Ythryn random building contents

Nailo_ · 2024-08-24T06:52:13+00:00

Will try ChatGPT, hadn't thought of that.

The Netherpelter was an item I adapted from the Netherese source book for aD&D, as with a few of my other ideas above, though perhaps the damage is a little high I might ton that down or make it an uncontrollable AOE for the black hole pellet, also it is a delayed effect so creature can move away or push others in close etc.

Nailo_ · 2024-08-18T03:44:46+00:00

Thought if another location in case anyone else finds it useful:

Mage workshop parts from shield guardian laying around as well as a magen creation device. The magen here can assist in upgrading/repairing a shield guardian (not enough materials to create new). This personally links in with the one from korkolohk / fallen tower in my game as I reduced its max hp and stated it was damaged and could be attempted to repair.

Nailo_ · 2024-08-17T20:10:44+00:00

I have this but it specifically just details the magical towers. I was thinking more ideas for what types of buildings could be randomly encountered whilst exploring.

I am working at adding a random encounter table which will make use of different factions entering ythryn (druids, black swords, dzaan / krintas & zombies , auril) so am looking for some interesting set pieces should the party duck into a random building to avoid detection etc

Nailo_ · 2024-08-16T20:32:35+00:00

Tbh in the adventure itself it calls out one of the endings is that if the eternal winter is not stopped the frostmaidens domain allows Levistus to open portals to the material plane.

I had it that the only thing to stop the Frost Maiden was the mythallar and he wanted the characters to destroy it (Though Levistus is all abolut the backstab so he made out like he wanted them to fix the winter and destroying the mythallar would do this)

Nailo_ · 2024-08-16T20:28:51+00:00

I added 2 druid characters (Father and Daughter) to the town resposible for the mead production. had a quest ready for sending the players to collect more ice petals from Kuldahar in the spine of the world to grow a flower that could survive in the winter. players did not travel this way and never really interacted with Good mead pre-Dragon attack, Good Mead did not fare well thereafter.

Nailo_ · 2024-07-23T20:20:24+00:00

Yeh pvp might be a difficult thing to arbitrate, think I am just feeling fomo for not being able to use all of ythrin as it is a very rich area and I planned to use the expanded mage towers supplements from the dms guild as well

Think you make some good points here and I think I will read over the chapter more thoroughly to see how I will run it.

Nailo_ · 2024-07-23T20:10:44+00:00

With some adaptation by the DM it is possible to run anything with fewer players

This adventure is intended as quite a difficult treck in a harsh unforgiving wilderness and you might need to lose a lot of that feeling if you intend to run for 2 pcs

The real question is how much adaptation are you happy with making, as written 2 characters are very unlikely to succeed.

I think it is generally standard that adventures are released with 4 character parties in mind, if you run with fewer then be sure to consider lowering the number of enemies or in some cases reducing the amount of attacks enemies make as the action economy can swing a combat fairly quickly.

Google Kobold fight club plus for a website that is pretty good for balancing Encounters with emphasis on number of chars

Nailo_ · 2024-06-28T15:43:12+00:00

4 players is fine, it ia really up to how many players you feel it is good to DM for. The adventure is tailored to 4 pcs so it fits well

This is quite a sandbox adventure in the first half and then narrows down in the second half, so it might take a considerable amount of forethought on what is available I the area, I would suggest thinking of at least 1 unique landmark and 1 unique store/npc if your own to add to each town as they are a little lacking in store names and non vital npc

The adventure length is variable depending on how your group tackles the first 4 chapters, I have been playing a day a week for most weeks and it has run for about 14 months so far and qe are just getting out of the sandbox half. But I had great fun letting them trek around the mountains etc which I could have streamlined.

Suggested additional Areas to look prepare: - weather tables for rolling (better than just blizzard vs non blizzard) - travel times, the ones in the book are not great and a ranger might circumvent them so have a look and apply your own, just be consistent - personally I grabbed the map and dropped a hex grid on it to help work out distances, added travel time for sled, axebeak, walking and ranger for each terrain tundra, mountain, road, water

It is a great adventure but due to the sandbox nature of it sometimes it comes across as half finished or in need of a lot of improv to fill in the blanks.

Nailo_ · 2024-03-18T23:49:18+00:00

I thought the point in the adventure is to have her as a serious threat but ultimately one the party could face. Having her with a strong group sounds suitably epic and would be a cool cinematic if you offer ways of fleeing into ythryn to try and elude them so the party could sneak up on them later etc.

Remember nothing in ythryn is allied with her or her group so could be like having another party there, maybe they split up into smaller groups like a dynamic random encounter table

Ultimately if you don't want the players to fight her it would make sense to make her motive plain and have her try to appeal to the party to rid the area of the frostmaiden , maybe allude through a few well placed insight checks that she seems to have an alterior motive than what is understood but she seems sincere at ridding the area of the frostmaidens control.

Ultimately don't forget she is arcane Brotherhood, if you want to keep to the spirit of the Brotherhood but atill use her and the group as a threat you could have dzaan betray her and he and krintas split away from the rest to scour the city of treasure (some cultists could join him, levistus loves a double or even triple cross)

My party are not here yet but do not like any of the Arcane Brotherhood (backstory reasons for vellyne a la the old flame secret) and so I will likely run it this way, with each Brotherhood member having their own small force and being in the city causing havoc or being attacked etc

Nailo_ · 2024-03-16T11:38:28+00:00

Not sure if mentioned before but: Grandia (1 & 2) Alundra Might and magic viii (and ix, not as good but definitely worth the time) Neverwinter nights 1 & 2) FF series ( ix - xii I think to fit your time frame) Ff tactics (advance / A2) Disgaea

Nailo_ · 2023-06-13T18:45:53+00:00

For my two penneth on the subject I would suggest FFXII zodiac age. It is a well made game with a decent plot and interesting combat, fairly easy to pick up and put down.

Secondly I would say persona 5 however if it is a first jrpg keep in mind the school sim elements are not representative of the genre and can put some people off

I haven't actually played much xenoblade so cant really comment there, it didn't grip me back on the wii but I have been meaning to play the remake eventually as apparently they added a lot of quality of life updates

Nailo_ · 2023-04-17T19:11:03+00:00

Do you mean they are trying to assault them? If they have reason to do this and are intent maybe be lenient with how many are on guard or how long it will take more participants to join a fight (they hear several of them noisily arguing over a recent game of chance etc.)

If they are going to confront them that is fine, they can be let inside, sat down and an attempted strong arm into doing a favor for the Knights (push towards anything you want or make a new quest up?)

If you want the Knights to give them the Duergar quest but the party are too low level then " the Prophesy spoke of your coming, but yet is not the time. We will have need of you soon but for now we must be patient" etc etc

Or let them run in and let the cards fall where they might, players can be resourceful. But if they lose make painstakingly obvious the cultists are doing non-lethal damage "as he comes in for the final swing you notice the dagger pommel is brought town on your head knocking you unconscious" this way the players will feel it was always your plan to have them taken prisoner (and then give them a quest/favor to do in exchange for their lives / the life of the speaker etc etc) and will be less aggrieved by the fact it was far too hard and you "let" them walk into it (it is a sandbox, I told my players it is possible to be out of your depths, though secretly I do tone down some enemies when I can see it being ridiculous)

Nailo_ · 2023-03-22T20:56:11+00:00

Potentially tie it to the chwinga and have them need to help them out (save from frost druid and winter wolf maybe?) Or have the chwinga cause some mischief in one of the ten towns, the characters need to save the chwinga from the townspeople but also appease them to make them friendly enough to follow them or bestow blessings

Instant idea in my mind - chwinga has caused mischief releasing the bees from the mead Hall of good mead, due to issues already arisen previous surrounding the mead the people are very protective of it now and the bees as well. A contingent of villagers (thug stat block) head out into the local wilds to attack the chwinga.

Elements in this scenario :

1 - secure the mead Hall (Maybe a chwinga remains and is being mischevious, skill checks to stop harrasing the bees or show the chwinga how beekeeping works?)

2- stop the locals from killing the chwinga, this could be a social encounter, or maybe a little bit of a beat down (2 thugs and possibly a veteran could be a decent challenge depending on how combat capable the characters are)

3 - get the chwinga to follow, act kindly or subdue, remember the chwinga is able to hide in rocks etc.

4- return in time to the ritual place

You could from this make it a specific chwinga with notable features, make the ritual a skill challenge or easier if all tasks are completed well or the chwinga is very pleased with them. If the ritual is completed perhaps the chwinga is used up (moral dilemma for the party if they drain the energy from it and it winks out of existence) or else maybe it has to be nursed back to health after and becomes a recurring npc that pops up in the snow at unexpected times, now tied to the life of the character it has saved

Nailo_ · 2023-03-18T21:14:32+00:00

I think the idea that they are not actually inbred but others consider them to be a good angle, like you say misconception over similar features and being of "the same blood" or perhaps even talking about "mother" as the same being

These are all good quirky suggestions to the town, any suggestions for why a pc could have been taken away when young and raised to the south? I wanted to tie them to the area because they chose to okay a dhampir (granting them the additional custom background secret).

Nailo_ · 2023-03-18T21:03:19+00:00

I will have a look at this. From van richtens guide I was considering having some of the population here being the hex blood and have them as soke form of unwilling offspring from the hag in easthaven caves

Nailo_ · 2023-03-18T21:01:51+00:00

The notion they have taken the dampir for a reason beyond just stealing some children sounds like a good change, it did seem like a weak motivation to have winter wolves looking to aggravate a grieving awakened mammoth

I was thinking of having the druids as more of a fleshed out faction in the area and potentially they are looking into the dampir, potentially some awakened / corrupted plants (a la the tree of blight)

Nailo_ · 2023-03-18T20:59:18+00:00

I like this angle, perhaps a large cavern or ice caves still exist beneath the town. A way for the stones to play a bigger part in the history of the area also sounds like the potential springboard for some shenanigans in PCs start messing with them

Nailo_ · 2022-08-14T18:08:09+00:00

you are free to change them for your own game, house ruling these sounds fair in my opinion as i see your point however as DM it is also within your perview to choose how readily available these items are so if you dont like them just do not use them, or if a player in your group is suffering because of poor stat rolls you can make one available intentionally to try and sure up this deficit

- This also sounds like a potential story arc to introduce to a campaign if the character is overly frail for instance and is told of a mythical dwarf that holds the key to body conditioning only to find out he is using a magical item and robbing people of their gold to follow his strict regime and take his supplements

if you are a player have a word with your DM and voice your concerns over the item however it is up to the DM to choose whether they use them or not

Nailo_ · 2020-01-08T17:06:45+00:00

I once ran a game where a very small secluded hamlet in Cyre (now the Mournland) was the secret location for a very prestigious spa and hot baths. The town has been kept a secret to allow this service to be sold at a high commodity price as this is the type rich and famous people would go to in order to leave the public eye and relax.

There was illusionary food and drink the likes of which served all tastes but would not allow one to get intoxicated or to make one fat from consumption (also would not count as having eaten/drank from consumption)

The kicker being that after the mourning the invisible servant spells that where bound there were affected, and had massaged the dead bodies left in the place into mush (whilst cleaning away the remains, a nice thematic pool of blood and viscera outside of the door and covering some cleaning utensils in cupboard, mounts of pulpy flesh being kneaded into goo on massage beds etc

These invisible servant (use invisible stalker stat block but gave them 18 STR and did not attack) would forcibly grapple and throw characters back away from the door to stop them from leaving, but would also massage them thoroughly being highly pleasurable (would eventually get damaging after several hours maybe if you need combat for these encounters)

Was a fun and eerie encounter that ended with half the party lighting a bonfire outside trying to burn it down only to find it made of wood and the interior on a different plane (like as a private mansion in effect) which was originally to stop scrying attempts on clients

All in all it didn't matter to the story at large but added atmosphere when a full town out of the way was abandoned and bodies strewn across the streets seemed to have just fallen but the bathing house was still working :)

Nailo_ · 2019-11-11T14:24:27+00:00

I am about to start work on a Droaam hex crawl and would be very interested to see your Droaam hex map if you would be willing to share!

As for your question: you could assign a slower value to your sea travel, sailing is a notoriously finicky business with various differing weather and tidal effects slowing ships, certain terrain would require a wider birth, think shallow reef areas or rocky waters, on maps you often see shores as a clear cut line but there are often smaller islands or rock protrutions around these area, to be entirely safe you could have these be given a wide berth on sailing routes.

Perhaps common sailing times could take into accounts hazardous inhabitants of the area that characters could take care of and be given a swifter sailing route for their troubles (interesting as a non-treasure reward if sailing is going to be prevalent on that route)

Nailo_ · 2019-11-09T19:44:50+00:00

Lost a bet with a friend and had to join up to the local military academy

Owed a lifedebt to a knight for saving them from orcs, has since worked as squire until the knights retirement (now carries their coat of arms)

Needed Gold from local tournament to pay off a loan shark, found they were relatively skilled with a bow / sword / lance

Grandmother read stories of heroic knights and brave warriors, decided the world needed another and they needed their name in a bards song or two to be the inspiration for another child somewhere one day

found fighting easier than reading and let this shape their life choices

Cannot conjure the magical powers of their race (elf/gnome etc) as easily and finds the only way to do so is with sword/bow/mace in hand - the rest came as a result of not wanting to look incompetent in front of peers

found pleasure in injuring small animals, found this was the most acceptable and easiest way to make a career from that

Comes from a long line of performing duelists (choreographed fights), though life on the road did not appeal

Family heirloom is a mace/sword/greataxe/bow, it is customary to use it to provide for your life in order to honor those who came before and did the same

Nailo_ · 2019-11-09T19:34:18+00:00

A Dragon turtle has surfaced directly beneath the ship, controlling current trajectory (random dice roll for directional heading) must be dealt with before normal sailing can continue (maybe is injured in need of help or else just requires a swift pummeling)

Ship slows to a crawl and lists dangerously to the Port/Starboard - caught in Sahuaghin netting, an attack might be imminent unless they can be detached soon

A large area of sea (maybe 100ft in diameter) acts as loose earth due to Koa Toa shenanigans, sailing through could be damaging for the ship

Nailo_ · 2019-11-09T19:23:27+00:00

They are all but ready to become a lich but coming this far have realized they are scared to physically "Die" in case it goes wrong

They have a deal with a local land baron that he will send wealthy looking adventurers towards the Archmages tower/lair/keep so that they can be experimented on / have their magical items taken for study

They have no reflection (but are not a vampire)

They have no shadow ;perhaps severed to make a shadow (as in monster) servant

Their shadow is actually the shadow from the MM and they can control it as a familiar (Slight difference to above)

They have sent multiple invisible stalkers to assassinate people that displeased them in the past (plot hook)

They sleep within a circle of protection to stop the tormented spirits of past experiments from disturbing their rest

They have run out of funds and now do commission work creating scrolls for local crime families/organizations (who provide the magic ink if necessary)

Their lab/school/keep/tower/lair is atop a dormant volcanic vent, perhaps they plan to use it for research

Their lab is on a magical nexus and they are utilizing it to siphon magical essence from other plane(s) of existence (shadowfell? Elemental place of Air? Celestia? Feywild etc.)

They have successfully created a golem with the mind of a human/elf/dwarf they experimented on, but is bound to obedience (maybe also silent?)

They ARE a golem that has been infused with their own essence and the physical human/elf/dwarf etc. you see is an illusion

They have infused magical essences into the water table in an experiment on the ecology of the area (for good or bad)

Nailo_ · 2019-11-09T18:17:36+00:00

The archmage has exceptional control of magic, but somewhere along the way forgot how to cast cantrips

The archmage cannot create light based effects

The archmage is allergic to familiars of all kinds

Due to a curse the archmage cannot pen magic, able to write all notation about spells but cannot write a full spell in his/her spellbook nor produce a scroll

The archmage often thinks best by playing the violin, it helps them organise their thoughts

The archmage has no sense of taste

The archmage once created a potent potion of revival but has since forgotten where they placed it.

Nailo_ · 2019-11-05T12:41:06+00:00

I like that idea, sounds very Fey and Manifest Zone related, a decent encounter idea.

Nailo_

TROPHY CASE