Written by Michael Dorrill, It’s Still Real to Me, Dammit! is a love letter to professional wrestling, and boasts all of D&D 5e’s official classes, as well as the new Blood Hunter subclass.
I’m not a wrestling fan myself, so I suppose I didn’t understand a lot of the references, but I still had a lot of fun with this supplement. Each subclass offers a wealth of new tools at the player’s disposal to play with, with each class boasting its own unique niche.
I went into this review expecting everyone to be wrestlers, but there’s a lot of creativity and variety in the subclass designs. There are special effects specialists, announcers, promotional guys, and the various professions that run the world of professional wrestling.
Michael’s passion for wrestling combined with great game design makes It’s Still Real To Me, Dammit! a fantastic game to purchase for $4.99, especially for wrestling fans.
Formatting
The format is phenomenal: the layout, combined with ERF Jordan’s skilled editing, makes this supplement easy to read while also showcasing the supplement’s unique identity.
The hyperlinks in the table of contents made it easy to navigate, and while it’s not a long supplement at only 21 pages, it’s a great quality of life addition for players as they level up and want to know immediately what the new features are.
I can’t praise the effort put forth in this section enough – the editing and layout really bring this supplement to a new level.
Artwork
The artwork is fantastic. Each subclass has a full-color example character accompanying the introduction by Sandika Rakhim. These served as a great way to categorize each subclass, as well as a visual to help you imagine what this subclass might look and feel like.
As someone with no interest in wrestling, the artwork inside was a huge boon for me – I would have surely felt a bit lost without these fantastic visuals that set the tone for the subclasses.
I absolutely love the cover art by Kaitlyn Leeds, featured at the top of this review. The scene where the dwarves suplex the Mind Flayer perfectly captures the feel of this quirky, creative, and above all, fun supplement.
A subclass that anyone can use!
“Subclasses for everyone” means two things: first, there are literally subclasses for all 13 of 5e’s official classes, which is a feat in itself, given the sheer number of classes and the time it took to give each one their own unique flavor and mechanics.
But this supplement goes a step further and gives the Blood Hunter a subclass as well. For me, sticking with the official class would have been enough and I wouldn’t have thought anything of it, but it’s nice to see some more love being given to the popular homebrew classes as well.
Not to mention, the 14 new subclasses are peppered with a variety of roles, giving some classes entirely new niches and encouraging players to try out these classes in their preferred party roles.
Players who are more interested in skill challenges or support roles probably won’t be interested in playing a Fighter, but the Ring General is a great subclass for such players to try out the class while still maintaining their preferred playstyle.
Unique niche and fun mechanics
Designing 14 subclasses is no small feat, but Michael managed to make them all work perfectly, each with a unique and flavorful identity. However, the identity of the wrestling is not reflected in the subclasses.
The unique mechanics and niches that these subclasses have can come into play if players want to take the intended flavor in a different direction.
More importantly, not all subclasses are solely aimed at dealing damage: while there are plenty of subclasses that are aimed at dealing damage, there are also many unique subclasses that give players other options in and out of combat.
For example, the Grave Digger Sorcerer allows for a control-centric sorcerer build, giving you several options for spending sorcery points or using the subclass’s unique features to deny creatures saving throws or movement, and combining these features with some control spells allows you to exert a ton of crowd control on your enemies.
Personal Favorites
To conclude this review, I’d like to share two of my favorites from It’s Still Real To Me, Dammit! It was hard to choose, but I went with Oath of the Mask Paladin and Tag Team Domain Cleric, with School of Heat Wizard a close second.
These two subclasses explore niches deeply rooted in the identities of the Cleric and Paladin, while also presenting new ways to explore each of their classic roles.
For clerics, Tag Team Domain not only provides support in the form of buffs, but also new positioning tools for allies.
But Paladins do gain some new ways to thoroughly vanquish their foes, especially in one-on-one duels.
Tag Team Domain Cleric
Don’t get me wrong, I love dealing big damage, but what I really love in 5e is playing a support role – empowering allies and hindering enemies is a satisfying playstyle.
Tag Team Domain Cleric has a lot of great features for this niche.
The premise of this subclass is that the cleric chooses a companion to partner with, and while partnered with the cleric, that companion has advantage on saving throws against charmed, frightened, or stunned, which is a solid feature, especially since it doesn’t cost any resources and has no cooldown.
As you level, you gain other ways to help your party or partner: Channel Divinity allows you to swap positions with an ally before they attack, move a nearby ally towards you as a bonus action (ignoring difficult terrain), or give you bonus healing when you target an ally with the Touch spell.
This subclass is all about helping your allies. You’re the go-to guy, always there to pull an ally out of a tight spot or quickly rescue them from a near-death situation.
It’s also an interesting subclass from a mechanics perspective: many Cleric domains provide opportunities for the Cleric to get into melee range but don’t necessarily encourage it, and all of the Tag Team domain features encourage staying close to the party and moving around the battlefield to accommodate everyone.
Masked Oath Paladin
Taking the Vow of the Mask means that a paladin becomes a symbol, inspiring people or striking fear in the hearts of their enemies. What the oath means is up to the paladin’s beliefs, but honor is a prerequisite for a paladin who takes the Vow of the Mask.
Also, the paladin will have to wear a mask that they literally cannot remove in front of others lest they break their oath. I get that it’s inconvenient for eating, drinking, and sleeping, but on the other hand, they get a +1 to AC while wearing it, so it’s a worthwhile trade-off.
This subclass is based around inspiring others and becoming a symbol. What that symbol is is up to you, but you are a symbol nonetheless. You can change form when needed, inspire allies to make charisma checks and saving throws, or take revenge on enemies who have harmed your allies.
When words don’t work, use your fists (or weapons). Oath of the Mask comes equipped with spells to subdue foes, channeling divinity to stun foes, and a capstone that can banish creatures from the plane of existence.
Put on your mask and become a hero!
Final thoughts on “It’s Still Real To Me, Dammit!”
This was a great supplement and at only $4.99 it makes it a great value.
Mastering 14 unique subclasses at once is no easy feat, but Michael Dorrill has done an amazing job. They’re all awesome, unique, and full of wrestling vibes. I’m not a wrestling fan, but I had a lot of fun with this game.
There’s a wealth of new tools to carve out new niches for your classes, as well as new avenues for playing proven class archetypes.
If you’re looking for something different for D&D 5e, this is a great choice, and if you’re looking for a new wrestling-inspired twist on an old favorite, put this on your wishlist It’s Still Real To Me, Dammit! has set the bar high for my reviews this year, and it’s only January!
