D&D Next Next

So, WOTC has announced that the next version of D&D will come out in 2024, ten years after 5e was released.  From what they're saying, the new version will be 100% compatible with 5e, making it more of a 5.5 than a brand new edition.  

Ten years is a pretty good run for a D&D edition.  Third only went three years before 3.5 came out, and 4e came out five years after that.  Hopefully 5.5 will be strong enough to last at least another decade.

To me, the longevity of a system's rules is one of the most important factors.  When you ask your friends to play Monopoly, nobody ever replies, "You mean Monopoly 3.5 or 5e?"  And really, that's what I want for D&D.  I want a set of rules that lasts for so long, that it just becomes "D&D".  D&D 5e had that sort of potential from the start, with its extra-long playtest and the "bounded accuracy" keeping the numbers in check.  Now that they've had 10 years of errata, tweaks, and customer complaints, I'm hoping that 5.5 is strong enough to keep D&D the most recognizable name in tabletop RPGs.

I don't care if it outshines other RPGs.  Different RPGs are better at different things, and that's great!  D&D doesn't need to be the best RPG, it just needs to be the most accessible.  Let people start with D&D, then move on to other systems once they know which aspects of tabletop RPGs are their favorite.  People who want more crunch can try X.  People who want even fewer rules can try Y.  People who want a system more optimized for sci-fi, westerns, or modern eras can try Z.  

In this role, D&D could actually benefit all tabletop RPGs, by bringing new people to the hobby.  And honestly, I think they tried to do that with 5e.  By simplifying the rules, and making an abridged version of the rules free on their website, they pulled in a lot of new players who might not have tried it otherwise.  D&D has experienced a boom in the last decade, and while I know there were other factors (such as Stranger Things, and the general mainstreaming of geek culture), I do think 5e's simplicity was a big draw.

So what do I want to see in the new version?  Frankly, I'm not the best person to ask.  My ideas for RPGs are all over the place, and I have no idea how to make one that appeals to the masses.  So let's start with the obvious:  Integrate all the errata from the past decade, address the most common complaints, incorporate the new stat bonus rules presented in Tasha's, and put a better version of the Ranger in the PHB.

Beyond that, I want 5.5 designed in a way that appeals to newcomers more than the old guard.  Experienced gamers already know about Pathfinder, Savage Worlds, and a thousand other RPGs.  If they're not satisfied with D&D 5.5 (and let's face it, they won't be), they already know what games they're going to play instead.  While 5e tried to appease everyone by offering alternate rules all over the place, this time I think the alternate rules should be confined to the DM's guide.

I want Standard Array to be the default way to generate stats.  I just heard some of you groan, but hear me out.  Point buy and rolling stats would still be listed in the DM's guide as valid alternate rules.  But Standard Array is the simplest way to generate stats.  It could still list a couple of alternate arrays for those who want a more specialized character, and those who want more average numbers across the board.  I would also like stat bonuses to be tied to class or background instead of race.  The Tasha variant is fine, but it feels like a patch.  

I want them to at least attempt to future proof their language.  "Race" should now be called heritage or ancestry or something along those lines.  Look, I don't personally think "race" is a dirty word; in fact I think the word makes more sense the way D&D uses it than the way real life uses it.  But it is a politically-charged word, and it already was so before 5e hit the shelves, so WOTC has no excuse for ignoring trends.  If they change it in 5.5, there will be some grumbling from grognards, but newcomers won't care.  And newcomers are the future of the hobby.

This won't happen, but I want books divided by category.  Instead of splatbooks that contain 8 new subclasses, 4 new races, 20 new monsters, and some lore, I want a book of races, a book of subclasses, and so on.  

I'd like the Bard to have a specific "Bard Song" feature by default, or at least have a subclass in the PHB with that feature.  Just a song they can sing, instead of Bardic Inspiration, that gives a small buff to one ore more members of the party.  See the "Battle Hymn" feature in the EN Publishing's "Level Up" playtest for an example of this.  I love Bards, but 5e's version never felt Bardy enough for me. 

I want more app integration.  Apps are probably the future of tabletop RPGs.  I don't want to have to pay for the physical book and then buy it again on D&D Beyond.  Have each copy of the PHB include a sealed envelope with an online code inside.  

Beyond that, I think 5e is a perfectly lovely system, and I'm looking forward to the updated version.  I hope they didn't shoot themselves in the foot by announcing the update so early.  Early announcements like this have been known to be self-sabotaging, as consumers put off purchasing the current product in favor of waiting for the new version.  I wonder what their book sales will be like for the next three years.  Only time will tell.

First Impression: The Wild Beyond the Witchlight

I'm a sucker for the Feywild.  While others might prefer the more grounded, "King Arthur meets Lord of the Rings" campaigns, I tend to favor the fairy tale aspects of RPGs.  I don't always buy campaign books, but I knew "The Wild Beyond the Witchlight: A Feywild Adventure" was going to be mine as soon as it was announced. 

So what's in this book?  It's mostly an adventure set in the Feywild, with a few pages of Feywild-related character options.  

The introduction includes a chart of 100 Feywild-related trinkets, followed by two new backgrounds: Feylost and Witchlight Hand.  Feylost are people who spent a few years of their youth lost in the Feywild.  Witchlight Hands are people who work at the carnival where this module's adventure begins.

Next we have two new races:  Fairy and Harengon (Rabbitfolk).  These races are slightly updated from their previous appearance in Unearthed Arcana.  Most of the changes are just wording, though the fairy did lose its "Fey Passage" ability from the UA.  This book does not include the Owlfolk or Hobgoblin races from the same UA.

The adventure is designed to take characters from level 1 to level 8, though you can start at level 3 for an easier campaign.  I haven't read through the entire adventure yet, but supposedly every combat has a non-violent option, in case you want to make a pacifist run.  However, only clever players will be able to find ways around every combat.

The story begins at the Witchlight Carnival, a traveling fair that visits many dimensions.  It only visits this plane every eight years, so there is some pressure to accept the quest before it packs up and leaves.  While the theme is similar to the Carnival domain in Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft, they aren't related as far as I can tell (Edit: Turns out they do share a connection, but they are not the same carnival).  So apparently there's more than one dimension-hopping carnival in the D&D universe.

There are two possible plot hooks.  One involves the PCs looking for something they lost at the Carnival in their youth, such as their ability to smile or their sense of direction.  In the other hook, a retired warlock hires you to find his missing patron.  If you pick the first hook, the locations of the lost items are determined randomly (similar to the Tarokka reading in Curse of Strahd), giving the adventure more replay value.

While exploring the Carnival, the PCs eventually find a Fey Crossing that takes them to the Feywild Domain of Prismeer.  Prismeer is divided into three lands: Hither, Thither, and Yon.  The adventure culminates in the centrally-located "Palace of Heart's Desire".  

After the adventure, there is a section on new magic items.  Of note, there is a "Pole of Collapsing" that reminds me of Diana's weapon in the 80s cartoon.  Then we have a section on factions of Prismeer, which describes important members of each faction.  This includes some familiar faces from classic D&D, such as Kelek, Warduke, and Strongheart.  I used to have some of their action figures, and I can't wait to see how they figure into the adventure.

Next we have a section on monsters used in the adventure.  It's nice to see the Campestri (happy singing mushrooms) again.  It appears this book is full of classic D&D references, and I'm probably not even catching half of them.  

Then we have some roleplaying cards and story trackers meant to make running the campaign easier.  It looks like you're meant to photocopy these pages, so you can cut out the cards and write on the trackers.  At least I hope people aren't cutting up their books and writing in them.

Finally there is a fold-out map, meant to show to the players.  One side is a layout of the carnival, and the other side is a general map of Prismeer.  I'm not crazy about the maps, as they aren't really detailed enough to be useful, and including maps only hurts the resale value of the book when the maps inevitably get damaged or lost.  Even tearing out the map leaves a sort of torn mess at the back of the book, but leaving the map in makes the pages turn funny... look, I'm just not a fan of removable maps.

While I can't really comment on the adventure itself yet, I like what I've read so far.  I do wish they had included more playable races, but it is meant to be a campaign book, not a sourcebook.  Overall, I think the book is worth the money.

The Domains of Ravenloft

Earlier this year I purchased "Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft" and posted my initial impressions. The largest section of the book described several of the more prominent Ravenloft domains. I saved this section for last, partly so that I could write my previous blog sooner, but mostly so that I could savor the book.

As I said before, Van Richten's Guide has more for DMs than players. In fact, the majority of it feels like a book of writing prompts. When it's not offering tips on how to give your story a scary atmosphere, it's giving you once sentence plot hooks you're expected to flesh out yourself. The Domains of Dread chapter is no different.

We're given just enough information about each world to jump start our own creativity. If you use this book - and no other source - to start a campaign, you'll probably take the adventures in directions the world builders never considered. You'll probably even end up contradicting established canon, but hey, it's D&D. All worlds are your world, to alter and expand as you please.

Each domain gives examples of typical adventures in the domain. These are invaluable to me, as I sometimes have trouble seeing past a domain's main schtick. Seeing what typical minor quests look like helps me figure out how to craft my own. Otherwise, my mind might be stuck on defeating the Darklord.

Here are my impressions of the domains presented in the book. Other than Barovia, I had no previous knowledge of these universes. I won't be surprised if my impressions are off, given the limited space each domain is given in the book.

I've given each domain a rating between 1 and 5 stars.  This should in no way be used to indicate the quality of the world, just my own interest in playing/running such a campaign.


Featured Domains - These domains are given about four to six pages each, with lengthy descriptions of their Darklords, geography, and sample plot hooks.


Barovia *****
Having already read "The Curse of Strahd", I didn't learn much new here. But for those who haven't read COS, there is a good bit of info here to get you started. Barovia is the ultimate horror domain. While it's primarily themed around Dracula-type stories, the domain is also home to werewolves, zombies, witches, and other classic monstrosities. This is the world I would reskin if I was running a "Castlevania" campaign.

Bluetspur ***
Do you like mindflayers? This Illithid world is interesting, but it feels mostly geared toward one specific plot. Remember that episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" where interdimensional aliens kidnap crew members while they sleep, so they can perform experiments on them? Well, here's an entire domain based on that episode. Of course it has more potential than that, but it still feels pretty limited as a world.

Borca **
A domain filled with shady deals and social intrigue. It feels like a cross between a mob movie and a soap opera. I like the domain's two Darklords, they remind me of DC's Poison Ivy and the Toyman. I wouldn't be against playing in this world, but I wouldn't want to run it. I don't think I could manage all the complex manipulations.

The Carnival *****
This is one of my favorites, and I wish they had devoted more pages to it. It's exactly what it says on the tin - a traveling domain that takes the form of a carnival. It might work best in a low magic setting, where the characters aren't as jaded by wondrous sights. The domain's Darklord is not a person, but a sentient weapon, which is a neat twist.

Darkon **
It's hard to get too excited about a setting with an oh-so-creative name like "Darkon". This is a post-apocalyptic domain, but it's not your everyday apocalypse. The domain no longer has a Darklord, and his departure triggered this world's doom. Now the land is divided by tendrils of impassable mists, making it difficult to travel between areas. The Darklord's absence has also left a power vacuum, and several powerful characters vie to fill that void.

Dementlieu ***
The Darklord is a twisted version of Cinderella, who disintegrates people she believes are acting above their station. And yet every week, a grand Masquerade is held where poor people attempt to pass themselves off wealthy aristocrats. To these people, it's worth the risk of death to keep up appearances. It's a cool concept, but once again it seems to only lend itself to a handful of plots.

Falkovnia **
A land beseiged by hordes of zombies, where survivors are forcibly conscripted into military service. The citizens know that their land is doomed, and would prefer to take their chances fleeing into the mists. But the domain's Darklord is an evil general who executes any who try to flee. Feels more like a war story than zombie horror. Reminds me of World War Z.

Har'Akir **
A world inspired by Ancient Egypt. The Darklord is a mummy who is looking for a missing piece of his soul. It's not bad. I'm not a huge fan of desert settings, but there's a lot of potential here for massive dungeons, tomb raiding, and Indiana Jones style adventures. Just one of the suggested plot hooks - having the Darklord's soul split into several pieces, each in its own dungeon - could make for an entire campaign.

Hazlan **
A world ruled by powerful, careless Wizards. Non-magical citizens live in fear of the devastations the Wizards cause, often in the name of experimentation. It kind of reminds me of the Dark Sun setting, except taking place before the apocalypse that turned it into a desert.

I'Cath **
An Asian-inspired world that is divided into waking and dream lands. Conscious people fight for food during the day, and hide from ghosts during the night. Sleeping people share a dream where they are forced to do repetitive jobs to please the realm's Darklord.

Kalakeri *
Tropical rainforests, political intrigue, warring factions, and nothing I found interesting. It has a spin-off world, Niranjan (in "Other Domains of Dread", below), which I found much more intriguing.

Kartakass **
All the world's a stage, yada yada yada. A land of actors, musicians, and werewolves. Most of the domains are meant to be prisons for their Darklords, but this is one of the few where the Darklord isn't the most powerful being in the domain. As a Bard lover, you would think this would be one of my favorites, but it didn't do much for me.

Lamordia ****
I love this one. Basically an entire domain based on Frankenstein. Lots of steampunk tech and science gone wrong. Reminds me a little of my own Itropa. It also has one of my favorite Darklords. I'm not sure if I'd run a campaign set here, but I'm definitely stealing the Darklord and putting her somewhere in my next campaign.

Mordent ***
Ghosts, ghosts, and more ghosts. This is probably the second most well-known domain of Ravenloft, home to characters such as Rudolph Van Richten himself, and locations like the House on Gryphon Hill. Everyone who dies here becomes a ghost, so it's the perfect setting for a good ghost story.

Richemulot **
It feels like the entire setting is based on the Black Plague. The domain is plagued with disease-ridden rats, with a Wererat organization behind the scenes. I like the Darklord, but the setting is just so-so. But it is timely - if you wanted to incorporate this past year's events into a campaign, this would be your domain. Not me, though. I game to escape reality.

Tepest ****
Another really good one. This one has elements of The Wicker Man, Children of the Corn, or really any "creepy little town" story. In a domain full of evil fey, one community is unusually friendly toward visitors. But soon the PCs notice the town's odd little quirks, leading up to a seasonal fertility ritual that culminates in a sacrifice.

Valachan ****
Another hit. Drawing inspiration from Predator and The Hunger Games, Valachan is a living jungle filled with dangerous plants and werepanthers. The Darklord forces victims to participate in a blood hunt called the Trial of Hearts.


Other Domains of Dread - These domains are given much less page space, usually just a paragraph describing the world and its Darklord. What I said before about writing prompts is doubly true here; there's just enough information to spark your imagination, but you'll have to supply the meat yourself. It's hard to rate these, since there's not much information there, but I'm still giving them stars based on how much they spark my imagination.


Cyre 1313, The Mourning Rail ****
I wish this one had gotten more space. This is a mobile domain, a ghost train from Eberron that travels through the mists.

Forlorn *
I Was A Teenage Dhampir. The Darklord is a perpetually young man who is a dhampir during the day, and a ghost at night. It tells almost nothing about the land itself, though.

Ghastria **
Shades of Dorian Gray. The Darklord's immortality is tied to a painting, which he sometimes uses to absorb people's souls.

G'henna *
Features a Darklord who sacrifices people to a fictitious god.

Invidia **
A bad mother, a devious child, and a long line of servants who mysteriously disappear.

Keening ****
A spin-off realm of Tepest. Residents of a village intentionally deafen themselves so they don't fall victim to the wails of a nearby banshee.

Klorr ***
An apocalypse world. This is where other domains go to die.

Markovia ***
A land of sapient animals, the result of a scientist's strange experiments.

The Nightmare Lands ***
Exactly what it says on the tin.

Niranjan ***
This was once a part of Kalakeri, but it became its own domain. In a remote monastery, a wizened sage offers inner peace to those who seek out this domain. Except it's all a scam, and those who fall for it are stripped of their possessions and lives.

Nova Vaasa *
A nomadic tribe led by a Darklord with a split personality.

Odaire ****
Evil toys killed all the parents in a village, and now the children are literally ruled by a puppet dictator.

The Rider's Bridge **
A haunted bridge leading who-knows-where, guarded by a headless horseman. Cool and creepy, but feels like it could just be an encounter in another domain.

Risibilos ***
A music hall featuring a cursed ventriloquist act.

Scaena ****
A theater that only produces bloody, deadly plays.

Sea of Sorrows ****
A pirate ship with a cursed crew travels the waters between domains. There's a lot of potential with this one, and it could easily be worked into any Ravenloft domain that borders the ocean.

The Shadowlands **
This feels like a corruption of the King Arthur legend, but it doesn't have enough information to get my imagination started.

Souragne **
The Darklord is a sadistic warden who enjoys torturing prisoners.

Staunton Bluffs ***
A neverending war, as a traitor is forced to relive the worst day of her life over and over.

Tovag **
Once Vecna's champion, the vampire Kas betrayed his master. Now he searches the domains of Ravenloft to find his infamous sword, so he can face Vecna again.

Vhage Agency ***
A single-room domain, the office of a detective agency. Everything appears black-and-white, and the detective/Darklord tracks mysteries across all of Ravenloft's domains.

Zherisia **
A city where citizens are stalked by a doppelganger serial killer.

Daggerford: Khemed is Sus

 Game Date: 9/4/2021

Location: Roll20
Campaign: Daggerford, Session 20

System: D&D 5e
DM: Mike

The Party:
Azul (Cliff) Dragonborn Fighter

Nikolice Gomez (Steven) - Human Fighter 

Khemed (Rusty) Half-Elf Wizard
Navine/"Spider" (Steve) Elf Rogue
Vanya (Matt) Half-Elf Bard

The Session:

When we left off, we were running around the halls of Dragonspear Castle, and ran straight into a jailbreak.  Several humans, elves, and halflings were fleeing from Red Wizards and Undead.  We changed perspective to see what Khemed had been doing at the same time.

While we had been exploring last session, Khemed had been working with an apprentice wizard, who wanted to overthrow the imposter leader of the Red Wizards.  The apprentice had mistaken Khemed for their true leader, so Khemed played the part.

The apprentice showed Khemed around their operations, including the prison cells guarded by wights.  Khemed tried to bluff his authority over the wights, but failed.  The wights attacked.  The apprentice fired off a fireball spell, hitting all the wights and himself.  The fireball also destroyed the cell doors, causing the prison break the rest of the party encountered at the end of last session.

The apprentice prepared to throw another fireball at the fleeing prisoners, hoping to raise them as undead slaves.  Before he could fire, Navine fired an arrow at the apprentice.  Khemed then pulled rank and ordered the apprentice not to fire.  Finally... somehow... we managed to deescalate the fighting, and reached a truce.  We took a short rest.

We left our Dwarf allies and ex-prisoners in a room full of Dwarven ale barrels, and we accompanied the Red Wizards as we explored more of the castle.  Navine scouted North to look around the corner, and saw where two wights were still guarding the Dwarven King's room.  She fired off a shot at one wight, then ran back to the party.  We all prepared actions, but the wights didn't attack us.  Navine went back to the corner and looked again, but the wights were gone.

We headed back to the room where we fought all the suits of armor last session.  There were a couple of doors on the North wall that allowed you to regenerate hit points and spell slots faster.  We opened the doors to find some animated armors waiting for us.  An imp joined the fight, but was taken out almost immediately.  Khemed enlarged Azul, who fought two armors in a doorway.  Nikolice killed one armor with a psionic strike, and Khemed killed one with a firebolt.  Navine finished off the final one by firing a shot between the enlarged Azul's legs.

Vanya used the spell recovery room, along with the Red Wizards.  She chatted with them, playing up Khemed's false identity.  They were skeptical, but Vanya rolled high on her deception check.  Azul and Nikolice used the hit point recovery room.  Meanwhile, Khemed explored some of the nearby halls, discovering some barrels of tar.  Once we were all rested, we headed South.  In one room, Nikolice found a large, flat, iron coin.  This was significant because we've found several chests with coin slots in various rooms.

Then we spotted some giant rats peeking from around the corner to the South.  Nikolice gave them some rations, but more showed up.  Soon he had seven giant rats staring at him expectantly.  He tried to tame them, but rolled badly.  Then Azul used his dragon breath on them, and they fled.  

We explored more hallways.  At the end of one was a small room, with another one of those iron chests.  There was also a hole in the wall, about Dwarf height.  Navine saw someone staring at him through the doorway, but they ran off.

Nikolice put the coin into the safe, and it opened.  It contained a Climber's Kit, a Healer's Kit, 3 flasks of Alchemist's Fire, a bronze merchant's scale, and a magnifying glass.  We went back South where the rats had been, and found a secret door to the outside.  In another hallway we found some stairs covered in rubble.  

We returned to the hallway East of the regeneration rooms, and headed North.  At the end of the hallway, another hallway ran West-East, with five doors on the North side.  Each doorway led to a crypt containing a sarcophagus.  The middle sarcophagus appeared to be opened.  Nikolice and Navine went to the middle crypt and examined all the frescoes in the room.  This is where we ended the session.