My home campaign has continued its quest for the Rod of Seven Parts. With the first part in hand, they discovered the second part was possibly in the land of Ket; which was the place with which their nation was at war and why they were seeking the Rod in the first place! As it turned out, the second part wasn’t in Ket! Instead, it … Continue reading Adventures in Greyhawk – Tsojcanth
I don’t like the Season 8 format. This explains some of my problems with The Folly of Sneaky Simon, a DDAL-legal adventure for Tier 1 characters set in the Border Kingdoms. The material is always struggling against the format. I have seen very few scenarios that handle its limitations well. The Call to Action is a good example of where things falter. The text describes … Continue reading 5E Adventure Review: The Folly of Sneaky Simon
There are times when it is all about the framing of the encounter. Haruman’s Hill, to me, represents all the problems Descent into Avernus has. Lulu brings the characters here as she thinks it’s where the Sword of Zariel is. Instead, it isn’t, and it fatally undermines Lulu as a character. From this moment on, Lulu is mostly useless. She’s not guiding the characters; she’s … Continue reading Running Descent into Avernus, part 10: Haruman’s Hill
BOXED TEXT: This medium-sized room (20 ft. by 50 ft.) has a green, leafy tile pattern covering the floor. Four trees growing out of stone pots stand in a row along the centre of the room, ten feet between each one, each between five and eight feet in height. Their leaves and trunks are grey, and they stand unnaturally still. DM Information: The four trees … Continue reading The Stone Orchard
I am in the process of running Waterdeep: Dragon Heist for the third time, as noted in previous blog entries. It is a strange product, where the advertising and title do not quite match the contents of the adventure. It is, at least, fully set in Waterdeep – something that causes a lot of problems when a similar naming scheme was applied to Baldur’s Gate: … Continue reading More Thoughts on Waterdeep: Dragon Heist
For some reason, I wanted to design this monster with Advanced Dungeons & Dragons statistics. I have no idea why. And I am sure someone else has done this before me. But I wanted to put it out there. TETRAHEDRON FREQUENCY: Very RareNO. APPEARING: 1-4ARMOR CLASS: 4MOVE: 4″HIT DICE: ¼% IN LAIR: NilTREASURE TYPE: NilNO. OF ATTACKS: 1DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-4SPECIAL ATTACKS: MaimSPECIAL DEFENSES: Surprise on a … Continue reading The Most Fearsome Monster (AD&D stats)
Encounters in Theros is a supplement from the Guild Adepts that supports the recent setting hardcover, Mystic Odysseys of Theros. The setting was designed for the Magic: the Gathering game and is based on Greek mythology, although it does many things differently. It is not a literal translation of Greece, although some elements are in common. The supplement offers 74 short encounters that could be … Continue reading 5E Supplement Review: Encounters in Theros
Once the characters leave Fort Knucklebone, we are into the section where they cross Avernus repeatedly. From place to place doing quest after quest. I will have more about those quests in the next post, but I just wanted to make some comments on travelling through Avernus. Infernal War Machines I assume that the primary way to travel through Avernus is to be by Infernal … Continue reading Running Descent into Avernus, part 9: The Wastelands of Avernus
With Fort Knucklebone, the action moves into Avernus proper. Fort Knucklebone is a minor quest hub; it allows the characters to get used to some of the aspects of Avernus and undertake some missions before heading off on the bulk of their quest. It is worth stating why the characters are here: Lulu remembers a pair of kenku called Chukka and Clonk at Fort Knucklebone. … Continue reading Running Descent into Avernus, part 8: Fort Knucklebone
The D&D Starter Set contains the adventure The Lost Mine of Phandelver, while the D&D Essentials Kit contains the adventure Dragon of Icespire Peak. Both are set in the town of Phandalin, a little town north of Waterdeep that is suspiciously close to the events of several D&D Hardcover adventures. (Hoard of the Dragon Queen, Princes of the Apocalypse, Storm King’s Thunder, and Waterdeep: Dungeon … Continue reading Running Phandalin: Notice Board or NPCs?
