#6MMRPC Week 18

Managed to squeeze in a couple of hours of brush time this week. Mostly it was spent working out colors for some Frostgrave ghouls. The mini was basecoated in citadel white primer, the flesh is Reaper's vampire skin triad, while the clothing is a mix of Reaper's walnut brown and vampure shadow. A bit of bloody gore was used for the blood and wounds, and the base is Mantic's Blue.

I also returned to the mother & kids mini. I'm gonna be honest, I kinda hate it. Nothing I've tried on it makes me happy with the way it looks. I'm going to work on the faces a little bit, and then I'm done. Maybe put something on the apron.

The other mini I worked on was Rex the Dark Future Hero. I like this guy way more! He's only about half done at this point, but I think I'll be able to finish him up pretty quickly.

#Drawlloween 1-6 and terrain planning

Not too much to say today, except that I decided (late) to participate in Drawlloween. If you haven't seen it (really?) here's the list.

And here are my first 6...

Honestly, pretty terrible... But then, I never claimed to be an artist...  or at least not a good one! My werewolf looks more like a wererat... Let's not talk about the goblin. I'm actually ok with the vampire. And the ghost isn't too bad... We'll see what the next few days brings... I promise it'll be scary!

I've also been thinking about Frostgrave, and the terrain for it. These are a few doodles I've done while thinking about it.

5e WNW - Trolls in the Mountain

5e WNW - Session 27 of the weird new world campaign was played on Saturday 10/3. This was the final session of the campaign, and spanned an entire afternoon rather than the usual 3 hours, and so will be split into two posts.

The party consisted of the following:
Nessendra, Wood Elf Cleric 6 (Erindel)
Kethra, Human Fighter 6 (Nikki)
Bach, Dragonborn Warlock 6 (Erik)
Riia, Human Ranger 6 (Hanna)
Guy Noir, ½ Elf Rogue 6 (Nadia)
Anya Bowen, Tiefling Ranger 6 (Allison)
Egan Gorman "Bingles" Sharpless Rosenberg, Gnome Fighter 6 (Julia)
Zugun, Coffin-bound Human Priest (NPC)

The first order of business after killing a dragon is looting the lair! Bingles was tied to the end of a rope and lowered down the side of the bridge, and swung back and forth toward the cave opening. Guy, after retrieving the javelin of lightning, flew back up, grabbed Bingles, and carried him to the cave mouth. The rope was tied off, and everyone except Bach and Zugun made their way across. Within the cave they discovered that Blightfang had a thing for left shoes, teapots, and a wide variety of bric-a-brac. Aside from these oddities, there was a large pile of coins and gems as well as a couple of magic items! A Tiara of Blasting, a matched set of twinning short swords, and a dwarven maul. Anya claimed the tiara, except for when the party made camp, when Bingles would wear it because it made him feel pretty. Riia claimed the swords, and Kethra the maul.

Returning to the bridge, the party continued on to a doorway set into the sheer side of the mountain. On the face of the door was a trio of nested spinning dials. Nessendra consistently proved that she's "not that kind of cleric" when she blew yet another religion check, all the while proclaiming that she did fine on the tests in school... Guy got bored of watching everyone look at the dial, and flew up to the top of the mountain. There he saw the bowl shaped depression with a black monolith pointing to the full moon directly above. He also saw a doorway leading into the mountain. Figuring that it would take him to the other side of the door, he entered, and took the stairs down... fast! 300 feet later Guy stumbles into a large square chamber. With barely a moment to catch his breath and look around, a large grey head pops out of one of the other doorways, snarls, and lumbers toward Guy, drool dangling from its lips.

Guy turns and runs back up the stairs, flapping his wings for that extra bit of push. He can hear the troll behind him wheezing as it follows behind, but Guy doesn't pause to look, taking flight just as soon as he clears the doorway, and gliding back down to the party. He relays what he found, and they continue to stare at the doorway. Bingles finally gets bored, steps up to the door, and spins the dials! Everyone but Bach scatters for whatever cover and distance they can find.

Click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click the dials go round... coming to a rest... and blasting Bach and Bingles with magical electricity, knocking them back hard. Bach dusts himself off, and starts blasting at the door. With each blast the magical trap goes off, but because of the distance, harms no one. Eventually the door crumbles and the trap is destroyed. Beyond is a long dark hallway... and then some stairs... that lead up to a large room that's familiar to Guy.

Stone pillars line the room, and a large black table with sparkling stones is set in the exact center of the room. At the center of each wall is a doorway...

Unfortunately none of this is seen initially as Bach steps purposely into the room, and is promptly pummeled by a hulking troll that was lurking next to the doorway. Worse, 2 more trolls emerged from the doors and closed to attack. Bingles tries to distract the troll, and ends up destroying the harness he used to attach himself to Bach with, and then slices into Bach's tail! Kethra charges in dropping on troll in a single round. Unfortunately it pushes itself back up to bite her before being knocked back down and flamed. Riia slices and dices with her new swords, while Anya uses her bow and debates using the tiara.

Bingles leaps around the battlefield, keeping behind the trolls as best he can, and mostly is ignored, much to the detriment of the trolls. as seen below.

Searching around, the table is discovered to be a star chart with moonstones set on to the obsidian surface. The troll's lair contains an verdi green brass astrolabe that gives off a faint trace of magic. Another set of stairs winds down deeper into the mountain. Deciding that they've got time, and rather than having an unknown behind them, they descend the stairs...

And find another troll lair!

This time there is only one, and he is quickly put down, but not before grabbing Guy by the face and chomping on his shoulder. The only item of note is the barred door. Guy removes the bar, and opts to try to kick it open. The inward swinging door doesn't give, and Guy breaks his toe. Cleaning out the room, the party rests here for the night. The following morning they see a disturbing sight... The moon above has begun to eclipse, and is also much larger in the sky.

5e WNW: The Return of Blightfang!

5e WNW - Session 26 of the weird new world campaign was played on Friday 9/25.

The party consisted of the following:
Nessendra, Wood Elf Cleric 5 (Erindel)
Kethra, Human Fighter 5 (Nikki)
Bach, Dragonborn Warlock 5 (Erik)
Riia, Human Ranger 5 (Hanna)
Guy Noir, ½ Elf Rogue 5 (Nadia)
Anya Bowen, Tiefling Ranger 5 (Allison)
Egan Gorman "Bingles" Sharpless Rosenberg, Gnome Fighter 5 (Julia)
Zugun, Coffin-bound Human Priest (NPC)

Following the witch's directions, the party heads off. About a minute after departing, Guy gets a funny look on his face, and runs back to the witch's cabin. Using his stashed funds, he buys the lightning javelin, and pumps granny for more information. She doesn't know anything else, but says her patron might, he's older than she is, and could be helpful.

Guy returns to the party, a big grin on his face. Everyone just sighs, and mutters about how Guy has the morals of a tomcat. Climbing up higher into the mountains, the trail mostly peters out, but Anya's skills keep them from mishap. She is that kind of ranger, it turns out! The ruins of an old path on the far side of the river are spotted, but the party sticks to their path. Thanks to Anya, the party makes excellent time, arriving at the bridge near the end of the day.

Spanning the raging rocky river a hundred feet below, the ancient stonework seems remarkably stable, especially given how several large chunks are missing. On the far side of the river a dark cave mouth is set into the cliff. The party sets it's marching order, and begins to cross... keeping a close eye on the cave.

And, predictably, from the cave emerged a massive form that launched itself into the air, diving under the bridge before swooping up and landing on the far side. Her green scales shimmering in the strange glow of the full blood moon, appearing almost black. Blightfang hissed at the party "You! I remember you..."

"Oh mighty Blightfang!" Bach began.

"You did NOT do as you promised... word of my majesty was not spread by you. You snuck off like insects, scuttling away like vermin, breaking your word to me... TO ME! How dare you come before me now..."

"Oh great Blightfang, we were swept away in the currents of time, thrown forward. It isn't that we didn't want to... We most surely did!"

"Excuses! Pitiful squeaking of cave mice has more meaning than your noise. You failed me, and you will suffer..." With a loud crack, she snaps out her wings to their full extent and roars, spraying most everyone with her poisonous breath. Nessendra, Bach, and Bingles are impressed by the sight, but Anya, Riia, Kethra, and Guy are all cowed by the frightful presence of Blightfang's fury!

Riia hides under Zugun's coffin. Bingles decides that discretion is the better part of valor, and hoofs it back to the rest of the party, in spite of not actually being feared.

Guy falls back to where Kethra is bravely cowering, and stops next to her. He's still shaking with fear, but has enough self control to dig his hand down his pants and pull out a long, thick, huge, hard thing and holds it out for Kethra to take. “I've been saving this for you”, he said never taking his eyes off Blightfang. Kethra cringes at the thing she knows resided at Guy's nether regions, but takes it anyway since she really needed it. It was, of course, the Lightning Javelin she'd been eyeing up at the old woman's hut! What were you thinking, Mr./Miss Gutter Mind!?

Kethra throws the javelin! And misses! But the lightning bolt still hits. Blightfang swipes out with her claws, and snaps her jaw. Nessendra calls upon her divine power and glows with a holy radiance filling her party with a sense of hope... that utterly fails to combat the overwhelming fear of Blightfang for all but Anya. Riia continues to hide under Zugun, Guy sticks close to Nessendra. Kethra falls back to Riia's position. Bach keeps trying to talk Blightfang down while blasting at her with his eldritch bolt. Anya uses her magic bow to little effect.

Blightfang moves further along the bridge re-positioning herself over one of the gaping holes and breathes again, exhaling poison gas over most of the party. Guy and Riia drop as the poison eats into their lungs. Blightfang grabs the prone form of Guy, and paws him through one of the holes in the bridge, sending him plummeting down to the rocks below.

Kethra pulls a healing potion from her pack, pushes Zugun off of Riia, and forces the fluid down her throat. Blightfang bellows, seems to jump slightly in place, and then falls over onto her side, a gaping hole in her belly. The party stares in shock as Blightfang's belly bulges and shifts. Out of the wound, Guy emerges, covered in guts. His black batwings slide out behind him, drooping with the gore. He flicks them to shake off the worst of the mess.

Most of the party takes a step back. "And where did you get those?!?" Nessendra asks.

"What, these? Always had them..." Guy grins, waving his hand as if to brush aside the question. "Let's check out the cave!"

Sunday Inspirational Image: Black Magic

By Marko Manev

#6MMRPC Week 17 + 18

Man, I don't know what it was about September exactly, but it was a bad hobby month.  I did a little work on Kaladrax, a little terrain building, and that's about it...

To be fair to myself, I've been distracted by real life and by Frostgrave. A game that makes using all those character minis from Bones I and Bones II possible?? A fun skirmish game?? That's a great excuse to make terrain?!? Yeah, a little distracted.

So, there's 2 months left in the challenge... here's what I think I'll spend that time doing.
Finish Kaladrax (so close...)
Dragons Don't Share II (this is the big one!)
Some undead for October
Various Terrain projects
 
The terrain projects you've already seen one of. The other is going to be a bit of a group challenge, but there will be more on that later! Until then, I'm going to go work on Kaladrax!

The Witching Hour Approaches!

This is my favorite time of year... The heat of summer has past, the leaves are turning on the trees, apple cider is in the stores, and it's still too early to be thinking about Christmas. It's the perfect time to hit the trail, pick a pumpkin, and sit by a fire in the chill of the evening...

With Halloween fast approaching, it's also time to turn the blog over to the ghosts, ghouls, and other things that go bump in the night! Some will be revisits of old posts, some updated monster for 5e, and some appropriately themed minis.

To kick it off, here's something from way back in the first year of my blog...


"The Witch of the Deep is an enigmatic figure found in a dark corner of the dungeon, with powers not well understood.  But she is powerful, make no mistake.  That's why those who lair near her fear her.  How she makes use of that power is why they respect and call upon her.  She's something of a fortune teller, and whenever the locals are about to do anything they feel may be dangerous, they check with her first." The bearded man paused to wet his lips with the ale before him.  "If you're going to go see her, you'll want to be prepared.  She'll appear in one of three guises: A fair maiden in the blush of her youth, a pleasant matron, and an old crone.  You'll need to treat her differently depending on how you find her.  As a maid she is selfish and a little cruel.  Bring her gifts and flatter her.  As a matron she'll be more inclined to be helpful, especially to those who appear younger than her.  As a crone she'll be crotchety but lonely.  Don't let her attitude put you off."  He paused, a look of anguish washed over his face.

"Anything else you can tell us?" Feris asked.

"Yeah, if you're looking for something, talk to her.  Little goes on without her notice, but don't expect the answers to be clear.  She occasionally makes potions and charms, if she's kindly disposed.  And sometimes she wants things, and is willing to trade.  Don't cross her though... her curses are most potent."

"We thank you for your help" Allianora said, sliding the pouch of coins across the table. She and her companions stood, and left the man to his drink.

"Poor bastard" Nimble said as they walked away.

The Witch of the Deep 

Armor Class: 6
Hit Dice: 8* (M)
Move: 90' (30')
     Fly: 240' (80')
Attacks: 1 weapon or 1 spell + Special
Damage: 1d6 or by spell + Special
No. Appearing: 1 (1)
Save As: MU8
Morale: 9
Treasure Type: F, N
Intelligence: 18
Alignment: Neutral
XP Value: 1,750

Type: Humanoid (Unique)
The Witch of the Deep will appear in one of 3 guises.  Depending on which guise appears her spell list and special abilities will vary.  Every time she is encountered roll 1d6, on a 1-2 the maid will appear, on a 3-4 the matron, and on a 5-6 the crone.  No matter the guise, she will always be garbed in black robes and equipped with a variety of items, including a broom of flying, which she can attack with for 1d6 points of damage. Her cauldron will always be lit and full, and she wont hesitate to add anyone who attacker her to it's contents.  The Witch can curse 1 opponent per round (as per the remove curse* spell), in addition to attacking, but not spell casting.  Her lair is also protected by a green Amber Golem.

The Witch also has the ability to read fortunes - see note below.

At the DM's discretion the Witch may have a variety of potions, scrolls, charms, minor miscellaneous magic items available for trade.  She will never accept cash for these items. 

The Maiden is a young looking (early teens) creature seemingly sweet but with a cruel and selfish streak a mile wide.  She knows she is better than you are, and isn't afraid to share that information.  Really, that's the only thing she shares well.  Her reactions will be improved with the offering of a sufficiently pretty gift, but only for that encounter.  She quickly "forgets" earlier gifts.  She can cast spells as an 8th level magic user and has access to the following spells: 1st Charm Person, Detect Magic, Read Magic, Sleep, 2nd Detect Invisible, ESP, Invisibility, Locate Object, Phantasmal Force, 3rd Clairvoyance, Dispel Magic, Hold Person, Protection from Evil 10', 4th Charm Monster, Confusion, Polymorph Other, and Remove Curse. 

The Matron will always be smiling, but it can be a dangerous smile.  She will offer anyone not openly hostile a cup of tea.  While she is far more willing to assist those who come to her than the Maid, she expects that her price for any assistance is paid in full.  She casts spells as an 8th level cleric.

The Crone is old, tired, and crotchety.  Above all that however she is lonely, and if visitors can get past her attitude, they'll find her the kindest of the 3, but if they upset her, her curses are also the worst.  She is more likely to give more than she gets in return for those who have not upset her.  The crone casts spells as an 8th level druid.

Reading Fortunes
The witch will tell the fortune of those who ask and are willing to pay for it.  The price can vary from some cash to hens teeth.  Each of the aspects uses a different method for fortune telling.  The Maid uses cards, the Matron reads tea leaves, and the Crone has a bag of bones.  For everyone who has their fortunes told, roll a 1d6.  The witch's current reactions toward the players will provide a -1 (for poor reactions) to +1 (for positive reactions) adjustment to the roll!  On a 1or 2 roll use the Negative chart for the appropriate aspect.  3or 4 the Neutral chart, and on a 5 or 6 roll on the Positive chart.  Any curse like effects can only be removed by a caster of 12th level or greater due to the Witch's power.

Maid - Positive
1 Roll again on Maid Neutral
2 Earn double XP for next monster defeated
3 Gain +1 to next save
4 Gain +1 to damage for next 24 hours
5 Gain +1 to hit for next battle
6 Gain 2d6 Temporary Hit Points
7 Gain permanent +1 to Charisma
8 Roll again on Matron Positive

Maid Neutral
1 Roll again on Maid Negative
2 Suffer -1 to hit for next 24 hours
3 Reroll next save, keep 2nd
4 Next to hit roll that is a 1 weapon breaks
5 Next to hit roll that is a 20 inflicts double damage
6 Next gem found is 50/50 worthless or double value
7 Gain +1 to damage for next 24 hours
8 Roll again on Maid Positive

Maid Negative
1 Roll again on Crone Negative
2 Suffer an extra point of damage from all attacks for next 24 hours
3 Suffer -10% to next treasure found
4 Suffer -50% to next treasure found
5 Suffer -2 to hit next 24 hours
6 Suffer -2 to all saving throws next 24 hours
7 Lose 1 from Charisma permanently
8 Roll again on Maid Neutral

Matron Positive
1 Roll again on Matron Neutral
2 Learn the location of a minor magical treasure
3 Wandering monsters reduced 50% next 24 hours
4 Gain +2 to detecting secret doors next 24 hours
5 Gain +1 to AC next 24 hours
6 Restore previous/ignore next energy drain
7 Gain permanent +1 to Constitution
8 Roll again on Crone Positive

Matron Neutral
1 Roll again on Matron Negative
2 No healing for the next 24 hours
3 Suffer -1 to all healing next 24 hours
4 Perishables spoil over next 24 hours (potions included)
5 Gain +1 to hit +2 to damage next 24 hours
6 Gain +1 to all healing next 24 hours
7 Gain 6 temporary hit points
8 Roll again on Matron Positive

Matron Negative
1 Roll again on Maid Negative
2 Reroll all failed wandering monster checks, +1 wandering monsters encountered
3 Suffer -1 to detecting secret doors
4 50% of all party perishables spoil (potions included)
5 No healing next 7 days!
6 Lose 1 from Constitution permanently
7 Map to magic treasure, doesn't mention trap or guardians
8 Roll again on Matron Neutral

Crone Positive
1 Roll again on Crone Neutral
2 Earn double XP next 24 hours
3 Location of a magical treasure and info about traps/guardians
4 Gain +2 to AC for next 24 hours
5 Learn the weakness of an upcoming monster
6 Gain permanent +1 to Wisdom
7 Gain 1 potion of healing + 1 random potion "Hmm… here, you'll need these"
8 Roll again on Maid Positive

Crone Neutral
1 Roll again on Crone Negative
2 Gain +1 to AC & suffer -1 to all saving throws next 24 hours
3 Gain +2 to damage & suffer -1 to hit next 24 hours
4 Reroll next to hit of either a 1 or 20
5 Torches & lanterns illuminate an extra 10', but burn twice as fast
6 Character can see in total darkness, but strong lights cause -1 to hit +1 to AC
7 Suffer -1 to Dex & Gain +1 to Strength
8 Roll again on Crone Positive

Crone Negative
1 Roll a 1d6+1 twice on this chart!!
2 Prime requisite reduced by half for the next 24 hours
3 All wandering monster encounters are with max creatures for 1 week
4 Suffer -4 to all reaction rolls next 24 hours
5 Character will go blind & deaf over the next 4 days
6 Character will lose half their hit points permanently
7 Lose 1 from prime requisite permanently
8 Roll again on Crone Neutral