The Crown of Brilliance is a fabled artifact, once manufactured by the most powerful mage of their era. Simply wearing it allows feats of incredible intellect, but tapping into its limitless power allows a mage to accomplish unimaginable magical deeds. No-one knows where the Crown can be located- the mage who crafted it exiled herself to a fortress on the Astral Plane before disappearing from history.
Crown of Brilliance Wondrous item, artifact (requires attunement) This artifact is made of purified platinum, and when worn, the user's brain becomes visible through the top of their head, sparkling with scintillating magical energy. Your Intelligence score is 30 while you wear this crown. It has no effect on you if your Intelligence is 30 or higher without it. In addition, any spells cast as a Wizard are increased by three additional spell levels (casting using a third-level spell slot counts as using a sixth-level spell slot, for example) at no cost. How you can use the Crown of Brilliance in your games: - The legend of this artifact tells that someone wearing it can understand the entirety of existence. It is an item sought by archmages, dragons, and gods alike. Even finding a clue to this item's location may draw down trouble the likes of which your PCs could never expect. - An evil archmage has discovered the location of the creator's intricate astral fortress, and the race has begun. Powerful forces have gathered, and agents from all walks of life are sought to interfere. The creator of the Crown has long since passed into unlife, her body desiccated into dust. However, her spirit somehow lingers, and might aid some of the seekers in finding her Crown, hidden behind deathtraps and magical protections. - If the Crown is recovered to the Material Plane, someone may have claimed it and be ruling a magical kingdom, their will backed up by tremendous power. This can affect your entire campaign world, leading to a campaign to overthrow the Mage-king, and discover how to destroy the Crown forever. Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 27 June 2020. The Soldiers of Misfortune are a vile and cursed lot of mercenaries, who have rampaged their way across the continent for the past two centuries. Each one has become a wicked undead creature for their crimes, making them only more unstoppable. Legend tells that their services can be bought for a forbidden price, but they cannot be controlled, only unleashed. Only by offering up a cursed coin soaked in the blood of an innocent can the company be summoned, and woe betide any nearby when they are. By night, they are an unstoppable force of destruction. When the day comes, they quit the field, and usually melt away to the Hells, where they revel in the spoils of their rampage.
Each of the two hundred or so members of the Soldiers of Misfortune has become a Wight, yearning to extinguish the spark in all living things. They possess some memories of his own lives, and a relentless hunger to spread death and flame. Their dread master, the soldier known only as The Malefactor, is a mighty and undefeated warrior who wears a horned steel skull hammered into his own unliving flesh. He is first on the front lines to attack his foes, setting whole cities afire in his thirst for slaughter. How you can use the Soldiers of Misfortune in your games: - The Soldiers of Misfortune might work something like the Wild Hunt of legend, riding across the lands and despoiling all they come across for one night of the year. Perhaps one who can evade them all night earns a prize from the Soldiers' commander- a boon of their asking, a cursed coin, or a sword forged in the Hells, perhaps. - A desperate villain might hire the Soldiers of Misfortune to break a siege that the PCs are holding against the odds. The vile undead are a force of pure destruction, overwhelming the defenders with brutal violence and negative energy. Only a daring act to flood the entire city with sanctified water can extinguish the fires and the undead. - PCs who are allied with a church of Good might choose to go hunting the Soldiers of Misfortune deliberately, trying to destroy their master and break their power forever. Setting a trap for such villains will require bold deeds, trickery, and overwhelming radiant power. Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 26 June 2020. It is a tradition of the Morgonet royal family that the eldest child must serve as champion of the faith, and following his sister's death at the age of twenty-five, eleven-year-old Flaistram enthusiastically refused to allow his duty to go undone. As a royal scion, he has commissioned glorious armour and weapons to fit his stature, and takes his responsibility very seriously. He has even been gifted with divine power to smite the enemies of his kingdom as a Paladin of the Oath of Devotion.
Statistics: Flaistram is an eleven-year-old human with mostly unexceptional ability scores. He is trying his hardest to do good, and his earnestness shines through (Charisma 13). He is, however, granted some protection by his oath and his youth, mostly protecting him from any grave harm (resistance to bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks). His statistics are the same as those of a Commoner, but with an Armour Class of 17 (half-plate and shield), and he has a polished and sharp short sword (hit 3 (1d6 slashing) damage). How you can use the Gallant Dauphin in your games: - Well-spoken adventurers might be asked to attend to the young Dauphin while he goes on a quest. He is painfully naive and earnest, but they have the opportunity to shape someone who might be the next ruler of the kingdom. - To flip the narrative, having a teensy tyrant protected by a vengeful deity being the commander of a kingdom's army could make for an entertaining but not over-the-top villain, who can throw tantrums when things don't go his way but is protected from most harm. - The Dauphin may also be a powerful leader, well-respected by his followers and given vast political influence. But he's also still an eleven-year-old, given to fits of temper and misunderstanding. If PCs have to get some sort of help in the area, he could make things challenging. Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 25 June 2020. The Imperator is a vastly powerful demigod, self-elevated Patron of Mortals. His methods are ruthless and implacable, and his legions are numerous. Although he must surely have had a life before taking his title, it seems he has destroyed any evidence of this, emerging from the past only under his assumed name. In person, he is alternately magnanimous and melancholy, lamenting his loneliness in the universe and celebrating the quality of his foes, for a man is known by the quality of those who rise up against him. His ethos is nothing less than overthrow of all the gods, good and evil alike, and bringing strong order to the universe.
His eyes are like the first flash of dawn, his smile is like a chest full of polished gold, his physique like that of a statue, and his stature like that of a small giant. In battle and in philosophy, he knows no equal. He promises those who follow him a place in the history books, and respect like they can gain nowhere else. Although he can be a valuable ally and master, his movement threatens any who have professed faith in other deities, and earns his servants foes in all civilized places. Statistics: Those who serve the Imperator as clerics often take the War domain. In person, The Imperator is approximately equivalent to a Solar, and has the ability to permanently slay any celestial or fiend he destroys, earning them a final death. This extends even to deities, threatening them where no other mortal can. In alignment, he is Lawful Neutral, but is possessed of incredible intelligence and resolution, willing to sacrifice almost any ally to gain his goal. How you can use The Imperator in your games: - Player Characters might wish to serve such a master, bringing order to the universe. It can let them play with all sorts of God of War-style shenanigans, rampaging their way through the corrupt servants and creations of all the Gods alike. If your players are fans of the Warhammer 40,000 setting, letting them be children of the Imperator who head his crusade might be a fun role for a new campaign. - You could also use the Imperator as your campaign villain- an unstoppable force raising an army and storming the Heavens and the Abyss alike. This might let you ally cambion fiends with the purest of paladins to resist his might. If you're wanting to overthrow your campaign world, this could be an entertaining way to do it. - If you don't want to centre the campaign around the Imperator, you can have him raising his armies somewhere within your campaign world, but perhaps not actively crusading at the moment. These forces might be a threat, or might turn up by surprise to ally with your PCs against a foe who could overwhelm them otherwise. Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 24 June 2020. Spellcasters have a lot of options for inflicting damage, but most of them are pretty direct and flashy.
However, there are some options which let them be a bit more sneaky about it. Employing a spell like Glyph of Warding with the explosive runes option lets you set a trap for someone, even specifying that it will only 'go off' when someone in a particular uniform (like, the bad guy's troop uniform, for example) comes within range, as well as some other options. You can even hide that among mundane graffiti ("Romanes eunt domus", anyone?) if you want to make it less obvious. A spell like Hallucinatory Terrain lasts for 24 hours, and lets you affect a large area (150-foot cube), letting you hide even a small military camp from sight. You can use it to make terrain seem normal after you've dug pits and set traps, to cause even more confusion. Some Walls of Stone can change the layout of a fortress or city permanently, or causing work crews to have to tear them down at great expenditure of time and effort. This can cut off pursuits, stop regular troop movements, bottleneck advances or retreats, or just sow confusion among the populace. You can use tactics like these to interfere with, threaten, and confuse your enemies, without even having to be in the firing line, just what any arcane spellcaster wants! Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 20 June 2020. Weapons made of materials like fire-hardened wood or bone can often deliver much messier wounds, but can be more fragile and given to breakage.
As an optional rule, the GM may allow a character to use these vicious weapons, especially if they are from a culture or region which does not have access to metals. These weapons gain the [vicious] property, in addition to any other properties which they already possess. The cost for these weapons is reduced to one-tenth of the listed price from the Player's Handbook. Vicious. This weapon can re-roll any damage die which results in a 1. On a roll of 1 to hit, the weapon breaks, and cannot be used any longer. How you can use vicious weapons in your game: - Goblins or other 'horde' enemies could use these weapons, which might prevent your player characters stocking up on a pile of short swords to haul back to town. If they're not worth anything, they're even less worth looting. - Old-school Dark Sun players would remember a world where everything is made up of bone, stone, wood, and obsidian. Steel weapons are practically unbreakable and almost worth a Sorcerer-King's ransom. - If your PCs are fighting in an arena or similar place where exotic weapons can be experimented with, you can give them vicious weapons so that swapping weapons out is expected and required. Edit: This post was originally titled 'savage' weapons, and was changed after discussion and consideration. Words have all sorts of connotations, and these grow with their history. It's important to remember that some words have been historically used to suppress and dehumanize people, and although we're dealing with fantasy worlds, it's important that we aren't part of that. Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 19 June 2020. An Anguilloform, also known by the more coarse term a 'murrain', is a terrifying creature from beneath the seas (although they can breathe in air for some hours at a time). They have a large, fleshy torso, with many (at least a dozen, but it's very difficult to get them to hold still long enough to count) eel bodies protruding from it. They writhe incessantly, but demonstrate some poor intelligence and speaking ability, and a prodigious amount of sorcery. Each of the heads seems to think for itself, which often leads them to minor disagreements with one another, and snappish infighting.
Hooks: - A single murrain might dwell in the waters out beyond the bay, but can be called up from the depths by the promise of powerful magics to make an alliance with a local noble or spellcaster. - A clade of murrains dwelling in the shallows demands appeasement for ships that pass through their waters, threatening them with mighty storms if they are not granted magical items and scrolls for their mercy. - If the mighty snarls of the anguilloform empire beneath the waves are ever awakened, their fury on the surface realms would be mighty. The creatures are vicious, animalistic, and powerfully magical. Some demonstrate even more aptitude than the standard murrains. Anguilloform (Murrain) Large monstrosity, neutral evil Armour Class 14 (natural armour) Hit Points 102 (12d10 + 36) Speed 30ft., swim 50ft. Str 15 (+2); Dex 16 (+3); Con 17 (+3); Int 9 (-1); Wis 17 (+3); Cha 16 (+3) Skills Arcana +2, Perception +6, Stealth +6 Condition Immunities charmed, frightened, stunned Senses Darkvision 120ft., passive Perception 16 Languages Aquan Challenge 7 (2,900 xp) Innate Spellcasting. An anguilloform's innate spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 14, +6 to hit with spell attacks). The anguilloform can innately cast the following spells as 4th-level spells, requiring no material components: At will: Blade ward, minor illusion, poison spray Spell slots (6 slots per day): Blight, call lightning, fear, hex, hunger of Hadar, major image, vampiric touch. Magic Resistance. An anguilloform has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects. Rip and Tear. A target struck by two or more bite attacks from a single anguilloform in a round takes an additional 7 (2d6) slashing damage for each hit beyond the first. ACTIONS Multiattack. The anguilloform can make four bite attacks. Bite. Melee weapon attack: +5 to hit, reach 5ft., one target. Hit: 9 (2d6+2) piercing damage. Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 18 June 2020. Faith and belief are concrete elements in most fantasy gaming- not just "I believe in my deity" but "I know and have seen my deity perform miracles in person". It stands to reason therefore that their belief in just causes and divine commands should also be more concrete.
As an optional rule, if a character spends an action to direct a devout prayer before an action which their deity has power over (like, piloting a ship for an ocean deity, or assisting a wounded friend to make a death save, for a deity of life or death), then they gain advantage on a single roll. This should be used sparingly, to avoid people just stopping to pray every second round, and should only be used within the context of the deity's realm of control. This can allow a devout character who isn't a cleric or paladin to have some benefit from their faith, and rewards a player who thinks about their character's religion for more than just which temples will heal them. Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 17 June 2020. Tieflings are generally a chaotic lot, and their appearance is hardly uniform. Their skin tones and the shape of their horns are the most common variables, as well as the presence or lack of a tail.
The attached picture shows a few different types of Tiefling horns, but I've also seen little doe-horns, curling ram-horns, and of course Hellboy's great longhorn-style ones. These might change as the Tiefling grows older, or, being as Tieflings are partly made up of planar energy, they might change during their life to reflect deep changes in their personality or circumstances. They might even want to wear jewellery on them as adornments. If you allow a Tiefling's player to choose a style, a small benefit might be appropriate- nothing that'll break the game, but enough to make them feel a little customized. Ground down: +1 on Persuasion checks Long horns: +1 on Intimidate checks Crown of horns: Once per day, you can use Friends instead of Thaumaturgy as a cantrip Back swept: +1 on Deception checks Forward swept: Gain advantage on a ranged attack roll once per day Ram horns: +1 damage on unarmed attacks Can you think of some other benefits that might work? Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 13 June 2020. As a way of staving off all-out combat to the death, ritualized dueling is sometimes used to settle disagreements. It might be that your player characters are threatened by an outnumbering enemy, and need to try for better terms that outright annihilation. If so, their enemy might offer an ancient trial by champions, in the Well of Death.
The Well of Death is perhaps twenty feet wide and thirty feet deep, and there are two stone pillars, perhaps three feet wide each, with a space of about five feet between them. Each challenger walks across from the rim of the well on a plank, which is drawn back once they have crossed the gap, which drops to a spike-lined floor below. Then, once the command is given, the two challengers begin combat, making an Acrobatics check each round. If they stand still and don't make any weapon attacks, the DC is 10. If they make a weapon attack on their opponent, the DC is 15. If they are hit by an enemy's attack, the DC is 20. If they do nothing but try to be stable, they gain advantage on the check. Failure means falling to the bottom, which inflicts 6d10 piercing damage, and also means they fail the challenge. On the rare occasion that both challengers fall, the parties above can come to an agreement, or offer more challengers. A challenger who falls is considered to have failed, but faces no further threat of death, and a rope or ladder is usually lowered to them if they survive. If you want to make this combat less challenging, you can lower all of the required DCs by 5, and lower the spike damage to 3d10. For a more dangerous combat, adding a dozen crocodiles or smaller lizards to the bottom can spice things up! How you can use the Well of Death in your game: - Adventurers might have to battle a band of rebels or bandits for a hostage they have, and rather than fighting them en masse, the adventurers could come to them with an offer. The suspicious chief of their opponents wants to test them in combat, and offers the Well of Death as an alternative that leaves less casualties on either side. - The Well of Death might have an important ritual and cultural role in a society- perhaps this is how all duels are settled. All towns might have a Well of Death, and they might even have further pillars, for those who prefer combat by archery or spells. - This might be a relic of a past culture, one long forgotten. A Well could be found in a ruin, and perhaps a battle with some kind of monster who does not obey the rules could gravely threaten adventurers who need to pass the area. Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 12 June 2020. A Night Terror is a dreadful spirit, one that can stalk its prey for weeks at a time, inexplicably filling them with dread and sapping their energies. It is invisible except when revealed by magic, and absolutely terrifying when it can be seen. It is formed entirely of dread energy, and cannot be harmed by most weapons.
Statistics: Night Terror Large undead, Chaotic Evil Armour Class 14 Hit Points 105 (14d10+28) Speed 40ft., fly 40ft. Str 14 (+2); Dex 19 (+4); Con 14 (+2); Int 8 (-1); Wis 13 (+1); Cha 9 (-1) Saving Throws Con +6 Skills Insight +5, Stealth +12 Damage Resistances acid, cold, fire, lightning, thunder; bludgeoning, piercing and slashing from nonmagical attacks Damage Immunities necrotic, poison Condition immunities exhausted, frightened, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, restrained Senses darkvision 120ft., passive Perception 11 Languages - Challenge 9 (5,000 xp) Natural Invisibility. A Night Terror is always invisible, which is not cancelled when the creature makes an attack. As a bonus action, it may become visible. It usually waits until the target is alone to do so. Terrifying Appearance. A Night Terror's true appearance is that of a vast, dark cloud with an almost-featureless face, rippling with infinite grasping fingers. Those who see it when its appearance is revealed must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or drop whatever it is holding and become frightened for 3 rounds. While frightened by this effect, a creature must take the Dash action and move away from you by the safest available route on each of its turns, unless there is nowhere to move. If a creature ends its turn in a location where it can no longer see the Night Terror, the creature can make another Wisdom saving throw. On a successful save, this effect ends for that creature. Restive Dreams. While a Night Terror stalks its victim, they and any allies in their immediate vicinity gain only half the benefit of spending hit dice during a short rest, and can only regain a maximum of one-half their maximum points during a long rest. Actions Multiattack. The Night Terror can make two grasp attacks and one bite attack. Grasp. Melee weapon attack: +6 to hit, reach 5ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6+2) psychic damage and the target becomes grappled. Bite. Melee weapon attack: +6 to hit, reach 0ft., one target which is grappled by the Night Terror. Hit: 22 (6d6+2 psychic damage). Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 11 June 2020. The Knight of the Gold Fan is a mysterious figure, one who comes and goes as they please. They are clad in masterfully-made armour and have exceptional skill with a blade, but they speak only in sepulchral tones, and ask for no reward for their deeds. They bear a gilt emblem of a fan over their heart, as well as a fine silk surplice wrapped about their breastplate. Legend tells that they cannot be slain, rising even from mortal wounds.
Statistics: The Knight of the Gold Fan is a skillful fighter, and fearless in demeanour. They have been seen to stand down a charge from three ogres at once. They have statistics as a Knight (from the Monster Manual), with one change- instead of the Leadership ability, they have the ability to survive deathly wounds, restoring themselves to one-half their maximum hit points when reduced to 0. This ability only recharges on a long rest. How you can use the Knight of the Gold Fan in your game: - The Knight of the Gold Fan travels mysteriously, arriving when and where they are needed. It is said that they arrive when pleas for aid are heard at night, and the knight clad in sable and gold rides into town on a horse named Midnight. They might assist your player characters in defending a town, when other help seems too far away. They might even witness the knight's fabled ability to survive deathly wounds. - One stormy night, as the PCs shelter in a storm, the Knight of the Gold fan seeks them out. In hushed tones, the knight asks for their help, as a force beyond the knight's ability to resist threatens a temple holding sacred relics. A necromancer and her servants stalk the shadows, and the knight begs aid of trusted companions. - The PCs witness the knight being restored from a deathly wound- and then struck down once more by a merciless enemy. Truly dying, the knight asks one of the PCs to take on their mantle and armour, as well as their legacy. If they do so, they will lose their own identity, but gain the power to rise from even the gravest wounds. This may be a choice which could assist a PC to retire, or merely be a subplot for some time. Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 10 June 2020. Look, the last six months have felt like a rough few years. We've all been through a lot. Here in Australia, we've had raging bushfires, shattering hail, and of course then there's the global pandemic, as well as all our usual stuff, and whatever's currently going on in the States, and and and... look, I get it. It's been hard. It's hard to keep up your guard without time to rest.
None of us are getting a chance to just breathe, spend some hit dice and get our spell slots back. This year's campaign is one of long attrition and folks, we're halfway there. To survive, we're going to need to save some energy, buff our front line fighters, and do some ranged damage to the enemies. But to do any of that, we need to look after ourselves, and that's not selfish, that's survival. Take some time offline, catch up with friends (in a safe manner), play some silly game with dice and miniatures if you have the chance. Recharge your batteries, so you've got what it takes to get back in the fight soon, and for as long as it takes. Spot your friends, so they can get a rest as well. Take turns, so it's not just one person pulling aggro all the time. Check on your healers (I can't stress this one enough- they're running out of energy the same as everyone) and make sure they get a break, too. Look after your people, look after all of the people. Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 6 June 2020. "Everyone in town knows ol' Patch- the grumpy, irascible old knight that stomps up and down the battlements and literally barks at strangers walking up the road. But he's a good old fella, he looks after the kids and keeps our town safe. Dog? I mean... yes, but he's definitely not 'just' a dog."
Ol' Patch, or as he prefers, "Patchington Biscuits Esquire", is a curious sort. No-one knows if he's a dog that was cursed to have a man's body or man cursed with a dog's head, or something else altogether. He's been the guardian of the town for.... oh, I know my grandfather mentioned he was around when he was a boy, so it must have been a while... Ol' Patch is a dedicated protector, and although the town has its own guards, Ol' Patch is given some kind of special status. He insists that he must be first to meet strangers through the gate, and 'check them over'. His voice is deep and gravelly, and his build is almost hulking- he is about half-orc size. He very rarely bites anyone, and feels quite ashamed if he does. But he usually feels like they deserved it. Statistics: Patchington Biscuits Esquire Medium humanoid (dog-man?), Lawful Neutral Armour Class 18 (full plate) Hit Points 71 (10d8+30) Speed: 25ft. Str 18 (+4); Dex 11 (+0); Con 17 (+3); Int 11 (+0); Wis 11 (+0); Cha 15 (+2) Saving Throws Con +5, Wis +2 Skills Insight +2, Intimidate +4 Senses passive Perception 12 Languages Common Challenge 4 Keen Hearing and Smell. Ol' Patch has advantage on Wisdom (Insight or Perception) checks that rely on hearing or smell. Actions Multiattack. Ol' Patch makes two melee attacks. Longsword. Melee weapon attack: +6 to hit, reach 5ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d10+4) slashing damage. Bite. Melee weapon attack: +6 to hit, reach 5ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d6+4) piercing damage. Formidable Howl (Recharges after a Short or Long rest). Ol' Patch lets out a baying howl that chills the souls of enemies. This functions as a Fear spell (Wisdom saving throw DC 12). How you can use Ol' Patch in your game: - Seeing a gigantic, baying dog barking over the battlements of a town might seem novel at first to player characters new to the area, but later having that same dog, armoured and carying a sword, insist on messily sniffing youbefore you're allowed to proced through the market is much more odd. Ol' Patch rarely meets anyone he intensely diagrees with, but he is a good judge of character and despises anyone who would harm his town. - If the town is threatened, Ol' Patch is a stalwart defender on the walls and at the gates. He respects any outsider who is wiling to assist him, and can promise some kind of reward from the town's council. - If Ol' Patch is taken ill for some reason, the town might seek out those who have fought at his side before to help him. This team of veterans will have to help heal their animalistic friend. Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 5 June 2020. Sir Brenneth is a well-respected Knight of the Realm, someone who should absolutely be above reproach. He is earnest, pure-hearted, and absolutely cursed. His friendship is generous, his manner courteous, and his bravery visible to all- but something dark hangs over him. No matter how hard he tries, he cannot seem to shake others' doubt in him.
Statistics: Sir Brenneth is a Knight of about 8th level, as per the Monster Manual. Any method of alignment detection shows him radiating as being Strongly Good. Enough to cause paranoid adventurers to be quite suspicious, maybe. Anyone making Insight checks on Sir Brenneth gains advantage on the roll, but cannot tell anything other than that he seems to be telling the truth, no matter how high they roll. How you can use Sir Brenneth in your game: - The PCs might encounter Sir Brenneth while on a mission, perhaps investigating the same cult theyr're investigating themselves. He is no slouch, and definitely able to hold his own in combat, as well as defend the PCs honestly if they need a hand. When they reach the cult chamber, the acolytes try to imply that he is some sort of traitor, although nothing in his mannerism or bearing indicates this to be true. - Sir Brenneth might be sent after the PCs if they have been implicated in some kind of criminal issue. His unbending honesty might bring him into conflict with them, but he can be distracted by causing some kind of issue where others' safety is at stake. He may want to help the PCs 'come in' and be arrested safely, but then there are hints that perhaps Sir Brenneth himself is the one who has planted evidence of the PCs' involvement. When the rumour is eventually proven false, Sir Brenneth is the first to forgive the PCs' suspicion and assist them in bringing down the traitorous Chancellor, but that suspicion may linger. - Finally, Sir Brenneth's curse may come to light- as a child, a curse was laid upon him by a powerful Night Hag. Evidence of this curse might come to light through the PCs' endeavours, or Sir Brenneth's own, and even with this proof, members of his own knightly order resist aiding him in the quest to put it to rights. He seeks out his old friends to track down and interrogate the Hag as to why she cursed him, and to eventually lift the curse. Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 5 June 2020. This spell is a powerful, but short-lived, area-denial effect.
Fulminating Cloud 2nd-level evocation (Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard spell) Casting Time: 1 action Range: 100 feet. Components: V, S, M (a copper pin) Duration: One round You conjure an ominous cloud which hovers about 40 feet above a point you choose, affecting an area in a 15-foot-radius below it. The cloud rumbles ominously and flickers with internal lightning. At the start of your next turn, any creatures within the area must make a Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes 6d8 lightning damage, or half as much damage on a successful save. A creature that is wearing armour made of metal has disadvantage on the saving throw. Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 4 June 2020. Going into a nearby cave system or mysterious underground death maze is fine, I guess. But for a really unforgettable 'dungeon', try shaking things up a bit. You can literally invert the concept- remove the walls and roof, and sometimes even the floor. You can stage encounter rooms vertically. You can have a dungeon that takes place entirely in someone's dreams- it's up to you!
So, how do you do this? The 'easy' version is a rooftop battle, taking place on a variety of flat topped-roofs joined by bridges or ramps or ladders. An example of this is playing the rooftop missions in Inquisitor: Martyr, which I'v been playing a bunch recently. Some rooftops might be close enough to have fierce ranged battles across the gaps between them, or allow characters who have some kind of flight ability to travel between them, disrupting opponents' tactics. Falling off might mean certain death, or it might mean plunging to the alleys below, taking 1d6 of damage. If you want to make the stakes higher, roll 1d6 to see how many storeys down the person falls, inflicting the appropriate amount of damage, and maybe taking them out of the immediate fight, or maybe only temporarily incapacitating them. This lets you still write your dungeon using a basic dungeon map, you're just pushing it out and removing all the 'blocks' where the walls would be. For a more intriguing battle, fighting your way up the interior (or exterior!) of a rampaging colossus, trying to immobilize some limbs to prevent property damage, or unlock pathways to other areas which might let you stop the colossus in its tracks altogether. On the way, you might have to battle infesting creatures within the structure, improbable death traps caused by whirring gears or jets of steam/fire. In this instance, you can still keep your standard dungeon rooms, you're just turning them so they're stacked, rather than all on the same flat plane. For more disconnected dungeons, like the Fade quest in Dragon Age, you can abstract all of that "euclidian geometry" and "physics" and "reasonable sense" garbage. Look at it like you're reading Alice in Wonderland while tripping on LSD. Sure, touching the teapot makes you enter the vast and cavernous Teapot domain where you have to battle the Walrus of Dantioch, while entering the hedge maze might trigger the battle where each of you becomes a mouse and struggles against the Pits of Sadness. Nothing has to make sense, and you can skip from encounter to encounter without having to worry about any specific interactions- each one is a separate domain which can't influence the others. I hope this gives you some ideas to work with! Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 3 June 2020. |
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