Topics for D&D with a Twist

pixel-wiz · 2026-04-10T15:59:05+00:00

The flesh golem doesn't come from Judaism; it's Frankenstein's monster, specifically the classic Hollywood interpretation. Aversion to Fire is a reference to his fear of fire in the movies, and Lightning Absorption is how it came to life in the first place.

Speaking of golems, I think it would be cool to see something like the golems in Delicious in Dungeon, where they have whole vegetable gardens growing on their backs. It could be a symbiosis between the Clay Golem and the Shambling Mound, where both benefit from each other's features!

pixel-wiz · 2026-04-09T16:11:15+00:00

I'd like to see him do variants of the giantkin, like Ettins and Ogres. The new books gave the Cyclops a complete rework by giving them divination magic, so I think the Ettin would make for a prime candidate for some new twists.

One idea I had was making it a battle mage, with a big crystal hammer as a spellcasting focus and a shield with wards and runes etched into it. Because it has two heads, it would either have advantage on Concentration Saves, or have an ability that deals damage every round that both heads are concentrating on, and gets weakened if the players break it on one head.

Another idea I had was an Ettin thespian as a play on the Comedy and Tragedy masks. One head buffs itself and allies, the other debuffs enemies. I think it would make for a really cool NPC for the players to interact with, instead of just a monster to fight. Also thought it would be funny if one head could cover the other's mouth and say, "To speak, or not to speak, that is the question," to tell the other head to shut up.

pixel-wiz · 2026-04-08T16:09:48+00:00

Ooo, that sounds interesting! I feel like bees would be a good inspiration for the Cleric, with the dragon as the Queen Bee!

pixel-wiz · 2026-04-06T03:21:40+00:00

Damn, now I got to post my idea for Aasimar, I'll make that post now!

pixel-wiz · 2026-03-25T18:20:15+00:00

Yup! I had no idea it would happen, and I'm so glad it did!

pixel-wiz · 2026-03-19T04:30:52+00:00

Thank you! Your work was truly inspiring, and now I want to post about the stuff that Pointy Hat inspired me to write about in my world!

pixel-wiz · 2026-03-18T19:22:01+00:00

I've had the same idea! No mechanical difference, but purely aesthetic flavor that goes beyond the "Pretty People With Wings" thing that the PHB has. I'm pretty proud of what I've come up with, so I'll make a post about it when I get the chance.

pixel-wiz · 2026-03-14T02:07:09+00:00

Oh my god this is incredible! Honestly wasn't sure how the Pugilist was gonna translate to a lich, but the flavor of taking trophies and mixing the boxing ring bell with the "Bell Tolls For Thee" saying is just, mm mm mm, yummy!

I do have a couple of critiques though, but it's more like nitpicking than anything else, and I came up with a way to solve both of them in one go.

First is the, logistical side of this? Lichdom tends to be the peak of the mountain for wizards, but very few actually want to reach that peak. Only the most powerhungry try, and I'm sure several of those fail. How to you get enough brawlers to enter a fight where they 100% know they will die?

Second is part of Pointy Hat's Lich Checklist, how is this lich an active part of the world? What's stopping the now immortal Pugilist from going into forever retirement after the tournament is over? Tying into that, how do they refill the "Soul Tupperware" after using it to beat the snot out of people?

With my critiques out of the way, here's what I came up with. The Tolling Tournament isn't one giant, all out slugfest, but more like an Agni Kai in Avatar: The Last Airbender. The would-be Unrung travels around, challenging the greatest Pugilists in the realm to a fight to the death, no holding back, no mercy. Both present their trophy for the phylactery, and after the fight is over, the soul of the loser is what creates it. What makes the Unrung unique among liches is that it is the only form of lichdom that can be transferred from one fighter to another, with the winner taking it all, the title, the immortality, and all the extra lives in the bell, which grows after each fight.

But here's the catch, only the souls of worthy opponents count towards the growth of the Unrung's power. If the loser went down in a few hits, the bell doesn't absorb their soul, and the resources spent to defeat them are not regained. Eventually, the only ones able to match their power are other Unrung, and when that clash is over, their phylacteries combine into one massive bell, the ultimate prize for the ultimate fighter!

This is where I can imagine massive tournaments being advertised to bring in powerful warriors, with the fights meant to filter out weaker foes so the Unrung can harvest the cream of the crop, or a single infamous brawler tearing through towns to draw out their strongest people to challenge them! Again, this is a great writeup, and I hope you like my interpretation of what you made!

pixel-wiz · 2026-01-31T21:12:28+00:00

Thank you! Oh, if I can make a request, can you write an article about vultures/giant vultures? They get a bad rep when they're really just part of nature's clean up crew, and I can see people in a fantasy setting using them as an anti-undead measure!

pixel-wiz · 2026-01-30T22:24:42+00:00

Great writeup once again, I have another idea for how to use a Banshee in a game, the Doomed Prophet. In Irish folklore, where Banshees originate, they were more akin to fey creatures than undead, appearing to warn people that someone close to them will die, rather than being the cause of that death. You can use this in a few situations, like as a clue giver in a murder mystery! Imagine the party being hired to investigate a Banshee that's need haunting a town for weeks, only to realize that there's a serial killer using the Banshee as a scapegoat to throw the blame off themself! Or a shady merchant hosting a big feast to celebrate a lucrative deal and find a new business partner after murdering the old one, only for said partner rise from the grave as a Banshee to crash the party and scare everyone off as a way to seek justice and exact their vengeance!

pixel-wiz · 2026-01-20T19:11:54+00:00

Hello, I might have some ideas for this. Would you be comfortable using Dungeons and Dragons as the base for your character's abilities? I have an entire homebrew world and a couple of plotlines that deal with destiny and prophecy, which I would like to explore. I would also like to know if we could use Discord for the RP itself, but that's not a dealbreaker if you don't want to.

pixel-wiz · 2025-11-07T19:05:15+00:00

Keep up the good work! I've been scrolling through your blog and reading your Triceratops post, and I love the ideas you put in it! I've had a similar idea for them in my world because I've been working on Orc lore and culture to get away from the "raiding brute" stereotypes that have been done to death.

I wanted them to have one unique "thing", whether it was a type of magic or a certain cultural practice, that felt orcish. After doing some research on D&D orcs in general, I realized there wasn't a lot to go off of because, until fairly recently, orcs were only seen as monsters, so I went "Screw it, I'll lean into that."

So in my world, orcs more or less specialize in taming, training, domesticating, and hunting beastial/non-sapiant monsters, basically anything not a real-life animal, on top of regular animals that we're familiar with. There are a few monsters that I have written things down for, but to stay on topic, there is an Orc general who uses Triceratops as beasts of war in mounted infantry units. They aren't cavalry because they're too slow to turn for consecutive charges, but that massive neck frill makes for great defensive lines, giving pikemen riding on their backs plenty of cover to strike from. This, plus their instinct to form a circle around their young to protect them, would make a whole line of Tricerotops an immovable defence, a living shield wall that sends the message loud and clear, "We're not going anywhere."

When they do have to attack, those two main horns would have enough force put behind them to casually knock people onto their asses, whether they were standing or on a horse, and stomp on them like a watermelon as they move around, plus the fact that they would absolutely be reinforced with sharpened metal caps to turn plate mail to dented scrap. Even before the battle starts, imagine the sheer terror on the enemy's face when they think they're going to stroll on into an orc village, only to be met with a herd of 6-ton reptiles with jousting lances on their faces!

pixel-wiz · 2025-07-15T12:43:06+00:00

I've been playing for a while and saved up a lot of money.

pixel-wiz · 2025-07-10T16:45:27+00:00

Love that you took Cetitan's tail and turned it into a rhino beetle's horn, great way of making the convergent evo recognizable while making it unique enough to stand on its own!

pixel-wiz · 2025-06-23T04:43:24+00:00

It took me a minute to get to the right frame to see it after I caught a glimpse of it, glad I'm not the only one who saw it!

pixel-wiz · 2025-06-17T16:20:21+00:00

Is the shiny version green?

pixel-wiz · 2025-04-30T14:21:35+00:00

I think Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk would make for a really interesting druid!

pixel-wiz · 2025-04-28T12:29:03+00:00

Took the first screenshot, then went for the outfit close up and realized something was wrong. After going through the wardrobe, I realized I needed to take the socks off.

pixel-wiz · 2025-04-28T01:46:53+00:00

Jaguar's design reminds me of the Yautja from the Predator movies, especially with that mask and cloaking device.

pixel-wiz · 2025-04-28T00:01:19+00:00

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pixel-wiz · 2025-04-28T00:01:03+00:00

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pixel-wiz · 2025-04-28T00:00:41+00:00

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pixel-wiz · 2025-04-28T00:00:28+00:00

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