Tag: homebrew

  • Inkling Dragon

    Inkling Dragon

    Inkling Dragons are thought to be related to pseudodragons, but where the pseudodragon is a wilderness lover the inkling dragon is generally an urban drake that enjoys being surrounded by books, scrolls and pamphlets.

    Generally the size of a large rat or small cat inkling dragons can be mistaken for an immature jaculus drake. As all dragonkin hoard something, an inkling dragon is consumed with the pursuit of knowledge and writing, similar to paper drakes.

    An inkling dragon without a companion can be found in libraries, universities, bardic colleges and wherever records are kept. Some are creatives writing fiction and song. Others are historians, tracking the world through the written word. At least one inkling dragon is known to only write in mathematics. This inkling dragon, Aymon, is a friend of transmuters, tax collectors and merchants often working as a clerk or calculator.

    The Inkling Dragon was created as part of a limited commission in the upcoming book Dragons of the Dwindling by Dragons of Wales (Andy Frazer).
    Follow Dragons of Wales on Instagram, Threads and Mastodon. Support Dragons of Wales on Patreon.

    Inkling Dragon companions

    Frequently inkling dragons and writers bond over their love of the written word. Sought after by many wizards and writers, an inkling dragon chooses their companion as much as their companion chooses them — the tiny dragon has to find the work engaging and relevant to their own writing.

    1. Wizard
    2. Bard
    3. Propagandist
    4. Novelist
    5. Poet
    6. Merchant
    7. Tax collector
    8. Cleric
    9. Clerk
    10. Noble

    This work includes material taken from the Black Flag Reference Document 1.0 (“BFRD 1.0”) by Kobold Press and available at Black Flag Roleplaying

    Pencil sketch of a tiny dragon resting on a book. The pointy tail arches over the back with drips of ichor coming out of a feathered tip. The arms seem to be vestigial wings with opposing fingers capable of handling obects
    Art by Dragons of Wales in the forthcoming book Dragons of the Dwindling

    Inkling Dragon stat block

    Inkling Dragon (CR 1/4)
    Tiny Dragon

    Armor Class 14 (natural armor, small size)
    Hit Points 8
    Speed 10 ft., fly 30 ft.
    Perception 11 Stealth 12
    Resistant none | charmed
    Senses darkvision 30 ft., keensense 10 ft.
    Languages Common and four other languages (or cultures)

    STRDEXCONINTWISCHA
    -3+2-1+4+1+1

    Heightened Senses. The inkling dragon’s Perception is 20 when perceiving by sight. Ability checks for Perception using sight use Intelligence.

    Magic Resistance. The inkling dragon has advantage on saves against spells and other magical effects.

    Limited Telepathy. The inkling dragon can magically communicate simple ideas, emotions, and images telepathically with any creature within 30 feet of it that can understand a language it knows.

    Copying a Spell into the Book. When an inkling dragon or its companion finds an Arcane spell of 1st circle* or higher, the inkling dragon can add it to a spellbook if it is of a spell circle the companion can prepare and if they can make time to decipher and copy it. For each circle of the spell, the process takes 1 hour with no gp costs. Once the inkling dragon spends this time, the companions can prepare the spell just like their other Arcane spells. Copying a spell from a scroll into a spellbook doesn’t consume or destroy the scroll. Non-magical writing is written four times as fast when compared to humans. The inkling dragon produces ink from its tail as long as it isn’t at level two exhaustion or higher.
    * Black Flag uses circle as D&D uses spell level.

    Ritualist. An inkling dragon with its own book can be a Ritualist, per the Black Flag Talent. The spell source is Arcane. Intelligence is their spellcasting ability. The inkling dragon knows one 1st circle ritual (typically Identify). If the inkling dragon is a companion to a spellcaster it can learn rituals at the same circle and source as their spellcasting companion.

    1st circle Arcane rituals

    • Alarm
    • Create Familiar (these can only be common beasts)
    • Identify
    • Illusory Script
    • Unseen Servant

    ACTIONS

    Sting. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one
    creature. Hit: 4 (1d4 + 2) piercing damage and the target must succeed on a DC 11 DEX save or be poisoned for 10 minutes. If the creature fails the save by 5 or more, it is stained by ink per Ink Stain below. This staining does not count against the number of uses per day.

    Ink Stain (1/short rest). On a successful sting the inkling dragon can mystic mark (Ranger) one creature. While a creature is marked (including for the attack that triggered the mark), the inkling dragon and allies deal an extra 1d4 damage to it (of the same damage type as the weapon) each time you successfully hit it with a weapon attack. A marked creature can use an Action to remove the Ink Stain. An inkling dragon that is a familiar or companion to a character may use this ability proficiency bonus (of that character) times per day rather than once per short rest.

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  • Black Flag is in the Creative Commons, now what? Backgrounds!

    Black Flag is in the Creative Commons, now what? Backgrounds!

    Over the past decade the 5th edition of Dungeons & Dragons grew three main offshoots from its original 2014 release by Wizards of the Coast. These three trunks are all now in the Creative Commons thanks to Kobold Press’s announcement this week.

    A5e is the Systems Reference Document for LevelUp, from EN Publishing. This branch of 5e places much greater emphasis on social and exploration, while also being a more complex combat engine. It’s “advanced” 5e.

    2024 D&D by Wizards of the Coast (the 5.2.1 SRD) is an evolution of the most popular version of the game in history. It adds minor layers of complexity, and removes most bioessentialism.

    Now, Black Flag, the SRD for Tales of the Valiant is also in the Commons under the CC BY 4.0. The primary changes within Black Flag are replacing Inspiration with Luck, adding Dread and similar to A5e uses both nature and nurture to define an upbringing.

    All three modern offshoots add a unique element to every monster. Rather than have merely have bigger numbers, monsters do something different — a Commoner in Black Flag has Angry Mob, while in A5e Commoners have a Stone (they can also be a Group) and in 5.2.1 they have Training.

    What can a DM/GM/designer do with all four in the same license?

    1. I am not a lawyer. Nor am I your lawyer. Use an actual lawyer if you have questions and are publishing for money.
    2. Read all relevant SRDs as well as their related FAQs.
    3. Find the place you want fiddle with and become an expert at that before you try to be an expert at everything.
    4. At your home table, borrow liberally from every system. If you don’t find yourself handing out 2014 Inspiration and don’t like 2024 D&D’s mechanical implementation, use Luck from Black Flag. Use everyone’s monsters — they’re balanced enough for the elastic system that is 5e — your players will have fun interacting with different commoners doing different things.

    Maybe you’re thinking “that’s nice advice Dave, but what are you going to do?”

    Backgrounds!

    Full Moon Storytelling’s most popular types of stories are various Backgrounds. The ones on this site focus on empowering a wider variety of tales within our 5e games, while leaning into short-form personality, a spread of Feats/Talents for each and sometimes a cantrip.

    Each of the main trunks of 5e do something different from the 2014 version of the game. That’s good! Your table can use a Background from any of the modern versions and there will be no balance issues. That means dozens of more origin stories for your heroes.

    For myself it means my eternal project becomes a simple project. A few dozen new Backgrounds with methodology to fit in all four trunks of 5e.

    Custom Backgrounds for 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons

    Photo by Canan YAu015eAR on Pexels.com

    The Tinker

    This week the Tinker is my most popular Background. Tuning it for each version of 5e doesn’t take much.

    2014 5e by WotC

    It’s already released, but the key point is the feature “I Can Fix It.” The feature helps in exploration situations, mostly, as it means the Tinker will usually have a way to MacGyver there way through a problem even if they don’t have the proper supplies.

    2024 5e by WotC

    If you leave Ability Score Improvements within the Background rather than have them float the Tinker would choose between Dexterity, Intelligence and Charisma.

    Origin Feats

    Choose one;

    • Crafter
    • Magic Initiate (Wizard)
    • Skilled
    • Tavern Brawler
    • and from Tasha’s Artificer Initiate

    Black Flag from Kobold Press

    Choose a Talent

    • Far Traveler
    • Polyglot
    • Trade Skills
    • Scrutinous
    • Ritualist (Arcane)

    A5e from EN Publishing

    ASI – Tinkers typically grant a +1 in Dexterity

    Connections – Tinkers might know a caravanserai, an innkeeper, a ferien, a smith, a group of bandits, a sergeant from a warring nation, a local farmer, a maker of fine meed, a faerie that’s a cheesemonger.

    Memento – Tinker memento options could include a letter from home, a chapbook of poetry, a metal they’ve never been able to bend or smelt, a strap of leather from their first failed project, the stein from their favorite inn, or a book of cantrips though they don’t know any.

    Adventures and Advancement – A Tinker who repaired a notable authority’s broken item may be granted a writ of access granting the Tinker expertise on Persuasion rolls.

    Feature – same as the original on Full Moon Storytelling.

    Now, these examples are quick looks at a future project that will include the score of Backgrounds already on the site, plus the four Everflow specific Backgrounds that didn’t get their own entry. And more as my reading expands.

    With four versions of 5e available in the Creative Commons (CC BY 4.0) how will you create for your table?

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  • Xabal’s Workshop

    Xabal’s Workshop

    In our Age of Myths campaign the party acquired a keep. Though the party is many days travel by airship away from the keep, their former leader Artok (originally played by John) now runs the keep.

    Each of us gets a Special Feature for what is now our group Bastion. At this time Artok has a Sanctuary. We’ll want to get him a Barracks and Armory soon, because we aren’t around to defend the Bastion very often.

    Xabal Gaitee Quarter-Flagged Optigraph Balaneer nox Free Tink and non-Commissioned Officer of the Sadijh (on leave in absence), my goblin artillerist artificer, established a Workshop. He’s also interested in the Arcane Study, but first a workshop.

    Xabal and Crag took over the two store rooms in the keep. Xabal’s is on the left.

    The image depicts a hand-drawn map on graph paper. It outlines a fortified area, possibly a castle or fort, surrounded by a flowing body of water indicated by blue wavy lines, and red hatching marks representing elevation or terrain. The map includes labeled structures such as a "Keep" located centrally and surrounded by various buildings including "Stone barracks," "Stables wooden," and "Stores." There is an "Archery range" and a circular "Melee Practice" area. Paths and roads are sketched in black, with dotted lines representing different routes. Additional topographical features include a "Waterfall from mtns above into valley" on the right side of the map and a path labeled "Cart Path to main road." The map is oriented vertically, with features labeled throughout in a combination of print and cursive handwriting.
    Xabal took over the left most of the stores.

    What I like about the concept of Bastions/Strongholds/etc is that it gives players the opportunity for some ‘lonely fun.’ With a chill weekend at home I spent time thinking about D&D, but not actually playing the game.

    The image is a top-down view of a rectangular room layout with beige and brown tones, resembling a floor plan. The main space is labeled "Workshop," situated at the top center. Below it, the space is divided by a thick line and labeled "Xabal's hall." The flooring appears to be composed of rectangular tiles laid in a brick pattern. The room is surrounded by a darker brown border, representing walls, with protruding sections at the corners, suggesting architectural features. On the left side, a small protruding area features parallel lines indicating steps leading up, with an arrow pointing to the right.
    Xabal’s workshop interior floorplan created using watabou’s Dwellings Generator

    Using watabou’s Dwellings creator I found something as close as possible to the space on the DM’s map of the keep. Then I added a bit of lore around the minor change (there’s an aviary so it isn’t a pure rectangle).

    And then I discovered the steps and main door should be on the right rather than left. That error will go down as a function of Xabal’s quite-distracted memory and the difficulty of communicating over long distances

    One thing that Xabal trusted Artok to do was hire three artisans to help in the workshop. He hasn’t yet met them, but Flasfur and Chofs started working already.

    Hirelings

    Below the three current hirelings are described including their “stats” for social encounters and their short-form personalities.

    Flasfur Wreltor with Blackbirds

    Photo by Siegfried Poepperl on Pexels.com

    A goliath with a flock of blackbirds that stay in the newly added aviary. He’s a cobbler and leather worker. The blackbirds help Flasfur with fine work required of those professions.

    Nearly eight feet tall, Flasfur was the one said he wouldn’t join the workshop without a small improvement, the aviary for his small flock of blackbirds.

    He’s from a small town in the hills between Mihrstone, Sheljar and Artok’s Keep.

    Strength, constitutionGoliath (2014)
    Negative dexterityCobbler, leatherworker
    Investigative
    Heavy leather apronSheljar
    Small awl (dagger)large aviary for the birds
    Modest lifestyleOpen, respectful, fatalistic, absent minded

    Chofs Chupmolea badged al-Chems

    The image depicts a minimalist, stylized drawing of a small castle-like building with a light brown background. The structure is rectangular with a crenellated parapet along the top. It features two arched windows on either side of a central arched door. The roof is angular and tiled, with a warm tan color. Two lantern-style lamps flank the door. The building is surrounded by sparse grass, adding to the scene's simplicity and rustic charm.
    Exterior drawing of Xabal’s Workshop in Artok’s Keep created using watabou’s Dwellings Generator.

    A goblin who is insistent in studying the corruption. She’s a jeweler and glassblower.

    Chofs recently travelled through the area scouting out a new source of gems not from her hometown. From Bel’an’faire in the south of Sheljar lands, she works with jewels and glass to create art and rarely implements of war.

    She also does etching and some other things that border on chemistry or alchemy.

    Dexterity, IntelligenceGoblin
    Negative charisma, strength, constitutionJeweler and fine arts, perceptive
    Lightweight, close fitting dressesBel’an’faire
    Caltrops to aid her escapeUse the corruption to power art
    Modest lifestyleBrilliant, excitable, religious

    Bolnis Abica nox Qawaha

    Where Chofs is a common goblin in their structured society Bolnis is a wanderer similar to Xabal. She’s potter and tinker who travelled through the land with simple coffee gear.

    Bolnis doesn’t like tea, but has some with her. Most of her time is in the hills and coast between Sheljar and Mira, if people insist on discovering where she’s from it’s Ooshar. She considers her hometown a backwater.

    There’s a chance that Bolnis invents fancy coffee gear, but right now it’s simple. Her passion is to discover new ways to use tek to create new foods, tisanes, poultices, and more.

    Intelligence, CharismaGoblin
    Negative strength, constitutionPotter, tinker, coffee gear
    Insight
    Lightweight travelling pantsOoshar
    Mug (club)An espresso machine
    Comfortable lifestyle, though paid at modestGenerous, meticulous, sensual

    I’m already thinking about how Xabal will interact with these hirelings and what knives they give the DM. Chofs offers someone that could be corrupted through those who study it. Bolnis clearly has twice the income of the others. How is she getting that money? Flasfur’s blackbirds could distract him from running the shop.

  • Militia actions for 5e systems

    Militia actions for 5e systems

    Sometimes in D&D and similar games you need to empower the players to manage groups of allies supporting the narrative, without precise actions by individuals. When running a rebellion, skirmish or base defense you can use militia actions representing the training a character conducted with a group of commoners.

    1. On every PC’s turn they now have a Militia Action. This is independent of their character’s actions and reflect the training that the character put into the small unit (think squad sized) during downtime.
    2. In initiative the Militia Action happens after all player actions and the actions of that character’s companions (familiars, pets, constructs, etc)
    3. A militia is a Swarm of Commoners (AC: 10, HD: 6, PB: 0, all abilities are 10, a Swarm may have a tool proficiency or skill for flavor). Every time it is attacked it makes a Wisdom ability check against the damage dealt. It gains a bonus from the controlling character’s Charisma (Persuasion). Each failure removes a Hit Die. When it drops below 3 HD it loses one of its damage dice. Do not track damage.
      Suggestion: Use a d6 to track the HD of a Swarm of Commoners.
    4. Pick one of the following actions
      • Ranged attack – this attack is rolled with an Attack Bonus of + controlling character’s Charisma+PB (and whichever ability they use to command). Range is 30/60 to represent inaccurate and improvised weapons. Damage is 2d4.
      • Melee attack – this attack is rolled with an Attack Bonus of + controlling character’s Charisma+PB (and whichever ability they use to command). Reach is 10′ to represent pitchforks, spears, and other implements. Damage is 2d6.
      • Funnel – the swarm moves 20′ and creates an 10×10 area of difficult terrain. If the terrain is already difficult it now costs twice that movement. After that the terrain becomes impassable except through magical means.
      • Rally – the militia energizes an ally, enabling it to expand an Hit Die. If the ally is another militia it regains a Hit Die.
      • Pester – if an opponent is in reach of the militia the unit can distract it so that the next attack against the opponent is at Advantage.
      • Move and/or Hide – the militia unit can move 20′ and then if cover is available it can make its defensive check at advantage.
      • Activate terrain, traps, spell craft or siege weapons – If a siege weapon is nearby a Swarm of Commoners has as many Utilize Actions as it does damage dice. It can also activate Magic Items, Rituals or Terrain as allowed by the scenario and dungeon master.
    5. A player may choose to use a second Bonus Action (if they have one) to make another Militia Action.

    A character may only command one Swarm of Commoners unless they are a Propagandist or Inspiring Leader (PB number of Swarms).

    This is a refined approach on the earlier Introducing Militia Actions to support base defense in urban rebellion play.

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  • My best of 2024

    My best of 2024

    I didn’t do quite as much writing for public consumption as I have in most years since I started blogging regularly in 2008. Some of that reduction was due to me taking a step back at Sounder at Heart, focusing my work content on video briefings and emails, and Full Moon Storytelling being a “when inspired” project rather than an income generator.

    Here at Full Moon Storytelling my most popular writings over the past year were older materials.

    My custom backgrounds and my take on Sports in D&D remain popular as well.

    In fact, that’s where my biggest D&D related project ever came from, and one of my favorites of 2024. I helped out with Worlds To-Go: The Elysians.

    My contributions were five custom backgrounds, most completely new, plus formalization of sports rules including inventing two new sports — The Pentiad and Constellations (a team juggling sport that creates constellations).

    Here on FMS my favorite of the year was Goodbye Alignment. Hello short-form personality. In that article I encourage people to continue to use personality traits in their games, but make them as short as alignment! Then the DM and other players can grant Inspiration based off of something small enough to remember as opposed to the original 5e personality system that was six long sentences that no one remembered.

    There was also a quick review of the 2024 Player’s Handbook.

    If you ever need a quick 5-room dungeon and associated adventure, pick a pop song and convert it into one. That article may not have been well read, but I’ll refer to it when I’m back behind the DM screen.

    I stutter. Sometimes a little. Sometimes a lot. A personal essay I felt compelled to write after a re-watch of Agents of SHIELD, it also falls into the not-well-read column, but it meant a lot for me to share this about myself. It was not the only personal essay of the year. The other was about how the fragmented storytelling technique of D&D may fit me better than novels or short fiction.

    Soccer stories

    For the most part at Sounder at Heart I’m now the weekly columnist, sending out a large newsletter that covers one important topic, plus everything else you need to know for the week.

    Choosing the best of these was easy, because one of them helped change the approach from the organization towards the US Open Cup — Ship’s Log, May 7: Let’s win trophies again.

    My second favorite was about using the Club World Cup to sell the world’s best players on the region that I’ve chosen as home for all of my adult life — Ship’s Log, Dec. 6: Selling Seattle.

    I still dipped into journalism, covering Defiance’s new coach and the new practice facility. Walking through history is one of my favorite pieces of soccer writing ever (and there’s about 5000 of those).

    Factal

    Most of my writing at Factal is in emails. Some additional material is in the various Global Security Briefings I hosted this year, covering news like the Key Bridge collapse, bomb cyclones, DANA storms, mpox, Olympics security and more. On the blog I supplemented editors’ writings on Olympics security and for our year in review.

    Finding me on social

    • Mastodon or a bridge if you are on Bluesky (where I prefer to have most of my RPG and soccer thoughts)
    • Threads (a wider mix of who I am)
    • Instagram (mostly pics of my dog, the moon and soccer stuff)
    • LinkedIn (almost all safety news, intelligence and marketing)

    P.S. That jersey on the header was for the soccer team I sponsored this fall. I’ll be sponsoring again in the spring, because supporting my friends is fun.

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