Halls of the Nephilim

Set in the land of Greyhawk, Scions of Elemental Evil is a free adventure for six level four characters using the new 2024 5e rules. The adventure is tied to the iconic Temple of Elemental Evil. You can grab it for free here on D&D Beyond today.

Uni and the Hunt for the Lost Horn is a new free D&D adventure available on D&D Beyond. It's a 4th level adventure written for D&D 2024/One D&D (or what I'm just referring to as 5.5).

Kelek the evil mage has stolen Uni the unicorn's horn and absconded with it to a demiplane. Players can play as the six heroes from the D&D animated series (and their new cleric friend, Niko) or play as their own characters.

The adventure itself is meant to be played in a single session, so it only features a few encounters. Most of the encounters can be solved with blade and sword or diplomacy.  

If you're a fan of of the series you definitely want to check this out. We get stats for older versions of our favorite protagonists. This includes official stats for their powerful magic items. Finally, Venger, the big bad of the series, even makes a cameo.

The adventure can be played in the Realm the series featured, though there are also prompts for using it on Krynn, Faerun, and Oerth.  

Claim your copy here today.

Been having some mental health struggles so I've missed a few days. Going to play catch up with this post.

Day 21 - "Classic Campaign"

For this one I'm going to talk about Greyhawk. While I've never had a steady game on Oerth, it's an old school setting that's always fascinated me. I had the City of Greyhawk boxed set as a kid and I loved it. I really regret getting rid of it and all my old school D&D stuff when I was in college. For me Greyhawk is a setting with a grand history  I can draw from. However what's great about it is in the end it doesn't matter to my specific game. It's a place that's known and includes names and things my players will recognize. However at the same time I can customize it and make it my own and most of the time my players are none the wiser (because they only have very surface level knowledge).

Day 22 - "Notable non-player character"

One of my favorite NPC's I've used in the past decade or so is Gadof Blinksy, from Curse of Strahd. He's a toymaker with a monkey that players can encounter. He was just a fun character, even though when the party meets him he's fallen into despair. When I ran the adventure the party bard (who was essentially a stand up comedian) bought a Strahd marionette from him that he animated during the final confrontation with Strahd.

Day 23 - "Peerless player"

I honestly don't want to talk about just one peerless player, because I have gamed with some amazing folks. Instead I will list some of the traits on a peerless players. These players show up on time and stay engaged. They get their time in the spotlight, but not to the expense of other players. The bring excitement to the games they play in. 

Day 24 - "Acclaimed advice"

I get the alliteration, but "acclaimed advice" sounds corny af. I'm going to go share some advice I heard somewhere at some point, but has stuck with me. 

"Just roll with it."

Don't get bogged down in games. If you aren't sure what the rules say at a certain point, just keep the gaming going and don't worry about the minutia.

I know other's have posted about it, but I wanted to remind everyone that you just have a few days left to claim The Vecna Dossier on D&D Beyond. This will give you stats and background for the archlich. Grab it here until June 16th.

Also check out my post to learn about the Penis of Vecna...

Recently Tim posted a humorous video about the Head of Vecna in a Facebook group he created. I thought it would be fun to share it, another Chris Perkins Vecna video for folks not familiar with Vecna, and finally a really messed up idea I had based on the Head of Vecna story.

Vecna 101

Mr. Becklehimer is at it again and has released the first one page adventure for his new series of Temple of Elemental Evil adventures. You can find it here (along with links to monsters and npc's related to the adventures). The post also includes a nice breakdown of how to use Josh's OPA's.

I'm feeling the spirit of community today and wanted to direct everyone over to my friend Josh's page, JB Publishing.

Tonight I start a new campaign. My friend +Stew Perkins is going to be running Paizo's The Shackled City for 5e.

I'm playing a lightfoot halfing rogue named Milo Applebrew. He has the guild artisan background, but his guild is essentially his extended family and their businesses. The Applebrew halfings are known for their alcohol and food. Milo is a chef that seeks new experiences, ingredients, and recipes. He also adventures to improve on his stealth and combat skills, because he's following in his grandfather's footsteps and becoming a whisperknife (silent avengers that protect halfling communities). If this sounds vaguely familiar, I used the same concept back in 3.5.

I'm really excited to play Milo. I even ordered a mini for him today. I think I'm going to write in-character journal posts after the sessions.

Halfling Cook

Fold out Sword Coast Map

A letter from Elminster

A smaller second book, Volo's Guide to the Forgotten Realms

Earlier today Wizards posted the product page for their next 5E release, Tales From the Yawning Portal. This book contains 5E updates of several classic adventures:

• Against the Giants
• Dead in Thay
• Forge of Fury
• Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan
• Sunless Citadel
• Tomb of Horrors
• White Plume Mountain

As I mentioned yesterday, I'm contemplating heading to Oerth for the second 5E campaign I run. It's quite possible we'll see an official return to Oerth. Elemental Evil is the second 5E storyline, so I'm hoping its a return to the Temple (and Greyhawk).

Most of what I know about Greyhawk I learned from the City of Greyhawk boxed set (which I sadly gave away years ago.Currently the only Greyhawk materials I own are the 4 part Paizo produced poster maps, Greyhawk Adventures, and the 3.0 Gazetteer. Okay technically I own the atrocious attempt at humor that was was the WG7 Castle Greyhawk. We don't like to speak of that module though.

While I played many early games in a homebrew setting, my friends and I have spent most of our time adventuring in Faerun. The Forgotten Realms books were always more readily available, so it became our default setting. This of course can lead to potential conflict, if a player brings up "in this book so and so says." However, we typically played with the caveat "this is my take on the Realms." I don't have to worry about any of this if I use Greyhawk. I have broad strokes of the setting, which means I can flesh it out however I'd like.

As I mentioned yesterday I'm thinking about putting Death Frost Doom in my next game. While I'm not going to force the characters to push the doomsday button in the adventure, I have big plans if it happens. The followers of Iuz will seek to gain control of the undead to replenish their armies. Yes having an army of the dead isn't the same as an army of fiends, but it can still be useful.

Oh and either way I definitely want to use the Warduke. Whether he gets an army of undead or not, Iuz and the Horned Society (and the Warduke) will have some part in the campaign.

Today is payday and though I don't have much to spare (day care is expensive) I decided to go to Half-Price Books on my lunch. The gaming section of the store I went to has been on a decline the past few months, but I did find two books I wanted.

Day 21 - Favorite Dragon Color/Type

Since the days of 2E my favorite dragon type has the been the Greyhawk/steel dragon. Unlike your typical dragon that has a lair in the wilderness, Greyhawk dragons prefer to live in large cities. Able to shapechange into humanoids, they live among the population. They enjoy art and sometimes will serve as patrons to artists. These dragons tend to be neutral, not really committing to one side in the good/evil spectrum. In 2E they had a more wyvern-esque appearance. In later editions they were made to look more like typical D&D dragons. I personally didn't like this as I preferred their more unique appearence.

I always thought it would be fun to have a thieves guild ran by a Greyhawk dragon.

One of these dragons was mentioned in the Hall of Fame in the 4E Draconomicon: Metallic Dragons. You can read the excerpt here.