#cr battle maps

[bixbiboom]

Build a ghost ship with Maps Mercer!

[ravendruid]

What a cutie.

[sparring-spirals]

"my soul shoots out of my ass and straight into hell" not even top 10 in Most Horrifying Visuals From The Last 5 Minutes, due to. well. Events In The Room.

[essektheylyss]

I have some kind of big office zoom meeting in half an hour and I'm just sitting here trying to get through the first half of this episode like WILDMOTHER I CRAVE VIOLENCE

[chaosgenasi]

the desire to see milo again & let them study the potions of possibility/residuum vs the fear that bells hells could be tracked to the krook house

[pepprs]

got kicked from BOTH my cookie runguilds for inactivity 😔😔😔😔😔 pain and suffering

[retrokid616]

map zoom in's

[handbellanon]

Absolutely loving the colors on these Molaesmyr maps

[utilitycaster]

OGL misconceptions

Since I am still seeing a lot of misinformation out there, I figured I'd do a fact check post. Note that I do not personally have a copy of the leaked draft; some resources are given at the end of the post. See also the 2000 OGL v1.0a here. This is noncomprehensive, is only touching on some of the things I've seen most commonly in the tags [sidebar: the only tag I check regularly is the Critical Role tag, and much of what I've seen on Tumblr is coming from people spamming that tag for general D&D content that only tangentially mentions CR, so...stop doing that.] Finally, this is based on what is a draft, and there are quite possibly going to be updates to the final document. I would also assume that the January 13th effective date will be changed based on the release date of the finalized OGL.

Free fan content is not affected. That is covered by the Fan Content Policy. Your personal homebrew or the weird-ass build you saw on Reddit or the item you saw in a post last week are all fine.

Actual play shows should be largely unaffected, and only merchandise containing WoTC IP would be. (NOTE: original posting of this post had a typo of "affected" for "unaffected"; check your reblogs) Shows like Critical Role, NADDPod, and D20 all use homebrew settings, so that's also unaffected (as is any Exandrian content that was published in the Explorer's Guide and Call of the Netherdeep; that is CR's IP that WoTC has license to use). A show might be affected if they've set the game in a WoTC licensed setting or with a WoTC module (eg: Eberron, Ravenloft), but most of the shows that do that are put out by WoTC anyway. Critical Role and TAZ have, notably, already avoided using copyrighted terms for deities, races, etc. in published non-WoTC works (this is why Melora is exclusively the Wildmother in the Tal'Dorei guides, because "Melora" is WoTC IP, but the idea of a nature goddess is obviously not; this is also why Cree in the Nine Eyes is referred to as catfolk and not a tabaxi, or why Phandalin's name in the TAZ graphic novels is changed to Haverdale). The only reason why a show might need to switch game systems would be if they use a system that is not D&D but is based on D&D's SRD and which will be subject to the OGL changes. Most Pathfinder shows I'm aware of use the Pathfinder SRD (ie, free), and SW5e as used in Starstruck Odyssey is also free. This also only affects the future of those shows.

VTTs (Virtual Tabletop Tools) may be affected, but most of their core features aren't. Battle maps and virtual dice rollers are not WoTC IP. Incorporating the mechanics of D&D into the VTT is, but that would mean actively having a character sheet or monster statblock available within the VTT. You could still just have a dice roller that prompts you for a modifier (which is how I always personally used Foundry). D&D Beyond will not be affected, since it is owned by WoTC. Additionally, many VTTs already have existing agreements specifically with WoTC that will take precedence over the OGL, which is a catch-all for companies that do not have specific licensing agreements. See the WoTC/D&D Beyond blog post here.

Only creators making over $750,000 specifically on material licensed under the OGL will be subject to royalties, and only on income in excess of $750,000. This means that if you put something up on DMs Guild and make $500, you are fine and owe nothing. If you make $749,999, you owe nothing. If you make $750,100, you owe the 25% royalty only on the $100 you are making above $750,000. WoTC predicts under two dozen companies will actually be affected by this at this time; they are all fairly big names within the D&D content arena such as Paizo, Darrington Press (CR's imprint), Hit Point Press, Green Ronin, Kobold Press, etc. Royalties also are said to begin in 2024, so companies have a year to decide what to do.

Now for the editorializing part:

Paizo is specifically in the crosshairs and anyone telling you to switch to it is either misinformed at best, or does not have your best interests at heart. Paizo is the main target here. The others are publishing material that serve as supplements to the core WoTC products, but do not replace them. For example: if you have either of the Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting books, you will note that they do not have stats for the races mentioned, nor the core class information. If you want to play a Cobalt Soul Monk, you still need the PHB in addition to the Tal'Dorei setting books. On some level, this is almost certainly due to Paizo being like "look! we're like D&D but we're not! switch to us!" And, understandably, WoTC is saying "hey, you took our SRD game engine and are now our largest competitor", which is also almost certainly why this is overriding the OGL 1.0a under which Pathfinder was originally created. I am not saying not to switch to a different TTRPG if you want to! You should always feel free to switch to a different TTRPG if D&D is not meeting your needs! I am saying that Pathfinder is probably your absolute worst bet in terms of things likely to be affected by the OGL, and anyone telling you to switch to it is telling you to jump from an ocean liner into a slightly smaller ship heading straight for a waterfall solely because the ocean liner stopped serving bottomless brunch.

People throwing this to actual play shows do not know what they are talking about and are just trying to start shit. Self-explanatory; why should Dimension 20 or whatever put out a statement on an unofficial leaked draft that minimally affects them.

Bad faith is common and everpresent. As discussed extensively on this blog in scattered bitchy shitposts, there are a lot of people who hate D&D/WoTC, or Critical Role, or other popular actual play shows. Sometimes their reasons are valid and sometimes their reasons are stupid. It doesn't really matter though; what matters is that their minds are made up and they will be telling you to switch game systems/stop listening or watching pretty much regardless of what the companies do. If you want to switch or stop listening, that's fine! But, as mentioned, I remember a few months ago someone arguing that you should switch from D&D because they were obviously going to start licensing NFTs for profitability reasons, and now the OGL specifically prohibits that. There's a lot being pulled out of thin air to make spurious arguments. In general, it is helpful to ask yourself "is this person recommending a game because they genuinely believe it will improve my life and better fit my individual tastes and needs? Or are they just being a dick about D&D or this specific actual play show and don't give a shit about my happiness, just as long as I'm not playing the game/watching the show that they, an internet stranger with bad vibes to boot, do not personally like."

YouTubers are trying to get views, and that is usually their primary goal. Also self-explanatory. If you're trusting the same people who decided that Silvery Barbs would ruin D&D which had also already been ruined by the chronomancy class, the fact that some sorcerers get more spells than other sorcerers, the fact that healing word exists... to tell you that this has ruined D&D? I don't think I can help you.

Several of the things people are freaking out about are either standard boilerplate now, or were in the original OGL. OGL 1.0a reserves the right to terminate the license with 30 days notice as well (item 13); stating that material you make via an open license can be used freely by the owner of that IP is fairly standard legal practice.

Sources:

OGL v1.0a

WOTC Fan Content Policy

Gizmodo/io9 coverage

D&D Beyond/OneD&D blog post

Screenrant coverage

[gorgynei]

THIS IS THE CRAZIEST BATTLE MAP IN ALL OF CR HISTORY. THE CROSSOVER EVENT OF THE CENTURY. THE MOST INCREDIBLE EPISODE EVER

[bixbiboom]

Maps Mercer builds Nana Morri’s Maze of Misdirection

[dndeed]

Crit Role Miniature Rollout: C3E51 The Apogee Solstice

With Andrew Harshman

An analysis of the minis used on CR.

Two downright dense maps in one episode? Gimme a break! I reckon I've taken enough of a break though. Let us take a look at these two epic encounters!

The solstice with the mostest, it’s time for Critical Role Miniature Rollout Campaign 3 Episode 51!

Mini Map Overview

Encounter number one here is a Mats by Mars Shattered Soil mat, followed by a layer of Dwarven Forge 4x4 Mountain Ground tiles, with a perimeter of DF Mountain Elevation, Caverns Elevation, and Cave Cliff pieces. And let's not forget the Dwarven Forge Wildlands Winding Stair escARPment (pronounced in a midwestern Pumat Sol accent):

If you're lookin' to make a quick escarp, this here escarpment is the place to do it. Ya know, I don't think I've seen an escarpier escarpment in a long time. Nice escarpment Dwarven Forge!

Yall dwarves keep this up, and you may need to rebrand yourselves as Dwarven Escarpment.

In terms of scatter terrain, we're looking at mostly DF items. Including some of those snazzy LED pieces. There's also some furniture from the Pathfinder Battles line, a Dragon Lair chair, and the reoccurring Hirst Arts open crate.

For prepainted miniatures, we have a D&D Wizkids Goliath, Pathfinder Iconics Red Raven, a Pathfinder Goblin, and a drake, probably the Deadly Foes House Drake. Also, there's a Wizkids raven that's about 3 by 3 pixels onscreen (4K broadcast when?)

Onto the terrain of map number two! The aptly named Mats by Mars: Desert mat. And what's a desert without some fashionable desert tents? We got Wizkids tents, Mantic Games tents, and the Safari Ltd tent. Say, what them ruins doin'? Ruins gonna be ruined. Three main ruins type here are Dwarven Forge, Hagglethorn Hollow, and HeroScape, or DwarvenThornScape for short.

Models in this encounter include figures from Wizkids, HeroForge, and Steamforged, or WizForgeForged for short. I think there may also be a Reaper model or two? It's very fun to see the return of previous campaign models. Though it woulda been even more fun to see higher level versions of Beau and Caleb.

Best Mini of the Ep

Well obviously this tower centerpiece with the fancy schmancy spell effect magic puck has gotta be the best mini pick. Spectacular table presence. I assume it's a custom piece.

Worst Mini of the Ep

At the climax of the episode we get these beautiful sweeping cinematic shots of the miniatures as Vax appears to save Keyleth. AND THEN disrupting the drama we got this waving tiefling totally photobombing the scene!

The Tiefling Cleric of Asmodeus miniature is actually pretty decent. Super simple and ugly prepaint paint job though. I actually like this model quite a bit, I just thought the unintentional waving to the camera positioning was amusing.

See ya next sesh!

[12pt-times-new-roman]

c3e70

Ruidus being tidally locked to Exandria must be wreaking havoc on its ecosystem.

In Bassuras, troops from Vasselheim swarm the streets. They are from various faiths and bastions, not just the Dawnfather's. Orym sees that beyond them, gathering supplies, there are three skyships of Othanzian make, not unlike the one they saw crashed in the Hellcatch.

There are three more skyships moored outside the city's walls. As they watch, one of the skyships is hit with a fiery bolt. It sets it ablaze, but doesn't bring it down, and it lists to one side, knocking into the one next to it, and soldiers start swarming toward it.

From the reaction of the civilian crowd, which seems to be very nonplussed, they gather that this has happened before. The ships have been there for a day or two, and more have come through to head north. There have been a handful of similar "issues" with the skyships and within the town.

Keyleth does some recon, and thinks she might know some people aboard them. She sets of on her own to inquire, and will meet the Bells Hells at noon.

Duct tape exists in Exandria, canon

They get to Imahara Joe's shop, and the door is locked. They open the door, and when Laudna throws her voice in, a figure throws a heavy javelin (or something) at the spot. With detect thoughts, Imogen detects nine additional people inside the shop.

Laudna climbs up to a grate on the roof and looks through. The shop is in slight disarray, and she can see a number of figures inside: three are standing against the front door, others are behind tables or crouching. Two are pushed into a corner in the far back room, under guard -- one is cloaked but has long, fuzzy ears and a rabbit-like face (Morrighan???), and the other is Imahara Joe.

Laudna gets hit with a crossbow bolt through the grate, and we roll initiative.

These are Paragon's Call operatives. The monk is wearing a pendant of the Duskmaven, and the uniform of the Call.

One of my favorite parts about CR combat is the open table thing. Like, it's 100% normal for players to just get up and leave for a while, or to go to the other side of the table to see that part of the map, or even to run behind the GM screen for a second (see: Ashley's entrance in C2E86).

One of the assailants is General Ratanish! He embeds a battleaxe into Chetney's shoulder, and fails his save against FCG's banishment, which completely changes the layout of this battle. It sounds like Ratanish was meant to be the central and most powerful figure in this fight, so getting him out of the way for 10 rounds is major.

(minor) Ashton Rage Build Update: their wormhole strike is a melee attack, not a ranged attack. This is relevant for abilities like the monk's deflect missiles.

Dancer joins the fray. She's an artificer, likely with the magic initiate feat to give her find familiar.

FCG build update: FCG's Changebringer coin is magical! Once per day, they can give themselves advantage on an attack roll. It's unclear whether they can apply this to any d20 roll, or just an attack.

Chetney aesthetic update: When Chetney transforms, his equipment -- including his armor -- stays on them.

One of the assailants hits an ally with their own spell, indicating that the Paragon's Call isn't a particularly close-knit group emotionally. Sounds similar to the Angel of Irons cult, honestly.

A good clarification: concentration save DCs are determined by the damage the caster takes, not the total damage dealt.

Ashton rage build update: When Ashton critically hits a creature, the next attack against that creature has advantage. When the space build is active, there's just a hole where their eyes should be, straight through to the back of their head.

One of the casters -- a druid -- transforms into a giant eagle, grabs Imahara Joe and the unknown figure, and tries to fly away. It's stuck in the doorway, just barely making it through and flying away.

Ashton uses their wormhole strike and knocks the fucker out of the air, and all three plumet down to the spiked wrought-iron fence --

and we go to break.

Ashton rage build update: When Ashton brings a creature to 0 hit points while their space build is active, violent gateway activates. This causes them to be pulled through a gateway they created, adjacent to the creature they reduced to 0, and Ashton decides to grab Imahara Joe and put their back between Imahara and the ground.

Orym jumps off the fence and tries to catch the other individual, using bait and switch to face his back to the ground.

Someone remind me to write another post about Ashton and the way they just willingly fell from the sky for someone they care for, the way they pivoted their own back to the ground to project Imahara, the way they put their own fractured body between Joe and the ground.

And, someone remind me to write a post about Orym in this moment, about how he immediately leaped, grabbed, and pivoted himself underneath a complete fucking stranger, planned to take the terminal velocity impact of a spiked fence to his back rather than let this mystery person get hurt.

Imogen is the MVP of the moment. She uses telekinesis to push the fence flat against the ground, so Orym and Ashton take fall damage instead of impaling damage. Orym, Ashton, the mystery figure, and Imahara all still take damage, but not nearly as much as they would've had the fence been there.

The mystery figure's hood falls back, and the Hells see that they're a lagamore -- a half human, half rabbit figure with floppy ears and brownish fur. (This is 100% Morrighan Ferun from EXU: Kymal, yeah?)

Everyone groups up frantically and forms a circle around the place where Ratanish will reappear. FCG heals Imahara. They all prepare attacks.

FCG drops banishment, and everyone's held actions go off. (Oh, how far Matt has come, from managing the fight in the Invulnerable Vagrant to this one.) 25 damage from Chetney. 38 damage from Laudna. 13 damage from FCG. 24 damage from Fearne and Mister. 24 damage from Imogen, and he's incapacitated until his next turn; she also uses call Ruidus, taking 5 points of damage to deal 6 more points of damage. 16 damage from Orym, he disarms Ratanish, then another 16 points --

Orym gets the HDYWTDT on Ratanish. He slices the weapon from his hand, then sticks his blade into the leg, spins him around, drops him so Ratanish's head falls in front of Ashton, and Ashton makes the final blow -- "you really should've killed me, that time." Ashton sticks the handle of the hammer into his chest, then all the way out. "You pull the soft bread out of the sub."

And combat ends with the death of General Ratanish, the Paragon Call's second-in-command beneath Otohan Thull. The druid bleeds out, failing all their death saves.

They shutter the windows and surveil the streets. There are people taking interest because they know and look up to Imahara Joe; but he himself addresses the crowd. "All good, folks! Just put the wrong connector to the wrong focal point... it's all good, I'm fine, go back to sleep." He slams the door and turns around to the Hells. "I am so happy to see you."

The other figure steps in. "Well, we have suddenly been put to task outside of our preferences..." Joe speaks up. "Everyone, this is Verna the Viper."

Lagamore are rare people in Exandria -- a fey-based people, so Fearne is familiar with them. They're a hare/bunny-folk -- Exandria's version of harengons.

Verna is a part of the Overmind Sect of tinkerers, who specializes in strange esoteric explosives.

Meanwhile, everyone else loots the bodies. They get a very fine battleaxe and set of boots from Ratanish. There is a little over 2300gp on Ratanish and the rest. There are also 7 golden Duskmaven pendants, which they put in the portable hole.

They also notice that on Ratanish, there is a brand of the Duskmaven's symbol -- a raven's skull -- on the inside of his left shoulder.

They present Ludinus' vest to Joe and Verna. Joe explains that after the "moon stuff" went down, Ratanish seized Joe's shop and ordered them to create explosives like the ones that hit the airship. They also had Verna and Joe building a "brumestone nullifier" that would disable brumestone -- which powers skyships -- in a certain radius.

On the vest, Imahara Joe remarks that it is of elven make, containing a mix of magics that should make it unstable but which are somehow in harmony. Whoever designed this was a genius, incredibly gifted. He has a grasp on it, and it seems repairable, but he'll need time.

Both Imahara and Verna start to grab things from throughout the shop that they'll need to repair the harness. They take everything useful from Imahara's shop as guards approach. Laudna projects a ghostly image to scare the guards, and they all escape through the back door and the bent fence.

By this time, they have a number of hours before they need to meet Keyleth, so they head to Hondir's safehouse.

Imahara looks at the vest more closely. "It seems like the device can attach to a powerful magical source, whether it be object, creature, or location, and channel or syphon the energy into the back of the neck of the wearer... mind you, raw energies being infused into an incompatible host will likely destroy the host unless they are inscribed with similar runes or share a similar essence. This one... this one seems specific, but I suppose it could be adjusted by a powerful enough enchanter once repaired."

Two things: this implies that a) Ludinus is a fey entity of some sort, and that b) it could be used on any one of the Bells Hells if its runes are adjusted. Each of the Hells seems to have a material source of their power that the vest could be tuned to (i.e. fey for Fearne, elemental for Ashton, arcana for FCG, etc).

Residuum is apparently an important material used to make or enchant the vest, and Imahara Joe needs some to repair it, so the Bells Hells gives him what they have left.

They discuss sending Imahara, Verna, and Dancer to Whitestone so Percy can help them tinker with the vest, and apparently Imahara knows him as "the Terrible Tinkerer of Tal'dorei."

Ashton and Imogen head toward the Deathwish Run to ask about Pocket. It seems like, given the recent activity, Pocket has gone underground, along with most of Bassuras' criminals.

Plan B is to find Justie at the All Minds Burn. When they arrive, they are greeted by Shady Sally, one of the nobodies. "Well! Pleasant surprise to see you still alive." When Imogen contacts her telepathically, she senses one mind shared among each of the people in the chamber, like background radiation in their thoughts.

Ashton rage build update: As a reaction when someone misses (or possibly hits, since Tal said that Ashton took the hit) them with an attack, Ashton can roll their rage build die and cause an effect based on that. Time causes the target to fall prone.

"I spent so much time indentured to that fucking bitch (Jiana Hexum) to pay off your debts. Now, we're gonna get even." They want Sally to gather up the Nobodies.

Justie swoops down and stares into the hole in Ashton's head. "You haven't been in here yet... it's like a fucking funhouse in there." "Okay... there's someone I'd like you to meet." She hands them a mask to cover their nose and mouth.

All walls here are covered with this crawling black dust, like mold or some kind of fungus. It's the same as the residue at the corner of the eyes of those who connect psychically to the All Minds Burn.

"It asked for you." Justie leads them to a chamber. When Imogen drops her defenses just a little bit, she senses an oppressive mind, and the minute she shows a minute opening, it pushes into her will -- not quite invasively, but scarily. The presence is alien, unlike anything she's experienced -- fractured, but unified. Odd, but not dangerous. Yet.

The smell moves from mustiness to rotten citrus and dry moss. The mold becomes thicker, textured, like puss-colored veins. The stairs grow soft beneath their feet. The chamber is massive, and in the middle, a "mass of organic matter of that same twisted yellowish-green, striations of black. Skeletal remains bound and attached and held within, skulls pushing through, all tied up into it. And there's this faint glow just beneath the skin-like surface of the mass, 20 feet tall."

This is 100% an Elder Brain, right? Just reskinned to be fungus-like?

"How old is this?" At Imogen's question, the mass pulses, and all the skulls turn their eye sockets to her. It doesn't speak with words, but with thought and replicated emotion, like it's learned from watching others. These thoughts are not natural to itself. Justie speaks up. "This is the All Minds Burn... [the skeletons] were those who, at the end of their days, rejoined, when it was time."

Imogen reaches out to it psychically. "How old are you?" There are splashes of memory from the individuals that are part of this mass. Their body is gone, but they still hold a fraction of life connected to it. She sees many lifetimes go by -- hundreds of years, maybe. Not as ancient as other parts of Exandria, expanding slowly. "Where do you come from?" It isn't quite sure, but it wants to meet more, it's just... this is its home, and it's hard for it to go further. But it lives a little bit through the eyes of those that take of it.

As Ashton speaks about the thing in his head, Imogen senses that the All Minds Burn is sort of hesitant to connect to Ashton. It's probing her memories, cross-referencing, and she lets it -- her childhood, riding horses, destroying a city block of Bassuras. Drinking water by the river with her father, her first cry as she was born under the red light of Ruidus -- pulling back to watching Laudna die, being a young girl collecting firebugs, stepping through the dark shadow of this chamber, being above the moon and seeing Exandria in the sky. Then it withdraws.

Imogen gets the sense that it wants to help. "It [Ruidus] will put an end to all of us. To all of you." It acknowledges that. "If we took part of you with us, if we had people inhale, would you be able to see through them or use them?" It might be able to temporarily do so, but its strongest connections take time. However, it recalls again parts of Imogen's memory -- the dust storms, the red, the dry, arid landscapes, and there is a longing, a curiosity. "You wanna see the moon?" A little portion of its central "stalk" seems to split slightly and a hard shell the size of an orange rolls to Imogen's feet.

It's a "brood pit." Justie tells them to take it, and Ashton picks it up. "What do we do with this?" Imogen recalls being in the storm, in the red. "It wants to be seeded... maybe... you have our aid, there are many of us who are a part of it, when you need us, we can be of aid. All that we ask, all that it asks, is that if you go, take it with you and leave it there."

The All Minds Burn pushes into Imogen's mind again, not unkindly but adamant. It will help, and when it offers to help, she gets a glimpse of the many, many minds around the city, in the valley and beyond that it can call upon when the time is right.

As they leave, everyone who had been staring at them cautiously instead bows to them. "We'll be back." "I know -- we know."

Ashton finally feels like they're important, like they matter. "Every hit feels like a hit someone else doesn't have to take... I have spent my entire life taking up and being ignored. And I'm starting to learn that it's the things you ignore that get you in the end, one by one."

The All Minds Burn sounds very much like an Elder Brain, and I honestly can't tell if it wants to go to Ruidus because it's related to it somehow, or just because it's the most appealing environment it found in Imogen's memory. It only being a few hundred years old kind of rules out it being related to Ruidus' creation or early history, but it could be that it fell from Ruidus sometime later and is trying to get home. It being near the Tishtan site makes this more likely, I think, since Ruidus passed directly over it during this solstice.

They meet back up with Keyleth. She did know someone on the ships; she learned that forces from across Exandria -- not just Issylran or religious forces -- have traveled to the Hellcatch and are forming a circle of barricades and battlements around what they're referring to as "the Bloody Bridge." Their orders are to hold and only attack in retaliation. There's a sizeable army surrounding and protecting the Tishtan site, and no one's quite certain what it's capable of; their abilities in the skirmishes that have happened are mysterious and unrecognized. Right now, it's a cold war, but both sides are fearful that this holding pattern is giving the other side more time to execute their plans, so Keyleth predicts that it won't be long before someone has to make a move.

Keyleth also agrees to take Verna, Imahara, and Dancer to Whitestone.

Next episode, they head to the Shattered Teeth to find Jirana and Evan'travir!

[ashes-to-asher]

Storytime, I guess? X'D

So, I'm a DM for a homebrew campaign (Othiat) with 3 players (@everdreamart, @traumallamarama, and @blazingjuniper). We live very far away from each other (the closest player to me is over 400 miles away), so we play via Discord. Whenever a map is needed, I've always turned to Owlbear Rodeo.

Last session, I ran the biggest encounter I have ever run.

The party had to stopped to spend the night at an inn in a small town they'd passed through before. They noticed that something was off; flies were buzzing around even though it was winter, there was a general smell of decay in the air, the townsfolk mentioned that the well had turned foul, etc., etc. The players knew something was up, but I don't think they realized just how bad it was gonna get.

Long story short, that little town was about to be at the center of a demonic invasion.

The PCs were woken in the middle of the night to screams and a poisonous green fog flooding the streets (and their room). They rushed outside, not having had time to put their armor on (so AC was low af). They almost immediately got attacked by a Bulezau, barely dodging out of the way in time.

That's when the map came out.

It's an absolutely monstrous thing: probably 50x100 grids, with each grid representing 15x15 feet. The entire town was on this thing, and the party had free reign to hide, fight, or just run and leave it all behind. Problem is, that green fog made it so they can't see jack.

Owlbear Rodeo had a huge update relatively recently, and now there's a bunch of new extensions and features. One of those extensions is called Smoke and Spectre (by Battle-System and Armindo Flores). I've always been a fan of using fog to hide things on maps, but Smoke and Spectre took things a step further. Each PC had their own independent radius of visibility, and I set it so that everyone could only see out to a radius of 30 feet. I also gave them a few visible points on the map, representing locations they knew of, but the vast majority of the map was empty nothingness to them.

I had been worried that the lack of visibility would turn out to be too frustrating for the players to enjoy the encounter, but it actually worked out well. Everyone was forced to slow down and plan out their moves carefully; the town as swarming with demons, and getting too close to one would prompt an attack. Everyone was going one grid at a time, anxious and terrified (in a good way!) of things lurking just out of sight. Movement also became an issue in general, since one of the PCs (a tabaxi monk) is a lot faster than the others, and another PC (a fairy druid) could fly over certain obstacles.

The party actually got split up in the chaos, leading to them desperately trying to coordinate when they couldn't see each other or even their own surroundings.

They eventually individually made their ways (makin' their way) to the town center, where the invasion had begun. There, they encountered a Wastrilith in the well, which was way too high level for them to actually take down. Knowing that there were still survivors in hiding, though, the level 6 party was determined to end the threat.

See, this wasn't necessarily meant to be a combat encounter; it was meant to be a survival encounter. The demonic invasion has ties to the larger plot, and is supposed to serve as set-up/lead-in to certain things the players are still only vaguely aware of (things I will not be spoiling via tumblr). I expected the players to engage in combat here and there, and they did had combat with some of the lower CR demons around the town, but the overall point was to set up plot and give the players a unique encounter.

They almost had a TPK with the Wastrilith? ^^;

The thing downed two of them, but the druid had just enough spell slots to keep the others from dying. The party was doing decent damage, but there was no way they could survive more than two or three rounds of this thing's damage output. Finally, low on HP and spell slots, the satyr bard pulled a clutch Dissonant Whispers. Wastriliths have great Strength and Constitution, but their Wisdom isn't all that impressive.; it failed the saving throw and was forced to flee, giving the party a chance to escape its radius.

A whole lot more happened (little Opportune Moment has a rough night ahead of him, courtesy of a Tlacatecolo), and the encounter isn't technically over (next session, the party is going after the Sibriex that started it all), but holy crap was it a good session! X'D

My laptop almost caught fire trying to process the map and all the tokens on it, but this was a planed event I'd been excitedly dreading for so long, and it worked!

The limited visibility is what really sold it. Fog effects only go so far, and this encounter would not have worked if the players had been able to see their surroundings. The fear and anxiety about the creatures lurking in the dark heightened the experience for all of us, myself included; I got to play around with the visibility of the demons, figuring out how much they could see and hear.

Next session will be a bit more straightforward, but you can bet I'm gonna use Smoke and Spectre again; in fact, I already have a few ideas... >:3

[demartinidesigns]

It's Rose City Comic Con this weekend!

Find me at Z-07, right on that corner walkway from the Exhibitor's section to the Autographs!

I've missed this convention so much! It's my longest-running convention and I can't wait to be back.

If you're a Critter... there's a stamp rally going on!

(Rally card by Inkforwords twt/ig. Thank you for putting this together! Gilmore art by @noxarcanaart) Make any purchase from my table (I've got all those foil portrait prints plus maybe a ~limited item~ or two) or tip and you'll get a stamp! Collect all the stamps and get a CR goodie bag with items from the participating artists. <3

Beyond CR, there's new Zelda prints and stickers, most of which hasn't been listed in the store yet! Not to mention small comics, my usual D&D commissions, and even a few battle maps.

If you happen to make it to RCCC, come say hi!

[retrokid616]

new map drop