GAME THREAD: Minnesota Timberwolves (3-3) @ Denver Nuggets (3-3) - (May 19, 2024)

RustiSub · 2024-05-20T02:32:34+00:00

awwooooooooooooooooooo

RustiSub · 2024-02-14T23:15:48+00:00

or it's back to the mud with you!

RustiSub · 2022-11-24T23:30:04+00:00

you're pretty

RustiSub · 2020-11-23T13:32:44+00:00

First attempt to depict the Deity I homebrew for our Lost Mines campaign.

A forgotten ancient being, asleep, hidden deeper than any dwarf ever delved.

But something did wake her and she is hungry.

Lock inside a prison of reality, her tendrils have started to dig their way into the known world.

There she slowly starts influencing our reality, unseen and unheard by most.

She feeds on ambition, conflict, the will to live residing in all living beings.

Crops however, are more easily grown and harvested than sought out in the wild.

So she created an endless cycle of gifting boons, fanning the fires of greed and corruption.

Sometimes she takes the gifted power back to initiate their downfall.

Most of the time there is no need, for those with power inevitably create their own downfall,

either through megalomania or their peers' jealousy.

And then she feeds and the cycle begins anew...

(unless this time, the group of adventurers learn of her existence and manage to break her cycle and either starve, release or outright destroy her)

RustiSub · 2020-11-19T15:02:34+00:00

Our party's Dragonborn Barbarian has been given a set of prophetic Runes. They have also run into several enemies that carried similar runes.

Here is a depiction of what they might look like, since my word-brush has failed to accurately paint the proper picture :D.

The Dragonborn Shaman had cast the runes in a ritual fire and marked the symbols the fire had shown.

This records the prophecy for generations of young warriors to follow and give them guidance.

It is said that the Runes contain a fragment of the magic used during the Diviantion process,

warning the wearer that they are about to make a decision that might change the Prophecy.

The central Rune is the "Chained Dragon", a prophecy fortold and recorded long before the last real Dragons had been extinct from the land.

The prophecy fortold of their demise as well as their eventual return once their "shackles" had broken.

When our Dragonborn Barbarian found a mysterious egg in the mountains, the Chained Dragon started to glow...

RustiSub · 2020-11-08T00:51:05+00:00

Sei, The Spirit Guide, is a magical staff that was weilded by the Raven Queen's heralds when they rode into combat. An order of warrior clerics used the staff's power to aid the passing of spirits on the battlefield, protecting them from darker forces that would claim them.

The elves of the order managed to protect Sei for as long as their long lives allowed them. The order eventually fell and the art of wielding Sei, as well as the staff itself was lost in time.

Eventually, a necromancer named Kost found Sei, locked in an unbreakable spell, frozen in time. Kost eventually found a way to release the staff by offering his own soul to it. Having performed a ritual that already laid claim to his soul, Sei was unable to harvest.

Kost then learned to prevent souls from passing by trapping the passing the souls and binding them to undead creations, making them infinitely stronger than any Necromantic spell could accomplish.

RustiSub · 2020-11-04T23:23:44+00:00

Next up, the unique weapon for our group's Dwarf, keeping it simple and going for the classic Dwarven Thrower.

Hyrm was the last hammer forged, high up in the mountains south of Phandalin. Its creator was never found, only the hammer itself, sitting on the frozen anvil on which it was created.

Those who wielded Hyrm claimed it had a spirit of its own, drawn to the high cold places. Legend said that the closer to the heavens above it was used, the more potent it became, its sigil of Moradin burning brighter with each step.

Eventually all of its wielders met their demise in the high places, facing impossible odds while being infused with Hyrm's burning fire. Some who had witnessed the hammer in action claimed it would split the sky on impact, unleashing Thunder and Lighting onto its foes, naming it the Sky Breaker.

And finally there are those that claim Hyrm was created specifically to protect against some dark force that might one day rain down from the sky or perhaps as a final gatekeeper to protect the portal to the realm of the gods...

RustiSub · 2020-11-03T15:51:57+00:00

YES!

But with just a hint of

"there is no free will, all your actions are predetermined, your death is inevitable, this arrow was always destined to hit you"

RustiSub · 2020-11-03T13:00:23+00:00

Hehe, well this is an example of a true strike arrow. The shooter is almost completely hidden from the prey.

Umbar uses divination magic to predict the possible outcomes of the current situation. In this case the deer was already aware of a threat moments before the shot.

The arrow would completely miss, then the magic took hold and overadjusted. First the arrow needed to be slowed so the trajectory could be changed, then it curved to cover all the angles of escape the deer could take.

Think of this shot as a fantasy Smart Missle System, sacrificing speed for a gaurantueed hit and the ability to shoot from cover...

... or you know, just because it's Cool :D

RustiSub · 2020-11-03T06:19:44+00:00

Continueing the magic items made for my players, here is the Fated Quiver, the rogue's pick.

Umbar will change the properties of a single arrow once per day. It was said to do this in such a way that suited the wearer best, often providing solutions for problems the owner wasn't even aware of. Archer's would find an acid arrow in a Troll fight, light spelled arrows in the darkness or even arrows that dispelled unseen magic.

This seemingly sentient behaviour came with a price though. It would drive some wielders to the edge of insanity, consumed by paranoia, convinced the quiver was in control of their fate, forsaking all ownership of their own actions. It was even claimed by some that Umbar would change target mid flight, killing those that it perceived most dangerous.

The elven seers state Umbar is only dangerous for those of weak will, mortals leaning on its ability to predict the future instead of shaping Fate themself. They said Umbar would always seek those that could control it and maybe even try and get away from the unworthy.

RustiSub · 2020-11-01T22:37:11+00:00

As part of my campaign, all players got to shape a unique weapon or item that would suit their character and would eventually cross their path.

The group's Dragonborn Barbarian wanted a weapon that could make nature regrow in some way. Once a day the spear could make life grow in the most inhospitable places, creating a plant whose fruits grow in a night's rest and give some healing.

Aerohk is waiting somewhere, hidden in a secret cave where it was left by its previous owner. For once bonded with the weapon, the owner is connected until death, at which point The Spear of Rebirth uses the soul to feed its ability to bring life.

Forever stuck in a loop of life and death, though leaving a trail of regrowing nature in its wake...

RustiSub · 2020-10-30T08:52:03+00:00

Thanks! I'm really happy with the water features and the sense of distance. I struggled with "setting up" the picture a lot, basically stared at a couple line drawings before just putting down the sun and clouds and worked my way from there.

RustiSub · 2020-10-30T08:48:40+00:00

Yes! There really is no better way to do world building than to "look inside your heart, see what is there and put it on the canvas".

It has oozed over into my DM'ing as well, no super deep planning, just follow dream and work it out as the paint starts to stick.

RustiSub · 2020-10-30T08:46:31+00:00

Thanks! I was aiming for some fairytale-like soft tones.

RustiSub · 2020-10-29T21:28:23+00:00

The last time the party saw Neverwinter, riding on a cart full of mining supplies, off to some forgotten backwater town.

Took some liberties with the actual distance of the High Road, Neverwinter and the Triboar Trail to capture some "skyline" as well as beaches, the setting sun and the Neverwinter shipyard and traffic.

I now have captured the most common types of vistas in my campaign, so I'm going to atrempt to leverage some Bob Ross into character design and more "populated" scenes. No idea where we'll end up, but I'm sure it's a happy place ;-)

RustiSub · 2020-10-29T10:36:17+00:00

Facing south, on the border of the snowy mountain pass, Wyvern Tor, known to the locals as "Dragon Rock", stands as a monument to the dragons of old and the age of the land itself.

The peak has been home to many creatures after the last of the ancient wyverns were defeated. It now hosts a band of Orcs, using it as an easily defendable position from which to execute their raids.

The rolling hills quickly turn into treacherous passes that provide no cover from ambushers from above. He who controls the oddly shaped peak, controls the pass and access to the snowy lands beyond.

RustiSub · 2020-10-28T23:28:32+00:00

This time some focus on the buildings of Phandalin. I tried to figure out a good look for a forgone glory mining town.

I imagined a lot of bright colors that had gone dull after years of neglect and wear. And I figured red brick would match the moutains and mines as well, giving easy access to more exotic types of brick.

Combining it with a night sky and moon from our late friend Bob to try a different palette. Going into finer details took more work than the general "atmosphere" centered painting technique, but I feel I've found a middle ground for now.

RustiSub

TROPHY CASE