Shemet Forest Peak is the focal point of the adventure for the night and this week it features a harsh, hot climb to the peak where we have a final encounter!
So instead of me waffling on here let’s sit back, grab a coffee and roll into map!
Trying to highlight the intense heat of this encounter has made the forest come alive with reds and yellows. The contrast with the green grass makes the peak of the mountain feel more like a psychedelic episode rather than an intense battle with a powerful mage and elemental. Rocks and steep paths lead up to the peak and embers litter the trees creating hazards that the adventurers must watch out for.
A few overlapping textures were used (primarily on the rocks) which includes changing the colour of the base texture and applying it with a transparent layer. However the true daunting activity with this map build was the vast amount of assets used from trees, rocks, rocky hills, embers and light sources to try and make the area feel vividly terrifying.
Thanks for tonight to stay up to date with this weeks adventure. If you find yourself using any of these maps in your own game (downloadable via the link) let me know! Don’t forget to come back tomorrow and this weekend as we continue on this adventure and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage, The Brazen Wolfe
As the adventurers rush towards the mage that commands the elementals that threatened to close the noose around them they didn’t realise it was all part of Corltarlen’s Plan. A elemental of any power will only take being in servitude to a mage for so long and that time has come for Tolkar.
So let’s sit down, grab a coffee and roll into tonight’s adventure!
Corltarlen’s Plan
424WeCoPl
As the party rushed up the hill the wind changed direction and the flaming creatures that had been attacking them constantly suddenly seemed to give up in blocking their passage. The dark chanting changed pace from the mountain ahead of them as it gained in urgency and power. Lightning flashed overhead as the booming voice continued as flashes of fire and lightning roared on the peak of the mountain – the source of the arcane spell.
As they raced over the rocks, bushes and branches the elemental creatures around them started to dim, vibrate before extinguishing. The air became a flurry of embers that rose and travelled towards a vortex that was forming at the peak of the mountain. As the chanting rose so did the number of elementals that disintegrated into embers to join the vortex and in their path the trees, bushes and shrubs caught on fire casting everything in a orange glow.
It dawned on the party as soon as they saw the cause of the magic, a wizard surrounded by flames as motes of elemental magic poured into an effigy which had taken humanoid shape. Half burning wood and half flames the elemental towered over the man who was bathed in fire.
“You are too late now, my ritual is complete and I am the most powerful mage alive!” he howled, his eyes burning with rage and magic. “Corltarlen, deal with them and feast on their magic as per your bargain.” the mage commanded, but the elemental form just sneered.
“For a smart man, Tolkar, you do not understand the cost of power. I will do as you wish to sate my hunger but it will only last me so long now that I have taken this form.” he said as he gazed hungrily across at the mage.
“Yes, yes. More magic items and more magic essence from practitioners of the arcane. I know.” Tolkar replied as he missed the intent of the creature that was once bound to his will.
A good solid slog of a fight this week has been set up and the culmination of scheming from a entity that loathes servitude. We will expand upon this adventure further in the following nights so don’t forget to come back the next few days. And lastly, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage, The Brazen Wolfe
Although a revered wizard once Tolkar Embermane fell into ill repute when he came across a dark tome on elemental binding. Obsessed with the spells within he quickly attempted the first first of the many rituals he would carry out in the City of Poltrow. The first attempt saw half the city burn down as the elementals broke out of the weak bindings he had prepared and dozens lost their lives. The second was less forgiving but more successful as he prepared stronger bindings and summoned a stronger elemental to be bound to his will.
It took most of the city guard to take down the elemental that he summoned but even then, he still escaped the mages guild. But since that day he has sought out magical artefacts and items as part of the pact he made with the elementals,
But that’s… a very long introduction. So let’s grab a coffee, sit back and roll into tonight’s adventure!
As the party ran through the forest Tolkar watched them from above. He could see through the eyes of all of his minions, the pact-bound elementals as they rushed to do his bidding. The magical items on the adventurers down below were enough to offer to his elemental friends so that they would be able to grow and enhance his own magical prowess.
As his elementals rush forward, skittering from tree to tree and closing the net the could practically taste victory on the smoky wind. Yet as he watched the fires rage and spread he also noticed the adventures, his target, start moving towards him, a gap in the fire allowed them to escape his net and rush onwards.
Calling to the original elemental he had bound, Corltarlen, he watched as the lumbering beast of fire and smoke pushed his way across the rocks and shrubs. “What are they doing? They are letting them escape!” he roared at the elemental. He had forgotten when he had become so hot tempered and quick to anger but even as his outburst ended he could feel a pang of guilt. “Stop them.” he muttered as he turned around.
Corltarlen smiled wickedly, a being without physical form had no limitations of flesh to restrict how they formed. Yet Corltarlen watched as his minions, his elemental servants, did his bidding. Weaving through the trees to direct the adventurers towards Tolkar for they were the only one who could end the hold over Corltarlen the mage had. Directing a few of the creatures that had disappointed him the most to create a feeble barrier in between the adventurers and the mage he watched with glee as they were cut down and the kindling fire was avoided.
Sending a few more to look like the attempt was made to halter the advance he could feel the rage brewing within the mage. The powerful elemental could feel the mages hold on sanity slipping further away and the temptation to attempt the more powerful spells in the dark tome increased. This is the moment he waited for, the final binding where Corltarlen would finally be free of the idiotic mage.
A different one this week as it provides context to the bad guy this week. But this wont be the only time we meet Tolkar or Corltarlen as we expand the adventure daily this week. So don’t forget to come back to check what the progress is and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage, The Brazen Wolfe
This week the party experience a warm welcome as they find themselves trapped between a forest fire and the things that created it. But surely that wont get them hot and bothered as they fight, think and strive to get out of this situation they find themselves in .
So grab a coffee, some fireproof armour let’s delve through tonight’s adventure!
The dangers of travelling through woods are normally thought of in terms of the creatures that call the woods home. The fire is spreading at an unnatural pace and it moves quicker than the party can keep up with. As the party try and navigate through the forest as the fire spreads through the trees, bushes and grass a dark voice calls through the woods. The fire moves through the woods as if alive as it attempts to surround and close in on the adventurers while a sound like laughter crackles from the burning leaves.
Can the party find a way out of the inferno or will they have to fight their way out as a dark menace appears to urge the fires onwards and towards the adventurers.
The party had just started to eat their evening meal after hiking through the Shemet forest. The woods provided ample food, shelter and materials for building a camp and it was largely free from overly-hostile monsters. As they settled into their camp which overlooked a valley and basked in the warmth their camp fire provided them a light flickered faintly from across the valley. ‘Another campfire‘ is what it appeared to be in the direction that they intended to cross to after resting.
But as they watched the light several other fires slowly came to life across the mountains side and as the wind changed direction towards them the smell of smoke gave hint to what came towards them. Suddenly the air was filled with embers as they raced and scattered through the valley and towards them at an unnatural pace. A dark voice carried across the wind, an arcane taint stung like acrid smoke as spot fires spawned everywhere.
As the party raced across the wooded path fires roared through the trees around them. As the fire chewed through the wood the sound of burning leaves, sizzling bark and the fire as it created a wind current for itself sounded like the chittering laughter of foul creatures. The embers raced through the trees carried upon these winds as if alive and where ever they landed new fires were born. The fire was born from dark magic and it acted as voracious as was the nature of such things.
As they raced through the woods with the possessions they were able to grab in their haste to leave their camp they watched as a fire sprung up in front of them as a tree fell down upon the path they raced down. Scanning the area their only way forward was a quickly closing gap down hill towards the bottom of the valley in the direction that the fire first started.
Movement out of the corner of their eye drew their attention to a tree they had passed as a small creature made of fire crawled along the darkening bark, laughing manically as the tree quickly burst into flame. The source of dark magic was uncovered – elementals. But their dark master was somewhere across the valley and their purpose was unknown. It was clear that what ever they attempted to do to escape would only save them for a moment of they were the target of the magician who had summoned these creatures.
Their best bet of survival was to find who ever was controlling the elementals and to silence them.
A mixture of a chase, a “locate” and large final battle this week as the party try and escape the Shemet forest before they are burnt to a crisp. Don’t forget that we will expand this adventure each day this week so don’t forget to come back daily to stay up to date. And as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage, The Brazen Wolfe
When looking at heroic, epic adventure the consideration of what happens as a result of the deeds done and spells unleashed is rarely considered. The outcome of magical backlash is rarely good and nor do I see it explored that often but tonight, while working on the zine for this weekend, I had some spare time to myself. So tonight we have a thought provoker that ties in with tomorrows Zine (Manaeva’s End).
So while we wait for tomorrows zine and I gear up for 900 nights of blogging straight, let’s sit back, grab a coffee and let’s check it out!
The air around Contoro shimmered as if the saviours of the city, and the land for that matter, still battled the dracolich with spell and steel. The scarring of the sky was just one side affect that the residents still had to deal with but at least this one wasn’t as bad as the others.
Occasionally the echo of the spells that were cast here would appear again, great phantasmal images, sounds and even smells of fire balls, bolts of lightning and torrential acid rain would appear randomly over the city. Only once in recent memory had one of these spells taken a more physical manifest where the image of a bolt of lightning not only looked, sounded and smelt like one but it tore a hole in a wagon that passed down a street.
Other echoes of the battle appeared frequently within the city but many of them were harmless, unless the pavement suddenly turned to lava, a wall disintegrated into sand or the like. The spells and raw arcane and divine power that was slung in this city was so intense that the position in the material plane was still linked in with the weave that lay on top of it. The worst part of the city was where the body of the Dracolich had crashed into the city itself. The body had been disposed of but as the create died, its phylactery broken, shattered and disposed of separately across planes, still had such a strong taint that it was nearly unliveable.
However the poor of the city had taken to creating a series of houses and shanty’s that moved closer to the area the dragon fell. The outcome of magical backlash was felt most keenly here with a sickness spreading through those that lived close to the tainted land. Born sickly with the inability to respond to magical healing, or spells these people live a half-life; constantly sickly, weak and frail as the magical poisoning pulls their bodies apart. But despite the best efforts of the city and its rules more people end up living closer to the dragons taint and so these issues, the outcome of magical backlash, continue to rise and a new magical menace haunts the streets.
Thanks for visiting tonight. Don’t forget to come back tomorrow night for more content and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage, The Brazen Wolfe
Tonight the deep cavern under Lithia calls to us as we explore the calling lights from beyond the halls. A few large boulders lay in the cavern but this large open area has a waterway running through the centre and down into the passage way the party was following. Perhaps the waters lead somewhere and perhaps not.
So for now let’s sit back, grab a coffee and roll into map!
Several boulders lay in the cavern to provide cover, block line of sight as well as to, generally, make the map a bit more interesting. The river that runs through the cavern has a sharp rocky edge that makes getting in and out a bit more difficult if rushing through the water. Gems glow faintly in the walls but, cease glowing when touched. This gives the cavern an other-wordily feel that, with the gloom, makes everything feel a bit more foreign.
A large rocky outcrop sits in the middle of the cavern which rises 30 or so feet into the air, but the edges are sharp and cut at exposed skin when pressed against.
A fun one tonight; the main reason I went with a cavern theme for this adventure actually, with us exploring multiple overlapping textures, foreground and background texture and the night filter over the top make up the general stone floor. The walls, rock formation in the middle and even river bed are made of different art assets with an attempt to blend them together and the different gems add a bit more to the room.
Gems provide a source of faint light and then attempting to provide a light source (above the night filter) per gem provides a more realistic view of what overlapping sources of light would accomplish. A single torch wont reveal much where multiple may.
Thanks for tonight to stay up to date with this weeks adventure. If you find yourself using any of these maps in your own game (downloadable via the link) let me know! Don’t forget to come back tomorrow and this weekend as we continue on this adventure and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage, The Brazen Wolfe
The further the party explore down the watery path the deeper they go under and into the mountains until they reach what can only be described as the Aberration Caverns. Now not too dissimilar to last years adventure where the party encountered a monster in Larituron’s Pit this week we explore darker caves than many would dare. The promise and seeming trail of treasure leads them onwards and deeper into the mountains. But not everything that glitters is gold.
So let’s sit down, grab a coffee and roll into tonight’s adventure!
The Aberration Caverns
423WeAbCa
As the party followed the water that cut through the rock and trickled deeper into the mountain. The party had been lucky discovering this waterway as within the first few feet of entering the sink hole they were met with a scattering of gold pieces and gems laying in the shallows of the waterway. Following onwards more gold, gems and even small trinkets caved out of semi-precious stone was found in the water ways. The light from the torches flickered and uncovered more treasure scattered along the tunnel as they delved deeper.
It wasn’t until they had met a few crossroads that they discovered the first of the bodies. Fresher than what one would expect investigating where remains of an ancient war these were of humans, elves, dwarves and a gnome. An adventuring party. Many showed signs of being killed by poisoning and apart from a few smaller punctures there was no evidence that they were met with anything other than, potentially, a venomous giant spider or the like.
However the gold, gemstones and even wondrous magical items that they had in their possession indicated that this path led deeper into riches. Even as they wondered what could be deeper in the cavern several gemstones started to emit a glowing light from the walls. Several signs carved into walls from the adventurers before them indicated that there was something at the end of this tunnel and some indicated treasure and a great danger.
A faint glow could now be seen deeper at the end of the pathway which cast glittering lights long the rough stone walls at the end of the passage. But as the lights danced across the walls, and ceiling of the passage the party did not see the faint spiderwebs that covered the ground, clung to their clothes and hair and as they moved through the passage the snapping of the webs created a vibration that rippled through the passageway undetected.
Thanks for visiting tonight to look at the next steps of this adventure where we explore some of my favourite creatures to turn into big baddies to fight. But before I give away the final parts of this adventure don’t forget to come back tomorrow where we will expand the adventure further and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage, The Brazen Wolfe
This week we don’t have specific NPCs but we have several Temporary Party members that we could utilise – well the concept of them any way. Hirelings and members of the Order of Scouts will provide the party with a temporary boost in numbers to help get the adventures to where they need to go.
So let’s grab a coffee, sit back and roll into tonight’s adventure!
All parties know that there is only so long that you can work in isolation from experts of the land. The Order of Scouts manages to keep a tab on the best in the business when it comes to finding the right path, knowing the wilderness and the creatures that call them home.
At times when voyaging into unknown lands the Order of Scouts are called upon by adventurers to ensure that they party can make it to their destination on time, mostly safe. Not much for fighting these experts in the field will choose the paths less taken, avoid roads and prefer to avoid fighting if at all possible. However they are all trained with weapons so they can be safe and ensure their clients make it to where they need to go.
Although young in comparison to some of the other organisations across the continents the order of scouts is spreading across more and more lands and making a name for themselves as both attracting talent and completing their missions.
We don’t really have key NPCs tonight as such but we have the option of several different ones. Having a hireling for one adventure can be a great way to bolster the party, or, providing some depth to the narrative of the adventure. Don’t forget that we are expanding the rest of the adventures each day this week, so don’t forget to come back daily to check what the progress is! And lastly, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage, The Brazen Wolfe
Another travelling adventure this week but this one has a bit more treasure involved, however the party won’t ever be able to get rid of that sinking feeling. Join me as we quest beneath the surface and explore a sinkhole that opened up before the adventurers.
So grab a coffee, maybe some spelunking equipment and lets climb through tonight’s adventure!
The ancient ruins in the Khaina mountains belong to the people that used to live in the fort of Lithia. Once the aberrations that attacked the fort and hunted down the people that fled from the doomed fort the buildings fell into ruin. However as time made its mark the tunnels where the aberrations attacked through in conjunction with the river that raged through the ravine left something to be discovered years later.
A Yawning portal into the subterranean layers awaits, untold riches left behind from the fall of Lithia and the battles that raged ahead has left this place a veritable wonder-cove for would-be treasure seekers. However the caverns beyond the sinkholes hold something much darker than just the spoils of conquest.
The trek through the Khaina ravine was not as gruelling as one would imagine for the site of the largest coordinated attack from aberrations. The water rushed to their left as they made their way along the bottom of one of the twin mountains that gave the ravine its name. Sporadically there were ruins of the buildings that had called this pass home; cut stone stacked and bound by mortar, a rotting frame barely holding onto the plant growth that had taken over the roof of what was once a structure and the like.
As they moved deeper through what would have been the supporting buildings that housed and provided supplies to the fort that lay further through the ravine. The sunlight glinted of something in a patch of thick vegetation closer to the edge of the mountain. A golden hilt of a sword lay embedded in the ground and as the wind caught the branches of the trees that had overtaken the ruins the sunlight hit the hilt at the right angle.
Moving towards the hilt the vegetation underfoot became thicker with more roots and vines covering the ground underneath making each step more precarious than it needed to be. As they neared the hilt the vegetation shifted underfoot for a moment before, with the sound of cracking and snapping the ground gave way and the adventurers scrambled to stop themselves from falling. Those that were too slow found themselves suspended in a strangely light drenched sinkhole where a branch of the river trickled slower deeper into what appeared to be caverns that had been eroded by the water.
Plants lined the walls and the evidence of sunken masonry was everywhere. To their left was what appeared to be a cellar to the building that they saw above. Several old skeletons littered the floor beyond where the water had either washed them here, or, had not washed them further into the depths of the yawning cavern beyond.
As they marvelled at how this sinkhole, and the other entrances that danced with sunlight from above was not visible the party had a sinking feeling that there was more to this hole and cavern than what initially met the eye.
A fun one this week for not only the map potential but also the possibility of a good score of loot. Don’t forget that each day this week we will expand the adventure further so don’t forget to come back daily to stay up to date. And as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage, The Brazen Wolfe
Tonight I wanted to explore something different – constructing a historic scene in the battle for Lithia – a mountainous pass where a people established a fortified position to defend from the warlike races on the other side of the pass.
So sit back, grab a coffee and let’s check it out!
The water swelled in the ravine as it was powered by dark magic and the callings of the druids alike. Urged to flow in different directions at the same time it became a living force by itself fighting against itself and the confines of the ravine itself. As the bodies began to roll down from the hills, peppered with arrows the raging river turned from clear to murky and blood stained.
The roars of the raging waters was overtaken by the warcries and cries of pain and desperation from the defenders and the host of attackers. Swarms of ettercaps, driders and other aberrations rushed across the sides of the mountains and rushed at the attackers. The defenders slung arrows and bolts at the onrushing fiends which pulled a few from the walls and into the rocks below. However the aberrations were without number and as they rushed onwards towards the settlement. As they reached the walls they made a mockery of the battlements and climbed it like they meant nothing.
Once the creatures breached the top of the walls they swarmed across the defenders and the volume of arrows dwindled as man, dwarf and elf picked up sword and axe. Soon the defenders numbers joined the attackers in the dead on the walls. However there was hope as red cloaks darted between the creatures of darkness, their blades flashing like lightning across the dark carapace of the creatures they were fighting.
As the attackers surged over the heroic people defending the tides lost ground. The further they were pushed back to the waters and the boats that were waiting to ferry who ever made it out of the ravine.
Thanks for visiting tonight. Don’t forget to come back tomorrow night for more content and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage, The Brazen Wolfe
Brazen Wolfe Tabletop 