If there’s one thing that Toastmasters like to do, it’s express themselves, and every August, an individual named Autocratik gives TTRPG fans a chance to do that through his “RPGaDay” essay challenge.

He created it originally in about 2015 to give RPG fans an opportunity to share their stories, and to show the hobby in a good light. The results were fantastic, and people engaged with the essays and each other in such a wonderful way that he’s done it every year since.

I’ve done it several times, fully or partially as time permits, and always look forward to the opportunity to address the prompts with philosophy, anecdotes, analysis and humor.

This post is to both let people know that I am participating it this year, on my game blog dicedeliberations.com, and also to give others an opportunity to take it on. The answers don’t have to be long; some people address them through tweets or short Facebook posts; others combine multiple answers into a single essay. Either way, they can be fun whether you are a novice or experienced TTRPG player.

If you do participate, let us know in the comments!

With the introduction of a full catalogue of purchasable magic items in Heirs of the Dragon, gold pieces have become more important. In an effort to ensure that quests that award gold to members upon completion continue to be valuable over the course of the year, we are happy to announce that gold rewards will scale based upon the current guild level (defined as the average level of active members). This means that, as we progress as a group, so too will monetary rewards, at a rate of 8.5% per level. As an example, the Raid! achievement worth 200 GP at the beginning of the year (guild level 1), will be worth 217 GP at guild level 2 (200 * 1.085), 235 at guild level 3 (200 * 1.085) * 1.085, 254 at guild level 4 ((200 * 1.085) * 1.085) * 1.085) and so on (subject to rounding differences).

In the same vein, the Join Us achievement — one created to help newly joined members catch up in terms of items — will scale up over time, starting at 500 GP in July and maxxing out at 7,500 GP in the month of May.

Greetings from the depths off the Dragon Coast,

The time is upon us for you to give me your gold. Not all of it. (Unless you want to.) Also, I only accept
dollars, not gold. Anyway, Toastmasters and Dungeons & Toast guild dues for the period of October 2023
through March 2024 are due September 30, 2023. The total cost of dues for 6 months is $65 ($60 to
Toastmasters International and $5 to the club). I urge you to pay ahead of time to avoid the technical
issues that inevitably occur around the due date. In fact, if you pay your dues on or before August 31,
2024, you will receive 20 XP for the Early Dues Renewal Spirit Quest:

Early Dues Renewal
Service Quest

20 XP

Renew your dues within the month of February or August.

View More

I bid you adieu.
Kelly, Master of Coin

As a descendant of the heirs of the dragon, each character in our annual TTRPG campaign gains a set of abilities, accessible for 1-minute or 1-hour, depending upon the lineage chosen. Each set of abilities has been created as homebrewed feat in D&D Beyond:

• Heir of Bi’an
• Heir of Bixi
• Heir of Chaofeng
• Heir of Chiwen
• Heir of Fuxi
• Heir of Pulao
• Heir of Quiniu
• Heir of Suanni
• Heir of Yazi

To add a feat to your character sheet:

1. Click on the Features & Traits tab.

2. Scroll to the bottom of the pane where Feats are listed. Click the Manage Feats button.

3. Scroll through the list of available feats until you find the “Heirs” feats. (You must be a member of one of the official D&T campaign groups to be able to access these feats.)

Note: It is not possible to homebrew abilities that are only activated for a certain duration; all members will need to manually keep track of the benefits of their lineage when activated.

During this year’s campaign, each character will be able to channel their dragon souls starting at level 2. This is in addition to any background, class, or race stat boosts or boons you may already receive. The benefits of your dragon lineage will be based on the characteristics of each of the nine dragons.

Dragon Lineages: Descriptions and Boons

Qiuniu

Qiuniu is the gentlest of the children of Huang Long. Finding joy in the harmony of music, it has a quintessential dragon appearance and is often found adorned on musical instruments.

When children of Qiuniu activate their dragon souls they receive the following benefits for 1 hour:

• Gain advantage of Charisma saving throws
• Gain advantage of Persuasion and Performance skill checks
• Targets you attempt to Charm have disadvantage on their save
• You may cast True Strike as a bonus action on allies (not self)

Yazi

Yazi’s beast form takes shape as the head of a dragon and the body of a jackal. It is bloodthirsty and fond of fighting, often depicted with a sword in its jaws. Often found on armor and weapons, the image of Yazi is used to strike fear in enemies and courage in the hearts of warriors.

When children of Yazi activate their dragon souls they receive the following benefit for 1 minute:

Roll a D8

• 1 – Add 1d10 to your damage rolls
• 2 – Add 1d6 Fire Damage to your damage rolls and Gain Resistance to Fire Damage
• 3 – Add 1d6 Cold Damage to your damage rolls and Gain Resistance to Cold Damage
• 4 – Add 1d6 Necrotic Damage to your damage rolls and Gain Resistance to Necrotic Damage
• 5 – Add 1d6 Radiant Damage to your damage rolls and Gain Resistance to Radiant Damage
• 6 – Gain advantage on your next attack each time you successfully hit an enemy
• 7 – Gain the Charger feat
• 8 – Add your proficiency bonus to your AC

Chaofeng

Chaofeng’s form is a hybrid of a phoenix and a dragon. An adventurer at heart, Chaofeng can be seen on the four corners of roofs to represent its longing for adventure to see beyond the horizon as well as protect buildings from evil influence. Chaofeng looks like a natural explorer.

When children of Chaofeng activate their dragon souls they receive the following benefits for 1 hour:

• Gain advantage on Survival and Nature skill checks
• You may cast Longstrider and Jump, once each during the duration
• Pick one non-human target. You are able to learn everything about it through your insight. You have advantage on all skill checks and saving throws related to the target for the duration or until the target dies or is knocked unconscious. Target has disadvantage on any action it takes against you during this time. This skill may only be used on one target and cannot be transferred to another target until you channel your dragon soul again.

Pulao

Pulao is found by the sea, but not easy to find. Its form is that of a small, four-legged dragon, it hides from sea beasts and is more well known for its mighty roar that can be heard when it is scared. Pulao’s voice is so loud, you will often find its image atop bells that represent its vocal prowess.

When children of Pulao activate their dragon souls they receive the following benefits for 1 minute:

• Become one size smaller and add your proficiency bonus to your AC
  • Magical armor scales, non-magical armor does not
  • Weapons do not scale, player must understand rules for weapons
• Can cast the Booming Blade Cantrip
• Can cast Misty Step equal to the number of times of your proficiency bonus
• Gain advantage on Stealth skill checks

Suanni

Suanni is a hybrid of a lion and a dragon that finds peace in stillness. Its favorite pastime is to sit and watch incense smoke rise. Suanni is often found on wood burners as a nod to its love of the fragrance of burning wood and relaxation.

When children of Suanni activate their dragon souls they receive the following benefits for 1 hour:

• Cast Calm Emotions once during the duration
• Cast Fog Cloud a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus
• Gain advantage against Charmed/Frightened/Sleep statuses
• You and your allies gain the benefits of one short rest.

Bixi

Bixi is known for its immense strength and stirring up trouble by moving mountains upon its back. It was decided that Bixi would take the form of a turtle with a dragon head to allow large monuments, tablets, and gravestones to be rested upon its shell. Now, Bixi symbolizes longevity, strength, and stability.

When children of Bixi activate their dragon souls they receive the following benefits for 1 minute:

• Add your proficiency bonus to your Strength score
• Gain advantage on Strength and Constitution saving throws
• Immune to being knocked prone or poisoned. Resistant to poison damage.
• Disadvantage on DEX-based saves, checks, and attacks.

Bi’an

Bi’an has a fierce appearance, often depicted more as a tiger than a dragon. With long sharp fangs and great visual prowess, nothing escapes Bi’an’s eye and it represents justice. It uses its fiery nature to strike fear in the hearts of those who would treat humanity unfairly and can be found in prisons or courts to deter criminals and remind humanity to live honestly.

When children of Bi’an activate their dragon souls they receive the following benefits for 1 hour:

• Gain advantage on CHA saving throws
• Gain advantage on Persuasion, Intimidation, and Insight skill checks
• May cast the Augury and Suggestion spells a combined number of times equal to your proficiency bonus.

Fuxi

Fuxi is elegance. Fascinated by writings found on epitaphs, Fuxi made it a habit of curling itself up and perching upon the top of gravestones and the like to read the writings displayed. To this day, Fuxi is often depicted curled atop stela taking in the beauty of the language and history of mankind.

When children of Fuxi activate their dragon souls they receive the following benefits for 1 hour:

• Have advantage on WIS and INT saving throws
• Add your proficiency bonus to one of your WIS or INT score.
• Advantage on Arcana and History skill checks
• May cast Borrowed Knowledge once during the duration.

Chiwen

Chiwen takes the form of a fish with a raised tail. Its deep understanding of both water and wind have allowed it to understand the flow of energy within nature. Chiwen is often found on rooftops and building corners to ward off evil and regulate the energy of the areas it protects. 

When children of Chiwen activate their dragon souls they receive the following benefits for 1 hour:

• Have advantage on Nature, Arcana, and Survival skill checks
• Cast the Resistance and Blade Ward (gains a 30 ft range) cantrips on allies as a bonus action (not self).
• Cast Banishment Spell once during the duration.

How to channel your Dragon Soul

Once you have reached Level 2 you may begin channeling your dragon lineage. The rules of activating your dragon soul are as follows:

• Channeling your dragon soul is a free action
• You cannot dismiss the effects once activated for the length of time indicated in the descriptions
• You may only channel your dragon soul the number of times equal to your proficiency bonus minus one per long rest

Thank you to the GM team as well as Chad and Colin Huff for their feedback building out the dragon soul system. As always, if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me on discord @SkiptomyBrew.

Before we get started with the campaign, here is a bit of background on the deities that will be at play.

Huang Long – The Yellow Dragon

There are two schools of thought relating to Huang Long. The first is that Huang Long was born of an egg at the dawn of creation and then used those two pieces of egg to create the four guardians. Others say that Huang Long was the first leader of the human race. Upon her death, she rose to the sky as the Yellow Dragon to permanently oversee the realm of Earth along with the other four constellations. In any case, she is at the center of the four cardinal directions. She had nine children, her heirs, that represent different values, aspects, and spirituality that make up the experience of humanity. Unlike the four guardians, Huang Long was born of the world and therefore she and her children have both human and beast characteristics. When in dragon form, her gold scales glisten like the sun and her body covers great lengths above the clouds to represent her status as the guardian of the Earth Realm.

Qinglong – The Blue Dragon

Qinglong, the dragon of the east, represents spring, dawn, and the element of wood. Its scales have a brilliant, reflective quality that create beautiful colors of sapphire and turquoise.

Zhuque – The Red Phoenix

Zhuque, the bird of the south, represents summer, midday, and the element of fire. It resembles a pheasant with five colored plumage that is engulfed in a permanent flame. Despite its fierce appearance, the phoenix is noble in its behavior.

Baihu – The White Tiger

Baihu, the tiger of the west, represents autumn, dusk, and the element of metal. Despite its neutral color, Baihu is the most antagonistic of the constellations, often associated with war and decay. People who look to the tiger often have great strength and ferocity.

Xuanwu – The Black Tortoise

Xuanwu, the tortoise of the north, represents winter, midnight, and the element of water. Xuanwu is unique among the constellations as it appears as two animals, a black tortoise with a snake wrapped around its body. This represents its fickle nature and internal struggle through the state of hibernation in winter.

For the purpose of the campaign, these will be very old gods in the Dragon Coast that have potentially fallen out of vogue and have been forgotten in some parts of the world. Next week I’ll be sharing the nine children of Huang Long as well as the mechanics they will provide for descendants of their respective bloodlines. If you have any questions or thoughts, please never hesitate to find me on Discord @skiptomybrew!