Homebrew

The Streets of Felkirk’s Environments

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Tonight I give a sneak peak of what I am working on as part of this three week adventure where tonight we look at the streets of Felkirk’s environments. Now if that’s confusing don’t fear as I will go through it momentarily as I cover some of the GMing mechanics for Daggerheart.

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

The Streets of Felkirk’s Environments

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Creating Environments – Created in WordPress.

The streets of Felkirk’s Environments can be varied depending on the time of the day. For my adventure that takes place over three larger scenes I wanted the setting to be a dark, tense and anxiety charged atmosphere to help fuel the feeling of an invasion going on. But before I get too far into that let’s take a step back.

In Daggerheart its not just Adversaries; the critters, creatures, monsters and hostile humanoids, that the Game Master, GM, can use to create tense atmospheric moments for the PCs its also the Environments that can change, evolve or manipulate the flow of the adventure. For the sake of this quick post tonight let’s treat an Environment as an Adversary as they have a tier, a type, something akin to Motives & Tactics in the form of Impulses as well as a Difficulty and Features.

Like Adversaries some Environments will have passives which alter the area in which the party are in. Examples might be Oppressive Heat where parties who travel through their Traversal environment mark an additional stress on all failed rolls due to the oppressive heat. Or like in my examples it gives a set of actions that he party may be able to take, or impede certain actions that the party may want to take.

The other type of feature that the Environment shares with Adversaries is actions (many do actually) which is an action. Whether this is a spout of burning hot lava erupting from the ground at the Fire-marsh where the Oppressive heat sometimes erupts form the ground causing PCs to make an Agility reaction roll or suffer burns from the boiling water and steam. Or where the GM can activate the Environments natural residence to make an appearance – summoning fire toads to leap from the boiling water to attack with blistering tongues – triggering an encounter. This may or may not cost a Fear, the GMs resource that they get from around 40% of dice rolls, but if it does then it may be a more powerful creature, or set of creatures, that are being summoned.

So treating Environments like Adversaries also comes down to how they look. Environments also have stat blocks and that is precisely what I wanted to show off tonight! So have a look below at some of the Environments for the scene of Felkirk’s Foot Traffic.

The above Environment Stat blocks were created by me. Rules were adapted and inspired by adversaries and environments from the Daggerheart System Reference Document 1.0 and any likeness is the copyright of DRP, Darrington Press, who are the creators of the material (Environment Stat Blocks). This content was modified/created is licensed under the DRP Community Gaming License which can be found here: Darrington Press CGL.

Now while these Environments aren’t going to be game changing they add a bit of depth and structure onto what the adventure will do. If you read The Night of Silent Feet the scene plays out pretty closely. The Party are at the Lost Anchor Inn and they can perform some actions there while a timer ticks down – 1 action per player with the Countdown being the number of players. Once the countdown reaches 0 then the door opens and a guard falls in. The party leave the Inn to immediately get ambushed – the Ambush Encounter event. This is a small easy encounter to ease people in and once its over then they run through the streets.

This may trigger another encounter but it will get the party used to the mechanics of rolling dice to try and get a few successes before failure – and it shows consequence. Afterwards we move onto other smaller scenes (Social encounter at the Makeshift Barracks for scene two. Followed by another Felkirk Streets that moves to Market Street and then Forward Base.) By treating the travel like an adversary then it becomes less prone to becoming dull and the least favourite part of the journey. Many DMs / GMs have covered this type of travel before so I won’t go into it – but I do recommend that you look into it!

Thanks for joining me tonight for a little introduction into Environments for the Daggerheart RPG system. Don’t forget to come back tomorrow for the start of a new week and new adventure and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Felkirk’s Fallen

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Now for the next Zine of the year I present, in single page zine format, Felkirk’s Fallen. I still believe that these provide DMs a lot more freedom to tinker with it how they want and open up the adventures to be more free formed and flowing than the larger booklet zines.

There is references to the blog nights which are D&D centric but it can easily use the adversary stat-blocks highlighted in Friday nights post if you’re running Daggerheart. 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 many of my D&D creatures.

So I hope you enjoy this weeks adventure, Felkirk’s Fallen, and that all your rolls are made with advantage.

Felkirk’s Fallen

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Felkirk’s Fallen – created in copilot.

The wooden planks of the dock groaned beneath the party’s steps as smoke drifted from the burning galley behind them. In the eerie stillness, Bunker and Cinella emerged, their expressions caught between disbelief and admiration. Where once chaos ruled, silence reigned. Cinella’s voice trembled with both awe and relief as she praised the party’s staggering success. They had expected only to hold the enemy at bay, waiting for royal reinforcements that never arrived. Instead, it was the party who turned the tide. Bunker, always brimming with rough-hewn pride, reminded them of the warehouse lift, the very path that got them here in time.

The moment did not last. A soldier staggered onto the dock, breathless and dirt-smeared, bearing ill news. One of their own had returned from a mission to seek aid at the castle, only to collapse in death, muttering fragments about the dead and Merchants Way. Cinella’s stance shifted; they could send some troops, but mercenaries still stalked the shadows, and no one knew what lay ahead. She issued swift commands to rest and regroup. Her eyes then met the party’s, heavy with unspoken hope. Perhaps, once again, they would be asked to do what no others could

Merchants Way greeted the party with dread. Blood stained the streets in great swathes, walls scarred with frantic claw marks and steel gouges, but not a body lay in sight. The signs of violence were fresh, yet the dead had been moved, dragged up toward the castle. Shattered carts and broken doorframes littered the path, but the party pressed on with Cinella, Bunker, and a handful of steadfast allies. When the dead did return, it was not with blind fury, but tactical malice. From the shadows, the undead swarmed with unnerving coordination, seeking to entrap rather than overwhelm.

Blades cleaved and spells burst as the party stood their ground, but with each strike a deeper horror unfolded. Among the dead were familiar faces; once citizens of Felkirk, and others who bore the long-decayed wounds of battles long past. These were no accidental corpses. They had been gathered and raised for war, prepared well before this night. A raven called from above and wheeled away toward the castle. Somewhere close, a necromancer guided the assault with chilling foresight. Wounds were bound in haste. The party moved, still bleeding, toward the storm that awaited them.

Their pace quickened as they neared the castle. Undead corpses now littered the stones like refuse, signs that someone; perhaps those within, had been fighting fiercely. Fire arrows rained over the walls, igniting swathes of the dead. Standing apart from the carnage was a robed mage, casting destructive spells heedless of which bodies they struck. Tattered like old feathers, the figure remained obscured behind waves of undead. But then, a new threat revealed itself. Rotting ravens, perched high and silent, watched from the rooftops. Their glassy eyes turned toward the party. Moments later, fresh zombies stirred below, forming a living barrier between the party and the mage. Just as all seemed lost, fire tore through the ranks. The mage’s attention faltered. In the chaos, gaps formed, narrow, fleeting, and dangerous. A chance to reach the mage was laid bare, but it would not last long.

PDF adventure – Felkirk’s Fallen

Felkirk’s FallenDownload

Thanks for joining me today for another adventure. Please feel free to leave comments if you like what you see when you grab a copy of the PDF. Next time you get a party together consider running this adventure and I hope that you enjoy it. Don’t forget to come back daily so you don’t miss a thing in the coming weeks adventures. And as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Battle for Merchants Way

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The Battle for Merchants way is a bloody one, one filled with old and new dead rising to join the party on the battlefield. However what is an undead army without a leader and boy do we have an iconic one tonight.

So get your spells ready, prepare your prayers as we face the undead en masse in tonight’s encounter!

Battle for Merchants Way

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For D&D Systems

D&D Statblocks for Swarm of lesser zombies, swarm of zombies and Arch Necromancer – created in Tetra-cube.

The undead swarms can be joined with regular zombies to flesh out the battlefield but I think the swarms do a really good job at highlighting just how many zombies there really is on the battlefield. The Arch Necromancer can bring back a few zombies at at time or a swarm to really highlight the power that these dark mages bring to the battlefield.

For Daggerheart Systems

The above Adversary Stat blocks were sourced from the Daggerheart System Reference Document 1.0 and are the copyright of DRP, Darrington Press, who are the creators of the material (Adversary Stat Blocks). This content was not modified is licensed under the DRP Community Gaming License which can be found here: Darrington Press CGL.

Based on the balancing section of the Daggerheart books we can have four of the Zombie Packs, three Zombie Legions and one Arch-Necromancer calling the shots and really driving the combat forward. This is set up for a series of T4 party members but if its lower tiers then it can be adjusted to make it work by reducing the thresholds and difficulty on the zombie legion and arch-necromancer as well as adjusting the damage and attack bonuses to lower levels.

Thanks for visiting tonight for another set of updates for this weeks adventure featuring some additional Daggerheart content. Don’t forget to come back over the weekend for more updates and lastly, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Merchants Way

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This week the fighting takes place on Merchants way where several buildings lie in ruins, rubble is piled up and fires are spreading. But that’s the real problem as undead flood the streets – but that’s a problem for tomorrow night.

So grab a coffee, maybe a torch as we shamble into tonight’s adventure map!

Merchants Way

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Felkirk Merchants Way – Gridded – Created in Inkarnate.

The flickering firelight that had sprung up where the fire laden arrows had missed their undead-marks and landed amongst the wooden debris of the building around the street illuminated the desperate scene that lay before them. Broken buildings, rubble and the evidence at what once was a bustling area for commerce and mercantile now lay in ruins.

Undead patrolled the street and the damage that was being done by the undead to the area around them was met and sometimes exceeded by the damage done by those defending the walls just up the street. The party had stumbled into a battleground where they were caught staring destruction straight into its eyes.

Multiple layers to get the desired effect this week. A layer of dirt with a 70~% opacity for cobblestone was then muted by a soot-like layer and then darker dirt to represent the foot traffic, or undead traffic, that moved through the streets. Multiple layered art assets built up texture around the building to create depth. A night filter cause, its my favourite, and the use of fire assets and light to create visual pinpoints of light and maybe some strategic spots for the players.

Felkirk Merchants Way – created in Inkarnate.

Thanks for joining for another map night this week. Don’t forget that we have a few more nights left this week so make sure to come back each day to see what I add to this adventure. And lastly, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Body Broker

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Welcome to another night at my tabletop where tonight we are meeting the body broker that is currently causing a little bit of chaos down Merchants Way.

So grab a coffee to stay awake was we meet our sorcerous foe in tonight’s adventure!

Body Broker

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Body Broker – Created in Copilot.

Clack, clack, clack was the sound of the boots of the party and their group as they rushed up Merchants way towards where the sounds of combat could be heard. The ground still remained sticky and grimy with blood and the evidence of the brutal slaughter that took place along this street. But the closer that the party drew towards the castle the less devastation there was and the more fallen undead bodies there were.

Broken, dismembered and shattered were some of the ways that the bodies that lay strewn across the rough stone of the street. Up ahead the party could see the volleys of fire arrows that dashed into the heaving mass of undead bodies that pushed at the gates and walls that surrounded the castle and the houses that surrounded it.

But standing further back and weaving spells that were hurled towards the defenders at the wall or outside it regardless of the damage it did to their own troops was a mage. Long dark robes that looked tattered like feathers broke up their form against the wall of undead that consistently moved in front of the magic user as volleys of arrows pelted down upon the dead. For not it looked like the mage had not seen them until the scratching of claws on claw drew the parties attention to the roof near by.

Ravens, dozens of them with various degrees of damage, broken bones or wounds watched them from the streets edge. Undead by the looks of them and by how quickly they were wilting it appeared as if they had been scouting for their mage master for quite some time. So a stealth approach was ruined and even now as they looked between the birds and the mage a gathering of zombies had started to form to create a wall of bodies between them and the mage.

However, as they watched several fireballs littered the ranked undead troops causing large gaps to form amongst their numbers. As the mage tried to reorganise his undead troops before him at the wall the zombies who were massing to form a secondary wall in front of the party started to shamble about creating gaps in their unending masses.

It appeared as if they would have an opportunity to make it to the mage if they timed it well enough.

Thanks for dropping by for another night at my tabletop. Don’t forget as we passed the midway point we have maps and monsters, well creature stat blocks left for this week. So make sure you don’t forget to come back the last few remaining days this week to stay up to date with what’s happening at my tabletop. And lastly, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Ghoul Patrol

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Tonight we have Cinella and Bunker, although reluctantly, join the party on something that would come to be known as the Ghoul Patrol. As undead are found filling Merchants Way the party and their allies race against time to push through the undead in an attempt to save the king.

So grab a coffee as we get ready to re-fill some graves in tonight’s adventure!

Ghoul Patrol

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Cinella and Bunker – Created in Copilot from WordPress generated images.

Each step they took closer to the long road named Merchants Way was filled with dread as the signs of carnage and bloody combat were everywhere. But blood didn’t disturb the party as much as the lack of bodies. Not a single fallen soldier, guard, mercenary or citizen could be found and despite the large amount of blood spilt everywhere the evidence that the bodies were moved was clear as day.

Drag marks, trails of blood and further carnage travelled up Merchants Way towards the castle where cries of alarm and screams of terror could be heard. Being careful to avoid the debris from broken carts, doors and the occasional wall the party pushed on. Soon enough they found where the bodies had been moved to.

The shambling horde of bodies came from the alleys showing unusual intelligence for the undead as they moved to cut off a retreat from the party, Cinella and Bunker who were joined by a few good soldiers. As the undead rushed in the party braced and cut, battered and blasted them down to a true death. However, as the party fought to keep the cracked fingernails, and rotting teeth from sinking into them a strange realisation came over them.

Half of the undead were the populace of this city but the other half were weakened, older corpses that looked like they had already sustained some heavy wounds previously. These had been dead for much much longer than the others and the markings and aging wounds on their body told the party everything they needed to know. They had been prepared for this attack on Felkirk, these were the shock troops that the invading force had planned all along, an army of zombies.

The freshly risen dead told them that there was a powerful mage with them, a necromancer of considerable power and even as the last of the zombies fell as the magic that animated their broken bodies winked out of existence a raven cawed loudly above them before turning to fly off up Merchants way.

It appears as though their company was expected and it was more than just soldiers and street thugs that had been sent to Felkirk to take the city. Taking a moment to staunch their own and their allies wounds they hurried off up the street towards the castle.

Thanks for visiting tonight for another update for this weeks adventure. Don’t forget to come back the last few nights this week to make sure that you don’t miss anything that happens with this adventure. And, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Felkirk’s Boat Problem

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Now for the next Zine of the year I present, in single page zine format, Felkirk’s Boat Problem. I still believe that these provide DMs a lot more freedom to tinker with it how they want and open up the adventures to be more free formed and flowing than the larger booklet zines.

There is references to the blog nights which are D&D centric but it can easily use the adversary stat-blocks highlighted in Friday nights post if you’re running Daggerheart. 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 many of my D&D creatures.

So I hope you enjoy this weeks adventure, Felkirk’s Boat Problem, and that all your rolls are made with advantage.

Felkirk’s Boat Problem

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Felkirk’s Boat Problems – Created in WordPress.

The brief quiet that had settled over Felkirk’s merchant quarter vanished with the rising smoke from the docks. Where once the sounds of waves and creaking wood dominated, now came the crash of fire and the screams of the dying. Rumours spread quickly that a demon-crewed ship had arrived, tearing through vessels moored at the harbor and unleashing untold horror on the workers below. As flames rose into the night, it became clear this was not a passing nightmare but the next phase of a larger invasion.

Upon reaching the docks, the truth surfaced. These were no fiends from another plane, but highly trained warriors clad in terrifying armour. They struck with purpose, gathering what they could from the burning city and loading it onto a massive galley anchored in the bay. The dock front had become a war zone. Patrols swept the area and cut down anyone who lingered. The invaders were not just attacking, they were taking control.

Retreating to reassess their path, the party was drawn upward by a flicker of movement and a whispered voice. There, crouched in the shadows of a rooftop, was a broad-shouldered rigger named Bunker. Resourceful and determined, he had transformed his knowledge of the dock machinery and rooftop passages into a network of resistance. Inside his hideout, surrounded by scavenged gear and crates, he laid bare the scale of the occupation and offered a vantage point to plan from.

From above, the group watched the flow of bodies and cargo between the galley and the docks. Rowboats moved like clockwork, ferrying supplies and captives under the watchful eye of deck commanders. The galley’s ballistae loomed ominously, tracking every boat with machine-like vigilance. As the hours passed, the soldiers extended their grip deeper into the city. When a nearby ship exploded in a burst of fire and screams, the party knew the time for observation was over. The heart of the enemy lay floating in the bay, and it had to be dealt with.

Down below, the docks burned and bled. Shadows danced across the waves as soldiers hauled their spoils along the last intact pier. The stolen goods were hidden under covered boats, their purpose uncertain but undoubtedly foul. Felkirk would not survive the night if that galley remained untouched. The only question now was whether the party could strike before their rooftop refuge became the next casualty of war.

PDF adventure – Felkirk’s Boat Problem

Felkirk’s Boat ProblemDownload

Thanks for joining me today for another adventure. Please feel free to leave comments if you like what you see when you grab a copy of the PDF. Next time you get a party together consider running this adventure and I hope that you enjoy it. Don’t forget to come back daily so you don’t miss a thing in the coming weeks adventures. And as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Ever Watchful Eye

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Tonight I wanted to expand the current adventure and take it one step forward with the ever watchful eye of a mage keeping an eye on things.

So catch your breath, keep an ear out for danger and and eye on the skies as not all is over yet.

Ever Watchful Eye

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Ever Watchful Eye – Created in WordPress.

As the crackling flames spread across the deck of the ship from the braziers that spilled during the fight. The party moved to the boat that was attached to the ship and climbed down into the relative safety of the small rowboat. As they cast off the flames flickering on the waters surface and the bubbling and hissing of falling alight debris seemed calm and soothing compared to the intensity of the battle that saw the damage to the galley – causing its demise.

But as they moved across the water their eyes were drawn to a dark shape that stood on the top of the large masts. A bird, possibly a large raven, watches them as they push off from the galley. As the flames get higher on the galley itself the bird does not move, not even as the flames start to lick at its feet and feathers before it takes off and flies overhead above the party and off towards the district where many merchants call their home.

As the bird flew off the party lost sight of it crossing over the warehouses where the trail of smoke from its cindered feathers blended with smoke from the burning ships and buildings. Beyond the smoke the party did not see the pale flesh underneath the patchy features, nor the broken beak, rotting claws or the open wound on the raven. The bird circled downwards towards a large figure amongst a gathered crowd. The tangy smell of open wounds, and the rank pungency of the freshly made dead rose here.

The gathered undead swarmed around a man in long grey robes in a breastplate. Holding out his hand the raven landed upon it and after moment the unholy life from the bird was whisked away causing the unanimated corpse to fall to the floor – the magic no long sustaining it.

‘It seems like we need to pick up the pace.’ the man mused as he urged the freshly risen dead to push forward.

Thanks for joining me tonight for a bit of the setup for the next weeks adventure as we move onto the last part of this three part adventure. So don’t forget to come back tomorrow for the Zine and lastly, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Ballistae, Warriors and Bullies

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Tonight we have the Ballistae, warriors and bullies revealed for this weeks adventure as we spice things up a bit with the next tier of adventure.

So get ready to dodge ballista bolts, parry swords and watch your back with tonight’s encounter!

Ballistae, Warriors and Bullies

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For D&D Systems

D&D Statblocks for Red Oni Mercenary, Blue Oni Mercenary and Ballista Operator – created in Tetra-cube.

The soldiers that dressed heavily in red were swift and aggressive as they threw themselves at the party with hungry eyes. Their blades were quick and left the party reeling easily as their blades hammered hard against armour and flesh alike. But the noise that brought the greatest amounts of fear was the creaking and the sudden twang that resonated across the turbulent air.

Several large ballistae were mounted on the ship and as they turned their massive arms towards the party it was only a matter of time until they loosed their deadly cargo. But the warrior dressed in blue commanded the troops, sending them rushing in, commanding the ballista to swivel and pivot and with a well trained eye even helped pick out the perfect time for a volley to be let loose at the party. However there were several soldiers dressed in red between the party and the warrior in blue.

For Daggerheart Systems

The above Adversary Stat blocks were created by me in Canva. Rules were adapted and inspired by adversaries from the Daggerheart System Reference Document 1.0 and are the copyright of DRP, Darrington Press, who are the creators of the material (Adversary Stat Blocks). This content was modified/created is licensed under the DRP Community Gaming License which can be found here: Darrington Press CGL.

Trying something new tonight as I have spent a fair bit of time the last few days watching and reading up on the Daggerheart system. The horned soldiers fill out a bit of the roster tonight and learning how to balance a daggerheart encounter isn’t as had as I thought it would be. Several Red horned soldiers, a single blue one and at least four ballistae operators makes for a challenging but rewarding encounter.

Thanks for visiting tonight for another set of updates for this weeks adventure featuring some additional Daggerheart content. Don’t forget to come back over the weekend for more updates and lastly, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Felkirk Docks

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The Felkirk Docks are the scene of the bloodiest battle so far. As the Streets have been cleared the waves of men and women attacking people on the street have dwindled – but all is not clear yet as the docks are still taken over.

So grab a coffee, sink down into your comfortable chairs as we row off into tonight’s adventure map!

Felkirk Docks

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Felkirk Docks – Gridded – Created in Inkarnate.

The steady waves that rolled in from the bay against the shore betrayed the chaos and bloodbath that had taken place here over the last few hours. As the flames from the burning ships spread to the docks the light flickered across the water and the armour that the soldiers wore as they moved about the docks and aboard the ship.

A single working pier stood while soldiers moved on and off it as they transported what they had looted from buildings or taken from the bodies of those that now burned in piles. However the boats they had commandeered to run the ill-sourced goods had closed off roofs that hid much of the cargo from view.

A relatively easy one tonight with only a few textures used with a few art assets. By controlling light and the placement of items around the battlefield to provide either cover, depth of the narrative or as inspiration for what the party could do to accomplish their objective.

Felkirk Docks – created in Inkarnate.

Thanks for joining for another map night this week. Don’t forget that we have a few more nights left this week so make sure to come back each day to see what I add to this adventure. And lastly, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe