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D&D

Mad Mage Chronicles – CH4

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Breakfast With a Plan

This story is part of a longer series based on the published adventure “The Dungeon of the Mad Mage”

Krodan Mess Hall by TylerEdlinArt on DeviantArt

The bar is silent at sunrise. It is a also a mess with tables flipped to their side, a thick layer of sticky smelly mud coats the floor, and a young tired man lazily sweeps up the bits of broken glass scattered throughout.  A few patrons sleep off the night of drinking, slumped over on the floor or over a table. They snore loudly as the few disgruntled looking employees carefully clean around them. It’s quite a sight to see The Yawning Portal in it’s tranquil state.

Diljaris and Roakala are the first to come down. Diljaris in her usual chipper deadener gleefully galops down the steps while Roakala slinks behind her slowly. Her eyes half closed in her exhaustion. Her feet drag over the wooden boards. They sit at a table and Diljaris orders breakfast as Roakala’s slumps over the table and hides her face in her arms. “Why so early? We are the only people up this early” she says in a tone muffled by her current position.

“Well my dear” Diljaris responds as she begins setting up her workplace “We have a lot of dungeon to uncover and we are really behind.” She begis to neatly place before her books and journals and pens. Each placed neatly in their designated location.

Roakala raises her head slightly, her chin still touching the table. “I’m just here for the money, is there a way I can just join up with you later”

Diljaris smiles “So your intention is to join then?”

“That’s not what I meant” Roakala hides her face in her arms again.

“I need to see how well you do in combat before we can properly talk about you joining my group” Diljaris says as she studies her half conscious partner.

There is no response from Roakala except some heavy breathing.

A few minutes pass before Drungar and Gorak come down. “Good morning! I hope we haven’t been keeping you waiting long” Drugnar says extatically, his voice filling the room.

Diljaris who had been busy writing responds “I wouldn’t make tardiness a regular thing but it’s fine. Please join us eat we will depart after breakfast.” Before her, the table has already been set with a small feast of eggs bacon and toast.

The two men sit down at the table, filling their plates with the assortment of food. Gorak points to Roakala “What’s wrong with her?”

Without lifting her head Roakala lets out a muffled response. “It’s too early” is what the party can make out.

They begin to eat breakfast in silence. Diljaris writes in her journal, taking small nibbles here and there. Eventually Roakala lifts her head and eats from a plate Diljaris set aside for her. “So” Roakala begins, her mouth still full of food “you got a plan princess?’ Bits of egg  spray out from her mouth to the table.

Diljaris looks at the bits of discarded egg with disgust. “I am not a princess!” she responds, sounding a bit annoyed. “Of course I have a plan”

“Are you gunna share it with us or is this a you thing?” Gorak chimes in.

“Oh you meant for today. Well we are going to go down into the dungeon and find a few monsters to fight. I want to see how compatible we are as a group.”

“How much are you paying us for that?” Roakala asks.

“Well if we find anything while we are down there, we’ll split it evenly. Remember, I have yet decided on your membership status”

“This is a lot of danger for a test princess. I think it’s fair that we get a bit of compensation. Maybe some collateral in case you don’t make it back.” Roakala adds, reaching to get more eggs.

“Well I did pay for your meals and lodging and I did save you from that mob you incited. I think I’ve compensated you plenty”

Roakala looks at her plate full of eggs, thinking for a moment before letting out “I could have taken ’em”

“Well” Diljaris says smiling “There shouldn’t be much danger for someone of your skill set. If what you say is true that is.”

“Hey” Roakala responds, slightly agitated “You don’t have to worry about me. I ain’t just talk.” There is a moment of silence as the three stare at the half-orc who wears a pugnacious look on her face. The scents of breakfast fill her flared nostrils. She seems to calm and sighs “All I am saying, moving forward, Ima need more than just breakfast.”

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There is a small lift that has been built against the old well at the center of the bar. It is made from a small system of pulleys that attach to a wooden platform big enough to hold a small party of adventurers. The party finds itself in front of its sleeping operator. He is a older man with grayed mangled hair and an untrimmed beard and an untidy appearance. He sleeps soundly leaning against tower wall.

“Excuse me sir?” Diljaris says as he pokes the man gently. He jumps suddenly, staring back at the party who now surrounds him. It takes him a moment to regain full consciousness before finally asking “What do you want?!”

“We would like to go down, can you please give us a lift?”

“1 gold each” he grumbles.

“1 gold? You have to be kidding me? What if we take the ladder?” Gorak points to an old dirty ladder that goes down the side of the wall.

“It’s a gold either way. Are you going or not?” the man snaps as he stares down the party.

“Can we give you 2 gold and take the stairs?” Drugnar asks as he starts counting coins in his purse.

“Look I don’t make the rules. I just sit here and charge the fee. If you have an issue, take it up with Durnan. Pay up or leave” The man was clearly in a foul mood.

The party looks at each other with undecided looks in their eyes. Roakala is clearly angered by the man’s disposition. Her first ball up tightly as she takes a step towards the man, but before she could say a word, Diljaris interjects “Alright that’s fair” She pulls out her coin purse “4 gold it is.” Diljaris hands over the four gold and places the purse back in her pocket. “But we would like to use the lift”

“Yeah yeah, hurry up. Hop on” The man says, putting the coins in his pocket.

The party squeezes into the small wooden platform. The wood is worn and dirty. The wood creeks as it bears the weight of the party. Despite it’s rugged appearance, the lift is well built.  The man begins to work the pully and the party begins its slow initial decent into the dungeon bellow. The darkness begins to hug them as the echoes of their decent bounce about the stone creating the a mountainous melody of their first adventure. They watch as the bar moves farther and father away until it is a small skylight. They land on the soft murky sand with a jolting thud. Gorak lights a torch. The light washes over the darkened walls revealing an explosion of colorful graffiti. Here the, names and words written in all the languages come together to form the story of the countless adventurers that have walked over this sand and through the old wooden doors. Confined in this small room, isolated from everything the party stands in admiration and excitement as boots crunch into the dirty sand. Fingers trace against the crumbling colored stone while Roakala digs through the pills of discarded refuse.

Her old glove digs through. Her fingers stop as they touch something hard. She pulls out a dirty clumping ball, perhaps something ceramic? She wipes it on her tunic, spitting on it every so often. The sand and mug begin to fade under her diligence, revealing an ivory colored orb. On closer inspection, she makes out a blackened iris. Staring back at her, a finely made glass eye sits on her hand.

“What did you find?” Drugnar asks as he moves towards the orc.

Roakala turns the iris so that it stares back at the dwarf. “Looks like someone is walking around with half their eyes.” She chuckles as she palms the eye and places it gingerly in her pocket. “What do we do now?”

The party looks at each other as the echoes of the lift returning to the top encapsulates them. They turn to the door. It seems out of place within its place on the wall. Surrounded by old dirty stone sits a freshly stained door on new hinges. A minute goes by before Drugnar finally breaks the silence. “I guess let’s see what’s behind door number 1.”

Photography, Poems

Bridge Over Water

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Shot with an iPhone 12

There is a river that sloshes against the man made bank. There are waves that crash against the pillars. There is a family of ducks that has learned to call this place home. I’ve seen them and watched them grow.

There are lines here that were meticulously crafted. That were designed and left behind and now they sit here overlooked and abandoned. How can something so important be lost and disregarded?

I hear the sounds of the car engine as it passes over me. I hear the echoes of the wheels going over pavement bouncing off the walls. I watch as it disappears down the street and I wonder if they thought of me too.

I listen as the waves crash on the man made bank, as the waves crash against the pillars. I feel the cool morning breeze against my face and watch as the sunrises over the city scape. I wonder if I can call this home yet?

D&D

Modular Dungeons of the Mind

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I ran a dungeon crawler the other day over discord using only theater of the mind and flashcards.

I usually use Foundy VTT to run my games but I wanted to switch things up and focus on the story telling and roleplaying aspect. What I did isn’t a particularly innovative idea, I borrowed a few elements from a few places. The most notable of the sources is little dungeon crawler by the name of One Deck Dungeon. The idea is simple, I grab a bunch of flash cards and design a room on each. A room can be a trap they overcome, a random room with secrets that they players can discover, or encounters. I create other complications such as dead ends or scenarios they have to overcome like a random cavein. Time is important in my campaign so I assign each card a difficulty and time associated for that difficulty. Because mine is a large dungeon, easy is 1 hour, medium is 2 hours, and hard is 3. If the room needs a detailed description, I write it on the back. I then shuffle the deck. The entranced of the dungeon is a good place to set the scene. Then you start drawing cards and playing them out as they go.

I like the randomness of drawing cards but you can have a strict order to follow. The key here is having certain challenges that they have to overcome rather than having them needlessly explore a large dungeon. There isn’t anything wrong with exploration, it’s just that for my table time is limited so exploration is cut out. Not all if the cards have to be encounters, you can add npcs or moments where you can allow for roleplay to switch things up. In one of my rooms, the challenge they had to overcome was to play Pictionary so we played Pictionary for a bit and that was super fun. You know your table so try to design things around that. If you are worried about leveling, that is not a problem. I design the rooms and the difficulty but I don’t include any monsters. That way, I can reuse them down the road and if they happen to level mid dungeon, I can adjust the difficulty.

Be sure to include doors and secret doors so that the players have a choice on what they have to do. At the end of the session, you can piece the dungeon together and see how far they have gotten. If you are doing a multiple level dungeon or if there is a boss at the end, I rolled a 10 sided dice and after that many rooms, I mixed a stairs card and shuffled the deck so when I pull it from the dwindling deck, they move on to the next floor. You can also decide the number when it seems appropriate to the plot. I like a bit of randomness in my games and it makes sense in the context of the game.

Why did I choose to run it this way?

Not everyone at my table has a top of the line gaming rig, I don’t either. Some people have Chromebooks that they use only for streaming and that’s ok. While Foundry is not particularly recourse demanding, we do hit a few issues here and there because of technical difficulties. I have run dungeon crawls online before on Roll20 and Foundry and found that it isn’t worth the trouble for my table. The biggest issue was that the large maps crashed the programs or made them painfully slow. We spent more time resetting and refreshing than on the actual dungeon crawl.

The non-technical issue is that the size of the map made my players to weary. We spent too much time in meaningless rooms and choosing what hallways to go down. Also, some of my players would get antsy and move through walls and ruin the surprise. Or, I would end up moving them to the next plot point and there was no real reason to have all of these hallways and rooms. I could have done a mix of theater of the mind and have maps for the important rooms, but I wanted try something new and I didn’t want to spend the time looking for maps.

Again this is all based on my group, and my group likes to speed run so if you have a group that enjoys the exploration, design as much as you need.

I will go back to using the VTT and actual maps when they clear this dungeon, but I thought it was a good way of giving my players a new experience. Let me know what you think.

Disclaimer: I am not associated with any of the links or products I like to, I just didn’t think I have them for people who want to learn more and the links provide the best explinations. Cheers.

D&D

Mad Mage Chronicles – CH3

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Human and a Dwarf walk into a Bar

This Story is based on the published Wizards of the Coast advetnuter The Dungeon of the Mad Mage.

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A young man and a dwarf arrive in Waterdeep as the town begins to close for the night.

The young man is in his 20’s. Tall and slender with dark brown hair that he keeps short and neatly slicked back. He has brown eyes and light brown skin. On his back he carries a quiver full of arrows and a finely made bow. His clothes aren’t new, but they are well kept with a few patches of dirt that have settled from their travel.  His partner is a stout dwarf with grey skin. His black hair is fixed up in a neat pony tail and his beard is neatly braded. He wears plated mail armor and a hammer swings at his side. On his chest, a small silver symbol of Paylor bonces against his chest as they walk.

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They walk through a street where tired looking  vendors carry boxes and crates into shops or load them onto large wooden carts. One vendors smile at the newcomers and tries to make one last sale. The dwarf buys a couple apples and asks for directions to the Yawning Portal.

They continue through the streets of Waterdeep, twisting and turning through alleys as directed. The citizens of Waterdeep sit on their porches and watch the pair as they have loud exchanges of stories, jokes and the town gossip. The pair are hit with the smells of industry mixing with the sweet loving smells of traditional dinners. There is laughter as kids chase each other through the alleys. Lanterns begin to go up as the sky darkens.

Finally they turn the corner see the old face of the Yawning Portal. It is an older building made from ancient stone. It looks out of place here, yet it is the center of it  all. It’s old wooden doors let out loud screeches that echo off the buildings around them. The pair step over a drunkard, careful not to step in his vomit. A group of rowdy adventures stumbles past the pair, singing the incoherent song of inebriation. And as the sun begins to set over the skyline, they can see the light of the flickering hearth that casts the wild dancing shadows of its patrons on the surrounding buildings. They can hear the murmurs of singing chanting and shouting. The bar is alive and the two are unable hide their excitement.The dwarf takes a deep breath, the smell of stale alcohol and cheap tobacco fills his lungs. “Well boy, we made it” the Dwarf says with a giant grin on his face.

“That we did my friend” says the young man as his hand clasps onto the dwarfs shoulder. The pair take in scenery like one would a sunset. A man stumbles to the corner of the bar and throws up against the wall but they don’t seem to notice.

Finally the Drawf taps the young man at his side “Come let’s have a drink!” The Pair take an eager step towards the bar.

Inn Of Heroes by atomiiii on DeviantArt

Without glancing at the sheet the young man responds “Well if you think if it’s a good idea, count me in. I’ll follow you anywhere brother”

The Dwarf nods as he pats the young man on the shoulder “It’s settled then, let’s go find this Dil-Jar-Us or whomever” the Dwarf says as he walks towards the bar. “But first, a drink!”

The young man follows the Dwarf to the bar. The barkeep is busy handing out drinks and doesn’t notice the pair. The Dwarf pulls up a stool and places his hands on the sticky counter and waits patiently. The young man watches the crowd and laughs at the jokes he overhears. Finally the Barkeep comes to the dwarf “What are ya havin?”

“We need food, drink, and information” says the Dwarf as he pulls up a stool to sit at the bar. His feet dangle over the stool. The young man stands besides him, watchful of the room.

“Food and drink we have. As for information? That depends on the kind you need”  The barkeep starts filling mugs.

“We are looking for the person who put this up” the Dwarf places the flyer on the bar and pushes it gently towards the barkeep.

The barkeep reads it. He chuckles and places the mugs on the sheet. “That’s an easy one. They’re sitting over there” he points to the corner to Diljaris and Roakala.

“Do you know anything about them?”

The barkeep shakes his head and shrugs “They just came in today. The dragonborn girl wants to start an adventuring party.  That’s all I know”

The Dwarf nods understandingly and places a silver piece on the bar. He thanks the barkeep and move towards the Diljaris with drink in their hand. “Howd!” Says the Dwarf Loudly, trying to get their attention. “My associate and I are here to inquire upon this here job listing” The Dwarf places the piece of paper on the table. “Might it be alright if we join you for a parlay? We don’t mean to impose of course” The young man watches the Dwarf in clear bewilderment.

“Of course you may, we would be delighted. My name is Diljaris Eshbis and this is my friend Roakala”

“We’re not friends” murmurs Roakala

“Oh right, excuse our rudeness, we’ve been on the road for a while now. My names is Drugnar Oathhammer and this is my companion Gorak Truthseeker. The pleasure is all ours of course” the Dwarf nudges at the young man’s side.

“Nice to meet you” Gorak replies, clearing his throat. He seems watchful of the pair and eyes over the Roakala suspiciously.

ArtStation – 2016, CHANZ Z

“Is there a problem?” Roakala asks aggressively, slamming her spoon down on the wooden table.

“Why are you all the way out here? Shouldn’t you be with one of the clans?” Gorak asks.

“I’m a half Orc. I never joined a clan. Is my presence going to be a distraction?” The vein on her temple begins to throb. She grinds her teeth and begins to reach for her sword.

A blue scaled hand reaches over the table. “Now Roakala, there’s no need for that.” Diljaris turns to Gorak who is also reaching for the dagger at this side. “And you need to be more sensible about what you say. That was rude and uncalled for. If you want to join my team you will need to be respectful of your teammates”

With a worried look on his face, Drugnar steps forward. “Please excuse my friend. We’ve been away from civilization for so long, he’s forgotten how to interact with people. You won’t have any problems from us, isn’t that right Gorak?”

Gorak’s hand tensely hovers over the dagger as he continues to watch the Orc. He remains silent as he studies the orc before finally relaxing and responding “Yes, we won’t cause any more trouble” Gorak sounds defeated as he sits down at the end of the table and begins to eat his bowl of stew without speaking

Diljaris smiles and responds “That’s quite alright, we understand” Roakala stares down the Dragonborn who doesn’t seem to notice. Diljaris flips to a new page in her journal and continues “Well down to bussiness. Why do you think you would be a good addition to our team?”

Drugnar brushes his beard as he ponders before finally saying  “We are great warriors and have travelled quite a distance to be here. We have successfully escorted merchants across the country. We saved a small mining village from goblins. If I continue to list our achievements you will find we are quite an impressive pair”

Diljaris diligently takes notes. Gorak peers over at the page of neat yet quickly scribbled draconic symbols. Diljaris turns to him “Do you have anything to add?”

Gorak is stunned for a moment as he ponders “I’ll shoot anything you need me to and this old man right here is the best medicine man you’ll ever need” he turns to look at the Roakala “What do you do?”

Roakala, who was in the midst of drinking her ale, puts down her mug and responds dismissively “I kill things with a sword”. She continues to eat her stew in silence.

“I’m not surprised” Gorak sneers

Roakala stands up, shaking the table almost spilling the bowls and plates that shake violently as they settle. “Are we gunna have a problem?”

“Only if you want to have one orc” Gorak says as he stands up, again reaching for his dagger. A grey heavy hand comes down on his shoulder and pulls him back. He attempts to resist but he wasn’t prepared and the hand pulls him back slightly, breaking his aggressive stance for the moment.

“This isn’t the time for that Gorak!” Drugnar says angrily. “These ladies have done nothing wrong except invite a couple of brutes to join them for dinner. Now apologize and act right.”

Gorak clenches his fists. He stands motionless at the center of the group, staring back at the Orc. Roakala mirroring his aggressing, her nostrils flare as she is ready to attack if given a reason. He takes a deep breath as his eyes meet with Drugnar who looks back angrily and disappointed. Gorak sighs as he moves his hand away from his weapon.  “Sorry” he finally says sullenly and sits back down.

Drugnar turns back to the pair “Please don’t this incident affect your decision, he’s just not used to people”

“You mean Orcs?” Roakala scoffs.

“Look we can do better, let’s start over. We would love to join your party, how much does it pay?”

“Well” Diljaris replies, examining the pair “if I decide on your eligibility, everyone in the party is subject to an equal cut to all treasure and payments we receive during our time together. That is of course if they are able to earn it?

“And how do we go about becoming eligible?” Drugnar continues, looking over the notes she continues to scribble neatly into.

“Through a simple trial. The first step you are already a part of. The next step I, if you move on, will be trial by combat. We will go down into the dungeon and you can properly showcase your skills there. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Why are you here? What do you want to achieve?”

“Well my friend, I need the money and any amount helps. My young excitable friend here wants to make a name for himself. They say those who are able to explore this dungeon in it’s entirety will gain access to unimaginable riches and become legends in the process. Is that reason enough?” Diljaris continues to fill the pages with notes. She mumbles to herself in draconic. A few moments of this pass when the dwarf turns to Roakala and asks “Is your friend ok?”

Roakala shrugs “She’s not my friend, I just met her today”

“Oh hush Roakala. We’re friends, you just don’t know it yet” She says as she shuts the notebook with an audible thump. “Well after careful review of all of the potential candidates I have come to the decision to move you all to the next phase.

“Aren’t we the only candidates?” Roakala asks.

Diljaris ignores the Remark and continues “You have proven to be the most promising of the lot. Congratulation. Now eat up, get some rest we start tomorrow morning”

“Err what are we doing?” Gorak asks, breaking his brooding silence.

Diljaris perks up and smiles sweetly. Her tail wags back and forth slowly. “Isn’t it obvious? Down into the Dungeon”

Photography, Poems

The Clouds Roll in at Midnight

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And as I watch the clouds roll in, I’m hopeful for the rain. I’m hopeful for the change they will bring and the new day ahead.

It is easy to get hung up on the small inconveniences life brings. Like rain or having a bad day. It’s even easier to waste time trying to control every aspect of life seeking perfection, but life isn’t perfect. Life is as unpredictable as a Summer storm and the truest test of character is having the ability to roll with fates unpredictable flow. Adapting and persevering is part of the human experience.

Be hopeful and keep moving forward.

Shot with an iPhone 12

Photography, Poems

Today is a Fireball

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Lately I’ve been contemplating my own mortality. A natural step in the human experience. It unavoidable truth that forever looms over us the moment we step out of the womb and despite trying to forget it’s existance, it is a truth that is forever present.

I wonder if animals ponder on this too. If in the late state of their cycle, they sit and reminise on the good times and count the days till it’s all over. They say when cats know they are about to die, they find a place to die in secret. I wonder if they do so to spare loved ones from knowing loss.
 
And I’ve known loss, as you probably have. I have known the pain of not having someone around and it broke me. And I think about my aging family. I think about how they can no longer run after me or toss me in the air. I watch as they go in and out of hospitals. Every surgery or diagnosis weighs on me heavily and I wonder each time if this might be the last time.

I wonder what our last memory will be. Will I get to say goodbye? Will it be recent? Will anyone be there to remember me?
 
A man I know once said:
 
Tomorrow is not garanteed. The health you have today may be gone tomorrow, so make sure you do what you have to today.
 
 I think he may be on to something.

Today I will wake up and watch the sun rise. I will watch as the family of geese feed on grass and bugs. I will hug my family. I will watch the sunset. Tommorrow? Who knows about tomorrow, I’m just sipping my coffee and enjoying today.

Image shot with an iPhone 12

Photography, Poems

Grass in the Wind

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A single blade of grass.

Watch as it flows with the morning breeze. Watch as it is wisked away by outside forces. It’s future is predetermined. Its expiration date has been set and yet it still stands tall, uncaring or unconcerned.

 Today it waits for the sunrise. It enjoys it’s majesty. Tomorrow it could ffall and disappear under an emerald current. Or be carried away to make a home for a bird. Gone, leaving in it’s place an empty seat for all who remember it.

Soon a new blade of grass will come to replace it. One with new memories, ideas and dreams. And although it might share the same fate, this one will be different. But this one will stand proudly too.

Shot with a Nikon D90