Today's quick thoughts before game recaps are all about Spelljammer. I have been sailing the astral sea on the brain and am excited about how the 5e designers handle a few things. I have the modules from the 2e days and fondly remember the legend of THE Spelljammer. The setting was fantastic, and honestly, it is better set up for high-level play than 5e has been in the past, giving tier 4 players true universal impact.
The playable races look to be the following if Unearthed Arcana is to be trusted:
Astral Elf - ancient elves hanging out in the timeless Astral sea have a unique relationship with space/time. They are radiant creatures and an excellent take on elven-kind in general.
Autognome: These buggers are constructs. Yes, you get to play as a construct. Some gnome made created this construct, and they are sentient and handy to have around—another great take on a gnome archetype, with some construct flavor that is not Warforged.
Giff might be my favorite because who does not want to play a humanoid hippo with firepower and cool uniforms?
Thri-kreen is the kenku of space in that they are challenging to play and talk with, but, in the hands of an experienced player, I think the roleplay possibilities are pretty promising. They make weird clicking noises because they are giant mantis creatures with different biology than humanoids.
Hadozee - are primate-like creatures from a homeland full of big trees to swing around from. One can imagine they would be pretty intense and dexterous. They also get to glide like a flying squirrel. Cool!
None of these races are official yet, I have homebrew versions of them in my beyond, er, wizards account, but I am looking forward to getting a go with them for real when the release happens later this year, August.
I am running a play-by-post game that preludes to the upcoming spelljammer, mixing up some ghosts of saltmarsh, 2e and 3e stories, and eventually the spelljammer release. We have four players, and I would love to have five, so if you are interested, inquire within! The Rangoon Platoon will be flirting with some of these stories, as well as we prelude to the release on Thursday nights.
Game Recaps!
PIFONs continue the fight of their lives on Monday! No spoilers!
Monday Night Mad Mage was a blast this week. The party finished a feast with some were-bats in the undermountian and went to loot a druid's tower. They fought against some beasts and a sentient tree inside a tower; unfortunately, the ranger's drake went down. He is not taking it well.
Tuesday night in Thay is back on track, and it was a blast of a fight! Some demons in the orchard tricked them a bit, and we spent most of the session fighting them. Some creative ideas came into play as they nearly outmatched the party, and we had an entertaining, dynamic fight. This week we return to Duthego's Den for some rest and a level up!
Wednesday Night Mad Mage found us exploring a new level and fighting some exciting creatures. There were flying wasps made of metal, a big stomping machine, and fearsome rust monsters! The party's favorite Dwarf almost discovered the hard way that they can corrode even magic items!
Rangoon Platoon returned on Thursday, and we started our new campaign together! It is always a blast getting to know new characters and figuring out how they fit into the world. We play more out on the shores of the Sea of Fallen Stars this week!
The Frozen Few have hit the meaty center of The Rime of the Frostmaiden story as they run after a massive fortress in the mountains only to see a horror fly into the sky. They are in for an agonizing decision, an exhausting run, and a huge fight when we return next week.
Storm King's Wrath PBP is going swimmingly. I am having much fun running around the Sword Coast with this party, and we are starting to get into some character history and the challenges that come with it as the party approaches Waterdeep.
The Witches of Rashemen game hit the ground running as they, the newly formed party, track down some banditry on the Golden Way. They are fighting some thugs perched in trees and the woods at an ambush point. This is not the baddies' first time ambushing, but it is likely to be their last!
Ghosts of the Spelljammer PBP- recruiting now to start a new PBP game hope to start this week and have a recap for next!
Keep the stars in Your eyes and adventure in courage, friends!