The Tea Dragon Society graphic novel follows the story of a blacksmith apprentice called Greta, who finds herself falling into the world of tea dragons and discovering new friends amongst the adorable creatures. The Eisner Award-winning story – the highest commendation that a comic or graphic novel can achieve – eventually received a companion graphic novel called The Tea Dragon Festival two years later.

In 2018, The Tea Dragon Society Card Game was released by publishers Renegade Game Studios – the company behind two-player game Fox in the Forest and tabletop RPG Kids on Bikes – and Oni Games. The beautifully-illustrated game saw players gradually forming a friendship with their tea dragon by playing cards and creating memories.

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Autumn Harvest: A Tea Dragon Society Card Game follows a similar premise, with players looking to build a strong bond with their own dragon – one that will last throughout the seasons. The upcoming card game features artwork from O’Neill, and has players drawing and playing cards in order to deepen their friendship with their tea dragon.

In addition, players will have the opportunity to strengthen their deck by acquiring new cards, which can lead them to gain more beneficial effects and eventually nab more points.

Whilst Autumn Harvest is a standalone title, it can be combined with The Tea Dragon Society Card Game to provide a mix-and-match selection of cards from both games and support up to five players, instead of the usual limit of four.

The design team for The Tea Dragon Society Card Game – made up of Steve Ellis and Tyler Tinsley – have returned to create Autumn Harvest. The pair have also collaborated on Gudetama: The Tricky Egg Card Game, based on the beloved Japanese mascot, due out next month.

Autumn Harvest: A Tea Dragon Society Game is set to be released in Q4 2020 at a retail price of $25 (£19).

On this week’s Dicebreaker Podcast, Matt, Johnny and Meehan crack open a fizzing can of refreshing tabletop discussion with our thoughts on Fort’s pizza economy, Pandemic Legacy: Season 0’s [REDACTED] and [EMBARGOED], and this summer’s best (only?) party game involving Irn Bru, lofts and a cousin’s wedding.

We also talk through 2020’s Spiel des Jahres winners, the end of the Transformer Trading Card Game, MTG’s new Jumpstart format and the next game from the makers of Wavelength and Monikers – a fuzzy reimagining of Jenga.

Plus, your questions on bending the rules, our pop culture treasures and which video games deserve a tabletop adaptation answered!

Subscribe to the audio edition of the Dicebreaker Podcast today Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher and Google Podcasts. Alternatively, import the RSS feed into your player of choice.

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You can also find every episode of the Dicebreaker Podcast on our YouTube channel, so head on over to watch us talk it out in person.

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Send in your questions for a future episode of the podcast via social media @joindicebreaker, email podcast@dicebreaker.com or the comments below. (Soft drink recommendations

You can now pre-order the summer range of Dicebreaker merchandise – including shirts, hoodies, mugs, bottles and more – on our Shopify store ahead of its release next week.

Games discussed:

• Pandemic Legacy: Season 0
• Fort
• Softs in the Loft
• Transformers Trading Card Game
• Magic: The Gathering
• Pictures
• The Crew
• The Fuzzies
• Mysterium
• Dixit
• Mariposas
• Wingspan
• Bullet
• Dungeons & Dragons 5E
• Pathfinder
• Dishonored RPG
• Deadlands

Hi everyone, and welcome back to the Finder’s Archives.

In this column, we take some of the lands from Magic: The Gathering and turn them into something you can use for your fantasy games.

The stats given in each entry assumes that you’re using Pathfinder 2 for your games, but they can easily be converted over into any fantasy system. This week we mourn the loss of natural beauty and wonder, as we traverse the Blighted Cataract.

Blighted Cataract

A few years ago, the blighted cataract was one of the marvels of the world. The largest waterfall known to civilization could be found here, and its waters powered hundreds of dwarven forges and fed tens of thousands with fresh water for drinking. That stopped the day that the duergar put up a dam, intending to harness the waters for power. Their intent: To build a god.

For years they had toiled, all in preparation of the day that the dam would be completed. So secret was the project that anyone who found out about it was either put under a geas to not reveal what was going on (if duergar) or outright killed (anyone else). And none knew what had happened the day that the waters stopped flowing, as the duergar had kept their presence a secret. What’s more, the duergar, in spite of their hubris, SUCCEEDED in creating a god: The Enslaved One. But, creating the god was far easier than keeping control of it. And within a few days, it all went bad on them. The magical manacles that they had fabricated were torn off, and the Enslaved One laid waste to everyone around it, before escaping the bonds of the material plane. Now the dam is destroyed, with only rubble lying behind, but where water once flowed freely, only ash and dirt now fall, in grim imitation of the original waterfall.

Lay of the Land

The blighted cataract was once a beautiful waterfall, but now the river runs only with ash and dirt, a steady stream of ash and dust cascading over the side of the mountain in a constant flow. The remains of a magical dam are here, blown to pieces in a cataclysmic explosion, one that tore holes through the very mountain itself. Not a living thing moves through this area of its own free will, as there is nothing left of vegetation or water.

Underneath lies a sprawling expanse of a duergar city. At its height, it contained nearly 10,000 citizens, but now, most of it lies in ruins, and only some 300 survived and are eking out a living. Most of those who remain have suffered deep mental scars and have fallen into a deep depression, from which they can find no escape. This makes them an easy target for manipulation from their new master, an Immortal Ichor. It directs them to clear larger areas of the old city, and forces them to breed –  it has a decades-long plan to repopulate the duergar city, and it doesn’t care HOW it’s done, as long as it happens. It needs the city for its plans to come to fruition.

Dangers

The blighted cataract’s most dangerous occupant is a bit of blood left behind when The Enslaved One left. It has taken on intelligence of its own, but unlike normal Immortal Ichors (PF1, PF2 – treat as a herald of blood for 5e) it is not interested in being reunited with the god. It has ambitions of its own, starting with enslaving the remaining duergar population (who are the other major threat in the area) and using their crafting skills to create an empire or make it into a god as well. The duergar themselves fear the Immortal Ichor but can do little to resist, as it is much too powerful, and their most powerful heroes died fighting The Enslaved One.

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Kim Frandsen

40 years old, and a gamer since I was 13. These days I freelance as a writer for various companies (currently Fat Goblin Games, Flaming Crab Games, Outland Entertainment, Paizo, Raging Swan Games, Rusted Iron Games, and Zenith Games), I’ve dipped my hands into all sorts of games, but my current “go-to” games are Pathfinder 2, Dungeon Crawl Classics and SLA Industries. Unfortunately, while wargaming used to be a big hobby, with wife, dog and daughter came less time.

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The RPG casts players as Monster Care Specialists – in short, skilled vets – who must heal the monster inhabitants of a fantasy world. The setting of Ald-Amura’s peace is broken by a mysterious poison called The False Gold, which spreads amongst the monsters of the world and causes them to suffer rage.

Gameplay sees the players diagnose the monster’s condition by investigating local towns and interacting with residents to gain information. Once a diagnosis has been made, the group must prepare spells, create potions and come up with a plan to heal the troubled being. This plan is executed in the symbiosis phase, with the party members applying their cures and quelling the monster’s rage. In return, they may receive some of the god-like being’s power to use in future sessions.

The world of Monster Care Squad is described by its creators as heavily influenced by the animated films of Studio Ghibli and its founder, writer-director-illustrator Hayao Miyazaki. A number of Ghibli films explore the relationship between nature and humankind, including the corrupting influence of industrialisation and other human encroachment on animals and natural spirits.

The RPG’s gameplay is said to focus on narrative play, drawing from story-driven games such as Rhapsody of Blood, Ryuutama and Ironsworn. Players predominantly roll two six-sided dice, spending ‘aces’ – representing additional knowledge, equipment and talents – to increase their results. Characters also have natural talents, known as specialites, for instant successes in certain tests.

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The game’s ‘Mentor system’ provides the chance for the GM to play alongside the players, helping the party and joining them in adventures. The rules and scenarios are said to prioritise collaboration, support and positive interaction. Characters and sessions can seemingly be created quickly with a good deal of flexibility, with a minimal amount of rules overhead.

Monster Care Squad is live on Kickstarter now, where it’s already far surpassed its initial funding target. The campaign will run until August 2nd, with the game’s release expected in November 2021. A preview version of the game can be accessed via the Kickstarter, featuring non-final rules.

The bard class in D&D 5E has gained notoriety for being a ‘weak’ option because they don’t necessarily fit a required role in a party of adventurers. For example, whereas a cleric can be a healer or a strong support character, the bard class doesn’t have the kind of options that would allow a player character to lean into either in a significant way. However, it can be argued that rather than being its greatest weakness this is, in fact, the bard class’s greatest strength.

Dungeons & Dragons 5E bard class guide

The bard is the equivalent of a Dungeons & Dragons magician who’s capable of pulling any number of tricks out of their sleeves. If you’re undecided as to how to pick your character class in D&D 5E, consider a class that will enable you to take a little bit of everything – the ultimate buffet of spells and skills.

Features like Bardic Inspiration and Song of Rest may initially paint the bard as a support class but, with access to a ton of offensive feats, status effects and utilitarian spells, a bard can realistically serve whatever role the player wants them to. To an extent, anyway. What kind of bard are you going to make? Read our Dungeons & Dragons 5E bard class guide for help with figuring it all out.

How to choose bard skills and equipment

From weapons to armour, equipment is essential to any D&D character.

Whilst choosing which starting skills to be proficient with are important to every class in Dungeons & Dragons 5E, it’s an especially important process for creating a bard. Skills – along with a smorgasbord of spells – are a bard’s greatest strength, particularly once they get both the Jack of All Trades and Expertise feats in later levels. A bard’s skills are part of what make them such a utilitarian class, so choosing which ones to start being proficient in first is a crucial step when creating a bard character.

At first level, players can choose three skills for their bard to be proficient in, as well as up to three different types of musical instrument to be proficient in playing. If you’re not sure how proficiency works, get a refresher in our guide to Dungeons & Dragons 5E character creation.

Unless you plan on acquiring some sort of legendary magical bassoon in the future, what kind of instruments your bard is proficient in using doesn’t matter beyond character flavour. Does your bard prefer a violin, flute, harp or bagpipes? It really depends on what kind of music you imagine them playing.

Other equipment includes leather armor and a dagger, the choice of a melee weapon – rapier, longsword or another simple weapon – an additional lute or other musical instrument, and a diplomat’s pack or entertainer’s pack. Whilst the diplomat’s pack has more inside, including a selection of writing materials, the entertainer’s pack contains a disguise kit – a very useful piece of equipment to have if you plan on infiltrating anywhere or need to make a quick getaway. Whichever you choose really depends on whether your bard is a scoundrel or a respectable individual.

How does Jack of All Trades work?

More skills means making a more utilitarian character.

We’re quickly jumping ahead a few levels for this section because Jack of All Trades and Expertise are both directly related to proficiencies. At second level, with Jack of All Trades a bard character can add half their proficiency bonus to any ability check they desire. This essentially means that, from second level, a bard has more chance of passing any potential ability checks regardless of whether they have any existing proficiency in related skills or not. This makes the bard class incredibly versatile at a low level – and the utility potential doesn’t just stop there.

Do bards get Expertise?

At third level, a bard character can use the Expertise feat to double the proficiency bonus for any two skills they’re already proficient in. This essentially helps the bard to specialise in acing certain ability checks – a pretty impressive thing to be able to do at third level. For most other classes, gaining skill proficiencies takes a considerable amount of time and effort, but bards make doing this seem like a piece of cake. When a bard reaches 10th level, they’ll be able to double their proficiency bonus for two more skills.

Bard spells explained – spell save DC, spell attack, ritual casting

Understanding how to cast spells as a bard is important.

Whereas sorcerers tap into their innate magical essence and warlocks gain magic through bargains with demons, bards use the power of music to access a pool of magical ability. This may seem decidedly quaint, but the bard class has never been shy about being corny.

Like sorcerers, bards use their charisma score to cast spells, with their spell save DC and spell attack bonus coming from their charisma modifier. Spell save DC is worked out by adding a bard’s proficiency bonus and charisma modifier to a total of 8, whereas spell attack comes from adding proficiency bonus to a character’s charisma modifier.

The bard class in D&D 5E has access to something called ritual casting, which means that a bard character can cast any one of their known spells without expending a spell slot. The process does take 10 minutes, so it’s not exactly the most viable strategy mid-fight – but does have potential when used before or after a combat encounter.

How many spell slots does a bard have?

Managing spell slots is an essential part of being a caster in D&D.

A first-level bard can learn two cantrips from the bard spell list – cantrips don’t cost a spell slot to cast – as well as four level one bard spells. Bards have access to two spell slots to begin with, which means that they can cast a maximum of two spells between long rests

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What spells does a bard get?

Whichever spells you decide to take really depends on what kind of bard you want to craft. There are a lot of genuinely useful spells – such as Mage Hand, Message and Disguise Self – mixed in with a few offensive options, including Thunderwave and Vicious Mockery. And who could possibly forget Hideous Laughter? Whatever you pick isn’t necessarily a be-all and end-all, as bards have the ability to switch out spells whenever they gain a level.

What is Bardic Inspiration?

Bardic Inspiration can be a very powerful tool to support party members with.

Bardic Inspiration is the signature move of the bard class in Dungeons & Dragons 5E. No other class in D&D can do it and, just like the bard class itself, it’s incredibly versatile.

Bards are granted the power of Bardic Inspiration at first level and are able to use it a number of times equal to their charisma modifier – which makes sense when you consider it to be akin to a baseball coach yelling encouragement at a minor league team. As with bard spell slots, bardic inspiration uses are recharged after every long rest.

Using Bardic Inspiration involves the player character in question choosing someone – preferably a friendly creature within 60 feet – and granting them a Bardic Inspiration die. This die can then be rolled by the person gifted it whenever they want to boost an attack roll, ability check or saving throw within the next 10 in-game minutes. (If you’re not sure what saving throws are, they’re explained in our basics of Dungeons & Dragons guide.) This die can be used before or after the player has rolled their d20, meaning that it can potentially turn the tide of any battle or encounter. A Bardic Inspiration die begins as a d6, but can eventually become a d8, d10 and even a d12 when a bard reaches higher levels.

Can you use Bardic Inspiration on yourself?

Bardic Inspiration can be a tricky feature to get your head around.

One incredibly important thing to note here is that a bard cannot inspire themselves. Bardic Inspiration can only ever be given to characters other than the bard granting it – meaning that whilst another bard could inspire another bard, it is an ability solely granted by other players.

However, should you decide to have your bard pursue the College of Lore once they hit third level, they will eventually be able to inspire themselves using the Peerless Skill feat when they reach 14th level.

How to use Countercharm in D&D 5E

Protect your allies against charm and fear effects.

As you get further into your Dungeons & Dragons campaign and the dangers you face become ever greater, there are a few tricks up your bardic sleeves that could help your party out of some tight scrapes.

Negative status effects can be especially scary, particularly those that cause the friendly members of your team to suddenly decide they’d like to work for the other side. This is exactly what the Charmed effect can do and there are plenty of nasty folks out there that might attempt to use it on your party. Luckily, the bard class learns a feat called Countercharm that directly helps to combat the use of Charm spells on party members – and the bard themselves.

When Countercharm is used, the user and any friendly creatures within a 30-foot radius gain advantage on their saving throws against both Charm spells and spells that cause the victim to be frightened. (Which, like Charmed, is not a good thing to have cast on you.) Having advantage means that the player can roll their die twice and can take the higher of the two results.

Should the bard performing the Countercharm – which I like to imagine is a catchy song that the listener cannot stop thinking about – be incapacited or otherwise prevented from playing, the effect ends and players must fend for themselves. Nevertheless, it is an exceptionally useful feat in Dungeons & Dragons 5E.

What are the Bardic Colleges?

The Bardic College you choose for your character will help define their abilities.

When a bard reaches third level they have to make the all-important choice of which Bardic College they’d like to specialise in. It’s the subclass category of the bard class, with whichever Bardic College you choose determining what additional feats and abilities your bard will get as they gain levels.

Whilst there are two different Bardic Colleges included in the Dungeons & Dragons 5E Player’s Handbook, the College of Lore and College of Valour, there are plenty more included in various other D&D 5E sourcebooks, such as the College of Eloquence – which focuses on improving the bard’s charismatic potential – and the College of Swords, which revolves more around combat and clever swordplay.

There are also plenty of homebrew Bardic Colleges – unofficial examples created by fans – out there for you to use. We’d recommend sticking to the official options if you’re new to the world of D&D, simply because they’re designed for a wide range of players to use.

College of Lore

The Bardic College of Lore focuses on providing buffs to a bard and their party members.

This is the most straightforward option when it comes to creating a bard character in D&D 5E. A bard from the College of Lore most resembles the type of character we think of when imagining a bard: full of knowledge and folklore they’re determined to share with as many people as possible. A College of Lore bard seeks to tell stories and create a good few of their own, and have features that reflect this particular bardic personality.

As soon as you select the College of Lore at third level, your bard gains proficiency with three skills of your choice – adding to the already impressive skill proficiency your bard has.

 

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On top of the proficiency bonuses, your College of Lore bard gets the Cutting Words feat. Cutting Words is an excellent ability that enables your bard to reduce an opponent’s attack, ability check or saving throw roll as a reaction. A bard with Cutting Words can use one of their Bardic Inspiration dice by rolling and minusing the number from an opponent’s result. As with Bardic Inspiration, the player can choose to use this ability after the DM has already rolled for an opponent – making it a serious game-changer during crucial rounds of combat. You’re also entirely encouraged to improvise whatever you think your bard says to distract the opponent during their roll, which is fantastic.

Sixth level provides the option to learn two spells from any class. Whilst these spells must be of a level your bard can cast – so no ninth-level spell grabs here – the fact that you’re not limited to bard spells gives you a ton of freedom and can help shape your character in a stronger direction.

14th level brings the Peerless Skill feature, which allows a bard to inspire themselves when making ability checks. Finally. This alone could be an appealing enough prospect for you to pick the College of Lore for your bard character.

College of Valour

Choosing the College of Valour for your bard character can make them a serious threat in battle.

Whereas the bards of the College of Lore might enjoy curling up with a good book in the library, bards of the College of Valour prefer a boisterous feast celebrating the deeds of the mighty and victorious. The Bardic College of Valour is all about singing the praises of warriors and pumping up more aggressive party members during battle. Think of bards of the College of Valour as being the cheerleaders of the brave – imbuing their teammates with power and even mucking in a bit themselves.

If you choose the College of Valour for your bard character, they’ll immediately gain proficiency in using shields, all martial weapons and medium armour – the equivalent of going through a quick workout montage.

As well as the additional equipment proficiencies, bards from the College of Valour gain the Combat Inspiration feat. Whereas normal Bardic Inspiration can only be used to improve the attack roll of a character – as well as ability checks and saving throws – Combat Inspiration additionally enables a player character to improve their damage output. A player with Bardic Inspiration can add that die to their damage roll. Alternatively, the same player can choose to use their Bardic Inspiration die to boost their armor class (AC) either before or after an attack roll has been made against them. Both options offer some very strong advantages in combat.

When sixth level rolls around, a bard of the College of Valour can now attack twice during their turn, further increasing their potential damage output.

14th level and the Battle Magic feature enable a bard of the College of Valour to attack as a bonus action whenever they cast a bard spell on their turn. This means that by 14th level, a bard character could perform three weapon attacks in the space of just a single turn – alongside casting a spell and moving. Gaining this feature effectively turns a bard into a complete death machine with the potential to make their party members into complete death machines as well.

What’s the best race for a bard in D&D 5E?

Every race is a viable option in Dungeons & Dragons, no matter what class you pick.

Of course, any race is a viable choice when making a Dungeons & Dragons character and players shouldn’t ever feel limited to making the ‘efficient’ choice. Ultimately, choosing whatever you feel like playing as should be the driving factor. However, there are certain D&D 5E character races that can complement elements of the bard class.

The drow or dark elf race of people – whose problematic depiction has significantly improved with the release of recent D&D 5E sourcebooks such as Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount – could be a great choice for bards considering their increased charisma score. As bards primarily cast magic using their charisma modifier, having a better charisma score from the off could give your character the edge in casting and defending against spells. All elves also have a natural advantage against being charmed, which could help when casting Countercharm.

Halflings are a similarly good choice when it comes to making a spellcasting-focused bard, as the lightfoot subrace of halflings gain an increase to their charisma score. Alternatively, you could choose a stout halfling and gain a higher constitution score, thereby leaning more into a College of Valour-style bard. All halflings also have advantage against being frightened, which would help them when casting Countercharm.

The Dragonborn race are granted a boost to their charisma score and gain damage resistance and the Breath Weapon attack ability, which could make them a formidable choice when it comes to creating a more battle-hardened bard.

A human wouldn’t be a bad pick either, given they have the option to gain proficiency in a skill of their choice during the character creation process – thereby giving your bard character even more skills to play around with.

Lords of the Middle Sea, a post-apocalyptic board game released in the late 1970s by Call of Cthulhu publisher Chaosium, is making a surprising comeback in the form of a new tabletop RPG adaptation.

Lords of the Middle Sea was first published in 1978, the third major release from Chaosium following its 1975 debut White Bear and Red Moon and seminal RPG RuneQuest, which also made its first appearance in 1978.

Designed by Lynn Willis, later known for co-authoring the second and third editions of RuneQuest and epic Call of Cthulhu campaign Masks of Nyarlathotep among other RPGs, Lords of the Middle Sea took place in a futuristic post-apocalyptic North America following widespread flooding.

Players led different factions as they explored the scant land left – typically mountaintops – and traversed the ruined Earth of 2401 via steam-powered airship and sea vessel. Movement on land was measured using hexes, while the open sea and sky were gridless areas. The game featured a number of different scenarios for up to four people to play.

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According to Chaosium’s announcement, while Lords of the Middle Sea didn’t see the commercial success of RuneQuest and Call of Cthulhu, the game enjoyed a passionate cult following – despite only seeing a single print run of its first and only edition in 1978. Willis passed away in 2013.

More than 40 years later, Chaosium is reviving Willis’ “proto-Steampunk” world with a tabletop RPG based on Lords of the Middle Sea.

Designed by John Snead, the Lords of the Middle Sea RPG will be built on the Basic Roleplaying system that powers RuneQuest and Call of Cthulhu. The rules have apparently been “streamlined” for the upcoming RPG, and will support both standalone scenarios and longer-term campaigns.

Players will control adventurers, traders, explorers and other characters surviving in the world ravaged by nuclear war and natural disaster. The party will have a ship that they can customise and use to travel the ruined Earth, seeking out isolated settlements on the dots of remaining land or the last remnants of technology hidden away in underground bunkers.

The core rulebook will be followed by an adventure sourcebook, along with planned future supplements. A release date for the Lords of Middle Sea RPG is yet to be announced.

Bring life back to a desolate land in Renature, an upcoming board game from Tikal creators Wolfgang Kramer and Michael Kiesling.

Set around a valley that has been polluted – presumably by the actions of humankind – Renature sees players attempting to regrow the flora and fauna that once populated this area. Restoring the natural beauty of the area will encourage wildlife to settle and graze there, thereby providing more opportunities for the plant life to pollinate and spread. Players will have to time their plantings carefully if they want their greenery to grow as far as possible.

A game for two to four players, Renature has players selecting and placing different kinds of dominos across the board, with the aim of matching as many sides as they can. Each piece will show a combination of different animals or plants. Wherever the player chooses to place a domino, it must share symbols with all of its neighbours. Any pieces placed and matched can then have a plant laid inside the same area.

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Players then score points depending on how many plants, and the size of said plants, are there. Should the area ever be surrounded by dominos, the players can score points for plants once again – with a final chance to score points at the game’s end.

As the game progresses, players will compete to corner off certain areas to maximise their point totals, ensuring that their opponents don’t do the same to them. The winner of Renature is whoever scores the most points by the time the last domino tile is placed on the board.

As well as their collaborations, Kramer and Kiesling are known for their individual creations, with Kiesling having designed the beginner board game Azul – alongside its sequels, Azul: Stained Glass of Sintra and Summer Pavilion – and Kramer being the creator behind sports board game Top Race, recently rebooted as Downforce.

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Together, the pair have collected the Spiel des Jahres – Germany’s prestigious Game of the Year prize – twice for Tikal and Torres. Kramer has won the award a further five times for games including El Grande, while Kiesling received it alone in 2018 for Azul.

Renature was originally announced in January, after Kramer and Kiesling confirmed that they would be reuniting to work on the tile-laying game. Capstone Games – the studio behind Pipeline and the Iron Rail series of train games – is partnering with Deep Print Games, a new company founded by individuals from Eggertspiele and Plan B Games, to publish the game.

Renature is set to be released on October 28th as part of Capstone Games’ Simply Complex series – which includes construction games The Climbers and The Estates – at a retail price of $50/£40.