Heroes Rise

Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 233rd entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday January 21st 2023, and released Wednesday January 25th 2023 over at heroesrisepodcast.com.

In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, Ostron and Ryu went to PAX Unplugged and talked to the goodfolk of Goodman Games.

Next we check out some D&D News, brought to you by the letters “O”, “G”, “L” and the number 1.1. Yeah, we’ve got some things to wade through.

After that we’ll take a Short Rest and head into the Gnomish Workshop and take a look at everyone’s AC; before finally heading into the Scrying Pool to see what you [all] have to say.

• OGL
• Statement
  • https://www.dndbeyond.com/posts/1423-an-update-on-the-open-game-license-ogl
• Apology
  • https://www.dndbeyond.com/posts/1428-a-working-conversation-about-the-open-game-license
• Update
  • https://www.dndbeyond.com/posts/1432-starting-the-ogl-playtest
• ORC
  • https://paizo.com/community/blog/v5748dyo6si7v
• D&D Beyond Thread
  • https://twitter.com/DnDBeyond/status/1615879300414062593
• D&D Beyond Thread
  • https://www.belloflostsouls.net/2023/01/everything-else-not-covered-by-dds-creative-commons-release-elves-dwarves-more.html

Community Questions

• So if you didn’t write to us with your impressions of the OGL last episode, we’re still open to opinions.
• If you did write in, has anything that happened since then changed your opinion?
• So what’s the highest AC you’ve ever been able to get a character to? How did you manage it? What about the other way? Ever been at -1 without using THAC0?

Support the show

Our adventure has now ended, and we've hung up our robe and wizard hats to enjoy our retirement on the Sword Coast, running a tavern where a fresh band of adventurers may meet and start quests of their own. We're still around on Discord, and you should come and join the Heroes Rise community at http://discord.heroesrisepodcast.com

A special thanks to Vindsvept for making the awesome music you hear throughout the show, be sure to check him out at vindsvept.bandcamp.com; and a special thanks to the designer of our banners and avatars, Lo of Lo’s Lair — you can find him on X @Los_Lair and on Facebook at facebook.com/LosLair

Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 232nd entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday January 7th 2023, and released Wednesday January 11th 2023 over at heroesrisepodcast.com.

Unfortunately Ostron can’t join us this week. According to his vacation request he has to, quote “attend a wild party”... Wait, that can’t be right… Maybe he meant a “wild-magic party”? That still doesn’t seem right… Anyway, playing the role of “guy who ruins everyone’s fun” tonight is Tony from our sister-show, Guard Frequency.

In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, Ryu shows us a new (Android) app she’s chatting with

Next we check out some D&D News as we take a look at the OneD&D Cleric and Species Playtest, and since there’s a lawyer on the show we thought it would be a waste to not at least touch on the OGL 1.1 controversy. Well, *I* thought it would be a waste, anyway…

After that we’ll take a Short Rest and hear some Wisdom of the Masters on why everybody’s getting a gun (it’s not related to having a lawyer on the show, we promise); before finally heading into the Scrying Pool to see what you [all] have to say.

Community Questions

• Will you be using AI to seed your game ideas? What about generating an entire campaign?
• What’s your take on the OGL debacle? Will the Twitter account “D&D Advice from a Six Year Old” need to start paying royalties to Wizards?
• We’ve all heard the legend of Tucker’s Kobolds (and if you haven’t, seriously, Google it), but what about your campaigns? When did the enemies behave a little *too* intelligently? Did you ever have masterminds acting like mindless zombies?

Support the show

Our adventure has now ended, and we've hung up our robe and wizard hats to enjoy our retirement on the Sword Coast, running a tavern where a fresh band of adventurers may meet and start quests of their own. We're still around on Discord, and you should come and join the Heroes Rise community at http://discord.heroesrisepodcast.com

A special thanks to Vindsvept for making the awesome music you hear throughout the show, be sure to check him out at vindsvept.bandcamp.com; and a special thanks to the designer of our banners and avatars, Lo of Lo’s Lair — you can find him on X @Los_Lair and on Facebook at facebook.com/LosLair

Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. I’m Mikey, and joining us on our quest this evening is. . . no-one

Lennon is currently buried under 17 feet of snow

Ostron has locked himself in his room and says he “won’t come out until he solves it”

Ryu, or KayDee rather stormed out of the guild hall shouting “I’ll show them whose heart is three sizes too small”

RaeRae got a unicorn as a gift so theres no telling when or if we’ll ever see her again

Branwen is building a new Ikea scratching post for Cinder

Gath accidentally glued his mouth closed while assembling minis

Bloodlake is out buying some Universal Solvent to unglue Gath

Tomathanes is on hold with tech support because his sending stone bricked when he tried to update the firmware

Indigo Spectre has wildshaped into a goldfish and I’m not sure which one is him, and which is his pet, and at this point I’m too afraid to ask

And Tony emphatically says he “doesn’t do any work between December 20th and January 5th”

Oh, the Research Beholders heard Tony, liked his idea, and they’re on sabbatical now too.

But the show must go on.  Seeing as this show has already gone pear shaped, let’s keep to the theme and have a listen back to all the times the wheels fell off over the past year.  Here’s the best of the worst of 2022

Support the show

Our adventure has now ended, and we've hung up our robe and wizard hats to enjoy our retirement on the Sword Coast, running a tavern where a fresh band of adventurers may meet and start quests of their own. We're still around on Discord, and you should come and join the Heroes Rise community at http://discord.heroesrisepodcast.com

A special thanks to Vindsvept for making the awesome music you hear throughout the show, be sure to check him out at vindsvept.bandcamp.com; and a special thanks to the designer of our banners and avatars, Lo of Lo’s Lair — you can find him on X @Los_Lair and on Facebook at facebook.com/LosLair

Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 231st entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday December 10th 2022, and released Wednesday December 14th 2022 over at heroesrisepodcast.com.

In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, Ryu and Ostron went to PAX Unplugged in Philadelphia last week and spoke to some people called … “Wiz?” kids? I dunno, they’re probably not a big deal.

Next we check out some D&D News as we take a look at the latest hardcover release, Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen

After that we’ll take a Short Rest and head into the Archives of Candlekeep and look at all things Thessal (and how to make them); before finally heading into the Scrying Pool to see what you [all] have to say.

Community Questions

• What was your favorite official release from WotC this past year? Which one completely missed for you?
• What do you expect to see from WotC in 2023? Which of the announced releases (such as Keys from the Golden Vault, Bigby Presents “Glory of the Giants”, or Planescape) are you most excited about?
• Finally, how did we do in 2022? Did you have a favorite segment? Short Rest bit? Blooper? 

Support the show

Our adventure has now ended, and we've hung up our robe and wizard hats to enjoy our retirement on the Sword Coast, running a tavern where a fresh band of adventurers may meet and start quests of their own. We're still around on Discord, and you should come and join the Heroes Rise community at http://discord.heroesrisepodcast.com

A special thanks to Vindsvept for making the awesome music you hear throughout the show, be sure to check him out at vindsvept.bandcamp.com; and a special thanks to the designer of our banners and avatars, Lo of Lo’s Lair — you can find him on X @Los_Lair and on Facebook at facebook.com/LosLair

Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 230th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday November 26th 2022, and released Wednesday November 30th 2022 over at heroesrisepodcast.com.

In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, Ryu has found something more deadly than an official adventure’s first level encounters… [volume 1 | volume 2]

Next we answer all of those D&D questions we never thought we’d get asked as DMs, as we gather around the campfire and engage in some Dissonant Whispers

After that we’ll take a Short Rest and head into the Archives of Candlekeep and get the lowdown on Graz’zt; before finally heading into the Scrying Pool to see what you [all] have to say.

Community Questions

• When was the last time you suffered or inflicted a TPK in a game? Was it fair, or were people crying BS?
• We got the opinions of the hosts and the patrons, but what’s your take on our Dissonant Whisper questions? How do you see radiant damage manifesting? How do you knock snakes prone? How *does* mimic poop behave?
• Finally, what’s your ruling on wishing for the wish spell to be eliminated? Would you allow it? What are the ramifications?

Heroes Rise are always on the lookout for new team members that  have a passion for Dungeons and Dragons. Please know that all of our  positions are volunteer, but we do offer a well known outlet for your  work. If you have a particular skill that you believe could enhance our  content, then send your contact information and experience to [email protected]

You can also follow us on the social media sites! Check us out on Twitter via @heroesrisednd for details of our show times and other fun stuff. You can also join us on Discord! http://discord.heroesrisepodcast.com

Liked this episode? Totally hated it? Leave a comment below, or contact us using our handy web form.

A special thanks to Vindsvept for making the awesome music you hear throughout the show, be sure to

Support the show

Our adventure has now ended, and we've hung up our robe and wizard hats to enjoy our retirement on the Sword Coast, running a tavern where a fresh band of adventurers may meet and start quests of their own. We're still around on Discord, and you should come and join the Heroes Rise community at http://discord.heroesrisepodcast.com

A special thanks to Vindsvept for making the awesome music you hear throughout the show, be sure to check him out at vindsvept.bandcamp.com; and a special thanks to the designer of our banners and avatars, Lo of Lo’s Lair — you can find him on X @Los_Lair and on Facebook at facebook.com/LosLair

Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 229th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday November 12th 2022, and released Wednesday November 16th 2022 over at heroesrisepodcast.com.

This week we’re going to wander into the Market of Minauros to see what mysterious and magical items have filtered up for sale.

• Angel's Bacchanalia: Holiday Feasts & Celebrations for D&D 
• Itza’s Guide to Dragonbonding: A DnD 5e supplement 
• Quest Decks 2.0: Adventure Cards for your RPG Games 

Next we check out some D&D News as we discuss the new art released for Takhisis, as well as looking at the prelude to adventure for Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen; and then we’ll open up our Quest Logs as Indigo Specter takes us through the Tomb of Annihilation

After that we’ll take a Short Rest and head into the Archives of Candlekeep and learn all about the Gnolls and Yeenoghu, before finally heading into the Scrying Pool to see what you [all] have to say.

Community Questions

• Are any of the Kickstarters catching your eye? Do you want more food mechanics, or just a raucous party? How about adventuring with dragons and driving your DM completely mental? Or do you just need some quests?
• What do you think of the prelude adventures and the invite to the funeral? Is this a clever, inclusive way to get characters onboard with the adventure and lore, or do you think this is just a copy of Phandelver’s tired, old method?
• You’ve got a gnoll, a goblin, and a kobold. Who’s your money on for the fight? What if they’re in groups? Full armies?

Heroes Rise are always on the lookout for new team members that  have a passion for Dungeons and Dragons. Please know that all of our  positions are volunteer, but we do offer a well known outlet for your  work. If you have a particular skill that you believe could enhance our  content, then send your contact information and experience to [email protected] 

You can also follow us on the social media sites! Check us out on Twitter via @heroesrisednd for details of our show times and other fun stuff. You can also join us on Discord! http:

Support the show

Our adventure has now ended, and we've hung up our robe and wizard hats to enjoy our retirement on the Sword Coast, running a tavern where a fresh band of adventurers may meet and start quests of their own. We're still around on Discord, and you should come and join the Heroes Rise community at http://discord.heroesrisepodcast.com

A special thanks to Vindsvept for making the awesome music you hear throughout the show, be sure to check him out at vindsvept.bandcamp.com; and a special thanks to the designer of our banners and avatars, Lo of Lo’s Lair — you can find him on X @Los_Lair and on Facebook at facebook.com/LosLair

Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 228th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday October 29th 2022, and released Wednesday November 2nd 2022 over at heroesrisepodcast.com.

In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, Lennon has somehow lost his atlas. Luckily, he can just search for a new one.

Next we check out some D&D News as we discuss the upcoming adventure module release: Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen

• Dragonlance 
  • What is Dragonlance 
  • Knights of Solamnia [1], [2]
  • High Mages of Sorcery [1], [2]
  • Lunar Sorcerer Preview  [1], [2]
• Heroes Rise 206 
• Beadle and Grimm’s Shadow of the Dragon Queen Steel Edition 

After that we take a Short Rest and hear some Wisdom of the Masters on why you’re coming with me, before finally heading into the Scrying Pool to see what you [all] have to say.

Community Questions

• So how do you think Wizards is going to make the encounters more deadly to justify the extra feats? Are they going to introduce new complexity and harder tactical challenges? Or are they just going to use CR 5 creatures instead of CR ⅓
• Relatedly, do you think the Lunar Sorcerer is a nice boost to the sorcerer’s power and is in line with what the adventure demands, or is this going way too far and making every other spellcasting class obsolete?
• When’s the last time you were held against your will? What purpose did it serve in the story? Are you okay?

Heroes Rise are always on the lookout for new team members that  have a passion for Dungeons and Dragons. Please know that all of our  positions are volunteer, but we do offer a well known outlet for your  work. If you have a particular skill that you believe could enhance our  content, then send your contact information and experience to [email protected] 

You can also follow us on the social media sites!

Support the show

Our adventure has now ended, and we've hung up our robe and wizard hats to enjoy our retirement on the Sword Coast, running a tavern where a fresh band of adventurers may meet and start quests of their own. We're still around on Discord, and you should come and join the Heroes Rise community at http://discord.heroesrisepodcast.com

A special thanks to Vindsvept for making the awesome music you hear throughout the show, be sure to check him out at vindsvept.bandcamp.com; and a special thanks to the designer of our banners and avatars, Lo of Lo’s Lair — you can find him on X @Los_Lair and on Facebook at facebook.com/LosLair

Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 227th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday October 15th, and released Wednesday October 19th over at heroesrisepodcast.com.

In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, Ryu has crafted a new spearhead!

Then we head into the Archives of Candlekeep and take a Long Rest as we attempt to tackle a subject that’s taken 38 mainline novels to cover: the legendary deeds of Drizzt Do’Urden

And finally we’ll be heading into the Scrying Pool to see what you [all] have to say.

Community Questions

• What’s your experience with Drizzt Do’Urden? Have you read all of the novels? Any of the novels? Has he shown up in a video or RL game?
• And now that everyone has a baseline impression, what do you think of the prototypical drow ranger? Is he a worthy figure to carry the D&D banner after overcoming adversity and solving problems in truly heroic fashion? Or is he the ultimate Mary Sue, trudging through melodramatic stories long after the author should have moved on?

Heroes Rise are always on the lookout for new team members that have a passion for Dungeons and Dragons. Please know that all of our positions are volunteer, but we do offer a well known outlet for your work. If you have a particular skill that you believe could enhance our content, then send your contact information and experience to [email protected]

You can also follow us on the social media sites! Check us out on Twitter via @heroesrisednd for details of our show times and other fun stuff. You can also join us on Discord! http://discord.heroesrisepodcast.com

Liked this episode? Totally hated it? Leave a comment below, or contact us using our handy web form.

A special thanks to Vindsvept for making the awesome music you hear throughout the show, be sure to check him out at vindsvept.bandcamp.com; and a special thanks to the designer of our banners and avatars, Lo of Lo’s Lair — you can find him on Twitter @Los_Lair and on Facebook at facebook.com/LosLair

Support the show

Our adventure has now ended, and we've hung up our robe and wizard hats to enjoy our retirement on the Sword Coast, running a tavern where a fresh band of adventurers may meet and start quests of their own. We're still around on Discord, and you should come and join the Heroes Rise community at http://discord.heroesrisepodcast.com

A special thanks to Vindsvept for making the awesome music you hear throughout the show, be sure to check him out at vindsvept.bandcamp.com; and a special thanks to the designer of our banners and avatars, Lo of Lo’s Lair — you can find him on X @Los_Lair and on Facebook at facebook.com/LosLair

Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 226th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday October 1st, and released Wednesday October 5th over at heroesrisepodcast.com.

In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, Ostron’s been keeping a database of critters… Hopefully that’s a list of creatures, and not a list of Critical Role fans… Anyway

Next we check out some D&D News as we take a look at how the next edition is going back to the future, with the latest Unearthed Arcana for the OneD&D Playtest: Expert Classes.

After that we take a Short Rest and head into the Archives of Candlekeep and learn all about Lord Soth (aka Strahd Light); before finally heading into the Scrying Pool to see what you [all] have to say.

Community Questions

• The new UA is out! What do you think about the new classes? Do you agree the ranger has a role now? Is the bard being pigeon-holed? Is the rogue…a rogue?
• What do you think of the feats and rule changes the UA dropped on us. Are they continuing a positive trend in tweaking and cleaning up the rough edges of 5e? Or are they dragging the game down into a muted, unfun mess of confusion?

Heroes Rise are always on the lookout for new team members that  have a passion for Dungeons and Dragons. Please know that all of our  positions are volunteer, but we do offer a well known outlet for your  work. If you have a particular skill that you believe could enhance our  content, then send your contact information and experience to [email protected]

You can also follow us on the social media sites! Check us out on Twitter via @heroesrisednd for details of our show times and other fun stuff. You can also join us on Discord! http://discord.heroesrisepodcast.com

Liked this episode? Totally hated it? Leave a comment below, or contact us using our handy web form.

A special thanks to Vindsvept for making the awesome music you hear throughout the show, be sure to check him out at vindsvept.bandcamp.com; and a special thanks to the designer of our banners and avatars, Lo of Lo’s Lair — you can find him on Tw

Support the show

Our adventure has now ended, and we've hung up our robe and wizard hats to enjoy our retirement on the Sword Coast, running a tavern where a fresh band of adventurers may meet and start quests of their own. We're still around on Discord, and you should come and join the Heroes Rise community at http://discord.heroesrisepodcast.com

A special thanks to Vindsvept for making the awesome music you hear throughout the show, be sure to check him out at vindsvept.bandcamp.com; and a special thanks to the designer of our banners and avatars, Lo of Lo’s Lair — you can find him on X @Los_Lair and on Facebook at facebook.com/LosLair

Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 225th entry into our chronicle, recorded at various points over the last 5 years, and released Wednesday 21st September over at heroesrisepodcast.com

With one host missing and a lack of sulpherous stand-ins, Lennon and Ostron help Bloodlake out with some DM tips... At least until Ostron falls asleep.

• Zero Triggers
• The Tone of Your Campaign
• New Players and Combat
• Intelligent Villains
• Winging It

The Future of Heroes Rise
As you may have noticed in recent months, Wizards of the Coast has been a little slower to release content. When Heroes Rise started, Wizards’ marketing strategy relied much more on being constantly in the public eye. That is no longer how Wizards operates. Their approach now seems to be more of a blitz, where tons of content will drop all at once, and then they go quiet for weeks or even months at a time. What it means for us, as a D&D news podcast, is that it’s getting harder and harder to find content and continue producing a quality show on a weekly basis. There are a few live play shows supported and highlighted by Wizards, but that’s never been the type of content we focused on and we don’t feel it would make sense to do that now.

For that reason, we’re switching to fortnightly-weekly releases. You’ll still get myself, Ostron, and Ryu, along with our guest hosts as needed, ROSTRO, the KillerDM, and the mimic I swear is around here somewhere, but every other week. Of course, if there’s something like a major piece of news that simply can’t wait, we'll probably do it as soon as possible. It’s also possible we’ll use the off weeks to do some other types of content, particularly for our Patrons. Stay tuned for more on that.

We know that this may come as a disappointment to you, but please be assured this decision is borne out of our desire to produce a quality show. We assume you’d rather have us maintain our standards than compromise just for the sake of getting out an episode every week. If you have questions or concerns, feel free to submit them as feedback or message us directly.

Community Questions

• What’s your story of when the biggest enemy your character faced was gravity? Was it a nice, gentle conclusion, or a hard stop at the end?
• Are you familiar with Advanced 5e? Have you played in the Amethyst setting before? Any stories from those experiences you’d like to share? 

Heroes Rise are always on the lookout for new team members that  have a passion for Dungeons and Dragons. Please know that all of our  positions are volunteer, but we do offer a well known outlet for your  work. If you have a particular skill that you believe could enhance our  content, then send your contact information and experience to sendingstone@heroesrisepodca

Support the show

Our adventure has now ended, and we've hung up our robe and wizard hats to enjoy our retirement on the Sword Coast, running a tavern where a fresh band of adventurers may meet and start quests of their own. We're still around on Discord, and you should come and join the Heroes Rise community at http://discord.heroesrisepodcast.com

A special thanks to Vindsvept for making the awesome music you hear throughout the show, be sure to check him out at vindsvept.bandcamp.com; and a special thanks to the designer of our banners and avatars, Lo of Lo’s Lair — you can find him on X @Los_Lair and on Facebook at facebook.com/LosLair