OpenLegendRPG

The People of Cherpa

thebrazenwolfeLeave a comment

Hello and welcome to Tuesday night where we look at the people of Cherpa and become a bit more acquainted with them. This week we look at two halflings and the children they watch out for in this town as they try and keep the traditions afloat. So sit back, have a coffee and let’s roll on with it.

The People of Cherpa

301TuTPeOCh

In Cherpa there is no real hierarchy or leader system in Cherpa nor is their regular guard. Everyone in the town is expected to be a member of the militia and called upon when in need. The people of Cherpa are generally known for being cheerful and happy and the halflings are the primary race in the town.

Gerald Plumton

Gerald Plumton; created in Artbreeder

Short, strong and friendly are all words that would describe Gerald Plumton, one of the oldest halflings in Cherpa. Despite his age he is an extremely social and active member in the community and is charged with running the fairs and events for the people of Cherpa. Gerald is the one that is actively seeking help and offering a reward for anyone who can assist the town in finding the cherpa hens.

Doris Tender

Doris Tender; created in Artbreeder

The halfling Doris Tender is the long time friend, sometimes more, of Gerald. Doris has been a successful handler of her cherpa hen partners for many years and is the only townsfolk to have more than one bird bonded with her. She owns the local general store that provides equipment and goods to travellers but is known for her charitable nature.

Casey and Corey Murlay

Casey Murlay; created in Artbreeder
Corey Murlay; created in Artbreeder

Casey is the older sister of Corey Murlay. They both moved here when their father went to war and mother became a chambermaid for a nobleman’s daughter in the city. They lived with their uncle for some time before he got sick and passed away but the townsfolk, particularly Doris and Gerald have looked after them like they were family.

Prone to bouts of cheekiness and trickery these children are as fun loving as the halflings they have spent most of their lives with.

Tonight we met some of the people of Cherpa. Tomorrow we will expand on the issue at hand, the missing birds, and look for answers. Don’t forget to come back for the rest of the week as we expand and create this adventure and lastly, don’t forget to roll it with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Grass Roots

thebrazenwolfeLeave a comment

Hello and welcome to another night at Brazen Wolfe Tabletop where we start at our grass roots. This year we are going back to looking at one-shot style adventures each week as opposed to a single long-term campaign like last year. As much fun as it was to explore Ryokughan and follow a single story the whole year I did miss the freedom to have a single new adventure each week. So this week starts a new adventure, like all the future weeks, and we start on the shores of a lake.

Grass Roots

301MoGrRo

The Town of Cherpa

Created in Artbreeder

The Town of Cherpa was famous for a few things but its lake was probably the most primary reason for its fame. The large lake to the north of the village provides all that the city requires. Fresh water, food and a mode of transporting away from the dangerous roads. But what makes this lake most famous is the unique bird that nests on its shore line, the Cherpa hen.

The Cherpa Hen

The cherpa hen is a large bird that is big enough to carry a moderately weighted human in its webbed feed. It has a small secondary pair of wings growing from just above and behind its primary wings which make it not only a strong flier but a strong diver. The people of Cherpa, named after these great birds, bond from the chicks from a young age and train them to fly and fish with them. The large size of these birds means that they can reach the bottom of the deep lake to feed on the lake grass roots which is where the second most valuable commodity of Cherpa lies. The iron-shelled fish.

However, it’s the time of the year where a great competition is held for the Cherpa handlers where their partners are tested to retrieve these shellfish. But there is a small problem.

The Cherpa have disappeared from the roosts and the village lies quiet except for the calls of their handlers trying to find their partners.

The call for aid has gone out to help find these beloved birds and to save the festival. The reward is substantial but time is running out. Are there any heroes that will answer the call?

Thoughts…

This week I want to start with grass roots and see where it goes from here. I always find that the early levels of any RPG can be the most rewarding and tend to start new adventures are low levels. But don’t worry we will remediate this lack of experience quickly.

Thanks for visiting me for the first adventure of the new year. Don’t forget to come back this week as we expand upon the town of Cherpa and its urgent problem and, don’t forget to roll it with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

One shot ideas, Lights

thebrazenwolfeLeave a comment

Welcome to another Saturday night filled with creative juices. On the mend and staring into a darkened room I bring you one shot ideas, lights!

Lights for many mean comfort and safety. It reveals that there is nothing in the shadows and it brings with it warmth and comfort. But what we see outside of the dome of light is limited as comfort and warmth blinds us. Perhaps the better question is what can see us as we are revealed by the warming glow of the light.

Tonight, as last week, I will cover a few one shot ideas around light.

One shot ideas, Light – 1

The party is content around their campfire as they sit down under the rocky overhang they look at the map before them. Rumour was that there was a beast out in the hills they were travelling through that was responsible for entire herds of sheep and goats going missing. They had spent a few nights searching already but they hadn’t seen any trace in of the creature.

Across the clearing the beast stalked forward, the figures in the campfire illuminated perfectly as they huddled over a box.

As the party continues to look at the map they become increasingly aware of the deafening silence of the wilds around them. Standing to look away from the map they looked past the flow from the flickering flames and out into the muted darkness, not aware of the creature that looked straight back at them.

He classic beast stalking party at night just outside of the light of the campfire. A chase scene, perhaps backwards and forth between werewolf and the party.

One shot ideas, Light – 2

The party strolled down the streets of Fobertown they marvelled at the sights, smells and delights that the city brought. As they continued to stroll down towards the seaside. Having had their fill of shopping and feasting they marveled at the costal city and its wonders.

Slowly faint bobbing lights drifted across the waves towards the city. The party watched as other city goers stopped and watched the lights as they spread across the waves. Slowly the number of lights multiplied and the party began to feel uneasy.

It’s another classic. Pirate raid on a costal city! This one the party will have to fight through a few pirates as they try and raid the city and take the party, and citizens as prisoners. Perhaps a slaving ship could be involved from lizardfolk raiders. A lot of potential in this simple plot.

That’s it for tonight. Thanks for joining me as I went through two different adventure ideas on tonight. Light works both ways with predators and party both benefiting from thr party using light. But it goes noth ways. It could be the party ambushing where their quarry, bandits or poachers, have a campfire and the party move in for a surprise attack.

Light isn’t just for people it can be for traps. A solitary torch may draw in the party for a trap or ambush, the possibilities are endless and light can be a useful tool in our kit. Don’t forget to come back tomorrow for end of week writeup and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Rainy one shot ideas

thebrazenwolfeLeave a comment

Welcome to Saturday night where I bring to you rainy one shot ideas. Now the forecast here in Victoria tomorrow is rain so I thought what else could be better than D&D one shots.

Tonight I will cover a few one shot ideas, the hook, the plot and perhaps some thoughts on the encounter to drive the creation of a one shot. The twist is that, like the title says, they are all having to do with rain.

Rainy one shot ideas – 1

Local farmer has been complaining to the local church about the lack of rain. This farmer has gone as far as to even denounce the church and preach that they are fake worshippers. However the following night the town is struck by a mighty rain storm where the farmers (who complained) property seems to be the worst hit. Crops are flooded, stock is lost and even their house is destroyed.

The farmer starts to preach to the towns folk about the church deliberately destroying his livelihood and there are growing fears that some of them will believe him.

The general idea I had with this one will be a diplomacy mission to prevent a civil uprising between the farming community and the relatively peaceful church. The cause could be a few things but I am fond of “built their farm on cursed land” but that requires a question to be answered. Why is the land cursed? Let’s work with that notion for now. The farmer had this land handed down from his parents and they their parents. At some stage they killed the original owners of the land and stole it from them. They buried the bodies at the bottom of a hill where eventually a watering hole was built.

The resentment to the church and turmoil that the family was creating stirred up the restless spirits of those murdered and as they were buried under water that is the shape of the vengeance they chose.

Rainy one shot ideas – 2

A town sits in a valley along a river that is fed by a high waterfall a few miles north. The area has been experiencing rain for a week straight but the river has run dry and the only water they have is from the rain. The issue is the hydro powered mill that feeds the towns smith (they are famed for their steel) and their bread production. Until recently everything was fine but a new influx of dwarven steel from up north has created some desperate times for the town and with their mills now shutting down townsfolk are worried that this is the end for their town.

The party are asked to investigate what happened to the water.

Another simple one with an easy plot. The dwarves have also made use of the river system further up river with one exception. It’s humans creating fake dwarvern steel and arms. Any dwarf worth their beard would be able to see the inferior craftsmanship. The river was blocked to channel it into a large dam that they use for their industry. However with all this rain the dam is full to bursting and they are quickly trying to find a way to prevent the dam from falling.

The tricky part of this is that there isn’t an easy way up to the village. It requires some mountain climbing along rain drenched stones. I believe that the rain is a perfect addition to increase the difficulty of the adventure, second to snow and thick fog.

Rainy one shot ideas – 3

On the way back from their latest adventure, carrying loot and exhausted the party become aware that they are being hunted. A group of bandits who out number and overpower the party easily have given up chase on the party. They have a few options. Try and outrun them, ambush them or ditch the loot and retreat to the nearest village a days ride away if they are unburdened.

Constant rain makes for difficult travel with a laden cart. Slowing progress down to a crawl, getting bogged nearly impossible to hide your passage rain gives it all. This one shot has some interesting bits in it too where the bandits are lycanthropes. Were rats tend to be the typical bandit and they add a touch of danger to combat which may dissuade them. Also being particularly malicious creatures they may not be put off the hunt from the loot being abandoned.

I would have disadvantage on Dexterity checks, stealth checks and athletic checks due to fatigue and cold rain which will make getting away and fighting difficult. After all it would be too easy if they could just outrun the lycanthropy infected bandits.

That’s it for tonight. Thanks for joining me as I went through three different ideas with the rain theme. Tomorrow we have the end of the week writeup which leads into the last full week of November. I want to thank you for joining me daily and look forward to our journey together in the future. Don’t forget to stay dry and safe and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Too much preparation

thebrazenwolfeLeave a comment

Good evening and welcome to another Saturday random-topic discussion piece. Tonight I wanted to touch on when you can have too much preparation and some wandering thoughts I had on it.

Now I am probably prone to going too deep into world building from the get go. I normally have a rough plot, some segues (relatable secondary hooks) and a rough idea from how to go from session zero to session 26. But I then tend to go super deep into it establishing the origin story for the homebrew setting, complex political movements, secondary (and even tertiary) powers who oppose the player and main plot and so on.

I then create new races, new religions, new creatures, sometimes new classes and subclasses and before I know it I have a whole book worth of content before I even have my players. This well of ideas, lore and history sometimes doesn’t translate well when my players rock up at the table and begin to discuss their back story.

Sometimes empires shift. Relationships, cities and outcomes of battles may change based on what the party members have achieved or where they have come from. Sometimes I get bogged down in too much preparation that I fail to factor in a fundamental step that I weave in with my games.

The simply fact that, the players and their characters tell the stories.

I recognise that some of the re-work, potential-frustration as well as mental fatigue and exhaustion that I go through with world building and campaign setting could be removed if I was to simply involve my players early on. Maybe having session -1 where I have the players get involved in the world building.

Simply telling them about the world and giving them the opportunity of asking me questions they care about. What races are there? Is there any political drama? Where do elves fit in? Simple things like this could help me, the DM, in build the world for them to explore.

After all there is game without the players so why not involve them earlier in the process of creating it.

This also serves a secondary purpose – to get your players invested in this world. If they asked what gnomes were like in this world and you explained that they happened to be extremely military perhaps they could expand why. Maybe Gnomes are military because dwarves invaded their lands? Perhaps a certain gnome family or village was the reason for the banding together of the gnomish people into this warrior state. Maybe one of the party was a descendant of the king that brought them together and they now are trying to broker peace with the elves.

Getting investment from your players

Little things such as these questions can grow into bigger investment for your players. And this is a great thing because after all, we want them invested in the world. We want them to show up each week to go “I need to make sure that my people continue on the right path.” With a greater level of investment the greater chance that those players will prioritise a slot in their calendar for D&D night.

What a fantastical notion. In fact the breaking down of the DM role’s walls and exposing the inner workings to your players could be the best thing you could do.

The future

I think that my next adventure, which I hope to start in the coming months after a lengthy break, will be a collaboration between player and DM. Getting my players to explain the world, perhaps build parts of it for themselves will help tie their characters involvement in with it.

I believe that with less focus on the world building and more focus on the involvement will help me level up as a DM. Perhaps it will help my players level up as players too. Regardless the new year and next few months should be a learning curve for myself and my players as we build a world together.

I will hope to post a few updates on here when the times comes to get involvement from my readers. So if you have questions for me in the setting I will creature let me know. I will have some more info on this coming December and hopefully the new year brings with it a new adventure for me and my players to begin.

On that note don’t forget to visit me again here tomorrow for the end of week write up. We have a few hidden things to work through and a mammoth week next week to prepare for. So, lastly, don’t forget to roll with advantage and I’ll see you tomorrow,
The Brazen Wolfe

Railroading or Player-Centric plot?

thebrazenwolfeLeave a comment

Good evening everyone and welcome to a bit of a discussion around Railroading or Player-Centric plot.

When it comes down to the definition of railroading it boils down to, basically the following. “The DM taking control of the outcomes of the adventure despite the actions of the players”.

The beginning

When I was a 5 year old boy learning D&D from my dad railroading wasn’t a concept. No really. It wasn’t. You would play an adventure, go from point A-B. You would track the bandits to their lair that had been overrun with stirge’s, find the mcguffin and bring it back to the nearby village. That was it. The adventure really became a single road leading to adventure, combat and loot. Even the adventure books that came out during that time also were of the same page. A single adventure, albeit longer, where you went from A-B and then to C after you had found out that NPC1 was really BBEG2. Or something like that.

This made it easy to DM. In fact all you needed was one adventure, the plot hook and all you had to do was run it using your prep sheet. You had to improvise around the decisions during the adventure of course but this wasn’t hard to do. As the DM you knew your NPCs, the map and the creatures. You didn’t have to worry about what was off the beaten track and your players knew it.

The players came in expecting adventure, they were trained mercenaries, henchmen or heroes and they had a job to do. They had to explore the hidden dungeon, find the mad alchemists lair and defeat the golems within. These heroes didn’t care for the nearby keep – that was another adventure and this alchemist was dangerous. And so the adventures went like that. Each session a new adventure, a new story and new things to see and explore – but all prepared for by a Dungeon Master who spent hours on it for the players, and their, enjoyment.

The shift

You remember Skyrim? maybe it was your first RPG. For me Neverwinter nights was my first digital RPG and boy was it great. You could move through the towns, buildings, dungeons and sewers and learn and do anything. But there were doors that needed keys and those keys were kept by holders of the plot. You couldn’t continue to the next town until you had done the quest before hand. And you couldn’t do that quest until you completed the one currently assigned to you. Yes the bakers wife would ask you to kil lrats in her basement as a side quest – but you didn’t leave the city until much later.

With the rise of open world games and bigger RPGs, like Skyrim, we saw the humble style of fun weekender-one-shots step aside for long winded campaigns that were completely driven by players decisions. This makes it harder to plan and organise for the DM, which is 100% fine. But the counter argument is if the story is that an evil wizard is in a castle to the north you want the party to find that castle. You don’t want them exploring the swamp-islands to the south where the cannibalistic tribes of Kuthrapika hunt the marshy waterways. Though – that does sound fun now doesn’t it?

Railroading or Player-Centric plot?

The rise of “your decisions, your story” is putting the classic “Your decisions, my quest” in a negative light in some circles. This unrealistic expectation of the DM shifting, changing and maintaining multiple story lines and bending the game that they facilitate (yes.. the big F word..) makes it harder to convince players to come along with you on the journey through the adventure you have crafted.

The old saying of “it takes two to tango” is so true with D&D these days and the real quest is getting the players to care about your story enough and stick to it and not go looking for adventure but trust that you have it in spades, waiting for them to come along for the journey.

Well that’s it for me tonight. Don’t forget to come back tomorrow night where I will take you through the weekly write-up and look to finish up this month. If you have a different view on railroading let us know, let’s talk about it openly from players and dungeon masters alike as the game has changed heaps since I was a kid and the adventure needs to work for both DM and player.

Don’t forget to read up on the past week, look out for new stat-blocks and potential new items for our adventurers in the coming posts and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Trading Post

thebrazenwolfeLeave a comment

Tonight I want to put a bit of inspiration out there whether its the beginning of an adventure or the plot of a one shot time will tell. Traditionally D&D adventures start in a tavern, or an Inn but what about a Trading Post – someplace that’s not soo different to the norm. So let me know if you believe that it would be a good start to a campaign, all campaigns (instead of the traditional “you meet at an inn” or the theme of a one shot adventure.

So sit back, have a mug, or bucket, of coffee and enjoy.

Brazen’s Trading Post

As the last of the walls came up and boxed in the frame he stood there as his faithful animal companion honked next to him. Reaching out he scratched the ears of the oddity and looked to the cart it carried which held several lengths of timber for the beams of the roof.

“Well old girl, its the end of an era. We wont be going on many adventures any more but we can at least help those that still have that drive.” He said as he grabbed a large fibrous bag of kibble for the creature. The creature honked, a weird grunting honk, in thanks as it chewed down into the food whilst he began to move the beams off the cart. His arms flexed as they braced for the weight, the solid redwood beams still felt heavy despite the enchanted gear he was wearing.

Lifting the beams up onto the next level of scaffolding was slow work, getting up the three levels of the new building wasn’t the hardest part though. Squeezing the large materials for the building between his new building and the two neighbouring established houses was. Duck honked a warning just in time for him to catch the beam before it crashed through the wall of his new neighbours. “Thanks Duck” he called down who dug her head back into the bag, at least he thought she was a she.

Memories…

As the sun began to set he leant against the large quadruped and looked up at the frame for his new building – a trading post. A place where he could provide experience, wears and services to the new and experienced adventurers. Like he once was. Looking a the scars, scratches and patches of missing fur he remembered the final battle he had taken Duck into, the large reptilian form snaking its way around the pillars. The sheer volume of fangs was daunting enough but the panicked honks increased from Duck as he stood and loosed volley upon volley at the creature. In the end Duck had saved him.

Throwing herself at the creature as he sustained a tail swipe that broke his arm and shattered several ribs. Healing potions kept him alive is what the other adventurers said but he knew differently. The weird creature that he had raised as a chick from a egg is the reason. She is the reason why he gave up adventuring to build this place. A place where his experience, items and knowledge could help those who would befall similar fates to him.

A trading post of not just goods and services but knowledge. Something more valuable than enchanted swords, crossbows or armour. Something that holds the only the truly strong manage to obtain.

Walking down the street with duck walking beside him pulling the empty cart he looked back at their dream. The frame was there, good and strong and tomorrow the roof goes on, then the walls. He glanced to the one finished room he had on the block of land – a stable for Duck where she could be safe and warm. He owed her more than that but she didn’t seem to care – she was just happy to be nearby.

Saying farewell

thebrazenwolfeLeave a comment

Hi all and thanks for dropping in for tonights writeup around saying goodbye to a character or NPC.

Now occasionally we will have a PC die and how we handle that generally is based on the circumstances around said perishing. But what about NPCs?

Now I’ve had some campaigns where a random NPC becomes a mascot or sorts and the party would’ve mourned thier passing under most circumstances but as a DM we have full control over when and how NPCs die.

This month, really its been rough for the NPCs, we have had a few NPCs die whether from the Nat attack or after that in defence of Kyoko. Deciding the right time to pull that level and watch the players reactions, who deal with death daily is something that is hard to come to a decision on and for me I am myself a few questions.

1. Is their death driving the plot forward? If the plot progresses and the chance for more adventures and growth for the players and their character then it could be a good time to move on.

2. Does the NPC growing and taking up more and more “screen time” then the players? If yes then its another indicator that it could be the right move.

3. Will the players continue down their adventuring path without this NPC, are they still relevant for future sessions? This one is tricky. If its a no then you can move on easily, but if its a yes then you may need to consider what else you can do to help drive the narrative as a side player. A magical journal that contains the knowledge of the NPC is a common crutch to fall on, or, bringing them back as a guide or spirit. It cheapens their existence and can also grate on some players nerves but if the answers to #1 and #2 were also yes then #3 is almost always a sign for the tigger to be pulled.

I’ve been looking at what can be my mid campaign shift and the migration from one arc to another for a while now and moving from having ” a guide with a plan” to being relatively blind is probably the next step for kyoko and the Party. It outs more emphasis on the party to do more but also fits well with the goals of thr NPCs so it doesn’t feel like a “rocks fall” moment – as much…

When deciding to remind an npc in full or partially from the scene as long as it benefits the story and players then normally it will end fine.

Don’t forget to come back tomorrow for the last of the months Brazen Wolfe Tabletop content and as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,

The Brazen Wolfe

Inspiration points

thebrazenwolfeLeave a comment

So I find myself at a crossroads tonight – having had to regretfully pause my games (of Soulbound or dungeons and dragons) for some time but that doesn’t stop my imagination running with the smallest inspiration. Hanging out clothes and having an Ant bite my foot this morning, looking at my ice-themed dice set on my typing desk, the dozens of miniature paints littered through my room or the two odd book shelves, different in so many ways but suiting the same purpose – inspiration can some from single word, a single spark and for me its a constant, distracting and enriching thing to experience.

So tonight I want to share a days, my day today, worth of inspiration with you all.

Animals can be a big inspiration for adventures, taking the smallest (and maybe least favourite – except for centipedes, those things are the worst!) of creatures and one that people are naturally fearful of we can create two adventures complete with hooks, sub hooks, NPCs and places to explore. Let’s look at two animal inspired adventure hooks.

Ants.

For a very long time ants have always bothered me, mainly for my dislike of socks and the enjoyment I get while walking bear footed across paddocks, roads, yards and so forth. For the town or Berokovia the ants have changed.

Ants the size of dogs have appeared in the villagers barns and houses and the farmer that killed a single ant was seen being dragged into the soil by an ant the size of an ogor. The crops are slowly dwindling but not as fast as the herds of animals which seem to be the preferred prey for the invertebrates. Regardless of aid coming in with the depletion of their livestock and land there isnt much hope for the town of Berokovia.

Bats

“Demons!” the first shrieks from a frightened city watch guard filled the tavern as the door slammed shut behind him. “There’s demons in the street, swooping down on large wings to grab at any they can find” behind the panicked shrieks chittering could be heart from the streets.

Giant bats, larger than their normal giant kind, have suddenly started to attack the the City of Milfords Rest, built up around mining in the nearby mines. A new rich gold deposit had been found and the miners, the merchants and prospective prospectors have flocked to the city to work and earn their fortune – however a few nights before the winged mammals appeared in the city people started to go missing in the mines, near the new tunnels opened and all but one were lost. The one that was found was a husk, dried, shrivelled and his face frozen in fear and pain.

Objects. Easily enough I have a set of dice on my table and the d100 is nearly perfectly clear with the sligtest tinge of blue which makes me think of ice. On the other side of my desk is my kids tea-set. A saucer, tea cup and a little wooden spook which was left there from a earlier tea party. Both can inspire adventures just as easily as ants or bats.

Permafrost Dice.

“Woah, hold your horses on that one.” the merchant said as my hand hovered over a nearly clear single dice. “That dice has story behind it and its not a good one” he said as he massaged his, actually quite terribly looking beard.

“They say that the dice belonged to a priest of Lathander who trekked into the far north, past where the sun sets and into the frozen waste lands beyond. There he found a keep which belonged to an ice witch who worshiped one of the devil-rulers from the coldest layer of hell – sworn to end the morning lord. When the two opposing powers finally clashed Lathander ultimately won but not before a blast of frigid hell-rime hit the priest high in his chest – where he kept his lucky dice pouch, they say the dice saved his life that day. He had a complete set too but they have been slowly pawned and distributed across the lands but the owners all die in some way and each time the dice move closer together. I had two of them until a day ago a street urchin ran up and snatched one. I dare say the other dice will be stolen soon and end up in the same horde as the first – but the thief” the man paused tsking. “he will be cold as death soon.”

Tea party

As the party enter the Birchwell woods they come across a curious scene, a man, a dwarf and a sprite sitting down around a felled log having tea. The man and the dwarf look up with fear and sadness in their eyes and start shouting towards the party but some trick of the thick birch trees catches their voices but it looks like they are asking for help.

When the party approach the two they burst into tears. “We told you to run, not to approach. Its too late now, he has seen …”

“why hello there, greetings and good salutations. I am Pix, the Pixie and I want you to join me for a tea and some games!” Pix the blue pixies exclaims excitedly as he flutters overhead an removes a piece of old fabric from a chair revealing the skeleton of what appears to be an elf from quite some time ago. Pushing the bones off the seat and to the forest floor he gestures for the party to come and take a seat. “come, once you start you never want to stop! I promise!” Turning and running as fast as they can the other way the party turn a corner out of the clearing and looking up they see the same scene – Pix grinning at them. “Take a seat, I implore you”

Cinema. It’s now new-age practice for people to borrow plot ideas from cinema. Rings of power, magical swords, wizards, vampires that sparkle instead of burning in the sunlight.. ok maybe not the last one – but movies and TV shows are an easy way to get inspired for adventures and I have two sources today – but they are a bit different to normal inspiration.

200 yards

As the boots met the ground the crowd of spectators cheered for their favourite team, one city against the other, a dozen warriors either side ready to fight – but with a difference. Today they put aside their regular armour and their weapons of choice and today they fight with spiked boots, padded armour with flowing tabards and balls made from leather and magic.

The two sides met in the middle and greeted each other, there was no hostility which was for such a clash as The Blue Wolves were fighting against the Golden Giants – two elite forces who had clashed before. An intense rivalry could be felt across the field into the stands as the two captains stood in front of each other but before the ball could be thrown between the two teams four players from the Blue Wolves fell over, their heads bouncing on the field as they lay motionless except for the steady rise and fall of their chest.

The team was short 4 players and, as it so happened the party had been gifted with front row tickets from a mysterious benefactor just that morning which gave them the chance of filling in for the team if there was need. The captain jogged over and looked worriedly over the party. “Well, you’re not my first pick but let me explain the rules pups. Apart from killing anything goes, we need to get past the other team and throw or kick the ball between the two obsidian pillars. That’s it. If we lose Clovia will take control over the fishing contracts of the northern lake which will cost the city a wagon full of gold. Without those contracts our city will starve. We are relying on you” the captain said as the field guard handed over blue and grey robes and padded armour for the party to don.

Puppets

As the man moved his troops into a steady line to ward off the right side of the battle board he grinned at his opponent who looked at the encroaching lines with worry. The cavalry, their horses restless for battle moved behind the line troops ready to counter charge, their warriors restless and eager for their blades to meet flesh.

Seeing an opportunity to counter play the opposition requested that his archers advance, peppering the horses with arrows as they did so, but the horses either didn’t feel the sting of barbed tips or didn’t care.

“I need a break, need to replenish the supplies.” the man controlling the cavalry said as he stood, the massive chair he stood on pushed back against the great stone blocks.

Sighing and resting his head on the table the young man looked at his warriors – who looked back.

“Why are you making us do this” they asked, their fear of the giant now not as great as they feared the zombies and undead cavalry who moved across from him. “We don’t want to be part of this sick game! Please let us go home. I have a family.” shouted another.

The giant wiped tears from his eyes. “I am sorry, truly, this is the only wan I can get my family back. He controls the slave market and he agreed that If I beat him in a game of his choosing then I will get my family back, but if I lose then I don’t.”

His elite troops, ones that he had paid a considerable lump of gold for stood near the other humans who were bound by magic in much the same was as the undead were bound to un life. Moving closer to them he spoke as lowly as he could.

“I am counting on you, my heroes, this is the last chance I have and I can’t lose my mother in the same year I lost my father. Please help and I will ensure you are set free with any riches that you want”

Both of these are simply taken from two videos I watched today. 1 – The Australian football Rules I walked in on whilst trying to get my son towards bed and 2, watching a video for a Warhammer reveal today – both can inspire adventures. One was relevant to the genre, one was not but inspiration can come at any moment.

Hopefully what inspired me today can inspire you on your next adventure. Take a moment and consider how the small things, the mundane to us could be magical or mystical – how things taken for granted in our every day lives could actually be something that adventures are made out of.

Thanks for dropping by, don’t forget to come back tomorrow for the end of week writeup and as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

You don’t always need new..

thebrazenwolfeLeave a comment

Welcome to a Saturday night pondering system where I out forward the ideas, methods and principles I have for my RPG systems.

Now tonight I wanted to touch on something that I break constantly but never need to, what already exists out there in the dnd 5e ruleset. What I mean by this is, taking last night’s post as an example, you dont need to create new spells to suit a characters play style, theme or otherwise. As an example the creation of an, albeit stronger, new spell that functions like mirror image was primarily to have a bit of flavour added to the spell and make the combat feel foreign and exotic. But just changing the mirror image spell to create bodies made from insects instead of being an illusion would have easily sufficed. The same can be said for, well the original 5e players handbooks list of spells having only a very small number of cold based spells. Changing fire bolt, burning hands, shocking grasp, melfs acid arrows or even fireball to look like frost based spells (ignoring the damage element shift for now) can give the thematic shift that we care about but avoid the balancing act of creating a new suite of spells for our cryomancer.

But if the cold damage replacing the fire damage is really important then the dm (us) can make the changes if it makes sense and doesn’t break the game. From fire to cold isnt that different but from fire to force or radiant/necrotic? Yeah thats something that could have ongoing issues.

We would’ve seen moments on our favourite live play adventure videos or podcasts where the spell is different to what we know it to be, the visuals are different and cool, exciting and fresh and thematically significant for the player. Having a water genasi summoning water bolts and throwing four of them to batter and pierce their enemies as a flavoursome magic missile spell is cool. A cleric of Gond, worshipping artifice and craft could have cogs, gears or divine engines powering their spells like guiding bolt or sacred flame. To take it further that same cleric may summon a mechanical golem or a steampunk piston driven axe as their spiritual weapon. The amount of flexibility and creativity is only stopped by us saying “thats cool, I dig it, what does that look like to you?”

Monsters also come under this. The oni from a few weeks back would have been ideal for a lift and rename from the hobgoblin, and they almost were. Adding or adjusting some flavoursome abilities to suite your campaign can be a great thing, or additional effort for very little value. Instead of making the Toad-kin I could have just given the goblin statblock amphibious trait and call it a day to fit my idea of these toad-like people.

Everytime we go to make a new item, spell, creature or whatever its a balancing act between effort, balance and value. Sometimes the simplest option of a re-skin is the best and can wow your party just as much.

Don’t forget to come back tomorrow for the end of week write-up and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,

The Brazen Wolfe