Here’s a rundown of the episode:

• 00:59 - Heard Any Good Rumours Lately? News from the Planes
• 01:10 - Off To The Races: This episode features the Elves
• 09:06 - You So Classy! This episode, we’re looking at Clerics
• 16:09 - Background Check: Sailor
• 18:45 - Monster Menagerie: The Carrion Crawler
• 21:50 - Playing Safe: How to play D&D online during lockdown
• 25:42 - The Infamous: Minsc and Boo!

Total runtime - 32:08 

Sources & further reading:

Elves: PHB: 21-25, SCAG: 105-108, XGTE: 176 (Names only)

Cleric: PHB: 56-63

PHB Appendix B: Gods of the Multiverse: PHB 293-299

SCAG: Clerics: 125-126

SCAG: Religion in the Realms: 19-20

SCAG: The Faerûnian Pantheon: 21-23

SCAG: The Gods of Faerûn: 23-41

SCAG: The Gods of Mulhorand: 41

XGTE: Cleric: 17-20

Sailor: PHB - 139

Carrion Crawler: MM - 37

Links

https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Elf- Forgotten Realms Wiki on Elves.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nightmare- John Henry Fuseli’s painting of The Nightmare, depicting a demon or incubus sitting on her chest as she sleeps, which almost certainly stemmed from folklore regarding elves.

https://dnd.wizards.com/remote- Wizards of the Coast on how to play D&D remotely.

https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Carrion_crawlerForgotten Realms Wiki on the Carrion Crawler

How to Play D&D Online | Roll20 Tutorial - YouTubewww.youtube.com › watch - Roll20 How to play D&D online tutorial

How to play D&D online – and actually enjoy yourself ...www.techradar.com › how-to › how-to-play-dd-online-and-actually-e…- TechRadar’s take on how to play D&D online

New Player's Guide: How to Play D&D Online - Posts - D&D ...www.dndbeyond.com › posts › 750-new-players-guide-how-to-play-…- D&D Beyond’s guide to playing online

https://nerdist.com/article/how-to-play-dungeons-and-dragons-online/- Nerdist on playing online

https://www.dndtomb.com/how-to-play-dnd-online/- DnDTomb on playing online

https://dm-helper.itch.io/dm-helper- DM Helper software

https://roll20.net/ - Roll20’s site for playing TTRPG’s online

https://www.fantasygrounds.com/home/home.php - Fantasy Grounds software

https://www.wizards.com/dnd/dice/dice.htmWizards of the Coast dice roller.

https://www.ddo.com/en- D&D Online (videogame)

https://www.playneverwinter.com - Neverwinter D&D MMORPG

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MinscWikipedia on Minsc

https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Minsc- Forgotten Realms Wiki on Minsc

https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Boo- FR Wiki on Boo

https://amzn.to/2R5C5Aw- Amazon page for Baldur’s Gate graphic novels featuring Minsc and Boo (affiliate link)

https://www.comixology.co.uk/search?search=baldurs+gate- Comixology page for Baldur’s Gate graphic novels and issues featuring Minsc and Boo.

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 hope you’re all well in this uncertain time and staying safe. I’ve been housebound for the last couple of weeks and after finishing this podcast, will be getting stuck into my next session with my group online .

In this episode, we’re talking about Elves, Clerics, Sailors, Carrion Crawlers, evil-hating Rangers and their miniature giant space hamsters, and how to play safely during the Covid pandemic.

Heard Any Good Rumours Lately?

Due to Covid 19, there hasn’t been any major news updates since last episode, so in that case, we’re

Off to the RacesElf

It’s often said that people want what they don’t have, which might explain why I, with my large frame, round face and long beard - looking mostly like a Dwarf, apart from my height, love to play as a slender, graceful Elf.

Long-lived, lithe, and dextrous; agile, swift, keen of sight and hearing - there’s a lot to admire about the Elves. They make superb hunters, ferocious opponents and impressive craftsmen - their skills with metals is rivalled only by the Dwarves.

They are an innately magical race, although this has not always been a good thing. As discussed in the previous episode, the venture to raise the Isle of Evermeet caused the Sundering. 

Elves love nature, magic, artistry, music and poetry and the good things in life. They live in places of ethereal beauty, a part of the land - living with it rather than just on it. Often their cities lacked walls, welcoming nature within, so that no clear boundary is set between the city and the countryside or forest, in which it resides.

In English and Germanic folklore, Elves were small, mischievous people, associated with Faeries. They meddled in human affairs occasionally, seemingly for the sport. Sometimes they would swap out human babies for Elf ones, which would only come to light once the infant grew. Other legends have them sitting on people’s chests as they slept, causing nightmares - the German word for nightmare is Alpdrücken, or “elf pressure”. See the show notes for the famous painting, entitled “The Nightmare” by John Henry Fuseli. Other legends had them as helpful, with healing magic and yet others blamed Elves for diseases and blights on livestock.

In D&D, Elves evolved from the Eladrin long before recorded history, arriving on Abeir-Toril before other races. The green elves ruled over Toril in relative peace for centuries, until the Eladrin nation of Aryvandaar invaded the Dark and Green elf nation of Miyeritar, beginning the Crown wars which lasted a total of 3k years. The green elves suffered many defeats and losses during the wars and were driven into the wilderness, beginning the elven kinship with nature and the forested parts of the world. 

During their exile, factions formed. Those who remained in isolation and lost their taste for building nations became the wild elves - nomadic wanderers. Of those, some migrated into the lands of the eladrin and through interbreeding, the wood elves were created as a hybrid culture.

In total there are nine sub races of Elves in D&D lore:

• Sun Elves: Sometimes called High Elves or Gold Elves, they are highly civilised with a natural affinity for magic.
• Moon Elves: Also called Silver Elves, they were a nomadic people who often interacted with other races.
• Wood Elves: Known as Copper Elves, these Elves took to the forests for their homes.
• Drow: Dark skinned and generally evil, they occupy the vast caverns of the Underdark. They have their own magics and mostly eschew the surface world, aside from nighttime raids, as sunlight hurts their darkness-adapted eyes.
• Aquatic or Sea Elves: Water breathing elves, found in the oceans of the world, particularly off the coasts of Faerûn and Evermeet.
• Wild Elves: Reclusive and feral, these Elves prefer a wild existence close to nature rather than the trappings of society.
• Avariel: A mostly extinct race of winged Elves, who were one of the first to settle in Faerûn. They have feathered wings and can fly.
• Lythari: A rare race of lycanthropic Elves, who could transform into wolves. Unlike Werewolves, they have no hybrid form, possibly due to their ability not stemming from a curse. They live primarily in wolf form, in the deep wilds of the world.
• Star Elves: Also called Mithral Elves, this was an isolated sub race that lived on the demiplane of Sildeyuir, near the Feywild.

Elves are known for impulsive behaviour and strong but swiftly passing passions - being easily moved to anger or laughter in equal measure, but quickly reverting to a calm demeanour shortly thereafter.

Generally 5-6ft in height and 130-170lbs in weight, Elves may seem slight to your average human, and certainly to a Dwarf, but they can be as strong as either and also can move swiftly over even rough terrain. They also possess a preternatural sense of their surroundings, as well as as unmatched accuracy in their strikes. 

Elves also do not need to sleep, instead gaining the same benefit from four hours of meditation, known as ‘reverie’ as a human would get from 8 hours of sleep. They are also still aware of their surroundings during reverie, making them very difficult to surprise or ambush.

Elves usually take to adventuring out of wanderlust. With a lifespan of around 700 years, they can enjoy centuries of exploration and discovery. They dislike the pace of human society, where everything seems rushed and unrefined to them and changes too much over decades, so they take to careers that let them set their own pace. They also enjoy exercising their martial and/or magical prowess and growing their abilities, which adventuring allows them to pursue.

Elves can appear as haughty or stand-offish to other races, but due to their long lives, they find attachments difficult, as it is very likely they will outlive their friends from other races. They also take the long view, so short term conflicts and drama seem unworthy of their attention. They age at the same rate as humans, but are not considered adults until they reach 100 years old.

Elves, like other races in 5e, can be adapted to any class, but Wood Elves make for good Rangers, (although Rogues could benefit greatly from the Mask of the Wild mechanic, discussed shortly,) and Sun Elves make good Mages.

Stat Block

As an Elf, you gain the following:

Dex +2

Alignment - usually good or chaotic, apart from the Drow, who are generally evil.

Speed: 30ft

Darkvision: 60ft

Keen Senses: Proficiency in Perception

Fey Ancestry: Advantage on saving throws against being charmed and Elves cannot be put to sleep by magical means.

Languages: Common and Elvish

Subraces:

High Elf: 

• Intelligence +1
• Weapon proficiencies: Long and short swords, long and short bows
• One cantrip of choice from the Wizard spell list, with intelligence as your spellcasting ability.
• One extra language of choice

Wood Elf

• Wisdom +1
• Long & short - swords and bows
• Speed: 35ft
• Mask of the Wild: You can attempt to hide when lightly obscured by foliage, heavy rain, falling snow, mist & other natural phenomena.

Drow

• Charisma +1
• Superior Darkvision: 120ft
• Sunlight Sensitivity: You have disadvantage on attack rolls and Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight when you or your target are in direct sunlight.

You So ClassyCleric

The Cleric class is quite involved, spanning 8 pages of the PHB, as opposed to a martial class like Rogue or Ranger, which take up 5 each. Clerics are seen as intermediaries of the Gods, imbued with divine magic, unlike a regular priest or priestess. Clerics are often dismissed as just a support class, or worse, written off as only healers - but the Cleric is a warrior too, more akin to a battlemage than a nurse.

Divine power is not granted haphazardly by the gods either, a Cleric is someone who has been chosen specially to fulfil a higher purpose and calling, which enables them to channel divine energy in order to manifest the miraculous. Clerics harness this energy via intuition of the will of their gods combined with their devotion, so although they may learn ritual and prayer, they cannot increase their divine power through study. Literally touched by the hand of god, Clerics have been invested with some measure of their deity’s power, in order to become a vessel of the god’s will on Faerûn.

Clerics combine healing spells and skills with inspiration, buffing party members in a similar way to Bards. In addition, they can harm foes, invoke curses of plague and poison, inspire both awe and dread and call down divine flames to engulf enemies. Many also wade into the fray, mace swinging.

The gods choose who they determine worthy, so not all Clerics are former priests or acolytes. They might just as easily be wanderers, hermits or devout peasants. Some Clerics may not only serve one god, but a pantheon, or even a cosmic force, such as life or death, or a particular philosphy or concept, such as love, peace or one of the nine alignments. This gives another huge swathe of scope for creating Clerics.

Through the use of Domains, which are areas of life that their deity presides over, Clerics have a lot of scope to be specc’d in a variety of ways. The PHB includes the domains of Knowledge, Life, Light, Nature, Tempest, Trickery, and War. The SCAG includes the Arcana domain, and XGTE further expands the list with the domain of the Forge and Grave. The scope of domains is beyond the time we have available, but your choice of domain essentially sets the spec of your Cleric. Nature allows you to spec like a Druid, with the ability to speak to animals, and spells like Barkskin, Grasping Vine, Wind Wall and Spike Growth. The War domain specs you more like a Paladin, with Divine Favour and Shield of Faith, Crusader’s Mantle, Spiritual Weapon and Flame Strike. Other domains give you access to more healing abilities, weather control spells or illusory techniques like Mirror Image or Polymorph. This makes the Cleric one of the most adaptable classes available - something that makes me want to play one, just for the utility alone. 

Clerics also have the ability to turn undead, making undead creatures try to flee from you as you hold out your holy symbol and speak a prayer as an action. Undead within 30ft that can see or hear you must make a Wisdom saving throw. Those that fail are turned for 1 minute or until they take damage and during this time they can’t willingly move within 30ft of you or take reactions. For their action they can only use Dash, or try to move to escape the effect. If there’s nowhere for it to move, it may Dodge.

At 5th level, any undead creature that fails it’s saving throw on Turn Undead is instantly destroyed if it’s CR is at or below a certain threshold, depending on your level. See page 59 of the PHb for the table.

Clerics normally take to adventuring because of a directive from their god, which may be a call to exterminate evil, or to seek out holy relics in the dark places of Faerun. Clerics are generally also deigned to protect the followers of their god, be it smiting invading orcs, banishing demons back to nether realms or brokering peace treaties between warring factions, tribes or even nations. Most adventuring Clerics keep a connection to nearby temples or orders of their faith as a duty, or at the behest of a temple’s residents or high priest.

Your first question as a player will be to name the god you serve. Appendix B of the PHB, starting on page 293 offers names of gods, along with their alignments and suggested domains. See the show notes for further reading on clerics from the SCAG and XGTE too.

Next you must decide whether the god sought you out, or discovered you through your deep devotion to them and whether the call to action was one you took up willingly, or perhaps you were compelled against your own better judgement to seek out the enemies of your higher power.

Most Clerics will start their lives in a temple, seminary or other religious institution, as a simple priest before realising that they have been blessed. They will then receive training and instruction from another Cleric.

Creating a Cleric: Use Wisdom for your primary stat and either Strength or Constitution as your secondary, depending on what sort of Cleric you wish to build.

Stat Block

HP @ lvl1: 8 + Con modifier

HP Later levels: 1D8 (or 5) + Con Mod/level

Hit Dice: 1D8/level

Proficiencies: Light/Medium armour & shields. Simple weapons.

Tools: None

Saving throws: Wisdom, Charisma

Skills: Choose 2 from History, Insight, Medicine, Persuasion, Religion.

Equipment: A Mace or Warhammer (if proficient,). Leather armour, scale or, if proficient - chainmail. A light crossbow with 20 bolts or any simple weapon. A priest’s pack or an explorer’s pack. A shield and a holy symbol.

Wisdom is your spell casting ability and is also used for setting the DC save against one of your Cleric spells.

Spell attack modifier = Wis mod + Prof bonus

Spell save DC = 8 + Wis mod + Prof bonus

You can cast a Cleric spell as a ritual if the spell has the ritual tag and you have the spell prepared. You can also use a holy symbol as your spell casting focus for Cleric spells, which is useful as you start with a holy symbol.

Background Check Sailor

Ahoy, and splice the missenmast! 

As a sailor you probably should have a better knowledge of nautical terms than I do. You’ve weathered terrible storms, fought off hideous monsters from the...