The Evils Of Illmire

After watching several videos praising it, I decided to grab a pdf copy of The Evils of Illmire. The adventure was written, produced, and features layout by Zack Wolf. There are several artists featured in the adventure, but my personal favorite is Jack Badashski. The plot centers around a a dangerous wilderness and a backwoods town under peril caused by a sinister cult. The original version was 72 pages, but Zack has updated it a few times. The current version is 125 pages. The rules are written for Old-School Essentials, but can be easily ran with other systems. You get pdf monster conversions for Dungeon World and Swords & Sinister Spells. Personally I might use it for my next 5e game. 

Honestly though, it's not just an adventure. It's a "mini-mega" hexcrawl. Sixteen hexes are presented. The descriptions give you all you need, including encounter charts. There's also a variety of environments. From swamps to forests to mountains, there are a variety of dungeons and sites to explore. Each of these encounters is presented with a Dyson Logos map. Parties can interact with mantis folk, froglings, a witch, a giant king, and the Observer (who's definitely not a beholder). There is a directory of personalities and a hand plot and connection list. While I'm sure a party will eventually leave the 16 hexes, honestly you could have an entire campaign take place in Illmire. Once rid of the cult, the town would make an excellent home base. 

So it's pretty obvious, I really liked this adventure. While I only have the pdf at the moment, I will either print it out of pick up a print copy at some point. You can get the pdf and print on demand on DriveThru RPG. At the time of this post you can get the pdf cheaper on itch.io. The pdf comes with quite a few extras, including maps, artwork, and thematic character sheets.

Kraven the Hunter (2024)

Synopsis 

Sergei Kravinov is the son of a ruthless crime boss. After nearly dying on a hunt and given a magic elixir, he gains superpowers that give him the abilities of nature's greatest predators. Years later he's become a vigilante of sorts. When his little brother is kidnapped, Kraven goes on the greatest hunt of his life.

Review

This one was delayed a few years and received universally negative critic reviews, so I went into it with low expectations. I also want to admit that Kraven is one of my favorite villains which could color my opinion. Okay so what did I think of this one? In my opinion Kraven is way better than Morbius or Madame Webb (which is an admittedly low bar), but isn't as good as the Venom trilogy (which I absolutely adore). I think it's comparable to a better than average pre-MCU Marvel flick. The action is solid (and brutal). The effects are fine (though Rhino does look silly). I love Aaron Taylor-Johnson. This is actually the third comic book character he's portrayed. I also really enjoyed Fred Hechinger's portrayal of Kraven's half-brother Dimitri. Russell Crowe was fine as their father Nikolai, but didn't do anything outstanding. Sadly Ariana DeBose's Calypso was underwhelming. She does save Kraven's life twice, but she wasn't the force of nature she should be. One other issue I had is that Kraven's identity being unknown until Rhino was tipped off is ridiculous. Facial recognition software would have ID'd him in a second. 

I appreciated the comic references in this one. Aside from Rhino, there's a lesser known Spidey villain in the mix. Kraven is being hunted by the Foreigner. Going to be real, I had to look him up because I'd never heard of him. He's a merc that was married to Silver Sable at one point. There are a few more comic connections. The Daily Bugle's website can be seen on a computer screen at one point. Also a mad scientist, while not shown, is the source of the superpowers of two characters. This scientist is Miles Warren, aka the Jackal. 

This is the last of the Sony "Spider-Man Without Spider-Man" franchise. I would have been cool with another Kraven movie and as I said I loved the Venom flicks, but I'm okay with it being done. 

In Your Game

While I'd say the comic version of Kraven is Lawful Evil, the movie version seems more Lawful Neutral to me. Yeah he's a killer, but he just kills really bad guys. 

Code Name: Kraven the Hunter

Real Name: Sergei Kravinoff

Pronouns: He/Him

Team Affiliation: -

Medium, Humanoid (Human), Lawful Neutral 

Armor Class: 15 (Dex)

HP:  114 (12d8+60)

Speed: 50 ft.

Challenge: 5 (1,800 XP)

Str 20 (+5) Dex 20 (+5) Con 20 (+5) Int 12 (+1) Wis 20 (+5) Cha 10 (+0)

Saving Throws: Str+9, Wis+9 

Damage Resistance: Poison

Skills: Acrobatics +9, Athletics +9,  Perception +9, Stealth +9, Survival +9

Senses: Passive Perception: 19

Languages: Russian, English 

Keen Senses: Kraven has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks.

Second Wind: On his turn, as a bonus action, Kraven can draw on his stamina reserves to heal 1d10+12 hit points. He can't use this ability again until he takes a short or long rest. 

Actions

Multiattack: Kraven makes two spear attacks.

Spear: Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d6+5)  or 9 (1d8+5) piercing 

damage.

Spear: Ranged Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d6+5) piercing 

damage.

Musings On The Borderlands - Levi Combs Edition

If you haven't heard the next D&D Starter Set will introduce new players to The Keep on the Borderlands. There are already some great options for playing the adventure with 5e (2014 or 2024). You could do it the way I did, by just winging with a basic version of the adventure. You could also go with Original Adventures Reincarnated #1: Into the Borderlands by Goodman Games. This version presents the original version and a 5e (2014) update.

I decided to do a bit of planning for a game that may never happen (because they normally don't). But hey, I enjoy doing stuff like this and maybe it can help someone else with their game.

Today I'm going to talk about three adventures that I think would be easy to work into the titular Borderlands. All three just happened to be written by the all around great person and creator, Levi Combs. 

Maybe I'm weird, but I think Three Curses For Sister Saren just makes sense to connect to the Keep. I take that back, I know I'm weird and I think it would be a great adventure to pair with the Keep. If you aren't familiar it centers around a small once-peaceful settlement called Crow's Rest. Player's must recover the remains of a cleric to save the valley from 1,000 demons. Designed for low levels, I think this and Keep could be ran together or one after another. Perhaps after making a bit of a name for themselves with the population of the Keep, the characters are told of troubles happening in the nearby valley. The adventure's Blackheart goblins and their new cleric chief could also be connected to the Caves of Chaos. If they players can lay Sister Saren to rest they have new allies and resources for the Keep. If they fail, then the Cave of Chaos will surely be bolstered by an influx of demons and/or rampaging Blackheart goblins. 

Now I'm going to mention a few adventures that could follow Keep. First we have The Horror Out of Hagsjaw. Hagsjaw is another out of the way settlement that could be connected to the Keep. The declining town has gained new life and the party could be sent by the Castellan to establish trade. While trying to complete this task, they learn of the occult activity that's corrupting the town. Another interesting connection you can make to the Caves of Chaos is have imagery of Shub-Niggurath in the caves. Perhaps the Chaos is the Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young.

The final adventure I'd include is one of my favorites, An Occurrence At Howling Crater. I would plant the seeds of Howling Crate early on. Players can here rumors of a cursed wasteland, emphasizing the danger and letting them know its not a place for the weak. The Wotts family could have had a reputation among the Keep that some of the old timers know. Members of the family spreading their faith in radiation to the Keep and nearby settlements (such as Crow's Rest or Hagsjaw) would be a fitting hook to actually give the party a reason to investigate the crater. 

Are you a fan of The Keep on the Borderlands? How would you expand the Borderlands?

Die, Blanket of Death!

I wanted to share a cool 5e Supers post I found online. Odin Design statted out Dr. Strange’s cloak. He went with the logical choice of creating it as a sentient magic item with creature stats, as opposed to my creature stats that also include the option of being worn. 

You can get a pdf of the cloak at Odin Design’s Patreon. If you’d like to check out my version you can see it here.

Music Monday - Peace Sign

Of all the My Hero Academia intro themes is Kenshi Yonezu's Peace Sign is my favorite. It's a really fun track and a good example of the show's vibe, and let's be honest that's what an opening theme should do. This extended video also shows some great scenes from the early seasons of the show. 

Oh No...

I often see jokes about people being in serious trouble if their Discord chats leaked. Hell, there have been several Youtubers that have faced major controversy because of this happening. But I wonder if anyone has ever thought about what would happen in their D&D group chat was leaked?

D20 Questions

Earlier this week, Wired posted a fantastic video of Brennan Lee Mulligan answering D&D questions. It was pretty entertaining and I'm pretty sure I agree with everything he said. Whether you're new or have been gaming for years its good advice. 

Young Man, Life Is Not A Fairytale

Daredevil: Born Again debuted this week on Disney+. It's a continuation of the amazing Netflix series. If the first two episodes are any indication, then it will be a worthy successor. While I won't give any spoilers I will say that it's uncomfortably relevant. 

In the past I've shared a few of Meaghan Colleran's "Let's Play D&D With..." articles. Since I've not done any 5e supers stats this week I thought I'd share the Kingpin stats she made last year.

Music Monday - Abyss

Kaiju No. Eight is a fantastic kaiju series. The protagonist, Kafka Hibino, is an old-timer (he's only 32, but considered ancient by the other heroes in the setting) that gets one last chance to join the Defense Force and join his childhood friend in defending Japan from kaiju. He's able to do this when he gains the ability to assume a kaiju form. 

The opening credits theme by English singer-songwriter, YUNGBLUD, is phenomenal.