Ok, thanks. I was just trying to decide if it was a book I wanted to buy or not. I don't use premade adventures and have little to no use for the setting specific lore. I was hoping that maybe there were more spells than just the 5, but if that is all, then I can just buy those and skip the rest.
As someone who also writes many of my own adventures, I find lore books incredibly helpful when fleshing things out. Not that I build my worlds in the exact setting, but I can use those ideas to help add color to my custom setting. Being creative without ideas for inspiration can make building worlds quite a bit more difficult.
It's similar to how artists and musicians learn and work. They learn from their predecessors and then use those learned skills to develop their own styles. I would definitely recommend reading the different source books. They are gifts that will keep on giving.
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Info, Inflow, Overload. Knowledge Black Hole Imminent!
As someone who also writes many of my own adventures, I find lore books incredibly helpful when fleshing things out. Not that I build my worlds in the exact setting, but I can use those ideas to help add color to my custom setting. Being creative without ideas for inspiration can make building worlds quite a bit more difficult.
It's similar to how artists and musicians learn and work. They learn from their predecessors and then use those learned skills to develop their own styles. I would definitely recommend reading the different source books. They are gifts that will keep on giving.
I am not saying that the book isn't worth while for those that want it, but I have 40 years worth of D&D source material (also the internet and many other games) to draw from. I don't really need to buy anymore books just for that purpose at this point. I really only buy books for new character options or the occasional cool monsters or magic items these days.
Four "grade-level" adventures. So a freshman adventure, sophomore, etc...
What kind of depth are the adventures?
Like, are they four mini adventures, a level each or so? Because that sounds pretty short. Or are they four actual adventures? That seems pretty long and I'd doubt that they would sell that for a normal price. Or is it more like Icespire Peak, which is a collection of four books that takes you from L1 to L13?
Do we know anything?
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If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
As someone who also writes many of my own adventures, I find lore books incredibly helpful when fleshing things out. Not that I build my worlds in the exact setting, but I can use those ideas to help add color to my custom setting. Being creative without ideas for inspiration can make building worlds quite a bit more difficult.
It's similar to how artists and musicians learn and work. They learn from their predecessors and then use those learned skills to develop their own styles. I would definitely recommend reading the different source books. They are gifts that will keep on giving.
This right here. Certainly there's no shortage of inspirational material across the internet, but these have the added benefit of being built out around actual official content that players can access here on DDB, and stuff that feels a bit more consistent as it keeps me abreast of WotC's evolving design principles. I will probably never run a campaign in Theros but I've found that book to be really inspiring in terms of adventure hooks and monster construction.
That all being said, it does seem a bit thin when listed out like that. I really think the heart of the content was lost when the subclasses were shot down in playtesting.
I haven't actually read the book but I'm familiar with the general lore of the Strixhaven setting from the original material in Magic: the Gathering and it's basically an off brand version of Hogwarts set in it's own plane in the MtG multiverse. They have planeswalkers (powerful wizards who can plane shift more or less at will) among the faculty and student body as well as others who are one variety or another of tourists, passerby, and interlopers (the set's main plot focuses around several of these), and it's implied that more are among the alumni. The academy was founded by and is ultimately controlled by a group of five elder dragons (I am not sure if stats for them are included but I would hope so) who each founded one of the five student "houses" though the day to day administration is handled by a board/council of humanoid academic deans of various races. The plane (Arcavios) is home to a large number of ancient ruins dating back to the "Dawning Age" when it was formed by the merging of two previously separate planes and also caused clashing leylines to form magical "snarls" of dichromatic mana from which the founder dragons were born. There are also ruins and relics from the violent and war torn "Blood Age" which are sometimes the focus points of various archeological studies, particularly by students and faculty of House Lorehold (if Indiana Jones was a wizard, he'd fit right in with that group). The University has a huge library, reputed to be the largest and most extensive archive of magical knowledge and lore in all the multiverse, which is also the focus of a shadowy cult organization called the Oriq; in the MtG lore the ultimate goal of the Oriq isn't really detailed aside from the general thirst for secrets and power and they also summon a giant demonic avatar during a ritual that coincides with them unleashing a horde of monsters called mageslayers against the campus.
So if you're looking to have a Harry Potter style campaign that you can easily work in characters of myriad races and backgrounds with uniquely styled and themed student House factions and a bunch of buried secrets and a narratively flexible organization of generic bad guy cultists (complete with their own Voldemort stand in) with plenty of material for mystically interesting field trips, then Strixhaven is probably a good source of quality material for you to mine. If none of that interests you then you likely won't be missing much by passing it over.
Edit: Also worth noting, if the lore is really your main interest, you can probably get a good deal of that by just punching "Strixhaven" and "Arcavios" into the MtG wiki and and going on a wiki walk, though you'd have to come up with your own crunchy bits (or just place in appropriate existing monsters/NPCs/etc from other material). There's also the Strixhaven UA which is freely available online if you want to try out the subclasses (which are designed to work with multiple core classes), though there are some balance concerns, particularly with a few of them, which is why they're available from UA and not "official" material.
Four "grade-level" adventures. So a freshman adventure, sophomore, etc...
What kind of depth are the adventures?
Like, are they four mini adventures, a level each or so? Because that sounds pretty short. Or are they four actual adventures? That seems pretty long and I'd doubt that they would sell that for a normal price. Or is it more like Icespire Peak, which is a collection of four books that takes you from L1 to L13?
Do we know anything?
I think it’s supposed to take characters from level 1-10.
One thing I will say is that if anyone bought Candlekeep Mysteries, that and Strixhaven seem to bring out the best in each other.
I've only really read in-depth the 1st year adventure in Strixhaven so far, and my impression is that the adventures can be a little on the simple side-- especially for an adventure that encompasses a whole year. I choose to see that as a positive, however, because the simple adventure bones leave a lot of room organically to add b-plots, student drama, intrigue, and contained adventures, you know, the kind of things that everybody loves in a magic school story.
Enter Candlekeep Mysteries. I was a huge fan of the idea of this book (WoTC should release more modular content that dms can slot into their games) , and found many of the adventures interesting and charming, but I hadn't had a chance to use any for the same reason I've never played through Ghosts of Saltmarsh. Basically, it's a bunch of themed adventures for a theme you either have to pitch for your campaign from the get-go, or you just accept that your players will probably spend a session or two in libraries but they probably won't spend any more time there than that organically.
Not only does Candlekeep already fit with Strixhaven's academic theme though, but many of the modules from levels 1-10 (the levels covered by the Strixhaven modules) are self- contained and can be played out within the library itself which is ideal for magic school mystery shenanigans. A few of the adventures in Candlekeep would involve leaving campus, but you can reflavor most of those as either field trips or merely taking place in secret locations on campus, caves under the school, etc.
I just also think the central conceit is Candlekeep, that you start a quest mostly by finding the book, works really well here. At the beginning of each adventure it lists the subjects the book covers, so you could easily stage "homework" for your players on those subjects and have them discover the books while researching and get sucked into the adventure.
I'm looking forward to running these books together.
Just so I am clear on this, Strixhaven gives us the following:
5 Spells
5 Backgrounds
5 Feats
1 Race
Am I missing anything?
There's a bestiary too. Around 40 stat blocks. Skimming the table of contents that have been previewed, most of the stat blocks seems to be NPC "monsters" (stock Strixhaven people and their rivals) but some monsters too. Possible spoiler to Strixhaven history in spoiler mask, don't know if this is common knowledge:
Strixhaven was evidently founded by "elder dragons" and they're statted too.
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Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
Ok, thanks. I was just trying to decide if it was a book I wanted to buy or not. I don't use premade adventures and have little to no use for the setting specific lore. I was hoping that maybe there were more spells than just the 5, but if that is all, then I can just buy those and skip the rest.
Thanks again :)
Of note, hidden inside those adventures is supposed to be a trove of fun mini-games and trap ideas that you can easily rip, re-skin, and use in other games you run. I'm rather curious to see how they do Mage Tower (which is sort of a strange rugby/dodgeball/magicy game).
Just so I am clear on this, Strixhaven gives us the following:
Am I missing anything?
She/Her Player and Dungeon Master
Four "grade-level" adventures. So a freshman adventure, sophomore, etc...
Modules (as Metamongoose mentioned) plus setting lore, either explicitly given as such or sprinkled throughout the other content.
Ok, thanks. I was just trying to decide if it was a book I wanted to buy or not. I don't use premade adventures and have little to no use for the setting specific lore. I was hoping that maybe there were more spells than just the 5, but if that is all, then I can just buy those and skip the rest.
Thanks again :)
She/Her Player and Dungeon Master
As someone who also writes many of my own adventures, I find lore books incredibly helpful when fleshing things out. Not that I build my worlds in the exact setting, but I can use those ideas to help add color to my custom setting. Being creative without ideas for inspiration can make building worlds quite a bit more difficult.
It's similar to how artists and musicians learn and work. They learn from their predecessors and then use those learned skills to develop their own styles. I would definitely recommend reading the different source books. They are gifts that will keep on giving.
Info, Inflow, Overload. Knowledge Black Hole Imminent!
I am not saying that the book isn't worth while for those that want it, but I have 40 years worth of D&D source material (also the internet and many other games) to draw from. I don't really need to buy anymore books just for that purpose at this point. I really only buy books for new character options or the occasional cool monsters or magic items these days.
She/Her Player and Dungeon Master
What kind of depth are the adventures?
Like, are they four mini adventures, a level each or so? Because that sounds pretty short. Or are they four actual adventures? That seems pretty long and I'd doubt that they would sell that for a normal price. Or is it more like Icespire Peak, which is a collection of four books that takes you from L1 to L13?
Do we know anything?
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
This right here. Certainly there's no shortage of inspirational material across the internet, but these have the added benefit of being built out around actual official content that players can access here on DDB, and stuff that feels a bit more consistent as it keeps me abreast of WotC's evolving design principles. I will probably never run a campaign in Theros but I've found that book to be really inspiring in terms of adventure hooks and monster construction.
That all being said, it does seem a bit thin when listed out like that. I really think the heart of the content was lost when the subclasses were shot down in playtesting.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
I haven't actually read the book but I'm familiar with the general lore of the Strixhaven setting from the original material in Magic: the Gathering and it's basically an off brand version of Hogwarts set in it's own plane in the MtG multiverse. They have planeswalkers (powerful wizards who can plane shift more or less at will) among the faculty and student body as well as others who are one variety or another of tourists, passerby, and interlopers (the set's main plot focuses around several of these), and it's implied that more are among the alumni. The academy was founded by and is ultimately controlled by a group of five elder dragons (I am not sure if stats for them are included but I would hope so) who each founded one of the five student "houses" though the day to day administration is handled by a board/council of humanoid academic deans of various races. The plane (Arcavios) is home to a large number of ancient ruins dating back to the "Dawning Age" when it was formed by the merging of two previously separate planes and also caused clashing leylines to form magical "snarls" of dichromatic mana from which the founder dragons were born. There are also ruins and relics from the violent and war torn "Blood Age" which are sometimes the focus points of various archeological studies, particularly by students and faculty of House Lorehold (if Indiana Jones was a wizard, he'd fit right in with that group). The University has a huge library, reputed to be the largest and most extensive archive of magical knowledge and lore in all the multiverse, which is also the focus of a shadowy cult organization called the Oriq; in the MtG lore the ultimate goal of the Oriq isn't really detailed aside from the general thirst for secrets and power and they also summon a giant demonic avatar during a ritual that coincides with them unleashing a horde of monsters called mageslayers against the campus.
So if you're looking to have a Harry Potter style campaign that you can easily work in characters of myriad races and backgrounds with uniquely styled and themed student House factions and a bunch of buried secrets and a narratively flexible organization of generic bad guy cultists (complete with their own Voldemort stand in) with plenty of material for mystically interesting field trips, then Strixhaven is probably a good source of quality material for you to mine. If none of that interests you then you likely won't be missing much by passing it over.
Edit: Also worth noting, if the lore is really your main interest, you can probably get a good deal of that by just punching "Strixhaven" and "Arcavios" into the MtG wiki and and going on a wiki walk, though you'd have to come up with your own crunchy bits (or just place in appropriate existing monsters/NPCs/etc from other material). There's also the Strixhaven UA which is freely available online if you want to try out the subclasses (which are designed to work with multiple core classes), though there are some balance concerns, particularly with a few of them, which is why they're available from UA and not "official" material.
I think it’s supposed to take characters from level 1-10.
One thing I will say is that if anyone bought Candlekeep Mysteries, that and Strixhaven seem to bring out the best in each other.
I've only really read in-depth the 1st year adventure in Strixhaven so far, and my impression is that the adventures can be a little on the simple side-- especially for an adventure that encompasses a whole year. I choose to see that as a positive, however, because the simple adventure bones leave a lot of room organically to add b-plots, student drama, intrigue, and contained adventures, you know, the kind of things that everybody loves in a magic school story.
Enter Candlekeep Mysteries. I was a huge fan of the idea of this book (WoTC should release more modular content that dms can slot into their games) , and found many of the adventures interesting and charming, but I hadn't had a chance to use any for the same reason I've never played through Ghosts of Saltmarsh. Basically, it's a bunch of themed adventures for a theme you either have to pitch for your campaign from the get-go, or you just accept that your players will probably spend a session or two in libraries but they probably won't spend any more time there than that organically.
Not only does Candlekeep already fit with Strixhaven's academic theme though, but many of the modules from levels 1-10 (the levels covered by the Strixhaven modules) are self- contained and can be played out within the library itself which is ideal for magic school mystery shenanigans. A few of the adventures in Candlekeep would involve leaving campus, but you can reflavor most of those as either field trips or merely taking place in secret locations on campus, caves under the school, etc.
I just also think the central conceit is Candlekeep, that you start a quest mostly by finding the book, works really well here. At the beginning of each adventure it lists the subjects the book covers, so you could easily stage "homework" for your players on those subjects and have them discover the books while researching and get sucked into the adventure.
I'm looking forward to running these books together.
There's a bestiary too. Around 40 stat blocks. Skimming the table of contents that have been previewed, most of the stat blocks seems to be NPC "monsters" (stock Strixhaven people and their rivals) but some monsters too. Possible spoiler to Strixhaven history in spoiler mask, don't know if this is common knowledge:
Strixhaven was evidently founded by "elder dragons" and they're statted too.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
Of note, hidden inside those adventures is supposed to be a trove of fun mini-games and trap ideas that you can easily rip, re-skin, and use in other games you run. I'm rather curious to see how they do Mage Tower (which is sort of a strange rugby/dodgeball/magicy game).
I believe that mage tower is more or less "capture the flag with magic."
To me the best it gives are the monster stat blocks. But that's all it brings to me.