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Made with Restream Studio. Livestream on 30+ platforms at once via https://restream.io In this episode of the Bardic Quest Talk Show, Wayne and Annina take a look at D&D’s new Faezress Sorcerer from the Unearthed Arcana Underdark Options 2 playtest material, and give their verdict! ...

Project Lamordia is out on D&D Beyond, and it’s the biggest swing Wizards has taken with 5.5 so far: a sci-fi horror adventure set inside a haunted corporate campus, with three linked one-shots, four new backgrounds, new monsters and the return of the Survivor rules from Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft. We go through what’s in it, whether the reworked Reborn is more than a reskin, and why Survivors might be the best way to get a friend who “doesn’t do fantasy” to the table this Halloween. Then it’s the Kuo-toa, the last species from Unearthed Arcana’s Underdark Options II. They get a swim speed, the Slippery trait and a familiar that doubles as their own personal god, but no darkvision. We rate it for narrative, fun, power and DM friendliness, and pitch the fishy subspecies we’d like to see. With Wayne Ingram, Annina Kaski and Callum Robertson. Support Bardic Quest: Patreon: https://patreon.com/bardicquest YouTube Membership: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj6l7zTjUAl6U_n2xEaT-dg/join Website: https://bardicquest.com X/Twitter: https://x.com/BardicQuest Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bardicquest/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bardicquest 0:00 Intro 0:53 Project Lamordia: price and what’s inside 6:07 Severance meets Resident Evil: the setting and art 8:27 The Reborn: new flavour, same mechanics 15:28 New backgrounds and D&D beyond fantasy 25:24 Survivors: low-prep horror and great onboarding 35:29 A gateway for people who don’t like fantasy 41:46 Kuo-toa: Underdark Options II’s fish folk 49:05 Swim speed, Slippery and a pocket god 1:01:20 Rating the Kuo-toa ...

The World of Warcraft D&D embargo has lifted, and we dig into what’s actually in the book: hero classes and specialisations, a levelled-region foraging system, and a full crafting and professions system that might be the best DM toolkit Wizards of the Coast has released in years. Then Callum takes us into the Lore Library for the fallen empire of Imaskar, before we break down and rate the Deep Imaskari from the latest Unearthed Arcana. With Wayne Ingram, Annina Kaski and Callum Robertson Patreon: https://patreon.com/bardicquest YouTube Membership: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj6l7zTjUAl6U_n2xEaT-dg/join Website: https://bardicquest.com X/Twitter: https://x.com/BardicQuest Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bardicquest/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bardicquest 0:00 Intro & The Wailer prequel news 1:21 The World of Warcraft D&D embargo lifts 6:03 Hero classes & specialisations explained 21:27 Crafting, foraging & levelled regions 27:21 Professions: alchemy, engineering & more 39:36 D&D Beyond Drops, the Sorrow Knight & the digital-first problem 50:42 New segment: Lore Library – the fall of Imaskar 1:08:25 Deep Imaskari Unearthed Arcana breakdown 1:27:30 Ratings: narrative, fun factor & DM friendliness 1:59:32 Why the Underdark is having a moment ...

On this bumper edition of The Bardic Quest Talk Show, Wayne, Callum and Annina discuss D&D news about a spooky “Now Loading: Project Lamordia” teaser on D&D Beyond, speculating it’s a Halloween survival-horror adventure (possibly level 1–3) set in Ravenloft’s Lamordia and tied to Victra Mordenheim, with rumors of survivor-style rules and new backgrounds. They celebrate Bardic Quest’s fifth birthday and announce patrons/YouTube members will receive the first episode of “The Wailer,” an eight-part prequel miniseries DMed by James. Wayne confesses brief nostalgia for D&D 4E, praising its dense content, presentation, monster knowledge checks, and trap design. The group then reviews Unearthed Arcana’s Illithidkin species and the Path of Ceremorphosis feat chain, praising theme and narrative but debating power balance, party impact, and DM burden. 00:00 Show Kickoff Banter 00:20 Project Lamordia Teaser 02:27 Horror Vibes Theories 03:29 Reddit Leak Details 05:57 Survivor Rules Deep Dive 12:21 What Is Lamordia 14:15 Modern DnD Sci Fi Push 18:56 Bardic Quest Turns Five 20:41 The Wailer Patron Drop 24:56 4E Nostalgia Confession 33:39 4E Traps Worth Stealing 39:02 Back To Illithid Kin UA 44:38 Dryad vs Drider Vibes 45:20 Half Species Compromise 47:45 Illithid Kin Concept 51:10 Mechanics Spell Breakdown 55:14 Tweaking the Spell List 01:02:57 Extra Traits and Balance 01:04:50 Overall Verdict and Story Hooks 01:06:44 Rating System and Scores 01:13:24 DM Friendly Debate 01:16:11 Wrap and Character Ideas 01:17:48 Becoming a Mind Flayer 01:19:24 DM Control vs Player Feats 01:21:01 Main Character Syndrome Risks 01:21:42 Preplanning Kills Horror 01:23:57 Curses Need Drawbacks 01:27:47 Better Transformation Models 01:29:34 Surprise vs Player Buy In 01:35:15 Design Fix Supernatural Gifts 01:37:58 Tadpole Host Feat Breakdown 01:43:45 Three Mid Tier Branches 01:53:41 Full Ceremorphosis Explained 02:00:24 Mind Blast and Power Creep 02:01:18 Narrative Ratings 02:04:29 Fun Factor Debate 02:05:55 Power Level Concerns 02:12:50 DM Burden Discussion 02:25:56 DM Friendly Scores 02:29:55 Final Thoughts Wrap ...

Wayne, Callum, and Annina unbox Arcana Unleashed and Deadfall, then dig into the second wave of Underdark Unearthed Arcana for D&D 5.5e. They break down the new subclasses on offer, then go deep on the two new playable species — myconids and driders — where one nails the theme and the other doesn’t. Patreon: patreon.com/bardicquest Website: bardicquest.com X/Twitter: x.com/bardicquest Instagram: instagram.com/bardicquest Facebook: facebook.com/bardicquest 0:00 Introduction & unboxing Arcana Unleashed and Deadfall 9:20 Why the new D&D sourcebooks feel thin on lore 20:30 Underdark sourcebook incoming — new subclass overview 28:50 Diving into the two new Underdark species 32:40 Myconid — mushroom people done right 40:15 Drider — a monstrosity with an identity crisis 1:03:50 Feedback survey closes October 1st, what’s coming next 1:06:35 Wrap-up Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj6l7zTjUAl6U_n2xEaT-dg/join ...

Attacks of opportunity ruined 5E combat for me. 5.5 completely turned that around — here’s the full comparison and why. Full episode on Insight Check, exclusive to Silver-tier Patreon and YouTube members. 👉 https://patreon.com/bardicquest #BardicQuest #DnD #Shorts ...

The disarm action — forgotten by players and DMs alike. Here’s the full rule from the 2014 Dungeon Master’s Guide (page 271) and how to use it at the table. Full episode on Insight Check, exclusive to Silver-tier Patreon and YouTube members. 👉 https://patreon.com/bardicquest #BardicQuest #DnD #Shorts ...

Annina Kaski is trained to level two in lightsaber combat and owns competition sabers. She also trained in motion capture under Neil Newbon, who you would know as Astarion. Wayne Ingram believes that YouTube is the new stage, and that “It’s not really the dungeon master’s responsibility to ensure you have fun. It is the dungeon master’s responsibility, in my view, to ensure that you are included and that you are part of the game…. It’s about facilitating the collective fun rather than the individual fun.” Callum Robertson spent nearly every copper of his starting gold on rope, traps and a grappling hook, deliberately leaving exactly two gold pieces — to put on his eyes when he dies. ▶ BARDIC QUEST: https://www.youtube.com/@BardicQuest · bardicquest.com These are three professionally trained British stage actors. They run one of the better Dungeons & Dragons shows on YouTube, and I’m having a live chat with them Sunday 9-13-26, at 3 pm EST. Wayne and Callum met as kids doing pantomime at their local theatre, went off to separate universities, both became working actors, and found each other again two decades later around a D&D table. Annina writes and stars in her own award-winning series, demonstrates board games professionally at conventions, and will tell you firmly that Lord of the Rings — not Star Wars — is her actual fandom. Tomorrow night I am asking them what actually happens when trained actors play D&D. Whether performance training makes the game better, or makes everyone resist a bad dice roll because it ruins a good scene. Whether a DM is supposed to be a referee or a fan. The player character whose soul got written into the Shadowfell. The goblin that got named live on air, badly, because nobody had prepped a second goblin name. And a homebrew world where the gods stopped handing out magic. Elves kept theirs. Work out what that does to the price of an elf. There is also a line Wayne has said about running a table that I have said almost word for word on this channel. I am going to ask him where he got it. Set a reminder and come hang with us in the chat. And tell me below: has a trained actor ever sat down at your table? Did it lift the game, or did it take it over? ▶ WATCH FIRST: “The Best D&D DMs Are Referees, Not Fans” — my own take on the argument I am putting to Wayne tomorrow. https://youtu.be/U1zI-8QAQbI My channel, if you are new here: 📍 https://www.youtube.com/@joethelawyer My FREE Substack has chapters from the Dungeon Master’s Guide I’m writing: 📍 https://analogmancave.substack.com/ My FREE Patreon has the work-in-progress on the 5e Old School D&D Hack: 📍 https://patreon.com/Joethelawyer Channel membership for early access and members-only post-game wrap-ups: 📍 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCABv_juND7JHvVbJCjWjhlw/join Twitter/X: 📍 https://x.com/analogmancave Discord (the Cavemen): 📍 https://discord.gg/RHxTCq3mzT Podcast on Spotify/Apple/Rumble: search “Joethelawyer’s Analog Mancave” On the channel I cover D&D 5e, OSR, old-school D&D, DM philosophy, actual play, homebrew campaigns, house rules, and what makes great sessions actually feel great. #DnD #DungeonsAndDragons #DnD5e #TabletopRPG #DungeonMaster #ActualPlay #BardicQuest #Homebrew #DMAdvice #OSR #GaryGygax #Gygax ...

Wizards of the Coast just announced a Dungeons & Dragons x Star Wars crossover, arriving as part of Universes Beyond in late 2027. Wayne, Annina, and Callum spend the first half of this episode picking apart what WotC and Hasbro will actually ship — page count, class list, whether it’s a straight 5E reskin or a system built from scratch — then spend the second half designing their own version from a fictional Hasbro brief, from Force mechanics to starship combat. Patreon: https://patreon.com/bardicquest YouTube Membership: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj6l7zTjUAl6U_n2xEaT-dg/join Website: https://bardicquest.com X/Twitter: https://x.com/BardicQuest Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bardicquest/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bardicquest 0:00 Welcome — what we actually know about D&D Star Wars 5:32 Reskin or new system? Wayne’s “it’s a trap” theory 13:11 Hasbro’s track record: action figures, WizKids, board games 16:34 Predicting the box set — three books, eight classes, Old Republic roots 29:44 Doing the page-count math against Heroes of Faerûn 34:32 What gets cut: thin lore and “Top Trumps” starship combat 44:42 Droids, aliens, and the species problem 49:43 Part 2: we build our own D&D Star Wars 1:00:00 The Force, lightsabers, and the Jedi power problem 1:19:04 Fixing the balance, then final predictions ...

Wayne and Annina break down every announcement from the D&D Vision keynote at Gen Con, including the new D&D Icons initiative fronted by Joe Manganiello with Luke Gygax, Tracy Hickman, and R.A. Salvatore, the Dungeons & Dragons x World of Warcraft crossover (Season of Champions), the mature-rated Dark Sun setting, and the divisive Dungeons & Dragons Star Wars announcement. They react live to the keynote’s lack of detail, weigh in on new studio partnerships for Ravenloft, Eberron, and Forgotten Realms, and give their honest verdict on where D&D’s 2027 release lineup is headed. Patreon: https://patreon.com/bardicquest YouTube Membership: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj6l7zTjUAl6U_n2xEaT-dg/join Website: https://bardicquest.com X/Twitter: https://x.com/BardicQuest Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bardicquest/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bardicquest Chapters 0:00 Introduction — reacting to the Gen Con D&D Vision keynote 4:28 D&D Icons announced — Joe Manganiello, Luke Gygax, Tracy Hickman, R.A. Salvatore 26:54 Release countdown begins: Arcana Unleashed and the World of Warcraft crossover 43:59 D&D Universes Beyond and the Star Wars crossover reveal 1:04:26 Dark Sun returns as D&D’s first mature-rated 5E setting 1:13:27 Greyhawk: Crown of the Witch-Queen adventure revealed 1:17:16 New third-party studio partnerships (Ravenloft, Eberron, Forgotten Realms) 1:24:02 Final verdict: cautiously optimistic about D&D’s 2027 lineup ...