2024 Campaign Adventure 11 & 12

Good evening all and welcome to the Eleventh and Twelfth days of adventuring for my party. While I will endeavour to not give away the campaign, adventure or plot moving forward (in case my party read these updates!) I will attempt to write up each adventure this year continuing with my 2024 Campaign Adventure 11 & 12 – continuing on from the 2023 adventure.

This is a continuation from 2023 Campaign adventure 10 as the party continues on their first mission as members of the investigation of the strange creatures in these lands.

2024 Campaign Adventure 11 & 12

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Plot:

Noon

The party having rested from fighting the Snowcraft Guardians, the creatures with a sturdier and rougher exterior than the creatures seen before. As the party recovered from the encounter they pondered what the cavern below the frozen waterfall held for them. Approaching the edge of the cavern they discovered a work rope ladder that had become rigid with ice. Below a cavern was revealed studded with both Stalagmites and Stalactites – but the party knew something was up. There was a stairway that had been carved into the stone which descended deeper into the quarry cavern. Frozen ice and compacted snow surrounded the path where there were several standing torches that studded the edge of the path for the length of the stairs

Armaeth scouted up ahead and checked for loose, crumbling or rigged stalactites however she was not anticipating creatures to be lurking in the cavern ceiling. A moment later and several stalactites fell towards the party, several missing the mark and crashing into the ground but one connected with Tater, grievously wounding him. The stalactites were revealed to be creatures that took the form of the stone formations on the roof of the ceiling, Piercers, and hunted they prey but impaling them and hoping the drop killed them.

After a brief fight Tater was left to bandage and try and recover from his wound before they carefully headed deeper, but not before searching the stomach of the creatures and finding a mysterious pouch – one that was bigger on the inside than the outside. While not a bag of holding the Pouch of Holding acted in a similar manner but with a greater limit on how much could be kept within.

Now knowing what to look for Armaeth used a flaming torch to prod the rocks and revealed several more creatures that scuttled off without attacking the party. Eventually they found their way to the bottom of the stairs where a giant reptilian fossilised skull marked the end of the stairs and the beginning of the hall and chamber beyond.

The Discovery

Walking down the hall and promising themselves that they would try and take some teeth on the way out afterwards. All light disappeared as they went deeper into the cavern below and beyond, but testing the depth of the room beyond (by launching a crossbow beyond and listening for an impact) they found it was a rather large room.

Throwing torches into the room they created a few pinpoints of light that helped Groku – the only human in the party, and which produced the mediocre amount of light that enabled Tater and Kai to see better in the dark. What was revealed was a smooth icebound room with several pillars of ice that may have been stalagmites and stalactites that met in the middle for their formation. These were somewhat evenly spread across the room with piles of snow under them which would provide welcome grip as opposed to the smooth ice that was everywhere else.

In the centre of the room was an altar, something that was foreboding and dark – and the party had a good idea what it was. As they approached the altar, not being able to find out what was on there from across the room, they were approached by a hulking figure. Smooth slabs of ice had been sculpted or created to form an armour-like-carapace for the core. A large shield made from hard, jagged ice complimented the large sharpened great-club like appendage that was formed onto the man-figures body. The core however drew everyone’s attention.

Mark Kenderson lay definitely dead but woven within the construct made of ice. Grievous old wounds were cased in ice which formed a protective suit to the small amounts of broke, bruised and cut flesh beneath. The construct spoke to them “Leave now so the creator can complete her ritual” before, taking Tater advancing as a sign of aggression, it strode forwards and attacked.

The fight was intense and while Tater and Groku attempted to (and succeeded!) in keeping the construct busy Kai looked for the creator. After a few rounds of combat Tater was at deaths door while Kai had discovered Aster, the young enchantress lay dead, broken and bloodied as if killed by her own creation. Soon the unrelenting construct had beaten Groku unconscious and was about to end both Tater and Kai before one of Kai’s spells took hold and the construct fell silent.

Recovering and stabilising Groku they searched the room for answers and found a box that had a handful of gold and platinum pieces as well as bracers, a ring, a cruddy looking key and a belt. Searching Aster, and finding her journal that confirmed her to be Aster, they rested and experimented with the items they found – revealing them to be magical to some degree. After much experimentation they determined that the Ring that they gifted to Groku was able to push and pull metallic weapons from the user.

After resting they piled snow on top of Aster and Mark before leaving, carefully extracting nine teeth from the ancient reptilian fossilised skull and carefully avoiding the piercers in the cavern – of which they were successful. Carefully moving about the dwindling afternoon they made their way back to the Goliath’s hut and rested for the night.

Departure

Morning came with no additional sign of snowmen and the descent to Snowtown was only broken by the realisation that a large white and grey wolf was following them. When Tater approached the wolf it ran off but followed from a safe distance – even eating some of the rations that Kai left behind for it. The other thing that dawned on them as they walked back to the town was that the snowmen were gone and piles of snow, clothing and sticks remained where the constructs once stood.

Entering the town they were met with the sight of children playing and people celebrating in the afternoon sunlight. Going to the Snowtown Inn to see Daryll he called Penny to come and listen to the adventurers tale. The revelation of Marks death was not unexpected but his parents took it poorly (as can be expected). They were also offered lodging and meals for life in the Inn if they wanted and they ate and rested well that night.

In the morning they were gifted with a large collection of gold from the town, several healing potions and trade material as well as two potions that were sent by mistake – ones that produce a lot of light once exposed to air. Packing the wagon and hitching up the mules, draft horse and riding horse again they left to continue onto Fustmach.

Followers

The road to Fustmatch was relatively easy now that the weather had passed. They had been in Snowtown for around six days and nights and in the time the roads had hardned up and the party was able to make good time. Kai noticed that the wolf was still following them and so decided to embrace his inner wild Goblin. Strapping bits of meat to himself he lay down still in the middle of the road for about and hour before the wolf became curious and came to check on him. It snaffled the bits of meat that he had draped on himself before disappearing up the mountain once more.

As they continued to travel upwards they came across a mid-way point where they decided that staying put over night would be wise. Setting up camp they scouted the area around them and found a cave with fresh water, and fish. Catching a fish, gutting it and then cooking the meat Kai and the party ate well – but Kai decided to try the age old Goblin proverb, “You catch more wolves with a goblin covered in fish guts than you do dried meat and jerky.”

Into the first watch of the night Kai went a bit feral. He removed all his clothing and donned the fish guts and went in search of the large wolf that had been following them. Eventually finding the wolf he was so set on finding the creature that he did not notice the other eight wolves that had been following the smell of mule. When he finally realised the wolves were close by he had to quickly scramble up the hill – but it was steep and had little in the way of hand or foot holds. As he was naked, without weapons (or even the magical bracers that launch veins of metal from his finger tips) he was quickly dragged to the ground and attacked savagely. He beat into the wolves with bare fists but it wasn’t long until he was fighting for his life.

The screams and disturbance alerted the mules which woke Groku and soon Tater and Armaeth joined her in charging to the aid of a non unconscious Kai. After a quick battle, involving the large white wolf attacking one of the other little wolves, they stabilised Kai and defeated the others. Upon gaining consciousness Kai witnessed the following wolf take one of the slain wolves as its prize and Kai attempted to follow – his mind in a feral and manic state.

Giving up after he lost sight of the wolf he returned to sleep in a bed roll made of slit-open wolf by the fire and he lay like that until the morning. In the morning Tater forced Kai to have a bath (by deception) which led to Kai attempting to remove one of Taters fingers and then regaining more of his civilised senses. The half day of travel to Fustmach was an easy one but the party were relieved at the promise of not being on the backs of animals while moving up-hill.

Fustmach

The Town of Fustmach was largely made from stone and had more than the majority of buildings being predominantly dwarven. Most buildings however, had extensions or modifications in wood which was human in architecture. The people of Fustmach (with thick warm German/Bavarian accents) were welcoming and happy to help. They revealed that The Fat Sow was the best place to get food in the city apart from the feasts that the Mayor, an avid collector, hosts once a week at his hall up near the entrance to the mine.

Opposite that was the Fustmach Stables ran by Dinkleburg – a warm man with his wife Greta and son Hans – a towering strong but incredibly friendly man. Leaving the horses and wagon there they went to the Fat Sow following a lead that this may be the missing halfling – Fredrickson. It was not. The Halfling cook and owner, Jonh, was brutal, rough and a ‘Gordon Ramsey’ of the halfling cooking world where his wait staff were simply disenchanted with being there – a stark contrast to the rest of the village that were extremely welcoming and friendly.

After a heated discussion where Jonh was revealed to have been in a war with Goblins in his past and Kai insulting the proud mans food they were advised that the Mayor kept a stranglehold on who stayed in the village – but he would be likely to welcome the party. While Jonh organised a room for them to stay, on the sly, they were advised that his food hall was ‘all you can eat and drink’ for 1gp. Many of the locals seemed to be taking this seriously but they were tipping the establishment and wait-staff handsomely.

While waiting for Jonh they made their way to the Mayors house – a converted dwarven fort next to the mine. Talking to the guards they were revealed to be bored but friendly and not overly cautious of the party. Entering they found a feasting hall, converted from a dwarven barracks/room and the Mayor, a large jolly fellow, sitting down in a parlour room.

Talking to the Mayor he revealed some information about the dragon teeth – being not really his ideal item to collect but he offered 5gp a piece, he also provided some insight into the belt that Tater found revealing it to be made from phase spider silk and crafted by the elves of the Astral plane. He also revealed that they followed the dwarven mining customs and were trying to do it was the dwarves once did. Understanding that they knew best and wanting to honour the missing founders of Fustmach – the dwarves who once lived here.

Question’s about a halfling that visited didn’t reveal much – the Mayor, Tom, remembered him and expressed his disappointment that he left without as much as a goodbye or thank you. Afterwards the party were certain something was wrong with the town and much to Kai’s regret they believe that Jonh was innocent while the Mayor was behind the evil taint. Heading back to The Fat Sow they retired for the night with an invitation to the banquet tomorrow night at the Mayors hall.


Creatures (Both created in tetra-cube):

Lair and Legendary Actions:

The Frostkeeper Construct, Mark Kenderson was able to cause tremors in the cavern which caused the party to slip over many times if they failed a dexterity saving throw. He also was able to shield bash a single target, dealing a small amount of damage but sending them flying and prone when he connected. The theme of this fight was really area control and significant melee overwhelming dominance while he was extremely susceptible to things that affected wisdom saves and fire damage – if the party had realised.


Main NPCs:

Sidekicks

Armaeth
Groku

Thanks for joining me tonight for a hybrid of the continuation of my campaign as well as the seasonal adventure for my group, the final part of last-last years Dice-ember one-shot!. Don’t forget to come back again tomorrow for more content. And, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Playing Catch!

A few weeks back the party bet the boss and found a small horde of magic items including one that helps them in playing catch! But its not the kind of catch that people would want. Discovering other tools such as Card generator and merging that with some of my art on nightcafe I have a small horde of work to do for the party! Tonight I want to catch people up on the adventures we have had and showcase the Ring of Magnetism.

So sit back, grab a coffee and let’s find people who want to see a magic trick.


Playing Catch!

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So a common thing you see with magical thrown weapons is the ability to throw and have them return. This ring is that concept where the power level of it is based on it taking up an attunement slot if people want to harness the power of the ring. Considering nearly all thrown weapons have a range of 20/60 this isn’t overly strong as it just gives a dramatic flair to the attacks of a traditional melee character.

Ring of Magnetism – Created in Tetra-cube using my AI Generated Art.

However there are a bunch of niche uses that this could instil and I, for one, am excited to see what the party can do with it. I believe having a physical card that captured magical items or effects enhances the magic behind it. Being able to describe it and having a physical representation of what it looks like is another addition that I believe makes all the difference.


Stay tuned for a lot more to come as I ramp up the magical escapades that the party encounter. Don’t forget that tomorrow is Zine day and I will be releasing another PDF adventure. So don’t forget to come back and as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Keeper of the Black Tower

The Keeper of the Black Tower is the once angelic figure that has fallen to darkness and corruption from the tower. But before we get too deep into the history of the sad creature let’s look at what pains she can inflict while still meeting out her duty.

So let’s sit down upon a black throne, grab a coffee and watch the beasts mill through tonight’s adventure!


Keeper of the Black Tower

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Fallen Deva – created in tetra-cube

The deva wasn’t always evil just as the tower wasn’t always cursed. There was a time that the Deva maintained the resplendent tower of the North Star and guided the unlucky through to salvation. However darkness crept into the tower and soon the corruption crew and not even the deva was safe. Corrupted but still bound to performing great miracles she began the quest – a moment of great sacrifice, grief and suffering to appease the corrupted tower in order to allow her miracles to pour down upon the chosen.

The hearts of man were always seeking the power and the ability to do right, however the cost was justified in the gain that they would receive as the burden of power was worth the cost. That was until Samaeth who was the first female hero of Verone. She inherited more power than her predecessors and this strength enabled her to be able to fight against the temptation of corruption.


The Fallen deva is less powerful than her celestial form – but still deadly. When backed up by the creatures of the tower she is a powerful foe that meets out death where she goes – and she goes where she pleases.


The Deva is always something that I marvel and this week we get to fight one – sort of. Don’t forget to come back this weekend for more tabletop content and as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

The Black Throne

The Black Throne sits within the Black Tower and waits for the ritual that invigorates the corrupted Deva that calls the hallowed halls home. That is what a wise prophet once said about such a cursed place but many know it as the birth place as the righteous power of the Hero of Verone. This is where we find our final battle and encounter this week and there was a bit of fun in making this map tonight.

So sit back, grab a coffee and let’s roll into tonight’s map.


The Black Throne

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The Black Tower Throne – Created in Inkarnate

The Black throne sits resplendently bathed in angelic light in the middle of the platform at the tallest part of the tower. The seals and symbols that surround it only allow the hero of Verone to sit within. But this in itself is the trap of the week.

Sharp glasslike walls make up most of the towers interior giving it a cursed and somewhat organic look. The crumbling metal and stone walls are studded with spikes, some intentional and some from the metal baring rusting and snapping inwardly that snare and impale the unweary. The smooth obsidian-black marble stairs are slippery when wet – which is an issue when fighting things that bleed. But there are mysterious wyrdlights that cast a blue, red and purple glow through the tower.


A few overlapping textures here, dark stone, stone tiles and a shadow make up the majority of the background art assets where overlapping and layered stone makes up for the edge of the void. Pockets of light, a throne, two magical seals and then walls makes up the rest which, I think, gives the rest of the room a forbidden and foreboding vibe.


Thanks for visiting tonight but don’t think the Black Throne will let you get away that easily. Don’t forget to come back tomorrow to meet the foes for this week and as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Top of the Tower

The Black tower is an imposing place made from towering black stone but the top of the tower is where this weeks quest lies. Climbing the stairs and fighting the creatures that guard it is challenging enough but what lies at the top will truly test their bonds and their metal.

So let’s sit down, catch our breath and try to ascend these damn stairs!


Top of the Tower

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The last few steps were both a relief and filled with dread. The tower had taken most of their energy and sanity to climb between the broken steps, the creatures that swooped at them from the cavernous ceiling above and the very tower itself coming alive at points to impede or assault them.

But they had made it to the top with Samaeth and as they gazed upon what would be their final test they were puzzled. Ahead of them a resplendent throne bathed in radiant energy sat behind a barrier of golden light. The barrier seemed to buzz when Samaeth approached and shimmered with a blue light that matched the energy that she gave off herself.

As Samaeth approached the barrier the shadows stirred around them, avoiding the glow from the barrier and throne but they waited as if expecting something. The faint sound of winds could be heard from above as a figure descended on smoking wings.

โ€œAh a new Hero has arisen. We have been expecting you to arrive and to complete the task set before you. I see you have the companions as well, good we can begin.” The deva spoke huskily as if starved.

โ€œWhat do I have to do?โ€ Samaeth asked as she nervously looked at the beasts gathering around the throne.

โ€œA simple task. Sit upon the throne and you shall be protected by the barrier as I empower you with Angelic might.โ€ the deva responded.

โ€œWhat about my companions?โ€ Samaeth asked.

โ€œThe barrier will protect you, but you yourself are the hero โ€“ not the others. Make your choice as these creatures will only hold back so long.โ€


Thanks for joining back tonight for a glimpse into the final part of this weeks adventure. Don’t forget that we will continue to expand this weeks adventure each day. So don’t forget to come back each day and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Samaeth of Verone

Tonight we get a glimpse at Samaeth of Verone, the unexpected hero being the first female to be born into the line of heroes that have guarded the city. However she is not alone this week as she travels with the party in an attempt at fulfilling the ancient ritual of challenging the Black Tower.

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


Samaeth of Verone

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Samaeth of Verone – Created in nightcafe.

“Heroes come in all shapes and sizes” Samaeth said as she polished her sword, the blue light within the blade making the sword look like it vibrated in the air. “That’s what my mother used to say after dad left on his last quest. I think she was trying to reassure me that even though I was the first daughter to be born into the line of the Heroes of Verone it wouldn’t matter.”

As she stared deeper into the blade, the blood from the creatures earlier that day having been wiped clean the a log rolled from the fire and spread burning embers around her. The dry tinder caught not even after a moment’s thought and a foul wind caught the fire and threw it up around her. But Samaeth’s eyes flashed blue, matching the same internal light as her sword and the fire began to bend and twist away from the trees and fuel that they had prepared for the fire. The flames licked at her clothes trying to catch her alight but the malicious blaze was bending to her will.

The fire danced upon itself again, travelling from burning logs and scorched ground across to the campfire. The sound of crackling wood and burning leaves retreated until it was contained within the burning pile. She looked up at the party and smiled. “I feel a runaway fire and some beasts attacking during the day are child play to you also, I don’t consider myself any different from you adventurers who have stories and mighty deeds already etched into your name. After I complete this test that the Order of Heroes has given me and I purge the black tower again I hope to start earning my title, like you have.”

After the fire had died down and the party fell into silence animals would be seen coming to the edge of the fire light and staring at Samaeth, inclining their heads and necks towards her as if bowing to the queen of the forest.


Despite initial reactions and assessments not all heroes are arrogant and believe themselves to be above all others. This week Samaeth reveals herself to the party and they get a view of who she is under the helmet, but this is just the beginning and a fouler adventure awaits. So don’t forget to come back tomorrow and as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

The Protagonist

This week we meet the protagonist of this weeks adventure, the Hero of Verone and the adventurers who rose to support him. But there is more this week than a simple escort mission as we will quickly see it divulges into something more more.

So suit up, grab a drink and a seat and let’s hunt down tonight’s adventure!


The fair city of Verone has a long history of Tyranny, revolts and suffering for it’s people, that was until the Hero of Verone. The hero rose against the Tyranny and liberated the people of the city and fought for the lasting peace that the city has experienced for hundreds of years. However, not is all that it seems and as the descendent of the Hero of Verone comes of age a darkness is revealed.

A party of adventurers are thrown head first into the grinder this week as they are asked to escort the Hero of Verone on the quest to inherit the full powers of the old Hero of Verone. But there is more to the story than meets the eye and the final test for the young hero is more than the job description.


The Protagonist

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The Hero of Verone – created in Nightcafe.

Verone was once a city of tragedy and conflict where the old king ruled with an iron fist. But when the hero of Verone, a smith that was brought up in the city rose up to protect the people of the city there city has always had a hero of his line imbued with the same strength, power and conviction as the original. The latest in line has just come of age and the final quest has been given. Reach the black tower where the original hero and four of his allies ascended the tower to confront a great evil and as such the Hero was gifted with a great power.

The order has been given, the young descendent from the Hero of Verone is to ascend the same tower and that the original Hero had to. But instead of the four warriors being friends, family or chosen by the king this time four adventurers, heroes in their own right, have been selected and approached to accompany the hero.

The Streets swell with people as the Hero of Verone to be strides through in polished brass and golden armour, shining long sword in hand and cape flourishing in the breeze. As people cheered for the hero the party wait and watch from the gates. The Gold was paid upfront and in large supply but the details of the job were simple – too simple. Get the Hero to the tower, assist them in the trials and ensure that they are successful in their ordeal as Verone must always have a hero to watch over the people.


Thanks for joining me for another start of the night. This week the party are charged with minding a hero-to-be on their journey to empowerment. However I have a feeling that there is more to this than meets the eye. So don’t forget to come back daily to stay in the know of this adventure and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

The Dragonslayer Cult

Tonight and I have created a new zine for the 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 Dragonslayer Cult, 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 Dragonslayer Cult, and that your rolls are made with advantage.


The Dragonslayer Cult

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Yole City – Created in Nightcafe.

Garius had told them that the Cult of the Dragon slayer could be found near the Pickled Hog Inn and posing as beggars and gamblers. He also produced a card that had a mark defaced into the surface – a Dragon Slayer card from the three dragons Ante card game. โ€œIf you can sneak this card into your hand and play it, they will show you where you need to go. But be careful as that is all we could get out of the cultist.โ€

Street game in Yole – Made in nightcafe.

PDF adventure – The Dragonslayer Cult



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 Mixed bag on Saturday

Last week we had a look at different initiative systems and while I have additional content to add this week I decided to have both which has led to a mixed bag on Saturday. So first lets propose another creature to potentially take to the field this week opposite our ensnared party before we look at some results of mixing up initiative this week.

So sit back and let’s explore how else we can roll initiative.


A Mixed bag on Saturday

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So before we look at some notes on last weeks update – A different Initiative I want to add another contender to the adventure. It’s not a strange occurrence of even for adventurers to have knowledge that black dragons spit acid and have a thick scaly hide. These adversaries are tough, smart and deadly let alone being trapped in an arena with one.

But as they are stronger than the average creature you wouldn’t want to fight these after a long day of fighting other creatures in the arena.

Young Black Dragon – Created in Tetra-cube.

Trying out Playing cards

Last weekend I had the opportunity to be able to try out the initiative system of using paying cards. By assigning everyone a playing card and then randomly drawing a card to determine order. For the party members who had a high modifier (feats or high dexterity) I gave an extra card and put it into the deck.

So for the four players I had 5 cards in total, 1 base card each (a suit card) and then an additional card that was for the higher dexterity of the character. For each creature I assigned a different colour suit and for minions I had just numbers (2-10) and for bosses I used a suit card. This meant that generally I had around 7 or 8 cards at play at any one time and every round I had a different initiative order that represented the chaos on the battlefield.

For lair actions or special actions from bosses I used the joker cards which meant something happened but it wasn’t the full suite of attacks that it could used. When a creature died, or when the lair action/special action could not be used any more then I removed the card.

The Pros.

The randomness was enjoyable for myself and the party. The concept was simple and there was no rolling of dice or punishing the strength based martial classes who may have a lower initiative than normal.

This flowed on into the lair actions which felt thematic in a chaotic battlefield and meant that the encounters felt more intense than when the party would just steam roll through the creatures. In this instance where the lair action was tremors in a slippery ice cavern and could (and did) result in half the party falling prone it meant that the party members who went last in the turn order weren’t getting prone-locked and would have chances to break out of being on the ground constantly.

Having a simple visual aid (and I know other initiative trackers like pegs and character portraits / names on the screen work too) helped people realise it was their turn – however not knowing what their turn would look like next round was one of the cons.

The Cons.

The Randomness made it hard to plan for and implement turn-to-turn strategy as the party couldn’t reliably work out if their next turn would appear early or late in the next turns order. This meant de-buffs could have less usefulness when they resulted in something ending on the start of the party members next turn. This could be mitigated by saying “for x number of cards” but this was discussed later.

The lack of guaranteed order also impacted what people decided to do during the round but it did have some great moments where the character got one or two turns off before the boss could retaliate.

The time between rounds shuffling the cards did also loose some of the time efficiencies that was gained by not rolling initiative and recording the order at the start of combat. So this would be seen as a Con in the long term.

Closing notes.

The party enjoyed the change up and spent the next day discussing other ways of tracking or managing initiative. This was overall healthy and led to some great discussions which all led to moving away from Dungeons and Dragons combat AND exploring what other RPGs did. OR, tantalisingly so, exploring the creation of a new RPG system.


Regardless of what system we use the party had fun and enjoyed the change of pace of initiative. Don’t forget to come back tomorrow for more tabletop content and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Stone Eaters

Tonight we have something a bit different when we look at Stone eaters. This week we look at some creature variants where there is additional arcane influence at work. But before we get too excited we need to factor in a few things such as party level variance.

So let’s grab a coffee and let’s monster tonight’s adventure!


Stone Eaters

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Ankheg- created in tetra-cube

The Ankheg, a great little creature to throw at party members with its ability to burrow under the sand at attack from any angle. But these creatures may not be the strongest creatures to fight for a high level party – but several of them could be a challenge.

Virulent Umberhulk – Created in tetra-cube.

The Virulent Umberhulk uses acid to burrow through stone quicker but weakening it before attacking with its claws. These heavily armoured creatures strike fear into all that encounter them. These are stronger, deadlier denizens of the stone tunnels and could be used as the finisher of an larger encounter.


This week is about acid – but we have a few other creatures to introduce in the Zine. So make sure to come back this weekend for additional content updates and for more adventure and as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe