one for pc options, i made this because i said i wanted to make homebrew for people (no charge of course) and to test me, i had an hour to make an oni related race. here's the final product made in roughly 45 min
How exactly does this fit the Blessed & Possessed category?
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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)
Thanks for the feedback. Unfortunately I asked my question a little too optimistically... after some time messing with my Touch the Divine submission, I couldn't find an on-theme interactive option. So instead I'm just submitting this just as a DM Option!
Kudos to anyone who knows what adventure this is a reference to :)
Estival Chains
A short adventure for 5th-level characters
Blurb: In the depths of the High Forest, an ambitious devil and a demon lord’s spawn violate sacred ground, kidnapping unicorns from their sacred forests to please the demon lord Graz’zt.
This adventure uses some battle maps that I've put together with Dungeondraft. I've included them in their relevant section, but you can also view them in this imgur gallery: https://imgur.com/a/7X9UYei
Background
The cambion Duntoz’zatch, one of Graz’zt’s many offspring, seeks to curry favor with this father. He has concocted a scheme to steal unicorns from the lands of Abeir-Toril and bring them to Graz’zt’s home city in the Abyss, Azzagrat.
However, unicorns are elusive creatures. Duntoz’zatch has honed his own talents to hunt the creatures, but he traveled to Minarous to enlist a chain devil named Agnakar, who wraps themselves in darkened chains of devilish steel that mimic dimensional shackles. Working together, the two are able to hunt and shackle unicorns in the High Forest. Their goal is to bring two of the creatures to Graz’zt, ensuring that each partner receives an equal share of the spoils.
So far the pair has caught one unicorn, by the name of Riverlight, a unicorn who tends the waterfalls known as The Sisters deep in the forest. But catching a second has proven much harder. Devils and demons make poor bedfellows, and the partners’ initial distaste for one another has been aggravated by a string of setbacks. As the two bicker, Riverlight pours her sacred magic into the underground creek that connects to her prison, sending out a message in desperation.
Hooks The hook for this adventure needs two parts. First, the PCs need to be in the right place at the right time. Namely, somewhere near the High Forest after Riverlight has been captured by the fiendish duo. Second, Riverlight's vision must reach at least one of the PCs so they can find their way to her.
Here are some suggestions for hooking the PCs into this adventure:
The PCs are already on their way to meet Riverlight for assistance with another quest, but can’t find her in the High Forest. That night, her vision reaches them.
The PCs are traveling through Secomber when they see that the Unicorn Run is only a small trickle instead of its usual bubbling flow. Townsfolk report that the flow has been weakened for the last several weeks (since Duntoz’zatch and Agnakar kidnapped Riverlight, and the magic of Unicorn Run weakened). No one in the town wants to venture north into dangerous territory, and they ask the PCs to investigate.
If the PCs are sufficiently motivated to do good, Riverlight’s vision could simply reach them while traveling out near Southwood or the Greypeak Mountains.
This encounter assumes the PCs are willing to help a celestial creature in desperate need, and/or want to stop the forces of extraplanar evil from gaining further footholds in the mortal world. The classic murderhobo party is not a great fit for this encounter without some significant changes.
The Vision
Riverlight has been working magic deep into the water and soil of her underground prison, sending out a weakened cry for help that travels upriver. This weak and unfamiliar use of magic means that it won’t work reliably. The vision could reach a PC in any number of circumstances. You could use one of the following:
While bathing in or drinking from the waters of the Unicorn Run or the Delembyr. This could even happen before Unicorn Run meets its larger sister river, as Riverlight’s magic is working its way upriver.
While standing at The Sisters, a waterfall in the High Forest crafted by unicorn magic. They could see its weakened flow and then suddenly find themselves thrust into Riverlight’s vision.
At night, while resting in or around the High Forest.
The most important element of the vision is that it kicks the timeline into gear. PCs should hear Riverlight’s plea when they are roughly one day’s travel away from her prison.
When the visionaries see Riverlight, read the following text.
You find yourself thrust into a wordless half-dream. You are in a damp cave passage. On your right, you see the faintest light of stars. Behind you, water drips from a cavern ceiling, pooling into an underwater spring at your feet. But in front of you…
Before you is a unicorn, shivering and soaking wet. It is shackled to the wall of the cave here, its hooves manacled and its neck wrapped in dark, steel chains. Nearly drained of its celestial grace, the creature twists and pushes against its manacles to meet your eyes. And in that desperate state, a plea echoes in your mind.
I am Riverlight of the High Forest. Please find me.
With this vision, Riverlight invests a fragment of her remaining divinity. While the whole party can receive this vision, only one person receives this fragment. You should choose the beneficiary of Riverlight’s boons.
When the vision concludes, the chosen visionary gains an innate sense of direction leading them towards Riverlight’s prison. In addition, they can take on one aspect of her sacred powers:
Ever-Careful Steps. Riverlight shrouds the visionary with the magic of her lair. The visionary gains the benefits of the spell pass without trace while in the High Forest, and can choose who else benefits from it as though they had cast the spell themselves without needing concentration. Anyone who benefits from this effect can also use stealth even while moving at a fast pace.
Healing Touch. Riverlight’s healing magic rests in the visionary’s veins. As an action, they can heal themselves or another creature that they touch for 2d8 + 2 hit points. In addition, that creature is cursed of all diseases, and all poisons afflicting it are neutralized. The visionary can use this ability three times in total, before the magic fades.
Forest Lord. The visionary gains telepathy out to 60 feet and can communicate with beasts as though they shared a language.
By default, you should give only one PC one of these powers, and they should choose which one they get, to emphasize the weakness of Riverlight’s waning powers. If you think it’s appropriate, you could choose the powers, and even distribute them among multiple PCs.
Seeking Riverlight
The visionary or visionaries who can sense Riverlight’s location are drawn to the southeastern corner of the High Forest. As the PCs travel, they will encounter skittish woodland creatures, raging elementals, and a demon strike force before they come across the unicorn’s prison. The party should have an opportunity for a short rest between each encounter, but not a long rest.
Whispered Fears
While on their way to Riverlight, the PCs will come across various woodland creatures. Squirrels chatter from atop the trees, elk watch the party from afar. These beasts will not approach the party by default unless they benefit from Riverlight’s Forest Lord boon, but can be coaxed with a DC 15 Animal Handling check. To anyone who can understand the speech of woodland beasts (also provided by the Forest Lord boon), animals will divulge fears of passing devils and demons. The woods have not been safe of late. Most animals know the following:
A demonic man with red skin and horns, and a devil cloaked in chains, have been seen in the forest.
The duo has a hideout deep in the southeast of the High Forest, a natural sinkhole near a spring that flows underwater. With the duo is a small number of other demons that invisibly hunt woodland creatures.
Deaths of High Forest denizens drew the attention of a unicorn named Riverlight who calls this area her domain. The fiendish duo attacked her, wrapped her in chains, and dragged her away.
PCs that learn about the invisible demons have advantage on Perception checks made to detect the demons in the Forward Scouts encounter.
An invisible quasit scout in the form of a raven watches the PCs during this fight, hiding with a passive stealth DC of 20. After a minute or so of observation, it will fly away to warn its allies of the party’s movements, giving the barlgura in the demon ambush advantage on its own perception check later. Detecting and quashing this quasit prevents information from reaching deeper into the forest.
Twisted Guardians
As the PCs travel along a small creek, they draw the ire of two elementals who are guardians of this area of the forest. The fiendish duo have damaged the High Forest, spiritually as well as physically. With Riverlight missing, the land itself is in pain. An earth elemental and a water elemental reside near this creek, and in their grief, they lash out as the PCs walk over their home.
This map is 60’ x 60’ (12x12 squares).
The river is difficult terrain for non-elementals, but it is only 8 feet at its widest point, so most creatures can jump across it.
As the PCs are crossing the creek, check their marching order and place them on the map. The water elemental forms out of the river next to the nearest PC that it thinks resembles a fiend, and the earth elemental forms from the ground next to it.
Tactics:
The elementals form out of water and dirt, but don’t attempt to get surprise. They are fairly clear in their intent.
The elementals are blinded by their anger. At the beginning of combat, they choose the creature that seems the most fiendish, or the one wearing the most metal, and narrowly focus on killing them. At the start of the 5th round, the rage in the elementals’ dies out, and they retreat back into their respective element.
Another invisible quasit scout in the form of a raven watches the PCs during this fight, hiding with a passive stealth DC of 20. At initiative 20 on the 3rd round of combat, it will fly away to warn its allies of the party’s movements, giving the barlgura in the demon ambush advantage on its own perception check later. If the previous quasit already escaped and warned the barlgura, this quasit instead warns Duntoz’zatch, allowing him to prepare for the party’s attack on his base.
Demon Ambush
As the PCs travel past the border of a bog, they are ambushed by servants of Graz’zt working under Duntoz’zatch. A barlgura and several quasits are tasked with eliminating threats to Duntoz’zatch’s work, and they will gleefully attempt to rend the PCs limb from limb.
There is an opportunity for surprise on both sides. If the barlgura has been warned by a quasit scout, it is invisible and hiding. Anyone who fails to make a perception check against its DC 20 passive stealth score is surprised during the first round of combat when it attacks alongside its quasit minions.
However, the PCs may also end up moving stealthily. The barlgura has a passive perception of 17, or 12 if it hasn’t been forewarned. Using the group skill check rules, if at least half the party beats the barlgura’s perception, they surprise the demons instead. If both sides are surprised, then handle combat without surprise… unless you want to run a round of combat where no one takes any actions.
This map is 75’ x 75’ (15x15 squares).
The swampy area is difficult terrain. If you overlay a grid on the map, you can determine if a given square is swampy terrain by whether it has a lilly pad on it.
The barlgura is in the tree line in the middle of the battlemap, and the quasits are scattered around the swamp in the bottom-right corner. By default there are five quasits in this fight, but each quasit that has been captured or killed in previous encounters reduces this number by 1.
Tactics:
The barlgura jumps out of the trees and uses its Reckless trait, attempting to get to a squishy character and beat them as hard as possible before other PCs can lock it in place with opportunity attacks.
The quasits will try to scare as many characters as possible and then swarm a frightened target. When the barlgura dies, the quasits will panic and run away. They may turn into frogs to blend into the swampy environment, take the form of ravens and run away, or simply turn invisible. Any quasits that escape rejoin Duntoz’zatch and Agnakar at their temporary base.
Riverlight’s Prison
Surviving the ambush and the attack by the barlgura, the party comes across the natural sinkhole cave that forms Riverlight’s prison.
This map consists of 2 levels. Each level is 110’ x 60’ (22x12 squares).
The sinkhole is approximately 15 feet deep, and the cave in the lower level is 10 feet tall. A spring flows underground at the top of the hill, and then back out on the first level at the bottom of the hill on the far-east side of the map. The inflow and outflow are small, but but the earth here is soft and can be dug out or burrowed through to gain entrance to the underground cave.
Agnakar’s dimensional chains have been left hidden in the bushes around the floor of the sinkhole, and in the western corner of the cave, which they can animate with his Animate Chains ability. They are made from the same dark steel that wraps the devils body.
Duntoz’zatch is a cambion with aflame tongue. Instead of his normal spells, he can castplane shift once per day without the self-only restriction, andpass without trace three times per day. He has curated his own magic to hunt unicorns, but it leaves him with fewer combat options.
Agnakar is a chain devil wrapped in unique chains that prevent extradimensional movement. If a creature is restrained by their chain attack or animate chains, that creature can’t use any extradimensional movement, as though they were bound in dimensional shackles. These same chains bind Riverlight, preventing her from teleporting away.
The area is monitored by 4 dretches. Any quasits that escaped the fight with the barlgura are also here, on the lookout for enemies. Riverlight is in the southwest corner of the cave, chained to the walls just as she appeared in her vision. She is deeply wounded, with only 1 HP.
Duntoz’zatch and Agnakar have many opportunities to receive warning from their quasit scouts. If they are warned, both wait at the bottom of the sinkhole for a warning from their dretches in the area. If they are unaware, Agnakar is torturing Riverlight in the cave while Duntoz’zatch is pacing and yelling at them about wasted time from the surface of the sinkhole.
Tactics:
If alerted, the dretches and quasits will scream loudly to alert their companions, then run for the safety of the sinkhole.
Duntoz’zatch will scramble for the safety of the sinkhole, and then use it to attack enemies from the safety of cover, combining his flight with the height of the sinkhole to safely throw out fire rays without being attacked in return. He prefers not to attack with his flame tongue unless he has to.
Agnakar will move to the bottom of the sinkhole and ready an action to attack any non-fiend who enters the pit. His 10-foot attack range means he can attack most creatures just as they enter the sinkhole.
Both Duntoz’zatch and Agnakar will attempt to use the structure of the cave to their advantage, attacking at range and then backing up to cover. Both of them can squeeze through the small northern passageway if necessary.
If everything looks bad for Duntoz’zatch, he will attempt to take Riverlight and run. He will knock her down to 0 HP, unshackle her, and then plane shift with her to Azzagrat, abandoning Agnakar and the rest of the demons. Each step takes an action, so this usually takes 3 turns, which may not be practical for him. Duntoz’zatch is willing to return home without spoils if it means he survives. The various lesser demons will run away if leaderless, but Aganakar will fight to the death before dissolving into viscous goo and a pile of dark, metal chains.
Treasure:
Duntoz’zatch wields a flame tongue.
If killed, Agnakar’s chains can be used as one-time dimensional shackles. There are enough chains to make three of these, but without the devil’s essence, they are fragile. These chains have a DC 20 Strength (Athletics) DC to escape, and break after being used to bind a creature once.
Riverlight can be freed in combat with some clever maneuvering. She is too exhausted to cast spells, fight, or use legendary actions, but she can use her healing touch to help PCs recover.
Future Developments
If the PCs succeed
With Riverlight rescued, nature begins to heal. Woodland creatures can roam freely again, the elementals of the forest return to their natural state, and the Sisters waterfall flows once more. Riverlight promises the party protection within the High Forest as thanks for their help, and can guide them safely and accurately to any point within the forest they want.
If Duntoz’zatch escapes, he can become a future antagonist. Unicorns are still prized in Azzagrat, and Duntoz’zatch has years to hatch his next plan. He’ll need another way to prevent them from teleporting, perhaps necessitating another trip to Minarous, or a partnership with some fiendish artificers. Alternatively, Duntoz’zatch may decide unicorn-hunting is too difficult, and could look into other ways to curry favor with his father. His ability to plane shift makes him available as a long-term antagonist who can show up just about anywhere in the world.
If the PCs fail
Duntoz’zatch is emboldened by his victory, and will certainly try again to capture unicorns to please his father. If Agnakar is still alive, the pair will capture another unicorn within a week and escape to Azzagrat, where they will be welcomed as demonic heroes, and they will make plans for another excursion to Abeir-Toril. Left unchecked, Graz’zt’s demon servants will swarm the High Forest, and a bloody war between the forest denizens and the demon lord’s servants will leave thousands dead.
Graz’zt will spend much time celebrating his son’s conquests, so there is time to disrupt the festivities and save Riverlight. Another party could learn of her plight and travel to Azzagrat to free her, but the demon city is full of dangers, not the least of which is Graz’zt himself. Such a mission would be incredibly risky.
Regions of the High Forest without unicorns suffer. Life there has come to depend on the sacred magic of its forest guardians, so the forest’s vibrancy fades away. Elementals native to the forest go on pained rampages, destroying trees and attacking animals. Groups of them are drawn to the ruins under Scornubel, and the town suffers as they assault its walls, destroy towns, and raze farmland in their thoughtless rage.
Over time, the High Forest can heal, as other unicorns expand their domains to protect life in Riverlight’s lost domain. New unicorn foals may come to live in this region, and a new adventuring party might be tasked with protecting them. But even if the land does heal, water never flows down the waterfalls of The Sisters again.
one for pc options, i made this because i said i wanted to make homebrew for people (no charge of course) and to test me, i had an hour to make an oni related race. here's the final product made in roughly 45 min
one for pc options, i made this because i said i wanted to make homebrew for people (no charge of course) and to test me, i had an hour to make an oni related race. here's the final product made in roughly 45 min
one for pc options, i made this because i said i wanted to make homebrew for people (no charge of course) and to test me, i had an hour to make an oni related race. here's the final product made in roughly 45 min
How exactly does this fit the Blessed & Possessed category?
Simple: It doesn't. I have withdrawn due to my low intelligence and inability to retain information for longer than a second. My apologies
I encourage still submitting to the competition! Just, something new
I definitely will if there is ever a 'Brews XIX, but I don't know if I can make something good enough for a competition in 5 days. The other one was rushed, kinda sucked, and I just put it here because I though "Why not?"
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Your friendly trans bard!
She/They pronouns
The Goddess of the Strings (thanks for the title Drummer!)
one for pc options, i made this because i said i wanted to make homebrew for people (no charge of course) and to test me, i had an hour to make an oni related race. here's the final product made in roughly 45 min
How exactly does this fit the Blessed & Possessed category?
Simple: It doesn't. I have withdrawn due to my low intelligence and inability to retain information for longer than a second. My apologies
I encourage still submitting to the competition! Just, something new
I definitely will if there is ever a 'Brews XIX, but I don't know if I can make something good enough for a competition in 5 days. The other one was rushed, kinda sucked, and I just put it here because I though "Why not?"
I recommend going for it! I just learned of this and I’m starting today! Anything could happen!
I'm not going to have time to work on my diseased warlock, but I'll reserve this post for a DM category submission.
Icon of the Sparkling Wit
Wondrous Item, very rare (requires attunement)
This unassuming icon of a grinning gnome is a relic bestowed upon the favored of Garl Glittergold, the patron of gnomes. While you are attuned to it, the icon frequently vanishes and reappears inconspicuously at inopportune moments.
Attunement.To attune to the icon, you must first play a harmless prank on the creature to whom the icon is currently attuned. When the prank is successfully completed, you can immediately attune to the icon. If no creature is attuned to the icon, you can attune to it normally.
Divine Prankster. You have advantage on any ability check made for the purpose of playing a harmless prank on another creature. If you successfully play a harmless prank on another creature, you have advantage on the next ability check or saving throw you make before your finish your next long rest. Once you gain advantage in this way, you can't do so again until the next dawn.
Spellcasting. The icon has 10 charges and regains 1d10 charges each dawn. As an action while holding the icon, you can expend 1 or more of its charges to cast one of the following spells (save DC 17): disguise self (1 charge), grease (1 charge), major image (3 charges), mislead (5 charges), Nathair's mischief (2 charges), Otto's irresistible dance (6 charges), stinking cloud (3 charges).
NOTE: This submission should be credited to MilestoGo_24, as this account is his alt.
My Interactive Option:
Cognitohazardous Zone
As a group of adventurers, decked with magical gear, creep down the abandoned temple halls, their torches wink out, their path now only lit by the dim moonlight filtering through vine-crossed windows. It's so dim, they never even notice the room growing more hazy and unfocused behind them. The dwarf barbarian, his paranoid, alert eyes darting about suspiciously for hidden monsters, spots a shadow moving down a side passageway only he sees and launches into a sprint after it. The rest of the party doesn't even notice. The group's cleric, focusing on their locate object spell, suddenly feel the artifact the party seeks jump to a new location down a flight of stairs they hadn't noticed before, and vanishes down it. The remaining party never hears the cleric's call for them to follow. One by one, the whole party is led away, until only the wizard remains, whose mind is abuzz with the danger of the area. They have been the only person to realize that the edges of their vision are darkening, fraying like a bad tapestry, and as the rest of their vision falls away into a void of darkness, they utter a terrible scream that is soon cut short.
Welcome to the Cognitohazardous Zone.
Features of the Zone
Hallucinations. A Cognitohazardous Zone is a location, usually at least 1,000 feet but no larger than 1/2 mile in any dimension, in which the connection between physical sensation and mental registration is significantly more distant than normal. This manifests in a very deadly combination of illusory effects that isolate and destroy affected creatures. For each 10 minutes that a creature spends in the area, it must make an Intelligence saving throw. A creature under the effect of the mind blank spell never needs to make an Intelligence save against the zone. The DC of the save is equal to the creature's Charisma score. On a failed save, the DM chooses one of the following effects or determines them randomly. Once a creature succeeds on one of these saves after failing one, they have advantage on all further Intelligence saving throws caused by the Cognitohazardous Zone.
D8
EFFECT
1
Phantom. The affected creature sees a fleeing, shadowed entity for the next 10 minutes. The entity runs and hides, but is visible to the creature at the start of each of its turns. The affected creature feels the instinctive urge to pursue and must use at least half of its movement each turn to move toward the entity.
2
Spell Displacement. if the creature is concentrating on a spell, they sense the effect of the spell move elsewhere, though the effect actually remains in place. This displacement reverts after 10 minutes.
3
Assailant. The creature is attacked by a monster, created by their own psyche, for the next 10 minutes. It might take the form of a dangerous creature they fought previously, a loved one, or a hated nemesis. It cannot physically hurt the creature (but might cause pain or imagined wounds), but the creature can "harm" the monster.
4
Map. The creature sees a diagram that shows directions to a desirable location (i.e., the exit, the treasure, a portal to their destination). All directions are real, but the location does not exist, at most appearing similar to the destination but having none of the desirable qualities. The map vanishes after 10 minutes.
5
Party. Any companions the creature has become invisible to it for 10 minutes. For that time, the creature experiences a hallucination of one or more trusted individuals (often the creature's companions if it has them) traveling in a random direction. This hallucination acts and talks identically to the actual individuals.
6
Darkness. The affected creature watches the entire area become shrouded in darkness for 10 minutes. This darkness is only slightly illuminated by flames or other sources of light, no matter how bright the source normally is. The creature might see shapes and entities, real or illusory, shift in the darkness.
7
Treasure. The creature glimpses a room full of treasure, and feels an overwhelming urge to take a portion of it. For 10 minutes, the creature is compelled to move into the room and collect the treasure, which always seems to fall through their fingers.
8
Memento Mori. The creature sees an apparition representative of death foretelling their imminent demise. It might be the god of death, a grim reaper, or simply a very ominous skull. Either way, the creature is [condition]frightened[condition] of the apparition for 10 mintues, which appears in a random location the creature can see at the end of each of their turns.
Illusory Walls and Floors. There are numerous illusory walls and floors that appear ordinary structures (though touch reveals otherwise, as does a DC 17 Intelligence (Investigation) check) to unaffected creatures, but are invisible to those suffering the hallucinations of the zone.
Auditory and Visual Obscurement. Creatures that are experiencing an illusory effect are isolated from others. Creatures that are not experiencing a hallucination, are under the effect of the mind blank spell, or do not have a form of madness are deafened to sounds made by those who are experiencing a hallucination.
Fraying Senses. At the end of every hour a creature spends in the cognitohazardous zone, it suffers a different effect due to its saving throw. On a failed save, the creature becomes incapacitated for 1 minute and gains 1 form of short-term and 1 form of long-term madness, as described in the Dungeon Master's Guide. If a creature fails this saving throw for the second time, it also gains a form of indefinite madness. On a third failed save, it falls unconscious until it is targeted by a greater restoration spell or greater magic. The creature can die of starvation in this state.
Using the Cognitohazardous Zone
The Cognitohazardous Zone is best used as a trial that the party must pass, or an absolute necessity for them to move through. It's meant to be harrowing on its own; there shouldn't be any real combat encounters in the effects of the zone. It's of greatest importance that the players realize what's happening soon enough and escape the zone before their senses fray too much. A creature with a low Charisma and a high Intelligence is the most likely to succeed in the zone, so for the best viability, make sure your party has at least two to three characters with one or both of these traits before using this terrain.
Conversely, if you want to absolutely terrorize your party with this zone, it's always great to personalize hallucinations to the character. Perhaps the paladin has a deep fear of the dark, or the warlock has been on the run from his own death. Maybe the barbarian has been in search of an artifact that will save their family, and they find an ancient diagram to the artifact hidden behind some vines on the wall. Personalization makes the effects of the hallucinations much more believable.
Notably, this zone can be used by the players against their foes. While it can be cool for players to bait an army into some cursed ruins and listen to screams of terror slowly quiet to silence, it's important to balance it. Thus, ensure most of the main foes either waited for their mooks to scout the zone or made it out mostly unharmed -- unless you want to give them a form of long-term madness as a lasting side effect, or are willing to mark off a few lieutenants for the party's clever thinking.
Destroying the Zone
As you may have guessed, a Cognitohazardous Zone is a major effect. It can't be ended by simply pointing at the haunted laboratory and casting dispel magic. Instead, each zone usually has a source -- some kind of force that is preying upon the minds of nearby creatures. This could be a magical artifact, a psionic creature such as an aboleth, or it could simply be reality fraying into the Astral Plane. The source is usually not easy to find -- often wrapped with illusory walls or intensified hallucinations -- but a few high Investigation checks should help. The source must be destroyed (or in the case of a rift, sealed) for the zone's effects to end, though lasting effects such as madness don't end with it.
Behold my unstoppable homebrew god
-Yours Truly, The King Of Demons
🍅 PM me the word 'tomato' 🍅
🧀PM me the word 'cheese'🧀
Commander of Demise, Fear me ye Mortals! Life's Bane
Not an advisable submission
Come participate in the Competition of the Finest Brews, Edition XXV?
My homebrew stuff:
Spells, Monsters, Magic Items, Feats, Subclasses.
I am an Archfey, but nobody seems to notice.
Extended Signature
I have an Interactive Option on the stove. Hope I can execute it well!
Come participate in the Competition of the Finest Brews, Edition XXV?
My homebrew stuff:
Spells, Monsters, Magic Items, Feats, Subclasses.
I am an Archfey, but nobody seems to notice.
Extended Signature
Here is my submission for the DM’s Options category: (https://www.dndbeyond.com/magic-items/7467781-celestial-shard).
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
How exactly does this fit the Blessed & Possessed category?
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)
Here's my submission for the DM category: Bahamut, the Platinum Dragon, the Dracopaladin, the Lord of the North Wind.
Tried to stay as true to lore as possible with his statblock. Hope you like him :-)
Thanks for the feedback. Unfortunately I asked my question a little too optimistically... after some time messing with my Touch the Divine submission, I couldn't find an on-theme interactive option. So instead I'm just submitting this just as a DM Option!
Kudos to anyone who knows what adventure this is a reference to :)
Estival Chains
A short adventure for 5th-level characters
Blurb: In the depths of the High Forest, an ambitious devil and a demon lord’s spawn violate sacred ground, kidnapping unicorns from their sacred forests to please the demon lord Graz’zt.
This adventure uses some battle maps that I've put together with Dungeondraft. I've included them in their relevant section, but you can also view them in this imgur gallery: https://imgur.com/a/7X9UYei
Background
The cambion Duntoz’zatch, one of Graz’zt’s many offspring, seeks to curry favor with this father. He has concocted a scheme to steal unicorns from the lands of Abeir-Toril and bring them to Graz’zt’s home city in the Abyss, Azzagrat.
However, unicorns are elusive creatures. Duntoz’zatch has honed his own talents to hunt the creatures, but he traveled to Minarous to enlist a chain devil named Agnakar, who wraps themselves in darkened chains of devilish steel that mimic dimensional shackles. Working together, the two are able to hunt and shackle unicorns in the High Forest. Their goal is to bring two of the creatures to Graz’zt, ensuring that each partner receives an equal share of the spoils.
So far the pair has caught one unicorn, by the name of Riverlight, a unicorn who tends the waterfalls known as The Sisters deep in the forest. But catching a second has proven much harder. Devils and demons make poor bedfellows, and the partners’ initial distaste for one another has been aggravated by a string of setbacks. As the two bicker, Riverlight pours her sacred magic into the underground creek that connects to her prison, sending out a message in desperation.
Hooks
The hook for this adventure needs two parts. First, the PCs need to be in the right place at the right time. Namely, somewhere near the High Forest after Riverlight has been captured by the fiendish duo. Second, Riverlight's vision must reach at least one of the PCs so they can find their way to her.
Here are some suggestions for hooking the PCs into this adventure:
This encounter assumes the PCs are willing to help a celestial creature in desperate need, and/or want to stop the forces of extraplanar evil from gaining further footholds in the mortal world. The classic murderhobo party is not a great fit for this encounter without some significant changes.
The Vision
Riverlight has been working magic deep into the water and soil of her underground prison, sending out a weakened cry for help that travels upriver. This weak and unfamiliar use of magic means that it won’t work reliably. The vision could reach a PC in any number of circumstances. You could use one of the following:
The most important element of the vision is that it kicks the timeline into gear. PCs should hear Riverlight’s plea when they are roughly one day’s travel away from her prison.
When the visionaries see Riverlight, read the following text.
With this vision, Riverlight invests a fragment of her remaining divinity. While the whole party can receive this vision, only one person receives this fragment. You should choose the beneficiary of Riverlight’s boons.
When the vision concludes, the chosen visionary gains an innate sense of direction leading them towards Riverlight’s prison. In addition, they can take on one aspect of her sacred powers:
By default, you should give only one PC one of these powers, and they should choose which one they get, to emphasize the weakness of Riverlight’s waning powers. If you think it’s appropriate, you could choose the powers, and even distribute them among multiple PCs.
Seeking Riverlight
The visionary or visionaries who can sense Riverlight’s location are drawn to the southeastern corner of the High Forest. As the PCs travel, they will encounter skittish woodland creatures, raging elementals, and a demon strike force before they come across the unicorn’s prison. The party should have an opportunity for a short rest between each encounter, but not a long rest.
Whispered Fears
While on their way to Riverlight, the PCs will come across various woodland creatures. Squirrels chatter from atop the trees, elk watch the party from afar. These beasts will not approach the party by default unless they benefit from Riverlight’s Forest Lord boon, but can be coaxed with a DC 15 Animal Handling check. To anyone who can understand the speech of woodland beasts (also provided by the Forest Lord boon), animals will divulge fears of passing devils and demons. The woods have not been safe of late. Most animals know the following:
PCs that learn about the invisible demons have advantage on Perception checks made to detect the demons in the Forward Scouts encounter.
An invisible quasit scout in the form of a raven watches the PCs during this fight, hiding with a passive stealth DC of 20. After a minute or so of observation, it will fly away to warn its allies of the party’s movements, giving the barlgura in the demon ambush advantage on its own perception check later. Detecting and quashing this quasit prevents information from reaching deeper into the forest.
Twisted Guardians
As the PCs travel along a small creek, they draw the ire of two elementals who are guardians of this area of the forest. The fiendish duo have damaged the High Forest, spiritually as well as physically. With Riverlight missing, the land itself is in pain. An earth elemental and a water elemental reside near this creek, and in their grief, they lash out as the PCs walk over their home.
The river is difficult terrain for non-elementals, but it is only 8 feet at its widest point, so most creatures can jump across it.
As the PCs are crossing the creek, check their marching order and place them on the map. The water elemental forms out of the river next to the nearest PC that it thinks resembles a fiend, and the earth elemental forms from the ground next to it.
Tactics:
Another invisible quasit scout in the form of a raven watches the PCs during this fight, hiding with a passive stealth DC of 20. At initiative 20 on the 3rd round of combat, it will fly away to warn its allies of the party’s movements, giving the barlgura in the demon ambush advantage on its own perception check later. If the previous quasit already escaped and warned the barlgura, this quasit instead warns Duntoz’zatch, allowing him to prepare for the party’s attack on his base.
Demon Ambush
As the PCs travel past the border of a bog, they are ambushed by servants of Graz’zt working under Duntoz’zatch. A barlgura and several quasits are tasked with eliminating threats to Duntoz’zatch’s work, and they will gleefully attempt to rend the PCs limb from limb.
There is an opportunity for surprise on both sides. If the barlgura has been warned by a quasit scout, it is invisible and hiding. Anyone who fails to make a perception check against its DC 20 passive stealth score is surprised during the first round of combat when it attacks alongside its quasit minions.
However, the PCs may also end up moving stealthily. The barlgura has a passive perception of 17, or 12 if it hasn’t been forewarned. Using the group skill check rules, if at least half the party beats the barlgura’s perception, they surprise the demons instead. If both sides are surprised, then handle combat without surprise… unless you want to run a round of combat where no one takes any actions.
The swampy area is difficult terrain. If you overlay a grid on the map, you can determine if a given square is swampy terrain by whether it has a lilly pad on it.
The barlgura is in the tree line in the middle of the battlemap, and the quasits are scattered around the swamp in the bottom-right corner. By default there are five quasits in this fight, but each quasit that has been captured or killed in previous encounters reduces this number by 1.
Tactics:
Riverlight’s Prison
Surviving the ambush and the attack by the barlgura, the party comes across the natural sinkhole cave that forms Riverlight’s prison.
This map consists of 2 levels. Each level is 110’ x 60’ (22x12 squares).
The sinkhole is approximately 15 feet deep, and the cave in the lower level is 10 feet tall. A spring flows underground at the top of the hill, and then back out on the first level at the bottom of the hill on the far-east side of the map. The inflow and outflow are small, but but the earth here is soft and can be dug out or burrowed through to gain entrance to the underground cave.
Agnakar’s dimensional chains have been left hidden in the bushes around the floor of the sinkhole, and in the western corner of the cave, which they can animate with his Animate Chains ability. They are made from the same dark steel that wraps the devils body.
Duntoz’zatch is a cambion with a flame tongue. Instead of his normal spells, he can cast plane shift once per day without the self-only restriction, and pass without trace three times per day. He has curated his own magic to hunt unicorns, but it leaves him with fewer combat options.
Agnakar is a chain devil wrapped in unique chains that prevent extradimensional movement. If a creature is restrained by their chain attack or animate chains, that creature can’t use any extradimensional movement, as though they were bound in dimensional shackles. These same chains bind Riverlight, preventing her from teleporting away.
The area is monitored by 4 dretches. Any quasits that escaped the fight with the barlgura are also here, on the lookout for enemies. Riverlight is in the southwest corner of the cave, chained to the walls just as she appeared in her vision. She is deeply wounded, with only 1 HP.
Duntoz’zatch and Agnakar have many opportunities to receive warning from their quasit scouts. If they are warned, both wait at the bottom of the sinkhole for a warning from their dretches in the area. If they are unaware, Agnakar is torturing Riverlight in the cave while Duntoz’zatch is pacing and yelling at them about wasted time from the surface of the sinkhole.
Tactics:
Treasure:
Riverlight can be freed in combat with some clever maneuvering. She is too exhausted to cast spells, fight, or use legendary actions, but she can use her healing touch to help PCs recover.
Future Developments
If the PCs succeed
With Riverlight rescued, nature begins to heal. Woodland creatures can roam freely again, the elementals of the forest return to their natural state, and the Sisters waterfall flows once more. Riverlight promises the party protection within the High Forest as thanks for their help, and can guide them safely and accurately to any point within the forest they want.
If Duntoz’zatch escapes, he can become a future antagonist. Unicorns are still prized in Azzagrat, and Duntoz’zatch has years to hatch his next plan. He’ll need another way to prevent them from teleporting, perhaps necessitating another trip to Minarous, or a partnership with some fiendish artificers. Alternatively, Duntoz’zatch may decide unicorn-hunting is too difficult, and could look into other ways to curry favor with his father. His ability to plane shift makes him available as a long-term antagonist who can show up just about anywhere in the world.
If the PCs fail
Duntoz’zatch is emboldened by his victory, and will certainly try again to capture unicorns to please his father. If Agnakar is still alive, the pair will capture another unicorn within a week and escape to Azzagrat, where they will be welcomed as demonic heroes, and they will make plans for another excursion to Abeir-Toril. Left unchecked, Graz’zt’s demon servants will swarm the High Forest, and a bloody war between the forest denizens and the demon lord’s servants will leave thousands dead.
Graz’zt will spend much time celebrating his son’s conquests, so there is time to disrupt the festivities and save Riverlight. Another party could learn of her plight and travel to Azzagrat to free her, but the demon city is full of dangers, not the least of which is Graz’zt himself. Such a mission would be incredibly risky.
Regions of the High Forest without unicorns suffer. Life there has come to depend on the sacred magic of its forest guardians, so the forest’s vibrancy fades away. Elementals native to the forest go on pained rampages, destroying trees and attacking animals. Groups of them are drawn to the ruins under Scornubel, and the town suffers as they assault its walls, destroy towns, and raze farmland in their thoughtless rage.
Over time, the High Forest can heal, as other unicorns expand their domains to protect life in Riverlight’s lost domain. New unicorn foals may come to live in this region, and a new adventuring party might be tasked with protecting them. But even if the land does heal, water never flows down the waterfalls of The Sisters again.
Less than six days left!
And yes, I'll update the contestants list this weekend!
Simple: It doesn't. I have withdrawn due to my low intelligence and inability to retain information for longer than a second. My apologies
Your friendly trans bard!
She/They pronouns
The Goddess of the Strings (thanks for the title Drummer!)
I encourage still submitting to the competition! Just, something new
Come participate in the Competition of the Finest Brews, Edition XXV?
My homebrew stuff:
Spells, Monsters, Magic Items, Feats, Subclasses.
I am an Archfey, but nobody seems to notice.
Extended Signature
I definitely will if there is ever a 'Brews XIX, but I don't know if I can make something good enough for a competition in 5 days. The other one was rushed, kinda sucked, and I just put it here because I though "Why not?"
Your friendly trans bard!
She/They pronouns
The Goddess of the Strings (thanks for the title Drummer!)
I recommend going for it! I just learned of this and I’m starting today! Anything could happen!
Hey Gnomarchy. I just checked and neither of my submissions have been added to the list of contestants. Could you please?
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
Two days left, folks!
I just updated the list!
I'm not going to have time to work on my diseased warlock, but I'll reserve this post for a DM category submission.
Icon of the Sparkling Wit
This unassuming icon of a grinning gnome is a relic bestowed upon the favored of Garl Glittergold, the patron of gnomes. While you are attuned to it, the icon frequently vanishes and reappears inconspicuously at inopportune moments.
Attunement. To attune to the icon, you must first play a harmless prank on the creature to whom the icon is currently attuned. When the prank is successfully completed, you can immediately attune to the icon. If no creature is attuned to the icon, you can attune to it normally.
Divine Prankster. You have advantage on any ability check made for the purpose of playing a harmless prank on another creature. If you successfully play a harmless prank on another creature, you have advantage on the next ability check or saving throw you make before your finish your next long rest. Once you gain advantage in this way, you can't do so again until the next dawn.
Spellcasting. The icon has 10 charges and regains 1d10 charges each dawn. As an action while holding the icon, you can expend 1 or more of its charges to cast one of the following spells (save DC 17): disguise self (1 charge), grease (1 charge), major image (3 charges), mislead (5 charges), Nathair's mischief (2 charges), Otto's irresistible dance (6 charges), stinking cloud (3 charges).
NOTE: This submission should be credited to MilestoGo_24, as this account is his alt.
My Interactive Option:
Cognitohazardous Zone
As a group of adventurers, decked with magical gear, creep down the abandoned temple halls, their torches wink out, their path now only lit by the dim moonlight filtering through vine-crossed windows. It's so dim, they never even notice the room growing more hazy and unfocused behind them. The dwarf barbarian, his paranoid, alert eyes darting about suspiciously for hidden monsters, spots a shadow moving down a side passageway only he sees and launches into a sprint after it. The rest of the party doesn't even notice. The group's cleric, focusing on their locate object spell, suddenly feel the artifact the party seeks jump to a new location down a flight of stairs they hadn't noticed before, and vanishes down it. The remaining party never hears the cleric's call for them to follow. One by one, the whole party is led away, until only the wizard remains, whose mind is abuzz with the danger of the area. They have been the only person to realize that the edges of their vision are darkening, fraying like a bad tapestry, and as the rest of their vision falls away into a void of darkness, they utter a terrible scream that is soon cut short.
Welcome to the Cognitohazardous Zone.
Features of the Zone
Hallucinations. A Cognitohazardous Zone is a location, usually at least 1,000 feet but no larger than 1/2 mile in any dimension, in which the connection between physical sensation and mental registration is significantly more distant than normal. This manifests in a very deadly combination of illusory effects that isolate and destroy affected creatures. For each 10 minutes that a creature spends in the area, it must make an Intelligence saving throw. A creature under the effect of the mind blank spell never needs to make an Intelligence save against the zone. The DC of the save is equal to the creature's Charisma score. On a failed save, the DM chooses one of the following effects or determines them randomly. Once a creature succeeds on one of these saves after failing one, they have advantage on all further Intelligence saving throws caused by the Cognitohazardous Zone.
D8
EFFECT
1
Phantom. The affected creature sees a fleeing, shadowed entity for the next 10 minutes. The entity runs and hides, but is visible to the creature at the start of each of its turns. The affected creature feels the instinctive urge to pursue and must use at least half of its movement each turn to move toward the entity.
2
Spell Displacement. if the creature is concentrating on a spell, they sense the effect of the spell move elsewhere, though the effect actually remains in place. This displacement reverts after 10 minutes.
3
Assailant. The creature is attacked by a monster, created by their own psyche, for the next 10 minutes. It might take the form of a dangerous creature they fought previously, a loved one, or a hated nemesis. It cannot physically hurt the creature (but might cause pain or imagined wounds), but the creature can "harm" the monster.
4
Map. The creature sees a diagram that shows directions to a desirable location (i.e., the exit, the treasure, a portal to their destination). All directions are real, but the location does not exist, at most appearing similar to the destination but having none of the desirable qualities. The map vanishes after 10 minutes.
5
Party. Any companions the creature has become invisible to it for 10 minutes. For that time, the creature experiences a hallucination of one or more trusted individuals (often the creature's companions if it has them) traveling in a random direction. This hallucination acts and talks identically to the actual individuals.
6
Darkness. The affected creature watches the entire area become shrouded in darkness for 10 minutes. This darkness is only slightly illuminated by flames or other sources of light, no matter how bright the source normally is. The creature might see shapes and entities, real or illusory, shift in the darkness.
7
Treasure. The creature glimpses a room full of treasure, and feels an overwhelming urge to take a portion of it. For 10 minutes, the creature is compelled to move into the room and collect the treasure, which always seems to fall through their fingers.
8
Memento Mori. The creature sees an apparition representative of death foretelling their imminent demise. It might be the god of death, a grim reaper, or simply a very ominous skull. Either way, the creature is [condition]frightened[condition] of the apparition for 10 mintues, which appears in a random location the creature can see at the end of each of their turns.
Illusory Walls and Floors. There are numerous illusory walls and floors that appear ordinary structures (though touch reveals otherwise, as does a DC 17 Intelligence (Investigation) check) to unaffected creatures, but are invisible to those suffering the hallucinations of the zone.
Auditory and Visual Obscurement. Creatures that are experiencing an illusory effect are isolated from others. Creatures that are not experiencing a hallucination, are under the effect of the mind blank spell, or do not have a form of madness are deafened to sounds made by those who are experiencing a hallucination.
Fraying Senses. At the end of every hour a creature spends in the cognitohazardous zone, it suffers a different effect due to its saving throw. On a failed save, the creature becomes incapacitated for 1 minute and gains 1 form of short-term and 1 form of long-term madness, as described in the Dungeon Master's Guide. If a creature fails this saving throw for the second time, it also gains a form of indefinite madness. On a third failed save, it falls unconscious until it is targeted by a greater restoration spell or greater magic. The creature can die of starvation in this state.
Using the Cognitohazardous Zone
The Cognitohazardous Zone is best used as a trial that the party must pass, or an absolute necessity for them to move through. It's meant to be harrowing on its own; there shouldn't be any real combat encounters in the effects of the zone. It's of greatest importance that the players realize what's happening soon enough and escape the zone before their senses fray too much. A creature with a low Charisma and a high Intelligence is the most likely to succeed in the zone, so for the best viability, make sure your party has at least two to three characters with one or both of these traits before using this terrain.
Conversely, if you want to absolutely terrorize your party with this zone, it's always great to personalize hallucinations to the character. Perhaps the paladin has a deep fear of the dark, or the warlock has been on the run from his own death. Maybe the barbarian has been in search of an artifact that will save their family, and they find an ancient diagram to the artifact hidden behind some vines on the wall. Personalization makes the effects of the hallucinations much more believable.
Notably, this zone can be used by the players against their foes. While it can be cool for players to bait an army into some cursed ruins and listen to screams of terror slowly quiet to silence, it's important to balance it. Thus, ensure most of the main foes either waited for their mooks to scout the zone or made it out mostly unharmed -- unless you want to give them a form of long-term madness as a lasting side effect, or are willing to mark off a few lieutenants for the party's clever thinking.
Destroying the Zone
As you may have guessed, a Cognitohazardous Zone is a major effect. It can't be ended by simply pointing at the haunted laboratory and casting dispel magic. Instead, each zone usually has a source -- some kind of force that is preying upon the minds of nearby creatures. This could be a magical artifact, a psionic creature such as an aboleth, or it could simply be reality fraying into the Astral Plane. The source is usually not easy to find -- often wrapped with illusory walls or intensified hallucinations -- but a few high Investigation checks should help. The source must be destroyed (or in the case of a rift, sealed) for the zone's effects to end, though lasting effects such as madness don't end with it.
Let me know what you think!
MilestoGo_24's alt.
Come participate in the Competition of the Finest Brews, Edition XXI, and share your work!
Be not afraid.
Wait. Actually, be very afraid.
Good luck to everyone for the voting period!
MilestoGo_24's alt.
Come participate in the Competition of the Finest Brews, Edition XXI, and share your work!
Be not afraid.
Wait. Actually, be very afraid.
Yes, good luck all!!
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
Trick or Treat! Happy Halloween!!
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
What does the link do? Heroforge won't load it for me.
MilestoGo_24's alt.
Come participate in the Competition of the Finest Brews, Edition XXI, and share your work!
Be not afraid.
Wait. Actually, be very afraid.