Jeremy Crawford Design Q&A June 10, 2023Zoltar <br /> hello and welcome to another dragon Plus<br /> livestream the most exciting hour of<br /> live streaming caveat on Tuesdays<br /> between 2:00 and 3:00 on the day and<br /> wait wait of rules lawyers at heart I<br /> want to make sure that it’s accurate but<br /> still positive so for folks that might<br /> be tuning in for the first time this is<br /> where we discuss content heading into<br /> each issue of Dragon Plus take a visual<br /> look at the design the development and<br /> the running of your D&D game content but<br /> also have a chance to meet with Jeremy<br /> Crawford every other week to talk a<br /> little bit more about the ongoing design<br /> process especially following the happy<br /> fun hour which does a lot of design<br /> concept and ideation we felt it was a<br /> good opportunity to follow that with<br /> sort of how the design process continues<br /> to work within the halls of D&D is that<br /> an accurate statement as well that that<br /> is totally on target and in fact as I<br /> think I’ve mentioned before when we’re<br /> on here I’m often right in between<br /> design meetings so right after being on<br /> here I’ll be going into a meeting where<br /> we are going to be digging deep into<br /> monster stat blocks for a book we<br /> haven’t even announced oh yes so we’re<br /> saving you from a meeting so that’s a<br /> good thing<br /> anyway and for folks who might not be<br /> familiar with my guests although of<br /> course many of you already are Jeremy<br /> Crawford is the lead rules designer for<br /> Dungeons & Dragons<br /> the lead designer of the players<br /> handbook and the game’s managing editor<br /> all true statements all true all true<br /> how does he do all those I know if only<br /> I kept it written down so Before we jump<br /> into questions and for for the topic of<br /> this week’s dragon plus and I’ve been<br /> calling this the design plus as well for<br /> this week we did want to very briefly<br /> touch upon as you might expect the Giant<br /> soul sorcerer was released yesterday for<br /> unearthed Arcana we will have a lot to<br /> discuss about the<br /> continuing design that unearthed Arkana<br /> material in this week but more so in in<br /> weeks to come last time we did collect a<br /> good number of questions from our<br /> viewers and so we also wanted to make<br /> sure that we did have an opportunity to<br /> address those questions so rate we’ve<br /> collected to compile those and we’ll be<br /> going through quite a few of those<br /> initially this hour as well before we<br /> begin I did want to say quick thank you<br /> to everyone who tuned in to the stream<br /> of many eyes and for those who were<br /> participating in any capacity whether<br /> you were watching or chatting or<br /> moderating thank you so much to our<br /> moderators who were who were in<br /> attendance as well or firfer guests such<br /> as Jeremy who actually made the trek<br /> down to Los Angeles and I I spent a good<br /> portion of the weekend DMing but rather<br /> than on camera I was backstage getting<br /> to DM long-form games so you know the<br /> streams had those really fun 90-minute<br /> sessions while backstage I was doing<br /> three to four hour sessions with an<br /> amazing build out with dwarven Forge<br /> buildings and miniatures it was it was a<br /> lot of fun I was meant talking to the<br /> dungeon masters though that 90-minute<br /> slots for some of the games that’s<br /> that’s its own challenge that is tight<br /> and knowing that somebody is coming<br /> right after you and that you’ve got to<br /> wrap up what’s going on in 90 minutes<br /> that that could be a challenge unto<br /> itself I’ll be doing a little bit of<br /> that I think this weekend when I met<br /> origins because it conventions often<br /> there are you know slots that are 90<br /> minutes long or sometimes 120 minutes<br /> long and especially if you’re a<br /> talkative DM like me can be it can be<br /> challenging to wrap things up when you<br /> see the clock ticking toward the end<br /> it’s like I had that on my list so you<br /> are jumping from event to event we had<br /> the stream of many eyes in Los Angeles<br /> last weekend you will be in origins of<br /> the origins I fly i fly to columbus<br /> tomorrow okay i will actually be doing a<br /> sage advice live minimal on friday so<br /> any of you who are watching if you’re<br /> going to be at<br /> origins please join me on Friday and you<br /> can ask me D&D questions to your heart’s<br /> content for one hour in person<br /> also if you see me at origins or really<br /> anywhere game store other convention<br /> never hesitate to come up and say hi I<br /> love talking to fellow D&D fans I can’t<br /> promise that I will always be able to<br /> answer the questions you have but I love<br /> to I love to try and I’ll also be on a<br /> panel on Saturday that will be about<br /> LGBT themes in role-playing games and<br /> I’ll also be DMing I will be a I<br /> whenever I go to a convention I love<br /> being a drop-in DM so if you’re in the<br /> DND area if you’re approaching a table<br /> and the DM looks like me as a good<br /> chance it is in fact me or it’s one of<br /> my doppelgangers whom I deployed into<br /> the D in the area we were just talking<br /> about that last hour at the happy fun<br /> hour there’s time travel and clones and<br /> all sorts of fun things that Micah’s<br /> development was to cause rules<br /> consternation z’ and desire hatred<br /> design challenge yes<br /> yes I was going to ask you the usual<br /> what are you reading watching playing<br /> the time travel I was just as an aside<br /> Shelley mazza novels least favorite<br /> convention in film as far as plot<br /> devices it just throws it into a tizzy<br /> oh god it got it what in the hell is he<br /> doing right right so reading watching<br /> playing anything with time-travel<br /> nothing with time travels so watching I<br /> saw the horror movie hereditary over the<br /> weekend who is that good I enjoyed it I<br /> will not watch that I cannot watch yeah<br /> you can’t do horror movies but I can’t<br /> even get through the preview correctly<br /> without Wow freaking out so it it was up<br /> my alley<br /> it was trippy there is some stuff in it<br /> that is sort of a callback to old horror<br /> classics like Rosemary’s Baby and that<br /> was Ursus never seen it uh it produced<br /> by the same people who produced the<br /> horror movie the witch which I loved<br /> partly because as as anyone listening<br /> might know I love hags and the witch<br /> that film right that film has an<br /> amazing portrayal of a classic fairytale<br /> hag now that one I could walk myself<br /> through gingerly because there’s not<br /> it’s not that scary as it is eerie<br /> hmm and you know not really jump scares<br /> which that’s the real thing that I can’t<br /> stand as when the tension gets ratcheted<br /> ratchet and something’s coming at you I<br /> can’t take that so the last not this not<br /> this past weekend but the previous two<br /> weekends before that I was playing D&D<br /> this coming weekend I’ll be playing D&D<br /> so this past weekend rather than playing<br /> D&D I played a little bit of the video<br /> game battle chasers on Nintendo switch<br /> which it certainly has a lot of D&D<br /> influence so it is yes it’s funny that<br /> even the video games I play usually are<br /> D&D adjacent yes and reading did we ask<br /> reading reading let’s see what am i onto<br /> now I am so I am reading now a four<br /> volume series on the development of the<br /> notion of evil in Western mythology<br /> theology and history so it started in<br /> the ancient world with various gods of<br /> evil that appeared in different<br /> Mediterranean religions how that then<br /> influenced the development of<br /> Christianity notions of evil and Judaism<br /> for volume series I’m going to be<br /> reading that for a while I’m on but I’m<br /> already on vol 2 so light popcorn yes<br /> page-turner yeah it’s by a historian<br /> called Jeffrey Burton Russell I think I<br /> got his name right very cool<br /> so yeah I’ll have to pick your brain a<br /> little later about hereditary yeah yes<br /> in any case let’s sew it so again let’s<br /> jump into some of the questions that you<br /> had again we do go through the chat logs<br /> from from every episode and we gathered<br /> to compiled a few that we wanted to<br /> address for everyone’s interest graph<br /> pieces I’m gonna mangle every one of<br /> your names because I cannot press is<br /> required James what going back to Morton<br /> Canaan’s Thoma foes what was your<br /> favorite chapter to work on<br /> it’s a tie in that book so first I’ve<br /> mentioned the bestiary because I love<br /> working on monsters and I already saw in<br /> the chat if you ever seen me by the way<br /> on here glancing over here what looks<br /> like I’m glancing at this copy of Zanna<br /> Thor’s guide to everything I’m actually<br /> glancing at Bart’s laptop we see the<br /> stream of questions<br /> I saw someone ask when are we gonna have<br /> one of these sessions a monster design<br /> and I think it’s a great idea for us to<br /> do it because I love love love working<br /> on monsters they are these wonderful<br /> standalone game design nuggets they each<br /> tell a story if they’re designed well so<br /> I loved working on the bestiary it was<br /> such a fun range of nasty critters a lot<br /> of high CR ones far more gross creatures<br /> than we had intended I think I’ve<br /> mentioned on here that we got to the end<br /> we’re like wow a lot of these things are<br /> disgusting but so tied for me was doing<br /> a lot of the writing for the elf chapter<br /> yes I really loved fleshing out the elf<br /> mythology and some people have wondered<br /> why did we delve so much into like elf<br /> culture dwarf culture halfling culture<br /> in a book called toma foes shouldn’t it<br /> all be about things things you fight<br /> right<br /> like chapter one the blood war is all<br /> about demons and devils which player<br /> characters often are at war with where<br /> as you get to the elf chapter and it’s<br /> certainly there’s a lot about the the<br /> dark society of the drow that has been<br /> influenced by the evil god wolf but then<br /> there’s also a lot about regular elves<br /> well our thinking there is we wanted to<br /> make sure you understood both sides of<br /> the conflict that we weren’t just<br /> telling you about the evil side in the<br /> D&D multiverse but also about the sides<br /> and and often it’s it’s not just one<br /> side it’s multiple sides these various<br /> groups that oppose it particularly<br /> because people are often playing the<br /> elves the dwarves the halflings etc who<br /> are the opponents<br /> of the drow the de where gar and so<br /> forth so we wanted to to let you really<br /> dig in deep to both sides of some of<br /> these conflicts including the side that<br /> you might be a part of so you’re it’s<br /> providing tools to help build your<br /> character but also for the dungeon<br /> master to build more story into the<br /> conflicts against this character exactly<br /> yeah<br /> yeah so that also then the DM would be<br /> inspired to maybe do some world building<br /> have some new insights and how to create<br /> an elven culture you know what’s<br /> distinctive about elves versus dwarves<br /> versus you know gifts awry etc and<br /> really dig in also into the myths behind<br /> these peoples because ultimately as a<br /> fantasy game so much of it is about that<br /> that mythical layer and Morgan Kane<br /> Morgan Kanan stomach foes is really in<br /> many cases about kind of the mythical<br /> side of the game about digging into some<br /> of these stories that almost transform<br /> any of the particulars I mean I’m not<br /> I’m sorry not transformed transcend any<br /> of the particular worlds within the D&D<br /> multiverse there are there are details<br /> about the gods about the origins of some<br /> of these peoples in that book that<br /> almost stand outside time like if you<br /> look at the Forgotten Realms or gray<br /> hawk or Dragonlance or any of our other<br /> official settings you might think well<br /> some of these details line up but others<br /> don’t and we were very conscious about<br /> that fact because again we were writing<br /> again it’s sort of in mythical time<br /> right basically about a prehistory about<br /> this mysterious period in the<br /> multiverses history before all the<br /> worlds were formed because we’ve even<br /> toyed internally with the idea of maybe<br /> some of the worlds in the D&D multiverse<br /> are older than others that some of the<br /> big stories that were familiar with in<br /> some of the worlds take place in wildly<br /> different times in the multiverses<br /> history and so maybe someday we will<br /> unveil some of the some of the things<br /> we’ve been exploring at that so<br /> macro-level it it’s admittedly something<br /> that is really fun for us as<br /> storytellers to play around with but we<br /> also have to check ourselves that we<br /> don’t get too carried away because often<br /> what DMS really need and players need is<br /> just like what are the details for going<br /> into this dungeon or going into this<br /> town or talking to this Queen but that<br /> said those myths can really help DMS<br /> create these cosmic stories that really<br /> resonate with people and help them<br /> really dig into why do we even tell<br /> stories about elves why do we care about<br /> dwarves you know what in fantasy why<br /> isn’t everyone just a human and so part<br /> of yeah part of our goal is to dig into<br /> why has D&D been fascinated by these<br /> non-human peoples from the beginning and<br /> then more broadly why is fantasy<br /> storytelling for centuries been been<br /> fascinated by these peoples who are<br /> often kind of metaphors for different<br /> aspects of the human psyche I imagine in<br /> a way a campaign building is similar to<br /> fiction writing and so far as there’s a<br /> lot of background detail that you might<br /> work up just for your own edification<br /> but it should never necessarily get into<br /> the way of the story right but still<br /> useful to have so that you can tell the<br /> story that you want yeah I did want it<br /> speaking of which morning canis Toma<br /> folks we have got Zenith I was glad to<br /> everything in front of me just because I<br /> loved the goldfish and how it took part<br /> in the stream of money<br /> yes but morning cannon stumble foes is<br /> out now and doing doing quite well so I<br /> did want to say quick thank you to<br /> everyone who has picked up a copy of the<br /> book thank you so much for supporting<br /> Dungeons and Dragons and thank you for<br /> making the purchase considering the<br /> purchase of morning cannons so speaking<br /> of things that we do this is like a<br /> frequently asked question so let’s ask<br /> it again frequently a Kamiya how can I<br /> apply for a job at Wizards of the coast<br /> I’d say keep an eye on our job pages on<br /> the Wizards website if you see a job pop<br /> that you are qualified for go for it if<br /> you’re specifically looking to get work<br /> as an editor or a writer or an artist or<br /> a graphic designer<br /> on our books then the best thing you can<br /> do is do that work as much as you can<br /> for another company for yourself by<br /> putting things on the DMS guild yes just<br /> make sure you’re you’re practicing your<br /> craft because one of the best ways the<br /> best way really to get good at what it<br /> is we do is to do it and if if you can’t<br /> immediately find a job where you’re<br /> getting paid to do it do it as a<br /> hobbyist do it for DMS guild get used to<br /> getting feedback and also get used to as<br /> I’ve talked about before evaluating your<br /> own work be a critic of what it is<br /> you’re writing what it is you’re drawing<br /> what it is you’re laying out so that you<br /> can hone your work you can make it the<br /> best version that you can make it ask<br /> your friends to review what you’ve<br /> created really try to be as<br /> dispassionate as possible always with<br /> your reader or your viewer or whoever<br /> your audience is always with their<br /> enjoyment in mind so that you always<br /> have it clear in your mind who you’re<br /> doing this work for you want your you as<br /> a creator you want to be happy as well<br /> so make sure make sure you’re following<br /> your own bliss while also providing as<br /> much enjoyment to your audience as<br /> possible and I would reiterate that now<br /> days perhaps more than any other time<br /> certainly there are those platforms<br /> where you can express your hobby in a<br /> more public forum right with with<br /> eyeballs that include wizards the coast<br /> on it deems guilt is a great example<br /> where you’re able to put create your<br /> work and put it out there for<br /> consideration twitch I would say is<br /> another platform to to use are you<br /> running games there’s those channels<br /> that we watch as<br /> viewers or YouTube videos that we watch<br /> as viewers and it’s it’s an opportunity<br /> for anyone to express themselves and in<br /> the brand to take part in the brand even<br /> if it’s not an official capacity it’s<br /> still within the brand family yeah<br /> and and I would say too if you’re any<br /> kind of creator don’t get discouraged by<br /> initial failures rarely do things hit<br /> the target on the first go I mean we we<br /> demonstrate that by the fact that we are<br /> constantly iterating with our design you<br /> know we we will design something we<br /> might throw out most of it we’ll try<br /> again we’ll try again we’ll try again<br /> the point is keep at the work keep at<br /> the work keep at the work the other<br /> thing is to in this this sometimes is a<br /> tough message for people to hear having<br /> good ideas isn’t good enough what what’s<br /> going to get you forward and the work<br /> you want to do and here all zero in on<br /> game design or game editing or you know<br /> being an artist what’s going to get you<br /> ahead is doing the hard work of the<br /> craft of actually putting words to paper<br /> actually putting brush to canvas doing<br /> the thing having a bunch of ideas that<br /> you haven’t formed into a fashion that’s<br /> digestible by somebody else that they<br /> can then use and enjoy it means you’re<br /> not there yet you haven’t done the work<br /> and so really it’s all it’s about doing<br /> the work do it again do it a few more<br /> times iterate revise refine and if you<br /> fall down keep picking yourself back up<br /> get advice from other people and try new<br /> approaches if you find your approach<br /> isn’t working<br /> see if you can take a step to the side<br /> and suddenly you might have a path<br /> forward when before you thought there<br /> was a wall in front of you if you just<br /> alter your approach a little bit<br /> suddenly well I have a clear path I<br /> could talk about this a lot no III think<br /> there’s one of the things I’ve learned<br /> in these discussions is definitely we<br /> could structure many<br /> a sort of curriculum out of our<br /> discussions yeah and one of them would<br /> be hey I’m interested in becoming a<br /> career professional how do I go about<br /> that yeah so maybe that’s content that<br /> will formalize at some point and<br /> together but I mean ultimately it can<br /> all be boiled down to make stuff right<br /> yeah I I ideas no matter how clever they<br /> are are not good enough<br /> gotta make stuff that I enjoy fiction<br /> writing myself and it’s the same thing I<br /> have a great ideas for 50 books mm-hmm<br /> but it doesn’t matter until you get it<br /> at least a draft out right and there’s<br /> something okay I hate it well it’s<br /> revised and revived<br /> yes and you might revise it into a work<br /> that you and your readers are happy with<br /> right but you won’t know until you<br /> actually have words on those pages yes<br /> and it can be a challenge I will say<br /> modern life families every jobs what it<br /> it can be difficult to find that time to<br /> get the pen to paper and commit but if<br /> you can carve out just a little bit of<br /> time consistently it does add up day by<br /> day week by week it does that up and<br /> then you have you have a project you<br /> have a creation let’s move on to<br /> minotaurs and centaurs that we discussed<br /> the last couple of weeks there were<br /> quite a few questions that came out of<br /> it you know<br /> centaurs wearing boots and so on and so<br /> forth io Duff asks can centaurs write on<br /> brooms and I’m assuming here someone<br /> means a broom of flying broom sauce or<br /> something like it or hobbyhorse so so<br /> any question like this is always up to<br /> the DM at the end of the day but luckily<br /> we wrote some guidance on these sorts of<br /> questions in the Dungeon Master’s guide<br /> so if if you’re wondering not just about<br /> centaurs but really any any being in D&D<br /> who is who has Anatomy unlike a human or<br /> another humanoid and you’re wondering<br /> can they<br /> or where a particular magic item if you<br /> go to the front of the magic item<br /> section in the Dungeon Master’s guide<br /> there is a whole section on wearing<br /> magic items and talks and gives<br /> guidelines on what what sorts of<br /> creatures can wear what and give some<br /> suggestions for the DM to adjudicate it<br /> I as a DM would say sure I mean a<br /> centaur has hands to hold on to the<br /> broom right and and that you know the<br /> magic holding them underneath could hold<br /> their their horsey half yeah so I is a<br /> Dean DM would see no impediment to a<br /> centaur riding around on a broom of fly<br /> some things might look ridiculous but<br /> they’re magic items they meld or shape<br /> or they’re they’re usable from a game<br /> mechanic perspective and in many cases<br /> and and I never as a DM let ridiculous<br /> stop me okay cuz often often ridiculous<br /> especially if it to something players<br /> really want will bring a lot of smiles<br /> to the table and also sometimes I’m<br /> impish in that if especially if a player<br /> is being really insistent about<br /> something that is pretty absurd yeah my<br /> strategy is not to say no my strategy is<br /> to say yes and lean in hard to the<br /> absurdity I will often find in the next<br /> session they never suggested again<br /> because basically I’m like you want to<br /> walk around with chocolate ice cream on<br /> your face here you go here’s all the<br /> chocolate ice cream on your face I’m<br /> gonna ask did you have an example of<br /> this that came up in your campaign so it<br /> it almost never happens in my current<br /> home game okay yeah well I could careful<br /> honestly I do it at conventions<br /> sometimes so you might see me do it if<br /> you play at one of my tables in my home<br /> game my players are so unboard for the<br /> horror mood because you know we’re now<br /> in year two of gothic horror and I<br /> originally thought this campaign was<br /> going to be only one year long but we<br /> just keep going I didn’t realize I had<br /> this much appetite for horror<br /> oh boy so they are so on board for the<br /> mood that this kind of thing really<br /> comes up but even then they will often<br /> want to come up with something bonkers<br /> that the rules barely support and my<br /> default and this is something we talked<br /> a bit about in in the Dungeon Master’s<br /> guide my default is I say yes and or<br /> often what I’ll say is not yes but you<br /> can try and and for me the DC might be<br /> absurdly high but I’m not one will<br /> rarely just say no outright so one of<br /> the things that I tend to do and this<br /> because I’m it relates to another<br /> question is if it’s something that the<br /> players really want however ridiculous<br /> it is in many times that supersedes<br /> whatever goal I think I’ve set out for<br /> them to achieve that’s the thing that<br /> they really want yeah oby know OGG ami<br /> had asked what tips do you have for a DM<br /> dealing with new players who don’t seem<br /> to be self-motivated to do anything but<br /> wander aimlessly how can i guide it<br /> without pushing or dragging the party<br /> around that’s a great question and that<br /> in many ways has to do with adventure<br /> design another topic we could do a deep<br /> dive on in a future episode yes and we<br /> should yeah yeah oh and again to be<br /> clear to everybody today we’re gonna do<br /> a lot of this sort of catching up on<br /> questions we’ll do some more deep dives<br /> in future episodes but the questions<br /> started piling up and we thought it<br /> would be good you had a lot of questions<br /> we wanted to make sure we address them<br /> at least one week on earth they’re kinda<br /> just came out yesterday we will be<br /> getting to Giants soul in and weeks to<br /> come the giant soul sorcerer so so<br /> regarding motivating those players who<br /> really are having a hard time engaging<br /> part of it is making sure in your<br /> adventure design that there’s some hook<br /> for the players that appeals either to<br /> their characters pasts often appeals to<br /> they’re just to their hearts appeals to<br /> their sense<br /> of basically their sense of good in the<br /> world you know often if you put someone<br /> in peril that will often be enough of a<br /> motivation for the group to go to that<br /> person’s aid so that’s why so many<br /> adventures start with hooks of someone’s<br /> in trouble go help them hey this person<br /> you really care about really wants you<br /> to go on this quest or hey you know we<br /> talked we talked in our session zero<br /> about how much your character loved her<br /> grandfather who vanished decades ago and<br /> bam session one I let you know there are<br /> rumors that your grandfather was seen<br /> who has not been seen in many a year<br /> tales have now been told that he crossed<br /> the threshold into this ancient temple<br /> in the mountains<br /> several people followed in him in him in<br /> and then there was no sight of him that<br /> in will be enough for many players to go<br /> all right we’re heading up to that<br /> mountain shrine we’re gonna start<br /> investigating what happened to Grandpa<br /> yes and so you want to just make it<br /> personal for them for their characters<br /> or make it crazy you know again all<br /> right this village is burning down put<br /> out the fire and then often you can just<br /> have things start rolling from there<br /> session zeros are really helpful I would<br /> reiterate that as well we had a dragon<br /> plus article a couple issues back where<br /> it was Sam why gelt was and Kris to<br /> Locke had cars they would pass around<br /> the table to get a sense of who the<br /> players who the characters were but it<br /> kind of makes me think of a session zero<br /> using some party games just to get a<br /> sense of who the players are if you give<br /> them just some random scenarios about<br /> hey if you saw this what would you do or<br /> your you know which would you pick<br /> between these choices just to get a<br /> sense of where the players motivations<br /> are cause you know that’s going to<br /> inform their their characters and just<br /> see okay this is a group that is very<br /> curious or is very cautious or will<br /> definitely help the person in in danger<br /> or is going to be you know tends to be<br /> motive<br /> by okay what can i what can I get out of<br /> this so yeah there’s there’s a little<br /> pre-planning that you can do with just a<br /> quick conversation around the table<br /> right and I would also say when you when<br /> you do that pre-planning as a DM you<br /> often only need to cook a few of the<br /> characters because often if you hook a<br /> few of the characters in enough yeah<br /> they will serve as the force of gravity<br /> that pulls the rest of the players with<br /> them yeah so that then the players have<br /> the perception that the motivation for<br /> what’s going on came from within the<br /> partying and not from the Dungeon Master<br /> so I often love to plant seeds storey<br /> seeds for particular characters and then<br /> let those characters players actually do<br /> the heavy lifting on pulling the story<br /> in particular directions going back hey<br /> my relative there’s rumors about them<br /> being there I’m going right that’s going<br /> to motivate the group at large and in a<br /> lot of ways and so now it’s it’s a sort<br /> of an internal consensus that they’re<br /> going off how I often make sure that<br /> other people are going to want to be<br /> motivated is again I will often work in<br /> some kind of moral appeal you know where<br /> you’re gonna be going to help people<br /> sometimes there will might be the the<br /> glimmer of wealth at the end of of the<br /> road because wealth is often a motivator<br /> for certain characters I also in session<br /> zero especially for a campaign a long<br /> campaign rather than you know a one-shot<br /> or something<br /> I make sure there are deep connections<br /> among the characters so that usually if<br /> one character gets pulled along they’re<br /> gonna pull the characters who they’re<br /> deeply connected to along with them and<br /> so characters in my campaigns a few of<br /> them usually end up having some kind of<br /> family relationships some of the<br /> characters are often from the same<br /> organization you have other characters<br /> who might have been adventurers with<br /> each other years before there might be<br /> old friends you know I’ve had characters<br /> who were as close to each other as you<br /> know brother and sister or two brothers<br /> years ago there was a campaign where one<br /> of the characters was<br /> the uncle who was raising his nephew if<br /> you build those kinds of deep<br /> connections in again all you often have<br /> to do is just tug on one of the strings<br /> and all the other strings come along for<br /> the ride and that’s not to say there<br /> can’t be multiple motivations either I<br /> was just thinking you know why are they<br /> going to Alderaan<br /> well obi-wan wants to do the right thing<br /> Luke wants to meet the princess and<br /> Honda’s in it for the money right so and<br /> but it’s the same goal that they’re<br /> trying to achieve but that’s actually I<br /> love that example because the bit about<br /> the money for Han that comes from Leia I<br /> remember correctly yes don’t worry<br /> you’ll be well oh no no no no well cause<br /> he might have been the Leo I might have<br /> been Luke who said oh I think it was<br /> Luke who said you’ll be rich yeah so<br /> right right yeah so that’s a great<br /> example in a way of party members<br /> tugging on each other toward the goal<br /> right you’re not gonna do it because you<br /> want to be the princess I want to be a<br /> princess right I need to come with me<br /> that’s right<br /> really quickly just because mad wolf<br /> twelve I know you asked this multiple<br /> times last stream and I want to get you<br /> an answer<br /> same question about consent ours ride<br /> brooms can Eric ho Kragh where other<br /> winged player characters were close so<br /> again this goes right back to the<br /> section and the Dungeon Master’s guide<br /> where it talks about who or what can<br /> wear various magic items check out check<br /> out that section it will answer most of<br /> your questions and although really the<br /> rule can be boiled down to the DM<br /> decides in that section gives a variety<br /> of guidelines again just so you know the<br /> spirit behind the writing of those rules<br /> and I can tell you since I was the one<br /> who finalized those rules my spirit<br /> behind those rules is whenever possible<br /> let it happen we this is why we built in<br /> strict strict rules like the three item<br /> attunement and whatnot that rule is<br /> really meant to be the control and it’s<br /> why actually in the Dungeon Master’s<br /> guide when you look in the section on<br /> tweaking the rules of the<br /> we say tweek away but there are a few<br /> rules in the game you’re better off<br /> leaving alone one of them is<br /> concentration one of them is the three<br /> item attunement which of course then we<br /> fiddled around with in the version of<br /> the artificer who did a while ago<br /> because again we were very careful and<br /> we knew you know we we knew the risks we<br /> were taking there yeah but one of the<br /> reasons again why that strict rule is in<br /> place is so that if you use that rule<br /> you can then otherwise feel comfortable<br /> saying yes because it’s like well as<br /> long as you’re not you know busting out<br /> of your normal three item attunement let<br /> him wear what they want to wear and and<br /> and if again if the issue is well it<br /> might look ridiculous if the player<br /> wants their character to look ridiculous<br /> let them look ridiculous again I think<br /> it’s often funny how like groups get<br /> really concerned about policing the<br /> appearance of other people’s characters<br /> and it’s like again if if I want my<br /> wizard to look look the fool let me do<br /> it and but again part of the fun of D&D<br /> is your choices can have consequences if<br /> my character looks the fool and wanders<br /> into town I will kind of enjoy it if the<br /> DM then makes their consequence err it<br /> makes it makes it so that there are<br /> consequences where then the NPC’s are<br /> noticing like why does this guy look<br /> like a clown we’re gonna treat you like<br /> a car yeah yeah I love the idea concept<br /> of the rules as sort of this mat this<br /> instrument panel and you can you know<br /> adjust the dials here and there<br /> change the channel change the volume<br /> this one’s vertical hold so you might<br /> not want to screw that one too much but<br /> still it’s this Roisin of month along<br /> the mat but but you know what even there<br /> let’s say a DM decides what people<br /> return to five items six items eight<br /> items the game is not going to<br /> disintegrate in your hands if you do<br /> that but you are opening potentially the<br /> door to a lot of insane interactions<br /> between various magic items and more<br /> importantly for us you’re opening the<br /> door tool<br /> seneschal complexity that could really<br /> slow your game down and speed of play so<br /> that you can focus on the fun and on the<br /> story is almost always our our goal with<br /> these things but if a DM and the group<br /> is all for that like hey we’re all for<br /> having eight items interacting with each<br /> other and the DM is willing to accept<br /> the consequences of that and the<br /> potential adjudication headaches that’s<br /> on that dungeon master and and again I’m<br /> not going to say DM don’t do it because<br /> again my my rule of thumb is follow your<br /> bliss at your table mmm nudge D&D in the<br /> direction that works best for you and<br /> your players when you’re the dungeon<br /> master but also just like I was saying<br /> about being a game designer also be as a<br /> DM don’t be afraid to iterate don’t be<br /> afraid to admit alright maybe letting<br /> people have attune to eight items that<br /> was kind of a huge show pardon the<br /> term and maybe we’re gonna maybe we’re<br /> gonna dial that back or amateur Channel<br /> yes so it yeah so also as DMS it’s okay<br /> to have that frank conversation with<br /> your players sometimes just like we do<br /> about the game itself like this thing<br /> didn’t quite work out the way we<br /> intended the way we desired we’re gonna<br /> change course we’re gonna adjust because<br /> at the end of the day it’s not about<br /> especially as Dungeon Master’s when<br /> you’re damming a group of players it’s<br /> not about being right it’s about having<br /> a great time it’s about you smiling it’s<br /> about your players smiling it’s about at<br /> the end of the session remembering all<br /> those awesome things that happened in<br /> your adventure it’s like who cares if it<br /> turned out a ruling you made or a ruling<br /> that a player suggested turned out to be<br /> a bad idea because the beauty is you can<br /> change it you you can course correct<br /> yeah you can have a frank conversation<br /> with your group and say we’re now gonna<br /> go this way and let’s give it a try and<br /> if you are I if you are changing sort of<br /> the laws of physics of your campaign you<br /> know perhaps find a logical conclusion<br /> to your current adventure path at the<br /> moment just so you can get to the end of<br /> here of the way that we’ve been playing<br /> the rules so that when you do restart<br /> you know you’re starting afresh if not<br /> from a whole new campaign at least from<br /> a whole new start to the adventure that<br /> you and then your your and having open<br /> and frank conversations with your<br /> players also always good advice yeah a<br /> little bit of a rules question here<br /> Avista ‘no Sask –sf ein steed indicates<br /> that you fight as a seamless unit yet<br /> find greater steed says you control the<br /> mountain come in combat excuse me is<br /> this intentionally different per mounted<br /> combat rules so the wording in fine<br /> steed and find greater steed wait where<br /> is the question can you point it to me<br /> so i’m looking at the text thank you<br /> abbas toronto the difference in wording<br /> is intentional in fact man you you<br /> followed this up great because this is<br /> an example of me iterating the original<br /> fine steed the way it’s worded the<br /> seamless fighting unit spawned questions<br /> naturally on what does this mean for the<br /> mounted combat rules because in the<br /> mounted combat rules we tell you when<br /> you hop on a regular mount either it’s<br /> it it is an independent mount or you’re<br /> controlling it and it was unclear to<br /> people in the original spell what our<br /> intent was whether this magical mount<br /> that the paladin conjures up gets to<br /> choose or the paladin gets to choose<br /> whether it’s independent or controlled<br /> or whether we were suggesting it had to<br /> be controlled right you summoned your<br /> paladin horse but he hates you right<br /> right so so when when I was working on<br /> fine greater steed I decided hey here’s<br /> a chance because there’s a new spell<br /> that very similar to this other one for<br /> me to put in greater clarity and to show<br /> what’s intended for this spell also this<br /> is important for you to know whether<br /> you’re interpreting official rules<br /> material or writing rules material of<br /> your own it’s an exceptions based game<br /> you’ll hear me say this a lot I never<br /> tire of saying it because it is<br /> fundamental to understanding how to<br /> interpret the rules and also how to<br /> write them and that is when you get into<br /> something like a<br /> well we think of a spell as an exception<br /> this is it’s an exception to a general<br /> rule the general rules in the game are<br /> things like the combat rules the rules<br /> on skills the general rules on spell<br /> casting but as soon as you get into a<br /> particular class feature a particular<br /> magic item a particular feat a<br /> particular spell a particular monster<br /> you are in the realm of exceptions and<br /> each of those exceptions is almost in a<br /> way a universe unto itself what it says<br /> inside once you’re inside that universe<br /> what it says about itself applies only<br /> to itself and it’s okay if there are<br /> other spells that are even kind of<br /> similar that work in a different way<br /> because this is really important because<br /> again this goes back to the theme of we<br /> want the game to be easy to play in a<br /> straightforward as possible when you’re<br /> reading a spell and playing that spell<br /> you don’t have to worry about what other<br /> spells say mm-hm all you have to care<br /> about is what does this spell say yeah<br /> but that means then as a designer you<br /> need to do as much as you can to make<br /> sure each of those rules exceptions<br /> you’re creating can indeed stand on its<br /> own and answers the most important<br /> questions that you’re likely players are<br /> going to have now you might be wondering<br /> how do we know what are the most<br /> important questions this is where<br /> playtesting comes in and play testing<br /> can be actual play it can also be it can<br /> also that can also be shorthand for get<br /> thousands of people to read it and give<br /> us feedback and then also play testing<br /> can be after the fact play once<br /> something is published and we all just<br /> keep using it year after year and so<br /> this fine Steve versus fine grater steed<br /> difference is a great example of after<br /> the fact play testing of we all used it<br /> many many times and it became clear that<br /> other spell could have been clearer and<br /> so we learned that lesson and made sure<br /> to apply that lesson when designing a<br /> new spell and our hands weren’t tied<br /> because the beauty is the other beauty<br /> of a specific thing always beating a<br /> general thing is our hands are tied when<br /> we’re doing later design we don’t have<br /> to keep repeating the mistakes like<br /> there’s no rule in D&D that’s<br /> every spell must be exactly like the<br /> spells in you know in terms of its<br /> formatting and wording as every spell<br /> that’s come before it know if if we have<br /> figured out a better way to do things<br /> we’re going to do it in newer spells<br /> people will then ask again this is both<br /> this is important for you to understand<br /> both as a user of the rules but also as<br /> a potential designer of them people will<br /> ask well does the newer thing then<br /> invalidate the older thing indeed it<br /> does not because again that’s the beauty<br /> of an exceptions based design is each of<br /> those things can stand on its own and<br /> nothing is taken away from the old thing<br /> by the new thing doing something<br /> differently if you still like how the<br /> old thing works the old thing is still<br /> fabulous and basically if it is still<br /> for you to use one of my favorite word’s<br /> if it’s still juicy for you enjoy it it<br /> and and don’t let anyone talk you out of<br /> it<br /> there sometimes as gamers we get so<br /> passionate and we’ll be so excited about<br /> one thing it can be very tempting to try<br /> to talk somebody else out of their<br /> enjoyment please please don’t do that<br /> because the beauty of D&D is that we can<br /> each enjoy different things that’s a<br /> part of the games design important for<br /> you to understand as a potential<br /> designer of the game that when you’re<br /> designing for like a person who loves<br /> wizards you have different goals than<br /> you do if you’re designing for a person<br /> who loves fighters or a person who loves<br /> clerics or a person who loves robes you<br /> want to make sure that you are appealing<br /> to all of this huge spectrum of<br /> enjoyments that people have having to do<br /> with different styles of play different<br /> styles of storytelling and so one person<br /> enjoying thing a takes nothing away from<br /> somebody else enjoying thing B and in<br /> fact di D is designed so that a DND<br /> party is strongest when you have a<br /> little bit of a and a little bit of B<br /> and a little bit of seeing a little bit<br /> of D and they are working together and<br /> playing off each other’s strengths it is<br /> a challenge for the dungeon master and I<br /> give all credit as always to Dungeon<br /> Master’s out in the world<br /> managing those playstyles they’re varied<br /> they could be different they can come<br /> into conflict they can come into great<br /> cooperation mm-hmm<br /> but but yes kudos to the to the DMS of<br /> the world a see cook a cook they cook 32<br /> I’m guessing you’re a cook and you’re 32<br /> years old asks lead with a carrot<br /> instead of the stick this was when we<br /> were talking about I believe we were<br /> talking about<br /> minotaurs and centaurs and their ability<br /> to score adjustments lead with a carrot<br /> instead of the stick but why do the<br /> cobalt and ork get penalties ah so we’ve<br /> gotten this question before the orc and<br /> the kobold race options which appear in<br /> Volos guide to monsters as we say in the<br /> introduction of the section where those<br /> monsters appear they are exceptional on<br /> here we go here’s that at that theme of<br /> this is an exceptions based game that we<br /> knew that we were violating one of the<br /> principles that guides our design for a<br /> typical race option in D&D but as we<br /> note in that in that book we did that on<br /> purpose<br /> because in most settings these are<br /> usually villainous options and part of<br /> the story of D&D is goblin oins in<br /> particular and orcs have often tried to<br /> conquer the other peoples they’ve often<br /> been tyrannical and whatnot and we also<br /> wanted to show that there is potentially<br /> even a mechanical reason for why they<br /> ultimately keep losing that said we know<br /> that you know a penalty is not for<br /> everybody and if it’s a real sticking<br /> point in a particular group the player<br /> could ask the DM if the penalty could be<br /> waived that that those penalties are a<br /> great example of mechanics largely<br /> serving a story purpose and that’s what<br /> I was gonna ask yes Minh Town like it’s<br /> too disincentivize players from choosing<br /> these challenging race options<br /> much as it is hitting the the correct<br /> story beats for for what feels right for<br /> for the for the world yeah exactly yep<br /> because as I mentioned when we talked a<br /> bit about the Centaur and the Minotaur<br /> race design more than almost anything<br /> else in the game is us walking a<br /> tightrope between building satisfying<br /> player mechanics and world building<br /> because we’re not just making statements<br /> about your character we’re making<br /> statements about D&D worlds and how<br /> these different groups have<br /> traditionally interacted with each other<br /> but again often in in particular<br /> campaigns the story is about defying<br /> those traditions so DM if you’re telling<br /> a story and let’s say you’re dwarves in<br /> your home campaign setting don’t even<br /> live underground well you might want to<br /> swap out dwarven stone cunning for<br /> something else and come up with a new<br /> racial trait to go into that spot you<br /> can you can always tweak the dots yes<br /> they’re able to tweak today absolutely<br /> and and as with anything if you do do<br /> that kind of tweaking just see it how it<br /> plays out if if the group loves it<br /> you’ve you’ve hit a home run if it falls<br /> flat again this is the beauty of it you<br /> can admit that it fell flat and you can<br /> iterate and here’s the other thing doing<br /> that as a dungeon master is a fantastic<br /> way to develop your chops as a potential<br /> DND designer all of us on staff who’ve<br /> been working on DND for a decade or more<br /> started out really doing just that<br /> tweaking things as DMS trying them out<br /> trying them out again<br /> and being willing to admit when<br /> something doesn’t work and that<br /> admission is often the first step toward<br /> getting you toward that awesome design<br /> where people are gonna be like oh I just<br /> love it that that really brought this<br /> story to life or this character to life<br /> or you know really added just that<br /> special something to that monster that<br /> wouldn’t have been there<br /> otherwise it you reminded me of<br /> something I wanted to bring up a couple<br /> of questions ago which is after the fact<br /> we’re gonna need to go into reddit at<br /> some point because I’d love to start a<br /> thread asking the dungeon master is out<br /> there have you set up campaigns or<br /> adventures where you have tweaked the<br /> dials way more than you might have been<br /> comfortable with and what were the<br /> results I’d love to hear some of the<br /> stories that have come out of that<br /> playing around with the instrumentation<br /> because because each of us as dungeon<br /> masters in a way has way more Liberty<br /> than I and the rest of the team have as<br /> the game’s official designers the reason<br /> why I say that is our job is to model<br /> the most typical thing in D&D and if you<br /> want to design that’s a really important<br /> thing to keep in mind that you are if<br /> you’re designing for broad consumption<br /> you’re designing and broad consumption<br /> and specifically in Dungeons & Dragons<br /> you’re designing for the most typical<br /> things typically unless of course this<br /> sort of what’s on the tin tells you<br /> here’s this really a typical thing<br /> that’s also awesome and we do that<br /> ourselves occasionally as we did with<br /> the Goblin in the orc but as DMS there’s<br /> not often when you’re DME your own<br /> setting or even when you’re using an<br /> official setting because like if you’re<br /> damning and The Forgotten Realms in your<br /> home game that’s your Forgotten Realms<br /> right suddenly you can do what you want<br /> you can make the tweaks that feel the<br /> right for your group you’re designing<br /> for your table exact as opposed to as<br /> many tables as we man we we’re almost at<br /> three we haven’t even gotten through all<br /> the questions that we compiled from last<br /> time and we haven’t even touched upon<br /> the giant soul sorcerer we’ll go a<br /> couple minutes after if that’s all right<br /> I know and then I have to run off to my<br /> Mauser design meeting so we will we’ll<br /> wrap up here quickly with another<br /> question or two I did want to jump ahead<br /> with just a couple of announcements<br /> again next week we will be talking to<br /> the folks at Idol champions and then the<br /> week after we’ll be returning with<br /> Jeremy to continue design plus<br /> discussion so we will continue to<br /> address questions as they come up as<br /> much as possible oh man we’ve got one<br /> too to highlight for this time or next<br /> night if we if I answer we’re never<br /> gonna get to the giant soul okay so I<br /> wanted to answer the question about<br /> advancing animal companions so we’ll do<br /> that next time okay<br /> so we’ll continue to address your<br /> questions we’ll we’ll begin on the giant<br /> soul source or next time as well I did<br /> want to just quickly mention as the<br /> dragon post livestream dragon plus issue<br /> 20 is available now for free on iOS<br /> Android and as always at dragon mag com<br /> we’ve got some great content including<br /> stream of many eyes behind-the-scenes<br /> features we’ve got some cartoons from<br /> Jason Thompson about the you go oaths<br /> and a piece from The Adventure Zone a<br /> comic preview here they’re bigger blends<br /> and they’re playable adventure I believe<br /> in full return to the test of initiation<br /> based on one of their podcast episodes<br /> now they compiled that into a playable<br /> scenario so if you’re fan of The<br /> Adventure Zone look for that in this<br /> issue of Dragon Plus again thanks to<br /> everyone who was participating in the<br /> stream of many eyes watching chatting<br /> able to to take part F for folks that<br /> were there in Los Angeles thank you so<br /> so much for coming on down and taking<br /> part and this weekend again we do have<br /> origins coming up so a live sage advice<br /> panel will be taking place on Friday<br /> bring your questions anything D&D<br /> related they don’t even have to be rules<br /> D&D beyond will be live streaming from<br /> origins for for all day on Friday so<br /> we’ll be hosting them as much as<br /> possible on the D&D channel as well I I<br /> will I will even lurch onto onto that<br /> stage at some point so let’s see I think<br /> that’s all the announcements that I<br /> wanted to give we’ve got four minutes<br /> is there one question that we can<br /> address informer so do you want to touch<br /> on the giant soul sorcerer and we can<br /> yeah I want to touch on the Giants<br /> little source were real quick we can do<br /> we can do some detailed discussion in<br /> our next one one of the things I wanted<br /> to say about the giant cell source were<br /> in in comparison to the order domain<br /> because we started the series together<br /> talking about the order domain yes and I<br /> mentioned that between the initial<br /> concept that people got to see some of<br /> in Mike’s happy fun hour and then<br /> unearthed Arcana we made a ton of<br /> changes in fact at least 75% of what was<br /> in under Turkana was different from what<br /> was original that sometimes happens in<br /> the development process where as I<br /> talked about then we throw out a whole<br /> lot and we iterate we iterate we iterate<br /> and then based on the play test feedback<br /> world get back will iterate some more so<br /> in contrast what I wanted to say is<br /> sometimes you’ll get you’ll get a<br /> concept that is sound enough that has<br /> enough sort of good story meat that<br /> informed its rules design that a lot of<br /> the original concept makes it through<br /> the initial round of development and<br /> redesign and that’s true of the giant<br /> sole sorcerer a lot of what’s here<br /> people will recognize from the concept<br /> version that appeared in the happy fun<br /> hour a lot of what I did was refined<br /> rather than removing something and<br /> replacing it with new design this was a<br /> case of and this is almost always the<br /> case by the way if you have strong story<br /> concept almost always if you carry that<br /> through your game design your game<br /> design is going to be better if you<br /> start instead for D&D with I just want<br /> to design these cool mechanics oh boy is<br /> that a crapshoot on whether you’re gonna<br /> end up with anything good<br /> like clever mechanics will almost never<br /> stick the landing as well as something<br /> that is actualizing a story in a<br /> resonant way because our game is a story<br /> game it’s that simple that if people<br /> look at it and they’re like I can<br /> imagine this thing an Indian<br /> I can imagine this person on an<br /> adventure that is a designer as what<br /> you’re going for not oh my god I’ve come<br /> up with the most clever way to move<br /> people around on the grid and I say that<br /> self critically because as many of us<br /> who have been working on D and E for<br /> many of many years we have done the<br /> equivalent many times of whoo I’ve I’ve<br /> come up with this clever way to move<br /> people around on the grid and it turns<br /> out that is rarely as exciting to people<br /> as this these rules make me think of an<br /> awesome character an amazing event a<br /> whole adventure I want to spring up out<br /> of this person’s backstory or this<br /> monsters ecology etc so story first<br /> story first story first and that’s why<br /> the Giants will sorcerer exited its<br /> concept Inc as in really solid shape<br /> right away I’ll talk about before we run<br /> out of time<br /> the first feature Jotun resilience this<br /> feature echoes the first feature that<br /> the draconic sorcerer has in the players<br /> handbook and you will notice those of<br /> you who are familiar not only with that<br /> feature in the turkic sorcerer but also<br /> with the original concept adverse of<br /> Jochen resilience there used to be a<br /> second piece to it right now it<br /> increases your hit point maximum every<br /> time you gain a sorcerer level but it<br /> used to also give you an additional<br /> benefit that allowed you to use your<br /> Constitution instead of your dexterity<br /> as a part of your armor class<br /> calculations I ended up cutting that<br /> second piece because the Giant soul<br /> sorcerer at first level was already<br /> strong enough without having that little<br /> extra bit which ultimately would have<br /> led to a lot of confusion because as I<br /> looked at all of the different ways that<br /> Constitution could be you know swapped<br /> in in place of dexterity throughout the<br /> game there it started bringing up more<br /> questions than the potential<br /> good that that little bit in the feature<br /> could bring and by the way if you’re<br /> ever wondering when you’re looking at<br /> your own design is there something I<br /> should cut that’s often a good test have<br /> you designed something that basically<br /> poses more questions than the fun that<br /> it’s potentially going to deliver and or<br /> another way of putting it is is it more<br /> interesting than it is fun<br /> I often for me often my ears perk up and<br /> I and I go on alert if I hear a design<br /> being described solely as interesting it<br /> to me and is far more important than a<br /> design be fun the design be inspiring<br /> that there’s something there where a<br /> person sees it and they’re like I get it<br /> I know how to use it and I understand<br /> how this fits into my character when<br /> we’re talking about design that’s a<br /> player character focused when it’s<br /> instead ooh<br /> again some variation of moving people<br /> around on the grid or oh I’ve come up<br /> with this very math doubt way of<br /> delivering this mechanic I guarantee you<br /> most people who play this game that will<br /> not resonate for them you want to try to<br /> deliver your mechanic in as straight<br /> forward away as possible<br /> where person who’s not an expert in<br /> every nuance of DND rules can read it<br /> and get it and also at the end of the<br /> day the Giants will sorcerer simply<br /> didn’t need that little extra kicker<br /> because I look at everything at a<br /> particular level holistically the Giants<br /> will source were is also getting extra<br /> spells at first level and for the soul<br /> who has a pretty constrained number of<br /> spells known right that’s a saucy<br /> benefit to suddenly get that additional<br /> amount of flexibility and as a giant<br /> slow sorcerer you pick which type of<br /> giant you’re connected to and bam at<br /> first level you know two extra spells<br /> and also something we did here that’s<br /> similar to what we do in cleric domains<br /> some of the spells in this little table<br /> are not normally sorceress spells so it<br /> also means you’re gaining access to some<br /> spells that you would normally have to<br /> multi-class to get or you know take a<br /> feat like magic initia to get but<br /> instead here you get and you’ll see<br /> spells like armor of Agathis or heroism<br /> or shillelagh that are not normally<br /> available to sorcerers so you get these<br /> you get these extras and again that’s a<br /> juicy benefit and hey you get more at<br /> third level where you get some more<br /> powerful spells so we’re out of time<br /> talk more about the giant cell sorcerer<br /> next time but again this this subclass<br /> starts off strong at first level also<br /> something that I always have in mind<br /> with first level subclass features which<br /> not all classes have because some<br /> classes have their subclass kick in at<br /> 2nd or 3rd level first level subclass<br /> features can be dicey once we account<br /> for multi classing I have said before<br /> that we don’t we don’t normally do our<br /> multi classing pass until we’ve decided<br /> we’re actually going to publish<br /> something so I’ve not done a full multi<br /> class analysis on this although I have<br /> to admit I always do a little bit my<br /> initial pass and so I that’s also why I<br /> often try to keep first level subclass<br /> features tight and and being just enough<br /> because if you’d go too overboard and<br /> you’re at a table where they use multi<br /> classing everyone wants and there’s<br /> nothing wrong with multi class saying<br /> yeah but I like multi classing I like<br /> the motivation to be usually story<br /> reasons and not oh I just want to cherry<br /> pick the best features from this<br /> constellation of class I had to keep up<br /> with the Joneses I have to have a level<br /> of this class because everyone has that<br /> yeah I’m also gonna go with Jotun<br /> resilience is a great name for a giant<br /> soul sorcerer yes yes or a wrestler of<br /> some yeah<br /> yeah I like it of the stream of anyway<br /> yeah yeah alright well let Jeremy get to<br /> his next meeting where he’s gonna be<br /> designing monsters in in an official<br /> behind-the-scenes capacity but thank you<br /> as always for joining the live stream<br /> thank you and thank you everyone for for<br /> watching yes as always thank you so much<br /> to our viewers to our followers to our<br /> subscribers thank you so much we’ll be<br /> back with Jeremy in two weeks we’ll be<br /> back next week with Arnold champions<br /> again we’ve got dnews coming up shortly<br /> at 3:30 dice camera action will be<br /> vodcast in from the stream of mini eyes<br /> their episode there this week and then I<br /> believe they’ll be back the following so<br /> stick around and thank you as always for<br /> for tuning in the most exciting hour on<br /> Twitch on this channel 2 to 3 on<br /> [Applause]<br /> [Laughter]<br /> [Music]<br /> Share this:TweetWhatsAppTelegramEmail
