Month: Dec 2022

Adventure: The Snowman of Snowtown

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Welcome to the last night of 2022 and the close of December. This year we looked at the adventure to Ryokughan and also the dice-ember adventure: The Snowman of Snowtown. It’s been a big year and I am happy to provide the first adventure booklet that I have worked on this past month. You can find the PDF of this Zine-style booklet attached and if you want to re-cap on the journey here you can read up on it all here.

As with all my adventures art is a mixture between Artbreeder, Inkarnate and now Nightcafe.studio. D&D stuff is tetra-cube, D&D Beyond and Kobold fight club.

The Snowman of Snowtown; a Dungeons & Dragons 5e adventure. Download

Now that I have worked out the format for these documents I hope to be able to release a few of them in the coming year. I also hope to also encourage local Dungeon and Game Masters to pick them up and run these adventures with their parties.

Thanks for joining me tonight, this month and this year and, as always, thanks for your continual support.
The Brazen Wolfe

Encounters in the Frozen Wilds

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Tonight I wanted to share some stat blocks that can be used for encounters in the frozen wilds. When looking at wildlife encounters in naturally cold places you can expect bears, wolves, big cats and the like to be hunters. It will be no different in D&D and especially the wilds near and around Snowtown. As much of a threat the Enchantress and her snowman army is there will always be the chance of natural predators stalking our party. Tonight we can look at that a bit more.

Encounters in the Frozen Wilds

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Ambush

The ambush predators, such as big cats, are likely our first encounter. Leopards, tigers and even sabre tooth tigers can all provide a moment of panic for our party. These cats generally hunt alone (unlike lions) and will attack the party from ambush. This makes them fun little random encounters for the wilds.

Pack hunters

The next category is easy, pack hunters. Primarily wolves will be our focus here but there are a plethora of wolf types (and subtypes) in D&D. One or two or a dozen just make sure that its about half what the party’s max is to just give them a sense of danger without being actually dangerous.

Created in Inkarnate

Solo hunters

Solo hunters as also relatively easy. Bears. Brown bears, black bears, polar bears and the dreaded owlbear. These creatures generally have a close knit family unit or hunt solo. They are generally an apex predator and they know it so they wont mingle with other creature and may even hunt the other predators nearby.

These creatures can throw something a bit more towards our party and make the time between travel a bit more enjoyable. Some people find Travel boring but if you throw in a few random encounters where they are the prey and not the hunters it can spice it up a bit.

I think it’s only fitting that my 365th day writing in a row finishes with one of my favourite creatures of all time. The Owlbear. Ever since I discovered them, quite some time ago, I have had a fascination for them and even wanted a ranger character of mine to find a chick and raise it as a companion. Thank’s for joining me again tonight and don’t forget to come back for more content in the coming days. Thanks to those who have joined me recently and those who have been with me for some time. Your support and attention to my creative hobby here has truly made it worth while. Don’t forget to spend a bit of time for your own hobbies this new-year period and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Frosted Forest

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Tonight I wanted to share some more maps for the dice-ember adventure where we look back at the snowmen within the Frosted Forest. Two maps were created, well one created and the second had the snowmen removed.

Frosted Forest

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Snowfields without Snowmen

The slope of the snowy fields from Snowtown heading towards the forest impedes movement. Small mounds of snow are littered with rocks that have rolled to near the surface. Some rocks have stayed there for longer than most of the townsfolk lives. Normally the forest is a cheerful place where birds and animals seek refuge from the day. But lately its been quiet and even the game that used to call the forest home have been found out in the snowy fields or further away from the town.

Created in Inkarnate

Snowman in the Forest Encounter

The same map but with snowmen hiding in wait. Although not hiding that well its hard to tell if they are the animated ones that have been seen in Snowtown or if someone has a sick sense of humour and has decided to create the festive creations amongst the shade of the trees.

Created in Inkarnate

Thanks for joining me tonight for some more snow maps. The Frosted Forest was a fun map to make and I think I managed to get the colouration of the snow pretty good this week. Don’t forget to come back tomorrow night for some statblock’s and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Beaten to the punchline

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Tonight I wanted to follow on with the theme from last night where I had a random set of folk heroes that could work in any adventure. Tonight I want to throw out there a random twist that can work in nearly any adventure – the party is beaten to the punchline. Now the inspiration for this twist came about from me exploring what my first Soulbound adventure would be for the new year. But it definitely isn’t anything new or anything super special its just something that could be useful to drive a sudden change in the plot.

Beaten to the punchline

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The Basics

To implement this twist is very simple. You have something bad which the party oppose and before they can stop it, it is stopped by someone or something else. This works for any of the four basic adventure types that I explored over a year ago; Learn, Stop, Escort or Fetch.

Let’s explore that a bit.

D&D 5e – Fetch

“Are you sure this is the place?” Arien asked the halfling not for the first time.

“Yes yes, it’s the right place alright. Just hurry up and keep watch. The Wand of McGuffin is not to be guarded lightly…” Darrel responded as he went to pick the lock in the shadow of his ranger companion. “oh that’s odd.” he mumbled as the door swung inwards with the lightest of pressure on the door. The scratch marks and strange powder on the doorframe told the halfling master rogue all that he needed to know. “Quickly. Walk away. We were not the first people to search for the wand and its gone.” Darrel was already blending into a nearby troop of performers by time he finished his command.

“what do you…” Arien began before she managed to peer through the opened door… “good gods.” she managed to squeak as the frozen form of a dozen guards stood around a magical device that thrummed with power in the centre of the room. A large chest that would have been hidden under floorboards lay opened and empty near the guards. “D. What do we do now?” she asked as her long strides make short work to catch her companion.

“That’s easy Ari. We have to out burgle another master burglar” Darrel replied with a grin as his cloak, moustache and pants shimmered as a powerful illusion changed his appearance.

Soulbound – Stop

The rivet gun’s clattered echoed off the stonework of the tower as the magazine was emptied into the locking mechanism. “Primitive locks are nothing against Kharadron ingenuity” Hank Geldenhammer said through his aether helmet.

“Well if these mages didn’t foresee our arrival and prepare for combat they are well aware now. Good job duardin.” Eros Witchblade sighed as she took her hand of her hips and strode forward unsheathing a pair of wicked looking blades.

“Now Eros, there may be no need for that. These are men of learning. Surely we can reason with them. The Realm stone of Chaos is cursed and evil. These wise men and women would surely know this and will see that their attempts to harness this stone to retake Barak Zundabarg is folly and dangerous” Tinxao the Lumineth Scinari Cathallar said as she walked calmly through the doors to the hall beyond. The tower itself was made of dark stone that seemed to absorb all light from around it, all light except for the glow from the Warpriests warhammer.

“This place is cursed. I can see the tolling of a great bell. Lord Sigmar’s light does not pierce this blackened stone. We should be all aware of ratmen.” Torval Brighthammer said as he gripped his warhammer tighter and strode in behind the Cathallar.

“Ratmen!? Do you even hear yourself talk Torval? I thought you too old and wise to believe in the tales that are made up to scare children” Eros laughed at the expense of the warpriest. Torval just gritted his teeth and began the trek up stairs.

“Remember we are here to relieve these mages of the realm stones of chaos so they can be destroyed. Hank I know you have a fondness for powerful stones and metals but this is…” Tinxao began looking distrustfully towards the Duardin who she was soulbound to. Hank turned abruptly, the lenses flashing.

“Shh!. I have detected something. Now is not the time for your nonsense Aelf.” Tinxao remained as devoid from emotion as ever. The clatter of steel on stone quickly broke the party into a rush for the last few stairs. Bursting through a door they arrived at the main deck of the observatory where a gruesome sight greeted them. The mages lay dying or dead. Wicked looking throwing stars and knives riddled their bodies and large glass canisters lay smashed on the stones beneath them. Evidence of magic being flung around the room was everywhere. Scotch marks from lightning and fire lay across the meagre furniture and as they looked around the room a flash of lightning from outside drew their gaze to the open window. A large man-sized rat bundled in dark scraps of fabric squatted on the window sill. The lightning illuminated its silhouette but the candles and lanterns from the room where the party stood highlighted the sharp chiselled teeth and bandoleer of throwing blades. After a heartbeat it flung itself over the side of the window and into the darkness beyond.

“Still don’t believe in Ratmen Eros?” Torval asked as he ran towards the window summoning a beam of light to blast out the window. A second later a screech followed as conjured bolt of lightning struck a creature outside who fell from its perch. “They have the stones” Torval roared before he hurled himself towards the door to give chase down the stairs. But as he looked down the winding staircase he was greeted by dozens of pairs of glinting eyes, chittering teeth and rusted blades.

Tonight we had a look at an easy and fun twist to any adventure. The key with this one is to make it so that hope is not lost – to give a hint (blatant or obscure) to the party so they have a way forward. Once they have this then there its full steam ahead to either uncover or confront the rival group. Are they on the same side or something worse than what they were trying to stop or take? Don’t forget to come back the rest of the week where I have more content in store and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Folk Heroes

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Tonight I wanted to look at two folk heroes that we can use in any game. Both were fundamentally just artwork I created* and their story, objectives and potential were inspired by the art. Both heroes are well known by their peers and enemies alike but chose to live a simply life instead of ruling or conquering – despite having the potential to do so. I think there is something truly noble in that and wanted the inspiration for today to really send a message that heroes are also born from nothing and don’t have to aspire to be the loudest or brightest in the room.

Folk Heroes

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Folk Heroes – Randall Hensley

Folk Hero – Randall Hensley Created in nightcafe.studio

Randall was recruited into a mercenary company from a very young age. He learnt that to fight for his life and his meals whilst serving with his brothers when in the service to a king, a madman but powerful. As the renown of the company grew to greater heights so did his passion to improve his skill sets and so he searched for forgotten blades of Ikshar. These blades were forged by master smiths of their time and then blessed by the priests of a falling deity.

As such no ordinary warrior could wield them but Randall trained harder so that one day when he found them he would be worthy. When his boss, the company leader, brought him into the tent and provided him a map to the powerful blades Randall rushed off to find that they were guarded by a feeble old man. Seeing the pain and suffering that he was enduring Randall came to understand that the blades carried a curse. You would be unbeatable, unable to be bested by the blades of mortal men but… you would watch everyone and everything you lived or cared for die and wither away to nothing.

He swore and oath to ensure that no one would take these blades for greed or power. And the priest so convinced by his change of heart gave them to him. Over the next decade he did not grow old but he watched his family, the mercenary company slowly die one by one. He began to seek out death and eventually, he got his wish. He faked his own death and fled for a distant land to find peace where no one seeking the blades power could find them.

Randall now resides as a merchant selling bags, rope and other general goods to adventurers and who ever is in need. Content to live his life and to not take anything for granted. The blades curse still holds him tightly but he has only had to draw them once. To protect the village from an Orc slavers raid.

Folk Heroes – Anne Rivers

Anne Rivers: created in artbreeder

Not blessed by magical blades, a deity, spirit or Fae, Anne has spent her life sticking up for the small people. An orphan by any other name is still an orphan, however Anne rose above her sad start to become a guardian for all. Abandoned as her parents had no need for a seventh daughter she grew up with a woman who was just kind enough to feed and clothe her but not kind enough to love her. She learnt that a family isn’t just who you were born to, who you were raised by but who you chose to keep close and value above all else.

She started to look out for the other orphans and street urchins when she was little. In fact this trend continued well past her teens where she became more of a mother and leader figure to a rather well known street gang. This gang however didn’t rob, hustle or attack others but they carried messages and did odd jobs for the community. Something that Anne enforced with an iron fist. Soon Anne became well respected by the merchants and city folk in her district but others began to take note.

Now in each story there has to be some villain somewhere and ours lies with the city guard. Corrupt as they were numerous it was hard to sneeze in the city without the guard trying to extort money out of you. In fact the city guard tried that numerous times with Anne and her gang but she resisted heavily. When the Guard started to move in and try the same tricks with the people in her district they quickly found out why she rules the streets.

Several skirmishes and small fights later and the guard tried to take her out by force. The battle was bloody and the casualties many but Anne invoked the right of single combat with the captain of the guard. The stakes were high but Anne watched as the guard began to beat and riot through the shops even as she had invoked the right and her desire for justice was unquenchable. In a clutch moment, using the uneven terrain of the streets she lunged on the far better equipped captain and slew him. Her first kill.

The towns folk rallied to her and pushed back the guard. In fact that day the guard came to know that her little family of street gang members were not just urchins and messengers but they could in fact hold their own in a street fight. Their streets their rules.

The guard did not return to the district again and with Anne at the lead the other district soon stood up against the corruption. Anne’s name is still whispered when ever there is any unrest, the city folk believing that she will rally and rise up against any injustice and tyranny that threaten her extended family.

Thanks for dropping by tonight and reading about the ideas on these two folk heroes. Not all heroes wear capes, as the saying goes, and in this instance they also dont call themselves heroes. But they serve the people and fight for what’s right when they need to. So don’t forget this when you look to your next adventure and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Hellbent on Soulbound

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Tonight I want to touch on something I want to explore more this coming year which is part of the driver for moving back to a series of oneshots rather than a yearly adventure format. I am hellbent on Soulbound getting more love. Not only does it bring two of my passions together but it feels nice to run as well. In fact there are no super complex rules to unpack middle of the game. Most of the maths and complexity is done at creation and periodically.

There is also, wait for it, an in game currency that forces cooperation towards a goal. Yup. Hate it or love it you’re stuck with these other characters of various races so you got to find a way around it. No more “its what my character would do” or “I hate that character” as it actually punishes you. Forced cooperation when done in a nice way is just refreshing to see.

So this year I want to create a single long adventure with a few mini adventures stretched out over the months. So I am excited to see how we go with more soulbound content and hopefully I can convince my local gaming group to give it a shot.

So stay tuned this week as I hope to have a teaser for it this week. I will also aim to have the final product of the Dice-ember adventure wrapped up and ready to go as well. If I can find a format I am happy with I will see how far my time and motivation goes to see what else I can do. Other than being hellbent on soulbound getting more love I also want to get more painting done. I have another two armies with of models either sitting in boxes or as grey plastic and its going to start driving me insane. So hopefully I can make it a reality.

Don’t forget to relax and be good to yourself and don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Merry Christmas

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As the setting sun created a golden glow on the white snow the adventurers trod towards the town gate. The watch guard called out a greeting towards the travelers who stopped pulling their cart that was laden with loot.

After a brief exchange the outsiders to the town were let through. The sack containing the remnants of a nearby goblin camps treasure stash brought the most attention from the village.

The villagers celebrated, calling out to more of their kith and kin to witness the proof of their hostile neighbours demise. Ale was called for and great fires lit to cook a feast. The adventures were sat at a table and they handed out little sacks of looted goods and treasures to the townsfolk who eagerly opened them to reveal the gift within.

Soon the meads, wines and ales were flowing freely, the people dancing and merry as they celebrated not only the success of the mission but the winter solstice.

Meanwhile…

The goblin chief sat down infront of a new campsite filled with old tents. As the goblins from his clan gathered round he told them of the tales of his ancestors.

A child asked why they had to move and the chief grinned broadly, revealing his sharpened teeth as he was proud of his cunning plan. Explaining this to the child was easy as the cost of the move and the loss of their treasure was worth the price the adventures had asked.

No more killing the humans, gnomes or repugnant elves. They were to move but leave what they stole. But what they crafted or hunted on their own was for them to keep. They could leave with their lives and their things as long as they were gone by the rising of the sun.

This loss of stuff was worth far less than the lives of the tribe. The children, grand children and great grandchildren. The friends, friends of friends and… Not quite friends. The survival of the tribe and mercy of the adventures was a new story to tell for generations to come.

As the last tent was placed a great fire was lit and hunted creatures were put on spits. Soon the tribe started to chant and give thanks to their gods and ancestors. Afterall it was the winter solstice and they had survived another year due to the lessons from their ancestor’s and the cunning of the chief.

From me and mine to you and yours, have a great and merry Christmas and a wonderful end to this year,

The Brazen Wolfe

The Snowman of Snowtown

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Welcome to the twenty fourth night of Dice-ember where tonight we look at the final plug for our adventure, The Snowman of Snowtown. As tomorrow is Christmas and next week I’ll look to wrap up the final product tonight will, more or less, be the final post for Dice-ember 2022. So sit back, enjoy a coffee and read on.

The Snowman of Snowtown

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A frigid breeze blasts down from the Gritch mountains and brings with it the deep rhythmic singing of the goliaths that call the mountains home. The town of Snowman sits amongst these large mountains, surrounded by wooded forest and it once was a bustling agricultural town that supplied stone and food to cities further south. That was before the accident that caused the quarry to close and now the town is on the brink of collapse with only the shipments of food and livestock keeping the town going.

But the shipments from Snowtown have stopped and rumours of the forests nearby being haunted by malevolent spirits have come instead. The one city that is unwavering in their support of Snowtown (and the animals and goods that the town supplies) has requested aid from local adventurers to go and check on Snowtown and see if they require assistance.

Meanwhile a young enchantress deals with the loss of her girlhood crush, the rejection and persecution by a narrowminded community and the offer to work for a madman. It must be the crazy season.

Thanks for joining me tonight. With the final parts of the Snowtown adventure coming together I want to thank those who have visited and who have supported this little endeavour of mine for this past year and a bit. Next year I will change things up again to bring more one-shot content and go back to what the true intention of this blog is. But before we get to that I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas and holiday season. I hope you all get to spend some time relaxing and celebrating with those near and dear. And lastly don’t forget to roll with advantage, we never know when we may need it,
The Brazen Wolfe

Battle down the steps

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The twenty third day of dice-ember brings the creature which give meaning to the battle down the steps. These two creatures could not be further apart. One forged by magic, the other an ambush predator found in caves. Both of them enriching to our encounter and the story overall. So sit back, grab a coffee and enjoy the creatures.

Battle down the steps

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Snow Piercer

A relatively unknown yet horrifying fact about creatures in this world is that they adjust to their environments. Perhaps one of the best examples of this is the piercer.

An ambush predator by trade it hangs onto cave roofs amongst stalactites and waits for creatures to walk underneath. Once the prey is there it releases its grip on the roof and plummets down to the prey. Its weaponry is tailored for such a fight, a large, thick hard tail that looks like a rock that it uses to impale its surprised prey before turning around to munch on it with its mandibles.

Now these creatures would not be very good in areas where there isn’t standard stalactites so these creatures have been found to adapt. The case in point is the snow or ice piercer. These creatures look like a frozen icicle, opaque yet still deadly. Other than their white-blue skin and wet appearance they act identically to other piercers found out in the wild.

Created in tetra-cube

Encounter

I would imagine between two and three per two party members will be plenty. These aren’t meant to kill or significantly delay the party but to throw in some tension on their way down the stairs. It also goes with the theme of Dice-ember. “False Appearance” which can create both apprehension and excitement for our parties.

Frostkeeper Construct

The Frostkeeper construct is a shell, a suite of magical amour that protects the broken form beneath. That’s what it was originally intended to be anyway. The Frostkeeper construct created by Aster Sepharin was to preserve what remained of Mark Kenderson’s body after her construct injured him. The idea behind the construct is to form an icy armour around the soft damaged human parts but what Aster got was much more.

This construct is tough, resilient and brutal. Able to rein significant punches and kicks with its enhanced strength as well as immune to many things that mages take for granted. However it is still weak to fire do to its tendency to defrost.

Created in tetra-cube

Encounter

In combat this thing will stalk its prey. Its not smart or cunning but it has its set of orders, “protect yourself until the human form can be restored”. Due to this if it senses any hostility towards itself it will attack – Aster found this out when she turned against her creation.

The creature will attack from the darkness and relentlessly lay into anything with exposed fire, knowing its weakness. If there is a mage that uses fire it will seek them out first and relentlessly beat them to a pulp.

Thanks for coming tonight to stop by and look at the creations for this weeks adventure. Don’t forget to come back this weekend for the end of it all, and as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Descent under the Ice fields

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The twenty second day of Dice-ember we look at the maps that track our Descent under the Ice fields. These were once again created in Inkarnate!

Descent under the Ice fields

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The slippery steps and deep fall into the cave below lead for a harrowing adventure down. The Stalactites on the roof (and hidden creatures amongst them) also pose more threats that the party will have to face as they descend further down. This weeks adventure map(s) start with the stairs down where movement is considered difficult terrain so speed is halved. Over the rocky un-hewn icy-stone there lays the area for our party to rest or be ambushed. That parts up to us.

Frozen Quarry Steps – Created in Inkarnate

Workshop

Dark and gloomy with small motes of light that are left over from the enchantresses ritual the Ice cave where she conducts her rituals is far from welcoming. At the edges of the cavern is steep rocky walls that with small ledges that the athletic may be able to reach for a vantage point. Large slabs of ice-crystal litter the room and some of which glow with a light of their own. A large chair stands towards the back of the area whilst a small, flat slab of ice acts like a table near by.

In the centre of the room is a large alter table, old blood mottles the engravings that have been chiselled into the surface. The creation that could have been created here long gone, or perhaps just hiding.

Enchantress Ice Cave – made in Inkarnate

Thanks for joining me tonight for another night filled with maps as we track the descent under the Ice fields. These maps would suit many frozen caves (not just this adventure) and can be quite versatile. The stairs was definitely the hardest but its difficult to stress the steep drop either side of a narrow walkway. Don’t forget to come back tomorrow for the creature reveals and this weekend for the final adventure. So if you’ve joined me tonight, or have been reading along with me for some time now. I want to thank you for joining me for another year of Brazen Wolfe Tabletop. Don’t forget to rest up and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe