Showing posts with label magic items. Show all posts
Showing posts with label magic items. Show all posts

Friday, September 26, 2025

D10 Magic Weapons Found On That Corpse

Months ago during the campaign, the party came upon the remains of a squad of soldiers who had perished in combat with a Chaos raiding party. The combat was fresh, and it appeared that the foes had all perished in a hard-fought, desperate struggle. And I knew that the deceased commander of the troops should have a magic weapon, but something more than just another +1 sword

So I whipped up a quick list with a little help from Chaotic Shiny:

  1. +2 short sword (1d6+2), casts a glamour 1/day (2d6 rounds)
  2. +2 short sword (1d6+2), wind blast 1/day (raises dust to blind opponents, extinguish torches, etc.)
  3. +1 trident (1d6+1), lighting bolt 1/day (2d6 dmg, 150', save for half)
  4. +1 battle axe (1d8+1), flame 3/day (+1d6 fire damage)
  5. +2 hand axe (1d6+2), bearer may recover as full night's rest on four hours of sleep.
  6. +1 longsword (1d8+1), petrify 1/day (save to avoid)
  7. +1 trident (1d6+1), shoot 60' jet of water 3/day (knock opponent prone, extinguish light, etc.)
  8. +1 spear (1d6+1), +1d6 acid damage, degrades armor by 1 point (save to avoid damage)
  9. +1 rapier (1d6+1), fly 1/day (1d6 turns)
  10. +1 scimitar (1d8+1), drains level on 1st attack

Slick rolled the d10 to see what he found, and got his nasty black scimitar.

Plus a bonus item they didn't find: 

    +1 javelin (1d4+1), raises 10'x100' earthen wall where it lands (1 use)

Only 25 more for the inevitable D66 list....

Friday, July 11, 2025

"Why is it Always the Spiders?" - The Map

Well, a couple of months ago, the party nearly met their match with a belligerent phase spider. So I figured I'd take the time to clean up and present the session notes for general consumption. I plan to do this with more of my locations and encounters from the campaign, since they might have some utility for folks, or at least a peek behind the curtains...

Anyway...

Original session prep notes

I had scattered treasure and magic items throughout the original, but the party only made it to the irregular room in the center of the map (essentially the 2nd room encountered) before being set upon by undead and the phase spider. In this writing, I came up with a justification and mechanic for the random magical treasure. And yes, the list of magical items includes a few items “donated” by the party. 

Our party was generally sixth level OSE PCs, although they were hampered by bad initiative rolls, as well as bad saves against the undead, allowing the spider to take advantage of her magic.

So here it is, all prettied up and given a cutesy name.

Download Me Here!

I can see a critter like this becoming an ongoing foil for a party, or perhaps a resource to negotiate for magical goods with, based on her propensity to collect sparkly sorcerous baubles...

Friday, June 6, 2025

June RPG Blog Carnival: Magic Shops


This month's blog carnival is sponsored by Advantage on Arcana and appropriately themed, "Magic Shops and Their Alternatives."

Well, I'd better hop on board before I lose my muse for another several months...

...with the important question: "Why own, when you can rent?"

***

HEY! HEY! HEY! C'mon down to Lucky Eddy's Magic Rentals! 

(On the corner of Rivenbell Road and Langmug Lane - look for the wacky waving wyvern!)

Why buy, when you can RENT?!?

No need to buy an overpriced item from those sketchy elves down the street or that shop run by the bald dude on the river! Especially if you only need it for this quest or mission! Who needs a pack full of unused magical tinker? YOU DON'T!

Lucky Eddy is here to help you lighten that load and set you up for SUCCEESSSS!! No more hauling three swords, "just in case!" We'll get you kitted out and back from that dungeon before the tavern closes!!!

REASONABLE RATES! By the Day, Week, or Month! (Some Exclusions Apply)*

Source

Tuesday, April 22, 2025

The D66 Table Test Dungeon: The Bowl of Gunnfried for Shadowdark

So I have written a number of D66 tables as a creative exercise. A few were themed on dungeon contents, and the final of these included, “things to get, things stopping you, and dungeon decorations.” So, since a couple of friends had put these tables to use, I figured that I should roll the dice and put it to the test, myself. 

"Bowl, roper, incense burners/braziers."

OK then. Let's do this. 

Grab a Dyson map. This one will do...

source

Hmm. Ok, why not put a boss monster in the first room? ...

So here it is - The Bowl of Gunnfried - crafted up for Shadowdarky delvings. Estimated in the 3rd+ level of challenge, as long as there are a few magic weapons in the mix. Knowing PCs, they'll just dogpile every challenge....

This is the first time I've written specifically for the Shadowdark format - critter stats, etc. so critique is welcome.

source


Thursday, April 17, 2025

D66 False Crystal Balls

No, I couldn't leave well enough, or half-assed alone. I needed to expand yesterday's list to D66. 

Jareth, again...

So, expanded, bigger, better, and with more balls! 

D66 FALSE Crystal Balls

11: Flashes as Chromatic Orb equivalent, random level effect.
12: Viewer goes into catatonic trance.
13: Becomes permanently stuck to hand.
14: Just shows embarrassing childhood moments.
15: Projects false prophesies.
16: SPIDERS (Causes hallucinations).
21: Causes nightmares.
22: Shiny, mundane.
23: Makes a nice kaleidoscope, casts pretty patterns on walls.
24: Creates a black void to peer into.
25: Causes manic episodes.
26: Causes obsession with the ball.
31: Projects image of viewer to another, real magic ball.
32: It's a mimic, because why not?
33: Becomes very hot. Temperature rises to approx. 1,400° C. Burns through anything it can melt through.
34: Ball begins to replicate, doubling in number every minute until room filled (or 216 balls, whichever comes first).
35: Attracts swarms of rats.
36: Explodes, treat as fireball.
41: Big flash! Causes permanent blindness to anyone in room.
42: It's haunted.
43: Begins to emit noxious smoke, continues until the draperies and carpets are ruined.
44: Spontaneously extrudes 18-inch long spikes.
45: Becomes exceedingly dense until it weighs approximately 256 tons.
46: Expands into a Rover, user born off to an undisclosed location.
51: Loudly proclaims, “I can't believe you thought this was a crystal ball!” in a mocking voice for an hour.
52: Transforms into a Magic 8-Ball.
53: Transforms user into a crystalline statue.
54: Rickrolls.
55: Floats to ceiling, bumps around annoyingly, avoids attempts to capture.
56: Floats to ceiling, transforms into disco ball.
61: Teleports viewer to random location within 200 mile radius.
62: Teleports viewer to pocket dimension for safekeeping.
63: Transforms into a lime green D30.
64: Leaps from viewer's hand, giggling, rolls under furniture, avoids attempts to capture.
65: Becomes a luminous, yellow-green cat's eye. Viewer can't shake the feeling that it is surrounded by a near-invisible, spectral cat.
66: Transforms into small black hole. Consumes approximately one cubic mile of matter before imploding.

(May require appropriate saving throw or remove curse/similar to negate effect)

Download here, if you must.


I'm ponderin' my orbs!


Tuesday, April 15, 2025

D12 False Crystal Balls

So... last session the PCs were tasked with swiping a scrying device from a member of the Merchant's Guild. And of course, it didn't go well, because, duh, scrying device. But said member of the Guild was more amused by the party's incursion, plus was interested in their more global activities. And of course additional details of the goings-on and agenda of the individual who had retained them. Because the device, a crystal ball, provided glimpses, but not in-depth information.

At the end of the conversation, the party asked about how to perhaps continue the ruse against their employer. At least long enough to get out of town with their payment. But of course our target merchant had a “spare” ball. It would emit a magic aura and appear to be a normal crystal ball in other ways. Just say you found this activation word with it. Good luck.

Ya know, because a crystal ball sometimes isn't really a crystal ball.


...because of course I had to use the Goblin King

D12 False Crystal Balls

  1. Chromatic Orb equivalent, treat as 4th level caster

  2. Causes catatonic trance

  3. Becomes stuck to hand

  4. Just shows embarrassing childhood moments

  5. Projects false prophesies

  6. SPIDERS (hallucinations)

  7. Causes nightmares

  8. Shiny, mundane

  9. A pretty kaleidoscope

  10. A nice black void to peer into

  11. Causes manic episodes

  12. Causes obsession with ball

(several of the effects will require a remove curse or equivalent to counteract)

I should get off my butt and do d66...

Update: I did.

Wednesday, February 26, 2025

D66 Magic Staves

Time for the good ol' basic stick. Or staff, if you so desire. 

A walking stick, peasant's weapon, or signature accessory of any self-respecting mage:


Enchanted, of course.

Download me here

As always, use with caution:


Diving into list no. 24, which means I need to create another secret list for the next D66 compilation. Any suggestions?

Edit: Doh! Forgot to note. Yes, at least a few staves are based on the Plagues of Egypt, because if a couple of Moses's staff tricks can get into the DMG, why not more?

Sunday, January 26, 2025

Bad Water at Bishara Shrine: Another Shorts Adventure

Tim scribbled up a dungeon map using the random dungeon generator found in the Shadowdark rulebook. 


Yep, it's random. It almost makes sense, though. So I took it upon myself to make it make sense. Imposing order upon chaos, or something like that. Anyway, the diversion of the stream (which I am assuming to be subterranean) caught my eye and had to be the focal point and "cause" for the adventure. After all, water has been both the foundation and downfall of plenty of cities and civilizations. So if the water goes bad, it is a crisis, indeed. Especially when another crisis looms on the horizon...

Download: Bad Water at Bishira Shrine (estimated for 3-5th level party) (Updated 3/25 based on play, and minor edits)

While looking for imagery for this piece, I found this cute little guy:

source

The caption reads: "Alleborith: a demon from The Testament of Solomon. While most demons have many powers to inflict horrid ills upon humans, Alleborith has only one: he can cause people to choke on fish bones. No angel is assigned to banish him, perhaps because of how minor & specific his power is.

Use caution around that salmon dinner....

Saturday, November 9, 2024

Shadowdark: Bloggah's Blog Part 9 - Wherein Bloggah Becomes an Archer

Hey Bloggah, nice bow. Hadn't noticed you carry it before.

What do you mean? I've always had this bow. It's an old family heirloom.

Are you sure? And why do I smell roses?

****

Ok, so we woke up, good and early, and recovered from the skullchildren adventure of the day before. Something told us that we needed to venture back into the Harrowing, but we weren't really in the mood yet...

Columbo was already out the door, off shopping, probably. We might as well do the same. I was still curious about that spell cast on the creepy kids. Only one place in town that might be able to help with that, so I took Nigel's advice and went down to the Guild of Arcane Knowledge. Tarin and Dremont, not having anything better to do, tagged along. 

The place is pretty snazzy. Tower (of course) surrounded by a wall pierced with arches. People milling around, looking like they're on business. I go up to a guy in a robe with a bad cold, ask him about the spell. He doesn't know, sneezes into his sleeve, asks if I'm a member. Nope.

Ok, I gotta sign up. Go down the hall, turn right, not left. That's cause left looked something like this:


Bigger on the inside and all that. 

Ok, right was the recruitment office. Got the spiel, signed with the bloody thumbprint, turned over a few coins. Asked them about the spell, got sent back across the hall. You guys got a scroll for this? 

They go looking to see what they can find. In the meantime, I look around. What's on the counter over here?

Interesting, a bow. Too bad it's not my thing. Hmm, smells like roses. Interesting. I'll just take a closer look. 

Interesting. This is my family's heirloom bow, originally owned by my seven-greats-grandfather Bagwell. It has never left my hand. 

I walk out. The clerks are making some commotion behind me. Maybe they mislabeled something in their card catalog.

Wednesday, November 6, 2024

The Potato Barons, A Shorts Interlude

Damnit Tim. 

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


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

***

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

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

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

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

Hey, you work with what you got...

Say Hi to Burke and McHale here

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



Thursday, October 10, 2024

D66 Wands

Back with more D66 mischief. This time - magic wands!

source

Roll up a wand's power, what it is constructed of, and any fancy embellishments to give it that "special something."

The Wands Are Here

Source

And for more D66 goodness, feel free to peruse my "Baker's Dozen of D66 Lists."

Saturday, August 10, 2024

D66 Intelligent Swords

Been a bit since my last post, plus it's time for another D66 list...

If magical swords are the bread and butter of enchanted items, then Intelligent ones are definitely the German chocolate cake. Or some bad metaphor like that.

Joethelawyer recently described giving one of his players an irascible intelligent magic sword, and of course, our own campaign has Jax being occasionally goaded by Faith Perpetual

Which reminded me it was time to make another list. So here's a list of swords, with names and personalities. They are, after all, NPCs in their own rights. Have fun with Troll-bane, a +3 broadsword that detects alignment and crusades against the undead....

source

D66 Intelligent Swords:

D66 Name
11 Scorn
12 Althazar the Sharp
13 Fellblade
14 Agananthus
15 Circe
16 Hellbion
21 Mr. Pokey
22 Giant-Killer
23 Excelsior
24 Viriaicus
25 Killmonkey
26 Aethelred's Thegn
31 Troll-bane
32 Big Prick
33 Skolmander
34 Jesry's Grip
35 Skewer
36 Dúngail
41 Fell Mangler
42 Battlemouse
43 Steelheart
44 Ironblood
45 Call-Me-An-Angel
46 King Ulaf's Knight
51 Malice and Venom
52 Ranger's Leaf
53 Hattusamuwa
54 Faith Perpetual
55 Odo's Hand
56 le Griffon Isolé
61 Hofnarggaganufus
62 Xelendria's Shield
63 Frank
64 Glamandoridian
65 Excitable Boy
66 The Artist's Edge

Thursday, May 23, 2024

Campaign Journal: Cobalt Lake, Part the Second

After the day's events, the party was welcomed to spend the night among Queen Adra's loyal subjects.

Who's partying tonight?

  • Fulvus: halfling
  • Frederick: thief
  • Slick: thief
  • Rondel: elf
  • Jax: barbarian
  • Miscellaneous Mooks 
Ok, let's get it on. Partying occurs. Jax and Flick took part in hobgoblin axe throwing contests, with mixed success. Goober was accosted by several goblin children. Fulvus tried out a few varieties of goblin 'small beer' without any deleterious effects, and got some inspiration for herbal amendments to his future brews. Rondel made association with a handful of gnolls, who were impressed with his language skills. Frederick communed in a sweathouse with Adra, her hobgoblin shaman, Shazen, and whatever aromatics he was tossing on the fire. 

Frederick's celebration was hampered by a premonition that an ally had been displaced or otherwise detained. Something to contemplate.

Everyone woke up, bleary, in the morning to a commotion at camp of the goblin tribe who the party had escorted into the settlement. The two tribal heads had been slain in the night, and their prized bow stolen! Murder most foul...

A search of the area turned up the bow stashed among the party's gear in their wagon. Accusations flew, focussing on Murdar, the dwarven man-at-arms ("It's in his name!"). Murdar is a rather simple-minded dwarf, known for carrying a rag doll. He was questioned under the close inspection of Jax (with the help of Faith Perpetual), as were the other two mooks, Golman and Barlow. Alibis seemed to be consistent, although Faith was having a hard time getting a read on Barlow... Rondel attempted a charm, but the spell fizzled. The party described to Adra how they had been tracked by one or more Chaos assassins, who had slain a number of individuals who the party had made contact with. This stunk of their doing.

In any case, Queen Adra was not pleased with this development. The goblin camp and party camp were investigated, and few clues were uncovered. The bow was returned to the goblins.

Adra made council with her advisors, Shazen and Golandan the desert elf. The party would be allowed to leave, but in the light of the Chaos attack, and the mysterious deaths, they would be requested to leave a hostage advisor among their number to help keep an eye out for more Chaos incursions and aid in strategy. Flick volunteered/was voluntold that he would remain. Slick left him with a beloved (stolen) hat and Fulvus left him with a device known to stun chitin drakes. 

a better representation of Adra (source)

Wednesday, April 24, 2024

The Sanctuary of Oies, or, Dwarves Behaving Badly...

Greetings, heroes!

Tim graciously posted up a spare map some time back, and like so many maps, it languishes in my notebook with many of its kin. But occasionally, the muse strikes, in some way, shape, or form. In the case of Tim's maps, it seems that, at least for the last few maps I've stocked, there are either dwarves in trouble, or causing trouble. So dwarves it is.

The project lived unto the working title of "dwarves behaving badly" until I could give it a proper title. Here, we have a temple to a dwarven earth god, abandoned after a ritual gone awry. But... Someone wants to unseal the doom that came to the temple. That happens. The PCs must stop said ritual, or potentially be in a World of Hurt (tm). The adventure is set up with a timer, so successfully stopping the unsealing of the second level will halt the escape. But, if the thing escapes and is defeated, there may well be reward in the deeper level of the temple.

I had a bit of fun with the boss monster. It was a name that came to me as I was brainstorming, and I made a critter to fit the name. I hope it's disturbing enough. 

The second level map was provided by Jackson, and fits the theme of the scenario well enough, as well as helps illustrate the introduction and worship of a new deity. 

The cover art images were discovered among the works of Jacques Collet, and illustrate our namesake dwarves behaving badly...

PWYW Here


Sunday, December 10, 2023

The Temple of Kalonius

Per my prior campaign journal, I created a temple/tomb for the players to raid and explore. The session was a good opportunity for playtesting the adventure, and I found some weaknesses in the face of my low-mid level party. 

The published version uses the creator's title for the deity, versus one from my campaign pantheon. The areas and foes are written for generic OSR play. Based on the playtest, I added a hazard and stiffened a few of the foes to increase the challenge if things come to blows, as well. 

It was a fun session, with some good problem-solving, hectic combat, and roleplaying. Along with the general chaos that is my group. Hopefully your table will have some fun with it, as well.

Download me here



Sunday, August 20, 2023

Review: "Arcane Tools, Treasures & Trinkets" by Timothy Dunham

Another recent supplement find: "Arcane Tools, Treasures & Trinkets" by Timothy Dunham.

The document clocks in at 71 pages, with 61 pages of item text, plus an index of items by category (armor, adventuring gear, summoning, etc.), and an art appendix for an illusion item. The publication is Pay What You Want ($2 suggested) for the bookmarked pdf. I sprung for the print on demand B&W softcover ($7 suggested price).


The content is 100 items, for the d100 aficionados in the crowd. Magic items range from minor one-use items to large, bulky items. All of the items are accompanied by an illustration, also by the author. Items are designed for OSR-adjacent games, but are loosely-described enough to be flexible for other game systems.

A few magic items are whimsical, such as the Scroll of Summon Feline (roll it out and a cat appears), or the Bee Holder Eye (a prosthetic eye containing a bumblebee).

Or this...

The majority of the items are useful, but not obviously overpowered: Cosy Bear Skin (a restful night's sleep, with the option to hibernate); Instant Rope Grubs (box of silkworms that manufacture 50' of rope in exchange for crushed gems); Imp Assistant (a box containing an imp in his library).

A number of items have the quality of benefit-with-cost, such as the Helm of Heavy Thoughts (18 INT, but you become morose and worrisome) or Elephant Stomach Belt (18 STR plus endurance, but your appetite increases considerably).

Take your gifts where you can get them....

I like that the majority of the items have a unique quality to them, and don't seem to be carbon copies from other similar publications. Similarly, the items are well thought out, and most have some practicality to them. They aren't weird for the sake of weird, for instance. There are certainly some of questionable value, but creative players may find a use under the appropriate circumstances. As the author notes on the backpiece, they wanted to provide items more interesting than another +1 sword.

I suspect one of my players may get this...

Like many supplements, I can see about 10% of the material having possible utility for my game, and modifying several more to match the tone or qualities for an adventure. Or at least to use them for inspiration for creating my own magical devices. No supplement is going to be universally useful, but we can pick and choose as we need, or build as needed. 

I definitely believe this is a good supplement of magic items, with a fine selection of readily useful material that can dropped into a loot pile for players to find creative uses for. I recommend that people take a look and find those items that suit their personal game. There is a lot to mine in this compact supplement.




Thursday, February 16, 2023

Random Magic Item: Lamp of the Hound

Inspirational image originally found on r/greyhounds (because we have those silly running couch-hounds).

Source 

From the item description: "Bronze plastic lamp in the form of the head of a greyhound, holding a hare in its mouth. The hound's eyes are inlaid with discs of silver (one missing)..." 

Really, I can't do better than that...

Lamp of the Hound

Friday, January 20, 2023

Lost Tomes 8 - D6 More Books...

Crap - It's been over three years since I've written a list of random books, my Lost Tomes series.

Let's fix that. A quick little list from a bit of evening freewriting... 

source

D6 Weird Books You Just Found

  1. Primer of the Flower: An identification guide of the obscure flowers and plants native to the fae forests and their qualities. Binding covered in dried petals, smells faintly of lilac.
    source

  2. The Femmentabula: A soothsayer's guide to smoke augury - the art of fortune telling through the turnings and driftings of the smoke of sacred fires. Bound in oily leather. Book smolders periodically.
  3. Calls the Avaro: Summoning for a extra dimensional guide from outside of time. Its escort gives one the  power to alter fates and corrupt timelines. Book bound in shimmering mica flakes. Small grains of sand constantly sift from between its pages.
    source

  4. The Coffadwriaeth: Allows its reader to recall songs long ago heard and forgotten, and relive the intense memories occasionally contained within such recollections. Dull black cover, absorbs light. Pages make no sound when turned.
  5. Hiravato Verses: Contains poems to neutralize the powers/gaze of the medusa, and charm them into compliance and acquiescence. Cover of dense slate inscribed with the names of gorgons past. Smells of flint.
  6. Breitetsichaus Book: A manual of the ancient art of sandwichanordnungschicht, the sacred halfling art of sandwich esthetics and competitive topping arrangement. Dull brown pressboard covers, likely stained, pages smell of bread and spicy mustard.
    source

Saturday, November 12, 2022

"No Man is an Island" - or "Hop In, I'm Sure the Water's Fine..."

Time to post up another small creation for folks to explore.  

Jackson threw this up about a year and a half ago, and it's been languishing in the notes for a while. It's a good space, with a few looping paths, always good for having a few options or routes to access the depths. He added a number of features to inspire the space and its story, as well.

Source

Things to inspire:

  • Water: Jackson does like his murky subterranean ponds
  • Odd pools (Those of us of a certain age do like our spaces to have a room of mysterious pools) 
  • What appear to be two styles of statues or alters in the various rooms
  • Some green stuff
With the features, it took me a while to wrest the story of the space from the map. Certainly, the objective is on the island in the pool, as would be expected. But the elements that gave me a challenge in explaining their existence/purpose were the two styles of statues or alters. I vacillated between stele and more active guardian-constructs, and finally came to an idea of a single sacred space honoring two gods, an old and a new. It took a bit to justify this scenario, and I'm not sure how well it works, but I'll leave that to the readers to decide. 

As is common for our favorite underground exploration spaces, is is abandoned, and has fallen to neglect. It happens. Because of this, the entryways have been re-colonized by new tenants that guard the hallowed spaces beyond. And that green thing? One of the tenants, and a somewhat virulent one (a pared-down version of a somewhat classic hazard).

So feel free to take a look around "Urnage's Island Rest" and have a dip.

Sunday, September 25, 2022

Cavern of the Wraith Count

Well, tonight's pick-up game cancelled due to The Plague in the house. Sigh.

Oh, well, gave me a chance to formalize some notes and build a space, this time a recent Jackson offering of a small cavern complex with a concealed tomb and treasure. The apparent chariot in the loot cache caught my attention, as they are a not uncommon grave good in notables' tombs around Eurasia

No horse skeleton, though. That's ok, I had an idea for that.

Tutankhamun's Grave Chariot 

And somewhere, I found the writing prompt title of "Cavern of the Wraith Count" - possibly Donjon or another random generator. But it stuck. And I had the Big Bad. 

The room contents were roughed out using the standard Moldvay matrix, then shuffled about to make some sense. It's a good space to work with - three 'water hazards' and a bit of a look, as well as some overcrossing corridors. 

I was scribbling away at the brewery a couple of days ago when another patron asked what my project was - He wasn't familiar with D&D, so I gave him a rough overview, and what the map/adventure entailed. He was most impressed by my various shorthands, scribbles, and lists on my working copy:

/..whatever, he was drunk

/Map in hand (and now with a list of monsters to wander and/or await), I typed it up this morning.

Count Malor Oseku got up to some nefarious researches in his life, and as a result, does not rest well. His besieged family attempted to bury him away, hoping that he'd be at peace, but he is restless and needful still...

Descriptions are brief, and critters are loosely statted on the OSE model. Includes a couple of newish magic items, and a couple of new or revised monsters. 

Download The Cavern of the Wraith Count here.

More to come...


9/27/22: Minor edits to adventure for flavor and details.

2/20/23: Additional minor edits based on the weekend's play.