D&D General A little labor of love for the day after Valentine’s Day, plus a quick survey.

Which of the following concepts would you love to see fleshed out? (pick up to 2 plus 1 system)

  • Monsters and more released from Wonderland and beyond the looking glass.

    Votes: 5 15.6%
  • A spiritual successor to Deities & Demigods, statblocks, rules for building and running a pantheon.

    Votes: 16 50.0%
  • New monsters and unique player options for an awakened construct creature made of living glass.

    Votes: 6 18.8%
  • Options for running and playing in a "How to Train Your Dragon" campaign.

    Votes: 11 34.4%
  • A5E

    Votes: 5 15.6%
  • 5e14

    Votes: 7 21.9%
  • 5e24

    Votes: 11 34.4%
  • ShadowDark

    Votes: 3 9.4%
  • Old School Essentials

    Votes: 7 21.9%
  • Kāos Engine

    Votes: 0 0.0%

dm_fromscratch

Explorer
I’ve recently been working on a bunch of game design, including stuff compatible with 5e /Level Up A5E, and realized I need help prioritizing and getting focused if I want to get content out sooner rather than later.

But first, A Slithe of Toves is a free mini-encounter with statblocks (formatted for A5E, but easy to drop directly into any 5e compatible game). The tove is a companion piece of sorts to the mome rath, which I designed for MoMe2 (no relation ;)), and you might find both of these creatures in a region where burbled legends of the jabberwock are commonplace.

Which leads us to the quick survey/poll:
1) Which of the following concepts would you love to see fleshed out first? (pick up to 2)
a) Monsters and more released from Wonderland and beyond the looking glass, e.g. jubjub, borogove, etc.; including encounters/side quests, magic items, maybe even a full adventure.​
b) A spiritual successor to Deities & Demigods, rules for avatars, ascension, building and running a pantheon, and a sample pantheon of gods and their avatars.​
c) New monsters and unique player options for an awakened construct creature made of living glass.​
d) Options for running and playing in a "How to Train Your Dragon" campaign.​

2) What game system would you most want it designed for? (if other, post a comment)
3) Any other feedback, requests, ideas?

(Note: this is my first posted poll so if it's showing up a bit wonky, please forgive and let me know. Thanks!)
 

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I loved Deities and Demigods and such books throughout the editions but the stat blocks and god rules were generally not the parts I thought were interesting or useful. The 2e FR god books were generally the peak enjoyment ones for me even though my campaigns were not set in the Realms. Great mix of lore and god adventure histories/myths, their religious institutions in the world, and unique specialty priests.

So I voted for Wonderland 5e 24 monsters instead. Lots of flavor and interesting mechanic options to develop there.
 

I also voted for Wonderland 2e24. For some reason, that world always pops into my head when I think of the Feywild. I know it doesn’t quite involve faeries, but it still has that bizarre, manic vibe to it.
 

Yes, a more in depth treatment of pantheons would be great. Would be nice to see options for non clerics to get minor bonuses/fluff for reverencing a god (bank some inspiration for appropriate endeavours under that gods purview , something like that).
 

Thanks to everyone for the poll responses and additional feedback so far!! I've been quiet here for a few days, first to let the survey sort of evolve organically without additional interference from me, and second to give me time to review the results and decide what "interference" if any I want to introduce :).

I realize the quick blurb descriptions are pretty short and while informative as a quick pitch, could use some sample designs to back them up. I'll be adding some thoughts and excerpts over the next few days to do just that. I'm aiming at providing a small snippet from each option every day or every other day (e.g. over the next 4-8 days), so stay tuned...
 

I guess a D&D Toolkit would be nice. A single book with rules for:
  • How to build a campaign, with an example (Greyhawk? Realms? something new?)
  • How to create a custom species, with some templates and examples (per Tasha's Cauldron of Everything)
  • How to create a custom background (expanding on the rules in the PHB)
  • How to create a custom character class, with some templates and examples
  • How to create a custom monster, with some templates and examples.
  • How to create a custom magic item, with som--you get the idea.
Basically I want them to teach new players and DMs how to cook, not just hand us a menu of pre-cooked dishes.
 

I guess a D&D Toolkit would be nice. A single book with rules for:
  • How to build a campaign, with an example (Greyhawk? Realms? something new?)
  • How to create a custom species, with some templates and examples (per Tasha's Cauldron of Everything)
  • How to create a custom background (expanding on the rules in the PHB)
  • How to create a custom character class, with some templates and examples
  • How to create a custom monster, with some templates and examples.
  • How to create a custom magic item, with som--you get the idea.
Basically I want them to teach new players and DMs how to cook, not just hand us a menu of pre-cooked dishes.
Yes! This is a great idea and aligns with some other things I have worked on and/or supported in the past (the Homebrew and Hacking series from PJ Coffey comes to mind), and though it wasn't in the survey, I am plotting to continue on that track in the future as well...
 

Which leads us to the quick survey/poll:
1) Which of the following concepts would you love to see fleshed out first? (pick up to 2)
I'll be adding some thoughts and excerpts over the next few days to do just that. I'm aiming at providing a small snippet from each option every day or every other day (e.g. over the next 4-8 days), so stay tuned...
Since the original post already included a monster from Jabberwocky (option a) I'll come back around to that category later on. In the meantime, here's a small bit from stuff I've been doing for the second option (which happens to be leading the poll at the moment):
b) A spiritual successor to Deities & Demigods, rules for avatars, ascension, building and running a pantheon, and a sample pantheon of gods and their avatars.

Avatars and Vessels​

"The gods walk among us," might be a common phrase in a campaign world, but even in settings where deities deign to take an active interest in the everyday lives of mortals, it is most likely not the actual god themselves visiting the material plane. The methods that divine beings use to walk the earth generally fall into two categories: avatars and vessels.

Avatars​

Avatars are celestial constructs and manifestations of a god’s presence and divine might. In true something-from-nothing fashion, gods can instantly create and simultaneously inhabit an avatar, pouring into it an aspect of their divine will and personality. Avatars can vary in size and power, depending on their intended purpose, but most avatars share a common set of characteristics.

Directed Consciousness. Unless maintaining Concentration as if on a spell to split their consciousness, all the god’s attention and senses reside wholly within the avatar.
Divine Thread. The avatar is bound to their god by an invisible, incorporeal, and indestructible threads through which the god channels their power. Creatures that can see or detect invisible objects and capable of planar travel can follow the cord to its endpoints (either the god or the avatar).
Planar Anchor. The avatar is created for and considered native to a particular plane of existence.
Instant Teleportation. The avatar can use an action, bonus action, reaction, or free object interaction to innately cast teleport to any location on their native plane as if having an associated object from the location.
Divine Regeneration. At the start of its turn, the avatar rolls half its hit dice and regains hit points equal to the result. If the avatar takes necrotic or radiant damage equal to half or more of its remaining hit points as a result of a single attack, this trait doesn’t function on its next turn. The avatar disintegrates along with its divine thread if it starts its turn with 0 hit points and doesn’t regenerate.

Fluid States, Static Power
Avatars are created to serve a specific, typically one-time-use purpose. And though gods may seem all-powerful from the mortal perspective, most are not truly omnipotent. To create an avatar requires an investment of the god’s own strength, so to avoid unnecessary expenditure, it is important to match an avatar’s power with its purpose. Examples of this type of matchup are listed in the Avatar States table.

Table: Avatar States​

PurposePresentation*Power
Divine ConflictBattle-ReadyGodly (CR 26–30)
Shock and AweTitanicLegendary (CR 21–25)
InspirationImmortalHeroic (CR 17–20)
ProcreationMortalHeroic (CR 17–20)
EspionageInvisibleElite (CR 13–16)
MessengerAngelicVulnerable (CR 5–12)
ObservationMortalVulnerable (CR 5–12)

*Note that while a default physical representation is listed based on purpose, an avatar may alter its presentation at-will as the need arises. However, its purpose and therefore power are determined at its creation and thus remain unchanged regardless of its physical appearance.

(end snippet)
 

SAMPLE (2 of 4)
Option c) New monsters and unique player options for an awakened construct creature made of living glass.

Glassborn (Heritage/Species)​

Initially created as a magical glass dragon construct with instructions to guard a priceless treasure, your life did not truly begin until you were awakened to self-awareness. No longer a mere automaton, as a glassborn, you grow, change, and learn from your experiences like all living creatures.

Glassborn Traits​

Age. Glassborn do not die of old age. They reach maturity somewhere between 4 and 15 years. While their physical bodies naturally resist decay, their mental faculties may begin to deteriorate around 100 years of age.
Size. Made of magically living glass, your height and weight increase according to your life experiences. Your size is based on your adventuring tier. At Tier 0 you are Small and weigh between 50 and 75 pounds; at Tier 1 you are Small and weigh about 100 pounds; at Tier 2 you are Medium and weigh between 200 and 300 pounds; at Tier 3 you are Medium and weigh between 300 and 400 pounds; and at Tier 4, while your size is still Medium, you weigh in excess of 400 pounds and count as Large for the purposes of carrying, pushing, pulling, and grappling.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet.
Shapeshifter. You can take two forms: a crystalline figurine and a stained glass ornament. You use an action to change from one form to the other. Standard weapons, armor, tools, and other equipment do not typically fit you and must be customized to use effectively. This reduces the availability of such items and increases their cost by 25%.
Artificed Antigravity. Somewhere between the mechanical and the arcane, your wings don’t grant you the gift of true flight, but you can hover in place and levitate about a foot to a foot and a half above the ground. In addition, when you fall and are not encumbered, you may use a reaction to slow your speed of descent to 60 ft per round and land on your feet without taking falling damage.
Crystalline. As a crystalline creature, you do not need to breathe, and you eat only minerals and semi-precious stones as food. Purchase cost and foraging requirements for these consumables are equivalent to those for normal rations, but each day's portion weight twice as much when calculating how much can be carried.
Glass Breath (Figurine Form Only). Modeled after true dragon’s breath, you have an inborn weapon to unleash against your enemies. The DC for saving throws against your glass breath equals 8 + your Constitution modifier + your proficiency bonus.
You can use your breath weapon as an action, exhaling shards of glass and targeting up to 2 creatures within 30 feet of you and within 5 feet of each other. Each target makes a Dexterity saving throw or takes 1d6 slashing damage. This damage increases by 1d6 when you reach 5th level (2d6), 11th level (3d6), and 17th level (4d6).
Glass Claw. Your claws are natural weapons. Your unarmed strikes deal slashing damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength modifier.
Handmade Creation. An echo of your humanoid creator stirred to life the moment you awakened and resonates within you still. Your creature type is construct, but you are also susceptible to effects that would affect a humanoid.
In addition, your former existence as a mindless automaton occasionally calls to you. Whenever you critically fail a Charisma saving throw, your creature type reverts to construct only, your mental ability score modifiers (Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma) match those of an unawakened glass dragon, and you become confused until the end of your next turn.
Illuminated Glamour (Stained Glass Form Only). Choose either dancing lights or prestidigitation. You can cast this cantrip while in stained glass form.
 

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