Marriage!

As a dungeon master, I kind of lose my shit a bit when I have a quiet player. I want to make sure they’re having fun. I do this by interjecting more and more of myself into their play when what I really need to do is be patient and ask questions.

Karen (playing Leman DeSall, the eminently creepy death cleric) is sometimes a quiet player. This is not because she’s not having fun, although my paranoid brain sometimes tries to convince me that’s what’s going on.

So this session I remembered to ask questions. I did this immediately after Leman triggered a carousing mishap back at the tavern. The result is “Romantic entanglement. Roll Wisdom check to avoid nuptials. Otherwise 1-3 scorned lover, 4-6 angered parents.” So I ask Karen what kind of person Leman would be most likely to be romantically interested in. She thinks for a minute and says “someone kind of dead.”

So bang, next morning Leman Desall has entered into impetuous matrimony with one of the sentient ghouls on level three of the dungeon.

This actually solves some problems, since every time the party has put their nose onto level three they’ve fled in horror and fear, leaving a big unexplored area in the middle of the dungeon.

So next day finds the party setting off with a good guide to the main area of level three which they need to traverse to get to their destination on level four.

The party now includes: Karl von Ravenswood, fighter; Leman DeSall, cleric; Ebag the thief; and Magnus the magician.

They are joined by a small army of NPCs: Toe Snap the goblin guide, Rumsfeld the man at arms (who has somehow survived the entire dungeon thus far), a wizard named Ramseses that was hired by Ebag, Magnus’ new bodyguard Hawk (an impressive barbarian warrior), three Antlions that Leman managed to convert to her religion of death and suffering, and Dragna, Leman’s new amorous ghoul bride.

Banshee

As you may have noticed, I've been taking a little break from dungeons and posting some monsters. Actually, I've kind of been flailing around a bit lately, not drawing many dungeons, trying to get ready for my art show, thinking about some bigger color paintings, and generally wondering what to do with my life. What should I do with my life?

Next week I may post some weird little town drawings I did in a microdungeon style, but don't give up dungeon fans. I'm pretty sure there will be more dungeons in the future. My obsession with them has never yet failed me.

The Moor Ghost of Westmarch

Despite the fact of his reportedly enormous size, The Moor Ghost of Westmarch is surprisingly elusive. Nevertheless, every tavern regular from Barnstock to Ookla will tell you their personal tale of an encounter with the ghost. In some stories he's vengeful and hateful. In others, he's prone to mischief. He's often blamed for theft of goats and trampled crops, yet he is also regarded almost as a mascot by the locals. It's almost a pity that the Baron's orders leave no room for interpretation: destroy the Moor Ghost of Westmarch!

Pits and Chains

Sargent Yarrick was into some pretty weird stuff. But he kept the road warden watchtowers running and the garrisons in order, so his private life wasn't questioned... until it was. When they figured out what Yarrick was worshipping, they speedily tried him, exacted the penalty, and threw his body into a well.

That was over 100 years ago. Now caravans near the abandoned watchtowers report an unpleasant feeling of being watched. Wizards whisper of ill omens and evil stirrings. Some caravans have been ambushed and burned, their goods still loaded. Could all this have something to do with Yarrick's Curse?

The story of the curse is in every tavern in the Wildwoods. Every time the PCs hear about the curse and decide not to do anything about it, advance the curse track one step:

1. Rumors abound, people are worried, but no one you talk to knows anyone affected by it personally.


2. A large caravan is attacked, and signs are posted in the Inns advertising for adventurers to investigate the tower.


3. The next time they travel the roads, the PCs find a small caravan, burned, with signs of undead attack. All wilderness random encounters in this area are now skeleton raiding parties.


4. Trade slows to a crawl and the prices of all goods rise precipitously. The towns are crowded with scared peasants from the countryside.


5. A small army of undead sallies forth from the the watchtowers, led by Yarrick, and undead wraith of great power. It besieges the nearest town, beginning its reign of terror across the country.

Mad Library of Boujark

A collection of tomes, some not meant for mortal eyes, hidden in a pocket dimension

In the Library of Boujark, sometimes book reads you!

A demon of endless hunger, in the guise of a common theif, travelling in a company of fast friends

A statue with empty eyes that whispers insidious secrets to the unwary

Pit of the Red Mummy

The artifact you seek lies in the tomb of Gazeahl the Red, but do not seek it in his sarcophagus. Better that what lies there rest undisturbed. Seek rather the mausoleum of his three celebrated servants. There it lies for certain.

What? You want to know which of the three holds it? How the hell am I supposed to know? Go try your luck, just don't blame me if you awaken something you wish you hadn't.

Dungeon Dressing: Canopic Jars

Canopic jars are used exclusively for the storage of human organs. Often canopic jars are associated with the ritual removal and storage of organs, possibly to preserve the deceased from arising in an undead state. In rare cases, however, they may be involved in rituals with the opposite purpose. An experienced cleric or magic user should have a good chance of determining which is the case. Most necromancers will know at a glance.

Image courtesy of Wikipedia