Campaign Journal: Wherein Goober Almost Dies

Who's riding with Serafina Rissanen to meet with Victor Matui and his faction of worshippers of "Old Khador" at his keep?

• Slick (And Dukan Dildran)
• Frederick
• Jax (And Goober)

Might want to stand back, in case the religious discussion gets heated.

Serafina was greeted with, understandably, distrust and some hostility, as her zealots were among the parties who persecuted the Keepers of Light, Green Star, and others of the old orders after the original fall of the western lands and resulting upheavals.

But her approach with humility and explanation of her escape from Acroria under duress won over a few of the old campaigners. Discussion soon led to questions and much animated pointing to lines of text in various holy books and requisite religious armwaving.

The party sat back and tried not to nod off.

Just in time before Slick started to either 1) snore and drool, or 2) go steal shit, an alarm from the tower went up. "Something's botherin' Momma!"

That was a curious phrase.

Well, one of the original occupants of the keep tower was a giant eagle. Victor had made the choice to wait for her to fledge her chicks prior to evicting her. Which turned out to be fortunate, as the eagle rehomed to a large tree not far from the keep and "Momma" now acts as an impromptu sentry to things moving about in the area. 

Slick offered to ride out to see what was amiss. 

Could it be Chaos troops with Damned Horses? Of course it was Chaos troops with Damned Horses. 

YeeHaw!

June RPG Blog Carnival: Magic Shops

This month's blog carnival is sponsored by Advantage on Arcana and appropriately themed, "Magic Shops and Their Alternatives."

Well, I'd better hop on board before I lose my muse for another several months...

...with the important question: "Why own, when you can rent?"

***

HEY! HEY! HEY! C'mon down to Lucky Eddy's Magic Rentals! 

(On the corner of Rivenbell Road and Langmug Lane - look for the wacky waving wyvern!)

Why buy, when you can RENT?!?

No need to buy an overpriced item from those sketchy elves down the street or that shop run by the bald dude on the river! Especially if you only need it for this quest or mission! Who needs a pack full of unused magical tinker? YOU DON'T!

Lucky Eddy is here to help you lighten that load and set you up for SUCCEESSSS!! No more hauling three swords, "just in case!" We'll get you kitted out and back from that dungeon before the tavern closes!!!

REASONABLE RATES! By the Day, Week, or Month! (Some Exclusions Apply)*

Source

They Met at a Tavern 9: It Fell From the Sky

Time for another Meetup session at the brewery. This time, I took the leap of actually using a pre-written adventure. In this case, Thom Wilson's "It Fell From the Sky" written for Shadowdark. I have a few of Thom's products, and a what appeared to be a low-level homage to Expedition to the Barrier Peaks sounded like fun. Spoilers ahead, of course.

We had four players:

• Brandon (Dwarf Fighter - Jordan Ironhelm)
• Tom (Half-Orc Wizard - Dakklud)
• Brian (Elf Priest - Anin)
• Seana (Human Fighter - Akiina)

Off to a good start. The premise of the adventure is that the PCs are venturing to the settlement of Fregundle to take part in the "Beggening," an annual humiliation by the local lord, Underduke Ivok. 

Thankfully, the event is cancelled by the crash of an alien spaceship into the middle of town. We determined by rolls that Anin was a native of the area, and knew some local lore and personalities. As the remainder of the party waded through the muck surrounding the ship, Anin retrieved a few aids and poultices from a local healer's cabin (she had perished from shock at the crash of the ship).

The remainder of the party was set upon by an apparent zombie, which they slayed. With this, Ironhelm cast a grapple to the ship, and all ascended, finding a breach in its hull. 

They were able to access the interior, finding it quiet. A dead alien was the only witness. Some poking around and mishaps with invisible force fields blocking accessways, and it was found that alien body parts were needed to open doors. Dead alien hand on a stick.

Odd technologies were investigated, and a sneaky alien was defeated. More dead aliens were found. Now everyone had their own alien hand. 

Down into the heart of the ship. They party circumnavigated around the ship's outer corridor, investigating cargo holds and scrounging as all good adventurers do. They were able to collect a few curiosities and valuables from their investigations and property damage. Including several silver ingots. This was certainly better than the Beggening. 

May RPG Blog Carnival Late Entry: Oaths - The Beguine/Beghard Class for OSE and Shadowdark

Ok, here we are on May 32, and I'm right on time to contribute to the month's Blog Carnival. This time hosted by Tabletop Curiosity Cabinet and themed, "Oaths." So let me share a small introduction to a historic religious community, as well as a player class (OSE and Shadowdark) inspired by them:

The beguines (and their male counterparts, the beghards) were religious lay-communities most active during the 13th - 16th centuries. While not formally monastic in nature, the members typically took vows, most commonly chastity, as well as of charity and religious devotion. Members were also able to quit the role, and return to secular life. 

The communities were typically self-supporting, with their members taking part in cottage industries. These beguinages could be as small as a shared house up to a walled compound. Larger examples contained shops, hospitals, breweries, and cloth mills.

Because many of the beguines came from middle- or upper-class backgrounds, many were literate and wrote treatises and poetry reflecting their faith and the visions that they experienced during contemplation and prayer. This mysticism was a common theme among the communities, as well as the idea of sharing these "visions" through religious or secular texts. Because these publications were outside the orthodoxy and independent of Church doctrine, they were often criticized or suppressed, with the most egregious example being the burning at the stake of Marguerite Porete as a relapsed heretic by the Inquisition.

After all, there is nothing more frightening than a financially independent, literate woman interpreting religious dogma.

Campaign Journal: Why is it Always the Spiders?

(5/18)

The party stands in the cold, stomping their feet by the doors of a nondescript warehouse. We see:

• Jax
• Rondel
• Frederick
• Slick

Magnus Stonewill greets them and loads six casket-sized crates onto the party's wagon. They provide him with the pilfered "crystal ball" taken from Ejnar Winther.

(Wait, if it's fake, what does it really do? Better check the oracle. 45: "Becomes exceedingly dense until it weighs approximately 256 tons." Well then...)

Anyway - west-southwest to an area known as the Barrowlands. No reason. The party overnighted, with no complications. The manikins were activated, and none malfunctioned or failed to act as night guards. So far so good. 

An extended family of goblins was encountered, fleeing more Chaos and avoiding the roads. They were bedraggled, with gaunt wolves pulling travois. Jax shot them a deer while the rest of the party pointed them south to find Queen Adra and her community along the shore of Cobalt Lake. Rough map and fresh provisions in hand, the sad group continued on.

Oh look, a tomb:

thanks Dyson

How convenient. The party entered, interspersed with their new toys. They found a doomed explorer near the entrance. Ah, an auspicious sign. Onward. Broken doors on their right revealed five empty sarcophagi. A few bits of treasure were scattered about, and collected. The southern door was spiked, and the party returned to the main corridor. Entering the first room on the left, they were set upon by three undead knights. 

Surprise!

Henry C's turn attempt failed, and the fight was on. Everyone rolled like crap for a while, undead and party alike. Finally, the party made some progress... Tittering was heard in the corridors. And Rondel and Henry were slowed. A glimpse of eight reflecting eyes, then gone. More chaos, sounds of babbling, and part of the party, as well as most of the manikins, were webbed. Dammit. A magic missile hit Henry. More alien tittering. DAMMIT. 

The Lair of the Pale Toads

Last week, we were introduced to the Pale Toads. To expand on our new friends, they needed a lair, and a bit of a story as to why they have suddenly appeared along the edge of civilization, curious and adventuresome. 

AI Trigger Warning.

The Toads tire of lingering in their dim places, and, curious about those who explore their lands, seek to reach out and make contact. But in that vein, they need a leader to inspire them, and teachers to prepare them to interact with the outlanders.

Fortunately, our little community within the lair has both, and the Toads are ready to seek new lands and new allies. The old Queen seeks a greater calling and legacy for her folk. The priests commune with and teach of the great toad who brought them up. And instructors teach worthy toads the arts they will need to survive in the greater world and the rough language of the foreigners so that they may communicate.

This "adventure" is written more as a settlement or village, with its personalities and resources, than a "lair" to be murderhoboed. YMMV. 

The map was provided by Jean-Claude ''Raznag'' Tremblay. I've used one of his maps before, and have several more in the files awaiting the correct inspiration.

Anyway, welcome to the Lair of the Pale Toads. Try the swamp-beer.

Update: Got called out for the AI art, so I'll address it here, rather than getting into multiple discussions elsewhere. Yes, the Toad images are AI. I happened to find them whimsical and inspiring enough as prompts to write up a couple of posts worth of content. Because I write for fun, after all. This isn't a commercial or professional endeavor. I don't have delusions of adequacy when it comes to my writing. I just put it out there to keep my brain active, and perhaps someone will use a piece of mine at their table one day. And much of what I write here (eleven years of posts, 100+ adventures or scenarios, plus myriad other content) is found inspiration: A good map-space, a piece of history, a photo of an artefact, a scene in a book. But the writing is mine. 

Ironically, I didn't even "create" the Toads' art, but lifted it from Pale Toad's YouTube posts.  

Will I use AI art in the future? Likely not. It doesn't fit the esthetic of my writing and imagined game-space. And AI is considered anathema in plenty of creative spaces. Anyway, I'd rather hunt down an appropriate bit of Hannes Bok or piece of medieval marginalia to illustrate my little adventures or scenarios. The images I use on my posts are attributed to their sources, and anything that I do put up on DTRPG or similar is typically illustrated by either public domain art or purchased art from human creators. 

So, if for some reason this is the first time you've stumbled on my blog, I apologize if AI is your first impression. Feel free to peruse the nearly 650 posts that aren't AI content.

New Class and Ancestry: The Pale Toad

Trying to catch up on the creative work, drafts upon drafts. Certain other obstacles need to be overcome via other means.

Decoy computer, working computer 

So. The Pale Toads. Where did they come from?

Well, this channel came across my YooToob feed, offered by the inscrutable algorithms. OR because I listen to quite a bit of ambient or synthwave while working. Anyway, the channel's namesake AI-produced adventurer-toads needed a bit of a story, or at least to be statted up for some possible play.

Friendly little guy

Over the last seasons, the Pale Toads have arrived from unnamed swamplands and dank caverns, their skin pale from the dim lands that they tread. Their antediluvian eyes reflect wisdom and stoicism. They are curious for knowledge, to perhaps offer trade, or to join in an adventure. The Toads' outward waddling, awkward appearance vanishes with a powerful lunge or silent disappearance into the water.

Campaign Journal Catchup 2: Sneaking and Scrying

(4/13)

Oh look, the gang is prepping for another heist:

• Jax
• Rondel
• Frederick
• Slick

Time for intelligence - gathering. 

Some quick questioning of Solange - she confided that the "doll" had been secured by a third party, but that she or her contacts had no direct information on who may have tipped off Stonewill. Even though allegiances were fluid, the various guilds in town recognized that they had better odds coexisting, so direct conflict or betrayal was not in their best interests. That said: Ejnar Winther is a powerful member of the Merchants Guild. A half-elf by heritage, who keeps his skills and talents close to the vest. I'm sure a break-in will be a trivial affair...

Easy enough. Party members reconnoitered the half-elf's somewhat ostentatious residence - a converted temple, formerly of the Temple of Combris, a deity of merchants and messengers. An informant notified the party that Winther and other guild members were gathering for an emergency meeting that evening. 

Was the party going in through the sewers again? Nah. Wouldn't want to stink up the carpets. 

Rondel did some invisible flying about and spotted a rooftop hatch on the building's tower. Good enough. Nightfall, and well, there was a lot of overly-complicated sneaking, climbing, flying, and manipulation of various spheres of invisibility and silence to reach the roof of the temple. I won't belabor the sequences. We've all watched (or taken part in) a party taking 30 minutes to breach a door.

Artist's rendition of the suspects...

Finally, the roof. Slick inspected the hatch, noticing a rune or two. Best leave it be. Down the side of the building to a less securely-trapped window. More shuffling and sequencing. 

Down through a couple of chambers, converted from the building's religious past. The party did some major filching in Winther's office, avoiding a trapped bookcase and clearing out his petty cash.

No apparent scrying device, though. Down we go to the main level. 

It's dark, too dark. Dammit.

FOOM, and light! And Winther with two of his guild compatriots sitting and waiting for the party. Took you long enough. We're famished. Drinks and hors d'oeuvres, perhaps?

Campaign Journal Catchup: An Invitation to Dinner

Been remiss on my campaign journal summaries - Between other obligation and distractions, took a couple of weeks off to visit the hinterlands and take care of my property back there: 

Slick would touch it.

(3/30)

We return to our scene within the Smoking Isles with: 

• Jax
• Rondel
• Frederick
• Slick
• Fulvus

The party continued their discussions with the priests and Librarians of Athenard. The Library Paladins compared intelligent swords with Jax. Slick stole a mitre from one of the priests and got called out by a Librarian Paladin and her particularly-talented sword as he invisibly crept from the ship. 

Ok, we're just going to get into trouble here. Let's go to Chirath and get into trouble there, instead.

Across the Maranan Sea to a dock in the fishing/warehouse/general thievery part of town.

source

Disembarking, and a quick visit to Eddy's Fish, where the code phrase got them into the basement meeting hall of the Hidden Hand Tavern. Guild thief Solange appeared, notified by a silent signal. What news since we've been gone?

Well, a few troop ships have gone down/missing while crossing from Athnard, leading to the loss of additional reinforcements and increased concern. The city's library has collected a few rare books through trade from the Khanate's mobile libraries in the north. A patrol of elven rangers departed to seek out an old brass dragon rumored to live in the mountains. Word of more raids and depopulated settlements have filtered along the trade roads.

The party considered these things. In the meantime, Fulvus connected with a crew of halflings who agreed to take his growing collection of taxidermied heads to Neuforde, and to pass along some messages to allies and acquaintances.

Well, what now?

The D66 Table Test Dungeon: The Bowl of Gunnfried for Shadowdark

So I have written a number of D66 tables as a creative exercise. A few were themed on dungeon contents, and the final of these included, “things to get, things stopping you, and dungeon decorations.” So, since a couple of friends had put these tables to use, I figured that I should roll the dice and put it to the test, myself. 

"Bowl, roper, incense burners/braziers."

OK then. Let's do this. 

Grab a Dyson map. This one will do...

source

Hmm. Ok, why not put a boss monster in the first room? ...

So here it is - The Bowl of Gunnfried - crafted up for Shadowdarky delvings. Estimated in the 3rd+ level of challenge, as long as there are a few magic weapons in the mix. Knowing PCs, they'll just dogpile every challenge....

This is the first time I've written specifically for the Shadowdark format - critter stats, etc. so critique is welcome.

source

The Village of Caershire

Another populating of a small Dyson settlement, with its cast of characters and local open secret as to the land's productivity and protections...

original

My words here:

It took a lot longer to craft this simple writing exercise than it should have. It's been that way for a while - distracted, not able to complete these little projects. The brain is as cluttered as my desk, I suppose. A lot going on that makes it difficult to compartmentalize and get into some sort of zone. Oh well. Several other half-finished scribblings await - sentence fragments and placeholders awaiting inspiration.

D66 False Crystal Balls

No, I couldn't leave well enough, or half-assed alone. I needed to expand yesterday's list to D66. 

Jareth, again...

So, expanded, bigger, better, and with more balls! 

D66 FALSE Crystal Balls

11: Flashes as Chromatic Orb equivalent, random level effect.
12: Viewer goes into catatonic trance.
13: Becomes permanently stuck to hand.
14: Just shows embarrassing childhood moments.
15: Projects false prophesies.
16: SPIDERS (Causes hallucinations).
21: Causes nightmares.
22: Shiny, mundane.
23: Makes a nice kaleidoscope, casts pretty patterns on walls.
24: Creates a black void to peer into.
25: Causes manic episodes.
26: Causes obsession with the ball.
31: Projects image of viewer to another, real magic ball.
32: It's a mimic, because why not?
33: Becomes very hot. Temperature rises to approx. 1,400° C. Burns through anything it can melt through.
34: Ball begins to replicate, doubling in number every minute until room filled (or 2¹⁶ balls, whichever comes first).
35: Attracts swarms of rats.
36: Explodes, treat as fireball.
41: Big flash! Causes permanent blindness to anyone in room.
42: It's haunted.
43: Begins to emit noxious smoke, continues until the draperies and carpets are ruined.
44: Spontaneously extrudes 18-inch long spikes.
45: Becomes exceedingly dense until it weighs approximately 256 tons.
46: Expands into a Rover, user born off to an undisclosed location.
51: Loudly proclaims, “I can't believe you thought this was a crystal ball!” in a mocking voice for an hour.
52: Transforms into a Magic 8-Ball.
53: Transforms user into a crystalline statue.
54: Rickrolls.
55: Floats to ceiling, bumps around annoyingly, avoids attempts to capture.
56: Floats to ceiling, transforms into disco ball.
61: Teleports viewer to random location within 200 mile radius.
62: Teleports viewer to pocket dimension for safekeeping.
63: Transforms into a lime green D30.
64: Leaps from viewer's hand, giggling, rolls under furniture, avoids attempts to capture.
65: Becomes a luminous, yellow-green cat's eye. Viewer can't shake the feeling that it is surrounded by a near-invisible, spectral cat.
66: Transforms into small black hole. Consumes approximately one cubic mile of matter before imploding.

(May require appropriate saving throw or remove curse/similar to negate effect)

Download here, if you must.

I'm ponderin' my orbs!

D12 False Crystal Balls

So... last session the PCs were tasked with swiping a scrying device from a member of the Merchant's Guild. And of course, it didn't go well, because, duh, scrying device. But said member of the Guild was more amused by the party's incursion, plus was interested in their more global activities. And of course additional details of the goings-on and agenda of the individual who had retained them. Because the device, a crystal ball, provided glimpses, but not in-depth information.

At the end of the conversation, the party asked about how to perhaps continue the ruse against their employer. At least long enough to get out of town with their payment. But of course our target merchant had a “spare” ball. It would emit a magic aura and appear to be a normal crystal ball in other ways. Just say you found this activation word with it. Good luck.

Ya know, because a crystal ball sometimes isn't really a crystal ball.

...because of course I had to use the Goblin King

D12 False Crystal Balls

1. Chromatic Orb equivalent, treat as 4^th level caster

2. Causes catatonic trance

3. Becomes stuck to hand

4. Just shows embarrassing childhood moments

5. Projects false prophesies

6. SPIDERS (hallucinations)

7. Causes nightmares

8. Shiny, mundane

9. A pretty kaleidoscope

10. A nice black void to peer into

11. Causes manic episodes

12. Causes obsession with ball

(several of the effects will require a remove curse or equivalent to counteract)

I should get off my butt and do d66...

Update: I did.

Owen's Mine: A Wayback Revision

I recently got a request to update a broken Drive link on a post from way back when - January 2015, to be precise: Owen's Mine - Four visions.

One of my earlier efforts at coming up with multiple scenarios for a single dungeon-space.

Original here

Anyway, with the passage of time, most of the embedded links were broken due to an SRD site going dark, and the scenarios had been presented as separate documents. 

So I found most of the originals on a hard drive and combined/cleaned up the format a bit. Don't worry, the content is generally unchanged from the originals, and still my usual bog-standard, barely literate dungeon-stocking. 

Download: Owen's Mine, 4½ Variations

Shadowdark One-Shot: Wherein I run an online session

Well, here we go - with the conclusion of Tim's Scorn campaign, our band of cretins are running rotating one-shots. I got short straw to run first. Joe's out with his own projects, so we recruited one of our "loyal viewers" to join the frivolity. 

The game: Shadowdark. The scenario: Kabrel's Tower

The miscreants: 

• Mike: Beregar, Sea Wolf; Aran, Halfling Thief
• Tim: Mire, Elf Mage
• Paul: Ignatius, Human Priest

Opened the session in my usual one-shot ritual: Random Hats! Along with a few character questions.

I initiated the scene with a deceased mutant being brought in by farmer Mordecai to the sheriff. The party, of course, was recruited to investigate. 

They accompanied Mordecai to his farmstead, where he reported that the mutant's companions had absconded with a couple of farmhands. Mordecai's wife and son emerged from their home, relieved that he had safely returned. The party stayed the night, and was fed by the missus. Wulfram, a stout boy of 15, volunteered to guide the party.

Leading them along an abandoned trade road, the party spotted a figure on horseback. Aran diverted into the woods to flank. 

sup, yo.

The figure disappeared, reappearing with a few companions, most with obvious 'changes.' Plus, Naked Dude. Who charged Ignatius.

Ignatius, not wanting whatever the fellow was offering, dodged. And Beregar split the fellow asunder, taking some acidic blood damage...

Aran realized that the horse was not normal, and shot at it instead of the rider. The rider cast a spell on himself and encouraged his mooks. The horse bit Aran on the head.

Campaign Journal: Lindwurming

 Cresting the dunes, we see:

• Slick
• Jax
• Fulvus

(Frederick and Rondel joined later).

source

Before them were arrayed placer deposits of ruby along the dune faces and valleys. Snogriz Stormvault, dwarven assayer, squealed and trundled off to assess the resource...

like this, but ruby

Of course, something else was there. The PCs recalled that the elves had mentioned that any negotiations for the ruby would need to be with "Calaquendi-Culu." The sand shifted, and Snogriz got himself half-buried in the dune face as he attempted to scramble back to the party.

It was a worm, or, at least, a lindwurm.

howdy

Because desert, of course. Anyway. It lunged at the party, taking a large chunk out of Jax. Goober thought better and was off attempting to dig out Snogriz, avalanche rescue dog style. Slick disappeared, to go be secret-stabby, and Fulvus did his bouncing halfling thing. Much stabbing, biting, sand-burrowing, and attempted constricting, and the thing lay dead. Head too large to recover, but claws make for a good trophy.

Snogriz, now dug out of the dune, recovered his senses and took over. The party spent a few days winnowing the sands to separate enough ruby (and plenty of surplus) for new lens construction. Somewhere in this, Slick wandered off and came upon a terror-bird nest with a deceased parent and conveniently-hatching egg.

They Met at a Tavern 8: Ruining the "Notebook Failure Dungeon"

Greetings, weary travelers, we come across another party of randos who joined me for an evening oneshot. Although not totally random, as we had two Repeat Offenders(tm). The game, Shadowdark. The headgear, random as always.

Back for more abuse:

• Dakota (Halfling ranger, Long flowing hair)
• Claire (Elf priest, AMAZING curls)

Always there because My Shorter Half:

• Seana (Elf Knight of St. Ydris, Blank-faced helm)

New and enthusiastic:

• Declan (Half-orc thief, Brown, tasseled hat)

The venue: "Notebook Failure Dungeon," scene of one of my favorite early meetup games.

And off we go...

The PCs arrived at the entrance, short on coin and hoping for a bit of a boon. Some discussion on the wisdom of climbing into the entrance chasm or roping across somehow. Punctuated by the appearance of the carrion crawler. All safety across, crawler threatened with torch and dropped rocks.

got carrion?

 Entrance lock deftly defeated by thief. Party read goblin graffiti in the entrance foyer and added their own. As they negotiated the partially-collapsed walkway further in ("There are some serious code violations here."), they were set upon by the goblins from their secret watch-post. Goblins summarily defeated, although one escaped to tell the tale.

Following them into the guard-post, the party paused to look through gear ("Ooo, goblin fanny-pack!"). Which gave them time to hear the orcs coming up from deeper in. And lay a tripline across the door for them. The orcs' goblin mooks got tangled up in the tripline and were summarily shanked. As this was accomplished, the party was jumped by the orc guards and took some heavy damage, including felling the thief. The priest crit-failed her crossbow and replaced the string in a panic. The shaman big-bad then waded in, and failing his spells, chose to cast scimitar against the priest, skewering her through a chair she hid behind. The halfling ranger, after having little success, even with a holy weapon-blessed sword, finally stabbed the shaman dead.

ANOTHER Baker's Dozen of D66 Random Tables...

A second (!) collection of random D66 lists originally posted here on the blog (plus an extra, for my deserving readers!) for use, abuse, or inspiration at your table. Contents include: wands, ships, dogs, and multiple random dungeon content generators! The generators have been stress tested in the real world(tm), so have at 'em....

DriveThruRPG Link

Previous batch here

Campaign Journal: Crossing the Border

 Who's picking sand out of their teeth?

• Jax – Barbarian
• Fred- Thief
• Slick – More Thief

The group began at the restored spring/shrine, recently divested of corrupting demons. Without further ado, they headed for the border post of Eliond with their desert elf guide, Imiriel.

Slick, always slightly invisible, spotted a party of elves a distance off. They didn't quite look like the elves that the party is traveling with, so he circled back to notify Imiriel. She trotted off on her axebeak, and there arose a heated discussion. The other elves were apparently from a neighboring clan, straying across territory in search of a pair of killer lions. After some negotiation, Imiriel gave them a sigil to allow their trespassing, on the condition that any slain lions be brought to Eliond.

As if by fate (or dice) the party was jumped by one of said lions as they traversed a wash. It leapt at Imiriel, injuring her, but she was able to stay astride her bird. Slick, Jax, and Durkan attacked the sprawled beast. Imiriel's bird did a fair Goober impression and stomped it to death.

Onto the wagon with the lion's corpse, and away they went. 

Night fell, and as if on cue, a commotion arose in the dark. “Damnit Kavderak!” The elves threw stones into the dark. Goober stayed close this time. Slick went invisible. The dragon poked his head into the firelight - “Ooo, I smelled blood!” He proceeded to investigate the lion's corpse, damaging the valuable hide. Slick, in his ongoing quest to touch new and interesting creatures, touched the dragon. Kavderak, started, looked around, sniffed, “I see you!” and shot out a cloud of sleep gas. In the entirely wrong direction... Slick revealed himself and gave some BS line about being honored to be in the presence of such an imposing and wise and beautiful dragon, yaddayaddayadda.... So they got along famously and chatted the evening away. Kavderak took his leave, and relieved Slick of some gems, as well as swiping a scroll.

“Worth it!” - Slick.

On to Eliond, a small border village, and welcomed by the local clan-mates. 

source

Shadowdark: Bloggah's Blog #20 - Blaze of Glory

Whoo! Did you dogs fart in here? What did you get into?

Oh, the tablet. Why is is smoldering? This had better not violate the warranty... 

Corrupted file. Hmm. Let's see what we can find ... 

***

taptaptap. is this thing on? are the words showing up? i can't tell from here...

oh well.

so there we are. i stumble down the steps into the dark temple where we first met the cardmaster. dremont is down, demons are flocking about - vrock and dretch... columbo and tarim are standing firm against a greater demon as it tells them to lay down their weapons. better to not be seen. i turn invisible. the magic works...

tarim and columbo turn to attack some third type of demon, i guess. the big demon changes to a sexy big demon and asks nicely for them to put down their weapons. they agree this time. vacant-eyed yahoos. doing whatever a pretty lady asks.

a demon tries to drag a dead-ish dremont away. fine. i didn't need to stay invisible anyway. i missile it back to wherever it came from.

dremont still mostly dead.

columbo gets enough of his few wits about him, gets a potion into dremont. it works. dremont now a conscious drooling idiot. improvement?

the bad lady demon touches tarim with a scepter, and he goes down. sigh. this is how it's going to go. i missile the bad lady, that stops her from doing more harm to tarim.

columbo under a pile of demons, swinging away. just like he likes it.

something happens with dremont, and he comes to, glowing blue. does he get signal from the forest down here?

columbo has tarim's spear of serath - he's poking at the demon portal. it seems to have a little effect. very little. 

i remember something. pat at my pockets. there it is. oblivion card. I hold it up to the bad lady demon, and she goes away.

Campaign Journal: Negotiations and Remediations

Due to the three-day weekend, we only had Frederick and Jax. But you run for who shows. And so we went...

The party awoke to see a band of desert elves riding to meet them. Bogumir, the party's guide, walked out to greet the curious elves, who approached riding on a combination of mules, bison, and terror birds. So that's where the curious tracks came from...

Best be polite. 

Bogumir parlayed with the leader for some moments. The leader and a few lieutenants approached, while the rest stayed back, watchful. Findire, the leader, asked why the party was in the desert out of trading season. Frederick replied that they had lumber to trade, and were hoping to negotiate good prices away from the competition. Findire replied, fine, we'll trade you and you can go. A lieutenant inspected the two wagons, finding that the wood was an uncommon northern hardwood. 

Ok, might as well negotiate for real. We need to cross your territory, to reach the desert where the ruby sands might be found. What's your need for the sand? Frederick, roundabout, explained that the ruby was needed to restore the Barrier communication network. Finally, he showed a fragment of ruby lens that the party carried. The elves inspected it, and asked how it involved them. Well, Chaos is on the move after a long time, and twisting nature. We would think that you might find that offensive. Findire and his second, Arielen, discussed. Ok, what to you really have to trade then?

The party threw out their bag of unclaimed magic items, mostly potions and scrolls. The elves poked through them, mostly unimpressed. (Oh, a spellbook, looks like something we give children for reading.) Hmm, what's this book? The elves looked at an unclaimed and unread tome that has been sitting on a shelf in the party's home base. Opening it, a smell of grass and petrichor emerged. Sudden, hushed discussion.

Wait here. We will return with our shaman.

D66 Magic Staves

Time for the good ol' basic stick. Or staff, if you so desire. 

A walking stick, peasant's weapon, or signature accessory of any self-respecting mage:

Enchanted, of course.

Download me here

As always, use with caution:

Diving into list no. 24, which means I need to create another secret list for the next D66 compilation. Any suggestions?

Edit: Doh! Forgot to note. Yes, at least a few staves are based on the Plagues of Egypt, because if a couple of Moses's staff tricks can get into the DMG, why not more?

Shadowdark: Bloggah's Blog #19: Urban Renewal

Get off the top of the fridge!

Hey, why do you keep all the good snacks way up here? I'm starving!

Those are the dog treats!

Whatever. Pigs ear! And bully sticks! No way! You've been holding out on me!

***

... We catch our breaths. Someone finds a healing potion and we split it between Dremont and me. I'm feeling like half the goblin I used to be.

The fog is crawling through the streets. We hear people calling for help - Columbo thinks he hears Godfrey's wife. She's been missing since the fog happened the first time (this time? Last time? This time travel stuff is confusing). Down into the foggy streets and alleys we go, because that's smart. Tarim calls for Serath's aid, and on cue, a Meridon of the Temple of Serath emerges from the fog, one-shotting demons and being a bit full of himself.

Fine, let's go. We step into the fog and I feel it burning and weakening me. Just another day.

Columbo hears Mrs. Godfrey off in the mist and trundles off. Some tentacle demon lurches out of a well to grab him. He pulls loose, chopping at tentacles. Fine. I'll help. Zap. 

let's see if this gets me flagged.

Mr. Meridon gets grabbed by a second demon and Tarim, wanting to make a good impression, sidles over to help.

More hot tentacle action, as the boys swipe at things. I stay out of the way, choking in the foul mist. Damnit, I'm in the middle of a Viking Party. The Meridon yanks me back to life and accuses me of slacking.

They Met at A Tavern 7: Revisiting Kabrel's Tower

New year, new journals...

Another Meetup play report, where I meet strangers and try to kill them... figuratively. Superbowl Sunday was coming up, so I posted up a game titled, "Gaming for Those Not Watching the Game." I had no dog in the hunt, and figured plenty of other folks also approached the game with a rousing, "meh." A neighborhood taphouse was bereft of screens and set aside a table for me. The game of the night was Shadowdark.

Who made it?

• Wes (Elf wizard)
• Davion (Dwarf Knight of St. Ydris)
• Leif (Elf ranger)
• Seana (Human fighter)

I got everyone situated and bumped up to 2nd level. Rolled for hats, as is tradition. 

We started in Neuforde with rumors of not-quite-humans raiding local farms and caravans. The priest in town volunteered a local youth ('Sven') to act as a guide. Knowing the raids came from the southwest, Sven led the party to the overgrown trade road and they picked their way through the alder. 

As is tradition, they were set upon by a party of Chaos mutants consisting of a leader on Damned Horseback and four mooks. The mooks were visibly altered, particularly the one naked dude...

Battle was joined, with the two elves focusing on the leader, and the other two party members going after the mooks. The leader's spells got disrupted enough to have little effect. The dwarf laid about himself with his razor chain. The dwarf and elves badmouthed one another. Sven hid in the bushes.

Two of the baddies were slain, including naked acid-skin guy, and the remaining two mooks and leader fled with one hp each. The dwarf salvaged a dose of acid from the dead mutant and gave it to the ranger as a peace offering. Symbols on the dead mooks implicated a Chaos goddess known for twisting nature.

an old friend

The Hedge-Mage for Old Games and Shadowdark

Whew, its been a long time since I cobbled together a character class! Looks like the last time I dabbled in class creation was the Tabaxi...

That will not do.

So - a couple of things. First of all, I snuck in the "Hedge-mage" at the back of my Brindlegrit Gatehouse scenario, so it's likely that the class went unnoticed. So I wanted to pull it out as its own post.

Secondly, for anyone who's suffered through watching our Shadowdark sessions - If Bloggah the goblin mage happens to level up at the end of a session, I roll his new spells randomly. It just fits the character, and the fact that I enjoy the random nature of magic in Shadowdark (even if my colleagues in the game may not have similarly refined tastes).

So, expanding on that theme, we have the hedge-mage, an unschooled, or perhaps undisciplined, student of magic, who happens to pick up magic wherever and however they can. And therefore, randomly. If fact, they may even be unburdened by the constraints of magical schools or mechanics. Therefore, every spell that they own is rolled randomly.

It may not be to everyone's (or anyone's) taste. But magic should be random, mysterious, and somewhat out of control. That's my story and I'm sticking with it.

Anyway, here we have the Hedge-Mage for your generic Old School Funny Dice Game:

Download me!

And for Shadowdark... I formatted the language and table for SD, but didn't duplicate the layout and style because my design skills are one step above crayons and edible school paste.

Download me, too!

AND NOW, SHADOWDARK V. 2.0, updated after a couple of reader suggestions (plus a tweak to the OSR variant).

Slightly shady spellslinger by Nicholas Roerich.

D66 Magic Axes

Behold, more D66 goodness! This time, the doughty battle axe! Favored by dwarves, barbarians, seafaring raiders, and those folks who just like to chop stuff!

source

Download Me Here

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Closing in on another dozen lists, so will compile another baker's dozen soon...

Campaign Journal: Dead in the Desert

Oops, behind on my journaling. I have a few sessions to catch up: my OSE campaign, the Shadowdark campaign, and a Shadowdark one-shot.

Let's get to it, shall we?

Slim attendance at the campaign, with several schedule conflicts. So you run for who shows:

• Slick - thief
• Jax - Barbarian
• Rondel - elf

The party headed south, guided by Bogumir, and with two wagons of good hardwoods in tow. Slick occupied his time by pranking Snogriz the assayer. 

The journey was generally uneventful as they travelled a rugged wagon-road. After two days, they arrived at a caravanserai surrounded by a stout wall and offering stables, a tower with lodging, and a well to replenish water. Symas, the proprietor, welcomed Bogurmir, and had his crew unhitch and settle the animals. Slick was pleased to see active guards on the wall, and that the various stablehands looked like they could handle themselves in a scrap.

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Symas questioned why the party was attempting to trade late in the season, and shared that the desert elves had not visited much over the last year. They seemed even more uptight than usual...

The stay at the caravanserai was uneventful, the food fair.

Happy Anniversary

Was poking through my blog last night while scuffling with Google regarding my most recent post flagging, and discovered that I had said "Hi" to the blog community eleven years ago.

Time flies.

Leicester (RIP) says hi from wherever he is...

Shadowdark: Bloggah's Blog #18: Back to Where We Started...

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Shadowdark - Bloggah's Blog #17: The Band Still Hasn't Gotten Back Together Again

Well, you look in a slightly better mood...

Got the days re-set, I think. Forest seems less uptight. But my student done got blowed up.

Sorry to hear. That happens.

You blew up a student, too?

No, can't say that I have.

Can I have these rations?

Those are dog treats. Whatever, go ahead...

***

We stand there, watching what's left of Milos dissolve in the light. I lose more interns that way (OK, well, just this one). 

Whatcha want to do, Dremont? Well, we're in the neighborhood. Might as well go find that relic hammer.

We know it's to the north, past some marshes, so a-slogging we go. At least the marshes may be frozen...

Crossing the marsh, we find a batch of abandoned huts, flooded by the marsh. Dremont notices something in the ice of the march. 

Alligator nose.

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Well, at least we won't have to contend with them. Dremont resists the urge to pick a nose.

Near nightfall, and we stumble on an old low stone wall. It looks in good shape, even for its age. It seems to be surrounding something, but we don't see a gate. So we hop over. Nothing could go wrong with a little trespassing. Standing in the middle of the enclosure is a big ol' menhir.

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