Highway to Hell – Things of the Lower Planes

I’m on my way to the promised land!

The campaign pushed into the Grey Wastes themselves.  We were readied for countless fiends, all battling in the name of their dastardly causes.  We even were readied to control the sinister magics of the Night Hag.  But, something unexpected and foul caught many by surprise…  Aberrations formed and mutated through necromancy.  Surely, these beasts weren’t native to the plane, but something brought them there.  Something perfected them.  The casualties within my own legions became astronomical, even with pushing the abominations back long enough. –  Lucien, an angel-blooded aasimar paladin, captain of The Indefatigable.

My series of planar monsters continues with a healthy mixture of folklore, pop culture and crazy custom creatures.  This time, a post devoted to horrible things to crawl up from the Lower Planes!  Fiends, hellish constructs, necromantic mind flayers, cursed souls and more!

Author’s Note:  In addition to some more planar threats, I wanted to ramp things up a bit with some more out there experiments.  Also, shout out to Brynvalk for inspiring one of the scariest things I’ve ever heard of.  Also, I’m back to bringing in a fair number of fiends to horrify my mini-bestiaries!  I love making fiends!  Also, pardon the classic rock references.  But, it wouldn’t be my first time.

Weird Western Monsters – Part 5 (Cryptids and Wyld Creatures)

“There’s living dead, even in the wilderness…  Well, damn.”

“The job is clear.  You shall escort my caravan through the brutal and harsh beast lands, then aid me in distributing these medicinal creations to the people of my tribe. The latter is easy, the former is likely to kill you if you lack the knowledge. As it is, some buffoon who followed me around nearly died, but I taught him some of my ways.  But, he’s not important.  Are you up for this task?  If not, stand aside.  And please, direct questions for my caravan’s scout.  He is knowledgeable on almost all travel matters.  Also, don’t mind the living dead.” – Moonlotus Fadingdusk, a human witch from the Seeking Mind tribe… Or so she says.

There’s a handful of beastly creatures out there in the weird western frontier.  A few varmints aren’t overly harmful, while others are truly malicious.  The vast wilderness requires one on their toes at all times, lest they get torn apart by the seems, some quick snack for a cunning predator.  It’s this reason why rangers and trailblazers join caravans, to minimize casualties outside of civilization.

Author’s Note:  More weird critters, yeah!  I decided a few obligatory folk tales were a necessary add-on, because fur bearing trout and jackalope are truly fun stories.  While it was supposed to be in another post on native inspired folk beasts, I added the accursed wendigo here.  Warning, this one is quite strong!

July 2018 RPG Blog Carnival – Tabletop Tales

My good blogger buddy, Brynvalk, is hosting a theme once more!  This time around, it’s “Tabletop Tales“.  If you wanna know more, please hop over to the page in the link and help support the theme!  For more on RPG Blog Carnival, please go here!  Despite the slight break in theme from Gaslamp Fantasy/Gothic Horror/Weird Western, my content will continue during the next week.  Who knows?  Maybe I’ll make another blog carnival post that’s also a themed post for here.  Some kinda lore related post or world building that ties into the theme of stories in the tabletop realm.  I may be truly something out there, but I have a few fun ideas here and there!

In the meantime, please indulge a mad bard as he recants tales of wonder, woe and weeeeiiiiiiirrrrrddd stuff!  Let me share with you stories of high adventure!  (cue Conan the Barbarian theme)

Weird Western Monsters – Lupine NPCs and Variants

“Yeah, Fangs Gulch is a place. I found my way there not long after being bewitched and I started turning into one of them. Anyway, the locals look like those animalmen out in the wilderlands, but they run shops, shoot guns and live life like us. The scotch was something great, I only passed out after two jugs mind you. The butcher served up a nice slice of meat he called ‘furless one’. Even the ladies of the night were good too, even if they’re all hairy and have like eight knockers, real bitey and growly too. Hey, don’t look at me like that! It’s no weirder than the bar owner who screws automatons off-hours! Aww shucks, I really am one of them… – Rawoo (Rowan T. Jammerson), Lupine (Ex-Human) Maverick Rogue

The Lupines, especially the Gray Runners, often receive harsh treatment. Life in the tribes prove hard, but life among the outsiders, exotic travelers and other oddities proves all the more frustrating. Hostility seems inevitable, whether in the realms of trade or battle. Sometimes peace is achieved, but it’s often to suit an agenda. Some have sold their wisdom and secrets to get ahead of the travelers, while others have taken to more vindictive approaches… some reactions truly wicked. Most care about the day by day, appeasing the forces above them while surviving in a harsh world. Until recently, the harvests and hunts have been good, as life has been normal.

Author’s Note: By popular demand, here is more content for the gray runners… or rather, what the concept got expanded into. While they feel not overly different than Mystara’s Lupins (I even made a NPC that uses Lupin mechanics), they seemed pretty popular here. Plus, anything to bring more attention to Spellslinger (in the naive hope that Fantasy Flight Games will convert it to D&D 5E! Ya hear that, FFG!? You’d gain money from joining the new edition!) I pondered on how to expand on serpentmen, based on a request on my Tumblr blog, but my previous post points out that Yuan-Ti work just fine.  For more on The Lupines, please check out this post here.

Weird Western Monsters – Part 1 (Spellslingers and Specters)

“The vast frontier.  It’s a place of wonders, of possibility, of a quick and easy death!  Don’t let the charms of a free and open land fool you, traveler.  It’s a killer place out there.  But, the market’s wide open for the taking if you know where to look.  There’s a lot of devils in mortal skin looking to sell you a miracle tonic or a little company.  If you’re smart, you’ll keep your wallet hidden and find a way to pull a fast one of your own.  Or if you’re stuck in the wastes beyond town?  Best pack well and ready more than one gun.  You don’t know if it’s a pair of fangs or a bandit’s gun that will do you in out there.  Of course, you can always drink and gamble your troubles away with us, stranger!  We don’t cause much harm, mostly to ourselves…   The ladies of the tavern are good at taking care of ya though.  Or if you prefer, there’s a handful of men who are good companions too.  I’m not just saying that as a recurring patron, either…”
-Rowan T. Jammerson, Human Maverick Rogue, drunken troublemaker, despised wandering womanizer, bastard son of Ex-Mayor Jammer J. Spellman, denizen of the town of Cactus Sting.

Whether in the “civilized” frontier or the badlands beyond, tons of terrors walk the weird western soil.  From bandits beyond the grave to massive parasites that love the smell of gold, settlers and pioneers have more than their fair work cut out for them.  Even the native locals are wise to keep away from many dangerous lands.  And for a good trade, they might even be willing to disclose such information.

Author’s Note:  Most of this comes from a mostly forgotten mini d20 setting that is chock full of cool inspiration!  Spellslinger was part of the Horizon line by Fantasy Flight Games, who are mostly known for board games.  Horizon was a series of D20 books that twisted the system into various new forms, continued through Legends and Lairs.  These books allowed for play in steampunk, mecha, horror, weird western and other genres and were all around a good find!  Sadly, they’re a bit rare.  However, one need not obtain the books to enjoy these monsters.  Also, I twisted around some of the magical “brands” into NPC monsters of their own… twisted versions of the old player options, if you will.  Look out for a handful of other references too!

You can also find a variety of NPCs at your disposal over on this page.

Plantfolk, Revised

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Born (Or Reborn) among Wild Realms

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The Plant Folk were created within another reality known to scholars as “arcadia”.  What exactly is this realm?  Not fully known, except it is the origin source of several types of magic as well as the fair folk.   Besides the native denizens, many fantastic creatures have been created through use of their alien magics.  Among these mystical sights and strange places is the Wyld, a sprawling plane of untamed wilderness.  Its alluring and inspiring atmosphere is quite deceptive, as terrible monsters and far worse curses dwell within the spacious demiplane.  Those who become trapped are doomed to become one of the many kinds of wildlife that inhabit this realm.  The plant folk are one such creation.

Native to a domain known as the “Wylds”, a planar place of natural beauty and (at times) savage brutality, the plant folk are at home within the bounds of their typically serene wilderness.  Like the beastfolk, many of these created beings weren’t originally humanoids.  In their case, they were merely plants that were animated and given new life through powerful sylvan magic.  Many have taken after the realm that created them, in hopes of creating a utopia of the organic, while defeating the inorganic.  Despite this, many are by no means evil and aggressive, some don’t even follow the cult-like ethos of their home plane.  Many grow tired of the semi-comprehensible rules, hidden behind the alien chaos of the primal realm.  As such, they’ve set out to explore other possibilities within known (and unknown) reality.  Some still retain attachment to their original home, but hope to “put down roots” elsewhere.

Author’s Note: Looking back at what I made last year, I was wasn’t satisfied with my concept for races of magical plant people.  They seemed really derivative and some decisions felt like rehashes of previous posts, with a different theme.  Now, I’m still struggling a tad with the concept, but here’s my updated take on the idea!  Some of the ideas are something I wanted to try and might be revised in another draft.  Also, I’m sorry for that one pun…  Really, I am.

The Ancient Magi – A Patron of Arcane Remnants for D&D 5th Edition

Many incredible mages exist throughout the multiverse.  They have unlocked the secrets to incredible power, twisting magic into spells rarely seen by fellow spellcasters… if at all.  Those of great power tend to be reclusive, for a powerful mage makes many enemies.  Some even take their magic to new and epic levels.  Whether they become archmages, demigods or just powerful spirits locked in some dimension; some yearn for a student to pass their work onto in some capacity.  After all, while some magical secrets should die with their creator, other gifts should be passed on.

The Ancient Magi Patron provides one such method.  Those in service to the ancient magi are typically scholars of the arcane, seeking ways to expand their knowledge and craft.  Many are devotees to the very arcanist they serve, while some are just greedy and desire to steal forgotten magic for their own benefit.  More often than not, their arcane superior is aware of their intentions and will use them accordingly.  Many ancient magi aren’t even on this plane anymore.  Many of them have long since passed away or are locked in other realities.  Some have been stranded in the Astral Plane, effectively frozen in time; while others are permanently sealed in unknown demiplanes.  Some lucky ones dwell on material planes, but try to make their presence as nuanced as possible.  Great mages like Mornenkainen and Elminster are examples of such magic-users.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Looking back, I wasn’t really too happy with my original draft.  The general idea was solid, but I tried to make it feel too much like a binder vestige instead of a patron.  Plus, some of the mechanics were made when I didn’t fully understand the warlock class.  Now, some of the ideas here are heavily experimental.  Giving a class ability to cast a certain spell 1 – 2 per day… and at the strength of the warlock’s level?  That might be a bit strong, but I wanna see where I can develop this.  None the less, I wanted to make a warlock patron that carries both a bit of sorcerer and wizard flavor to it.  Plus, I created a quick-n-easy class variant for those of us who are nostalgic for the Archivist from the 3.5 Book, “Heroes of Horror”.

Taking Inspiration from the Marvel Cinematic Universe for Dungeons & Dragons

Admittedly, I’ve been away from the boundless realms of graphic novel and comic books.  Whether it’s because I’m hesitant to try new series or because money is always tight, I haven’t really gone too deep into comic books, especially nowadays.  Now, I’ve caught up on a few series and read many of them after the fact, but I’ve never really gotten active within any fandoms… unless a handful of defunct and finished web-comics count for anything, that is.  That said, I’ve been slowly been brought back into the fold thanks to Disney and Marvel teaming up for the relatively recent series of films that have been mostly pretty damn good.  Save for a few sub-par installations, the films that have been released (sometimes more than) once a year have been fantastic.  At the best, an excellent journey of action and heroism… and at worst?  A good way to spend an evening, none the less.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has allowed theater goers to observe all parts of the expansive realms of Marvel; past, present and future.  We’ve had stories jam packed with all sorts of adventure… and all sorts of adventure inspiration.  These are mostly big stories full of drama and conflict, the righteous and the malicious, worlds thrown out of balance due to someone’s corrupt plans; worlds in need of great heroes, where said heroes rise up to the occasion.  On top of that, they have a variety of moods and styles to them.  The stories can range from world threatening menaces to stories about a struggling family to a conspiracy that seeks to intertwine itself with the very companies and governments we associate with.  All around, there’s more than enough to work with.  With that, let’s take a brief look at taking from MCU to enhance and inspire your games.

Editorial Note: Wait, what is this?  Well, I wanted to shake things up a little.  Considering it’s game related, I posted it here rather than on the original review blog.  But, don’t be alarmed, I’m still going to produce as much gaming content as I can.  But, I’m hoping this article will still be useful for you, at least to spark some ideas.

I was originally planning another theme, but Doctor Strange (and the rumors regarding Wizards of the Coast’s next release) revitalized my planar/multiverse theme!  So, a bit off the cuff, but whatever!  In fact, this article is very off the cuff and not really planned at all.  Also, Marvel did not pay me to write this.  I wanted to write this.  I might just like the Marvel movies… a lot.  Also, the following focuses more on the recent movies, for the most part.  None the less, enjoy.

The Lifegiver – A Healing Warlock Patron for D&D 5th Edition

For anyone supporting my second tier, you can check out this live draft on Patreon, where it shall receive some upgrades and downgrades.