Meet the Storm Herald Fire Genasi with a Destiny in Those Bastards 5E D&D Live Play

Nerdarchy has a new streamed game for you to watch! Those Bastards is a fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons campaign streaming live on Tuesdays 8-10 p.m. eastern on our second channel, Nerdarchy Live. A gaggle of half siblings, all with the same constellation birthmark, search for answers regarding their father, themselves and the mystery of disappearing constellations in the sky. As they venture into deep dungeons and face deadly monsters their destinies converge on more questions than answers. Even if they live to find the answers they seek, will they wish they never had?

The Nerdarchy crew brings their team game to you live! Click the image to check out Nerdarchy Live and subscribe so you never miss Those Bastards or any of the long form or live video content on our second channel.

5E D&D live play

As part of our effort to boost the show we sat down with the players and Dungeon Master to discuss the campaign, their characters and how they fit into the party. Today, we’re talking with Doug, the player behind the stalwart hero of the bunch, Vent.

Who are you, and who is your character?

“Hello! I’m Nerditor Doug, content director for Nerdarchy and I’m playing Vent, a fire genasi Path of the Storm Herald barbarian.”

What was the process behind your concept for Vent (race, class, story, etc.)?

“When we originally came up with the idea for characters in an impromptu one shot Dave and Ted already created characters and decided they’d be half-brothers, a half-elf and a half-orc. There’s no other races with half-something but since genasi are sort of half-elemental I felt like it fit. We imagined our shared father hadn’t been around in any of our lives but we came together through this bond of being siblings.

For the game components of Vent I went all in on the theme of fire. Xanathar’s Guide to Everything and Thor: Ragnarok were new at the time and if I’m honest Vent is at least a little bit inspired by Thor and Hulk’s conversation about being like real fire, like raging fire. But oddly enough it turns out he’s pretty level headed!

Vent’s story was the most fun part to come up with. This Is Your Life and the class specific details sections in XGtE helped a ton. I love creating characters with a combination of randomly determined details then filling in the blanks and creating my own connective tissue. So Vent grew up on the Elemental Plane of Fire with a brass dragon as a guardian who raised him and came to the Material Plane seeking his destiny. The rest of the story you’ll have to follow along our adventures to find out!”

How does Vent view the others in the party?

“All the connected siblings share a birthmark in the shape of the Sword of Xyphos, a constellation. Oonga, Galiesin, Prudence and Sheldon mean the multiverse to Vent especially because they’re along on the quest to find their father. They’ve run across at least one other sibling, who did not accompany them but they’ll come around eventually.

Vent knows each and every one of his siblings is capable of extraordinary things and he’ll do whatever he can to help them recognize this in themselves too.” [NERDITOR’S NOTE: In our most recent ep. 2 we encountered another sibling!]

What does Vent want to accomplish during the campaign?

“Vent feels the pull of destiny very strongly. The birthmark, the constellation, a falling red star and the collection of red stones he’s had his whole life all tie together somehow, he’s sure of it. He started off chasing an ideal but also curious why neither his father nor mother wanted him. He loves the brass dragon who raised him and instilled strong values in him but at the end of the day when the fires quell to a smolder he wonders if there is something wrong with him that his parents both decided they’d be better off without him in their lives.”

What is Vent’s greatest flaw?

“Vent is convinced of the significance of his destiny and blind to his shortcomings and the risk of failure. Everything relates to his quest somehow, whether he’s justifying it or not.”

Is Vent very similar to or different from the sorts of characters you usually play? How?

“A little of column A and a little of column B. I really enjoy playing exotic characters and exploring their perspective. Often I play small characters or those from subterranean environments and I enjoy clerics, druids, fighters and sorcerers in no particular order. Including details like his private insecurity and avoiding eating food derived from sentient creatures are fun for me because they’re relatable. This doesn’t mean the specific details match my own real life all the time but they’re realistic enough for me to imagine in a fantasy context and helps me make playing the character more immersive.”

What are three facts about Vent you can let the audience in on?

“Vent is fairly intelligent (smartest one in the party!) but I intentionally misuse long or complicated words and concepts because he wants to come across extra smart.

He always carries a scimitar, shortsword and maul he calls Claw, Bite and Tail because he tries to emulate his brass dragon parent’s attacks.

He wishes his childhood sweetheart had come with him to pursue his destiny. She is a cute salamander girl but she has her own destiny to pursue and Vent understands that. Maybe one day they’ll meet again across a crowded volcanic pit.”

Why should people watch Those Bastards?

“I feel like the way we all enjoy playing and interacting with these games, in this case 5E D&D, is as fun to play as it is to watch. I hope so anyway. Whether we’re playing online or off there’s a great mix of drama, excitement, tension and conflict with healthy doses of silly fun and great dynamics for individual characters and as a group. Megan has long been one of my favorite people to game with and they’re a fantastic GM with a wonderful imagination I’m grateful they invite us to share.”

And… That’s Vent, the fire genasi barbarian!

Thank you so much, Doug, for sharing about your character! Have you tuned in and subscribed to Nerdarchy Live? What do you think of Those Bastards? Let us know your thoughts in the comments! You can find more of Nerditor Doug’s work here on the website mostly, where we post fresh content every day — often multiple times a day! Follow Vent on his quest towards destiny and catch our streamed 5E D&D game Those Bastards every Tuesday 8-10 p.m. eastern with VOD available immediately following each session. Visit Nerdarchy Live to subscribe and hit that notification bell because you don’t want to miss a thing here and until next time, stay nerdy!