an-oger-in-the-wild

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My rogue has proficiency in high teatime. 💁🏻‍♀️

The Assassin's Teapot

The assassin’s teapot is a cleverly designed container that can pour from different reservoirs depending on how it’s held. Steve Mould digs into the physics in this video, and he builds a transparent cutaway version of the pot to show exactly how it works.  (Video and image credit: S. Mould) Read the full article

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Williams Sonoma? Are you watching?

Bronze turkey feet candle holders ca. 1890.

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Betty White, of COURSE you can be an archfey in my next D&D campaign. 💕

If you loved

Our Blessed Rebel Queen: Carrie Fisher

you'll be excited to see her newest companion:

Our Lady of Grateful Camaraderie: Betty White

Check out these two and more at artist Lindsay van Ekelenburg's site and shopify.

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Leather Journals

Kaju Art on Etsy

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Mystictober

Day 17 -  Storm | Day 18 - Coral

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Jonna Hyttinen on Instagram

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Mystical Woodland Animal Art Prints by RivuletPaperShop

x / x / x / x / x x / x / x / x / x

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Survivors’ Bond by Randy Vargas (vargasni) https://www.artstation.com/artwork/Vdeoxg

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Been there, accidentlybwrote stuff like that, didn’t proof it hours later, and stumbled over it while reading the session recap aloud to my PCs. 😅

i just typed the phrase “his eyes like chips of eyes” instead of “chips of ice.” i don’t think i’ve ever seen a clearer cue to go the absolute, immediate fuck to sleep.

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Aberrations vs. Humanoids reconstructing a monstrosity 🤣

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By Tiina Menzel

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It’s been over the course of about a session a month for the last few months, but tomorrow I will be wrapping up a fun little four-shot campaign for a friend and his buddies.  Through the excitement of the game, the party has trekked through two separate ruins - little do they know, the BBEG at the bottom of the current dungeon is the farthest thing from “the end” of the campaign.

There are, of course, moments during a TTRPG where slaying the boss marks the end of a scene, chapter, or story; however, sometimes there is an opportunity to jolt the players back into the of “it ain’t over til it’s over.”  It is for this reason that I would like to post an idea to DMs that is far from uncommon but still exciting nonetheless: forcing your PCs to escape with their lives after vanquishing a creature of immense power.

Imagine, if you will, the death throes of your mighty creature that your party just finished off - perhaps it was an ancient dragon or maybe a powerful lich or even a Great Old One like an aboleth - the party gets their final lick, describing in detail how they go about slaying the entity.  If we are being honest, a normal combat encounter for most parties goes something like this: FIGHT, KILL, LOOT, MOVE ON.  Your adventurers may have grown complacent with the idea of “it’s dead, we’re safe.” 

But what if they aren’t?

As your wizard begins investigating the area for arcane relics, the rogue moves to check for chests and traps while the cleric systematically offers healing to any hurt heroes, all the while thinking that nothing will happen until they choose to move on - though there’s nothing wrong with this line of thinking, it’s fun to both keep them on their toes while also providing agency to a high-level encounter by pitting them against the element of survival.

Picture a group of adventurers who just cleared a mine full of of duergar to claim an legendary artifact or a party who just disposed of a mummy in an ancient pyramid: what would happen if the magic these creatures used within their “lair” dissolved when their life-force(s) were extinguished?  Here are three tips for building a fun escape encounter that doesn’t turn into a monotonous hour of running.

Tip #1 - Set Your Trigger

Decide what will set off the series of events.  Do you have a special magical item for the party to find?  Perhaps removing it from its pedestal will cause a Cave of Wonders effect.  Do you have the group pitted against a creature with arcane abilities?  Maybe killing them results in a magical rift in the space surrounding.

Tip #2 - Know Your Players’ Strengths

Like any skill check challenge, you’ll want your party to play to their strengths: I feel that players get the most satisfaction out of being able to bring something to the table that is unique to them and useful to all.  Many escape encounters focus on Dexterity saving throws, Athletics checks, and Constitution-focused running...which is all fun and games until your party is mostly casters.  Then what?  I propose taking a glance at your players’ character sheets and picking out a few abilities in which they are either “proficient” or considered to have “expertise.”  This way, the barbarian doesn’t have to piggyback the wizard through a gauntlet of physical challenges (and the wizard’s player doesn’t have to feel useless).

Tip #3 - Pace the Chase

Those who use maps during combat like to abide by a creature’s “movement speed” per round to calculate the distance they can move each turn.  This is practical in battles due to the turn-taking nature of those encounters; however, I find using movement speed tedious outside of combat unless a character is unable to keep up with the others (this could be due to exhaustion, unconsciousness, or other details).  In the event that you want to implement an escape or chase encounter, let me encourage an occurrence-based system to drive your “rounds.”  This way, rather than wasting time going through each PC’s “six seconds” of a turn, you can move everyone forward at a standardized speed to different checkpoints (or “occurrences”) instead. These can be traps that force saving throws, obstacles that require teamwork to overcome, or impediments that can be conquered with successful skill checks.  Once the “occurrence” has been faced, you can move them along based on the pass or fail result and proceed to the next checkpoint in the next “round” of the encounter.

So with those three tips, there is the escape encounter I crafted for my PCs (feel free to steal or adjust to fit your own needs):

Great Escape Encounter

As the succubus slumps to the floor, black, thick ichor spills from her mouth; the same fluid begins to pour from the corners of her eyes as she looks up at you all.  She smiles through the viscous black liquid that now frames her nose and mouth as she says with her last breath - "that was fun…but it's probably too late to run."

A bone-chilling cackle erupts from her throat as she falls, vanquished…however, her destruction also spells the desolation of the ruins: as though standing at the epicenter of an earthquake, a low rumble begins to build until you all suddenly find the walls and floors beginning to tremor…and the fiend's final words resonate within your mind - IT’S TIME TO RUN.

Round 1: Raining Stone

Before they even leave the first room, the ceiling begins to break apart and crumble.

Have everyone make a Dexterity saving throw (DC 11) to dodge the falling objects: on a failed save, the target takes 4d6 bludgeoning damage (or half as much on a successful one).

Round 2: Knowing the Way

Having never been to these halls before now, the party must correctly retrace their steps or otherwise risk certain doom.

Have someone roll an Intelligence check (DC 13) to see if they can successfully remember the maze-like corridors to find their way back to the Grand Staircase.

Failure causes them to take the incorrect route, forcing the save from Round 1 again.

Round 3: Unstable Stairway

As the party runs up the Grand Staircase, several chunks of stairs will crumble and fall, creating a large gap that the PCs will have to jump to clear.  Looking down into it, it gives the PCs a feeling of extreme uneasiness as it exudes an aura of pure chaotic evil.  The chasm fades to magical darkness and the echoing sounds of wailing and gnashing of teeth can be heard by all.

Have each PC roll their choice of either an Athletics (long jump) or Acrobatics (parkour-running sideways along the wall then hopping) check (DC 15) to vault the gap.  

On a failed save, another creature may use their reaction to try to catch (DC 17 Athletics check) or cast a spell to aid the fallen PC.  

Failing this check by 5 or more results in barely clearing the gap and thus plummeting into the now gaping, gurgling Abyss.

Round 4: Crumbling Corridors

By this point, the walls, ceilings, and floors have been demolished to the point that it's a toss up as to the safest route to take: even someone with the keenest mind would have a tough time guessing which way would lead to solace.

Have a PC with expertise in Insight roll (DC 17) to see which direction their intuition dictates.

Failure causes them to take the incorrect route, forcing the save from Round 1 again.

Round 5: Watery Walkways

The fountain from the first floor has now flooded most of the first level nearest the entrance.

Have a PC with expertise in Nature roll (DC 19) to discern the safest route to swim to find the exit.

Failure causes them to take the incorrect route, forcing the save from Round 1 again.

Round 6: Triumph or Entombment

A final obstacle stands in the group's way as a massive chunk of stone blocks the exit - this is all that separates them from their two possible fates: being buried alive, or escaping with their lives.

No single PC can clear this impediment: the group must work together to achieve a combined Strength score of 35 to clear the blockage.

A player can reduce this DC by 10 with a successful Charisma-based check (DC 17) to inspire the members making the Strength check (examples: Persuasion to keep calm, Deception to assure them that everything is fine, or Intimidation to induce fear and therefore adrenaline).

I hope this was a helpful guide!  Check out my past posts for other fun encounter ideas!

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Attempts at ascension

A bit of a test if people want to see D&D comics. I want to do some scenes that arn’t just “rolled low, haha” but that would be a big time investment, so we’ll see.

A -5 is not an abnormaly low jump result for our dwarf-clerick, tho.

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TOO TRUE!

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BREATHTAKING

Art nouveau flower shop, Brussels