Games and Miscellany by Bloodchoke (updated 4/4)

[bloodchoke]

Steal away, Tauster. It was actually written that way, so can't take credit for that good idea. They didn't animate during the fight, but we'll see how the PCs' plans to sleep the night in the tower works out. *sneers and rubs hands together*

[onethatwas]

Calls to mind Moilian Zombies. I used them once...very briefly. A strangely over effective monster. I had to downplay them a bit because they were too good at draining the PC's in the first few rounds, and I didn't want to kill them yet...

[tauster]

Dec 24, 2013 10:20:49 GMT onethatwas said:

Calls to mind Moilian Zombies. I used them once...very briefly. A strangely over effective monster. I had to downplay them a bit because they were too good at draining the PC's in the first few rounds, and I didn't want to kill them yet...

Where can I find Moilian Zombies? I dimly remember an article in a Dragon issue, but other than that,...?

[onethatwas]

Oh...hmm

2e Return to the Tomb of Horrors. There was a monster in some 3.x monster book that was similar, but without all the coolness.

In a nutshell (so those who aren't familiar and want to homebrew make rules for this monster), the begin as frozen corpses. Any heat source nearby they sap the warmth from...torches extinguish, heat is sapped from warm bodies (reflected in constitution drain in D&D)...

Then they animate and attack with the added effect of freezing damage (and in the flavor of Moil, I also think they have energy draining powers similar to a wraith's strike...ouch).

Fire doesn't damage them like it does other zombies, and if I Recall correctly it gives them some bonus. I may be off, it's been awhile since I used them.

They're like zombies geared to higher level characters. I likes me some tough, challenging, and clever undead creatures...

[bloodchoke]

Bump for a few updates, Encounters 11 and 12. The quality of these photos is terrible, but thought I'd add them anyway.

[dmdubbledee]

Brilliant stuff! I'm jealous of the time you have to put such elaborate scenarios together. Awesome!!

[gnomezrule]

So whenever I see this thread with the "new" tag I immediately start to sing . . .

at the table with bloodchoke
at the table I know I-O

(like "Someone's in the kitchen with Dina" from the "Ive been working on the railroad song"

[monkeywithtacos]

Dec 31, 2013 23:36:53 GMT gnomezrule said:

So whenever I see this thread with the "new" tag I immediately start to sing . . .

at the table with bloodchoke
at the table I know I-O

(like "Someone's in the kitchen with Dina" from the "Ive been working on the railroad song"

hehe.... I just wish he'd tack it on at the end instead of in the beginnig....gets confusing sometimes

[bloodchoke]

Haha, thanks guys. When there was that Purple Worm thread on the old forum I caught myself singing "pur-ple worm, purple worm All I ever killed my PCs with is purple worms." Happy to have my own theme song... DMDubbledee, I honestly don't have the time, I just make really bad decisions. And this is about a years worth of crafting.

MWT, sorry, I'll post any new stuff at the end of the thread from now on. I wanted this to chronicle the campaign, so i just added the last pics where they occurred.

[grym247]

Really Really nice mate thanks for sharing

[Bael]

Cool stuff!

[skunkape]

Great looking terrain!

[reverendsin]

Dec 23, 2013 5:24:37 GMT bloodchoke said:

i would like to know how you create these walls that are so thin yet detailed. are you shaving of thin slices with a hot wire tool? very awesome effect however you do it. 

[bloodchoke]

Thanks ReverendSin! I used dollar tree foamcore to make the walls here. I just peeled the paper off both sides and used a rock or piece of tree bark to impress the texture. Making this is actually how I came up with the idea to make floor tiles like this also. There's a bit more detail in this thread: dmscraft.proboards.com/thread/118/using-cheap-foamboard

[bloodchoke]

After a long break, I was finally able to gather the game group for a couple sessions during recent snow days. Here are a few updates.

After defeating Vandomer, the PCs took a rest in the upper level of the tower for the night. They have a magic item that warns them when anything comes near, so they set it up to ensure nothing could get them from the outside. They forgot to worry about what was already in the tower with them, though.

One of the things that woke them up the next morning was the melting of the large ice blocks containing the Barlgura, the Orc King, and two Paladins of the Abbey.



They also forgot that some weeks before they had recalibrated their warning chime. Instead of alerting for intruders, the wizard Daegen secretly programmed it (via secret Arcana checks) to alert if the demon-afflicted Tok attempted to take the cards from the Deck of Many Things. The Orcs pounding on the door was the second thing that woke them.


The orc band was small, thanks in no small part by the division among the orcs of the Abbey since their Chieftan was killed, so the PCs dispatched of them without too much blood. Having a scroll that would disarm the ward protecting it, the players decided to have a peak inside the Ruined Garrison. This is just the map provided in the box, but the basic DM Craft items adds more life to it, I think. You can also see how inferior flat,printed walls are than 2.5d walls.

[bloodchoke]

After defeating the crazed Wraiths of the Paladins sealed inside, along with a Barlgura demon (though I'm not sure why, tbh), the PCs exit the Garrision and begin to scout for the orcs. Almost on command, they hear drumming and notice a huge gathering of the savage greenskins around bonfires. Not wanting to provoke the army, the PCs considered their options.

[story line, rambling]
One of the things that the PCs found inside the tower was a journal that Vandomer kept from the fall of the Abbey to his own prolonged life and insanity as the Eldritch power overtook him. This was a lot of fun for me. I gave the wizard player a few pages from the notebook, some parts describing the fall of the abbey,others out of context Lovecraft excerpts, and some useful information about the adventure. It was cool for me because it gave them the first hint of the story line to come. Its really cool for me to get a campaign to the point where it all starts to come together, and it's really cool watching the players speculate as to what's going on.
[/storyline rambling]

Anyway, after reading and discussing these, the players decided to visit the Feygrove again and seek out the nymphs of the Whispering Grove. To avoid provoking the army of orcs, they took they long way, going around the top of the hill and back down the other side. To get on top though, they had to pass through the Hero's Gate. I didn't have rust monsters or a drake, so I just used what I had handy. I also didn't have any terrain ready, so i just through this together from some tiles used for previous encounters.

[bloodchoke]

At the Grove, the PCs learn a lot more information, including how to get inside the Watch tower. Using Cards from the Deck to penetrate the wall, they enter a bizarre Far Realm chamber. The floor is fleshy and sinks beneath their feet, and a river of black sludge runs through a 15 ft gorge in the center. Globules of the ooze creep out of the gorge, cross the floor and climb the walls. A bridge made of giant Card replicas of the Deck crosses the chasm, and another flashes as a door on the other side.


Everything seems cool until two of the PCs cross the bridge. Then both cards abruptly stand on their ends, move strangely, and attack.


And of course, the river of ooze is a large black pudding.


The Pudding kept slinging globs on the adventurers and getting them stuck in the sticky, tarry mess. There were some small pudding spawns too, but they must not have lived long enough to make it on camera.


They finally put down the pudding and the object mimics and walked through the door on the other side. After a disorienting, scary black out, they found themselves standing in the same room. But this time, the black ooze lifted higher above them, forming into the shape of a giant worm.



"What the hell are we gonna do about this?!?"


That's all for now. I'll leave you with a close up look at the, uh, tunnel my PCs will almost definitely be passing through next game...


Thanks for dropping by!

[bloodchoke]

BTW, I changed the name of this thread, partly because it was too similar to DM Scotty's "At the Gaming Table." Sorry if there was any confusion.

[monkeywithtacos]

So Awesome! I love these. Awesome terrain, awesome adventure and awesome way your group works together and tries to figure out what is going on! Awesome!

[tauster]

Great terrain, and an awe-inspiring variation of the purple worm!

How did you achieve that tarry, glinting look?