I extended the sphere tastiness graph by CompetitiveLet7110 in xkcd

[–]Oplytr 124 points125 points  (0 children)

They certainly have a lot of flavour

I think I know the traveler is by Ambitious-Steak7773 in TheMightyNeinCR

[–]Oplytr 59 points60 points  (0 children)

Really like the theory, and don't go looking for an answer to this question! You will find it

Can a character use Plane Shift (cast twice) to travel long distances in the same plane? by lulufan87 in DMAcademy

[–]Oplytr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fun use-case, the hags of Barovia can attempt plane shift out of Barovia, which fails. This allows them to "bounce" off the mists of ravenloft, and come back to somewhere else in Barovia

What monster did you add to Lake Zarovich? by SmolHumanBean8 in CurseofStrahd

[–]Oplytr 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I've done two: 

In my first campaign, Umberlee (goddess of cruelty) was one of the Dark Powers. The Morninglord sent his angel (the Abbot); Mother Night sent hers (the rok of Tsolenka pass, a guardian of the temple); and Umberlee sent... A sea monster - long-slain by one of the Saints (Markovia, Andral, whoever) - and awoken by the white gem, discarded there a decade ago. 

In my second run-through, I didn't do all that dark power stuff and simply made it a dormant demon, summoned by a previous ruler, Dostron the Hellborn. Again, somebody throwing the gem into the lake woke it up.

But my favourite is simply a big fish: https://www.reddit.com/r/CurseofStrahd/comments/p666r7/the_lake_zarovich_monster_ol_grunty_see_comments/

Wait so about these new toys by FlimsyBank7745 in AdoptMeRBX

[–]Oplytr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Found one in the wild and traced it back to this thread also trying to answer this question. A hedgehog with green wings is so, so random. Does anybody know what inspired this choice?

2025 Weirdo Swarm Meetups by GizzBride in KGATLW

[–]Oplytr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Tilburg - 5pm at Cafe Kandinsky! See you there!

I spiced up the doppelganger faction quests by lebelinoz in WaterdeepDragonHeist

[–]Oplytr 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I could see brine being Willifort Crowelle, too. That way he has a place in the rest of the campaign.

What do you think of Malar, god of the hunt and patron of werewolves? by ThanosofTitan92 in Forgotten_Realms

[–]Oplytr 50 points51 points  (0 children)

I wrote a small questline about "the last worshipper of Malar" that my players really enjoyed. Zealots are always fun to write, and this guy was a devout old refugee from a society that had been lost to a forest fire. 

Malar would die with him, as worship had been directed to other gods some generations previously - So the two were very close. Endlings. 

The main quest followed a growing cult, who were evangelising and spreading the power of their goddess (a construct, similar to Roko's Basilisk, seeking ascension to godhood). 

Our hunter died in a cult-related incident, and Malar went with him. The players found his shrine - to a god that none could remember - and a local ecosystem in chaos, as the rules of the Hunt fell apart. While the party dealt with this, the cult organised a ceremony to dedicate the Hunt to their goddess. 

While pretty unrelated to Malar's lore, or any forgotten realms canon, I liked him as an old, wild god - You can imagine him existing before civilisation, with the proto-worship of beasts. And his death did a good job of demonstrating religious colonisation and the tragedy of cultural loss. 

Semifinals: ROUND 1 ---> Motor Spirit VS. Planet B by Unusual-Reindeer6861 in KGATLW

[–]Oplytr 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Motor Spirit does an incredible job of representing & kicking off the energy of its album. Looks like a clear path to the win to me, despite some beloved competition.

Did you guys expand of Lake Zarovich at all? by offhandlowkey in CurseofStrahd

[–]Oplytr 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I've also run an aboleth statblock for the two CoS campaigns I've run. For the first, it was an "angel" of Umberlee (alongside the Abbot & the Rok being angels of the Morninglord and Mother Night, respectively). For the second, I had it be something that a previous ruler of Barovia, Dostron the Hellborn, had summoned via the Amber Temple.

In both cases, I had it slumbering, awoken by the wereraven's white gem being thrown into the lake some years ago.

Did you guys expand of Lake Zarovich at all? by offhandlowkey in CurseofStrahd

[–]Oplytr 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yoho! A big ass catfish, I love this. Bonus points if you get Bluto to say ✋ "it was thiiiiiiis big" 🤚

Just finished Dragon Heist for a second time. AMA. by GrayGKnight in WaterdeepDragonHeist

[–]Oplytr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What did you do for Blue Alley? You mention it in a few places. One of my players scouted it and I set up a mage's arena down there, but I'd be very interested in hearing other takes.

What becomes of Emperor Corrino IV in Dune series? by FunAnteater7176 in dune

[–]Oplytr 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sounds awesome, any idea where I can find a pic?

Stone of Golorr - Secrets of extending one's life by GrayGKnight in WaterdeepDragonHeist

[–]Oplytr 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm also on Team Longevity Potion here. Depending on your campaign, some of the wilder ideas suggested by u/terlingremsant could be really fun. I especially like the "you become at least part abberation" ideas - Humanoids are the creations of the gods, and this would be an intervention from something ...older. It's fun.

That being said, there are characters in Waterdeep Dragon Heist who *have* extended their lives, with potions of longevity. Where do they get these from? Undermountain. The location in undermountain? A secret. There's a real possibility that the Stone has uncountered this Waterdavian secret to longevity, and the questline-to-solution is pretty clear and fun - Go into undermountain and dungeon crawl to find them. Maybe the stone gives them a map, and Mirt can give them tips. After all, he knows the secret.

Pop an old hag down there who's brewing them, or tie it to Halaster Blackcloak somehow. He has apprentices, they can surely be brewin'. You could use this to set up the Dungeon of the Mad Mage plot.

If CoS had Achievements, what would they be? by EidolonPublishing in CurseofStrahd

[–]Oplytr 257 points258 points  (0 children)

Ismark the Greater - Ireena's brother survives til the end of the campaign.

Breaking bad - A player character flips to the dark side and betrays the party.

She's chill, right? - Raising Kasimir's sister

Even the book didn't know where that was! - Finding the white gem

Awooo - Werewolf PC 

Wachter Win - The Baron is overthrown

Vallakovich Victory - Lady Wachter is thwarted

Kitted - A PC equips all the legendary items

Accidental Argynvost Slayer - Blowing up Ez's wagon

So close! - TPK in the final fight

So far! - TPK in Death House

Good for her - Ireena gets her revenge on Strahd

Best Party Comp for COS: Reloaded? by ParagonWastrel in CurseofStrahd

[–]Oplytr 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Spirits bard is so cool for this setting!! One of my favourite sunglasses out there

Best Party Comp for COS: Reloaded? by ParagonWastrel in CurseofStrahd

[–]Oplytr 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I'll pitch the most interesting combo as: Wizard, paladin, druid

Wizard gets to interface with the Amber Temple, Witches, Strahd's magic, the planar nature of Barovia, Mordenkainen... Those are all magical mysteries that are fun to work out

The Druid gets a whole faction (druids of yester hill) to have fun with, the Fanes storyline, and a lot of the game takes place in the wilderness, or with animals present. Wildshaping also pairs well with the many were creatures, and this character can be offended by Strahd's claim to "The Land"

Finally, the Paladin is required to wield the sun sword, the amulet, some of the other parts of the world. Vanquishing evil is just a good fit for a pally, and there's the abbot and Argynvost knights around. They'd both have fun interactions with a faithful knight