Ghosting Sunrise
All posts by josechurape
It’s a Kitty
Shot with an iPhone 12
Stilted Silhouette
Shot with iPhone 12
Sombrero on the Lake
Shot with an iPhone
Sunrise Reflected
Taken with an iphone 12
A Portal by the Docks
Announcement
I will not be going a normal post this week, I am not quite happy with the story that I am working on yet so that will be postponed for next week. Stay tuned for that.
Instead, I will use this time to announce a project that I am starting up. Moving forward, I will no longer be doing movie reviews and will instead be focusing on my creative writing, specifically working on D&D content but there is always a chance I might move from that later down the road. I am having a lot more fun writing stories than criticizing movies so this seems like a very logical move.
As for my announcement, I will be starting up a new ongoing series based on my running of the published adventure “Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage” by Wizards of the Coast. I will be taking some creative liberties and changing parts of the adventure to better suit my narrative, but there will be spoilers and you have been warned. Thank you and have a wonderful day!
D&D Sessions:A Chat With the Mayor
This is part of a longer ongoing series. Click here to see all the parts.
The party arrives at the village of Chris after a few days of travelling. They’ve grown weary of Rodrigo’s terrible jokes. The sight of the town fills the party with the relief that they would get to part with the new addition to the crew.
“I was going to tell a time-traveling joke, but you didn’t get it.” The party groans. B.U.D. claps and lets out a genuine laugh. “Get it?” B.U.D. says, unable to hold back his laughter “Because he went back in time and told us the joke!” The party groans louder. Their pace quickens towards the village.
It is about noon when they arrive to Charis. Charis is a small logging village hidden in the Lotusden Greenwood, away from most of the world. It’s a rustic quiet village whose draw is it’s quaint charm, but today all this is undermined by its current state of disrepair. The houses are dirty, with planks of wood falling from its face. The windows are boarded up and the party walks over puddles of shattered glass that have settled into the dirt. There are a few people out and about. Most of them are guards who are busy with apprehensive gazes that scan the tree lines. They take no notice of the passing party except to give half-hearted greetings. Those who are not guards are in a rush and don’t acknowledge the party.
It’s about noon when they make it to town. The streets are empty except for the few guards who keep an apprehensive watch towards the treeline. They take little notice of the party except to exchange a quick polite greeting. Eventually the party asks for directions to the mayor’s house. A guard points the way, but his gaze never leaves the tree line. They make their way to the center of town where, although the buildings seem to sit in a better state, they are also in a state of disrepair that has become the theme of the town. The mayor’s house is not much bigger than the buildings that surround it. It is built like a personal home, with nothing to distinguish it from the rest of the houses. As the party approaches, they notice deep scratches along the door and frame of the house all belonging to different animals. There is a blackened ring of burnt wood where a lamp used to hang. Bits of glass still linger scattered about, mixed in the ashes. Zarmir walks up to the door and knocks loudly. There is a moment of silence before the door opens revealing a young blond finely dressed man. There are dark circles under his blue eyes. He looks puzzled by the strangers at the door.
“Oh hello. Do you have business with the mayor?” He says as he looks over each of the members carefully.
“You aren’t the mayor?” B.U.D. Asks.
The young man laughs nervously. “Me? Oh no I am just his assistant, Albert. Do you have business?”
“Yes, we’re are here from the school. We are here for a job. I have a letter” Tal says he pulls out a letter that with the dark red wax still sealing it’s contents. The symbol of the school, a screaming beholder with the initials XSH written neatly under.
The young man takes the letter and examines it without opening it “Please come in, we’ve been expecting you. You must be tired from travel.”
“Yes, quite” Zarmir exclaims. They follow him into a modestly decorated house. There is a bookshelf with unmarked books against one of the walls and a small desk and chair in which to read them. There are clear signs of neglect as thick puddles of dust collect and stick to every inch of the room. They follow the young man into an adjacent room where an older man is busy writing in a ledger. He stands when they enter the room. Confused by the strange company, he looks towards the young man who in anticipation says “This is the party the school sent over to help us with our issue” He hands over the letter.
The man looks at the seal and without breaking it, he sets the letter down on the table on top of a stack of disorganized papers and books. He is an older man with gray and thinning hair. He has a slender frame and behind his glasses lie deep dark circles, deeper than those of the assistant. He clears his voice and addresses the party “Welcome, I hope you’ve done well in your travels. You must be tired, please sit, would you like something to drink? Some water, tea?”
“Tea would be nice, if it’s not too much trouble” Tal is the first one to speak up. The mayor motions for his assistant to bring the party some refreshments.
“I am relieved to have you here. We have been requesting aid for quite some time, but you are the first and only to actually come and respond. We can’t afford much I am afraid to say, so we are forever grateful for your presence. I don’t know how much you know of this arrangement, but we don’t have that much money so at this point we can only pay you in gratitude”
“We aren’t getting paid?” Varus snaps
“Oh we already paid the school, it was part of the agreement. We pay them half, they send aid, and then we send the other half when the job is done. Did they not inform you?” the mayor answers, looking worried and sounding anxious.
“They didn’t tell us shit” Varus replies.
“Well that was the deal I have the contract somewhere here” He says as he begins to look through the mess on his desk “We can’t afford to pay you guys right now. We sent the money over” He continues to shuffle through the pile
“What is it we’re doing exactly?” Tal chimes in.
“Oh my apologies. We have been having issues with animals attacking our humble village.”
“We’re here for Animals?” Zarmir checks
The mayor steals a worried look towards Zarmir. He worries that the party will leave for having to deal with a problem so trivial. He desperately explains “I know. I know what this sounds like, but these aren’t normal animals.”
“How aren’t these animals normal?” Tal asks as he pulls out a small journal and a pen to jot down notes.
“Well when it all started, we thought it was just animals too. Animals that got rabies or maybe someone stepped on a nest. It started slow at first, there were odd instances of small birds and mammals randomly attacking but nothing serious, just strange. But then they started working together, and the attacks became coordinated. Then the type of animal changed. It started with birds and small rodents, then it was raccoons and small dogs. Boars. It’s like they are possessed by something. “
“Do you know where it all started?” Jalila asks
The mayor starts riffling through the books and pages scattered on his desk until finally he says “Like I said, we didn’t think about it too much when it all began. We thought it was just animals so it’s hard to pin point the exact time and place it all started. The earliest incident recorded was about three months ago and it occurred near one of our logging sites, right around here” the mayor says as he circles a point on a map of the area that he flips around for the party to see. “We had the most concentration there initially before they started moving in on us”
Tal raises his hand to his chin as he examines the map, without looking up he asks “Can we take this?”
“Please do! It is the least I can do” the mayor responds as he folds up the paper nicely and hands it to Tal.
“Do you have any working theories on what might be possessing them?” Jalila asks.
“Well we don’t have any working theories. We’ve searched the area but there doesn’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary. At least not how we understand it” The mayor responds.
“Tell them about the witch” the assistant says as he stands at the doorway, listening intently.
“What witch?” Varus asks, growing suspicious.
“Come now there’s no need for that” the Mayor interjects “There is no witch, that is just mean town gossip”
“Stop protecting her!” He exclaims, his face turning red, “This whole thing started when that old woman moved to town”
“What woman? What are we talking about?” Jalila asks concerned.
“There are people in this town who think, wrongfully so I might add, that Willow, the older woman who moved recently is behind the whole ordeal because the troubles started when coincidentally right around the time she moved to town. She is harmless and keeps to herself, there is no need to bother the woman”
“Joan said that she saw her performing strange rituals at night. She speaks in tongues and collects strange plants and creatures in jars” The young aid continues as he tries to convince the room on his theories.
“Well Joan is a drunk and we can’t go around trusting everything she says she saw. Just the other day she was in an uproar about the seeing Tiamat in a potato” The mayor changes his focus towards the party with a look of sincere apology on his face “Please ignore him, he is confused”
“Well maybe she knows something regardless. Doesn’t hurt to check all our leads. Where does she live?” Tal asks, still jotting down notes. Glancing over papers in hopes that they might reveal more.
The mayor examines the party and thinks for a second. “I will only give you her location if you give me your word that you won’t hurt her”
“I can’t make that promise” Zarmir replies, a smile begins to creep towards his ears.
Jalila smacks him on his shoulder “Don’t say that!” she shifts her focus towards the mayor. “We promise she won’t be hurt. We’re just want to see if she knows anything”
“Yes, please excuse my brother, he is just a bit hot headed but he means well” Tal says in an attempt to reassure the mayor of their intentions.
The mayor stays silent as he begins to weigh his options. His eyes find their way to the unopened letter of the recommendation that still sits on top of the pile. A neat stamp of a beholder screaming and the school’s initals, “XSH”, stare back at him in dark red wax. He sighs as he picks up a pen and motions for the map. He says “Okay, but please don’t hurt her, this is all just a huge misunderstanding” He marks up a point on the map opposite of the initial marking. “She lives in a small hut around here. You can’t miss it. It is the only building out there”
The aid grows visibly angry. His face is bright red, his eyes are blood shot, and his fists quiver as he says “Watch out. Make sure she doesn’t put a spell on you”
Without missing a beat, the mayor snaps “Stop it boy! I have had enough of your nonsense. Pick up your things and go home, I am done with you for today!” the young man is paralyzed by the sudden outburst, but he regains his senses, grabs his belongings and walks out. He murmurs something incoherent under his breath as he storms out of the house.
“I am sorry about that” the mayor says as he fixes his collar ” He means well, it’s just this whole situation has us all stressed. The people are desperate for a solution so they can go back to living their normal lives. I don’t know where this whole witch nonsense started but it’s getting out of hand. I am doing my best to quell it but people are tired of waiting” He stares after the aid who is no longer visible and becomes lost in thought. A clear moment goes by before he regains his composure and says to the party “Please be kind to the old lady. If there is a witch in these woods, it won’t be her.
“We will see” Varus murmurs as he pulls out his flask and takes a swig.
Jalila shakes her head and sighs “Ignore him too. We will be kind and cordial” Jalila moves forward and places her hand on the mayor’s shoulder. He looks exhausted and it is clear he hasn’t gotten much sleep. She notices the old stains on his clothes and he smells dirty. But she also notices the sincerity in his eyes and reassured by his request.
He moves up to her and grabs her hand “Thank you so much. This means so much to us. If there is anything we can do for you, please let me know”
“Where can we sleep? Do we get food?” Zarmir asks
“Oh right, you can try the tavern in town “The Sleeping Toad”. We haven’t been getting much in the way of visitors so there should be rooms available. As for food, it’s not great, but it will fill you up”
“We can make it work” Varus says as he walks out of the room.
“We will come back if we get anymore leads” Tal says shaking the mayors hand before following the group out into the street.
“If it’s all the same to you all, I rather sleep outside” Varus says ” I feel safer at the edge of town away from the people. It’s harder to be surprised”
“I agree with Varus” Zarmir says “I’ve got weird vibes from this town”
Tal stops and turns to his brother and loudly exclaims “You litterally just asked for food and a place to stay”
Zarmir lets out a laugh at his brother “We both know I am not the smart one”
“Agreed” Jalila smirks “So I guess we’re camping”
Homebrew Idea: Inspiration for Boss Fights
I want to spend this post talking about another homebrew idea that I am working on. While not unique at all, I think it will help make my boss encounters feel different that the normal or random encounters. I believe that my combat is the weakest part of my campaign. Part of that is because I am not a very good war gamer, but mostly because I seem to have been cursed by the dice gods themselves. I must have been horrible in a past life with all the 1’s I roll. Sure I could simply fudge the dice or fix the modifiers, but my players don’t really appreciate that. Instead, I came up with an inspiration system for the boss fights.
I got to thinking, why can’t monsters and earn inspiration for the good they do while the players are off doing their adventure. Here is what I propose, bosses and mini bosses should have access to inspiration points that they can bestow to their minions. This is a finite resource that will be based on the PC’s level when they face the boss. This means that a boss facing a level 5 party will have 5 points to spend on re rolling attacks and saves. Mini-bosses will have access to half of these points rounded down. I think this will be al little more fair than fudging dice and it will at the very least make the boss fights seem harder. With my luck however, I will probably waste all the points re rolling only to get a 1’s.
In the future I think I would like to be able to exchange these points to give the monsters different tactics. This is similar to how it works in Warhammer where spending a certain amount of points will give the monsters access to different tactics. For example, maybe I can spend two points and gain an extra attack or three points to cast a spell.
A lot of the time I feel I spend my time researching and working hard to make a cool encounter for my party, only to have them cheese it in one go because I roll like terribly. I want to make it clear, I am not out to kill my players. The main focus of my campaign is not the combat but the collective narrative that we are creating. The problem is that I have players who like combat and as a DM I need to make sure that these players have their needs met. I think introducing this system into my campaign will make it the choices they make valid and still have the randomness that makes the game enjoyable. It is good to fail, but I have had my players look for the boss after they have killed him because they cheesed the whole encounter quickly.
I think most importantly, I spend hours working on a campaign, I should be able to have fun and do cool stuff too. Are there any ways that help you with your encounters? Do you fudge rolls? Let me know.
D&D Sessions: The Road to Charis
This is part of a larger series. Check out the full story here!
It was a warm day when they leave the school. I few birds fly overhead, slightly obscuring the cloudless sky. A light refreshing breeze passes over them, giving them a brief moment of respite from the heat of the sun. Dust settles on their boot straps as they move carefully through the forest. They leave the mountains and the school behind them. It disappears behind the growing canopy. B.U.D. moves the most confident, despite not quite knowing where he is going. His head is caught up on the parameters of his mission. There are a lot of new and wonderous items in this forest and B.U.D. attempts to collect them all. All in the name of the mothership.
Jalila and Tal follow close behind B.U.D., constantly pulling him back to the path whenever he veers too far from the path. Their sighs become as common as the bird songs that follow them on their journey.
“B.U.D. come back!” Jalila yells, sounding more and more annoyed as the day grows longer. For a moment, B.U.D. will follow the directions and walk at stride with his companions, but this is short lived as something new and shiny always plucks him from the path. Tal and Jalila continue after him. Making sure he never gets too far from the party.
Varus and Zamir keep their distance and watch the spectacle curiously. They are amused by their struggle and never once offer to help. Zarmir chuckles as he watches Jalila and his brother struggle with their large metal friend. Night begins to fall on the party. They are behind schedule but it is getting too dark to move safely through the forest. They search for a safe place to set up camp. Varus builds a small fire. Zarmir sits and chews on some of his dried rations as he polishes his glaive. Tal begins to prep the various ingredients for a rabbit stew. Jalila finds a tree to lean against and drops to her seat. She takes off her boots and massages her feet letting out a sigh of relief. Without looking up she says “We need to tie you up B.U.D.
B.U.D Claps and replies “I had a busy day! Look at all the data I have gathered for the mother ship” B.U.D begins to set down a myriad of rocks, plants and other odd objects he found along the way. He begins to organize it by type and size, mentally documenting the novelty of each item. Satisfied with their placement, he begins to pop each item into his mouth, swallowing it in turn. He savors the item. Not the taste, B.U.D has no sense of taste, but the new experience he collects from each item. As much as he is proud to have collected items for the mothership, it is his own curiosity in tandem that motivates him to complete his mission.
“So” Tal asks as he chops carrots. “What’s the mothership?”
“Thank you for asking” B.U.D. replies with a large grin in his face, “The mothership is where I come from. She made me and she gave me my mission.”
“Excuse me? What mission?” Zarmir perks up. He eyes his metal classmate suspiciously.
“The mothership has sent me to this planet to learn all I can about it” B.U.D. continues to eat away at his collection in between replies.
“What are you gunna do with it?” Zarmir grows more suspicious.
“Do? It is my mission to learn everything there is about this planet for the mothership” B.U.D says, excited to talk about the mothership to his friends.
“Why?” Varus asked, also suspicious by the answers.
“Because the mothership asked me too. It is my mission.”
“This isn’t going anywhere” Jalila chimes in “How do you collect data anyways?”
“Oh it’s quite a simple processes. I put the items I have collected into my mouth. They are pulled down into my, I guess you would call it a stomach, where nanobots break down the item to its basic components. I then analyze said components and collect the data. The data is then saved into my memory at which point it is duplicated and sent to the mothership through a special connection I share with her”
“Ok?” Tal replies, not quite understanding the answer. There is a shared confusion that washes over the group as they try to piece together the nonsense of B.U.D.’s reply. “So, where does the mothership come from?”
B.U.D. perks up at the sound of the question and with his voice full of excitement he replies “Well the mothership has always been. She comes from mothership before that who comes from the mothership before that. And she comes from the mothership before that. And she comes before the mothership before that. And…”
“Ok we get it! But what planet do you come from?” Tal asks.
“I don’t come from a planet. I come from the mothership who comes from the”
“Stop!” Zarmir interrupts, his head beginning to throb ” We get it B.U.D. Thanks” He is unsure what to think of his new classmate or his mission, but he sure is annoyed by B.U.D’s strangeness.
B.U.D. continues eating his collection of items. He wanders a bit as he spots new mysteries around the camp.
The night settles and the only light they share is the fire that sits between all of them. Tal passes out the bowls of hot soup. The sounds of slurping and idle chatter fills the space and drowns out the sounds of the owls and crickets. They watch as the smoke floats away into darkness. Suddenly, a russtling in the forest interupts their peace. They can hear the sound of footsteps crunching at leaves and twigs and moving violently through shrubs and bushes. Arms reach for weapons. Bowls are placed gently on the ground. Bodies stand up quietly and move slowly to greet whatever it is that comes for them.
A lone figure steps out of the forest. He is a slender man with shoulder length black hair. He is sweety and dirty. His hair matted from the sweat humidity. He looks at the party as the feeling of fear and apprehension overcomes him. He throws his empty hands out in a feeble attempt to ward off oncoming attacks and shouts “No wait! I saw the fire and came to check it out. I mean no harm. I’m a bard!”
Zarmir and Varus keep their weapons trained on the stranger. They eye him closely. His clothes are dirty and covered in small tears from travel. Over his shoulders hangs a small worn bag that has begun to fray at the seams. There is no visible weapon on him. Zarmir moves closer, closing the distance between him and the stranger. He places the blade end of the glaive inches from the stranger’s chest. The metal rings that line the dull end of the glaive jingle as the blade comes to a stop. Zarmir in a hostile voice says “Who are you? What are you dong here?”
Caught off guard by the sudden hostility, the stranger nervously lets out “Um. I. My name. My name is. Is Rodrigo and I um. Can you please point that somewhere else?” Rodrigo motions slowly towards the glaive and waits for an answer. Without a word, Zarmir moves closer, now pressing the blade to Rodrigo’s chest. The cold polished steel makes a small cut in his tunic. Rodrigo swears he can feel the blade digging into his skin. He swallows hard, his hands start to shake. Cold sweat starts to run down his back. His voice shakes as he lets out “I’m not. Im not here to fight. I saw the fire and thought you were adventurers. I didn’t want to be alone in the dark in this forest. I’m on my way to Charise. To visit my aunt. I swear that’s all it is. I don’t have any weapons, check my stuff” He drops his small bag by his feet. Zarmir watches Rodrigo closely, still filled with mistrust.
“Back up” Zarmir orders, he pushes the glaive a bit into Rodrigo’s chest who moves back slowly. His hands still shaking and raised. Sweat starts to fall down the side of his brow and glistens with the light of the fire. Zarmir reaches down and opens the bag. He spreads the contents around on the dirt. Within the small bag there is a journal full of stories and poems and songs. A worn out pen and half a bottle of black ink. There is a flute, polished and delicately wrapped in cloth. There are a few dried food rations and a waterskin that is mostly full. Zarmir drops the blade from Rodrigo’s chest. We walks away from the mess he’s made, back to his bedroll where he picks up his bowl and continues to eat. He watches Rodrigo from the corner of his eyes.
Rodrigo picks up his belongings. Taking long breaths as he tries to calm himself. His hands still shake. “So. Would it be all right if I spent the night here with you guys. I won’t be any trouble I swear.” He slings the bag over his shoulder and waits for a reply.
“I don’t see a problem with that” Tal says as he begins to pluck at his lute.
“Thanks a lot. This forest is no joke” Rodrigo drops to the ground and takes off his bouts. He breaths a loud sigh of relief as he wiggles his toes in the fresh air. “So what brings you guys out here?”
Tal still a bit suspicious replies “We are going to Charis to investigate some issue the village is having.
Rodrigo perks up at the mention of the town. “Wow that’s a coincidence. Would you guys mind if I tagged along for the rest of the way? I can play music, tell stories, jokes?”
The party is silent until it becomes uncomfortable. B.U.D. is the first one to break the silence. He says in his happy go lucky tone “Yes that seems logical. We are going the same way.”
Rodrigo eyes B.U.D. curiously. With the tension settled, Rodrigo looks at B.U.D. for the first time. His metallic body glistens in the light of the fire. It isn’t armor, he thinks to himself. At least not the kind that can be removed. “What are you?” Rodrigo finally lets out, not quite sure what to make of this strange creature. He had never seen anything like this. He pulls out the journal from his bag and begins to take notes. He describes B.U.D. in short bullet points.
Metal humanoid. Seems to speak and understand common.
B.U.D. replies ” I am a Biomechanical Universal Diplomat and I was sent here by the mothership to learn everything I can about your planet. People here call me B.U.D.” Rodrigo starts taking notes furiously, squinting at the letters on the page he can just barely make out.
“What is the mothership?” Rodrigo asks without lifting his gaze from his notes.
“Well the mothership made me and tasked me to come to this planet to gather data. She comes from the mothership before that who comes from the mothership before that who…”
The rest of the party move as far away as possible from the two. Jalila and Tal relieved that someone else gets a turn with B.U.D. Zarmir and even Varus chuckle to themselves as they hear the murmurs of the endless loop that is the story of the mothership.