Hi,

This is my first time posting and I want to share a simple adventure I made for a party of 4, which goes from level 1 to 3.

Feel free to use it and change it in any way you see fit. Hope you enjoy it and it makes sense.

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Introduction

The village of Ravenminster is being attacked every day by undead. The undead is sent by the death priest Anghus Macaulay, who is the leader of a cult. Anghus believes the priest in Ravenminster has an incorrect interpretation of the god of death. Therefore he wishes to take over Ravenminster and from there launch crusades across the region.

Adventure flow

Raid --> Gather info in village --> Go to graveyard --> Go to Temple of Death --> Descend to Tomb of death priests --> Kill Anghus Macaulay

Raid

Everyone is in panic. The village of Ravenminster is being attacked at night. There's lightning, thunder and it's dark and raining heavy. The sound of a bell keeps ringing to alert the village guards.

There's multiple skeletons but the party only engages with 3 skeletons.

One of the skeleton is bigger, has 20 hit points, leather armor in black, a dragon skull helm containing a symbol looking like a lightning in front of a skeletal claw, and has a Scimitar, which has a nasty crooked look, instead of shortbow and shortsword.

3 x Skeleton (p. 272 MM)

Ravenminster

Pilgrimage village. Many pilgrims from across the region comes to praise the god of death.

Small village. 200 people.

A priest more or less rules the town, has the final word and answers to a noble family.

Village has 10 city guards.

Villagers are nice and speak carefully.

Known for its large graveyard, tomb and strong drinks. Other villages in the region uses Ravenminster to bury the dead. They earn money for this.

The village buys honey to make strong and sweet wine called Skjaldemjød.

The temple is a large institution.

The weather is misty. It often rains and ravens fly over the village crying

People do often come here to visit the resting place of those they loved.

People who live in the village are poor and work at the temple and graveyard.

The village, graveyard and temple is located where it is, because it is a holy ground to the god of death. It's a holy ground because the god of death granted the high priest who built the temple a very long life.

The high priest who built the temple was an Aasimar by the name of Aurelius Flavus. He loved his god very much and is very respected among the followers of the god of death.

It is common knowledge that Anghus Macculay, other acolytes of the temple, and other villagers didn't believe that Varis was the right leader for the village.

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Persons of interest

Priest is a wood elf. His name is Varis Starflower. He has a very good relationship to Malark Stormwind. They were in the army together. He has a scar on his cheek. He is able to drink everyone under the table. He enunciates words overly clearly. He is suspicious. The guard captain is his son. Ideal: Tradition, Bond: protective of close family members, Flaw: He has been cheating on his wife. Has stats of a Priest (p. 348 MM). *

Guard captain (half elf) in charge of the law. He is from a mercenary guild. His name is Taleisin Starflower. He has a good relationship to Varis. He is strong, has a broken nose. Expert cook. Speaks loudly. Hot tempered. Ideal: Community, Bond: loyal to a benefactor, patron or employer, Flaw: Enjoys torturing his opponents. Has stats of a Veteran (p. 350 MM). *

Forest Gnome ranger. Her name is Lilli Daergel. She is rough and speaks the truth. She smokes a pipe. She has spotted some hooded figures entering the temple and believes that the undead come from the temple. Has stats of a Scout (p. 349 MM). *

Innkeeper, wants her barrel of Skjaldemjød back. She doesn't have a lot of Skjaldemjød left.

Sorte Ravn (Inn)

There is an inn called Sorte Ravn (The Black Raven) where people are gathered during the day. It's possible to get food, Skjaldemjød and a place to sleep. It's a quiet place for an inn.

When at the inn, at a certain point when Varis and Taleisin isn't there, some bandits wants to pick a fight with the players. Their leader is named Flips, he has a scar on his chin, is bald and have beard. The other has a tattoo next to his eye and goes down to his chin. They will knock out "would-be heroes", not kill them and the locals don't get involved.

3 x Bandit (p. 343 MM). Flips has 18 hit points.

Flips carries a message:

"It is of uttermost importance that you disable any form of resistance in Ravenminster. You will be paid 70 gold for completing your job."

• Anghus Macculay"

The innkeeper is missing a barrel of Skjaldemjød. It has been stolen and is at the temple. The innkeeper will give the players 18 GP for retrieving the barrel.

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Guard house

Guard captain and guards reside here. They train and sleep here. There's a bell outside the guard house to alert villagers.

Circle of stones

Here people gather for either announcements or discussing messages which affects the village. Sometimes people gather here for performances.

Merchant's house

A merchant travels between here and nearby towns. He is a dwarf named Dain. He has adventuring gear from p. 150 PHB

Graveyard

There's several mausoleums in the graveyard where noble families are buried. Stone buildings. In the mausoleums it is dim light unless otherwise noted.
The area is foggy and the vision is lightly obscured.
Random encounters
Roll a d20. On 18 or higher a random encounter occurs.
D4 Encounter
1 2 x Skeleton (p. 272 MM)
2 2 x Zombie (p. 316 MM)
3 Swarm of ravens (339 MM)
4 Swarm of rats (p. 339 MM)

Map: https://imgur.com/a/HoGs8J5
G0
It's foggy and they can't see much further ahead.
G1: Riverdale Mausoleum
The noble family of Riverdale are buried here. There are four circular pillars holding the building. It is all darkness.
G1a
It's warmer than outside but still a cool air. When the door is open there's dim light. There's 4 stone coffins. Lots of melted candles. Make a stealth check for they can hear the rats downstairs. In the first coffins is 3 SP. 2nd coffins there's 7 CP.
G1b
4 stone coffins and a statue which has a plaque which says

"James Riverdale. You will not be forgotten"

He has a hat, a walking stick and fine clothes. The statue is in stone.
On the wall behind the statue on a DC 11 investigate, players can find out that the wall can be pushed in. The wall looks a bit different from the other walls.
There are small holes in the corners of northwest and northeast, where the rats have come from.
Swarm of rats (p. 339 MM)
G1c
Inside there is a stone coffin containing a blue quartz (transparent pale blue) gemstone (10 GP), 2 GP, 1 SP, 5 CP
G2: Overgard Mausoleum
Stone coffins around in a circle. Candles on sticks which are no longer lit. Windows at the top which has been shattered. In the ceiling the swarm of ravens attack.
In the middle is a statue which has a plaque saying

"Penelope Overgard. Never drop the bone to catch the shadow "

If they search in front of statue at the sign on DC 10 investigate, they find that they can take down the sign which contains a small compartment which has 4 GP.
Swarm of ravens (p. 339 MM)
G3: Stormwind Mausoleum
Coffins made of stone on north and south wall. Swarm of rats which comes from underneath the coffins.
Portcullis requires a strength check DC 9 to lift. There is a lever on each side of the portcullis. On the outside it has been broken.
Poison trap, DC 10 constitution, 1d10 poison damage or be poisoned for 10 minutes when the lift the coffin. In the coffin are Eye agate (translucent circles of brown gemstone worth 10 GP), obsidian (opaque black) gemstone worth 10 GP.
Swarm of rats (p. 339 MM)
G4
Big temple, broken windows, stairs up leading to temple entrance. The doors are large and requires a strength check of DC 8. Imagine Notre Dame. Many spires and spikes on the roof. Big circle on the front of the temple.
Outside are skeletons
3 x Skeletons (p. 272 MM)

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Temple of Death

It begins to rain a lot outside when players enter the temple.

When the players clear this area, award them enough XP to advance to level 2.

Random encounters

Roll a d20. On 18 or higher a random encounter occurs.

This encounter table is used both for Temple of Death and Tomb of death priests.

D6 Encounter

1 3 x Skeleton (p. 272 MM)

2 3 x Zombie (p. 316 MM)

3 Gray Ooze (p. 243 MM)

4 3 x Cultist (p. 345 MM)

5 2 x Ghoul (p. 148 MM)

6 3 x Cultist (p. 345 MM) , Dire wolf (p. 321 MM)

Map: https://imgur.com/Or6KWQD

General features

The undead doesn't attack anyone wearing vestments with symbol of the cult. If the pcs wait then at some point, cultists will come from the tomb and go into the dinning room (T4) in order to eat.

Light: It's dim light inside because of windows in the temple.

T1

Central temple where priests performed rituals

Chandeliers, lots of candles and several oak pews. A scythe is hanging from the ceiling 20 feet in the air. Dried blood on the stone floor.

Sealed off area at the lectern, which is made of stone, by a fence/rail and a kind of door which can be opened. The rail can be jumped over DC 10.

Skeletons behind the lectern.

Underneath lectern is a hiden staircase going down to the tomb. It can only be opened by solving the puzzle in T3.

North to the lectern is a water font containing 1 charge of holy water (p. 151 PHB)

2 statues of death. They have wings, a hood over their head, which is a skull. Between them is a mural showing people in a field crouching and praying to death. There are lots of clouds and death is standing in a mighty stance.

Behind that is a secret door. DC 12 investigation to find. The scythe of death can be pressed to open the secret door.

Wooden doors to the north and south.

2 x Skeletons (p. 272 MM)

2 x Zombie (p. 316 MM)

T2

In the hallway before entering, it's all dark. There's two torches not lit. The air is cold.

Well for drinking water

There's holes in the walls and cracks in the floor. When the players open the door, it smells like chlorine. The room is perfectly clean. There lays a skeleton next to the well. The air is cold. Can hear water splashing from the well.

In the room it's all dark. On each side of the door is two torches not lit.

In the ceiling is a Gray Ooze (p. 243 MM) stealthing waiting to attack the players.

In the well is a bucket and water 20 feet down. The well is 5 feet in diameter. There's rope attached to the bucket.

Below is some kind of small pond where fresh water can be retrieved from.

T3

In the hallway is a pit trap which is a hole in the ground, DC 10 dexterity saving throw, deals 1d6 bludgeoning damage on a failed save. DC 10 perception to reveal the trap. It can be circumvented by hugging the wall walking around it. No roll required to do so.

There's darkness in the hallway.

Vault holding important relics and ceremonial items, heavily trapped.

Fine quality large stone, smooth surface. There is darkness in this room.

The first floor inside contains a pressure plate. On the wall on the other side is a statue of a skull which has a hood over it and it has two hands reaching forth. The pressure plate is DC 12 perception to spot. Detect magic reveals an aura of necromancy magic around the statue. Putting some object under the pressure plate, prevents it from activating. A successful dispel magic (DC 12) cast on the statue destroys the trap. When the trap goes off, the eyes of the skull light up in a gray almost shadow fire and it makes a ranged spell attack +6 attack bonus and deals 1d10 necrotic damage.

On a table to the north is a copper chalice with silver lines around the top, worth 25 GP and 2 x potion of healing (p. 187 DMG). If the scythe from T1 is placed in the hands of the statue, the staircase in T1 will be revealed. The players can hear from that room that some stone is moving.

T4

In the hallway before entering there's two torches not lit.

Dinning room for servants holding supplies.

Stone walls. The air is warm, nice and cosy. There is darkness in this room.

Two tables where two benches are placed on each side.

Barrel with water.

Keg of Skjaldemjød on the barrel is a branded mark of a palm. Weighs 70 lb.

Barrel of salted meat chunks. Enough for 12 rations. Make a nature check, DC 10, to know that it will be rotten in 5 days.

There's a fire place on the south wall. Next to it is a body of a man in ceremonial robes, which is ordinary black clothes. There's a pool of blood around the man. He is a acolyte who have died from a cut wound across his chest.

In the fireplace is burned wood and a journal which is almost burnt. In one of the pages it says:

"Anghus Macculay have turned on us simply because he wanted to be the leader instead of Varis Starflower. Innocents have died and they will continue to do so every day. The dead have risen and the dead are walking the earth again. This is the end of times. Has our god forsaken us?"

Tomb of death priests

Must first go to the center of the temple in order to descend to the Tomb.

When players complete this area and return to village with results, give them enough xp to advance to level 3.

Map: https://imgur.com/5kmeVJ8

General features

The tomb was built by a high priest of the god of death and he is buried here. It is built using fine stone, which is dwarvish.

The undead doesn't attack anyone wearing vestments with symbol of the cult. The specter in room TO8 has caused a lot of problems for the cultists.

If the PCs wears cultist robes, the other cultists will assume that they are new recruits.

Light: Dark unless stated otherwise.

TO1

Antechamber

Pretty prayer rugs on the floor. In the middle of the chamber is stairs going down. It's just a little bit lower.

Stairs go up to Temple of Death. On the wall is a handle which needs to be turned in order to move the lectern upstairs.

There's 3 lit torches on the wall.

TO2

Storage room stocked with tools for maintaning the tomb

Wooden cabinet containing thurible, tinderbox, dishcloths, brushes.

4 x empty wooden coffins on the west wall.

Wooden cabinet containing shovels. Table where there's candelabras on.

Under normal conditions, the players are able to long rest in this room without being interrupted.

TO3

Robing room

The door is locked. DC 10 strength to force open or dexterity check with lockpick to open. The door has AC 15 and 18 hit points.

Contains 4 vestments. On the chest is a symbol of a lightning infront of a skeletal claw, which was first seen on the skeleton in the first raid. It is a symbol of the cult.

There's a carpet on the floor and in the ceiling is a fresco. The fresco shows people crying/sad over the dead.

TO4

False crypt

In the middle is a raised area where a stone coffin lies with no lid. When it's touched, a trap is triggered which causes a moaning sound can be heard loudly in the room. DC 12 CON save, 2d10 necrotic damage on not saved and half damage on save. DC 12 perception to see that it's a trap. 15" radius.

2 x Ghoul (p. 148 MM) are hiding trying to surprise the party.

TO5

Gallery

There's a large fresco on the wall showing the god of death in battle with a large devil. The sky is fiery. There's devils on one side and skeletons and shadows on the other side.

There's another large fresco on the wall showing kings bend their knee to the god of death.

There's stairs leading 10 feet up.

There is a statue of the god of death which can be found out by a DC 6 religion check. If a pc kneels or prays to the statue then they will receive the benefits of the spell Bless for 1 hour. This can only be done 1 times a day.

6 x Skeleton (p. 272 MM). 3 are at the frescos, the others are up on the stairs.

TO6

Crypt for priests

Contains wooden coffins. Altar on east wall. The acolytes are faced towards the altar making prayers. The cultists are cleaning/maintaining the coffins while the half-ogre is walking around.

There's 4 lit torches on the wall.

If the pcs are wearing the robes from room TO3, the acolytes will assume that the pcs are new recruits that will clean up room TO9. An Ogre zombie has gone rogue and has attacked cultists. The acolytes will ask the pcs to bring the head of the Ogre Zombie.

If they bring the head, the acolyte will introduce them to the cult fanatic in room TO7 by walking with them.

The acolyte speaking is a human male named Shabaka and has 16 hit points. He is bald with brown skin. He is painted on the forehead with a white skeletal claw.

Shabaka carries a key to room the robing room (TO3). The other acolyte carries 4 GP and is a dwarf (see p. 282 DMG).

2 x Acolyte (p. 342 MM)

3 x Cultist (p. 345 MM)

Half-ogre (p. 238 MM)

T07

Chapel

Outside the two doors are stairs leading up to the doors. Inside there is a statue of the god of death which can be found out by a DC 5 religion check. If the pcs pray or kneel to the statue then they will receive the benefits of the spell Enhance Ability with the effect of Bear's Endurance. There's stairs leading 5 feet up to the dais. In front of that are benches and a rug. There's torches around the room giving bright light in this room.

Cult fanatic (p. 345 MM)

3 x Cultist (p. 345 MM)

Dire wolf (p. 321 MM)

Cult fanatic is a female half-elf which name is Nizana Dinoryn. She seeks to overthrow Anghus. She wants the cult to be more aggressive and launch full scale invasion instead of raids and kill the villagers who doesn't want to convert. Nizana wants the pcs to clear room TO8. The specter has been out of control and has attacked cultists.

Carries note and 10 GP.

"Nizana, unless it is absolutely necessary, do not disturb me in my preparations.

If you must, then be aware of the pressure plate on the floor.

The password to enter the crypt of the high priest is mortalitas

- Anghus Macculay"

If the pcs clear out room TO8, Nizana will guide them to meet the cultists in room T10.

TO8

Workship for embalming the dead

There's 3 working tables for embalming the dead. There's blood many places especially on the tables and in front of the tables and they fall down into grates which are in front of the tables. There's two shelves on the right wall containing bandages, clay pots, bowls with animal fat. On the left side of the room is two wooden coffins.

The specter has currently caused a lot of trouble for the cultists.

Hidden pit trap underneath a rug. DC 10 to spot. It's 10 feet deep.

Specter (p. 279 MM)

3 x Zombie (p. 316 MM)

TO9

Divination room used to contact the dead

The water magically lights up the room in bright light.

There's a basin in front of an obelisk (15 feet high) which contains a scythe. The scythe is a holy symbol of the god of death which can be found out by a DC 8 religion check. The basin is used to place bodies in order to speak with the dead. When a dead body is placed into the basin, Speak with dead is cast. This can only happen once every 10 days. There's four pillars. From the highest stairways it's 15 feet to the ground around the pillars.

There's blood on the floor and two dead corpses which are wearing robes of the cult.

Ogre zombie (p. 316 MM)

T10

Grand crypt for high priest

Priest (p. 348 MM)

Death dog (p. 321 MM)

4 x Cultist (p. 345 MM)

The room is lit in dim light from the torches. The stone on the walls are very fine cut made by dwarves. There's four pillars in the room reaching the ceiling. The stairs leading up to the coffin are 10 feet high.

The priest is Anghus Macculay who carries gold vestment (worth 25 GP) and a dragon skull helmet. He carries a Wand of magic missile (p. 211 DMG).

Changes to the priest:

Divine eminence deals necrotic damage.

Spell level:

0. Toll the dead, Sacred flame, Resistance
1. Bless, Command, Sanctuary
2. Blindness/deafness, Hold person
3. Animate dead

The priest is doing a ritual along with 2 cultists. They are on the other side of the cliff. There seems to flow necromantic energy between them. When the ritual is done, a Ghost (p. 147 MM) of the high priest will get summoned. He acts on behalf of the priest.

If the rest of the cultist group gets killed, the priest and 2 cultists will stop the ritual and attack the pcs.

There is a dead body in the room. There's a wooden bridge crossing the room. There's 50 feet to the ground.

Behind the coffin is a compartment which can be opened using DC 12 investigation. It requires a stone to be pressed to open.

Potion of heroism (p. 188 DMG)

Treasure chest containing 1500 CP, 1100 SP, 50 GP

3 x Onyx gemstones worth 50 GP each.

Moon touched sword (p. 138 XGTE) (it's a Morningstar)

T11

Trap is triggered when pcs step on a pressure plate. Can be spotted with a DC 16 perception check. When triggered roll for initiative. The trap has +8 to initiative. When triggered a rolling stone ball which is 10 feet in diameter and moves 60 feet per turn, falls through the ceiling and begins to roll. When it enters a pcs space, the player must succeed on a DC 16 dexterity saving throw or take 4d10 bludgeoning damage and be knocked prone.

If the trap is triggered then room T10 will be alerted and on their guard against intruders.

There's dead corpses in the hallway.

There's an arcane lock on the door. If the players decide to break down the door then roll for a random encounter to check if anyone heard the noise.

It should be hard to curcumveint the trap if you don't carry the note from TO7.

T12

On the wall to the west in the corner, there's a stone which sticks out a bit. If this is pushed, it opens a secret stone door to the south. The mechanism can be found with a DC 12 investigation check.

On the stone floor in front of the mechanism is a trap which can be found with DC 11 investigation. The trap is triggered by walking on the floor in front of it, which causes a pressure plate to lower. If triggered, the roof collapses and can be avoided by a DC 11 dexterity saving throw. On a success, no damage is taken, else a pc takes 2d10 bludgeoning damage.

On the other side of the wall is a similar mechanism to open the secret stone door.

Welcome back to Advent's Amazing Advice! The series where I take popular One-Shots, Adventures, Campaigns, etc. and fully prep them for both New and Busy DMs. This prep includes music, ambiance, encounter sheets, handouts, battle maps, tweaks, and more so you can run the best sessions possible with the least stress possible! With Easter fast approaching, I've prepped a Bunny Day Holiday Special:

From the creator of The Night Before Wintermas comes another level 5 Neutral/Evil One-Shot. Set in the same town as the original; your players will once again meet with Quentin Happyjoy who is getting into the confectionery business. Apparently, there's a lot of money in fat kids, especially when your toffee is 80% nicotine. He wants your players to cripple his competitors, House Estyr, makers of the world-famous "Chocolate Ovoids", by staging a heist on their heavily secured and fortified bank.

Will your players be able to come together to sneak or smash their way through the banks' defenses and come out with The Egg of Estyr?

This One-Shot has quite a lot to it. Your players will have multiple options when it comes to how they would like to tackle this heist which each leads to a very different experience. Theirs a full town to explore as well, with multiple unique vendors and magic items. I'm genuinely impressed with all there is to do!

I've also improved the design of the puzzle and included a section for handouts to make this session that much more immersive! I hope your players have as wild a time as mine did!

*Approximate time to complete

• Speed Run - 2hrs
• Quiet Option 4-6hrs
• Loud Option/Full Completion 6-8hrs

Without further ado:

• Google Docs Notes for The Egg of Estyr: DM Notes
• Link to: The Egg of Estyr

If you see something you think I can improve, add, change, etc. please let me know. I want this to be an amazing resource for all DMs and plan to keep it constantly updated!

Cheers,
Advent

I can't fit everything due to Reddit's formatting, but the proper color coding, playlists, etc. are available in the Google Docs!

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The Egg of EstyrA Level 5 Neutral/Evil One-Shot

Play Evening Ambiance

• It's early evening and the sun hangs low in the sky. The last of the winter snows cover the ground patchily and your boots are damp with meltwater. You're standing in the archway of a tall and narrow 5-story tower. Next to you, a discrete brass sign advertises... Happy Joy Toy, Tobacco and Confectionery Company, Northern Region Headquarters, Frosthold.
• Your interview is in 5 minutes’ time, and it appears from the small crowd gathered that you’re not the only one who’s been selected for this job.
  • Why don’t you introduce yourselves to the other applicants?
• As you finish your introductions the doors in front of you open.
  • A human woman with glasses and dark black hair, pulled into a ponytail disinterestedly looks you all up and down.
    • Are you all here for the interview?
  • Great, can I please get your Name and Specialty? (Class)
    • She scribbles down some info on a slate tablet with chalk and then hands out stickers to each of you. Taking a look at the stickers it says. Hi my name is...with each of your names written down.

Play Corporate Ambiance

• Follow me, please.
  • As you enter the reception there's a bustle of activity going on; several gnomes in gray jumpsuits are moving crates and boxes from the entranceway into a service chute that appears to lead downstairs. You also notice a wired-looking receptionist staring intently at the wall, chewing on a piece of toffee.
  • You’re eventually led to a lift and the woman says,
    • Keep your hands and legs inside the lift at all times, we are not responsible for any maiming or dismemberment that may occur during your time here.
    • You watch as she closes the latch and several gnomes on either side begin pulling and making strange sounds as you continue upwards.
    • Taking a bit longer than expected your eyes wander around and you notice a giant advertisement on the wall for the 'addictively good' 'BRAND NEW' Happy Joy Candy Bar.
• If players have never been here before
  • After several more moments you finally reach your floor and peer into a gigantic room. A large painted portrait of a smiling man in a purple suit holding a bunch of colorful balloons takes up most of the right wall, a small plaque underneath it reads... Quentin Happyjoy Senior, Founder, Happyjoy Family Toy Co. (Play Office Ambiance)
  • The far wall of the room is entirely taken up by a large window through which you can see spring leaves blowing past. The only item of furniture is a dark mahogany desk holding a neat stack of parchment, a magical Newton’s Cradle, and a slate tablet. In front of you is the greyest man you have ever seen.
  • Ah so you’ve finally made it, on time I see too, that’s a great sign, we here at Happyjoy Family Toy Co. appreciate punctuality. Now, what makes you think you’re the perfect fit for this job?
• If players played A Night before Wintermas
  • Ahh welcome welcome, glad you could return. It’s always nice to have individuals you can trust and who are willing to get their hands dirty. Why are you wearing name badges though? That’s a pay dock for Betty, guess she’s not affording insulin this month! It really is hard to find good help these days. At least I know I don’t have to worry about you all.
• The Job
  • Quentin leans back in his chair, steepling his fingers together as he regards you all
    • Now, as you may or may not know, my company is getting into the confectionery business. There's good money in fat kids, especially when your toffee is 80% nicotine.
  • He leans forward, his expression serious
    • Our main competitor, House Estyr, already has the market cornered with their 'chocolate ovoids'. I have it on good authority that they're enchanting them to be powerfully addictive, which is clearly unethical. It doesn’t help that it’s affecting our profit margins you see
  • He pauses for a moment
    • That's where you come in. I have a plan to financially cripple House Estyr by robbing their bank in Baron's Gate and stealing their legendary gemstone, the Egg of Estyr. And I'm willing to pay you handsomely for your services. One thousand gold pieces each upfront, a completion bonus, and free rein to take whatever else you find in the bank.
  • He sits back again, a smirk on his face.
    • Of course, the Egg of Estyr is mine. But I'm sure you'll find plenty of other treasures to make it worth your while.
  • Quentin then pulls out two parchment folders from his desk drawer; one a simple matte black folder labeled 'quiet', the second a scruffy red folder that appears to be burnt in places; it’s labeled 'not quiet'.
    • I had my two Corporate Heist Advisers draft up plans to execute the job, the choice is yours. You can go the quiet, subtle way, or the...less subtle way. Whichever you decide, my advisers requisitioned a small selection of items from the Happyjoy Heist Cupboard to help you succeed, which you may choose two of.
  • When players look at Quiet Envelope
    • If you go for the quiet option, we suggest the Knockout Apple and a Mask of Many Disguises
  • When players look at Loud Envelope
    • Quentin raises an eyebrow as you read the contents;
  • After players decide
    • Here are the items you can use
    • Now I can give you an hour to go down to the town and pick up anything you need, once you’re done meet back here. I’ll have Quentin's Corporate Mages teleport you to the safe house in Baron’s Gate.

When players return (Play Office Ambiance)

• You’re greeted once more by the receptionist who points over to a large set of doors.
  • Make your way inside and Quentin’s Corporate Mages will have you on your way.
• You enter a large circular room with runes inscribed all across the marbled floor. Several men in suits surround you and begin chanting. The runes below you start to glow brighter and brighter, you’re then blinded by a light and feel your body being pulled in all different directions.
  • If your players picked the Quiet Option
    • Click Here
  • If your players picked the Loud Option
    • Click Here

Sorry in advance for the potato english, this is not my first language.

This is a game for a low-level party, between 1 and 3. As always, be cautious if you run this game for level 1, since a pigeon peeing on their shoulder can one-shot them.

1) The Fall of a Kingdom

Deep within the forest of Readleaf lies the ruins of an ancient elven city, whose name has been burried through time. It used to be the center of a powerful kingdom, reknowed for the strength of his warriors, and their tendancy to launch raids on their weaker neighbour.

One day, after a successfull raid in the mountains, a party of elven warrior came back with a bunch of captives . Among those slaves was a young witch, a misstress of poison and herbs named Circaë. Her talent was so great it brought the attention of the king, who bought her.Soon, her talents were put to good use, and she was named the official Healer of the Court, putting the native elvish doctors to shame.

Then, a conflict erupted in the court. The king's son had fallen in love. This was not his father's plan however, who had planned for years to marry his eldest son with another woman, the rich daughter of a powefull duke. Furious about the behaviour of his rebellious son, the king asked the witch to find a way to end this ill-fated relationship. The witch obeyed and crafted one of the foulest potion in existence: a Love Potion. With this potion, the heart of the prince suddendly switched to the woman his father had chosen.

But this was only the beginning. Impressed by the result, the king realised he could use this potion for other purpose than just solving a familial drama. A potion that could kill free will and inspire artificial devotion in the heart of his subject would end a great deal of trouble for him.

One thing led to another, and in the span of a century, the kingdom was transformed in a totalitarian society, where blind devotion to the state was the norm, alchemically enforced by the fanatical followers of the king.

But the use and abuse of Love Potion had a price. This poison took his toll on his victim, both mentally and physically. The once proud and disciplined warriors of this kingdom had turned into a cult of sick maniac, incapable of taking rational decision in the heat of the battle. A new threat came from the north, an army ofAbishaï invader who easily defeated the demented elves. The city was destroyed, his habitants either killed or enslaved, and it's civilisation faded into the fog of history.

2) An ancient evil has returned.

Recently, a cult of Infernalist has discovered the remnants of this long-lost kingdom, and within it, a large stockpile of Love Potion.

Their plan is simple: using a potion to enslave the will of another sentient being is a cardinal crime, one that dooms your soul to an eternity in the Nine Hells after your death. If they can get enough people to use the Love Potion, they will be greatly rewarded by their patron.

3)Hook

The party is summoned in the house of Sir Pensley, a famous doctor who dabbles in alchemy and ancient history. Recently, he was called upon the bed of a sickly young woman, whose behaviour had become erratical. He was quick to identify the secondary effect of a Philter of Love, and he is worried: He tells them the story of the kingdom who was destroyed long ago by the use of Love Potion. He wants the party to investigate, find out who made the potion, and eliminate him quickly, before the inquisition comes in and start killing innocent people left and right to "purify" the area from black magic

4) Investigation

The investigation start with Lucia, the poisonned woman. Thomas, a middle-aged woodsman infatuated with her, has poisonned her with the Philter of Love. He went too heavy on the dosage however, and she is now raving in her room, bumbling incoherent words, while her body slowly wither away. Her parents will tell the party about Thomas. The woodsman tried to buy her hand a few month ago, and has been courting her ever since, despite her polite rebuttal

5) The House of Thomas

Interrogating Thomas will be hard, because he is dead. The cultist heard about Lucia's predicament, and realised an investigation could lead the inquisition right to them. Two cultist were sent to kill him, and cover up the murder as a suicide.
Thomas lived alone in a wooden cabine, near the forest of Redleaf. When the party arrive, they will see a kennel, but no dog. The dog was killed during the assault, and his body was thrown into the well. Blood trace can be found inside the kennel with a DC 12 investigation check.Once they enter the house, they will see the dead body of Thomas, hanging by the neck on the celling. A note left in his pocket states that he killed himself because he felt lonely and unloved.

A few clues can reveal there is something fishy about this scene.

-Medicine check DD 12: The left wrist of thomas is broken, and he has a bruise on the back of his head.

Insight check DD12: the writting on the suicide note is fake

-Perception check DD 12: A vase is missing, and somebody apparently stole some of his belonging afiter his death.

-Investigation Check DD 15: Thomas had a secret diary hidden under his bed. It tells the truth and reveal the exact location of the drug dealer.

-Survival check DD12: Tracks can be found around the house. They lead back into the forest, directly towards the ruins

If the party does not find any clue, no worries: the infernalist have sold a lot of Love Potion. Every village in the Redleaf Valley is now experienced high level of drama. Young women who suddendly fall in love with elder men, young men who break with their girlfriend out of the blue to date another one...Finding one of the culprit, and making him confess where he/she bought that potion should be easy.

6) The ruins

Once they enter the heart of the forest, they will quickly notice old ruins of a bygone era. Several encounter can take place while they explore this area, roll a d10 four times to determine all the encounter

1-The ruins of an old barrack. 8 skelleton are lying there, half buried. Only a character with a Passive Perception above 14 will notice them. A small statue of an elven king can be found on a pedestal, with emerald in his eyes. If the party attempts to steal the emerald, or displace the statue, the skelleton will rise from their grave to defend it. It will take them one turn to unburry themselves, which means that during the first turn, they have a speed of 0 and are considered prone, they can only attack ennemies right next to them.

2-A corrupted clearing, filled with bramble bush. At the center, three heads impaled on spike can be seen. Each skelleton heads are decorated with a silver crown. Those are the heads of the king's sons and daughter. Below them stands a mass grave, filled to the brim with the inhabitants of the city who were slaughtered by the Abishaï. Their grief and sorrow have contaminated the bramble bush above. If the party attempts to get near the heads, the bramble bush will animate, turning into 8 Twig Blight.

3- The ruins of a watchtower. A spined devil is standing guard here, watching the surrounding area. He was summoned by the infernalist to guard the ruins from intruder.

4-The ruins of an old house: The spirit of the enslaved witch haunts this place. The king made sure she would keep crafting Love Potion even after her death, by cursing her corpse. The party will see her, crafting yet another Love Potion in her cauldron. If they attack, she has the statblock of a Specter. If they negociate, they may be able to liberate her if they find her corpse and burn it.

5- An old temple: The infernalist have made a few experiment with the Love Potion here. It went wrong. there are now three skelleton of dead cultist here, and a Pink-color ooze made out of Love Potion. It has the stablock of an Ocre Jelly

6- The ruins of an old house: 4 manes will ambush the players here.

7-The ruins of an old house: 3 cultist will ambush the player here

8-The ruins of an old temple: Markings, statues and writting can be found here. With an history check, DD12, the party will be able to learn detail about the fall of this kindgom.

9-The ruin of an old prison. The opposant of the kings used to be thrown down here to be tortured and brainwashed. When the Abishaï entered the city, all of the king's most loyal followers were locked in here, and then the prison was set on fire. The souls of those people are still haunting this place, in the from of a group of 5 Magma Mephit.

10- The ruins of the royal palace. The corpse of the king lies there. He was chained to his throne by the Abishaï, and forced to watch his kingdom burn. Then the Abishaï left, and he died of starvation, still chained to his throne. Liberating his corpse will cause a brawl against him, as his skelleton attacks the player He has the statblock of a knight, but counts as an undead, vulnerable to bludgeonning damage. The corpse of the witch is burried beneath his throne

7) The Cultist Lair

After four random encounter, the player will find the cultist lair. It's an ancient temple, divided in two room: the temple itself, and the crypt, where the Love Potion is stockpiled.

The temple countains 4 cultist and 3 Manes

The Crypt countain 2 cultist and a cultist fanatic.

Once they've all been beaten, the party can destroy the love potion supply, thus ending the quest.

“Hark, the bringer of stars and the magnificent abyss, whose realms of silence shatters eons and
unbinds all things!
What divinities shall the infinites conjure this day? What vastness strides forth from the many planes, across heavens thou hast yet to regard?
Speak to us, then, the song of gods and mere mortals! Sing to us of the arcane and unwise! Bathe us in the light of thy rituals unending, purified in that celestial academy most high!”
These are the words, gilt in gold and writ large, here upon Alstromerias' wall.
This mural most famed, of rotating luminescent nebulae; of galaxies immortal; stellar cosmologies unbound. Be it a map? Most assuredly! One to deliver you t’wards treasures and terrors across all time and space.
But beware, wise Traveller; ask of it too much, and the Maze of Dichondra awaits.

What is Alstroemerias?

An arcane dispensary, housing a vast astral map upon one of its long, whitewashed interior walls.
This star map has many unusual qualities. It undulates, rotates, and seems almost alive.
Stolt Dichondra - Alstroemerias' proprietor - is uniquely attuned to this map, able to draw rare and powerful artefacts from it by uttering their true names.
The insightful may also regard within the map many prophecies, divine portals, gateways, and passages through both time and space.
Some gaze upon it with mere passing curiosity, whilst others find their attentions drawn for what feels like many years to the divine, astral refractions. Fewer still have tried to enter the star map without Dichondra's blessing, only to become trapped within a terrifying maze deep within the old Mage's mind.
Connecting Alstroemerias to Your Campaign :
Consider how your Players might find this arcane dispensary. Will they stumble upon it whilst exploring a large town or city? Perhaps they are in need of arcane assistance? Or are the Party looking to make allies of a skilled mage?
The Party may also be searching for a way to travel great distances unbound by the usual restraints, and Dichondra holds the key to such passage; perhaps for a price, or in return for a favour.
Remember : the ability to travel in such a way may greatly impact your campaign!

Sights, Sounds, & Smells

Use this section as a quick reference during play, or at the start of a Session to refresh your GM senses!
Sights
Clean, whitewashed walls
One wall housing bookshelves boasting rare and ancient arcane tomes
A large, mahogany butcher's block-like counter with a single quill and ink-bottle upon it
The wall behind the counter given over to tiny, brass-handled apothecarist drawers filled with all manner of spell component
Sounds
Calm, gentle chiming and ticking of various arcane and mechanical astrological devices
Slow leafing of enormous vellum pages
Delicate tinkling of a tea-cup upon a saucer
The chittering of a giant snail that sits upon a worn rug in one corner
Smells
Linseed & lavender
Pipe tobacco
Mint tea
Old books & parchment
Faint scent of coal & moss

Local Economy

Alstroemerias is a well respected trader of arcane goods, offering a great many wonders to suit all Adventuring budgets.
The clientele are mostly of a rather singular sort; they come knowing precisely of what they seek. Many more may be seen entering, but ne'er departing.
Old Dichondra's shop also attracts Adventuring types, keen to extract knowledge from the old mage, or to barter for items or transport via his magnificent star-map.

Imports

Stolt Dichondra accepts regular deliveries of stock, though no cart nor merchant is ever seen arriving at its doors.
Rare and special orders, too, may be placed of a day, and be ready for collection within the hour, much to the surprise of the customer who may - quite rightly - have expected several weeks or months of expeditionary efforts to secure.

Exports

Alstroemerias is famed for its arcane tomes, and its exceptional selection of rare and wondrous magical items, all of which are - for the right price - available for purchase.
For sale, too, are spell scrolls, components, foci, wands, orbs, potions, and more.
Most of these items are extracted from the vast star-map, leaving much of the dispensary clear and uncluttered, allowing Dichondra to wander deep in thought across the cool flagstones of Alstroemerias.

Lodgings & Shelter

Stolt Dichondra's apartments - modest, comfortable, and shabbily refined - are located directly above the dispensary, accessible via a spiral staircase drawn from the shop's ceiling by a muttered word.
The old Mage might be persuaded to entertain lodgers - temporarily - should they offer tales and stories worthy of a long rest by an old wood-burning stove.
In truth, Dichondra is exceptionally fond of company, although they would never dare to admit as much.

Hierarchy & Political Structure

None can say quite how long Alstroemerias has been here, but all know that the Mage - though gentle in manner, and kind of heart - is not to be trifled with.
The dispensary offers its owner various arcane protections, such as the shop interior's permanent "Zone of Truth" (quite clearly forewarned by a card pasted to the large, stained glass door, its proclamation in a bold, fanciful calligraphic hand).
Dichondra is wisely careful with its application, not wishing to gain any advantage nor insight except for in moments of genuine concern or suspicion.
Those who attempt to con or swindle the old Mage very quickly find themselves wandering an endless maze believed by some to be housed deep below the dispensary; others, however, whisper of it as though it were an aspect of Dichondra's own mind.
There are no other staff; no barrow-folk nor stock-person, no sweeper, book-keeper, nor assistant, although the old Mage has - for some time - allowed a rather vagrant sort to live among the potting-sheds in the herb-garden.
In one corner of the dispensary, too, sits Peezle; the giant snail. The creature is exceptionally popular during festival, when small children are offered rides upon its back.
Peezle is rather spoiled by Dichondra, who talks to the creature very much as though it were an equal.

Culture

A great respect for arcane learning and application permeates all things, as too does the study of stars and their many avenues of exploration and transportation.
Stolt Dichondra has made such studies their life's work.
The old mage is also a well regarded member of their community. A kitchen garden at the back of the dispensary - home to many a rare herb - is frequently full of school children engaged in botanical studies.
Dichondra has many customers from the slums from whom the Mage has never accepted a single coin.

Some Adventure Hook Ideas

This list is by no means exhaustive, and is intended simply to stir the pot of your own imagination.
Use what follows as starting-points, or ignore them entirely in favour of your own Adventure Hooks!
1 - A rival mage has hired the Party to learn the secrets of the Alstroemerias' star-map.
2 - The Party need to travel some great distance, and have been led to believe that Dichondra can set the star-map to this task.
3 - About to depart upon a perilous quest, the Party are in need of a number of rare components and items to aid them in their task.
4 - Unbeknownst to the old Mage, various secrets and details of great significance have been hidden in Dichondra's mind-maze. The Party must locate them before it is too late.
5 - A spate of poisonings in the local area reveal clues of rare and unusual herbs. Dichondra's expertise may be invaluable.
6 - A merchant is adamant that Peezle belongs to them, but they are too afraid to approach Dichondra directly.
7 - The real Dichondra is trapped within his own mind-maze. A concerned citizen has hired to Party to return him safely.
8 - An exceptionally rare item has fallen into the hands of the Party; Dichondra may have answers regarding its origins and, potentially, its curse.

Trinket Roll-Table

ROLL 1d20 for an ALSTROEMERIAS TRINKET
1 - One tiny mote of star-dust that erupts into a deafening, ear-bleeding scream whenever it looked upon.
2 - A pulsating glass orb that, once per day, allows its wielder to pause time for 1d4 + 1 seconds.
3 - A small obsidian feather that, when shook, sends out a multi-dimensional vibration, the full effects of which have yet to be fully studied or understood.
4 - A fist-sized crystal that glows various colours depending upon the time of day. Particularly useful when in subterranean environs.
5 - A small wooden box with a mesmerisingly intricate lock. Showing such a device to a person may, once per day, magically bind them to attempting to unlock the box for 1d100 minutes.
6 - A small leather pouch that seems able to fit one single item or object of seemingly any size within it for 1d6 hours.
7 - A small wooden frog that, when cupped within one's hands, emits a song whose increase in volume points towards fresh water.
8 - A short strip of dark leather that, when chewed, emits the taste of one's favourite foods or, indeed, any meal one can imagine.
9 - A small bundle of coarse, bitter herbs that, when brewed, produce a tea that grants the drinker a short period (1d4 hours) of foresight.
10 - Puffball seed-head of a Dandelion. Roll 1d6 for the number of times it takes to blow all the seeds from the seed-head. Anyone within 10 feet gains the same number of temporary hit-points as rolled.
11 - A phial of Dawn-Dew. When used to wash the face, this single use item returns one spell slot of any level to the user.
12 - A bundle of vibrantly coloured threads that, when tossed upon the floor, scrambles and rewinds 1d8 minutes, unspooling a new and alternate dimensional pocket within a 20 foot radius.
13 - A small flip-book of tree leaves. When used, a voice emits from the book to tell the story of any woodland that one is standing in.
14 - A glass phial stuffed with a lichen that emits a bright glow when within any form of magical darkness.
15 - A pair of copper dowsing rods attuned for the location of mimics.
16 - A spindly wooden branch that can be played as if it were a flute. The music from this strange instrument summons either bats or butterflies, depending on the time of day or night.
17 - A dried, shrivelled sea-horse looking object that, when placed beneath the pillow when a person is at rest, emits dreams of foresight and knowing.
18 - A plain wooden whisk that turns any basic batter into a delicious, baked cake within an instant.
19 - A selection of cob-pipes that, when used, grant (once per day) a 1d6 +1 bonus to the smoker's next intelligence or wisdom check.
20 - A magnifying glass of glistening star-shaped jewels. The user becomes keenly aware of the passing of time, and is able to read at a rate that vastly exceeds any usual speed.

Random Encounter Roll-Table

Roll 1d8 for an Alstroemerias Encounter :
1 - The star map is expelling unusual creatures into the surrounding streets.
2 - Dichondra is locked into what appears to be a trance, repeatedly muttering seemingly random sets of words and/or numbers.
3 - The books of Alstroemerias have quite suddenly, and all at once, gained sentience. Their demands are both amusing and alarming.
4 - Peezle, the giant snail that lives in one corner of Alstroemerias, has birthed thousands of tiny clones.
5 - Several disgruntled citizens have arrived, blaming Dichondra for all manner of inexplicable events and activities in their homes.
6 - It is Dichondra’s birthday. Something they have no recollection of ever having celebrated or marked before.
7 - Either the shop is shrinking, or the star-map is expanding. Dichondra is bewildered as to which. One thing they are quite certain of is that furniture is going missing at an alarming rate!
8 - Dichondra has vanished. The only clue is a series of lines drawn in sand on the floor of the shop, seemingly depicting a maze-like structure.

​

Residents of Note:

Ancestries have not been allocated, allowing the GM to assign as appropriate.

Stolt Dichondra

Exceptionally tall, incomprehensibly old, their skin here and there dotted with scales, gemstones, glass-shards, feathers, and unusual metals.
Dichondra is an astute mage of exceptional knowledge and skill.
Their movements are slow, yet purposeful. They take their time to carefully consider their words before answering any question, or offering advice. They often seem, however, to reveal a little less than the entire truth.
They are fond of mint-tea, cultivating many varieties of their own.
They are exceptionally fond of stories, and can recount many - though much prefer to listen to others tell their tales.
Alstroemerias holds few clues of Stolt's long life; only a lone silver ring upon a mantel, and a small dresser of old clothes tailored for another.

​

Peezle

A giant snail that lives in one corner of Alstroemerias.
All manner of rumours surround the creature : a customer caught stealing and transformed by Dichondra; responsible for the old Mage's apparent immortality; the secret behind the star-maps arcane capabilities; and many more!
Peezle is fond of cucumber, and dislikes most strangers.

​

Moundtuppit

A scraggly sort who lives in the herb-garden, somewhere amongst the potting shed and the broken wheelbarrow.
Moundtuppit invents names for all the plants, invents their usages and contraindications, invents the names and stories of the slugs, the insects, and more besides.
They are - for all of his muck-covered whimsy - the only individual alive to know the map of Dichondra's mind-maze, having been found wandering there by the old Mage.

​

Boneyard

A rather large, and exceptionally stubborn, horse, white with delicate grey flecks, occasionally to be found in the old stables behind Alstroemerias'.
Boneyard's old cart is rather unique; though rickety and rather uncomfortable looking, it houses a number of secret latches and levers that unfold an interior of rather resplendent proportions.
Old Dichondra is fond of lending Boneyard and its Cart to trusted friends, enabling them to travel far and wide with a great many attendant, arcane comforts at their disposal between each day upon their journeying.

​

Kazzan

An unusual horned creature that prowls and protects Dichondra's mind-maze.
Many ancient stone tombs may be found here, all in Kazzan's likeness, each with an inscription informing the reader that within are housed many of Dichondra's long forgotten memories.
Should your Party find themselves exploring Dichondra's Mind Maze, you may wish to roll 1d20 on the table of memories below:
1 - Olfactory Recollections
2 - Geography of Tovaelia
3 - Books read before 1395
4 - Early Childhood
5 - Cricket
6 - Desserts
7 - Hystero Ravensyn
8 - The Great & Mystical Mirrors of Haldorthan
9 - Trees and Fauna of Olronoe
10 - University
11 - Vestrasian Languages
12 - Pottery of the Southern Isles
13 - Shoe Making & Needlecraft
14 - Seismology; in practical relation to Dragonhood.
15 - Romantic Interests, Successes, & Regrets,
16 - Taxes pre. 1475
17 - Billiards, a Winner's Guide
18 - Country Fayres; their dates, gazettes and periodicals
19 - Simple Magics to Impress Small Gatherings
20 - Allanora Absey's Alarmingly Amazing Adventures

​

Thank-you for taking the time to explore Alstroemerias, and I hope you have fun using, or adapting, it in your games!
Discover & explore 26 other strange & fantastical locations, all free to access & use, along with Alstroemerias, at albyonabsey.com

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Hello everyone! I have recently finished working on a big project about the design of 5e action oriented monsters. During the course of the article I build two monsters (a BBEG and its underlings - the two monsters below) to exemplify the concepts I am talking about.If you like the design and would like to know more about Action Oriented design, you can find the full article here.

The blog has a link to download the adventure these monsters are from as a free PDF. It also includes a link to the (free) Foundry VTT module if that's your jam.Please enjoy and let me know if you like the monsters and the adventure :)

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Void Invader

Large aberration, chaotic evil

• Armor Class: 15 (natural armor)
• Hit Points: 126 (12d10 + 60)
• Speed: 40ft.

• Saving Throws: Constitution +8, Intelligence +7, Wisdom +6
• Skills: Athletics +7, Arcana +7, Perception +6
• Damage Resistances: Poison, Necrotic
• Damage Immunities: Psychic
• Condition Immunities: Grappled, Poisoned, Restrained
• Senses: Darkvision 120 ft., Passive Perception 16
• Languages: Deep Speech, telepathy 120 ft.
• Challenge: 7 (2,900 XP)

Reality Shift (3/day). If the Invader fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead; when it does so, it loses any temporary hit points it currently has and it can’t use its Chest Maw attack until the end of its next turn.

Reality Riptide. The Invader projects a strong un-reality field and its mere presence can torn asunder the fabric of reality when it senses its prey. When it rolls for initiative, the Invader opens breaches into the Void at three empty spots that it can see within 60 feet, shattering reality in a 10-feet-radius area centered around each spot. A creature starting their turn in one or more of these areas must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or be restrained until the start of their next turn. A creature restrained in such a way can use a bonus action to push their mind to its limits, removing the restrained condition and taking 14 (4d6) psychic damage. The breaches persist for 1 hour or until the Invader rolls for initiative again.

Actions

Multiattack. The Invader makes two Razor Grip attacks. It can replace one of these with its Synaptic Tendrils action if available.

Razor Grip. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to Hit, reach 10 ft, one target, Hit: 11 (2d6+4) slashing damage and if the target is a Large or smaller creature it is grappled (escape DC 15)

Synaptic Tendrils (Recharge 5-6). The Invader probes the mind of each creature of its choice that it can see and that is within an area affected by Reality Riptide. Each of these creatures must make a DC 15 Intelligence saving throw or be stunned until the end of their next turn. A creature that fails the save can instead choose to take 22 (5d8) psychic damage and immediately remove the stunned condition.

Bonus Actions

Chest Maw. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to Hit, reach 5 ft, one creature, Hit: 13 (2d8+4) piercing damage and the Invader gains as many temporary hit points. Can only be used against a creature the Invader is grappling or against a creature within an area affected by Reality Riptide.

Rections

Void Jaunt. When the Invader is damaged by an attack or spell, it can use its reaction to teleport to an empty spot that it can see within any area affected by Reality Riptide. Any creature grappled by the Invader is teleported with it, if it chooses so.

Lair Actions

The Void Invader can only take these actions when it is in an area where the space between worlds is thin. On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the Void Invader can take one lair action to cause one of the following effects; the Invade can't use the same lair action two rounds in a row:

Spatial Anomaly. A creature the Invader can see within 120 ft. must make a DC 15 Intelligence saving throw or take 7 (2d6) psychic damage and be teleported up to 30 ft to an empty spot on the ground of the Invader’s choice that it can see. On a successful save, the creature takes half damage and is not teleported.

Veil Breaker. Until the next initiative count 20, the area of shattered reality around a Reality Riptide breach is increased by 10 ft. to a 20-feet-radius area centered around each spot. During this time, a creature standing inside two or more of these areas at the same time makes the Wisdom saving throw against the effects of Reality Riptide with disadvantage.

Dimensional Maw. The Invader makes a Chest Maw attack against up to two creatures. If a creature is within an area affected by Reality Riptide, the Invader can make the attack as if it was within reach as long as it can see the creature.

Void Spawn

Medium aberration, chaotic evil

• Armor Class: 13 (natural armor)
• Hit Points: 39 (6d8 + 12)
• Speed: 30 ft., climb 30 ft.

• Saving Throws: Dexterity +5
• Skills: Stealth +5
• Damage Resistances: Psychic
• Condition Immunities: Grappled, Restrained
• Senses: Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 13
• Languages: -
• Challenge: 2 (450 XP)

Fractured Reality. The Void Spawn’s nature intrinsically distorts perception, inducing confusion and disorientation. When the maximum value is rolled on at least 1 damage die for an attack made against the Spawn, the damage of the attack is halved.

Actions

Multiattack. The Void Spawn makes two Prehensile Tongue attacks.

Prehensile Tongue. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to Hit, reach 15 ft., one target, Hit: 5 (1d4+3) bludgeoning damage and if the target is a Large or smaller creature it must make a DC 13 Strength saving throw or be pulled up to 15 ft. towards the Spawn and be knocked prone.

Bonus Actions

Hobbling Talons. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to Hit, reach 5 ft, one prone creature, Hit: 7 (1d8+3) piercing damage and the target’s speed is halved until the end of its next turn.

Credits

Created for the Dungeon Dynamics blog

• Writer, Designer, Editor — Andrea Aloisi
• Peer Review — Roman Penna
• Alpha Playtesters — Albo, Austin Bush, Gemmo, Jethoof, Sami Khan

This document includes material from the System Reference Document 5.1 (“SRD 5.1”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Reference to copyright material in no way constitutes a challenge to the respective copyright holder of that material.

In a small mining village on the edge of the kingdom, a deadly attack deep in the ore-rich tunnels has left the town’s citizens scared and confused. Forced to close the mine until the creatures can be dealt with, the miners are looking for heroes to come in and save them from the hidden terrors… But your party will work, too. This quest is designed for four level 1 characters, and is a great quest to throw at your players when they’re just starting out. Without further ado, let’s get started!

Part 1: Gathering Intel

This quest begins in the small mining town of Stonehaven, built inside an ancient crater. Not the richest city in the world, most of the folks here make their living deep in the mine shafts that line the crater walls, digging up precious metals and gemstones for their richer overseers to ship far away. You could truly set this in any mining town though, so feel free to give the town whatever backstory and local amenities you see fit.

Your players could hear about this adventure in a lot of different ways. If they decide to check out the local tavern, maybe they hear rumors of an attack in the mines, and creatures that had even killed a few of their peers. If they’re arriving in town at the start of the session, maybe they see it listed on a bounty board with other potential jobs, one of several offerings. Or of course, if this is their first adventure together, you could just start them all off having been hired to deal with the threat. Either way, once they hear about the quest, they should make their way over to the mines, where the foreman can give them more information on what happened.

Once they get to the mining foreman, he’ll be able to give the party the details of what happened. While mining in one of the deeper shafts, a few of the miners opened up a wall to find a cavern beyond… And in the dark of the tunnels, they were attacked. Only one of them managed to stumble out, and they had grievous wounds across their body. Last time they’d checked, the miner was still recovering, but they’re in a tent nearby if the party wants to see if he has any more clues as to what the monsters were.

Regardless, the foreman has closed down the entire tunnel until the threat can be dealt with. The guards sent a few folks in… And they haven’t yet returned. So now he’s turning to mercenaries to get the job done - the reward will depend on exactly how rich you’d like your party to be, but some gold and maybe the promise of jewels should be enough to entice your party to head inside. Once they accept the quest and decide to help out these miners, you’ve got a quest on your hands.

Before they head in though, they can stop by the medical tent and see the worker who survived the attack. When they arrive, the worker will still be pretty injured and out of it, but able to speak and impart some details. If your players want to offer some magical healing or a good Medicine check, they may be able to get better information out of him. From what he can remember, the attack came quickly, and the creatures were lizard-like in appearance - though they stood on two legs. He remembers them literally popping in out of nowhere along the walls of the caves, as though they had been perfectly disguised.

The creatures your party will be seeking are called troglodytes, which are a bit like a cross between a person and a chameleon. They’re able to blend into their surroundings to hide better - and if your players learn this fact from the worker, that’ll help them out later on. There’s one other thing he can remember, if your party helps heal him up a little: The stench of the creatures was unbearable. He remembers almost passing out from the smell when one attacked him, but thankfully he was able to get away before it could finish him off. Again, this information will help the party out when they come face-to-face with the monsters.

Part 2: Into the Mines

Diving into the mines, your players will need to make their way through the twisting tunnels in order to find the troglodytes. You could have this done with a Survival or Investigation check - and based on how well they do, you could have them either run into an obstacle or find something useful. This is a mine shaft, after all: On a success, they could run into some precious gems left behind as the workers rushed out of here, or maybe see something old and forgotten that’s lodged in one of the rock walls. And on a failure, they might have to deal with a cave in - I’d assume lots of dexterity saves - or maybe roll against exhaustion as they spend hours doubling back and criss-crossing through the different tunnels.

Eventually they’ll reach a shorter tunnel that opens into a large cavern - their destination. Since this was just dug up, there’s no light in here: Your players will need to bring out a torch or use a spell in order to see. The walls of the cavern are rough, with stalactites that hang from the ceiling. All across the cold ground, the bodies of miners that didn’t escape the attack and the guards that were sent to find them lay exposed and decaying - though your players with higher passive perception or Medicine scores may notice that a few look like they’ve been chewed on.

Using their chameleon skin ability, the troglodytes are hiding in this room, camouflaged with the walls of the cavern. You can roll a group stealth check for the hidden monsters - with Advantage - against the players’ perception to see if they can spot the creatures first. If they talked with the injured miner earlier and learned that these creatures can change their appearance, I’d give the party Advantage on the perception check, as well. If the players spot the creatures first, I’d give one of them the opportunity to start combat with an attack - maybe an arrow shot to the nearest one, or a firebolt to knock it off the wall. If the troglodytes remain unspotted, I’d narrate how one of the players notices the wall shift a bit - and just like that, the creatures are on them!

You can always rule that one side or the other is Surprised to start combat, but be very careful before doing so. If your players manage to get the drop on the troglodytes, the combat will likely be very trivial, with your players sweeping through the enemies easily. But if the reverse is true and the troglodytes surprise most or all of your party, it could easily turn into a full-blown TPK. I’ll leave this up to your discretion, but especially if this is their first combat, it might be better to give them a small advantage in the fight rather than use Surprise here. Regardless, once both sides are engaged in the battle, it’s time to roll initiative!

Part 3: Tunnel Terrors

Though they aren’t the strongest monsters in the manual, troglodytes are no slouches for a low-level party. Each of them gets three attacks on their turn, so if one gets lucky and hits with each one or gets a crit, it can quickly swing combat in their favor. Couple that with their Stench ability, which forces any of your players that start their turn next to the stinking lizards to make a Constitution save or be Poisoned, and they should be a stiff challenge for the group. When I originally ran this, I only had 3 players, and while they won, it was a lot tougher than I expected. Four players should be able to get through it alright, especially if they got the drop on the monsters.

If your players helped heal up the miner earlier, then don’t forget to remind them of what they learned if they didn’t write it down. Knowing that these creatures have an overpowering stench will clue them in to keep their distance, helping them avoid making saves against being Poisoned. Of course, the troglodytes only have melee attacks, so they’ll be looking to close the gap as best as they can.

If you have more players or they’re a higher level, you can always add a troglodyte or two to spice things up. The higher level your players are, the less likely those +4 attacks are going to hit. You can also use the cavern terrain as a way to keep your players on their toes. Falling stalactites between rounds, large boulders to use for cover, mining equipment that’s been left around for impromptu weapons - the battlefield itself can easily become a factor in the fight.

Once your party has slain the troglodytes and restored calm to the mines, they can return to the surface to meet with the foreman and claim their reward.

Part 4: The Return

Back in town, the players can collect their reward and be on their way. Or, if you’re looking for a longer adventure, this can be a great lead-in to a whole subterranean storyline. Who knows what drove those troglodytes into the mines - maybe there’s something deeper in for your players to find. Or perhaps now that they’ve proven themselves, the city guard have another task for them to complete - this one a little more dangerous, and a little more rewarding. Whether this is the end of the road or just the beginning, your players can rest easy knowing the miners are safe for now, ending this quest.

Thanks for reading, and if you end up running this at your table, I’d love to hear how it goes and any changes you would make! Good luck out there, Game Masters!

Hi there ! I'm Axel, aka BigDud from The Dud Workshop, a passionate DM who produces all kinds of third party content for your enjoyment.

Today, I bring you the first adventure that will be featured in my new adventure book, The Labours of Heracles. The Labours of Heracles is a new adventure book that will release around mid-April this year. It will contain a series of small adventures following the mythical Labours of Heracles and giving you to the tools to recreate the legends within your own game !

This FREE issue presents the hunt of the Nemean Lion, Heracles' first task. Bring the terrifying beast into your game and terrify your players with its metal-cutting claws and almost-invulnerable hide. They'll have to use their wits to best it, and even then… they might not return.

Pick the whole adventure, the boss' lair, or simply the statblock : they're all designed to be easy to use in their entirety or in parts.

The adventure is designed for level 3, but you can easily adapt it for stronger or weaker characters. It contains the lion's statblock, and adventure guide, a battlemap and all the tools you need for a great session.

I recommend using the link below to get the adventure's battlemap, art and tokens.

Download the adventure here : The Nemean Lion

The included battlemap has an intended resolution of 140 PPI and dimensions of 50x50.

All art created by BigDud using Midjourney, Krita and Adobe Photoshop. Battlemap created by BigDud using DungeonDraft.

##The Nemean Lion

The Nemean Lion was a monstrous creature from greek mythology that terrorized the surroundings of Nemea, where it resided in its lair and hunted those who passed by.

According to the stories, its golden fur was impervious to attacks from mortal weapons, and its claws were so sharp they could cut through any armor.

Heracles, sent to kill the beast to protect the nearby city, couldn't pierce its fur with arrows, and resorted to strangling the creature with his bare hands after having stunned it with its club.

This short adventure was designed to reproduce the legendary moments of this tale in your own game !

You can use this creature for a single combat encounter, but I recommend setting it up with the following adventure first. Like most legendary creatures with specific weaknesses and strengths, foreshadowing its abilities allows you to terrify your players and gives them a chance to plan their attack for a more engaging and challenging final confrontation.

Adventure Setup

Our players are informed of the existence of a terrible beast that keeps killing travelers and has recently stopped a trade caravan sent from another city that contained valuable and necessary supplies. One survivor made it back to the city / village, and has been talking to others in a wild and terrified frenzy, describing the creature as completely invulnerable and able to cut through a man in armor with one swipe of its claws. The creature seems to only come out at night.

Our players are tasked to find and kill this beast in exchange for a great reward by the trading company, the administrator of the city, the mayor of the village, or another similar NPC. They are informed it attacked near a mountain where it seems its lair is located.

I. Tracking the beast

Our players make their way to the site of the attack, where they find the trade caravan left abandoned. Bodies litter the ground near it, their blood having seeped through the ground to turn the grass red in the area. In the carnage, the party can find tracks for the beast : large paws, twice as big as those of any ordinary lion.

One cart from the caravan is missing, and large tracks of something being pulled lead out towards a nearby mountain, accompanied by some bits of viscera and skin getting caught in small rocks and bushes.

It seems the cart and a horse were pulled whole by the creature, perhaps even at the same time.

Before the party can follow the tracks to the mountain, however, they notice a large shape in the distance, barely visibly amidst the nearby tall grass : with golden fur glistening like strands of soft metal, the Nemean Lion is stalking them.

Adapting encounters

Depending on your party and what they do, it's possible that events triggering the encounters described in this book happen in different orders, or don't happen at all. For example, if your party is particularly stealthy, they might not be spotted by the Nemean Lion in the next encounter at all. That's alright, because you can still achieve the goal of the encounter by changing it slightly.

For example, for Encounter I, you can have an NPC be hunted by the lion instead of your players.

Encounter I : The stalker

The party has been noticed by the lion, which is stalking them. It's not attacking yet : it seems to be waiting for them to split up or stop paying attention to spring into action.

Usually, such a predator would leave when it notices several prey staying together and being aware of its presence ; the fact it doesn't shows it doesn't fear them.

During this encounter, the Nemean Lion stalks the party at a safe distance, staying as hidden as possible while it waits for the right moment. It prefers to attack at night, and so will continue following the party until night falls, at which point it will approach and pounce in ambush. Since it has recently fed on the trade caravan, it isn't hungry, but it's intelligent enought to know it can bring living prey back to its lair to eat later.

When it attacks, it tries to jump onto the weakest party member, and knock it unconscious, using non-lethal attacks (it doesn't want its prey to bleed out). Once a party member is unconscious, it drags them back to its lair, located in a cave on the nearby mountain.

During this initial encounter, describe to the party that their attacks are ineffective. Slashing and piercing attacks don't get through the creature's tough hide, and bludgeoning damage only stuns it temporarily. When the lion attacks, describe its claws ripping through armor and even stone as if it was paper. If they're particularly clever, your party might try to use the creature's claws against it.

\page This encounter ends when a party member is caught and the lion escapes, or when morning is reached.

II. Preparations

Having been introduced to the creature, the party knows what it looks like and what it can do. Their weapons are likely useless against it, and they must find a way to hurt the creature.

Allow your party to make knowledge checks to find out the weaknesses of the creature. You can even introduce NPCs that are familiar with the creature, like an old shaman living nearby whose tribe considered the lion a sacred beast, or a warrior who fought it in the past and lost an arm to it.

They can find the following clues :

• The lion's hide stops attacks from normal weapons and even magical weapons. This protects its vulnerable parts and makes it impervious to normal weapons, but requires the hide be thick all around its body. Just like for warriors in armor, this same feature could make it vulnerable to being choked.
• Heavy blows and strikes (bludgeoning damage) seems to daze the creature, but not for long.
• The creature's claws can cut through wood, metal and stone, making them extremely dangerous. They could potentially cut through its own hide.

You can make this part of the adventure as long or short as you'd like. If you're playing a campaign, this is a good opportunity to introduce NPCs you'll use in the future, or important objects relevant to the campaign's story.

Encounter II : Holding out (optional)

Your party is likely going to want to return to town to gather supplies and prepare themselves for their hunt.

If you want to add tension to the adventure, you can have the Lion follow them out to town, and threaten the town directly !

At night, the party is called upon by guards, who bring them out to the outside of the settlement's walls. They find the dead, mangled bodies of the sentries that watched the walls, freshly killed by the lion.

As the night continues, the lion keeps attacking at different locations, coming by surprise out of the surroundings to kill a guard or two and retreat. The party must protect the guards until morning comes if they want to avoid catastrophic casualties within the town !

The lion leaves a location when it gets dazed or stunned, or loses 10 hit points. It returns to its lair after 1d4+1 attacks, or when you deem it to have scared your players enough.

III. Hunting the beast

Once your players have made their preparations, they can head to the beast's lair to kill it. If you want to make the final encounter even harder, you can have the lion attack the party on their way there, then flee once after a few rounds. Since it has a speed of 50 ft, it should almost always outrun the party and hide to be able to rest before they arrive at its lair.

Once the party arrives at the lair, they notice trails of blood, now dried, leading inside. At the entrance of the lair, the bodies of a horse and several humanoids have been cleaned out of flesh. An entire cart has been pulled in, sacks and barrels open, revealing valuables that have spilled on the ground, and remains of food that were devoured earlier on.

As soon as the party enters the lair, the Nemean Lion comes out of hiding and attacks them !

Encounter III : In the lair of the beast

This encounter is a fight to the death between the party and the lion. With preparation, they should have learned a few of the beast's weaknesses. If they haven't, give them hints throughout the fight and try to guide them towards discovering them by having the beast reveal it to them. For example, you can have the beast accidentally cut itself with an attack, or become dazed when a rock falls upon its head.

The lion is immune to most damage, so your party will have to use its weaknesses or find their own tricks to damage it. They might even forego normal combat entirely and try to cause a narrative death, for example by having the cavern fall down onto the beast. Lean into their approach and let them be heroes !

Playing as the lion

The lion is not particularly smart. Although its instincts allow it to see which target seems the weakest physically, it doesn't have the brains to react to advanced tactics nor to notice traps or other elaborate plans set in place by your party.

The Nemean Lion is a predator that was almost never wounded before. Have it act like it's invulnerable and doesn't fear being damaged, but don't forget to make it afraid when its weaknesses are used !

The encounter ends when the party defeats the lion. If they're forced to retreat, you can extend the adventure and have them find a trainer that can teach them a technique that works against the lion, or a smith that can forge adamantine weapons for them.

Otherwise, the party can come back to town and earn their reward ! Congratulations !

Statblock

The Nemean Lion

Large Beast, unaligned

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• Armor Class 14 (natural armor)
• Hit Points 91 (14d10 + 14)
• Speed 50 ft.

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STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
19 (+4)	15 (+2)	13 (+1)	3 (-4)	12 (+1)	8 (-1)

• Saving Throws Dex +4, Con +3
• Skills Perception +3, Stealth +6
• Damage Resistances acid, cold, fire, lightning, poison, thunder
• Damage Immunities bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from all sources except adamantine weapons
• Condition Immunities frightened, petrified
• Senses Darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 13
• Languages —
• Challenge 4 (1,100 XP)
• Proficiency Bonus +2

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Magic Resistance (Threshold 10). If the nemean lion would take 10 or less damage from a spell, it takes no damage instead.

Bludgeoning Vulnerability. When the nemean lion would take bludgeoning damage (before immunity), it becomes dazed until the end of its next turn. If it would take bludgeoning damage again while being dazed, the nemean lion becomes stunned until the end of its next turn.

Brittle Adamantine Claws. Creatures attacking the nemean lion can choose to attack its claws instead, dealing no damage to the lion but attempting to break off a claw. Unless the lion is stunned, attacks against the lion's claws are made at disadvantage. For each 10 points of damage dealt to the lion's claws, a claw breaks, falling in the nearest unoccupied space. The nemean's lions claws count as adamantine daggers.

Constriction Vulnerability. If the nemean lion starts its turn grappled or restrained, it becomes out of breath and must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or lose 22 (4d10) hit points. The DC for this saving throw increases by 2 for each consecutive turn the lion has been grappled or restrained.

Feline Agility. With a 10-foot running start, the nemean lion can long jump up to 25 feet. The nemean lion takes no damage from falls during its turn if it isn't grappled, restrained, or dazed.

Keen Smell. The nemean lion has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell.

Pounce. If the nemean lion moves at least 20 feet straight toward a creature and then hits it with a claw attack on the same turn, that target must succeed on a DC 14 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone. If the target is prone, the lion can make one bite attack against it as a bonus action.

Actions

Multiattack. The nemean lion makes three attacks : two with its claws, and one with its bite.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d8 + 4) piercing damage.

Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d6 + 4) slashing damage.

That's all for now, thanks for your time and enjoy !

Overview

In the tournament game of Stew, teams race in search of rare, and sometimes dangerous, ingredients to combine into special broth. The hunt extends out to the various wilds of the region and can sometimes span several hours, to even days. The team who manages to obtain all the necessary ingredients, wins the tournament.

Mechanics

A Stew race usually involves the gathering of three main ingredients. There are various types of ingredients that teams may be required to hunt for, with danger scaled appropriately to the GM’s discretion. Types of Ingredients can fall into the following categories: Plant, Mineral, Monster Harvest, and Arcane.

Depending on the type of ingredient, an appropriate skill check will be required to find it. Locating plants will call for an Intelligence (Nature) check. Checking for Minerals will need a Wisdom (Perception) check to detect nearby cave systems. Hunting for Monsters to harvest will require a Wisdom (Survival) check to track and hunt the intended creature. Searching for Arcane anomalies will demand an Intelligence (Arcana) check to know where to look.

Regardless of the roll result the players will find what they're looking for. What matters is the time it takes to find it. The length of time will depend on the result of the Roll.

If Players brainstorm clever and creative ways to reduce the time it takes to track down an ingredient, reward them with time reduced.

Once the ingredient is located, there may be obstacles faced to retrieve it. If hunting a monster, obviously it will have to be killed. Plants might be growing in hard to reach places and will require feats of acrobatic prowess to retrieve. Minerals laying deep within underground caverns may be treacherous to navigate. And Arcane wonders may need to be bartered from the mystical creatures that treasure them.

Here are some examples of ingredients that might be in a game of Stew:

Keeping track of the time taken to obtain each ingredient, the team that collects all of them the fastest will claim victory of the tournament.

Maritime Encounters on Glumdark

Roll on this table👇. Or use the dice tool above ☝️.

Hellooooo again, all you wonderful describers of monsters and mayhem! Its me, I’m back once more on my near sisyphean task to exercise my DMing creativity by breaking down interesting ways to describe all the DND 5e Monster Manual critters, creatures, casters and walking catastrophes.This week I’ve been pondering the squishiest, little baby divine caster, the acolyte. Buckle up!

​

Official Canon Monster Description

In a similar manner to the abjuration wizard, our acolyte description in the 5e Monster Manual is rather lacking in the way of physical descriptions. In an equally similar manner to the abjuration wizard, I sort of understand the logic behind this. Hypothetically, anyone could be an acolyte and acolytes will vary wildly amongst themselves depending on the deity worshiped, thus making it tricky to come up with catch all descriptions. But come oooooon, there must be something that ties them all together. I guess we’ll find out!

What the MM does tell us is that they are junior members of a clergy, taking care of the more minor day to day aspects of a temple or place of worship and answering to a priest or some other religious leader. The MM also informs us that they have been granted minor spellcasting power by their deities, which would seem to imply they certainly aren’t nobodies in the eyes of their gods/goddesses or new followers to the faith.

​

When is your party going to encounter an Acolyte?

Acolytes are naturally going to be found in the holy places dedicated to whichever deity they are serving. They’re in deep enough with their god/goddess of choice to be granted minor divine magics, so it seems safe to assume that they don’t have much of a life outside their worship and would primarily exist around the space where they conduct the it, eating, sleeping, working and getting up to whatever religious shenanigans their deity requires of them in and around this area.

The sheer number of deities and the vast portfolios they maintain means that the “place of worship” can be hugely open to interpretation. Acolytes of the goddess of commerce and trade (Waukeen), for example, might have their place of worship be a bustling market or station where caravans are organized. Acolytes of the goddess of beauty and love (Sune) might run beauty parlors, brothels or matchmakers. An acolyte of the god of murder (Bhaal) might spend time in a hut made of murder skulls, hidden somewhere in the sewers, but regularly foray up into the city to worship (aka murder more people). Since the gods and goddesses of 5e cover almost every aspect of civilization, their worshipers can be found equally all over the place and thus your party can encounter them anywhere.

Of course, the more traditional acolyte encounter would likely take place in or around a temple, church or shrine: Yet, even that only has to play into expectations as much as you’d like. One of my favorite drag-and-drop style city encounters is a strange black/purple velvet mask nailed to a wooden wall in busy corner of a bustling market. This is a shrine to the god of thieves, Mask, and any player that stops to inspect it is liable to get their pockets picked by an acolyte engaging in an act of worship.

So, the answer to “Where your party can encounter an acolyte?” is really absolutely anywhere. Cities and the temples/places of worship within them make the most sense, but out on the road, in small villages, or in the woods conducting ritualistic worship are all perfect answers as well. Also worth noting, that an fantastic way to spice up low level combat is to place an acolyte amongst your bandits, thugs and goblins. This adds in a way for you to buff and heal your minions, while also giving your PCs opportunity to strategize to take down the healer.

How does the hierarchy of a religious group work in regard to statblocks? (A tangent)

Okay so, the Monster manual description of the acolyte seems to imply that the acolyte statblock is the lowest rung of the ladder in a religious organization while a priest statblock embodies the leadership.The implications of this are fascinating to me. Surely not everyone in a religious organization would be packing divine magic? Do you sign up as janitor for a clergy and then automatically get 3/day cure wounds spell slots? OR are all jobs recruited from people outside the organization who already have come to serve the deity in their own lives and thus been bestowed magic previously: aka are acolyte statblocks already?

I guess functionally there is no one answer, because we’re talking about an insane variety of gods and goddesses. Maybe some do grant everyone who throws a prayer the ability to throw down some sacred flame? In regards to the majority though, I’d imagine that the larger temples in the larger cities would have a solid base of volunteers working bottom rung temple duties with little to no divine magics, likely utilizing the commoner statblock. The acolytes then would be the individuals who have put in their time and embodied the ideals of whatever deity before being granted divine power and moving up in the church. I just feel like you’ve gotta put in your time organizing the bones in the temple of Myrkul before he lets you Chill Touch people, thats all I’m saying. A counter point to this would be that the larger deities, with larger numbers of worshipers are more powerful and maybe can afford to be handing out the ability to cast bless to anyone who is willing to commit.

Maybe for a less known deity or in a smaller temple, the guy sweeping the floors WOULD be someone you can hit up to cure your knife wound, but in the main city temple of Lathander? No doubt the acolytes are occupied with outreach programs, studying religious text and teaching hordes of commoners how to properly chant which means the guy sweeping the floor is just an overly enthusiastic Lathander fan. Anyyyyways, I digress.

​

General Theme of the Description

An acolyte is not a powerful character. With 3 first level spell slots, 3 cantrips and 2d8 worth of hit points, the acolyte is worse off than your first level cleric PC. Yet, they have clearly done enough in their life for a deity to notice and hand them down some magic. This strange in between commoner and PC space allows for a lot of variety in how you portray an acolyte. An acolyte NPC could be a confident and capable (though humble) servant of their deity, proficient in rituals of worship and happily dispensing related wisdom. Alternatively an acolyte could be fumbling and unsure, still learning the ropes and struggling to cast their first level spell slots and do everything in between. Regardless of the level of confidence on an individual basis, thematically, the acolyte needs to connect to the divine and stand out as more capable than commoner Kevin, but usually well below in skill level than your PCs. (Unless of course your PCs are all level one in which case an acolyte would make a great peer for them. )

Theme: Amateur and connected to some source of divinity.

​

Main Features of the Monster

I tend to think that first thing PCs would look at on a humanoid would be the face. Generally speaking, we real life humans are drawn to look at the face of a person first, and by attaching an expression or notable feature to the face in a description I feel like I can immediately set up an NPC as unique. Then we pan down to look at clothing and whatever notable bling they have that denotes them as a servant of a particular deity and lastly any interesting items or weapons they have on their person. So, for our acolyte description we’re going to go Lineage, Face, Deity specific accouterments/weapons and finally magical items. Alrighty, lets do it!

Lineage:

My favorite way to touch on an NPC’s lineage is to mention it by name and then provide an additional distinguishing detail. Advice I’ve read and fully agree with is to give each NPC a distinguishing trait if possible. I always try to think along the lines of “if my PCs were going to forget this NPC’s name, how would they be referred to?”. Examples include, dwarf with the half burnt off beard, tiefling with the amazing eyeliner, halfling with too much bling, etc etc. This gives me an easy basis to build a notable NPC from and feels extra satisfying if the PCs actually latch on to the descriptor to remember them later on.If the NPC is an exotic lineage and your players are the patient type, then you can certainly add another layer of detail here as well.Example:

The white haired halfling woman sits cross legged and barefoot, she looks old.

​

The wood elf grins at you from behind the bar, their long hair braided with violets, snapdragons and what seem to be live butterflies, gently opening and closing colourful wings as they move.

​

The goliath towers over you, nearly 8ft tall. The rocky gray skin visible beneath his aristocratic black and gold clothes is covered in jagged black tattoos.

Face

We’re all suckers for a good face. Plus, the face signals how the person is feeling and really sets the stage for the PC interaction ahead. Depending on the situation, an acolyte might have a facial expression or description loosely connectable to their deity. A acolyte of a death god might be pale and neutral faced, an acolyte of Lathander’s face described as shining and friendly or an acolyte of Oghma (god of knowledge) as focused and stern.

Examples:

The old halfling smiles gently at you, her wrinkled face creasing into well established laugh lines as she looks up to meet your eye.

​

The wood elf looks friendly and happy, laughing freely and offering compliments as they pour drinks. They seem to be making an effort to make eye contact and give a grin to as many people possible.

​

The goliath scowls down at you, his craggy eyebrows shadowing his face. A jagged tattoo of a crown adorns his bald scalp, the spiked edges of it resting on his temples.

Deity Specific Attire or Behavior

The fun thing about describing indicators of a worshiped deity is that you don’t have to be overt. Saying “he has a necklace with a symbol of Lathander on it” isn’t nearly as fun or satisfying as “he has a bronze necklace fashioned in the abstract symbol of a rising sun”. Aside from being more interesting to hear, it also gives your players the opportunity to go “Ohhhh thats a symbol of Lathander” or alternatively go “ rising sun? wtf is that about” in which case you can ask for a religion check. We love getting players rolling dice in the middle of NPC descriptions.

Examples:

The old halfling’s dress is a dark greenish blue, the sleeves of which end in stylized ripples that remind you of the waterfall crashing into the pool behind her. At her side rests a broken spear, the head rusted, dulled and useless for violence. Judging by the dirt, it seems like she’s been using it as a walking stick.

Religion Check to identify the waterfall, the stylized ripples and the use of a broken weapon for a mundane purpose as identifying characteristics of an acolyte of Eldath, goddess of peace.

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The wood elf seems to dance as they move, adding unnecessary spins and flourishes to pouring drinks for no reason other than their own amusement. Honestly, they seem a little tipsy. Sure enough, you watch them do a shot of something with a patron before crying out “Joybringer bless us all!”.

Low DC religion check to identify the Joybringer as Lliira, goddess of joy, happiness and revelry.

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Contrasting starkly with his aristocratic attire, the goliath’s right hand is covered in a dark iron gauntlet. Inlaid on the knuckles are red gems, at first appearing to be rubies but quickly becoming obvious as little more than coloured glass. You notice the worn handle of a whipping cane, hung on his belt and think back to the terrified, downcast eyes of his servants as a sour taste fills your mouth.

Religion check to identify the black gauntlet, the crown tattoo and the general arrogance and detestable behavior as a sign that this goliath is an acolyte of Bane, god of tyranny and oppression.

Making an Interesting Acolyte

Aside from the usual ways you can spice up NPCs like scars, tattoos, manners of speaking and accents, some interesting things you can lean into specifically to distinguish acolytes from each other (and other members of the clergy) are…

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Level of Competence

Acolyte seems to be a pretty broad term and no doubt in an actual temple there would be several rungs on the hierarchy ladder that an acolyte could actually occupy. This can easily be hinted at by the level of confidence and competence they display. Maybe your acolyte is fumbling and awkward, struggling to remember their prayers and needing a couple tries before they can cast sanctuary (not ideal in a fight thats for sure). Or maybe your acolyte has been a worshiper for many years and interrupts constantly to quote religious texts at your PCs. Maybe you really hammer home how confident they are with a scene where the acolyte defends their shrine by blasting a thug with a well placed guiding bolt!

How They Move

Since an acolyte is likely humanoid, I felt this didn’t deserve its own section, but describing movement can still bring a lot of flavor! The lifestyle of worship that your acolyte embodies is something that would seep into every aspect of who they are, even into how they carry themselves!An acolyte of of Loviatar (the goddess of pain) might be limping from their latest torturous act of worship conducted on themself! An acolyte of a deity where combat and martial prowess factors into worship (like Tyr, Torm or Tempus) would carry themself with a physicality, an alertness and easily move through the space, lifting things with ease and delivering crushing handshakes/embraces to all.

Ending Notes

If you got this far, you’re a champ and I appreciate you. As always I’d love feedback of any sort and I’d especially love to hear how you have used acolytes in your game! Got a favorite acolyte NPC? I’d freakin love to hear about them.If you want to check out the past monsters, view the insanity of the monster list, or provide feedback on my baby website building skills, visit monstersdescribed.com

Thanks for reading! Tune in next week for Air Elementals/Air Elemental Myrmidons and good luck at your tables!

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Echoes of Dragons

Dropbox Link | PDF*

*Full preview in PDF (Dropbox limits Word preview to 20 pages), but you need to download the Word document for all of the stuff I put in comments.

Living in the Remnants of Greatness

In the nascent days of the kobold civilization, dragons reigned supreme, fashioning grand capitals marked by exquisite, dragon-sized architecture that radiated opulence until events saw all three of the region’s dragon sovereigns dead or gone.

A significant shift occurred after the kobolds' emancipation. 150 years ago, a sweeping magical cataclysm claimed the lives of 95% the region's inhabitants, turning once splendid cities into haunted remnants of a bygone golden age. This cataclysmic event marked the transition from societies characterized by wealth disparity and strict draconic hierarchy to ones favoring relatively greater equality amidst the ruins of their former grandeur. But where shall each nation go from here? Who shall they become? That is up to the players to decide.

A 2-PLAYER SIDEKICK BASED CAMPAIGN

This playset material is designed from the ground up for a 2-player campaign experience that combines the open-world feel of Skyrim with the relationship and recruitment focus of Fire Emblem: Three Houses. The two player characters are bolstered by meeting and recruiting from the 30 sidekicks whose relationships, goals, and problems form the bedrock of the campaign’s scenes and quests. With a gameplay loop of explore, encounter, adventure, recruit, and rest, the party will never be short of new, recruitable characters to encounter and new adventures to undertake.

The campaign material includes:

1. Introductory campaign and settlement details for players
2. Maps for players and the DM
3. Detailed instructions for running the campaign for the DM
4. 66 scenes for tier 1 locations and sidekicks, 9 tier 2 sidekick quests, 10 tier 3 sidekick quests, and 6 main conflict ending quests (three main conflicts, each with 2 possible endings)
5. 30 recruitable sidekicks spread across tiers 1-3 of play

Do you want to populate your fantasy casino with some less familiar card games for your players to enjoy both IC and OOC? Want to make IC gambling more engaging than simple skill checks and RNG? Need your pirate captain antagonist to fleece your players in a betting game they're unfamiliar with, but can learn the rules of with experience? I designed ASSASSINS for just these situations (and more)!

You don't need anything to play other than a standard 52-card deck of playing cards.

Summary

ASSASSINS is a competitive bluffing card game for 2-8 players, played with a standard 52-card deck. A single game consists of multiple rounds. Typically, the first player to win 3 rounds is declared the victor in non-betting games.

The gameplay of ASSASSINS is vaguely reminiscent of Blackjack, with the goal of matching a specific value with the ranks of your cards.

Setup

First, separate the deck into a face deck containing all of the Jacks, Queens, and Kings, and a numeral deck containing all of the other cards.

Shuffle both decks.

Draw a card from the face deck and place it face-up in the center of the table. This card is the mark. Draw two cards from the numeral deck and place them face-up next to the mark, these represent the mark’s hit points.

Deal a hand of three cards from the numeral deck to each player (this is called the player’s cache).

Leave a space on the table in front of each player to act as their arsenal, where they will lay down cards.

Objective

The most common way to win a round is by assassinating the mark. This is done by causing the threat value to exactly equal the target value.

The threat value is the sum of all face-up cards in every player’s arsenal.

The target value is the sum of the mark’s hit points, plus any armour that may have been played.

Gameplay

Play starts with the player to the dealer’s left and continues clockwise. On their turn, a player can choose one of the following actions: Arm, Reveal, Expose, Purloin, Fortify, or Reload.

(For quick & simple play, actions can be restricted to only Arm, Reveal, and Reload)

##Reveal

Turn a card in your arsenal face-up. The threat value increases by the rank of the revealed card. If the new threat value equals the target value, you win the round. If the new threat value exceeds the target value, you die (are eliminated from the round).

Arm

Place a card from your cache face-down in your arsenal.

Cards in your arsenal must be in ascending order of rank from left to right, regardless of if they have been revealed yet. For example, if you currently have a 5 of clubs in your arsenal and want to arm a 7 of hearts, you must place it to the right of the 5 of clubs, whether that 5 of clubs is face-down or face-up. The suit does not affect the arming order of cards, and cards of equal rank can be played on either side.

Expose

You can only perform this action if you have at least one face-down card in your arsenal.

Turn a card in another player’s arsenal face-up. The threat value increases by the rank of the revealed card. If the new threat value equals the target value, that player wins the round. If the new threat value exceeds the target value, that player dies.

Ricochet: If the new threat value is less than the target value, you must immediately reveal a face-down card of your choice in your own arsenal, resolving the card to your own detriment or benefit.

Purloin

Take a card from another player’s arsenal and immediately turn it face-up. The threat value increases by the rank of the revealed card. If the new threat value equals the target value, you win the round. If the new threat value exceeds the target value, you die. You may only take the purloin action once per round.

Fortify

Place a card from your cache face-up next to the mark’s hit points. This card is now considered armour, and the target value increases by the rank of the card. You may only fortify using cards that share the mark’s suit.

If you cause the target value to exceed 40, you protect the mark and win the round.

Reload

Draw a card from the numeral deck. If your cache is empty, draw 3 cards instead. You may only reload if you have 3 or fewer cards in your hand (the maximum hand size is 4 cards).

Dying

When a player dies, they are eliminated from the round. Their arsenal is discarded and no longer counts towards the threat value. If all but one player is dead, the living player survives and wins the round.

Winning

There are 3 possible ways to win a round:

• Assassination — cause the threat value to match the target value.
• Protection — cause the target value to exceed 40.
• Survival — be the last player alive.

At the end of each round, collect all of the numeral cards and shuffle them into the numeral deck before starting the next round.

Betting

The suggested betting setup is as follows:

• Each round, all players must ante a set amount before being dealt cards.
• After the deal, players have a chance to raise the wager for the round, going clockwise around the table. Players may call, re-raise, or fold when action is passed to them.
• Once all players have either called or folded, proceed with the round with no further wagers.

A PDF of the rules is available for free here.

For online games, you can even use the (completely free) multiplayer web program I made for the game at https://assassins.cards/

I made this one-page dungeon adventure.

Here is the free download file including a hand drawn map and the printable file: https://sahaakgames.itch.io/the-spider-queen

As it's a one-page info is very compressed and DMs will need to fill the gaps, using this pamphlet as a base to develop their adventure.

Thanks for reading me!

ADVENTURE STARTS HERE:

Spiders are infesting the vineyards on the outskirts of Breinwalk! The Tornheim family, who owns the majority of the fields, offers a generous reward to whoever discovers the origin of those dangerous spiders and kills the queen, putting an end to the plague once and for all.

D4 RUMORS

1. Last attack occurred in the crop fields at the north of the town. Those crops are Tornheim’s property.

2. People say that the spider attacks are the work of some Tornheim’s competitors.

3. This year’s harvest was especially good, but the spiders have devastated a portion of it.

4. It’s very unusual for the spiders to venture outside the caves where they live.

FINDING THE CAVE

As soon as the heroes hear the rumors about the latest attack, they can head north to investigate the area. They will soon find a trail that will lead them to a narrow entrance that end up being the spiders’ lair.

D6 RANDOM TREASURE

1. Spider egg

2. Cobweb

3. Spider fang

4. Stinger

5. Spider venom sac

6. Spider eye

FINAL REWARD

After bringing the spider’s head back to Breinwalk, an emissary from the Tornheim family will give the group a pouch containing 100 gold pieces.

Enemies

BABY SPIDER
A slippery spider sized as a human head, not very dangerous alone, but formidable in large groups.
(HP:1; AC:12; SP:20’; XP:10)
(STR:2; DEX:14; CON:8; INT:1; WIS:10; CHA:2)
(ATT: Fangs: +4 | 1d4)
Dark vision: Baby spiders can see in the dark at 50’

YOUNG SPIDER
A more developed spider, equipped with dangerous fangs, its webs can completely paralyze a human.
(HP:26; AC:14; SP:30’; XP:200)
(STR:14; DEX:16; CON:12; INT:2; WIS:11; CHA:4)
(ATT: Fangs: +5 | 1d8+3)
(ATT: Web: +5 | Restrain)
Range 30 ft, affects one creature.
Hit: The target is restrained by webbing. As an action, the restrained target can make a DC 12 CON check, bursting the webbing on a success.
Dark vision: Young spiders can see in the dark at 80’

THE SPIDER QUEEN
The dangerous queen of the spiders, an enormous creature that will fiercely protect her precious eggs against anyone who dares to approach.
(HP:120; AC:16; SP:20’; XP:900)
(STR:18; DEX:16; CON:15; INT:4; WIS:12; CHA:5)
(ATT: Fangs: +7 | 1d10+4; 2 Claws: +5 | 1d6+4)
Dark vision: Thid spider can see in the dark at 120’
Venom splash: The Spider Queen can throw venom in a 30ft cone. Targets must succeed a DC 16 CON check or being paralized 1d4 turns (they can check every turn and end the paralysis on a succeed).
Hatching eggs: The Spider Queen can hatch two eggs as a standard action, adding two baby spiders to the combat.

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The Spider Lair

1. After entering the cave, the heroes quickly arrive at a wider section. The ground is cracked, and a man lies wounded against a wall. If players speak with him, he will tell them that his group entered with the intention of killing the queen after seeing the announcement in Breinwalk, but the spiders trapped or killed his companions, and now he belive it’s the only survivor. If the group decides to help him, the man will give them a vial of antidote against spider venom.

2. This cavern part is practically empty except for a large 40ft hole guarded by two young spiders. At the bottom are the remains of corroded equipment that the spiders discard as trash after killing the fools who venture into their lair. There is also a bag that has remained intact containing 25 GP.

3. In this section of the cavern, the ceiling is much lower than the rest, and a faint green glow softly illuminates the chamber. Upon closer inspection, the adventurers discover that the source of the glow is the countless jelly-like larvae covering the floor. If the players decide to cross, they must make a DC 16 CON check with. If they fail, they will be poisoned by the larvae, reducing their movement by half and imposing a -2 penalty to hit for 20 minutes.

4. This room is completely covered in spider webs, making it difficult terrain. There are several natural stone columns, and as soon as they enter, three young spiders will descend from the pillars to attack the adventurers.

5. This space is filled with corpses wrapped in spider webs. If examined with a DC 18 perception check, they may find a woman barely breathing. To save her, players need a DEX check with a DC 20 to cut the web without harm. If they heal the woman, she will tell them that she was from the same group a s the injured man at the entrance, and that they discovered traces of other people in the cave, as well as bait to attract spiders, likely the work of someone hired by Tornheim’s competitors.

6. This cavern section is also covered by spider eggs; when the players reach the center, many of them will hatch, and twelve baby spiders will attack the heroes by surprise jumping directly to them. Once the threat is eliminated, if players decide to investigate, they will find a decomposing human corpse with a vial of antidote against spider venom and a high-quality short sword. Laying on the floor in a corner, they also con find several old torches and a small flint.

FINAL FIGHT

The queens lair has many parts covered in cobwebs that hinder movement and a large number of slimy eggs. At the back, the gargantuan spider queen hangs from the ceiling, and will unleash a venom cone towards the players that they can only dodge with a DC 16 DEX check or suffer a -2 penalty to all their actions. After releasing her venomous spray, the spider queen will descend with the help of a thread to ground level, and several eggs will hatch, spawning five baby spiders. The battle has begun.

Oh hello there, fellow DMs. Didn't see you come in. Go ahead, grab a seat!Hope everyone has had a good week. I'm back again on my self imposed mission, attempting to break down how to describe all the 5th edition monsters in alphabetical order. This week I've been thinking far, far too much about the Abominable Yeti, so buckle up, lets take a look!

Canon Lore

According to 5th edition lore an abominable yeti is sort of akin to a normal yeti on steroids. Gigantic, chaotic and cruel, this apex yeti has the ability to breath out an ice cold blast of air in addition to the standard yeti ability to paralyze with a look. Abominable yeti are nearly always found alone and are extremely territorial, happy to hunt any meat in the area and scatter the bones amongst the lands they claim as their own. And of course we can't forget the classic fear of fire. What exactly the genealogical distinction between the standard yeti and the abominable one is rather unclear. Are they simply normal yeti that survive to grow to massive size? Or are they a different species entirely? Who can say? (You can, dude. You're the world building boss, do whatever brings joy to your heart.)

Abominable yetis (and all yetis) are classified as monstrosities which I find interesting because that implies some sort of unnatural or magically augmented creation which feels unnecessary to me. Rather, a yeti makes perfect sense in my mind as a natural branch in evolution that created a fierce, cold weather adapted hominid. My theory is that it received such labeling to avoid PCs being able to use low level spells such as dominate beast or hold person, instead forcing them to use the higher level hold monster and so forth, increasing the formidably of the critter.

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Canon Monster Descriptions

As described in 5e lore, the abominable yeti is huge (both literally and in terms of DND token size), rivaling hill giants in height though maybe not mass. This mega yeti stands roughly 18ft tall (that's about as tall as the average giraffe) and while we don’t have a weight for it, according to the Forgotten Realms wiki, a normal yeti standing at 8ft tall will weigh nearly 400lb so we can easily assume 1000lb plus on the light side for this chunky big boy of a yeti.

Ape like in build, DND yeti art often depicts them with horns (which is fascinating from an evolutionary perspective, but more on that later), massive incisor fangs and claws. In addition, they apparently have nictitating membranes aka a clear, translucent, additional eyelid they can use to see through blizzard and other harsh weather. All this builds up into a unique, interesting creature that is perfectly suited to terrorizing PCs who dare to tread in cold weather climes!

When is your party going to encounter an Abominable Yeti?

Most people are probably familiar with Yeti folklore, or at least the basics. So naturally, the most sensical place to slap an abominable yeti down is a formidable and scarcely populated icy mountain range. The two most obvious uses for this monster that I can think of are:

1. PCs are trying to pass from point A to point B and in order to do so must pass through scary mountainous territory and must avoid being preyed upon by the local abominable yeti OR
2. The PCs are after some sort of artifact or hidden location that an abominable yeti is either purposefully guarding or is in the general territory of and so must defeat the monster to accomplish their objective.

Either way, the goal as a DM would be to build up this abominable yeti into a formidable and imposing challenge to either escape or defeat.

General Theme of the Description

Now, the definition of abominable is “causing moral revulsion” which is a pretty powerful description. Thus, I’d suggest that the general theme of the description (the vibe of the monster if you will) ought to be one of a ferocious and vicious hunter, something with enough intelligence and the right shape that one can anthropomorphize it, but it also regularly performs animalistic acts of depravity that juxtapose any attempts to humanize it, e.g. ripping adventurers limb from limb and eating them raw, yum yum.

Main Features of the Monster

The abominable yeti is massive, much bigger than the average PC. Thus I'd suggest that the first thing to describe would be the impression of size, part of which is due to its fur. Then, since the creature is roughly humanoid, the face and particularly the eyes would be noticed next (especially since the abominable yeti has a power that is tied directly into its eyes). Finally, I'd suggest horns, teeth and claws round off the picture and provide some suitable intimidation factors. Here we go!

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Size and Fur

If the abominable yeti stands at 18ft tall, no doubt the first thing you would notice about this thing is the size. A massive humanoid shape, looming out of a blizzard is terrifying, made even more so by the fact that the yeti’s fur allows it to blend into snowy terrain, lending it an indistinct outline in a snowstorm.

A sudden flash of movement looms across your vision. What you initially mistook for a massive snowdrift, piled up high by the blizzard, takes form into a humanoid shape nearly 3 times your height.

Yeti fur seems to have two purposes. First, from a survival perspective, it maintains heat. In order to survive and thrive at freezing temperatures, a yeti’s fur must be incredibly good at trapping and maintaining body heat. In addition, most fur designed to do this acts as barrier against water as well, keeping the creature from heat loss should it get wet. In the abominable yeti’s instance, I’d suggest that its fur coat evolved to be both hyper specialized at both insulating and wicking away moisture to be evaporated. This would make fur an excellent thing to harvest from a defeated yeti if any PCs are trying to make winter coats. Second and maybe most obvious, an abominable yeti’s fur is white, all the better to blend into the ice and snow. This means, (especially with it’s stealth proficiency) the coat also functions to act as camouflage in the blizzardy conditions where it hunts its prey.

The beast seems unbothered by the freezing cold snow and winds chill you to your core, insulated as it is in a thick, furry white coat that hangs shaggy from its arms and legs.

Anyone with a fluffy dog can tell you how much work it is to maintain the creatures coat and keep it free from tangling and matting. While a yeti doesn’t strike me as the most clean of creatures, no doubt its long, sharp claws and teeth would assist in ripping out chunks of matted and dirty fur and keeping the overall coat functioning as it should. Why not make the result of this grooming a fun, gross find for a PC to foreshadow them entering yeti territory? (DC 10 Nature to recognize it as animal fur and the result of grooming, DC 15 to recognize that it doesn't come from any bear or similar creature you know of and DC20 to properly identify it as a abominable yeti).

Partly buried in the new fallen snow you find a disgusting mass of fur. While no doubt it was once white, it is now tangled and matted with dirt, grime and what seems to be dried gore.

Lets be honest, the reason we love the yeti is because of how neat it is to imagine a big winter ape ripping apart its prey with strong arms and teeth. That begs the question, how does all this clean white fur put up with all that red blood?Honestly, probably pretty okay. Blood is red because of the iron and it stains so dramatically because of the proteins in it, which if heated up bind together and become impossible to remove. A yeti in a blizzard has a lot of cold and wet around it and especially if post feast it is hiking off through the snow, the vast majority of the blood and viscera is going to be washed away. That being said, repeated exposure to blood will eventually have the unfortunate effect of causing a brownish reddish tint. This is an excellent option if you want to make your yeti a little nasty. This would detract from the camouflage of course, but a feel like the yeti is just smart enough to hunker down and stick its blood dyed mitts deep in the snow to hide them when stalking.

A massive hand, nearly the size of your torso swipes at you, claws digging into your coat. The fur around the beasts wrist is dyed a revolting reddish brown with the blood of its previous kills, little bits of viscera stilling clinging to the matted fur.

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Eyes

Yeti eyes are something special because yeti eyes paralyze via magic. The way the attack is worded, it seems like the chilling gaze of the yeti actually freezes a target in place. At the beginning of all this I mentioned that I thought yeti didn’t need to be categorized as monstrosities, because monstrosities, by definition have some sort of magical augmentation or origin and the yeti makes sense as an evolved creature. The eyes of a yeti, and the corresponding abilities, are the main argument against this and make the most sense for why it would land in the monstrosity category. (Although come on, in a world of magic you’re telling me creatures couldn’t naturally evolve to tap into the weave and do freaky shit? I’m 84% sure this is a hill I’d die on, but would love to hear everyone’s thoughts!)

My first instinct, no doubt because I love campy horror, is to give the yeti burning red eyes. The colour contrast between all that white and seeing strange red eyes stalking you through the snow seems cool as hell. That being said, it makes sense thematically, because of the chilling gaze feature, that the yeti would have eyes that are more white, or ice blue. Whenever, I encounter a truly difficult decision such as this, my response is always “why not both?”

The creature’s red burning gaze shines out from under the white shaggy fur, but as you lock eyes with the beast, you watch as the red eyes shift to an icy, glacial blue. You feel your muscles tensing up with cold, as if the creature’s gaze itself is freezing you in place.

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Horns

A lot of yeti art, including the official 5e yeti art, depicts their yetis with horns. I love this because obviously it looks cool as hell. However, if you’ve given a creature horns , then there has got to be a reason those horns came about, right? Two things spring to mind in the case of yeti horns. First, mating display. Maybe the quality of horns on a yeti are depictions of good health and thus signal that a particular yeti would be a good mate? Usually, evolutionarily, creatures that use this kind of display to attract a mate fast track the natural selection for bigger and more dramatic bodily flair. So if this was the case you’d expect that the yeti over time as a species would have larger and more and more crazy horns.

Alternatively, maybe the horns of the yeti are used for defense (or offense) when dealing with rivals! Imagine two yeti smashing their heads together bighorn sheep style before tearing into each other with claws and teeth. Pretty sick if you ask me! Sadly, the abominable yeti doesn’t have a head bash ability in its statblock, but that doesn't mean you couldn’t give it one! It would open up a whole new strategy for yeti hunting as well. Find a tasty group of adventurers? Cone of cold the group out of stealth, paralyze the tastiest looking one with your eye beams and then headbutt it until it goes down. Then you can retreat with your snack somewhere safe to eat and not waste any of that tasty blood or insides.

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Two dark black horns jut from the creatures forehead, curling back up past the temples. The tops of them seem scuffed and scraped, as if the beast regularly is smashing them into something… or someone.

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Making an Interesting Abominable Yeti

An abominable yeti has the vibe of a boss monster. You won’t be encountering a city of abominable yeti and if you find an abominable yeti amongst other yeti it is going to stand out just fine by virtue of it being nearly two stories tall. That being said, there are a couple of ways to add some flavor to your abominable yeti before you unleash it upon your PCs.

Cleanliness: A massive winter coat, long sharp claws, viscous fangs, all of this stuff takes a certain amount of maintenance and a lack of that maintenance will stand out. Is your yeti a grimy, filthy, nasty girl? Or a surprisingly clean fellow who washes his hands after disemboweling a group of adventurers? Either of these are interesting and can provide unique descriptions..

Clinging to the tooth and claw of the yeti are dried bits of gore, the blood caked underneath its nails.

As you watch from your hiding place, the yeti seems to finish with its bloody feast. Scattering the remaining cracked bones and scraps of fur across the ground, it bends low scooping up a handful of snow and uses it to scrub the blood from its hands.

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Wounds, Old and New : A yeti lives a life of mayhem and blood and that tends to leave a mark. Perhaps your yeti has a cracked horn, or is missing one entirely? Perhaps they are missing an eye? Maybe they have a relatively new wound from the most recent batch of adventurers that weakens it enough for your PCs to take it down?A massive scar creates a fissure down the creature's chest. Its furry coat has only just begun to grow back over the puckered skin which has an angry red hue to it.

One of the beast's horns seems to have snapped off at the base, leaving a jagged jut of sharp bone points in its place.

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Well hey, that's all I have for you this week! To be honest I never considered using an abominable yeti in my games before this, but having thought a bunch about it, it actually makes for a pretty sweet boss monster to throw at your PCs. Have you used an abominable yeti before? How did you describe it? Let me know!

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If you want to check out past monsters I've done (and don't want to sift through my posts) or want to view the list of monsters I've compiled to slug through week after week, now you can do that! Check em out here at https://monstersdescribed.com

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Thanks for reading! Hope you have a stellar week and good luck at your tables!

Map Crawls: All Killer No Filler

This concept borrows heavily from the concept of “flux space” as described on the blog Papers and Pencils. Read more about it here: https://www.paperspencils.com/flux-space/

A common problem I face in designing playable spaces is creating a sense of scale. 100 yards and 1000 miles can blur together if players overcome them both in the span of a sentence and a skill check, but enforcing strict traveling rules isn’t the solution for every group. It’s good, arguably necessary, to allow players to use their character’s abilities and their own creativity to interact with the exploration pillar of play, but not to the extent that it becomes grinding. For large spaces like cities, countries, or even whole worlds one method I use is the Point Crawl. Sometimes called a Points of Light setting, this narrows in the scope of the map onto a few distinct places, and largely abstracts the spaces in between. Similarly, this “Map Crawl” design allows you to turn large exploration spaces – cavern systems, crumbling forts, jungle temples, and many other classic megadungeons – into a series of concentrated play spaces with abstracted (but still thoroughly textured) spaces in between.

How it Plays

True to form, we’ll cut right to how this concept plays in practice. The map is a series of Locations and Connections. Locations are the tasty bits – the Throne Room, the Dungeon, the Great Hall, places where you’d expect Things to Happen. The Connections are the jelly holding it together – the hallways, the jungle paths, the back alleys. Things can still Happen here, but it would be unexpected; Unexpected Things are like traps, monster attacks, or an ambush by a rival adventuring party.

As an example, let’s look at a situation where Generic Adventuring Party is exploring Castle le’Average.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Sg8tfIoNLW1bij2eW-ilCf227ZbExxlY/view?usp=sharing

Our adventurers begin in The Gatehouse, having traveled here overland. The Gatehouse is connected to the Entrance, so the party can travel there with no checks – they can physically see how to get there, so nobody needs to use any skills. This is represented by a solid line.

The party decides they want to try to get to the Great Hall. Between the Entrance and the Great Hall are a series of corridors, passages, and rooms, represented by a dotted line. This is an unexplored path, so skills must be used to traverse it. To use a skill to traverse a Connection, a character must be proficient in that skill. They must meet or exceed a Traversal DC, which depends on how difficult it is to travel through the connection. In this case the DC is an easy-to-moderate 14. On a Success, the party travels through the Connection, and puts a tally mark next to the Connection on their map. For every tally on a Connection, the players get a +1 bonus to their traversal roll, representing the party becoming more familiar with the area. On a Critical Success, the two locations become connected, which represents the party finding a direct path, or becoming so familiar with the area that traveling there is trivial. On a Failure, the party accidentally travels somewhere else, chosen at random and inclusive of the room they started in, and they do not add a tally to the connection. If the Location only has Connections to one other Location, they do not move. On a Critical Failure the party becomes lost in the Connection. This triggers an Event, which can be a combat encounter, a trap, or an environmental hazard. The party must also succeed on another traversal check to make it back to their original Location before than can go anywhere else.

As previously mentioned, a character must be proficient in a skill to use it for traversal – the player must also explain how this skill is helping them navigate the connection. Reward creativity, but their explanation should be reasonable for your table. The character may not use this skill again until every other player has made at least one attempt at traversal. They may use a different proficient skill to attempt traversal until then.

Now, back to Castle le’Average. Having reached the Great Hall, the party decides to travel to The Dungeon to look for loot. Either a different player must make a traversal check, or the same player may make the check using a different skill. Having arrived in the Dungeon, they look for hidden treasure and come across a secret passage represented by two-tailed arrows. Alternatively, one character already knew this was here after speaking with an NPC, or finding a treasure map. This functions the same as a connection and the party may go to the Throne Room without a check.

Design

I have found the best place to start the design is with a list of locations. Afterwards, try sorting them into categories based on how you imagine their proximity. For example, maybe the Barracks, the Armory, and the Stables are in one category because you imagine they are in close proximity to each other. Or maybe they’re just on the same floor of the building. Map out the Locations based on the categories you’ve made, then make connections between them, making sure to include some connections and shortcuts between groups.

You will need to strike a balance between being overly linear and overly interconnected. Too linear, and players lose agency – too connected and there can be analysis paralysis. I recommend using locations with only one connection and areas with more than 3 connections at about the same rate – sparingly.

The Traversal DC should be appropriate for the dungeon and the player’s level. You may decide you want different areas to have different DC’s – this can be interesting but adds bookkeeping. I suggest limiting it to having the same DC for at least the same category of Locations. Don’t be afraid to have the DC be somewhat high – the checks will get easier and easier as they succeed, which makes “opening up” the map a rewarding challenge.

Every Location should have Something To Do. That doesn’t need to be combat, but could be a challenge to overcome, a resource, something to come back to, or even just an opportunity for worldbuilding or set dressing. It doesn’t need to be strictly mapped unless you plan for combat to be there – this is a good occasion to use concept art and mood boards. Players should have a Location they are working towards that they know at least the rough location of; the King’s Vault, the Altar of Sacrifice, etc. Even if they can’t see any connections on their version of the map, having a Location to work towards helps prevent frustration. On that same note, *not* knowing where the Location they’re looking for is can be exciting, and promotes clue-hunting and speculation; use sparingly.

When preparing spaces for battle, keep in mind that these will predominantly take place in Connections. They don’t’ need to be highly specific locations, which gives you a lot of creative freedom. This is a great opportunity to add additional flavor using interesting map geometry and ways to interact with the environment. You only need to prepare 2-3 maps at a time, unless you expect the party to have more than that many combats in a single session. Or, if you’re confident in your sketching skills, you can just make the battlemaps on the fly.

When describing Locations, try not to overprepare. Depending on what activities there are, you can go through several Locations very quickly. With lengthy descriptions, you can end up in a situation where you spend more time talking and less time playing, which isn’t ideal. Write descriptions for some of the Connections as well – remember, you’re not trying to give the players a 1:1 description of the area (that would defeat the point!), just something evocative to get their imagination started.

Players should get a version of the map without everything included. Depending on how much information they know, they might not know every Location, probably won’t know most Connections, and will only know of any shortcuts if they have prior knowledge such as a hint from an NPC.

Afterthoughts

I’ve used this method to create a relatively large one-shot dungeon for my players, and it went over really well! My experience has informed (and I hope improved!) some of the design aspects here. If you create an area using this method, please let me know how it went so it can continue to improve!

Wild Table Riding -

Overview

Entering into the welcoming establishment, the raucous merriment and cheering assaults your ears. Noticeably, most of the tables are empty, as the entire tavern’s attention is centered around the back corner where a 15ft circle has been cordoned off with wooden fencing. In the middle of this ring, a strange sight is to behold. A bar patron is grappling an animated table with all their might, while the furniture bucks and jerks about trying to dislodge them. The rider is close to the all time record, and the crowd begins to count down. Within a moment, the table erratically flips about, tossing the rider across the enclosure and tumbling over the fence. The wizard barkeep chuckles before glancing at you and offers you a turn.

Mechanics

Riding the Animated Table offers adventurers a chance to put their daredevil skills to the test. As players mount the construct, they will need to be ready to maintain their balance and strength as the table will do everything in its power to knock them off. Each round the player will have to make one of these 4 rolls, which the GM will determine by rolling 1d4:

• A Strength (Athletics) check, as they try to grapple the table.
• A Dexterity Saving Throw, as they try to maintain a steady balance.
• A Wisdom (Insight) check, as they try to anticipate the movements of the table.
• Or A Constitution Saving Throw, as they try to avoid getting dizzy as the table throttles them about.

The DC for the roll will be 1d8 + 10, determined by the GMs roll. The Player who can succeed the longest sequence of rolls, wins the game.

Legend tells of a tomb deep in the mountains, where a frost giant king lays buried, frozen inside with his long dead subjects… and a priceless crystal that holds their hundreds of souls. If your players can brave the cold weather and trap-filled dungeon, then they can claim the long-lost loot as their own. Or will the king have something to say about it?

This quest was originally designed for 6 level 8 adventurers, but can be easily tuned up or down depending on the strength and number of your players. I ran this quest at my own table, and after a couple tweaks, I’m excited to share it with you! Without further ado, let’s get started!

Part 1: Mountains and Monsters

This quest takes place deep in a frozen mountain range, where ice and snow make travel nearly impossible, and the unprepared will quickly end up frozen solid. Legends tell of a frost giant king who, as his body grew frail and his mind began to fade, ordered his soldiers to slay his own subjects, so he might rule over them even in death. He had his trusted mage trap their souls in a gem, and placed it atop his crown with his final, dying breath. Buried with his crown and riches, his tomb now waits for anyone daring enough to brave the elements and steal his gold - and a gem of souls that would be priceless to the right buyer.

Your players could hear about this legend in a lot of different ways: Maybe they received a map to the tomb as the reward for a previous quest. Perhaps they heard of it while drinking at a tavern in the mountain foothills, a drunken tall-tale with a grain of truth to it. I had my players seek it out as part of a bargain with a demon: Fetch them the gem inside, and they could have the soul of their fallen ally the fiend had captured. No matter how they learn of the tomb, the riches inside - as well as the priceless gem of souls - should be enough to entice them into doing a little dungeon delving. And if that’s the case, then you have a quest on your hands!

Part 2: Hail, Ice, Sleet and Snow

As for actually getting to the tomb, trekking the frozen mountains is a pretty daunting challenge. How much of a challenge is up to you. If they have a map or know the path there, then it may be as simple as having them roll a couple of survival checks as they make their way up and down the mountains, trying to stay on track. If their path forward isn’t as clear-cut, you may consider making it into a skills challenge: Having the party take turns describing how they want to help the group proceed, then having them roll to see how well they do. With enough successes, they can get through the mountains and find the tomb.

You could also have their path be a bit more curated, if you want. When I ran it, I had the path to the tomb described to them by a mountaineer who’d spent a lifetime in the peaks, and wrote out a couple different encounters along the way. The players faced off with trolls, negotiated with a hag, dodged an avalanche and returned a baby yeti to its family - all before ever reaching the frozen burial ground. You certainly don’t have to put that much effort into the journey there, but getting to the tomb can be an adventure all its own.

However they get there, your players will eventually reach a set of frozen stairs carved into the face of a mountain, and ascending the ancient steps will bring them to a cavern opening. The walls of the cave are completely frozen, and about 30 feet in, they’ll see two massive doors made of white stone, sealed shut. If they look closely at the walls, they’ll notice there are figures encased in the ice - the bodies of long dead frost giants, left frozen as a monument to their king.

The moment one of your players steps inside, they’ll feel a wind begin to pick up from the cave’s interior, blowing outward. The howl will fill their ears, and everyone inside the cave or just outside will need to make a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, they’ll be filled with fear and flee the cavern… back out onto the slippery steps. They’ll need to succeed on a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw to not slip and stumble down the stairs, 3d6 bludgeoning damage - and a blow to their ego.

After your party has collected themselves, they’ll notice there’s a bronze bell embedded about 15 feet up in each door. Scrolled above both are words in Giant, and if anyone in your party can translate, they’ll understand them to say “Toll the Dead.” Besides being a reference to the spell, this means that they’ll need to ring the two bells in unison, no matter how that is: Simultaneous spells, arrow shots or a really big jump and swing with an axe will do it. Once the bells have been rung, the two doors will open, and your players can head into the tomb.

Part 3: Crossroads

Beyond the doors lies a huge entry chamber - the ceiling rises up 40 feet, a suitable height for giants, and the walls look as frozen as the exterior. The floor is tiled with blue and white stone, creating swirling patterns like falling snow. In each corner sits a huge statue of a kneeling giant, and each is reaching out one arm to extend an axe, with the four blades meeting in the center. Directly below where the axes touch, set in the floor, is a large crystal.

Across from where they’ve entered, the wall displays a mural of a frost giant king holding an axe above their head, while their subjects bow before them. This wall holds the entrance to the tomb’s inner sanctum, but to unlock it, your players will first have to get past the dungeon’s defenses. To their right and left are four halls, two per side, and each leads to traps and obstacles that your players will need to get past in order to open the way forward. I’ll go through each one by one, but your party will be free to tackle the dungeon in whatever order they see fit. First up, a dungeon classic.

Part 4: Grave Robbery

Following the first path, they’ll find the entire hall is shrouded in magical darkness. Those with higher passive perception will be able to hear something moving within. In the shadows are 3 swinging axes, each ready to deal 3d6 slashing damage if your players aren’t careful. If they want to try their luck to dodge through, it’ll take a DC 13 Dexterity save per axe - and if they can’t see, they’ll have disadvantage. If your players try to get rid of the darkness first, you can treat it just like the second level spell - so a Dispel Magic from one of your players will do fine.

Once past the magical darkness, they’ll reach an iron door with several symbols carved into it. They’ll represent a snake, a wolf, a boar, a bear, and a dragon. In giant, there will be words above the symbols that read “Attack the Ancient Enemy.” In DnD lore, dragons and giants are sworn rivals, and your players may be able to pick up on this fact with a successful History check. They’ll need to hit the proper symbol with a melee weapon to open the door - and if they smack the wrong one, they’ll take 3d6 psychic damage. A close inspection from one of your players - maybe with Perception or Investigation - could reveal markings on the dragon symbol that would also clue them in to which one to hit.

Past the door, the tunnel opens up into a larger chamber. Set into the walls are large coffins, big enough to hold giant remains. Two axes are carved into the floor, and each is inlaid with sapphires. This is where other members of the royal family and their advisors were buried, and across the way, there’s a black iron brazier that sits unlit. Your players will need to light the brazier in order to proceed, and for that, they may notice that in the corner of each ceiling about 30 feet up, there is a small, red crystal. Breaking all four gems - either through magic or weapons - will cause the brazier to burst into flames. If you want to add to it, you could have each crystal require a different damage type to break. A simple puzzle… But all of those coffins might entice your players, too.

To remove the lid of a coffin takes a DC 18 Athletics check. But the moment the lid starts to move, a grey, swirling dust will kick up out of the sarcophagus and swirl around the player or players that opened it, prompting a DC 15 Constitution saving throw. If they fail, they’ll come down with Sight Rot, a disease that causes blood to trickle out of their eyes like tears and gives them a penalty to attacks and ability checks where they need their vision. Usually the disease takes a day to kick in, but since they’re delving through the dungeon right now, I’d ignore that part and have it take effect immediately. I’ll leave their reward for grave robbing up to you, but some giant-sized jewelry or a common magic item isn’t a bad idea. Just make sure they aren’t bleeding out of their eyes for nothing - that would be a bit of a jerk move.

Part 5: The Ordning

Once they return to the central chamber, they’ll find that for each brazier they light, one of the axes held aloft by the giant statues in the room will begin to glow. Four axes, four paths, four braziers. While the first path was shrouded in darkness, the next one is open and appears to not be trapped… But concerningly, your players will notice large holes that have been dug into the walls and floors, and if they choose to investigate, they’ll notice small areas where the stone itself has melted.

Everything in this tomb isn’t dead, it seems. As they start to walk down the path, they’ll hear what sounds like scraping on rock - until 3 creatures come bursting out of their burrows along the path. These are young remorhazes (found in the Monster Manual), which look like hooded centipedes of fire and ice. The creatures are immune to cold damage, and their warm bodies will be a problem for any of your melee fighters, as boiling blood will splash back on them with every strike. In the close quarters of the hallway, they’ll pose a challenge for your party without being too overwhelming, and if your party proves to be more than a match for the monstrosities, they’ll more than likely flee back to their dens.

At the end of the hall, they’ll come across their second iron door. This one also has a message in giant, which if they can translate, reads: “Respect your king.” Above the words, an arcane rune in the door will begin to glow as the players approach - and after a few seconds, will blast freezing cold shards of ice down the hall. If your players are caught in the frozen storm, they’ll have to make a DC 15 Constitution save or take 3d8 cold damage, half on a success. They’ll need to kneel before the rune to advance, avoiding the icy blast above and causing the door to open.

Beyond is a small chamber lined on either side with pedestals. On each sits a glittering gem of a different color: In total, there are brown, sky blue, yellow, gray, red, black, white and navy blue crystals, four on each side. Across from the entrance, lined up against the wall, are six statues of kneeling giants. Though they look identical at first glance, they each differ a bit in height, with the shortest on the left, and the tallest on the right. Each statue holds its hands out in front of it, as though waiting for something to be placed inside.

In DnD lore, giants are placed into a hierarchy called the Ordning, which ranks them in strength. The order goes hill giants as the weakest, then stone, frost, fire, cloud and storm giants rounding out the list. For this puzzle, each gem relates to one of those giants, and your players will need to sort them in order from weakest to strongest in order to proceed. Your players could make History checks to see if they know anything about giant history and culture, and even if they don’t, they might inspect the statues for more clues: Through investigation or perception checks, they might notice small changes in design between the carvings: flames in the beard of the third giant, or lightning bolts in the eyes of the last.

Just to lay it all out, the order goes as follows: The brown gem goes first with the hill giant; the grey gem goes second with the stone giant; the white gem goes third with the frost giant; the red gem goes fourth with the fire giant; the sky blue gem goes fifth with the cloud giant; and the navy blue gem goes sixth with the storm giant. You might notice that yellow and black don’t match up - they’re just there to trip up your party. If they put the wrong gem in the hands of the wrong giant, it’ll explode - causing them to make a DC 15 Dexterity save or take 3d6 damage of whatever type matches that giant - and reform on its pedestal. But once they succeed in placing all of the crystals correctly, they'll watch as one of the walls behind the pedestals open, revealing an iron brazier that lights up with fire. Two to go.

Part 6: Rags and Riches

The third path won’t look like much at first, but after a few steps in, your players will begin to fall through the floor - which is just an illusion for the next 30 feet or so. To avoid tumbling into an acid pit 20 feet below and taking 2d8 damage every round, they’ll need to succeed on a DC 17 Dexterity save… or make a DC 13 Investigation or Perception check first to spot that the floor isn’t real. Once they’ve spotted the illusion - or fallen in - they can get around the acid by flying over, teleporting, running along the wall - whatever methods they have.

On the door, they’ll find a handprint that’s embedded in the iron with a phrase above that reads “blood of the people” in Giant. If anyone with Giant lineage puts their hand on the door - namely, a goliath - then the door will open automatically. If anyone else touches it, they’ll take 3d6 necrotic damage as the door siphons some of the blood out of their body. But either way, the door will open and the party can proceed.

Beyond the doorway, your players will find a room full of treasure. Troughs of gold coins, shelves littered with rubies and sapphires, trinkets and trophies galore. In the back of the room, the iron brazier they’re looking for sits out in the open, with a torch next to it for easy lighting. There’s no puzzle in this room - if your players want, they can walk right across, set the fire and be on their way. But if they get greedy and touch any of the gold, crystals or artifacts in the room - that’s when things get tricky.

As soon as any of the treasure is touched, 3 allips - undead horrors that whisper in the minds of the players - will spawn from the mounds of gold. Their stats are in Monsters of the Multiverse, so if you only have the Monster Manual, you could use wraiths instead. Once they’ve dispatched the undead protectors, it’s up to you to decide if the gold and jewels were real, or just a trap to kill money-hungry adventurers. If you do give them the money, just make sure you’re comfortable with the party going up a tax bracket - paying for rooms in an inn won’t exactly be a problem anymore.

Part 7: Tests of Strength

For the final path, your players will find that the hall’s ceiling is covered in hanging icicles. The moment anything moves underneath, they’ll crash down to the floor, regrowing up above afterwards. To simply dash across would take an Athletics check, but your players can try dodging, teleporting or whatever else they can think of. I’d set the DC at 15 for their attempts - and have them take 3d6 piercing damage if they fail. Once past the icicles, they’ll find - you guessed it - one final doorway. This one will have a round metal plate attached to the front, and the words “prove your strength” written in Giant above. To open the door, one of your players will need to smash the gong with a weapon or a fist strong enough to advance. It’ll be a DC 18 Athletics check to hit it hard enough, and on a failure, they’ll rebound off the plate and take 4d8 Force damage. If multiple players want to try hitting it at the same time, you could always have one take the help action to give the other Advantage.

Unfortunately for any players that used Strength as their dump stat, the challenge continues beyond the door. In the next chamber, the party will find 3 thick iron chains hanging from the ceiling. Murals along the walls depict frost giants performing all sorts of feats of strength: Wrestling, lifting boulders - you know, giant stuff. The iron brazier sits toward the back of the room, but no fire or torch will cause it to light up.

In order to set it ablaze, your players will need to pull on the chains. This is a combined Athletics check: Adding up the rolls of all 3 participants, they’ll need to roll a 45 in order to proceed. Multiple people can pull on a single chain, which you can show by granting one of them Advantage on their roll. And even if your spellcasters aren’t the lifting type, this is a great place for them to use spells like Guidance and Enhance Ability to assist. Once the party has pulled hard enough, the brazier will light up, and your players can move on to the final challenge.

Part 8: Return of the King

Returning to the central chamber, your players will find that all 4 of the axes are now lit up, and a beam of light shoots down onto the crystal imbued in the floor. Where the mural of the frost giant king once was, a fifth path has now opened, and following it your players will reach the monarch’s final resting place. Five coffins line the room, and at its center, the frozen, desiccated body of the frost giant king sits upon a throne of stone and bone. It wears a crown of antlers, and placed into the front of the helm is the glittering soul gem your party is after. But as they approach, the ancient king will begin to move, standing once more and picking up their massive axe. And that’s not all: The lids of the coffins around the room will start to shift, and crawling out are five undead polar bears ready to serve their master. It’s time to roll initiative.

Between the polar bears and the frost giant, this should be a challenging fight for your party. There IS a frost giant zombie stat block in the Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount that you can use to make it even tougher, but I don’t have that book, so I didn’t use it. If you have my luck though, your players might absolutely steamroll the base frost giant stats, so consider giving it a few legendary actions to help it get off more damage and move around the battlefield, and lair actions like ice spikes that shoot out of the floor or areas where your players have to avoid being frozen in place. After a hopefully tense battle, your players will slay the giant and retrieve their soul gem, ending the adventure.

Part 9: Conclusion

With the king returned to rest and the gem in their possession, your players are free to leave the frozen tomb behind - and hopefully find somewhere a little warmer. If you end up running this in your games, I’d love to hear how it goes, or any suggestions for making it even better. Thanks for reading, and good luck out there, Dungeon Masters!

Well hello there, describers of worlds! Its ya boy back at it again, as I attempt to break down how to describe all the DND 5e monsters in alphabetical order. For the third addition we’re looking at the ABOLETH.

Official Canon Monster Description/Lore

Aboleth, as of 5e, are ancient, nightmare water beasties, arguably the first apex creatures to ever exist. They ruled the world at the dawn of time, enslaving all creatures around them until the gods came and sent them scurrying into the darkened corners of the world. Aboleth all have perfect ancestral memories, so they remember their fall from grace with perfect clarity and harbor massive resentment about it, constantly working patiently behind the scenes to bring the world back under their domain once more.

Physically, the aboleth actually has a pretty solid description going for it which is nice for us. 20ft long, 6500lbs on average (with ancient aboleth maybe hitting up to 40ft in length) and resembling a nightmarish eel fish. Past editions had the aboleth looking a lot more fish like, leaning into the ostracoderm (armored jawless fish from the paleozoic era) look and had three oblong eyes all stacked atop one another. 5e goes a lot more eldritch squid monster in its direction, multiple tentacles all branching from the back of the torso equivalent (called the trunk if we use squid anatomy), a lamprey style circle mouth with horrible rows of sharp looking teeth and a long tail with fin like membranes and three eyes stacked on top of each other. Easy peasy.

When is your party going to encounter an Aboleth?

Since aboleth are the classic “lurker in the deep” type of creature it tracks that they would only be encountered in, you guessed it, THE DEEPS. This can mean deep ocean, deep in some massive lake or lurking somewhere in a murky body of water deep in the underdark, its all up to you! Personally, I'm of the opinion that PCs shouldn’t encounter an aboleth without first encountering a series of odd environments, strange circumstances and excessive amounts of slime, but hey once that checklist has been gone through and the mood has been set? Then baby, its aboleth time.

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What things would PCs notice BEFORE actually seeing the Aboleth?

Listen, I love setting a good scene and I love to foreshadow. I feel like that stuff really makes or breaks any sort of monster encounter, but that feels especially important for a potential BBEG aboleth style monster. So lets talk about some of the descriptive signals that would suggest an aboleth is up to shenanigans in the area.

**First and foremost, slimy surroundings.**The monster manual states that anywhere within 1 mile of an aboleth lair is slimy and wet. So, if we have an aboleth in control of a seaside town or fishing village then it makes sense the ocean be downright narsty. Any and all beaches should be choked with algae, mildew and mysterious slime and any cliff faces should be nearly insurmountable due to all the wonderful aboleth gunk.

The ocean here has a sickly black, greenish hue to it and you can see massive clumps of algae form a slimy layer just below the surface.

The rock face of the seaside cliffs are immediately treacherous, coated thoroughly in a slippery layer of brown and black algae collecting in slimy clumps that resemble wet hair pulled from a drain.

The wood of the seaside docks are caked in filth, a thick layer of muddy slime covers the rotting boards making a slip and fall into the dark algae choked water seem likely…

Second! Gross WaterThe water itself around an aboleth is described as supernaturally fouled and toxic to drink. For inspiration I spent some time looking into aquatic dead zones. Aquatic dead zones are areas in bodies of water that have such a low oxygen levels that most living creatures cannot survive while a small few proliferate to an alarming degree. What if the aboleth, by sheer proximity changed the chemistry of the water? Perhaps aboleth slime infuses the water over the course of months, making it harder for oxygen to penetrate through? This would lead to a huge die off of aquatic life, as both flora and fauna struggle to get the oxygen they need to exist. Many creatures and plants die, polluting the water with their rotting bodies and fueling massive algae blooms, creating exactly the sort of slimy, foul water that the Monster Manuel describe as the terrain of an aboleth.

A cloying smell comes from the water, so strong to be an almost physical experience. It smells like rotting fish and stagnant mud.

You splash into the filthy lake and feel the water cover you like a viscous coat. The visibility here is severely limited, every step along the bottom causes a puff of muck to cloud the water. Through sparse clearings in the murk you see rotting remains of aquatic creatures slowly being taken over by algae and slime.

Third! Odd NPC behavior

A location under the influence of an aboleth means a portion of the populace is enslaved by the aboleth. Since there is no upper limit on the amount of slaves the aboleth can actually make, its up to you to decide what percentage of the population is aboleth controlled. No doubt in early stages of occupation,the primary goal of the aboleth thralls would be to recruit and transport new folks to the aboleth for enslaving. Sounds like the perfect set up for a cult! A strange underground group of worshipers who meet in the dead of night to manipulate or kidnap, taking victims down dark, disgusting tunnels, dragging them away to get slime slaved by the aboleth itself? Hell yeah.

Its worth noting that the aboleth thralls are still largely in control of themselves, making their own decisions and maintaining their own personalities (sort of). Enslaved by an aboleth means that a) the aboleth can talk to you at any point from any distance and b) you are charmed by the aboleth which means you can’t go about harming it AND it has advantage to socially interact with you. This implies that the aboleth enslavement works in a subtle insidious way rather than simply mind breaking the target. Instead the aboleth will worm its way into your mind, offering you all you desire if you follow it, promising that if you do just one more task you’ll be free, convincing you that everything you are doing is the right call, and no doubt once you commit some atrocities, gaslighting you into thinking you are in too far now to ever back out.

Obviously having an inhuman creature with a superiority complex, gaslighting you from inside your own brain probably isn’t the greatest for mental health. So I’d expect anyone with a bad case of aboleth on the brain to be behaving erratically.Yet people are unique so a spectrum of individual response to the aboleth enslavement would make sense. Power hungry individuals and those with naturally lower empathy might throw themselves into the aboleth worship full force, reveling in their dark deeds and naturally moving up the ranks of the aboleth’s favorites. These would be the cult leaders, seemingly calm and in control, but catch them unaware and you’ll see them whispering frantically to themselves as if speaking to something that isn’t there.An individual on the opposite end of the spectrum would be plagued by constant doubt and exhibit self soothing behaviors, anything from twitches, tics and fidgets, to more self destructive behaviors like drinking obsessively or not sleeping.

As you peek through the keyhole you watch the proud, arrogant councilman undergo a shocking transformation. Bent over nearly double in a strange sort of bow, she whispers to nothing that you can see. “My lord please, I only need a little more time. Soon, I swear! Yes my lord, as you say.”

The halfling twitches as you talk to him, his hands playing with a piece of string with a frantic manner. “I didn’t kill her, I swear I didn’t.” he mutters. As you watch he wraps the string around his finger so tightly the tip of it goes white as the circulation is cut off. He doesn’t seem to notice.

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Main Features of the Monster

For humanoid monsters, the natural instinct is to look at the face. Since humans are wired for body language and a lot of important information is expressed via microexpressions and the like, we are hardwired to first pay attention to the face. What happens when you have a creature that is of such an alien shape that this goes out the window? I’d suggest you’d notice size first, then movement (in this case tentacles and tail) then mouth and lastly eyes. Of course all of this depends on the context in which you encounter the aboleth, so you should absolutely mix it up as you see fit!

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Size, Body shape and Movement

First off, I love starting with SIZE. The average aboleth is 20ft long which easily makes it 3-4 times bigger than your average adventurer. Describing a looming behemoth is always a fun way to ratchet up the tension.

While early additions of the aboleth had an almost triangle fish shape to them, the 5e design has a much sleeker, longer, almost eel like design to them. 5e aboleths are elongated and much more streamline, clearly designed for quick movements and sudden starts and stops. The aboleth will move through the water with ease by using its finned tail, lashing it back and forth (side to side) to propel it forward while using the tentacles to steer. In tight spaces, the tentacles would also help it to maneuver by pushing off available surfaces. On land however, the tentacles become the primary means of locomotion as the aboleth is limited to dragging its form along the ground.

You catch a flash of movement out of the corner of your eye, something massive, eel like and sleek leaves a trail of slime behind it as a long finned tail propels it through the water.

An enormous elongated creature heaves itself up out of the algae slick hole amidst the chanting cultists, its form impacting onto dry land with a resounding boom you feel in your feet.

Tentacles

Next up, tentacles! If we’re going off of the 5e artwork, then an aboleth looks to have four tentacles, each roughly the same length, unlike squid or octopi no suction pads are to be seen. Since the aboleth lacks a grapple or restraining feature built into its tentacle attacks, it seems safe to say that the tentacles of an aboleth are more for locomotion, propelling it through the water or dragging it about on land rather than for grappling or restraining. Each one is one is thick and round, much more like a limb than the tentacles of an octopus or squid.

The creature pushes off the rock face with four thick tentacle like limbs, the force of it cracking the dying coral and the rock underneath.

Two thick tentacles, each nearly two feet thick lash from the monsters side, dragging its leviathan form like a fish out of water from the pool, ever closer to the waiting cultists, a trail of slime in its wake.

Tail

The aboleth’s tail is much longer than its tentacles and would extend behind it, beyond the tentacles while it swims. Based on the orientation of the fins, the aboleth would move by lashing its tail side to side to propel itself forward. The tail almost seems to be another tentacle that over time evolved for swimming, so unlike a lot of fish tails it would retain its more tentacle nature, moving more like an eel or lamprey rather than a fish. About three quarters of the way down the tail we see a dorsal spike with a small fin, primarily used for balance, while the tail fin almost seems to resemble something more akin to a bats wing, thin skin stretched between spikes of the tail, rather than a traditional fish tail.

The longest tentacle in the dead center of the creatures mass seems more akin to a tail, much thicker than the rest, it ends in series of spikes with a thin translucent skin stretched between them, similar to the wing of a bat.

Deep in the water of the pit, you catch sight of a lashing tail that whips back and forth slowly, keeping the creature balanced on the edge of the land and water, as the cultists walk their sacrifice closer.

Eyes

Aboleth traditionally have three eyes stacked vertically one on top of the other along the brow of the creature’s head. Most predators have forward oriented eyes because it provides better depth perception which is better for hunting and grabbing things. The fact that aboleth eyes are stacked on top of each other vertically rather than two eyes in a horizontal line would mean the aboleth would have a relatively narrow field of vision, but the addition of the third eye positioned towards the top of the head mean the aboleth is able to see above themselves with perfect clarity. This would imply an evolutionary lineage as bottom dwelling creatures that hunted creatures located above themselves. I’d suggest then that in a fight this would mean an aboleth prefers to be lower than its foes in the water, reaching up with its tentacles to smack em around.Another weird thing to consider is that fish don’t usually blink. Its more or less unnecessary since the constantly flowing water around them keep the eyes wet and free of debris. But aboleth are technically amphibious and if you’re going on land you’re going to need to keep your eyeballs wet. Mudskippers unlike the vast majority of fish blink (since they climb about outside the water), same with frogs and salamanders. It would make sense then that aboleth too would blink. Frogs in particular utilize something that I think makes the most sense for aboleth, a semi translucent eyelid called a nictitating membrane. This eyelid would serve to keep the aboleth’s eyes moist when on land and can even be closed while swimming to avoid all that nasty murk and sludge from drifting into the aboleth’s eye while swimming. All this is to say, hey maybe you can describe a creepy blinking to your players…

Three dark eyes bulge out of the creatures face. Not vertically, but horizontally stacked, the eyes bisect the monsters face, each of them dark voids that shift slightly to take you in

As you gaze down into the depths at this behemoth eel creature, you watch as one eye, placed nearly on the top of the creatures head, stares directly back at you.The cultists shove the weeping woman to her knees in front of the beached aboleth. Its three dark eyes all turn to gaze down at her. The creature blinks as it takes her in, translucent lids swiping sideways across its eyes, leaving a wet sheen of slime across its pupils.

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Mouth

Aboleth design has clearly taken inspiration from the lamprey and nowhere is that more apparent than with its weird, toothy, circle mouth, but the lamprey use their weird mouth to latch onto bigger creatures and suck out the juices, a method of feeding that seems unlikely for the aboleth.

An aboleth is big enough that it makes the most sense for it to simply swallow prey whole, a theory that is further backed up by the fact that the aboleth lacks a bite attack, implying little jaw strength, if it even has the ability to munch down with that weird circle mouth at all. Instead, it makes sense for the aboleth to swallow its prey as whole as possible, while its toothy lined maw and gullet serve, rather than tearing or grinding, to dig into its prey and stop it from simply swimming out as the aboleth tries to choke it down.

Past aboleth lore mentions that they are also filter feeders, which doesn’t make a ton of sense with how toothy looking our 5e aboleth is. But hey, why not a bit of both?Baleen whales filter feed by using a structure that looks like a thousands of hairs, all made of keratin. What if an aboleth had something similar between its spiky teeth to filter anything tasty down its throat. Of course, why not flavor it by saying aboleth baleen is in fact extra sharp and serves to shred larger prey as it passes down the aboleth gullet. Pretty neat.The aboleth is big enough to swim about with its mouth open most of the time, filtering algae, microorganisms, small fish and such directly into its gullet and then pumping the excess water out the gills on the side of its head, sort of whale shark style. If the aboleth doesn’t have a slave legion bringing it sacrifices then I'd assume this would primarily be how it gets its sustenance. However as soon as a collection of thralls enter the mix, since the aboleth gains the memories and knowledge of anything that it eats, it makes sense that the aboleth would reserve its big meals for something that not only assuages its physical hunger, but its hunger for knowledge as well…

This creature’s circular maw is filled with pointed, yellowed teeth that seem to layer its esophagus far past the length you can see down its throat.

As you narrowly escape being swallowed whole you catch a glimpse of layers of sharp serrated teeth, separated by strange bonelike structures layered with needle like protrusions. This creature seems to have some sort of baleen, albeit one that looks like it would shred flesh if touched.

Slime

Alright good news, I’ve thought way more about aboleth slime than anyone every should and I’m here to tell you all about it. Even more good news is there are plenty of slimy creatures in the ocean we can look at when we think about aboleth slime. In fact, slime is a pretty common adaptation used for a whole variety of things, though perhaps we should be calling it what it actually is… mucus. Way grosser sounding somehow.

Anywho, plenty of animals coat themselves in mucus for protection, clownfish, moray eels, pacific hagfish for example. Particularly this is seen in sea creatures who don’t have scales, which means the aboleth is perfectly suited to this group.

I think its fair to assume that at least some of the aboleth’s solid armor class is due to the protective layer of mucus coating it. This is both super gross and super exciting because as a DM it means that every time my PCs try and hit an aboleth I get to describe how their weapons sink into this viscous mucus and fail to penetrate its flesh. Hooray! Fun fact, the pacific hagfish has been known to produce enough mucus under duress to choke sharks, take that wildshaped druid!

The thick slimy layer would also be what protects the aboleth when it is out of the water, retaining the moisture it needs to avoid shriveling up into a crusty little tyrant wannabe.

The other fascinating strategy that ocean creatures use their slime for is the capture and consumption of microorganisms. Vampire squid literally wave around lil mucus fishing rods and then reel em in and and eat it slime and all. Now, we already know that aboleth partly exist as filter feeders so this strategy would also absolutely be available to them. Want to thoroughly gross out your players and really hammer home how alien your aboleth is? Maybe every now and again it moves its tentacle arm into its horrifying circle mouth and scrapes off some of the slime and gunk for a little snack! Yuck.

And of course, maybe the most important thing that the aboleth's slime does? Infects creatures that come into contact with it and makes it so they can only breath water...

A thick layer of mucus coats the tentacle that lashes out at you, leaving a trail of slime behind in the water.

A massive tendril wraps, surprisingly gently around the cutlist’s sacrifice and you watch as she is coated in the same viscous slime that covers the creature. Her struggles change to gasps, her hands flying to her throat as she seems unable to breath. You watch, horrified as the aboleth releases her and cultists rush forward, grabbing her and throwing her into one of the pools. You watch as she finally manages to take a breath into her lungs below the surface of the water…

The aboleth swings a tendril through the blood that clouds the water around your wound. You watch in horror as it brings the tentacle tip back to its mouth and scrapes off a layer of slime, coated with your blood, against its teeth. That same incomprehensibly deep voice booms in your mind. “Delicious. I look forward to filling my maw with your entrails”

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Making an Interesting Aboleth

Now unless your campaign is pretty buckwild, or set in earlier editions where there were entire cities of aboleth, its unlikely your party is going to encounter more than one of these, two at absolute maximum. That means we don’t necessarily have to give the aboleth as many variable attributes since its unlikely your PCs will have to tell two apart. That being said, there are certainly directions you could go with this such as…

More tentacles! More tentacles means more thangs for swanging at your angry PCs. If you want to tweak the aboleth a smidge, you could give the tentacles suction cups similar to squid or octopi and sneak a little grapple into the statblock. Don’t forget! Squid suction cups have teeth on em, so don’t forget about that slashing/piercing damage!

More eyes! Hey why not get rid of some of those obvious blindspots. The aboleth already has three eyes, why not more? I’ve seen some sweet art where the aboleth has tons of eyes all tucked into the nooks and folds of its face. Cool as heck.

Injuries! Maybe your aboleth has got some battle scars duuuude. Missing a tentacle tip, having a scarred over eye or seeing a massive indent of shark teeth along the aboleth’s side all have super interesting story telling potential!

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Well hey, thats all I have for you! If you’ve read this far then that's crazy and I appreciate you! Have you got any cool aboleth ideas? What crazy ways have you described them to your players? I'd love to hear them!Hope you have a great week and I wish you luck at all your tables!

Intro

I haven't posted here for a while and there's a good reason for that. My last few games haven't gone well.

There's nothing existential about that. It doesn't send me spiralling and calling into question my skills as a GM. It doesn't have me throwing my toys and vowing to never touch the game again.

It's just a thing that happens sometimes. Campaigns don't work out. It's a shame I didn't get the chance to take lessons from the new things I was trying to do in each of those campaigns, instead though I get to take lessons from each campaign's failure.

Let's take a look in broad brushstrokes what went wrong and what to do when campaigns fail.

Why Campaigns Fail

First let's just run through some of the basic reasons why campaigns fail and what can be learned from these common causes for failure. I'll go into more detail about why I feel my games specifically failed further on.

Scheduling Issues

This is the big one. It's been talked about to death but if you're struggling with scheduling issues and it proves to be a terminal issue for your games then the big takeaway is you should find people with more suitable schedules for what you're trying to do, or perhaps otherwise insist they put more priority on being free for sessions.

Often 'scheduling issues' are actually a symptom of something else. More on that shortly.

It's Not What Players Wanted/Expected

Maybe you promised Political Intrigue but didn't deliver and ended up running the same Hack n' Slash as usual. Maybe you did deliver but it turns out your players don't really like Political Intrigue. Maybe you failed to have the conversation in the first place on what sort of campaign you were going to be running (or, its close relative, you did have that conversation but your players still came in with misguided expectations).

If this is why your campaign falters then communication is key to solving it for future games, but so is maturity. If your players won't take on board what you're saying when you tell them 'This will be a light-hearted campaign, no tragic backstories please' and half of them show up with Tiefling orphans then there's a maturity issue. They're not adult enough to compromise on all their desires to more closely align with the group-wide intention.

You Done Fucked Up

This is always a possibility. Maybe you just ran shit badly. Maybe your NPCs were all super abrasive; you were having a blast but your players hated RP because of it. Maybe your grasp on the rules is just not strong enough, making your combats super clumsy and leaving players dissatisfied. Maybe your games just aren't that interesting (let's be honest, not everyone wants to play in your weird Hamtaro-AU setting).

If you suspect this is what's happened, see if you can gather feedback from your players about things you did wrong and do some of your own self-reflecting. Once you've identified the issue you can targetedly solve it (work on your RP skills/brush up on your rules knowledge/run something in a stock setting).

Interpersonal Issues

Ok I'll be honest this is a big reason games fail. Maybe Georgia and Patrick break up and, not wanting to make it awkward, both bow out of the game. Meanwhile Mike has beef with Luke because Luke never pays him back for pizza. Maybe the game always gets sidetracked by the GM's new boyfriend who isn't playing but always comes into the room and distracts the GM.

There's not much you can learn from this kind of failure. Just find new people to play with and move on. Take anyone who's keen to keep things going and rebuild the group around them. Maybe pay Mike for the pizza, Luke. Seriously it's hundreds of dollars now. If you're hard up for it then just say so, or start bringing your own lunch. Stop scabbing off other people bro.

Ok So Why Did My Game Fail?

I had 2 fail. I'll talk about the simpler one first.

I was hired to run a paid game. Another GM-for-hire friend of mine recommended me to one of his paid groups who wanted something that was, in their words, 'a bit more of a challenge'. These players felt their application of the rules wasn't great and they wanted something that would punish their mistakes. Because they usually paid GMs to run games for them, said GMs were overly permissive and were too afraid of 'spoiling their fun'.

I don't think these players really understood what they were asking for. I ran a world, as I usually do, that wasn't inherently centered around the party. NPCs were not immediately helpful in the very 'gamified' way they were used to. Because they weren't always confident with the rules of combat they would lean on their old crutch of avoiding it through roleplay even with creatures that were always going to be antagonistic (like, say, a golem that was programmed to guard the building they were trying to explore). They would often ask to do things other DMs had allowed which, RAW, didn't work (like making a perception check in combat, followed by taking the attack action).

Again, they had explicitly asked for a game that was run this way. I think, though, what they were expecting when they asked for a game that punished their mistakes and let them fall on their sword was a game where the punishments would be in the same light hearted tone their other games had often taken on (the GM friend who recommended me to them runs very 'Pratchett-esque' games). Instead they got something more self-serious and geared toward simulation/immersion.

Neither of us are in the wrong here. It can be argued I should have changed how I was delivering what they were asking for. It can be argued they didn't actually want what they thought they did when they asked for this style of game. It can be argued that they should have been more open to learning a different way of playing. It can be argued that I should have been more discerning from the outset and got closer to the heart of what they truly wanted.

In the end, I pulled the plug. It was clear they weren't having the kind of fun they were hoping for and the sensible thing to do was to go 'we're not a great fit' and go our separate ways.

My biggest takeaway from this was that I don't think I'm a flexible enough GM to run paid games. No shame in that, I do what I do well but it's not for everyone.

Game 2

This was my campaign for my main group. We've been playing together for a good 7 years now with various people coming and going. We've seen some campaigns to completion in that time, tried out different systems, rotated GMs at points. You get the picture, this is a solid, stable group that all likes playing together.

The campaign was a bit of an odd one. We'd started playing in Pathfinder 2e right as it came out. I took everything people had liked most from our last few games and refined it, I built the most detailed and complex world I'd ever put together, I went all out on setpiece design (this is the campaign that The Grave of the Lantern Keeper was built for, along with 5 other equally complex dungeons). All of this was done on top of learning the ins and outs of a new system.

We had an absolute blast. Everyone loved it, the story was a real slow burn with fascinating reveals and twists. The combats were dynamic and immersive. The whole thing was going great. The pandemic slowed things down a bit but the game survived it (our country wasn't in lockdown as long as many places). Then one of my players had to move back to their home country, one of them moved overseas for work, one of them grew tired of TTRPGs in general, one of them started flaking due to personal issues. The whole thing fell apart.

Then we slowly rebuilt the group, running something in 5e again since it's easier to find new players that way. Once we had a stable crop of people again we went back to the old campaign, but rather than just throw everyone in cold halfway through a well-established narrative we played a sort of mini bridging campaign. This was designed to have everyone catch up in levels to the main party, get a little bit up to speed on the world's lore and state of the narrative, get used to Pathfinder 2e, and when they finally linked up with the main party the players who had been with the group the whole time would switch back to their old characters and the whole thing would continue.

During this time though sessions became very sporadic. I moved house to somewhere that couldn't really host that many people, we switched to fortnightly sessions instead of weekly, we kept having to push sessions back because of scheduling conflicts. It became a bit of a slog.

But we got through the bridging campaign! Success! We were all poised to finally get back underway with the grand narrative that had stayed on hold for the last year.

But people kept flaking. We had no structure, no rhythm, and frankly not enough players. The whole thing just fizzled out.

So What Really Happened?

Underneath this all was, frankly, a campaign most of my players weren't that interested in. I'd put the whole thing together based on the preferences of an almost entirely different group of people. By the time we linked back up with the main party there were only 2 players who had characters in said party (one of whom hadn't even been in the campaign from the start).

I'd also totally lost sight of what was fun for my players. Everything interesting in the setting was happening way up on the 'big picture, cosmic stakes' level which only one person had any context on. For everyone else it was just a series of infodumps with no direct impact on what their characters were doing.

It was all too abstract. It was brilliant, but too high-minded. I was more interested in pushing the envelope of what I could do with a grand narrative, I'd stopped weaving it down into the part of the game the players actually interact with (at least not in a way that was exciting to them).

Why were people flaking? It was because DnD wasn't as fun as usual, and we'd got out of the habit of playing regularly, and honestly why put aside the time to play sessions they just weren't that invested in?

So What Have I Changed?

For one thing I've gone back to basics. I'm running something much more grounded in terms of what's going on in the wings lore-wise. I've also structured the campaign so that there's more emphasis on the characters' place in the world (their backstories, their goals, etc).

I've gone for a whole new setting. The last one wasn't fit for purpose for something like this and, frankly, had become bloated with too many moving pieces behind the scenes.

I've also set a much more regimented schedule. Rain or shine we show up and play. I've been very emphatic about this while we rebuild the habit of playing regularly. As part of that, we've explicitly talked about the fact that we want to rebuild that discipline and have agreed we're all on board with this approach.

The last piece of it is I've brought in a couple more players. Life happens, usually on a given week someone won't be able to make it, that's fine. If I have 6 players and on average 1 isn't there each week I can still run just fine. If I have 4 players and on average 1 isn't there each week I have a problem. For me, medium-to-large groups are more stable. My longest-running campaign had 8 players, 6 of whom would be there in a given week.

Setting Expectations

You'll note a common thread here. In the two games that failed there was a failure on my and the players parts to set expectations, agree to them, and follow through on them.

For the paid game we had misaligned expectations and lacked the necessary experience and skill to recognise it. The players were on the newer side, they didn't know what they didn't know. They hadn't played enough to talk in terms of things like 'immersion isn't the most important thing to us, but we want mistakes to be punished. Make the punishment a bit fun though. Meaningful, but fun'. I didn't have the wherewithal to realise that would be the case with new players and I should ask more probing questions (and run with softer gloves to start with despite their wishes, better to be too soft and get meaner than be too harsh and kill the fun before it starts).

For my home game I hadn't really explained what the appeal of the game would be, I hadn't checked whether the majority of the rebuilt group would actually be interested in what the campaign would be once we'd finished the bridging arc, I hadn't got them invested in all that big-picture lore stuff that the campaign hinged on.

For our new campaign we've gone out of our way to set expectations very clearly, and not just about what kind of game I'm running. We've also set very clear expectations around attendance, all buying into the plan of staying strict until the habit is built. We're being very intentional with how we're approaching this campaign.

I made it very clear, between my life getting busier and these games falling apart I was losing interest in running these big high-effort campaigns. I said in no uncertain terms that I was going to do one more, really pull out all the stops to build a satisfying world, work with them closely on character backstories and goals so I could tie them all into the narrative, print maps and miniatures to add that wow factor to setpieces. If didn't work out I was done, at least for a long while. It's going great.

Let's Wrap This Up

I have to say, this most recent campaign has really re-lit the fire for me a bit. It's a shame I didn't get to see some things through to completion across this last year with my games, I definitely had things I wanted to reflect on and post about here that never panned out.

When your games fail take the time to reflect on why, take what lessons you can, and just move on. Don't dwell on it and get yourself down, don't throw in the towel wholesale, and don't have an audience of readers you're leaving in a content drought.

Speaking of which, if you’ve enjoyed this or anything else I’ve contributed here then please give me a follow on my Blog! Everything goes up there at least a week before it goes anywhere else and is also home to a few exclusive pieces I don’t post elsewhere.

Crypts of House Monder

Background

The Monder family crypts house the cremated remains of members of the noble dwarven clan, as well as the secret family vaults of the House Monder behind ingenious dwarven traps.

The player characters receive Lord Monder’s ring, which has a vital clue engraved on the inside: the number sequence 2-4-2, marking the order of the right doors through the vaults. The numbers correspond to the correct doors in areas 5, 7, and 8, counted in a clockwise direction from the entrance to these rooms, not counting the door where one enters the room.

Unknown to the characters, a doppelganger from the Golden Masks, Djaharons, had disguised itself as a Knight of the Crown and has learned of the vaults by using its Read Thoughts ability on Cyne Monder, and informed the Golden Masks, a criminal organization, about the vault.

The Golden Masks are the first to the scene, led by Yhlsaby, the lamia matron of the Loud and Lusty Brothel and captain of the organization. The criminals found the secret door to the vaults but couldn’t resist opening the sarcophagus of Lord Gronjyph Monder in the Hall of the First (area 2), and as a result, the first lord of the Monder clan has risen as a ghost. The gang then fled into the vaults, with a few of their members already falling victim to the deadly traps. After losing some of their men, they are cautious to advance further.

Environment

The crypt of House Monder is located in the Noble’s Rest cemetery in the High District. The building resembles a squat fortress carved from marble with a bluish tint. The edifice is decorated with four statues of dwarven warriors standing guard in alcoves on the facade. A single chimney protrudes from the roof of the building.

All rooms have ceilings that are 20 feet high, and continual flames are placed on the ceilings to light most rooms, indicated on the map. While the outer chambers are inlaid with bluish marble, the hidden chambers of the vault reveal the original stone blocks used in building the structure.

Doors. Doors in the vaults in areas 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 are made of 1 foot thick marble, with opening mechanisms consisting of circular valves on plates that can be turned. They are locked by default and automatically locked when shut A successful DC 20 Intelligence (Investigation) skill check reveals the correct valve settings to open the doors. It requires a successful DC 20 Dexterity ability check with thieves’ tools to open the locks on the doors. All doors have AC 17, 40 hit points, a damage threshold of 10, and immunity to poison, psychic, piercing, and slashing damage. The marble slabs can be forced open with a successful DC 20 Strength (Athletics) skill check and can be held open with the same skill check every round.

Corridor Traps. The two stairways in areas 4 and 6 and the corridor in area 8 are trapped. The corridor traps can be deactivated by pressing tiny buttons interwoven into the intricately carved decorations on the inner sides of the archways at the entries to the stairs or the corridor. Pressing the button deactivates the trap for ten minutes. It requires a successful DC 25 Wisdom (Perception) skill check to notice the tiny circular buttons. The traps can be detected with a successful DC 20 Intelligence (Investigation) skill check. They can be jammed or disabled with a successful DC 20 Dexterity ability check with thieves’ tools, rendering them inoperable.

1. Hall of Glory

Environment: Four statues of dwarven warriors in full battle regalia and bearing the symbol of House Monder guard the entry chamber to the family mausoleum on square stone pedestals. Stairs that descend deeper into the crypts. A massive relief covers the eastern wall, entitled “The Greatness of the Monder Clan” in Dwarvish. The relief displays armies of dwarves engaged in mining and trading stone, building walls and towers, and hoarding resources.

Scene: Two Golden Mask thugs (use the thug monster entry), Joran and Basko, have been stationed as lookouts at the door to the mausoleum. They wear Royal Sword uniforms, and Joran has a doppelganger mask magic item to impersonate a specific member of the Royal Swords. If the thugs notice the characters, they will pretend to be Royal Swords and defend the door. A character who succeeds on a DC 10 Wisdom (Insight) skill check sees through the bluff.

Treasure: The thugs have a total of 4 gold pieces, 16 silver pieces, and 8 copper pieces on their person. Joran has a doppelganger mask.

2. Hall of Respect

Background: This vast chamber houses the sarcophagus of Lord Gronjyph Monder and his wife, Lady Aranoshka Monder, the first Monders to obtain a noble title over 500 years ago. The room also functions as the crematorium.

Environment: The Hall of Respect is a vast chamber that rings with echoes. Two sarcophagi lie in the southern alcove. There is a large crematory in the northwestern corner of the hall currently open, with a small heap of ashes inside. There are unlit candles and semiprecious stones on the shelves surrounding the room. Secret Door. The secret door to area 4 is a part of the raised shelf. It automatically closes itself after being opened. It requires a DC 20 Wisdom (Perception) skill check to notice the door and the small button beneath the shelf that opens it.

Scene: When the characters enter the hall, the ghost of Lord Gronjyph Monder materializes out of thin air above his tomb and wails in an enraged, otherworldly voice, lashing out at the characters for disturbing his rest. The ghost tries to use its Telekinesis ability to push them into the Necrotic Crematory. It does not pursue them if they flee. Use the ghost monster entry with with the following modifications: • Telekinesis (Recharge 6). The ghost can cast the telekinesis spell with a spellcasting ability check modifier of +7. This ability replaces the Possession ability of the ghost. Anyone who is pushed into the furnace of the crematory suffers 22 (5d8) necrotic damage at the beginning of their turn.

Treasure: The remains of Lord Gronjyph Monder are clad in his ceremonial plate armor that is worth 2,000 gold pieces. The 124 semi-precious stones on the shelves are worth a total of 720 gold pieces.

3. Hall of the Ancients

Background: The Hall of the Ancients houses the cremated remains of all members of the Monder clan, going back approximately 500 years.

Environment: The columbarium has two long corridors with niches where white marble pedestals stand, with urns of various shapes and designs.

Treasure: The only urns that have reselling value are a small cold iron urn in the shape of a mountain held by two dwarven workers worth 350 gold pieces, an ivory urn decorated with scrimshaw depicting warships worth 250 gold pieces, and a silver urn set with white jade stones worth 300 gold pieces.

4. Iron Spears

Background: The spear trap in the staircase has been activated by the Golden Masks when they fled from the ghost into the vaults. One of the many iron spears that activated became jammed when it struck one of the criminals.

Environment: Steep stairs descend towards a closed door at the bottom. A single iron spear protrudes from the western wall at the top of the stairs, dripping blood and with a pool of blood beneath it. Bloody footprints lead down the stairs to the door. Iron Spear Trap. The trap is triggered when a small or larger creature steps on the pressure plates under the stairs. After the first jammed one, there are two active spears, each located 5 feet apart down the stairs. When triggered, a spear makes a melee attack with +8 and deals 11 (2d10) piercing damage on a hit. An activated spear trap resets immediately, retracting into its hidden compartment in the wall.

5. Hall of the First

Background: The Golden Masks activated the trap mechanism of the room, and one of their members, Fernog the Bull, is stuck below the floors of the room, impaled on a spike at the bottom of the pit. The thug is still alive but near death as it slowly bleeds out.

Environment: This chamber is dedicated to Lord Gronjyph Monder, with a carving of the dwarven lord’s face set into the floor. Two out of the four doors in the room are fake but feature the same valve mechanism as the real ones. A failed attempt to unlock, pick, or force any doors activates the trap, closing all doors and retracting the floor of the room in one round, revealing a 30 ft. deep spike pit. A creature can avoid falling with a successful DC 15 Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, the creature falls into the pit and suffers 10 (3d6) bludgeoning damage from the fall and 13 (3d8) piercing damage from the spikes. It takes another round for the floor to close again. The floor slabs are 1 foot thick stone blocks with AC 17, 100 hit points, a damage threshold of 10, damage resistance against slashing damage, and damage immunity against piercing, poison, and psychic damage. When destroyed, the slabs crumble into large stone blocks that fall into the pit, causing 11 (2d10) bludgeoning damage or half that amount on a successful DC 12 Dexterity saving throw.

Scene: The muffled moaning of Fernog the Bull (use the thug monster entry) can be heard with a successful DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) skill check, coming from under the floor.

Treasure: Fernog has 2 gold pieces, 9 silver pieces, and 11 copper pieces in a pouch.

6. Crushing Room

Background: Steep stairs descend towards a closed door at the bottom.

Environment: Crushing Doom Trap. Unless the correct valve settings are used on the door to area 7, the door to area 5 slams shut, and the trap is triggered. Massive slabs of stone start to slowly descend from the ceiling, and anyone trapped in the staircase faces unavoidable crushing doom. It takes the slabs three rounds to completely fill the staircase and retract into the ceiling. During the third round, checks made to unlock the doors are made with disadvantage. Anyone on the stairs at the end of the third round suffers 27 (5d10) bludgeoning damage. The trap resets at the end of the sixth round.

7. Hall of the Clan

Background: This chamber is as far as the Golden Mask crew have gotten in the vaults. The Golden Masks are hesitant to open any of the doors in the chamber.

Environment: An immense carving on the floor depicts a dwarven fortress under the beard of Lord Gronjyph Monder’s face. A character who makes a successful DC 12 Wisdom (Perception) skill check notices a thin layer of fine sand in some places on the floor. A failed attempt to unlock, pick, or force any fake or real doors activates the trap, closing all doors, and revealing a myriad of small openings in the ceiling from where fine stone sand starts to pour into the room. It takes three rounds for the room to completely fill with sand. The doors are only wholly accessible during the first round, and all checks to open them are made with disadvantage during the second and following rounds. Any creature in the chamber at the end of the third round begins to suffocate in the following round. A mechanism depletes all the sand in the room through small vents after 10 minutes.

Scene: When the characters enter the chamber, they come face-to-face with a group of Golden Masks. The four thugs and two doppelgangers are led by Yhlsaby. Yhlsaby is open to negotiating. The lamia admits that they are here to rob the vault of house Monder and will offer an equal share of any treasure found per person, counting all seven Golden Mask members in the chamber. It takes a DC 20 Charisma (Persuasion) skill check to increase the split to fifty-fifty. If the player characters refuse to share or attack the gang, a fight breaks out.

Treasure: The thugs each have 5 gold pieces, 19 silver pieces, and 21 copper pieces in their pouches. Each doppelganger has 25 gold pieces and 15 silver pieces; one of them wears plate armor. Yhlsaby has 135 gold pieces on its person and wears golden jewelry worth a total of 1,200 gold pieces.

8. Passage to Riches

Environment: The curved passage is tiled with large alternating white and dark grey slabs. When a creature steps on a grey tile with more than 20 lbs. of force, the tile opens under them, and unless they make a successful DC 14 Dexterity saving throw, they fall into the pit underneath the corridor, which is a 50-foot deep connected chamber with 20 feet of putrid water at its bottom, suffering 10 (3d6) bludgeoning damage from the fall and gain the poisoned condition (DC 12 Constitution save ends it). The slab closes above them. The slabs have the same statistics as the floor in the Hall of the First.

9. Guardian of the Hall

Background: The council of the Monder elders made a pact with Drusssturr the Vault Naga to guard the Monder vaults for 1,000 years, in return for ten percent of all wealth deposited in the vault.

Environment: A short arched hallway leads to a closed door at its end.

Scene: Drusssturr the vault naga guards the chamber behind it. It will not let anyone pass and attacks anyone other than the sole surviving Monder descendant, Lord Cyne Monder. A character who shows the dwarven lord’s signet ring can convince Drusssturr that they are emissaries of the Monder clan by succeeding on a DC 15 Charisma (Persuasion) skill check. Drusssturr will keep the terms of its contract with the Monders and only allow ninety percent of wealth to be withdrawn from the vault. If attacked, the vault naga casts guardian of faith, flame strike, and spirit guardians before entering melee. If reduced to half of its hit points, it withdraws into the walls by casting meld into stone and heals itself only to re-enter combat with more attacks and offensive spells.

10. The Vault of House Monder

Environment: The wealth of the Lord is stored here in the room. A leather-bound book lays on the table, the personal journal of Lord Cyne Monder, detailing the early years of his life.

Treasure: The vault contains the following items: • A large wooden box containing a collapsible scale worth 200 gold pieces. • Various gemstones in pouches worth 630 gold pieces in total. • An iron statue of the god of competence, worth 340 gold pieces. • A medium mirror inlaid with small diamonds encircling the frame, worth 420 gold pieces. The mirror is magical and sheds light as a torch when activated with the command words: “You can do it!” • A 2-foot tall ancient vase depicting three dark planetar generals, worth 560 gold pieces. • Three identical paintings of Lord Gronjyph Monder on the mast of a boat, leading an armada of ships shown in the background. Only one of the paintings is original, worth 670 gold pieces, but identifying it requires a successful DC 23 Intelligence (Investigation) skill check. The other two masterpiece forgeries are worth only 120 gold pieces if identified as forgeries. • A chest containing 875 gold pieces. • Scrolls of lesser restoration (2), dispel magic, remove curse, protection from poison (2). • A wooden vial-holder with potions of healing (6). • +1 handaxe. • +1 light hammer. • A gem of brightness with 7 charges. • An ioun stone of protection.

You can download the dungeon maps for the adventure for free on my website.

Hi there ! I'm Axel, aka BigDud from The Dud Workshop, a passionate DM who produces all kinds of third party content for your enjoyment.

Today, I bring you the full set of items called The Vault of the Eternals, themed after four thematic figures : the Trickster, a improvisational thief and con-man ; the Conqueror, a ruthless commander with endless ambition ; the Sage, a secluded purveyor of knowledge and wisdom ; and the Hunter, a deadly slayer of foes and folk alike.

These twenty magic items, from Uncommon to Legendary rarity, are perfect rewards for your players to find in ancient, long-lost ruins, or in the hands of less-than-savory individuals. Perhaps they can even find the Trickster, the Conqueror, the Sage and the Hunter themselves to claim their artifacts directly !

The bundle includes the following items :

• The Liar's Gleamer
• The Cards of Fate
• The Lock'In Key
• The Imposter's Canvas
• The Treads of the Echo
• The Dread Banner
• The Gauntlets of Subjugation
• The Chains of Interrogation
• The Warden's Lament
• The Mark of Conquest
• Cauldron of Epiphany
• Lantern of Illumination
• Arcane's Whim
• The Gazing Sanctum
• Half-Staff of Foresight
• Wildsight Lens
• The Camper's Retreat
• Emergency Raintree Seed
• Last Breath Venom
• The Slayer's Shiftblade

Print the cards, stick them together, and you're ready to go.

###Get the whole package at once on my website, with the link below.

##The Vault of the Eternals

or alternatively use these Imgur albums

The Trickster's Toolkit - IMGUR

The Conqueror's Arsenal - IMGUR

The Relics of the Sage - IMGUR

The Slayer's Cache - IMGUR

Card Dimensions : 63 x 88 mm (euro poker size) + 3 mm bleeds. I recommend printing on thicker paper -- e. g cardstock -- and in full color for the best visual result and comfort of use.

All art was made by BigDud using Krita, Midjourney and Photoshop.

If you liked the cards, check out my website at thedudworkshop.com, and some of my recent posts :

Scorcher and his buddies - 3 Hot and Single Elementals in your area

Claims from the Planes - 15 planar-inspired magic items

Thank you and keep your eyes out for more content like this !

Here is the text from the items, for those who just want that :

The Trickster's Toolkit

The Liar's Gleamer

Wondrous item (coin), uncommon

A coin, but much more than a coin as well. Originally minted as part of Kuchari's first batch of gold coins, and intended to fund the purchase of ships to protect their waters, this coin was stolen by the kobold Qirk before it reached the public. After passing through a hundred hands, it made its way to "the Trickster", who enchanted it for unlawful purposes.

Adaptable. When pressed against another gold coin, the Gleamer takes its appearance. It returns to its normal form when its owner says its chosen command word.

Trickster's Luck. When flipping the Gleammer, its owner can mentally choose which side it will land on. The coin's sides imperceptibly shift to accommodate the chosen result. Creatures observing the coin flip can make a DC 20 Perception check to notice this enchantment.

Minor Animation. The owner of the Gleamer can spend ten minutes attuning it to another coin, turning the latter into a magical object. While a coin is enchanted in this way, it becomes a Tiny construct, indistinguishable from a normal coin until activated.

As an action, the construct's creator can command it to activate, causing it to grow small arms and legs, and gaining the ability to see through the sides of the animated coin by looking through the Gleamer's sides. The construct obeys its owner's mental commands, and is able to accomplish simple tasks like opening a pouch, sliding under a door, or hitting something to make noise. Once activated, the construct remains active for 10 minutes, after which its arms and legs disappear, and it returns to being just a coin.

Only one coin can be turned into a construct at the same time. Once this feature has been used, it cannot be used again the Gleamer has spent a night in a pouch full of gold coins.

"It's your lucky gold ! Don't put this one in your pocket, or it'll get mixed with the others and become just a coin. Which it is." - The Trickster to a confused patron (946 p. C)

The Cards of Fate

Wondrous item (cards), consumable, rare

Three cards from this deck are part of an enchanted set, long lost to time and spread across decks in the entire world.

As an action, you can tear a card in half, triggering its effect. Each card has two different effects that respectively activate if the card is torn while facing up or while reversed. Face-up effects target the carrier of the cards, while reversed effects target other creatures.

Unless specified otherwise, once a card has been activated, it disappears, taking the place of the same card in another tarot deck, somewhere else in the world.

###The Hermit :

Insight (Facing up). You can mentally ask up to three questions about a creature, location, or item you can see. The DM offers a truthful, yet cryptic reply, which might be a short poem, a saying, or an omen.

Isolation (Reversed). A creature of your choice within 60 ft must succeed on a DC 20 Charisma saving throw or be teleported to an empty pocket dimension for the next minute. While in the pocket dimension, the creature cannot be harmed nor affected by spells or other magical effects, but are incapacitated. At the end of the duration, the creature reappears in the closest unoccupied space to where it was before it was teleported.

###The Chariot :

Determination (Facing up). You are cleansed of all conditions and magical effects affecting you, positive or negative. If an effect would render you unable to take actions while you hold the card in your hand, the card activates automatically at the start of your turn, cleansing the effect.

Confusion (Reversed). A creature of your choice within 60 ft must succeed on a DC 20 Wisdom saving throw or become confused for the next minute, as if it was affected by the Confusion spell. The target doesn't remember being affected by this effect.

###The World :

Guidance. You learn of the safest path leading to a location or creature of your choice on your current plane of existence, that you know the name of. For the next year, as long as you remain within the same plane of existence as the destination, the path appears visually in front of you, guiding you towards the destination, although no other creatures can see it. If reaching the destination would require acquiring an artifact or the help of another creature or entity, you learn of their whereabouts, and the path leading to them. Once you reach the destination, the effect ends.

Homebound Curse: A creature of your choice within 60 ft becomes cursed by the card. The creature becomes bound to the area in which the effect was created. This area is at least a square mile in size, and is generally defined by having its own name. It can be a specific plain, a mountain range, a forest, the surroundings of a lake, a large city, or even a particularly massive estate.

While bound in this way, the creature cannot leave the area without facing struggle, such as suffering terrible weather, having their possessions break down, being hunted by beasts in the night, or constantly getting lost. The further they go from their bound location, and the longer they stay out of it, the worse the struggle gets, until they are eventually slain one way or another.

This card does not disappear into the world when used. Instead, it disappears to reform somewhere within the binding area, in a location of import, which can be a noble's safe, an ancient tomb, the hoard of a dragon, or a similar location. Until found by the cursed creature, the card remains inert, appearing as a normal tarot card to all but the cursed creature. The cursed creature can remove the curse affecting them by finding the card and touching it, which dispels its effects. When they do so, they are magically informed of the previous carrier's name, appearance, and location.

“In life, one must accept the cards they’re dealt. At least, most people have to. Personally, I prefer to cheat.” - The Trickster, hopping out a window after a successful game of cards.

The Lock'in Key

Wondrous item (key), rare (requires attunement)

The Lock'In Key can be used to create magical locks, or open magical doorways. Each of the key's functions can be used once, after which it must be recharged by leaving the key within a mundane lock overnight.

Lock In. As an action, the key can be pressed to any opening or container, which can be a door, a window, a gate, a chest, or another similar object, locking it with arcane power. It becomes impassable, unopenable, and cannot be destroyed until the effect is dispelled.

Only one opening or container can be locked at a time. Attempting to lock a second opening or container while one is already locked in this way causes the former effect to be dispelled.

The effect can be removed by forcing the lock open (DC 30 Strength check) or by dispelling its magic (DC 25 Arcana or Dispel Magic check).

Skeleton Key. As an action, the key can be inserted into any surface and turned, opening a phantasmal door and creating a magical hallway behind it. The hallway traverses that surface in a straight line until it reaches the nearest empty space, where it stops. The hallway is large enough for a Medium creature to move through unimpeded, and a Large creature to crawl through.

Removing the key from the surface it was inserted in makes the hallway disappear, pushing all creatures still within it to the nearest unoccupied space.

"The right words can open doors for you, or turn them into walls. Choose them carefully… or just use the window." - The Trickster to his apprentice (959 p. C)

The Imposter's Canvas

Wondrous item (canvas), uncommon

A simple, inconspicuous and unframed canvas, slightly smaller than the ones used by imperial painters. Its surface exudes an otherworldly sheen, like a reflective pool, that captures the essence of creatures painted upon it. While not in use, shifting images ripple across its surface like distant echoes of forgotten faces. A powerful tool, dangerous in any hands, especially talented ones.

While holding this canvas, you can make a Deception check and spend one minute observing another creature, and reproducing its traits upon the fabric. If you spend one hour making the portrait instead, you have advantage on this check. Creatures proficient with painter's tools gain a +5 bonus to this check. Once you've attempted this check, you cannot target the same creature with this ability again for the next 24 hours.

When the portrait is complete, the creature's image animates upon the canvas. As an action, you and any number of other creatures can then touch the canvas to infuse yourself with the observed creature's essence, changing your appearance and physicality to match it. You take the creature's appearance, matching its size, visual features, smell, and voice, but retain all your other characteristics. The more successful the Deception check to paint the target's image, the more accurate the disguise appears.

On a 20 or higher, you perfectly copy the target's appearance, and appear undistinguishable to the naked eye.

On a 15 to 19, discreet changes are visible to those familiar with the target, such as slightly misplaced scars, one too many teeth, or other easily overlooked mistakes.

On a 10 to 14, moderate changes are visible to all, such as missing or additional fingers, miscolored hair, a wrongly pitched voice, or other relatively apparent features.

On a 9 or less, the disguise is highly inaccurate, and looks immediately recognizable from the original target.

After touching the canvas, you remain disguised for one hour, after which the image disappears from the canvas, and all creatures having taken the target's appearance return to their original appearance.

"In the grand theater of deceit, observation becomes your backstage pass. Look carefully, my friend, and act quickly, for the best performers leave the audience with more questions than answers." - The Trickster to his apprentice, before the Heist of the Second Act (963 p. C)

Treads of the Echo

Wondrous item (boots), requires attunement, rare

Cloud of Mirrors. As an action, you can choose a point within 30 ft, creating a 10-foot wide illusory cloud at both the chosen location and your current location. As part of this action, you may swap your position with one Large or smaller creature within 10 ft of the chosen location.

The clouds last for one minute, lightly obscure vision, and hide the identity of all creatures within them, making them appear as shifting shapes that cycle to match the appearance of each creature. When activating this ability, you can choose any number of creatures, which are immune to the effect and see through the illusion.

Creatures attempting to target another creature within a cloud with attacks, spells or abilities, must make a DC 20 Perception or Investigation check. On a success, they recognize which creature is which, and can choose their target normally. On a failure, they must choose their target randomly between all creatures inside a cloud.

This ability can be used once, regaining its charge on a short or long rest.

Doppelwalk. As a bonus action, you can activate the boot's enchantment, creating an illusory double of yourself in a location of your choice within 5 ft of you. The double is indistinguishable from you, but cannot take actions other than moving, and is destroyed when you or it takes any damage, or when you attack or cast a spell. While the double is active, it automatically mirrors your movement and voice, going the opposite way as you at all times, as long as there is a clear path for it to do so. The double cannot move through objects or creatures.

Creatures attempting to target you with attacks, spells or abilities must make a DC 20 Perception or Investigation check. On a success, they recognize you from the double, and can choose their target normally. On a failure, they must choose their target randomly between you and the double.

The double lasts until the end of your next turn. While it is active, you can use a bonus action to swap your position with the double, destroying it.

This ability can be used twice, regaining its charge on a short or long rest.

"Every stride a riddle, every misstep a dance with the unknown. The fool may leave footprints, but the master leaves only echoes." - The Trickster's Musings (981 p. C)

The Conqueror's Arsenal

The Dread Banner

Wondrous item (war banner), rare (requires attunement)

Emboldening Presence. When rolling initiative, other creatures allied with the wielder and within 30 ft of the banner can add the wielder's proficiency bonus to their initiative rolls. In addition, their speed is increased by 10 ft until the start of their second turn in combat.

Aura of Dominion. As a bonus action, the wielder can plant the banner in the ground, releasing a wave of commanding energy which enhances the morale of allies and strikes fear into the hearts of enemies.

For the next minute, allies of the wielder starting their turn within 30 ft of the banner gain temporary hit points equal to the wielder's proficiency bonus, and have advantage on saving throws against being frightened until the start of their next turn.

Additionally, enemies of the wielder starting their turn within 30 ft of the banner have disadvantage on the next attack roll, ability check or saving throw they make.

This ability can be used once, regaining its use after a long rest.

Destructible. The banner has 15 AC and 30 hit points. If it reaches 0 hit points, it becomes inert, disabling its Emboldening presence and Aura of Dominion. The banner automatically reforms after a long rest.

"Let the quake of our step warn them of our relentless advance. Let them run, and hide, or stand and fight. No matter : they will bend before us, or they will break." - The Conqueror, to his troops, before the annexation of Girao (1051 p. C).

Gauntlets of Subjugation

Armor (plate gauntlets), requires attunement, very rare

Aura of Dominance. While wearing these gauntlets, you have advantage on Intimidation checks.

Dominating Grasp. As an action while wearing these gauntlets, you can attempt to grapple a Large or smaller creature within 5 ft of you. On a success, the target takes 4d6 psychic damage, and becomes dominated by you until the end of your next turn. The dominated creature regards you as a trusted superior during this time, and obeys verbal commands you give it to the best of its ability. The creature does not obey commands that are directly harmful to it without purpose, such as "jump off this cliff", or "swim through this lava", but will accomplish dangerous tasks with a purpose such as "fight this enemy" or "cause a distraction". After the effect ends, the creature becomes hostile again.

You can use this ability once, regaining its use on a long rest.

If a creature dies from the psychic damage of this ability, their corpse remains active for one round, behaving as if they were still alive, but under your control as if they were dominated by you. You also immediately regain a use of this ability.

Heave. As a bonus action while wearing these gauntlets, you can make a contested Strength (Athletics) check to attempt to heave a Large or smaller creature or object within 5 ft of you towards a direction of your choosing. On a success, the creature is tossed 30 ft in that direction, stopping if it encounters a creature or object of the same size or larger, and taking 1d6 bludgeoning damage for each 5 ft of distance remaining.

You can use this ability twice, regaining spent uses on a short rest. If you kill a creature with Dominating Grasp or Heave directly, you immediately regain all spent charges of this ability.

"One needs no diplomacy when strength alone can command obedience. When in your hands lies the power to shape destinies and forge empires, all you have to do is clench." - The Conqueror, after the sacking of Thurissos (1063 p. C)

Chains of Interrogation

Weapon (whip), heavy, two-handed, requires attunement, rare

Reach. These enchanted chains have a reach of 15 feet.

Scorching Metal. Attacks with these chains deal 1d4 + your Strength modifier bludgeoning damage and 1d6 fire damage.

Binding Chains. You can use these chains to attempt grappling a creature within 15 ft of you, and creatures grappled in this way have disadvantage on Strength (Athletics) checks to attempt breaking the grapple. You can only grapple one creature at a time with these chains.

Demand Truth. As an action while grappling a creature with these chains, you can activate their enchantments, searing the mind of the creature to force them to answer your questions. The creature must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw of DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier or become charmed by you for as long as it remains grappled. While charmed in this way, the creature cannot move, and must answer your next three questions truthfully, answering with a short phrase or at least a pertinent word.

Once you've used this ability on a creature, whether or not it succeeded on its saving throw, it becomes immune to the effect for the next 24 hours. Creatures that succeed on their saving throw by 5 or more become immune to this effect indefinitely.

"Like a conquered city, in my grip, truth is laid bare. Speak, soldier… your fortress of secrets is breached." - The Conqueror to a prisoner of war, during the siege of Pyrias (1078 p. C)

The Warden's Lament

Armor (plate armor), requires attunement, very Rare

Enchanted Armor. You gain a +1 bonus to armor class and saving throws when wearing this armor.

One Man Army. While wearing this armor, you gain resistance to bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage from non-magical attacks when at least three hostile creatures are within 5 ft of you.

Additionally, when a creature misses you with a melee attack, you can use your reaction to attempt disarming them and gaining control of their weapon. Make a contested Strength (Athletics) check contested by your Strength (Athletics) check. On a success, you choose to drop their weapon at your feet, to toss it to an unoccupied space within 30 ft of you, or to equip it if you have hands free to do so.

Onslaught. As an action, you can activate the armor's properties, becoming an unstoppable force for the next minute. While this ability is active, you gain the following benefits :

• Relentless Advance. You can move through other creatures' spaces without spending extra movement. If you've moved at least 15 ft during your turn, when you enter the space of a creature at most one size larger than you, it must make a Strength saving throw of DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Strength modifier. On a failure, it is pushed 15 ft back in the opposite direction of the direction you moved into its space from.
• Overwhelming Force. When you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack or a melee spell attack and deal more than half its hit points in damage, the creature is knocked prone.
• Ruthless Execution. When you hit a prone, paralyzed, stunned, or unconscious creature with a melee weapon attack or a melee spell attack, you can roll the damage dice twice and take the higher result.

You can use this ability once, regaining its use on a long rest, or after having claimed a location of importance as your conquered land. This can be a small city, a fortress, a mountain pass, or another economically, strategically, religiously or culturally significant and named location.

"Rejoice, denizens of this conquered realm, for you are not prisoners but pioneers. The Conqueror's Dominion awaits your undying loyalty, but in return, together we shall weave the fabric of the greatest empire known to history." - The Conqueror's Herald, on the grand plaza of the capital of Ariath (1081 p. C)

The Mark of Conquest

Wondrous item (crest), requires attunement, legendary

The arcane art of land-marking is an esoteric practice, shrouded in mystery and mostly only wielded by entities of great natural power, such as hags or celestials. Able to subtly or drastically alter the nature of a region, transforming landscapes and altering the lives of its inhabitants, this form of magic is shunned amongst arcane practitioners ; misuse is frequent, and often leaves scars in the land that never truly heal.

Yet, to this day, the origin of the Conqueror's Crest remains a mystery. Unlike its more visible counterparts, the crest only minimally alters the physical landscape on which it is placed ; it's impact on its inhabitants, however, is profound.

Leave a Mark. As an action, while near an important landmark of a conquered area, such as a city hall, the peak of a mountain, or another similar location of significance, you can activate this crest to leave a Mark of Conquest. The Mark appears as a magical symbol of your faction, and provides you with influence over the conquered area, marking it as yours, granting you authority over it, and protecting it against your enemies.

Ward of Supremacy. The mark is protected by a magical barrier from those who would attempt breaking it. The barrier has 20 AC, 50 hit points, and is immune to fire and cold damage, as well as bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage from non-magical attacks. If the mark is destroyed, a devastating shockwave of magical force radiates from it, dealing 25 (10d4) damage to all creatures within 300 feet.

Eversight. As an action, you can focus on any mark you've laid, allowing you to see and hear as if you were physically present at its location.

Tyrant's Resilience. You gain additional maximum hit points for each area conquered and marked with this crest. These benefits stack with each other, but only the first ten conquered locations of each type grant benefits to you.

Village : 1 maximum hit point (maximum of 10)

City : 1d4 hit points (maximum of 10d4)

Region : 1d8 hit points (maximum of 10d8)

Country : 2d8 hit points (maximum of 20d8)

Continent : 50 hit points (no maximum)

In addition to these abilities, the mark also affects the area in which it was placed.

Demoralizing Aura. Whenever a creature that is hostile to you and has an intelligence of 6 or more finishes a long rest within an area affected by the mark, they must make a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened of you until the end of their next long rest, or until this effect is removed with a Dispel Magic spell or a similar ability. While frightened in this way, the creature cannot approach within 1000 ft of the mark's location.

Edict of Command. As an action, you can issue a shared and compelling command to all creatures of your choice within the marked area. Each creature must make a DC 15 Charisma saving throw. On a failure, they must obey your command for the next 8 hours to the best of their ability, as long as the command cannot directly result in significant harm to themselves. For example, asking for creatures to work at a sawmill, despite the likeliness that some will suffer minor injuries, is acceptable ; asking for commoners to hunt a dragon, or other extremely dangerous tasks, causes the effect to end.

Eternal Conquest. If you would die while inside a marked area, or outside such an area but within 10 miles of its borders, you are instead teleported to the closest mark's location, where you appear with hit points equal to half your hit dice. The mark then shatters, breaking the influence of the crest over the area, and the crest becomes inert for the next month. Other marks placed in other locations as well as their Ward of Supremacy and Demoralizing Aura remain functional, but the crest cannot be used to lay new marks, or trigger Eversight, Edict of Command or Eternal Conquest until it becomes active again.

The Relics of the Sage

Cauldron of Epiphany

Wondrous item (cauldron), uncommon

The scholar sees not the just the ink on the page, but the spaces between the words ; like music itself, the melody of silence tells stories beyond words. It's in those quiet intervals, where the pen hesitates and the parchment breathes, that the symphony of possibility unfolds into its final, unspoken state : truth.

Insight. By filling this cauldron with water and herbs, then setting it upon a lit fire, you can start a 10-minute ritual to commune with yourself and open your mind up to a new understanding. When you start the ritual, choose two pieces of information related to characters, factions, locations or events that you have learned about or witnessed, as well as what you hope to learn from them.

You make an Investigation, History, Religion, Survival or Insight check to delve into your accumulated knowledge, reflecting upon what you know, and establishing a new connection between the two pieces of information. The GM decides the difficulty of the DC : 10 for logical connections that are easy to make, 15 for connections requiring a leap of logic or the understanding of nuance, 20 for connections requiring obscure and obtuse reasoning.

On a success, the GM provides you with a new piece of information or a clue relevant to the knowledge you are seeking. This information can take the form of a short phrase, a mystical vision, a piece of dialogue, or whichever form makes the most sense for the character performing the ritual. On a failure, the GM presents you with a question or implied question, the answer to which will guide you toward the information you were looking for.

Once you've accomplished this ritual, you cannot do it again until the next week.

Example :

Player : "I want to understand the connection between the religious cult hidden in the city and the broken statue we found in ancient ruins a few sessions ago."

GM, after a successful Investigation check : "As you inhale the cauldron's vapor, your mind drifts into your memories of the cult and the ruins, what you've learned, what you intend to learn. Suddenly, it clicks : you remember the statue's broken state, how it felt off. It wasn't broken down by time, but suddenly, violently. You see a slowed vision of the statue breaking, its bust falling onto the ground and shattering, and the blade which cut through it. Unique in its make, marked with a symbol that left that strange groove upon the remaining stonework, a symbol you recognize, which only one man could have left... a smith with the longevity to learn how to work enchanted steel, and the pride to mark even the most vile of his creations. One you ordered armor from, three days ago."

GM, after a failed investigation check : "As you inhale the cauldron's vapor, your mind drifts into your memories of the cult and the ruins, what you've learned, what you intend to learn. You attempt focusing on the ruins, finding any detail that would provide you with a lead, but your thoughts are scattered, your mind hazy. If there is a link, you lack the information to make sense of it. Perhaps, if you understood why the temple fell, you might have a better idea of where to look…"

Lantern of Illumination

Wondrous item (lantern), requires attunement, rare

A captivating glow emanates from the yellow crystals contained within this lantern, softening any shadows with its warmth. Crafted from a delicate copper alloy, the lantern's metal surface is smooth apart from a few, minuscule openings, from which small pieces of ember exit to float in the surrounding air ; when the lantern is focused, these ephemeral fireflies converge in the light, forming luminous trails on the retinas of those looking too closely.

Light Source. While unfocused, the lantern shines bright light in a 20 ft radius, and dim light for an additional 20 ft. The lantern can be closed as an action, turning off its light until it is opened again. Alternatively, the lantern can be focused, changing the shape of its light from a 40 ft sphere to a 20 ft cone.

Revelation. While within the lantern's unfocused light, illusions created by spells of 5th level or lower, or similar effects, are revealed to you as if you had succeeded on an Intelligence (Investigation) check to discern them.

Blinding Focus. As an action, you can focus the lantern's light into a 20 ft cone, rendering it blindingly bright for the next minute. Each creature starting their turn inside the light or entering the area for the first time in a turn must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw. On a success, they are blinded until the end of the start of their next turn. On a failure, they are blinded for the next minute. At the end of each of their turns, they can make another Constitution saving throw, ending the effect on a success.

Creatures with darkvision have disadvantage on this saving throw. Creatures can willingly fail this saving throw by looking directly at the lantern's light. Creatures blinded by the lantern cannot see normally, but can see invisible creatures and objects as if they were visible.

You can use this feature once, regaining its use on a long rest.

Arcane's Whim

Wondrous item (scroll case), very rare

An elegant scroll case, adorned with intricate symbols representing the ever-changing nature of knowledge, and the endless quest for understanding. It feels light and empty, yet rattles with the sound of folded paper, as if containing an entire library's worth of scrolls. Perhaps it's simply waiting for the right reader, or the right situation ?

Time of Need. As an action, you can open this case and think deeply about your current situation or an imminent obstacle or problem to attempt conjuring a magical scroll. When you open the case, you can choose to utter the name of a spell, or to remain silent.

If you choose to utter the name of a spell, you must make a Charisma or Wisdom check of DC = 10 + twice the spell's level. For example, if you call "Fireball", the check's DC becomes 16. On a success, a scroll appears within the case, containing the chosen spell.

If you chose to remain silent, the case instead provides a spell scroll of the GM's choosing. The spell chosen by the GM provides an advantage in the current situation or with regards to the imminent obstacle or problem you have thought about, although it might not always be the most straightforward solution.

Once the case has been opened, it becomes inert until the carrier's next short rest. The case cannot provide the same scroll twice in a row. The scroll provided by the case lasts for 24 hours, after which it disappears. If the case is opened again before the scroll it created is used, the scroll disappears, and a different one appears within the case. If the case is opened again while an effect from the scroll's spell is still active, the effect immediately ends, and a different scroll appears within the case.

The Gazing Sanctum

Wondrous item (mirror), very rare

An elegantly crafted mirror of moderate size, surrounded by a smooth yet simple wooden frame. On its back, silver lining creates the depiction of an ever-growing tower, mysterious and welcoming. The mirror's surface constantly shimmers, making it actually terrible for its intended use.

Dimensional Pocket. The mirror contains a pocket dimension, which can be accessed by passing through the mirror. The pocket dimension contains a small island which floats in a calm ocean ; a garden, ripe with all kinds of fruits and vegetables, expands from the edge of the island towards its center, where stands a simple tower.

Safe Haven. The tower contains basic amenities for up to 10 people, including rooms and the food that can be harvested from its garden.

Library of Experiences. The tower also contains an empty library, with a ledger at its bottom. Up to 10 creatures can write their name upon the ledger at one time, which binds them to the tower.

Each time a creature registered on the ledger reads a book, hears a song, is shown a combat technique or experiences a similar learning moment, a copy of that experience is transferred to the library ; it takes a form suitable to the experience, e. g a history book, a music sheet or an illustrated training manual. There is no limit to how many of such media can be contained within the library, and the tower extends vertically to add more space to it if necessary.

After a copy is created, any creature visiting the library, whether their name is registered or not, can access it and learn from it as they would with a normal book, music sheet, or training manual. Time passes five times slower for creatures learning from the library, allowing them to gather large amounts of information in a short amount of time.

Copies are maintained within the library until the registered creature's name is erased from the ledger, or for up to one year after their death, after which the name disappears, and all experiences copied to the library disappear.

Exiting the Mirror. Creatures can pass through the mirror again to exit the pocket dimension. When they do so, they can choose to either exit to the mirror's current physical location, or to exit at another mirror. Creatures choosing the latter exit through another mirror of the GM's choosing, prioritizing mirrors placed in libraries or places of learning ; once they've exited the tower, they must find the original mirror again to enter it once more.

Breaking the Mirror. The mirror has 10 HP and 10 AC. If the mirror is reduced to 0 hit points, its surface shatters, and it becomes impossible to access its pocket dimension until it is repaired. Creatures within the pocket dimension can still exit it, but must choose to exit through another mirror rather than the original one. If the mirror remains broken for a year or more at once, all names within its ledger are erased, and all information contained within the tower disappears.

Half-Staff of Foresight

Weapon (quarterstaff), requires attunement, rare

Carved and sculpted by the monks of Mrao as a sign of their advancement, these short, one-handed staves were earned upon their creator upon completion of their rigorous training and teaching. Held by their center, they required a particular technique to be used correctly, which took decades to learn to its full potential. Each unique staff would follow them along their lifelong journey of learning, and remind them of an important lesson in sculpting, fighting, and living : when striking wood, the chisel carves also the mallet.

You gain a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls with this weapon. Additionally, this weapon can be used as a spellcasting focus.

Adjust Balance. The staff has three charges. As a bonus action, you can expend one charge and gain the ability to alter fate slightly. Roll a d20 and record the number rolled. Until the start of your next turn, you can replace any attack roll, saving throw, or ability check made a creature (other than you) that you can see with this roll.

You must choose to do so before the roll, and you apply additional effects to the creature whose roll you've replaced depending on the number rolled. You cannot affect your own rolls with this ability.

1-8 : The creature's next d20 roll is made with advantage, regardless of other sources of advantage or disadvantage.

9-12 : The creature's next d20 roll is a single roll, regardless of other sources of advantage or disadvantage.

13-20 : The creature's next d20 roll is made with disadvantage, regardless of other sources of advantage or disadvantage.

The recorded roll must be used before the start of your next turn ; if it is not, it disappears at the start of your turn, dealing 1d6 x your proficiency bonus as force damage to you. The staff regains expended charges on a long rest.

Unfortunately, I can't quite fit the items of The Slayer's Cache into the post, so you'll have to check the bundle or the imgur albums to see them. Sorry ! If you've read this far, thank your for your time.

Pig Jousting

Overview-
Amongst the myriad goblin tribes and villages, there exists no game that carries greater respect than Pig Jousting. Considered as a true test of courage, strength, and bravado, the dueling sport is seen as not only a way to garner respect and reverence, but has also been used to settle disputes of all sizes. It has even been known to have, in some cases, substituted warfare between escalating rivalries. To be invited to participate in such an event is a great honor, and is one not bestowed haphazardly. When such a duel has been called, the 21 drums of war will be beat, summoning all goblins within the area to witness. For a game that is revered with such high regard, be prepared for the stakes to be significant.

Mechanics-
The first step involved in Pig Jousting is picking your pig. A variety of wild pigs are rounded up for the selection, and your luck in the duel will be influenced by the specimen you get paired with.

The pigs are divided into different levels, which will determine the added bonus you will receive in the joust. These range from level 0-3. As you approach the wild pigs, roll a Wisdom (Animal Handling) check to determine what level of pig you are able to tame.

Once you have acquired your pig, it is time to head to the arena to face off against your rival. Armed with clubs and saddled onto their pigs, the combatants will, when the horn blares, charge towards each other and attempt to knock off their opponent. Each of the combatants will roll a contested Club attack roll, adding their modifiers as well as their pig’s modifier. The total attack roll must score above a 10 to land a hit.

If a combatant is hit, they must roll a Strength saving throw, adding their pig’s modifier, with the DC being equal to the hit score, to stay on their pig. If they fail the roll, they fall off their pig and lose the round. Traditionally, games are played as best of three or five rounds.

Strategies-
There are additional strategies jousters can utilize in the match.

• A Player can choose to charge recklessly towards their opponent, focusing mainly on hitting them. This will grant a +3 on their Club attack roll, but a -3 on their Strength saving throw.
• A Player can choose to try to dodge from the incoming hit. This will change their Strength saving throw into a Dexterity saving throw with advantage, but their Club attack roll will be with disadvantage.
• A Player may choose to brace for impact from the opponent's hit, rather than focusing on hitting them. This will grant them a +3 on their Strength saving throw, but a -3 on their Club attack roll.
• A Player may try to feint their attack to trick their opponent. This will give the player disadvantage on their Club attack roll, but on a hit, will give their opponent a -5 on their Strength saving throw.

Player 2 wins the round.

Are you inspired by a show/game/book, but struggle to organize that fancy into a campaign? Are you dying to test a new system, but the session outline is stuck being a blank page? Do you want to run a game but are unsure where to start?

Here’s a framework for clarifying your creative intent and effectively communicating it to others. With it, you’ll be able to answer the two fundamental questions: “What the campaign is about?” and “How should it feel like?”

The post is aimed at “outliners”: people, who enjoy prep and figuring stuff out beforehand. Think of it as an outlining technique under the guise of a pitch checklist. If you’re a “discovery” person and value improvisation – you do you, and keep this as plan B for when the inspiration leaves you.

Premise: what the campaign is about?

A few sentences to tingle the players’ interest and give them a reason to get in. There are a few common starting points:

• Call to Action: Stave off the hobbit horde.
• Dramatic Question: Why is magic leaving the world?
• Inexorable Conflict: The empress died. The great houses are to elect a new monarch.
• Dynamic Situation: Plague and winter lock you in a mountain village. Folk rumors of a witch.

With an established group, you might not need something as developed. In fact, leaving it abstract and open-ended invites experienced players to step in and collaborate.

Open-ended concept: PCs travel around the world and visit different exciting places.

Possible implementations:

• A crew of merchants ship / a caravan on Silk Road / Ukrainian chumaks
• Traveling performers (gypsies, touring theater troupe, Edema Ruh)
• [Alice’s suggestion] Expedition into the depths of an exotic land
• [Bob’s suggestion] Diplomats/spies/headhunters

And don’t shy away from references, they are evocative and efficient!

“Resettling Moria” or “Sword-and-sandals Mad Max” or “Groundhog Day in a wizard tower”

You might want to explicitly state the campaign’s foci: exploration, court intrigue, odyssey, heist, escape thriller, murder mystery, dueling, diplomacy, etc*.*

Or, if it is more open-ended, list its themes: loss of humanity, dread of intimacy, rural claustrophobia, angst of the digital age.

But I don’t know what my campaign is about! That’s fine. Start with the reason you want to run. Are you inspired to do worldbuilding – set the Main Goal as exploration. Does the system have a cool skill list – give a Call to Action for an adventure to put it to use.

Aesthetics: how does it feel?

Personally, I enjoy writing a “back cover blurb” for my campaigns. I also was in a group where GM was prepping mood boards. And there’s the tried-and-true method of listing references and inspirations. Either way, the goal is to set expectations.

Disturbing rumors circulate through frontier settlements. A few farms are found empty, with no signs of violence. Unseen mildew strikes the crops down in a night. A herd of deer senselessly rams a village’s palisade. In any other land, the folk would beg their lord for protection – but you fled here specifically to leave any such “yoke” behind.

Embrace the Rule of Cool, put everything exciting in the pot – and don’t sweat it further.

If you do want to sweat further, you can talk about mood and themes. And here is a (non-exhausting) list of things contributing to aesthetics:

• Setting: cursed backwoods, fae court, military spaceship, magic school
• Genre: military sci-fi, slice-of-life shenanigans, post-apocalyptic “misery-porn”
• Scope: planetary council manages extraterrestrial colonization vs kids explore the town they moved in
• Weirdness: face-hugging aliens, sentient mushrooms, telepathy
• Heroic-mundane scale: I built a castle with my magic vs roll for taxes
• Levity: “My adventurer is a sentient snake in a hat”

Scenario Examples: “What are we doing again?”

Just a few ideas for what might happen in the game.

I like this because I usually get carried away with aesthetics and worldbuilding – and doing this helps me see if the idea has actual gameplay in it. Your players might like this because it is not as abstract and sterile as listing Premise and Aesthetics.

Here are examples for a hexcrawl about looting an ancient fallen kingdom:

• Researchers hire the party as guides into the Dead City, to finalize the development of an undead repellent. After barely escaping cauldrons of gnoll barbarians and the madness of the Weeping Mist, you arrive at the destination – only to realize that they are actually followers of a death god, trying to dominate the prime ghouls of the City.
• Goblin phalanxes breached Hearthgrove, and the Sorcerer-King sat on the Oaken Throne. The great tragedy, a brewing threat – and an opportunity, as no bowsingers are left alive to fend off gravediggers from the ancient elven burial mounds.
• You were fighting off racketing attempts of the South-East Delving Society. When they heard you were arriving back home, exhausted and with treasure, they set up an ambush.

Buy-in

If the players are still here by this point, you got ’em! They are queuing up, eager to play the game. Now’s the time to weed out the unworthy communicate what it is that you require of them.

Here are some points to consider:

• Proactivity: Make goals, individually and as a party – that’s what will inform the campaign. In fact, I want you to tell me where are you going a week before the session.
• Lethality: It is an old-school dungeon crawl. Please, bring four characters each and expect at least two to die.
• Challenge: Heads up, the “Burning Wheel” system is “rigged” such that you fail more than succeed. It’s less about achieving and more about the drama of your core values being challenged.

And there are a lot of campaign-specific details.

This is cyberpunk Suicide Squad, so please provide a point of leverage on your character: something, that makes them stay on the team and follow the missions (at least, initially)

As a rule of thumb**: disclose secrets right away.**

At the start of my GMing, I was fascinated with the ideas of limited perspective and players unraveling the world. I ran a game when they went to settle on another planet via teleport. I attempted a campaign when they woke up in an alien underworld, whisked away by a scheming god. I pitched “Curse of Strahd” with a party of amnesiacs, all sharing the same female face, bodies fresh out from clone tanks.

None of the players was thrilled to start in the dark, with a blank slate of a character.

There are appealing examples of such tropes: “Dark Matter”, “Bourne Identity”, Dark Urge from “Baldur’s Gate 3”. But for them to work, players need to know when to suspend their disbelief and when to play along – and that requires more knowledge.

And it’s completely fine for the players to know more than their characters. It’s collaborative storytelling, the table can become the writing room.

If you want to run a horror game, the players can roleplay their PCs as filled with dread, skittish, and afraid for their lives. The same goes for a surrender, arrests, and other enforced limitations: it might go against the players’ instincts – but they might agree that’ll make a cool story.

Procedural details: “You should’ve led with this”

Okay, if you actually using this as a pitch template, you probably should include the following:

• Player count
• Campaign duration
• Time slot and session duration
• Game System (and system-dependent minutia)
• House rules and table customs
• Requirements: webcam, good mic, fluent Esperanto, etc.

If you’re forming a new group, you’d want to write a paragraph about yourself: age, gender, background, hobbies – whatever you feel like sharing. The goal here is to attract like-minded people that you’d enjoy spending time together. And for that exact reason, I’d recommend asking players about the same things.

Bonus content: inspirations

Premises

• Settlers
  • Your tribe was forced out and is looking for a new home
  • Your liege granted you a fief on the frontier
  • Teleports/Planar Rifts enable colonization
• Newborn absolute monarchy clashes with baronial oligarchy.
• You are traveling mythmakers, spreading stories to draw people’s faith to power your god and gut off other’s egregors.
• Magic Police: arcane pollutes and defiles the world, you’re preventing it from collapsing
• Invasion of the Body Snatchers [conspiracy/spy thriller]
• Reclaiming Moria
• Zombie Apocalypse
• Investigators unraveling a streak of supernatural crime
• Interplanar mercenaries hired by demiurges struggling with their creation
• Protecting/fighting the order
  • city watch vs saboteurs
  • conquerors vs guerrilla
  • inquisitors vs cultists
  • itinerant marshals vs criminal
  • harrison fords vs replicants
• Odyssey (“Monster of a week” but for cool places)

Aesthetics

• Magocracy
• Industrial Magical Revolution – but substitute technology with magic (WWI with golems instead of tanks and magic carpets instead of planes)
• Dying Earth postapocalypctica
• Mangrove forest / Malaysian jungles
• Endless forest or steppe
• arctic/desert wastes
  • “Mad Max”-like post-apocalyptic waste
• Secluded valleys in high mountains
  • flying cities and skyships (wyvern knights, griffon cavalry, etc.)
• Archipelago – or city-ships in the endless ocean
• Space-like or extraplanar stuff
• The free but lawless frontier
• Loot-rich hazardous land (S.T.A.L.K.E.R.)
• High magic super-building (planar library, wizard’s lair)
• Post-apocalyptic modern world, city ruins, wastelands, etc.
• Savage wilderness with dinosaurs, megafauna, and orcs
• Underwater cities
  • ecopunk, everything is flooded by melted ice (Bioshock’s Rapture)
• Dawn of civilization/the collapse of Bronze Age
• Ancient Greek city-states
• Spread of Vikings

Recently ran this for my regular D&D group and they loved it; it's an easy puzzle to figure out, but adjustable for greater difficulty. The basic premise of this puzzle is to create a crossword puzzle, decide on a path through the crossword from point A to point B, then use the words in the crossword to formulate a small, succinct story the players are given when they enter this maze. The story shouldn't directly use any of the words in the crossword, but some similar words to them. "Bright" instead of "Luminous", "Calm" instead of "Tranquil", etc.. My crossword maze was feywild themed as it was placed in the feywild as a protection around the lakehouse of The Collector, an important archfey they had dealings with. Here are some screenshots of the scene and how it looks to run and play in Foundry VTT, and here are all of the files I made for my crossword maze, if you want to run it yourself without any modifications. Included in the zip file are the Dungeon Alchemist map file, the Foundry export file (Scene JSON + map jpg), and the transparent crossword PNG.

Setting up the Crossword Maze

As a tip for setting up your crossword, I used Crossword Labs, but any way you can make a crossword is an acceptable way to do this. Doing it by hand gives you more control, automatic generator is easier. The choice is yours. Avoid putting words that are too similar to other words in the crossword-- I made this mistake, and to me it seems likely to cause confusion for the players or limit your freedom to define the path through the crossword. I ended up picking a crossword pattern with multiple loops in it so I had the ability to have some more fun with my path. Any shape will do just fine as long as there are branches to follow.

Writing your own "short story", you want to keep it short and clear; extraneous words will throw the players off and they may read too far into them. (Alternatively, include extraneous words to make it harder!) For my maze, the correct path is "Glow > Twilight > Glimmer > Mirage > Luminous > Sylvan > Serenade > Enchanted > Fable > Archfey > Charm", for which the "story" I wrote was "Illuminated (Glow) by moonlight (Twilight) and shimmering (Glimmer), the illusion (Mirage) of a diviner (Mystic); her eyes bright (Luminous), in fey speech (Sylvan) she sings (Serenade) an enthralling (Enchanted) tale (Fable) of The Collector (Archfey-- My players knew this connection as it had been established this NPC was an archfey earlier) and his charismatic nature. (Charm)"

The "short story" and the words for the path don't need to match up 1-to-1, think of it kinda like Codenames if you're familiar. As long as they get the hints from the story, it works. Feel free to be as on-the-nose or as obscure as you want with your own.

As a final note, for my maze I ended up creating a small map in Dungeon Alchemist, though any map creation tool will do. Just align the hallways/bridges/etc. with where the crossword rows/columns are; I find this was easiest to do by having a transparent overlay of the crossword itself so you have the exact grid. Make sure it's lined up and you'll be good to go. I made my overlay by downloading the PDF of the crossword, importing that into Gimp, and using color to alpha to remove the background. You may need to invert the colors so that the crossword is a white overlay which'll generally be easier to see. Your mileage may vary.

Running the Crossword Maze

When actually running this puzzle, you need to prevent the players from seeing the entire map somehow. They should be able to see basically what's in melee range and nothing else. This can mean the maze is actually walled, or there's fog obscuring their vision, whatever you want. I use Foundry for my group, so I ended up making the scene dark and giving them 5ft of light on their token, also using some ethereal walls to block light from outside. As they move through the maze, you can reveal the words however you like; My party heard the words they were "standing on" as whispers in their head, hearing two words at the same time whenever they stood on an intersection. You could reveal these letter-by-letter to up the make it tougher, or the maze itself could have letters painted/carved into the ground for them to see, however you run it is totally acceptable as long as the players get the words. Additionally, you can have every single player on the maze at once, or limit the party to one token. I opted for one token to make it simpler for me.

As for adding stakes, you can do this pretty much however you like. I ran it by counting how many steps "off the path" the players took, and then applied that number as psychic damage upon reaching the end. I preferred to hold the consequences until the end, since them stepping and taking damage immediately tips them off "this is the wrong way" and turns the maze into more of a "go until you hit the electric fence, then try another route" game. You can adapt this however you like; maybe select paths have monsters that aggro and start combat if the players step onto their word, or maybe those paths lead somewhere, but not the right place. You can even go with no consequences if you feel so inclined.

Lastly, give your players some sort of warning in advance about how this puzzle works, bonus points if it's in cryptic phrasing. I had a sign placed that read "BE WARY: Though the bridges are concealed, the way can be revealed. Follow the story to find the path, stray not from it lest you draw Their wrath. Tempt not the waters with your skin, Things lurk beneath to pull you in." This lets them know where to find the solution, lets them know there are consequences for making the wrong decisions, and in my case, warned them against just choosing to go straight forward and swim wherever there's no bridging.

This is a quick drop-in 5 room dungeon for a party of ~3rd level. Should be sufficiently generic to use in most games, but has opportunities to tie into a greater storyline. Enjoy!

FREE GOLD! NO TRIKS, NO TRAPS, AND NO KOBOLDS!

Room 1: No Tricks

On the side of the road, a sign reads: “Free GoLd! No Triks, No Traps, and No KoboLds. This Wey!”. The sign has a crude arrow painted on it, which can be followed to a path that leads through the woods to a cave. The cave’s entrance is a large cavern with a sandy floor. A narrow tunnel at the back of the chamber leads deeper into the cave.

Room 2: Door Number 1

The tunnel meanders and slopes downward. After about 200 feet, the tunnel ends in a rocky chamber about 20 feet wide. At the far end of the chamber is a wooden door set into the wall. It is barred, but there is no lock.

The bar holding the door shut has a hidden cavity hollowed out of it, facing the door. A poisonous snake is inside. When the bar is removed from the door, the cavity is revealed and the snake attacks the nearest creature.

A DC 14 Intelligence (investigation) check made to check for traps reveals that the bar of the door is hollow, and when tapped, slow movement can be detected.

​

Room 3: The Lure

Behind the snake trap door, there is a long tunnel, measuring about 10 feet tall, 5 feet wide, and 50 feet long. The tunnel leads into the next room, a large pit.

Halfway down the tunnel is a wire 1 foot above the floor, running across the width of the tunnel. It can be noticed by creatures with passive perception 10 or higher. The wire runs into crags in the walls and is attached to the rock. The wire does not attach to any mechanism or trap.

5 feet in front of the wire, there is a covered pit trap that is 5 feet wide and 20 feet deep. It contains two poisonous snakes at the bottom. The pit trap can be detected with a DC 15 Wisdom (perception) check. A creature that enters the pit trap’s area must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw. On a failure, they fall into the pit, taking 2d6 bludgeoning damage from the fall. Then the snakes attack.

Room 4: Free Gold

The tunnel leads to a deep pit with craggy walls. The pit is 100 feet tall and 20 feet wide, and the entrance is about 30 feet from the bottom. At the bottom, there is a smooth sandy floor, in the middle of which there is a trunk labeled “gold” with a rusty padlock on it. The lock can be opened with a DC 5 Dexterity (thieves’ tools) check. Inside is a skull with a gold coin in its teeth.

Hiding in the rocks of the upper area of the pit are 4 kobolds and 1 kobold inventor. The kobolds wait until the trunk is opened. Then, they roll boulders into the pit, forcing any creature below them to make a DC10 Dexterity saving throw. On a failure, a creature takes 2d10 bludgeoning damage. Then, the kobolds attack. If 3 kobolds die, the survivors retreat to their lair.

Room 5: The Kobolds

The kobold’s lair can be reached by a 30-foot passageway at the top of the pit. The kobold’s lair is 50 feet wide, and 3 feet tall.

Any surviving kobolds cower behind a crude barrier that offers them half cover. They do not attack. They try to scare off intruders but are obviously bluffing and trying to protect something. In a chamber behind them, there are about 10 elderly kobolds and hatchlings (kobold commoners), and a large, round rock painted to look like a dragon egg.

The kobolds have been working for a “terrible and powerful and mean” wizard they know as Gandarf the Infinite for as long as anyone can remember (at least 2 years). He gave them the “dragon egg” in exchange for the loot that the kobolds collect from dead adventurers that explore their cave. The kobolds are quick to point out that they still get to eat the adventurers after looting their bodies - a point their ancestors negotiated for. The current batch of loot is buried in the woods near a mossy standing stone.

When pressed, the kobolds will take the PCs to the treasure, which is 5d10 gold pieces, 3 50-foot lengths of rope,10 pitons, a finely tailored pair of linen pants, a cloak of billowing and a javelin of lightning.

​

Hi hi! Here we are back at it again, as I attempt to break down how to describe all the DND 5e monsters in alphabetical order. For the second addition of this lil creative project I’ve decided to take on, we’re doing the Abjuration Wizard.

Official Canon Monster Description

The Abjurer Wizard’s statblock is found in Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse, side by side with the other wizardy types. It provides nothing in the way of physical description. You could make an argument that this is because anyone with the magical skill, determination and resources would be able to delve into wizardry and thus would mean spell slinging wizards of all shapes, sizes, species and varieties: While all that is true, there must be some consistencies between wizards who specialize in Abjuration magic and THAT is what we are going to try and unpack today.

What even IS an Abjurer?

Naturally an Abjurer is a wizard specializing in abjuration magic. Abjuration magic is a school of magic that deals largely in defensive magic. It focuses on canceling magical effects and defending from physical threats. As far as world building , Abjuration and those who practice it would be vital to keep a high fantasy setting turning. Any wizard worth his salt would have some degree of abjuration magic learned, while someone who specializes as an Abjurer would likely be occupied protecting something big and important or be a hot commodity waiting to be snapped up and employed by any powerful figure who had something worth protecting (maybe just themself).

I like to use abjurers as powerful adversaries or allies for PCs and will most often be found in high echelons of power, the various ranks of the aristocracy and among other casters of equal merit. If magic and its practitioners are relatively common in your setting (ie. high fantasy), then anyone with the funds would likely have a dedicated abjurer hired to protect their assets, estates and loved ones.

Where to find an Abjuration Wizard?

Realistically, I'd place wizards of competence (and the Abjuration Wizard statblock is a challenge of 9) during the mid to high tiers of play. If encountered with low level PCs, it would be when they were interacting with high tier fancy NPCs. Ideally, this type of scene should project the sense that they are truly out of their depth.

Players could encounter an Abjuration Wizard as a patron, or the bodyguard/servant of a patron. Alternatively, an Abjuration Wizard could attend an otherwise squishy but level appropriate BBEG, creating an interesting conundrum for players of how they would avoid the Abjurer’s watchful eye to get to the BBEG and take him down.

I'd think it unlikely that an Abjuration Wizard would be out in the middle of the woods UNLESS he has been hired to guard someone who is (or is guarding some bastion of forgotten knowledge and/or evil). So, I'd assume most Abjuration Wizards will be found in city like environs. On the off chance they are not found in these locals, its safe to say the Abjurer will probably stand out as one of the more dangerous and competent people in the area. No matter where the Abjurer is first encountered, it is likely going to be an encounter where the Abjurer is fully confident and in control.

General Theme of the Description

Wizards, unlike warlocks, sorcerers or magical beasties, have to study to gain their power. This means that any sentient creature that happens to be casting magic at the 5th level must have a certain degree of competency. An Abjuration Wizard is not only casting magic, but is casting magic that is specifically designed to counteract and thwart other magic or the physical realities of the world. This type of magic must require an immense attention to detail and an intense level of mental discipline. I would imagine (as someone utterly lacking mental discipline) that mental discipline developed in one space can also be applied to other spaces and so I would expect that the general first impression of an Abjurer Wizard would be an intimidatingly well put together character. Clean, calm, collected, slightly aloof, watchful, intimidatingly competent in magic and just the right amount of mysterious. So lets see if we can’t put that all together.

What Does Abjuration Magic Even Look Like? (A tangent)

Abjuration magic seems to have several forms, though largely they share the same function: protect something from another thing.
Mentally I kinda divide Abjuration into four types, based largely on the intent of the spell.

1. Binding/Banishing Magics ( spells such as Magic Circle, Planar Binding). These spells are used to control, imprison or get rid of creatures, usually ones from other planes of existence.
2. Counteracting and canceling other Magic (spells such as Counterspell, Dispel Magic) aka using magic to negate or counteract magic that someone or something else is casting.
3. Magical Security for Physical Spaces (Alarm, Arcane Lock, Glyph of Warding) aka Practical magics used to prevent folks from getting into things they shouldn't.
4. Warding Spells (Mage Armor, Shield, Protection from Energy) which brute force block magic or shield someone from it’s effects.

So what does Abjuration magic look like? I have always imagined it as radiant whiteish, tinged with gold. In my mind, the magic of protection thematically makes sense to be similar to celestial colour patterns. If you’re casting detect magic and something has an aura of Abjuration magic, I’ve always described it as a glowing nimbus of white energy, speckled, lined or reinforced with gold.

What about Abjuration magic in its written form such as Abjuration glyphs or runes? Since the overall feel of the magic is about protection crisp, thick, sturdy lines that interlock with each other work thematically. This kind of a pattern with multiple points of connection would imply extensive stability while a more stripped down two simple crossed lines would invoke crossed spears or weapons, also barring entry.

​

Main Features:

With any of the more humanoid creatures, I always assume natural instinct is to notice the face first before panning our eyes downwards to see anything unique or interesting. Therefore, for our Abjuration Wizard the order I'm going to do is Lineage, Face, Clothing, Magical Paraphernalia and then finishing up with anything else of note.

Lineage

The base layer for our Abjurer Wizard description is naturally going to be what sort of a fantasy creature they are. If they are a common lineage, such as an elf, human, etc I'd probably just mention it and leave it at that. If they are something more exotic, an Aarakocra, Genasi or Centaur for example it might be worth briefly mentioning that form.
“The human wizard stands alone, arms crossed.”

“Skin like charcoal and hair that flickers like fanned flames marks this wizard’s heritage as from the plane of elemental fire.”

Face

Humans love looking at faces, its what we’re drawn towards so I always try and describe the face in the beginning of the description. Here is where I'd mention any features specific to your NPC. Wrinkles, dark rings under the eyes any cool scars, etc. I personally am a sucker for describing eyes, especially if the description isn’t so much literal as it is figurative. Since I'm seeking to craft an image of a competent and powerful spellcaster who specializes in negating dangers, eyes that are described as piercing, wary and watchful are excellent. PCs that encounter the Abjurer Wizard should straightaway feel watched and analyzed as the Abjurer assesses how dangerous they are and runs through some mental stratagems of how to neutralize them should they prove a threat.

“Piercing, flint grey eyes seem to painstakingly take in your every move”

“You are met with a watchful gaze as the elf calmly sizes you up, her eyes lingering on your weapons and visible magical items”

The face is also a fun place to plop some interesting flavor. Maybe your Abjurer has intricate makeup or a tattoo of various magical glyphs of warding and protection. There is a pretty clear skill overlap between careful glyph drawing and doing some killer eyeliner, so an Abjurer would probably have some pretty sweet makeup skills should they be so inclined. Of course, the makeup doesn’t have to just be for looks, it could also be magically or ceremonially related to the school of Abjuration.

Tattoo wise, Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything provides information on a Barrier Tattoo which increases the armor class of the one who has it and has one iteration that can be tattooed on the scalp of the receiver. According to Tasha’s the tattoo will usually have “protective imagery” and is done in a metallic looking ink. Don't limit yourself to that of course, who knows what sick custom tats your Abjuration wizard could have come up with.

“Meticulously straight eyeliner applied in white and gold frame his eyes and continues down to the cheeks in a series of repeating arcane patterns that radiate strength and stability like a castle wall.”

“Steel coloured ink traces a geometric shield like pattern down her scalp, some of the lines and glyphs obscured by her short cropped red hair”

Clothing

Soon as you mention the word wizard most folk conjure up a very specific image: Old guy, flowing robes bing bang boom.

So, lets talk robes! What would a wizard, and specifically an abjuration wizard, wear? I'd expect a wizard to be moving, not necessarily vigorously but consistently through spaces, getting up to arcane shenanigans and spending a great deal of time writing and reading. Thus, comfortable, loose fitting clothing such as robes do actually make sense. However, I’d expect that a wizard’s workwear would avoid giant baggy sleeves and overly draping sections of robe since those run the risk of getting ink on them, smudging an arcane sigil or catching alight on a candle. I’d also expect some sort of belt, likely with easy to access pouches to contain various spell components (and snacks?).

The more dramatic flowing robes that we first picture when we think wizard are, in my mind, more likely a display wealth. A wizard has a very specific set of skills that when contracted out are going to mean a pretty sizable income. Fancy robes, dyed in rare and fancy colours are an obvious way of displaying status. Doubly so if you can use magic to make them especially colourful or fancy. Realistically, you’d catch a wizard in one of two outfits, the wizard equivalent of work wear and the wizard equivalent of fancy dress wear. If a wizard is contracted to someone in the aristocracy (or just as likely IS a member of the aristocracy), then they’ll be at all the fancy rich person events and will likely be dressed to the nines.

So! For practical everyday attire, I'd expect loose fitting but relatively short garments in mostly uninteresting colours that wouldn't stain. Or alternatively , maybe your abjuration wizard is beyond worrying about things getting stained and constantly likes to wear flashy colours?

Baggy black robes, cinched tightly at the wrists, flow with her movement as she stands to greet you.
He wears a simple white shirt with the sleeves pushed up to the elbows tucked into a flamboyant set of billowing purple pants..

For fancy you’d expect the stereotypical wizard wear. Long, flowy robes in various rare and exotic colours, stitched in with arcane glyphs and runes for flair and the occasional more practical sigil that has an actual purpose.

Resplendent and standing out even amongst the aristocratic finery, Devark the Abjurer’s form is nearly lost in flowing dark red robes trimmed with gold thread and embroidered with a collection of shimmering arcane glyphs. (DC15 Arcana check to recognize some of the glyphs operate solely to make his robes billow out dramatically when he moves).

Cool Magical Stuff

What kind of a wizard doesn’t have a neat collection of magical items? Certainly not a CR 9 one! Any abjurer worth his salt is bound to have a collection. I’ve selected a couple I think would make the most sense for an Abjurer to have.

Cloak of Protection: This one just makes sense. The official artwork has it as blue with a scale mail sort of pattern around the shoulders, which is pretty sweet.
She grabs a faintly shimmering blue cloak and slides it over her shoulders, the silvery, metallic weave settling across her form with a scale mail like pattern.

Want of Warning: Another item that seems perfect for an abjuration wizard. Nobody is going to get the drop on them (or their employer) with this.
Tucked into his belt you see a white wand, trimmed in gold tucked into his belt which pulses slightly as you approach. “Ah, you’ve arrived.” he says, his back still fully towards you.

Amulet of Proof Against Detection: When I’ve used this item for my players, I’ve always described it as relatively plain and uninteresting to look at, after all whats the point of protecting yourself from prying eyes if the means you do so is dramatic and eye catching.
A plain burnished bronze disc hangs on a chain around their neck. It seems plain and out of place compared to the rest of their finery.

​

Miscellaneous Details

As always, I have a couple random things that I think would be interesting for an Abjuration Wizard...

Scars: We love scars. Would an abjuration wizard be embarrassed of their scars, seeing it as a physical marker of a time their magic failed to protect them? Then maybe the scar is hidden, tattooed over or subdued with make up or body paint. Is your abjuration wizard a gruff, rough and tumble, no nonsense bodyguard? Maybe they would be covered in scars, showing them off as a testament to their ability to get in the way of incoming damage aimed at their employer. A subtle missing finger or something similar could also serve to make an Abjuration Wizard NPC come alive.

As he lifts his wineglass you notice he's missing his pinky finger from the first knuckle down. It looks clean and fully healed, more like a skillful amputation than a battle mishap, but who's to say?

​

Cleanliness: I'm sort of assuming that anyone who is fastidious enough to be painstakingly drawing magical circles and such is also going to be clean and neat in other ways. Describing clothing as clean, without creases and smelling fresh will absolutely emphasize what kind of person your NPC is. This would be especially fun if players are encountering them out in the wilderness. Imagine your PCs stumbling up, covered in mud, blood and sweat to find the fanciest, cleanest, most pristine looking wizard in the middle of a jungle. Pretty fun image.

Not a thread out of place and not a crease to be seen, as the evening meal draws to a close and everyone stands up you notice his clothes are as spotless as they were at the beginning, despite the vast quantities of soup served.

​

Skincare?? I'm also clearly (wishfully) projecting my own ideas of what someone's life would look like with intense mental discipline, but man, when I imagine an Abjuration wizard who has the patience to be drawing glyphs all day, I also assume they have an intensive skin care routine. Maybe your PCs sneak into a wizard tower and are baffled by a shelf of strange bottles and elixirs that seem to have no clear magical purpose. Maybe you just constantly describe your Abjurer's skin as flawless, smooth and free of any sort of abrasions.

As he leans in to glare at you, you can't help but notice his skin is flawless, you can't even see the pores.

Putting it all together

Skin like charcoal and hair that flickers like fanned flames marks this wizard’s heritage as from the plane of elemental fire. His piercing grey eyes, surrounded by meticulously straight eyeliner applied in white and gold, painstakingly take you in, lingering on your weapons. He is resplendent in robes that match his makeup trimmed with gold thread and embroidered with a collection of shimmering arcane glyphs. A plain burnished bronze disc hangs on a chain around his neck seeming slightly out of place amongst his other finery and as he raises an eyebrow at your approach you can't help but notice his skin is flawless, you can't even see the pores.

What would you like to do?

​

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Hey as always I'd love to hear what you think! How have you described your Abjuration Wizards in the past?? What would you suggest to us other DMs out here? Thanks for reading and I hope you have a good week!

Hi All,

You probably don't notice this, but bots are a real problem on reddit these days. We get them on nearly every post, commenting nonsense and its a pain in the ass to police them. For this reason, we're turning on a "Karma Threshold" - you need to have acquired at least 3 karma to comment from now on. Hopefully this keeps the bots out. This may need to be revised moving forward or some other defensive maneuver. If you comment here you might get an automod response letting you know that your karma is too low to comment. Apologies for the hassle.

Thanks!

Welcome to Zarratolpa!

Such blue skies to greet us this warm and sun-filled day, that all might wish to pursue their rest; to lay upon cool grasses green, where the mind may wander, and be lost to dreams or premonitions rare.
And as that gentle vision-veil is drawn, the curious Traveller discerns the glint of divine paths meandering skywards, there.
Such warmth and wonder soon pervades, with the sense of many a watchful eye; be there shadows, or dancing lights, just out of reach, beyond one's gaze? A patron? Pact? A bargain or a bond?
Dare you wander the Cloud of Zarratolpa, where the Demigods shall dance, dabble & decide?

What is Zarratolpa?

A cloud within which one hundred and one forgotten, faded, or ill-fated Demigods reside.
Have they hidden themselves away from the troubles of the many planes? Or are they trapped, their influences barred, their domains destroyed? Or is this merely somewhere to play, and to slumber; to wait, and to watch?
Among the Demigods, too, are some who simply wish not to be found, and yet all - being Demigods - expect (nay, demand) some level of submission, repentance, adoration, and veneration.
Across the many realms these deities are viewed variously - often as imps, fairies, wisps, and spirits. Other times as sounds, or a presence behind the shadows, at the edges of what is known, and unknown.
This cloud in which they now dwell is a most curious place, where one may encounter the deities in various divine states and assignations, often brought forth by pious petition, prayer, and reverent yearning, or simply by treading on a tail, or knocking over a milk-pail.

Sights, Sounds, & Smells

Use this section as a quick reference during play, or at the start of a Session to refresh your GM senses!
Sights
- Delicate mists that curl and wash gently about you.
- Unusual fungi and soft coral-like growths that shimmer and sparkle in near-transparency.
- Strange, orb-like lights that float and dance upon the air.
- Delicate crystal shards that seem to sprout from the air, and grow at unlikely angles.

Sounds
- A shimmering, twinkling chime.
- Occasional distant rumble of thunder.
- Gentle pitter-pattering. Footsteps, perhaps? Or distant rain?
- Faint voices, barely discernible, like prayers carried on a gentle breeze.

Smells

- Milk & honey.
- Ale, wine, & mead.
- Perfumed fire & incense.
- The forest after a rainstorm, meadows bathed in summer sun, seawater against the rocky cliffs.

Local Economy

If the mortal realms and the many creatures and peoples therein have asked, or begged, or prayed for it, whether in secret silence in the darkest of nights, or as a maddening throng on the bloodiest of battlefield, its echoes are somewhere here.
Unusual beasts and creatures feed upon these unanswered petitions which, in turn, are devoured by the demigods.
Adventurers find their way here, too - seeking holy intervention, or divine inspiration.
Being ever fair, the demigods devise consequences according to their whims; sacrosanct and all-hallowed.

Imports

Prayers arrive, it is true, as do contracts (broken and fulfilled), proclamations, appeasements, sacrifices, offerings, curses, blasphemes, and fractured hopes.
Some believe, too, that this is where the spirits of lost children come to reside eternally.

Exports

Whispers and signs in dreams, for the most part, seeding all manner of divine vision and holy quest, birthing saints and temples, imparting new worlds and old stars into the chaos and fabric of infinity.
The whims of Zarratolpa’s demigods have shaped the fates of much, and of many, from the trivial to the eternal.

Lodgings & Shelter

Anything - or, indeed, everything - that one might imagine or wish for is possible in Zarratolpa.
A pagoda of shimmering gold, with cushions stuffed with honey, and coated in silk? Or perhaps a roaring camp-fire seven hundred feet tall, a silver jug of endless mead, and a magical boar whose roasted flesh is restored with each dawn?
Dream of it, picture it within the mind's eye, and all shall be yours upon which to lay your head, and to fill your empty soul, and to rest..

Hierarchy & Political Structure

The scales of divinity are forever in flux; each deity watchful, scheming, plotting an unbounded cosmic path, the motives of which no mortal may ever derive.
Might one demi-god lord over another? Finding status far above or below? Or are such considerations the folly of petty mortals?

Culture

Each god resides within its own uniquely divine state, sometimes according to that over which they are lord, often times in a manner that will leave mortal bewildered and confounded.
Whether such a state may be construed as containing "culture" is entirely for the mortal realm to debate, a such things are ripe for (mis) interpretation.
For Divine States, see the random table below.

State of Divinity

Each Demigod exists in a "Divine State" - sometimes elemental, at other times physical, or even dream-like and ephemeral.
Whatever presence the Demigod wishes to inhabit, your Adventurers will perhaps come to know of it, and to recognise it.
Should you so wish, roll 1d100 on the table below to realise this aspect of the deity you have called forth, or simply choose your favourite!
1 - 10 - A slick ooze that flaps and tumbles pathetically towards you. You sense its longing; its hunger.
11 -20 - A crisp whisper that flickers all around you, it is hard to discern, and wishes not to approach.
21 - 30 - A vague sense of longing and fear and disquiet. You feel you are watched.
31 - 40 - A thickness in your throat begins to choke you, before a thread of twine and muck, hair and wire is pulled from your mouth.
41 - 50 - A gentle breeze that arrives, cooling your brow, and calming your tempers.
51 - 60 - A lilting, angular music, from beneath the earth and from the stars above. It chimes, throbs, and pulsates the closer it gets.
61 - 70 - A prickling pain dances across your flesh, leaving bruises and strange marks and symbols upon your skin.
71 - 80 - A flock of tiny, pin-prick sized creatures, swarming about you, the presence of the deity carried somewhere within.
81 - 90 - A standing stone erupts from the ground before you, a wide crack in its front reveals the beady-eye of its deity.
91 - 100 - A dark portal of unspooling space before you, its gloom enticing, its voice a lingering echo of time and space.
101 - A vast ball of shimmering, pulsating light. A voice from within bends the knee, unspools the mind, and causes you to weep uncontrollably.

Holy Symbols

Each divinity blesses its followers with a totemic artefact or item that may in some way be carried or worn.
These items may be inscribed with the holy symbol(s) representative of each demigod, or with runes, prayers, holy rites, and scriptures.
Roll 1d100 on the table below to discern its form, or choose your favourite.
1 - 5 - a three-pronged branding seared upon the flesh.
6 - 10 - a charred ear worn about the neck on a thread of scorched leather.
11 - 15 - a glass wand that glows with holy light when near to its adherent's temples.
16 - 20 - A triangular-shaped mark upon the palm of one hand.
21 - 25 - A green rod of fire and flame.
26 - 30 - A silver circlet speckled with blinking eyes.
31 - 35 - A square-edged ring of brass imbued with divine arcana.
36 - 40 - A dragon-scale glove worn upon the right hand.
41 - 45 - A small yellow bird perched upon the shoulder that twitters messages from the divine.
46 - 50 - A golden javelin tipped with a dimly illuminating orb that flickers on and off.
51 - 55 - A noose worn about the neck.
56 - 60 - A crown of animal horns and antlers.
61 - 65 - A triangular medallion of both fire and ice.
66 - 70 - A shield emblazoned with a half-moon.
71 - 75 - A breast-plate upon which is nailed a single severed tongue.
76 - 80 - An adamantine dagger with a bejewelled scabbard.
81 - 85 - One missing finger from the left hand.
86 - 90 - A silver chalice able to turn any liquid to a holy water.
91 - 95 - A small eight-spoked wheel, worn or marked upon the adherent.
96 - 100 - A delicately small blue flower, hidden from sight somewhere upon the person.
101 - A white hot star, roughly the size of a fist, that burns brilliantly, hovering a few feet above the head of its follower(s).

Divine Offerings

For each capricious turn, and unfathomable urge, the whims and desires of the many Demi-Gods are writ large in legends and lore.
In return for their divine aid or assistance some may call for offerings, others for sacrifice.
Roll 1d100 on the table below to decide what the Deity desires, or choose as you see fit.
1-5 - A soul, freshly plucked.
6-10 - An eye, or tooth; a tongue, or a finger.
11-15 - The moon caught in a filthy puddle.
16-20 - A golden chalice of golden blessed wine.
21-25 - A songbird's sing.
26-30 - The last ray of sunlight.
31-35 - The first sprig of harvest's wheat.
36-40 - The glance of a stranger's longing.
41-45 - A sackful of sea-glass.
46-50 - A fistful of moorland mist.
51-55 - A moment of your time.
56-60 - The wings of a flea able to carry a dragon's tooth.
61-65 - One truth, and one lie.
66-70 - A magnificent feast.
71-75 - A temple built in their honour.
76-80 - A song composed that celebrates their divinity.
81-85 - An ocean in an oyster shell.
86-90 - The crown of a king or a queen.
91-95 - A drop of eternity.
96-101 - All that you own.
For an added dimension of divine cruelty, we recommend flipping a coin to decide whether such an offering will result in a showering of blessings, or a cacophony of curses!

Trinket Roll-Table

ROLL 1d20 for a ZARRATOLPA TRINKET
1 - A severed head that recites terrible poetry.
2 - A small wooden chalice flecked with peeling gold leaf.
3 - A silver dagger studded with infernal jewels.
4 - A circlet fashioned from gut and fish-eyes.
5 - A censer packed full of tiny, smouldering skulls.
6 - A strip of golden cloth torn from some holy vestment.
7 - A gleamingly bright brass nail.
8 - A withered finger furnishing a silver ring.
9 - A small leather pouch made from flayed flesh.
10 - Several knuckle bones inscribed with names of the dead.
11 - A small prayer book depicting ancient diagrams and depictions of portal-travel.
12 - A golden bell that chimes in reverse.
13 - A buckler embedded with a face that screams with impassioned rage when the shield is used.
14 - A candle of black wax.
15 - A glittering veil dotted with tearful pearls.
16 - A breastplate of clockwork that chimes for sacrifice and offerings.
17 - A small shred of cloth smeared with sweet and heady smelling grease.
18 - A beating heart.
19 - A cloak studded with tiny portals too small for anything, or anyone, to pass through.
20 - A bottomless satchel in which resides one thousand hungry souls.

Some Adventure Hooks

What brings your Party to Zarratolpa? What fates have brought this strange assembly of Demigods to the attentions of your Adventurers?
Roll 1d6 to discern :
1 - None of the major - or even minor - Gods dare place their divine faith in your hapless, feckless band of (mis)Adventurers. Seek then, you must, the disastrous Demigods of Zarratolpa, and hope that their blessings may aid you.
2 - A band of orphans are being terrorised by all manner of capricious spirits, and need help. Zarratolpa may be home to whatever is responsible.
3 - A deceased loved one or friend of the Party has had their spirit wrongly absorbed into Zarratolpa. Is something awry? Or merely a slip of the divine hand? Only a visit into this holy cloud shall discern.
4 - A terrible enemy must be defeated. Their weaknesses having been identified, a small band of Demigods are required to aid in the final battle.
5 - A monarch has tasked the Party with providing divine entertainments for their upcoming coronation. What better assembly than the Demigods of Zarratolpa.
6 - An artefact of immense power has been stolen, and has been hidden somewhere within the mists of Zarratolpa.
This list is by no means exhaustive, and is intended simply to stir the pot of your own imagination.
Use them as starting-points, or ignore them entirely in favour of your own Adventure Hooks!

​

Demigods of Note:

ancestries and origins have not been allocated, allowing the GM to assign as appropriate.

The following roll-table allows you to randomise the Demigod(s) your Players will encounter during their time in Zarratolpa.
Given, too, is the domain upon which they shower their blessings or curses, gifts or terrors.
Roll 1d100, or choose from the table below :
1 - Morrovoth, the Moss-Lord
2 - Brish-Banya, King of the Newts
3 - Skrit, God of Fish-Hooks
4 - Crhthka, Coal-God
5 - Imminence, God of Vague Recognition
6 - The Glimmer, Lord of the Warped Glaze
7 - Shrowdunn, Heaver of Drowning
8 - Enmasse, Keeper of Crows
9 - Fathming, Lady of the Looking Glass
10 - Agata, Goddess of the Not-There
11 - Pruuwer, The Button Finder
12 - Prish, King of Swallows
13 - Peekle, the Flea-God
14 - Griss, our Lord of Coagulation
15 - Simmer, the Maddening Hare
16 - Osh, Beater of Shadows
17 - Maladark, The Rot Speaker
18 - Three-Cub, Prince of Card-Cheats
19 - Vossen, The Blade-Blunter
20 - Selene, Lady of Bitter Poisons
21 - Bolden, God of the Fresh Breeze
22 - Ish, the Spider Imp
23 - Parcel, Lover of Twine
24 - Doth, The Unwise Oath-maker
25 - The Need-Fire, Solstice Flame Bringer
26 - Tillin, Stitch Stealer
27 - Wollen, Giver of Blood-Broths
28 - Skeellan, Leaf Hoarder
29 - Peewit, Counter of Sand-Grains
30 - Zeelan, the Grave Sleeper
31 - Aelar, the Rue Sprig
32 - Ne’erfellergoraxis, The Nut-Charmer
33 - The Tollun Warning of Morn
34 - Meesh, Mother of Flies
35 - Alack, Totem of Bitterness
36 - Brizzan, the Wisp Shepherdess
37 - Sprung, the Lockstopper
38 - Not-Hing, of the Nooning Nose
39 - Shisk, God of the Song of the Butter Whisk
40 - Krot, Lord of Cramps
41 - Kib, Seeder of Crumbs
42 - Boggun, Seer of Hagstones
43 - Plesh, the Milk Curdler
44 - Lyawt, Lady of the Overslept
45 - Gussin, the Gut-Acher
46 - Ztivven, Grower of Nettles
47 - Morsh, the Blister God
48 - Pilken, the Broth Colder
49 - Nezzle, Wart Bringer
50 - Ish, Mover of Marks
51 - Hollow, Blackener of Corners
52 - Krake, the Posture Keeper
53 - Pinnin, Lady of Thorns
54 - Flosh, Fish-Gutter
55 - Brand, of the Scolding Mark
56 - Supplin, Lady of Milkers
57 - Nellwashawell, the Bucket-Holer
58 - Skrit, Lady of Unreachable Itch
59 - Pingin, Watcher of Bottletops
60 - Brodden, the Flour Lumper
61 - Scaff, the Hammer Hider
61 - Lingin, the Loom Binder
61 - Uppen, Lord of Ladders
62 - Capplepot, the Handle-Snapper
63 - Chokenchim, Lord of Candle-Smoke
64 - Tiddyflin, the Net-Snagger
65 - Frinch, the Sock-Holer
66 - Eer, the Bath-Scummer
67 - Bellyup, Lord of the Upside Down
68 - Pling, Our Lady Lutess of String Snappers
69 - Bizzit, Lord of Crickets
70 - Kilda, Lady of the Fieldmouse
71 - Greenshank, the Layer of Algae
72 - Worsted, Lady of Eels
73 - Pipit, Chipper of Porcelain
74 - Veek, Lord of Weevils
75 - Girdling, Sewer of Snail Trails
76 - Trooping, Lord of the Mushroom
77 - Barkenshade, Keeper of Toadlets
78 - Lundy, the Cabbage King
79 - Vrmin, Fox Keeper
80 - Ouzel, Scree Pusher
81 - Billbern, the Low Berry Hanger
82 - Grosh, the Hair Tangler
83 - Stroln, Mist Binder
84 - Yolden, Damper of Tinders
85 - Skim, Loser of Arrows
86 - Boltsprat, Spoonbender
87 - Coldpotts, Lady of Window Wisps
88 - Splump, Unpuffer of Pillows
89 - Laarm, Loosener of Laces
90 - Imml, Thatch Rotter
91 - Frishan, of the Bitter Rains
92 - Screeng, Starling Lord
93 - Pittance, Lady of Broken Cobblestones
94 - Fardling, the Squint Grower
95 - Shittlesquatch, the Brash Tongued Pot of the Crapper
96 - Tringt, Hair Cracker of Glass
97 - Yawning, Leaver of Kissing Gates
98 - Losh, Lord of Soap-Suds
99 - Tiptongue, the Thought-Stealer
100 - Wickleflitch, Wax-Eater
101 - Barnroof, Hider of False-Teeth

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Albyon’s Final Notes for the GM -

I hope you enjoy this location, using it in your games, or finding inspiration for your own ideas & adventures.
Click here for an easy to use version of Zarratolpa, as well as the entire Geographical Almanac A-Z of Strange & Fantastical Locations - all FREE to access & use!

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Part 1 - Quick Monster and Encounter Building

Part 2 - In Depth Analysis of Monster and PC stats

Part 3: More Options for Monsters and Encounters

Elite monsters

Elite monsters are especially powerful creatures, like dragons or giants, that are much more powerful and dangerous than other opponents and have some unique moves that allow them to deal more damage and defend themselves.

Upgrading a normal monster to elite

• Hit Points: multiply by 2.
• Saving Throws: elite monster gains proficiency in one additional foundational saving throw and one situational (see Part 2 for details on saving throws).
• Damage: multiply by 1.5 (this also opens up a potential for more powerful limited-use abilities).
• Traits: every elite monster gains the Elite Action Surge trait.

Extra damage may come from an additional attack (and for elites it makes sense to make 3 or even 4 attacks), or part of the damage can come from an aura or acidic blood that burns anyone who hits the monster (since the latter is conditional, it counts for ½ of its value). These options are available for normal monsters too, but for elites they thematically fit even better in my opinion.

Elite traits

• Elite Action Surge: as fighter’s Action Surge ability (or see the alternative below), or it can be used to activate one of the following:
  • Elite Resilience: DC 10 flat check to end any condition even if it does not usually allow a saving throw. Can be used even if the creature is incapacitated.
  • Elite Recharge: immediately recharge any limited-use ability.
  • Elite Devastation: cancel or destroy magical effects of level equal or lower than monster level / 3. For example, a 21st level elite dragon can burn through a forcecage.
• Alternative to fighter ability: act later in the turn as defined by another initiative roll. If this roll is higher than the monster's current initiative, the extra turn may happen on the next round. Alternatively, roll 2d6 or other combination, deduce it from the initiative and this is when it will happen.
• When first bloodied (reduced to half HP), elite monster can benefit from one of the following (choose one during the monster design, depending on level):
  • Use Elite Resilience immediately (weak version for lower levels).
  • End one condition on itself without any checks (moderate power for mid-level).
  • Use Elite Resilience on each condition it suffers from (high level ability).
  • End all conditions on itself without any checks (ultimate defensive power).
  • Regain an expended Elite Action Surge (good and versatile default option).
  • For spellcasters of 11th level and higher - contingency is also an option, but this is not exclusive for elite.

Suggested contingency spells: invisibility, mirror image, blur (not so great), mislead, dimension door, thunderstep, dispel magic, haste, polymorph, resilient sphere, gaseous form, revivify.

Example of an elite monster building

Assume we want a serious, but not deadly, threat against a 10th level party. Using the Hard coefficient from Part 1, we find the monster level, it will be 10 * 1.25 = 12.5. Round it up to 13 for a slightly higher challenge. We could use any role template, but this dragon I imagine as a lurker. Let's say, it will be a green dragon that hid its lair in a foggy marshes.

With the role template and level we can calculate the base parameters:

• Hit Points: 8 * 13 = 104
• To Hit Bonus (THB): 13 ÷ 2 + 4 = +10
• Average Damage Per Round: 3 * 13 = 39
• Armor class and spells/abilities DC: 10 + 8 = 18
• High saves modifier and proficient skills modifiers: equal to THB = +10
  • Let's give it high saves in DEX and INT as suggested for a lurker, as well as proficiency in Stealth and Acrobatics skills.
• Other saves: default modifier would be 13 ÷ 5 - 1 = +1, but since it's a dragon I'd bump it up to +3.

Now, let's transform it to elite:

• Hit Points: 104 * 2 = 208
• To Hit Bonus (THB): remains +10
• Average Damage Per Round: 39 * 1.5 = 58
• Armor class and spells/abilities DC: 18
• High saves modifier and proficient skills modifiers: +10 to DEX and INT, Stealth, Acrobatics.
  • Let's also make CON and WIS saves high.
• Other saves: STR and CHA save modifiers remain +3.

Then it's time to add some abilities.

• Base attack. Let's go for the classic - claw, claw, bite which will do 48 damage total, or 16 damage each. With added randomness that would be 7 + 2d8 damage per attack.
• Tail swipe. Another classic, we have 10 points of undistributed damage. If we make it a conditional attack this can become 20 points of actual damage. So we will make it a reaction attack, triggered by a melee hit. Adding randomness: 9 + 2d10 damage.
• Of course, a breath attack that can be done instead of the base attack, so also 48 damage in total. It will be a rechargeable (5-6) area attack, so, because of limited use we will not apply AoE adjustment. As a result: our dragon can breath out poisonous fumes in a 30 ft. cone. Affected creatures must make a DC 18 Constitution saving throw, taking 48 (3 + 10d8) poison damage on a failed save or half as much on a successful one.
• Since it's a lurker, let's give it an ability to hide as a bonus action. Should be useful in the foggy marsh.
• Don't forget to add the Elite Action Surge trait.
• Also, when the dragon is reduced to or below half of its hit points, it recharges its Elite Action Surge.

Substituting normal monsters for elites.

Replace 2 monsters of a given level with one elite monster of the same level. For example, instead of four level 5 monsters you can use two level 5 elite monsters. XP rewards for defeating an elite monster is double of that for a normal one.

Minions

Minions are weak monsters that will always die from a single hit, and have no complicated abilities, so they are easy to run en masse. They still have a decent chance to hit PCs and can be dangerous in large groups. Rules for minions come from p. 22 of Flee, Mortals! The MCDM Monster Book (free preview PDF).

Minion stats

• Hit Points: level + 3
• Average Damage: ⅓ of a normal monster damage, i.e. 1 per level or 1.33 per level for a Brute.
• The rest of the parameters are the same as for a normal monster.

Minion building example

The dragon above is an equivalent of two monsters, but if the party is larger than two PCs, it will not be of enough challenge. So it makes sense that it does not fight alone. Mutated lizardmen slingers provide covering fire for it from the tree tops. The stats for minions are easy. Since we decided on a Hard encounter, they will also be level 13 with the artillery role template.

• Hit Points: 13 + 3 = 16 (but they die from any hit)
• To Hit Bonus (THB): 13 ÷ 2 + 4 + 2 for artillery = +12 (ranged)
• Average Damage Per Round: 1 * 13 = 13
• Armor class: 10 + 8 - 2 for artillery = 16
• Spells/abilities DC: 10 + 8 = 18
• High saves modifier and proficient skills modifiers: equal to THB = +10
  • Let's give them high saves in STR and DEX as suggested for artillery.
• Other saves: default modifier would be 13 ÷ 5 - 1 = +1, but since they are minions I'd set it to -1 except for CON that will be +2.

Substituting normal monster for minions

When designing an encounter, replace any monster with 5 minions of the same level. For example, instead of four level 5 monsters, you can field 2 level 5 monsters and 10 level 5 minions. XP reward for defeating a minion is 1/5th of a reward for a normal monster.

So for the dragon encounter above for each additional PC over 2nd there can be 5 lizardmen slingers.

Hazards and Traps

Hazards and traps can be designed using the same rules as monsters. For example, a poisonous fog in the green dragon’s lair. It can have its own initiative and make an area of effect attack on each of its turns. DC and damage will be defined by its level just like a normal monster.

For example, for an encounter with 13th level green dragon from above the aforementioned hazard can be designed as a lurker, say, patches of poisonous moss, barely distinguishable, that emit the poisonous fog. It will have 7*13 = 91 HP in total, DC to find it will be 13 / 2 + 4 + 8 = 18. On each turn it will make a large AoE attack that deals 13 * 3 = 39 poison damage but halved as it’s a repeatable AoE, so 19 poison damage or half as much on a failed save, and so on. Naturally it counts as another 13th level threat together with the dragon and its minions.

Substituting normal monsters for hazards.

Replace a monster with a hazard or a trap of the same level. Yes, hazards can also be elites.

Free sources for monster traits and powers

Monster Features: Dungeon Master’s Guide page 280-281.

Collection of monster traits and actions from D&D SRD: 5e SRD Creature Traits | GM Binder

Also check Mega Monster Attribute List (5e)

Martial exploits as powers for different monster roles

Another work of mine is: Martial Exploits v2 on Reddit. or Martial Exploits v2 on Homebrewery or directly Martial Exploits.pdf. These exploits can be used as single-use or rechargeable high damage powers. Instead of using the damage formula from these links, simply use the same damage calculation as described in this article.

Artillery

Unrestrained Mobility; Swift Intercept; Balanced Protection; Excruciating Sting; Keep it Loaded; Easy to Aim; Deadly Bolt; Rain of Arrows; Focused Barrage; Disruptive Shot; Mighty Throw; Bell Ringer; Fan of Knives;

Brute

Body Shield; Lock the Weapon; Catch and Throw; Armored Assault; Unstoppable Swing; Penetrating Spikes; Hook and Pull; Concussion Blow; Bell Ringer; Skull Crusher; Shield Cleave; Devastating Blow; Gaping Wound;

Defender

Guarding a Lady - and Goods; Perfect Judgement; Hook and Pull; Impale; Long Thrust; Unpredictable Wrap; Disruptive Shot; Mighty Slam; Saved by Shield; Shield Twist; Bodyguard; Swift Intercept; Lock the Weapon; Catch and Throw; Armored Assault; Four Openings;

Lurker

Boar’s Tusk; Find a Gap; Grab Defence; Gaping Wound; The Inquartata; Perfect Judgement; Long Thrust; Bell Ringer; Three Fangs; Deadly Bolt; Easy to Aim; Keep it Loaded; Face Lash; Swift Intercept; Unrestrained Mobility;

Skirmisher

Boar’s Tusk; Fan of Knives; Find a Gap; Grab Defence; Against Multiple Attackers; Four Openings; Thousand Cuts; The Inquartata; Perfect Judgement; Long Thrust; Mounted Charge; Mighty Throw; Excruciating Sting; Saved by Shield; Armored Assault; Balanced Protection; Swift Intercept; Unrestrained Mobility; Catch and Throw;

Curious and useful examples of monster powers - monsters bypassing the HP system

• Shadow: drains Strength, 1d4 with each successful attack.
• Maurezhi, Phylaskia, Dyrrn: drain Charisma, Strength and Intelligence respectively.
• Intellect Devourer: a special mechanic on a failed save (3d6 roll compared to INT) that can reduce INT to 0 and kill.
• Banshee: failed save leads to dropping to 0 hit points.
• Bodak: if a creature fails the save by 5, it drops to 0 hit points.
• Catoblepas: if a creature fails save by 5, it takes max damage of 8d8. If a creature drops to 0 HP from that, it dies.

I’d count such attacks as inflicting a serious condition (like Blinded or Restrained) and thus dealing 75% damage.

Quick resolution of monster attacks [Optional Procedure]

If monster damage is 10 or higher, and it’s not a minion, it’s a good idea to split its damage into two attacks. It will reduce the random effects of critical hits, and also reduce the chance of monster dealing it’s full damage and at the same time monster will be more likely to land at least one of these attacks.

If damage is split into two attacks, they can be resolved with a single roll. If the roll beats AC + 5, both attacks hit, If the roll beats AC - 5, one of the attacks hits. This approximation works near-perfectly if the attack needs from 8 to 14 on the d20 for the success. Outside of that range, this approximation is slightly tilted in favor of players if a monster is very accurate, and in favor of monsters when their probability of success is low. If TN is 7 or 15 the probability of at least one success is 5% higher and probability of double hit is 5% lower compared to two actual rolls. If TN is 6 or 16, the difference increases to 10%.

Encounter templates

A few examples of encounter composition with monsters of different roles. Very much like in 4th edition Dungeon Master’s Guide.

Battlefield Control

Controller (artillery or grunt or lurker with controller powers) + Grunts and/or Skirmishers. The controller can be of a higher level or elite.

Commander and Troops

Leader (defender or grunt or artillery with leader powers) + Grunts and/or Skirmishers and/or Brutes. The leader can be of a higher level or elite. To make it more interesting, consider adding some artillery support.

Double Line

Front line of melee (defenders, brutes, skirmishers or grunts) with a second line of artillery and/or controllers. Consider adding a lurker for an extra twist.

Wolf Pack

Simply a group of skirmishers and/or grunts.

XP rewards per monster level

UPD: Accounting for PC’s optimization level and availability of magic items

Low optimization or completely ehxausted party

If your party is more focused on roleplay and nobody cares about feats and multiclass builds, or runs out of spell slots, then the parameters of PCs will be in line with what’s described in this blog post by u/tomedunn. In this case you may want to slightly reduce monsters' hit points. A possible adjustments would be:

• Multiply HP calculated by scaling formula by 0.75

Monster damage does not need adjustment, because player characters hit points stay approximately the same no matter how you optimize.

High optimization

In case your players are hardcore min-maxers, and I mean they really go all out to squeeze every little bit of damage like in this post, first of all consider not changing anything. They most probably enjoy tearing monsters to pieces with ease. Nonetheless, if extra challenge is what you and your party wants, especially at levels 5 and 6 when a big power spike comes and at levels 17+, consider applying one of these adjustments:

• Option one: Multiply HP calculated by scaling formula by 1.33, with this monster lifetime should be closer to what’s assumed in the “Explaining difficulty” section.
• Option two: Increase monsters’ damage by multiplying it by 1.33. This will lead to really ferocious combats and the players will have to put their insanely optimized defenses to a good use or be obliterated.

Little to no magic items in the campaign

If magic items are extremely rare or don’t exist at all in your world, then monster to-hit bonus and AC scaling might be a little too steep after level 12. In this case consider this option:

• Replace to-hit bonus formula with: level ÷ 3 + 4 so it will increase with every third level instead of every other level in the base formula and thus to-hit probabilities will stay closer to 65%.

Part 1 - Quick Monster and Encounter Building

Part 2 - In Depth Analysis of Monster and PC stats

A run of robberies has left the local town guards scratching their heads - the thieves have left no evidence of their crimes, and no trace of their break-ins. Without any leads and no clues to follow, they turn to mercenaries to get the job done: Anyone who can apprehend the thieves will be paid handsomely for their efforts. Unfortunately for your adventures, the perpetrators of these thefts aren’t just your average burglars.

This side quest is designed for a party of 4 level 5 adventurers, but it can be easily scaled up or down for parties of various sizes and levels. It can be run in your own game as-is or used as inspiration for your own adventures - whatever works best for you! I used this quest in one of my own campaigns, but I’ve made a couple of tweaks now that I’ve seen how it actually played out at the table. Without further ado, let’s get started.

The Set-Up

This quest can take place in any moderately sized city, so long as it has a pretty robust market. I’d recommend choosing or designing a city that economically isn’t doing so great - while a few bigwigs profit, most folks are left struggling to make ends meet, if they can afford to have a roof over their heads at all. The town guard is usually stretched thin trying to keep order in a city that’s constantly on edge, and oftentimes robberies like these will fall through the cracks or be given to guards that are ill-equipped to solve the crime.

This is a great quest to have on a job board or offered as a bounty, the kind of adventure you can slot into any city if you need some extra time to prep for the overall story or if your players are just looking to make a little cash. When I ran it, I had it given to them by a smuggling group that they’d been working with - I flavored it as the thieves had stolen some of the goods their fences were trying to sell, and had unknowingly interfered with the guild’s business. Consider enticing them not just with gold, but with getting to keep something the thieves have stolen if they can apprehend them: Maybe a +1 dagger or a rare gem.

Before they embark, the party should be given a bit of background information. In the past week, three stores have been hit by thieves, each losing some expensive merchandise to the perpetrators. In truth, it doesn’t matter what sorts of shops have been robbed, so if you have an NPC you’ve been dying to use or a shop that you already wanted your players to visit, this is a good way to integrate them into the story. While none of the owners know each other, there are a few things in common with the thefts. Each owner believes they were robbed in blind daylight, as they’d seen the items that morning and learned they’d been taken at closing. There was no sign of breaking and entering, but each stolen item had been on display - not locked behind a case or in a chest. While they each had customers on the day of the theft, they’re confident they didn’t miss any people who came in, and interacted with everyone who was shopping. Other than that, they don’t have much to go on. Hence, where your players step in.

Your party will be tasked with apprehending the thieves, and recovering the stolen goods as proof. If they take on the task of finding these burglars, then you’ve got a quest on your hands!

Investigation

Once they’ve accepted the quest, they can begin their investigation. The players will need to find clues as to who’s robbing these stores, and how. When designing this side quest, I tried to leave it as open-ended as possible, so I could better adapt to whatever strategies the players employed. Your party might want to watch the streets for anything shady, interrogate the shopkeepers, or look for strange footprints in each shop. Whatever they choose to do, you can let them make the appropriate roll for it - maybe an insight check to see if a shopkeep is hiding anything, or a perception check to look for any strange individuals hanging about - and on a success, give them one of a number of clues that will help them solve the mystery. I think a good DC for this is 14.

Some potential clues are: Footprints by the scene of the crime - but not human, instead, small paw prints; they might find that on the stand where one of the stolen items was kept, there are tiny claw marks - and with a successful nature check would reveal them to be feline; if they’re keeping a watchful eye on the streets, they may pick up on an odd number of stray cats hanging around; and if they’re interrogating shop keepers, they’ll have picked up on the fact that there are lots of strays hanging around the market, as well.

Once they’ve gathered some clues, they should end up at the same conclusion: These burglars don’t appear to be people at all, but cats. Or at least, they’re working with cats? Once the players make that connection, they’ll probably start searching the market for any stray cat they can find. Investigation, perception and survival are all probably applicable checks to make. Just in case they need a little extra push though, passive perception can be your friend here: You can always let the player with the highest score notice a stray cat nearby, acting weird. They watch as it stares intently at a storefront window, not flinching or moving as people pass.

At this point, the quest can branch off in a few different directions, based on how your players want to handle the situation. There’s no way to possibly prepare for every single outcome, so instead, here’s how you can handle a few of their most likely choices. Even if they go with a completely different option, these paths will provide you with a framework for how to build out the rest of the quest, and how to decide what happens next.

The Chase

The main thing you need to know is that this stray is no cat at all, but a druid in disguise. And they’re not alone. If confronted, they’ll do whatever they can to get back to their hideout.

If your players decide to approach the cat, it’ll run away if it notices them. Cats normally have a passive perception of 13, but this cat’s is actually 14, using the druid stat block in the monster manual. If the players don’t sneak up on it, it’ll see them coming and take off for a nearby alleyway. If the players successfully stealth up to them, then you can give them a chance to grab the cat while it’s none the wiser. Probably an athletics check vs an acrobatics check to grapple it.

Even if they don’t sneak up on the druid successfully, that doesn’t mean they won’t still have a chance to catch it! Maybe they can outrun it, or one of the players has a spell like Entangle they could use to trap it. Maybe they’ll try to misty step into its path and snatch it before it can escape. If they go this route, give the players a chance to use their abilities, make some checks and catch the cat if they can. The last thing you want to do is make them feel like it was inevitable the cat would escape.

If they do catch the stray, it won't want to be held hostage for too long. Whether they decide to bring it somewhere for questioning, or straight back to the guards, the moment they find themselves alone with the party, the cat will transform. They’ll reveal themselves to be a druid named Hank, a younger human man with greasy black hair, tattered clothes and a few missing teeth.

Hank’s motivations are simple: He steals for money, and cares above all else about his own self preservation. Hank will under no circumstances want to go to the guards - if the party tries to take him there, he’ll do whatever he can to escape, including casting spells like Lonstrider and Thunderwave. But if the party tries to negotiate with him, he’ll gladly sell out his friends for his own freedom - or if the option presents itself, try and trick the party into bringing him to the hideout.

The druid’s hideout is just outside the market, and Hank will tell the party that there are eight other powerful druids waiting for him back there. In truth, there’s only four, and a simple DC 12 insight check - or if you prefer, against his +0 deception - will root out the lie. He’ll offer to tell them exactly where the hideout is if they agree to let him go. Better yet, he’ll even take them there.

The Hideout

If the party decide not to trust Hank and instead take him to the guards, the guards might be willing to take them on their word - but remember, the stolen goods are what they need as proof. Otherwise, how do they know the party hasn't just grabbed some poor sucker and brought him in? With or without Hank, they’ll need to get to that hideout: if Hank is in custody, they can search the market for more clues to help point them in the right direction. If they decide to take Hank up on his offer, he’ll lead them right to it. And if they failed to catch Hank earlier at all, or instead simply followed him sneakily rather than trying to grab him, they’ll also end up there, too. All roads lead to the hideout.

The hideout is an old abandoned building at the end of an alleyway. The windows and door are boarded up, and the alley itself is littered with garbage and old boxes. Those with high passive perception, however, will note that a few of the boxes lead up to one of the boarded windows, where a small hole in the wood would allow anyone small enough access inside - like a cat.

If the party arrives here with Hank, he’ll try to make his leave. If it becomes apparent the party isn’t going to honor the deal, instead he’ll try to get inside, maybe using a spell before transforming into a cat to get up to the hole. How your players handle Hank at this point is up to them, but if things come to blows later on, just remember to adjust the number of druids based on whether or not Hank is still with them. They might also try to take Hank inside to speak with his friends - unless the party has been very antagonistic to him, Hank will agree, because remember, he wants to get back to his friends and find strength in numbers if he can.

Inside the building, the druids have made their home here. But this is not an impressive place. The entire room smells like wet fur and stale ale. It’s messy, with tattered rags and broken boxes littering the floor. There are a couple of matted old bed rolls laid out, but they don’t look particularly comfortable to sleep in. Depending on how gritty your game is, you might even have some illicit substances lying around the place.

Living here are four more druids, and if Hank escaped after your players caught him, then all of these druids will be immediately hostile. Similarly, if the players go in guns blazing - they blast the window open, for example - that will cause the druids to attack. But if the players go in calmly, or have Hank with them and he’s being cooperative, this doesn’t have to come to blows.

These druids clearly aren’t living in luxury. Most of their profits are going to food, booze and whatever other small pleasures they can spend it on. The items they’ve stolen certainly aren’t going to be worth their lives. If the players do engage with them in discussion, the druids could likely be persuaded with coin, or threatened into giving up their thieving ways. They should have at least one or two of the stolen items in their possession - potentially as a reward for the players, or at the very least, proof they can bring to the town guards.

If the players are set on turning them in for the reward, however, they’re going to have to fight, because these druids don’t want to go to jail. For level 5 adventurers, four or five druids should be a decent battle, but not overly difficult. For a bigger challenge, you can choose a creature other than cats that some of them can Wildshape into - maybe a wolf, for example. That’ll give them extra hit points and help them attack the party in various ways besides just their spells. If you’re running this for more than four players or at a higher level, you can always add another druid, or take one away if your players are under-leveled or fewer in number.

One last thing to consider is that while these druids don’t want to be arrested, it's definitely better than dying. If one or two are killed in combat, the rest will most likely surrender or flee. It’s up to you to decide how battle-hardened you want to make these druid druggies, and of course it’ll be a stiffer test of combat if they fight to the death. But keep in mind that not every battle has to come to that.

In Conclusion

Whether the situation is resolved peacefully or by force, the legend of the cat burglars will come to an end. The players can receive their reward if they turn in the druids, and even if they let the robbers go free, the items they stole could prove enough of a reward. If the party did convince them to stop stealing, you might want to roll to see how well they druids keep their promise - it could be a good callback in the future if your players ever return to town. But if the druids are dead or in jail, probably best to leave them be. You don’t want the players to feel like they wasted their time if they come back to town and the thieves are still somehow running amok. With that, your players can return to their adventures a little richer, and perhaps a bit warier of any pets they come across.

Whether or not you use this quest in your own game, I hope you can find some inspiration for the adventures you bring to your own table. Leaving where you hide quest clues open-ended is a tip that can apply to all kinds of adventures, and remembering that no matter where your players guide you, you can always lead them back to the content you have prepared with a little bit of behind-the-scenes maneuvering and keeping your NPC’s true to their motivations.

If you do run this quest, let me know how it went in the comments! Thanks for reading, and good luck in your own games!