Month: Nov 2023

Andrasa’s Dimension

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Following from last weeks adventure that started with the party at a crossroads this week we look at the outcome of what the mid-week reveal brings us with Andrasa’s Dimension. So to get on with it and still have time in the evening let’s sit back grab a coffee and let’s roll into tonight’s adventure!

Andrasa’s Dimension

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The Binding Plains – Created in Nightcafe.

The moments following the party waking up were a hazy blur. An ethereal figure began to form as wisps of energy coalesced to form the shape of a tall humanoid, yet devoid of humanity in its piercing eyes. The room itself seemed to shift as the creature started to gather energy to pull itself from its place of holding, a dimension that Andrasa had created to contain the creature. As the figure formed attacks, magical or otherwise passed through it and caused the creature to grin.

“Finally the time has come. Soon my energy and being will be freed from this prison the witch Andrasa has sealed me within and I will be free once more. Grovel and cower now for when I am whole again you will be chaff in the wind. Gone in a flash like a candle in a storm.” the creature called during bouts of laughter as its strength and power was slowly trickling from the deep dark, a portal to the sealed dimension into a physical form on the material plane.

The next few moments were spent quickly coming up with a plan and coming to the conclusion that once the creature was at full strength it would be too late. If the creature was physically bound in the other dimension and was slowly transferring its power and essence to this one through the weakening of the seals and the ritual its servant had performed. Then perhaps there was a moment where the creature was weak physically in the other dimension as its power and strength were in this one.

Viktira, Qistra and Morali had somehow stabilised the portal that the deep dark sealed enough for a glimpse of the dimension on the other side. Dark fog filled the air with light shed from the silvery moon that hung on the horizon. Tall barren cliffs and rock outcrops lined the surface of this dimension which provided no shelter nor places to set your bearings.

Looking back at where they had fought their last momentous battle and where they were heading too now they were a long way from being finished of this last task from Andrasa, but perhaps they were the heroes the world needed now in order to prevent the re-emergence of a dark power which once took the greatest wizard the old world had known to seal.

Finally, the last push for the final adventure of the year, well the final normal zine of the year. Don’t forget to come back each day to follow on in expanding this adventure as we build upon it daily. This weekend will be a big one so I can’t wait publish what I have in store for you all. And finally, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

The Scarred Alchemist

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Tonight and I have created a zine for an adventure that I used to coach a few new DMs to this glorious role, The Scarred Alchemist. This adventure is a stepping stone into adventures with skill checks, plot twists and Memorable NPCs with a very small range or Rules to use.

The Scarred Alchemist can be used system agnostic but focuses on D&D so please feel free to adjust to what ever system and the 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 provides the stat-blocks for the creatures found in this adventure.

So I hope you enjoy this weeks adventure, The Scarred Alchemist. There week is different where all the content is within the Zine and nearly none of it was revealed in the prior week! So if you want to run this adventure you will need to download the pdf!

The Scarred Alchemist

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Night Market at Curvale – created in nightcafe.

The party keen to find work have arrived at Curvale. The bustling town is ripe for the work that their band of adventuring can bring and if rumours are true there is a lot of work here for them.

The streets are filled with people calling for their attention, hawking their wares and services at anyone who looks like they have the coin. The party gains a lot of attention from every merchant they pass offering anything from food to weapons to jewellery. 

However they also notice a few rougher looking people lurking in alleyways or being told to move on from the city guard, most of the time.

The streets are otherwise typical of a city of this size. Many people move around, buying clothes, begging for coins or otherwise trying to make a living. 

The party then sees it, the guild hall. A place where adventurers meet to talk about rumours, jobs and to share an ale after a long adventure or quest. The large stone building has a noticeboard out front with notices about wanted people, odd jobs or requests for information about rumours. 

Inside the hall a few adventures sit at tables talking quietly amongst themselves and a woman sits at a centre desk tidying up some papers.

Salve of Youth – created in Nightcafe.

The party leaves Tom to his busy work and look towards the rest of the market. There is a large gathering around a relatively ram-shackle looking market stall where people crowd around the small wooden stand. 

A man is quickly talking and handing over small glass jars as quickly as gold pieces are handed over to him. The party notices Reginald walking back clutching an open jar and rubbing a pale pink cream on his face. **Perception check DC 14 would reveal that the scar that he had on his jaw line has completely vanished.** moving towards the stall they see a young man with a bandaged left arm talking quickly to a few people who evidently missed out. Smiling, they bid him a farewell before the man starts to pack up his stall. 

The man is not remarkable in any other way except unlike the other merchants who are doing a roaring trade he has a city guard standing near him and watching over his back instead of a mercenary or personal guard. “Well Theo, I am never quite ready for what happens when you open Shop. Do you need any help getting back home safely?” the guard said as he smiled and walked up to the young man. 

“No thanks John, I don’t plan on taking this gold out of the merchant district. I have a few people I am still indebted to who helped me after the accident and I have some more goods to organise delivery of for the next batch. It never quite ends I am afraid!” he said with a nervous laugh. 

Maps

Graveyard – Created in Inkarnate (346SuCuGr).

Crypt – Created in Inkarnate (346SuCrOIl).

PDF adventure – The Scarred Alchemist

the-scarred-alchemistDownload

Thanks for joining me tonight for another Zine. This one had more content added to the Zine but like a few of my other ones I kept that in the Zine, not the blog. So you will just have to trust me on that and grab a copy of the Zine to check it out.

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

Oneshot Throwback – The Salve of Youth

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Welcome to a bit of a weird Saturday. As this week was a follow-on, a link between last weeks adventure and the next this weekend I wanted to look at a Oneshot Throwback – The Salve of Youth. This was a fun impromptu one-shot that I did when coaching another new DM where I picked a creature, a NPC and a motivator for them to be connected. And let’s just say it was quite a fun adventure despite being only a few hours long.

So let’s get a glimpse at what it was as I turn and old favourite into a new one!

Oneshot Throwback – The Salve of Youth

The man nervously stood at the barrel on the corner of an alley near where a few shopkeepers were hawking their wares. He knew the power of what he held in the pale pink salve in the jars before him. He had invested a lot of time and gold into what was in the jar.

He was an alchemist by trade so it was no surprise that when people came up that knew him from one of the shops in town that they asked him for the usual potions, ointments and salves. “Well, actually I don’t have any of those now. I don’t work for Mr Green any more. But I do have something else…” he had said before the first customers left him. This then brought the attention of the store owners who made him move away from their business for fear of dragging their business down with his.

Eventually he left for home for the day without having made a single sale. Opening the door to the single bed room that he was staying in, out of the generosity of an old friend, he fell face first onto the old bed. There was only so long he could remain here living like this. He had sacrificed everything for this salve and he was risking a lot in how it was made. Tomorrow, he would try again and show off what it could do. Tomorrow there was a big market where nobles would come to shop for the wares of the city and there he surely would be able to sell his salve, surely. As he tried to get comfortable he unwound the bandages on his left arm and applied some of his salve to the arm. Within minutes the wrinkled, damaged and ghastly skin was looking like it did a few months ago – before the accident.

The sun was just cresting over the walls of the city when he stood on the corner of the road in and the road to the market, away from regular stores he stopped each and every person. “You, yes you there. I have developed this salve that will make your skin as soft and smooth. It will take away the years or even recover…” he began each time but the merchants, nobles or commoners would just pass by him.

After a few hours he began to give up hope again when he saw a figure striding through the streets towards him, someone he had never wanted to see again. “There you are Theo. I thought I heard your voice here earlier. I really do wish you’d consider coming back to work with me. You can’t let an accident stop you from earning an honest coin.” the tall man said with a fake smile.

Mr Green had requested that Theo create vials of alchemist fire for an order, but when the customer arrived to pick up they robbed him and threw the contents of one vial over his arm. Mr Green then docked his pay based on the lost merchandise and blamed Theo on the mistake. This pushed Theo to look into ways to heal and aid his burnt and destroyed flesh and in doing so, he came across his Salve.

But despite this Theo didn’t want to make enemies in a small city and had to play it cool “Thanks for your offer but I am doing quite well. I have nearly recovered from the accident and am turning over a new leaf. Thanks for the offer Mr Green but no thank you at this stage.” he replied. But Theo could not be prepared for the snake-like reflexes that grabbed his wrist and pulled off the bandages from his arm. The crowd around him shrieked with horror at the vision of his deformity.

“I doubt that anyone would buy from an alchemist who looks like that. My offer won’t be there forever and I have clients that want to do business with you again.” he said snidely as he walked away.

Theo clutched his hand and looked down at the salve on his little barrel. This was it, the hill he would die on. “I don’t need your offer. I can heal this arm with my own concoction. Behold!” he said dramatically as he held out his deformed arm and applied the salve cautiously to the cries of the onlookers who were drawn to the commotion. Within a few moments his skin smoothed and regained a normal colour, the flesh underneath filled out and nearly all evidence of the accident was removed.

Immediately people’s cries of shock, disgust and horror turned into wonderment. People rushed to his barrel and started to ask about his salve, how he had done it, what magic he used (of which there was none) and how much it would cost them. Mr Green watched slack-jawed with a look of disbelief. Theo’s business was about to kick off.

That’s it for me tonight. The start of an adventure where the party discover something more about Theo and his salve. Don’t forget to come back tomorrow for more D&D content and as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Flying True colours

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This week we find out that two of those with the adventurers are finally flying their true colours, and one is merely doing as they are told. Maybe. If the party don’t willingly engage the creature beyond the Deep Dark then we have two methods to bring the story to a conclusion. So sit back, read on and lets investigate what happens!

Flying True colours

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The first “IF” is easy. The party decide to confront the creature beyond the veil and both Viktira and Lucile have theories on how to get beyond the portal, the deep dark. If they do then there is no confrontation but there are some concerns shed by Morali and the Melarn sisters who try and talk them out of it.

The second option(s) are less evident.

The party wake up after a very restful rest feeling revitalised to realise that Alex is sitting there sharpening his short sword and waiting for them to wake up. Viktira, Morali, Qistra and Umnel are bound and gagged nearby but Lucile is nowhere to be seen. Alex explains that this was the only way that Lucile had worked out a way to stop the creature from coming through the portal.

But Viktira protests and either when she is ungagged, or she wriggles free she explains that she had heard a voice guiding her here since the swamp. Telling her to do things that led to the collapse of the well of souls as well as to her capture and ‘safe delivery’ to this place. She had realised too late what it was and through force of will, during the parties battle with the fiend something triggered and she realised what it was. The fiend wanted her to come through the portal, to be a host for the creature and to set it free.

She felt the same presence from Lucile as she bound her and walked towards the deep dark. She believes Lucile is being used by the creature and that she will free it willingly or otherwise.

The alternative is that the party interrupt the above and Lucile is used as a channel for the creature beyond the veil. The deep dark’s seal will break in less than a lunar cycle at which point the creature will be free. The creature is actually bluffing here (a successful insight vs deception contest will reveal this). It is currently weakening the bonds and will be out within a few minutes now that it has a vessel nearby that is under its full influence.

Lucile carries several magical items on her and a few of them are for her protection, spells stored in items that will provide her a sanctuary. If the ruse is seen through the creature will use the items to create a transparent force field and a powerful sanctuary effect. People would need to pass a wisdom saving throw to break the compulsion to not attack the forcefield or Lucile and then they would need to get through it (Leomunds tiny hut).

She will then start channelling a ritual and the creature will start to manifest within the centre of the ritual – but only partially – this is where the party need to defeat a weakened creature as it is split between planes.

Alex Portand – Created in Tetra-cube.

This is where we leave this week – the verge of the finale of this years content (except for the “Dice-ember” Christmas adventure.) Don’t forget to come back this weekend for more content, zine or two caught up on and as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Camp in the Pit

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A nice simply one since its been a few adventure-sessions without a long rest as the party set up camp in the pit. If you want to interrupt the beauty sleep, or, depending on how the party decides to move the adventure forward we can use this as a basis. So let’s sit down with a coffee and explore tonight’s quick map!

Camp in the Pit

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The map is quite simple. A raised ledge within the pit itself which is big enough that the party can rest. It’s also close enough to the ritual circle that they can keep an eye on the Deep Dark in case something comes out, or goes in.

Campsite in the Pit – Created in Inkarnate

Not much of a description for this weeks map – and this weeks adventure will likely roll into the previous conclusion as we prepare for the final confrontation in two weeks time. Don’t forget to come back tomorrow for some stat-blocks (on the off-chance we need to give a bigger nudge to the party) and as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

The Culmination of Acquaintances

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The Culmination of Acquaintances is what is in store for us this week as we move forward with the last few weeks of this adventure. Tonight we have a visit from an old acquaintance who may be just the person to convince the party of their next step, or maybe not. So let’s sit back, grab a coffee and roll into tonight’s adventure!

The Culmination of Acquaintances

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The party looked into the small fire they had made and the many, many pyres that they had to burn some of the corpses that had remained after the fight. The survivors of the cocoons had nearly all left now as some had stayed behind to help move some of the bodies out of the calcified web and towards one of the cities.

Talking to Qistra and Morali the city of Duraegis was directly above them and a few tunnels lead up and out of this room. They had been told from some of the survivors that they had been taken directly from the city and down into the Deep Dark. But as the party listened to the sisters and the young Lolth priestess they couldn’t help but notice another set of figures moving through the droves of people leaving. A bright torch moving into the pit itself, crossing the web-bridges and making their way to themselves.

The Drow with them, and Viktira noticed and started to watch with interest as two cloaked humans appeared next to them. “When we first met I couldn’t imagine what you have been through,” a familiar voice said as Lucille Bendercuff and Alex Portand pulled back their hoods. “We visited the Ice Spire, well what little remains of it. There wasn’t much apart from the remains of a dead giant in a ruined building. But my scout let us know that you had been seen moving towards Ferklend and the well of souls.” she paused as she sat down and pulled out a map.

“We found a man named Rike who told us all about you. He said that you had saved the town from the undead and then headed off into the swamp to stop a catastrophe. And we found a bunch of rotting corpses and ruins.” Lucile paused as she revealed the parchment she held. “We deciphered the runes and each of these places form some kind of seal. Two of them have failed completely but this one,” she nodded towards the Dark pit at the centre of the ritual circles, “looks to be fine. The issue we have now is that it’s now just a matter of when, not if the creature can come through this ‘Deep Dark‘ as it acts like a portal. I theorise it may be able to be sealed from the inside permanently based on some other books and scrolls I read from Andrasa.”

The party looked between the scribbles in common, the still slightly thrumming portal to another dimension where some fiendish master was contained and the notes around the ritual’s failure and how to prevent it. Other notes theorised what the creature could be but most of them settled on a greater fiend or some nature. Something that was powerful enough to warrant the greatest sorcerer of these lands and a group of heroes from a bygone age’s combined strength to best.

More questions came up unbidden but conclusive answers were few. The matter of the Portal, the ritual and how to deal with the creature remained a decision for the party.

And that brings tonight’s update to a wrap. Thanks as always for visiting but don’t forget that tonight is just the beginning. There is two more nights, tomorrow may hold something different for a change, and Friday – where we may not have an encounter as such but there will be some moments that the party will need to intervene. So I will see you again this week and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

A Brazen Dice Magazine

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So the past few weeks I have spent some time learning 3d modelling, primarily in tinkercad, with the aim to create some useful tools and widgets for both my TTRPGS and my wargaming. A while back I used some spare foam-core board and created a way to store 20 dice in rows so I could easily access the right number of dice quickly without spending ages counting dice.

I, well I call it this regardless, “dicelexia” – I struggle to count dice as they lay on a table. So I try and limit myself to only having 20 dice available at my hands at any one time. When I am not rolling dice actively I would put my dice back in the holder, a “DiceMag” which stored 4 columns of 5 dice for 20 dice in total.

To ensure that it transported well I also sculpted from epoxy-putty a ‘lid’ that encased the entire DiceMag and was secured, quite well, with magnets. However I found out the hard way what happens if you dropped it. Picking up 20 dice in a gaming hall was not ideal.

So a year and a bit later, I think, I got myself a 3d printer and created the second version. Tonight see’s the first prototype (another improved version is ready to print) that improves on getting the DiceMag out of the lid and the strength of the magnets to bind it all together more securely – because, well… Magnets are great.

Version 1

Current Version

The circle, painted to represent my logo’s Brazen Moon is hand painted and something that I might experiment with. It’s designed to be a flat surface to paint on, apply decals or something else to give a creative freedom to who ever has such a DiceMag.

I am sure that I will have other versions of this – but for me this is something fun, useful and perhaps something valuable to the broader community.

Thanks for your interest in my side project!
The Brazen Wolfe

The Creature Once Imprisoned

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Today we once again look beyond the veil to see what is occurring beyond the scene of the players and with the creature once imprisoned. Despite what they have been through the past few days (weeks worth of adventure) the evil rest for no man, or woman and so we see them carrying onwards. So let’s get back to the adventure!

The Creature Once Imprisoned

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Larituron had been defeated and the flow of energy had ceased. What’s worse is that the fiend had borrowed some energy from the creature to corrupt and use the ritual the witch Andrasa had used to bind it in the pocket dimension. Upon the fiends death that energy was lost forever and as the ritual to siphon souls to it was ceased, permanently now, the creature was nowhere near strong enough to emerge itself, yet. 

However the adventurers who had defeated Larituron still stayed close to the Deep Dark. They had proven themselves capable enough and their essence, if consumed, would be enough to break out of the pocket it was contained within. But, the creature hesitated on that thought, that would mean confronting these adventurers and that was something it didn’t like the odds of. Well, perhaps a fair fight would be one sided in their favour but it was rare when there was a fair fight.

The creature had one or two more agents at play and eventually it would find a way out, but it needed these adventurers dead. Calling in a deal the creature expended some of its precious energy to reach out to the mind of one that had been foolish enough to barter with it. Soon the mortal would find out what it truly means to sign a deal with a devil.

As the party watched the slow exodus of the cavern they noticed a few stayed back and watched the party nervously. The Melarn sisters, Morali and Viktira had survived through it all and were walking over to the party.

Their faces were rife with nerves but that was probably due to the battle with the giant fiend, the capture and then life-draining that they had just witnessed and gone through. “So, you never mentioned that you were this powerful before. Do you mind if we stick near you for a bit? I figure it’s probably safer by your side for the time being.” Morali asked, with the Melarn sisters nodding in agreement, somewhat reluctantly.

Thanks for stopping by tonight. Now the guessing games can begin as we have a bit of a social encounter for this week and maybe a brief pause in combat. I feel like the last few weeks haven’t had any downtime which may cause issues for the party. Regardless, don’t forget to come back each day this week to follow along and try and see if we can identify a pawn and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

The Crossroads at Serendipity and Destiny

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Following immediately on from last weeks climatic adventure the party find themselves this week at the crossroads at serendipity and destiny. This hopefully will be an easy decision for the party but we will have to wait and see what happens. Let’s not wait any longer to see what this week has in store for us. So sit back grab a coffee and let’s roll into this weeks adventure!

The Crossroads at Serendipity and Destiny

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The creature known as Larituron lay dead on the altar and the energy that was pulsing towards the Deep Dark, a binding ritual and portal to a pocket dimension, had vanished. The death of the fiend had caused the channelling of energy to beyond the portal was cut short of its endless cycle.

But the choice of what to do lay with the party now as the fiendish creature had revealed that her master was beyond the portal and it was nearly at full strength. The cavern had gone silent once the death of Larituron with the spiders, remaining ettercaps and driders fled into the tunnels after the fiends’ compulsion ended. The remaining captives in the cocoons were slowly dealt with and soon the party were left alone with the body of the fiend and a decision to be made.

The party managed to rest for the first time in what felt like days, eating from the supplies they had found and brought with them when leaving Kalehgrul. The threat of something more powerful than the fiend that had to be bound by a powerful mage and heroes from a distant age was not something they had planned for.

The alternative, the promise loomed that the fiends master it was nearly strong enough to break through its bindings. If the tidings from the Ice Spire and Well of Souls beginning to fail, or having failed was anything to go by then it was only a matter of time before the creature broke through.

The question remained, was the better idea to confront it beyond the Deep Dark or wait for it to appear in the material plane?

Thanks for dropping by tonight to continue following along. Tonight marks 683 nights posting in a row, consistently and it also marks the near-end of this years content. So thanks for continuing to follow me on this journey and for not forgetting to join me again the next day. The rest of the week will set the decisions in motion and we will have to see what we lies ahead for the party. And, finally as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

The House of Spider Silk

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Tonight and I have created a zine for a long over due adventure, The House of Spider Silk. 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, The House of Spider Silk. There is a lot more content within the Zine, again, this week so if you want to get the full experience then download the pdf!

If you like this format please let me know and I hope you enjoy.

The House of Spider Silk

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Mushroom Cavern – created in nightcafe.

Disorientated and tired from the fight with the vampire in the Carrion Swamp at the well of souls the party find themselves whisked away as the magical backlash of the Well of Souls collapse attempts to link itself with one of the other places of power that form the tri-seal. 

However as the well of souls was failing the magic wasn’t quite accurate and the teleportation led them in the right direction, but not far enough.

PDF adventure – The House of Spider Silk

the-house-of-spider-silk-1Download

Thanks for joining me tonight for another Zine. This one had more content added to the Zine but like a few of my other ones I kept that in the Zine, not the blog. So you will just have to trust me on that and grab a copy of the Zine to check it out.

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