Quest Generator [alpha]

Cemetipede – Tiny undead, unaligned

This peculiar creature is a rare but notorious critter. Once the darkness it stems from is stripped of all its flesh, it emerges and intrudes into to the world of the living – crawling through the smallest cracks of doomed tombs and cursed caskets. The cemetipede is driven by an insatiable hunger and nests close to places where food is plenty. It infests the pits of overcrowded graveyards, snatches rotting remains from shunned battlefields or creeps through the soggy sewers beneath the local butcher’s shop. Reeking of undeath, the cemetipede quickly turns from a pest into a menacing threat for any settlement close by, especially when gathering in decently-sized groups and food supply is running low…

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'Forged monk with one (1) scrapped tool and the final version, a microwave. Please don't reuse without permission.

Greetings!

The infiltration has been a success so far. The crafty heroes have managed to get inside the cult without them noticing their intentions.

After an initiation that almost went horribly wrong, several gruesome missions and a lot of false prayers to Baphomet, they have finally gained the right to visit their dark church.

Besides taking the cult down, they hope to gain access to the Labyrinthine Teleporter: a magic device of immense power capable of taking them to Baphomet’s Labyrinth and many other planes.

But tonight is Offering Night, and a sacrifice is on the schedule too. Can they stop all the evil plans before they are discovered?

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What a horrible way to define a word. “Okay, we need a good way to explain what a dime is. Should I show somebody purchasing something, or making change for a dollar, or anything indicating its value? No, I’m going to show a witch turning it into a frog.”

Dungeon Masters, don’t be afraid to challenge your players!

Sometimes you need to really throw something threatening the party’s way, something out of their league. Not in a DM v Players situation, in a genuine reaffirmment that stakes are real and character death is possible. The goal is never to kill players, but a truly terrifying and epic fight is sure to leave the players feeling awesome for defeating such a powerful enemy.

Challenge Rating is not an accurate measurement of a creature’s strength, a single CR9 could be easily beaten by a band of level 4s. I won’t go into action economy because that’s not what this post is about.

So how do we throw a deadly encounter at our players to make them feel cool?

Well first, pick or redesign a monster to play to the party’s strengths in subtle ways.

Have an archer PC? Give the monster a vulnerable point that’s hard to hit. For example in my most recent game a low level party fought a large clockwork dragon, illusionist and a swarm of cultists, the dragon had 3 weaknesses 1. A maintainance hatch that if hit could deal critical damage, perfect for a rangers well placed and timed arrow to hit. 2. A combustion engine that could be extinguished briefly using our sorcerers water or ice spells. 3. Legs that were vulnerable to attack from the barbarian causing it to lose movement. These weak points were hard to hit and required tactical thinking to approach and exploit adding complexity to the combat. This could be achieved in many ways, perhaps the basalisk has a soft underside that would leave it vulnerable if they could get close enough to strike it, or the armour of a battle ogre has a cannon shot hole in it perfect for a well placed arrow. Make these weak points easy to spot, and hard to act on without forethought.

Second, tailor the environment to the encounter

If your monster is too powerful, give the players pillars and tables to duck for cover behind. Hanging chandeliers or breakable platforms are great assets to an offensive and battlefield changing encounter. But these features aren’t exclusively helpful, powder kegs and coal heaps are great for both players to utilise in strategic attack but also pose a constant threat to anyone close enough that a well placed scorching ray may leave them unconscious. Chances are your players will take on the information and strategise, luring a creature to a dangerous place or having to choose between facing the beast head on or risking a trip over the rickety bridge. My last campaign ended with the PCs ultimately tricking a demon lord to the edge of a cliff before banding together to trip them over. A good set piece may be the foundation to a satisfying fight! (This applies to all encounters not just boss monsters)

Finally, Don’t pull punches!

The players will be way more proud and excited about their victory if it’s earned. Yes, there is a time and a place for fudging rolls or having a monster not attack the lowest health character for a while. But don’t rig the combat, to challenge your players and give stakes to your game the reality that PCs can die is important. So yes, don’t go all out on the players with a monster well out of their league, but definitely don’t turn the frightful beholder into a plush toy who’s eye beams keep narrowly missing while it sits and soaks up damage. There’s a very fine balance you have to find between keeping the fight even and keeping the fight threatening. But in my experience if one or two PCs are downed and the healer is scrambling to save them both, as the fight comes to a close and everyone barely scrapes through alive are usually the ones that get the best reactions. Again the goal is NOT to try and kill PCs, the goal is to push your players to strategise and earn their victories and feel AMAZING going it!

If anyone has any further advice or just stories of a perilous battle feel free to share them, and remember the number one rule of D&D is that everyone should be having fun!

A satin bowerbird inspired Kenku who is absolutely OBSESSED with the color blue. Must roll a wisdom saving roll any time he sees a blue object to master his overpowering urge to obtain/steal that object (a robe, a gem, a flower, etc.) Australian accent encouraged.

Random Faction Builder

How many pies do they have their proverbial fingers in? (1d10)

1-4. They are tightly focused on their singular area of influence. Roll once on the following table. 5-6. Roll twice on the following table. The first result is the field they openly deal in, or what those who know them mostly know them for. The second result is the field they are secretly trying to infiltrate or influence. 7. They serve as a mediary between two spheres, or between certain groups within two spheres. Roll twice on the following table. 8. Roll three times on the following table. The first two results are the fields they openly deal in, or what those who know them mostly know them for. The third result is the field they are secretly trying to infiltrate or influence. 9. They’re jugglers, jacks of all trades. Roll three times on the following table for areas they regularly deal in, plus one time for a field they have their sights on breaking into. 10. They’re everywhere. Roll once on the following table for the one circle they can’t show their faces in anymore.

1d6 Circles of Influence:

1. Government/Politics/Law Enforcement 2. Religion/Faith/Cults 3. Crime/Black Market/Underworld 4. Guilds/Trades/Organized Labor 5. Business/Merchants/Corporations 6. Knowledge/Information/Research

Now, roll 4d6 and assign one die to each of the following attributes, then look at the total on the last table:

Group Size

1. Just a few people devoted to a cause. 2. Enough people that it’s hard to get them all in a meeting together, but not enough people to really split into multiple sub-groups. 3. Enough people to crew a large vessel 4. A pretty big group, church congregation sized. 5. Enough people to populate a neighborhood. 6. If this entire group mobilized it would be a full-scale army.

Financial Power

1. Broke. It’d be a dream just to break even. 2. Surviving. They can get what they need, but can’t afford to expand or to have a large unforeseen expense. 3. Middling. Can use money to further their agenda but must be selective about doing so. 4. Comfortable. This group can afford to make investments. 5. Well-off. Their investments are paying off. 6. Rolling in it. They can solve most problems by throwing money at them.

Age of Faction

1. Brand new. This faction hasn’t existed long enough to have done anything of note. 2. Recent. This faction is probably still made up mostly of founding members, but has had time to make a name for itself. 3. Established. People remember this faction being founded. It may have some original members, but if it does they are old. 4. Pretty Old. This group was established before the oldest currently living generation was born, but in the lifetime of their parents or grandparents. 5. Old. This group was founded hundreds of years ago and has played a roll in many historical events. 6. Ancient. This group may predate the current civilization, and is seen all throughout history books.

Expertise

1. Bumbling. This group is incompetent and lacks basic knowledge. 2. Shoddy. They know just enough to get themselves into trouble. 3. Mediocre. There are no experts in this group but they have meaningful skills. 4. Competent. This group employs some actual experts but still has real gaps in their abilities. 5. Highly skilled. They may not be the absolute best in the business but this group can use skill to address most challenges. 6. Only the Best. This group has a reputation for their expertise.

Total - Overall Faction Influence

4-8  Nobodies. Who even are these losers? 9-12  Small fish in a big pond. This faction has an impact on certain individuals or niches, but are still unimportant enough that none of the big players pay them any mind 13-16  Up and Coming. Enough influence that they need to be careful not to upset the highest tier factions lest they get squashed. 17-20  The big leagues. This faction has a great deal of power but is not infallible. 21-24  Powerhouses. If there is only one faction at this level, they are functionally in charge of the society. If there are multiple factions at this level, their conflicts and machinations can have devastating fallout for ordinary people.

the sun won't consume the earth for another 5-7 billion years.. plenty of time to chill (chills for 5-7 billion years) ah - the sun!!