The Eldritch Lorecast

Shawn unveils Grim Hollow: The Monster Grimoire to the public and we discuss building encounters around our favorite monsters. Ben and Dael debate Fire Elementals vs a bucket of water, and just how magical is that magical weapon? Grim Hollow: The Monster Grimoire: https://ghostfiregaming.com/product/grim-hollow-the-monster-grimoire-pdf/ Ben: @Melb_DM Dael: @DailyDael Shawn: @shawnmerwin Logan: @the_runesmith Topics: 00:00 - Intro 05:29 - Grim Hollow: The Monster Grimoire 10:43 - Choosing monsters for encounter building 17:39 - Stibble's Codex of Companions 21:22 - Modifying monster stat blocks 27:05 - Damage resistances, immunities and vulnerabilities 37:06 - Magic weapon damage and nonmagical damage 53:31 - American vs Australian bakeries

Runesmith himself, Logan Reese, returns to The Eldritch Lorecast to introduce his first 5th Edition adventure module; Sunken Isles. We're also delving into player-character backgrounds and how crafting your perfect backstory, and answering the big questions about sausage rolls! Sign up for news from the Sunken Isles Kickstarter: https://ghostfiregaming.com/the-sunken-isles/ Topics: 00:00 - intro 00:14 - What are sausage rolls? 06:12 - Introducing Sunken Isles 16:26 - New Sunken Isles player races 27:50 - New naval and sailing rules 35:29 - Player-character backgrounds 00:56 - The best virtual tabletops

The Eldritch Lorecast is back in 2022 and we're looking forward to a bright future in the TTRPG space. James discusses the release of his Fables baby, Shawn exhibits signs of Dragon Rage, Dael aims for some achievable goals including "2 small tricks", and Ben reminds himself to get back in touch with D&D as a hobby. Topics: 00:00 - Intro 00:39 - Reflecting on 2021 03:59 - Release of Fables: Citadel of the Unseen Sun 09:57 - Exploring the Monster Grimoire 17:51 - Dungeons of Drakkenheim 22:13 - Fables 2 rumors 27:49 - Project "Dragon Rage" 31:14 - Sunken Isles 31:55 - Fight the Blight announcement 35:10 - Setting your hobby goals for 2022

The crew continue our Christmas themed adventure, playing FATE: Accelerated by Evil Hat Productions. Gripped by terror one year more, is the entirety of Landhaus who have all locked their doors... which is likely wise with Kallos, Brillo and Eleanor running amok! The Tale Continued: 00:00 - Intro 01:32 - When we last left our heroes... 06:15 - Eleanor making enemies 21:19 - Confronting The Giver 38:35 - Combat commences (sort of) 43:31 - Eleanor making friends 55:22 - The FATE of Mr. Muscle Good Sir

On this very special episode of The Eldritch Lorecast, we're taking some time off from game design to play FATE: Accelerated, from Evil Hat Productions. 'Tis all winter solstice and silent in the city of Landhaus... until our heroes incite a riot and start breaking into homes in search of a mysterious gift giving monster! The Tale: 00:00 - Intro 01:57 - FATE: Accelerated rules 04:05 - Our story begins... 06:20 - Character introductions 12:49 - The angry villagers 33:03 - Following a lead 50:12 - Breaking and entering 58:37 - Finally inside the house

This week's Lorecast asks the big questions about whether you NEED to expand your TTRPG repertoire or 5th Edition D&D can cover every genre? James gets excited about Fables: Citadel of the Unseen Sun and Dael introduces us to The Gentleman. Download the first chapter of Fables FREE: https://ghostfiregaming.com/fables/  Topics: 00:00 - Intro 00:12 - Favorite Christmas gifts 07:00 - Fables Chapter 1 08:19 - Designing traps that engage players 16:31 - James' final words on Fables 18:56 - D&D 5e and genres of Fantasy 38:56 - How would you hack 5e to fit another genre? 49:44 - Christmas live-play teaser

This episode is all about the arcane, eldritch, and magical as we anticipate the release of Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos. Dael makes controversial claims about Counterspell, Ben is mad at Suggestion, Shawn warns against the dangers of not cleaning up after a ritual, and James enjoys the mutual destruction of fireball. An email sparks a debate about whether bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage is magical if caused by a spell. Topics:  00:00 - Intro 06:13 - Strixhaven Release! 15:18 - The Cat saga 15:36 - Monsters in Strixhaven 18:02 - Rating spells for WotC's survey 30:59 - Magic & Spellcasting 46:17 - Describing spells & magic 54:01 - Is piercing damage from a spell magical damage?

The Dungeon Dude's drop by to take us on a tour of their dark fantasy adventure module, the Dungeons of Drakkenheim! Monty contaminates the world of Drakkenheim with new spells and magic items, Kelly has regrets about the monsters he's created, Ben mutates into Colbert momentarily, and Dael wants us to follow the rabbit of happiness! Topics: 00:00 - Intro 01:17 - What fictitious world would you escape into? 04:47 - Dungeons of Drakkenheim 13:53 - Contamination and Mutation mechanics 26:14 - Factions of Drakkenheim 37:29 - How to start World Building

Ben and Dael get recklessly empathetic for their new D&D characters while Shawn onboards new players by limiting their options. James get critical about the result of rolling a natural 20... or a natural 1. Topics: 00:00 - Intro 02:31 - Character creation 23:38 - Using pre-generated characters 29:24 - Onboarding new players & Session 0's 37:00 - Having 'Reckless Empathy' for your character 40:59 - Scoring a Natural 20 and a Natural 1 46:40 - Designing rules for rolling criticals

Shawn and James break down their approaches to designing monsters for 5th Edition D&D, Dael explains building in a "Death Star Exhaust Port" to her monsters, and Ben is surprised by how virtuous everyone's player-characters are. We delve into the merits of running "An Evil Campaign" *cue lightning* and how each of us would approach such a dastardly game. Ask us a question for the latest episode: podcast@ghostfiregaming.com Topics: 00:00 - Intro 02:50 - 5e Monster Design 18:10 - Monster's with "Death Star Exhaust Ports" 25:48 - Monsters Inspired by real world critters 29:43 - Monster Hunts and Investigations 37:19 - Running an Evil Campaign 53:30 - D&D Inspiration from Video Games