To hype the upcoming D&D 5.5 release, Arcana Unleashed, you can claim the Living Spell Play-Along Pack on D&D Beyond for free.
This previous the following content from the upcoming book:
Six living spell stat blocks
The evoker archmage stat block
The Agent of the Ninth Quill character background
The Arcane Infiltrator Origin feat
The Idol of Good Fortunes magic item
Ninth Quill faction info, including bastion and renown rewards
The first two episodes of the new season of Dungeon Masters are also available online. I haven’t watched them yet, but I loved the previous seasons Ravenloft actual plays.
D&D Dungeon Masters is a new live play series by WoTC. You can learn more by visiting the official site. All of the characters for campaign one are created using new options from the next D&D book, Ravenloft: The Horrors Within. Like most official live plays, the players are all actors and voice actors. Two notable players this time are Neil Newbon (Astarion) and Devora Wilde (Lae'zel). The first two episodes were uploaded in one video which you can watch below.
I want to start by saying I really enjoy this format. I'm not going to sit down every week and listen to Critical Role for hours, but I can definitely commit an hour and 10 minutes or so each week for this one. The players are all fun and despite the brevity of it all, have presented some great characters with a great amount of intrigue. Also I'm always down for new Ravenloft.
Each week will also see a "Play-Along Pack." Each pack will include an encounter based on that week's episode and preview a new monster from Ravenloft: The Horrors Within. The first Play-Along Pack is free, but to get the others you need to pre-order the book on D&D Beyond.
I’ve really been diving into Shadowdark RPG and looking for online resources. While his content is primarily focuses on drow lore and D&D 2024 content, I found some Shadowdark RPG stats on The Drow Historian Patreon.
You can get a quality pdf version here and if you're a drow fan, you should support the Patreon.
I had to share this piece by Becky Appleyard because it combines two things I love. This is a spoiler of sorts for the Baldur's Gate 3 Find the Nightsong quest.
I will admit I'm a little late to the game, but I've been listening to Chappell Roan a lot recently and after watching a skit was inspired to create a magic item based on Pink Pony Club.
The original music video:
And here's a D&D appropriate bardcore cover:
For Your Game
Ser Roan was a charismatic servant and temple guardian of the Red Knight. Though born of humble origins, her brilliance and willingness to actively aid those that came to her chapel garnered her the admiration of common folk and outcasts. While she was short of stature and had a lithe figure, her fiery red curls and signature weapon made her stand out. She wielded an old relic of her faith, a magical mace cast from a red metal. With a head shaped like a knight chess piece, the metal had started to fade to a pale red with time, though it retained its enchantments. Ser Roan served the people nobly until she met her untimely end while questing for her goddess. Bards still sing her tales.
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Pink Pony Club (OSE)
Bonus: The Pink Pony Club grants a +1 bonus to both attack and damage rolls made using it.
Mounted Bonus: If the wielder is mounted the Pink Pony Club instead grants a +3 bonus to both attack and damage rolls made using it.
Celestial Mount: Once per day you can summon a celestial steed. This creature uses the War Horse stat block and remains until killed or the wielder dismisses it. If the steed is killed the wielder must perform a day long ritual before using this ability again.
Pink Pony Club (D&D 2024)
Weapon (Mace), Rare (Requires Attunement)
You gain a +1 bonus to attack rolls and damage rolls made with this magic weapon. The bonus increases to +3 when you use the weapon when to attack while mounted.
You have advantage on all Charisma (Performance) rolls.
You call on the aid of a celestial steed. You may cast the spell Find Steed (Celestial version only) spell at second level without expending a spell slot and you regain the ability to do so when you finish a Long Rest.
Hold Back The Dead is a new free adventure available on D&D Beyond designed to highlight new monsters featured in the new version of the Monster Manual. The adventure is designed for four six level 4 characters, just like Scions of Elemental Evil and Uni and the Hunt for the Lost Horn. Also like those adventures the premade characters included in this adventure are Niko and the cast of the classic D&D cartoon.
Hold Back The Dead is set in the Forgotten Realms and involves the mechanizations of one of the greatest threats to the Realms, the vile lich lord of Thay, Szass Tam. The characters are are tasked by the Lords Alliance to help guard Ironspine Keep, a fortress being repaired in order to watch over the Western Heartlands. Unfortunately for the goodly folks, Szass Tam can't allow this to happen and sends an army, lead by a spectral warlord, to take care of the mortals.
Meant to be played in a three or four our session, the adventure is broken down into four parts: First Wave, Second Wave, Siege Weapon Sabotage, and the Warlord. The adventure is pretty straight forward. The characters must fight off undead, handle and infiltration, and take out a wraith. It's all a simple, but solid piece. The adventure can help move a campaign forward too. Why does Szass Tam want the keep? Do the players use the Keep as a base of operations (turning it into a bastion)?
Uni and the Hunt for the Lost Horn is a new free D&D adventure available on D&D Beyond. It's a 4th level adventure written for D&D 2024/One D&D (or what I'm just referring to as 5.5).
Kelek the evil mage has stolen Uni the unicorn's horn and absconded with it to a demiplane. Players can play as the six heroes from the D&D animated series (and their new cleric friend, Niko) or play as their own characters.
The adventure itself is meant to be played in a single session, so it only features a few encounters. Most of the encounters can be solved with blade and sword or diplomacy.
If you're a fan of of the series you definitely want to check this out. We get stats for older versions of our favorite protagonists. This includes official stats for their powerful magic items. Finally, Venger, the big bad of the series, even makes a cameo.
The adventure can be played in the Realm the series featured, though there are also prompts for using it on Krynn, Faerun, and Oerth.
For the past few years I've been collecting the 1/12 scale D&D figures that Hasbro has been releasing. I ordered the Drizzt and Guenwyvar from Hasbro directly, but all of the others have been picked up at different Ollie's Bargain Outlets. I have about half of the line and once I start working again will start grabbing the rest of the figures.
Holga Kilgore, Diana, Drizzt Do'Urden and Guenwyvar, Simon Aumar, Doric (in owlbear form), Hank, Uni and Bobby
Displacer Beast, the Xanathar and Sylgar, Forge Fitzwilliams.
Haven't posted much recently because I don't have a challenge/project to keep me on schedule and been dealing with mental health things. I'll be back to posting regularly soon, I'm sure. I don't have any new content, but I would like to show off the really cool loot from an adventure I took yesterday.
I found a Themberchuad popcorn bucket and cloth Forgotten Realms map on Facebook Marketplace and decided to take a drive. I was able to snag both at a ridiculously cheap price. The dragon head is going to go on my bookshelf.
I love Themberchuad the chonky dragon. If you'd like to add him to your 5e game, check out this post.
This cloth map is really cool. After rewatching Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves today and (minus the D&D branding) it the same map that appears on screen at the beginning of the film,.
Though you cannot romance or sleep with Baldur's Gate 3's Raphael there is an interesting twist if you'd like to. Through a series of choices while in Avernus you can sleep with Haarlep, an incubus that looks just like Raphael (and who's name is an anagram of it). He can take both male and female forms.
Raphael is a seductive and silver-tongued antoginist from Baldur's Gate 3. He's the cambion son of Mephistopheles. He's also a full on Disney villain because he has a big musical number during your (potential) boss fight with him. I've posted a metal cover of it here.
I’ve featured content related to my favorite Faerunian cinnamon roll, Karlach before. Well a few weeks ago, Ring of Honor’s Athena dressed as her for a match at the Supercard of Honor.
Raphael is a devil you encounter during various scenes in Baldur’s Gate 3. He’s quite charming and is always trying to make a deal. Much to the surprise of many players, he breaks out into song like a Disney villain towards the end of the game if you fight him.
