Welcome to another Tuesday where I want to explore the events that occur a few days after the party clash with the Laelóng. Now with the beast gone one can expect I’d expect some bigger changes in the village and the Kunagi ranges. However these changes doesn’t always bode well for those who inhabit these cold lands and time is up for some, and payment is due.
But this gives me an opportunity to employ one of the concepts I use in almost all my adventures, NPC permanency. Now, the concept at its core is the understanding that the villain, guard or innkeeper aren’t just sitting around. No for us, the masters of plot and the story, we recognise that nothing should wait for the Party to find them.
This is what I mean by NPC permanency. When the party isn’t in the village, the innkeeper still serves customers at his Inn, and the Villain still moves their pawns to collect payment – the world continues with or without he party being involved. This can drive plot, aid in immersion and enrich the story for all but if incorrectly managed then it can lead to a pretty underwhelming dungeon where the bag guy isn’t there.
So let’s explore NPC permanency when we look back at the village, currently with no name, where Hugh is locking up for the night…
Change of ownership
230TuChOw
Hugh pushed the last of the chairs in under the table and sighed when the chair leg caught on some dried mud. Hugh knelt down with a sigh as he fished out a small knife to try and dislodge some of the caked on dirt to make the cleaning of it easier. Calling it quits he stood up to go get a glass of wine and a broom, it had been a quiet day but the visits from the creatures had lessened since the wagon and adventurers had passed through. As he moved about the kitchen he passed by a bottle of wine that he had nearly forgotten about, nearly except for the price it had cost him.
Reaching for the amber coloured glass he used the same knife to uncork the bottle as he did to scrape the dirt off, after a cursory clean on his shirt of course. Pouring himself a bottle of the rich red liquid he stuffed the cork into the bottle to try and savour the wine and sipped from the permanently chilled liquid.
A small bell chimed signalling that the front door had opened. Looking from the kitchen through where the meals were kept he couldn’t see anyone standing in the door immediately so he placed his glass of wine down on the bench and sheathed his knife on his belt. Moving through the kitchen he called out with only the silence to reply to him. Moving to the front door and checking outside the front door he scratched his stubble as he closed the door behind him. “Must have been the spirits tripping the bell.” he said to himself as he locked the door closed as he decided that he should head to bed as the sun was nearly set.
“The spirits don’t care for trickery these days,” a chilling voice said behind him ,”they serve a new purpose now. My purpose”.
Hugh knew who, or what, was behind him saying the gold words before even turning around and as he did he sank to one knee and bowed. “Queen Yukri, I did not expect you” he stuttered, his nerves and survival instincts kicking in with a heartbeat.
“Nor did I expect you to aid my enemies.” she smirked as she floated to stand in front of the man. “I must have misjudged you for a coward but you appear to have fight within you, enough to stand against the blizzard with but a candle.” she snapped, her calm demeanour changing for a moment making the glass on the windows frost over.
“I don’t care that they killed the Laelóng, the creature was arrogant to say the least” Yukri began as she walked into the dining room and moved a chair out from a table and sat down, winning her body to stop floating.
“A Laelóng!” Hugh had heard of these creatures from the woman he followed to Ryokughan, they were cousins of the ancestral dragons that fell from the good graces of the family. He couldn’t believe that those adventurers had bested a creature that was related to the most revered creatures of this land. Gulping he moved into the dining room anxious for the frost maiden to leave his inn. “May I ask what I can help you with?” he stuttered.
“Payment. Payment is due Hugh. I let you and this village keep your lives if you ensured that my army moved through unimpeded and yet I have an army that report that they can’t cross the valley and that the one thing that was keeping the rebellious spirits under control is dead. I heard that you had the opportunity to contain and capture these would be heroes but you let them go.”
Hugh was shaking by this stage, he turned to run but bounced into a mountain of flesh – a man that stood as tall as his doorway. Faster than his eyes could catch cold, frost bitten skin grasped around his neck and pushed him against the wall. “You cant run from a contract Hugh. You bartered for your safety and for peace and yet here we are. A war that you have chosen sides in your inaction and now I will take what I am owed.” Yukri whispered in his ear as she floated just in front of his face.
As the cold lips of the Yuki-onna pressed against his a deep unsettling cold spread through his core. His skin cracked as the excruciating pain began as his life was sucked from his body by the frost maiden. He dropped to the ground like a sack of salted meat and one of his ribs snapped. The shock of a broken bone was nothing to the fatigue and exhaustion that washed over him – but he was alive.
“Thanks for the meal innkeeper. Keep the door unlocked for when I decide to visit again.” Yukri said as the door unlocked and she floated through, the hulking undead man following just behind her. Hugh lay there and shivered, shock and cold radiating through his body. Getting up he slowly crawled towards the desk where he kept a mirror, but everything looked so blurry as if looking through a frosted window. Finding the polished plate he gasped as he saw a shock of white hair had replaced his blonde locks. His eyes had turned older and milky and his face was a maze of wrinkles and rough skin.
By having little side stories like this for our notes our game management and storytelling benefits greatly. The impact of this may not be wildly known or felt and the party may never find out about Hugh. But as DMs it does give a feeling of what’s going on outside of the little bubble where the party moves and helps drive the story and plot for us.
Thanks for dropping in to read tonights blog and for joining me on this adventure. Don’t forget to come back for the rest of the week as we wrap up the months content and look to move onto one of the last of 4 monthly updates before we wrap up the year. So don’t forget to look for ways that your story can progress outside of your parties influence and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage, The Brazen Wolfe
Welcome to the end of Month Monday where tonight I want to explore the mutli-phased adventure. This month we had the party face off against a creature in multiple stages where they are fighting an uphill battle where as next month they are moving eastward once more.
Under ice
230MoUnIc
As the snow and debris from the mountain settled down upon the wagon Jason and Ester dug heir way into the wagon. After digging and finding that the bindings on the horse had broken some time during the avalanche and the muffled sound of combat ringing out from somewhere above the snow.
The snap of jaws, clash of blade on ice and crash and pop of magic could be heard and even felt metres below the surface. As the people huddling in the wagon listened and waited, shifting some snow around the wagon they were thankful that there were pockets where there was no snow where the branches of a pine held back some of the powder.
After sometime the sounds from outside stopped after a final chorus of battle the silence permeated through the cocoon of ice. “Do you think the creature or the adventures remain?” Asked Ester as she looked out of the hatch where herself and Jason crawled through from the front.
“If I was a betting man I’d wager the creature. I’ve served a long time on these lands and never seen something like it” Jason said as he moved around the wagon. “But those adventures know how to handle themselves so I dare say that they stand victorious”.
The sound of digging came from above, the scrape and scoop of ice and snow from on top of the wagon. After several moments ice started to shift and fall into the pockets as a flickering torch shone light through the snow.
As the shape above created a hole big enough for people to crawl through the unmistakable whinny of Jason’s horse could be heard from above.
“well the old thing lived” Jason remarked as he squeezed his way out of the icy tomb to help dig the wagon out.
Not content to just throw the party out on foot keeping the wagon gives more opportunities for encounters on the road without slowing down the adventure.
Tomorrow night I’ll be going over a few NPC interactions that happen outside of the “current scene” to give more context for us, the DMs.
Thanks for dropping in to read tonight and for continuing to read this blog. Don’t forget to come back this week for more content as we shape and wrap up the month and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage, The Brazen Wolfe
Welcome to the last of the end of week writeup for July where our party met the creature that has been terrorising a nearby village and has been leaving grizzly warnings throughout the Kunagi Ranges. This week picks up from the last week but I will be a bit cheeky and leave some bits out of it for next weekend as I work on some other things in the background. So enjoy the end of week writeup and look out for changes coming here!
Hunted and pursued
As the rabbit with horns erupted from the bush and ran off across the edge of the road, darting behind bushes and around trees, branches and rocks in its escape from the humanoids that had discovered it in its hiding place the party watched it with weapons at the ready lest it was another beast ready to attack them, or worse. As the parties tension eased in the following silence they moved about the snow covered road they put their weapons away and started to move across the road to check for anything else that was nearby. No matter how far and thoroughly they looked they were unable to shake the feeling of being watched, or a predator being nearby – the cold and fatigue of the last days travel taking its toll on the adventurers making shapes in the snow look like beasts and spirits getting ready to lash out at the party and strike them down where they stood.
After they were certain nothing was near by the party and the wagon rolled onwards down the road, returning to being alert and keeping an watchful eye on the walls of the valley, the trees and the snow.
She watched from a nearby wall of ice and rock through the sporadic leaves and branches between her keen eyes and the humans that were travelling through her lands – the one that had been marked by the shadow and the queen. Twisting her neck around she moved away from the rock, her strong neck moving away from the wall of rock and ice as her claws and broad axe-like graft of everfrost that adorned her forelimbs dug into the rock, dirt and ice to secure herself and support her weight. As she moved her body upwards to a crouching position she compressed her body until it was like a coiled spring and released, spreading her forelimbs wide as the framed membranes spread wide and her weight was caught by the wind and she soared higher into the sky as the wind tunnel help carry her higher into the sky quickly – her eyes never leaving the humans and their wagon as they moved onwards.
Creatures scattered in the forest as she revealed herself from her hiding spot, she loved this feeling, the fear, the reverence. She was the mountain itself and those who lived in these rocky outcrops were her subjects, only fit to live her by her good grace. As she soared higher she saw the sun setting on the end of the valley causing the spikes of ice she had created sparkle like jewels through the rift between her rock and snow. Latching onto the tallest rocky peak, digging the ice blade in deep to secure purchase, she watched the humans, they not being aware that they would be dead with the coming sun. A smile formed on her lips, rare for her species but she was an oddity for her kind any way and as long as she was still ruler of these rocky lands she cared not for the wars that happened to the east and west of her, for here she was queen.
Content to watch and plan she climbed to the peak, using her four limbs and he thick and wide tail to give her balance as she gripped into the cold earth. Reaching the peak she sat there and preened her feathers, the yellow sunlight causing her white and blue feathers and scales to glow like the snow that surrounded her as she made sure that she looked her best for the guests she had in her hunting grounds – for the hunt was about to be on and she did not want to disappoint.
The cold wind nipped at her exposed nose and ears as she looked up at the wagon in the distance and sighed with relief. After finding her aunt half eaten by the creatures that came at night she didn’t care about the warnings of the Yuki-onna or even the creature that had been destroying her village – nothing had bothered her, even the cold didn’t bother her half as much as normal. But the things she had seen on her pursuit of the adventures and the wagon had worried her, the creatures big and small, malicious and marvellous all threaded upon everfrost like grim warnings of what travellers in the valley could expect between the valley walls.
That is why she needed to find them, those foreign adventures the one from the same place as Hugh and Jason, her aunt had tons her the night before that they were the only ones that could stop the attacks and had left a single talisman out for their good fortune. Ester was sure that is what had drawn the creatures to her aunt’s room and they had decided to make a spectacle, a statement from her defiance. And now she was racing to them, making up lost ground as they seemed to be moving slower now, whether by choice or not was yet to be determined but it gave her a chance to catch up and ask for help.
Running across the snow was nearly impossible but she moved as quickly as she could, holding her fathers bow with a notched arrow ready to defend herself if anything thought her an easy meal. The talismans and charms draped around her neck should keep most things away or help her natural senses keep her from harm but there was always a cost to such enhancements and she had trouble hearing anything over the wind in the valley. Her heightened senses seemed to be picking up the overwhelming noise of the mountain itself, animals and creatures as well but the wind, groaning trees and cracking twigs – everything was loud.
Surprisingly so she didn’t notice the massive white creature until she nearly bumped into it.
Large thick claws adorned the rear feet and powerful legs, claws and a large blade made of everfrost capped the middle of two large wings that where covered in feathers and scales that made it blend in perfectly to the surrounding snow and frost. A large avian head and sharp beak with Jagged teeth contrasted with the highly intelligent eyes that looked down upon her with amusement and mirth.
Raising her bow she pointed it at the creature who’s beak twisted into the mimicry of a smile. “A brave one to point such a small arrow at the mountain itself” the massive creature said in a chirpy song-like voice. “You get one shot so I’d make it count. But to shoot me results in only your death and not mine little creature” and Ester knew it was true. The creature was as big as the trees, the scales were like metal plates and the volume of feathers made it hard to see where flesh was beneath them. She considered her options and looked towards the wagon, a few hundred feet away, the wind whipped her hair and covered her eyes as it fanned out in the direction of her gaze. A carrying wind she thought. Grabbing one of her talismans, one of luck, she wrapped it around the arrow slowly as the large creature watched her with amusement and curiosity. “I’m afraid to tell you that those talismans don’t work on me little one” the monster said as it moved forward, the everfrost blades biting into the snow and earth giving its massive form purchase. As quick as she could, drawing from her talismans to augment her speed and skill with a bow Ester raised the bow and loosed on a single shot, carrying the talismans with it.
The arrow soared past the creatures head who turned its to watch the arrow fly off into the distance, a breeze pick it up and push it into the wood of the wagon next to the rear door.
“Very clever” the creature said as she turned to look at he girl. “Very clever indeed” it repeated as it lunged upwards grabbing Ester and carried her in her powerful hind claws into the sky, the sudden appearance of a flurry of snow blocking visibility and shrouding the creature and Ester in white as it ascended into the mountain peaks.
Hana stared at the snow as the talisman swung backwards and forwards in the rocking motion of the wagon. She had seen it, she was sure she saw a massive creature fly into the sudden snow flurry and ascend into the sky. As the party arrived around her, and Kyoko gripped her shoulder she realised that she was shaking. Grabbing a quill, a pot of ink and some paper she started to sketch what she thought she saw, but no matter how she tried to describe it with words, or she tried to draw it no one had a clue of what was out there – but they recognised the charm attached to the arrow embedded in the door.
After half an hour the party returned with a bow and reports of the same large scrape like markings in the snow.
NPCs
Kyoko Harimasu
Kyoko won’t leave the caravan this adventure – more to the point Kuang and Hana wont let her, but she will duck out now and again and fire an arrow at the Laelóng in an attempt to aid the party.
Captain Kuang Ping
Kuang won’t be seen outside of the wagon unless its to usher Kyoko back inside the walls. When he is seen he has his sword drawn and is watching both the skies, the valley walls and Kyoko an attempting to do all of it at the same time.
Sasha (Hana Toshio-Harimasu)
Hana tries to describe the creature but having not recovered her voice yet she barely manages to describe anything of note.
Jason Keening
Jason just wants to get out of there but trusts the party to be able to hold their own as he manages the wagon and drives it forward and through the valley as quickly as he can. Apart from giving advice to the party i.e. “Run” he focuses on getting the wagon and the people within to safety.
Ester Yurimono
After finding her Aunt killed by the creatures either in spite or by orders by those who have set their sights on the town, Ester hurries off after the party to try an convince them to come back to help the town, little did she realise that she would force their assistance one way or another.
Environment and running the adventure
Made with Inkarnate.com < click here to view the original.
Part 1 – Fight.
So the first part of the encounter is a slog fest with some hindrance or handicaps on my creatures due to holding Ester. The creature moves slowly, half speed, with disadvantage on attack rolls and dex saves as it’s currently carrying a prisoner and because one of its back feet is occupied in its attempt to stay upright in the snow its a bit more clumsy. This however doesn’t restrict some of its abilities which it will use as often as it can. The goal of the creature is to immobilise or cause as many of the player characters to become restrained by the ice or environment so it can savour their death.
The snow it self makes the players move at half speed but wont affect the creature, as its already slow. This evens the Playfield a smidge and grants a small advantage for the creature as it can cause parts of the battlefield to become hazards where they are nearly impossible to cross over. The goal of this round is to shatter the ice that cover the front clawed sections of wing which will cause it to slip over until it puts down Ester. The creature will also throw Ester at a party member that is within 30 feet as a reaction to their action (movement, attack, spell cast) when its at or below 50% health. Once it does this it will leap into the sky and summon spears of everfrost into the mountain peaks nearby creating an avalanche.
Ice Blades
For the purpose of damaging the ice blades they have resistance to all piercing and slashing attacks, take normal damage from Two handed melee weapons (as they take more muscle to wield) but vulnerability from bludgeoning. the blades have AC14 (as the creature needs them for balance, but they are durable) and 40hp. When ever the Laelóng uses its ice breath attack the ice blades heal 1d10hp.
Part 2 – Avalanche.
Round 2 is avoiding a terrain hazard, the avalanche, whilst fending off the creature as it swoops down to try and kill or drown (in snow) the party. It will always move in, attack once then bonus action disengage during this phase whilst sparing its ice breath. After the avalanche begins they party has five rounds until the avalanche his them and the exit/entrance to the valley is 300 feet away. The in party’s goal is to get out of the valley alive whilst the creatures goal is to prevent them from doing so (but not make it impossible). The wagon is back a further 200ft. If the party are caught by the avalanche they have 3 rounds of fighting a against the avalanche with a mixture of either skill and saving throws before being dumped onto the soggy ground at the end of the valley, just past its walls, from up high a battered creature is now furious for being denied it’s prize, but its now un-inhibited and mad gaining some additional combat options.
Swooped
Dexterity contests are in order to avoid the creatures attack. DC is the attack roll vs the Dexterity checks. If you fail then the creature can still miss based on AC but you are knocked prone in your attempt to avoid the attack. If you succeed then you don’t get knocked prone and suffer no damage.
Caught up
If the Avalanche hits a party member a Strength saving throw (DC15) is required immediately or they are taken under, if they succeed they maintain their footing and are considered to be 5ft away from the avalanche.
This taken under by the avalanche are considered to be restrained and suffocating. The Party member can repeat their saving throw at the end of each of their turns in which they at restrained to attempt to surface and break free.
( A creature can hold its breath for a number of minutes equal to 1 + its Constitution modifier (minimum of 30 seconds). When a creature runs out of breath or is choking, it can survive for a number of rounds equal to its Constitution modifier (minimum of 1 round).)
Regardless of constitution modifiers after 3 rounds they stop moving through from the avalanche and end up at the mouth of the valley looking at a very angry Laelóng, (mixed between Laniidae which is greek for Shrike and Fēilóng which is Chinese for Wyvern).
Final confrontation
Now some of this will come during this week as the complexity of making it challenging but not overpowering after the ordeal of the avalanche is something I want to spend more time on but the creature will have access to more legendary actions to use against the party will be able to spend its frost breath charge on repairing its ice blades and will no longer have disadvantage (unless the party inflict it) on any rolls as it fights at full ferocity. It is however at half health or wounded to some degree due to the previous confrontation.
I would assume that the party is at level 7 but will not be fully rested (due to the earlier fights or encounters) – this is intentional to make the fight feel more desperate but it should be balanced to not make their failure a sure thing.
Well we are at another end of week where we also find ourselves looking at the end of the month! Next week come and join me as I reveal the Laelóng in more detail and fill in what the next step is for our adventurers. Don’t forget to come back for the other gradual changes I am making this week and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage, The Brazen Wolfe
Sadly a lot of Dexterity and Constitution saving throws were failed this weekend which resulted it nearly no time for the blog during daylight hours nor last night.
As such I have updated last night’s encounter overview with more of my thoughts from my external notes as what I managed to publish last night wasn’t what I was happy with so I spent a bit of time polishing it a bit tonight.
Tonight I want to do a creative piece focusing on the scenes from yesterday, well tonight, but still Friday’s post.. any way. Enjoy.
As the creature took the sky and spread its wings wide a screeching chorus of wind and sound burst forth from it Jason looked back into the wagon at the other three passengers, Kyoko having sunk an arrow into the beast somewhere moments earlier.
“Brace yourselves! Close the doors and hatches! That beast is doing something!” and with that he whipped the horse as hard as he could, spurring the old horse to dash forward to try and break free of the valley. As the wagon passed the furthest part member back Jason screamed the same to the party, to flee and run as quickly as they could – but his words were taken from his mouth and thrown to the cacophony that the creature summoned as two mighty spears of ice launched from it into two peaks, one either side of the valley, embedding it deep into the ground and rock causing a rumble of complaining earth to answer.
Moments of nothing but a distant rumble could be head, mere heart beats before a splitting like ice and rock cleaving in two before an entire ice shelf shifted and began to fall down the steep valley walls, catching and bringing more ice and snow and rocks into its cause as the avalanche became a living entity all on its own – baying for the lives of all in the valley as it broke trees, shattered rocks and hurtled towards the party and the wagon.
The party were keeping pace with the Wagon, if not slightly in front as they horse found it hard to gain traction and pull the wagon through the rocky road. A body, tired and weary threw itself onto the bench next to Jason as Ester hauled herself onto the wagon that was moving just about as fast as it could, but the wall of ice, rock and snow was moving faster. The creature was swooping the party and wagon now, getting glancing blows on them as they made a break for the mouth of the valley where the snow would spread outwards and not funnel directly into them.
“Jason!” he heard Kyoko cry from the sealed wagon behind him, but he already knew, the wall of the avalanche was about to hit the wagon.
He lashed himself to the seat and threw the rope to Ester to do the same as he gave one final spur of encouragement to the horse as the wagon lurched forward as the first rocks and snow hit the back of it – pushing it forward at the same time as it started to bury it alive, and whole – the sound of rocks, wood and ice scraping against his wagon was the last thing he heard over the roaring of the avalanche-come-beast as he saw the creature swoop and take another swipe at another party member before the white, cold embrace of snow engulfed him – still pushing him, his wagon, horse and passengers down through the valley whilst burying them under feet of snow and debris.
Thanks for joining me tonight and for sticking through this week, well month really, until the end. Tomorrow you may start to notice some differenced with the blog, small things hopefully but as the week goes on perhaps you will notice more smaller things and some larger changes here – which is exciting times!
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
Welcome to a fight night Friday where tonight I want to keep to very short and sweet to save some of the surprises for the weekend writeup.
Tonight I’ll go over the three stages of this weeks combat and explore what that means for our party, what trials they’ll face and what difficulties they may encounter.
So to get on with it, let’s stop my jabbering.
Calculating predator
229FrCaPr
So the first part of the encounter is a slog fest with some hindrance or handicaps on my creatures due to holding Ester. The creature moves slowly, half speed, with disadvantage on attack rolls and dex saves as it’s currently carrying a prisoner and because one of its back feet is occupied in its attempt to stay upright in the snow its a bit more clumsy. This however doesn’t restrict some of its abilities which it will use as often as it can. The goal of the creature is to immobilise or cause as many of the player characters to become restrained by the ice or environment so it can savour their death.
The snow it self makes the players move at half speed but wont affect the creature, as its already slow. This evens the Playfield a smidge and grants a small advantage for the creature as it can cause parts of the battlefield to become hazards where they are nearly impossible to cross over. The goal of this round is to shatter the ice that cover the front clawed sections of wing which will cause it to slip over until it puts down Ester. The creature will also throw Ester at a party member that is within 30 feet as a reaction to their action (movement, attack, spell cast) when its at or below 50% health. Once it does this it will leap into the sky and summon spears of everfrost into the mountain peaks nearby creating an avalanche.
Round 2
Round 2 is avoiding a terrain hazard, the avalanche, whilst fending off the creature as it swoops down to try and kill or drown (in snow) the party. It will always move in, attack once then bonus action disengage during this phase whilst sparing its ice breath. After the avalanche begins they party has five rounds until the avalanche his them and the exit/entrance to the valley is 300 feet away. The in party’s goal is to get out of the valley alive whilst the creatures goal is to prevent them from doing so (but not make it impossible). The wagon is back a further 200ft. If the party are caught by the avalanche they have 3 rounds of fighting a against the avalanche with a mixture of either skill and saving throws before being dumped onto the soggy ground at the end of the valley, just past its walls, from up high a battered creature is now furious for being denied it’s prize, but its now un-inhibited and mad gaining some additional combat options.
Round 3.
Round three is… Coming soon.
More on all of this on the weekend but trying a multi-stage boss fight gives three encounters with the party being swept and moved along by something outside of their control. I find this style of encounter rich and engaging without feeling overwhelming or lacklustre.
Thanks for joining me again for another night. Don’t forget to come back tomorrow for more content, and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage, The Brazen Wolfe
Welcome to another chilled Thursday where the temperature doesn’t get above the single digits, well in southern half of Australia atleast. Tonight we look at the site of confrontation where the party are once again facing off against Royalty.
Kunagi Ranges P1
229ThKuRaP1
Kunagi Ranges encounter with wagon
Kunagi Ranges encounter without wagon
The valley itself is relatively thin, the walls and vegetation makes it hard to move anywhere other than then twenty feet road in the centre. The site of confrontation is pretty straight forward. Creature blocking the path with a semi hostage.
The snow either side of the road is difficult terrain and will require the party to move n slower unless they are used to the cold and snow.
The road, however, is slippery and if anyone was hit, including the creature, they are to make a dex saving throw or fall prone. Dc is half the Damage of the attack or 12, which ever is higher.
Trees provide half cover for medium creature to hide behind whilst small creatures gain 3/4 cover. This means guerrilla tactics will pay off for the party as long as thr creature doesn’t engage in melee then all bets are off.
So you may have seen that I have this as part one, well I plan on having a few stages to this encounter and this weekend I hope to be able to reveal a suite of maps for our encounter. But more on that tomorrow and the weekend.
Thanks for dropping by tonight and for your continued interest in my blog here. As I may have mentioned this blog turns one very soon and I’d like to celebrate in a very Brazen fashion. So don’t forget to keep tuning in to stay up to date and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage, The Brazen Wolfe
Welcome to our last Wednesday of the content driven weeks before we tie it all up in next weeks end of month content! This week we are taking a sneak peak at the end of week where the party face off against the mountain queen, self proclaimed or otherwise. So sit back, enjoy and snuggle up – its going to get frosty.
Frosted tips
229WeFrTi
The wind was the first sign that something was wrong, no more did it drive down the valley like a surging wave that consumes all in its path, no this wind came from the mountain peaks and with it came a dusting of snow. As the snow flakes shone in the last dying light of the setting sun the break in the mountains ahead revealed their way out of the valley and the party and travellers in Jason’s wagon could not contain their relief. That was until the screaming and shouting could be heard drifting down from the sky above.
The party had just enough time to throw themselves backwards as ice erupted from the ground next to them, sending spears of ice exploding from a rock and impaling trees resulting in a shower of splinters. to rain down on the party. Large, white wings pushed the snow and falling debris towards the party as creature twice the size of the wagon landed in the middle of the road, clutching Ester in one of its claws as it stood on the ground – leaning forward a large blade of everfrost pushing into the ground to steady its bulk and support its weight on the ground.
“Run!” called Ester before she was pushed into the snow by the creature putting its weight down on that leg.
“I was told to expect some heroes from a distant land, but I was expecting more from the tales that I have heard” the creature said in its chirping sing-song voice, “how disappointing” she said as she lifted its rear talon to hold up Ester who appeared to have blacked out. “This human tried to warn you of my presence, tried with all her might to reach you but I think I will keep her alive for a little while – a play thing until I get hungry.” the creature punctuated with a snap of its beak. “Now, lay down your arms and I will make your death swifter, but just as painful”
So this twist is simple, the creature believes it self to be above everything, beyond reproach and beyond the reach of mere mortals. However, it does value its life and holds its bargain with the Shadow and Yukri (the Yuki-onna) seriously as it knows of what happens to oppose the Shadow. The first stage of this fight is simple, rescue Ester by dealing enough damage to the creature. But.. more on that on Friday.
Nearly a year done and I must say that I am still ecstatic, giddy even, to see people reading my little blog here. I have some bigger plans for the next year of this blog and I hope that you will continue to be a part of this and keep reading what I write week after week. Don’t forget that if you have a name for the village to comment on any post and let me know your suggestion as I will pick the one I like the best and name it after that. Don’t forget to come back each night this week for more content, and the conclusion of the traversal through the Kunagi ranges, and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage, The Brazen Wolfe
Welcome to our last Wednesday of the content driven weeks before we tie it all up in next weeks end of month content! This week we are taking a sneak peak at the end of week where the party face off against the mountain queen, self proclaimed or otherwise. So sit back, enjoy and snuggle up – its going to get frosty.
Frosted tips
229WeFrTi
The wind was the first sign that something was wrong, no more did it drive down the valley like a surging wave that consumes all in its path, no this wind came from the mountain peaks and with it came a dusting of snow. As the snow flakes shone in the last dying light of the setting sun the break in the mountains ahead revealed their way out of the valley and the party and travellers in Jason’s wagon could not contain their relief. That was until the screaming and shouting could be heard drifting down from the sky above.
The party had just enough time to throw themselves backwards as ice erupted from the ground next to them, sending spears of ice exploding from a rock and impaling trees resulting in a shower of splinters. to rain down on the party. Large, white wings pushed the snow and falling debris towards the party as creature twice the size of the wagon landed in the middle of the road, clutching Ester in one of its claws as it stood on the ground – leaning forward a large blade of everfrost pushing into the ground to steady its bulk and support its weight on the ground.
“Run!” called Ester before she was pushed into the snow by the creature putting its weight down on that leg.
“I was told to expect some heroes from a distant land, but I was expecting more from the tales that I have heard” the creature said in its chirping sing-song voice, “how disappointing” she said as she lifted its rear talon to hold up Ester who appeared to have blacked out. “This human tried to warn you of my presence, tried with all her might to reach you but I think I will keep her alive for a little while – a play thing until I get hungry.” the creature punctuated with a snap of its beak. “Now, lay down your arms and I will make your death swifter, but just as painful”
So this twist is simple, the creature believes it self to be above everything, beyond reproach and beyond the reach of mere mortals. However, it does value its life and holds its bargain with the Shadow and Yukri (the Yuki-onna) seriously as it knows of what happens to oppose the Shadow. The first stage of this fight is simple, rescue Ester by dealing enough damage to the creature. But.. more on that on Friday.
Nearly a year done and I must say that I am still ecstatic, giddy even, to see people reading my little blog here. I have some bigger plans for the next year of this blog and I hope that you will continue to be a part of this and keep reading what I write week after week. Don’t forget that if you have a name for the village to comment on any post and let me know your suggestion as I will pick the one I like the best and name it after that. Don’t forget to come back each night this week for more content, and the conclusion of the traversal through the Kunagi ranges, and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage, The Brazen Wolfe
Welcome to NPC night where on Tuesdays we look at the NPCs that may have some insight for our party, plot against our party or interact in some meaningful way other than being another target for spells, slings or swords. This week I planned to have an interaction between Hana and the creature, the mute and the mountain queen – but as I started to write it an idea for a third interaction came into it and so the story expanded and, sadly as with most nights for me, a re-write occurred. So hopefully you like todays content and it provides a bit more insight into what’s happening this week.
White Tidings
229TuWT
The cold wind nipped at her exposed nose and ears as she looked up at the wagon in the distance and sighed with relief. After finding her aunt half eaten by the creatures that came at night she didn’t care about the warnings of the Yuki-onna or even the creature that had been destroying her village – nothing had bothered her, even the cold didn’t bother her half as much as normal. But the things she had seen on her pursuit of the adventures and the wagon had worried her, the creatures big and small, malicious and marvellous all threaded upon everfrost like grim warnings of what travellers in the valley could expect between the valley walls.
That is why she needed to find them, those foreign adventures the one from the same place as Hugh and Jason, her aunt had tons her the night before that they were the only ones that could stop the attacks and had left a single talisman out for their good fortune. Ester was sure that is what had drawn the creatures to her aunt’s room and they had decided to make a spectacle, a statement from her defiance. And now she was racing to them, making up lost ground as they seemed to be moving slower now, whether by choice or not was yet to be determined but it gave her a chance to catch up and ask for help.
Running across the snow was nearly impossible but she moved as quickly as she could, holding her fathers bow with a notched arrow ready to defend herself if anything thought her an easy meal. The talismans and charms draped around her neck should keep most things away or help her natural senses keep her from harm but there was always a cost to such enhancements and she had trouble hearing anything over the wind in the valley. Her heightened senses seemed to be picking up the overwhelming noise of the mountain itself, animals and creatures as well but the wind, groaning trees and cracking twigs – everything was loud.
Surprisingly so she didn’t notice the massive white creature until she nearly bumped into it.
Large thick claws adorned the rear feet and powerful legs, claws and a large blade made of everfrost capped the middle of two large wings that where covered in feathers and scales that made it blend in perfectly to the surrounding snow and frost. A large avian head and sharp beak with Jagged teeth contrasted with the highly intelligent eyes that looked down upon her with amusement and mirth.
Raising her bow she pointed it at the creature who’s beak twisted into the mimicry of a smile. “A brave one to point such a small arrow at the mountain itself” the massive creature said in a chirpy song-like voice. “You get one shot so I’d make it count. But to shoot me results in only your death and not mine little creature” and Ester knew it was true. The creature was as big as the trees, the scales were like metal plates and the volume of feathers made it hard to see where flesh was beneath them. She considered her options and looked towards the wagon, a few hundred feet away, the wind whipped her hair and covered her eyes as it fanned out in the direction of her gaze. A carrying wind she thought. Grabbing one of her talismans, one of luck, she wrapped it around the arrow slowly as the large creature watched her with amusement and curiosity. “I’m afraid to tell you that those talismans don’t work on me little one” the monster said as it moved forward, the everfrost blades biting into the snow and earth giving its massive form purchase. As quick as she could, drawing from her talismans to augment her speed and skill with a bow Ester raised the bow and loosed on a single shot, carrying the talismans with it.
The arrow soared past the creatures head who turned its to watch the arrow fly off into the distance, a breeze pick it up and push it into the wood of the wagon next to the rear door.
“Very clever” the creature said as she turned to look at he girl. “Very clever indeed” it repeated as it lunged upwards grabbing Ester and carried her in her powerful hind claws into the sky, the sudden appearance of a flurry of snow blocking visibility and shrouding the creature and Ester in white as it ascended into the mountain peaks.
Hana stared at the snow as the talisman swung backwards and forwards in the rocking motion of the wagon. She had seen it, she was sure she saw a massive creature fly into the sudden snow flurry and ascend into the sky. As the party arrived around her, and Kyoko gripped her shoulder she realised that she was shaking. Grabbing a quill, a pot of ink and some paper she started to sketch what she thought she saw, but no matter how she tried to describe it with words, or she tried to draw it no one had a clue of what was out there – but they recognised the charm attached to the arrow embedded in the door.
After half an hour the party returned with a bow and reports of the same large scrape like markings in the snow.
Revealing the creature to the one person who can’t talk, and who happens to be not very good at drawing I might add, is a way to keep the mystery there and gives us, the DMs, the opportunity to ramp up the excitement around the encounter.
Tomorrow night we will expand a bit more around it as dusk falls and the party are almost out of the valley…
Thanks for visiting and reading tonight, a bit of a bigger writeup compared to some of the last ones but I hope it was worth the read. Don’t forget to come back tomorrow and the next few nights for that matter so you can see how the adventure unfolds and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage, The Brazen Wolfe
Welcome to another Monday night in our lead up to the end of the month and the reveal of the mysterious ice creature. This week I’ll shift our perspective a bit and tonight I will focus on a different point of view as tie the last few components together into what I hope will be a fun end of week adventure.
Vassal
229MoVa
As the rabbit with horns erupted from the bush and ran off across the edge of the road, darting behind bushes and around trees, branches and rocks in its escape from the humanoids that had discovered it in its hiding place the party watched it with weapons at the ready lest it was another beast ready to attack them, or worse. As the parties tension eased in the following silence they moved about the snow covered road they put their weapons away and started to move across the road to check for anything else that was nearby. No matter how far and thoroughly they looked they were unable to shake the feeling of being watched, or a predator being nearby – the cold and fatigue of the last days travel taking its toll on the adventurers making shapes in the snow look like beasts and spirits getting ready to lash out at the party and strike them down where they stood.
After they were certain nothing was near by the party and the wagon rolled onwards down the road, returning to being alert and keeping an watchful eye on the walls of the valley, the trees and the snow.
She watched from a nearby wall of ice and rock through the sporadic leaves and branches between her keen eyes and the humans that were travelling through her lands – the one that had been marked by the shadow and the queen. Twisting her neck around she moved away from the rock, her strong neck moving away from the wall of rock and ice as her claws and broad axe-like graft of everfrost that adorned her forelimbs dug into the rock, dirt and ice to secure herself and support her weight. As she moved her body upwards to a crouching position she compressed her body until it was like a coiled spring and released, spreading her forelimbs wide as the framed membranes spread wide and her weight was caught by the wind and she soared higher into the sky as the wind tunnel help carry her higher into the sky quickly – her eyes never leaving the humans and their wagon as they moved onwards.
Creatures scattered in the forest as she revealed herself from her hiding spot, she loved this feeling, the fear, the reverence. She was the mountain itself and those who lived in these rocky outcrops were her subjects, only fit to live her by her good grace. As she soared higher she saw the sun setting on the end of the valley causing the spikes of ice she had created sparkle like jewels through the rift between her rock and snow. Latching onto the tallest rocky peak, digging the ice blade in deep to secure purchase, she watched the humans, they not being aware that they would be dead with the coming sun. A smile formed on her lips, rare for her species but she was an oddity for her kind any way and as long as she was still ruler of these rocky lands she cared not for the wars that happened to the east and west of her, for here she was queen.
Content to watch and plan she climbed to the peak, using her four limbs and he thick and wide tail to give her balance as she gripped into the cold earth. Reaching the peak she sat there and preened her feathers, the yellow sunlight causing her white and blue feathers and scales to glow like the snow that surrounded her as she made sure that she looked her best for the guests she had in her hunting grounds – for the hunt was about to be on and she did not want to disappoint.
So finally revealed, a large feathered creature with wings that tends to blend in well with the environment. Summoning everfrost is not the only trick this creature will have up its sleeve and the encounter that will go with it will be something new, but inspired by a few scenes from movies and tv shows.
Thanks for joining me tonight for another glimpse at what runs through my mind and what is driving the adventure for this month. Don’t forget to come back tomorrow for more content, exploring a bit more about one of the NPCs that we have with us – or maybe all of them at once so best not miss it in case I plan on doing something pretty fancy, and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage, The Brazen Wolfe
Brazen Wolfe Tabletop 