More D&D, it cannot be!

 Source: Danielle Hibbs 

Instagram: @hibbswcwitness  

Welcome again, Adventurer! We are so happy you are here. WC Junior Danielle Hibbs and an Anonymous WHS Sophomore are back at it! We will chat about Wilmington College’s production of She Kills Monsters by Qui Nguyen coming up later this month, D&D races (also called species), the D&D cookbook, and a few wonderful experiences we have both had while playing—but not in that order!  

You the reader classify as a newbie to D&D, so it is only fair that at least one of us shares our first experience playing. The very first campaign I (Danielle) was involved in was the 2nd edition. The party I was with was raiding a castle of some sort and they were more seasoned players. I made the mistake as a newbie of barging into a room without being observant. There were spiders in the ceiling of this room and my character lost all but one hit point. Due to this ‘incident’ I provoked quite a chuckle from the table. I was traumatized (kidding) and very observant after this point. I immediately looked at the ceilings and rafters anytime I walked into a room. However, I was hooked!

Shortly after being introduced to D&D, I became involved with Baldur’s Gate II: Dark Alliance on PlayStation 2. The newest version of Baldur’s Gate (Baldur’s Gate III) on PlayStation 5 is intertwined with the rule system of D&D. I got this game over the winter holiday and was so delighted to have a visually interactive game mixed with my love for D&D. The player gets the best of two worlds while interacting in a party of playable characters. There is even the ability to play with those in your own home or with other friends online. D&D teaches its players so much! It helps exercise your math skills, promotes organic conversations and interactions, builds critical thinking, blossoms creativity, and expands freedom of expression. It also builds confidence, gets out of your comfort zone, and teaches team-building skills despite cultural and/or personality differences. You also down your phone. D&D means a lot to its community of players and my family, and I are no different. 

Without further ado, we are onto the races in the D&D world! There are nine basic playable races in the 5th edition (5E). However, there are numerous subraces created in homebrews (think about my purple Dragonborn from my previous post) or other sources/adventure books. The nine basic playable races are as follows: Halflings, Elves, Half-elves, Humans, Dwarves, Dragonborn, Half-orcs, Tieflngs, and Gnomes. Below, I will share what these races look like and some short descriptions from DnDBeyond.com.

Halflings: “Small and Practical”

Elves: “Slender and Graceful” 

Half-Elves: “Of Two Worlds” 

Humans: “A Broad Spectrum”

Dwarves: “Short and Stout”  

Dragonborn: “Proud Dragon Kin”

Half-Orcs: “Scarred and Strong”

Tielfings: “Infernal Bloodline”

Gnomes: “Vibrant Expression”     

In addition to the main nine, thirty-six more subraces are playable with the 5E version of D&D.  

We found this great condensed list via Reddit:  

Aarakocra, Aasimar (1. dmg, 2. fallen, 3. protector, 4. scourge), Bugbear, Centaur, Changeling, Duergar, Custom Lineage, Fairy, Firbolg, Genasi (1. air, 2. earth, 3. fire, 4, water), Gith (1. githyanki, 2. githzerai), Goblin, Goliath, Grung, Harengon, Hobgoblin, Kalashtar, Kenku, Kobold, Leonin, Lizardfolk, Lokathah, Loxodon, Minotaur, Orc (1. volos, 2. eberron), Owlin, Satyr, Shifter (1. beasthide, 2. longtooth, 3. swiftstride, 4. wildhunt), Simic Hybrid, Tabaxi, Tortle, Triton, Vedalken, Verdan, Warforged, and Yuan-ti. The numbered areas are subtypes of races. For instance, you can have elemental subtypes of subraces for the Genasi race: Earth, air, fire, and water. There are also ways to create more home-brewed characters, which are characters that can be a combination of two separate races or a completely different race of your creation (as long as you don’t make them TOO overpowered, of course). If you want to read more on these subraces, you can find more information here: DnDBeyond-Races.

My favorite race to play is the Aasimar (Danielle) and I have different levels of the same character that I play for multiple campaigns. Her name is Electra: 

Source: World Anvil-Aasimar Article-Liambic 

Anonymous WHS Sophomore previously mentioned the Tabaxi, so I thought I would share more about them: 

Anonymous WHS Sophomore here: As someone who has run a few D&D campaigns, and played in a bunch before that, I have some races that I prefer. One that I have played in many campaigns is a Tiefling, which is a race that resembles demons. Now Tieflings are not necessarily always evil, and they are not always red or black. I played a Tiefling who was tan with a few traits of zoomorphism (having animalistic traits/features). In this case, he had goat legs from the thigh down. Something cool about Tieflings is there are a million diverse ways to portray them. They could be completely human-looking other than horns, or you could put a personal spin on them. This is great for artists, such as me, to experiment with drawing something you have not done before. I prefer to use Tieflings because they are perfect for more magical damage; they have natural skills that help with magic rather than weapon-based damage. One race that I would love to play more frequently would most definitely be a Changeling, which is a race that my partner plays frequently. Changelings, as their name gives away, are a race where they shift between different forms or can copy the appearance of others. My partner's current character in the campaign we are working on (where I have my Tiefling) is a Changeling who dresses up as a jester. A big plus to playing a Changeling is that they do not necessarily have specific traits that often come with other races, like humans, for their assigned sex. This means that they can make themselves look more feminine, masculine, or androgynous based simply on how the player feels. This is a great plus for someone who is non-binary (like me) or gender fluid/flux.

And now, we eat! 

One of the greatest things that D&D decided to put out for their fans and players was a cookbook that features cuisine for specific races. The cookbook features cuisines for the following races:  

Section 1-Human, Section 2-Elven, Section 3-Dwarven, Section 4-Halfling, Section 5-Uncommon, and Section 6- Elixirs and Ales 

After reviewing the cuisines, we found the honeyed ham with pineapple gravy (Halfling cuisine) the most intriguing. Who thinks of turning pineapples into gravy?! The Halfling cuisine was by far our favorite! However, we are big on chili, so we are going to share Arkhan the Cruel’s Flame-Roasted Halfling Chili (Uncommon cuisine).  

Here is a link to review the cookbook and purchase a copy of it for yourself if you wish: Dungeons & Dragons Heroes' Feast Cookbook: 

Special shout out to Professor Bekah Wall for lending me her D&D cookbook! 

ARKHAN THE CRUEL'S FLAME-ROASTED HALFLING CHILI 

Meat for the meat god! Understandably, the preparation of halfling is frowned upon in many realms, but their consumption is an important part of Dragonborn cuisine. However, this recipe is rumored to be the personal one of Arkhan the Cruel, notorious disciple of the five-headed dragon goddess. Tiamat, and thus worthy of inclusion. You won't catch this ferocious and cunning Oathbreaker Paladin eating anything less than the finest halfling flesh in his chili, but the spices work wonderfully with any meat substitute you choose-in this instance, spicy ground turkey, or abyssal chicken, which is simmered for hours with kidney beans, allspice, cloves, cayenne, and a Vecna's handful of cocoa powder. This filling meat sauce can be consumed by the bowl or scooped on top of other beast (meat) or noodles. 

SERVES 4 TO 6 

Ingredients 

1½ tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder 

1% tablespoons chili powder 

1% teaspoons ground cinnamon 

1½ teaspoons dried oregano 

¼ teaspoon ground cumin 

½ teaspoon ground allspice 

½ teaspoon ground cloves 

¼ teaspoon cayenne, or as needed 

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 

2 (15-ounce) cans of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed 

2 cups low-sodium chicken broth 

4 slices bacon 

1 large yellow onion, finely chopped 

5 garlic cloves, finely chopped 

1 (15-ounce) can tomato puree 

2 teaspoons dark or light brown sugar 

1-pound lean ground turkey (Can be another meat you prefer) 

1 teaspoon cider vinegar 

Oyster crackers, freshly cooked buttered noodles, grated Cheddar cheese, and/or finely chopped onion for serving (optional) 

What To Do: 

In a small bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, chili powder, cinnamon, oregano, cumin, allspice, cloves, cayenne, ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Set aside. 

In a blender or food processor, puree half the kidney beans with about a cup of the broth until smooth and set aside. 

In a small Dutch oven over medium heat, fry the bacon, turning it over as necessary, until well-rendered and lightly browned, about 13 minutes. Transfer the bacon to paper towels to drain, chop it, and reserve. 

Return the pot to medium heat, add the onion and a pinch of salt to the rendered bacon fat, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and the reserved spice mixture and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute more. Add the remaining 14 cups of broth and bring to a simmer, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot to loosen and dissolve any browned bits. Add the tomato puree, brown sugar, and pureed bean mixture and stir to incorporate. Add the ground turkey and break it into large chunks (it will break down more on its own). Add the remaining kidney beans and stir to mix. Adjust the heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer, then adjust the heat to medium-low and simmer to blend flavors and thicken slightly, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot occasionally, about 30 minutes. 

Add the vinegar, reserved bacon, and stir. Taste and adjust the seasoning with additional salt and pepper, if necessary. Serve with oyster crackers of noodles, cheese, and onion, as desired. 

COOK'S NOTE: 

The cocoa powder contributes both flavor complexity and a dark hue to the chili without making it taste of chocolate. The cayenne gives a bare tingle, but you can certainly add more if you like your chill spicy-hot. 

If you are a visual person, we found this WONDERFUL visual rendition of the same recipe but with a few alternatives created by this Tumblr Account: A Finicky Guide-Arkhan Chili.  

Chili tastes the best when it has garlic and multiple types of beans! 

And last but certainly NOT least, we invite you to join the Wilmington College Theatre department for She Kills Monsters, taking place at the Heiland Theatre on February 29th, March 1st, and March 2nd at 7:30 pm. Tickets are already on sale and  

you can snag those here: https://wc.booktix.net/  

(We already bought ours and we cannot wait!) 

Straight from the WC Theatre page: “She Kills Monsters tells the story of high schooler Agnes Evans as she comes to terms with the death of her younger sister, Tilly. When Agnes stumbles upon Tilly’s Dungeons & Dragons  

notebook, she finds herself catapulted into a journey of discovery and action-packed adventure in the imaginary world that was her sister’s refuge. In this high-octane dramatic comedy laden with homicidal fairies, nasty ogres and ’90s pop culture,  

acclaimed playwright Qui Nguyen offers a heart-pounding homage to the geek and warrior within us all.”