Author: thebrazenwolfe

The hunt for Squires

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As Wednesday comes we look at The hunt for Squires as a bunch of rowdy wanna-be knights bite of more than they can chew. Not meant to be a adventure that frames the party as murder hobos this part of the adventure frames the party and their new companion in a positive way, hopefully completing their quest at the same time. So before I spoil it let’s sit down with a hot coffee and let’s roll into tonight’s adventure!

The hunt for Squires

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Rushing through the brush was never a good idea but the woops and cheers of the other excited squires numbed senses and he gave into the revelry. As he hurtled over a log the first signs of something large appeared. Broken twigs, missing bark and large deep footprints heralded their quarry. Reaching for the horn at his belt he bellowed out a call with it with such exuberance that the deafening sound lasted until he started to see stars.

Moving the horn from his lips and breathing heavily for a few moments he breathed through the deafening sound of his heartbeat in his ears. When the blood left his head and he looked up the sound that greeted his ears wasn’t the jubilation that was from a few moments ago.

Screaming from his fellow Squires greeted him and the roar of something else. Something bloodthirsty that felt like it froze his blood. Something that was jubilant in the hunt just as they had been when they charged after the tracks in the woods. Swift crashing through the woods heralded its approach and the only instinct that remained in his mind was… run.

Flight!

Dashing away from the creature was an act of cowardice. The tears that streaked down his face marked his shame as he heard the creature crashing through the woods some distance behind him, pouncing and devouring his friends as they too took flight and ran. Nothing was able to sate the creature’s hunger and the hunt for squires had earned its name.

Barrelling out of the woods and into a clearing near the edge of the trees he crashed into a large creature. Atop the giant reptile a woman in shining armour sat in preparation. Lance and shield ready and the adventurers who had questioned their intentions at the nearby inn looked down at him in both disgust and pity.

“Unless you want to die, boy, I suggest you get behind Charger. She and I will protect the people of these lands from the horror that has been unleashed.” the knight on the giant creature spoke in a steady and determined voice. Just as he scrambled to his feet a deep rattling hiss came from behind as the creature had finally caught up to him.

Thoughts

Now I am excited about this one. I know I say that about most adventures but this week is something else. Bringing dinosaurs into D&D brings a bit of my childhood, and my daughters passion for these creatures to life. And I am excited to see what we can make of this adventure.

Thanks for joining me again as we near the end of this weeks adventure. Just a reveal of the creatures, the encounter and any thing else I hide in the PDF to come. But I do encourage you to come back daily as that’s the best way to follow my process. So don’t forget to come back each day this week and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Rebeka of Chult

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This week we focus on Rebeka of Chult, or Rebeka Saeldric to her friends, as she looks for a way to save her oldest companion. A glimpse into her past and also her thoughts as she moves towards her future should give a glimpse of who she is. So instead of addressing the dinosaur in the room here, let’s roll into tonight’s adventure!

Rebeka of Chult

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Rebeka Saeldric

Rebeka Saeldric – Created in nightcafe.

A companion for life

Keeping her head down she crouched along the brush heading towards the clearing ahead. The large plants and ferns made this approach easy but she had learnt from a young age to never underestimate the jungle. Looking around for the signs of the undead, or a large predator she prepared to move swiftly. After a few careful steps she moved forward with swift determination towards her goal – a large nest. This one was her first test in becoming a knight, retrieving her companion.

Moving forward from grouping of ferns to fallen logs she hurried to the side of the nest. The steaming heap of vegetable matter helped incubate the eggs and judging by the size of this one it surely was a larger creature. Digging quickly and carefully moved to the centre of the heap. The heat was impressive from the decomposing branches and leaves but it meant that the eggs should be incubating well. Finally she felt something hard, nearly stone-like.

Digging it out she pulled the egg out into the open before placing it in a bag she carried over her shoulder. The egg was smaller than the bag allowed up to but it was still the size of her long bladed dagger about eight inches in length. Covering the next back up by filling in the hole she made she quickly ran towards the cover of the trees as the beasts that called this part of the jungle home could be heard returning.

Rebeka of Chult

Looking up from the road Rebeka looked at the adventurers she had managed to convince her to help her. Each one of them looked formidable but she felt alone still. Shaking her head to snap out of the daze her trip down memory lane had given her, she focused on the task at hand. Rebeka of Chult she had introduced herself as. But without her partner, Charger, she felt alone. A knight without their steed was nothing and walking around carrying her lance felt awkward to wield.

The feeling of defencelessness didn’t help the feeling of unease as she passed more of the young warriors who were hunting for her companion. Their young and arrogant faces and calls made it worse but the party of adventurers she was with seemed confident and capable. They should be able to help her prove her companions innocence.

Thoughts

This week is about a bond between knight and steed and I think its only fitting we glimpse or begin to unravel what that relationship looks like. I have more in store for tomorrow as we look deeper into the adventure but for now I think Rebeka is taking shape.

Thanks for dropping by tonight and sharing your evening with me. Don’t forget to come back tomorrow as we look at the twist of the adventure. I have more plans in the future days so coming back daily will ensure that you are up to date. And as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Visitor From Chult

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With a new week starting we find ourselves in need for another adventure plot, luckily I have three ready to go. This week we will listen to what a Visitor from Chult has to say, rumours of a plague in the woods as well as a rabble of young knights in training setting out to slay a beast. As you have already probably guessed all three are connected – but don’t let that s top you from finding out. So grab a coffee, sit down and let’s roll on with the adventure.

Visitor From Chult

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Request for aid – Created in Nightcafe.

As the party downed another tankard of ale they eagerly watched as a platter of food came their way. Breads, meats, roasted vegetables and more. A feast fit for the heroes that they were and they were enjoying the attention that they received. A bard started to sing of a fight between noble heroes in a distant city and the other tavern goers instantly believed that the party was the focus of the story. Drinks were bought, tales were told and merriment was the main course of the menu.

After several hours of merry making the party left the tavern to go to their lodgings, a home that was offered to them from the lord of the city to be used any time they stayed here. A token of appreciation from the last time the party were here. However as they started to head towards the building a knight of some manner stepped up towards them, holding a lantern that cast shadows across her face.

The request

“Greetings. I was told that I might find some heroes here that may be willing to aid someone for the right price? I’m a visitor from Chult, a knight in training. I am in need of assistance in protecting an ally of mine. She has bitten off more than she can chew so to speak. Currently she is hiding in the woods near by but I fear that she will be found sooner rather than later and she gets a bit jumpy when I am not around to help her.” she paused for a moment. “My name is Rebeka and I have gold and gems that could see you feasting for many weeks if you’d be willing to help.”

After a pause she continued. “I just need help in proving her innocence from a misunderstanding. Are you able to help?”

Thoughts

Now we have a few things on this week. Her ally is an animal companion. In this case a Scary looking herbivorous dinosaur. Wednesday we will cover the next part of it, the middle of the adventure, but the start is quite simple. The knight walked beside her dinosaur up to some people who were looking like they were in need of help. They had suffered a large loss of stock the night before and the sight of the monstrously large reptile caused them to blame the foreign creature. Sensing danger the creature moved to protect Rebeka and in doing so it was mistaken as aggression.

I believe that this should have some elements of combat, perhaps some non-lethal fights with local hot blooded aspiring heroes. I also want it to be tracking the creature, the dinosaur, as well as the creature that killed the stock from the farmers. That this is probably the best of a few worlds and should make for an entertaining adventure.

Thank you for joining me here again for the start of another week. I will keep some of these posts short and sweet this week to save time for the upcoming hectic period for tabletop. So bear with me for this week as I have to split focus. Don’t forget to come back each day this week and as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

The Stones of Deepgrove

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

So I hope you enjoy this weeks adventure, The Stones of Deepgrove. If you like this format please let me know and I hope you enjoy.

The Stones of Deepgrove

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Despite their best efforts the last few adventures of the party were for naught. They had failed or had met a disappointing reward on the last few jobs. Their end goals were seeming to be drifting onwards to the realm of impossible as the means to attain their goals drifted further away. 

However, that is before they heard of the Guildmaster of Varendeep. The rumours around the taverns and mercenary groups is that he had a near impossible task. One that many had attempted and failed over the years. However the prize was a ring of wishing. With such an artefact anyone’s dreams or goals were attainable.

The City of Varendeep

Varendeep – Created in nightcafe.

The Break Spot

Deepgrove River – Created in Nightcafe.

The low waterfall created a rich, aerated water that was refreshing and pure. As the party filled their canteens and quenched their thirst they noticed the currents in this part of the river must be flowing from the waterfall stronger.

A few large swaths of lakeweed and debris were floating across the lake and some were even heading towards them.

However after a moment the party noticed the ones moving towards them were moving faster and more direct. As they stumbled back from the riverbank, scaled humanoid shapes rushed forward from the lake, spears, crude clubs and shields fashioned from animal parts. 
The Lizardfolk were a vicious and ferocious people and the party appeared to be on their menu.

PDF adventure – The Stones of Deepgrove

The-Stones-of-DeepgroveDownload

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

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

June Inspiration for one shots

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Welcome all to something that I probably find that I do without really thinking about in great detail but coming up with June Inspiration for one shots. Now it will be a bit of a shorter one but the issue I occasionally find for my weekly adventure isn’t so much coming up with one. But it’s settling down on a single concept.

In the past I have been over the process that I am drawn to. The What, Who, When, Where and Why’s of a good adventure plot. But what I don’t reveal is that there are sometimes multiple story arcs in a single adventure that could be explored.

Now inspiration comes from many sources, as I have gone through before, but tonight I will take a few things that are front of mind.

June Inspiration for one shots: Adventure 1 – Chult expanded

One of the core published adventures that WOTC has published is the Tomb of Annihilation which features the party going to explore Chult. But why don’t we see more of the Chultians come over to the mainland of Faerun? This first adventure concept is a young warrior visiting from Chult but her mount, a noble steed if you will, isn’t a horse but a dinosaur. Now the image of someone riding a t-rex into Neverwinter is amusing but probably not practical. I don’t think the lord of the city would let it stand for long. However raptors, herbivores and other large sized creatures (or even medium) could make decent mounts.

This adventure focuses on what the party may be asked to do and what they will do if a dinosaur appears in their home turf.

This can be an investigation style quest “A large creature has appeared in the woods near by. It’s leaving strange marks on trees and killing all the game. Find out what it is.” Or we can have it be a request for aid from a foreign party. “I need help convincing the Lord that my Bruno here, a Gallimimus, isn’t dangerous. He is just fast and a bit skittish is all.”

Either way for someone who loves both dinosaurs and RPGs its a good mix.

June Inspiration for one shots: Adventure 2 – Bewitched Room

A room in a local manor has been flinging spells randomly at people who enter the library. A opened book that had a glyph of warding placed on the pages from a previous adventurer was laying open on the table. Every time the door opens the corresponding gust of wind turns the pages and triggers another spell.

The party doesn’t know this, nor does the new owners of the Manor. But they will soon encounter the hexed room and the source of the it. This is more of a Role play encounter however the book could summon creatures to fight. Or a creature may be drawn to the constant use of magic and they may contest ownership of the arcane tome from the party and the manor owners.

There is a bit of fun we could have in this adventure

June Inspiration for one shots: Adventure 3 – The grand hunt

A young tribe woman has approached the party and asked them to help her hunt a ferocious beast. This beast can be what ever you want but my mind was instantly drawn to a Bulette

The reason for needing help could be a sad story of being an outcast due to heritage, or something simple of “I was late to the start of the ceremony so the elders punished me by making me undertake this with any fellow from my tribe. However you are not of my tribe so you can help? I don’t think I will survive the trial without it and I wont be able to be seen as a true member, an adult in my tribe until its completed.”

A nice easy one this one. I like it because it may give us the excuse to use any creature. I also believe that having something as mundane as a “grand hunt” is nicer than curses, invasions or malicious acts.

Well that’s it for tonight, three adventure concepts, for June Inspiration for one shots, and one of which I will take for next week. Don’t forget to join me tomorrow for the end of week writeup and as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

The Stone Beasts

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Welcome to a Fight-night Friday that will leave you petrified as we meet the Stone Beasts of this weeks adventure. This week we have a few encounters with the wilder inhabitants of the Deepgrove Forest. But we also have an attack at a camp site as well as the final creature encounter in the Stone Garden itself. So sit back, grab a coffee and let’s roll into tonight’s adventure!

The Stone Beasts

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Encounter in the forest

This week is about ambushes in the forest. Tonight in particular we have the skilled lizardfolk ambushing the party as they venture close to a water source and then an attack by a lone Cockatrice as they recover from their encounter later that night.

The lizardfolk are fearsome warriors. Attacking from a range with Javelins before engaging in melee these creatures fight for both survival and food. The Brute will wade into the front lines and use its bulk and strength to try and break the defences of the party. While the other Lizardfolk would harass and act like flankers for their larger cousin.

The cockatrice on the other hand is a bit of flavour with a dangerous undertone. It should either act like a red herring for the source of the stone statues OR it will make them think of what else it could be. Either way I think its a good addition to this weeks encounter.

Stone Lair Guardians

This one is harder, the younger and the older basilisk. I would like to think its a mated pair or a parent and child that are defending their lair but any narrative would do. One of each though for a party of level 7 adventurers or it will be too much.

Attacking quicker the smaller basilisk maybe will be over zealous, or as the lore of the basilisk goes the older they get the more sluggish they become. Relying on ambushing their prey rather than running them down. However there is a very real risk of death with this encounter so the party best beware.

Thanks for dropping by tonight to get a glimpse of the stone beasts for this weeks encounter. This weekend I have some more hobbying to get done. a reveal of a painted mini or several (hopefully) and then the end of week writeup! So don’t forget to come back for that. And lastly as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Lair of the Stone Flowers Guardian

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Thursday night brings us another map using Inkarnate and I present to you the Lair of the Stone Flowers Guardian! A fair bit of extras went into tonight, layers, shading, highlights, colour shifts and I think the emphasis on stone came our ok. But enough on that. Let’s just grab a coffee and march into tonight’s map!

Lair of the Stone Flowers Guardian

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Large masses of bushes obstruct vision in this weeks map. Stone boulders litter the area that provide cover for both the party and the creature(s) that stalk them. A few trees made of stone grow in this recession. At the base of the largest one stone flours that catch the light and reflect it against the stone trunk.

A cave is in the corner of the area. Chunks of skin-smooth stone litter the garden – evidence that a creature that petrifies prowls these parts of the forest.

The walls are tall here but those with the ability to climb up and out may find themselves at an advantage. Unless they want to hide. The walls are made of rocks and loose soil so the climb is prone to shifting earth.

Stone Garden – Created in Inkarnate

Now this weeks encounter may be a bit deadly. But I have a few other encounters planned that may work the party up and get them to think about the tactics moving into the last part of the adventure. This map can obviously be re-used for other means and it’s a nice 30×30 grid.

Lastly, thanks for joining me tonight. This weeks adventure is one that I hope to maybe one day set against my own party of adventurers, but I will have to see what awaits them when we get to that. Don’t forget that the weekend is nearly here so we should be looking towards our own tabletop. And as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

The Stone Flowers

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This twisty Wednesday night features hints at the encounter the night earlier and the first glimpse at the stone garden where the stone flowers grow. This is shaping up to be a big week so you best sit down with a hot coffee and let’s roll into tonight’s adventure!

The Stone Flowers

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The party gazed upon only what could be described as the stone garden. Pillars of stone wove and tangled together like branches reaching for the sky. Smooth boulders littered the floor of the area and peaking between them at the base of a massive stone tree were the object of the parties search.

Still rattled from their encounter of the creatures from the other night by the camp they strode forward. Dozens of stone stalked flowers lay before then. Instead of leaves they had emerald and topaz gems in place of the organic structure. Golden thorns littered the stems and the flowers were sapphires, rubies and diamonds. These surely would be the flowers the guild master spoke of. But as they stepped towards the flowers the party stumbled on as smooth round object. Looking down the face of a man frozen in terror greeted them. Realisations sunk in and all around they saw fragments of statues. In fact to be more honest they were petrified people.

The beast of the garden

Crawling forward its many limbs moved its long body effortlessly over the uneven and rough ground. The scent of living creatures drew it closer to its target as it moved around the stone pillars and the remnants of previous meals. As it gazed upon its first target the saliva started to run down its maw as it began to build speed. Sprinting at the human it got ready to grapple with its claws and force the unwilling creature to meet its gaze.

The last thing they would hear would be cracking of their fellow humans flesh as the stone crumbles in the jaws of the keeper of the garden.

As the, probably somewhat obvious encounter this week is revealed. But I think that there are a few surprises that are coming later this week. So don’t forget to come back each day this week and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Guildmaster of Varendeep

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This week the party find themselves delving deep into the Deepgrove Forest all because of one man, the Guildmaster of Varendeep. Sometimes a reputation is all that’s needed to instil obedience and loyalty, and sometimes you need something more. So let’s meet the guildmaster of Varendeep and roll into the adventure!

Guildmaster of Varendeep

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Olsen Atraven

Guildmaster of Varendeep - Olsen Atraven
Olsen Atraven- Created in Artbreeder

No one has quite brought fame to Varendeep as Olsen Atraven. Olsen moved into the city of Varendeep and created a large mercenary guild that quickly amassed wealth, power and influence. With Olsen there is always a next step or a next stage of his plans and he is willing to reward people handsomely if they can further his agenda.

The party meet Varendeep as they are approached with an offer of a job by Olsen in disguise as a messenger. He likes to test adventurers to see if they would make a good addition to his guild, or, can be of use to him.

But despite his odd ways Olsen is a master strategist and has aided in the defence of Varendeep. Given its position it suffers many attacks and raids from the more bestial of races of the land. But Olsen and his guild have defended the city well. With his keen mind at the helm they rarely suffer a loss or casualty and the city grew.

Varendeep

The party had made it to Varendeep. A impressive walled city that was well guarded and fortified heavily for attacks and raids. This was crucial as the many years it had scraped out an existence at the frontier of civilisation were trying. In fact its progress is rumoured to be the causation of a single man, Olsen Atraven.

The party had come here as they had heart word of the Guild of Varendeep offering items of power in exchange for jobs. However the promise of wealth and power always came at a price and many were not up to the tasks that were asked of them for the items that they desired.

But despite the jobs being difficult some of the artefacts that were promised in exchange of these jobs made even the most cowardly and timid of adventurers consider the offer. It was one such offer that drew the party to Varendeep this time. Like most guilds they had a guild hall and Varendeep’s guild hall was large and splendid. To enquire about such a quest that the guild had to offer one had only ask at the guilds counter and they would be looked after.

The deal

“We are here to enquire about the job that rewards the ring of wishes.” the party member spoke confidently. A slight hush descended across the guild hall as the receptionist look through a book before handing them a written letter. “Take this to Dern. He should be at the guild feasting hall into his third drink by now.” she said, a hint of either pity or annoyance in her voice.

After being shown the way to the feasting hall they were directed to a man sitting at a table with a few well armoured mercenaries. As they approached the two mercenaries left, ordering a round of drinks for the table as they left.

“I take it ye are here for my ring?” Dern said, his head covered in a hood. “Not just anyone can do it. Tell me about your selves. What have you accomplished heh?”

A short while later. “Hmm. Maybe you are what I have waited for. I need a strong set of limbs to get something for me. Flowers from the Stone Garden deep within Deepgrove Forest. It wont be easy and those who have gone before never return. But its the price I have put on the ring so if you want it. I’m guessing you best meet with the Guildmaster of Varendeep to finalise the contract.” he said as he stood slowly and removed his hood revealing a very different face.

The guildmaster of Varendeep

“I am Guildmaster Olsen Atraven. Apologies for deceiving you, I need to be sure that those who request this job are up to it. I think you have what it takes,” he paused for a moment, “well as much as any of those who came before you. Now, If you are willing and successful in this endeavour you will have my wing of wishes. It has two wishes left, both of which I can attest personally that they remain intact and ready for those who wish to use them.” he paused to drink. “Now are you the adventurers who I have waited for all these years?”

Thanks for joining me tonight to get a glimpse at Olsen. Now I believe that you could have any number of NPCs in a single adventure and last week demonstrated that with “Players of the Game“. But this week we have just one NPC, for now.

So in order for this to work we have a large week to get through and more updates to make. So don’t forget to come back each night this week. With the development of this weeks adventure we also come closer to the weekend. We can’t forget to make the most of our spare time and investing in our tabletop is something we cant forget. So don’t forget to set aside some time for your own adventures and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

The Stone Garden

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As this week’s Monday sets in we find out party requested to find the Stone Garden. Now the wonderful thing about the stone garden is that it can be found deep within Deepgrove Forest. Through the dense ancient maze of trees the party will have to travel and braving the forest as they search deeper and deeper into the until they reach their destination. Now without giving away the plot let’s turn out attention towards tonight’s writeup. So let’s grab a coffee, sit down and roll on with the adventure.

The Stone Garden

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Deepgrove Forest- Created in Nightcafe.

The job was quite simple when the city of Drell reached out to the party. If they can return the flowers that grow in the stone garden deep within Deepgrove Forest they will be rewarded. Now the reward was quite the pretty thing.

But as the party cursed their luck for agreeing to this endeavour they remembered the prize. A wing of wishes with two wishes remaining. The sheer potential of this reward was enough to send many adventurers into the woods and the remains of some had already been found. However the woods were deep and despite having a map, a transcribed one from an original, they had managed to get turned around a few times now.

The party sat for a short rest, having encountered some creatures native to this forest earlier in the day they were exhausted. As they sat down at what looked like a perfect spot to set up camp an uneasy feeling began to set in.

The Camp

A chill, a momentary drop in temperature or increase in wind caused the fire to splutter. Reaching for some nearby wood, a lucky break that the perfect logs for a fire would be in this sheltered area the adventurers hand came back with something else. A long thin shaft of perfectly smooth stone. About five inches in diameter which looked like a smooth stone branch. However as they looked towards the smooth stone club-like figure another creature watched them back from the brush. One that looked onwards at what it saw in the firelight with hunger.

Thoughts

Now this week I have planned something a bit special. A many encounter ‘open dungeon delve’ where there are multiple parts to the adventure I have planned. In fact you could run this over a few weeks and not just a single weekend oneshot. Now this isn’t an uncommon encounter for party to encounter during their adventuring career. But hopefully this weeks adventure offers something unique.

Now that another week has begun and new adventure has started I want to thank you for joining me here again. Now this week I want to also show off some more Warhammer progress too – so stay tuned for some updates. Try not to forget to set aside some time for your own tabletop this week, and as always don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe