Above Table

Nothing makes you appreciate the warmth of a fire or mulled beverage of choice like the contrast with the biting cold. That's why this week we come bearing polar presents. For GMs we explore the winter chill with some one shots and settings for any table's needs whether a drop in encounter or half-day adventure. For players, a variety of different seasonal subclasses from tundra conservationist rangers and blizzard summoning barbarians. Icy adventures in 2025 anyone?

Chapters:

(0:00) Introduction to Winter adventuring

(03:43) One Shot Wonders - Out In The Cold

(12:36) A Heart of Cold

(20:32) The Everglacier Setting

(26:47) Subclasses with a Winter theme

(37:03) The Crone Warlock

(41:35) Winter-themed items and trinkets

Get in touch: [email protected]

https://linktr.ee/abovetable

www.abovetable.com for show notes and more

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Featured on this episode:

One Shot Wonders from Roll & Play Press

A Heart of Cold from Eventry Games

The Everglacier from The Griffon's Saddlebag

The Sunblade Panteon from Awfully Queer Heroes & Stephen Hart

Deep Magic Vol. 1 from Kobold Press

The Oracles of Aughra from Sarsen Games

Herbarium: A Botanical 5e Supplement from Crow and Crown

Treasury of Winter from Legendary Games

L’Arsene’s Ledger of Treasures and Trinkets from Loot Tavern

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Music:

"The Path of the Goblin King" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we're chatting with Kevin Fannin aka Kefa Studios. We talk miniature painting, their start in content creation and the medieval themes of their first Kickstarter project, Banner of Honour. Their current project, Complete Guide to Jousting 5e, contains everything you need to bring the high-octane joust to your table with everything from mechanics and optional rules to over 40 new mounts and how to bond with them. You know we love a mini-game!

Check out the Complete Guide to Jousting 5e on Kickstarter

Find more of their work at www.kefastudios.com

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Get in touch: [email protected]

https://linktr.ee/abovetable

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Music:

"The Path of the Goblin King" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We've hit December and the decorations are up! The holiday spirit is in the air but how can we translate that to the table? Whether you want inspiration for crafting your own fantasy holidays, running winter games or just pick up a fun festive one-shot to play with friends and family this year - this episode checks everything off the (naughty) list.

Chapters:

(00:00) Embracing the Holiday Spirit

(06:40) Creative Inspirations: Classic Holiday Movies in D&D

(13:23) Adventures and Supplements: Hollynock Hijinks and more

(31:34) The Winter Crown Games

(39:09) DM's Guild whistle stop tour

(43:55) Trinket of the Week

Get 10% off at Roll & Play Press!

Get in touch: [email protected]

https://linktr.ee/abovetable

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Featured on this episode:

Christmas One Shot Ideas from The Gamer

Hollynock Hijinks from Mage Hand Press

Christmas Essentials from Roll & Play Press

Christmas Chronicles of Winterglen from Penny Blood Adventures

The Winter Crown from Aripockily

A Yuletide Surprise! from Alasdair Hill

Last Christmas from Janek Sielicki

Winter's Splendor (5e) from Wizards of the Coast

A Kobold Christmas from River Daniel

Four Calling Quills from Roll & Play Press

Project of the Week: Complete Guide to Jousting 5e from Kefa Studios

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Music:

"The Path of the Goblin King" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do you run Speak with Animals or Speak with Plants? From helpful eloquent NPCs that can provide all the information a party needs to reticent wild creatures that have limited knowledge and require more persuasion - we explore the different ways in which these spells occur in different games.

Chapters:

(0:00) Intro

(3:00) What the heck is an Animal Handling check?

(19:54) Speak with Animals. The level one spell.

(25:51) How much do the animals know?

(36:51) Plants have feelings too.

(47:21) So let's just Speak with Nature!

(52:47) Project of the Week

Get in touch: [email protected]

https://linktr.ee/abovetable

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Featured on this episode:

Spells That Don't Suck from somanyrobots & Omega Ankh

A Short Rest with somanyrobots

Project of the Week: Satzija's Tome of Hags from Tiny Quill

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Music:

"The Path of the Goblin King" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A must-have for any game, this week we explore the different safety tools out there to ensure a safe, inclusive and fun environment at table. From consent forms and transparency on tone before the campaign even starts to how to manage lines, veils and at table safety, we discuss how each works and signpost to all the resources you'd ever need. Bring on those festive and new year campaigns!

Chapters:

(0:00) Intro

(2:04) Why use safety tools with our games

(8:16) Ensuring fun for all with the 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide

(16:20) Examining the different types of safety tools

(24:00) Pros and cons of different safety tools

(38:21) Safety tool resources

(56:15) Trinket of the Week

Get in touch: [email protected]

linktr.ee/abovetabe

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Featured on the show:

The Dungeon Master's Guide

Ensuring Fun For All from the Dungeon Master's Guide (free)

Tracking Sheets from the Dungeon Master's Guide

Safety Tools Explained from Tavrn

CATS from Patrick O'Leary

TTRPG Safety Toolkit

Sly Flourish Safety Tools

Consent In Gaming from Monte Cook Games

Campaign Safety & Consent Checklist from Optional Rule

Script Change RPG Toolbox from Beau Jágr Sheldon

Safety Tools for Tabletop RPGs from Thomas Weinberger

The Same Page Tool from Christopher Chinn

Safety Tools Explained from Start Playing Games

RPG Safety Toolkit from Evil Hat Productions

Sleepytime Sheep Stuffy from The Griffon's Saddlebag

Impenetrable Cuddle Cave Deluxe from Action Fiction

Project of the Week: Argo-0

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Whether power through sacrifice, a connection with primal life force or gothic vampiric sanguimancy - blood magic runs through much of the fantasy genre. Often forbidden or dangerous, we explore how you can bring blood magic to the table. From safety tools on self-sacrificial mechanics and hemomancy wizards to blood domain clerics and even blood archers, this has everything a bloodthirsty table needs.

The content of this episode covers sensitive content including mentions and use of self-harm for in-game magic is a mechanic that can be triggering for some. If you or someone that you know struggles with self-harm, suicidal thoughts, or if you or a loved one are experiencing a difficult time, know that you are not alone.

Available resources:

Samaritans https://www.samaritans.org/

Suicide Prevention UK https://www.spuk.org.uk/

988 lifeline https://988lifeline.org/

Shout https://giveusashout.org/

Chapters:

(0:00) Intro

(07.25) The Critical Role Blood Hunter class

(13:44) Exploring blood magic in Tal’Dorei Reborn

(24:44) Simple homebrew rule for blood magic

(28:48) Blood magic class options

(58:38) Spell rundown

(1:00:00) Trinket of the Week

Get in touch: [email protected]

https://linktr.ee/abovetable

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Featured on this episode:

Blood Hunter from Critical Role

Monsters of Murka: Chromatic Gamut from Bonus Action

Tal’Dorei Reborn from Darrington Press

Trade Blood for Power with D&D Blood Magic from Nerdarchy

Blood Magics from DnD Unleashed

Blood Domain from DMDave

Blood Archer in Steinhardt's Guide to the Eldritch Hunt from MonkeyDM

Hemocraft & Bloodmagic from Dungeon Bros

The Bloodmire from The Griffon's Saddlebag

Blood Magic Spells resources on the website!

Blood Crystal from Loot Tavern

Project of the Week: Witchfyre A Dark Fantasy RPG

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Music:

"The Path of the Goblin King" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under CC Attribution 4.0 License

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ever mused with other players on what it would be like to play as the bad guys? Well now you can. In this episode Josh & Phil discuss the pitfalls and issues of playing evil, character alignment and intraparty conflict, before serving up solutions. From player options to pick-up-and-play adventures that will scratch that evil itch, listen out for everything you need to conquer the world!

Chapters:

(0:00) Intro

(2:24) Defining evil in D&D and considerations for playing

(13:55) What the new Dungeon Master's Guide says about playing evil

(20:23) Running better pickpocketing

(31:14) Having fun playing the classic evil villain

(41:28) Let's start a cult

(53:11) Honourable and devious mentions

(57:12) Trinket of the Week

Get in touch: [email protected]

linktr.ee/abovetable

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Featured on this episode:

The Dungeon Master's Guide

Tessa's Guide to Pickpocketing and Pilfering from Paul T Dean

Villainous Champions of the Shadow Keep from William Martin

Remarkable Cults & Their Followers from Loresmyth

Grim Hollow from Ghostfire Gaming

Corpus Malicious from DRS Publishing

The Dark Archetypes from Nikolas Totief & Alexander Kami

Best Subclasses For Evil Character from The Gamer

Treasury of the Macabre from Legendary Games

On Being An Evil Character from Matt Colville

Embracing Villainy from Alyssa Visscher

Project of the Week: Necromancers of Monastis from Brave Alice

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Music:

"The Path of the Goblin King" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We've spent weeks brewing this one up and it's finally here! Our spooky season comes to a close with a potions focused episode. From making them feel more memorable or important in game to playing characters who want to mix up their own concoctions, we chat about everything alchemy and herbalism in this cauldron of an episode.

Chapters:

(0:00) Intro

(3:00) Are we using potions enough in game?

(6:40) A quick sidebar on the new Bastion system and downtime

(12:30) Crafting and potions with official 2024 rules

(20:30) Potion themed player and character options

(35:40) Alchemy vs Herbalism

(44:36) Potion crafting and brewing sytems

(59:26) More potions

(1:11:45) Trinket of the Week

Get in touch: [email protected]

Instagram - abovetablepodcast

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Featured on this episode:

The Herbal Journal of Cicely Longbottom from Sarsen Games

Alchemist in Valda's Spire of Secrets from Mage Hand Press

College of Alchemy from The Griffon's Saddlebag

Alchemist's Supplies Breakdown from Dump Stat

DnD PotionCraft from Legendary Scribes

Mortar & Pestle from Cubicle 7

Potions & Herbalists from Diego Pisa Artworks

Alchemy & Poisoncraft from Cabal of Enchantment

Portable Potion Press in L'Arsene's Ledger of Treasures and Trinkets from Loot Tavern

Project of the Week: Xarnon's Codex of Combined Magic from Giants of the North

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Music:

"Gypsy Shoegazer No Voices" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Magic Item Shop by Bardify

https://youtu.be/tpi5qsXm_cM?si=LmLL7VdbsulDseP1

Alchemist's Lab by Ambient Method

https://youtu.be/wwYwMKufgCo?si=15027bYxxmEszVM2

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Throwing a hag at your party but limited by Bestow Curse? Playing a crafty witch but bereft of jinxes? We've got you covered. From using cursed items and intricate ritual castings to flinging jinxes and buying hexes, you'll have a fully stocked grimoire of curses after listening to this episode.

Chapters:

(0:00) Intro

(2:04) Adding Curses to your game

(12:25) Changing up the Bestow Curse spell

(29:38) The Grimoire of Curses

(42:48) Hexcrafting - what is it and how does it work

(49:53) Class options for working with curses

(1:02:35) Expanded cursed items and giving them narrative impact

(1:12:48) Trinket of the Week

Get in touch: [email protected]

Instagram - abovetablepodcast

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Featured on this episode:

Bestow Curse Creative Ideas from aldwynrivers

Bad Luck Curses from D&D Unleashed

100 Curses from DnDSpeak

The Grimoire of Curses from DMSlash

Milando's Guide to Magical Marvels from Eventyr Games

Heretic Prestige Class from D&D Unleashed

Cursesmith from Kibbles Tasty

Way of the Hex from Dream Plots

13 Terrifying Trinkets from Giants of the North

Xan Rockman's Emporium from Aripockly

Project of the Week: Pumpkins & Phantoms from Tales & Taverns

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Music:

"Gypsy Shoegazer No Voices" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Arctic Wilderness by Bardify

https://youtu.be/qD2ahwiPRBk?si=Zj_uzPmL7WCeTEmA

Mountain Shelter by Michael Ghelfi Studios

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mNs2IdWuZY

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What is a witch without her familiar? Whether you want your own soul-linked dæmon or sassy black cat a la Salem, Find Familiar is a go to spell for many players. Yet it has its limits. From expanded familar options and how to grow your familiar with your character, to the tamer class and even adventuring as a familiar yourself, you'll be familiar with every option by the end of this episode.

Chapters:

(0:00) Intro

(5:00) Official Find Familiar Spell

(15:50) Expanding and new Familiar options

(32:40) Player options for new Familiar relationships

(50:50) Levelling up and earning Familiars

(1:01:52) Familiar adventures

(1:06:25) Trinket of the Week

Get in touch: [email protected]

Instagram - abovetablepodcast

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Featured on this episode:

Find Familiar Spell 2024

Extended 5E Familiars from GreyAcumen

The Fluffy Folio

Familiar Contract from FullAutoArmy

30 Familiar options alamo76

Alter Familiar from Specs64z

Tamer Class & Familiars from Loot Tavern

Familiar Keeping from Dreamfarers

Biosmith Artificer Subclass from HumperdinkTheWarlock

Bond familiar from theinexplicablefuzz

Dynamic Familiar Leveling from Storm Cat

Druidic Familiars from Lou-Brew

Animal Accoutrements from Aripockly

UnFamiliar from Seltzer

Full show notes on abovetable.com

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Music:

"Gypsy Shoegazer No Voices" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

ALCHEMIST'S LAB by Jason Grace

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwYwMKufgCo

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.