[Inktober 2016] Day 20—Quirinklauth's Lair

Quirinklauth's Lair

(Key word: squeeze)

The Drake, Quirinklauth, has amassed a tremendous hoard of treasure in his cliff-top lair. Quirinklauth enters through a small cave that leads to a hole in the top of a one thousand-foot-high subterranean dome.

Other creatures must enter through the winding, narrow passageway; the passage is so narrow, in fact—sometimes narrowing to only a few feet—that human-sized creatures can only proceed at a fraction of normal speed. The passage is also, on average, only three- to four feet tall.

The hoard in the domed cavern is dozens of feet deep, and includes weapons, armor, gems, and coins, as well as art objects. The items are both mundane and magical

[The Stronghold 'Zine] The Countdown Begins to #2

That's right, boys and girls. I'm officially starting the countdown to Issue #2 of The Stronghold 'Zine. I'm just waiting on one more piece of artwork and one more bit of info to finish up an article, then it's Foreword and Table of Contents time.

After that, it's a trip to the office supply store for a new color of cardstock for the cover.

Then the fun begins anew.

What's in store? Well, let's see.... Where's my draft ToC?

O.K. First, we've got some stats for three new critters; one of these is friendly, one can be friendly, and one is...erm...not so much.

There's a new locale, with a new map. Two of the critters are also associated with the locale, as is the new NPC I've included. In addition to the statted critters, there are nearly a dozen-and-a-half new and system neutral critters described. There's another installment of system-neutral random treasure tables included; these can be used with the locale as well as your own setting.

NOT associated with the locale are a series of new wondrous magic items; these are fairly system-neutral as well. And finally, even though the random nose-picking article was not a big hit with some readers last issue, my philosophy is that every game needs a little bit of humor. Accordingly, and due to the joint fault of +Tim Shorts and +Jason Zavoda, there's another useful (I think) set of random tables to add a little bit of humor and ...erm... flavor to your game.

Keep watching for the roll-out announcement and purchase links to be coming soon!

[From the Mailbag] Mythoard January 2015

So.... Bad day yesterday, all day. As you may know if you read yesterday's post, it was a bad day made much better by the arrival of the Storyteller's Thesaurus.

Then I get home, and by 11 p.m. Google+ feed has blown up with people raving about the receipt of their January Mythoard package.

Wait a second, I think. I'm a subscriber...where's MY package?!? So I turn to my son (who was the first one home yesterday) and I ask, calmly: "BOY!" (for often I call him "Boy") "Boy!" I say, "Was there any kind of a package in today's mail for me?"

"Oh, yeah. There was one."

(silence for a moment or two)

"Um...son.... Where is it?"

"Oh, I left it on the table by the front door."

(facepalm)

(second facepalm as my boy has not yet moved to retrieve said package)

"Um.... Could I have it please?!?"

For those of you who may still not know about Mythoard, Mythoard is the first Tabletop RPG Subscription box! From the website: "From modules, minis and maps to rules supplements, accessories and dice, you'll be sure to find some great RPG treasure in every single box! Sign up today for your own hoard!"

Quest for the Mythoard, No.1  Randy Musseau 2015

And oh, baby...did it make my day even brighter. I didn't have my camera with me, so I don't have pics, but let's look at a quick roster of what was inside:

• First was a pair of polyhedral dice in orange and black vortex: a d4 and a d8--these match the orange and black d6 from last month's Mythoard offering. Sweet, especially considering my motto. [Aside: for any new readers, I am firmly convinced that there is no such thing as "too many dice" because, well.... Hey! Dice! Ahem. Period. Your argument is invalid. End aside.] . Courtesy of Chessex Games.
  
• A button featuring Thopas, the gnome. Courtesy of Lesser Gnome.
  
• An unpainted metal miniature version of Thopas. Also courtesy of Lesser Gnome.
  
• Two Mythoard two-pocket folders with front cover art by Randy Musseau (see above), back cover art/maps/text by Monkeyblood Design and Chubby Monster Games. I found it kind of humorous that the map was for "Tenkar's Tomb." I can only imagine this refers to the infamous Tenkar, and that he went out in a spectacular fashion.
  
• Inside one of the folders were two cardstock sheets: one a preview of Old West firearm rules for the DCC game: Black Powder, Black Magic and the other a copy of "The Brimstone Epitaph," an Old West newspaper. Both courtesy of Stormlord Publishing.
  
• Next out was an encounter card deck of 54 system-neutral "monster inspiration" cards rather than stat cards. Clever idea; they'll be useful for at-table random encounter generation. My deck was the Fey, Constructs, and Wildlife deck. I understand that there were two other decks and inclusion in each package was random. The artwork is fantastic; I'm definitely going to try and pick up more of these. Courtesy of Inkwell Ideas. A pair of solid-cover card sleeves were included as well, for use with these encounter cards.
  
• Last out was a Pits & Peril supplement, "The Powers That Be." There's always room for another couple deities in a pantheon. I need to devote a bit more time to this one, but there's likely something good there for mining, at the least.
  

So. All in all, Groundhog Day came up good for me. I feel content today, and can't wait until the next Mythoard. The first two have been really great, full of good stuff. Well worth the price, in my opinion. As of this writing, there's 180 spots left of 250 for the February package...swing over and sign yourself up!

[From the Mailbag] MYTHOARD!

I just received the inaugural Mythoard package/bundle in the mail today. Great stuff. Really great stuff. Talk about an early Christmas; my wife suggested I leave it under the tree for a week.

Pshaw.

The first thing I saw coming out of the envelope was a poster of two baby phoenixes, courtesy of Baby Bestiary.

Next out was a book: 10+ Treasures by David Guyll & Melissa Fisher, published by Awful Good Games. Designed for Dungeon World, at first glance, most--if not all--of these items are easily translated to any OSR or 3.x version of that one RPG. Not only does the book come with 30+ detailed treasure items, there's also a section that walks through item creation, and the theory behind it. Excellent stuff.

Then there was a postcard from the incomparable Jim Magnusson. This postcard features the Mushroom King. As one of Jim's Patreons, I already received a copy of this; however, one can never have too many--it just means another framed piece of art for my office. (Let my clients figure THAT out.)

Also included was a pack of Blue Dungeon Tiles by Red Kobold. I didn't have the chance to support these when they came up on Kickstarter, as I was low on funds. I wish I'd made the effort; these look GREAT. They're double-sided, usable with wet-erase, dry-erase, or permanent markers. 4x4 grids of corridors, rooms, and stairways. I'll definitely be saving up to grow my collection of these babies.

Last, but not least, Tim Shorts' Mythoard Exclusive labor of love: Stone Fields of Azoroth. Three separate books outline the environs: The village of Bad Water, the Last Temple of Praxus, and the Prison of Azoroth. Each one comes chock-full of NPCs, flavor, and maps. Everything you've come to expect from Tim, and more. You won't be disappointed. Well, I guess you will...unless you were one of the subscribers to Mythoard.

Then, down in the bottom corner of the envelope were three little beauties. A random d20 and two random d6. Ain't they purty? They wanted to get photographed just as soon as they came out of the wrapping. As you know, I can never have too many dice. These will cap off my 2014 fairly well.

Thanks to Jarrod Shaw as well as Kevin Chenevert and all the other contributors. My day has been made! If you haven't already checked out Mythoard, do it now. Sign up. Well, as long as you don't take MY bundle.

Found Item Friday: At The Potion Merchant's Cart

"Dilil, would you stop touching things? You have no idea where those things have been!" The female halfling slapped at her brother's hand just before he touched the oddly-shaped bottle on the merchant cart. Whispering, she continued, "Plus, if you break it, he's going to make you buy it. And you, brother, are a klutz."

Dilil sucked on the side of his hand and muttered, "Shiloru, you need to have more faith in me. And I'm not a klutz; put a sword in my hand and I'll show you." He waved his arm in a broad gesture, sweeping his cloak out of the way. The weighted edge of his cloak swept across the front row of bottles. Several fell to the ground, shattering, and leaving a variegated puddle.

The merchant smiled a cunning, toothy smile. "I'll just total up your receipt shall I, little master? Mayhaps you ought to listen more closely to your sister. Unfortunately, you chose a couple of the more rare items to, ahem, sample. If you wish to take them home with you, little master, I do have some – undamaged – bottles of the same draughts. I can just add them to your bill." Shiloru glared at Dilil and shook her head as the merchant walked around the corner of his cart, whistling happily.

• Bottle One: Nectar of Life
  – This potion is contained in a glass conical bottle. The bottle itself is sealed with a screw-on lid covered and made air-tight with blue wax. On the side of the bottle, a single strange rune is painted; the rune is from a very rare language and names the potion. Through the glass, the potion is seen as a turquoise color. If opened, it smells reminiscent of rhubarb. If consumed, it is a very thick liquid, much like yogurt, and has a very sour taste. If the entire bottle is consumed, it causes leaves to grow on the drinker’s body. The leaves last for 5 minutes. If consumed in full sunlight, it acts as either a heal or restoration spell. MSRP: 3300 gp
  
  
• Bottle Two: Oil of Irritation
  – This potion is in a brass container, one shaped to look on both sides like a grinning goblin face. The container is corked and sealed with black wax. There is no label on the container to identify the liquid within. If opened, the potion is seen as a yellow liquid, but is found to be odorless. If consumed, it tastes alcoholic, but with a greasy, oily texture. When consumed, the liquid causes the drinker to hear a high frequency noise for six hours; during this time, all of the drinker’s senses are diminished. MSRP: 300 gp
  
  
• Bottle Three: Tincture of Predictions
  – This crystal flask is sealed with a glass cap, which must be broken off to open. This makes the flask impossible to reuse. On one side of the flask is a glued-on paper label, which describes on ly the general type of potion contained in the flask. The potion is visibly crimson colored. If the flask is opened, a harsh chemical smell is released. The potion itself is bubbly and fizzy when the flask is opened. If consumed, the potion tastes like chicken and grants the drinker a vision of one day into her future. (This is not the full 24-hour span, but simply the actions, situations, etc. a full 24 hours after consuming.) This vision lasts for 1 minute. After the vision subsides, the drinker suffers from drowsiness and mild paranoia for 24 hours. MSRP: 800 gp
  

Found Item Friday: Battalion Mage's Desk

Seandi peeked around the tent's door, holding the fabric back with one long, delicate finger. There was no one visible within the tent; the coast was clear. Taking no chances, however, she slipped quietly between the tent flaps and quickly tip-toed across the inner space. As her lithe form crossed to the far side, her eyes flickered constantly around her, never once focusing on her true goal: the traveling desk of Master Alashor, Battle Mage for the 6th Battalion, Army of the Frozen Brand.

Her employer had said he would pay dearly for any items she could find on--and in--Alashor's desk. Now she just had to inventory the items and pack them away before she was discovered. Let the others worry about how they were going to get her back out from the middle of the enemy army.

Seandi grinned. She liked a good challenge.

Twenty Things Found in Master Alashor's Desk

1. A packet of six 6" wooden dowels, tied with a purple ribbon.
   
2. The heel (stale) from a loaf of bread.
   
3. A shard from a broken looking glass.
   
4. Four unmatched buttons.
   
5. The stubs of two beeswax candles.
   
6. Five cherry pits.
   
7. A chunk of brimstone.
   
8. One spool, made from clay.
   
9. The remains of a large, hairy spider in a 4" bamboo cage.
   
10. A dead newt floating in a fishbowl.
    
11. A dead tortoise in a jar filled with an orange-tinged liquid.
    
12. A 12"-long leather cord.
    
13. A dessicated orange rind, peeled as one piece.
    
14. Three dried peppers.
    
15. A soiled handkerchief.
    
16. Two peach pits.
    
17. A pixie's skull, apparently suspended in a small crystal ball.
    
18. One silver sewing needle.
    
19. A skeleton key.
    
20. A carved wooden whistle.
    

Found Item: Lifebringer

I happened upon a new blog yesterday, Giblet Blizzard, hosted by Jez, a self-proclaimed illustrator, writer, and gamer from New Zealand. So far he's got some interesting content and I want to be one of the first to welcome him to the Gaming Blogosphere.

One post in particular grabbed my attention. In it he sets forth a premise, that being:

"Blood is life, life is sentience, thus blood is sentient. That which is imbued with blood, is alive."

He then goes on to set up some game rules by which blood splashed on an object in the course of a physical attack against a living being causes said object to become sentient. The idea intrigues me; Jez then proposes applying it to a setting, whether that be a castle, a city, a region, or a world.

I like the idea, but I'm not sure I want it to be an entire setting, even if only a castle or keep. Instead, I like the idea of it being imbued as a curse (or a boon, depending upon one's perspective) on an edged-weapon. Imagine the wielder's surprise as he stands over a fallen foe, when suddenly: the neighboring statue--now blood soaked--moves to attack him; the nearby urn (also blood soaked) speaks to him; and the now-gory carpet begins to sing bawdy ditties from beneath the corpse. The role-playing angles and opportunites are countless! And it's not just a one-time effect, either. Played well, the DM could keep the players' suspense and confusion going for quite a while. It's not going to happen all the time, after all.

On a side note, each time I've read and re-read Jez's proposal, I've taken it for granted that the blood-soaked object in question would be an inanimate one. However as I was writing this entry (and post-item creation below) it occurs to me that it could just as easily be an animate creature, but non-sentient, e.g., dog, cat, beetle, bird, etc.) I suppose a lot depends upon your idea of "sentience" and one of many different tests therefor. Take that idea for what it's worth.

------------------------------------------

Lifebringer, +2 Greatsword (with a hat-tip to Jez over at http://gibletblizzard.blogspot.com)

This greatsword is, for most wielders, simply a +3 greatsword. However, the sword carries with it a special ability; this ability is both a curse and a benefit, depending on the wielder’s perspective. The average wielder will notice that the blade is crafted so that there is a prodigious blood-spray created with even the merest successful strike of the blade.

When a killing blow is made with this weapon, the attack sends a splash of blood and gore in a 5'-radius area around the vanquished foe. Any inanimate object coated in this gory spray must then make a Fortitude save equal to or greater than the total damage done with the single killing attack. Should the object fail its save, the magic of the sword causes the object to become sentient and animate. The number rolled as its save is then assigned between the six base attributes and the newly-aware “creature” gains the dominant attitude of the vanquished foe, or “bloodgiver,” as a basis for its personality.

The newly-aware creature will gain the ability to communicate in (at least) those languages known by the vanquished foe. Should the newly-aware creature have a “natural” means of locomotion (e.g., a humanoid statue has legs and a bird statue has wings), the object gains a movement speed of 10. There is also a 50% chance that the newly-aware creature will animate sufficiently to attack Lifebringer’s wielder.

Legend holds that there exist other similar life-bringing edged weapons in the world; stories abound of a great-axe as well as a dagger. Any other such weapons appear, for now, lost to history.

**Image courtesy of http://www.freeclipartnow.com.

F is for Found Items

Often I like to add a little flavor to my campaigns, as well as a little mystery to my players’ lives, by including in treasure troves or other tantalizing places certain little “found” items. Very often these items look like trash or useless little bits of flotsam on an NPC’s desk. Usually they are exactly that. But when you’re operating in a sandbox environment, it is sometimes amazing what these items will turn into, either on your own inspiration or your players’.

I have had players carry some of these little bits and pieces, just a random entry on their character sheet, for weeks and months (and on one occasion, a year) until one session they look up and say, “This little bag of fingernails.... Is it possible that it belonged to NPC X?” or “Is it possible to do Z with it?” and suddenly an entirely new window of the game opens up and you have a new adventure hook.

In one instance a player carried around a small bag filled with little bells. The character used these one night, spreading them across the floor of a cavern as an alarm so that they group could rest. The wandering monster entered the cavern, stepped on the bells which immediately jingled, the party awoke, and melee ensued.

Another option is to use them as Evil DM Fodder. In other words, they're completely useless items. However, if you plan correctly and present them in just the right way it's possible to convince your players that these little bits of detritus actually have value. Take advantage of the player mindset that says, "Everything the DM does, says, or gives us has a purpose." Take that mindset and run with it. You'll have the players thinking that the lump of dried cow dung they found has mystical properties when it was nothing more than part of an NPC's tinder box.

Hey, DMs are allowed to have fun too.

So, for your DMing pleasure and enjoyment, I present the following tables:

Found Items Friday: The Ruined Watchtower of Al'Makhor

Well, at the risk of forming a habit, I want to stay with the theme of the week and look at the little trinkets and things left behind in the chaos and panic of Gronth Knockstone's attack on the watchtower

Mini Map Monday: The Ruined Watchtower of Al'Makhor

Behold, the Ruined Watchtower of Al'Makhor!

Found Items Friday: The Farmhouse

In keeping with the rest of the week, let's look at the little treasures that brighten the farmhouse of Reynard Adoall and his family. It's not everything in their house, but it'll provide a start.

Found Items Friday: Introduction

Yep. More introductory information!

I'll preface this by saying that, sometimes as a DM, the hardest thing to do is to come up with treasure items. I don't mean simply the +5 holy mighty cleaving vorpal thundering longsword, formerly wielded by Sir Fragilus of Doomstrike Castle. I also mean the real random stuff....a small bag of gems or a small bag of knucklebones; a little silver bell or a little silver knife.

This is where I'll present the "found items." It could be an intelligent sword, or it could be something completely useless or irrelevant.

Sometimes those seemingly useless or irrelevant items are the most fun: they serve as a little piece of intellectual gristle that gets in your players' minds and worries them until it becomes a little pearl of role-playing fun.

They could be completely irrelevant and not worth the time to pick up. Or they could serve as a hook, an idea germ, for the DM: something that becomes relevant or obvious later.

Something that sends the PCs racing back to the seedy merchant's booth in the street market to buy back that little silver bell at an outrageously marked-up price, simply because it is actually not just relevant, but essential to their success.