D&D 5E My Five Favorite Things From Strixhaven: Curriculum of Chaos

I don’t play Magic: The Gathering but have enjoyed the sourcebooks that they’ve done for Dungeons & Dragons, from the initial Plane Shift PDFs to the current slate of physical books. They are “new to me” settings full of material that I can use in my own games how I see fit. The newest release, Strixhaven: Curriculum of Chaos is the first one that I’ve considered running more or less straight out of the book. I’ve been intrigued by Wizards of the Coast’s take on a magic school setting, so I tore into my review copies like I was cramming for a final at midnight. Here are my favorite things from the book due out in December.

Social Adventures​

Of the three pillars of D&D cited by the designers - combat, exploration and social interaction - the last one seems to have gotten the short end of the stick in the official adventures. Over half the book’s page count is devoted to a campaign structured around the four years of school the PCs will attend. Of those four adventures, three of them center around big social events: a music festival, a big game like homecoming, and a grand masquerade ball. There’s still battle maps, combats and a climactic battle against a Big Bad but the campaign takes a much different journey to get there.

Relationships​

This playstyle is supported by a big section on NPCs that can become friends, rivals and lovers to the PCs. If I were running the campaign, I’d show these pages to my players and ask them to choose their best friend, biggest rival and potential partner. Then I’d giggle with glee when players chose the same characters for different roles and use the soap opera drama to contrast the heroic deeds. How do you explain to your fighter that his rival just asked you out on a date? What happens when their ex offers to help you pass that exam you know you will flunk otherwise?

There’s also some mechanical heft to this idea as players earn relationship points by interacting with these NPCs. Positive relationship points give you perks like someone willing to have your back in a fight. Negative relationship points create some lingering issues, like a jealous ex who might stack things in front of your door to annoy you. It’s not something like Smallville or Masks as far as social mechanics go, but it’s a start.

Student Dice​

Players in a Strixhaven campaign can jump into the pillars of campus life, including things like jobs, exams and extracurricular activities. These choices not only provide relationship points that power social interactions, but they also provide Student Dice. These act like a bless effect based on the skills the character has been using during downtime by adding a d4 to an ability check once per long rest. Been studying for that Magical Physiologies test? Use a Student Die on your attack roll against the Otyugh because you know where they are vulnerable. A reporter for the Strixhaven Star? Spend a Student Die on your Insight check because you’ve been honing your nose for news all semester.

Mage Tower​

Every magical school needs a weird sport to play and Mage Tower is the choice for the five Strixhaven colleges to challenge each other on the field. It’s a modified version of capture the flag, except each team’s flag is a mascot with a mind of its own. The game is structured like a skill challenge where each successful roll is counted as a point, and casting spells can grant advantage on a skill check or points without rolls depending on the level of the spell. The game is central to one of the adventures, but I could also see it used as a backdrop for other moments in campus life as students play friendly games on the quad.

A Math Dragon​

Each of the colleges was founded by a dragon. I think my favorite founder is Tanazir Quandrix, whose college focuses on learning the laws of reality to break them through magic. Each of the dragons gets a writeup in the monster section and Tanazir has some fun powers, such as a breath attack that manifests as an equation that weakens the character or the ability to fold space and teleport.

 

[dave2008]

well... making new humans is fairly easy and enjoyable....

But raising them to be productive adults is a lot more work!

 

[Paul Farquhar]

That is not what I am talking about. I'm talking about the clash between the magic and non-magic world. Not the culture of a boarding school. If you can have a hidden magical boarding school (heck - a whole society) right next to modern science-based culture, then you can fit a magical university into any D&D setting without much trouble. They seem to work just fine as complete separate cultures. I mean, everyone seems to except that the magical world of HP has no real influence on the muggle world around it (and vice versa).

Hogwarts and the magical world is hidden. Stryxhaven is most definitely not.

And yes, you could fit a magical university into almost and D&D setting, but not this university. A university located in X would have a culture reflecting the culture of X.

The Earthsea wizard school would be out of place in modern Britain in a way that Hogwarts is not.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

But you say sport wouldn't fit and we know that Italy and England both had sports during the Renaissance (as did non-Euro cultures). Also, we know from Ed Greenwood that there are Realms-specific sports.

But no Renaissance university ever organised a sporting event. You might have students privately taking part in say a private duelling club, but the university, as a religious (or at least church approved) organisation, would have frowned upon it, not organised it.

 

[bedir than]

But no Renaissance university ever organised a sporting event. You might have students privately taking part in say a private duelling club, but the university, as a religious (or at least church approved) organisation, would have frowned upon it, not organised it.

Sure, the unis didn't organize team sports, that was usually just the towns and or neighborhoods or companies that did so. Team sports in western Europe predate the Renaissance, as they do in the mideast, central asia, and meso America

 

[Paul Farquhar]

just the towns and or neighborhoods

Exactly - not schools, colleges or universities. Team sports was for commoners, education was for the nobility.

or companies

I'm not sure I can think of any examples of this.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

lol thats optimistic way to look at it.

The pessimist says 'we are a foolish species'.

I can see why you would say that, but you understand estimate what they gain from the experience.

 

[Scribe]

I can see why you would say that, but you understand estimate what they gain from the experience.

I've played many years of football, and trained many years in boxing.

Concussions, broken bones, joint damage. I have a good idea what they gain.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

I've played many years of football, and trained many years in boxing.

Concussions, broken bones, joint damage. I have a good idea what they gain.

Fair enough, but surely it had its upsides too righ?

 

[Scribe]

Fair enough, but surely it had its upsides too righ?

Sure, I thought so at the time anyway, but a bunch of concussions and damage that are going to catch up to me in 15 years (beyond the issues I already face) probably isnt going to balance out in a positive way in the long run.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

That is not what I am talking about. I'm talking about the clash between the magic and non-magic world. Not the culture of a boarding school. If you can have a hidden magical boarding school (heck - a whole society) right next to modern science-based culture, then you can fit a magical university into any D&D setting without much trouble. They seem to work just fine as complete separate cultures. I mean, everyone seems to except that the magical world of HP has no real influence on the muggle world around it (and vice versa).

Strixhaven isn't a secret, it brags way too much to be a secret.