Random Ramblings Vol. 3
I had always meant to do more with this series, but it fell by the wayside as I moved on to other ideas. I realized that I started doing Random Ramblings during October, so I figured what a good time to throw another out into the endless void known as the internet. The timing couldn't be better as things have been extremely hectic around my house these days, and trying to put together a bit of coherent homebrew feels like an overwhelming task. Stephen would say that I rarely put coherent homebrew, and he's probably right, so I keep him around to edits/correct/spellcheck my creations before posting them. Of course, he would argue that he's the one keeping me around, but for what purpose, I have no clue. I'm just happy my signature is on all our official documents. Otherwise, I'm positive he would have fired me a long time ago.
WotC’s New and Upcoming Releases
Wizards has been busy pumping out new books, and it looks like they will continue to produce new products for 5e through 2022. The latest scheduled release was announced this week.
With this announcement, we'll now have the adventure The Wild Beyond the Witchlight (released last month), all things dragons with Fizban's Treasury of Dragons (October 2021), school-based adventures in Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos (Nov. 2021), the D&D Rules Expansion Gift Set (Jan 2022), and the Critical Role setting Call of the Netherdeep (Mar. 2022). It's great to see that they are regularly putting out new material, but I won't be rushing to buy any of them. Buying an adventure or campaign setting is something I stopped at after Eberron: Rising from the Last War, which I only purchased so that we could review on our podcast. Fifty bucks is a lot of money to pay, especially when there is a plethora of great homebrew available for a fraction of the cost, not to mention all the ideas taking up space in my head.
That said, just because it's not on my must-buy list doesn't mean I don't have high hopes for it. I'm not going to be one of the people who bash the new publications, as WotC is doing the right thing by capitalizing on the game's popularity, the appetite for new material, and in the case of Netherdeep, the continued success of Critical Role. Does it annoy me that the $170.00 rules expansion bundle is currently the only way to purchase the Monsters of the Multiverse book? Yes, until I realized it was only a rehash of everything I already have. Maybe I'll buy the rumored Spelljammer reboot books if they ever come out. I'll have to stay off social media before reading it though, because I'm sure people will blast it no matter how good it is, and I won't read it without any preconceived judgments.
D&D Art
The Kobold by Hasel-Anne
The Kenku by Sita Duncan
I’ve said it numerous times, but I am incredibly jealous of all who can draw the unique D&D art you see. I’d love to have 1/100th of the talent of the artists we’ve had the privilege of working with. Art is not cheap, and we’ve happily paid our creators, for as you can see, their creations are well worth it.
We spend a fair amount of time on Twitter, Reddit, and so on, and it never ceases to amaze me how people visually interpret the game. We use words to translate our ideas and thoughts about D&D into a format that people can use. Artists wield a pen in a much different but less powerful way to bring the game to life.
I’ve always said that if either Stephen or I could draw and we were able to add good art to our written products, we could easily double the sales in our store and the number of patrons on our Patreon. A great piece of art can catch your eye, and by doing so, you’re more apt to stop and check it out. But since neither of us can draw a stick figure worth a damn, we will continue to spend as much as we can, when we can, on art for our products.
The Spooky Month
They come in so many colors! (Amazon via Medieval Collectibles)
If you don't like Halloween, then I feel bad for you. It's my favorite holiday of the year, and I'm sad that my kids are getting older and are starting to phase out of Halloween costumes. One of the good things about having had cancer is I no longer give a fuck what people think, so I'll be wearing my outfit with pride this year. It will involve a cape for sure. I wish some famous person would make the cape fashionable to wear, as it's one thing not to care what people think about you wearing a costume on Halloween, but no one wants to be the strange guy walking down the street wearing a cape in mid-April. That's a good way for someone to call the cops on you, either for a wellness check or because they think you're a child murderer.
Angela Bassett wasn’t bad in this movie…honestly. (Eddie Murphy Productions)
Halloween has so many things going for it. Candy is the first thing that pops to most people’s minds other than costumes. Haunted houses are good scary fun. Trick or Treating is a social tradition that extends beyond your immediate family, as most other holidays do. It is not tied into any important religious holiday, so you can’t have one group claiming to “own” it. It’s the holiday that you can watch some fantastic lousy horror movies and not feel ashamed. You don’t have to get up early; in fact, you get to stay up late! I even look forward to writing our Halloween Deep Dives. Really.
This Week on the Interweb
You’re up Wizards of the Coast…
New Vox Machina art and trailer! (Amazon)
Critical role just keeps rolling. Sorry haters, but this looks good. Not sure how I feel about Amazon buying the rights to it, but it’s better than Disney.
We have a Pet Tax channel on our Discord. I’m fairly sure Stephen added it so he could post pictures of his cat Rory. Pet owners post more pictures of the pets than parents do of their kids. Everyone loves furbabies.
Cover Art for Guns and Gears (Paizo Publishing)
I’m currently playing in a Pathfinder 2e campaign. The release date for the new Guns and Gears in October 26th. Did I mention it’s my birthday this month? Looking at you Stephen
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