Secret Santa
For this year’s holiday comic, all the heroes of Handbook-World decided to get together for a Secret Santa gift exchange. For the most part, that involved blind draws from a top hat of holding (as is tradition). However, one lucky pair benefited from the collective wisdom of the Quest Givers over on Patreon. Rules for the poll were simple: The top vote-getter received a present from the runner-up. You can see the results in today’s comic.
Not to worry though! The runners up will not go away emptyhanded! Here’s a quick rundown of who gave what to whom.
- Fighter → Kineticist: One free sparring session with the world’s greatest warrior! Fighter’s burns are healing nicely.
- Thief → Wizard: “Your present is coming up in the other Handbook.”
- Occultist → Fighter: Coupon for a séance. For some reason it’s yet to be redeemed.
- Swash + Buckle → Snowflake: “It’s a mug! Fuck yeah!”
- Succubus → Magus: A new set of “armor.”
- Witch → Horsepower: A custom-brewed cologne. It’s supernaturally attractive to elves.
- Warlock → Bard: A fully punched coiffure card at Barbie’s Salon.
- Wizard → Ranger: Acting lessons.
- Inquisitor → Sorcerer: A fire extinguisher. Workplace safety, people!
- Magus → Antipaladin: A collection of secondhand catnip balls suitable for fetch.
- Ranger → Thief: An assortment of homemade cookies.
- Anti-Paladin → Monk: Handwraps knitted from shed dog hair.
- Paladin → Succubus: Chick tracts.
- Sorcerer → Inquisitor: A literal cartload of unopened goblin wedding presents (no gift receipts).
- Oracle → Alchemist: Orthopedic lifting shoe inserts.
- Van Helscion → Paladin: A note wrapped around a crossbow bolt. The note reads: “Take care not to fall too far.”
- Barbarian → Occultist: Hair care basket.
- Pugilist → Swash + Buckle: Brass knuckles. They’re a little on the small side.
- Cavalier → Ninja: Potion of remove fear.
- Ninja → Oracle: Dust of darkness. The card mentions “evening the playing field.”
- Cleric → Street Samurai: A copy of Shadowrun: 20th Anniversary Edition.
- Arcane Archer → Summoner: A sack of stones enchanted to look like gp.
- Necromancer → Barbarian: A pair of hands connected at the wrists. They’ve been trained to sweep hair.
- Bard → Necromancer: Organ lessons.
- Summoner → Arcane Archer: Sexy Katsusu Matsuno Bunny Girl 12″ PVC Collection Action Figure.
- Snowflake → Warlock: Backstage passes to “The Dressage Experience.”
- Monk → Cleric: A non-magical book of koans titled, “The Way of Understanding.” Cleric’s disappointment was immense.
- Alchemist → Cavalier: Turtle wax.
- Street Samurai → Van Helscion: Cyberstake 9000.
- Kineticist → Druid: Cartload of cabbages.
- Horsepower → Witch: A tiny Brutus-sized cape.
- Gunslinger → [null]:
I guess some of them had a happy holiday. And we hope that you guys do as well! All best for the new year from your pals at The Handbook of Heroes!
And since it wouldn’t be Critmas without our daily discussion topic, what do you say we brag about all the gaming swag we got (or gave) this holiday season? Tell us all about that sweet sweet Yule loot down in the comments!
EARN BONUS LOOT! Check out the The Handbook of Heroes Patreon. We’ve got a sketch feed full of Laurel’s original concept art. We’ve got early access to comics. There’s physical schwag, personalized art, and a monthly vote to see which class gets featured in the comic next. And perhaps my personal favorite, we’ve been hard at work bringing a thrice monthly NSFW Handbook of Erotic Fantasy comic to the world! So come one come all. Hurry while supplies of hot elf chicks lasts!
Happy holidays!
It’s nice to see the characters mostly got something they’d like. ^_^
Decades ago, I played in an online community based on Sierra’s Quest for Glory-series.
One year, Santa showed up in the town that was at the center of our games, and dispensed gifts to all the player characters.
I had a lot of fun coming up with joke gifts and items of minor power for several years after that, like a piece of coal on a string that let the baddie wearing it stave off natural cold. Or the gift of the power to conjure a will-o-the-wisp to light your way in natural darkness. Or a box wrapped in paper decorated with nymphs. Predictably, the Faun PC chose that one – and gained the power to speak with insect larvae.
Is there some particular connection between nymphs and insect larvae? Or was it just a random troll?
Dragonfly larvae are also known as “nymphs”.
I have no idea why; they’re nasty-looking little meat-eaters.
It was more a play on words than a troll… ^^;
Ha! I missed that. Well played.
Pug looks so snuggly, cuddly and cozy. ^_^
I love it!
It would also appear that she sleeps in the nude. 😛
Given that Pug is a Kobold, a species which is more known to use clothes for the pockets and to ward off inclement weather than notions of modesty, I don’t really see the problem. 😉 (And I doubt most of the cast would really care.)
I guess the dragons don’t count as heroes of Handbook-World?
Or maybe they’re just loath to part with anything in typical dragon fashion
The dragons had their own gift exchange. Assume they gave each other anime and nerd shit.
Also, you don’t get invited to participate in Secret Santa until you’re out of the “young” age category.
Also, I friggin’ forgot. Gah!
Gottem! :p
I’ve got all of my players painted custom miniatures of their PCs, and one of them is also due to receive a 10,000+ word lore doc on her faction within the world!
I hope you dispense the lore to them in scavenger hunt form. True quest style!
looking at those secret santa’s gifts, Fighters was surprisingnot the most thoughtless, I mean who wouldn’t want to beat the shit out of him.
Compared to the plethora of passive aggressive gifts it’s rather nice even.
Looks like Team Dragon wasn’t invited though
What? Who wouldn’t want more crossbow bolts?
Every year, my players are visited by Cantus Kraw, a magical figure who brings gifts to those who’ve been Very Good this year. Due to shifting in-game/out-of-game time scales, he’s actually arrived four times now in one in-game year. He sometimes brings a bounty of magical and flavourful items, and sometimes brings socks. I wonder what he’ll bring this year?
Does Cantus dress differently in the summer? Festive bermuda shorts and such?
I can’t decide if Cleric giving Street Samurai a Shadowrun rulebook was intended by him as a heartwarming “I know what you’ll like” gift or as a passive-aggressive “here’s where you should go back to” gift.
It really could be either! I’m not sure even Cleric knows.
“The fabled hospitality of the dwarves” is seldom all its cracked up to be.
https://clip.cafe/the-lord-of-the-rings-the-fellowship-of-the-ring-2001/you-will-enjoy-the-fabled-hospitality-of-the-dwarves/
I find the lore skills highly underrated. How does the Sorcerer know not to waste a Fireball on the Devils without them? Lore skills basically let you metagame but justify it in universe.
He doesn’t strike me as the Lawful Evil type.
It’s almost as if the Handbook is an unreliable source of advice….
GASP SHOCKED REACTIONS
😉
GENERIC DISBELIEF/CONFUSION
😉
Aw, Gunslinger.
Still waiting for it to come in, but I’ve got the Mutants and Masterminds 3rd edition Deluxe Hero’s Handbook on the way!
Nice! You running or playing in that one?
A bit of both. I’ve already got the Basic Hero’s Handbook, and with that plus the SRD, we’ve been able to play a couple of campaigns already, with rotating GMs and heroes.
Usually I prefer being in the GM’s seat, but I’ve gotta say, M&M is really fun to be a player of!
200 pages of lore, plots and worldbuilding for the next year 😀
Woohoo! Get that game back on!
We still don’t play together 🙁
Happy Newton’s Birthday.
That too!
Merry Christmas!
I feel like the Secret Santa exchange was an excuse to justify multiple upcoming other-handbook comics.
<_<
So, when are we getting art and/or lore for the Sexy Katsusu Matsuno Bunny Girl (N)PC? Who obviously exists and has their own in-universe fandom/series in the Handbook verse.
Because you can’t just mention things like that as a writer/DM and expect your watchers to let it slide into obscurity, no matter how inappropriate it is for your finely-crafted universe. 😀
I hate how fair that is. Dammit.
Huh, Horsepower seems to be the only animal-PC / cohort that was involved in this gift exchange. What about the rest of the critter and NPC cast?
Also, is Witch aware of Horsepowers identity? How’d she figure out exactly the thing Horsepower would want? And weirdly still, why’s she helping out the goodiest of the goody-four-shoes characters?
…unless that perfume is mislabeled ‘by accident’.
Horsepower is a vigilante. What gave you the idea he was an animal companion?
You’re forgetting Snowflake. She was Paladin’s steed. Everyone in the gift exchange is sentient and most animal companions aren’t. The really weird thing is that they forgot to include good old Lumberjack Explosion the Unicorn in the gift exchange.
Heck, even Brutus got a gift (indirectly, but still).
But Snowflake and Lumberjack Explosion don’t have class levels. How could they possibly be heroes?
Snowflake disqualified herself from the hero title when she hired a hit on Elf Princess (among other things). And Lumberjack Explosion has Animal Companion / mount advancement tables, no?
Lumberjack Explosion is Fighter’s “magical beast” cohort. At some point LE started taking vigilante levels instead of racial HD. Fighter has not noticed.
In fact, referring to LE and Horsepower collectively as “Vigilante” would not be inappropriate.
It’s 1:30 in the morning for me so no presents have been opened yet. But I’m happy to share what I gave.
For my mom, gift card to Kohl’s, a weighted blanket, a scented candle, and chocolate covered cherries.
For my sister, Brave’s World Series T-shirt, fancy socks, sloth plush, Chick-Fil-A plush cow, gummy worms, and an Amazon gift card.
For my brother-in-law-to-be, Brave’s World Series T-shirt and hat, gummy worms, and gift card.
For my best friend, Sharkiton Transformer figure, Sweeps Transformer figure, Hersey bars, and a gift card.
Well here’s hoping Santa came with a +3 weapon of your choice. 😀
I got a decent haul. A dragon calendar, a dog calendar, a really cute Starscream plush, lots of hot chocolate mix, some candy, a few gift cards, and Pokemon Brilliant Diamond.
The really funny thing is that my sister bought my mom the EXACT SAME dog calendar as my mom bought me.
I feel like the dragon calendar and the dog calendar are natural enemies. I predict much barking and smoke scene around the first of the month.
I bought the vast majority of my D&D and Pathfinder friends a metal d20 with “Fuck” on the 1 side. One of my friends got me a massive wooden dice box.
Nice. Gotta love an expressive d20.
My son and I got Into the Dungeon, a choose your own adventure book / rpg hybrid. In lieu of a proper game night crowd, we can delve the book with a pre-gen (or custom PC), pencil, paper, and a d6. We might even go nuts and break out the graph paper to try to map it.
Heh. I think the Cavalier->Ninja and Arcane Archer->Summoner ones are my favourites! =D
NOOO Cleric! Don’t give Street Sam Shadowrun! At least not without serious homebrew setting and system changes or a few dozen spreadsheets and flowcharts!
Also I like the implications of “asking nature.” Nature internet connection? Nature internet connection.