D&D 5E Strixhaven Previews Start to Appear

It's that time in the D&D pre-release publicity phase where previews of the upcoming book start to appear across the web on various sites. It looks like each site is getting a different college to preview -- Screenrant has Prismari, and Polygon has Silverquill, for example. There are 5 colleges in total, so if the other three (Lorehold, Witherbloom, and Quandrix) show up I'll post here. Be sure to click through to each site to see the full articles and all the previews.


Strixhaven's release date was pushed back a month or so from November 16th, presumably due to the global production and shipping issues, and should begin showing up in mid-December.

Screenrant has a number of pieces, including a page describing the Prismari college faculty, the prismari student background, and art piece showing an NPC. In that article WotC's James Wyatt described how the "Relationship mechanics and the rules around Extracurricular activities and Jobs ensure that players keep their attention on how they’re relating to other students"; 18 NPCs form part of that Relationship system, and you are a friend or a rival of each: "For example, if you’re friends with Greta Gorunn, an affable, fun-loving, bodybuilding dwarf, members of the Iron-Lifters Society might show up to help you with any tough physical tasks you encounter. If you’ve annoyed her, one night when you return to your dorm you’re likely to find a bunch of heavy furniture blocking your way to your room."

strx1.jpg


Polygon gets the Silverquill college, again along with its related background and an NPC.

strx2.jpg


Amanda Hamon talked to Polygon and describes how the book is comprised of four 'arcs', one for each college year. She also talks about "gamifying romantic relationships with non-player characters, a system for taking exams, and a vaguely Quidditch-like ruleset for the popular intramural sport of Mage Tower."
 
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EzekielRaiden

Follower of the Way
Has anything come out focused specifically on Lorehold or Quandrix? I've only seen Silverquill and Prismari as college-specific previews but my interests lie with the other two.
 

ART!

Deluxe Unhuman
Surely someone more knowledgable than me can chime in about the many, many indie games that deal in relationship and romance mechanics? I know they exist, but having not played any of them or owning any, I can't think of them by name.
 



HammerMan

Legend
wait... what? I know it isn't the purpose of of your post but did I miss something, is that why Princess toadstool just stands there in mario maker? did someone complain about a kiss being bad?
Yes there was a big push on twitter/internet to remove any suggestion that saving his canon girlfriend could result in any showing of affection... I believe it came from a good place all be it a bit odd.
WHere I don't think that charm spells need be removed (except friends) I will agree they are... problematic at best.
lol friends the useless cantrip... I will let you know when I publish my thesis on charm being worse then animate dead.
but yeah put me down for no gamifying relationships of a romantic type.
maybe we are wrong and they somehow got it right
 

Parmandur

Book-Friend
Yes there was a big push on twitter/internet to remove any suggestion that saving his canon girlfriend could result in any showing of affection... I believe it came from a good place all be it a bit odd.

lol friends the useless cantrip... I will let you know when I publish my thesis on charm being worse then animate dead.

maybe we are wrong and they somehow got it right
I'm sure Nintendo paid precisely zero attention to any Internet chatter from. The Anglosphere.
 


Parmandur

Book-Friend
Has the Forbes article been posted?

Interesting:

“The Relationships rules are a love letter, pun intended,” said Hamon, “to a wide range of video games that are either based entirely around dating and romance or include romance subgames as part of a larger RPG. Visual novels and dating sims such as Hatoful Boyfriend, Monster Prom, and Dream Daddy had a huge influence on how this book’s Romance rules turned out. In fact, our rules’ driving element is player agency not in small part because I kept getting rejected by all of my crushes in Monster Prom!”
Players who invest the time and effort into finding a Beloved relationship are rewarded with an in-game benefit: they may use Inspiration up to their proficiency bonus during a session as they find the drive to succeed from their love.

“Games in which you have one or more primary love interests while completing a larger dramatic plot, such as the Bioware and Witcher games, also deeply influenced the way that the Beloved mechanic in this book functions, and the way it continues to stay relevant throughout the entire plot,” said Hamon.
 

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