Homebrew World: Seven Truths

To give players an idea of what my setting is about, and help guiding them as far as themes I enjoy during character creation I created the following list:

1. The World is Wide and Untamed. Maps won’t always be exact and the places between settlements are dangerous, haunted by great beasts and mystical monsters. Only the bravest travel between settlements and few have travelled across continents. Monsters exist in the wilderness and don’t care if they are overpowered for your party’s level—you may need to run.

2. There is Great Darkness in the World, but Where There is Darkness There Arise Heroes. There is real evil, and horrors from the void and realms of nightmares in the world. But, your character can literally reshape the world. Their actions determine history, changing reality with every choice. The goals you create and discuss with the GM become reality in this world, and can change it for the better.

3. Politics and Choices Drive Conflict. Your character’s affiliations and beliefs shape the world. The world has been shaped by an empire that now only seems to exist in name. Great heroes and villains can seize power and gain influence in the far flung fiefdoms, remote villages, and most cosmopolitan cities. Criminal, political, religious, and economic groups vie for power and need to be engaged with, otherwise their choices will still affect you.

4. Blank Spaces Need to be Filled In. There’s still plenty of room in the world. Your ideas for a village, an organization, or whatever to fill in a character backstory are welcome. There may be something that exists, or maybe you can help create that lore. You just need to ask to find out.

5. Gods, Angels, Demon, and Devils are Real. There are great forces for good and evil, fighting for the eternal souls of mortal beings. Mortals have the ability to choose what and whom they serve. There still exists ambiguity and moral complexity, meaning celestial and fiends are more complicated than they might first appear.

6. There are Infinite Worlds, and You Can Go to Them. There are many worlds, where the gods and angels live, along with demons, devils, and all manner of beings. Part of adventures in this world is discovering the secret portals, hidden paths, magical machines, and arcane lore that allows you to walk between worlds and explore the wider universe.

7. If it Exists in Roleplaying Games, There’s Probably a Place for it Here. Most concepts and ideas can be included in the world if you express that you are interested and are willing to work with the GM to modify them to fit the setting and style.

Homebrew Campaign: Mercenary Company - Player Introduction

Your company has a long and storied history or always completing the contract—even if it’s not in the way expected. You’ve served many masters, across many worlds—if the annals are to be believed. 

All that has taken you to this moment. Your characters are the lead officers of your company. You are currently under contract to defend the city of Vraugate from a clan of ice giant reavers. What contract will you take next? What will come from the rumblings of war with the powerful, self styled She Who Sees Beyond and the falling empire? Will you serve good or evil—is there even a difference anymore? This is for you to decide.

Create the Story You Want

Players will have a heavy role in helping drive this campaign. It will be a complete sandbox, offering possibilities and adventure hooks, but ultimately it will be up to the players to follow them.

Players might get into the conflict referenced above, but could go in any number of other directions like capturing a ship and becoming pirates with their troops, or investigating the mysterious ancient origins of their company by traveling across the planes to places like the Hells and the Abyss, or even to the Heavens, or the Inner planes of elemental fire, water, air, and earth. The universe is yours to explore in an epic of your own creation.

Some Assembly Required

Players will help create their own mercenary company, creating a group name and a symbol for their banner alongside their own characters.

This campaign will use the organization rules from MCDM’s Kingdoms & Warfare supplement for 5e to simulate commanding a mercenary regiment. Kingdoms & Warfare uses a system called Intrigue to model conflict between the player organization and an opposing faction, ultimately culminating in Warfare battles. While not in intrigue you can use your organization to perform certain tasks (within reason!) However, you can only recruit new military units or improve your existing ones during intrigue. The defense of Vraugate mentioned above will serve as a tutorial on the warfare system. We will learn intrigue through play. It may seem complicated at first, but you will eventually master it, just like you have your characters.

Players may pick from the various organization types and subtypes available in the supplement, but we will reskin the organization as a mercenary company with different flavor depending upon the mechanics you choose. Every character must have a title from those available from their organization, but one must also take this custom title in place of one of the organization titles:

Company Annalist. The long tradition of keepIng the records of your company has come down to you. You gain proficiency in the History and Religion skills. If you already have proficiency in one or both then you gain expertise in the respective skill. Your studies of the lore of the company also grant you advantage on History and Religion Checks that regard the company’s history. The annals are held in a massive chest, to which you hold the only key, carried on an iron chain around your neck. The chest is guarded by the most elite veterans of your company. On your belt you carry the current annals, which is a book connected by a larger iron chain to your belt. It never leaves your person until it is full and joins the larger collection, upon which you begin writing in a new book.

The Current Annals. This book contains your and recent annalist’s writings. The book is a mundane item, but contains great significance for the company. You should give your life before losing it or the other annals. While you maintain the book you may inspire your companions with a story from the company’s past, granting you and each of your companions one use of Inspiration each. Additionally, you can inspire one of the units you command in a warfare battle, granting them one extra attack on their first activation. These abilities can only be used again after you take an extended rest (one week conducting no other downtime activity other than recording recent events and studying the annals), and they may not be used more than once a month. Should you ever lose the annals your troops have disadvantage on all attacks during warfare battles until the annals are retrieved. If they are destroyed your company is broken and you lose all your units. You must undertake a great quest to restart the annals and the company in a new form.

Junior Officers

We will also use retainers from MCDM’s Strongholds & Followers. The GM will provide a list of all the retainer types. Each character will get to choose two retainers, giving them names and a brief background. Your two retainers are the junior officers of the mercenary company under your command. You may pick one to accompany the party on quests or in combat (this is to make managing them reasonable and not unbalance the game). You may roleplay interactions with your retainers and send them to complete other tasks for you. For instance, you might order a retainer to take some of your troops and guard a place or position. Or you might dispatch one to obtain supplies for your company or to do research at a library or temple. Another might be a healer that can render aid to you as senior officers after a mission. Another might be your spymaster, providing you reports. 

Retainers also serve as backup characters. Each corresponds to a specific character class from the Player’s Handbook, so your retainer can become a replacement character should you so choose. If you want a custom retainer of another character type then coordinate with the GM to design an appropriate retainer together that can represent that character archetype in a balance manner.

Your Characters 

The most important element of this campaign are your characters—their motivations, secrets, and connections are what will drive the story of this campaign. 

We will build characters to start play at fifth level. All character options from the default list are approved. Regardless of what character you create consider the following guidance and themes that should guide you as you craft them and help tie them into the campaign:

• Everyone who joins your company leaves their old name behind and takes on a nickname. Create a name and a nickname for your character. Then consider if any of your companions are so close that you have shared your real name with them. 
• You have been in many battles together. You are veterans who have come up in the company together. Come up with some war stories that connect your characters—perhaps someone saved your life or soul! Or maybe you saved them and they decided to join the company.
• Consider why you left your old life to join the company. Were you running away from your old life? Were you leaving painful loss behind? Or did you just want adventure?
• Make up an NPC connected with your past before the company and write down one line describing them and your connection.
• Create a personal goal or quest for your character and share it with the GM (you can decide whether to keep it a secret from other players or left them know). It should be general enough that the GM can work with you to modify it if necessary and fit it into the story. Completing this goal or quest will earn you both a free feat (subject to GM approval) and the equivalent of a deadly encounter’s worth of XP for your party.

Mechanics & Miscellany

Here are a last few things to keep in mind:

• We will use XP-based leveling. 
• Because we are starting at higher level, characters will have 500 gp plus 1d10 x 25 gp, one uncommon magic item, and normal starting equipment for your class and background. They can spend the gold on additional mundane equipment during character creation.
• We will use my modified exhaustion rules.
• We will use enhanced healing rules: All healing spells and potions double the type of die used. Additionally, if you use a potion during combat you may expend a full action to get max healing, while using a bonus action requires a die roll, using the doubled dice mentioned above.
• We will use the rules from Uncharted Journeys by Cubicle7 for long distance travel. The GM may modify encounters due to the presence of your army. Monster encounters may occur while you are riding or exploring ahead of your main force (it’s not very cool if you come across a monster and instead of getting to defeat it and gain experience your troops charge in and stab it to death—while having a few of them get killed or crushed!) Additionally, traveling through some areas will be easier with an army, while traveling in certain environments might be impossible with a large force.
• Your army may be used for some tasks like clearing out dungeons—but keep in mind that even if such checks are successful there may be negative consequences. You could loose a unit even if your troops successfully clear a dungeon, or have your organization stats permanently decreased due to the strain of the operation.
• We will use a modified version of the “Last Stand” rule from page 125 of Cubicle7’s Broken Weave supplement. This rule in essence allows a character who is critically injured and doing death saves to elect to die after taking a final turn with certain buffs to their actions. This allows them to sacrifice themselves in combat for their comrades while expending their most powerful abilities.

My Homebrew World: The Nine Gods

I really enjoy developed lore about the deities and cosmology of my fantasy worlds. It may be from reading the Belgariad as a kid or any number of fantasy series, but the idea of clerics and paladins choosing a god and fighting evil—or maybe being evil from a different point of view because of their fanatical beliefs—is intriguing. 

This post is intended for players. I will provide a GM only addendum eventually which will include secrets and potential adventure hooks. Gods from other materials can be incorporated by considering them an aspect or a different name for a similar deity, much like we see in real world history. Gender and other details may be swapped, but you can often treat them as literally being the same as other gods not included here.

You may also notice that at the time this is published originally that there remain many blank spaces for associated angels and saints. This is because those articles have not been written yet. Once they are up I will add the names and link to the respective articles.

The Nine

The Church worships the Nine as a collective. Thus the Church acknowledges all Nine in its iconography—and expressly prohibits any appeals to the Dark Ones. However, largely the Church encourages appeals to the Cascades of Saints or the Heavenly Choruses of Angels for intercession on the petitioner’s behalf to the Nine, which is why most clerics of the Church have patron Saints or Angels that they venerate. There are still however those who beseech one or more of the Nine directly.

Toutatis

Title(s): The Warrior, The Chief of Warlords, Master of the Noble Hunt

Alignment: CG

Domain(s): Hunt, Knowledge, Nature, War

Associated Paladin Oaths: Ancients, Battle, Conquest, Devotion, Eagle

Associated Angels: 

Associated Saints: St. Navrejar, St. Tevra 

Toutatis is the warrior deity of the pantheon of the Nine. Devotees of Toutatis are often martial-types, or warrior paladins, or even rangers or barbarians that wander the deep woods and high peaks. Toutatis the patron of many warrior angels and saints, and their respective orders. But his worshippers may also be found in deep groves or in mountain hollows open to the sky as well as in stone temples and citadels.

Lucan

Title(s): The Gentle Sleep, The Resting Grave, Change and Decay, The Grim Lord

Alignment: N

Domain(s): Grave, Darkness, Death, Demonology, Life, Peace, Corruption, Vermin, Repose

Associated Paladin Oaths: Devotion, 

Associated Angels: Dalquiel

Associated Saints: St. Nithtari

Lucan represents the inevitability of death. He not evil, rather Lucan represents the natural consequences of life and magic. He abhors the undead, liches, and others who prolong their lives through unnatural means. Lucan also represents the inevitable decay that exists in the duality of life and growth progressing into corruption, decay, and death. His followers seek to destroy the undead, specializing in hunting necromancers and those who would disturb the sleeping dead. He hates the followers of Orcus and demons in general for meddling with the order of the universe. Lucan is said to reside in the realm of shadows that mirrors the mundane world where he sends souls on their way to the outer realms. Other souls linger in the shadow plane, endlessly waiting for release from whatever holds them bound to it and the material plane.

Cernunnos 

Title(s): The Cunning, The Stranger, The Gambler, Master of Lies, Weaver

Alignment: CG

Domain(s): Arcana, Avarice, Labyrinth, Travel, Speed, Trickery, Portal, Void

Associated Paladin Oaths: Acquisitions, 

Associated Angels: 

Associated Saints: St. Lukricus, St. Samira

Cernunnos is a trickster god, and although he is good at the core, can be capricious. He is also a god of travelers, and those who entrust their lives and fortunes to chance, like gamblers. Cernunnos is described in myths as often playing tricks on the other gods or seeking to engage them in riddles. Sphinxes and similar creatures often are said to be descended from Cernunnos due to this predilection. He also is said to be the grandfather of the fey lords and ladies, and to animal spirits, all creatures that display cunning and cleverness. Many rogues revere him for these traits. Cernunnos also represents the shifting nature of magic and it is said that once when he transformed into a spider he woven the threads of magic that crisscross the universe, acting as a fount of arcane magic, particularly for those who study ley line magic.

Caturix

Title(s): Father of Dust, Flamebringer, The Tempest, The Wave

Alignment: CN

Domain(s): Creation, Life, Light, Air, Fire, Earth, Nature, Tempest, Water, Wind

Associated Paladin Oaths: Ancients, Battle, Eagle, Elements

Associated Angels: 

Associated Saints: 

Caturix is an old god, perhaps older than the others, and represents the power of the elements. The Inner Planes and the building blocks of the universe were created by him. Though the various jinn of these planes have differing stories about their creation and lineage these may be references to various aspects of Caturix. He may also be linked to many sorcerers gifted with elemental magic. He is also worshiped under various names by druidic circles.

Brigid

Title(s): The Hammer, Anvil of Truth, Master of all Makers, Exalted Artificer, The Chains of Eternity 

Alignment: LN

Domain(s): Avarice, Creation, Clockwork, Forge, Light

Associated Paladin Oaths: Acquisitions, Devotion, Eagle, 

Associated Angels: 

Associated Saints: 

Brigid is the smith and armorer of the gods. She is a versatile crafter, capable of working all mediums, and is thus a patron of creation, art, and innovation. Even some bards worship Brigid, desiring that their lays be as fine and cunningly wrought as her weapons and precious gem-set treasures. The dwarves and elf’s hold Brigid in high regard, although they know her by many other names. It is said she takes her materials from the Inner Planes to ensure the greatest purity from Caturix material creations. She also is said to inspire inventors and artificers of all types. She is said to have forged the chains that prevent fiends and celestials from running rampant across the planes, requiring them to be summoned by manipulation of her chains and Cernunnos’ magical weave.

Tsovinar 

Title(s): Lady of the Four Winds, The Breathe of the World, The Glittering Dragon, She of Might and Terror, The Appointed Destroyer, The End of All Things

Alignment: CN

Domain(s): Apocalypse, Arcana, Dragon, Knowledge, Tempest, Nature, Ocean, Serpent, War, Wind

Associated Paladin Oaths: Battle, Conquest, Eagle, 

Associated Angels: 

Associated Saints: St. Navrejar

Tsovinar is sister to Tiamat. In ancient times their battles tore the sky and sent wind and wave flying, destroying all in its path. Until Tiamat was cast into the Lower Realms and bound. Tsovinar is revered by all good dragons, no matter what the shade of their scales, but is often considered the mother of gemstone dragons. Those who seek the might of dragons or to emulate them are often followers of Tsovinar. She is a powerful god of storms, often worshipped by sailors and travelers desiring good weather. It is said that when the world reaches its true end, if it is not consumed by some evil deity in a terrible apocalypse, that Tsovinar will heed Lucan and Wontor’s command to end the world, retiring it from all violence and blood that is waged and spilt upon it, and giving it eternal rest from the evil of mortals.

Culsani 

Title(s): Fairest, Beauty of the Dew and Dusk

Alignment: CN

Domain(s): Avarice, Beauty, Wine (Beer), Moon, Nature 

Associated Paladin Oaths: Acquisitions, 

Associated Angels: 

Associated Saints: St. Lukricus

Culsani is a goddess most identified with love and loss of inhibition. She is worshiped by festival and party-goers, but also is particularly highlighted at weddings and other events marking the possibilities of a new beginning. She also is said to love the gardens in moonlight, garnering her the devotion of many nature and moon focused clerics. While not evil, she can be unpredictable and cruel with her beauty and quick wit. 

Tarin 

Title(s): The Silvered Dragon, The Dragon Emperor, Unyielding 

Alignment: LN

Domain(s): Arcana, Judgement, Justice, Balance, Dragon, Mountain, Order, Serpent, Speed

Associated Paladin Oaths: Battle, Conquest, Devotion, Eagle, 

Associated Angels: 

Associated Saints: St. Orpheus

Tarin is the third of the three dragon gods, consort and nemesis to both Tsovinar and Tiamat. He is the rock of the mountains, unyielding against the storms of the others. Revered by good dragons of all types and those who admire dragons, Tarin is stubborn in dispensing justice and order. He cannot tolerate creatures of disorder and is said to dislike Cernunnos intensely..

Wontor 

Title(s): The One-Eyed God, Father Time, Raven-Eyed

Alignment: LG

Domain(s): Arcana, Life, Knowledge, Apocalypse, Creation, Civilization, Martyr, Portal, Prophecy 

Associated Paladin Oaths: Ancients, Ascetics, Battle, Conquest, Devotion, Eagle, 

Associated Angels: 

Associated Saints: St. Adelard, St. Nithtari, 

Wontor is often said to be the leader of the gods. This may or may not be true, but at the least he is renown for his knowledge and power. He is said to be gifted the power of making and unmaking and will be there at the world’s end. Often depicted as missing an eye, he is said to see the bridge between worlds. Those who seeks knowledge and magical power, tempered by wisdom and good are seekers of Wontor.

The Dark Ones

Chergoth

Title(s): The Dark One

Alignment: CE

Domain(s): Apocalypse, Avarice, Hunger, War, Corruption, Darkness, Death, Demonology, Madness, Void

Associated Paladin Oaths:

Associated Angels: 

Associated Saints: 

Chergoth may be a mask of various demon lords, primarily Orcus. Or he may be a distinct entity, ruling the lower realm of Gahenna. He is generally recognized as distinct from Asmodeus, who is largely ignored in the theology of the Nine, although its clerics will not dispute the existence of the King of the Hells.

Tiamat

Title(s): The Dark Serpent

Alignment: LE

Domain(s): Apocalypse, Avarice, Darkness, Dragon, Serpent, Tyranny

Associated Paladin Oaths:

Associated Angels: 

Associated Saints: 

Called the dark serpent, the goddess Tiamat is sister to Tsovinar and sometimes consort, most time enemy of Tarin. Her battles with these other gods are legendary. Legend say that Tiamat is bound in chains by the gods, but her loyal followers seek to restore her and lift her up to rule over the Nine.

Ptolus: Player Introduction

Ptolus, the City by the Spire. One of the largest and most cosmopolitan cities in the world, it rises upon its white rocky cliffs, all below the mysterious spire and the fortress at its top. 

All manner of people and beings live in Ptolus, and it does brisk trade. The wilds have been driven back here, though mysterious and dark creatures and treasures still lurk. 

Craft Your Own Beginning 

In this Ptolus campaign, players will be newcomers to the city. This is so that the city provides a fresh experience and we don’t need to manage “knowledge that you should know because you grew up here.” Instead they will be tied to the city through their patron, which they will get to choose. Players, in addition to creating their character, will choose a party patron together from the following categories:

• Arcane Organization
• Criminal Organization
• Religious Organization (Players can influence which one by their character choices)
• Druidic Circle
• Knightly Order
• Noble House
• Merchant Company
• Delvers Guild (Adventuring Company)
• Performing Troupe

Players should work to tie their characters’ backstories together and create characters that make sense for their chosen patron type. 

City of Adventure

Ptolus is a high magic city and highly cosmopolitan, but also has underground dungeons and secret complexes to explore. Players will find that supplies and magic items are relatively accessible in Ptolus, and it creates a different dynamic when encounters are more infrequent and resting within the city more often than not quite safe. 

The players will however find themselves in the midst of great intrigue. Amongst other activities they may find themselves in the following situations:

• Aid or suppressing a rebellion against the city leaders
• Dungeoncrawling under the city
• Searching the Necropolis for a tomb
• Attending a dinner party in a noble house
• Solving the mystery of a serial killer in the dock district
• Collecting rumors in taverns
• Deposing the current patriarch and Emperor of the Church
• Fighting a secret cult in the temple district
• Going to an opera
• Purchasing adventuring gear in Delver’s Square
• Fighting in a gang war

The possibilities for adventure are endless and only limited by our imaginations in Ptolus. 

In the City

This campaign will be limited to the city and its general environs. The farthest players might travel is to an outlying island for a quest. This players should create their own goals and ask questions about activities available in the city to discover new things to do.

All the World’s a Stage and the People Merely Players

Characters will follow the options available in the default player options, along with the following ancestry options:

• Leonin 
• Lizardfolk

Traveller Play by Post Campaign Character

An old friend of mine who I tipped off to Traveller just invited me to join a play-by-post campaign. I am very excited! 

For character creation allowed us to use the core generation in Classic Traveller Book I, and in Supplement 4: Citizens of the Imperium.

The character I created is:

Jaek Aksel
Former Diplomat 1st Secretary 
Age: 30
Skills: Liaison-1, Instruction-1, Forgery-2, Winged Craft-1, Gambling-2, Dagger-1, Streetwise-1
Mustering out: 40,000cr, Low Psg, High Psg, High Psg

UPP: 88A772

We are beginning in a subsector my friend created called Edel-4, or “The Belt.” This is the beginning blurb I wrote about Jaek’s motivation to go there:

“Former 1st Secretary Jaek Aksel was an unlikely candidate for the diplomatic service as the son of a poor family on one of the corporate hive worlds. His application would have been tossed out had Ambassador Ulric Harcrow not recognized his true talents as someone who could do the unsavory work of diplomacy in the background. Doomed never to advance into the upper ranks of the service due to his social status, Jaek served faithfully and well until he was no longer needed. Scapegoated when negotiations with a renegade noble house went awry, he was summarily discharged from the service. Seeking a new beginning where his unique skills could be put to good use, he took passage to Edel-4.”

Tomb of the Restless Knights

This is a dungeon created using one of Dyson Logos’ commercial use maps as a side quest so my players can find the arcane knowledge necessary to break the curse on a Sword of Vengeance purchased from the apothecary in Kalaman.

I let them know that their organization heard rumors of such knowledge possibly being secreted in the tombs of Solamnic knights in the hills to the south of the city.

Cartography by Dyson Logos

This dungeon is designed for four characters of fifth level. It can be modified by adding or removing monsters from the encounters.

The upper left of the image shows a side view of the dungeon set into the side of a hill. The first room or guardian room is seen in the center, lower portion, entered from behind four standing stones on the hillside.

The Guardian Room: The guardian room contains four metal statues of knights. Weathered and aged green from rust and damp, these are actually four Clockwork Soldiers (see below). The door at the end of the chamber is locked and contains ancient ruins telling the story of the knights entombed here. If any attempt is made to break or open the door the Clockwork Soldiers lurch to life, fighting the intruders. The door can be opened via the Knock spell or a DC 18 Check with Thieves Tools.

The Hidden Entrance: A hidden entrance lies in the side of the hill to the left of the large rocks framing the main entrance. This entrance can be found with a half hour of determine search near the hill or a successful DC 15 Investigation check. This is not a constructed entrance and instead was caused by the erosion of the hillside eventually opening a natural passage down into the lower chamber. The passage is steep and if it has rained recently is likely slick from runoff. Character descending should make a DC 12 Athletics or Acrobatics (their choice) check to avoid slipping and falling to the bottom. These checks can be made with advantage and the consequences adjusted if the characters attempt to mitigate the difficulties, for instance, roping all of them together prevents bludgeoning damage from a fall. Any characters advancing in front must make a DC 12 Dexterity save to avoid being struck by their falling comrade or will be struck and fall to. Falling adventurers take 1d8 bludgeoning damage and are prone.

The Curving Stairs: The curving stairs lead down from the Guardian Room, or up from the lower chamber connected to the hidden entrance. Halfway along the stairs in the outer wall of the semicircle is a hidden door to the true tomb chambers of the knights. If characters are activity searching for a secret door they notice it if they spend at least a half hour in the area. Otherwise a DC 12 Investigation check finds the door. 

The Well: A dark well dominates this room. Nothing can be seen in the darkness below. Characters will need a rope or equipment like pitons to descend. Any character free climbing down must make a DC 15 check to succeed. They will soon discover that the well opens into a wider room. The floor is 15 feet below the opening.

The Lower Chamber: This room is accessed via the hidden entrance or the curving stairs and connects to the well room. This room is choked with dust but appears to be some sort of chapel and preparatory chamber, perhaps for readying the bodies of the Solamnic knights for burial. It has the decaying remnants of tables with jars and various tools. A DC 12 Investigation or Religion Check reveals that this chamber appears to have been used for mummification. Faded and decaying tapestries depict armored knights and a patron war deity.

The Large Crypt: The largest room on the lower most level is a large crypt, musty and unopened for long centuries. A hole in the ceiling in the top right corner of the room leads up the well, and a hidden door (DC 8 Investigation Check) is in the wall nearby leading down to the pool chamber. Many bones are stacked in the alcoves, along with wrapped corpses in others. None are mummified, and all have long decayed to bones. If any characters disturb the area or attempt to search the alcoves 2d8 skeletons animate from the various niches, moving to attack. If the characters flee or attempt to return any items taken from the crypt the skeletons return to their rest. Treasure: 350 gp, 152 sp, 200 cp, plate armor, Scroll of Invisibility, Scroll of Magic Mouth.

Pool Chamber: This room is accessed down the stairs in the corridor outside the large crypt, and can also be found via a secret door from the large crypt. The secret door in the pool room can be found with a DC 8 Investigation Check. A water elemental lurks in the stagnant pool and driven to rage from long confinement it attacks any creatures that come within 5 feet.

Hidden Antechamber: This room is accessed via the secret door on the curving stairs. A secret door in the center top side of the room leads to the knight’s tomb it is noticed via a DC 10 Investigation Check or by any character with a Passive Perception greater than 12. Three stone coffins sit against the walls of this room. They can be opened with a DC 12 Strength Check. Within lie three wights, each of which immediately attack if their coffin is opened. The wights in unopened coffins take one round before opening their own and joining the fight. Treasure: Inside each coffin is one of the following treasures: a silk robe with gold embroidery (100 gp), a box of turquoise animal figurines (120 gp), and a large gold bracelet (25 gp).

Knight’s Tomb: This hidden room is accessed via the secret door in the hidden antechamber. The room is dominated by a statue of a solemn-faced knight on the northern wall, and a large stone sarcophagus in front of it. The sarcophagus is open, and the occupant is a Chosen Champion mummy (see below). The mummified knight rises and speaks to the characters upon their entry.

Secrets

• The mummy is a knight named Sir Galifan.
• He lies without rest due to the betrayal of the lord of the dark keep to the east who failed to stop the cataclysm.
• He is enraged at the characters for disturbing him in his tomb

After conveying this information or at an appropriate time the mummy attacks. Treasure: Within the stone sarcophagus is 1,000 cp, 8,000 sp, 1,300 gp, 140 pp, Ring of Free Action, Scroll of Dispel Magic, Scroll of Remove Curse.

Monsters 

Clockwork Soldier

Armor Class 12 (natural armor)
Hit Points 45 (6d8 + 18)
Speed 30 ft.

Medium construct, unaligned

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
13 (+1)	13 (+1)	16 (+3)	5 (-3)	10 (+0)	1 (-5)

Skills Athletics +5, Intimidation -3
Damage Immunities poison, psychic

Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10

Languages Common

Challenge 1 (200 XP)

Special Traits

Immutable Form. The soldier is immune to any spell or effect that would alter its form.

Intimidating Legions. A single clockwork soldier’s rigid movements appear silly, but, when gathered in numbers, they become an inhuman terror. When the clockwork soldier makes a Charisma (Intimidation) check, it gains a bonus on that check equal to the number of other clockwork soldiers the target can see or hear.

Magic Resistance. The soldier has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.

Actions

Halberd. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d10 + 2) slashing damage.

Overdrive Flurry (Recharge 6). The soldier makes four halberd attacks. After taking this action, it is stunned until the end of its next turn.

Chosen Champion

Armor Class 16 (half-plate, shield)
Hit Points 136 (16d8 + 64)
Speed 20 ft.

Medium undead, lawful evil

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
18 (+4)	9 (-1)	18 (+4)	8 (-1)	10 (+0)	13 (+1)

Skills Perception +4
Damage Vulnerabilities fire
Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks

Damage Immunities necrotic, poison
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, poisoned
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 14
Languages the languages it knew in life
Challenge 10 (5,900 XP)

Special Traits

Harrying Shield. While the champion has a shield equipped, the area within 5 feet of it is considered difficult terrain.

Indomitable (2/Day). The champion can reroll a failed save. It must use the new roll.

Actions

Multiattack. The champion can use its Dreadful Glare and makes two attacks with its Cursed Khopesh.

Cursed Khopesh. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 7 (1d6 + 4) slashing damage, plus 14 (4d6) necrotic damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 16 Constitution saving throw, or be cursed with mummy rot (p.86).

Dreadful Glare. The champion targets one creature it can see within 60 feet of it. If the target can see the champion, it must succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw against this magic, or become frightened until the end of the champion’’s next turn . If the target fails the saving throw by 5 or more, it is also paralyzed for the same duration. A target that succeeds on the saving throw is immune to the Dreadful Glare of all mummies with a challenge rating of 10 or less for the next 24 hours.

Legendary Actions

The champion can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time, and only at the end of another creature’s turn. The champion regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.

Dreadful Glare. The champion uses its Dreadful Glare.

Shield Formation. The champion moves up to its speed. It must end this movement within 5 feet of either its master or closest ally, or it can’t use this action.

Attack (Costs 2 Actions). The champion makes one attack with its Cursed Khopesh.

Demonology Domain

While reaching the message boards on ENWorld, I stumbled across the subclass below created by RustyDemiGod. I loved the concept so much and thought it fit in really well as an option for the setting I’m working on for my own home games. I liked it so much I asked if I could share it here and make it more readily available to my players. 

Demonology Domain

Theology and Demonology have always been two sides of the same coin. For as long as scholars have studied the divine, others have studied the profane. Clerics that study demons are forced to walk a fine line between salvation and damnation. Will you use this knowledge to fight back corruption, or will you take the easy way to power?

Demonology Domain Spells

1st Chaos Bolt, Protection from Good and Evil
3rd Shatter, Flock of Familiars
5th Magic Circle, Summon Lesser Demons
7th Banishment, Summon Greater Demon
9th Planar Binding, Contact Other Plane

-Demonic Knowledge: When you choose this Domain at 1st level, you have a rudimentary knowledge of demonic lore. You are able to speak, read, and write Abyssal fluently. Additionally, you gain proficiency with 2 of the following skills: Arcana, Religion, Investigation, History, or Insight.

-Bound Underling: At 1st level, you gain the Find Familiar ritual spell. This spell always summons a Quasit. This counts as a Cleric spell for you, and does not count against the number of spells that you can prepare each day.

If you wish to conceal your familiar you may, as a Bonus Action, absorb your familiar into your body. If your familiar is reduced to 0 HP you may also absorb it as a Reaction. Expelling the demon back into physical form requires no action. If you die while joined you will both die.

While absorbed you can hear your familiar’s voice in your mind, and if you will it, allow it to speak through you.

-Channel Divinity: Chastise Fiends: Starting at 2nd level, you can use your Channel Divinity to turn or command the damned.

As an Action, you present your unholy symbol, and one Fiend of your choice that is within 30 feet of you must make a Wisdom saving throw, provided that the creature can see or hear you. If the creature fails its saving throw, it is turned for 1 minute or until it takes any damage.

A turned Fiend must spend its turns trying to move as far away from you as it can, and it can't willingly end its move in a space within 30 feet of you. It also can't take reactions. For its action, it can only use the Dash action or try to escape from an effect that prevents it from moving. If there's nowhere to move, the creature can use the Dodge action.

At 5th level, whenever a Fiend fails it’s saving throw against your Chastise Fiends feature, the Fiend is Charmed for 1 minute. After the Charm expires the Fiend knows that it was charmed, and who charmed it.

-Damnable Will: At 6th level, your connection to your demonic familiar allows you to call upon its strength of will to aid your own. While absorbed, the presence of a second mind grants you advantage on saves against charm and fear effects. While your forms and minds are bonded, you also have advantage on saves to maintain concentration on spells.

-Unholy Strikes: When you reach 8th level, you are blessed with unholy might in battle. When a creature takes damage from one of your cantrips or weapon attacks, you can also deal 1D8 Necrotic damage to that creature. Once you deal this damage, you cannot use this feature again until the start of your next turn.

-Tongue of the Black Speech: At 17th level, you gain the ability to speak a few words of the foulest demon lord’s curses. You gain Disintegrate, Power Word: Pain, Power Word: Stun, and Power Word: Kill as bonus spells. You add these spells to your list of Domain Spells, and like other Domain Spells, they are always prepared and count as Cleric spells for you. These spells require on the verbal components for you.

Transitioning Phandelver Game to Tier 2

To my players, stay out. There are tons of spoilers here…

My long running Lost Mine of Phandelver adventure, which through various circumstances has taken over a year, is almost over. I plan to poll the players to see if they would like to start fresh with new characters, or continue this campaign. This continuation would advance into tier 2 (levels 6 to 10). I want to offer players the opportunity to swap characters if they want.

New Mechanics 

I would also like to implement several new mechanics that on their face appear complex, but are not overly so. 

• Stronghold powers from Strongholds & Followers.
• Player organization from Kingdoms & Warfare.

Open Quest Hooks

I also want to remind the players of some open quests that they can follow so they understand that they are truly in a sandbox of the entire Sword Coast and even the Outer Planes if they desire.

• Rescue Bree’s soul. This will likely require some travel and research to seek out the means to identify the object in which her soul is trapped, and its location. I already have loose notes of this quest line, which draws on material in The City of Brass from Frog God Games, and the Path of the Planebreaker by Monte Cooke Games, mixed with some Planescape.
• Bree’s Zhentarim handler sent a note that arrived before she disappeared advising her to meet them at the Yawning Portal in Waterdeep.
• Amadeus received a note regarding the legality of the party’s claim on Conyberry and soliciting a meeting with him from Lord Neverember in Neverwinter. (Either this or the bullet above can hook into Waterdeep: Dragon Heist or Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage)
• Venomfang, the green dragon that dominates the ruins of Thundertree has not been slain or driven off (Amafrey’s personal quest).
• Upon touching the altar in the shrine of Savras that is now the party’s stronghold near Conyberry, Aina had a vision of the white dragon Cryovain on Icespire Peak. Additionally they defeated a monster driven out of the mountains by the dragon in Phandalin, but have not investigated further. Cryovain might seek to expand his territory.

New Overarching Story Direction

The party will find a note from Duke Zalto of Ironslag on the Spider when they conclude the current adventure, leading into Storm King’s Thunder. Additionally, at a prescheduled date fire giants serving the Duke will attack Conyberry in search of a piece of the Vonindod. Frost giants will raid the Sword Coast if they travel the coastal road, and hill giants will be encountered raiding for food if they travel through the Dessarin Valley. Finally, rumors might come from Darkhold, Elturel, or Baldur’s Gate of a stirring of undead in the south, aided by undead stone giants, pointing towards the activities of a resurgent Dodkong. The party’s friend Zephyros, the cloud giant will also reappear at an appropriate moment, relating that various extraplanar phenomena seemed to be off—including that Amman, the chief god of the giants, is unreachable and it has been discovered that the Ordening, the metaphysical caste system enforced by Amman ordering giant society has been broken, driving all this activity. The way to communicate with Amman from this plane is to seek out the fabled Eye of the All Father, or seek information on Amman in the Outer Planes. 

If the players journey to the outer planes to investigate the above or seek Bree they may also experience episodes of the Great Modron March, further evidence that not all is as it seems in the multiverse. 

Other quest hooks might include Harper missions for Anarath, directions from the Order of the Gauntlet for Aina and Amafrey. One of these might be to conduct research at the library of Candlekeep, opening possibilities to seed information about the outer planes and to run quests from Candlekeep Mysteries. They may also become involved with Force Grey in Waterdeep.

Concluding Thoughts

I think there remain some interesting quests that have connections to the characters that we can play through. There are several overarching adventures that I’m interested in running and the mechanics mentioned should be useful or of negligible disruption to most of them. I’m interested to see where this story goes. There maybe significant overland travel which I’ll run as a pointcrawl using Uncharted Journeys and the encounters from Storm King’s Thunder and the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide.

Paging All Humans

This blog is six months old (ish) and has no regular readers. Since adding Google analytics, it has demonstrated that the 200+ hits on the site a day, according to Blogger's less sophisticated tools, are probably bots or webcrawlers. So although very few people are or maybe will ever read this (comment once if you're not a bot?) I enjoy writing for its own sake. I'm also trying to use this blog to aid my own personal games, because it helps me accomplish two things I enjoy. So my articles on my own fantasy world and perhaps later my own sci-fi universes are for my players and myself. If you are a human then welcome. Please comment or share if you like what I write so we can have more awesome people engage with it. Otherwise, no worries—I’m going to keep on.

Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen - The Emperor of the Waves (Part I)

Table of Contents

Spoilers follow for the adventure...

The day following their return from the countryside, the adventurers visited Mr. Aubreck Drallion in his manor house in Kalaman. The house was behind a stone wall with iron gates that were opened by an officious goblin butler in a starched and pressed black evening jacket.

"Please, follow me. I presume you are those who Master Drallion sent for?"

Gringle swept into a bow, with a rakish grin. "Indeed! I am Gringle Gragle, Duke of Greenwood."

The butler did a doubletake, looking at the ragged goblin, then flaring his nostrils in an inaudible snort. "Indeed, well met sir."

While the grounds and house were maintained, it seemed as though there was something off. Flecks of rust and a squeak when the iron gate was opened, faded paint on the house and shutters, a few notable patches of brown on what must have once been a verdant lawn.

They were ushered into a sitting room and library with a middle aged man in fine clothes sitting on a faded sofa. They took seats at the butler's signal, greeting the man with a handclasp. The man had premature worry lines etched into his forehead and around his mouth, crows feet wrinkling around his eyes. Grey streaked his hair in far greater amounts that his years seems to justify. His clothes, though fine, seemed to be several years behind the current fashion.

This was Aubreck Drallion, and he proceeded to relate to them how he had invested in trade bound for a far-off land, converting much of his money and property into deeds and statements of credit, to be converted back once they arrived at that location. However the ship carrying this hoard in non-monetary form was separated from its escort and thought lost at sea. Drallion had heard reports though that the ship, the Emperor of the Waves, had been spotted barely a day's sail from Kalaman. He offered them ten percent of the value if they could recover the metal box containing his investment from the ship.

"You see the loss has quite ruined me," he said.

Drallion explained that he had contracted a ship called the Soul of Winter, procured equipment, and only needed their help to retrieve the box. 

The group agreed.

"We can leave immediately," said Asterius.

"The ship is prepared to get underway early tomorrow with the morning tide," said the merchant. "It has equipment that I have procured that may assist you as well."

They bid the merchant farewell then, and returned to their quarters in Castle Kalaman. The next morning they departed early upon the Soul of Winter, and came upon the derelict near the mouth of the bay after traveling most of the day. They all kept their stomachs, but Gringle particularly took to the rolling deck and the salt air. "Tis a perk of being a Duke," he remarked to his friends.

The abandoned ship appeared oddly calm, it's masts broken down to stumps, but the deck strangely clear of all debris. Their dwarven captain pointed out that the Emperor listed slightly to port, likely because her ballast had shifted.

Asterius armed himself with his equipment and a few vials of antitoxin from the supplies purchased by Drallion. The others left the new supplies, content with their own gear.

The crew rowed them over in the ship's boat, but refused to tarry close by the Emperor. "Signal to us when you come back atop deck!" The captain had said.

Once the adventurers were on deck, they surveyed the ship, but found nothing interesting topside. A rusted grate covered a hole into the hold, and doors led to cabins fore and aft. Opening the aft hatch, Asterius stepped into a dark room, veiled in spiderwebs and dust, with a dark, bloodied altar dominating it. A ring of skulls afixed to iron spikes in the wall hung above it.

Suddenly massive archnid forms looked in the darkness, and swarms of thousands of tiny spiders appeared from the rotting timbers under their feet. Finally, a humanoid figure with the face and mandibles of a spider bounded from the shadows to bite at them. Asterius and Darrett found themselves swarmed, covered in spiders and warding off bites from poison dripping mandibles. Gringle stepped back, firing arrows at the large creatures. The fight was going south, although Asterius fought valiantly, until Davgin arrived from examining a wooded detail fixture on the deck. He cast spells of frost and cold, blasting away the spiders. As the giant spiders and man spider attacked, poison dripped from their gnashing mandibles.

Soon however the tide turned. They killed the last of the spiders, before examining the dark altar. Amongst the wreckage they found a moldy and decaying book recording an attack on the ship by the captain. The account ended abruptly, presumably the author was killed in the final assault.

Next they tried the door into the forward cabin, finding giant spiders in the space and another spider man. A sea of tiny spiders boiled up from the decaying stairs leading down, rolling over them. Gringle's well placed arrows, Fallons rousing shouts and charms, Davgin's powerful spells, and Asterius' strength carried the day, and soon they stood in the now quiet room. 

Next they crept down the stairs, moving into a narrow corridor. They managed to spot a web blocking a doorway before blundering into it. Asterius took a swing with his axe, then a second, attempting to hack through the web. 

His cuts alerted yet more spiders to their presence, and soon they found themselves awash again in spiders. Davgin's castings of Frost Fingers proved crucial to turning the tide. After defeating these foes they advance cautiously into the ship, carefully opening doors, but only finding empty rooms. Until they came to the bow of the ship and opened a door into a dark room to find it shrouded in webs, and four bundles hanging from the ceiling. Upon closer examination each of the bundles of webs seemed to be vibrating slightly. 

Asterius swung his axe, attempting to cut one of them open. It burst open, and an unnatural creature that had stumpy legs and a mouth that seemed to cover half it's body slapped to the ground. The monster opened it's jaws, spewing forth a fountain of sickening acidic vomit at the heroes, and the other cocoons began to shake violently. At the same time they heard a loud "pop" and behind them appeared a massive spider as if from the air.

GM Reflections

This was a really fun, dungeon crawl session. The ship's map is a bit cramped, making it a bit difficult for players to maneuver. The crawl has definitely sapped many of the party's resources. The maw demons at the end were really fun to run. Their special abilities made them much more interesting than some of the others. The ettercaps (spider men) for instance are a bit underwhelming, as are the giant spiders.

Shadowdark Player Focused Character Creation Prep

Planning to introduce a group to Shadowdark using the short adventure Tomb of the Serpent Kings. I also want to capitalize on us playing this game in person (this group normally plays online) and use paper character sheets and dice. So I plan to print a copy of the Shadowdark character sheet and then have them write their own versions on blank sheets.

As far as the process of character creation, I continue to try to find a step-by-step process, but can't in the book or quick start guide, so I'm going to make my own.

Step-by-step Making a Shadowdark Character

1. Roll 3d6 and add your results in order of attribute scores.
2. Pick ancestry.
3. Pick background.
4. Pick class, roll for hit point (+ CON mod), make one class talent roll, and determine spells or other choices associated with abilities.
5. Roll 2d6 x 5 to determine how many gold pieces you have to buy starting gear with. 
6. Purchase starting gear using starting gold.
7. Determine AC based on armor or 10 + DEX if not wearing armor.
8. Select alignment (lawful, chaotic, or neutral)
9. Determine Title
10. Give your character a name.
11. Determine the deity your character serves.

If you just want to hit a button and have a character, check out Shadowdarklings. If you use the tool, filter the character options down to only Dwarf, Elf, Goblin, Half-Orc, Halfling, Human for ancestries, and Fighter, Priest, Thief, and Wizard for classes. The GM will let you know if more options are allowed in a future game.

Delve Dungeon Concept Submission

Bob Worldbuilder solicited dungeon concepts as part of his Delve Kickstarter. Below is my initial idea:

The eldritch lair of an elder aboleth, warped by the nightmares of the alien being, on an island covered in the glowing fungi and rune etched ruins of an ancient advanced civilization in an underground sea.

After edits to ensure the text fit in the 200 character minimum:

The eldritch lair of an elder aboleth, warped by the nightmares of the alien being on an isle covered in glowing fungi and the rune etched ruins of an ancient advanced civilization on underground sea.

After a final editing pass:

The eldritch lair of an elder aboleth, warped by the alien's eternity of nightmares, on an isle covered by fungi and the rune etched ruins of an ancient advanced civilization on an underground sea.

After a final, final pass, this was submitted:

The eldritch lair of an elder aboleth, warped by the alien's eternal nightmares, on an isle covered by fungi and the rune etched ruins of an ancient advanced civilization on an underground sea.

The winner of the contest will have their dungeon concept turned into one included in the final book. First it has to be reviewed by the campaign creators, who will choose their favorite proposals and put them to a vote by backers.

If they don't take it, I will probably still make this dungeon...and perhaps post it here or as a product. We'll see...

Update

My concept wasn’t chosen, but I will definitely look at eventually building a dungeon based upon it.

The Journey to RPGs

Reflecting today, it struck me how my journey into the TTRPG hobby is similar yet different from the evolution of the hobby. Most people now have played plenty of videogame RPGs or games that have RPG elements or influence. But unlike many of my friends, I didn't play games like Skyrim or others. I never played, but had a friend who played RuneScape while we were kids and I remember spending a fair amount of time watching over his shoulder. 

Really, I enjoyed building and playing with Legos, probably predisposing me to a fascination with miniatures (although I don't collect miniature largely due to the cost and space to store them). So one day as a kid I stumbled upon the rules and their earlier variations of Brik Wars.

BrikWars cover art by Mike Rayhawk

While I never played, mostly because I could never find anyone interested in learning the rules and taking the time to do so, I remained fascinated by wargaming. Throw in my abiding interested in military history, and it's no surprise that I really was more interested in tactical RTS games, like Age of Empires in its many flavors. I spent many happy hours with Age of Mythology and played the Lord of the Rings RTS game at a friend's house that you can now no long find anywhere due to the expired licensing. 

Eventually I discovered the Total War games, which still strike me as perhaps the best blend possible of a strategic and persistent overworld in which year construction and empire-building matter, combined with a more realistic tactical game than the scrums of declining hit points in most RTS games. Total War units feel like they are full of men, each fighting and dying one by one, while remaining part of an organized mass. Maintaining organization and correct maneuver, alongside using the battlefield terrain and the right equiped units is key to victory, just like in the real world. The original Total War: Rome and Medieval 2: Total War remain perhaps my favorite games of all time, despite the later advancements to the series. I also spent literally hundreds of hours conquering Europe and the New World as Britain, Prussia, and Spain in Empire: Total War. 

The closest game to an RPG I played during this period were Zelda: Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword on the Wii. These were fun, but I found the puzzles and linear dungeon progressions tedious at times. I wanted to punch through much of the time and get to the storytelling, exploration, and combat portions. I loved my time in those worlds though.

I tried Sid Meier's Civilization V, but never really got into it. Later however, I discovered Paradox's excellent games like Stellaris. I never played Europa Universalis, instead spending most of my time in the sci-fi galaxy of Stellaris. The latter focuses mostly on exploration, then research and technological development on a civilizational scale, in an ever advancing arms race towards eventually conflict with neighbors. Fleets and power levels matter more than individual ships and tactics in that grand strategy of space opera. But I often thought about how interesting it would be to be able to zoom in on a character in a battle while still conducting the grand strategy level. 

COVID lockdown proved to be a good time to try out other games with greater RPG-like elements. I played my way through the entire Assassin's Creed series available at that time. Ezio remains a favorite character from the genre along with the landscapes of Florence, Rome, and Constantinople—I would still love to see the Hagia Sophia, having gotten to climb the minarets virtually in the game. I think the closest to true RPGs of that series are Origins and Odyssey though. I would love to try Valhalla at some point.

From there, I tried out Dragon Age: Inquisition, which is very much an RPG. I don’t feel like I ever fully grasped the game, and I’d like to go back and finish the story at some point. Then I also tried out The Witch 3: Wildhunt, which I think remains a masterpiece of a game. 

In all this time, I’d never tried D&D. I remember reading about it briefly during the 4e era, but didn’t feel particularly interested at the time. After COVID I began looking at Warhammer 40k, watching videos of miniature painting. But I also noticed some of the channels I followed painting D&D miniatures. I’d noticed the Lost Mine of Phandelver starter set at my local Target before, but I began really looking at it, and one day bought it. This was rapidly followed up with a Player’s Handbook, and the other core books. The rest is history. And hopefully much more fun times with friends and family.