magic

Round Table 100 – That Old Black Magic

Round Table / allison rossi, Conjuration, D&D, D&D fifth edition, D&D Next, D&D5e, Demons, DnD, dungeons and dragons, Joe Lastowski, magic, podcast, Rage of Demons, Sam Dillon, Tiefling, Unearthed Arcana / 0 comments

January 4, 2016

A new episode of my podcast, The Round Table, is up on The Tome Show’s website.

I sit down with Sam Dillon, Allison Rossi, and Joe Lastowski to discuss the latest Unearthed Arcana article, “That Old Black Magic,” which brings demonic tieflings and demon conjuring spells into fifth edition Dungeons and Dragons. This podcast was recorded on December 20, 2015.

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Summon the Angels!

Brass Tacks / celestials, D&D, D&D fifth edition, D&D Next, D&D5e, DnD, dungeons and dragons, magic, pdf, rituals, spells, world building, worldbuilding / 2 comments

September 29, 2015

On Thursday last week I posted about the idea of bringing complex rituals into Dungeons and Dragons fifth edition. These rituals are spells of immense power which consume time and expensive resources. They also put the caster and allies at risk. For more on the design ideas behind complex rituals and the way they work check out that blog post or the PDF at the end of this post.

In that post I only posted one complex ritual, conjure greater fiend. I promised more would be coming your way and I’m ready to make good on that promise. Below is the conjure greater celestial complex ritual.

Hey if you need a few more celestials to summon, check out my post on archons.

But First Some Changes…

After getting a lot of feedback, I made a few changes to the way complex rituals work. Anyone can lead a complex ritual, not just a spellcaster. As a result the spell slot consumption number and class and level prerequisites have been eliminated from the process. This should help simplify things. It also opens up the possibility for ANYONE with the right components to attempt to these rituals, which ultimately makes them more attractive to PCs and NPCs alike. After discussing it with folks on forums and Facebook, I think this change allows for some really cool and unique stories. Instead of lead spellcaster, the person leading the ritual’s title has been changed to ritual leader. So thanks so much for all that feedback!

I’ve made the updates to last week’s post and the PDF below. Ok! Onto the ritual.

Conjure Greater Celestial

Casting Time: 4 hours

Environmental Conditions: The ritual must take place after the sun has risen and before it completely sets.

Focuses: A headdress of angel feathers worn by the ritual leader (worth 4000 gp), a brazier made of a pure silver blessed by a celestial being (worth 4000 gp), a decanter carved from a single piece of jade (worth 1000 gp), the horn of a unicorn (worth 1000 gp), and the written holy incantation for this ritual (worth 5000 gp)

Sacrifices: 4 dragontree logs carved with holy symbols (worth 300 gp each), a brick of incense made from ghost orchid flowers (worth 2700 gp), a cask of holy water blessed by a unicorn (worth 1000 gp), and a creature with the fiend type

Recipe

The ritual leader begins chanting the incantation and name of the celestial being conjured. If the ritual leader does not know the celestial’s name, instead the name of a specific type of celestial (e.g. deva) is chanted. This celestial must have a challenge rating 10 or lower.
Light the dragontree logs in the brazier to make a fire.
Pour the holy water into the decanter and place the decanter over the fire.
When the water is boiling pull the decanter off the flames and pour it over the fiend.
Put the holy incense on the fire.
Kill the fiend with the unicorn horn.
Using the fiend’s blood, draw the sacred symbols indicated in the incantation upon the ground. The creature drawing the symbols must succeed on a DC 15 Intelligence (Religion) check or the ritual does not work.
Continue to chant. At the end of four hours of total chanting the ritual leader communes with the celestial before it appears and must succeed on a DC 15 Charisma (Persuasion) check in order to call the being forth. If this check fails the ritual does not work. If it succeeds, the celestial appears under the ritual leader’s control.

Effect

Once the ritual is complete, the celestial is friendly to the ritual leader and its companions. Roll for initiative for the celestial, is has its own turns. It obeys any verbal commands the ritual leader issues to it (no action required by the lead caster) as long as they don’t violate its alignment. If the ritual leader issues no commands to the celestial, it defends itself from hostile creatures, but otherwise takes no action.

As an action the ritual leader can release the celestial from its control and return the celestial to the place from which it was summoned.

Every 24 hours the celestial is under the ritual leader’s control, the ritual leader must make a Constitution check (DC 10 + the number of days since the ritual was completed). Failing this Constitution check means the ritual leader suffers one level of exhaustion, which cannot be restored in any way until the celestial is no longer under its control.

If the caster dies before dismissing the celestial, the celestial does might return to the place from where it was summoned, or, depending on what it observed and was made to do during its time of servitude, the DM might decide the creature becomes hostile toward the ritual leader’s allies (and the ritual if returned to life).

Greater Effects

Using this complex ritual you can summon a celestial with a challenge rating higher than 10 up to 20. For every number of the challenge rating higher than 10, add another dragontree log and fiend consumed by the ritual. The DCs for the Intelligence (Religion) and Charisma (Persuasion) checks made during the casting of the ritual increase by 1 for every number of the creature’s challenge rating higher than 10.

PDF

If you’d like a PDF which outlines the basic rules of using complex rituals, contains the ritual above, and contains the conjure greater fiend ritual, simply click on the link below.

Complex Rituals

You can pick up that PDF whenever you like over in the Free Game Resources section of this site. If you go there feel free to also explore the backgrounds, magic items, monsters, D&D fifth edition rules modules, spells, adventures, and more I have made for fifth edition D&D.

If you like what you’re reading, please check out my podcasts on The Tome Show, follow me on Twitter, tell your friends and share this blog post, and/or leave me a comment and let me know you think. Thanks!

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Summoning Big Fiends

Brass Tacks, Inspiration / Conjuration, D&D, D&D fifth edition, D&D Next, D&D5e, DnD, dungeons and dragons, magic, pdf, rituals, spells, world building, worldbuilding / 5 comments

September 24, 2015

Let’s be buds.

Big time summoning rituals are part of many Dungeons and Dragons games. I’m not talking about the conjure elemental and conjure celestial spells in the Player’s Handbook. Nor am I talking about the summoning spells I created for fifth edition D&D. I’m talking about the magic we read about in novels which bring pit fiends, balors, and more into the Material Plane. This magic is costly, rare, dangerous, and time-consuming. Unfortunately complex rituals like this don’t have rules players can use in fifth edition… until now! These rituals don’t just summon powerful creatures. They could also be used to raise undead armies, grow castles from the earth, or create a frosty, horrible Winter for an entire region of a country.

Why give PCs access to such powerful magic? Well for one thing it gives them a way to spend some of the gold they seem to accidentally stock pile in fifth edition. For another it allows them to go questing for specific ritual ingredients. Most importantly this magic invites players to gain a significant amount of power but only by risking life and limb. I like bringing those kinds of high risk, high reward mechanics into my games.

PCs and NPCs alike can access these complex rituals, but they must have all the components in exactly the right place. This isn’t the kind of spell they can cast each and every day. That’s by design. The rituals are meant to be fun, but not completely break the game.

So without further adieu here’s the rules for the complex fiend summoning ritual in my game. More of these rituals will follow. Stay tuned!

Complex Rituals

Certain magic spells are too powerful to be cast in the normal way. Summoning creatures of great power, raising undead armies, and calling forth castles from the earth are examples of magic that goes beyond a simple spell. This magic is known as a complex ritual.

All complex rituals require certain components, described below.

Casting Time

Most rituals have a casting time of 1 hour or longer. The ritual leader must maintain concentration during this time. If the ritual leader’s concentration is broken, the spell fails and any spent sacrifices at the time of broken concentration are consumed.

Environmental Conditions

Each complex ritual requires specific environmental conditions. These could include time of day, weather, phases of the moon, and location. For instance a ritual to raise an army of the dead might have to take place after the sun goes down in a graveyard during a full moon.

Focuses

Focuses are material items needed to cast the ritual which are not consumed during the process of casting.

Sacrifices

Sacrifices are materials needed to cast the ritual which are consumed during the process of casting.

Recipe

This recipe outlines the specific steps taken to cast the ritual. Any ability checks related to the ritual are mentioned here. It is recommended that the DM make the character’s ability checks for them and keep the result secret.

Effect

The complex ritual’s effects are listed along with its duration. Most rituals have a variable duration.

Greater Effects

Some complex rituals can be cast to greater effect – summoning more powerful creatures, raising larger numbers of undead, etc. Achieving these greater effects often requires more cost and more risk.

Conjure Greater Fiend

Casting Time: 4 hours

Environmental Conditions: The ritual must take place after the sun has completely set and finish being cast before the sun rises.

Focuses: A fiendish mask made of animal bones and gems worn by the ritual leader (worth 4000 gp), a brazier made of a pure gold washed in the blood of fiends (worth 4000 gp), a set of unholy handbells forge from cold iron and rubies (worth 1000 gp), an unholy dagger carved from the bone of a fiend (worth 1000 gp), and the written unholy incantation for this ritual (worth 5000 gp)

Sacrifices: 13 candles made from wax mixed with fiend blood (worth 100 gp each), 13 sticks of incense made from corpse flowers (worth 200 gp each), a cask of celestial blood (worth 1000 gp), and a goat, pig or similar animal

Spell Slot Consumption Number: 10

Recipe

The ritual leader begins chanting the incantation and name of the fiend being called forth. If the ritual leader does not know the fiend’s name, instead the name of a specific type of fiend (e.g. yochlol) is chanted. This fiend must have a challenge rating 10 or lower.
Light and begin burning all the unholy candles in a 30-foot-radius circle. These must burn during the entire ritual or it fails.
Light the incense in the unholy brazier. The incense must burn during the entire ritual or it fails.
In the circle of candles, draw the unholy symbol indicated in the incantation using the celestial blood. The creature who does this must succeed on a DC 15 Intelligence (Arcana) check. If the creature fails this check the fiend summoned as normal in step 7, but can escape the circle and is not under the ritual leader’s control. The fiend is hostile toward the ritual leader and its allies.
Ring the unholy handbells in the exact sequence indicated by the incantation. The creature ringing the bells must succeed on a DC 10 Charisma (Performance) check. If the creature fails this check, it can try again one more time. A second failure means the ritual fails.
Inside the circle, kill the animal using the unholy dagger. Leave its body there and the ritual leader should continue to chant.
After three hours of chanting, if the other steps were completed correctly, the fiend should appear in the circle. If the circle of celestial blood was made properly, the fiend cannot leave the circle of candles. The ritual leader must continue to chant the incantation for one more hour. If something disrupts the caster’s concentration, the circle of celestial blood, the candles, or the incense during this final hour, the fiend is able to leave the circle and is not under the ritual leader’s control. The fiend is hostile toward the ritual leader and its allies.

Effect

Once the ritual is complete, the fiend is friendly to the ritual leader and its companions. Roll for initiative for the fiend, is has its own turns. It obeys any verbal commands the ritual leader issues to it (no action required by the lead caster) as long as they don’t violate its alignment. If the ritual leader issues no commands to the fiend, it defends itself from hostile creatures, but otherwise takes no action.

As an action the ritual leader can release the fiend from its control and return the fiend to the place from which it was summoned.

Every 24 hours the fiend is under the ritual leader’s control, the ritual leader must make a Constitution check (DC 10 + the number of days since the ritual was completed). Failing this Constitution check means the ritual leader suffers one level of exhaustion, which cannot be restored in any way until the fiend is no longer under its control.

If the ritual leader dies before dismissing the fiend, the fiend does not return to the place from where it was summoned and becomes hostile toward the ritual leader’s allies (and the ritual leader if returned to life).

Greater Effects

Using this complex ritual you can summon a fiend with a challenge rating higher than 10 up to 20. For every number of the challenge rating higher than 10, add another candle, stick of incense, cask of celestial blood, and animal consumed by the ritual. The DCs for the Intelligence (Arcana) and Charisma (Performance) checks made during the casting of the ritual increase by 1 for every number of the creature’s challenge rating higher than 10.

PDF

If you’ve been following this blog, you knew this was coming. Take the rules for complex rituals and conjure greater fiend with you wherever you go in the handy PDF below.

Complex Rituals

Feedback please!

What do you think of these complex ritual rules? Do you want to see more of them? What would you change? Sound off in the comments below! I hope to show off more of these at a future date.

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When Death Isn’t (Always) The End

Brass Tacks / D&D, D&D fifth edition, D&D Next, D&D5e, Death, DnD, dungeons and dragons, magic, Raise Dead, Resurrection, story, villain, villains, world building, worldbuilding / 17 comments

September 22, 2015

In many Dungeons and Dragons campaigns death is merely a hurdle. In fifth edition PCs and NPCs alike can return from death with a diamond and a 3rd-level or higher spell slot. Creatures can return from death as wights, revenants, ghosts, and other more powerful undead.

Now I know in most D&D worlds returning from death isn’t possible for common folks. One must have the money and the means to return. While the masses may not have access to such means, many adventurers at least have access to someone who can cast revivify by 5th level. In a world where such things are possible, I would assume that even if many have no hope of access to such magic, they have heard of these spells. That awareness would certainly change the way the world interacts with the characters.

Here’s a few tips for you to use in your campaign that make death and returning a more layered and complex story in your campaign world.

PCs Coming Back

The fact that there’s a chance PCs can come back to life after dying is probably not a complete shock to your villains. They know the spells are out there and if they’re aware the PCs have access to other higher level spells, they might assume raise dead is also in the mix. Even if that’s not the case, if the villain or a henchman kill a PC and that character returns to face them again, the game is up. They know that magic is out there now and that the PCs have access to it. What might villains do with a vulnerable character in their clutches to assure they stay out of their hair?

The first option is that enemies may go for what I call the super kill. A simple beheading after a PC has died dramatically increase the resources needed to bring the character back to life. Instead of diamonds worth 300 gp and a 3rd level spell slot for revivify, a single diamond worth 1000 gp (a more difficult find) and a 7th level spell slot for resurrection is required. If the villain disintegrates their body and they tosses it in the wind or throws the corpse into lava, suddenly diamonds worth 25,000 gp and a 9th level spell slot are needed for true resurrection. Heck if the villain absconds with the body of the deceased, the PCs have to go on a mission to get it back if they can’t cast true resurrection. If they hang onto the body for longer than 10 days, raise dead isn’t going to work anymore. Something more powerful is needed.

Of course there might be even craftier villains. PCs can choose to knock a target out with a melee attack instead of kill it. Why can’t villains do the same? They could run, fly, or teleport away with an unconscious PC and lock that person away or torture them for secrets. Suddenly an exciting prison break adventure is on the menu. Or perhaps the bad guys kill that PC, steal the character’s head, and cast resurrection on it as soon as they’re back at their stronghold. They party tries to raise the fellow adventurer only to find the spell doesn’t work because that character is already back from the dead and imprisoned.

There are also otherworldly forces that could stop the return of PCs from coming back from the dead. In a fourth edition D&D campaign I had two characters royally anger The Raven Queen, who was the goddess of death. She did not let them return from the dead when their spirits were called by the magic of their companions. Instead she threw them into a demiplane where time passed differently and her servants tortured them for the equivalent of 100 years. Then she gave them a mission to do in her name and returned them to the Material Plane. Their characters and the story were completely changed by this action.

Death and Returning Modules

If you want character death to have a more debilitating impact on PCs in fifth edition D&D, checkout the modules I created. The first module limits the number of times a PC may return from the dead and has some add-on features which make dying more easy and coming back more difficult after each death. The second module features tables of random effects which might occur when a spell such as raise dead is cast.

You can pick up the PDF of these modules over in the Free Game Resources section of this site anytime. If you go there feel free to also explore the backgrounds, magic items, monsters, D&D fifth edition rules modules, spells, adventures, and more I have made for fifth edition D&D.

When Villains Return

Of course in a world where the PCs have access to powerful, death-defying magic, why wouldn’t the villains have access to it as well? Any intelligent, high level NPC is going to have a back-up plan. There’s a cleric friend coming by each week to check in on the villain who can cast raise dead or an invisible druid nearby with a rod of resurrection. Many of our villainous NPCs have many resources at their command. If I was someone with a pile of gold, a high-level cleric or bard would probably be the first person on my retainer. When villains like this come back again and again like the Tyrant in Resident Evil 2, your PCs will be searching for a way to destroy them for good.

Some villains might return as undead instead of their former selves. Vampires, liches, mummies, revenants, and more might seek the characters as vengeance for their deaths. In the same fourth edition game I mentioned above, the PCs were taking on a cult of Orcus-worshipping baddies. Since he is the Demon Lord of Undeath many of the high-ranking members of the cult would be killed by the PCs only to return later as more powerful, undead versions of their living selves. This was great fun for me to role play and gave the PCs a preexisting relationship with the villains they were facing.

Be sure to only bring villainous NPCs back from death when it’s going to make the story more interesting and fun for your group. Doing this with every single villain will get tiresome and become a predictable trope! You don’t want the shock of a returned baddy to lose its surprise.

NPCs Want to Live!

If the PCs require help from an NPC, the NPC might contractually obligate the party to bring him or her back from the dead if the unthinkable happens in the line of duty. The husband of a soldier who died defending the town from orcs might beg the PCs to bring back his wife. A PC’s best friend and sister dies in a dragon attack that was a response to the party raiding its hoard. If word gets out the PCs have the power to return themselves from death other people will be pressuring them to use that power on themselves or those they love.

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Round Table 76 – Psionics, April Survey Results, and Spell Lists!

Round Table / Alex Basso, allison rossi, D&D, D&D fifth edition, D&D Next, D&D5e, DnD, dungeons and dragons, magic, podcast, psionics, Rudy Basso, spells, Survey, The Round Table / 0 comments

July 6, 2015

A new episode of my podcast, The Round Table, is up on The Tome Show’s website.

I sit down with Rudy Basso, Alex Basso, and Allison Rossi to discuss the possibility of psionics in D&D fifth edition, the D&D fifth edition April survey results, and the recent official D&D spell list put out by Wizards of the Coast. This podcast was recorded on June 23, 2015.

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Siege Weapon Update

Brass Tacks, Inspiration / cannon, catapult, D&D, D&D fifth edition, D&D Next, D&D5e, DnD, dungeons and dragons, magic, pdf, siege weapons, War, world building, worldbuilding / 4 comments

May 5, 2015

Last year I created some siege weapons using only the Basic D&D rules and some information I had in the final D&D Next playtest packet. A lot of the weapons I gave statistics for are now part of the official fifth edition Dungeons and Dragons rules because they made an appearance in the Dungeon Master’s Guide.

Update Time!

Siege weapons inspired by *Labrynith* are good, right? Right?

Well I’ve decided to update the arcane cannon and create a new weapon dwarven drill into the upcoming Exploration Age Campaign Guide. I’ve also added some new ammunition for the cannon, mangonel, and trebuchet in the Dungeon Master’s Guide. Take a look at the rules below and let me know what you think.

New Siege Weapons

These new siege weapons are meant to be used with the rules found on pages 255 – 256 in the Dungeon Master’s Guide. They can be added to any game at the DM’s discretion.

Arcane Cannon

Large object

Armor Class: 20

Hit Points: 100

Damage Immunities: poison, psychic

Special alchemical canisters are loaded into the muzzle of these magically reinforced cannons. The gems along the barrel of the cannon can be charged with magical energy which is used to propel and explode the canister.

An arcane cannon is usually supported in a metal frame with wheels. Before it can be fired the cannon must be loaded and aimed. It takes one action to load the weapon, one action to aim it, and one action to fire it. The weapon must be fired by a spellcaster, who feeds an amount of magical energy akin to casting a cantrip into the cannon.

Acid Canister. An acid canister explodes as soon as it leaves the cannon’s muzzle, spraying acid in a 30-foot cone from the front of the cannon. Creatures in the area must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw. Creatures who fail take 22 (4d10) acid damage and can use their next action to roll on the ground to wipe the acid off their bodies. Creatures who do not use their action to wipe the acid off their bodies take another 11 (2d10) acid damage at the end of their next turn as the acid continues to each at their flesh. Creature who succeed take half damage and do not need to wipe the acid off their bodies.

Fire Canister. The fire canister explodes as soon as it leaves the cannon’s muzzle, shooting fire in a line 100 feet long and 5 feet wide. Creatures in the area must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw. Creatures who fail take 33 (6d10) fire damage. Creature who succeed take half damage.

Force Canister. Ranged Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, range 800/3,200 ft., one target. Hit: 55 (10d10) force damage.

Frost Canister. The frost canister can be shot 800 feet. It explodes in a 30-foot-radius sphere on impact. Creatures within the area must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw. Creatures who fail take 22 (4d10) cold damage and have their speed reduced by 10 feet for one minute. Creatures who succeed take half damage and do not have their speed reduced. A creature whose speed is reduced in this way may repeat the saving throw at the end of its turn, ending the reduced speed effect on a success.

Lightning Canister. The lighting canister can be shot 800 feet. It explodes in a 20-foot-radius sphere. Creatures in the area must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw. Creatures who fail take 33 (6d10) lightning damage. Creature who succeed take half damage.

Poison Canister. A poison canister explodes as soon as it leaves the cannon’s muzzle, spraying poison gas in a 30-foot cone from the front of the cannon. Creatures in the area must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw. Creatures who fail take 22 (4d10) poison damage and are poisoned for 1 minute. Creatures who succeed take half damage and are not poisoned. A creature poisoned in this way can repeat the saving throw at the end of its turn, ending the poisoned condition on a success.

Dwarven Drill

Large object

Armor Class: 20

Hit Points: 150

Damage Immunities: poison, psychic

This tread-lined wheeled vehicle has an enormous, rotating wheel covered in drill bits large and small. It was originally designed for digging large mining tunnels, but the vehicle has proven effective in destroying enemy walls and breaking enemy ranks so it is now used in war.

The drill can seat up to two creatures in an enclosed, window-lined carriage and requires at least one creature to operate. A creature seated in the drill can use its action to make the drill move forward 80 feet in the direction it is facing or it can use its action to turn the drill so it faces a new direction.

Drill Press. When the drill runs into a large structure (such as a building, mountain, or wall) it deals 1d10 piercing damage to the structure for every 10 feet of movement it has remaining. If the drill runs into a creature or smaller object, the target must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw. Creatures who fail are pushed along for the rest of the drill’s movement and take 1d10 piercing damage for every 10 feet of movement the drill pushes them. Creatures who succeed dodge out of the way into an adjacent space the drill did not pass through. If they are unable to get out of the drill’s way, a creature automatically fails this saving throw.

New Siege Weapon Ammunition

The siege weapons on pages 255 – 256 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide. The listed weapon can be loaded with the proper ammunition and then fires as described. The ammunitions can be added to any game at the DM’s discretion.

New Cannon Ammunition

Canister Shot. This canister is full of bullets and explodes in a 30-foot cone immediately when it exits the cannon. Any creatures in the area must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw. Creatures who fail take 22 (4d10) piercing damage. Creatures who succeed take half damage.

Chain Shot. Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, range 600/2,400 ft., one target. Hit: 22 (4d10) slashing damage. Special: This attack deals triple damage to cloth targets such as a ship’s sails.

Shell. A shell is a special cannon shot which can be fired 600 feet and explodes in a 20-foot-radius sphere on impact. Creatures within the area must make a DC 15 Reflex saving throw. Creatures who fail take 22 (4d10) piercing damage. Creatures who succeed take half damage.

New Mangonel Ammunition

Mangonel Flaming Barrel. Flaming barrels of oil and pitch can be loaded onto a mangonel and up to fired 200 feet (and no less than 65 feet). The barrel explodes in a 10-foot-radius sphere on impact. Creatures in the area must make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw. Creatures who fail take 16 (3d10) fire damage. Creatures who succeed take half damage.

The ground in the area where the barrel exploded is filled with burning pitch and oil until the start of the turn of the creature who fired the mangonel. Creatures and objects which start their turn in or enter the area take 5 (1d10) fire damage.

New Trebuchet Ammunition

Trebuchet Flaming Barrel. Flaming barrels of oil and pitch can be loaded onto a trebuchet and fired 300 feet (and no less than 65 feet). The barrel explodes in a 15-foot-radius sphere on impact. Creatures in the area must make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw. Creatures who fail take 27 (5d10) fire damage. Creatures who succeed take half damage.

The ground in the area where the barrel exploded is filled with burning pitch and oil until the start of the turn of the creature who fired the trebuchet. Creatures and objects which start their turn in or enter the area take 5 (1d10) fire damage.

PDF!

Did you like these rules? Hey, if you did, go ahead and use the link below to grab these siege weapons in a free PDF.

Siege Weapons

If you want to grab this PDF at a later date, it will live in the Free Game Resources section of this site along with monsters, D&D fifth edition rules modules, backgrounds, spells, magic items, and more.

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Bonus Action 007 – Spellcasting Basics

Bonus Action / D&D, D&D fifth edition, D&D Next, D&D5e, DnD, dungeons and dragons, magic, podcast, Sam Dillon, Spellcaster, spellcasting, spells / 0 comments

April 3, 2015

A new episode of my podcast, Bonus Action, is up on The Tome Show’s website.

In this episode Sam and I discuss the rules for spellcasting in D&D. You can find an explanation of these rules in the Player’s Basic Rules D&D PDF on pages 78-81 or in the Player’s Handbook on pages 201-205.

Sam’s Blog

If you like what you’re reading please follow me on Twitter, check out my other podcasts, The Round Table and Gamer to Gamer, tell your friends, and/or leave me a comment and let me know you think. Thanks!

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The Conjuring

Brass Tacks / Conjuration, creature, D&D, D&D fifth edition, D&D Next, D&D5e, DnD, dungeons and dragons, magic, Monster, pdf, spells, Summon, world building, worldbuilding / 7 comments

April 2, 2015

Throughout fantasy’s history summoning creatures to do one’s bidding has been a big part of the genre. Throughout Dungeons and Dragons‘ history spells like summon monster have served conjurers and conjurees alike elevating both to levels of notoriety they may not have achieved otherwise. While the Dungeons and Dragons Player’s Handbook does present us with a variety of conjuration spells, the net cast on creature summoning is not nearly wide enough for me. So I present to you a bunch of new conjuration spells so you can summon creatures into battle!

I like my conjuring to be high risk high reward, so you’ll see some powerful creatures casters can lose control of in the descriptions below.

New Spells

Cleric Spells

4th Level

Conjure minor fiends (conjuration)

8th Level

Conjure fiend (conjuration)

Druid Spells

3rd Level

Conjure plants (conjuration)

Ranger Spells

3rd Level

Conjure plants (conjuration)

Sorcerer Spells

5th Level

Conjure slaad (conjuration)

9th Level

Conjure dragon (conjuration)

Warlock Spells

4th Level

Conjure minor fiends (conjuration)

5th Level

Conjure oozes (conjuration)

8th Level

Conjure fiend (conjuration)

Wizard Spells

1st Level

Conjure monstrosity (conjuration)

4th Level

Conjure minor fiends (conjuration)

5th Level

Conjure oozes (conjuration)

Conjure slaad (conjuration)

8th Level

Conjure fiend (conjuration)

9th Level

Conjure dragon (conjuration)

Conjure Dragon

9th-level conjuration

Casting Time: 1 minute

Range: 90 feet

Components: V, S

Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour

You summon a dragon of challenge rating 9 or lower, which appears in an unoccupied space that you can see within range. The dragon disappears when it drops to 0 hit points or when the spell ends.

The dragon is friendly to you and your companions for the duration. Roll initiative for the dragon, which has its own turns. It obeys any verbal commands that you issue to it (no action required by you), as long as they don’t violate its alignment. If you don’t issue any commands to the dragon, it defends itself from hostile creatures, but otherwise takes no actions.

If your concentration is broken, the dragon doesn’t disappear. Instead, you lose control of the dragon, it becomes hostile toward you and your companions, and it might attack. An uncontrolled dragon can’t be dismissed by you, and it disappears 1 hour after you summoned it.

The DM has the dragon’s statistics.

Conjure Fiend

8th-level conjuration

Casting Time: 1 minute

Range: 90 feet

Components: V, S

Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour

You summon a fiend of challenge rating 8 or lower, which appears in an unoccupied space that you can see within range. The fiend disappears when it drops to 0 hit points or when the spell ends.

The fiend is friendly to you and your companions for the duration. Roll initiative for the fiend, which has its own turns. It obeys any verbal commands that you issue to it (no action required by you), as long as they don’t violate its alignment. If you don’t issue any commands to the fiend, it defends itself from hostile creatures, but otherwise takes no actions.

If your concentration is broken, the fiend doesn’t disappear. Instead, you lose control of the fiend, it becomes hostile toward you and your companions, and it might attack. An uncontrolled fiend can’t be dismissed by you, and it disappears 1 hour after you summoned it.

The DM has the fiend’s statistics.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a 9th-level spell slot, you summon a fiend of challenge rating 9 or lower.

Conjure Minor Fiends

4th-level conjuration

Casting Time: 1 minute

Range: 90 feet

Components: V, S

Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour

You summon fiends that appear in unoccupied spaces that you can see within range. Choose one of the following options for what appears:

One fiend of challenge rating 2 or lower.
Two fiends of challenge rating 1 or lower.
Four fiends of challenge rating 1/2 or lower.
Eight fiends of challenge rating 1/4 or lower.

A fiend summoned by this spell disappears when it drops to 0 hit points or when the spell ends.

The summoned creatures are friendly to you and your companions for the duration. Roll initiative for the summoned creatures, which have their own turns. They obey any verbal commands that you issue to them (no action required by you). If you don’t issue any commands to them, they defend themselves from hostile creatures, but otherwise take no actions.

The DM has the creatures’ statistics.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using certain higher-level spell slots, you choose one of the summoning options above, and more creatures appear: twice as many with a 6th-level slot and three times as many with an 8th-level slot.

Conjure Monstrosity

1st-level conjuration

Casting Time: 1 minute

Range: 90 feet

Components: V, S

Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour

You summon a creature with the monstrosity type of challenge rating 1 or lower, which appears in an unoccupied space that you can see within range. The creature disappears when it drops to 0 hit points or when the spell ends.

The creature is friendly to you and your companions for the duration. Roll initiative for the creature, which has its own turns. It obeys any verbal commands that you issue to it (no action required by you), as long as they don’t violate its alignment. If you don’t issue any commands to the creature, it defends itself from other hostile creatures, but otherwise takes no actions.

If your concentration is broken, the creature doesn’t disappear. Instead, you lose control of the creature, it becomes hostile toward you and your companions, and it might attack. An uncontrolled creature can’t be dismissed by you, and it disappears 1 hour after you summoned it.

The DM has the creature’s statistics.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, the challenge rating increases by 1 for each slot level above 1st.

Conjure Oozes

5th-level conjuration

Casting Time: 1 minute

Range: 90 feet

Components: V, S

Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour

You summon oozes that appear in unoccupied spaces that you can see within range. Choose one of the following options for what appears:

One black pudding.
Two ochre jellies.
Two gelatinous cubes.
Eight gray oozes.

An ooze summoned by this spell disappears when it drops to 0 hit points or when the spell ends.

The DM has the creatures’ statistics.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using certain higher-level spell slots, you choose one of the summoning options above, and more creatures appear: twice as many with a 7th-level slot and three times as many with a 9th-level slot.

Conjure Plants

3rd-level conjuration

Casting Time: 1 action

Range: 90 feet

Components: V, S

Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour

You summon fey spirits that take the form of plants and appear in unoccupied spaces that you can see within range. Choose one of the following options for what appears:

One plant of challenge rating 2 or lower.
Two plants of challenge rating 1 or lower.
Four plants of challenge rating 1/2 or lower.
Eight plants of challenge rating 1/4 or lower.

Each plant summoned by this spell is also considered fey, and it disappears when it drops to 0 hit points or when the spell ends.

The DM has the creatures’ statistics.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using certain higher-level spell slots, you choose one of the summoning options above, and more creatures appear: twice as many with a 5th-level slot, three times as many with a 7th-level slot, and four times as many with a 9th-level slot.

Conjure Slaad

5th-level conjuration

Casting Time: 1 minute

Range: 90 feet

Components: V, S

Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour

You summon a red slaad, which appears in an unoccupied space that you can see within range. The slaad disappears when it drops to 0 hit points or when the spell ends.

The slaad is friendly to you and your companions for the duration. Roll initiative for the slaad, which has its own turns. It obeys any verbal commands that you issue to it (no action required by you), as long as they don’t violate its alignment. If you don’t issue any commands to the slaad, it defends itself from hostile creatures, but otherwise takes no actions.

If your concentration is broken, the slaad doesn’t disappear. Instead, you lose control of the slaad, it becomes hostile toward you and your companions, and it might attack. An uncontrolled slaad can’t be dismissed by you, and it disappears 1 hour after you summoned it.

The DM has the slaad’s statistics.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using certain higher-level spell slots you can summon a different type of slaad. You can summon a blue slaad using a 7th-level slot, a green slaad using an 8th-level spell slot, and a gray slaad with a 9th-level slot.

Have a PDF. You Earned It!

As usual, I wouldn’t just leave you with this information in a blog post. Why not have it in a PDF you can download and keep forever and ever and ever? So you can grab these spells in the link below or head on over to the Free Game Resources of this site where you can find rules modules, magic items, monsters, and more for your game.

Conjuration Spells

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Update the Items

Brass Tacks / D&D, D&D fifth edition, D&D Next, D&D5e, DnD, dungeons and dragons, loot, magic, magic items, rpg, tabletop, tabletop rpg, treasure, TRPG, wondrous items, world building, worldbuilding / 14 comments

January 8, 2015

Note: You can now find the magic items in this article as a part of 50 New Magic Items, a Pay What You Want product on the DMs Guild.

I’ve created more than a few original magic items in various blog posts on this site. Starting today and over the course of the next few updates I’ll be bringing the finalized versions into the fifth edition Dungeons and Dragons rules. So if you’ve been following the blog some of these will be familiar and others will be entirely new! Once I’m finished with these magic items, I’ll post them on the Free Game Resources section of this site as a PDF so you’ll always know where to find them.

But First A Word About Magic Items in Exploration Age

Some of you may already know this, but permanent magic items in Exploration Age require gems to hold the item’s magic. The more expensive the gem, the more magic it can hold.

Variant Exploration Age Magic Item Creation

If a DM allows players to craft permanent magic items in their down time, at least half the cost of creating the item must be paid in gems, which are incorporated into final form of the item.

Now onto that good stuff!

The Good Stuff

Since I love wondrous items I thought I’d share a few of those with all of you now. Some are original and others are taken from my Magic Items, I Made These For You, and A Few (Magic) Things posts. Apparently I really love magic belts.

How’d I Do?

What do you think of these items? Would you use any of them in your game? What might you modify? Sound off in the comments below!

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The Gods of Exploration Age

Brass Tacks / agnostic, atheist, Cleric, D&D, D&D fifth edition, D&D Next, D&D5e, divine, divine magic, DnD, dungeons and dragons, Gods, magic, Monotheism, paladin, pantheon, Polytheism, religion, rpg, tabletop, tabletop rpg, TRPG, world building, worldbuilding / 5 comments

January 6, 2015

If you can’t see something how do you know it is real? I think this is a question often asked of scientists and clergy alike. This question is also a central point of today’s post. In Exploration Age no creatures interact directly with the gods. They do not walk amongst the mortals and there is more than one religion. Each religion conflicts with the others, for each has its own myths about the creation of the world, life, and the afterlife. They cannot all be correct. The world has atheists and agnostics who question the existence of gods all together.

Now I know some of you are already saying, “How could there be atheists in a world where clerics and paladins are granted divine magic from gods?” Well first I might say you can read the Dungeon Master’s Guide to get some pretty good answers to that question. If those answers don’t please you, take a look at the excerpt from the Exploration Age Campaign Guide below to get an overview of divine magic and religions in the world.

These gods are a little different than what you know… but also not!

Absent Gods

On Canus the gods do not walk the earth. They have not been found in any of the accessible planes of existence. They do not communicate directly with their clerics or worshippers. Different religions have myths about their gods and the world contrary to the stories of others. This leads some to question if there are actually any gods at all.

Many religious folk in the land point to the magic of clerics and paladins as proof of their gods’ existence. Naysayers point to non-religious magic users like rangers, druids, and bards. These doubters claim the magic of the clergy comes from the same place as the magic of other classes and that no gods are involved at all. There is no concrete proof this magic comes from the gods, but those with faith cast out the word of atheists.

Religions of Canus

Below is an overview of the most common religions in Canus. Other religions exist. Many evil cults worship mighty fiends, monsters may revere an original creator God or mighty bloodline, and others may dedicate themselves to the spirits of family ancestors or the essence of an ideal like good or law. GMs should feel free to create their own religions or borrow from other settings as they choose and bring them into the world by adding them to the cannon of religions or replacing one or more of the ones below.

Destianity

Destianity is the monotheistic religion practiced by many of Marrial’s dragonborn, though the democratic nation has no official religion. Destianity preaches one God, The Sky Dragon, has preordained the path of every living thing in the multiverse after He created the worlds. Destians are taugh not to fear loss or death for none can escape preordained fate. They are more likely to take risks because they believe the outcome is already determined and meant to be. You can read more about Destianity in the Findalay chapter of this book in the Marrial section.

Elementalism

The tribes of Verda revere the four gods of Elementalism. Each god has a corresponding element and is more a spirit and force of nature than a divine being with wills and decrees. The Elementalist gods always have been and always will be. They favor neither good nor evil, law nor chaos. The tribes believe these gods simply live in the moment and must remain pleased or the tribes will suffer their wrath. You can read more about Elementalism in the Verda chapter of this book in the Tribes section.

Hierotheism

The Bragonay dwarves and loyal warforged slaves observe their official polytheistic religion, Hierotheism. Goddesses in this religion are organized in a matriarchal caste which reflects Bragonian society. Each caste is assigned a goddess and must worship this goddess as patron. Bragonian citizens may not pray to a goddess above their station and those who do risk death. You can read more about Hierotheism in the Findalay chapter of this book in the Bragonay section.

Immortalism

Immortalism is the polytheistic religion practiced mostly by Aeranore’s humans and elves. It is the country’s official religion, but other practices are allowed. Immortalists believe humans and gnomes descended from an original race of undying Immortals who were created by gods who represent the Sun, the Moon, the sea, land masses, and death. You can read more about Immortalism in the Findalay chapter of this book in the Aeranore section.

Imperatism

The citizens of Parian must believe that their emperor, Quan Denang, is the only one true God in the multiverse or they are put to death. Quan’s divinity is part of the millennia-old Denang bloodline passed on from parent to child. It is believed that only reason the Quan and His ancestors age is because it takes all their godly might to keep the multiverse alive. As the burden becomes too much for God, the multiverse claims His life and the emperor passes his station and his divinity to another of his bloodline. You can read more about Imperatism in the Parian chapter of this book.

Solarism

Elves and halflings of Taliana and drow, duergar, and svirfneblin of Quatus observe the rites and rituals of the dualistic religion of Solarism. While this is the official religion of both countries, citizens may take up other religious practices. The religion centers around sister goddesses. Meliko represents the sun and the light while Fana represents the moon and the dark. While the surface dwellers observe the same goddesses they interpret their holy texts differently than their Underdark dwelling kin. The differences in these religious interpretations is responsible for thousands of years of bloodshed between the two camps of Solarism. You can read more about Solarism in the Findalay chapter of this book in the Taliana section.

Veratism

The Arcane College is currently running an experiment to see if they can make a god spring into being by first giving Him worshippers. Thus they have created Berrator, God of All Magic and Creation and have encouraged some students and staff to preach that Berrator will grant magic gifts to all once he springs into being. As a result the monotheistic religion has caught on in a few places. You can read more about Veratism in the International Organizations and Power Players chapter of this book in The Arcane College section.

Zaxism

Deva follow the monotheistic religion of Zaxism. They believe that when one benevolent God, Zaxa, created the multiverse the effort tore his soul into pieces. Those pieces became the deva and the rakshasa. It is believed that Zaxa can only be made whole once all rakshasa have been converted through rebirth into deva or vice versa from the rakshasa point of view. You can read more about Zaxism in the Races chapter of this book in the Deva section.

Chart of the Religions of Exploration Age

Religion	Gods	Alignment	Suggested Domains	Symbol
Destianity
	The Sky Dragon	N	All	Side profile of a faceless rainbow-colored dragon
Elementalism				Gem made of four colors
	Aval (Fire)	N	Light, War	Stern face in a inferno or a ruby
	Halcut (Air)	N	Tempest, Trickery	Laughing face in a wind storm or a diamond
	Nerot (Earth)	N	Death, Nature	Contemplative face in a rock or an emerald
	Weva (Water)	N	Knowledge, Life	Smiling face in a lake or a sapphire
Hierotheism				A seven-runged multicolor ladder
	Caramey (Empress)	LN	All	A greatsword
	Meralla (Warlords)	LN	Death, War	A scythe
	Zelti (Nobles)	LN	Knowledge, Trickery	A dirk and a bag of coins
	Swarvune (Soldiers)	LN	War, Tempest	A battleaxe and a shield
	Shalleal (Artisans)	LN	Knowledge, Life	A maul
	Berga (Peasants)	LN	Life, Nature	A war pick
	Almahad (Slave)	LN	Light, Nature	A club
Immortalism				Three progressively smaller orbs in a line
	Alphon	NG	Knowledge, Life	Globe of water
	Baydon	CN	Tempest, War	Erupting volcano
	Cardon	CN	Nature, Trickery	Sheaf of wheat
	Delistar	N	Death	Black skull in a blue bubble
	The Moon	CG	Light	Purple full moon
	The Sun	LG	Light	Red sun
Imperatism
	Quan Denang	LE	All	One man holding many others above his head
Solarism				A crescent moon hugging the sun (Quatus) or crescent moon contained with a sun (Taliana)
	Fana	LN	Death, Knowledge, Tempest, War	Underdark city skyline (Quatus) or longsword with a black blade (Taliana)
	Meliko	CG	Life, Light, Nature, Trickery	Torch enrobed in moss (Quatus) or arrow with a flaming head (Taliana)
Veratism
	Berrator	LG	All	Open hand shooting a beam of blue energy
Zaxism
	Zaxa	NG (deva) or NE (rakshasa)	All	A humanoid head with no eyes or nose and a frowning mouth

So what do you think? Do you want to read more about these religions? Do you think having some atheists and doubters in the world is interesting? Sound off in the comments below!

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