Here’s a rundown of the episode:

• 01:02 - Heard Any Good Rumours Lately? News from the Planes.
• 04:23 - Off To The Races. This episode features the Dragonborn as its playable race to discuss.
• 11:02 - You So Classy! This episode, we’re focussing on the Barbarian.
• 17:36 - Background Check. Talking about the Urchin background and ways it can inform your roleplay of your character.
• 19:28 - Monster Menagerie. Starting with the Aaron A. Aaronson of D&D Monsters - The Aarakocra.
• 25:40 - Lore Academy. The Spellplague and its effects.
• 29:41 - The Infamous. Legendary characters from Dungeons and Dragons. This episode, we learn about Tymora.

Total runtime - 33:17.

Sources & further reading: Dragonborn

PHB: 32-34; SCAG: 112-114; XGTE: 74, (Racial feats,) 175-176 (Dragonborn names.) 

Barbarian

PHB: 141

XGTE: 8

SCAG: 121

Links

poster-barbarian-know-nothing-passion-rage-can-sunder-mountains-may-speak-passion-diydespaircom- Barbarian Quote

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/c4/2c/40/c42c40f371f67ce113250a26f87d58fb.jpg - Barbarian quote 2

https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Aarakocra- Aarakocra

https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Syranita- Syranita, Patron God of Aarakocra.

https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Akadi- Akadi, Queen of air.

https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Aerdrie_Faenya - Aerdrie Faenya, Elven goddess of the Seldarine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk7Xcd4OyBI- AJ Pickett on Aarakocra

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wa9OyLmkSq8&t=134s- WebDM on Aarakocra (& Kenku)

https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Spellplague- The Spellplague

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDyqSsJPIs4- Jorphdan on the Spellplague

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmYD-vyZv3U - Poohead189 (what a username!) on the Spellplague

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMSOYUaZcBo - Jorphdan on Tymora (First half of video is on Torm.)

Episode TranscriptCold open

Welcome to I Cast Pod, a D&D podcast about creating characters, taking chances, rolling dice and having fun. I’m Mike, your DM and guide to all things dungeonesque and dragon-y. I’m excited about this episode as this marks the transition to how I think the show will be going forward. I wanted to do episode 1 & 2 as beginner episodes and the focus going forward will still be learning and have the beginner in mind - but I wanted to create all new sections to discuss things like playable races and classes, as well as famous NPC’s and characters from D&D, and loads of other good info. So let’s get started.

Heard Any Good Rumours Lately?

On the 2nd June, Wizards of the Coast are releasing Mythic Odysseys of Theros, a new campaign sourcebook based in the Magic: The Gathering world of Theros, which adapts Greek Mythology for its setting. Players will choose a supernatural gift and then go on an epic quest across the realms of mortals, gods and the five realms of the underworld, pitting players against mighty heroes, imprisoned titans and prophecies, to leave their mark as a legend.

The supernatural gifts work similar to character races mechanically and give your character a variety of traits. 

There will be new races available, drawn from myths such as Satyrs, Minotaurs or Leonin.

There will be new subclasses available including ones for Bard and Paladin.

New monsters will include mythic monsters, whose power outstrips even legendary creatures.

God weapons - receive as a blessing from the god you represent or brazenly steal them to gain previously unheard of power.

From the little information released, and the artwork, it looks like the campaign will be a little like playing Clash of the Titans, which providing we’re talking about the original Harryhausen version, is no bad thing.

The book will release with an alternate, soft-touch cover for $49.95

Video Games

Hopefully by now you should have seen the Baldurs Gate 3 gameplay livestream.

Larian revealed playable races of Humans, Githyanki, Tieflings, Halflings, Elves and Half-Elves, Drow and Half-Drow, Dwarves, and more. Some of the races, showed sub races too such as Hill Dwarf, High Elf, Lightfoot Halfling or Asmodeus Tiefling. All the races shown could be played as either Male or Female, and I’m assuming with no advantages or penalties for either. There were also backgrounds like Noble, charlatan, Criminal or Entertainer shown.

Classes shown were Wizard, Cleric, Fighter, Ranger Rogue or Warlock, with more coming after Early Access.

Larian also showed off some of the NPC’s and the opening cinematic which showed Dragon Riders fighting with the Illithid Nautillus ship and all I can say about that is - I hope the writers of the movie watched it and took notes. It also shows an Illithid ship ‘collecting’ people as it caused destruction in the city of Yartar, which sits just east of Triboar and the Sword Coast. The Illithid interacts with a Githyanki female - inserting a tadpole into her eye - which allows mind melding in the game proper, but will also eventually consume characters from the inside and turn them into Mindflayers.

Baldur’s Gate 3 looks amazing and has been announced for PC and Google’s Stadia so far . I am very excited for this and will probably order whatever deluxe version they release, but will have to buy a PC to play it as it’s unlikely it will appear on current generation consoles.

Off to the RacesDragonborn

Considered one of the most exotic races in the PHB, Dragonborn have Draconic ancestry, although their origins are shrouded in mystery. One story says Io, the dragon god, fused astral spirits with the fury of the elements. The greater spirits became Dragons and the lesser, the Dragonborn.

Another version has Dragons already existing when Io was split in two by a primordial called Erek-Hus, the King of Terror, during the Dawn War. The Two halves became the Dragon Gods Bahamut and Tiamat, and the blood that spattered the ground became the Dragonborn.

A third tale has Io creating the Dragonborn before all other humanoid races, shaping their perfection and firing them with his breath, and only creating Dragons later, at the start of the Dawn War to use as weapons in the war.

The fact that they were created by Io and not Bahamut or Tiamat means that every Dragonborn has a choice to make in their own personal morality of which path to follow.

Although the latter myth sees Dragonborn as being created before the Dragons, on their homeworld of Abeir they serve as a slave race to the Dragons. During the Spellplague, the two worlds intersected and the Dragonborn nation of Tymanchebar displaced the nation of Unther, becoming Tymanther and seeking to integrate with Faerûn and for a time established itself as a nation of honour, until the events of The Sundering reverted Unther back to Faerûn, leaving many Dragonborn without a nation and scrabbling to survive.

Dragonborn average around 6’2-6’8 in height, and average 300lb in weight. They have larger & stronger bones than humans, but with a less dense core to the bone.

They have breath weapons, determined by their draconic ancestry from a list of; fire, cold, acid, lightning and poison. They are also granted a damage immunity to the same type. They have taloned digits, with 3 fingers and a thumb, but lack wings or a tail. Their teeth seem to replenish if one is knocked out, but this is just the other rows moving up to full the space. Dragonborn can be quite tetchy towards those who point out that they have lost a tooth.

Their colours are usually of brass or bronze heritage, and tend towards a rusty, reddish brown, but can range to scarlet, gold, white, black, blue, silver, brass, bronze, or copper-green.

They birth eggs, and find other reproductive systems gross. Their young are nursed for a short period, but grow quickly - walking only hours after hatching and reaching the size of a ten year old human child by the time they are three. They are considered adults at 15 and live to around 80 years.

Dragonborn families are direct relations and a clan is formed of families through intermarriage, shared history or alliance.

Dragonborn revere their clan above all else. Their actions reflect on their clan and dishonourable behaviour could result in expulsion. Every Dragonborn knows their duties within the clan and their honour demands they perform to their best. If a situation arose where a Dragonborn were forced to choose between family and clan, the clan’s welfare would take precedence. They are given personal names at birth, but put their clan names first, as a mark of honour. 

They are a very proud race, valuing skill and excellence, which pushes them to strive for self-improvement and self-sufficiency. They hate to fail, so recognise the need for help in difficult situations, turning to their clan when needed. Any honour due to acts of daring, bravery or heroism is considered bestowed upon the clan first, and the acting individual second.

They view their code of honour and loyalty as a type of faith, and are often skeptical about religion, having been forced to worship their draconic masters in ages past, but some do worship gods. Bahamut and Tiamat can count Dragonborn among their followers, and other Dragonborn favoured gods include Torm and Tyr for their codes of honour and order, as well as Tempus, Kelemvor and others.

They can be viewed as monsters by lay-folk, although they are likely to be treated with caution rather than fear and panic. 

They speak, read and write Common and Draconic.

Some famous Dragonborn include Arkhan the Cruel - Joe Manganellio’s red scaled Oathbreaker Paladin character, and Tiberius Stormwind, also red scaled, and a Sorcerer played by Orion Acaba in the first Critical Role series.

Stat Block

Size: Medium

Speed: 30ft

Alignment: Tend towards extremes. Most are good but followers of Tiamat will be evil.

Breath weapon: 2D6 damage, 1D6 on a save with a DC of 8+ Constitution Modifier + Proficiency Bonus. Dexterity save against Black, Blue, Brass, Bronze, Copper, Gold, and Red ancestries, which comprise Acid, lightning and fire. Constitution save against Silver, Green and White ancestries, which are cold or poison.

Damage increases to 3D6 at level 6, 4D6 at 11, and 5D6 at level 16.

Applies in a 5ft by 30ft line for Black, Blue, Brass, Bronze and Copper ancestries, or a 15ft cone for Gold, Green, Red, Silver and White ancestries.

Ability score increases: Strength +2, Charisma +1 

Advantageous classes that can make use of the ability score increases:

Barbarian (Strength), Bard (Charisma), Fighter (Strength), Paladin (Strength & Charisma,), Sorcerer, (Charisma), Warlock (Charisma). Paladin being the standout for Min-Maxers.

For more information on Dragonborn, see the show notes for sourcebook page numbers.

You So Classy! - Discussion of a classBarbarian

“You know nothing of passion. When your rage can sunder mountains, you may speak to me of passion.

Barbarians are fury made flesh. They live for battle, laugh in the face of danger or overwhelming odds, and their rage is akin to a force of nature, like a tempest. They invariably fight to the death, their incessant rage fuelling their conquests, whether one on one or vs. an army.

They can draw their rage from various sources, such as fierce animal spirits they commune with, or else simply a burning anger at a world that has been nothing but pain to them. It is this rage that not only gives focus to their fire, but also bestows upon them enhanced reflexes, amazing resilience and strength beyond measure.

Barbarians see civilisation as a diluting of their primal spirit. Rather than settling, they embrace their feral natures, seeking strength and freedom unfettered by walls; preferring to roam the tundra or grasslands of their homelands under an open sky, heeding the call of the wilds.

They are never more alive than when in the midst of battle, delighting in the chaos of the melee, relying on instinct to guide their hefty blows rather than field tactics.

Their tendency to rush headlong into the fray can make them both an asset and a liability to an adventuring party. While it’s true they can act as a tank for the less robust members of the party, dealing out huge damage to foes and soaking up hits, they care little for plans and strategies. Played to type, they could be quite annoying for other party members who perhaps want to avoid a particular skirmish or try stealth as a tactic. If you’re playing as a barbarian, try to exercise a little impulse control - your character can act annoyed at having to temper their instincts and still be true to character, but your group will thank you for not pulling the entire camp of orcs before they’ve had a chance to whittle down their numbers by other means. Remember, just because you can rage and ignore a sword thrust like it was a mosquito bite, doesn’t mean the rest of your party can. If you rush in every time and end up with a TPK, expect a few sour glances from your teammates. Barbarians aren’t necessarily stupid, although can often be played that way due to intelligence being a dump stat for them, so approach encounters with some thought. Even if you decide that your best course is to create a distraction by rushing the enemies’ main gate solo, still wait for whatever signal your party has worked out before doing so.

“I know not of fear or sorrow … only bloodlust and rage.”

One of the main mechanics for the Barbarian is Rage. On your turn, you can enter a rage as a bonus action. If you’re not wearing heavy armour, its effects are:

• Advantage on strength checks and strength saving throws
• When attacking with a melee weapon that uses strength, you get bonus damage that scales as you level up - check the rage damage column of the barbarian table.
• Resistance to bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage.

Rage lasts 1 minute, which is equal to ten rounds of combat. It can end early if you are knocked unconscious, or if your turn ends and you haven’t attacked a hostile creature or taken damage since your last turn, so always be pummelling!

You can also choose to end your rage as a bonus action. You get a limited number of rages between long rests, consult the Barbarian table’s rages column to find out how many per level.

You also get an unarmored defence, so if not wearing armour, your AC is 10 plus your Dex mod AND your Con mod - so be sure to put a decent roll into Dex. This can also be used with a shield, which can bump your AC quite nicely.

Other Barbarian advantages at later levels include extra attacks, a reckless attack from lvl 2, which involves nominating it on the first attack of your turn, giving you advantage on melee attack rolls using Strength during the turn, but also gives opponents advantage against you until your next turn.

From level 2 you also get Danger sense, giving you advantage on Dexterity saving throws against effects you can see, including spells and traps, provide you aren’t blinded, deafened or incapacitated.

From third level, you choose a path from Bezerker, Totem Warrior (PHB), Or the path of the ancestral guardian, Storm herald or zealot (XGTE) or the path of the Battlerager, with additional Totem Warrior option in the (SCAG).

Later advantages include fast movement; Feral instincts which give you advantage on initiative rolls and makes you unable to be surprised, provided you enter rage on your turn before doing anything else; Brutal critical, which add additional dice to your critical damage rolls; Relentless rage which can bring you back from 0 HP, and more.

Famous Barbarians include Grogg, from Critical Role and Conan.

Stat Block

Main stats: Strength, Constitution (also saving throws)

HP : @ lvl1: 12 + Constitution Mod

1d12 + Con Mod/lvl

Hit Dice: 1d12/level

Armour: Light, Medium, Shields

Weapons: Simple & Martial

Tools: None

Skills: 2 from Animal handling, Athletics, Intimidation, Nature, Perception, Survival

Equipment: Greataxe or any martial melee weapon

2 handaxes or any simple weapon

Explorer’s pack & four javelins.

If you like flying into rages and slicing your way through hordes of enemies in a fervent bloodlust, laughing maniacally as you go - barbarian is the class for you.

Background CheckUrchin

The Urchin background means your character grew up as a homeless orphan, learning to survive and provide for yourself on the heartless city streets. You needed to keep constant watch over your meagre belongings, save some other poor wretch steal it from you. You slept on rooftops and in alleyways, exposed to the chill of the night air, rains and snows. Often you took ill due to this exposure, and with no money for medicine, you relied solely on your constitution to pull you through. You’ve survived by a combination of your wits, strength, and speed.

As an Urchin, you start your adventuring career with enough money to last a ten-day living modestly, with a pouch containing 10Gp, and have expert knowledge of the city you grew up in, using shortcuts unknown to most to travel across it in twice the speed. 

The Urchin background gives you proficiencies in Sleight of hand and stealth, presumably as a result of having to steal food to survive and you get tool proficiencies for Thieves tools, and disguise kits.

You start with a small knife, a pet mouse, a token to remember your parents by, and a set of common clothes.

The Urchin background could be useful for Rogues, with SoH and Thieves tools. Personally I think it should come with a +1 to constitution, but there we are.

Roleplaying an Urchin would mean remembering your humble beginnings, perhaps hoarding food even when it is plentiful, or taking particular care of your footwear, to ensure it lasts. You may be reluctant to share things like food and loot, or simply take extra pride in you possessions.

Monster Menagerie

For our first monster menagerie segment, we’re going to look at the Aaron A. Aaaronson of D&D monsters, the:

Aarakocra

The Aarakocra have been a playable race since 1987, 1st...