Please officially confirm: a swarm (eg. swarm of ravens) is a single monster/combatant for purposes of targeting attacks, dealing damage, and adjudicating targets in areas of effect. Is that correct? Thank you for all you guys do. yes – if it's one stat block, it's one creature, though note that a swarm might have special abilities that interact with things like opportunity attacks
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) May 25, 2018
Author: Zoltar
“They’re gone”
“And the floating talking skull? Got it to scare intruders away?”
The lich shook its withered ruin of a head. “Nay. Got it to have someone to argue with. And fetch my keys.”
“But why a human head?”
“Haven’t heard the saying? You’ve got to get a head in this world.”#epic fantasy— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) June 13, 2018
“They’re gone,” the temple spire rumbled to the soaring castle beside it.
“Thank the gods,” the castle replied, and slumped back down into a ruin, with a mighty groan of satisfaction and a tumbling of stones. “This meeting adventurers’ expectations is PUNISHING.”#epic fantasy— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) June 12, 2018
The courtier confronted the assassin: “If ye slay the king,
dark days will come! I pray you of the consequences think!”
The slayer shrugged. “So oft such pleas to these ears ring,
But I tell thee, is easier far just to do, take coin, and go drink.”— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) June 12, 2018
Share this:
“I AM A TRAP”
1)
“I AM A TRAP,” the sage deciphered the script on the coffer lid calmly.
The adventurers exchanged glances, then thrust forward a smaller coffer.
“I am a trap, too,” the sage read aloud.#epic fantasy— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) June 5, 2018
2)
Then he hurled himself under the table.
An instant before the smallest coffer was proffered—and promptly exploded, setting off the first two coffers and spattering the walls, floor, and ceiling with blood and small wet pieces of adventurer.#epic fantasy— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) June 5, 2018
3)
When the sage emerged from beneath the wreckage of the table, he saw that one adventurer had survived, thanks to being buried under the corpses of three of her colleagues. He shoved and tugged them aside to free her. And asked sourly, “Haven’t you run into…#epic fantasy— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) June 5, 2018
4)
…triple-chest traps before?”
“Well, yes,” the shaken and blood-drenched adventurer replied, “but we have sages for that.”
The sage sighed. “So THAT’S what’s been happening to my competition. Well, thankee for all the business you’ve driven my way.”#epic fantasy— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) June 5, 2018
5)
The adventurer managed a weak smile. “It’s called trickle-down economics.”
“More like bloodbath and slow drip, I’d say. Henceforth, take your trapped chests to Landor, sage across town; he’s just setting up shop.”
They shook. Blood-bond deals are the best deals.#epic fantasy— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) June 5, 2018
Share this:
What happens if the Lady of Pain shows up at the office?
What happens if the Lady of Pain shows up at the office, Chris?
— John Appleton (@jaa0109) June 7, 2018
We give her a bunch of Magic cards. Usually keeps her pretty happy. #wotcstaff https://t.co/dPxy2shebS
— Christopher Perkins (@ChrisPerkinsDnD) June 7, 2018
@ChrisPerkinsDnD does Pazuzu ever visit the office?
— Mathew (@Trogaf) June 7, 2018
Not unless some fool says his name three times. #wotcstaff https://t.co/I8ugpPo3UE
— Christopher Perkins (@ChrisPerkinsDnD) June 7, 2018
Share this:
Ed’s moon
The winter moon had burned away
Leaving full darkness on the land
Save the tiny lights of glowing fey
Dancing to their queen’s command— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) June 20, 2018
She’d taken all the blades she had
And left many a foe dead cold
Without remorse for feeling bad
For she was lost in the lust for gold— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) June 20, 2018
Share this:
Let me tell you of a bold adventuring band
1)
Let me tell you of a bold adventuring band
That in the days still of dragons once rode out
To find a safe and wyrm-free land
Where no human would vanish down dragon snout— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) June 10, 2018
2)
They found a realm of beasts with fangs so bright
Hardly safer than the lands of dragon rule
So kept on, seeking lands no monsters did blight
So a human could play the ruling fool— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) June 10, 2018
3)
And when at last they found such a place
It was harsh and cold and far, far away
Yet for the dream of a flourishing race
In that desolation they did stay— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) June 10, 2018
4)
Which is why we live on mountains cold
In this place of ice and storms and snow
A clime that breeds humans stoic and bold
And drives them everywhere warmer to go— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) June 10, 2018
Share this:
Waterdeep: what might I find on the menu at the classiest restaurant?
if i were in the most upscale ward in Waterdeep, what might i find on the menu at the classiest restaurant? If this is already covered, where can i look it up? What are expensive delicacies & most sought after dishes in the realms? 1of2/The most expensive delicacies are the rarest: morsels of dangerous monsters, cooked and plated expertly. The most sought after dishes in the Realms vary widely from place to place and culture to culture. The most upscale ward is Sea Ward, and the classiest restaurant…
— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) June 21, 2018
…would offer EVERYTHING it could (that's in season), but would price and place most highly non-seafood (because seafood "just anyone could serve"). So, expect moose and rothe and mountain snake dishes "to the fore."
— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) June 21, 2018
Share this:
UA Monster: Blazing skeleton!
Updated the blazing skeleton with some input from @ToddKenreck here it is. Commentary on what I changed and why follows. pic.twitter.com/vEtQoJh36r
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) July 11, 2018
I really liked the spiteful, hateful, and chaotic element of their personalities, so I recast the attacks as spells to give me an excuse to drop the very lawful, predictable stat modifier. More dice feels chaotic to me, plus produces some truly punishing crits. Todd also had the very cool idea of these guys spawning more of their kind if their death burst kills something. The death burst idea came up a few times, but his flourish added a flavor I really liked. I also loved the idea of Orcus-inspired undead having an infestation angle.
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) July 11, 2018
That fit in really well with his concept of wanting to turn every living thing in the cosmos into undead vassals. I also turned down the melee attack quite a bit to get across that these are primarily ranged fighters. As I tweet this I’m also considering an effect where anything killed by their ranged attack pops up as a normal skeleton. That might be too much, but in the case of a servant of Orcus too much might be just enough.
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) July 11, 2018
I hope this illustrates one of the big parts of what I see as my creative voice – I like infusing personality and a narrative into everything. Finding the view point character and then building on that leads to a lot of fun design, IMO. In this case, our view point characters are the demonic spirit that infests the undead (it’s a destructive pyromaniac) and Orcus (he’s a beast with limitless ambition who wants to render everything undead).
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) July 11, 2018
“Just enough is unacceptable. Do more or suffer my wrath!” -Orcus I see you’ve met him, too
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) July 12, 2018
