#RPGaDay2026 - Day 16 - "Composure"

 Day 16 of #RPGaDay2026 is "Composure," something players and characters have in spades when they don't really need it.  

27 years ago.  College.  The group was still young, but we were navigating the storylines in the B1-9 In Search of the Unknown.  They had chosen the jobs to recover a religious artifact from one Elwyn the Ardent.

No one anticipated the dragon. 

Everyone expected to roll up new characters next Saturday, not be saved by some random goddess Thendara and forced to solve some curse in a mysterious land called Haven. 

There were a few fun moment (See Dag from Day 7) but the group was disorganized and confused, even with hints.  

And this is where Rolf Wolfsblood, Barbarian of the Galmar plans, member of the adventuring party since session 1, finally kicked into glory.

The group had ever-so-wisely split up, Velandro the cleric and his group having tough encounter after tough encounter.

The other group, led by Rolf,  found a very un-barbarian sitting room, set for tea.  Annoyed that there had been no sign of the ruby and the group was becoming even more lax and incompetent than usal Rolf went on a rant,   He kicked chairs, chucked a plate, started screaming at his fellow adventurers. When he grabbed a tea cup to gesture drinking tea like some weak "civilized" human, he was shocked to hear the cup talk in Thendara's voice

Three crystal notes
Two Silver Statues
One ruby sword
All will smash the Demon's Eye
And lift the curse.

Rolf was delighted to notice that the other party members heard the voice too.  He wasn't as crazy as Echelon and his stupid wolf, Pathfinder, who he claimed he could talk to.

Ultimately, Rolf's group met up with Velandro, while Velandro's group was in a running swordfight with a red robed humanoid and a racial mix of minions.  The party reunited and the battle continued to move, right into the throne room.  Dozens of statues of Haven's citizenry stood inside, including an obvious Princess Argenta (and Sir Ellis to Velandro).  Sitting on her throne was a ruby that was at least the size of Rolf's gigantic fist.

With the fight going poorly, the barbarian slew hobgoblin in front of him and ran away!  Most were so overwhelmed by the attacking forces that they didn't notice.

Rolf raced to once of the bedrooms.  There had been a harp there.  Harps make notes!  His muscles barely strained as he lifted the instrument off its base and ran back to the battle!   Upon entering the Throne Room, he held it to the floor and played as many combination of notes that he could find. Some arrangement that he played must have work, for the ruby shattered into a thousand pieces, the evil human and his minions fled, and the still-intact statues reverted back to their living forms.

The barbarian had quietly observed, picking up clues, and just when things looked like they would fall apart for could, he saved the day. 

The curse had been lifted.

The lone picture of Rolf (actually a painting) has been lost to time.  Here's mix of him and apparently George 'The Animal" Steel (Nightcafe)

Alternative Question: One thing that will cause a character to lose their composure?

#RPGaDay2026 - Day 13 - "Strain"

Day 13 of #RPGaDay and I'm feeling the pressure, perhaps the "Strain?"

If cheesy line about pressure creating diamonds, what does strain create? 

Hemorrhoids.

And I'm the king of being the pain in the ass for my players.

Because I like continuity, I like bringing one-off scenarios, or flavor text back.   Not everything, but just enough to remind the players that the characters' actions have influence in the world, if not outright consequences.  

But as I ponder options to talk about strain with my Monday night gaming group, the winning answer came from the guys who experienced it all happen: "When Echelon and Talis ran a barony..."

Day 8 I talked about Echelon and Steve.    Two strange bedfellows who became the best of friends until each died. The whole barony thing is where it started. 

Spring Semester '99 - College - a few of the players are locals, they'd like to continue the campaign.  I set up a whole wizard from another dimension, trying desperately to go back home.  While the party visited the capital city, Talis wisely set up rooms at a local brothel.   For the last session of the semester, Kannex the Wizards researched too well, transporting him... and everything in the brothel back to his home world of Talislanta.

For the summer, we converted our AD&D 2nd Edition characters to Talislanta and went on a series of missions exploring the realm, but also getting more components and MacGuffins for the return journey home.

I had left Talis, Echelon, and their friend Brutus the Gladiator standing right outside the vanished building. 

What the rest of the summer group didn't realize was that I ran two additional sessions for Echelon and Talis' players.  

They returned to their established base outside of Eding... then they remembered why they left in the first place. 

• The Talislanta wizards, Kannex?  He was trying to help the group stop a wedding to the local lord that had been infiltrated with a race of spider-people doppelgangers.  (Seriously, read Ballad of the Pigeon God... it makes sense, but its weird...).  Let's just say that wildly different magic systems resulted in spell failure and spell explosions often. 

When he wanted to fireball a group of spider people charging the altar... a reasonable response and rolled a max critical success.  

His well-weighed response, causing minimal civilian death or property damage essentially nuked the entire ceremony, guests included. 

The battle turned to healing, hunting down rogue spider-people, and putting out the fire at the Blue Wizard Inn, the only inn in-town. 

The good news was the spider-person bridge was killed.  The bad new was many other guests of high status... including Lord Athelstane himself were killed!  

In the aftermath, the leader of a rival adventuring party, sent a runner to the capital, and essentially declared martial law in the village, taking charge.  

The disaster in the center of town, the deaths of many essential villagers just a few weeks before harvest,  and the ncompetent rule of "Prince William" set the stage for a rough autumn.

• The threat of famine for the winter.
• Tornados and storms threatening what was left of the town.
• The secret BBEG revealing himself to be the brother of the king... and Talis had slept with his daughter. 
• An uprising by some of the surviving peasants.. for all the wrong reason.  They torched the manor house and sent Prince William and his non-so amazing friends scattering.
• Columns of fire descending from the sky (it was a good things, but horrible optics). 

It was Talis and Echelon who kept people fed, purchased extra supplies, rebuilt essential equipment and fought off the various threats to this village.

... And if they didn't do it, they had the benefit of a collection of NPCs that had become their friends help them.  

Winter would be harsh, rations meager, but the village would survive...

And to make the wild session end on an ominous note, it was uncovered that the Chateau D'Echelon, there base of operations was still under a loan, and that individual, one Mister Nebuchadnezzar Tinpenny, was within rights to call in the entire loan, due to a number of "Act of God" contingencies in the agreement. 

We left our duo nearing the due date on the first day of Yule, and them plotting how to commit enough heinous acts on the moneylender and his well-earned good squad... and I left them hanging all summer until we reconvened on move-in day, Fall Semester, for a wonderful reunion, no one had seen coming.  

Strain: So far, what is the heaviest set of RPG things you have carried to play?

#RPGaDay2026 - Day 8 - "Resolve"

 Day 8 of #RPGaDay and we hit a new prompt, "Resolve."  The alternative prompt is a predictable, "A moment when a character kept or broke their resolve?" 

And my Monday night gaming group throws one out from left field.  

"Remember when Echelon died and Talis' resolve crumbled?"

I did not.

But I have managed to chronicle the entire Ballad of the Pigeon God.

Picture this.  Pennsylvania, 1999.  College, 2nd Edition AD&D.

Talis Makolin and Echelon were the farthest any two could be.

Talis was a lovable rogue of a bard, obviously more lovable with the ladies...

Echelon was some odd man, a priest of some far eastern god of the sea, leading a menagerie of animals with them as the adventuring party travelled, more concerned about his pigeons than his companions. 

Echelon, before the glow-up

When many of their companions simply vanished during a trip to the capital city, they trudged back to their hometown.  They fought famine, villains, and even tornados and foreclosure to keep the village and surrounding countryside together.  

And when the rest of the group finally returned from their multi-dimensional excellent adventure, it was Echelon earning the true honors, becoming the Baron of Eding.  In one of his first acts, he made his friend Talis the first Knight of the Pigeon. 

No one had an explanation for this odd brotherhood, until it was revealed that they were, indeed, (half) brothers. 

Seriously.. if your character backgrounds coincidentally are that close, without player coordination, don't be surprised if the GM takes a part of that and runs with it. 

As the campaign progressed, the King passed away allowing his cousin (the BBEG) to take the crown.  Many in the adventuring party became personna non grata and travelled to escape persecution... and possibly murder.

Echelon and Talis led a group to the south of the kingdom, finding work in the neighboring Principalites of Emron, helping a wizard family keep their rightful ruler on the throne.  

In the midst of a titanic fight between the realm of dream and the real world, Echelon had his brain sucked out my a mind flayer, 

In the midst of this great fight, Talis, the flighty bard who grew to become a hero, lost all resiliency and ran away, abandoned his other friends and fled like a coward.

He even took most of his ill-gotten loot, to write a Dear Norm letter....  quickly chronicling the actions, his cowardice, and his farewell. 

Ultimately, after a series of his own adventures, even getting captured and becoming the personal pet of a cloud giant, when things were most dire, he joined up with the remnants of the group, on an epic quest to acquire the weapons of power to defeat the dark gods coming to destroy the realm.   In an effort to traverse a dangerous trap to acquire the battle-axe Overslayer, Talis slipped off of the treacherous wooden discs, plummeting into the boiling mud below, lost forever.  

The death of Talis was an even lower point towards his renown than that of his cowardice, because:

1) The next PC to attempt to traverse the mud pit, a dwarf name Norm Dingleberry, not only got across with flying colors, but slew the vampire guardian in total darkness, claiming the weapon for his own and getting back safely, to boot.

2) When acquiring the Whelm, Echelon returned from the dead to help put down the giant crab guardian of the weapon!  

By the end of the campaign:

1) Echelon helped defeat the BBEG, the true BBEG (Big Bad Evil GOD), and would ascend into the pantheon of local gods as a secondary god of seas (and definitely pigeons). 

2) Norm was also at that fight, gaining a Duchy, declaring his own independence when the "Happily Ever After" of the kingdom began to crumble, and slowly began to conquer the dominions that had betrayed himself and his friends in those early years. 

3) In subsequent campaigns, there have been rumors and inklings that Talis did leave a number of children to a number of women.  There may of been a sighting or two of Talis signature weapon, "Hummingbird" a Dagger +1, +3 throwing, with a glass orb in the hilt that resembles a tiny lava lamp.

Alternative Question: A moment when a character kept or broke their resolve?

#RPGaDay2026 - Day 5 - The Elden Burden

 Day 5 was the first day of #RPGaDay the stopped me cold.  "Burden"

Picture this: The early 90's, 2nd Edition AD&D is in full speed, splat books firing out.   It is not surprising that min-max elves populated the table.  And too be honest, I'm not a big fan of elves to begin with, and as DM, the deluge of thinly veiled variants of the same thing was getting me pissed off. 

So when I expanded my campaign past high school, I didn't ban elves, I simply made them difficult to play at the table.  

The Elden Burden of Western Talaishia

Queue your Kipling here.  

I'm sure in the ancient times of the Empire, the elves simply signed non-aggression pacts with the barbarian hordes of the east as they overran the First Ferasean Empire.  Hundreds of years later, the elven tribes in the east simply shrank in numbers that hating them was a non-issue. 

A couple hundred years later, the barbarian incursion happens again.  Civilization is ruined, but there is hope.  The mountains of Markovia and Skyforge to difficult to traverse, leaving the wooded Elven Kingdom of Agenmoor as the portal defending the far western empire from total destruction.

For reasons left in the mind of the elven leaders, they simply LET the barbarians through their kingdom, and let a good portion of them return east with nary a trouble. 

So the Elden Burden.  Already a race deteriorating from the inside, now their greatest partner, humankind, hates them with the power of a million wizards.  

After generations of teaching, elves are hated by all people.  Full blown discrimination, slurs involving pointed ears, and heaven forbid if you area half-elf. 

All the min-maxing in the world succumbs to the dark side of human nature. 

We still had our levy of elf characters show up, and most embraced the "hard work and heroism will win them over!"

It doesn't help when your elf, Torm Touchberry, is an ass-grabbing thief, or your virtuous elven cleric, Markuus was simply obnoxious at all times, to all people.  

It's a heavily biased and rewritten history, recalled in episodes #71-80 of the Lost Dispatches of Feraso., but in the village of Eding's darkest hours, the PCs bailed on them, letting the goblins put half of the place to the torch.  The campaign broke down shortly thereafter, but the non-elf PCs stayed away from the Barony.   Torm and Markuus took the burden as members of the adventuring party, and as elves, taking the lashes, the prison time (The local Lord was feeling generous as he needed competent bodies of any sort. Torm's player kept going for awhile, taking the lashes, training with the militia, keeping out of trouble.  

But the time my next campaign started, ten years cannonically after the last one, Torm was a sergeant in the militia, finally earning some respect, but full of the racial hostility towards the elves in the new group.  

Torm Touchberry, the Early Years...

Once the new elves won Torm over, their acceptance was quicker, although they went with the "keep you nose clean, stay humble" track

My Hackmaster games were placed 70-80 in the future, and the racism of the people was tapered a bit, with more elven heroes, but also the recent fall of Agenmoor to the shadow elves...

And nobody came to help them.

When I moved that the next Hackmaster campaign to Eastern Talaishia, the rampant racism was never there. Those larger groups were either far removed from human contact, or simply shrank well prior to the second barbarian incursion.  

Of course, there are tons of elf refugees from the fall of the kingdom, and their strange dialects, differeing culutres and drain on resources might un-surface some old hostilities amongst the peasantry. 

Alternate Question: What burden is a character willing to carry until the end?

(Kickstarter) Idols of the Neon Dark: A D&D 5e K-Pop Adventure and Setting

There's not much that's been tickling my fancy on Kickstarter recently.  This doesn't hit many of my buttons either, but Idols of the Neon Dark: A D&D 5e K-Pop Adventure and Setting does that the tropes of something recently popular and puts them in an easily digestible form of Dungeons and Dragons.

...and let's be honest, the music you can play in the background is pretty addictive. 

Dungeons & Defense?

I know I saved this two months ago, but I finally got the chance to watch Dungeons and Defense posted on the Kansas City Chiefs Youtube page.   

Nerds... jocks... nerd/jocks, it doesn't matter, it's all too familiar.  Fabulously familiar. 

(Georic Gazetteer) The Giants of Cos Mora

(Author's Notes: I began writing my gazetteer service to help dispel rumors and legends of the nations on the continent of Talaishia.  My greatest correspondence hasn't been in regard to any nation on (or below) the continent. The greatest intrigue are the kingdoms and lands far from our shores.  

My appendix entry of Hy Braseal has been my favorite entry of all folks, and more requests within that part of the world have been requested.  

So, despite my better judgement, I've accumulated fact and myth for the lands far south of Hy Braseal, below the impenetrable jungle, the high plains and hills perfect for high races:  The Giants of Cos Mora. 

One final and important disclaimer: Almost all of the information accumulated has ben derived from the same limited Hibernian explorers who visited Hy Braseal and Amazonia.  The Hibernians are famous for their drinking, their short stature (that could easily influence any claims), and the fact that their "explorers" were foolhardy raiders, rather than scholarly explorers.  The most outrageous and fantastical claims are listed as such.

Cos Mora

Pantheon:  Orddu’r Craidd 

Ruled By:  The Assembly of Six Colossi, various regional chieftains 

Capital: Q’ari P’illay ("City of Light")

Other Cities: Muru Lluk,  T’raqwayn,  Sari Runku.  Aserthera, Sekhimnos

Language:  Various Giant-Kin languages.  Even the smaller races speak the language right-heighted.

Flag/Emblem:  A silver spiral-mountain pierced by a thunderbolt, on a field of twilight blue is a decoration in a number of cultures

Coinage:   Mostly barter, Ore-weighted stone marks (never used by lesser races; mostly ceremonial)
Important Personas: Deep-Mother (Elder of Stone), Hail-wrath Tempest-Seer, Marn, General of the Canyon Hosts, Qwarfan the Molten Herald, Mayu Warmi Ayllin of Llinquwasi

Alliances:  None, sometimes with each other

Hostilities:  None

Open Warfare/Skirmishing:  Seasonal border clashes between Stone-Ice tribes and the Emberblood Forges.

Intrigues:  Titan politics run on prophecy, grudges, and geological omens.

Demi-Humans:  • Coka Wyrd Ogres (6%)
• Frost-Chisel Dwarves (5%)
• Frog-folk (3%)
Magickal Devices:  The Thunder-Seared Tablets, Ember-Forge Braziers, Stone-Memory Looms, Canyon Javelins of Lightning, Reed-Bound Chalices of the River Sibills, The Obsidian Heart of Pelondar

Thumbnail Sketch
The Titanland of Cos Mora dominates an entire southern continent below Vargaard. Far below Hy Braseal and Amazonia are vast plains, adamantine mountains, glacial fjords, and jungled river basins ruled not by men, but by at least sixfold civilizations of giants whose cultures vary as widely as their terrain.

Where lesser realms speak of kings or councils, the Cos Mora speak cyclical skyfire the elves haven't even notated, and the slow bargaining of beings who live long enough to watch mountains rise.

For thousands of years the giant tribes have shaped the continent’s geography through war, artistry, and divine pact-making. The storms of the mountains to the west and the ocean to the east are their loyal neighbors.   The rivers of Urqa run according to ancient treaties between stone and water.

Explorers from distant Senzar, Chi’in, and the Fortunate Isles agree on only a few facts:

• The land is impossibly fertile, shaped by ancient magic.
• The giants maintain loose boundaries; trespassers rarely return unobserved.
• Their temples predate known history.
• Each region houses a different giant-kind, each evolved to mastery of their domain.
• Lesser races survive only through shrewd alliances, mobility, or by living where giants find little interest.
• The Orddu’r Craidd pantheon blends sky-mothers, mountain-spirits, and storm-sisters—no two tribes interpret the myths the same way.

The giants of Cos Mora rarely attack outsiders unless provoked.
But when they do, they move with the inevitability of avalanches and rockslides.


Pampa Qhuri
Dominant Giantkind: Prairie Titans
Landscape: Endless rolling plains, windscoured steppes, monumental herds
Government: A triad of Shepherd-Matriarchs
Lesser Races: Halfling wind-riders, gnome grass-witches
Notable Sites:
• The Whispering Prairie-Stones
• The Aurochs-Spiral, a giant livestock city
• The Wind-Root Sanctuaries
Notes:
The Pampagor control weather patterns with slow ritual dances. Their strict fire-laws are enforced brutally.

Cos Mora South - Stone Giants 
Dominant Giantkind: Stone-Ice Giants
Landscape: Glacial shores, basalt cliffs, cobalt fjords
Government: The Neverending Council 
Lesser Races: Sealfolk, frost dwarves, wandering elven whalers
Notable Sites:
• The Frozen Reliquary
• Mount Ceirios, the Singing Glacier
• The Tidelocked Monoliths
Notes: Believed to be the oldest giant race; their burial grounds double as geomantic fortresses.

Kuyu Qhapaq: The Vinfael Emberbloods

Dominant Giantkind: Fire Giants
Landscape: Calderas, obsidian ridges, fumarole fields
Government: The Furnace Senate
Lesser Races: Fire-resistant dwarves,
Notable Sites:
• The Shatterforge Arches
• The Ember Crucible beneath Aconcagua
• The March of Broken Glass
Notes:
They are master smiths; their weapons are traded only under oath-binding rituals.

Qulla Suyu): The Airaith Tempestborn
Dominant Giantkind: Mountain, Frost, and  Storm Giants
Landscape: Thunder-split canyons, high desert mesas, salt flats
Government: The Lightning Oracle of Three Voices
Lesser Races: Aarakocra cliff-monks
Notable Sites:
• The Valle del Ryswrath (Valley of Red Thunder)
• Sky-Cairns of the Wayfarers
• The Salt Crystal Mirror
Notes:
They interpret lightning the way other cultures interpret scripture.

Urqa: The  Mire-Shapers
Dominant Giantkind: River Giants
Landscape: Wetlands, river forests, rune-woven waterways
Government: The Confluence Throne
Lesser Races: Amphibian folk
Notable Sites:
• The Temple of the Triple Current
• The Reed-Lantern Delta
• The Tide-Changer Beacons
Notes:
The most peaceful giants, but their flooding magic can swallow entire villages. 

Chaku Mayu: The Thornshroud Wardens
Dominant Giantkind: Hill Giants
Landscape: Dense forests, thorn labyrinths, humid twilight canopies
Government: The Verdant Matrons
Lesser Races: Jaguar-folk, sentient insects, vine "kobolds"
Notable Sites:
• The Green Labyrinth of Arahura
• The Root-Nexus where vines whisper
• The Canopy Thrones
Notes:
They wage a secret war against a hive of aberrant mind-eating plants.

GEOGRAPHY OF NOTE

The Rift of the Stone Mothers - A canyon said to be the wound left when the first giants crawled from the earth. Ongoing earthquakes are considered “the Mothers turning in their sleep.”

The Aurochs-Spiral of the Pampa - A city-sized spiral of earthworks used to herd the titan-cattle referred to as Aurochs.

The Temples of Urqa - Temples anchored alongside the river.  Priests offer water-prophecy.

The March of Broken Glass - A nearly impossible region to cross, volcanic activity, sulfur deposits, constantly changing landscape. 

The Salt-Sky Cairns - Skyward stone stacks perched on canyon rims.  Each Cairn marks a lightning prophecy

The Mirror-Delta - Water surfaces that reflect not the current moment but potential futures.  An unnerving experience, but one of the top draws for philosophers and bards.

Aroglith the Walking Mountain - A slow-moving colossus rumored to be a forgotten titan.Watching it move is like seeing a mountain breathe.  

Mentions of the Country in the Blog: None

GM Notes: The author of the Gazetteer wasn't being facetious, the "Appendix" entry on Hy Braseal and Amazonia netted the best debut for the Gazetteer, and thanks, and thanks to Episode #677 of Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff, and the Cos Mora was conceived.    Just enough bad Hibernian and pseudo-Incan to be wrong but interesting...

🧙‍♂️(Georic Gazetteer) The Fallen Kingdom of Agenmoor

The Fallen Kingdom of Agenmoor

Pantheon:  Drow 

Ruled By: The Drow
Capital: Riafelton

Other Cities:  High tree (now devastated)

Language: Elvish (wood, high, Drow)

Flag/Emblem:  A blackened, gnarled tree, with blood-red roots, on a field of dark purple

Coinage: Ancient Agemoor currency, no longer overvalued outside of the forest.
Important Personas: Bhionn the Sorceress, Keleron, Slavelord of the Minions

Alliances:  Netherdeep

Hostilities:  Netherdeep, Grunge Elves, Markovia, Mercadia

Open Warfare/Skirmishing:  Netherdeep, Grunge Elves, 

Intrigues: Shadow Elf High Priestesses from below still investigating why the land has not fully corrupted. 

Demi-Humans:  Shadow Elf/Drow (65%), Humanoid (10%), Corrupted Fairy (10%), Elf (15%) 

Magickal Devices:  The Eclipsing Heart, the Web of Ten Thousand Lies, The Wailing Crown of Riafellton

Thumbnail Sketch:  

The once-great elven kingdom of Agenmoor is no longer the land they remember. Corruption and shadows have twisted the trees, and a war rages between the Drow overlords andthe desperate elven resistance.

The once glorious forests now form a twisted canopy, darkening the land below.  Strange mists and unnatural silence cloak the depths of the woods. The Drow/Shadow Elves rule unchallenged, but corruption is not absolute. 

In 1133, the Drow Army of the NetherDeep invaded and corrupted Agenmoor, overthrowing the once-great Elven Kingdom and driving thousands of elves into exile. The once-majestic emerald canopy was reshaped into a twisted labyrinth of blackened vines, gnarled roots, and shadow-choked undergrowth. The Drow have since turned the land into an extension of their subterranean empire, poisoning the heart of the forest with dark magic.

The Great High Tree of Riafellton, once the towering heart of elven magic and governance, now stands half-dead, its bark blackened, oozing with dark ichor. Legends whisper that the last surviving essence of the old forest still lingers deep within, waiting for the right soul to rekindle it.

The Drow, however, have not achieved complete victory. By 1136, their expansion faltered, and the edges of the corrupted forest began to recede as much as a mile back. Though the Drow maintain control, their influence is no longer absolute, as the land itself seems to be resisting their dominion.

The Elven Kingdom of Agenmoor in Exile

Ruled by: The Twilight Cabal

Capital: Most of the Cabal bases operations in Draloite in Crosedes

Language: High Elvish

Flag/Emblem: A leafless tree of silver, on a field of blue.

Coinage: Ancient Agemoor currency, no longer overvalued outside of the forest.

Important Personas: Ashe and Binklen Winnebago

Allied with: Mercadia

Hostilities: uneasiness w/ Skyforge

Intrigues: The Winnebagos trying to ally with the Grunge Elves

Magic Items Recovered: Everflame of Aelindor, Skybough Shard, Moonveil Tapestry, Blades of Dawn and Dusk

Thumbnail Sketch:

The Twilight Cabal are a secret society of exiled elven scholars and priests working in the shadows, trying to restore the land’s balance. They are scattered and disorganized, but they know that if the High Tree’s last essence can be reignited, Agenmoor can be reclaimed.

The Twilight Cabal

But beyond that, the cabal's efforts often come in conflict with the Grunge elves, gleefully fighting a guerrilla war against the Drow.

Even beyond that is the growing resistance organized by brothers, Ashe and Binklen Winnebago. Famed adventurers, with ties to the discovery and ascension of Emperor Rurik of Feraso, the siblings are organization a multi-prong attack on the Drow, to challenge not only the Sorceress Bhionn, but the Cabal as well.

Binklen Winnebago

But time is running out. If the balance is not restored, Agenmoor may soon be lost forever to the NetherDeep.

Ashe Winnebago

Mentions in the Blog

Lost Dispatches of Feraso #7  - Infamous adventurer Talanth Blackash could be of Agenmoor, rather than Wyrmnalian elven birth

Lost Dispatches of Feraso #16  - The Ras-Prythax Principality of Fürstentum had a number of elven visitors well befor the invasion, should have some refugees or some resistance. 

Lost Dispatches of Feraso #17  - Reference that the Enstead Bandit Kingdoms in Ras-Prytax were once a rival Elven Kingdom like Agenmoor

Lost Dispatches of Feraso #30 -  Comparing the treacherousness of the "Snow Elves" Ilvablight to Agenmoor

Lost Dispatches of Feraso #72  - A biased description of Ashe Winnebago

Lost Dispatches of Feraso #83  - An early reference to Keleron, before the destruction of Agenmoor.

Ballad of the Pigeon God #0 - Mention of the Agenmoor betrayal.

Ballad of the Pigeon God #39 - An aside regarding Ashe and Binklen Winnebago of the Elvish Winnebago Clan.

Ballad of the Pigeon God #40 - A map referencing the southern tip of Agenmoor

Ballad of the Pigeon God #62 -  Elves in Agenmoor pour across the border, to witness the alleged return of the God-King.

Ballad of the Pigeon God #73 - Ashe and Binklen Winnebago return to Agenmoor.  

Ballad of the Pigeon God #75 - Emporer Rurik gives Agenmoor equal footing in the Feraso Imperial Court, at least until his death.   Ashe and Binklen Winnebago remain in Agenmoor at least until the original Shadow Incursion in 1130.  Rumored to have moved to Ilvablight.

Journey of Mutumbo #12 - Mention of the (possibly lost) Darkspruce Manor in Agenmoor
Burning Trogs Rule! #5 - Cecelia Darkspruce travels through the Drow-tainted lands that no longer resemble the forest kingdom
Burning Trogs Rule! #8 - The final Drow invasion coincides with the Great Comet of 1132, which destroyed parts of Emron.

Burning Trogs Rule! #12 - Any sense of the original elven kingdom is gone by 1133.  Elvish refugees flee to Marakeikos.

Burning Trogs Rule! #15 - Mention of elvish refugees not surviving the journey to Marakeikos, or disappearing once they do arrive.

Burning Trogs Rule! #45 - Agenmoor refugees in Radlebb first report on the Marakeikan Civil War.  Give the Burning Trogs safe passage.

(Kickstarter) Gone Scarin' for 5e from Betta Games

 I will say this, I'd rather pay a dollar every other week for another small installment from Betta Games than some full sized product.  

Betta Games is at it again with another Kickstarter, this time for Gone Scarin'  for 5e

From the Kickstarter:

Our cozy one-shots are designed to help adventurers find low/no-combat ways to enjoy Dungeons and Dragons with an emphasis on interesting mechanics and immersive roleplay!

Various Festive Activities: Rules and charts for Apple Bobbing, Cornhole, Pumpkin Chuckin', Pumpkin Roll, & Pumpkin Carving.

Tricks & Treats: Choose from a variety of food and drink from food stalls at the festival. But, keep an eye out for the local youths, they're out for treats and have methods of enacting revenge upon those who refuse to indulge them.

Maps: Detailed maps of the festival area as well as the House of Horrors.

Awesome Art!

Game Time 2-4hrs: Play time will vary from table to table and will be naturally extended by your number of players.

Reviewing the Lost Dispatches of Feraso

In some reflective time this week, I crunched some numbers, and about 9% are Actual Plays of TTRPGs.  Most are fantasy, but I'd like to think, between my players journals, and session recordings, most of the episodes are accurate and enjoyable.

With last weekend's rain deluge, I was stuck inside the apartment, and while I got a number of things done, I did want to start tackling the backlog of posts I have to finish.   One of those items was the Georic Gazetteer entry for the Kingdom of Ras-Prythax, and I accomplished the exact opposite of what I set out to do. 

Even before I transplanted my campaign into an Earth-centric model, nearly 20 years ago, Ras-Prythax was my Holy Roman Empire with more clout: The large remnant of an ancient empire, power collapsing as its domains get a foothold towards independence.   It is a massive and vast land (furthest points is about 1,000 miles... not in a straight line).  and despite it being the country I started building in the 8th grade, when I finally was cobbling together a map and the gazetteer entry, I realized how many empty spaces were still there. 

It was decided early that I would need to break out the Kingdom into a general entry, as well as three regional entries, covering Eastern, Western, and Central Ras-Prythax.  

So much for clearing another backlog post off my list... now I have three more, and the overview post isn't complete yet.  

There's a bunch I need to develop, so I reviewed everything I had, so I could see where the obvious hole I could fill quickly were.  

Since most of the campaign was set in Ras-Prythax, I focused on re-reading the Lost Dispatches of Feraso, starting with Epiosde 1.   

I spent a good portion of the morning reading all 100 entries.  I wrote these between 2018 and 2020, and after going over them again, I have to say that they are the best writing, storytelling, and logistical storytelling I've ever done.  

I essentially tied the first decade of my fantasy role-playing, into a coherent storytelling device, much of which was never written down, and in many cases largely forgotten.  

For purposes of the gazetteer, I added a few towns, some local color, and most importantly, realized the far eastern Gran Duchy of Vrianios is essentially the Hungary to a real-world Austria-Hungary.  

I don't want to toot my own horn too much, but the way I tied many things together, even if it's just providing a different perspective of events from other Actual Play campaigns.  I am biased, but I do recommended starting with episode 1 linked above and working through the story, plus the recommended side treks. 

How Many Hit Dice Does the Gilmore Girls Gazebo Have?

The air is getting colder, the leaves are falling, and most of the Halloween candy is starting to go on discount finally.

I certainly wouldn't disparage anyone announcing Christmas products this time of year, but I surprise myself promoting an item that has the words Hallmark and Gilmore Girls in it.  

The Hallmark 2025 Keepsake Ornament for the Gilmore Girls is a... gazebo? 

I don't know the show reference for the Gilmore Girls Star Hallow Gazebo Musical Ornament, and it is $30.99, but it's also 3.5"x 3.5"x 4.5" which is a pretty decent sized gazebo for your fantasy game.  

Of course, for the uninitiated, the gazebo is a formidable monster of unofficial D&D lore, credited largely to the story "Eric and the Gazebo" by Richard Aronson.  My personal favorite version of that is "Lair of the Gazebo" from Knights of the Dinner Table. 

Three more little tidbits, to make the post worth reading:

1) When Hackmaster 4th Edition was created, they included a house-sized doppleganger/mimic which I immediately turned into a Gazebo a few weeks into our first Hackmaster campaign.  (AKA "Purple Cephalopod)

2) Knights of the Dinner Table #1 is available online by Kenzer & Co for free.

3) Weird Pete Ashton in the comics is set five years younger than I am today.  Need to find me a monkey and a game store! 

(Kickstarter) Gone Foragin' - $1 One-Shot by Betta Games

 I have a lot of gripes about Kickstarters recently, but I will never say no to a $1 pdf that piques my interest.   It's cheaper than a candy bar and with a good group, it might be more memorable than some campaigns.  

Betta Games has a whole series of inexpensive adventures in their "Gone..." series (Gone Fishing, Gone Campin', Gone Bee Keepin', etc..)

Gone Foragin' is a simple adventure, combined with foraging rules, toxic results, and pilfering pests!  

(Painting) D&D Birch Blights (WotC 3e)

The one positive or drawback of summer yardwork is that, unless you want triple the work, it's a weekly endeavor.  And if I'm down at my mom's, taking care of the lawn, I'm swinging by Cloud City Games to pick up those other two packs of Twig Blights from the D&D 3rd Edition line of minis.  

I've noticed a few folks with videos trying to paint Ents and the sort in a birch theme, but in all the years I've lived around the trees, which proliferate well in the wetlands and forest fire damaged areas around my house, I have never seen birches that looked like their final products.  The twig blights aren't the best at recreating them either, especially with the vertical instead of horizontal recesses, but one flick of white highlights and they looked better.

With a dozen twig blights, I guess I need a game with them in it, either D&D or some skirmish level.  A perfect low level threat to the mouslings, perhaps.

In the Queue: Gnomes and Rebel Commandos

Project 350: 454 (281/173) from  455 (281/174).  

(Painting) D&D Twig Blights (WotC)

Sometimes retail therapy and painting therapy converge, and I have zero complaints. 

Summer has been weekend visits to my mother to check in on her and take care of the yard.    I've included a few side quests from time to time, but my usual itinerary is a visit to Wawa on the way home for dinner, and at least a quick stop at Cloud City Games in the Palmer Park Mall. 

Most of my time I'm surveying the fantastic collection of 'zines they have, but in a recent once over of their miniatures, I found a rack of 3rd Edition D&D metal minis hiding amongst the modern plastics.  Twig blights, the easiest (and cheapest) minis on the rack.    

Twig Blights (WOTC 40049)

I did switch them from the bigger d20 adherent slotta bases to some nice round ones for more varied used.

Last I checked, there were still two packs of them. If you already have six, why not twelve?

In the Queue:   Gotta be honest, some "necessary" Star Wars figures have pushed themselves to the front.  Goblins and Hawaiian Gnomes are probably part of the my gaming new year glut for October (yes, October).

Project 350: A nice steady decline to 455 (281/174) from 458 (282 drafts/176 scheduled).  My gaming year ends September 30th, so I have a bunch of smaller clean-up to do, but I do anticipate some New Years' "bulk up" to my back catalogue. 

Greyhawk Gnome God

Just a happy note, that I found an link on a Patreon covering Clerics of Baervan Wildewander for Greyhawk.  It appears to be publicly accessible information.  I personally love the artwork.

Adventures in Gulluvia Supplemental #1 King Norm I of Mercadia

King Norm Dingleberry of Mercadia  (circa 1143)
"The Mad Dwarf"  "The Unshaven"

12th Level Dwarf 
Homeland: Skyforge
Birth Date: 1006

Sex: M   Age 144   Height 4’3”
Hair: Black Eyes: Brown Weight 172 lbs.

Quirks/Flaws: Anosmia, Excessive Drooling, Tone Deaf, Socially Awkward

STR: 15
DEX: 13
CON: 17 
INT:   11 
WIS: 11 
CHA: 13

Hit Points: 95

"Overslayer"    +14/+6      3 attacks/round 2d6/2d6/2d6
Can be thrown 150’ 3x daily, illuminate on command, communicate with owner, makes wielder agoraphobic. Additional +2 to hit and damage vs. goblins, giants, trolls, and orcs   (Despair, Delay, Stun Opponents)

Grand Master: Battle Axe
Warhammer
Dagger
Shortsword
Short Spear

SKILLS:
LANG DWARF 
LANG GNOME 

LANG GOBLIN

LANG KOBOLD
LANG TRADE PRYTHAX
Profession: Agriculture

Endurance

Acting

Persuasion

Titles
King of Mercadia

Imperial Duke of Mercadia Premiere
Blue Knight of Crosedes
Former General of the Eastern Army of Crosedes
Emperor of the Known World
Disputed Count of Rowand
Failed Mushroom Farmer

Father to Berynna and Grumli to Queen Elanisse Veyrond 

Father to Tovanna, Drogath, Elgrun to Queen Mirelda Chavanne

Father to Carya, Supagol, and Halagstr  to Queen Sorienne Lafontaine

Equipment

2 Short Spears
Dwarven Warhammer

Overslayer
Broom of the Mountain Lord
500 gp
4000 sp
pearl (100)
rose quartz (50)
1 silver chalice (105)
short sword +1
Maul +1

Scroll with magic missile
gilded hourglass (80)
music box (250)
hand axe
2x potions of healing.

Norm, circa 1064

GM Notes:  Norm's first appearance as a player is now officially session #14 of Ballad of the Pigeon God.   For a nose-picking failed mushroom farmer, he's gone toe-to-toe with unkillable beasts, defeated gods, stared down arch-mages during diplomatic negotiations, travelled dimensions, formed his own kingdom and spent 70 years with expansionist policies against human, dwarf, and gnome.   Converting him to BECMI D&D means he maxes out at 12th level. 

Norm always had a penchant for a large human women, and his choice of queens do not vary.  His eldest daughter to his third (and current) marriage, Carya, was a sleeper agent in Adventures in Gulluvia.  

Mercadia is due an entry into the Georic Gazetteer, once I complete the notes his player, Nate, put together for all the dominions, as well as his expansionist policies into the Dwarves of Skyforge, Gnomes of Masgoth, the Mage-Princes of Emron, and technically, Gulluvia.

(BECMI D&D) Adventures in Gulluvia #28 - The Epilogue of Failure

OUR HEROES HAVE GIVEN UP HOPE!

The group's disintegration within the Mines of Illefarn have forced the survivors to return to Illefarn in defeat. 

Hugo Swam'Pas - The popular local hedge mage (and frightenly, voice of reason with in the party), is dead at the hands of gargoyles, and a nasty fall.   His body is being brought back to Mere for burial.

Beulah Cragmuffin - Normally the adversary of Hugo's actions, Beulah was the first to suggest returning home.  

Galastia Axenmeld: Disgruntled acolyte of The Church and alleged conspirator with necormancers agreed with Beulah's assessment.  She's taking Gwendalyn back to The Church for both of them to face judgement, punishment, despite Galastria's affirmation that she had done nothing wrong.  

Gwendalyn the Bright - Another disgruntled acolyte of the Church, now tied up and gagged for the majority of the hike back to Mere. 

Dim Cragmuffin -  Beulah's dim-witted relative is pulling the makeshift sled with Hugo's body, and Gwendalyn's armor.

Jonerir Drake - Younger brother of Belaquan Drake, who disappeared about a year ago.  Upon discovering Hugo's family was estranged, at best, he is hoping his new mentor, Clifford Loprete will allow him to use Hugo's spellbook. 

Carya Illinoisis - The former merchant / current Baronial Guard, this mountain of a woman disappeared within Illefarn.

31  Mai 535 - The Return to Mere

Bringing back a corpse over a four day trek wasn't too wise.  Hugo was buried on Clifford Loprete's property.   Clifford took possession of his spellbook and his Skullcap of Comprehension.  Clifford bequeathed Hugo's family ring, a Ring of Fire Resistance to Jonerir.  His funeral was lightly attended.  Jonerir stays in town to be Clifford's student.

Galastia brought a combative Gwendalyn in front of Sister Bronte, the head of The Church in Mere.    Bronte found no fault with either, but forbid all forms of contact with either of them.  Upon the arrival of the next Baronial Guard patrol, Galastria was escorted to Gulluvia City, the capital, to work with the High Priest, while Gwendalyn was reassigned to the village of Dead Mule.   Acolyte Han Gabelung was recalled to assist Village Priestess Bronte and her assistant, 15-year old Susie.

Priestess Bronte

Beulah returned to her quiet life in town, actively avoiding her relative Dim most of the time.  

The river continued to flow green, killing flora and fauna along its banks.  Thankfully, it did not seem to affect any wells dug away from the river.   All kobolds tribes have either left the area entirely, a few stragglers returning to the caves in the southern hills.  

7 Jun 535 - The Village of Mere

And just like that, the river flowed clean again.  A militia patrol of Ascink Eukeaverk, Conan DiPietro, Cosimo Guthingas, and Jenkins reported the miraculous occurrence.  No one in town volunteered to travel upstream for any update.  

17 Jun 535 - The Village of Mere

With no scouting, the village was surprised with 200 heavily armored Dwarves crossing the river and ending up in the center of town.   Soldiers from a place beyond Illefarn,  Clifford's skullcap called it "Blue Anvil",  had arrived. 

18 Jun 535 - The Village of Mere

There was no resistance.    Clifford taught Jonerir that cooperation was the better side of valor.  The Clifford provided all the information about Gulluvia that he had.  Even Priestess Bronte decided to not use The Church to create resistance.    The Dwarves encamped outside of town, they had not pillage anything, paid for what they needed, and even rolled a keg or two of stronger Dwarven brew into the taverns.  

28 June 535 - The Village of Mere

The initial 200 Dwarves were the scouting party. 

Over 2,000 Dwarves arrived, captured a Baronial Guard unit with ease, and most headed to the other towns and villages, and ultimately, the capital.  

Travelling with the army was one "King" Devin Ironaxe.... and one Carya Illinoisis.

At this point only Beulah, Jonerir, and Clifford Loprete would care, but Devin was an advance agent for a foreign power, not a descendant of the Dwarven clans that operated Illefarn.  After the group evacuated Illefarn, the reinforcements finally arrived.  They were able to scare away the necromancer bandits, and removed the goblins before the scouts headed to a place called Mere...

Carya, besides being a mountain of a woman, was also a minor agent of this "Blue Anvil" force.  

Carya could at least speak in better Common, "Hugo's device is on the fritz, Clifford, it's not Blue Anvil, it's the Kingdom of Mercadia.  Once more reinforcements arrive, I'm assuming their going to take over this little rogue barony.  Why?  I have not clue."

With Norms'  appearance and Carya's reveal, Mere becomes part of Mercadia.  a country no one knew existed.

34 June 535 - The Village of Mere

The village never encountered any nobility of import.  Lady D'hmiss never set foot in the place, so it was quite awkward when the King of Mercadia arrived.

King Norm I  (His men referred to him at "The Beardless" like an honorific, despite a short to medium length beard) was a middle aged Dwarf without the gravitas like Devin had projected.  

He walked into the tavern, ordered a human ale and leaned up against the bar, looking at the remaining heroes. 

He stared at Carya.

Carya:  "Hi Dad!" 

Carya was the eldest daughter of Norm's, her mother was the current human wife and Queen.  A half-Dwarf.   Norm had a penchant for large human women in all dimensions, so her great height was not a fluke.  

She had heard tales of, not her father's, but his friends he had made a century before.    Before they met Norma, they had found some mystical land known as Gulluvia, complete with a princess, a prince, a dragon, and massive red ruby.   He knew the ruby was long gone, but the alleged barony and everything else was somewhere in the remote foothills of Crosedes, and the expanding Mercadia, but not listed on any maps. 

Carya originally ventured through all the protective elements surrounding the barony, keeping it remote.  She found the remains of the land from the tales backwards and foolish, but she also wanted to surprise her father.  She joined the Baronial Guard, travelled the land, only taking enough time to return reconnaissance to a Mercadian outpost, then Illefarn.  

When the 200 scouts arrived, the ore engineering oriented Dwarves found an issue with a green slime poisoning the water supply.  The water system was cleaned, the slime destroyed, and they advanced on Mere.

It took less than a month for Mercadia to conquer the Gulluvia in full.  Lady D'hmiss was found guilty of everything and put to death.  The entire administration of the Church  (including a very unlucky Galastia ) was also put to the sword,   The Dwarves sent for clerics of a different church, one called Akana to assist with conversion of the masses.  It appeared that once, long ago, The Church was a part of Akana, before the barony was hidden from the world.

Roads were built, "King" Devin became Baron Devin, and the simple folks of Gulluvia were reconnected to the outside world.  

Norm had found the ruins in of the ancient palace, north of Gulluvia City.    It confirmed his friends' stories, but opened up the concept that they had travelled to another place.... in another time. 

GM Notes:  The Barony of Gulluvia is directly pulled from the background information provided in the original version of B3 - Palace of the Silver Princess, the naughty version if you will.  

I ran my college group through portions of B1-9 In Search of Adventure, and the anthology had a neat way of transporting the PCs from Elwyn's Sanctuary (B9 Castle Caldwell and Beyond) to the Palace portion of the updated (green cover) B3, and finally a vague but direct route to the monastery portion of B5 - Horror on the Hill.  Check out the write-ups in my Ballad of the Pigeon God (starting with episode #5).  

Norm hadn't joined the group yet, but he probably read the journals of either Talis Makolin,  Echellon, or maybe Rolf Wolfsblood.   

I don't believe I placed Gulluvia within the proper Ferasean calendar, but my notes and timeline state that Gulluvia officially become part of Mercadia in the proper years 1143. This runs concurrent with the early episodes of the Buring Trogs Redux.  

(BECMI D&D) Adventures in Gulluvia #27 - The Death of the Mountain Lord

 Our heroes are now deep within the ancient mines known to the dwarves as Illefarn solving an issue with poisoned water, two clerics of the same church, Galastria and Gwendalyn are fighting in the midst of the complex over theological issues.  The baronial guardsman, Carya, has slipped away, Beulah in tow.

Galastia Axenmeld: Disgruntled acolyte of The Church, target of Gwendalyn's uber-piety.

Gwendalyn the Bright - Another disgruntled acolyte of the Church, sent to solve issues within this podunk village, but overlooked for the parish priest role.   

Carya Illinoisis - The former merchant has joined the Baronial Guard, with a focus around Mere.  She's still a mountain of a woman that's even stronger than she lets on. 

Dim Cragmuffin -  It's unsure what relation he was to Beulah, but the halfling was ugly as a dog bashed in the face with a mace, but also old enough to have been bequeathed an old set of armor from the Cragmuffin family ancestors.  The rest aren't sure if he's volunteered for hero duty, or he's following a firefly in the same general direction as the 

Jonerir Drake - Younger brother of Belaquan Drake, who disappeared about a year ago. Fallen in with the likes of Clifford Loprete 

Hugo Swam'Pas - The popular local hedge mage from Mere known for more successes than failures in helping the village out.  

Beulah Cragmuffin - A halfling that hates adventuring, but hates seeing Hugo get any credit, whether he deserves it or not.  

21 Mai 535 - Somewhere Under Illefarn

The grudge match between Gwendalyn, magically engulfed in flames, and Galastria.  Both were better armored than their martial ability.   Galastria finally landed a non-leathal blow, knocking her fellow cleric back, but she remained relentless.  

Meanwhile, Beulah, peeked around the corner of of the lair of King Devin's Dwarves.  Carya was speaking with a Dwarf guard, and suddenly, he had further down the hallway.  

Moments later, King Devin and a contingent of his troops, arrived in front of Carya.  She presented the King with some of device.  She turned away from the ramp... and her compatriots, and King Devin and the Dwarves advanced towards the ramp.  Beulah ran back to the fight... still ongoing,   "We're in trouble!!!"

Despite Beulah's warning, everyone was shocked to see the Dwarf king... again.

"All of you, just get out!  You are not welcome here anymore."  Beulah, pushed an agitated Dim towards the door, the others following.  Even Galastria began to follow suit, especially with the four aggressive dwarves surrounding them, axes in hand.  

Everyone may have started moving towards the doors, but Gwendalyn continued to try to pummel her heretical cleric.  The others made some attempts to separate them... or in Beulah's case, attempted to waylay the over-fervent cleric. aiming for her knees.  

It was finally enough to distract Gwendalyn, allowing Galastria to hit her upside the head with her mace, dropping her to the ground.  

No one questioned Galastria as she tied up the unconscious acolyte.  She tied a cloth around Gwendalyn's neck, just in case they needed to gag her when she regained consciousness. 

Back into the large chamber with the pillars, Hugo decided to to investigate the balcony one last time before delving further in the mine complex.  With Galastria behind him on the Broom of the Mountain Lord, Hugo flew up into the balcony area, confirming the limestone railing, the two statues, and a door located in the far back of the balcony.

Once they landed near that door, the two large grotesque statues along the railing came to life!

Neither Hugo nor Galastria had dismounted, so the magic-user quickly turned around and tried to fly out of the area.   Both of the statues struck Hugo, and he and Galastria tumbled down into the shallow water at the base of the pillars.

Galastria landed hard, her armor felt bent.   She looked over towards Hugo.  He wasn't worried about his injuries.

Because he was dead. 

Dim splashed in the water to recover the Broom of the Mountain Lord before it slowly floated away. 

The death of Hugo affected the group as a whole.  He may have been her fiercest adversary, but Beulah knew the slim chance of the mission's success had vanished with his demise.  Couple that with Gwendalyn's ranting and ravings, Carya's disappearance, and the general incompetence of Dim and Jonerir, it was time to admit defeat and return to Mere... 

RIP Hugo Swam'Pas

Next: #28 - The Epilogue of Failure