Category: World of the Everflow

My homebrew world where tales of animal companionship, forgotten magic, and the question of who controls information are told.

Inspiration is everywhere: Floating islands

Creating memorable scenes and adventures is easier when fantastic elements are included. Many of these fantastic elements can simply be things from the real world, but amplified or expanded. In this case we’ll walk through the concept of floating islands and make those even more mythical.

First off, yes, floating islands are real. In Lake Chippewa one is large enough it has to be pushed by motor boats so it doesn’t damage bridges.

A floating island that drifts about on a lake or sea is already pretty fantastic. How can we up the fantasy to make it more memorable in D&D when the players are getting together every few weeks?

This example is going to be for Sheljar, the bog-city once ruled by an intending-to-be-good necromancer, but could apply anywhere. Sheljar is a city of 100s of islands.

What if a few of those islands floated like the bog-island of Chippewa?

Rather than be moved by motorboat, they were moved by water elementals during the Age of Myths. The largest of these, Reylerel, at the time was the home of a power school of mages that integrated water, animals that live in and along water, and the peoples.

As the Age was crashing they attempted to flee the city. The school wanted to isolate itself from the riots, to hide the dolphins, elementals, beaver and ducks that worked together to help the Kin survive. Reylerel went adrift, into the Sea of Sheljar.

Now, thousands of years later the Free City of Sheljar is no longer ruled by the Necromancer. It is regrowing, discovering some of its influence from the Age of Myths. This bog-city isn’t a city of fog and depression, but a city of hope and humanity integrating gobkon teknology, love of animals and the lost magics.

The leadership knows this is possible. Myth said it happened before, and drifting towards them is the Floating Island of Reylerel. At sea it moves with the swells and storms. The towers and buildings are rundown. Someone is going to need to go to Reylerel and find a way to prevent it from crashing into the docks.

And that’s how you take a small trending topic on the internet and turn it into an adventure.
Fediverse Reactions
November 17, 2024
Sharing your world: The power of co-DMing in the same space
This is a story about The Dragon.

Which is a moon, not a big dragon. I don’t know why I called the biggest and slowest moon “The Dragon.” It was probably in honor of The Wheel of Time, one of my foundational fictions in the world. But the name never really came up in play.

The 21-year cycle did come up. That generational marker (key for many goliaths and the Crinth Confederation) marked a cycle from the Born Generation to the present era.

But, by expanding play in the world to a second DM The Dragon also finally became a point of clear fiction. It’s named that because during the Age of Myths that’s when the leading dragons on the Council retreated from society — Draakenmoten.

That’s about to come up in the campaign I’m playing within my own world.

Playing in the world I’ve invented has expanded the stories in ways I never expected. While I’ve included player concepts in world development in the past, including DM concepts in the world requires trust and grants wonderful opportunities for story-threads to be pulled into new places.

Other things added to my world through sharing the experience;
- Evil fungal druids that dabble in necromancy
- Dragon Council, a ruling body of dragons and their magical allies who control the continent in a federal system.
- Les Remoden Eisha, the intelligence and security branch of the Council.
- Necromancy as the forbidden school of magic.
- Elemental airships. Unlike the era where I DM, magic is common enough that it powers the airships, unlike the clackety, smog xips of the goblins.
Those first four elements seem to be growing into the major division that leads to the sundering of the world, separating the continent with the Everflow on it from all the magical spaces in the rest of the planet. Those councils and forbidden magicks could grow into the dragon-founded schools with their abusive Proctors, supplicant Scholars and limited magic in a world that has merely love for companionship, healing waters and hope.

Tips for Sharing a World

First, have the creator DM and non-creating DM talk about history and key elements. Discuss where the foundational elements of the world are necessary in each campaign. Unlike Uprising & Rebellion (and the other ‘modern’ campaigns set in the World of the Everflow) the current campaign doesn’t have a foundational element about animals as life companions for example.

Understand that things that happen in history don’t have to be understood in the future. Did Xabal discover tar-trees? Maybe someone else claims that 3,000 years later. Unless the details are vital to a plot point minor differences in the way myth-legend-history are known aren’t important. They can even both be true!

Second, play and act with trust. Going back to point one, the details don’t matter if they don’t matter. Does the now co-DM get the name of a city wrong? That doesn’t matter. Keep playing at the table. Don’t even bother to correct it. Many cities in the real world have multiple names. That’s the way worlds work.

Borrow heavily from each other. This is part communication, but also because you’re seeing each set of stories (every table is a set of stories that is some combination of the total number of people playing and their interactions) from different angles.

Is there a new nugget dropped that you want to be permanently part of the tale? Take note in heavy ink and add it to your own version of the world document. Just like when a player adds something new to the world let the co-DM do the same thing.

Be a player — you aren’t the DM, so don’t be a co-DM at the table, unless asked. The only time to speak up about some out-of-character element related to previous campaigns or lore is when the DM asks. Then you answer.

Bonus points if you can work that into something that your character would know/do/say. I didn’t do this most recently, but wish I had. The current DM asked me what Sheljar, the bog-city, was like in the Age of Myths. I gave an encyclopedic answer rather than the answer Xabal would give.

It’s been so much fun opening the world to more tales set within. We’ve added fantastic spaces, myths and histories that wouldn’t have existed if the World of the Everflow was merely my setting with nearly two dozen players. Adding a second DM to the world has changed the story dynamics in an exponential rather than additive fashion.

My hope is that after this Age of Myths campaign we return to the modern era with new tales too.
November 2, 2024
Adding Culture to your game: A new tool
Languages in most Dungeons & Dragons settings are rather rudimentary. There’s the pidgin-trade tongue of Common (and sometimes Undercommon). From there, the typical known languages are based on races and the planes.

A character might know Common, Elvish, and Primordial for example.

This is bland, unnecessary, and lacks verisimilitude (people don’t either know or not know a language).

Get rid of languages.

They rarely come up at the table. For most tables, languages are simply “You can communicate” or “You must use gestures.” Few encounters are successes and failures based on the 3-7 languages a character knows.

Instead replace them with Culture: NAME.

This then replaces Intelligence (History). This small tweak aids deeper connections between certain character classes and backgrounds with the world in which they are played.

What do you gain from adding Culture?

Especially in games with heavier social and exploration pillars you have a better idea of what your character knows. Rather than have a wood elf raised as an urchin on the streets of Waterdeep be capable of talking to every single elf in the world, as if language is hard-coded in the soul, it is instead a learned thing.

Said wood elf would instead know Common and the Culture of the Sword Coast, able to communicate with the peoples in and around Waterdeep, as well as knowing the traditions of the various peoples, their symbols, their stories.

The characters are deeper, with more connections to the world in which they play. A Fighter-Sage would be intimately familiar with many nations and cultures, rather than just a few and whatever the DM determines is known through a d20. A character that has studied the Dalelands would know the holidays, conflicts, and ways to communicate that are common in the the Moon Sea and the Inner Sea.

At its simplest with Culture, you know more.

What do you lose by removing Languages and History?

Not much.

The characters will still be able to communicate as always. There may be a perceived penalty for a few backgrounds, but there is a fix for that.

There is additional bookkeeping. You will have to use a custom language on DnDBeyond.com, for example. You do this by clicking on Languages on the character sheet on the website (the app may be different). Then click add proficiency. Then select custom language. Add the culture you choose. If you skip language selection during the creation process you’ll now have a listing of Common plus the Cultures your character experienced and/or studied.

How does adding Culture work when building a Player Character?

While building your character in the standard order (Race, Class, Background) take note of every language learned. Each of these are replaced with adding a culture for each language.

When you would take History you would now have the option to take another proficiency or take a culture.

Additionally, I would encourage most tables to use a PC’s Intelligence modifier to add (or subtract) from known cultures. This is mostly because Intelligence is undervalued within the game.

Example: A High Elf, Fighter, Sage would begin knowing as many as 8 cultures known. This would represent their studious familiarity with many peoples.

How do you use Culture?

Use Culture like you would use History, but apply it like a tool. Most often it would connect with Intelligence, but there are times when your proficiency in a culture would apply to a check based off of Wisdom (if a character isn’t proficient in Insight their awareness of the opponent’s culture might help them) or Charisma would apply.

Knowing a culture of a peoples with which you are interacting is particularly helpful in social encounters. A character familiar with a particular empire should be able to take advantage of that knowledge at the table!

Are you familiar with the Dalelands? Then you would recognize their heraldry, for example. Hidden societies, or subsets of a culture may require a check (DC: 15) to see if you have studied or are aware of that aspect.

Practical Examples of Cultures in D&D

Within the World of the Everflow, a rather narrow setting, the following cultures would be available;
- Western Wildes
  - Ancient Sheljar
  - Ancient Gallinor
- Kirtin
- Daoud
- Crinth Confederacy
- Azsel
- Mehmd
- Gobkon Union
- Dragonken
- Church of Quar (yes, this is cross-national group with influence throughout the continent of Kin)
  - There are other faiths and cults that may be appropriate
- The Scholars and Proctors of Grace
In a more explored and developed setting such as the Forgotten Realms I would recommend using the super-national regions such as, but not limited to the Sword Coast or the Dalelands or Chult. If you are a member of a Faction, assume that you know their Culture too. The list of political groups, religions, factions, and other strong cultural groups within the Forgotten Realms would fill an entire wiki.

If you are playing in Eberron: Rising from the Last War the various nations of Khorvaire would all be appropriate Cultures as would most of the religions.

Tables that use other setting would have to assess that setting. Do not make the cultures too narrow, nor too broad (then you just have the language problem, but different).
Fediverse Reactions
July 21, 2024
Diary: Airxip Sadijh took me to meet a dead man who can blink

Been flying on the Sadijh since Captain Crilbort and the crew picked me up outside Oojar a few feylfs ago (weeks). My canoe broke, and, curse it, somehow I couldn’t repair the clackety rudder and the self-paddler lost its energy. My path was to go upriver, but upriver is hard when you have to paddle yourself. Harder at 3’4″.

Oh, yeah. Sadijh. It’s big magic, not minors. No balloons, fancy tendrils of powers and a magic crystal in it. I ain’t helping with that. They have me doing comms. It’s ’cause my talents. Also, cause the old comms officer died — I was available. They weren’t. It’s not that I was conscripted, it’s just that I didn’t have a choice.

Wait, here I am filling out my diary talking to myself and I cannay focus enough to stay to the story. I guess that’s why I write. Gotta figure out the best tale for the next campfire. I miss campfires, Mate Pryn told me we can’t have them on Sadijh.

I figure this story’s going to be a big deal.

Riding in Sadijh after defeating some pirates we get called back to work for the Ruling Council. This is when I learn I’m on a formal military ‘xip. Guess I’m an officer now?!

So we’re called back. We have to pick up ‘authorities.’ One is dragonborn (first time I’ve seen ’em!) – Artok, big and beefy. The other is part of Les Remoden Eisha, a studious wizardly type. At least Amos likes books, even if I can’t read his.

We’re to take Artok and Amos to Mirrstone. There’s been a lot of livestock gone missing out there. Enough that the Council is getting involved, but also, only enough that there’s two assigned to this investigation, plus the Sadijh.

That’s both a lot, and a little. On Sadijh we’ve a few officers and not-quite two dozen crew (some work nights and I ain’t getting up at night).

Captain Crilbort is in charge with First Mate Pryn helping. They both gobs. Most of us are gobs. There’s a navigator and a medic/cook too. And I guess, me?!

Master-at-arms Holx has five guard (it was six, but Prix went overboard — I’ll get to that | whoa, I have asides to my asides). They work with three on duty and three off duty. (that’s got to change soon).

Bosun Musi manages the deckhands. There aren’t as many hands on this kind of airxip as their are on the dirigibles or sail boats, because the magic takes care of a lot. It’s great. Almost nice enough I’d crew one.

Cabin chile Fokz is the one of the chilles I deal with. Fokz helps Crilbort. There’s two others, one helping the cook mostly and another that does general service for the rest of the crew.

Let’s get back to the tale. If I’m going to do this diary to help my memory I’m going to need to focus.

So, we pick up Artok and Amos for this investigation. It’s a couple days flight, which is great! Walking would take a feylf. We only encounter one problem during the journey. There’s a storm about halfway through and it’s big enough it opened up a rift. Two elementals try to bust up our ‘xip.

Artok helps us with some aid. That’s great, because I’m a hob that’s sized like a gob.

I’m not here to sound like the hero, but me and Midqh pert-much saved the day. Midqh catapulted a block and tackle at one, used its tail to shield Crilbort. Spells and sundry thrown all over the place.

Both me and Amos made big booms! He does it differently, no powders or tools involved. I’ll figure that out when I can focus. Battle was rough. A few us forgot to latch in during the storm and fight, so we were thrown about quite a bit. Only Prix went over the rail (knocks on chain).

Not to be casual, but when a rift opens and elemental forces attack a ship I’m used to the whole thing going down, but that’s because I’ve only been on balloon boats before — I only crashed once!

We get to town the next day. The crew lands at a field and Captain Crilbort orders me to go with Artok and Amos so I can message the ‘xip if they need rescue. This is a rather smart thing to do, if it didn’t involve me.

Mirrstone is about two dozen buildings, mostly stone. The residents are mostly human. The area seems to be primarily ranches — cattle and sheep. First we talk to Fiendhere, who is like a mayor. He doesn’t know why the herds are disappearing and the town doesn’t have many clues. I overpay for our food and lodging. They have a comfy chair for me to sleep under, which is so much better than the ‘xip’s hammocks. Plus, it’s on ground, so there’s no wobble from the air.

Fiendhere had told us the ranch most impacted was run by Glovin, whose entire herd of oxen is gone. The three of us inspect the area. The house and fields don’t show anything. No tracks, no trails, no signs. It’s baffling. Amos points out that if the herd was magicked away that it would take an immense amount of power and a portal that many would see.

I head into the barn. Something is amiss there. Artok and Amos are looking at stalls while I head up a ladder. I leave a tinkering behind so they can find me. This is smart. I’m a communications officer!

Up in the loft it stanks, rotten and musty. Like mushrooms and fairies (I hear). I call for help and the Two A are behind me, not far at all. We move slowly in this space, me because it’s scary. Them because the roof is low and there’s bales all over.

We round one place and discover why it stank. Glovin is dead. His body has fungus on it and the smell is intense. We all stop, look at each other. Then we look at the body again. Someone will have to inspect it and though I’m short I don’t want that short straw.

Then Glovin’s eye opens.

I need to stop here. That moment put me in a mood, bad one. I’ll write more later.

In our current Age of Myths campaign I’m playing Xabal, a smaller hobgoblin artificer that uses an eldritch cannon called Midqh. My goal is to be the party notetaker, but with a twist. I’m writing our recaps as if Xabal, a motormouth former Tinkerer is the author.

Other PCs are;
Artok — bronze dragonborn paladin
Amos — elven wizard

and more that we’ll meet soon.

The header image is the ribbon jammer from Dyson Logos.

June 8, 2024
Age of Myths, the Uncoupling: Campaign One Sheet
For the first time I’m going to be playing a character in my world. One of my players in the last two campaigns is going to DM and together we set up the one-sheet so as to not change too much lore. One of the ideas I came up with early, was by playing in the Age of Myths, because any lore changes can just be referenced as legend when we play in the current era.

The Road to the Uncoupling

Your story begins in a prosperous world of togetherness and mutual can-do spirit. Before the battle for the heart of Kirtin on the Lake (KotL) or the sacking of Kirtin in the Sky (KotS), before the Proctors spread death and misery in Sas Rurulit, and before the unprecedented events of the Awakening and the finding of Lorebooks, there was The Uncoupling. The apocalypse that destroyed the weave of magic for the Kin and Kon, leaving Ken and the 5 coloured dragons of the Chromatic Convocation in complete possession of magik.

Players are part of a select group that were born with innate magical ability (you’ve been everflow touched) that is prized even in this magic-rich world. Possibly you inherited your trait from a bloodline trait or ancestral ties to deeper magik of the Everflow. It has shaped your early years, possibly enrolled at a young age by family in the scholarly studies to become part of the magik ruling core of society or you hid your talent and nurtured it on your own.

However, recently there have been rumblings, rumors about a shadow organization unhappy with the status quo, who seek to eliminate the existing ruling council and rule not by consensus but by force. You’ve each been selected by the bronze Dragonborn Artok, tasked with this mission by his patron, the adult Bronze Dragon (Othimbane) who sits on the council, to identify and either infiltrate or forcefully break these fools of their notions and ensure that no other plots are forthcoming.

A global map of the world centered on the spaces where play in the campaign has occurred to this point.

The following is written by the DM for this campaign.

Premise
- This campaign takes at least three millennia before the Born Generation and the return of magic to the Lands of the Everflow.
- Gain information about “The Shadows”, a secretive organization bent on wiping out the Ruling Council of Aur.
  - Artok has the rough information about several potential members that could lead you to a hideout or meeting place.
- Infiltrate or brute force your way into the group.
- Identify other members and find potential leads about who is the power behind “The Shadows”.
  - Keep (human council) and (gnome council) members apprised of your investigation.
- Possibly assist the council with additional tasks at your discretion.
Factions (NPC names to come soon)
- The Ruling Council of Aur (RCoA) – A group of 9 members, three of each Ken, Kin, and Kon, and 4 dragons, two each of metallic and chromatic.
  - The RCoA is the “federational government” of Aur, with different cultures/regions governing in their own way and answering to the RCoA.
  - Kin: Human (F), Goliath (they), Halfling (M)
  - Ken: Elf (F), Elf (M), Dwarf (M)
  - Kon: Goblin (M), Bugbear (They), Hobgoblin (They)
  - Dragons:
    
    Elder Metallic (Silver) – Tanargnyvur
    
    Adult Metallic (Bronze) – Othimbane
    
    Elder Chromatic (White) – Dwargauth
    
    Adult Chromatic (Blue) – Nymaryxon
- In occurrence with the rise of The Dragon moon (the fourth moon of the Aurian system), the dragons withdraw from the council for a year (draakmoeten) and meet at an undisclosed location with the world dragon (a deep time dragon) named Andarawus Del-mos.
- The Metallic Dragons
- The Chromatic Dragons
- The Shining Order of Dreki – Holy dragonborn order who serve the Draconic races as paladins, clerics, and religious personages located across the world. Some that choose a more individual path travel and assist as Priests and Mortuary persons in smaller towns and villages.
  - Necromantic magic is thought to primarily flow through the draconic race).
- The Shadows – A heretofore unknown organization/cult/religion(?) focused on the overthrow of the RCoA, and to rule through force and oppression rather than through consensus.
Campaign Facets
- 2^nd & 3^rd tier drop in/out campaign play, starting at 5th level
- All PCs start at lv.5 with the added feat “Everflow Touched”, adding a +1 to spell attack modifier and adding one free 1^st level spells (from any school except necromancy, unless your PC is dragonborn) to your spell list which can be cast once per long rest.
  - Material components will not be needed.
  - at lv. 9 this will increase to +2 and an additional spell (2^nd lv.) can be learned.
- Rules used are core 2014 WotC D&D, plus most player facing options from WotC
  - Check with the DM about using setting-specific feats, subclasses and spells
- Allowed races are Kin (human, halfling, goliath), Kon (goblin, hobgoblin, bugbear), Ken (elf, dwarf, non-rock gnomes) and dragonborn/kobold as shining order of Dreki
- Divine magic is thought to come from the forces of nature and the philosophies, there is no active pantheon of faith, beyond those who worship the dragons.
- Potential for multiple pathways to quest completion
- Player driven story creation in a sandbox setting
- Wide regional/worldwide settings with airship and/or teleportation travel
- Actions may become legend
- Milestone leveling – several sessions per level gain; saves time when we all don’t have to track XP
May 19, 2024