#campaign tales

[mx-lamour]

Ezra couldn't help everyone.

[tw: Children in peril. CoS spoilers.]

We had dodged a lot of Vallaki early on. We’d spotted Izek down the road after noticing an array of Ireena look-alike dolls in Blinsky’s shop and booked it out of town as fast as possible. But now Izek had finally heard that the party had Ireena, and he was going to take her from us.

He was sitting on the bridge cresting the river on the road toward Vallaki from the west. The bridge was rigged to explode. And there were children underneath the bridge, he told us, and they would not be released until we handed over Ireena (who wasn't actually with us at the time). They would either blow to bits or simply starve.

Ezra had made himself invisible, to creep up close while the bard was talking with Izek, to look for an opportunity to either disable the explosives or take out Izek himself. He didn't know what Izek wanted with Ireena, but what he did realize, up close, was that the man literally did not have a soul, and that was especially off-putting in conjunction with his mysterious demon arm. On overhearing there were children under the bridge, the trajectory of Ezra’s tentative plan quickly changed.

Ezra ducked under the bridge and managed to calm the children despite his sudden appearance. He was in Sergei’s armor, and he looked like the genasi he was; for once, he hoped they would take him as the morninglord. He set about untying one, then two. The children huddled there beneath the bridge, waiting for a signal to run.

There were two more on the other side, across the river. Heart in his throat, Ezra stepped in to wade carefully across while the bard continued to stall Izek above him.

In the middle of the river, something grabbed his foot. It tugged him down under the water with a quiet plip. For a blinding instant, Ezra thought that was the end. Then he Blinked.

The undead beneath the water couldn't touch him in the Ethereal plane. The water itself could hardly keep him in its grasp. He ran to the other side of the river and popped back into physical being.

But the time for stalling had run out. Things above the bridge had gotten dicey. The undead were climbing up out of the river after him, but he remembered his divine ability to turn them forcefully away. They crumbled. Ezra was dripping wet, fumbling with shaky fingers to untie the third child, when a sudden violent wave of heat slammed into him, flinging him back into the river.

Gasping and spluttering, Ezra’s first thought was still locked on the children, to return to the task his hands had not yet finished. His second thought, as he raked through the rubble, was No. He found a small severed arm in the debris. Bits of charred and bloody flesh.

Izek and the barbarian were struggling in the water. By the time Ezra reached them, Izek was already subdued. He had been dragged onto the shore and was bleeding out. Blood mingled with the water in thin rust-orange swirls. There was a tense moment as the seconds ticked by, and Ezra only stared down at him. They still wanted information. The bard suggested that maybe Izek deserved to die.

Ezra finally stabilized him. “There are worse things than death," he muttered.

The party helped Ezra search for the two children he had managed to untie. They found them in the wreckage. One was still alive, and Ezra managed to revive the other. Guards from Vallaki had heard the explosion and come to investigate. As he handed over the traumatized children to the guards, wondering if the four of them had been friends or siblings or strangers, or if it really mattered, he speculated again: There are worse things than death.

The party imprisoned Izek at Argynvostholt, where Ireena had been staying during that whole ordeal. They amputated and (with some difficulty, despite Ezra's bolstered flames) incinerated the demon arm. But then they let Izek speak with Ireena, and found out what he really wanted with her...

He just wanted his sister back.

[d4ggerfish]

dnd character design :] !!!

[snarkyjohnny]

My Bard Aldus Octavius Longhill: “Hey Lia could we partition off sections in the spell Leomund’s Tiny Hut?”

Our Party’s Cleric Lia: “I think so why?”

Aldus: “How do you feel about a mobile brothel?”

Lia: (stares at me sternly)

Aldus: “Alright then.”

[thestuffedalligator]

I’ve changed my mind my favourite D&D monster is the coldlight walker look at this fucking guy

[lunarifie]

This came to me while i was brushing my teeth

Og under cut

[rennybu]

loam thursday! recent d&d sketches… we r in an upside down puzzle city above the clouds outside of time anchored in place by a cool stone spire. With a time loop and deadly traps everywhere. being hunted down by clockwork automatons in a labyrinth. @jawsandbones has got us playing a roguelite atm. The huge swathe of void lightning splitting across the sky was a nice surprise though.

and! Loam’s engagement ring is enchanted to transmit Tzipporah’s heartbeat, but ever since we arrived here, it’s been coming through as a constant thrum, and we haven’t been able to get any word out…. did i mention day and night pass within seconds and the passage of time is itself a huge question mark while here..........? Loam is coping rly well with that🧘 not 2 mention having no idea what tzipporah feels through HIS ring... anyway GO TEAM!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ludinusdaleth]

"You know what the Traveler I know and love would do? He would face it, he would face his past, and himself. He would defend himself properly. And he would live with the consequences. Because, despite it all...

He is a good man."

The Tales of Exandria II: Artagan, Issue #4

[kuulpenguin]

Blurble gurble!

[toa-archive]

So now that it IS Thursday, time for the thing! Fanfic writers particularly are going to have a field day with this one. Screenshot from Bluesky as Aaron is over there too if you want to give a follow!

Source

If tumblr shrink locked it just pop it into a tab. The full size has been uploaded here no matter what it thinks.

[critterpages]

Let chaos reign!

“The series will see Artagan in court as he explains his influence on the land of Exandria.”

“Fans interested in what's next for the NPC can see for themselves in Critical Role: Tales of Exandria II - Artagan, on sale January 3, 2024.”

[foldbaron]

I thought the crazy weeks were over, but nope.

Fireside Chat with Liam O'Brien tomorrow, November 19th LIVE on Beacon at 7pm PST / 10pm EST. Submit your questions in the Beacon Discord.

Another installment of Narrative Telephone drops on Beacon November 20th at 12pm PST / 3pm EST. It will release December 4th on Youtube. And finally, #EverythingIsContent - Queen By Midnight: Quarter Past, November 20th at 7pm PST / 10pm EST.

[mx-lamour]

In the wake of Ezra Sunstar's tabletop campaigns, I'm gearing up for my DM's next great tale.

It happens to be a sequel, although that wasn't the original intention.

We return to a homebrew continent (that part, of course, was intentional) on which exists a country formerly presided over by five warlords who each ruled over their own city-state.

I say formerly, because one of them cracked and tore the whole thing down in an attempt to protect those most dear to her. Those who... she inevitably lost, regardless.

Her name is Alara. She was known as The Overseer.

The pitch for this new campaign was a tale of legendary or mythic figures, a knights errant sort of quest to find the holy grail.

But I had just played a hero. I played a kindhearted little guy with noble intentions for a year and a half (and I'm still taking him on pbp adventurers). I didn't really want to play another hero. I wanted to explore a monster. A tragic figure.

Well. Turns out, I had one in my back pocket. With a full history of trauma and isolation and self-loathing and regret to wade through.

Oh yeah, and the rest of the campaign pitch? Each of our characters has just been offered their Heart's Desire... but only one can achieve it, in the end.

It could become a tale of cooperation or manipulation. A tale of healing, or a further descent into darkness for Alara.

Alara, whose city-state had been one enclosed by towering stone walls.

Alara, who went against everything she knew to protect those she held most dear

Alara, who ultimately lost her brother, her friends, and the one person she might have called her lover if she had allowed herself the chance.

Alara failed. Miserably.

I reviewed my epilogue notes for this character's previous campaign and sobbed.

So, yeah. This is going to be a good one.

[narsh-poptarts]

SOMETIMES YOU MAKE A NEW CHARACTER FOR MONSTER OF THE WEEK AND YOU GET A LITTLE OBSESSED WITH THEM

This is Wesley Bernavelli (he/him) !!!! he's a Hex cowboy witch B))))) think anathema device or perhaps shrink and forcible from coraline, that brand of witchy

he's perhaps.... a little weird...

[colorfulnickellandgarden]

Lunar Pyramid, Moon

[thestuffedalligator]

Kinda fucked that the first two Billy Goats Gruff offered the third goat as a sacrifice. I don’t think this was an arrangement they made before they crossed the bridge, I think it was pure self-preservation. And if the third goat didn’t cross, they wouldn’t have said a fucking thing about it.

Do you think he knows? Or when he made it across did he go “Holy shit you guys there was a fucking troll under that bridge” and the other two just went “Whaaat? Oh my god are you okaaay? That’s craaazy! 🫢”

[grimvestige]

Lil' ref sheet of Ashton Foster for @dbughouse!! Nettle is so extremely cool <3