runawaychar

[runawaychar]

WIP King in Yellow, using a Jack of Blades Dreamblade miniature as a base. Amazed that the crown worked.

[runawaychar]

Here's another Dreamblade conversion, this time an All-Seeing Mage. I replaced the hands (which were cool but not what I had in mind), and spruced him up with a new base. I have dubbed him Shimmerdome, and he will be leading my Frostgrave warband alongside his bookworm apprentice.

[runawaychar]

Love these guys! Amazing to see the concept art for these!

Lungthief Beetle © 2005 Wizards of the Coast LLC / Lungthief Beetle Redux - 9 x 12 - Pencil on paper - © 2015 Christopher Burdett

Revisited and redesigned a miniature I first created for Dreamblade 10 years ago recently. More about all this with lots of details over on my BLOG! RAWR!

[runawaychar]

Repainted and rebased some abyssal predators from Dreamblade miniatures (my beloved). I used UV resin to attach them to a flight stand, and decided to use flourescent paint for the eyes to give them a new dimension of creepiness under blacklight.

Planning on filling the second level of my megadungeon (The Ratway) with packs of these floating anglerfish!

[runawaychar]

Hello! Sorry for the basic question (double sorry it’s a d&d 5E question), but what do you think are the key hallmarks of a dungeon that D&D mechanics want to interact with? Like what absolutely distinguishes a dungeon from an “encounter” (sorry for the d&d language) and makes one work whilst the other fails?

I want to get confident at GMing, and have only ever GM’d one thing for one session (it was 5E but we didn’t really use the mechanics at all…), but everyone at my nerd shop/in my friend group only wants to play 5E and I’ve basically only ever played d&d, and I feel like to get them to play anything else I’ll have to run 5E for them to get them to trust me first. (It’s also unfortunately the only rule set I have real mastery of bc reading the rules of games just doesn’t translate into understanding a game to me, I assume for mild learning disability reasons)

I really believe you (and other women) when they say that d&d wants to be doing dungeons, but I feel like I don’t really understand what is is *about* a Dungeon that D&D is suited for. (If anything? Maybe 5E isn’t actually suited for anything). Sorry if that doesn’t make much sense. The vast majority of the d&d I’ve played has been 5E modules that are not interested in dungeons, and I have felt the game fighting the module, but I don’t really understand what (if anything) the game wouldn’t be fighting against.

Oh, this is a really fun ask!

First of all, I don't think D&D is bad at "encounters." In fact D&D pretty much codified the term. What I am on about when I complain about "encounters" is a terminology issue: the term isn't neutral and carries a lot of implications specific to the genre of games that D&D is a part of.

I've also previously complained about the idea that encounters are something that is planned and constructed ahead of time: like, putting a bunch of guys in a room and then writing "this is the Combat Encounter with a Bunch of Guys Room" in your notes already creates an expectation in your mind about what should happen.

Anyway, onto the subject: D&D as a game, regardless of edition, cares about a few things: first of all, it's ultimately a game of resource management and attrition. During the course of an adventure there is a clear arc where characters will slowly lose resources and in general won't be able to recover to full until they return to a place of rest. (Note: my phone wanted to say "return to Islam" and like hell yeah, I think D&D characters should return to Islam.)

Secondly, D&D, all editions, is ultimately a challenge game. It's not a game that cares about exploring a character's emotions or morals (although those can give the game some added spice!) but a game about characters going into Situations and Overcoming those Situations. A lot of the time this translates to combat, but not all the time. Characters have, at their disposal, a lot of tools that can potentially turn a potential combat encounter into a different type of encounter or even allow them to avoid encounters altogether.

And finally it is a game that cares about space. A lot of RPGs, especially of the trad variety, care about space in the sense that distance and position are usually at least somewhat important to them, but sort of built into D&D's DNA is the idea that the space of the dungeon or the battlefield or the world map itself is valuable.

Anyway so dungeons are pretty much a good microcosm of that. First of all, the very act of going into a dungeon builds a barrier between the "safe" world where characters can rest and recover and the dangerous world where there's random encounters and monsters, so the moment the characters leave the safety of their town the resource management mode is on. Second of all, there are a lot of Situations characters can get in both on the way to dungeons and therein. And finally the space of the dungeon itself is important and meaningful since it contains Situations but also the very act of exploring the dungeon figures meaningfully into the resource management minigame (if the characters push further will they still have enough resources for a return to safety?).

Now, a D&D game doesn't really need much more than a dungeon to be satisfying provided:

The dungeon is a place in the world that ties into the setting and has some context beyond just being a place with monsters and treasures in it.

The space of the dungeon is built in such a way that characters can make meaningful, informed decisions about which route to follow, how far they are willing to push, etc.

The characters have a reason to go into the dungeon.

That last bullet point is pretty much moot in older editions, because in those editions the act of going into the dungeon really is its own reward: that's where the gameplay is and where the rewards are. But since modern editions tend to de-emphasize the need to just loot treasure and grow in strength you might want to give the characters an extrinsic goal for exploring a dungeon. While I personally prefer the intrinsic reward of just exploring a dungeon as its own satisfying gameplay, I think it's entirely valid to give characters other objectives to pursue within the dungeon. Heck, if you can tie them into character motivations, that owns.

Anyway, I hope this wasn't too rambling. I am kind of having a tired and depressing day, but this ask was fun to answer so thanks for that. And if you have any further questions or you'd like me to elaborate on something, don't hesitate to get in touch again! :)

[runawaychar]

I would definitely recommend question asker (and any new GM) to try out Keep on the Borderlands, one of the original adventure modules and a teaching tool for new GMs. It is the most Situation for the least Plot, and intentionally leaves a lot up to the GM, encouraging them to come up with their motivations for the different cave factions and townsfolk. It has its share of issues, essentially coming down to simple dungeons full of goblins, orc, kobolds, etc. but as someone who got stuck in a rut GMing sequences of leveled encounters, it really was an eye opener.

While I've run dungeons full of disposable pawns before, I never did it within the classic overlying structure of the Town->Wilderness->Dungeon->Town loop, choosing to forgo strict timekeeping and wandering encounters. Instead, dungeons were typically included as linear obstacles to overcome in a larger overarching plot. They were never persistent spaces. Never visited more than once, and typically cleared in a few sessions.

It was so refreshing to place PCs in a situation, load them up with rumors, prepare a couple of competing factions in zones of varying difficulty, and just start the clock. No precipitating event, no planned series of staged fights, everything left up to the players.

The change in engagement was something else. Even the most cliche plot, the kidnapped innkeeper's son, hit different without guaranteed leveled encounters. Up against an enemy they weren't strong enough yet to beat and the clock ticking down, they were hiring mercenaries, making deals with the minor factions of the dungeon, and making several trips to map out the different entrances and identify weaknesses in their defenses. Every time they came back to town bloody and empty handed and had to face the worried innkeeper was like a gut punch. Its some of the best gaming I've had, and the whole time I was thinking "I could do better". The module encourages you to imagine what this style of play could be like with *your* factions, *your* dungeon design. It is more like a GM worksheet with a ton of space left blank, but the structure it provides is priceless.

I think one of the big challenges people have trying to run D&D as a heroic fantasy adventure *also* driven by player agency (beyond the core design issues) is that there is no offered structure of play (such as a dungeon crawl or hex crawl) in the rules, so many GMs tend to default toward encounter play. In fact, it is downright difficult, if not impossible, to prepare a situation instead of a plot if you don't have some initial limitations on space and scenario. That is where the persistent dungeon shines: it is a finite, reactive space that, if well-designed, requires player planning and initiative to explore.

(It also helps to play a ruleset that encourages this style of play - 5e tends to be very abstract or forgiving with player resources to the point that some of these systems fall flat.)

Hello! Sorry for the basic question (double sorry it’s a d&d 5E question), but what do you think are the key hallmarks of a dungeon that D&D mechanics want to interact with? Like what absolutely distinguishes a dungeon from an “encounter” (sorry for the d&d language) and makes one work whilst the other fails?

I want to get confident at GMing, and have only ever GM’d one thing for one session (it was 5E but we didn’t really use the mechanics at all…), but everyone at my nerd shop/in my friend group only wants to play 5E and I’ve basically only ever played d&d, and I feel like to get them to play anything else I’ll have to run 5E for them to get them to trust me first. (It’s also unfortunately the only rule set I have real mastery of bc reading the rules of games just doesn’t translate into understanding a game to me, I assume for mild learning disability reasons)

I really believe you (and other women) when they say that d&d wants to be doing dungeons, but I feel like I don’t really understand what is is *about* a Dungeon that D&D is suited for. (If anything? Maybe 5E isn’t actually suited for anything). Sorry if that doesn’t make much sense. The vast majority of the d&d I’ve played has been 5E modules that are not interested in dungeons, and I have felt the game fighting the module, but I don’t really understand what (if anything) the game wouldn’t be fighting against.

Oh, this is a really fun ask!

First of all, I don't think D&D is bad at "encounters." In fact D&D pretty much codified the term. What I am on about when I complain about "encounters" is a terminology issue: the term isn't neutral and carries a lot of implications specific to the genre of games that D&D is a part of.

I've also previously complained about the idea that encounters are something that is planned and constructed ahead of time: like, putting a bunch of guys in a room and then writing "this is the Combat Encounter with a Bunch of Guys Room" in your notes already creates an expectation in your mind about what should happen.

Anyway, onto the subject: D&D as a game, regardless of edition, cares about a few things: first of all, it's ultimately a game of resource management and attrition. During the course of an adventure there is a clear arc where characters will slowly lose resources and in general won't be able to recover to full until they return to a place of rest. (Note: my phone wanted to say "return to Islam" and like hell yeah, I think D&D characters should return to Islam.)

Secondly, D&D, all editions, is ultimately a challenge game. It's not a game that cares about exploring a character's emotions or morals (although those can give the game some added spice!) but a game about characters going into Situations and Overcoming those Situations. A lot of the time this translates to combat, but not all the time. Characters have, at their disposal, a lot of tools that can potentially turn a potential combat encounter into a different type of encounter or even allow them to avoid encounters altogether.

And finally it is a game that cares about space. A lot of RPGs, especially of the trad variety, care about space in the sense that distance and position are usually at least somewhat important to them, but sort of built into D&D's DNA is the idea that the space of the dungeon or the battlefield or the world map itself is valuable.

Anyway so dungeons are pretty much a good microcosm of that. First of all, the very act of going into a dungeon builds a barrier between the "safe" world where characters can rest and recover and the dangerous world where there's random encounters and monsters, so the moment the characters leave the safety of their town the resource management mode is on. Second of all, there are a lot of Situations characters can get in both on the way to dungeons and therein. And finally the space of the dungeon itself is important and meaningful since it contains Situations but also the very act of exploring the dungeon figures meaningfully into the resource management minigame (if the characters push further will they still have enough resources for a return to safety?).

Now, a D&D game doesn't really need much more than a dungeon to be satisfying provided:

The dungeon is a place in the world that ties into the setting and has some context beyond just being a place with monsters and treasures in it.

The space of the dungeon is built in such a way that characters can make meaningful, informed decisions about which route to follow, how far they are willing to push, etc.

The characters have a reason to go into the dungeon.

That last bullet point is pretty much moot in older editions, because in those editions the act of going into the dungeon really is its own reward: that's where the gameplay is and where the rewards are. But since modern editions tend to de-emphasize the need to just loot treasure and grow in strength you might want to give the characters an extrinsic goal for exploring a dungeon. While I personally prefer the intrinsic reward of just exploring a dungeon as its own satisfying gameplay, I think it's entirely valid to give characters other objectives to pursue within the dungeon. Heck, if you can tie them into character motivations, that owns.

Anyway, I hope this wasn't too rambling. I am kind of having a tired and depressing day, but this ask was fun to answer so thanks for that. And if you have any further questions or you'd like me to elaborate on something, don't hesitate to get in touch again! :)

[runawaychar]

𝕮𝖆𝖙𝖆𝖈𝖔𝖒𝖇 𝕳𝖊𝖑𝖒𝖊𝖙

[runawaychar]

𝓔𝓿𝓮𝓻𝔂𝓫𝓸𝓭𝔂 𝔀𝓪𝓷𝓽𝓼 𝓽𝓸 𝓻𝓾𝓵𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝔀𝓸𝓻𝓵𝓭 ♪

[runawaychar]

Artist Showcase: Matias Bergara

[runawaychar]

Ashcap – Tiny plant, unaligned

A peculiar fungus fused with sinister magic; grown from spores as eerie as the spells that created it. The ashcap dots the grounds of deep forest and tainted glades. It sprawls across the soil where the birches tower over twisted wines and thrives on the side of streets that are flooded with alchemical waste. A single specimen doesn’t make for a threatening encounter – a whole fairy circle of ashcaps, however, can turn a harmless hunt for mushroom stew into a menacing mushroom massacre.

🔮 If you like my work, kindly consider to support me on Patreon to gain access to monster pages, tokens & artwork of over 300 quirky creatures as well as dozens of potion & item cards based on their lore.

[runawaychar]

Here is a map of Tethra's High Cathedral, where we fought the Red Priest and the skeletal Ironguard. The ash pit in the center where the remains of Tethra's children were burned turned out to be a simple glamour - the pit was empty. What really happened to their bodies?

Her Secret Sorrow

The Ghostly Ferryman was far more than he appeared. The spirit of Erasmus, Tethra's storyteller, had been bound to the task of patrolling Kazareth's shores. The centuries have not been kind to him - he has no memory of the past. Still, it appears we've gained a new ghostly companion.

We arrived in the decaying city of Kazareth to find it alive and unchanged, populated by the pale, emaciated shadows of the Spring Court, forbidden from the relief of death by divine decree. After fighting past skeletal soldiers animated by thorns, we found the third tome in the clutches of the red priest in the High Cathedral. He was a bloodsucking insect in the guise of a holy man, fattened from his flock of supplicants. Where is the lady of the high tower? Where is the Queen-Under Thorn?

Archive:

Book I: Queen-Under-Thorn

Book II: Blight and Salvation

--Book III: Her Secret Sorrow--

Erasmus's Dialogues, Part III

We followed the Queen-Under-Thorn Through scarlet streets of Kazareth. We headed down Cathedral Road: There was to be a funeral. She spoke to me unbidden words, Her voice was cracked and wavering. "I ask you now to understand, A time without a church to Me. In order to provide our souls, As sustenance to those below, We stole the task from silent gods, and took their roles reluctantly. I am an ever-flowing font, But only if there's faith in Me. I've lost so many precious things, Reshaping our society." I spoke, protesting, - "Lady fair, You cannot blame yourself for this." She stared me down with hardened eyes. "All I've done may be a crime - I never claimed to be divine. I rose an army from our dead To guard us from the Kephra threat. My Ironguard will stand eternal, the ghosts of all I could not save. I built a Clergy, built a Throne, I've watched My people die for naught. I twisted fate to save the court, I wish "blame" still applied to Me." Ahead we saw smoke from the pyre, where ash from Tethra's children burn. The beautiful ascended few, the Flowers of sweet Kazareth: They're taken when they're very young, Adopted by our Queen and loved. Through them Her love flows down to us, Sustaining Tethra's paradise. They never live for very long, They burn brightly, and then they're gone. Tethra turned to our companion, One doomed to fall in this same way. First of Four, Queen-Under-Thorn, Knelt down before Her own daughter. She smiled at sweet Euriphone, While hiding sadness none could see. She loves Her child - She loves us all, But none can save Her autumn rose. She paid a price that I can't bear - She gave up peace to save the Spring. -E

My mind is reeling - is this how Vibrancy's children survived the calamity? A paradise sustained by sacrifice, kings and queens elevated to godhood in the silence that followed? For once the cleric does not attempt to destroy the words of the Spring Court - the name of Euriphone, Savior of Autumn stays her hand.

How much can we trust these books, written by the pet storyteller of the Beautiful Ones? The ghost of the writer has no recollection, and the lady of Kazareth is absent, her servants turned into monsters - our answers lie with Her.

We descend into the palace tonight.

[runawaychar]

Here are some maps of the Rotting Hedge, where we faced the energy vampires of the Summer Court, who lure wayward souls escaping from Kazareth with illusions and false promises.

Blight and Salvation

The second tome, found in the ferryman's boat at the bottom of the Rotting Hedge, beyond the Blight creature in the statue graveyard and the energy vampires within the roots (Day 2 of the Descent).

I will keep an archive for further study:

Book I: Queen-Under-Thorn

-- Book II: Blight and Salvation --

Erasmus's Dialogues, Part II

As I walked down the lonely path Where Tethra's blood red flowers grow, I asked a question of my muse (For She was always next to me): "How did Your garden come to be, Within barren Calamity?" She plucked a rose, and let it fall. "Observe - how fragile life can be. This place is not far from the Hedge through which you had to claw and crawl. It rots above in tunnels dark; It was once like this long ago. I shall now speak of darker times, The aftermath of pointless war. We six great kings and queens of old Had vision to foresee the fall. We sunk six holds into the earth; Encased the lands above in thorn. Those quick enough to flee below Were spared the flash. The rest... were lost." "So now we live in these great holds, Prepared by wiser ones than me?" She shook Her head, continued on: "The Hedge above was the result. A time much darker than before Was played out in its starving halls. With nothing left of Vibrancy, We fed upon our wasting limbs. Beset upon by our own kin, All while monsters burrowed in: Foul creatures born from Blight above, Alongside Kephra from below." I shuddered then, remembering, Pale figures waiting by the Door. "Four foolish Kings and Queens of old, We made a pact to save the court. We cast aside mortality; Became a source of Vibrancy. Became much more, became much less, We gave up peace to save the Spring." "Not six but four, Queen-under-Thorn?" She shed a tear - but said no more. -E

These tomes appear to contain dialogues with one of the so-called "Beautiful Ones" of the Spring Court. I asked the Autumn Court cleric to refrain from cleansing this one, it is rare to find firsthand accounts of the events of the Moonfall and the Season of Silence that followed.

The dreams are getting worse. We continue ever downward.

[runawaychar]

Here is a map of the Standing Stones in the Autumn Grove, seal of Kazareth. It was guarded by Duskers, mercenaries of the Decay Court and enemies of immortality and Undeath in all its forms.

Queen-Under-Thorn

A dusty tome recovered amidst the remains of slavering husks in the Rotting Hedge beneath the Standing Stones (Day 1 of the descent). The text follows the Iambic tetrameter of Vibrancy's psalms - a religious document from a darker age?

Erasmus's Dialogues, Part I

I had escaped all that I'd known; So far from my Lady in Red. I had returned, bloody and torn, To Kazareth, our paradise. "Why did you leave our Garden here?" Asked Tethra, the Queen-Under-Thorn. "I wanted something more than this - I wished to see the Ur-Forest. The Giant Heroes of tales told: Those who cast down the Enemy, And fought evil Fomori Kings, Masters of Blackened Industry." "If this is true, my wayward child, Then why did you return to Me?" "I saw what lies beyond the Door, I did not find my tales there. The Ur-Forest is gone and dead, The sky is sick, the ground diseased. I fled creatures of Blight and ruin And saw the real world up above: The gods have fallen silent, gone - I could not feel sweet Vibrancy. Had I strayed too far, and too long, I would have died without Your light. There can be no Heroes of Old, Alive in such a corpse-like world." My Queen looked sad, and spoke, forlorn: "Erasmus dear, we are those giants. No longer as great in our deeds, Diminished in our stature too. Diminished with Calamity, We were robbed of our Vibrancy. The Moonfall came, silenced our gods, And now only the Blight remains." "Are you going to punish me, For leaving here and seeking more?" She laughed and said: "My goodness no! You are firstborn of Kazareth. The urge to grow is natural - You are a Vibrant courtesan. There will be more like you who stray, They'll need to know how to return. Who better than you, Erasmus, The first of many wayward sons? Stay by My side, storyteller, In My garden forever more. Listen to all I have to say, Seek out the truth, write down My lore." -E

The book released a sickly sweet stench as it was burned by the Autumn Court cleric. The march continues ever down.

[runawaychar]

Her Secret Sorrow

The Ghostly Ferryman was far more than he appeared. The spirit of Erasmus, Tethra's storyteller, had been bound to the task of patrolling Kazareth's shores. The centuries have not been kind to him - he has no memory of the past. Still, it appears we've gained a new ghostly companion.

We arrived in the decaying city of Kazareth to find it alive and unchanged, populated by the pale, emaciated shadows of the Spring Court, forbidden from the relief of death by divine decree. After fighting past skeletal soldiers animated by thorns, we found the third tome in the clutches of the red priest in the High Cathedral. He was a bloodsucking insect in the guise of a holy man, fattened from his flock of supplicants. Where is the lady of the high tower? Where is the Queen-Under Thorn?

Archive:

Book I: Queen-Under-Thorn

Book II: Blight and Salvation

--Book III: Her Secret Sorrow--

Erasmus's Dialogues, Part III

We followed the Queen-Under-Thorn Through scarlet streets of Kazareth. We headed down Cathedral Road: There was to be a funeral. She spoke to me unbidden words, Her voice was cracked and wavering. "I ask you now to understand, A time without a church to Me. In order to provide our souls, As sustenance to those below, We stole the task from silent gods, and took their roles reluctantly. I am an ever-flowing font, But only if there's faith in Me. I've lost so many precious things, Reshaping our society." I spoke, protesting, - "Lady fair, You cannot blame yourself for this." She stared me down with hardened eyes. "All I've done may be a crime - I never claimed to be divine. I rose an army from our dead To guard us from the Kephra threat. My Ironguard will stand eternal, the ghosts of all I could not save. I built a Clergy, built a Throne, I've watched My people die for naught. I twisted fate to save the court, I wish "blame" still applied to Me." Ahead we saw smoke from the pyre, where ash from Tethra's children burn. The beautiful ascended few, the Flowers of sweet Kazareth: They're taken when they're very young, Adopted by our Queen and loved. Through them Her love flows down to us, Sustaining Tethra's paradise. They never live for very long, They burn brightly, and then they're gone. Tethra turned to our companion, One doomed to fall in this same way. First of Four, Queen-Under-Thorn, Knelt down before Her own daughter. She smiled at sweet Euriphone, While hiding sadness none could see. She loves Her child - She loves us all, But none can save Her autumn rose. She paid a price that I can't bear - She gave up peace to save the Spring. -E

My mind is reeling - is this how Vibrancy's children survived the calamity? A paradise sustained by sacrifice, kings and queens elevated to godhood in the silence that followed? For once the cleric does not attempt to destroy the words of the Spring Court - the name of Euriphone, Savior of Autumn stays her hand.

How much can we trust these books, written by the pet storyteller of the Beautiful Ones? The ghost of the writer has no recollection, and the lady of Kazareth is absent, her servants turned into monsters - our answers lie with Her.

We descend into the palace tonight.

[runawaychar]

Sneak peek at a fun scratch build miniature I've been working on 👁🤖

[runawaychar]

The icicles painted on the base is such a nice touch!

frostgrave barbarian. featured in my upcoming article on layering

[runawaychar]

The final stage, where Zaedalus's ambitions were thwarted.

The Agony Engine

Created by the mad artificer Zaedalus in his attempt to escape the hell realm of Industry, the Agony Engine will consume everything and everyone in the world above, unless a wrench can be thrown into its blood-stained machinery. (Created using ink, Krita, and animated via OpenToonz, destroyed by a party of adventurers)