The Bleak

The Residents of Underbleak

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Now this week we go back to the single page zine format for The Residents of Underbleak to condense it a bit get back to the smaller adventures that fit on a single sheet of paper. These provide DMs a lot more freedom to tinker with it how they want and open up the adventures to be more free formed and flowing than the larger booklet zines.

There is references to the blog nights which are D&D centric (regarding Friday night’s Stat-blocks) but this adventure can be used system agnostic more so than my regular Zines. As always Kobold fight club can be used to quickly balance an encounter for Dungeons and Dragons and Tetra-cube provides the stat-blocks for many of my D&D creatures.

So I hope you enjoy this weeks adventure, The Residents of Underbleak, and that all your rolls are made with advantage.

The Residents of Underbleak

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Underbleak Cavern – Created in WordPress?!

The adventurers, new owners of the ancient keep known as the Bleak, found themselves plagued by an uneasy feeling of being watched. Driven by curiosity and trepidation, they uncovered a hidden entrance leading to a network of caverns beneath their stronghold—the Underbleak. As they navigated the dark, narrow tunnels, the party discovered strange markings and a hidden spring, only to be attacked by a monstrous, venomous creature. Just as hope seemed lost, a mysterious ally intervened, rescuing them from certain doom and leaving them with cryptic warnings about the dangers that lurked in the depths.

As the first light of dawn cast its rays over the Bleak, the party, armed with provisions and steely determination, ventured into the hidden depths of their keep. They discovered a narrow crawlspace carved between the walls, marked with evidence of clawed creatures. The path twisted downwards, revealing crude wooden supports that seemed unnecessary for the creatures that roamed these tunnels. The adventurers eventually stepped onto a flat landing illuminated by a suspended lantern, uncovering a moderately sized room with several crawl-spaces leading back into the Bleak. The room bore signs of habitation, and a bubbling spring of water offered a rare source of relief in their otherwise precarious situation. However, their relief was short-lived as they heard the ominous sound of claws on stone, signalling that they were not alone.

In this subterranean world, the adventurers faced the unsettling reality of being watched by an unseen presence. The claw marks and narrow passageways hinted at the nature of their stalker, a creature adept at navigating the dark caverns. Despite the narrow confines and the difficulty of combat in such conditions, the party knew they had to uncover the truth and confront the lurking threat. Their discovery of the spring, although a welcome resource, only added to the mystery of the Underbleak and the creatures that called it home. As they pressed on, their determination to uncover the secrets of the Underbleak would be tested by the dangers that awaited them in the depths.

Underbleak Cavern – Created in Copilot.

PDF adventure – The Residents of Underbleak

The Residents of UnderbleakDownload

Thanks for joining me today for another adventure, the lost one from week 46! I have gone back to the short format for this Zine so I hope the format works and gives you something to go by! Please feel free to leave comments if you like what you see when you grab a copy of the PDF.

Next time you get a party together consider running this adventure and I hope that you enjoy it.
I hope you don’t miss a thing so come back daily in the coming week and year. This is so you can experience the creation of the next adventure as it evolves and shapes out. And as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Underbleak Cavern Pools

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For this weeks adventure there is a separate area to the first encounter with the Underbleak crawlers, a second layer to the cave systems beneath the Bleak. A place where the Crawlers live and, potentially, tunnels deeper into the world below for future exploration.

So let’s grab a coffee, get some waterproof shoes and roll into tonight’s adventure.

Underbleak Cavern Pools

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Underbleak Cavern Pools – created in nightcafe.

The party had followed the Underbleak Crawler deeper and after its earlier attack on them had failed and it had fled deeper into the cavern system. They had not seen the owner of the voice that had fought the monstrous centipede creature and had saved them earlier that day. The tracks took them along the watered path that led deeper into the mountain itself.

Soon the adventurers stepped into a open space where the water came to their waists and it opened up into a larger cavern. The sound of trickling water came from further into the cavern and the water-worn rock that edges parts of the pools forming a platform where they could step out of the water. The passageways is what drew their attention as they resembled the thin, winding spaces where they fought the creature earlier. A place where they would need to be careful of venturing too deeply into.

their torches flickered causing the light on the walls to waver, casting eerie shadows of each other that moved with the ripples in the water. The darkness beyond the torchlight was absolute and only occasional chirps of bats or of a stone clacking across the ground deeper into the passageways. Whatever sound was being made deeper into this cavern was echoing back through the rest of the cavern, distorting and warping the sound so it was impossible to pinpoint it.

As they moved deeper into the cavern the torches revealed a spring cascading down from a wall and washing across polished stones underneath. There were more ledges here and the sound of the water disturbing the pool they waded through was all they could hear. However the water here was harder to see through, murkier and more disturbed on the surface. Easy for a predator to lurk under.

With each step forward the feeling of treading into the unknown grey and the more uneasy they became. They were sure that the creature they perused was somewhere here, but finding it before it found them was going to be the real test.


Thanks for dropping by tonight for the final part of this adventure. There is only two more adventures before we get into the larger December adventure series and I have something cooking already. So don’t forget to come back this weekend for the adventure zine as well as coming back this weekend. And lastly, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Underbleak Crawler

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This week the party is attacked by one or more creatures that dwell under The Bleak, these creatures are unique to this cavern system and have been dubbed the Underbleak Crawlers. But before I get too excited on these creatures let’s kick into it.

So let’s sit down, grab a coffee as we roll into tonight’s encounter!

Underbleak Crawler

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The underbleack Crawler is a savage, armoured multi-segmented creatures that resemble a hybrid of Carrion crawler and giant centipede. Able to paralyse by its poison coated tentacles with but a touch or through the venom in its bite it crawls through narrow passageways by flattening its body and letting its chitinous hide soften to reflect the stone around it.

Expert ambush predators it will stalk its enemy though the tunnels and caverns it calls home before attempting to poison its foe with its tentacles. If that fails savage biting and thrashing is its last resort which normally leaves its prey confused, paralyzed and bleeding out.

Underbleak Crawler – created in Tetra-cube

However that isn’t its biggest threat. Able to detect its prey with sound and smell its an expert predator in the pitch black of the underground caverns it stalks. Durably thick chitinous plates protect it from most attacks which explains how most of them have lived well in the darkness of the Underbleak. Its nests are normally coated in a layer of silken webs which enable it store weakened prey for its prey to consume, after hatching from the eggs that it buries within their bodies.

Thanks for joining me tonight for a bit of a fun one really. Strong and deadly creatures that are hybrid between one or two creatures in an unfamiliar environment will make for a fun encounter, in theory. Don’t forget to come back over the next few days as I wrap up another adventure or two over the weekend. And lastly, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Underbleak Cavern

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Caves! I love caves and creating a natural environment for the party to explore and creating the Underbleak Cavern was no exception. It should have enough space to keep the party guessing with some incredibly tight passages that make fighting within them nearly impossible. But enough about that, I am getting ahead of myself.

So sit back, grab a coffee, and let’s explore tonight’s Map!

Underbleak Cavern

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Underbleak Cavern – Created in Inkarnate.

The waist deep, for humans, water leads into a cavernous space where several tunnels can be seen leading into different directions. A trickling of water leads to the source of fresh water in this space, a small cascade of water bubbling up from the wall where rubbles has fallen down against and created a bit of a natural waterfall. There is signs of life down here with some half-consumed bodies of some large creature as well as webbing that lines some of the passageways.

Large rocks are scattered within the space and on the floor which becomes quite treacherous when not paying attention and a mistake while under ground and fighting for your life could be lethal.

Many wall segments is the star of the show this week with a scattering of rocks and rubble, some hills and webs. Three different shades of water, two shades of rock and a further two shades of dirt provide the contrasting background of the map which gives it a visual appeal that draws me in more.

Normally I would have light sources in my caves, something that I adore to have is the contrast between dark and light within an underground space but this week I decided against it. Let me know what you think!

Thanks for joining me for another map making night. Confined spaces are a great way to add challenge without tinkering with the monster statblock, which I am doing heavily this week any way, but it can add variety and excitement (or dread) to the encounter. But tomorrow we take it up a notch with a, in my view, truly terrifying creature that I would hate to see regardless of the size its encountered at.

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

Crawling Terror

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Now this week we have the adventure of finding hidden tunnels and passages under the keep that the party owns, and something more… a crawling terror that hunts and stalks the party as they explore the confusing web of tunnels that knit under The Bleak. These creatures aren’t exactly smart but they are voracious predators and their time isolated within the Underbleak has warped them from what they used to be.

So let’s grab a coffee, get out of the tight passages of the Underbleak and find place to prepare for an attack!

Crawling Terror

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The party wasn’t aware that they were being followed until the first tendrils of saliva dropped down upon them. A large multi segmented creature slunk, silently, down the wall towards them with tentacles extending down towards them. This part of the passage was barely big enough to move as the shoulders of the largest of the party touched both walls of the passageway.

As the party reacted to the creature being close enough to pole with a pole the dark coloured skin expanded and became thick and chitinous. As the plates of armour filled out across the multiple segments of the creature it dashed forward at the already moving party, its tentacles lashing out trying to slather its prey with its paralytic venom.

The creature had the advantage of its size and the thin passages, made to hunt in these thin passages. The adventurers bulk and their weapons made it nearly impossible to swing accurately within the confines of the tunnels. As they ran the creature lashed out with its tentacles repeatedly until one of its prey succumbed to its poison. Slowing down and becoming weakened the creature shrieked in anticipation of its meal, its mouth opening revealing lines of saw like teeth.

But before it could lunge at its meal something dropped on it like a boulder, crushing it to the ground. Clawed hands lashed out and grabbed onto the creatures tentacles, ripping one off but pulling the wet death pit of a mouth away from the now paralysed adventurer. The party took this moment to pull their companion away from the armoured, tentacled worm like creature and to move to a wider place while the sound of fighting, the shrieks of pain and victory echoed down the hall.

As they waited for the enemy to appear they heard the clack of claws on stone as something moved nearer to where they were. ‘It will be back’ a gravely voice came forth. ‘It has retreated to lick its wounds but it will heal quickly, they all do.’ the voice said before tree tentacles were thrown around the corner by a heavily callused mottled hand. They twitched and writhed like worms on the ground before the party. But the owner of the voice and their saviour had disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared.

Thanks for joining me for another night were we got a bit more of a glimpse of what’s happening under the keep. Don’t forget that tomorrow we will produce a map, or few, that hopefully will do the maze of the Underbleak justice. So don’t forget to come back for that tomorrow and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

First Resident of The Bleak

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It should be no surprise that hidden passages and crawl spaces under an old keep would house, well something and tonight we get a glimpse of the first resident of The Bleak. This creature has been around for a long time, watching, waiting and judging worthiness to reside on this mountaintop.

So let’s grab a coffee, sit back and watch something potentially uncomfortable.

First Resident of the Bleak

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The noise from the keep dwellers had stopped as they became aware of the creatures presence. Pressing itself against a wall its bumpy-rocky hide blended in with the wall so that it appeared as though part of the tiny walkway that led back into the keep. The creature watched as it took shallow breaths, the light of the torch barely touched its skin as it had a orders to follow, a geas that would not let it stop.

It searched them for flaws and it was not disappointed as its eyes pierced most of these humanoids. There were many flaws to these creatures, greed, cowardice, arrogance and more and yet these were not forged beings. It wondered what they were here for and if they would be the ones to end the compulsion that was put upon it by the first resident of The Bleak, the keep that was erected above the tunnels that it called home.

First Resident of the Bleak – created in nightcafe.

Making the most of a moment of distraction from the adventurers the creature slunk away using its rock hard claws to bite into stone as it hauled its heavy body up the wall, avoiding the treacherously slippery floor of these passageways. There was also the other inhabitants that the creature didn’t care for at all which was odd. Being the creature that it had been transformed into it should fear nothing but there was something unsettling about the legs and how they scuttled across the floor.

The creature had to pause again, the remnants of its beard and hair hung like moss or lichen as he hung from the wall. The adventurers had come this way and after a brief pause to look at the claw marks it had made on the stone they continued up the passageway, single file and having to turn to their sides to pass through certain tighter parts.

Curious the creature watched. Surely they knew of the dangers in these caverns, the things with many legs that dwell by the waters legs and those that crawled on that walls like it did. After it was sure that they could not see its movements the creature climbed after them, surefooted as it had spent centuries in this stone lined cave system. If these adventures could end its sentence, end its curse then it must ensure that they survived.

It was rare that those who took possession of The Bleak showed the potential to end the curse and it had been a long time since the last worthy one had appeared. Yet for some reason this group felt right. Yes, it was the right thing to follow them and ensure that they would be safe, even now the creatures of the Underbleak were becoming aware of the intruders into their domain.

Thanks for visiting for another night here at my tabletop. Don’t forget that we will continue to expand this adventure each night this week so don’t forget to come back tomorrow for more and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

The Path Under the Bleak

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Following on from the weekends content where we expand the The Bleak and created Behind the Walls I wanted to expand that by exploring the Path under the Bleak. This week we find a deeper system with twisted crawl spaces, signs of life and something that will make their existence easier from here on out. If they can find the cause of the unease in the walls.

So grab a torch, a coffee to go and let’s crawl into tonight’s adventure!

The Path Under the Bleak

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The Path Under the Bleak – created in nightcafe.

Once the party had gathered with provisions the first rays of dawn were peaking over the walls and into the courtyard. Taking a steadying breath they pushed the secret door opened and started the descent in the narrow crawlspace that carved a passage between the walls of the Bleak itself.

As the path wove further downwards the evidence of claws on stone could be seen along the walls. Crude thin post had been driven into the stone and between the two walls which acted like scaffolding if one were to attempt to scale the wall. However it appeared by the claw marks that what ever they had discovered did not use these wooden supports and managed just fine.

As the path widened it began to flatten as well without a steep winding stair that send them deeper under the Bleak. As they stepped onto a flat landing they bumped into a suspended lantern on the wall. Once lit the Lantern revealed a moderately sized room that had several narrow crawl-spaces that appeared to send the traveller up into different parts of the Bleak. Here there was evidence that something resided here and, to their surprise, a bubbling spring of water sat in the bottom parts of the pool.

Lichen and some other dark-dwelling plants clung to the shaped stone and surrounding the water, and a deeper tunnel that led further into the mountain itself they could see scratches in the stone that was evidence of the path that the creature took.

Despite the horror that they were being watched by some unknown sentient creature at night the discovery of a source of water this close to the keep itself was welcome relief as they relied on the sporadic and heavy dumping’s that came with rainstorms across the mountains away from the deserts to the north.

But as they marvelled at their luck the sound of claws on stone drew their attention. As soon as they moved the sounds stopped, they were being watched once more by something that knew these passage ways much better than they did. With how narrow the passage that led them here was it would be nearly impossible to fight effectively once ascending the stairs. No they would have to uncover the truth while down here and deal with it.


The start of another week always gives a burst of creativity as I explore what I will be writing about this week. As the process I follow, and documented very early on in the blog, is around giving structure and what I believe the needed elements of a great adventure this makes for the next few days as expansions to the story not just creating what I thought up at the start of the week. So don’t forget to come back each day this week as I shift, create and adjust the adventure to flow better and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Behind the Walls

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Following on from a few weeks again where I introduced the concept of The Bleak I wanted to provide a bit of an expansion to that with Behind the Walls. As there are many adventures that can come from owning a keep of your own, let alone one that you didn’t intend on owning in the first place, this adventure concept is a bit of a discovery of what could happen to the unlucky or unaware.

But enough of that, the title speaks enough and were wont get further that that if we don’t get a roll on into tonight’s adventure.

It had been a few weeks since the new owners of The Bleak had taken over the keep and they had come into a steady rhythm of what owning the keep meant. That would be true if it wasn’t for the noises along and inside the walls of the keep. For several nights the adventurers-come-custodians had woken with the sensation of being watched and they had caught the sound of scratching on stone from within the walls.

However they had not seen any sign of anything but mice and rats moving along the, mostly, stone walls. That was until they found a scrap of cloth caught in a rack between two slabs of stone, a whistle of wind through the crack and the discovery of a narrow passage beyond the hidden door. What other secrets did the Bleak have and who, or what else knew about them?

Behind the Walls

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Behind the Walls – created in nightcafe.

Waking up in the middle of the night was never a good sign for anyone let alone seasoned adventurers who were used to being on alert while travelling in the wilds. Looking around the room there was nothing to be alarmed about. The windows and their shutters were secure, the door was closed and despite a small sway from the lantern that was burning low on a suspended rope from the ceiling all was quiet.

The scamper of claws on stone was the only sound other than a soft howl of wind from outside the window. They had seen a few mice and rats since their stay at the keep, their keep The Bleak, but the cats that called the fortified building home kept them under control and hunted them without mercy or hesitation.

The others in the keep had reported it as well. Being woken in the middle of the night with a feeling of being watched, the feeling of movement in the room with nothing being present or the sound of mice and rats claws on stope would interrupt their sleep. The keepers of the building had brushed it off stating that “you’ll get used to it” and reporting that they hadn’t found anything nor had anything bad happened in the years that they had been here

Claws on Stone

The first sign that it was something to be concerned about came in the form of a shifting stone. Woken from the noise again the adventurer followed the sound of scampering feet and claws. They hadn’t seen rats or mice for weeks and the fattened cats had indicated that they were doing a good job of keeping the rodents population down.

However with no mice or rats to be seen the muffled sound of claws scampering on stone concerned them. Following the noise it suddenly disappeared near one of the outer walls in the courtyard. That’s when a splash of colour drew their attention. A strip of blue fabric was caught in the crack of two slabs of aged yet sturdy stone. Examining the fabric the crack emitted a faint whistling sound as air rushed from the other side of the stone wall.

Their heart sunk as they examined the crack further, a passageway lay beyond the crack and after a few moments of searching their suspicions were confirmed. A secret door lay within the courtyard leading into the keep itself and the strip of blue, dirty fabric had been caught within the seam of where the door had closed. Someone or something had been using this tunnel to get further into The Bleak and judging by the gloom and darkness beyond the the tunnel wove under the main building.

What ever was behind the walls needed to be found out and it was a job for the whole party, no lone adventurer should venture into the secret passage that was a secret to not just the new custodians of the keep but the existing ones as well.


Thanks for dropping by tonight for an expansion to The Bleak adventure campaign. With the concept of having a Bastion rooted in the new Dungeon Masters Guide the premise of a owned building providing an avenue of adventure is a bit more than homebrew now, something that generates adventure and not just a place to hold the dozen +1 longswords that a party would collect over a series of adventures. Don’t forget that tomorrow is ZINE night so make sure you come back for that and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Talk’arneil

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This week a young ambitious blue dragon arrives to take control over the Fester Plains through blood and lightning. Talk’arneil having also been born in the desert has a way with the sands which is something his parents gifted him.

So let’s sit down, grab a coffee as we roll into tonight’s encounter!

Talk’arneil

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Talk’arneil will attack during the sandstorms that he summons and always summons one to go through the chasms, using the rocks to funnel the sand towards his prey. He is brutal and cunning, to a degree, but his ambitious and pride will be his downfall.

Talk’arneil – created in Tetra-cube

Sandstorms

Sandstorms aren’t a uncommon occurrence when exploring the desert. When a character is exposed to one and does not seek shelter before the sandstorm hits they are subject to its ferocity.

Characters who are within areas unprotected from the storm suffer disadvantage on all ranged weapon attacks and suffer disadvantage on all checks that rely on sight, smell, sound or touch. Gas and vapours are immediately dispersed and sources of unprotected flames such as torches, candles, fires are extinguished. Protected flames such as lanterns, will have a reduced range and have a 50% chance of being blown out if exposed to the sandstorm for longer than a minute.

Each foot of movement is treated as moving through difficult terrain, however it will further-stack with difficult terrain making traversing a shifting sand dune in the middle of a sandstorm an act of folly. Each creature who is not equipped to be out in a sandstorm (non-suitable equipment) must make a DC14 constitution saving throw or become blinded as the sand damages their eyes. They also suffer 1d6 slashing damage per hour, at the start of the hour, for when they are exposed.

Thanks for joining me tonight as we look at variant blue dragon tonight. Talk’arneil is a strong and smart creature and despite being CR9, when fighting in these lands he will be a much stronger contestant. Don’t forget that more content is on the way tomorrow and also don’t forget to keep an eye out for the Zine when it comes out this weekend. And, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Fester Chasm Cliffs

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Tonight’s a big one – a lot of little images went into it and for the most part, I am happy with how the Fester Chasm Cliffs turned out. It’s a rather large encounter map but this week we are running away from a blue dragon – well maybe just moving to a better place where we aren’t just easy target practice for the creature.

So sit back, grab a coffee, and let’s explore tonight’s Map!

Fester Chasm Cliffs

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Fester Chasm Cliffs – Created in Inkarnate.

A much wider part of the Fester plains looms ahead where a dragon will have better visibility on you, but also you on it. Not able to fly over the chasm walls and blast breath weapons down into the plain below the open field may prove to be better than the more narrow and sight-obstructed winding path through the plains.

A small stream provides some welcome water and happens to be where the party camped on the way past here last, their camp fire still intact but evidence of it being used since is everywhere. Some grass is here if the party dare to rest and allow their animals to eat and drink but, its not advised if there is indeed a dragon around.

So many rocks. Many of the rocky cliffs are comprised of anywhere between three and more than twenty segments of rocky cliffs. A campfire, some hills and about seven texture paints for the background made up this map which was, a bit more time intensive than I first wanted it to be. But I think I am mostly happy with the effect with the many layers to the Fester Chasm.

Thanks for joining me for another map making night. Don’t forget to come back tomorrow to finish off the week strong with the encounter stat-blocks and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe