Month: Jun 2023

Destined for Drifting

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Another night where I get to play around with NPC portraits and we don’t just explore the Patrons this week, we also explore those destined for drifting. These upper class folk and these vagabonds, well potential vagabonds, have a role each to play this week. So sit down, grab a coffee and let’s roll into this nights NPC introduction!

Destined for Drifting

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Mary Fournswallow

Mary Fournswallow – Created in Artbreeder.

Although she rarely travels the roads near Foresithe as a rule Mary finds herself in a predicament. Content with the family home she had lived in for years she hadn’t dreamt of moving to a larger city ever. But with her husbands business booming and the risk of competition and theft rising the decision was made to move to the larger city with the last of wares that they had stored in the old warehouse.

However due to the recent increase in highway robbery and bandits on the road her husband, Teller Fournswallow organised guards to escort the carriage and wagons on the final trip. Despite being loyal to her husband Mary has a weak spot for heroic figures and even vagabond ruffians and is just as likely to flirt as she is to run away when dealing with stressful circumstances.

Harry Panscythe

Harry Panscythe – Created in Artbreeder.

Not an unremarkable fellow Harry appears to be a wealthy yet ordinary man. Clever of wit and observation he seems to know the roads, the people and the towns around Foresithe well. Travelling with a few chests he is making his way to Foresithe to start up a new business after the previous one he had went under. Deciding for a change of scenery he seems unconcerned with the reports of bandits and seems to trust the guards and adventurers he hired to look after the rough spots as long as he gets to his destination safety.

Quick to jump to help people but slow to trust or reveal much Harry shows kindness but shies away when observed doing such acts.

The Drifters

Drifters – created in nightcafe.
Drifters – created in nightcafe.

The reports of drifters usually comes in two forms. Rough looking humans in different scraps of cloth harassing the carriages and wagons and stealing what they can. Or half-beast half-human ravaging the people of the road and leaving none alive to tell the tale. Which is an enigma in itself as where do these tales come from?

Those destined for drifting rarely have a say in their life. They are generally the result of poverty or a calamity of some kind. But one can always attest to their desire to survive and come through hardship.

Thanks for dropping by tonight for another NPC night. It would be pretty obvious plot for those paying attention, especially after the turning point for the highway man. But to confirm it you will have to come back every night. But don’t forget to keep an eye out for other Tabletop materials this week as I play a bit of catchup. And as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Drifters and Shifters

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Welcome to the start of yet another week where one the weekend we looked at a redemption story. But what if we look at that differently, perhaps we should look at Drifters and Shifters. So that’s this weeks adventure. So let’s sit down, grab a coffee and roll onto this weeks adventure!

Drifters and Shifters

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“I can’t tell you how relieved I am to have you with us in this carriage. With the roaming pack of lycanthrope bandits on the road no where is safe!” the cooing merchants wife practically fell out of the chair to get closer to the party member in the carriage with her. The other carriage patron, a relatively well off looking human shared a glance with the party member before shaking his head as he turned towards the window, smiling.

“So you some kind of hunter huh? Much experience in hunting packs of werewolves? It makes me feel so safe having you and your men with me, us! with us.” she stammered. “I take my wares to my husbands shop in Foresithe once a month from our warehouse. But his wagon got hit bad once by these bandits and ever since we take smaller quantities and have slowly began the move.” she continued to explain her situation to the party member.

“I am sure our companion is also of similar feelings, er… Mr?” she asked looking expectantly at the other passenger.

“Harry, Harry Panscythe” he politely spoke. He looked from the window to the inhabitants of the carriage. “I fear that I don’t have worry of the stories of lycanthropes on the road. Most of these stories end up being exaggerated by those too embarrassed to admit they were stolen from.” he said with a smile. “But I don’t doubt the prowess in these warriors, these hunters in routing out the beasts if there are any.”

Tracks

“Halt! I said Halt!” a voice called from up ahead. The carriage stopping before the doors opened and the adventurer jumped out. Striding across the snow, winter setting in, they made way to one of the foreriders. Tracks, large bestial tracks by the looks of it. But these ones changed and distorted mid-stride to something different, something more human.

“Interesting,” Harry said from behind him. A look of genuine interest and worry appeared on his face. “I dare say your hunting skills will come into use then.” He said with a smile towards the party member.

Thoughts

Now mix of a carriage escort, an investigation and something more this week. I don’t want to spoil it or how it relates to the weekends content. But it will be a good adventure I hope.

Thank you for joining me for the start of another week. There is a bit to get through this week so keep an eye out for more content as we go. But also don’t forget to come back for the zine of last weekend as I look to get that out this week as well. And lastly, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Durkenstaff Lost Mine

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So a surprise map night tonight. I worked on a map for the Durkenstaff Lost Mine, one of the paths to the adventure this week. While some mines lead to riches, some lead to just a neat cave. This one is a bit of a mixed measure of what ever we want to put in here. So instead of a Zine this Sunday I have a map with over 400 different objects across four layers. But let’s look at the map tonight by grabbing a coffee and rolling into an adventure!

Durkenstaff Lost Mine

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A Long rocky path and cave that has a few chambers off it. The first path to the right has a ‘secret’ path up to another little area where you may choose to hide something. Perhaps a surviving miner or two who could have some wisdom for the party.

The water is deep, Maybe not infinitely deep but deep enough that you are at risk of drowning if you get stuck in there with heavy armour. Another hazard is the pit to the end of the left passage where I wouldn’t mind this being even fifty feet deep. Deep enough that to slip would mean death.

Durkenstaff Lost Mine – Created in Inkarnate

So a bit of a weird weekend and one where I will have to ‘owe’ a Zine to us all. But the map I think is cool enough as compensation. So don’t forget to look for the zine this week coming and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Turning point for a Highwayman

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Tonight I wanted to take a moment to breathe and focus on something else that I am passionate about, and the Turning point for a Highwayman. After a long week and a longer night with the kids it can be hard to drive forward with what meagre plans I did have. So I wanted to capture a short story inspired by the bed time story for my daughter.

Turning point for a Highwayman

A Thief

The feel of cold steel never worried or concerned him. In fact it had been his companion since losing his job at the inn after he had been caught taking food home. They never got through it all and what they didn’t they reused the next day. He had seen the food that was left over from the day and it wasn’t going to be any good the next day. So what was the harm in him taking some home? He was always hungry and the food went to other good places too. But apparently his theft wasn’t just enough for the owners and they fired him. At least they didn’t get the guards to drag him out.

Well until he went back and robbed them. It was easy to get in and out and take what he was owed. But this meant he could never go back home. But he did discover that he had a knack for thievery and so he tried to take it to the next town. Except, he didn’t make it to the next town. His next big theft was on the road.

Highway man

The wagon of a merchant is a prone vehicle to thievery. In fact there were more thefts on the roads than actually in towns. The first thing he took was a small chest and a sword. The thrill of the theft was so much that he didn’t even bother checking the chest before leaving the wagon, none the wiser mind you. But he should have checked. A spare change of clothes. Long fancy pants, a shirt, vest, and hat. Not exactly his style but when he put them on he couldn’t recognise himself any more. Adding his old trusty belt and the cloak he stole from the inns front door as he left he was ready.

His next theft was when he ambushed a carriage. Using his old work down clothes he made it look like he had fellows in bushes around the carriage. It was easy to convince the driver and inhabitants to give him half of their coins and all the food he had on him. Especially when he shifted and his body distorted.

Shifter

The term lycanthrope, or were-creature was thrown around too much when he was young. It wasn’t his choice of fault that he was what he was. But born from the offspring of a wererat and a human what were you going to do. Being able to change his body to a more bestial nature gave him an edge. No one wanted to be turned and so the sight of his claws, elongated fangs and snout. Well it was enough to make any one comply. However it w as his words and manners that made the most difference.

When he spoke he asked politely, never threatened with outright violence. No that wasn’t for him. Asking for valuables and food was easy when people listened to the well dressed potential-lycanthrope. Until he pulled over the wrong carriage that is.

It was winter and he had made a name for himself. The Gentleman Rat. Not super fond of the name but having a reputation did help. But as he was pulling over the next carriage he recognised one of the inhabitants, two to be accurate. One of the two people in his home town that liked him. Well, liked what he used to be. A friend.

Turning point for a Highwayman

She, Merian, was huddled next to her elderly father, unwell by the looks of it, and judging by the direction they were going it wasn’t good. The city in the direction they were heading too consisted of some of the best and most powerful clerics that he had heard of. It must not have been good news for Merian and her father to be heading to Foresithe. The sight of them drained any urge to rob and thieve or even to threaten. He simply smiled, placed a pouch of coins in their shaking hands and stepped away. His bestial features melting away as the first rains of the evening began.

As he watched the carriage head down the road he wondered how many people his unchecked thievery had hurt. When he had worked at the Inn he had always prided on making sure that everyone had want for nothing. Returning to camp he looked at the riches he had. Never hungry for food any more he had somewhere along the way forgotten why he took the extra food from the inn. It was to feed those who couldn’t afford the food normally. To make use of food that would be tossed aside or reused at the risk of clientele. Well no more would he steal from the innocent. He hung up his hat and his fancy clothes and picked out something more comfortable. Tomorrow… Tomorrow he would take what he had and try and prevent others from turning to thievery.

Thanks for joining me tonight for this little re-take on a, quite popular, book. The idea of a rat-shifter highway man may not be something unique but as someone who is always on the lookout for more NPCs, or PCs, then the idea is intriguing. With the ruleset for shifters in 5e they can be quite strong if used correctly. So giving them a re-viewing of a old tragic backstory for one of redemption could make for a fun character.

Don’t forget that tomorrow we both continue and finish this weeks adventure. So make sure to come back for that and don’t forget to keep an eye out for what else is on the horizon. And lastly don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Durkenstaff Cavern

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A map night, surprisingly Friday night though, is here and while I work out how to make a larger map I wanted to present the final ‘arena’ for the encounter for this week – Durkenstaff Cavern. Yesterday we were introduced to the mountain king and his associate, a Chimera. Tonight we look at the cavern with skylight which is their home. A bit of a big arena for the end of adventure combat but we will see how we go.

But in order to actually get to the adventure we best sit down, grab a coffee and roll onto tonight’s adventure!

Durkenstaff Cavern

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A large cavern with a small cave on one side is known as the Durkenstaff cavern. A hole in the top of the cavern allows bats and birds to fly in if they dare but also sky access for the Manticore. It also brings in rain water into a pool that’s featured in the middle of the cavern floor.

Tall craggy cliff faces litter the walls of the cavern with platforms build into the side. This gives plenty of vantage points for archers or, Chimeras to perch and watch as prey enters their vision.

Durkenstaff Cavern – Created in Inkarnate

Now as I prepare for a pretty full on weekend I want to thank you for coming back again this week. In fact with a bit of a mix up this week with the order of things I will have my work cut out for me in this weekends writeup. However, don’t forget to come back daily as I hope to finally reveal some more hobby progress this weekend. And lastly, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

The Mountain King and The Monster

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Welcome to a Fight-night Thursday…. tonight we meet The Mountain King and The Monster he has convinced to join him. A bit of a short one tonight, but more will be revealed in the coming days! So Sit back, grab a coffee and let’s look at some creatures!

The Mountain King and The Monster

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The Mountain King

The Mountain king, self proclaimed obviously, is a vicious but ever so slightly cunning Stone giant. Keen on expanding his territory he made a deal with a Chimera to protect and assist in his conquests.

Stone Giant – created in Tetra-cube

The Monster

The monster of the mountain king, a Chimera, is vain, greedy and stubborn – all the normal traits of one of her species. However she has learnt that being in the employ of another creature isn’t all that bad.

Chimera – created in Tetra-cube

Thanks for visiting tonight. Don’t forget that the next couple days we will expand more upon this encounter including the map of the lair. However don’t let the creatures fool you as there may be more that meets the eye at first glance when it comes to these two monsters. So don’t forget to come back the next few nights to see the full reveal and as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Hunting Grounds of the Mountain King

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As Wednesday arrives again we look at the Hunting Grounds of the Mountain King. Now to not give away much of this weeks plot we will take a bit of a different approach. So sit down, grab a coffee and let’s roll into tonights adventure.

Hunting Grounds of the Mountain King

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Groggy and sore Farden looked around the dark and gloom around him. Bones of animals litter the cavern they found themselves in and the slow realisation that his nightmare was real sunk in. Luckily the creature was gone but evidence of its appetite was strewn around the room. Half eaten cow carcases, a horse’s leg propped up against the wall and bones everywhere.

But as Farden looked around the room he could barely make out the shapes of his fellow miners in cages much like his. Feeling around the confines of the cage he found a shard of broken stone, or bone and he started to cut at the bindings of the cage. Little by little the strands of fibre broke apart from their fatty resin that bound them in place. His freedom close he pushed the cage beam away and he wriggled out.

“Farden. Don’t. The creature only just left it will be back soon.” his fellow miners warned as he snuck around looking at the bindings on the other cages. All the miners had some form of injury and they were weak, but alive. Moving towards the exit he looked around the corner and seeing nothing but a large open cavern. “Don’t worry. I will get help”

The guard

Watching from a ledge near by the human wandered out into the cavern. Licking its lips, the creature crawled down the wall, its claws biting into the soft stone of the walls. The look of terror flashing on the humans face brought the creature delight as it skulked forwards its tail lashing in anticipation. Remembering the orders it had received it didn’t want to kill it, but she couldn’t let the creature wander the mountain kings new home could it?

With a sudden burst of speed the creature pounced onto the human, the sounds of a few bones breaking brought a shiver of delight over the malice filled creature. The urge to devour it was immense but it careful grabbed the human and place it back in the cave where the others were kept.

“Well done Rak’shamaneth. I found more treasure of what these humans had tried to hide from you.” the mountain king said, his voice vibrating stone and air alike. Striding over to the king Rak’shamaneth looked at another chest filled with gold that was placed at her feet. She practically purred with delight. This arrangement was working very well indeed for her.

Thoughts

Now what is better than a single imposing foe to contend with? Well two. One king and the queen that he had persuaded to join him. Now the hunting grounds of the mountain king is a special adventure. I have planned it to be two phased with a pretty dramatic ending. One that you wont want to miss.

Thanks for joining me for another night of adventure. Tonight we met Rak’shamaneth and the proclaimed Mountain King. Tomorrow we will mix it up and have the creatures revealed tomorrow as the map will take me a bit longer than I have available. So excuse the different format but I hope that you still have enjoyment from it. Don’t forget to come back for the last few days this week and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Durkenstaff’s Request

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The weeks go by so quickly that we find ourselves at another Tuesday where we meet the NPCs of this week and hear out Durkenstaff’s request. With the disappearance of their miners the people of need all the help they can get in finding their missing families as well as returning their villages main source of income. So let’s not keep the good people of Durkenstaff waiting and let’s roll into tonight’s adventure!

Durkenstaff’s Request

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Durkenstaff’s request from Jandice

Jandice Baker – Created in Artbreeder.

Greeting the party with a warm cup of broth and a chunk of bread she sits down at the table opposite them and explains the situation. “Its not just the income from selling the ore from the mines, its out family. We rely on them for protection as well as helping around the village. They are our strongest and fittest villagers and we will be lost without them.” she began, waiting for the adventurers to drink some of the meagre soup.

She gripped the hand of her son, Randal who stood next to her. “A week ago our miners went to work. They normally stay up there for five or so days and return for just as many to relax and help sell the wares. But on the sixth day when they didn’t return we sent out our hunters to go find them and bring them home. We thought they’d been attacked by wolves and bears and were holed up somewhere. But when the hunters came back they couldn’t find any sign of them. Surely they have missed something. I can’t believe that they would just vanish like that.” Jandice stood up and walked off towards the pot to stir it.

Missing information

Randal Baker – Created in Artbreeder.

Randal sat down in front of the party. “Jandice the wise is what the others call her. A healer of sorts but she doesn’t always listen to counsel. I’m Randal, Jandice is my mother. Without the villagers from the mine we wont last the winter. The others don’t want me to tell you this, they fear that you will run off and take what you want from the mine. But there was something strange in there. A new passage. Now I help the miners occasionally. escorting them back and bringing them food. They would have told me about a new mine.” he began, pausing to look around at the others in the hall.

“I fear that they entered the new passage and got lost. Or something. I know we don’t have much to offer but can you hear out our request? Durkernstaff’s request?” he paused for a moment. “I’d start with the mines. We searched the rest of it. I’ll talk to the villagers and mother. I’m sure we can make it worth your while if you’re willing to help us find our families.”

Thanks for dropping by tonight. This week I want to expand upon what type of rewards can come form quests and requests. Not everything is a bag of gold, a magical blade or ten fast horses. Sometimes its something much more. But to see that you’ll have to wait for the weekend. Even so don’t forget to come back daily for the rest of the week and as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Trouble at Durkenstaff

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Welcome to the start of another week where we have the party investigate trouble at Durkenstaff. A bit of a straight forward one this week so we wont delay getting into it. So grab a coffee, sit down and let’s roll on with this weeks adventure!

Trouble at Durkenstaff

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Durkenstaff – Created in Nightcafe.

She looked at the mountains with the worry of what tomorrow might bring. It had been a day since the hunters had left to investigate the mine. Being the best at tracking and moving over the rough terrain of the mountains they volunteered to head out first to at least investigate what had happened. Many of the villagers husbands, wives and children worked in the mines nearby, digging for iron primarily. However, since they had left at the start of last week they hadn’t returned yet and they were long past due.

Concerned that something had happened they had organised a search party to go and investigate. However they were now overdue.

The Scouts Return

“They’re here!” a voice called from a nearby watch tower and those that remained in the village rushed to the entrance. However the sight of the hunters returning without those that worked in the mind caused the village to let out a collective sob. But not for Jandice. Her son, Randal, ran up to her with his bow on his back, tired but still alive.

“We didn’t find them. Anything really. All of them just gone. All their carts empty, their tools laying there in the mud. Nothing. Not even a sign of them in their tents. Everything was intact. But there was something I did notice. I slipped off when the others looked up the path towards the top of the mountain. They’ve found a new tunnel. a whole new part of the mine to dig in. But its weird, it doesn’t look like it was created properly. Half opened without the normal supports like what father used to talk about.” He opened his mouth to continue but a roar broke across the village. One that curdled blood and caused every hair to stand on end. A roar that came from up the mountain.

It looks like there was Trouble at Durkenstaff mine.

Thoughts

Now a good old classic adventure. Missing miners from a mine. I am excited to look at how I can get the maps to work. Large maps that involve a lot of twists and turns are generally hard to do. But I will look for ways to organise one.

Thank you for starting your weekly adventure with me. Don’t forget that I will be fleshing out this adventure as the week goes on and, hopefully, publishing a new adventure zine at the end of the week. So don’t forget to come back for that and as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Squires Folly

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Tonight and I have created another zine for this weeks adventure, Squires Folly. This adventure can be used system agnostic as we explore other RPGs out there other than D&D. So please adjust to what ever creatures you are using in your adventure! However as always Kobold fight club can be used to quickly balance an encounter for Dungeons and Dragons and Tetra-cube currently provides the stat-blocks for creatures in this adventure.

So I hope you enjoy this weeks adventure, Squires Folly. If you like this format please let me know and I hope you enjoy.

Squires Folly

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The Lazy Boar Inn

The Lazy Boar inn – created in Nightcafe.

Fresh from one adventure the party decide to head through Larkem and rest. Sitting down at a highly recommended tavern, the Lazy Boar Inn, they are surprised when they appear to be the talk of the townsfolk.

Larkem is a comfortable half-way township that is between larger inland cities and a large port that acts like a gateway. Because of this they have set up an outpost for squires moving from the keeps along the coast and the main cities.

This means that there is a large population of squires and knights in the city of Larkem. Many of the squires in the Lazy Boar Inn are talking about rumours, and in particular a certain one. Nearby, about a day’s travel, the small Farming village of Fedurke was attacked recently. A large beast destroyed a barn, killed and ate nearly the entire flock of sheep and several horses. 

The squires are going to go and hunt the beast as a sign of their coming knighthood. Some even approach the adventurers to ask for advice.

The hunt begins

Squires entering the forest – Created in nightcafe.

PDF adventure – Squires Folly

Squires-FollyDownload

Thanks for joining me tonight for another Zine. Next time you get a party together consider running this adventure and I hope that you enjoy it.

I hope you don’t miss a thing so come back daily in the coming week. This is so you can experience the creation of the next adventure as it evolves and shapes out. And as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe