"Greetings, foundlings, and salutations! You have decided to enter the mystical halls of the Brews, where you might learn some most astonishing mysteries and solve the most tangled of puzzles. Your task is to present us with something we haven't seen before, and have it make us look upon it with delight. You have but a few tendays to create your product and show it to us, so we suggest you get to work!"
- Meyonmon Merridith, Ex-Candlekeep Scholar
If this is your first time joining us, welcome. The purpose of this thread is to spread a little bit of fun in the form of a friendly competition! Your task: Create an item of homebrew (see below) that is totally original and makes us go “wow!” The end products will be rated by members of the community, and the victor of each category will help create the next Finest ‘Brew contest! The previous contests are linked below:
All competitions thus far have contained a multitude of spectacular and inspired entries, so I suggest you check them out if you haven't already. Now, onto the important stuff:
Timeframe
Entries must be submitted before midnight (EST) on Monday, April 3rd to be considered part of the competition.
Contest Categories
In each Finest Brew contest, there are three categories. These are so that people with skill in creating, say, monsters, don't end up stuck having to make dungeons. Each category is judged separately. There can only be one entrance per category per account. The category types are as follows:
DM Options: Things that provide tools for DMs to make encounters more interesting and rewards more enticing - such as dungeons/encounters, magic items, monsters, random tables, or even optional rules/mechanics.
PC Options: Things that help a player will build and develop their character - such as homebrew classes, subclasses, spells, feats, backgrounds or race/lineage/species options.
Interactive Options: Things that affect how characters interact with the world, exploring both its social structure and environment - such as NPCs, puzzles, stories/lore, terrain, traps/hazards or even institutions like shops or taverns
This time, our category themes are:
DM Options: The Sword of Damocles
A towering monster approaches from miles away. A dungeon’s entrance closes and is replaced with an ever-advancing wall of spikes. A party of adventurers find themselves becoming worn down more and more by their wounds. Doom looms on the horizon, or just down the street. What monsters, rules, items, or encounters might fit the bill of the approaching dusk? What could inspire such unknowable terror as imminent destruction? (This theme was picked by MilestoGo_24).
PC Options: Loaded Dice
An adventurer peers into the future, sees the death of her comrade, and plucks that possibility from fate. A gambler flips a fair coin fifty times, landing on heads each time. A sorcerer, the product of an incredibly improbable reaction, prophesies of what is to come. The threads of fate are in your hands, to weave — or cut short — as you see fit. The ability to influence chance and fate are fearsome indeed. What powers over destiny and time might manifest in a character? (This theme was picked by Semako).
Interactive Options: Gravitational Mayhem
A party of adventurers fly across a rune-covered room as they try to solve its puzzle and open the door. Earth, rivers, and mountains spontaneously lift into the air as gravity loses its strength in the region. A tavern in Wildspace offers weight-loss drinks with a surprise. The force of gravity weighs down on us every day. But what might happen when that force is lessened — or, heaven forbid — increased? Let’s see what alterations to gravity might make for interesting interactions. (This theme was picked by MilestoGo_24)
Voting will start Friday April 7th (or thereabouts, once the survey is made) and will end at midnight (MT) on Monday April 17th. A Google Forms poll for each category will be posted on this thread, and all may vote on it - including and especially contestants. Contestants are encouraged to vote 5 and 5 on their own submissions; all scores will have 5 subtracted from both voting categories. Scores are assigned using a numerical value from 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent).
Balance/Playability - This score is about how well the entry would run in game. If this entry is overpowered or underpowered, consider subtracting points. Also, consider subtracting points if it is poorly written or unclear, since that would make it a lot harder to understand and use in game.
Idea/Creativity- This score is about cool, interesting and unique the entry is. If someone's idea does not fit well into the contest category it is submitted for, consider subtracting points. If someone has put alot of extra work into the submission reflected by its length or artistic pieces, consider adding points
Written Feedback - You have the option to give written feedback, should you choose, for any entries on the forms. Written feedback does not factor into a contestants score.
We are hoping that by giving everyone more criteria to vote on for each entry, you will think about each aspect and not feel the need to cram all of your thoughts into a single number. We are also hoping that having multiple scores contribute to the total will make ties less likely to occur.
Please try to take the time to review and vote for every entry, except for your own, in the categories you vote in, as even one vote can easily sway a competition like this. If there's anything you feel very strongly about, also feel free to review it in the thread! Reviews won't count for anything, but it's nice to get feedback!
Determining Winners
Category Winners: Each of the two final scores will be added together to constitute the entry's total score, with the highest score determining the winner of each category.
The winner of each individual category will pick the theme for that category in the next competition. If there is a tie, then they can work together to come up with a theme. If you pick the theme for a category, then you cannot compete in it in the next competition.
Contest Winner: The entry with the highest individual score across the three categories will then be coronated as the contest winner and become the judge of the next competition. To clarify, this means that the highest of the 3 high scores is the winner.
If one person wins two or more categories, they win, regardless of if any of their individual scores are the highest.
If two or more entries are tied for highest score, the contestant with the highest total score for all of their entries will take the crown - so be sure to try and put something forward for every category to win a tiebreaker!
Guides & Mini-FAQ* & Changelog
WAIT! Before you see the 5th level Wall of Text in this FAQ’s* & Guides section, and decide not to submit to the competition because you don’t want to read it, remember that reading this section is COMPLETELY OPTIONAL. You do not need to read any of this to submit something for the competition, to pick a category, or to become the next judge. This is merely a helpful tool if you’re confused. You have no obligation to read or use it!
Guide for Competition & Category Winners.
Competition Winner: The competition winner becomes the next judge, they are responsible for doing the following:
They must start a private message thread between all the other category winners to figure out what themes the next categories will have. The judge must also pick the themes for all the categories they won. When possible, it is best to avoid reusing the same theme for the same category multiple times, though repeating themes for the same categories will be unavoidable eventually.
The judge must start the next competition thread. They can copy & paste most information from the previous competition thread, but must change the relevant information, such as dates and category themes. If you are the next judge and don’t know how long a given part of the competition, such as voting, should last, then just look at how long it lasted in the last competition, and have it be the same length for your competition. The judge should also update the “Contestants” section of their competition with links to each entry, and the name of the user who submitted it.
Once the time to submit entries ends, the judge is responsible for starting the google form for voting. If a judge doesn’t know how to do this, there will most likely be someone from the previous competition who would be willing to help if asked.
The judge should remove troll votes if there are any, and announce the scores and winners of the previous competition, after voting ends. It’s alright not to be able to do this immediately after voting ends, but the judge should try to do it as quickly as they can.
The judge, just like any other category winner, cannot submit anything to a category they created, or significantly impacted the creation of.
Category Winners: A category winner must do the following:
They must pick the next competition's theme for the category they won. Other category winners can help advise you or give you ideas for the theme, but ultimately, it’s up to you to pick it. The judge should start a private message thread with you and the other category winners, and that’s where you tell them your next category idea.
If you pick a category's theme, you cannot participate in it in the next competition. In addition, if you played a very, very significant role in picking another category’s theme, it is best for you not to participate in it. For example, if another contestant gives a list of their five ideas for the next competition and lets you pick it, then you probably shouldn’t participate in that category for when that theme comes up. However, if you just say something like, “Ooh, that sounds like a cool category idea,” or, “I like that idea but it is a little confusing, maybe you could word it differently?” Then you didn’t play that significant of a role in choosing that category, so you can still participate in it.
Mini FAQ* for competition contestants:
Q. Wait, how do I submit?
A. You just make a post in the competition thread with either a link to your entry, or your entry typed out in it. It helps to add what category you’re submitting to, but it is not strictly necessary since it’s pretty easy to figure out what type of category the entry is for.
Q. Can you vote on your own submission?
A. Yes. Contestants are encouraged strongly to vote, and to vote 5 & 5 on their own submissions, as 5 will be subtracted from each score while being calculated. This is to maintain fair voting while encouraging votes.
Q. Where can I find the forms for voting?
A. When the competition submission time ends, voting will start soon. You vote on a google form. The judge should link the forms near the voting section when they’re up, and they will probably also make a post on the thread announcing that voting’s started with the link.
Q. Can I have multiple submissions in the same competition?
A. Yes, you can have multiple submissions for the same competition. HOWEVER, as described in the “Contest Categories” section of this competition, you can only have one entry per category. For example, you can make something for the DM’s Options, PC Options, and Inspirational Options, but you can't make two things for PC Options and one for DM’s.
Q. I’ve already submitted something for X category, can I change my submission for it?
A. Yes, you can change your submission for a specific category as long as the deadline for submissions has not yet been reached. Do remember that if you’re changing your submission, it is best to edit your original post with your first submission to say that it is obsolete, and necessary to make a new one to announce & link your new submission. Also, do keep in mind that it does create a bit more work for the judges when you edit your submission, because they have to update the links. However, it is alright to do so.
Q. Is written feedback optional and does it effect an entries score?
A. Yes, written feedback is optional. No, it does not effect an entries score.
Q. Is the scoring by total score, or by average score?
A. The scoring is done by both average scores (Balance/Playability, Idea/Creativity) being added together for a final score. All scores have -5 when being calculated for reasons stated elsewhere.
Q. How do I know if my submission is more appropriate for the DM category or the Interactive category?
A. If it is not obvious which of the two categories your submission would make sense for, then it really comes down to which pillar of the game you seek to explore. DM Options are more closely tied to combat whereas Interactive Options are more closely tied to exploration and social encounters.
As an example, if you have an NPC with a stat block and you are not sure where to submit, consider whether the goal of incorporating the NPC into a game would be to fight the PCs or for the PCs to gather information from it. Its possible to write a strong, social-focused NPC who still has a stat block just in case things turn towards combat, but if your desire for the NPC is to interact with the PCs through roleplay, then it likely is more fitting for the Interactive Category. If your desire is for the NPC to maybe roleplay a little, but ultimately engage the party in combat, then it would be closer to a "monster" and fit in the DM category.
Changelog
Removed Inspirational Category. Replaced with Interactive Category. Rearranged/introduced submission types for all three categories accordingly
The goal is to expand the non-DM, non-PC options to allow for more creativity and input without being bogged down in the traditionally lengthy options of designing dungeons, character builds, and lore. With the addition of things like NPCs, puzzles, terrain, and hazards, the hope is that there is more room in the third category now for more "bite sized" homebrewing
Added “5 & 5” clause encouraging contestants to vote 5 & 5 on their own submission, and all scores will have -5 when being calculated.
The idea is to encourage contestants to vote, and to prevent imbalance in the number of votes or unfair voting. The previous “don’t vote on yours” was wholly unreliable. This way, contestants will only be at a disadvantage if they do not vote or if they vote lower on their submission.
Hail, jesters and jokesters! Hail, fey and fiend! On first day of April, the day of fools, the thread you find this flyer on shall be hijacked by yours truly: Artagan, the Traveler! On that day, be certain to prank the hubris-laden creator of this thread with all manner of ridiculous “‘brews” as they are called, after which the contestants of the thread shall, under my magical compulsion, vote for the funniest one! Have fun until then!
Looking forward to this. I already have an idea for a dungeon or encounter for the DM category, but we will have to see if time permits me to make it a reality.
I've also got an idea for a puzzle for the interactive category, but will need to play around with it a little. It could come across more like a math problem than a fun dungeon puzzle depending on the execution
This is something from a Spelljammer mini-campaign I ran.
Interactive Options: Chase Space Concessions Everything you need to Chase the Stars!
Arrival:
Chase Space Concessions is a wheel-shaped space station (I used the map of Deep Space 9) which exists in it's own pocket dimension of Wildspace. Any spelljammer need only decide to plot a course towards the concessions and a wormhole/portal to it's pocket dimension will mysteriously appear within 100 ft of the ship. Upon arriving in the pocket dimension a gravitational tether will grab hold of the ship and pull it safely into one of the many docking ports around the outer edge of the station, and a cheerful magic voice will call out: "Welcome to Chase Space Concessions, Everything you need to Chase the Stars!", it will also lists up to 3 special offers, sales, or events available on the station. Note: merchants on the station must pay for these advertisements in an auction, with the top three bids being chosen.
Once docked, the party can disembark and explore the station. A Thri-Kreen attendant will be present at the docking port to answer questions and direct characters to locations of interest. The Thri-Kreen attendant will explain that so long as the party spends at least 1 gold per person on good or services while at the station then docking is free.
Shops of Interest:
Mad Marcus’ Miracles : This is the local Healer & herbalist shop, it is run by a Harengon named Marcus Hadrio. Marcus is known as "Mad Marcus" due to his extreme social anxiety that causes him to talk rather fast, and compulsively rubs one of his ears every 20 seconds while talking to people. However he is a certifiable genius with encyclopedic knowledge of religions, different planes, curses, diseases and other ailments, rare herbs from across the galaxy and strange magical phenomena. He can cast Detect Magic (50 gp), Identify (50 gp), Remove Curse (250 gp), Revivify (500 gp), Raise Dead (1000 gp) or Legend Lore (2000 gp), he also sells holy water, cleric / paladin spell scrolls, holy symbols, incense, diamonds, and some magic staffs. He was previously a prisoner of Mindflayers but escaped thanks to what he believes was divine intervention, as a result he is moderately paranoid and constantly wears a metal hat (Helm of Telepathy) which he claims is to stop "them" from reading his thoughts. Despite his eccentrics, he is the finest healer on the station and has even treated Nicky Chase (the current owner of the station) her self and is one of very few people on the station capable of contacting her / arranging a meeting between the players and her.
SpaceMart : This is the largest store on the station, it sells most non-magical items, basic potions, pets / animals, ship parts, etc... It has the lowest prices for common goods (20% discount), but stocks only poor quality items (weapons/armor will break if a character using one of them is hit by a critical hit). It is staffed by Shemsara, a young tiefling, who is only there because her parents made her get a "real job" she is utter unhelpful and incompetent as she earn minimal income and hates working here. If the players insist she will eventually call the manager : MB-3390 - an autognome (or Warforged) - who is more polite and enjoys working there but is not particularly more helpful as they rigorously stick to the scripts & protocols they were trained to use by headquarters.
Steel and Avil : This is the most prestigious blacksmith shop on the station, it sells non-magical weapons and armour as well as Mithral and Adamantine items, and can make custom orders. It is run by Ragnar Ragnarsson an outgoing and boistrous dwarf with thick red hair & beard, he has a secret crush on Yanica, a Wildspace Scout who can usually be found at Never Lost Stellar Cartography. Ragnar has never told Yanica about his feelings as he gets tongue tied whenever he's near her. If the party befriend him, he will ask them to deliver a gift (a unique blaster pistol) to Yanica.
Fae Farawyn's Oddities and Antiques : This over filled junk / magic item shop is owned and operated by a beautiful, one-legged half-elf named Fae Farawyn. She used to be an adventurer / explorer until a space-whale ripped off one of her legs. The broken figure head from her last ship is mounted on the wall of the shop. If the players find and kill the whale that maimed her, she will gift them a Rare or Very Rare magical item from her collection as a reward.
Boiling Bubbles : This apothecary is one of the major attractions of Chase Station, and the owner Dorleen, an ancient gnomish woman, has special permission to an anti-gravity field in her shop, due to her age and frailty. As a result she keeps various potions in large floating bubbles that hover around her shop, which she scoops out into glass jars upon purchase. A special treat is to watch to using various enchanted tools to cook up a new batch of potion while it hovers in mid air. If befriended, the party can learn that Dorleen is rather lonely, since she is stuck inside her shop, and misses her old friend Magrite Strangefellow whom left the shop 10 years ago after they had a fight about Magrite's pet cat making a mess of Dorleen's potions. Dorleen will reward the players if they convince Magrite to come visit the shop so that Dorleen can make amends.
Budget Burks : This is a discount spelljammer shipwright and repair shop is part of a chain across all of Wildspace. Such shops are so common that cheap small lower quality spelljammers are referred to as "Burks" in slang. They can repair a spelljammer ship for 5% of its maximum hit points per day up to a maximum of 75% of its maximum hit points at a cost of 5gp per day. Budget Burks also sells basic augmentations to spelljammer ships including grappling harpoons for ballistas (100 gp each), basic arcane cannons (2,000 gp each : deal force damage & no loading required), universal sending stones for ship-ship communication (150 gp each), Repair supplies (5 gp & allows spending 1 spelljammer ship hit dice to repair it out of dock), and Fish Suits (1,000 gp each). Budget Burks is run by a bunch of large half-orcs named: Greyson, Tori, Meribeth, Sam, and Feris.
Auto Ship Maintenance : This high quality spelljammer ship repair shop is staffed by a huge number of autognomes enabling them to repair any ship to any degree within 24 hours depending on how much the owners as willing to pay. Repairs cost 1 gp per hit point restored which can be negotiated down to 8 sp per hit point restored for bigger jobs if the party is willing to wait a few days for the work to be completed.
Never Lost Stellar Cartography : This shop offers maps, navigation tools, and route-planning advice to spelljammer captains and crew. They are and outpost of the Wildspace Explorer's and Cartography Union (WECU), that commission captains and crews to explore uncharted regions of Wildspace and gather and synthesize maps and locations of various Wildspace phenomena, planets, and creature habitats into the most accurate and detailed maps available. They are also able to provided advice on potential dangers, and suggestions for finding various types of stellar creatures. Due to the generally accepted importance of WECU maps and expertise, WECU maintains universal impartiality and neutrality to all interplanetary conflicts and an official badge of membership can be used to access nearly any location (except for military installation) of Wildspace as long as members hold to a strict non-interference policy. Yanica, a burly human woman with a pick mohawk and many intricate tattoos, is frequently staffing the Never Lost shop front, but changing cast of half a dozen other stellar explorers can be found in the WECU outpost behind the shop.
Exotic Flavours Food Stand : a food stall run by a pair of argumentative Hadozee (Lesa and Doig) that offers all kinds of exotic food, beverages, and treats from across Wildspace. Try their Purple Treacle (turns your hair purple), Oliphant Oatmeal (doubles in size when put into water), Lygoon Licker Lollies (blue and taste strangely cold), Stardust Souffle (pops and crackles in your mouth as you eat it), or Mastodon Meatballs (size of a baseball and very hearty).
Other Points of Interest:
Colosseum (Gladiator Dome): In the center of Chase Concessions, where the gravity is weakest is a spherical space known as the Colosseum. People vs people fights and people vs monster fights take place on a daily basis at the Colosseum, with winners paid a hefty prize, and there are ample opportunities for spectators to bet on the outcomes. The Colosseum is run by Trusk, a big muscular Giff, and his various half-orc, gith and goliath employees. While betting is handled by Cri'ek a shifty, smooth thinking Thri-Kreen, who wears a black suit and top hat. Trusk and Cri'ek are members of a criminal organization which also sells a drug known as Wool (compacted fur from a Himalayan space hamster) in 'secret' throughout the station. Many of the station's dock attendants are also secretly members of this criminal organization. If the party cheat in the Colosseum, Trusk will have them brought to an "out of order" docking bay and force them to work for the criminal organization by delivering a shipment of Wool to one of the organization's bases within an asteroid in another system.
Jobs Board : A jobs board can be found in the center of the market district, with various requests posted on it.
Central Spire : In the center of the station is a tall crystalline tower where Nicky Chase and the executives of the station live and work. While the sides of the tower are made of impenetrable crystal it is impossible to see inside and there are no doors or windows to be seen anywhere on the tower. A private small spelljammer ship is located at the very top of the spire which Nicky uses to travel when needed. No one is ever seen entering or leaving the spire and most of what people of the station say about it are pure rumours and speculation. Illusory images of Nicky can be seen in the station welcoming and promoting various stores and activities, where she is presented as a tall beautiful human woman with medium length brown hair and striking green eyes. However, no one knows if this is truly what Nicky looks like (except for the few who have personally met her and been sworn to secrecy to protect her privacy).
Residential District : An inner ring of the space station is lined with identical rectangular rooms that serve as residential quarters for the staff, and rentable beds for visitors. Each one contains two bedroom each with a double bed, a bathroom, a kitchen and hybrid living/dining room.
Plot:
Once the party are sufficiently well known Nicky Chase (Owner of the space station) may invite them to speak with her inside the Central Spire, via a door that simply opens at the end of an unused service hallway that leads reveals an arcane elevator taking them up to the top of the spire where they meet with a magically disguised Nicky (Alter Self) to look like her illusions, and sent back down the way they came or out via the spelljammer dock at the top of the spire none the wiser. The truth is that Nicky was a sickly and ugly girl, due to a congenital birth defect, who was locked out the business by her father and brothers, and stuck in her room with nothing to do, despite being highly intelligent. She sold her soul and half the profits from the Station to the Archdevil Mammon in exchange for taking over the business. Mammon arranged to have her entire family have an "accident" and fly into a blackhole in Wildspace leaving her the sole heir to the station.
Since then Mammon has insisted more and more of his devils take over the running of the station to maximize profits - this includes allowing Trusk and his criminals to thrive, selling clones to the most powerful & rich beings in the universe, and having much of the central spire filled with mind-controlled bureaucrats working on buying/selling stocks, property and businesses throughout the galaxy. These businesses are run by a trio of Amnizu loyal only to Mammon. Nicky is increasely unhappy about the deal as Mammon is taking over the business and pushing her out just like her father and brothers, but feels trapped and powerless because of her deal. Nicky may drop subtle hints whenever she speaks to the party about what is going on, and eventually may find a way to communicate with them directly without Mammon knowing to explain the situation and ask for their help.
This is an old brew of mine that I'd like to revisit for the competition, it is from three years ago when I was playing a cleric of Tymora in a game as a Trickster Domain and wasn't satisfied with it. Unfortunately the campaign fizzled before I finished this HB subclass instead and I sort of abandoned it. Rereading it now, I'm not that happy with it overall, so suggestions are welcome for how to fix it.
This is something from a Spelljammer mini-campaign I ran.
Interactive Options: Chase Space Concessions Everything you need to Chase the Stars!
Arrival:
Chase Space Concessions is a wheel-shaped space station (I used the map of Deep Space 9) which exists in it's own pocket dimension of Wildspace. Any spelljammer need only decide to plot a course towards the concessions and a wormhole/portal to it's pocket dimension will mysteriously appear within 100 ft of the ship. Upon arriving in the pocket dimension a gravitational tether will grab hold of the ship and pull it safely into one of the many docking ports around the outer edge of the station, and a cheerful magic voice will call out: "Welcome to Chase Space Concessions, Everything you need to Chase the Stars!", it will also lists up to 3 special offers, sales, or events available on the station. Note: merchants on the station must pay for these advertisements in an auction, with the top three bids being chosen.
Once docked, the party can disembark and explore the station. A Thri-Kreen attendant will be present at the docking port to answer questions and direct characters to locations of interest. The Thri-Kreen attendant will explain that so long as the party spends at least 1 gold per person on good or services while at the station then docking is free.
Shops of Interest:
Mad Marcus’ Miracles : This is the local Healer & herbalist shop, it is run by a Harengon named Marcus Hadrio. Marcus is known as "Mad Marcus" due to his extreme social anxiety that causes him to talk rather fast, and compulsively rubs one of his ears every 20 seconds while talking to people. However he is a certifiable genius with encyclopedic knowledge of religions, different planes, curses, diseases and other ailments, rare herbs from across the galaxy and strange magical phenomena. He can cast Detect Magic (50 gp), Identify (50 gp), Remove Curse (250 gp), Revivify (500 gp), Raise Dead (1000 gp) or Legend Lore (2000 gp), he also sells holy water, cleric / paladin spell scrolls, holy symbols, incense, diamonds, and some magic staffs. He was previously a prisoner of Mindflayers but escaped thanks to what he believes was divine intervention, as a result he is moderately paranoid and constantly wears a metal hat (Helm of Telepathy) which he claims is to stop "them" from reading his thoughts. Despite his eccentrics, he is the finest healer on the station and has even treated Nicky Chase (the current owner of the station) her self and is one of very few people on the station capable of contacting her / arranging a meeting between the players and her.
SpaceMart : This is the largest store on the station, it sells most non-magical items, basic potions, pets / animals, ship parts, etc... It has the lowest prices for common goods (20% discount), but stocks only poor quality items (weapons/armor will break if a character using one of them is hit by a critical hit). It is staffed by Shemsara, a young tiefling, who is only there because her parents made her get a "real job" she is utter unhelpful and incompetent as she earn minimal income and hates working here. If the players insist she will eventually call the manager : MB-3390 - an autognome (or Warforged) - who is more polite and enjoys working there but is not particularly more helpful as they rigorously stick to the scripts & protocols they were trained to use by headquarters.
Steel and Avil : This is the most prestigious blacksmith shop on the station, it sells non-magical weapons and armour as well as Mithral and Adamantine items, and can make custom orders. It is run by Ragnar Ragnarsson an outgoing and boistrous dwarf with thick red hair & beard, he has a secret crush on Yanica, a Wildspace Scout who can usually be found at Never Lost Stellar Cartography. Ragnar has never told Yanica about his feelings as he gets tongue tied whenever he's near her. If the party befriend him, he will ask them to deliver a gift (a unique blaster pistol) to Yanica.
Fae Farawyn's Oddities and Antiques : This over filled junk / magic item shop is owned and operated by a beautiful, one-legged half-elf named Fae Farawyn. She used to be an adventurer / explorer until a space-whale ripped off one of her legs. The broken figure head from her last ship is mounted on the wall of the shop. If the players find and kill the whale that maimed her, she will gift them a Rare or Very Rare magical item from her collection as a reward.
Boiling Bubbles : This apothecary is one of the major attractions of Chase Station, and the owner Dorleen, an ancient gnomish woman, has special permission to an anti-gravity field in her shop, due to her age and frailty. As a result she keeps various potions in large floating bubbles that hover around her shop, which she scoops out into glass jars upon purchase. A special treat is to watch to using various enchanted tools to cook up a new batch of potion while it hovers in mid air. If befriended, the party can learn that Dorleen is rather lonely, since she is stuck inside her shop, and misses her old friend Magrite Strangefellow whom left the shop 10 years ago after they had a fight about Magrite's pet cat making a mess of Dorleen's potions. Dorleen will reward the players if they convince Magrite to come visit the shop so that Dorleen can make amends.
Budget Burks : This is a discount spelljammer shipwright and repair shop is part of a chain across all of Wildspace. Such shops are so common that cheap small lower quality spelljammers are referred to as "Burks" in slang. They can repair a spelljammer ship for 5% of its maximum hit points per day up to a maximum of 75% of its maximum hit points at a cost of 5gp per day. Budget Burks also sells basic augmentations to spelljammer ships including grappling harpoons for ballistas (100 gp each), basic arcane cannons (2,000 gp each : deal force damage & no loading required), universal sending stones for ship-ship communication (150 gp each), Repair supplies (5 gp & allows spending 1 spelljammer ship hit dice to repair it out of dock), and Fish Suits (1,000 gp each). Budget Burks is run by a bunch of large half-orcs named: Greyson, Tori, Meribeth, Sam, and Feris.
Auto Ship Maintenance : This high quality spelljammer ship repair shop is staffed by a huge number of autognomes enabling them to repair any ship to any degree within 24 hours depending on how much the owners as willing to pay. Repairs cost 1 gp per hit point restored which can be negotiated down to 8 sp per hit point restored for bigger jobs if the party is willing to wait a few days for the work to be completed.
Never Lost Stellar Cartography : This shop offers maps, navigation tools, and route-planning advice to spelljammer captains and crew. They are and outpost of the Wildspace Explorer's and Cartography Union (WECU), that commission captains and crews to explore uncharted regions of Wildspace and gather and synthesize maps and locations of various Wildspace phenomena, planets, and creature habitats into the most accurate and detailed maps available. They are also able to provided advice on potential dangers, and suggestions for finding various types of stellar creatures. Due to the generally accepted importance of WECU maps and expertise, WECU maintains universal impartiality and neutrality to all interplanetary conflicts and an official badge of membership can be used to access nearly any location (except for military installation) of Wildspace as long as members hold to a strict non-interference policy. Yanica, a burly human woman with a pick mohawk and many intricate tattoos, is frequently staffing the Never Lost shop front, but changing cast of half a dozen other stellar explorers can be found in the WECU outpost behind the shop.
Exotic Flavours Food Stand : a food stall run by a pair of argumentative Hadozee (Lesa and Doig) that offers all kinds of exotic food, beverages, and treats from across Wildspace. Try their Purple Treacle (turns your hair purple), Oliphant Oatmeal (doubles in size when put into water), Lygoon Licker Lollies (blue and taste strangely cold), Stardust Souffle (pops and crackles in your mouth as you eat it), or Mastodon Meatballs (size of a baseball and very hearty).
Other Points of Interest:
Colosseum (Gladiator Dome): In the center of Chase Concessions, where the gravity is weakest is a spherical space known as the Colosseum. People vs people fights and people vs monster fights take place on a daily basis at the Colosseum, with winners paid a hefty prize, and there are ample opportunities for spectators to bet on the outcomes. The Colosseum is run by Trusk, a big muscular Giff, and his various half-orc, gith and goliath employees. While betting is handled by Cri'ek a shifty, smooth thinking Thri-Kreen, who wears a black suit and top hat. Trusk and Cri'ek are members of a criminal organization which also sells a drug known as Wool (compacted fur from a Himalayan space hamster) in 'secret' throughout the station. Many of the station's dock attendants are also secretly members of this criminal organization. If the party cheat in the Colosseum, Trusk will have them brought to an "out of order" docking bay and force them to work for the criminal organization by delivering a shipment of Wool to one of the organization's bases within an asteroid in another system.
Jobs Board : A jobs board can be found in the center of the market district, with various requests posted on it.
Central Spire : In the center of the station is a tall crystalline tower where Nicky Chase and the executives of the station live and work. While the sides of the tower are made of impenetrable crystal it is impossible to see inside and there are no doors or windows to be seen anywhere on the tower. A private small spelljammer ship is located at the very top of the spire which Nicky uses to travel when needed. No one is ever seen entering or leaving the spire and most of what people of the station say about it are pure rumours and speculation. Illusory images of Nicky can be seen in the station welcoming and promoting various stores and activities, where she is presented as a tall beautiful human woman with medium length brown hair and striking green eyes. However, no one knows if this is truly what Nicky looks like (except for the few who have personally met her and been sworn to secrecy to protect her privacy).
Residential District : An inner ring of the space station is lined with identical rectangular rooms that serve as residential quarters for the staff, and rentable beds for visitors. Each one contains two bedroom each with a double bed, a bathroom, a kitchen and hybrid living/dining room.
Plot:
Once the party are sufficiently well known Nicky Chase (Owner of the space station) may invite them to speak with her inside the Central Spire, via a door that simply opens at the end of an unused service hallway that leads reveals an arcane elevator taking them up to the top of the spire where they meet with a magically disguised Nicky (Alter Self) to look like her illusions, and sent back down the way they came or out via the spelljammer dock at the top of the spire none the wiser. The truth is that Nicky was a sickly and ugly girl, due to a congenital birth defect, who was locked out the business by her father and brothers, and stuck in her room with nothing to do, despite being highly intelligent. She sold her soul and half the profits from the Station to the Archdevil Mammon in exchange for taking over the business. Mammon arranged to have her entire family have an "accident" and fly into a blackhole in Wildspace leaving her the sole heir to the station.
Since then Mammon has insisted more and more of his devils take over the running of the station to maximize profits - this includes allowing Trusk and his criminals to thrive, selling clones to the most powerful & rich beings in the universe, and having much of the central spire filled with mind-controlled bureaucrats working on buying/selling stocks, property and businesses throughout the galaxy. These businesses are run by a trio of Amnizu loyal only to Mammon. Nicky is increasely unhappy about the deal as Mammon is taking over the business and pushing her out just like her father and brothers, but feels trapped and powerless because of her deal. Nicky may drop subtle hints whenever she speaks to the party about what is going on, and eventually may find a way to communicate with them directly without Mammon knowing to explain the situation and ask for their help.
Apologies, but the theme is more oriented towards “gravity” and less towards “spelljammer/space”. Perhaps there’s a way to add on to this submission to better fit that?
I'm glad this is out and looking forward to brewing. I hope I can come up with something good. These are some interesting options. After reading through the Hellboy Omnibus the Sword of Damocles option will be fun, though I don't think I will do a Hellboy styled submission for that. Still, it will provide good inspiration.
Appreciator of all things Weird, Wondrous, and/or Yummy
In the Autumn Country, days end quickly, the gloaming hours linger, and the midnights pile one upon the other till the air is thick and flows like twilight syrup.
In the FAQ, the questions of "Can you vote on your own submissions" and "Is the scoring by total score, or by average score?" contain outdated information.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Look at what you've done. You spoiled it. You have nobody to blame but yourself. Go sit and think about your actions.
Don't be mean. Rudeness is a vicious cycle, and it has to stop somewhere. Exceptions for things that are funny. Go to the current Competition of the Finest 'Brews! It's a cool place where cool people make cool things.
How I'm posting based on text formatting: Mod Hat Off - Mod Hat Also Off (I'm not a mod)
In the FAQ, the questions of "Can you vote on your own submissions" and "Is the scoring by total score, or by average score?" contain outdated information.
I'll fix it tomorrow (reason: I have homework to do)
For the cheats and cons amongst us, here's a little cantrip I made a while back called Gambler's Boon. Use it responsibly! (or don't [I'd actually prefer if you didn't]) This is my submission for the PC Options.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Look at what you've done. You spoiled it. You have nobody to blame but yourself. Go sit and think about your actions.
Don't be mean. Rudeness is a vicious cycle, and it has to stop somewhere. Exceptions for things that are funny. Go to the current Competition of the Finest 'Brews! It's a cool place where cool people make cool things.
How I'm posting based on text formatting: Mod Hat Off - Mod Hat Also Off (I'm not a mod)
Out of curiosity, why is the submission deadline the 3rd when voting doesn’t start until the 7th? Why not either extend the submission period until the 6th, or extend the voting period by moving up the opening of the vote to the 4th?
Looking forward to having a go at this one, now that the house move is mostly complete!
Would I be correct that the DM Options one is referring to situations of imminent death? I am not familiar with the Sword of Damocles!
If you have a sword of Damocles “hanging over you/your head,” something bad seems very likely to happen to you. The threat of getting fired might be “hanging over someone’s head like a sword of Damocles” for example. Or, another example a li’l more familiar might be the threat of a Moderator infracting me for a post is always hanging over my head like a sword of Damocles. It may not be imminent death per se, but ill tidings be afoot.
For the cheats and cons amongst us, here's a little cantrip I made a while back called Gambler's Boon. Use it responsibly! (or don't [I'd actually prefer if you didn't]) This is my submission for the PC Options.
Cool. It is just a minor issue, but I would think that spotting the spell would require an investigation check like it does in minor illusion. It makes sense that Arcana should work too, but sense investigation is already used in a similar spell, maybe it should stay the same. Or do both, or keep it as it is, it isn’t that big of a deal.
Appreciator of all things Weird, Wondrous, and/or Yummy
In the Autumn Country, days end quickly, the gloaming hours linger, and the midnights pile one upon the other till the air is thick and flows like twilight syrup.
Out of curiosity, why is the submission deadline the 3rd when voting doesn’t start until the 7th? Why not either extend the submission period until the 6th, or extend the voting period by moving up the opening of the vote to the 4th?
This is because I have historically had bad timing when it comes to making the survey itself and Google forms in general
Premise: Leifwyth the Lazy was an average farmer's son until one day while he was hiding from his parents to avoid doing his chores he came across a long lost magical crypt where Belphegor, the Daemon of Gluttony had been sealed. Belphegor offered Leifwyth a deal he could not refuse - arcane power to take care of all his chores in exchange for releasing Belphegor and serving as his host. Leifwyth accepted and soon had rivers of Dunamanctic Arcane powers rushing at his finger tips.
But rather than use these powers for fame, fortune, or global domination, Leifwyth used them simply to make his own life as easy and luxurious as possible. Thus was created The Teleporting Tower of Leifwyth the Lazy. The tower can teleport itself across the land so that Leifwyth need never leave the comfort of his own home. Undead servants are sent out to collect any supplies, food, or other goods Laifwyth requires. As Leifwyth has grown to enormous size (Huge creature, weight of ~ 2 tons) from an endless supply of food and no exercise, he magically manipulates the gravity within his tower to move himself around as his limbs are utterly incapable of doing so. He also uses these powers to prevent unauthorized entry of others by increasing the gravity around them until they are incapable of movement (or squashed into pancakes on the floor) and sending his undead servants to throw them out.
Effect on the Surroundings
Leifwyth demands a constant supply of baked goods, wine, rich meats, and fresh fruits to his tower for consumption. He does no productive work to earn coin to pay for these item, but instead his undead servants will threaten, cheat, steal, or use violence to force the surrounding town to provide an ever increasing tribute to the tower. Leifwyth will only move his tower to the next settlement when the locals have been reduced to starving poverty.
As a result of his great consumption, Leifwyth generates huge amounts of waste, which is magically compacted into cubes and dumped out a hatch to the rear of the tower. PCs can climb up this chute if they time it right and succeed on a DC 20 Acrobatics check.
Undead Servants
In order to achieve their master's goals with minimal oversight (and thus work), Leithwyth has granted them a slightly lower than normal intelligence (use zombie statistics but with Intelligence of 8). These undead have a degree of independence sufficient to organize themselves and think up basic solutions to problems, as well as the ability to speak and understand Common. However, they have no sense of morality, or goals other than to provide to Leifwyth that which Leifwyth demands.
Infiltrating the Tower
The Tower contains various rooms designed for pleasure and luxury, including: an artificial lagoon with sandy beach, several ornate bedrooms, a mud room, several large beautiful gardens, a fine dining room with huge diamond chandelier, a sauna, several enormous pantries and wine cellars, and a gigantic vault filled with gold, jewels, and other valuable items. The main tower has no stairs, only ramps and tunnels which a Huge creature could Levitate through. At the top of the tower is Leifwyth's chambers including a gigantic bed covered in down filled pillows and silk covers, and steam warm pool.
Hidden behind various large expensive paintings can be found secret doors that lead to small, cramped, grimy servants' stairwells and passage ways. These create a maze of passages leading to every floor and most major rooms of the tower enabling the undead servants to quickly fetch any item Leifwyth desires with minimal interaction with him.
Random Dangers
The tower and its many rooms are maintained by various specialized undead beings, in addition it is kept clean by several Gelatinous Cubes which randomly travel through the hallways and rooms.
Gravity Traps
If Leifwyth is aware the party is within his tower, he will activate various Gravity traps to try and foil them. e.g.
Vertical Pit Trap - Local Reverse gravity throws a creature up onto spikes mounted on the ceiling (DC 16 Dex save vs 3d10 piercing damage). Gravity Well - A floating orb pulls all creatures & items in a 30 ft radius towards itself 10 ft each round (DC 16 STR save to resist), and creates and area of difficult terrain around itself. If a creature is pulled into the orb it becomes grappled & restrained and must make a Wis save (DC 16) at the start of each turn or take 4d10 force damage. Gravity Ramps - rather than stairs there are ramps with gravitational fields that can pull creature up or down them, Leifwyth can tune these to pull the party away from him. (DC 13 Str save to be able to move at half speed up the ramp, if a creature fails by 5 or more they slide 15 ft back down the ramp) Gravity trash Compactor - gravity fields crush the massive waste generated by Leifwyth into cubes before ejecting it from the tower, should the party enter one of these chambers it will happily compact them as well. On Initiative 20, the creature farthest from the center of the room (each creature if there is a tie) must succeed on a DC 18 Str save or take 2d10 force damage and be pushed 10 ft towards the center of the room.
Leifwyth
Leifwyth's living quarters are entirely enchanted with Levitate spells such that any creature within the area is affected by it. Leifwyth has been utterly corrupted by his host daemon and will attempt to consume any living thing that enters his quarters unannounced. Casting Greater Restoration of Leifwyth breaks his possession by Belphegor, allowing the Daemon to be targeted separately from its host.
For my DM option, I'll likely either rework one of my earliest monsters or, if I find enough time, will convert Octopath Traveler 2's final boss into a D&D encounter, just like how I did Galdera in a previous iteration of this contest. This boss would work as a single monster though, recrating it asa D&D monster is by far not as complex as Galdera was.
Premise: Leifwyth the Lazy was an average farmer's son until one day while he was hiding from his parents to avoid doing his chores he came across a long lost magical crypt where Belphegor, the Daemon of Gluttony had been sealed. Belphegor offered Leifwyth a deal he could not refuse - arcane power to take care of all his chores in exchange for releasing Belphegor and serving as his host. Leifwyth accepted and soon had rivers of Dunamanctic Arcane powers rushing at his finger tips.
But rather than use these powers for fame, fortune, or global domination, Leifwyth used them simply to make his own life as easy and luxurious as possible. Thus was created The Teleporting Tower of Leifwyth the Lazy. The tower can teleport itself across the land so that Leifwyth need never leave the comfort of his own home. Undead servants are sent out to collect any supplies, food, or other goods Laifwyth requires. As Leifwyth has grown to enormous size (Huge creature, weight of ~ 2 tons) from an endless supply of food and no exercise, he magically manipulates the gravity within his tower to move himself around as his limbs are utterly incapable of doing so. He also uses these powers to prevent unauthorized entry of others by increasing the gravity around them until they are incapable of movement (or squashed into pancakes on the floor) and sending his undead servants to throw them out.
Encounters:
Elevator
An elevator powered by Reverse Gravity can be found in the middle of the tower, however as it is tuned to Leifwyth's 2 tons of body weight, Medium creatures will find themselves flung past the doorways they intend to arrive at.
Mechanics: gem buttons are present at each floor to specify which floor the rider would like to arrive at, Reverse Gravity activates for a specific time proportional to the distance to the appropriate floor. A Huge creature arrives at the appropriate floor, a Large creature is flung 25% further than intended, a Medium creature is flung 50% further than intended, a Small creature is flung 75% further than intended and a Tiny one 100% further than intended. e.g. if a Medium creature attempt to travel 2 floors up, they instead travel 3 floors up.
There is then 18 seconds (3 rounds) where creatures are suspended as per a Levitate spell, before normal gravity is restored.
Alternatively, the party must locate hidden stairwells used by Leithwyth's undead servants to travel between floors.
Gravity Traps
If Leifwyth is aware the party is within his tower, he will activate various Gravity traps to try and foil them. e.g.
Vertical Pit Trap - Local Reverse gravity throws a creature up onto spikes mounted on the ceiling. Gravity Well - A floating orb pulls all creatures & items in a 30 ft radius towards itself 10 ft each round (STR save to resist), and creates and area of difficult terrain around itself. If a creature is pulled into the orb it becomes grappled & restrained and must make a Wis save at the start of each turn or be put to sleep. Gravity Ramps - rather than stairs there are ramps with gravitational fields that can pull creature up or down them, Leifwyth can tune these to pull the party away from him. Gravity trash Compactor - gravity fields crush the massive waste generated by Leifwyth into cubes before ejecting it from the tower, should the party enter one of these chambers it will happily compact them as well.
Leifwyth
Leifwyth's living quarters are entirely enchanted with Levitate spells such that any creature within the area is affected by it. Leifwyth has been utterly corrupted by his host daemon and will attempt to consume any living thing that enters his quarters.
Stat block to follow...
I’m struggling here. Can anyone help me debate whether a submission such as this would be more of a DM or Interactive option? It seems to be both a dungeon and a set of puzzles and traps, and apparently also a boss monster. Any help would be appreciated.
The Competition of the Finest Brews I - Judged by Yamana_Eajii. (Thread accidentally deleted)
The Competition of the Finest Brews II - Judged by Thauraeln_The_Bold.
The Competition of the Finest Brews III - Judged by TabaxiRogueFighterClericWarlock
The Competition of the Finest Brews IV - Judged by Kaboom979
The Competition of the Finest Brews V - Judged by ThorukDuckSlayer
The Competition of the Finest Brews VI - Judged by Semako
The Competition of the Finest Brews VII - Judged by MilestoGo_24
The Competition of the Finest Brews VIII — Judged by Heartofjuyomk2
The Competition of the Finest Brews IX— Judged by IamSposta
The Competition of the Finest Brews X — Judged by Kaboom979
The Competition of the Finest Brews XI - Judged by BoringBard
The Competition of the Finest Brews XII- Judged by ThorukDuckSlayer
The Competition of the Finest Brews XIII - Judged by Kaboom979
All competitions thus far have contained a multitude of spectacular and inspired entries, so I suggest you check them out if you haven't already. Now, onto the important stuff:
Timeframe
Entries must be submitted before midnight (EST) on Monday, April 3rd to be considered part of the competition.
Contest Categories
In each Finest Brew contest, there are three categories. These are so that people with skill in creating, say, monsters, don't end up stuck having to make dungeons. Each category is judged separately. There can only be one entrance per category per account. The category types are as follows:
This time, our category themes are:
DM Options: The Sword of Damocles
A towering monster approaches from miles away. A dungeon’s entrance closes and is replaced with an ever-advancing wall of spikes. A party of adventurers find themselves becoming worn down more and more by their wounds. Doom looms on the horizon, or just down the street. What monsters, rules, items, or encounters might fit the bill of the approaching dusk? What could inspire such unknowable terror as imminent destruction? (This theme was picked by MilestoGo_24).
PC Options: Loaded Dice
An adventurer peers into the future, sees the death of her comrade, and plucks that possibility from fate. A gambler flips a fair coin fifty times, landing on heads each time. A sorcerer, the product of an incredibly improbable reaction, prophesies of what is to come. The threads of fate are in your hands, to weave — or cut short — as you see fit. The ability to influence chance and fate are fearsome indeed. What powers over destiny and time might manifest in a character? (This theme was picked by Semako).
Interactive Options: Gravitational Mayhem
A party of adventurers fly across a rune-covered room as they try to solve its puzzle and open the door. Earth, rivers, and mountains spontaneously lift into the air as gravity loses its strength in the region. A tavern in Wildspace offers weight-loss drinks with a surprise. The force of gravity weighs down on us every day. But what might happen when that force is lessened — or, heaven forbid — increased? Let’s see what alterations to gravity might make for interesting interactions. (This theme was picked by MilestoGo_24)
Voting
The Competition of the Finest Brews XIV Survey!
Voting will start Friday April 7th (or thereabouts, once the survey is made) and will end at midnight (MT) on Monday April 17th. A Google Forms poll for each category will be posted on this thread, and all may vote on it - including and especially contestants. Contestants are encouraged to vote 5 and 5 on their own submissions; all scores will have 5 subtracted from both voting categories. Scores are assigned using a numerical value from 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent).
Written Feedback - You have the option to give written feedback, should you choose, for any entries on the forms. Written feedback does not factor into a contestants score.
We are hoping that by giving everyone more criteria to vote on for each entry, you will think about each aspect and not feel the need to cram all of your thoughts into a single number. We are also hoping that having multiple scores contribute to the total will make ties less likely to occur.
Please try to take the time to review and vote for every entry, except for your own, in the categories you vote in, as even one vote can easily sway a competition like this. If there's anything you feel very strongly about, also feel free to review it in the thread! Reviews won't count for anything, but it's nice to get feedback!
Determining Winners
Guides & Mini-FAQ* & Changelog
WAIT! Before you see the 5th level Wall of Text in this FAQ’s* & Guides section, and decide not to submit to the competition because you don’t want to read it, remember that reading this section is COMPLETELY OPTIONAL. You do not need to read any of this to submit something for the competition, to pick a category, or to become the next judge. This is merely a helpful tool if you’re confused. You have no obligation to read or use it!
Guide for Competition & Category Winners.
Competition Winner: The competition winner becomes the next judge, they are responsible for doing the following:
Category Winners: A category winner must do the following:
Mini FAQ* for competition contestants:
Q. Wait, how do I submit?
A. You just make a post in the competition thread with either a link to your entry, or your entry typed out in it. It helps to add what category you’re submitting to, but it is not strictly necessary since it’s pretty easy to figure out what type of category the entry is for.
Q. Can you vote on your own submission?
A. Yes. Contestants are encouraged strongly to vote, and to vote 5 & 5 on their own submissions, as 5 will be subtracted from each score while being calculated. This is to maintain fair voting while encouraging votes.
Q. Where can I find the forms for voting?
A. When the competition submission time ends, voting will start soon. You vote on a google form. The judge should link the forms near the voting section when they’re up, and they will probably also make a post on the thread announcing that voting’s started with the link.
Q. Can I have multiple submissions in the same competition?
A. Yes, you can have multiple submissions for the same competition. HOWEVER, as described in the “Contest Categories” section of this competition, you can only have one entry per category. For example, you can make something for the DM’s Options, PC Options, and Inspirational Options, but you can't make two things for PC Options and one for DM’s.
Q. I’ve already submitted something for X category, can I change my submission for it?
A. Yes, you can change your submission for a specific category as long as the deadline for submissions has not yet been reached. Do remember that if you’re changing your submission, it is best to edit your original post with your first submission to say that it is obsolete, and necessary to make a new one to announce & link your new submission. Also, do keep in mind that it does create a bit more work for the judges when you edit your submission, because they have to update the links. However, it is alright to do so.
Q. Is written feedback optional and does it effect an entries score?
A. Yes, written feedback is optional. No, it does not effect an entries score.
Q. Is the scoring by total score, or by average score?
A. The scoring is done by both average scores (Balance/Playability, Idea/Creativity) being added together for a final score. All scores have -5 when being calculated for reasons stated elsewhere.
Q. How do I know if my submission is more appropriate for the DM category or the Interactive category?
A. If it is not obvious which of the two categories your submission would make sense for, then it really comes down to which pillar of the game you seek to explore. DM Options are more closely tied to combat whereas Interactive Options are more closely tied to exploration and social encounters.
As an example, if you have an NPC with a stat block and you are not sure where to submit, consider whether the goal of incorporating the NPC into a game would be to fight the PCs or for the PCs to gather information from it. Its possible to write a strong, social-focused NPC who still has a stat block just in case things turn towards combat, but if your desire for the NPC is to interact with the PCs through roleplay, then it likely is more fitting for the Interactive Category. If your desire is for the NPC to maybe roleplay a little, but ultimately engage the party in combat, then it would be closer to a "monster" and fit in the DM category.
Changelog
Removed Inspirational Category. Replaced with Interactive Category. Rearranged/introduced submission types for all three categories accordingly
Added “5 & 5” clause encouraging contestants to vote 5 & 5 on their own submission, and all scores will have -5 when being calculated.
Contestants
DM Options:
Player Options:
Interactive Options:
Special Event: April Fool’s Day
April Fool’s Homebrews
Scores are averaged totals.
Come participate in the Competition of the Finest Brews, Edition XXII?
My homebrew stuff:
Spells, Monsters, Magic Items, Feats, Subclasses.
I am an Archfey, but nobody seems to notice.
Extended Signature
Looking forward to this. I already have an idea for a dungeon or encounter for the DM category, but we will have to see if time permits me to make it a reality.
I've also got an idea for a puzzle for the interactive category, but will need to play around with it a little. It could come across more like a math problem than a fun dungeon puzzle depending on the execution
Three-time Judge of the Competition of the Finest Brews! Come join us in making fun, unique homebrew and voting for your favorite entries!
This is something from a Spelljammer mini-campaign I ran.
Interactive Options: Chase Space Concessions
Everything you need to Chase the Stars!
Arrival:
Chase Space Concessions is a wheel-shaped space station (I used the map of Deep Space 9) which exists in it's own pocket dimension of Wildspace. Any spelljammer need only decide to plot a course towards the concessions and a wormhole/portal to it's pocket dimension will mysteriously appear within 100 ft of the ship. Upon arriving in the pocket dimension a gravitational tether will grab hold of the ship and pull it safely into one of the many docking ports around the outer edge of the station, and a cheerful magic voice will call out: "Welcome to Chase Space Concessions, Everything you need to Chase the Stars!", it will also lists up to 3 special offers, sales, or events available on the station.
Note: merchants on the station must pay for these advertisements in an auction, with the top three bids being chosen.
Once docked, the party can disembark and explore the station. A Thri-Kreen attendant will be present at the docking port to answer questions and direct characters to locations of interest. The Thri-Kreen attendant will explain that so long as the party spends at least 1 gold per person on good or services while at the station then docking is free.
Shops of Interest:
Mad Marcus’ Miracles : This is the local Healer & herbalist shop, it is run by a Harengon named Marcus Hadrio. Marcus is known as "Mad Marcus" due to his extreme social anxiety that causes him to talk rather fast, and compulsively rubs one of his ears every 20 seconds while talking to people. However he is a certifiable genius with encyclopedic knowledge of religions, different planes, curses, diseases and other ailments, rare herbs from across the galaxy and strange magical phenomena. He can cast Detect Magic (50 gp), Identify (50 gp), Remove Curse (250 gp), Revivify (500 gp), Raise Dead (1000 gp) or Legend Lore (2000 gp), he also sells holy water, cleric / paladin spell scrolls, holy symbols, incense, diamonds, and some magic staffs. He was previously a prisoner of Mindflayers but escaped thanks to what he believes was divine intervention, as a result he is moderately paranoid and constantly wears a metal hat (Helm of Telepathy) which he claims is to stop "them" from reading his thoughts. Despite his eccentrics, he is the finest healer on the station and has even treated Nicky Chase (the current owner of the station) her self and is one of very few people on the station capable of contacting her / arranging a meeting between the players and her.
SpaceMart : This is the largest store on the station, it sells most non-magical items, basic potions, pets / animals, ship parts, etc... It has the lowest prices for common goods (20% discount), but stocks only poor quality items (weapons/armor will break if a character using one of them is hit by a critical hit). It is staffed by Shemsara, a young tiefling, who is only there because her parents made her get a "real job" she is utter unhelpful and incompetent as she earn minimal income and hates working here. If the players insist she will eventually call the manager : MB-3390 - an autognome (or Warforged) - who is more polite and enjoys working there but is not particularly more helpful as they rigorously stick to the scripts & protocols they were trained to use by headquarters.
Steel and Avil : This is the most prestigious blacksmith shop on the station, it sells non-magical weapons and armour as well as Mithral and Adamantine items, and can make custom orders. It is run by Ragnar Ragnarsson an outgoing and boistrous dwarf with thick red hair & beard, he has a secret crush on Yanica, a Wildspace Scout who can usually be found at Never Lost Stellar Cartography. Ragnar has never told Yanica about his feelings as he gets tongue tied whenever he's near her. If the party befriend him, he will ask them to deliver a gift (a unique blaster pistol) to Yanica.
Fae Farawyn's Oddities and Antiques : This over filled junk / magic item shop is owned and operated by a beautiful, one-legged half-elf named Fae Farawyn. She used to be an adventurer / explorer until a space-whale ripped off one of her legs. The broken figure head from her last ship is mounted on the wall of the shop. If the players find and kill the whale that maimed her, she will gift them a Rare or Very Rare magical item from her collection as a reward.
Boiling Bubbles : This apothecary is one of the major attractions of Chase Station, and the owner Dorleen, an ancient gnomish woman, has special permission to an anti-gravity field in her shop, due to her age and frailty. As a result she keeps various potions in large floating bubbles that hover around her shop, which she scoops out into glass jars upon purchase. A special treat is to watch to using various enchanted tools to cook up a new batch of potion while it hovers in mid air. If befriended, the party can learn that Dorleen is rather lonely, since she is stuck inside her shop, and misses her old friend Magrite Strangefellow whom left the shop 10 years ago after they had a fight about Magrite's pet cat making a mess of Dorleen's potions. Dorleen will reward the players if they convince Magrite to come visit the shop so that Dorleen can make amends.
Budget Burks : This is a discount spelljammer shipwright and repair shop is part of a chain across all of Wildspace. Such shops are so common that cheap small lower quality spelljammers are referred to as "Burks" in slang. They can repair a spelljammer ship for 5% of its maximum hit points per day up to a maximum of 75% of its maximum hit points at a cost of 5gp per day. Budget Burks also sells basic augmentations to spelljammer ships including grappling harpoons for ballistas (100 gp each), basic arcane cannons (2,000 gp each : deal force damage & no loading required), universal sending stones for ship-ship communication (150 gp each), Repair supplies (5 gp & allows spending 1 spelljammer ship hit dice to repair it out of dock), and Fish Suits (1,000 gp each). Budget Burks is run by a bunch of large half-orcs named: Greyson, Tori, Meribeth, Sam, and Feris.
Auto Ship Maintenance : This high quality spelljammer ship repair shop is staffed by a huge number of autognomes enabling them to repair any ship to any degree within 24 hours depending on how much the owners as willing to pay. Repairs cost 1 gp per hit point restored which can be negotiated down to 8 sp per hit point restored for bigger jobs if the party is willing to wait a few days for the work to be completed.
Never Lost Stellar Cartography : This shop offers maps, navigation tools, and route-planning advice to spelljammer captains and crew. They are and outpost of the Wildspace Explorer's and Cartography Union (WECU), that commission captains and crews to explore uncharted regions of Wildspace and gather and synthesize maps and locations of various Wildspace phenomena, planets, and creature habitats into the most accurate and detailed maps available. They are also able to provided advice on potential dangers, and suggestions for finding various types of stellar creatures. Due to the generally accepted importance of WECU maps and expertise, WECU maintains universal impartiality and neutrality to all interplanetary conflicts and an official badge of membership can be used to access nearly any location (except for military installation) of Wildspace as long as members hold to a strict non-interference policy. Yanica, a burly human woman with a pick mohawk and many intricate tattoos, is frequently staffing the Never Lost shop front, but changing cast of half a dozen other stellar explorers can be found in the WECU outpost behind the shop.
Exotic Flavours Food Stand : a food stall run by a pair of argumentative Hadozee (Lesa and Doig) that offers all kinds of exotic food, beverages, and treats from across Wildspace. Try their Purple Treacle (turns your hair purple), Oliphant Oatmeal (doubles in size when put into water), Lygoon Licker Lollies (blue and taste strangely cold), Stardust Souffle (pops and crackles in your mouth as you eat it), or Mastodon Meatballs (size of a baseball and very hearty).
Other Points of Interest:
Colosseum (Gladiator Dome): In the center of Chase Concessions, where the gravity is weakest is a spherical space known as the Colosseum. People vs people fights and people vs monster fights take place on a daily basis at the Colosseum, with winners paid a hefty prize, and there are ample opportunities for spectators to bet on the outcomes. The Colosseum is run by Trusk, a big muscular Giff, and his various half-orc, gith and goliath employees. While betting is handled by Cri'ek a shifty, smooth thinking Thri-Kreen, who wears a black suit and top hat. Trusk and Cri'ek are members of a criminal organization which also sells a drug known as Wool (compacted fur from a Himalayan space hamster) in 'secret' throughout the station. Many of the station's dock attendants are also secretly members of this criminal organization. If the party cheat in the Colosseum, Trusk will have them brought to an "out of order" docking bay and force them to work for the criminal organization by delivering a shipment of Wool to one of the organization's bases within an asteroid in another system.
Jobs Board : A jobs board can be found in the center of the market district, with various requests posted on it.
Central Spire : In the center of the station is a tall crystalline tower where Nicky Chase and the executives of the station live and work. While the sides of the tower are made of impenetrable crystal it is impossible to see inside and there are no doors or windows to be seen anywhere on the tower. A private small spelljammer ship is located at the very top of the spire which Nicky uses to travel when needed. No one is ever seen entering or leaving the spire and most of what people of the station say about it are pure rumours and speculation. Illusory images of Nicky can be seen in the station welcoming and promoting various stores and activities, where she is presented as a tall beautiful human woman with medium length brown hair and striking green eyes. However, no one knows if this is truly what Nicky looks like (except for the few who have personally met her and been sworn to secrecy to protect her privacy).
Residential District : An inner ring of the space station is lined with identical rectangular rooms that serve as residential quarters for the staff, and rentable beds for visitors. Each one contains two bedroom each with a double bed, a bathroom, a kitchen and hybrid living/dining room.
Plot:
Once the party are sufficiently well known Nicky Chase (Owner of the space station) may invite them to speak with her inside the Central Spire, via a door that simply opens at the end of an unused service hallway that leads reveals an arcane elevator taking them up to the top of the spire where they meet with a magically disguised Nicky (Alter Self) to look like her illusions, and sent back down the way they came or out via the spelljammer dock at the top of the spire none the wiser. The truth is that Nicky was a sickly and ugly girl, due to a congenital birth defect, who was locked out the business by her father and brothers, and stuck in her room with nothing to do, despite being highly intelligent. She sold her soul and half the profits from the Station to the Archdevil Mammon in exchange for taking over the business. Mammon arranged to have her entire family have an "accident" and fly into a blackhole in Wildspace leaving her the sole heir to the station.
Since then Mammon has insisted more and more of his devils take over the running of the station to maximize profits - this includes allowing Trusk and his criminals to thrive, selling clones to the most powerful & rich beings in the universe, and having much of the central spire filled with mind-controlled bureaucrats working on buying/selling stocks, property and businesses throughout the galaxy. These businesses are run by a trio of Amnizu loyal only to Mammon. Nicky is increasely unhappy about the deal as Mammon is taking over the business and pushing her out just like her father and brothers, but feels trapped and powerless because of her deal. Nicky may drop subtle hints whenever she speaks to the party about what is going on, and eventually may find a way to communicate with them directly without Mammon knowing to explain the situation and ask for their help.
PC Options: Luck Domain Cleric
https://www.dndbeyond.com/subclasses/384977-luck-domain
This is an old brew of mine that I'd like to revisit for the competition, it is from three years ago when I was playing a cleric of Tymora in a game as a Trickster Domain and wasn't satisfied with it. Unfortunately the campaign fizzled before I finished this HB subclass instead and I sort of abandoned it. Rereading it now, I'm not that happy with it overall, so suggestions are welcome for how to fix it.
Apologies, but the theme is more oriented towards “gravity” and less towards “spelljammer/space”. Perhaps there’s a way to add on to this submission to better fit that?
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I'm glad this is out and looking forward to brewing. I hope I can come up with something good. These are some interesting options. After reading through the Hellboy Omnibus the Sword of Damocles option will be fun, though I don't think I will do a Hellboy styled submission for that. Still, it will provide good inspiration.
In the FAQ, the questions of "Can you vote on your own submissions" and "Is the scoring by total score, or by average score?" contain outdated information.
Look at what you've done. You spoiled it. You have nobody to blame but yourself. Go sit and think about your actions.
Don't be mean. Rudeness is a vicious cycle, and it has to stop somewhere. Exceptions for things that are funny.
Go to the current Competition of the Finest 'Brews! It's a cool place where cool people make cool things.
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I'll fix it tomorrow (reason: I have homework to do)
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Come participate in the Competition of the Finest Brews, Edition XXI, and share your work!
Be not afraid.
Wait. Actually, be very afraid.
For the cheats and cons amongst us, here's a little cantrip I made a while back called Gambler's Boon. Use it responsibly! (or don't [I'd actually prefer if you didn't]) This is my submission for the PC Options.
Look at what you've done. You spoiled it. You have nobody to blame but yourself. Go sit and think about your actions.
Don't be mean. Rudeness is a vicious cycle, and it has to stop somewhere. Exceptions for things that are funny.
Go to the current Competition of the Finest 'Brews! It's a cool place where cool people make cool things.
How I'm posting based on text formatting: Mod Hat Off - Mod Hat Also Off (I'm not a mod)
Out of curiosity, why is the submission deadline the 3rd when voting doesn’t start until the 7th? Why not either extend the submission period until the 6th, or extend the voting period by moving up the opening of the vote to the 4th?
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
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Looking forward to having a go at this one, now that the house move is mostly complete!
Would I be correct that the DM Options one is referring to situations of imminent death? I am not familiar with the Sword of Damocles!
Make your Artificer work with any other class with 174 Multiclassing Feats for your Artificer Multiclass Character!
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Looking forward to having a go at this one, now that the house move is mostly complete!
Would I be correct that the DM Options one is referring to situations of imminent death? I am not familiar with the Sword of Damocles!
Make your Artificer work with any other class with 174 Multiclassing Feats for your Artificer Multiclass Character!
DM's Guild Releases on This Thread - latest release; the Harvest Sprite, a playable Jack-o-Lantern Race!
Or check them all out on DMs Guild!
DrivethruRPG Releases on This Thread - latest release: The Promethean Scientist (Dr Frankenstein) Artificer Subclass!!
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If you have a sword of Damocles “hanging over you/your head,” something bad seems very likely to happen to you. The threat of getting fired might be “hanging over someone’s head like a sword of Damocles” for example. Or, another example a li’l more familiar might be the threat of a Moderator infracting me for a post is always hanging over my head like a sword of Damocles. It may not be imminent death per se, but ill tidings be afoot.
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Cool. It is just a minor issue, but I would think that spotting the spell would require an investigation check like it does in minor illusion. It makes sense that Arcana should work too, but sense investigation is already used in a similar spell, maybe it should stay the same. Or do both, or keep it as it is, it isn’t that big of a deal.
This is because I have historically had bad timing when it comes to making the survey itself and Google forms in general
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I have to say, I think I've only ever seen one or two CotFB's where the survey was up the next day. Also guilty!
Make your Artificer work with any other class with 174 Multiclassing Feats for your Artificer Multiclass Character!
DM's Guild Releases on This Thread - latest release; the Harvest Sprite, a playable Jack-o-Lantern Race!
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Interactive Options: Gravitational Mayhem
The Tower of the Leifwyth the Lazy.
Premise: Leifwyth the Lazy was an average farmer's son until one day while he was hiding from his parents to avoid doing his chores he came across a long lost magical crypt where Belphegor, the Daemon of Gluttony had been sealed. Belphegor offered Leifwyth a deal he could not refuse - arcane power to take care of all his chores in exchange for releasing Belphegor and serving as his host. Leifwyth accepted and soon had rivers of Dunamanctic Arcane powers rushing at his finger tips.
But rather than use these powers for fame, fortune, or global domination, Leifwyth used them simply to make his own life as easy and luxurious as possible. Thus was created The Teleporting Tower of Leifwyth the Lazy. The tower can teleport itself across the land so that Leifwyth need never leave the comfort of his own home. Undead servants are sent out to collect any supplies, food, or other goods Laifwyth requires. As Leifwyth has grown to enormous size (Huge creature, weight of ~ 2 tons) from an endless supply of food and no exercise, he magically manipulates the gravity within his tower to move himself around as his limbs are utterly incapable of doing so. He also uses these powers to prevent unauthorized entry of others by increasing the gravity around them until they are incapable of movement (or squashed into pancakes on the floor) and sending his undead servants to throw them out.
Effect on the Surroundings
Leifwyth demands a constant supply of baked goods, wine, rich meats, and fresh fruits to his tower for consumption. He does no productive work to earn coin to pay for these item, but instead his undead servants will threaten, cheat, steal, or use violence to force the surrounding town to provide an ever increasing tribute to the tower. Leifwyth will only move his tower to the next settlement when the locals have been reduced to starving poverty.
As a result of his great consumption, Leifwyth generates huge amounts of waste, which is magically compacted into cubes and dumped out a hatch to the rear of the tower. PCs can climb up this chute if they time it right and succeed on a DC 20 Acrobatics check.
Undead Servants
In order to achieve their master's goals with minimal oversight (and thus work), Leithwyth has granted them a slightly lower than normal intelligence (use zombie statistics but with Intelligence of 8). These undead have a degree of independence sufficient to organize themselves and think up basic solutions to problems, as well as the ability to speak and understand Common. However, they have no sense of morality, or goals other than to provide to Leifwyth that which Leifwyth demands.
Infiltrating the Tower
The Tower contains various rooms designed for pleasure and luxury, including: an artificial lagoon with sandy beach, several ornate bedrooms, a mud room, several large beautiful gardens, a fine dining room with huge diamond chandelier, a sauna, several enormous pantries and wine cellars, and a gigantic vault filled with gold, jewels, and other valuable items. The main tower has no stairs, only ramps and tunnels which a Huge creature could Levitate through. At the top of the tower is Leifwyth's chambers including a gigantic bed covered in down filled pillows and silk covers, and steam warm pool.
Hidden behind various large expensive paintings can be found secret doors that lead to small, cramped, grimy servants' stairwells and passage ways. These create a maze of passages leading to every floor and most major rooms of the tower enabling the undead servants to quickly fetch any item Leifwyth desires with minimal interaction with him.
Random Dangers
The tower and its many rooms are maintained by various specialized undead beings, in addition it is kept clean by several Gelatinous Cubes which randomly travel through the hallways and rooms.
Gravity Traps
If Leifwyth is aware the party is within his tower, he will activate various Gravity traps to try and foil them. e.g.
Vertical Pit Trap - Local Reverse gravity throws a creature up onto spikes mounted on the ceiling (DC 16 Dex save vs 3d10 piercing damage).
Gravity Well - A floating orb pulls all creatures & items in a 30 ft radius towards itself 10 ft each round (DC 16 STR save to resist), and creates and area of difficult terrain around itself. If a creature is pulled into the orb it becomes grappled & restrained and must make a Wis save (DC 16) at the start of each turn or take 4d10 force damage.
Gravity Ramps - rather than stairs there are ramps with gravitational fields that can pull creature up or down them, Leifwyth can tune these to pull the party away from him. (DC 13 Str save to be able to move at half speed up the ramp, if a creature fails by 5 or more they slide 15 ft back down the ramp)
Gravity trash Compactor - gravity fields crush the massive waste generated by Leifwyth into cubes before ejecting it from the tower, should the party enter one of these chambers it will happily compact them as well. On Initiative 20, the creature farthest from the center of the room (each creature if there is a tie) must succeed on a DC 18 Str save or take 2d10 force damage and be pushed 10 ft towards the center of the room.
Leifwyth
Leifwyth's living quarters are entirely enchanted with Levitate spells such that any creature within the area is affected by it. Leifwyth has been utterly corrupted by his host daemon and will attempt to consume any living thing that enters his quarters unannounced. Casting Greater Restoration of Leifwyth breaks his possession by Belphegor, allowing the Daemon to be targeted separately from its host.
Stat block: https://critterdb.com:443/#/creature/view/640816bcbf54b2b0ca7529e3
For my DM option, I'll likely either rework one of my earliest monsters or, if I find enough time, will convert Octopath Traveler 2's final boss into a D&D encounter, just like how I did Galdera in a previous iteration of this contest. This boss would work as a single monster though, recrating it asa D&D monster is by far not as complex as Galdera was.
I have an idea for the first two, but I’ll need some time before I post it.
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I’m struggling here. Can anyone help me debate whether a submission such as this would be more of a DM or Interactive option? It seems to be both a dungeon and a set of puzzles and traps, and apparently also a boss monster. Any help would be appreciated.
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