Month: Mar 2024

The Ironbound Druids

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Tonight and I have created a zine, the tenth of the new year. As I still continue to play catch-up on these zines you may find one or two of them pumped out in a weekend. But regardless of that I hope you are finding the current format of this Zine useful. So without any further waiting I present, The Ironbound Druids, in the same format, as a fun one-shot to assist GMs.

As always this adventure 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 Ironbound Druids, and that your rolls are made with advantage.

The Ironbound Druids

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The Ironwood Druids Meet – Made in nightcafe.

“The Ironwood forest is an ancient place ruled by a conclave of druids who have protected the lands for generations. The woods themselves have trees that grow into the sky and boast the strongest wood that you can find in the content. That’s the main reason why the Druid conclave protects these woods. 

They need to protect these lands from the people in the neighbouring kingdoms from harvesting the trees for their own use.”

The travelling bard that the party had met up with had not stopped talking since they met along the road heading towards Crakenburg to assist in carting grain out as part of a job from a few wealthy merchants. Despite the party liking company the bard had personally alerted bandits to their position, a pack of wolves had followed his noise and no game dared to stay nearby as they travelled through the woods.

But the party stopped him talking as up ahead the forest was silent and they could see a few humans standing perfectly still as if they were in trouble.

After the conflict with the woods themselves the party find themselves following Kevin in the direction of the druids enclave. The druids are the only ones who could deal with that many locusts and protect the job that the party were here for – escorting the caravan and its harvest of grain and straw back to the merchants. 

It’s not long until the party is walking towards a giant Ironwood tree. Where its roots and trunk meet has formed a hollow under its massive form and stairs have been shaped out of the earth leading upwards to the space in the tree. Stone carvings of animals line the pathway and the sense of them watching the party as they move upwards follow them even until they are stepping into the hollow. 

The area within is sparse with a single man kneeling at a short wooden table as he works a mortar and pestle.

PDF adventure – The Ironbound Druids

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Thanks for joining me today for another Zine this year where this one is an interesting one which could be the hook for a future adventure. As usual there is a lot more in the Zine than there was in the daily updates on this blog – so make sure to grab a copy of the PDF.

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 and year. 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

A Different Initiative

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As I continue to look at other game systems, experiment with one I have had on the side for years I find myself annoyed at the Initiative system and find myself looking for a different initiative system. Tonight I want to explore a just few of them and maybe see if I can spice not only my game up but others out there.

So put that d20 down, sit back and let’s explore how else we can roll initiative.

A Different Initiative

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So before we get too deep in let me explain he issue I have with Initiative. You can run it how ever you want but the issues still remain. The setup can take too long, horde based encounters either feel overwhelming or underwhelming – rarely an in between and the only way that bosses feel challenging is making them legendary creatures (having legendary actions) and setting the initiative to where you want them to be.

I’ve been asking players to roll initiative for a long time but it doesn’t seem to improve with the new additions of D&D and other games seem to have different, maybe better systems. So that’s the purpose of tonight – a few different ways to run it.

Pack of Cards

Every person draws a card, including the DM and the lowest number goes first. A player wins ties and Ace counts as 1. Each turn the party pick out a new card and we re-establish initiative during the event – this makes it a bit more interesting and dynamic as the fight can take un expected turns – however it can nearly guarantee that the readied actions will have a chance of being wasted.

For the Tank or front-line characters it means they can go and establish that line early – which is part of their job IF they draw well enough and for characters who have really specialised in initiative (or who depend on it) – they get either a re-draw or get to trade their card with another (including the DM.)

The DM can have either one card or more but it depends on the situation. It could be that when a player goes after them goes an enemy to create a back and forth flow to the game that may feel better.

OR

The other use is assign a Suite-Face card to each player and take them, shuffle them in with other cards that represent one or more creatures. Place them face down and when its time for combat flip over the top card and then turn over the first card to determine who is next to act. This can be useful as it varies initiative each turn. For players who have bonuses for Initiative (class feature or a feat) they can add a second card that represents their bonus to initiative.

Player to the left

Simple system really. The player to the left of the DM goes first and then they pass it to their left. The DM has NPCs and monsters/creatures activate when it gets back to them – they are the start of the round. IF the party is surprise then the DM acts immediately then goes at the end of everyone else’s turn.

However this creates a scenario where the DM, Me, will still run out of creatures and a well placed fireball will just obliterate the encounter you had planned.

Dex Score

Just order initiative based on Dex Score. Those who are fast will go first and those who have lower dexterity scores will go last. Means less dice rolling and trying to pencil in where people go so it can speed it up. But this may begin to feel stagnant and wont address some of the issues I have.

Action economy

Give actions a weight.

Movement goes first – same as reactions – they break the order and happen fluidly – but must be declared early. Like on a card, or note. It relies on the intent behind the action. “I intend to run over to the log, crouch behind it (sliding really cool like though) and then firing from my light crossbow at the orc watchmen.” – The DM can then understand the intent of the table and then interject the actions of the hostiles.

Ranged Attacking may weigh more than movement but less than a melee attack so it goes next followed by melee attacks and lastly by Magic. As spells require materials, somatic and verbal components (most of the time two of the list) they take longer. Cantrips though may just be as counted as a ranged attack.

This puts more emphasis on the narrative of battle rather than effort of keeping track of initiative.

A few of these will need to be investigated more but that’s something that can happen over a few games. Tomorrow we have not only a Zine but also Easter! If I can summon the energy I will have multiple Zines out tomorrow. So don’t forget to come back tomorrow and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Kalen Turt

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Kalen Turt is a master assassin who thrives in hunting his prey in busy city streets. Keen of mind and eye Kalen rarely misses that first strike and those who find Tymora smiling down on upon them may wish the bolt killed them.

So let’s grab a coffee and stalk into tonight’s adventure!

Kalen Turt

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Assassin – created in tetra-cube

Kalen is a relentless hunter with a large ego and pride in his work. He won’t stop until a job is done and this makes him more lethal the longer the job takes. Preferring mid range combat with surprise hit and run tactics he rarely misses. However… If the target can catch him flat footed or surprise him then he rarely stays for a confrontation and will retreat at first chance.

Smart enough to our fox those hunting him but unwilling to lose finds him a tough opponent who is well renowned for being the best at his grisly task.

As we have a single creature this week we need to spice it up. A bit an encounter where I provide the framework and stage but the script and story belongs elsewhere. But don’t judge just yet.

Don’t forget to come back this weekend for more adventure and as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

In the Buildings and Through the Streets

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A different approach this week as we focus mainly on what the party do which may result in the main encounter happening in the buildings and through the streets of the city. As we don’t know where the party will encounter the assassin it lends this weeks encounter to a theatre of the mind setting as opposed to one that is locked to a single map.

So jump start your imagination as this week will look over what we should consider on the streets and in the buildings. So sit back, grab a coffee and let’s roll into it.

In the Buildings and Through the Streets

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Streets

Streets are easy. They can either be cluttered or not. Cluttered streets have boxes, crates, barrels, wagons or stalls in the way that block line of sight. The other thing to consider is that you can have living things that block line of sight too – such as Horses, cows or people. An assassin may strike in broad daylight when they are getting desperate as a way of blending in with the crowd and in our case this may be the case.

Launching a bolt or arrow or poison coated needle from a higher vantage point may be a perfect way to attack, so we need to consider multiple levels. Is it just rooftop and ground level or is there multiple floors and roofs, windows or balconies to attack from. Is there cover, sheets, clothing, stalls, pot plants or a billboard to hide our assassin or does the shape of the roof enable them to be hidden?

The other consideration with streets, particularly packed ones is a stranger coming out from the pack and using knives, daggers or short blades to quickly cut, stab and even utilise poison to silence their target before blending in with the crowd.

Vacant streets are very much the same but with less places to hide. So ranged assassination will likely be the preferred method and from a greater distance away. However appearing around a street corner, using doorways or even the sewer system can be effective means to handle the situation.

Buildings

Buildings are either lived in (or occupied) or vacant again. Most of the time they are cluttered or have multiple ways in, out and places to hide. This gives the assassin an easier time of ambushing the target. However the inverse can also be true. If the party can lure the assassin into the building, or, enter the building then kite around it to surprise the assailant it can be an easy and sure-fire way for the party to ambush the assassin.

A shorter one tonight but some thoughts to help flesh out the encounter that takes place in the theatre of the mind this week. Don’t forget to come back tomorrow as we wrap up this weeks adventure and as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Target Confirmed

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This weeks is all about the party being wrapped up in an assassination attempt but it isn’t until a few days later when they have the target confirmed. But is it too late, can they rely on the watchers keeping an eye out and will they realise too late that they are the bait?

So let’s sit down, grab a coffee and keep our heads down.

Target Confirmed

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The twang of wire was the only indicator that something was wrong as a bolt whistled past the party and buried itself into a barrel of apples next to them. A crash and groan of pain followed and following the screams of people they found one of the watchers pulling themselves from the ruins of a stall. Untangling the fabric of the shade cloth that was suspended above the wooden frame they looked to the party.

“I spotted them. They nearly hit you with the bolt but I hit them first.” she paused, catching her breath. “However I didn’t expect them to rush at me and knock me off the vantage point and down here. They took off north from here” she pointed to emphasise her point as she touched a wound on her ribs. “I need to clean up here. The other watcher is taking pursuit but we have confirmed that they are after you. So be careful as in our experience when the target is confirmed and the assassin knows that we are aware they either raise the ante or they will change tactics completely. I will catch up in a moment.”

Taking off and allowing the watcher to make amends with the shop owner and tend to her injury the party head north. If the assassin was aware that they were close then they may feel cornered and be irrational. People were pointing and muttering about a chase happening on the rooftops as they passed. Quickly asking bystanders they were able to trace the steps of the suspect and the watcher to an abandoned church.

Drawing their weapons they entered the door and began searching. It didn’t take them long to hone into a tower at the back of the building – the only part of the church that had roof access. Climbing the stairs they heard a rattle in the room at the top of the tower, one that was level with the roof judging by one of the windows. Pushing through the door the first adventurer was pushed against the wall by an unseen assailant – a large thin dagger pressed against their throat. After a split second the figure withdrew the dagger and stepped back – slumping against the wall.

“Thank god it’s you.” the figure spoke. He was young and dressed like the other watcher but clutching his stomach. “I followed the assassin in here. I can’t believe I chased him like a rookie. Next thing I know I get a few swift hits in the stomach and he dashes out the window. I thought you were him coming back to finish me.” he said as he stood up slowly. “I’ve got to follow him.” he said before pushing past the party and climbing onto the roof.

As the party stood there in the silence the sound of something dripping could be heard from deeper in the room. Following it they found a pool of dark blood and a young man that had been stashed in the rafters of the roof, stripped down to his undergarments. “This isn’t good. That’s John” came the familiar voice of the female watcher from before. “and it looks like our assassin has their hands on a watchers outfit now.”

Thanks for joining me tonight for another expansion of this weeks adventure. Tomorrow we will look at expanding if further before we wrap it up at the end of the week. Don’t forget to come back each day this week to stay on top of the adventure and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Rudy Tasslewor

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All bars, taverns and Inns need people to not only provide information, jobs or rumours but to also serve food and drinks to the patrons. Rudy Tasslewor is one such person and this week he plays a pivotal role in what I hope will be a great adventure.

So let’s grab a coffee, or something stronger, sit back and let’s roll into tonight’s adventure!

Rudy Tasslewor

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Rudy Tasslewor – Created in nightcafe.

Gathering around the bar the owners of the Tavern and Rudy, the barman who was unluckily the person who Ikob took drinks from all waited as the guards and the city’s watchers looked around the room. Questioning the party, several of the watchers; elite guards and spies, tried to find out what happened leading up to the death of the noble.

“So you say that you ordered the drinks and Lord Ikob Thunderdash received them instead of you. It could be something else as we have, so far, no motivation for anyone wanting to kill adventurers of little fame such as yourselves. But we will investigate the body and see if there was another source.” The Watchers were all masked and showed nearly nothing that could be tied back to who they were. However the watcher that was asking the questions was a female and sounded middle aged and local.

“Anything over there, watcher?” one of the guards called from across the room – the reply was a shake of the head. Rudy, the barman smiled weakly at the party as he walked over.

“I am sorry you got caught up in all of this. The only time I didn’t have eyes on the drink was when the old blind man needed help getting back to his table. But it wasn’t for that long and I had no idea.” He stopped and paused as he saw the look on the party’s face.

The guard approached and shook their heads as they stopped next to the party. “Well we can’t rule out it was an inside job. Ikob was a well known noble for the wrong reasons but he was nobility, after all. Even if the drinks weren’t meant for him there is no way to prove otherwise. But I would recommend that you stay safe and keep a low profile over the next few days until you leave town. Don’t go anywhere at night as the city streets aren’t patrolled as much.” the older guardsman said as he scratched his neck.

“You may also have a watcher or two posted to follow you to see if they can catch the assassin. But don’t bring attention to them. The quicker they can do their work the quicker you will be safe.”

A small update tonight which leads into the next few nights of content. So don’t forget to come back as we continue to ramp up this adventure and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Hook, Line and Sinker

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Welcome to another night at my tabletop where tonight we find our parties drawn in hook, line and sinker into another adventure. But this time its different. An rude and arrogant noble, a drink mix-up which leads to an assassination and all from the party ordering another round of drinks.

So grab a table, avoid the drinks tonight but let’s feast upon tonight’s adventure!

A relaxing stint on soft beds amongst civilisation is what the party had come to Oscowl for but quickly they realised that it may be too much to ask for. As the party sit in their tavern and watch as the barman brings over their drinks a series of events not only quickly draws attention to them but to everyone else in the tavern. An assassin nearly killed them and killed a notable nobleman and mage who frequented the tavern.

With the death of a noble bringing more scrutiny and as tension increases can the party find the would be assassin before another dies or will the true target of the murderer be revealed.

Hook, Line and Sinker

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Ikob Thunderdash – Created in Nightcafe.

The crescendo of the bard’s song ended with a scattered cheer and applause as the party sat, fed and content at one of the booths that they had haunted for a few days. After many adventures they had come to Oscowl – a hub city where work was everywhere and so were places to spend hard earnt gold. For this band of adventurers the promise of a comfortable bed and a place to spend some of their hard earned gold was what brought them and the food and drink of the Mutter-butter tavern & Inn was what was keeping them here.

As they went over their plans for tomorrow they signalled one of the workers near the bar for another round of drinks. The friendly half-elf acknowledged their order before a booming “How dare you!” shot through the room. The party looked towards the source of the outrage and found that Ikob Thunderdash, a noble with a non-insignificant amount of magical prowess was pushing a man away from his table where not one, or two but three scantily clad ladies were sitting with him.

“I have warned you once to not encroach upon my business” Ikob called out as he stood menacingly upright. The man in front of him looked confused and terrified as he shuffled backwards, raising his hands and apologising.

“I am sorry. I didn’t know it was your table, I…” he began before being pushed backwards. The man looked left and right as he stumbled – his milky eyes scanned for where his table was as he stumbled backwards. The young half-elf barman appeared and caught the man. “Sorry about that. Easy now old friend, I’ll show you to your table.” he said.

“Fetch me another drink at this moment and I’ll forgive this establishment for its lack of respect for the nobles of this city!” Ikob called to the swoons of his companions and the mutterings of the other patrons. The barman nodded and agreed but focused on getting the old blind man back to his own table. Ikob muttered a few impolite comments to the delight of his companions.

A few moments later the barman was walking back to the parties table carrying a tray of drinks to them. However as the barman got near the table a few incantations saw the tray of drinks drift over to where Ikob sat. “Ah I knew you wouldn’t be getting drinks to someone other than me first” he said as he laughed and started drinking from one of the goblets. As the barman stomped away to get another tray of drinks to the party Ikob suddenly coughed, stood up holding his throat before writhing and screaming in pain. The table knocked over, the girls he was with screamed and within moments he lay on the floor, blood pooling from his eyes, ears and mouth.

The Tavern was quiet for a moment before the first screams and cries erupted. The party looked at the spilled drinks, the dead noble and the other people within the tavern. Something tells them that they won’t be having any more quiet days in this city any more.

Thanks for joining me tonight for the first of a change in pace this week. Instead of a big adventure defending princesses, infiltrating cultists or seeking out Dryads this week there is an assassin on the loose. So don’t forget to come back daily to follow along with the new content and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

The Lost Horde

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Tonight and I have created a zine, the ninth of the new year. As I still continue to play catch-up on these zines you may find one or two of them pumped out in a weekend. But regardless of that I hope you are finding the current format of this Zine useful. So without any further waiting I present, The Lost Horde, in the same format, as a fun one-shot to assist GMs.

As always this adventure 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 Lost Horde, and that your rolls are made with advantage.

The Lost Horde

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The Skipping Sailfish – Made in nightcafe.

The ship had bobbed up and down for a few weeks now on the seas. The crew and captain had turned out to be as experienced as the party had been told. The journey had not been difficult or dangerous with the exception of sighting something monstrous swimming at the surface of the sea – which the crew did well to avoid. 

The Ruined Tower – Created in nightcafe.

The next morning the party were charged with helping to gather supplies and odd jobs for the villagers. The supplies were then given to the Party and sailors as thanks for the oddjobs and at night they feasted around the fire again. After a long day of loading the ship the party sat down to rest and watched the ship bob up and down in the waves. They hadn’t seen the Mirage Fish again since the first night but they had frequently cast their gaze towards the keep.

As the party silences the first skeleton they notice that a single golden coin falls out of its shattered skull which glows a dull green as it hits the water. As the other skeletons fall a similar golden object, bracelet, earring, coin, ring and the like also fall into the water. Soon other lights appear in the water beneath their feet as the battle rages on. Soon the entire inside of the broken keep is glowing with light and the party can feel this throbbing arcane energy attempt to wash over them as the light glows upon them. 

“The Treasure. It’s the reason these lost souls are cursed. I should never have come to this place!” Turk calls at some point during the encounter before climbing up and out. He at least throws a rope down for the party members as he runs off.

PDF adventure – The Lost Horde

the-lost-hordeDownload

Thanks for joining me today for another Zine this year. As usual there is a lot more in the Zine than there was in the daily updates on this blog – so make sure to grab a copy of the PDF.

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 and year. 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

A Lethal Combo

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Now tonight we answer the question of how dozens of guards were slaughtered without anyone knowing, the answer? A lethal combo. Tonight we get introduced to the Hobgoblin Shade – a hobgoblin trained in magic who uses it to sew chaos on the battlefield and for certain, specific tasks – such as supporting their warlord in combat.

So let’s check the corners of the room and maybe play at the tabletop with a few extra lights tonight. But first let’s sit back, grab a coffee and roll into tonight’s content.

A Lethal Combo

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Hobgoblin Shade – Created in tetra-cube.

A Shade by many names is something that generally means stealth, deception or the dead. The Hobgoblin shade embodies all three things with their magical prowess and ability to strike out of the shadows. But if there is no shadows and no way of stealthily executing their warlords plans the Hobgoblin Shade supports the battlefield by sewing subtle misdirection and complete silence into the plan.

These elite agents are not the strongest of fighters but they are lethal nevertheless and parties should, and do, fear the Hobgoblin Shade when they are rumoured to be embedded in a warlords army.

That’s it for this week. A short update with a new stat-block to bring to the hobgoblin arsenal. A few years back I made Hobgoblins, Oni, the main attack force of a big-bag and this week we have them front and centre again. But that’s not all for this weekend as we wrap it up with a Zine tomorrow which you wont want to miss. So don’t forget to come back for that tomorrow and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

General Kazak Gorkai

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This week see’s the infamous General Kazak Gorkai enter the battlefield to challenge the party to a fight. However he is never alone as he brings with him his Hobgoblins, Orcs, Goblins and war-beasts to the fray to hound and wear down his foes before coming in for the killing blow. But that is not all who stalk the fields as another waits and watches.

So let’s not delay in grabbing a coffee, sitting down so we can roll into tonight’s adventure!

General Kazak Gorkai

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General Kazak Gorkai – Created in Tetra-cube

There are many generals in the hobgoblin race as they are the most tactical and militant of the goblinoids. But General Kazak Gorkai is something special. Turning his martial prowess into a brutal and efficient art form there are few who can match him in the blade. Due to this and his ruthless command of other goblinoids he rules with little competition on the battlefield.

Hobgoblin, Orc, Goblin and Worg – Created in Tetra-cube.

The shock troops, grunts and fodder of the army are the Worgs and hobgoblins, Orcs and Goblins – in that order. Loyal isn’t the right word for them as they are more scared of what Kazak will do to them than they are of what the enemy will.

A bit of fun with the potential to up the ante this week with Kazak joining the fray. This weekend I will continue to bring you more tabletop content so don’t forget to come back. And lastly, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe