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Glacial Hazards

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After a relaxing but cold day with the family its safe to say not much was done on creating some overdue Zines. But the weather did inspire some Glacial hazards that may be encountered this week or even the next as the party delve through the glacier and onto the next part of the adventure. So while we warm up with a hot drink, coffee preferably, let’s sit down and roll into tonight’s adventure.

Glacial Hazards

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You may remember back to last year where I had a series of adventures that took place out in the cold snow. This look at expanding some of the concepts from that adventure from over a year ago which goes to show that the reusability of D&D material is near limitless.

The first few things I want to explore are around the weather. Limited and reduced visibility; partial cover to all creatures and disadvantage on perception checks, Increased exhaustion rate and reduced speed; as exposure to the elements set in, and finally something more prevalent in a maze of walls of ice (such as a glacier), getting lost.

If you want to really spice up this adventure for the party I would consider implementing a snow storm as they go through the glacier, reducing visibility (cant see past 30 feet) and granting disadvantage on perception checks due to the sound and volume of snow. The ground becomes harder to walk on due to the wind tunnels the walls glacial walls produce as well as maybe the roughest one. Every few, maybe 3, roll a constitution saving throw vs 10+Hours exposed to the elements. If they fail they get a level of exhaustion. If they pass then they are fine until the next check. If they take shelter and can stay warm and dry then this will offset the DC increase and perhaps even extend the time between the checks. But once exhausted its hard thing to shake off over night.

The next few things are other ideas that can spice up the adventure.

Breaking Ice

A sudden twang as a crack in the ice forms. The sound of the breaking ice is the only warning before the creature falls into an expanding hole under the ice they were walking on.

DC14 Dexterity saving throw or they fall through the ice. A successful saving throw has them fall prone next to the hole. How deep the hole goes is really up to you. It could be a fall of five or ten feet or it could go indefinitely. How this takes you and the party is up to you and it can be versatile and exciting how it can be used.

Slip Risk

Walking let alone moving at speed on slick, smooth ice is never easy. But when fighting nightmarish cannibal undead it becomes a battle on its own.

The area around this slick part of ice is considered difficult terrain. But it doesn’t hamper the ability to traverse it but merely any creature moving at a normal pace must make a DC12 dexterity saving throw or fall prone. Once prone it takes a creature’s full movement to get back up safely, or if they roll a successful DC14 dexterity saving throw they can get up expending only half their movement.

Extreme Cold

More than just exhausted, the exposure to the elements was chilling to the bone and the party members’ fingers began to go numb and darken as the flesh froze.

Unless the creature is immune or resistant to cold damage, roll a DC12 Con save every time they take a rest or move through weather for more than two hours. If they fail they take 1d6 cold damage and their hit point maximum is reduced by that much. A long rest away from the cold will restore 1d6 hp to their maximum total which can’t exceed their normal total.

Thanks for exploring a frozen layout for this weeks Saturday musings. Don’t forget to come back tomorrow for some more D&D content and as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage.
The Brazen Wolfe

Simpler D&D

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Welcome everyone to a bit of a slower paced weekend and maybe some simpler D&D. Tonight after some time spent with friends the prospect of playing Dungeons and Dragons with kids. The one thing that stands in our way is the age.

When looking at D&D it takes understanding of social queues, maths and tactics to play D&D at its core. These concepts may be to difficult for children under seven or so to understand. But there are some simple adjustments we can make that will reduce the complexity for kids.

The d20 System is relatively simple but the concept of “pass/fail” can be hard for kids. Open legends RPG and a few other systems have the concept of ‘yes, but’ or ‘no, however’ where success can grant an additional benefit and failure… Isn’t always a failure. These shades of grey make RPG games with kids a bit easier. The wrong choice strategically may have a positive outcome that rewards child-mind problem solving and can even teach us how to be better DMs.

So having a miss or fail, still do something that progresses the encounter or story, and hyping up those big successes can be all it takes. Take away the math and use a scale of easy, medium or hard and make easy dc10, medium dc14, and hard dc18. To make it easier again, instead of adding modifiers to their dice rolls modify the DC down. As DMs and guides on their story let us handle the complexity and let them just roll dice and have fun.

The other concept is death in RPGs… As the noble hero you destroy undead, kill bad guys and thwart evil. But what if your child, or a friends child is not ready for that situation make it a food quest. Fighting walking foods who want to make them food. That chicken nugget may look brown and crispy.. but it fights like a goblin. Or make it a non lethal encounter and the party the elite police who have to capture the baddies.

Tailoring the adventure for your audience is a key skill for DMs, and even more so when your party consists of children.

Thanks for exploring the tip of this thought bubble tonight, come back again tomorrow for a long over due adventure as I play a bit of catch-up.
The Brazen Wolfe

Andrasa’s Defences

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So tonight I wanted to look at Andrasa’s Defences and what she would have set up to keep her treasure and tower safe. Now being a powerful sorcerer she would have had access to magical traps and being as powerful as she was she would have many means to defend her sanctum. Or so the theory goes.

And with that said let’s have a peak at just some of the types of traps, puzzles or defences that a powerful mage would have.

Andrasa’s Defences

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Magic Force Trap

Description:

The Magic force trap enchants an object, such as a statue or candelabra, so that it will launch several bolts of magical force when something comes into range. The direction, trigger and way the bolts can be configured when the spell is complete. When the trigger occurs the bolts of force launch towards the target that generated the trigger.

There are ways to configure the trigger to exclude creatures from being targeted but that is part of the casting.

Effect:

The targeted creature must make a DC14 Dex saving throw or be hit by 1d4+1 bolts of force that deal 1d6 force damage each. A successful saving throw ignores the damage. The bolts are barely visible due to the speed at which they are launched.

Disarming:

The trap almost always has a exclusion trigger set up. If the creature can work it out then they are not targeted. However they can determine that there is a trap with a successful DC15 active perception check or a DC12 investigation or arcana check. This is because the enchanted object normally glows and thrums slightly. If the object is destroyed the trap is disarmed, or the dispel magic spell will disarm the trap.

The Thunder Floor Trap

Description:

A hall way or room where several scorch or burn marks litter the ground indicate the thunder floor trap. While the term thunder represents the sound that the trap makes the immediate area around the room is statically charged. The other odd thing about this room is the way that furniture or ornaments may be arranged around the room or strange grooves in the roof. What people don’t realise, normally, until its too late is that there is a strong electrical trap that will shock anyone who touches the

Effect:

Once a creature touches the floor they must make a DC 15 dexterity saving throw or take 4d8 lightning damage immediately and at the start of each turn they start on the floor. Creatures wearing metal armour make this saving throw with disadvantage.
While touching the floor they must additionally make a DC14 constitution saving throw or be unable to use reactions, actions or bonus actions as the electricity courses through their bodies.

Disarming:

A successful DC 14 Investigation or Arcana skill check (depending if mechanical or magic) will reveal the trap. However disarming may be harder. (Dispel magic spell or locating the generator of electricity to disarm it. However the creator of such traps nearly always have a way to bypass it such as a secret room or walkway near the room. Those who want a less obvious way to bypass the trap may have furniture or wall decorations to climb and jump between to not touch the floor. However, for the more athletic of trap builders, roof holds to painstakingly climb across the roof of the room.

Cylinder of weightlessness

Description:

This trap is hard to see and harder to get around. A large room, passageway or open space with tall or no ceilings greets those about to encounter this trap. Once they step into the cylinder of weightlessness they immediately float up five feet upwards from the ground and continue to rise at a rate of 5 feet a turn until they can prevent themselves from floating upwards. The items and themselves weigh nothing whilst in these zones which themselves extend about 60 feet into the air, or, as high as the ceiling is if less than 60 feet.

Be warned, although the creature may be floating as if levitating a moderate to strong breeze will throw them outside of the zone and they will instantly regain their weight and fall the distance down to the ground below.

Effect:

A arcane sigil, coin, treasure chest, statue or a chair may be the focus point for this trap and here may be many of them in a room. There is normally a pattern so that the owner of the trap can avoid them as there is no safe way to get out of them.

Whenever a creature enters the cylinder’s space, the creature must make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw.

On a successful save, the creature can choose to be pushed 5 feet back or to the side of the area but not know why apart from a feeling of doom and dread. A creature that chooses not to be pushed suffers the consequences of a failed saving throw.

Upon a failed saving throw the creature immediately floats five(5) feet into the air. At the start of their turn they float a further 5 feet up into the air. As they have no weight only creatures with a flying speed can move but they need to make a DC15 strength check to break free from the force of the trap.

Disarming:

Creature within 5 feet of the trap can take an action to pull a creature or object out of it. Doing so requires a successful DC 12 Strength check. The creature within can be pushed out by thrown objects as they are weightless while within the trap but they will take 1d6 bludgeoning damage from the fall for every 10 feet they fall.

Thanks for dropping by tonight for a look a few trap ideas. One inspired by the magic missile spell, another shocking grasps mixed with a modern tesla coil and the last, the good old Gelatinous Cube. These traps will make an appearance this weekend but with a few others as well. So don’t forget to come back tomorrow and as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Alternative Boons

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Tonight I want to look at something that has always fascinated me with D&D and other RPGs, mounts. So tonight we look at what mounts could mean if they are requested as alternative boons, what limits should be drawn and any considerations.

So sit back, grab a coffee and look at some mounts…

Alternative Boons

Now for most mounts that we see already we have a few domestic animals such as horses, donkeys, goats and mastiffs. Occasionally we would see Camels, riding lizards, giant turtles and even bears which can all be different mounts depending on the situation. But what about more exotic mounts??

The owlbear

Now my love for the owlbear should be no secret now. Strong, fast and ferocious it makes a difficult creature to tame and train to be a mount. However there is something satisfying about charging into battle on the back of one of the most iconic D&D creatures out there.

Being a higher CR the process to get an Owlbear as a mount would be difficult and they are quite deadly in combat. But D&D 5e has rules for mounts and attacks so this is covered.

Now the consideration I would make is although they aren’t intelligence creatures they would likely be one to bond with a creature as a partner. So raising one from a chick is likely the only way that you could instil loyalty into one of these creatures as as mount

The Nightmare

Now while normally seen as the bad guys mount they make a wickedly cool mount. Fiends being as varied as they are numerous you could see that there would be different appearances of fields. So a nightmare constructed of living metal, wood, stone, or more gruesomely – rotting flesh could be a thing. Although they may have a flaming main and hooves they don’t have to be red flames either.

This makes them just badass. But to have one as a mount would require a strong charm, binding or contract with the fiend to bend it to serve the master who doesn’t align with its fiendish desires.

The Hippogriff

Now anyone who has seen Harry potter can probably recognise this creature. The Hippogriff is a pretty cool creature and although its often seen as a poor mans Griffin it still makes for one cool mount.

Hatched from eggs these creatures are likely to be reared from chicks and bonded to their master but they aren’t game breaking if someone has instilled loyalty into all hippogriffs in their ranch for welcome buyers.

The Griffon

Now we are getting somewhere. A Strong, fast mount that can fly and is cool as all heck. Most MMORPGs will have a griffon mount as something cool that your character can get at a later level and they generally are seen clad in armour and majestic as all hell.

But these creatures are remarked to be the toughest creature to tame and a true test of animal handling. So these may not be for the faint heart to steal an egg and raise.

Dinosaurs

The Ankylosaurus

Now some people out there would try and debate this statement but there is nearly no mount cooler than a dinosaur and the Anky holds a place in my heart.

Durable and it can pack a mean punch this creature is great for combat focused encounters. However its a bit slow so trying to use this as a means of transportation may be a bit risky.

Its also huge, so getting a stable organised for this massive herbivore may be a struggle.

The Allosaurus

Now for me the Allosaurus needs to be a size bigger, but its a fast ground predator that will be big enough for any player characters needs.

Vicious, packing a punch and it has a great perception skill to boot. This is a perfect hunting companion for parties who want that extra oomft.

However, its a bit low on the intelligence and as such it may take a bite out of its rider or the other mounts and creatures its master works with,

Like the owlbear I don’t think this is a creature that would take kindly to any other than the one that raised it trying to ride it.

Special Considerations

Now while we look at the comparison of a mount, or several, vs the benefit and value of a keep, land , titles or magical items the balance isn’t quite there. The alternative boons that we could have vs a mount are likely to bring more people in but what if the party are at that level where a dinosaur just isn’t cool enough. The next few creatures are other options that may just break the balance of the game but should be considered.

Thanks for joining tonight. I wanted to look at other alternative boons that we could consider for our party if they asked for something a bit different. Some are easier to come across and others are perhaps a bit rarer and harder to tame and raise.

Tomorrow we end of the week with something a bit different. So don’t forget to come back for that and as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Turning point for a Highwayman

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Tonight I wanted to take a moment to breathe and focus on something else that I am passionate about, and the Turning point for a Highwayman. After a long week and a longer night with the kids it can be hard to drive forward with what meagre plans I did have. So I wanted to capture a short story inspired by the bed time story for my daughter.

Turning point for a Highwayman

A Thief

The feel of cold steel never worried or concerned him. In fact it had been his companion since losing his job at the inn after he had been caught taking food home. They never got through it all and what they didn’t they reused the next day. He had seen the food that was left over from the day and it wasn’t going to be any good the next day. So what was the harm in him taking some home? He was always hungry and the food went to other good places too. But apparently his theft wasn’t just enough for the owners and they fired him. At least they didn’t get the guards to drag him out.

Well until he went back and robbed them. It was easy to get in and out and take what he was owed. But this meant he could never go back home. But he did discover that he had a knack for thievery and so he tried to take it to the next town. Except, he didn’t make it to the next town. His next big theft was on the road.

Highway man

The wagon of a merchant is a prone vehicle to thievery. In fact there were more thefts on the roads than actually in towns. The first thing he took was a small chest and a sword. The thrill of the theft was so much that he didn’t even bother checking the chest before leaving the wagon, none the wiser mind you. But he should have checked. A spare change of clothes. Long fancy pants, a shirt, vest, and hat. Not exactly his style but when he put them on he couldn’t recognise himself any more. Adding his old trusty belt and the cloak he stole from the inns front door as he left he was ready.

His next theft was when he ambushed a carriage. Using his old work down clothes he made it look like he had fellows in bushes around the carriage. It was easy to convince the driver and inhabitants to give him half of their coins and all the food he had on him. Especially when he shifted and his body distorted.

Shifter

The term lycanthrope, or were-creature was thrown around too much when he was young. It wasn’t his choice of fault that he was what he was. But born from the offspring of a wererat and a human what were you going to do. Being able to change his body to a more bestial nature gave him an edge. No one wanted to be turned and so the sight of his claws, elongated fangs and snout. Well it was enough to make any one comply. However it w as his words and manners that made the most difference.

When he spoke he asked politely, never threatened with outright violence. No that wasn’t for him. Asking for valuables and food was easy when people listened to the well dressed potential-lycanthrope. Until he pulled over the wrong carriage that is.

It was winter and he had made a name for himself. The Gentleman Rat. Not super fond of the name but having a reputation did help. But as he was pulling over the next carriage he recognised one of the inhabitants, two to be accurate. One of the two people in his home town that liked him. Well, liked what he used to be. A friend.

Turning point for a Highwayman

She, Merian, was huddled next to her elderly father, unwell by the looks of it, and judging by the direction they were going it wasn’t good. The city in the direction they were heading too consisted of some of the best and most powerful clerics that he had heard of. It must not have been good news for Merian and her father to be heading to Foresithe. The sight of them drained any urge to rob and thieve or even to threaten. He simply smiled, placed a pouch of coins in their shaking hands and stepped away. His bestial features melting away as the first rains of the evening began.

As he watched the carriage head down the road he wondered how many people his unchecked thievery had hurt. When he had worked at the Inn he had always prided on making sure that everyone had want for nothing. Returning to camp he looked at the riches he had. Never hungry for food any more he had somewhere along the way forgotten why he took the extra food from the inn. It was to feed those who couldn’t afford the food normally. To make use of food that would be tossed aside or reused at the risk of clientele. Well no more would he steal from the innocent. He hung up his hat and his fancy clothes and picked out something more comfortable. Tomorrow… Tomorrow he would take what he had and try and prevent others from turning to thievery.

Thanks for joining me tonight for this little re-take on a, quite popular, book. The idea of a rat-shifter highway man may not be something unique but as someone who is always on the lookout for more NPCs, or PCs, then the idea is intriguing. With the ruleset for shifters in 5e they can be quite strong if used correctly. So giving them a re-viewing of a old tragic backstory for one of redemption could make for a fun character.

Don’t forget that tomorrow we both continue and finish this weeks adventure. So make sure to come back for that and don’t forget to keep an eye out for what else is on the horizon. And lastly don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Painting Night – The Owlbear

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Tonight was meant to be a writeup of a D&D session but instead we had to change plans. Although disappointing this gave me a Painting Night – The Owlbear took the painting handle and I tried to paint it as quickly as possible while incorporating a few different techniques and styles.

While painting miniatures isn’t something I actively seek its something that when the mood strikes I can focus on for a few hours. So tonight, while the paint and water effects are still wet I thought I’d jot down the process.

Painting Night – The Owlbear

Step one: Priming

For me any generic primer would do the trick. Since the sculpt was resin I wanted to use something that was not just for hobby use. So opting for a Rustoleum Cream primer I got started.

Step two: Overbrush.

Now while not a mandatory step by any means overbrushing can add in some extra highlights if you are using washes, shades or the constrast-esque paints that are available. Tonight I used Army Painter Matt White as the overbrush paint

Step three: Feathers part one

The next part for me was deciding if I wanted to go a dark grey owlbear or a brown on. White is a bit of a harder one to do and coming from a cream base brown or grey would show up well. Opting for Brown I selected Citadels Garaghak’s Sewer paint and applied it as evenly as I could for the first part.

Creating some variety in the colour I applied a second thinner coat in the thicker feathered areas to create a visual contrast.

Step four: Drybrush – Feathers Part two – Brightening the feathers

Using Citadels Mournfang brown and a small makeup brush (definitely a dry brush… not from my wife’s make up kit…) I did a light drybrush over the feathers. Any parts I wanted to really brighten (around the fact) I also targeted with a small layer brush.

Looking at the photos the difference is subtle.. Nearly too subtle. But there was definitely some highlighted parts.

Part Five: The Bear-beans

Now just like Cats owlbears have little toe-beans… Ok maybe not but for this I did a two step approach to get a different skin tone for them. Starting off with a thinned layer of Citadels Khorne red I then hit it with Citadels Gorthor Brown. this gave it a more fleshy colouration than the brown itself and broke it up from the brown of the feathers.

Step Six: Claws and beak part one

This one is a nice simple step. Hitting with a fine point brush just the beak and the claws with Army Painters Necromancer Cloak – Maybe my second favourite Grey. A small, quick and easy step. Using the same paint I also did a overbrush on the rocks to add an extra layer of texture to the grey stones.

Step Seven: Eyes

Now the eyes were done in two parts – but for simplicity sake I will upload discuss it here as one step. Taking Citadels Yriel Yellow and Army Painters Matt Black I painted the eyes. I chose a direction for the bear to be looking and using the brush I created pupils looking nearly in the same direction.

Step Eight: Claws and beak Part two

Using Army Painter Skeleton bone I attempted to edge highlight the beak and claws. Nothing fancy here.

Step Nine: Basing – The log

Using Citadels Wyldwood Contrast I painted the log. Adding some black paint (AP Matt Black) paint into the mix for the open hollow to ensure it was darker.

Step Ten: Basing – The sand and rocks

Electing to make the gap between the rocks and the log a sandy stream I used Army Painters Desert Yellow, which is nicer than their Daemonic Yellow by a long shot, to create a sand colour. Hitting up the bits of the base where there wasn’t rocks or the log. The rocks I then hit with Citadels Basilicanum Grey (probably my favourite multi-purpose paint). This was a simple step so not many steps.

Step Eleven: Final touches for my Painting Night – The Owlbear

The final touches were a bit easier for me. Coming from a place in Australia where the rainforests have plenty of wet rivers running through rock and log filled streams its rare to not see them covered in moss or algae. So adding Citadels Coelia greenshade wash over the entire base, removing some from the sang, I wanted to reflect this green, forest look in the base.

I then used Vallejo’s water texture to try and get a wet, river appearance between the log and the rocks.

Thanks for joining me tonight for my Painting Night – The Owlbear. One of my favourite creatures of all time, my closest mate printed this model off for me as he knows I adore owlbears. It’s taken me some time but I have finally managed to get some paint of this happy fellow.

Don’t forget that tomorrow is the end of the week and we will be writing up this weeks adventure. So don’t forget to come back for that one. And, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

June Inspiration for one shots

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Welcome all to something that I probably find that I do without really thinking about in great detail but coming up with June Inspiration for one shots. Now it will be a bit of a shorter one but the issue I occasionally find for my weekly adventure isn’t so much coming up with one. But it’s settling down on a single concept.

In the past I have been over the process that I am drawn to. The What, Who, When, Where and Why’s of a good adventure plot. But what I don’t reveal is that there are sometimes multiple story arcs in a single adventure that could be explored.

Now inspiration comes from many sources, as I have gone through before, but tonight I will take a few things that are front of mind.

June Inspiration for one shots: Adventure 1 – Chult expanded

One of the core published adventures that WOTC has published is the Tomb of Annihilation which features the party going to explore Chult. But why don’t we see more of the Chultians come over to the mainland of Faerun? This first adventure concept is a young warrior visiting from Chult but her mount, a noble steed if you will, isn’t a horse but a dinosaur. Now the image of someone riding a t-rex into Neverwinter is amusing but probably not practical. I don’t think the lord of the city would let it stand for long. However raptors, herbivores and other large sized creatures (or even medium) could make decent mounts.

This adventure focuses on what the party may be asked to do and what they will do if a dinosaur appears in their home turf.

This can be an investigation style quest “A large creature has appeared in the woods near by. It’s leaving strange marks on trees and killing all the game. Find out what it is.” Or we can have it be a request for aid from a foreign party. “I need help convincing the Lord that my Bruno here, a Gallimimus, isn’t dangerous. He is just fast and a bit skittish is all.”

Either way for someone who loves both dinosaurs and RPGs its a good mix.

June Inspiration for one shots: Adventure 2 – Bewitched Room

A room in a local manor has been flinging spells randomly at people who enter the library. A opened book that had a glyph of warding placed on the pages from a previous adventurer was laying open on the table. Every time the door opens the corresponding gust of wind turns the pages and triggers another spell.

The party doesn’t know this, nor does the new owners of the Manor. But they will soon encounter the hexed room and the source of the it. This is more of a Role play encounter however the book could summon creatures to fight. Or a creature may be drawn to the constant use of magic and they may contest ownership of the arcane tome from the party and the manor owners.

There is a bit of fun we could have in this adventure

June Inspiration for one shots: Adventure 3 – The grand hunt

A young tribe woman has approached the party and asked them to help her hunt a ferocious beast. This beast can be what ever you want but my mind was instantly drawn to a Bulette

The reason for needing help could be a sad story of being an outcast due to heritage, or something simple of “I was late to the start of the ceremony so the elders punished me by making me undertake this with any fellow from my tribe. However you are not of my tribe so you can help? I don’t think I will survive the trial without it and I wont be able to be seen as a true member, an adult in my tribe until its completed.”

A nice easy one this one. I like it because it may give us the excuse to use any creature. I also believe that having something as mundane as a “grand hunt” is nicer than curses, invasions or malicious acts.

Well that’s it for tonight, three adventure concepts, for June Inspiration for one shots, and one of which I will take for next week. Don’t forget to join me tomorrow for the end of week writeup and as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Mixed Bag of Misery

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Now tonight I was looking for something to write about, and really the bombardment of ideas was a Mixed Bag of Misery. After spending a day, yup a whole day (well nearly…) Magnetising my currently built infantry for my Hedonites of Slaanesh army and painting nearly all my currently built blissbarb archers (so expect a photo bombardment next weekend) I am tabletop fatigued. But as I looked at the twenty daemonettes in front of me I thought “Well, at least after the content dense blissbarbs these are different kind of misery.”

But this got me thinking, and soon an idea blossomed. Cursed useful items in DnD. Now hear me out. A cursed sword is arguable useful as long as you can resist the curse. A cursed ring can is generally not great at all – in all cases.

But what about a cursed utility item. So tonight I will focus on a Mixed bag of Misery.

Mixed Bag of Misery

Lore – The devil in the detail.

Long ago a devil plagued the house of Rosariae. The little imp pestered the family daily for years. By creating little acts of malice within the home it spread misery throughout the household. Eventually the family noticed that the cause of this misery was an imp, Demsodae (Dems-o-day). Acts to catch or persuade it to leave the house always failed but they noticed a quirk of the diminutive devil. It always took a single egg each night and devoured it. Using this knowledge they hired an enchanter to alter a leather drawstring bag to capture and ensnare the creature if it entered it willingly. So they laid a trap with a large, goose egg as bait.

Sure enough in the morning the bag was full and the family rejoiced in their capture of the imp. Many decades later and the bag fell into position of an adventurer who mistook the bag for one of holding. Upon reaching into the bag they discovered with horror that it was filled with headless mice. And this adventurer hated mice.

The next owner found that the bag was instead filled with centipedes, but when that owner entered the bag again the bugs were gone. The cursed bag has seen a few duplications as the original enchantment was unravelled but all of them contain a tricked imp that tries to give the owner of the bag a daily dose of misery.

Mechanics of the Mixed Bag of Misery

Once per day, the Mixed Bag of Misery will change the contents of what it contains to something the owner finds repulsive, disgusting or something they are fearful of. After the contents have been revealed then the bag is sated. Once sated it acts like a bag of holding, although its storage capacity is half that of a normal one (due to an imp living within…). However, despite the Imps malicious nature it can be persuaded to help.

If the owner offers it something it favours, a goose egg in the case of Demsodae, it will help the owner. This is an infrequent occurrence but it can produce something to help the owner of the bag. This act of helping is infrequent and will normally backfire on the owner.

As this bag is cursed it is not easy to get rid of it. In fact to get rid of the bag the owner must convince someone else to place the imps favourite thing within the bag. Only then can the bag be transferred from one living owner to the next.

Thoughts

Now I have created this bag primarily for role play. However it all depends on how we interpret the assistance of the imp. I may have the Imp may assist the owner by producing rotten eggs that the owner can use. In the right circumstance they could be a great distraction or tasty snack for a hostile beast. The list of things that we can do to make this cursed item a useful one is near-endless. However it’s up to the Role play of the Player, us – the DM, and the situation that its being used.

Thanks for joining me tonight for this weird little item. A Mixed Bag of Misery isn’t quite how I would capture my current tabletop progress. But, there are highs and lows with any tabletop venture and for me I find its focusing and finding the time to focus on painting miniatures. So as we continue on with our weekend consider this. The bag of experiences you take you are always going to be mixed. You can’t always pass that skill check, nor should you. That’s not how adventures are made or how heroes are born. So take what will with what you can and the rest, I guess just leave it up to the dice!

Don’t forget to come back tomorrow for more Tabletop content and, as always don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

2023 Campaign Adventure 1

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Good evening all and welcome to the night of my first adventure and the brief summary I want to provide for it. Whilst not giving away the campaign, adventure or mystery I will attempt to write up each adventure this year starting with my 2023 campaign adventure 1.

2023 Campaign Adventure 1

Sa317CaE1

Plot:

As the party, Mordakai and Tater, begin to form they are all survivors of a new horror that is spreading across the land of Faerun. To herald this new era of darkness that has spread across the land strange, feral creatures have been stalking the plains, roads and forests. The roads are no longer safe to travel and so the cities have banded together to create the great Caravans. Several companies have banded together to form caravans of wagons that are guarded by mercenaries as a, some what lucrative, way to travel safely.

Several major Towns and cities have had strange heralds appear in dark purple robes who proclaim to be searching for people who have seen odd creatures around, willing to pay people gold pieces for their stories and tales of such creatures if found to be convincing. Furthermore those who provide a truly convincing recount or have fought these creatures and survived may gain employment from the party they represent.

Those who are interested in sharing their tails can come to Wyrrondeep, a small but bustling city. Our party find themselves as hired mercenaries guarding one of the caravans on their way to Wyrrondeep, each having fought one of these creatures and survived.

Sam’s Wagon- created in Nightbreeder

Trouble Brewing –

However, as they reached the next rest spot after travelling together for a day or so they encountered the lone Guard of another wagon, distressed and obviously hiding something. In charge of guarding a wagon with four paying guests he was attacked during the night by wolves, beasties that set fire to the wagon and dragged his companion into the forest.

Upon investigating the wagon they found the patrons who Westley had claimed was safe were in fact dead, murdered and robbed whilst their wagon has been broken into and one of the bodies taken. After some probing and clever questioning it was apparent that the guard was the cause of this and as night set they discovered more. While they waited at a fork in the road for another wagon to join the caravan train they set up camp. Food was plentiful and after some strong, bad, wine was procured and shared it was revealed that Westley’s father owed a large sum of money to the very people he had apparently murdered.

Camp by the woods – created in nightcafe

Revelation

But as they lay in wait for Westley to emerge from his drunken stupor they were attacked by Twig blights and a wolf. Each of them felled easily but not all was well. The wolf as unnaturally vicious. It was covered in wounds that would not heal and one of its eyes had its pupil split into two. As the wolf fell to the ground, succumbing to its wounds, Westley appeared and attacked Kai viciously. Tater rushed to defend his comrade and after delivering a blow that would cause any lesser man to fall he was nearly fatally wounded himself. After another deft blow from Taters great axe Westley fell only to have strange, tentacle like work creatures flee his body and burrow into the ground.

Main NPC:

Sam Gustave – created in artbreeder

Not being a warrior or scholar Sam finds himself a single parent to Will. Sam is the owner of the first Wagon that creates this particular Caravan and as such as is deemed to be the Caravan Master. In fact he and his guard, the Head Guard, run the caravan and ensure its safe arrival at its destination. Sam also owns his Wagon, a mobile Tavern that provides food and drink to the passengers. But despite his kind nature he is a business man and is not easily fooled or swindled.

Creatures for combat:

Having the twig blights initiate combat by moving into range removed some of the lethality of having only two party members. However, Westley and potentially the wolf, who died very quickly, posed a much larger threat.

Created in tetra-cube

Thanks for joining me tonight and to look at the adventure that initiated the campaign. I have a lot more in store for the party as we travel through Faerun and investigate what is happening across the land. So, do join me as we continue this adventure fortnightly!

Don’t forget to come back tomorrow as we wrap up last weeks adventure. And, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

A moment to breathe

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Tonight I wanted to take a moment to breathe as the last few months, weeks even have been fairly non-stop. As I committed myself to pushing out an adventure a week. Some weeks I managed to get through two but rarely have I missed one, in over a year now.

But tonight as I stare at the miniatures built, some with paint on them and the zine ready to be started. I need to take a moment to relax and put it off for tomorrow.

Not everything needs to be be treated like a tournament level movement phase. Not everything needs to be rushed in order to meet a deadline or an invisible barrier that you set yourself. Sometimes taking a moment to breathe is a good chance to assess the next steps and ensure that the next step is the right one.

The same goes for DMing.

As the beginning of a new campaign for me looms on the horizon, next weekend to be exact the excitement and trepidation begins to set in. However, being in this gig for as long as I have the excitement builds and the pressure that I set on myself drives me. Taking a moment to breathe to look at the adventure, or series of them, that I have planned can sometimes be enough.

Now, I have thought of session pre-zero, session zero and the overall plot, secondary hook and twists in the main story. But there is a lot to be done before I can say that the campaign is ready and fit to be consumed. However, I know my ruleset and I know my style. I have a clear guide document that the players can read to understand how I run the game. Having created a few homebrew creatures, magical items and I roughly know the frequency in which to encounter these things.

I have created a semi-Lovecraft inspired campaign where the players can flit between the adventures and the system shouldn’t punish those who can only make it every so often. However I have contingencies in place and a large potential for new players joining mid-adventure. This shouldn’t be an issue.

Having these scheduled, or impromptu moments to breathe and reset priorities helps. It helps me and I can guarantee for the DMs who push so much emphasis on getting it right for their players, our players, it makes it easier. Learn your craft, study what you want out of your session like I have and I can ensure that these nerves will pass.

However

These moments to pause should help us focus on what we want, like I have made tonight about what I want to focus on. I have decided to tweak the frequency of a few types of encounters or adventures and in doing so I hope to make them much more exciting. Having two veteran players joining me, potentially a third, and a few new ones. I need to balance the base mechanics with what I believe will give my party the biggest sense of amazement and enjoyment.

I always plan to thrill my party, never setting myself a lower target that people asking for the next session. This excitement and enthusiasm drives and maintains my motivation for the craft. I am excited for this new campaign, and a new era of my Tabletop as I shelve one army to pay another, and the future guides me onwards.

So as a closing note I want to encourage you to take a moment to stop and take a moment to breathe. Like what I did, take a moment to think and considers what’s best for you. And, like most posts, I want to remind you that tomorrow is another day, another week really, and so I hope to spend my day off wisely. Creating my end of week Zine for the City of Temptations Zine as well as a new adventure, something a bit out of sequence but fitting for what lies ahead of me this week.

And finally, I wish to encourage you to get back to your tabletop. I managed to even sneak in a game of Wingspan this weekend which was a rare delight. And finally, I hope you don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe