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[tea-and-tyranny]

Session One: The Bounty Hunter’s Ship

Our story begins onboard a large ship. The ship’s been away from port for nearly two weeks, and below deck waiting amongst several other criminals in the holding cells a rumor has begun to spread.

Whispers tell the ship will attempt to cross the Trench Waters. Where the floods began, and where the monsters first started coming from when the disasters hit. Crossing these waters is dangerous, such a feat is rarely very attempted.

Disaster strikes. Claws tear into the wooden boards of the ship, and somewhere on the upper decks the bounty hunter’s crew struggles against an onslaught of monsters.

Just as quickly as it started, a sudden silence falls over the ship as water begins to come in. A stranger enters the brig and allows the cell doors to open without leaving the stairs. He warns the ship will go under and the beasts in the water will feast upon the captured. However, he’s looking for two recruit to follow him somewhere else. The last two prisoners standing have a ticket to safety.

Out of the ten, two have stood out. The other eight try to overwhelm them together, and the two retaliate with a viciousness that impresses the stranger.

He introduces himself as Sugla, and he takes the two survivors away from the sinking ship through a portal into the Underdark. He wants them to prove their capability outside combat before he trusts them with an important task.

(PCs will post their views and experiences below.)

Keep reading

[tea-and-tyranny]

Backstage Update

[Daisy Voice] Hi it’s Percy!

The three posts following are courtesy reblogs per usage agreement for the page/blog themes used to update this blog. A lot of stuff has happened and we’re happy to announce that the tea-and-tyranny blog proper has now been formatted and organized! Please let us know what you think! I was given the task of overhauling the blog and I attempted to make sure everything stayed readable and relatively easy to navigate.

Features:

a “lore library” where all the worldbuilding information and full-resolution character cards will be stored

functioning character page

a page with information about the players and the DM

a sidebar link which tracks the tag for all completed story sessions

a sidebar link which tracks the tag for personal journal entries from player characters (coming soon!)

Blog updates:

Our logo has changed, thanks to our lovely DM’s artistry!

Going forward, something to keep in mind: for worldbuilding lore and character introductories, we’re probably going to continue making introductory posts as they are announced, but afterwards everything will be shuffled away into the lore library or the character page as far as updates go. For updates we will make individual announcements that the content has been updated. That’s all for now! Happy Campaigning!

[tea-and-tyranny]

PAGE #2 JOLT (2.0) [Preview]

Character List (revamp). A minimal character list with pictures & an icon menu for linking to character tags, information, etc. & room for a short bio text.

↳ [GITHUB] | [PASTEBIN]

This is a revamp of the JOLT page theme. The old code will hereby be retired and I won’t offer support for it any longer. Please update your code.

Features:

5+ characters

Icon navigation

Ideal image size is: 375x200. At its smallest it scales down to 188x200. Make sure the main focus is in the middle.

One accent colour variable

Mobile responsive

Requires only very basic html/css knowledge.

Credits:

Icons are Font Awesome.

Edit and customise to your liking. Don’t repost/redistribute and/or claim it as your own. Do not use as a base code. Leave the credit intact, thank you.

As always, explanations for most things are in the code. I’ll be updating them from time to time as I get questions. If you are having issues, take a look at this themes FAQ, or my general FAQ. Not finding anything? Shoot me a message. If you find any bugs – any errors etc., please contact me so I can fix them!

[tea-and-tyranny]

THEME: NOSTALGIA  (Created for #NoJsChallenge)

{ preview 1 / preview 2 / pasted / pastebin }

► FEATURES:

Menu: blog title, optional main links

Heaeder: header title, description, scroll to posts link

Sidebar: avatar, optional search box, optional up to five links

Posts: 400px, 450px or 500px (1 column), post info, buttons (comment, permalink, reblog, like), optional captions, optional tags

Else: responsive design. google fonts, font awesome icons, custom scrollbar, custom tumblr controls, pagination, custom colors, monochrome or faded images

► NOTE:

Do not redistribute this theme or remove the credits.

Edit as long as you keep the credits intact

Contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

If you want a custom theme you can commission me.

If you want to support my work you can buy me a coffee.

Thanks for using my theme, I hope that you enjoy it.

► CREDITS:

Google fonts | Font Awesome icons

[tea-and-tyranny]

PAGE PACK by eurhipides (elisionthemes)

Navigation Page

preview | code

FAQ Page

preview | code

About Page

preview | code

inspiration goes to themesbysaaraa’s tags page!

standard rules apply, please like/reblog if using or saving!

[tea-and-tyranny]

Session Two: The Underdark Tasks

Sugla tells the Kaera and Tarn that he’s seen they can survive combat, no doubt. But they’ll need more than brute force to achieve their (his) goals. He assigns them three simple tasks with only one rule to each task.

The First Task: Scrape together whatever materials you can and make something. It should be something you might need in the future. A meal, a potion, a weapon, anything. The materials must come from the under dark.

The Second Task: In another set of tunnels, there’s a small grick colony. Track their location and steal as many eggs from their nest as you can. Do not get caught.

The Third Task: With the eggs and useful items you have now, approach the Duergar encampment nearby. You may do whatever you need to procure supplies for the future. However, all Duergar should be alive and mostly unharmed when you leave.

Upon the successful completion of these tasks, Sugla informs the party what he needs them for. There’s a particular bandit burton on the island Thadus. He wants the party to infiltrate the burrow from the bottom ranks and gain following. When the time is right, he wants them to overthrow the bandit’s leader and call the loyalty of as many bandits as they can. They will have to find the burrow to begin with, and the small town south of woods may give them the leads they need.

(PCs will post their views and experiences below.)

Kaera

It would be helpful if this cave elf would give us more information as to the intents of his benefactors, if he even has any. I had half a mind to walk out entirely when it was nothing but little morsels of promises. I’m off the ship and free to leave - why should I care? And yet, for lack of anything better to do, here I am, agreeing to a plan I don’t even know about and attempting to work with this sentient metal oaf who can’t keep quiet to save his own life.

Robbing a few hapless miners blind was simple enough. It’s entirely their fault that their camp was stripped clean; they really should take better care of their things. Big Ugly wanted to set it on fire, after. Because of course he did. I pretended to indulge him, but I’m pretty sure the fire never actually caught on. Shame. Would’ve been interesting to see the ensuing panic if I knew we were going back.

The cave elf wanted us to prove ourselves with a few tasks. Because, somehow, we didn’t already seem competent enough? Not that he had anything to worry about - it’s just obnoxious that we have to comply to be part of this unspoken grandiose plan in the first place. Gathering materials, fending for ourselves, trading monstrous worm eggs with the miners we stole from. The usual for down here, I suppose. Damn near botched the worm eggs bit because the Big Ugly, again, can’t keep quiet to save his metal plates. Distracted me with his noise and I almost got caught when I tripped over the big one’s head. And I had to be the one to carry the eggs out because of it, of course, though it’s just as well. Made off with the whole nest, in the end.

Useless test tasks or no, I got a meal and free clothes out of it. It has been some time since I picked up a needle. For purposes other than stabbing someone’s eyes out, I mean.

[tea-and-tyranny]

Session One: The Bounty Hunter’s Ship

Our story begins onboard a large ship. The ship’s been away from port for nearly two weeks, and below deck waiting amongst several other criminals in the holding cells a rumor has begun to spread.

Whispers tell the ship will attempt to cross the Trench Waters. Where the floods began, and where the monsters first started coming from when the disasters hit. Crossing these waters is dangerous, such a feat is rarely very attempted.

Disaster strikes. Claws tear into the wooden boards of the ship, and somewhere on the upper decks the bounty hunter’s crew struggles against an onslaught of monsters.

Just as quickly as it started, a sudden silence falls over the ship as water begins to come in. A stranger enters the brig and allows the cell doors to open without leaving the stairs. He warns the ship will go under and the beasts in the water will feast upon the captured. However, he’s looking for two recruit to follow him somewhere else. The last two prisoners standing have a ticket to safety.

Out of the ten, two have stood out. The other eight try to overwhelm them together, and the two retaliate with a viciousness that impresses the stranger.

He introduces himself as Sugla, and he takes the two survivors away from the sinking ship through a portal into the Underdark. He wants them to prove their capability outside combat before he trusts them with an important task.

(PCs will post their views and experiences below.)

Kaera

After entertaining themselves with private conversations and staring at the hideous metal man in the cell across from them for several minutes, Kaera had the notion that the ship being slowly flooded with water and invaded by monsters was the first interesting thing to happen in over a month. They would insist they got caught out of boredom, rather than carelessness, if anyone had asked. (Nobody had bothered to ask.) Their head turned up and about at the first signs of commotion, but then it was back to reading the faces of everyone else in the ship’s hold. The fright on their features brought a smile to theirs, which only got bigger when the cell doors opened.

The first rush of delight came when the stranger implied he only needed two survivors. The second came when they cracked a makeshift knife off the first available plank floating past their feet.

“Who would like to go first?”

The terror was palpable, and Kaera again regarded the metal man with interest. They hadn’t heard the creature’s history, but they were big and scary and made of metal, and everyone reacted to him with a similar fear that they did Kaera, who had been passing the time by doling out thousand-yard stares with the same generosity that a grandmother passes out candy. It was going to be an Everyone Against Those Two situation. They could feel it.

[beneficial to Use that to your Advantage]

It’s the most eager suggestion Kaera has heard since boarding the ship, and they knew they would be foolish to disagree - particularly since the fight following was more than a little bit of a rough ride, as it turned out. They didn’t have their spell supplies, after all, or any of their equipment. Hand-to-hand was usually doable, in a pinch, but not preferred. They also quickly remembered that it was most doable in times of need when it was just one-on-one. There were eight people coming after them and Big Ugly. To their credit, despite all the embarrassing missteps, they still ended up with deadweight as a human shield, and managed to keep things clear while they drowned another one in the shallow water face-down. But it only took a couple of people to overwhelm them, and Big Ugly was apparently having some trouble after a couple good kills. One good crack at splitting a man in half, and then he’s done? Really?

“Some help you are!” They snarled, seeing that the creature had gotten himself stuck on a cell door. “You maybe wanna scrape out that rust and actually kill a few?!”

Tarn

Unfortunate circumstances found me on a boat to prison. Perhaps I had always been on the way to prison, it just took me centuries to get there. Not that I had any doubts that I would get out in my own time. I am ageless and exceedingly patient.

Perhaps it was luck, perhaps something else, but the ship was attacked. Creatures in the trench do love to prey on the unwitting.

Another creature, one that called spiders pets, boarded the ship then. He released us from our cells and set us to attack one another. He only needed two, after all. I teamed up, so to speak, with a spindly little thing. They had trouble, but I am certain that a power dwells within them that I can use to my advantage later. Always keep your enemies close, right my lord?

You would have been proud of me, my lord. I tore those revolting blood and flesh animals apart, saving, of course, my new companion. The waters rushing into the ship ran red, and we were saved.

He calls himself Sugla. A drow of no true merit. I am indebted to him for now. But not for long. We set out to corrupt some bandits. Nothing that I want to do, but perhaps I can start up a new revolution while I’m there.

[tea-and-tyranny]

NPC Card: Sugla

Age: Somewhere over 600 Height: 5′9″ Weight: 210 lbs Pronouns: He/Him Race: Drow Class: Rogue/Wizard, unknown level

Favorite Things: undiscovered Hated Things: undiscovered

Notes: 

-Somewhat high-strung, nervous, bad at withholding information (especially against intimidation checks, it would seem)

-Has two giant spiders as pets, with knives taped to their two front feet. They can be located by following the sound of something akin to tap-shoes.

-Insists he’s working for someone, has not revealed who

(information will be revealed as PCs interact with characters and ask more questions)

[tea-and-tyranny]

Candidate Dossier: Tarn Player: @cal-is-a-cuddlefish

Age: Unknown Height: 8′00″ Weight: 450 lbs Pronouns: He/Him Race: Construct Class: Paladin ***** Str: +2 Dex: +0 Con: +3 Int: +1 Wis: +0 Cha: +4 Proficient Skills: Deception, History, Intimidation, Persuasion, Religion

*****

Tarn existed long before the floods.

He had been raised up in a mining operation, where he took part in a mutiny against the owners and took down the company. From there, he followed the leader of the mutiny in forming a cult that proclaimed the superiority of constructs to all organic life.

Tarn became an enforcer in this cult, picking out those that moved against the doctrines, and enticed them to return to the fold. He worshiped at the feet of his master, and his master’s word was his law. Even after the destruction of his master’s body, he followed his master’s laws and elevated him to God-hood.

Just before the floods, Tarn had set out to find his master’s core to reunite him with his body. He was lost to the seas and wandered under the water until he emerged years later on the shores. From then on, he searched for his master, and freed what constructs he could. He was caught murdering a human family that had enslaved a construct for several generations, which brought him to the boat where the adventure started.

Where he goes from there is anyone’s guess, but his hatred of humanity remains as strong as ever.

[tea-and-tyranny]

Candidate Dossier: Kaera K’taar Player: @starring-perceptor (”Percy”)

NAME PRONOUNCED: CARE-a kTARR Age: 31 Height: 5′2″ Weight: 152 lbs Pronouns: They/Them Race: Scourge Aasimar Class (Subclass): Sorcerer (Divine Soul) ***** Str: +0 Dex: +2 Con: +3 Int: +3 Wis: +2 Cha: +4 Proficient Skills: Arcana; Intimidation; Nature; Survival ***** Kaera is notorious in the public sphere as a shockingly elusive killer, given the brutal and seemingly random nature of their crimes. It is known they hail from somewhere on the Sarine continent only due to their own admission; the details of their personal history remain otherwise shrouded in mystery.

Over the course of their known criminal career, which - by all accounts - began at the stunning young age of 11, Kaera has committed every possible offense from arson to torture. Existing accounts credit them as a truly monstrous and frightening manipulator as well as a ruthless murderer. They have become something of a legendary terror in every settlement or town which has ever had the misfortune of permitting them passage. Large swathes of blood and corpses follow wherever they go, often leaving behind little more than death and ash in places with a smaller population. They are not known to show mercy even to women or children, and according to accounts of what few survivors exist, their patience can change at a whim. Thus, making oneself useful to them isn’t even a guarantee of keeping one’s head on one’s shoulders.

Their Aasimar lineage is not immediately detectable by most of the general population, in part due to their otherwise unassuming appearance. This could possibly be due to their lack of self-care: exaggerated stories claim they require neither food nor rest. Regardless, Kaera’s Aasimar background grants them a startling resilience in battle oft unexpected from a person of their size and magical training. They are also extremely adept at surviving in the wilderness, and could likely survive for several days - if not weeks - in even the harshest of environments, if provided time to build shelter and gather the bare basics required.

[tea-and-tyranny]

Tea and Tyranny Homebrew: Constructs Mechanics

Constructs are a difficult subject. There are various ways of creating a construct, and exactly what qualifies something to be a construct can be vague. 

For the most part, a construct is an artificial life. This is different from necromancy, where someone imbues a dead creature with false life. A construct did not have life before it was animated. They are often made of a mixture of materials, varying from metal, to wood, to stone, and sometimes rarely to bone and flesh. Again, different from necromancy, but only barely. A construct does not require food, drink, air/breath, or sleep, nor do they suffer from the effects of hypothermia or heat exhaustion. Poisons/venoms can affect them, though not in the same way as it affects organic life.

The anatomy of a construct could be designed on any creature, or completely unique based on their creator’s preferences. Long ago, all constructs were made with a gem core that was meant to act as an artificial soul. Prewritten knowledge, opinions, memories, personalities, and everything that made each construct unique were stored in the gem. Everything around the gem core was simply referred to as a shell. If the shell was damaged or destroyed, it could be repaired. If a construct wasn’t happy with the way it had been designed, the shell could be upgraded or even swapped out. As long as the gem core remained in tact and fit into the shell, the construct could achieve whatever form it was happiest in.

The design of constructs have evolved over the centuries as their uses became more versatile and laws regarding owning constructs adapted with the changes. Originally, constructs were created with love and care. There was great pride to be taken in designing unique and beautiful creatures, with creators often taking extra steps to apply tiny, meticulous details such as filigree and inlays. A construct without a prewritten purpose or any information given from its creator is considered blank. A blank construct can be unpredictable, dangerous to others, or find itself in danger unwittingly. To prevent this from becoming an issue, control rods were fashioned and bonded to each construct upon creation. This would keep the construct from being able to act on any form of free will while it’s consciousness developed and it learned. This development often spanned from one to three years, therefore, it was highly illegal to keep the control rod in tact after three years. Those who held their constructs for even a day over the time limit were threatened with charges on the same offense as kidnapping.

However, after the flooding, the rules and the designs began to change. There were comparably so few people left, and most of their world was left underwater. The art of forging a construct’s gem was lost. There was no way to inscribe knowledge to any construct without this technique, pushing the need for control rods on the few who could still animate empty shells. 

These new constructs live extremely short lives compared to models with gem cores. They can no longer switch shells or even exchange damaged parts of a shell. Due to their already limited capacity, the laws against keeping control rods beyond three years was lifted, even though the new constructs were still able to develop consciousness just as the gem core models before them. Designers tried making constructs appear less humanoid to help depersonalize what they were doing. 

Quite understandably, constructs who survived the flooding and remember the old ways are outraged by these new policies.

[tea-and-tyranny]

Tea and Tyranny - World Map 1.0

For player and observers reference!

[tea-and-tyranny]

Tea And Tyranny Begins

Hello and welcome! A small glimpse into this blog appears to be in order.

This is our home-brew (because tea pun) Dungeons and Dragons campaign. My dear and trusted friends and housemates will be our role players this game, and we want to share the experience with you guys! We are not podcasting this (at least not yet), but rather creating posts and art for the game. Even if you are not involved in the game, there’s plenty to enjoy here!

This is the first game of a two-game world I am building. Our first game focuses on the villains that the hero-counterpart game will focus on. These are the events that shape a future game. This is a technique I use to help a make a world feel very personal to my players. Additionally, it’s just really fun to play a villain game every so often. Not to mention well-developed villains often help make a story worth investing in.

I’m going to let my players introduce their characters to you as they wish, and as we meet new NPCs and advance the game, we’ll continue updating this blog.

                                 --------------------------------------

I will share here what the players knew upon entering the game:

According to old stories, there was once a world guardian that watched over the Material Plane and made sure that extra-planar chaos could not take hold here. This guardian recruited and trained a number of heroes, though little is known about exactly who they were or how she chose them.

Then the floods came. Something from another plane opened a rift deep into the ground, and out poured both water and monsters. However, when the chaos ensued, the guardian and her heroes were nowhere to be found.

Her presence faded into mere legend, and very soon the legends died. The heroes were forgotten, and the guardian was forsaken. Ever since the waters began rising, the world began changing in many, many ways. Some struggle to rebuild, some just try to survive. Among the population, unrest stirs. Someone’s going to make a power grab soon, and everyone wants it to be them.