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Showing posts from June, 2025

Raven - Creation Influences

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Raven is based largely on Madmartigan from "Willow". This is probably not that unexpected. Madmartigan claims to be "the Greatest Swordsman that Ever Lived." But, you may be surprised to learn that he is also based on Ernie Keebler. Green Coat? ✔️           White Shirt? ✔️  Yellow Pants? ✔️         Red Shoes? ✔️  The only thing I can't get my image generator to make correctly is his hat which should look like the one worn by Zorro, but red instead of black. It keeps making him look like an escapee from the set of a "Three Muskateers" movie, or worse, like Will Turner at the end of the first "Pirates of the Caribbean".

Silvanost - Battling the Dimensional (Parts 5 & 6)

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Romulus continues his spellcasting, his total concentration focused on χρόνος and the binding magic. χρόνος rages against the enchantments being laid upon him then suddenly stops. A voice speaks directly into their minds. "You cannot hope to contain my corporeal form. Cease your attempt or I shall visit my vengeance upon you and your forebears, erasing you from existence." The two duplicates facing Raven redouble their efforts. Both attack with great, sweeping arcs of their tendrils. Raven's blades weave a mesmerizing dance of defense, reaching out to parry swings before they can generate any momentum, anticipating the intended angles of their blows. With each deflected or interrupted blow, he snips away shreds of cloud-infused limbs. The creature sickened by Ra’ziir's smoking sword peels away from the bladesinger and washes over one of Shadow's summoned angels. Both visibly speed up, vanishing in the ether as they slip out of the timeline. Ra’ziir maintains hi...

Monster Truckers - Gordon the Gill-Man

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I promise that I am working on the next part of the binding of Time Dimensional but I had an idea for another Monster Trucker character so I thought I would do it up real quick. NAME: Gordon CB HANDLE: Chum Bucket Height: 7'4"     Weight: 300 lbs.     Eyes: Black     Hair: None     Age: 93 MONSTER TYPE: Gill-Man ARCHETYPE: Brawny Background: Hailing from the swamps and bayous of Louisiana, Gordon is just trying to make an honest living. Description: Gordon has pronounced lips and moss green scales all over his body, as well as gills located on the sides of his head which is directly connected to his shoulders. Perks: Claws, Good Swimmer, Night Vision Quirks: Girl Crazy, Smells like fish I thought a fish man dressed like the Gorton's Fisherman would be an awesome character visual. Gordon: male Sahuagin CR: 2     Medium Monstrous Humanoid (Aquatic) HD: 2d8+2 (14 ...

Silvanost - Battling the Dimensional (Parts 3 & 4)

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  26 Gildember 348 AC Romulus continues chanting, weaving his spell of binding, bolstered by the efforts of Ra’ziir and Kysek. His voice, strident against the roar of χρόνος, pitches low and high, shifting seamlessly between the Draconic, Elven, and Natherese tongues - each word crafted, chosen for the singular goal of binding the Dimensional. χρόνος continues to throw itself against the confines of the magical circle, seeking an escape from the mystic trap that holds it. The duplicates surge forward, two moving against Raven, one against Grotto, and the final one against Arthur. The pair fighting the elf spread out, one seeking to engage him while the other slips past. Raven once again manages to dodge the first attack and parries the other, bringing up both of his swords in an "X" to turn the blow aside. Raven continues to fight defensively, swatting enemies to keep them away from the spellcasters. He jukes left and then reverses course back to the right. The flat of Ni...

Throwback Post - A Cure for Jack

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  "Jack and Jill went up the hill To fetch a pail of water; Jack fell down and broke his crown, and Jill came tumbling after. Up Jack got, and home did trot, As fast as he could caper, To old Dame Dob, who patched his nob With vinegar and brown paper." While the party was in the Grimmlands , they discovered that Jack, Ruler of the Checkerboard Kingdoms, had vanished. His queen, Jill, had been searching for him and enlisted the party's aid. My original plan was to have the party find Jack and then take him to Dame Dob to heal his injury and have his memory restored. The group came up with the idea to restore his memory with a True Love's Kiss. I hadn't even thought of that being an option but it was so much better and fit the setting better thematically so I ran with it. In the final battle with Humpty Dumpty the Rotten King, Cinderella, Maleficent, the Fallen Muse, and Grotto's brother, Delve , the group managed to reunite Jack and Jill in time for he...

Why We Haven't Changed Systems

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I came across an article the other day and it got me to thinking. Look at your character sheet. Think about the time and effort that went into making the character that piece of paper (or electronic screen) that represents. I converted from 2nd edition to 3rd and then to 3.5. It took hours, in some cases a day or two, to switch from one ruleset to the next while maintaining the original "feel" of the characters.  I have the 5e books. I read through them. There is NO WAY that I could take the characters we have and faithfully adapt them to the new rules. I may as well just start over. But we haven't reached the end of our story yet. I want to see how it all turns out.  So, at least for this campaign, I'm sticking to 3.5e.

Silvanost - Battling the Dimensional (Part 1 & 2)

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26 Gildember 348 AC As Romulus' circle closes, χρόνος begins to rapidly flicker in and out of visibility, hurling itself against the inside of the magical circle. Each impact causes orange smoke to roll up the sides of the unseen barrier. The cloud rears back, taking on a vague humanoid shape that extends an arm. Droplets of mist spray from the cloud, spattering the invisible wall before slowly oozing down like rain on a windowpane. An angry, thunderous roar, more felt than heard resonates through the ground, sending vibrations up through the soles of the party's feet and sets their teeth to chattering. The roar is answered by a chorus of similar calls. At the edge of the trees, an orange mist, rises like ground fog from the forest floor. It flows along the surface, separating into four individual columns that rise up to a height of ten feet and begin gliding toward the party. Raven eases forward, moving between χρόνος 's duplicates and the spellcasters. Arthur and Grotto...

Monster Truckers

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Monster Truckers is a game that was recently funded on BackerKit. You play as a monster (Vampire, Ghost, Werewolf, Mummy, etc) driving big rigs through a Mad Max-esque landscape following a war between monsters and humans. The monsters lost and were largely de-powered by Necrotechnic (NT) Bombs. I have no idea how long I am going to have to wait before I receive my reward for supporting the game but I have begun batting around character ideas. This is my favorite so far. NAME: Samael (a.k.a Sam) CB HANDLE: Asmodeus Express Height: 1'6"     Weight: 8 lbs.     Eyes: Red Hair: Black     Age: over 13.8 billion years MONSTER TYPE: Demon ARCHETYPE: Crafty Background: Sam was once a member of the Heavenly Host. He was the being who planted the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and was subsequently banished and cursed by God. Description: Sam is an 18" tall, red-skinned "demon" with tiny horns, a black goatee, an...

White Court Vampires for d20 - Revised

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As mentioned in my notes on Earth-218 , characters from the Dresden Files exist in my campaign although I suspect that they will do their own thing while my players do theirs. That said, it seemed like a good idea to at least rough out some of the races that the players could come into contact with. That said, I present my take on a d20 version of the Dresden Files White Court Vampires.  Th e White Court is a breed of humanoids that feed on the emotional energy of others. They prefer to employ pawns and political manipulation to open conflict but are deadly combatants if pressed. Despite their name, they are not undead. Sample White Court Vampire Aristocrat 3 CR: 5     Medium Humanoid (White Court) HD: 3d8+3     Hp: 19 Init: +7     Spd: 30' AC: 15 (+3 Dex, +2 Natural), t: 13, ff: 12 Attacks: (BAB +2; Grap +3) ; +3 Unarmed: 1d4+1 or +5 Rapier: 1d6+1 (18-20/×2) or +5 Holdout Pistol: 2d4 (20/×2, 30') SA: Lif...

Silvanost - The Summoning Begins

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26 Gildember 348 AC Grotto laughs, "No, hijack an enemy ship! Not one of these elven fishing vessels. We could catch the enemy by suprise!" "Point of interest, when it's a ship that we intend to use for military purposes, it's called Comandeering," Raven replies. "Aye Captain! Then let's commander a few. The elven fishermen can sail. We can fight. We can do some damage rather than letting them even set foot in the ground. Heck, scuttle them at sea. Let the wizard fly out of their range and bombard them with fireballs from above." Grotto then joins the magic users to watch as they fix the bracers. Ra’ziir joins Romulus and the others involved in the ritual. Looking to the halfling, he says, “My only question is, ironically, how long do you expect to complete the ritual?” Romulus shrugs, "If all goes well? It should only take just a few seconds to summon the creature and then a minute to bind it. Of course, should the creature be harder...

Silvanost - No Navy and Spell Prep

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26 Gildember 348 AC Raven, knowing that he must get in time for Romulus' ritual tries to keep his conversation with Eilra brief. (I can't draw and while I friends who can, they do not have time to devote to my little blog. That said, the website I use has drastically changed the "flavor" of its art so Raven is giving off "Duncan MacLeod" from "Highlander" vibes). "My companions and I have come up with a plan. We intend to begin quietly moving elves out of the outlying towns here to the capital. I had thought that we could use the elven ships, which you do not have, to harass the minotaur vessels to prevent them from landing troops on the coast and maybe steal or sink their supplies." Summerwalker shakes her head, "Yes. That would have been a good plan. Perhaps, instead we can create obstacles to place along the beaches where we expect them to come ashore. Maybe even place some just beneath the surface of the water at the mouths of h...

Silvanost - Planning for War

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26 Gildember 348 AC Raven looks over at Lorraine, Alara, Agnes and Ornforithalas, out of uniform for the first time since they met him, and then back to Grotto and replies, "Because it is the right thing to do." Before anyone goes anywhere, Romulus climbs atop one of the tables. "Spellcasters, tonight, we bind the time dimensional. If you have spells that allow you to influence or directly control other creatures, prepare them. We need to... persuade χρόνος to allow this to happen." Ra’ziir nods silently indicating his acknowledgment. “Romulus, I’m not sure of what use I could be as the majority of my spells are for combat and deception. I could prepare Dominate Person and my highest Monster Summons if that would be helpful. Or perhaps Touch of Idiocy could make our quarry stupid enough to agree?If you think they’ll help, I’ll prepare them. Multiple times if need be.” Kysek expresses to his old friend. Shadow nods in agreement. “I've got charms and summoning...