This trailer for MTG's Lorwyn Eclipsed is freaking fantastic...

The lore for Magic: The Gathering (which I will still stand behind as my favorite game ever) has entered a strange place over the past several years.  For a while there - and as I think I may have noted on here a time or two - the MTG story team at WotC was absolutely killin' it from my perspective.  (In a good way, in case that isn't clear.)  They repeatedly addressed the question, "What would ____ look like as an MTG world?" with creativity and genuine affection for both the mother IP and the genres that were tackled.  Along the way, there were some real high points for fans of innovative, game-able worlds (especially, as MTG lore fans are called, Vorthoses): the fantasy cyberpunk of Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, for example, and the friendly anthro-animal antics of Bloomburrow were both pretty well-received.

That's not to say that every decision was 100% spot-on.  Folks got tired of what came to be known as hat sets, the expansions that overlaid a theme on the MTG multiverse partly by putting characters in hats that you don't expect in a traditional fantasy setting...for example, cowboy hats for a Western set and detective hats (or...sort of fedoras, I guess...) for a murder mystery set.  (It really is interesting that the sets that have been praised over this time - like those mentioned above - basically followed the same gameplan as the oft-dismissed hat sets, they just didn't put characters in funny hats.  So, while I suspect that the set design and gameplay also had an impact on the sets' reception...well, maybe there really is something to this hat thing...)

Of course, that approach is arguably negligible when you consider the biggest change to the MTG creative approach over the last several years: the release of Universes Beyond sets (which feature IPs outside of MTG's regular lore) and their eventual incorporation into the regular cadence of yearly set releases.  Right now, in Magic's Standard format - which is treated as the "default" format for competitive MTG enough to be called "Standard" - folks are playing with cards representing the lore of Final Fantasy, Avatar (the Airbender type), and (perhaps most surprisingly) freaking Spider-Man.

I will admit that I am so far undecided on how I feel about this "invasion" of other IPs into the MTG battles played out on tabletops around the world.  (I don't play enough currently, especially out in public with strangers, to really have an opinion yet.)  BUT...I can definitely understand why this grinds the gears of many MTG lore devotees.  It has not gone unnoticed that when the Ninja Turtles set (yep) drops in about a month and a half, there will be more currently available Magic expansions set in New York City than in most of the (maybe any...?) original MTG worlds.  And I'm kind of okay with that (I like NYC!), but it is...weird.

Anyway...all of that is to say that when this promotion for the new set Lorwyn Eclipsed was released a couple of weeks ago, it was such a breath of fresh air that I don't think some MTG lore fanatics knew what to do with themselves.  The bright plane of Lorwyn and its dark counterpart Shadowmoor are built upon the folklore of the British Isles, and the new set (which just had prerelease tourneys this past weekend) really examines the interaction between the contrasts of the related planes.  And that includes this amazing music video, featuring some beautiful puppet renditions of the settings' goblins (AKA boggarts), produced by The Jim Henson Company.

I'll quit rambling now so you can just enjoy this video...

[Biome] Goblins for 5e-ish games

I've been thinking a lot about forest goblins lately.  You know how that is.

So...I guess I should start by just making it clear that I like goblins.  Quite a bit, actually.  This is at least partially a direct result of my loyalty to the lovable little troublemakers in Magic: The Gathering.  I really enjoy playing so-called 'typal' decks, and Goblins are probably the creature type that I've built around the most (with Merfolk as the only other group that could maybe mount a challenge for that 'honor').  Goblins have a great history in the game and a lot of solid cards that still manage to feel like underdogs due to their often tiny stats and goofy themes...even if we all know they're actually quite good within the rules and goals of the game...

For the most part, MTG's goblins fit a fairly standard fantasy model.  There have been lots of little green guys.  Over 30+ years of history, though, they have managed to mix it up pretty well...with a few quick examples being the turtle-like Akki from the plane of Kamigawa and the bipedal rodents who serve as snacks for dragons on the plane of Jund.

Which (sort of) brings me to forest goblins.  Creatures in MTG usually represent at least one of the colors of the game, and goblins are the iconic small creature type for the color Red (with the accompanying iconic large creature type being dragons).  Red is the color of chaos, emotion, fire, and lightning, and...perhaps most informatively with regard to goblins...its mana is found naturally in mountains.  This fits nicely, I think, with our regular association of goblins with mountains, hills, and caves.

There are MTG goblins that touch each of the five colors, and some of my previous blog posts probably reveal my affinity for the little guys all across the spectrum, including those that (perhaps unexpectedly) deal in Blue or White mana.  After Red, though, MTG's goblins are most common in the colors that serve as Red's 'allies'...Black (death from the swamps) and Green (growth from the forests).  And as with many aspects of fantasy fiction, I have often found myself drawn to the elements that reflect a connection to nature...which in the case of goblins, usually means they tend toward the feral and shamanic.  Here are a few of the cool gobbos that touch green:

Naturally (heh), I'd like to work some goblins into the gaming projects that are currently solidifying around my hopes and daydreams.  They've shown up in the Monstrous Matters campaign as part of a pretty key plot point, and there's no reason they shouldn't be able to menace the elite soldiers in UNLTD or the time-traveling Agents of SKA (time goblins?).  And there's one other very specific reason that I want to make some solid rules for forest goblins...which I'll get to soon...hopefully in my next post...hopefully.  As with many fantasy species, though, I think goblins lend themselves to categorization based upon their biome of choice...so it should be easy to have a simple setup for creating Forest Goblins, Swamp Goblins, Desert Goblins, and so on...

I have the Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica and checked out the Goblin species there for some inspiration.  Also drawing from the Goblin's stats as a 5e monster and as an OGL species from Arcanist Press's More Ancestries & Cultures, I think a ____ Goblin that covers the necessary bases while allowing for some environmental flavor should be pretty straightforward.  Let's try this...

[Biome] Goblin

Forest goblin art by Paul Bonner, found via the Scent of a Gamer blog

_____ Goblin Traits

Speed: 30 feet

Ability Score Increase: Your Dexterity score increases by 2, and your Constitution score increases by 1.

Darkvision: Goblins typically have darkvision at a range of 60 feet; for some biomes, evolution may have led to this being lost or even replaced by a visual ability more useful in that environment.

Size: Adult goblins are generally between 3 and 4.5 feet tall; their weight can vary greatly due to a large range in how thickly they are framed.  Overall, they are usually classified as small.

Age: Goblins usually mature faster than humans, reaching adulthood and old age at earlier points in their lifetimes.  A 50-year-old goblin is a rarity.  Some groups of goblins may age at about the same rate as humans, but you will never find goblins that are as long-lived as elves or dwarves.

Languages: Goblins are fluent in the common language of the game world, as well their own particular dialect of the Goblin language. They are often literate in settings where this is feasible for a goblin.

Nimble Escape: You can take the Disengage or Hide action as a bonus action on each of your turns.

At HOME in the BiOME: You aren't just a Goblin.  You're a Mountain Goblin.  Or a Swamp Goblin.  Or maybe a Forest Goblin.  You may treat whichever biome you are from as favored terrain, with the corresponding bonuses granted to a Ranger with the Natural Explorer ability.

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Five categories of magic for a fantastically heartbreaking Mage

For my ongoing fantasy-heartbreaker-work-in-progress, I have now written out at least a first draft describing the magic types that Mages can choose from when they reach Level 2.

The current text for that section of the class description is below.  All thoughts and criticisms and questions and suggestions are welcome!

Image from the Super7 site

As a new spellcaster, a Mage is free to dabble in all types of low-level magic. At 2nd level, however, the Mage must choose a type of magic and its accompanying approach to spellcasting to shape their further development within the class. The magical classifications can sometimes run together, and it has been observed by many practitioners that each style has a pair of accompanying approaches that it appears to ally with most easily. The options include:

•  Arcane magic (alternatively: Esoteric, Metaphysical) – Arcane magic is learned through rigorous exercises and detailed study. It is capable of affecting our physical realm by manipulating the metaphysical framework that lies beneath. Practitioners of arcane magic are often known as Wizards.

•  Eldritch magic (alternatively: Profane, Diabolic, Demonic) – Eldritch magic relies upon the help of one or more entities from a realm outside of our own. The ethical motivation of a deity or other agent enabling Eldritch magic is often opposed to or incomprehensible within the framework of universal human morality, and may even appear chaotic from a human perspective. Those who wield Eldritch magic are often called Warlocks.

•  Impulsive magic (alternatively: Fervent, Elemental) – Impulsive magic is powered by the raw emotion of the realm, often intertwined with the supernatural urges of the very elements that make up the multiverse. Impulsive magic is often used by those we call Shamans.

•  Nature magic (alternatively: Worldly, Earthly, Terrestrial) – Nature magic is the supernatural expression of the will of the natural world. This will leans toward growth, health, symbiosis, and -- most of all -- balance. Nature magic sometimes seems elemental in nature but is more likely generated by the interactions of elements than by basic elemental motivations. Those who practice Nature magic are often known to others as Druids.

•  Divine magic (alternatively: Holy, Godly) – Much like Eldritch magic, Divine magic depends upon the assistance of a supernaturally powerful being that exists beyond normal human understanding. Unlike the magic practiced by Warlocks, however, Divine magic usually conforms to the values of traditional human religions. Note that this does not necessarily mean that all Divine magic is good; there are also aspects of it that restrict freedom, enforce conformity, and discourage creativity. Practitioners of Divine magic are often called Clerics.

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Next up for my fantasy heartbreaker: The Mage!

I'm really doing it!  I'm plodding forward with my fantasy heartbreaker!

(Those sentences were as much about positive affirmation as they were about exposition.  But really...I think I'm doing it...)

I introduced a minimalist Warrior class a couple weeks ago.  Now it's time to take a look at those who choose to wield magic.  Alongside the Warrior, there shall be...

The Mage

I don't think I've ever shied away from making it obvious that my view of fantasy is heavily influenced by Magic: The Gathering.  One of the most interesting aspects of the magic employed in MTG lore is the balance of five colors, each with their own goals and methods.

From the MTG Wiki

I really don't know that it can be overstated how elegantly brilliant this cosmology is.  While I know that colors of magic and a circular grouping of elements is a whole trope in itself (one that I played around with consolidating earlier this year), the MTG color wheel has been a robust foundation for both the mechanics of the game and the philosophical underpinnings of the game's world for more than 30 years, and there's no sign that the approach has lost any luster over time.  If you want to check out a really solid article about the colors of Magic and their real-world implications, you'll probably want to click here to see Duncan Sabien's treatise "The MTG Color Wheel (& Humanity)."  It's a great read and worth some re-reads!

The MTG team has taken a lot of care over the years to give their in-universe magic wielders the trappings of fantasy lore that best fit the colors.  Blue magic-users are almost always wizards, for example, while black mages might be wizards, but they also could be clerics or warlocks.  This taxonomy reached an apex of symmetry in the expansion Strixhaven: School of Mages in 2021.  The set is based upon the happenings at a university of magic -- the titular Strixhaven -- which is divided into five colleges, each based upon one of MTG's pairs of "enemy" colors (the ones that oppose each other on the wheel above).

Furthermore, the nature of each college highlights the tension between its constituent colors on an axis that makes them "enemies."  The red-blue college, for instance, is Prismari, focused on the arts.  Students and faculty here may take a very blue approach, working to understand the elements of their craft and how they interact to produce a reaction in an audience.  Or...they might be very red, concerned only with passionately expressing the feelings that drive them to create.

It's a pretty cool setup.  And since the set is filled with mages of all five colors and some mixtures thereof, the MTG team firmly divided up the "character classes" (creature types) of the cards by color, with each color getting one term to describe the practitioners of its magic.  Here is one of the cycles of the set, the Pledgemages...each one is a species associated with one color, and the class of mage associated with its partner:

From a Scryfall search

And I love this.  It satisfies some of the fundamental cravings of my neurodivergence.  It's just so round...so symmetrical...so clean!

And so...that's what I want to bring into the Monstrous Heartbreaker's Mage.  I'm already working on a general class model where each hits a point of specialization at level 2.  For the Mage, second level will be when a player determines if their character is actually a druid, a shaman, a warlock, a wizard, or a cleric.  It shouldn't be too difficult to assign each spell one or more sources of power according to the D&D classes that cast it.  I just need to figure out exactly what to call these types of magic.  Right now, I'm working with...

Wizard (blue) - Arcane or Metaphysical

Warlock (black) - Eldritch or Diabolic

Cleric (white) - Divine or Holy

Druid (green) - Nature maybe?  (Not sure I like Primal...)

Shaman (red) - This is the toughest one to me.  Elemental?  Emotional?  Passion?  I'm very open to ideas!!

So hopefully, when next I post on the heartbreaker, I'll have this terminology figured out and have a class laid out for building...!

Meta Monday: The Sabin Train Suplex becomes an MTG card...

I just have a quick nod to something interestingly meta for today's post.  There's actually a LOT worth rambling about with this, as it comes at a sort of inflection point for Magic: The Gathering...which is morphing from a franchise obsessively restricted to its own universe into a brand that devotes about half of its efforts to mixing in other brands.  As you might imagine, there are plenty of people who don't like the fact that Spider-Man will soon be battling it out at Friday Night Magic against MTG's elves, angels, and dragons.

My thoughts are still developing on this.  In the meantime, though, I find it interesting that connecting all of these universes from different types of original media may provide for some interesting twists in reality.  I don't know that this is the best example of it, but it's the one that really got me thinking...

This is card is from an upcoming MTG set based upon the Final Fantasy franchise.  Apparently this reference is instantly recognizable to FF fans, as there have been all sorts of articles the past few days about "Final Fantasy's biggest meme" being turned into a Magic card.  (I'll admit that I wasn't familiar with it, but you can check out its Know Your Meme page here if you want to get a little more info.)  Briefly...in Final Fantasy VI, the monk character Sabin has an ability called Suplex...which does what it sounds like it should do...and for some reason, he can use this move on a train...

So now this ability is a card that can either damage a creature (nail 'em with the wrestling move) OR get rid of a train (or any other artifact).  I'm having a really hard time even articulating in my own head why this is an interesting meta twist to me.  I guess it just seems like such a video game moment.  So if we follow the trail of...

1.  There's a game about summoning fantasy creatures to battle for you. (MTG)

2.  When playing a game about summoning fantasy creatures to battle for you, some people are able to tap (haha) into that magic for real, casting spells and bringing other beings into our reality. (Duel Masters)

3.  Because some of the magic that can be accessed is based upon a narrative originating in a video game, there are spells that follow the strange physics of 16-bit computing as practiced in a certain time and place. (FF in MTG)

Hmm.

Well, I think there's something cool here.  Maybe at some point I'll figure out how to express it in such a way that others find it cool too...[shrug emoji]

A Warrior for my Monstrous Heartbreaker

And now I'll take my first real crack at creating a whole character using the uber-simplified Warrior class I wrote about a couple days ago.  He's a guy from Ravnica.

I really love the setting of Ravnica and am pretty happy that it was the first Magic: The Gathering plane to have an official splatbook printed for it.  It's a sprawling city covering the entire plane, infused with magepunk technology and perpetually caught in a struggle for power among ten guilds, each of which represents one MTG's two-color combinations.  The red/green "guild" is a loosely affiliated group of clans called the Gruul who largely oppose the trappings of civilization and often seek to preserve -- or, uh, reintroduce -- wild spaces on the plane.

Among these clans is the Ghor, who have been represented on a number of cards in various Magic sets...

And their leader is the fearsome ogre warleader Ruric Thar...

Today, though, I'm just looking at one particular Ghor-Clan Wrecker (updated image coming along at some point)...

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Sergiu Pijha

Warrior, Level 5

Wallpaper-style artwork taken from here

Human, 26 years old

Birthplace: Ravnica, Tenth District

Guild: Gruul Clans (Ghor)

STR       DEX       CON      INT       WIS       CHA
16 (+2)  11 (--)   13 (+1)   8 (-1)    6 (-1)    11 (--)

HP 30     Move 30 ft. (6 units)
Attack Bonuses: +8 melee, +6 ranged (additional +2 when attacking with chain weapons)
Additional notes: 2 attacks per round, +1 damage on all attacks, +1 AC

Proficiencies
Skills: Athletics, Intimidation, Survival
Talents: Metalworking
Languages: Common, Goblin
Saves: Strength, Constitution
Weapons: All simple and martial weapons
Armor: All armor, shields

Sergiu Pijha was born in the heart of Ravnica and began an apprenticeship as a metalworker in his early teens.  About a year in, a shady redevelopment project funded by the Orzhov Syndicate forced the closure of the metal shop where he worked.  He arrived home that day to find that his parents had been arrested and his family's apartment ransacked by members of the Boros Legion.  Those events planted a seed of distrust that eventually grew into total opposition to the corrupt set of systems that we refer to as civilization.

He likes breaking shit and hitting people with chains.

MTG's Aetherdrift...I gotta say, it looks pretty rad.

This past Saturday, Pun posted some info on the Patreon project known as Planeshifted over at the Halls of the Nephilim.  This creator (Gabe Rodriguez, aka /u/letterephesus on Reddit) produces incredibly detailed and really high-quality 5e D&D supplements based on Magic: The Gathering lore, typically focusing each release on one of the planes of reality in which the MTG story takes place (hence the moniker, which also echoes the name of a series of unofficial D&D supplements based on MTG worlds that WotC released on their website).

One of the upcoming projects that I'm definitely looking forward to is a supplement based on the new MTG set coming out next weekend (with prereleases in just a couple of days, although I don't think I'll be able to make one): Aetherdrift.  For years now, I think the Magic story team has just been killing it (in a good way, in case that isn't obvious) with some aspects of the lore, mainly as they've started taking risks that seemed impossible when I started playing the game 25 years ago.  To me, Aetherdrift kind of seems like a culmination of those efforts; it's a set based upon a freaking road race that spans multiple planes in the MTG multiverse.  And it looks awesome!

From here.

The Aetherdrift story is certainly not without its detractors.  And...I do understand why.  Some of the most legitimate criticisms I've seen of the Magic story in recent years have been concerns that elements of the lore just didn't feel like the more traditional "magepunk" fantasy of earlier sets.  And yeah, when there's a Western-themed set, and we see that a known character is now wearing a sort-of-cowboy hat...well, it's easy to think that seems a little silly.

More directly for me...I loved that they returned to the plane of Ravnica -- my favorite in the MTG multiverse -- for the "murder mystery" themed set (I even picked up a copy of the Clue/Cluedo crossover release).  I think Ravnica represents a lot of what is great about Magic's lore, and it is apparently pretty popular, as that set (Murders at Karlov Manor) was essentially our fourth trip to the plane.  BUT...now there are a bunch of characters wearing detective-style garb, when we'd never seen that before in the city-plane of Ravnica.  And it can feel a little...eh, weird.  I don't think it's overdone, and it really is a minor detail, but I can understand why such things feel like a pebble in the shoes of devoted MTG lore fans as they explore a multiverse they've enjoyed for more than two decades.

(And by the way, it has not been overlooked by observers that -- especially when you also consider the Art Deco stylings of the set Streets of New Capenna, and the retro gangster archetypes many of those characters evoked -- maybe it's just that the Magic story team has a weakness for silly hats...)

SO...with Aetherdrift...yeah, the mixing of SF and fantasy is going to throw some people off.  At this point, though, we've seen with the cyberpunk-fantasy set Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty (which got a Planeshifted guide that I wrote a little about back here) that the team is very capable of pulling off a setting that infuses interesting bits of speculative fiction into the fantastical base you expect from a game called Magic.  I'll admit that there are a couple of things -- specifically the set symbol (a checkered racing flag) and a new mechanic called Start your engines! -- that didn't initially hit me as spectacular additions to the game's background...but as I've gotten used to them, they're starting to feel normal.  It has to be near-impossible to take the risks necessary to keep planes fresh and engaging without occasionally overstepping into bits that don't immediately mesh 100%.

This art is for the card Pedal to the Metal.  I'm certain that name won't please everyone... (From here.)

Additionally, similar to the 10 guilds of Ravnica that are defined by each two-color pairing in the game, Aetherdrift features 10 different racing teams with different goals and methods according to the colors of mana that they represent.  Since the five-color mana system is probably the coolest part of MTG to explore, I am there for this.  (I would say I'm along for the ride, but...I shouldn't.)  The fact that interplanar travel is a key part of the story is just icing on the cake!

If you're interested in looking into the set or its story more, the landing page for the new release is here.  The official story archive, with several installments of tales from the set (many of which have audio versions), can be found here.  I haven't even made my way through all that much of the actual story yet (although I have listened long enough to realize that I was apparently incorrect in believing those first two syllables to be pronounced EE-thur, as opposed to AY-thur...that's gonna be a tough habit to break).

I think I'll create a character connected to the setting soon.  Since I still need to get around to statting out Sergiu Pijha, who I brought up long ago in a post about Manaball...

...I think I'll also stat out a character inspired by this card, from the black/red racing team known as the Endriders...

Whatever system I use (ideally something that will morph into my Monstrous Heartbreaker), it might be cool to see how two Human Warriors repping red mana can be differentiated.

Alright...[insert racing pun meaning "thanks for reading, and goodbye" here]!

A work-in-progress Elemental Color Wheel

I spend a fair amount of time...a lot more than anyone probably should, to be honest...thinking about elemental philosophies in games, beliefs, and esoteric pursuits.  I am certainly no expert (far from it!), but I think my history as a tabletop gamer has naturally led to this as a sort of obsession.  After all, I was pulled into gaming by the Pokémon TCG, have become a hopeless lifetime devotee of Magic: The Gathering (even during stretches where I don't get to play it at all), and lately have put a lot of thought into traveling around in a fantasy cosmology.

Plus, I'm a functional scientist myself.  It kind of feels like I'm meant to ponder such things.  In fact, the appeal of working out a sensible and symmetrical elemental system in my mind is probably similar to the drive a lot of physicists have in their search for a theory of everything.  If I were smart enough to fully comprehend both general relativity and quantum mechanics, I might spend my showers trying to merge them in my brain.  But I'm not, so that shower time is spent thinking about how MTG's colors interact with Pokémon's types.  And the result, so far, is this work in progress...

I'm thinking this is a broad overview of the Inner Planes, the sources of elements and energy that give rise to the physical world.  There are still Outer Planes of various philosophical persuasions that are filtered through these elements to create our experience of the universe.  On the wheel so far, you'll find the colors of MTG, some Pokémon types (video games and card game may be represented separately, since they do differ in a way that reduces the number of types for the TCG), most of the Duel Masters civilizations, a couple of World of Warcraft classes (using their Hearthstone icons), and one stray aspect from the Star Wars: Unlimited TCG.  The Ravnican guilds whose color combinations fit the wheel are also represented, in part because I think it's cool how the Boros logo echos Pokémon's Fighting symbol, and how Dimir and Psychic share an eye in their icons (plus the colors kind of work!).

Also, I stole that color wheel in the middle from here; let me know if it seems like gratuitous theft, please.  I do think I like the hexagonal RGB+CMY skeleton for the wheel!

Okay, enough blabbing.  If you have thoughts, criticisms, or suggestions, please throw 'em my way!

Look, Dad, all those philosophy classes are paying off!

The Real Monstrous Matters: Japanese scientists get us one step closer to Greenskins...or maybe just solar-powered humans...

This is one that was covered by a lot of mainstream news outlets, so you might have already seen it (you MSM zombie, you)...in a cool little biological trick that I'm honestly surprised hasn't been achieved before, researchers anchored by a group at the University of Tokyo have gotten chloroplasts to carry out photosynthesis in hamster cells.  Mammalian cells making food from light...pretty cool if you ask me.  You can check out the paper (from the Proceedings of the Japan Academy, Series B) at this link, and the university's press release can be found here.

Fluorescence microscopy image from the press release.  The chloroplasts are magenta, while cell nuclei are light blue.

This is one of those things that really gets the imagination firing, and most of us who are drawn to science fiction and/or fantasy have probably already thought about this possibility at some point.  And obviously, it brings to mind the green-skinned characters of fantasy lore, like Warhammer's...er, Greenskins...

It's also a fairly well-known "rule" of biology that mammals aren't green.  When those who craft fantasy fiction feel the need to justify green pigmentation in a humanoid species, the likely explanations are reptilian ancestry or some sort of photosynthetic machinery.  In Warhammer, for example, I believe the lore is that Greenskins, already an assemblage of fungal species, also have a symbiotic relationship with algae.  It's unclear, as far as I know, exactly what the mechanics of this symbiosis may be, but I don't think there's ever been an implication that the algae are inside the creature's cells (but please do correct me if I'm wrong!).

This new paper takes things a step further, with chloroplasts (the site of photosynthesis in plants and algae) being isolated from red algae and incorporated directly into the animal cells, where they kept on working away like all those other organelles you remember from high school biology...the mitochondria and Golgi apparatuses and all.  It's a very different result from the researchers' expectation that the little algae bits would be digested by the hamster cells.  Which, y'know, when in doubt, is probably a good idea for an animal cell to do when it finds it has taken up a random foreign organelle that resembles bacteria.

Also kind of fun: It appears that these hybrid creations are often referred to as "planimal" cells.  It sounds like a failed '80s toyline.

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As far as fantasy species go, orcs and goblins are probably the most commonly green characters, but elves occasionally get this treatment as well.  In Magic: The Gathering, for example, the well-known elf Glissa Sunseeker has been portrayed with green skin.

Image from here

I also think it's interesting to look back at the green elves in the group of MTG sets known as the Onslaught Block.  Over the course of those sets, various creatures were mutated to become purer expressions of the color of mana they represented.  The blue wizards, for example, basically turned into water.  Elves, meanwhile, came to resemble plants more and more.  In the second set, Legions, we see some green (or at least greenish) elves...

Card images from Scryfall

(This included at least one creature that arguably looks, to an outsider, more goblin than elf...)

And then by the third set, Scourge, the elves were even more plant-like:

Something tells me there are chloroplasts in those elves' cells.

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Now, a species for gaming...

Emeraldkin

Attribute Points: 12

Min/Max:

Strength 1-5
Dexterity 1-6
Knowledge 1-5
Presence 1-5

Skill Distribution: 3/2/1

Special Skills: Can use Nature Magic without allocating any skill points to it; if this skill isn't chosen, it is treated as +0, and Nature Magic skill rolls use the character's Knowledge value.

Abilities: Able to see in low-light conditions; resistant to hunger

Emeraldkin are found in many realms among the multiverse.  They appear very similar to Humans but are identified by their pointed ears and the greenish hue of their skin (due to the chloroplasts found in their skin cells).  On some worlds, they are referred to as Elves, while residents of others will call them Orcs or even Goblins.  They identify with none of these terms, however, and refer to themselves as Unliavel, broadly translated as Emeraldkin.  It is thus far unknown what species they are closest to genetically; in general, though, they will associate with all other groups who maintain a similar connection to nature.

The photosynthetic skin cells of Emeraldkin allow them to go much longer than other humanoid species without food.  While they cannot wholly abandon eating, in conditions of sufficient light and water, they can easily go up to 10 days in between meals.  This is rarely necessary; Emeraldkin are usually very knowledgeable about the natural environment and are capable of obtaining food in almost any situation, although the vast majority rely on vegetarian sustenance only.  Overall, their connection to the natural world and low need for resources make them ideal adventuring companions.

A Goblinoid Family Tree

(Or really a phylogenetic tree.  I just liked the sound of family tree more in the title.)

So, in reading a post by James over at Grognardia, about Dragon articles on fantasy languages, I started to wonder if sometimes I just don't fly my geek flag high enough.  As in...maybe I'm not appropriately minmaxing the fun I could get out of the RPG hobby by not allowing myself to just go nuts like I want to as a nerdy scientist who also loves games about elves and goblins.

James posted a tree of language families, originally appearing in Dragon #66, that shows the development of the Middle Elfin tongue into a variety of fae languages.  And it's awesome.  I love that sort of stuff, so why don't I do more of it?  I wonder sometimes if I remain so focused on having an "anything goes" attitude about the world(s) I game in (like the setting for the Monstrous Matters campaign) that I miss out on creating things that would genuinely make me smile, even if I don't completely buy into all of the specifics.

With that in mind, I'm going to consider this a worthwhile way to spend a few minutes.  Here's a phylogenetic tree of a few goblinoid species, along with a few creatures from that galaxy far, far away that I suspect might be closely related.  (If you have access to genetic data, please let me know; this is just based on physical characteristics.)

Images from the Forgotten Realms Wiki, Wookieepedia, and Scryfall

I feel like this just opens up a whole world of stories for how these species became distributed as they are.  Maybe I'll follow up there.  (If you'd like to see some of my related ramblings, please check out the stuff I've written about the Fantaspora Hypothesis and #WookieesAreBugbears.)

Thanks for looking!  Now, for a character (cribbed from RPGGamer.org):

Image from Wookieepedia

Wicket

Full name:  Wicket Wystri Warrick

Species: Ewok

Home: Endor

15 HP, 12 Defense (small size)

Strength 3
Dexterity 3
Knowledge 2
Presence 4

Skills: Survival +4, Thrown Weapons +3, Languages +2, Climb +1

Goals: Helping and protecting his friends

Quote: "Goodbye.  Good-bye."

Did the Ghostbusters RPG influence Magic: The Gathering?

As conversions among game systems are almost an obsessive focus of daydreaming for me, I have noted at various times in my life that attempts to transform Magic: The Gathering stats into roleplaying numbers often feel more correct with a dice pool system like D6 (as seen in Ghostbusters and WEG Star Wars, for example) than with the d20-based systems I've probably played the most (D&D and its offshoots and clones).

With this in mind, and with the additional fact that MTG and the Ghostbusters RPG are two of my absolute favorite games ever, I thought it was cool to hear RPG legend Sandy Petersen note in the interview below (from Ghostbusters, Virginia) that the resolution system pioneered in Ghostbusters was a potential influence on Magic!

(Should be cued up to about the right time in the video...MTG is mentioned at around 5:30...)

Anyone have any insight on this?  Heard this before?  Thought this before?  I'm pretty sure I've read S. John Ross cite Ghostbusters as a big influence on Risus (another game with a formative influence on me), but I can't recall seeing Richard Garfield mention it.

(I hope it's clear that I'm asking this not to challenge the veracity of the claim, but honestly kind of hoping there's more evidence or just speculation about this connection out there.  I think I found this video by specifically searching for threads connecting the two games...!)

Up for a game of Manaball?

Just want to note that I've made a little subpage here for Manaball, a casual Magic: The Gathering format that occurred to me at some point and that I'd like to promote if I can.  (There's a link up there, under the header.)

Made using the MTG Card Maker at MTG Cardsmith

Manaball was conceived of and first played several years ago.  I've enjoyed it.  (It even inspired a card game that I designed for a friend.)  I've tried to share it online a couple of times...you can click HERE to see a reddit post, and I'm pretty sure I posted it to at least one forum...but it really never gained any traction.  I'm honestly not sure what it takes for a "silly" fan-made alternative format like this to catch on, but I'm sure the success stories of stuff like Oathbreaker, Horde Magic, and of course Commander plant a little seed of hope in my heart that this could catch on and I could find excited opponents.  It was actually realizing that Wacky Races, a format first shared online back in 2016, really blew up this year when it was presented on reddit by an enthusiast, that influenced my decision to give it a permanent home where folks might happen to run into it online (extremely awkward sentence, sorry).

If you DO play it...or if you just have thoughts/ideas/feelings associated with it...well, I'd love to hear all about it!

Hopefully more to come on this...

---------------

ALSO...

I've got some plans in the works...in my head at least(!)...to alter my approach here at Monstrous Matters when the new year comes around.  There are some changes that I think will increase the chances that I'll accomplish some goals here on the blog.  One of those changes is that I'd like to focus more on the lives and adventures of some personal characters.  I mean...it is, at least in part, an appreciation of stories that brings us together over these topics, so I want to attempt to put more stories into the aether for others to find.

The first of those characters that I'm throwing into the mix is Sergiu Pijha.

I don't have an updated picture yet, but he looks a little like this...

Sergiu is a part of the Gruul Clans of Ravnica, and he and others from the Ghor-Clan make up the Gruul representative in the Perimeter District Manaball League.  I'll present his character stats soon...!

5E Kamigawa NEO by /u/letterephesus is incredible

In thinking about the little project I'm working(?) on over at PermaDeath.Net (now at https://asciiverse.blogspot.com/), one of the commercial game settings I'm undoubtedly drawing on as I imagine the Asciiverse is the world presented in last year's MTG set Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty.  I have very fond memories of the original Kamigawa Block; it came at one of the highest points of my involvement in organized MTG, and in some ways it shows the early stages of the designers' approach to worldbuilding in which they take a theme and work out what an MTG world - that is, somewhat fantasy based with a nod to the color pie that defines MTG's ethics and magic - based upon that theme would look like.

In this case, the focus was Japanese mythology, history, and religion, and I really dug the flavor.  I've no doubt there are some Orientalist overtones...or at least undertones...but it was still a series of three sets (an old MTG block) with a setting that I enjoyed and hoped to go back to.  When the return to the plane was announced, and I realized that it was getting a cyberpunk update, I knew we were probably in for something pretty cool.

Now that I'm pondering a setting that shares some of the same thematic DNA, I'm even more drawn to some of the imagery from the set that hints at its fantasy + cyberpunk roots.  So, I figured I'd take a quick look and see what's out there as far as 5E interpretations of Kamigawa in the NEO era.

And...well, holy cow, I don't know that I need to look any farther than the first one that popped up for me.  Gabe Rodriguez, aka /u/letterephesus on Reddit, has shared his take on Neon Dynasty, and it's awesome.  The book he put together could be used to run a spectacular campaign in this techno-fantasy realm and is a lot of fun to just jump around and read through.

The direct GMBinder link is HERE, and I hope that if you follow it, you also take a moment to look at some of Gabe's other work either via the Reddit thread where this book was shared or his Patreon.  (And if anyone thinks I shouldn't link directly from here, please just let me know and I'll correct it.)  Turns out he's covered a number of MTG settings that haven't (yet?) gotten the official treatment from WotC with his patron supported effort Planeshifted...from what I can see, there could be hours of entertainment just browsing through the work he's done.

A Monstrous Heartbreaker! Part I

 Alright...I think it's time to start constructing my own little fantasy heartbreaker.

I suppose I could be a bit kinder to the effort and think of it more like my friend Tim's "Frankengame," the goal of his long quest to piece together his ultimate fantasy RPG system, and which he has seemingly chiseled into a thing of beauty with his own big personal stamp on it.  (It looks like the Frankengame is politely stepping aside to give Tim room to dive into his superhero universe with the rules of the new Amazing Heroes, but I'm betting all of the effort to shape his perfect fantasy game is going to keep giving fruit as time goes on...)

I'm not sure that I have that sort of focus and discernment in me, though.  So I'm just gonna call it what it'll probably turn out to be:  A big ol' fantasy heartbreaker.  A monstrous one, in fact.  The goals?  I'd like this game to:

1.  Be a little more proof of concept for an RPG built upon classes that fit OSR games derived from Swords & Wizardry WhiteBox, along with races built for fifth edition D&D.

2.  Serve as the "core" system upon which I can base a variety of gaming projects I'd like to one day bring to a state of public presentability.

3.  Comfortably represent the set of mechanics, assumptions, and quirks that I could call my own personal baseline for a fantasy RPG.

4.  Give me an excuse to explore an original fantasy setting in some amount of detail.  (I'm not completely sure what that setting will be, nor if this is actually the route I should take vs. keeping everything within the framework of a generic fantasy world...but I do think I'd like to have a specific setting to accompany the ruleset.)

Snagged this image from HERE...

So here's step one.  I ask myself the question:  What classes should my fantasy heartbreaker include?  And then I answer...that clearly the place to start here is with the four classic roles of a D&D adventuring party: the Fighter, Rogue, Wizard, and Cleric.  This is pretty convenient, as it's basically the four we get (using a slightly different naming scheme) in the excellent Swords & Wizardry Light.  So...cut, paste, done!

Eh...not quite done.  I'll have to make a few changes.  The Fighter shall become a Warrior, taking care to ensure that there are no rules that tie it to a fantasy setting.  I know this seems like a ridiculous move considering the premise of the project, but I have a real affection for the idea of a time- and place-less Warrior archetype that can cover everything from dungeoneering fighters, to Paleolithic scrappers, to battle-minded folks of the modern day and beyond.  I guess it's mostly just a name change.

Now, for the Rogue.  I'd say that much of the exact same sentiment applies here, so if I take that last paragraph and make just a few edits...

The Thief shall become a Rogue, taking care to ensure that there are no rules that tie it to a fantasy setting.  I know this seems like a ridiculous move considering the premise of the project, but I have a real affection for the idea of a time- and place-less Rogue archetype that can cover everything from dungeoneering thieves, to Paleolithic sneaks, to subterfuge-minded folks of the modern day and beyond.  I guess it's mostly just a name change (and really not even that except relative to old school games that still call this character a thief).

And so we move on to the spellcasters.  It would be very tempting to fold these two into a single class that can cover any variety of magic, whether arcane, divine, or of whatever other origin a setting allows.  I definitely see the elegant beauty in the triangular approach to character abilities seen in games like True20 or Warrior, Rogue & Mage.  Related to this...in Magic: The Gathering, we have recently seen a slight shift in the designation of creature types such that each of the game's five colors has a spellcasting class most closely associated with it:  Clerics in white, Wizards in blue, Warlocks in black, Shamans in red, and Druids in green.  I really like the symmetry of this arrangement, and it has a lot of value in the game's newest set, Strixhaven: School of Mages, which features tons of magic-users from all around the color wheel.  A bit ironically, this division points to the unity of all of these creature types under the title of mage (as we see in the name of the set).  And wasn't that maybe even the point of wizards in Original D&D getting the generic appellation of "Magic-User"?  To give players the freedom to imagine their mages with whatever sort of background they wanted, while still tying them all together with the same set of spell rules?

Ultimately, though, I'm just not sure I can have my own core of a D&D-type ruleset without giving the religious spellcasters at least one class of their own.  It's a trope that's just so strongly bound to the heart of the game at this point that I think the whole thing would feel incomplete without having archetypes for both divine and arcane (or at least other) magic.  I'm not completely sold yet; the implication that all magic comes from the same source, whether it's prayed for or learned from books, is still tempting to strive for.  I'll see where it goes from here, but for now, I'll work on the assumption that the Monstrous Heartbreaker will separate Wizards and Clerics...perhaps even with those class names.

Alright...any more classes to add?  A nature type, perhaps, to work in some Druid and Ranger tropes?  Surely I'll want animal companions, right?  Do I want a Monk, or can Warriors and Clerics cover everything I'd really like to see in it?  I do love music...should I go ahead and codify a Bard?  And why does some sort of Artificer keep popping into my head as a potentially strong choice as a base class?  (Seriously, I don't know that I've ever even played in an adventuring party that included an Artificer, let alone played one myself.)

I have a feeling this decision could be influenced by whether or not I include a specific fantasy setting in this little work...so there's a bit more thinking to do on this.  More to come in Part II...

5e Races (or Ancestries/Cultures) in OSR games...why not?

 I recently picked up this book when I found a really good deal on it:

This is kind of a rarity for me, as I don't normally pick up the nice, big, hardcover books, and...although I am probably a bit of a jerk for not patronizing my FLGS (which I haven't even had a chance to visit in my new home, FWIW)...I am REALLY enjoying reading over this.  Ravnica is probably one of my favorite fantasy settings in general and is almost certainly my favorite plane for Magic: The Gathering.  I really love how one of the most crucial aspects of the card game's identity--the five colors of mana--are an integral part of the setting, as the colors pair up to form 10 guilds that vie for control of the plane-spanning city of Ravnica.  No matter what game system a Ravnica campaign is run in, it's still going to have at least a little bit of the feel of MTG the card game (especially if there are any planeswalkers involved).

So, I'm really looking at starting up an online game set in Ravnica, but I'm not sure I want to run Fifth Edition.  I'm just not as familiar with it as I am some other systems, and if I'm already adding on the "frills" that come from gaming online, I might as well make sure the system I use is as no-frills as possible while still hitting the points I'm looking for.  Honestly, Swords & Wizardry White Box/Light/Continual Light seem just fine for such a game, and it can double up by keeping me in a Light City state of mind.

Classes seem like they'll be easy enough to handle.  Races, though...that's a different story.  Ravnica probably needs to include Loxodon (elephantfolk), Centaurs, Goblins, Merfolk, Viashino (draconic lizard-type-folk), and maybe hybrid beings from the biomantic Simic guild.  (EDIT: Oh yeah, and Vedalken!)  I'm not against creating them on my own, especially since some of that could just be reskinning stuff that's already out there.  But...and maybe I'm weird in feeling this way...there's something about reskinning races that just FEELS wrong, like it's breaking through the shared imagination of the game in a way that can't be ignored.  It's cool to say, "This is what a Ravnican goblin is like."  It seems relatively lame to just say, "Eh, play a halfling and we'll call you a goblin."  That's just...I dunno, less fantastic and more gamey.

But then I realized...why can't I just tack on 5e races to the classes of just about any OSR game and use them pretty much as-is?  I'll have to buy into some 5e-isms like Advantage/Disadvantage (which it seems gamers have accepted quite well as a mechanic fit for broad use), and I'll need an established way to resolve skills so that any skill-related benefits will have meaning...but those are minor concerns.

Movement rates should convert very simply.  Proficiencies?  If it's a weapon, that means you get to add your attack bonus when you use it.  For other stuff, it means you get to add your level to rolls.  Alignment?  There doesn't seem to be any harm in just ignoring the 5e recommendations, or in simply adopting the nine-alignment system for the game.

As examples, I think a "basic" Human build would just gain +1 to all stats and get to learn an extra language.  Or we can look at...say, the Kor from Plane Shift: Zendikar, the first of Wizards of the Coast's free PDFs bringing 5e rules to MTG:

There doesn't seem to be anything game-breaking there, and it could be fun to actually play the "official" takes on MTG's races.

Have any of you tried something like this?  Other than the "danger" of having starting characters a little more powerful than they would be otherwise, are there any big pitfalls I'm missing here?