D&D5 chatty thread

[Tommy Brownell]

One of the things I am surprised people do not do more of is selectively curate (what a 2010s word...) which classes (& races, archetypes, backgrounds, etc.) to use for their campaigns, settings, etc. I think Warlocks as one of the predominant -- or only -- spellcasters in Ravenloft is a lovely bit of aesthetic composition. I find the "Everything On" style of GM world building a wasted opportunity, and you have articulated a great reason why.

I tend to reserve the right to add something to my campaign, and set the rarity when I do. There may be that one NPC thief who keeps escaping because his psionic powers utterly baffle the party...but it doesn’t mean I’m introducing whole psionic enclaves and societies.

 

[Stan]

Goodness, i'm old. Pre-orders for the new setting book are apparently higher than anything since the 5e core books. Before they announced it I had never heard of it.

Good for them - success keeps them and rpgs going better, though initial intensity is not a perfect predictor of overall performance - lot's of things have had an intense yet smallish fanbase and failed to make a long term dent (in something like this, the preorders might make up a larger percentage of total sales). I've never heard of it either. I might get it eventually once I know more about it but I'm not waiting breathlessly.

Apparently a D&D inspired comic book is getting a sourcebook, though not by WOTC. I'd never heard of it either but it's supposed to be a $5 pdf so I might check it out.

 

[CRKrueger]

Good for them - success keeps them and rpgs going better, though initial intensity is not a perfect predictor of overall performance - lot's of things have had an intense yet smallish fanbase and failed to make a long term dent (in something like this, the preorders might make up a larger percentage of total sales). I've never heard of it either. I might get it eventually once I know more about it but I'm not waiting breathlessly.

Apparently a D&D inspired comic book is getting a sourcebook, though not by WOTC. I'd never heard of it either but it's supposed to be a $5 pdf so I might check it out.

It would be hilarious if they released it under the DM’s Guild, and had the entire setting IP stolen by WotC.

 

[Stan]

It would be hilarious if they released it under the DM’s Guild, and had the entire setting IP stolen by WotC.

I honestly still don't get the DM's Guild. I think the author gets a smaller cut than if they just put something up on Drivethru under the OGL, something like 50% vs 75%. It doesn't look like WoTC does any quality control beyond some initial guidelines. As a buyer, it does nothing to my likelihood of making a purchase.

Am I missing something?

 

[CRKrueger]

I honestly still don't get the DM's Guild. I think the author gets a smaller cut than if they just put something up on Drivethru under the OGL, something like 50% vs 75%. It doesn't look like WoTC does any quality control beyond some initial guidelines. As a buyer, it does nothing to my likelihood of making a purchase.

Am I missing something?

The DM’s Guild lets you use WotC IP. All the published stuff that is off limits with the OGL is useable.
Let me summon robertsconley , he might not be an IP/Trademark/Copyright/Patent attorney, but he’s close enough.

 

[EmperorNorton]

Basically, the only reason to ever use DM's Guild is if you want to use the Forgotten Realms or some other IP thing like that.

 

[Endless Flight]

From the USA Today article:

“Their efforts have paid off in almost unimaginable ways. D&D’s fifth edition, released in 2014, isn’t just a success. It’s revivified the franchise, with 2018 and 2019 – the 45th anniversary of the game – consecutively marking the best years for D&D sales”

Dungeons & Dragons had fallen on 'troubled times.' The role-playing game's fifth edition changed everything

An accessible fifth edition has revitalized Dungeons & Dragons, with the franchise posting strong sales in 2019 and looking for new ways to grow.

www.usatoday.com

 

[Voros]

From the USA Today article:

Dungeons & Dragons had fallen on 'troubled times.' The role-playing game's fifth edition changed everything

An accessible fifth edition has revitalized Dungeons & Dragons, with the franchise posting strong sales in 2019 and looking for new ways to grow.

www.usatoday.com

I know it is cool to be cynical about mainstream attention like this for D&D but I think it’s great. The more players and GMs the better. Similarly these recent releases from WoTC aren't for me but if they get others excited to play its all to the good.

That The Last God book sounds potentially good, not sure 5e is the right system to capture a gritty dark fantasy vibe but it is intriguing.

 

[Chris Brady]

You have my interest.

 

[Voros]

One of the new OA subclasses is an Arabic-themed Warlock. Be cool if we get a Al-Qadim themed hardback adventure like the African-ish Chult in Tomb of Annihilation.

 

[Raleel]

One of the new OA subclasses is an Arabic-themed Warlock. Be cool if we get a Al-Qadim themed hardback adventure like the African-ish Chult in Tomb of Annihilation.

the Way of Mercy actually reminds me a lot of martial arts films like Iron Monkey, which features a doctor martial artist. Necrotic damage or poison damage seems like a good interpretation of chi flow imbalances.

 

[Endless Flight]

One of the new OA subclasses is an Arabic-themed Warlock. Be cool if we get a Al-Qadim themed hardback adventure like the African-ish Chult in Tomb of Annihilation.

I like that art.

 

[OHT]

Odyssey of the Dragonlords

Odyssey of the Dragonlords is an epic adventure book published by Arcanum Worlds for the 5th Edition of the world's greatest roleplaying game. In a land where even the gods are bound by oaths and prophecies... At the dawn of time, a war between the gods and Titans left the world of Thylea...

www.modiphius.net

 

[Stan]

Odyssey of the Dragonlords

Odyssey of the Dragonlords is an epic adventure book published by Arcanum Worlds for the 5th Edition of the world's greatest roleplaying game. In a land where even the gods are bound by oaths and prophecies... At the dawn of time, a war between the gods and Titans left the world of Thylea...

www.modiphius.net

Cool. There's a free 50 page player's guide - barely skimmed it so far. I find the free character sheet too busy for my taste.

 

[Tommy Brownell]

Odyssey of the Dragonlords

Odyssey of the Dragonlords is an epic adventure book published by Arcanum Worlds for the 5th Edition of the world's greatest roleplaying game. In a land where even the gods are bound by oaths and prophecies... At the dawn of time, a war between the gods and Titans left the world of Thylea...

www.modiphius.net

That sure caught my eye, too.

 

[Jetstream]

Cool. There's a free 50 page player's guide - barely skimmed it so far. I find the free character sheet too busy for my taste.

It’s pretty neat. Though I feel a little stupid. I backed it thinking it was a “campaign setting” and only later realized it was a “campaign.”

 

[Shipyard Locked]

Wrong thread, redirecting.

 

[The Butcher]

Upon hearing that The Hu has scheduled a show here in Rio, I was compelled to break out the D&D5 chargen app and try and stat up a Mongol-ish warrior for D&D5.

This is a character type that's tricky to make work with many editions of D&D, as it's not the sort of PC that'll usually shine either in dungeons or battle grids. (That's never stopped me from playing them, of course.)

I considered making a Ranger or even a Rogue (with an eye towards Scout) but what can I say? I'm a sucker for Human Fighters. Glad to see D&D5 can pull off an archer Fighter without breaking a sweat, though I still wonder about adding sneak attack damage to missile attacks... (not crazy about multiclassing in D&D5, before anyone asks).

Race: Human, Variant
Background: Nomad (special homebrew; skills as Folk Hero -- Animal Handling and Survival -- but gear, proficiencies and feature as Outlander)
Class: Fighter
Level: 1
Ability Scores: STR 12, DEX 16, CON 14, INT 10, WIS 14, CHA 8 (standard point buy)
AC: 15 HP: 12 Proficiency Bonus: +2
Skill Proficiencies: Animal Handling, Insight, Intimidation, Perception, Survival
Special Abilities:

• Background Features: Wanderer (memorize layout of outdoor areas, forage for up to six people); proficient with musical instrument (topshur)
• Fighting Style: Archery (+2 to hit with ranged weapons)
• Second Wind (heal 1d10+1 HP as a bonus action, once between rests)
• Feat: Mounted Combat (can redirect attacks against mount to himself; advantage vs. unmounted foes; mount gains Evasion)

Gear: Studded leather armor, quiver with 20 arrows, longbow, scimitar, explorer's pack, hunting trap, trophy (snow leopard pelt cloak), set of traveler's clothes, belt pouch, topshur

Advancement-wise I'd be torn between really upping the archery ante with Battle Master (and Precise Strike) or going the more visceral Champion route and possibly picking up a melee-friendly second Fighting Style (Dueling, the better to run them down from horseback; or Two-Weapon Fighting, to dismount and become a whirlwind of dual-wielding scimitar death -- suck it, Drizzt). But in either case the Sharpshooter Feat seems certain.

 

[OHT]

Odyssey of the Dragonlords came in my lunch break today, so I had a nice 45 mins to flick through it.

BLIMEY! (or should that be BLEMYS! - yes, they are in here).

This thing is mad, big, bad, and dangerous to know.

Seriously, if you're looking for epic with a capital E, then this may be your thing.

On first blush, I simultaneously think it's awesome and also a bit problematic in the way it seems to run.

You're billy big-bollocks straight out of the gate. You have an Epic Destiny (you choose one of 8 presented) and so are already marked for great things. The world is inhabited by bone-fide Gods and mythical beings and you meet them straight up. You can choose one of the mythic races for your character (although i'm not too sure on actually allowing half of them) and the sub-classes you chose have a healthy dose of Greek myth to them - Barbarian Herculean for example, or a Bard from the college of Epic Poetry. I'm rather partial to the Sceptic or Stoic Wizard.

Anyhow, this is all great for wanting to get a feeling of epic from level 1. The problem is that as you're fated, your essentially on rails. For a one off Greek myth campaign, I can live with it, but I don't think everyone will be ok with it.

Just some first thoughts. I've got a lot of reading to do, so some of the above may be wrong.

Oh, the bestiary is fucking awesome and the art majestic.

 

[robertsconley]

The DM’s Guild lets you use WotC IP. All the published stuff that is off limits with the OGL is useable.
Let me summon robertsconley , he might not be an IP/Trademark/Copyright/Patent attorney, but he’s close enough.

Sorry for the belated answer. The advantage of the DM's Guild is that you can use nearly all of WoTC corpus. In addition you can use some but not all WoTC settings like Forgotten Realms and Ravenloft. However they don't allow the use of original settings.

DM's Guild is an OK deal if your ideas depends on using Forgotten Realms, one of the other support settings, or it needs to use content that hasn't been released in the 5e SRD. Otherwise you are better off using the OGL and publishing it on your own on DriveThruRPG.

 

[CRKrueger]

Upon hearing that The Hu has scheduled a show here in Rio, I was compelled to break out the D&D5 chargen app and try and stat up a Mongol-ish warrior for D&D5.

Heh, the original Mongols Motorcycle Club.

Bringing up the Mongols, there's something that doesn't get taken into account often enough in RPGs and that's background and culture. You look at Mongols, Vikings, Spartans, you see something similar, namely an absolutely brutal existence and a warrior culture. It's easy to imagine that there are no "average" Mongols, they never made it to adulthood and if they did, they certainly weren't warriors. Unless you grew up in gladiator pits or something, there's no way a civilized warrior could match them...unless the civilization was so civilized as to have a professional fighting class that was trained from a young age ie. knights, samurai, legionnaires, etc.

In D&D where the Dwarven Trollslayer, Elven Wardancer, and Human Militiamen are all mathematically the same, it's really hard to get a Mongol or a Spartan out of it. You can get generic vanilla Horse Archer793 or Phalanx Fighter201 out of it though.

 

[CRKrueger]

Odyssey of the Dragonlords came in my lunch break today, so I had a nice 45 mins to flick through it.

BLIMEY! (or should that be BLEMYS! - yes, they are in here).

This thing is mad, big, bad, and dangerous to know.

Seriously, if you're looking for epic with a capital E, then this may be your thing.

On first blush, I simultaneously think it's awesome and also a bit problematic in the way it seems to run.

You're billy big-bollocks straight out of the gate. You have an Epic Destiny (you choose one of 8 presented) and so are already marked for great things. The world is inhabited by bone-fide Gods and mythical beings and you meet them straight up. You can choose one of the mythic races for your character (although i'm not too sure on actually allowing half of them) and the sub-classes you chose have a healthy dose of Greek myth to them - Barbarian Herculean for example, or a Bard from the college of Epic Poetry. I'm rather partial to the Sceptic or Stoic Wizard.

Anyhow, this is all great for wanting to get a feeling of epic from level 1. The problem is that as you're fated, your essentially on rails. For a one off Greek myth campaign, I can live with it, but I don't think everyone will be ok with it.

Just some first thoughts. I've got a lot of reading to do, so some of the above may be wrong.

Oh, the bestiary is fucking awesome and the art majestic.

Oh goddamn you. I was on the fence about this one and here you had to go and kick me off.

 

[OHT]

The Centaur Druid picture on page 375 is just jaw-dropping.

Sorcerer's get the Demi-God origin. There's a spell to ascend to Godhood, and the game also provides another means to do so by using 3 artifacts and providing a list of feats (in the Greek God sense rather than d&d buff sense) you must achieve before apotheosis. This is based on the Domain you want to represent once ascended. A tip, don't bother trying to achieve becoming a God of Death. You need to destroy CR 100 of monsters in a single day for that....

 

[Voros]

...However they don't allow the use of original settings.

Perhaps I’m misunderstanding you here but there is a lot of DM’s Guild material set in original homebrewed settings, although as you say the main attraction to publishing via the Guild is the attraction of being able to use FR, Ravenloft and now Greyhawk as a setting.

 

[Voros]

Odyssey of the Dragonlords came in my lunch break today, so I had a nice 45 mins to flick through it.

BLIMEY! (or should that be BLEMYS! - yes, they are in here).

This thing is mad, big, bad, and dangerous to know.

Seriously, if you're looking for epic with a capital E, then this may be your thing.

On first blush, I simultaneously think it's awesome and also a bit problematic in the way it seems to run.

You're billy big-bollocks straight out of the gate. You have an Epic Destiny (you choose one of 8 presented) and so are already marked for great things. The world is inhabited by bone-fide Gods and mythical beings and you meet them straight up. You can choose one of the mythic races for your character (although i'm not too sure on actually allowing half of them) and the sub-classes you chose have a healthy dose of Greek myth to them - Barbarian Herculean for example, or a Bard from the college of Epic Poetry. I'm rather partial to the Sceptic or Stoic Wizard.

Anyhow, this is all great for wanting to get a feeling of epic from level 1. The problem is that as you're fated, your essentially on rails. For a one off Greek myth campaign, I can live with it, but I don't think everyone will be ok with it.

Just some first thoughts. I've got a lot of reading to do, so some of the above may be wrong.

Oh, the bestiary is fucking awesome and the art majestic.

Sounds cool.

 

[OHT]

Sounds cool.

I've started a separate 'where I read' thread for Odyssey of the Dragonlords so as not to de-rail this thread too much.

WIR: Odyssey of the Dragonlords 5e - Completed

WIR: Odyssey of the Dragonlords 5e I'm going to need some discipline in order to get through this massive 460 page 5e campaign book. I'm certainly going to run it in the future, so what better way to get to know it and inform the board at the same time than a 'where I read' thread? I'm torn...

www.rpgpub.com

 

[robertsconley]

Perhaps I’m misunderstanding you here but there is a lot of DM’s Guild material set in original homebrewed settings, although as you say the main attraction to publishing via the Guild is the attraction of being able to use FR, Ravenloft and now Greyhawk as a setting.

They don't allow Greyhawk as far as I understand. As far as homebrewed settings go you will have to post an example because the guideline clearly only allow generics or one on the approved list.

Link to FAQ

Relevant sections

I don’t see anything that would stop me from publishing a Greyhawk or Zendikar or Dark Sun product on DMs Guild. Can I do that?

For now, DMs Guild is limited to the Forgotten Realms, Ravenloft, Eberron, and Ravnica settings only, although you can also publish anything for 5th Edition that (i) is generic enough to be used in a permitted setting without effort and (ii) doesn’t explicitly use anything related to another official Wizards setting.

I have a new game setting I’ve developed. Can I post it to DMs Guild?

No. The DMs Guild site is geared toward setting-neutral, Forgotten Realms, Ravenloft, Eberron, and Ravnica content only.

If you have a campaign setting of your own, that would fall under the OGL and be perfect for your publisher account on DriveThruRPG.

Now I found out that these guidelines are enforced by the company not by DriveThruRPG. So if the administrator of DM's Guild is not enforcing the above then what not being practiced is not following what has been written. Which in the long run could be bad if somebody at WoTC decided to give a shit about it.

 

[Voros]

They don't allow Greyhawk as far as I understand. As far as homebrewed settings go you will have to post an example because the guideline clearly only allow generics or one on the approved list.

Link to FAQ

Relevant sections




Now I found out that these guidelines are enforced by the company not by DriveThruRPG. So if the administrator of DM's Guild is not enforcing the above then what not being practiced is not following what has been written. Which in the long run could be bad if somebody at WoTC decided to give a shit about it.

I assumed that GH was now allowed since Ghosts of Saltmarsh is set in GH. There is also a load of Saltmarsh content on the Guild. Weird.

But yeah I was thinking of the rather cool Green Bird RPGs which seems quite distinctly unique in setting as well as a number of other material on DMs Guild. As you say I suspect that the ‘no homebrew’ rule on the Guild is not being too strictly enforced. Combine that with all the GH Saltmarsh content and I suspect WotC just hasn’t updated the Guild’s guidelines.

 

[OHT]

Cool stuff for 5e is starting to come out now. This book is based on Welsh Arthurian legend.

The Camlann Chronicles

Camlann Chronicles is a Welsh and Brythonic themed campaign for both 5th edition and the Lore 100 System.

www.kickstarter.com

 

[OHT]

Interesting. Hot on the heels of Odyssey of the Dragonlords, WotC are releasing an official setting book for Theros, one of their magic settings which is even more obviously Greek than Dragonlords. I presume both sets of authors knew the other was coming out and also wonder if they are compatible. If you've been following along on my WIR thread you'll know that I think you'll struggle a bit to use that book as a campaign setting before/after/during the campaign, so it'll be interesting if this is very much its own thing or can be matched to Dragonlords.

WIKI - Theros

theros

www.enworld.org

 

[OHT]

It has an entry on Amazon now. They don't always get their info right at the early stages so this may be wrong, but it's listed at the same price as other books but the page count is 180.

 

[The Butcher]

It has an entry on Amazon now. They don't always get their info right at the early stages so this may be wrong, but it's listed at the same price as other books but the page count is 180.

D&D5 is hardly the first system I’d think of for Classical Greek-accented fantasy, so I’m not really the target audience for either book.

But if your “let’s read” thread is anything to go by, I’m skeptical of Wizards’ ability to supersede or even meaningfully complement Odyssey of the Dragonlords with this page count.

 

[OHT]

A new area of the Forgotten Realms!

Looks like this might be a test of the water like the original Eberron pdf was. Anyway, link to some info below.

D&D 5E - Ed Greenwood & Alex Kammer Working On 'The Border Kingdoms'

Designer Alex Kammer has shared some information about a Forgotten Realms expansion he and FR-creator Ed Greenwood are working on. It will be Adventurer's League-legal, and detail a frontier corner of the Forgotten Realms. "A little project that [Ed Greenwood] and I have been working on - a...

www.enworld.org

 

[The Butcher]

A new area of the Forgotten Realms!

Looks like this might be a test of the water like the original Eberron pdf was. Anyway, link to some info below.

D&D 5E - Ed Greenwood & Alex Kammer Working On 'The Border Kingdoms'

Designer Alex Kammer has shared some information about a Forgotten Realms expansion he and FR-creator Ed Greenwood are working on. It will be Adventurer's League-legal, and detail a frontier corner of the Forgotten Realms. "A little project that [Ed Greenwood] and I have been working on - a...

www.enworld.org

I think I understand the corporate reasoning behind more and more FR but fuuuuuuuuuuuck the missed opportunities for awesomeness do pile on.

 

[Voros]

I think I understand the corporate reasoning behind more and more FR but fuuuuuuuuuuuck the missed opportunities for awesomeness do pile on.

I think this is more a third party/DM’s Guild kinda release isn’t it?

 

[TJS]

I think this is more a third party/DM’s Guild kinda release isn’t it?

That was my impression.

 

[The Butcher]

I think this is more a third party/DM’s Guild kinda release isn’t it?

That was my impression.

My mistake. I thought it was a Wizards thingie.

 

[The Mad Hatter]

There is already an Ancient Greece inspired setting for D&D 5th.

It is called Arkadia. Doens't know how it compares to Odyssey of the Dragonlords though.

Direct link: Arkadia - The Greek Setting for 5E

 

[Magister]

A new area of the Forgotten Realms!

Looks like this might be a test of the water like the original Eberron pdf was. Anyway, link to some info below.

D&D 5E - Ed Greenwood & Alex Kammer Working On 'The Border Kingdoms'

Designer Alex Kammer has shared some information about a Forgotten Realms expansion he and FR-creator Ed Greenwood are working on. It will be Adventurer's League-legal, and detail a frontier corner of the Forgotten Realms. "A little project that [Ed Greenwood] and I have been working on - a...

www.enworld.org

Gamehole Con has had Convention Created Content modules set in the Border Kingdoms the past two years. The link above has a link to the Border Kingdoms lore document on DMs Guild which describes plans for that use of the setting.

 

[Moracai]

After the next week it is time to give my DMing viking hat to the next in line. Yesterday I made 2 new characters. One for an Eberron campaign and one for Descent into Avernus.

For Eberron:

Anastrianna Amastacia
Aerenal Elf Wizard, chaotic good. Will specialize in Enchantments. She has the charlatan background, and has ran sleight of hand cons on street corners. Flattery is her preferred method of getting what she wants, and she is convinced that nobody can fool her the way she does others. Her memory is excellent, but but often pretends being absent minded. She has a weasel familiair named Sir Edgar, who wears a nice hat. As of yet, I haven't picked any purely offensive spells for her. She tries to pass off as a non-spellcaster, so she doesn't have an arcane focus, and relies on material components, also her spellbook is disguised as love poetry.

For Descent into Avernus

Urzog the Unwashable
Goblin fighter, neutral. Will become a battlemaster. He has the urchin background. His tribe was nearly wiped out by adventurers (tropey, I know..), and was saved by a notorious thief. Urzog was forced to steal and spy to make a living, and ran with a group of ruffians in some big city. They taught him how to get stuff through sneakiness rather than direct confrontation. He'd rather kill someone in their sleep than fight fair. In fact he'd rather kill someone than take a bath...Hence the name.