Author: thebrazenwolfe

The Risen, Remorseful and Repugnant

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This week finds the party encountering The Risen, Remorseful and Repugnant, or a few of them depending on which way the adventure goes. This week finds the party coming onboard to help Brother Tobias who is not convinced that the death of the high priest, Richard Spiritbane, was the true will of Kelemvor.

Depending on the level of the party it changes how the adventure goes, or so I hope to achieve this effect for the Zine. Skeletons and another visitor with the reskinned mage, the Necromancer, complete some of the adventure and depending on the level of the party and the challenge that you want there will be others too.

But tonight is a glimpse at what will be as there is not enough time in the week to get everything into these updates so these few creatures are staples for many encounters, and as such are for this one too.

The Risen, Remorseful and Repugnant

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Skeleton – Created in tetra-cube.
Zombie – Created in tetra-cube.

Through the darkness and chill a creaking noise could be heard from the alcove around the corner. As the party drew near and the hung magical lanterns flickered in their attempt to banish the dark, the shadows played tricks on the row of burial tombs. As the party turned the corner and looked deeper into the darkness, the large statue in front of them stood imposing yet still, its stone eyes staring down at them as if judging and welcoming in the same glance.

The first sounds of feet on stone other than theirs came with the thud of something heavy in the chamber behind them. Then it echoed in the chamber guarded by the statue of Kelemvor and the sound of scratching on feet and creaking could be heard coming from both rooms, and getting closer. Backing out of the doorway the flickering lantern light revealed two skeletons as they ambled out of the rooms. A shriek of pain echoed down the stairs and into the chamber causing the skeletons to look up before charging at the party.

A few minutes later on the descent up the stairs the tangy smell of blood wafted down and guards stood at the entrance of the stairs, vigilant for intruders coming into the crypts. But as the party approached they realised too late that the guards shields hung loosely at the wrist and that the spears rested against the walls or stairs and were not held firmly by the guards. Turning around great tears in their armour, tunics and flesh revealed oozing intestines and the lightless eyes of the undead.

Priest – Created in Tetra-cube.
Mage (Necromancer) – Created in tetra-cube.

The priests of Kelemvor rallied and charged upon the interlopers. Slinging spells, prayers and swinging maces they crashed upon those the church had deemed enemies. The hum of magic bristled through the air as the battle raged on, blow for blow, spell for spell and blood for more blood. Soon the priests fervour dwindled as they looked upon their enemy, their prayers no longer being answered by their god and a fouler feeling wafted into the hall.

A dark and powerful force like the smell of baking rotten flesh washed over the combatants and at once they turned towards the hulking form of a brutish creature leading the way for a pack of newly made undead. Somewhere in the room a voice laughed, calling out and mocking the priests for their betrayal, the head of one of their own was thrown at their feet, recognition registering on their face as slowly the warrior priests understood what was happening here.

Calling out for Kelemvor’s blessing they rallied around their wounded brethren and prepared for the battle that they had trained for. The purging of undead, the opposition of corruption and the perseverance of the natural cycle of life.

This week has come and gone too fast and with tonight’s’ update there is not much left to hide, only a bit left to reveal. So don’t forget to come back this weekend as we wrap up this adventure. More Stat blocks, some maps and images will greet those who remember to come back for the zine and spend another evening at the tabletop with me. But also, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

The Chamber of Remembrance

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The descent into the crypt of Kelemvor’s Church is known as the Chamber of Remembrance, but only opened to a selective few is the heart of this crypt. The Actual Chamber of Remembrance is where the most favoured of Doomguides are put to rest - that is those who gave their life in service to the god of death and in maintaining the natural cycle of life.

There is no door, no secret compartment or lever into this chamber but those who descend the steps know not to go down the final flight of steps for there is only the distant hint of a flickering light and the permutating cold that travels along with the darkness. It is this cold that embraces all and for those who are of ill intent it is dissuasive enough that they do not pass the threshold to the chamber. However this feeling is fleeting for those who draw Kelemvors’ gaze and who he deem worthy.

The Chamber of Remembrance

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Chamber of Remembrance – Created in Inkarnate.

Dark and cold, the Chamber of Remembrance is a unpleasant place to be. Any attempt to summon magical light ends in failure and when a torch is lit a gust of wind extinguishes it. The only light comes from four lanterns that permanently shed their warm glow at the archways to help guide those back to rest.

This battle map will be the one used for the, dare I say, lower level encounter I have planned – but I don’t want to give away too much on this just now. There will be another one or two to come in the Zine which will explore another aspect of this adventure.

The crypts each contain a hallowed knight, a doomguide of Kelemvor who maintains and strives to protect the natural order of things. These people were thought to be buried with the most perverse and unholy of relics however rumours are not always true.

The chamber contains many bodies and section on the wall appears to be a stone archway leading to soil and earth. A stark contrast to the other cold walls of this chamber. A statue to Kelemvor stands in the antechamber, a proud and cold gaze looking down on those who find their gaze drifting up to the imposing figure. But the Chamber of Remembrance is more than just a crypt – it is a place where it is rumoured that Kelemvors connection to the material plane is strongest in Oakspire. Those of devout and pure intention have been called into the dark and cold to bear witness to his authority and voice, but only a few are called.

Thanks for joining me for another night of map making. Tonight we look at a hint of a map, a restricted smaller encounter map that will be one of three that will go in the final Zine. So for those who want to see more make sure to remember to come back and visit the remaining days of this week to keep exploring this adventure with me and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Doomguide Aspirants

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Those who hear the call of Kelemvor rarely sit idly by and pray to heir deity for aid and prefer to worship their god in the actions they take. Those of which who are the most zealous, the most holy of Kelemvors warriors are known as Doomguide Aspirants – those who aspire to establish and maintain the natural order of life and death.

Despite being warrior priests these holy warriors are generally cunning, intelligent and empathetic to those that do not corrupt the natural order of things. However being cunning, wise and strong isn’t always the right mix for those who seek power at the same time as honouring their god.

Tonight content is focusing on a few Doomguide Aspirants and in particular the steps that they would take to ensure that the natural order of things, the holy decree of their god is ensured. So sit back, strap on your buckler and let’s swing into the thick of it.

Doomguide Aspirants

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The halls were quiet leading up to the day of rituals for Richard Spiritbane and for those who are trained for the smallest noise in their hallowed noise that’s how the figures stalking the halls wanted it. Cloaked in a veil of silence and shadow the priests walked towards the crypt entrance, muttering a prayer to Kelemvor as they descended the hallowed steps.

The walls were lined with the Doomguides that preceded them, warriors all and not all of them had honoured their god by preserving the natural order of things. However the shadows and bubble of silence hugged the priests closer as they descended deeper into the crypts hoping that not even the bones of their predecessors would cast a judgemental gaze towards them. For what they were doing tonight could be misinterpreted as treason and the perversion of the natural order. As they reached a chamber at the bottom of the steps the silence and shadows slowly slunk back from the figures within.

“Are you sure about this Brother?” Haster asked as he looked towards his superior. “If Kelemvor is granting the High Priest an extended life then surely it’s the blessing as it is claimed?” he continued looking around nervously. If Brother Tobias found them down here he wouldn’t hesitate to mete out the justice of Kelemvor for what they were discussing. What made matters worse is that Brother Kindred wouldn’t let him and they would have another dead brother in the chamber of remembrance.

Haster Reart – Created in Artbreeder.

The halfling man to the right of Haster looked between him and those gathered around him. “You yourself have found it suspicious Haster that the lord of the dead who’s tenants is preservation of the natural order of life and death would willingly go against what he stands for. The extension of life is perverse and an affront to Kelemvor himself and I fear that the clergy is rotten to the core. There are those few, us, amongst our church who believe that no man, woman or child should be treated differently when it comes to Kelemvors’ beliefs.

Brother Kindred Ucklethorn – created in Artbreeder.

Brother Kindred looked up at the gathered priests, fewer than he had wanted. “With a small price we can dig out this evil and ensure that it never takes root again. With a smidge of power contained within these walls, the relics our brethren gave their natural lives to protect, we will start a new order. One that isn’t corrupt, which won’t twist the words and will of Kelemvor.” Spittle flew from his mouth as he spoke. How could the others disagree with his viewpoint at this stage? It was only logical, the only correct course of action.

Walking over to an entombed skeleton, one of his brothers, he smashed through the stone with the head of his mace. Reaching in he plucked out a length of ebony wood, a wand, one that thrummed with Necromantic energies. “This is the price of the bargain. Fret not brothers for once the truth is revealed and the correct course is set then it will be easy to retrieve this unholy relic and return it to the chamber of remembrance. “

The other priests looked from one another, a mixture of anxious energy, of hope and of belief swirled amongst them. Tomorrow before the rites could begin the truth would be revealed by the wizard and the perversion of Kelemvors’ word will be stopped at its core. The High Priest must not live past his three hundredth birthday.

Thanks for joining me for another fun one as we looked at the conspiracy that happened before the High Priests death. But this isn’t the cause, nor the full picture – oh no, that will come later. So make sure to not forget to come back and visit each day to keep unravelling this adventure with me and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Shepherds of the Dead

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The Shepherds of the Dead, the priests of Kelemvor go by many names across the lands but the most elite of their clergy go by Doomguides. These elite warrior-priests sought out undead, the perverse corruption of the natural cycle of life and corrected these perversions.

The High Priest Richard Spirtbane was one such warrior, devout as he was strong and he had single handed brought peace to these lands before the clergy sunk roots and offered protection to all those who sought it. But now that he had passed the Shepherds of the dead were without a resolute guide and some of their order suspected foul play.

Assistance was required in order to put their fears aside and the party of adventurers who had arrived at their steps on-time but too late were now tasked with finding the truth so that their late leader could rest in peace.

Shepherds of the Dead

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First of his kind

High Priest Richard Spiritbane – Created in Artbreeder.

The late Richard Spiritbane was born three centuries ago, nearly to the date of his death. As the first priest of Kelemvor in Oakspire he was responsible for rooting out the undead in the Mystwood forest. His name was granted to him from Kelemvor after the source of undead was discovered to be a conclave of Banshees which himself, and a handful of his brethren dispatched and silenced.

The undead have risen a few times over the centuries as the growing city required more materials which they sources locally, as all good cities do. However the more sources of undead that Richard disposed of the more of his brethren he lost and the more unholy relics they uncovered. Soon the Chamber of Remembrance, a crypt beneath the church of Kelemvor, was built to not only store those who had passed but also encase the unholy relics that the priests had died to rid the world of. The sanctified lands and ever watchful gaze of not only Richard but the other Shepherds of the dead kept the unholy energies from corrupting the bodies encased in stone beneath the hallowed halls.

However this now flowing treasure trove of unholy relics attracted all kinds of foul and tainted beings and as the risk increased something must be done. That is when Kelemvor first extended the life of one of his priests, Richard Spiritbane. Appearing on the birthday of the high priest the deity of death proclaimed that he would grant a measure of temporary immortality to Richard, extending his natural life by another year upon which the god would again determine whether he would extend his blessing. This reoccurred for another two hundred and twenty years and during this time Richard trained a venerable army of the warrior priests to defend the halls beneath and the lands above and beyond the walls of the city of Oakspire.

Guardian of the Chamber of Remembrance

Brother Tobias Weatherborn – created in Artbreeder.

Brother Tobias Weatherborn was a curiosity in the city where death was revered. As a child he was found with a necromancer and used as a living energy buffer. The High priest himself disposed of the necromancer and when he turned his great-blade to the child he simply saw an innocent being used. Taking the boy in he sought to try and give him the life he deserved.

However it wasn’t long until the boy showed promise in hunting out the undead and evil. Being used as a conduit of power for quite some time left him sensitive to dark magics and he thwarted many attempts at stealing the unholy artefacts that were buried in the Chamber of Remembrance. As he came of age his power blossomed and he was indoctrinated into the priesthood of Kelemvor.

Appointed as a brother to the priesthood Brother Tobias guards the crypts to ensure that the faithful and devout to Kelemvor, his greatest warriors lie undisturbed. His secondary duty is to seek truth as evil uses lies as a weapon against the faithful. He was instituted as the Cryptguard and since then not a single emissary of the unholy arts has made it past his watchful gaze, or his blade.

Thanks for joining me tonight to meet some of members of the priesthood of Kelemvor. There are more to come later this week as we expand upon this adventure but that will be for another time. So don’t forget to come back daily to make sure you are up to date with the content here. And finally, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

The Procession of Priests

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Welcome to the first day of the new year of adventure and we start off on a, bit of a low note to be honest. The Procession of Priests is where we start our adventure this week and this year I try something a bit different. Instead of always having a set level of the adventures this year I want to tinker with configurable difficulty in my one-shots. It may be a bit ambitious but I’ve been writing one-shots here for long enough that I believe I will be able to make it happen. But for this change to truly take off, I have a slightly different format I want to check out.

So our adventure truly begins as the party enter the city of Oakspire. a city that was built from the oak trees from the Mystwood forest many centuries ago after a village, Myr, expanded from a population of a few dozen to a town of a few hundred overnight due to war. The progression attracted the unwanted attention of the undead for a few years due to the ruins within the woods themselves and as such the religion of Kelemvor settled deep roots within the burgeoning city. As befitting the churchdom of Kelemvor longevity of life isn’t uncommon and the head of this church, High Priest Richard Spiritbane, has been in power since nearly the birth of the city as we find it today.

However was he approaches his three hundredth birthday the clergy deem that the celebration; more so a night of rituals to give thanks and seek Kelemvor’s approval and blessing for the longevity of his most devout priests, needs the silent and watchful hand of hired bodyguards as they have reason to believe that the High Priest’s life is in danger.

The party now having travelled from Strumden, a small peaceful half-way village to Oakspire city to lend their services to the protection of the high priest. And that is where we find our party, outside the gates of Oakspire city, looking for the oldest man in the oldest building.

The Procession of Priests

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Church of Kelemvor – Created in Nightcafe.

The party greet the guards politely as they move on foot through the large gates. The smells of people, animals and refuse greet them first as they enter the Grand City of Oakspire – not an uncommon occurrence they muse. The buildings beyond the gate are lively. Stables, inns, bars and merchants that focus on goods for travellers line the street.

The alleyways and street are hurriedly being shovelled and mucked by street sweepers as they seek to earn their copper for the day cleaning refuse from horses and people. The alleyways are busy with people rushing through or into with goods to side doors and hatches. But beyond the busyness of commerce the din of the lesser districts can be seen with tall, thin, worn down buildings nearly stacked upon each other. The city itself sprawls outside the gates with farmhouses and poorer housing outside the wall but it’s evident to see that it spills out from nearest the wall at some stage.

Seeking directions to the church of Kelemvor was met with a knowing nod and kindness from all in the city. Even the roughest of people bowed their heads with respect and gave the party directions, offering a blessing that they find the peace they seek. As the party wove themselves deeper into the city they were greeted by the gradual change in the buildings as it evolved to business of better repute, mercantile and the merchants seemed to live here between the houses of the workers of the city, and those who were born rich.

Here guards were posted at several street corners sporting black cloaks, their weapons sheathed but not out of reach as they watched all those who walked by with calculating stares. The merchants here did not holler and call to the passers by but smiled and bowed politely to those who crossed in a nearly sombre way. Their expressions a mixture of welcoming and sympathy which the party were beginning to see on the looks of all but the guards faces.

As they were pointed away from the noble-born district by a pair of guards who saw them approaching they were nearly surprised to see that the Church of Kelemvor was away from the nobles houses and sat, alone, next to what appeared to be the barracks, the cities wall and the edge of the working districts houses. But that did not shock the party as much as the hundreds of people that lined the street towards the church.

Movement was slow through the crowd but the people of the city merely bowed their heads and wished that they find their peace as they progressed, painfully slow to the church. Many people were dressed in black and sported the symbol of Kelemvor on their clothing or as an amulet, ring or other accessory. Some merchants and noblemen and noblewomen held books which appeared to be prayer books to Kelemvor. As they stood and muttered prayers in the streets everyone, poor, wealthy and noble alike, took small steps when they could to get closer to the church.

As the party approached the church a ring of guards prevented people from walking up the large grey stone steps unless in single file and only the letter they had received from their employer let them pass as a group. Everyone bowed respectfully as they walked the steps that were covered in a large dark carpet that cascaded down from the large, heavy oaken doors of the place of worship.

Entering the doors the party was stopped by young guards dressed in black robes who took their name and one look at the letter before moving off to seek out a brother of the order. The party could see a hall lit with hundreds of candles within and at the far side of the church lay an altar, surrounded by imagery and symbols of Kelemvor. Upon the altar a body lay draped in black cloth, candles surrounded the altar and with every visitor another candle was placed upon the steps leading to the deceased. Within the minute the guard came back with a priest of Kelemvor.

“Welcome, blessings upon you and thanks for travelling. I would wish that you find the peace you seek but I must ask you to follow me first.” The man’s face was kind and welcoming but there was a pain behind his eyes. As they followed him through the church the man greeted other people paying their respects to the deceased but didn’t answer any questions the party had. All he provided was “Follow me if you will, we have much to discuss and I trust that I will be able to answer all your questions in due time.”

As they walked past the altar a human man appeared to be in his eighties lay there amongst the black fabric and candles and the party began to feel a weight settle in their stomach. Passing through a door that the priest held open for them the party found themselves in a small room, big enough for them to sit or stand but not much else.

“Now before you ask any more questions I have to ask for your forgiveness as the letter you have, the job detailed within is no longer required. But I have another for you if you are willing.” the priest said, his face still unreadable mixtures of emotions. “During the initial rituals to sanctify the church the entire congregation was visited by an image of Kelemvor. Our lord then proclaimed that the High Priest Richard Spiritbane would not be granted another year of extended life by our lord and within the hour he died.” The priest moved to the door and checked outside quickly before returning.

“As you can imagine it was quite shocking but as it was the will of our god, the guardian of the living and the dead of this city his word is lore. But myself, and a few other brothers and sisters, do not believe that we were visited by our lord. In all the recordings and teachings of our order never has the decision of the extension of his grace to his followers been declared prior to the day of the rituals, which is two days from now. We few believe that there is a foul ploy at foot and I pray that you can help uncover the truth. Only myself knows about this deal, for the rest of the city you are just once-bodyguards but now you join the mourners.” he finished as he licked his lips.

“What say you, will you be able to assist us and help us find the peace that the high priest deserves?”

Now that was a bigger writeup than intended. Thanks for coming to welcome in the near year with this blog and we have a bit of a big one this week to kick us off. The format hasn’t changed from the previous years with every day this week adding onto the weekly adventure so don’t forget to come back daily to follow along. Also don’t forget to check out the archives for the previous adventures and content and, with some luck, this year will have more content than the last – but more on that at a later date. And finally, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Andrasa’s Seal

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Tonight and I have created a zine that is a few weeks overdue, but tonight I present to you Andrasa’s Seal. 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 final adventure of the ‘normal year’ as I move(d) onto Dice-ember shortly (Starting here), Andrasa’s Seal.

Andrasa’s Seal

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Andrasa’s Dimension – Created in Nightcafe.

The Final push to save their realm from the full power of a Devil, the forgotten duke of Hell from ages past. The party has to rush through a collapsing dimension as time and the sand under their feet literally drift away like sand in an hourglass. 

But there is more to this dimension and a final piece of the puzzle that Andrasa has formed where only a band of heroes can provide the missing ingredient to the final sealing ritual – time. 

Will the party be able to stop the duke of hell or will they, like so many others, perish and turn to dust.

PDF adventure – Andrasa’s Seal

andrasas-sealDownload

Thanks for joining me today for the last Zine on the year. As always I put a bit more content into the zine itself than could be captured in the daily updates 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

2023 Campaign Adventure 8

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Good evening all and welcome to a short Eighth day 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 2023 campaign adventure 8.

This is a continuation from 2023 Campaign adventure 7 as the party continues on their first mission as members of the investigation of the strange creatures in these lands.

2023 Campaign Adventure 8

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Plot:

Suncrest continued

The party continued to search through local area and particularly the farmstead as both Henry and ‘Lucky’ Barry could remember that there were additional treasures stored within. After some time and a joint effort, with the threat of imminent attacks from a hostile bandit force over, they discovered a hidden cellar with a chest within. Inside they found 20 gold pieces, a 6inch onyx statue of a deva and two smaller caved statues in marble and granite. (see Ruined Farmhouse – Created in Inkarnate for rest of map)

Ruined Farmstead Cellar – created in Inkarnate.

Deciding that they needed to rest they set up a grisly warning; the bandit captains head on spike, and set up a camp away from the bodies for the evening to recover and prepare for the journey tomorrow. The bandits that remained, Henrey and ‘Lucky’ Barry, decided that the grisly sight of their old bosses head on a spike wasn’t what they wanted to sleep near and set up camp within shouting distance of the party. However, they should have disposed of the bodies first.

Goodbye Henrey and ‘Lucky’ Barry.

Organising a watch order they prepared for the night. Tater took first watch and luckily despite his fatigue from the fight he was able to complete his watch without falling asleep without any issues. Tater then woke Kai and, with some prompting, and went to get some rest himself. Kai focused on his blade, Frost thorn, for some time and during this time he became aware of the sounds of the nocturnal predators that were closing in on the camps. Kai first heard the howling which was coming from the core of Suncrest. Soon Henrey and Barry had joined him and Kai decided to wake everyone except Tater, letting him rest with a cast of sanctuary over the sleeping Dwarf.

Soon the creatures revealed themselves, large canid-like creatures with enlarged lower jaws that suggested an incredible bite force. These creatures prowled around the party at the edge of the camp-fire light and despite Kais attempt to disperse some light to expand the viewing range of the humans in the party they realised they were in danger. Attempting to scare the creatures with torches one of the bandits, Barry, got to close and was pounced on by one of the creatures – its massive, powerful jaws nearly shearing his leg clean off.

Then it was joined by a second who in its bloodlust narrowly missed Barry. Soon the party engaged attempting to keep the creatures at bay while not fully committing to the fight. That was until the giant creature, a Large Hyenadon, attacked Henrey who was left stranded alone. Soon the Henrey was fleeing to the safety of the party only to be chased down and bitten clean in half by the jaws of the massive beast.

Barry fled, Tater cleaned up one smaller Hyendadon while working with Groku and Kai he separated legs from body on the other. With a powerful lunge and bite the now blinded (thanks to Armaeth) Giant Hyenadon had seized Taters thigh in his mouth and with a single bite had nearly silenced the warriors cries – but not before Tater had mortally wounded the creature with a strike that was empowered by the strength of his fathers forge.

With a running leap Kai felled the beast and ended its rampage but not before Barry had fled in fear and the scent of despair was heavy in the area. They decided to bury Henrey – someone they had promised to take away from his life of banditry and they burnt the remaining bodies in the field to try and dissuade the other predators on the road from tempting fate. This encounter was a stark reminder of how dangerous the roads in this land were and that no where is truly safe.

The Road out of Suncrest – to Fustmach!

The party then left Suncrest and the Farmstead two mouths fewer to feed and with a dampened mood. The snow had rolled in during the night and had thickened during the course of the day of travel. As they climbed the steep road towards Fustmach, and their mission, the wind carried a thicker blanket of snow that turned the upwards road to mush and prevented them from reaching the town by nightfall. But as lady Tymora, goddess of luck smiled upon them a second option appeared. Taking refuge from the storm in the town of Snowtown, down the road at the base of the mountains where the natural landscape created a barrier from hostile creatures and the Goliath huntsmen in the woods dealt with the rest.

Entering Snowtown at dusk the party noticed that a curious number of snowmen were around town. Each the size of a small human, perhaps a dwarf’s height and so numerous you’d swear that the city was filled with them. The party also noticed that all the doors were shut and windows had their shutters closed firmly with evidence of light beyond the meagre barricade. As they found their way to the inn, and a courtyard, Groku rushed to put the animals away in a stables as the innkeeper took a mighty long time trying to unstuck a broken latch on the door. However the party had bigger things to worry about than stuck latches as the snowmen attacked.

Suddenly and with a sickening jerky reaction the snowmen attacked the party after some of them had appeared nearby. Not able to tell the difference between the animated snowmen and the normal ones the party were left guessing until the creatures attacked. With a few bludgeoning blows taken Kai and Groku began to look worse for wear before Tater gave the innkeeper, and someone assisting him, a helping hand-err-axe which sheared the broken bolt. Rushing inside they barricaded the door and watched for signs of more of the snow creatures.

Closure

The innkeeper, and a few members of the town within, explained that they had been seeing these creatures appear during the night over the past few weeks, which felt like days according to some. At first they were worried to venture outdoors at all but they realised that they only appeared at night and disappeared when the sun rose. They also explained that the creatures never entered or attacked their houses or buildings and that there had been only a few casualties of the elderly or frail who were too slow to make it indoors after dusk.

After pledging to help the town the party brokered a room and got their first good night sleep in three nights, however the snowmen of snowtown watched, waited and gathered outside the inn only to disappear without a trace by the first morning light.

With the only leads being an old witches hut on the outskirts of the town and the lateness of the Goliath tribe’s visit from the north the party wondered what the next few days would bring.

Main NPCs:

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! (last years Dice-ember one-shot). Don’t forget to come back again for the last day of the year, tomorrow, and for continuing on this campaign with me. Don’t forget to celebrate and reflect on this past year and to look forward, make plans and commit to adventure in the next. And, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Guardian of the Forest

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Last night we looked at Forescythe and the trouble that they had, one of the rumours that was floating around was a large giant in the forest. Well that rumour wasn’t exactly untrue and its something the party, being low level for this adventure, would probably do best to steer clear of.

Guardian of the Forest

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Forest Guardian – Created using Mystic.AI (stable diffusion)

Blake stumbled out of the inn after being told he should stop drinking five drinks ago. As he look to his house on the edge of the clearing he waved back to his drinking buddies, all of who could hold their ale and were returning back to the tables. Walking towards his house he walked to the front door hearing his cat, Jasper, somewhere on the other side of the door.

“Likely getting into the cheese again” he said to himself as he opened the door and walked in. Jasper had other plans and bolted out the door and ran towards the forest. Swearing as he tumbled over he watched the cat stop at the edge of the tree line. Standing up he began to give chase to the feline as it taunted him at the edge of the forest. Walking slowly at first the cat rolled on the ground encouraging Blake to pat it, but as soon as he bent down it scrambled further into the forest. Blake followed uttering more choice words but it repeated time and time again.

The woods weren’t unfamiliar to Blake as he was a hunter for the village of Forescythe and knew the woods well but he found himself stopping next to Jasper who had stopped and stared up into the trees. The hairs on his arms and neck began to rise and Blake started to sober up really quickly as an unfamiliar sensation crept over him. Fear.

The calls of the night animals had stopped and a slow rhythmic thumping could be heard, something that shook the soil beneath the grass and leaves underfoot. As the moon shone down amongst and between the trees a large, dark silhouette moved from behind a tree and it took Blake a moment to notice it. The figure was easily thirty feet tall, tall enough to grab onto tree branches and snap them off as it lumbered past them. Then Jasper meowed and the creature stopped.

A giant head turned towards Blake and it stared at him and the ginger and white cat at his feet. Within seconds Jasper had run back the way he had come, towards home and Blake was scampering behind him, hoping the trees would give him cover and block his retreat from the creature. He didn’t remember making it home and falling through the open door nor climbing into his bed after snuffing the candles. But he does remember hearing a blood chilling roar that came from the forest, one that kept him awake all night.

Thanks for stopping by tonight. A stat block it is not, but not all encounters need one. By describing how the environment reacts around something, or the feelings that wash over the party you sometimes don’t need stat-blocks. Now stay tuned for this weekend as new years eve is just around the corner and it brings with it, the end of the year. A time for reflection and planning and hopefully some tabletop gaming! So don’t forget to stay tuned in and if you don’t – don’t forget that next year is just around the corner with another 52 brand new adventures. And lastly, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

The Village of Forescythe

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Welcome to another night where I am wrapping up the end of the year and tonight I am presenting the village of Forescythe, a sleepy little farming town that has had some bad luck of late. Inspirited by one of the one shots I put my “One-shot adventure crew” through adventure had a bit of it all – but tonight I am only providing you the map to use as you see fit.

The Village of Forescythe

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Forescythe Village – created in Inkarnate

The running river that comes from the mountains to the north of Forescythe provides nearly everything the village needs to keep producing crops. The forest itself is rich in good quality timber but they only use what they need to and have plenty of land to the south for their farms. The mountains do however hold several caves that were cleared out a few decades back from a rather unfriendly family of ogors that used to cause havoc for the townsfolk but there has been peace for years. Until recently.

Rumours fly about the superstitious farmers about what is causing their live stock, tools and supplies to go missing. A group of bandits is rumoured to plague the forest and those that travel through. The rival village of Wickswitch, about half a days travel on the other side of the mountains, is also thought to be behind the misfortune. Even reports of a giant that has been seen crashing through the trees during the night of the full moon. All of these requests have been escalated to the guilds, mercenaries and inns in hope of attracting a group to investigate and finally a put an end to their bad luck.

An example of the “all roads lead to Rome” approach where all the stories are related but not quite the truth. But this adventure is a fun one with even a deeper mystery to uncover that, hopefully, will leave the party wanting to come back later. It also teaches them that sometimes combat and brute force isn’t the best option, sometimes a hasty retreat is best. But more on that another time. Don’t forget to come back the last few nights of the year and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

What Happens on the Road

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Welcome to a bit of a filler tonight but with good intention as I look at the previous fifty-two weeks of content and try to imagine what happens on the road for the parties in the next year. The theme of this blog has changed from a bombardment of options for Plots, NPCs, Hooks, Locations and Encounters which was shortlisted into a single adventure to be crafted on the weekend. This then evolved to a single campaign that was driven over the space of a year with, quite overly detailed write-ups and to what it is now.

Every week brings an adventure and one-shots seem to be the calling that I have settled on. But I believe that all my one-shots can be weaved into a campaign by using your own NPCs and by modifying the Plot, Hooks, Locations and even Encounters to really tailor it to your own. However, a few of my One-shots don’t even need that and they can be used right out of the Zine and into your campaigns.

Now to get the one-shots to this format I have to keep it simple and provide guiding but not defining moments and encounters. This gives the DM/GM more control over how they integrate it for their party but makes it less accessible for new hosts of the game to pick up one of my Zines and use it as their first adventure. This is something I wish to remedy in the new year but it may take me some time to work out how – as to write a Zine each week is quite time intensive (between 10 to 14 hours depending on the content). Where the daily update is shorter there is normally more fleshing out that happens in the Zine – and sometimes even well fleshed out Daily updates get a boost in content in the Zine as well!

But enough on my rambling. Tonight I wanted to look at some quick hooks that can be interjected into any campaign to throw the party into a memorable one shot.

What Happens on the Road

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The invasion

What I will dub the “invasion” secondary hook or twist for this blog post is becoming more popular these days. Simply put it is the party coming into contact with a hostile force at the right time and right place.

The party had been traveling along the road at the south of the kingdom along a road that was seldom used. This road would see them leave the dense forest at the guarded checkpoint into the neighbouring kingdom where they had to deliver a sealed letter. The checkpoint was one of two regulated crossing points where the residents of the two kingdoms could cross over legally and safely. The wilderness between the two kingdoms was rumoured to be the territory of a particularly foul and territorial black dragon. However, luckily, it was extremely lazy and rarely left the large swamp that lay between the two kingdoms.

This created a natural barrier to people who wanted to cross over which the kingdoms seemed happy about as there were taxes in crossing into the neighbouring lands. The road they were on skirted the known edge of the dragons territory and had been used for decades as a way to and from the checkpoints and into the various parts of the kingdom.

The party pushed on their horses keeping a fast pace and making good time but the party were beginning to become increasingly alert and cautious. The horses were anxious and it had been some time since they had last seen wildlife that normally filled these woods. Thinking back it had been days since they had seen any sign of game and even the birds and smaller creatures were decreasing in sightings at a quick pace. Suddenly the party stopped, their forward scout signalling that something had been found. Alert and cautious the party moved up to reveal that around the bend and in a small gully a small tent-city had been created.

Dozens of men; hundreds even, could be seen moving between the tents and slowly packing supplies into bags as they mustered around a large central pavilion. Each of the men and women, humans and other races bore the colours of the kingdom they were heading towards and they were each dressed for combat. With a sinking feeling the party realised that they had stumbled upon what appeared to be either the forward advance or the rear guard of the kingdoms royal army. As they watched on the ground shook as a large adult black dragon pulled itself through the trees, its horns tearing bushes from the grounds and shredding branches on the trees.

A sturdy looking dragonborn with black scales strode forward and bowed to the dragon. “Everything is going as planned. With our forces invading the forest and moving up soon we will be out of your way as promised Garvelorgn.” the dragonborn said reverence.

“Good. And as soon as you are gone I can begin to expand my territory. Your sorcerer had correctly guessed that I was planning to take over these lands. Your promise of land and a new hunting ground is just consequential” the black dragon, Garvelorgn, said with a puff of green smoke from its nostrils. “Are you sure your force is big enough? I couldn’t help but notice that there wasn’t many amongst your ranks?” The dragon teased.

“The Black Talon is the strongest assault force in the continent. Despite our fewer number our strength comes from that idiot king and his pathetic nations lack of awareness of what happens in his own lands. Once he knows we are there it will be too late and he will be at our mercy” the dragon born said and several other warriors amongst the forest camp called out in support.

The Old friend

Now the old friend is a more situational one that is tailored to a “Find the source of the trouble and silence them”, or “Rob this wagon – it will be laden with gold” or “escort the prince, there is a rumour that there are people after him so be alert” type of mission. This is where the Party, or a member in the party, know the antagonist and have to come to grips with their old friend being the source of their work. But although it’s more sorted to these kinds of situations/quests it can work elsewhere.

The party checked the map in front of them making sure that they had the right address. Surely enough they were looking at the correct wagon that was parked in an alleyway with a draft horse harnessed to the front. Sneaking across the street they slowly approached the animal and the druid placed a hand upon its muzzle and the horse quickly went back to standing still.

Moving around the side of the wagon they found the door locked, but nothing their thief couldn’t handle. With a deft hand the lock was open and the door was slowly opening. Looking in the dark interior the bard called out a dancing mote of light to fill the interior. A few comfortable seats, curtains on the windows and a cushion one one of the two benches greeted them. Stepping into the wagon the bard and the thief began to look around. Having some advance intel that there was a hidden compartment that held what they were looking for they began searching for latches, buttons or nooks that would hold what they were searching for.

The warrior of the group kept a watch out as the druid, in the form of a tabby cat scouted around for an exit route. The warrior looked at the building they were next to. “Pinot and Stubbs” read the sign. She frowned as one of the names on the sign brought back memories from a lifetime ago.

Lost in her memories she heard too late as the door opened next to her and she turned too slowly to warn her allies within the wagon. “Arh!,” a woman’s voice shrieked as she saw the cloaked and armed figure in the alley. But the lantern in her hand did a fantastic job at revealing the warriors face. “Oh you scared me. What do you wan… Is that you Fiona? Fi?” the voice asked. “It can’t be you, surely. I haven’t seen you since we were both at the Orphanage. It’s me Pinot.” said the halfling in front of her.

A noise from the wagon drew the attention of the now smiling woman in front of her. “Wait.. Actually what are you doing here next to my shop, in the middle of the night next to my wagon?”

Either one of these two types of hooks could bring a added level of adventure to your session. Keeping the same theme you can quickly tie in a one-shot to something mundane, like travelling through a forest, or expand upon a easy snatch and grab – like stealing Pinots secreted chest. What ever the adventure is there are always avenues to include something different, a side quest, a tangent if you will. I add in more one-shots than I care to admit to doing but some of these feel much more rewarding and produce the biggest thrills for my party.

But that’s where we will have to end tonight. Don’t forget to come back for the rest of the days this week as we explore a bit more, learn a bit more and reflect on the last year. If you haven’t already don’t forget to check out my seasonal adventure, Mischief and Merrymaking, and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe