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Never Dawn

CMON has released a Zombicide: White Death tie-in comic featuring Lacuna Coil. You can download it for free here.

A Merry Baldur’s Gate Christmas

Here’s a fun little Christmas animation featuring the heroes of Baldur’s Gate 3. If we’re being honest, I really hope I get it for Christmas.

Super Sentai Saturday - Santa Claus

To spread some holiday cheer I thought I'd spread this official Power Rangers Santa Claus art. Featured in the Power Rangers: Heroes of the Grid - Santa vs Heximas Pack, it seems that Saint Nick is a red ranger.

If you want to add his foe, Heximas and his Rocket Sleigh, to your Power Rangers game you can do so by downloading the free RPG pdf pack here.

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That Sounds Like A Bunch Of (Dungeon) Malarky To Me

Dungeon Malarky is 52 bits of weird fantasy set dressing. The cover is an outstanding tribute to a counter-culture classic. Art by J.E. Shields and Adrian Landeros is featured throughout the work. 

Each entry introduces a new eldritch bit or bob that will bring new life to your game. Levi gives us a few paragraphs with lore, descriptions, and origins of the material/hazard/resource.  That's not the end of it though. We also get some alchemist lore about how this weird shit can be used in your game. Every idea is memorable and this one is packed with the badass weirdness we've come to expect and love from Levi's work. This material is the secret spice to make the most bland tasting module a feast full of flavor.

The zine is OSR/system neutral. It wouldn't take much to use it with any game that prominently features dragons, dungeons, and the like.

At the time of posting you can order it from DMDave. Not sure if its available anywhere else but keep any eye out on Exalted Funeral. Also check out the newest PX Kickstarter project Assault on Witchgate 13.

As an added bonus here is some Pun-made Dungeon Malarky for your game:

Planet X Rizz

In the far reaches of space lies the mysterious Planet X. Though there aren't many concrete details, enlightened and mad folk across the known world know of it. They speak of bizarre and fantastic things, of delights that make the pulse rise, and horrors that make one's blood go cold. All agree no matter what the story, the place sounds badass!

Occasionally due to cosmic phenomenon, magical portals, or the capricious whims of the gods a piece of Planet X will make its way to the realms. Great creative power can be found in these pieces. They appear to be small pieces of obsidian at first, however their colors shift when held. Those that have held the shards say they hum with some sort of unknow energy, cause flesh to tingle.

Alchemist Lore: Even taken a part from the whole, pieces of Planet X retain traces of its legendary reputation. Young adventures have taken to grinding it into a fine powder the refer to as "rizz." Why? Who knows why kids do what they do? If rizz is added to any item during creation the end product will just be cooler on a fundamental level. Cloaks made with rizz dye seem to blow in the wind, even indoors. Blades with rizz powder will be accompanied by killer sound effects when wielded in combat. Any text written with rizz ink will be infused with the sheer awesomeness of Planet X and astound readers. Its said that rizz can even be ingested or snorted, but the alchemist community neither confirms or condones this.

Krampus, The Lost Archdevil

Krampus, The Lost Archdevil is a two page pwyw pdf from Appendix N Entertainment. It features art from Jacob Blackmon with writing by RJ Thompson. As the title suggests, the mythical figure is presented as an archdevil and this is an expansion to the author's Heaven and Hell Series. I really like the lore given because its detailed but also leaves some mystery. The stats are flavorful and there's a new magic item.

Space Horses!

Space Horses is the an amazing commissioned art piece by Creative Jargon for my friend John. Thirty/Thirty, Equeatroid ally of Marshall BraveStarr, and the worthy Korbinite warrior Beta Ray Bill team up to show their foes the true meaning of horsepower. 

Music Monday - Ginny Di Holiday Edition

 As far as I'm concerned you can never have to much Ginny Di.

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D&D and the Holidays

A few days ago Preparing a Winter Festival for the Holidays in D&D was posted on D&D Beyond. The article is broke down into five parts. The first discusses why you're doing a winter festival in your game. The second discusses using real world traditions.  Some examples given are Evergreens and Yule Logs, Lord of Misrule, Wassailing, and the Wild Hunt. Each tradition is discussed in game terms. THis is followed by reindeer games to celebrate during the festival. Snapdragon/Flapdragon (which I recently learned of), Ice Kolf, King of the Bean, and good 'ol fashion sledding and snowballs fights are also discussed. Three pre-existing D&D holidays for Faerun, Eberron's Sharn, and Exandria. Finally some fictional inspiration is also given: Fraggle Rock, Star Wars Holiday Special, Discworld's Hogswatch Night, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, and the classic Rankin/Bass holiday cartoons.

I know of one official D&D winter holiday adventure, Winter's Splendor. It's a two hour adventure set in Waterdeep. It involves potential big bads from Dragon Heist, though given the time of year its set they shouldn't be the main villains. There is also a reference to to Barovia and my favorite npc, Gadof Blinksy!

If you are looking for more holiday themed adventures (all year long) Frog God Games has several:

• For The Love of Valentine
• Seanche's Lament
• By Dawn's Early Light
• Feast of the Gobbler
• How Orcus Stole Christmas!
• Orcus on 34th Level
• Orcus in a Winter Wonderland!
• Beware the Yule Cat

Do you ever run holiday themed sessions? Are festivals and important part of your games? I've definitely run Mutants and Masterminds Christmas adventures, but not much else. 

Caver & Cube Review

Caver & Cube is combination of story book and gaming supplement from my friend Justin Sirois of Severed Books. I'm going to be talking about the 60 page pdf. Justin did all the writing and art. 

Book one is The Cave. It is a short story and an origin of sorts. Taking place in the province of Falkirk, the tale follows a young man named Olen on the run who stumbles upon a cave.  He befriends a friendly gelatinous cube named Lu and discovers the cave is actually a magical (and mobile) creature named Caver. He and this walking, talking dungeon head to his home to try to solve his problems, but of course, things are never that easy and more mysteries a laid forth.

The second part of the book is Caver: Guide for Role-playing Games. It's a framework for using Cavers in y our game. The guide is system neutral but also presents things is generic D&D terms. The stats are given if vague terms. Caves have stats equivalent to medium or high level stone golems. If they punch someone it's the equivalent to a massive thrown boulder (which looking at giant stats means 4d10+Str in 5e). Each Cave has one or more classes (yes they can multiclass). This grants them special abilities and gives the GM a d4 Previous Occupants table. They are:

• Molten
  
• Den
• Acoustic Sanctuary
• Dank 
• Divine Sanctuary
• Darkness
• Turbulent 

Finally we get a brief selection of special Caver weapons and stats for Lucien (aka Lu) the benign
gelatinous cube from the story. Of course your Caver needs a character sheet and we are presented with one of those, that also has room to map out it's guts. A sample Caver maps is also presented. You can get a signed copy from the Severed Books Etsy Store. If you'd prefer to just have a digital copy, it's also on DrivethruRPG. You can get a Caver miniature here. Also Lu the Cube has a mini that you can grab here.

I am in love with idea of the caver. It's basically a magical mech/mobile home base for your adventuring party. While it would change some of the dynamics of a standard D&D game, I think it would do so in a fun as Hell way. Despite their power, Cavers tire easily and cant' be relied on in every fight. Also just because of their immense size, players won't be able to rely on them in every situation. 

Imagine one of the Caves of Chaos from The Keep on the Borderlands actually being a Caver! You could make it the Shrine of Chaos, giving the Caver the Darkness class. There are a lot of classic scenarios and settings that could be spiced up by these big cavey boys. 

Music Monday - Christmas

A funny Christmas song I learned about thanks to Brandon of Wet Ink Games, love this track and its wrestling references.

More Big Bads - Magda and King Blrrk

Today I'm going to talk about two more Big Bads from Hit Point Press. Unlike my last post, these pdfs aren't free (though they are only 2.99).

Magda is a tragic sorceress. Distrusted from a young age by everyone but her beloved sister because of her power. She trained in magic and would have been a hero if not for an unexpected attack on her village. During the attack her sister was killed saving her. Magda unleashed her power and destroyed everything. She was called to a tome called the Red Rune. This relic was rumored to have belonged to a lost goddess. The truth is is is connected to a lich, who now manipulates the broken Magda for its own goals. Magda is a powerful sorceress at Challenge 8. The pdf also includes adventure hooks, roleplaying tips, traits, and tactics for her.

Magda can be added to any setting. If I were using her in the Forgotten Realms, I'd connect the Red Rune to the Red Wizards, though that's probably a little too on the nose. 

King Blrrk is a gelatinous cube that accidentally engulfed the Gem of Whirling Cosmic thought, a magic item that granted it an Intelligence score of 20. With his new found intelligence he left the dungeon for the safety of the city and set himself up as a crime boss. He protects his own and rewards them with magic items (because of his fear of them). He is served by chef assassins. He sometimes tears of chunks of himself, which are functionally one time use magic items. The pdf includes a discussion of his lair (with lair actions), roleplaying tips and traits. Blrrk is a impressive Challenge 12.

This is the kind of weird I love. I already know how I want to use King Blrrk. Next time I try to run Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, I will introduce Blrrk as an up and coming crime boss that comes from Undermountain. He tried to set up in Skullport but was attacked by the forces of the Xanathar. He survived and fled closer to the surface where he started his new organization. 

Yes I want a Gelatinous Cube vs. Beholder gang war in my game. Xanathar is insane, while Blrrk is calculated. I think it would be fun. Also one of his adventure hooks involves him wanting to buy a business that party owns or frequents. This could very well be their renovated tavern in Trollskull Alley.

If this ever happens I will use my Gelatinous Cube Die from Severed Books as my King Blrrk mini.

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Other Big Bad Reviews

• Daniel
• Conqueror Worm
• Pork & Beans
• Zara Harlowe

GVW Profile: The Gobbledy Gooker

I felt like playing around with Glorify Violence Wrestling!.  I also wanted to mess around with a seriously infamous gimmick (that inexplicably has been brought back a few times), the Gobbledy Gooker.

GVW Profile:

Height: 6'

Weight: 205 LBS

Hometown: Hartford, Connecticut

Signature Move: "Wishbone"; camel clutch

Finisher: "The Black Friday"; GTS

Signature Weapon: Skillet

Favorite Wrestler: Héctor Guerrero 

Least Favorite Wrestler: The GVW Brawler

The feathered wrestling phenomenon known as the Gobbledy Gooker started his life in the "Fed." Considered a joke by the biggest promotion in the game, he left for the indies, never really fitting in until entering the pool and bingo halls of GVW. Technical mastery mixed with highly directed violence is the Gooker's style. While he only speaks turkey, he knows how to communicate his feelings to the crowd (the crowd always pop for his "for the drippings" crotch chops). 

No one knows why, but the Gooker has a special reverence for the legendary Guerrero wrestling  family. If any family member or friend of the family can rely on the fowl fighter for aid. In contrast, the is some animosity between the Gooker and the GVW Brawler because of their connection to Stamford, CT.

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Art by Hibren

 

It's Thursday Night!

I admit I've not kept up with the current season of Critical Role, but the animated opening that dropped for it last month is fantastic! I also appreciate the them including the cast reaction to seeing it afterwards.

Tangentially related to Critical Role, my new 5e game is coming together and will be set in Mercer's world of Exandria. I'll probably start posting more updates on it soon.

More Big Bads - Zara Harlowe, Pork, and Bean

Last year I posted about Hit Point Press Big Bad Booklet Patreon. It gave an overview and discussed the two big bads I had, Daniel the flesh golem and the Conqueror Worm. The big bads and magic items from the patreon were collected into two books. However, you can also snag the individual pdfs. Today I'm going to talk about two Big Bad pdfs that are available for free (at least at the time of this post).

Pork & Bean are an odd pair. Bean is a raging goblin berserker and Pork is a subtle bugbear assassin. Originally enemies, the pair was struck by lightning and became bound to each other. They subconsciously know each others moves. While they bicker and would never admit it, the two are deadly together and rely on each other. The currently work as murderers for hire. Tactics, traits, and roleplaying tips are included. We also get three adventure hooks. The pdf includes stats for Bean's magical shackles and Pork's magical bracers. Pork is a Challenge 8 bugbear assassin and Bean is a challenge 6 goblin berserker. They are quite dangerous together and get a total of 5 Legendary Team Actions when within 60 feet of one another.

They can be thrown in to virtually any setting. Personally I could see them being hired by one of the masterminds from Waterdeep: Dragon Heist to take out the party (or get revenge on them).

Zara Harlowe is a truly frustrating villain. By day she is the highly successful chief of the city guard. She's taken out several organizations and operations. She is greatly respected by the nobility and has celebrity status among the common folk. However, at night she is Nix, the head of the most successful criminal organization. Her day job allows her to have a monopoly on crime. Overall the guild doesn't do things quite as brutally as before, so she justifies her actions. Halowe is a Challenge 5 roguish foe. We also get stats for her muscle Holly, a Challenge 4 blue dragonborn wereboar, and Hock, a Challenge 5 half-elf necromancer. The trio are challenge 10 when together or Challenge 11 when together and in one of the two lairs mentioned in the pdf. We get roleplaying tips, traits, and tactics for the trio. 

I think the best way to use Harlowe would be to have her as an ally of the party. Build up the relationship before the big reveal. Like Pork and Beans, she fits into most settings, but I think she'd be a great addition to Waterdeep: Dragon Heist. If you go this route, I would make Nix the leader of the Zhentarim opposed to the Manshoon. If you go this route, she definitely has her eyes set on capturing the Black Viper.

The Boys Season 4 Trailer

 The season 4 trailer for The Boys dropped a few days ago.

I think it looks phenomenal. I think it also looks painfully relevant to the world today. At least we're getting some new eye candy with Jeffrey Dean Morgan in the cast. 

5E The Boys Content

• Homelander (The Boys)
• Stormfront (The Boys)
• Jaime (The Boys)

Music Monday - In The Undertow

In The Undertow is a fan created sea shanty based on Critical Role Campaign 2, Episode 42. It was written and performed by R Morgan Slade with help from Ginny Di, Jesse Phillips, Madeline Lee, and Danny Dourado. Dan Yoon did the animation. 

Uk'otoa will definitely be a major force in my upcoming Grognautical campaign. Also if you want to hear an official sea shanty about the great many eyed sea serpent, check out this post. 

I Am The Sea

Preparing for my nautical 5e game and decided to stat up some cursed sea mutant pirates like the ones from Pirates of the Caribbean. They aren't a perfect conversion of the ones from the story, but are definitely in the same spirt. 

Davy Jones Crew Member

Medium monstrosity, any non-good

Armor Class 12 (leather)

Hit Points 22 (4d8+4)

Speed 30 ft., swim 40 ft.

11 (+0) Dex 12 (+1) Con 14 (+2) Int 6 (-2) Wis 13 (+1) Cha 5 (-3)

Saving Throws Wis +3

Skills Athletics +2, Stealth +3, Survival +3

Proficiencies Vehicle (Water) +2

Damage Vulnerabilities Acid

Damage Immunities cold, poison

Condition Immunities blinded, deafened, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, poisoned, stunned

Senses  blindsight 60 ft., passive Perception 10

Languages Aquan and one other (usually Common)

Challenge 2 (400 XP)

Amphibious The crewmember can breathe both air and water.

False Appearance. If the crewmember is motionless at the start of combat, it has advantage on its initiative roll. Additionally, unless the character can succeed on a DC 16 Intelligence (Investigation) check they see the motionless crewmember as part of the ship.

Part of the Ship. The crewmember is connected with all other crewmembers and the ship itself. All information, senses, and memories are shared.

Regeneration. The crewmember regains 5 hit points at the start of each of its turns. If the crewmember takes acid damage, this trait doesn't function at the start of its next turn. The crewmember only days if it starts its turn with 0 hit points and doesn't regenerate.

Actions

Rapier. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft, one target. Hit: 4 (1d6+1) slashing damage.

Customization

You can customize your crew members by giving them any combination of the following traits.

Crab Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft, one target. Hit: 4 (1d6+1) bludgeoning damage and the target is grappled (escape DC 12).

Lamprey Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft, one target. Hit: 4 (1d6+1) piercing damage and the target is grappled (escape DC 10). While grappled it takes another 4 (1d6+1) piercing damage at the beginning of the crewmembers next turn. 

Protective Shell.  The crewmember has an AC of 14

Urchin Spines. Any creature within 5 feet that hits the crewmember with a melee attack must make a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw or take 1 piercing damage and make a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or gain the poisoned condition.

New Suicide Squad ISEKAI Trailer

A second trailer has dropped for Suicide Squad ISEKAI. It looks and sounds bizarre as the first trailer, but I’m going to watch it.

The Magic Pen

The Magic Pen is a short film shot in my hometown and created by super talented friends, Subject to Change Entertainment. There are several fun easter eggs and things in the flick, but my favorite is a sketch of Nick Peely, Agent of SHIELD.

If you want to support Subject to Change Ent here are links to their Patreon and socials.

• Patreon
• Instagram
• Facebook

Heroes’ Feast: Saving the Children’s Menu Review

Heroes' Feast: Saving the Children's Menu is an adventure for 6 10th-level adventures available on D&D Beyond. The adventure is 4.99 and is a tie-adventure with Heroes' Feast Flavors of the Multiverse: An Official D&D Cookbook. It takes place in Daggerford and the Delimbiry Vale in the Forgotten Realms. It's written by celebrity D&D players, Deborah Ann Woll.

The adventures are tasked by a chef to retrieve special ingredients for Kender Stumblenoodles, a special dish loved by the children of the area. The previous folks sent to get them were found dead. The characters arrive to the farm, which was ran by an eccentric druid. They find him dead and encounter Ignis, a NG fire giant and her twin children. The party must complete their mission and protect Ignis and stop her children from being kidnapped by a fire giant king's search party (which includes fire giants and large sized hellhouds). Completing the task they gain a new ally and a temporay boon from eating the delicious Kender Stumblenoodles.

The adventure contains several sidebars referencing Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants. The book isn't needed, but can be used to help flesh things out. There are two appendices. The first details the Cheesemonger's Almanac, the druid's cheesemaking notes and almanac. This is a fun addition (and helpful in the adventure). Finally the recipe for Kender Stumblenoodles is presented. If you hadn't guess by the name and ties to children and kender... it's fancy mac and cheese. No shame in that, just funny to think there's an adventure related to mac and cheese. 

This adventure is fun and has a lot of character. Presenting a NG fire giant is another example of D&D move of not having every member of a race being universally evil and being able to make their own decisions, which I'm personally a fan of. There some fun combat and roleplaying encounters, so most players can find something they enjoy. This isn't a must buy, but it's a fun, short, and cheap adventure. 

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Art by Hibren