Encounter Area - Lost and Found in the Woods

Well, as I do sometimes when we go out to one of our local watering holes, I take my notebook, and perhaps a couple of blank maps to scribble ideas on. After all, sometimes the muse is right beneath the surface...

Anyway, printed this out and thought it might make a good spot for a small encounter, maybe a rescue, maybe a fight...

Source

Let's see. Maybe gnolls? They could be keeping watch, take cover in the ruins and tower, fight smart. They'll have captives in the north room. And they haven't found the secret room, but there will be a scary undead there.

Hey. Waitaminute....

https://leicestersramble.blogspot.com/2023/05/returning-to-campaign.html

Damnit...

'Course, I never wrote it down, and couldn't find the particulars in my original notes, so ginned up a reasonable facsimile. 

FINE.

That's what a few years of one-shots and campaign gets you, I guess. 

A Manor, Lost and Found...

The Lair of the Pale Toads

Last week, we were introduced to the Pale Toads. To expand on our new friends, they needed a lair, and a bit of a story as to why they have suddenly appeared along the edge of civilization, curious and adventuresome. 

AI Trigger Warning.

The Toads tire of lingering in their dim places, and, curious about those who explore their lands, seek to reach out and make contact. But in that vein, they need a leader to inspire them, and teachers to prepare them to interact with the outlanders.

Fortunately, our little community within the lair has both, and the Toads are ready to seek new lands and new allies. The old Queen seeks a greater calling and legacy for her folk. The priests commune with and teach of the great toad who brought them up. And instructors teach worthy toads the arts they will need to survive in the greater world and the rough language of the foreigners so that they may communicate.

This "adventure" is written more as a settlement or village, with its personalities and resources, than a "lair" to be murderhoboed. YMMV. 

The map was provided by Jean-Claude ''Raznag'' Tremblay. I've used one of his maps before, and have several more in the files awaiting the correct inspiration.

Anyway, welcome to the Lair of the Pale Toads. Try the swamp-beer.

Update: Got called out for the AI art, so I'll address it here, rather than getting into multiple discussions elsewhere. Yes, the Toad images are AI. I happened to find them whimsical and inspiring enough as prompts to write up a couple of posts worth of content. Because I write for fun, after all. This isn't a commercial or professional endeavor. I don't have delusions of adequacy when it comes to my writing. I just put it out there to keep my brain active, and perhaps someone will use a piece of mine at their table one day. And much of what I write here (eleven years of posts, 100+ adventures or scenarios, plus myriad other content) is found inspiration: A good map-space, a piece of history, a photo of an artefact, a scene in a book. But the writing is mine. 

Ironically, I didn't even "create" the Toads' art, but lifted it from Pale Toad's YouTube posts.  

Will I use AI art in the future? Likely not. It doesn't fit the esthetic of my writing and imagined game-space. And AI is considered anathema in plenty of creative spaces. Anyway, I'd rather hunt down an appropriate bit of Hannes Bok or piece of medieval marginalia to illustrate my little adventures or scenarios. The images I use on my posts are attributed to their sources, and anything that I do put up on DTRPG or similar is typically illustrated by either public domain art or purchased art from human creators. 

So, if for some reason this is the first time you've stumbled on my blog, I apologize if AI is your first impression. Feel free to peruse the nearly 650 posts that aren't AI content.

A Visit to Brindlegrit Gatehouse

Jackson finally came out from under whatever rock he normally hides under with a new map. 

Sure, I haven't done a quick setting writeup for a bit. Well ok, for three weeks. 

The place looks like a run down bit of border wall, perhaps occupied by a handful of ne'er do wells and/or other colorful folk, pretending that they hold this section of a decaying trade road, abandoned by a power that no longer has the administration or reach to maintain its border posts.

So welcome to Brindlegrit Gatehouse.

The location is home to a few folks, looking to take advantage of the location. Accompanying the description is a list of possible happenings on the day that the party shows up. And a newish PC/NPC class, the Hedge Mage. 

As I've noted in my Shadowdark rundowns, I do enjoy a bit of randomness to my magic (no matter how much the other players whine about it). In fact, since Bloggah is described as a mage who doesn't exactly know how magic works, I select all of his spells randomly. So, expanding on that idea, the hedge mage is not a formal scholar of the magical realm, but a dabbler and collector. Therefore, all new magical spells come to them via a roll of the dice. And, sometimes, a bit of other brands of magic sneaks in, giving them some unexpected perks or abilities...

It's Christmas Eve, so Merry Christmas to you pagans who have adopted the holiday. It's been a challenging year behind the scenes at Leicester's Rambles HQ, but we're hanging in there, as is the way of my people. There has been some stability and joy buried within, so we are fortunate to be where we are at this time of life. 

So enjoy the holiday time, reflect on the year, look backward and forward, and take that deep cleansing breath. Or be like Betty. Relax, grab your Squishmallow, and let it all hang out.

The Potato Barons, A Shorts Interlude

Damnit Tim. 

First of all, you tempt poor Bloggah in the Guild of Arcane Lore, then you post up this perfectly cromulent little map, complete with the descriptive sentence: "Two potato farmers, brothers Burke and McHale, have several acres of potatoes. They have titled themselves the Potato Barons."

Fine, a brief bit of freewriting to occupy my evening and expand upon my flippant comments on your Reddit posts...

***

Two potato farmers, brothers Burke and McHale, have several acres of potatoes. They've dubbed themselves the Potato Barons. A decade ago, they homesteaded the acreage under a land charter from the local baron, Ser Erasmus Cludge. The land has been generous to the two farmers, and they easily raise a surplus of tubers to support themselves beyond the baron's annual tithes. Their groaning carts of potatoes are a welcome sight at the local markets in the summer and autumn, particularly as winter begins to set in and folks stock up their root cellars.

Their homes are set up along the trade road on the north shore of the local stream, Bruderware Creek. The stream provides irrigation water (and the occasional giant frog). Burke, a lifelong bachelor, has a compact house. Out front are his storehouse/tool shed and private distillery, in which he concocts a reasonably good vodka for sale, gifts, and bribes for the local tax collector. McHale's home is a larger two-story structure, which also incorporates a stable for the brothers' draft animals. McHale, his wife Lizzy, and their son Arejay sleep in a mezzanine over the stable. Both homes are surrounded by low walls of mortared river stone.

Several years ago, an ankheg was causing problems for the farmers. A group of wandering heroes were able to defeat the beast. In reward for assisting them, Burke and McHale, gave the adventurers a cart full of potatoes. Surprisingly, the party was very happy with the reward. 

In defense against any other ankheg incursions, as well as roaming ruffians/adventuring parties, Burke and McHale have contracted with local conjurer-artificer Skandeleous Krank to create guardians to fend off threats. Krank, always a proponent of “Conjure Locally,” produced for them a pair of potato-golems to watch over their fields... 

Hey, you work with what you got...

Say Hi to Burke and McHale here

(Complete with monster stats and a bit of surprise artwork)

Review: A Trio of Card Decks

Time to take a look at a few bits of Kickstarter loot that have been knocking around in my office:

First off, Crawl Cards: Overland, from BPB Games. I pledged at the $10 level for a POD discount coupon for the physical cards plus pdf. The supplement is a deck of 50 cards, each with six hexes. Hexes are color/graphic coded for terrain, along with features associates with one or more hexes (structures, settlements, monsters, unique terrain, etc.). Each card also has a brief description on the back for one or two unique features found within the six-hex area. The cards are designed for 5e, but are generally system agnostic in their descriptions.

Let's pull one. 

Card GO-07: "Blood Soaked Vale" The six hexes include three mountainous terrain, one swamp, on grassland, and two ruins/settlements (the hexes of interest).

Ooo. A mystery and the grumpy dead. Always a good start. Since the cards are meant to be used in sandbox style adventuring, the designers recommend drawing three cards and picking one that best fits as an adjacent region or continuation of a narration. 

(Draws three...)

The cards are titled "A Darker Path," "Radical Freedom," and "Rasekuhe." Cards 2 and 3 describe dwarven anarchists and a couple of farming and ranching communities, so the themes aren't particularly consistent with the original card. 

The Stonewill Estate: Another Quick-and-Dirty Encounter

I feel like I've just been recounting and documenting my various campaign moments, and owe the world some creativity that's more than a grumpy goblin mage ranting...

So returning again to my campaign to provide a bit of content that someone may find useful for their sessions. Another Breaking and Entering, as happens in cities now and then. This one is the space developed for my "Repossessing the Possessed" session, where the party dealt with a horde of creepy dolls, but especially the one they were sent to retrieve.

I filled out the rooms with brief descriptions, and distributed the treasure that I had originally rolled up for the session. I added a few details to make the location more generic and flexible (hopefully) and fixed a couple of inconsistencies from play.

Additionally, I provided info for multiple avenues of access, whether street-level or subterranean.

source

So find your way into Stonewill Estate here...

Hope you all are having an enjoyable Labor Day weekend. I was planning on running a Shadowdark one-shot, but had to cancel due to a sick dog. Family priorities.

Saint Sephaton's Wine Garden (a quick-and-dirty encounter)

As I mentioned in the prior entry, Slick and Orzu took care of a little bit of necromantic housekeeping on behalf of the local temple. but not until after enjoying a bit of wine and cheese. 

The encounter was built on the fly, using a spare map in hand, as well as a necromancer's spell list and a few lightly modified undead. It's pretty bone-simple, but perhaps a useful side hook for a few adventurers trolling about in a city. So I'm sharing a lightly edited encounter for anyone's table. Enjoy.

source

Download Saint Sephaton's Wine Garden

(Edit: added sewer access option for PCs who don't mind getting their feet dirty)

A Jungle Tower

Back on the creative bent, or at least completing a few really rough drafts languishing long enough that I needed to call a necromancer to help me revive them...

Some time ago, I found a few maps posted by Billy Longino on some social media (defunct blog, shared post? Google lens has failed me.). Anyway, selected a few that had good, workable spaces to my amateur's eye. This tower...

... was a good candidate, and I roughed up a few ideas that sat in a notebook. I had a tough time building a 'story' for the space and its occupant(s), but a pool on the summit of a jungle tower needed some story...

I came up with a damaged or controlled 'spirit' or similar being held in thrall by a Bad Person (tm). I had some helpful inspiration from JB's Comes Chaos, in creating the side-effects of such tampering.

So here is a short scenario, of bringing things back into order. We'll see how this presentation works, since the accessory spells, etc., take up as much page count as the scenario itself, but I wanted to show everything in a single space. 

Anyway - let's go see if we can clean up the local water supply...

Intruding Upon a Logen Nein Space

Reddit-denizen Logen Nein began posting his map-drawing experiments last year. His style is good, and the spaces are well-laid out, so I've collected a handful that stood out to me for my own creative endeavors.

Like the recent Tim Shorts map, this is a small space, a five-room dungeon if I stretch it. And it's pre-loaded with a few features (web, skeletons, furniture) to imply occupants and a bit of a story. So I took this on as a one-hour writing exercise.

Source

...eight hours later...

OK, the original occupant of the east cave didn't work out with the spider and got eaten. I re-stocked it with a deep elf, based on the OSE drow. Side note - the dark elf thing never quite worked for me, since so many subterranean or deep-water critters lose their pigmentation.

like these guys

So screw it, my deep elves are pallid and bug-eyed. It's my campaign.

like this guy

Anyway... we have a deep elf spy and their arachnid housemate hangin' in a cave, spying on the comings and goings of ships, and feeding the info to the local pirates. 

What cargoes could the deep elves be seeking to secure? Spices? Brightly-colored fabrics? Black light posters? Who knows, they are a mysterious lot.

Have fun with this little cave and its foes. 

Be good to one another out there.

Cavern of the Chartreuse Apparition - A Shorts Short

Tim Shorts threw this intimate map up on the Reddits several days ago, and I added it to my file of stolen maps. 

We have a small cave with two areas of note - a well and a finished chamber. Tim said in his post that he'd burned through his green colored pencil to color the space, so I chose to pay homage to the brave pencil in its selfless sacrifice. 

With only a couple of locations of note, this place is likely an abandoned space, but somewhere that Our Heroes(tm) might seek out for some sort of boon or resource. Since the place seems to be pretty much cleared out, I chose a ghost as a resident, and perhaps one with some knowledge. Added a guardian critter and small puzzle. And created a few tables for a GM to either randomize or pick from to create some seed for exploration. Because random tables are good.

Welcome to the:

Cavern of the Chartreuse Apparition

Ok, back to digging out from the snow out here on The Plains, where I'm spending a bit of post-holiday time with family, Happy New Year, and be well.

Poor Baldo Woldarm: A found Tim Shorts map

 Happy Sunday!

Tim Shorts dropped a small map on the Reddits, and I picked it up.  I've known Tim since the G+ days, and always appreciated his hand drawn and colored maps. 

Tim shared this unnamed piece: 

... and I wanted to write up a brief encounter to fit the space. So our poor dwarf, Baldo Woldarm, happened upon something unexpected during his excavations of a family shrine. Discover what Baldo found, here. 

Coincidentally, I also recently saw an article on the venomous marine bloodworm, with its odd copper and protein teeth. And I can't turn down monsterizing a worm...  But I'm sure that's nothing to be concerned about.

Tim also has a Patreon, where he creates encounters, colorful NPCs, and malevolent beings based partly on his home Komor Forest campaign. 

Anyway, enjoy, and I'm off to the gym and then to prep for tonight's game.

Sapiam's Observatory

Good morning, 

Here's an island location, with its main occupant a skilled craftsman of some renown. 

Hopefully, a locale like this could be used for a number of possibilities: PCs seek to either purchase or commission a lens ground by Sapiam, gathering some astronomical information or interpretations, hired to infiltrate his compound and gain secrets of his methods and materials. An NPC like Sapiam can also become a patron, or commission the acquisition of raw materials, as well. 

Download me here

Checking in at the Ruins of Castle Kazza

Sneaking in one more before the end of the month.

Not much going on here, or is it? The locals report that a band of orcs are squatting in the vacation home of a beloved past king. Might as well go see what sort of mischief they are getting themselves into. 

Or not? 

We visit another one of Daniel Walthall's creations, a small castle in disrepair.

I waffled about how to present this space. It seemed to have a few stories or possibilities to it, similar to my "4 Scenarios" exercises. In the end, instead of changing the occupants and scenario, I kept our somewhat anachronistic band of orcs, and, instead, took inspiration from Daniel's signature random table on each map. So, we have several potential objectives for our orcs, a batch of other NPCs to influence the action, and some random pocket change, as it were....

Download the Ruins of Castle Kazza

 

I hope this inspires some play or threads of other ideas. Enjoy, and stay healthy and safe out there. 

Pyramid of the Restless Eye - A Walthall interpretation

Greetings from CoronaCon2020, Day Whatever.

Doing pretty well here, and hope that you all are safe and sound as well. Trying to keep up fitness, both physical and mental, so regarding the second - a writing exercise for today:

Daniel's Patreon

Ganked another of Daniel Walthall's recent maps - an evocative pyramid, and wrote it up as an objective location with a number of undead guardians that will require negotiation (and potentially a quest) rather than combat to gain information or other desires from the target MacGuffin. It's a bit open-ended, and an eccentric undead has their potential, as do the undead's companions, hopefully.

deviantart.com/kostya-pingwin

So hack and slash your way through the jungle until you reach the Pyramid of the Restless Eye, and find out what Amenhemti is interesting in adding to his collection in exchange for his services.

The Sea Caves of Gara, or where did these mushrooms come from?

Happy viral endtimes!

Like many folks in Seattle, I'm working at home if I'm not out in the field. Likewise, the wife is teaching her university classes remotely, so I hear the dulcet strains of her cursing technology now and then... The commutes have been speedy, and surprisingly, my local grocery has not been stripped of toilet paper. While the PNB performance we were to attend this weekend is cancelled, my improv performance on Tuesday night is (so far) still on.

So, taking a break from staring at construction workplans, and making the brain be creative. Daniel Walthall posted up this evocative sea cave map with a few interesting objects and details, so I wrote a brief scenario using only his illustrations as prompts (with one exception).

Download this fungal fantasy

...and as John Large says, it's not old school if there aren't random mushrooms.

laccaria amethystina
A serendipitous find posted by Greg Gorgonmilk

Updated adventures for Sword & Wizardry

With the Swords & Wizardry Kickstarter out in full force, I went back into my catalog of mini-adventures and scenarios with the objective of revising them into that system. A couple were already written up for S&W, and the remainder took some light work to fit them into the system.

So here are six adventures, uploaded to DriveThru for purchase (PWYW) and sharing.

All are crafted around a number of Dyson's maps, with my interpretations, of course.

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/303542/Old-Cruik-Hollow

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/303541/Four-Visits-to-Wyvernseeker-Rock

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/303538/The-Savage-Caves

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/303536/Guimonds-Tower-and-the-Lair-of-the-DruidLich

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/303540/Four-Views-of-Grizzly-Eye-Cave

Feel free to take a look, and feedback is appreciated.

A quick visit to The Weary Wench

That Jackson fellow drafted up a cozy tavern while on vacation.

“This is a little place in Scaldwater called The Weary Wench. Skavos, a large burly lumberjack, serves awesome clam chowder (just like I had yesterday at The Warren Tavern!) and can tell you a tale or two. So pull up a stool, drop a couple silver on the bar, and enjoy a good bowl or two.”

So - a one-hour (more or less) writing exercise to fill it with backstory and local color.  Here ya go:

Skavos bought the place after losing three fingers of his right hand in a felling accident. Not much use for a 'jack who could no longer swing an axe. But one thing he still had was his maw-maw's recipe for chowder. So he slicked his hair back, put on an apron, and fired up the stove.

The establishment is unassuming, but cozy. Rough-hewn tables and bar are slowly getting smoothed and polished from the constant rubbing of elbows, thumping of tankards, and spilling of food. Skavos trundles between the bar and kitchen like an affable bear, shouting greetings and winked admonishments to both guest and employee in equal turn. In addition to his prized chowder, guests may partake of bread, roast root vegetables, and boiled eggs. Behind the bar are a few casks of passable ale, although Skavos keeps a keg of decent perry under the bar for those who know to ask.

Voices in the Chapel - revising an old map

Hi all - here's a brief setting built from an old Dungeon magazine map that popped up.  Set in a rural chapel, the locals are frightened by their local priests increasingly chaotic messages and behavior.

The map was found in Issue 2 of the magazine, as part of the 'Caermor' adventure published within.  The map itself is a simple, clean design, easily re-interpreted for a campaign location, such as this one.

So what is going on in Father Aldo's church?

Take a look here!

Edit: quick revision to the thing in the cellar...

Torches and pitchforks

Blame Jackson for posting a quick map of a small tomb on Easter. That's my story, and I'm sticking with it.

A heretic was recently executed, their body placed within a tomb outside of town. As insurance against their meddlesome followers, the tomb entrance was barricaded and manned with guards to warn the curious away. This morning, the guards' replacements found the barricades dropped and the guards missing.

1. Tomb Entrance - Barricades placed across the opening have been removed/displaced. A smell of death, greater than what would be expected, permeates the area.

2. Signs of Death - Scattered bones are strewn on the floor. Remnants of armor and weaponry indicate that these were once the tomb guards, left to keep watch over the barrow. Secreted away under a boulder emerging from the north wall is an urn containing 190 gp and a few ambers (9, 10, and 20 gp).

3. Ghoul! - A ghoul has found its way into the tomb, and has been picking clean the bones of the dead guards. It will attack anyone investigating the tomb.

4. Pool! - A seep has created a pool in the center of the room. The water has absorbed some divine characteristics, and is the equivalent of holy water. It will cause damage (1d8) to the undead in Area 5. Drowning the being will prevent its regeneration. Remains of another unfortunate tomb guard are in the corridor to the tomb (+1 hammer, purse with 41 gp).

5. Heretic’s Tomb - The tomb houses a stone sarcophagus containing the restless remains of the martyred prophet - an undead still containing a ‘spark’ of life - unfamiliar necromantic energies have imbued the corpse with regenerative abilities, and it becomes "less dead" with each passing day.

Revenant: 5 HD; AC 4/15; Atk touch (1d6+ level drain); Effects: Undead resistances, may cast charm and fear once per day, level drain. Holy water, magic or magic weapons are required to hit and damage. Regenerates 1HP/round during combat. The 'Revenant' becomes more resistant to turning each day by 25%. Roll 1d3 for days "dead." After 4 or more days, the being is immune to cleric turning abilities.

The alter at the north side of the room is that of a protective god, placed as a ward against potential reanimations. The alter grants resistance against the Revenant's spell and level drain attacks to anyone within 5 feet.

Downloadable version here

Inspiration: Castle

Mad March Map the 14th - Castle

The ruins of Quent Keep reside among the slowly encroaching forest. Abandoned a generation gone by its human inhabitants, they had cleared the forest attempting to expand their influence into the sylvan lands.  But the greenlands had their own methods for resisting this insolent incursion. It was a siege, but one not of armies. Weeds grew riotously in the kitchen gardens, lightning struck the walls with regularity, the well went dry, and domesticated animals fled or became unproductive.  There is no more need for such fortifications now the caretakers reached an agreement with the fey, retreating back to their own territory and allowing the wilds to regain the area...

The only occupants now are elven children with their centuries-old eyes, who play among the towers and scramble the ivy-covered walls...