Category: Kin

  • Goltoppa, a Mehmdian sport in the World of the Everflow

    Goltoppa, a Mehmdian sport in the World of the Everflow

    Fantasy sports can be a fun way to add depth and cultural to a campaign world. One of my players in Uprising & Rebellion is playing a character from Mehmd and invented the sport of Goltoppa. He adapted some of the cultural touchpoints from the hidden empire, placing them into the common state of the game and has asked for it to be featured in a session soon. The character in question is not a Goltoppa player or coach.

    Goltoppa

    by JayDubTheGamer

    Playing Surface:

    A goltoppa field created using Dungeon Scrawl

    The game is played on an open, flat, dirt field, generally free of rocks & debris, that is 360 feet  long by 144 feet wide. The field is split lengthwise down the entirety of the center into 72 feet wide halves, and crosswise at 120 feet intervals. These six resulting areas are marked off with white paint borders. Particularly enterprising/wealthy teams have been known to pay to have the sections magicked to different colors. Straddling the centerline at each end of the playing field is a netted goal, 9 feet wide by 3 feet tall. One narrow end of the field is to be facing North, indicating the “head” of the field. Three referees patrol the playing surface to control the action during the run of play.

    Players:

    Goltoppa is played by two opposing teams, consisting of 9 starting players on each side. Teams are permitted to ‘dress’ 3 bench players for each contest, to be subbed into the game in the event of injury. Players may not be subbed into the game for strategic reasons or in the event of a player’s expulsion from the contest. A player’s uniform shall consist of a sleeveless tunic, belted at the waist & extending to mid-thigh, in the primary color of one of the six teams currently representing the league’s six social strata: Noble (violet), Military (red), Religious (white), Artisan (gold), Farmer/Fisher (green), Merchant (blue). Note that players are recruited to represent these strata, and need not be members of them. Additionally, players shall wear sandals that wrap up around their calves, with linen padding over their shins. Each team dresses one Left & Right “Slasher,” designated by a black sash that goes diagonally from either left or right shoulder to opposing hip, with the shoulder covered indicating which side of the field they may patrol. Players may wear short pants as well.

    Play:

     The game is played in two 36 minute halves. At the start of the game, a coin toss determines initial possession, which begins via kicking a ball onto the field from a position to the left of the goal which the possessing team is defending. The ball is traditionally made from a treated cow’s stomach filled with air, or a leather ball of approximately the same size . There are no goalies; all players may attempt to kick the ball toward or away from the goal, or to a teammate. Additionally, each team’s Slashers are allowed to catch the ball on the fly in their hands and run with it to the border of whichever section of the field they currently occupy, at which point they must kick the ball themselves unless trying to place the ball in the opposing goal. A Slasher with possession of the ball may be leg tackled by the opposing team. A successful leg tackle means the Slasher must kick the ball to a teammate (only) from the spot of the tackle. Tackling with one’s arms, striking a Slasher above the waist, or attempting to strip the ball from a Slasher’s hands by a player other than an opposing Slasher is not allowed. A ball that goes out of the field of play results in a change of possession, with the new possessing team kicking the ball into the field of play from the sideline spot where the referees determine the ball crossed out of the field.

    Scoring:

    A score happens whenever the ball is put into the net during the run of play, A ball kicked into the net scores 2 points; a ball placed into the net by hand scores 5 points.

    Penalties:

    Rough Play: Arm tackles; deliberate leg tackles of a non-Slasher; headbutts; intentional hands to the face or back of an opponent – Offending player off the field for 3 minutes.

    Stripping: An attempt to pull the ball from the hands of a Slasher by a non-Slasher – Offending player off the field for 3 minutes.

    Catching: Non-Slasher making deliberate contact with his hands to the ball, especially with an effort to control the ball – Offending player off the field for 2 minutes.

    Scooping: Slasher attempting to pick the ball up off the field, rather than catching it on the fly. This includes a ball that bounces before being caught – Offending player off the field for 1 minute.

    Offsides: Slasher maintaining possession of the ball beyond the area of the field where he caught it, or crossing from his designated half of the field – Change of possession from the spot; no kick to inbound the ball needed.

    Belligerence: Fighting; intentional physical contact/intimidation toward a referee – Offending player ejected.

    Playing Goltoppa at the table

    There will be a series of contested checks to determine scoring. These will use the Tool Sports: Goltoppa and have a few skills that can connect to them.

    My first thought is a way to generate scoring similar to what is described by JayDubTheGamer would be to have five contested checks by half. That’s a lot of rolling, but provides some variety of results and capability of multiple players participating.

    Winning a check by 1-5 results in two points. Winning a check by more than 5 results in 5 points. Winning a check by more than 10 results in seven points and winning by 15 or more is good for nine points.

    Losing a check by less than 5 results in two points for your own team. Any natural 1 means that you have given up a five-pointer or have committed a foul, rolling their next challenge at Disadvantage. Any natural 20 means that you have scored a five-pointer.

    This should generate scores that look a bit like early 20th century American football or current rugby.

    Applying skills

    Acrobatics and Athletics will be the most used skills, most frequently connecting to Dexterity and Strength. It would also make sense for someone in a coaching position to use Intelligence with one of those and for a character playing the captain to use Charisma.

    I would allow up to one role to use Deception in order to get away with a foul. That team would have Advantage on the next check, but if they lose that roll their next roll would be at Disadvantage.

    An example:

    Violet teamBlue teamScore
    137Violet 5: Blue 0
    1620 (natural)Violet 2: Blue 7
    915Violet 0: Blue 5
    1212Violet 2: Blue 2
    415Violet 0: Blue 7
    1st half9 points21 points
    29Violet 0: Blue 5
    20 (natural)7Violet 12: Blue 0
    1411Violet 2: Blue 2
    186Violet 7: Blue 0
    39Violet 0: Blue 5
    2nd half21 points12 points
    FINAL30 points33 points

    Yes, that’s ten rolls for a non-combat encounter. Which feels like a bit, but the descriptions are at most two sentences, show the shifts in momentum, and feel like watching a sport when including those descriptions especially around the nat 20s.

    We’ll see how it runs at the table.

  • Timelines in the World of the Everflow

    Timelines in the World of the Everflow

    The timeline of the World of the Everflow is getting harder for me to track. There have been six campaigns with some overlap in both reality and at the table. In order for me to keep better track of events and so that the players and their characters have a better idea of events in the past prior to the campaign I started to build a timeline.

    The desire is that these are basically small phrases containing history, not a book of common knowledge to study. I’ll be adding to this as the players remind me of events, create things from their own history or ask questions.

    Current day

    Uprising & Rebellion 2 and Gendarmmes of Sheljar

    One year ago

    Red Oak burns, allowing red dragons to be born; Uprising & Rebellion 1; 7th Fleet of Daoud encamps to the south of Kirtin-on-the-Lake

    Five years ago

    Dragons and the Ken fly to Kirtin-on-the-Lake; Sheljar is freed from Necromancy and the Tunneling Nightmares; some Scholars (Diviner, Necromancer) are made public; Kin can learn magic

    Six years ago

    Goblin Queen’s Fleet lands near Sheljar; Discovery of the Lorebook of Divination; Children of Chorl created; Eruption of Dakan Thaeeb; Lorebook Hunters start their search

    Twenty-seven years ago

    Sheljar falls to the Necromancer

    Twenty-eight years ago

    Born Generation

    Seventy years ago

    Crinth Confederation re-structures to stop expansion of Azsel

    One hundred and twenty-two years ago

    Kirtin loses Kirtin-on-the-Lake again

    Two hundred and twenty-four years ago

    Kirtin retakes Kirtin-on-the-Lake

    Four hundred and sixty-four years ago

    Daoud takes Kirtin-on-the-Lake

    Seventeen hundred years ago

    Az and Sel establish the Bond, rising to godhood; other bondings besides dogs are discovered; the Goliath nation of Galinor disappears

    Two thousand years ago

    Church of Quar controls the Everflow and the Font of Two paths, becoming a continent wide faith; Mehmd closes off the empire with foreigners only allowed at Gate

    Millenia ago

    Quar and the gods create Habergeon, the Everflow and separate the Lands of the Six Kingdoms from the world of magic

  • Assigning Social and Exploration Experience in Uprising & Rebellion

    Assigning Social and Exploration Experience in Uprising & Rebellion

    In my campaigns we use experience points rather than milestone levelling. But, we also spend time in the social and exploration pillars, where the game as designed provides little guidance towards the experience that should be rewarded for success overcoming obstacles beyond traps.

    Rewarding the play I want to see, I have given out xp for solved plot points and discoveries. In the past these have been given out at the end of a session without the players knowing ahead of time what their character rewards would be.

    I’m going to attempt to pull back that veil, listing out major plots and side quests with xp values. My goal is so that the player characters will be rewarded for developing their stories and the overall campaign.

    Major plots

    Daoud’s 7th Fleet vs Twilight and Shadow the Black Dragons vs the Mayor with the Blue Dragons vs assembling Kirtinish forces on the east shore – 10,000 xp

    Kirtin-on-the-Lake is now torn between two of the Six Kingdoms and the separate appeals of two groups of Ken. Twilight and Shadow seem to thrive on misery, sucking up negative emotions from the war. The Mayor has gifted the Blue dragons significant territory and their co-operation requires unbonding from animal companions.

    The 7th Fleet wants to take the city back to Daoud. It is actually a massive cavalry army with horses, riding dogs and warbirds. Kirtin’s forces sit, waiting for the three sides to destroy each other and sweep back into the city as welcomed heroes.

    Our heroes haven’t picked a side, because they are all bad. In the past they’ve hoped for trade or normality looking to Sheljar for inspiration.

    via the Fantasy City Generator

    Lorebooks – 5,000 xp

    Our heroes have the Lorebook of Illusions and the Crate of Conjuration. They suspect there is another Lorebook locally and a fourth may be in The Ferments. They know not what power the Lorebooks provide, just that a group called the Scholars control them and the Proctors are a violent segment of Ken who are trying to acquire the various books. The world knows that the Folio of Necromancy and the Lorebook of Divination are in Sheljar.

    Defending their books from other Proctors or Scholars is as important as finding more, probably.

    Unseat the Mayor – 7,500 xp — COMPLETED

    The Mayor has turned his back on Daoud and joined with the Blue Dragons and their Ken allies. Even if the heroes cannot yet sway the four-sided war, the group wants the Mayor eliminated via election, appointment or violence — he just needs to be gone.

    Side quests

    Where is Wilkie? – 2,500 xp — COMPELETED

    One of their allies, Wilkie, former leader of the Dock District Guard fled. With their leader in hiding the Dock District has dissolved back to an ad hoc militia. The group of heroes had trusted Wilkie to defend their district.

    Missing Printers – 2,500 xp — COMPLETED

    The printing press and gobkon printers’ office burnt down in a dragon strike. No bodies were found. Once in hiding, then public, the Society of Veil and Shadow has again disappeared. Their pro-Sheljar message remains known, but there have been no broadsheets in three passings of Feylf.

    Is the new flag of quill and sword related to their absence?

    Bounties – 2,500 xp — COMPLETED

    Each of the known heroes has a bounty of 2,500 gold on them. This is mostly because the Mayor hates them for the murder of the gnome during his festival. But also because they keep trying to inspire the people toward concepts like freedom and respect.

    Character quests

    Keldrass wants to repair the bonds broken by the black dragons and help protect the city from the Ken.

    Gardar wants to increase the trade with Mehmd, earn respect outside of the caste system there and maybe have his own Goltoppa team.

    Seymore wants to teach commoners magic, because even though he doesn’t trust it the people need the power. He’s done a bit of this by spreading Minor Illusion.

    Req wants to maintain the independence of the Dock District.

  • Gendarmes of Sheljar Campaign: One Sheet

    Gendarmes of Sheljar Campaign: One Sheet

    This campaign is set seven years after the Lorebook Hunters returned magic to the World of the Everflow. It is set in the Free City of Sheljar, and is centered on clearing portions of the bog-city from the return of undead and tunneling nightmares. Combat and exploration will be heavier than social play at the beginnnig. Every character is united in keeping residents of Sheljar safe and mostly unified in the ideals of Free Shejlar (all thinking peoples have value), but may have differing concepts about how to do so.

    The bog-city of Sheljar sits in a lowland below a waterfall. The climate is cool and wet, think the lowlands of the upper Salish, the moors of Scotland with a boggy multi-island brackish lake similar to New Orleans.

    Campaign Premise

    The party is a group of guards that volunteered and is paid to help the Lorebook Hunters keep the people of Sheljar safe from skeletons, zombies, wights and other undead. Tunneling Nightmares may have returned to isles in the bog-city as well. They will start in the old neighborhood of Jherr as recent migrants have noticed a cavern with odd noises and smells.

    Made using Perilous Shores, this is the neighborhood of Jherr, to the north and east of the core of Sheljar. The southeast corner is less brackish than most of the bog-city, almost an internal fresh water space.

    Background

    The Flag of the Free City of Sheljar features the moon Feylf in crescent, a white triangle entering a field of the sea and Boo, in his skeletal form.

    Once upon a time, the Empire of Sheljar ruled all of the Western Wildes, from the Cliffs of Galinor to Mira to Qin. Then, the Born Generation of magically imbued teens (27 years ago) caused chaos and disruption, upending the old ways. One of the Born Generation, the Necromancer, thought he was doing good, keeping dying peoples and animals with their families, but these horrifying undead monstrosities were often rejected. As he raised more and more, people fled Sheljar, emptying it out, leaving the bog-city nearly abandoned to the Necromancer and his unliving nightmares. A misty stench then started to control the city and more people fled.

    It was not until after the eruption of the volcano, the battle of Cortez and Chorl, and the Lorebook Hunters eventually slaying the Necromancer that Sheljar felt free again. Now, six years later the Free City of Sheljar welcomes all thinking peoples. Those that return to their former homes have their property back. Those without homes are granted plots and space with the promise of aid. Few ships dock at Sheljar, but that number increases every month.

    Sheljar has several dozen gobkon, a few dozen Ken with no known dragons, but most of its 2,000 generally agrarian peoples are various Kin with their animal companions. The Gendarmes and the Lorebook Hunters are the only standing ‘army.’ Most of the residents are frontier peoples ready to defend their cottages but only have clubs and other utensils as weapons.

    A map of the former Empire of Sheljar, now a series of independent city-states and free towns.

    Grand Conflicts

    At the start this is a simple island of the week adventure, where the Gendarmes are responsible for discovering and clearing pockets of undead.

    Factions

    • Lorebook Hunters – this is the leadership of Sheljar.
    • Cult of Nak – these are the remnants of Chrol’s transformations.
    • Fort Ooshar is under control of the Fox and Crow, a gang that sees opportunity to raid the migrants heading to Sheljar
    • A death cult has taken over the lands west of Telse.

    Rumors

    • The Folio of Necromancy may be missing. Saffron had held it prior to rising to part of the leadership council.
    • What is that stench out east? Tunneling Nightmares?
    • The Volcano of the Glass Tower is glowing.

    Facets

    • Exploring the zero-to-hero tropes, friendship with animals, and who gets to control knowledge.
    • Sandbox play.
    • Player agency creates history.
    • Drop in/drop out, whatever. This is an episodic campaign.
    • Sessions are 60-90 minutes. Adventures are 1-3 sessions.

    Variant Rules

    • Playable races are Human, Hin(what they call themselves)/Halfling, Goliath/Firbolg, Elf, Dwarf, Gnome (wood only), Goblin, Hobgoblin, Bugbear.
      • Only the Kon (goblinoids) may be Artificers.
      • Kin start with a Bonded Companion.
      • Ken start with a Feat that grants a 1st level spell such as Magic Initiate.
      • Kon start with Tek.
    • There are a few custom subclasses available (Way of Frayed Knot, Society of Veil and Shadows, Conscript, Propagandist, Circle of Sewers).
    • There are several custom backgrounds and tools available. We will use cultures, not languages.
    • Use point buy or standard array for starting attributes. If you want something random, the redrick roller gives random point buy valid stats.
    • Start at 1st level because several are new to the game, let’s learn together.
    • The Gendarmes start with a small sailing boat (Crew:4 for rudder, sails, a repeating heavy crossbow, and a fire sling).
    • Long rests require 24 hours within sanctuary. This creates a pace of play more similar to novels than video games.

    Practicum

    Sessions will be on Wednesdays right after work, played over Meet with shared screen used to help set the scene. Theater of the Mind will be the most common form of combat, ideally using cinematic descriptions which will grant Inspiration. There is a campaign on DnDBeyond, used only by the participants rather than open to public.

    Every character is assumed to have Common Knowledge in the Six Kingdoms.

  • Whistle of Az and Sel for the Blog Carnival

    Whistle of Az and Sel for the Blog Carnival

    Within the World of the Everflow every thinking peoples from the Land of Kin bonds with an animal. The most common of these are dogs (especially among halflings), birds (especially among goliaths), and horses (especially among humans). These beasts are family, inseparable companion, and essentially an extension of that person. They share personality and aid each other throughout their shared lives.

    This intimate companionship started after magic left the world. Now, the norm, bonding started with Az, his dog Sel, and a three-hole pipe. Together they created more and more and more and more and more bondings. Eventually this drove Az mad, for the thoughts of 100s of beasts were in his head. What was to be a blessing from one of the gods, turned into a curse for young Az. As he aged, the nation of Azsel formed around Az and Sel. Their whistle becoming the symbol of the nation, it was once under guard as a holy relic. Over the millennia the whistle disappeared. The power of bondings spread beyond what the Whistle started. Companionship is now so common that few consider it magical.

    Many also think legend of Az and Sel is merely a story, not real. But the Whistle of Az and Sel is in fact real, and dangerous, for the curse will drive you as mad. If any have found the Whistle in the current era they are not making that discovery public.

    This is my latest entry for the Blog Carnival.

    David, as a young man, playing pipe and bell as he watches his sheep in the pasture. – The Morgan Bible, Folio 25

    Whistle of Az and Sel

    Wondrous Item, artifact, cursed (requires attunement)

    When playing the Whistle of Az and Sel the user can cast the following spells at will, without expending a charge and as a bonus action. These require no spell components nor concentration if that is normally required.

    • Animal Friendship
    • Beast Bond
    • Speak with Animals
    • Animal Messenger
    • Locate Animals
    • Summon Beast
    • Conjure Animals
    • Dominate Beast
    • Commune with Nature
    • Druid Grove

    This power comes with a cost. That cost varies by user.

    When one attunes with the Whistle of Az and Sel they experience two minor and one major detrimental properties. They also suffer from one long-term madness upon attuning and indefinite madness for as long as they are attuned (see DMG page 260). This cursed item requires a quest from a god or powerful magic to be unattuned.

  • The Everflow, a gift from the gods

    The Everflow, a gift from the gods

    The Font of Two Paths, the Two-Headed Spring, Pool of Life, Lake of Wonder — the Everflow. This supernatural gift from Quar is the result of the last action of gods who turned their backs on Kin. The Lake of Wonder has two exits, a thing that shouldn’t ever, ever happen when making maps. This wasn’t because of Quar, but instead due to the people who wanted to spread these waters as far as possible. The Font of Two Paths is as much a study of Quar as it is of the ingenuity of his church.

    Telse and its immediate surroundings.
    Map developed using the beta of Hex All Things by Fantastic Maps

    In the land of Kin the time of creation of the Everflow started one of the popular calendars. This day is known, only due to the Church of Quar (in actuality it is the date when the first Bishop took the Church from religion to merchant guild and non-national power).

    The modern era, 21-26 Post Awakening (PA), the Everflow has a few mechanical benefits. This is true in a world where common magic is merely cantrips and the kinship between beasts. A vial of Everflow, attainable in many markets in Telse and through the rest of Kin only at the Church of Quar, works as three uses of a Potion of Healing. In this world it takes only a Bonus Action to consume a use. Taking all three at once is an Action, and also removes a level of Exhaustion. Again, magic is quite rare, so this healing power has created the potency and power of the Church, which profits off of controlling the Source.

    This post is an entry in the Blog Carnival, a group of blogs who share content inspired by the same prompt for a month. This month’s host is Sea of Stars.

    Make up new items or stat up those from myth, describe places where lost items can be found or quests set by the gods for those who wish to “borrow” item for an important task, what artifacts would your campaign villain seek?  What is the craftsman of the gods working on?

    The Third Celestial Armory is their own entry into the Blog Carnival.

    When the Western Wildes were controlled by the Empire of Sheljar the Church’s influence was so strong that Telse remained a mostly-independent city, though the defenses of Telse and Upper Telse were provided by Sheljar as the mighty empire controlled all lands around the lake town.

    This power dynamic shifted at the Fall of Sheljar. As the Necromancer took power in the bog city the other cities in the west earned their freedoms, for the most part.

    Telse, Mira, Qin and the other cities near the Everflow and its two rivers.
    • Sheljar then sat empty as people fled the Tunneling Nightmares and the Night Peoples.
    • Mira is a port city in the north, with some influence over Fort Ooshar.
    • Qin is the city of guilds in the south.
    • The Ferments are a region of hot springs, alcohol, homesteads, and vibrant independence.
    • Bell’an’aur is the community of mines and glass blowing.

    But Telse and Upper Telse remain influential. Bishop Ollium maintains power through the wealth of the church — both in the masses of gold and the healing powers of the Everflow. His church-shops are scattered in all kingdoms (Crinth, Azsel, Kirtin, Daoud, and even Mehmd in the dry east). Though smaller than Qin and Mira, Telse’s gift from the gods, an everflowing fountain of healing water that fills a lake with large locks controlling outflow towards both Mira and Qin.

    This gift changed the world. Due to the corruption inherent in the People of Love (humans, halflings, goliaths — the Kin) a gift of healing created a church more powerful than nations, able to control who lives and dies, able to topple dynasties.

    In times legendary, Quar expected his gift to be a lasting connection created through generous health, as the Font never runs dry everyone would benefit. The flawed god of life did not expect the flaws of man to control this ability.

    Other worlds may have mighty boons from the divine that shake the land, or summon kaiju, or protect cities. In the World of the Everflow the minor gift of healing created a non-national empire, a form of currency, and a town that now has a large refugee populace fleeing the Fall of Sheljar or the cursed magicks now entering the Western Wildes — and dragons.

    No matter how large or small an artifact of the gods is it will change your world. The Waters of the Everflow did so much more than a god intended.

  • Creating a new world

    Creating a new world

    It comes with just a single question. What if? What if I started a new blog? What if we talked about fantasy fiction? What if the stories told coincided with a role-playing game? What if I set myself back two decades and cracked open Dungeons & Dragons again?

    bard-dave
    Every storyteller needs their tools – a good mug, a notebook (or netbook), a satchel for tokens and memories and a block of cheese maybe some sausage, and a trusty sword.

    What if the themes were strong adult subject matter that made for gritty tales of life, death and heroism? What if magic was real? And the gods could talk, but then they stopped?

    What if the continents were small, the peoples plentiful and not all human? What if humans didn’t believe in magic because it had disappeared in the only continent they know? How about making it so they are defined more by their cultures than by their phenotype?

    Have they stopped believing in themselves, in their gods? Do they see good and evil? How?

    Is there slavery? Why? Is there nobility? Can someone be both?

    These questions and the cascade of answers start to form more questions. It’s a nearly infinite series of responses. World building, particularly the creation of a world that breathes, is hard. Crafting a world-space that can withstand episodic gaming is harder.

    Take chunks at a time. That’s what Full Moon Storytelling will be. Small chunks of content for use in a campaign setting, built around a custom set of rules adapted from 5th edition D&D, but with accompanying tales. If the setting says “The Necromancer is just someone trying to be good” there will be a story that explains how that happened.

    As The Worthing Saga took a novella and broke out portions into branch stories, Full Moon Storytelling takes a campaign setting, rule set and crafts micro-fiction, short stories, plotless narrations and episodic adventures within the World of the Everflow.

    Maybe that’s where we start, not with a character, but with a story about a fountain that flows from a cliff and diverts along two paths – the Font of Two Paths, the Two-Headed Spring, Pool of Life, Lake of Wonder. The Everflow influences the western peninsula of Kin, is clearly unnatural and …

    This is Full Moon Storytelling. It’s a way to share writing, writing process and to think aloud, while words spring forth from tiny digits. Things will happen live, in front of you. Process will be as important as output. Creation is play. Come, join me at this fire under a full moon with clear sky as we look up through trees staring towards the open world of wonder, knowing that behind those trees at your back is whatever reality you can imagine.

    Fediverse Reactions
  • Taien Sahul – the ripper lizard

    Taien Sahul – the ripper lizard

    Out in the lands of Mehmd mammals and avians are rare. Many of the ecological and domestic niches are instead filled by lizards, amphibians and dinosaur-like creatures. The Taien Sahul are small saurs based on the Velociraptor by Sam Stockdale at ENWorld.

    In Mehmd they tend to roam the wilderness, though certain tribes of Unkempt in the South and the Isles use them as companions. When free they roam in packs of 9 or so (3d6). Their Pounce needs quite a distance in order to be used, but when the commit they tend to rush prey quickly. Taien Sahul can survive in deserts, having advantage on CON checks to deal with dehydration.

    Photo by Innermost Limits on Pexels.com

    Taien Sahul – the ripper lizard
    Small beast, unaligned

    Armor Class 13 (natural)
    Hit Points 3 (1d6)
    Speed 45 ft., climb 10 ft.

    STR 7 (–2)
    DEX 15 (+2)
    CON 10 (+0)
    INT 3 (–4)
    WIS 14 (+2)
    CHA 7 (–2)

    Skills Perception +4, Stealth +4
    Senses passive Perception 14
    Languages —
    Challenge: ½ CR 50 xp

    Keen Sight: The raptor has advantage on sight-based Perception (WIS) checks.
    Pounce: If the raptor moves at least 30 feet straight toward a target and then hits with a claw attack on the same turn, that target must succeed on a DC 10 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone. If a target is prone, the raptor can make one bite attack against it as a bonus action.
    Pack Tactics: The raptor has advantage on an attack roll against a target if at least one of the raptor’s allies is within 5 feet of the target and isn’t incapacitated.

    ACTIONS
    Multiattack: The raptor makes two melee attacks, usually using both claws unless they’ve pounced.
    Bite: Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1d4+2 piercing damage.
    Claws: Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1d4+2 slashing damage.

  • Thunder Monkeys and Other Remarkable Beasts for Your D&D Campaign

    Thunder Monkeys and Other Remarkable Beasts for Your D&D Campaign

    How magic interacts with the world is often a defining space in Dungeons & Dragons. In the Forgotten Realms magic, whether arcane or divine, exists as 5th edition defines it. In Eberron magic is instead something that is common, fueling the themes of steampunk and noir with orcs and elves. Dark Sun goes the opposite direction. Magic there is not just limited. Magic continues the ecological disaster that mars the world.

    In the World of the Everflow magic burst forth onto the world in two awakenings. The first, explored mostly through short fiction and table narration gave the Kin (People of Love) a single cantrip, all of them. The second awakening brought the ability to cast spells to certain Kin and saw the return of the Ken (People of Knowledge) and Kon (People of Technology) to the shores of the Six Kingdoms.

    As my worldspace, and the associated tales continuing to develop, the thought popped into my head “What happened to the animals during the Awakening?” Throughout known time the Kin were always bonded with companions (initial rules). With the bond between beast and person so strong, did some beasts get small magics?

    The answer is yes.

    And so the Thunder Monkey became a reality in the World of the Everflow.

    Photo by Arindam Raha on Pexels.com

    The mechanics are fairly simple. The Thunder Monkey can cast Thunderclap once per short rest. They can also use the first bullet point from Thaumaturgy at will. All other stats are like the basic version of a baboon with minor tweaks that you feel are appropriate. This spectacular beast is rare within the Six Kingdoms, mostly found in Douad, a Mediterranean feeling space.

    A character, player or non-player, with a Thunder Monkey becomes more notable and memorable.

    Combining mundane beasts with other cantrips can lead to other fun combinations.

    • Lightning Lure Bugs are giant wasps without a stinger, but instead the ability to cast Lightning Lure and Dancing Lights making them useful in a conflict or able to help light the darkness.
    • Flapping Foxes are fennec foxes that cast Gust with the breeze originating from their big ears.
    • Pointers are tracking dogs able to cast True Strike as they direct their companion where the target is.
    • Slinging Spiners are porcupines that cast Sword Burst flinging more spines than their body carries.
    • Fixin’ Friends are spiders that cast Mending, using their silk to fix what is broken.
    • Tidings Birds are pigeons with the ability to cast Encode Thoughts, carrying messages throughout the town.
    • Savage Mousers are housecats with the ability to cast Primal Savagery, their normal painful non-damaging bites now capable of felling a threat.

    These remarkable companions are practically limitless. The damage dealing cantrips (probably Guidance and True Strike as well) at just 1 per short rest will not create any sort of imbalance on any world. Others can be more frequent, likely at 2 or 3 ties a short rest, so that they are used but do not overshadow the players.

    Every cantrip and every beast is an opportunity to expand the stories you are telling through the use of magic. This expands the 1,000 times a thousands tales available at the table.

    What will be the first remarkable beast your character meets?

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  • Here There Be Dragons

    Here There Be Dragons

    In most fantasy worlds dragons are hoarders of treasure. In some they are (also?) destroyers of worlds. There are worlds where dragons founded existence. On Krynn the chromatic and metallic dragons battle each other sometimes interfering in the lives of Man.

    In establishing the World of the Everflow I wanted a slightly different take upon how dragons (as well as other dragonkin) exist within the World.

    Dragons are part of the People of Ken. They are knowers of things, especially of magic. They, and all of the Ken, control access to magic of all kinds. For millennia of millennia they prevented the People of Kin (companionship and love) from knowing magic. Through the Scholars and the Proctors of Grace the Dragons and their followers (Elves, Dwarves, Gnomes) kept their thumb on magic, eliminating all but love and the healing power of the Everflow.

    Rather than piles of gold, a dragon’s home back on Ken (the continent) is full of scrolls, books, and tomes. The long lives of all Ken mean that their minds are full of mighty spells well beyond the standards of Dungeons & Dragons.

    Dragon breath by Nicklas Lundqvist (CC BY-SA 2.0)
    Dragon breath by Nicklas Lundqvist (CC BY-SA 2.0)

    Their immense powers are legendary, the same way that our modern world views dragons — a story so fictional it is not even legend. Statues and tales about dragons are created for artistic reasons.

    Within the current campaign the dragons are returning to Kirtin-on-the-Lake seeking an ancestral homeland in the Ward of Mighty Trees. These trees are essential to the Dragons life in ways that the group has yet to discover.

    Those Dragons, from the Ale Dragon Brewst Griselle to a mighty Red waiting on the southern plains of Kalst’s Field, are now quite real. Some fit in well. Brewst is small enough to fit inside buildings. He drinks and cavorts. His study of brewing, distilling, and vintning is familiar to the Kin. Yes, he’s different, but there is also familiarity.

    Other drakes do not cause fear, initially. They remind most in Kirtin and Daoud about the lizards of Mehmd, a Kin-ish kingdom that bonds with lizards more frequently than mammals.

    KOMODO DRAGON by NAPARAZZI (CC BY-SA 2.0)
    KOMODO DRAGON by NAPARAZZI (CC BY-SA 2.0)

    But, when those drakes fought they taught fear. Their breath of fire, or poisoned stingers, killed in ways that nature should not. The drakes are not as intelligent as a person. Unlike Brewst they do not speak. They consume. Negotiation is not possible.

    Brewst, and his companion gnome Oolia, are talkers. They also use the power of illusion and charm to work their way towards their goals. The governor and the group do not know these goals. They only know that the influence of the two continues to grow.

    They worked as advanced scouts for the Proctors of Grace. Their goals could be called fey-like as all of the magical Ken work in ways that are not familiar to Kin (Goliaths, Halflings, Humans). The plans of Ken take centuries or even millenia.

    When life lasts at least a few hundred years the approach to the world is incomprehensible to races that live to 100 at most.

    Now, our heroes have to discover how these plans impact life in Kirtin-on-the-Lake, and the two kingdoms. This process of discovery could be deadly, it will be challenging. In the end, life in Kirtin and Daoud will change. Our heroes will determine how much it changes and how the Dragons will be included, punished, or rewarded.

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