Indiana Jones, James T. Kirk, Lara Croft, Doc Savage, The Doctor (who?). These names are familiar to most people who play D&D and embody the combination of curiosity and knowledge with bold tactics and a reliance on luck. This type of daring but intellectual hero can be represented in many…
Class Archetype
The D&D universe is vast with countless worlds and unlimited possibilities. Giant complex machines already exist in many of these settings. But consider this. At some point, somebody built a great machine that was so complex that it gained sentience. Not magical intelligence like a golem, nor like creatures that…
When most people think of the planes of Abyss or Hell, they think of an arid, desert-like landscape with cracked earth, fire spouts, and the smell of sulphur. While that may be the popular assumption of the dominant landscape, both planes have other environments within them, from frigid iced-over landscapes,…
The shark is often seen as a monster in Western pop culture, but in other parts of the world it is viewed as a symbol of strength and tenacity, and well respected as the king of predators. Shark skin and teeth are used symbolically and made into jewelry and often…
The barbarian class is often portrayed as a loner and an outsider, but people from the wild places often have deep bonds with their tribe, the wilderness they call home, and with the creatures they share the land with. Some tribes live their entire life in the saddle of a…
Out in the wild areas of the world, the spirits seem to command much greater power and respect. Most of the time, these spirits only communicate with Shamans or members of the Barbarian class. But interacting with spirits of nature sometimes leaves a lingering mark upon a person — something…
It’s the last week of Scooby-doo month, we’ve covered the rest of the gang, and now it’s time for a little something inspired by everyone’s favorite ascot-sporting leader. In several iterations of the show, Fred is obsessed with traps, and traps have always been a huge part of the fun…
“Jack” was a stock hero in Cornish and English mythology, famous from such stories as Jack the Giant Killer and Jack and the Beanstalk. He was typically portrayed as a young man, unconcerned with values like hard work, and sharing many qualities with tricksters such as Loki and Reynard the…
When we started working on fairy tale month, we had to decide how to tackle the giant marauding dragon in the genre. Disney has such a stranglehold on what we think of as fairy tales, ignoring it felt like a waste. So we started talking over what the “Disney” article…
Roman religion was very complex, and its concepts are so multifaceted they can be difficult to grasp. One key point was that every person, place and thing could have its own genius or Juno (the female equivalent in many ways, but distinct; named for the Roman queen of the gods),…