Instant Settlement: Worlds

I can show you the world...

At long last, we come to the final installment of Instant Settlement! Honestly, it's not really instant anymore. It takes a bit of time to get from the die roll to the final product... but hey, the die roll still lands in an instant, so I'm sticking with it.

As usual, please check out the source of inspiration for this series, as well as the rest of the articles I've posted.

Today we're going to instantly build worlds, and that's kind of wild. What sort of game would require an entire world to be generated on-the-fly?

Well, for one, Sci-fi games. When you're hopping from world to world, it's good to have the ability to generate a lot of terrain between sessions.

But the same can be said for fantasy games in certain situations. What if your players discover a map of the world, and you haven't created anything like it yet? What if there's a massive magical event where the structure of the world shifts? What if the characters want to go to the moon and look down at the world? What if they step into another plane, where there's a new world to discover? Or even, what if they want to know how close the nearest volcano is so they can throw a magic ring into it?

Welcome to instant worldbuilding!

Instant Settlement: World

So, for this set, we'll roll a pool of dice, as usual. But this time, we aren't going to have a variety of dice types. That's because this system uses a single, basic idea to create landmasses: tectonic plates.

Similar to our country and cave rolls, the dice will form triangles. Those will represent the various tectonic plates that form the crust of the planet. The numbers on the dice will determine their relative elevation, as well as the motion that occurs between them.

The dice pool will consist of just d20s, and I'd recommend 8-10 of them for a whole world map. You could do as few as 5 or 6 if you just want to determine the contents of a single hemisphere, but I wouldn't recommend going lower than that.

Next, connect them with triangles, as usual.

Next up, we'll put numbers in there, but instead of just putting numbers within the triangles, we'll also put them on each line. So, the triangles will have 3 d20s and each line will have 2.

Each triangle represents a tectonic plate, and each line represents a fault line. The total of the 3 d20s determines the elevation of the plate, and the total of the line determines the activity found along that fault.

Now, we get to the biggest choice of the world: What is the sea level?

Depending on the game, you could set the sea level anywhere. For a planet-hopping game or post-apocalyptic game, it's totally reasonable to set the sea level super-high or super-low.

However, in a standard fantasy game that involves the players living, exploring, and dying on a single world, you'll probably want to go somewhere in the middle. Based on the percentages of die results from 3d20s, here are my recommendations:

• Desert World (less than 1% water): sea level 55
• Dry World (about 10% water): sea level 45
• Temperate World (about 50% water): sea level 30
• Wet World (about 75% water, like Earth): sea level 20
• Ocean World (less than 1% land): sea level 10

If a plate is lower than or equal to sea level, it's considered an oceanic plate. If it's higher than sea level, it's considered a continental plate.

This part will take some adjustment. My roll was kind of higher than average. That's fine for a one-shot world, but if I want to make this a permanent setting, I'd need to set up my sea level to get the type of variety I want.

Here's the roll above, blocked out into oceanic/continental plates, at sea level 30:

That's a lot of land. Globewise, you could imagine this as two land-based poles connected by a large strip of land, with the ocean wrapping around the other half of the globe. I'm not too keen on it... especially since I know my roll was a little higher than average.

Here's the same plates as least time, blocked out at sea level 40. This might seem like too much ocean, but I actually prefer it. The Earth is 70% ocean, after all.

Putting space between landmasses also gives the world an opportunity to grow in divergent ways. In the first world, a conqueror would eventually take over most of the world, and the entire planet would have this shared point in history where they were all subjected to a single culture. I'd rather have that as a possibility in some parts of the world, but not all. having a large ocean limits the effects of the Ghengis Khans and Alexander the Greats of the world.

Next up, let's fill in our landmasses and make things more interesting. Here's the guide I used for building islands and seas within the world:

• Sea Level -10 or lower: deep ocean, 1 or 2 small islands (oceanic plate)
• Example: Pacific Ocean/Hawaii
• Sea Level -5 to -9: ocean, a small island country or two (oceanic plate)
• Example: The Caribbean, Japan
• Sea Level 0 to -4: Oceania, a few island countries and many small islands (oceanic plate)
• Example: Great Britain, Indonesia
• Sea Level +1 to +4: low countries (continental plate)
• Example: India, Southern Europe, Central America
• Sea Level +5 to +9: hilly countries (continental plate)
• Example: North America, Northern Europe, Africa
• Sea Level +10 or higher: mountainous countries (continental plate)
• Example: Eurasia, South America

Obviously, sea level determines the coastlines, but low countries will encompass lakes and even seas, and Oceania will often form its own seas as well.

With that in mind, let's bring in some islands and make the coasts more interesting. I use the Jared Blando- approved method of making coastlines: start with a single line, then make a wiggly line on top of it. Very effective.

Notice I also added forests around the equator and ice around the poles. Again, this is a decision you'll have to make for your world. I wanted a world with variety of ecosystems, but if you want to make an ice world, move the ice caps further towards the equator. If you want to make a jungle world, move the forests out towards the poles.

I also added mountain ranges. However, according to my own method, I didn't have any plates that were at 50+, so I shouldn't have had any mountainous plates. But just because there are no mountainous plates doesn't mean there aren't any mountain ranges! How did I determine where the mountain ranges were?

Simple: fault lines! Remember those?

Each line has a number on it. Though these are somewhat correlated to plate elevation, they can also contribute to cool landscape features. Using the number assigned to each line, we can determine the behavior of each fault line.

• 2-14: Transform Boundary (plates move past each other, rubbing as opposed to pushing/pulling)
• Contains hills and flatlands, lots of earthquakes. If one of these happens to land on a coast, you'll get a California situation where there are notorious earthquakes.
• 15-27: Convergent Boundary (plates push into each other)
• If both are continental plates, they push upwards and form a large mountain range
• If one plate is oceanic and one is continental, the oceanic plate is pushed under the continental plate and forms an offshore oceanic trench, usually replete with volcanoes
• If both plates are oceanic, they push upwards and make underwater volcanoes, which will eventually form the site of future islands
• 28-40: Divergent Boundary (plates pull apart)
• Contains valleys or oceanic rifts, depending on the severity of the plate distance, this could lead to volcanoes.

Here's my map with the seismic activity included. Red is where volcanoes can be found, and grey indicates earthquakes. Note the western edge of the northern large continent has a transform fault running not far from it, creating a hot spot for earthquakes.

Finally, you can use the country generator to build countries, which will help define the coastlines. Or, just assume that major cities will be found along the coast.

Well, that's it! The entire world can now be randomly generated! I hope this was a fun and useful exercise, even if it was just a thought experiment and you don't ever plan to use this stuff.

Thanks for reading!

Monday Recap: The Forests of Garlancia

INTO THE WOODS - wait, wrong game

I know that last week I said this month might not have many Monday Recaps, but it seems like my players pulled through and now I'm running a game every weekend this month. One of the benefits of running monthly games is that I always have a few players who are eager to play, since it's been a while. I rarely run into player fatigue.

DM fatigue is a whole 'nother story, but that's why I occasionally jump into games as a player. Gotta keep it fresh!

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

Lost Mine of Phandelver: The Forests of Garlancia

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

(Note: since I wanted to surprise my players and discourage some meta-gaming, I changed nearly all of the names and locations of the module to places and people from my homebrew world, Ahneria)

When we last left our heroes, they had just finished defending the town of Phandalin from Iarno "Glasstaff" Albrek and his bugbear cronies. Valkas had finally finished defending his hometown, and the players received accolades and offers of quests from nearly every person in town.

The next morning, Valkas joined the group for breakfast at his father's shop, Barthen's Provisions. He was surprisingly calm and mild, compared to the angsty and angry young man they had been fighting alongside previously. He explained that he had received a vision, a dream that now guided his rage. He had completed his personal task of freeing his town, and now his power would serve the God of Oceans, Procan.

#goals

This vision had apparently been accompanied by a literal storm cloud manifesting in his room, and Elmar, Valkas' father, was incredibly distraught by the water pouring down from the upper floor. He prayed to every God he could think of, as Fwip and Rune laughed and congratulated Valkas on finding a new purpose.

The group's breakfast was interrupted by Elmar's helpers, Andar and Thistle, arriving to help unload a convoy of goods for the shop. Andar asked the heroes if they had seen the convoy come in, and they said they hadn't. Andar seemed worried about its lateness.

After eating, the party went outside to survey the damage done to the Stonehill Inn by the fire from the previous night. As they looked over the destruction, their ally Sildar Hallwinter joined them.

Sildar told them that the convoy Andar had mentioned had never come in, and unfortunately it had been carrying weapons and armor that the local weapons shop, the Lionshield Coster, would have needed. He lamented that he wasn't able to get new armor or a decent longsword. However, the group realized that the Cragmaw Goblin tribes might be to blame, and decided to look into the caravan's disappearance, hoping to concurrently discover information on the whereabouts of Rune's Uncle Bart, still missing.

They took their leave of town, journeying along Sarria trail towards Cragmaw Hideout, where Bart had originally been taken. Upon arrival, they discovered the cave had been abandoned, and the rain from the previous night had washed away all signs of tracks leading away from the location. The group rested nearby for the night, and in the morning ventured further up the road, still looking for signs of the caravan.

Their search proved fruitless, and they decided to turn back when they had searched a full 35 miles of trail. Valkas was confused and frustrated, and Rune wanted to get back to looking for more concrete leads. At midday, they turned back.

As they returned, they noticed something along the trail they hadn't before: footprints, cutting across the path, heading south. They looked too large to be goblins or humans, and Valkas estimated they might be Bugbears. The group hoped to follow them and track down more members of the Cragmaw Goblin tribes.

Instead, they ended up running into a small patrol of Orcs. Valkas used his new-found Storm powers to blast one of the Orcs over the treetops with a mighty hammer blow. Rune and Fwip provided backup as Valkas brought down the enemy one after another. The fight was over in an instant, and the last two Orcs decided to flee rather than get killed. However, the group pulled their crossbows out and managed to take one down and gravely wound the other.

Too many! Too many Orcs!

The party was surprised that there were Orcs so far East, since according to Townmaster Harbin, the Orcs were supposed to be camped out at Wyvern Tor, a large rocky landmark many miles to the West. They decided to pursue the fleeing Orc, in case he managed to find reinforcements or attack Phandalin.

They followed the Orc's trail of blood and broken branches, but eventually they needed to sleep. When they awoke the next day and continued their hunt, they found that the Orc had used its resting place as an opportunity to bandage its wounds, making the trail harder to follow.

At this point, the party was fairly close to Phandalin again, and they decided to return to town for a good night's sleep. After fending off a pack of flying Stirges, they made it back to Barthen's Provisions and slept peacefully through the night.

In the morning, they got an update on the convoy: Ander told them that supplies for Barthen's Provisions had come in, so the shop would be alright. However, the Lionshield Coster had been counting on this particular shipment of weapons and armor, so they would have to wait for a messenger to make it back to the city of Eastcliff before more supplies could be ordered. The group decided to go to Townmaster Harbin and give him an update on the convoy, as well as the Orcs they had found so far from Wyvern Tor.

There was thankfully no wait to see the Townmaster. Harbin seemed a little apprehensive about meeting the group, as Valkas had punched him in the face a few days ago during the Redbrand attack, but since the party had also saved the town, he seemed to overlook the incident. He was shocked to hear about the Orc patrol's increased range, and decided to deputize the group as official Orc Hunters.

The heroes impatiently waited while Harbin made an official, wax-sealed document granting them the title of Deputy Orc Hunters, then waited further while he made an official, wax-sealed document granting them permission to speak to a miner who could confirm the location of the Orcs at Wyvern Tor. The group decided to skip the confirmation and just keep following the Orc's trail.

After leaving town and traveling a ways, the party was ambushed by the Orc, who had brought friends this time! Valkas, ever-alert, immediately leapt into the underbrush and shook off the javelin attacks coming his way. Fwip ran up beside him, facing down four of the five Orcs together. Meanwhile, Rune had her hands full dealing with the last remaining Orc.

Much more reasonable.

Valkas began destroying Orcs once more, using his lightning magic to finish off any he didn't quite kill. Fwip had more trouble fighting, and even with her Staff of Defense, kept taking hits from the enemy. Meanwhile, Rune fought cautiously, slowing winnowing down her opponent.

Valkas and Fwip finished off their final Orc with a one-two rapier-hammer punch, then Fwip rushed over to deal the killing blow the Rune's enemy. The group was battered and exhausted, and decided to rest and eat to make up their strength.

They realized they were close to Thundertree, an old ruins that had been abandoned over thirty years ago when a strange hoard of undead came through. They remembered that there were some quests they had been given that they could complete at Thundertree, namely finding a necklace and a druid named Reidoth. Also, Fwip pointed out, there might be a building they could rest in for the night.

The party reached the ruined town as the sun was setting. Valkas found a sign posted near the edge of the town reading: "DANGER! Plant monsters AND zombies! TURN BACK NOW!" They decided to ignore its warning.

The first building they found seemed like it might make a good resting place: an old garrison. Inside, everything was old and rotting, and the party decided to explore it to make sure it was safe. In an old barracks filled with bunk beds, they discovered a group of zombies that rose from the group to attack them!

Rune immediately brandished her holy symbol, hoping to turn the creatures. However, only one succumbed to her magic, the rest advancing without pause. Valkas decided to run past that one and take it out with his hammer before it could recover. Meanwhile, Fwip and Rune faced down the remaining four zombies.

When Valkas struck the zombie with his hammer, it caused a large puff of ash that threatened to fill his lungs with toxic soot. Fortunately, he was able to hold his breath in time, but less fortunately, the zombie wasn't quite dead yet. Rune, knowing zombies would die easier to holy damage, finished it off with a Sacred Flame spell.

Meanwhile, Fwip blasted the remaining zombies with a Thunderwave spell, causing them all to puff their ash at once. The group realized they could only expel the soot once, and now they could be attacked freely. However, the zombies proved quite resilient to Fwip's spells.

With her armor and shield, Rune fended off the zombie attacks, but Fwip kept taking damage as their fists and claws struck her over and over. Valkas and Rune worked to take out the zombies, Valkas striking them hard and Rune using holy magic to finish them off. However, just as they were fighting to take down the last zombie, Fwip succumbed to her wounds and was in danger of passing out in the middle of the fight!

Yeah, yeah, weed joke, got it

With a roar of fury, Valkas destroyed the final zombie. Rune rushed to her friend's side, healing the bard with holy magic. As Fwip got her bearings once more, Valkas checked the rest of the thankfully empty garrison.

The group took another short rest here, causing it to grow even darker outside. They decided to check out more of the town before they slept for the night.

Walking amongst the ruined houses and shops, they noticed a dilapidated herb and alchemy shop. Remembering that a Phandalin citizen, Mirna Dendrar, had asked them to retrieve a family heirloom from such a shop, they explored the ruins and found a box containing the necklace.

They pressed onwards, coming to a section of path blocked by massive strands of spiderweb. Valkas threw a torch at the webbing, causing some of it to burn away. However, that quickly lead to the owners of the webbing, two ox-sized spiders, to crawl out of a nearby shop and attack. One spat webbing at Fwip, causing her to be stuck fast to the ground.

Valkas charged, while Rune pulled Fwip free of the webs. The spiders teamed up on Valkas, who was quick to receive bites and more webbing. As he fought, he realized the poison from their attacks wasn't being shrugged off as easily as normal attacks, and he began to feel weak. Rune ran up to join him, striking at the spiders with her hammer as well.

Fwip stayed back cautiously, firing off enchanted insults and crossbow bolts at the beasts. The monsters were beginning to pull back, but with a shot from Fwip and a leaping stab from Valkas' magic sword Talon, the group was able to finish off the pair of spiders.

They explored the shop, discovering an elven adventurer bound up in a cocoon. After repeated poking, they determined the elf was actually dead, and decided to salvage his armor and a potion of healing from his belt pouch.

Both Fwip and Valkas were completely drained at this point, and the group decided to head back to the garrison and barricade the doors. That night, while Valkas was taking watch, he heard the rooftop trapdoor creak open and fall shut, as if something had slipped inside. He woke up the others and lit a torch.

The torchlight fell on a small grey squirrel that had made its way into the keep. Valkas fed it a small handful of nuts from his rations, and it seemed friendly. Fwip sleepily asked if she should cast Speak with Animals, and the squirrel said it wouldn't be necessary.

The squirrel transformed into a naked old man with a white beard, who they realized must be Reidoth the druid. Fwip went back to sleep while Valkas spoke to the druid. Rune stayed up to talk, but used her shield to block the sight of the unashamed old man's nether regions.

Like this, but less clothing. Like, no clothing.

Reidoth confirmed that he could help them find Cragmaw Castle, even giving them its general location so they wouldn't get lost. Rune asked if he also knew where Wave Echo Cave might be, and he said he did. However, he had a favor he wanted done in exchange for leading them to the cave.

Apparently, at the top of a hill in Thundertree, a young green dragon had taken roost in a long-abandoned tower. Reidoth could deal with plant monsters and zombies, but dragons were a different issue. He said if the party could scare off the dragon, convince it the area was protected by powerful fighters, he would lead them to Wave Echo Cave.

His offer made, the old druid transformed back into a squirrel and left. The group went back to sleep, pondering his offer.

The next morning, the party fiercely debated if they were up to the task of fighting or even scaring off a dragon. Valkas was unsure, Rune wanted to get back on her Uncle's trail (at Cragmaw castle) and Fwip was eager to fight the dragon. In the end, they decided on returning to Phandalin, leaving the dragon to be fought another day.

Back in town, the group returned Mirna's necklace and received her deepest gratitude, as well as a delicious home-cooked dinner. They retired at Barthen's Provisions for the night.

That night, Fwip couldn't sleep. She ended up pacing outside the shop, practicing an odd song on her lute. The sound of the music woke Rune up, and the dwarf decided to check up on her friend.

Fwip was upset that they hadn't fought the dragon. Adventures were supposed to be about risk, danger, and bold action! Fwip also regularly prayed to Nebelun, the Gnomish God of Luck, and was sure their fight would have been watched over by the fates.

Rune wasn't sure what to say, except that they could go back and fight again. There was still time. What she left unsaid was that she wasn't sure the same was true for her Uncle, as they spent another day unsure of his whereabouts.

Meanwhile, Valkas sleepily walked past them, peed in a bush, then went back to bed.

It's the cover for the adventure, though...

We stopped there for the night. I really enjoy this group, I felt like everyone had a chance to contribute to the story in a good way. I'm hoping that keeps up as we move towards Cragmaw Castle! Whenever that happens...

Thanks for reading!

Creature Loot: W & X & Y & Z

Like an invisible stalker, but the player hate is right there in the name

Time to drop the bass! That is, time to finish up the alphabet in the Monster Manual. Don't worry, we've got two more articles to go! If you've lost the beat, get your groove back here.

Water Weird (3) – elemental (arcana)

• 2d2 Motes of Elemental Water: Appears as a small shard of ice that glows with blue light. If covered in water or dropped in water, casts Create Water, centered on the mote. Can be used as the material component of a Commune spell to contact a deity in the Elemental Plane of Water. Using either of these abilities destroys the mote.
• 1 Heart of Waves: Identical to a Mote of Elemental Water, and can be used for the same purposes. In addition to its other properties, it can be mastercrafted (conjuration) by a spellcaster into a portal to the Elemental Plane of Water. The portal is stationary in the location it is crafted.

Wight (3) – undead (religion)

• 1 Tattered Longsword
• 1 Tattered Longbow
• 1d4 Wisp of Shadow: Destroyed if exposed to sunlight. 5 of these can be carefully crafted (conjuration) by a spellcaster into a Shadow Crossing, a portal that leads to the Shadowfell. The portal is permanently affixed to the location where it is crafted. 20 of these can be mastercrafted (transmutation) by a spellcaster into a Portable Hole.
• 2 Wight Hand: Acts as an improvised melee weapon that deals 1d6 necrotic damage on a hit. A creature struck by the attack must make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or its hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the damage taken. This reduction lasts until the target finished a long rest. The target dies if this effect reduces its hit point maximum to 0.

Will-o’-wisp (2) – undead (religion)

• 1 Vial of Ectoplasm: No immediate use. Can be crafted (alchemist’s supplies) into a potion of Invisibility or an Oil of Etherealness.
• 1 Wisp Stone: If consumed, for 1 hour, when the user reduces a hostile creature to 0 hit points, the user regains 3d6 hit points. Any creature reduced to 0 hit points in this way is killed immediately, instead of becoming unconscious.

Wraith (5) – undead (religion)

• 1 Crown of the Undead: Requires attunement. A creature attuned to the Crown and wearing it can use their action to choose one undead they can see within 60 feet of them. The undead must make a DC 14 Charisma saving throw. On a success, it can't be targeted by this ability again. On a failure, the undead becomes friendly to the attuned creature and obeys its commands until this ability is used again. Curse: an attuned creature takes on a semi-incorporeal appearance. The creature is vulnerable to radiant damage, and has disadvantage on attack rolls, as well as Wisdom (perception) checks that rely on sight, while in sunlight. If the creature is reduced to 0 hit points while attuned to the crown, it dies immediately, without making death saving throws.
• 1d4 Wisp of Shadow: Destroyed if exposed to sunlight. 5 of these can be carefully crafted (conjuration) by a spellcaster into a Shadow Crossing, a portal that leads to the Shadowfell. The portal is permanently affixed to the location where it is crafted. 20 of these can be mastercrafted (transmutation) by a spellcaster into a Portable Hole.
• 2 Vial of Ectoplasm: No immediate use. Can be crafted (alchemist’s supplies) into a Potion of Invisibility or an Oil of Etherealness.
• 1 Pinch of Spirit Dust: Acts as Dust of Disappearance.

In my games, all specters are named Regina

Wyvern (6) – dragon (nature)

• 1d4 Vials of Wyvern Venom: Can be applied to a weapon or piece of ammunition. A creature hit by the poisoned attack must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw, taking 24 poison damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
• 2 Wyvern Wings: Acts as a blanket. Can be mastercrafted (leatherworker’s tools) into a cloak that requires attunement, and grants its wearer resistance to poison damage.
• 1d10 Wyvern Teeth: Acts as a dagger.
• 1d10 Wyvern Scales: No immediate use. 25 of these can be mastercrafted (smith’s tools) into a shield that grants resistance to poison damage while in use.

Xorn (5) – elemental (arcana)

• 1d4 Motes of Elemental Earth: Appears as a rock that glows dimly. If dropped or thrown to the ground as an improvised weapon, the ground becomes mud as if it had cast Grease centered on the mote. Can be used as the material component of a Commune spell to contact a deity in the Elemental Plane of Earth. Using either of these abilities destroys the mote.
• 1 Heart of Stone: Identical to a Mote of Elemental Earth, and can be used for the same purposes. In addition to its other properties, it can be mastercrafted (conjuration) by a spellcaster into a portal to the Elemental Plane of Earth. The portal is stationary in the location it is crafted.
• 1 Xorn Eye: No immediate use. Can be crafted by a spellcaster (divination) into a mask that requires attunement. While attuned to the mask, a creature can pinpoint the location, by scent, of precious metals and stones within 60 feet of it.
• 2d10 50 GP Gems

Yeti (3) – monstrosity (nature)

• 1 Yeti Hide: Acts as a blanket. Can be crafted (leatherworking tools) into a fur coat that grants resistance to cold damage and advantage on dexterity (stealth) checks made to hide in snowy terrain while worn. If the wearer of the coat takes fire damage, the coat has a 25% chance of catching fire and becoming useless. In extreme heat (DMG pg. 110), a creature wearing the coat rolls Constitution saving throws to avoid exhaustion with disadvantage.
• 1d2 Yeti Horns: Acts as a dagger. Sought as trophies by hunters and heroes, and can be sold for a good price to collectors or admirers.
• 1d2 Yeti Eyes: No immediate use. Can be carefully crafted (transmutation) by a spellcaster into an amulet that has 5 charges and requires attunement. An attuned creature can expend 1 charge to cast Ray of Frost from the amulet, or 3 charges to cast Hold Person (spell attack bonus +5, Save DC 13). The amulet regains 1d4+1 charges at dawn, as long as it came into contact with ice or snow during the previous day.

Abominable Yeti (9) – monstrosity (nature)

• 3 Yeti Hide: Acts as a blanket. Can be crafted (leatherworking tools) into a fur coat that grants resistance to cold damage and advantage on dexterity (stealth) checks made to hide in snowy terrain while worn. If the wearer of the coat takes fire damage, the coat has a 25% chance of catching fire and becoming useless. In extreme heat (DMG pg. 110), a creature wearing the coat rolls Constitution saving throws to avoid exhaustion with disadvantage.
• 3d2 Yeti Horns: Acts as a dagger. Sought as trophies by hunters and heroes, and can be sold for a good price to collectors or admirers.
• 2 Yeti Eyes: No immediate use. Can be carefully crafted (transmutation) by a spellcaster into an amulet that has 5 charges and requires attunement. An attuned creature can expend 1 charge to cast Ray of Frost from the amulet, or 3 charges to cast Hold Person (spell attack bonus +5, Save DC 13). The amulet regains 1d4+1 charges at dawn, as long as it came into contact with ice or snow during the previous day.
• 1 Yeti Throat: No immediate use. Can be crafted (leatherworker’s tools) into a horn. A creature can blow on the horn as an action. The horn can be heard for 1000 feet. Any unaligned creature with a CR of 8 or less who can hear the horn must make a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened. At the end of their turn, they can repeat the saving throw to end the effect. Aligned creatures and creatures with a CR of 9 or higher may be drawn to the sound if they believe they can defeat an Abominable Yeti.

Yuan-Ti

Surely you can trust these faces

Yuan-Ti Abomination (7) – monstrosity (nature)

• 1 Tattered Scimitar
• 1 Tattered Longbow
• 3d4 Snake Skin: No immediate use. Can be crafted (leatherworker’s tools) into a pouch or carefully crafted (leatherworker’s tools) into a water skin.
• 2 Fangs of the Yuan-Ti: Acts as a dagger that deals an additional 2d6 poison damage on a hit. Acts as a trophy for rangers and adventurers.
• 1 Heart of the Reptile God: Requires attunement. While attuned, a creature gains advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects, and can cast Fear once per day. When cast this way, the spell does not affect creatures with the Yuan-Ti tag. Curse: While attuned to the heart, a creature slowly becomes corrupted by the Reptile gods. Each day at dawn, they must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw. If the saving throw is a failure, the curse advances in the order below. If the attunement is ended by a remove Curse spell or similar magic, all effects of the curse end immediately.
1. Scales begin to cover the creature
2. The creature’s movement speed increases by 10 feet
3. The creature can only subsist on raw meat and eggs, no other food
4. The creature’s alignment becomes Neutral Evil, and they become an NPC controlled by the DM
• 1d6 Vials of Yuan-Ti Blood: When ingested, a creature must succeed a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or become poisoned for 1 hour. While poisoned in this way, the creature is immune to poison damage, and cannot be poisoned by any other effect. Any poisons currently affecting the creature are suppressed until the effects of this poison wear off.

Yuan-Ti Malison (3) – monstrosity (nature)

• 1 Tattered Scimitar (Type 1 and 3)
• 1 Tattered Longbow (Type 1 and 3)
• 1 Snake Skin: No immediate use. Can be crafted (leatherworker’s tools) into a pouch or carefully crafted (leatherworker’s tools) into a water skin.
• 1 Fang of the Yuan-Ti: Acts as a dagger that deals an additional 2d6 poison damage on a hit. Acts as a trophy for rangers and adventurers.
• 1d4 Vials of Yuan-Ti Blood: When ingested, a creature must succeed a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or become poisoned for 1 hour. While poisoned in this way, the creature is immune to poison damage, and cannot be poisoned by any other effect. Any poisons currently affecting the creature are suppressed until the effects of this poison wear off.

Yuan-Ti Pureblood (1) – humanoid (survival)

• 1 Tattered Scimitar
• 1 Tattered Shortbow
• 1 Vial of Yuan-Ti Blood: When ingested, a creature must succeed a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or become poisoned for 1 hour. While poisoned in this way, the creature is immune to poison damage, and cannot be poisoned by any other effect. Any poisons currently affecting the creature are suppressed until the effects of this poison wear off.

Yugoloths

Unless the Yugoloth is destroyed in Gehenna, only the Black Ichor is able to be harvested.

 
Arcanaloth (12) – fiend (religion)

• 3d4 Vials of Black Ichor: Can be consumed as an action. A creature consuming the ichor immediately teleports up to 60 feet into an unoccupied space they can see. Roll a d20. On a 1, the creature instead teleports to the plane of Gehenna.
• 1 Arcanaloth Hide: Acts as a blanket. Can be mastercrafted by a spellcaster (illusion) into Glamoured Leather Armor.
• 2 Arcanaloth Eyes: No immediate use. Can be mastercrafted (alchemist’s supplies) into a Potion of Truesight (grants truesight out to 60 feet for 1 hour).
• 1 Arcanaloth Tail: A creature holding the Arcanaloth tail can use an action to cast Invisibility. The spell does not require concentration, but the creature must use one hand to hold the tail or the spell ends. Once this property has been used three times, it cannot be used again until the next dawn.
• 2d4 Arcanaloth Claws: Acts as a magic dagger. On a hit, the target must make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw, taking 10 (3d6) poison damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one. Once the poison damage has been dealt, the claw loses this property.
• 1 Heart of the Yugoloth: No immediate use. Can be mastercrafted by a spellcaster (abjuration) into an Amulet of Magic Resistance, which requires attunement. An attuned creature has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
• 1 Set of Fine Robes: Of a rare and unsettling make. While worn without armor, grants advantage on Charisma check made to influence any Yugoloth that isn’t an Ultroloth.
• 1 Spellbook: contains all spells the Arcanaloth has prepared.

Are Arcanaloths shaped like foxes, or a foxes shaped like Arcanaloths...?

Mezzoloth (5) – fiend (religion)

• 1 Magic Trident
• 1d4 Vials of Black Ichor: Can be consumed as an action. A creature consuming the ichor immediately teleports up to 60 feet into an unoccupied space they can see. Roll a d20. On a 1, the creature instead teleports to the plane of Gehenna.
• 1 Mezzoloth Shell: No immediate use. Can be carefully crafted (smith’s tools) into a set of plate armor. The armor counts as magical for the purpose of avoiding effects that would damage it.
• 1d4 Mezzoloth Pincers: Acts as a magic sickle.
• 1 Heart of the Yugoloth: No immediate use. Can be mastercrafted by a spellcaster (abjuration) into an Amulet of Magic Resistance, which requires attunement. An attuned creature has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.

Nycaloth (9) – fiend (religion)

• 1 Magic Greataxe
• 2d4 Vials of Black Ichor: Can be consumed as an action. A creature consuming the ichor immediately teleports up to 60 feet into an unoccupied space they can see. Roll a d20. On a 1, the creature instead teleports to the plane of Gehenna.
• 2 Nycaloth Wings: Acts as a blanket. Can be carefully crafted (leatherworker’s tools) into magic leather armor that requires attunement. An attuned creature can use their action to cast Invisibility without requiring concentration. Once this property has been used, it cannot be used again until the next dawn.
• 1d4 Nycaloth Claws: Acts as a dagger. On a hit, if the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 16 Constitution saving throw or take 5 (2d4) slashing damage at the start of each of its turns due to a fiendish wound. Each time a claw hits the wounded target with this attack, the damage dealt by the wound increases by 5 (2d4). Any creature can take an action to stanch the wound with a successful DC 13 Wisdom (Medicine) check. The wound also closes if the target receives magical healing. A claw loses this property once it has delivered the fiendish wound.
• 2 Nycaloth Horns: Acts as a shortsword. Can be carefully crafted (divination) into a Wand of Secrets or a Wand of Magic Detection.
• 1 Heart of the Yugoloth: No immediate use. Can be mastercrafted by a spellcaster (abjuration) into an Amulet of Magic Resistance, which requires attunement. An attuned creature has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.

Ultroloth (13) – fiend (religion)

• 1 Magic Longsword
• 5d4 Vials of Black Ichor: Can be consumed as an action. A creature consuming the ichor immediately teleports up to 60 feet into an unoccupied space they can see. Roll a d20. On a 1, the creature instead teleports to the plane of Gehenna.
• 2 Ultroloth Eyes: No immediate use. Can be mastercrafted (jeweler’s tools) into an amulet. A creature wearing the amulet can use an action to open the amulet and reveal the eye, forcing a single target within 30 feet that can see the eye to make a DC 17 Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, the target is charmed and stunned until the end of the amulet wearer’s next turn. On a success, the target is immune to the eye’s effects for 24 hours. Once the eye has charmed a target, it cannot be used again until the next dawn.
• 2d4 Ultroloth Claws: Acts as a dagger. A creature hit by a claw must succeed on a DC 17 Wisdom saving throw or be affected as if by a Fear spell. Once the dagger has successfully caused this effect, it loses this property.
• 1 Heart of the Yugoloth: No immediate use. Can be mastercrafted by a spellcaster (abjuration) into an Amulet of Magic Resistance, which requires attunement. An attuned creature has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
• 1 Set of Yugoloth Commander’s Robes: Of a rare and unsettling make. While worn, grants advantage on Charisma checks made to influence Yugoloths. Can be worn over armor.

Zombie (1/4) – undead (religion)

• 1 Zombified Hand: Acts as an arcane focus when casting necromancy spells.

Ogre Zombie (2) – undead (religion)

• 1 Tattered Morningstar
• 1 Item in a Giant’s Bag
• 1 Zombified Hand: Acts as an arcane focus when casting necromancy spells.

Beholder Zombie (5) – undead (religion)

• 2 Small Beholder Eyes: Acts as an arcane focus. An eye can cast a particular zombie beholder ray once per day. The ray is chosen randomly by the DM upon receiving the eye.
• 1 Vial of Beholder Slime: Acts as Oil of Slipperiness.
• 1 Zombified Beholder Eyestalk: Acts as an arcane focus when casting necromancy spells.

Forward! To the finish! Next week, lions and tigers and bears!

You thought it.

Thanks for reading!

See you next fall!

By which I don't mean autumn.

Recently, I've started to play games with more player freedom and control. More on that next week, but I realized that I'm going to need to cover more detail about the world if I'm going to let players run willy-nilly through it.

These rules are partially based on information from this fantastic blog, though they are modified for my own use.

Falling Rules

Falling and fall damage is loosely defined in the Player's Handbook, but in a 3-D environment, players are going to want to jump around and leap off of things for dramatic effect. Plus, including these things encourages unique solutions to problems, such as skydiving into a fortress or dropping a monster out of the sky to damage it.

Timing



We've got all the time in the world

According to the DM Assistance blog, a medium creature can fall 500 feet in a single round. That's quite a bit! At that speed, only a Dimension Door spell cast within 1 round of falling could save you. Using Misty Step to get back up onto a cliff ledge isn't an option!

The PHB (pg 183) says that the max falling damage you can take is 20d6, or 200 feet worth of damage. That means a potentially lethal fall takes less than one round! I think if a caster had Dimension Door, I'd give them a chance to use it before they hit the ground.

However, this speed also implies that pretty much any fall within a combat scenario hardly takes any time at all. Because of this, I'd rule that falling or jumping straight down doesn't cost a PC any movement. That doesn't mean they won't take damage or end up prone, however.

However, there's another issue here. See, I assumed that 200 feet was enough to reach terminal velocity, since that was when damage stopped increasing. But it looks like the actual distance is about a mile. So technically, damage should continue to increase up to 550d6.

But that's a little intense, and I personally don't know anyone outside of a hobby store who has 550 dice on hand. So let's keep the 20d6 but add a rule: after you fall a mile, you have to make a DC 20 Constitution saving throw or be reduced to 0 HP. That should cover the cases where a PC falls out of the sky and just brushes off the damage. Looking at you, high-level fighters.

To make this rule better (and more generic, you'll see why later) let's say: if you fall a distance 275 times the point where you would take maximum damage, you have to make that check.

For reference, space is considered 50 miles up on earth, so there's plenty of room to fall.

Falling With Style



AKA dunk on em

The second half of DM Assistance's articles (or the first half if you go by posting order) is where I plan to change things up a bit. I'm a big fan of passive skill scores, and I want to reward characters who have good skills. Plus, falling into a scene is super rogue, so rogues should be better at it.

The skill we should use here is Acrobatics. Passive Acrobatics would be calculated the same as passive perception: 10 + your dexterity modifier + your proficiency bonus if it applies.

If you are in an uncontrolled fall, you take damage as normal. However, if you are jumping down onto something, you can fall a distance equal to your passive Acrobatics score without taking damage. However, any distance beyond that deals damage as normal.

If the ground is soft (mud, sand, feathers), you can fall an additional 5 feet without harm. This is the passive equivalent of having advantage on the check. However, we can make this a rule that applies to uncontrolled falls as well: if you land on something soft, your "fall distance" is reduced by 5 feet.

For falls into water, the same rules for uncontrolled falls apply, with one caveat: if the water is more than 20 feet deep, it counts as a soft surface.

As for diving, I don't think that necessitates any additional rules. Olympic high dives are 33 feet. If we were to make a PC with maximum dexterity and Expertise in Acrobatics with a high proficiency bonus, counting water as a soft surface, their maximum dive distance would be 32 feet. (10 passive + 5 dex mod + 12 expertise proficiency + 5 soft landing)

My character doesn't do adventuring

Do you really want to say your adventurer is better than an Olympian? Or are you willing to accept that your level 17 diver will take a measly 2d6 damage from their maneuver? Do you know what would happen in real life? Okay cool.

Size Matters

It's important to note that the damage and distance is all for medium creatures. That makes sense, since the PCs are mostly medium creatures. That's not on accident - PCs are never large, even the unearthed arcana minotaur race (minotaurs in the Monster Manual are Large).

There's other design reasons for that choice, but it impacts falling damage pretty heavily.

See, mass matters when you're figuring out fall damage. If you dropped an ant, a human, and a horse down a mine shaft, the ant would walk away, the human would break, and the horse would splash.

So let's use the implications in the fall damage system to expand on it.

Medium creatures use a d8 for their hit dice (DMG pg. 276) and a d6 for their fall damage. Therefore, all creatures use a die one category smaller than their hit die to calculate fall damage.

Counting tiny creatures as "0", medium creatures take max fall damage at a distance equal to their size category number (2) times 100. Therefore, we can figure out the maximum damage for each category of each monster.

Tiny creatures normally don't suffer fall damage at all. However, they can still suffer effects at terminal velocity. When a tiny creature falls 275 feet or more, the creature makes a DC 15 Constitution saving throw upon landing. On a failure, the creature is reduced to 0 hit points.

Small creatures take 1d4 damage per 10 feet fallen, to a maximum of 10d4. On a full fall, a small creature will take an average of 25 damage. They reach terminal velocity after falling half a mile.

Medium creatures take 1d6 damage per 10 feet fallen, to a maximum of 20d6. That sounds familiar.  On a full fall, a medium creature will take an average of 70 damage. They reach terminal velocity after falling a mile.

Large creatures take 1d8 damage per 10 feet fallen, to a maximum of 30d8. On a full fall, a large creature will take an average of 135 damage. They reach terminal velocity after falling a mile and a half.



I regret nothing!

Huge creatures take 1d10 damage per 10 feet fallen, to a maximum of 40d10.  On a full fall, a huge creature will take an average of 220 damage. They reach terminal velocity after falling two miles.

Gargantuan creatures take 1d12 damage per 10 feet fallen, to a maximum of 50d12.  On a full fall, a gargantuan creature will take an average of 325 damage. They reach terminal velocity after falling two and a half miles.

So, now falling damage becomes a legitimate way to deal with monsters! Pinning a dragon's wings in the sky could legitimately kill the dragon. You can drop Ogres to their doom, and Giants actually become scared of falling from great distances.

And isn't that what D&D is really about?

So, with that, here are my own version of the house rules on falling!

1. Falling is usually instant and doesn't cost movement.
2. If you fall a distance equal to 275 times the point where you would take maximum fall damage (1 mile for medium creatures), upon landing you must make a DC 20 Constitution saving throw or be reduced to 0 hit points.
3. During a controlled fall (jump/dive), you can fall a distance equal to your passive acrobatics score without taking damage. However, any distance beyond that deals damage as normal.
4. A soft landing effectively reduces fall distance by 5 feet. This also applies to deep water (20 feet deep or more).
5. Any monster uses a fall damage die equal to one dice category lower than their hit die.
6. A monster's maximum fall damage varies by size category.
1. Tiny: none
2. Small: 10d4
3. Medium: 20d6
4. Large: 30d8
5. Huge: 40d10
6. Gargantuan: 50d12

Or just handwave everything

Thanks for reading!

Side note: apparently nobody has 550d6, but 50d12 is more reasonable. Sometimes I question my own logic.

Monday Recap: Swamp Showdown

Will I ever run out of art for Kreev? The world may never know...

We managed to get a game of Dragonborn Quest in this weekend! Unfortunately it's going to be one of the few games I actually run this month. I did get an opportunity to play in a game as well this weekend, which may or may not be the subject of next week's recap. We'll see.

This story is part 6 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: Swamp Showdown

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
NPC: Svihios Torrin, a clanless young Gold Dragonborn who is eager to go on adventures and become a hero
NPC: Oddmund, Nerithya's Shield Guardian, has a smiling face painted on his head
Other traveling companions: Tofras the Smiter (War Priest of Bahamut), Ariann the Wizardess (Faelynn's friend), Cheskapen the mysterious monk (???), Dalyassa (Kreev's half-sister, recently rescued)

When we last left our heroes, the group had rescued Kreev's half-sister from near-certain death at the hands of the Black Dragonborn clan of Yarjerit. They decided to travel to the swamps of the lizardfolk, on the request of a slave they met in Gravengong, to see if the tribes could be of any assistance.

One evening after traveling, their companion Nazavur announced he was leaving the group. Not five minutes after his departure, a new figure entered their campsite, calling himself Cheskapen. He appeared to be from the Black Dragonborn clan Kepeshmolik, and the party drew weapons and demanded to know what he was doing.

Cheskapen said he was a monastic follower of Bahamut, the Platinum Dragon God of Justice. He was on a mission to find out more about Z'ildroth Salothzar, the tyrannical ruler of the new Dragonborn regime, and to destroy him. The group agreed this was a good thing, but demanded more information on his motives.



Like he'd tell you

Cheskapen said plainly that he was not who he appeared, and if he told them more they wouldn't be able to trust him. Faelynn wryly commented that they already didn't trust him, so he had nothing to lose. Still, the mysterious dragonborn kept his mouth shut.

The party reluctantly allowed him to join the group, making sure to keep an eye on him. Tofras, also a follower of Bahamut, tried his best to speak to the monk, but ended up having mostly one-sided conversations.

The party ventured deeper into the jungle, and eventually the overgrown soil gave way to swampy muck. Thick foliage clouded the light from the sky, and overgrown trees surrounded them like pillars. They walked single file, lead by Zovira. She had explored the whole island in her life, and did her best to lead the group towards the areas of the swamp controlled by Lizardfolk.

As they walked along the side of a pool, two tentacles snaked out of the water and grabbed Torrin and Dalyassa! The pair were dragged under the murky depths, and the group hurried to rescue them!

Nerithya quickly used her Trident of Fish Command to force the creature to let go of its victims, just as another one of the monsters exploded out of the surface of the water. The group had stumbled onto a pack of Froghemoths, which seemed intent on making them their next meal.

Despite being surprised, the group fought back with great ferocity. Tofras cast a Water Walk spell, allowing the group to avoid drowning. Ariann and Oddmund didn't fare so well, however, and were swallowed by a pair of the monsters. Faelynn and Nerithya rushed to their aid, while Zovira and Faerbor threw their all into the other two Froghemoths. Torrin managed to hit one with a crossbow bolt, and cheered for himself!

Kreev locked one of the monsters down with a Curse spell, while Nerithya forced her dominated Froghemoth to attack its ally. Their numbers diminished, the beasts fell one by one. Oddmund and Ariann were safe, but a bit sticky, having been vomited up by the recently-deceased monsters.

The group took a short rest to heal their injuries, and carried on their journey. It was already evening when they started seeing Lizardfolk sentries in the branches around them, watching their movement. Kreev held up the stone he had received in Gravengong, and one of the sentries motioned them through.



WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE

The Lizardfolk village was a series of thatched-roof huts suspended on stilts, connected by wooden walkways or paths formed by large roots. The village was busy, full of Lizardfolk wearing traditional garb and some wearing heavy cloaks. Faelynn and Faerbor, both used to colder climates, wondered how they could stand being in the hot and humid swamp in such heavy clothing.

The group was lead by a lizardfolk warrior to the hut of their Shamaness, Ba. Only Kreev and Zovira could enter the cramped hut, so everyone else waited outside, crowded around the entrance to hear.

Kreev presented the stone he had received in Gravengong, and Ba took it, thanking him for returning it. She said Kreev's coming to the swamp had been forseen, and she would help the group. Ba had powerful prophetic powers, and would call upon her God, Semuanya, to see what the group's next step should be.

Just then, one of the heavily-cloaked figures pushed past the group and burst into the hut. The cloak was pulled back, and the figure was revealed to be an old female Copper Dragonborn, a clan who had been hunted into hiding on the island!

The old woman asked the Shamaness for assistance with a birth happening elsewhere in the village, but Ba was already preparing to enter her trance. The group immediately had a lot of questions for this out-of-place Dragonborn, so they offered to help instead.

They were brought to a cleared-out area on the ground, surrounded by curtains of moss and vines. Ariann, Faelynn, and Dalyassa went into the Hatchery, while Tofras stood guard and Zovira tried to politely explain to Torrin what was going on. After a couple hours of difficult work, the trio of woman (and the old Copper Dragonborn lady) had brought a full clutch of copper-hued eggs forth into the world.

The old woman introduced herself as Yapora. She told the group that the Copper Dragonborn had taken refuge here in the swamps, despite it not being the best place to raise the future of their clan, Drachedandion. For more information, they would have to speak to the clan's leader, Drachedandion Aqorel.



The group had trouble wrapping their heads around a character not optimized for combat

Aqorel's hut was much larger and well-kept than the lizardfolk's, reflecting her clan's former position as politicians and orators within the free city of Dovuaka. Aqorel herself, though, was quite young - far younger than any of the clan elders they had met on their journey so far. The Copper Dragonborn explained that she had taken over the clan after her mother, Qibireth, had been killed by Z'ildroth Favnir and his Blackwing squads.

Aqorel recognized Kreev and Zovira, and asked them for their story. Kreev told her what they had done up to this point, and their plan for redistributing power in the island to a council of Dragonborn made up of each color. Aqorel seemed hesitant, implying that the plan wouldn't work the way they wanted it to.

When pressed, she revealed that she and her clan had been building boats to escape the island. They didn't see a future here, and were going to leave within the next month.

Kreev knew that the Drachedandion clan would be invaluable in rebuilding a political system, and without the Copper clans, the eventual council would be incomplete. He asked her to stay as long as she could, hoping they could get rid of clan Z'ildroth quickly. Aqorel agreed to wait one month for Kreev to put a stop to Z'ildroth's plans.

Meanwhile, Cheskapen had disappeared, and the group decided to split up and look for him. Nerithya summoned a Goblin friend using a magic skull she had received, and sent "Gobs" to look as well.

Kreev, realizing that the Copper Dragonborn might be in danger since his group likely left a trail right to the village, cast a Forbiddance spell over the Shamaness's hut and the clutch of eggs, then posted a contingent of the group as guards for Aqorel's house.

Faelynn and her patrol finally stumbled across the missing monk. Cheskapen had left to find a quiet spot to meditate and scry for danger. Faelynn admonished him, and he replied that he had not been used to traveling with companions, and hadn't thought to tell anyone he had left.

Meanwhile, Gobs came back as well, crying because the Black Dragonborn he was looking for had hit him. Nerithya thought that sounded weird, and questioned him further. Gobs said the Dragonborn had been wearing armor and had friends with him.

Nerithya immediately ran off to warn everyone: Favnir had tracked them down and was closing in on the village. Kreev coordinated defenses: He and Faerbor would guard the Shamaness, along with a squad of Lizardfolk warriors and his fire elemental friend, Scoria.

Meanwhile, Nerithya would lead a Copper Dragonborn patrol, Oddmund, Gobs, Cheskapen, and Tofras in defending the eggs in the Hatchery. Finally, Zovira, Faelynn, Dalyassa, and Ariann would defend Aqorel. The groups got into position, Ariann summoning her own ally, an Air Elemental.

Faelynn and Nerithya decided to scout out Favnir's position. Faelynn cast Invisibility on the pair, and they snuck out together. They found Favnir, a green Dragonborn wearing nearly nothing but straps and blades, and the four Froghemoths from before, all travelling together. The Froghemoths were submerged underwater, and Nerithya tried taking control of it with her Trident. However, not only did it not respond, but the creature didn't seem concerned about the attempt.

The two invisible adventurers hurried back to the village. Kreev and Zovira discussed if it would be better to cut off Favnir outside the village, but the area was too open. It would be easier to guard the three points of interest than risk him evading their attack.



Here we go...

Finally, Favnir appeared. His companion, the green dragonborn, said that she had gotten him to the target, and was going to take her leave. Nerithya noticed that she also had a pendant around her neck, very similar to the one they had gotten from Perfyire. That meant she must be the green clan elder, Norixius Somelia.

Favnir laughed, and strode towards Aqorel's hut. At the same time, the Froghemoths exploded out of the swamp and attacked the Shamaness' hut and the Hatchery. They were the same Froghemoths from before, now undead, presumably thanks to Favnir's magic.

Ariann and Faelynn unleashed torrents of magic on Favnir, who advanced unflinchingly. His companion, nimble as a grasshopper, leapt out of the way of the blasts. Zovira and the Air Elemental rushed forward to meet their foe in combat, while Dalyassa and Aqorel fired off shots from the rear.

The Froghemoths stepped towards their targets and their undead flesh began to burn: Forbiddance was slowly searing their essence away. Faerbor and Nerithya rushed forward towards their respective enemies, and the beasts began to fall.

At that moment, Favnir unleashed a horrific blast of hellfire, heavily damaging the central group and causing Ariann to drop. The Air Elemental that had been under her control howled in fury and turned back towards the group. At that moment, the green dragonborn decided she had seen enough, and dashed away.

Zovira tore into Favnir, her Sunblade searing his undead flesh. He barely slowed down as he responded in kind, unleashing several devastating blows and a wave of destructive energy that threatened to take down Dalyassa. Fortunately, Aqorel was able to heal Ariann and Dalyassa, bringing them back into the fight.

Kreev managed to turn one of the Froghemoths into a spider, making it quick work to finish off the other. However, the lizardfolk patrol attacked the spider, forcing it to change back to its original form. However, with one monster dead, Kreev and Scoria were able to handle the other while Faerbor raced towards Aqorel's hut to provide backup.

Near the Hatchery, the Copper Dragonborn patrol unleashed their breath weapons on one of the Froghemoths, causing it to roar in pain. Oddmund got swallowed again, but this time Nerithya was quick to cut him out of the creature's belly. Cheskapen was swallowed as well, but managed to punch the creature from the inside so powerfully that it fell over. Gobs ran up and kicked it to death, but in the process died himself as the creature rolled on top of him. Satisfied, the group began to run towards the central hut as well.

The Air Elemental was on a rampage, and created a gale-force whirlwind in the middle of the party. Ariann was thrown against the wall of the hut, and landed with a sickening crunch. Faelynn was more fortunate, landing on soft dirt, but no less injured by the force.

Meanwhile, Favnir, having shaken off several debilitating spell thrown his way, managed to bring Zovira down to her last legs. She lay on the ground, barely able to defend herself, ready to accept an honorable death. However, Favnir simply ignored her, striding past and into the hut.

Aqorel was pressed against the back wall of the hut, and without a sound, he decapitated her with his Sword of Sharpness. He then turned around, and, despite having taken massive damage from the dozens of attacks by magic and lightblade, said "Now for the rest of you."

Zovira pulled herself to her feet, her pride and honor broken, prepared to claim them back. However, Faerbor rushed up and finally reached the hut, shooting a volley of Magic Missiles into the Death Knight's chest. Then, another volley. Dalyassa followed it up with a round of arrows, but by now the Z'ildroth monstrosity was no longer moving. He simply stood there.

Zovira, enraged at the cowardice of her opponent, killed the Air Elemental in a single slice. Kreev finally made it to the central hut, and placed the Death Knight's corpse in a Forcecage before burning it away with Forbiddance.

The group was silent and somber as Yapora collected Aqorel's remains. Tofras used Revivify to save Ariann's life, but there was nothing he could do for Aqorel.

Yapora told the group that she would honor Aqorel's agreement: the Copper Dragonborn would stay for one month in hopes that clan Z'ildroth would be defeated, then they would leave by boat. Since they weren't going to be fighting any longer, she insisted the party take the Drachedandion clan artifact.

It was a magic rapier that called out to Faelynn. It bore the name "Answerer", and it could communicate with its wielder via simple emotions. Faelynn felt a connection to the sword, which Yapora told her shared many of the same values she did. It was the first sentient weapon the group had come across, and it seemed to prefer the hands of another metallic Dragonborn, like it's own clan.



Not happy

Zovira bitterly collected her old Sword of Sharpness from Favnir's ashes. The blade had turned black, and she felt pain about using the corrupted blade. However, she took it anyway, bequeathing her lightblade to Kreev.

The next morning, the group met with Shamaness Ba, who had found much information from her divination.

Z'ildroth Salothzar had gone on a pilgrimage to distant lands, based on his studies of ancient texts and ruins on the island. When he returned, he was bearing some object that prevented anyone from scrying upon him, even now. However, based on information other creatures had learned, he was using the object to gain unholy power, growing in size and strength. The heroes confirmed this was what they knew so far.

Ba told them that Salothzar had taken a special interest in Mt. Draco, upon which sat a long-abandoned tower. Inside where many books and magic items she didn't understand, but it was here that would provide the answers that could help the group understand what Salothzar sought.

Kreev told Ba that they had so far avoided Mt. Draco because of the legends of an Ancient Dragon that lived upon it. Ba responded that the dragon had left the mountain, and was travelling the island disguised as a Silver Dragonborn monk.

Faelynn immediately remembered that they had already met the monk in their travels! Nerithya had traded rocks with the strange monk while they had travelled to Gravengong.

The group decided to head up to Mt. Draco. However, Dalyassa and Ariann elected to stay with clan Drachedandion. Dalyassa wasn't much for fighting and cared more about her clan's survival than the island's, and Ariann had brushed a bit too close to death for her liking.

Satisfied, the party left the swamps, heading towards Mt. Draco, looming in the distance.

Sometimes you just find the perfect image

I felt the session went fairly well! I am finally getting comfortable making these epic-level combats that can feel scary and have a lot of impact. The problem, I think, is that the game ends up revolving around combat. Afterwards, the players felt there wasn't much story between the two battles, even though combat vs story was about 60%/40%.

Some of that comes from the players, since if people want to play a fun and fanciful game then there's not much I can do about it. But I can also push to invest people in the story further. I need more hooks, more mysteries, and more actionable plot!

Just because I've got the basics of running a game down, doesn't mean I can't improve my storytelling!

Thanks for reading!