Modern

Battlemech – The Sea-kits grow

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Focusing on raw firepower with the latest tech they can get their hands on the clan Sea Kits pilots are rough and ready to go.

Following the old ways their parents abandoned they fight for the memory of how their parents clan used to be. However the ways of old are pretty much gone much like the sea foxes of old.

But with each new season a rejuvenation of both sea fox kits, and the descendents of the clan Sea Foz mech pilots grows. Now is the time to start their conquest of vengeance, now is the time for the Sea Kits!

A few painting progress pictures of about half my growing sea Kit army. Super easy and lazy theme with shades of blue “splashed” next to each other to create a camo effect.

While not as exhaustive and grand as Age of Sigmar I am enjoying several aspects of the game so far.

Thats it for tonight. Thanks for dropping in and until next time, don’t forget to roll with advantage,

The Brazen Wolfe

Magnus Vex – school days

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As the sun rose and peaked through the window above his bed he knew the farce was up. Sighing he pulled the pillow off from his face as he swung his legs over the side of the bed and looked around his room.

The Sony’s light was slowly blinking yellow, obviously he had forgotten to turn it off after playing witcher last night. He’d already clocked if a few times over but he just loved the game. He couldn’t explain what it was but immersing himself in a fantasy setting just felt so right to him.

Standing up and picking an older T-shirt from the not-so-dirty pile he looked at the calendar on the back of his door. With a loud groan he realised it was three weeks until his birthday. His guardians had insisted that he invite some friends over but he wasn’t one for friends. He found it hard to connect with kids and normally kept to himself. That and his guardians were an embarrassment.

His ‘dad’ was a collector of things. He never spoke about work but the den was filled with trinkets and oddities. Magnus thought he was an archaeologist or tomb-raider but when he spoke he wasn’t cool enough for that. So Magnus had to deal with a lot of very old very weird things like ancient voodoo fetishes and staffs made from human bones and skin. Super weird shit.

His ‘mum’ on the other hand was a black widow. The boys at school all teased him on how good his mum looked and it got to his nerves. Whilst his dad was a hulking easy six feet tall and built broader than most football players his mum was thin, athletic and terrifying. She was russian and he wouldn’t be surprised if she turned out to be an assassin or spy like black widow from the avengers.

Leaving his room he was greeted by silence. His guardians were rarely home and when they were they spoke to each other like team mates or colleagues from work.

Walking down the stairs, his skinny frame and mop of dark hair completing his “hipster but not cool” look of jeans, boots, his anime T-shirt and a light jacket that was there to keep his skinny ass warm in an Australian Autumn. “Mag. Bus is here in five minutes!” Erin called out, his mum.

“Thanks Erin.” He said as he entered the kitchen and looked at the store bought lunch kit that sat on the bench. She did not cook. “Gerald will be out of town for a bit so its just us” she said with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

“Sounds good. Maybe you can teach me some karate or jujitsu? I want to learn” he said as he stuffed a square of cheddar cheese and a slab of ham in his mouth. Looking up at the clock as Erin thought about it he saw he was late. “Shit. Got to go. See you tonight Erin!” He said as he ran out of the kitchen, down the hall and out the door to the bus stop at the end of the block.

He made it with a bit of time to spare and checked his bag for everything. Shit. He forgot his lunch. As he contemplated going back he sensed someone standing next to him.

“Hi. I’m Alice” the person said standing next to him in full school uniform for his school. “It’s my first day.” She said with a nervous smile.

“Uhh.. I’m cute. I mean you’re cute. I mean I’m Magnus. But everyone calls me Mag..” he said with potentially the highest amount of stuttered words ever. He cursed himself as he turned towards the bus that was arriving. Saved by the bus. Alice just giggled and blushed.

Stepping up onto the bus Magnus plopped himself down in the first seat available, next to the driver. It was a pretty full bus today. Looked out the window at the suburban houses. When he felt the seat move next to him he groaned inwardly as he realised Alice ha sat next to him.

“So Mag. What do you do for fun around here?” Alice asked, still a bit flushed in the cheeks. As the bus moved forward with a lurch she slid on the seat a bit and bumped into him. “S-s-sorry” she stammered as she moved away hurriedly.

“Don’t worry about it. Uhh. Well I guess kids go shopping at the mall. It’s not much but it’s ok for a small to..” he began to say before the bus stopped abruptly. Magnus looked out the window just in time to see Erin knocking on the bus door holding his lunch.

“no-no-no..” he muttered as he tried to hide but it was too late. She had spotted him and the bus driver opened the door.

“you ran off so fast that you left your lunch. Growing boys need proteins, fats and minerals to ensure healthy maturation.” She said as she gave him the bag of food. “I’ll see you at home around six. I’ve got a client to see…” And with that she turned and left the bus. The girls laughed and giggled the boys, after closed their mouth whistled loudly.

“uhh.. was that your mum?” Alice asked holding in laughter.

“she’s not my mum… She just looks after me..” Magnus replied as the bus took off again with the chorus of whoops and laughter.

“well… She was a pretty hot mum…” Alice said in a muffled voice as Magnus groaned at the start of another shitty day at school.

A room with a view…

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Thursday already, since beginning this blogging journey I can honestly say that the weeks go even quicker – hard to imagine that in a world with COVID and the longest lockdown.. worldwide now I think (as I am in Australia) but there you go.

Today we are looking at a few hand drawn maps that we can send out players to spend a comfortable night in filled with food, beer (or wine), and maybe a bar fight or two. Without too much more chatter let’s roll it up.

Two story Inn

06ThMa1

The concept of rooms for rent upstairs and a bar downstairs is a staple for most inns that are described to our players. This one here proudly sports 7 rooms with a combined total of 15 beds (2 queen sized beds) for any adventuring parties plteasure. Upstairs some rooms are furnished with a table or chairs or both with a centralised stairway going downstaris to the entrance of the inn.

Downstairs, the inn has 2 booths with a table and 4 tables with chairs while at the long bar there is 5 seats available. To the left of the stairs there is a bench where the patrons would checkin to get their room keys, maybe pay any fees or pickup some gear for the followign day. This area has a suitable amount of shelving and tablespace and to the right of this bench space (behind the stairs) there is a storage room where ‘fresh’ cooked food would be kept, perhaps a small hearth under shelving to cook small amounts of food for patrons. Outside there would be a small balcony to support the largest of rooms and to provide some shelter for patrons from the elements.

For a relaxed quite inn this would suit well enough – there is no facilities in here however so that could be a separate room elsewhere for bathing / cleaning purposes. Or perhaps an external room that leads to a cellar where the food is also cooked.

‘Traditional Tavern’

06ThMa2

This Tavern is semi-inspired by some of the artwork found in several D&D publications and has a second layer dedicated to drinking and eating. The ground floor has a lot of communal seating where people could share in platters of food, games of chance or other meriment and along the left wall there are some booths for quiter more private dealings. A large long bar demonstrates that this inn is for drinking and also services a rope basket system for perhaps pulling a smaller bartender (mayhaps a goblin..?) to the second story to service the patrons up there. Behind the bar is a dedicated food and beverage storage room with a double hearth cooks station in the room over.

Upstairs is several smaller tables for more intimate gatherings but the tables could be pushed together at a moments request to get the same vibe as down stairs. A small balcony hovers over the bar underneath so that food and beverages (and perhaps bartenders themselves) could be sent upwards to the second story as to not interupt the flow of drinks and enjoyment on the tavern floor.

There is no place for sleeping here but by increasing the landing along the right hand side of the building and removing the tables and chairs small, perhaps uncomfortably small, lodgings could be provided. Reminds me of times I have stayed in backpackers accomodation actually…

I looked at using some free web based applications to create tonights inns but felt like a personal touch was warranted to get my vision across. Hand drawn on grid paper; which I am almost sorry for – it was a long day at work…, both maps probably took around fifteen minutes to think of, measure and draw (half way through the second map I found my ruler! oops!) but it gave the full flexibility of size and design (and ease of use) that I couldn’t get using software such as inkarnate or one of the several generator applications out there.

Hopefully the maps will give a bit of undersanding into what the layout is for this weeks adventure and I am looking forward to trying to work out the potential encounters tomorrow night that utilise the maps and possible adventures planned.

As always don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

The trouble with taverns…

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Monday already and that means another selection of adventure plots is here. With this year going stupidly fast I barely noticed we are into our 6th week of writing these out so I am going to mix up a couple days this week (but still keep roughly the same format) so put a bigger twist on the challenge as a whole.

Credits and images tool blurb thing

Image from http://www.publicdomainpictures.net which can be found here Lnk to image

Taverns and Inns

Every DM would know of the session 0 hook “you meet in a tavern”. Players find NPCs to create bonds with, earn (or swindle) money, meet buyers of goods or simply get a good night rest on a bed instead of the forest floor. This week all paths lead to taverns and thats where our plot hooks start.

Deaths Door

06MoDD

Deaths door is a cosy tavern famed for its garden salad, its inclusive policy and its well mannered proprietor Percy the humble.

Deaths door tavern got it’s name from an adventuring party who stopped a necromancer from opening a portal to a layer of hell and summoning forth a dark lord of undeath.

However, lately tavern patrons have been found dead with their limbs twisted in horrific ways. Six dead bodies have been found and the only link between them all is that they all visited Deaths Door at various times over the last week

Percy Merrywinkle has requested that someone step in to find the cause of these deaths as he believes there must be another cause to the patrons deaths.

Mer’s wandering Inn

06MoWt

Mer’s wandering Inn is a thing of magical delight. Every few nights the Inn disappears from where it is and appears in a different city all together leaving the land it was located at empty with a sign displaying the number of days until it will relocate there.

By every second dawn the Inn has magically relocates to a predetermined place and has since it was created by Bryn, a dwarf wizard of some power who lived a mug of ale in a different location every few nights.

However as the party stay over on a non-transportation night the inn shakes, trembles and then on with a loudly sound like ripping paper or parchment all is still and quiet.

The inn has relocated, for the first time in a few hundred years, to a new place. Great discoloured clouds of magic and strange exotic animals and plants surround the Inn, it’s owner, the party and a few other patrons.

The Goblin and Lute

06MoGaL

The Goblin and Lute is a roudy establishment what people go to get utterly blind drunk.

The entire bar staff are all goblins and there is one rule. Drink, Pay and leave. Most of the patrons are regulars and the Inn is relatively famous for it’s business model. You drink what and goes much you want but you leave with only the clothes in your back. The last part is not shared much as the patrons like to see the bewildered looks on newcomers faces as they wake up from a big night of drinking with their purses as empty as their memories front the night before.

The city guard have tried to get their men inside for years but they always end up drunk, almost naked and confused in front of the houses of Lords and ladies.

The strangest thing is that as soon as the paying patrons who Harbour no ill will leave the tavern they are immediately sober and are extremely happy with their experience at the Goblin and Lute.

Thanks for joining me today to look at something that I, to be honest, generally overlook. I have a go to tavern that I use in most dnd sessions where the players find familiar comfort food, a familiar half-orc innkeeper and a relaxed attitude to a dnd session.

For me The Frisky Mare tavern is where most of my adventures start in some shape of form. It’s slightly rough looking Innkeeper, Tess the half-orc, looks after the party and keeps and eye on the ruffians. In the morning flat bread with grilled mushrooms and tomatoes and/or Glory rolls (double egg and double bacon with cheese rolls) is served for the hungry party and Tess offers advice and info into some leads for work or information.

The Frisky Mare is fundamentally my tavern. It’s my comfort zone and I am going to shake it up this week to give me, and you, some new taverns and Inns that could kick off your next adventure.

And thanks to my new followers. Welcome and thanks for clicking that button to read what I put out daily. I enjoy exploring this process I have done subconsciously for over a decade (maybe 2…) and recording it to be viewed and maybe used by many more.

I really look forward to each day I do this. I also look forward to the day that someone reaches out to tell me they used something I created here in their own adventure. I think that would feel like rolling two nat 20s. Don’t forget to have fun, rekindle that spark and as always don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Weeks wrapup

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This week was a busy one. A final push for work before going on a short break during my daughter’s school holidays and a break from normal work to focus and jumpstart a few projects I’m working on.

This week we used art breeder a lot. From npc images to inspiration for encounters artbreeder was there.

We also used a lot or Kobold fight club, tetra-cube and hero muster to generate the encounters for the party and used the most common form of inspiration for me, sensations, imagery, and emotions felt during my childhood.

This weeks encounter is based on something that both my younger brother and I swear happened.

We both grew up, predominantly on a small farm about 20 minutes from city on about 16 acres (approx 6.5 hectares). The house was at the front/ top of a hill where I remember planting around 3000 trees with my family early when we moved there. As time went on we became more bold to venture amongst the budding forest and especially at night.

Towards the back of the property there was two paddocks of creek flats, where the creek that ran through the farm would overflow and so only tall bushes of grass and trees along the creek bank. One such night when my brother and I were in our teens we were out the back paddock amongst the creek flats. I distinctly remember looking at the tangled maze of branches that framed the waters edge with unease that night, and to be perfectly honest every night since. We were just discussing how to best cross the creek, I believe it was late spring or early autumn as the night was warm but the ground was damp and loamy. As a cloud move across the bright moon a mind shaking sound resonates from our neighbours paddock (who shared the same hauntingly still tree line and creek). A howl. Cliche I know, but hear me out.

As I wondered if I was hearing things my brother asked me ‘Did you bear that howl…?’ a genuine nervousness in his voice. It wasn’t just my hyper active imagination playing tricks on me, like when you see shadows moving through the backyard or a room (more on that another time) but it felt real and I wasn’t alone in hearing it.

Well we didn’t cross the creek at night next to that foreboding treeline and as we jumped three fences to put as much between us and the source of the howl we always worked in pairs to make sure that one person always watched the treeline.

Walking up past the trees, that forest we were so proud of planting, ever few steps felt like s minute had passed, that feeling of dread and unease didn’t leave us until we bad passed through another 5 gates and was in our backyard again.T

The feeling of that night, not the source of the sound, is what I wanted to capture this week. Dread, foreboding, unease to the point of nausea and then most importantly, Relief. Knowing it was over.

Well, this week was really fun. The exploration of old memories and feelings and applying a framework or story around what could happen or be the cause of something is what made this week a bit.. more.

As always, a big thanks to everyone who read the material this week, it gives me no small amount of joy to see people visiting to see what I have written this week. Feel free to comment if like or didn’t like something as that’s the only way to hone a craft, practice and criticism.

As always, don’t forget to roll with advantage

The Brazen Wolfe

Highway to Zel

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So Sunday is here again so that means its adventure day!

This week’s adventure ended up being set in post-apocalyptic modern-ish setting using the OpenLegendRPG system.

Working on this adventure really rekindled the passion and want to get back into the campaign I wrapped up a few years back.

Anyway. Now for the content.

The Setting

Times are hard in the year 2045, multiple pandemics, a world war and the unprecedented advancement of human technologies that hadn’t been seen since the renaissance period saw a world wide cataclysm that brought humanity to its knees.

Now scattered through the cities in settlements, humans, and those descended from humans, must risk life and limb to find enough resources to sustain the refugees and existing population in the settlements.

The plot

The party find themselves in Zel, a refugee heavy settlement in what used to be Perth, Australia. The people here come from all over the globe and the city was one of Australia’s that wasn’t brought to its knees during the Riftgate experiment.

However the newly risen and the cursed Damned stalk the streets and those who venture out without protection or an escort are easy prey to the beasts and the dead that hunt humankind.

In Zel the merchant Brunblethatch Ispich, known to be a trailblazer of trends, has a job for the party. Deliver a crate full of his latest wares across the city to another settlement for sale. The party will be paid per unit that makes it across the city safely and in, relatively the same condition it leaves. The catch/twist being.. it’s live cargo, sort of,  that the Party is transporting and they are not to look in the reinforced crate.

What Brunblethatch doesn’t know is that the rogue Jeremiha Roost is also aware of the potential profit in store for Brunblethatch and had been watching the merchant’s actions with great interest.

The people

Brumblethatch Ispich

Brunblethatch Ispich is an eccentric merchant known for being harmless to others but ruthless in business.

Theo Rosenhut

Theo Rosenhut is unlucky in life and love. His latest venture to prove that his bad luck is over is to drive the cart that a local merchant is organising a guard to take to the otherside of the city.

Jeremiha Roost

Jeremiha Roost is a cruel thief that takes what he wants and doesn’t seem to care if people get hurt. There is a bounty out for his head DOA with enough to feed the party for a week.

Jasmina Koy

Jasmina Coy, Jas to most, is a savvy peddler of information. The party would do well to seek her out before any mission.

Felicity Carsmile

Feli Carsmile offers a room to rent. It’s not much but sure beats sleeping on the street. If late she seems to be less bubbly than normal and rough looking people keep visiting and harassing her at her place, Feli’s.

The Encounters

The party knows the route, to be safe they need to have one or two of them scouting the road ahead for the number of deaders (zombies from the attempt at curing the last pandemic). They assume that it should be clear as there hasn’t been any reports of the dead on the route for quite some time.

This changes…

The party spots a horde of undead up ahead and a sudden loud explosion from the way they came causes the crate to shudder as if something within is trying to get out. The explosion also alerts the horde and the party is forced down a side street with their cargo in tow.

They manage to outpace the undead and calculate a new route, along Timings street

Encounter 1

They don’t make it too far towards Timings street before a group of zombies spot them. All of them look like they suffered recent, very recent damage and appear to be searching for something else before they spot the party.

9 lesser zombies and 1 zombie.

The party after fighting the zombies notice that the crate hasn’t stopped shuddering with a regular rhythm, like something wanting to get out. They also notice that the zombies are littered with strange burn-like bullet wounds. No slug is found though.

9 – Zombie – Lesser

Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

See the stat blocks in my previous post

Don’t bring a knife to a gun fight.

1 – Zombie

Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

See the stat blocks in my previous post

Don’t bring a knife to a gun fight.

Encounter 2

Once on Timings steet the party find themselves looking at a food court when night falls. Setting up against the back of a large fallen, petrified tree the party rests.

Successful watch.
Midway through the night the party member on watch notices a shadowy figure heading towards the crate that has stopped moving after several hours.
The party encounter Jermeiha Roost and he demands the party hand over the crate and that he would spare them. If they do the party is let go and don’t have to fight him, if they don’t then a fight will break out. 

Un-Successful watch.
Midway through the night the party member on watch hears a shout before a lot of fast moving feet scramble around the camp. The party wakes up just in time to see Jeremiha Roost running from the camp and 12 lesser zombies chasing him.. Until they realise that the party members are within eating distance 

Jeremiha Roost

See the stat blocks in my previous post

Don’t bring a knife to a gun fight.

OR

12 – Zombie – Lesser

Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

See the stat blocks in my previous post

Don’t bring a knife to a gun fight.

The outcome

After the harrowing journey to the new settlement the party is greeted by the person buying the zombies… He will give you enough money for week worth of food per zombie that survived the jounrey. He will only confirm the money payment once he escorts you back to his warehouse and opens the crate of zombies into a containment pen.

Thanks for joining for this late weekend post. Today’s finalised adventure is something that I hope to actually run in a near campaign, with some things changed incase my players read this blog. I hope that it creates a curiocity to go check out open legends and give it a shot.

Don’t forget to checkout my linked twitter below and more importantly don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Some weekend musings

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Happy weekend all!

Just a few quick thoughts today.
Let’s look at openlegendrpg.com as I am very excited to be looking back at this system as I hope to have an upcoming campaign using this system.
The campaign is a well loved setting for myself and my players which we truly get a lot of enjoyment out of over the past few years. Modern-Apocalypse with sci-fi elements inspired by the video game Hellgate London.

I have tried to run it with a system like Dungeons and Dragons and although still fun, the flexibility and choice of customisation is what makes OpenLegendRPG a great system for this setting.

Gone is a lengthy skill tree as you now have an attribute system that you use inside and outside combat that isn’t flat modifiers, it’s Extra dice to roll.

Also a class-less system makes creating your character exactly how you want a breeze.

I could go on and on about this RPG system but for now I’ll just leave this here for those who want to dip a toe in and have a look-see.

OpenLegendsRpg introduction

That’s all for now, don’t forget to come back tomorrow for the writeup of this week’s adventure and as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Never a dull moment in Zel

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Monday already. Time seems to be flying by. I guess that can’t be helped when the State (most of country) is in lockdown due to the pandemic. But enough on that.

This week I want to move across to one of the other TTRPGS that I love to play in as well as run. OpenLegend. Open legends is a free RPG system that has limitless customisation opportunities for those who want to play in its system. Creating a character, admittedly, does take some time but thats what happens if you customise you characters to this level of detail. I will explore this at the end of the week and maybe do a special serioes of posts for this week

Job-board

Thieves

02MoStLe1

The mission is simple: find out what’s stealing from my shop and I will reward you. You want more information come seek me out at James’s Emporium

James

Caravan Guard

02MoEs1

Guard detachment wanted, transporting refugees to Jellfort. Seek out Madeline at Saint Joane’s Refuge for more information and to see if you are suitable for this mission.

Madi

Magic

02MoFe1

I have heard rumours of a source of magic that has surfaced at a nearby settlement. I need it.

Please locate and speak to my assistant Kaitlyn to get more information and to prove your suitability for the task ahead.

X

Courier

02MoEs2

Seeking an enthusiastic party to transport livestock from my warehouse to a buyer across the city.

Brumblethatch Ispich

Bounty

02MoSt1

Jeremiha Roost is wanted on the charges of murder, bring him back dead or alive to the local authorities to collet your reward.

Zel city Watch

Whats next…?

Let’s experiment this week onwards… If you like a particular quest above the others that are listed above leave a comment referring to the 02MoXxXx# (example 02MoEs2).

The quest with the most comments will be the one selected for this weeks adventure – if there is a tie.. I will let the dice decide the winnner.

Tried a different approach with this week’s Monday plot writeup.

The aim for this week is to have setting-neutral content that will work in any TTRPG that you play as well as modern, futuristic or Fantays settings.

I will have a larger writeup (or several) on OpenlegendRpg during the week as it truly is a RPG that I wish I played more of and I believe it deserves to get more attention.

Watch out in the coming days for the follow on pieces from today’s content, and as always.

Dont forget to roll with Advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe