TPK DnD – Create An Incredible Story

If you aren’t familiar with the term TPK, it stands for “Total Party Kill.” It's that horrifying yet completely exhilarating feeling that TTRPGs offer to remind you that the game is not entirely "safe" - that yes, indeed, all of your characters might just die fighting that terrifying villain.

TPK DnD – A TPK in DnD happens when the entire party faces something that results in death for all player characters. Following their character’s deaths, players are left with some pretty weighty decisions to make. It’s still possible to move the story and gaming campaign forward with new characters. It’s possible to end the story there and instead continue with new characters in an entirely new world or storyline. And of course, it is technically possible to continue the story with the same characters, but in some unique way, such as in the “spirit world,” or as servants of a god.


In any case, the best way to deal with a TPK in DnD is to make the most of it. Let the character deaths sink in. Feel for them. Grieve. And begin to ask yourself, “how can we use this to make an even better story than we’d originally planned?”

TPK DnD

Group Discussion Following the TPK DnD

The first step to take following a TPK is to have a group discussion. There are many ways to go about dealing with a TPK in DnD, but for the potential benefits of the situation to be realized, the group needs to get on the same page. Sometimes players and dungeon masters can see a TPK coming. Yet sometimes TPKs happen suddenly and out of nowhere, surprising everyone.

As such, it may take everyone in the group a moment or two to realize what just hit them. So, let the discussion take a little time if it’s needed.


Basically, the group needs to decide which of the following scenarios best describes how they want to either move the game forward, or to let it end. None of these choices is the definitive “best” option. It really comes down to your gaming group, and which path forward you all find to be the most fun and satisfying experience. TPK options include the following:


  • Start New Characters
  • Start a New Campaign
  • Continue Your Characters in a New Way
  • Say that the TPK “Never Really Happened” (Not Recommended)

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Start New Characters After a TPK DnD

There are multiple ways to go about starting new characters. In each of the following scenarios, the party will go through the character-building process to create new characters. What differs between these options is the role of the new characters, and where they fit (if at all) into the previous storyline.


Same World and Campaign

This is a very simple option. Players say goodbye to their former characters, honor them, then let them go – at least as far as playing them anymore, goes.


Even with characters gone, however, the gaming world, story, and campaign remains. Every hero in a DnD world has friends, allies, and family. Players can choose to tie in their new characters to their old characters. Perhaps the new character wants vengeance for their slain sibling. Maybe they were one of the people deeply touched by their former hero, and want to live up to the hero’s ideals. Or perhaps they are simply another adventurer with the same kind of goals as the previous character, and is thereby swept into the same (or similar) storyline that the group was previously following.


Same Level as Previous Characters

In this option, players still engage with the same world and campaign, as above. But instead of restarting characters at Lv.1, they create new heroes at the same level as their previous characters. There’s no definite rule in DnD that requires players to begin new characters at Lv.1. This is especially true if the gaming group simply doesn’t want to entirely start over.


To some hardcore gamers this option may seem like a kind of cop-out. However, players in an ongoing campaign have already “earned” their character’s level, so why punish everyone for a TPK? The TTRPG genre is about having fun. Why not take this opportunity for all players to create a new character in a class they’ve always wanted to try out? Starting players at the same level as they were before the TPK is a great way to make the deaths of their former beloved characters less tragic.


Roster of Secondary Heroes

DnD TPKs don’t have to be the end of the game, in many cases. There are many spells, such as “Raise Dead” or “True Resurrection” that allow dead characters to be brought back to life.


In this option, the point is to create a group of heroes who, for one reason or another, believe that resurrecting the original party is a goal worthy of risking their own lives. They may have to face a terrible enemy, or find news of the deceased group and follow them into a deadly dungeon. However, if they can simply succeed in resurrecting the heroes, then perhaps they don’t have to fight same horrible monster that slew the previous group, or even get through the entire dungeon that killed them. They just have to find the heroes’ bodies, to save them.


If this roster of secondary heroes succeeds in their mission, these heroes can be kept for interesting side quests in the future, or can be intermittently played, as desired. It can be fun in DnD to have multiple characters available to play, and can allow for additional interesting opportunities in an ongoing RPG campaign. 


Enemies of Previous Characters

Have you ever considered that your gaming group could “switch sides” and roleplay the enemies that killed your group’s previous characters?


Perhaps your characters had a goal to stop a powerful organization. But, in fighting that organization, were tragically overpowered. A fun way to progress the same campaign story is to then create new characters who belong to the organization your old characters had previously fought against. In fact, your group’s new characters could in fact be the ones who actually slew your previous party, or were in some way involved in their deaths.


The story would then continue – in a dramatic twist of events – as the players fight for the side they’d previously been so vehemently against. Whereas everyone thought the campaign was “about” stopping an evil empire, the story would then become about a group of “heroes” out to change the world as everyone knows it, according to their own (insidious?) ideals.


Creating New Characters After A DnD TPK

Start A New Campaign After a TPK in DnD

Sometimes it’s best to simply end a DnD campaign after a TPK. If the player characters are very high level, and/or everyone feels they’ve experienced what they wanted in the current campaign, it can be a good option to move on.

It’s actually sometimes difficult to officially “end” a long-standing campaign, especially if play has continued long past lv.20. In this case, death can be a form of release, preparing the way for a new campaign.


The downside, of course, is that starting an entirely new campaign in DnD is typically a bit larger of a project than simply creating a new character. New stories need to be thought out, new lands, new NPCs, new villains, and an entirely new setting. Starting a new RPG campaign can be very fun, but it does take some preparation, which might mean that the next step to a TPK needs to wait until the new world is built.


Here are a few ideas to incorporate a new campaign into your party’s recent TPK – especially if it was unexpected – that can save some time, and still tie in to the former story:


Use the Same Campaign World

If your gaming group has done a good job of creating an engaging world that you all love, why not keep the next campaign in that same location? Diverse worlds have many stories going on within them at any given time. Even if you feel the story involving your former characters is complete, maybe there’s still room for continued stories in the lands in which they once lived.


Continue the Story Many Years Later

When heroes die, there are consequences to the world around them. Dangerous villains’ plots aren’t stopped. Plagues wipe out entire lands. Magical artifacts are never found. Families are never reunited. But someone continues to live on in the broken and desolate world, with a fire burning within them to set things right. This version of a new campaign could take place a year, decade, or even a century following events of the first campaign. Perhaps the original villains and storylines from the previous campaign are gone, but their effects continue.


This option can make for a powerful continuation of a TPK’s story as it shows the players exactly what happened as a result of their failure. Instantly, everyone at the table feels an emotional tie to the new story and campaign at hand. There’s a feeling among the group of, “we have to set things straight.”


Utilize Pieces of the Same Story

This is a tip for dungeon masters: if players died in a TPK before they got to see the full story you had planned for the campaign, then they won’t know if you use elements of that same story in a new campaign.


It can be hard as a dungeon master to craft a world and story that you love, only to never see it played out. Sometimes it’s the dungeon master who’s most affected by a sudden TPK in DnD, which is why it’s tempting to try and find a way around the incident (the players weren’t actually killed, someone saves them at the last moment, etc.). So, take everything you loved about your previous creation’s plans, and find a way to create it fresh in your new campaign. That way the group’s TPK doesn’t steal all your hard-won creativity from reaching its expression.

TPK DnD New Campaign

Continue Characters in a New Way After a TPK in DnD

Just because a character’s “dead” in DnD doesn’t really mean they have to, well… actually be dead. There are, after all, many planes of existence in DnD, which means that a TPK can simply act as a portal of kinds, to another realm.


In fact, if you’re a dungeon master, you may consider using this option as a way to even plan a TPK for your DnD group. The “TPK” might come as a total shock to them. But to you, it might just be the next necessary step for the storyline…


Spirit World

There are many great stories that take place within a world of spirits. The idea is somewhat common in fantasy settings and within the lore of fairy tales.


One thing worth noting about spirit worlds: taking characters to a spirit world may sort of derail the campaign if the idea doesn’t fit well with the overall theme of the campaign. But even if the spirit world transition is a little jarring initially, it can work quite well so long as the players feel that they’ve “discovering” something that was actually part of the campaign all along, only hidden.


In a spirit world, players probably have drastically altered abilities and powers. Maybe characters’ stats change, or they can’t wield physical weapons anymore, or even their magic spells function differently.


Within the spirit world, players could create an entirely new path or goal for themselves, find ways to engage with the previous storyline, but as spirits, or even find ways “back” to the mortal realm from which they came. Spirit allies they meet could even potentially resurrect the heroes’ bodies (in return for help of some kind), or could possibly point the heroes in the right direction to accomplish a similar solution.


This option really comes with its own list of limitless possibilities. Many anime series and movies by Studio Ghibli have great ideas you can utilize when it comes to merging the physical world and the spirit world into a single story.


Servants of a God

One option that works well in conjunction with the idea of a spirit world is that after death, the heroes become servants of a god. It might even be that a god has called the heroes to his or her side, which is “why” (it turns out) they experienced premature deaths. Or perhaps the god saw their deaths and decided to bring them into his or her own service, to preserve their heroic spirits.


There is another option when it comes to gods. But it’s a bad idea. You should almost certainly never go this route:


Gods can – of course – do basically anything, right? Though it’s a terrible plot twist, the god could resurrect the party for any reason of their choosing. The god needs a mortal champion, the god also hates the heroes’ enemy, the heroes have always been faithful servants of the god, etc. These aren’t good options because they’re definitely cop-outs.


The key to making a TPK in DnD really satisfying is to advance the story through the event. Using a god to save the party from all their problems is the literal definition of a Deus Ex Machina (god out of the machine), which has for a thousand years or more been ridiculed as an abysmal story-crafting device.


Undead Creatures

Similar to the idea in the “Create New Characters” section of creating new characters that are the enemies/ slayers of the previous characters, what if the previous heroes are resurrected… but as undead minions of the story’s villain? In this diabolical shift of fate, the player characters are forced to do the bidding of their new necromantic master, which is probably the opposite of which they previously strove to accomplish.


This option is tricky to pull off. First, players may not like the idea of playing a campaign where they suddenly represent the antithesis of their recently held personal ideals. And second, they may not enjoy turning their beloved characters into undead monsters.


However, if the party doesn’t mind really shaking up the campaign, then this option – with a lot of intentionality and work – certainly leads to a unique continuation for a campaign.


Magically Enhanced

Some magical rituals require a sacrifice. What if the players had been marked for this kind of sacrifice all along, without their knowing?


Or, the characters may not have been able to enter a certain magical realm, or land of the dead, without first… well, dying. And while the TPK seemed like a horrible event, it was actually the gateway to the story’s next phase.


Eventually, the question of what the characters actually “become,” in a situation like this, needs to be answered. It needs to be made clear if they’re still alive, by power of the ritual, or if they are in fact dead, and living as spirits, or some such. Also, if the ritual was planned all along – or planned for them – then can they find a way to return to life?


One way to work through the details of a ritual death like this is to say that the characters have been infused with some form of magic, divine power, or demonic energy that allows them to live. Even though they died technically died. Sort of.


Luckily in a fantasy setting, a creative mind always has options for getting a story to work, all while going above and beyond players’ expectations.

Spirit World After a TPK

Say that the TPK Never Really Happened

By far, the worst option, at least in terms of the campaign’s story, is to state that the TPK never actually took place. This is where the old, “the TPK wasn’t actually a TPK” trope comes into play.



Killed by a monster? Well, the monster decided to leave you alive so they could eat you later. That way you’ll make for a fresh meal (giving the party a chance to flee, once they wake up).


Slain by guards in a villain’s castle? The villain instead decided to keep you alive so he can torture you for information, at a later time (giving the party a chance to flee, once they wake up).


Instead of dying, your characters were left unconscious. The enemy warband moved on, assuming you were dead (giving the party a chance to flee, once they wake up).


And by far the best choice: killed in a deep, dark, nigh-unreachable dungeon? No problem. The gods favor you, bring you back to life, and teleport you to safety.


Why not just have the god who favors you also kill all your enemies, equip you with invincible weapons and armor, end the main villain’s plot, and make your characters lords of the entire world?


You see how slippery the slope can become, and how unsatisfying a game it can create.


Circumstances Where A Non-TPK Fits

There are times when a TPK in DnD can be “allowed” to “not be a TPK.” For instance, if none of the players want to continue the game unless they still get to play their characters – that’s a good reason to fudge things a little. If the players actually did everything right, took every possible and necessary precaution, and just plain got horribly unlucky rolls – that’s another good reason to roll the game back a bit. Finally, if players are facing a completely random encounter that has very little or nothing to do with the story, and still somehow end up dead – that’s worth consideration as “not a TPK.”


If a TPK genuinely ruins the game for everyone, it is ok to create some way for the event to have never happened. Use your creativity to come up with something still feasible, such as the ideas we made fun of, above (they aren’t the worst ideas in the world, after all – except for the “god fixes everything” option). However, if it is possible to continue the story, or continue gaming after a TPK, it really often does make for the more satisfying story and gaming experience.


Just remember that people never talk about the time their party got saved by some NPC with awe and wonder. But they do talk about the way their party heroically sacrificed themselves, nearly putting an end to the dragon king.

Scrolls to Memorialize a TPK DnD

Deciding TPK Fate Ahead of Time

One great idea is to have a group discussion about TPKs for your DnD campaign at the very start of the campaign. Day 1, right at the time everyone creates their characters for the campaign. Think about it like establishing another major part of your group’s DnD campaign expectations. If everyone understands ahead of time that a TPK is possible, and everyone comes to a consensus on what happens next should the situation occur, then your gaming sessions never gets derailed if a TPK actually takes place.


Here’s a couple things to think about as a gaming group when thinking about the future possibilities of a TPK:


  • Under what circumstances will you all allow a TPK?


Consider: Bad decision making, player mistakes, party choosing to get in situations beyond their level of power, or establishing ahead of time that the campaign is meant to be very deadly, in general.


  • Under what circumstances will you all not allow a TPK?


Consider: Really unlucky dice rolls, fights that aren’t meaningful towards the story (random deaths), dying to enemies that were accidentally created too strong, situations where only one or a couple party members made bad decisions for which everyone else would otherwise have to pay.


  • What path forward will you take should a TPK occur?


Choose one (or more) of the TPK options listed above in this article, or come up with a creation of your own. Either have everyone agree upon TPK next steps, or if you’re a dungeon master, at least have a game plan ready for the group that you can fill in should the unthinkable occur.


  • What will you do when you see a TPK approaching?


This is a great question for a dungeon master to answer for him or herself. If a TPK is imminent, consider the circumstances under which the group decided to allow a TPK or not, and seriously think about the situation at hand. Once the TPK hits, you really have no choice but to deal with it. But before a TPK actually does take place, it is a bit easier to guide the story to a guardrail, if so desired. Be watchful of potential TPK scenarios, and craft the story accordingly. 


How a TPK in DnD Affects the Game World

The higher an adventuring party is in levels when they’re decimated by a TPK, the more drastically their deaths affect the world around them. Regardless of how your gaming group decides to handle the TPK, it’s worth emphasizing its results through the game’s settings and NPCs. As a gaming group, you may consider brainstorming ideas for how your characters’ deaths – even if death was temporary, from a form of resurrect spell or something similar – shaped the RPG campaign world.


Were families affected? Friends, or allies? What about organizations, causes, and events? Obviously, plans hatched by villains would likely have more success.


If the party was above lv.5, they could perhaps have been somewhat famous, even in small sections of the world. What other adventurers may have heard of them, and how would they react? Would anyone hold services to commemorate their passing? Would anyone try to learn more about their fate, or help any causes previously championed by the heroes?


For very high-level characters, how would their deaths affect not only entire towns, villages, and country sides, but cities, and even nations? Would lords and nobles try to capitalize on the heroes’ deaths, start wars to avenge them, or create societies to honor their memory? Would anyone try to recover magical or divine artifacts held in their possession at the time of their deaths?


It can be worth taking time as a gaming group to discuss the affects your characters’ deaths might have on the campaign world. If you decide to leave end a campaign after a TPK, you might even roleplay some of the former NPCs, and describe what happens in their world after the heroes’ deaths.


And if you do decide to continue the same campaign with new characters, or by somehow pursuing another path with your fallen characters, spending time roleplaying the results that came from the characters’ deaths can act as an effective interlude before continuing the story.

Memorial of a DnD TPK

Advance the Story Immediately Following a TPK

The best thing to do after a TPK in DnD is to think about how the event can advance the story. Not all stories need to end happily ever after. A TPK can be a gut-wrenching moment, watching as your character dies. It can be a satisfying conclusion to an epic journey. And if the TPK really does result in the end of your story, you can still make the most of things by taking time with your gaming group to talk about what happens to the world after your heroes are gone, and to spend time grieving their passing.

Bottom line: a TPK in DnD doesn’t have to be something horrible. The story you’re playing through has a life of its own, and your adventuring group is simply discovering that adventure. Sometimes, “discovering” a DnD gaming session is actually better than “creating” it to be perfect in every way.


Just like a book or movie can still be good (and is sometimes made even better) if a main character dies, so too can the story of a DnD TPK. Certainly, whether the TPK was purposeful or accidental, the fact that it happened changes the story of your game, dramatically. But the key is really what you do with the TPK after it happens – not that it happened, to begin with.

You can turn a TPK in DnD – or any other TTRPG – into the beginning of an entirely new, and amazing, chapter.


Tired of Your DM Killing Your Characters?

Let’s face it: some DMs love the carnage of brutal TPKs. However, you can get your revenge. Why not have a little fun producing a little of your own chaos for that special DM?


In Eternity TTRPG, no single person at the gaming table has all the power. Instead, everyone shares in creating the game’s story, world, NPCs, and more – all while roleplaying their own characters. If someone attempts a TPK, you have the power to change the direction of the story so that it better fits the entire gaming group and the game story you want to play.

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Jacob Tegtman Eternity TTRPG Creator

Author - Jacob Tegtman

Dear reader, I hope you enjoyed this article. Tabletop gaming has been a passion of mine since I was 6 years old. I've played just about every game from Dungeons and Dragons to video games like Final Fantasy. These games have inspired me, made me laugh, made me cry, and brought me endless hours of enjoyment.


I started Eternity TTRPG - and the indie tabletop game that goes along with it (Eternity Shop) - to share my love of gaming with others. I believe that in our technology-driven age, tabletop games help bring a sense of magic and community back into our world.


If you love the site, please share it with others! I have lots of gaming-related material for you to peruse and use in your own gaming sessions. If you have any questions about the site or want to contribute, just send me a message using the "Contact" page, which you can find in the site's footer.

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Final Fantasy TRPG: Legend Edition — Classes & Jobs Explained

By Jacob Tegtman • January 20, 2026
Transcribed content from our recent YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPQfDB2cKSI Transcription Every Final Fantasy hero starts with a choice. Sword or spell. Raw power, or skill. But in Final Fantasy TRPG: Legend Edition, that choice doesn’t stop at your Class — it’s defined by the Jobs you choose from your class, the Circles you unlock, and the Limit Breaks that change the tide of battle. Today, we’re breaking down how Classes and Jobs actually work in Final Fantasy TRPG: Legend Edition — and how they shape your character from level one… to the final boss. Hey everyone, welcome back to Eternity TTRPG channel! If you caught one of my recent videos from before the holidays, we went deep into the Final Fantasy TRPG: Legend Edition core rulebook — and today we’re diving into one of the most iconic elements of any Final Fantasy system: Classes and Jobs ! Whether you’re planning your first character or optimizing a seasoned hero for this recently-released game, this guide has you covered. One of the longest-standing traditions in Final Fantasy is its Job system , and Legend Edition embraces this fully. Classes in this game are the framework or chassis of your character — they determine your character’s HP, MP, trained Skills, associated Jobs, and your Class Limit Break . Jobs are where the cool stuff really happens. Each Job is a set of abilities on a progression track, granting new Features at specific levels — these are called Circles . And you don’t just pick one — your character ends up with three Jobs (or four with optional full buy-in), each advancing at a different speed to give you abilities every level. There are four broad Classes you’ll choose from. Each class has what you could consider as subclasses – in Legend Edition, these are the “Jobs.” So, for example, some of the Warrior Jobs are berserker, dervish, dragoon, fighter, monk, samurai, and so on. So, let’s dive into the four classes: Number 1 - Warrior Masters of physical combat, Warriors excel in strength, endurance, and frontline fighting. Their Limit Break — Action Surge — lets them make extra attacks during an encounter, perfect for dealing burst damage. 2. Expert Battlefield manipulators and support roles go here. Experts rely on their wits and skill versatility, and their Limit Break — Savant — adds bonus dice to Skill rolls based on their level. 3. Mage If magic is your playstyle, Mages are your go-to. They lean into Spellcasting and area of effect mechanics. Their Turbo MP Limit Break doubles the effectiveness of MP spent on magical abilities during an encounter. And number four is Adept The hybrid class — versatile, adaptable, and capable of mixing physical and magical roles. Adepts don’t have a unique Limit Break; instead, they choose one from the other three classes, based on their job build. Now here’s where Legend Edition gets fun. Across the system are 50+ Jobs drawing inspiration from classic Final Fantasy favorites — think Black Mage , Dragoon , Thief , and more — giving you a huge palette of archetypes to mix and match. Each Job grants seven Features – called Circles – over its progression, spaced across levels based on whether the Job is on a Fast, Medium, or Slow advancement track — meaning strategic choices shape how your character evolves through the campaign. So, for example, you may choose the Warrior class because you like its HP, MP, and Skill point advancement numbers, you like its limit break, and you enjoy playing that overall archetype for your character. Then, you pick three Jobs to fill out your character. Say that you want a full warrior build, so you choose your three jobs to be: Dragoon, Knight, and Monk. From here, you’d decide which of those three jobs would be on your Fast advancement track, which should go on your Medium track, and which will be on your slow advancement. Important note here though: only one of your Jobs needs to be associated with your Class. That means the rest can actually be totally outside that box — so yes, you can be a Mage-warrior hybrid if it fits your concept! You could be a warrior class, with the Dragoon, Black Mage, and Chemist jobs. So, here’s the quick breakdown of Job progression: Fast Progression: Abilities at levels 1, 3, and every 3 levels thereafter Medium Progression: Abilities at levels 1, 4, and every 3 levels thereafter Slow Progression: Abilities at 2, 5, and every 3 levels thereafter This staggering system means every level feels like a growth moment. You get new Abilities (“Circles”) from all three of your jobs at the same cadence. But at the same time, you get Circles from the Jobs that are most important to you, at earlier levels. The rule book mentions this too, but if you do want to try out this awesome system, I’d recommend that you don’t stress too much about your first Job choices. There’s a ton of options here, which is great for replayability, and experimenting with side campaigns. But, there’s also too many Jobs to really nail down what you want to ideally play, the first time you try out this game. Probably instead, just pick classes that sound fun, and give it a whirl. To wrap up this video, I’m going to cover my personal favorite Job from each of the first three Classes. Since there’s over 50-jobs, there’s too many for me to dive into – at least today. But hopefully these quick snapshots give you a picture of how Jobs work, what kind of Abilities each provides, and some inspiration for your upcoming game: If I was to play a Warrior Job, I’d start with Dragoon: As you probably know, Dragoons are also often known as Dragon Knights . Dragoons are aerial combat specialists who use momentum for power. Originally trained to pierce the hides of massive foes like dragons, their style revolves around leaping high above the battlefield and crashing down with overwhelming force. Depending on the setting, Dragoons may hunt dragons, fight alongside them, or carry on their legacy after their extinction — but they’re almost always portrayed as guardians who stand against towering threats . In play, Dragoons are defined by the Jump and Blood of the Dragon Circles . Jump removes them from the battlefield for a round before returning with an automatic, high-impact strike. Meanwhile, critical hits generate Blood of the Dragon to fuel powerful Dragon Arts , which are the Dragoon’s situational combat techniques that modify your attacks, defenses, or Jump actions, for additional benefits. Next up, for the expert class, I’d probably start with Squire – I just have so many good memories from playing Final Fantasy Tactics: Instead of perfecting a single discipline, Squires develop adaptability through experience and improvisation. That flexibility makes Squires exceptional team players , able to step into gaps and support allies in many situation. Mechanically, the Squire revolves around Fundaments — where they grant short-term bonuses to allies based on that ally’s Class. Warriors hit harder, Experts perform better at skills, Mages cast more effectively, and Adepts can receive whichever boost fits the moment. As the Squire advances through their Circles, they can grant Fundaments to multiple allies at once, add secondary effects like increased damage or longer debuffs. I’m not always a team buffer kind of guy, but I do like the way Squires here make everyone else better , turning party coordination into a great strength. For my third Job, I’ll choose from the Mage class. This one’s really hard for me as I could see myself actually going like 3/3 mage, or maybe 2/3, at least. But, if I had to pick just one for my remaining Job slot, I’d go with Necromancer: Necromancers are reclusive magic-users whose art is inseparably tied to death and the Shadow. Often misunderstood or feared, they’re immediately recognizable by their Bone Commander — an undead construct that serves as both assistant and bodyguard. While some Necromancers lean into darker reputations, others act as shamans or intermediaries, communing with spirits to resolve unfinished business or bring peace to the dead. Their morality isn’t defined by their magic, but by how they choose to wield it. In play, Necromancers are spellcasters with access to the Necromancy spell list and a powerful Companion system . Their Bone Commander acts on their shared action economy, providing combat presence without needing its own stats or hit points. Their Limit Break, Friends on the Other Side , allows damage from the party to count as Shadow damage, supercharging Necromancer features and reinforcing their role as battlefield controllers who blur the line between ally and undead asset. So! There you have it. From adaptable Squires and sky-shattering Dragoons to shadow-touched Necromancers and beyond, Legend Edition’s Classes and Jobs are all about expression through choice . Your Class sets the foundation, but your Jobs — and how you progress them — define how your character actually plays at the table. Legend Edition feels... unmistakably Final Fantasy. What I really want to know is... from the 50+ jobs available in Legend Edition, what three Jobs would best define your Character? List your Jobs in the comments. Otherwise, thanks for watching! If you enjoyed this breakdown of Classes and Jobs in Final Fantasy TRPG: Legend Edition, hit that like button, subscribe for more content, and ring the bell so you don’t miss our next video.

Three Quick Strange Things that Stranger Things Got Wrong About D&D

By Jacob Tegtman • January 15, 2026
Transcribed content from our recent YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQLN8bvlo-Q Transcription If you’re like me, you just watched Stranger Things Season 5, and it was amazing. Personally, I felt like it really hit similarly to the first season – they did a great job. But you're watching Stranger Things, getting hyped about seeing D&D represented in mainstream media, when suddenly Mike declares he's casting a spell, as a paladin... at first level. And you're sitting there thinking, "Wait, that's not how that works." Well, you're not alone. Today we're diving deep into three quick, but glaring D&D mistakes – or, perhaps intentional and fun D&D alternations – that Stranger Things has made throughout its run. I love Stranger Things, so this is by no means a criticism of the show. If anything, some of these mistakes just makes me like it more. Because, let’s get real – most D&D games fudge something in the rules anyways. It’s part of the fun. And no one really wants to be a rules lawyer all the time. What's up, dice rollers! Welcome back to Eternity TTRPG where we explore everything that makes tabletop RPGs amazing. I'm your host, and today we're taking a critical but loving look at how Stranger Things – arguably the biggest mainstream representation of D&D we've ever had – got some pretty fundamental (and sometimes funny) things wrong about our favorite hobby. Now, before we dive in, let me be clear: I absolutely love that Stranger Things brought D&D into the spotlight. The show has introduced countless people to our hobby, and that's incredible. As D&D enthusiasts, we can appreciate the show while also having some fun pointing out where the Duffer Brothers maybe should have consulted their Player's Handbook a bit more carefully. So grab your dice, settle in, and let's explore three quick strange things that Stranger Things got wrong about D&D. Mistake #1: The Demogorgon Campaign Confusion I’m gonna call this “Mistake #1,” by the way, and you’ll find out why in just a minute. But let's start with this big one from Season 1. In the very first episode, we see the boys playing D&D, and Will's character encounters the Demogorgon. Now, the show treats this like it's some kind of final boss encounter, but here's the problem: a Demogorgon in D&D is a CR 26 creature. Basically, a Lv.26 monster. That's endgame content for level 20 characters. These kids are clearly playing low-level characters – probably somewhere between levels 1-5 based on their abilities and the campaign Mike’s describing. A real Demogorgon would obliterate their entire party in a single round without breaking a sweat. It would be like sending a group of mall security guards to fight Godzilla. What the show probably meant to use was a lesser demon or maybe just called it a "demogorgon" as a generic monster name. But for D&D players, it's like watching someone try to drive a car with a boat steering wheel – technically it's transportation equipment, but it's completely wrong for the situation. Is this really a mistake though? I’d say yes, technically. But also, we all know how kids get when playing games. Mike was probably like, “hey, you know what would be cool for my party of Lv.5 adventurers? Give them something that inspires them. Like this CR26 literal god.” It’s the type of move that every DM has done at some point – just go way, wayyy overboard. And again, that’s part of the fun with games like D&D. Mistake #2: The Paladin Spell Situation This one is really funny to me because it happens multiple times throughout the series. Mike's primarily the dungeon master for his group. But when he plays, his character is consistently referred to as a paladin, and we see him attempting to cast spells at what appears to be first level. Here's the issue: in every edition of D&D that would have been available when Stranger Things is set – we're talking late 70s to early 80s – paladins don't get spells until much higher levels. In AD&D (Advanced dungeons and dragons), paladins don't get their first spell until 9th level. Even in modern 5th Edition, paladins don't get spells until 2nd level. But the show has Mike casting spells right from the start. It's a small detail, but it shows a fundamental misunderstanding of how the class works. It would be like showing a wizard swinging a two-handed sword as their primary weapon – technically possible in some circumstances, but it misses the point of the class – for that level, at least – entirely. It’s another “mistake” though that many groups would make, probably especially kids. You want to play a character who can do cool things, at any level. So maybe this was another intentional move on the Duffer brothers’ part, showing not just the rules for D&D, but how people actually play. Mistake #3: The Dice Rolling Drama This one’s more about dramatic license. Throughout the series, we see characters making single dice rolls for incredibly complex situations, and the entire outcome hinges on that one roll. Real D&D involves a lot more dice rolling and a lot more back-and-forth between players and the DM. Combat isn't usually resolved with a single dramatic roll – it's a series of attack rolls, damage rolls, saving throws, and tactical decisions. The show makes it look like D&D is just "roll a d20 and see what happens," when the reality, as we all know, is much more nuanced. The most egregious example is in Season 1 when Will's fate seems to hinge entirely on a single d20 roll. While dramatic moments like this can happen in D&D, they're usually the culmination of a longer sequence of events, not the entire encounter. Of course, filming four kids rolling dozens of dice over and over doesn’t make for great visual episodes, I assume. This one is really more to point out that anyone who isn’t familiar with D&D may be a bit surprised walking into a real gaming session at how many dice really do get rolled. On platforms like Reddit, the D&D community's reaction to these inaccuracies has been... interesting. Players have been discussing these since the show premiered. One user pointed out in a popular thread: "I love that Stranger Things brought D&D to the mainstream, but I wish they'd gotten a consultant who actually understood the game mechanics. It's like they researched D&D by reading about it rather than playing it." Another user noted: "The show gets the emotional core of D&D right – the friendship, the collaborative storytelling, the escapism. But the mechanical details are so wrong that it's distracting for anyone who actually plays." Now, do these mistakes matter? I would argue they don't – Stranger Things is a TV show, not a D&D tutorial. People may come into the hobby with incorrect assumptions on how things work. But, if more people are getting into the hobby, then that's positive. And D&D – or let’s at least say tabletop roleplay games – have experienced unprecedented growth partly thanks to Stranger Things, and that's amazing for our community. So here's what I want to know from you: is there anything else fun or silly that I missed from Stranger Thing’s D&D inaccuracies? I’m sure there has to be more than just these three, so please hit me up in the comments and let me know what you’ve found! And that wraps up our dive into Stranger Things, for today. Remember, this comes from a place of love – both for the show and for D&D. If you enjoyed this quick video, make sure to hit that like button and subscribe for more D&D content. Whether you're fighting demogorgons in the Upside Down or just trying to survive your first dungeon crawl, keep those dice rolling!
Dragonlance

DragonLance Legends coming to Amazon in February

By Jacob Tegtman • December 17, 2025
Transcribed content from our recent YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=257fKzW8yzA Transcription Before there was Game of Thrones, Baldur’s Gate, and Critical Role.… there was Dragonlance .  A fantasy saga that defined an entire generation of D&D players — epic wars, tragic heroes, and dragons that actually felt like dragons. But if you aren’t familiar, what is Dragonlance — and why are we still talking about it in 2026? Well to answer that last question, the new “Legends Edition” which is the second Trilogy of Dragonlance is coming to Amazon in February. This is a big deal because getting new copies of the original Dragonlance Chronicles Trilogy, and now this second “Legends” Trilogy was becoming very difficult. I’m hoping these new prints rekindle the spark of one of the greatest D&D settings and novel series of all time, and introduce even more people to its magic. Welcome back to Eternity TTRPG, your home for D&D history, lore deep-dives, and the stories that shaped the game we play today. If you love tabletop RPGs, classic settings, and learning why D&D looks and plays the way it does today, you’re in the right place. So, let’s talk about one of my favorite fantasy settings – and fantasy book series of all times – Dragonlance . Dragonlance started as a bold idea from Tracy Hickman and Laura Hickman , later developed with Margaret Weis at TSR. To answer the burning question you may be having, right off the bat – yes, the Dragonlance adventures came before the book series. At the time, most D&D adventures were simple and modular. You’d kick in a dungeon door, fight some monsters, grab treasure, and move on. Dragonlance asked a very different question. What if Dungeons & Dragons could tell one long, epic story? Instead of disconnected adventures, the Dragonlance team wanted a campaign with a clear beginning, middle, and end. A single, continent-spanning war. A story that unfolded over time, not just session to session. To make that work, players wouldn’t create random characters. They’d play pre-generated heroes, each designed to fit directly into the narrative, with personal arcs baked into the plot. That idea became the original Dragonlance AD&D module series — eventually twelve linked adventures telling the story of the War of the Lance. On paper, it was revolutionary. At the table… it was complicated. The problem is simple. And honestly, you can probably pause the video here and tell me the problem, yourself, based on your own D&D games. It’s basically this: D&D games, and it’s players – are unpredictable. Dungeons & Dragons thrives on player choice, improvisation, and chaos. Dragonlance, on the other hand, needed players to be in very specific places, doing very specific things, at specific times. If the party ignored a hook, skipped a location, or made an unexpected choice, the entire story could fall apart. So the modules relied heavily on railroading — nudging, and sometimes outright forcing, players back onto the intended path. That tension made Dragonlance awkward to run as a campaign. The story was strong, but the format worked against the strengths of tabletop roleplaying. And that’s when Dragonlance found the form it was truly built for. To promote the modules, TSR (that is, the company founded by Gary Gygax and Don Kaye, to publish D&D) decided to release a trilogy of tie-in novels. That decision came late, the original author didn’t work out, and Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman ended up writing the first book themselves — in roughly three months. The result was Dragons of Autumn Twilight, released in 1984. Which, even talking about almost brings a tear to my eye – the book was just that impactful to me in my teenage years. TSR expected modest sales. But instead, the book was a massive hit. For many readers, this wasn’t just their first Dragonlance novel — it was their first D&D novel. It introduced the idea that a D&D party could be the heart of a fantasy epic, with flawed characters, emotional arcs, and long-term consequences. This is basically why Dragonlance matters to D&D history. And not just a little bit. It matters – a LOT. Dragonlance proved that Dungeons & Dragons wasn’t just a game system — it was actually its own entire storytelling engine. If you haven’t read the novel series, I have some amazing news for you, shortly. But at its core, Dragonlance is about one idea: hope in darkness. The world of Krynn is broken. The gods are distant. War is everywhere. People are scared, tired, and cynical. But, the world of Dragonlance isn’t saved by a single chosen hero. Instead, this novel series tells you that the world can be saved when ordinary people choose to do the right thing, even when it’s hard, and even when it feels pointless. That philosophy shaped the tone of the setting. Dragonlance was darker than most TSR-era worlds, but it was never hopeless. Friendship mattered. Faith mattered. Sacrifice mattered. Umm, a lot. Those themes became incredibly influential, especially for party-focused storytelling in D&D campaigns. Dragonlance also changed how dragons were treated in D&D. Before this, dragons were often just very powerful monsters. Dangerous, sure — but still just another encounter. Dragonlance made dragons rare, mythical, and world-shaping. What becomes the mystical return of dragons isn’t just a side quest in this setting. It’s THE central event that changes the balance of power across the entire world. That idea — that dragons should feel legendary, and not just routine — stuck, and it still shapes how dragons are presented in modern D&D. After the success of the original trilogy, Weis and Hickman followed it with Dragonlance Legends, which is what I’ll be getting to more about in just a few minutes. Instead of escalating to an even bigger war, Legends zoomed in. It focused on the twins from the first trilogy: Raistlin and Caramon Majere, and on the topics of ambition, responsibility, and the cost of power. It introduced time travel – which to be honest, I don’t love – personal tragedy, and consequences that felt intimate. This trilogy, too, was a massive success, even hitting the New York Times bestseller list — a first for TSR. For a brief moment, Dragonlance wasn’t just a D&D setting. It actually became the face of D&D storytelling. But Dragonlance’s greatest strength eventually became its weakness. The setting was tightly bound to one story and one cast of characters. Once the War of the Lance was resolved, the world of Krynn felt… finished. New stories struggled to find the same weight. Bigger threats felt repetitive. New heroes had a hard time stepping out of the shadow of the originals. Unlike the Forgotten Realms, Krynn never felt like a neutral playground. It felt like a world where the most important story had already happened. And slowly, Dragonlance faded from the spotlight. Dragonlance went quiet after 2010. But in February 2026, we’re getting a new hardcover release of Dragonlance Legends — collecting the full trilogy with new behind-the-scenes material from Weis and Hickman. It’s not a full revival of the setting. It’s a reminder of an important moment in D&D history, when the game experimented with storytelling in a way that permanently changed how we think about campaigns. This trilogy about the twins: Raistlin and Caramon – is coming after the Chronicles trilogy was rereleased (I believe) just this last year – I got my copy from Margaret Weis at GenCon. These books haven’t been in print for some time. So, if you like what you’ve been hearing about Dragonlance, or you – like me – are a longtime fan, you may want to pick these up. You can get the original Chronicles Trilogy on Amazon now, and the second Trilogy – Legends – is coming out this February. Dragonlance asked a question that D&D is still trying to answer: Is this game about total freedom… or about telling powerful stories? Most tables today try to balance both. And whether you loved Dragonlance or bounced hard off its railroads, its influence is still baked into how D&D is played, written, and remembered. So I want to know — have you read Dragonlance, or played in a campaign set in Krynn? Would you run a Dragonlance campaign today, or does it feel too tied to its story? Let me know in the comments, like the video if you enjoyed it,subscribe for more D&D deep dives, and I’ll see you next time.
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