Monday, July 31, 2017

D&D 5th Edition: Hand of Dukagsh


There is an order of knights called the Hand of Dukagsh that are tasked with searching out groups of orcs than were standard in the unhuman wars and bringing them to enlightenment and the scro lifestyle.





HAND OF DUKAGSH
Medium humanoid (scro), lawful evil                                        ________________________________________________

Armor Class 18 (chain mail + shield)
Hit Points 91 (13d8 + 33) 
Speed 30 ft.
___________________________________________
   Str            Dex         Con           Int         Wis         Cha
18 (+4)     13 (+1)     17 (+3)     11 (+0)    12 (+1)     17 (+3)
___________________________________________

Saving Throws Con +6, Dex +3, Wis +3
Skills Athletics +5, Insight +3, Persuasion +5
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 13
Languages Common, Elven, Orc
Challenge 6 (2,300 XP)

___________________________________________



Aggressive. As a bonus action, the Hand of Dukagsh can move up to its speed toward a hostile creature that it can see.

___________________________________________


ACTIONS

___________________________________________


Multiattack. The Hand of Dukagsh makes two attacks with its bite, longsword, or its spear.

Bite. Melee Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft. one target. Hit: 4 (1d4 + 4) piercing damage.

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


Spear. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (1d6 + 4 plus 1d8) piercing damage.
Warlord (Recharge 5-6). Each creature of the Hand of Dukagsh's  choice that is within 30 feet of it, can hear it, and not already affected by Warlord gain advantage on attack rolls until the start of the Hand of Dukagsh's next turn . The Hand of Dukagsh's can then make one attack as a bonus action.

Sunday, July 30, 2017

D&D 5th Edition: The Sword of Dungeons & Dragons

The Wizard Zagyg forged this weapon and hid it in the very deepest and most dangerous subterranean level of Castle Grehawk.



An Exclusive at this year's HASCON


SWORD OF DUNGEON AND DRAGONS
Magic weapon (longsword), legendary (requires attunement)

• You gain a +2 on attack and damage rolls with this weapon.

• Creatures with levels in Cleric or Rogue have disadvantage on attack rolls against you. Additionally, you advantage on saving throws against any ability or spell that targets your from a creature with levels in Cleric or Rogue.

• When you score a critical hit with the Sword of Dungeons and Dragons you summon a Gold Dragon Wyrmling within 30 feet of your for 1 minute that you control. Additionally, roll a d20, on a 20 you summon an additional Gold Dragon Wyrmling and continue rolling a d20 and summoning a Gold Dragon Wyrmling until you do not roll a 20.

Saturday, July 29, 2017

D&D 5th Edition: Shimmergloom

"Legends say that Shimmergloom was a gift from Shargaas to the scro god Dukagsh, while the scro deity was being trained by him and Yurtrus.
    Rangers from Fort Elm have been reporting to leaders in Spartanburg and Northrun that Gargok Trau claimed to be a scro from beyond the stars and a Hand of Dukagsh and had been selectively invited members of  other orc tribes for months. His warriors were highly disciplined, highly trained, and searching for several magic items to aid in their Chief's coming campaign."




SHMMERGLOOM
Magic weapon (dagger), legendary (requires attunement)



• You gain a +2 on attack and damage rolls with this weapon.

• As a bonus action, when you hit with an attack wielding Shimmergloom, you may spend any number of Hit Dice to add to the damage roll.

• You gain resistance to necrotic damage.

• Zombies and skeletons you have raised gain resistance to radiant damage and have advantage on Wisdom saving throws against Turn Undead.

Oakhurst: Into the Darkness

As the group finished off the orc shaman and his orc zombies, a storm blew in quickly. The group sought shelter in the ruined windmill and the Cleric and the Monk (central to the whole Hag debacle) decided to take their leave. Two hirelings, an Arcane Archer and a Bard, took center stage.

They took this time to also discover the magical properties of the obsidian dagger, Shimmergloom, that they found on the orc shaman.

The storm was harsh and they took a short rest and explored the windmill (it had four floors). The second floor was too unstable to walk upon, but they found a chest on the third floor that contained faded letters, a tooth, and a stiletto. The Sorcerer used Arcana to alter the mending spell to make the letters legible and the spirit of their author, Theodocian McClintock, appeared as specter, angrily harassing them for disturbing his possessions. The Bard agreed to track down Alean mentioned in McClintock's letters in an attempt to avoid a conflict. The specter made the Bard promise to fulfill finding Alena (causing the Bard to have disadvantage on Constitution saving throws until he fulfills the promise).




The top floor had storage for a few spell scrolls, 15 platinum and orders to the orc shaman from Gargok Trau to field test his orc zombies and report back in two weeks. They also learned that Trau had been recruiting orcs from other tribes.

After the storm passed they moved on, moving into the Bone Thieves territory and making camp near a small stream. On the final watch of the night, the Bard detected a horrific rotting smell and eventually realized that two wights were approaching camp from different directions. He awoke the group with a shout as one of them crept up to him and attacked. The battle was short, but the Bard cast thunderwave alerting more orcs to their whereabouts forcing them to quickly break down camp and take off.




The Wizard used a device he tinkered with to help distract the pursuing orcs.

But 10am they had returned to the Hag's territory in the Dun Woods and they cautiously avoided the fetishes they found in the trees there.

By Noon they had to leave their mules behind as the trees were growing so close together that they had slowly make their way through the area.

By 2pm the trees began to thin out and they heard the growls of a large cat in five trees directly in front of them. Eventually four kenku and a tiger attacked them. While the battle was pitched, the group came out on top and no from the ominous atmosphere of the woods around them that the Hag was near.

Friday, July 28, 2017

D&D 5th Edition: Chainsword

"The orc chieftain, Gargok Trau, sought a great and malicious weapon to wield and bartered with the Hag of Dun Woods, Angelika. She brokered with an old friend from the Nine Hells to find the weapon and her price was steep."


CHAINSWORD
Magic weapon (longsword), legendary (requires attunement)


• You gain a +3 on attack rolls with this weapon

• The Chainsword deals 3d8 piercing damage and has the Versatile property (3d10).

• When the Chainsword scores a critical hit, the target gains 1d6 levels of exhaustion.

• The Chainsword ignores any kind of damage reduction such as the type gained by the Heavy Armor Master feat.

• When wielding the Chainsword you gain advantage on Charisma (Intimidation) skill checks.

Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Index Card RPG: Cave Squig






CAVE SQUIG for the Index Card RPG Core
Rolls: +3 Dex, -2 Int

1 Heart

ACTIONS

ATTACK - BITE: Weapon Effort with their teeth.

UNPREDICTABLE: If a squig moves this round roll a d6, On a 1 they move forward to the left, on a 2 they move forward to the right, on a 3 the move sideways to the left, on a 4 they move sideways to the right, on a 5 the move backward to the left, and on a 6 they move backwards to the right.


The Squigs (short for "Squiggly Beasts") are considered by many to be the simplest form of Greenskin life. Squigs seems to be extremely simple in terms of their motivations. So far, they have only ever been reliably observed exhibiting two behavioral patterns; eat anything edible that is nearby, then move more-or-less randomly until there is something else to eat within range and once more wander about aimlessly. A number of bizarre offshoots of Squigs have been seen in various locations within the Old World, though they inevitably favour lightless areas such as caves and underground tunnels.


EXTREME OMNIVORES: Squigs will eat anything. A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G.

CASH CROP: Night goblins raise them and use them as mounts, beasts of war, and even food.

ICK: Squigs release spores that grow into other squigs via plant-like growths within the ground.

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Saturday, July 22, 2017

D&D 5th Edition: Training

I was reading a thread on RPG.Net about DnD 5th Edition House Rules and I noticed that one I've been using for awhile wasn't listed. So, I've decided to share it here. I don't assume it's groundbreaking, but it's one I like.
My House Rule is thus:
I will allow a character Trained in a Skill or Tool to automatically succeed on a Skill check. This mostly depends on the situation the character is in, usually there is no direct threat or there is an important clue I want the player to find. 

As an optional rule, if two characters are trained in a Skill that would help in their current situation, even if there is a looming threat (but not in combat), if they work together, they will automatically succeed, as well.


13th Age: Impundulu




The Impundulu or Lightning Bird is no ordinary bird. Stories of this monster, which grows to the size of a human, can be found in Pondo, Zulu, and Xhosa folklore. It can apparently summon lightning and storms, hence the name. The bird is allegedly a shape shifter as well, that can appear as a human, and is sometimes a supernatural familiar that guards a witch or witch doctor. Due to its size and nature, it will attack people and drink their blood.



IMPUNDULU
6th level [BEAST]
Initiative: +8

Familiar: A spellcaster served by the impundulu uses the escalation die.

Call Lightning +9 vs. PD (1d3 nearby enemies)
    – 21 damage
   Natural Roll of 16+: The target is dazed by thunder.

Drink Blood +11 vs. AC – 2d10 damage
   Natural Even Roll: The impundulu heals an amount equal to the 
damage inflicted.

Nastier Specials
Shape Shifter: As an action, the impundulu takes the form of an ally and adds the escalation die to it's AC, PD, and MD
AC 22

PD 20           HP 90

MD 16

Fear Threshold: 36















Friday, July 21, 2017

Oakhurst: Deeper and Deeper

After a pact with a Hag, our Cleric, Druid, Rogue, and Monk returned to the village via a teleportation spell. The Cleric found a halfling volunteer for a cure from the Hag and the Rogue volunteered himself. 

The Hag was angry. She wanted a halfling, not a human.

Meanwhile, the rest of the group quickly headed to Oakhurst through the Hag's territory, the Bone Thieves Orc territory (and the massive smoke to the southwest) and plains during bulette mating season and the hill giants who hunt them.

The Monk headed to the nearest bar, Frye's, while Corkie, servant of Pelor questioned the Cleric about the halfling Hugh (a father with 3 living children), who had gone missing (their volunteer).

Then the Hag contacted the Cleric, Druid, and Monk telepathically. The Cleric and Druid were so shocked by the mental intrusion they vomited (and gained 2 levels of exhaustion) while the Monk became sober. The Hag was FURIOUS. She wanted halflings, not humans. She demanded an offering (and the geas they were under enforced it). She teleported a fetish to the Monk who found a short young human woman and sent her to the Hag. Which only made the Hag MORE furious. She sent another fetish to the Cleric, who found Hugh's oldest daughter, Rona and offered for her to see her father again, she agreed and POOF.

Corkie found the Cleric with witnesses saying that he had been around Rona before she disappeared, but he talked his way out of trouble and took the Druid looking for the Monk at the nearest tavern.

Meanwhile, the barkeep told the Monk that he need to pay up some hush money because he had seen the whole exchange with the young woman. The Monk paid up and got drunk again.

When the Cleric and Druid found the Monk, they learned what he had done. Meanwhile, the barkeep, who said he didn't see anything, mentioned that whatever didn't happen, it didn't happen to the Mayor's daughter, Myrtle.

They panicked and waited outside of the village for the rest of the group.

Once everyone was reunited all hell broke loose. The Paladin, Ranger, and Wizard wanted to turn the others, prompting the Monk to swing at the Paladin. As the Mayor and two guards arrived they witness the brawl and as the Monk lay unconscious learned about Myrtle.

The Mayor had the Monk locked in jail and took everyone else to his office, while having more guards arrive, as well.

The Cleric told their story, all of it.

The Mayor was shocked, he sent for Corkie, and the Cleric told it again.

The Mayor and Corkie asked for time to discuss things privately, but the Wizard, who was invisible remained to eavesdrop. As the Mayor and Corkie had concluded that while the situation with the Hag searching wasn't ideal, they had no other solutions, but Myrtle had to be rescued, the Wizard appeared to agree with Corkie (they are both gnomes). The Mayor was furious at his spying and had everyone locked up, while Corkie talked some sense into him.

A few hours later, she arrived to tell them that they needed to go to the Hag's hut, retrieve Myrtle's body dead or alive and bring back the cure. However, the Monk would remain in jail and his sentence would not be determined until Myrtle's fate was known.




The group rested for a few hours and headed out at first light (again). In the early afternoon, they came upon a dilapidated mill and sensed the presence of zombies. They learned that a dozen orc zombies were being led by an orc shaman. A back and forth battle ensued, but the group prevailed, shaken but resolute.

Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Blast From the Past: Omegalith for D&D 5th Edition



Ogremoch, jealous that Cryonax has gain an upper hand in the Apocalypse, hatched a plan to bolster his own presence on the fields of Armageddon.  The Prince of Elemental Earth enlisted the medusa Stonecaller, Zhwaa Lo'Sel, to use her dark gifts to transform his enemies into faithful agents of Elemental Earth and so the omegalith were wrought.



OMEGALITH                                                                   
Medium elemental, neutral evil                                        ________________________________________________

Armor Class 16 (natural armor)
Hit Points 20 (3d8+6) 
Speed 25 ft.
___________________________________________
   Str            Dex         Con           Int         Wis         Cha
14 (+2)     10 (+0)     16 (+3)     11 (+0)    10 (+0)     10 (+0)
___________________________________________

Condition Immunities petrified
Senses darkvision 60 ft., tremorsense 30 ft; 
passive Perception 10
Languages Primordial, Terran
Challenge 1/2 (100 XP)

___________________________________________

Made of Stone. Bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage that the omegalith takes from non-magical weapons is reduced by 3.

Enduring. The omegalith has advantage on Constitution saving throws.

Reinforced. When a creature targeting the omegalith rolls a 1 on their attack roll, their weapon breaks.

___________________________________________


ACTIONS

___________________________________________

Slam. Melee Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft. one target.
Hit: 4 (1d4 + 2) bludgeoning damage.

Spear. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 10 ft. or 30/120 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) piercing damage.


Tuesday, July 18, 2017

D&D 5E: The Chthonic Verses






The Chthonic Verses by Eldridge Plinth is a slim book of about 100 pages with a cover that is worn and stained. The cover is made from a dark redwood and has thin spikes of brass forming an unpleasant glyph that causes a ringing in the ears of anyone who looks at it for more than a few seconds (at least a turn) The pages are a heavy paper made from the Pyre Lotus. The Verses are in neatly printed Dwarfish and were penned with a water based, brown ink from the Drome River, in the Underdark. Plinth's tome is free of illustrations of any kind and is infamous for the author’s screed against Dhalripple Ferrodrang for his improper techniques at crafting aqueducts in Appendix V.
   Anyone who attempts to open the book must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw.  On a failure, the reader contracts Cackle Fever (in the DMG).

CHTHONIC VERSES
Wondrous item, legendary (requires attunement)

• While the Chthonic Verses is in your possession you may cast the 
conjure elemental spell (an earth elemental only) as a ritual. 

• You learn the acid splash cantrip and if you are a Sorcerer or Wizardthe damage of the cantrip increases from a d6 to a d8.

• You gain a +2 to Constitution saving throws.

• You gain resistance to acid damage.






Sunday, July 16, 2017

Index Card RPG: Deep One






DEEP ONE for the Index Card RPG Core
Rolls: +2 Str, Con, +3 Int, -2 Char

2 Hearts

ACTIONS

ATTACK - BITE: Weapon Effort with their teeth.

ATTACK-GRAPPLE: Overpowers a single victim in it's sinewy grip requiring competing STR rolls. Those overcome are grappled and must check with CON or be winded, losing their next turn.

ABDUCT: Grappled victims are pulled into the watery depths. 

  "I think their predominant color was a greyish-green, though they had white bellies. They were mostly shiny and slippery, but the ridges of their backs were scaly. Their forms vaguely suggested the anthropoid, while their heads were the heads of fish, with prodigious bulging eyes that never closed. At the sides of their necks were palpitating gills, and their long paws were webbed. They hopped irregularly, sometimes on two legs and sometimes on four. I was somehow glad that they had no more than four limbs. Their croaking, baying voices, clearly used for articulate speech, held all the dark shades of expression which their staring faces lacked ... They were the blasphemous fish-frogs of the nameless design - living and horrible."


AMPHIBIANS: Deep ones live in cyclopean undersea cities, often close to the coast, where they spy on humanity.

THE LOOK: Deep ones visit lonely fishing villages, insinuating themselves and their blasphemous worship Father Dagon and Mother Hydra, finding broken souls to mate with, producing hybrid spies to live amongst humanity, preparing the stars to be right.

IMMORTAL: Many are drawn to these loathsome creatures due their immortality. Like the tide, time is on their side.

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Saturday, July 15, 2017

1,000 Faces: Lutfullah Haik

Lutfullah is a Sorcerer (8th Level Human Storm Sorcerer), Alchemist, and former member of the Circle of the Wyvern adventuring company. Lutfullah or Lu to his friends is in his early 30s and owns the tallest building in town. He uses the top floor as his laboratory and has contracts with numerous patrons throughout the region, including several nobles. His work is exemplary, his discoveries exciting, and he is always discrete. 



Lutfullah is very careful to keep his friendships and business associations separate. He is calculating and cautious, which has kept him alive on numerous occasions, as well as a keen listener and his eyes are always watching those he speaks with. He has a passion for the violin and makes time twice a day to practice it, preferring to play for only his closest friends and family.

Unfortunately, Lu has a gambling problem and after working up a hefty debt to the local thieves' guild, he's begun working it off by providing Alchemical admixtures, including poisons. While he hasn't gambled in 3 months, it's always tempting him and he still has plenty of debt to work off.

Lu is 5' 11" stands with a rigid posture, his movements precise and designed to waste the least amount of energy. He is missing two fingers on his left hand, due to an accident on his final outing with the Circle. He speaks 5 languages fluently and most people he meets are suprised at his lack of an accent. 

He coldly holds little regard for the Gods, feeling that they treat mortals as mere pawns on some celestial gameboard. His mind understands the strict rules of magic and alchemy and he finds comfort in those things. He only sees customers by appointment, which must be arranged by his secretary, Willem Dowd.

He married a local, Katarine, and they have two children, a 2 year old daughter, Nuha, and a newborn son, Jon (named after Katarine's father).

D&D 5th Edition: Frostrazor, A Magic Longsword

"A nameless archmage crafted the blade by impaling an ancient wyrm of a white dragon with an enormous icicle stalactite, knocking it from the roof and impaling the beast through the heart before using its blood and magic to shape the icicle into a massive, crystaline blade of never-melting ice. He did this to create a superior weapon that could be used in his war against an efreet pasha. Unfortunately for him, his trusted general was actually working for the pasha, and promptly stabbed him in the back with the newly forged longsword."




Magic weapon (longsword), legendary (requires attunement)

• You gain a +3 on attack rolls and damage rolls with this longsword.

• Frostrazor deals 1d10 cold damage and has the Finesse property.

• When you score a critical hit with Frostrazor, a 6 inch long shard of ice breaks off in the target's wound. A creature wounded in this way takes 1d8 cold damage at the beginning of their turn and you gain that many temporary hit points. They may use their action to make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw to dig the shard out of their wound wounded in this way, 

• When you kill a creature with Frostrazor it turns to ice.

• You gain resistance to cold damage and do not gain levels of exhaustion from freezing temperatures.

Friday, July 14, 2017

Oakhurst: Duty and Sacrifice

My Oakhurst game is designed to be a sandbox, so I'm attempting to have some plot threads available to sew together and simply let the player's drive the story.


The group, along with three mules and five hirelings, set out north toward the home of the hag, Angelika, just after first light. After over two hours of travel along the plains on a sunny and breezy day, Willen the Ranger, noticed the trails of multiple large burrowing animals about forty yards to the east. Then the group heard a loud humanoid voice and some crunching and tearing noises over some hills in the same direction.

Willen realized that it was currently the mating season of bulettes and figured thats why there were so many trails.




Willen and Alvin the Wizard then snuck over the area and spied three hill giants who had been plucking the passionate bulettes out of the earth and eating them. One of them, a nasty sort with one milky eye, saw then and chase them off with rocks (that did a massive amount of damage to the Ranger), more concerned with their current meal than the two characters. Ander the Rogue raced toward them for aid.




Meanwhile, the rest of the group and the mules were attacked by a bulette. It took the whole group reuniting to finish it off.

After discussing how to proceed, the group continued north, moving from the plains to light forest. Willen and Alvin both spied two orc scouts on wargs, members of the Bone Thieves tribe, who simply stared at them, almost timidly from a safe distance. In fact, twice more the came upon orcs who merely kept their distance. The Ranger, who spoke orc, finally decided to speak to a sentinel in a tree, who revealed that the tribe was expecting emissaries of Zeos and were glad they were finally on hand.

Of course, no one knew who Zeos was, but they played along, glad to have safe travel through hostile territory.

Finally the forest turned thicker and less light from the middday sun shone through the older trees around them.

Alvin noticed a tree with the skull of a troll in it's bough and a second tree with a fetish, a few yards from the first. He realized these were magical wards and called for a halt. Ander the Rogue tossed a rock at the troll's skull and immediately a flock of large ravens burst upon them. Additionally, the sounds of wailing and frightened children could be heard all about them. Gulag drove off the ravens with magic and their group was fired upon by four kenku, the source of the childlike voices. 

The group quickly dispatched the kenku, while one of the hirelings approached the fetish in the second tree and the necromantic magic within the fetish assaulted him.

Once the group helped the hireling, a smoky image erupted from the troll's skull and introduced itself as Angelika and demanded to know why the group was tresspassing.

They learned that she had not created the Yellow Plague and sent a ransom note, that the chief of the Bone Thieves, whom she had aided in the past, approached her seeking magic to allow him to unite the goblinoids in the region and she had refused. They also learned that she knew of Zeos as a simple grave robber until he discovered an powerful tome filled with necromantic magic.

She did offer to find a cure for the halflings (she found them delicious and couldn't imagine anyone wasting such delicious meat) in exchange for being able to eat her test subject afterward. The group agreed to this and Gulag the Cleric bartered for teleportation back to Oakhurst in exchange for a second halfling.




However, only half the group took that offer and they began hiking back to the village.

When the other half arrived at the village, they immediately found a volunteer halfling willing to sacrifice themselves and when Gulag learned the magic the hag had given them wouldn't allow them to send a halfling cadaver, Ander the Rogue used her magic to transport himself to Angelika.

Thursday, July 13, 2017

Fiend Folio: Blindheim for D&D 5th Edition





"This subterranean creature is yellow and frog-like humanoid with huge eyes that shine like searchlights. While in repose, the beast keeps its eyes 'turned off by means of an extra eyelid; however it can 'attack' instantaneously by opening its eyes, and its acute sense of hearing will usually indicate to it the direction of its 'target'.

The creature is coloured in varying shades of yellow, the darker shades on its back contrasting with lighter shades on its underbelly. If the eyes of a dead blindheim are opened, they are seen t o be a dull gold in colour."

BLINDHEIM
Small monstrocity, chaotic evil
________________________________________________

Armor Class 16 (natural armor)
Hit Points 18 (4d10 + 4) 
Speed 45 ft.
________________________________________________
   Str            Dex         Con           Int         Wis         Cha
14 (+2)        16 (+3)        11 (+0)        5 (-3)      10 (+0)      3 (-4)
________________________________________________

Skills Stealth +5
Condition Immunities blinded, poison
Senses blindsense 60 ft. (blind beyond this radius), 
passive Perception 9
Languages --
Challenge 1 (200 XP)
________________________________________________


Blinding Stare. The mephit exhales a 15-foot cone of blinding dust. Each creature in that area must succeed on a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw or be blinded for 1 minute.  When a creature starts its turn within 30 feet of the blindheim and is able to see the blindheim's eyes, the creature must succeed on a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw or be blinded for 1 minute.  A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. Creatures that succeed on their save have advantage on their attack rolls against the blindheim as long as it using it's blinding stare.

Standing Leap. The frog's long jump is up to 40 feet and its
high jump is up to 20 feet, with or without a running start.
________________________________________________

ACTIONS
Vicious Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 23) piercing damage.



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Wednesday, July 12, 2017

FAE: Keenan Taylor, A Werejaguar of Grave New World

For years I've been developing a modern supernatural setting where the monsters live out in the open, ala True Blood or Anita Blake, that I call Graven New World.


I'm thinking of running it in Fate Accelerated. Right now I'm sticking with "vanilla" FAE, but may use Dresden Files Accelerated.

Keenan Taylor has always been bright and fearless. He got a full ride to John Hopkins and immediately began living on the edge, trying to balance his studies and Baltimore's night life. During his second term he had a one night stand with a woman named Bianca and contracted Therianthropy from a bite.

While the school has adapted to his ailment, his parents haven't and relationships are strained with both of his parents.

An intern named Juniper, whose brother is a wererat, has been helping learn about Inhuman culture and he has made some real friends.


Keenan Taylor

High Concept: 
   Werejaguar Medical Student
Trouble: Womanizer
Shared: You Help Me Understand My Disease
Other Aspects: Charming, Historian

APPROACHES
Careful: Mediocre (+0) 
Clever: Good (+3) 
Flashy: Fair (+2) 
Forceful: Average (+1) 
Quick: Fair (+2) 
Sneaky: Average (+1)

STUNTS
Uses Big Words (Clever): Because of your Vocabulary you gain a +2 to Cleverly interact with someone one on one.

Fearless (Quick): Because of your Confidence you gain a +2 when in conflict with one opponent.

Werejaguar (Flashy): When you transform, you gain 3 additional Stress and Increase your Forceful and Quick by 1.

STRESS
[  ]  [  ]  [  ]

CONSEQUENCES 

Mild (2): 
Moderate (4): 
Severe (6):

REFRESH: 3 


Monday, July 10, 2017

A New Look

Changed the look of the blog a bit. 

Here is the background image.




Any feedback?

13th Age: Rompo

I'm developing a project focusing on African folklore and decided to explore it with 13th Age due to feedback from my Patrons.


Rompo is a mythological beast with the head of a hare, human ears, a skeleton-like body, the front arms of a badger, and the rear legs of a bear. It feeds only on human corpses and it is said to croon softly as it eats. 






ROMPO
2nd level [BEAST]
Initiative: +2
Vulnerablity: holy

Human ears: The rompo understands Common.

Serious burrower: A rompo can burrow incredibly quickly for short distances. They’re renowned for the mounds of dirt and rock they push above them as they surge through the ground like land torpedoes.

 Claw +7 vs. AC –– 7 damage
     Natural even hit: The target takes +1d6 damage from another 
        claw swipe.


Nastier Specials
Hybrid: The rompo gains a +2 to saves.

AC 18
PD  18                              HP 36
MD 12

Fear Threshold 12




Sunday, July 9, 2017

Silent Legions: Invisible Horror



Invisible Horror for Silent Legions

AC: 2
HD: 8
Atks: Smash x2 +8
Skill: +5
Special: Warded (Immune to bullets)
Move: 40'
Morale: 9
Dmg: 1d8 x2
Madness: 2d6
Save: 15+



"Another visitor to the ranch had a more ominous encounter in the middle homestead, the same place where I was set out as bait. The visitor, along with Gorman and his son, say they saw a large blurry something moving through the trees. The visitor has been meditating when this thing showed up. It swiftly moved from the trees, across the pasture, covering 100 yards in seconds, and when it reached the man, it let out a ferocious roar, something akin to a large bear, a roar loud enough to be heard hundreds of yards away. But this was no bear. It was, according to the Gormans, nearly invisible, resembling the camouflaged being in the movie Predator. The visitor was so scared, he grabbed on to Gorman and wouldn't let go. He left the ranch and has never returned."


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RPG Blog Carnival June: The Participants of Gonzo & Cross-Genre



In June I hosted the RPG Blog Carnival and my topic was Gonzo and Cross-Genre Gaming. You can learn more about the Carnival and even visit it's archives at Johnn Four's Roleplaying Tips.



I am extremely grateful to share the posts of those that chose to join me on this topic, in no particularly order.

Clark Timmins posted about Multiverses in RPGs.

Phil Nicholls about applying Gonzo to his Tales of the Hero Wars game.

Marc Plourde posted about the appeal of genre mash-ups.

And Brian Rubinfeld posted an assortment of Magictech for Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition.

I apologize that my follow up is late and truly appreciated the opportunity to host the RPG Blog Carnival. And I am honored to host the work of my fellow bloggers on this topic.


1,000 Faces: Kassandra Kray

Kassandra Kray is a bandit leader in her early 30s, who command the Violet Horde, which has plagued the Sword Coast for the last two years. She has also done mercenary work for the Arcane Brotherhood and she has also sold information to the Lords' Alliance. Kass is a natural leader and master tactician.



While Kass has earned solid reputation as the hard-nosed leader of her band, it has allowed her to work within the shadows to combat slavery in the region. In fact, 40% of her band is made up of slaves that she has freed and who have been willing to join the Horde and find a place for them where they are their own masters.

Kass is a Human 5th Level Battle-Master Fighter and a 2nd Level Swashbuckler Rogue. Kass was a guardswoman in Baldur's Gate in her youth and the human misery she lived on a daily basis lead her to a life on the road. She has an interest in history, especially the reign of Netheril, and rumors insist that she will not let her Horde rob a historian or sage they encounter. Kass is a casual worshiper of Tempus.

Kass is 6' 1", is long and lean, with long raven-black locks and deep, dark eyes. She is talkative, sly, and flirty when raiding a group on the road and does her best to use as little violence as possible. She is intensely loyal to her Horde and will track down and bloodily torture anyone who injures or kills one of her own.
In private, she is a bit shy, likes talking history and current events, and is an intense listener.  She has a older sister, Trina and a younger brother, Kalvin, who both live in Thundertree. She tries to make time to quietly visit them at least twice a year and helps them fund the farm they and their families work.

Saturday, July 8, 2017

DMing: Random Encounters

I've been analyzing how I run games and figured that I'd share what I do and either help others or learn new techniques.



When I'm prepping random encounters, usually look a few monsters of various Challenge Ratings that are suitable for the environment the characters are dealing with (the 5E DMG is great for this) and have them set aside, out of the player's view.

I then roll for a random encounter usually every few hours of travel, about 1-2 hours of exploration, and once per short rest and 3-4 times per long rest. I do this by rolling a d6, with an encounter on a roll of 1 and sometimes on a roll of 2. If I roll a 6, not only does no encounter occur, but either the group finds a helpful resource or they are safe for this scene and I won't roll for the next random encounter. Any number in between, means nothing happens.

I like the d6 because I like the way it feels in my hand, silly I know, but it's true and its easy to quickly assign the significant numbers. It's the only rolls I make in secret, simply covering it from view with my hand. I'll admit, sometimes I roll simply to keep the player's on their toes.

I don't use random lists, simply because I'd rather have the stats for the threat available to me. Have 3 to 5 options is always nice and I generally have the strength of the encounter roughly formed, though I have problem adapting it on the fly.

If you have a way to handle random encounters, please post them!


Thursday, July 6, 2017

Oakhurst: Heading Into the Deep, Dark Unknown

My Oakhurst game is designed to be a sandbox, so I'm attempting to have some plot threads available to sew together and simply let the player's drive the story.




Last week, they discovered a supply depot on the outskirts of the village was home to a strange family, the Karnaks, not only was infested with ratmen (think M:tG's Nezumi or the Old World's Skaven), but that the family appeared to worship an ancient chaos god known as the Great Horned One. They also began exploring a tunnel that had been connected to the depot's basement.




This week, the group decided to explore the stairs, in all of their ancient and slick glory.

First they encountered a minor poison trap, which led them to face off against 3 darkmantles.

Next they encountred a patrol of 2 rat-ogres (reskinned quagoths).

Weary, out of healing spells, they decided to take a short rest.

After descending nearly 200 feet into the Underdark, they were just a few minutes away from the eerie ancient hall with walls seeped in bloody symbols dedicated to the Great Horned One. They could make out vague details of the rooms that it led to toward the east and west...and then a xorn burst through the wall of the landing they stood upon and quickly laid their thief low. Our dwarven cleric remembered that xorn's were immune to normal weapons and the group, after a few more hits by the viscious monstrocity, ran. They simply turned tail and headed upward, even carrying their fallen thief (who rolled a crit on his third Death save).




As a DM, I was proud of them. The xorn was a random encounter and I wasn't sure how well they would weather that fight as they are only level 3.

After making their way out of the stairs and sealing up the tunnels, they gots a good night's sleep (though the monk seems to have contrasted some illness) they woke up to hunt down a hag, Angelika, that has unleashed the Yellow Plague upon the halflings of the village.

It's a night, bright summer day and their band has set out on yet another mission.

Until next week.

Monster Monday: Ork City's Chupacabra for Shadowdark

Welcome to Ork City! In the middle of Ork City's Hatt Island is the Park, a wild and dangerous forest filled with all manner of nightmar...