Pushing through Illness

Now for tonight there’s something a bit different as much like the concepts tonight I am also attempting poorly to be pushing through illness.

So let’s lay down with some water, a herbal tea and snuggle down for some rest.


Pushing through Illness

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Pushing Through Illness – Created in wordpress.

The concept of sickness is covered, somewhat, in the core books with poisoned and, in some cases exhaustion. However, the term disease has been largely removed. This small update tonight is triggered by my own foolish pursuit in pushing through illness which got me thinking…

Surely DnD characters wouldn’t take a week of bed rest if the fate of the Fellowsphere was hanging in the balance. They would crack a few herbal supplements, have a pint of ale and get on with the quest.

But after doing said actions, minus the beer, I find myself with disadvantage on all rolls and even stuff I believe myself to be profoundly very good at I am performing them far more poorly than expected. Don’t check the spelling and grammar of this post…

But in campaigns where extended travel, harsh battles and rough climates play a key role in the life style of a party there is something I’d like to throw at DMs. A common cold.

It may start as a snuffle or something that if the party members fail constitution saves and partakes in a few high intensity days with broken or disturbed long rests that they fully recover from. But ignoring this they progressively gain the exhausted condition for each day that they don’t rest. The difference here is a full day of rest vs a long rest.

This progressively gets worse and follows the rules for exhaustion which mirrors the normal pattern for things like influenza and pneumonia.

This little change could make games more intense, realistic or consequence rich. But there comes warnings with this as it wouldn’t be much fun to role play a character on bed rest for a week. However that character and party having to travel to seek Glonerel, the elf sage, for healing herbs and potions is a great side quest that could excite players and cause a sense of urgency.

Deciding between saving Til the gnome rogue and marching to the Rift where the Fellowphere was in danger of collapsing could make for great character, player and world development.



Thanks for joining me tonight for something a bit different. A slow night as I rest on the finest elven medicine my copper pieces could buy but something where opportunity appeared before me in my bed ridden state. Don’t forget to come back tomorrow for more content and lastly, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Invasion Force

Now for tonight I have something a bit different to my normal Saturday night updates with Invasion Force. With what I hope to be able to achieve the next three weeks is something I did a few years back but I still want things to feel a like one-shots. So let’s crack on with it.

So let’s sit back, take some notes and look at what we have planned for the next few weeks.


Invasion force

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Invasion force – Created in wordpress.

The sounds of bells came just moments before the sounds of screaming, shouting and explosions.

The city of Felkirt had been the party’s place to sit and rest while they were waiting for the right job to come onto their radar. Like many other adventurers Felkirk the city brought together people from all walks of life and experience, which made it perfect for adventurers to come and look for work.

But the sounds of boots rushing along alleyways, the sound of bells tolling from the docks told the adventurers in the Lost Anchor Inn what they needed to know. There was something happening in the city this night. The streets were filled with shouting as guards clashed with masked men and women who attacked savagely and quickly and left the same way they fought, disappearing into the dimly lit streets.

The docks was where the biggest battle had occurred with several navy boats sunk and a large galley sitting out in the middle of the bay as row boats ferried boatloads of people to the shore. The docks were normally covered in water and mud but tonight the sticky metallic smell of blood even overrode the stench of day old fish. Mercenaries, Guards, and even private troops of the wealth merchants lay dead or dying across the piers and along the steps leading down to where their boats and warehouses normally lay. Armed men and women patrolled the docks and looted what they could find easily.

But further into the city the bells tolled the loudest. A path of destruction had been carved through the street with magic burns marking the cobblestone streets, destroying carts and making doors irrelevant for keeping the hoard at bay. At the head of the pack a group of elite warriors, marksmen and scouts that took pleasure in creating the resource that their leader needed for the final push. Bodies. A necromancer raised the dead of those that his men killed and sent their shambling, still warm corpses towards the wall of the castle – not needing more than a simple order to create the distraction and chaos that he was after.

And the Lost Anchor Inn? Right in the middle of it all. Sat a few streets away from the devastation of the dark mage, a few streets from the docks and with the masked strangers attacking those who sought to mount a defence right on their doorstep. This was likely the biggest job of the year for the party, but were they well equipped enough?



Thanks for joining me tonight for something a bit different. A few leads, a larger adventure and something that will keep our parties busy for months (hopefully!). So keep an eye out over the next few weeks for the outcome of this blog update so you don’t miss a thing. And lastly, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Captain of the Shadow

Tonight we reveal the final part of this weeks adventure with the Captain of The Shadow making its appearance. Thwarted but not down this construct, the heart of the ship itself demands to be fed and so it is not content enough with the scraps that its ropes can bring it. When you want a job done right, do it yourself.

So rally the crew, check their anchor points are secure as we go toe to toe with the captain with tonight’s bonus encounter!


Captain of the Shadow

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As the last harpoon snapped free, the ropes severed and writhing like dying serpents before sinking into the waves against the hull. For a brief moment a silence fell over the sea as the Stardrinker trembled, her wood groaning from the strain of battle, yet she remained afloat. The crew staggered, exhausted with their bodies aching, but somehow alive.

For a moment, it seemed as though they had won. And then the ship itself, The Shadow screamed. It was not the cry of a living thing, but of wood and rigging, of agony bound in cursed planks and of rage. The sea around it churned, dark waves pulling in unnatural waves, as if the ocean itself was trying to consume the monstrous vessel.

Then, it rose. The sound of chains and wood banging against the deck of The Shadow. Despite the ship being splintered and broken from its attempted consumption of the Stardrinker it tore itself open towards the smaller ship creating a gaping maw of wood, metal and frayed rope. A gaping wound, revealing a pulsing core of blackened wood, rotting fabric and rusted metal writhing tendrils of decay, a force that had long since lost any semblance of purity. This was surely its heart, the source of its hunger, the cursed soul of the ship itself.
From the abyss within, a figure emerged, pulling itself out of the seething mass of corrupted energy.

A human figure, a captain, or perhaps what had once been a captain, its form barely holding together, flesh replaced by ropes, bones replaced by decaying wood and armed with rusted blades of bent and torn metal. It dragged a leg that had was missing the rope – burnt and severed by damage already inflicted on the ship, but the rest of its body wrapped in the same cursed rigging that had once ensnared the crew and the fabric of any of the crew that were unable to be saved. Its eyes or where its eyes should have been glowed a deep, unsettling blue, the spectral remnants of the souls it had consumed.

And as it pulled itself out of the core the light faded and the ship stilled completely. The true battle had began.

The Shadows Captain – created in Tetra-cube.
  • The Captain of The Shadow fights with unnatural speed, its blade’s moving faster than any mortal sailor.
  • When the captain takes damage the Ship seems to sink further into the waves, bits of wood falling off.
  • The rest of the Crew, except that party, stand as if hypnotised as the cries of other lost sailors resonate from where the core was – some even appear to take steps towards the core itself.
  • Echoes of the lost crew emerge – spectral hands grabbing at the living, crying out for salvation but hungering for their freedom in ways more terrifying than any pirate they’ve faced on the waves.
  • Some of the spectres may look like the pirates they faced when they first started their journey.


Thanks for visiting tonight for the last update for this weeks adventure. Don’t forget to come back tomorrow for the end of week zine which will be a big one. And lastly, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Garbell the Huntmaster

A special edition update tonight with the revelation of Garbell the Huntmaster – commander and master of the mastiff pack that has the party set in its sights. With his pack of Mastiff’s, including the giant one, no one will be safe from his spear.

So get an idea of what lays in wait with Garbell and his hounds with tonight’s bonus encounter!


Garbell the Huntmaster

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While the hounds of the Huntmaster have animal cunning there isn’t much that can outrun or outmanoeuvre the pack when Garbell command them. Ruthless to a point the only thing that can reason with Garbell the huntmaster is gold, cold hard and unreasoning coins. While Garbell is on the job he works efficiently with very little wasted movement or effort.

Garbell the Huntmaster – created in Tetra-cube.

Generally employing his largest mastiff to attack from the front and to scare the party into focusing on what they believe is the biggest threat the smaller mastiffs will approach from the sides looking to attack from the quarries blind-spots, dragging them down while he closes in to finish the job.



Thanks for visiting tonight for the last update for this weeks adventure. Don’t forget to come back tomorrow for the end of week zine which will be a big one. And lastly, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

The One that Got Away

Tonight we have another short head-start for next weeks adventure with The One that Got Away. Tonight features something very close to my interests with a lot of cross overs with my other gaming life. So props to any who can guess what it’s about!

So grab the rolling pin and the carving fork as we bring the wrath of the kitchen in tonight’s adventure!

The One that Got Away

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Fisherfolks Fight – created in WordPress!?

The river was quiet as it bubbled over the rocks and around the logs as it carried on downstream. The large and sturdy rods stood out against the brushes and the reeds defiantly as the water pulled their packages of bait-disguised hooks down the torrent. They had been fishing reasonably successfully for most of the morning and the smell of grilling fish wafted throughout the branches and brush.

It had been quiet for a little bit so they had decided to cast a net woven from sturdy webbing from a breed of spider a nearby village farmed. The way of life and people were vastly different from their own but they both traded well for what each other needed – a sustainable way of getting meat and the tools to get it.

As they pulled in the net with a few small fish caught between the fine threads they saw one of their rod twitch. Something was investigating the bait. As one of them dashed to grab the rod the other hauled on the net with renewed vigour anxious to bring it in before their own rod was discovered. As the rod was grabbed the fisherfolk realised their bait had moved into a deeper part of the river where a smaller stream joined with the main one.

As they pulled the fish on the other end reacted immediately causing the rod to bend nearly in half. The sturdy fibres of the rod groaned with the effort as the the mans feet dug into the ground form the power of the fish. ‘I need help!’ the man called out as their fellow fisher hauled in the remaining part of the net, well what remained of it. A large patch of it was missing as if something had cut or burned its way through the fibres.

As they discarded the net onto the bank, where the fish could not escape, they rushed towards the man battling the powerful catch. As both of them hauled on the rod in unified strength a large disturbance was seen at the surface of the deep water. ‘It’s massive!’ called the other fisher as they continued to battle against their catch.

But soon the next sign of danger came when their combined strength was not able to start hauling the catch in. The length of sturdy thread that connected the bait and hook to the rod strained under the effort of both fish and fisherfolk battling against each other. Then a decisive explosion of effort saw the fisherfolk being dragged, sinking into the soil and stones as the fish decided it had had enough.

Leaning back with all their might the fisherfolk refused to give, their muscles bulging from the effort to keep the beast on line. However a loud crack heralded their doom as the rod exploded in half with the fish taking the line and top section of the rod deeper into the water. The fisherfolk landed heavily on top of each other in the mud with the remains of their reinforced rod.

The two of them look at their rod in disbelief before pulling their remaining rod in, grabbing the remains of their net and the few fish they had managed to catch so fat. Something was odd and they would not be beaten by the one that got away.


Thanks for visiting tonight for a hint at what’s coming up next week. Don’t forget to come back tomorrow night for the end of week zine and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Rats in the Pantry

Tonight we have a very simple adventure hook, a side quest really where we have the over-done rats in the pantry mission. However, maybe its not rats…

So grab the rolling pin and the carving fork as we bring the wrath of the kitchen in tonight’s adventure!

Rats in the Pantry

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Rats in the Pantry – Created in WordPress!?

The kitchen was silent this time of the night after the chaos of dinner service and the clean up had finished. The staff had gone to bed after preparing some of the food they would need for breakfast in the morning. It was the perfect time to be rats in the pantry.

As they lifted up the latch for the door, which was never locked, they quietly lowered it again before pushing it slowly inwards. They knew just where to stop the door before it would let out a screech from the ungreased hinges – this wasn’t the first time they were stealing from The Hooting Owl tavern.

As slunk through the half-open door they looked at the fruits, the bread and the cheese that was resting on the large counter in the middle of the room, a wide selection for them to choose what they wanted to eat that night. As the smallest one moved forward towards the bread and cheese she reached out and grabbed a small roll. The hard part wasn’t getting to the foot it was taking just enough that there wouldn’t be guards searching for them in the morning.

A small roll, a hunk of cheese and an apple to share will get them through the day. As they compared their choice bits and discussed if they would have to worry about the guards tomorrow they heard a noise, a small dragging sound from the pantry. Thinking it was a trap laid by the cook they quickly rushed towards the door and hastily out into the streets. It wasn’t until they had stopped their flight that they realised that they had lost one of their own, the smallest and youngest of the children.


The next morning The cook came in to find the door to the streets open and evidence that a something had taken food from the preparation table. Looking for evidence, a trail of crumbs led her to the stairs. ‘Rats. Again… Best get a quest posted.’

But as she closed the door and moved away from the stairs malevolent eyes stared at her from the darkness beyond. The child it had caught was asleep nearby, its dreams and fears sustaining the creature much more than the foodstuffs that it had been carrying. Soon there would be more coming into the storage room under the tavern. More food for it and for its brothers and sisters who slumbered still until there was enough food to sustain them.


Thanks for visiting tonight. Don’t forget to come back tomorrow night for the end of week zine and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

The River Tanzee

Tonight I wanted to capture something that is done poorly other times, or not done well when looking at the river Tanzee. Any journey by river can be treacherous when poorly prepared and in the case below it’s evident that the information that was given to the party was not quite accurate. Hazardous environments, dangerous wildlife and rough conditions could make it difficult for anyone to travel safely if this is what they can expect.

So sit back, perhaps grab a fishing rod and a hat as we coast down the river in tonight’s adventure!

The River Tanzee

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The River Tanzee – Created in WordPress!?

The river was cloudy with silt, which according to the locals meant that the next spring would bring a good harvest. The river Tanzee was the life blood for the area as it provided not just the life-giving silt from the river but also the bounty of food from its murky waters.

Fish, crustaceans, reptiles and amphibians called these waters home and the people of the land and river made a great deal of use out of the bounty from it. But as the party plunged the large poles in deep into the silty water and pushed their raft further down the river they couldn’t help but edge further away from the rafts edge when they could afford to let the rudimentary vessel drift down along the current instead.

A few times they had plunged the deep poles into the water below only to feel it connect with something more solid than the thick mud and silt that formed a blanket on the river bottom. As the poles connected with the solid mass it would move off quickly as if disturbed from a slumber and a disturbance on the rivers surface was all that could be seen.

However, as disturbing as that tyle of encounter with creatures was it was nothing compared to when they had one of their poles ripped from their hand and dragged under the water. The shattered and chomped remains floated back to the surface revealing that there was more under the surface of the water than what they were led to believe when they agreed to this route.

As they moved further downstream large birds flew overhead the raft hoping they were a fishing vessel, or, waiting for them to be the next meal. Large fish could be seen moving beneath the surface of the river as they moved next the reeds which caused a flurry of motion from the smaller fish caused the birds to dart down to snatch up the smaller fish. As a large narrow beaked bird dove into the water to snap up a fish the snap of its jaws was overshadowed by the crunch of a second set of jaws that ruptured out of the water.

A large toothed reptile erupted from the water, snapping up the bird in its jaws causing it to release the fish and try to fly out of the mouth of the large creature. Unsurprisingly, it was of little use as the bird was dragged under water within seconds.

More aware of the creatures that called this river home the party withdrew further to the centre of the raft and waited for the feeding frenzy to die down.


Thanks for visiting for a free-style Saturday and for indulging in my whims. Don’t forget that tomorrow marks the end of the week and the production of a zine for this weeks adventure. So don’t forget to come back tomorrow to get a copy of the zine and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

The Relics Bound

Tonight we expand with a final piece of the puzzle with the cultists performing a desperate action in order to see the Relics Bound together. However this bodes poorly for the party and survivors.

So sit back, grab a coffee and join me in the slog of tonight’s adventure!


The Relics Bound

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As the cultists swarmed towards the party a concerning glance between the leader and the party was the only sign that something was wrong. Rushing to have several of the other cultists in between her and the party she ripped two relics from her forearms and slammed them together. A moment later a pulsating and sickening gushing noise as the spilt blood and broken bodies started to slide towards the leader.

‘Power borrowed, returned willingly. To the shadow in the relics, the giver of choice and power, we relinquish it back to you.’ the bodies moved quicker and even as blood and tissue slide into a forming mass of energy and refuse. Discs of metal could be seen as a beam of light glimmered onto the forming mass, the relics from the cultists. As the final fighting cultists were pulled back into the forming mass some of them returned the chant whilst others screamed and fought as they were pulled towards the form that was being built from magic and flesh.

A large figure formed from the flesh as it knitted together to create something new. A demonic form stepped forward, causing some of the room to collapse and break as the relic-studded creature stared at the adventurers before it.


Thanks for joining me tonight for small update that is perhaps a bit darker than normal. As a created demon from the bodies of those that borrowed the power stored within cursed relics it likely much stronger than the cultists themselves. No surprise that it should be a challenging encounter for the party. Don’t forget that tomorrow night we will complete the zine with the content that I created this week. So don’t forget to come back for the final day this week and lastly, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

30 Minute Writing Challenge – Hard edition

Tonight, while heavily preoccupied with the family as well as Monster Hunter Wilds, I wanted to take it slower but, instead, I chose to work on the 30 Minute Writing Challenge – Hard edition. Now that’s not a great title but hear me out.

These challenges usually involve a random prompt, song, scene or piece of inspiration (such as art in this case) which I use to fuel my adventure. Tonight however AI did AI things and gave me something way off topic. However, I can rise to this challenge and see what I can work out.

Now with all these challenges I have 30 minutes to create a plot, a convincing NPC, a turn or twist and lastly some form of climax to the adventure. This week is a very different AI art that will, hopefully, inspire me to write something useful in 30 minutes.

Some caveats:

  • I can only write past 30 minutes to correct grammatical or spelling errors – I’m only human
  • I am not aloud to write content past 30 minutes, or the challenge is failed
  • I need to incorporate the random inspiration; this week is a weird image
  • That’s it… pretty simple

Time Start: 9:11pm AEDT
Time Finish: 9:39pm AEDT.

So sit back, grab some popcorn and wait to see me fall on my face in tonight’s 30 minute writing challenge!.

30 Minute Writing Challenge – Hard edition

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Co-pilots thought of what a ‘group of adventurers in life or death situation’ would look like…

The party had not been through the Kace jungle before and they found the dense vegetation, weird fauna and flora more than off putting. This jungle had not been touched by humans from the outside world before, to their knowledge, and the wildlife was evident of this.

The prey animals were not fearful of the people walking through and several striped mammals chewed on some fermenting beans as they past by. Their weird jaws seemed to bisect their heads completely enabling them to scoop great sloughs of rotting bean bods into their mouths before cracking it open with large tusk like molars.

However it quickly became apparent that their employer, the Scholar simply named ‘Moth’ was not cut out for traveling through the jungle. ‘Dearest friends,’ he wheezed, ‘can we have that break now?’ he pleaded. The party had agreed to rest at midday after a few hours of travel and when the sun would be at its hottest. However, Moth was struggling to keep up with a few more hours to go. The nagging and pleading had increased over the last hour and the deeper in the jungle they went the harder it would be to avoid larger predators with the noise that the man made.

Reluctantly they agreed to have a short break, to let the scholar rest up and to give their cartographer enough time to update the map. The break however did not see Moth slow down in his speech or questions. ‘You lot came with high expectations I must let you know. And so far you are exceeding them. “Ruthless, efficient and able to get the job done” that’s what they said you were and look at how far we have come.’ he paused to marvel at the jungle around them. ‘To think I am the first known scholar to set foot inside this forest to study and begin to map it out. Fascinating stuff really. If we keep on this course we will reach the mountains we were able to see from outside the forest looking inwards…’ he continued.

The party were still on high alert despite the constant distraction and a good thing they were. ‘The colours on the plumage were just daz…’ Moth began before a gloved covered hand pressed over his mouth. ‘Trouble’ is all that was said as they all prepared for what was to come.

The fight was quick and brutal with large feline like predators with an extra set of legs had lunged from the brush. Despite being large and powerful it was no match for the party who dispatched it swiftly and cleanly – much to Moth’s delight. As they were assisting the scholar in turning the beast over onto its side they notice that it had a large painted handprint on its shoulder. A marking of a clan no doubt.

‘If there are clans nearby, maybe they can help our next part of the journey.’ Moth offered to the group. However, with a sinking feeling in the party realised that either they had either just killed the tribes lost hunting beast or, they were being hunted with the beast being the first to appear.

The signal to continue received loud and clear the party packed up after this short break and left the dead animal behind. As they moved through the forest after that incident they looked for traces of the clans folk nearby but whether a good or ill omen they were unable to find any sign either way.

Deeper they went, making for the mountains and finally they found a clue of what they were dealing with. Although it was not what they were hoping for. Skeletons of people were tied to trees by their ankles and suspended above the ground. A large spear plunged into the wood beyond which would have effectively pinned the victims to the bark.

For the first time since they left the city of Grenor they had quiet from Moth who looked at the symbolic display with open horror. ‘I think we’ve had quite enough of this forest now. Much more of the research can be done from inside the academy. ‘ He said trough rapid breathes.

Yet, it was too late for them to leave. The party watched as half a dozen warriors and their large cat like beasts all arrived as if on queue. Surrounded the party waited until a smaller man, with a face filled with hurt and rage approached them, speaking in broken common language.

‘You are trespassing on Honuki lands. You must leave now after paying tribute or join the wall of warning where we put the rest of those who defile our land.’ he said as he gestured at the tied and impaled skeletons on the trees.

‘However,’ he added with a renewed look of hurt. ‘You took one of our tribe from us, so we demand you leave one behind. Pick or we will take all.’


Thanks for reading tonight’s 30 minute adventure. Despite the bright and cheerful image I was able to find something that could be drawn out into the adventure above. Don’t forget that tomorrow night we wrap up this weeks adventure with a Zine and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Ramiera’s Vision

Tonight, well today, I wanted to expand a bit on Ramiera’s Vision. I find it helpful when running an adventure as a DM/GM that I understand the motivation behind the aggressors in the story. This helps me work out how they react to changes in ‘the planned encounter’ if something social, out of the box or a player decision that would challenge the opponents stock-standard plan.

So sit back, grab a coffee and relax while I expand this weeks encounter!

Ramiera’s Vision

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Ramiera’s Vision – created in WordPress!?

Ramiera smiled politely as another noble from the Areliaย kingdom practically drooled over her. She smiled and feigned being shy while not directly pushing them away. ‘You flatter me sir, but I am surely not worth the affection that you, nor the prince has shown me. But I hope to be able to serve the kingdom of Areliaย in any way I can.’ she said with a faint breathy voice.

She had nearly perfected this and as she turned her head to pretend to look to the prince she caught the eye of on her men. As he closed the door she knew that the time had come and those meddling adventurers would soon be handled. She smiled as she stood up and walked to stand before the prince.

‘Your majesties, I wish to honour you with a dance from my kingdom. While I may not be the best dancer I hope to honour my kingdom and present you with the dance of the Naga’ she bent low and the musicians, who she had organised earlier, started to play. Dancing in a hynotic pattern that mimic the vipers of her country she smoothly slid across the ballroom to the claps and cheers of the onlookers. She smiled as her plan unfolded. Soon she would be princess of Areliaย and with her new power, and by controlling the future king, she would ensure that her home kingdom of Del’tursh would grow more powerful with the support and wealth of Arelia.

She watched the prince as he dressed more finely and had twisted away from his parents ideals of sustaining the kingdoms lower caste with the riches of the royal vault. Soon he would be convinced to tax the merchants and with some time, hopefully not too long, he would stop spending the kingdoms wealth on those beneath his stature. That is, not on his kingdoms people. The wealth of this kingdom would be spent on her beloved Del’tursh and then they would be powerless when invaded by the predators closing in on the dying kingdom.


Thanks for joining me tonight to expand this weeks adventure a bit further. Don’t forget to come back again tomorrow for the end of week zine and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe