This is Halloween!


Not counting Groundhog's Day, Halloween is my favorite holiday. I have made quite a few Halloween-themed posts over the years and thought I would compile them in one place for DMs who might want to mine ideas for a Halloween-inspired session.


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The Hornets' Nest

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08 Newkolt 349 AC Raven walked out of trees and strode onto the avenue. The prisoners noticed him almost immediately. One archer, his arm bound in a crude, bloodied bandage cried out, "RUN!" Another shouted, "GET OUT OF HERE! THEY'LL KILL YOU!" The commotion drew the attention of the nearest guards. Two ogres exchanged amused glances. They pushed away from the line of prisoners and lumbered down the avenue toward the lone elf. Each stood nearly twice Raven's height. Iron-bound clubs rested lazily across their shoulders. Raven stopped walking. The ogres reached him. One reached out with a thick, meaty hand to grab him by the shoulder. A grin spread across its face. A single step to the right. That's all Raven took as Nightwatcher suddenly appeared in his hand. The adamantine blade traced a silver arc through the cold morning air. Both ogres collapsed in opposite directions, their massive weapons crashing against the pale stones of the avenue. The p...
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And Tarithnesti Will Answer...

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07 Deepkolt 349 AC THE MARCH WEST Raven stopped long enough to pick up two skins of water and some waybread on his path out of town. The first few hours were quiet, almost peaceful, especially compared to the chaos of the morning. The forests of Silvanesti had always carried sound differently. They were designed and sculpted to channel the whisper of leaves and the distant calls of birds, combining them into a musical backdrop. Now there was only the wind. Raven moved through the trees at a pace no normal soldier could maintain. His boots carried him over roots, uneven ground, and steep slopes. The subtle enchantments woven into their soles refused to let exhaustion claim him. But they did not make the journey easy. Raven passed several homesteads early on, including the one where he, Ra'ziir, and Grotto defeated a platoon of Baaz Draconians and Stone Giants. It felt like months had passed but it had only been a few hours. Not long after that, he spotted a hunter's shack...
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Sithelnost Calls for Aid

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07 Deepkolt 349 AC THE PROTECTOR'S TOWER For the first time since sunrise, there is no immediate threat to the city. The defenders of Tarithnesti stand gathered at the base of the Protector's Tower. Over the course of the next thirty minutes, the gemstone blackens and begins to crumble. The magical energy that lent its strength to the bodies of those defending the city fades with it. The bodies of four dragons lie as grim reminders of what was thrown against them. Two red dragons. One white. One green. Their massive forms dominate sections of the streets and forest edge, their scales already becoming trophies, salvage, and eventually memorials. Kysek and Raven explain that they had fought two additional greens on their way back to the city. A ripple spreads through the survivors. Six dragons and the city was still standing. Laborers, mostly dockworkers and crystal miners begin the arduous task of clearing rubble and searching for the bodies of those trapped within. Sh...
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Day Three of the Odinsleep (The Plains of Vígríðr) Part Three

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DAY ONE (Day Three of the Odinsleep), 9:30 am Shadow launches himself into the air, racing to a height even with the face of the towering Jotun.   His rigid metallic fingers struggle to perform the precise motions required for the spell and the arcane power is slow to respond.   The dark elf shouts, “ Πυροσβεστική ” and points at the massive giant but the fireball fails to detonate. Raven, still shaking off the blow from the Jotun’s grazing axe, grabs the hilt of the cursed sword, Thorgrim.   His vision instantly goes red as rage floods into his body.   All thoughts of tactics and strategy are swept away by the primal desire to hit, slice, stab, and kill the giant standing before and all around him.   The elf snarls, spitting foam as he dashes in between the Jotun’s feet.   The cold iron blade, enchanted specifically for giant-slaying burns in his right hand as it rips through the giant’s thick boots, slicing into the tendons and ankle bones while...
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Beldam (Other Mother from Coraline)

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I watched the movie “ Coraline ” for the first time this weekend.   Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen snippets of the film here and there over the years and I recognized the character when the movie started but I have never sat down and Watched the movie (or read the book).   By the time the show was over, I have to admit that I was fascinated by the entire thing.   The animation and pacing were incredibly well done and the main antagonist was delightfully wicked.   This is who I want to focus on today – Beldam, a.k.a. the Other Mother.   Some viewers may think that she was some sort of demon, offering children their heart’s desire in exchange for their souls, much like a crossroads demon but I feel like she more closely resembles a faerie, a member of the Unseelie Court who is allowed a great deal of independence in her operations.   I also think that since the protagonist, Coraline, was just a child that Beldam wouldn’t necessarily have been overly power...
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The Battle for Tarithnesti (Part 11)

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  07 Deepkolt 349 AC ON THE BANKS OF THE THON-THALAS Grotto motions to Ornforithalas, "Let’s send the archers to try to flank them. Me, you, and a couple other can go straight at them to draw their attention. Perhaps we can end them this way." The guard captain listens to Grotto's plan and agrees. He motion for fully half of his archers to break off and swing around to the far side of the Draconians. Jensolyn frowns, "I don't recognize the kind in the middle. Grotto looks again. The center draconians stand a little over six feet tall with the curling horns of a ram. It takes about a minute for the scouts to carry out their flanking maneuver. A bird call signal the captain that they are ready. "On your signal, master dwarf," Ornforithalas says. THE PROTECTOR'S TOWER The beam from the Protector's Beacon washes outward across Tarithnesti, flowing over the walls, through the streets, and across the ancient trees surrounding the city. Every de...
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