblades, this simply applies to any weapon you're wielding.)
You have a robo-buddy who can impose disadvantage once a round on attacks against you.
So what I now have is a guy in half-plate that has been given a +1 infusion, thus granting 18 AC, plus my Steel Defender, which can keep me from taking too many hits. Oh, and I also have a weapon infusion that, in addition to giving his maul +1 to hit and damage, also lets him potentially blind foes that hit him.
For spells, I've gone basically all utility - which to be fair, is mostly what Artificers have anyway. Grease, Faerie Fire, See Invisibility, Enlarge/Reduce, and such are what I'm bringing.
I cannot wait to take this character out for a spin.
I'm playing a Warforged Artificer who is... a member of the Izzet League on Ravnica!
Because I was given the express instruction to come up with a dumb Warforged name, I'm going with "Tool," because between being Warforged, an Izzet Engineer, and an Artificer, I have, unless I screwed up at some point, a full seven artisan's tool proficiencies. This guy is a walking Swiss Army Knife, and can use Thieves' Tools, Smith's Tools, Alchemy Supplies, Woodcarver's Tools, Glass Blower's Tools, Tinker's Tools, and I think one more I can't remember.
I've already gotten approval to use Firearms, and as such I decided to go Battle Smith, as the most martial of the Artificer classes. Given that we're starting at level 8, I figure he's had enough time to construct a Musket (I figured limiting myself to Renaissance-era firearms would balance things decently) and he's taken the infusion that gives you a +1 ranged weapon that generates its own ammo.
What I need to figure out (or might just do on my own) is see if I can use the expanded Izzet Spell list.
Granted, as a Battle Smith, you're really going for more of a Paladin or Ranger-like build. Artillerist is more for playing a pure caster (and Alchemists are, I think, a decently viable healer.)
The Battle Smith has the following features that let you play a "no guilt" melee/caster hybrid:
You get access to Martial weapons (hello Maul for melee.)
Like Hexblade Warlocks, you get to use your spellcasting ability in place of Strength or Dexterity for your weapons (and unlike Hexblades, this simply applies to any weapon you're wielding.)
You have a robo-buddy who can impose disadvantage once a round on attacks against you.
So what I now have is a guy in half-plate that has been given a +1 infusion, thus granting 18 AC, plus my Steel Defender, which can keep me from taking too many hits. Oh, and I also have a weapon infusion that, in addition to giving his maul +1 to hit and damage, also lets him potentially blind foes that hit him.
For spells, I've gone basically all utility - which to be fair, is mostly what Artificers have anyway. Grease, Faerie Fire, See Invisibility, Enlarge/Reduce, and such are what I'm bringing.
I cannot wait to take this character out for a spin.
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Eberron: Bestiary
Eberron: Rising from the Last War has a fair number of new monsters and creatures to fill out your encounters.
Again, suggesting some similar sensibilities between myself and the creators of this setting, there are a large number of Aberrations. The Daelkyr are subterranean lords of aberrations - while there are six listed, only two get full stat blocks, but you might be able to homebrew some based on them. Belyyshara is tied to Beholders - appearing as a sort of older woman with a halo of eyeballs, this is actually a terrifying Great Old One-like entity that has many Beholder-like abilities. Drynn, similarly, looks like a humanoid man but can manifest various tentacles and has a number of Mind Flayer-like abilities. Both are CR 22, offering decent "campaign boss" options.
In addition, the Quori are a different sort of Aberration, coming from the plane of dreams. These are essentially living Nightmares, and are allied with the "Inspired," which are humans who have taken these beings into themselves. Excellent villains, especially if you have any Kalashtar party members, who are basically like the Inspired but who are bonded to a benevolent dream creature.
Of note, there are a fair number of very high-CR monsters here, many of which are specific legendary creatures. There are also generic stat blocks for NPCs from the new Eberron races.
While a lot of this is tied into the lore of the setting, you can easily loot a lot of these if you're looking for some new things. In particular, I like the Radiant Idol - which is basically a fallen angel - and the Undying, which are good-aligned undead animated with energy from the Positive Plane.
Also, there is a fun template for Living Spells, which allows you to take damaging Evocation and Conjuration spells and turn them into monsters that you can fight (or potentially employ?)
Finally, one that really excites me is the Warforged Colossus. Notably, the Colossus is also considered an adventure location. Most of these are thought to be inactive ruins that can be explored like a derelict Jaeger from Pacific Rim, but if you come across one that still works... make sure you stay on its good side because these things are CR 25.
Aside from actual new monsters and stat blocks, I really like the way that Eberron treats its creatures. While in other settings, Gnolls or Beholders would always be dangerous evils, here they can potentially be just people, and potentially allies. Notably (and I might cover this in a future post) in the very Noir-ish level 1 adventure they provide (which, having run neither, feels more interesting than Krenko's Way in Ravnica) they have the party assaulted by a group of criminal gnolls, but shortly thereafter, a civilian gnoll comes to aid them if they get attacked, just as a good samaritan bystander.
This book is massive, and I've jumped around a little. I've got a ton more to read, but so far I'm really enjoying it.
Again, suggesting some similar sensibilities between myself and the creators of this setting, there are a large number of Aberrations. The Daelkyr are subterranean lords of aberrations - while there are six listed, only two get full stat blocks, but you might be able to homebrew some based on them. Belyyshara is tied to Beholders - appearing as a sort of older woman with a halo of eyeballs, this is actually a terrifying Great Old One-like entity that has many Beholder-like abilities. Drynn, similarly, looks like a humanoid man but can manifest various tentacles and has a number of Mind Flayer-like abilities. Both are CR 22, offering decent "campaign boss" options.
In addition, the Quori are a different sort of Aberration, coming from the plane of dreams. These are essentially living Nightmares, and are allied with the "Inspired," which are humans who have taken these beings into themselves. Excellent villains, especially if you have any Kalashtar party members, who are basically like the Inspired but who are bonded to a benevolent dream creature.
Of note, there are a fair number of very high-CR monsters here, many of which are specific legendary creatures. There are also generic stat blocks for NPCs from the new Eberron races.
While a lot of this is tied into the lore of the setting, you can easily loot a lot of these if you're looking for some new things. In particular, I like the Radiant Idol - which is basically a fallen angel - and the Undying, which are good-aligned undead animated with energy from the Positive Plane.
Also, there is a fun template for Living Spells, which allows you to take damaging Evocation and Conjuration spells and turn them into monsters that you can fight (or potentially employ?)
Finally, one that really excites me is the Warforged Colossus. Notably, the Colossus is also considered an adventure location. Most of these are thought to be inactive ruins that can be explored like a derelict Jaeger from Pacific Rim, but if you come across one that still works... make sure you stay on its good side because these things are CR 25.
Aside from actual new monsters and stat blocks, I really like the way that Eberron treats its creatures. While in other settings, Gnolls or Beholders would always be dangerous evils, here they can potentially be just people, and potentially allies. Notably (and I might cover this in a future post) in the very Noir-ish level 1 adventure they provide (which, having run neither, feels more interesting than Krenko's Way in Ravnica) they have the party assaulted by a group of criminal gnolls, but shortly thereafter, a civilian gnoll comes to aid them if they get attacked, just as a good samaritan bystander.
This book is massive, and I've jumped around a little. I've got a ton more to read, but so far I'm really enjoying it.
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