infiamme.

Hot summer

First music, then voice modifiers… Now this. Perfect.

2nd level evocation

Before I share some of my own bookish homebrew items, let’s take a look at some of the official books and tomes in D&D 5th edition, many of which are from the recently released Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything. I guess even the greatest wizard in the history of the multiverse began with studying spellbooks, right?

A-Z of Every Book & Tome in 5th Edition

Arcane Grimoire (Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything)

Alchemical Compendium (Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything)

Astromancy Archive (Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything)

Atlas of Endless Horizons (Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything)

Book (Player’s Handbook)

Book of Exalted Deeds (Dungeon Master’s Guide)

Book of Shadows (Player’s Handbook)

Book of Vile Darkness (Dungeon Master’s Guide)

Crystalline Chronicle (Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything)

Demonomicon of Iggwilv (Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything)

Duplicitous Manuscript (Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything)

Elder Cartographer’s Glossography (Acquisitions Incorporated)

Enduring Spellbook (Xanathar’s Guide to Everything)

Fulminating Treatise (Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything)

Grimoire Infinitus (Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount)

Libram of Souls and Flesh (Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything)

Manual of Bodily Health (Dungeon Master’s Guide)

Manual of Gainful Exercise (Dungeon Master’s Guide)

Manual of Golems (Dungeon Master’s Guide)

Manual of Quickness of Action (Dungeon Master’s Guide)

Planecaller’s Codex (Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything)

Spellbook (Player’s Handbook)

The Codicil of White (Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden)

The Incantations of Iriolarthas (Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden)

Tome of Clear Thought (Dungeon Master’s Guide)

Tome of Leadership and Influence (Dungeon Master’s Guide)

Tome of Strahd (Curse of Strahd)

Tome of the Stilled Tongue (Dungeon Master’s Guide)

Tome of Understanding (Dungeon Master’s Guide)

I compiled this list at 2:00am, so if I have missed any, please let me know.

BONUS!

Swarm of Books (Waterdeep: Dragon Heist)

Medium swarm of Tiny constructs, unaligned

Armor Class 12

Hit Points 22 (5d8)

Speed 0 ft., fly 30 ft.

STR       DEX         CON         INT        WIS          CHA

5 (-3)     15 (+2)     10 (+0)     2 (-4)     12 (+1)     4 (-3)

Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, slashing

Condition Immunities charmed, frightened, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, prone, restrained, stunned

Senses Blindsight 60 ft., Passive Perception 11

Languages –

Challenge ¼ (50 XP)

Swarm. The swarm can occupy another creature’s space and vice versa, and the swarm can move through any opening large enough for a Tiny book. The swarm can’t regain hit points or gain temporary hit points.

Actions

Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 0 ft., one creature in the swarm’s space. Hit: 5 (2d4) bludgeoning damage, or 2 (1d4) bludgeoning damage if the swarm has half of its hit points or fewer.

Stat Block for Dungeon Masters

No. That’s Christianity.

“Religion is totally focused on the afterlife and getting into heaven and avoiding hell”

Nope. Christianity again.

“Religion is about pushing your beliefs on others and trying to get them to convert”

There are other culturally Christian countries, which are of other denominations and therefore have a slightly different bent. England is culturally Anglican, Germany is culturally Lutheran, Italy and Spain are culturally Catholic, Russia is culturally Orthodox, etc. However, even the cultural Catholicism of Italy is different from, say, the cultural Catholicism of Ireland.

What’s today’s date? The Gregorian calendar is fundamentally Christian; it was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII as a reform to the previously-used Julian calendar (itself only in use today in Christian contexts). 

What does someone mean when they say “The Bible”? 

If you have the phrase “Old Testament” in there at all, congrats, that’s cultural Christianity in play. That phrase isn’t one that makes sense to us, given that we don’t believe there is a New Testament -the OT is also, historically, not the Tanach. 

When is New Year’s? 

The classical Jewish response to that would be “which one” -we’ve got four of our own. Other cultural new years take place around the year.

What does a religious service look like? 

What do people look like when they’re praying on their own? 

If your mental image here is someone kneeling, hands together… Christianity again. 

Do you find the concept of being culturally a member of a religion you don’t, as far as you can tell, practice or believe in, weird?

Yeah, that’s Christianity again -specifically because of its ubiquity. “Oh, I’m not Christian; I just do big family dinners on Christmas and Easter” is Christian, but somehow requires less explaining to most people than “I’m not religiously Jewish, but I still celebrate the Jewish holidays.”

Is there fundamentally a good-evil dichotomy? That’s another one that’s not really a classical Jewish approach. 

What does repentance/atonement entail -and what requires it? 

Do your ideas and concepts about religion exist in English, or do they only really exist in another language?

What is the honorable and good way to bury someone who has died, and to mourn their passing? What is the language of death? What makes a death good or bad? How is the body treated? What are the ritual, sacred, cultural, practical, ethical traditions around death?

What are the legal particulars that evolved into the marriage ceremony you imagine as the default? How is that marriage celebrated? What IS marriage, and who has authority over it?

How does someone come into this world? How is their coming celebrated, before and after the actual birth? How is their name chosen? What names are off limits? How many names do they get? When are the names used? What do they mean? How do they honor family?How do they become a part of the community?

As someone ages, how will they pass through meaningful, institutionalized rites of passage? When are they responsible? When are they an adult?

What is the relationship between humanity and nature? The relationship between humanity and the earth? What is our position in the natural world? What rights do we have or not have, what duties do we have or not have?

What is your view about the occult? Your concept of angels, demons, and the devil? What do magic, divination, and astrology look like to you?

What ubiquitous symbols exist in your culture? What phrases and idioms do you use to convey meaning beyond the explicit? Do you use these without thinking about their origin?

How is the year celebrated? What seasons are given special honor, and why? What themes are strong enough to provoke holidays and observances? What ARE those holidays and observances? What holidays do you consider “religious,” “secular,” or “national?” How do you observe them? What rights do you feel you have around them - do you have the right not to work on certain days, and why those days? Do you have the right to celebrate them publically, even in a government supposedly separated from religion, and what gives you that right?

What IS prayer? How does one do it? Does it matter or make a difference? What is it’s intention?

How much do you know about the culture, beliefs, history, traditions, and oppressions of different religious groups? How much do you know about your own group, or the dominant group in your country?

every table’s needs are different, but some principles:

good snacks are quiet

good snacks are high in protein, salt, and/or fat — all good for concentration and stamina.

good snacks are shareable - ideally can even be split into multiple serving dishes so people don’t have to reach or constantly ask for snacks to be shared.

good snacks don’t interfere with speaking — a spice level everyone can tolerate to avoid coughing, skip the dairy (which creates throat-clogging phlegm), etc.

good snacks are easy — prepared before the game starts, require few or no utensils

good snacks are clean — keep cheeto dust off your character sheet!