A Dom DM

If you made a Venn Diagram of folks into kink and tabletop gamers with my friends it'd pretty much one big circle. I think that's why this one cracked me up. 

Living Spells Play-Along Pack

To hype the upcoming D&D 5.5 release, Arcana Unleashed, you can claim the Living Spell Play-Along Pack on D&D Beyond for free.

This previous the following content from the upcoming book:

• Six living spell stat blocks
• The evoker archmage stat block
• The Agent of the Ninth Quill character background
• The Arcane Infiltrator Origin feat
• The Idol of Good Fortunes magic item
• Ninth Quill faction info, including bastion and renown rewards

The first two episodes of the new season of Dungeon Masters are also available online. I haven’t watched them yet, but I loved the previous seasons Ravenloft actual plays.

Victory in Valachan

We only had four players again this week so I let my fellow DM, Terron, run this time. The party was:

• Human Artificer (still not sure what his subclass was) 
• Bugbear Ranger (Hollow Warden)
• Dwarf Barbarian (Path of the Berserker)
• Lupin Druid (Circle of the Moon) 

Since Terron was running I spent my time looking through bulk Magic: The Gathering singles. I did catch what was happening though, so I'll give a short synopsis.

The party find themselves in a jungle realm (Valachan). They encounter a toothy tree that's quite hunger. The druid offers to bring it food if it doesn't try to eat them. The party then saves some townsfolk from hunting phase spiders. After defeating the spiders they hear massive footsteps. A strigori and his summoned t-rex (yes a goddamn t-rex in Ravenloft) fight the party. After defeating the stirge-like humanoid the party convince the t-rex they are friends (which is an option presented in the adventure).

The group had fun and it was entertaining to listen to. This will be the last session at Dungeon Dwellers until the Season of Arcana comes out.

Blood in Borca

  This week’s Season of Horror adventure was Blood in Borca. A few players were out so we combined player groups and I ran the session. The party included

• Human Artificer (not sure what his subclass was) [normally plays in other group]
• Bugbear Ranger (Hollow Warden)
• Dwarf Barbarian (Path of the Berserker)
• Lupin Druid (Circle of the Moon) [same build as the druid in my previous game but different player)

After slaying the illithid vampire in Darkon, the players wake in the domain of Borca. They save a noble from wolves. He hires them to accompany him to a party. The host uses his newly acquired shadow raven powers to incapacitate the party. They wake up in a lab and their new noble patron is ordered to repair a mechanical spider. While this is going on the party are forced to fight a fiery dwarf (an azer). The battle is hard fought and the artificer and barbarian are severely wounded, but survive.

The next room (and final encounter) contains the evil noble (a Priest of Osybus), his two fanatical cultists, and four spies that serve him. This fight was BRUTAL. The cultists started the fight by casting Hold Person on the barbarian and artificer (who failed). Then the Priest used his Soul Blade to constantly paralyze the wildshaped druid. There were many rounds of characters doing nothing but taking critical hits because they were paralyzed. If it wasn’t for the druid, it would have been a TPK. After several rounds, eventually the druid (with help from the ranger and mechanical spider) were able to take out their foes. The fight was frustrating, but ultimately the heroes triumphed. While I was chuckling at first, honestly, I felt bad during this fight. The constant paralyzing effects just made the fight tedious.

Next week will be the final Season of Horror adventure, Victory in Valachan.

Death in Darkon

Earlier tonight I ran the third session of the Season of Horror, Death in Darkon. It was a blood bath (which is fitting because it's vampire-centric). This week Enza has sent the party to the domain of Darkon to stop the second shadow raven. My group this week was made up of the following:

• Bugbear Ranger (Hollow Warden)
• Dwarf Barbarian (Circle of the Moon)
• Drow Fighter (Eldritch Knight) 

They awake in an underground river. The first encounter they face off with an elven vampire familiar, two bandit captains, and four toughs. I was rolling crits like crazy and they had a small party. The drow (played by my kid) was taken out in one round by the familiar. The party was killed and since we had plenty of time I pulled a Groundhog's Day and let them run through it again. I took the four toughs out and still cause a party wipe. I asked them if they wanted to fight the adventure's boss, an illithid vampire, for the Hell of it. While the dwarf went down, they killed the abomination.

Despite the deaths, everyone had a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to next week's adventure, Blood in Borca.

Terror in Tepest

Tonight I ran the second session of the Season of Horror at Dungeon Dwellers in Portsmouth, Ohio. After saving townsfolk from the graveyard, the party made a deal with Inza. The witch told them that if they seek out the shadow ravens that caused the graveyard incident, she would send them home.

One of my players wasn't there, but a new players was. My players were:

• Bugbear Ranger (Hollow Warden)
• Dwarf Barbarian (Path of the Berserker)
• Lupin Druid (Circle of the Moon)

The mists led the party to a harvest festival in Tepest. They feasted with townsfolk and were hired to make sure a ritual site was set up properly. When they arrived they found a hobgoblin captain, some bugbears, and signs of a struggle. The hobgoblin claimed a druid let them have this abandoned home. There was a stand off, until the ranger climbed over a wall and caused the ritual effigy to animate into a death's head tree. The druid (who'd misled the humanoids and created the tree using the shadow raven) joined the fight. While the hobgoblin and her crew fought the tree and druid, the party fought flying death's heads. Eventually the humanoids were killed, but their attacks had weakened the party enough to finish off the tree. A shadow raven escaped the tree and was banished. The party grabbed some loot before the mists took them.

The session was fun. Encounters two and three were combined because of the ranger's actions, but it worked. My only disappointment is that I was never able to do the quirky thing the death's heads have. If they reduce a character to 0 HP, the creature is KO'd and the head replaces theirs's permanently. You then get to roll on a random head chart. They change is just cosmetic, but it's wild.

These scenarios are fun. There are three more. Come back next week to hear about Death in Darkon.

Dagger Danger

June 11th is International Day of Play. In honor of that D&D Beyond is offering another free Borderlands Quest for anyone to claim.

Dagger Danger is a short quest the player's find on the job board in the Keep. The characters are tasked with interring a kobold lair and retrieving a heirloom dagger. It's short, but includes a few kinds of encounters, a variety of foes, and some roleplay opportunities. I'll be adding this one to my Heroes of the Borderlands sessions.

If haven't already, you can still claim last year's adventure, Goblin Trouble, for free as well.

18! 18! 18!

Shared this with a few of my regular readers already, but this idea is hilarious, brilliant, and I think I'll use it in my next game. 

Speaking of my next game I'm thinking it's going to be a D&D 2024, I think like D&D Beyond I'm just going to referring to it as 5.5. I have at least two players and am working on recruiting more. The plan is to start the game after Origins. 

This is my current plan for session one start with the adventure Everyone Dies At Turtle Bay from Faster, Purple Worm! Everybody Dies, Vol. 1. These are scenarios based on Faster, Purple Worm! Kill! Kill!If you aren't familiar with it, I see it as a mix of Critical Role and Who's Line Is It Anyway?  Each episode is a short session of comedic D&D actual play that always ends in death. Back to Turtle Bay, the characters will start out as prisoners in Turtle Bay. They are conscripted to investigate a ghost ship in the bay (a red herring). If the stop the boat they get their freedom. Unfortunately they find out how Turtle Bay got its name. In the adventure as written, the 1st level characters are killed by Dragon Turtle that lives in the bay. However, just before they creature kills them the session will fade to black and end.

The beginning of the next session the characters will find themselves on a winding road headed to the Keep on the Borderlands. How did they get there? That's up to them. I honestly think it would be funny if they pulled a Jack Sparrow and told a new story every time asked. 

Going back to the goblin trap above. I think I will put a door at the end of the tunnel in D2. The three goblins will be in that room with the dwarf prisoner, Vinx (who will be gagged so she can't spoil the fun).

Grave Awakenings

I’m running the Season of Horror at my FLGS. Characters are third level and players could either make them using rules from Ravenloft: The Horrors Within and the 2024 PHB or they could use premade characters. The premade characters are the party form this season of Dungeon Masters (which just wrapped up and was fantastic).

A majority of the three-hour session was used for character creation. Because of that we didn’t really get to play most of the adventure, Grave Awakenings.  While most sessions this season are 90 minute one shots, Grave Awakenings is designed to be a three hour “Encounters Celebration” event. The event is designed for up to four tables playing the adventure simultaneously. It’s a cool idea, but we only had six players total so this couldn’t happen. 

I won’t spoil the adventure, but the premise is cool. Multiple groups of heroes are drawn into the domain of Sithicus to cleanse a graveyard. There’s a ticking clock mechanic because townsfolk have been buried alive. There’s also the protentional for a character to become a wereraven. 

My group got through one combat and then we had to call it a night. The other group aggroed the graveyard and got pretty far. I spoke with the other DM and decided that instead of continuing with this adventure we are just going to move on to the second adventure Terror in Tepest next week.

D&D with T-E-D

I've not watched the Ted prequel series on Peacock, but apparently they did a D&D episode which featured Brennan Lee Mulligan. As problematic at Seth McFarlane's humor can be, I enjoyed the Ted movies and I'll have to check this episode out. The show has partnered with WotC to talk about what D&D is and a very surface level version of how to play. Want to get someone interested in the game. Show them this video.

Additionally there is some Ted-centric content of D&D Beyond. There are level 3 Ted Pre-Made Characters you can claim on the site.

Deathstalker Compendium

I've not watched the Deathstalker reboot, but browsing through DriveThruRPG I found this. Produced by the ProgCore Fantasy team for Shout! Studios, the Deathstalker D&D 5E Compendium contains stats for 12 npcs/monsters from the new flick, as well as two powerful magic items. The content is created for regular 5e, not D&D 2024.

Have you seen the new Deathstalker?

Satanic Panic

If you want a zine relevant to gaming in the 80's, I highly recommend picking up Satanic Panic from Bloat Games/Bloat Zines. Written and layed out by Mr. Bloat himself, the zine addresses (as the cover says) "why parents in the 1980's lost their fuckin' minds over D&D." The zine is predominantly black and white, though red is used to highlight things and it makes it pop. Christopher Torres and Phil Stone's art is featured throughout the zine. This one is metal and aesthetically pleasing. Although its professionally printed, it has a great punk/metal/DIY vibe.

This one is personal. As he mentions in the zine, Eric's life was made a living hell by ignorant religious folks because of the things he loved as a kid. This is really shown in his scathing takedown of Pat Robertson. I also appreciate Eric discussing the origins of the hysteria and highlights what fueled it. I had no idea that it started in Canada or the full story of person Mazes & Monsters was "based on," Dallas Egbert. Eric's a smart and insightful dude and I appreciated reading his thoughts on things. 

This zine is a hybrid of Bloat zines. In addition to discussion of the topic, it also includes game stats for a few systems and random tables (because random tables):

• d66 Reasons Your Mom Thinks You Are A Satanist
• Ratt Pobertson (5e and Shadowdark) - a craven goblin liar definitely not inspired by a hate-spewing religious leader mentioned earlier.
• Garzax (Demon) with Cultists (OSE) - demon lord of gluttony and his followers
• d12 Raise Your Horns For Satan (the devil's music)
• d12 Occult Inspired Movies
• d66 Games Like Old School D&D
• Satanic Cult Members and Cult Leader Necromancer (SURVIVE THIS!!) - ready to use cult stats for use with Dark Places & Demogorgons and SURVIVE THIS!! games

You can order Satanic Panic from the Bloat Games shop. Don't worry, the zine is only 13 bucks, despite the listed price.

Gremlins Invade 5e

You have less than 48 hours left to back Bloat Games,
Goblins - Anarchy in the RPG. I've had the privilege of reading the final pdf and it's phenomenal. You can read my review here. The project has expanded since the project launched. Do to feedback, two more goblin zines have been added as add-ons (with an all-in option). 

The first is Space Goblins - Anarchy in Space. While I don't know much about it, I'm guessing it will be great for 5e supers and Spelljammer games. The second additional zine focuses on a type of fey closely related to goblins, gremlins. While the final version of the zine isn't finished, Eric let me look at the manuscript. The zine will have the same format as Goblins - Anarchy in the RPG. 

Josh gives us Gremlin species trait. Being nocturnal, gremlins hate light. Like real world legends, they have an aura that hinders machinery and technology. This is attributed to them being the embodiment of chaos and destruction. Like the film versions of gremlins, each has it's own special condition to multiply and vulnerability. Being chaotic, these are determined with a random chart. Additionally, like the vampires of The Lost Boys, when exposed to sunlight and killed each gremlin goes out in a random way (again determined by a chart).

We're presented with several different gremlin variants (as well as the standard variety). Counting the "common" variety there are 7 different variety of gremlins. There are varied and included bat-winged, undead, and mechanical ones. Being creatures of chaos, they can also mutate and their is an extensive chart with new abilities and features for Happchance Gremlins. Think of these gremlins and the mutated ones from the second film. Finally we get a CN gremlin wizard npc that can be friend or foe. 

I don't think I've ever included gremlins in my game, but after reading this I want to. I like that Josh combined the stories of gremlins from WWII fighter pilots with the film versions. This is a worthy add-on to the campaign and personally I went all-in. Seriously if you haven't backed this project, I highly recommend you do so. And remember you have less than two days left to do so.

Bree-Yark!

Goblins: Anarchy in the RPG is an upcoming Kickstarter from my friends at Bloat Games. It's written for 5e and while I don't see any direct mention of it, it looks like it's done in the current 2024 version. Update: After talking to author, Josh Palmer, I can confirm it was written in the 2024 format. 

Before I get into the content, I want to talk about the design. The background of each page is black with white-bordered pink text boxes. The text itself is either black or white. While I'm sure some may find this jarring, it really makes the zine pop. Along with the name, it gives the book a great punk aesthetic. Most of the art is stock art, but its really good stock art.

Goblins tend to be used as low level fodder for games, which is cool, but they can be so much more. This zine is a toolkit to get you the most goblin bang for your goblin bucks. Most of the books content is unique goblin npc's and different variation and mutant goblins. Additionally, Josh has create species traits in case a player wants to create a goblin PC.

Something I appreciate the NPC's is there's a good mix of alignments represented. My favorite, Golloc Gloomgash is a Robinhood-esque master thief. There's also a goblin cult leader who made me chuckle. He also seems like the kind of villain I'd want to include. There are seven unique goblins to cause chaos in your game. Mixed in with those heroes and villains are fourteen goblin variations. These show how goblins can adapt to any variety of environments and also include a few goblins organizations. There's even a centaur-like goblin! The background of each includes great flavor for your games. There are also a few fun subtables. "Bree-Yark!"isn't the only goblin phrase you're going to want to include. 

I don't know if it was intentional or not, but this book pairs nicely with the latest Starter Set. Even if your players have entered the Caves of Chaos in the past, you can introduce a new experience by incorporating these goblins into the tribes. I think my first D&D 2024 campaign will start with the Keep and that's my plan.

If you love goblins this zine is for you! Even if you don't like them and find them boring, I think this one will change your mind. Don't be a ebbalsmeg and back it when it launches in the next week or so.

Cthulhu By Torchlight

Cthulhu by Torchlight is a D&D Beyond exclusive toolkit for D&D 2024 by the masters of mythos gaming, Chaosium. The book includes an introduction to the Cthulhu Mythos and has seven chapters. 

Chapter 1 introduces passions and dreadful insights. Characters in horror stories often make decisions that make little logical sense. That's because they are driven by their passions. These are beliefs that shape their actions. With the new rules you can draw upon those to gain bonus. A dreadful insight is essentially a passion that you discover about yourself and can ultimately lead to destruction. Player's can create their own passions and dreadful insight or use the ones provided.

Chapter 2 includes a new backgrounds (with new tools) and and five new origin feats. Mythos Investigators have seen through the veil and been changed by their exposure to the Mythos. I like all of these feats and honestly they can work for anyone, but are particularly appropriate (and useful) for Mythos Investigators. 

Chapter 3 includes a new subclass for all the base classes:

• Path of the Spell Scorned (Barbarian) - Touched by magic, these barbarians gain the ability to fight back against otherworldly and spellcasting foes
• College of Drama (Bard) - These bards are adept at playing roles and can even impart their acting abilities onto others, making them excellent infiltrators
• Apocalypse Domain (Cleric) - Clerics that tap into the energy of ending and demise, they are often considered heretics by the other faiths
• Circle of the Symbiote (Druid) - These druids see plant life just as valuable as animal life and allow a plant to symbiotically grow and become a part of them
• Hero (Fighter) - Heroes are needed to face the horrors of the world and these fighters do so while inspiring others
• Warrior of Cosmic Balance (Monk) - The aesthetics  are guardians of the mortal realm and specialize in fighting back extraplanar horrors
• Oath of the Guardian (Paladin) - Noble warriors that are empowered by their oaths to protect the common folk. 
• Trail Warden (Ranger) - Wilderness warriors that pledge to lead others into the wilderness and make sure they make it out alive
• Shadow Stalker (Rogue) - Feeling a call to the void, these rogues allow true darkness into their hearts, granting amazing stealth abilities
• Hunger Darker (Sorcerer) - Born with innate magic, these sorcerers have an arcane hunger that seeks to claw its way out 
• Exalted Assembly of the Feline Court (Warlock) - These warlocks have struck a bargain the cats of the Dreamlands, which seek to protect mortals from Mythos threats.
• Bibliomancy (Wizard) - Instead of just seeing symbols and words as a means to the ends, these wizards believe they are the true building blocks of the multiverse. 

Chapter 4 introduces new Mythos spells. Anyone familiar with the Mythos will recognize many of these spell names. An aspect I like about these spells is the new optional rule. When casting a Mythos spell it's possible that they acquire the "Power at Any Cost" passion, which influences them to gain more Mythos knowledge and magic. 

Chapter 5 discusses how to run Mythos adventures. Their are foes divided into level based tier lists. Some of these monsters are from the Monster Manual while others are statted later in this book. The chapter does an excellent job of presenting what a typical mythos adventure is like and the elements that are common. This includes interesting twists and how to use 5e's rules thematically.

Chapter 6 presents Mythos tomes. These are special magic items tied to loathsome Mythos entities. Five infamous ones are detailed, including The King In Yellow and the Necronomicon. The chapter ends with a discussion on using these tomes in your game.

Chapter 7 details 20 different iconic mythos monsters (technically more if you count the variants). These range from the lowly Rat-Thing to Great Cthulhu himself. As you might expect, some of these creatures are incredibly deadly, even to mighty 5e characters. There's also a discussion of how existing MM monsters can be used as Mythos creatures. One final thing about this chapter I like is that exposure to these creatures can cause players to gain Mythos monster specific insights. This is a nice way to show how these monstrosities warp a mortal's mind.

I wish this was a physical book, but I still think it's fantastic. If you're a horror fan (especially of things Lovecraftian) and use D&D Beyond I highly recommend this one. 

Double, Double Goblin Trouble

I know the title is bad, but I figured since I couldn't come up with a clever one I'd use a dumb one. To hype the upcoming Heroes of the Borderlands Starter Set and to celebrate International Day of Play (June 11), WotC released a free into adventure Borderlands Quest: Goblin Trouble on D&D Beyond.

The adventure is short and straight forward. Helpful read aloud and guiding text is presented for new DM's. The quest is simple. The party are hired by the Castellan of the Keep to retrieve gift. There they encounter bandits and goblins.

You can get a peak of the D&D 2024 take on the Borderlands and what's in the boxed set by checking out the new trailer.

Music Monday - Pink Pony Club

I will admit I'm a little late to the game, but I've been listening to Chappell Roan a lot recently and after watching a skit was inspired to create a magic item based on Pink Pony Club.

The original music video:

And here's a D&D appropriate bardcore cover:

For Your Game

Ser Roan was a charismatic servant and temple guardian of the Red Knight. Though born of humble origins, her brilliance and willingness to actively aid those that came to her chapel garnered her the admiration of common folk and outcasts. While she was short of stature and had a lithe figure, her fiery red curls and signature weapon made her stand out. She wielded an old relic of her faith, a magical mace cast from a red metal. With a head shaped like a knight chess piece, the metal had started to fade to a pale red with time, though it retained its enchantments. Ser Roan served the people nobly until she met her untimely end while questing for her goddess. Bards still sing her tales. 

-------------------------------  

Pink Pony Club (OSE)

Bonus: The Pink Pony Club grants a +1 bonus to both attack and damage rolls made using it. 

Mounted Bonus: If the wielder is mounted the Pink Pony Club instead grants a +3 bonus to both attack and damage rolls made using it. 

Celestial Mount: Once per day you can summon a celestial steed. This creature uses the War Horse stat block and remains until killed or the wielder dismisses it. If the steed is killed the wielder must perform a day long ritual before using this ability again.

Pink Pony Club (D&D 2024)

Weapon (Mace), Rare (Requires Attunement)

You gain a +1 bonus to attack rolls and damage rolls made with this magic weapon. The bonus increases to +3 when you use the weapon when to attack while mounted.

You have advantage on all Charisma (Performance) rolls.

You call on the aid of a celestial steed. You may cast the spell Find Steed (Celestial version only) spell at second level without expending a spell slot and you regain the ability to do so when you finish a Long Rest.

V.I.G.I.L.

Comic books really like their organizations with acronyms. The anti-vigilante subplot of Daredevil: Born Again has reminded me of I remember as a kid. The Vigilante Infraction General Interdiction and Limitation or V.I.G.I.L., was an armed anti-vigilante task force created by the US government. Their primary target was Frank Castle, which basically made them the Punisher version of the Hulkbusters. Ironically, the group was manipulated and possibly founded by the Trust, a group that wanted to use methods beyond the scope of the law to take care of criminals. I mainly remember them being involved in the Punisher Suicide Run story arc. Frank is believed to be killed so a variety of unhinged killers try to claim the mantle of Punisher.

Haven't done any stats since my Kraven review and I've decided to go with my tavern/bar/inn idea for A-Z so I'm going to do npc stats for a normal V.I.G.I.L. agent. 

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

V.I.G.I.L. Agent

Medium Humanoid (Human), Any Lawful

Armor Class: 17 (V.I.G.I.L. Body Armor and Dex)

HP:  58 (9d8+18)

Speed: 30

Challenge: 3 (700 XP)

Attributes: Str 15 (+2), Dexterity 16 (+3), Con 14 (+2), Int 12 (+1), Wis 10 (+0), Cha 10 (+0)

Saving Throws: Con +4

Skills: Athletics +4, Investigation +3, Perception +2

Tools: Land Vehicles, Explosives

Sense: passive Perception 12

Languages: English

Actions

Multiattack: The V.I.G.I.L. agent can make two attacks.

Baton: Melee Attack. +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d6+2) bludgeoning damage.

Revolver: Ranged Weapon Attack. +5 to hit, range 40/120 ft., Hit: 12(2d8+3) piercing damage. (can fire six shots before needing to be reloaded)

Semiautomatic Rifle: Ranged Weapon Attack. +5 to hit, range 90/270 ft., Hit: 21 (4d8+2) piercing damage. (30 round clip)

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?