Sorcerous Origin: The Frozen Heart

Several members of my play group love the movie Frozen.  When we were talking about characters to make for an upcoming campaign we were joking about making an Elsa like character using the dragon born and draconic sorcerer to give the character a lot of ice powers.  I got to thinking about what an Elsa like character might look like in D&D.

I have a two year old daughter, so I've seen Frozen an eye twitching number of times.  AS a result i'm fairly familiar with Elsa's power set.  Some of the powers, such as creating an endless winter that covers an entire kingdom, would be too powerful to give to a player character.  These might be great lair effects for a villain or NPC, but not a player.  Others like, summoning Marshmallow or being able to freeze someone solid are perfect for players.

I decided to stick with the sorcerer since the magical abilities are not something you can study.  At the beginning of the movie the grandpa troll asks if Elsa is born with her powers or cursed with them. Being cursed with these powers would make an excellent plot hook for a DM to exploit...er.. use in the game.

1st Level - The Cold Never Bothered Me Anyway:
You gain resistance to cold damage and you do not have to make survival checks for exposure to the cold.
Additionally, you are able to move across any freezable liquid as if it were solid by temporarily freezing the liquid as you pass over it.

6th Level Don't Let Them In - 
When you cast a spell that deals cold damage add your Charisma modifier to that damage.  At the same time you can spend 1 Sorcery point to force the target to make a Constitution saving throw.  If the target fails, it is slowed until the end of it's next turn.

14th Level Get Out!-
You can spend 4 sorcery points cast Conjure Elemental  spell with out the material components to summon a Snow Elemental (stats below).

18th Level- Beware the Frozen Heart:
You can spend 6 sorcery points to attempt to freeze the heart of a creature that you can see within 30 feet.  The target must make a Constitution saving throw.  If they fail they take 6d6 cold damage and are slowed.  On a successful saving throw they take half damage and are not slowed.

If the target was slowed, they may make another Constitution saving throw at the end of their next turn.  If they succeed the target is no longer slowed. If they fail the saving throw they are paralyzed instead of slowed.

If the target is paralyzed they may make a final Constitution saving throw.  On a success they are no longer paralyzed.  On a failure they are petrified in unmeltable ice.  Only an act of true love can remove the petrification.




Snow Elemental
Large elemental, neutral
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Armor Class: 17
Hit Points: 126 (12d10+60)
Speed: 30 ft.
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STR 20 (+5)  DEX 8 (-1)  CON 20 (+5)  INT 5 (-3)  WIS 10 (+0)  CHA 5 (-3)
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Damage Vulnerabilities: Fire
Damage Resistances: bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical weapons
Damage Immunities: poison, cold
Condition Immunities: exhaustion, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, unconscious
Senses: Dark vision 60ft.
Languages: Common, Aquan
Challenge: 5 (1,800 xp)
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Siege Monster: The elemental deals double damage to objects and structures

Actions
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Multiattack:  The elemental makes two slam attacks.

Slam: Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target.
  Hit: 14 (2d8 +5) bludgeoning damage.

Monastic Tradition: Way of Flying Steel

This monk subclass is based off of some of the great gun wielding heroes in action films/tv shows.  Specifically movies like Hardboiled, Equilibrium, and TV shows like Cowboy Bebop.  While most D&D worlds don't have guns, we do have hand crossbows that can be used for dual wielding awesomeness.

I know what you are thinking, why would a monk wield two crossbows/guns?  Firstly, if you have seen any of the movies or shows I linked above you would know that the mixture of gun-play and martial arts is just plain awesome.  Secondly, the game world might be perfect for a monk who uses more modern weaponry.  I could see this type of character working very well in a da vinci or steam punk style world.   Lastly, why not?


Way of Flying Steel

3rd Level Way of Flying Steel:
Your study of hand crossbows* and light crossbows* allow you to fire them faster and in closer quarters than others.

You gain proficiency with hand crossbows and light crossbows.  These are counted as monk weapons.

When you use Flurry of Blows, you may use your crossbows to make ranged attacks instead of unarmed attacks.

You ignore the loading quality for hand crossbows, in addition while wielding a hand crossbow or light crossbow attacking a creature within 5 feet of you doesn't impose disadvantage.  Lastly, when you use the Attack action and attack with a one handed weapon, you can use your bonus action to attack with a loaded hand crossbow you are holding.

6th Level Improved Deflect Missiles:
You have developed a kata that allows you to avoid incoming ranged attacks with ease.

The die used for Deflect Missiles increases to a d12.  In addition, if the damage is reduced to zero and you are holding a hand crossbow or a light crossbow you may spend 2 ki points to roll 10 feet in any direction and make a ranged attack with a crossbow as part of the same reaction. This movement does not provoke opportunity attacks.

11th Level One Thousand Stings:
You can spend 4 ki points to cast Conjure Barrage.

17th Level Rain of Bolts:
You can spend 6 ki points to cast Conjure Volley.


*If your world does feature firearms, then you can swap out the weapon proficiencies for handguns and rifles or shotguns.

Pleading the 5th

The Fifth Edition of Dungeons and Dragons has been out for a little while now.  I'm sure all of my hypothetical readers have already scoured the internet reading reviews an opinions on the latest edition of the world's most popular role playing game.  But, since this is the internet I'm going to tell you about why this game is my new fetish anyway.

It's Like Third Edition!

Seriously, this version of the game feels a lot like Third Edition, but much more streamlined.  The game still uses the d20 system, where in you use a d20 to determine the results of most actions your character takes.  

Most of the stat bonuses that players and DMs had to remember from turn to turn in previous editions are gone.  Now there is the advantage/disadvantage system that allows you to roll an d20 using the highest or lowest roll respectively.  So instead of getting +2 to hit, you would roll two d20's and use the higher result.  If you would have had a penalty you use the lowest result. I find this system much easier to remember and makes the game that much more fast and fun at the table.  

Feats also make a return from 3rd and 4th editions as an optional rule. You get them less often (boo) but they are much beefier than before (yay). They tend to give you a whole bunch of stuff at once. For example, if you wanted to make a mage that was really handy with that crossbow they always get stuck with, then you could just take the crossbow expert feat to lay down some serious boltage. 

**It's story time**

I think one of the greatest things that has happened to OGL games and Dungeons and Dragons types game in general in recent years is the addition of more story telling mechanics. This is certainly true with Fifth edition. 

Both the player's handbook and the starter box comes with a selection of backgrounds for the PC's. These range from sailor to veteran to sage. Mechanically speaking, your background are where most of your skills will come from. Each class gives you a few skills, but thr bulk come from your background. More importantly, your choice of background helps tie your character to the world and ideally offers story hooks for your DM to play off of. Backgrounds offer bonds, flaws, and ideals that show how your character might act in certain situations. If your character behaves in umm... character, then the DM can award you with inspiration. Inspiration allows you to give yourself advantage on any roll of the d20. This adds up to a great system for mechanically rewarding those who role play, and offers guidance for those who don't.  

There's a Diet Version

For those of you craving an old school feel, there are plenty of options. Wizards of the Coast released a basic version of the rules for the low,  low price of free. This rule set is stripped down, it doesn't have feats, only hase four classes, and each class only has one or two subclasses.  Each subclass was picked for its simplicity and old school feel. Although I found a startling lack of acrobat-thief. 

For those of you willing to shell out the cash for the Monster Manuel, things get even better. It is very easy to convert old dungeons and adventures to fifth edition, giving you several decades worth of material to play with. 

The Downsides

Thankfully, there aren't too many drawbacks, at least for me. If you are using the basic rules humans seem very weak to me. Humans get +1 to all ability scores, which can be nice, but doesn't give you much past a bumps in stats. I could see it being useful if you want to multiclass into something like a paladin/monk/wizard, but other than that it is pretty bland. There is an option to start with a +1 to two ability scores and gain a feat and skills, which seems more interesting/rewarding to me. 

There were also many really cool options in the play test that didn't make it into the final product.  I hope that one day the arcane archer feat makes it back into the game. 

Lastly, if you do not want to create you own adventures or convert old ones, then there isn't much material yet. Although, this should be rectified in time. 

Let the games begin (again)

So the 4th edition game we've been playing has kind of fizzled out. That's ok though, we were planning on switching to next anyway. Our dm has been working on a new campaign and this seemed like a good time to make the switch. Imagine a world where everyone lives the original American dream of being a farmer.  There are no large cities and magic has been outlawed by the church.  There's more to it, but that's the jist.  I'm really excited for the new campaign setting and game system.

While our regular DM finishes up his plans for the campaign setting and first few encounters I've been ask to run a session or two of Brave New World for our group.  Two of us first played on Tabletop Day and it was  a ton of fun.  My wife watched us play BNW is a low powered superhero game set in a dystopian America. 

Mechanically it uses open ended d6 rolls to resolve everything.  It makes for a refreshing change of pace from the d20 system we normally use.  

Our little mini campaign revolves around a group of deltas (super powered individuals) fighting for their lives in an online reality show.  The first installment involved just two characters fighting against increasingly dangerous foes over the course of several rounds.  Delta Hunt, as the show is called, is going to continue this Monday with a larger cast of characters.  I'm going to have most of the players attempting to rescue the last person that is to be "recruited" for their team who was captured by a mercenary army.  

I'm looking forward to getting a better grasp on the rules and letting the characters really cut loose against their foes!

Buck buck buck

So my wife and toddler have decided to team up and make sure i know how dumb it is to try to make this blog. But i am determined to prevail.

Tonight's dinner is roasted chicken and st kielbasa stuffing . Yum yum.

The keys to making an awesome chicken are good sea soning and letting the bird rest once it's done. That second point can't be stressed enough. Resting makes sure the chicken is nice and juicy. 

To get the skin crispy you'll want to make sure to dry off the chicken and then coat it with some sort of oil. Tonight I used a stick of butter. This is also when you do the seasoning. It's ok to go a bit heavy on the salt here, it will only help make the skin crispier.

Ignore my dirty stove.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. We put the chicken in for 45 minutes. After the 45 minutes are up lower the heat to 375 and bake until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 180 degrees.   Once the chicken is dead take it out of the oven and let it rest for about 15 agonizing minutes.

Back for now

So it's been a while. Life kind of kicked me in the teeth around Christmas and I've been on the the go ever since. Things have been crazy hectic both at home and at work, but I've decided to start updating this blog again to help keep me sane. So stay tuned for more gaming and nomming goodness.

Chocolate Facepunch

I have a cookie swap at work tomorrow.  That isn't very much time to make a ton of cookies.  I started out tonight trying to make short bread.  To say that the the results were underwhelming would be an understatement.  I am no in the process of trying a new cookie.  If it works out well I will name it Chocolate Facepunch.

Full disclosure.  This is based off of a recipe for chocolate chip cookies found here.

Here is the recipe after my modifications.

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups butter
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 5.9 ounce package instant chocolate pudding mix
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 teaspoons black spiced rum (I used Kraken)
2 cups dark chocolate chips
2 cups white chocolate chips
1 1/3 cups chocolate heath pieces

The instructions are for assembling and baking are the same as the original recipe.  For the sake of simplicity I will list them again.  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift together the flour and baking soda, set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Beat in the instant pudding mix until blended. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Blend in the flour mixture. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips and heath. Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Edges should be golden brown.

The results? Delicious!!!!!!  I just had Rich come over to taste test them.  He concurred.  The Babysaur agreed too.