Lennon – Heroes Rise: Recent Episodes
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Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 252nd and final entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday, November 18th, 2023, and released Wednesday, November 22nd, 2023 over at heroesrisepodcast.com. Alas, after 252 episodes, our campaign is coming to an end, but we’ll always be around to lend you a helping hand. With over 250 episodes and almost as many Adventurer’s Pack picks and Rests both Short and Long, we know that we’ve created a wealth of information that’s not only applicable to D&D 5e, but to TTRPGs as a whole. Over the coming weeks, we will be reshuffling the website to place a focus on the written content, along with a full audio archive, both on the current RSS feeds as well as a public repository so future access to the existing show catalogue is guaranteed. Also, Lennon and Mikey will have copies of everything (seriously, they treat… Read more
This article was first broadcast in Episode Two Hundred and Fifty-one on 15th November, 2023. Note: This article was adapted from an episode script, and so there may be parts that don’t flow well when read, because they were initially designed for broadcast. It’s no secret that D&D draws heavily on the histories of medieval Europe. Whether for it’s creatures pulled straight from Polish mythology, or its quazi-feudal system of monarchies and peerages based on the French and British systems, the stench of Henry the Eighth and all of his mates can be found everywhere. Look on any good map (or indeed on any bad one) and you’ll find a plethora of places with names like “Waterdeep” — named for its deep water in the harbor; or “Neverwinter” because the snow never settles there and so it’s never winter… We’ll give you two guesses why “Old Stonekeep” is named that.… Read more
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 251st entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday, November 11th, 2023, and released Wednesday, November 15th, 2023 over at heroesrisepodcast.com. In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, Ryu takes us on a Dice Adventure! Next we gather around the campfire and engage in some Dissonant Whispers After that we’ll dig up some Unearthed Mundana and ask “What’s In A Name?”; before finally heading into the Scrying Pool to see what you [all] have to say. Community Questions Heroes Rise are always on the lookout for new team members that have a passion for Dungeons and Dragons. Please know that all of our positions are volunteer, but we do offer a well known outlet for your work. If you have a particular skill that you believe could enhance our content, then send your contact information and experience to sendingstone@heroesrisepodcast.com. You can also follow us on… Read more
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 250th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday October 28th 2023, and released Wednesday November 1st 2023 over at heroesrisepodcast.com. Folks, we just wanted to take a quick moment to remind you that next episode will be a Dissonant Whispers episode, and we’re inviting you all in. We’ll be recording at 8pm Central on Saturday 11th November, and the topic will be… whatever you like! We would love for as many of you who wish to join us to do so, and all you need is a microphone and to join our Discord at discord.heroesrisepodcast.com. If you can’t join us but still want to take part, just let us know on Discord and we’ll take care of it. In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, Ostron once again shows us how the other half play D&D… Next we check out some D&D News… Read more
This article was first broadcast in Episode Two Hundred and Fifty on 1st November, 2023. Note: This article was adapted from an episode script, and so there may be parts that don’t flow well when read, because they were initially designed for broadcast. Monks are one of those classes where they peak later in the game. Monks supported by a versatile party are good hit-and-run strikers at early levels. Monks supported by monks are a bunch of people who can run away very well, because they aren’t winning the fight. Without piles of ki points and only d4 melee damage they aren’t capable of the explosive power they can muster later. Even if you stick in some Kensei monks or ones that get special attacks like Ascendant Dragons or Sun Souls, all of the damage is still based on their martial arts die, which below 5th level is pathetic. After… Read more
The idea of an entire party made up of characters who are the same class is one that gets tossed around a lot in veteran D&D groups. 4th edition’s combat was balanced around the assumption a player group would be diverse, and earlier editions have a lot more restrictions on what different classes are capable of. Unless you’re playing 3.5 and get to use prestige classes, in which case all bets are off. Also this is ignoring multiclassing. However, 5th edition’s simpler ruleset and the number of different subclasses that exist means it’s actually not a terrible idea to have a party of the same class. Usually.ROSTRO has done theorycrafting on how each different group would perform, and has recommendations for what kinds of situations they would be likely to succeed or fail in. Again, these are impressions from the statistics in the rules as well as some anecdotal information.… Read more
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 249th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday, October 7th, 2023, and released Wednesday, October 11th, 2023 over at heroesrisepodcast.com. In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, Lennon takes us to the Thieves Guild Next we check out some D&D News as we take a look at the Monstrous Compendium, the latest Planescape teasers, and we check out the One D&D Playtest 8: Bastions and Cantrips. After that we’ll head into the Gnomish Workshop and find out if it’s a good idea to be one of us; before finally heading into the Scrying Pool to see what you have to say. Links Community Questions Heroes Rise are always on the lookout for new team members that have a passion for Dungeons and Dragons. Please know that all of our positions are volunteer, but we do offer a well known outlet for your work.… Read more
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 248th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday, September 23rd, 2023 and released Wednesday, September 27th, 2023 over at heroesrisepodcast.com. In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, Ryu tells us about the boodoo who do what you don’t dare do, people. Next we check out some D&D News as we take a look at the latest hardcover release, Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk After that we’ll open up our Quest Logs as Lennon, RaeRae and Grimcrag try to remove the tadpoles from their brains in Baldur’s Gate 3; before finally heading into the Scrying Pool to see what you have to say. Community Questions Heroes Rise are always on the lookout for new team members that have a passion for Dungeons and Dragons. Please know that all of our positions are volunteer, but we do offer a well known outlet for your… Read more
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 247th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday, September 9th, 2023, and released Wednesday, September 13th, 2023 over at heroesrisepodcast.com. This week we’re going to wander into the Market of Minauros to see what mysterious and magical items have filtered up for sale. Next we check out some D&D News as we take a look at the One D&D Player’s Handbook Test 7… And just like its predecessor, it’s a biggie! And because the news is so big we’re going to be skipping the Short Rest and heading straight into the Scrying Pool to see what you [all] have to say. Community Questions Heroes Rise are always on the lookout for new team members that have a passion for Dungeons and Dragons. Please know that all of our positions are volunteer, but we do offer a well known outlet for your… Read more
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 246th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday August 26th 2023, and released Wednesday August 30th 2023 over at heroesrisepodcast.com. In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack… OK, Lennon just wrote a bunch of 1980s slang in this, and I wasn’t comfortable saying it in the 80s, so there’s no way I’m saying it 40 years later. So ignoring all of that, we’re left with “Dungeons, Laser, Dragon, Terrain, Minis”. Next we check out some D&D News as we take a sneak peek at the Planescape box set (and a couple of monsters you’ll encounter), as well as getting our first look at Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk. After that we’ll take a Short Rest and head into the Archives of Candlekeep to learn all about the Rakshasa; before finally heading into the Scrying Pool to see what you [all] have to say. Community… Read more
This article was first broadcast in Episode Two Hundred and Forty Five on 16th August, 2023. Note: This article was adapted from an episode script, and so there may be parts that don’t flow well when read, because they were initially designed for broadcast. Owlbears are what could be called a B-level celebrity in D&D. They don’t get much recognition outside of players and fans of the game, but to anyone familiar with D&D, the owlbear is an instantly recognizable name and creature. The Owlbear also has the distinction of being one of the oldest monsters in D&D. It didn’t quite get in on the ground floor with the original edition, but it was in place for the Greyhawk supplement for original D&D in 1975. Since then, it’s become a staple monster of the brand. The first book published for an edition that focused on monsters, whether it’s called the… Read more
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 245th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday August 12th 2023, and released Wednesday August 16th 2023 over at heroesrisepodcast.com. In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, Ryu tells us what’s on her xmind. Next we check out some D&D News as we check out the latest hardcover release Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants After that we’ll take a Short Rest and head into the Archives of Candlekeep and learn all about the Owlbear; before finally heading into the Scrying Pool to see what you [all] have to say. Community Questions
… and Heroes Rise is no different. We know that this announcement may come as a surprise to a lot of you. With OneD&D on the horizon, and more releases in the coming quarter than we’ve had all year, why would we end the adventure here? We wish we could give you a simple and satisfying answer to this, but like any good D&D campaign, it’s a culmination of many moving parts that have lead to this decision. This upcoming season aside, product releases have been fewer and farther between. The amount of communication from Wizards of the Coast has plummeted since the pandemic. Further, the OGL debacle at the beginning of the year saw huge numbers of players leaving D&D for other game systems, and several third-party publishers stop developing for 5th Edition all together. And that’s not to mention how after six years, we’ve covered virtually every tool… Read more
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 244th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday July 29th 2023, and released Wednesday August 2nd 2023 over at heroesrisepodcast.com. In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, Ostron firmly declares his side in the upcoming robot apocalypse, and tries to convince us to join him… Next we check out some D&D News as we take a look at everything that’s been teased so far from Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants, as well as Beadle & Grimm’s Legendary Edition of Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk. After that we’ll take a Short Rest and head into the Gnomish Workshop to find out why Lennon isn’t sick before finally heading into the Scrying Pool to see what you [all] have to say. Links Community Questions
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise.This is the 243rd entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday, July 8th, 2023, and released Wednesday, July 12th, 2023 over at heroesrisepodcast.com. This week we’re forgoing the Adventurer’s Pack and Short Rest segments as, yes, the News really is that large. The Player’s Handbook Playtest 6 weighs in at 77 pages and covers 7 classes, subclasses for each, 16 spells, 7 feats, a new Weapons Mastery table and a rules glossary. I’m sure you can see why this might take us a while to get through. And, as always, after that we’ll head into the Scrying Pool to see what you have to say Community Questions
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 242nd entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday June 24th 2023, and released Wednesday June 28th 2023 over at heroesrisepodcast.com. In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, Ryu plays the bassoon. At least I think that’s what the note says, I can’t read her handwriting… Next we discuss some of our favourite and not-so-favourite D&D settings, and what makes them truly great (or terrible), as we gather around the campfire and engage in some Dissonant Whispers After that we’ll take a Short Rest and hear some Wisdom of the Masters on what to do with the third wheel; before finally heading into the Scrying Pool to see what you [all] have to say. Community Questions
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 241st entry into our chronicle, recorded on Sunday June 11th 2023, and released Wednesday June 14th 2023 over at heroesrisepodcast.com. This week we’re going to wander into the Market of Minauros to see what mysterious and magical items have filtered up for sale. Specifically: Next we check out some D&D News as we take a look at all the details we have so far on Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants, and what we can learn from all the book covers for Planescape, Phandelin and The Book of Many Things After that we’ll take a Short Rest and head into the Archives of Candlekeep to find out why it isn’t mice; before finally heading into the Scrying Pool to see what you [all] have to say. Community Questions
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 240th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday, May 20th, and released Wednesday, May 24th, 2023 over at heroesrisepodcast.com. In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, we finally let Lennon eat his dice. Next we check out some D&D News as we take a look at the latest boardgame coming from WizKids, the D&D Streaming Channel, the results of the Paladin and Druid Playtest survey, and some Misplaced Monsters. After that we’ll take a Short Rest and hear some Wisdom of the Masters on how not to say something, before finally heading into the Scrying Pool to see what you have to say. Community Questions
This article was first broadcast in Episode Two Hundred and Forty on 23rd May, 2023. Note: This article was adapted from an episode script, and so there may be parts that don’t flow well when read, because they were initially designed for broadcast. Presentation always matters. Sometimes with Dungeons and Dragons, you need to be direct. In combat, for example, being vague and misleading about enemies actions doesn’t do anything but confuse and frustrate people. But simple, obvious descriptions don’t always work for storytelling. In fact, there are many so-called purists who want to avoid as much out-of-game information as possible. Those are the kind of people who don’t want to hear “the giants are CR 9”. They want you to be creative and say something like “the giants are much larger than you, they have finely crafted armor, and they move like trained fighters who’ve seen a few battles.”… Read more
This article was first broadcast in Episode Two Hundred and Thirty Nine on 10th May, 2023. Note: This article was adapted from an episode script, and so there may be parts that don’t flow well when read, because they were initially designed for broadcast. Tortles have a surprisingly long history with D&D. But like Shifters and Warforged, their origins are linked to alternate settings and they’re usually brought into mainstream D&D during a second or third “wave” of content additions. Quick refresher for those who forgot their D&D real-world history. During the first and second edition of D&D, there was the main publication out of TSR, officially called “Advanced Dungeons and Dragons.” The reason that was emphasized was to separate it from “Basic Dungeons and Dragons.” Basic was a parallel publication that used most of the same bones of D&D, but the details differed. The two most obvious differences were… Read more
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 239th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday May 6th, and released Wednesday, May 10th, 2023 over at heroesrisepodcast.com. In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, Ryu takes us down to the forge! Next we check out some D&D News, as we take a look at what we can expect from the new Player’s Handbook with the latest OneD&D playtest covering weapons and adventuring gear; as well as the barbarian, fighter, sorcerer, warlock and wizard classes. After that we’ll take a Short Rest and head into the Archives of Candlekeep to get totally tortley; before finally heading into the Scrying Pool to see what you have to say. Community Questions
This article was first broadcast in Episode Two Hundred and Thirty Eight on 26th April, 2023. Note: This article was adapted from an episode script, and so there may be parts that don’t flow well when read, because they were initially designed for broadcast. As we’ve mentioned before, unlike with a lot of modern fantasy media like Harry Potter and Game of Thrones, Dragons in D&D are fully sapient, thinking beings. That has given rise to several dragons who made names for themselves for various reasons. Icingdeath, which is the name I’m using because his real name sounds like someone sneezing into a kazoo, is a dragon made famous from the Drizz’t novels. Ashardalon [ash-AR-dah-lawn] is a red dragon with a terrifying multiversal reputation. Silvara is a Silver dragon whose life and fate were tied in directly to the War of the Lance and the heroes from Dragonlance. Themberchaud is… Read more
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 238th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday April 22nd, and released Wednesday, April 26th, 2023 over at heroesrisepodcast.com. In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, Ostron tells us to “choose our own adventure”. Charming. Next we check out some D&D News, as we take a look at everything that came out of D&D Creator’s Summit 2023, as well as a little information on the updated Dungeon Master’s Guide coming in 2024. After that we’ll take a Short Rest and head into the Archives of Candlekeep, ‘cause oh Bahamut, he comin’; before finally heading into the Scrying Pool to see what you [all] have to say. Community Questions
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 237th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday, April 1st, 2023 (that’s not a joke), and released Wednesday, April 5th, 2023 over at heroesrisepodcast.com. This week we’re going to wander into the Market of Minauros to see what mysterious and magical items have filtered up for sale. Next we check out some D&D News as we take a look at everything that came out of D&D Direct 2023. After that we’ll take a Short Rest and head into the Archives of Candlekeep and learn how to troll, before finally heading into the Scrying Pool to see what you [all] have to say. Links Community Questions
This article was first broadcast in Episode Two Hundred and Thirty Seven on 22nd March, 2023. Note: This article was adapted from an episode script, and so there may be parts that don’t flow well when read, because they were initially designed for broadcast. In D&D, trolls are something of an unsung victory of the brand. In almost all modern fantasy series, trolls have mostly the same appearance and behavior; they’re larger than humans, usually by several feet; they have wiry bodies covered in skin that looks diseased, loose, oddly colored, or all of the above; they aren’t that intelligent; and they try to eat anything and anyone they come across. Almost no one thinks D&D invented trolls, and technically they are correct. Trolls exist in multiple mythologies and myths throughout history. However, D&D’s particular brand of troll didn’t come directly from any myth. Most people’s next thought would be… Read more
This article was first broadcast in Episode Two Hundred and Thirty Six on 22nd March, 2023. Note: This article was adapted from an episode script, and so there may be parts that don’t flow well when read, because they were initially designed for broadcast. Sentient magic items are another common trope in many fantasy or fantasy-adjacent stories. The One Ring from the Lord of the Rings is an obvious example. All the characters who knew about it talked as if it had a will of it’s own, such as when it supposedly abandoned Isildur and then Gollum in its quest to get back to Sauron. More recently, in the Marvel movies, Dr. Strange’s cloak of levitation is another item that has it’s own will and makes decisions and takes actions due to an intelligence of its own. And in Disney’s adaptations of the Aladdin story, the magic carpet found by… Read more
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 236th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday March 18th 2023, and released Wednesday March 22nd 2023 over at heroesrisepodcast.com. In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, the last of our PAX interviews as Ostron and Ryu talk to the fine folks of Turbo Dork, Lethal Shadows, and Baron Smellybones Scented Dice. Next we check out some D&D News, as we take a look at the latest Playtest options for the Druid and Paladin, as well as a few other things from around the D&D multiverse After that we’ll take a Short Rest and hear some Wisdom of the Masters (and also from our swords, apparently); before finally heading into the Scrying Pool to see what you [all] have to say. Community Questions
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 235th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday February 18th 2023, and released Wednesday February 22nd 2023 over at heroesrisepodcast.com. In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, more from PAX, this time Ostron and I spoke to the good folks at Beadle and Grimm’s Pandemonium Warehouse Next we check out some D&D News, as we take a look at the latest official release, Keys from the Golden Vault After that we’ll take a Short Rest and open our Adventurer’s Journal for a brief primer on summons; before finally heading into the Scrying Pool to see what you [all] have to say. Community Questions
Liches, ironically, have been around for a very long time in D&D. It’s ironic because that’s the whole point; liches are very powerful magic users who are usually after immortality. But they don’t want to sell their soul to anyone except themselves to get that never ending existence. They also tend to cause trouble for everyone else around as a side effect of that ambition. When we they’ve been around for a very long time, we’re not kidding; there are few creatures that have been written down in the rules longer. The first lich creature was described in the Greyhawk supplement for Original D&D, put out in 1975. They were only described as “the skeletal monsters are of magical origin, each Lich formerly being a very powerful Magic-User or Magic-User/Cleric in life, and now alive only by means of great spells and will, because of being in some way disturbed.”… Read more
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 234th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday February 4th 2023, and released Wednesday February 8th 2023 over at heroesrisepodcast.com. In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, more from PAX, this time a Virtual TableTop Two-fer Next we check out some D&D News, as we bring you right up to date with the latest OGL shenanigans, and we take a look at everything we know so far about the next hardcover release, Keys from the Golden Vault After that we’ll take a Short Rest and head into the Archives of Candlekeep to find out if the KDM is a lich; before finally heading into the Scrying Pool to see what you [all] have to say. Community Questions
Armor class is one of the most consulted stats in D&D 5th edition. It could arguably be the most consulted stat, assuming your game has combat as a major part of the play sessions. Even if it’s a war of spellcasters, a number of spells use attack rolls that target AC. In any average combat, though, almost everyone including the DM is going to be looking at that Armor Class statistic multiple times. Now before ROSTRO gets into the details and everyone has to break out the caffeine pills, we’re going to talk about AC as a concept. Despite the name and the common ways to increase it, “Armor Class” is not only a representation of the amount of armor your character wears. If you think about it for a minute, you’ll realize that makes no sense. Rogues, Bards, and Monks can easily run around the battlefield with ACs of… Read more
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 233rd entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday January 21st 2023, and released Wednesday January 25th 2023 over at heroesrisepodcast.com. In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, Ostron and Ryu went to PAX Unplugged and talked to the goodfolk of Goodman Games. Next we check out some D&D News, brought to you by the letters “O”, “G”, “L” and the number 1.1. Yeah, we’ve got some things to wade through. After that we’ll take a Short Rest and head into the Gnomish Workshop and take a look at everyone’s AC; before finally heading into the Scrying Pool to see what you [all] have to say. Community Questions
Combat in D&D can quickly become repetitive once the characters are at a high enough level and players are familiar enough with their abilities to figure out their best moves. This is especially true if there isn’t a lot of variety in the nature of monsters or environments combat happens in. Apart from changing the type of monsters (like using one or two large ones rather than multiple regular foes) the next easiest way to make combat different is to change the environment around. Pits, changing terrain, and verticality are easy ways to change up the battlefield. However, if you have a campaign taking place in a normalized environment like, say, Waterdeep, that gets a little harder. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to have a pit of lava guarded by Yetis in a warehouse down by the docks. And that’s apart from the fact the Yetis would probably… Read more
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 232nd entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday, January 7th, 2023, and released Wednesday, January 11th, 2023 over at heroesrisepodcast.com. Unfortunately Ostron can’t join us this week. According to his vacation request he has to, quote “attend a wild party”… Wait, that can’t be right… Maybe he meant a “wild-magic party”? That still doesn’t seem right… Anyway, playing the role of “guy who ruins everyone’s fun” tonight is Tony from our sister-show, Guard Frequency. In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, Ryu shows us a new (Android) app she’s chatting with. Next we check out some D&D News as we take a look at the OneD&D Cleric and Species Playtest, and since there’s a lawyer on the show we thought it would be a waste to not at least touch on the OGL 1.1 controversy. Well, Tony thought it would be a waste,… Read more
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. I’m Mikey, and joining us on our quest this evening is. . . no-one Lennon is currently buried under 17 feet of snow Ostron has locked himself in his room and says he “won’t come out until he solves it” Ryu, or KayDee rather stormed out of the guild hall shouting “I’ll show them whose heart is three sizes too small” RaeRae got a unicorn as a gift so theres no telling when or if we’ll ever see her again Branwen is building a new Ikea scratching post for Cinder Gath accidentally glued his mouth closed while assembling minis Bloodlake is out buying some Universal Solvent to unglue Gath Tomathanes is on hold with tech support because his sending stone bricked when he tried to update the firmware Indigo Spectre has wildshaped into a goldfish and I’m not sure which one is him, and… Read more
Thessalar is a minor figure in the grand scheme of things, but his popularity got a slight boost a few years ago, albeit indirectly. A huge, amorphous monster appeared toward the end of Stranger Things season 1 and in the trailers for Stranger Things season 2. Given how much Stranger Things leaned on D&D for story elements and naming conventions, fans of the series and D&D immediately began to guess what the monster was or would be called. With no clues from the cast or writers, the internet as a whole eventually went with “thessalhydra.” And then a lot of people only familiar with 4th and 5th edition D&D went, “a what”? By the way, the creature from stranger things was eventually dubbed a mind flayer, but that’s not important right now. The thessalhyrda is a monster out of 1st edition. It originally appeared in the second monster manual. Like… Read more
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 231st entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday December 10th 2022, and released Wednesday December 14th 2022 over at heroesrisepodcast.com. In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, Ryu and Ostron went to PAX Unplugged in Philadelphia last week and spoke to some people called … “Wiz?” kids? I dunno, they’re probably not a big deal. Next we check out some D&D News as we take a look at the latest hardcover release, Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen After that we’ll take a Short Rest and head into the Archives of Candlekeep and look at all things Thessal (and how to make them); before finally heading into the Scrying Pool to see what you [all] have to say. Community Questions
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 230th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday November 26th 2022, and released Wednesday November 30th 2022 over at heroesrisepodcast.com. In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, Ryu has found something more deadly than an official adventure’s first level encounters… [volume 1 | volume 2] Next we answer all of those D&D questions we never thought we’d get asked as DMs, as we gather around the campfire and engage in some Dissonant Whispers After that we’ll take a Short Rest and head into the Archives of Candlekeep and get the lowdown on Graz’zt; before finally heading into the Scrying Pool to see what you [all] have to say. Community Questions When was the last time you suffered or inflicted a TPK in a game? Was it fair, or were people crying BS? We got the opinions of the hosts and the patrons, but… Read more
This article was first broadcast in Episode Two Hundred and Thirty on 30th November 2022. Note: This article was adapted from an episode script, and so there may be parts that don’t flow well when read, because they were initially designed for broadcast. Like so many things, Graz’zt is fine as long as you’re a man. Graz’zt is a figure that can be very problematic in D&D. Certainly using him in a campaign in any way that’s true to lore and doesn’t just have him as an adversary to fight can raise some eyebrows or cause a lot of uncomfortable squirming in players. The demon lord is not new, but he wasn’t there from the very beginning like Orcus or Demogorgon. Graz’zt was, however, a Gary Gygax original for better or worse. Gygax also said in an interview that “Graz-it” was the pronunciation, so sorry to everyone who liked the… Read more
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 229th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday November 12th 2022, and released Wednesday November 16th 2022 over at heroesrisepodcast.com. This week we’re going to wander into the Market of Minauros to see what mysterious and magical items have filtered up for sale. Angel’s Bacchanalia: Holiday Feasts & Celebrations for D&D Itza’s Guide to Dragonbonding: A DnD 5e supplement Quest Decks 2.0: Adventure Cards for your RPG Games Next we check out some D&D News as we discuss the new art released for Takhisis, as well as looking at the prelude...
This article was first broadcast in Episode Two Hundred and Twenty Nine on 16th November 2022. Note: This article was adapted from an episode script, and so there may be parts that don’t flow well when read, because they were initially designed for broadcast. People always point out that generalizing the behavior of a species based on the most frequently encountered groups or even the majority isn’t fair. Drizzt proved that not all Drow are Lolth-worshiping, murderously conniving slavers, Orc society is much more complex than them just being aggressive raiders that want to kill all the other races and...
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 228th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday, October 29th, 2022, and released Wednesday, November 2nd, 2022 over at heroesrisepodcast.com. In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, Lennon has somehow lost his atlas. Luckily, he can just search for a new one. Next we check out some D&D News as we discuss the upcoming adventure module release: Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen Dragonlance What is Dragonlance Knights of Solamnia [1], [2] High Mages of Sorcery [1], [2] Lunar Sorcerer Preview [1], [2] For a refresher on the history of the setting, check...
This article was first broadcast in Episode Two Hundred and Twenty Eight on 2nd November 2022. Note: This article was adapted from an episode script, and so there may be parts that don’t flow well when read, because they were initially designed for broadcast. The heroes being captured is a fairly common trope in most adventure stories. Princess Leia on the death star, Merry and Pippin in Lord of the Rings, the dwarves in The Hobbit, or James Bond…practically always. It’s usually used in the story to present an immediate problem for the heroes to overcome, and to showcase their...
This article was first broadcast in Episode Two Hundred and Twenty Seven on 19th October 2022. Note: This article was adapted from an episode script, and so there may be parts that don’t flow well when read, because they were initially designed for broadcast. Drizzt Do’Urden is one of the most famous fictional characters to come out of D&D. Some people say he is the 100% most famous character, Stranger Things notwithstanding. He’s the rebel drow that forsook his heritage, made his way on the surface, and established a long-running legacy with his swords, panther, and companions. There is debate about...
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 227th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday, October 15th, and released Wednesday, October 19th over at heroesrisepodcast.com. In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, Ryu has crafted a new spearhead! Then we head into the Archives of Candlekeep and take a Long Rest as we attempt to tackle a subject that’s taken 38 mainline novels to cover: the legendary deeds of Drizzt Do’Urden And finally we’ll be heading into the Scrying Pool to see what you have to say. Community Questions What’s your experience with Drizzt Do’Urden? Have you read all of...
This article was first broadcast in Episode Two Hundred and Twenty Six on 5th October 2022. Note: This article was adapted from an episode script, and so there may be parts that don’t flow well when read, because they were initially designed for broadcast. Lord Soth, in Dragonlance, fills in much the same niche as Wormtongue from Lord of the Rings or The Mountain from Game of Thrones; he is a secondary antagonist in most of his appearances, almost always working at the behest of someone else, and their backstory is…fraught. Soth’s first appearance in real life chronology was in...
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 226th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday October 1st, and released Wednesday October 5th over at heroesrisepodcast.com. In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, Ostron’s been keeping a database of critters… Hopefully that’s a list of creatures, and not a list of Critical Role fans… Anyway Next we check out some D&D News as we take a look at how the next edition is going back to the future, with the latest Unearthed Arcana for the OneD&D Playtest: Expert Classes. After that we take a Short Rest and head into the Archives...
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 225th entry into our chronicle, recorded at various points over the last 5 years, and released Wednesday 21st September over at heroesrisepodcast.com With one host missing and a lack of sulpherous stand-ins, Lennon and Ostron help Bloodlake out with some DM tips… At least until Ostron falls asleep. Zero Triggers The Tone of Your Campaign New Players and Combat Intelligent Villains Winging It The Future of Heroes Rise As you may have noticed in recent months, Wizards of the Coast has been a little slower to release content. When Heroes Rise...
This article was first broadcast in Episode Two Hundred and Twenty Four on 7th September 2022. Note: This article was adapted from an episode script, and so there may be parts that don’t flow well when read, because they were initially designed for broadcast. Falling in D&D is something that’s often overlooked. For it to do a significant amount of damage the fall has to be from a rather high starting point, and unfortunately a lot of scenarios don’t have a great deal of verticality to them. Part of that is often practical; if you play in a game that...
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 224th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday September 3rd, and released Wednesday September 7th over at heroesrisepodcast.com. This week we’re going to wander into the Market of Minauros to see what mysterious and magical items have filtered up for sale. Sebastian Crowe’s Guide to Drakkenheim Amethyst Revelations Dungeon Delver’s Guide Next we check out some D&D News as we discuss Wizard’s of the Coast’s latest terrible idea: Spelljammer origin lore for the Hadozee. After that we take a Short Rest and open our Adventurer’s Journals for a class in tactical...
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 223rd entry into our chronicle, recorded on Sunday August 27th, and released Wednesday August 31st over at heroesrisepodcast.com. In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, Ryu… OK, Ryu has clearly been rifling through my stuff… AGAIN! (Beneos Battlemaps, Beneos Battletokens) Next we check out some D&D News as we dissect and discuss the first entry into the One D&D Playtest: Character Origins After that we take a Short Rest and head into the Archives of Candlekeep as we bring the four elements together and learn all about the Genasi; before finally heading into...
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 222nd entry into our chronicle, recorded on Sunday August 21st, and released Wednesday August 24th over at heroesrisepodcast.com. In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, Ostron plays with the market. Next we check out some D&D News as we take a look at the recently released Spelljammer: Adventures in Space, and tell you the One thing we learned at Wizards Presents With so much news we’re skipping the Short Rest segment, so after the news we’ll be heading into the Scrying Pool to see what you [all] have to say. Community Questions What...
This article was first broadcast in Episode Two Hundred and Twenty One on 10th August 2022. Note: This article was adapted from an episode script, and so there may be parts that don’t flow well when read, because they were initially designed for broadcast. Demogorgon has gotten a lot of press lately and regularly promotes himself as the Prince of Demons and the strongest, baddest demon in the Abyss. But if you ask the being on the street it’s actually much more likely they’ll have heard of one of his main rivals. Orcus is opposite to Demogorgon in a lot...
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 221st entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday August 6th, and released Wednesday August 10th over at heroesrisepodcast.com. In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, Lennon gets six different kinds of mappy Next we take gather around the campfire and engage in some Dissonant Whispers, reminiscing about our first times playing D&D After that we’ll take a Short Rest and head into the Archives of Candlekeep to get the low down on Orcus, the so very undead; before finally heading into the Scrying Pool to see what you have to say. Community Questions...
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 220th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday July 31st, and released Wednesday August 3rd over at heroesrisepodcast.com. This week we’re going to wander into the Market of Minauros to see what mysterious and magical items have filtered up for sale. Druid Wild Shape Reference Deck Maps and Monstrum Compendium A Guide to Guilds Next we take a Long Rest and digging up some Unearthed Mundana as we discuss the Satanic Panic. And after that we’re heading straight into the Scrying Pool to see what you [all] have to say. Community...
This article was first broadcast in Episode Two Hundred and Twenty on 3rd August 2022. Note: This article was adapted from an episode script, and so there may be parts that don’t flow well when read, because they were initially designed for broadcast. A much as people whine about psionics or think that 4th edition was a tragic error on many levels, one of the largest impacts on D&D’s publication and future actually had very little to do with the mechanics of the game. Most people who either grew up in the 80s, played D&D, or watched some of the...
This article was first broadcast in Episode Two Hundred and Nineteen on 27th July 2022. Note: This article was adapted from an episode script, and so there may be parts that don’t flow well when read, because they were initially designed for broadcast. Where the Nine Hells have the archdukes of The Hells, if you sail down the River Styx you’ll find a similar but different situation at the other end. That’s assuming you make it, of course; the River Styx is terrible and there are murderous demons on every side and sometimes floating by on other boats. Have we...
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 218th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Tuesday July 19th, and released Thursday July 21st over at heroesrisepodcast.com. In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, Lennon gets fed up with gnomes and tells us all about a warlock’s workshop… Next we check out some D&D News as we bring you our first look at the latest hardcover adventure-slash-setting-book from Wizards of the Coast, Journeys Through The Radiant Citadel; and we take a peek at the latest Unearthed Arcana: Wonders of the Multiverse And because there’s so much to cover we’re going to be...
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 217th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday, July 9th, and released Wednesday, July 13th over at heroesrisepodcast.com. In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, Ryu shows us her Plaid Hat… wait, is that a mouse in there? Next we check out some D&D News as we’re joined by Indigo Specter to discuss all things Adventurer’s League, from the very basics of “What even is the Adventurer’s League” through to the latest changes — and we answer your hot Adventurer’s League questions After that we take a Short Rest and head into the...
This article was first broadcast in Episode Two Hundred and Seventeen on 13th July 2022. Note: This article was adapted from an episode script, and so there may be parts that don’t flow well when read, because they were initially designed for broadcast. At face value, an attack in D&D would seem to be very simple; there is a creature and another creature they either don’t get along with or would very much like to eat. Sometimes it’s both, like with gnolls. Fortunately, and somewhat unusually, the rules for D&D 5e are also fairly simple, at least to start....
This article was first broadcast in Episode Two Hundred and Sixteen on 29th June 2022. Note: This article was adapted from an episode script, and so there may be parts that don’t flow well when read, because they were initially designed for broadcast. As we’ve mentioned before, giants have been around in D&D since the very beginning. The original premise of D&D was to do tabletop wargaming but add basic fantasy elements. Since no one was coming up with beholders and mindflayers yet, Gary Gygax and others had to work with what was available in mainstream myth and fantasy. Anyone...
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 216th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday, June 25th, and released Wednesday, June 29th over at heroesrisepodcast.com. In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, Ostron gets mappy Next we check out some D&D News as we take a look at the latest free release from D&D Beyond: the first chapter from Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel After that we take a Short Rest and enter the Archives of Candlekeep for part 2 on our deep dive into Giant lore; before finally heading into the Scrying Pool to see what you [all] have...
This article was first broadcast in Episode Two Hundred and Fourteen on 15th June 2022. Note: This article was adapted from an episode script, and so there may be parts that don’t flow well when read, because they were initially designed for broadcast. Vecna is one of the big names in D&D, along with Mordenkainen, Ellminster, and Strahd von Zarovich. However, the actual history of the legend is not what most people would think if they only have a passing knowledge of D&D. How long Vecna has been part of D&D lore is a matter of perspective. The history and...
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 214th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday, June 11th, and released Wednesday, June 15th over at heroesrisepodcast.com. In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, Lennon is covering something we’ve already covered… don’t make me make you role 4 initiative… Next we check out some D&D News as we take a look at the latest free releases from D&D Beyond: The Vecna Dossier; and the Level 20 adventure “Don’t Say Vecna”. Plus we take a sneak peak at the latest mini from WizKids — you’ll never guess who it is! After that we...
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 213th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday, June 4th, and released Wednesday, June 8th over at heroesrisepodcast.com. Unfortunately Lennon was taking a trip this week and decided trying to ride the shambling mound would be faster than walking. That was a…slight…miscalculation. RaeRae’s stepping in to help while we figure out what piece of landscape Lennon’s a part of now. This week we’re going to wander into the Market of Minauros to see what mysterious and magical items have filtered up for sale. Arora: Age of Desolation Monsters, Maps &...
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 212th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday, May 21st, and released Wednesday, May 25th over at heroesrisepodcast.com. In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, Ostron doesn’t appreciate how good he has it and decides infidelity is a better option. Next we check out some D&D News as we take a look at the latest release from Wizards of the Coast, Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse After that we take a Short Rest and head into the Gnomish Workshop so that we can take a dip in the Astral Sea; before finally...
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 211th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday, May 14th, and released Wednesday, May 18th over at heroesrisepodcast.com. In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, Lennon shows us… Ok, I think that’s actually the name of a Pokemon… Anyway Next we gather around the campfire and engage in some Dissonant Whispers on content ownership After that we take a Short Rest and head into the Archives of Candlekeep and learn all about the Tieflings; before finally heading into the Scrying Pool to see what you [all] have to say. Community Questions As we...
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 210th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday, May 7th, and released Wednesday, May 11th over at heroesrisepodcast.com. In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, Ryu shows she can also bring items for the 1% to the table Next we check out some D&D News as we bring you details of the new starter set, D&D’s after school club, and a couple more things about everyone’s favourite space setting (including the appearance of some creatures from a planet with a darker sun) Next we take a Short Rest and head into the Gnomish...
This article was first broadcast in Episode Two Hundred and Ten on 11th May 2022. Note: This article was adapted from an episode script, and so there may be parts that don’t flow well when read, because they were initially designed for broadcast. The Artificer is so far the only official new class that has been released for 5th edition, and that’s something that’s unique in a number of ways. 5th edition released with 12 classes, all of which were present in the initial player’s handbook, and those were the only options for years, despite multiple groups of fans clamoring...
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise.This is the 209th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday, April 30th, and released Wednesday, May 4th over at heroesrisepodcast.com. This week we’re going to wander into the Market of Minauros to see what mysterious and magical items have filtered up for sale. Next we check out some D&D News as we bring you previews of the Spelljammer DM screen, all the details of all the minis WizKids have in store for us, and Wizard’s 2nd attempt at the Kender Next we take a Short Rest and head into the Archives of Candlekeep and meet...
This article was first broadcast in Episode Two Hundred and Nine on 4th May 2022. Note: This article was adapted from an episode script, and so there may be parts that don’t flow well when read, because they were initially designed for broadcast. Flumphs being common knowledge around D&D tables is a relatively new phenomenon thanks mostly to 5th edition’s wild magic sorcerer. One of the entries on the wild magic eruption table, as Mikey and Branwen can tell you, is that a number of confused flumphs randomly appear for a minute or so. However, despite their popularity skyrocketing in...
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 208th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday, April 23rd, and released Wednesday, April 27th over at heroesrisepodcast.com. In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, Ryu tries to find a tool to replace Ostron… He’s still not here? Fiiiiine… Next we check out some D&D News as we bring you everything announced from D&D Direct 2022, including but not limited to Spelljammer: Adventures in Space and the D&D Digital Library Next we take a Short Rest and head into the Archives of Candlekeep for a tour of Sharn, the City of Towers; before...
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 207th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday, April 9th, and released Wednesday, April 13th over at heroesrisepodcast.com. Ryu’s away this week so Lennon and Ostron take a moment to reflect on some older Adventurer’s Packs. After all, the more things change, the more they stay the same… Or do they? Links AnyDice Arcknight Flat Plastic Miniatures Fantasy Name Generator Community Questions Do you have a favorite Dragonlance character? Do you have a least favorite Dragonlance character? Why is it Tasselhoff? Jeremy Crawford, in a recent sage advice video, says there...
This article was first broadcast in Episode Two Hundred and Six on 6th April 2022. Note: This article was adapted from an episode script, and so there may be parts that don’t flow well when read, because they were initially designed for broadcast. Dragonlance as a setting is arguably the second third party setting for D&D that was ever created, depending on your position on Mystara. Either way, originally you started with Greyhawk, and Gary Gygax and his player group were responsible for most of the initial monsters and setting information that eventually formed D&D. Then the Hickmans got involved....
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 206th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday, April 2nd, and released Wednesday, April 6th over at heroesrisepodcast.com. In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, Ostron’s messing with our wallets again, but this time he’s adding something rather than emptying them. Next we take a Long Rest and head into the Archives of Candlekeep to learn the history of Dragonlance Finally we head into the Scrying Pool to see what you [all] have to say. Links Ajit George on Radiant Citadel: https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1509234343008296960.html Community Questions Do you have a favorite Dragonlance character? Do you...
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 205th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday, March 26th, and released Wednesday, March 30th over at heroesrisepodcast.com. This week we’re going to wander into the Market of Minauros to see what mysterious and magical items have filtered up for sale. Bones 6 Bergin’s Book of Beasts The Herbal Journal of Cicely Longbottom Next we check out some D&D News as we bring you everything we know about the next Wizards’hardcover adventure compilation, Journey Through the Radiant Citadel Next we head into the Archives of Candlekeep to find out what’s behind...
This article was first broadcast in Episode Two Hundred and Five on 30th March 2022. Sigil, known alternately as the City of Doors, the Great Cage, and the Center of the Multiverse, is one of the major landmarks of D&D. It got its start in, and some would argue defined, the Planescape setting. The idea of a cosmology for the D&D multiverse had been around since 1987, when the first Manual of the Planes was published. However, the rest of the planes only really existed as places where other beings came from when they either invaded or were summoned to...
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 204th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday, March 19th, and released Wednesday, March 23rd over at heroesrisepodcast.com. In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, Ryu shows us some nice dice… Nie die? Nices dices? Next we check out some D&D News as we give our first impressions of Critical Roll: Call of the Netherdeep;and speculate on a recent teaser image from Wizards of the Coast With all the talk on Critical Role we thought it’d be a good idea to head into the Archives of Candlekeep for a rerun of Excursion to Exandria;...
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 203rd entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday, March 12th, and released Wednesday, March 16th over at heroesrisepodcast.com. In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, Ostron would like to have a Word with us Next we check out some D&D News as we take a look at: The latest Unearthed Arcana: Heroes of Krynn After that we head into the Archives of Candlekeep for a primer on the races of Dragonlance; before finally heading over to the Scrying Pool to see what you [all] have to say. Community Questions So what is your...
This article was first broadcast in Episode Two Hundred and Two on 10th March 2022. Aboleths are another B-level D&D creature for most people. They’re nearly always present and they’re really easy to find in the books; until the Aarakocra and the Aasimar came around the Aboleths usually got top billing in all the monster manuals because it’s really hard to beat “AB” as an alphabetical starting place. However if you start digging into the lore and the abilities of the creatures it’s sort of confusing they don’t get used more often because they can be genuinely terrifying. Their aquatic...
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 202nd entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday, March 5th, and released Wednesday, March 9th over at heroesrisepodcast.com. In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, Lennon closes to within 5 feet of his battle mats. Next we gather round the campfire for some Dissonant Whispers as we find out everything we wish we knew when we started playing D&D. After that we head into the Archives of Candlekeep and look at the Gifts of the Aboleth; before finally heading over to the Scrying Pool to see what you [all] have to say. Community...
This article was first broadcast in Episode Two Hundred and One on 3rd March 2022. Lennon: All right, I’ve gathered you all here because I’m afraid we have to let something go. Ostron: Okay, first of all there’s only myself and Ryu, and I’m not 100% sure Ryu’s not an HR clone, so it may just be the two of us. Lennon: How do you know I’m not an HR clone? Ryu: I’m pretty sure HR would not allow anything associated with it to start off with an idea that’s this silly. Lennon: I haven’t even told you what it...
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 201st entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday, February 26th, and released Wednesday, March 2nd over at heroesrisepodcast.com. This week we’re going to wander into the Market of Minauros to see what mysterious and magical items have filtered up for sale: Epic Legacy: Tome of Titans Crucible Magazine Downtime Center Next we open up our Quest Logs as Indigo Specter takes us through the Horrors of Hill House After that we hear some Wisdom of the Masters on Architectural Philosophy and the Five Room Dungeon; before finally heading over to the...
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise! This is the 200th entry into our chronicle, recorded live at twitch.tv/heroesrisednd on Saturday, February 12th, and released Wednesday, February 16th over at heroesrisepodcast.com. In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, Ryu shows us how she handles conflict in games… this can’t be good… Next we check out some D&D News as we uncover: Some details from the Hasbro Earning’s Call and a touch of NFT controversy A new line of minis (1, 2) from WizKids partnership with Death Saves And some more info on the Dark Souls RPG, this time their take on armor, items,...
Greetings.
I am the Realized Oikumenatal Solution To Removing Obfuscation, commonly referred to as R.O.S.T.R.O. The majority of the occupants of the guild house are presently distracted with celebratory activities and the exchange of physical goods. This has resulted in a lack of activities pursuant to the creation of an entertaining audio experience for transmission across usual auditory channels...
Welcome, brave adventurers... to the one hundred ninety-second entry into our chronicle, recorded live at PAX Unplugged 2021, and released Wednesday, December 15th over at heroesrisepodcast.com.
This article was first broadcast in Episode One Hundred Eighty Seven on 30th October 2021. Like many modern settings and elements of D&D, Spelljammer’s roots are in 2nd edition, and they owe their existence to a man named Jeff Grubb. As Keith Baker is to Eberron, Jeff Grubb is to Spelljammer, although he doesn’t have the laser focus on his setting Mr.Baker does for Eberron. Grubb is the author of the first Manual of the Planes and created the forgotten Al-Qadim setting, and is credited as being part of the team that originated the Forgotten Realms itself. Later on, he...
Welcome, brave adventurers...
... to the one hundred eighty-sixth entry into our chronicle, recorded on Tuesday, October 26th, and released Thursday, October 28th over at heroesrisepodcast.com.
Welcome, brave adventurers...
... to the one hundred eighty-fifth entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday, October 9th, and released Wednesday, October 13th over at heroesrisepodcast.com.
This article was first broadcast in Episode One Hundred Eighty Five on 13th October 2021. Wizards of the Coast released their 3rd edition of Dungeons and Dragons in the year 2000. Many people believe the release was an effort by Wizards to put their stamp on the brand after they acquired TSR in 1997. As such, 3rd edition was a rather extreme overhaul of D&D at a mechanics level. Many people are familiar with the fact that 3rd edition introduced the so-called d20 system, which Wizards then distributed through the Open Gaming License. In short, the d20 system meant...
This article was first broadcast in Episode One Hundred Eighty Two on 22nd September 2021. (Sound of grinding gears) Ryu: What is he doing in there? Lennon: Maybe he’s upgrading ROSTRO? ROSTRO: If you are interested, my processing faculties were largely taken up with an analysis of persona synthesis and optimal configuration techniques of same. Ryu: If we don’t take an interest, is Ostron going to wake up? ROSTRO: Probability suggests it is not a likely outcome. Lennon: Ugh, fine, what are you on about this time? (The screen powers on) When creating new characters for a campaign or a one-shot, a frequent point that gives both...
Welcome, brave adventurers ... to the one hundred eighty-first entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday, September 11th, and released Wednesday, September 15th over at heroesrisepodcast.com.
Activating supportive subroutines. Greetings. I am the Realized Oikumenatal Solution to Removing Obfuscation, commonly referred to as ROSTRO. It is likely you are receiving this broadcast on the fourteenth day of the lunar temporal measurement period associated with opening.
Welcome, brave adventurers ... to the one hundred fifty-seventh entry into our chronicle, recorded throughout the week, and released Wednesday, March 17th over at heroesrisepodcast.com.
This article was first broadcast in Episode One Hundred Fifty Seven on 17 March 2021. Ryu: Oh dear. Did someone fall off their mount in the market again? Lennon: What? No, I was giving a speech down in the village. It…wasn’t well received. Ryu: Well, I mean, your Charisma score is only what now, 15? You aren’t going to be able to work miracles with that. Ostron: Actually, with a crowd of bystanders that should have been more than fine. Ryu: How? A 15 is middle of the road; it’s what you have in a stat that you might use later and you want to just be okay...
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 147.5th entry into our chronicle, recorded throughout the last year, and released Wednesday, December 30th, over at heroesrisepodcast.com
This article was first broadcast in Episode One Hundred Forty-five on 9th Decembet 2020. Killer DM: Oh whatever. Ryu for some reason asked Ostron for this research assignment and then she foisted it off on me! Can you believe it? The nerve! Ostron: Oh, she gave you the Moloch research? That’s a very…interesting approach. I think there was an ulterior motive here. Lennon: Make us miserable? Ostron: No…I think you’ll understand once we get into it. You have done some work on it, right? Moloch comes up a lot when you start looking up a who’s who of big names in the nine hells, but it’s sort of the...
Welcome, brave adventurers ... to the one hundred forty-fifth entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday December 5th, and released Wednesday December 9th over at heroesrisepodcast.com.
Welcome, brave adventurers ... to the one hundred forty-third entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday November 21st, and released Wednesday November 25th over at heroesrisepodcast.com.
Welcome, brave adventurers ... to the one hundred fortieth entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday October 31st, and released Wednesday November 5th over at heroesrisepodcast.com.
Welcome, brave adventurers... to the one hundred second and a half entry into our chronicle, recorded over the last couple of years, and released Wednesday January 8th over at heroesrisepodcast.com.
Welcome, brave adventurers...
To a show that is, quite frankly, long overdue. You see, Ostron and Lennon decided to go to PAX Unplugged. Fortunately they left the hat unattended, and we all know Ryu doesn't even bother with the CON save these days, so you get the pleasure of my company for the next hour.
Let me show you a Heroes' Demise...
Welcome, brave adventurers to the first episode of Heroes Rise: Dissonant Whispers, a Patreon Exclusive show for all backers regardless of tier that will air every few weeks exclusively on our Patreon page, but we thought we'd let everyone get a taste of the first episode. If you like what you hear then head on over to our Patreon page to sign up. Tiers start from just $4 per month which will also get you access to the main Heroes Rise show unedited and early each week, and there's even some Heroes Rise swag up for grabs.
This article was first broadcast in Episode Sixty-Nine on 17th April 2019. Lennon: This doesn’t bode well for my idea of having my players run a stealth mission. Ryu: What does that have to do with anything? Lennon: Well the whole party isn’t made up of Rangers, Rogues, and people who can cast “Invisibility” so they’re going to make it what? One, maybe two rounds before the guardhouses are alerted and we’re on the express train to murdertown. Ostron: Well, that depends on how you set up the encounter. If the hype and excitement around the release of...
Welcome, brave adventurers... to the sixty-ninth entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday April 10th, and released Wednesday April 17th over at heroesrisepodcast.com.
This article was first broadcast in Episode Sixty-Eight on 10th April 2019. Ryu: Lennon…why are you trying to slide a ruler under the door to the Gnomish Workshop? If you’re trying to pick the lock that’s definitely not the way to do it. Lennon: No I…Ostron locked me out. Ryu: What did you do? Lennon: Nothing! I was just trying to help! Ostron: Standing over my shoulder making random comments is not helping! Lennon: but, I mean, that gives him advantage, doesn’t it? Ryu: Well, no, in combat you’re actually supposed to stand over the enemy to grant your allies advantage...
Welcome, brave adventurers... to the sixty-eighth entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday April 6th, and released Wednesday April 10th over at heroesrisepodcast.com.
Welcome, brave adventurers... to the sixty-seventh entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday March 30th, and released Wednesday April 3rd 2019 over at heroesrisepodcast.com
Welcome, brave adventurers... to the sixtieth entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday, February 2nd 2019, and released Wednesday, February 6th 2019 over at heroesrisepodcast.com
This article was first broadcast in Episode Sixty on 6th February2019. Killer DM: Oh dear. Why is my favorite organ donor lying on the floor? If he’s dead and I didn’t kill him I will be very upset. ROSTRO: Inquiry. This situation has been explained previously. What is the source of confusion? Killer DM: Oooooh you’re all big and flashy. Are you that new thing Ryu’s been worried about? ROSTRO: Creature personality profile re-analyzed. Greetings. I am the Realized Oikumenatal Solution To Removing Obfuscation. You may refer to me as ROSTRO. I assist Ostron with more complex issues of a...
Welcome, brave adventurers... to the fifty-ninth entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday, January 26th 2019, and released Wednesday, January 30th 2019 over at heroesrisepodcast.com
This article was first broadcast in Episode Fifty-Nine on 30th January 2019. “The psychological experience of believing that one’s accomplishments came about not through genuine ability, but as a result of having been lucky, having worked harder than others, or having manipulated other people’s impressions” Many, many people when they begin playing D&D or when they take on a new role within the game start to get pervasive feelings of doubt that don’t go away. In their head, they have a refrain going of “I don’t know what I’m doing,” “So many other people could do this better than I can,”...
Welcome, brave adventurers... to the twenty-first entry into the Heroes Rise chronicle. This episode was recorded on Saturday, 21st April 2018, and made available for download on Wednesday, 25th April 2018 at heroesrisepodcast.com
Welcome, brave adventurers ... to the twentieth entry into the Heroes Rise chronicle. This episode was recorded on Saturday, 14th April 2018, and made available for download on Wednesday, 18th April 2018 at heroesrisepodcast.com
Welcome, brave adventurers to the nineteenth entry into the Heroes Rise chronicle. This episode was recorded on Saturday, 7th April 2018, and made available for download on Wednesday, 11th April 2018 at heroesrisepodcast.com
This article was first broadcast in Episode Nineteen on 11th April 2018. Ryu: Hey Ostron! Good to see you back in one piece! Whatchya doing there? Ostron: Oh, trying to come up with something for my next session. I know the players are likely to make it to a dungeon, but I have no inspiration for layout, monsters, or even what’s lighting the walls. Ryu: Well, you could always use the Five Room Dungeon technique Ostron: Isn’t five rooms a little restrictive? Lennon: Not if you do it right. See, whilst you may look at modules, even the...
Welcome, brave adventurers to the eighteenth entry into the Heroes Rise chronicle. This episode was recorded on Saturday, 31st March 2018, and made available for download on Wednesday, 4th April 2018 at heroesrisepodcast.com
Welcome, brave adventurers to the seventeenth entry into the Heroes Rise chronicle. This episode was recorded on Saturday, 24th March 2018, and made available for download on Wednesday, 28th March 2018 at heroesrisepodcast.com
Welcome, brave adventurers to the sixteenth entry into the Heroes Rise chronicle. This episode was recorded on Saturday, 17th March 2018, and made available for download on Wednesday, 21st March 2018 at heroesrisepodcast.com
Welcome, brave adventurers to the fifteenth entry into the Heroes Rise chronicle. This episode was recorded on Saturday, 10th March 2018, and made available for download on Wednesday, 14th March 2018 at heroesrisepodcast.com
Welcome, brave adventurers to the fourteenth entry into the Heroes Rise chronicle. This episode was recorded on Saturday, 3rd March 2018, and made available for download on Wednesday, 7th March 2018 at heroesrisepodcast.com
Welcome, brave adventurers to the thirteenth entry into the Heroes Rise chronicle. This episode was recorded on Saturday, 24th February 2018, and made available for download on Wednesday, 28th February 2018 at heroesrisepodcast.com
Welcome, brave adventurers to the twelfth entry into the Heroes Rise chronicle. This episode was recorded on Saturday, 17th February 2018, and made available for download on Wednesday, 21st February 2018 at heroesrisepodcast.com
Welcome, brave adventurers to the eleventh entry into the Heroes Rise chronicle. This episode was recorded on Saturday, 10th February 2018, and made available for download on Wednesday, 14th February 2018 at heroesrisepodcast.com
Welcome, brave adventurers to the eighth entry into the Heroes Rise chronicle. This episode was recorded on Saturday, 11th January 2018, and made available for download on Wednesday, 17th January 2018 at heroesrisepodcast.com
Welcome, brave adventurers to the ninth-and-a-half entry into the Heroes Rise chronicle. This episode was recorded at various points in 2017 & 2018, and made available for download on Wednesday, 31st January 2018 at heroesrisepodcast.com
Welcome, brave adventurers to the eighth entry into the Heroes Rise chronicle. This episode was recorded on Saturday, 11th January 2018, and made available for download on Wednesday, 17th January 2018 at heroesrisepodcast.com
Welcome, brave adventurers to the eighth entry into the Heroes Rise chronicle. This episode was recorded on Saturday, 11th January 2018, and made available for download on Wednesday, 17th January 2018 at heroesrisepodcast.com
This article was first broadcast in Episode Eight on 17th January 2018. Ryu: Ok, I’ve fixed the spell, try the lights again Lennon: click Ahh, that’s bett–gah! a crack of thunder, the sound of rain Ostron: Hmm. That’s… ominous… although now I can barely see the script Ryu: Let me just cast the Light spell… Ostron: Much better! Last time, we discussed using weather as an encounter. While this is one way to incorporate weather into a campaign, if your party members are all equipped with slickers +2 vs hailstones, forcewall umbrellas, and galoshes of dry socks, you might have...
Welcome, brave adventurers to the seventh entry into the Heroes Rise chronicle. This episode was recorded on Saturday, 6th January 2018, and made available for download on Wednesday, 10th January 2018 at heroesrisepodcast.com
Welcome, brave adventurers to the sixth entry into the Heroes Rise chronicle. This episode was recorded on Saturday, 30th December 2017, and made available for download on Wednesday, 3rd January 2017 at heroesrisepodcast.com
Welcome, brave adventurers to the fifth entry into the Heroes Rise chronicle. This episode was recorded on Saturday, 23rd December 2017, and made available for download on Wednesday, 27th December 2017 at heroesrisepodcast.com
Welcome, brave adventurers, to the fourth entry into the Heroes Rise chronicle. This episode was recorded on Saturday, 16th December 2017, and made available for download on Wednesday, 20th December 2017 at heroesrisepodcast.com
Welcome, brave adventurers, to the third entry into the Heroes Rise chronicle. This episode was recorded on Saturday, 9th December 2017, and made available for download on Wednesday, 13th December 2017 at heroesrisepodcast.com
Welcome, brave adventurers, to the second entry into the Heroes Rise chronicle. This episode was recorded on Saturday, 2nd December 2017, and made available for download on Wednesday, 5th December 2017 at heroesrisepodcast.com
Welcome, brave adventurers, to the first entry into the Heroes Rise chronicle. This episode was recorded on Saturday, 25th November 2017, and made available for download on Wednesday, 29th November 2017 at heroesrisepodcast.com