Stealing Mechanics: Magic, The Gathering

Magic is a heck of a drug

When Plane Shift Zendikar came out, I was very excited. I was stoked to see some monsters and spells from Magic: the Gathering translated into 5e.

Well, it turned out to be more of a style guide and player's supplement than a monster manual.

But that got me thinking - can we convert some Magic: The Gathering monsters into D&D monsters? Heck yeah we can!

I know it might be a total surprise to everyone, but once upon a time I was deep into the MtG cult. I had the comprehensive rulebook memorized, I started the MtG Club in middle school, I had these crazy decks that I would test and refine, I even designed my own custom cards. Times sure have changed, huh?

Anyway...

Power/Toughness

The most basic ability that any creature in MtG has is a Power/Toughness score. This is basically offense and defense for the monster. If we're going to transfer these monsters to D&D, we can easily replicate that by adjusting the Offensive and Defensive CR of a monster.

However, there will have to be a bit of an adjustment. See, in D&D, this is a CR 1 Monster:

And in MtG, this is  a 1/1 creature:

Additionally, in D&D, a CR 30 monster is considered the top of the game:

But in MtG, the highest you can get is about 13-15:

And even then, the Eldrazi are more unstoppable eldritch nightmares, unlike the Tarrasque, which can be killed by a Wizard with Fly and patience.

So, in the interest of making decent conversions, here's my quick gauge of CR vs P/T.

• P/T 1 = CR 0-1/2
• P/T 2 = CR 1-2
• P/T 3 = CR 3-5
• P/T 4 = CR 6-8
• P/T 5 = CR 9-12
• P/T 6 = CR 13-15
• P/T 7 = CR 16-19
• P/T 8 = CR 20-24
• P/T 9 = CR 25-29
• P/T 10+ = CR 30+

Note that you still have to follow the D&D rules to get the final CR. That means a creature with Offensive CR 8 and Defensive CR 2 will end up with a total CR of 5 (average of 8 and 2). So a 4/2 creature in MtG would be the equivalent of a Wraith (CR 5) in D&D.

Abilities

However, to really get the flavor of the creatures down, we need to copy some abilities from MtG as well. After all, many powerful monsters have low P/T, but see tournament play because of their valuable abilities.

Here are my takes on converting some of the abilities in MtG to D&D. For more detailed descriptions of how different abilities affect CR, check out this series of articles.

• Cumulative Upkeep. At the start of its turn, this creature must succeed on a Constitution saving throw. The DC for this saving throw is equal to 10 + the number of rounds it has existed. On a failure, the creature vanishes to its home plane or dies.
• This would be a good ability to give powerful summoned creatures, like the demons a cultist summons. Most monsters will be able to survive the entire fight (remember, average of 3 rounds) with this, so no CR adjustment is needed.
• For a more interesting twist, give the creature a "Death Burst" effect, similar to a Magmin (MM pg. 212) or Balor (MM pg. 55). This will increase the CR as indicated in the DMG pg. 280. You can decide if the burst happens only if it fails its Upkeep save, or every time it dies. Could be a cool battle!
• Deathtouch. (same as the Life Drain effect of a Wight, MM pg. 300)
• No CR adjustment needed
• For a more intense creature, replace this with an ability like the Banshee's "Wail" (MM pg. 23). Make sure to limit it to once per combat, or only able to target one creature at a time, because this will definitely raise the effective CR of the creature.
• Defender. (just give it no attack actions)
• A creature without attack actions is a rarity. Look to the Shrieker (MM pg. 138) for guidance - these will be low-power creatures. Try to give them roleplaying abilities.
• These creatures might be better as traps that monsters in D&D.
• Double Strike. When this creature is targeted by a melee attack, it can use its reaction to make one melee attack against the creature attacking it. To do so, the creature must be able to see the attacker. This attack is made before the attacker completes their attack.
• Essentially gives an extra attack each round. Also, allows the creature to potentially avoid death by killing their attacker first.
• This will certainly increase the CR of the creature by increasing their average damage output per round.
• Echo. At the end of the first round of combat, this creature must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or it vanishes to its home plane or dies.
• Similar to Cumulative Upkeep, this gives players another method of removing a monster from the combat. If they can impose Bane (PHB pg. 216) or Contagion (PHB pg. 227) on the creature, they may only have to deal with it for one round. Remove one round of effective damage from its average.
• Change to a Wisdom save if the monster is trying to keep themselves here by sheer willpower.
• First Strike. When this creature is targeted by a melee attack, it can use its reaction to forsake its turn in combat and make one melee attack against the creature attacking it. To do so, the creature must be able to see the attacker. This attack is made before the attacker completes their attack.
  • Similar to Double Strike, but with a greater cost. The creature is banking on avoiding death by killing their attacker first.
  • This might decrease the CR of the creature if they normally have a multiattack option.
• Haste. The creature has advantage on their initiative rolls.
• No CR adjustment.
• You could make this very powerful if you went the route of "when this creature rolls initiative, all other creatures gain the surprised condition". giving this creature essentially a free round of attacks. I'd probably use the Quasit's scare ability (MM pg. 63) before I did something like that, though.
• Hexproof/Shroud. (same as Magic Resistance)
• Increases effective AC by 2, as per DMG pg. 280
• You could go for something like the Rakshasa's Limited Magic Immunity (MM pg. 257), but that would make this ability very powerful. To adjust, simply move the spell immunity limit up or down.
• Indestructible. This creature is immune to all damage types.
• I've actually seen some modules that use this sort of ability. It isnt' as broken as it sounds, it just means the PCs are going to have to find some way to restrain, freeze, or knock out the monster. Make sure you give them such options.
• This would effectively make the monster's CR infinite, so it's probably better to think of these monsters as traps than creatures.
• Intimidate. This creature is resistant to damage caused by Elves and Half-Elves, and has advantage on saving throws against effects originating from Elves and Half-Elves.
• Obviously, change the race if you like, or even use a class instead.
• This is kind of a cheap shot at one of your players, so use cautiously. Make sure that player has something else to do in the combat or they will be quite angry with you.
• Landwalk. (same as Tree Stride of a Dryad, MM pg. 121)
• Use different types of terrain. Popping in and out of rocks or snow would make for a fun fight.
• Treat it as teleportation, meaning no CR adjustment.
• Lifelink. Whenever this creature deals damage, it regains hit points equal to the amount of damage dealt.
• This is a major defensive ability. Treat it like Regeneration (DMG pg. 281) and adjust the CR accordingly.
• Phasing. This creature is under the effects of a Blink spell at all times.
• Not much to say here, just assume that the creature will last longer in combat due to their Ethereal Plane jaunts.
• Protection. This creature is immune to damage caused by Elves and Half-Elves, and has advantage on saving throws against effects originating from Elves and Half-Elves.
  • Obviously, change the race if you like, or even use a class instead.
  • This is kind of a cheap shot at one of your players, so use cautiously. Make sure that player has something else to do in the combat or they will be quite angry with you.
• Shadow. This creature is permanently in the Ethereal Plane. Though it can be seen in the Material Plane, it cannot be interacted with, except by creatures or objects that also exist in the Ethereal Plane.
• No CR adjustment
• Again, we're encouraging non-combat solutions here. Most parties don't have a reliable way to get into the Ethereal Plane, so you may have to provide one as the DM.
• Trample. (same as Ramapge of a Gnoll, MM pg. 163)
• Defeat an opponent, run past them, damage another opponent. Same deal.
• Vigilance. As long as this creature is not incapacitated, it can take a Dodge action as a bonus action.
• Increases the monster's effective AC by 4 for CR calculations
• Basically, the creature can attack and defend in the same round - perfect.

Examples!

Now that we've covered that, let's do an example!

Here's an MtG card:

And here's the D&D stat block:

I used the existing angels in the Monster Manual for inspiration. This guy is tough to kill, but doesn't hit too hard for a CR 15 monster. The real key is finding that chosen creature and killing it instead!

I'm not going to go through the whole process of making a monster, since it's already in the DMG (pg. 274). I encourage you to try it!

Also, I'm not going through Instants, Sorceries, or Artifacts, because those just translate to spells and magic items that are already fairly easy to make. They don't have as much math or calculation that goes into them. Again, look to the DMG (pg 283-285) for guidance!

Thanks for reading!

Monday Recap: Castle Cragmaw

Here be gerblins

We finally got another session of Lost Mine of Phandelver in. The holidays are over, and D&D is back! Yeah! It's a whole week of awesome things returning! What does that mean? Find out Friday!

And that's enough advertising for me. Ugh. That felt terrible.

On to the adventure!

This article is part 4 of a series. The campaign was completed.
| Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 |

Lost Mine of Phandelver: Castle Cragmaw

Cast of Characters
Jon: Dungeon Master
Makayla: Fwip Arda, Gnome Bard of the Blades, born into a long line of musicians, prefers the avant-garde
Shannon: Rune Coldiron, Dwarf Knowledge Cleric, born into a long line of War Clerics, prefers thinking
Will: Valkas Barthen, Human Storm Herald Barbarian, son of a peace-loving shopkeeper, has accepted his new Storm God overlords

When we last left our heroes, they had discovered the location of Cragmaw Castle by helping out an old, naked druid. They were still trying to find Rune's Uncle Bart, and along the way help Sildar discover the location of the legendary Wave Echo Cave.

The group woke in Barthen's Provisions, the shop owned by Valkas' father. They spent little time hanging around, since they had a clear goal in mind. After a quick goodbye, they began the long trek towards Cragmaw Castle, the lair of the Cragmaw Goblin tribe.

Their journey along the paths of Southern Garlancia was mostly quiet. They reached a small area off the road by day's end, and set up camp for the evening.

That night, during their first watch, Valkas noticed the flapping of leathery wings in the still night air - the sound of Stirges! The creatures were somewhat common around here, and the party had fended off a few before. Valkas awoke Rune and Fwip, and they all prepared for battle!

The Stirges flew in a few at a time, attacking Valkas first. He fended them off with his hammer, and summoned his Storm-God powers to zap those he couldn't hit. Fwip wielded her twin swords with grace, pinning Stirges to trees and slicing them off of her allies. Meanwhile, Rune was nearly smothered by the monsters.

With some fast thinking (and a very awesome combo with Valkas' hammer and Rune's shield), the group finished off the tiny bloodsuckers. They healed up and changed watches, and fortunately the rest of the night passed uneventfully.

The next day, they ventured away from the paths and towards Cragmaw Castle. The forest was quiet, and as the sun was beginning to set, they saw the crumbled towers of the castle crest over a hilltop.

Not being a particularly stealthy group, Valkas went up to a steel door built into the side of the castle, and started pounding on it. Inside, Fwip and Rune heard the sounds of movement, and Rune recognized the Goblin language. Valkas switched to using his hammer, and the Goblins inside became even more alarmed.

When all you have is a hammer...

At this point, the entire castle was basically roused. Not seeing a way through the door, the group ran around to the front of the castle and burst in the main doorway, dodging Goblin arrows from small slits in the tower walls.

Just as they appeared inside, they were caught in a deadly pincer attack by a team of Hobgoblins and Goblins alike. Valkas summoned his thunderous rage, but Rune realized they wouldn't be able to fight in two directions at once. She unleashed the power of her God Dumathoin to cast Calm Emotions on the entire area.

Suddenly, the goblinoids were indifferent about the fight, and most of them simply sat down or gave up. But two Hobgoblins were still approaching, unfazed by the holy magic. Fwip, thinking quickly, directed the group into a small side room they suspected was the other side to the arrow slits out front. Sure enough, there were two Goblin archers inside, and only one entrance - a perfect chokepoint!

After quickly dispatching the archers, the group turned its attention back to the mass of goblinoids in the hallway. Valkas took position at the door, bringing his hammer down on the Hobgoblins who were still pursuing them. At the sight of their ally being harmed, the daze of the spell left the Goblins, and they attacked, screeching and stabbing towards the door.

One of the Hobgoblins ordered some Goblins to run around the outside of the building and attack through the arrow slit. Fwip took up position, stabbing back at the Goblin swords that were poking towards the group's flank.

Valkas, still swinging away, finally broke out into the hallway. He and Rune advanced on the remaining Goblins, taking them down in droves. The last Hobgoblin fled into another chamber, and the surviving Goblins decided to flee (after Valkas finished off one that looked like a second-in-command, of course).

The group found an unconscious Goblin that they wanted to interrogate, but before they could, another door in the hall burst open and a huge worm-like monster with a beak and tentacles squirmed out! Behind it, they saw the Hobgoblin that had run off - he had found this creature and brought it out to fight the party.


It wouldn't be D&D without some weird, difficult-to-describe monsters

Rune summoned her Spiritual Weapon, a floating hammer that proceeded to smash the Hobgoblin in the head until he was unconscious. Meanwhlie, Fwip and Valkas fended off the monstrous worm, dealing massive damage to it before Fwip finally finished it off by cutting its head off. Valkas wanted to grab the head for his own use, but they had yet another problem to deal with - more Goblins in the room the monster had just squirmed out from!

They rushed into the room, finding it to be a darkened chapel-like area that must have been a place of worship for the previous inhabitants. Inside, three goblins had shortbows trained on them, one dressed in dirty priest-like robes. Rune and Valkas finished off the two underlings nearly immediately, causing the Goblin priest to flee out another door.

The party gave chase, coming to a room where the Goblin priest was informing two Hobgoblin guards of the situation. One of the Hobgoblins rushed through a curtain, leaving the other two goblinoids to defend the entrance. Valkas and Fwip quickly took out the pair of guardians, and the other Hobgoblin when he returned. They also noticed a closed and barred door at the other side of the room, but decided to press forward and see what the Hobgoblin had run off to do.

After a quick round of healing by Fwip and Rune, Fwip snuck forward and peered into the next area. There, she saw a large, grizzled Bugbear holding a familiar-looking dwarf. This must be King Grol, and he had Uncle Bart held hostage! Not to mention, he had a large wolf next to him.

The party burst through the door, attacking Grol with hammers, Spiritual Weapons, and bardic magics. Fwip made his morningstar superheated, causing him to drop it, but even then the old Bugbear told them to back off or the dwarf would get it. Grol's claws squeezed around Bart's neck.

Just then, Rune took a massive blow to the back of her head and passed out. Behind her, a Drow woman had crept from a darkened doorway and began to attack Fwip! Valkas, not sure what else he could do, continued to smash Grol with his hammer, all while being bitten by the wolf from behind him.




Save the biggest and baddest for lastest

Fwip turned to face off against the Drow woman, fighting defensively to stay alive. Rune struggled awake, and prepared a Spare the Dying spell if Fwip went down. And she nearly did, but then Valkas had a breakthrough.

Just as Bart's life was about to leave his body, Valkas dealt a final, crushing blow to King Grol, crushing in his skull and causing him to collapse. The young barbarian then turned around and gave an intimidating glare to the wolf, causing it to pull back and flee.

Seeing this, the Drow woman turned and fled as well. Rune rushed forward to her Uncle, using her magic to bring him back from the brink of death. The castle had grown quiet now, but the party decided to barricade the doors and rest for a moment inside the throne room.

Slowly, Uncle Bart recovered and woke up. He hugged Rune and thanked the group for saving him. Now, they needed to find his brothers Harry and Horace, and figure out where Grol had stashed the map to Wave Echo Cave.

After a few minutes of searching, Fwip found the map (along with a sack of coins and healing potions) under Grol's mattress. Bart was satisfied, but they group wanted to make sure the castle was cleared out before they left. To make things easier, Valkas cut off Grol's head and put it on a stick, to help intimidate any Goblins they found. He called it the Grol-lipop.

They returned to the barred door, and Rune cast an Augury spell to see if opening the door was a good idea. The result was neither good nor bad, and so they decided to open it.

Inside, they saw a massive monster: an Owlbear! It stood on its hind legs and roared at them, making Valkas quickly close the door. After some deliberation, they realized it probably just wanted to leave, which would make sense for the result to be neither good nor bad. After throwing the beast a goblin carcass to appease it, they simply let it walk past them and out of the castle.

They continued searching the castle, finding some spell scrolls, a magic statuette, some more gold, and some of Sildar Hallwinter's gear. They did not, however, find a single Goblin. Satisfied, they set up their barricaded room again and went to sleep.

The journey back to Phandalin was quiet, similar to their journey there. Bart asked plenty of questions about what had happened in the last few days, and the group told them about Iarno and the other Goblins they had encountered. Valkas took a particular liking to Bart, and began to call him Uncle Bart like Rune and Fwip did.

Upon their return, Bart went to talk to Sildar Hallwinter, who had helped him start this expedition in the first place. While the party slept, the dwarf and the human spent the night formulating a plan to get to Wave Echo Cave and delve it, hopefully without too much trouble. There was still the matter of the strange Drow woman, and who else she might be connected to.

There would most certainly be dangers awaiting them in Wave Echo Cave.

But also treasure, right? I mean, what's the point here, really?

And, that's the game! A pretty combat-heavy one this time. hopefully delving the depths of Wave Echo Cave will be more exploratory and less hack-and-slash-y. To facilitate that, I had Bart's map lay out the entirety of the cave. I'm not sure if giving the players a full dungeon map was a good idea, but at least I found one without labels and notes on it.

We'll see, next time!

Thanks for reading!

Lore of Ahneria: Tracking Time

This is part of a series on the lore of my homebrew world, Ahneria. As I outlined here, much of this information will be pulled from existing D&D lore and tropes. At the end, I'll be including a section on how to use this sort of thing in your own games.

"You cannot have a meaningful campaign if strict time records are not kept."

-Gary Gygax

I think this ranks up there with one of the most misused pieces of wisdom in any D&D manual. Strict, down-to-the-minute time tracking isn't feasible or even desirable in most modern campaigns. As a DM, you have to determine how your campaign functions and what the stakes are. If time is a factor, track time. Otherwise, don't worry as much about it.

However, I don't think minute-to-minute tracking is how Gary meant this advice to be taken. He says "meaningful campaign", not "meaningful session". To me, this means it's vastly more important to track time on a macro level. You need a system of days, weeks, and months.

There are two reasons for this, one of which is a bit outdated. In early D&D, HP recovered at a rate of 1 hit point per day. So going into a dungeon was a weekly endeavor, not a daily one. In this context, a single dungeon might take a month to fully delve, and in that time there might be local events that could affect the party. Perhaps their patron gets sick. Perhaps the town they are staying in becomes more suspicious of them. Keeping time meant knowing how the world changed between sessions.

The other, more relevant reason, is that you need to show that the world isn't just changing, it's being affected by the players. The goblins they fought at the beginning of the campaign have been gathering followers, and now, months later, they seek revenge! That noble they helped a while back finally put together the money to get them their own house. That sort of stuff.

In essence, time exists in the real world, and tracking time in your world makes it feel more real. It also lets you build multiple campaigns that interact with each other. Hooray!

Time in Ahneria

As I said earlier in this series, Ahneria has the standard 365 day year and 24 hour day. Because the moon cycles through its phases every 13 and three-quarters days, most places have a 14 day month.

There are 26 months in a year, and they each have a name. These names vary widely from culture to culture. In Garlancia, they are named based on how the ancient nomads of the Tribe of Kam tracked their journeys - using the moon as a guide.

1. Sunrise Moon (Summer begins)
2. Buck Moon
3. Storm Moon
4. Red Moon
5. Wheat Moon
6. Hunter's Moon
7. Harvest Moon (Autumn begins)
8. Blood Moon
9. Cold Moon
10. Long Moon
11. Dark Moon
12. Old Moon
13. Winter Festival Moon
14. Sunset Moon (Winter begins)
15. Snow Moon
16. Wolf Moon
17. Hunger Moon
18. Crow Moon
19. Rain Moon
20. Egg Moon (Spring begins)
21. Pink Moon
22. Fish Moon
23. Farmer's Moon
24. Feast Moon
25. Flower Moon
26. Summer Festival Moon

After the months have passed, a single-day festival is held to bring the year to a full 365 days. This is the Summer Solstice festival, the biggest festival of the year. It is held in tribute to Pelor, and to the light and goodness in the world, in hopes that it will fight against the darkness. The month preceding the Solstice is always busy, as citizens prepare for the celebration.

Across the world, the solstice festival is held among nearly every culture. Even underground, in the tunnels of Stofeuwin, they know of the day when the sun is highest in the sky. At its zenith, the light of the sun falls down carefully-built holes and illuminates the caverns of the underdark.

Also, the system of using "the number of moons since the solstice" to track time is incredibly common. Though the names vary wildly, you can always figure out the time of year simply by asking what number moon of the year it is. Even rangers and druids, far from civilization, use this system.

Within each month, there are 14 days. These days have all sorts of different names, but in Garlancia they are named based on an old myth of a dwarven hero. The Tribes of Kam picked up this system from the dwarves of Chortenhall, who they traded with constantly during their early settlement into the Garlancian valley.

• Mornday
• Derived from "Moradin's Day", or "Morning Day", Moradin being the patron God of the Dwarves
• Signifies the beginning of the week, or the "Dawn" of the week
• In the beginning, the Dwarven Hero was created by Moradin
• Truesday
• Derived from "Truth Day", or "Two Day"
• The second day of the week, and often assiciated with learning and knowledge
• On one of the Dwarven Hero's adventures, he discovered a dark truth and was banished from Ahneria
• Wenjasday
• Derived from "Wee Jas' Day", Wee Jas being the God of Death and Magic
• A popular day for funerals and honoring the God of Death
• The family and friends of the Dwarven Hero believed he was dead, and mourned his passing
• Thrazday
• Derived from "Thrazidun's Day", Thrazidun being the God of Darkness
• The day opposite of dawn, the darkest day, a day of bad luck (or so people believe)
• The Dwarven Hero awoke in deep and eternal darkness
• Fharday
• Derived from "Fharlanghn's Day", Fharlanghn being the God of Travel and Horizons
• A day of contemplation, journey, and recovery. A popular day to begin traveling on
• Guided by the God of Horizons, the Dwarven Hero found his way back to Ahneria
• Satisday
• Derived from "Satisfation Day", or "Saint's Day"
• A day of rest and reflection
• The Dwarven Hero made a pact with the Gods to never reveal the truth he had learned, and was allowed to rejoin his people. He was treated as a Saint, sharing his reverence for the Gods
• Solday
• Derived from "Solar's Day", from Solars, the powerful aspects of Pelor
• A day of worship and reverence
• The Dwarven Hero was watched over by the Solar of Truth, Verum, to ensure he never broke his promise. For all of his long years, he never did.

Each month, Garlancians call a particular day by its name, and if it is the first or second of its kind this month. The first day of the month is "First Mornday", the 10th day is "Second Wenjasday".

Years are tracked by many different calendars across different cultures. Some use the life and death of their emperors to track the eras, others use major events. In Garlancia, year 0 was when the Cobblestones erased the name of Kam from their history. Currently, the government recognizes the Garlancian calendar is in its 842nd year.

In particular years, if something major happens (such as the War of Fools), the year will be known by that name popularly. So, 841 was the Year of the War of Fools. 842 has yet to be named.

Using This Material in Your Setting

• How much time do you need to track to make your campaign world meaningful? Months? Years? Weeks?
• What natural events is your calendar based on? If it isn't about the same as earth's calendar, why?
• What are the stories and traditions behind the naming systems of your calendar?
• When do people celebrate in your world? When do they mourn? Do certain days or months have any superstitions surrounding them?

Thanks for reading!

Failure is Critical

Feared in myth and legend!

D&D is a game of wonderful absurdity. I mean, somebody looked at a blank sheet of paper and thought, "You know what would be cool? A floating eye. But like, with more eyes around it. And a mouth. Heck, a whole body! But no legs. Or arms. Or torsos."

However, our conception of reality is deeply tied to this fantasy universe. We expect wizards to be wise, barbarians to be strong, fire to burn, etc. And sometimes the game fails to meet our expectations.

This usually happens when a character makes a skill check they should be good at, but fails miserably. A fighter kicks at a wooden door but doesn't open it. A wizard examines a glowing glyph but doesn't pick up what it is, despite it being a common spell. A rogue fails to pick the lock on a child's toy chest.

Most times, this can be easily mitigated by the DM properly adjudicating actions. If it's a weak wooden door, there's not really a possibility for failure, so no roll should be needed. But in some cases (such as if the party is in a hurry or there are enemies on the other side of the door who would be notified if the door isn't broken down in one fell kick), the roll is still needed.

So how do we handle failure when our concept of the game's reality gets in the way? Well, there's a few ways.

Failing

First, though, let's talk about where these rules don't apply.

In combat, a miss is a miss. Combat is chaotic and fast, and even the most seasoned veteran will occasionally fail to harm their target. Also, the consequences are already baked into the system: the enemy didn't get hurt. They will survive to attack you again.

This can also help us see there are two parts to every failure.

1. The OUTCOME: the PC's attack misses
2. The CONSEQUENCES: the enemy isn't harmed

This seems to be so logical and obvious that is isn't worth thinking about. But it is, and it can help us answer our problem of discrepancy between failure and reality.

First, let's look at the Outcome.

See, that just... no. That wouldn't happen.

Most rolls determine something about the character rolling the die. The die determines information about the action.

• Does my character see X?
• Does my character know X?
• Is my character suave enough to change the mind of X person?
• Is my character skilled enough to perform X task?
• Is my character skilled enough to hit X with their attack?

However, these rolls don't have to be all about the character. Instead, they can change information in the world.

• How well hidden is X?
• How obscure is the knowledge of X?
• How stubborn or insightful is X person?
• Are there complicating factors that make X more difficult?
• How good at dodging attacks is X?

This is a subtle distinction, but if we use it carefully, we can make the characters and the world more realistic. Let's look at a couple examples.

BARBARIAN: I kick down the door!

ACTION DM: Whoops, you failed. Your puny kick fails to open the door. Better try again!

WORLD DM: You failed! Despite your mighty kick, the door stands. And only now do you think to check the frame - of course! Adamantine! It's been hardily reinforced. 

Here, the DM chooses to make the roll determine information about the world, not the character. The barbarian still gets to feel strong, it's just a particularly solid door. Additionally, this solves the problem of everybody in the party giving it a try (and the STR 8 wizard invariably doing the task) . In its place, we now have a new scene: How do you get past an indestructible door? Here's an opportunity for some creative role-playing.

How about another example?

DM: The wolf snarls at your party, baring its fangs. If you venture too close, it looks like it will strike.

RANGER: I'd like to try and calm the wolf, so it can let us pass.

ACTION DM: Ooh, bad luck. You accidentally pull out some rotten fish instead of fresh! Now the wolf is even more angry.

WORLD DM: You cautiously approach the wolf, but as you do, you notice a litter of pups just behind a nearby tree. And at this distance, the origin of the scars on its muzzle are now clear: these are sword wounds. You doubt this mother wolf will back down.

Now, the DM is creating new information about an NPC (the wolf), instead of assuming the Ranger did something wrong. What Ranger would have never encountered a Wolf before? They would most certainly have great empathy for the animal, and revealing more about the creature's character helps build the Ranger's character. Now it's not just a mechanical choice - it's a moral one. Perhaps the Ranger will have a talk with the party's Fighter later about hunting wild game. Perhaps the Ranger will decide to attack anyway and take a wolf pup to raise as their own.

Notice that again, the DM is shutting down the "I try again" route - in the first DM's scenario, the player would just pull fresh fish out and give it another shot. In the second, it's clear that failure has a powerful outcome: this wolf won't ever trust humans.

Now, how does this help us with the problem of failure vs reality?

PHYSICS DOES NOT WORK THAT WAY

Well, let's talk about consequences. Every roll has consequences, which are defined as the story changes based on the roll. If a group of players chooses to cross a pit trap by building a rope bridge, then the monsters pursuing them will be able to use the bridge as well. That's consequences.

You might be thinking that successful rolls deserve good consequences, and failed rolls deserve bad consequences. Well, yes, for the most part. But sometimes you can mix and match outcome and consequence to create the right sense of reality for your game.

Note that this can help you define the amount of "gritty" or "fluffy"-ness in your game world. A world where there are often bad consequences for good outcomes is gritty. A world with good consequences for bad outcomes is "fluffy". This is important to keep in mind, because leaning too far in either direction can change the feel of the reality of your game world. It doesn't matter what reality you want to use, but it should be consistent.

So, in a situation where a character "shouldn't" fail but does, the best way to handle it is to allow them to succeed (good outcome) but add a penalty or complication (bad consequences).

Here are some ways to accomplish this:

• You succeeded, but you took a long time doing it. Random Encounter while you wait.
• You succeeded, but you made a lot more noise than expected. Random Encounter draws near!
• You succeeded, but you pulled a muscle or pricked your finger in the process. take damage!
• You succeeded for now, but the enemy is aware something strange is happening and are now on alert!
• You succeeded, but did so in a way that made an important person upset with you.

There is no limit to the amount of different consequences you can add to a success to make it a failure. For added DM fun, only make the consequences apparent much later. Carefully explain to the players that yes, they failed, but they did indeed complete the task. The dread in the air can be palpable.

Untrustworthy townsfolk, or EVERYONE IS VAMPIRES?

On a side note, this is why I am less partial to "Dungeon World"-esque systems. The dice you roll force the DM to add consequences even when they aren't needed, or prevent you from adding consequences if the dice show a "complete success" or "complete failure". Having the flexibility to add your own consequences gives the d20 system a powerful edge over those games.

This is also why I avoid "critical failure" and "critical success" tables. Let me decide the consequences, dang it!

This can also apply to combat scenarios. Not individual attack rolls: I discussed that above. But the overall combat. If the players fail to defeat their foes, it doesn't have to be a Total Party Kill (bad outcome). Instead, they could survive, but face consequences:

• The group realizes the monster won't move past a certain distance because its eggs/babies are nearby
• The monsters are looking for living hostages for their master or their own purposes
• The monsters are hungry and will simply snap up an unconscious NPC, retreating with the PC's ally in their jaws.

This all happens when the OUTCOME is bad (the PCs lost) but you don't want to make the CONSEQUENCES bad as well. The best part of this is that it often leads to a new goal for the party: escape captivity, or rescue their allies.

This is also a good way to make the game more difficult without the players fearing for their lives in every combat. Give the bad guys prisoners, so the players know for sure that they will become prisoners if they lose a fight. Give the monsters motivations, and let the players work with them. This also has the added effect of making fights with monsters who simply want the PCs dead even more frightening.

This also answers one of the common problems that people have with "railroading" campaigns: If we know the players are going to win, then what's the point?

The point is what they have to give up along the way. How the world changes based on their actions. Make failure hurt, but let them keep pushing forward. Give everything consequences, good and bad. Make the world a different place by the time their quest is finished.

I want to talk about one last thing: Critical failures.

Actually reasonable. Well done.

Like any failure, these abysmal rolls don't always have to have a bad outcome. But if you do deign to grant a good outcome to a critical failure, you need to increase the consequences by a significant factor.

BARBARIAN: I kick the door open.

DM: Ouch, critical failure! Well, the door is a weak wooden door, so you kick it open... but standing on the other side is General Vicious, the terrible leader of the Lich Lord's Army!

I actually like these situations. DMs who want to plan the exact nature of the world before they sit down at the table are cutting off a major part of tabletop role-playing: the element of randomness. Obviously, General Vicious isn't going to be standing behind every door, but the Barbarian spraining their ankle would have been an equally good consequence.

I think the best example of this, though is the simple RPG "All Outta Bubblegum". It's so simple, I'm not even going to explain the rules. You can read it at that link.

Essentially, though, "Failing" to do a normal task in AOBG is just like any other RPG - you get a bad outcome and some consequences, good or bad. But in our group, we play it with a home rule: Catastrophic Failure. That means any failure isn't just a bad outcome, it's also a SUCCESS on kicking ass. Being polite to someone means you risk punching their head off.

That's actually pretty analogous to a critical failure. It's not just a bad outcome for the player, it's a good outcome for the forces working against them. Whether that's monsters, traps, the universe, luck, fate, whatever - that's up to the DM.

Thanks for reading!

Monday Recap: Sojourn at The Saffron

Let's roll!

We had a chance to play Dragonborn Quest again this weekend! I'm very happy with the way this campaign has been progressing. The players tell me that this was one of their favorite sessions of the entire campaign, which is great because I'm hoping to wrap this quest up in the next couple months.

Of course, that means things are going to get a little more dangerous. So, it was nice to have a session where the players got together and pulled off a good old-fashioned casino heist!

This story is part 8 of a series. The campaign was completed.
| Previous Campaign | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 |

Dragonborn Quest: Sojourn at the Saffron

Cast of Characters
Jon: Dungeon Master
Will: Daardendrian Kreev, Red Dragonborn Bard, former prince, back to set things right
Megan: Daardendrian Zovira, Red Dragonborn Fighter, Kreev's aunt, champion of the clan
Bria: Druuga Faelynn, Silver Dragonborn Bard, avenged her sister, now to fix the isle...
Michelle: Nerithya Finzerwin, Half-Drow Rogue, ex-cultist looking for a new purpose to her life
Matt: Myastan Faerbor, White Dragonborn Fighter, Kreev's friend and owner of the legendary Axe of the Elders, currently going through the Trial of Humility
NPC: Oddmund, Nerithya's Shield Guardian, has a smiling face painted on his head

When we last left our heroes, they had just returned from the legendary Mt. Draco, where they had met the Ancient Silver Dragon Chevnyl and learned about the history of the island and the Dragonborn themselves. However, at the last moment, their traveling companion Cheskapen (who turned out to be a Couatl in disguise) stole away their ward, the Gold Dragonborn Torrin, and the War Priest of Bahamut Tofras. He convinced Chevnyl to turn against them, and only through Faelynn's Teleport spell were they able to escape. They returned to Dovuaka, the Free City of Dragonborn, inside the walls of the Prisma School run by Faelynn's clan.

The group had also learned that their hated Death knight enemy, Z'ildroth Favnir, would be returning from the grave some time within the next week. He would return at the location of his death, which was right in the middle of the Dovuaka City Council chambers. Knowing they didn't have much time, the group got to work formulating a plan.

Zovira, Faerbor, and Oddmund formed the strike team, armed with scrolls of Fireball crafted by Faelynn and Faerbor in the Prisma archives earlier that day. Their goal was to cause a big distraction at a Z'ildroth diplomat's home, clearing a path for the others to sneak into the Dovuaka Council chamber. However, they were caught by Blackwing guards and forced to detonate their scrolls early. Using the fiery distraction, they slipped off into the night, back towards Prisma. Zovira was sure they had seen her face, though.

At the Council chambers, Kreev, Faelynn, and Nerithya saw several of the posted guards leave to check out the explosions. With the help of Invisibility spells, they snuck in and set up their plan: a Glyph of Warding that would cast Forbiddance and destroy Favnir when he returned. While Faelynn and Nerithya kept watch, Kreev began the hour-long process of casting the Glyph.

He was nearly finished when the guards returned, and one decided to inspect the Council chamber. Nerithya silently killed him, but in doing so came face to face with the patrol of guards behind him. The alarm was sounded, and using the door as a chokepoint, Faelynn and Nerithya held back the wave of oncoming Blackwing soldiers. Faelynn's disguise couldn't hold up, and she was sure the Blackwings recognized her clan. The School was in danger!

As Kreev finished casting the spell, Faelynn teleported the three of them back to Prisma School, where Zovira was waiting for them. She had returned a short time ago, and with the help of Druuga Belgar, the clan leader, had sounded an evacuation. The School had prepared tunnels in case of this event, and the party rushed down them. As they did, they could hear the pounding of Blackwing spears on the doors to the now-empty School.

They met back up with the Druuga clan in their hidden forest base, and collapsed in exhaustion.



As was foretold in a prophecy that already happened

That night, they all had a similar dream. They watched as an event from long ago played out: the fall of the wizard Avubafarihm (I learned how to pronounce this mid-session: Avooba-far-heem). His draconian soldiers were no match for the paladin Arrakas, who slew the wizard, as the party knew from Chevnyl's histories.

But then something different happened. The paladin Arrakas turned into Cheskapen, and he grabbed the Sun Amulet from Avubafarihm. He turned to a small Gold Draconian child, who now looked like Torrin, and pressed the Sun Amulet to the child's chest. Torrin screamed and disintegrated, as did all the other Draconians.

The dream ended for everyone but Kreev, who, before he woke, saw a pure white dragon flying down towards the mountain. It mouthed words he couldn't hear.

The party woke up all together, and compared their dreams. They discussed what the dream could mean, but ultimately decided the dream didn't have much impact on their current plans.

Their current plan was based on a set of Portal Keys they had obtained from high-ranking Chromatic Dragonborn around the island. These small amulets could turn elemental portals into passageways that lead inside Castle Z'ildroth. With three of them, they could bypass the entire city of Palaga and the outer defenses of the castle. They wanted to find a third one, and they had a target in mind: The Saffron, a grand casino run by Shestendeliath Zragrax, a Blue Dragonborn who controlled much of the underhanded dealings in Palaga.

With the help of Faelynn's mother and the costuming department of clan Druuga, they prepared fancy clothes for their casino heist that could still conceal their weaponry. Faerbor and Zovira, in heavy armor, would act as the "guards" to Nerithya, who had perfected her story about being a polymorphed Dragon here for a visit. Faelynn would be her minstrel, and Kreev would be her consigliere. Oddmund, dressed up in a top hat and tails, would be the silent retainer. Kreev also prepared disguises for the group, making Faelynn, Zovira, and Faerbor appear to be normal Dragonborn. He himself donned his Hat of Disguise.

The night was falling as they finished up, and Faelynn teleported the group to the front entrance of The Saffron. Well-to-do Dragonborn nobles were arriving via carriages, and the sudden appearance of a group of people left some of them surprised. However, soon afterwards, a couple of Dragonborn wizards popped into view as well, so they weren't particularly out of place.

They entered the grand casino lobby, resplendent with marble floors and columns, ferns and vines decorating the walls, and a massive golden statue of Shestendeliath Zragrax himself in the middle of the room. While Nerithya surreptitiously lifted some gold from the pockets of finely-dressed Dragonborn, Kreev obtained 1500GP worth of wooden tokens marked with The Saffron's name and sigil.

They entered the main gaming floor and wandered for a bit, stopping at a table of very well-dressed Dragonborn. Nerithya played the consummate noble, holding her cards and whispering nonsense words into Kreev's ear while he played the game. Kreev bet strong and pushed hard, and ended winning 7000GP in tokens. He asked where an even higher-rolling table might be found, and they were lead to a glass-walled room overlooking the casino floor.



Dashing blue dragonborn, and rich too!

There, among plush couches and wild plants, sat Shestendeliath Zragrax himself, wrapped in fine robes. He offered Nerithya a spot at his personal gambling table, but the party declined for now. Zragrax offered them a small identification charm that they could use to get back to this area once they were ready to play in the real big leagues.

The party retreated and began to formulate a plan. They suspected that Zragrax had the Portal Key on his necklace, and there was likely an elemental portal somewhere in the casino's basement. The problem was, they could only see one way down to the basement: through Zragrax's room. It didn't help that the place was crawling with Blackwing Elite guards.

Suddenly, the entire casino shook slightly, causing glasses to clink and piles of tokens to fall over. A hush fell over the floor for a moment, but then the crowd relaxed again. The party wasn't sure what was happening, but they watched as Zragrax grabbed two Blackwings and headed downstairs. The way was clear!

Zovira, Faerbor, and Oddmund stood watch while Kreev cashed out their chips. Faelynn and Nerithya went ahead to scope out the basement and report back. Along the way, Nerithya looted Zragrax's safe, and found a magic ring of Water Elemental Command! They moved towards the stairs that Zragrax had just gone down. They were only a few steps down when they suddenly began choking and vomiting - their lungs were filling up with seawater!

Realizing it was a trap, they retreated back up the stairs and started looking for some sort of magical mechanism. Faelynn discovered a drawer full of identification charms they could use to bypass the trap, and grabbed enough for the entire party. They headed downstairs and found a large area with an abandoned card game, and the vault door. Nerithya saw that the vault couldn't be opened without a particular charm - likely something Zragrax would carry.

They returned to the party, and everyone went down into the basement. As they did so, another tremor shook the building. This time, they could hear the pounding of feet and screams from above, likely meaning the casino had been emptied of its patrons. The group found an elevator leading down to a dock area in a cliffside, and took it down.

(While this rumbling and shaking was playing out, the players kept guessing that someone was already performing a heist on the casino, since they had all seen Ocean's Thirteen. On the way down, Kreev's player asked me if it could possibly a famous Dragon Turtle from the island, Audon Hullbane, or Old Chompy. But we reminded him that Old Chompy's stomping grounds were on the North side of the island, not the South. It couldn't possibly be...)

When they reached the docks level, they were met with a terrifying sight. Audon Hullbane, a massive, ancient Dragon Turtle, was ramming the walls of the docks and obliterating the dock workers and Blackwings that were fighting her. The Shestendeliath champion, Yorjurn the Taskmaster, was directing the attack, while Zragrax was shouting encouragement from behind.



Nailed it

They also saw many different storage units, including one that contained dozens of aquariums filled with aquatic animals. Kreev and Zovira made towards the animals, while Nerithya crept up and stole Zragrax's necklace. Faerbor, responding to the call of his Axe of the Elders, joined in the attack on the Dragon Turtle, while Faelynn started casting spells and "missing" Old Chompy (and hitting Blackwings).

As Kreev and Zovira arrived at the tanks, they saw a large aquarium with a baby Dragon Turtle inside it. Suddenly the attack made sense! Zovira smashed through the glass of the tank, and Kreev polymorphed the carriage-sized beast into a tiny rat. He had a plan!

Meanwhile, Nerithya and Zragrax made their way back to the elevator and hurried to head up and out of danger. She continued to play the part of innocent casino patron, just a bit lost, is all. Faelynn saw a strange figure drop from the sky into the water outside the cavern docks - she recognized him as her father, Druuga Ravodaar, who had abandoned her as a child to go adventuring.

Zovira took a running start and flung the rat as far towards the water as she could. Kreev released his polymorph spell mid-flight, causing the creature to change back into a Dragon Turtle before it hit the water. It just barely missed Ravodaar, much to Faelynn's disappointment. Sighing, she leapt into the water and swam out to save the drowning adventurer.

Meanwhile, Nerithya and Zragrax got on the elevator and began lifting to safety. It was then Nerithya pulled her rapier and threatened to kill Zragrax unless he told her everything. He sobbed, told her that the elemental portal was located in the vault, and his key could open the vault. Satisfied, she killed him and kicked his body off of the platform.

Old Chompy, finally seeing her child returned, shook her attackers off and retreated back into the water. She thanked the party in a massive, deep voice, and Zovira bowed low. With the threat of the Dragon Turtle gone, the Blackwings turned to fight those who had intruded - and now that Faelynn's disguise had washed off, they had a good idea who the party actually was.

Fortunately, Kreev had Feebleminded the clan champion, and they mopped up the rest fairly quickly. Nerithya cast Invisibility, allowing her to hide from the reinforcements and let them on the elevator. She then cut the chains holding up the platform, and they tumbled to their deaths.

With a moment to breathe, Faelynn confronted her father. It turned out he was on the casino balcony, and had been trying to steal tokens in the confusion upstairs. Kreev, who had grown up hearing tales of Ravodaar's more heroic exploits, was deeply disappointed. Faelynn thought it was about par for the course.

Suddenly, Faerbor collapsed. Since he had slain the clan champion of Shestendelioth, his Axe of the Elders had decided to allow him to take on the next stage of his trials. He regained his skill with weapons and magic, but his strength was reduced to that of a normal humanoid. Suddenly, he couldn't wear his plate armor or wield his heavy weapons.

The group loaded his armor and glaive into their Bag of Holding, and found him a set of leather armor to wear in the meantime. He would be much less useful in combat until he could defeat another worthy opponent.

The group traveled up the elevator and to the vault, finding a large portal to the plane of elemental water, and Nerithya already there and filling her own Bag of Holding with a mountain of gold coins. As they entered the room, a golden statue (like the one in the lobby) came to life and raised a rapier at them. It asked Nerithya if these intruders were allowed into the vault.



Sometimes you come up with something before you find art and it's hard to find art for it but then you do and it's awesome

She said yes at first, but Faerbor's axe called to him again. The statue would be a worthy foe, and complete this new trial! The group decided to go ahead and take on the monster, despite being somewhat beaten up.

They all dogpiled the golem, making sure Faerbor got his hit in. As they did so, it activated, turning its sword on the group. The gold in the vault's store also sprung to life, an enchantment on it causing it to rise up into a whirlwind of flying coins.

The party demolished the golden statue, Zovira scoring several strong hits with her new sword Darkness. Meanwhile, Kreev summoned his Fire Elemental friend Scoria, who blasted flames at the coins flying through the air.

Once the gold statue had been defeated, though, Nerithya ordered the coins to retreat. They obeyed her, since she was wearing Zragrax's amulet. The group watched as Faerbor's strength returned, but his skin was rimmed with frost. The final trial, the Trial of Ice, had begun. He had to stay focused and aware, or he would be consumed by ice and become a frozen statue.

The party needed a rest badly, and realized that the vault was probably the safest place in the casino. They closed the door and set up their beds.

In the morning, they used a spell scroll to inscribe a Teleportation Circle in the vault, and Faelynn teleported them back to the Druuga secret base. Not wanting to waste any time while Faerbor was turning to ice, they immediately had Faelynn teleport them back into the vault, after dropping off their spoils and Ravodaar.

They reappeared in the vault, and, using the Portal Keys, stepped through the elemental portal.

They appeared in the front hall of Castle Z'ildroth, where familiar architecture had been changed to depict Black Dragons. Kreev and Zovira had finally returned home.



Salothzar, I'm hoooome!

We stopped there for the night. I'm excited! I expect Castle Z'ildroth will take a couple sessions to get through, and it will be a great place to reveal the rest of the lore I'm putting into the quest. Even now, there are still mysteries to resolve!

Thanks for reading!

Lore of Ahneria: Faces Around the City of Garton

This is part of a series on the lore of my homebrew world, Ahneria. As I outlined here, much of this information will be pulled from existing D&D lore and tropes. At the end, I'll be including a section on how to use this sort of thing in your own games. 

Important NPCs

 

King Faustus

His Royal Highness is actually more of a figurehead within the government, but acts as a mediator and tiebreaker in rare cases. However, the lineage of the king is highly valued as an example to the people.

Few know that, for some time, he was replaced by a cunning Rakshasa named Sebastian. He was not responsible for the War of Fools, but is nonetheless taking steps to undo the damage caused by his doppelganger's decisions.

Like all Garlancian leaders, he does not use a last name, just his title.

Objectives: Help Garlancia heal from the War of Fools, gain the trust of the citizenry, stabilize the Garton government

Royal Advisor Archibald

Archibald arrived rather mysteriously after the War of Fools, and has been instructing King Faustus on the many ways of the Courts of Garton. He is incredibly knowledgeable, and sports some rather deep scars on his face and back. However, he refuses to speak about his past, and much speculation has been passed around the nobility about his true nature and origins.

Like all Garlancian leaders, he does not use a last name, just his title.

Objectives: Help Garlancia heal from the War of Fools, stabilize the Garton government, teach King Faustus to be a proper leader

Captain Floris

Captain Floris began his career after the former guard captain, Captain Barker, ended up dead in the Garton Sewers. Floris sees protecting the City of Garton as his duty, going so far as to treat his job like a paladin would treat their oath. He was considered an honorary member of the adventuring group C.H.A.O.S, and helped defeat the Cult of Kam during their ritual uprising.

His arms were turned ethereal by Mr. Lizard during an escape heist, but he got better.

Objectives: Keep his city safe, hire the best city watch gold can buy, root out evil before it rises again

Senator Sturly

Formerly Sturly Stempleburgess, she decided to become a member of the Garton Government after Parliament was massacred by the Cult of Kam. She is well-acquainted with C.H.A.O.S. and would never turn down a cup of tea with them.

Objectives: Help Garton how she can, assist those in need, enjoy a fine cup of tea

Oswald Lee Bailey

The portly and mustachio'd leader of the Garlancian Merchant's Guild. He has a fondness for rare artwork that often gets his guild in trouble, but inexplicably he finds ways to bounce back. His luck seems to kick in at just the right time.

Objectives: collect rare artwork, keep the economy stable, helps his friends get wealthy

Romero Calabra

Once a local tyrant in a nearby village, he was ousted and fled to Garton. He helped uncover the presence of the Black Hand in Garton, and assisted Voronion the Thief in the War of Fools. When it came time to select a new leader for the Thieves Guild of Garton, Romero was the natural choice. Especially because Voronion had been killed fighting demons a few days prior. Totally unrelated.

Objectives: provide shelter for the poor and downtrodden below the City of Garton, steal from the rich, sell "protection" to high-ranking individuals

Factions

C.H.A.O.S.

Though the famous adventuring group has disbanded and left the city, you can still join the C.H.A.O.S. division of the City Watch - in fact, that's where most adventurers get their start. King Faustus has a fondness for adventurers and has provided a large budget for mercenary work to Captain Floris. Those with skills in sword or spell can grab a piece of that very profitable pie.

The Guilds

There are three major guilds in Garton, and a few others worth mentioning. The Fighter's Guild, the Merchant's Guild, and the Mage's Guild have a strong presence in the city, and run training programs, commerce, and entertainment within their respective arenas. They each have a major guild house in the High District of Garton, as well as guild outposts and guild-approved shops spread throughout the city.

There are a few smaller guilds, such as the Theives' Guild, the Assassin's Guild, and various crafting guilds for particular professions. These guilds feature an out-of-the-way guild house in the Middle District (or the sewers), and generally don't have much influence in city affairs. They hold leverage as schools of their various crafts, and a highly recommended place to hire such a craftsman. A cobbler belonging to a guild would be quite skilled, and be able to use the Guild's connections and negotiators to obtain better prices on their goods.

The Cobblestones

Once the country's best-kept secret, they were exposed by the Rakshasa Sebastian during the days leading up to the War of Fools. In fact, he even implicated them in the Massacre of Parliament, though the truth has since come out (it was the Cult of Kam all along). The Cobblestones have a long and storied history, and their network runs deep. Even since their exposure, individual members are everywhere and choose to keep their role in the organization a secret.

The Cobblestones seek to keep Garlancia stable and in good hands. They are lead by the tiefling Orianna No One, a master assassin who went behind enemy lines to obtain intel that eventually ended the War. One of her first acts was to end the trade of Wyverns as pets and mounts among the rich in Garton, in memory of her own Wyvern Akumu.

The Black Hand

Not much is known of this shadow organization, except that they seek to disrupt certain parts of Garton commerce. Already, Black Hand shipments of drugs and illegal goods have begun to find their way onto the streets of Garton. Captain Floris is doing his best to root them out, but with little luck so far.

Other NPCs

Race: Roll 2d8
2. Tiefling
3. Half-Orc
4. Dragonborn
5. Human (Norstone native: blonde, muscled, barbaric ancestry)
6. Human (Native of the Forest: dirty strong, and skilled at survival)
7-10. Human (Garlancian: tan skin, dark hair, average build)
11. Human (Native of the Mountains: darker skin, agile and skilled at athletics)
12. Human (Distant traveler, from various lands on Eiselon)
13. Halfling
14. Dwarf
15. Half-Elf
16. Roll 1d10 below

1-3. Elf
4-6. Gnome
7. Genasi
8. Lizardfolk
9. Kenku
10. Other

Objective: Roll 1d20 unless the PCs seek out one in particular
1. Trinket Merchant looking to sell their wares
2. Beggar looking for food
3. Amateur Adventurer looking for a quest
4. Debtor looking for a scheme to pay what they owe
5. Lover seeking a gift for their partner
6. City Watch looking for troublemakers
7. Figher's Guild Member looking for someone to train with
8. Hunter/Trapper with furs to sell
9. Local Priest helping the needy
10. Established Craftsperson seeking new clients for their work
11. Merchant's Guild Member on the lookout for thieves
12. Artist looking for a good model or test subject
13. Local Banker looking for a new investment
14. Child who wants to play with you
15. Thieves' Guild member looking to make a quick getaway
16. Old person finishing their daily routines
17. Small-Time Mage who wants a quality tutor
18. Parliamentarian seeing how the common folk live
19. Mage's Guild Member trying to find someone to buy this cursed magic item
20. Cobblestone Agent wanting to strike up conversation without letting you know who they really are

Stats: Roll 2d8 unless a particular option makes more sense
2. Mage (MM pg. 347)
3. Knight  or Veteran (MM pg. 347, 350)
4. Priest (MM pg. 348)
5. Acolyte (MM pg. 342)
6. Guard (MM pg. 347)
7-11: Commoner or Noncombatant (MM pg. 345)
12. Bandit/Cultist (MM pg. 343)
13. Thug (MM pg. 350)
14. Scout (MM pg. 349)
15. Bandit Captain/Cult Fanatic (MM pg. 344-345)
16. Roll 1d10 below

1-5. Noble (MM pg. 348)
6. Archmage (MM pg. 342)
7. Assassin (MM pg. 343)
8. Gladiator (MM pg. 346)
9. Spy (MM pg. 349)
10. Druid (MM pg. 346)

Using This Material in Your Setting

• Who are the most powerful people in your world? What are their goals? How are they changing the world to reflect those goals?
• How do these people interact with each other?
• What factions exist in your world? What are their goals? How are they changing the world to reflect those goals?
• What are the demographics of your world? How common are various people/professions? If the players pick a random person off the street to talk to or fight, what are their stats?

Thanks for reading!

Damage Reduction in 5th edition

Not exactly

This past weekend, I ran Broodmother Skyfortress, which is an utterly fantastic module from Jeff Rients.

In it, you fight Giants. I'm not going to talk much about them here, but Jeff recommends you give the Giants a special ability: Damage Reduction instead of Armor Class. This is to give the impression of an "alien" monster, something that doesn't quite work the way the PCs do.

So, how did I decide what that DR was for a 5th Edition version of the monster?

Well, it all comes back to one of my favorite charts in the Dungeon Master's Guide: Monster Statistics by Challenge Rating, page 274. On it, you can find the baseline AC, HP, attack bonus, damage, and saving throws for monsters at each CR. As I've discussed before, this allows you to make and modify monsters with some idea of what the end result will be.

So, essentially, we are just adding a column to this table for Damage Reduction. This turned out to be a lot more complicated than I expected.

Thanks to Bounded Accuracy in 5th edition, you have an average of 55-65% chance to hit at every level. Let's round that to 60%. This means that for every 10 damage you could dish out, a monster's AC effectively will block 4 of that damage. So for a monster with 50 hit points, we'll need to block about 20 points of damage (40%) with the DR to make it equivalent. Call it a DR Threshold.

The D is for DANK

That 20 points of damage reduction is going to have to be divided among every attack and spell the party makes. With an average of 5 players in a group and 3 rounds in a combat (these are the DMG's assumptions for all Monster abilities), we can assume a given monster will take about 15 turns of combat to defeat.

This will also have to be modified based on how many attacks a particular player can make on a turn. If our DR is set to 4, a fighter with 2 attacks will actually account for 8 points of damage reduction in our final calculation.

Nearly all martial classes get an extra attack around level 5 or 6. This means we'll have to make an adjustment when the monster hits CR 5 or so.

Now, what about 3rd, or 4th attacks? Those are mostly the purview of the fighter and monk. Other classes tend to focus on beefing up a single attack, via Rage, Divine Smite, Sneak Attack, etc. So beyond this, we won't need a change.

But we still need to account for two things: critical hits and large damage spells. After all, if a PC gets a critical hit, they are basically skipping a turn of DR that would contribute to our total DR. And if a wizard drops a Fireball, that's quite a bit of damage for only one DR.

A critical hit (based on our 15 turns in a combat) will probably happen once in a single fight. With more attacks, they become more likely, but not every character will have more attacks.

A massive damage spell, on the other hand, will likely happen every fight if you have a Wizard or Sorcerer in the party. So we'll need to account for that. However, due to spell slot limitations, we can safely assume it will happen no more than twice in a single fight. And that damage will likely be 2-3x as much as a single attack would be.

Oh no an overpowered spell *cough cough* Fireball *cough*

These factors have the effect of lowering the number of turns we have to achieve the total DR we're looking for. So, although we are assuming there will be 3 rounds of combat, the DR threshold needs to be met in 2 rounds, to account for large sources of damage.

This gives us our formula:

• (Average Monster Health at a given CR) * 40% = DR Threshold
• DR Threshold / 10 turns = DR per turn (always round down)
• At CR 5 or greater, DR per Turn / 1.38 (to account for some classes having an extra attack)
• At CR 20, DR is capped (as per AC in the DMG)

And by using this formula, we can get our table:

• CR 0: DR 1
• CR 1/8: DR 1
• CR 1/4: DR 2
• CR 1/2: DR 2
• CR 1: DR 3
• CR 2: DR 3
• CR 3: DR 4
• CR 4: DR 4
• CR 5: DR 4
• CR 6: DR 4
• CR 7: DR 4
• CR 8: DR 5
• CR 9: DR 5
• CR 10: DR 6
• CR 11: DR 6
• CR 12: DR 7
• CR 13: DR 7
• CR 14: DR 7
• CR 15: DR 8
• CR 16: DR 8
• CR 17: DR 9
• CR 18: DR 9
• CR 19: DR 10
• CR 20 and higher: DR 10

If a creature's DR is greater than its suggested DR, increase or decrease its defensive CR for every point of difference. This will allow you to create truly impenetrable hides on your monsters.

It's not only useful to the thick-hided, of course. Use this when you're creating walls of solid stone, or clouds of gas that you literally can't miss, or other things that might not take the brunt of your attack but are simple to hit.



Or if you're just super thicc

As I wanted my Broodmother Giants to be around CR 10, I gave them DR 6.

Thanks for reading!