Heroes Rise two hundred and fifty-second entry: The Book of Many Things
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 252nd and final entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday, November 18th, 2023, and released Wednesday, November 22nd, 2023 over at heroesrisepodcast.com. Alas, after 252 episodes, our campaign is coming to an end, but we’ll always be around to lend you a helping hand. With over 250 episodes and almost as many Adventurer’s Pack picks and Rests both Short and Long, we know that we’ve created a wealth of information that’s not only applicable to D&D 5e, but to TTRPGs as a whole. Over the coming weeks, we will be reshuffling the website to place a focus on the written content, along with a full audio archive, both on the current RSS feeds as well as a public repository so future access to the existing show catalogue is guaranteed. Also, Lennon and Mikey will have copies of everything (seriously, they treat…
Unearthed Mundana: What’s In A Name?
This article was first broadcast in Episode Two Hundred and Fifty-one on 15th November, 2023. Note: This article was adapted from an episode script, and so there may be parts that don’t flow well when read, because they were initially designed for broadcast. It’s no secret that D&D draws heavily on the histories of medieval Europe. Whether for it’s creatures pulled straight from Polish mythology, or its quazi-feudal system of monarchies and peerages based on the French and British systems, the stench of Henry the Eighth and all of his mates can be found everywhere. Look on any good map (or indeed on any bad one) and you’ll find a plethora of places with names like “Waterdeep” — named for its deep water in the harbor; or “Neverwinter” because the snow never settles there and so it’s never winter… We’ll give you two guesses why “Old Stonekeep” is named that.…
Heroes Rise two hundred and fifty-first entry: The Rhaglen Zeigen At Vise Show
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 251st entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday, November 11th, 2023, and released Wednesday, November 15th, 2023 over at heroesrisepodcast.com. In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, Ryu takes us on a Dice Adventure! Next we gather around the campfire and engage in some Dissonant Whispers After that we’ll dig up some Unearthed Mundana and ask “What’s In A Name?”; before finally heading into the Scrying Pool to see what you [all] have to say. Community Questions Heroes Rise are always on the lookout for new team members that have a passion for Dungeons and Dragons. Please know that all of our positions are volunteer, but we do offer a well known outlet for your work. If you have a particular skill that you believe could enhance our content, then send your contact information and experience to sendingstone@heroesrisepodcast.com. You can also follow us on…
Heroes Rise two hundred and fiftieth entry: Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 250th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday October 28th 2023, and released Wednesday November 1st 2023 over at heroesrisepodcast.com. Folks, we just wanted to take a quick moment to remind you that next episode will be a Dissonant Whispers episode, and we’re inviting you all in. We’ll be recording at 8pm Central on Saturday 11th November, and the topic will be… whatever you like! We would love for as many of you who wish to join us to do so, and all you need is a microphone and to join our Discord at discord.heroesrisepodcast.com. If you can’t join us but still want to take part, just let us know on Discord and we’ll take care of it. In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, Ostron once again shows us how the other half play D&D… Next we check out some D&D News…
Gnomish Workshop: One Of Us Part 2
This article was first broadcast in Episode Two Hundred and Fifty on 1st November, 2023. Note: This article was adapted from an episode script, and so there may be parts that don’t flow well when read, because they were initially designed for broadcast. Monks are one of those classes where they peak later in the game. Monks supported by a versatile party are good hit-and-run strikers at early levels. Monks supported by monks are a bunch of people who can run away very well, because they aren’t winning the fight. Without piles of ki points and only d4 melee damage they aren’t capable of the explosive power they can muster later. Even if you stick in some Kensei monks or ones that get special attacks like Ascendant Dragons or Sun Souls, all of the damage is still based on their martial arts die, which below 5th level is pathetic. After…
Gnomish Workshop: One Of Us
The idea of an entire party made up of characters who are the same class is one that gets tossed around a lot in veteran D&D groups. 4th edition’s combat was balanced around the assumption a player group would be diverse, and earlier editions have a lot more restrictions on what different classes are capable of. Unless you’re playing 3.5 and get to use prestige classes, in which case all bets are off. Also this is ignoring multiclassing. However, 5th edition’s simpler ruleset and the number of different subclasses that exist means it’s actually not a terrible idea to have a party of the same class. Usually.ROSTRO has done theorycrafting on how each different group would perform, and has recommendations for what kinds of situations they would be likely to succeed or fail in. Again, these are impressions from the statistics in the rules as well as some anecdotal information.…
Heroes Rise two hundred and forty-ninth entry: I Dig My Hole, You Build A Wall
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 249th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday, October 7th, 2023, and released Wednesday, October 11th, 2023 over at heroesrisepodcast.com. In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, Lennon takes us to the Thieves Guild Next we check out some D&D News as we take a look at the Monstrous Compendium, the latest Planescape teasers, and we check out the One D&D Playtest 8: Bastions and Cantrips. After that we’ll head into the Gnomish Workshop and find out if it’s a good idea to be one of us; before finally heading into the Scrying Pool to see what you have to say. Links Community Questions Heroes Rise are always on the lookout for new team members that have a passion for Dungeons and Dragons. Please know that all of our positions are volunteer, but we do offer a well known outlet for your work.…
Heroes Rise two hundred and forty-eighth entry: Mind Flavour
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 248th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday, September 23rd, 2023 and released Wednesday, September 27th, 2023 over at heroesrisepodcast.com. In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, Ryu tells us about the boodoo who do what you don’t dare do, people. Next we check out some D&D News as we take a look at the latest hardcover release, Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk After that we’ll open up our Quest Logs as Lennon, RaeRae and Grimcrag try to remove the tadpoles from their brains in Baldur’s Gate 3; before finally heading into the Scrying Pool to see what you have to say. Community Questions Heroes Rise are always on the lookout for new team members that have a passion for Dungeons and Dragons. Please know that all of our positions are volunteer, but we do offer a well known outlet for your…
Heroes Rise two hundred and forty-seventh entry: Mild Magic Surge
Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 247th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday, September 9th, 2023, and released Wednesday, September 13th, 2023 over at heroesrisepodcast.com. This week we’re going to wander into the Market of Minauros to see what mysterious and magical items have filtered up for sale. Next we check out some D&D News as we take a look at the One D&D Player’s Handbook Test 7… And just like its predecessor, it’s a biggie! And because the news is so big we’re going to be skipping the Short Rest and heading straight into the Scrying Pool to see what you [all] have to say. Community Questions Heroes Rise are always on the lookout for new team members that have a passion for Dungeons and Dragons. Please know that all of our positions are volunteer, but we do offer a well known outlet for your…
Archives of Candlekeep: Bad Kitty
This article was first broadcast in Episode Two Hundred and Forty Six on 30th August, 2023. Note: This article was adapted from an episode script, and so there may be parts that don’t flow well when read, because they were initially designed for broadcast. Rakshasas are often a “pass-over” creature in D&D. They aren’t hidden away in separate resources and they’ve been around for a long time, but they don’t see a lot of use in most D&D resources, and it’s hard at first glance to see what makes them stand out. However, if used properly and the full range of their abilities is taken advantage of, they can be nearly as formidable as dragons. As far as the Research Beholders have figured out, Rakshasas first showed up in the first edition monster manual. It makes sense because “Rakshasas” are actually evil spirits from Hindu mythology, and as we’ve discussed…