Circle of the Elemental
by Alan Tucker
Alan Tucker is the designer of an original Druid subclass, Circle of the Elemental. Created for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, Tucker’s subclass allows druids to “harness the power of the elemental planes.” Not only is Tucker a prolific creator of RPG content, but he’s also a published author with several fantasy and science fiction novels to his name. We asked Tucker to share some of his inspiration and advice for aspiring writers.
What inspired this character design?
I’ve always thought of druids as the caretakers of not only nature, but the greater balance of the cosmos as well. That, combined with the elemental planes needing some attention, in my opinion, led to thinking that druids should have a foothold there. Of all the classes that should have an elemental-themed subclass, druids seemed to make the most sense to me, but there weren’t any offerings out there.
How do you approach writing RPG content?
Two things usually motivate any project for me:
- Do I see a need or niche to fill? and
- Can I find a passion for doing it?
I love DMing and creating stories and adventures for my players, so writing adventure modules and encounters is something I’m doing all the time anyway. That covers reason two. ;) Then I look at whether a particular adventure fills a need or space in the marketplace.
Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?
Write every day. It doesn’t have to be something you’re going to use, but practice the art of putting sentences together and expressing yourself through text. And make sure to have anything you put up for sale somewhere edited by someone who knows what they’re doing. Self-editing won’t catch all the mistakes because you know what you want to say and your mind will fill in missing or misused words without you being aware of it.
Any other titles you’d like to share?
One of my best selling adventures, Tentacles. Why Did it Have to Be Tentacles?, is part of an amazing compilation right now called A Fistful of Coppers, which features 26 best-seller products at a savings of over $40! You can check it out on the Dungeon Masters Guild website. I will have a small set of short encounters set around the acquisition of pets coming to the Guild shortly, and a larger magical city project coming out in a couple of months.
Download Druid Subclass: Circle of the Elemental on DMsGuild.com. Tucker’s website is www.alantucker.net, and you can find him on Twitter.
