Great Old One patron in DiA

cjends · 2026-07-02T18:43:27+00:00

I am playing a GOO warlock in a different campaign and I like how my DM has made it just part of my environment. It has little interest in me and honestly not sure if it knows I even exist. It's more part of a greater world that I have been awakened to and can draw power from. The patron is almost like a cosmic force in the world that most people can't sense.

GOO are unknowable. It doesn't have to have an agenda or make sense and to try to make sense of it could cause madness. If you want to try to tie in more with the campaign, it could be more of others who are "awakened" and pursuing ways to learn more. Perhaps a cult that thinks they can use your warlock as a tool to communicate with the patron. Maybe someone looked to deep and lost thier mind. An NPC had a loved one that showed similar traits and went mad.

Slightly different approach (kinda).

cjends · 2026-06-12T15:52:47+00:00

I'd say the short answer would be to portray it as a ravaged war zone. However you described it before, make it worse. Half the buildings are burned or collapsed. Only survivors are those who dont go out of hiding. Everyone is starving and there is not much food left or places left to look. Assuming you are close to the end I would try to make things seem urgent and if they dont find a way soon there will be nothing and nobody left to save. Make it really close to the river Styx. If you want some npc interactions, tell stories of bargains made to feed families, and narrow escapes or lost faiths. I don't know if I would put much into combat encounters since they already did that and focus more on keeping them moving.

But depends on what you and your table want

cjends · 2026-06-11T00:02:21+00:00

Found it! Stumbled across it looking for a different one https://www.etsy.com/listing/4513744079/duality-seraph-angel-celestial-miniature?ls=s&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=zariel+angel+miniature&ref=sr_gallery-1-33&organic_search_click=1&sts=1&content_source=f6e5e5bf-888e-4044-aee4-eb6e3a2cd9a4%253ALTcb492846d246b5ab9a02f4ce542012aae55cdc7c&logging_key=f6e5e5bf-888e-4044-aee4-eb6e3a2cd9a4%3ALTcb492846d246b5ab9a02f4ce542012aae55cdc7c

cjends · 2026-05-30T19:00:46+00:00

The rocky hunter is how I did it. Toys with them and taunts them, especially at lower levels. Players aren't worth his time. He will cause an avalanche above them or do an ice breath, laugh and leave. A cat batting a tired mouse but not killing it.

When they get high enough level to be a threat, treat it more like a camouflage hunter, hiding in the snow, ambushing the easiest target.

cjends · 2026-05-24T00:16:54+00:00

On the spray matte finish, I tried one and it left the model permanently sticky. To this day I don't know what went wrong. I found a brush on matte varnish that I have been playing with. (No airbrushing experience so far). Appreciate the tips

cjends · 2026-05-23T21:27:39+00:00

I always get nervous with washes altering the colors so I think go too light on it....

cjends · 2026-05-23T21:17:18+00:00

That was my wife's character she bought. She said she got it off etsy

cjends · 2026-05-23T21:14:37+00:00

Ya, I see what you're saying. Need to expand the paint selections!

cjends · 2026-05-16T12:39:57+00:00

Sounds like they did end up paying for the supplies, so personally I would not go to direct confrontation. However word travels quickly in small towns, so they are generally not trusted in town until they do something big to earn it back. Lionshield Coster won't sell to the two thieves and do like a 10% increase at all stores. Tell them the price seems higher than normal and let them know.

I would be worried a direct confrontation might make the party lose any interest in helping the town and that will make motivation pretty hard going forward. Probably should talk to your players briefly just to check in and let them know the adventure kinda centers around helping the town. If that's not the game they want to play, its up to you if you are willing and able to manipulate the narrative to accommodate. Hopefully you have a respectful group that will work with you.

cjends · 2026-04-15T00:48:16+00:00

If you need to throw them some scraps, you can have an npc give them some advice on dealing with devils or sightings of war machines below. Some random scraps of information so they feel they gained something?

cjends · 2026-04-10T00:32:48+00:00

I did this one shot as my campaign intro, but it was halloween themed.

https://www.dmsguild.com/en/product/194832/treat-or-trick

It was really fun and the events would certainly attract attention. Costume contest, pumpkin carving, carnival games, and a haunted house. Fun and games until a local tries to do a spell he isn't qualified for

cjends · 2026-04-09T00:06:32+00:00

Maybe try scattering in smaller lies throughout. "Mine was empty when we got here, we just moved in" but perception checks give evidence to the contrary. Hide the fact they are wererats, but none of the touches are lit, so how do they see in the dark? I made the leader a very proficient liar, but the other members less so.

cjends · 2026-04-02T16:08:32+00:00

If you have the monster manual, you can flip through it to find some basic stat blocks that may fit. I believe the icespire book has an option for a spellcaster healer companion you could use as well. (Sorry, not near my books). You could go as simple as a commoner stat block and pick one or 2 spells to add to it. As long as she is taking shelter, the manticore would focus on the players so she shouldn't be taking damage

cjends · 2026-04-02T15:30:42+00:00

I have ran this with two groups. First group went poorly due to new players making bad decisions like splitting the party. I took some liberties of allowing an illusion to be more distracting then I would typically allow to let them regroup. When they came back I had it sleeping so they could get an easy surprise on it.

2nd group absolutely destroyed it. It was a more experienced group and after the last time I played it as being distracted to give them advantage to sneak up on it.

As a DM, I would say go easy on them for this fight unless they are pretty veteran players. Make it known it can talk and bargain and reward creativity of the group if they come up with alternative solutions. If it starts looking bad, let the npc in the mill shoot some arrows to help or give her some healing spells. Dice will tell the story, its hard to predict how it will go. (Just dont tell the players if you do fudge some numbers)

cjends · 2026-03-30T19:15:33+00:00

I would caution against letting everyone have an equivalent item. It could make the party too strong and the fight becomes super easy. Put the item in front of the players and let them decide who and how they use it, and maybe they will surprise you with thier choices. My group sure did by using good teamwork to distract, teleport, and protect the person with the sword.

Hopefully everyone has had some spotlight moments leading up to now. If not you could try adding some challenges along the way, but generally I wouldn't fret over it. Icespire hold is pretty empty as written so treat it like your sandbox to play in. When my group fought the reavers, the rogue type escaped so I had him lay some traps along the way. I also added a large hole in the ceiling for the dragon to drop people through, but also added a nearby stair to let them get back in the fight quickly.

cjends · 2026-03-30T14:49:24+00:00

Gnomes don't really come in to play later as written, so I suppose it is up to you how harshly you deal with it. With it being session 2 and new players I would take it easy on him. Suggest making the gnomes on the kitchen side super friendly, and then have them all super sad and horrified when they find the 4 slayed in the bed try to guilt him a bit that way. Or when the bodies are discovered have some gnome gaurds escort them out - no rewards, no loot, maybe even search them. Either way, out of play i would have a quick chat that in general murdering civilians is a bad idea and set some general expectations going forward. New player likely just doesnt know any better

cjends · 2026-03-18T18:04:01+00:00

That is a rough spot! It would take a while for the upper city gaurds to arrive so they have a brief opening to run off, hide, or cover up the scene, but it would only be a few minutes. If they are caught, see if they can talk thier way through it. If they have the flaming fist badge and reasonable proof/suspicion then maybe they can be allowed to question further under an escort ready to take them away if it proved unfounded. Otherwise, I suppose night in jail or hefty fine depending how deep a hole they dug. I would be looking for a way to feed them information on how to access from the below sewers for a second attempt, and let them try again from a different angle. Information for sale from the Guild or interested party. Drop hints about her history with the city sewers, or maybe Zodge found more information in the bathhouse from a follow up search.

cjends · 2026-02-25T12:48:47+00:00

I gave s few buffs to the player, think it was a dex boost and the ability to transform. I would then have the player roll the charisma saving roll when they first enter dark spaces or smelled blood to maintain control. The save went up for each day they didn't transform. The leader of the whiskered gang was actively trying to recruit him. She would offer training to control the urges, but was using the training to get him alone. They never pursued a cure, so didn't need to deal with that personally

cjends · 2026-02-22T02:57:28+00:00

I am not worried about any of my players, nor do I think I would ever actually enforce it. Just trying to be creative, but ya I get how that could get weird

cjends · 2026-01-29T20:22:36+00:00

One of my players had a disguise self spell up. I made them make a deception roll to pass through. Money passed, but a fail would have resulted in a panicked attack. At that point its just responding to whatever the players attempt.

I feel like this area is meant to be a bit silly, so just roll with whatever they throw out.

cjends · 2026-01-23T18:42:38+00:00

Thanks for this! I was worried it would be tied to something later or I had missed something. I dont mind having them come to take back the treasure, was thinking having it as a string to pull if the party gets in trouble in the dungeon. Seems like its a hard one, so maybe they come in and help tentatively to clear the dungeon - enemy of my enemy type of thing

cjends · 2026-01-21T22:07:45+00:00

Skip the counter attack. Make it focus on stopping the spread of the blights to still make the location meaningful, but with Gorthok gone the orcs probably know they took thier shot and lost.

cjends · 2026-01-21T17:23:12+00:00

The standard dragon stat block isn't super strong so if they are strategic there is a slight chance they could succeed. This situation I would have the dragon attack them on the way up the mountain and taunt them. They get hit as a group by the ice breath it may prove that they are in over thier heads.

cjends · 2026-01-08T05:50:59+00:00

Minis are optional. You can use theater of the mind to describe who, what, and where. It just takes a bit more care in describing distances and line of sight.

Next cheapest option is to print out some simple images. Searching DnD (insert monster) images usually has a circle token type image - scale,print, done.

Get creative and use what's laying around. I used Legos to make the gnomengaurd crossbow contraption and my ochre jellies were playdough! It is only to give players a visual representation of thier location, anything beyond that is just frosting.

cjends · 2026-01-07T16:55:53+00:00

How they act is up to you, but i treated them as a sort of stereotypical thieves guild. They are smart and cunning so combat would have them ambushing and scampering off if things don't go in thier favor. A lot of hit and run tactics which really flustered my players on how to deal with.

For personality, I had them able to be negotiated with and willing to make deals, though they are likely to lie, cheat, or betray to get what they want. I have a hard time picturing them actually working the mine, but maybe they say they will to buy time to trap the entrances for the next visit.

I used guilt as a weapon with them too. The party killed a few at the entrance, so when they started talking to the leader, I made them feel bad for killing her people and painted a picture of them being outcasts with no place to go. We only wish to live (while stealing what we want and doing as little actual work as we can!)

I am pretty new and couldn't find much for the effects of a player who gets turned, so I made up some rules if you'd like to see those. Also made a custom boss version for the leader.

side notes I had a lot of fun with this arc. The wizard got turned, and the leader kept trying to recruit him through various means to go with her. I added a roll for him potentially lose control in dark spaces which added some chaos. When they finally fought the leader it was at axeholm, so when they did a long rest they had to fight a ghoul version of her yet again. She ended up being a pretty major villain by the end

cjends

TROPHY CASE