Post What You Love/DnD Rant From A Madman

Since we're finally heading into the week of Thanksgiving, I figured it would be an appropriate time to finally make the post where we can all share things we love/things that make us happy/things that we appreciate. I want this to be a post where we can just go off about our particular hyperfixations or what have you! Please share all of the intricate nerdy details. I wanna hear about your passions and why you love what you do! Feel free to participate! Give as little or as much as you want to. I'll start us off.

Although I've played and DM'd in the past, this year, my main hobby and one of my most important springs of joy has been DnD (Dungeons and Dragons). DnD is a tabletop role playing game. Essentially what this means is that one person (called the Dungeon Master, or DM) creates a world and a story, and other people (known as players, or collectively known as a party) create characters to play in that world. When everyone really gets into character and everything hits just right, there is truly nothing like it. It is such an expressive game with infinite possibilities, lightly guided by rules found in the Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide.

This semester, I started a campaign with 3 of my friends. The basis for our campaign is an adventure module/source book called Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos. In this game, I am the DM, and my players have all made characters who are attending the most well known mage school in the multiverse: Strixhaven! I've been running this adventure as more of slice of life adventure with a bit of action here and there. What this essentially means is that this campaign is heavily focused on the day-to-day happenings of each of my players and what goes on in their classes, jobs, and extracurriculars. There are tons of NPCs (Non Player Characters) that the party gets to interact with, befriend, love, hate, and even date! (That's right, Strixhaven has a whole dating simulator built in, and although it's not for everyone, my party loves it!). 

Of course, there is a Big Bad Evil Guy (or BBEG) that is secretly pulling some strings and causing some chaos on campus. My party has to focus on trying to make it through their first semester of magical classes, maintain relationships, get enough money to pay for their extracurriculars, take tests on Owlbears, and so much more! I've been absolutely in love with it and it's such a fun creative space for me to write and roleplay in. 

Strixhaven as a source book doesn't give you a whole lot to work with in terms of an actual adventure. However, it lays a lot of really good groundwork with which to build off of! Ultimately, DnD is a cooperative story telling game, and some amazing things have come from having to fill the gaps that the book has left for me. For instance, my party has discovered there's something weird going on with the various cogwork automatons that keep Strixhaven function: every night their memories are wiped, as each individual day progresses, they become more existential and emotional. This whole plot point came from a one off joke that one of my party members made and, although they don't know it yet, is going to one of the bigger plot points in their second year at Strixhaven. Additionally, they've met a secretive group of underground nerds who called themselves The Endless Nameless, who are also interested in the mysterious happenings at Strixhaven.

There's an endless amount of possibilities and I'm having so much fun with it. In our most recent sessions, one of my party members accidentally set up a date with someone and that is going to be absolutely hilarious to roleplay. Additionally, they're going to be challenged to a freshman initiation challenge where they have to sneak into one of the campus buildings at night and steal a well guarded artifact. I'm so excited!!

Here's a few of the NPCs they've been interacting with. 

Pictured first is Grayson, the rich kid who almost definitely got accepted to Strixhaven through nepotism alone. He's become the party's rival, and one of my party members is scheduled to have a mage duel with him soon. The second picture is Melwythorne, a Dryad with an unbelievably flat demeanor who is so tired of everyone asking him what it's like to be a tree. Third is Rosimyffenbip “Rosie” Wuzfeddlims (and yes, she does want to be addressed by her full name every time), the small, excitable, fast-talking gnome who talks circles arounds everyone she meets. She's the one that one of my players accidentally set up a date with! Finally, there's Javenesh Stoutclaw, the 2nd year who will be challenging my party to infiltrate a building as a Freshman challenge. He works at the local pub, The Bow's End Tavern, and thinks the way that first years act is hilarious

The first picture here is Plargg, Dean of Chaos, one of my favorite professors the party has had so far. He is an orc who was blinded in a war. He's known for his eccentric behavior, love for chaos, and for belittling his fellow dean Augusta Tullus, Dean of Order. Also pictured is Augusta. They work together in the college of Lorehold, for better or for worse. The third picture is Verelda Lang, Arcano-Biologist for the Witherbloom college. She teaches the students about the various creatures and critters that inhabit the multiverse (and sometimes Strixhaven)

Finally, I'll share Tulk "The Bulk" Tusktooth, head chef and manager of the Bow's End Tavern. His classic dish "just a whole chicken" is a one of the most popular orders. Paralleling him is Ellina Tanglewood, who runs the Firejolt Cafe, where she personally heats every cup of coffee using her fire magic. She has a New Jersey accent and somehow fails to see how desperately her little shop needs more workers, despite the pleas of her employees!

OKAY FINE I'LL ALSO POST THE MASCOTS FROM EACH OF THE COLLEGES, BUT THAT'S IT!!
In order, these are the mascots from each college:
The Lorehold Spirit Statue, The Prismari Art Elemental, The Quandrix Fractal, The Silverquill Inkling, and the Witherbloom Pest (my personal favorite)

Alright, that's my huge overshare. I could write about this all day so I truly have to force myself to stop. I hope you guys find time to post about whatever it is that makes you feel the way that DnD does for me. Writing this was so much fun, and I really hope it's not so bloated that it's just annoying lol have a good break this week guys!!