Rembert Höger, the many who came to be known as the Door to Many Worlds, was once an unassuming scribe, who made the mistake of reading out loud as he transcribed a tome that had slipped into his pile of works. The Unspeakable Oath to Vhor'krutl spoken, he was granted the powers of a Warlock, and discovered despite his intentions that he was quite good at it. Over the span of two decades, he amassed vast powers and accomplished great deeds in the world. But too many oaths led down paths of forbidden and abominable deeds, and finally all that he was was given over to his monstrous master.
Now, he walks the earth as something no longer truly human, driven by an alien intelligence and struggling to recall fragments of mortal life. In form, he appears a ragged, dusty human with unknowable patterns somehow embossed into his skin, covering his body. Something about his form seems pathetic and unnatural, and he is often mistaken for a beggar. When wounded, his skin splits like that of an overripe fruit, and horrid limbs reach through to claw at those who would harm him. Where his blood falls, tiny aberrant creatures wriggle forth from the fabric of reality, joining and growing until they can protect their once-master. Rembert can serve as a stereotypical unaware villain, much like Diablo II's Wanderer, ranting in an unknown tongue and perhaps sprouting useful prophecy. Or perhaps Vhor'krutl's hunger for the Material World has grown, and he is actively wandering the earth to spread corruption and weaken its defenses as he draws near. Rembert Höger, the Door to Many Worlds Medium humanoid (once human), Neutral Evil Armour Class 13 Hit Points 116 (21d8+21) Speed 25 feet Str 10 (+0); Dex 12 (+1); Con 12 (+1); Int 7 (-2); Wis 9 (-1); Cha 24 (+7) Saving Throws Constitution +6, Wisdom +4, Charisma +12 Skills Arcana +3, Survival +4 Damage Resistances Bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing; Cold, fire, electricity Damage Immunity Psychic Senses Truesight 30 feet; passive Perception 9 Languages speaks only Primordial, understands all spoken words. Challenge 15 (13,000 XP) Aberrant Mind. Any attempt to read Rembert's mind fails, and the creature attempting this takes 14 (4d6) psychic damage. If Rembert is targeted with an attack that would deal psychic damage, the attacking creature takes the psychic damage instead. No Longer Human. When Rembert is hit by a weapon attack that deals bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing nonmagical damage, he ignores the extra damage from any critical hit. Legendary Resistance (3/day). If Rembert fails a saving throw, he can choose to succeed instead. Spring Forth Life. When Rembert takes 10 or more damage from a weapon attack, his blood transforms into a writhing mass of aberrant life, which is treated as a swarm of insects. This should placed within 5 feet of his space immediately, if possible. This insect swarm deals an additional 2 points of psychic damage per attack. Pact Magic. Rembert is a 21st-level spellcaster. His spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 20, +12 to hit with spell attacks). He can cast dissonant whispers (3d6 psychic damage) and detect thoughts at will and has the following warlock spells known (5 slots, all at 5th level). Cantrips. Eldritch blast (4 beams), mage hand, minor illusion, prestidigitation. Spells Known (5 slots, all at 5th level). Arms of Hadar, banishment, blight, contact other plane, counterspell, crown of madness, darkness, dimension door, dominate person, dream, Evard's black tentacles, hold monster, hunger of Hadar, hypnotic pattern, ray of enfeeblement, unseen servant. Mystic Arcanum (6th). Eyebite. Mystic Arcanum (7th). Forcecage. Mystic Arcanum (8th). Power word stun. Mystic Arcanum (9th). Imprisonment. ACTIONS Multiattack. Rembers can attack once with his dagger and once with each of his horrid protrusions. Dagger. Melee weapon attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 feet, one target. Hit: 3 (1d4+1) piercing damage. Eldritch Blast. Ranged spell attack: +12 to hit, range 300 feet, 4 targets. Hit: 12 (1d10+7) force damage. Horrid Protrusion. Melee weapon attack: +6 to hit, reach 10 feet, one target. Hit: 7 (2d6) bludgeoning damage and Rembert can attempt to grapple the target. LEGENDARY ACTIONS Rembert can take 2 legendary actions per turn, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time, and only at the end of another creature's turn. Rembert regains spent legendary actions at the start of his turn. Dimension Door. Rembert casts Dimension door. Engulf. After Rembert is hit by a melee attack, he can attempt to engulf the attacker. The attacker must make a Dexterity saving throw (DC 20) or disappear through his form and begin hurtling through a nightmare landscape of other planes. If the target is not an Aberration, they take 28 (8d6) psychic damage at the start of their turn while in this nightmare landscape of planes. At the end of their turn, they can make another saving throw. On a success, they return to the space they previously occupied, or the nearest space, if that space is now occupied. Horrid Protrusion. After Rembert is damaged by a melee attack, he sprouts one horrid protrusion as his skin splits open and tentacles, fanged claws, or a maw filled with his bones appears. He can make one attack with this horrid protrusion immediately. When he uses this legendary action again, a second horrid protrusion forms, and so on. Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 18 September 2021. I've been listening to a few podcasts and Youtube things on GMing skills recently, and one of the ideas that came up was beginning with a strong theme for your game, so your players could create characters that fit in and would develop with the story, as well as the story being able to accomodate the right kind of characters into it. Here are a few ideas I've had as I've started (lazily) planning my next campaign, with the idea that these might spark something off for you!
New Campaign Themes
You can roll a d20 to randomly generate one, roll a few and combine them, or pick and choose as you like- whatever works for you. The idea is to get common buy-in from your players so that the campaign itself isn't the surprise for them, and to keep you (well, me) on track with keeping the campaign around the same themes. Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 21 July 2021. Some critters are just too big to be easily hurt with regular weapons- if you didn't bring a Titan of your own, you need to find their weak points and bring them down. Whether your setting is based on Pacific Rim, Attack on Titan, or Shadow of the Colossus, fighting BIG MASSIVE MONSTERS is a real favourite.
Ideally, you might want to keep your colossal monsters impervious to regular weapon attacks or small arms fire, but might want them at least lightly bothered by person-portable heavy weapons, like missile launchers or artillery, which lets squads or armies at least distract them. This means that your players need to find weak spots or use their own big weapons to crack the shell, playing into the campaign tropes. You may need to give your players some sort of extra-mobility options here- jetbikes, grappling hooks, a loyal horsie that lets them keep up with mountain-sized enemies, or something more unique and relevant to your setting. Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 16 March 2021. This powerful bardic spell burns an individual's memory into the world, that all will remember them in a particular way.
Memoriam 7th-level enchantment (ritual, Bard spell) Casting Time: 10 minutes Range: Universal Components: V, S, M (a dead body) Duration: Permanent With this spell, you attempt to reshape the collective memory of the entire world, affecting all living beings and affecting how they recall another being who has died. The being's body is consumed with this spell, leaving them unable to be raised or resurrected. The spell applies against all living Dragons, Fey, Giants, and Humanoids alive in the world, causing them to remember the deceased in a particular way, if they remember the deceased at all. This can cause them to remember someone as a hero, a villain, or erase them from memory altogether. This can affect memories of up to one year ago, permanently altering their memories of the deceased and causing them to be remembered in a very different way. Its mind fills in the gaps in the details of your description. If the spellcasting ends before you have finished describing the modified memories, no memories are altered. Otherwise the modified memories take hold when the spellcasting ends. A modified memory doesn't necessarily affect how a creature behaves, particularly if the memory contradicts the actual behaviour of the deceased. This may cause some confusion, and if written history contradicts their new memories, they may find this challenging and confusing. A creature whose new memories come at odds with the actual history must make a Wisdom saving throw against the spell's saving throw. If it knew the deceased personally, it gains advantage on the saving throw. On a successful saving throw, they become Stunned for one round, and can then recall elements of the truth. Any dead (or undead) creatures are unaffected by this spell and do not have their memories modified. At Higher Levels: When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 7th level or higher, you can alter memories of the deceased of events that took place up to 10 years ago (7th level), 100 years ago (8th level), or an time in the past (9th level). How you can use Memoriam in your game: - This spell can be used to redeem the memory of a villain who has proven a streak of heroism at the last moment, making them able to be remembered more kindly. - This spell may have been cast before the campaign even began, meaning someone remembered as a villain may have been much more of a hero than they are remembered to be, or perhaps the reverse. - Undead creatures being immune to the spell may mean that their recalled memories are vastly different. This also applies to those who were dead at the casting of the spell, so anyone resurrected, raised, or reincarnated since may be confused by the varying accounts recalled. Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 23 September 2020. Part Two of converting the Pathfinder: Kingmaker adventure path to Dark Sun for 5th edition D&D. As always, let me know if I've goofed, or if you there's something specific you want to see!
In my last post, I left off at the end of Part One of Stolen Land, with the PCs having just dealt with a small grou of bandits. From here, the options open up, and the PCs have a larger area of the Stolen Lands opened up to explore, this area being the Verdant Belt (I can't resist the callback to Troy Denning's The Verdant Passage, and it fits "the Greenbelt" just so perfectly). I think it's best if we assume that the Verdant Belt is an area with some scrubby vegetation, and a few trees- not the full-on rainforest of the Forest Ridge, but still a fertile place that's quite desirable to settle in. If there are settlers following the PCs by a few days or weeks, this gives them a good place to have other members of their 'character tree' - replacement or alternate characters who can substitute in if one of them is killed, or ends up not being what makes someone happy to play. I'll go location-by-location: A. Oleg's Trading Post: We briefly touched on this in the last post- it's a smallish trading post, probably a one or two-storey adobe building with some light walls and stable for a few kanks. With the immediate threat of Happs and his bandits gone, the trading post is likely to start expanding as more people come through the area. Jhod Kavken, who arrives after the PCs, is a elemental cleric of Earth who arrives after the PCs, seeking some moral calm after lynching someone who accidentally turned out to be a Defiler. He might ask the PCs to seek out and clear the Temple of the Rock Drake, later. B. Warrior's Cairn: This cairn once housed a powerful lieutenant of one of the Champions of Rajaat, dating back to the Cleansing Wars. Their body bears a ring of life-shaped wood, but nothing else about the body is usable- the armour has long sinc rotted away, and only a few flakes of rust hint that they were once honoured enough to be buried with a metal weapon. C. Trap-filled gorge: A local wildlife trapper by the name of Breeg Orlivanch has littered this gorge with sharpened spikes made from bone and wooden poles tied together, as well as others hidden under the sand. D. Bokken's Hut: Bokken is a hermitic druid, one who would like to be left alone. So long as no-one is actively damaging his chosen lands, he suffers visitors, and might ask them to go and bring him Fangberries, so that he can craft better potion-fruits. He would like the Verdant Belt to become a safer place, and is happy to become a dependable source of potion-fruit in the region. E. Dead Trapper: Since faerie dragons aren't a thing in Athas, this gives a good opportunity to reinforce the world's deadliness. A nest of speckled Hurrum beetles (able to distract their prey with psionics) nearby the dead trapper might give PCs a hint of what caused Orlivanch to fall afoul of his own traps. F. Meenlock Nest: A pair of Meenlocks have a small nest high in a cactus grove here, replacing the faerie dragon Perlivash and the grig Tyg Titter-Tut. These are vicious predators that will steal from or harm the PCs a little at a time, and will attack or abduct a helpless PC if they ever have a chance, trying to drag them away to area O to transform them into more of their twisted kind. G. Cactus Grove: This grove of health cacti can be eaten for sustenance and absorbed water. A swarm of 3 Baazrags, stuffed to bursting with the moist flesh of the cacti, can be found here the first time the PCs arrive. While still dangerous, they're stuffed and have disadvantage on their attack rolls and saving throws. H. Centipede's Nest: This area, strewn with chewed and shattered bones, hiddes the lair of a gigantic centipede, about 20 feet long and able to lash out with incredible swiftness, carrying prey back into its deep hole. At the bottom is one of the Sun Lord's bandits, well-chewed but carrying a carved-bone emblem depicting his mask and with a scrawled map to the treasure buried in area M. I. Hot Springs: This area of sulfurous hot springs hosts a pair of warty-skinned giant frogs, with a psionic power to cause their victims to become incredibly thirsty. They prey on any creatures approaching the springs, hoping to drag them under the water and drown them. J. Temple of the Rock Drake: Surrounded by thorny growth for hundred of yards, the area is dominated by a boulder laboriously carved into the blunt likeness of a rock drake. Inside is a cleric of the elemental earth who desecrated the temple in times long ago, sacrificing the last of the elemental drakes and becoming a mutated elemental creature guarding this temple. If defeated, the pool of pure elemental dust can be used to treat wounds until the next sundown. Jhod Kavken might ask the PCs to clear the temple so that he can cleanse it and take up residence here. K. Bandit Camp: Detailed later. L. Gold Mine: This area can be used to set up a gold mine, which can be sent back to Tyr (or another city) to buy resources. Although gold is not a terribly useful metal on Athas, it is still valued for jewelery and decoration purposes, as well as forging magical items. M. Forgotten Cache: Here, one of the Sun Lord's bandits buried some treasure stolen from a Defiler they killed, before falling victim to the giant Centipede in area H. The treasure consists of a fine obsidian dagger, a bone ring (nice, but not magical), a wand of Burning Hands, and a spellbook with the rotted remains of several spells (which might allow a PC to learn the arts of arcane magic if they want to multiclass). N. Clear Pool: A small pool of pristine water seeps up from beneath the earth here, surrounded by lush vegetation. If the dangerous stranglevines are cleared away, the water can be drunk, and it is absolutely pure- those who drink it are fully refreshed, and gain inspiration, if they do not have it. However, the waters are muddied and consumed quickly, and so only about ten creatures can gain this benefit over the course of a month. After this, the water level has dropped down to below the ground, and the vegetation begins to wilt. Anyone Defiling this area will gain great benefit, but the spring will never flow again. It must be kept safe from desecration. O. Meenlock Lair: This area contains an old ruin in an area undermined by silt-flows and now fallen away. Here, a trio of Meenlocks have made their lair, and they transform any who fall into their grasp. P. Tuskgutter's Lair: Here, a vast Boneclaw Baazrag by the nickname of Old Tuskgutter makes its lair, isolated from others of its kind. The irritable beast attacks any creature that comes nearby, when it is not roaming the lands looking for a fight. Q. Rickety Bridge: The rickety bridge crosses a canyon thirty or more feet deep here, with near-sheer walls. Travelling out of the canyon requires travel of several miles in either direction, so the bridge is a valuable chokepoint. R. Gith Lair: This underground lair under a an ancient dead tress is infested by a tribe of Gith. This area is detailed in Section 4. S. Nettles' Crossing: Davik Nettles, once a ferryman who could convey travellers and bandits across the silt flats on his ferry, was murdered by the Sun Lord here and his hatred transformed him into a unique psionic undead creature. He can use his Levitate psionic power to float above the silt, and can be called by blowing one of the Inix horns at either end of the ferry-line. While maddened by hatred, he hungers for vengeance on the Sun Lord, and might be persuaded to spare and even assist the PCs in their journey. T. Dead Nightmare Beast: As a dead unicorn really doesn't fit Athas, I decided to go with something that can hint at the incredible power of Nyrissa, our 'campaign BBEG'. So a dead Nightmare Beast works well- it's spawned from new magic, something that didn't exist in the ancient times when Pyreen ruled the planet, and it's more evocative of how dangerous something must have been to overcome this creature the size of a Mekillot and clearly incredibly dangerous. However, that it's not rotting (in fact, having some grass growing from underneath its carcass might be weird enough to warrant investigation!), although one of its enormous tusks has been almost surgically sheared off should also draw some curiosity. This feels like enough of a clue to leave for later. U. Silt Crossing: This area has a known area of 'shallows' in the silt basins that criss-cross the Stolen Lands. However, these particular shallows are haunted by a pair of juvenile Silt Horrors- tentacled beasts that will attempt to drag down and suffocate any unwary adventurers. These are only small spawn, enough to bring down a human at their best. One of their previous prey was an adventurer and wanderer, whose pack contains a variety of gems and carved objects, as well as a valuable half-scale armour set and a map, tucked away in an old hollow bone tube, that can reveal some of the Stolen Land's secrets. V. Trapped Crodlu: A Crodlu has become trapped in a sinkhole here, and is exhausted and close to death from thirst. It will attack most creatures approaching, although the distance may allow a ranger or druid to befriend and free the poor animal. W. Fangberry Thicket: The thicket of Fangberries here are painful and difficult to harvest, but are also infested by several swarms of spiders, adding yet another hazard. The spiders are not harmed by the spines of the Fangberries due to their size, making them quite dangerous in this context. X. Silt Crossing: The silt basins come to a shallow area here, this one thankfully free of any Silt Horrors. Y. Halfling Village: This area is detailed in Part Five, but holds a small village of halflings who are at war with the Gith in Area R. They might be turned into allies (hopefully not slaves, unless you have some really nasty PCs). Z. Sun Lord's Fort: This area is detailed in Part Six. Tune back in next week for Part 3: The Bandit Camp! Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 11 September 2020. A long-time friend of the page recently noted my Dark Sun-related posts and pointed me in the direction of Pathfinder's Kingmaker adventure path, which is based on the idea of the player characters venturing out into the Stolen Lands and founding their own kingdom. For this series of posts, I'll be working on posting an adaptation which I'm dubbing (for obvious reasons) Sorcerer-Kingmaker!
(I've not played Kingmaker before, and I'm muddling my way through for the first time, so feel free to let me know if I've missed something, or get something wrong.) The first adventure, Stolen Land, written by Tim Hitchcock, has an adventure summary that reads as follows: "The adventure begins with the PCs, each bearing a charter from the Lord Mayor of Restov granting license to explore and map the section of the Stolen Lands known as the Greenbelt, arriving at a small, remote trading post at the southern edge of rural Rostland. There, the PCs help defend the post from bandits before setting out to survey the wilderness. The rate at which the PCs explore the Greenbelt, and the paths they take, are up to them—many wonders and dangers await discovery, and as their explorations take them deeper into the Narlmarches and the Kamelands, the PCs begin to learn that the bandits in the region are far more organized than anyone thought—and find that they even have a leader, a mysterious figure called the “Stag Lord.” If allowed to continue building his army of bandits, the Stag Lord could well become a great danger to Rostland—that, and the reward on his head for his capture or death, should be all the new adventurers need to spur them onward." Overall Changes There's a lot here to work with, but the big changes will obviously have to be the setting- although a region on the south-western end of the Forest Ridge should be geographically distant enough and hard to reach that they're going to be pretty much on their own for a while. Since there are no stags in Dark Sun, replacing the bandit lord's identity will be necessary. Let's lean on the old Brom art used on the cover of Slave Tribes for nostalgic value, and call him the Sun Lord, with a mark depicting a radiant sun, and a pair of whistling maces. It's also probably important to note that while the adventure calls this area 'the Stolen Lands' and says it's inhabited by bandits, the colonial theme of '"retaking" land that once belonged to the nation doesn't work here, and the people living here are settlers themselves. This means that the PCs' mission is to seize and take settled lands, which, let's be honest, is a pretty garbage thing to do. They might be able to achieve this without full-on colonial invasion, and making the Sun Lord and his lieutenants a little tyrannical themselves can help to remove some of the power imbalance. It can also be useful to note Athas' resource scarcity, and Tyr's new status as a Free City means that its streets are becoming crowded with refugees and freed slaves, causing a great drain on the granaries and stored resources- options must be found, or people will be dying of hunger and thirst pretty soon! Having the PCs sent by the heroes responsible for Kalak's death, can tie them to the Free City, but perhaps King Tithian or some of the other factions are responsible for the other parties sent, meaning there's a common bond, but some rivalry. Part One: Oleg's Trading Post This part doesn't need much change- an isolated trading post with wooden (or similar) palisade walls, and beset by bandits, fits fine. You can mount the bandits on Kanks instead of horses with little difference, and have them hint at working for the Sun Lord. Happs is a desert-ranger turned bandit, and can even keep his longbow, focusing particularly on any Elf characters present. To be continued in Part Two. Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 4 September 2020. Having posted my big rant about Dark Sun only last week, I've been bubling over with some ideas- but I always get stuck on individual adventures. So I went raiding the Dungeon- specifically, my collection of back issues and other adventure modules on the shelf, looking to get just a very brief synopsis of each adventure to see how I could 'Dark Sun' it up.
See if you can recognize any specific adventures or issues! - Explore the tomb of the Lords of the Way, who are mummified psionicists. - Help to conquer a lush valley and defend your fort from cannibal halflings, and underminded by a powerful Defiler who wants the valley for his own use. - Explore an abandoned Blue Age ruin and stop a warlord awakening a life-shaped sword with powerful psionic enchantments. - Rescue a band of children stolen away by a tribe of Gith, and the Belgoi that wishes to use the children's life force to return to its home plane. - Free a dwarven town and copper mine from an elven elementalist, and his monstrous servants. - Save a frontier town afflicted by a fungal plague spreading from deep undergroundm in a city filled with horrid worm-folk. - Rescue a craftsman who has been siezed by a pair of Giants. - Resolve a conflict between warring druids who have attacked a fort on the wilderness frontier. - Explore a sand-choked ruin where an elven tribe has based itself to raid a trade route. - Infiltrate the lair of a group that are trying to call down a mighty Tyr-storm upon the area. - Follow a powerful ranger who claims to be one of a Sorcerer-Kings' children, in their attempt to infiltrate the palace and assassinate them. - Locate a skilled hunter who has gone missing, poisoned by his enemies in a distant valley. - Explore an old shrine with a monstrous attendant. I hope this gives you some ideas to spark from! I'll be back with more. Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 15 August 2020. Continuing with older campaign settings, I was lucky enough to pick up a box set of the Council of Wyrms set a few years ago. This is an amazing setting, which shook up some of the established AD&D ideas in favour of letting players do something truly spectacular- play as a Dragon!
This setting had rules for playing as dragons of different age categories, ruling over humanoid kingdoms, and amassing truly epic hoards of treasure. It laid out a large continent filled with tribes and nations that worshipped or served dragons, and ways in which you could make play fun around managing that. I GM'd a 3rd edition game using this setting, and it was great fun- the players had human(oid) PCs who each had a dragon companion/mount, and got to undertake diplomatic and military missions alongside or without their compatriots. For anyone who's a fan of How To Train Your Dragon, this is the setting box you want! The content in the box is phenomenal, even if you're not using to play a 2nd edition game, so keep an eye out for it! Thanks for coming to my 2ed Talk! Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 7 August 2020. One of the games I'm GMing at the moment is Apocalypse World, a very atmospheric game of life after the end of the world. As it's very different to the standard D&D-style game, I thought it might be useful to document some of my learnings, because a lot of it can be applicable to GMing any kind of game.
We started by discussing how we wanted the setting to be, establishing some guidelines ("no zombies", for instance) and spitballing some character ideas from the established playbooks - which are similar to 'classes', but function a little differently. We decided to set the game in the ruins of the near-ish future, so most technology and architecture would be familiar, but there would still be some whiz-bang proper science fiction stuff in it. We didn't want to just rip off Fallout, so we also decided that everything wasn't just tin shacks in the ruins- things were starting to recover. So we decided there were some thriving communities, starting to reclaim the world and make things better again. We've also set our game in what's left of Sydney, Australia. As a gaming group of former Sydneysiders, it's a place we're familiar enough with to make it familiar, but not so much that we'll be arguing about what's down a particular street or not. Once we'd worked out our setting, characters were the next step. Since each playbook gives you some options as to what kind of possessions or contacts you have, it was important to work out what kind of assets players would have access to, and what kind of threats would endanger them. We ended up with a mobile trader who owns a great big beast of a vehicle, hardy and able to cross the wastes. and with contacts in lots of locations; a medic who has established a clinic with some NPC staff helping them out; and a weird youngster making their home in the crater that used to be a mad-science university and scavenging for high-value tech. This meant I didn't have any characters who were tough fighter-types, and were mostly linked to specific locations, so although I can certainly have some beefy boys try to beat up my PCs, it's not what they're interested in, and I probably want to have some challenges which do line up with what they do, and where they're based. I'll be trying to keep things updated as the weeks pass, so keep an eye out next Thursday for the next update! Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 16 July 2020. 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 Sacred Seven are a threat renowned across multiple kingdoms, and feared for their cold vengeance. A small order of rogue knights, each member of the Sacred Seven is a skilled warrior and a dangerous foe in their own right. United, they are an almost insurmountable threat for anything short of a small army.
The Sacred Seven were drawn together as the last surviving members of a holy order, each fallen from grace when their order faced a massacre and they were found wanting in their faith. They banded together and swore a terrible pact, one that promised ruin for all the kingdoms who had abandoned them in their time of need. Each of the seven members was infused with dark power and sent out into the world to hunt their foes, and bring them to ground. Each of the Sacred Seven is a Blackguard, a powerful servant of the forces of evil. They are known by their choice of weapons: Tearer wields a terrible greataxe, Lance is a cavalier with a weapon made of starmetal, Bastarde is a master duelist with a longsword. Flamberge carries a battered greatsword, dented and nicked by battle. Bulwark is a sword-and-shield expert, Shatterer carries a great two-handed warhammer originally made by dwarves to break dragons, and Case a pair of matched longswords. They speak rarely, and dress in the tattered remnants of their order's old surcoats and cloaks. Statistics: Each of the Sacred Seven casts spells from the Paladin spell list, usually favouring smite spells. Their attacks vary by weapon, and each is a Challenge Rating 8 encounter on their own. Being favoured by the dark gods, they can even escape death unless all seven are vanquished. How you can use the Sacred Seven in your game: - On a hunt for a foe, a servant of one of the kingdoms who betrayed them, the Player Characters are joined by a mysterious knight with a sepulchral appearance and the robes of a long-dead order of paladins. The knight seems highly competent, and driven to bring their foe to ground without asking for payment. When they are wounded in battle, however, their true nature may start to become apparent. - If one of the PCs' identity relates to a specific kingdom, this may be one of the ones which betrayed the Sacred Seven. One of the band, or perhaps even several, may come for them. Spotting their distinctive helmet crests and surcoats across a foggy moor or a crowded street should turn the blood cold. They Sacred Seven will think nothing of slaughtering their way through a crowd or eliminating any allies their target might have, and a confrontation could lead to dozens of collateral deaths if not handled well. - Even those who would supply them quake when they hear the Sacred Seven making movements. Information could come from a very unexpected source- an assassins' guild, the Temple of Bane, or some other group which would normally be the PCs' enemies. Hearing that the Seven are coming together for a mission should be terrifying. Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 25 April 2020. This post is harvesting copiously from a Reddit post I saw about five years ago, about the importance of making a Lawful Evil religion actually attractive to the people who follow it, instead of just being an excuse to be a jerk. The adage "no-one is a villain, in their own head" applies here.
In the original post, user u/almightyolive described Infernalism as below: [QUOTE] Infernalism first made it's appearance on the continent at the same time as the Fellborn pact (where humans allowed themselves to be transformed by the Devils in return for their and their future offspring's souls), but it is believed to be the dominant belief system among Devils. It emphasizes the importance of individual wealth and power, and while Infernalism advocates following the law it stresses that rules are meant to be bent. Infernalism is all about the individual and the present; it does not matter how the world was created because you are here now and you matter. Infernalism implores it's adherents to live in the moment, increase your personal power and not worry about silly things like the afterlife or reputation. It matches current scholarly thought on the nature of Devils, who are thought to be Fallen Angels who could no longer bear the responsibility of their duty and broke free of their bonds. The core of the religion is the Codex, or the set of codified rules that an adherent follows. There is evidence of a variety of conflicting rule sets in circulation (even among Devils) despite it's central importance, leading some scholars to speculate that some adherents view that even the Codex itself is inferior to one's power and can be changed at will. There are two existing forms of Infernalism worship; the Cult and the Induction.
Author's note: The following list is a selection of common rules that appear on most versions of the Codex. It is not an exhaustive list.
I've had this post saved for years, waiting for an opportunity to introduce it to my campaign, but it's never quite fit. That said, it might fit for some of you, wonderful readers. Here are some ideas and comments on how you could use such a concept: How you can use Infernalism in your game: - For Pathfinder players, this concept fits perfectly for a native of Cheliax and their practice of Diabolism. For players in other campaign settings, the Shadovar of Forgotten Realms, the Scarlet Brotherhood or the Empire of Iuz in Greyhawk, these kinds of beliefs might drive a Lawful Evil player character, without leading to them just disrupting the party and ruining everything. - For those who have played the updated versions of Doom, there's a religion similar to Infernalism going on, which the NPC Olivia Pierce follows and has led a cult in. This cult becomes an uprising that triggers off the main events of the game. This could be used as the basis for a new-age spiritualist belief system in a modern or sci-fi game with very little change. - Even if you (wisely) limit your player characters to not being evil, this kind of philosophy could be one that some of your Neutral or even Good characters might practice, eschewing the more manipulative or usurious commandments. Given that many of these commandments are to do with self-actualization and looking out for what's dear to you, it's not something that would necessarily "trigger off" someone's evil-detection senses. - The Ten Thousand Kings of Hell have become aware of the audacity practiced in seeding this religion among the mortal races, and even they are impressed with its success. They have elected one of their members, the Heresiarch, to orchestrate its growth. He is clad in darkened steel and cannot speak, only breathe words of fire that float upon the air, and yet his words are praised and listened to. The practices of concealment and deception are being discarded for honest semblance- and yet mortals still listen. Although this technically does not breach the Truce Celestial, the forces of the Heavens are mightily concerned by its growth, and would send word to their own agents to work against it. Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 17 April 2020. Some foes cannot be destroyed, only overcome for a time. Legend tells of a powerful wizard, imprisoned in time by three knights who all gave their swords and their lives to hold him.
The swords, stained with the wizard's blood, were taken up by each knight's squire and have long and glorious histories of their own. The knights each passed into undeath, their mortal lives burned into the sorcery imprisoning their foe. As their spirits dwindle, the sorcery is starting to fade, and there are whispers that he has been seen appearing again. A band of heroes must seek out the knights' spirits and their swords to renew the spell, before their foe can return in full. How you can use Bound by Heroes' Blades in your game: - This campaign concept includes a bunch of regular fantasy tropes- questing across the land, collecting relics, stopping an incredibly powerful enemy, and seeking out hero-spirits from another time. You can use it as the basis for a solid campaign just as it is, or personalize it for your own use. - The Player Characters might be reincarnations of the original heroes, descendants of them or their squires, or completely unrelated. You can have the Knights' ghosts be willing to aid your PCs, but be trapped, drained, or unhelpful. Perhaps one of them has even fallen to corruption in undeath. Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 16 April 2020. Interesting world design is more than just making a map and throwing some Orcs on it. You need to start from the ground up. Or sometimes, even deeper than that!
While sticking with some variation of our world's physics is useful and makes storytelling easier, you can add in some magic and really make your world unique! The above picture is from Jake Parker's Skyheart series, a comic series set in a world with strata layers (like an Ogre... or an onion)., which is fantastically evocative, and really inspires some fun design. The series has magic, winged people, flying whales, and airships, and on seeing this picture, I was immediately struck by the idea and wanted to explore it- the different layers, the different flying continents, and the different peoples that inhabit it. If you can find an idea that makes your players sit up and cock their heads at it when they see it, trying to figure it out and find out what's inside, you're doing great. So test it out with a friend- show them your idea and see what they think. If you can sell one person on the idea, you've got a start! And if they've got some feedback, take it onboard. You've got a bunch of time right now, what are you waiting for? Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 26 March 2020. "There are things you can't fight - acts of God. You see a hurricane coming, you get out of the way. But when you're in a Jaeger, suddenly you can finally fight the hurricane. You can win." -Pacific Rim
Faced with dragons, demons, and the legendary Tarrasque itself, no mortal champion could battle them all. Thus, several archmages gathered and pooled their resources, building tremendous creations that could allow a pilot an exponential enhancement to their abilities. These constructs are over two hundred feet tall, resembling giantic armoured statues, but they are capable of startling violence and colossal might. Some are piloted by just one pilot, while others have several in strategic locations. Some are even built for specific purposes, carrying seige equipment or even entire barracks within their bodies. No-one knows the secret of their creation, and their number is extremely limited. They are known as Hoplomaximus (giant soldiers), and a single one can turn the tide of a war. A number united or in conflict can change the face of the planet. Statistics: It may be simplest to run the Hoplomaximus with a separate character sheet, like a spaceship or animal companion. One should be almost on par with something like the Tarrasque - possessing colossal power and ability, but with its own varied weaknesses and strengths. Some are highly mobile, while others are slow brawlers. How you can use Hoplomaximus in your game: - Control of a single Hoplomaxim is a resource which will be fought over by cities and nations at almost any cost. Possession of one is worth an Emperor's ransom. If you want to have your PCs gain control of one, finding one damaged or with slain pilots within, could give them an opportunity. You'll also need an appropriate threat approaching, perhaps a creature already woundd but one that still poses a threat. - Controlling a squad of lesser or even full-sized Hoplomaximus could be a fun palate-cleanser for your player characters as a one-shot or short (or long!) campaign. Monsters worth fighting will be needed to be appropriate foes, but such machines cannot go everywhere- having the pilots have to do some things on their own, perhaps evading the attacks of some colossal beast while trying to reach their Hoplomaxim, or being attacked by lesser creatures. Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 12 March 2020. The Old Gods of the universe are unspeakably ancient, old before the world was born. They embrace primal emotions, more more fundamental than thought or philosophy. Their desires are vaster and wider than morality.
The Old Gods were cast out in the Dawn War, when their children were born. Stars aged and died in the Old Gods' banishment. But they have patience, and cunning, and billions of years to plan, in addition to powers that snuffed out suns and gods alike. Their weapons included the Nightserpent, a beast that hides in the dark between the stars, and even stranger things. But perhaps they are not prepared for how the world has moved on without them, and what forces might be arrayed against them. How you can use the Old Gods in your game: - Much like the Reapers of Mass Effect, one of the Old Gods returning can bring whole kingdoms to dust. Worlds will tremble as they begin their awakening, and no force can stand against them. Only a few plucky heroes in the right place can unbalance the magics that will return them, and surely no-one is dumb enough to sign up for that much of a suicide mission? - Perhaps the awakening of the Old Gods brings their minions, ur-demons from the deepest depths of the Abyss, realms of pure insanity and unreasoning hatred. Like Dragon Age's Blight, this can wreak havoc across the world and allow lower-level adventurers to fight their way to positions as experienced combatants. Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 12 December 2019. For special circumstances, I like to try to do something fun for my players. Usually, they'll 'find' a magic item which benefits them particularly somehow, or a new spell, or something that bumps one of their clas abilities. In this case, I've just finished a season of the current campaign that I'm running, which leaves me in-between games. So tonight's going to be something fun, hearkening back to a campaign we played a few years ago, where my player's favourite character Svenn died.
So as part of tonight's game, the players will be taking on the roles of Svenn and his celestial warband, bringing trouble on behalf of his patron deity to the realms of evil. Svenn, a mighty-thewed Paladin, will have the brief chance to walk the mortal realms again, giving my player a chance to relive some old glories, and the party a chance to have fun with playing some really funky celestials, instead of traditional adventurers. How you can use this idea in your game: - As a one-shot, picking up for an old character can be a lot of fun. If they're retired to run a bar, defending it from some marauding barbarians or a group of con artists intent on fleecing them could be a great side night of entertainment. If they're deceased, giving them a romp through the underworld or the Heavens could be fun too. - You can use this technique to wrap up a campaign, or even to introduce one. You can play with some narrative that the players' characters wouldn't have, but might be useful for them at the end of the campaign, or wrap up some loose ends. Think of the opening episode of Game of Thrones- the Wildlings and deserters running through the forest, getting a glimpse of the White Walkers. Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 25 October 2019. The Herald of the Eclipse is a monster beyond reckoning, a being forged of abominant godlike energy with the sole purpose of being the harbinger of all light in the universe being extinguished. It appears as a gigantic figure, alternately made of luminous flesh and dark armour, shifting back and forth as the flesh tears its way through the armour and then shrivels away. It wields a sword made of pure two-dimensional light, with no mass and atomic sharpness, able to shear through any object with ease. Above its head floats a small black orb, blocking the light out.
The Eclipse Herald is a being which can be used to serve as an end-campaign boss, served by insane alienists and cults of madmen as the eclipse draws near and the sun dims. When it arrives from the darkness to bring about the end, the upheaval will shake the earth, spill the seas, set lycanthropes ahowl, and bring armies of monsters flooding from the Underdark. This being ends worlds with its presence, and even beholding it should break the minds of those present. Statistics: The Eclipse Herald is a 500- Hit Die outsider of Neutral Evil alignment. Walking the earth leaves utter ruin in its wake, and neither Gods nor Dragons can stand against it. Its sword functions as something equivalent to a +20 Vorpal blade, with a critical range of 11-20, with a base of 20d6 force damage. The Eclipse Herald may use Implosion or Mage's Disjunction three times per round as free actions, and is surrounded by a Storm of Vengeance permanently. The Eclipse Herald is immune to any light or darkness effects. How you can use the Eclipse Herald in your game: - As a campaign world-ending threat, the Eclipse Herald is ideal. Its arrival brings upheaval like no-one can expect, and you can build up to this with cults of insane worshippers attempting to bring about the end of the world themselves. - When the Eclipse Herald arrives, its approach is inexorable and unstoppable. It cannot be reasoned with or bribed, and does not even speak, although it recognises behaviour and can react intelligently to threats. Even extremely seasoned players will find this a terrifying threat. - This makes an ideal Phase 1 end boss for a high-powered team of PCs, Avengers-style. However, this being is only the harbinger of a much more dangerous threat, and it may be serving the nefarious ends of an even greater and more shadowy master. Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 13 September 2019. This idea is something I've touched on before, but is usable for fantasy and modern games as well- using the ruins of what we know and love to set a story. Maps of modern cities are quite easy to get, and a Lonely Planet guide will tell you what points of interest to look out for. With a working knowledge of a city, you can turn it into a post-apocalypse paradise for your own use.
Key points to play up here are the ruined beauty of something that used to be grand- whether you're living in the cyclopean ruins of some abandoned Dwarven city towering overhead, or the tatters of elegant Elven architecture swinging lightly in the breeze, sparkles of frustrated magic buzzing back and forth, or the glass and concrete edificies that held thousands, now multi-level gang hideouts and half-collapsed deathtraps. It's an idea you can use to quickly build districts, and people know what kind of things they might find in a mall, an office building, or a hardware store. You can let your players do some work for you, without even knowing it. "Hey, we need some construction stuff- that hardware store back on 17th will have some, won't they?" "Sure it would!" Tekhenu are one of the legacies of the Ethergaunt invasion of the last century. Now often overgrown, the tekhenu are receptacles of stored power, often in distant areas or wastelands.
Tekhenu can be tapped or destroyed to the stored power, allowing spellcasters to use abilities far beyond their own normal threshhold. A variety of different tekhenu exist, granting different abilities. Being enormously valuable, they are often hoarded by the powerful as weapons, tools, and resources. They are often about twenty feet high, and weigh tens of thousands of pounds. Statistics: Standard Tekhenu allow any spellcaster touching them to empower any spell they cast, increasing all variable, numeric effects of an empowered spell to double. An empowered spell deals double as much damage as normal, cures double the number of hit points, affects double the number of targets, and so on. The saving throw DC of an empowered spell is +4 higher than normal. In addition, some tekhenu increase the range of any empowered spells to 10x the normal range, while others increase the area to triple the radius or amount of area affected, or adding the spell's damage again in bonus necrotic damage. How you can use Tekhenu in your game: - As abandoned relics of an old war, tekhenu are highly rized, and several wars have been fought over their possession. Although they can be moved, news of their location spreads quickly, and nations will kill to add one to their arsenal. - Player Characters might be sent on an urgent mission to take possession of a tekhenu while reinforcements (and engineers) arrive to transport it home. They are authorized to use its power to fight off a force from another nation who wish to take it for them, but letting go at the end might be the hard part. - Tekhenu which have been relocated often form the centre of a sacred space, a wizard's sanctum, or a king's throne room. They form the heart of sites of power, and are used by the powerful to stay that way. But a small alliance of rebels plans to destroy this power base, stopping them from being used any more. Such an act causes incredible releases of destructive energy, but can change a super-powered spellcaster into "just" a regular spellcaster again, allowing them to be vanquished without such destructive spellcasting. These rebels call themselves "Breakers", and they're recruiting... Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 23 May 2019. |
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