A map giving Thursday is here and tonight we are surveying the battlefield. With tonight bringing some inspiration in Inkarnate I decided to also finish up a map from last week (Road to the Wall) and include it here. So enjoy!
That’s it for tonight. Don’t forget to come back tomorrow for a bonus twist night and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe
Wednesday is here and with it comes a small change or potential plot twist for this weeks adventure. Whilst on watch many things can happen at the edge of torchlight and in this case. With this adventure. We have the revelation of life in the unliveable zone between the human defenders and the creatures of the Shadow.
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As the party stood atop the wall they thought of the day that they had witnessed. Twice more the shadow creature had struck but by luck, skill or divine grace they had not been inflicted with the affliction. The woman in the infirmary howled with rage and even while heavily sedated it only eased the peaks of her fury.
They also had to witness the dead rise from their broken and battered forms and assault the wall, beaten back and slain by either the warriors on the wall or those afflicted driven mad by rage who hunted the no-mans land between the wall and the rocky mountains where the attacks came from. Even while the party watched from the wall and aided in driving back the dead or the twisted spirit-folk there was little joy in the tasks they did.
It was at this point, at the edge of torchlight that the party saw movement. To precise and too careful for undead or afflicted. Too subtle and tactical to be spirit-folk or beast. As the party watched the shadow approached the edge of the light cast by the braziers and torches that lined the wall and it quickly darted forward and grabbed a pack from a fallen oni warrior. The distinct human colour skin flashed from under layers of tattered and ripped cloth as a sudden gust of wind caused the light cast by the fire to flash across the face of the creature and a human Ryokughan female looked up at the party startled.
The figure pressed a finger to her lips before skulking off towards a crest in the battlefield, as the moon strained to peak through the oppressive clouds the flag, the standard of the wall guard flapped calling the mysterious figure to it.
This weeks looking to be an exciting one with a few fronts to take charge on. As we reach the mid-way mark of the month we look to how we can create tension, intrigue and excitement for the party. Mysterious creatures, unidentified illness and a figure out in no-mans land all help push the party to where we want them to go. So don’t forget to come back the rest of this week to look at where we take this adventure as I have another part for later this week. Oh and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe
Welcome to Tuesday night NPC special where we look at the wall guard. It’s been a few weeks(?) some time any way since I played around with artbreeder and there is an influx of new pictures to modify. So be sure to check it out! Tonight we look at Wall Captain Hou, an image of his daughter (for reasons yet to be disclosed..) and the wall guard that spoke to the party lastly before they descended. I may create a few more of them for later on but that wont be for tonight. So sit back, enjoy and feel free to use these portraits in your own campaign!
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The more I look at the portraits created in artbreeder the more I forget that I used to never use this tool. Being able to describe someone and have a face to put to the name and description to show to a party member is awesome.
However… Captain Hou definitely looks like Arnold Schwarzenegger…
Thanks for joining me tonight for a few portraits. Don’t forget that tomorrow night is plot twist night where I hope to shock the RPG world with a revelation!! But its probably already obvious to my awesome readers so it wont be any surprise. Regardless don’t forget to come back for it and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe
Welcome to another Monday-plot night where this week sees the party arrive at the all and, well, it’s not looking good. Atop the wall they find themselves looking out across a warzone there the injured lay dying from both sides. Whilst the party investigate what’s happening they are attacked by a mysterious creature that vanishes as quickly as it appears. Can the party provide a glimmer of hope and act as a beacon from atop the wall to rally the bastions of humanity under one banner? Well this week we find out.
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As the party arrived at the wall the first thing that they noticed was the sheer lack of people. For such a crucial point in the defence of Ryokughan it was shockingly unmanned. A head appeared at the edge of the wall twenty feet above the ground before calling out. “Princess Kyoko is here! Reinforcements have arrived!” the voice was overcome with emotion before several others echoed with joyous cries of relief.
“Kyoko. I don’t think our message hawk arrived here safely. They believe we have more reinforcements for the wall” Takeo spoke in a hushed whisper to Kyoko and the party. “How did you want to handle this?” he added looking from Kyoko to the party who were in fact the reinforcements.
After a few moments a platform was lowered over the side and the party, the princess and the spy were lifted atop the wall. Despite the low numbers of people on the wall they all were veterans. Heavily armed, armoured and trained they carried themselves with a martial poise that was lacking in many. As they rushed towards Kyoko they greeted Takeo and the party, the exhaustion on their faces replaced by joy and relief.
“Before we continue the pleasantries I believe I need to have a word with you lady Kyoko” a particularly grizzled and hard man said from a nearby door to a small tower. “There is something that is of great urg…” he began as he held up a fist and listened to the quiet that his signal instilled. “It comes!” the wall captain roared as every single soldier drew their weapons and surrounded the party and princess.
In a moment of chaos clouds of shadow-smoke appeared around the wall in sporadic bursts. Soon the sound of steel clashing, grunts and combat rang out around the party as the unknown adversary launched itself at the walls defenders. After a few moments the creature disappeared and the shadow-smoke dissipated soon after.
“To your posts. Prepare for combat!” roared the captain who eyed his men and women closely, inspecting for wounds. Finding one he pulled them aside “to the infirmary,” he said with a sigh as the realisation set into the face of the woman in front of him. “you’ve been stung. You won’t be seeing battle again until you’ve recovered” he added as he clasped the soldiers shoulder.
“yes sir!” the soldier barked obediently as with a great deal of sadness she handed over her weapons in resignation to the captain before retreating down a nearby set of stairs. As she disappeared into the bowels of carved and fortified stone.
“We are hounded by a creature that does not kill, it barely wounds but what it touches quickly dies. Normally at the hands of the victims allies.” the captain said as he grabbed a helmet and moved to the wall. “Those unfortunately enough to get injured by it recover after some time. Normally after heavy sedation. Some don’t and they choose to live on the outside of the wall so that in their condition they can still benefit their brothers and sisters.”
“What do you mean wall captain Hou?” Kyoko asked as she moved over to the wall before clasping a hand to her mouth.
“They go mad. Their blood boils and they cant detect friend from foe. They will kill anything in sight. Lethally trained warriors who can’t tell friend from foe and who have a lust for blood that a demon would envy. I haven’t seen it before. Our healers can only sedate and hope that their spirit is strong enough to fight the affliction. If they can’t resist then they spend their final days ripping into our enemies and serving us in their death.” the captain said with great reverence as he saluted a human who stopped pacing by the base of the wall, bloody froth covering its mouth.
After a moment the human, one a warrior that defended the wall turned and charged away from the wall, picking up a crude looking sword as it charged headlong into a mass of charging Spirit folk. The brutality in which the warrior cleaved into the fey creatures was outstanding and hard to watch. But that wasn’t only sight on the other side of the wall. Dozens of injured and dying lay strewn about the battlefield on both sides. Humans, those afflicted as well as the minions of The Shadow, all of them calling for help or crying out in pain or fear.
“We have tried to recover our wounded or dead and we started to lose more men than we saved…” a wall guard said from next to the party. Nodding towards the captain who pulled on a helmet and drew a magnificent longbow as he climbed a nearby watch tower. “He lost his daughter. She was a fine warrior and led the last recovery mission. She was cut down by a Oni.” The guardsman nodded towards a banner that stood high amongst the bodies, rocks and toppled trees. “She lies somewhere over there. Some men swear they have seen her moving about the battlefield but I think they are just seeing things.” he sighed. After a moment he ran off down the wall to continue to guard as creatures started to reach the wall.
A few things for this week. A creature that attacks by teleporting which aims to spread an affliction – a blood rage if you will. Those afflicted by the blood-rage affliction who cant shake it being amongst the dead and rubble of the battlefield fighting non stop for their last few days. And lastly, a missing daughter to the captain. All of which can help drive action from the party. But what will they do? Maybe Wednesdays post will help us tease that out.
Thanks for joining me tonight. This week looks to be a big one with a few different roads to follow but its all leading up to what’s approaching at the end of this month. So don’t forget to come back each day this week to find out what’s in store for the party and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe
Welcome to a Friday #fight-night where tonight we are looking at some of the stat blocks that we can use for this weeks encounter. Now the trouble with beacons is simple, they literally signal to anyone who is looking for it (or not) that something is there. Now these magic items, the Dragons Tears, all have very strong beacon like abilities and especially since the minions of The Shadow are looking for them too. This week we have two planned encounters and another stat block that could be bit of fun.
As always the stat blocks are created in Tetra-cube (can’t leave the game table without it) but the rest is up to me (or from DND core books).
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Now the giant vulture in this instance of it looks like its not that strong but having a few ambush the party could be an interesting way to start us off. It will hint to the party that they are being watched or at least searched for.
The mastiff is part of the night time encounter, a few of these could be quite the challenge for the party. In fact this is especially so if they attack a party member who is isolated and drag them off into the darkness to be… well… eaten.
The Quasit is a funny one. I use these critters are comic relief normally but they can be quite dangerous in groups. The shape change will play havoc with the party (especially with the Paladins divine sense only picking up a fiend nearby where there is clearly a toad, centipede or a roosting bat. Could be a way to harass the party without causing them any real danger by having a few of these creatures playing tricks on the party.
Thanks it for tonight. Don’t forget to come back this weekend for the end of week writeup, and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe
Welcome to a bonus Thursday where tonight I have a map for us to use for this weeks encounter, well one of them. This is the map for yesterdays Dark footsteps encounter as the party continue their journey along the Road To The Wall. But it can be used in a few different encounters by making some small adjustments which Inkarnate makes easy for us to do.
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Nice simple update tonight as I look at the map for one of the encounters for this weeks adventure.
As always created in Inkarnate and relative straight forward with passing through a bit of a forested area.
Thanks for looking at tonight’s map but don’t forget that tomorrow is fight night were we look at the beasties which we are encountering. Also don’t forget as the weeks draw to a close we come closer to the end of the yearly adventure and I am excited for what comes next so don’t forget to stay tuned. And lastly, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe
Welcome to another Twisted Wednesday here with me. Tonight we are looking at the party as dark footsteps follow them along the shadow-drenched roads as they make their way further towards the wall. As they move closer to the wall the days seem shorter as the sun is constantly hidden behind thick clouds that cast the entire western lands in shadow.
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The Dragons Tears items were phenomenal. With a single command word they shed bright light as if a miniature sun had been captured and forged into a item. The sun is something that the party had not seen in days and the further they travelled in this direction the more certain they were that they wouldn’t see the sun for quite some time.
“It wasn’t always like this” Kyoko said from beside them as she walked, the unseasonal browning leaves crunching underfoot. “These parts of the Harimasu lands were always green and rich with life. Now with the Shadow spreading its influence further east it looks like the life is being stripped from the earth.” Kyoko’s voice was melancholy but the bright light from the items the party carries seemed to bring mirth back to her face.
“Legend has it that the weapons were so powerful that the Shadow couldn’t stand to be in their presence. Alone it fled to the mountains to get far enough away from them that it wouldn’t feel their light upon its dark skin.”
The party looked at the items in thought. Surely they were stories told to make the people of these lands feel brave enough to face the horrors that crept in the dark. As a shower of sparks signalled that Takeo had finished building the fire as what they believed to be night descended upon them. Once he had finished with the fire he produced a pot and some rations and foodstuffs to get a meal going.
As the fire flickered and licked at the empty pot the shadows cast from the creatures that gathered around it for warmth. The smell of stewed meat and vegetables caused the creatures to salivate but that wasn’t reason that they were here. The driving pressure, the urge and the desire to appease their master had lead them here and here they waited until they were sure. Their master was a strong one, clever, fast and wise. But his master was even more so and it was he who was giving the orders.
“Wait until we are sure they carry the light. Then we attack and make sure none find the light ever again” their master had instructed them. The largest creature crooned as she received scritches under its massive jaw.
A brief flash of light, then a pulse. A bigger burst of light that seared the eyes of the nocturnal creatures gave them all the information they needed. As a group they charged, whooping, cheering and howling with excitement as they closed into their prey. They just hoped that they would last long enough to be fun for the pack.
I know, another night ambush. When you have dealt with parties that are strong and capable as long as me then there isn’t much that dissuades them. Not to mention they all have darkvision now.
These creatures are more-or-less wargs but with a shadowy touch. Fast and brutal in a pack they should provide a bit of a challenge but not enough to be lethal. The idea behind this is to build up tension rather than to would or hamper the party. Tension can be just as much of a tool in our kit as any website, book or physical device.
Tension for us is really bringing the adventure to a close. It’s building some hype to the fight to come and the increase in number of encounters does just that.
Thanks for joining me tonight to get a bit more of a glimpse at the creatures that lurk in the dark. Tomorrow we will hopefully have an encounter map for this weeks two encounters, potentially more. So don’t forget to come back each day this week and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe
As we move closer to the end of the campaign I don’t foresee having many more NPCs of note joining us for every weeks encounters. So for tonight I wanted to release the Dragons Tears Items that I worked on a template for last week with some slight tweaks. So enjoy!
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Dragons Tears Items – Melee
Dragons Tears Item – Ranged Weapon
Dragons Tears Item – Wondrous Item (amulet)
Tweaking the bonus to hit and damage to be all the time was just to make the weapon feel more versatile outside of this specific campaign. Having the damage be activated rather than all the time and only when shedding light means that there is a decision to be made. Stealth or no stealth. The non-optional beacon effect of the light them a target for the minions of the shadow, undead, fiends or creatures in general and that could be enough of a deterrent to not use it all the time.
The ranged weapon didn’t get much tweaking. I know how strong guiding bolt is but granting permanent damage boost on a ranged weapon felt too strong. The three times a day (resetting on dawn) is thematic as well as should make the use of the ability something they save, or risk being caught without an ace up their sleeve.
The wondrous item wasn’t changed too much if at all as the provision of darkvision, the light effect AND the advantage on being charmed should be powerful enough.
Thanks for joining me once again when we look towards Ryokughan. Tonight we looked at some magic items that were gifted by the Harimasu family to defeat the Shadow. Well that’s the hope at least. Tomorrow we look at further advancements as the party travel towards the wall so it aims to be a good one. Don’t forget to come back each night this week to stay up to date on the content here and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe
Tonight I wanted to share with you the idea of permanency. Now I think I have addressed Permanency once before as an optional rule but I wanted to address living phantoms. Now what I mean by living phantoms isn’t a singular enemy that you can roll for and best in combat. Oh no, living phantoms are different. These are what the mind does to try and cope with what it has seen.
I would imagine that adventurers would have more than a few stories to tell after what we have thrown at them. But what if they didn’t want to relive those stories. What if their minds fought against those memories and in the effort to protect themselves made it worse?
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The pressure on his chest grew as slowly he began to flicker towards consciousness. As the adventurers eyes flickered open the immediate situation was revealed as they came face to face with a shadowy mass floating above their chest. A large skull with exaggerated canines and no eye sockets snarled down at the party member. Two impossibly thin arms crept forward to suddenly dart forward to grab and squeeze on either side of the adventures chest.
As the last of the air within the adventurers chest was forcibly pushed out the adventurer began to have panic set in. Crying out towards the other shapes in the room for help was met with deaf ears as slowly a dark shadowy mist crept from the creature. As the mist spread up the adventurers body the pressure on their limbs increased. With a satisfied snarl the creature released its grip from the adventurers chest as the mist took its place. Slowly the creature reached its spindly fingers up his torso as the mist began to apply pressure to the body.
As the skeletal fingers touched the face of the adventurer the jaw spread wide on the creature and with a sickening lurch it plunged towards the face of hero.
Sitting bolt upright and looking around the familiar room the adventurer was drenched in sweat. prying their own hands away from their throat they looked around the room. The creature they had seen but instead were greeted with nothing but silence. In fact the other party members who they had adventured with for quite some time now were still peacefully sleeping. There was indeed no trace of the nightmarish creature they had seen so vividly in their dreams.
Adding elements of horror and long lasting side effects to conflict are one of the tools in our belt. This shouldn’t be used for every encounter or situation but it can drive progression of plot and discovery.
Perhaps someone in their current town knows of what is going on. Maybe these Living Phantoms are not just in their mind but others have seen them before. Perhaps they have a common link or maybe not. What we can do though is weave something slightly different into the minds of the adventurers. Each person in the party will see something different at a different time or not see it at all.
I see these things very similarly to the Wizarding worlds Dementors in appearance but really – they are all figments of the mind trying to process something unpleasant. Something like a field that can make you see anything it wants with a thought. Throw in the fact that the party where you fought it in a lightless realm and saw their allies attack them and you have a good recipe here for some mental scarring.
This condition could be long term, short term or take any form you so choose but the feeling and effect should be the same. Powerlessness, imminent danger and the feeling of insecurity.
Thanks for visiting tonight. As with anything in this blog if there is something that you try out don’t forget to let me know. I am always keen at improving my craft and feedback is always appreciated. This weekend is a big one being the end of the month so don’t forget to come back for that and as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe
Tonight I wanted to work on a template for something I mentioned yesterday in Return of the Ice Queen – the Dragons Tears. These magical weapons crafted by masters of forging and blessed by both dragon and elf are designed for one thing. To fight against The Shadow and defeat the minions that it commands.
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The Dragon tears is really a template for weapons, sorry spell casters, but the same (or similar effect) should be applied to what ever weapon you have in mind
The below are a suggestion, well the current thoughts I have on these traits for the template but I would need to look at how balanced they would be.
As I have mentioned before in previous posts the more magical items you introduce into a D&D campaign. This is more true in 5e as the game can function with zero magic items. It’s just perhaps less enjoyable even when it becomes harder to make it balanced. This is more detrimental to the player rather than the DM and we want to avoid unpleasant situations.
Note: I plan to create a nice looking template using the homebrewery once I have sorted out the balanced components of this template.
Thanks for joining me tonight. Don’t forget to drop by the next few nights as I tighten up a few last bits for this month. Also I hope to have a few examples of Dragons Tears weapons and items this weekend for the final post of the month so make sure to come back for that. Don’t forget to let me know if you like this content or if there is anything that you particularly enjoyed, and as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe
Brazen Wolfe Tabletop 