These Three Magical Items

Posted on December 29, 2020 by Anthony Pacheco

I’m a big fan of magical items. At their core, they are more worthy and defining than (optional) feats and class powers. You can find magic items, kill for them, steal them, create them, trade them, and sell them.

Magical items can even be cursed, intelligent, malignant, or helpful.

For D&D (the Pathfinder variant, not so much), a DM can design a campaign that does not allow magical feats but has magical items that empower the PC with the feat’s power. If the player wants his character to have that power, they go on an adventure to obtain it. Especially in a sandbox campaign, these player-directed plot points add just that right roleplaying flair.

There can never be enough magic items in a DMs story-telling arsenal as long as the DM is not twinking out the players in some “I wish I were a player” wish fulfillment. Here are three that you can add to Fire on Claymore Woods or any other module.

True North

This +1 dagger is of dwarven manufacture (stamped with a small dwarven rune from its maker) but made for either an elf maiden or a human noblewoman. It is elegant and feminine in design and very sharp.

True North has an odd property for such a beautiful weapon. If spun on a flat surface, its blade will always point north when the dagger stops moving.

The Golden Pocket Stopwatch

A pocket watch. The Golden Pocket Stopwatch is a fantastic bit of engineering and practicality. It has two hinged openings:

On one side is a watch that tells time in hours, minutes, and seconds. The adjustable dials on the sides of the watch can manipulate and change the hours and minutes.
If the other side is open, it reveals a stopwatch. Pressing one of the small dials will reset it, while another will start and stop it. It has an hour, minute, and second hands.

The magic imbued in the watch does two things. It makes it impervious to the elements (the watch even works underwater) and serves as the tiny power source. It needs no winding.

On the interior of one of the watch’s doors is a handsome, mustached man’s face engraving. The other door has an odd phrase in draconic: “Everything lost in time except my memories.”

The Weirding Mirror

The Weirding Mirror has a bad reputation, but not of its own making. It’s a pocket silver mirror and has the passive benefit of raising a PC’s Charisma attribute by 1.

If someone looks into the mirror, it activates and goes well beyond showing the wielder a reflection of themselves. It takes a week of carrying around the mirror to attune and activate its properties.

After a week, the reflection moves and speaks to the wielder (in the owner’s voice) of its own volition. It is a sophisticated psychic construct of sorts, able to hold an intelligent conversation, remember details of what someone told it, and an understanding of the current world.

The talking reflection has one goal: to dispense relationship advice. It will listen to the PC and offer advice, usually practical. It has a keen understanding of human nature and will try its very best to have the PC meet their relationship goals, gently guiding a PC into a long-term relationship.

And that’s all the mirror does. However, things frequently go wrong with the use of the mirror:

The reflection for other people is only a reflection. The independent speaking and movement happen in the wielder’s mind. Observers of someone using the mirror usually think the owner is talking to themselves. Thinking to the mirror doesn’t work; to communicate with it, the owner needs to speak aloud.
The mirror design facilitates human relationships in a feudal society. Outside of that context, it is unhelpful and will admit as much. All it can do is offer pithy advice (get a haircut, clean your robes, etc.).
The mirror will get angry if the PC uses the advice to “love and leave” a paramour. If the PC does this on several occasions, it causes the construct to malfunction. It will turn into a sociopath, and the only way to get back to normal is to give the mirror to someone else, which resets its magic. However, if the PC keeps following the sociopathic advice, their alignment will shift to Chaotic Evil.
While the mirror does improve the owner’s Charisma, it dispenses advice and nothing more. However, over the years, people have accused it of manipulating the object of the owner’s affections. Many people react negatively to being magically charmed, even if they technically were not. The mirror warns the owner of this but unfortunately hasn’t figured out that telling the owner to hide its properties makes it more suspicious, not less.

If broken, the mirror will not function, but a spell caster can quickly repair it with a simple cantrip or other low-level magic. The magical properties are associated with the mirror’s silver frame. An owner can replace the mirror glass at any time.

There is still time to back Fire on Claymore Woods, an adventure module for 5E and Pathfinder 1E. Click here!

Crossbow Man would love the watch. He already has a magical dagger, henceforth named “Stab-Yer-Face.”

Fire on Claymore Woods – a Module for 5E and Pathfinder

Posted on December 10, 2020December 10, 2020 by Anthony Pacheco

Built With BoldGrid

“A vain celestial, drunken fairies, and plotting druids. Meet the second chapter of the Circle of the Blood Moon campaign!”

Primary Link | Back now on Kickstarter!

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Choices and Consequences: which way will the PCs go, who will they support, and how far will they go to achieve victory?

Choices

In Fire on Claymore Woods, we present the PC with many choices, including making no choice at all. For example, do they help the villagers protect the village core and its chapel with the mysterious obelisk, or do they help the surrounding farmers protect their farms?

But that choice is only available if the PCs solicit a knight in defense of the village. The knight is concerned with his farms and tells the PCs the villagers can rebuild it. But the Burgermeister counters that the farms rely on the village, and without it, everything from obtaining supplies to surviving the winter will be difficult and potentially catastrophic.

PCs might not even know the farms need protection! The local knight is the only NPC with the strategic training and forethought to realize their enemy will try to draw them away from the village by setting fire to structures far enough to draw them away from the chapel.

If the PCs don’t talk to him, they might never know.

Where do they go now?

That’s a sample of the decisions the PCs must make. Once they defend the village (or not), they need to find the druids to talk to them or exact revenge. But the Claymore Woods are wild and dangerous, filled with threats, supernatural shenanigans, and wonders. There is no map of the woods, the PCs are on their own, and they will need to explore.

The direction they choose sets the stage, but the deeper they go into the woods, the more dangerous it gets. They’ll need to do more than make a few tracking rolls. They’ll have to start thinking like their adversaries. They’ll need to decide how sneaky to be, or if a good-old-fashioned “kill everything that moves” play is in order.

Consequences

We hope that gives you as a Game Master a sample of the adventure flavor in Fire on Claymore Woods. Like most Griffon Lore Game products, there are no easy answers, and those answers are usually not right or wrong. Indecisiveness is the best way to “lose” our modules, and the players always have the ultimate choice:

Are their PCs Zeros or Heroes?

Back Fire on Claymore Woods today and find out!

Back now on Kickstarter!

The Clockwork War Dragon: A 5E Killing Machine

Posted on November 13, 2020November 13, 2020 by Anthony Pacheco

Armor Class 18 (Natural Armor)

Hit Points 178 (17d10 + 85)

Speed 40 ft., climb 40 ft., fly 80 ft.

STR 23 (+6) | DEX 16 (+3) | CON 21 (+5) | INT 10 (+0) | WIS 8 (-1) |CHA 19 (+4)

Saving Throws DEX +7, CON +9, WIS +3, CHA +8

Skills +8, +7, +4

Damage Resistances Fire, Psychic; Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Attacks that aren’t Adamantine

Condition Immunities , , , ,

Senses 30 ft., 120 ft., Ethereal Vision — the Clockwork War Dragon can see into the Ethereal Plane
Passive Perception 18

Languages Telepathy 120 ft. or line of sight. Can receive thoughts but cannot communicate via telepathy.

Challenge 12 (8,400 XP)

Immutable Form. The clockwork war dragon is immune to any spell or effect that would alter its form.
Magic Resistance. The clockwork war dragon has Advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Magic Weapons. The clockwork war dragon’s weapon attacks are magical.

Actions

Multiattack. The clockwork war dragon makes three attacks: one with its bite and two with its claws.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (2d10 + 6) piercing damage plus 3 (1d6) fire damage.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d6 + 6) slashing damage.
Fire Breath (Recharge 5–6). The clockwork war dragon exhales fire in a 30-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 17 Dexterity (Acrobatics) saving throw, taking 56 (16d6) fire damage on a failed save or half as much damage on a successful one.

Cunning Action. The clockwork war dragon can take a bonus action on each of its turns to take the , , or action.

Reactions

Clockwork Stalwarcy. If the clockwork war dragon is knocked prone, it immediately rights itself without a movement penalty. It executes a counter-knockdown, and the attacker that knocked it prone must make a DC 17 Strength (Athletics) saving thrown or be knocked prone themselves.

Legendary Actions

The clockwork war dragon can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. The dragon regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.

Force Eye Beams. Glowing red darts of Ethereal force launch out of the clockwork war dragon’s eyes. Each dart hits only one creature of its choice that it can see within 120 ft. Each dart deals 1d4 + 1 force damage to the target. The darts strike simultaneously and are a single attack.

The clockwork war dragon prioritizes unconscious targets with its eye beams, inflicting 2 failed Death Saves on an Eye Beam attack.

Death Spiral Tail Launch. The clockwork war dragon launches its tail at any target within 30ft. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 30 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d6 + 6) piercing damage. The target must make a DC 17 Saving Throw or be knocked prone. Once the attack is complete, the tail retracts back into the clockwork war dragon’s body.

The clockwork war dragon prioritizes unconscious targets with its tail launch attack. If the attack renders an attacker unconscious or if the victim is already unconscious, then upon a successful attack, the tail skewers the victim and retracts, bringing the body to its metal jaws. The clockwork war dragon then bites the quarry in half, killing it instantly.

Spike Launch. Each creature within 15ft. of the clockwork war dragon must make a DC 17 Dexterity (Acrobatics) saving throw, taking 8 (2d8) piercing damage on a failed save or half as much damage on a successful one.

Description

The terrible clockwork war dragon is part flat-black scaly flesh, part clockwork, in the shape of a dragon, designed as a killing machine from days long past. Once awakened, the construct goes active.

The construct, absent any coded telepathic commands from its long-dead makers, will rampage until destroyed. At one time, these creatures had extensive programming, but the relentless march of time has degraded its ability to function as an intelligent war machine. While it can leap and fly about, if it “decides” that a target needs neutralizing, it will engage in bite-range combat at the expense of using the landscape or aerial combat to its advantage.

Once in combat, the clockwork war dragon fights to the death.

Stalk Mode

Sometimes, due to its malfunctioning thought process, the construct will go into “stealth” mode and skulk about an area, usually at night. It will decide which creature in this arbitrary area poses the greatest threat and attack from the shadows, opening with a breath weapon attack.

The Tragic Nature of the Clockwork War Dragon

While it can receive telepathic communication, its creators designed the construct to respond to an encoded language. They did not give the clockwork war dragon the ability to speak back. However, over the centuries, this tragic monster “leaks” strange visions of symbols, a trait it acquired to make sense of the relentless loneliness it developed after its creators abandoned it.

If an expert in Arcana or Medicine examines the corpse of the construct once it is defeated, a DC 20 Intelligence (Arcana) or Wisdom (Medicine) will reveal the flesh of the creature was at one point an actual dragon, the brain removed in the process of magically fusing its body with the construct.

You can find the Clockwork War Dragon on D&D Beyond by clicking here: https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/1246836-clockwork-war-dragon.

Behind the Scenes and Playtesting

We designed the Clockwork War Dragon as a Deadly encounter, and in the final playtest, the construct killed one PC and brought the party to the brink of a TPK. A Deadly encounter is an encounter that has a reasonable chance of killing half the party. In the playtest that dropped a PC, the Clockwork War Dragon was unable to rechange its breath weapon–but if it did, it’s a mathematical certainty half the party would have died. If the recharge brought down the party’s remaining healer, the Clockwork War Dagon would have finished off the survivors. A TPK.

Death Spiral Design

A bad decision, panic, poor teamwork, and of course, bad dice rolls can start a “death spiral” at the game table. This monster has the tools to kill unconscious victims (in 5E, PCs making Death Saves), both up close and at range. PCs that take damage from a successful attack and are Unconscious automatically fail two Death Saves.

In lore, the people creating this construct were both merciless and desperate. Clockwork War Dragons weren’t the worst thing they created, but they were one of their most effective killers, going so far as to dominate an encounter with an enemy and then hunt down fleeing opponents one-by-one.

As a DM, before using this monster in an encounter, think about the challenge outside of its mathematical rating. D&D is a game. Games have win and fail conditions; otherwise, it would not be a game but a convenient “story-telling” device. This monster was used in play-testing in a campaign–the players had an understanding that something bad was going to happen, so they prepared appropriately. And that’s exactly what happened–something bad.

The players enjoyed that encounter and now suspect that something awful happened to the people who used to inhabit their lands long ago. If those bygone people created this monster, what else did they create? And why? Looking at the clockwork strewn about the battlefield, the PCs have more questions than answers–and they are not sure they want the answers.

Good players need a good challenge, and a good challenge is possible within the confines of the rules for creating monsters without a bunch of tricks, hand-wavum, or tossing waves of monsters at the PCs until one drops. Often you hear that 5E is too forgiving as a rule system. This is definitely not true. What is true is that many DMs are too forgiving. Well, and the DMG doesn’t give proper guidance in creating encounters and monsters based on player makeup and role-playing game theory.

Here are the particular attributes that make the Clockwork War Dragon a formidable opponent:

Challenging Attributes

Fire breath weapon: this is a young red dragon’s breath weapon, with a standard rechange on a 5 or 6 on a six-sided die, rolled at the beginning of its round
As a construct, it is resistant to all forms of magic via its magic resistance in addition to other immunities and resistances
The physical attacks also come from a young red dragon and are specific to a CR 10 monster.
The cunning action bonus action ability adds a high degree of versatility, and deadliness, to this monster. It can move around the battlefield or even hide in gloomy terrain each round, like a rogue.
Its reaction is specific to its clockwork nature: the clockwork war dragon creators did not want to make it any bigger than a Large creature. Knowing that other Large creatures could knock it about, they gave it an “anti-prone” counter-attack.
The monster’s legendary actions separate this beast from a CR 10 monster template, adding to the challenging rating appropriately. When there are no unconscious PCs on the battlefield, they serve as extra damage per round. When a PC goes unconscious, it uses them to kill a PC and remove him or her from the battle, as it was designed to do as a war machine.
Finally, the Clockwork War Dragon does not communicate. It cannot be bargained or reasoned with. It exists only to kill and destroy, and a tiny part of it wishes someone, anyone, would put it out of its misery.

Alternate Versions

A fallen kingdom or empire created the Clockwork War Dragon long ago. However, it would be easy to modify the beast as a new creation for a supervillain’s minion. Increase it’s Wisdom to 12 and raise it’s Survival Skill to +7. Here it becomes a relentless tracker.

Another modification would be to add a swim speed and the amphibious trait.

BoT Post 31: Index of Burials of Teganshire Marathon Posts

Posted on September 15, 2020September 16, 2020 by Anthony Pacheco

Burials of Teganshire Post 31 of 30.

Harken ye to the master table of the 30-Days of Burials of Teganshire Posts.

Which one was your favorite? Leave a comment and discuss!

Index of Burials of Teganshire Marathon Posts

Post	System	Type	Link
1	RPG	Running the Game	Never Give Your PCs an Excuse Not to Care
2	RPG	World-Building	The Locality Campaign with NPCs Who Breathe
3	RPG	World-Building	Maps and the Trope of Adventuring Beyond the Village
4	RPG	Plotting	Plot Points on the Localized Campaign
5	RPG	Design	Six D&D Villains That Bring it Home and Make it Personal
6	RPG	Running the Game	Wind Up Your PCs with Your Villain and Let Them Go
7	RPG	Plotting	Adding Personalized Content to an Adventure in 10 Minute Slices
8	D&D 5E	Encounter & Monster	Ghost Wagon Encounter: Introducing the Lothmar Meta Mimic for 5E
9	Pathfinder 1E	Encounter & Monster	Introducing the Lothmar Meta Mimic for Pathfinder 1E
10	RPG	Plotting	When the PCs Lose the Players Will Win: the Hero's Journey
11	D&D 5E	Design	Enrich Your 5E Campaign World with a Permanent Magic System
12	RPG	Humble Brag	Burials of Teganshire Fully Funded on Indiegogo! Come Get Your Copy!
13	RPG	Encounters	2d10 Encounter Tables for Traveling on a Road in a Fantasy RPG
14	D&D 5E	Backgrounds	Three New 5E Backgrounds to Enhance Your New PC
15	D&D 5E	Design	The Misunderstood World of 5E Game Balance
16	D&D 5E	Design	The Misunderstood World of 5E Game Balance
17	D&D 5E	Feats	Three 5E Homebrew Feats that go with Homebrew Backgrounds
18	RPG	World-Building	Use the D&D Magic System to Introduce a Pervasive Magical Cold War to Your Campaign
19	Pathfinder 1E	Design	Pathfinder 1E Encounters: Borrow This, Steal That and Action Economy Everything
20	RPG	Burials of Teganshire	Spruce up Burials of Teganshire with These Roleplaying Additions
21	D&D 5E	Monsters	Tales of Lothmar Beastiary: the Trickster Island Red Fox
22	Pathfinder 1E	Monsters	Tales of Lothmar Beastiary: The Pathfinder 1E Trickster Island Red Fox
23	RPG	Running the Game	Sample Session 0 Handout for a New D&D Campaign
24	RPG	Burials of Teganshire	Additional NPCs for Burials of Teganshire
25	D&D 5E	Monsters	Tales of Lothmar Beastiary: the 5E Demon Crocodile
26	Pathfinder 1E	Monsters	Tales of Lothmar Beastiary: The Pathfinder 1E Demon Crocodile
27	RPG	World-Building	D&D Villains That Are Also Allies
28	RPG	World-Building	Using Magic to Mess with PCs in D&D
29	RPG	Plotting	Vile Rumors and Unsubstantiated Claims in D&D
30	RPG	Design	Megadungeon Julia! Layer Your Dungeon Using History
31	RPG	Running the Game	This post!

Wait until you see upgraded Crossbow Man in the next module!

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BoT Post 29: Vile Rumors and Unsubstantiated Claims in D&D

Posted on September 1, 2020September 2, 2020 by Anthony Pacheco

Burials of Teganshire Post 29 out of 30—the end is near edition!

You don’t need magic to mess with the PCs. A simple rumor will do, whether it is about them or someone else. Delicious tales should always be a part of the campaign-setting backdrop, and not just to plant the seeds of adventure. Here’s one method for incorporating tall-tales, speculation, and fantastic stories.

Vile Rumors and Unsubstantiated Claims in D&D

The PCs, having helped the village with their monster problem—after spending a few weeks recovering from various wounds—decide to travel to the city thirty miles away to deliver an heirloom they found to the Baron.

They enter the city, and when walking by a food cart, the vendor screams: “Ah! It’s the werewolf!” and runs off.

Now, the PCs don’t know that a traveling merchant told a nearby tavern, “Those monster killers, they fought them dire wolves like they were werewolves themselves!” And then described what one of the PCs looked like, as the PC entered the Bouncing Mutt Tavern, wounded and in need of a celebratory beer.

By the time the rumor reached the food vendor, that PC was a werewolf. Completely untrue, and a bit funny. Well, for the rest of the players and DM, that is.

Designing Rumors—setting the basics

Put yourself in the shoes of the commoner in a quasi-medieval campaign-world. The nobility is in the hot seat for protecting the locals from the depredations of monsters and magic. Most commoners never wander past the horizon. So a PC, be them a “monster killer,” “magic warrior,” or “wizard,” is just as fantastical as the monsters themselves. Commoners will even view priests of a respected religion as a bit of a freak show, as the priest wandered away from the safety of the church walls.

On the flip side, magic and the objectively observed existence of divine power also has an educational effect. The local populous doesn’t need to create fantastic mythology to make sense of the world—they can ask the resident priestess that channels power from her god, or ask the educated wizard having a beer at the local.

This is the basis of the Rumor Landscape. Before we can dive right in, let’s talk about the basics of a good rumor.

Objective Truth and Falsity

Rumors are true, false, and in between. Creating an accurate tale about a PC is easy, so is embellishing bravado to the point some of it never happened. And then there are outright lies.

Picture of a Woman Wearing Black — *I like black because it makes me look good.*

But the best lies are rooted in truth. “That warlock talks to voices inside his head, he’s crazy, and will steal your thoughts!” The warlock does talk to voices inside his head and does have access to people’s thoughts on occasion—but he has no capability of stealing or altering memories.

Yet.

When adding rumors to the game, try to keep the ones that are entirely untrue to a minimum.

One of my favorite rumors is the “black widow.” A PC is wearing all black because (the player) she likes the way she looks in black.

But the local populous, wearing black is a symbol of mourning. And thus, the PC finds people calling her “the Widow” because they think she is mourning. Some get confused, mostly if the PC acts against the cultural expectations of someone grieving the loss of a family member. And the player might think it’s funny (or not), up until a widower approachers her asking for advice in dealing with grief and loss.

Designing Rumors—Level Plus Charisma Method

In a game as complex as D&D (and it’s variants such as Pathfinder), it behooves a DM to keep track of information about each PC in a spreadsheet, OneNote, or other note-taking software. That’s where you want to store your rumors!

Here’s the “Level Plus Charisma Method”

For each level, a PC should have one true rumor and one false rumor about them
Add a one true and one false rumor per Charisma ability modifier. So, a first level PC with a 16 (+3) Charisma would have four true rumors and four false rumors about her
As the PC levels, the DM occasionally replaces rumors with stories specific to the location the PC now inhabits or more juicer tidbits introduced by the PC’s actions upon the game world

Now that you have your rumors—have at it. Use them when the energy at the game table seems low, or if a player hasn’t contributed much that evening, or, better still, at the worst opportune time, socially, for the PC.

Rumors as a Weapon, and Plot Device

As deeply-rooted as junior high, using rumors against rivals is as old as sin. Players, once they realize there is a game mechanic around the Rumor Mill, will start to use gossip and slander to their advantage, in addition to battling such from their enemies. Eventually, in any political environment, there will be propaganda.

Which is not to say folk are entirely gullible. Many people participate in the rumor mill just for the sport of it all, exchanging stories for the thrill of making life less mundane than it is. But salacious rumors about good people are damaging. Give your players a chance to deal with rumors as-is—if they engage in hurtful behavior, show the consequences of that, but also allow them to make things right.

The Rumor Mill in D&D is for the creation of DRAMA. Drama can lead to conflict, and conflict leads to action. Action leads to rolling dice and killing monsters.

Even a rumor about wearing black can turn into rolling dice and killing monsters. Perhaps that widower needs to face down the alligator that killed his wife at the swimming hole. And, maybe the PC wants to help him, not knowing that the gator in question is a demon. Perhaps the PC finds a common bond with the NPC, after, of course, she sets him straight about her fondness for black dresses.

Back our new adventure on Indiegogo’s InDemand service, and support us bringing vile rumors to your PCs! Click here to get your copy of Burials of Teganshire! https://igg.me/at/teganshire

Crossbow Man deals with rumors with—wait for it—a BOLT TO THE FACE!

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BoT Post 27: D&D Villains That Are Also Allies

Posted on August 30, 2020August 31, 2020 by Anthony Pacheco

Burials of Teganshire Post 27 of 30

Saving the World requires heroes to get their hands dirty, and perhaps, what makes them heroes is keeping their valor and honor when everyone around them sacrificed those attributes on the Altar of Survival.

D&D Villains That Are Also Allies: Campaign Design

A campaign—not necessarily the game world—has a beginning, middle, and end (one way or the other), and using “morally challenged” individuals requires planning and creativity. The tricky part of the process is knowing your players. If the DM runs a sandbox campaign, then spends days designing a plot point requiring the PCs to travel in a specific direction is a risk. It’s tempting fate. Running a localized campaign can mitigate that risk by organically encouraging the players to engage the game-world on a local level. Still, it will be a sad day indeed if you turn the Baron sixty miles away into one impressive dude, and the players decide that barony in the opposite direction needs conquering.

So, there are two types of a Villainous Allies a DM can use, the Macro Villain Ally and the Micro Villan Ally and which one to use depends on the type of campaign.

The Macro Villain Ally

More challenging to pull off but epic in scope is the Macro Villain Ally (Macro VA). The Macro VA could be an entire culture, nation, or some leader of the same.

This type of VA is well-suited for a campaign that is more “open-world” vs. “sandbox,” that is, players show up to play in a campaign where the general plot is known ahead of time. They are having fun adventuring and doing their own thing within the boundaries of the game world that supports a story rather than a story based on the players’ interpretation of the game world.

In other words, the DM has a pretty good idea that if he makes a Macro VA, the players will run into the VA.

Example of the Macro VA

(campaign beginning)

A bad neighbor is a great plot device and generates drama. It can even be the primary antagonist for the earlier portions of the campaign. My favorite is the Bad Baron plot device.

Bad Baron, one Torc Mac Ceti, was just the worst. He waged a hidden campaign of agitation against the PCs, and when they finally found him out, the cold-war turned hot, and there were battles. The King intervened and had the Bad Baron thrown in jail, and because the PCs’ hands weren’t exactly clean in this conflict, he made one of them marry the Baron’s daughter so the two neighboring regions would stop feuding and start becoming allies.

(campaign middle)

Things are going not-so-well, the neighboring barony views the PCs as interlopers. There are low-level protesters (the PCs are, after all, backed by the King so, like the Bad Baron, most of the agitation is covert) and the Baron’s former allies cause issues as they liked Torc Mac Ceti. The PCs, not so much. Things escalate until the PCs have just had enough and are planning to go overt, despite the complication that one of their own is married to the beloved daughter of the barony.

(campaign end?)

All through the campaign thus far, the King has been seemingly unconcerned with the PCs’ various plights as he always grumbles about the exterior threats he faces. Well, that all comes to a head because Super Evil Bad Guys invade the kingdom, and things are now looking grim.

And one of the first things the King does is let Torc Mac Ceti out of jail because Bad Baron is a military tactician. He puts the Bad Baron under the command of the PCs and tells them in no uncertain terms they need to all work together or the Super Evil Bad Guys are going to destroy the kingdom and basically everything in it.

Bad Baron was never the primary antagonist in this campaign. In fact, everything up to this point, even with hours and hours of gameplay, could reasonably be considered prolog to the main plot point. Bad Baron, indeed is a shit. But he’s a patriot, and, the villain that he is, he would die for the kingdom.

Do the PCs redeem Torc Mac Ceti? How do they deal with him being in their grill for the rest of the campaign? Can they set aside their differences? Do they show weakness that the Bad Baron can’t help but to exploit? Does the Bad Baron teach PCs some of his ruthlessness, and the PCs teach him some of their honor?

A DM can substitute Bad Baron with “the Nation Next Door,” orcs (a classic, especially if the PCs are morally ambiguous themselves), etc.

The Micro Villain Ally

One might think the Baron is a Micro Villain Ally, but he’s not. He’s a product of his barony, and the PCs were all set to smack the hammer down on the fostering rebellion even with him in jail. He comes attached to the barony, a product of both the region and the times.

The Micro Villain Ally, however, is a singular person, usually sitting outside of society, a constant thorn in the PCs side at every worst possible moment, and a hard target. The DM uses Micro VAs when he or she just doesn’t know what direction the campaign is going to go.

Let’s talk about the above example in the context of an Open World vs. Sandbox—the DM makes an adventure of retrieving the Staff of the Thunder Monk from a commercial product, the Isle of Dread.

And the players like adventuring on or near the sea so much, that becomes the campaign focus. The barony and all its problems tossed aside—Torc Mac Cetia can have it, they have a pirate fleet to capture!

Micro VAs are an excellent way for the DM to spend time and morph the VA to the current plot. Let’s go over some examples!

Root

Root from Person of Intrest was a compelling, creepy villain, viewing people not as smart as her as expendable tools she could manipulate and nothing more. Long before becoming a member of Team Machine, she played an expert hacker. Root was a villain when she first encountered what would become her people, and later would sacrifice so much to protect and even grow to love her friends.

Root in the course of the series was the Villain, the Tool, and the Ally. She had a compelling character arc along the Hero’s Journey and became a sympathetic character.

Agent Franks

Aw yeah, Agent Franks. A VA that was so captivating Larry Correia wrote an entire novel about him, most likely to shut up all the Agent Franks fans. As the Monster Hunter International: Nemesis book copy says: “Agent Franks of the U.S. Monster Control Bureau is a man of many parts – parts from other people, that is. Franks is nearly seven feet tall and all muscle. He’s nearly indestructible. Plus he’s animated by a powerful alchemical substance and inhabited by a super-intelligent spirit more ancient than humanity itself.”

He’s not good. He’s not bad either. He’s, um, Agent Franks. Read the first four books of MHI to explore the fantastic world of Agent Franks.

Nil

If ever there was a disturbing villain that a protagonist occasionally works with, Nil from Horizon Zero Dawn fits the bill. He’s a serial killer who understands the problems of his pathology and kills bandits as an outlet. And he really isn’t redeemable, he’s basically a weapon, and you as the protagonist can choose to engage with him, or not. It doesn’t help that there are good-girl, bad-boy creeper undertones to Nil’s interaction, adding a disturbing and creepy undercurrent to a problematic, but a highly useful, ally.

At some point when I was slaughtering Yet Another Bandit Camp™ with Nil at my side, I was thinking—am I the baddy?

Nil, my psychopathic bandit killing (boy?) friend, my favorite Micro VA, I salute you!

Bottom Line: Let the Heroes be Heroes

When using a Macro and Micro VA, resist the urge to use moral lessons that have wormed their way into current entertainment media. Let the VA’s action stand on their own, and let the PCs deal with those actions as they see fit.

However, this type of gameplay is an excellent vehicle to interject higher-plot points such as nature vs. nurture, nobler motivations, moral lines in the sand, and the timeless redemption arc.

Heroes often fail. That’s the price of admission. Give players the chance to make things right. Allow players to turn their nemesis into their greatest ally. And if they all fail anyway, I can guarantee you the campaign will be anything but boring.

D&D was never about survival.

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Crossbow Man has yet to encounter a real villain.

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BoT Post 25: Tales of Lothmar Beastiary: the 5E Demon Crocodile

Posted on August 28, 2020August 29, 2020 by Anthony Pacheco

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Is there an evil obelisk or demon in your swamp? Well, eventually, a demon crocodile will appear, and low-level PCs are in for a swim. A SWIM OF DOOOOOOOOM.

D&D Beyond Entry: https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/1088677-demon-crocodile

Tales of Lothmar Beastiary: the 5E Demon Crocodile

Description

Described by a ranger as “a jaw of doom attached to a body composed of hate and malice,” the demon crocodile is a manifestation of demonic corruption in a swamp or wetland.

Purely evil, the demon crocodile exists only to kill and will do so not only to feed itself but out of spite and enjoyment. Usually found in pairs, one demon croc will try to pull a victim underwater while the other croc lies in wait, hiding, to attack any swimming rescuers. The pair is not above surfacing a grappled victim to show any onlookers the horror of the attack. Once satisfied others have seen the display, they pull the victim underwater again.

Demon crocodiles are fast land runners, and will tirelessly run fleeing victims down. They will attack anything except a demon and innately target clerics or paladins wearing a holy symbol first, regardless of tactical significance. Drowning a good-aligned ranger is one of their favorite pastimes.

Back our new adventure on Indiegogo’s InDemand service, and support us making more monsters such as the DEMON CROCODILE! Click here to get your copy of Burials of Teganshire! https://igg.me/at/teganshire

Crossbow Man faces a foe a bit tougher than the demon crocodile.

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BoT Post 24: Additional NPCs for Burials of Teganshire

Posted on August 27, 2020August 28, 2020 by Anthony Pacheco

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The successful funding campaign is over, but Burials of Teganshire is still available on Indiegogo’s InDemand service. Click here to get your copy at a discount! https://igg.me/at/teganshire

Additional NPCs for Burials of Teganshire – The Knight, the Dame, and the Squire

Here are some NPCs you can add to the Burials of Teganshire. They’re not in the adventure, but Burials of Teganshire may mention them in passing. In blog post 20 in our series, we talked about roleplaying additions to the area. This post is specific to NPCs for the Dungeon Master (DM/GM) to use if the PCs engage the setting outside of the module.

Of course, the DM may have their own setting with their own NPCs. The below are lore-generic and can fit right in with some modification or used as-is. Sir Johansson, his wife, and his squire do not make an appearance in Burials of Teganshire. They are included here for the DM to use. Keep track of their dispositions towards the PCs, as that will impact the next adventure.

Sir Johansson

Sir Johansson is a knight that owns nearby farms and ranches north of Teganshire and west of the trade road. He has authority given to him by his Lord, Lord Teragan, and inherited his lands from his father. Sir Kyle Johansson has no political control in Teganshire, but he has considerable influence. He is the employer of the four well-paid guards in the guard tower along the road to Tegan’s bridge.

Johansson is rich, owning a multitude of farms and having significant inherited funds
Lord Teragan has Johansson oversee several of his own farms
The knight is well-liked by the local populous for being fair and hardworking
He has considerable knowledge on agriculture and animal husbandry
He’s trained in combat and a thoroughly dangerous individual
His wife is a minor cleric, known to heal the sick and wounded

Sir Johansson’s Motivations

While a fierce combatant both on horse and on foot, Johansson is less of a knight in charge of farms and more of a farmer with knightly training in logistics. His martial prowess has less to do with innate capability; instead, Johansson is athletic and healthy with good morale and leadership abilities. He has no fewer than a dozen men-at-arms, well-paid individuals with superior arms and armor ready to do violence on his behalf.

As a logistical-ordered individual, Johansson’s primary concern is food production. He does not hold the fascination with horses that his Lord and fellow knights do, believing equestrian dominance is an enormous money sink. His focus on wise spending and agrarian-based wealth has put him at odds with the other knights in the barony.

His motivations:

Provide for food production of the land, lest during bad times we’re forced to eat the horses we love so much
Protect the farmers who concern themselves with feeding us
Increase the Johansson wealth through careful spending and protecting existing assets
Apply the King’s law fairly
Protect my family and legacy from a hostile world
Be the man my wife wants me to be

Roleplaying Sir Johansson

Appearances can be deceiving, and the knight fits the bill of a noble warrior with expensive equipment. However, he has a firm understanding of local life and has a lot of empathy for his farmers and ranchers. He is not impressed with shallowness, bravado, or smarminess. Anyone willing to defend the lives of the common folk has his support.

Kyle has a deep understanding of the logistics of the region and the hazards of warfare without adequate means to feed the troops.

Dame Johansson

A cleric of a good deity and of modest divine power, Serina Johansson is wed to Kyle Johansson through an arranged marriage. Selected by her husband due to her healing abilities, medical knowledge, and education, the Dame and the Knight enjoy a marriage of mutual admiration. They have four children, the oldest now in his early teens.

The Dame is an educated daughter of a wealthy horse rancher. Her father was surprised when Kyle Johansson’s father approached him to arrange a marriage, but the Dame was the youngest daughter and was set to enter into a life of serving the church. The resultant dowry has paid for itself thrice over
The Dame holds respect but is seen as a bit naive—she is aware of this and works against it, but she was raised to serve in the church, not lead a life of minor nobility. It doesn’t help that she was the youngest of her siblings, and was a bit spoiled and sheltered
Serina works to make sure her children have a good education and are pious, respectful children
Her divine power is academically based. While she understands prayers of battle, she has never used them
She deeply admires her husband’s firm, but caring leadership abilities
She has a full understanding of the family’s finances and the Johanssons make joint decisions

Dame Johansson’s Motivations

Support the Johansson legacy through planning, hard work, and the application of proper business acumen
Make sure her family and Kyle’s sphere of influence have proper respect for the divine and meet religious obligations
Heal the wounded and take care of the sick through divine healing and medical know-how
Raise the children to respect the King’s Law and the Church
Find Squire Artane a proper wife
Be the woman my husband wants me to be

Roleplaying Dame Johansson

Serina appears youthful in her mid-30s, and while not the most attractive woman, she carries herself with grace and confidence. She also likes to talk and gossip, feeling it is her duty to know everything about everyone. She is a highly religious person and cares deeply about her immediate family, her extended family, and her husband’s wards.

While she wears a holy symbol, she does not wear cleric vestments, nor carries clerical weapons. She can speak of religious issues and has a passing familiarity with history and arcane knowledge.

Squire Artane

Squire Gil Artane was selected by Sir Johansson as his squire for a combination of two reasons:

He is extremely accurate with a bow
He killed a grizzly bear with a pitchfork

Usually, a knight is supposed to squire sons of his peers and other nobility to teach them the ways of the knightly world outside of the influence of the squire’s family. Johansson was set to do that until one of his farmer’s sons killed a goddamn brown bear with a pitchfork. This impressed Sir Johansson so much he made the lad his squire, and the two have operated as a team ever since. It helps that Gil, as a farmer’s son, knows the agricultural trade and is not afraid to roll-up his sleeves during harvest and gets to work.

Gil is not a local yocal. Or, rather, he might have been at one time. Now Artane is a warrior, skilled with a blade, horseback combat, and all things archery. He has killed men in defense of his knight and has grown confident and shrewd. He has formulated a philosophy of “why kill bad guys up close and get stabbed when you can do it far away?”

Squire Artane’s Motivations

Protect his knight. We have to watch each other’s back
Become the best archer in the realm
Avoid getting married and losing my edge
Stay out of trouble and avoid bringing shame to his employer
Hard work and loyalty is the hallmark of good men everywhere
Make sure the men-at-arms have an excellent grasp of bow and crossbow usage

Roleplaying Squire Artane

Gil is well-aware of that his athletic build, youthful appearance, the scar on his face from the bear, and deadly reputation make him attractive to the fair maidens of the region. He has a natural way with people and flirts with the lovely opposite sex as easy as breathing.

Underneath the surface, Squire Artane is a warrior with a firm understanding of the use of violence. Like Sir Johansson, he doesn’t have any aspirations to go to actual war, having seen first hand what an arrow can do to someone’s face. His arrow. He has no regrets, but he also has no wish to prove himself “glorious” in battle, especially if the harvest is coming due.

In Gil’s understanding of the universe and his place in it, he leads a perfect life.

It’s real, folks. Behold! The printed proofs. We haven’t made the print order yet, so it’s not too late to order your own copy through the Indiegogo InDemand service! Once we shut it off, the discount goes *poof*. Click here to get your copy at a discount: https://igg.me/at/teganshire

Crossbow Man in print!

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Burials of Teganshire Printed Proofs!

Posted on August 26, 2020August 26, 2020 by Anthony Pacheco

*These are taken with my crappy cell-phone camera.*

What a great layout!

You can still get your copy from Indiegogo InDemand by clicking here: https://igg.me/at/teganshire

BoT Post 23: Sample Session 0 Handout for a New D&D Campaign

Posted on August 26, 2020September 15, 2020 by Anthony Pacheco

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The successful funding campaign is over, but Burials of Teganshire is still available on Indiegogo’s InDemand service. Click here to get your copy! https://igg.me/at/teganshire

Session 0 doesn’t necessarily mean a separate session but is a meeting of minds between the DM/GM and the players. It is where the DM sets the tone, logistics, and expectations.

Personally, I find it helpful to put Session 0 information in a handout, and then both email and then physically hand it to the players. Session 0 is also an excellent time to roll up a new PC, so the information should be sent before the DM expects the players to have their new PC ready to go.

Here’s an example Session 0 handout for Burials of Teganshire and the Circle of the Blood Moon Adventure Path. As always, simple information that a player would find helpful is better than a “lore dump” that just gives the DM a captive audience.

No need for a lore dump. Let the PCs make their own story, discovering the world as they go.

Session 0: Circle of the Blood Moon Adventure Path

Circle of the Blood Moon is a 5E D&D game using standard D&D rules.

When

Every Friday at Rob’s House

Player Books

D&D 5.0 Player’s Handbook or SRD (required)

Xanathar’s Guide to Everything (optional)

Stronghold and Followers (optional)

Campaign Setting

Homebrew, European-style feudal system

Races

All except Dragonborn and Tiefling

Classes

Any

Character Creation Rules

Any class out of the PHB

Standard Point Buy

Standard Starting Funds

Milestone experience

Roll for HP when leveling

PCs can have feats if they meet advancement requirements

PCs can multiclass

The campaign uses Encumbrance

Campaign Tone

This is a challenging and complex campaign where players will need to earn their PC progression through heroic actions and deeds. Players are in the driver’s seat to the extent that the DM has material to cover what the PCs are going to do that evening, and if they wander too far off the adventure path, then the game pauses for the material to catch up. It is possible to fail objectives and have the campaign continue—win or lose; there’s going to be action. Your decisions have consequences; this is not a railroad, but there isn’t a multiverse shattering puzzle, either. You’ll know soon enough what needs to be done.

PCs will be making trips outdoors. Outside of villages, it is widely known that the less-civilized wilderness contains monsters and fey. The local authorities are feudal-based and, for the most part, well-respected by the local populous.

Difficulty

PC causalities will happen if players bumble about or if merely unlucky.

Players are expected to use team-centric, combined-arms tactics/strategy. There are random encounters that could turn deadly, and PCs can wander into places beyond their ability to survive if the party does not retreat and reassess.

PC Death

PC death could result in a new 1^st Level PC until the campaign advances to where it makes more sense to have a new PC at a higher level.

Magic

This is a heroic-magic campaign setting—there are NPCs with magic, but they usually do not wander about killing monsters. The frequency of magic items is straight out of the DMG.

There is no open market for magic items, except potions, and even then, the alchemist making potions usually has a customer list she’s working towards. However, most alchemists rely on external sources for their concoctions and are predisposed to people selling rare materials.

Coin

Circle of the Blood Moon uses the same coin system that is in the PHB. The nobility also uses letters of credit, which they can exchange for coin with other nobility and the crown. There’s no fractional banking system, but there are wealthy merchants that will exchange coins for these letters of credit.

Still time to get Burials of Teganshire on Indiegogo’s InDemand service! Click here: https://igg.me/at/teganshire

Crossbow Man’s first thoughts were that the bridge workers will be avenged.
Via a BOLT TO THE FACE!

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