For anyone new to OSR-style play, I'd recommend having a look at the following docs (all free), which delve into some of the philosophy behind the play styles.
The second doc on the list, Principia Apocrypha, may be of particular interest as it's written from the perspective of players coming from modern systems (d20, PF1, 5e).
As far as systems go, OSE is all the hotness currently because it's fairly easy to run and play. It's 100% compatible with older Basic D&D material and running AD&D adventures with it should be trivial to convert. The big difference is OSE characters tend to be less powerful than their AD&D counterparts.
I've played a bit of Castles & Crusades and I like the system. For me it falls under the banner of "it's all just D&D once you get rolling." I have heard some people dislike the Siege Engine resolution mechanics though. But the Players Handbook is free in PDF form and it's all you need as a player.
OSRIC is also free and a clone of AD&D 1e. It was primarily created in the mid-2000s as a system reference document for people to be able to publish new 1e adventures and probably lacks a lot of the flavor of other systems because of that.
“GOLD OFFERED TO ANY BRAVE ENOUGH INVESTIGATE HAUNTED HOUSE NEAR SALTMARSH!”
“Inquiries answered at The Wicker Goat Tavern in Saltmarsh. Seek out the barkeep for more details.”
“Reward provided by Anders Solmor."
So reads a posting that has appeared in several inns and taverns in and near the fishing village of Saltmarsh along the southern coast of Keoland.
The parchment is crisp and white and the ink appears barely dried.
The promise of gold is too good to resist. Some of you may be strangers to the area, but your inquiries have revealed that this Anders Solmor is a local merchant of considerable wealth and a member of the town council.
Some of you are locals and are intrigued by the work offered. The fact that the reward is backed by Anders is especially attractive. He’s young and brash, but he has a keen mind for business, which guarantees the reward will be good.
You find yourself at The Wicker Goat this cloudy midday. The mood is sour again today, and rumblings among the dwarves and humans at the sparsely-occupied tables is the catch has been poor again.
You approach the barkeep, a greying gentleman of a strong build whom some of you recognize as Lankus Kurrid, a retired officer. You exchange your pleasantries and ask about the posting. He points to a door down the back hallway and tells you that Anders will be there shortly to answer all questions. He suggests the daily fish stew and a cold ale would make a fine lunch while you wait.
You look around the room and see several other individuals who don’t appear to be part of the regular crowd, and you hear a baby fussing from one of the tables, not something usual for any tavern.
Depending on your temperament, this may be a good time to quietly dine and wait for Anders to arrive, or perhaps to ask some questions of these other strangers. Perhaps they've heard something.
Now is a good time to get to know one another while you wait for your host to arrive.
DM Scallywag I wanted to touch base with you. From the recruitment tab you mentioned we were starting in the Wicker Goat. Do we want to assume that earlier today I dropped off the baby I found in the marsh at a local temple or am I wandering around the Goat now hoping to find it a home?
I'll leave it up to you. If you're still carrying the baby we can use that for some introductory RP and getting a quick lay of the land instead of jumping right into the quest. Finding a place to drop it off may also open some opportunities for preliminary fact-finding.
Hi guys. This week got away from me. I'm on a brief road trip today and tomorrow and I'll have spotty internet access. I probably won't be able to get a post up until Friday night at the earliest.
You explore the remnants of the gift room while waiting for your comrades to catch up.
The southern room has some decayed scraps of boxes and molded remnants of wedding gifts. Everything in the room is broken and decayed save for a large, asymmetrical golden chandelier that hangs on the ceiling. It has empty spaces for numerous candles.
You ascertain it would be worth about 10,000 GP if it can be moved. There doesn't appear to be anything else of value in the room, as it looks to have been looted long ago.
While you see an open doorway on the eastern wall close to the entrance, you also notice a section of the wall farther down that's uneven with the rest of the surrounding area and deduce it's a secret door.
Through the open doorway you see a darkened room. From the ambient light you can just make out some nearly empty shelves containing a small number of dusty books.
The group slowly makes its way through the edge of the octagonal room, one following the other. As you move through, you see about five golden spectres enter the buffet, roused by Vehemence's loud arrival. They float closer but stop at the entrance of the octagonal room, seemingly trying to avoid the temporal distortions.
One thing is certain for now, there's no turning back unless you wish to fight the spectres again and risk possession.
It takes you about five minutes to get through the chamber to the other side, though you are unsure because the distortions have thrown off your time perception slightly.
Once through to the other side, you see up close the large silver swan, floating on an endless stream of what looks like red wine that continues to cycle through a trench in the white marble floor. Neither appears to be touched by the passage of time.
Ashlyn and Vehemence both sense strong magic coming off the swan, suggesting that it's definitely enchanted.
Vehemence:
You feel a tinge of recognition upon seeing the swan. You vaguely recall an ancient wedding tradition practiced by some cultures where the souls of the couple-to-be are magically bound in silver swan during the wedding ceremony and released back when the marriage is sealed with a kiss.
You see Riven in the darkened room just south of you exploring quietly.
The first things Vehemence sees besides several of his comrades is the room he's in, with an assortment of tables covered in molded gray remnants that may have once been food, with a large, perfect white wedding cake in the center that appears unspoiled.
Along the eastern wall is a doorway opening to an octagonal chamber, the current interest of the party. It contains a young couple held in a frozen, eternal embrace, just moments from sealing their wedding with a kiss. They're surrounded by dust and particles held in suspension and several burnt but standing corpses in various phases of temporal distortion. Several foreign objects are held in suspension near the couple, signs of the group testing the temporal field which holds them.
To the other side of the octagonal room is a large, silvery swan which floats upon a neverending stream of wine. Riven has already made his way to this room and waits for the rest to join him.
You can throw in your attempt at recalling a tidbit of information. Also, for anyone who hasn't rolled yet, you can do a skill assist to improve the chance of recalling this piece of lore.
Religion DC18:
You suddenly recall learning once about an ancient wedding tradition where the souls of the couple-to-be are bound together inside a large, enchanted swan upon betrothal. The couple are married, they seal the marriage with a kiss, and the swan releases their souls back to them.
Thratch inspects the remains of the wight. They don't seem to have made any difference on Tyko's presence.
Meanwhile, Riven inspects the jug, not being able to discern much apart from it feels magical. It may require longer inspection to learn more.
Ashlyn approaches Tyko and feels the smallest sensation of his hand as she grasps it. Tyko looks at her blankly and gestures east in response to her question, but does not move.
Aterro, curious about the cake, questions a guest, who barely notices him and quietly rasps,
"Perhaps when the happy couple arrive any minute now."
"Are you with the officiant?" it also wheezes at the cleric.
A familiar voice calls out from the cloak room, a lost tiefling warlock,
"I MUST BORROW THE BARBARIAN! IT'S QUITE URGENT BUSINESS!"
"BOY! It pleases me that you've escaped your captors! Stay with this group and look out for them!" the voice adds.
This is a recruitment for up to 5 players using the Dungeon Crawl Classics (DCC) system.
Since time immemorial you and your people have toiled in the shadow of the cyclopean ruins. Of mysterious origins and the source of many a superstition, they have always been considered a secret best left unknown by the folk of your hamlet.
But now something stirs beneath the crumbling blocks. Beastmen howl in the night and your fellow villagers are snatched from their beds. With no heroes to defend you, who will rise to stand against the encircling darkness? The secrets of Chaos are yours to unearth, but at what cost to sanity or soul?
An introductory adventure for the Dungeon Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game, Sailors on the Starless Sea pits a mob of 0-level adventurers against the legacy of the Chaos Lords and their corrupted hordes. Delving beneath the crumbling ruins, the characters discover ancient crypts, a starless sea, and an ancient ziggurat, where death and treasure await in equal measure!
This adventure is designed for up to 5 players controlling 10 to 15 0-level characters. Each player should have 3 characters.
You are not required to be familiar with Dungeon Crawl Classics to play. The links below will get you started.
You’re an adventurer: a reaver, a cutpurse, a heathen-slayer, a tight-lipped warlock guarding long-dead secrets. You seek gold and glory, winning it with sword and spell, caked in the blood and filth of the weak, the dark, the demons, and the vanquished. There are treasures to be won deep underneath, and you shall have them.
Dungeon Crawl Classics (DCC) is an old-school style RPG based on a streamlined version of D&D 3E. Characters are randomly rolled and start as 0-level ordinary people. If they survive what's called a "funnel" adventure, such as this one, they advance to level 1 and become adventurers proper. There are no feats (though there are Mighty Deeds starting at level 1), there is no optimization. You build and go, and hope one of these plucky upstarts survives to adventure on into greatness.
Character Creation
Follow the Quick Start Rules to generate 4 0-level characters. Drop the one with the lowest stats. You may determine gender and name. Everything else is rolled. Create a 1-3 sentence description for each character (seriously, keep it short and quick).
1. Roll ability scores (3d6 in order).
2. Determine 0-level occupation (1d100).
3. Calculate saving throws and choose an alignment.
4. Determine randomly determined equipment.
Gameplay
For this 0-level funnel you won’t create custom profiles. Since you’re controlling multiple characters, use the OOC tag around the character’s name to indicate which one is speaking or performing an action.
Gameplay will begin when there are enough players and characters generated. Posting Frequency will be around once per day.
Other quick & dirty rules:
I will explain these as gameplay goes on.
Combat
- Attack rolls use d20 + modifiers.
- Rolling a 1 causes a fumble. Roll an additional 1d20 and subtract your luck modifier (lower is better)
- Rolling a natural 20 is a crit. Roll an additional 1d4 and add your luck modifier
Saves
- DCC uses 3 types of saves, Fortitude, Reflex and Willpower. These might be affected by your Luck Score.
- Ability scores are described below
Strength: Physical power for lifting, hurling, cutting, and dragging. Your Strength modifier affects melee attack and damage rolls. Note that a successful attack always does a minimum of 1 point of damage regardless of Strength. Characters with a Strength of 5 or less can carry a weapon or a shield but not both.
Agility: Balance, grace, and fine motion skills, whether in the hands or the feet. Your Agility modifier affects Armor Class, missile fire attack rolls, initiative rolls, and Reflex saving throws, as well as the ability to fight with a weapon in each hand.
Stamina: Endurance, resistance to pain, disease, and poison. Your Stamina modifier affects hit points (even at level 0) and Fortitude saving throws. Note that a character earns a minimum of 1 hit point per character level regardless of Stamina. Characters with a Stamina of 5 or less automatically take double damage from all poisons and diseases.
Personality: Charm, strength of will, persuasive talent. Personality affects Willpower saving throws for all characters. Personality is vitally important to clerics, as it affects the ability to draw upon divine power and determines the maximum spell level they can cast, as shown on table 1-1.
Intelligence: Ability to discern information, retain knowledge, and assess complex situations. For wizards, Intelligence affects spell count and maximum spell level, as noted on table 1-1. For all characters, Intelligence affects known languages, as described in Appendix L. Characters with an Intelligence of 7 or less can speak only Common, and those with an Intelligence of 5 or less cannot read or write.
Luck: “Right place, right time;” favor of the gods, good fortune, or hard-to-define talent. Players would be well advised to understand the goals of gods and demons that shape the world around them, for they are but pawns in a cosmic struggle, and their luck on this mortal plane can be influenced by the eternal conflict that rages around them. Luck affects several elements of the game.
Male Human Ranger 2 | AC 15 | Init +3 | HP 08/20 | Saves: STR+3 DEX +5 CON +2 INT +0 WIS +4 CHA -1 | Passive Perception 14 | Spell Slots: 1/2
Ràghnall staggers downstairs, looking disheveled. He walks down the stairs slowly, a combination of joint pain and trying not to loosen his assorted bandages and wraps.
"Food? Save me some. I should make it to the table in about 2 more hours." he grunts.
The witch listens carefully to your descriptions. You see here thinking madly as the cryptic glyphs pour from her head and dance around it.
"That should be sufficient, little halfling. I will try again."
She sprinkles more fur and blood upon the arcane circle on the table, and chants intensely.
"Yes! I believe I have one of them! A lovely young woman, surrounded by others that meet the description. They've caused the heart to collapse and have met Carnifex."
"I can send you to her, for a boon. You must bring me either an unusual light source such that I've never before seen, as many sun paintings as you can find, or a tear of Chronia Torn. The last would be of greatest value, but may also be more difficult to obtain. The Oku will inquire about your quest when you meet them again."
Amidst the current fray, those outside the chamber just barely notice a strange portal open behind Vehemence and pull him in, just as he was about to say something no doubt poignant.
You hear the voice of a familiar young tiefling call out from the other side,
"Sorry, I really need to borrow him!"
As quickly as it appeared, the portal envelops the Furnace King and closes, gone without a trace.
Fare thee well, Fallen Muse. Your adventure continues elsewhere.
Female Human Warlock 5 | AC 14 | Init +2 | HP 45/45 | Saves: STR +0 DEX +2 CON +5 INT +1 WIS +3 CHA +7 | Passive Perception 13 | Spell Slots 1/2
"We are honorable people. Ones who sometimes set things on fire." Sheva giggles.
She then looks up to the shadowy guards and lends her voice to Raz's plea, batting her eyes at them while smiling innocently.
"Greetings, noble soldiers! We would most appreciate entry to your fair town as we are indeed weary and honorable travellers!"
"Among our ranks is the Legendary Galador the Chaste, Pure and Virtuous Champion of Good and Law, Defender of Small Children and Fuzzy Animals and Shunner of Wicked Temptations!"
"Truly, you would be privileged to have such a bastion of heroism and valor walk within your walls!"
As the group moves forward toward the room with the rose, Thratch, who is at the back has a pair of barbed nets fall upon him, and he is hoisted off the ground by several shadowy figures climbing along the walls.
PCs are surprised. No action for one round.
You make out the figures as more Chameleon Women. Possibly a different crew than before.
”Ow! You ^&%#*$@!” Thratch calls out.
He struggles in the nets as he is pulled up off the ground. He quickly throws his silver raven figurine to the ground. You hear quiet chanting from up above and Thratch falls asleep in the nets.
The figures do not engage the group and immediately move to retreat from the area, laughing and cackling as they do. They scuttle quickly away from the group, heading east, with their bounty in tow.
More chanting follows, and you see blood drip to the ground before a 20 foot cloud of darkness blocks off a narrow corridor (24). It appears to be the same kind of cloud the group was trapped in on the previous encounter with the Chameleon Women.
”You strike at our sisters, you strike at us all!” a feminine reptilian voice yells from beyond the cloud of darkness. ”The Protocols of Antipathy are engaged, and we have drawn blood!”
"Perhaps your friend will survive the Gardens, perhaps not! Or maybe the Reptile Archive or the Gallery? Who can say? We dare you to come and find him, warm-bloods!"
You hear them move on behind the veil of darkness and the sounds quickly fade away.
Tenchi strikes with no strike at Chameleon Woman #4.
Chameleon Woman DEX Save vs DC12:1d20 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11
Tenchi strikes her with no strike dead! RIP Chameleon Woman #4
Aterro and does some brutal things (despite Wednesdays being bad for him). He strikes with a strike at Chameleon Woman #3 and then strikes with a strike at her again, and she also falls. RIP Chameleon Woman #3
Vehemence seizes the opportunity to walk over with the intent of freeing Alpha the lion, though with slightly less flair than usual as his head is heavy with other concerns.
Riven commands Alpha to attack, which he's eager to do as soon as he's freed. Riven also tries the monocle and discovers it does nothing for darkness, except make it slightly greener. He rushes from the darkness but misses Chameleon Woman #6 with his sword.
Ashlyn stumbles wounded from the darkness and quickly downs a healing potion.
Alpha waits patiently.
Thratch runs blindly out of the darkness, and manages not to get into worse trouble, yet.
End of Round 2. Two Chameleon Women are down, 4 remain. Round 3 coming up shortly.
And Vehemence, if/when you read this you can retroactively add your inner monologue. I understand your lemon-styles but there's no way I can do it justice. :)
I guess if I should make a formal decree / house ruling, it'll be this, based on my ancient thoughts about identifying magic items:
Testing an Item:
This could be dangerous/hilarious. If it doesn't require attunement you'll find out pretty quickly about what an item does. You'll still need to rest or use Identify to learn everything. Taking a sip of a potion will tell you about what it is. If an item requires attunement it'll fail but you'll sense why.
Spells:
Detect Magic will tell you if an item is magical, as well as telling the caster basic information (classification, such as uncommon or rare, only for fighters or dwarves, etc.), and something about the type/origin (abjuration, infernal or extraplanar, etc.), and probably a vague description of what it does (this ring will make the wearer safer from harm).
Identify tells you everything. As Wan'di really nicely when things settle down and he'll probably cast it a few times.
Cursed items will of course lie about what they are. That's part of why they're cursed.
Skill Checks:
Anyone should be able to identify a common item with a DC10 Arcana check. That's why they're considered common. For uncommon and higher, I'll make the DC more difficult, but you can glean some basic info with a 10 or higher. If you're proficient I'll tell you a bit more, because you should know more and be able to draw on that knowledge.
For things like scrolls a successful arcana roll will let you read the spell. In the case of something that's higher level than you can cast, you can learn the level and some basic things about it, (school, class) with the knowledge that it's still too complex for you to fully decipher. I'll likely scale the DC with the spell level based on how far it is from your current spell level.
Resting
Taking a long/short rest while focusing on an item will allow you to learn things about it. I'm going off the assumption here that the magics within the item flow into you and reveal things. I'm gonna make a house rule that for legendary items and artifacts, you'll need to spend multiple rests to learn about it. Like with attunement, this also assumes that all you do during your rest is focus on the item, and you aren't doing any other actions or arcane recovery.
Attunement
If you attempt to attune to an item during a rest, then I'm assuming that part of the attunement process is that you are able to sense what the item does and what it is. As you bond with the item, its magics tell you about it.
--
In a nutshell, I'm applying some of the DMG variant rules for more difficult identification, but scaling with the rarity of the item. More common, easier; more rare, harder.
I've probably thought way more about this right now than I needed. :)
Threshades, I'm flexible with the number of players. 4-6 is a ballpark since we usually don't get a lot of hits for 5e games on this board, but I can certainly go a bit higher.
There is a definite point a-to-b-to-c flow for the prologue, but I'm keeping it really loosely scripted. I know where things need to go, but I'm leaving room to improvise and play off everyone.
Regarding Vornheim, I'm borrowing bits and pieces from the Vornheim supplement, but it's largely just a backdrop for this adventure. The supplement itself is about half city guide, half treatise for running a large city campaign with lots of random charts and tables. A lot of the book is deliberately vague to encourage GMs to make it their own.
Some tidbits like magic use in public and the white elves are lifted from the book, and fleshed out by me. Most of that stuff is throwaway lines that seemed fun.
I do recommend it. Even if you don't use the setting itself, there's a lot of cool stuff to swipe from it.
In a rain-soaked graveyard, a small group of men stands round a coffin bound with heavy chains. “We are here to mourn the passing of Jean de Cardeau,” intones the village priest. “Let us pray that his rest is eternal, and that he never returns.”
As the pallbearers lift the coffin, something scrapes on the wood from inside. Quickly and without emotion, the attendants slide the casket into a crypt. Then they seal the door and flee. Behind them, unheard, a dull thudding begins, growing louder with the onset of twilight.
There can be no peace for those who linger in the earthly realm after death. And there can be no sanctuary on the Night of the Walking Dead!
--
You’re a group of novice adventurers, traveling through a swamp in the Forgotten Realms on a raft, trying to reach a destination with a promise of adventure and great treasure.
“Night begins to settle over the swamp, cloaking the dense undergrowth in darkness and turning the water's surface to black. With it comes a clinging, creeping fog, rising from the water like spectral steam. The fog surrounds you, its dampness caressing you like cold, dead hands. The swamp seems to retreat from the mists, its sights and sounds disappearing into some unseen distance. All that remains visible is the cold, choking fog. Even your companions seem far away. For a moment, everything is quiet. What few sounds you can hear are amplified by the surrounding mists: your own breathing, your beating heart. Then the fog begins to dissipate, fading away as quickly as it appeared, leaving you and your companions alone in the dismal swamp.”
--
The Details
This is a D&D 5th Edition conversion of the classic, 2nd Edition horror-themed adventure set in the Ravenloft campaign. It’s an introductory adventure featuring zombies, swamps and other creepy and deadly things.
This is a fairly short adventure. I'm running it as a nice counterbalance to a longer campaign I just kicked off a couple weeks ago.
Character Creation
- 4-6 Players, either experienced with 5e or just 5e-curious.
- Characters start at Level 1, max HP + CON, standard starting equipment by class/background
- Standard Array or 27 point buy for base stats. Here’s an online Point-Buy calculator with race adjustments.
- If you're feeling lucky, you may instead roll 4d6 six times in the thread below, dropping the lowest from each roll, and arrange as you wish.
- The following WoTC sources are allowed: PHB; SCAG; EE (spells only); UA (Revised Ranger, Gothic Characters, Feats, Non-Divine Faithful); CoS Character Options *
- Optional rules allowed: Variant Human, Feats, optional sub-race rules from SCAG (except winged Tieflings)
- No winged/flying races allowed.
- You may use any method for character sheets, but all stats and abilities must be posted in your profile. This BBCode 5E character sheet may be useful.
- Any alignment is allowed, but remember that player cooperation is essential to survival.
- I will award Inspiration for exceptional RP.
Disclaimer and Content Warning
This is a horror adventure, as are most that are set in the Ravenloft world. It contains a mix of gothic and body horror. As it involves zombies, things can get a little intense and gross, with lots of dead and undead things. If that's not at all your cup of tea, you may wish to pass on this adventure.
--
Recruiting will be open through Friday, October 22nd. Player selection and Gameplay will begin by October 26th. Expected posting frequency is around once per weekday.
*:
Glossary for those unfamiliar with 5e:
WotC - Wizards of the Coast, publisher of D&D 5e.
PHB - Player's Handbook
SCAG - Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide
EE - Elemental Evil Player's Companion
UA - Unearthed Arcana
CoS - Curse of Strahd
You race through the narrow roads of Vornheim several blocks until you reach the gallery. There's little to no foot traffic in front of the large building when you arrive, and it looks dark inside. The main doors are locked and appear to be magically held. You see some faint lights flash from inside, but you aren't able to discern anything else.
Everyone Else:
You take your leave of The Devil's Cavern through the back exit and find yourself in a winding, claustrophobic alley. Looking up, the buildings are so close that you can only see a narrow strip of daylight above.
There are piles of trash and debris strewn about the alley, and as you move forward, you finally see the silhouette of a small robed figure ahead. It's Quinys, looking quite alive and well.
"Oh good, you got my message again." she grins.
"I apologize for that nasty business with the white elves in there. I'd hired them to do a job and gave them a strict 'no killing' condition which they flagrantly violated. So as far as I'm concerned, they forfeit their share of the haul."
"Plus I wanted to see how you lot could handle yourselves if things got a bit rough. Consider me almost impressed!"
She turns and starts strolling to the end of the alley.
"Follow me. I've got a safehouse closer to the gallery and away from here. You can rest up and clean your wounds there. Now come quickly, before those dimwits figure out we're back here!"
"We'll stop along the way and fetch your other warlock, the less-dramatic one."
"There's magical protections on that floor, so you'll want to get into the field as quickly as you can."
"There are other magics at the staircases to the fourth floor, and the guards can see them from their posts. I'd estimate no more than three guards on the floor, though likelier two and one will come up from the catwalk and do a walkthrough once an hou-- OH CRAP!!!"
You suddenly you hear several footsteps stomping up behind you. Quinys is looking rather shocked.
"Um, that's what White Elves look like, actually. $*#^."
A voice booms from behind you,
"THIEF! You promised us gold and magical swords for that job! Where's the stuff you owe us??!"
As you turn around, you see four large, burly creatures with paper-white skin and matching long, scraggly white hair. Their eyes are deep red and bloodshot. The one in front has an eyepatch over his left eye. They all have long, sharp yellow spiny teeth that protrude from their mouths. All of them wear studded leather armor and currently have longswords drawn and ready to use.
Meanwhile, Quinys has grabbed the maps and ducked under the table.
"I told you no killing on that job or you forfeit your payment!" She yells from down below.
The elf with the eyepatch pushes into the seats and reaches toward the table, ready to jab his sword underneath.
"Out of our way commoners! The gnome wench is ours!"
Let's break up all this banter with some quick combat, shall we?
If you choose to enter combat, then the order will be as follows: Lys, Ashlyn, Quinys, Elves, Kusinagi, Aterro, Thratch, Vehemence, Wan.
Also, to make things interesting:
Lys:
Lys Exasperation:1d4 ⇒ 4
"A fact about the situation at hand occurs to the Alice— something she learned once in a lesson or in a kitchen or on a Sunday— a piece of local or monster lore germane to the situation." White Elves can cast the Chill Touch cantrip at-will.
Vehemence's concentration is broken and the Detect Magic spell abruptly ends.
The small being is most amused by Vehemence, and ignores Aterro for the moment.
"Settle down, fallen Muse."
"Before any of you get any ideas, I’ll have you know I have a Glyph of Warding rigged to explode in here if you try anything stupid. I might even have two!”
She pauses for a moment. A small, toned hand darts out and points at each of you, as if counting.
"Wait... fiiive ... hmmm... only six of you. One is missing... Yes, the Sorceress. Probably a run-in with the local law enforcement. They don’t like magician types being too obvious around here.”
“No worries, I’ll find her later."
She pulls back the hood to reveal a fright of fiery red and black hair, large pointed ears and black beady eyes. Her face is a touch round, and pretty, but weathered. A scar cuts through her light brown skin from her forehead and continuing along her right cheek. She has multiple rings in both ears and on all her fingers. Most of you have seen her around, and some of you have been approached by her. Most of you have spoken with her already.
“So! You’ve got a painting you want to get at, and I know how to get at it. The owners of said painting stiffed me for about 20,000 gold. I’d say we have much to offer one another, certainly me more than you. But you work with what you’ve got, so you’ll have to do.”
"Oh, and I’m called Quinys."
Slowly and mockingly to Aterro, "QUI-NYS, you oaf! Your memory is as terrible as your tolerance for drink!"
"Now quit staring and plant your asses down over here before you cause a scene! We have business to discuss!” She grins. “First round’s on you."
Ignoring the warnings, Vehemence concentrates to sense magic in the room, slowly looking around.
Without warning, he is hit with a surge of magic from a dark corner, which glows very brightly to him. It's too much for him to fully discern each item, but he knows there's a lot.
At the same time a voice speaks up from the corner.
“Ha! Doomed MAN? Not too bright, are you, fallen Muse?”
The chiding voice sounds female, with an unusual pitch, not really high but not midrange either, somewhere between.
“Look at you lot, open with your secrets like some trollop with her knees! For all to know! Seems none of you are very bright at all! Might as well shout everything from the town square or the King's tower!”
Then you all notice a small, darkly-robed figure sitting in the corner behind a large round table and snickering at you. You’d swear they weren’t there a minute ago.
“I see you got my message then. At least you tall apes know how to read.” she says with derision.
So I’m giving the Lucky feat some thought as it might work in PbP. Here’s what I’ve got. I’m certainly open to debating this.
Lucky Feat, RAW: (PHB 167)
You have inexplicable luck that seems to kick in at just the right moment.
You have 3 luck points. Whenever you make an attack roll, an ability check. ar a saving throw, you can spend one luck point to roll an additional d20. You can choose to spend one of your luck points after you roll the die, but before the outcome is determined. You choose which of the d20s is used for the attack roll, ability check, or saving throw.
You can also spend one luck point when an attack roll is made against you. Roll a d20, and then choose whether the attack uses the attacker's roll or yours.
If more than one creature spends a luck point to influence the outcome of a roll, the points cancel each other out; no additional dice are rolled.
You regain your expended luck points when you finish a long rest.
PbP
Attack rolls, saving throws or ability checks - use the “preview" function to determine what the roll will be. If you want to spend a luck point and add a second roll, you may do so before finalizing the post. Modify the post to declare (ooc) that you will be spending a luck point and then indicate which roll is to be used.
DM: A giant scything blade comes forth from the wall at you. Please roll a DC 15 dexterity check to avoid being cut in two.
Attack rolls against you - The DM will post the roll and ask if you want to spend a luck point. If you do, post your roll and the DM will substitute and use it for the outcome.
DM: The Surly Orc swings his great axe at Brother Aterro.
Great Axe Att: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26
Great Axe Crit Damage: 2d12 + 4 ⇒ (12,12) + 4 = 28
And this might fix it -->DM:Brother Aterro, would you like to spend a luck point on the attack roll since I know you have the Lucky feat and otherwise you may surely lose your head?
Brother Aterro:Why, yes I would. I like my head attached.
Feeling Lucky: 1d20 ⇒ 12
Crit roll of 20 + 6 is replaced by 12 + 6 = 18
DM:The Surly Orc hits Brother Aterro!
Great Axe Damage: 1d12 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16
DM: The Surly Orc inflicts 16 HP of damage! But Brother Aterro gets to keep his head till the next round.
Disadvantage - you may spend the luck point to replace the disadvantage roll. Outcome will still be determined by disadvantage.
DM: Brother Aterro, please roll a DC 10 CON save vs. the poison you just drank. Please add disadvantage because of the curse put on you 2 rooms back that gives you disadvantage to all CON checks.
The dreams began many months ago. A woman in chains, within a blood red room, calling out for help. On the first night of the full moon, the dreams are more intense. The room itself is bathed in the moonlight, and the woman attempts to free herself, only to fail.
At first you didn’t know what to make of the dreams, but over the months as they intensified, you have become obsessed. You felt confused and helpless about the dreams. You wondered if you were going mad. You wondered if you could help her.
As the dreams repeated, the woman whispered secrets to you amidst her cries for help.
First you learned that there’s a painting of her, that is the gateway to her prison. It’s held in a vast city in the North. This was revealed five months ago.
Two weeks later you learned the city is named Vornheim, somewhere in the Northeast. Yet you find no written record of such a city. You’ve never heard of it.
Three months ago you learned the painting’s title is “False Chanterelle.”
A few days later you met some travelers who claim to have come from Vornheim. They tell you it’s located in the land of Rashemen, in the Northeast. You still find no records of it. You decide you must journey to Vornheim and find the painting.
It takes you two months to make the difficult journey, at great risk and cost. You had to go on some dangerous and questionable adventures to raise the money for the journey. At least you found some magic items for your troubles.
Ten days ago, you laid eyes on Vornheim for the first time. It seems that many travelers have been coming to the city of late. You keep seeing other adventurers showing up at the same locations. Are they also on a quest for the painting?
The city is vast, sprawling and maze like, yet somehow easy to navigate. You set about exploring it, trying to find information about the painting. It’s not quite like any city you’ve ever visited before. Something just seems… off about it.
You had a final dream of the painting three days ago, the most intense one yet. The woman tells you that you’re close. You must steal the False Chanterelle and hang it in a room in a tower where the moonlight will illuminate the painting. You must do this on the second night of the full moon, which is in three days.
You see a tower along the northeastern wall with a lone window facing south. Instantly you know that this is where you must hang the painting. But now you only have three days left to find it and steal it.
This morning, you awoke in your lodgings to find one of your magic items missing, stolen while you slept. In its place, the following note:
Quote:
“I have your magical treasure. Needed to get your attention. Meet midday at The Devil’s Cavern in the Southwest quadrant if you want it back. I can help you get your painting for a price."
You arrive at The Devil’s Cavern at the assigned time. You enter carefully, and see that it’s a cozy, dimly lit establishment. The wooden tables and chairs look worn, but comfortable. The bar is well stocked, and a large fireplace is along the back wall. The only exits you see are the one you entered through and a hallway at the back to the left of the fireplace.
As look around the room you see the same adventurers who have been showing up elsewhere, and they seem as surprised as you are to see everyone. This is no mere coincidence…
It may be a good time to make your introductions to one another.
Female Human Warlock 5 | AC 14 | Init +2 | HP 45/45 | Saves: STR +0 DEX +2 CON +5 INT +1 WIS +3 CHA +7 | Passive Perception 13 | Spell Slots 1/2
Sheva giggles and looks up at Strahd.
"You see, Master? It was all a misunderstanding. There's no reason we can't all be friends!"
She looks back at the others, and stops at Galador. There's a moment of hesitation and the glow in her eyes shifts to deep red. For just a split second, the fiend takes control.
Pretty much everything I like connects to or descends from David Bowie and Brian Eno.
Things I've listened to on heavy rotation this year:
Bowie, More Bowie, Still More Bowie, Prince, St. Vincent, Eno, NIN, Ministry, RevCo, Orbital, Siouxsie, The Creatures, Stranger Things Soundtrack, Mr. Robot Soundtrack, Monument Valley Soundtrack, Aphex Twin, Pixies, Sisters of Mercy, Skinny Puppy, Kraftwerk.
I've recently started checking out psychedelic doom metal - Occultation, Ides of Gemini, SubRosa. A lot of it sounds a mashup of Blue Oyster Cult and Siouxsie & the Banshees. I'm not sure how it happened, it just did.
