The Rioting Familiars

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The courtyard hung in uneasy silence, the weight of the moment pressing down as the adventurers stood before the assembled familiars. It was no accident, no trick of chance, the Charm of Concord glimmered faintly in the monkey’s grasp, its fractured bonds pulling beast and master alike into disarray. Yet here the familiars were, not fractured but united, eyes bright with a cunning far beyond mere obedience. The raven Sable croaked from a nearby wall, feathers slick with shadow, and in his call the others shifted as one, as though some silent command tied them together.

A choice now faced the party. They could draw steel and spells, prising the amulet back by force, but the united familiars moved with the certainty of those defending a cause rather than hoarding a prize. Or they could test a different path. Perhaps seeking to parley, to understand why creatures bound by magic had broken free and chosen to act in defiance of their masters. The air shimmered faintly, as though the Charm of Concord itself pulsed with anticipation. Every step, every word, would decide whether this forgotten courtyard became a battlefield or the birthplace of an unlikely accord with the rioting familiars.

For D&D Systems

D&D Statblock for Tailed Fox, Swarm of Ravens and Two headed Monkey – created in Tetra-cube.

The River Spirit

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As Amal stood by the river and stared at the raging surface he turned to look at the party and his sister, Jessa, before uttering a single sentence. ‘The river awakes.’ and with that the river went still.

Moonlight rippled across the surface like silver thread across a mirror, and without warning the water bulged outward as if something vast stirred beneath. A low hum vibrated through the stones underfoot, resonating in the bones of every onlooker like a primordial call to nature itself. A warning of something to come, a herald of doom.

Then it rose.

A serpentine mass breached the surface, easily ten feet at its snout, its body undulating like a living current. Scales shimmered with iridescent blues and silvers, each one catching the moonlight and refracting it in shifting patterns across the riverbank. Its head, elongated and eel-like, bore no eyes only a smooth, glistening surface where reflections danced like eddies and whirlpools that caught the light like the scales of a fish under the waves. Faint runes pulsed along its spine and side, glowing in rhythm with the moon overhead.

Water cascaded from its form as it coiled upward, towering above the party as a deep sheen of water covered its body like a sacred vestment. Its breath , if it needed to breathe, sent mist curling through the air, thick with the scent of wet stone and ancient offerings. Where it moved, the river followed, drawn to it like a tide to the moon. And in its presence, the world felt quieter, smaller, like nothing before it mattered under its gaze and within its coils.

Then it spoke, not in words, but in layered echoes an rumblings that filled the minds of several villagers who began to repeat the same incoherent phrases repeatedly. A voice like rushing water and cracking rocks that spoke of the forces of nature, the life force of the spirit itself. It was then that Amal began to recite what he had first said to the party, but as he continued it changed, now something darker and more foreboding.

‘It rises with the moon. It will claim its tribute and the debt be settled. A tithe to be paid to the river itself, one of flesh and spirit and the river will be free once again to carve through this land.’ It was not a threat but a promise. It did not plead but it was simply a force of nature, bound by ritual, awakened by broken tradition and hungry like the flood consuming land and souls before it.

And it was waiting as it gazed at the party from just behind Amal.

For D&D Systems

D&D Statblock for River Sprit – created in Tetra-cube.

Imiriel’s Fallen

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The highpriests of Imiriel are mid-tier encounters for an adventuring party considering that there is two of them. Being able to hit a few opponents at once and to also, controversial, raise their fallen allies and call down flames from the sky, these enemies will make for a challenging encounter.

For D&D Systems

D&D Statblock for Highpriest of Imiriel – created in Tetra-cube.

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.

The Secret-keeper is what would represent the creature for tonight. They are strong leader adversaries that can summon a hound pack to keep their enemies at bay. I believe they would start with a few shadowy-demon hounds at the edge of the room to act as watch dogs before the party truly engage them. The Secret-keeper continuing to spotlight the demonic hound pack where possible to generate fear a could be a very strong opponent.

The challenge here is not having two minor demons show up if you have more than one secret-keeper. I’d thematically have it that they both just fall and summon a single demon and give it some slight buffs to make it Tier 2 – or keep it as it is. The hounds and the demon will be enough for most.