Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos is an upcoming Dungeons & Dragons sourcebook that will bring the magical Strixhaven university from Magic: The Gathering into the game. Strixhaven students spend their first year honing their craft before joining one of the five magical colleges that make up the school, becoming a scholar of Lorehold, an artist of Prismari, a mathematician of Quandrix, an orator of Silverquill, or a geomancer of Witherbloom.
The Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos sourcebook provides rules that allow players to create a student at Strixhaven and go on their own magical adventure. Depending on the group, this could be the players' own D&D version of Harry Potter, Persona 5, Animal House, or a mixture of all three. The book will contain subclasses and backgrounds for each of the Colleges, allowing players to further link their character to the setting. There is also a multiyear-long campaign in the book, which will take players on adventures throughout their time at Strixhaven.
Dungeons & Dragons Senior Designer Amanda Hamon and Game Designer James Wyatt recently spoke to Screen Rant about Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos, and how players can spend their time at the school, as well as the changes made to the D&D book through its development.
Strixhaven University is broken up into five colleges: Lorehold, Prismari, Quandrix, Silverquill, and Winterboom. Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos has a ready-made campaign for that’s set within the school. Is it advised that all of the players belong to the same college in the campaign, or will it be easy for members of different colleges to interact and work together?
James Wyatt: We definitely wanted to encourage players to bring characters from all five colleges of Strixhaven, and we gave some particular attention to how the characters might know each other despite moving in different academic circles. The fact that first-year students haven’t chosen a college yet helps, narratively, even if characters might already be using game mechanics related to the college they will join in their second year. But the first adventure begins with orientation and just assumes that the characters have ended up in an orientation group together.
The exclusive assets sent to Screen Rant mentioned several members of the faculty in Prismari College, including Uvilda Mistcoiler (the Dean of Perfection) and Zaffai (the Thunder Conductor). Will the faculty be a major part of Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos? If the players want to focus on their fellow students, then is it easy to push the faculty into the background?
James Wyatt: The focus of the adventures lies solidly with the player characters as students and their interactions with their fellow students. The Relationship mechanics and the rules around Extracurricular activities and Jobs ensure that players keep their attention on how they’re relating to other students. Faculty members occupy a place in the background of the adventures - occasionally a prominent place, because of the story of the adventures, but never as central as other students.
Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos originally had subclasses that were featured in an Unearthed Arcana article, which could be selected by multiple classes. It was later revealed that these subclasses have been cut from the book and will be replaced with something. How will the Mages of Strixhaven subclasses be different in the final version of the book?
James Wyatt: The subclasses have been replaced with backgrounds. I think this is a clear win—from my perspective, a lot of what’s interesting about making a character at Strixhaven is exploring how characters with different subclasses might fit into different colleges. One example I’ve been thinking about a lot is that I want to play a barbarian who attends Lorehold College, using the Path of the Ancestral Guardian (from Xanathar’s Guide to Everything). Lorehold is all about using magic to connect with the spirits of historical figures, and I love the idea of using a barbarian’s ancestral spirit to do that! And I can make that character with the Lorehold Student background—but a “Mage of Lorehold” subclass wouldn’t have allowed it.
The exclusive assets showed the new Prismari Student background that players can choose for their character. Do each of the five colleges have their own associated background? Can players still use other backgrounds with the campaign? Do characters need to buy a school uniform (as Prismari Students receive one for free) if they want to attend?
James Wyatt: Each college does have a background, and I’d strongly encourage players to choose the appropriate background for their characters’ college. You certainly can use other backgrounds to represent what we’d call a non-traditional student - ”Yes, I had a life as a sailor or an acolyte, but now I’m attending Strixhaven and pursuing a second career!” You can take the Strixhaven Initiate feat for your school without having the background, and you can of course buy your school uniform using your character’s starting money.
Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos has a whole system around the players' extracurricular activities, where they can spend time in clubs within the school or working jobs. What kind of mechanical benefits do these provide for the player?
Amanda Hamon: When a character participates in an Extracurricular activity, there’s a lot happening off-screen - if they’re a member of the Strixhaven Iron-Lifters Society, for example, they’re practicing their weightlifting techniques, learning how to build a strong body, and bonding with fellow lifting enthusiasts, all potentially away from the main action happening at the table. When a character participates in an Extracurricular, they get a Student Die every long rest that gives them a bump to one of two ability checks listed along with their chosen Extracurricular. Additionally, they gain a positive or negative Relationship point with one of their peers who’s also a member of the group to represent the bonding that takes place during these extracurriculars.
The playable Owlin race that will appear in Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos originally appeared in the “Folk of the Feywild” Unearthed Arcana article. Will the Owlin race that appears in Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos be different from the one in Unearthed Arcana?
James Wyatt: All the playtest content we release through Unearthed Arcana goes through a process of refinement based on the feedback we collect, so the owlin in the book is the polished, final form of those mechanics. There have been some changes, but you’ll definitely recognize it.
Strixhaven has its own sporting event, in the form of Mage Tower, which was introduced in Magic: The Gathering. How does Mage Tower work in D&D?
Amanda Hamon: We’ve provided a full ruleset for Mage Tower in Strixhaven, which is exciting! There’s even a very prestigious intramural game the characters are encouraged to work toward and participate in during one of the adventures, so Mage Tower is a pretty big deal in this book. Roughly, Mage Tower takes place in three phases, each of which requires different ability checks. As jukes, players can always expend spell slots that count for one or more successes, and the rules really encourage creative thinking and playing. The Mage Tower team with the most “points” at the end of the match wins!
The exclusive assets mention a fellow student named Zanther Bowen, who is a member of the Mage Tower Cheer Squad for Prismari College. Can other players join the Cheer Squad? If so, how do they function during Mage Tower matches?
James Wyatt: The Mage Tower Cheer Squad is an extracurricular activity that characters can participate in! It works as part of the extracurricular system.
Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos has relationship/romance mechanics that involve the NPCs in the campaign. How do these work alongside the other systems in the school? Are characters like Zanther part of this system? How much information does the book provide about their personality and role in the school?
Amanda Hamon: Characters like Zanther are absolutely part of this system! In fact, there are 18 NPCs who are part of the Relationships system, and they all have unique personalities, backgrounds, motivations, and interests that are described in detail in the book. If you’re a friend of the character, you’ll get a little story-focused boost, and if you’re their rival, they go out of their way to undermine or annoy you. For example, if you’re friends with Greta Gorunn, an affable, fun-loving, bodybuilding dwarf, members of the Iron-Lifters Society might show up to help you with any tough physical tasks you encounter. If you’ve annoyed her, one night when you return to your dorm you’re likely to find a bunch of heavy furniture blocking your way to your room.
It’s mentioned in the exclusive assets that Nassari (the Dean of Expression) caused an earthquake during their final project. Will players all need to perform a grandiose final project at the end of the campaign? Does Strixhaven have a grading system for its diploma?
Amanda Hamon: They will, but not in the way that you might think! The characters’ finals end up being replaced with needing to save the entire campus from a terrifying threat. If they can manage to do that, the faculty will pass them with flying colors.
Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos will be released on December 7, 2021.