Latest Posts by post-maester - Page 5

Drafting the Adventure: Dungeons Without Walls

I love the idea of dungeons, but there was a significant portion of my life as a DM where they didn’t feature in my games. While Pathfinder and 5e provided a great framework for character building and tactical skirmishes that I could build story on top of, neither was really great when it came time to detour into a  dungeon. My players tended to get confused when we headed out to plunder the local ruin or cave system, spending a lot more time figuring out where they were and what they should be doing than actually doing anything. 

The problem as it turned out was limited information.  I had a picture of the dungeon in my head/notes but I couldn’t telepathically infer that to the party, and the back and forth questions where they tried to orient themselves within my mental labyrinth ate up a lot of session time prevented us from attaining that snappy pace that every table needs to keep the players invested.

Recently though I had an epiphany about overhauling exploration in d&d, and wrote up a whole post detailing how you could build and run wilderness adventures the same way you could a heist or a murder mystery. Because I was already writing a series about dungeon design it didn’t take long for me to realize that this exploration overhaul was 100% applicable, and could solve a lot of the delay and confusion my players usually faced on their next trip underground.  Spoilers: it worked amazingly.

 The key to this overhaul was giving my players enough information to see the dungeon as a sort of abstract checklist, and then giving them the power to investigate and check things off that list in whatever order they wished, when they enter a new level of the dungeon they get a new checklist to fill out which still keeps that sense of exploration. Folk love checking things off lists, and I as a dungeonmaster love it when players engage with the content I’ve spent so much energy creating even if it’s only poking their head in the door to realize they want to run away as fast as possible. Likewise, designing the dungeon this way let me tackle much larger concepts without having to sweat the details of filling up every little room as I would have to in map-centric design.

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Stereogram is an autostereogram (Magic Eye) platformer that you can only see by looking closely and unfocusing your eyes!

Read More & Play The Full Game, Free (Windows)

The Chant of Sigil : Factol Hashkar of the Fraternity of Order delivers a boring speech (as usual) at the House of Speakers

Cerebrilith Large fiend (demon), chaotic evil Armor Class 15 (natural armor) Hit Points 149 (13d10 + 78) Speed 30 ft. Str 21, Dex 13, Con 23, Int 15, Wis 18, Cha 21 Saving Throws Int +6, Wis +8 Damage Immunities lightning, poison Damage Resistances acid, cold, fire, psychic; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks Senses darkvision 60 ft. passive Perception 14 Languages Abyssal, telepathy 120 ft. Challenge 10 (5900 XP) Magic Resistance. The cerebrilith has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects. Innate Spellcasting. The cerebrilith’s spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 17). The cerebrilith can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components: At will: detect thoughts, confusion, dissonant whispers 3/day each: darkness, dominate person, gaseous form

Actions Multiattack. The cerebrilith uses Mind Lash if it is able to. It then makes three attacks: one with its bite, and two with its claws. Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d6+5) piercing damage. Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d8+5) slashing damage. Teleport. The cerebrilith magically teleports, along with any equipment it is wearing or carrying, up to 120 feet to an unoccupied space it can see. Mind Lash (Recharge 4-6). Up to three creatures the cerebrilith can see that are within 60 feet of it each must succeed on a DC 17 Intelligence saving throw or take 17 (5d6) psychic damage. A creature that fails its save by 5 or more is also stunned until the end of its next turn.

Cerebriliths are psionic demons who seek to kill, and then consume the brains of, moral creatures. They also use their powers of mental domination to control communities of mortals to serve them, or simply to manipulate them according to the whims of their Abyssal masters. When not serving other demons, they are found in groups of up to four. They stand around 8 feet tall.

Originally from the Expanded Psionics Handbook

The Chant of Sigil : the Modron renegate 3RN3ST-0 paints some anti-Mechanus propaganda on a wall

Uhh exCUse me??

A god of fire and void, meteor king of conquest, plumiting downwards to its next victim (bonus points if its a blue like a commet)

Deity: Mnyull, the Revelation Tyrant

Fasinating stuff my friend, my latest translation of old imperial accounts reveal a previously unknown confession from the rogue general Paldermot. As you well know, current historical narratives have the general sacking the capital city in a failed attempt to seize power from the Tribunes, but if this text is to be believed the Tribunes captured Paldermot and dispersed his rebel legion before he ever entered the city. It goes on to say, in a transcription of Paldermot's own words that he had "Followed a star" to the "seat of a new imperium", and claimed that the star had promised great allies to aid him in his conquest. The text is unquestionably authentic , but it throws our entire understanding of events into question; If Paldermot was captured in the midst of his rebellion, who or what destroyed the capital and turned the surrounding countryside into a crater?

Setup: Hurdling across the void of the astral sea, the meteoric god Mnyull brings ruin wherever he goes, the embodiment of unrelenting invasion at the hands of an inexorable foe. Unlike other gods which present themselves in abstract forms felt across the multiverse Mnyull prefers to exist as an incarnated singular being, a towering construct built around the mummified yet undying body of his current mortal avatar.

This living reliquary leads an army of crusading zealots scattered throughout the multiverse known as the starry horde, followers and adherents of its former vessels who believe that by serving the Revelation Tyrant, they continue the legacy of their particular heaven-chosen liege. It is important to note then that Mnyull and his followers do not adhere to any one ideology as they hold the act of conquest itself sacred, whatever form that conquest takes. Like a shooting star the tyrant god is constantly on the move, dragging his followers into one conflict after another before retiring to a palatial demiplane of rock and ice for decades or centuries at a time to rule those realms where his cult has taken hold.

It is for this reason that some theologians have considered classifying Mnyull as an outergod, those divine beings considered actively hostile to the stability of realities they interact with. Debate rages in those lofty circles however as the hostility the Revelation Tyrant represents usually takes the form of “ Invade them with an alien army before or after hitting their world with a big rock or series of big rocks”.  While the scholar dither, Mnyull bides his time, growing ever closer to some innocent world that has no idea of the disaster that is about to strike it.

Hooks:

The Party’s homeland is struck by the invasion force of a kingdom that fell to Mnyull’s influence generations ago. While more traditional warfare occupies the early adventures of the campaign, they begin to uncover hints of lore about their enemy’s newly arisen (and apparently immortal) theocratic leader along with the strange monument she’s building. Just as it seems they might have an upper hand against the invaders, their enemies deploy new and terrifying weapons and otherworldy allies, sourced from the portal they’ve just finished building.

Sometimes Mnyull decides to feed his urge for conquest by invading a random plane, riding a chunk of astral rock through its firmament and establishing a kingdom wherever he lands. The Revelation Tyrant is not a creature of foresight however, and on his most recent outing ended up impacting into one of that plane’s moons. Refusing to give up he’s carved out a realm among the strange creatures that live among the palid rocks of that blasted planetoid, and now sets his sites upon the verdant world below.

While enjoying a trip to the local archives and observatory, the party are interrupted by agents of the starry horde, looking to plunder the vaults looking for information regarding great weapons created to break worlds known only as “The Anvils”. Predating even the Revelation Tyrant’s earliest memory, Mnyull once used his divine will to steer these ancient tools towards ever more destructive ends, until a coalition of forgotten heroes toppled him from his throne for fear he would turn the weapons upon them. 

Background: None can say where Mnyull first emerged, but planear scholars have charted the tyrant god’s course across world after world and have noticed a self perpetuating cycle:  Some would be warlord sees a silvery star or comet and it awakens in them a desire for conquest, though more often than not they would have began life as someone who already exerted authority over others. Strange powers and allies allow these conquerors to amass a fanatical following and become a true threat to the powers of that age, leading to a climatic confrontation where they are either killed, or rise to claim a throne and immortality. A harsh and “glorious” reign begins, and the ruler demands the construction of great monuments which will serve as portals in Mnyull’s next conquest. Should the Revelation Tyrant lack a body at the moment, one of these ascendant rulers becomes his next vessel, feverishly instructing their underlings how thier body is to be mutilated and interred in preparation for their apotheosis. When the reliquary is built around them, Mnyull’s silver-blue light strikes them full force, their soul igniting to serve as the perpetual fuel for the tyrant god’s engine.

Titles: The Tyrant’s Star, All-conquering Meteor King, Khan of the Starry Horde, Imperitor-Celestium.  Along with any other titles inherited from his innumerable vessels.

Signs: A silver-blue comet or star blazing in the sky, Meteor Showers that produce snowfall without clouds, Ecstatic Visions of victory and conquest, weaponry shining silver 

Symbols: The arc of a Comet above a Crown, Chariot, or Other sign of Lordship.

Followers:  Warmongers of all kinds, be they authoritarians or Rebels. Mnyull has also accumulated followers across the astral sea, so numerous entities which range the cosmos looking for battle are drawn into his service voluntarily or by indoctrination.

Art

I would like to reiterate. High collared supermans are evil Supermans. Low collars or necklines that show some of the clavicle are good superman fashion. This is simply how it is >:) this is my 1 law of Superman design and it is universal. If u wanna make your evil Superman believable he must have a high collar otherwise it doesn't work

young kryptonian prince

VTM character concepts that I am compelled to share as they have completely taken over my brain: Part 2, Electric Boogaloo!

So since my last VTM character concept post BLEW UP and my brain is once again back on its bullshit, here are some more ideas! As usual, feel free to use these to your heart’s content! I’d love to hear about your characters too, so feel free to message me about them! Now, on to the main event: 1. A Malkavian researcher obsessed with statistics who hunts down “statistical outliers” in order to make sure their data is “pure and untampered with.”

2. A Ventrue who has created an up and coming adult toy empire (pun fully intended). They currently are in the midst of a fierce battle with the local Setites over who can cash in on the pleasure business the most.

3. A Brujah who was a successful athlete pre-embrace. Unable to participate in their sport and driven by extreme bitterness and jealousy, they now strive to turn the public against this particular as a whole by ghouling athletes and ordering them to discover, leak, and in some cases create, scandals. All the while, they rage against the sport they once loved under the thin disguise of false activism. 4. A dance instructor and head of a renowned academy known for producing performers who constantly seem to be breaking the limits of what the human body can do, much to the delight of audiences. What these audiences (and many newer students) don’t know is that this instructor is a Tzimisce and the performers have been carefully tweaked and trained during “private lessons” using a combination of Dominate and Vicissitude. Additionally, the Tzimisce is in search of a prospective childe worthy of being their dance partner, and has been carefully monitoring select students. 5. A Gangrel cryptozoologist who aims to be able to eventually master Protean to the point where they can turn into mythical beasts.  6. A Gangrel veterinarian who was embraced after attempting to transport what they thought was an injured dog to their hospital, only for it to have actually been their hurt and very annoyed future sire. 7. A fledgling Baali abandoned after their embrace who thinks they are just some weird Caitiff. 8. A Banu Haqim who was traumatized after they were almost diablerized by a Sabbat vamp. Thoroughly disgusted by the practice, they now hunt diablerists, all the while attempting to ignore the cravings and habits of their bloodline. 9. A Hecata “fixer” who makes their living by disposing of bodies, whether turning them to ashes through the use of Oblivion or by adding them to their collection of undead servants. I’m a little tired, so these are all I have for now, though I plan on dreaming up some more. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy these!

I'm posting a group project I did for film school. Idk man

Zombie Lord (Paths Beyond)

The zombie lord is popular enough that I’m not sure we can say it’s unexpected anymore, but they certainly play against type. The entire thing with zombies is that they are mindless shambling corpses, but zombie lords aren’t. They are actually all-around superior to your run-of-the-mill humanoid, so they work equally as well as a monstrous brute or a manipulative cult leader.

Innate divine spell casting is a great way to customize the zombie lords, but their real meat and potatoes are what they can do to other zombies. Any lord needs minions, so you’ll rarely catch these monsters on their own since they can reanimate corpses with a ritual. If you want to make a zombie lord feel unique, think about how their ritual works. I don’t mean mechanically; I mean what they do during that hour-long ritual. Even if it doesn’t happen on screen, that may give you some of the colour and motivation required to flesh the lord out more.

Halidir the Infested was a priest who waded into the Battle of the Rasping Cliffs mere moments before the Worldwound shut and Deskari was slain. Halibut died from the psychic backlash, except his corpse was infected by thousands of insects fleeing his lord’s domain. Now, the zombie lord claims to be Deskari’s prophet, communing with the dead demon lord and preparing the Abyss for his return.

In life, Fesh the Scribe quietly prayed to Abraxas to grant her the arcane travel the planes. After death, the demon reanimated her as a zombie lord and taught her the secrets of planar travel. Now, Fesh has an unerring eye for portals and is more than willing to trade that information. In return, she asks adventures to help her complete her magnum opus - chronicling the many methods and practices zombie lords use to enact their reanimation rituals.

Sveta Sifsdottir made the journey to Port Valen and failed. She fought and died bravely, warding her body against reanimation, but her soul transformed into a zombie lord while drifting through the astral plane. Furious at her cursed existence, Sveta gathered a crew of undead and fiends on her ship of bone, raiding indiscriminately across the Great Beyond. She is unaware that Mahathallah’s intervention left her in her undead state, and the Dowager of Illusions is highly pleased with the havoc her pawn is wrecking in the afterlife.

The Mask of Zorro (1998) dir. Martin Campbell

VTM character concepts that I am compelled to share as they have completely taken over my brain:

1. A fledgling who wakes up after their embrace to an “Alice in Wonderland”-style “unbirthday party” complete with some rather grizzly tea and presents. Their sire is either a Malkavian who genuinely thinks they are doing something nice, or a very twisted Toreador.

2.  A Lasombra antiquarian bookseller who takes sadistic pleasure in charging Tremere vamps OBSCENE amounts of money for rare occult tomes. 3.  A Salubri vampire who consensually feeds from those suffering from chronic pain in order to give them a little relief, unknowingly creating people addicted to the kiss in the process. 4. Nosferatu with a gorgeous voice who posts songs on social media without revealing their face. They are often asked to perform at Elysium, provoking much jealousy from the local Toreador. 5.  A Toreador dominatrix whose art form is torture. They work with the sheriff to “extract” information, and are currently searching for a fiend to teach them fleshcraft. Please feel free to use any of these as my brain continues to sprout characters without actually having chronicles to play them in lol.

Lamia 5e Player Race

Artwork by QueenChikkibug and me!

Get the full PDF on my patreon for free!

Want more updates on future content and other regular updates, consider following me on twitter!

- Tuz

Polygon

The epic story behind Vox Machina’s season 2 finale

The Critical Role crew talks bringing Umbrasyl to screen

A very interesting and good article about the finale episode/battle of season 2 of Legend of Vox Machina.

Featuring these photos(including Liam doing The Thing! @samuraiko @confringo- @liamobrienlove)

So satisfying. Can't wait to see more of that guy's work

Wolf Folk 5e Player Race

Artwork by QueenChikkibug and me!

Get the full PDF on my patreon for free!

Want more updates on future content and other regular updates, consider following me on twitter!

- Tuz

Monster Hunt: The Ruiner Prince

On his first name day, the faeries approached the king and queen to ask what gift they would have for their son. They could have wished that the prince would be wise, or that he lead a long and happy life, or that he bring prosperity to his people. Instead they wished him be strong, stronger than any who would challenge him.

The heir to a kingdom faces many challenges, and only a fool, or a monster, could think that strength could solve them all.

- Braidbrook’s Fables

In the husk of a once grand palace, a wretched giant squats among squalor and bones awaiting the champion that will slay him. Surrounding villages have been abandoned for decades for fear of the giant’s rampages, and all in the realm dread the day that boredom or some mad fool’s promise of tribute bring the giant to their homes. It will take more than blades and bravado for the party to overcome this foe, as they will not only have to face off against an invincible opponent, but an awful and irrevocable curse.

Adventure Hooks:

For generations the counts and countesses of Galinae have borne a blade handed down since the founding of the kingdom, a mark of their steadfast and indelible honour. This tradition has become a problem for the countess Orana Galinae, since her brother lost the sword and got himself killed trying to slay the Ruiner Prince thirty years ago. Only recently ascended to her ancestral seat, Orana is already hearing rumours circulate that the blade’s absence is a dire omen for her reign. The countess is sure to bestow great rewards and honours for any who return the heirloom to her, though the party’s attempt at a stealthy extraction might be hindered when they realize that though the castle is littered with scattered weapons, many of the choicest ones have been impaled into the meat of the giant’s back, where he is sure to notice their theft.

Fairy gifts are not easily returned, even when the fairy in question could wish nothing more  Over a century of watching the boy she was supposed to be godmother to go feral has filled the fey known as Mossmaven with regret, and seen her doting on the mad giant in those few moments where his brimming rage gives way to confusion and loneliness. She may take on a disguise to request the party’s help in undoing the magic she has done, or attempt to intercede should she discover them skulking about the ruiner’s palace. Should the party agree to help her, they’ll likely end up on a journey through the feywild in search of a partiularly introspective mirror.

Keep reading

Out of all the Seemings in Changeling the Lost, I think the Wizened have to be the funniest.

Like. Imagine you get kidnapped by fairies and forced to do the most menial, boring shit. You are spirited away to Fairy Land and the nobles force you to do stuff like unclog toilets and work customer service for one billion years. And contrary to everything you'd expect from a fantasy world it is boring as sin. A Sidhe noble getting snippy at you because you used the wrong kind of sparkleberries in their parfait was the most noteworthy thing to happen to you in the the past century.

And of course the tedium of it all just shrivels you up like a prune. By the time you finally escape, you're this ancient, wrinkly, little yoda-ass gremlin. Just the crustiest, dustiest barnacle on the face of the earth.

Eventually you manage to find other survivors. Other former humans who had their lives ruined by the Arcadian Slavemasters. Except they're all became beautiful elves and badass elemental golems and sexy animal-men. You find out that even among some of the unluckiest bastards to ever live you are especially unfortunate.

Everyone else was stuck doing things like exploring ever-shifting labyrinths, or fighting dragons, or serving as courtesans in the cut-throat courts of fairy kings. And while that kind of stuff is also awful at least it was whimsical and glamourous in a demented sort of way. At least it didn't suck all the vitality and color from their bodies. At least they all got to become something cool instead of some unremarkable Dobby knock-off. At least their torment was interesting instead of mind-numbingly boring.

Congrats. You survived Wonderland and are now a fairy tale character.

Your reward is Being Old.

I would be so fucking pissed.

Hello! I have an interesting villain idea, but I'm struggling with how to integrate them as a recurring character. They are a Changeling Swarmkeeper who made a deal with a devil in their youth, and have regretted it ever since. They now carry out their patron's will with ruthless, but dispassionate efficiency - even seeming reluctant at times. The players can attempt to kill this slippery foe who so easily vanishes in a crowd, but they could also try to help find a way to break their contract...

Villain: Yves the Envenomed, Assassin of the Zicivaic Swarm

“Grisly deaths are to be expected when mages are involved, but all the same I can’t help but pity the old geezer. All the power of the cosmos at his hands, names of gods upon his lips: and some freak decides the best way to off him would be “Eaten from the Inside out” “

-Darvu Karn, lead investigator for the magocratic tribunal, persuing the death of Igirius the imaginator, a murdered archmage. 

Adventure Hooks

A serial killer is on the loose, one who favors flesh eating insects as a murder weapon and always seems to target powerful scholars or arcanists. Years will pass between the killings, but invariably a body or three will be found devoured by innumerable tiny mouths, the premises stripped clean of evidence as well as any scrap of paper.  After one of her colleagues is found in such a state, the party is hired by archmage Orisa hearthweaver to find the assailant and ensure she’s not the next one to feed the swarm. 

Whether recovering antiques from a dungeon or heisting them from the manor houses of the well to do, the party comes across an ornate lockbox sealed with arcane means that seems almost unnaturally enticing. The box contains no treasure, merely a desiccated hand, crudely severed, home to a number of small unidentifiable insects. If any magic is used near the open box ( including in the opening of it) the beetlelike things begin to multiply at an alarming rate, seeking to devour the caster in question. The only other thing contained by this deadly trap is a symbol: a diamond like shape composed of crude, inward spiraling scratch marks, seemingly etched into the interior box by the hand itself. 

A friend of the party’s caster and former fellow apprentice writes to them with some concerns: after acquiring an innocuous book they seem to be followed everywhere by a hooded figure that seems nothing to do but stare, twitch, and scratch. Driven by anxiety, they’ve decided to flee their home and attempt to evade this stalker, and hopes the hero may be able to lend any sort of aid they can.  When the party finally catches up to them, the friend is on the verge of being attacked by a figure who’s wounds drip black ichor and skin crawls with innumerable vermin. The assailant flees, but will most assuredly will be back unless the party does something. 

Setup:  Less an actual assassin than the implement of a sinister, alien intelligence, the man who sometimes knows himself as Yves is perhaps one of the most dangerous and selective killers at large today.  Working his day to day life as a simple criminal and hired blade, Yves is every so often overwhelmed by a sickness he calls “The Itch”, a demonic compulsion that turns his blood into viscous poison and grants him supernatural insights and abilities that make him into a perfect living weapon for the killing of mages. 

Yves has no control over when The Itch strikes, or who it targets, for those are chosen by his patron: the devil-swarm Zicivaic. This devil is at once a vast horde of bettlelike creatures sharing a vauge intelligence, the vast floating hive-islands they occupy in their particular hell dimension, and the mummified body of the original Zicivaic entombed at the center of the largest and oldest hive. 

The devil-swarm has only three wants: isolation, propagation, and knowledge. All of these are fed by targeting mages, whether they be ones who learn a means of contacting or summoning Zicivaic, or merely those who accumulate a sizeable enough library to make a meal for the lore-eating legion.   When such a target is found, Zicivaic sends Yves ( or another of those it has inflicted with its curse) to slay the mage and feed their arcane libraries to the swarm, the innumerable tomes pulped down to make more hive, the magic contained within spreading throughout the swarm. 

Background: Yves first came into contact with the devil-swarm when he was a boy, apprenticed to a two-bit sorcerer who’s only real talent was passing off the scraps and scribblings of more obscure mages as her own. One day his tutor bought a book of Arcanum from a group of traveling adventurers, who had liberated it from the lair of a nameless cult they’d recently slaughtered. The youth was inflicted by Zicivaic’s curse in a botched summoning ritual, one that saw his tutor devoured and Yves left a confused and traumatized wreck. 

Since then the envenomed assassin has made his way in the world, forced to adapt to his frequent “illnesses” that come over him like a debilitating fever and leave him with only hazy recollections of the time or deeds he performs while under its sway. 

Far away in some rank and buzzing hell, the original Zicivaic exists in a similar wretched state, body all but wasted away as it forms the core of an archipeligo of fear and disgust and hunger. Zicivaic was once a scholar among devil kind, one summoned by petitioners for polite discourses on the nature of philosophy and the arts. His pretentions and genteel nature angered a rival fiend, who conspired to slip a cursed tome into their possession, one that would burden the scholar with a literal hunger for knowledge. Compelled, Zicivaic ate the tome, then their apprentices, then their library, then sent shards of their being out to seek more. Reduced to little more than hunger and the need to know more, the newly formed devil-swarm now operates primarily on instinct, displaying flashes of infernal cunning as the ghost of the original Zicivaic’s original personality stirs from its devouring torpor. 

For the asker: Hey friend, sorry about the delay, the holidays have been wild and my inbox has suffered for it. 

One of my key pieces of advice when designing content is to make sure that you don’t mix too many different “influences” into a project, as keeping things trim will ensure you can fit a story element into different setups until you find something that really works. 

In this instance you’ve got: 

A Changeling: faceswapping doppleganger heritage, mistaken identities, identity crisis

Swarm Imagery: notes of pestilence or famine, mindless consumption, disgust, 

Bargins with devils: damnation, souls, elements of contracts and all that religiously fun stuff. 

I hope you don’t mind, but I decided to focus in on the devil-swarm aspects, as I think it makes for a unique antagonistic force compared to your usual, silvertongued, pitchfork and hellfire type devil. Likewise, I think Yves will be an interesting mystery to pick apart as his killings, as his motivations are more “occult” than “homicidal”, forcing a party to look further in their investigation than your usual conspiracies or crimes of passion. 

Art Source 1

Art Source 2

I fear my ruin-raiding, slave-taking, trade-disrupting goblin villain still isn't villainous enough. What can be done to really make the PCs actively oppose him?

Sounds to me like the problem is less with the Character's actual Villainy and more with how your party relates to them  as I mentioned in this post, part of of my guiding philosophy when it comes to adventure prompts Is finding ways to make the adventurers care about the greater plot. Thankfully you've given me a lot to work with, so without further ado:

Villain: Rizzko Redcap, and the Plunderer’s Market

“Breathe deep dearies, wouldn’t want you putting up a fight and damaging the merchandise. I’m sure there’s an arena pit or a slave mine somewhere desperately in need of your heroic valor” 

Setup: If its one thing this grizzled goblin alchemist hates, it’s adventurers. Once the oblivious and eager assistant to a mad wizard his clan had come into the service of, young Rizzko’s family was slaughtered by a band of zealous sellswords hired to stop the arcanist’s schemes. As a cruel reminder of that day, Rizzko’s face was horribly scarred as he tried to throw himself in the way of the final blow that ended the wizard’s life. 

Nursing his wounds and his hatred for years, Rizzko ran with a number of outlaw bands before finding his place within a surprising new venture growing in the badlands between kingdoms. Different than any encampment before it, this fortified camp sought to be a place where bandits and pillagers could meet, resupply, and swap loot before carrying on to the final destination. Everyone who’s gone on more than one raid knows that even with the most solid of intentions the fury and chaos produces a very mixed bag of pilfered valuables , and that not every buyer willing to do business over obviously bloody goods is interested in everything you might have. Oh sure there’s always a place for livestock, grain  and gold, but what about the cultural artifacts? the books you didn’t burn? Who wants once preciously guarded relics, and who just wants terrified villagers they can force to work to exhaustion in their fields? 

These grisly economics led to prosperity for those who did business with this “Plunderer’s Market”, and year after year the gatherings grew, until eventually what started out as an impromptu swamp meet became a fortified settlement with ad-hock rules supported by a number of powerful bandit clans. Having perfected his early lessons in alchemy into a real talent with all things noxious and nasty, Rizzko fit right in, in particular thanks to his knowledge of arcane valuables, and the plosions he used to subdue valuable hostages for transport to the market. 

Now the goblin is running his own outlaw band, starting his carrier as an independent villain with a series of violent raids on trade routes and local delves, snapping up anyone and anything he thinks valuable enough to trade. His quest for funds and favors are all in service of  resurrecting the great work of his long departed mentor, a task that Rizzko only half remembers but is fully sure will fulfill his need for vengeance against those “civilized” peoples who hurt him so long ago. 

Adventure Hooks:

One of Rizzko’s favorite tricks is to station his gang in ambush near a local dungeon site, perhaps agitating local monsters to rampage near the village or spread rumors in town about treasure or paranormal activity. When the adventurers are drawn into the trap like bees to honey, Rizzko or his lieutenants wait until they’re exhausted and heading back to town with packs laid down with gold before striking. Hopefully the party notices that someone’s watching them while they’re at camp, otherwise they’re in for a nasty surprise. 

an unforseen windfall has befallen the slaver’s band, as one of the caravans they raided has produced three times the amount of captives the scouts initially reported, some of them high born. With so many heads to account for and not wanting to waste out on any potential investment, Rizzko has moved the captives to a cave system not too far away, and is spending the following days questioning his prisoners about their likely value.  This delay might just give the party enough time to hear about the attacked caravan, find the site of the ambush, and track the goblin’s forces to the cave before they move on or start trimming the “dead weight”. 

Further Adventures: 

Rizzko learned one important lesson from his mentor’s death: never let them trap you in the back of your stronghold. Rizzko is always ready for an intrusion by adventurers, bugging out with the most valuable and portable of the treasure and leaving behind a time-consuming alchemical trap or other distraction to make good his escape. If the party DO manage to track him down ( and not one of his many proxies), they can expect to have him slip through their grasp once or twice before finally being able to nail the slaver down. 

The Sphinx’s Bastards are a rival adventuring party our heroes meet up with over the course of their adventures, alternatively competing for contracts, intersecting on parallel jobs, or even just casually running into one another during a festival.   Led by the one eyed Falconer Daraius, the Sphinxes (as they’re called in polite company) will provide some good natured antagonism as both groups rise to prominence. One day however, the party will hear a tapping at their window: its Daraius’s falcon, with a hastily scrawled message attached. He and his crew have been ambushed during a job and have been taken prisoner by some mad goblin who’s  intent on dragging them out to the badlands to sell at auction.  With the bird to guide them, the party may just be able to rescue their friends and together put an end to the plunderer’s market once and for all. 

Art source 1

Art Source 2 

Chronicles of Darkness Index

Last update: Dec 11, 2022

Adaptations

Ghastly (Ghost)

Articles

Lancea et Sanctum and Theology

Let’s Read Parasite Rex - Introduction

Let’s Read Parasite Rex - Chapter 1

The Shadow and the Gauntlet (Cosmology)

The Wolf and the Raven (Dark Era)

Items

The Perfect Dress (Memento)

Night Horrors

Black Cat (GM Angel Familiar)

Burning Spiders (Spirit)

Claimed Echo

Damned Jack (Supernal)

Galvanism Cult

Ghost Bats (Animal Ghoul)

Grandfather Moros (Chthonian)

King of Silver (Spirit)

Lionel Hawk & Associates (Conspiracy)

The Master’s Hound (Animal Ghoul)

Melione (Chthonian)

The Monk in the Cathedral (Temple Guardian)

Old Man Mackenzie (Fey-Touched Hunter)

The Phantom (Temple Guardian)

Watchful Elves (Angel)

Winter Murder Floofs (Spirits and Claimed)

Yule Devil (Werewolf)

Zipperhead, Claimed (Claimed Vampire)

Plothooks

Beasts

Changelings

Ghouls (and apparently I talked about them twice, so here’s post #2)

Horrors

Hunters

Mages

Mummies

Prometheans

Shaunkhsen

Sin-Eaters

Spirits

Unchained Demons

Urged 

Vampires

Werewolves

Love realizing things like this, I’m not far ahead enough in the books to know abt this but hell, can’t wait to see it in the future.

Random Horus Heresy thought: The HH book series imo is a terrible quagmire of mystery destroying over explanation. However… it gave us two amazing things. 1. The death of the ‘Dark Angels are traitors” meme, via the canon that The Lion is loyal to the point of being clinically insane about it and gives anyone not as loyal the side eye of suspicion.  2. That Perturabo is not some jealous do nothing, but is in fact a PTSD riddled super genius who embodies the line “YOU HAD ONE FUCKING JOB!” after watching the other 17 dickheads fall over themselves for daddy and gods. 

My Custodians are coming for you.

Dennis is back, and he has a secret technique for when a greater threat arises

25 City Ruins Adventure Seeds

by Robb at readytorole.com

Treasure hunters claim to hear the voices of children playing in a walled off section of the city, but can’t find a way to get in. The voices fade at night but no adults are heard calling them.

A half-ogre calling himself the Baron of the Wastes has taken up residence in the city, and is recruiting any monsters who will work with him. Those who have gotten close enough to hear say that he is looking to build an army to terrorize the countryside.

Strange, colorful lights appear over the city at night swirling and dancing in the sky. In the morning they descend atop a preserved, hard to access tower in the center of the city.

A merchant who has returned from the ruins of the city is selling treasures she has uncovered. A family who claims to be originally from there says that some of those treasures belong to their family but have no proof, and therefore are looking for those who can help.

Giant webs have quickly been cast, covering nearly the entire city in a week. As the webs begin to reach toward local forests and villages and giant spiders have been spotted, panic has erupted and a search for a way to deal with them is underway.

Orcs and trolls have been fighting over control of the ruins for months now, but recently crudely written signs have appeared asking for mercenaries to join the orcs. They claim that they just want to have a place to stay but the trolls are set on destroying the city.

A thick miasma has been emanating from city ruins, making nearby travelers sick with an unknown illness. The local magistrate wants an investigation to take place and put an end to it.

A lone skeleton wearing old, tattered finery was seen near the city, waving arms towards travelers and making strange sounds. Some say it appeared as though it was beckoning them towards the city, but none have been foolish enough to approach.

A large crystal fragment brought back from the city has recently awakened, speaking telepathically to any nearby asking for help. They are claiming to be a soul from the past, and begs those who might be willing to return with them to prevent the city’s destruction to do so.

A black dragon wyrmling has recently made its nest in the city, claiming the area for itself with the help of some kobold followers. A kobold recently came to civilization to hand over a note saying as much and warning people to stay away and pay a tithe.

Ghosts go about their business in an old tavern, not even aware that they’re dead. One lone soul is aware and asks for help finding and burying the physical remains of those inside so that they all may finally rest.

A group of ragged, nearly feral humans and elves have been sighted near the city, causing speculation about their ancestry. Some believe that they are the descendants of those who went into hiding when the city fell and that all efforts should be made to make peace with them.

Every night, glowing footprints appear leading into the city’s marketplace, where they confusingly walk in circles and are hard to follow to any determinable destination. They disappear in the sunlight and show up in a new pattern afterwards.

A giant effigy in the city that can be seen from the road is being built and expanded upon by gnolls, who flock to the city in growing numbers. People are understandably frightened by this, especially since the gnolls appear to be growing in size as the effigy grows.

The Builders Guild is looking to hire some protection in the city as they’ve been contracted to start demolishing and rebuilding parts of the city. Since they started at least one worker gets found turned to stone each day.

Last night, various spells could be seen going off around an intact tower, leading some to believe a wizard has been alive in the city this whole time. A friend of the city’s archmage holds out hope that it is him and wants to make contact with the wizard.

Every year, the villagers that live near the city gather and light candles around the city’s perimeter. They say this wards off the evil spirits and souls of the dead inside the city from coming out and attacking them, but this year the candles won’t stay lit for more than a moment.

Golems made from old debris have been stalking around the city, aggressively attacking nearby travelers by throwing more debris at them. Who made these monsters, and why protect an abandoned pile of rubble?

Buildings in the city have started collapsing, leaving some to wonder what’s going on behind the broken walls. Some brave scouts who have ventured in say that they are seeing huge holes and tunnels appearing under the city, and the buildings are falling in.

A floating castle has drifted over the city and stopped, and long rope ladders have been lowered. The heraldry on the castle and those descending the ladders is entirely unfamiliar to any who see them.

Highwaymen have been harassing travelers and have taken some hostages inside of the city. They are asking for weapons made of silver rather than gold in exchange for their safety.

A beam of red light shines down onto the city, directly onto the temple of the goddess of life. This is an unheard of occurrence, and her followers want answers.

A statue of the ruined city’s first ruler has been successfully excavated and moved to safety into a nearby town. Now, small cracks are appearing and moisture seeps out through the eyes of the statue, leading many to believe it is cursed.

Excavators claim to have uncovered a secret passage under the castle, and say they believe it was filled with treasures unaccounted for by history. However, after the first attack by undead, they would rather experienced adventurers clear it out in exchange for a cut of the treasure.

According to the local alchemist, a very rare gem is required to make the antidote to the plague that is spreading around. The last known location of one is set in the throne in the heart of the ruined city.

Space Marines are not your friend

… and the Imperium of Man are not the good guys.

These guys, with the iron crosses and the scary face-masks, surprisingly not very nice.

Keep reading

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