I'm running Dungeon of the Mad Mage for my main group. We're about 5-6 sessions in. Thus far, the following has happened (minor spoilers ahead):
-The first party Wizard has found a cursed longsword, which affixed itself to his hand (got the curse removed later)
-The party was assaulted by a gang of bandits masquerading as vampires
-The party has viciously murdered an innocent married goblin couple who were searching for skulls
-They have fireballed several inhabitants
-Been surprise-attacked by a sahuagin-statue-reverted-to-fishman-form
And just this session the party:
-Adopted a goblin who appeared from a magic rune, and was promptly slain by 3 manticores about 5 minutes after materialising
-Have been attacked by shadow clones of themselves
-And immediately found themselves face-to-face with 3 carrion crawlers, after the fighter was left at 5 HP and now has a Strength score of 8. The rogue is now the party's tank.
Every time I've run it, the players instantly called shenanigans on the "vampires" with the semi-meta claim of there is no way vampires hang out on the first level right next to the entrance. Actual vampires would either mow down all the lowbies, get reported by the mid-level groups that ran away, or wiped out by a high level party. I mean come on, a entire clan of vampires, one rope slide down from Durnan's tavern, just asking to be judged, juried, & executed? That what the Order of the Gauntlet calls "A Friday night well spent".
Yeah, my party figured it out pretty much immediately. Granted, I did accidentally call the bandits for what they actually were at one point, but I think by then it was obvious.
One of the party members was particularly interested in the deck of cards the "vampires" were playing with, so I gave them a card that has the depiction of a dracolich, and is effectively a reflavoured spell scroll of a homebrew spell called "Jim's Necrotic Cage".
Oh man, Mad Mage is a great time. That sahuagin statue is a real kick in the teeth, lol.
We got the goblin rune and the poor guy died INSTANTLY. I think we had somehow set off two runes at once, and the other one vaporized him or something. It was way later on than where you are right now.
The party assumed the acid would fall when the box was pried from the statue's hands, so they were pretty surprised when the statue actually animated. They left the room before they opened the box (they haven't opened it yet) which is a shame because I was looking forward to the acid falling on them >:)
I think the group spent more time figuring out a name for the poor gobbo than he was even technically alive for. In the end, they went with the name "Knee Slicer". Knee Slicer unfortunately never lived up to his name, nor did he even get a chance to. The goblin's corpse was later eaten by the aforementioned carrion crawlers, who then went on to devour the bandit-vampire corpses while the party rested nearby in a rope trick space.
I also forgot to mention that the party also had an impromptu dance session with the not-actually-a-wizard shield guardian. They thought it was trying to dance, so I described how it picked out a pinch of sulphur and a tiny piece of bat guano from its component pouch, rubbing the two together before pointing its finger towards the party (dramatically) before suddenly... nothing happened.
I have told the party that they aren't required to go through the entire dungeon because I've heard that it can be a bit of a slog, though so far it's been really fun.
Has anyone homebrewed anything interesting g lately?
In the game I DM, there's a running subplot/gag involving the party stumbling across magic items created by hags, so I'm constantly homebrewing new ones
Some are more useful than others, but using them always comes with a price. This is one an NPC had, but the gang only briefly interacted with them and never discovered that it even existed:
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Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock) Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric) Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue) Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
Has anyone homebrewed anything interesting g lately?
I'm working on a pretty classic dungeon crawl, inspired by some maps made available for personal and commercial use by Dyson. It's a tomb complex which houses the crypt and remains of a long-dead frost giant shaman-king. The complex was created by dwarven and duergar enslaved by the frost giants....but they built in a bunch of traps and tricks as revenge for their taller overlords. Many of the dungeon's features and monsters do some kind of cold damage or related effects, as might be expected in a place designed to honor frost giants....but the dwarves and duergar also created a bunch of fire-related features as revenge on their enslavers, so that if any frost giants came looking for the tomb and went through it, they'd be in for some nasty surprises.
Of course, that's conveniently also true for any delvers/adventurers who come looking for the tomb. They're sure to load up on cold resistant gear and magic...****y to find out it's not enough. (Evil laughter)
(This will be the culmination of a storyline in which the PCs stopped a frost giant shaman from using an ancient artifact to bring destructive blizzards and cold on the civilized lands. In order to actually destroy the artifact [which is cursed for any non-frost giant using it], they have to find the remains of the original frost giant shaman-king and destroy/sanctify them.)
Wow, that sounds like along and involved project. How long have you been working on it and how far have you gotten?
A few months of reading and writing. I’m putting finishing touches on Sebua, Kalidnay, and Nosos but most of my Homebrew is pretty much done.
One of my Homebrew Darklords is a Solar named Adonael who defied divine law by stopping a civil war in another Crystal Sphere - and then killed all of the angels who came to stop him from ruling it.
Has anyone homebrewed anything interesting g lately?
I've been making my own TTRPG, based on 5e but the systems will probably change at some point. It's intended to be a sort of middle-ground between 5e and something like Basic Fantasy.
Aside from that, I've been writing out some homebrew lineages, such as the Mind Flayer and Modron, as well as some non-D&D lineages like the Dralox and the Sergal (one of my players likes furry/scaly stuff) and my own lineage, the Gastrosapien, which is like a slug/snail/worm person. I'll see if I can post it to D&D Beyond at some point.
Has anyone homebrewed anything interesting g lately?
In the game I DM, there's a running subplot/gag involving the party stumbling across magic items created by hags, so I'm constantly homebrewing new ones
Some are more useful than others, but using them always comes with a price. This is one an NPC had, but the gang only briefly interacted with them and never discovered that it even existed:
Awesome! I love cursed items that shift a user’s personality. Like this one:
Have been considering trying my hand at a redux of the Circle of the Shepherd druid. Mostly because the 'Nature Spirit' ability is actually really cool but all the summoning stuff is kinda blah. Pondering redoing the summoning abilities into more of a "Keeper of Spirits" druid that emphasizes alliance with nature spirits over the summoning of random critters. Haven't delved deep into it, but I think it could be an interesting alternate path.
Has anyone homebrewed anything interesting g lately?
I'm working on a pretty classic dungeon crawl, inspired by some maps made available for personal and commercial use by Dyson. It's a tomb complex which houses the crypt and remains of a long-dead frost giant shaman-king. The complex was created by dwarven and duergar enslaved by the frost giants....but they built in a bunch of traps and tricks as revenge for their taller overlords. Many of the dungeon's features and monsters do some kind of cold damage or related effects, as might be expected in a place designed to honor frost giants....but the dwarves and duergar also created a bunch of fire-related features as revenge on their enslavers, so that if any frost giants came looking for the tomb and went through it, they'd be in for some nasty surprises.
Of course, that's conveniently also true for any delvers/adventurers who come looking for the tomb. They're sure to load up on cold resistant gear and magic...****y to find out it's not enough. (Evil laughter)
(This will be the culmination of a storyline in which the PCs stopped a frost giant shaman from using an ancient artifact to bring destructive blizzards and cold on the civilized lands. In order to actually destroy the artifact [which is cursed for any non-frost giant using it], they have to find the remains of the original frost giant shaman-king and destroy/sanctify them.)
That sounds cool, I’ll bet your players are really enjoying it. Any clues yet on how they plan on dealing with the remains?
Wow, that sounds like along and involved project. How long have you been working on it and how far have you gotten?
A few months of reading and writing. I’m putting finishing touches on Sebua, Kalidnay, and Nosos but most of my Homebrew is pretty much done.
One of my Homebrew Darklords is a Solar named Adonael who defied divine law by stopping a civil war in another Crystal Sphere - and then killed all of the angels who came to stop him from ruling it.
Has anyone homebrewed anything interesting g lately?
I've been making my own TTRPG, based on 5e but the systems will probably change at some point. It's intended to be a sort of middle-ground between 5e and something like Basic Fantasy.
Aside from that, I've been writing out some homebrew lineages, such as the Mind Flayer and Modron, as well as some non-D&D lineages like the Dralox and the Sergal (one of my players likes furry/scaly stuff) and my own lineage, the Gastrosapien, which is like a slug/snail/worm person. I'll see if I can post it to D&D Beyond at some point.
That must be taking a long time. How long so far and how much do you have left to write?
I’m unfamiliar with those non-D&D names. What IP are they from?
Have been considering trying my hand at a redux of the Circle of the Shepherd druid. Mostly because the 'Nature Spirit' ability is actually really cool but all the summoning stuff is kinda blah. Pondering redoing the summoning abilities into more of a "Keeper of Spirits" druid that emphasizes alliance with nature spirits over the summoning of random critters. Haven't delved deep into it, but I think it could be an interesting alternate path.
Wow, that sounds like along and involved project. How long have you been working on it and how far have you gotten?
A few months of reading and writing. I’m putting finishing touches on Sebua, Kalidnay, and Nosos but most of my Homebrew is pretty much done.
One of my Homebrew Darklords is a Solar named Adonael who defied divine law by stopping a civil war in another Crystal Sphere - and then killed all of the angels who came to stop him from ruling it.
Whoa. Dark. I love it!
Thanks! Ravenloft is my favorite setting so I put a lot of work into my stuff. Thinking of publishing it once I’m done tbh.
Has anyone homebrewed anything interesting g lately?
In the game I DM, there's a running subplot/gag involving the party stumbling across magic items created by hags, so I'm constantly homebrewing new ones
Some are more useful than others, but using them always comes with a price. This is one an NPC had, but the gang only briefly interacted with them and never discovered that it even existed:
Awesome! I love cursed items that shift a user’s personality. Like this one:
I'm pretty sure the Homebrewers Code of Conduct requires you to add the ability to cast Mordenkainen’s Magnificent Mansion with the item when you typo "manor" for "manner". Though in this case, Sposta's Spectacular Ship may be a appropriate substitution.
Wow, that sounds like along and involved project. How long have you been working on it and how far have you gotten?
A few months of reading and writing. I’m putting finishing touches on Sebua, Kalidnay, and Nosos but most of my Homebrew is pretty much done.
One of my Homebrew Darklords is a Solar named Adonael who defied divine law by stopping a civil war in another Crystal Sphere - and then killed all of the angels who came to stop him from ruling it.
Whoa. Dark. I love it!
Thanks! Ravenloft is my favorite setting so I put a lot of work into my stuff. Thinking of publishing it once I’m done tbh.
Has anyone homebrewed anything interesting g lately?
In the game I DM, there's a running subplot/gag involving the party stumbling across magic items created by hags, so I'm constantly homebrewing new ones
Some are more useful than others, but using them always comes with a price. This is one an NPC had, but the gang only briefly interacted with them and never discovered that it even existed:
Awesome! I love cursed items that shift a user’s personality. Like this one:
I'm pretty sure the Homebrewers Code of Conduct requires you to add the ability to cast Mordenkainen’s Magnificent Mansion with the item when you typo "manor" for "manner". Though in this case, Sposta's Spectacular Ship may be a appropriate substitution.
Lol. Spelling… it will forever be my downfall. But now you’ve given me a great idea for a new homebrew!!
Yeah, my party figured it out pretty much immediately. Granted, I did accidentally call the bandits for what they actually were at one point, but I think by then it was obvious.
One of the party members was particularly interested in the deck of cards the "vampires" were playing with, so I gave them a card that has the depiction of a dracolich, and is effectively a reflavoured spell scroll of a homebrew spell called "Jim's Necrotic Cage".
The party assumed the acid would fall when the box was pried from the statue's hands, so they were pretty surprised when the statue actually animated. They left the room before they opened the box (they haven't opened it yet) which is a shame because I was looking forward to the acid falling on them >:)
I think the group spent more time figuring out a name for the poor gobbo than he was even technically alive for. In the end, they went with the name "Knee Slicer". Knee Slicer unfortunately never lived up to his name, nor did he even get a chance to. The goblin's corpse was later eaten by the aforementioned carrion crawlers, who then went on to devour the bandit-vampire corpses while the party rested nearby in a rope trick space.
I also forgot to mention that the party also had an impromptu dance session with the not-actually-a-wizard shield guardian. They thought it was trying to dance, so I described how it picked out a pinch of sulphur and a tiny piece of bat guano from its component pouch, rubbing the two together before pointing its finger towards the party (dramatically) before suddenly... nothing happened.
I have told the party that they aren't required to go through the entire dungeon because I've heard that it can be a bit of a slog, though so far it's been really fun.
[REDACTED]
Has anyone homebrewed anything interesting g lately?
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I’m working on 5e re-writes of the Ravenloft domains of Kalidnay, Sebua, and Nosos, along with making my own domains.
Wow, that sounds like along and involved project. How long have you been working on it and how far have you gotten?
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
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Content Troubleshooting
In the game I DM, there's a running subplot/gag involving the party stumbling across magic items created by hags, so I'm constantly homebrewing new ones
Some are more useful than others, but using them always comes with a price. This is one an NPC had, but the gang only briefly interacted with them and never discovered that it even existed:
Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock)
Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric)
Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue)
Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
I'm working on a pretty classic dungeon crawl, inspired by some maps made available for personal and commercial use by Dyson. It's a tomb complex which houses the crypt and remains of a long-dead frost giant shaman-king. The complex was created by dwarven and duergar enslaved by the frost giants....but they built in a bunch of traps and tricks as revenge for their taller overlords. Many of the dungeon's features and monsters do some kind of cold damage or related effects, as might be expected in a place designed to honor frost giants....but the dwarves and duergar also created a bunch of fire-related features as revenge on their enslavers, so that if any frost giants came looking for the tomb and went through it, they'd be in for some nasty surprises.
Of course, that's conveniently also true for any delvers/adventurers who come looking for the tomb. They're sure to load up on cold resistant gear and magic...****y to find out it's not enough. (Evil laughter)
(This will be the culmination of a storyline in which the PCs stopped a frost giant shaman from using an ancient artifact to bring destructive blizzards and cold on the civilized lands. In order to actually destroy the artifact [which is cursed for any non-frost giant using it], they have to find the remains of the original frost giant shaman-king and destroy/sanctify them.)
A few months of reading and writing. I’m putting finishing touches on Sebua, Kalidnay, and Nosos but most of my Homebrew is pretty much done.
One of my Homebrew Darklords is a Solar named Adonael who defied divine law by stopping a civil war in another Crystal Sphere - and then killed all of the angels who came to stop him from ruling it.
I've been making my own TTRPG, based on 5e but the systems will probably change at some point. It's intended to be a sort of middle-ground between 5e and something like Basic Fantasy.
Aside from that, I've been writing out some homebrew lineages, such as the Mind Flayer and Modron, as well as some non-D&D lineages like the Dralox and the Sergal (one of my players likes furry/scaly stuff) and my own lineage, the Gastrosapien, which is like a slug/snail/worm person. I'll see if I can post it to D&D Beyond at some point.
[REDACTED]
Awesome! I love cursed items that shift a user’s personality. Like this one:
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
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Have been considering trying my hand at a redux of the Circle of the Shepherd druid. Mostly because the 'Nature Spirit' ability is actually really cool but all the summoning stuff is kinda blah. Pondering redoing the summoning abilities into more of a "Keeper of Spirits" druid that emphasizes alliance with nature spirits over the summoning of random critters. Haven't delved deep into it, but I think it could be an interesting alternate path.
Please do not contact or message me.
That sounds cool, I’ll bet your players are really enjoying it. Any clues yet on how they plan on dealing with the remains?
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Whoa. Dark. I love it!
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That must be taking a long time. How long so far and how much do you have left to write?
I’m unfamiliar with those non-D&D names. What IP are they from?
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You should add it to the FIFY WotC series: (https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/dungeons-dragons-discussion/homebrew-house-rules/157618-fify-wotc-a-series). I plan on getting back to it this week.
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Thanks! Ravenloft is my favorite setting so I put a lot of work into my stuff. Thinking of publishing it once I’m done tbh.
I'm pretty sure the Homebrewers Code of Conduct requires you to add the ability to cast Mordenkainen’s Magnificent Mansion with the item when you typo "manor" for "manner". Though in this case, Sposta's Spectacular Ship may be a appropriate substitution.
Did a thing. Put the first-pass FIFY Circle of Shepherds in its own thread to avoid cluttering your archive.
Please do not contact or message me.
You should.
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Lol. Spelling… it will forever be my downfall. But now you’ve given me a great idea for a new homebrew!!
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