imma talk about dnd a lot

Now, the postman couldn’t see him from the front door, and I scribbled my signature and said, to my son, “You need to put some trousers on.”

My postman, very slowly, looked down at his trouser-clad legs with a mixture of confusion and horror, and then looked back up at me.

String identified: AT A ' G T A A??? ACACG T TT AC T TG???

Closest match: Crassostrea gigas strain QD chromosome 2 Common name: Pacific oyster

💎 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗺! Wild Dice Wondrous item, rare ___

This set of two chipped and weathered wood six-sided dice are infused with unpredictable magic. They come in a small velvet bag whose pattern changes based on the dice’s last roll. Otherwise, the dice appear completely unassuming.

The dice have a total of 6 charges and regain 1d6 expended charges daily at dawn. As an action, you can expend 1 of their charges to roll them, tossing them at a point you can see within 30 feet of you when you do. The dice’s effect is determined by the total of the roll as listed in the table and described below. Unless the effect says otherwise, the dice disappear at the end of the effect and reappear in the pouch at the start of the following turn. Rolling the dice again while an effect is still active does nothing. An effect that requires a saving throw has a DC of 15.

2d6 | Effect — 2 | Slither 3 | Nullify 4 | Slick 5 | Misty 6 | Jelly 7 | Lucky 8 | Bramble 9 | Alarm 10 | Revelry 11 | Zap 12 | Explode

𝘼𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙢. As the dice come to a halt, an ear-piercing alarm rings out from them for 1 minute, audible out to a range of 300 feet. Any sleeping creatures within that range are immediately awakened, and every creature that can hear the alarm is immune to any effect that would put them to sleep for the duration.

𝘽𝙧𝙖𝙢𝙗𝙡𝙚. The dice crack open like seeds and grow into gnarled brambles, casting the “entangle” spell from them (no concentration required) centered on the point in which they landed. The dice are then lost until the next dawn, at which point they reappear in the velvet bag.

𝙀𝙭𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙙𝙚. The dice glow red hot and smoke before detonating into a fiery blaze, as if by the “fireball” spell centered on the point in which they landed. The dice are then lost until the next dawn, at which point they reappear in the velvet bag.

𝙅𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙮. The dice ripple and jiggle, then dissolve into a pale slime. At the start of your next turn, the slime grows into a gelatinous cube with half its normal hit points in an unoccupied space nearest to the point where the dice landed. This cube remains for 1 minute or…

…Continued in the comment below! ___

Ok. I’m tired of the typical vampire, werewolf and fairy.I’m also tired of the occidental-centrism in mythology. Hence, this list. 

I tried to included as many cultural variants as I could find and think of. (Unfortunately, I was restricted by language. Some Russian creatures looked very interesting but I don’t speak Russian…) Please, add creatures from your culture when reblogguing (if not already present). It took me a while to gather all those sites but I know it could be more expansive. I intend on periodically editing this list. 

Of note: I did not include specific legendary creatures (Merlin, Pegasus, ect), gods/goddesses/deities and heroes.

Dragons

The Chinese Dragon

The Japanese Dragon

The Korean Dragon

The Vietnamese Dragon

The Greek Dragon

The Indian Dragon

The Polish Dragon

The Austrian Dragon

The British Dragon

The Ancient Dragon (Egypt, Babylon and Sumer)

The Spanish Basque Dragon

Of the Cockatrice (creature with the body of a dragon)

Alphabetical List of Dragons Across Myths (Great way to start)

Little creatures (without wings)

The Legend of the Leprechauns, The Leprechaun

Chanaque /Alux (the equivalent of leprechauns in Aztec/Mayan folklore)

Elves

Elves in Mythology and Fantasy

Elves in Germanic Mythology

Kabeiroi or Cabeiri (Dwarf-like minor gods in Greek mythology)

Norse Dwarves

The Myth of Loki and the Dwarves

Ten Types of Goblins

Goblins

Tengu: Japanese Goblins

Gnomes 

More on Gnomes

Pooka: an Irish phantom

Creatures with wings (except dragons)

Fairies

All sorts of Cultural Fairies

Fairies in Old French Mythology 

A Fairy List

Bendith Y Mamau (Welsh fairies)

Welsh Fairies

Peri (Persian fairies)

Yü Nü (Chinese fairies)

The Celtic Pixie

Angels in Judaism

Angels in Christianity

Hierarchy of Angels

Angels in Islam

Irish Sylph

Garuda (Bird-like creature in Hindu and Buddhist myths)

Bean Nighe (a Scottish fairy; the equivalent of a banshee in Celtic mythology)

Harpies

Spirited Creatures

Druids

Jinn (Genies in Arabic folklore)

Types of Djinns

Aisha Qandisha and Djinn in Moroccan Folklore

Oni (demons in Japanese folklore)

Nymphs

Spirits in Asturian Mythology

Valkyries

Lesovik

Boggarts: The British Poltergeist

Phantom black dogs (the Grim)

Demons in Babylonian and Assyrian Mythology (list)

Demons in the Americas (list)

European Demons (list)

Middle-East and Asia Demons (list)

Judeo-Christian Demons (list)

Nephilim, more on Nephilim

Mahaha (a demon in Inuit mythology)

Flying Head (a demon in Iroquois mythology)

Ghosts

Toyol (a dead baby ghost in Malay folklore)

Malay Ghosts

Yuki-onna (a ghost in Japanese folklore)

The Pontianak (a ghost in Malay mythology)

Funayurei (a ghost in Japanese folklore)

Zagaz (ghosts in Moroccan folklore)

Japanese Ghosts

Mexican Ghosts

Horse-like mythical creatures

Chinese Unicorns

Unicorns

The Kelpie (Could have also fitted in the sea creatures category)

The Centaur

The Female Centaur

Hippocamps (sea horses in Greek mythology)

Horse-like creatures (a list)

Karkadann, more on the Karkadann (a persian unicorn)

Ceffyl Dwfr (fairy-like water horse creatures in Cymric mythology)

Undead creatures

The Melanesian Vampire 

The Ewe Myth : Vampires

The Germanic Alp

The Indonesian Vampire

Asanbosam and Sasabonsam (Vampires from West Africa)

The Aswang: The Filipino Vampire

Folklore Vampires Versus Literary Vampires

Callicantzaros: The Greek Vampire

Vampires in Malaysia

Loogaroo/Socouyant: The Haitian Vampire

Incubi and Sucubi Across Cultures

Varacolaci: The Romanian Vampire

Brahmaparusha: The Indian Vampire

Genesis of the Word “Vampire”

The Ghoul in Middle East Mythology

Slavic Vampires

Vampires A-Z

The Medical Truth Behind the Vampire Myths

Zombies in Haitian Culture

Shape-shifters and half-human creatures (except mermaids) 

Satyrs (half-man, half-goat)

Sirens in Greek Mythology (half-woman and half-bird creatures)

The Original Werewolf in Greek Mythology

Werewolves Across Cultures

Werewolf Syndrome: A Medical Explanation to the Myth

Nagas Across Cultures

The Kumiho (half fox and half woman creatures)

The Sphinx

Criosphinx

Scorpion Men (warriors from Babylonian mythology)

Pooka: an Irish changelings

Domovoi (a shape-shifter in Russian folklore)

Aatxe (Basque mythology; red bull that can shift in a human)

Yech (Native American folklore)

Ijiraat (shapeshifters in Inuit mythology)

Sea creatures

Selkies (Norse mermaids)

Mermaids in many cultures

More about mermaids

Mermen

The Kraken (a sea monster)

Nuckelavee (a Scottish elf who mainly lives in the sea)

Lamiak (sea nymphs in Basque mythology)

Bunyip (sea monster in Aboriginal mythology)

Apkallu/abgal (Sumerian mermen)

An assemblage of myths and legends on water and water creatures

Slavic Water Creatures

The Encantado (water spirits in Ancient Amazon River mythology)

Zin (water spirit in Nigerian folklore)

Qallupilluk (sea creatures in Inuit mythology)

Monsters That Don’t Fit in Any Other Category

Aigamuxa, more details on Aigamuxa

Amphisabaena

Abere

Bonnacon

Myrmidons (ant warriors)

Troll, More on Trolls

Golems 

Golems in Judaism

Giants: The Mystery and the Myth (50 min long documentary)

Inupasugjuk (giants in Inuit mythology)

Fomorians (an Irish divine race of giants)

The Minotaur

The Manticore, The Manticore and The Leucrouta

The Ogre

The Orthus (two-headed serpent-tailed dog)

The Windigo

The Windigo Psychosis

Rakshasa (humanoids in Hindu and Buddhist mythology)

Yakshas (warriors in Hindu mythology)

Taqriaqsuit (“Shadow people” in Inuit mythology)

References on Folklore and Mythology Across the Globe

Creatures of Irish Folklore 

Folklore and Fairytales

An Overview of Persian Folklore

Filipino Folklore

Myths, Creatures and Folklore

Alaska Folklore

Spanish (Spain) Mythology

Mythical Archive

Mythology Dictionary

List of Medieval and Ancient Monsters

Native American Animals of Myth and Legends

Native American Myths

Bestiary of Ancient Greek Mythology

Mythology, Legend, Folklore and Ghosts

Angels and Demons

List of Sea Creatures

Yoruba Mythology

Ghosts Around the World, Ghosts From A to Z

Strange (Fantastic) Animals of Ancient Egypt

Egyptian Mythology

Creatures from West Africa

On the Legendary Creatures of Africa

Myths, Creatures and Folklore

References on writing a myth or mythical creatures

Writing a MYTHology in your novel?

How to Write a Myth

10 Steps to Creating Realistic Fantasy Creatures

Creating Fantasy Creatures or Alien Species

Legendary Creature Generator

Book Recommendations With Underrated Mythical Creatures

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monaciello

- There’s the quick and dirty “Only 36 plots exist, pick your favorite” or seven basic plots for a more recent example (there’s a bunch of these lists fyi)- Remember, every archetype has been done before so don’t worry about originality. What makes it original is your creator brain + your fav archetypes (character and plot), shake well and boom, you have a story. 

- Plots are about getting from point A to point B to achieve a goal and/or change the character. Most of the time when you “have a character but no plot” it’s because you’re conceiving of the character in their sort of “Platonic Ideal” middle state rather than picking out a trait that’s going to change or improve over the course of your story. If a character is brave, consider showing the arc/journey of how they went from fearful to brave, if they’re in love show how they fell in love, if they’ve got some amazing magic power, how did they gain that power? Or in reverse, how did this character start out perfect and then crumble (presumably to be put back together older and wiser than before)?

- Plots also come about by knowing what your character wants and putting them in opposition to a character who wants something that opposes it. Charlie Chaplin said all he needed to make a movie was a guy in love, a pretty girl, and a figure of authority who gets in the way. Characters clash when they want different or conflicting things (saving the world vs. destroying the world, in the macro, but on the micro it could be kid sneaking out to see bf/gf gets stopped by parents who want them to stay in. Boom, that’s a conflict.). Think of what your character wants, now envision what gets in the way of them getting it. Seeing how a character fails or succeeds to overcome an obstacle tends to make us love characters. How many obstacles can you throw in your character’s way to getting what they want before they get it at the end of the story (or fail to and now it’s literary :P)?

My second nature-themed subclass in a row! I like the ranger class despite its weaknesses, but I always felt its subclasses were either very niche (specifically the ones released in Xanathar’s) or very weak (looking at you, Beast Master and Hunter). So I wanted to create an option for ranger that was neither of those things: a subclass that was mechanically powerful, but that could also be adapted fit any ranger character. And just like that, the wild master came to be.

As you’ve probably noticed by now, I love subclasses that can be customised, and the wild master is no different. You get to choose your own features at 3rd level (one of seven, although by 11th level you’ll have 3 of them), 7th level (technically a choice, even though it’s tied to your fighting style) and 15th level (one of three features to make you incredibly strong in a fight). I did this because I wanted to make each player’s experience with the subclass different, and to also allow them to tailor the subclass to their character. By the time you’ve reached 15th level, you should have a wild master different to everyone else’s, with features that represent what they’ve seen, how they fight and where they’ve been (and, in my incredibly biased opinion, that’s pretty cool).

A genie who will grant a given wish only if they can be presented with a sound argument that it would be ethical to do so. They categorically reject arguments founded in utilitarianism, but are willing to entertain most other ethical frameworks, provided they’re internally consistent.

A genie who exclusively speaks a long-dead language, the surviving corpus of which is very small. They don’t deliberately try to warp the wisher’s intent, but they’re a bit unimaginative, and make no allowances whatsoever for the limits of a given speaker’s fluency or vocabulary

A genie who can grant an unlimited number of wishes, but will only grant any particular wish once. They’ve been around for a very long time, and all of the obvious wishes have long since been used up; lateral thinking may be required to get any useful results.

A genie who has a strange preoccupation with horses, and attempts to incorporate them into the granting of any wish in some fashion if it can even remotely be justified. Trying to explicitly specify that a wish should not involve horses leads to arguments and sulking.

A genie who possesses boundless endurance, total invulnerability and comprehensive mastery of every mortal skill, but no magical powers as such. Any wishes they grant must be carried out the long way around. They do not feel the need to advise prospective wishers of this.

A genie who’s aware of their kind’s reputation for maliciously twisting wishes, and is determined to overcome this stereotype by granting what the wisher meant, not what they said. Their insight into mortal psychology is unfortunately not quite as profound as they think it is.

Jim “Sheldon” Parsons

Jim Carrey

Jimmy Carter

“Jim’ll Fix It” Saville

Jim Croce

Jim From The Office

Jim Gaffigan

Jim Nabors

voice actor Jim Cummings

Jimmy Buffett

pro wrestler Hacksaw Jim Duggan

Jim “Garfield” Davis

Jim Belushi

Jimmy Fallon and/or Jimmy Kimmel, if different

Jim Morrison

Jim Bob Duggar

tennis star Jim Grabb

Jimi Hendrix

Jimmy Dean (country singer and sausage magnate, not James the movie star)

Lough Key- a lake in Ireland

Dwarves carve each other out of rock. In theory this can be managed alone, but in practice, few dwarves have mastered all of the necessary skills. Most commonly, it’s a collaborative effort by three to eight individuals. The new dwarf’s body is covered with runes that are in part a recounting of the crafters’ respective lineages, and in part an elaboration of the rights and duties of a member of dwarven society; each dwarf is thus a living legal argument establishing their own existence.

Elves aren’t made, but educated. An elf who wishes to produce offspring selects an ordinary animal and begins teaching it, starting with house-breaking, and progressing through years of increasingly sophisticated lessons. By gradual degrees the animal in question develops reasoning, speech, tool use, and finally the ability to assume a humanoid form at will. Most elves are derived from terrestrial mammals, but there’s at least one community that favours octopuses and squid as its root stock.

Goblins were created by alchemy as servants for an evil wizard, but immediately stole their own formula and rebelled. New goblins are brewed in big brass cauldrons full of exotic reagents; each village keeps a single cauldron in a central location, and emerging goblings are raised by the whole community, with no concept of parentage or lineage. Sometimes they like to add stuff to the goblin soup just to see what happens – there are a lot of weird goblins.

Halflings reproduce via tall tales. Making up fanciful stories about the adventures of fictitious cousins is halfling culture’s main amusement; if a given individual’s story is passed around and elaborated upon by enough people, a halfling answering to that individual’s description just shows up one day. They won’t necessarily possess any truly outlandish abilities that have been attributed to them – mostly you get the sort of person of whom the stories could be plausible exaggerations.

Anyway, noodling around with questions in the notes about “crossbreeding”:

The process of creating a dwarf requires that a majority of the contributing craftspeople be dwarves, or else it just doesn’t work, but otherwise there’s no particular rule against including non-dwarves. There’s a fair amount of leeway both in fashioning a dwarf’s physical form and in composing the documents inscribed upon its skin, so cross-species “parentage” is really about incorporating non-dwarven artistic and philosophical influences.

Elfhood is a matter of acculturation, so in principle anybody can become one. In practice, the learning process is considerably more difficult and time-consuming for creatures who already have their own sapience and culture, so conversion to elfhood is uncommon outside of cases like human fosterlings raised by elves, or a non-elf becoming an elf’s spouse. Such individuals may not be fully accepted in certain communities; “half-elf” is one of the politer pejoratives they’re saddled with.