Like many of you, I was wondering where Dat Boy went after all these years. Naturally, Willy Abir knew exactly where that good frog boy had gone.
Dab is Willy’s latest work. It’s a jam-packed supplement that boasts new feats, new land vehicles, new subclasses, and, of course, a new race born from the meanest frog meme on the internet.
But the shape is true and everything is great. It’s balanced and chock-full of hilarious shitty posts, yet serious enough that it can be incorporated into any campaign.
The Dab (sorry) is available at the DM’s Guild for the affordable price of $4.99.
If you’re still not convinced, keep reading. Dab will still get you (no pity yet)!
Formatting
This entire supplement was very easy to read because of its format. It’s easy to read and search, while also having a stylized identity consistent with 5e standards.
Also, the frog on a unicycle that accents the box text is truly a chef’s kiss.
Closely edited by Leon Barilaro. There are a lot of mechanics in this appendix that push the limits of 5e, but I never felt intimidated by the explanations. The script and editing are great!
artwork
Almost every page in this appendix contains artwork. It goes perfectly with the watercolor illustrations that accent the pages.
Each artwork focuses on a different dab, showing different shapes, sizes, and formats. It also serves as a great visual storytelling method to flesh out the dabs for the reader.
Each piece showcases something in the supplement: dab characteristics, dab society/culture, dab technology, or subclass mechanics.
All of the artwork is great, but the foam knight on the last page is my favorite. It really matches the feel of the supplement!
Artist:
Alan Gruetter
Own Pacilio
chelsea roberts
Guilherme Summermeyer
what’s new?
The common theme across this supplement and dab society is movement. Every section of The Dab includes some form of movement enhancement or new ways to utilize movement in 5e.
Positioning is very important in tactical combat in 5e. The Dab introduces a variety of movement options, and you’ll see combat become more dynamic.
New race: The Dove
Dabs are, unsurprisingly, the flagship product of this supplement. They are an unstoppable people.
Their curious nature makes them excellent adventurers, but they are also widely known as tinkerers. They love creating and changing things to move faster.
There is a page and a half that introduces and explains dub society and culture. It’s a great read and includes a section about how their humor is literally meme-like. This lore is a very entertaining read, using comedy to introduce a group of intelligent, driven, and chaotic people.
Mechanically, dabs are very interesting. Although they are medium-sized creatures, they move at the base speed of small races, but also have a swimming speed to counter this.
They can use their strong tongues to push, pull, lift, hold objects, and even wield light weapons. It also has the ability to fly around the battlefield using its frog-like legs.
Racial variations: toad-like and small dabs
There are two variations of this dab: toad-like and small.
A dab like a toad replaces the ability of its tongue with poisonous sweat. Creatures that touch your skin or drink your sweat can hallucinate for a short time. This hallucination distorts the perception of the landscape, during which passive perception is halved.
This is a simple mechanism, but I haven’t seen many mechanisms that interact with passive perception in this way. I think it’s wise. Easy to understand, simple, yet effective.
Tiny dabs, as the name suggests, are small sized dabs. Think of it as a dab. Physically weaker, but more agile. They can easily move in and out of other creatures’ spaces and gain AC based on their position.
Dub (and grung!) feats
This supplement contains five half-racial feats, all of which can be dabbed when you gain ASI. Of the five, two are acceptable to grunge characters, one is acceptable to understanding characters, and one is acceptable to people from a disparaging society.
Four of these feats extend the biological capabilities of the dab. This includes increasing your climbing speed, breathing underwater, increasing the strength of your tongue, and flipping your stomach to slam creatures.
The last feat allows the character to fiddle with a vehicle for a while to double its speed when operating it.
The special skill is simple, but it’s fun. Each gives the character a new niche ability that can be extremely useful if needed. Additionally, when you are not in such a niche situation, you receive +1 to your ability scores.
Lots of land vehicles
Dab includes 5 new land vehicles created by Dab. From wheeled boots to motorized carriages and everything in between.
Each vehicle has a cost associated with it, and the better the vehicle, the more expensive it is. Prices range from an affordable 30 gp to over 1000 gp. Flexible pricing provides options for your party at any level of play.
Granted, ground vehicles don’t feature much in my campaign. However, this section piqued my interest. I’ll definitely be throwing some of these into future games when I get back to playing homebrew campaigns.
Two new subclasses
It’s hard to top pure memetic magic like Cooking Bard College from Book of Houses, but somehow these two subclasses are spicy.
Both of these subclasses focus on movement. Although the methods are different.
speed demon barbarian
Speed Demon Barbarian is perfect for those who want to run fast.
The entire subclass is based on movement. These barbarians move much faster than other barbarians, fast enough to push through their enemies.
They love to move, so they can even take party members to ride with them when they move on their turn, or move when party members move.
Positioning is one of my favorite parts of tactical combat, so this subclass really appeals to me. There are lots of great tools for locating and disrupting enemy positions. that’s great.
This subclass also fits beautifully into the 5e Barbarian. The sight of a rampaging behemoth rushing through its enemies is a most barbaric experience.
bubble night fighter
While Speed Demon is a bit more simple mechanically, Bubble Knight pushes the boundaries with a new bubble mechanic.
Bubble Knight is a subclass that can use bubbles as obstacles and launching pads, bouncing them off to allow themselves and other creatures to move freely. Finally, Bubble Knight can create bubbles to protect or move allies or restrain enemies.
This subclass is full of battlefield control and unique movement abilities. The bubble system rewards creativity and strategy.
Properly placed bubbles can provide additional movement options while protecting your party. Misplaced bubbles can give enemies new ways to jump on your party’s wizards.
All in all, it’s a kind of quirky version of Weird Knight that focuses on movement and controlling the battlefield.
the last dab
Dab is worth the price of admission. It has a very rich flavor and many unique character options. $4.99 is a bargain!
Dabs are pure memetic energy as well as a very interesting race that can make themselves present in a campaign setting. Their lore is great, but their mechanics are inspiring. Plus, it comes with lots of new feats to make it even more interesting.
The trajectory of the speed demon Barbarian is irresistible. Bubble Knight is great, but I really love the flavor and mechanics of Speed Demon. I want to run through hordes of creatures while chasing my allies from behind.
Dab is a love letter to the 5e movement and perfectly represents every note. Well, that and the frog.
