Category: Playing D&D

  • Arise & Descend Session Two & Three: Goblin Caverns

    Arise & Descend Session Two & Three: Goblin Caverns

    After being ambushed along the trail we learned of a cave from which these goblins raid the civilized folk along the merchant’s road. Within those caverns may just be Gundran and Sildar.

    So we headed out, an attempt to rescue the men responsible for paying us. We mount this rescue operation out of self-interest, revenge, whatever motivates the individual. We aren’t yet a band of brothers (and sister – Rowan), but this is developing.

    Spoilers for the D&D Starter Set adventure Lost Mines of Phandelver follow.

    Repelling the ambush wasn’t hard. My golden flame axe swung powerfully. The bell of death rung hard. These companions fight well. We are noble, and let one poor gobbo live. He told us where to go.

    It meant a hike, and we left the poor oxen and the burdened cart behind. But Sildar was to the north in the woods, up a stream through the woods, and into a goblin-cave.

    time lapse photo of river between mossy rocks
    Photo by Samuel Kalina on Pexels.com

    Outside the cave an outpost tried to ambush us. The wood elf, Norran, took quick care of those. I think Ambrose and Rowan joined that attack, as they have some effectiveness at range while Krakomand I, honorable dwarves, guarded the rear.

    Yeah, we’re also slow and not good with “stealth.”

    Two goblins dead before I could swing my axe.

    That meant the group was a bit inverted when we entered the caverns. Those faster members of the group rushed past a group of guard-wolves.

    The wolves could have been a problem, as they were trying to escape their chains and the uproar meant we would lose all surprise. They died, a couple with burns and blade.

    Krakom and I had to rush to catch the group. The “eating room” created an urgency from the group. In our haste the conflict spread throughout a handful of rooms. The fight was came from all angles and there was much confusing with the screams of pain from goblin and peoples.

    I, me, stopped one pathetic goblin from flooding the caves. I, me, also took a significant blow to the head from some kind of super-goblin. The wretched soul dropped me quickly. I woke a dozen minutes later.

    Ambrose, the ranger, told me of throwing a spear near through one on a bridge. I’m intrigued by spears now. I will not be able to sing with them, but they seem useful. The toothy one can teach me much.

    The stories of the battle are glorious. My friends took out 25 gobbos, a few wolves, and that one thing that smacked me on the head.

    Dear reader, this is where we learn that good Awf is not necessarily a reliable narrator.

    Rowan, by luck of her goddess, or through shear will takes out that jerk that dropped me. What a blessed soul Rowan is.

    Norran and Ambrose rescue Sildar.

    With Sildar, in a room I never saw, was a dark soul. Zardos is quiet. Withdrawn from us, the man offers much power. The others saw him in action, and vouch for his usefulness. His eyes carry knowledge.

    There was a lot of hauling of goods from cave to ox-cart and then the trudge back. Each of us had to make multiple trips. I may hate the goblins more for that then anything else. But when we traverse back towards the caves Krakom teaches me a game that shield dwarves play – golf(?) he calls it. Basically, the goal is to hit a round object (like a goblin head) as far as you can. There are rules, but we just do the long distance smacking, because it’s fun. We have to stop when Krakom sends a head out into an area we haven’t scouted.

    On the journey to Phandalin Sildar tells us about Gundren’s brothers, the goal to re-open a mine, that Klarg’s goblins are working to support someone(?) called the Black Spider.

    Thankfully Phandalin offers a short respite. There we can rest again, sell the goods we have, buy some rations and whatnot, and learn from some dude named Iarno Albrek, a friend of Sildar who is also a member of the Lord’s Alliance.

    I’ve worked with the Lord’s Alliance in the past, as they and the Order of the Shooting Star oft work together. With the Alliance’s goals matching ours, for now, it not only makes sense to help them, it is right and just to work together.

    For now, I’ll bring some joy to the children of Phandalin and whatever their local wines and ales are. Because I’ve got coin in my pocket – we earned our pay delivering the goods that Gundren hired us to bring to the city.

    We also have more goods to try to sell. And clues to discover, and honestly a town to improve. These people are down. Let’s get them up, again.

     

     

  • Arise & Descend Session One: Goblin Ambush

    Arise & Descend Session One: Goblin Ambush

    Awf Hornjaw et Loragwyn, a gold dwarf battleaxe wielding wizard, left his homes because he heard of a goblin threat near Neverwinter. In Neverwinter Awf met some industrious souls in the city.

    Karkom Hammerstone, that wonderful axe and hammer dwarf, knows how to share an ale and those massive arms look like they’d be strong along his side. Rowan Evenwood, the lucky priest, keeps winning at cards, but she cannot match Awf’s skill at dragonchess. She’s a solid companion.

    Favoring the bow, Norran Galanodel reminds Awf of his Loragwyn family. Norran is a bit of a sneak, but his aim is true. Like Awf, Ambrose is prone to The Violence. The dual-axe man has a bit of hate in him — that’s familiar.

    Together we were hired by Gundren to meet he and his guard, Sildar, in a small mining town. Our ox-drawn wagon is slow. The big, dumb oxs are dragging along chests of mining supplies towards the town of Pandelver so that Gundren can profit and our group can earn a few gold.

    Spoilers for the D&D Starter Set adventure Lost Mines of Phandelver follow.

    (more…)

  • Uprising & Rebellion: One Sheet

    Uprising & Rebellion: One Sheet

    This campaign is set five years after the Lorebook Hunters. With the call of magic strong in the Western Wildes, the kingdoms of the Everflow are stressed by magic. The New Peoples (Ken and Kon), the Offspring of Chorl, the elementals in The Ferments, the Haunting of the High Hills, truce at the River Crinth between the Crinth Confederation and Empire of Azsel, the Sundering of the Church of Quar, and the beacon of the Free City of Sheljar are all plaguing the Kingdoms of Daoud and Kirtin.

    Campaign Premise

    You are common people living in and around Kirtin-on-the-Lake who are inspired to free the city from under the rule of Daoud. You may want it to once again be part of Kirtin, or you may want to copy the Free City of Sheljar. The City Guard, a unit of Daoud’s military, and even dragons, who see Kirtin-on-the-Lake as their ancestral home, stand in your way.

    Background

    The Lorebook Hunters secured several of the Lorebooks, returning magic to the Land of the Everflow. In doing so they drew the attention of the Ken (dragons, elves, dwarves, gnomes, and other fey creatures). At the same time the goblins returned to the Land of the Everflow, with their smog-punk teknology.

    Grand Conflicts

    The Proctors of Grace and their other allies want to control access to magic. Certain dragons also want to repopulate Kirtin-on-the-Lake as the Ward of Mighty Trees is the ancestral home of certain types of dragons (at least a Red as that first DragonTree has regrown).

    Daoud will not allow their winnings (Kirtin-on-the-Lake and the Slope) to leave their control after centuries. The rebellion has taken control of the Dock District. What will they free next? While the mayor may be willing to have the rebels help repel the Proctors, he serves at the whim of an empire that refuses to recognize Kirtin-on-the-Lake as anything but its own territory.

    Facets

    • Each of the Peoples has a starting power.
      • Kin start with a Bonded Companion
      • Ken start with the Feat: Magic Initiate
      • Kon start with Tek
    • Exploring the zero-to-hero tropes, rebellion, and who gets to control knowledge.
    • Sandbox play.
    • Player agency creates history.
    • Drop in/drop out, whatever.

    Variant Rules

    • Playable races are Human, Hin/Halfling, Goliath/Firbolg, Elf, Dwarf, Gnome (wood only), Goblin, Hobgoblin, Bugbear.
    • There are seven backgrounds unique to the Everflow available beyond what is in any published book.
    • Use point buy or custom array for starting attributes. If you want something random, the redrick roller gives random point buy valid stats.
    • Start at 3rd level, because power is cool.
    • Long rests require 24 hours within sanctuary. This creates a pace of play more similar to novels than video games.
  • Monk: Way of the Frayed Knot

    Monk: Way of the Frayed Knot

    The Way of the Frayed Knot is a Monk subclass that attempts to feature some Western fantasy tropes. The most common of these is Friar Tuck from Robin Hood, but there are other studious, religious types that fought alongside rogues and pirates.

    Some ignored their ideals. Others felt that the ideals of the gang or troop were more in common with their religious beliefs. In the magical settings of most versions of D&D the Way of the Frayed Knot will have some amount of overlap with a Cleric. While these Monks commonly use bludgeoning weapons, it is not required mechanically, though I’m tempted to make it so.

    This is a work in progress for a subclass of Monk. Language still needs adjustments to meet 5e. My purpose in sharing is to garner feedback about the concept as it fits the description and entertainment within most 5e paradigms. A lot of the power is wrapped up in Cleric spells as rituals.

    Cloistered Student

    The Drunken Monk, Mansion House, Cardiff
    The Drunken Monk, Mansion House, Cardiff by Michael Gwyther-Jones (CC BY 2.0)

    At 3rd level, when selecting this Monastic Tradition, you gain proficiency in Religion (or another Intelligence skill if you already have Religion) as well as a proficiency in one of the following artisan tools — Brewer’s Supplies, Calligrapher’s Supplies, Mason’s Tools, Painter’s Supplies, or Woodcarver’s Tools.

    Circle of Life

    At 3rd level you gain access to the ability to Channel Divinity. You have one use per short or long rest at this level. At 8th and 18th level you gain an additional use of this ability.

    Some Channel Divinity effects require saving throws. When you use such an effect from this class, the DC equals your spell save DC (8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier).

    The Channel Divinity options available are Preserve Life and Sacred Weapon (with Wisdom being the attribute connected to that Paladin ability). You may also use 3 Ki Points towards a Channel Divinity. This cost replaces the per rest cost for that specific usage.

    You may pay 1 Ki Point to cast the following Cleric spells as Rituals at 3rd level;

    • Ceremony (XGtE)
    • Detect Magic
    • Detect Poison and Disease
    • Purify Food and Drink

    At 5th level you gain access to the following Rituals, at the cost of 1 2 Ki Points;

    • Gentle Repose
    • Silence

    At 9th level you gain access to the following spells as a Ritual, at the cost of 1 4 Ki Points;

    • Feign Death
    • Water Walk

    At 13th level you gain access to the following spell as a Ritual, at the cost of 1 7 Ki Points;

    • Divination

    At 17th level you gain access to the following spell as a Ritual, at the cost of 1 11 Ki Points;

    • Commune

    Live to Fight

    Monk
    Monk by Vladimer Shioshvili (CC BY-SA 2.0)

    Starting at 6th level you are able to cast Prayer of Healing at the cost of 2 Ki Points. Your spellcasting ability modifier for this Prayer is Wisdom.

    The use of an additional Ki Point increases the spell level by 1, granting an additional 1d8 of healing to the spell.

    You also gain proficiency in Healer’s Tools if you do not have this proficiency. If you do have this proficiency, you are granted double your proficiency bonus on checks for this tool.

    Submission

    At 11th level your blows are now so potent that Stunning Strike no longer costs a point of Ki.

    Kneel Before the Gods

    At 17th level when you Stun a creature they fall Prone. You also gain an additional two blows from Flurry of Blows. Those blows can be against any target within your reach.

  • Society of Veil and Shadows

    Society of Veil and Shadows

    The Society of Veil and Shadows are a group of rogues dedicated to obscuring and protecting their guild from spies — both arcane and mundane. While able to contribute to the uprising’s success via sneak attacks and other clandestine abilities their true power is their ability to cast a few spells, most of which help keep the rebellion secret.

    This is a work in progress for a subclass of Rogue. Language still needs adjustments to meet 5e. My purpose in sharing is to garner feedback about the concept as it fits the description and entertainment within most 5e paradigms.

    Spellcasting (3rd Level)

    Similar to what is described for the Arcane Trickster, but the two schools allowed are Abjuration and Conjuration. Every member of the Society learns the spell “Block.” This spell is one of the cantrips learned at third level.

    Block (3rd Level)

    cantrip abjuration

    • Casting Time: 1 reaction
    • Range: touch
    • Components: V S M (steel ring)
    • Duration: until next turn
    • Classes: Wizard, Cleric
    • When an Enchantment, Divination, Illusion, Transmutation spell is cast targeting yourself or an ally you can touch, you grant the target advantage on saving throws versus that spell and on any saves versus spells until your next turn.

    Safehouse (9th Level)

    You have learned certain rites and patterns in order to cast any ritual from the following schools of magic – Abjuration, Conjuration, Divination, Illusion. The spells must be on the Wizard spell list. To cast such a ritual you must have a spellbook, or similar, in your possession. These rituals may only be cast once per long rest, each.

    Cloud of Doubt (13th Level)

    You may create a 30′ by 30′ cloud of patchy fog. Any target within the Cloud of Doubt is partially obscured. In addition, any creature entering the the cloud must make a Charisma saving throw or shift its demeanor towards the positive (hostile become indifferent, indifferent become friendly). The cloud is centered on a space up to 60′ from yourself. You must maintain concentration on the Cloud of Doubt, or it dissipates in 8 hours.

    You may create a Cloud of Doubt a number of times equal to your Intelligence bonus (minimum 1) per Long Rest.

    Unchained (17th Level)

    When in shackles, handcuffs, jail, and the like, while conscious and able to speak, you are able to cast Misty Step without using a spell slot. If you cast using a spell slot you may take a number of allies with you equal to the level of spell slot used.

    Misty Step no longer counts as a known spell for you.

  • Uprising and Rebellion Session Two & Three & Four: Burning of the Red Oak; Dock District Militia Forms

    Uprising and Rebellion Session Two & Three & Four: Burning of the Red Oak; Dock District Militia Forms

    Red Oak Burns!

    Elves set the Red Oak ablaze with a mystical fire; Their Dragon and Gnome kin escape the Ward of Mighty Trees as noble defenders of the weak help the ward’s weakest; Daoud guard ineffective; Dock District forms own armed militia, refusing Daoudian assistance

    Several stories cover the week since the Carnival War.

    Dock District, Kirstin-on-the-Lake | Neremyn Quizana

    Over the last three sessions the group kidnapped the governor, convinced him to fund the arming of the Dock District Militia, and had him deliver a speech to the people of the Dock District. They promised to help repel the mages and dragons that set the mystical fire to the Red Oak, murdered several members of the guard, and attempted to kill the governor.

    Governor le Riche is not willing to cede anything but the Dock District at this time, though the group will be welcomed within the Ward of Mighty Trees. Outside of those two districts the City Guard will be wary at best, and frequently threatening.

    The group managed to gain enough arms and armor to outfit 20 militia with chain shirts, 3 Javelins, and a longsword. Ten other militia have glaives, scale mail, and short swords.

    A large segment of Daoudian infantry has set camp to the south of the city. Originally sent to deal with the uprising this infantry, in the royal blue and gold of the Queen, is now established in a way to prevent a ground attack by the Ken.

    Cast of Characters

    PCs

    Req (male dwarf paladin-vengeance) — the dock worker left the Land of Ken to pursue the new world in the Land of the Everflow. He is finding his way among the working class of the lake city.

    Roland (male human rogue-thief) — the former sage was recently fired from his position in local university. His teachings challenged Daoud’s control of Kirtin-on-the-Lake. He has a small cat that avoids all conflict.

    Whym (female halfling ranger-gloom stalker) — the former circus member is of noble heart and fights to protect those who are threatened by darkness. She has a huge dog, Kelb.

    Quelimo  Galanodel, aka Q (male elf rogue-propagandist) — the former journalist in Ken has combined techniques learned while working in the lands of magic with the praktikum of the gobkons. Now he publishes broadsheets in Kirtin-on-the-Lake pushing warnings against his own kind as well as building support for an independent KotL.

    NPCs

    Two Goblin kids — The two kids were being harassed by Daoud guards. Our likely heroes helped the kids get out from under the guards eyes. Our heroes also bought two clockwork toys (14gp total for a cat and a dog). They are originally from Sheljar and their airxip arrived at the docks just a few days ago. This ship fled KotL after the dragon attack.

    Penzer — owner/operator of the Rusty Clam. Penzer now trust Roq and helped the group exit the district through the sewers. He is a squat halfling with a lazy, older wolfhound.

    Wilkie, a Member of the Guard — One of the guard is a former student of Roland’s. He is friendly, though disrespectful. So far he is willing to gossip about former classmates. He is unwilling to fight the people of his city. Roland arranged a meeting with his former student. He is a human with a seagull companion. Wilkie is now a Sergeant within the official Daoudian guard and the lone representative of the Gov

    Odger — a teacher who runs a small library. Odger put the group up for the night. He will provide safe-haven, but not fight. He is a goliath with 10 swallows as companions. Loyal to Governor.

    Governor Roreldus Androouet le Riche, Servant of the Queen and Commander of the Northern Fleet and the 3rd Marines —  a weak man more concerned with power than justice. Will do nearly anything to maintain the place of prominence in KotL. The Northern Fleet are two boats that roam the lake and are maintained on Androouet Isle in the middle of the lake. The 3rd Marines no longer exist.

    Emdock Athew — a human speculator/smuggler who is the captain of a small airxip. His First Mate, Koits, is loyal to Emdock, but the rest of the crew tolerates the human outsider. Crew is Koits, seven other goblins, and two mulgobs (one of the mulgobs took a liking to Req & Whym and is currently unnamed).

    Koits — the goblin First Mate who does know common. He works for Emdock out of loyalty earned from an unknown incident.

    Places of Interest

    Rusty Clam — a lower class dive bar that serves the dockworkers and related laborers. It is Req’s favorite bar. Penzer runs it, but Req gets his name wrong most of the time. The Rusty Clam has sewer access big enough for humans and smaller peoples.

    Cracked Mug — a higher class bar for ship captains and other officers. The alley besides the Cracked Mug seems to be the source of the rebels vandalizing the posters advertising the upcoming festival. Brilene is the owner of the Cracked Mug. She bought it after retiring from the Daoud Navy. Her companion is an older Bay Retriever.

    Barracks — the group knows the location of the barracks where the Daoud guard responsible for the Dock District rest and refresh. The Dock Militia (they need a cool name) now occupies the barracks.

    Ogder’s Library —  outside of Ogder’s Library is a fountain with access to the sewers for all sizes of people. It is a large main room with space for 8 human-sized students to sit in circle around a goliath-sized lounge chair. The walls up to the 25 foot ceiling are covered in books. There is a small (for a goliath) side room with a single desk, wardrobe, and daybed as well.

    Districts

    Lake Docks — a rough neighborhood of longshoreman and the businesses that serve them. There is a river to the north that brings goods from Kirtin-in-the-Sky as well as one to the west that flows into the lake that gets occasional goods from Gate (Mehmd). The river that flows out of the lake drifts to the south and east, eventually reaching the eastern ocean and Daoud’s largest port on that side of the continent.

    University — Roland used to teach in the University District. There is a Temple to Glight, a couple large libraries, many places such as Ogder’s office, a large fountain supplies water. There are small manufactured amphitheaters for classes and debates. The University District has never been attacked by any invading force during the Six Kingdoms era, nor the Post-Awakening Age.

    Ward of Mighty Trees — this once squalid neighborhood is the ancestral home of a draconic empire. The red oak now burns and there is evidence that more trees will convert to DragonTrees at various points over the next few months.

    North Shore — is a middle class district of mostly craftspeople who are generally loyal to Daoud. It exists on both sides of the city wall. The shore is unusually flat and incapable of being used for shipping.

    Clues and Hints

    Roland learned draconic. Upon reading the stolen scroll he learned that there is another ritual planned for the Eclipse of Feylf on Spring 57, which at the end of the last gaming session is 13 days away.

    There is a thief(s?) working the ships and boats at the docks. They are stealing jewelry, metal toys, glass baubles. At this time this issue is not known to be related to the Uprising, nor the Draconic Invasion.

    Thunder from Shadows is leading the rebellion. Is it a group or a man who is above Q?

    old: Q is the pamphleteer, and wanted by authorities. The group now has a woodblock stamp image of the elf as well as a description with his location being at/near the Cracked Mug.

    old: Roland’s old student, Wilkie, is meeting the group tomorrow evening.

    old: Posters advertising the Festival of Feylf are being torn down and replaced by a rebel group. This has become common enough that even new arrivals to the city have seen it happen in broad daylight. The Festival is four days out.

    old: Daoud is increasing the Dock District guard prior to the Festival of Feylf. This seems to be a response to the arrival of airxip from Sheljar as well as visitors from the Western Wildes.

    Grand Themes

    There is a Draconic Invasion of Kirtin-on-the-Lake that is forcing the Uprising and Daoud to find ways to work together, around their issues with each other. The group has learned that the dragons once ruled the Land of Kin from the Ward of Mighty Trees.

    Uprising & Rebellion as the story of Free Sheljar spreads the people of Kirtin-on-the-Lake want to be free of the Empire of Daoud. Thunder from Shadows is a group or leader of the Rebellion.

    Proctors of Grace are People of Ken who shuttered the Land of the Everflow off from magic. They have taken over most of the Western Wildes.

    The Scholars are a group of People of Kin who had powerful magic as long as they worked with the Proctors to control the rest of the Land of the Everflow.

    Lorebook Hunters of Free Sheljar have gathered at least three Lorebooks and seem to have opened the Land of the Everflow to magic again.

  • Uprising and Rebellion Session One: The Carnival War

    Uprising and Rebellion Session One: The Carnival War

    Carnival War

    Festival of Feylf marred by Daoudian violence; Civilian losses must be avenged; Barracks raid related?

    Photo of a fire breather at New Jersey Ren Faire, provided as representation of the Festival of Feylf
    Photo by: R’lyeh Imaging https://flic.kr/p/26JNj2h (CC BY 2.0)

    As Daoud leadership tried to mollify the masses a fight erupted at the annual Festival of Feylf. With swarms of commoners and general onlookers present the visiting carnival’s performance recognized the new influence of the Kin on Kirtin-on-the-Lake. The elves were particularly strong in their use of magicks to astound. Fireworks and noisemakers were provided by gobkon from Free Sheljar.

    Peacefully assembled people of Kirtin desired to use the festival as a moment to accent that the peoples of Sheljar and Kin offer an example to a stronger town. Some Daoud guard must have strong objections as they lined up to prevent the crowd from rallying in front of the stage.

    As the two sides opposed an arrow flew from the southern hill that overlooks Isouda Ampitheatre. This act of violence incited a response, as Sybbyl took a grave wound. The dozens of common people of Kirtin thrust forward to protect young Sybbyl and to gain vengeance for her.

    The Daoud Guard kept tight ranks, but could not hold off as the peoples rose up. Though some of Kirtin fell, the Daoud loyalists were scattered. Help for the free peoples came from the stage and hill as a dwarf dockworker joined the fray.

    Due to that hearty dwarf, a halfing carnie, and a studious-looking human the peoples’ losses were minimized.

    Authorities report heavy losses by the guard, but this author knows that is an exaggeration. They have also stated that there is now a curfew in the Dock District until they find this author and those who support the Thunder from Shadows.

    This author promises to keep the free peoples of Kirtin informed of future developments from the Carnival War.

    Dock District, Kirtin-on-the-Lake | Neremyn Quizana

    Dock District guard barracks were reportedly raided during the Festival. A spokesman for Daoud suggests that three guards were found dead at the end of the day. The space was looted, but only the officer and sergeants goods were stolen. No bonded companions were injured in the attack.

    As pamphleting and propaganda are themes being explored through the campaign this recap of the session is written in the tradition of yellow journalism. When the adventuring party rises the day after the conflict they will read the recap of their own exploits.

    Cast of Characters

    PCs

    Req (male dwarf paladin-vengeance) – the dock worker left the Land of Ken to pursue the new world in the Land of the Everflow. He is finding his way among the working class of the lake city.

    Roland (male human rogue-thief) – the former sage was recently fired from his position in local university. His teachings challenged Daoud’s control of Kirtin-on-the-Lake. He has a small cat that avoids all conflict.

    Whym (female halfling ranger-gloom stalker) – the former circus member is of noble heart and fights to protect those who are threatened by darkness. She has a huge dog.

    NPCs

    Two Goblin kids — The two kids were being harassed by Daoud guards. Our likely heroes helped the kids get out from under the guards eyes. Our heroes also bought two clockwork toys (14gp total for a cat and a dog). They are originally from Sheljar and their airxip arrived at the docks just a few days ago.

    Penzer – owner/operator of the Rusty Clam. Penzer now trusts Req and helped the group exit the district through the sewers. He is a squat halfling with a lazy, older wolfhound.

    Wilkie, a Member of the Guard – One of the guard is a former student of Roland’s. He is friendly, though disrespectful. So far he is willing to gossip about former classmates. He is unwilling to fight the people of his city. Roland arranged a meeting with his former student. He is a human with a seagull companion.

    Odger — A teacher who runs a small library. Odger put the group up for the night. He will provide safe-haven, but not fight. He is a goliath with 10 swallows as companions.

    Places of Interest

    Rusty Clam – a lower class dive bar that serves the dockworkers and related laborers. It is Req’s favorite bar. Penzer runs it, but Req gets his name wrong most of the time.

    Cracked Mug – a higher class bar for ship captains and other officers. The alley besides the Cracked Mug seems to be the source of the rebels vandalizing the posters advertising the upcoming festival. Brilene is the owner of the Cracked Mug. She bought it after retiring from the Daoud Navy. Her companion is an older Bay Retriever.

    Barracks – the group knows the location of the barracks where the Daoud guard responsible for the Dock District rest and refresh.

    Clues and Hints

    Thunder from Shadows is leading the rebellion. Is it a group or a man who is above Q?

    Q is the pamphleteer, and wanted by authorities. The group now has a woodblock stamp image of the elf as well as a description with his location being at/near the Cracked Mug.

    Roland’s old student, Wilkie, is meeting the group tomorrow evening.

    old: Posters advertising the Festival of Feylf are being torn down and replaced by a rebel group. This has become common enough that even new arrivals to the city have seen it happen in broad daylight. The Festival is four days out.

    old: Daoud is increasing the Dock District guard prior to the Festival of Feylf. This seems to be a response to the arrival of airxip from Sheljar as well as visitors from the Western Wildes.

    Grand Themes

    Uprising & Rebellion as the story of Free Sheljar spreads the people of Kirtin-on-the-Lake want to be free of the Empire of Daoud. Thunder from Shadows is a group or leader of the Rebellion.

    Proctors of Grace are People of Ken who shuttered the Land of the Everflow off from magic. They have taken over most of the Western Wildes.

    The Scholars are a group of People of Kin who had powerful magic as long as they worked with the Proctors to control the rest of the Land of the Everflow.

    Lorebook Hunters of Free Sheljar have gathered at least three Lorebooks and seem to have opened the Land of the Everflow to magic again.

  • Uprising & Rebellion Session Zero

    Uprising & Rebellion Session Zero

    Kirtin-on-the-Lake is the former winter capital of Kirtin. The lake city occupies the southwest corner of a massive lake and its fantasy-medieval urban area extends from those shores to a few of the islands within the lake. Roughly a century ago the Empire of Daoud and the Green Isle captured the lake city from Kirtin, reducing the kingdom to the hills and mountains surrounding the summer capital – Kirtin-in-the-Sky. The kingdom and empire have been at war for over 19 passings of the Dragon (the moon with a 21 year cycle).

    born to run
    Telse to Sheljar, about 40 days air travel from Kirtin-on-the-Lake

    Now, with magic again in the world with legendary races walking the streets and the call of freedom ringing out from the Free City of Sheljar the occupied peoples of Kirtin-on-the-Lake are questioning their status within Daoud. Some want to rejoin Kirtin, others want to follow the lead of Sheljar, and still others see the Empire of Daoud as a source of wealth and well-being.

    Into this environment three potential heroes began a journey by rescuing a couple gobkon children from a confrontation with the Dock District guards. They learned about each other and maybe some clues about a popular protest.

    This session was ~3 hours and included both character creation and two social encounters.

    Unlike my earlier campaign launches in Fifth Edition this new campaign started with a session zero. Character creation took place as a group. We worked through the party structure and the motivations together. It also meant that world details were added during the character creation process. 

    This campaign is set in the Land of the Everflow, but the amount of house rules is greatly reduced. In this campaign any Kin (human, halfling, goliath) starts with a bonded companion, any Ken (elf, dwarf, gnome) starts with magic initiate or ritual caster, and any Kon (goblin, hobgoblin, mulgob) starts with an improved version of the rock gnome Tinker feature. All characters started at third level. Several custom classes are available, but none were chosen. Magic works as normal.

    Cast of Characters

    PCs

    Req (male dwarf paladin-vengeance) – the dock worker left the Land of Ken to pursue the new world in the Land of the Everflow. He is finding his way among the working class of the lake city.

    Roland (male human rogue-thief) – the former sage was recently fired from his position in local university. His teachings challenged Daoud’s control of Kirtin-on-the-Lake.

    Whym (female halfling ranger-gloom stalker) – the former circus member is of noble heart and fights to protect those who are threatened by darkness.

    NPCs

    Two Goblin kids — The two kids were being harassed by Daoud guards. Our likely heroes helped the kids get out from under the guards eyes. Our heroes also bought two clockwork toys (14gp total for a cat and a dog). They are originally from Sheljar and their airxip arrived at the docks just a few days ago.

    Penzer – owner/operator of the Rusty Clam.

    Member of the Guard (unnamed, so far) – One of the guard is a former student of Roland’s. He is friendly, though disrespectful. So far he is willing to gossip about former classmates. Maybe that will extend to the other guards?

    Places of Interest

    Rusty Clam – a lower class dive bar that serves the dockworkers and related laborers. It is Req’s favorite bar. Penzer runs it, but Req gets his name wrong most of the time.

    Cracked Mug – a higher class bar for ship captains and other officers. The alley besides the Cracked Mug seems to be the source of the rebels vandalizing the posters advertising the upcoming festival.

    Barracks – the group knows the location of the barracks where the Daoud guard responsible for the Dock District rest and refresh.

    2018 Fantasy Faire - Tiny Town by PS Hernandez
    2018 Fantasy Faire – Tiny Town by PS Hernandez (CC BY 2.0)

    Clues and Hints

    Posters advertising the Festival of Feylf are being torn down and replaced by a rebel group. This has become common enough that even new arrivals to the city have seen it happen in broad daylight. The Festival is four days out.

    Daoud is increasing the Dock District guard prior to the Festival of Feylf. This seems to be a response to the arrival of airxip from Sheljar as well as visitors from the Western Wildes.

    Grand Themes

    Uprising & Rebellion as the story of Free Sheljar spreads the people of Kirtin-on-the-Lake want to be free of the Empire of Daoud.

    Proctors of Grace are People of Ken who shuttered the Land of the Everflow off from magic. They have taken over most of the Western Wildes.

    The Scholars are a group of People of Kin who had powerful magic as long as they worked with the Proctors to control the rest of the Land of the Everflow.

    Lorebook Hunters of Free Sheljar have gathered at least three Lorebooks and seem to have opened the Land of the Everflow to magic again.

  • Crew of an large airxip

    Crew of an large airxip

    Way back in the day working on this my thoughts went towards being quite specific. In my early play of 5e I would have created each officer and “boy” as a PC and the crew would be NPCs from one of the books (Monster Manual and Volo’s Guide). My familiarity with the system is stronger now.

    Officers

    • Captain
    • Owner
    • Pilot
    • Master-at-Arms
    • Royal Steward
    • Secretary
    • Comptroller
    • Interpreter
    • Boatswain
    • Cook
    • Bellowswain
    • Physician
    • Carpenter
    • Painter
    • Joiner

    Boys

    • Captain’s Boy
    • Cabin Boy
    • Officer’s Boy

    Crew

    • Bellows and Fuel (7 mul)
    • Balloons (4 hobs)
    • Ratchets (4 muls)
    • Props (8 muls)
    • Weapons (5 hobs)
    • Lookouts (5 gobs)
    • poultry (2 muls)

    That’s a rather long list of characters for the airxip equivalent of a four-master from the Age of Sail. It’s overly complex and almost certainly a level of detail that is unnecessary within the 5e system.

    Instead I would use the light NPC rules which I have adopted for play for the individuals. I would probably only do this for a few of the senior officers (and maybe a single generic “boy”).

    For the various crew elements I would lean towards the Colville rules of Warfare starting at page 233 in the current PDF of Strongholds and Followers. Those are all small units, and could even be fused based on ancestry in some cases.

    Ratchets, Bellows, Fuel, and Props could be a medium mulgob unit of greens with light equipment. Weapons and Balloons would exist as a small unit of seasoned vets with medium equipment and archery. The Lookouts are a small unit of goblin regulars with light equipment. The remaining crew and officers get represented as a small unit of green humans (default mixed ancestry) that exist as infantry.

    The point being that 5e doesn’t need details. It needs broad strokes that a DM and their table can use to describe actions, many of which won’t need dice. As the version of D&D that leans most on role rather than roll a returning creator should respect that. Remove as many details as possible, because most of the details aren’t necessary at your table.

  • Session Notes: Hags of Thurible

    Session Notes: Hags of Thurible

    On their way to Qin and its surroundings the Lorebook Hunters are flying over the western hills and mountains claimed by Kirtin. These lands are far from the old Empire of Sheljar, outside of the influence of post-Awakening Telse and haven’t sent their children to defend the Northern Slope in centuries. This is unclaimed lands, far from roads, lacking major rivers, and barely settled. On their fourth day they find a small village on a river and land.

    Session Notes:
    This took place over multiple sessions. It was all after they eliminated the threat of Parun, but discovered he is neither Scholar nor Proctor, merely evil.
    Saffron, Maurice, Behn, Doceo, Aamar were present in at least one session as active PCs.
    Mansaray, Samul, and Ixnyx stay at the airxip while docked at Thurible.
    The remaining characters are in Sheljar. Ajhenas and Kuda are on the Tower Island creating a military, while Telley is on the settled island with the Temple of Wisdom (where the goblins hid) helping the people make a life there.  Braaz, and Els are working on restoring the two homes on the south end of the Island Inn.
    Shonie is retired and remains in Telse.

    The town of Thurible is small. There are maybe 13-14 houses and even the rare commercial buildings are also houses. The Beaver and Bottle serves strong liquor and some ale. One home also rents a couple of extra rooms when trappers come through town. Mostly, this is the nothing town of the wilderness, settled on an island in the river.

    There’s one significant problem — about a third of the children have disappeared since the Awakening. It is a constant fear. The heroes, feeling like heroes, step away from their trip and pledge to help solve this problem. They search through town and discover the last known spot of the last children.

    They walk the path knowing that a few kids never came back from this same journey. This path winds through and around cliffs, streams and forests. It is at times dark, at times safe.

    Our Lorebook Hunters get jumped by a group of Proctors, all elves. These are eliminated, but clearly the Proctors are expanding their reach into the Western Wildes. The group tends their wounds and continues to hike through this rough land. The tracks take a turn into a little alcove, it is covered in a bush, but looks to be a cave, maybe a tunnel.

    There are many more tracks of people (humans, halflings and goliaths) heading away from this entry. They decide to check the first entry. It is dark and the cave slopes down. One wall is worked stone. The other is a mix of natural rock and roots dripping with water.

    Our heroes discover a chamber with a door across from them, immediately on their left and a larger double-door far to their right. They go left first.

    Beyond that door is another chamber, this one occupied. A huge swarm of wasps and a disgusting woman made of human flesh, iron, stone and branches is in the room. There is a fight.

    After they win the fight with the Sister of Wasps they hear a series of doors slamming, six of them. A scream of vengeance rings out as the group is trapped. An older voice says “No, they must go. They are the key to our power. You may leave.”

    A door in front of them and the door behind them opens. A rope ladder drops from the ceiling. It leads to a small opening with the darkest possible green seen through the opening.

    Aamar climbed a rope ladder and entered a dark world, thick with overhead vegetation and a huge tree trunk. As he surveyed the land he noticed a dark pool. Inside that pool of water a single hand is trying to grasp the edge, unable to pull itself out. The Cleric of Quar walks over to rescue the drowning man, noticing Bishop Ollium’s signet ring on the hand. When Aamar tries to grab the Bishop’s hand the vision of pool and victim disappears into a shower of coins of the realm — none are corporeal. Aamar also learns that every branch and leaf seems to be coming from the same trunk. When he gets close enough to the trunk it appears as if a wall. It is so large the curvature is not apparent in the near darkness above the coven.

    He retreats from this other-world of an obscenely large tree.

    No one else goes up. They explore the new door and try to prop others from closing again. The group works their way through the dungeon to another hag. In this case she is riding a swarm of children.

    Through brilliant use of spells and tactics the heroes free the youth without an injury to Thurible’s kids. They destroy that ugly hag as well. But then, descending through the ceiling is the ethereal form of the Night Hag, the Auntie.

    She speaks in hisses and pride. She announces that the group must be free, for if they succeed she will be even more powerful than she is now. They question her, but she speaks about a future that is more like a myth, a future where there are no limits on the magics of Kin.

    All of the doors fling open including the barn door where the Sister of Youth used to ride her swarm out to terrorize Thurible and other farming communities.

    It is dark. By reckoning the group knows it is only late afternoon, but the sky is covered by cedar branches and leaves. They are under the canopy of the same dark tree that Aamar found earlier, but now with dozens of children trying to find their way home. One is an easy ally. Saffron’s crown of forgetfulness helps break the spell put upon him, and he leads them down a path. It is in a shroud of darkness and the children start to scream out to their parents, or grandparents, their aunts, their brothers.

    Doceo leads the way upon leaving. Surrounded by his three dogs he scans the exterior of the lair and finds a path. In a small clearing he sees five dogs, some exact copies of Vondal, Victus and Delg, all staring at a point in sky while covered in ice. It dissipates as he approaches.

    Saffron sees two skeletons, one with a ghost-dog and the other with a skeletal bird. Both approach a wedding rope. They are headed away from her, leap the rope and laugh. It looks as if Rohan and Teegan, friends of Saffron’s mentor, are finally happy — and dead.

    As Maurice flanks the group he is alone in darkness, barely able to see the Light that Aamar has cast. A loud boom startles the young halfling. In the direction of that noise he sees his father holding a key and then a huge ball of metal rip through his father’s torso. The vision ends as the key falls from his father’s hand.

    Behn’s vision is of Shonie, their former companion. She is trapped in a cage, unwilling or unable to speak. Her slight form indicates starvation. There are wounds. As he touches the cage Shonie disappears.

    [DM Note: I had visions established for every regular PC and have contemplated telling Mansaray and Samul what they would have seen, but maybe the group heads back to the coven. This was also the first time the group encountered something that could be considered fey.]

    Upon leaving the cover of that cursed cedar and the coven they are in sunshine again. By evening they are in Thurible. Only two families are missing children, both with the same names that were used by the Sister of Wasps and the Sister of Children. For the most part Thurible is happy, for the first time since the Lorebook Hunters visited.

    But now the Hunters know something new. Their quest to stop the Proctors may empower other evils, and their possible futures include pain.

    Become a Patron to see fiction set in the World of the Everflow. These stories are set in the time of the Awakening.