A Different Dark Sun: Races, Part Two

It's been very rewarding reading through old Dark Sun books again. They are, in general, quite well done for the era in which they were designed, an era not always defined by what we would consider good and balanced gaming. But of course, that's part of the fun, isn't it? Sometimes you find that race/class combo that makes your character stand above expectations. I don't think this is strictly a bad thing.

Other times though, you get the 2E thri-kreen. And I'll get to that lovely confluence of madness near the end of today's entry.

First up, though...

The Athasian Dwarf

The dwarves of Athas, like most of the other non-human races, suffered terribly at the hands of those who would later become the sorcerer-kings. A vicious war of genocide claimed many of Athas's races in distant, forgotten epochs -- the dwarves nearly counted among them.

Athasian dwarves are cagey and quite different from their counterparts in other setting worlds, adapted to their environment in some harsh ways. You won't generally find dwarves on Athas with huge beards and faux-Scottish accents. Rather, many dwarves shave both face and scalp to deal with the searing daytime temperatures, frequently trading with the people of the city-states without a true culture to call their own. There is no dwarven homeland, no ancient underground citadel to which they might return.

They are quite stubborn however, so they have that in common with other dwarves, at least. Dwarves on Athas frequently devote themselves to a single goal, a focus, that they pursue with single-minded fanaticism. Once a dwarf focuses on something, it's easier to extract ore from rock with one's bare hands than it is to change that dwarf's mind.

The dwarves of Athas are identical to the mountain dwarf of the Player's Handbook, but I will be replacing their armor proficiency with the following:

Focused Mind. You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed by spells and effects.

I can already feel angry glares through the Internet. You nerfed the best combat-focused race from the Player's Handbook ever-so-slightly! How dare you! Tear up your books and flush your dice! All fun is binary!

Frankly, I don't see it come up much and I've been running this edition since its inception. If you're playing a mountain dwarf, chances are high you're already picking a class proficient in light and medium armor anyway. While I have fond memories of my breastplate-wearing mountain dwarf rogue, heavier armor types are hard to come by on Athas -- and owning a suit of metal armor just paints a huge target on your back.

I wanted to play up the dwarf's focus attribute without forcing a vague mechanic into it. Arguments around a table regarding whether a situation is related to one's focus to get a special buff just don't sound like fun to me. Focuses are best left to the dwarf's roleplaying and decisions rather than some wishy-washy system.

The Athasian Halfling

One of the first things Dark Sun aficionados say to folks who ask them about the setting is, "Dude, they have freakin' cannibal halflings."

And that is true. But not all halflings from the setting are like that, and it shouldn't be their defining trait. At the same time though, there's some lore from Dark Sun that is kind of weird regarding everyone's favorite diminutive race (unless you're one of those people who like gnomes*), and I alluded to it in the previous entry.

*My dislike of gnomes is legendary. PC races that are historically used for disruptive "trickster" behavior in my gaming past don't rate very high on my list. But on Dark Sun, they are all dead, so I merely steeple my fingers and make quiet "mmyes" noises. If you like gnomes, I don't judge you. Much.

What all modern-day Athasian halflings do have in common, though, is an aptitude for surviving the rigors of the world and a savagery that belies their stature. Halflings were touted as the only race that might eat a thri-kreen -- the other notable cannibal of the setting -- and that alone was enough to make the mantis warriors uneasy.

They also have a rich culture of art, storytelling, and reverence for the natural world (such as it is). Their racial bonuses should reflect that. To wit, they get this in addition to the base halfling stuff:

Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 1.
Nature Tender. You know the druidcraft cantrip.
Tribal Knowledge. You choose to be proficient in one of the following skills: History, Nature, Performance, Survival.

It lacks the super-stealthiness of the Lightfoot halfling, but has more of a tribal shaman vibe. I thought at first to give them any druid cantrip, but I feel like that would come down to only two "real" options; produce flame or shillelagh. The inclusion of druidcraft gives them a folksy sort of mysticism that reinforces the halfling character without just giving them a flat combat power buff.

The Athasian Dragonborn

There actually isn't anything to change here, as I see it. The dragonborn-as-PC-race on Athas only came about in 4E, and they were a re-skin of an existing Athasian race, the dray. It was the backstory of the dragonborn, in fact, that saw the most change. Stock dragonborn (at least, as inferred in their flavor text) tend towards goodness and virtue, while Athas's dray are pragmatic and devious.

The dray are the spawn of a sorcerer-king that was betrayed by his fellows. They are powerful and sly draconic humanoids twisted by dark magic into their new forms. Dray PCs in my conversion will belong to the Wayward Clans -- dragonborn cast out of the ruined city of Giustenal during an uprising. Statistically, there isn't much that needs to change from the dragonborn of the Player's Handbook, though I'd probably encourage all of them to be fire-based for consistency.

Some homebrew lore that will only make sense to people who know the setting:

"In year 36 of the calendar of Free Tyr, the city of Giustenal erupted in a storm of psychic energy invisible to all but the most accomplished students of the psionic arts. Several days after the event, packs of the mysterious creatures known as the dray poured from the shattered ruins of the city in apparent flight from an unseen danger.

"The truth of the event became known when small clans of these dray sought asylum in the city states of Nibenay and Gulg. Their fallen creator, the undead dragon king Dregoth, attempted and failed to bind a heinous psionic entity in the ruins of the city. The fallout from the event shook the faith of even his most ardent worshipers, and a rebellion erupted within the tunnels beneath the devastated landmark.

"The losers of this struggle, the Wayward Clans, were forced to flee from the city or risk destruction by their master and his loyal servants. With them came the terrible truth -- the dragon king, long thought destroyed by his contemporaries, lived still.

"With the Dragon of Tyr and several of the sorcerer-kings slain by a reawakened Rajaat, the remaining monarchs stayed their hand at a second attempt to destroy Dregoth. Were they fearful that the dragon king had achieved the mightiest stage of their terrible transformations and thus was beyond their ability to destroy? Or was it that they sought to make amends for their betrayal and gain a new ally in the struggle against the other city-states?

"The truth is not yet clear, but what is known is that Giustenal lives still, and both Dregoth and the psionic entity with which he fought make any forays into the ruins the most absolute of follies.

"The Wayward Clans that now wander the Tyr Region make their living as traders and mercenaries to the people of the city-states. Distinct subcultures have arisen within the clans, who sometimes feud with one another over territory and contracts. They keep their distance from most other races, however, due to their monstrous draconic appearance."

The Thri-Kreen

Hoo boy, here we go.

I love the thri-kreen. I also hate the thri-kreen. They are one of the most unique things about Athas and their inclusion as a player race was, and is, a wonderful idea. I would call you an excuse-making liar (I mean, politely and in good humor, of course) if you tried to make a case to me that they were at all balanced against the other player character races at the time they showed up as a PC race in 2E.

Compared to a starting player of any other race and class, thri-kreen had a host of powerful advantages, and they grew in power as they went. Most outstanding and abused was the fact that they have four arms, each capable of holding an object. Before sanity took hold in later editions, this led to anyone with a modicum of rules knowledge to begin coming up with any justification, rules-supported or otherwise, to become a quad-weapon-wielding murder blender.

They were also crazy-fast. And have chitin that was the equivalent of chain mail (AC 5, in 2E terms) in a world with extremely-rare metal armor. And they got paralyzing bites and absurd leaping capabilities as they went up in levels. And could make their own equipment with some sand and a gob of their own toxic spit. And they don't sleep. And can dodge missiles.

Oh sure, they had "disadvantages" if you want to call them that. Can't wear armor? Who cares, your Dexterity score probably gives you plate-level AC.

They were not balanced. But holy crap were they fun to play and came with a host of extremely enjoyable roleplaying hooks and quirks. You see, thri-kreen have a physiological compunction to bond with groups. There are two terms they use to describe this mentality.

First is the tokchak, or "clutch mind" in the thri-kreen language. Kreen bond in two types of groups, packs and clutches. Packs are large groups of multiple clutches, kind of like a human's extended family, though these packs aren't always biologically related. Clutches are small groups, immediate family or close allies. Kreen that don't bond in these ways are considered "broken" in a way; it is anathema for a thri-kreen to want to wander alone.

The tokchak is an instant roleplaying hook to get a thri-kreen to join an adventuring party. Kreen actively seek groups to which they belong, even if those groups are not themselves thri-kreen. There's no stigma to having a non-kreen adventuring companion; so long as the companion is useful and pulls their weight, they are as worthy as any thri-kreen. There's that whole sleeping thing though...

Second is the tikchak, or "hunter mind" being the translation. Thri-kreen are pack hunters, and have an intrinsic need to move around and sustain themselves. Packs wander the wastelands of Athas, hunting and taking what they need to survive in a world to which they are supremely adapted. The tikchak also drives them to work together with their clutch to accomplish goals and ensure all are cared for equally. This isn't (always) just altruism -- a clutch is only as strong as its weakest member, so it makes sense to share with all who are pulling their weight. If someone isn't pulling their weight, the thri-kreen makes efforts to help them improve. If they cannot, they are no longer fit to be in the clutch.

Sounds like the perfect adventuring companion, right? Loyal, won't actively try to screw you over, shares their treasure equally, and is a sleepless night-shift-watchbug with a stomach to rival any hungry halfling? Hmm. Hungry hungry halflings should be a party game.

So as great as these thri-kreen are, they also have to be brought down a peg. Their incarnation in 4E did just that, but at the expense of a bit of their flavor. They also endured a substantial change to their basic physiology -- 2E thri-kreen, like 2E half-giants, would be Large creatures in today's terms. They were physically similar to gigantic mantises, complete with a large abdomen and upright thorax. Now they're a lot more "humanoid" in appearance, though still very much inhuman.

Compare and contrast the 2E (left) with the 4E/5E thri-kreen:

This isn't all bad. Old 2E thri-kreen outright couldn't wear armor or many of the things that PCs find in their travels. Their shift to a slightly more familiar shape opens up some possibilities.

So I want to take a crack at them. Some people are very protective of their thri-kreen, so I expect divisiveness. That's okay. There's plenty of other homebrewed/DM's Guild variants out there. I just didn't like 'em much, personally.

Ability Score Adjustments. Your Dexterity score increases by 2. You may choose to increase either your Strength or Wisdom score by 1.
Age. Thri-kreen mature quickly and are able adults by the time they are 7 years old. They rarely live longer than 30 years.
Size. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base speed is 40 feet.
Carapace. Your base AC is 13 plus your Dexterity modifier. You cannot benefit from the protection of any armor that grants you an AC of 13 or lower. Due to the shape of your body, armor must be custom-made for your form and costs twice as much.
Desert Adaptation. You require only a half gallon of water each day to avoid exhaustion from dehydration. You do not sleep, and can gain the benefits of a long rest while performing only four hours of light activity.
Powerful Leap. You can perform a running leap to travel a number of feet straight forward equal to three times your Strength score. You can perform a standing vertical jump up to your Strength score in feet.
Multiple Limbs. You possess a second set of arms below your primary limbs. These limbs can hold objects and weapons, but cannot be used to perform more attacks than you normally have at your disposal based on your class and your fighting styles.
Natural Weaponry. You possess sharp claws and a painful bite. In lieu of any other attack you make, you can substitute a claw or bite attack to inflict 1d4 points of slashing (with claw) or piercing (with bite) damage.
Languages. Thri-kreen know their own language and the Common tongue of the Tyr Region.

It's a pretty big list of racial traits compared to most, but I think this fits without making them either sucky or overpowered. There's some things missing, though; what about that poison bite?

No bones about it, I love the idea of racial feats. I thought they were good when I first saw them in an Unearthed Arcana that included svirfneblin, and I like using them to add traits and powers to races. Here's one for thri-kreen who work to develop their poison glands.

Venomous Bite 

Prerequisites: You must be a thri-kreen.
Effect: Your bite attack becomes venomous. You inflict an additional 1d4 points of poison damage with your bite attack, and victims must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or be poisoned for one minute. The DC for this saving throw is equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Constitution modifier. If a creature succeeds on their saving throw, they are immune to your poison for 24 hours.

I could make other racial feats for things like the missile dodging and such, but those are class abilities and I think it's verboten to trod on those. The race doesn't need to be any more powerful than this, though I don't promise that this is perfect. As always, these are the first drafts. I'd love to hear some feedback on it. It could suck royally and I'm too close to it to see.

Whew! Long entry. Hope this is of interest, as I'm having a blast writing and converting for Dark Sun. Next time I'll go over either some class bits or do a flat lore post about my homebrew version. Not sure which yet. Till then! 

A Different Dark Sun: Races, Part One

As I work on this homebrewed version of Dark Sun, I accrue much of its product run in the form of hard copies and PDFs available on the DM's Guild. Some of it, of course, I've had on my shelves for years. I never had the opportunity to run a Dark Sun game for any extended period of time back in its heyday, and a big portion of that had to do with the esoteric and often spastic design of the 2nd Edition psionics rules chasing away more traditional fantasy gamers.

Fortunately, I don't need to develop psionics for this edition, as Wizards is already doing that. It's not quite as weird as its predecessors -- I could write a half-dozen articles on the history of psionics alone, and Brandes over at Tribality has already done that.

I've made a list of the things I will need to re-examine and consider for my homebrew's use, but let's start with character races.

This is the first and probably the trickiest bit to get right. There are a lot of expectations from the Dark Sun character races, and even familiar ones are nothing at all like their counterparts from other settings. All are more savage, shaped by their environment over the course of a few thousand years of life on a blighted, arid world.

My homebrew is going to allow the use of the dragonborn (or dray as they are known on Athas, introduced as a playable race in 4th Edition), dwarves, elves, half-elves, half-giants (once their own race, reincarnated as goliaths in 4th edition), halflings, humans, muls, pterrans (think flightless pterodactyl people akin to lizardfolk), and thri-kreen. In some incarnations, aarakocra were also available as a player race, but I personally have reservations about giving players unfettered access to flight speeds.

The Athasian Elf

The standard subraces for many of those picks, specifically dwarves, elves, and halflings, don't really mesh with their Athasian counterparts. This is the place to do a subrace variant for the setting. Enter the Athasian elf for dissection (I'll do dwarf and halfling another time).

Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 1.
Size. You are taller than elves from other worlds, ranging anywhere between 6 and 7 feet in height with a wiry, athletic build. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 40 feet.
Elf Weapon Training. You are proficient with the longsword, shortsword, shortbow, and longbow.
Athletic. You are proficient in the Athletics skill.
Runner's Endurance. If you travel overland alone or with a group consisting only of elves, you can travel at twice the speed of a normal travel pace without incurring a penalty to Perception skill checks.

These are, of course, in addition to base traits of the elf race.

Athasian elves are regaled for their swiftness. Elven bands can travel extreme distances in the course of a day, bringing (or pillaging) goods far and wide. They are crafty (hence my opting for an Intelligence bonus in keeping with their 2E version), but have a regrettable reputation for being thieves and killers. Elven markets are tolerated in some city-states despite this reputation; rare and useful goods are still desired, and many are willing to overlook where they came from if the price is right.

Proficiency in Athletics is handy for anyone. It helps even weak characters who get grappled by someone (offsetting their ability score penalty, if any), and helps them sprint and jump and climb as befits the long-limbed and, well, athletic elves.

Runner's Endurance is somewhat more situational. If the party consists only of elves, or they send the elf character out as an advance scout, they can cover an insane amount of terrain. Athas's elves are repeatedly praised in source material as being tireless runners, jokingly inferring that their infants learn to run before they learn to walk. This ability might stand further scrutiny to give it a means of helping a party out though, as D&D is a cooperative game and all. Maybe it can provide a lesser general speed increase to a group? The less time spent wandering the desert heat, the better.

The Half-Giant

We're also introduced to half-giants in Dark Sun, and they reappeared in both 3rd Edition as the same and 4th Edition as goliaths (even though late-3rd also released goliaths in Races of Stone, though I never owned it to compare). There are some key differences between its incarnations; 2nd Edition didn't really have a concept of size categories for player races in strict terms, though they did have height ranges. The half-giants of 2E would have unmistakably been Large creatures, as they were anywhere from 10 to 12 feet tall!

There are several important combat-related reasons why Wizards of the Coast made future versions of half-giants more sanely Medium sized. The combat advantages afforded to a Large player character race are many, including reach and what is likely a prodigious increase to their Strength score compared to other player character races.

In the interest of maintaining balance, at the cost of the continued retcon from 3E and 4E, I will likely continue to use the goliath as the base chassis for half-giants. To my benefit, Volo's Guide to Monsters recently released, and has an official version of the goliath for play!

It does have one racial trait (Mountain Born) that isn't really appropriate for Athas given the backstory of the half-giants. In brief, they were bred by the sorcerer-kings to be obedient slaves and soldiers that adapted quickly to new cultures and mindsets -- presumably as they were bought and sold, or given new jobs each day by mercurial masters. This manifested in 2E as the half-giant being able to change its alignment every morning, something that... eeeegh... I am not enthused about. Alignment is far less important of a mechanical tool these days.

Instead, I would replace Mountain Born with this:

Uncannily Observant. If you spend at least 1 minute observing a humanoid creature, you can mimic its behaviors and/or speech patterns (provided you've heard the creature talk and can understand its language), and can appear as though you are a member of its culture, social class, or colleagues provided the circumstances are sound. You have advantage on Insight checks made to determine a creature's mood and demeanor, and advantage on Deception checks made to convince someone that you belong to their group.

That's probably some vague wording in there, which can be tuned up, but it plays well into the half-giant's penchant for picking up new things by watching others. It has some great roleplaying potential to boot; if a group needs to sneak into a compound protected by observant templars, the half-giant can spend some time watching the guards from afar and then stride up to them and bill himself as one of the sorcerer-king's legbreakers bringing in a new set of prisoners (the rest of the party).

The Mul

Continuing, we have the mul. This half-human, half-dwarf, is a workhorse capable of performing feats of incredible endurance and remain awake and laboring for days at a time. I've seen a couple versions of this race in DM's Guild products and while I think they are serviceable, there are a few nitpicks I have about the proposed mechanics that make them unsuitable for my particular homebrew's needs.

As such, my mul looks something like this:

Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2 and your Strength score increases by 1.
Age. Muls mature and age at the same rate as humans, though they rarely live longer than 90 years.
Size. Your body is tough, dense, and sinewy. You stand between 6 and 61/2 feet tall and weigh between 250 and 300 pounds. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Vigorous Body. You are proficient in Constitution saving throws. If your class is already proficient in Constitution saving throws, or if you later gain a feat that gives you proficiency, you have advantage on all Constitution saving throws against effects that apply disease, exhaustion, and poison.
Steadfast. You can fight, travel, and perform heavy labor for long periods of time without tiring and can ignore exhaustion from such endeavors. You can remain awake and active for up to 72 hours without requiring a long rest, after which time you begin to suffer at the same rate as other character races.
Languages. You can speak Common and Dwarvish.

So Vigorous Body is probably overpowered. There are a lot of Constitution saving throws in the game, and being proficient in them by default is nothing to sneeze at. It also avoids being redundant with certain classes and feats, becoming slightly stronger. Steadfast lets the mul perform extended feats of endurance and travel for days at a time before needing to rest.

The Pterran

Dark Sun sure does have quite the panoply of races, doesn't it? The pterrans are a flightless saurian race from distant parts of the setting map with a culture that worships an "Earth Mother" that is not defined as an actual divine entity. They are fairly primitive and reclusive. Druids seem like they would be common among such a species, and lo and behold there is a new race introduced in Volo's Guide to Monsters that is pretty much exactly what I'd need to use: the lizardfolk!

It's pretty much perfect. It's got tough scales. They can make equipment out of natural resources both quickly and efficiently (is this the first 5E race with a crafting racial? Brandes, look!), has tough scales, bonus skills to pick from, and a bite attack. It's pretty much all I'd need and with minor physical description changes, it works fantastically. Just one small problem. Well, two-ish.

Lizardfolk have a swim speed and a Hold Breath racial. As you might imagine, there's not much standing water on Athas. Pterodactyls weren't known for their ability to stay submerged.

So really, this ability and the swim speed would probably just come out. Lizardfolk have a lot going for them already, and I don't feel like those abilities would be missed given the setting. I would also be changing their racial language from Draconic to the newly-crowned "Sauric" and give them their own tongue as a result.

A Break!

A fair bit to chew on here, so I'll let this sit for now and work on the rest. I'll dig into the other subraces for dwarves and halflings next time, as well as what Athasian dragonborn are like. And maybe, if I'm feeling brave enough, I'll tackle thri-kreen. That's gonna be a doozy.

Homebrewing Athas - A Different Dark Sun

Dark Sun is up there among my favorite intellectual properties as far as settings go. It is a brutal world, slowly dying as its sun bloats and burns ever hotter in the sky. For thousands of years, terrifying dictators dominated the few known cities left on the face of the scorched world, and you could either live a short life as a slave in relative safety or live a shorter life out in the dunes with a modicum of freedom.

And yet, the setting had its own... quirks. I won't get too deep into them here, but there is a convoluted progression of canon history (I know, I know, no one is forced to use it, but I hate messing with established works) where the halflings are actually a progenitor race and were masters of weird quasi-science-fictiony biomanipulation, and there was... I'm just going to not get into it much further. It's complicated and kind of strange even for D&D, in my opinion. To each their own.

It was odd enough that its fourth edition reincarnation did away with (or at least glossed over) much of that and instead focused on the meat and potatoes of the setting, the Tyr Region, and its attendant sorcerer-kings. The implied uber-big-bad was the obscenely powerful Dragon of Tyr, once known as Borys of Ebe. Using a mixed arsenal of overwhelming brute force, magical supremacy, and psionic dominance, this guy was designed to wreck your day.

He'd come around to the city-states every few years and demand a levy from them -- mostly slaves and metal -- which he then took back to his literal volcano death island out in the Silt Sea. Unfortunately for him, his one-time comrades are the rulers of those city-states, and they want the same thing the Dragon has -- ultimate power.

You see, in Dark Sun, arcane spellcasters have a tendency to defile the land around them when they cast their spells, unless they exert a measure of self-control. Like the Force, though, the Dark Side is a quick and easy path to power, so bad guys tend not to care. They can eventually choose a route of ultimate ascension that turns them (slowly) into dragons -- the only such creatures of the setting.

Anyway, the shadow of this guy hung over the Tyr Region for thousands of years as people clung to their crapsack world existence. Then in some books, he and a bunch of the sorcerer-kings get killed off like chumps and things get marginally better.

Well I ain't having none of that. If I'm gonna run some Dark Sun, I need my horribly depressing world back while not needing to "correct" people on what I want to use for canon. What's my answer?

Time skip forward one hundred years, that's what!

Things seemed better, at least for a while. Some of the city-states are now legitimately free -- others collapsed into anarchy without a powerful monarch to protect (and dominate) them. When you have societies that dwell in enforced-ignorance for thousands of years, it turns out handing them the keys to the kingdom doesn't always end well. Sometimes the wicked templars take command, or sometimes slave revolts just out and out annihilate cities.

Over the next few entries, I'm going to talk a bit about my homebrew for Athas and mix in some systemic crunchy goodies to go along with each entry. I'll talk a bit about the history of the subject I'm addressing, as well as shedding some light on the reasons for any changes I deem necessary to make.

And maybe by the time I'm done, we'll have an official book announced that includes final psionics rules, since it's so bloody important to the setting.

Until next time!

Dark Sun Cleric Domains

A few months ago I took a crack at working up some 5th Edition Dark Sun rules. I was sidetracked by creating an actual document for my Birthright conversion, so I didn't get back to Dark Sun until last night while dreaming of warmer locations.

I'm a wuss and I hate the onset of winter. And winter itself. And snow. And the Maryland Lasagna -- layers of ice, sleet, snow, and slush topped with road grime.

Anyway, I finished up the cleric domains and figured I'd throw them up here for visibility and feedback. I'm not really sold on the Water cleric domain yet. It's lacking something. The others feel pretty standard and useful, and they all share a 17th level ability, just flavored differently. I may whip up alternate ones for Sun, Rain, Silt, Magma, et cetera, once I get around to it.

These are probably (and unintentionally) similar to other attempts, but they feel right. I'm also aware I haven't picked domain spells for them yet, that will come in a later iteration.

Air

Fangs on the Wind. When you choose this domain at 1st level, you gain proficiency in all martial ranged weapons.

Channel Divinity: Redirection. At 2nd level, the air cleric may use their Channel Divinity as a reaction when they are targeted by a melee or ranged weapon or spell to impose disadvantage upon the attack. If the attack hits regardless, they gain resistance to the damage from the attack as powerful air currents cushion the blow.

Channel Divinity: Ignore Air. Upon reaching 6th level, the air cleric may expend their Channel Divinity to ignore the presence of air for 1 minute. The cleric is not subject to the effects of high winds or extreme temperatures (though they still suffer damage from fire or supernaturally cold sources) and do not need to breathe for the duration of this effect.

Charged Strikes. At 8th level, the air cleric treats any ranged weapon they use in combat as magical and deals an additional 1d8 points of lightning damage on successful attacks with such weapons.

Inescapable Gale. At 14th level, the air cleric may attack any creature they can see with their ranged weapon attacks, regardless of range, without suffering disadvantage from distance.

Form of Air. When the air cleric reaches 17th level, they may use their bonus action to polymorph into an air elemental. This form lasts for one minute or until the cleric uses a bonus action to return to their normal form. You revert to your normal form if you fall unconscious, drop to 0 hit points, or die. The cleric cannot use this ability again until they complete a short or long rest.

While you are transformed, the following rules apply:

• Your game statistics are replaced by the statistics of an air elemental. You retain your alignment, personality, and Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores. You also retain all of your skill and saving throw proficiencies, in addition to gaining those of the elemental. If the elemental has the same proficiency as you and the bonus in its stat block is higher than yours, use the elemental’s bonus instead of yours.
• When you transform, you assume the elemental’s hit points and Hit Dice. When you revert to your normal form, you return to the number of hit points you had before you transformed. However, if you revert as a result of dropping to 0 hit points, any excess damage carries over to your normal form.
• You may cast cleric spells that you have prepared. You can communicate with air elementals even if you do not speak Primordial.
• You retain the benefit of any features from your class, race, or other source and can use them if the elemental is physically capable of doing so. You cannot use any special senses unless the elemental also possesses them.
• You can choose whether your equipment falls to the ground in your space or merges into your new form. The elemental cannot wear armor or wield weapons, or use equipped and attuned magical items. Equipment that merges with your form has no effect until you leave the form.

Earth

Strength of Earth. When you select this domain at 1st level, you gain proficiency in heavy armor and all martial melee weapons.

Channel Divinity: Unstoppable. At 2nd level, the cleric may use their Channel Divinity as a reaction when struck by any effect that causes them to become paralyzed, prone, or restrained, or when affected by any force or ability that would move them against their will. The cleric immediately shakes off the effect as if it never happened.

Channel Divinity: Ignore Earth. At 6th level, the cleric may use their Channel Divinity to ignore the presence of earth for 1 minute. They can pass through walls or floors made of dirt, stone, or sand, and ignore damage from non-magical weapons made of any kind of stone or metal.

Heavy Blows. Upon reaching 8th level, the earth cleric treats any weapon made of stone (but not obsidian) that they wield as magical and deals an additional 1d8 points of damage with any attack made while wielding such a weapon. When you reach 14th level, the damage increases to 2d8. This extra damage is of a type corresponding with the weapon’s normal damage type.

Form of Earth. When the earth cleric reaches 17th level, they may use their bonus action to polymorph into an earth elemental. This form lasts for one minute or until the cleric uses a bonus action to return to their normal form. You revert to your normal form if you fall unconscious, drop to 0 hit points, or die. The cleric cannot use this ability again until they complete a short or long rest.

While you are transformed, the following rules apply:

• Your game statistics are replaced by the statistics of an earth elemental. You retain your alignment, personality, and Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores. You also retain all of your skill and saving throw proficiencies, in addition to gaining those of the elemental. If the elemental has the same proficiency as you and the bonus in its stat block is higher than yours, use the elemental’s bonus instead of yours.
• When you transform, you assume the elemental’s hit points and Hit Dice. When you revert to your normal form, you return to the number of hit points you had before you transformed. However, if you revert as a result of dropping to 0 hit points, any excess damage carries over to your normal form.
• You may cast cleric spells that you have prepared. You can communicate with earth elementals even if you do not speak Primordial.
• You retain the benefit of any features from your class, race, or other source and can use them if the elemental is physically capable of doing so. You cannot use any special senses unless the elemental also possesses them.
• You can choose whether your equipment falls to the ground in your space or merges into your new form. The elemental cannot wear armor or wield weapons, or use equipped and attuned magical items. Equipment that merges with your form has no effect until you leave the form.

Fire

Obsidian Armaments. When you select this domain at 1st level, you are considered proficient in any weapon crafted from obsidian.

Touch of Flame. You know the produce flame cantrip, and it does not count against any of your cleric spell selections.

Channel Divinity: Ignite. At 2nd level, the cleric may use their Channel Divinity as a reaction when inflicting fire damage from any spell, weapon attack, or other ability they possess. They may pick any single target affected by one of these sources, and force it to make a Wisdom saving throw against their spellcasting DC or be engulfed in flames. At the beginning of the creature’s turn, they suffer 1d8 points of fire damage, and may repeat the saving throw at the end of their turn to end the effect. This damage increases to 2d8 at 6th level, 3d8 at 11th level, and 4d8 at 16th level.

Channel Divinity: Ignore Flames. At 6th level, the cleric can expend their Channel Divinity to ignore the presence of fire for 1 minute. They can stride through flames, walk across the surface of lava (quickly), or stand in the breath of a fire drake and suffer no damage. The cleric and their equipment are immune to all fire damage during this time.

Igneous Armaments. Upon achieving 8th level, the fire cleric treats any obsidian weapon they wield as magical and deals an additional 1d8 points of fire damage with any attack made while wielding such a weapon. When you reach 14th level, the damage increases to 2d8.

Form of Flame. When the fire cleric reaches 17th level, they may use their bonus action to polymorph into a fire elemental. This form lasts for one minute or until the cleric uses a bonus action to return to their normal form. You revert to your normal form if you fall unconscious, drop to 0 hit points, or die. The cleric cannot use this ability again until they complete a short or long rest.

While you are transformed, the following rules apply:

• Your game statistics are replaced by the statistics of a fire elemental. You retain your alignment, personality, and Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores. You also retain all of your skill and saving throw proficiencies, in addition to gaining those of the elemental. If the elemental has the same proficiency as you and the bonus in its stat block is higher than yours, use the elemental’s bonus instead of yours.
• When you transform, you assume the elemental’s hit points and Hit Dice. When you revert to your normal form, you return to the number of hit points you had before you transformed. However, if you revert as a result of dropping to 0 hit points, any excess damage carries over to your normal form.
• You may cast cleric spells that you have prepared. You can communicate with fire elementals even if you do not speak Primordial.
• You retain the benefit of any features from your class, race, or other source and can use them if the elemental is physically capable of doing so. You cannot use any special senses unless the elemental also possesses them.
• You can choose whether your equipment falls to the ground in your space or merges into your new form. The elemental cannot wear armor or wield weapons, or use equipped and attuned magical items. Equipment that merges with your form has no effect until you leave the form.

Water

Flow Like Water. When you are unarmored or wearing light armor, you may add your Wisdom bonus to your AC. You may also benefit from the use of a shield.

Channel Divinity: Sustain. At 2nd level, the cleric may use their Channel Divinity to stave off the effects of dehydration for a number of Medium-sized creatures equal to their Wisdom modifier (minimum of 1). The cleric concentrates for one minute and then touches each creature they wish to affect. The affected creatures are treated as though they received a sufficient quantity of drinking water for the day. You may instead sustain two Small creatures as though they were one Medium creature, one Large creature as though it were two Medium creatures, one Huge creature as though it were three Medium creatures, or one Gargantuan creature as though it were four Medium creatures.

Channel Divinity: Ignore Water. At 6th level, the water cleric may use their Channel Divinity to ignore the presence of water or silt for 1 minute. During this time, they can ignore the effects of currents and pressure, may breathe while submerged in any liquid that is composed primarily of water or silt, and gain a swim speed of 40 feet.

Potent Spellcasting. At 8th level, the water cleric adds their Wisdom modifier to the damage of any cleric cantrip.

Form of Water. When the water cleric reaches 17th level, they may use their bonus action to polymorph into a water elemental. This form lasts for one minute or until the cleric uses a bonus action to return to their normal form. You revert to your normal form if you fall unconscious, drop to 0 hit points, or die. The cleric cannot use this ability again until they complete a short or long rest.

While you are transformed, the following rules apply:

• Your game statistics are replaced by the statistics of a water elemental. You retain your alignment, personality, and Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores. You also retain all of your skill and saving throw proficiencies, in addition to gaining those of the elemental. If the elemental has the same proficiency as you and the bonus in its stat block is higher than yours, use the elemental’s bonus instead of yours.
• When you transform, you assume the elemental’s hit points and Hit Dice. When you revert to your normal form, you return to the number of hit points you had before you transformed. However, if you revert as a result of dropping to 0 hit points, any excess damage carries over to your normal form.
• You may cast cleric spells that you have prepared. You can communicate with water elementals even if you do not speak Primordial.
• You retain the benefit of any features from your class, race, or other source and can use them if the elemental is physically capable of doing so. You cannot use any special senses unless the elemental also possesses them.
• You can choose whether your equipment falls to the ground in your space or merges into your new form. The elemental cannot wear armor or wield weapons, or use equipped and attuned magical items. Equipment that merges with your form has no effect until you leave the form.

Another Birthright Conversion Update

Today I've completed version 0.4.0 of the Birthright 5E conversion document. You can find it here.

I've added conversions for all core rule book realm spells and plan to add a few more of my own design. I reviewed a number of the ones from the Book of Magecraft and the Book of Priestcraft and found them unsuitable for my conversion purposes -- many of them introduce additional crunch into an already mechanics-heavy bolt-on for 5th Edition, and I wasn't too keen on making this even more impenetrable for those who want to use it.

It's also approaching a whopping 100 pages. Yowza!

Hope it's useful for people, and I'd love to hear any about any feedback or bugs you might find in it. I haven't had the opportunity to get a group together to playtest any of it, particularly the quick battle-resolution mechanics. If anything seems obtuse or irrelevant, I'd like to hear your thoughts on it.

As always, I don't intend to package this (or anything else I convert) up for sale on the DM's Guild for obvious reasons. Enjoy it!

Dungeon Design in the Published Adventure Module

NOTE: There will be mild spoilers for the Curse of Strahd adventure contained below. If you don't want to be spoiled, don't read any further.

Today I'd like to talk about a topic that reared its ugly head in the most recent sessions of my Ravenloft game. It's mostly just me kvetching and being annoyed with myself for not trusting my instincts. But first, a couple bits to know about how the game is structured.

1. The party is comprised of coworkers and meatspace friends, and we gather in my living room every Tuesday evening (at least when work and life do not suplex us with responsibilities).
2. I am using Curse of Strahd's chassis, but have some significant changes particularly as they relate to where certain places are located, what populates them, and what the rewards are.
3. Exploration and combat are run via Roll20, Chromecasted to my TV screen so that everyone can see. This is extremely handy, as an aside, and I can't recommend it enough even though it adds time to my session prep.

So the game has been running very well so far. The party is diverse and interested in their characters, though they lack much in the way of healing (the paladin is the only healer-type). The paladin is acting as their meat shield as well, since he is running Oath of Blood from this DM's Guild piece. It's overpowered in my opinion, but that's neither here nor there and it works for the game due to the party's composition.

The group is exploring the Amber Temple, where (at least in my campaign) the Tome of Strahd is being kept by a secretive cult of Vecna-worshipping lesser liches. It is the first big dungeon from the module that they have experienced, and despite my preparations, I lacked the foresight to consider the following absurdity.

Note the preponderance of secret doors in close proximity.

This section of the temple became the source of excessive scene-breaking and disbelief from this pack of 20+ year veteran gamers. 

Whether or not the situation was a "realistic" portrayal of hidden doors and sliding panels to protect an incredibly secret section of the dungeon, the scene-breaking and dice-rolling that occurred to find and trigger the mechanisms for each door turned the session from a tense prowl through undead-infested corridors (a lesser lich is still a lich) into a laugh riot as the party stood in disbelief as they found yet another secret door, ten feet in front of the last secret door.

Sure, there are things that the DM can do to gloss over or otherwise minimize the number of absurdities, but it shocks me how this particular dungeon was designed so poorly. Along with the hodgepodge of random enemies (an arcanaloth in the statue head?) that may or may not have made into into my version, it really struck me how the Amber Temple fell extremely flat with my group.

Particularly because we used a virtual tabletop in the form of Roll20, and the six or seven hours it took me to reconstruct the Amber Temple with its passages and dynamic lighting volumes, this dungeon veers towards being too messy for actual play. There is a complicated-to-display split level in the largest main chamber, hilariously improbable number of secret doors in close proximity, and many more elements that make this dungeon very difficult to use.

I work on video games for a living, so it's a very important part of my job to ensure that experiences we create for players are challenging and enriching, but not overburdened with excessively gratuitous elements that are ripe for mockery. Level design is a very important and valued skill in that field. 

Those skills translate directly to dungeon design in tabletop games, but the pace of progression through tabletop game's dungeon is far slower and possesses a greater number of variables. The Amber Temple here would probably belong reasonably well in a video game dungeon; you get through the challenges more quickly and the act of looking for secret door triggers is (generally) less annoying and rolled into the experience. 

Around the gaming table, it's just a mess.

Once the players laughed off the fourth secret door they found, an expectation was created that all of the rooms would be like this from here on out. As you can imagine, that slowed down exploration to a crawl, and the mood went from one of creeping dread to abject mockery of the liches for installing so many secret doors ("Do you think they installed a secret door leading to the privy? That has to be annoying late at night when you come home drunk and can't find the bathroom.").

I don't have many answers for why this particular dungeon ended up like that. Maybe it wasn't adequately playtested. Maybe I missed some crucial bit of information in the revealing and activating of the secret doors that would make it less silly. Even Castle Ravenloft itself doesn't have that degree of secret door absurdity, with an almost unchanged layout from the original incarnation as an old school dungeon with all of the weird crap that goes with that. I'm going to trust a bit less in the module's dungeon design from now on and trust my gut on changing it around for use at my table.

Again though, maybe I missed something? Could I have done something differently? I've been doing this DMing thing for a while, but it's very possible I made a terrible mistake somewhere that allowed the mood-breaking. Of course, moving forward, we all know to bring it back to home base and return to our well-roleplayed party on its quest to defeat Strahd, so the diversion was only temporary.

Okay, kvetching over!

Not Dead Yet!

I'm still around. Life and work conspired to drain creativity immensely, but I will be back this weekend -- my first free one in a couple months -- to talk about more Birthright stuff as well as dungeon design in published adventures.