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 the 7th last (I believe) end of week writeup!. This week we followed the party along the road to the wall as they were attacked by creatures after the dragons tears items. Despite the ferocity and unrelenting creatures they came out on top and perhaps learned a thing or two about the items they carry.
As always portraits are created in Artbreeder and the normal wonderful tools like Kobold-fight-Club, Inkarnate and D&D Beyond are used frequently.
Black feathers caught the wind currents under the dark ominous clouds and caused the large winged creature to soar above the ground far below. Beating its wings it looked down below at the group travelling along the road. It’s keen eyes picked out everything. From the colours of their clothes to the wear and tear on their cloaks not a detail was missed. That was until the hilt of a blade, the tip of a staff and the glimmer of an amulet glimmered from under cloth.
The resulting burst of radiance in the creatures view caused it to reel with pain. It wasn’t just its pain it was feeling but also its masters and its desires were simple. Don’t let them reach the wall.
Tucking its wings in the creature dove down the wind now aiding in its rapid descent as it plunged. Noticing movement from its left and right two of its brethren also had been urged downwards. However, their descent was halted as a bolt of radiance shot up from the travellers, connecting with the torso of the creature next to it. The tangled mess of skin, flailing limbs and gore tumbled down towards the earth as the creatures dove onwards.
Too late did the creature realise as the blades, limbs and bolts piece and shred their flesh that these motes of radiance were too much for them. Even as they began to flee shredded wings flapping in a panic they were cut down no far from where they made their foolish attack.
As the radiant light burnt through its flesh and it lay in a pool of blood and gore the power the Shadow had leant it all those years ago evaporated with the last beat of its heart.
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.
Kyoko Harimasu
Kyoko has come with the party to aid them in drawing the Ice queen out and coordinating the troops on the wall as the others head to the south to meet the Toshio-family head on and prevent the wall from being attacked on two fronts.
Dragons Tears Items – 240TuDrTeIt
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.
The party move on for another day of walking before the wall is seen on the horizon. Although they have bested all that has been thrown at them so far they fear the worst still lies ahead of them.
Thanks for joining me once again. As we draw closer to the end of our long trek along the Road to the wall we find our parties on the precipice of danger at every turn. Next week we find ourselves at the wall and perhaps its not as dire as it seems, perhaps its worse. Don’t forget to come back each day this coming week and as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe
Welcome to a what-ever Saturday where tonight I am looking excitedly at Avian Raiders.
This is a one shot generated using a tool I stumbled up on today – Goblinist RPG Tools and the random encounter it gave me for 4 level 7 characters. Now use at your own risk Goblinist looks like it doesn’t have all the security certification that’s out there so user discretion is advised.
Before we get into the one shot let’s go over some ground rules.
I will try and stick to 30 minutes, the same as my other challenges. The one shot also has to have the basic elements of an adventure (what I cover weekly):
The extra stuff normally being a map may be a bit tough to do in Inkarnate so I will see what I can flesh out within the 30 minutes. So without any more chatter let’s see how we go with the one shot.
Time started: 10:11pm
The rattle of the pottery that lines up against the edge of the warehouse was the first sign that trouble was afoot. The hired guardsmen of the wealthy merchant, who also owned the dairy and mill, looked around more alert now and drew their werapons as they stalked the outside of hte e wood clad building.
As the moments went by the very ground shook as a horrifying screech boomed down from the hills where the flocks grazed. Spooked the guardsmen run but only after hearing the screech echoed many more times. In the morning the guardsmen returned top find the warehouse ransacked, not a valuable item was left or a scrap of food remained within. Other than frantic hard to read footprints the only trace these the raiders left were seven large feathers
The party is hired, sought out in fact, by a wealthy merchant. The merchant believes that a giant bird had raided his warehouse at command of the local herbalist. The only proof that he has that it was her is an argument that they had where she threatened to unleash the wrath of nature upon him and, seven large feathers.
The herbalist has been established in the growing village for many decades and provided the village with many tinctures, balms, salves and other potions that has saved many lives. However over the last few months the forest where she gains many of these items is slowly being cut down. The merchant has been expanding his land to get more grazing farm-land to produce more milk, meat and cows for trade. The herbalist has warned the merchant that his greed will be the downfall of the town and that she wouldn’t let him destroy the city for selfish means.
The party need to talk to find out who or what attacked Samwells’ warehouse and bring them to justice. Sam urges the party to check with Jane as they may find that their investigation is over before it rally has to o begin.
Samwell Goldfellow – a young ambitious merchant who has done exceptionally well at his trade. Starting a small general store a few years ago he has built up his empire to control the generation of grains, milk and meat (mostly) in the village of Tollenbrooke. But this wealth has left him paranoid and afraid of his efforts being taken from him. To prevent his paranoia taking over he has armed guardsmen, paid thugs from around the village, guard his warehouse an, dairy and mill to ensure nothing happens to his business.
Ironbark Jane – as she has been called for years, is a forest gnome who is fiery rather than timid. She has been in Tollenbrooke for many years and most parents of the current generation of townspeople remember Jane from their childhood and swear by her cures and potions. Seen as a bit of a town mystic and holy-woman the town will rally to her defence and aid unprovoked if they believe that she is threatened. To this effect Samwell’s actions to try and remove her (as competition and a blocker of his progress) have been met by boycotts of his business which eventually see’s him leaving Jane alone.
However lately Jane has been finding that the forest that she tends nearby has become more and more sparse and that Samwell’s bordering farmland seems to grow with each passing week. Jane has also seen strange omens and markings in the forest which she has warned Samwell about but her advice falls on deaf ears.
Jane offers to show the party to the place she was seeing the omens in the forest. If not she draws a highly detailed map which is written in the way a herbalist would try and find a route (listing out plants, trees, natural landmarks from a gnomes perspective). Once there the party find that there are large claw marks in the trees and dirt that indicates that there was something large and clawed in the forest not long ago. Further on they find a smashed clay pot and congealed white substance inside that reeks (turned/off milk). Taking it back to the town they notice that are guardsmen acting erratically at the warehouse. When they approach the guardsman he requests that the party help him bury a cow. When they either refuse or accept he goes on to frantically explain that he found it this morning when it didn’t show up at the dairy. Believing he could personally find the raiders he searched for the beast and found it dead and half eaten. He fears the repercussions from Samwell and wants the party to help him.
Investigating the corpse they find a large feathered arrow in the beast (under its body and pressed along the ground.) there are large clawed tracks around the corpse as well as several more large feathers however the tracks look to be a many legged creature that has between six and eight legs.
When they return back to the village they are just entering the town with the evidence that they have found that night and they hear a blood curdling screech from the hills.
Map of the farmstead and wheat crop.
Thanks for joining me tonight. Unfortunately this took a lot longer than what I had hoped to. WordPress seemed to want to time out and not register entire paragraphs of typing for upwards of 10 minutes at time so I had to do it in short bursts or hope that all the words I was touch-typing were accurate.
But it did give me time to work on a map whilst I waited for the words to load so enjoy that – made in Inkarnate as always.
Tonight’s encounter is relatively simple. Hobgoblins and their tamed owlbears (terrifying thought) attack the town and raid it because they wanted to. The owlbears were pushed out of the dwindling forest and trapped and tamed by the hobgoblins before they were used to attack the human town. Not super complicated with no dark master behind this one just a standard night-raid.
Don’t forget to come back tomorrow night for the end of week write-up 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
Brazen Wolfe Tabletop 