This subclass is full of fun and thematic concepts!! I really like it

I didn't take find familiar right away when I first played a Wizard, because I looked at all the familiars available to me, and none of them were as fun as, say, taking the spell grease, or even as useful as taking something like shield. I wish, as a Wizard, I had an opportunity to stop at a place like Bearthazar's House of Familiars to find a companion that fit the tone of the campaign I was playing in.

The creatures in this book really are as madcap as the book says they are. Each one is not only stylistically but mechanically unique, which means making your selection is a lot more fun than deciding between a weasel and a cat. While these familiars do tend to beef up abilities like Wizard's Find Familiar, Beastmaster's Animal Companion, and Warlock Pact of the Chain, I find that a lot of times those abilities need beefing up anyway.

I absolutely recommend getting the softcover if you can. Your familiar-loving players will thank you for something physical to look through at the table. But, also, thumbing through this book really gave me that lovely feeling of going to the animal shelter, locking eyes with the one that was just right for me, and saying, "This one. This one is perfect."

Except they're all perfect.

I absolutely love this paladin. It is, as the creators mention, the ally members of the LGBTQ+ community has always wanted. Or at least the one I've wanted, as a trans nonbinary bisexual dnd player.

I firmly believe in the ability of games like Dungeons & Dragons to allow us to share our experiences and come to a greater understanding of ourselves, each other, and what we need from each other. Oath of the Ally gives great thought to how we can accomplish that, and it shines through in the mechanics.

The conversation of allyship is an important one, especially during Pride month. What can we do to support the marginalized? The tenets of the Oath of the Ally give an overview that is substantial to cover the topic, but not exhaustive so as to bog down the mechanics of the class. It mentions some pretty important real-world stuff we all can do to be allies: directly speaking out against hate and intolerance, using what platform and power you have for others, and being mindful of the intersectionality of the communities of which you are a part.

Another important aspect of being an ally is showing up to do the work even when it would be a detriment to you, personally. This is the bit that I really love about the Oath of the Ally: sacrificing your action to grant an ally advantage (using your platform to boost others instead of yourself), granting allies an AC bonus while getting a penalty to your own. Mechanically, Oath of the Ally is built for someone who is ready to show up and do the work, no matter the cost.

This is a clever restatement of an important real-world topic in a language we all love and understand (game design). I am sure this will have some awesome results at the table.

I absolutely loved running this module! My players had a ton of fun acting gauche in such a fancy setting and getting into tons and tons of trouble. There are a lot of places to inject character hooks and drow lore. There are some seriously fun roleplaying moments here, including the drow spreading rumors throughout the party, and rummaging through Lolth's bedchamber.

My biggest complaint is that causing too much trouble for the party results in you being fast-tracked to the final match (by a forcible drow escort). I found myself letting my players get away with a lot more than maybe they should have, just so they'd have the benefit of experiencing all of the fun things to discover.