Darklords: Isolde and Nepenthe Hallmarks: Bargains, misfits, wandering exiles The Carnival is a wandering domain that appears within other Domains of Dread. Before the Carnival appears, mysterious fliers blow into communities near where it’s about to arrive. When it arrives, the Carnival sets up a surreal wonderland of entertainment and oddities staffed by performers, outcasts, and cursed…
It’s easy to get caught up in a story with dramatic stakes, pitting characters against mounting threats. But every so often, at least once every three to five levels, give the characters a break—a low-stakes session or adventure that has nothing to do with the overarching plot or broader perils. A break episode can be an opportunity for the characters to reflect on the events of the ongoing…
At the peak of summer heat and humidity, the Morencians celebrate the lives of those who’ve come before them, ensuring their prosperity and survival. A parade sees participants wear heavy ornate costumes or carry boats upon their back as they march along the parade route in the intense heat. Others participate in gluttonous feasting, engaging in contests of eating raw animal flesh, rotten fish,…
Morencia’s sister celebration occurs at the first few days of winter’s onset. The Misty Reefs become even more difficult to navigate during this time, necessitating activities to distract citizens from a time of decreased trade, less prosperity, and few resources. The activities of the White Carnival are meant to remind people that their forebears also had to endure such plights, and to hearten…
The huge balloon painted with the garish face of a clown swells and lifts into the air, ripping its pole from the ground. The mouth moves and speaks with Chuckles’s voice as it grotesquely floats and bounces across the festival grounds. “All right, chums, let’s do this! It’s time for you all to be fools for a day!” Maniacal Bounding. Chuckles grows increasingly agitated and aggressive. At the…
When Chuckles reaches 0 Hit Points, read or paraphrase the following: The head of the jester pops off as if he’s been beheaded, letting out a wild, howling wail as the illusion fades, and a headless marionette clatters to the ground. The head of the maypole balloon swells to an enormous size, as if it’s being overfilled with air, until it eventually pops off the pole and whizzes high into the…
For any traveler who hasn’t been inside a First Age building, stepping through the double doors feels like walking into another world. An enormous red carpet flows across the floor like the shimmering skin of an elder spirit as floating light bulbs illuminate the interior, and clusters of companion spirits nap on chandeliers or follow students through the halls. Over the years, witches have…
The creature is cloaked in dark rags that hang off their hunched form, two massive lanterns dangling from fleshy protrusions off their back. Their arms and legs are gangly and long, as though they walk on stilts as they lumber forward on all fours. Their face is expressionless and pale, with hollow black pools for eyes. As their mouth opens, their jaw unhinges to reveal a gaping maw filled with…
The creature is cloaked in dark rags that hang off their hunched form, two massive lanterns dangling from fleshy protrusions off their back. Their arms and legs are gangly and long, as though they walk on stilts as they lumber forward on all fours. Their face is expressionless and pale, with hollow black pools for eyes. As their mouth opens, their jaw unhinges to reveal a gaping maw filled with…
| Total | Information |
|---|---|
| Less than 5 | The Festival of Fools is a yearly festival that brings uncharacteristic revelry and delirium to the people of Wickermoor Village. |
| 5 | Chuckles the Clown was the famous leader of a traveling troupe of clowns long ago. He was a dance master who carried a large flag and led six other clowns with their own unique costumes. Revelers with flags were watching… |
The scent of decayed hay, musty water, and old blood fills the air of what looks like a circus car. Rusting cages line the walls amidst the wooden crates painted in garish red and white stripes. The décor inside is a macabre spectacle of twisted whimsy, with faded, tattered banners advertising various carnivals. Each one depicts unsettling clowns and terrifying animals, creating an atmosphere of…
Perhaps the most mysterious of the islands is the sunken peak that supports the darkened ruin known as Black Tooth Tower. Strange lights glimmer beneath the crashing waves that flood in and out of the gaps in its ancient stones. These witch lights illuminate still-surviving glass windows, perhaps from submerged chambers shored up against the sea. When the moon is a sickle in the sky, odd shadows…
Wondrous Item, very rare (requires attunement) This broad, black tallow candle is engraved with arcane symbols. When lit, its smoke is greasy and pungent, and its flame is pale gray, but it never burns down. The candle has the following properties. Word of Flame and Darkness. As a Bonus Action, you can light or extinguish the candle by speaking a command word while within 60 feet of it. It sheds…
Wondrous Item, rare This dark Hooded Lantern doesn’t require fuel; it continuously glows with a will-o’-wisp’s blue flame that can reveal the final moments of a creature’s life. As a Bonus Action, you can adjust the lantern’s hood to change the light’s radius, causing it to cast Bright Light in a 5- to 20-foot radius and Dim Light for an additional number of feet equal to the chosen radius.…
Wondrous Item, Rare This dark Hooded Lantern doesn’t require fuel; it continuously glows with a will-o’-wisp’s blue flame that can reveal the final moments of a creature’s life. As a Bonus Action, you can adjust the lantern’s hood to change the light’s radius, causing it to cast Bright Light in a 5- to 20-foot radius and Dim Light for an additional number of feet equal to the chosen radius.…
Manifesting as a sinuous form wreathed in sickly green flames, this incorporeal undead forms when a powerful hag or witch dies in agony or rage. The body at the center of the flames usually resembles the witch’s idealized self-image, regardless of their age and appearance at the time of their death. A witchfire often resides in a bog or swamp, which slowly blackens and decays around them. These…
Manifesting as a sinuous form wreathed in sickly green flames, this incorporeal undead forms when a powerful hag or witch dies in agony or rage. The body at the center of the flames usually resembles the witch’s idealized self-image, regardless of their age and appearance at the time of their death. A witchfire often resides in a bog or swamp, which slowly blackens and decays around them. These…
The ship interior is illuminated by lanterns hanging on the walls. The lanterns are enchanted to flash ever-moving spotlights over the walls and ceilings, giving the place an eerie, circus-like atmosphere. The light generated is comparable to a Continual Flame spell.
Tone - Bustling, Magical, Festive Built within the many floors of a First Age parking garage, the Yanari Witches’ Market is a sea of color, sounds, and smells amid the noisy clamor of hawkers, buskers, buyers, and sellers. It’s the place in Yatamon (and perhaps all of Obojima) to find potion brewers, potion ingredients, and all kinds of arcane tools and trinkets. During the day, Yanari Market is…
The Witchery is an enormous building of strange design with an even stranger interior filled with secret hallways, catwalks, and locked rooms hidden within the First Age architecture.
A lone figure draped in ethereal robes listlessly glides through the air, clutching a wrought iron lantern that glows in eldritch hues and green flames. A tattered hood conceals its face, but as you approach, they draw back their hood to reveal furious eyes and a hateful glare. Their mouth stretches unnaturally as they unleash an ear-piercing scream. The Faith of the Sacred Flame says the souls…
The path turns from a paved walkway to a dirt road that eventually ends at a sprawling expanse of hills topped with countless simple wooden posts, each marking a nameless grave. The cawing and croaking of carrion birds fills the air as the fog rolls along this potter’s field. Within the gloom, many amber-hued lights flicker in the distance. This rolling potter’s field is where the poor and…
Although all the covens share the space, each manages to contribute its own particular brand of magic and culture without dominating the school or losing their identity. Students often display subtle signs of coven preference in their garb (cloud-shaped pins, quirky hats, carved gourd necklaces, etc.), but for the most part, each coven is well represented, and the choice at the end of the year is…
Wondrous Item, very rare (requires attunement) This ornate Hooded Lantern was once a weapon in the hands of the Chained Reaper, filled with ghastly balefire. Able to pierce the veil, the lantern reveals a glimpse at things hidden from mortal eyes. While you hold the lantern and it is lit, you gain a bonus to Intelligence (Investigation) and Wisdom (Perception) checks determined by the…
The eerie and malevolent undead known as will-o’-wisps haunt lonely marshes and forests, where they lure unsuspecting travelers into danger. They can vary the color and illumination they shed and delight in mimicking bobbing lanterns or distant fires to draw lost or disoriented travelers off of safe trails. Will-o’-wisps are just one type of the wicked, flickering creatures called wisps, all of…
After the characters save the second victim, read or paraphrase the following: As you search for the remaining victims, a trio of impossibly large ravens descend into the cemetery. With angry squawks, they assault the six lamps lighting the area, plunging it into darkness. The ravens then turn their attention to you. Three Wereravens fly into the cemetery and extinguish the six lanterns hanging…
Wondrous Item, Rare (+1), Very Rare (+2), Legendary (+3) (Requires Attunement) This ornate Hooded Lantern was once a weapon in the hands of the Chained Reaper, filled with ghastly balefire. Able to pierce the veil, the lantern reveals a glimpse at things hidden from mortal eyes. While you hold the lantern and it is lit, you gain a bonus to Intelligence (Investigation) and Wisdom (Perception)…
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