Campaign journals, reviews of TTRPG stuff, and musings on D&D.
| Prompt | Result |
|---|---|
| Daily | Challenge |
| Question | Where |
| Mood | Excited |
| Subject | Character |
Prompt interpretation:
Where can player characters find exciting challenges?
Those adventurers that are most capable and most ambitious should seek out the mythical Tomb of Abysthor, the elusive Black Monastery, and the woeful Cyclopean Deeps. And for those most courages, far in the Demon Lands, The Slumbering Tsar awaits.
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| Prompt | Result |
|---|---|
| Daily | Reveal |
| Question | Where |
| Mood | Excited |
| Subject | Character |
Prompt interpretation:
Where did you have the most exciting character reveal?
Oh, one of the more exciting character reveals was the reigning Champion of hte Mightiest Supplex that Rhovar was about to challenge:
Rhovar trodden on his precious warhorse, Umber Fury, sporting his cloak and horned helmet, and carrying the Hydra Company banner in his muscular hand.
The outsides of the temple were swarming with people wanting to get in. They were all pushed away by the Windgod's clerics. The crowd separated and allowed Rhovar and his entourage to pass.
“Beat his ass blondy!” somebody yelled.
“Hah, another dead man ridding!” yelled another one.
“Brutus is the bae!” a woman screamed.
Wide stairs led to the sixty feet wide and thirty feet tall iron double doors. They were currently completely open, revealing a huge chamber bathed in sun.
“Challenger, I'm afraid you will have to dismount. We will take good care of your horse.”
...
The grand hall was a circular chamber with 300 wide diameter. Thick marble pillars, covered in motifs of eagles, winged men, and feats of strength, supported the ceiling. They were arranged around the full circumference of the chamber.
Sun illuminated the grand hall, coming down from a huge circular opening on the 30 feet tall ceiling. The eagle statue was in fact hollow. The sun would penetrate it's many orifices, and was somehow guided all the way down into the grand hall.
Looking up, the party could see many balconies on the inside. They were all full of people. The hall too, was jam-packed. Most of those present sported the Windgod insignia, but there were many others as well.
In the center of the hall was a 30 feet wide round ring. To be fair, it was more of a round plinth with colourful mosaic. The ring was warm to the touch. That was hardly surprising given that it was noon and burning hot. The sun rays seemed to be focused on it.
On the other side of the ring Rhovar spotted a man towering above all others.
The man was no freak giant. No, no. The man was perfect; as if Gods themselves made him. Tall, broad chested and shouldered, with elegant, elongated muscles. He moved with such grace that he was more akin to a panther than man. He stood perfectly naked, his dark framing the chiselled features of his face. His manly jaw revealed a heart-melting, pearly white smile.
A gaggle of women, and men!, surrounded him. He smiled at each, and was patient and gentle in his responses. At the same time a trio of acolytes were rubbing his naked body with oil, making sure to cover every inch of his copper skin.
“Our champion, I'm sure of it.”
Read how it went down here.
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| Prompt | Result |
|---|---|
| Daily | Recent |
| Question | Who |
| Mood | Proud |
| Subject | Person |
Prompt interpretation:
Who recently made you proud?
My players, who else. And yes, all of them. Yes, the two that have correctly evaluated that scroll is most likely trapped. And yes, the other two whom had opened the scroll case anyway, then unfurled the scroll, and then read it out loud, and then triggered fireball to the face.
Why all of them? Well, the first duo for picking up on my unsubtle clues. And the second duo for daring to risk their characters to see if this is some useful and valuable treasure or not. The risk they have taken was calculated, but alas, it did not pay off.
Illustration by Brulligrum.
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| Prompt | Result |
|---|---|
| Daily | Ally |
| Question | When |
| Mood | Nostalgic |
| Subject | Adventure |
Prompt interpretation:
When do allies become nostalgic for adventure?
When they run out of coin and fortune! When they desire far more than they have! When they lust for power and wealth! When they reach old age and are bored to death by their progeny and state affairs!
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| Prompt | Result |
|---|---|
| Daily | Unexpected |
| Question | Where |
| Mood | Envious |
| Subject | Lesson |
Prompt interpretation:
Where can one have a lesson so unexpected it will make others envy them?
What I am about to share is a secret most proper, a ruinous secret that sets the expectation and makes unexpected expected, and yet one should not expect it otherwise it will fail to be unexpected.
On the east coast of the Romilion Sea, beyond the springs, but before the marshes, lie the Gates of Black Sun. Adventurers that venture beyond them will learn such a lesson that will make the living envy them, and the dead pity them.
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| Prompt | Result |
|---|---|
| Daily | Enter |
| Question | How |
| Mood | Nostalgic |
| Subject | Genre |
Prompt interpretation:
How does one enter a nostalgic genre?
Is there a genre more nostagic, sentimental, or longing than the OSR? Originally rooted in breathing new life into the earlies editions of Dungeons & Dragons, OSR means a lot of things to a lot of people today. To those interested in OSR I'd recommend to pick their game of choice based on more than rules—consider the vibes, the presentation, the genuiness of invitation to play.
Original Dungeons & Dragons little brown booklets are still very playable, despite their age. They do demand of the Judge and Players to accept the ownership and responsibility for the game—for they will have to fill in some of the gaps—but in return, they also offer great fun, unlike anything else out there.
And for those that would like more modern, I can heartily recommend Swords & Wizardry Complete, a wonderful retroclone of the earliest rules which includes material from the little brown booklets, plus selection of best stuff from Greyhawk, Blackmoor, and Eldritch Wizardry supplements. It packs everything in compact 128 pages, and includes plenty of guidance to start playing.
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| Prompt | Result |
|---|---|
| Daily | Destiny |
| Question | How |
| Mood | Proud |
| Subject | Lesson |
Prompt interpretation:
How does one learn about their destiny whilst retaining their pride?
One must pay the price of foresight; nothing in Barbarian Altanis is given for free. Strange folk of Queans Waste yell in reverence of the Great Prophet of P'than; Onsiler of the Temple of Azure Dreams is said to be a marvellous diviner; Minarax of Barath has thus foretold all dangers and led orcs to dominance of sulphur mines; Zantrin of the Grove of Serenity is haunted by a strange prophecy. And lest it be forgotten—adventurers create their own destiny.
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| Character | Race | Class | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dalkanarion | Human | Fighter level 5 | A youthful specimen in full strength, full of purpose, bluster, and eagerness to prove himself. |
| Nandos | Dwarf | Fighter level 1 | Grew weary of clan politics and doing low level hired muscle work, so decided to become an adventurer instead. |
| Ambros | Human | Cleric level 6 | Follower of Aniu, Lord of Time. |
| Sted Jalen | Human | Assassin level 1 | A mass of burnt scar tissue hidden by layers and layers of actors' slap. Rather taciturn. |
| Tikatu | Human | Druid level 1 | A dirty little ma with dark and dirty skin, wearing loincloth with no back. “What will be, will be” is his favourite aphorism. |
| Tobias Lindflags | Hobbit | Thief level 1 | A sixth-born son standing to gain nothing from inheritance, so he set out to make his own fortune in the world. |
“Lay down your weapons, and you shall be spared!” Dalkanarion thundered as he barreled into the chamber. Awe-struck brigands threw down their weapons. They spent two days barricaded in the improvised sleeping chambers. They reeked of vinegar and urine.
Quick interrogation revealed these four brigands fled during the initial onslaught and then locked themselves into the chamber just south of the sleeping quarters. This room was used by two brigand leaders, as well as the fugitive wizard himself. Three of them were escorted upstairs.
Sted took aside the remaining prisoner, knife to his ribs, and forced him to open the footlocker by one of the bedrolls. He acted upon previous intelligence suggesting that one of the lockers is trapped. Lady Fortune smiled upon the bandit, and he opened the untrapped one. Dalkanarion smashed the other locker with the pommel of his sword. Both contained a fine assortment of coins.
Ambros was fascinated by the desk on the south-east side of the room. It was large wooden desk, very out of place and obviously dragged in. Shelves next to it were empty. There was but a single rectangular wooden box resting on the desk.
Nandos investigated the construction of the chamber. He played with sconces, since that brought him great fame just a day or so ago. Alas, nothing now. No secret doors, no secret passageways. Just plain old sconces.
Dalkanarion and Ambros took turns inspecting the wooden box. Nothing. Finally, they picked it up. Lightweight. Clanking sound, like something is inside. Once Ambros had the box in hand he could clearly see a thin groove running around the circumference of the box, just by it's right end. He popped it open. A scroll was inside.
“That's a trap.” Sted warned.
Ambros took out the scroll. Sted Jalen fell back to the doors, keeping the prisoner in front of him. He waved Nandos to come closer too, just in case. Dalkanarion stood right next to Ambros, ready for any danger that might arise.
High Priest slowly unfurled the scroll. Text on it was written in overly elaborate cursive script, with very flowery and ornamental details. Ambros concentrated. It was Common, albeit in a difficult to read script.
“Can you” he struggled with the first line, “greedy bastards” second was even more difficult to read, “even read” but third was much easier.
The last thing Sted Jalen saw in his life were Ambros and Dalkanarion engulfed in a ball of flame. He crouched behind the brigand prisoner, but man in front of him melted, and so did Sted. Blast wave broke his charred bones, reducing him to nothing but a pile of ashes. Only the shield remained.
Nandos did not fare much better. Dwarves might be sturdy, but this dwarf was not sturdy enough to take fire ball to his face. His beard singed, his armour melted and fused with his flesh and bones, and his remains were strewn about by the blast wave. Crooked great helm was all that was left.
Ambros and Dalkanarion on the other hand did manage to survive fire ball to their face. Both were left completely hairless, and butt naked. Golden Gavel resisted the impact and remained intact. Oathkeeper too. All the treasure and other valuables in the chamber were gone.
Illustration by Brulligrum.
Cleric and Fighter coughed, apologised to the corpses of dead adventurers, squared their shoulders, corrected their posture, and walked out. It was important not to lose face in front of their holy army. Marlon looked upon them in horror.
The duo was escorted outside. Dalkanarion donned his old plate mail, while Ambros was given chain mail, and mace by one of his followers. Five captured brigands accepted the offer to join Dalk's Devils “or else.” Adventurers rested overnight, preparing to descend into Racoba's Redoubt next morning.
Four adventurers—Ambros, Dalkanarion, Tikatu, and Tobias Lindflags—backed by Marlon and two squads of heavy footmen, descended into the underground complex. Tikatu was a dirty, little man, whom was attracted by the campfire. He was happy to join for an adventure. Tobias Lindflags on the other hand was a well dressed and well spoken hobbit, interested in wealth creating exercises. Little did he know what fate had suffered adventurers associating with the might Dalkanarion and pious Ambros.
Judging the antechamber to be cleared, they commanded Marlon to guard the chamber just south of it. Flies buzzed in numbers as nearly two dozen corpses rotted away. Marlon and ten heavy footmen dispersed through the chamber, taking key positions, ensuring that whatever comes from beyond the Black Obelisk gets obliterated.
Adventurers and a squad of heavy footmen proceeded into the chamber with four statues. From there they investigated the north exit. They passed a dead-end corridor and a small empty chamber. The corridor eventually turned left, into a web-infested chamber. Approaching it resulted with three ugly, giant spiders charging out of the web. They assaulted Ambros and Dalkanarion with fury.
The duo took many bites and scratches. Ambros slumped after every bite, but somehow managed to resist the poison injected into his bloodstream. Must be the Divine Intervention itself. Tikatu, a wise man of the nature, backed off. Tobias crawled back, whistled for reinforcements, and then waved them in the right direction.
The fight was brutal. Spiders bit and bit and bit. They were not so hard to hit, but their carapace was tough and thick. Ambros hit here and there, but his mace did not do much damage. Dalkanarion missed several times, but whenever he hit, he did do much damage. Tobias, eager to prove himself to these new folk, cooked up a plan. He would climb the wall, hang from the ceiling, and then drop down on one of the spiders. That would surely surprise it, and he would deliver a might backstab that would instantly kill it.
Hobbit turned to the wall, but immediately fell down. “Ugh, slippery hands” he laughed nervously. He did succeed on his next attempt. He went up, then sideways, and then on top the spider. He dropped on the monster, failed to penetrate its carapace, and then rolled right off it. The spider rewarded his courage with a string bite. Tobias survived the bite. He crawled away, protected by the feet of heavy footmen.
Dalkanarion took out two giant spiders, while heavy footmen took out one. The party investigated the webbed chamber closely. They had no interest in being surprised from behind by more spiders. They found little more than several desiccated corpses wrapped in webs. Several hundred coins and a gems were rewards for their effort.
Judging they had enough, the party returned to the surface. Ambros and Dalkanarion ordered retreat back to the Cedarwade Keep. The force was mobilised and they reached it by the end of Sweetrain 8th.
Will they have time to rest?
Discuss at Dragonsfoot forum.
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| Prompt | Result |
|---|---|
| Daily | Sign |
| Question | What |
| Mood | Envious |
| Subject | Rule |
Prompt interpretation:
What is a sign that rule was made in envy?
If a rule exists only to curb a player or character that has been successful, in game terms, whilst playing by the rules fairly and candidly, then that is a pretty good signal that the rule might have been formulated in spite.
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| Prompt | Result |
|---|---|
| Daily | Renew |
| Question | What |
| Mood | Proud |
| Subject | Lesson |
Prompt interpretation:
What lessons should be renewed with pride?
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